Khi 25 07 2013 layout 1 by Pakistan Today

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 1:59 AM Page 1

Rs 17.00 Vol IV No 22 19 Pages

Thursday, 25 July, 2013

Karachi Edition

PPP cries foul as SC orders presidential poll on 30th

Ramadan 15, 1434

PPP to consult PTI, others over election boycott today STORIES ON PAGE 02

STORY ON PAGE 04

STORY ON PAGE 16

STORY ON PAGE 03

CIA closing Afghan bases, not drone operations

Egypt’s army chief seeks mandate to fight violence

The CIA has begun closing clandestine bases in Afghanistan, marking the start of a drawdown from a region that transformed the agency from an intelligence service struggling to emerge from the Cold War to a counterterrorism force with its own prisons, paramilitary teams and armed Predator drones. The pullback represents a turning point for the CIA as it shifts resources to other trouble spots. PAGE 04

Egypt’s military chief on Wednesday called on his countrymen to hold mass demonstrations to voice their support for the army and police to deal with potential “violence and terrorism,” a move that signals a stepped up campaign against supporters of the ousted Islamist president. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, addressing a graduation ceremony for a class of military cadets, urged Egyptians to take to the streets Friday. PAGE 07

Discriminatory taxes on people can’t be allowed: CJP STORY ON PAGE 04

Altaf seeks time to submit evidence in money laundering case

Pakistan chase West Indies’ 242 in bid to grab series

MQM chief Altaf Hussain has sought time from British authorities to arrange evidence that the money recovered from his possession had been earned through fair means. According to a private TV channel, Altaf may get a 10-day relaxation by the investigation agency in this regard. Meanwhile, three more leaders of MQM have been investigated by the agency in the money laundering case. PAGE 03

At 1.30am, Pakistan were 191-4 as Ahmed Shehzad made his first substantial score of the series, and guided Pakistan’s chase to reach 242 runs scored by West Indies amid tight bowling from Sunil Narine and Darren Sammy. Both sides seemed to exchange favours. West Indies did not appeal for two caught-behind chances. Pakistan paid back with a suicidal run-out and a needless slog. PAGE 16

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 1:59 AM Page 2

N NEWS Thursday, 25 July, 2013

PPP to consult PtI, others over electIon boycott today ISLAMABAD Tayyab HussaIN

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership on Wednesday night deferred its decision to boycott the presidential election for today (Thursday) and decided that consultation process would be expanded to all opposition parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. A source said the consultative meeting of the PPP was held at the residence of Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah and was attended by top PPP leaders, including Aitzaz Ahsan. The source said the PPP had made up its mind for boycotting the election but it wanted to convince the PTI, who had fielded Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed for the slot. The source added that the consultation would also be made with PML-Q chief Shujaat Hussain, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hassan, Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Sherpao and others. A consultative committee comprising Aitzaz Ahsan, Khurshid Shah and Rehman Malik has been formed to reach out to other political parties. “Those leaders who are available in capital would be approached by the PPP leaders personally while those out of city or country would be consulted through phone,” the source added. He said PPP Co-chairman President Asif Zardari was also contacted by phone during the meeting who advised the party leadership not to make a hasty decision and rather take all opposition parties along, including the MQM, PTI and others. The source said Khurshid Shah had been tasked with completing consultation by Thursday evening and the party and its allies would have a follow-up meeting in the evening to take a final decision. The source said Aitzaz Ahsan had proposed that all opposition parties who were affected due to certain decisions of the superior judiciary should be united on one platform so that a pressure wave could be created against the top judges. The source said that the meeting rejected a proposal to file a review petition with the Supreme Court against the court verdict over holding election on July 30, with Aitzaz Ahsan saying there was no hope of justice for the PPP from the bench. Following the meeting, Shah told reporters that the PPP leaders would visit Imran Khan for consultation, who was likely to arrive in the capital today. He said the consultation process was on with opposition parties and any decision would be taken with consensus. Shah added that the court had given no time to the opposition for campaigning in four provincial capitals, adding that contact had been made with Aftab Sherpao and Asfandyar Wali Khan. He alleged that there was a secret understanding between the Election Commission and PML-N for presidential election.

PPP cries foul as sc orders presidential poll on 30th PPP’S RABBANI SAYS HE HAS NO TIME LEFT FOR CAMPAIGNING, PARTY MAY BOYCOTT POLLS ISLAMABAD KasHIf abbasI

OLLOWINg Supreme Court’s order, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued a new schedule for holding presidential election on July 30, instead of the earlier set date of August 6. However, the main opposition party PPP strongly criticised the verdict of the apex court. In response to a petition filed by the ruling PML-N, a three member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday ordered the Election Commission to hold presidential elections on July 30, instead of August 6. However, calling it a one-sided decision, PPP presidential candidate Raza Rabbani strongly criticised the verdict, saying the decision would deprive him of his right to campaign across Pakistan. He said after the decision, his party could boycott the elections, but a final decision was yet to be taken. Earlier, the government had requested the ECP to reschedule election date and fix July 30 instead of August 6, which would be falling in the last 10 days of Ramadan, reasoning that a number of parliamentarians would go to Saudi Arabia for performing Umra and many others would be observing Aitekaf. However, the ECP had rejected the plea, saying it would be difficult for it to change an already announced schedule. To this, PML-N senior leader Raja Zafarul Haq moved a petition in the Supreme Court, which was decided in the favour of the government on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD: PPP presidential candidate Senator Raza Rabbani talks to reporters after submitting his nomination papers at the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday. INP

Following the development, the ECP has re-fixed the date. According to ECP’s notification, the presidential election would be held on July 30. Per revised notification, the ECP fixed July 27 for the withdrawal of candidature before the Returning Officer in Islamabad. The same day, the ECP would issue a final list of contesting candidates. The notification further said that polling would be held simultaneously at four provincial assembly buildings and Parliament House from 10am to 3pm on July 30. RABBANI OPPOSES: Addressing a

press conference in Islamabad, PPP presidential candidate Raza Rabbani said the court had passed the order without listening to all stakeholders. Flanked by Amin Faheem and Aitzaz Ahsan, Raza Rabbani said the decision would badly disturb his election campaign, as he was now left with two days for campaigning, meaning he would not be able to travel to all four provincial capitals to convince the electorate. Rabbani said it was strange that the ruling party got the election date changed on basis of Umra and Aitekaf, while the election process

never stopped even during war. He said even Pakistan came into being on 27th of Ramadan and founder of Pakistan did not ask for changing the date. Earlier, on Wednesday, PML-N presidential candidate Mamnoon Husain and PPP candidate Raza Rabbani submitted nomination papers before the returning officer, the Islamabad High Court chief justice. PML-N candidate Iqbal Zafar Jhagra also filed his nomination papers. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s candidate Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed also submitted his nomination papers in Karachi.

PTI leaves Wajihuddin alone in race for presidency ISLAMABAD sTaff RePoRT

With bleak chances of winning the presidential election, the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) leaders have left their candidate Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed on his own in the race despite the fact that party chairman Imran Khan is known for fighting to the end. Though the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have been shuttling from one city to another to win support for their presidential candidates, the leadership of PTI looks in a “deep slumber” over the issue and this slackness indicates high indecision, confusion and lack of conviction within the party to make a serious effort to get their party’s candidate elected for the top slot. A leader in the PTI told Pakistan Today on condition of anonymity that in absence of Imran Khan, the PTI leaders made no effort to win support for Justice Wajihuddin. He said his party leaders had not even contacted likeminded parties like Awami Muslim League, Jamat-e-Islami, Qaumi Watan Party or Awami Jamhoori Ittehad of

Swabi, let alone MQM. The PTI leader said the indecision on making political contacts to win maximum support for Wajihuddin was due to fears and concerns among the second-tier leadership of the party that their efforts might be taken in the wrong perspective by the party chief and everyone was waiting for the return of Imran Khan from London. But the situation also reflects how divisions are deepening within the party which is being taken by many as a replacement for the PML-N and the PPP. Though Khan had delegated some powers to party's vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi before leaving for London, the PTI leader said that it seemed Qureshi was hesitant to exercise those powers, fearing that he might be considered working for personal gains by many of his comrades, as differences between newcomers and the old guards still prevail. PTI vice Chairman and Deputy Parliamentary Party Leader in the National Assembly Shah Mahmood Qureshi admitted the fact that to date no other party had been contacted by the PTI to seek support for Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed. However, Qureshi shot down the argu-

ment of indecision within the party, saying making symbolic contacts to create a false impression of activity was not PTI's policy. “We don’t have sufficient numbers for the (Presidential) election. Moreover, please tell me which party should we be contacting. The PML-N is a ruling party which has fielded its own candidate. So we can’t contact the PML-N or their coalition partners. Now the PPP also breached an agreement made with the PTI to field a joint candidate. They went solo,” he said, adding that the coalition partners of the PPP could also not be contacted. Qureshi accused President Asif Ali Zardari and Khurshid Shah for sabotaging the possibility of fielding a joint candidate from the opposition for the election of the new president, saying he had presented a formula to Khurshid Shah that a non-political individual of impeccable stature and integrity should be fielded that was acceptable to all three major opposition parties, including the PPP, MQM and PTI. “The rational behind the proposal was that a political entity would not be acceptable for all the three parties who have different ideologies and ideas. However, only a day after my proposal, President

Zardari, before his departure from the country, conspired to sabotage this opportunity by fielding Raza Rabbani in violation of the agreement between the PTI and PPP,” Qureshi said, adding that Shah announced the nomination of Rabbani at a press conference without taking either party into confidence. Qureshi said he had special regard for Rabbani, but since he represented a specific political party, he could not be a joint candidate. Qureshi said he did not believe in taking artificial steps by holding meetings with politicians and having photo sessions for nothing. “Since we don’t have numbers for giving a tough fight, I think that one should stay away from political gimmicks,” he added. PML-Q Secretary Information Senator Kamil Ali Agha said the PTI had not yet contacted his party, adding that the PML-Q had made is support conditional to a joint candidate of the opposition parties. "We wanted a joint candidate of the opposition parties. We had also made such an effort in 2008 and we also wanted this time around that a joint candidate should be fielded, one who at least had a chance to win against the treasury nominee," he said.

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 1:59 AM Page 3

NEWS

Thursday, 25 July, 2013

terrorIsts bomb IsI In sukkur SUKKUR

sTaff RePoRT

N a brazen challenge to the country’s military, a bomb and gun attack on the regional office of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency in Sukkur’s Barrage Colony on Wednesday killed two government employees and wounded at least 40 while five terrorists were also killed. At least five terrorists attacked the ISI office, located in a heavily guarded

TWO GOVT EMPLOYEES KILLED, 40 INJURED IN ATTACK CARRIED OUT BY 5 TERRORISTS

compound which also houses the Rangers office, Commissioner’s House and office of the Deputy Inspector general of Police, soon after Iftar. According to reports, an ISI official and an employee of the Commissioner House were killed in the attack.

AltAf seeks time to submit evidence in money lAundering cAse LONDON oNlINe

Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has sought time from British authorities to arrange evidence that the money recovered from his possession had been earned through fair means. According to a private TV channel, Altaf may get a 10-day relaxation by the investigation agency in this regard. Meanwhile, three more leaders of MQM have been investigated by the agency in the money laundering case. The fingerprints of these leaders were detected on the currency notes recovered from the residence of Altaf Hussain. Fingerprints and DNA tests of currency notes have been completed. Altaf Hussain has pled that most of the people who donated the money were in Pakistan

and were being contacted. It is worth mentioning that the BBC aired a documentary last week in which Dr Imran Farooq murder case, money laundering, political influence and threats and several other issues were discussed with MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar. The BBC Two claimed that 0.4 million pounds were found during London police’s raids at the MQM office and Altaf Hussain’s residence. The raids were conducted on December 6, 2012 and June 18, 2013. MQM leaders in their statements had slammed the report of BBC and termed it manufactured. Sattar presented his party’s stance on these issues and said the MQM chief Altaf Hussain had never harmed anyone. Sattar had alleged that the BBC’s documentary on Altaf Hussain was sponsored by pro-Taliban elements.

Sources said that a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the gate of ISI office while two others detonated explosives rigged with their bodies inside the office. They said that a suspected bomber was arrested following the explosions, which damaged several vehicles and buildings and left a deep crater near the ISI office. However, a Rangers spokesman said two militants blew themselves up while three were shot dead by forces. He added that several security person-

ISLAMABAD oNlINe

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has remarked that the court could not allow discriminatory treatment to poor consumers in the form of additional tax on petroleum products. Presiding over a three-member SC bench during the course of hearing of charging of additional tax on petroleum products on Wednesday, he said “Whatsoever the government says the poor consumers have to pay, additional tax or other taxes. Additional tax doubles the burden on the people. Meting out discriminatory treatment to the people cannot be allowed. Why should people bear the bur-

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stands in a group photograph with PML-N nominee for presidency, Mamnoon Hussain. INP

oNlINe

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed the hope that Mamnoon Hussein's election as president will serve as a good omen for the people of smaller provinces. He expressed these views while talking to Balochistan's Senior Minister Sanaullah Zehri and Federal Minister for SAFRON Abdul Qadir Baloch who called on Prime

Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday. The prime minister informed both the leaders that the Pakistan Muslim League (N) had nominated Mamnoon Hussein as its candidate for the upcoming presidential election. The prime minister said the party's presidential candidate was chosen from the province of Sindh with the intention to give smaller federating units their due share and representation at the federal level. He

The intensity of the attack and the high-profile target unsettled the country that has long been inured to weekly bombings. It also raises questions about the new government's aim of starting talks with militant groups. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pledged to seek negotiations and reconciliation with militant groups who were willing to talk before he won last May's elections. But attacks have increased since he took office and the government has yet to present a security strategy.

Discriminatory taxes on people can’t be allowed: CJP

mamnoon’s election as president a good omen: Pm

ISLAMABAD

nel sustained injuries during the operation against attackers. Sukkur DIg Javed Odho told reporters that the city headquarters of the ISI seemed to be the main target of the terrorists. He said the security personnel had carried out a search operation to apprehend any possible accomplices of the terrorists and the entire city had been locked down for the purpose. It was unclear who carried out the attack, but previous such high-profile operations have always been claimed by the Taliban.

expressed the hope that Mamnoon Hussein's election as president would serve as a good omen for the people of smaller provinces Congratulating the prime minister on the selection and nomination of Mamnoon Hussein‚ both the leaders expressed the hope that his election as president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan would be helpful in strengthening the federation by fostering harmony among various institutions.

den of additional taxes when benefit is taken by someone else?” Rana Shamim Siddiqui, counsel for FBR, said the bureau had challenged court’s order dated June 21, 2012 and filed review petition in this connection. A short order was issued meanwhile. Ikram Chaudhry read out the order which directed depositing additional sales tax collected from the people with registrar SC. Twenty-six percent sales tax was charged on CNg while one percent tax was charged on petroleum products. Justice Jawad S Khawaja remarked, “Ambit of review is restricted,” while the CJP said, “Will the attorney general (Ag) present statistics with reference to prices?” The Ag said he would present compar-

ative review of the prices. The CJP said the government had to protect fundamental rights and Articles 9, 25 and others would have to be kept in view. The Ag said companies paid tax with reference to the CNg sector, while CNg station wieners paid none. “Tax is recovered from consumers,” he said. The CJP said the SC had kept the case for hearing for the reason that tax was charged from the people and CNg stations benefited still. “We don’t want discriminatory treatment meted out to the people. We have fixed for hearing the most important cases during the month of Ramadan and the case of levying of additional tax on petroleum products is also included therein.”

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 1:59 AM Page 4

04 N

NEWS Thursday, 25 July, 2013

CIA closing Afghan bases, not drone operations REPORT SAYS DRONES TO CONTINUE PATROLLING PAK-AFGHAN BORDER BELT WASHINGTON INP

HE CIA has begun closing clandestine bases in Afghanistan, marking the start of a drawdown from a region that transformed the agency from an intelligence service struggling to emerge from the Cold War to a counterterrorism force with its own prisons, paramilitary teams and armed Predator drones. The pullback represents a turning point for the CIA as it shifts resources to other trouble spots. The closures were described by US officials as preliminary steps in a plan to reduce the number of CIA installations in

Afghanistan from a dozen to as few as six over the next two years, a consolidation to coincide with the withdrawal of most US military forces from the country by the end of 2014, Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Senior US intelligence and administration officials said the reductions were overdue in a region where US espionage efforts were now seen as out of proportion to the threat posed by al Qaeda’s diminished core leadership in Pakistan. “When we look at post-2014, how does the threat in Afghanistan and Pakistan measure against the threat in North Africa and Yemen?” said a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss government deliberations. “Shouldn’t our resources reflect that?” US officials stressed that the CIA was expected to maintain a significant footprint even after the pullback, with a station in Kabul that would remain among the agency’s largest in the world, as well as a fleet of armed drones that would continue to patrol Pakistan’s tribal

belt. The timing and scope of the CIA’s pullback are still being determined and depend to some extent on how many US troops President Obama decides to keep in the country after 2014. The administration is expected to reduce the number from 63,000 now to about 10,000 after next year, but recently signaled that it was also considering a “zero option,” in part because of mounting frustration with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The CIA may be in a unique position to negotiate with Karzai, who has publicly acknowledged accepting bags of money from the agency for years. The CIA also has provided much of the budget and training for the Afghan intelligence service. The agency wants to maintain the strength of those ties. Even so, a full withdrawal of US troops would probably trigger a deeper retrenchment by the CIA, which has relied on US and allied military installations across the country to serve as bases for agency operatives and cover for their spying operations. The CIA’s armed

Nawaz scuttles no-trust move against AJK PM ISLAMABAD oNlINe

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the leaders of the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) chapter to be impartial in the no-confidence motion against AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed. He expressed these views while chairing a meeting of party leaders of the AJK chapter on Wednesday. “The PML-N does not believe in political instability,” he said, directing all party leaders and workers to be detached from the recent political crisis of AJK. Accord-

ing to media reports, Nawaz also telephoned Minister for Kashmir Affairs Barjees Tahir and discussed with him the ongoing political turmoil in the state. AJK PM dISMISSES FOuR MINIStERS‚ 2 AdvISORS: Meanwhile, AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed has dismissed four ministers and two advisors of his cabinet from their offices with immediate effect. The ministers removed from office include the Minister for Auqaf Muhammad Afsar Shahid, Minister for Rehabilitation Abdul Majid Khan, Minister for Power Chaudhry Arshad and Minister for Agriculture Sardar Akhtar Hussain Rabbani.

The advisers removed include Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq and Muhammad Akmal Sargala. Only a couple of days ago, the AJK cabinet also saw the resignation of six ministers following the submission of a no-confidence motion against the AJK Prime Minister by Mohammad Hussain and Majid Khan, two assembly members from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The ministers resigning – Barqiyat Chaudhry, Majid Khan, Akbar Ibrahim, Hussain Sargala, Afsar Shahid, Akhtar Hussain Rabbani and Azhar gilani – were also joined by three advisers in voting for the no-confidence motion against Majeed.

