E-paper Pakistantoday KHI 28th Nov, 2011

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Aisamul Haq not to pair with Bopanna

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Don’t attack my creative freedom, says Aamir Khan PAGE 19

pakistantoday.com.pk

rs15.00 Vol ii no 152 22 pages karachi — edition

Pakistan refuses to unblock NATO supply

monday, 28 november, 2011 muharram-ul-haram 2, 1432

NATO scrambles to contain pakistan fallout

PESHAWAR: Soldiers carry the coffins of their comrades who were killed in a NATO strike, during their funeral on Sunday. Afp

BRUSSELS AFP

Asks US, allies for formal apology for Mohmand attack g Panetta, Clinton express grief g Protest also lodged with Afghan government g

ISLAMABAD

P

SHAIQ HUSSAIN

AKISTAN refused on Sunday to accept the request by the United States and its allied states to unblock supplies to Afghanistan for the coalition forces before a formal apology coupled with a thorough enquiry into the cross-border NATO air strike in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed, as well as stern punishment for those involved in the attack.

Islamabad also told the US that the killing of Pakistani soldiers had deeply impacted the progress made by the two countries on improving relations and forced Pakistan to revisit its terms of engagement with the US. Islamabad’s refusal came despite the fact that the US secretary of state, foreign secretaries of other NATO nations and the NATO chief himself expressed grief over the loss of life in the attack.

NATO supplies stopped permanently: Malik ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

In what seems to be a major policy shift vis-à-vis the country’s support to the allied forces stationed in Afghanistan for the war against terrorism, the Pakistan government said on Sunday that the supply of NATO forces had not been suspended but stopped permanently and NATO containers that had been stopped would not be allowed to cross the border into Afghanistan. Talking to reporters at the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) of the Interior Ministry, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said NATO supplies through the country had been stopped permanently. He strongly Continued on page 04 condemned the NATO attack on Pakistani forces, saying such outrage at nato attaCk | page 02 attacks were unacceptable.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi joins pTI Former FM says Pakistan’s N-programme not safe under Zardari g Imran urges govt to pull out of US-led war on terror g

GHOTKI ONLINE

Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told thousands of supporters and followers at a public gathering in Ghotki on Sunday that he has joined the Imran Khanled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

“I have joined the party that is working towards justice and change. I am now part of Imran Khan’s party,” he announced. Qureshi had sought to keep his future political plans secret after resigning from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) but the decision did not come as a surprise, as Imran Khan had declared weeks ago that Qureshi would end up in his party.

Qureshi told the crowd that the time had come to for fresh general elections. The National Assembly, he said, was not functioning according

to the aspirations of the people. “It is time for this government to go,” he said. Qureshi said he stepped down as the country’s foreign minister in a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on the Raymond Davis fiasco. The former foreign minister said Pakistan’s nuclear programme was not safe in the presence of Zardari and said he would reveal more about the nuclear programme at the PTI’s next public meeting in Karachi. Qureshi said further that President Zardari had said he would not be allowed to hold a rally in Ghotki, however Ghotki did not belong to Zardari but to the Sindhi people.

Continued on page 04

Qureshi joining pti a serious blow to ‘n’ | page 04 ppp Calls Qureshi’s entry ‘unimportant’ | page 03

NATO moved Sunday to contain the damage from the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers, seeking to soothe Islamabad’s rage against the US and its military allies in Afghanistan over the air strike. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stopped short of issuing a full apology to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for the “tragic, unintended” killings, which he deemed “regrettable”. An official said allies had sought to ascertain “exactly what was meant”

by Pakistan’s public position and to prevent lasting damage from the suspension of supply lines for Afghanistan and an order for US troops to leave a secretive air base in Pakistan.

“I have written to the prime minister of Pakistan to make it clear that the deaths of Pakistani personnel are as unacceptable and deplorable as the deaths of Afghan and international personnel,” Rasmussen said in a statement, deeming the strike “a tragic unintended incident”. Pakistan conveyed its “rage” to the United States over the incident.

An ISAF investigation into the incident is likely to ask whether Afghan and American troops on the Afghan side of the border were fired upon first - whether by insurgents or Pakistani military. “I fully support the ISAF investigation which is currently underway,” Rasmussen said of the ISAF fighting the war and which includes non-NATO allies. “We will determine what happened, and draw the right lessons,” Rasmussen added.

WESTERN OFFICIAL: Meanwhile, a Western official and a senior Afghan security official claimed on Sunday that NATO and Afghan forces came under fire from across the border with Pakistan before NATO aircraft attacked the Pakistani army post.

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02 News Today’s

Monday, 28 November, 2011

ISlAMAbAd

NewS

wOrld vIew

JI, Hizb demonstrate against NATO

The Pakistan army: great filmmakers

Himalayan nations yet to break the ice

Story on Page 06

Story on Page 10

Quick Look

Story on Page 14

Strings attached to financial aid: US senator tells Pakistan WASHINGTON AFP

A top US senator warned Pakistan on Sunday that there are strings attached to financial aid from the United States, and urged greater cooperation following cross-border NATO air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops.

“There is a lot of diplomacy that has to occur and they need to understand that our support for them financially is dependent on their cooperation with us,” Republican Senator Jon Kyl said on the Fox News Sunday talk show. The air strikes on Saturday have brought another chill to already frosty relations between the two uneasy allies, with Islamabad still a key partner for US military operations in neighboring Pakistan.

The United States, which depends on Pakistan as a vital life-line to supply 130,000 foreign troops fighting in landlocked Afghanistan, has scrambled to salvage the alliance.

In a joint statement, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have offered “deepest condolences” and said they backed “NATO’s intention to investigate immediately.” Senator Dick Durbin, a top Democrat, echoed Clinton and Panetta’s statement, offering condolences, but warned that the crisis would likely further endanger US troops in the region. “As difficult as it is to find our way through this diplomatic morass, between the incompetence and corruption in Afghanistan, and complicity in parts of Pakistan, our soldiers are caught right in the middle of this at a time when they’re trying to bring peace to this region,” he said.

PM takes Altaf into confidence on NATO attack

WEREN’T THE FLOODS OVER? An aerial view of a house in Sanghar on Sunday shows a man waving for help as his abode is still surrounded by flood water. AFP

ISLAMABAD APP

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday telephoned Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain and took him into confidence on the unfortunate incident of the Mohmand Agency and decision of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet regarding it. To express solidarity with the government’s decisions over the NATO attack on Salala check post issue, the MQM will take out a rally in Karachi. Altaf Hussain expressed complete solidarity with the government and said that the government took the right stand on the issue. He said that the MQM will take out a rally on Monday in support of the government on this issue. Talking to MQM Rabita Committee in London and Pakistan after conversation with Interior Minister Rehman Malik on the telephone, he asked the people to observe November 28 as “Pakistan Stability and Solidarity Day”, said a statement issued by MQM. Altaf Hussain has also assented to the decision and directed to hoist national flags at the houses, buildings and other public places to express complete solidarity for the sake of national security.

Chinese ambassador called on CJCSC ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jian called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Khalid Shameem Wynne on Sunday. Liu Jian remained with the chairman for some time and discussed the matters related to mutual interest and thanked for Pakistan’s support in making the YOYUI-IV exercise successful. The ambassador said that the friendship between Pakistan and China will be further strengthened through the joint exercises.

Outrage at NATO attack g

Protesters gather outside US consulate in Karachi to protest cross-border air strike

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD/MIRANSHAH

T

AGENCIES

HOUSANDS of enraged people took to the streets across the country on Sunday, burning an effigy of US President Barack Obama and setting fire to US flags in protest against NATO air strikes on military posts on Saturday that killed 24 soldiers.

Thousands gathered outside the US consulate in Karachi to protest against the NATO crossborder air attack. A Reuters reporter at the scene said the angry crowd shouted “Down with America”. One young man climbed on the wall surrounding the heavily fortified compound and attached a Pakistani flag on barbed wire, as riot police looked on.

The rallies were organised by opposition and right-wing religious parties in major cities of the country. Outside the press club in Karachi, dozens of political activists burnt an effigy of President Obama.

In Multan, more than 300 activists loyal to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif, as well as local traders, took to the streets and burned US and NATO flags.

They carried placards and banners, and shouted slogans against the US and NATO. Speaking at the rally, PML-N lawmaker Javed Hashmi de-

manded that the government end its alliance in the US-led “war on terror”.

In Islamabad, at least 200 activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) held a rally in the I-10 neighbourhood. “We strongly condemn the attack and the killing of our soldiers,” local JI chief Mian Aslam told the rally, as protestors chanted “Pakistan is America’s graveyard”.

Tribesmen in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) also strongly condemned the attack and demanded the government give a befitting reply to the allied forces in Afghanistan for breaching its sovereignty.

Tribesmen in Miranshah and other parts of North Waziristan also condemned the NATO attack and demanded the government stop military operations in the tribal areas.

In Sialkot, hundreds of JI and Shabab-e-Milli activists staged a protest demonstration at Allama Iqbal Chowk and rallied against the attacks. They carried banners and placards and wore black armbands. They burnt the American flag and chanted antiUS slogans.

In Mandi Bahauddin, journalists staged a rally led by Nazir Bosal, president of the District Press Club, to condemn the NATO attack. Participants were carrying placards with slogans asking the government to extricate the Pakistani armed forces from the US-led war in Afghanistan.

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

FOreIgN NewS

ArTS & eNTerTAINMeNT

SPOrTS

News 03 COMMeNT

Iran parliament votes to reduce ties with Britain Don’t attack my creative freedom, says Aamir Misbah warns team of complacency

After the attack: Some realistic assessments, please.

The women in white: More than just handmaidens.

Dr Mubarak Ali says: Challenge and response: Survival of the persevering.

Waqqas Mir says: The text police: We’ll mind our own language, thank you.

Urooj Zia says: Women and the Left: Misogyny found everywhere.

Story on Page 16

Story on Page 19

Story on Page 20

Articles on Page 12-13

PPP leaders scornfully react to Qureshi’s PTI entry KARACHI

L

STAFF REPORT

eADeRS of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have annoyingly cast down the importance of former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s entry into the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), calling him an ‘opportunist’.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said, “The president of Pakistan is a symbol of the Federation and passing unparliamentary remarks against the president is inappropriate.”

The information minister said that Qureshi was a former foreign minister and yet he is unaware of the fact that the

command and control authority of the nuclear assets was present with the prime minister and not the president.

PPP Central Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira said Qureshi was pursuing his personal interests, and if given the charge of Foreign Ministry again, he would start praising President Asif Ali Zardari. He criticised the former PPP member for using “indecent” language against Zardari, saying the president was carrying forward the vision of Benazir Bhutto.

Aijaz Durrani, incharge of the Media Cell at Bilawal House, said the PPP vehemently condemned Qureshi’s criticism on Bhutto family. He said that on the first day of Muharram, Qureshi was “falsely” presenting himself as a follower of Imam Hussain (A.S.) and Mehmood

Ghaznavi, the Muslim king who invaded Subcontinent several times.

PPP-Punjab Coordinator Navid Chaudhry said Qureshi had only mureeds (spiritual followers) and not voters. He said that in the past, an ordinary PPP candidate had defeated Pir Pagara in the elections, despite the fact that Pagara had hundreds of thousands of followers. He said Pagara’s followers had refused to vote for their spiritual leader against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s charisma. He said that although Qureshi had a large number of followers, but few voters in his constituency.

PPP-Punjab General Secretary Samiullah Khan said Qureshi had no popularity among the masses and all the fame he had gained was only because of the PPP. He said that only Qureshi’s fol-

34pc of Sindh’s flooded areas still under water: Wfp ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Nusrat bhutto remembered on Chehlum LAhORE: People’s Youth Organisation Punjab President and Adviser to the prime minister on Youth Affairs Mian Muhammad Ayub on Sunday paid tribute to Madar-e-Jamhooriat Nusrat Bhutto, adding that she was a dignified and courageous woman.

He was addressing a gathering organised in connection with Madar-eJamhhoriat’s Chehlum. Hundreds of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and People’s Youth Organisation workers attended the meeting to pay tribute to the deceased leader. Mian Ayub said that Nusrat Bhutto had offered unforgettable sacrifices for democracy and the oppressed people of the country. “Begum Nusrat Bhutto lost her husband Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, undoubtedly the biggest political leader Pakistan has seen after Quaid-e-Azam.

She lost her two young sons, Shahnawaz and Murtaza. She also lost Benazir Bhutto, an icon for not just Pakistan but also women around the world.

Begum Sahiba will remain an inspiration to the political workers of Pakistan, in general, and PPP workers, in particular,” Ayub said. He said she fought for the rights of labourers, peasants and women of the country, adding that Madar-e-Jamhooriat would remain alive in the hearts of the people of Pakistan. STAFF REPORT

The fact that around 34 percent of Sindh’s flooded areas are still inundated suggests a high level of food insecurity in the province, the World Food Programme (WFP) said in its recently published Situation Report.

“The recent multi-sector cluster assessment shows that 34 percent of the flooded areas of Sindh are still under water. The assessment confirms high levels of food insecurity in the province,” the WFP said in its situation report. The report was released on Thursday.

The WFP said the situation heightened food insecurity in Sindh where rates of Global Acute Malnutrition were 17.3 percent even before the floods.

According to the WFP, the results from the National Nutrition Survey, 2011, also show that situation has not improved and Sindh still remains the most food deprived province of the country, with food insecurity at 72 percent and malnu-

trition as high as 23 percent.

The report also added that the WFP had reached over 1.4 million people in November. The WFP said that 50 percent of the funding was encouraging and that it would hopefully get

more funds in the coming days.

The United States, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Switzerland provided assistance to the WFP for the flood victims in Pakistan.

lowers from interior Sindh had participated in his rally to see their spiritual leader. He said Qureshi announced concerns about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets after being “ousted” from the cabinet. He said Qureshi should be charged with treason.

PPP-Punjab Finance Secretary Aurangzeb Barki said Qureshi had long desired to become a leader like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, but lacked the vision and qualities. Shaukat Basra, PPP’s deputy parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly, said the PPP was an ideological party with a vision that attracts people. He said Qureshi had nothing to do with the PPP’s vote bank in south Punjab. He added that the charges levelled by Qureshi against the president were baseless.

ban on outlawed organisations demanded KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Leaders of Jaffaria Alliance Pakistan (JAP) and Majlis-e-Wehdat Muslameen (MWM) on Sunday demanded a complete ban on the activities of the outlawed and terrorist organisations and arrest of the killers of the two Azadar scouts. In a statement, they demanded Sindh’s chief minister, home minister, inspector general (IG) and the Rangers director general to immediately suspend the officials of Rangers and Police. MWM leaders Maulana Raja Nasir Abbas, Maulana Hassan Zafar and Maulana Mirza Yousuf Hussain condemned the attack on the mourners of Imam Hussain (AS), saying that the terrorists had foreign agendas of sabotaging peace and religious harmony in the country. They said that the attack of NATO on the Armed Forces of the country have exposed the NATO and US agenda against Pakistan and the recent incident of killing of two Shiite mourners was also a foreign plot to create chaos in the country. The MWM leaders alleged that the government had been informed of the activities of the outlawed organisations, adding that it was the government’s responsibility to take action against such activities.

Police seek US national’s extradition over ‘honour killing’ SANDAWALA AFP

The police say they are seeking the extradition of an American man suspected of murdering his daughter and her British-based husband during a family holiday this month.

Uzma Naurin, a 30-year-old US national and her 31-year-old Pakistani husband Saif Rehman were killed on November 1 in Lala Musa town, on their way back from a shopping trip.

Naurin’s father, 58-year-old Muzaf-

far Hussain, who was in hospital in Pakistan on the day of the killings, has since fled to the United States but is now the chief suspect in the murder case, police sources said.

“We have gathered evidence against him. We will present a detailed report in court and try to get red warrants (extradition) against him,” said Gujrat District Investigating Police Station head Nasir Mehmood Butt.

“Once we get him into custody, we will be able to obtain all the information and this case will be solved,” he said.

Naurin married Rehman without her family’s permission in the British city of Manchester but relatives later attended a full wedding ceremony in the Scottish city of Glasgow, where Rehman was based, earlier this year.

The couple and Naurin’s father arrived in Pakistan last month to attend a wedding. Hussain was then admitted to hospital with chest pains, police said. On November 1, Hussain asked his driver to take the couple shopping in the city of Gujrat. On their way back, they were stopped by four gun-

men and killed.

Butt said the driver, Adeel, had “admitted” his role in the crime and that records show Hussain made dozens of telephone calls to the driver during the shopping trip, with a last call from Adeel to Hussain minutes after the murder.

Mohammad Zakir, Rehman’s father, wants the police to extradite Hussain from the United States. “We want action against this man... He should be brought back and legal action should be taken against him,” he said.

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04 News

Monday, 28 November, 2011

Fate of NRO beneficiaries remains uncertain

ex-CJ says politicians who got cases cleared via political connections may be prosecuted g Most NrO beneficiaries are bureaucrats and government officials g

ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

A

LTHOUGH the Supreme Court has thrown out the government’s petitions in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) review case, the fate of the NRO beneficiaries still remains uncertain as the government is in no mood to take action against them because most of them are affiliated with political parties that are currently part of the coalition government.

Though some influential politicians have gotten themselves cleared from cases they were facing, the apex court may still order a review of such cases cleared through political clout.

The promulgation of the controversial law on October 5, 2007 had benefited most of the country’s top politicians belonging to two major political parties: the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

However, when the Supreme Court later termed the NRO null and void in 2009, some smart politicians, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Agha Siraj Durrani, Salman Farooqui, some of the MQM leaders and others, chose to get their cases cleared from lower courts where their political clout and ministerial portfolios would command sufficient authority.

EX-CJ: Former chief justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqi says the politicians in question could be prosecuted by the court under Article 184/3 of the constitution. “I suppose that the apex court has already taken notice of such cases under which influential politicians have gotten the benefit of their positions and they have been cleared by courts as the prosecutors refused to contest the cases and said they had no evidence against them. I think the court has already formed a

commission to review all such cases in which shady characters have been cleared,” he added.

Interestingly, the list release by Mohammed Afzal Sindu, the minister of state for law at the time the NRO was nullified who was later sacked

by President Asif Ali Zardari for following Supreme Court orders, contained the breakdown of only those withdrawn cases that pertained to the MQM. The document is silent about the number of cases registered against PPP beneficiaries.

MOST BENEFICIARIES: Most of the NRO beneficiaries have been bureaucrats and government officials according to a list released by the Law Ministry on November 21, 2009, containing the names of only 34 politicians out of a total of 8,041.

According to the list, prominent leaders and bureaucrats who enjoyed immunity under the NRO included slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, President Zardari, Rehman Malik, the late Nusrat Bhutto, former minister Yousuf Talpur, PPP Secretary General Jehangir Badr and Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, among others. Almost 97 percent of the beneficiaries hail from Sindh, seeing as top politicians from the PPP and MQM – both majority parties from rural and urban parts of Sindh – benefited from the law the most.

Leaders from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Awami National Party (ANP) were also among the NRO beneficiaries, said the list.

The list shows that around 3,478 cases were withdrawn against the NRO beneficiaries out of which 3,320 cases were withdrawn by the Sindh government. The cases that were withdrawn were registered on charges of corruption, financial bungling, misuse of authority and criminal charges.

ZARDARI: President Zardari enjoys immunity under Article 248 of the constitution and, according to legal experts, cannot be prosecuted for new or old cases against him as long as he is the president. However, despite the court verdict, some experts say that relief once granted cannot be reversed under the law.

The list showed that MQM chief Altaf Hussain had been spared in the highest number of cases, 72, including 31 murder and 11 attempted murder charges. Dr Farooq Sattar, the MQM’s parliamentary leader, came in second. A total of 23 cases were withdrawn against him, including five murder cases and four attempted murder cases.

The third biggest beneficiary appeared to be Provincial Minister Shoaib Bukhari of the MQM, against whom 21 cases were withdrawn, including 16 murder and attempted murder charges.

Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghouri, Sindh Governor Ishratul ebad, Saleem Shahzad, Waseem Akhtar and former MNA Kunwar Khalid Yunus were other prominent MQM leaders who benefited from the NRO, according to the list.

Among the beneficiaries from the PPP were Interior Minister Malik, who later got all his cases cleared from the courts, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, who claims he did not get relief from the NRO, Nawab Yousuf Talpur, Mir Baz Khetran, Sindh Provincial Minister Agha Siraj Durrani and Senator Jehangir Badar.

Although PML-N President Nawaz Sharif has been claiming that no member of his party benefited from the NRO, the list showed that at least five PML-N members had, namely MNA Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, Rana Nazir Ahmed, former MNAs Chaudhry Abdul Hameed and Haji Kabir and

former MPA Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali. In November 2009, the PPP government did not present a list of beneficiaries of the NRO in the National Assembly despite a promise made by the prime minister to that effect.

The list also had names of around 5,800 people who were accused of financial irregularities and criminal cases.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also prepared a fresh list of 233 cases of financial irregularities against 248 people that were withdrawn or disposed of under the NRO, said media reports.

Original lists submitted by the provincial governments and the NAB to the federal government involved Rs 708 billion siphoned off through kickbacks, corruption and misuse of authority. Almost all the cases were settled or closed after February 5, 2008. eight cases against President Zardari were disposed of under the NRO. The charges concerned kickbacks from the SGS PSI company, grant of licence to ARY Gold, alleged corruption in purchase of Ursus tractors under Awami Tractor Scheme, award of pre-shipment contract to Cotecna, assets beyond means, kickbacks received from former Pakistan Steel Mills chairman Sajjad Ahmed, construction of a polo ground at PM’s House and money laundering in the SGS Swiss case. The Ursus tractors case against his co-accused Nawab Yousaf Talpur was also disposed of.

