E-paper PakistanToday 2nd April, 2013 by Pakistan Today

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Rs 17.00 Vol III No 275 19 Pages ILahore — Peshawar Edition

Tuesday, 2 April, 2013 Jamadi ul Awwal 20, 1434

STORY ON PAGE 03

Every opportunity to be provided to NAB chairman: SC STORY ON PAGE 04

STORY ON PAGE 02

STORY ON PAGE 04

Bilawal Bhutto agrees to return home

Defence budget cut will leave Pakistan vulnerable: Imran

Patron-in-chief of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has agreed to return to Pakistan after a detailed meeting with his father President Asif Ali Zardari in Dubai. The young Bhutto has been assured that all of his reservations over running of party affairs would be addressed. PAGE 03

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has said that drastic cuts in the country’s defence budget at a time when the country was “fighting at two borders” would leave it vulnerable. Khan said in order to be able to cut the defence budget, the country would have to resolve ongoing conflicts through dialogue first. PAGE 03

Arrest warrants issued for Fahim in NICL scam case STORY ON PAGE 04

Women tourists desert India after sex attacks: survey

UK commander warns of ‘dangerous’ Afghan troop cut

The number of foreign women tourists visiting India has dropped by 35 percent in the past three months following a spate of sex attacks that have made global headlines, a new survey has found. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) says overall tourist arrivals are down 25 percent yearon-year, with holiday makers opting instead to visit other Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. PAGE 08

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The ANP is a follower Bacha Khan’s philosophy and is dedicated to maintaining peace in the region –Ghulam Ahmad Bilour

KP police refuse to give security clearance to Musharraf

news Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

ECP requests 2 helicopters for Balochistan ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has requisitioned two helicopters from the Pakistan Army for the dispatch of electoral rolls and ballot papers in Balochistan. According to reports, the request was made as the election material was to be sent to the far-flung areas in the province. INP

Two gas pipelines blown up in Sui QUETTA: Two gas pipelines were blown up in Sui area of restive Dera Bugti on Monday that suspended gas supply to different parts of Punjab. District Officials said unidentified people had placed explosives beneath a 20-inch diameter gas pipeline in Sui which exploded and damaged a long stretch of the pipeline. A spokesman of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Inyatullah Ismail told media personnel due to damage to the pipeline, the company was currently facing a 90 million cubic feet gas shortage. He said the gas supply to Faisalabad, Multan, Jhang, Bawalpur and other areas of Punjab had been suspended and supply to CNG stations had also stopped, adding that gas supply to Sindh and Balochistan had not been suspended. He said a team of technical personnel had been sent to the area for repairing the damaged pipeline and supply would be restored within a couple of hours. In another similar incident, explosives fitted by armed men besides the 8-inch diameter gas pipeline in Sui area of Dera Bugti exploded, damaging the pipeline. Consequently, gas supply to purification plant from the well was suspended. Law enforcement agencies rushed to the site after the incident and cordoned off the areas. Separate cases have been registered for both incidents and further investigations were underway. No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks as yet. SHAHZADA ZULFIQAR

Mastung DC’s motorcade attacked Armed gunmen attacked the vehicle of Mastung Deputy Commissioner Tufail Baloch in Nasirabad area of Turbat on Monday. Levies sources told a local TV channel that the gunmen opened fire on Baloch’s motorcade after which one of the assailants was killed when his security guards retaliated. The assailant who was killed was stated to be a resident of Balicha. The deputy commissioner was not harmed during the attack, the channel said. MONITORINg DESk

PESHAWAR ONLINE

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police on Monday refused to give security clearance to former president Pervez Musharraf on his tour to Chitral. All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) chief Pervez Musharraf announced to contest elections from far-flung area of Chitral. Police officials said that after Musharraf’s visit to Islamabad, he might visit KP from where he would go to Chitral and address a public gathering there. Police sources said that officials had refused to give security clearance to the former president, saying that there was a strong likelihood of an untoward incident occurring in the sensitive area. It is pertinent to mention that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has threatened to attack Musharraf and Chitral is the only district of KP after Hazara division where any incident of terrorism has, so far, not occurred.

RAWALPINDI: Revellers make a horse dance to drum beat at Benazi Bhutto International Airport befor the arrival of General (r) Pervez Musharraf on monday. INP

Kayani wants ISAF to curb cross-border Afghan attacks COAS urgeS ISAF ChIeF tO reIn In FugItIve SwAt tAlIbAn ChIeF FAzlullAh ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN on Monday urged ISAF to assist it in checking cross-border attacks on Pakistani territory from inside Afghanistan. The demand was made by Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani during a meeting with International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Commander General Joseph F Dunford on Monday. Both commanders met as a part of the continuing tri-partite commission efforts to strengthen military-to-military cooperation and regional stability and to improve ties between Pakistan and ISAF. This was Dunford’s first visit to Pakistan in his official capacity as ISAF commander. Placing a high priority on the ISAF-Pakistan ties, Dunford had previously met Kayani in the days preceding his assumption of command in February. During the sitting, the two military

leaders discussed a variety of issues related to strengthening cooperation and pressing militants who threaten security along the Pakistan-Afghan border. Kayani took onboard the ISAF commander, urging him to improve measures to halt the cross border strikes by Swat Taliban’s fugitive commander Mullah Fazlullah who is in hiding in Afghanistan and often carries out cross-border attacks in Dir, Chitral and Bajaur regions. The issue of presence of Fazlullah and his militants in Afghanistan was also discussed during the sitting, following which Pakistan’s military commander stressed ISAF and Afghan troops to take action against these terrorists. He said that Afghanistan should not let its soil being used against Pakistan; as such activities were posing direct threat to the country’s sovereignty. Kayani said that such attacks were not causing the civilian causalities but were strengthening the militants’ presence on both sides of the border, adding that by mutual and effective coordination terrorism could be curbed.

General Kayani reiterated Pakistan’s stance and desire for a peaceful, stable and united Afghanistan and the need for a successful Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process. He emphasised the need to continue supporting all efforts to bring peace to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. He urged ISAF to help Pakistan check cross-border attacks launched from inside Afghanistan. Sources said that during the issue the recent incidents of shelling on both sides of the border were also discussed and it was decided to make all out efforts to avoid such untoward incidents in the future. He urged ISAF to help Pakistan check cross-border attacks launched from inside Afghanistan. “The Pakistanis, Afghans, and the international community desire peace and security in the region. These meetings are important to achieving that goal as we continue to explore ways to expand our relationship,” Dunford said. Both sides also reached a consensus to strengthen more trust between ISAF troops, the Pakistan Army and Afghan security forces. Fazlullah had fled to Afghanistan after the Pakistan Army launched a military operation against terrorists in Swat and Malakand.

Punjab caretaker cabinet takes oath LAHORE STAFF REPORT

A four-member caretaker cabinet of Punjab took oath at Governor’s House on Monday. Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood administered oath to Tariq Pervaiz, Saleema Hashmi, Arif Ijaz and Shams Mehmood Mirza. Caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi, the chief secretary, the Planning and Development chairman and advocate general Punjab were present. While congratulating the caretaker ministers, Sethi said that the caretaker setup was completely impartial and non-political. He said that holding of polls in a free, fair and transparent manner was the responsibility of the caretaker setup. He said that no hurdle would be tolerated in holding of general elections in a peaceful and orderly manner. He said that a peaceful atmosphere would be ensured for general elections so that the people could vote in an independent manner. He said that no illegal activity would be permitted and stern action would be taken against the elements involved. Earlier, Najam Sethi held a meeting with Governor Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood at Governor’s House during which general elections, political situation and other issues were discussed. After taking oath of their offices, the caretaker ministers held an informal meeting with Najam Sethi and Mahmood.

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MQM has been striving to abolish archaic feudal system that has gripped the country for long – Farooq Sattar

news

Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

CoME ClEAn, now ! SC tellS 183 FOrmer mpS tO get degreeS verIFIed by AprIl 5

FAte OF 256 FOrmer pArlIAmentArIAnS hAngS In bAlAnCe

ISLAMABAD

lawmakers were lingering the verification issue for the last two and a half years by not providing original degrees. Whereas, 19 lawmakers are facing court cases for having fake/dubious degrees. Politicians like Chaudhry Nisar, Khursheed Shah, Manzoor Wattoo, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Hamid Nasir Chattha and Faisal Saleh Hayat are among those 183 who have been using delaying tactics in submitting matriculation, intermediate certificates and bachelor’s degrees. Former education minister Sheikh Waqas Akram, who reportedly did his BA on the basis of fake A-level certificate is among 19 lawmakers who have been defending themselves in various courts. On Monday, CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry directed the EC P to take stern action against those former parliamentarians who lied regarding their educational credentials and failed to get their degrees verified within stipulated time. He also directed the ECP to conduct ruthless scrutiny of nomination papers, saying an illiterate person could contest the polls, but one who deceived the authorities through false statement would

kASHIF ABBASI

N a major development, the Supreme Court on Monday provided final opportunity to 183 former members of parliament (MPs) to get their degrees verified from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) by April 5 otherwise they would face criminal charges. If the said lawmakers fail in submitting required documents by April 5, they will not be eligible to take part in the upcoming elections. On February 7, the Election Commission of Pakistan warned these MPs, saying if they failed to get their degrees verified in 15 days, their degrees would be declared fake. But the former MPs ignored the warning. Now the court has given April 5 deadline, providing last opportunity to the former MPs. After this development, the issue of fake/dubious degrees has cast a shadow over 256 former lawmakers and some sitting senators. Of total 256 cases, HEC in 2010 declared 54 degrees fake, while 183

heC OFFICeS wIll remAIn Open untIl mIdnIght FOr verIFICAtIOn

become ineligible candidate in the forthcoming general election. Political analyst Dr Hasan Askari said that under the existing law without conviction from courts, fake or dubious degree holders, could not be stopped from taking part in May 11 elections. “Since graduation degree is not required for May 11 elections. So the Election Commission can’t stop 183 politicians from contesting polls even they don’t produce their degrees,” Dr Rizvi said. He said that the ECP could not bar such politicians from contesting elections without a conviction from a court of law. The bench categorically said the ECP was competent to disqualify those parliamentarians who failed to follow the granted time to get their degrees verified. ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed submitted report pertaining to the fake degrees and apprised the bench that the parliamentarians were repeatedly asked to get their degrees verified. He disclosed that the commission had clearly warned the 189 lawmakers through a letter on February 7, stating if they failed to have their degrees verified their degrees would be declared fake.

Bilawal agrees to return home

Cutting defence budget will leave Pakistan vulnerable, says Imran Khan MOnItORIng DESk

IHC illegalises appointment of Raja Ashraf’s son-in-law ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared null and void the appointment of Shahnawaz, son-in-law of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. In a hearing of the case on Monday, the court observed that the action taken by then government was not in conformity with the law as the person did not qualify for the position. Shahnawaz was appointed the deputy managing director in Pak-China Investment Company, an action that raised hue and cry and caused judicial action against the PM’s relative. The court had, on March 14, reserved its judgment on a petition challenging the appointment of the prime minister’s son-in-law, Shahnawaz Mehmood, in the company. The appointment had been challenged by Javed Mehmood, who was appointed to the same post on January 3, 2011, and whose term was going to expire on January 2, 2014. He had alleged that the appointment had been made under political pressure and violated all rules and regulations. INP

HEC Chairman Dr Javed Leghari told the court that the process of verifying degrees had been underway since 2010, adding that the ECP had sent photo copies of 60-70 percent of parliamentarians’ degrees for verification. He further submitted that degrees of 183 parliamentarians were still incomplete. He contended that the ECP despite knowing about the 54 clear fake degree cases did not take action. On this, the CJ observed that action should be taken against those 54 parliamentarians having fake degrees. During the proceedings, Akram Sheikh, counsel for Chaudhry Nisar, contended that his client had submitted all photocopies of his degrees to the HEC office and alleged the HEC chairman seemed to be a stubborn officer. He said that he wanted to hand over the certificate of his client to HEC before the media. The bench asked HEC to submit report to ECP after completing verification process of 183 former parliamentarians’ degree until April 5. Meanwhile, HEC decided to keep office open until mid night to facilitate politicians for verification of their degrees. “In pursuance of Supreme Court Judgment dated 1st April 2013, the Head Office of Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Regional Centres (Quetta, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar) would remain open till mid night in till 5th April 2013.”

MOnItORIng DESk Patron-in-chief of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has agreed to return to Pakistan after a long meeting with his father President Asif Ali Zardari in Dubai. Bilawal had left for Dubai last Tuesday over an alleged argument and disagreement with his aunt Faryal Talpur.

The dispute involved the award of party tickets for the coming elections. But party leaders had cited security concerns as the reason for Bilawal’s departure. President Zardari had also left Karachi for the UAE on Saturday, apparently to cajole Bilawal into returning home. A source in the Presidency said Zardari had assured Bilawal that all his reservations would be addressed.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday said cutting the defence budget at a stage when the country was “fighting at two borders” would leave it vulnerable. “Pakistan is at a vulnerable stage and we are fighting at two borders including the war on terror and conflicts with India. If we cut the defence budget at this stage, then it would leave the country more vulnerable,” Khan said in an exclusive interview. The PTI chairman emphasised that to be able to cut the defence budget, the country would have to resolve ongoing conflicts through dialogue first. Justifying his party’s possible seat adjustment with the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Imran said the JI was the only party who stood by the PTI and boycotted the 2008 elections. Khan said the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) had participated in the last election due to international pressure, as their wealth was lying in foreign banks, the report added. He also said the PTI would launch a national popular campaign for “change in the country” in the coming weeks.

PML-Q has become the last option for political heavyweights Q ISSueS 68 tICketS tO CAndIdAteS FOr nA, InCludIng 31 wOmen ISLAMABAD TAyyAB HUSSAIN

With electioneering process picking momentum across the country and hustle and bustle being seen at the central offices of all major political parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has failed to attract attention of political heavyweights. Once a darling for heavyweights under General (r) Musharraf, the PML-Q has become the last option for political heavyweights and only those politicians have agreed to contest on Q tickets who have failed to win tickets from the PML-N, PTI or PPP. A PML-Q leader told Pakistan Today that the Q-league had failed to receive a significant number of applications for the party tickets and neither its parlia-

Only 26 pOlItICIAnS ISSued Q tICketS FOr nA generAl SeAtS, 70 FOr prOvInCIAl ASSemblIeS mentary board was formed nor it held even a single meeting and the party tickets were issued single-handedly by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. In what looks like a shocking situation for the PML-Q, over 90 percent of its former members of the parliament and provincial assemblies have abandoned them. The PML-Q had suffered a lot due to its political isolation in the wake of parting way by its several heavyweights. The source also said that the party further suffered a dent after the party’s leadership was caught holding a culture show – the show which was dubbed a “mujra” by the media. “The party received only 68 applications for the National Assembly seats of which only 26 were for general seats, 38 were for seats reserved for women while four were

nO meetIng OF pArlIAmentAry bOArd held, ChAudhry ShujAt, elAhI deCIdIng mAtterS for minorities. Same was the case for provincial assemblies. However, the Chaudhrys have overlooked these numbers and have finalised 58 candidates for National Assembly while 70 candidates have been shortlisted for provincial assemblies,” the PML-Q leader said. When contacted, PML-Q Secretary-Information Kamil Ali Agha conceded that he had no information about the meetings of the parliamentary board of the party. He also agreed that the tickets had been finalised lesser as compared to previous elections and only 78 candidates had been issued party tickets for National Assembly, which comprises of total 342 constituencies, while around 140 candidates had been issued tickets for provincial assemblies – a claim contradicted by Q leaguers.

“A good number of PML-Q’s potential members have ditched the party for PMLN dispute the fact that they were looked after well by Chaudhrys for the past 10 years. Due to their parting ways, the party has been struggling hard to find suitable candidates for various constituencies even in Punjab, where one time the party had a firm hold,” the source added. The source said a majority of party candidates practically did not apply for party tickets and PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Pervez Elahi were calling those politicians who had been denied tickets by their parties and PML-Q tickets were being offered to them. The sources said the media offices of PML-Q were also likely to be closed down in Lahore and Islamabad due to the decreasing popularity of the party. The party had contested the previous elections as a major force, however, it is now a fragment of its past glory. Soon after the election in 2008, it suffered a shock in Punjab when Atta Maneka-led faction was created with the name of forward block, followed by another faction led by Salim Sial-

fullah – the like-minded group. However, the process is still on and Faisal Saleh Hayat, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Amir Muqam, Marvi Mamon, Leghari brothers and Sikandar Bosan have left the party. Besides this, the party’s support for Tahirul Qadri’s protest march also damaged its image, as no other party supported the move, rather it was widely flayed by the rest. The PML-Q has made several failed attempt to woo Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for possible electoral alliance or seat-adjustment, however, the PTI has given a cold shoulder to the offer, because Khan has stated unequivocally on a number of occasions that his party would never opt to enter into an electoral alliance with party which remained party of the previous federal or provincial governments. The PTI has not only turned down the PML-Q’s offer on electoral alliance, but put a dent by forming seat-adjustment with Bahawalpur Awami National Party (BANP) led by Nawab of Bahawalpur Salahuddin Abbasi.

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PML-N leaders participated in 2008 election due to international pressure; their wealth was lying in banks abroad — Imran Khan

news Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

PM gives nod to 15-member cabinet pt edItOr lIkely tO be AppOInted InFOrmAtIOn mInISter ISLAMABAD TAyyAB HUSSAIN

LAHORE: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif chairs a meeting of Central Parliamentary Board at PML-N Central Secretariat in Model Town. INP

CJP takes suo motu notice of corruption in Gilani, Raja tenures

UK commander warns of ‘dangerous’Afghan troop cut LOnDOn

ISLAMABAD

INP

ONLINE

Cutting British forces in Afghanistan too quickly could “endanger” progress at a critical time, the UK’s top commander there has told a paper. Lt Gen Nick Carter, deputy chief of NATO’S International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), told the Independent passing control of security to Afghan forces was going well. But he warned any move to thin out UK forces too soon would be unforgivable. And as part of a gradual withdrawal, the number of British troops in Afghanistan will be almost halved from 9,000 to 5,200 by the end of 2013. Lt Gen Carter’s warning comes as forces for Afghan President Hamid Karzai who have been carrying out their first engagement without Western help called for support from

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday took notice of corruption in various mega projects that were approved during the tenures of former prime ministers, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Yousaf Raza Gilani. The CJP said the case would be heard on April 3. News reports said the CJP took notice of a news report carried in an Urdu daily which reported that the record of mega projects approved during the tenure of Gilani and Ashraf were being tampered with as there were apprehensions that the Supreme Court might summon the record.