MYSTERIOUS AIR CRASH NEAR NOWSHERA, PAF DENIES

curtains fall on 20 Pakistani ambassadors

PESHAWAR: A mysterious air crash occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Nowshera district on Wednesday. The Nowshera district police officer (DPO) was earlier reported as saying that a Mushak trainer jet, which was on a routine training mission, had crashed and half of the plane’s fuselage was recovered from the River Indus. He had further said that a search for the pilot and the co-pilot was underway. However, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Assistant Director Media Waseem Khan denied that any PAF aircraft had crashed. Khan said the reports of the crash might pertain to the dumping of a used fuel tank and investigations into the incident were underway. INP

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday decided to appoint new ambassadors in 20 countries. The sources said the Foreign Office decided to change officials deputed in different countries, saying the current ambassadors had completed their job tenures. According to media reports, the ministry informed ambassadors and high commissioners deployed in different countries to prepare themselves for the issuance of final return notices to Pakistan. The reports disclosed some names that were likely to be called back to Pakistan. 15 ambassadors, including Wajid Shamsul Hasan

ISLAMABAD NNI

(United Kingdom), Salman Bashir (India), Masood Khan (Pakistani delegate for the United Nations), Jamil Ahmed Khan (United Arab Emirates) and Nawabzada Aminullah Khan Raisani (Oman). The decision came after a briefing by Foreign Affairs Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani to Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz leaders regarding the country’s foreign policies and Pakistani ambassadors deployed around the world. During the briefing, the Foreign Ministry official told the PML-N leadership that some ambassadors were selected for the posts on the basis of political influence and personal recommendations while retired military officers were deployed in six countries.

TWO KILLED IN BALOCHISTAN VIOLENCE

drones are flown from a heavily fortified airstrip near the Pakistan border in Jalalabad. Some of the bases being closed served as important intelligence-gathering nodes during the escalation of the agency’s drone campaign, raising the risk that US counterterrorism capabilities could deteriorate and perhaps allow remnants of al Qaeda to regenerate. White House officials have been weighing a shift of some of those resources to other regions, including Yemen and North Africa, where al Qaeda affiliates are now seen as more dangerous than the network’s base. The White House discussions have been part of the overall deliberations over US troop levels in Afghanistan. Current and former US officials familiar with the agency’s plans said they called for pulling most agency personnel back to the CIA’s main station in Kabul, plus a group of large regional bases — known as the “big five” — in Bagram, Kandahar, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad and Herat.

The base closures involve compounds along the Pakistan border, part of a constellation used by CIA operatives and analysts to identify drone targets in Pakistan. The bases, including locations in the provinces of Zabul, Paktika and Khost, have relied heavily on US military and medical evacuation capabilities and were often near larger military outposts. The tempo of the CIA’s drone campaign has already tapered off. The 17 strikes this year in Pakistan are far off the peak pace of 2010, when there were 117 strikes, according to the Long War Journal. This year, President Obama approved new counterterrorism guidelines that call for the military to take on a larger role in targeted killing operations, reducing the involvement of the CIA. The senior Obama administration official said the US might propose a shift to military drone flights inside Pakistan as part of the discussions with Afghanistan and Islamabad over US troop levels.

Financial closing of 50MW wind projects achieved

QUETTA sTaff RePoRT

Two people were killed and another two were injured in separate incidents of violence in Kech and Kalat districts of Balochistan on Wednesday. According to sources, unidentified armed men kidnapped a man, identified as Ali Ahmed Bezinjo, from Turbat’s Pidark area on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. The abductors later shot Bezinjo and dumped his body in a deserted area. The sources said he was eth brother of Sardar Aziz Bezinjo, a leader of the Balochistan National PartyAwami and he was in his friend’s house when he was kidnapped. The local administration has registered a case into the incident and investigations are underway. Meanwhile, a man was killed and two were injured in a firing incident in Surab area of Kalat district. The deceased and the injured were taken to hospital. However, names of the victims could not be ascertained so far. Separately, explosives planted near the boundary wall of a mobile company in Dera Murad Jamali tehsil of Naseerabad exploded, damaging the wall. However, no loss of life was reported.

ISLAMABAD sTaff RePoRT

The Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) on Wednesday declared the achievement of financial closing for 50 Megawatt wind power project of M/s Foundation Wind Energy-I located at gharo in district Thatta, Sindh. During the event, the AEDB also issued guarantee on the behalf of Pakistani government in the favour of Foundation Wind Energy-I Limited. While addressing on the occasion, Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif said the country was blessed with immense wind resources, especially in the coastal areas which were untapped. The federal minister was of the view that Pakistan offered an investment-friendly and lucrative wind energy market for the investors and equipment suppliers. The minister mentioned that incentives offered in the renewable energy policy were attractive and lucrative for private

sector investment. “Other than gharo and Ketti Bandar, more energy corridors are being set up,” the minister added. Fauji Foundation Managing Director Lt gen Muhamad Mustafa Khan gave a detailed briefing of the project. Khan informed that Fauji Foundation was developing two wind forms at gharo and Thatta having the EPC cost of estimated US $ 223 million being financed by the Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank in collaboration with syndicate of local banks. The managing director noted that the engineering, procurement, and construction contracts of both the projects is a consortium comprising M/s Nordex germany and M/s Descon Engineering Limited Pakistan installed with turbines having capacity of 2.5 MW each. AEDB Chief Executive Officer Basharat Hasan disclosed that M/s Nordex germany which was supplying turbines was also EPC contractor of the projects.

Pakistan’s defence can’t be entrusted to foreign national: SC ISLAMABAD oNlINe

The Supreme Court has summoned Advisor to Prime Minister on Aviation Shujat Azim on Thursday in person to explain his position about his dual nationality and retaining the office despite his court martial by the army. Under the supervision of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday, a threemember bench held the hearing of the case about corruption in the construction of new Islamabad air-

APEX COURT CALLS CAPT AZIM OVER DUAL NATIONALITY AND RETAINING OFFICE DESPITE HIS COURT MARTIAL port. The court also advised Additional Attorney general Shah Khawar to present all the record summaries and notification in the court regarding the appointment of

Shujat Azim as the advisor to PM. The CJP asked that was this only job left for the apex court to review all the state affairs. He said how could a Canadian national who faced the term of court martial by the military court be appointed on the slot of advisor to prime minister in violation of law. He said the advisor could be appointed only under Article 92 read with Article 63 of the constitution. The strategic affairs of the country were much important and how could a dual nationalityholder look after the matters re-

garding aviation and defence. Iftikhar gillani told the court that the civil aviation authority had issued notices to all the concerned on the directives of court. The chief justice asked, “Had they deposited their passports so that they could not leave the country?” The court was told that the aviation division had been separated from the defence and Advisor to PM Shujat Azim was given the status of federal minister and notification to this effect was also issued. Justice Azmat said the dual na-

tionality-holder could not become the member of the parliament, then how could he be made advisor to PM. Justice Jawad S Khawaja said the issues relating to the defence of the country could not be handed over to a citizen of another country. The AAg requested the court to give him some time for gathering required information from the concerned quarters and the CJP allowed him 24 hours. The chief justice showed his resentment on the matter and said the government should come up with some appropriate answer.

ROYAL BABY IS NAMED GEORGE ALEXANDER LOUIS LONDON aGeNCIes

Royal officials say Britain's new prince has been named george Alexander Louis. Palace officials said Wednesday that the 2-day-old baby and third-in-line to the throne will be known as His Royal Highness Prince george of Cambridge. Earlier in the day, the baby met his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. His parents - Prince William and Kate - then brought him to Kate's parents in their village near London - pretty much like any regular family. Earlier, the baby slept through his first photo op outside London's St. Mary's Hospital, while his parents beamed as they chatted easily with reporters. For a royal family that has had a fraught relationship with the media, it was a positive sign. "I thought, is this an Oscar-winning performance?" said Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine. "But I think they were so genuinely overjoyed that they wanted to show off the baby." After leaving the hospital, the couple introduced their son to his uncle, Prince Harry, and to great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, keen to see the baby before she starts her annual summer vacation in Scotland later this week. Then they headed to see Kate's parents in their village near London - pretty much like any regular family. There has been so much royal drama in the last few decades that it's easy to forget that William had, by royal standards, a relatively normal childhood. His parents' troubled marriage may have ended in divorce, but Prince Charles and Princess Diana were devoted parents who tried to spend as much time as possible with their children - albeit with an assist from nannies. The queen was sometimes away on official tours for months at a time when her children were young, but Charles and Diana took William along on a tour to Australia when he was just 9 months old. The queen was educated at home, in keeping with royal tradition. But she sent her own children to boarding schools, and Charles and Diana did the same with William and his younger brother Harry choosing Eton, one of the biggest and most prestigious boys' schools in the country.

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 1:59 AM Page 5

( DEGREE SANS KNOWLEDGE

KARACHI Thursday, 25 July, 2013

WeAther UpdAteS

0C 33high 280Low C FrIdAy 33°C I 28°C

ku It Programme Is ‘Illegal’ and ‘flawed’ I KARACHI

aaMIR MaJeeD

SUnny

SAtUrdAy

SUndAy

34°C I 28°C

31°C I 28°C

PRayeR TIMINGs Fajr Sunrise Zuhr Asr Maghrib Isha 4:32 5:56 12:39 4:04 7:21 8:46

fIqAH-E-HANfIA SEHR TOMORROW 4:31 IFTAR 7:21 fIqAH-E-jAffRIA SEHR TOMORROW 4:21

(

IFTAR 7:31

NVESTIgATION has disclosed that University of Karachi (KU) is running an Information Technology (IT) programme and awarding certificates in 65 IT related subjects, when in reality the mentioned programme has no legal status. According to details, KU was running an IT programme since the last many years and was awarding certificates in 65 IT subjects without approval of syllabi from its academic council. Interestingly, the IT programme was going on without any faculty. Surprisingly, no faculty member was ready to own the programme. However, the passing out candidates have been awarded with a KU degree despite the fact that the finances of the programme were being managed through a private account and the revenue generated through it was also put into a private account. Although, the KU academic council in one of its session had granted permission for launch of an IT programme, but the design of the programme and the syllabi, which was supposed to be taught, was not approved by the council. Per KU law, if a new programme was introduced in the varsity, then it should first be approved from the faculty concerned. The faculty examined the structure of the programme, course

design, teaching and non-teaching staff and expenditure. If the faculty approved the new programme, then it was taken to academic council for approval. After approval from the academic council, the new programme was ready to be implemented. In case of IT programme, the Department of Mathematics had inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private firm for launch the project. Per understanding, the private firm had to provide teaching faculty and technical support for running the programme successfully. The IT centre was established in a small room which was located on the 3rd floor of the Department of Mathematics. There were 25 computers and the programme started in the evening shift.

Some classes of the programme were also held in Dr Yaseen Malik’s Professional Development Centre. On investigation, it was revealed that the varsity teachers have been hired at heavy remuneration to run this programme. Only few experts were hired from outside the varsity for assistance in case of any difficulty. Furthermore, the varsity set a high fee for IT-related diploma programmes, but interestingly, the fee of the students was not submitted in KU account. The fee was submitted in a private bank account, and the passing out students had received authentic degrees from the varsity. Prof Dr Nustrat Jamil, the then Faculty of Science Dean, took this matter with KU vice chancellor (VC) but the VC kept his lips tight on this issue.

sindh govt has formed committee for local bodies’ polls: memon

Probe ordered Into death durIng antI-corruPtIon team raId at dadu

KARACHI oNlINe

Sindh Minister of Information Sharjeel Memon on Wednesday said that the government has formed a committee to implement the court’s order regarding local bodies’ elections. Memon said that the government had written letters to all stakeholders and asked for suggestions in this connection from all political parties, including the nationalist parties. While giving a briefing, the minister hinted that local body elections would be held under the 1979 system, but with a promise that necessary amendments would be made in the same.

KARACHI sTaff RePoRT

Pillion riding ban fails to decrease crime in city KARACHI oNlINe

The decision of imposing ban on pillion riding has not produced any noteworthy results and has failed to decrease the ratio of crimes in the city, as 90% of the crimes have been reported against criminals involved in pillion riding. Per TV reports, while the ban on pillion riding in the city was going to complete four months now, questions were being raised about its effectiveness in view of the failure of law-enforcement agencies to curb targeted killings, in most cases carried out by armed motorcycle riders, as the figures showed that more than 850 people were killed during the last three months. The purpose of imposing the ban was to decrease the crime rate but the required purpose had not been achieved so far. On the other hand, common people were main sufferers after the ban on pillion riding was announced by the provincial government.

“The IT programme was started by KU ex-Pro Vice Chancellor (PVC) Prof Dr Nasiruddin Khan,” KU Faculty of Science Dean Prof Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi said. “PVC took permission to start the programme from the academic council, but I have no idea whether the course taught in the IT programme was approved by the varsity council or not,” she added. “Although, the PVC has set IT programme in the Department of Mathematics from where he belongs but the programme was not functioning under the Faculty of Science,” she maintained. “Awarding diploma in IT is mandate of a technical board and the varsity like KU should not launch such programme as it is a higher education institute,” she argued. KU VC Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser, when approached for comments, said that the IT programme did not start under his authority. “The programme was started in the time of former VC Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui by PVC Prof Dr Nasiruddin Khan,” KU VC defended, claiming that, “I have no idea whether the varsity’s academic council has approved the syllabi of the certificate programme or not.” “give me one-day’s time to investigate this issue, after which I will be in a position to respond to your queries,” the VC said. But after the passage of two days, the VC was not responding to the phone calls made by this scribe.

KARACHI: Railway workers are cleaning the trains for another journey at Cantt Station. oNlINe

lJ ‘death squad’ chief admits to planning attack on Justice baqar KARACHI oNlINe

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) “death squad” Chief Masoom Billah admitted to planning the bomb attack on Sindh High Court (SHC) Justice Maqbool Baqar. Billah – who is currently in police custody – was brought to the city

court on Wednesday. The arrested accused claimed that the planning of the attack took place at accomplice Bashir Leghari’s house. The June 26 attack on Justice Baqar killed nine people and injured many more. Justice Baqar survived the blast and only sustained a few injuries. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) – in

reports submitted to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif – said it had detained the suspected “death squad” chief of the outlawed militant outfit LJ. Premier Nawaz was told that significant information was gleaned from Billah and that he told investigators that his group was planning more sectarian attacks in the country.

Sindh Minister for Prison, Enquires and Anticorruption, Mines and Minerals Manzoor Hussain Wassan has taken serious notice of the incident which took place at Dadu some days back. That incident occurred during investigation and the subsequent raid conducted by a team of anti-corruption department Jamshoro. Resultantly, the brother of a contractor died allegedly due to fear of getting arrested. The provincial minster also directed Enquiries and Anticorruption chairman to submit factual findings within two days. Wassan also sought a detailed report regarding cases registered against accounts officers at Dadu in charges of misappropriation of government exchequer. The minister also strictly instructed the officers concerned to avoid calling officers as well as other officials individually at their offices to pressurise them, which was also an illegal and unlawful act, he warned. The minister was of the view that anti-corruption officers should change their mindset and they should work hard to raise the morale of the department by taking sincere efforts and proper investigation, which was their basic duty.

three killed in city during past 24 hours KARACHI aPP

Three persons were killed in different incidents in the metropolis during the past 24 hours. A Sindh Police statement said here on Wednesday that one person was killed owing to some personal dispute while two others lost their lives due to “unknown reasons”. He further pointed out that 15 persons sustained injuries in different incidents of violence in the city during the past 24 hours.

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 1:59 AM Page 6

KARACHI Thursday, 25 July, 2013

fIne art PakIstan gallery launches Its offIcIal websIte KARACHI aPP

Asma Ahmed, the curator of Fine Art Pakistan gallery on Wednesday announced launching of the gallery’s official website www.fineartpakistan.com. Art lovers were invited to visit the website and if interested they could also make online purchase of different paintings. “E-commerce tools can be further used in this unique and first of its type online website,” said the gallery curator. Asma said the facility of credit card and cash-on delivery could be procured through this website and that a special discount coupon would be issued to those who would register themselves on the website. She said Fine Art Pakistan gallery had been a pioneer in preserving the country’s art culture and had played a vital role to bring forward the zeal of artists from all over the country.

federal govt close to announcing ‘targeted’ action in metropolis KARACHI NNI

HYDERABAD: A young worker spreading vermicelli at his workplace to dry them up for consumption. INP

minister calls for reviewing Qasim port land allotment policy KARACHI

aPP

EDERAL Minister for Ports and Shipping Senator Kamran Michael has asked Port Qasim Authority (PQA) officials to provide incentives to the investors and port users by revisiting the land allotment policy. He also directed that development projects at the port including dualisation of PQA road from T-junction should be completed within the shortest possible time and the port should be equipped with the latest gadgets/facilities to make it services efficient and cost competitive in the region, which would in turn promote industrialisation the area. The minister issued these directives during his visit to Port Qasim, said a press

released here on Wednesday. The ports minister appreciated the efforts of PQA towards the growth and development of the national economy and directed the PQA Management to extend all sorts of assistance to port users and industrialists by making the rules friendly for the private sector to investment in the port. He also directed the PQA management for early recovery of outstanding dues from the defaulters and ordered that chronic defaulters would be dealt with strictly to ensure timely recoveries. He desired that ship-breaking industry may be encouraged at the PQA land to boost the economy and to create new job opportunities. Regarding the issue of tug boats, the minister stressed that the PQA should preferably have its own tug to reduce the

cost rather than hiring tugs. Michael also cruised around the port in a boat and noted the port facilities and terminals. He also visited the Eastern Industrial Zone of Port Qasim and directed for early completion of all on-going development projects. He assured the PQA management that the government would provide assistance and help for infrastructure development work and other PQA projects as well. Furthermore, the minister reiterated the vision of the government and emphasised that there was a need to develop political will to revive the economy, address energy shortfall, create new jobs, turn the wheel of construction industry and create public facilities for recreation. In this regard, he added, that the PQA’s future development project once implemented would alone be contributing

substantially in achieving government objectives. He assured that his government would ensure good governance and integrated efforts for development of the country and for the prosperity of the nation per Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz mission. Later, the minister was given a warm send off by the PQA officials. Earlier, on his arrival at the port, the federal minister was accorded a warm welcome from the PQA management and workers. PQA Chairman Agha Jan Akhtar gave a detailed briefing to him by highlighting the role that Port Qasim could play in the economic revival of the country. The chairman apprised the minister about the completed infrastructure development works in PQA industrial zones, and development of proposed LNg terminals.