Ten bureaucrats from Balochistan, mostly belonging to Revenue, Water and Customs Departments, also benefited from the NRO. It is unclear whether cases against Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and PML-N leader Ishaq Dar, including the Hudaibya Paper Mills case, were settled under the NRO or are still pending in court.

2 killed in separate incidents LAhORE: Two persons including a trader and a cable operator were murdered in two different areas of the city on Sunday. Azhar Saeed, a 35-year-old trader of Shah Alam Market, was gunned down by two unidentified men over reasons yet to be known in the Mochi Gate Police precincts. Two unknown motorcyclists approached Azhar and opened fire on him. Locals of the area took Azhar to a nearby hospital, however he succumbed to his bullet injuries on the way to the hospital. The Mochi Gate Police started investigation into the incident. In another incident, Sher Jaan, a 25year-old cable operator and resident of Farooq Gunj, was shot dead, while his friend Kaleem sustained bullet injuries in the Misri Shah Police precincts. STAFF REPORT

SELLING BEACH-WASTE: A boy scavenges amongst waste dumped at Karachi beach. ONLINE

Qureshi joining pTI a serious blow to pML-N LAHORE YASIR HABIB

The Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) has suffered a severe blow after former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi jumped onto Imran Khan’s bandwagon instead of honouring Nawaz Sharif’s invitation.

Both the PML-N and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) had been inviting Qureshi to their parties for several months. Nawaz was seriously attempting to woo Qureshi to join his party, while Imran had announced earlier that Qureshi would join him on November 27. The former foreign minister kept the sus-

pense alive until Sunday, when he embraced Imran Khan at an impressive public meeting in Ghotki. Qureshi, who holds strong political influence in south Punjab, has minimised the PML-N’s prospects in the region.

Qureshi’s decision must have disappointed Nawaz, who had been quite optimistic that the former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwart would join him. A senior PML-N leader said the Sharifs did not have anything substantial to offer Qureshi.

“Qureshi often hinted at his demands, but was not responded to well. Hence he joined the PTI for a better political future,” he said. Accord-

Shah Mehmood Qureshi joins pTI Continued from page 1 He said the PPP’s founding chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a son of Sindh and he came out before the people of Pakistan when the members of the National Assembly did not listen to him. He said the Sindhis were the people who had passed the first resolution for the establishment of Pakistan in the Sindh Assembly. The former foreign minister said the convoy that started from Multan would go all the way and topple the “pharaoh” in Islamabad.

He also said all eyes were on Imran Khan because the

nation was looking for a leader to lead from the front and make the country prosperous. “I am embarking on a new journey and from today onwards, Shah Mehmood is part of your team,” he told Khan to thunderous applause. earlier, addressing the same gathering, Imran Khan had invited the former foreign minister to join his party. Commenting on the NATO attack in Mohmand Agency, the PTI chairman urged the government to pull out of the US-led war on terror. He said Qureshi’s entry into his party would be useful for the country.

ing to a close aide to Qureshi, the former minister initially had no plans to join the PTI as he was contemplating two other options – forming his own party or joining the PMLN. Sources privy to the developments called it a “half victory”. Reacting to Qureshi’s decision, PML-N Information Secretary Mashahidullah Khan said his party happily accepted Qureshi’s decision and wished him the best of luck.

“Shah Mehmood Qureshi is a political worker and a civilised person and with his joining the PTI, it is believed that Imran Khan and his party members would learn how to behave as a political party,” he added.

Pakistan to revisit engagement with NATO, ISAF: PM ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan will revisit its engagement with NATO and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the backdrop of Mohmand Agency incident. In an interview to a private television, the Prime Minister said that the Parliament’s Committee on National Security has been assigned to probe the memorandum issue. About the appointment of Sherry Rehman as ambassador to the United States, he said the decision was taken first by the party and later he had backed it. APP

pakistan refuses to unblock NATO supply Continued from page 1 The NATO leaders said investigations would be made into the attack and Islamabad should not block supplies to the coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgents. Pakistan has not only blocked the NATO supplies to Afghanistan but has also asked the US to vacate the secretive Shamsi airbase within 15 days. A joint statement by US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who offered their condolences for the loss of life, backed an investigation into the incident and stressed the importance of the US-Pakistani partner-

ship. “Instead of accepting the US and NATO request for allowing the supplies to Afghanistan for the coalition forces, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar conveyed to them the deep sense of rage felt by the Pakistani people over the killing of at least 24 soldiers in a cross-border air strike by NATO aircraft from Afghanistan,” said a Pakistani diplomat here who asked not to be identified by name.

He said the foreign minister told her counterparts from Washington and other NATO capitals that first there must be a formal apology from them over the

killings followed by a thorough investigation into the incident and stern punishment to the people responsible for it. Only then would Pakistan decide what to do, she added. A statement issued here by the Foreign Office said Khar told Clinton that the incident had forced Pakistan to revisit the terms of its engagement with Washington. In her conversation with Secretary Clinton, Khar said: “The incident negates the progress made by the two countries on improving relations and forces Pakistan to revisit the terms of engagement.”

Khar said that attacks like the one in Mohmand were

“totally unacceptable”. “They demonstrate complete disregard for international law and human life, and are in stark violation of Pakistani sovereignty,” she said. She told Secretary Clinton about the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC)’s decisions to stop NATO supply routes and that the US should vacate the Shamsi airbase within 15 days. Clinton said she was deeply saddened by the event and conveyed the US government’s desire to work with Pakistan to resolve the issue.

Khar also spoke to British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Saturday night to convey the decisions taken by the DCC. She told

him of the deep sense of anger prevailing in Pakistan over the unprovoked attacks

by NATO. Hague expressed grief at the loss of life.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also telephoned Khar to express support and solidarity with the people and government of Pakistan. He said the NATO/ISAF attack was unacceptable and supported a full investigation.

The German foreign minister said his country was fully aware of Pakistan’s sacrifices and contributions.

He hoped that the incident would not affect political cooperation. Khar briefed him on the gravity of the situa-

tion created by the attacks and its repercussions. She also briefed him on the DCC decisions.

AFGhAN GOVT: Pakistan has also protested to the Afghan government over the attacks.

Foreign Office Spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said the protest underscored that the use of Afghan territory against Pakistan by NATO/ISAF was also a violation of ISAF’s mandate for operations in Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan should take necessary measures to ensure that such acts are not carried out from its territory against Pakistan,” she said.

However, on Pakistan’s par-

ticipation in the Bonn Conference, the spokeswoman clarified that the matter was being examined and no decision had yet been taken in this regard.

In a related development, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, a close ally of Pakistan, called Foreign Minister Khar on Saturday night to express solidarity with the people and government of Pakistan in the wake of the attack.

Khar thanked Davutoglu and condemned the attacks. Davutoglu assured Khar that Turkey, as a member of NATO, would ask for an impartial enquiry into the attack.

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

Altaf asks nation to observe solidarity day today United we stand 07

No ‘amn’ when it comes to Americans ■ People’s Amn Committee stages demonstration in front of US consulate to protest NATO attack ■ leaders say consulate stands on part of hell KARACHI

A

STAFF REPORT

MeRICA is the root of all evil and the fundamental cause of insecurity in Pakistan and the land on which the US consulate in Karachi stands is a part of hell, said People’s Amn Committee (PAC) leaders on Sunday during a demonstration staged in front of the consulate to protest the NATO attack that killed at least 24 personnel of the Pakistan Army.

A large number of protesters took out a rally from Lyari and staged a sit-in in front of the American consulate.

The protesters, carrying placards displaying their anti-US sentiments,

chanted against America and NATO, and blocked the adjacent roads for all vehicular traffic for over three hours.

A group of young protesters climbed the wall of the American consulate and hoisted a Pakistani flag on it.

Addressing the protesters, PAC leaders said, “Our army is the world’s best army and we support our forces.”

PAC’s Zafar Baloch said America is evil and responsible for killing Muslims all over the world. Baloch asked the Pakistani government to reconsider its relationship with the “killer”.

He said, “Our army is brave and can defend the borders of our country.

We are with them and shall fight alongside our soldiers with all our enemies.”

He also said each and every Baloch is ready to give her/his life for Pakistan.

“Our rally is to show our support to the army and government,” he added.

PAC leader Ratan Kumar said the government’s decision to block NATO supply lines and to remove American troops from the Shamsi Airfield is commendable. “We fully support the decisions,” he added.

Yasin Niaz, Shah Azam Baloch and other PAC leaders also addressed the protesters. The demonstration ended after three hours, following which the protesters dispersed.

The PAC had staged similar a demonstration outside the American consulate in September this year to protest US allegation that Pakistan is supporting the Haqqani network.

Gone are the days of Surando, just tainted water now ■ More than 8% residents of goth Mao Akhiraj, located adjacent to the Thar coal reserves, suffer from unnatural bend in backbone ■ As per international standards, 250mg chloride per litre water is safe, but Thar desert’s groundwater contains 2,144mg chloride per litre KARACHI AMAR GURIRO

There is no national poet in the contemporary era like the famous Sufi saint and Sindhi language poet Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai who could elaborate the suffering of 51year-old Khangar and other members of his community.

Khangar belongs to the musician community of Maganhar who usually play different traditional indigenous musical instruments of Sindh.

Maganhar is the community to which the legendary character of Beejal is associated. Beejal was an expert at playing Surando – a peacockshaped, five-stringed violinlike musical instrument unique to Sindh. Once Beejal went to a kingdom and started playing melancholic tunes on the wonderful instrument. King Rai Deyaj was so impressed by his music that he asked Beejal to ask for whatever he wished. Beejal asked for the king’s head and the king fulfilled his wish. Shah Latif explained this in Sur Sorath of his book Shah Jo Risalo.

Though Khangar is a Maganhar, today he doesn’t have a Surando, but only a stick that he uses to support himself while walking. Water contamination in groundwater of his village has made him very weak and caused an unnatural bend in his backbone to such an extent that he cannot walk like a normal person anymore.

Though he is aware that water contamination is responsible for all his sufferings, he has no other option.

Khangar is not alone as there are around 100 residents, including women and even minor children, suffering the same fate in the village of

Goth Mao Akhiraj – a small village comprising 1,200 people and located 65 kilometres in the south of Mithi town, the district headquarters of Tharparkar. The village is located adjacent to the Thar coal reserves, which China and several other countries have visited to find out the quantity of the reserves, but no one has so far bothered to find out about

the poor living on a rich land.

Forty-year-old Daiman is another victim of water contamination from the same village who has heard a lot about droughts and water shortage from her grandmother, but the current situation is entirely new for her. The diseases started appearing in the village seven years ago and so far more than 90 people in this remote village have lost their ability to effectively carry out any physical activity.

Residents told me that the patients initially suffer temperature and within a few days, their backbones are bent. Following that, they cannot stand straight like a normal person.

Many of these patients are now physically disabled.

For most people, the Thar desert brings to mind beautiful scenes with women in traditional, colourful attire carrying

pitchers and walking between the dunes, and some artistes are dying to paint such scenes, but the locals are facing horrible conditions in reality.

“The reality is that women and children have to walk several miles in summer to obtain potable water,” said Taro Meghwar, another resident of the village.

According to international standards, 250mg chloride per litre water is safe, but different studies suggest that Thar Desert’s groundwater contains 2,144mg chloride per litre. Moreover, total dissolved solids are 5,414mg per litre against the allowed 1,000mg per litre and fluoride in drinking water should not be more than one gram per litre, but it is more than 18g in Khangar’s village. Contamination causes children to look much older than they actually are, with white hair, wrinkles, curved backbones and a thick layer of fluoride on their teeth.

“We demand the government to send special teams to this village to investigate why the water is contaminated to such an extent,” said Association for Water, Applied education and Renewable energy’s Ali Akbar Rahimoon.

“We also demand proper treatment for those affected by polluted water.”

People's Amn Committee activists and supporters staged a protest outside the US Consulate on Sunday. STAff pHOTO

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PakistaN today

06 karachi

Monday, 28 November, 2011

‘Timekeepers’ responsible for road accidents: transporters KARACHI

“

APP

If my minibus driver is late by only 60 to 180 seconds, he is charged Rs 100 by the Adda administration,” said Rashid Janjua on Sunday. Janjua’s three minibuses ply the western and southern parts of Karachi covering Baldia and Saddar towns.

“This forces the drivers to speed, which sometimes results in fatal road accidents,” Janjua said while talking about causes of accidents in Karachi, one of most populous and accidentprone cities of the world.

He said a charge is paid on the start and end of the route in case of a delay and it is called ‘jurmana’ or fine.

Most cases of road accidents on the thoroughfares of the metropolitan are related to minibuses and coaches, followed by dumpers.

The latest occurred three weeks ago when a speeding coach ran over a woman and her son at the Guru

Mandir intersection of the MA Jinnah Road. The coach was set ablaze by an angry mob.

“It’s uncontrollable because of the administration or regulators who have their own approach of running the affairs of public transport in the private sector,” said Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI) spokesman Ashraf Banglori.

He admitted that there is no other way to regulate such a big transport network as the regulators have to consider everyone plying their buses, minibuses and coaches.

Moreover, the competition is among those who run their transport at lucrative routes from the western, southern, eastern and northern parts with focal point at Saddar, said Banglori.

According to data compiled by the Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Centre, public transport has been held responsible for 46 percent of road traffic mortalities in the metropolis to an average per annum.

The centre – a public-private

partnership of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) and NeD University of engineering and Technology – collects data of the JPMC, AKUH, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Civil Hospital Karachi and Liaquat National Hospital.

According to the centre’s data, the number of fatalities and injuries caused by public transport increased from 7 percent in 2009 to 24 percent in 2010 and 18 percent in 2009 to 22 percent in 2010, respectively.

However, the motorcycle continues to be the vehicle most involved in accidents, that is, up to 57 percent.

The data specified that motorcycle riders and pillion riders constitute the highest number of road casualties, that is, 55 percent of the total casualty data, followed by pedestrians covering 25 percent.

The menace is not confined to Karachi alone, but practiced on long routes also, like Karachi to Hyderabad, Thatta or Badin.

“Fines on long routes are much

higher, between Rs 400 and Rs 500 per one-way transportation of commuters,” Banglori pointed out.

Interestingly, all the fines are collected by private regulators who own the ‘Transport Adda’, without paying any tax and are even involved in land grabbing as per their own discretion without fear of any official interference.

“It is very easy. Just go and occupy a plot and park 10 to 20 vehicles and later increase them and you are the owner of the land,” said another KTI office-bearer.

Transporters have even arranged a crosscheck formula for the timings of passage of minibuses by hiring ‘volunteers’ at every stop to check the movement of minibuses of the respective routes.

“I have to just give a token of Rs 5 to every notified minibus or coach as a guarantee for covering a certain route in a certain time,” said Jamshed Khan, a young timekeeper at the Merewether Tower, one of the busiest bus stops of the city.

Pro-Mirza rally outside press club

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Sindh National Party (SNP) staged a rally outside the Karachi Press Club on Sunday to protest the attack on former home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza in London.

A large number of protesters gathered at the SNP's head-office at Dr Dawood Pota Road in Cantonment Saddar and headed towards the press club in the shape of a rally. They carried banners and placards inscribed with pro-Mirza slogans.

Speaking to the protesters, SNP Chairman Ameer Bhambhro said that his party and Sindhis condemn the attack on former home minister, who is raising his voice against those conspiring against the province.

“The attack on Mirza in London shows that terrorists do not want to let international institutions know about the truth at any forum,” he said.

“The population of 180 million in Sindh would never let a soldier fighting for the rights of the people battle alone.”

He warned that the patience of the Sindh people should not be tested as they would not tolerate any conspiracy against the country and the province.

“If the people of Sindh react against such attacks on the sons of the soil, then the whole responsibility would lie on the shoulders of an ethnic party.”

Bhambhro claimed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), under a pre-planned conspiracy, is planning a bloodbath in the city by fanning ethnic violence.

“It is surprising that the country’s agencies are carrying out operations in Sindh and Balochistan, however, they have not started any action against the MQM despite the large number of proofs against the party.”

AJP elects new office-bearers KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Abdullah Shah ghazi wing of rangers performs a drill at Shahrah-e-Quaideen on Sunday to prepare for any untoward incident during Muharram. IMrAN ALI

A newly formed political party of Sindh, the Awami Jamhoori Party (AJP), held its 2nd Annual Convention in Hyderabad, attended by thousands of male and female activists. The party elected its new office-bearers: Abrar Kazi as president, Hussain Bux Narejo as vice president and Karam Wassan as general secretary.

Jami Chandio, Mir Amanullah Talpur, Mir Mohammad Pariyhar, Suleman Dahri, Mohammad Ali Shah, Hakeem Zangejo, Inam Shaikh, Javed Kazi, Shabnam Chandio and Aamna Abro spoke at the convention.

NATO: foes in guise of friends COMMENT KARACHI JAVED MAHMOOD

Once again NATO helicopters have attacked Pakistani soldiers, killing about 25 and injuring many others this time in a pre-dawn attack on a Pakistani checkpost on the Pak-Afghan border on Saturday morning without any reason and provocation.

The attack has shocked the entire nation, sending it in an atmosphere of mourning on the weekend.

In response, showing a strong reaction

to this blatant act of terrorism by NATO forces, the Pakistani government has cut off all supplies to NATO and asked the US government to vacate the Shamsi Airbase.

The government also announced that it would review its cooperation with NATO and the US. Saturday’s attack was not the first incident of its kind in which the sovereignty of Pakistan’s territory was breached by friends-cum-foes in the guise of NATO and US forces in Afghanistan, as they have already set several precedents of trespassing the country’s territory and carrying out attacks on our security forces who are safeguarding the border with Afghanistan.

Had the government or army taken any tough stance in the face of previous

misadventures on the part of NATO, could their forces have dared to kill over two dozen of our soldiers on Saturday?

Defence and political analysts and observers are of the opinion that Pakistan must shoot down any helicopter or drone that enters our territory. Once the security forces show courage and bravery by shooting down NATO or US helicopters and drones, the decision-makers of NATO and the US would think many a times before venturing to carry out any further misadventure on the Pakistani soil.

It is worth noting that only a few months back, US officials exerted maximum pressure on the government and the army, even using threatening tones, to pitch, once again, Pakistani forces against

the terrorists in North Waziristan, who were once allies/mujahideen for the US in the Afghan-Russia war.

The US officials, however, calmed down when the Pakistani government and the army outright rejected to further serve the vested interests of the US, which is why US officials are now issuing soft statements and requests for Pakistan to conduct another major operation against the Taliban in North Waziristan.

It is no more a secret that Pakistan has been the major victim of the socalled war on terror as this nasty proxy war has gone on to claim more than 35,000 lives of civilians and over 5,000 lives of army personnel.

Meanwhile, the so-called war on

terror agenda of the US has inflicted over and above $80 billion worth losses to the economy of Pakistan, while the country in return got just pennies and few millions of dollars.

This is the war on terror that has also widened the budgetary deficit of Pakistan in the past few years as the government has been spending money from its own resources/budget with the hope that the US would refund the cost of war on terror.

However, instead of extending financial support to Pakistan, the US has only been sending strong messages, warnings and threats to keep Pakistan’s military engaged against Taliban without any cause and justification.

KHI 28-11-2011_Layout 1 11/28/2011 2:24 AM Page 7

karachi 07 Sindh sluggish in repealing anti-labour law Monday, 28 November, 2011

PakistaN today

■ despite being repealed by federal government, removal from Service Ordinance-2000 of Musharraf’s dictatorial rule still in place in Sindh KARACHI

T

IMDAD SOOMRO

o force officers of their respective departments into obeying their orders, most ministers and top bureaucrats in the Sindh government are reluctant to repeal the Removal from Service Ordinance-2000 (RSO 2000) – promulgated during General Pervez Musharraf dictatorial tenure, Pakistan Today has learnt.

Well-placed sources in the provincial government told Pakistan Today that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led federal government had repealed the antilabour law in March 2010, but the Sindh government is still not ready to abolish the law despite constituting a high-level committee to look into the matter nine months ago.

On February 17, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had constituted a commit-

tee including provincial education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Law Minister Ayaz Soomro and parliamentary leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Sardar Ahmed “to evaluate whether RSO 2000 may be repealed as done by the federal government or not; and to evaluate the reasons due to which cases registered under RSO 2000 could not be disposed of even after lapse of three years.”

According to them, most of the employees sacked through the RSO 2000 belong to the Sindh education Department headed by Senior Minister Haq – also the head of the committee – but the minister is not interested in repealing the law.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Secretary Raja Muhammad Abbas has sent a reminder to the two committee members and the head, suggesting them to prepare their recommendations as the matter could be submitted before the next coming cabinet meeting, However, no meeting of the commit-

tee has been called yet.

Drawing attention of the members, the chief secretary in his reminder stated that despite the passage of nine months, no recommendations for repealing the RSO 2000 have been forwarded and most of the provincial administrative departments are confused over the prevalent law regarding the disposal of disciplinary cases against the Sindh government employees.

It is worth mentioning that terming the RSO 2000 a clear violation of the constitution, lawyers, labourers, journalists and civil society organisations, have time and again called for repealing the “black law of the dictatorial era” that even does not exist on the federal level.

A renowned constitutional expert told Pakistan Today that Article 25-A of the constitution of Pakistan ensures all citizens equal before the law and entitlement to equal protection. “[But] due to RSO 2000, Sindh government employees are

not treated equally as compared to the employees of federal administrative departments and corporations,” he said.

“After taking over civilian authority in October 1999 unconstitutionally and subjugating the judiciary through Provincial Constitutional Order (PCO) in 2000, Musharraf had introduced the RSO 2000, providing absolute powers to the government for removing any unwanted person in civil service.

“The introduction of this law created insecurities among the civil servants, causing lack of initiatives and loss of morale in the policymaking and implementation wings of governance. When the democratic government came into power, it repealed the RSO 2000 on the federal level but the provincial governments in Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are still reluctant to repeal the ordinance,” the law expert said.