Every opportunity to be provided to nAB chairman: SC ISLAMABAD ONLINE

Supreme Court (SC) has directed Latif Khosa, counsel for chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Fasihud Din Bokhari to present before it legal points of his arguments in writing. The SC issued these directives during the course of hearing of intra court appeal filed by chairman NAB in contempt of court case for writing letter to the president. A five member larger bench of SC headed by Justice Anwar Zahir Jamali resumed the hearing of intra court appeal on Monday. Latif Khosa took the plea that chairman NAB had not issued the letter to the media. “Whosoever has issued letter should be proceeded against under contempt of court plea. Why his client is being indicted when the letter was not given to the press by him,” he submitted. Justice Saqib Nisar remarked some things were very significant with reference to letter, that the letter was written and delivered to the media. “Anything could be said after determining the facts about the letter,” he further remarked. “The NAB chairman would be provided every opportunity,” he said.

ISAF during a battle against drug smugglers, according to the paper. Elsewhere, a major operation to airlift tonnes of UK military equipment from Afghanistan, including helicopters and armoured vehicles, is already underway. Speaking to the Independent, Lt Gen Carter said, “It would be unforgivable if we allowed the gains of the last three years to be lost because we were not able to provide the Afghans with the support to take this through into 2014.” “Our judgement is we have to manage this in a way that retains confidence. Precipitating withdrawal that is not in line with the current plan will damage Afghan confidence.” He also said the coming summer would be “a genuine test of the capability and confidence of the Afghan forces, a test of determination of the

Afghan people to be with their government and a test of how much will remain in the insurgency”. Brigadier Bob Bruce, commander of Task Force Helmand - overseeing Britain’s military efforts in Afghanistan - told the Guardian newspaper it was the right time for Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to take control of the country’s security, with the option of British backup “if they really struggle”. “This is their insurgency. We know for a fact there is no military solution to the insurgency,” he said, explaining the main problem was a political one. “It is a battle of offers: the offer the government makes to the people and the offer the insurgents make to the people.” He added, “We will not let them fail. When they really need us, we will intervene.”

FTER a thorough consultation with all stakeholders, Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Monday finalised a lean and thin federal cabinet comprising 15 top experts in various fields. Of the 15-member cabinet, seven ministers belong to Punjab, three are from Sindh and Balochistan each and two from Khyber

nICl scam case: Arrest warrants issued for Fahim, six others ISLAMABAD INP

A special provincial anti-corruption court hearing the case of a multi-billion-rupee scam in the National Insurance Company, on Monday issued non-bail-able arrest warrants against seven accused, including former federal minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim. Other accused in the case include former federal commerce secretary Salman Ghani, Amin Qasim Dada and Javed Saeed (directors of NICL) and Khalid Anwar Khan. All accused were booked for allegedly causing huge financial losses to the exchequer by violating rules in the selling a piece of land in Korangi area of Karachi. The court issued arrest warrants against the Senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and six others until April 12, as they did not appear before the court on Monday hearing.

SOOFI tO be gIven mInIStry OF lAw Pakhtunkhwa. The state institutions including media have been advocating installation of a lean cabinet comprising of experts and professionals. “The prime minister has selected the following eminent personalities as members of the caretaker cabinet,” a statement issued by the press secretary to prime minister late on Monday. Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami, who is likely to be given the portfolio of

minister for information and broadcasting while renowned lawyer Ahmer Bilal Soofi is likely to be appointed law minister. The list also includes Malik Habib, Mushtaq Khan, Dr Musaddaq Malik, Arif Nizami, Shahzada Ahsan Ashraf Sh, and Shahzada Jamal. Maqbool HH Rahmatoola, Sohail Wajahat H Siddique, and Dr Younis Soomro have been selected from Sindh while Abdul Malik Kasi, Asadullah Mandokhel and Mir Hassan Domki have been nominated from Balochistan. Fron Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr Sania Nishtar and Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel have been short listed.

Raja Nadir Pervez leaves PML-N for being denied ticket FAISALABAD INP

Former federal minister for communications and senior PML-N leader Raja Nadir Pervez has announced to leave the party after having been denied party ticket for the National Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Pervez alleged that Nisar Ali Khan was behind the decision of not giving him the party ticket. He alleged that Nisar was playing the role of Mir Sadiq and Mir Jaffar and distanced Nawaz Sharif from old loyalists. He said he was leaving the PML-N with a broken heart, adding that it was because of Nisar that Javed Hashmi left the party.

Pervez said candidates were being asked to donate a car and give Rs 15 million for a party ticket. He blamed that some people were making money in Faisalabad in return for party tickets. He recounted his services for the PML-N and Sharifs, saying he was one of the 18 MNAs who confronted the QLeague government in difficult times and kept the party united. He said he was one of those who carried the coffins of Mian Sharif when people were hesitant to attend his funeral. The former federal minister said he would neither join Musharraf’s party nor any other and would contest the elections independently if the people of Faisalabad wanted him to.

Women enter the political roost in KP, FATA OnCe bArred FrOm vOtIng, 11 wOmen geAr-up tO bAttle heAvyweIghtS thrOughOut kp And FAtA PESHAWAR SHAMIM SHAHID

Contrary to tradition, female contestants on general seats in the upcoming polls appear to be on the rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as at least four candidates have been nominated by their respective political parties while several others are contesting in their independent capacity. In what is a significant shift, for the first time in the history of Federally Administrative Tribal Area (FATA), a female candidate has filed nomination forms from NA-44 Bajaur Agency. Tribesmen in FATA had been granted adult franchise on the eve of the 1997 general election, and this time round political parties are pitching candidates for the National Assembly (NA). Three female candidates nominated on

general seats have already served in the previous parliament but on reserved seats. These included former MNAs Khurshid Begum, Shazia Aurangzeb and Syeda Batool Nasra. The other eight women contesting on general seats are new entrants in KP’s electoral politics. Instead of opting to be an ANP nominee on women reserved seats for the NA, Khurshid Begum is contesting from NA-14. A lawyer by profession, she would face strong candidates like Pir Delawar Shah of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Malik Asad of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) among others. Having switched her loyalties from PMLN to PPP, Shazia Aurangzeb is going to contest from NA-9, Mardan-1. In the previous Parliament, she was member of the KP Assembly on reserved seats from PML-N. In NA-9, Shazia shall take on a bevy of candidates with daunting credentials, such as former chief minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti of the Awami National Party (ANP), ex-federal minister Khwaja Mohammad Khan Hoti of the PML-N and Maulana Shujaul Mulk of Jamiat-e-Ulema-eIslam-Fazl (JUI-F). A vocal parliamentarian in the KP legislature, Shazia has in addition, been named as one of the PPP candidates on reserved seats for women in KP.

Former JUI-F MPA Syeda Batool Nasra has been nominated by the PML-N from PK-68 Dera Ismail Khan. She has had a berth in the KP Assembly since 2002, though on women’s quota. This time around however, she is contesting from a general seat, and would be facing ANP’s influential Syed Mureed Kazim, who has already won three times from this constituency. Awami Workers Party (AWP) KP Women Wing President Ayesha Israr also submitted her nomination papers to contest from the constituency NA-1, Peshawar-1. She shall be competing for votes with old political stalwarts such as Ghulam Ahmed Bilour (ANP), Shabbir Ahmed Khan (JI), Azam Afridi (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan. She has also submitted nomination forms for a women’s quota seat. In Charsada, the contest between ANP and the recently established Quami Watan Party (QWP) is an embodiment of political vendetta. QWP chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao has pitted Najma Zeb, widow of the ex-MPA Alamzeb Omarzai, against ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on NA-7 Charsada. Since 1990, Sherpao has created alliances to take on ANP in its stronghold. So far however, there is no hint of an alliance making the contest a one-sided affair. A close aide to Sherpao, Alamzeb Omarzai

was killed a couple of years ago and ANP leader Bashir Omarzai, along with his sons, was charged for his murder. On the other hand, ANP has nominated young Taimoor Khan against on the constituency NA-8, Charsada-2. In Lower Dir, which is adjacent to Bajaur Agency in FATA, Nusrat Begum has filed nomination papers from NA-34. She intends to contest polls on a PTI ticket in a region politically dominated by Jamaat-eIslami (JI). In Bajaur, Badam Zari – a housewife – has filed nomination papers on NA-44. The PPP’s Akhunzada Chattan was elected MNA from this constituency in the previous general elections. Other women hailing from KP who have filed nomination papers are; journalist Aneela Shaheen from NA-4 Peshawar, Dilbara Yousafzai from PK-15 Nowshehra, Asma Mehmood from NA-32 and PK-89 Chitral and Guldana Bibi from PK-69 Tank. Whatever the outcome of the forthcoming general elections might be, women picking up the electoral gauntlet in an unprecedented show in KP and FATA is definitely a deviation from norms. Not so long ago, women were barred from exercising their right to vote in a maledominated tribal contest.

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The filing of nominations papers of two women from tribal areas is a good sign as it will encourage the women from FATA to take active part in elections. –Yousaf Raza Gilani

LAhore Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

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MAn KIllED on HIS wEDDInG LAHORE INP

Unidentified armed men killed a man on his wedding also injuring two people during a wedding at Garhi Shahoo on Monday. Haroon Butt, the groom, was a trader from Shah Alam Market and sources report that he had no enmity. Butt’s sister and brother-in-law sustained bullet injuries. They were shifted to Services Hospital for medical assistance. The police have filed a case against unidentified men and have shifted the body to the hospital for post mortem.

LAHORE

WALEED MALHI

HE kite-thirsty skies of the metropolitan are expected be have their demands met on April 13 or 14, Pakistan Today has learnt. Officials of the City District Government Lahore will meet today to finalise the Basant issue. It had been long since the citizens had been demanding government to lift the ban on Basant, while another stratum of

najam sethi up against dengue LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi has said that the campaign against dengue should be launched on war footings and all necessary measures should be adopted for eliminating dengue mosquito and its larvae. He said that a vigorous public awareness drive should also be initiated regarding the importance of sanitation and preventive measures against dengue. He directed that all concerned departments should take effective measures in a well coordinated manner for elimination of dengue. Sethi issued these instructions while presiding over a high-level meeting regarding measures against dengue virus at Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Monday. Additional chief secretary, secretaries of health, local government, higher education, schools education, agriculture, labour, environment and social welfare departments along with King Edward Medical University vice chancellor and other concerned officials were present on the occasion. Provincial secretaries informed the Caretaker Chief Minister about the measures taken by their departments for eradication of dengue. Addressing the meeting, Sethi said that dengue mosquito and its larvae could be completely eradicated with the collective efforts of the concerned institutions and the active participation of the masses in anti-dengue drive. Sethi said that a coordinated strategy should be evolved against dengue virus and mechanical and chemical methods be adopted for eradicating dengue larvae.

the society had been up against the festival because the use of chemical string in kite flying caused severe twine injuries, also sometimes leading to deaths. While the second coming of Basant is considered by many a sigh of relief for people belonging to the kite flying industry, citizens in opposition of the festival fear twine accidents which will ensue with kite-flying. Citizens, with a more optimistic view, welcome the festival and propose that government should regulate this

festival and make sure that chemical and metal twines are not used. “We are very happy and I think we should enjoy this event and not make it complicated with the use of arms or chemical string. We used to spend a large amount of money to celebrate this event. The government should make sure that event is celebrated safely,” Aslam Mujahid, a citizen, told Pakistan Today. Officials from the Kite Flying Association also welcome the event on the premise that the festival will not only bring

back tourists in the province, leading to a boom in businesses and increased revenues, but will also bring back to life the kite makers who had lost their livelihood with the ban on the festival. “We warmly welcome the decision of the government. This step gave a breath of life to the kite business. It will also help in portraying a soft image of the country and bring back the tourists who used to come especially for the festival,” an official from the Lahore Kite Flying Association told Pakistan Today.

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LAhore Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

Najm Sethi should reshuffle the Punjab’s bureaucracy to ensure fair, free and impartial elections in the province. Delay in this regard will be grossly detrimental to the mandate of the caretakers. –Latif Khosa

JInnAH HoSPITAl EMERGEnCy DEPARTMEnT lACKS FACIlITIES LAHORE: The emergency department of Jinnah Hospital, which is visited by as many as 3,000 patients in a day, lacks essential medical facilities, sources claim. It is reported that the sole ventilator often remains out of order and there is no flow-meter for oxygen. The department suffers from shortage of life-saving drugs and even the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit lacks drugs due to which patients have to purchase them from the market. One of the four operation theatres of the emergency department is also dysfunctional. When contacted, an official from the hospital management said that due to shortage of funds, they were unable to improve the condition of the department. Meanwhile, patients made a fervent appeal to administration of the Punjab Health Department to take notice of the situation. APP

lHC DISMISSES PlEA AGAInST FoRMER PMl-n MnA LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking disqualification of former PML-N MNA Mian Javed Latif over a fake degree. The single bench comprising Justice Muhammad Khalid Mehmood Khan had reserved the verdict after hearing arguments of both parties. The petition was filed by Sajjad Hussain submitting that former MNA Mian Javed Latif, who was elected from NA-133 in 2008, had received his BA degree through impersonation. He contended that the respondent did not qualify as per conditions set in Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution. He pleaded the court to disqualify the respondent. However, the respondent’s counsel submitted that the allegations were baseless, therefore, the petition should be dismissed. APP

PolICE KIll MAn DuRInG InvESTIGATIon, DuMP BoDy In CAnAl A CENTRIFUGAL AFFAIR: A man performs a stunt at the Mela Charaghan in Lahore. Murtaza Ali.

MURTAZA ALI

Gilani lauds filing of nominations by two women from FATA LAHORE

INP

ORMER prime minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senior Vice Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that the filing of the nomination papers by two women from tribal areas to contest National Assembly elections is a heart-warming development on the political horizon of the country. He accredited this act to the PPP-led democratic government that extended the promulgation of the Political Parties Act in FATA. Gilani said that it was good news for the women of FATA in particular

PTI To AnnounCE TICKETS on TuESDAy

because it would embolden them to take active part in the country’s politics and join the decision making process on the issues of national importance. The former prime minister observed that the Benazir Income Support Programme elevated the status of the poor women of the country providing direct financial assistance to thousands of poor families. He exclaimed that the PPP government passed landmark legislations which declared violence against women and harassment of women at work as a culpable offense entailing fine and imprisonment He further said that Vani, Karo Kari, Quran marriages and child marriages were also made an offence in order to save the women from the patriarchal social norms.

PMl-n woRKERS PRoTEST AGAInST TICKET DISTRIBuTIon

LAHORE

APP

STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will announce tickets for upcoming poll candidates from Punjab on Tuesday. According to a PTI spokesman, they were facing difficulties as a large number of candidates wished to contest elections on PTI tickets. He said that efforts for reconciliation between Sardar Aseef Ahmed Ali and Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri were being made and hoped the issue would be resolved soon.

PML-N workers on Monday continued their protest against what they claimed was unfair distribution of party tickets. A large number of workers from Sheikhupura and Lodhran districts gathered outside the PML-N Secretariat in Model Town and protested. The workers shouted slogans against their leadership. According to reports, rival groups in various districts, including Lahore, were fuelling the protests.

LAHORE: The Harbanspura police allegedly tortured a drug dealer to death on Monday. Sources claim that the police arrested a drug dealer named Rizwan on Thursday night and during the course of investigations tortured the man to death and later disposed of his body in the canal. Mughalpura police recovered the dead body from canal on Monday. The kidnapping and murder case has being launched against Hurbanspura Assistance Sub Inspector Murtaza and four constables namely Kamran, Nasir, Fazal-ul-Rheman and Shafqat on the request of Rizwan’s family in Mughalpura Police Station. MONITORINg DESk

LAHORE: PPP leader Mohammad Naveed Chaudhary addresses the reception for NA-125. StAff PHOtO

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Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. — Napoleon Bonaparte

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Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

EGyPT SATIRIST quESTIonED FoR InSulTInG MoRSI CAIRO: Bassem Youssef, a popular Egyptian prominent television news presenter and satirist, has been questioned by prosecutors over allegations that he insulted Islam and the country's president, Mohamed Morsi. Youssef turned himself in after the prosecutor-general issued an arrest warrant for him on Saturday. He was released on bail of $2,200 (15,000 Egyptian pounds), an official in the prosecutor's office said on Sunday. The warrant for Youssef was the latest legal action to take aim at a critic of Mohamed Morsi. The comedian is accused, among other things, of undermining the standing of President Morsi. The prosecutor-general issued the arrest warrant after at least four legal complaints filed by Morsi supporters. On his official Twitter account, Youssef said he was handing himself over on Sunday, "unless they kindly send a police van today and save me the transportation hassle". The warrant marks the latest in a series of legal actions against the comedian, who has come to be known as Egypt's Jon Stewart. Youssef's widely watched weekly show, ElBernameg, or The Programme, has become a platform for lampooning the government, opposition, media and religious leaders. The fast-paced show has attracted a wide viewership. The presenter has been a frequent target of legal petitions, most of them brought by lawyers who have accused him of "corrupting morals'' or violating "religious principles". He has faced several court cases in the past, also accusing him of insulting Morsi. Gamal Eid, a lawyer for Youssef, said this is the first time an arrest warrant has been issued for the comedian. AgENCIES

S KoREA wARnS noRTH AGAInST PRovoCATIon SEOUL: South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has vowed "strong retaliation" to any provocation by North Korea. "If there is any provocation against South Korea and its people, there should be a strong response in initial combat without any political considerations," President Geun-hye told the minister of defence and senior officials at a meeting on Monday after Pyongyang declared it was formally at war with Seoul. In a meeting with senior military officials and Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin, Park said she took the near-daily stream of bellicose threats emanating from the North "very seriously". "I believe that we should make a strong and immediate retaliation without any other political considerations if (the North) stages any provocation against our people," she said. Park, a conservative who had advocated cautious engagement with the North during her election campaign, has taken a more hardline position since assuming office in February, shortly after the North conducted its third nuclear test. Military tensions between the two neighbours have been running high for weeks, with the North stepping up its hostile rhetoric against Seoul and Washington. AgENCIES

HAIL: Saudi men take part in a stunt known as 'sidewall skiing', or driving on two wheels on Monday. AgENCIES

9 policemen die in Iraq suicide blast BAgHDAD

AgENCIES

suicide bomber blew up a tanker truck at police headquarters in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, killing nine people and wounding 11 people, police and medics said. Most of the casualties in the attack on Monday morning were police officers. The bomber drove the tanker inside a compound housing governmental administration offices in central Tikrit, 150km north of Baghdad, setting off a blast that left behind a large crater and badly damaged nearby buildings. Initial accounts reported the truck had been abandoned at the site. Police at the scene said compound guards may not have suspected the tanker because fuel trucks arrive every morning to deliver gas and oil to the government offices. Over the past years, Tikrit, which was the hometown of executed dictator Saddam Hussein, remains a focus for insurgents and a hotbed of sectarian violence. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Sunni Muslim insurgents have stepped up their efforts to undermine Iraq's Shia-led government and foment inter-communal conflict this year. Also north of the capital in the town of Tuz Khur-

matu, gunmen wounded the mayor and his two bodyguards, officials said. A day earlier a bomb exploded inside a mosque in Iraq's predominantly Shia Muslim south on Sunday, wounding six civilians, police said, as the country's delicate sectarian balance comes under growing strain. The bomb exploded in the town of Zubair, around 25 km south of the usually stable oil hub of Basra. STePPIng uP ATTAckS: Ten years after the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq is still grappling with political turmoil and Sunni fighters linked to al-Qaeda, who are stepping up attacks on Shia targets and security forces. The recent attacks come in the run-up to provincial elections scheduled for April 20, due to be held in 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces, the country's first polls since a parliamentary vote in March 2010. But questions have been raised over the credibility of the polls as they have been postponed in two provinces hit by months of protests, and 11 candidates have been killed, according to an AFP news agency tally. Although markedly lower than its peak in 2006 and 2007, levels of violence remain high in Iraq - at least 267 people have been killed in attacks this month, the highest figure since August 2012.