The federal government has finally decided to take targeted action against extortionists and target killers in the metropolis. The decision was taken following Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan’s visit to Karachi. During the visit, Nisar was briefed about the security situation, while criminal groups involved in target killings were also identified. Meanwhile, the security agencies also recommended conducting targeted operation in Karachi to restore peace in the city. Keeping in view the recommendations, the government had decided to take indiscriminate action against target killers on the basis of intelligence sharing. However, a final decision would be taken after taking all stakeholders, including political parties and the cabinet onboard.

Pcg seize huge quantity of heroin KARACHI aPP

Pakistan Coast guards (PCg) seized a large quantity of fine quality heroin from general area Badoke near Pasni (Balochistan). A statement issued here on Wednesday said that the PCg officials received information from intelligence sources about the smuggling of narcotics via the Coastal Highway. It said that different vehicles were stopped for checking purpose at Badoke (Pasni). During checking of a passenger bus, PCg officials recovered a large quantity of heroin worth millions of rupees from the passenger luggage. The bus along with the driver, conductor and two passengers were taken into custody. After detailed checking and scanning, other passengers of the bus were released. Security officials informed that the bus was going from Turbat to Karachi.

EID BAZAAR: A perfect prelude to festivities KARACHI PRess Release

With Eid just around the corner, it is time for fun and festivities where one can dress up and look their best, strengthen the ties of kinship and rejoice in the activities associated with this festival. The perfect prelude to this grand festival is holding of a grand Eid Bazaar. Organised by Production 021 and S&S Events, it would be a one-stop solution to all shopping needs of customers prior to the Eid and the wedding season. The shopping gala not only promised to make their customers look their best, but would also infuse new life into the humble abodes of the customers. Featuring the crème de la

crème of apparel designers, fashion accessories, jewellery, home decor, gifting solutions, wedding decor/specialists, edibles and much more, the bazaar would have something for everyone. The listed exhibitors would include Mifrah, Sabs The Salon, Nimra K, Sumera Baghdadi, Dossani Plus Studio, SNL by Sofia Naveed Lari, Fashion Diva ChikanKari Studio, Madiha Couture, Hana Faisal, Couture by Ali Naqi (Multi Brand Lounge: Kashkol by Saba Pirani, Javeria Zeeshan, Amna Jauhar and Kanza Malik, Nudrat Nafasat, Zarisham, Kanwal’s Home Textile, Farheen Couture, Sterling Stone, Irum & Komal, Artisan Jewellery, Pehrayo by Ayesha & Rida, Wahaj M Khan, SY, Zahabiya, Wardrobe by

Lahrayeb, Nakkh, Silver Lining by Minhal Aly, Desi Beads by Hiba, Kaagazi - Handmade paper manufacturer, The Citizen Foundation, The Kidney Centre, Tehrek-e-Falah Association, and Block Art by Madiha Fawad. To make this event more special, only the best products have been selected for display and venue had also been decorated such that it exuded its own individual character, showing a mix of wedding and Eid festivities. Special arrangements have been made to facilitate the customers in every possible. People wishing to take a breather after a rigorous shopping spell could have a feast at the food court outside the exhibition hall, before gearing up to hit the stalls once again.

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 1:59 AM Page 7

NEWS

07 N

Thursday, 25 July, 2013

egypt’s army chief seeks mandate to fight violence CAIRO

aGeNCIes

gYPT’S military chief on Wednesday called on his countrymen to hold mass demonstrations to voice their support for the army and police to deal with potential “violence and terrorism,” a move that signals a stepped up campaign against supporters of the ousted Islamist president. gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, addressing a graduation ceremony for a class of military cadets, urged Egyptians to take to the streets Friday, saying a massive turnout would give him a “mandate” and an “order” to do what is “necessary” to stop bloodshed. Since the military removed Morsi three weeks ago, the ousted president’s Islamist supporters have taken to the streets vowing to continue protests until he is restored. Clashes have erupted multiple times between the Islamists and Morsi opponents or security forces. Each side accuses the other of starting violence. Dozens have been killed, mostly

from the pro-Morsi side. Throughout, the military and its allied media have depicted the protesters as a dangerous armed movement. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and its allies say their protests are peaceful and have decried what they call

military “massacres” against them. At the same time, Islamic militants have stepped up attacks on security forces in Sinai Peninsula since Morsi’s fall, killing nearly 20 soldiers and policemen and raising fears of a wave of militant violence. On

Wednesday, suspected militants killed a soldier and wounded another in two separate attacks in Sinai. In the early hours Wednesday, a bomb went off outside the main police headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, wounding 19 people. Presidential spokesman Ahmad Al-Musalamani called the attack an act of terrorism. In his speech in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria, el-Sissi called for rallies Friday to be as large as those on June 30, when millions took to the streets to demand Morsi’s ouster, and July 3, when millions again celebrated his ouster. He promised police and troops would guard the rallies. The call for demonstrations is likely to be matched by similar calls by Morsi’s supporters, raising the specter of violence. “On Friday, every honorable and honest Egyptian must come out. Come out and remind the whole world that you have a will and resolve of your own,” el-Sissi said. “Please, shoulder your responsibility with me, your army and the police and show your size and steadfastness in the face of what is going on.”

deadly school meal head arrested In IndIa PATNA aGeNCIes

The head of an Indian primary school where 23 children died after a meal made with contaminated oil has been arrested, nine days after she went into hiding. Meena Kumari fled as soon as the children began falling ill after eating the lunch cooked at the school in Bihar state. Twenty-three children between the ages of five and 12 died and many others fell ill. Forensic tests revealed that the food contained toxic levels of a deadly pesticide. A police team investigating the deaths arrested Kumari and were questioning her to establish how the pesticide got mixed with the food. Bihar’s education minister, PK Sahi, has said the head bought the ingredients for the meal from a shop owned by her husband, who has also fled. The school’s cooks have told authorities that the head controlled the food for the governmentprovided free daily lunch. One of the cooks said that the cooking oil appeared different than usual, but that the head told her to use it anyway. India’s midday meal plan is one of the world’s biggest school nutrition programs. State governments have the freedom to decide on menus and timings of the meals, depending on local conditions and availability of food rations. It was first introduced in the 1960s in southern India, where it was seen as an incentive for poor parents to send their children to school. Since then, the programme has been replicated across the country, covering some 120 million schoolchildren. It is part of an effort to address concerns about malnutrition, which the government says nearly half of all Indian children suffer from.

SOfIA: Protesters clash with Bulgarian riot police during an anti-government protest in front of the parliament building.

edward snowden set to leave moscow aIrPort

MOSCOW aGeNCIes

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was set Wednesday to leave the Moscow airport transit zone where he has been holed up for the last month after being provided with a document allowing him to cross the Russian border, reports said. The state RIA Novosti news agency said the document confirms that his application for asylum in Russia is being considered but allows him to cross the Russian border so long as border guards do not object, it said. The news agency added that the document was initially given to the lawyer helping him, Anatoly Kucherena, who was now at Sheremetyevo airport to meet Snowden. The Interfax news agency said Snowden could leave the airport in the “next hours”. “The American is currently getting ready to leave. He is being provided with new clothes. The document will be given to him by Kucherena,” Interfax said. It said Snowden was still however in the airport transit zone and had not yet crossed the Russian border. RIA Novosti cited a source within the Russian border guards service as saying he would be allowed to leave the airport as soon as he presents the document. The migration service declined to comment and there was no official confirmation that he was preparing to cross the Russian border. Snowden earlier this month applied for asylum, a process that could take up to three months. Kucherena has said he may even apply for Russian citizenship and is interested in looking for work in Russia.

bulgarian mPs told to stay away from work until protests subside WARSAW aGeNCIes

Mihail Mikov, the speaker, said MPs should stay away until calm returned to the streets following violence outside the parliament that erupted when demonstrators prevented a bus carrying three government ministers and number of MPs from leaving. The politicians and officials were trapped inside for more than eight hours before police broke up the blockade outside. Around 20 people were injured in scuffles.

“Order must be guaranteed,” said Mikov. “Lawmakers cannot be turned into targets, their life and health cannot be put in danger.” With Bulgaria racked by political instability, the capital Sofia has seen 40 consecutive days of demonstrations against the country’s coalition government, which only took office in May. Protesters have accused the government of corruption and failing to tackle poverty. Despite mounting pressure the Socialist-dominated government remains defiant. Plamen Oresharski, the prime minister, rejected calls to resign,

saying that it was unfair for his government to be tarred as corrupt when it had only been in office for such a short time. Sergey Stanishev, leader of the Socialist Party, suggested the violence was orchestrated by the former governing party gerb, which had boycotted the new parliament until Tuesday. “Last night we saw acts of violence, stone throwing, the breaking up paving stones and the taking of more than 100 people inside the parliament as hostage,” he said. “At the same time gerb returned to work in the parliament while all this happened. Apparently someone really wants them back in power.”

most passengers rescued after asylum seekers boat sinks oﬀ indonesia JAKARTA aGeNCIes

Three people died but another 157 suspected asylum seekers were rescued after their boat sank off the southern coast of Indonesia, officials said on Wednesday after earlier reports that as many as 60 may have perished. The latest case of a boat sinking while attempting the perilous journey came five days after Australia slammed the door on would-be refugees with a deal to send all boat arrivals to Papua New guinea for assessment and eventual settlement. The debate over refugees and people smuggling has long been a hot political

issue in Australia and has intensified with an election looming in a few weeks. Earlier on Wednesday, News Ltd and other Australian media reported that the boat was carrying as many as 170 people and that up to 60 were feared dead or missing. Indonesian emergency authorities however said later that 160 people were on board and that three had died, two women and a 12-year-old boy from Sri Lanka. “(The survivors) have been taken to a temporary immigration holding facility ... They seem fine,” Rochmali, the head of the search and rescue office for West Java, told Reuters. There were also conflicting reports

about the nationalities of those on board. They were described variously as coming from Iran, Iraq and Bangladesh, as well as Sri Lanka. The boat capsized late on Tuesday after hitting a reef off the coast of Sukapura, about 270 km (170 miles) south of the capital Jakarta, said Rochmali, who like many Indonesians uses one name. Since 2001, about 1,000 people have died while trying to reach Australia’s Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island in unseaworthy boats. More than 15,000 asylum seekers have arrived by boat in Australian territory this year. On Friday, Canberra announced tough new measures to stem a sharp increase in the number of refugee boats

heading for Australia from Indonesia. The new plans have been condemned by human rights groups, with Amnesty International accusing it of shirking its moral obligations to help the world’s most vulnerable people. Shortly after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visited Indonesia this month, Jakarta said it would stop giving Iranians visas on arrival, making it harder for them to use the Southeast Asian country as a route to seek refuge in Australia. Australia last year reopened immigration detention centers on Manus Island in Papua New guinea, and on the remote South Pacific island nation of Nauru, in order to deter boat arrivals. A former guard at Manus Island told

Australian television on Tuesday of the poor conditions on Manus and said detainees were sexually abused and tortured by other inmates with no intervention by staff. Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke said he would travel to Manus to inspect conditions, but said Australia remained committed to expanding the Manus detention center and to sending all boat arrivals to Papua New guinea. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) earlier this month found major shortcomings with the Manus center, with cramped living quarters and asylum seekers reporting issues with the heat, privacy, hygiene and access to medical services.

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 1:59 AM Page 8

08 N

NEWS Thursday 25 July, 2013

Balochistan CM vows to drag province out of challenges DR MALIK SAYS HE IS IN CONTACT WITH FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO SEEK A RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF MISSING PERSONS QUETTA NNI

ALOCHISTAN Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik has vowed to drag the province out of severe challenges with the cooperation of all political parties in the province. Malik told the Voice of America in an exclusive interview that although his ruling National Party did not represent all the Baloch groups, he was calling on Baloch insurgents

to join him in a mission to bring peace to the province. Malik is the first civilian administrator from the province’s educated middleclass who is neither a tribal chieftain nor a member of the former ruling families. “They should come to the table talk. The basic subject should be the people of Balochistan, and if they (insurgents) agree we can develop the province and make the supremacy of the people and empower them. This is the 21st century and we can succeed only through democracy,” he pledged. Malik faces daunting challenges. In recent months, sectarian violence has escalated as suspected Sunni Muslim extremists attacked minority Hazara Shias in and around Quetta and killed hundreds of innocent people. The Baloch politicians accuse state security agencies and paramilitary forces of illegally detaining and killing activists demanding autonomy. Hundreds of bodies of the Baloch activists and leaders

bearing gunshot wounds have been found across the province in recent years. Authorities deny they are responsible for this brutality. The chief minister said he was in contact with the federal government to seek a resolution to the problem of “missing people.” He also has plans to gain oversight of the controversial federal paramilitary troops known as Frontier Corps or FC. “If you want to solve problems of Balochistan, the federal government and provincial government should be on the same page. The federal government should bind the FC that they should work under the provincial government,” Malik told the Voice of America. Although Prime Minister Sharif has vowed to improve the situation in Balochistan, many analysts are skeptical whether or not he (PM) will be able to convince the military to allow the civilian leadership greater power over policies for the province. Some Baloch sepa-

ratists are also not likely to support a peace agenda. While security forces are blamed for many of the abuses in the region, some separatist groups are also accused of kidnapping and killing moderate nationalists. Chief Minister Malik himself survived at least one assassination attempt while campaigning for the May elections. Balochistan’s patchwork of 18 major tribes has long made it difficult to govern the province. Each tribe is headed by a Sardar or chieftain who commands his own armed militia.

PAK ANTHEM REVERBERATES IN KASHMIR VARSITY SRINAGAR CAMPUS ISLAMABAD aPP

Pakistan's national anthem reverberated in Kashmir University (KU) Srinagar campus in the Indian occupied valley as the students staged a protest rally on Wednesday against the killing of unarmed civilians by the Indian Border Security Force personnel at gool in Ramban last week. Dozens of students, scholars and general staff members rallied in the KU campus, shouting anti-India, pro- freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans. The procession stopped outside the Allama Iqbal Library, located at the center of the cam-

CHINIOT: A team of disaster management department checks water level in River Chenab on Wednesday. INP

HISTORY MATTERS! WHY THE STUDY OF PAKISTAN’S HISTORY IS IN CRISIS - A CONVERSATION WITH DR MUBARAK ALI LAHORE MeHeR alI

In Pakistan’s current whirlwind state of existence - in the midst of an energy crisis, economic uncertainty and the steady breakdown of law and order - the new government is naturally talking a lot about hopeful claims for the future. But looking forward, in any situation, naturally compels us to also take a look back. And when we look into Pakistan’s past, opening up whatever books or articles or distant memories we might have, what do we find? Historical writing in Pakistan is, in itself, a whole other set of questions and contradictions that we, as a nation hurtling forward into a very unknown tomorrow, can no longer ignore. I had the privilege of sitting down with Dr Mubarak Ali, the eminent historian and scholar, to discuss some of these very questions recently. Dr Ali has published over 25 books over the course of a long and prolific career, and is also the editor of the quarterly journal of history, Tarikh. He received his MA in History from Sindh University, Jamshoro, in 1963. “We all like to look back and say that in the beginning, things were so much better. But if I really think about it, when I joined the history department at Jamoshoro - although there were some good professors - I can’t say I really

learned anything from them.” The department at his university, Ali said, and indeed at all similar institutions in Pakistan at the time, had a very simplistic curriculum that had hardly changed from the colonial period. Entirely dynastic and political, it did not touch on social or cultural histories and didn’t encourage students to think critically or engage in new research. Although Ali topped his class, he said that it was practically a waste of time - when he arrived in England to do his Ph.D, he remembered, “I didn’t even know how to prepare a bibliography.” Half a century has passed since those days, but although universities have grown and developed throughout the country, history departments remain shockingly behind. Out of about 130

or so universities in Pakistan, hardly 20 have a history department at all. For those who persevere on, however, and try to do any original research on Pakistan or, more generally, South Asian history, there is a whole other set of problems awaiting them. Dr Ali, who specialized in Medieval India (the Mughal period), remembered the difficulties of trying to work in archives here. “The people who work in and run these places are so uncooperative,” he said. “There are nearly 80 staff members at the Punjab Public Library, but if you ask them for a book that is listed in the catalog, they’ll often say it isn’t available.” The raw material is here, he said - “no question about it.” getting your hands on it, however, is another matter. I remember running into similar difficulties myself a year ago, while working on a historical research project in Karachi. Archives, where they exist, are not properly maintained or organized, and I imagine innumerable, priceless records - pieces of our history we won’t find anywhere else - lost in neglected file cabinets or under dusty shelves where no one is allowed to go. Even when I was granted access to the material I needed, requests to see old documents - newspaper and magazine articles, meeting minutes, and so on - were often met with genuine puzzlement. “Why do you want to see these old papers?” people would say. What they were really asking, however, rang strong and clear through their words: ‘Who cares, anyway?’ It was this question, present under the surface no matter where I went, that disturbed me much more than dilapidated archives and stubborn librarians. The problem of history

pus, with the protesters loudly singing the Pakistani national anthem. According to media reports, the protest continued for about half an hour before the protesters dispersed peacefully. It was the first protest at the KU campus against the Ramban bloodbath in which the Indian BSF personnel committed desecration of the Quran and subsequently fired at the people protesting against it. The protest call was given by the KU Students Union. The students carried with them different banners and black flags seeking freedom from India. The protesters accompanied urged the international community to play its role to end the Indian occupation of Kashmir.

writing in Pakistan is much deeper than institutional obstacles, its a problem of an entire mindset, a way of looking at our past and our own national identity that leaves no room for even the slightest bit of questioning, let alone improvement. It is a problem, as Dr Ali put it, of ideology. Every nation, arguably, has its own national narrative that serves to legitimize the state and its interests. But in Pakistan, this ideology has become bent on deeply problematic notions of Muslim separatism and India-antagonism to justify the existence of the state. Moreover, it has been so systematically ingrained into the national consciousness that it has become almost impossible to criticize it or even point out one of its many factual distortions and flaws. The most obvious and also perhaps the most important example of this is the presentation of Pakistan’s history in school textbooks. No secondary school textbook will mention the Mughal Emperor Akbar, for example, because, as Dr Ali put it, “he represents a secular, liberal Muslim ruler.” The 1971 war and creation of Bangladesh, furthermore, often gets only two lines in the whole text. These books are often a child’s only source of historical knowledge, and instead of aiming to bring about a measure of true and un-biased understanding they have become a means of imparting a very particular kind of national identity. Many people have commented on this identity and the ideology behind it, and discussed the problems it both contains and creates. What concerns me, however - as a student of history in particular- is the way it has debilitated the enterprise of genuine, original research and writing. Anything that goes against the state-approved version of things is seen as dangerous, and the opposition doesn’t just come from the state. “Everywhere in society, the majority of people won’t appreciate it, they are influ-

enced by the media and textbooks and the whole environment. They are only familiar with the history or the knowledge which is prevalent, and they resist anything that goes against that,” said Ali. Even the work being done on Pakistan by scholars abroad, commented Ali, is hindered by political agendas. Now Pakistan is in international focus,” he said, “And many are writing with a political purpose. Everything you read, you have to add Islam - that’s often the only way to get funding. There isn’t serious research work.” When asked what serious research work might entail, Ali emphasized the dearth of social and cultural histories of the country, saying that so far, all the work has been concentrated on political history. “Historians should also try to study history from the local point of view,” he said. “And the field of oral histories is vacant. You could interview villagers in a particular area about their lives - their diet, customs, hobbies, etc. You could write an excellent social history of village life - it would be a very significant contribution. But people aren’t interested in taking these topics for research,” he said. So I ask myself again: who cares, anyway? Who cares about the organization of old articles in an archive when bombs are going off and there’s no electricity for hours every day? But the truth is that until we start caring - until we create an educational system and a society that questions and criticizes and investigates - we won’t get very far in any other matter, either. If we hope to fix the problems of the past, we need to first understand that past. We need a variety of perspectives, not only one, state sanctioned viewpoint, and the only way this can happen in Pakistan is if learning and research from second-grade textbooks to research in universities - is undertaken with the attention it deserves.