After abolishing the law, the PPP-led government also mentioned the achievement

in its official book ‘Parliament at Work’.

It was stated in the book that the people’s government had realised the negative impact of the legislation [RSO 2000] on the public sector employees and worked with all parties in the parliament to annul this draconian and black law. “The public servants will now be able to work without fear of victimisation or premature dismissal from service,” it was stated.

On January 26, 2010, the National Assembly had passed the Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance 2000 (Repeal) Bill 2010 to ensure the rights and job security of government employees.

The bill had already been sanctioned by the Senate on January 18, 2010.

On March 25 last year, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the said bill and announced repealing of the RSO 2000.

However, the Sindh government is still reluctant to repeal the law giving the impression that it wants its employees and legislators to remain insecure.

Qureshi gives generals something to think about

NewS ANAlYSIS BILAL FAROOqI Almost everything at former Pakistan People’s Party stalwart and foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s public gathering in Ghotki was pretty much according to the script.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists gathered there in large numbers and the presence of their chief Imran Khan himself on the occasion had left no doubt as to which direction Qureshi would be heading.

His announcement that he was joining the PTI was just a formality. So no surprises there.

However, Qureshi concluded his speech with a bang by saying that Pakistan’s nuclear assets are under threat as long as President Asif Ali Zardari is in power. It is not unusual for Qureshi to take on his former party as it is in accordance with the norms of politics. But such a statement coming from a man who was the foreign minister not very long ago would certainly leave the generals thinking at a time when the “memogate” affair is still hot and Pakistan’s tensions with the US are steadily escalating – the recent NATO attack that killed at least 24 Pakistani troops particularly taking the ties between the two countries to their lowest ebb.

Qureshi said that he will

speak more on this subject at the PTI rally in Karachi... so he is providing time for more drama and suspense to be created. The military establishment is already suspicious of the civilian leadership following Pakistan-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz’s memo ‘disclosure’ – former Pakistani Ambassador to US Husain Haqqani’s resignation proving that the generals indeed bought Ijaz’s story. Now Qureshi’s ‘revelation’ would further get the generals thinking as to whether the civilian government is actually planning to strike some kind of a secret deal with the US or not. And the men in uniform are unwilling to take chances when it comes to ‘national interest’.

lUCKIlY THIS ONe wON’T bITe: Intrigued by the tiger replica, a boy musters up the courage to lay a finger on it. ASIM rEHMANI

KU students demand release Altaf asks nation to of their professor from Indian jail KARACHI APP

The former and current students of the University of Karachi (KU)’s Department of Microbiology in a unanimous resolution have demanded the release of their 85-year-old former teacher Prof Dr Muhammad Khalil Chishti, who is said to be languishing in an Indian jail. According to a statement issued on Sunday, a meeting was held to raise the demand of Chisti’s release, where the participants expressed deep concern and anguish over the prolonged detention of the professor in the Indian jail. The meeting was presided over by KU Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi, who has also remained the chairperson of the university’s Department of Microbiology. “It is our moral obligation to raise voice at every level for the release of our teacher and a faculty member,” Kazmi said on the occasion. Prof Dr Muhammad Rafi Shaikh said that Chishti has spent most of his life in jail and he should be released on humanitarian grounds. A resolution was unanimously adopted at the meeting with the signatures of 150 participants of the meeting, demanding the release of the professor. Moreover, it was also suggested that a core committee be formed to prepare a strategy and run a campaign for his release.

observe solidarity day today KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Condemning the “unwarranted” and “unprovoked” attack by NATO forces on a border area of Pakistan, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has asked the nation to observe the “Pakistan Stability and Solidarity Day” on Monday (today).

According to a press release issued on Sunday, the MQM chief spoke with Interior Minister Rehman Malik on the phone, and later held a meeting with the MQM’s Rabita Committee in London and Pakistan in which he denounced the killing of Pakistani troops in the NATO attack.

The Rabita Committee unanimously denounced the NATO strike in

Mohmand Agency as an attack on national security and decided to hold a protest demonstration to express solidarity against it.

The MQM chief appealed to leaders of all parties to replace their flags with national flags and observe the “Pakistan Stability and Solidarity Day” to show that the religious and political parties are firmly united to defend the secu-

rity and honour of the country. He also directed MQM activists to take off party flags from their offices.

Hussain said that Pakistan is a sovereign country and the US must not consider it to be Iraq or Libra.

“The Pakistani nation will make it clear that it will not tolerate any attack against its national sovereignty and security,” he said.

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PakistaN today

08 karachi weATHer UPdATeS

31°C

For many Pakistanis, Clear skies

High

20°C low

28% Humidity

TUeSdAY wedNeSdAY THUrSdAY 31°C I 22°C

Monday, 28 November, 2011

28°C I 21°C

India already MFN ■ Indian visitors to Pakistan overwhelmed by warmth shown by their hosts

28°C I 20°C

PrAYer TIMINgS Fajr 5:38

Sunrise 6:56

Zuhr 12:20

Asr 3:22

Maghrib 5:43

Isha 7:03

Starting time in Karachi

CITY dIreCTOrY eMergeNCY HelP POlICe 15 bOMb dISPOSAl 15, 99212667 FIre brIgAde 16, 99215007, 99215008 edHI 115, 32310066-2310077 KHIdMAT-e-KHAlQ FOUNdATION 36333811 red CreSCeNT 35833973 gOverNOr’S HOUSe 136 CHIeF MINISTer’S HOUSe 99202051 MOTOrwAY POlICe 130

HOSPITAlS AbbASI SHAHeed CIvIl JINNAH NICvd AgA KHAN TAbbA

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118 1218 1339 134 1199, 99231603

rAIlwAYS INQUIrY CITY STATION CANTT STATION

117, 99213565-6 99213538 99201118

AIrPOrT FlIgHT INQUIrY PIA reServATION

114 111786786

COllegeS / UNIverSITIeS KArACHI UNIverSITY Ned UNIverSITY FUUAST dUHS SMIC FAST-NU SZAbIST IObM IbA IvS

99261300-06 99261261-8 99244141-9 99215754-7 99217501-3 111128128, 34100541-7 111922478 35090961-7 111422422 35861039-40

TOI

I

ANAHITA MUKHERJI

NDIA may never have invaded Pakistan, but there’s no doubt that Bollywood and Hindi soap operas have virtually conquered the Pakistani market. In Karachi, for instance, it’s near impossible to find a Pakistani who doesn’t have strong views on the K-serials, or hasn’t picked a favourite Khan from amongst Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman.

While Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar is playing across theatres in Karachi, giant hoardings of Indian reality TV shows like Bigg Boss tower over Pakistan’s financial capital. A couple of years ago, Ghajini haircuts were in vogue, too. And the likes of Balika Vadhu and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain have sent TRPs soaring across Pakistan.

For many Pakistanis, India is already their Most Favoured Nation (MFN).

The editor of a widely read english daily in Pakistan calls himself a victim of Hindi serials. every night, at precisely the busiest hour for any newspaper, his chief reporter would disappear. “I was furious and kept asking him where he had been. It took me a while to discover that he went home each day to watch Hindi serials. When I asked him why he didn’t watch the replay the next morning, he said he did that, too,” he laughed.

Weddings are often postponed till late in the evening to avoid clashing with prime-time Hindi soap operas.

“Pakistani women are so deeply influenced by the clothes and jewellery worn in Hindi soaps that they want the same for their own weddings,” said Gulbadan Javed, a social activist from Hyderabad, Sindh. Javed’s children and mother-in-law religiously watch Star Plus from 8:00 pm onwards each night. Rozina Jonejo, also from Hyderabad, said her mother-in-law enjoys watching

Hindi serials although she does not understand the language. “She asks her daughter to translate the serial for her. She often asks us why the saas in a particular serial is scolding the bahu,” said Rozina.

It should come as little surprise, then, that Hindi words have crept into Pakistani vocabulary. Rozina is amused that her young son, an avid viewer of Hindi serials, has picked up words like ‘namaste’ and ‘maharani’.

Ikram Mughal from Karachi was surprised to hear his daughter say “Papa aap chinta mat keejiye”, with the word ‘chinta’ replacing ‘fikr’, the more common Urdu word for worry. Mughal himself is a staff reporter for Super Star Dust, a popular Urdu magazine on Bollywood. A picture of John Abraham is splashed across the cover of a recent issue.

Bollywood trivia is as popular in Pakistan as in India, with many keeping tabs on the lives and loves of the film stars. “Out here, Aamir Khan is known as the ‘chocolaty hero’, whereas Salman is known to have affairs with many women and then leave them,” said a young man.

While the average Indian may not know of Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)’s Pathan origins, a number of Pakistanis are mighty proud of it. Karachi resident Izzat Khan, an ardent SRK fan, recalled that during a job stint in Malaysia, he was often asked if he was related to King Khan, with whom he shares a surname. “I would tell them he is from my neighbourhood, as he comes from the same province,” said the proud Pathan.

But Shah Rukh is not the only hero worshipped in Pakistan. A bunch of young women in Karachi wanted me to “give Salman Khan a hug” on their behalf. Meanwhile, Maqsooda Solangi, a social activist with the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, is a diehard member of the Aamir camp, for she likes his socially relevant brand of cinema.

PULSE OF THE VERSES

And while Madhuri Dixit may have a tough time re-entering Bollywood, for Izzat Khan, no actress in recent times can match the beauty and grace of the Dhak Dhak girl.

That Bollywood and soaps have shaped the popular Pakistani perception of India may have much to do with how favourably the ordinary Pakistani views Indians. Visitors to Pakistan are known to be overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality shown by their hosts. Immigration officers get particularly chatty when they see an Indian passport. An official at the Karachi airport took one look at the surname on my passport and wanted to know if there was any connection with Rani Mukherji, whom he admires greatly.

The mehmaan nawaazi is visible on the streets of Karachi, where even posh, branded shops give big discounts to Indians. A chaat stall owner in Saddar insisted on providing free soft drinks to a bunch of young women when he learnt they were Indians. Like many Sindhis in India who yearn for their homeland, the chaat wala longed to visit his homeland in Gujarat, where his family lived before Partition.

DOSA MIX: India’s influence on Pakistani culture extends beyond cinema and soaps. Take the humble dosa, which has travelled a long way from its home in South India to the restaurants of Sindh, which serve the Chicken Cheese Dosa and Qeema Dosa.

While a Hindu name coupled with a Muslim surname would suggest mixed parentage in India, names such as Sharmila, Sapna and even Sudharak are very popular amongst Muslims in Pakistan.

Indian literature, including books on Madhubala and AR Rahman, line the walls of bookshops; at many clothes shops in Karachi, shopkeepers are heard bragging about material that has been imported from India.

JEAN CLAUDE NOVARO

MAD IN KARACHI

ART EXHIBITION UNTIL NOVEMBER 30 VENUE: VM ART GALLERY

ART EXHIBITION UNTIL DECEMBER 2 VENUE: UNICORN GALLERY

ART EXHIBITION UNTIL DECEMBER 2 VENUE: ARTCHOWK-THE GALLERY

Abid Hasan’s ‘Pulse of the Verses’ is running until November 30 at the VM Art Gallery. Call 34948088 for more information.

Jean Claude Novaro’s glass sculptures exhibition is running until December 2 at the Unicorn Gallery. Call 35831220 for more information.

‘Mad in Karachi...3D’ is running until December 2 at ArtChowkthe Gallery. Call 35300481 for more information.

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

News 09

Turkey expresses solidarity with Pakistan over NATO attack ISLAMABAD NNI

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar to express solidarity with the people and the government of Pakistan on NATO attacks which killed 24 soldiers, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. Pakistan said NATO fighter aircraft and helicopters shelled two posts in Mohmand Agency near the Afghan border early Saturday morning.

Following the attacks, Pakistan closed supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan via land route and also asked the United States to vacate a key air base in southwestern Pakistan, which the US had been using for years.“Foreign Minister Khar while thanking FM Davutoglu for this expression of solidarity, condemned in the strongest terms the unprovoked and totally unacceptable attacks by NATO/ISAF which demonstrated complete disregard for international law and human life,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.Davutoglu assured Khar that Turkey as a NATO member would ask for an impartial inquiry into the attacks, the statement said, adding that he termed the loss of Pakistani soldiers as painful as losing Turkish soldiers.Pakistan has also announced to review its cooperation with NATO, ISAF and the US after the attack, which has also sparked a widespread condemnation across Pakistan.Authorities have stopped hundreds of oil tankers and containers carrying NATO supplies from proceeding to Afghanistan after the top political and military leadership decided to suspend the supply lines.

SIALKOT: A man rides a motorcycle over a temporary bridge to cross a nullah near Langryali Kingar Road. ONLINE

Abandon war on terror and boycott Bonn, says Saifullah ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

5 Pakistani pilgrims die near Makkah in road accident MAKKAH INP

Five Pakistani Haj pilgrims died in a road accident in Jamoom near Makkah on Sunday. Reportedly, the vehicle of the pilgrims crashed into an electric pole in Jamoom, some 150 kilometres from Makkah. As a result five members of the same family, including three women died on the spot. The vehicle was completely burnt in the incident. According to the Pakistani Haj Medical Mission, the deceased belonged to Camp 92 and hailed from Shaikhupura. They were buried after funeral prayers in Makkah on Sunday.

Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded President Senator Salim Saifullah on Sunday urged upon the government to withdraw from war against terror for national interest and boycott the Bonn Conference in protest of the Silala check post incident.

Senator Salim Saifullah, also Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Relations said that NATO supply line should be blocked on a permanent basis and termed the NATO attack as ‘attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence’ which should be countered with full force. He warned the government that if it opened NATO supply lines despite the attack, people will block it themselves. “It is right time to withdraw from war against terror for the sake of national interest and as a protest we should not attend the Bonn Conference,” he said.

Funeral prayers of 24 martyred soldiers offered PEShAWAR: The funeral prayers of 24 soldiers martyred in an attack by NATO helicopters were offered on Sunday at the Corps Headquarters. Floral wreaths were laid on the coffins of the martyred soldiers. An army contingent offered salutes to the coffins before the bodies were transported to their native villages and towns for burial. Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Barrister Masood Kausar, KP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik, Federal Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Senior KP Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour, provincial ministers, and other high ranking military and civil officials attended the funeral prayers. earlier, the COAS visited the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and enquired about the health of wounded soldiers. He visited each injured soldier and asked them about their condition. App Salim Saifullah said that the country was facing this sort of situation due to the governments’ weak policies.

“Had the government timely implemented the parliament’s joint resolution on Abbottabad incident, we could have averted such unfortunate incidents,” he said. He said Pakistan has

sacrificed more than 5,000 security personnel and more than 35,000 civilian had been killed in war against terror and Pakistan was targeted despite that.

He urged the government to raise the issue at all international forums since it was not the first time NATO had targetted Pakistani security posts.

PTI Karak holds protest KARAK STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) district Karak chapter alleged that the federal and provincial governments have failed to deliver services to people and took out a rally against the attack by NATO forces on security forces in Mohmand agency. Addressing a workers convention, PTI district President Altaf Qadir advocate on Sunday at Town Hall said the presidency has been occupied by a corrupt person and the federal government had failed on all fronts.

He said the ANP’s provincial government has no welfare program and had kept silent on the issue of drone attacks on the innocent people in the tribal belt. He denied the wave of people joining the PTI was the result of the establishment support. He said the poor support Imran Khan and the PTI manifesto will bring all big fishes into the net of the ruthless accountability.

About seventy local notables joined the PTI and resolved to work for the party.

How MfN status to India benefits pakistani business g

Unofficial trade between India and Pakistan equals $10 billion as Pakistan considers awarding India MFN status LAHORE AFP

Cosmetics are smuggled by donkey through Afghanistan, chemicals and medicines track through Dubai. But only a fraction of legal trade travels directly from India to Pakistan.

A baffling array of legal and practical barriers to exports between the suspicious neighbours has spurned unofficial trade worth up to $10 billion, dwarfing official exchanges of $2.7 billion. But a recent rapprochement that looks to normalise trading relations between India and Pakistan could end a decades-old system that stifles business and saps profits through networks of middlemen, money changers and smugglers.

BuREAuCRATIC LOSSES: A booklet of 1,945 items lists trade allowed to run from India to Pakistan — but only 108 can be trafficked directly by road through the border post at Wagah, near the eastern border city of Lahore. At old markets in Lahore, traders peddle whitening creams and hair dyes that have journeyed from India to Karachi by sea bound for Afghanistan, before being reloaded and smuggled along the Hindu Kush to reenter Pakistan. Along the way a simple anti-wrinkle cream rises from Rs 75 (85 cents) to Rs 160 ($1.82), while black hair dye doubles from Rs 5 to Rs 10.

Tonnes of industrial chemicals and drugs travel into Dubai, where their port of origin is relabelled to hide their Indian provenance before being sent on to Pakistan. The process entails a mark-up of 15-20 percent, say importers. But 15 years after India granted Pakistan “Most Favoured Nation” status in line with World Trade Organisation rules, Pakistan this month finally agreed to return suit, paving the way for a radical reorganisation of bilateral trade.

OPENING uP TO 7000 PRODuCTS: Pakistan has pledged to open its market to over 7,000 products from India over the next three months and says India should have MFN status by the end of 2012, a step to removing discriminatory higher pricing and duty tariffs. The list of nearly 2,000 items allowed for trade is to be replaced by a list of disallowed items, and a second trading post has been opened at Wagah. Observers say the rapprochement signals a seismic shift from Pakistan’s traditional and strategic antipathy to India, and a deeper economic engagement between the nuclear rivals that is crucial for lasting peace in the region. “People who are pro-trade have prevailed. For the first time our strategists are viewing economic security as a significant element of national security,” said Abid Hussein, who teaches trade policy at Lahore University of Management Sci-

ence. The IMF, which failed to agree a loan package for Pakistan this year amid stalemate on economic reforms, says that GDP growth for the current fiscal year is unlikely to top 3.5 percent, compared with more than double that for regional superpower India.

GROWTh COuLD INCREASE: But the Pakistan Business Council estimates that enhanced bilateral trade could bump its growth rate by 1-2 percent. experts predict $1.5-2 billion could be saved by routing imports directly into India and its 1.2 billion consumers. Barriers remain, however. Businessmen want to see more land access open up along the 1,800-mile (2,880-kilometre) border, along with more options for air. On the Indian side of Wagah, only two trucks can be loaded and unloaded at a time, hampering a burgeoning export trade in gypsum and dried dates. Official figures show that while 4,000 metric tonnes of goods can come into Pakistan on up to 200 trucks per day, only 500 tonnes can leave in 70 trucks. Overall land trade last year totalled Rs 21 billion in exports compared to Rs 1.33 billion rupees in imports.

TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS A PROBLEM: For businessmen, their biggest problem is not being able to travel freely. “I want to export this item to India but I cannot go and cannot market my product. Visa is the main hurdle,” said Aftab Ahmed

Vohna, who sits on the Pakistan-India standing committee for the Lahore Chamber of Commerce. But powerful lobbies remain unconvinced that the hostilities that have led to three wars since independence can melt away. Hundreds of Islamist activists in Pakistani-administered Kashmir on Friday demonstrated against improving trade, and leaders in industries likely to lose out to open competition with India are loudly demanding an opt-out. They point to India’s protectionist policies in sectors such as agricul-

ture, where exporters pay a 37 percent tariff instead of the standard 13 percent.

They fear that Pakistan will be flooded with cheaper Indian goods, strangling domestic business, although Vohna points out that free trade with India’s big rival and Pakistan’s close ally China has failed to do so. “The main difference between India and China is confidence,” said Vohna. “every person argues with me that Indian goods will close our factories.

I tell them if Chinese cheap goods cannot close our factories, India’s will not.”

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10 News

Monday, 28 November, 2011

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Zardari leads Quran Khawani and dua at the Presidency on the Chehlum of Late Begum Nusrat Bhutto. INp

Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and Turk Nation RAjA ASAD ALI KHAN Maulana Zafar Ali Khan’s ‘Daily Zamindar’ played a vital role in cementing the bond between the Muslims of the Subcontinent and their Turkish brethren. Between 1911 and 1913, the Turkish Muslims had to face the brutalities of Italy, France and Greece.

The battle of Tripoli and the Balkans created a stir among the Muslims of the entire Subcontinent. They felt as if they were being attacked. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan left no stone unturned to help the Ottoman empire. The Muslims sent a medical mission to Turkey under the supervision of Dr MA Ansari. A fundraising campaign — popularly known as the Tayara Fund — was launched to collect money for an aeroplane. The daily Zamindar published the list of persons who donated huge sums of money to the fund.

Maulana Zafar Ali Khan also established the Turkish Relief Fund. During the Tripoli war, the fund sent a sum of Rs 61,000. The Ottoman empire thanked Maulana through Jaffar Bay, the then Turkish consulate general at Bombay.Maulana also sent 1,600 pounds (equivalent to Rs 24,000 at that time) to the Ottoman empire through a French Bank. Maulana also asked the Orient Bank, Lahore to establish its branch at the Lahore office of Daily Zamindar to facilitate the collection of Zamindar Turkish Relief Fund. This branch was inaugurated on December 10, 1912. On November 30, 1912, the Muslims of Lahore held a meeting at the venue where Allama Iqbal recited his famous poem Jawab-e-Shikva. On this occasion, 5,000 copies of the epic poem were published for fundraising. Maulana addressed the meeting and asked the people to buy the poem at a price of four annas. Maulana Inshallah Khan purchased two pages for Rs 100. In 1922, Angura fund was established to collect money to help the Turkish brothers. The Zamindar published details of funds collected from various parts of the Subcontinent. In February 1922, Seth Chotani announced that 20,000 pounds had been sent to the Otttoman empire from the Angura Turk funds. The enthusiasm of the Muslims in fundraising was impressive. The students of MAO school, Amritsar, collected Rs 1,420, while the widow of a Muslim, Rahim Bux, donated corn worth Rs 100. A recently converted Muslim from Jammu donated his house at Jehlum worth Rs 800, and Haji Abdullah Haroon donated Rs 500 to the Angura fund. The Muslim women also donated their ornaments, the details of which are available in Zamindar editions from 1921 to 1922. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan wrote several hundred articles and poems on the Ottoman empire. Mustafa Kamal Ataturk also acknowledged and appreciated the contribution made by Zamindar and the Subcontinent Muslims by sending a letter of thanks bearing his signatures.