French-backed Mali forces battle rebels BAMAkO AgENCIES

Malian soldiers backed by French fighter jets are battling fighters in Timbuktu after they used a car bomb as cover to infiltrate the northern desert city, sources say. A Malian soldier and three rebel fighters were believed to have been killed in Sunday's fighting in the ancient Saharan trading hub 1,000km north of the capital Bamako. A Mali government communique issued on Sunday evening said at least one Malian soldier was killed and four others had been injured. It said that 21 rebels were killed in the fighting. "It started after a suicide car bombing around 2200 (2200 GMT on Saturday), that served to distract the military and allow a group of jihadists to infiltrate the city by night," Captain Modibo Naman Traore of the Malian army said. Exclusive pictures obtained by Al Jazeera from Kidal, another northern city, indicate that at least two Tuareg fighters were wounded during clashes with the rebels. France launched its intervention in Mali in January to halt an advance by northern al-Qaeda-linked fighters towards Bamako.

Syria’s civil war: The mystery behind a deadly chemical attack Reports on bombings in Syria these days have become routine. But when Mohammad Sabbagh, an industrialist from Aleppo, heard about the attack near his hometown on March 19, the details stopped him cold. Survivors and witnesses of what was being described by the government news agency as a chemical attack said they smelled something like chlorine. And as the owner of Syria’s only chlorine gas manufacturing plant, Sabbagh knew that if chlorine was involved, it most likely came from his factory. The attack killed 31 people, including 10 soldiers, and wounded scores more. In the immediate aftermath the Syrian government and the opposition traded accusations. The government claimed that “terrorists,” its term for the rebels that have been fighting the regime for two years, had fired a “missile containing a chemical substance” at the village of Khan al-Asal in retaliation for their support of the government. Kasem Saad Eddine, spokesperson for the opposition military council of Aleppo, accused the government of attacking its own people in order to smear the opposition. “The regime is trying to hide its crime by accusing the FSA,” he tells TIME, referring to the Free

Syrian Army, the loose confederation of rebel groups fighting the government. Eddine also accused the Syrian government of launching a second chemical attack near Damascus, causing an unspecified number of casualties. Whatever the case, the attack at Khan al-Asal marks a chilling evolution in a war that has already taken 70,000 lives and disrupted, perhaps permanently, millions more. If it turns out that the government has used chemical weapons, international demands for armed intervention will increase. If the rebels used them, the escalation in tactics indicates that the war is about to become even bloodier. The United Nations has acquiesced to a Syrian government request to send an investigation team Khan al-Asal, which is expected to arrive on site this week. The team will be headed by Ake Sellstrom, a veteran chemical weapons inspector from Sweden who was instrumental in investigating and dismantling Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons programs in the 1990s. It is not yet clear if the UN team will investigate other accusations of chemical weapons use in Syria, nor it is clear how much access they will have. The final details for the trip will be worked out in the coming days. The

team’s mandate is limited to a technical investigation, which means that they will only be able to ascertain whether or not chemical weapons were used, and not who used them—a frustrating outcome for those seeking clarity. Nevertheless, the findings could be a strong indication of who might have been behind the attacks. The Syrian government is believed to possess one of the biggest stockpiles of chemical weapons in the world, including nerve agents Sarin and VX, as well as mustard gas, though it has repeatedly said it would never use such weapons against its own people. The opposition, though it also says would never use chemical weapons, does have access to at least one item that could be used in a chemical attack: Sabbagh’s chlorine gas. In August rebel forces took Sabbagh’s factory by force, as part of a sweep that also netted them an electricity station and a military airport about 30 km from Aleppo. Sabbagh, who has since fled Aleppo for Beirut, says that his factory is now occupied by Jabhat al-Nusra, a militant group with strong ties to al Qaeda that has been designated a terror group by the U.S. He knows this because his site manager has struck a deal with the rebels – they supply

200 liters of fuel a day to keep the generator running so that the valves of his $25 million factory don’t freeze up. The factory isn’t operational anymore, but this way at least, says Sabbagh, it might be one day in the future. In the meantime he has no idea what has happened, if anything, to the 400 or so steel barrels of chlorine gas he had stored in the compound. The yellow tanks, which hold one ton of gas each, are used for purifying municipal water supplies. “No one can know for certain, but if it turns out chlorine gas was used in the attack, then the first possibility is that it was mine. There is no other factory in Syria that can make this gas, and now it is under opposition control,” he says. To Faris al Shehabi, head of the Aleppo Chamber of Industry and a strong government supporter, it was obvious from day one that the rebels had their eyes on the gas. “Why else would they capture a factory in the middle of nowhere? For the sniper positions?” he asks sarcastically while meeting TIME in Beirut, where he is traveling for business. “We warned back then that chemical components were in the hands of terrorists, but no one listened.” The investigation, when it starts, will

be hobbled by the passage of time. According to a chemical weapons expert familiar with such inquiries, who spoke on condition of anonymity over the telephone, the investigating team will examine soil, air and oil samples taken from the blast site. It is unclear whether they will have access to survivors (who probably bear little traces of the chemicals so long after the attack) or to autopsy reports. But initial assessments based upon body counts, photos and video footage taken at the hospital after the attack seem to rule out nerve agents or mustard gas. “Looking at the death rate relative to the number of people exposed, it couldn’t have been a weaponized nerve agent,” says the expert. “And mustard gas rubs off on whoever touches it, but you don’t see the medical personnel taking additional protective measure when they treat the patients. So it’s pretty likely it was something else.” A doctor who treated victims immediately after the attack, and who asked not to be identified, said few of the patients had visible wounds. Most suffered from severe cramps, vomiting, headaches and troubled breathing. Those who died did so right after breathing the gas, he says. COURTESY: TIME MAGAZINE

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The media must play its role to guide the nation towards the right path — Munawwar Hassan

news Tuesday 2 April, 2013

Six dead, 5 injured as jeep plunges into Chitral ravine CHITRAL: At least six passengers were killed and five others were injured on Monday when a speeding jeep plunged into a deep ravine. According to police sources, the driver of the ill-fated jeep, coming from Booni to Chitral, plunged into a deep ravine while taking a sharp turn in the mountainous region. The vehicle was also believed to bee speeding when the incident occurred. As result of the accident, six passengers died instantly while five others were wounded. Some of the passengers managed to save themselves by jumping out of the vehicles in time. Local volunteers and police officials rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to a hospital nearby. APP

Prime minister given comprehensive briefing on crucial issues ISLAMABAD

the initiatives and efforts taken by Pakistan to further its national objectives at the international arena. Khoso was briefed on Pakistan’s policy on key issues, nature and status of Pakistan’s relations with the United States, India, European Union, Muslim countries, multilateral and regional organisations. The prime minister was also given a detailed update on Pakistan’s contribution towards world peace. Furthermore, talking to Senate

APP

RIME Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Monday was given a comprehensive briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the issues and challenges faced by Pakistan in the realm of foreign affairs. Foreign Affairs Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani along with senior officials of his ministry apprised the prime minister on

Chairman Syed Hussain Bukhari, the prime minister reiterated his resolve to hold free, fair and transparent elections which would strengthen the democratic proces in the country. Bukhari briefed the prime minister on issues pertaining to Upper House and apprised him on matters and business conducted in Senate at present. The senate chairman and the prime minister also discussed the overall political climate in the country and the upcom-

Pakistani among 3 hanged in Kuwait

3 students die in Swat road accident

kUWAIt CItY MONITORINg DESk

MINGORA: At least three students were killed and one injured on Monday when they were hit by speeding car while crossing a road at Guli Bagh area of Swat district. According to police officials, the tragic incident occurred in the limits of Char Bagh Police station when the ill-fated students, on their way to schools, were hit by a speeding car while crossing a busy road. As result, nine-year-old Jawaria, 11-year-old Asadullah Khan and seven-year-old Manoor died on the spot while Amadullah Khan sustained critical wounds and was hospitalised in Saidu Sharif Hospital. APP

Fake degree case: Court indicts Jamshed Dasti MUZAFFARGARH: A local court on Monday indicted former minister and member of the National Assembly Jamshed Dasti in fake degree case. District and Sessions Judge Abdul Rehman Khan Niazi indicted Jamshed Dasti on the request of regional election commissioner of Multan. The petitioner was of the view that the accused contested 2008 elections on a fake degree and he should be tried on charges of forgery. On Sunday, Dasti came on a donkey cart to submit his nomination papers in Muzaffargarh. The former member of National Assembly (MNA) from Muzaffargarh had announced his departure from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on March 15. He said he would contest the polls as an independent candidate from NA 177 and 178. Dasti further said Hina Rabbani Khar and her father opposed him in by-polls that took place in 2010, adding that he had told the party leadership that he would contest elections against Khar. NNI

ECP website goes down, experiencing 50,000 visitors per minute ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) shut its website on Monday after it experienced massive traffic following the uploading of nomination papers. The ECP’s information technology director general said the site went down after it experienced 50,000 visitors per minute. “The site has been closed deliberately to avoid any loss,” the DG said. He said substitute arrangements were being made to restore the website. INP

Clarification In reference to recently aired news regarding Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) website, the PTCL would like to clarify that the ECP website is not hosted and maintained by the PTCL.

ing general elections were of special focus during the meeting. Moreover, the prime minister also met with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sindhila to discuss Pakistan’s security concerns and the preparedness of Pakistan Navy to meet any potential challenges. The prime minister said that Pakistan Navy was playing an effective role not only in guarding the territorial waters of the country but also in providing relief in coastal areas in times of emergencies.

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood takes oath from members of caretaker cabinet on Monday.

Scrutiny of papers: Nawaz, Imran summoned ISLAMABAD ONLINE

The Election Commission of Pakistan has received 9,124 nomination papers and immediately started their scrutiny, with an aim at completing the process by April 7. According to the Election Commission, more than 3,000 nomination papers had been scrutinised by NADRA, FBR, State Bank of Pakistan, and NAB and had been sent back to the Returning Officers. Meanwhile, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and PTI Chairman Imran Khan have been summoned for the scrutiny of the nomination papers. The returning officer has summoned Nawaz Sharif on April 3 and April 4, whereas PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been summoned on April 5. A total of 150 candidates have submitted nomination papers for Islamabad’s constituencies of NA-48

Authorities in Kuwait on Monday hanged three convicted murderers, including a Pakistani, in the first executions in the Gulf state since May 2007, the ministry of justice said. The men, a Pakistani, a Saudi and a stateless Arab, were hanged at the central jail, west of the capital Kuwait City, in front of judicial and security officials, the ministry said. The Pakistani was convicted of killing a Kuwaiti couple and the Saudi of murdering a compatriot. The stateless Arab was hanged for killing his wife and five children after claiming he was a long-awaited imam. Shia Muslims rever Islam’s twelfth imam, Mohammad Al-Mahdi, who disappeared from the earth in the tenth century and is said to be due to return to save mankind. Kuwait had six years ago stopped executing convicts sentenced to death without providing an explanation. The local Al-Sabas daily reported on Monday that at least another 44 people are on death row. They include two members of the Al-Sabah ruling family convicted over drugs trafficking and murder, and a woman who set a wedding tent ablaze in 2009 killing 57 people. Kuwait has executed a total of 69 men and three foreign women since it introduced the death penalty in mid-1960. Most of those condemned have been convicted murderers or drug traffickers.

Two cops injured in Shangla attack SHAngLA APP

and NA-49, which also include APML chief Pervez Musharraf. The son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Abdul Qadir Gilani, has also submitted his papers for election in NA-151 and PP-200. For the first time in the history of general elections, a woman from Bajaur Agency, Badaam Zari, has

submitted her papers for NA44 as an independent candidate. Meanwhile Additional Secretary of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Afzal Khan has said that the scrutiny of the candidates of the forthcoming general elections would be done without accepting any pressure or influence.

Two policemen were injured when unidentified terrorists attacked a check post in Tehsil Poran in Shangla District on Monday. According to police sources, the terrorists equipped with automatic weapons attacked Kankar security check post jointly manned by police and special forces. As a result, head constable Abid Ali and another special force official sustained critical wounds. The terrorists fled from the scene after the police retaliated. Police shifted the injured to hospital and started investigation.

Women tourists desert India after sex attacks: survey nEW DELHI INP

have also been other widely reported attacks. A Swiss cyclist was gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh last month, while a South Korean tourist was allegedly drugged and raped in the same state in January by the son of the owner of a hotel where she was staying. These incidents have “raised concerns about the safety of female travelers to the country”, said DS Rawat, secretary general at Assocham, which surveyed 1,200 tour operators from different cities. Nearly 72 percent of tour operators reported a number of cancellations in the last three months, usually a busy tourist season, especially by female visitors from countries such as Canada, the United States and Australia. Rawat said deteriorating standards of

safety and security were the main reasons for the drop in tourists, although the global economic slowdown was also a factor. “The situation has been further aggravated by the advisory issued by various countries to their citizens visiting India to be cautious and avoid India,” added the release from Assocham on Sunday. The survey comes as a blow to government attempts to boost the tourism industry in a period of lagging economic growth.

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The coming summer will would be a genuine test of capability and confidence of Afghan forces — Lt Gen Nick Carter

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Tuesday 2 April, 2013

voters will bring back AnP: Bilour PESHAWAR APP

WAMI National Party (ANP) senior leader and former federal minister for Railways, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour on Monday said that voters would once again show confidence in his party in the upcoming general elections. Addressing a public meeting at Gulbahar, the ANP leader said that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had been through hard times because of the overall poor situation in the country. He said that despite the menace of terrorism and a poor law and order situation, ANP had maintained its development projects and had set the bar high for the next

RAWALPINDI: General Necdet OZEL, Commander of Turkish Armed Forces, Reviewing Guard Of Honour at Joint Services Headquarters on Monday. INP

government. Bilour said that his brother Ahmad Bilour had given his life for peace in the region and that his sacrifice would not go to waste. He said that the ANP leadership were followers of peace advocate Bacha Khan and were dedicated to maintaining peace in the region. Furthermore, he said that his-

tory had shown that NA-1 was an ANP stronghold and would remain so in the upcoming elections as well. The former minister termed the upcoming general elections crucial for national salvation and security of Pakistan and urged the people to use their vote to decide an effective and efficient leadership.

ATC says Musharraf to be tried in BB assassination case RAWALPInDI AMIR SAEED

Hearing of Gilani’s appeal adjourned for three weeks ISLAMABAD APP

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned hearing of the intra-court appeal of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for three weeks. Gilani filed an intra-court appeal last week against his disqualification by a sevenmember larger bench of the court in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case. During the course of proceeding, the CJP remarked that the appeal was filed in the court after passing of 204

days, which was time-barred. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said that the former prime minister had to explain the reasons for the delay in filing of his appeal. The court observed that Gilani sought review of court verdict pertaining to his disqualification; however, the bench had clarified that the appeal couldn’t be taken up unless the same sets aside his conviction. However, the court later on adjourned hearing for three weeks directing the former prime minister to explain his stance for the delay in filing of the appeal.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Monday dismissed the petition filed by the prosecution regarding a separate trial of former president Pervez Musharaf in Benazir Bhutto assassination case and said that the trial of the case was not in an advance stage. ATC, in its order, said that if the trial of Pervez Musharaf was not conducted jointly with others accused then the proceedings of the case might be prejudiced. The trial of Benazir Bhutto murder case has now entered De Novo Trial, a legal term which means that Musharraf’s trial will now be conducted jointly with others accused. During the course of the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Chaudary Zulfiqar Ali filed an application before the court in which he pleaded that the trial of Pervez Musharaf should be separated from

others accused in order to save time. Chaudary Zulfiqar argued that the assassination had taken place on December 27, 2007 and after a lapse of five and half years, only the statements of 24 prosecution witnesses could be recorded. He said that if the two cases were not separated, the entire process would be time-consuming and would require much more red-tape. After hearing the arguments of the prosecutor, the court dismissed the petition and declared the case as De Novo trial. Chaudary Zulfiqar Ali, while talking to reporters, said that after the judgment of the court, the trial of this case might be not completed in next five years as the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench had also directed the trial court to complete this high profile case in three months. He said that the prosecution would file appeal against the decision of trial court.