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:00 AM Page 9

09 N

NEWS Thursday 25 July, 2013

sc adjourns tauqir sadiq’s hearing for 10 days

CHAMAN: Security personnel patrol the Pak-Afghan border on Wednesday as security has been beefed up in the area following a series of bombings along the border. INP

ISLAMABAD oNlINe

bugti grandsons leave for home after 8 years QUETTA sTaff RePoRT

The grandsons of late Akbar Bugti left for their hometown in Balochistan as the security forces vacated the Bugti fort on Wednesday. The claim was made by Akbar’s grandsons gohram Bugti and Shahzain Bugti while speaking to a private TV channel at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. The Bugti family will be visiting their family fort after eight years. “We are very happy today as we are going home,” they said. A group of internally displaced persons belonging to the Bugti tribe were also going to the district along with the Bugti grandsons after the government allowed them to visit their homes. gohram is leading the group which will reach Dera Bugti on Friday. Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch was also expected to join the group. The federal and provincial governments have assured the displaced tribesmen of their support. After the government’s operation in Balochistan in 2006-2007, an estimated 170,000 tribesmen migrated from Dera Bugti and its adjoining districts. They were later kept from resettling in their homes. According to gohram, over 200,000 have been rendered homeless since 2005.

kP govt PlannIng dctI, sPecIal force for counterIng terrorIsm PESHAWAR

sHaMIM sHaHID

N a bid to maintain law and order and combat the growing trends of violence, terrorism and militancy, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police are working on setting up a Directorate of Counter Terrorism and Intelligence (DCTI) as well as a special force for carrying out prompt action wherever needed, be it the settled areas or the Tribal Areas. Talking to Pakistan Today, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector general of Police Ihsan ghani said intelligence forces played a key role in combating criminal and terrorist elements. “But unfortunately in the last several years, intelligence gathering bodies have been neglected, thus causing hardships in combating crime,” ghani said. He recalled that the British rulers, while introducing the policing system, had also set up intelligence wings at the police station level, which was

also part of the district security branch. ghani said against the 2,000 police officials, the number of intelligence agencies’ personnel was very limited. “On such grounds, Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak agreed to strengthen the intelligence force, which will help the government in combating not only militancy and terrorism but also counter day-to-day crime.” To a question, the IgP said the new intelligence body, DCTI, was being established after restructuring the existing bodies such as the special branch and Directorate of Counter Terrorism. “The district security branch will be merged in the new body while some of the special branch police functions and responsibilities could also be transferred to it.” This new DCTI will be directly answerable to the IgP. Similarly, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police IgP said they were focusing on revival of the exist-

ing resources within different wings of the police force. “In this respect, efforts are underway for revival of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). This process will be soon completed,” he said, adding that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police were aware of their responsibilities at this crucial stage. Referring to the problems on the boundaries between settled districts of the province and the Tribal Areas, ghani said “basically it was the responsibility of the Frontier Constabulary but unfortunately over the years, its contingents have been assigned other tasks such as guarding embassies, government complexes and offices throughout the country”, adding, however that now efforts were being made for the return of the FC contingents, which might be helpful in bringing the border regions under control. He said a special force was also being set up for taking prompt and timely action wherever needed.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan adjourned the hearing of Tauqir Sadiq’s case for 10 days on Wednesday due to non-cooperation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). NAB prosecutor KK Agha informed a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that the Foreign Office (FO) had to hire a lawyer for Rs 13,44,600 to bring the Oil and gas Regulatory Authority (OgRA) former chairman Sadiq back to Pakistan. In addition, an amount of Rs 38,03,630 was spent on six NAB officials assissting in the case, including Director Irfan Baig, Deputy Director Waqas Ahmad, Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Rana Shahid, Muhammad Mazhar Hanif, Shumail Aziz and Director Haris Nawaz. What action would be taken against Sadiq for his disappearance from the NAB office and who shall be made accountable for wasting his arrest warrants, Agha asked the court. In reply to a question by the CJ regarding the appointment to the post of NAB chairman, Agha said a meeting was held in this regard but nothing has been revealed about the decision. The CJ stressed Agha to cooperate with the would-be NAB chairman and demanded a progress report. The case was adjourned for 10 days.

ecP notifies two senators elected from balochistan ISLAMABAD oNlINe

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued official notification to two representatives of the Senate elected from two general seats in Balochistan. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasar and Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party’s Abdul Rauf Lala were elected as senators by securing 24 and 22 votes respectively in the July 18 by polls. 62 members of the Balochistan Assembly had cast their votes for the two Senate seats that were vacated when Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani’s resigned and Muhammad Khan Shirani became a member of the National Assembly.

BUSINESSMAN SETS UP FIRST SECT-FREE MOSQUE IN ISLAMABAD MONITORING DESK A businessman has set up what he calls the first sect-free mosque in Islamabad — to enable worshippers to perform prayers under the same roof without discriminating along sectarian lines. Zahid Iqbal reportedly conceived the idea in 2010 but it took him a long time to realise his dream after he bought a plot for the project at the foot of the Marglla Hills near Islamabad. At first, authorities refused to register it as a sect-free mosque as under Capital Development Authority rules, every mosque has to declare its sect following before being granted permission to build the mosque. To bypass the rules, he regis-

tered a trust and then sub-registered the mosque under the trust’s banner: The Al Kitaab Foundation Trust. With the support of other businessmen and overseas Pakistanis, the 2-kanal compound has been built at a cost of Rs30 million. According to a newspaper report, Iqbal has already found an Imam for the mosque — Qari Jehangir, who is currently doing his Master’s degree at the Islamic University. The coordinator of the mosque is doing his MBA from Preston University. Both men are in their twenties and are from different sects — and the mosque administration says it will have no problem if a Shia Imam leads prayers. The businessman told the

newspaper that branding Islam along sectarian lines has done much to damage the religion. “By branding ourselves on sectarian lines we have even put nonbelievers to shame through violence and unruly conduct,” the businessman said. He believes that there are elements who turn religion into a business for personal gains. Calling his prayer hall a ‘model mosque’, said: “This is god’s house. Even non-Muslims are allowed to come and seek the light.” In addition, the mosque, located in Islamabad’s E-11/2 sector, not only invites all sects, but also has a separate section for women and a library filled with religious books from all sects.

fILE PHOTO

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:00 AM Page 10

The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation. –Vladimir Lenin

COMMENT Thursday, 25 July, 2013

reflective of a ‘strong centre’ mindset

domestic workers, unite! Campaign to register domestic workers reveals the State’s elitist foundations

Faux pas in CCI

‘strong centre’ mindset incompatible with federal polity revealed itself in the way the energy policy was prepared and the CCI meeting was convened. While Mian Shahbaz Sharif was included in the team which gave final touches to the document, no need was felt to associate representatives of the other three provinces. The document was then put before the CCI for signatures. The idea was that the document being a piece of unquestionable wisdom, every sensible person was bound to agree with it. This did not come to pass, and the fault lies with the ‘strong centre’ outlook. It was disregarded that every province has peculiarities of its own and that in a federation one size seldom fits all. The least the government should have done was to circulate a copy of the energy policy document to enable the provincial ministers to read it, seek the advice of experts and party leaders and come prepared to the CCI meeting. Among other things this would have saved the precious time of the participants, particularly the prime minister who has to look after the foreign affairs and defence ministries besides performing his responsibilities as the country’s chief executive. As this was not done, when the participants arrived for the meeting they had read only the sketchy media reports, as most dispatches had ignored some of the key recommendations. A day earlier three provinces had opposed the idea of deducting the cost of electricity consumed in their domain at source from the National Finance Commission (NFC) award allocations. Punjab was in the forefront of those who dissented with the Supreme Court recommendation. Punjab’s acting advocate general has argued that the province was receiving Rs500 billion through the NFC and if Rs420bn was deducted in advance, little would be left for other expenses. At the CCI meeting again majority of the provinces did not agree to take responsibility for 70 per cent recovery of electricity bills or agree to the deduction of the defaulted money from their share in the federal divisible pool. Why should they share the burden of WAPDA’s mismanagement which was under the federal control? The KP government felt that at a time when the provincial police was fully engaged in fighting the militants, it was not feasible for it to apprehend and prosecute the gas and power defaulters. The Sindh CM argued that the slab of subsidy for 200 units per month needed to be raised to 300. There were reportedly six items on the CCI agenda out of which only two could be taken up in the meeting which was spread over two hours. Hopefully the participants would come better prepared in the next meeting. What is needed on the part of the federal government is flexibility that alone can ensure consensus.

Politicians in the court PTI, MQM show immaturity by going to courts

LD habits die hard – even in the so-called ‘new’ political parties. Such is what the decision by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to take each other to the courts shows. In what observers have called a continuity of the politics of the 1990s, the two political parties have taken the dispute that started with allegations of rigging in NA-250 in the general Elections 2013 and involved the murder of a senior PTI member the night before the re-polling. The dispute began when PTI workers took to the Teen Talwar in Karachi against alleged rigging by the MQM. The response of the MQM head Altaf Hussain in a telephone speech from his London home was to say, “My workers can make the Teen Talwar (Three Swords) come live.” The PTI was able to mobilize its tech-savvy support base and thousands of phone calls were made to the British Metropolitan Police reporting the “inflammatory speeches” by the “British citizen.” Forced to play its hand, the Met raided the MQM chief’s home in London over the murder of senior MQM leader Imran Farooq and the BBC followed up with a special report on the activities and allegations of Altaf Hussain. With the MQM already cornered, the PTI chairman Imran Khan speaking from London, put the murder of PTI leader Zahra Shahid squarely on the allegedly “provocative speeches” by Altaf Hussain. The MQM responded first by questioning the credentials of Khan on terror, calling him a “Taliban sympathizer” and then choosing to file Rs5 billion defamation suit against the PTI chief in the Sindh High Court. The MQM said it had earlier sent a legal notice to Khan and was filing a case since he did not respond. Imran Khan had tweeted on May 18, the day of Shahid’s murder, that “I hold Altaf Hussain directly responsible for the murder as he had openly threatened PTI workers and leaders through public broadcasts.” The response of the PTI has been tit-for-tat as it responded by saying it shall file a Rs10 billion libel against the MQM, apparently upping the stakes in what Khan could call a “legal cricket match.” Thankfully the suit has yet to be filed and the decision rests with Khan when he eventually returns from London. What defamation has the MQM undertaken shall then be revealed. Nonetheless, it is a sad state of affairs. The two parties have returned to the courts, instead of solving the issue politically. It is part of the process of political parties yield their turf to the judiciary. The case is unnecessary. The focus should be on the investigation of Zahra’s murder. In the meanwhile, both political parties should avoid slandering each other until the investigation comes up with a lead.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230 Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2850505 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

HasHIM bIN RasHID/saRa KazMI “The state is nothing but a committee for managing the affairs of the bourgeoisie” Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto

IVE thousand households in Islamabad registered the criminals they employ at their home in the first week of the Household Servant Registration drive. The Islamabad-specific campaign was ordered by the new Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan on June 20, who appears to have reached the sagely conclusion that “registering domestic servants” would conclusively resolve the “prevailing law and order situation.” The door-to-door campaign involves NADRA officials visiting the homes of Islamabad’s crème de la crème, accompanied by a flier asking them to “Help NADRA secure your home, city and country.” The campaign betrays its classist origins in its labeling of each domestic worker as a “potential criminal” and each household employer as the “benevolent benefactor”. The form and the flyer are both disgusting examples of elite attitudes towards domestic helpers. The form only asks single dimension questions: who are you, who is your domestic worker and where is their original home. The purpose is clear: to allow the police to “round them and their families up” (legally or illegally) whenever a household theft or robbery is reported. “All domestic workers are potential criminals” is the simple message of the form. It does not even pretend to ask questions about their wages, work hours, leaves and benefits, all of which are supposedly guaranteed to every worker under Pakistan’s labour law. Domestic labour conditions in Pakistan make a travesty of labour laws, a fact which neither the form nor the flyer alludes to. As Aravind Adiga writes in his novel “The White Tiger”, in South Asia, we do not have cooks, drivers or sweepers. We have “servants.” The “servant” (which is also shamefully the term of choice for the NADRA campaign) can be tasked with anything under the sun (and moon) given the ambiguous “job description” of catering to every whim of the “begum sahab.” There are no age restrictions or fixed work hours nor are the responsibilities defined. It is all too common to be greeted by a child under the age of 10 at an elite home. Middle class parents will make no qualms about hiring a child to “play with” and care for their children. But that is not all: as you sit in their drawing rooms, the same child will walk in bearing a tray laden with the finest delicacies, only for the guests of course. Incidents of physical and sexual abuse encountered by child and adult domestic workers alike are rampant. Only last month reports surfaced that the former prime minister Yousaf Raza gilani’s niece Hina gilani allegedly hit a 13-year-old boy servant with a glass jug he had accidentally broken. After

the child bled to death, his body was dumped ruthlessly and reportedly buried in a junkyard when it began to rot. Once the case made it to the media, the PML-N chief minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered that a case be registered against the home owners. But this was just a PR measure. The same political party of whom he is chairman has launched a campaign that reverses the equation: it aims to protect the Hina gilanis against the alleged criminality of the “servant class”, rather than even pretending to secure the security and welfare of domestic workers. The PML-N government’s decision to start such a campaign is emblematic of a larger societal tendency to slander and criminalise the working class. Many a “begum sahab” complains of the lazy, immoral and heathen servant who “eats too much,” “talks too much on his mobile phone” and “steals from the fridge.” One family member once suggested that “these servants would murder you if you are not strict with them.” The wealth gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. Interestingly, this has not triggered an analysis which focuses on the rich’s role in impoverishing the poor. In fact, as their cars get bigger, their cell phones smarter, their generators louder than ever, the elite’s paranoia regarding their domestic servants peaks. The disparity between their lifestyles and those of their domestic servants, who are usually confined to a dingy quarter in a corner of the house, seems only to lead in one direction: all servants are potential criminals. The State’s intervention at this point aligns it clearly with one class: it wishes to protect home owners from domestic workers. The non-implementation of any minimum wage regulations, child labour laws and work hours requirements is not a concern worth taking up. In fact, the State has reinforced the paranoia of the elite regarding the “criminal tendencies” of their domestic workers. The fact that the form does not include any questions about the welfare of domestic servants appears to suggest that the State believes that all is hunky dory in terms of their treatment. What is more alarming, however, is that the flyer itself flaunts the picture of a child servant – a thin, dark female washing dishes – in a blatant admission that the State is blind to its own laws banning child labour. The so-called campaign makes no pretense that when it claims to want a safer Islamabad, it is only going to be a safer Islamabad for the house-owning elites. Domestic servants and other members of the working class are the ones that the elites are being protected from. The government press release before the campaign reads: "A large number of people are working as domestic servants in the capital. These servants come from different parts of

the country and pose a potential risk to theft and robbery due to lack of identification. The decision of registering these servants and maids is taken in the wake of prevailing law and order situation in the country." The fact that the interior ministry has held domestic servants responsible for the poor "law and order" situation, and not the Taliban, sectarian extremists or the military-run security agencies (i.e. itself) is indicative of a larger crisis of the legitimacy faced by the State. Having been robbed of its “monopoly over violence” by the Taliban, it is now grabbing at straws to win itself some legitimacy by promising to “protect houseowners from their domestic help.” The campaign's delusional self-importance is represented by its slogan, “Help NADRA protect your home, your city and your country,” in which somehow the mere process of registering domestic servants can help “secure” all of Pakistan. In fact, if anything, if there was some form of domestic worker unity, there should have been protests on the streets of Islamabad and inside each home. Imagine the irony of a servant opening the door to a NADRA officer and carrying the registration form inside to the “begum sahab” asking for his/her details. Complete with a complementary SMS service and 24/7 helpline to verify the “credential of their domestic workers,” the campaign is the sort of change on offer when the middle-classes become the vanguards of all three: political transformation, morality and society. With no laws having been passed to either protect or even register domestic servants, the entire legal basis for the campaign is up in the air. How can the interior minister, on a whim, initiate a discriminatory registration drive? Is such a task not the domain of the local labour department? And should a form and helpline not be available to domestic workers, who are underpaid, overworked and kept in inhuman living environments? Drives such as this one bring into sharp relief the sham that is Pakistan’s democracy, where the elected representatives spearhead campaigns which shamelessly discriminate against and arrogantly ignore the socio-economic injustice suffered by the majority. If every domestic servant is a potential criminal, then is it not high time that these ‘criminals’ came together to struggle for their rights and made their voice heard in the political realm? With the State “criminalizing” them and unwilling to to offer them any protections, the time has come for domestic workers to unite! Sara Kazmi is a theatre-activist and an independent researcher. Hashim bin Rashid is a journalist and independent researcher. He is also the general secretary (Lahore) for the Awami Workers Party.