The writer is Secretary, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Trust

NUDERO: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari meets people and hears their problems. INp

Sindhi nationalists blow up rail tracks HYDERABAD/KARACHI

A

APP/NNI

T least six blasts ripped through the railway tracks near Hussainabad, Hyderabad and Nowshero Feroz districts, destroying portions of the railway tracks on Sunday.

“The blasts occurred one after the other at around 6:00am to 6:10am and the traffic was restored for movement of trains by 8:30am,” said a Railways official at the Karachi City Station, where the main control room is located. The official said that the up and down tracks were damaged near the Nawabshah Railway Station and the locally made devices’ blast had caused a one-foot deep crater.

However no loss of life or injuries was reported. He said that the Karachi-bound Tezgam escaped a major disaster as the blast on the down track occurred just one and a half minute before the arrival of the train. The driver of Tezgam had taken immediate action and used emergency brakes to stop the train. Other trains heading for up country were stopped at different stations, he maintained. Police contingent and bomb disposal squad

12 militants, 1 solider killed in Orakzai hANGu: At least 12 militants and one security personnel were killed and 15 militants were injured in the ongoing military operation in Kundital area of Orakzai Agency on Sunday. According to military sources, soldiers attacked a militant hideout, killing at least 12 rebels and injuring 15 others. The hideout was completely destroyed in the attack.

However, the military added that militants retaliated by firing shells at the security forces, killing one soldier and injuring three others. INp

‘Country lacks freedom’

were summoned immediately to check for any more devices. Later, the railway maintenance staff arrived at the scene and made temporary arrangements to pass the up and down trains.

The tracks were fully repaired for rail traffic after hectic efforts of three hours. The security officials investigating the blasts said that they had found the pamphlets of a separatist outfit Sindhu Desh Liberation Army (SDLA) near the explosion site. In February

this year, SDLA had claimed responsibility for blasts on the railway tracks. The local media had linked the SDLA with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which routinely claims responsibility for the attacks on security forces, gas pipelines and non-locals in Balochistan. The officials said that a security plan had been put in place to protect the railway tracks with the assistance of the Sindh police, adding that the area was being patrolled to check terrorist activities.

KARAK: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Provincial Vice President Haroon-ur-Rasheed on Sunday claimed that the country was deprived of freedom and alleged that the government was an agent of the West. He was addressing at the workers convention held in a private school at Mithakhel. He alleged that corrupt persons were ruling the country, adding that injustice was rampant in the country as the people could not differentiate being the good and the evil. He said that all the national institutions, including Railways, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Steel Mills were on the verge of destruction.Rasheed claimed that the JI was the only party which had opposed the government’s support to US in the Afghan war, adding that 60,000 houses have been destroyed in the tribal areas, 25,000 people have embraced martyrdom and 5 million people have become refugees in their own country due to the presence of US in Afghanistan. STAff rEpOrT

The pakistan army: great filmmakers g

ISPr documentary ‘glorious resolve’ wins award in international military film festival RAWALpINDI APP

Inter Services Public Relations documentary has won the first prize in the recently held International Film Festival “eserciti-e-Popoli” (Army and People) held at Bracciano, Rome (Italy).

The festival saw the participation of NATO and 24 Countries with 60 films grouped into several categories: from institutional training information to environmental protection to humanitarian missions for peace. The films, produced by renowned film makers were evaluated an qualified and experienced jury.

The Pakistan Army’s documentary “Glorious Resolve” received the Jury’s Special award from the President of the Italian Senate with the citation “A technically outstanding and emotionally powerful dramatisation of the story of the courageous soldiers under fire in a dire combat situation”. The award given

by Gen. Giancarlo Fortuna, the President of the International Jury was re-

ceived by a representative of the Pakistani embassy in Rome. ‘Glorious Resolve’ was a joint venture of ISPR and Mindworks Media. Brigadier Syed Azmat Ali was executive Producer whereas Brig Syed Mujtaba Tirmizi was executive Director of the film.

Lieutenant Colonel Irfan Aziz was project director and the writer of this film which was directed by Sarosh Kayani. Mindworks Media Dr Hassan Waqas Rana was the producer whereas Bilal Lashari was Director of Photography. Based on a true operational account, Glorious Resolve highlights the tale of infantry soldiers, who fought when 1,500 militants raided a sectionlevel outpost of an Infantry Battalion in South Waziristan Agency on the night of 29 May 2009. The documentary focuses on the sacrifices and achievements of the Pakistan Army in its resolve to end terrorism in Pakistan. It shows how 43 Punjab Regiment soldiers were killed and two stood ground till reinforcements arrived.

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11 Feeding white elephants

It’s in your own hand American presence in Afghanistan has given India an ample space to adjust herself in hostile Afghanistan. Due to a constant wave of terrorism, every country of the world is threatened but the way Pakistan and Afghanistan have been targeted is unprecedented. On its western border, due to the presence of terrorist elements Pakistani forces have to take action to clear certain areas but in Balochistan none of this sort of action or operations is going on.

In Chamalang, where no one dares to start anything due to the prevailing tribal mindset, Pakistan army has started exploring coal reserves. Apart from creating job opportunities for the locals, many welfare projects have been initiated. Obviously such steps are not acceptable to the elements that are determined to destabilise Pakistan.

The recent attack on the FC Balochistan troops is a brainchild of none other than those same elements. At least, 14 troops which included an officer gave

their lives. The USA has asked Pakistan many times to launch a military operation in Balochistan for which it has used the Quetta Shura as a pressure tactic.

Unfortunately, all terrorist activities are directly targeting the masses. Destruction of railway tracks, targeting people working for developmental projects, destroying gas pipelines and electric infrastructure are but some of the example whose aim is to throw the masses into darkness. These elements in fact don’t want to see the province moving towards prosperity. That’s why the main target of the killers is the educationists and professors of college and universities.

Destruction of gas pipelines and electricity polls has really made a common man’s life miserable. The trade and business have been impacted because of these terror activities. There are no employment opportunities. Many posts are lying vacant in the federal government because of non-availability of the qualified citizens.

So, if the target killing of the educationists is continued, a day will come when the Balochistan students will have no qualified teachers in their institutions.

Pakistan cannot afford Chamalang sort of attacks which directly affect the lives of the locals having no access to jobs and resources of the country. exploring the existing local reserves is the only way to give them boost and to help them in getting back on to their feet.

The nation has to find out the enemy which is supporting small groups of the annoyed youth and training them to attack on state properties and security officials. Obviously the FC is the major hurdle in their way to go for subversive activities. If someone thinks that the terrorists are targeting the FC troops only and that they are sympathetic to the locals, it would be a long cry. Their major target is the coming generation of the Balochistan province.

As they know that Karachi is the financial hub of Pakistan. If Karachi is

destabilised the whole Pakistan will suffer. They also don’t want development in Balochistan as deprived and undeveloped Balochistan suits them. ethnic cleansing of Punjabis and Sindhis from Balochistan is creating hatred among the masses. It is unfortunate that Balochistan has been turned into a waste land of widows and orphans by the terrorists.

The People of Balochistan are being harassed on the whims of hostile elements which are providing financial and logistic support to the miscreants.

The reputation of the peaceful and traditional Baloch has been maligned through a well thought-out and preplanned scheme. Till the time local residents of the province are not going to wake up, things will not be normalised.

If the locals are not interested to change their life and get acquainted with the needs of their coming generations, no one else can do that.

YOUSAF ALAMGIRIAN Rawalpindi

NdMA’s wrong figures The National Disaster Management Authority has issued the facts and figures about flood-affected people of Pakistan.

According to NDMA Chairman Dr Zafar Qadir’s statistics, 5.15 million people have been directly affected by the floods: 4.82 million in Sindh and one-third of a million in Balochistan.

The number of affected houses stands at 800,000, including 470,000 damaged but repairable homes, and 330,000 completely destroyed houses.

He further stated that the rains have affected more than one million children in the two provinces, where approximately 9,781 schools are reported to have been destroyed or damaged. The number of affected schools was 9,250 and 571 in Sindh and Balochistan respectively. He also claimed that 90 percent of water has drained from flood- affected areas.

The matter of fact is that Dr Zafar Qadir’s statistics are in contrast with the figures of Sindh Rehabilitation Minister and NADRA record. Both are of the view that more than 90 lac people only of Sindh are directly affected by floods.

Moreover, Sindhi media reports that all flood-affected areas are still under water and only 20 percent of water has drained out.

Sindh has been in trouble for two years with the government blaming it on natural disasters. Ironically, the government tells us that controlling this kind of calamities is not in its hands. even if we believe what the government is saying, how can we believe the wrong figures presented by the government?

Bungling the figures about different issues has become a favourite game of our high officials. Sindh and Balochistan are directly victimised in this regard about distribution of water, NFC and some other matters of serious concern.

At this moment, we, the Sindhi people, demand that a judicial commission should be established to solve this matter of contradiction in figures between the federal and provincial institutions and for providing relief to the affectees.

SARWECH SARYO Rato Dero

Another welcome verdict The review petition on NRO verdict 2009 by the federation was heard by 17member bench of the Supreme Court.

When additional documents were asked for by the bench, Mr Babar Awan, found himself stuck in family matters, leaving Law Secretary Masood Chishty in the lurch. Unluckily, Mr Awan’s manoeuvring completely failed and he could not produce a proof of how the NRO verdict had affected the federation.

The rejection of review petition is another welcome decision by SC. No doubt our courts have upheld the torch of justice and are the last hope for oppressed and suppressed masses. It’s high time that courts play their role in retrieving the looted and plundered money under NRO. ALI IMTIAZ Islamabad

The shocking revelations by Mr Naveed Qamar, Water and Power Minister that the menace of nonpayment of electricity bills by federal and provincial governments have struck the national grid.

He stated that Rs 155 billion were outstanding against federal government departments and Rs 70 billion by provinces. It clearly depicts the worsening situation prevailing in state departments. Unjustified allocation of resources and lack of responsibility to pay official bills has turned the situation from bad to worse.

The extraordinary load is being shifted to common people using little amount of power. On the other side, there is not an iota of hope that things would turn better on government’s part.

It simply reflects we are least interested in appropriate planning of resources viz a viz how extravagant we are in spending. Only electricity bills (Rs 225 billion) cost 75 percent of total circular debt of Rs 300 billion. Should not government look for cutting down electricity expenditures in government offices to control the ballooned circular debt?

We have a sad history of misusing official resources to the last extent.

There must be checks on government expenses by parliament but our worthy parliamentarians are also sailing in the same boat. Resultantly, the public is paying out of their already shrunk pockets the most expensive electricity of the world, while those in power are using free power.

IFTIKHAR MIRZA Islamabad

Now if you repeat

electricity supply within 5-6 years.

Soon after becoming minister he stated in the press that KBD was buried forever. Why was he in such a hurry to bury a gigantic project of vital national importance? Then he began assuring that loadshedding would be ended by December 2009 for good. In the meanwhile, he began negotiations for purchase of RPPs despite serious objections by Asian Development Bank.

The December 2009 came and went by. Loadshedding, instead of ending, increased several fold. Presumably, it was by design. It strengthened Raja’s hands for earliest installation of RPPs. Ashraf lamented that the policy on IPPs introduced by the PPP in 1994 was criticised by PML( N). It was not only PML(N) but more vocal was the media

because of cases of rampant corruption surfacing one after the other.

The learned minister termed “inauguration of Bhasha dam by Musharraf (as) fake…. PPP government had initiated work on the Bhasha dam.”

It is like kettle telling the pot black. Fact of the matter is that hapless people of Pakistan have been defrauded again this time by the PPP. Furthermore, he is wrong in asserting “…that most countries were relying on RPPs to overcome power shortage...”

Most countries use 70 percent of hydroelectricity and only 30 percent thermal. I have never heard the word RPP in my over 60 years’ professional life here and abroad as Chief Technical Advisor UNO. BASHIR A MALIK Lahore

The NATO forces’ gunship helicopter attack on a post well inside Pakistan in Mohmand Agency killing 25 soldiers, including two officers, on 26 November has sent a wave of anger throughout the country.

The oft-repeated statements by the government agencies are also condemned by all the Pakistanis. The awam wants an action and do not want cabinet meeting or their hollow protests. every time the NATO forces or US drones attack Pakistani territory, the government makes protests, call their ambassadors in foreign office, hands over protest note and makes a statement that next time it would not be tolerated.

A resolution has been passed in the National Assembly condemning drone attacks in our territory which are a violation of international laws and all efforts should be made to stop such attacks which kill more innocents than militants.

But there is no end to such attacks by the ISAF, NATO or US forces as they care two hoots for our protests because we are not taking any retaliatory action.

After every attack, the government warns (for the satisfaction of angry Pakistanis) "if we are attacked again, we would give a suitable reply." This suitable reply has never come by from the valiant Pakistani forces because they are not given clearance by the government.

I am more than sure (as announced by the last air chief on electronic media) that the PAF is capable of downing US drones and other aircrafts, including the gunship helicopters, if given clearance by the government. If the government is so scared of the NATO or US forces, they should not even make any effort of protesting to them.

MUHAMMAD AZHAR KHWAJA Lahore

Pakistan also pursues a common practice of offering weaker condemnation, sometimes lodging strong protests with the US and ISAF over these attacks and sometimes cutting off supplies for US and NATO from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

All of these measures taken by Pakistan proved ineffective and such attacks by the US and NATO forces have continued whereas our soldiers have continued being killed. Is it not true that Pakistan has lost its supreme and ultimate decision-making and decisionenforcing power ie, its sovereignty?

Unfortunately, Pakistan’s sovereignty, both the territorial and

functional has now become a matter of deep concern as the country seems like a regular victim of foreign aggression under the alliance system of US-led socalled war on terror, started after the 9/11. During the last 10 years, regardless of facing so many disastrous events on its soil, Pakistan remained committed to the American-led war within the territorial jurisdiction of Pakistan, due to which Pakistan has lost thousands of soldiers and citizens.

Despite having nuclear deterrence, an elected political government, an independent judiciary, hundreds of political and religious parties and their revolutionary heroes and a vibrant

media, the country is a regular victim of terrorism by the US and NATO forces.

All this raises a question as to what can be done. The answer is simple: serve your own interests.

Yes, Pakistan needs to serve its own interests in the region. Practically, from Pakistan’s side, there is no any on-ground mechanism to defend its territorial and functional sovereignty from being attacked by the US and NATO. Besides political and administrative means, Pakistan also needs to develop a strong military mechanism to retaliate in case of any such attack in the future.

GULZAR ALI MEHBOOB Karachi

Double standards The other day, when nurses from all over the province were staging a peaceful protest on the Mall Road, they were put to some serious tests of perseverance and determination to get their rights. They were first maltreated by Punjab police which thrashed some of the nurses by using unethical tactics. But the real gem came from the businessmen’s community who threw eggs on the protesters as, according to what they claimed, this protest had hampered their business for the day.

defending rPPs Reference report on above topic and statement of Raja Ashraf, former Minister for Water and Power, regarding rental power projects (RPPs) and alleged corruption in their purchase etc. His statement is not based on facts.

The learned minister claimed that “… there was no alternative to overcome power shortage in the short term.” He did not say how many years he meant by “short term?”

In dealing with water and power projects “short term” usually implies 2025 years. In the presence of ready-to-build Kalabagh dam (KBD) he was wrong to say that “there was no alternative.” If implemented on a fast track, as RPPs, KBD could begin

It might be true to some extent, and after all one has to accede to the High Court’s ruling that bans any protest or rally on the Mall Road, it does not represent the entire picture. It seems the rule has been exempted for the religious parties that protested on the Mall some days ago. These double standards do not befit a provincial government whose mantra is to provide easy and speedy justice to all.

AYESHA ZAFAR Lahore

Pakistan’s sovereignty Once again NATO helicopters raided inside Pakistani territory and killed more than two dozens of Pakistani soldiers at a checkpoint. Interestingly, the checkpoint which was attacked in Salala village in Mohmand Agency was built by the Pakistan army to stop militants holed up in Afghanistan from crossing the border and conducting attacks inside Pakistan.

Drone attacks and air strikes by the US and NATO forces inside Pakistan is not a new phenomenon, it’s a common policy by the US and NATO forces.

Which means the attack is a double cross by the US and NATO against Pakistan. In response or retaliation

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk. Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

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12 comment After the attack Some realistic assessments, please

T

he limited number of options that the Pakistani government has to protest against any western transgression in the war on terror is a prickly problem. The stoppage of Nato supply routes through the Torkham border, which the government did the day before in response to the shelling of a Pakistani border outpost, had been done before as well, that too under similar circumstances. How to show greater outrage at a clear violation of the rules of conduct between the two countries, like the aforementioned incident that cost 28 Pakistani lives?

The decision for asking the Americans to vacate the Shamsi base was a way out of the problem. Given the gravity of the stimulus, this is not a business-as-usual response.

But this attempt by the government to placate a domestic audience baying for revenge is also counter-productive. The government, after all, had been denying since a long time that the Americans had use of the base. Their explanations on the issue ranged from the base being firmly under Pakistani control to saying that the base was being used by the UAe. Asking the Americans to leave is an admission of guilt on this front and would serve to enrage the particular segment that wants more transparency in the war on terror.

Finally, though the Salala outpost incident was a glaring injustice, there needs to be a dispassionate analysis of the situation. What, exactly, does the jingo in the media expect our government to do? By cutting off the supply routes and the Shamsi airbase itself, we’ve used just about the only leverage we had. We might turn it up by a notch and prevent the use of our airspace as well but that would be it. If another incident prompts the more hawkish in our security establishment to go for more proactive and offensive strategies in the theatre of war, then we can know for sure of an American response. A disproportionate one at that, given how long the hawks at their end have been kept relatively restrained. It would do us well to size ourselves and our adversaries up.

Discretion, they say, is the better part of valour. We live in the real world. We take real decisions and they have real consequences. A better approach would be to ask Nato authorities to explain their case. The latter, for their part, have promised a full probe into the issue. Western powers openly admit that this is a war that cannot be won without Pakistan’s cooperation. Neither side is going anywhere. Cooperation is the only way out of this rut.

The women in white More than just handmaidens

T

hey do all the grunt work of bringing people back to health but are scarcely given the credit. Nursing is one of the most underappreciated professions and it seems that these workers have had enough as they kept protesting for the third consecutive day on Saturday in Lahore for their demands be met by the Punjab government.

The protests have largely been confined to the provincial capital but there have been protests in Rawalpindi and Islamabad as well, signalling that the grievances are not localised but spread throughout. Hence, the Punjab government would do well to understand that this is not a problem that they can brush under the carpet by getting the nurses to postpone their protests or gloss over by offering eyewash-type bargain chips.

None of their demands are outrageous. They are asking for pay increases, a revised service structure and regularisation of ad-hoc nurses. Given that they are such a vital part of the health infrastructure, it is only fair that their recompense should match the work that they put in. It is indeed exploitative that these nurses are expected to put in 12 hour shifts without being paid overtime and have little job security as many are not made permanent even after years of service.

The fact that this system has not been rationalised means that even the contractual ones are not given any special benefits as they do not fall in the category of doctors and paramedics.

They do not even have an allowance of free medication for infectious diseases that they are at a high risk of contracting, such as hepatitis.

Those griping about how these protests are paralysing transport and health facilities would do well to remember that these very same nurses held the fort when the doctors launched their (much longer, much louder) protests earlier this year. This same cadre of nurses also worked tirelessly during the dengue epidemic. Now, their services are being admirably rewarded with baton charges by policemen and egging by traders. A great way to care for one’s caregivers.

The Punjab government has constituted a committee to negotiate with the leadership of the Young Nurses Association. Here’s to hoping that they and their demands will be given the respect and consideration they deserve.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

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

Monday, 28 November, 2011

Challenge and response Survival of the persevering

H

istory is a repository of human experiences and one can not only understand the present by studying history but also find solutions to its problems as well.

However, historians sometimes present a very pessimistic view of life whereas at other times, they inspire dejected and disillusioned people to struggle for survival.

Oswald Spengler, the German historian, published his book Decline of the West in 1917 and predicted the death of the Western civilization with such forceful and convincing arguments that it made the whole society gloomy. Although, it was a time when Western civilisation was at a great height. The Western powers had colonised most of the Asian and African countries and built their societies on their natural resources.

Then the First World War occurred which shocked europe and demolished its idea of progress. In this atmosphere of gloom and destruction of war, the prediction of Spengler appeared to be correct, Toynbee, the British historian, published his book The Study of History in 10 volumes which came out from 1934 to 1954 which gave hope to the european civilisation by presenting his theory of ‘challenge and response’. He studied nearly 23 civilisations and concluded that those who responded to the challenges that came before them effectively survived and those who failed, perished.

Therefore, it could be inferred from his analysis that in the case of the Western civilisation, its survival and existence would depend on its response to the

By Dr Mubarak Ali challenges that were before it.

We can see that the Western civilization by producing new knowledge and by exhibiting creativity and fresh perspectives in different aspects of life is preventing its decline.

A community which has responded to severe challenges throughout its history is the Jewish community. In europe, the Jews suffered all kinds of persecution. They were expelled from France, england, Germany, and Spain but survived because of their perseverance and talents.