BhUTTo, eLeCTIon AnD FUTUre WAjID SHAMSUL HASAn At a defining moment in our history people of Pakistan observe the 34th martyrdom anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (April 4) as the most outstanding leader who lived and died for the empowerment of the masses irrespective of their caste, creed, colour or gender in order to revert to Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s dream of a democratic, liberal, progressive and egalitarian Pakistan. Despite most sinister efforts to characterassassinate him in his life time and after his judicial murder Bhutto phenomenon continues to hold its sway over the hearts and minds of the people from the grave. Pakistan’s political camp remains divided between Bhutto lovers and his adversaries. It seems Pakistan shall continue to suffer uncertainty until Bhutto’s death is avenged by establishing an irreversible democracy fostering a culture of tolerance, equality for all classes of people irrespective of their religious divide, social justice and a society free of sectarian, parochial and ethnic rancour. No doubt foundations have been laid by PPP and President Zardari through translating into reality martyred Benazir Bhutto’s dream of reconciliation and consensus-based politics for employment of the collective wisdom of the nation for the good of the country. “How many Bhuttos will you kill…from every house will rise a Bhutto” was her last warning to opponents of democracy before she was assassinated by the perpetrators of obscurantism proxying at the trigger for the dictator who had made it clear that he would not allow Benazir Bhutto to return home. And she could have been only killed so conve-

niently under a dictator who had “promised” foolproof security to her shrouded in fatal threats. Yet the Revolutionary poet Jalib’s “nihati larki” (unarmed girl) dared to singe the beards of the perpetrators of dictatorship and obscurantist forces in their den when she returned to Pakistan to campaign for free and fair elections in 2007. Indeed, like SZAB’s walk to the gallows for Pakistan’s nuclear glow her blood too has not gone in vain. It has nurtured and nourished the fragile sapling of democracy with firmer roots. Today Bhutto heirs led by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and President Zardari must be very proud for successfully ushering in democracy as is reflected in the fast moving electoral process to elections to be followed by transfer of power through vote to an elected government for the first time in our history—an achievement that would be recorded in letters of gold for the posterity. The nation has come a long way to this defining moment. It has waddled through murky waters and constant media orchestration that the government would go any day. President Zardari with unmatchable wisdom and patience has steered the democratic flotilla to safer shores with the support of his coalition partners. The credit must also be given to leader of opposition Mian Nawaz Sharif for blowing enough hot and cold without pushing democracy beyond the edge of precipice. It is the unparalleled resilience of the people and leadership that it has sustained an on-going war against terrorism, earthquakes and unprecedented floods including external pressures. Indeed, the total out come of politics of reconciliation and consensus have denuded doomsayers and those masquerading as

“agents of change” seeking disaster for the country by inviting extra-constitutional forces to intervene. Some of them as devils quoting from scriptures with the objective of subverting the constitution and to destroy democratic institutions are seeking franchise of forces opposed to the empowerment of the people. Just on the eve of elections one would pray that we do not repeat the past mistakes and give preference to substance to politics of rhetoric. The masses cannot be taken for a ride any more. They know too well how we have come to such a challenging pass. It started when the power troika comprising of civil, military and judicial bureaucracy decided to play dirty politics, implanted an obscurantist ideology to convert Pakistan into a security state rather than egalitarian. All three were in cahoots when mother legislative assembly was packed up by a deranged governor general. It happened time and again and on each and every occasion judiciary legitimised the extra-constitutional illegal act of a general. First it led to the break up of the country and later the 4-3 judgment of the Supreme Court kowtowing to General Zia’s dictates for judicial elimination of Bhutto dealt an irreparable blow to national integrity. Notwithstanding the current proactive role of the judiciary the stigma that it acquired by playing the role of an executor of Pakistan’s first elected prime minister to consolidate Gen Zia’s dictatorship can never be removed. SZAB’s execution has been responsible for an unending period of terrorism, unease, ethnicity, divisiveness, sectarianism, gun culture, rise of religious extremism and compartmentalisation of patriotism. Now the masses - despite problems of grave magnitudes—would not be mis-

led by summer soldiers and sun shine patriots in politics. No one can now dare play foul with their acquisition of power of the ballot, supremacy of the constitution and the parliament. A government’s over all performance cannot be judged by its shortcomings in wiping out the backlog of insurmountable socio-economic problems that it had inherited from a dictator. It did not have a magic wand to over come acute power shortages. It has addressed the issue and in next two years the country will have enough power. Benefit of its efforts and sufferings would be reaped by the next government as was the case when Benazir Bhutto was dismissed in late 1996. She had invested billions in power sector that made President Musharraf confess in a TV interview that when he took over in 1999 he had surplus power and he was looking for foreign markets to export it. Same was the case on the food front in 2008. Country was starving of essentials. Today Pakistan is exporting wheat, cotton, rice and is self sufficient in sugar—thanks to a booming revolution in agriculture due to government’s procurement policies. Irrespective of all that, government’s most outstanding contributions that would give strength and perpetuity to the state are the historic constitutional amendments achieved through consensus. President Zardari set the course by surrendering extra-ordinary Presidential powers acquired by previous dictators under Article 17th to the Parliament and the Prime Minister. 18th, 19th and 20th Amendments transferring concurrent list of subjects to the provinces making them effectively autonomous, unanimous agreement on the NFC award, the Balochistan Package, the Benazir

Ghazanfar Mehdi announces to contest elections ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Imam Hussain (AS) Council chairman and candidate for National Assembly’s seat from NA-49 Dr Ghazanfar Mehdi while announcing his candidature on Monday said that he was contesting elections to end the sectarian rift present in the society. Addressing a news conference at National Press Club, Mehdi said, “Our country is infested with terror and sectarianism; both are highly organised and are apparently beyond the control of the government. This needs to be set right at the earliest.” Highlighting the poor law and order situation across the country, he said that if he was elected to power, he would expedite efforts to bring down sectarian rifts in the country and preserve the life and property of minorities. Urging the need for an enlightened policy, Mehdi expressed his support for the Pakistanis having dual nationalities, saying that the fear that they might hijack the assembly was “totally irrational.”

Bhutto Income Support scheme, Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline and handing over of the management of Gwadar Port to China—are measures that would lead to making Pakistan a prosperous social welfare state. Not only that these measures have the support of all the institutions of the state, each having been provided parameters of unhindered domain of activity. And finally the unflinching resilience of the nation, the political leadership—both in government and in the opposition— and the brave armed forces— in the most challenging circumstances—are a tribute to SZAB and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s populist politics devoted to the greatest good of the largest number with a total commitment to the empowerment of the less privileged, women and minorities. Pakistan—until democracy staged a come back in 2008— was being described as a country “where every kind of deception, collusion and outright sham are recurring motifs in the political theatre” forecasting fate of yet another Yugoslavia in the making. It was a deluge after the creation of Bangladesh. Had there been no SZAB to save the country Pakistan would have become a footnote in history. He reunified the residual Pakistan into a new nation binding its federating units in a consensus-based constitution that has kept the country and its people together to this day. The democratic government has completed its 5-year tenure—first ever in Pakistan’s history and we are moving onward to elections. It seems it has still a long way to go to, however, the masses know it too well that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had put the country onto a course for constructive transformation. They gave the people renewed hope and confidence in the destiny of Pakistan. The author is the High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK

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Power is like being a lady... if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t. –Margaret Thatcher

CoMMenT Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

next stage, scrutiny electoral process well underway

IVE years of democratic rule and a minimal realization of past mistakes by the politicians have made the present election different from those in the past. During the period the judiciary acquired independence and started to exert itself, some maintaining that at times it overexerted itself. Constitutional amendments brought into existence an independent and powerful election commission. Consensus caretaker governments were formed at the center and the provinces. While the Election Commission of Pakistan and the caretaker set up have their peculiar weaknesses they along with the Supreme Court are playing a vital role in making the present elections different from the previous exercises. Dual nationality holders are out except a handful who have renounced their adopted citizenship. Computerized electoral rolls have made it possible for the common voter to verify at one click if his name is on the list and in the right constituency. A big failure of the ECP is that despite promising to provide the overseas Pakistanis the right to vote, it failed to take concrete steps in the direction. While the NADRA has belatedly come up with a scheme, its implementation within the remaining 38 days seems difficult. Those who produced fake degrees in 2002 and 2008 elections when these were mandatory have been debarred from the elections. The Supreme Court has given three days to 189 former parliamentarians who have yet to get their degrees verified to fulfill the requirement. A strict scrutiny of the nomination papers has discouraged many contestants this time with the result that the number of nomination papers filed has come down to over 10,000 from nearly 15,000 in 2008 polls. With the nomination papers of all candidates filed, the first crucial step towards holding the elections on May 11 has been taken. Next is the scrutiny of the candidates’ papers, extending from April 1 to 7. A central scrutiny committee comprising officials from the ECP, the NAB, the SBP and NADRA is already in place. There are however reports of several Returning Officers not providing copies of the nomination papers to the general public. This will deprive the ECP of crucial input at the stage of scrutiny. Candidates should have been debarred from using religion to demonise their opponents. As this was not done a prominent politician was repeatedly called Shaitan Khan at a JUI-F rally in Lahore. That two women candidates filed nomination papers from the tribal areas indicates that democracy is fast striking roots even in the areas considered politically backward. This should be a lesson for those parties who debar women at places from voting through mutual consent in the name of custom or tradition. The government has to provide full security to these courageous women who could be targeted by the extremists.

Pak-Afghan ties must improve no solution to taliban problem without Afghan, pakistan dialogue

014 is an important year in the geo-politics of Central and South Asia. With US forces set to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban problem will be left to Afghanistan and Pakistan to sort out between themselves. But the outstanding question is: are Pakistan and Afghanistan willing to trust each other and move forward in confidence? Only two days ago, the Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Ludin suggested that Kabul could pursue the peace process without Pakistan’s help. He had further alleged that Pakistan was hampering the Afghan government’s attempts to negotiate peace with the Taliban by “either killing or arresting Taliban figures willing to reconcile within Pakistan.” While the immediate questions were: what were these Taliban figures doing in Pakistan and what were their channels of communication with the Afghan government, the harsh statement from Afghanistan forced the US and UK to come in and find a bridge between the two governments. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s visit to Qatar also comes amidst growing tension between the two neighbours. With Qatar reportedly being the Taliban’s reported choice for a diplomatic secretariat, Karzai appears to be wincing around the need to sit down and hold what could be called a ‘frank conversation’ with Pakistan over the cross-border terrorism issue that plagues relations between the two countries. The Pakistani response to the accusations from across border has been tit-for-tat. In a briefing last week, the Pakistani Foreign Office pointed to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan safe havens in Kunar and Nooristan districts in Afghanistan. However, it has not changed its commitment to negotiations as the way forward. It has condemned diplomatic boycotts, including a recent decision by Afghanistan not to send a military delegation for a training course in Quetta, and called for the need to “promote bilateral relations and build trust.” The fact that over 26 Taliban leaders have been released by Pakistan to Afghanistan at the request of the Afghan High Peace Council is cited to reflect Pakistan’s seriousness in furthering peace in Afghanisation. If nothing, perhaps both sides realize now, that the decade-long war against the Taliban is failing on the battleground, and the negotiating table may be the final hope for this apparently unending battle. Recently, Pakistan too has begun to follow the ‘negotiate with the Taliban’ card, but with little success. The fact that the Taliban is not a simple entity with a defined leadership structure is an important factor in these talks failing. But there is little that the governments of these two countries can hope for other than individual Taliban groups switching their sway. For this process to yield results: Pakistan and Afghanistan need to be on board. Karzai is wrong and shall be proven so if he moves ahead on accords with the Taliban without involving Pakistan.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

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

Big task for a liberal CM? the diﬀerence in ramay’s and Sethi’s secularism ZEESHAN HUSSAIN

ITH a dogged selfassertion and curious contentment on his face, Najam Sethi, the only nonjudge and the youngest of the echelon of caretakers, took an oath in clash with his ideology. He had been labeled a liberal fascist, secularist, centrist, by his fellow journalists; in return, he had labeled them ‘media mujahiddin.’ His columns were evidence of his strong stance on the matter. But while one cannot be held to one ideology alone but the ability to ascribe to two contradictory ideologies at the same times suggests either deep confusion or a shrewd ability to adjust ideology to the needs of the time. There was, of course, Muhammad Hanif Ramay, considered the only genuinely liberal chief minister of Punjab since the country was created. While taking his oath, Hanif Ramay tried to recite that he would be faithful with “Pakistan” instead of saying that he would be faithful to the “Islami Jamhooriya Pakistan.” There lies the difference between the liberalism of Najam Sethi and that of Muhammad Hanif Ramay. The latter was steeped into the soil; the architecture of the Alhamra, a patron to classical music, with love for the suffering of humanity. Ideas devoid of rhetoric can easily be associated with Ramay’s approach toward life and society. Sethi’s liberalism, however, is twice removed from its source as he was first saddled with the progressive movement that sought its inspiration from Marxist ideology. Though he was never been a practicing Marxist but his affiliation with the ideology is no secret. With the disintegration of Soviet Union in 1990s, the fashion of claiming oneself a Marxist came to an end, and a lot of old Marxists took refuge under the umbrella of NGOs and welfare organizations, or, took to Thatcherism and economic liberalism. Sethi, a graduate in economics from Cambridge, picked the new trend in the offing and embarked upon the bandwagon of western liberalism that believes in growth of capitalism, parliamentary democracy and women emancipation as the hall-

marks of the ‘end of history’ narrative. Sethi is artful and perceptive and knows how to cash in on his analysis, public relations, body language, mood and tone in his television show. If one watched his TV show, when the names of the caretaker governments were being decided, he condemned the two large political parties for coming up with only the names of judges for caretaker slots. Some conspiracy mongers say Sethi thrice tried to get the ticket from the PML-N, but this was not true. Sethi was not aware of his nomination until Qamar Zaman Kaira confirmed it with him on phone just

While taking his oath, Hanif Ramay tried to recite that he would be faithful with “Pakistan” instead of saying that he would be faithful to the ‘Islami Jamhooriya Pakistan.’ before the nomination was made public. As an anchor Sethi has balanced positioned and played a neutral card. He has always called a spade a spade and thus his perceived neutrality. He has always maintained that the PPP cannot deliver for the masses and that it has indulged in corruption. Even then President Zardari approved his nomination as caretaker CM and Nawaz Sharif endorsed his name against the will of his younger sibling. Now that he is housed in the CM House and spread the traditional shawl on the tomb of Hazrat Data Sahib, an act which was least expected of him, he is on his way to es-

tablish himself a real statesman. He says he has many friends in bureaucracy and in army and that is why he doesn’t feel there would be any problems with him running state affairs. But he has one friend that carries more weight than all bureaucrats and military personnel combined, Asif Ali Zardari. Sethi has always proactively advocated harmony amongst the “warring political parties”. This takes inspiration from Asif Zardari’s reconciliation policy. Sethi’s “enthronement” has disappointed many a journalist. Even those that clapped during his oath taking ceremony saying that a liberal had broken into the CM House, had their happiness evaporated into the air when they came to know of Sethi’s visit to Data Sahib. Journalists either are jealous of the “reward” PPP gave to Sethi or think journalism has been hit hard. Others are hurt by Nawaz Sharif’s efforts to include Sethi in the caretaker set up. Sethi remains a danger for Shahbaz Sharif in Punjab and still for others in centre. The junior Sharif resorted to political jingles, construction of bridges, lip service and superficial efficiency whereas Sethi, though he has no great job to be done in favour of the masses, has to take crucial decisions to act upon SC’s and EC’s advice. He has to cater a controlled election environment which can deliver free and fair elections, a good team of bureaucracy that has to respond back to the events that will inevitably come up regarding law and order lieu of Imran’s aggressive supporters and Nawaz’s traditional League-is. Already the war feelings have been ignited by the statements of the politicians from both sides. Sethi has a tendency to reach out to US and European delegates even when he was merely a TV guest and an editor, but now he has to do it officially. People would start forgetting the songs of Jalib when a CM well versed in English literature, politics and international relations was likely to uplift the image of Pakistan. Today minorities and liberal people of Pakistan are feeling strengthened and here lies the problems for the coming CMs. Sethi has perhaps betrayed his ideology but he won’t betray his would-be electorate. Zeeshan Hussain is a blogger and a TV journalist and he can be reached at zee.hossain@hotmail.com

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively Editor’s mail Fax: +92-42-32535230

Condemning persecution The incident of persecuting Ahmadi family at Kasur is shocking, dreadful and tragic. Even worse that the local police authorities were playing a helping hand with the mob and directly involved in the incident. To date, there has been no police case registered or any arrests made. I fail to understand how such an incident can take place in the first place. I firmly believe that every Pakistani citizen has a right to live peacefully and it is the duty of the police to protect them. Punjab remains to be a land of curse of the Ahmadiyyas and the concerned authorities are having a deaf ear to it. No alarm bells are ringing and no one is to listen. A hope of anguish triumph like always. AHMAD FARAZ

Whom to vote, whom not to vote for? As the 2013 elections get heated up, we see candidates hurling barrages of accusations and charges against their opponents. This is something that we should all expect, during an election year as it happens every time. This is not surprising; in fact, humans have always

fought for their differences. Now, in the civilized world, physical fights between the rivals have been replaced with verbal controversy. Now the rivals use different forums and mediums to mould public opinion in their favour in order to defeat their opponents. Media, both print and electronic, is the most important instrument being used by the political parties to beat their opponents. It is nothing short of a tragedy for this nation that media is being used by the politicians for negative propaganda against others. An ideal approach could have been to have debates on important national issues and to invite the existing and emerging leadership to participate in these debates with their solutions to the problems faced by the common man. It would have been a great help for the layman to decide which party has the best planning and vision. Presently, the stakeholders are confused about whom to vote and whom not to vote and media further adds to their confusions instead of guiding them to choose their future leadership through purposeful debate and discourse. MUHAMMED ZAHEER ABBAS IIU Islamabad

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When the rich wage war, it’s the poor who die. Jean-Paul Sartre

CoMMenT

Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

The financial crash will not bring about ‘globalisation on steroids’