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:00 AM Page 11

Those who do not move, do not notice their chains. –Rosa Luxemburg

COMMENT

Thursday, 25 July, 2013

Pakistan’s formidable foreign policy challenges Other than China, nothing much to write home about GHaNI JafaR

It's just the beginning The hard slog has only commenced

DR. JaMes J. zoGby

WO events jolted the Israeli/Palestinian arena this past week: Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement that, after a three year hiatus, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will once again meet to begin peace talks, and the European Commission announced guidelines that will ban European assistance to Israeli enterprises, institutions, or individuals operating from the occupied Palestinian territories. There are those who see the two efforts at cross purposes with one another. The Israelis denounced the European stance as "interference", while the US termed the European action "unhelpful". In fact, it is quite helpful and can provide a useful assist to the negotiations. It took Kerry six visits to the Middle East to secure the agreement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to begin direct talks. Details of Kerry's strategy have not yet been made public but there have been some press reports which indicate that the secretary utilized a combination of incentives and a bit of creative ambiguity in his efforts to finesse an agreement. The centerpiece of his approach appears to involve a statement that he will issue detailing the US's "terms of reference" for the negotiations. It will apparently be clear that this is the US position and will allow for the parties to raise objections. Handling the "terms of reference" in this manner will provide the Palestinians the opportunity to agree with US insistence that the negotiations should be based on the 1967 borders with allowances for "land swaps", while the Israelis can claim that they are not bound by these terms. Additionally, the Israelis will latch onto the US's acceptance of the view that the outcome of the negotiations should include Palestinian recognition of

Israel as a Jewish state, while allowing the Palestinians to insist that they have not so agreed. Despite the effort it has taken to get to this point, Kerry notes that now the hard work begins. This is an understatement, since the parties have, as yet, agreed to nothing other than the fact that they will meet. All this reminds me of then Secretary of State James Baker's use of creative ambiguity back in 1991 to get Israelis and Arabs to attend the Madrid Peace Conference. Baker pushed and prodded, and, when needed, he threatened. Because the Israelis would not agree to even sit with the PLO or any "Palestinian" delegation, and because the Arabs, of course, insisted that the Palestinians be present, Baker cooked up a rather creative plan to include the Palestinians in the Jordanian delegation with no flags or signage present. This would allow the Palestinians and other Arabs to insist that there was the Palestinian delegation in attendance, while the Israelis would continue to refer to them as Jordanians. It took two years and 11 rounds of failed negotiations before frustrated Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, on their own and in private, produced the Oslo Accords—which was itself an exercise in creative ambiguity. In the agreement they signed, Israelis and Palestinians fudged or delayed action on most of the critical issues that divided them. They did agree to recognize each other—but even this now appears to have been of limited value with Israelis upping the ante with the demand that they be recognized as a "Jewish State" and most members of the current government in Israel continuing to refuse to acknowledge the right of Palestinians to a state of their own. Much the same problems exist on the Palestinian side. And while the terms of the Accord envisioned a five-year plan of implementation, the document stated that during this period both sides would agree not to take any unilateral steps that would prejudice the outcome of the negotiations. Even here there was no consensus as to what that phrase meant. For Palestinians, it meant that the Israelis would refrain from building any new settlements in the occupied lands since that would clearly prejudice the final outcome. For the Israelis, it meant no such thing. The result was that in the first 10 years of the Oslo process, the number of Israelis living in settlements in the occupied lands doubled to almost 400,000. The problem, therefore, with creative ambiguity is that while it may get you to "go",

it doesn't necessarily get you past "go". Here is where the bluntness of European Commission's decision can be extraordinarily helpful. By reminding the Israelis that their settlement enterprise is illegal and not recognized by the international community they provide important balance to the negotiating effort. Since the occupation of the territories in 1967, the Israelis have disregarded international law and conventions which specifically prohibit the acquisition of property and the settlement of people by the occupying power in lands seized in time of war. The Israelis have refused to acknowledge the applicability of these laws and conventions maintaining that it is their right to populate these lands. Over time, US objections to Israel's settlement policy have been frustrated and then muted by domestic pressures. As a result, the Israelis have ignored US appeals to end settlement construction. It should be noted that despite the US acknowledgment that the negotiations would be based on the 1967 borders allowing for "land swaps" (implicitly giving the Israelis the opportunity to keep many of their settlements), the Israelis reject even that formula. And, as demonstrated by the reaction of US Congress when President Obama articulated the same position two years ago, it is difficult to imagine how the Palestinians could have the confidence to proceed. Hence the importance of the European position. While a letter sent to the EU by some members of Congress criticizes the European position, arguing that it "will only serve as a disincentive for the Palestinian Authority to engage in serious final status negotiations", in fact, the impact of the European action will be the opposite. The Palestinians may now feel that while the Israelis have the US Congress in their corner, they now have someone supporting them, helping to balance the scales. In the days to come we will learn more about the US "terms of reference", the incentive packages that will be offered to advance the process, and the reactions of the deeply fractured Israeli and Palestinian publics to the effort itself. We will also learn the degree to which the US, the Europeans, and the Arabs will actively put their weight behind the effort. There will be difficult days ahead. getting the parties to "go" is just the start, since, as Secretary Kerry has noted, the hard work has just begun. The writer is President, Arab American Institute, Washington DC.

OINg by all accounts, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s tour of China – his first tour after assuming office – went off remarkably well. In the context of our increasing ties with the largest neighbour, it would be well worth keeping in mind that the Chinese, and they themselves acknowledge that, today are more or less obliged to utilize Pakistan’s territory as a trade, energy and commerce corridor to markets in the West Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. There is to begin with this obvious logistical advantage of greatly reduced distance for China as against their western flank. But the geo-strategically more compelling, and not much understood by their outside observers, are the highly troubled waters of the South China Sea due to the massive naval build-up by the United States, India, Japan and South Korea. The territorial disputes over islands that China has with a number of countries in the region, particularly with Japan, have attained alarming proportions militarily. It is these difficulties that China faces today that are hampering the further growth of its trade and commercial relations with Japan and the South East Asian economies. That is exactly where Pakistan comes as the economical and relatively more secure alternative western energy and trade corridor. The sceptics who see the fate of the number of MOUs signed between Pakistan and China during our prime minister’s visit as being no different from what has been the outcome of such bilateral memoranda signed earlier – their non-implementation, that is – do have a point if one were to go on the basis of past record. Nevertheless, given the factors of Pakistan’s being a preferable route for China in the present circumstances, there is every reason to hope that we would see on ground the execution of the primarily infrastructural projects that China has undertaken to complete in Pakistan. So far, so good! Beyond that, the new government, not unlike its predecessor, has shown no sign of its even being aware of the formidable challenges and opportunities in the region that stare Pakistan in the face – what to talk of taking any practical steps or forward movement. The difference that the fast evolving regional matrix has made to the current government is that, as opposed to those in office before them, Nawaz Sharif does not have the luxury of running the foreign policy in an incoherent, whimsical manner. Take our relations with India, for instance. One is anything but for the perpetration of the historically unfriendly ties with India. However, the government would be well advised to take deeply thought out, incremental steps on the basis of reciprocity. But then, where is this thinking to come from? Not out of our given set of rulers for sure. It is pathetic that the ruling party does not have a single person in its ranks elected to the Assembly, or a member of Senate, who has been cut out to be the foreign minister. Champions of democracy as our political leaders are, they remain blissfully oblivious to how things are handled in the mother of Western democracy, the United Kingdom. As a long standing tradition, the leader of the opposition would have a shadow cabinet of his fellow parliamentarians each being responsible for every department of government. Now, lamentable as our current political situation is, the government must put its act together on the foreign policy front. Why don’t they take a leaf out the American book of governance? At any rate it is time for some fresh thinking to be injected in the formulation and execution of Pakistan’s foreign policy. As the US president does, what is preventing the prime minister to broaden his search for foreign minister to beyond politicians and bureaucrats and take in scholars, researchers and academics of the country? One read the news that during his stay in Beijing, the prime minister visited CICAR which happens to be the most effective think tank in China. And, why so? Because it is of the Communist Party of the Peoples Republic of China. One has no means of knowing what transpired at the think tank during the prime minister’s stay there. Nevertheless, here is a brief primer for Mian Sahib on the prestige think tanks have historically enjoyed in China. Since ancient times, whenever the ruler had a hard choice to take, he would gather the learned lot of researchers and scholars at a remote place and they were not allowed to leave till they came up with the most desirable option and the ruler would do accordingly. The tradition has survived to this day and has now been institutionalised in the form of think tanks all over China. All our prime minister needs do is to form a group of researchers, scholars and academics to serve as his advisory board on foreign policy. There is no dearth of such individuals in the country whose merit has been established through their tireless effort through conducting and publishing sound research work in various areas including defence, regional security, and bilateral and global affairs as also international politics. Their published work stands testimony to their high merit. While putting off the treatment of the regional challenges and opportunities to another occasion, one would merely point out a most disturbing omission in Mian Sahib’s initiatives and pronouncements thus far in the realm of foreign policy, and that is Iran. One would have thought that by now (if wishes were horses) he would have visited Tehran. It is too important a friend in our immediate neighbourhood to be ignored. It has in any case been over the past year or so that the distance between the two traditionally friendly Muslim countries has seen narrowing down ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and the subsequent occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union before the end of that year. The writer is a senior journalist, researcher and analyst whose latest book, “Iran and the Bomb: Nuclear Club Busted”, has recently been published. He can be reached at ghanijafar@yahoo.co.uk

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:00 AM Page 12

A ARTS Thursday, 25 July, 2013

get set to play the chennai express game with srk

10 e

VERY kind of pop culture nerd flooded San Diego for Comic-Con International last week. While some simply wanted to show off their Star Wars costumes, many were interested in the panels on popular TV shows and upcoming movies, where trailers were premiered, exclusive footage was screened and iconic actors offered juicy insights into their roles. Here are the 10 biggest revelations to come out of the four-day extravaganza.

1 S

HAH Rukh Khan has once again found an innovative way to promote his soon-torelease Chennai Express, which is through the newest technology possible. He announced the Chennai Express game version for mobile phones on Wednesday. Chennai Express, the game has been created for mobile phones running on Android and Java systems, with one coming out soon for iOS, Apple’s operating system. The game will feature the action, rom-com from the film, with some over-the-top Rohit Shetty-style car action. This is not for the first time that Shah Rukh Khan has taken up this strategy for the publicity of his movies before release. Superhero movie Ra.One was also based on gaming. The game was like a prequel for the film Farhan Akhtar’s Don too had a gaming version. Chennai Express releases on August 9 and stars Deepika Padukone alongside Shah Rukh Khan. CouRTesy INDIaN eXPRess

russell brand turns yoga teacher

CTOR Russell Brand has turned into a yoga teacher and is teaching the art of meditation at a yoga studio in West Hollywood. Along with actress Demi Moore, Brand is one of the few students who is leading classes on tantric meditation after taking a course on the exercise, reports thesun.co.uk. Moore and Brand have both taken master classes in tantric meditation, which qualifies one to lead sessions that can be attended by about 40 people. “The studio that Russell attends has some very advanced classes. He’s now at the stage where he’s so experienced in certain areas that he can lead the exercises,” said a source. NeWs DesK

Batman and Superman will cross paths

IN a surprise announcement that prompted a collective “WTF” from a packed Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center, Man of Steel director Zack Snyder unveiled plans for a Warner Bros. movie featuring Superman and Batman together on screen for the first time. The film stars Henry Cavill as Superman, and might even involve a rivalry between the two superheroes.

Biggest Comic-Con Revelations The Avengers are making a comeback

MARVEL Studios drove conventioneers wild with presentations on Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and guardians of the galaxy, but that wasn’t the end of it. The Avengers director Joss Whedon also unveiled the title of a sequel to the superhero blowout, Avengers: Age of Ultron, according to Movieviral.

Enders Game producers down with same-sex marriage

ENDERS game author Orson Scott Card’s outspoken stance against gay marriage has sparked a boycott of the sci-fi novel’s film adaptation. As Wired reports, producer Roberto Orci addressed the controversy head-on, saying the filmmakers “completely and unequivocally” support the proLgBT stance of their studio, Summit Entertainment.

Peter Dinklage confirms X-Men role

FOX Studios surprised a packed hall by bringing out the star-studded cast of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Among them was Peter Dinklage, a.k.a. game of Thrones’ Tyrion Lannister, who joked that he’s playing Mystique, and then confirmed rumors that he’s playing villain Bolivar Trask, as CNN pointed out.

True Blood returning to Bon Temps

THE sexy, supernatural HBO drama will go back to its roots in small-town Louisiana. Executive producer Brian Buckner announced that he’ll narrow the storylines and place more emphasis on humans and vampires, which must be a bummer for all the show’s witches, werewolves and shapeshifters.

The Walking Dead about to get even crazier

AS if things weren’t bad enough for the characters of the hit zombie series, new showrunner Scott gimple revealed that the fourth season will get “insane very quickly.” Meanwhile, numerous crossbow-wielding Daryl Dixon cosplayers at the convention tried very hard to look as cool as Norman Reedus.

George R.R. Martin knows he has work to do

WHILE making quips about the “Red Wedding,” the author of the novels behind game of Thrones said it’ll be a while before he finishes his sixth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, thus giving the series more material to work with. “The locomotive is coming down the tracks behind me,” he said, “and I’m still laying the tracks.”

Community dabbling in animation

COMMUNITY creator and recently-returned showrunner Dan Harmon didn’t go into specifics about the sitcom’s fifth season – he’s made mistakes in the past due to “over-planning” – but he did say they’ll do an animated episode. Also, he confessed to being a “creepy jerk.”

X-Files stars have a sex tape?

THERE’S no saying whether Fox Mulder and Dana Scully will ever reunite for a third XFiles film, as creator Chris Carter carefully sidestepped the question. But gillian Anderson did jokingly mention a sex scene featuring the two FBI agents, saying, “We shot it.” Keep your fingers crossed that that’s actually true.

Might have the world record for longest lines

AS anyone who stood in the massive line for Hall H can attest, Comic-Con isn’t just about pop culture. More so than ever before, it’s also about camping overnight and sleeping on sidewalks. Anybody who wants to get in to next year’s most popular panels might want to start lining up now. CouRTesy RollING sToNe

Kerry Katona lands Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem welcome daughter Marilyn Monroe role same day as royal baby in new musical k

ERRY Katona is all set to portray iconic actress Marilyn Monroe, in an upcoming stage show ‘Norma Jeane The Musical’. The new show, which is written by Belvedere Pashun, revolves around Monroe’’s life. Pashun said that he needed an actor of huge talent, personality and experience and Katona was at the top of the writer’s list, the BBC reported. The director, who also penned ‘WAg! The Musical’, asserted that the show would change the shape of people’s perceptions of Monroe. The former ‘Atomic Kitten’ star, who recently declared her bankruptcy, said that she was thrilled to have been given this opportunity to play one of the world’s biggest female icons. She insisted that she couldn’t wait to get to work. Katona added that has always aimed for a successful career in drama and this role is a challenge, but she is going to grab it both hands. Katona’s first performance will be at an industry-only audience in central London on 22 September. NeWs DesK

ELL, it was definitely a good day to have a baby on the downlow: Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem welcomed their second child, a baby daughter, in Madrid on Monday, July 22 — the same day that Kate Middleton and Prince William delivered the royal baby, a boy — Hola! reports. No other information from the typically private, Spanish-born couple was immediately available. Cruz, 39, and Bardem, 44, who wed in July 2010, are already parents to son Leo, 2. The couple confirmed they were expecting again in February 2013. The Oscar-winning actress told Spanish TV station TVE! that she is “tremendously happy and excited” to welcome her baby-to-be with hubby Bardem. Shortly after welcoming her first child, Cruz told Vogue how much motherhood had changed her. “From the first second, you feel

so much love,” she explained in the June 2011 issue. “It is a revolutionary experience. That’s the best way I can describe it. It transforms you completely, in a second. Nature is very wise and gives you nine months to prepare, but in that moment, when you see that face, you are transformed forever.” In an April 2012 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Cruz said she was slowing down her career to focus on her family. “Maybe I’ll make one movie a year, maybe two,” she shared, “but it’s not going to be more than that because I have other priorities now.” Cruz was pregnant with her second child at the same time her younger sister, Monica Cruz, was pregnant with her first. Monica, 36, welcomed her first child, a baby girl, via an anonymous sperm donor in May 2013. Hola! reports that Monica, her daughter and other family members were present at the hospital for the birth. CouRTesy us MaGazINe

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:00 AM Page 13

ARTS Thursday, 25 July, 2013

JK ROWLING

EXPLAINS WHY SHE BECAME A MAN HARRY POTTER” author J.K. Rowling, who was recently outed for writing a book for adults under the pseudonym Robert galbraith, apparently is now revealing why she did it. After the Sunday Times broke the news that the galbraith book “The Cuckoo’s Calling” was actually written by Rowling, the detective novel went on to become a bestseller. On the Robert galbraith website, under Frequently Asked Questions, Rowling apparently addresses queries about her alter ego. “I’ve always loved reading detective fiction. Most of the Harry Potter stories are whodunits at heart (‘Order of the Phoenix’ is more of a why-did-he), but I’ve wanted to try the real thing for a long time,” reads one answer. “As for the pseudonym, I was yearning to go back to the beginning of a writing career in this new

bankruptcy killed brit-Indian actor Paul bhattacharjee

genre, to work without hype or expectation and to receive totally unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I only wish it could have gone on a little longer.” Another answer addresses why she choose to write with male persona: “I certainly wanted to take my writing persona as far away as possible from me, so a male pseudonym seemed a good idea. I am proud to say, though, that when I ‘unmasked’ myself to my editor David Shelley who had read and enjoyed ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ without realizing I wrote it, one of the first things he said was ‘I never would have thought a woman wrote that.’ Apparently I had successfully channeled my inner bloke! “ Her pen name, according to the FAQ, was picked deliberately. “I chose Robert because it is one of my favourite men’s names, because Robert F Kennedy is my

hero and because, mercifully, I hadn’t used it for any of the characters in the Potter series or ‘The Casual Vacancy’…galbraith came about for a slightly odd reason. When I was a child, I really wanted to be called ‘Ella galbraith’, and I’ve no idea why.” There had been speculation that the true identity of the author had been leaked to pump up sales. But according to the Associated Press, the original leaker was Judith Callegari, who heard the information from her best friend’s husband, Chris gossage, a partner at the entertainment law firm Russells, which had worked with Rowling. The Times then used some computer sleuthing to confirm the information. On the galbraith site, this answer is given to the question of whether Rowling engineered the affair to spur sales: “If anyone had seen the labyrinthine plans I laid to conceal my identity (or indeed my

expression when I realised that the game was up!) they would realise how little I wanted to be discovered. I hoped to keep the secret as long as possible. …If sales were what mattered to me most, I would have written under my own name from the start, and with the greatest fanfare.” The answer goes on to state “At the point I was ‘outed’, Robert had sold 8500 English language copies across all formats (hardback, eBook, library and audiobook) and received two offers from television production companies. The situation was becoming increasingly complicated, largely because Robert was doing rather better than we had expected him to, but we all still hoped to keep the secret a little longer. Yet Robert’s success during his first three months as a published writer (discounting sales made after I was found out) actually compares favourably with J.K. Rowling’s success over the equivalent period of her career!” This statement was posted on Rowling’s own website: “I hoped to keep this secret a little longer, because being Robert galbraith has been such a liberating experience! It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation and pure pleasure to get feedback from publishers and readers under a different name. The upside of being rumbled is that I can publicly thank my editor David Shelley, who has been a true partner in crime, all those people at Little, Brown who have been working so hard on The Cuckoo’s Calling without realizing that I wrote it, and the writers and reviewers, both in the newspapers and online, who have been so generous to the novel. And to those who have asked for a sequel, Robert fully intends to keep writing the series, although he will probably continue to turn down personal appearances.” The final answer on the galbraith site says that Rowling will continue to write as galbraith and will publish the recently completed sequel next year. CouRTesy WsJ