They engaged in business and excelled at it. The Rothschild family expanded its banking network from Germany to the whole of europe. Three branches of the family consolidated their financial power in Germany, France, and england. The other aspect in which the Jewish community specialised was scholarship.

They produced the best philosophers, writers, social scientists, and scientists. Their domination in business and scholarship transformed the

Eye on History

community from a persecuted people to a valuable asset for Western civilization.

We can find many similar examples of minorities learning to survive in different societies by adapting and acquiring vital skills. Often, minority communities acquired knowledge and education to be become a vital part for society. The Christian community in the Ottoman empire excelled in the art of bureaucracy and administered the empire. The Parsi community in India became the best trading community and earned respect in society because of their skill, hard work and honesty. Hence the action of minority communities throughout the ages have served to demonstrate Toynbee theorising of ‘challenge and response’ and proved that the better a community responds to hurdles, the better are its chances for survival and progress.

We can apply this theory to understand our own history as well. When the Zoroastrians migrated and arrived in India, they preserved their religious identity but adopted the local culture of Maharashtra including the language.

Then, they turned their energies to business, trade and commerce and acquired a reputation as good traders. The local rulers respected the community as they were getting economic benefits from them. During the colonial period, the community was the first to adopt Western culture and expanded their business to other parts of India. The community also contributed to the welfare of society.

Mumbai and Karachi are the best examples of their work and contribution.

The Bengalis were also amongst the first few communities to respond to colonial challenges by adopting Western education. They competed in the civil service examination and joined the colonial administration. Modern education made them politically conscious of their fundamental rights. When Bengal was partitioned in 1905, the Bengalis launched a campaign and boycotted english goods. They were the first who resorted to such means to achieve their political aims. The British government finally surrendered and annulled the partition. Not only were they politically active but intellectually

too. The intellectual response of the Bengalis was to produce excellent literature and create a vibrant identity of their own rooted in regional culture and tradition. Because they had formulated such a strong identity, they played an important role in the struggle for independence against colonialism.

The Muslim community in India faced problems after the decline of the Mughal empire. The Muslim aristocracy found itself helpless and disillusioned after 1857 and was despondent and had lost all hope of survival. Under these circumstances, the community responded in two distinct ways. One was the foundation of the Deoband madrassah in 1868 to preserve religious identity and to prevent the Muslims from adopting european cultural values. The other was the establishment of Aligarh College to motivate Muslim youth to get modern education in order to get government jobs. However, the Muslims as a community faced strong competition in the acquiring of these government jobs. To avoid it, they demanded a quota in the services. Politically, they were threatened by the Hindu majority which led them to launch a campaign to partition the Indian subcontinent and create a new homeland of their own where they could get jobs without any competition.

However, the new country did not prove challenge free. Since its inception, it has been facing political, social, cultural, and economic challenges.

To respond to these challenges, the society, in the words of Toynbee requires a ‘creative minority’. This minority of intellectual is absent in Pakistan. There are plenty of demagogues and brainless speakers. Many of the society’s ideologues still look to military dictatorships as a means to solve its problems. But when these dictatorships fail to perform, these people revert back to politicians who soon disappoint them by their ‘corruption’ and ‘intellectual bankruptcy’. How long society will survive in the swing of this pendulum, it is difficult to predict…

The writer is one of the pioneers of alternate history in the country.

Regional Press

The NATO attack Daily Khabroona

T

he NATO-led armed forces once again carried out a helicopter attack on the border area of Mohmand Agency inside Pakistan. As a result, twenty-six personnel of the armed forces of the country including a major and captain were killed and several others were seriously injured. The ISPR spokesperson confirmed that it was NATO copters that had targeted Pakistani checkposts along the border with Afghanistan in Mohmand Agency.

The NATO spokesperson said that they were aware about the incident and would carry out a thorough enquiry into the matter. NATO-led forces have violated the territorial sovereignty of Pakistan several times before as well but despite strong protests on the part of Pakistan, the violations still continue and have not come to an end.

If NATO continues with such kinds of misadventures that

constitute gross violations of international law, the people of the region would further develop hatred for the alien forces and there would be increasing bad blood between these forces and the locals that would cast perils for both NATO and America in the coming time. Neighbouring countries should also take notice of such violations and extend their support to Pakistan in this regard.

One of the causes of worsening law and order conditions in Pakistan and Afghanistan are these violations on the part of the NATO-led forces in the region. It would be appropriate for NATO to abstain from violating Pakistani borders and focus on arresting militancy in their localities. Pakistan is doing well on its own part to fight militancy and wants an immediate stop to such violations on the part of NATO and Americans. Such actions aren’t going to help the cause of NATO or make Pakistan’s already tough job any easier.

– Translated from the original Pashto by Abdur Rauf Khattak

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

comment 13

The text police

Women and the Left

We’ll mind our own language, thank you

Misogyny found everywhere

By Waqqas Mir

P

akistan Telecommunication Authority’s proposed ban on allegedly ‘obscene’ texts has once again brought the country into the news for the wrong reasons. Apart from the fact that the list of ‘obscene’ words has introduced many of us to shades of obscenity we may not have been familiar with, this whole plot carries little redeeming virtue. And if being a Pakistani abroad is not exhausting enough already!

As far as the world media is concerned this was another juicy story that, but of course, is evidence of the creeping Talibanisation of the Pakistani society and the growing power of the Islamists. To be quite honest, I am rather sick of the whole ‘let’s put a Taliban/Islamist spin on every development’ tactic.

Like an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis I am anti-Taliban and vocal about it. But my existence and that of my country is not limited to those radicals yet that is what most new stories are interested in. It is intellectually dishonest and an insult to the intelligence of Western journalists and their audiences. But lapping it up, they are.

Apart from the trivialities of the planned ban, there are many issues at play here. First up I think the Pakistani society deserves commendation for the fact that the mere talk of such a ban became big news and multiple fronts have already threatened legal action. We Pakistanis are a loud bunch but we don’t always raise the right amount of noise — in this case we have done that so, as they say in Pakistan, ‘yeh cheez’!

The legal challenges to the planned ban under the Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations, 2009 are likely to be successful. The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996 carries some fairly

broad language which the PTA can rely on to argue that it is acting to protect the interests of consumers of telecom services. However, the list is not just absurd but clearly overbroad and courts generally find it easy to strike down such overbroad exercise of power.

According to some reports, the justification offered by the PTA’s letter makes reference to the ‘glory of Islam’ in Article 19 — glory of Islam being one of the grounds under which freedom of press and speech and can be restricted. The courts will hopefully not uphold an overbroad and absurd list of words under the banner of glory of Islam.

Apart from legalities, even as a matter of policy, the PTA acted clearly in ignorance of its avowed aims. The 2009 regulations in question already lay down how each service provider in the telecom sector must have a complaint handling mechanism to deal with issues of unsolicited calls and texts. Numbers can be blocked and subscribers can take effective action in this regard. The aim of the 2009 regulations is to protect consumers and it is laughable, yet predictable, that the PTA would rely on a desire to protect consumers while putting in place the new ban.

That is how freedom is interfered with each time — a paternalistic desire to protect the people.

But by merely concentrating on the list and by making fun of it, we have ignored a deeper issue. And that is the stance of a society on the prior restraint of speech. It is fascinating that this list seems intuitively ‘wrong’ to so many people—both Pakistanis and others.

But as a lawyer it is intriguing to think about how societies focus on some issues while ignoring others of the same shade. By focusing on the list alone are we conceding the argument that a less broad list would be okay? What if the list only incorporated some of the dirtiest swear words—with no alternative uses?

Would a state agency’s determination to protect people from harassment then justify restraints on what people can or cannot communicate to each other over text messages?

Consider pornography. Some countries ban it altogether while others merely regulate access to it for certain age groups. europe, otherwise considered more liberal than

the USA, is grappling with its own freedom of expression issues. Many european states ban and/or punish Holocaust denial. Such laws would not pass constitutional muster in the United States where the First Amendment jurisprudence sets an extremely high bar before restrictions can be imposed. In Pakistan, we find the PTA issued list of banned words laughable but the debate would be different if the words were lesser or more provocative.

Why should it be that way? Why shouldn’t we as a society take this opportunity to debate the merits of any prior restraint on speech? Is that going too far? Access to pornographic websites has recently been banned in Pakistan — shouldn’t we have rights groups threatening legal action to challenge that too? These are just questions—difficult questions at many levels—which I think we as a society need to discuss.

Surely, most of us concede that the state does have authority to step in and regulate speech but at what point is that line crossed?

We already have laws in place that punish use of words that cause sexual harassment and assault. Implicit in such laws is a judgment call that certain results, if and when produced, deserve condemnation.

At the same time, many would argue that the state has no business regulating words exchanged between two consenting individuals; that argument sounds fine and yet it captures the problem. There is a temptation for the state to be paternalistic in such matters but for the most part it must be resisted.

Let no one convince you that Pakistan is a messed up country because of this PTA list. The world needs to get over its coverage of Pakistan in make or break terms.

No country can claim never having acted out of a protective impulse in enacting repressive laws.

This is an ongoing process — a part of our growing up. But we will only truly grow up when we debate the issues at a deeper level and when enough among us rise to raise the most difficult questions.

The writer is a Barrister and an Advocate of the High Courts.

He is currently pursuing his LL.M at a law school in the United States. He can be reached at wmir.rma@gmail.com

A

friend and mentor, who has been an active part of mainstream politics for several years, once asked me if I knew what the problem with Leftist men was. Not quite sure what she was pointing to, I asked her to explain. “Their idea of female ‘emancipation’ is for women to behave exactly the way men behave in this country; with the same level of independence,” she said. “This is extremely unfair to women because here, they aren’t even considered human in the public space!”

She was right. The Left in Pakistan has never really cared about women. While the participation of women has always been encouraged, a lack of understanding of the gender question and the on-ground socio-cultural issues of women in this country has meant that this encouragement has been little more than verbal.

The concentration, as such, has primarily been to display a token participation of women in Left activities and politics; mainly to show that unlike right-wing and middle-of-the-road mainstream parties, the Left is the only political channel for women. While this is theoretically true – patriarchy and the ownership of property go hand in hand, after all – much affirmative action needs to be taken in order to bring things to an even scale for women in this country. And this is something that very few of our comrades in the Left have bothered to try and understand. I say

By Urooj Zia ‘very few’ because in my time as a left-wing political worker, I’ve known some notable exceptions. But these men have been exceptions, rather than the norm; which is ironic, given as how leftist and progressive ideologies lay a lot of stress on the gender question.

Most women here have to wage immense battles with their own families, first, to break the shackles that bind them to restrictive, cultural norms. More fights break out when she decides to be an active part of politics or political movements; the participation of women in street politics is, after all, a huge middle and uppermiddleclass taboo.

During all of this, she continues to fight against the misogyny that she faces all around her everyday in the streets, at work-

places, even perhaps with friends. After this, the last thing she expects is to experience the same madness within parties that are said to be the sole women-friendly spaces in society. Unfortunately, her expectations are dashed; at least as far as the Left in Pakistan is concerned.

When I’d first started working with the Left here, I’d foolishly thought that maybe the misogyny that I was experiencing from most of my comrades was my fault – that maybe I was expecting too much or that I wasn’t behaving properly; I’d thought of a thousand other maybes, perhaps in an attempt to deny the fact that misogyny existed even in the Left here. But then I started speaking to fellow female political workers and realised that almost all of them had exactly the same kind of experiences as me. All of them had received derogatory comments from male comrades about what they wore, how they spoke, what they spoke about. When they protested, they were generally told to ‘take it easy’, to ‘stop getting so worked up over minor issues’ and to ‘concentrate on the larger picture’. I have myself been rewarded with all sorts of labels, starting with ‘serial ranter’ to ‘anarcha-feminist’.

The problem, however, is that our male comrades have, for the most part, failed to understand the fact that the expectation of being treated as a human being with self-respect is a basic human right; that the women protested because this right was being snatched away from them. They failed to understand that there could be no ‘larger picture’, no ‘revolution’ without the participation of women; and that, women would walk out of these movements, as they have done in the past, if they continued to be treated like appendages with no opinions or thoughts of their own. They failed to understand that a lot of work needs to be done to understand the particular issues that women face before they could be expected to be as ‘independent’ as men.

To make matters worse, in most cases, unable (or unwilling) to understand these issues and assuming that women were just ‘being difficult’, male comrades ended up ‘ghettoising’ their female comrades. The choices given to women were stark: either deal with hardships (that men would never have to face) without uttering a peep, or be sidelined from mainstream activities.

There is no doubt about the fact that the only political parties and groups that can do anything at all about the true emancipation of women are those that follow left-wing ideologies. As such, it is high time our male comrades started listening seriously to what female political workers within their ranks have to say, or the nascent Left in Pakistan which is being rebuilt with gusto and with much hope will soon be back at the point where it was in the 90s: in the living rooms and memories of disheartened former activists.

The writer is a freelance journalist and researcher based in Karachi. She can be reached through twitter (@UroojZia) or email (contact AT uroojzia.com).

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14 Foreign News

Monday, 28 November, 2011

Arab League imposes sanctions on Syria g

Cracks emerged before vote on Syrian sanctions g Arab gulf States and US advise nationals to leave Syria CAIRO

decisions and Syria’s neighbours expressing reservations, diplomats said.

Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, which border Syria and have close economic ties with Damascus, were invited to attend the task force meeting, egypt’s state-run MeNA news agency reported.

Arab diplomats said Algeria and Oman — two members of the task force which also includes Sudan and egypt as well as the Arab League chief — have questioned the “feasibility” of sanctions on Syria.

Algeria and Oman have cautioned against hasty decisions because they consider that “the negative impact of the sanctions will be catastrophic for the people before affecting the regime,” one diplomat said.

Arab finance ministers recommended on Saturday a raft of sanctions against Syria, including a ban on Syrian officials visiting any Arab country, the freezing of government assets, suspension of flights and a halt to any transactions with the Syr-

tral banks to monitor transfers to Syria, except remittances from Syrians abroad to their families.

The Arab League had set a Friday deadline for Damascus to agree to an observers’ mission, part of a reform deal Syria had previously said it accepted.

Syria has denounced the Arab League’s moves to suspend it from the pan-Arab body and level sanctions against Assad’s regime.

In a letter to the Arab League on Saturday, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem accused the organisation of seeking to “internationalise” the crisis in his country.

The violence showed no sign of abating on Sunday, with security forces killing at least 11 people, six in the flashpoint central region of Homs which has been besieged for weeks in a bid to crush dissent, activists said. However, earlier, as the meeting chaired by Qatar got underway, cracks appeared over the feasibility of the measures with some countries warning against hasty

AFP

A

N Arab League task force agreed upon sanctions against Damascus in a meeting in Cairo on Sunday as President Bashar al-Assad’s embattled regime pressed ahead with a crackdown on dissent.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said 19 of the Arab League’s 22 members voted to ban prominent Syrian regime officials “from travelling to Arab countries and to freeze their accounts in Arab countries.”

The bloc’s members will also stop dealing with the Syrian Central Bank and suspend economic trade with the Damascus government, with the exception of foodstuffs, he said. Iraq had abstained from the vote, and refused to implement it, while Lebanon “disassociated itself” from the decision, he said.

The decision also called on Arab cen-

11 civilians killed in Syria NICOSIA AFP

Syrian forces killed at least 11 civilians on Sunday, six of them in the flashpoint region of Homs under siege for several weeks in an operation to crush dissent, a rights group said. The latest violence came as the Arab League prepared to vote on a set of diplomatic and economic sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for defying an ultimatum to allow in observers. Four civilians were also killed in AlKhalidiyeh when troops and security forces raided the neighbourhood of Homs city, while two people were killed near Damascus, including a 14-year-old boy, and 13 civilians wounded as troops fired “indiscriminately” and made arrests in a raid on Rankuss district, said the Britain-based watchdog. Security forces killed at least two people and wounded eight others when they shot at mourners during the funeral of a man who had died in the eastern oil hub city of Deir ezzor, it said. ian government and central bank.

Arab states are also called to freeze any investments for projects in Syria.

They were to be discussed by the task force which would then ask foreign minis-

Iran parliament votes to reduce ties with Britain g

Move in response to new british sanctions g Ties with other eU countries at risk

ters of the 22-member Arab bloc “to take the appropriate measures” including a vote. But sanctions must be approved by a two-thirds majority and the Arabs appeared divided on how to deal with Syria.

Karzai announces second wave of Afghan transition KABUL/BERLN AFP

TEHRAN/ LONDON REUTERS

Iran’s parliament voted on Sunday to reduce diplomatic relations with Britain, with one lawmaker warning that Iranians angered by London’s latest sanctions could storm the British embassy as they did to the U.S. mission in 1979.

The bill, if it passes one further legislative hurdle, will oblige the government to downgrade ties within two weeks, forcing the ambassador out and leaving the British embassy to be run by a charge d’affaires. It comes less than a week after London banned all British financial institutions from doing business with their Iranian counterparts, including the Central Bank of Iran, as part of a new wave of sanctions western countries are imposing on Tehran.

By announcing its moves ahead of other european Union countries, Britain — which Iranians often refer to as “the old fox” — is first in the firing line for retaliation by Tehran, but lawmakers said they would push to cut ties with other eU countries if, as expected, they follow London’s lead. “The legislative branch is observing the behaviour of the British government and this is just the beginning of the road,” speaker Ali Larijani told parliament.

Lawmakers who spoke out against the bill did so because they deemed it not strong enough.

“This plan should be firmer and stronger against Britain,” Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash told the house. “Having relations with Britain, even with one representative, is a total betrayal and we

TeHrAN: Iranian MPs shout slogans against britain during a parliament session on Sunday. Afp should padlock the British embassy.”

Ahead of the vote, lawmakers chanted “Death to england”.

UN, eU call for calm on eve of Congo vote KINSHASA REUTERS

International organisations appealed for calm on the eve of a presidential election in Democratic Republic of Congo already tainted by deadly street clashes and a showdown between security forces and the main opposition candidate. The european Union and the United Nations called for restraint after at least three people were killed in clashes on Saturday, the last day of campaigning, putting in doubt the central African state’s ability to ensure a representative vote in its second post-war presidential contest on Nov. 28. “The security forces should refrain from any acts that could heighten tensions and create any difficulties on the eve of elections,” Mounoubai Madnodje, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission, said. The eU observer mission accused the Congolese police of denying President Joseph Kabila’s main rival, etienne Tshisekedi, his right to campaign in the capital after he was blocked at the airport on Saturday.

Parliament’s website said there would be a demonstration outside the British embassy on Tuesday, the first anniversary

of the death of Majid Shahriyari, a nuclear scientist killed along with his wife by a car bomb that Tehran said was the work of Israeli agents. In a final vote on the bill in the 290-strong assembly, 171 voted for, three against, and seven abstained, according to numbers displayed on screens in the parliament.

The bill now goes to the Guardian Council, a panel of 12 clerics and jurists who judge whether legislation is Islamic.

The process usually takes from one to two weeks. If the council approves the bill, the foreign ministry will be obliged to put it into force and downgrade relations with London. In the meantime, eU foreign ministers are due to meet on Thursday to approved new sanctions on Iran. Parliament’s bill instructs the foreign ministry to downgrade relations with any country that follows London’s sanctions move.

BRITAIN SAYS IRANIAN VOTE TO EXPEL DIPLOMAT ‘REGRETTABLE’: Britain described as “regrettable” a vote by Iran’s parliament Sunday to expel its ambassador to Tehran, and warned London would respond “robustly” if the threat was followed through.

“The Iranian parliament’s vote to expel our ambassador is regrettable,” a Foreign Office spokesman said, adding: “If the Iranian government acts on this, we will respond robustly in consultation with our international partners.” “This unwarranted move will do nothing to help the regime address their growing isolation or international concerns about their nuclear programme and human rights record,” the Foreign Office spokesman said.

putin accepts russian presidential nomination MOSCOW REUTERS

Vladimir Putin accepted his ruling United Russia party’s nomination on Sunday as its candidate in the March 4 presidential vote, paving the way for his return to the country’s top office after four years as prime minister.

The timing of the announcement, which was a certainty after Putin revealed in September that he planned to return to the Kremlin next year, appeared aimed to give United Russia a boost in a parliamentary election next Sunday amid flagging support.

Putin accepted the nomination before it was even subject to a final vote at a United Russia congress also attended by President Dmitry Medvedev. Putin and Medvedev had

announced plans to swap jobs next year at party meeting on September 24. That plan was met with mixed reactions among Russians, raising fears of increasing stagnation in the world’s top energy producer and prompting complaints that Russia’s political future had been determined behind closed doors.

Polls suggest Putin, president from 2000-2008, will win the presidency despite recent declines in approval ratings, but they show his party could lose its constitutional two-thirds majority in the State Duma lower parliament house in the Dec. 4 election.

PuTIN SAYS FOREIGN POWERS SEEK TO SWAY RuSSIAN VOTES: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that foreign powers were seeking to influ-

ence Russia’s December 4 parliamentary election and a March presidential vote in which he confirmed he will run.

“We know that these days, in the run-up to the State Duma election, the presidential election, representatives of some foreign countries are gathering those they are paying money to, socalled grant recipients, to instruct them and assign work in order to influence the election campaign themselves,” Putin said after accepting his party’s presidential nomination. He said any such activity was a “wasted effort, as we say money thrown at the wind, firstly because Judas is not the most respected biblical character in our country, secondly, because it would be better to pay off their debt with this money and stop pursuing inefficient and costly economic policies.”

The second wave of transition from NATO to local control in Afghanistan will include six provinces, seven cities and dozens of districts, a statement from President Hamid Karzai’s office said Sunday.

The provinces being handed over in their entirety including Balkh in the north. The first phase of transition started in July, part of a process which should see all foreign combat troops leave by the end of 2014.