Standing up to the mafia where is America’s hugo Chavez? ROB URIE

WO events coincided this week that illustrate the crisis of political economy in the capitalist West—the premature and intensely sad death of Hugo Chavez and the trite idiocy symbolizing the class warfare declared by the rich against the rest of us as the Dow Jones stock index reached its highest point ever. Where Mr. Chavez dedicated (and likely gave) his life to improving the lot of Venezuela’s and the regional South’s poor and building the infrastructure of real economic and political democracy, America’s ‘liberal’ President Barack Obama claimed the right of extra-judicial assassination of the citizenry at his whim while ‘sequestering’ the economic interests of poor and working Americans to bolster the already substantial fortunes of the pirate financiers and industrialists he serves. To the political ‘left’ that voted for Mr. Obama, the contrast is there if you care to see it. Lest there be confusion around the matter, the richest 1% of Americans own 40% of financial assets and the richest 10% own 80%. The soaring stock market symbolizes the ascendancy of a tiny economic elite with all social resources dedicated to consolidating its power. Remove financial and oil company profits, two industries existing on government transfer payments, tax breaks, business guarantees and occasional wars, all at public expense, along with the nearly $3 trillion in Federal Reserve asset purchases designed to boost the value of wealth ‘owned’ overwhelmingly by America’s plutocracy, and the stock market would be trolling the lower depths of hell. Through their mouthpieces in the capitalist media the wealthy put forward their wealth as fact of nature when it is anything but. As Mr. Chavez was able to demonstrate, from whence it came to where it goes, social wealth can be made to once again serve its social purpose. A thought unlikely to occur to most Americans is the profoundly anti-democratic sidestep around habeas corpus that Mr. Obama’s claim to the right of extra-judicial murder of citizens implies ties directly to his economic policies. At a time when the U.S. uses murder robots around the globe to slaughter people charged with no crime, launches ‘pre-emptive’ wars of aggression, incarcerates millions of overwhelmingly people of color in for-profit prisons and returns immigrants to countries U.S. trade policies have rendered economically dysfunctional, the economic and political elite here enjoys near complete immunity from prosecution for any of a large number of war, political and economic crimes. As the informed left might have it, the concentration of wealth so facilitated by Mr. Obama’s economic policies ties directly to the concentration of politi-

cal power amongst America’s plutocracy. While Republican voter suppression efforts appear directly anti-democratic, Mr. Obama’s policies to revive the fortunes of the rich while leaving everyone else to rot renders voting irrelevant to the formation of public policy through the relation of economic to political power. Although circumstances between Mr. Chavez’s Venezuela and the U.S. differ, Mr. Chavez took his (their) fight to the people of Venezuela and he repeatedly and consistently won majorities of the vote in free and fair elections. The received wisdom in the U.S., a pathetic lie no doubt, is that deference to the wishes of the plutocrats is the prerequisite to fighting in the interests of ‘the people.’ What is in fact taking place is economic pillage with the full cooperation and facilitation of Mr. Obama and his administration. From banker bailouts to stolen homes, incarceration for profit, student loan penury, wars for oil, profit extracting sick-care and social insurance cuts, class war was launched and is being fought from above. And the non-conflictual economic theories of classical and neo-liberals have rendered cooperation the mechanism of self-subjugation. Against far greater odds Hugo Chavez fought back the forces of global capital, plutocracy and their servants in the oil mafia (CIA) to improve the lot of Venezuela’s poor. The recurrent theory expressed by people who by now should know better is that Mr. Obama must ‘be made’ to do the right thing. What Hugo Chavez demonstrated is that an actual leader has a political-economic core which only evidence that ideas and policies aren’t working as intended informs and changes. The irony here is that to anyone paying attention, Mr. Obama also has just such a core and it is neo-liberal. As part of the national mythology many Americans, and likely nearly all liberals and progressives, accept the premise that policies designed to boost the fortunes of the already wealthy might be misdirected, but not outright destructive to their interests. After four years of unwavering support for America’s plutocrats and malignant acts toward their economic victims in every actual administration policy— witness his continuing call to cut social insurance programs while 20 million people remain un and under-employed as corporate profits and financial markets soar, Mr. Obama’s faithful retain the belief he is working in ‘their’ interest. In contrast, Mr. Chavez faced a ruling elite in Venezuela with a long history of taking all of the social resources they could get away with taking and there was never the pretense that allowing oligarchs (and / or the U.S.) to put social wealth in their own pockets benefited ‘everyone.’ Put another way, Mr. Chavez effectively articulated this point to those to whom it

wasn’t already clear. And so to what effect is Mr. Obama’s ‘effort’ to raise the minimum wage if the entirety of his time in office is spent empowering the same plutocrats who resist the idea and are determined to see it defeated? These titans of finance and industry were hobbled and momentarily humbled when Mr. Obama entered office and today they are fully restored, in large measure due to his efforts. The distribution of corporate profits clearly indicates their intent with the lowest proportion in history going to labor and the highest to capital. Liberal economists decry this outcome as they use aggregated data that hides it to argue Mr. Obama’s economic policies have been a relative ‘success.’ Of what benefit is GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ‘growth’ if what it accomplishes is to grow the political power of a ruling elite determined to use it to reduce the political power and economic circumstance of everyone else? When Mr. Obama reiterated (for the 8,000th time) ‘his’ willingness to cut social insurance programs whose only shortcomings are that corrupt, self-interested executives and capital are bleeding them dry, where were the fools who insisted he was only doing so because he was being forced to by obstinate demagogues in the Republican party? Tens of millions of people are only a few dollars away from living in the street and cutting social insurance programs will put them there. If his supporters are still dull enough to believe he is being forced into policies he doesn’t really support, why then has he so focused on delivering political power through his economic policies to the enemies of social insurance programs that we, the people, pay for? To reiterate, there is nothing personal in this critique of Mr. Obama—the problem is his policies and it is his institutional role that is being criticized. By contrast, there is everything personal in calling Hugo Chavez a great leader; a champion of the poor and dispossessed, and ultimately in his institutional role as a facilitator of economic and political democracy that knows it can only exist by keeping its enemies humble. The Western mythologies of political democracy in the context of economic plutocracy and of ‘natural’ distribution of economic resources was tried in Venezuela and was shown to produce a political economy where a few thrive at the expense of broader society, not from ‘nature’ but from the deliberate acts of people. The same is true in America today. With Hugo Chavez as a model, my contention is Americans would respond to a leader with a social justice core s/he is willing to fight for. What we don’t need is just one more cynical windbag with the patina of ‘liberal’ shilling for the military oil banker mafia. Rob Urie is an artist and political economist in New York

JOSHUA kURLANTZICk

N the wake of Barack Obama’s re-election and the leadership change in China, many economists, businesspeople and leaders have assumed that, with internationalists at the helm of the world’s two largest economies, the world will see a new period of greater economic integration. Optimists hope that this integration eventually will pull the globe out of its prolonged economic malaise. Indeed, many struggling economies, such as Greece, already are seeking closer economic integration with China; Chinese aid and investment has helped revitalise Greece’s most important ports. And as developing nations such as China take the lead on trade deals, they also are gaining a bigger role in international financial organisations, which thus supposedly also are becoming more integrated. The future, as one American columnist wrote, is “globalisation on steroids”. Yet in reality today’s economic slowdown, over the long term, is likely to have just the opposite effect. The slowdown will leave as its legacy the worst deglobalisation in modern history, a period of shutting down international lending, government protectionism, failed free trade deals, and the renewed power of state capitalists. Even if the slowdown soon ends - if Xi Jinping in China and Barack Obama in the US can use their mandates to push for freer trade and global integration - the long-term effects of this deglobalisation will last decades, putting a ceiling on how much the world economy can ever rebound. For at least a century, the world economy has run in cycles, in which integration, in the form of closer trade and financial ties, cross-border bank lending, and rising trade and migration, has been followed by short periods of slowdown and deglobalisation, periods in which the world economy became less linked together. At times, the slowdown and de-globalisation was precipitated by world wars, as in the 1910s. At other times, it was precipitated by major energy shocks, such as in the early 1970s. Yet after each period of deglobalisation, the world economy quickly bounced back, with banks soon seeing new opportunities to lend abroad, new trade rounds launching, new companies springing up to increase global exports, and new financial services products emerging to tie markets together. Not so this time. This de-globalisation is so severe that its effects will not be easily reversed. In nearly every leading nation, not only politicians on the left - the opponents of globalisation in earlier periods - but also on the right have come to a consensus sceptical of greater economic integration. In the 2012 US presidential campaign, Mitt Romney attacked trade with China even more than Barack Obama, while both Democrats and Republicans almost unanimously supported new measures to block Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei from investing in 4G phone networks in the US - and received no opposition even from the most pro-business Republicans. Meanwhile in France the right-leaning Gaullist parties, under Nicolas Sarkozy and his heirs, have become as supportive of greater protectionism as the Socialist Party, which under the current president, Francois Hollande, has enacted new import restrictions on major trading partners like South Korea and pushed French supermarkets to sell only French products. Meanwhile, leaders of many developing nations have become nearly as sceptical of globalisation as their western peers. In the past year, major coalition partners of the Indian Congress government have left the coalition to block the prime minister’s efforts to open up India to foreign retail. In Brazil, the president, Dilma Rousseff, has increasingly pushed for greater protection of strategic Brazilian industries, telling the UN: “We cannot accept that legitimate initiatives of commercial defence by developing countries can be classified as protectionist.” Politicians, at least, often exit the scene without having lasting effects. But more frightening, the financial institutions that once propelled globalisation have retrenched so badly that their shift will last for years. Today, as crisis-hit European nations have passed legislation forcing banks to maintain higher capital requirements and to invest more within their own borders, these European institutions, which had been the major sources of emerging world investments, have started a process of massive deleveraging. Until two years ago, European banks accounted for about 90 per cent of all foreign bank lending in Africa, eastern Europe, and the Middle East. That figure is dropping rapidly. Trade, one of the other pillars of globalisation, also will take decades to recover. The World Trade Organisation’s current round of negotiations, known as the Doha Round, has been stalled for years, and the regional free trade agreements enacted by Asian nations in part to replace Doha contain far less liberalisation than meets the eye. A third major pillar of the globalisation of the 1990s and 2000s was increased migration. But as the economic slowdown has morphed into a longer-term period of stagnation, the tolerance of wealthier nations for migration has ebbed. In the US, the Republican Party’s 2012 platform called for “self-deportation” of illegal migrants in the US. This tough stance is being echoed in many other wealthy nations, where the level of anti-immigrant sentiment is high. Even tiny Singapore, a country that despite the global slowdown has maintained a GDP per capita of $61,000 at purchasing power parity and which depends on trade and foreign workers to prosper, has seen its public turn sour on migration. Anti-foreign worker sentiment helped propel the Singaporean opposition, dormant for decades, to its strongest showing ever in last year’s elections, as it criticised the ruling party for being too lenient in allowing migration. As trade flows, financial globalisation, and cross-border migration recede, the state has returned to power around the world, turning back the gains made by free markets in the 1990s and early 2000s. While state-owned enterprises only controlled six times as much of China’s industrial output as private firms in 2004, today they control 11 times as much. And they are hardly unique. In the years 2004-2009, while 120 state-owned companies made their debut on the Forbes list of the world’s largest corporations, more than 250 Western private companies fell off that list. For the global economy, this probably will mean a dearth of new entrepreneurial companies, particularly in developing nations. In addition, it will mean that trade wars probably will only escalate, since these regional trade deals do not hold world leaders to the tough standards that previous WTO rounds did; in the long run, this could lead to an overall decline in trade, which would make the entire international economy far less dynamic, and could even lead to greater political tensions between big trading powers such as the US and China. Joshua Kurlantzick is Fellow for South-east Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/thefinancial-crash-will-not-bring-about-globalisation-on-steroids#ixzz2PE7rJgUG Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook

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A ARTS Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

Fox news is a ‘media colostomy bag’: Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey is a comedian, but his beef with Fox News is no laughing matter. In a press release sent to Fox on Friday, Carrey calls the network “a media colostomy bag.” The feud stems back to a video Carrey recently made for Funny or Die, in which he weighs in on the debate over banning assault weapons with a Hee Haw-style parody poking fun at Charlton Heston and other gun enthusiasts. Fox News’ Greg Gutfield aired a segment on the video, calling Carrey a “dirty, stinking coward,” and said that the video made him want to “go out and buy a gun.” In response, Carrey sent a press release to the station, which he referred to as “Fux News.” “Since I released my ‘Cold Dead Hand’ video on Funny or Die this week, I have watched Fux News rant, rave, bare its fangs and viciously slander me because of my stand against large magazines and assault rifles,” Carrey wrote. “I would take them to task legally if I felt they were worth my time or that anyone with a brain in their head could actually fall for such irresponsible buffoonery. ... In my opinion Fux News is a last resort for kinda-sorta-almost-journalists whose options have been severely limited by their extreme and intolerant views; a media colostomy bag that has begun to burst at the seams and should be emptied before it becomes a public health issue.” NEWS DESk

Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. –Meryl Streep

Study shows Shakespeare as ruthless businessman

OARDER, moneylender, tax dodger — it’s not how we usually think of William Shakespeare. But we should, according to a group of academics who say the Bard was a ruthless businessman who grew wealthy dealing in grain during a time of famine. Researchers from Aberystwyth University in Wales argue that we can’t fully understand Shakespeare unless we study his often-overlooked business savvy. “Shakespeare the grain-hoarder has been redacted from history so that Shakespeare the creative genius could be born,” the researchers say in a paper due to be delivered at the Hay literary festival in Wales in May. Jayne Archer, a lecturer in medieval and Renaissance literature at Aberystwyth, said that oversight is the product of “a willful ignorance on behalf of critics and scholars who I think — perhaps through snobbery — cannot countenance the idea of a creative genius also being motivated by self-interest.” Archer and her colleagues Howard Thomas and Richard Marggraf Turley combed through historical archives to uncover details of the playwright’s parallel life as a grain merchant and property owner in the town of Stratford-uponAvon whose practices sometimes brought him into conflict with the law. “Over a 15-year period he purchased and stored grain, malt and barley for resale at inflated prices to his neighbors and local tradesmen,” they wrote, adding that Shakespeare “pursued those who could not (or would not) pay him in full for these staples and used the profits to further his own money-lending activities.” He was pursued by the authorities for tax evasion, and in 1598 was prosecuted for hoarding grain during a time of shortage. The charge sheet against Shakespeare was not entirely unknown, though it may come as shock to some literature lovers. But the authors argue that modern readers and scholars are out of touch with the harsh realities the writer and his contemporaries faced. He lived and wrote in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, during a period known as the “Little Ice Age,” when un-

Joan rivers calls Adele ‘chubby,’ says the singer should ‘lose weight’

Justin Bieber to be prosecuted for spitting incident

nEWS DESk

Is a Justin Bieber mugshot on the way? If the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has its way, the answer is yes. The department will recommend that Bieber be charged with criminal battery for allegedly spitting on his neighbor last week, TMZ reports. The recommendation is due to the fact that the department believes that the pop singer has shown “disregard for the law” as of late, a source tells TMZ. In recent months, Bieber has been cited for reckless driving, allegedly attacked a paparazzi photographer, and was photographed smoking what appears to be marijuana. Last week, his pet capuchin monkey was detained in Germany for not having the proper paperwork. NEWS DESk

Joan Rivers has no intention of easing on up Adele, whom she cruelly mocked during a Feb. 26 appearance onThe Late Show With David Letterman. During the episode, the 79-year-old comedienne said she met the 24-year-old singer at the Academy Awards. She then made a gesture with her arms in reference to the new mom’s weight. “She was very scared because she was sining at the awards. She kept saying, ‘My throat, my throat — I don’t know if I can swallow,’” Rivers said on the talk show. “And I said, ‘Oh, yeah! You can swallow.” Rivers was asked to defend her Late Show comments during a March 29 HuffPost Live interview, but instead, she continued to criticise the British songbird’s appearance. “It’s not mean. She’s a chubby lady who’s very, very rich, and she should just calm down — or lose weight! She wanted an apology, so I took an ad out on her ass. I said, ‘You are not fat.’ And then I had room for a lot of other ads,” Rivers quipped. “Adele is beautiful and successful and has what, $100 million? Let’s face real-

nEWS DESk

ity: she’s fat!” This isn’t the first time Rivers has publicly commented on another celebrity’s weight. In a now-famous 1985 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Fashion Police host called out the media mogul for gaining 50 pounds. “You shouldn’t let that happen to you,” she told Winfrey, now 59. “You’re a pretty girl and you’re single. You must lose the weight! Rivers also targeted Christina Aguilera after the singer forgot the lyrics to the National Anthem during the Super Bowl in 2011. “She looked like a pig. How stupid can you get?” the I Hate Everyone, Starting With Me author asked. “Christina must have been thinking about food. That’s why she forgot the words.” Even after Aguilera, 32, confronted Rivers, the comic made fun of the former Voice mentor’s figure. “I’m at Spago’s with [my daughter] Melissa, and we’re eating dinner,” Rivers recalled during a June 2012 interview on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, “and Fatso is across the way, and she comes lumbering over with that no-neck look. And I go, ‘Here it comes.’ She comes over to my table and says, ‘You gonna finish that?’”

usual cold and heavy rain caused poor harvests and food shortages. “I think now we have a rather rarefied idea of writers and artists as people who are disconnected from the everyday concerns of their contemporaries,” Archer said. “But for most writers for most of history, hunger has been a major concern — and it has been as creatively energizing as any other force.” She argues that knowledge of the era’s food insecurity can cast new light on Shakespeare’s plays, including “Coriolanus,” which is set in an ancient Rome wracked by famine. The food protests in the play can be seen to echo the real-life 1607 uprising of peasants in the English Midlands, where Shakespeare lived. Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate told the Sunday Times newspaper that Archer and her colleagues had done valuable work, saying their research had “given new force to an old argument about the contemporaneity of the protests over grain-hoarding in ‘Coriolanus.’” Archer said famine also informs “King Lear,” in which an aging monarch’s unjust distribution of his land among his three daughters sparks war. “In the play there is a very subtle depiction of how dividing up land also involves impacts on the distribution of food,” Archer said. Archer said the idea of Shakespeare as a hardheaded businessman may not fit with romantic notions of the sensitive artist, but we shouldn’t judge him too harshly. Hoarding grain was his way of ensuring that his family and neighbors would not go hungry if a harvest failed. “Remembering Shakespeare as a man of hunger makes him much more human, much more understandable, much more complex,” she said. “He would not have thought of himself first and foremost as a writer. Possibly as an actor — but first and foremost as a good father, a good husband and a good citizen to the people of Stratford.” She said the playwright’s funeral monument in Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church reflected this. The original monument erected after his death in 1616 showed Shakespeare holding a sack of grain. In the 18th century, it was replaced with a more “writerly” memorial depicting Shakespeare with a tasseled cushion and a quill pen.