13 A

homicide trial set for salman khan

Mumbai court announced Wednesday that Indian movie star Salman Khan will face trial next month on a homicide charge for his involvement in a fatal road accident more than 10 years ago. One man was killed and four people were injured when Khan allegedly drove his car into a group of homeless people sleeping on a Mumbai sidewalk in September 2002. The court charged Khan with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, said Abha Singh, a lawyer involved in the case. Khan could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted. The court also charged Khan with negligent driving and causing grievous hurt to the victims, Singh said. Khan, who was present in court, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 19. The court ruled that Khan, 47 years old, would not have to attend every hearing of the case, but would have to appear in court whenever the judge required his presence. The actor was earlier being tried in the case for the lesser offense of causing death by negligence, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail. However, after a magistrate heard the evidence, he invoked the more serious charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the actor in February. Khan, one of Bollywood’s most popular stars, has acted in about 90 Hindilanguage films in his 25-year career. Indian courts are notorious for delays and a trial can take years to complete. aGeNCIes

I’M NOT A PORN STAR: POONAM PANDEY

ID the trauma and shock of being declared ‘bankrupt’, lead British-Indian actor Paul Bhattacharjee to take his life? TOI has a copy (order dated 09 July 2013) from the UK’s insolvency register that declared ‘actor’ ‘gautam Paul Bhattacharjee’ bankrupt providing some clue behind his disappearance and death. His body was found on July 17, from the cliffs in East Sussex, just days after High Court of Justice, London declared him bankrupt. As per the order, Paul would have been discharged from bankruptcy on July 9, 2014, which meant creditors may have no longer pestered him about the debts after a year. However, while income tax and other debts could be written off some other categories of debts would still be binding. An officer from the Insolvency Service confirmed to TOI that HM Revenue and Customs had filed the bankruptcy petition against Paul. An acclaimed actor, Paul seems to have acted well in his real life as well, as apparently none of his friends and colleagues in the theatre had much inkling of his debts. The art world in UK was in a shock on his disappearance and death and at a loss to explain why he took the extreme step. Before filing a bankruptcy petition, the debtor given time to come to an agreement or present a proposal of payment. Paul must have been obviously aware of the imminent bankruptcy petition and what exactly transpired during the last few months will only come out once the inquest is over. The HM Revenue and Customs generally goes for bankruptcy petition if it is owed more than 2,000 pounds. Once a person is declared bankrupt, they can lose possessions of their home and investments and are not able to take credit of more than 500 pounds. It is not clear if there were other creditors who owed money from the actor. Paul has a 24-year-old son from his former wife and was most recently dating theatre personality Emma McKie. CouRTesy MuMbaI MIRRoR

ONTROVERSY queen Poonam Pandey, ready for her Bollywood innings with bold project “ Nasha”, is fed up of being compared to Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone. “I am tired of this comparison. I don’t know why people compare me with Sunny Leone. I’m here to act and you will see me acting in the film. There are intimate scenes in the film, but there is also a love story. I’m not a

porn star. Please don’t compare me with Sunny Leone,” Poonam said. Poonam, who grabbed headlines during the 2011 Cricket World Cup when she offered to go nude before Team India if they won the trophy, is confident that audiences will be satisfied with her performance in “Nasha”. “So far people have only seen my bold pictures, now they will see me acting in ‘Nasha’, and I assure they will be com-

pletely satisfied with my performance in the film,” added the young actress, who keeps her fans abreast with her daily activities through online networking platforms. Directed by Amit Saxena, “Nasha” features debutant Shivam opposite Poonam Pandey. The film is produced by Surender Suneja and Aditya Bhatia under the banner of Eagle Home Entertainment. The film is slated for release July 26. CouRTesy IaNs

The most sought after celebrity babies across the world T

HE most awaited blue blood baby of the English royal lineage has been born and while people are either rejoicing or questioning all the hoopla that surrounds the issue, TOI takes a close look at the most sought after celebrity babies across the world. Suri Cruise (tom Cruise and Katie Holmes): Helicopter hopping Suri (7) made heads turns and raised eyebrows with her good looks and her penchant for makeup and high flamenco style heels. Often featured in the list of best looking celebrities during her younger days, she once reportedly had a wardrobe worth $3 million. Earlier seen sporting only designer clothes, handbags and makeup items, the

seven year old now dresses rather modestly ever since her parents spilt. Katie has enrolled Suri in a New York based school and is trying to give her as normal a childhood as possible. Harper Beckham (david and victoria Beckham): Victoria and David Beckham’s bundle of joy and child number four, Harper has been a paparazzo favourite ever since she was born two years ago. The mother-daughter duo is often snapped as they sashay down runways while Victoria travels the world for her designer label related work. Dressed adorably and much like a mini fashionista, Harper was once approached by a leading children’s clothes-line to be the face of their brand. The

chubby cheeked Harper was ranked Britain’s most stylish celebrity child in 2012. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt (Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt): Sixyear-old Shiloh is a part of a six children brood shared by parents Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. While three of her siblings played small parts in Angelina’s upcoming film Maleficent, Shiloh decided to stay away and is not expected on the silver screen anytime soon. Shiloh has a Namibian passport and is the first biological child of the couple. Blue Ivy Carter (Beyonce and Jay Z): Blue Ivy is one of the most pampered celebrity babies. The multi-millionaire musical couple reportedly spent 1 million pound to furnish her

nursery with extravagant goods that include a solid gold rocking horse and a Swarovski diamante encrusted high chair. The couple also tried to trademark the name ‘Blue Ivy.’ The move was reportedly aimed at clearing the ground for launching a line of baby products in her name but the couple lost the legal battle for the trademark. Mason disick (Kourtney Kardashian and Scott disick): One of the better known male members of the Kardashian clan, this young chap is the son of Kourtney Kardashian and her boyfriend Scott Disick. A regular fixture on the reality television series Keeping up with the Kardashians, he is a regular face on the telly and enjoys

much primetime space. As part of his hi-flying celebrity family, he is often seen taking destination holidays, eating out at the fanciest of places and sporting designer wear. Aradhya Bachchan (Aishwarya and AbhishekBachchan): One of the most photographed Indian celebrity toddlers of all time, Aradhya belongs to the first family of Bollywood. As a young globe trotter she has accompanied her mother to various film festivals and other celebrity dos around the world. Kept away from the media glare for the initial few months, the Bachchan beti is now sighted frequently in cute eye catching designer outfits. CouRTesy TNN

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:01 AM Page 14

INFOTAINMENT Thursday, 25 July, 2013

uk team desIgns human mIssIon to mars

google PrePs tablet wIth hd dIsPlay that outshInes aPPle’s IPad

Google is gearing up to launch the next generation of Android-powered Nexus tablets, with a super-sharp HD screen it claims is more advanced than Apple’s iPad, according to information posted on Best Buy’s website ahead of the Internet company’s announcement. The new Nexus 7 tablet features a 7-inch display with a 1920-by-1200 in-plane switching (IPS) screen, according to a Best Buy pre-order page for the device. The tablet weighs 11.2 ounces and is 0.3 inches thick, and features a 5megapixel rear-facing camera as well as a 1.2-megapixel front-facing webcam for videochats. Tablets — which have surged in popularity for watching video and surfing the web — have continued to be among the fastest-growing consumer electronics categories. About 49.2 million tablets shipped worldwide in the first quarter of 2013, up 142% year over year, according to IDC. Apple iPad’s market share fell from 58% in Q1 2012 to 40% in the first three months of this year, as Android-based devices from Samsung, ASUS (which manufactures the current generation of Nexus 7) and Amazon and others picked up traction to capture 56% share (up from 41% a year ago). Microsoft’s Windows-powered Surface device took just 1.8% of the tablet market in the first quarter of 2013, according to IDC. Best Buy’s pricing for the Google Nexus 7 tablet is $270 for a 32 gigabytes of storage and $230 for 16 GB model. Availability information was not listed on the Best Buy site. NeWs DesK

CIENTISTS at Imperial College London have designed a concept mission to land astronauts on Mars. The plan envisages a three-person crew journeying to Mars aboard a small twopart craft. The craft would rotate to generate artificial gravity and use a heat shield to protect itself against solar flares. The crew would then return to Martian orbit in a pre-sent craft fuelled using ice from beneath the planet's surface. The concept, developed in conjunction with the BBC, is intended to spark further debate about the technical obstacles and risks that would have to be

overcome in order to put humans on Mars. "Every part of this mission scenario has been demonstrated one way or the other, including the in situ propellant production on the surface of Mars," said Prof Tom Pike, who led the Imperial design team. "There are big, big jumps between a demonstration at one level and putting together the engineering systems for a mission, but they are engineering challenges. They are not fundamentally about making new discoveries." The new Imperial concept comes amid renewed interest in the Red Planet with two private groups having proposed missions in recent months.

The Imperial team have designed a two-part craft, consisting of a Martian lander with a heat shield, inside which the crew would also ascend into Earth orbit. Directly beneath the lander on the launch pad would be a "cruise habitat vehicle", a cylindrical craft split into three floors and measuring some 10m (30ft) in height and 4m in diameter. Once in Earth orbit, the astronauts would move from the lander into the larger habitat vehicle before a rocket burst would propel the conjoined craft on a trajectory to Mars. The quickest journey time would be nine months when Earth and Mars are in optimum alignment. NeWs DesK

near-mIss of the decade – dIvers come Inches from beIng eaten alIve A

pair of divers redefined what it means to experience a near-miss while shooting in the waters of southern California, when they were nearly swallowed whole by the most colossal humpback whales. The two found themselves in the midst of a crill shoal, which had been forced toward the surface of the water by the whales. Desperately trying to get out of the line of fire, the two scramble to put a few feet distance between themselves and the whales before they break the surface of the water to feed. The whales burst through the water and come astonishingly close to gobbling up the pair or divers, who would have stood no chance had they been just a couple of meters closer to the gigantic mammals. The movie was shot by Jay Hebrard and Shawn Stamback near Souza Rock and has since gone viral the world over. Meanwhile, hundreds of near-misses, injuries and fatalities every year could potentially be saved by the first wetsuit created specifically to make divers and surfers invisible to sharks. The product of extensive research on the vision and color blindness of various shark species, the suits effectively camouflage those wearing them from predators while in the water. “It’s based on new breakthrough science which is all about visionary systems for predatory sharks,” said the suit’s co-creator Craig Anderson while talking to the AFP. “We’ve been able to interpret that science and convert that into, basically, materials that create some confusion for sharks’ visual systems.” Tests of the shark invisibility suits continue, though chances are finding willing participants for the upclose and personal evaluations won’t be an easy job. NeWs DesK

NEW SPECIES OF SUPER-STRONG 'HERO SHREW' DISCOVERED A new species of the mysterious "Hero Shrew" has been discovered in Africa. Scientists first described the Hero Shrew, nicknamed for its extraordinary strength, over a century ago. Now for the first time, scientists have found a new, smaller-skulled species of the Hero Shrew which they have called Scutisorex thori. The authors propose in Royal Society journal: Biology Letters that its unique interlocking vertebrae give it the strength to move large objects. INvINCIBlE IN BAttlE: The new species has fewer lower vertebrae and more robust and flattened ribs than its relative. Bill Stanley, from the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, US, said: "The expanded backbone and the strength of this animal has fascinated biologists for over 100 years. Until now there has been only one species known with this bizarre vertebral column. "We hypothesise that this shrew - with its expanded backbone and associated musculature - can crawl in-between the trunk and leaf bases of trees to allow access to concentrated food resources that would normally be protected from predation. "The same mechanism could be used for getting under logs or rocks which they could lift out of the way." The unique Hero Shrew has twice the number of lower vertebrae humans do and a spine four times more robust relative to its body size. Its strength has received legendary status in the African Congo, where parts of the animal are worn as a talisman in battle. The wearers believe it

could make them invincible to spears or bullets. As no other forms of its expanded back bone have previously been discovered, many zoologists believed the Hero Shrew was an example of punctuated equilibrium - which is where dramatic evolutionary changes take place very quickly. MISSINg lINK: But Mr Stanley explained that there are aspects of S. thori's vertebral column that "suggest it's a transition between the regular shrew and the orig-

inal species of Hero Shrew", which could shed light on how quickly it evolved. He told BBC News it had the potential to be a "missing link" to how the Hero relates to other shrews. "The age of discovery is not over. People think we have everything sussed out but the collections contained within institutions [such as the Field Museum] allow us to figure out what makes this planet tick. "This is just one example of a new mammal but

there's still a lot more to this planet we have to learn about." Kristofer Helgen, of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, who was not involved with the study, said it was an "outstanding find". "The anatomy of this new species gives important clues about the evolution of the unusually strong spine in this group of shrews, and the authors of the paper provide the first compelling explanation for the adaptive significance of the unusual spine." NeWs DesK

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:01 AM Page 16

S SPORTS Thursday, 25 July, 2013

anderson eyes ashes whItewash

LONDON: James Anderson has stated publicly England’s ambition to win the Ashes 5-0 after going 2-0 up against Australia in the ongoing Test series. Australia have twice routed their archrivals by such a margin but England have never won an Ashes 5-0. But following their 347-run thrashing of Australia at Lord’s last week, England have the chance to win their third straight Ashes series at Lancashire paceman Anderson’s Old Trafford home ground where the third Test starts on August 1. Anderson bowled 13 consecutive overs on the final morning of England’s 14-run first Test win at Trent Bridge but had a less stressful time at Lord’s where, despite being 28 for three, to win inside four days on the back of hundreds by Ian Bell and Joe Root and nine wickets for off-spinner Graeme Swann. And while there has been pity in some quarters for Australia’s plight, Anderson has urged England to be merciless. “I don’t really feel any sympathy,” Anderson said. “We want to win the series 5-0, so we will be doing everything we can in each game to win.” Now Anderson is looking forward to facing Australia on his home ground. “Cricket is huge in the north, and I hate Headingley (the Leeds headquarters of Lancashire’s traditional rivals Yorkshire), so it is good to play a Test at Old Trafford,” he said of a venue much changed in recent years. “There is so much history at the ground,” Anderson said. “It was in need of a lick of paint, and it got that and a little more Ä so I think it is going to be an amazing atmosphere.” aGeNCIes

I have given my decision a lot of thought and I believe this is the right time to move on to the next stage of my career. – Former British No 1 Anne Keothavong

Pcb to appeal Ihc judgement LAHORE

sTaff RePoRT

HE Pakistan Cricket Board has decided, in principle, to file an intra-court appeal with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the judgement passed by the same court, which had earlier called for fresh elections for the chairman of the PCB and overruled all major decisions taken by the interim chairman Najam Sethi. The Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination, government of Pakistan (IPC) has also filed an appeal against the judgment. The PCB was concerned that the judgement would impact issues such as team selection and television broadcast deals, which are yet to be finalised. The Judgment - had set aside the election of Zaka Ashraf as board chairman — may result in a gridlock for the board and bring to standstill the board’s day to day functioning. In a press statement, the PCB said it

would be filing an intra-court appeal againts the IHC judgement which reflects finding on such points of law and facts and administration which were neither part of the pleading, nor were argued by any party before the Court, and may potentially bring to standstill the day to day functioning of the PCB. Uncertainty has prevailed in the cricket community and board since the IHC passed its judgment on a constitutional writ petition filed by a former coach of the Army cricket team against the election of Zaka Ashraf as Chairman of the board in May. “The Judgment of the Learned single Judge may result in gridlock for PCB in matters such as electoral college and criteria for selection committees, specifically team selection for the tours of Zimbabwe, Singapore and South Africa

(Home series), all of which are before end October,” the PCB statement said. “Furthermore, the PCB needs to conclude arrangements for media broadcasting agreements related to its cricketing itinerary of PCB which has expired and for which tenders are required to be floated on urgent basis, failing which PCB will suffer colossal monetary losses,” the statement added. The IHC in its detailed judgment softened its stance on the eligibility rules for the elections of the PCB Chairman, removing the condition of the candidate being a graduate and a former first class or test cricketer. But the remaining judgement is strong worded and covers all matters including selection, adminsitration, finance and elections. The IHC judgment also stripped the

sitting PCB Chairman, Najam Sethi of his main powers and termed him as caretaker Chairman until elections are held in 90 days time by the election commission of Pakistan. The PCB statement also said that the IHC judgement also raises concerns with regard to ICC guidelines on non-intervention of government in the administrative affairs of the PCB in so far as it directs the federal government to appoint a DMg officer as Secretary of PCB and the same may be argued against directing the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold the elections in PCB. “Also, the Acting Chairman appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan needs to effectively manage the affairs of PCB as noted above until election of a permanent Chairman, for which no clear direction has been given in the Judgment,” the statement added. “Therefore the PCB is left with no other option but to appeal the said Judgment,” it said.

kohli leAds indiA to win in ZimbAbwe HARARE

sCoReboaRD

aGeNCIes

Virat Kohli scored a century at more than a run a ball as India cruised to a six-wicket victory in the first one-day international against Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday. Set 229 to win, the visitors started their chase slowly but accelerated with captain Kohli at the crease. He raced to 115 off 108 balls before being caught at long on. Kohli put on 159 for the third wicket with debutant Ambati Rayudu (63 not out) in India’s total of 230 for four. “The way I batted pleased me; the ball was doing a bit and it was about playing it out and playing percentage cricket,” Kohli said. “The ball did quite a bit in the morning and our bowlers put it in good areas, so we created a bit of pressure.” India won the toss and elected to bowl, but they might have regretted that decision when Zimbabwe put on 72 for the first wicket. Pakistan-born opener Sikandar Raza struck a career-best 82 and Elton Chigumbura 43 not out as Zimbabwe reached 228 for seven. Leg spinner Amit Mishra was the pick of the Indian bowlers with three for 43 in his 10 overs. “We could have been a little more proactive, instead of letting them just bowl at us and tie us down, I think we could have taken the game to them more,” Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor said. “Against a quality side like India you have to post 270 plus, the wicket dried out nicely and it made it very difficult for us to defend.” The second game in the five-match series is at the same venue on Friday.