Meanwhile, Germany’s foreign and defence ministers called Sunday for the Taliban to be included in Afghanistan peace talks, ahead of a major international conference for the war-ravaged country next month.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that negotiations with the Islamist militant group was the only realistic option for lasting peace.

Sarkozy govt denies Strauss-Kahn setup pARIS AFP

France’s interior minister on Sunday dismissed as “pure fantasy” hints by associates of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of a setup leading to his New York arrest on sexual assault charges. “I would say that its pure fantasy,” Claude Gueant told French television. “I read epstein’s article. What does it say? That DSK lost his phone. It’s not because one loses one’s phone that there is a setup.”

He was referring to an article by edward epstein in the New York Review of Books, in which sources said Strauss-Kahn — known in France by his initials DSK — suspected a smartphone that disappeared before his arrest had been hacked. The article also has associates hinting that Strauss-Kahn may have been set up in order to discredit him ahead of presidential elections in France in 2012 that he had been tipped to win. But Gueant dismissed any suggestions of a setup.

germans rally against nuclear waste train HARLINGEN AFP

German police on Sunday battled thousands of anti-nuclear protestors — many chained to railroad tracks — trying to block a train delivering radioactive waste from France. Security forces moved in to tracks around the northern town of Harlingen, telling at least 3,500 demonstrators who had occupied the rail line to clear out. The protestors argue that the shipment by train of spent nuclear fuel rods is hazardous and note that Germany, like the rest of europe, has no permanent storage site for the waste, which will remain dangerous for thousands of years.

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

Foreign News 15

20 killed, 70 injured in Yemen ethnic violence SANAA AFP

Shiite rebels killed 20 people and wounded 70 others in an attack on a Sunni Islamist school in northern Yemen, a tribal source said on Sunday.

The attack targeted the Dar al-Hadith school, a Muslim fundamentalist centre set up in the 1980s to train Sunni preachers in Dammaj, a suburb of the Shiite stronghold city of Saada, said the same source.

Dar al-Hadith, which is attended by students from Yemen and many other countries, is seen as a Sunni threat by Shiite Huthis who dominate the northern region.

A teacher at Dar al-Hadith said on condition of anonymity that before launching the attack the Huthis had blocked off the Dammaj suburb for two weeks, preventing the delivery of food to about 10,000 people.

According to the teacher, the Huthis want to shut down such religious schools because they fear that Sunnis are trying to convert the Shiites in the region.

Tribal sources say the Huthis have strengthened their hold on Yemen’s northern provinces in recent months due to an anti-regime uprising that has seen troops defect and security forces stretched by popular protests.

Seif to select own defence, says former minister TRIpOLI/TUNIS AFP

Seif al-Islam, the son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, will receive a fair trial and is free to select his own defence team, former justice minister Mohammed al-Allagui told reporters late on Saturday.

Seif “will see a fair trial according to international standards” and will be “given the right to select his panel of defence from Libya or outside the country”, Allagui said.

The former minister, who was replaced this week by Ali H’mida Ashur, said that the trial “will be seen or monitored by the international community either officially or unofficially” and that the world could “trust the Libyan justice of today.”

On Friday, the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis MorenoOcampo said the trial of Seif al-Islam, who is accused of crimes against humanity, could be held in Libya under ICC auspices.

FOLLOWING PROTEST, TuNISAIR SuSPENDS FLIGhTS TO TRIPOLI: Tunisair has temporarily halted flights to Tripoli following Saturday’s incident in which protesters blocked a plane from taking off, the airline said. Tunisair spokeswoman Soulafa Mokadde said Tripoli flights would be blocked until security conditions improve at the capital’s airport, though flights would be continued to Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city.

PrAgUe: A trumpeter plays during the traditional Christmas tree illuminating and opening of traditional Christmas market in front of the Tyn Church at the Old Town Square. Afp

Egypt on edge ahead of elections g

Muslim brotherhood expected to emerge winners of egyptian vote CAIRO AFP

e

GYPT’S army rulers, protesters and future political leaders were locked in a fierce power struggle on Sunday that set the country on edge ahead of the first elections since its revolution. egyptians go to the polls on Monday to cast their first votes for a new parliament after the end of the 30year rule of strongman Hosni Mubarak.

The run-up to voting in the cultural heart of the Arab world and region’s most populous country has been marred by violence and fears of chaos as the army, protesters and new political figures jostle for influence.

Protesters have again occupied Tahrir Square, epicentre of the mass protests that drove Mubarak from power, but this time they want the resignation of the new military rulers who stepped in to fill the void left by his departure.

Thousands gathered on Sunday

morning ahead of a planned “millionperson march” called by The Revolution Youth Coalition to reject a 78-year-old caretaker prime minister appointed by the army.

“Down with the military!” shouted a group of young men gathered on the edge of the square underneath a lamppost from which an effigy dressed in army green was hanging by the neck.

Feeding the anger of those assembled in Tahrir, many of whom carried visible injuries from last week’s unrest, a 19-year-old demonstrator was crushed to death on Saturday by a police truck outside the cabinet office.

The demonstrators fear that egypt’s temporary military rulers are looking to consolidate their influence and too quick to resort to Mukarakera tactics of violence and repression when faced with opposition.

The generals, led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, have pushed back the original timetable for handing over power to a civilian government and demanded a final say on all legislation concerning the army in the future.

Outside the square, the political leaders expected to shape the democratic future of the country of over 80 million people are locked in a fight for power with the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

In an effort to resolve the crisis, Tantawi called a meeting with all political party leaders and future presidential candidates, but it was boycotted by several leading figures.

Also on Sunday, the influential Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, expected to be the biggest party in the new parliament, said it should form a new government if it emerges as the largest parliamentary bloc.

“If the government is not representative of parliament, the assembly will block all its decisions,” spokesman Mahmud Ghozlan said.

There is great uncertainty over how the new parliament, to be elected in stages over the next six weeks, will function because of a lack of clarity from SCAF and the legal limbo until a new constitution is written.

Two days of voting from Monday

No one can pressure armed forces: Tantawi CAIRO AFP

egypt’s military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi warned on Sunday that no one will be allowed to pressure the armed forces, amid mass protests demanding an end to military rule. He asked leading politicians Mohamed elBaradei and Amr Mussa to support newly appointed prime minister Kamal al-Ganzuri, despite vehement rejection of the nomination from protesters in Tahrir Square. will take place in the main cities of Cairo and Alexandria as well as Fayum, Luxor, Port Said, Damietta, Kafr el-Sheikh and the Red Sea province.

Other cities and regions follow on December 14 and January 3.

Durban climate talks - another Copenhagen?

DURBAN AFP

Veteran watchers of the UN climate process differ in their predictions for talks opening in Durban on Monday, but all foresee an outcome falling short of a major breakthrough.

A cascade of alarming news from scientists underscores the urgent need to slash CO2 emissions if humanity is to have a fighting chance of capping the rise in global temperature at two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), a goal enshrined at last year’s climate forum in Cancun, Mexico.

But negotiators in Durban — still rattled by the near-collapse of the overreaching 2009 Copenhagen Summit — have set their sights lower, analysts say.

The talks, under the 194-nation UN

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), run through December 9. “There are three scenarios that people are talking about for Durban,” said Alden Meyer of the Washingtonbased Union for Concerned Scientists, outlining results ranging from modest progress to complete deadlock.

The key to all of them lies in the fate of the UNFCCC’s Kyoto Protocol, the world’s only legally binding agreement to curb greenhouse gases, Meyer and other experts say.

While the treaty itself is not threatened, its first five-year roster of commitments — under which rich nations must cut carbon emissions by about five percent, compared to a 1990 benchmark — closes at the end of 2012.

The developing world, exempt from such constraints, wants advanced

economies to renew their Kyoto vows.

But many — including Japan, Canada and Russia — have bluntly refused to do so as long as the world’s top polluters remain unconstrained by international law.

After playing a major role in drafting Kyoto, the United States opted out in 2001. Number One emitter China has set its own goals for improved energy efficiency, but refuses to take on carbon-cutting targets under a global regime, as do emerging giants India and Brazil.

Rich countries under the Protocol, adopted in 1997, accounted for 64 percent of carbon emissions in 1990. Today they emit less than a third.

Only the european Union (eU) — responsible for barely 11 percent of global CO2 output — is ready to commit again, and only under one condition.

It wants all major emitters to back the

completion of a legally binding global climate pact, perhaps by 2015, into which the treaty could be subsumed.

“That is what a roadmap should do: describe some principles, the process and the timetable for what should come next,” said eU climate chief Connie Hedegaard.

“Without a roadmap, no second commitment period.”

Here, then, are three possible scenarios: 1. BEST CASE A rump group of rich Kyoto nations led by the eU takes on new carbon-cutting obligations, provided the United States and China endorse a “roadmap”.

2. MIDDLE OF ThE ROAD Durban fails to muster a soft rollover of Kyoto pledges because Washington refuses to sign on to a future comprehensive climate deal — a hard sell in Washington for the Obama administra-

tion during an election year.

But progress is made towards rendering the climate fund operational, and fleshing out schemes for forests, technology transfer, adaptation along with new rules on monitoring and verifying emissions reduction claims.

3. WORST CASE “The worst case is that the anger over the perceived death of Kyoto, and the failure of leadership by developing countries, lead to a blockage of even the Cancun decisions,” said Meyer. “That puts you back into a kind of crisis mode where people are questioning what the UN process is really bringing to the table.”

For some countries at the talks, even the “best case” scenario outlined here may seem like too little too late, but the chances of a more robust outcome seem dim to nil, experts say.

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

ways to outsmart food cravings NEW YORK YAHOO

The holiday season means temptation is everywhere, from chocolates at the office to cookies from the neighbours. If you’re prone to binge eating and food cravings - which can be a real addiction that affects the same areas of the brain as drug cravings - this is a particularly tough time of year. But with a little planning, you can outwit your appetite.

EAT A PROTEIN-RICH BREAKFAST:

Some protein - like eggs, yogurt, or nuts in the morning helps prevent overeating later in the day, a new study from the University of Missouri finds. Protein keeps you satisfied so you’ll be less tempted by goodies. eat this to fend off a snack attack and flatten your belly.

GET MOVING

especially when you crave chocolate. A quick walk will curb even major chocoholic cravings in just 15 minutes. It works by stimulating feel-good brain chemicals.

AVOID TRIGGER FOODS

You’re less likely to be tempted by the foods you crave if you keep them out of your environment. Banish them from your house. If enticing treats lurk in the office lunchroom, stay out.

When you groc e r y shop,

IN LIMELIGHT

1

2

make a list (stick to it!), and avoid aisles with the foods you lust.

BEWARE OF THE TV

Adults (and kids) eat more snack foods after watching TV shows loaded with food ads. Instead, hit the mute button and do sit-ups or even just step in place during commercials. You’ll burn a few calories and switch off cravings, too.

CHEW GUM

Chewing gum may not help you lose weight, but it can help quell cravings so you don’t overeat and gain weight, according to a new study in the journal Obesity.

Choose sugar-free gum to safeguard your teeth. Use this simple trick to eat 14% less.

THINK BEFORE YOU EAT

1

If you repeatedly imagine eating a food you crave, you’ll eat less of it, according to research from Carnegie Mellon University. So before you dig into that dish of red and green M&Ms, imagine eating them one at a time.

LOS ANGELES: Televison personality Tori Spelling, Stella Mcdermott, dean Mcdermott and liam Mcdermott attend Yo gabba gabba live! at Nokia Theatre.

MEDITATE

3

2

CALIFORNIA: A model presents a creation made with natural materials and live plants by Colombian designer daniela Arevalo during the biofashion Habitat show.

BERLIN: Students dressed up as Christmas angels and Santa Claus pose for a photo.

Take that thoughtful approach a step further and spend just seven minutes a day focusing on, accepting, and experiencing your cravings rather than trying to ignore or suppress them. Dieters who meditate have far fewer food cravings and resist them better than dieters who skip meditation practice.

4

HSINCHU: Chinese actress Jiang wenli arrives ahead of the 48th golden Horse Film Awards, the “Oscars” of Chinese-language cinema.

5

TbIlISI: A model displays a creation by georgian designer gola.

3

MANAGE STRESS

5

Feeling anxious, depressed, or just under too much pressure?

Stress is a common source of food cravings. Depression, in particular, is linked with eating lots of chocolate. Find a healthier way to cope with your stress. exercise can help you ease stress — and cravings. Is stress making your cholesterol worse?

GIVE IN - WISELY

Mind games and other strategies aren’t always enough to help you dodge a craving. Trying to stifle a really intense yen sometimes means that when you finally cave, you binge. Instead, enjoy one little cookie now to save you from eating 30 later. But eat mindfully, relish every bite, and move on.

4

Michael Jackson to adopt 7th kid ‘for luck’

doctor to be sentenced

LOS ANGELES: Actors Angelina Jolie and brad Pitt are planning to add another child to their already existing brood of 6 and hope that their 7th child brings them luck and happiness, according to sources close to the couple. The pair hopes to adopt the new child from ethiopia, as they want their daughter Zahara, who is also originally from the poverty-stricken eastern African nation, to have a sibling she could relate to. “They are really excited about it. brad and Angie made a promise to Zahara years ago that they would adopt another child from the region so she could have a sibling to relate to,” the daily Star quoted a source as saying. “Also, seven has always been brad’s lucky number. He and Angelina think it would bring them luck and happiness,” the source added. The pair already has their hands full with Maddox from Cambodia, vietnamese Pax, and Zahara, along with their biological children Shiloh, and twins Knox and vivienne. The 47-year-old actor had earlier revealed that the only reason he can cope is because of Angelina’s ‘military’ organisation. The ethiopian child they are set to bring in to the family will be at least two years old. AGENCIES

LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray is due back in court on Tuesday for sentencing, facing up to four years in prison after being convicted over the King of Pop’s 2009 death. Prosecutors want Murray to get the maximum jail term and be ordered to compensate the Jackson family for the star’s loss of earnings, estimated at $100 million for the comeback shows he was preparing when he died. but the 58-year-old medic’s lawyer ed Chernoff asked in submissions to court last week for his client to be given parole and community service, underlining that he will likely never practice medicine again.

“To subject this former doctor, described by all who know him as a gentle man who devoted his professional life to providing care to the underserved population, to a lengthy jail term would be wholly inappropriate,” he wrote. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on November 7 for having given Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol on June 25, 2009 at his plush Holmby Hills mansion to help him fight chronic insomnia. AGENCIES

Kardashian

breaks down over failed marriage LOS ANGELES: Kim Kardashian broke down into tears on her own Tv show while discussing her failed marriage to Kris Humphries. The reality Tv star split from the basketball player last month and filed for divorce just 72 days after their lavish televised wedding. The 31-year-old actress has kept her feelings largely out of the spotlight since their split, but in a new episode of family reality Tv show ‘Kourtney and Kim Take New York’, she was seen sobbing as she talked about her marriage. Kim cried uncontrollably while she spoke to her sister Kourtney. “He fell in love with me and I fell in love with him and now my feelings have changed ... And I failed at this. You don’t think I feel bad?” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted the socialite as saying. AGENCIES

wn

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Don’t attack

my creative freedom, says Aamir Khan MUMBAI

T

AGENCIES

H e Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s recent directive to ban smoking on screen - or show it with disclaimers in the beginning and middle -besides a list of other ridiculous demands, has not gone down well with prominent members of the film industry. While some call it regressive, others fear it will curtail their creative expression as filmmakers.

Still others feel the Government is being overly authoritarian and reign in the freedom of expression. Here Aamir Khan puts forth his point of view: “I have never advocated smoking, which is why I have stayed away from doing tobacco advertisements. However, it is unfortunate and unreasonable that we

are asking for cigarette smoking to be justified in our cinema. If I make a historical film on Sir Winston Churchill, whose trademark was his cigar, then I can hardly disturb the frame with a disclaimer or a ticker saying ‘Smoking kills’. Also, if I show Churchill without his cigar, I am not being true to my subject. Not showing my character the way he was is not only curbing my creative freedom as a filmmaker, but I am also being dishonest with my audience. My audience will most certainly object to my disturbing the frame with a public service message, even if it is in the backdrop. I am in favour of having a disclaimer at the beginning of a film where you warn the public about the perils of smoking. I don’t even mind recording a separate clip saying how the use of tobacco/ cigarettes is harmful. But I am not in favour of anyone interfering with the

creative process of my film. Murder is illegal too, but we show it on screen. We don’t have disclaimers for it. If the Government feels so strongly about smoking, they should ban the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. If the sale is legal, then why attack smoking only in cinema?

My answer to the Government’s directive on banning smoking on screen or showing

it with justifications in a film is a three pronged one: 1. If you show other illegal activities on screen, then don’t attack only smoking; 2. Don’t attack my creative freedom; 3. Don’t take away the audience’s right to enjoy cinema by imposing views/restrictions on them, especially when they could be watching a crucial scene. How can you do that?”

I was very keen on being an actor, says deepika MUMBAI MIRROR

Saif, Kareena’s no-kissing policy MUMBAI AGENCIES

Saif Ali Khan is unhappy with reports claiming he has smooched co-star Deepika Padukone in ‘Race 2’. Apparently, there are no kissing scenes in the film and Saif is wondering where these stories have originated from. Says a source close to the actor, “During the release of their last film ‘Aarakshan’, there was buzz that Saif and Deepika had become very fond of each other. Now with ‘Race 2’ around the corner, everyone’s talking about the kissing scene. Saif wants to nip these rumours in the bud. He even

plans to talk to Deepika about it.” Interestingly, about a year ago Saif and Kareena had decided they wouldn’t do kissing scenes in their films and even made their decision clear to filmmakers. Adds the source, “With marriage imminent early next year, they don’t want any controversies. even in the case of ‘Heroine’, Kareena has made it clear that she won’t do kissing scenes. For ‘Race 2’, Saif had communicated the same to directors Abbas-Mustaan.” Khan confirms, “There are no kissing scenes in ‘Race 2’.” His spokesperson adds, “Kareena and Saif had decided on a nokissing policy sometime ago.”

‘Breaking Dawn’ birth scene causing seizures across US LOS ANGELES: graphic scene in which heroine bella gives birth to her vampire husband edward’s child in the new Twilight movie ‘breaking dawn : Part One’ is triggering seizures in cinemas across the US. According to CbS News, brandon gephart of roseville, California was watching the film when he began having convulsions. gephart only remembers waking up on the cinema floor, before being rushed to hospital, while girlfriend Kelly bauman was left terrified at the incident. bauman said that he was convulsing, snorting, trying to breathe. “He scared me big time,” the daily Mail quoted her as saying. Similar incidents have now been reported around the country. Another man in south Jordan, Utah blacked out during the film. His wife said that he was shaking, mumbling and blinking rapidly, AbC4 revealed. The symptoms typically emerge during the birth scene, which contains flashes of red, black and white. epilepsy specialist dr. Michael g Chez said that the scene may be triggering episodes of photosensitive epilepsy on those who are predisposed to it. Flashing red lights on people who are genetically predisposed can bring in seizures. AGENCIES

Deepika Padukone talks about her foray into films. How did she feel debuting with Shah Rukh? “I was stunned. I first met Farah while she was rehearsing for a song. She said, ‘Lets see how you do. The lead actor is SRK.’ She had only seen me in a Himesh (Reshamiya) video before then. At the time Shah Rukh was working on ‘Chak de!’, so I had a year to prepare.

Once I knew it was him, I didn’t want any other role, so I really worked hard. I took Kathak classes, worked out. I remember the first time I met him, Farah took me to his house, and now things have changed, but back then, everything was white. White sofa, curtains... and I in total Yash Chopra style, wore a white chicken suit with a chiffon dupatta, and tried to camouflage myself. I pretended to be really cool, so I started flipping a book, but I was freaking out. I sat stiff as a board,” she said, laughing. How does you feel being called the hottest girl on earth? “It’s nice to hear that but I’m not very conscious about it.” How and why did you switch from being a sportswoman to an actor? “I was very keen on being an actor. If I saw Madhuri dance around in Switzerland, I liked to believe I could do it too. I wasn’t fanatic about it; I wouldn’t practise in front of a mirror. So when the opportunity presented itself, I took it. But I’m very attached to sports. I grew up going for practice everyday at 5 am, for four hours a day. Now that I feel like I have some influence, I like to support sports as much as possible,” she said. Would you head to Hollywood?

Deepika replied, “I would like to, but offers here are so good that they really need to match up.”

MUMBAI: Madhuri dixit is back to Mumbai and thus showbiz. The actress is taking her time to get a hang of the modern day film functioning in Mumbai. The actress is excited to see the Hindi film industry getting more professional than it used to be during the days when she was at the pinnacle of her career. “In those days barring the choreographer, hairstylist

Madhuri glad with ladies ruling the

roost in Bollywood and the actress no other woman would be seen on the sets. but today, from assistant directors to other departments, so many girls are in the movie business which makes me proud and comfortable. I am sure actresses don’t feel the need to be accompanied by their moms any more” said Madhuri with a smile. AGENCIES

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

Aisam not to pair with bopanna for next 6 months Page 23

resumption of cricket should be PCb’s top priority

International cricket may return to Pakistan by next year: Zaka LAHORE

P

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja believes restoring bilateral cricket ties with India should be the top priority of the Pakistan Cricket Board. "Our cricket has got a few very important priorities which need to be looked at. First one obviously is how to re-launch cricket back in Pakistan. Number two is how to improve our standing and promote our cricket in the ICC. Thirdly I guess would be to pay attention to the domestic cricket structure. Fourthly, I would suggest, we have to name our coaching unit. So these are his main priorities, and of course the most important one is to play India.'' Ramiz also believes that the new Chairman PCB Zaka Ashraf had made the right start by emphasising restoring international cricket in Pakistan and bilateral ties with India. "I think Zaka has made just the right start, since this (Indo-Pak) series benefits both countries and benefits cricket.