Gossip guy wants to play James Bond His fan base consists of teenagers and young women, and English actor Ed Westwick, who has drawn praises for his portrayal of the character Chuck Bass in US TV series Gossip Girl; season five, which currently airs on Zee Cafe here, is now vying to play the younger version of James Bond. The 25-year-old chats about his aspirations as an actor and his back-up plan, if he failed in showbiz. How do you tackle playing the bad guy in Gossip Girl? He’s a great character. So it’s been pretty fantastic. What would you have done if you weren’t an actor? I always used to joke of being a landscape gardener because I love gardens, but I don’t think I’d do that. I think I’d give the rock and roll thing a go. What is your dream role? I was watching Iron Man, the first one and I’d love to play a super villain, with some weird cracked eye or that sort of thing. Any other aspirations? I should play Bond I think...a 25-yearold Bond, that’d be great. I think it’s taken at the moment, but give it a year or two. NEWS DESk

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Talent is a gift that can be given, and it can be taken away. We have to appreciate that. –Sidney Sheldon

ArTs Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

I don’t think I am a perfectionist, says Aamir Khan

First look: Karan Johar’s Gippi The first poster of Karan Johar’s next production Gippi is out! The poster shows 13-year-old Riya Vij in a hyper mode. The teenage actor is jumping on a bed out of some serious joy it seems. Gippi is an upcoming drama film directed by Sonam Nair and produced by Karan Johar. The film features Riya Vij and Taaha Shah as main characters. Gippi is the story of an overweight 13-year-old girl, who hates the idea of dieting. From the promos, it appears like she wants to be a bollywood heroine but she is not as hot as other girls of her age. The makers apparently undertook extensive auditions to find Delhi-based 13-year-old Riya Vij for the title role in the film. It has been shot in Mumbai and Shimla. This May, Karan Johar will be busy with two production ventures. While Ayan Mukerji’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is already in the news, not many know about his other film. The Sonam Nair-directed movie, Gippi, is the first kids’ film to be produced by Karan. It is set to release on May 10. And to promote it, none other than Arjun Kapoor has been roped in to shoot a special teaser promo. NEWS DESk

AMIR Khan, who played a cop struggling to cope with the death of his young son in Talaash, says the film was “emotionally exhaustive”. “The role of Talaash was tough. The loss of the son in the film was emotionally exhausting. I had to start shooting thinking something really traumatic as that would set my mood,” Aamir told reporters today at an event organised by Microsoft India to felicitate winners of Talaash contest. Aamir said he had to go deep into the “space of loss” to step into the shoes of his character on the screen. TALAASh: The Answer Lies Within was a mystery film directed by Reema Kagti and produced by Excel Entertainment and Aamir Khan Productions, starring Aamir, Rani Mukerji, and Kareena Kapoor in the lead. On often being dubbed as a “perfectionist” actor, Aamir said he disagreed with the tag. “I don’t think I a m perfectionist. I don’t think there is any such thing in the

A war of words has erupted between Jennifer Lopez’s team and camp Shah Rukh Khan, after articles appeared in the US and UK slamming the pop queen for turning down SRK’s offer to perform at the IPL opening ceremony on April 2 . JLo’s team has reportedly accused Red Chillies of ‘planting’ stories in the media, to tarnish her image. An official from Red Chillies on condition of anonymity said that it is the star’s IPL team that is to be blamed. “They were handling the quotes (money and budgets) so the leak had come from them. You will see some of the foreign tabloids point to an IPL officialfor the leak. The event management team at Red Chillies wouldn’t dare do that,” said the official. But aren’t the IPL and the event management teams closely integrated to that of KKR? “I can assure you that the leak hasn’t come from us. The only other people who knew about the deal were the IPL guys. You should ask them,” the official added. The damning articles, the first of which appeared on March 28, in the New York Post, criticised JLo for her ‘diva demands’, and quoted an official saying that her manager Benny Medina had demanded a private jet and a personal chef as part of her hospitality in Kolkata, among other things. While the demands would not seem extraordinary for an artiste of her stature, Team JLo had the article removed from the website. But by then the ‘news’ had gone viral. According to sources, Medina has shot off an angry

mail to a member of Red Chillies Entertainment, alleging that vital and confidential information about the deal was selectively leaked out to the US media. Some of JLo’s fans have also insinuated that the bad press may be a fall-out of the singer rejectingShah Rukh’s offer at the last moment, sending him scurrying for a replacement. On his part, Medina has denied that

JLo ‘out priced’ herself from the event, courtesy her demands. Instead, he claims she was busy recording an album, which is why she decided to turn down the offer to perform before billions of viewers. A source told TOI, “JLo is breathing fire. Her team has shot off a mail saying the details of the deal were known only to a select few officials in both teams. As it is unlikely

Ryan Gosling lashes out at photographer

creative business. I don’t consider myself perfectionist,” the actor said, adding that he gives his best when it comes to his characters. “I leave no stone unturned for any of my films,” he added. Aamir said he did not think much about being successful but enjoys doing his work. “I don’t know why I am successful so far. I don’t think about it. I just enjoy my work and give my best. I want to surprise and challenge myself. I want to give audience something new every time,” he said. Aamir, known for experimenting with his looks, said he liked his get-up in films ‘Mangal Pandey’ and ‘Ghajini’. NEWS

Jennifer Lopez miffed over leaked story nEWS DESk

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that JLo’s team would plant a story against her, the needle of suspicion is pointing towards camp Shah Rukh. JLo’s team is very upset that her image has been tarnished.” Medina hasn’t threatened Red Chillies with a lawsuit but this could have far reaching effects for any other international star performing for SRK, according to the source. When contacted, a source from Red Chillies admitted JLo and her team are upset with what has happened. “It is true Jennifer cancelled the gig at the last moment because she didn’t like the deal. That she asked for a private chartered plane is however not true. Yes, she had asked for exclusive arrangements to be made for her nearly 44 dancers and accompanying staff, which included her entourage of around 20 people. She had asked for a personal chef, stylist, butler, security etc but these are demands that even Bollywood stars make when they perform abroad. Jennifer is extremely upset with the way things have panned out. There is an exchange of mails going on as we speak,” the source said. In reply to a query from TOI, a Red Chillies spokesperson said, “We are very excited about the opening ceremony of IPL Season 6. In the process of collaborating with different artistes to perform, from national and international platforms, we did consider Jennifer Lopez. Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts, it didn’t work out. We hope to work with her in future. We are excited about working with Pitbull. Rapper Pitbull has been roped in to replace Jennifer Lopez for the ceremony.

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Ryan Gosling recently got into a dust-up with a fashion photographer after he shouted “Hey, baby” at the actor’s girlfriend Eva Mendes. An eyewitness told the New York Post that Gosling, who was at the Bowery Hotel on Friday with Mendes for the premiere of their new movie, ‘The Place Beyond the Pines, completely flipped out, and it got heated. The source revealed that Gosling got in the guy’s face and said, ‘Who are you calling baby?’ Mendes reportedly had to jump in and calm everyone down before it came to fisticuffs. Ryan then made nice and shook the guy’s hand, the eyewitness added. NEWS DESk

‘Glee’ star Cory Monteith checks into rehab for substance abuse “Glee” actor Cory Monteith has checked into rehab for substance abuse. The 30-year-old “has voluntarily admitted himself into a treatment facility for substance addiction. He graciously asks for your respect and privacy as he takes the necessary steps towards recovery,” his rep tells omg! This isn’t the actor’s first time seeking treatment. Monteith shared past struggles with drug abuse during a 2011 interview with Parade magazine, revealing that he “had a serious problem” and that his mother and friends staged an intervention when he was 19, three years after he had dropped out of high school. “That’s when I first went to rehab. I did the stint but then went back to doing exactly what I left off doing,” he told Parade. Later, he stole money from a family member, an act he knew would get him caught. “I was so desperate I didn’t care. It was a cry for help,” he said in the 2011 interview. “I was confronted and I said, ‘Yeah, it was me.’ It was the first honorable, truthful thing that had come out of my mouth in years.” Monteith’s “Glee” co-star and girlfriend Lea Michele – whom he has been dating for more than a year – is proudly supporting her man. “I love and support Cory and will stand by him through this,” she told People after the news broke on Sunday. “I am grateful and proud he made this decision.” NEWS DESk

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INFOTAINMENT Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

Ancient mammoth tooth found

Some of the world's leading mammoth experts are flocking to Wandsworth after construction workers digging the controversial Thames Tunnel unearthed prehistoric teeth, bones and tusks. The ground-breaking discovery, thought to be from a woolly mammoth, was made this morning when diving teams began work under the Thames near Putney Bridge. It has long been known that herds of the huge animals roamed the area that is now London and would have congregated on the banks of the river to drink. Scientists believe it may be possible to clone one of the creatures within five years after finding "wellpreserved" bone marrow from a thigh bone. There is speculation that the London Zoo may be interested in acquiring several of them to compliment animals such as the Sumatran tigers which have proved a huge hit in recent weeks. Archaeologists from Russia, Japan and the US are expected to arrive in the UK within days to study the startling find, which could be 50,000-yearsold. Professor April Yumorina, a leading archaeologist from Russia's Sakha Republic Mammoth Museum, said it was an "exciting time" for scientists in her field. She added: "We absolutely cannot wait to examine this discovery. Mammoths were known to roam parts of the UK but no fossils have been excavated there for almost 200 years." NEWS DESk

The human body is the best picture of the human soul. –Ludwig Wittgenstein

Chinese herbs may reduce hot flashes

nEWS DESk

MONG women taking an herbal mix called Er-xian decoction (EXD), the frequency of daily hot flashes dropped by 62 percent, compared to a 52-percent drop seen among women taking a placebo. “It’s a modest effect, but not a zero effect,” said Katherine Newton, a researcher who has studied herbal menopause therapies at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle. Newton, who was not involved in the research, said she’d want to see more, long-term studies demonstrating that these herbs are safe before she would recommend them to women, but that the current study makes EXD look promising as an alternative menopause treatment. Hormone replacement therapy is considered the most effective therapy for menopause-related symptoms, but potential health risks from hormones have women looking for alternatives, said Yao Tong, a professor at the University of Hong Kong and one of the authors of the new study. Er-xian decoction (EXD) contains compounds extracted from the roots, stems or leaves of six Chinese herbs, processed into granules then packaged in sachets to be made into a tea. Although previous studies have found that EXD can help reduce hot flashes, they were not high quality experiments, the researchers write in the medical journal Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society. To get a more reliable assessment of how well EXD works, they asked 101 women in their 40s

and 50s, who were at or near menopause and experiencing symptoms, to drink an herbal formula twice a day for 12 weeks. Half of the women drank a 15 gram dose of EXD, while the other half drank a fake remedy that consisted of tea, caramel and an herbal compound called gardenin. For two weeks prior to the treatment, the women logged their hot flashes. Those in the EXD group reported an average of 5.8 hot flashes each day, and those in the other group experienced five daily. After the treatment, the number of hot flashes dropped to 2.2 in the EXD group and 2.5 in the other group. Three months after the treatment ended, hot flashes stayed put at 2.2 a day for women who had drank EXD, while they went up slightly to 2.9 a

day for women who had drank the placebo. “Menopausal flushing is notoriously responsive to fluctuations and placebo responses in clinical trials, yet they have rigorously demonstrated an improvement in favor of active treatment” with Er-xian decoction, said Dr. Alan Bensoussan, the director of the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney, in an email to Reuters Health. The severity of the hot flashes also declined to a greater degree in the EXD group, from a three out of four at the beginning of the study to a 1.6 at the end. Among women who drank the fake remedy, hot flash severity went from three to 2.3 on a four-point scale. The trend continued three months later, with hot flash

Battlefield 4 release date leaked in Microsoft gaffe?

youtube announces shutdown as an April fool’s prank

WASHIngtOn AgENCIES

lenovo set to design its own mobile processors

Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo will aid its mission to build a larger global presence in smartphones and tablets by designing its own line of processors, reports on Monday claimed. EE Times' sources said the company will hire 100 engineers by the middle of the year in order to aid a small chip engineering team it has kept on the books over the last decade. The decision may be in response to Samsung's reported refusal to supply Lenovo with the latest generation of Exynos 5 Octa processor, an eightcore beast currently in production. Until this point, the report claimed, Lenovo had enjoyed the freedom to pick and choose its processing suppliers, which have included Samsung Exynos, Intel Atom with the K800 and MediaTek. NEWS DESk

severity returning to baseline for women who drank the placebo, but only rising slightly to a 2.1 for women who drank EXD. “It’s a small effect, but a measurable effect,” said Newton, who was not part of the research. The researchers did not compare EXD to other menopause treatments, so it’s unclear how it would perform compared to them. But Newton told Reuters Health that the results put EXD “in the ball park of other studies of non-hormonal therapies that aren’t as effective as hormones but do show some promise.” Tong and her colleagues write in their report that traditional Chinese medicine views menopause symptoms as related to deficiencies in kidney yin and yang, which regulate the function of the body. “The composition of EXD includes herbs for enhancing both kidney yin and kidney yang to treat menopausal symptoms,” they write. Tong also said in an email to Reuters Health that her earlier research has shown EXD increases hormonal and anti-oxidant functions in the body. Er Xian preparations are available online, costing about $30 for 42, 2-gram packets. The problem, Bensoussan pointed out, is that the chemical composition can change from batch to batch and from supplier to supplier. Tong said a company has shown interest in developing the formulation she and her colleagues used in the study. However, Bensoussan, who was not involved in the research, noted, “The researchers have not reported accurate chemical profiling (definition) of the formula based on key putative bioactives or selected chemical markers in the formula. This is important for its reproducibility and for long term use in the marketplace.”

nEWS DESk The big news today is that the Battlefield 4 release date may have been leaked by a post on Microsoft’s official Xbox blog. Yes, the official Xbox blog! The game has been in the news ever since it was announced at the GDC last week and according to this new information, it is to arrive at the end of October 2013. It appears as though Microsoft has made a terrible goof-up, and the guys on the NeoGaf forums promptly picked up on it. Now the original story seems to have been appended, leading to more speculation that this is indeed the actual retail date, or something very close to the real thing. And as some members of the aforementioned forum point out, this is the same day on which Assassin’s Creed 4 is supposed to hit stores. And what can we say about BF4 itself? The game wowed everyone with it realistic environments and stunning graphics. Even though just a little had been revealed of the title in a short time, it caught practically everyone’s attention and had everybody talking about it. The title has us salivating at the prospect of

varied modes of combat. In fact, we just saw a 17minute trailer showcasing the title’s abilities and telling a story in a flashback style of events, something infused into the latest Gears of War, Judgment. It was also revealed that Drone Strike would be the premium DLC pushed with pre-orders of the game, in keeping with modern, real-world war strategies. So, what other slip-ups have we seen about the console in question? Well, some time ago we sat down with Ian Livingstone, who let it slide that he expects the next generation of home consoles to ban (or restrict, at the very least) used games from being able to run. Sony gave a clarification on its next PlayStation device, the PS4, saying that players would be able to run used games, but cheekily left out whether they would have to pay a small fee for the same. According to the talk (and the official Xbox blog), Battlefield 4 is to release on October 29, 2013 for Microsoft’s Xbox 360. It should be noted however, that EA and DICE are still to officially confirm anything on the subject, which may be a sensitive one, one that the two studios may not have been ready to reveal just yet.

In an elaborate April Fool’s prank, YouTube announced on Sunday that it was going dark for a decade, and that the site was merely an eight-year contest to find the best video. “It’s finally time to pick the winner,” YouTube representatives announced in a 3:32 minute video posted on its homepage. The message was simple: the world’s most popular video-sharing website would close at the end of the day to review all the video submissions it has received over the years, and would announce the best one in 2023. “We are so close to the end. Tonight at midnight, youtube.com will no longer be accepting entries. After eight amazing years, it is finally time to review everything that has been uploaded to our site and begin the process of selecting a winner,” said Tim Liston, named as “competition director.” YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar said that “we started YouTube in 2005 as a contest with a simple goal: to find the best video in the world.” Users have uploaded more than 70 videos every minute to the site, YouTube estimated. “I encourage everybody to watch as many videos as possible before YouTube deletes everything tonight,” said Antoine Dodson, who became an Internet sensation when a musical version of his 2010 TV interview about a house intrusion was posted on YouTube. “Distinguished” film critics, YouTube celebrities and some of the site’s “most prolific” commentators are on the judges’ panel, according to Liston. The Google-owned online video sharing venue said less than two weeks ago that more than a billion people now use YouTube each month, with viewing on smartphones helping drive growth. The YouTube team noted that nearly one out of every two people on the Internet visits the website, which has grown into a global hit since its launch. Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion and has yet to disclose whether the service has turned a profit. YouTube has gradually added professional content, such as full-length television shows and movies to its vast trove of amateur video offerings in a bid to attract advertisers.

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sPorTs Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

Cricket Australia today advised that Michael Clarke was hospitalised overnight with gastroenteritis – a CA statement said

Misbah not interested in making T20 comeback

urn art begins Ashes countdown SPORtS DESk With 100 days to go until the London Olympics, Seb Coe was planting trees at Kew Gardens, Weymouth council were building sandcastles and the London 2012 motto “inspire a generation” was born. Having arrived at the same landmark ahead of this summer’s Ashes, MCC will be hoping one of the world’s most iconic series can also enthuse new crop of cricketers. As a reminder of what is to come this summer and to launch Chance to Shine’s campaign to promote good sportsmanship in schools, the Lord’s outfield was given the Art Attack treatment, minus Neil Buchanan, as schoolchildren helped create a giant Ashes urn. 1,000 silver urns were used to balloon the smallest trophy in world sport to a giant 30 x 15 metre glittering outline on the Lord’s turf as the countdown to July 10 began, when the opening Ashes Test will take place at Trent Bridge. The new campaign will see 1,500 replica urns going around the country to 4,500 state schools where Chance to Shine cricket coaches will deliver hundreds of MCC Spirit of Cricket assemblies and lessons in good sportsmanship to around 400,000 children. “It may feel more like winter outside than summer but every cloud has a silver lining: there are just 100 days to go until the start of the Ashes,” Chance to Shine chief executive Wasim Khan, said. “And this summer there will not just be one Ashes series taking place but hundreds of them in schools up and down the country, thanks to our partnership with MCC. We’ll be using these replicas of the famous urn to inspire children to take up the game and to teach them about MCC’s Spirit of Cricket message: ‘play hard, play fair’.”

I dOn’t wAnt tO mAke A COmebACk IntO (InternAtIOnAl) t20 And I Am COnCentrAtIng On the CrICket whICh I Am plAyIng LAHORE STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN’S Test and one-day captain Misbah-ul-Haq says he will not return to international Twenty20 despite finishing as the top scorer in the premier domestic T20 competition. Misbah scored 206 runs at a staggering average of 103 from five matches and led Faisalabad Wolves to victory in Sunday’s final against Sialkot Stallions. Misbah says he will lead his hometown Wolves in this year’s Champions League. Misbah had been criticized by some for his slow batting in international matches, but said he

now intends to stick with an attacking style. “I will play aggressively in future, whether I meet success or not is a different story,” he said. Misbah, who turns 39 next month, quit international Twenty20 last year after playing 39 matches and scoring 788 runs with a decent average of 37.52. Mohammad Hafeez replaced Misbah as Pakistan’s T20 captain, but he was nowhere near to Misbah’s belligerent batting form in the domestic event at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Misbah’s 206 runs featured a dozen fours and as many sixes while Hafeez scored 145 runs from four matches with 20 boundaries and four sixes. Hafeez’s Lahore Lions which also had star players like Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Akmal and

Kamran Akmal was also knocked down by Misbah in the semifinal. But despite proving all his critics wrong, Misbah said he was content with playing in ODIs and Test matches for Pakistan. “I don’t want to make a comeback into (international) T20 and I am concentrating on the cricket which I am playing,” he said. “I will continue to play for Faisalabad because Faisalabad is my identity.” Signs of change in Misbah’s batting style first surfaced in the recent ODI series against South Africa which Pakistan lost 3-2. “If you have seen the last (ODI) series and in this tournament you would have seen a total change in my approach of captaincy and batting,” he said. “I have decided to play like this in the future too.” Pakistan’s next international assignment will be the Champions Trophy in June for which the team will play two ODIs against Scotland in Edinburgh and against Ireland in Dublin next month.