‘You’ve just got to do it yourself’ LONDON aGeNCIes

Former Australia batsman Damien Martyn has told the current tourists to pick themselves up in a bid to regain the Ashes. Australia find themselves 2-0 down in the Ashes in the five-match series ahead of next month’s third test at Old Trafford. Defeats at Trent Bridge and last week’s 347-run thrashing at Lord’s have witnessed repeated failures by Australia’s top order and Martyn, twice an Ashes-winner before retiring midway through the 2006/07 series, believes his successors must now raise their own game. “There are no miracles out there to pick ourselves up,” said the 41-year-old, who retired with an average of more than 46 in 67 tests. “I’d just play the team and then at the end of this Ashes judge them on their performances.” Martyn said personal responsibility was key. “When I go out to bat, only I can make runs. “Everyone can tell me everything and coach me. But mentally in a pressure

situation you’ve just got to do it yourself; you’ve just got to gain the experience.” Australia’s batting woes have been summed up by opener Shane Watson, who in 43 tests has scored just two hundreds. “He’s talented, he’s very good,” said Martyn, who said Watson’s career reminded him of the hold Australia seamer Terry Alderman once had over England opener graham gooch. “He gets out lbw for 50s, 40s, 30s. It’s hard to explain. Probably only he could explain it.” “It’s a bit like the Terry Alderman, graham gooch thing. Terry kept picking him off in 1989 – and he was one of the greats, gooch. “Watto at the moment is under pressure. “Batting long periods is a process of learning under pressure and not getting lazy. He’s made heaps of runs; he’s made big hundreds. It’s now trying to do that in test cricket. “That’s the mental side he’s got to get over.” Australia’s defeat at Lord’s was tough for Martyn to swallow. “It was deflating. I don’t know it’s the worst I’ve ever seen, but for every former player it’s disappointing.

zimbabwe innings V. sibanda lbw Mishra 34 sikandar Raza b Mishra 82 15 s. Williams b Raina 11 H. Masakadza b Mishra b. Taylor c Raina b unadkat 12 M. Waller b Mohammed shami 2 43 e. Chigumbura not out T. Mutombodzi c Dhawan b Vinay Kumar 8 P. utseya not out 8 13 extras (b-2, lb-7, w-4) 228 Total (for seven wickets, 50 overs) Did not bat: K.Jarvis, T.Chatara fall of wickets: 1-72, 2-105, 3-119, 4-162, 5-166, 6-176, 7-205 bowling: R Vinay Kumar 9-1-57-1 (w-1), Mohammed shami 101-45-1, J. unadkat 10-1-39-1 (w-2), R. Jadeja 10-3-33-0, a. Mishra 10-1-43-3 (w-1), s. Raina 1-0-2-1 India innings 20 R. sharma c Taylor b Chigumbura s. Dhawan c Waller b Jarvis 17 V. Kohli c sibanda b utseya 115 63 a. Rayudu not out s. Raina c sikandar Raza b utseya 0 D. Karthik not out 8 extras (lb-1, w-5, nb-1) 7 230 Total (for two wickets, 44.5 overs) Did not bat: R.Jadeja, a.Mishra, Mohammed shami, R.Vinay Kumar, J.unadkat fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-57, 3-216, 4-216 bowling: K. Jarvis 8-0-40-1 (nb-1), T. Chatara 9-0-30-0 (w-1), e. Chigumbura 5-0-30-1 (w-2), P. utseya 10-0-342, T. Mutombodzi 7.5-0-65-0 (w-2), s. Williams 3-0-18-0, H. Masakadza 2-0-12-0. Result: India won by six wickets,

warner scores ton agaInst sa a MELBOURNE: David Warner, sent to southern Africa from the Ashes tour of England to find some form, hit a quickfire century for Australia A against South Africa A on Wednesday. Warner reached three figures with his 18th boundary shortly before tea on the opening day of the four-day game in Pretoria. At the interval Warner, batting at four, was 111 not out off 144 balls in Australia’s 226 for four. The batsman was suspended last month for punching England’s Joe Root in a bar following a Champions Trophy game between the teams. He was then banned until the first Ashes test and was not named in the team for the game. He was deemed “in need of match practice and runs in the longer format” and joined the Australia A tour to Zimbabwe and South Africa. aGeNCIes

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:01 AM Page 17

It was my first race with the Red Bull family. Let’s hope I can add to my memories by winning there for the first time before I go on holiday. – Sebastian Vettel

Pakistan restrict west Indies to 242/7

GROS ISLET

aGeNCIes

UNAID Khan’s threewicket haul helped Pakistan restrict West Indies to 242 for seven in 50 overs in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) match of the series at gros Islet on Wednesday. After winning the toss, Pakistan elected to field first. In an unusual move West Indies chose to open with Johnson Charles and Devon Smith. However, the move didn’t work as Junaid dismissed Smith for just seven. The hosts adopted a cautious approach in the initial overs and played without taking too many risks.

However, Pakistani bowlers struck at regular intervals and ensured that the hosts didn’t form a strong partnership.

gayle came out to bat at number five in the order. He seemed to have developed a stable partnership with Marlon

sCoReboaRD West Indies innings J Charles c Haris b Irfan Ds smith c Hafeez b Junaid DM bravo c umar b Junaid MN samuels c afridi b Irfan CH Gayle c umar b Junaid lMP simmons c Hafeez b ajmal DJ bravo c Haris b ajmal DJG sammy not out sP Narine not out extras (lb 6, w 9) Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) To bat Jo Holder, Tl best

sacked arthur confIdent of resolutIon SYDNEY: Dumped Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur failed Wednesday to reach a settlement with Cricket Australia over his abrupt sacking, but said he was confident a resolution will be found. The South African is suing Cricket Australia for up to Aus$4 million (US$3.7 million) over his axeing, claiming there was a deliberate campaign against him and he had no choice but to take legal action. “Although we didn’t come to an outcome today, I’m pretty confident that there was enough goodwill in the room for us to continue talks next week,” Arthur said after more than five hours of conciliation talks at Sydney’s Fair Work Commission. Arthur, a former coach of the Proteas, said he was hopeful of a settlement when talks resume next Wednesday. “As I’ve said, all I want is a fair and reasonable outcome, and hopefully we will get a solution next week. “ Arthur was sacked after Australia lost a Test series in India 4-0 and followed it up with a poor showing at the Champions Trophy in England. The tournament was marred by the offfield misconduct of batsman David Warner. aGeNCIes

43 7 9 45 21 25 48 29 0 15 242

fall of wickets 1-26 (smith, 6.4 ov), 2-44 (DM bravo, 12.4 ov), 3-98 (Charles, 25.3 ov), 4-131 (Gayle, 35.2 ov), 5-159 (samuels, 41.2 ov), 6-170 (simmons, 44.1 ov), 7223 (DJ bravo, 48.4 ov) bowling: Mohammad Hafeez 6-2-22-0, Mohammad Irfan 10-1-34-2, Junaid Khan 10-1-48-3, asad ali 9-145-0, shahid afridi 5-0-30-0, saeed ajmal 10-2-57-2 Toss Pakistan, who chose to field Player of the match tba umpires PR Reiffel (australia) and Js Wilson TV umpire sJ Davis (australia) Match referee DC boon (australia) Reserve umpire PJ Nero

Samuels till the time he mishit a pull to a short-pitched delivery by Junaid, which was brilliantly taken by Umar Akmal. Skipper Dwayne Bravo raised the tempo of a rather stuttering and slow West Indian innings by smashing five fours and three sixes towards the final overs to guide them to a competitive total. Apart from Junaid, the tall Mohammad Irfan also troubled the West Indian batsman and ended with figures of two for 34 in his 10 overs. West Indies bowlers have plenty of runs to play with as Pakistan’s batting has not been in top form. It is a tricky total as West Indies look to draw the series with a win in the final encounter.

LAHORE All-rounder Abdul Razzaq on Wednesday blamed skipper Misbah-ul-Haq’s defensive batting along with his defensive tactics for Pakistan’s poor show in recent times. Mincing no words, Razzaq, who is in Karachi for the Ramazan T20 tournaments, also said that he was ousted from the team last year because of Misbah and vice-captain Mohammad Hafeez. “But I have not given up hope of playing again for Pakistan. I have atleast two years of international cricket left in me and I am sure my time will come again,” he said. Razzaq, 33, said that in his view Misbah played too defensively and this approach brought lot of pressure on the other batsmen. “He is batting slowly and playing too many dot balls and

that adds to the pressure on the batsman playing with him or those coming in. If a captain bats defensively and doesn’t lead the charge than it demoralises the environment in the dressing room,” Razzaq said. The all-rounder, who has played 46 Tests, 265 ODIs and 30 T20 games said that the present Pakistan team cannot be consistent as its approach was very timid. “I am not demeaning any

player but nowadays players need to be more aggressive and try to play positively. If we change our approach and try to play with an open mind and heart I am sure this team can do much better.” Razzaq said the return of Shahid Afridi to the team was a very good sign and that is why he had also not lost hope of playing against for his country. “People say I don’t play

SPORTS

Thursday, 25 July, 2013

Akhtar pleads for performancebased incentives LAHORE: Controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has called for a performance based central contract system for the Pakistan cricketers and also said that players too needed to change their approach towards the game. The pacer while advocating increased pay for the national team and domestic players also agreed that there needed to be a level of accountability for the players as well. “I think players need to be paid more. Nothing wrong with that because cricket boards make money because of the players but they must also be held accountable for their performances and if a player does not perform upto mark he should be demoted in the central contract category immediately,” Akhtar said on Geo News channel on Wednesday. The fast bowler also predicted with more money coming into cricket because of the T20 foreign leagues such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), players will be forced to reconsider their playing options. “It is going to happen because if a player is getting a hefty three to four year contract in a T20 league he will think about his future and how long he can continue to play in all formats of the game,” Akhtar said. The former pacer said there were several examples in recent times where top players decided to quit other formats and focus on T20 cricket because they wanted to prolong their careers. “Nowadays there is lot of money in cricket that is why at times I am amazed why someone as talented as Mohammad Aamer needed to do something wrong to earn money. He could have earned wealth beyond his imagination if he had only got an IPL contract and played for a English county.” Akhtar, however, said players need to change their attitude and be more positive and aggressive. “People now want to see attacking cricket. You can’t survive in the top if you don’t play aggressively and attack. To me Pakistan has a very good one-day side and is a top T20 squad but they only need to change their approach to the game,” Akhtar said. He pointed out that it was disappointing that Pakistan didn’t go for a clean sweep or at least a 4-1 win over the West Indies in the ongoing one-day series in the Caribbean. “Good teams don’t let go of such opportunities. We should have gone for a clean sweep because we were the much better team. If we don’t crush weak teams we can never hope to do well against the stronger sides in the world,” he said. Akhtar also insisted that top and talented players make a good or unbeatable team not just a good system. “Australia still has a very good cricket system but the moment they lost five to six of their best players look where they are today. Even India is today doing well because they have a good group of quality players,” he said. “That is why I say when you have world class bowlers or batsmen try to nurse them through their careers which can than be prolonged.” sTaff RePoRT

PAKISTAN BATTING TOO DEFENSIVE: RAZZAQ sTaff RePoRT

domestic cricket so how can the selectors judge my performance but what they dont understand is that if a senior player is not treated with respect he gets disheartened and this is what has happened to me.” Razzaq said former PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf under the advise of some people had made a plan to drop all senior players from the side and he was also a victim of this after last year’s T20 World Cup. “But we have a new Chairman now, so let us see what happens. But we need to change things and attitude in our dressing room if the team is to fire again and show consistency,” he added. Razzaq said that he would play domestic season as well and do his best to convince everyone that he could play for Pakistan again. “I am even ready to bat up the order if required,” he said.

domIngo wants maturIty from batsmen jOHANNESBURg: Proteas coach Russell Domingo remains positive his side can bounce back on their tour of Sri Lanka, despite trailing 2-0 in the five-match ODI series. The marked improvement with the ball and in the field was overshadowed by another batting collapse in the rain-interrupted second ODI on Tuesday, as South Africa went down in a second straight defeat. Domingo was unable to explain the cause of the poor batting displays, but called for a show of maturity, particularly from his senior players. “It’s a tough one to explain. I suppose there are a few guys who are trying to find their way in ODI cricket, and obviously not having Hashim for the first two matches was a big blow for us,” Domingo said on Wednesday. “Ultimately there are guys who need to put in some big performances. They know that there will be some questions asked about their form over a period of time in this format. “It’s important that they put their hands up and put in some match-winning performances going forward.” In contrast, Domingo praised fast bowler Morne Morkel, who led the attack in the opening two matches of the series. aGeNCIes

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:01 AM Page 18

I’m motivated by my father’s memory. My father was also an athlete. I’m following in his footsteps. – Peter Some

17 S

SPORTS Thursday, 25 July, 2013

Pttf bans IndIvIdual for theIr fraudulent rePresentatIon LAHORE: The Executive Committee of the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) has banned three individuals for their fraudulent representation in the unlawful elections of illegal Interim Committee of Pakistan Olympic Association. “PTTF has taken a serious notice of fraudulent representation by Riaz Ahmed, Ahmar Malik and Tayyaba in a illegal activity and they have banned for ten years for taking part in any table tennis activity home or abroad,” said Syed Mohammad Sabtain, President, PTFF here on Wednesday. He said the disciplinary action has been taken to stop the illegal activities of few individuals who are promoting their vested interests by creating parallel bodies to bring bad name for the country at the international level. “PTTF has already categorically denied any relation with the so called Interim Committee of ‘Pakistan Olympic Association’ and condemned unlawful creation of a parallel POA outside the Olympic Movement,”he added. “We will follow the IOC charter and fully respect Olympic movement in Pakistan and that is why we are with the IOC backed POA headed by Syed Arif Hasan,”he maintained. sTaff RePoRT

messI’s word helPed aPPoIntment, says martIno BARCELONA: Gerardo Martino believes fellow Argentinian Lionel Messi had a say in his appointment as the new Barcelona coach. The Spanish champions confirmed today they had reached an agreement for Martino to take over the reins at the Nou Camp on a two-year deal. The 50-year-old former Paraguay boss succeeds Tito Vilanova, who stepped down from the role on Friday after one season in charge as he continues his battle with cancer. Both Martino and Messi are from the Rosario region of Argentina and the four-time Ballon d’Or winner has spoken in glowing terms about his compatriot in the past. And Martino reckons Messi put in a good word for him with the Barcelona hierarchy. “I don’t know the details of the situation, (but) I have no doubts that Messi spoke with the club directors. aGeNCIes

hewItt wIns oPener at atlanta event ATLANTA: Lleyton Hewitt began warming up on Tuesday for the hard courts of the U.S Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Eduoard Roger-Vasselin in the first round of a rain-soaked Atlanta Open. The seventh-seeded Hewitt, who was runner-up two weeks ago on grass in Newport, Rhode Island, was one of three seeded players to finish his match before a pair of evening rain delays. Play eventually was suspended until Wednesday. Yen-Hsun Lu, the No 5 seed from Taiwan, beat qualifier Kevin King 6-3, 7-5; and eighth seed Evgeny Donskoy beat Rajeev Ram 63, 6-4. Sixth-seeded Mardy Fish was leading Michael Russell 6-4, 2-4 (150 on serve) when their match was delayed for a second time. This is just Fish’s third tournament since he withdrew from the US Open last September because of an irregular heartbeat. The top four seeds, Jon Isner, Kevin Anderson, Ivan Dodig and Igor Sijsling, had first-round byes. aGeNCIes

ennIs-hIll set for comeback LONDON: Jessica Ennis-Hill will make her long-awaited comeback from an ankle injury at a low-key meeting in Loughborough on Tuesday night. Organisers for the Loughborough European Athletics Permit meeting confirmed the Olympic heptathlon champion would compete in the event as scheduled. The 27-year-old, who has not competed yet this summer because of the injury, will do so in the javelin and the long jump. News of Ennis-Hill’s return to action could scarcely be more timely with the World Championships in Moscow less than three weeks away. Her only outing since winning gold at London 2012 has been a small event at Leeds Metropolitan University in April, where she won the javelin. The ankle injury which has proved so troublesome had forced her to delay her comeback five times this summer, most recently pulling out of last Friday’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco. Her scheduled heptathlon in Estonia at the end of last month also fell by the wayside, meaning Moscow will be her first seven-event competition since London 2012. Ennis-Hill has been following a comprehensive rehabilitation programme, working with the UK Athletics medical team and her physiotherapist Alison Rose, but the progress of her recovery has been slow. She is scheduled to compete on Saturday in the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium, but that participation is still subject to confirmation. The Sheffield athlete was last week named in the Great Britain team for the World Championships and UKA performance director Neil Black claimed she could win gold in Russia, even if she had not competed at all before the event. The World Championships get under way on August 10, with the heptathlon starting on day three. Ennis-Hill will be looking to reclaim the title she lost in Daegu two years ago to Russia’s Tatyana Chernova. aGeNCIes

‘Pantani, ullrich used ePo in 1998 tour’ PARIS

aGeNCIes

Italian Marco Pantani and germany’s Jan Ullrich both used the banned bloodbooster erythropoetin (EPO) during the 1998 Tour de France, a French parliamentary commission report said on Wednesday. Pantani, who died of a cocaine overdose in 2004, won the controversial race, with Ullrich taking second place. The report identified a host of other riders who had cheated with EPO, including top sprinters Erik Zabel of germany and Italian Mario Cipollini. Others to be named and shamed on Wednesday were Italians Andrea Tafi, Nicolas Minali, Fabio Sacchi, Spanish world champion Abraham Olano and his compatriots Marcos Serrano and Manuel Beltran, german Jens Heppner and Dutch rider Jeroen Blijlevens. A trio of French riders were also found to have doped with EPO in the 1998 Tour - Laurent Jalabert, Jacky Durand and Laurent Desbiens, the commission’s report revealed. Denmark’s Bo Hamburger and American Kevin Livingstone also

resorted to the performance enhancer in 1998 and 1999. The commission, though, found no hard evidence that American Bobby Julich, who was third, also used EPO, as Le Monde newspaper had reported Tuesday. The findings were based on comparisons made of retrospective testing results from 2004 and a list of samples from the 1998 Tour de France and the 1999 race won by disgraced US rider Lance Armstrong. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour wins and banned from cycling for life last year for doping in a scandal that plunged cycling into crisis about the extent of substance abuse among the peloton. The commission compared the results from the anonymous samples from 2004 to named samples taken from the two Tours under scrutiny. In May, Jalabert was identified as a doper and he immediately stepped down as a television and radio pundit for this year’s Tour that was won last Sunday by British rider Chris Froome. Since then, there has been debate in France about the utility of naming names, with the family of Pantani saying

they were against identifying riders. The professional cyclists’ union the CPA last Friday said that it, too, was opposed to publication. “Publication of a list amounts... to an accusation of doping without any means of defence,” the union said, arguing that no counter-analysis was possible as the original samples no longer existed. Pantani, who won both the Tour of Italy and Tour de France in 1998, never tested positive throughout his career, although he was expelled from the 1999 giro due to irregular blood levels. Ullrich for his part held his hands up to doping in June. The commission questioned 84 witnesses under oath, from sportsmen and women to organisers and anti-doping experts, to “lift the lid” on and “break the code of silence” over the subject. Cycling, with its doping-scarred past, has not been the only focus, however, with attention also paid in particular to rugby. The French anti-doping agency assessed that the sport was the most affected by doping in relation to its testing, while football and tennis were also examined.

armstrong fIghts for sPonsorshIP money

WASHINgTON: Lance Armstrong lawyers said he should be able to keep the sponsorship money he got from the U.S. Postal Service during his record-breaking victories. Washington - Lawyers for disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong said on Tuesday he should be able to keep the sponsorship money he got from the U.S. Postal Service during his record-breaking victories, despite his admission to using performance-enhancing drugs. In papers filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Armstrong’s lawyers said the Postal Service benefited from the sponsorship and they asked a judge to dismiss the federal government’s fraud lawsuit demanding its money back. “The government wanted a winner and all the publicity, exposure and acclaim that goes along with being his sponsor. It got exactly what it bargained for,” the lawyers wrote. aGeNCIes

liverpool owner mocks Arsenal’s suarez bid LONDON aGeNCIes

Liverpool owner John Henry appears to have ridiculed Arsenal’s latest bid for striker Luis Suarez in one seemingly dismissive tweet. The “What do you think they are smoking over there at Emirates” message was written on the American’s Twitter account just after 2am local time in Boston, seemingly in response to the gunners’ offer of £40million plus £1 for the Uruguayan.