There is no bigger series than IndiaPakistan and they should name it as 'icon' series, as Test cricket is already getting 'knockout punches' from the limited overs formats." he said. Ramiz claimed that he had also done his bit to encourage flamboyant allrounder Shahid Afridi who publicly thanked him during a ceremony in the one-day series against Sri Lanka. "Afridi is a perfect advertisement for Pakistan cricket, because that is how we should be perceived as a cricket nation - aggressive but not unpredictable and with flair.

Afridi is a headline-grabber and a head turner with his performance and his talent," he said.

STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf hopes to see the international teams play in Pakistan from next year and the teams will be provided security according to the ICC laid-out plan.

Talking to journalists at Bahawalpur, he said that players having a discipline of highest standards would be the part of the team. He said that national prestige would be supreme and the PCB would not tolerate corruption, indiscipline and bickering in the team.

Zaka said the board was setting up a vigilance division to eliminate match fixing and betting. He said agents of players would have to get clearance from the PCB, adding that it was amending the code of conduct for players and the amended code would be implemented in letter and spirit. The PCB chairman said that he was visiting India and Bangladesh soon on invitations of their cricket boards. He hoped

that international cricket would restart in Pakistan from 2012. He added, “Foolproof security will be provided to all visiting teams in Pakistan and the provision of security according to ICC standards is our duty.”

Zaka Ashraf stressed holding a cricket series between Pakistan and India even on a neutral place.

He said, “The PCB is holding receptions for the national cricket team for victory against Sri Lanka in the UAe and women and blind cricket teams to encourage them for their good performance.” PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf will visit India in the second week of December to hold talks with BCCI officials on resumption of bilateral ties cricket between the two countries.

An official in the PCB confirmed that application for a visa had been filed with the Indian High Commission and other travel arrangements were also being made for the visit in second week of December. “The PCB chairman himself is attaching a lot of importance to the visit as it will be an official one that has been encouraged by the Indian

board,” the official said.

PCB’s former chairman Ijaz Butt also visited India several times but

sources said most of the time he went there to tie up issues with the broadcasters who hold rights to Pakistan cricket and for his own private business. “except for the 2011 World Cup semifinal in Mohali Butt didn’t go to India with any formal meeting set up with the Indian board officials,” a reliable source said. He said the BCCI had itself responded positively to a letter sent to them by Ashraf soon after he took charge in late October.

“The BCCI itself has invited Ashraf to visit India and discuss cricket issues including next year’s FTP Pakistan tour to India,” the source said. He said Zaka Ashraf had also got the green signal from the government to hold talks with his Indian counterparts and confirm to them that Pakistan is ready to tour India next year once the itinerary is finalised.

Pakistan and India last played a bilateral series in late 2007 when Pakistan went to India and in early 2009 India cancelled a test tour to Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks.

fined, Misbah warns team of complacency Chandimal Hafeez reprimanded KARACHI

AGENCIES

Pakistan’s successful combination of captain Misbah-ul-Haq and coach Mohsin Khan have cautioned their players against being complacent while taking on Bangladesh in a series starting November 29 with a Twenty20 in Dhaka.

“It would be a big folly on our part to think we can walk over Bangladesh.

We are playing a full series in Bangladesh after a long time and I have told the players to treat the series as a top one because there will be lot of pressure on us,” Misbah said before his departure from Abu Dhabi to Dhaka. Mohsin supported the captain’s argument pointing out that the home support for Bangladesh is always very strong and visiting teams in the past had struggled to do well there.

“Playing Bangladesh in Bangladesh is never easy. The team has done ex-

tremely well against Sri Lanka but there is still room for lot of improvement. We now take every match day by day and try to improve and that is the formula we will follow in Bangladesh,” Mohsin said. Misbah said Bangladesh

had a couple of world class players in Shakib ul Hasan, opener Tamim Iqbal and spinner Abdul Razzak. “They are a young side and they can upset us.

The pressure will be on us to perform and win so this series in a way will be tougher than the one we played against Sri Lanka,” he said. The Pakistan skipper said he had told the young players in the side to do their best and use the Bangladesh series to give better performances with the bat and ball.

Misbah backed the stringent steps taken by the Board and the team management to enforce strict discipline in the team. “After all that Pakistan cricket has been through these steps are necessary. At times it is hard but it is for our best. In a way the problems and scandals that hit us since last year have only made us stronger and there is stronger bonding in the team and the desire to win consistently,” he said.

for dissent

KARACHI AFP

Afridi, waqar mend fences LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Shahid Afridi's dispute with former coach Waqar Younis which cost him the captaincy of Pakistan's cricket team has been resolved after the two met up during the recent series against Sri Lanka in the UAe. According to PTI, Waqar confirmed that he met Afridi during the one-day series against Sri Lanka in Dubai and had a discussion on the differences between them.

The dispute between the two erupted into the open after the Pakistan team's tour to the West Indies this year.

Afridi, who was captain of the oneday side, on returning home lambasted Waqar for interfering in his domain and making his job more difficult.

Later it was confirmed that the differences between the two had led to Afridi walking out twice from team meetings during the ODI series in the West Indies.

Afridi's comments led to him being stripped of one-day captaincy and his subsequent announcement of retirement in protest.

The all-rounder returned to the

side for the series in the UAe after Zaka Ashraf took over as Chairman of the board and gave a hearing to the former captain.

Although Waqar had stepped down as head coach of the team in September due to personal and health reasons, he was in the UAe for commentary work with the broadcasters of the series.

"Look when you work together like I and Shahid did you have such difference of opinions and disagreements and that is exactly what happened with us. But in the end what is important is that both of us just wanted to see Pakistan cricket do well," Waqar said.

"The differences were mirrored because Shahid gave some statements in the press and I responded. But now it is normal between us."

Waqar also made it clear that he stepped down because of his health problem.

"It is wrong impression that I made any excuse to step down and the real reason was that I was not happy with the board. The truth is doctors have advised me to stay away from jobs and work that carries lot of pressure as I am suffering from a liver ailment. That is why I resigned as coach.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said Sunday it fined and reprimanded Sri Lanka middle-order batsman Dinesh Chandimal and Pakistani opener Mohammad Hafeez for violating its code of conduct. “In separate incidents, both players were found to have breached article 2.1.3 of the code which relates to showing dissent at an umpire’s decision,” the ICC said in a statement. “After play concluded, the players admitted the offences and accepted the proposed sanctions offered to them by match referee Andy Pycroft. As such, there was no need for formal hearings”.

The charges had been laid by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Zameer Haider, the statement added. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the only Twenty20 match in Abu Dhabi on Friday, to add to their 1-0 victory in the preceding three-Tests and 4-1 win in the five-match one-day series. In both cases, the charges related to incidents that took place when they were out lbw. Both players showed the bat towards the umpire in displays of dissent “Accepting an umpire’s decision is an essential feature of cricket and part of the game’s unique spirit,” said Pycroft. “These players’ behaviour was not acceptable in any form of cricket and they must take responsibility for what they do.”

Chandimal has been fined 10 percent of his match fee while Hafeez has received an official reprimand. The difference in penalty is due to the degree of dissent displayed, said Pycroft, a former Zimbabwe all-rounder.

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Yuvraj recovering US win World Cup from lung tumour after long decade in cold NEW DELHI

HAINAN

AFP

Cricket star Yuvraj Singh has been battling a golf-ball sized non-malignant lung tumour which first affected him during India’s triumphant World Cup campaign, his family revealed on Sunday. Yuvraj, 29, who was declared the man of the tournament after the World Cup win at home in April, had opted out of the upcoming one-day series against the West Indies for health reasons.

“During the World Cup, Yuvraj found himself constantly troubled by bouts of coughing and vomiting,” his mother Shabnam Singh said in a statement.

She said Yuvraj initially ignored the problem, assuming it was due to stress and did not want anything to distract him.

“When the problem persisted after the World Cup, we decided to seek medical advice... scans then showed us that Yuvraj was dealing with something really serious. A golf-ball size lump (was) found over his left lung,” she said. “Further reports have indicated that the tumour is non-malignant and non-threatening and can be treated through proper medication and therapy... Yuvraj is now in a much better state and on his way to a full recovery.”

The aggressive left-hand batsman and spin bowler had gone through “a very hard time” but was now focused on returning to the field, Shabnam added.

Yuvraj wrote on his Twitter page that he was “overwhelmed” by the support he had received. “I am absolutely fine, just need to get match fitness and training. Will be back soon,” he said. Yuvraj, who played in two of three Test matches against the West Indies this month in Delhi and Kolkata, was not picked for next month’s Test series in Australia. He hopes to be back in action for the subsequent one-day tri-series Down Under, also featuring Sri Lanka, which begins on February 5.

Yuvraj, who made his international debut in 2000, has played 37 Tests, 274 oneday internationals and 23 Twenty20 matches for India. He was part of India’s champion team at the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, where he smashed england fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over.

The explosive hitter has been the lynchpin of India’s middle-order in limited-overs cricket, although he has not met with the same success at the Test match level. During the World Cup campaign this year, Yuvraj scored 362 runs and grabbed 15 wickets in nine matches to carry off the man of the tournament award. At the Test level, Yuvraj has scored 1,775 runs at an average of 34.80 with three centuries and 10 fifties.

vettel beats Mansell pole record in brazil SAO pAULO AFP

Newly-crowned double world champion Sebastian Vettel stormed into the Formula One record books again on Saturday when he delivered a stunning fastest lap to secure pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The 24-year-old German became the first man to achieve 15 pole positions in a season when he steered his Red Bull car round the Interlagos circuit in one minute 11.918 seconds. It bettered the previous mark of 14 set by Nigel Mansell in 1992, although the Briton’s record came from 16 races; Vettel’s is from 19 events. Vettel’s dazzling and dominant lap time meant he was the only man to break into the one minute 12 second barrier.

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AFP

UTTING machines Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland on Sunday claimed the United States’ first golf World Cup since Tiger Woods and David Duval lifted the trophy 11 years ago. And they did so with a text message of inspiration from US golfing great Phil Mickelson.

“I got a text message earlier this morning from Phil Mickelson saying, ‘Go make some birdies early, you guys can win this thing, and bring another one home for the United States’”, world number 10 Kuchar said.

The Americans took Mickelson’s advice, and grabbed the advantage from an Irish tailspin as tournament favourites Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell endured a sloppy final day at Mission Hills in southern China.

“We really clicked. It’s fantastic to win for the US,” said an ecstatic Woodland on the last day of the tournament, which was overshadowed by tough words from the president of the title sponsor that threw its future into doubt.

On the greens, Kuchar was in sublime form, helping the pair hole six birdies to finish top of the leader board on 5 under 67 and 24 under overall.

“For Gary and I to put our name on this trophy, on the World Cup trophy, alongside of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tiger Woods and David Duval -- the list goes on and on -it’s a real honour,” said a proud Kuchar.

It is Kuchar’s first team event since his inclusion in the US Team victory at the President’s Cup in Melbourne earlier this month.

The pair kept their nerve during a tight and thrilling front nine to build a two-point lead over chasing Germans, world number-four Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka at the halfway stage. Germany claimed joint second with a resurgent england on 22 under overall. england’s Ian Poulter and Justin

HAINAN: US team players gary woodland (2nd l) and his girlfriend gabby granado (l) with playing partner Matt Kuchar (2nd r) and his wife Sybi Kuchar (r) celebrate with the winners trophy. Afp Rose accelerated up the leaderboard thanks to their late rally, holing eight birdies and an eagle.

McIlroy and 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell led the field from round two but finished tied fourth with Australia, Scotland and the impressive Netherlands on 21 under overall.

World number-two McIlroy missed several putts and fluffed another crucial 25 footer on the 18th which would have given Ireland a share of the runners up cheque in the US$7.5 million tournament. The president of the title sponsor, Omega’s Stephen Urquhart, put a damper on the last day of the tournament however.

He said he was unhappy with the strength of the field, after just a token number of top players opted to represent their countries in the 28-nation team event. For the World Cup to become a respected tournament, he said it had to be staged around the world like football, rugby, cricket and other sports with World Cup events.

“China is too immature a market to put the World Cup where it should be.

Hussain notches Mr Lahore title LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Hussain and Hafiz Mohammad Umer were declared Mr. and Junior Mr. Lahore at the 60th edition of the competition held AlHamra Hall under the Supervision of Pakistan Bodybuilding Federation. The competitions were held under the auspices of Lahore Bodybuilding Association & Lahore Division Bodybuilding Association on Sunday. More than 170 participants took part in it through their respective clubs. The standard was quite high and in some categories the competition was very tough. Secretary Pakistan Bodybuilding Federation Sh. Farooq Iqbal was the chief guest of the opening and closing ceremonies of the contest and in the end gave away the prizes to the finalist and title holders.

He also give motorcycle to Mr. lahore (Mr. Hussain form Faisal gym) with trophy and Jr. Mr. lahore (Hafiz Muhammad Umer from Punjab gym) took 21’ Tv with trophy.

The panel of judges comprised Khawar Karim (Mr. Pakistan), Muhammad Arshad Malik (Mr. Pakistan), Khalid Ali (Mr. Pakistan), Haji Muhammad Hanif (national champion), Amir Afzal Khan, Imran Qurashi (Mr. Olympia), Khalid Malik (Mr. Punjab), Muhammad Hanif (Mr. Paksitan), Khaliq Ali (national champion), Shoaib Zahoor (Mr. Pakistan), Ashfaq Ahmad butt (Mr. Pakistan), Muzafar Ali (national champion), Tahir Mehmood (national champion) and Azhar Zafar (Mr. Pakistan). Following are the de-

LAHORE Team Lahore managed to dethrone the defending champions Karachi by a winning margin of seven points Royal Palm Golf and Country Club Golf Course.

The Legends Golf Classic event was fought out between Team Karachi comprising 32 golf players of substance and Team Lahore comprising an equal number of combatants, over three days and two golf arenas, with round one at DHA Defence Raya Golf Course and round 2 and 3 at the impeccable Royal Palm Golf and Country Club Golf Course.

After some hard fought matches, Lahore prevailed with Team Lahore aggregating 35. 5 to Karachi's 28. 5.

Playing under the captaincy of Imran

Habib, Team Karachi was a blend of age and experience, yet they failed to match the cool maturity of the Lahori contenders whose shot making was classy and tipped the scales in their favour.

Royal Palm Golf Course was in excellent condition and much appreciated by the visitors from Karachi, who although lagging behind by five points at the start of the final round, were most optimistic about their winning prospects on the final day with 32 singles matches to be competed, but somehow as the day progressed their key players caused their undoing by not playing to potential and letting nerves take over.

That however should not take the credit away from the determined effort of the Lahori golfers, because every team member reflected cool maturity in shot

razzaq confident of playing big bash league LAHORE STAFF REPORT

lAHOre: Secretary Pakistan bodybuilding Federation Sheikh Farooq Iqbal with participants of the competition. MurTAzA ALI tailed results: Jr. Mr. lahore 2011-12 winner class wise: 55 Kg waseem Ijaz, 60 Kg Abdul ghani bilal, 65 Kg Hafiz Muhammad Umer (Jr. Mr. lahore 2011-12 Also), 70 Kg Tayyab Hussain Shah, 75 Kg Ansar Abbas, +75 Kg Saif-ur-rehman. Mr. lahore 201112 winner class wise: 55 Kg ramzan butt, 60 Kg Moeen Khan, 65 Kg Usman Qasir, 70 Kg Hafiz Usman Saeed, 75 Kg Irfan, 80 kg Hamyun Khuram, 85 Kg (Mr. lahore 2011-12 Also) Muhammad Hussain, 90 Kg Umair butt, +90 Kg Muhammad Sajid.

Lahore lift Legends Golf trophy at Royal Palm STAFF REPORT

It’s too early for China to support by itself a tournament on this scale,” Urquhart said .

The stinging criticism is a blow for the tournament organisers, Hong Kong brothers Kenneth and Tenniel Chu and their Chinese government backers.

The Chus have poured in millions of dollars to build the five-star Mission Hills resort on Hainan Island in the belief it will become the “World Cup Headquarters” until 2025 when their contract ends. They said they “would go it alone” to keep the competition in China and are in talks with tour chiefs about changing the format to make it more appealing to top players.

Urquhart denied Omega was planning to pull out of the tournament it has sponsored since 2007, which now takes place every two years to fit around the Olympics following the sport’s inclusion as a Games discipline from Rio 2016.

But he said: “This is the last World Cup in this format which we are committed to... I can’t say now that... in November 2013, we will be in this place or that place.”

making. Most intimidating was the form of Amer Mehmood who won his match against Asad by a margin of 6-4, which means that he was 6 up with four holes to play, thereby leaving him unbeatable on that day.

Also enthusiastic in their winning approach were quite a few of Amer’s team mates like Rizwan Shafi, Agha Asad, Usman Cheema, Faisal Syed, Fareed Bajwa, Ahmed Gulzar, Hashim Butt, Muhammed Leghari, Shahid Abbas, Dr. Dildar, Faisal Ali Malik and Omer Salamat. The match between Sameer Iftikhar and Imran Habib of Karachi was a cliff hanger and some extremely good putts on the closing holes made Sameer the proud winner.

For Karachi, the winners in singles matches were Hussain Kasim, Qasim

Habib, Sibtain Haji, Altaf Hashwani, Adnan Sohail, Nadir Leghari, Rashid Malik, Mujtaba Ali, Adil Haji and Yasir Zaidi. Of course there were six drawn matches and those involved in the sea saw battles were Umair Shah(LHR) and Taufeeq (KH), Tariq Mushtaq and ejaz Khan, Imran Miraj and Arif Islam, Lt Gen(r) Tariq and Zahid ebrahim, Azfar Hassan and Asif Ahmed and Sardar Murad and Mansoor Teli.

As for the daily scores , Team Lahore had 10 points as against Karachi’s 6 in the scrambles contest, and on the second day Team Lahore compiled 8. 5 against 7.

5 for Karachi in the best ball competition; on the final day Lahore fetched 17. 0 whereas Karachi managed 15. 0 in the singles competition, thus enabling Lahore to pick up the trophy.

Pakistan all rounder Abdul Razzaq feels confident enough to be fit before the Big Bash League starts.

"I've been advised two weeks rest by the medics and after that I should be ready to play cricket again. It's a frustrating injury but I'm confident that I will be fit for the Big Bash League,” Pakpassion quoted him as saying.

Razzaq aggravated the injury to his right shoulder in the third one day international in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka and left the UAe on Wednesday to return to Pakistan for treatment and rest.

Razzaq, who was a member of the Leicestershire squad last season that lifted the Friends Life Twenty20 Cup, has signed a deal with the Melbourne Renegades where he will team up with Pakistan team mate Shahid Afridi, as well as high profile Australian cricketers such as Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes, as well as Leicesteshire team mate Andrew McDonald.

The Big Bash League is due to commence on December 16 when the Sydney Sixers take on Brisbane Heat at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with the final scheduled for 28th January.

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

Islamabad, Multan victorious in U-19 women’s Cricket LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Islamabad, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot eased to victory in the U-19 National Women Cricket Championship at Country Club Muridke on Sunday. Islamabad beat Hyderabad by 72 runs, Multan defeated Abbottabad, Rawalpindi thrashed Peshawar and Sialkot edged aside Quetta.

Scores: Islamabad region U-19 – 139-2 in 20 overs: (Fazila Akhlaq 36*, 15 balls, 4x4s, 1x6, Fiza Abid 29 (retired Hurt) 51 balls, 2x4s, Huma Shafiq 23, 21 balls, 4x4s, Nazish Akram 20, 26 balls, 2x4s, Anxal Ali 2-27) v Hyderabad region U-19 – 67-4 in 20 overs: (Anxel Ali 29, 52 balls, 2x4s) Player of the Match: Fazila Akhlaq (Islamabad region) result: Islamabad region won by 72 runs. Toss: Islamabad region U-19; Umpires: Shakeela rafiq & Humaira Farrah; Match referee: Allah ditto; Official Scorer: Sajjad-ulHasan. Abbottabad region U-19 – 81-7 in 20 overs: (Ayesha Zaman 21, 54 balls, 2x4s, Kalsoom Hanif 2-9, HIda Hussain 2-7, Hina Ansad 2-15) v Multan region U-19 – 84-3 in 14.4 overs: (Areeb Shamim 39, 43 balls, 2x4s, Najma Zafar 23 balls, 3x4s), Player of the Match: Areeb Shamim (Multan region), result: Multan region U-19 won by 7 wickets, Toss: Abbottabad region U-19; Umpires: kosar Shah & Afia Amin; Match referee: Allah ditto; Official Scorer: Sajjad-ulHasan. Peshawar region U-19 – 90-7 in 20 overs: (Arifa Hasan 44*, 68 balls, 4x4s) v rawalpindi region U-19 – 91-5 in 18.1 overs: (Aliya riaz 25, 23 balls, 3x4s, Sadia Khaliq 23, 30 balls, 2x4s, Zara Iqbal 18, 32 balls, 3x4s, Nosheen Shah 3-15). Player of the Match: Sadia Khaliq (rawalpindi region), result: rawalpindi region U-19 won by 5 wickets, Toss: Peshawar region U-19; Umpires: rana Sohail Manzoor & Aamir Sharif; Match referee: ghulam Mustafa; Official Scorer: Sajjad-ul-Hasan. Sialkot region U-19–130-5 in 20 overs: (rabia liaqai 53, 63 balls, 5x4s, Soha Fatima 20, 20 balls, and 3x4s) v Quetta region U-19 – 53 in 18.2 overs: (Saima Maqsood 2-5, Afreen Shahzadi 2-10), Player of the Match: rabia liaqat (Sialkot region), result: Sialkot region U-19, Toss: Sialkot region U-19 won by 77 runs; Umpires: riffat Mustafa & Samera Aftab; Match referee: Shahid butt; Official Scorer: Sajjad-ul-Hasan.

wAPdA, PIA advance in NbP gold Cup FAISALABAD STAFF REPORT

WAPDA and PIA won their matches of the All Pakistan NBP Gold Cup Hockey Tournament in progress at Faisalabad Hockey Stadium. Olympian Adnan Maqsood was the chief guest on the last match between PIA and Port Qasim. On the occasion, Organising Secretary Olympian Rana Mujahid Ali, Tournament Director Olympian Khalid Bashir, Haji Rana Muhammad Mazhar Khan President DHA Faisalabad, Olympian Danish Kaleem, Olympian Malik Shafqat, Olympian Anjum Saeed, Shahid Hussain, Shahzad Chishti, Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Khan and officials of DHA were present. WAPDA beat Rialways 6-0.