Mumbai Indians perfect combination to win maiden IPl: Pragyan ojha SPORtS DESk Bowlers have no place in the fans’ hearts as they are just looking for the big hits. While bowlers as a whole are treated with complete disdain by the batsmen in the shortest format of the game, things only get worse if you are a spinner. But then Mumbai Indians spinner Pragyan Ojha says that containing opposition batsmen in T20 cricket is indeed a challenge, but one that he relishes. Ojha was quoted by Mail Today as saying that with the IPL set to start in a couple of days, Ojha said that even though batsmen are looking to attack spinners every ball, it also opens the avenue of picking wickets. “There is no doubt that batsmen are looking to hit spinners out of the park in T20 cricket, but then it also helps the spinner because it means the batsman is in an attacking mode and he would take more chances than one normally does. As a result, if you can bowl in the right area and get some variation, it gets difficult for the batsman and brings the bowler into the game. “I believe that at the end of the day, whatever form of cricket it is, picking wickets is the best way to stop the flow of runs. So when it comes to T20 cricket, the chances of inducing a false shot is that much more as batsmen have very little time to settle down and then start hitting out,” he said. While people keep talking about how well-built players can actually intimidate opposition players - Chris Gayle being a good example - Ojha feels that cricket today is more a mental game than a physical one. “I feel not only cricket, but every sport nowadays is more about the mental aspect than the physical aspect. The reason is very simple. With the amount of technology that has come into our lives, it isn’t too difficult to find physical strengths and weaknesses of individuals. But reading someone’s mind is impossible. “So from a spinner’s perspective, I would say that while everyone knows that I am a left-arm spinner, nobody knows when I will bowl a flighted delivery and when I will bowl it fast. So a batsman needs to think when he is facing me just like I have to think how he is planning to attack me.

ryder’s absence will be felt: Chand ‘spirit of cricket won’t be ‘out of Coma’ Jesse Ryder curtailed by such prejudice’ Disappointed to Miss IPl Boycott IPl; Patriots request cricketers SPORtS DESk

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, has said the decision to exclude Sri Lankan players from the IPL matches in Chennai will not “curtail” the spirit of cricket. The players, he said, continue to feel “very welcome” in other parts of India. “Politics in this case has restricted our presence, our belief to play in every part of India. But I don’t think sports and spirit of cricket is ever going to be curtailed by such prejudice,” Sangakkara told PTI. “The build-up has been different and difficult for Sri Lankan players. But at the end of the day they are here to play IPL.” “The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has made it clear that no Sri Lankan players will be [playing] in Chennai. [But] India is much more than Chennai and Tamil Nadu, and I think the rest of India has been very welcoming of us.” The IPL’s governing council decided that the matches in Chennai will not feature any Sri Lankan cricketers or match officials, following growing political tensions, stemming from the treatment of certain ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka. Responding to comments from former players stating that the Sri Lankans should boycott the IPL due to the restrictions, Sangakkara said: “It has been a divisive issue back home as well. But this is not a nation versus nation issue. It’s only a state... and I don’t think it is the entire state [Tamil Nadu]. SPORTS DESk

Sri Lanka Cricket is getting ready to hold a special discussion with Sri Lankan cricketers participating in the Indian Premier League tournament. Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman Upali Dharmadasa told our news team that it hoped to hold discussions with the cricketers to arrive at a final decision since the IPL tournament is scheduled to begin within the next few days. The Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman said further that this discussion would be held today or tomorrow. Meanwhile, Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s T20 international skipper has rejected offers to play in the sixth edition of the IPL. Chandimal was not among the 13 Sri Lankan players originally contracted to play in the IPL auction. He is said to have rejected offers from Pune Warriors to fill in the void of the injured Australian captain Michael Clarke and from Delhi Daredevils to replace English batsman Kevin Pietersen, who is also injured. His rejection came amidst controversy over the Sri Lanka players’ participation in the Chennai matches of the IPL. Meanwhile, The National Patriotic Movement says that the IPL tournament held in India should be boycotted if Tamil Nadu continues to exert pressure in various ways. The NPM Secretary Dr. Wasantha Bandaara told our news team that the Foreign Affairs Ministry too did not seem to be working diplomatically at a time like this.

Delhi Daredevils batsman Unmukt Chand has said the absence of two key overseas players in Kevin Pietersen and Jesse Ryder will increase the responsibility on the rest of the team during the IPL. Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, was in a coma after he was assaulted outside a bar and has since begun the path to recovery. Pietersen had to withdraw from the tour of New Zealand early due to a knee injury and was ruled out of cricket for up to eight weeks. Daredevils are yet to name their replacements. “Jesse’s incident was unfortunate. We really feel sad about it. His absence would mean additional responsibility. He will be a big miss this time.” Chand said. “We have to rise to the occasion. It probably gives some of us Indian batsmen an opportunity to put our hands up and perform well.” Ryder was hospitalised on Wednesday for a fractured skull and a collapsed lung. Over the next few days he came out of coma and on Sunday was released from the intensive care unit. Chand made his IPL debut for Daredevils in 2011 but didn’t feature regularly over two seasons, having played only four games for them in total. He led India Under-19s to victory in the World Cup last year and featured in four Champions League games in South Africa later in the year. He was in good form in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, smashing back to back centuries for his state team, Delhi. In the Ranji Trophy, he hit 445 runs in eight matches with a century and three fifties.

WeLLIngTOn: Recovering rapidly from an assault that left him with life-threatening injuries, New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder is now “back on his feet” but is disappointed to miss out on his IPL stint this year. The 28-year-old, who had a fractured skull and a punctured lung after being brutally beaten outside a Christchurch bar here on Thursday last week, was brought out of induced coma on Saturday and shifted out of the ICU yesterday. The temperamental cricketer is now able to move a little inside his hospital room, according to his manager Aaron Klee. “Nothing’s changed medically in terms of official updates, but he’s just steadily improving and building up his strength. So it’s just resting time from here on in, but you know, it’s quite a remarkable improvement from 48 hours ago,” he told reporters at Wellington Airport today. “He’s absolutely talking, sitting there having conversations and he’s up on his feet, it’s nice to see the big guy back on his feet again.” The hard-hitting batsman was to leave for the IPL on Friday last week to play for the Delhi Daredevils. Klee said Ryder “was very excited about the IPL. He saw it as a great opportunity to get back on the world stage and do what he does best.” In March last year, Ryder had taken a break from international cricket due to his drinking problem which had landed him in trouble on previously as well. AgENCIES “I have played well in Ranji matches this season. I hope I will be able to retain the form I displayed in Ranji matches,” he said. “I would like to take the confidence and momentum from the couple of hundreds that I scored in [the T20s] in Indore last week. I hope I am able to replicate that in IPL.” While the IPL may not match up to playing for India, it still required players to perform at their best, Chand said: “Even though you are not playing for your country, you have to raise your game to international standards. Being able to play with some of the big names and with everyone watching you, it sure is a big platform.” SPORTS DESk

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We know we have good people, we know they are able to do a race winning car, we know that on development and on factory tools we are there. – Romain Grosjean Two matches decided in national veteran Cup LAhORe: SMP Stags and Textile Tigers notched up victories as two matches were decided in the 15thNational Veteran cricket cup here on Monday. In the first match Stags outplayed sister team Bucks by 43 runs at Stags Cricket Ground. SPM Stags batted first 265/5 in 30 overs. Zahoor Elahi batted well and struck unbeaten 101 runs . Kamran Khan, 91 and Shakeel Malik 25 runs were the other main scorers. SPM Bucks bowling NadeemBaig 2/46, Imtiaz Shah 1/47 & Ashfaq Aslam 1/34 wickets. In reply SPM Bucks reached 222/8 after 30 overs. Tariq Ramzan 50 runs not out, Ashfaq Aslam 43,Javeed Butt 36, Nadeem Aslam 20 & Ashfaq Aslam 25 runs not out. SPM Stags bowling Shahzad Butt 2/57, Javeed Khan 2/40, Rehan Rauf 1/36 & Shakeel malik1/49 wickets. Masood Khan and Muhammad Asif were the Umpires & AzharHussain was the scorer. In the 2nd match Textile Tigers crushed Sidddique Motors by nine wickets at Shah Faisal Cricket Ground.Siddique Motors batted first 198 all out in 28.5 overs. Azeem Aslam 53, BashirBhati 33, Sultan Maqsood 23 & Nadeem Noor 20 runs. Textile Tigers bowling Hafiz Saeed 3/24, Sohail Imran 3/32, Ali Amjad 2/12 & Tahir Irshad 1/40 wickets. In reply Textile Tigers answered with 199/1 in 27 overs. Karamat Ali batting well 105 runt not out, Muhammad Zahid 81 & Rizwan Nisar 10 runs not out. Siddique motors bowling Asad Shah 1/11 wickets. Qaisar Waheed and MuhammadAsif were the umpire & Waqar Ahmad was the scorer. STAFF REPORT

Faisalabad win Punjab Munir Dar Karate LAhORe: Showing all round skills and superior technique, martial art players from Faisalabad won the 20th Punjab Munir Ahmad Dar Karate championship at Sahiwal on Monday Punjab Karate Association organised the championship, both for men and women, in the memory of former hockey Olympian,late Munir Ahmad Dar who rendered meritorious services for the cause of the game in the role of President, Pakistan Karate Federation. Faisalabad assembled 100 points to remain a visible force in the two day meet in in which Sheikhupuratook the second place with 70 points followed by Lahore which grabbed 50 points. Khaniwalgirls surprised most fancied rivals by winning the women part of the championship having won 25 points as Lahore finished at second place with 20 and Sialkot contended with third place taking 15 points. STAFF REPORT

sPorTs

Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

Pacer Junaid eyes Champions Trophy LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

ACE bowler, Junaid Khan said that he has turned down the offers to play in the county cricket to remain focus on Champions trophy to be played in England this summer. “I have no plan to play county cricket because I want to be in best shape and top form and fitness for the champions trophy, ‘he said here on Monday. He said in the past he had a stint with Lancashire, and recently got good offers from Durham and a few other county teams, and he has turned down the offers to remain focus in the line of national duty . The 23-year-old left arm quick bowler, said that he has taken into consideration the advise of the Pakistan Cricket to avoid

the injury factor and to fully prepare for the Champions Trophy. Junaid who hurt his leg during the recently concluded tour of South Africa said it was a very beneficial experience to lead a team in the super eight T20 tournament.’ It was a very good learning experience and helped me a lot to learn more about the leadership qualities ‘. He said he would be aiming to give his one hundred percent during upcoming national departmental One-day tournament. He was upbeat when told that former pace greatWasim Akram may impart tips to the pace bowlers at the national training camp for the build up of the team for Champions trophy. ‘I am eager to learn finer points of the pace bowling from him (Wasim) and it would say it is going to be an ideal opportunity to polish my skills with the help of vast experience of swing master Wasim,’ he asserted.

Mushfiqur blames seamers for defeat

national women Cricket from 4th LAhORe: The eight edition of the national women cricket Championship organized by PCB Women Wing will be held from April 4 at Lahore and Muridke. Fifteen Teams including Twelve Regional & Three Departmental teams (ZTBL, HEC & Pakistan Universities) teams will be participating in this championship whose final will be played on April 13 at Muridke. The pattern of this event has been changed this year. The teams are divided into 2 pools. In Pool A matches will be played on league basis and the top team on points will be the winner. In pool B the teams are divided in B1 and B2. The winner of B1 and B2 will play the final. At the conclusion of the event the team which is ranked last in pool A will play next year in Pool B and the winner of Pool B will play in Pool A. The draws are as follows:-Pool A, ZTBL, Lahore, Pakistan Universities, Multan, Karachi and Faisalabad. The Pool B has been further divided in, B 1 and B 2. And following is the formation of these pools, B1,Islamabad, Pak Board and Bahawalpur and Peshawar, B2, Sialkot, Hyderabad,Abbottabad and Hyderabad.

PALLEkELE AgENCIES

After conceding the high-scoring one-off Twenty20 in Pallekele, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim criticised his bowlers’ work ethic, and said it was time the country takes a proper look at the state of fast bowling. “The bowlers have to work a lot

harder,” Mushfiqur said. “What they are doing right now, is not enough. I wouldn’t entirely hold it against them but maybe the team management is to share the blame too. “I would be guilty if I blamed just an individual. If our pace bowlers had backed up the other bowlers, we would have a slightly different series, especially in the Tests. We are giving them enough chances, but they are not giving us the results. Our next tour is to Zimbabwe where we can’t experiment. It is a big series for us, so we have to come to a decision.” Bangladesh were left wondering how some decisions could have changed the course of the game. While the decision to pick a pace bowler with an ordinary record in limited-overs cricket left tongues hanging, the umpiring errors also added to the visitors’ misery. On a wicket that was perfect for batsmen to tee off, Shahadat Hossain had a forgettable evening. He wasted the new ball by giving Kusal Perera far too much width, and bowled short with a pace that was hardly threatening. It contributed to the body language of the rest of the team

dropping as they fielded poorly and gave away 26 extras. The 54 runs he conceded in four overs highlighted Bangladesh’s pace bowling weakness in the last 18 months. It has spewed over on this tour where it has given Mushfiqur headaches. However, one would have expected Mushfiqur to go with spin even on a good batting wicket. He had the left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain at his disposal but bizarrely went with Shahadat, a seamer who hadn’t played an international Twenty20 for more than three years, and someone who was mostly benched by Khulna Royal Bengals in the BPL earlier this year. “We probably needed a front-line bowler in Twenty20s. Abul Hasan is injured, so we had no other option,” Mushfiqur said. “I tried Ziaur [Rahman] who bowled well in one game, didn’t bowl or bat well in the third game. “There was nothing in the track for the spinners and you had to bowl the quicks early. [Kusal] Perera played well, they took us apart in the first six overs.” Despite Sri Lanka’s onslaught, Bangladesh were on course to force a tight game.

Gibbs’ experience will help Titans jOHAnnESBURg AgENCIES

The Titans have signed former Proteas opener Herschelle Gibbs to replace Scott Styris and help fire them into the final of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge against the Highveld Lions. “Obviously Scott Styris played a big role for us in the middle-order, and we were looking at a way to keep our side as strong as possible,” Titans coach Matthew Maynard said on Saturday. “I spoke to Herschelle prior to the tournament, but he was obviously recovering from his hamstring (injury) at that stage. Then I spoke to him again this week and he said yes. “I worked with Herschelle at Glamorgan, and I thoroughly enjoyed what he brought to the table in terms of his knowledge of the game, his skill with the bat and his ability in the field. “So it’s great to have him on board.” The Titans booked their place in Wednesday’s qualifier at Buffalo Park against the Warriors courtesy of four successive wins down the closing stretch, and will go into the decider full of confidence. Styris was instrumental in their success but the former New Zealand batsman is no longer available for the competition. Gibbs boasts a wealth of T20 experience, having completed 162 matches at top-class level, and he has appeared in competitions such as the Friends Life T20, the Champions League T20 and Australia’s Big Bash. He has amassed 28 fifties and a century in that time, and, with a strike rate of 125, he poses a potentially lethal threat to the opposition. “Everything he does is 100

Andy waller set to become Zimbabwe coach SPORtS DESk Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) is set to announce former international Andy Waller as the new national coach. Waller will begin the job ahead of the home series against Bangladesh, which begins on April 17. He was the preferred candidate from a shortlist that included assistant coach Stephen Mangongo and current batting coach Grant Flower. The fate of the rest of Zimbabwe’s support staff is not known, ESPNcricinfo has learned. Bowling coach Heath Streak has not been informed whether his contract, which expired yesterday, will be renewed and he is not part of preparations for the series against Bangladesh. Neither Streak nor Flower traveled with the team on their recent visit to the West Indies because of a change to ZC’s policy on touring parties. Waller held the role previously, in 2009, when he was coaching manager of Zimbabwe. He had also been in charge of Namibia and the Mid-West Rhinos franchise. His first task will be to reinvigorate the players, as Zimbabwe prepare to host an international side for the first time in 18 months.

young Model Town crush Mughalpura whites LAhORe: Young Model Town Club has crushed Mughalpura Whites by 2 wickets in the initial round of 28th M Yaseen Akhter Memoroial Cricket Event played at Model Town ground on Monday afternoon. Fine bowlong by Hassan Rizwan was the main feature of the match. Scores: Mughalpura Whites 124/8 in 20 overs. Zain ul Husnain 30, Kamran 20, Sabtain Serwer 15, Faheem 21. Hassan Rizwan 3/22, Ahmed 2/23, Saif 1/26, Ali Raza 1/22, Majid 1/21. Young Model Town Club 125/8 in 19.4 overs. Shah Noor 11, Mubashar 24, HAssan 14, Ijaz 24, Ali Raza 24. Riaz uddin 2/14, M Ishtiaq 2/24, Zainul husnain 2/26, M Awais 2/23. STAFF REPORT

miles per hour,” Maynard said. “He’s got loads of energy and is obviously still a top fielder too. He moves like a 20-year-old, not a man who is in his late thirties. “He reminds me a lot of Viv Richards in that sense. The impact he can have on the dressing room is also a factor as well, because he’s an incredibly positive person, and I believe a great signing for us at this stage of the competition.” Gibbs has not played competitive cricket since his last outing for the Perth Scorchers on January 16, and some inconsistent performances in the Big Bash might suggest he was something of a wild card at such a crucial stage of the competition. However, Maynard was not concerned over issues of form, and

believed the 39-year-old brought more to the table than just runs. “His form doesn’t concern me at all. When you are a player like Herschelle, you’ve probably hit 70,000 balls in your career. So the fact that he hasn’t played in a couple of months doesn’t concern me. He won’t have much to think about, just a see-it-and-hit-it philosophy.” Maynard said he signed Gibbs because of his energy in the field, his impact on the dressing room and his ability with the bat. The winner of the qualifier will also earn a place in the lucrative Champions League later this year. The Titans coach believed his team would keep their nerves in check, and he was looking for his charges to make a good start when the game got underway.