While it may seem out of character - club officials have not yet been unable to verify it was sent by Henry himself because of the time difference to the US - it undoubtedly reflects the stance of the club, who insist Suarez is not for sale and even if he was he is valued at much more. Liverpool had already rejected the bid and plan talks with their star striker after today’s friendly against Melbourne Victory, where he starts on the bench after completing just two training sessions having arrived

in Australia on Sunday after an extended break following Confederations Cup action. Reports have suggested a complicated contractual clause means the player can speak to any club offering more than £40million but the club insist that figure is not his buy-out price. Press Association Sport understands when Arsenal made their first approach of £30million over a fortnight ago they were told by Liverpool that they would not entertain selling their prize asset even for £40million.

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:01 AM Page 19

It is a disappointment for us that Anthony has decided his future away from the GB Boxing, but he departs with our very best regards. – Anthony Joshua

SPORTS Thursday, 25 July, 2013

hantuchova behInd hIngIs’ return BERLIN

semenya makes fInal bId for worlds BELgIUM: Former world 800 metre champion Caster Semenya will make one final bid to qualify for next month’s world championships when she races in Belgium on Sunday. The South African will compete just 24 hours before the deadline set for her to break the twominute barrier required for participation at the August 10-18 competition in Moscow. Having spent almost a year away from the track with injury since winning silver at the 2012 London Olympics, Semenya has already had two unsuccessful attempts to reach her target when she clocked 2:06.58 and 2:04.48 in Finland last week. The 22-year-old rose to global recognition after winning the 2009 world championships in Berlin in a personal best time of 1:55.45 but then spent 12 months on the sidelines after being forced to undergo gender tests. Semenya also took the silver medal in Daegu, South Korea when she defended her world title two years ago. aGeNCIes

wAtCh It LIve STAR CRICKET DURHAM VS. LEICESTERSHIRE

10:08 PM

ESPN SENIOR OPEN GOLF

07:30 PM

aGeNCIes

ANIELA Hantuchova has revealed it was her idea to summon Martina Hingis out of retirement. Five-time grand slam singles champion Hingis will play doubles at a series of tournaments during the North American hard-court season, starting alongside Hantuchova at the Southern California Open in Carlsbad next week. The 32-year-old Swiss player has played team tennis and remained active in grand slam exhibition events, but Hantuchova suspects she has more to offer and is relishing her return to the WTA tour after six years away. Slovakian Hantuchova told the tour website: “We talked a couple of months ago. She still enjoys the game so much, and the competitiveness has always been in her, so I was like, ‘Why don’t we play? We always enjoyed it so much and had so much fun’. “I respect her game incredibly and she was always my idol growing up. So I was like, ‘Why don’t we give it a try? We have nothing to lose. We can just have fun on the court’. “She thought about it for a while, and here we are. “Once you are a champion inside, you’re never going to lose that. She understands the game like no other. It’ll obviously be really interesting to see. Playing a competitive match will be totally different, and I can’t wait to play with her and see how it’s going to be out there.”

shahJehan memorIal table tennIs In sePt

JovanovskI recovers to Progress In baku cuP BAKU: Defending champion Bojana Jovanovski overcame an early setback to book her place in the second round of the Baku Cup. The number one seed dropped the opening three games but fought back to beat world number 214 Nigina Abduraimova 6-3 6-3. Number eight seed Vesna Dolonc was beaten 6-1 6-2 by Kristyna Pliskova while Polish qualifier Magda Linette eased past Julia Cohen, runner up here last year, 6-2 6-3. Shahar Peer also moved into the last 16 with a 3-6 6-2 6-0 win over Ilona Kremen while Mandy Minella, Nastassja Burnett and Tetyana Arefyeva were also victorious on day two. aGeNCIes

MONACO MAKES WINNING GSTAAD DEBUT GSTAAD aGeNCIes

Argentine Juan Monaco made a successful debut at the Suisse Open on Wednesday in gstaad as the fourth seed defeated guillermo garcia-Lopez 61, 6-2. The win puts the number 30 into a Friday quarterfinal with Russian sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny, who added to Spanish misery on the day in the Alps with his defeat of Pablo Andujar 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in just over two hours. Monaco claimed the 20th win of the season (standing 18-11 on clay), with the victory coming two months after he won the clay title in Dusseldorf. He reached the last eight in 64 minutes with four breaks of serve. Youzhny duplicated his win over

Andujar from the Roland garros first round in May, as the Spaniard failed to progress after ending a five-match loss streak only the day before on the fast, high-altitude clay at 800 metres. The Russian benefited from nine double-faults off his opponent’s racquet, breaking on five of a massive 16 chances. Andujar’s loss was his 21st of the season against 13 wins. Youzhny, a

one-time world No 6, won his 22nd match of 2013. Swiss second seed Stanislas Wawrinka was kicking off local interest at an event where he and Roger Federer are the drawcards, with an opening match against Spaniard Daniel gimeno-Traver. The top four seeds received byes into the second round, with 2004 champion Federer presented Tuesday with a cow named Desiree by tournament organisers at a welcome ceremony - opening on Thursday as he plays german Daniel Brands, whom he needed three sets to defeat last week in Hamburg. “She won’t be in my trophy room, that’s for sure,” said Federer of his second trophy cow. The first came in 2003 after he won his first Wimbledon and then travelled to gstaad for the ATP clay tournament.

three titles At stAke in mAcAo MACAO aGeNCIes

Three titles from three sanctioning organisations will be at stake in a tournament in Macao on Saturday. Evgency gradovich will defend his IBF featherweight belt against Mauricio Javier Munoz and Juan Francisco Estrada puts his WBO and WBA flyweight titles on the line against Milan Melindo. The 26-year-old gradovich, a Russian who fights out of California, is undefeated after 16 fights, of which he won eight inside the distance. He is making the first defence of the title he won when outpointed Billy Dibb over 12 rounds in March

this year. Munoz, 27, is from Argentina and has been a professional for seven years, boasting a record of 26 wins and 3 losses, with 12 wins inside the distance. In April 2011 he lost on a ninth-round knockout to Toshiaki Nishioka when he challenged for the WBA super-bantamweight belt. Sinbce then he has beaten Maximiliano Ezequiel Mendez, Lucas Rafael Baez, Claudio Rosendo Tapia, Ramon Contreras and Luis Franco – none of them a stopshelf fighter. gradovich, whose amateur record has been reported as 126-24, is a pressure fighter who likes to

work to the body. The taller Munoz, who uses his reach to his advantage, probably does not have enough to extend the champion. The 23-year-old Estrada is a Mexican and has a professional record of 24-2, with 18 knockouts. He faces a challenge from Melindo, 25, who lost on points to unbeaten Nicaraguan Roman gonzalez on November 17 last year when he challenged for the WBO light-flyweight title. In his next fight, on April 6 this year, he caused a major upset when he beat the highly regarded Brian Viloria to win the WBA “super” flyweight belt and the WBO flyweight belt.

LAHORE: The inaugural Shahjehan Latif memorial table tennis tournament will be played here in the last week of September at Chromatex hall. “The event is being organized in the memory of our late national coach, Shahjehan who rendered valuable services for the cause of table tennis in the country,” said organising secretary of the event Abdul Qayyum Khan while talking to APP here on Wednesday. He said altogether one hundred and seventy players , one hundred and fifty men and twenty women, belonging to all parts of the country and representing various departments ,services and provinces will be displaying their talent in the competition which aims at further promoting table tennis in the country. He said players will take part in the men’s singles and ladies singles and top twenty players will be drawn in two groups to play league matches. “The aim of holding league matches is to provide equal opportunity to each player to exhibit full potential and talent ,playing in maximum number of matches unlike the knock out system which does not give ample chance to a player,”said Qayyum ,himself a former national player. He said the top position holders of the tournament will be awarded cash prizes and trophies . The organizing secretary said the holding of Shahjehan memorial tournament will also mark the beginning of their monthly national level table tennis tournament. “We will be holding this event on monthly basis the way we organized it till early this year and the break was necessary in order to give all the national players a chance to appear in the trials for the selection of teams for World and Asian championships,”he asserted. He said the holding of monthly table tennis tournament will help serve the cause of table tennis besides serving as an effective medium for the junior players to get lift the level of their game. “It is a heartening sign that our junior players are fast coming up and their participation in our tournaments have helped them to improve to a higher level and to be a regular part of the national senior and junior teams “,he said adding “ That day is not far when our junior players will emerge as a force to reckon with at international level.” sTaff RePoRT

Inter schools-colleges games from oct 28 LAHORE: Punjab Olympic Association will organize the 6th edition of Inter Schools and Inter Colleges Games from October 28 here at various grounds.” We have extended invitations to all the schools and colleges to feature in the week long event which will help further promote sports in the educational institutions which were once the nurseries to tape talent “, said Idris Haider Khawaja, Secretary, POB’a here on Wednesday. He said a meeting of the organizing committee will be held in due course of time to finalise the venues and disciplines of the games. sTaff Re Po RT

KHI 25-07-2013_Layout 1 7/25/2013 2:01 AM Page 20

Thursday, 25 July, 2013

karak women facing difficulties shopping alone? PESHAWAR sHaMIM sHaHID

HATEVER the claims of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government functionaries might be regarding ban on women’s visit and shopping in Karak Bazaar, media reports have revealed harassment of women as well as people of the trade and business community. Certain shopkeepers have confirmed that women were reluctant to visit the shopping centres after the announcement of a ban by civil administration following demands by local ulema, but the district police officer has contradicted the reports

pertaining to imposition of ban on women. A female PTI MPA has termed the reports a misunderstanding spread by the media. A couple of days ago, a number of ulema from Karak headed by Jamiatul Ulema Islam (F) local leaders Maulana Mirzaqeem and Hafiz Ibne Amin held a meeting and floated the idea of banning women in bazaars without male relatives on grounds of curbing obscenity and other social evils. Later the ulema rushed to district administration where they asked banning women in bazaars. The news made headlines both in print and electronic media, generating criticism and objections. As a result, women from all over Karak stopped visiting bazaars, which

caused wide-range disappointment among people from trade and business circles and gave fodder to critics to denounce the PTIled government. A shopkeeper at Karak main bazaar said, “Women are not coming to bazaars, fearing attacks by militants or people from religious groups.” However, another shopkeeper in same city said, “Now women accompanied by male relatives are coming for shopping but their strength is limited. Karak District Police Office Attiqueullah Wazir told Pakistan Today, “Ulema have approached the administration to take steps for combating what they called antisocio-religious acts during Eid shopping in markets.” In this respect, the administration

has made arrangements for ensuring safety and protection of shoppers and shopkeepers. “There is no ban on women visiting the Karak bazaar,” he said, adding that police contingents had already been deployed in all bazaars for maintaining law and order during Ramadan and Eid shopping days. PTI Southern Region Women President, MPA Deena Naaz, endorsed the DPO’s statement, adding that the media had reported misleading news. She said after hearing the news, she personally contacted the Karak deputy commissioner and DPO and requested them to deploy special force and women constables in all bazaars for ensuring due protection to women.

uk immigration gatecrashes sham weddings lONdON: Eight men from Pakistan and India were arrested by the British immigration officers in gretna on Wednesday as part of an operation targeting sham weddings. They were apprehended moments before six ceremonies were to be held, media reports claimed. The Home Office said the men, aged between 27 and 40, were all in the United Kingdom (UK) illegally. They had all travelled to gretna from different areas in England, including Bradford, Manchester, Southall, Blackburn and Wolverhampton. They included five would-be grooms and three guests who were due to attend the ceremonies at gretna Registration Office. Six of them were detained, their removal from the UK pending, while the remaining two were instructed to report regularly to the Home Office while their pending immigration cases were concluded. The would-be brides from the Czech Republic, Romania and the UK were interviewed and released. Anna Beattie, from the Home Office Immigration Enforcement team, said that anyone residing illegally in the UK should “take heed” of the latest operation. “Expect to be caught by us and removed from the UK,” she said. oNlINe

storm delays search for spanish climbers missing in Pakistan MAdRId: Relatives of three Spanish mountaineers missing for days high in the mountains of northern Pakistan said on Wednesday they were counting on better weather so rescuers could resume searching. “The weather is getting better and today a wide window of opportunity will open for the two search teams to progress,” the families said in a statement. “The helicopters operating in the area will fly as soon as the wind has dropped.” The three went missing in a storm after scaling the 8,068-metre (26,469-foot) gasherbrum-I peak on Sunday, the families and trek organisers said. “After reaching the summit, they got lost due to a change in the weather and called for help,” the statement said. The families named the three missing men as Abel Alonso, Xevi gomez and Alvaro Paredes. A fourth Spanish member of their group, Alfredo garcia, made it back to a base camp, where he too was “in difficulty”. The head of the Spanish agency that organised their expedition, Javier garrido, told Spanish National Radio the three missing men had last made contact on Monday. “They said they were together and relatively close to a camp and they had taken refuge,” he said. “From that point on communication was lost, possibly because their batteries ran out, and we have had no further news.” Bad weather had prevented the search helicopters from operating on the remote peak on Tuesday. aGeNCIes

Indus water treaty be dam-ed! India to construct another dam on River Chenab LAHORE oNlINe

India has started preparations to build another dam on River Chenab which will be five times larger than the Baglihar Dam while the Indus Water Commission (IWC) in Pakistan has not even submitted an objection against the project. Media reports said India had issued tenders in connection to the construction of the Ratle Dam on River Chenab, located in the Kishtawar area of Indian occupied Kashmir. The dam, which is planned to be constructed in four years, would have the capacity to store one million acre water and produce 850 megawatts of electricity. According to media reports, Indus Water Treaty (IWT) Commission Commissioner Mirza Asif Baig said Pakistan had already objected to India’s project which was an open violation of the IWT Pact 1960.He said the construction of this dam would severely affect the flow of water in River Chenab.

torrent sites and tumblr go the youtube way in Pakistan! ISLAMABAD oNlINe

CHAMAN: A security personnel frisks Afghans entering Pakistan through the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate on Wednesday as security has been beefed up following a series of bombings in this border area in the recent weeks. INP

Torrent sites such as Pirate Bay, KickassTorrents, Torrentz, Extra Torrent and Mininova were officially blocked by the Interne Service Providers (ISPs) in Pakistan on Wednesday. Other sites, including Tumblr and TorrentFreak, belonging to famous atheist Richard Dawkins, were also blocked. His stance towards religion might be the catalyst for the decision. So far, Pakistan has blocked thousands of sites that included adult content or religious or morally-unsuitable data. Previously, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have also been blocked. While the blocked sites and many others were all ready on the blacklist, torrent sites have only now been added to it. Some reports indicated that private torrent sites were still accessible and many proxy sites were available for Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents.

Pakistan strikes back against Taliban with burqa-clad female superhero ISLAMABAD aGeNCIes

Wonder Woman and Supergirl now have a Pakistani counterpart in the pantheon of female superheroes – one who shows a lot less skin. Meet Burka Avenger: a mildmannered teacher with secret martial arts skills who uses a flowing black burqa to hide her identity as she fights local thugs seeking to shut down the girls’ school where she works. Action in the Burka Avenger cartoon series, which is scheduled to start running on a private TV channel in early August, is much more lighthearted. The bungling villains evoke more laughter than fear and are no match for the Burka Avenger, undoubtedly the first south Asian ninja who wields books and pens as weapons. The Urdu-language show is the brainchild of pop star Haroon Rashid – who conceived of it as a way to emphasise the importance of girls’ education and teach children other lessons, such as protecting the en-

vironment and not discriminating against others. This last point is critical in a country where Islamist militants wage repeated attacks on religious minorities. “Each one of our episodes is centred around a moral, which sends out strong social messages to kids,” Rashid told AP in his first interview about the show. “But it is cloaked in pure entertainment, laughter, action and adventure.” The decision to clothe the superhero in a black burqa could raise eyebrows because some people view the outfit as a sign of oppression. The version worn by the Burka Avenger shows only her eyes and fingers – though it has a sleeker, more ninja-like look than the bulky robes of an actual burqa. Rashid, who is certainly no radical Islamist, said he used a burqa to give a local feel to the show, which is billed as the first animated series ever produced in Pakistan. “It’s not a sign of oppression. She is using the burqa to hide her identity like other superheroes,”

said Rashid. “Since she is a woman, we could have dressed her up like Catwoman or Wonder Woman, but that probably wouldn’t have worked in Pakistan.” The series is set in Halwapur, a fictional town nestled in the soaring mountains and verdant valleys of northern Pakistan. The Burka Avenger’s true identity is Jiya, whose adopted father, Kabbadi Jan, taught her the karate moves she uses to defeat her enemies. When not dressed as her

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.

alter ego, Jiya wears neither a burqa nor a less conservative headscarf over her hair. The main villains are Vadero Pajero, a balding, corrupt politician who wears a dollar signshaped gold medallion around his neck, and Baba Bandook, an evil magician with a bushy black beard and mustache who is meant to resemble a Taliban commander. The show, which is slickly animated using high-powered computer graphics, does a

good job of mixing scenes that will entertain children with those that even adults will find laughout-loud funny. In one episode, Bandook builds a robot to take over the world’s major cities, including London, New York and Paris. As he outlines his dastardly plan with a deep, evil laugh, one of his minions butts in and says, “But how will we get visas to go to all those places?” – a reference to how difficult it can be for Pakistanis to travel, given their country’s reputation. He leveraged his musical background in the process. Each of the 13 episodes completed so far contains songs written and performed by him and other major Pakistani rock stars, such as Ali Azmat and Ali Zafar. In one of the music videos, Rashid and local rap star Adil Omar sing in praise of the Burka Avenger, while standing in front of a pair of colourfully decorated Pakistani trucks festooned with bright lights. “Don’t mess with the lady in black, when she’s on the attack,” they sing.