They scored five goals in the first 35 minutes with the scorers being Mohammad Irfan (three goals), Rehan Butt, Aleem Bilal and Rana Umair sharing one goal each.

Customs and NBP played a one-all draw and both the goals came in the first half.

Mohsin scored for Customs while Yasir Shabbir converted the goal for NBP. PIA beat Port Qasim 4-2 and interestingly the teams were one goal even by the time the lemon break was announced but PIA hammered another three and PIA could get one. PIA scorers were Ihsan Ullah Khan (three goals) and Imran Khan one goal. Port Qasim scorer was Azlan Khan who came up with both the goals.

baloch FC win LAHORE STAFF REPORT

As many as three matches were decided in the 8th Pakistan Premier Football League on Sunday. In the first match, Baloch FC beat PMC Athletico FC 2-1 at the PMC Football Ground, Faisalabad.

Baloch FC got their goals through forward Muhammad Naeem in the 83rd minute and Sher Dil Khan in the 85th minute while Athletico reduced the margin when Muhammad Naeem kept his nerves to kick the ball past the keeper in a penalty kick in the 77 Minute. PAF and Afghan FC drew their game at the Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi. Despite several attempts both the teams remained goalless till the final whistle was blown.

We need to put the Pakistan series behind us ExPERT COMMENT

MAHelA JAYAwArdeNe

T

He UAe tour was frustrating because we had our opportunities but didn't convert them - especially in the fourth and fifth ODIs. In the fifth match we didn't hold onto our chances, while Pakistan had a couple of good partnerships and finished it off. We needed to be consistent with the momentum.

The pitch conditions are pretty similar to Sri Lanka, of course, but we were up against a very good bowling unit, who have a lot of variations. In the middle period it's tough to build a foundation if you keep losing wickets; and Pakistan's attacking combination relentlessly picked up wickets.

The new Powerplay rules create new scenarios. After the first 10 overs there is a gap of five overs, following which the fielding captains usually take the bowling Powerplay. This shifts the momentum because after the first 10 overs, the fielders go back. If you're batting well you try to hold on to your wicket because the next Powerplay might come any time soon, and that puts the fielding captain in a bit of a quandary whether to take it or not.

The batting Powerplay, between the

Pakistan’s attacking combination relentlessly picked up wickets.

36th and 40th over, makes a huge difference. even if you've lost just two or three wickets, you don't want to take too many risks because losing a few wickets would affect your momentum going into the last 10 overs. At the same time, it's a Powerplay and you need to score quickly.

I think you'll see scores coming down with the new Powerplay rules.

Under the previous rule, teams kept wickets in hand and accelerated in the last five overs, in which they could get about 60 or more runs. Now teams get a maximum of 30-40 runs. With the field back in the last 10 overs you need power hitters to clear the ropes. The Powerplays and having a different ball at either end contribute towards making it an even game between bat and ball. It's a good challenge but teams will take some time to adjust to the new rules.

In the third ODI, I got out very early in the batting Powerplay. That slowed us down because it's difficult for a new batsman to get going immediately. Angelo [Mathews] had a couple of good overs but when [Dinesh] Chandimal got out in the last over of the Powerplay, Angelo had to restrict himself and make sure he stayed till the end.

In the fourth ODI, as soon as we saw the wicket we knew it was going to be a low-scoring game and that it was going to be difficult to bat against the spinners.

Kumar [Sangakkara] and I had a very good partnership and it looked easy since we needed three-four runs an over.

But when he got out, we lost a few more wickets. It's tough for the tailenders against spinners of that quality. I made a mistake as well; I was in two minds whether to take chances or bat till the end. But credit goes to the Pakistan

bowlers. They smelt an opportunity and were ruthless.

Looking at the bigger picture, we have a few youngsters coming through and we need to have faith in them. You still need to consider Angelo a youngster, although he has quite a bit of experience. The other promising ones are Chandimal and Jeevan Mendis. In oneday cricket particularly, we need to strike a balance between youth and experience, though there might be occasions when we need to fall back on the experienced lot until the youngsters get more confident. In Tests we need to place more faith in the experienced players.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has taken up a tough job as captain. It has not been easy because we have a reasonably new bowling attack and the selectors have picked a lot of youngsters. You need to give him time. At the same time Dilshan needs to think of his value as a batsman as well.

Unfortunately he has had a lean period with the bat, which could affect his captaincy. He is capable of coming through these challenges and has done a decent job so far.

South Africa are going to be a bigger challenge mentally. We have to put this Pakistan series behind us. We cannot ride on what happened in the Middle east, take that extra baggage on board and think everything will turn around in South Africa. We need to play to our strengths and take positives from the Pakistan series.

Regarding my knee injury, I need two weeks of rest with medication. After that I will start a slow running programme and should be fit before the first Test in South Africa.

CRICINFO

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

SAINT-ÉTIENNE: Saint-Etienne’s Ajaccio’s Brazilian forward Ilan Araujo Dall’Igna (L) heads off the ball during the French L1 football match. Saint-Etienne beat Ajaccio 3-1. Afp

Aisam not to pair with Bopanna LAHORE

P

STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN’S top tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has confirmed he will not be pairing with India’s Rohan Bopanna on the international circuit for the next six months as both want to focus on the London Olympic Games.

“We want to cement our places in the Olympic Games and have decided to play with new partners in the doubles,” Aisam told the media after he returned home.

Aisam will pair up with JeanJulien Rojer for the Australian Open after Bopanna decided to partner either Mahesh Bhupathi or Leander Paes ahead of the Olympics. The Indo-Pak express last played together in London where they lost all three World Tour Finals matches.

Aisam had a successful year as he won three ATP titles - including a Thailand Open triumph with Austria’s Oliver Marach - and improved his individual as well as team rankings. Aisam said he was excited not only about his marriage but also about starting up a new partnership next year

rashid Maik wins three titles in National Sr Tennis KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Former Davis Cupper Rashid Maik enjoyed a perfect Sunday at Karachi winning three titles in a row in the 15th PSO ITF Seniors International Tennis Championship. Malik first won the 35 years category title and then took the 45 years crown and later appearing in the 45-plus doubles, he became the firstever national senior players to have won three finals in a decade. Malik first beat Abdul Saeed in the 35-year age class final and later took the 45 plus years final place beating Shahid Aziz.

RESULTS 5TH DAY: 35-plus singles final: rasheed Malik beat M. Abdul Saeed 1-6, 6-1, 6-0. 45 Plus singles second semi-final: rashid Malik beat Shahid Aziz 6-1, 6-1. 55 plus singles 2nd semi-final: Sabih wali beat Zafer Hasan 6-1, 6-3, 45 plus doubles semi-final: Shahid Aziz & Maqsood Ismail beat Akhter Aliman & Qamruddin 6-2. 6-2, 55 plus doubles quarter-final: Naumatullah behan & Ilyas beat Aijaz & gulzar Firoz 6-1, 6-4, 55 plus doubles semifinal: Amjad Hafeez & Tariq Aziz beat Naimatullah behan * Ilyas lashkerwala 6-2, 6-3. Meanwhile, in the SSb–Saeed Hai National ranking Tennis main round matches in different age groupd were played.

MEN’S SINGLES FIRST ROUND MAIN: Aqeel Khan (top seed beat Fahad Mehmood (rawalpindi) 6-2, 6-2; Israr gul (Peshawar) w/o Shabbir gul (Hyderabad); Irfanullah (Peshawar ) beat Sikander Hayat Khan 6-0, 6-0;Imran Shouqat (Multan) beat Asad A Shakoor (rawalpindi) 6-0, 6-2; Omer Shahid beat Zubaid gul 5-0 rtd; Nomi Qamer beat Adil Kohari 6-1, 6-3; waqas Malik beat Abdul rehman 6-2, 6-3; Farhan Mustafa beat Nawab Muzaffer 6-1, 6-2; M. Abid Mushtaq beat Sanaullah (Peshawar) 6-0, 6-2; vinod das beat Ikramullah Khan (Peshawar) 6-1, 6-2; Usman rafiq (lahore) beat Talha Zubair 6-4, 6-4. boys Under 14 main round 1: Mansoor Khan beat Muneeb 6-2, 7-6; Shehzad beat Zuhaib gul (Hyderabad) 6-0, 6-0.

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on the international circuit. “I am excited about both things. Rojer is in the top 20 so I am confident that we can make a good team. I completely respect Bopanna’s decision to change partners.

“He has a good chance at doing well in the Olympics so he will practice with those two until then. I will concentrate on maintaining my rankings to qualify for the Olympics so that I can also take another Pakistani with me to the grand event.” earlier, Aisam returned home to a warm welcome from friends, fans and family members.

Aisam became the first Pakistani to participate in the year end ATP Masters Championship, along with partner Rohan Bopanna.

On his arrival, Aisam said that all his efforts are for the country and would keep the country’s flag flying high as long as he could. He will remain in Lahore for three weeks. Their biggest performance of the year, however, came at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris in early November. President of Pakistan Tennis Federation Syed Kaleem Imam, Secretary PTF Mumtaz Yousaf and all other officials and players congratulated Aisamul Haq Qureshi on his successes.

Barcelona slump to defeat as real go six clear MADRID AFP

Barcelona crashed to a shock 1-0 defeat at Getafe on Saturday and now trail Real Madrid, who came from a goal down to beat nine-man derby rivals Atletico Madrid 4-1, by six points. It was the first defeat of the season for the reigning Spanish and european champions as Getafe frustrated their illustrious visitors, grabbing the three points thanks to a second half header from Juan Valera.

In a scrappy game Nikolas Miku shot over for Getafe after 20 minutes and Alexis Sanchez, a surprise inclusion in the Barca starting eleven, was denied by a fine reflex save from keeper Miguel Moya before half-time. Barcelona continued to press but Getafe surprisingly took the lead with practically their only effort on target in the whole game when Valera, left unmarked, headed in a corner after 67 minutes. Deep into injury time Lionel Messi had a golden chance to equalise but his shot came back off a post.

Barcelona’s last defeat came on April 30 when they lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad while Saturday’s drama added an extra edge to the first el Clasico meeting of the season between Real and Barcelona which takes place on December 10. “It’s not a terrible defeat and there is a long way still to go in the season,” said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola. “We need to recover from the effort which we put in which was very good. Next we play against Rayo on Tuesday, then Levante and then Real Madrid. “We played a good game against a good side. They are

a team which have strong players so it was always going to be a difficult game.”

Real beat a robust Atletico with the game turning on the first half dismissal of keeper Thibaut Courtois and a penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo.

It is 12 years since Atletico beat their rivals at the Bernabeu and they had a tough task against Real who were looking for their 13th successive win. Atletico put their rivals on the back foot with an Adrian Lopez goal on 14 minutes. A Diego pass broke the off-side trap and Adrian fired home from close range. The key mo-

ment came mid-way through the first half when Karim Benzema was upended by the Atletico keeper who was red carded and Ronaldo coolly slotted in from 12 yards. After the break though Ronaldo pulled the ball back for Angel Di Maria to put Real ahead and then substitute Gonzalo Higuain rounded the keeper after 64 minutes for the third.

Atletico were reduced to nine men when defender Diego Godin was dismissed for a foul on Higuain and Ronaldo got his second of the match from the resulting penalty with nine minutes left.

MAdrId: real Madrid’s forward Cristiano ronaldo (r) vies with Atletico Madrid’s defender Alvaro dominguez (l). Afp

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Pakistan appeal shifting of davis Cup tie KARACHI REUTERS

Pakistan has appealed to the International Tennis Federation following their decision to shift the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania group two tie against Lebanon away from Lahore due to security reasons.

Pakistan were due to play Lebanon in Lahore in February but this week the ITF announced the tie had been moved to Lebanon due to security conditions in Pakistan.

“We are very disappointed at the ITF decision,” Mumtaz Yousuf, secretary of the Pakistan Tennis Federation, told Reuters. “We have filed an appeal with them to reconsider as there is still time for the event.”

Yousuf said Lebanon was ready to play in Pakistan but the ITF had expressed its reservations over security concerns.

“The Lebanon tennis federation had accepted our invitation to play in Pakistan provided we guaranteed foolproof security for their players and we were doing that,” Yousuf said.

Since 2010 Pakistan has been forced to play their home Davis Cup ties against Hong Kong, Philippines, Oman and New Zealand abroad because of the security situation in the country.

The ITF moved the ties after the visiting teams refused to travel to Pakistan.

The PTF has also filed compensation claims with the ITF after losing the right to host three of their Davis Cup ties.

“We are disappointed because we were making proper arrangements for the event and we had also kept the ITF informed about our security plans,” Yousuf said. “The ITF should have come to Pakistan to review the security situation and arrangements themselves,” he added.

Pakistan’s top tennis player, Aisam-ulHaq Qureshi, said it would be difficult for Pakistan to qualify for the main rounds of the Davis Cup if they always had to play away from home.

“It is not easy going and playing our home ties abroad, it kills our advantage and home support,” he said.

SNgPl down Quetta in Quaid Trophy LAHORE STAFF REPORT

SNGPL thrashed Quetta by seven wickets on the final day of the eighth round Division II Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match here at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

Quetta in their first innings made 199 runs and in the second innings 226.

SNGPL responded with 231 runs in the fist innings and then 198 for three to seal the win in 46.3 overs.

SCORES: Quetta 199 in 80.5 overs (badar Ali 56, 172 balls, 8 x4s, Ata-ur-rehman 33, 50 balls, 5 x4s, 1x 6s, Mohibullah 40, 59 balls, 5 x4s, 1 x6s, Yasir Shah 5-48, Azhar Shafiq 2-12) and 226 in 85 overs (Abid Ali 34, 186 balls, 3 x4s, Mohibullah 73, 140 balls, 9 x4s, Asad Ali 6-42, bilawal bhatti 2-54) v SNgPl 231 IN 56.2 overs(bilawal bhatti 100, 74 balls, 13 x4s, 4 x6s, Yasir Shah 40, 87 balls, 2 x4s, 1 x6s, Shahzaib Ahmed Khan 4-56, Khalil Ahmed 3-39) and 198-3 in 46.3 overs (Khurram Shahzad 101*, 111 balls, 15x4s, 1x6, Usman Arshad 76*, 127 balls, 12x4s, Arun lal 3-36) result: SNgPl won by 7 wickets Overnight Score: Quetta (Second Innings) 201-6 in 76 overs Toss: SNgPl Umpires: Hakeem Shah & Kamal Merchant; referee: Mohammad Anees; Scorer: Azhar Hussain.

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Monday, 28 November, 2011

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US embassy deletes ‘designation field’ from employees’ Ids ISLAMABAD TAHIR NIAZ

The United States seems to have learnt a lesson from the Raymond Davis saga, when in a failed attempt the super power employed various tactics to declare the killer of two Pakistanis a ‘diplomat’ with his identity card stating otherwise, as its embassy in Islamabad has issued new identity cards to its employees after removing the ‘designation field’, sources told Pakistan Today on Sunday. The Davis episode was the turning point in relations between the two countries. The arrest of the US intelligence contractor also led to the resignation of former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who declared in unequivocal terms that Davis had no diplomatic accreditation with his ministry a basic requisite for the entitlement to immunity. Qureshi was convinced that Davis was involved in activities “inconsistent with the status of a US diplomat” and that he did not qualify for diplomatic immunity. The US government kept insisting that Davis was a diplomat and qualified for immunity but no one in Pakistan accepted it. Ultimately, he was released on court orders after the families of the deceased pardoned Davis after receiving blood money. Sources said the new identity cards issued by the US embassy do not contain the ‘designation field’ in order to conceal the identity of US employees in case of a mishap. The alarming aspect of the move suggests more Davis-like incidents in Pakistan. However, when contacted, the embassy’s acting spokesman Robert Raines denied the issuing of new identity cards to US embassy employees. Initially he said the employees’ identity cards did not contain the designation column, but when reminded of Davis’s identity card with his designation on it, he said, “The US embassy has not issued any fresh cards.”

Pakistan hasn’t delivered: India NEW DELHI ONLINE

Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram supported fruitful engagement with Pakistan on trade, visas and other issues, but regretted that the country had failed to deliver in “matters concerning terror and India’s internal security”. Pakistan had not acted against key Mumbai attack conspirators, he told Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times.

GHOTKI: Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addresses a public meeting on Sunday. Qureshi has joined forces with Imran Khan. Afp

Kayani reviews situation after NATO attack g

Military, political leadership considering shift to independent defence pESHAWAR

C

ONLINE

HIeF of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani spent some time with 11corps commander on Sunday after attending the funeral of soldiers killed in the NATO attack and visiting the injured at Combined Military Hospital (CMH), as the Pakistani military and political leadership reportedly considered a shift from US-led coalition to independent defence.

While receiving updates and ground details from the operational command here, the army chief underlined options and limitations after the “intentional” attack by the NATO forces that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. “The chief’s participation in the funeral was to value the blood of martyred soldiers,” an official said. The official told Online on condition of

anonymity that the 11-corps commander and other relevant high officials that attended the funeral of the soldiers along with the army chief afterward had an informal session to review the critical situation that has emerged after the attack.

“They unanimously described it as an intentional attack,” the official said. According to the official, the army chief took the operational command on board regarding the decisions of the Defense Committee of the Cabinet. The 11-corps commander also briefed the informal meeting about the situation on the ground in Mohmand Agency, where the posts were attacked.

INDEPENDENT DEFENCE: The Pakistani military and political leadership is reportedly considering a shift from US-led coalition to independent defence. A well-placed military official told Online on Sunday that one way of revisiting the policies of cooperation with the International Security Assis-

tance Force (ISAF) could be to switch from coalition to independent defence.

“In the option of independent defence, we would make it clear to them (ISAF) that if they enter [Pakistani territory] in future they’ll be shot on sight as an enemy,” the official explained.

According to the official, the military leadership has advised the government to quit the coalition if it fails to investigate and punish those responsible for the attack. To a question, the official said the exercise to revisit and review the policies of cooperation with the international coalition would be carried out at the level of the DCC. “Obviously, the military and political leadership would have to move in an exemplary unison to deal with the most critical situation of the entire era of Pakistan’s cooperation in the war against terrorism as a frontline state,” he said. “There is no room for ambiguity this time.”

A violent start to Muharram as 5 killed in Karachi riots KARACHI TARIQ HABIB

At least five people were killed, two of whom were burned alive, and 16 others were injured in riots that erupted in Karachi after an attack on a protest rally at Numaish Chowrangi in Karachi on Sunday.

The protesters were demonstrating against the NATO attack on Pakistani soldiers in Mohmand Agency when unidentified gunmen opened fire at the rally and later fled the scene. Two people were killed on the spot while three others received bullet injuries. Another man succumbed to his injuries on the way to

Nisar resigns as pAC chairman

hospital. The bodies and injured were rushed to the hospital while riots erupted in the area and the enraged protesters set ablaze 30 motorcycles, four cars, an SUV and a rickshaw as security forces stood by. Later, however, a heavy contingent of Rangers and police reached the spot and tried to cordon off the area but failed. Security forces made several unsuccessful attempts to disperse the protesters, following which they used teargas and aerial firing, which cleared the area briefly.

A little while later, the protesters returned and besieged a mosque and tried to take the people inside hostage, but were headed off by police, who drove sev-

eral armoured vehicles through the swarm of protesters and rescued those stranded inside the mosque. On their way out, the vehicles were attacked by the mob but police kept it at bay by firing shots into the air repeatedly. Security personnel warned the protesters on loudspeakers to leave the area but they did not take notice and shot back at the police from three sides when police fired in the air in an attempt to disperse them.

Several people received gunshot wounds and were taken to Civil Hospital and Jinnah Hospital. Ahsan Kohati, a reporter of a private TV channel, was shot twice in the chest and was rushed to Agha

Khan Hospital in critical condition.The protesters also allegedly caught six men in security forces’ uniform moving towards Imam Baargah Shah-e-Khurasan and roughed them up. They claimed the men belonged to the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan said police and Rangers arrested 14 peopleand also seized weapons. After violence at Numaish Chowrangi, riots erupted across the city.

Unknown people set ablaze a motorcycle along with its rider while another motorcyclist was torched in Patail Para.

Another two people were shot dead at Nagan Chowrangi and Manghopeer.

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

After a four-month long indecisiveness, National Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan finally announced his resignation as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Sunday and alleged that the government was conspiring to block smooth functioning of the parliamentary watchdog.

“The appointment of a blue-eyed and controversial person (Akhtar Buland Rana) as Auditor General of Pakistan has exposed the government’s intention to block the working of the PAC,” he told reporters at a press conference. Nisar also demanded the government convene a joint session of parliament on the NATO air strikes in Pakistan. Nisar had first threatened to resign from the post in August this year after differences developed with the government over the appointment of Rana as the new auditor general. He had also disbanded special and sub-committees of the PAC and had alleged that the government had given the position of auditor general to a controversial figure, which laid bare the government’s intentions. The ruling Pakistan People’s Party is likely to replace Nisar with former information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, who has been recently inducted as a member in the PAC, or Yasmeen Rehman.

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