Muslimabad Gym down Prince Club LAhORe: Muslimabad Gym has marched into the 2nd round of 16th Tauseef Trophy cricket championship when they beat Prince Club by 6 wickets played at Model Town Club ground on Monday morning. Fine half centuries by Mudasar Zaidi and Kashif Rasheed were the main feature of the match Scores: Prince Club 147/7 in 20 overs. Ammar Tariq 36, Siddiq Khan 36, Ai Shah 21, M Arif 13, Mushtaq Ali 11. Khuram Humayon 2/32, Nasir 1/9, M Adeel 1/20, 3 batsmen runout. Muslimabad Gym 149/4 in 18.3 overs. Awais Asghar 16, Mudasar Zaidi 50, Kashif Rashed 51, Ali Zaidi 10. Sameer Akram 2/11, Sadam ul Haq 1/17. STAFF REPORT

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The Asian Tour has been a fantastic place for me to be in. This is the Tour in the region and in my eyes it is the only Tour in the region – Scott Hend

17 S

sPorTs Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

Robson, Raymond defeated in Miami final MIAMI: Laura Robson could not add a second British success in Miami as she and partner Lisa Raymond lost in straight sets in the Sony Open women’s doubles final. While Andy Murray was victorious in the men’s singles competition, Robson and American Raymond were defeated 61 7-6 (7/2) by Russia’s Nadia Petrova and Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik. The match was over inside an hour and 10 minutes, with the victorious pair converting five from 10 break points. AgENCIES

Siem misses out on Masters spot MOROccO: Germany’s Marcel Siem has missed out on a US Masters debut by just 0.03 world ranking points despite his win in the Hassan Trophy. Siem won by three shots in Morocco but then faced an anxious wait for the results of the Houston Open to see if he had moved into the world’s top 50 to secure a trip to Augusta. And his hopes were dashed when American Russell Henley carded a closing 68 to finish joint 45th and drop from 49th to 50th in the rankings. Henley, already in the Masters thanks to winning the Sony Open in January, has a points average of 2.37 compared to 2.34 for Siem. Speaking after his win but before the tournament had finished, Siem said of a possible Masters debut: “It’s been my dream since I was a kid so if that comes true it will be unbelievable. It would be wonderful to play the Masters. “I just want to be on that ground. I’m not going to cry but it would be very emotional. I remember as a kid watching Bernhard Langer winning it. I also loved Greg Norman and remember how unlucky he was there.” Former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who started last week in 50th place, missed the cut in Houston to end his hopes of making the Masters. AgENCIES

Faislabad Wolves pose with the trophy. STAFF PHOTO

Murray rises to number two after Miami win

Alvarado exacts Rios revenge

LAS VegAS: Mike Alvarado gained revenged for his defeat to Brandon Rios in 2012 with a unanimous points victory in their rematch on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Alvarado provided a strong finish in the closing stages of the 12-rounder to get the nod 115-113 on two of the scorecards, the third judge at ringside scoring it 114-113 in his favour. The result means the 32-yearold American now holds the interim WBO light-welterweight title. It also avenges his loss to the same opponent five months ago the only blemish so far on his 34-fight record. Rios had stopped his compatriot in the seventh last October and a similar outcome looked a possibility as the pair stood toe-to-toe in the opening stages of the bout at Mandalay Bay. However Alvarado switched his strategy during the middle rounds, instead opting to box and move as Rios chased him around the ring. His switch proved decisive as he overcame a nasty cut on his forehead to finish much the stronger then immediately offered Rios the chance to fight again. “Brandon gave me a shot to redeem myself,” Alvarado said. “I’ll give him a shot for the trilogy.” The previously unbeaten Rios was also keen for a third chapter, though promoter Bob Arum suggested both boxers might have to wait a little while yet to square off again. “Are these guys going to fight again?” Arum asked. “Of course they will. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be next.” On the same card rising star Terence Crawford earned a unanimous and comfortable points verdict over Breidis Prescott. AgENCIES

MIAMI AgENCIES

NDY Murray moved to number two in the world as he sealed the Sony Open title in a gruelling encounter with David Ferrer in Miami. Murray was far from his best for long periods, losing the first set and seeing his own serve frequently broken by his Spanish opponent. But the Scot clung on for over two hours and 45 minutes, staving off a match point late in the third set, to claim a 2-6 64 7-6 (7/1) win, climbing above Roger Federer in the rankings and lifting the trophy for the second time in his career. There were a total of 15 breaks of serve in a match that was both ragged and fascinating. But despite the satisfying result and the rankings boost it brings, Murray admitted he would need to do better with his serve if he was to continue winning. “I served poorly. If I’d served better I could have made it easier and that’s something I need to do better in the clay court season,” he told Sky Sports 1. “This week I did a lot of things well but I need to serve better. If I serve better I’ll be able to win matches like today [Sunday] more comfortably. It’s easier to return on clay so it’s even more important

to serve well.” Although eager to improve, Murray also suggested he is already on an upward curve. “It was a strange match. I just managed to fight well in the end in incredibly difficult conditions. “That sort of match a couple of years ago I probably would have lost...I was up a break three or four times in the third set and kept letting him back in through some loose shots. “I tried to keep fighting, chased down every ball, made it as hard for him as possible. “There was a lot riding on the match and I was glad to get through in the end.” Murray looked as if he would start well but threw away two precious break points in the opening game. Ferrer was more decisive when he had the chance to take the initiative and promptly went 2-0 ahead. Only a wonderful winner from Murray stopped Ferrer taking the third game to love but it was a rare moment of joy for the Scot as he went 30 and then 4-0 down, the latter following an unsuccessful challenge on his own game point. At 5-0 down Murray finally got on the scoreboard, winning the next two games, but his next service game was the worst yet and he gave up the first set on a double fault. The second set began in similar fashion to the first, Murray immediately creating break point only to let it go. But he claimed the next two games, including his first break of the match, to

move ahead. Roared on by a supportive crowd Ferrer clawed back a break to take it to 44, only for Murray to break again before serving out the set and force a decider. The third set was captivating as both men battled wind and humidity but it lacked precision as serve was broken time and again. Indeed, the first six games went against the server. Murray three times broke Ferrer only to hand back the initiative on each occasion. Both men were short of their best, with unforced errors and net shots galore. The sequence ended when Ferrer held the seventh and Murray duly followed suit, making it 4-4 with a classy backhand pass. Murray looked to have made the decisive move when he took a pair of crucial points to break once again and leave himself 5-4 up and serving for the win. Yet Ferrer defied, putting together a run of four points from five to break Murray and restore parity. After holding for the second time, Ferrer reached match point on the Murray serve and would have taken the win had a dramatic challenge gone his way. Instead, Murray’s shot was just in at the base line and he forced the tie-break. With Ferrer wilting, Murray summoned one last push and won the first four points on his way to a 7-1 tie-break success that brought a second Sony Open success and second place in the ATP standings.

Shannon has a plan to take down Bashir

SIngAPORe: Thai MMA fighter Shannon Wiratchai is hoping that his adoption of Judo will pay dividends again when he fights Bashir Ahmad at ONE FC Kings & Champions. Hailing from Phuket’s Tiger Muay Thai gym, the 24-year-old has been involved in three fights in his career and has yet to be beaten on the professional circuit. Last year, he also made his ONE FC debut against Evolve’s Mitch Chilson in the Pride of a Nation tournament but the fight was deemed a no-contest after a review by the officials found that his use of a soccer kick was illegal. Subsequently, the rules have been amended and they now allow kicks to be levelled at opponents even if they’re on the ground following a takedown. At Friday’s Kings & Champions event, set to be televised live on STAR Sports to 28 countries around the world, he will be up against Pakistani MMA pioneer Bashir who is a relative unknown and will officially be making his international pro debut. However, it could be Bashir who might be in for a surprise as Shannon is a Thai fighter who deliberately sought to pursue Judo in a country predominantly known for its Muay Thai training. His unique approach to the fight could very well give him the initiative he needs to remain unbeaten for the fourth time of asking. “I don’t value it [Muay Thai] as highly as my countrymen. Mixed martial arts is more than just striking and I have always felt more comfortable in Judo,” he told FOX Sports last week. “I have also trained in an ancient Chinese martial art called Baguazhang. It is not like I completely tuned Muay Thai out of my training. “Due to my diverse background, I have a more unorthodox skillset that might confuse a lot of people. That will give me time to establish my gameplan and force my opponent into uncomfortable situations. AgENCIES

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The coach has been rotating the strikers for two years now, so we’re all perfectly relaxed about it – Fabio Quagliarella

sPorTs

Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

wAtCh It LIve STAR SPORTS AFC Cup: Persibo v Sunray Cave

01:25 PM

STAR SPORTS AFC Champions League: Urawa Diamonds v Jeonbuk

03:55 PM

STAR SPORTS Italian Serie A: Sampdoria vs. Inter Milan

09:55 PM

Moura wary of Barca, not just “genius” Messi SPORtS DESk

LAHORE: Faislabad Wolves Captain Misbah ul Haq receive the winner’s T20 Super Eight trophy from PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf. STAFF PHOTO

Thailand Championship to return in December SPORtS DESk The third edition of the Thailand Golf Championship will be held at the Amata Spring Country Club from December 1215 and offer a total prize fund of US$1 million. The Asian Tour’s full-field tournament has grown rapidly since its inaugural year in 2011, attracting many of golf’s leading names such as Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan, , Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke, John Daly, Ryo Ishikawa, Sergio Garcia, Thongchai Jaidee and Nicolas Colsaerts. Rated as one of the finest championship courses in Asia, Amata Spring has contributed immensely towards the development of professional golf in Thailand and Asia where it has also hosted the Open Championship International Final Qualifying - Asia, Royal Trophy and World Salute King Bhumibol’s Skins Games which featured world number one Tiger Woods. Westwood won the inaugural Thailand Golf Championship in majestic style in 2011 when he stormed to a comfortable seven-shot victory after opening his campaign with a stunning 12-under-par 60, which matched the Asian Tour’s 18hole record. “It was one of the best rounds I’ve ever played,” recalled Westwood. “I was just on a roll. I hit a lot of fairways and my putting was good. “I love Amata Spring as its layout suits my style of play and the greens are fast and firm,” added the Englishman of Amata Spring which has been voted the Best Course on the Asian Tour by the players in 2011 and 2012. Last December, 2011 Masters Tournament champion Schwartzel romped to a commanding 11-shot victory at the Thailand Golf Championship to end a frustrating 20-month title drought. The 28-year-old South African completed an imperious start-to-finish victory with a final round 65, which made up for his runner-up finish behind Westwood in 2011. Schwartzel’s winning total of 25under-par 263 total saw him pick up his first win on the Asian Tour. “The golf course is always in good shape and it is a good test,” said Schwartzel. Japanese star Ishikawa had only good words for the impressive Amata Spring course. “I enjoyed playing at Amata Spring and I am always impressed with its world-class layout,” he said.

Man united’s double hopes sunk by Ba strike StAMFORD BRIDgE

AgENCIES

HELSEA ended Manchester United’s hopes of a first double in 14 years as Demba Ba’s spectacular strike secured a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. Ba volleyed in a Juan Mata pass four minutes into the second half to send Chelsea into the semi-finals and deny runaway Barclays Premier League leaders United a Wembley clash with derby rivals Manchester City. Petr Cech made a stunning 61stminute save from Javier Hernandez and Chelsea held on to stay on course for a fifth FA Cup triumph in seven seasons, with City their last-four opponents on April 14. For the Blues, beaten by Southampton on Saturday, it was a much needed fillip ahead of Thursday’s Europa League tie with Rubin Kazan and means a season of disharmony could end on a high. All of United’s energies, meanwhile, are now on wrapping up the Premier League title after their hopes of a first double since the 1999 treble-winning season ended. United appeared to be cruising into the last four with a 2-0 halftime lead at Old Trafford, but Chelsea responded to force a replay which was squeezed into a hectic calendar. Both sides made seven changes for their second game in three days, with Wayne Rooney absent for the visitors. United, who won at Sunderland on Saturday, reported Rooney picked up a groin problem on England duty but will be fit for the Manchester derby on April 8. Rio Ferdinand, who withdrew from England duty and is the most unwelcome of visitors in this part of London, was in the United starting XI, but John Terry and Frank Lampard were only on the bench for Chelsea’s 55th game of the season and second of six games in 16 days. Rafael Benitez and Sir Alex Ferguson shook hands in a brief pause in hostilities before proceedings began. The United manager was accused by Benitez of snubbing the Spaniard at Old

Paris St Germain’s Lucas Moura has described Lionel Messi as a “genius” but knows the Argentina ace is not the only Barcelona player PSG need to be concerned about. Messi earned himself another place in the record books on Saturday after scoring for the 19th successive La Liga game during Barca’s 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo. In doing so he became the first player to net against every other side in the Spanish top flight in consecutive matches, while taking his season tally in La Liga to 42. Brazil international Lucas admits he is a big admirer of his fellow South American but is keen to point out Barca are no oneman team. “Messi is a genius, that says it all. I’m a big fan of Messi. He’s the best player in the world right now and one of the best that I’ve seen play,” he told El Mundo Deportivo. “It’s also true that to get to the level that he’s got to, he’s had high-quality teammates by his side. “They have a very solid defence and players who can make things tough for you in the middle of the pitch like Xavi, (Andres) Iniesta and the indefatigable Dani Alves. They are all great players, Barcelona have a team full of great players.” Having overcome a 2-0 first-leg deficit to knock out AC Milan in the previous round, Barca will go into their last-eight showdown with PSG in confident mood. However Lucas, who moved to France from Sao Paulo in January, is optimistic his side can cause an upset, especially as they have star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic available.

Bolt shy of record in opener Trafford in the original tie. The opening 20 minutes were even, with United fielding Antonio Valencia at right-back and Phil Jones in midfield, the latter tasked with nullifying the threat of Eden Hazard in particular. Chelsea were forced into an early change as Ashley Cole pulled up with a hamstring problem as Danny Welbeck rounded him in the 21st minute. Ryan Bertrand came on. Hernandez, who has been prolific against the Blues with seven goals in 10 games, created space for himself in the area but slipped before he could shoot. Despite the close attention of Jones, the impressive Hazard was Chelsea’s most dangerous outlet and he fashioned an opportunity for Ba to shoot, only for David de Gea to save with his feet. As Terry warmed up along the touchline to abuse from the visiting supporters, David Luiz ballooned a freekick over. Nani shot narrowly wide from long range before Hazard and Mata combined and the Belgian fired over. Hernandez had Cech in trouble after 41 minutes. De Gea’s long kick found the Mexican, who, with Bertrand standing off, unleashed a swerving 25yard shot which wrong-footed Cech but the goalkeeper was able to get a firm boot to the ball. There was further defensive discomfort for Chelsea two minutes later as Luiz and Bertrand attempted to sweep up a loose ball. Nani pushed his way by Bertrand,

who reached to respond and missed, but referee Phil Dowd was unmoved by the Portuguese’s penalty appeal. The stalemate was broken when Mata created Ba’s fifth Chelsea goal. The Spaniard lofted the ball over the top of the United defence for Ba, who stole in behind Ferdinand to acrobatically volley it over De Gea. With 29 minutes to go United thought they had equalised when Hernandez met a Welbeck cross, but Cech made a stunning save to palm the ball over. Had the ball hit Hernandez’s head, rather than shoulder, United would have been level. The Mexican could only smile ruefully. Chelsea responded. Mata shot into the side netting before Hazard intercepted a loose Michael Carrick pass but could only drag his shot wide across goal. It was an uncharacteristic miss and a let off for United, who sent on Ashley Young to join fellow substitutes Robin van Persie and Ryan Giggs for the closing 10 minutes. Still Chelsea forged forward, seeking a second to seal their progress, with Mata and Oscar shooting wide. After 88 minutes United again had the opportunity to force extra-time. Young fed Patrice Evra, who pulled back a cross for Van Persie but the Dutchman fired well over. After Mata shot at De Gea, Van Persie headed over a Young cross as United were left beaten and frustrated.

RIO De JAneRIO: Usain Bolt fell just short of his 150 metres world mark as he opened his season with victory on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. The six-time Olympic champion crossed the line in 14.42 seconds on a four-lane track assembled on Rio’s iconic beachfront. Bolt’s time was 0.07secs shy of the world-best mark he set on the streets on Manchester in 2009. Local hopeful Bruno Lins was second in 14.91, ahead of Ecuador’s Alex Quinones and Daniel Bailey of Antigua and Barbuda. “It was my first sprint race, definitely a good start for the season,” Bolt told reporters. “I’m looking forward to coming down here in 2016 (for the Olympics).” AgENCIES

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Tuesday, 2 April, 2013

Baloch nationalists flex muscle to regain lost territory QUEttA SHAHZADA ZULFIQAR

ALOCH nationalist political parties, which had previously boycotted the 2008 general elections, announced their participation in the upcoming polls after sending a clear message to the establishment and the agencies, holding them responsible if any harm came to any candidate in any way. All Baloch nationalist parties had boycotted the last general elections on the grounds that during General (R) Pervez Musharraf’s reign, fair, free and impartial elections were not possible in Balochistan with an ongoing military operation in the province after the killing of veteran Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti. However, Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Balochistan National Party (BNP) and Na-

tional Party (NP) have already started preparations for the elections, while the BNP has also changed its game plan after the party’s chief Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal ended his five-year-long self-imposed exile and came back home on March 24. ‘MIShAPS’ FOR The nATIOnALISTS: In a curious case of political mishaps, in 2008 JWP’s chief Talal Bugti, son of the slain Nawab Akbar Bugti, could not contest the general elections from any other constituency except Dera Bugti, where the army was in full control and was busy backing those candidates who supported them. The family members of Nawab Bugti had been barred from entering Dera Bugti, thus the electoral field was left wide open for their traditional opponents who backed by the powers that be were determined to alter the balance of power in the region.

It is pertinent to mention that the JWP did not have a single potential nominee who could win a seat for the party in the upcoming polls. LeSSOnS LeARnT: Learning from the emerging trends, the NP and BNP were likely to enter into an electoral alliance as both had been forced to join hands for the general elections against a common enemy, namely the establishment and the Baloch separatist forces. The BNP has wholly committed itself to approach the general elections with full force, as previously around three dozen leaders and workers of the BNP had been killed during the last five years in the province, mostly by Musla Defa, a pro-Pakistan militant group said to have been propped up by the intelligence agencies. In addition, some six party leaders, including Maula Bakhsh Dashti had been gunned

down by Baloch Liberation Front last year alone. BNP chief left the country in 2008 after his release from the Karachi prison. He was put behind bars, mostly in solitary confinement, on charges of holding two personnel of the military intelligence establishment in illegal confinement for a few hours. Meanwhile, Mir Jawaid Mengal, the son-in-law of separatist leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh and the elder brother of BNP leader Akhtar Mengal, was accused of running a separatist group namely Lashkar-e-Balochistan in Khuzdar area. To add to the already existing confusion in the province, Baloch Liberation Army and Baloch Liberation Front considered both the BNP and the NP as pro-establishment groups that were serving the interests of Punjab dominated civil and military leadership. Although participation of Balochistan’s

nationalist political forces would hardly contribute towards the government’s efforts to improve the law and order situation in the province by thwarting the scourge of militancy, it would at least help in creating the impression that the Baloch political forces actually believed in supporting parliamentary politics. In a move to bring about changes in the political landscape, the BNP and the NP have put up candidates throughout Balochistan and are expected to win around three to four, out of the total 14 National Assembly seats, and six to eight, out of the total 65 provincial assembly seats. It was widely believed by the Baloch political forces that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which could form a coalition government in Balochistan after coming into power at the centre, would take in nationalist forces into an alliance.

Javed Iqbal likely to become Punjab chief secy LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Senior bureaucrat Javed Iqbal is likely to become the chief secretary of Punjab. The formal announcement in this regard is expected late Tuesday, sources told Pakistan Today on Monday. Iqbal is currently serving in the Economic Affairs Divisions secretary. He is one of the bureaucrats with most service track record outside Punjab. Before him, the Election Commission of Pakistan appointed Qamar Zaman Chaudhry as the CS without involving the federal or provincial governments. His appointment raised many eyebrows among the political and bureaucratic circles as it fell short of observing the set rules involved for the posting. Some circles even bracketed Chaudhry with the PML-N, saying he is close to the Sharifs. Later, Chaudhry refused to become the CS. Meanwhile, political parties are getting impatient to see a reshuffle in Punjab. It is expected that the new chief secretary would be the one to initiate the process. According to rules, the bureaucratic changes can only be made if they are being recommended by the provincial government.

CHAMAN: A man walks by US army vehicles loaded on the trucks waiting for clearance at Pakistani security checkpost on Pak-Afghan border at Chaman on Monday. INP

Gen wyne, Gen oZEl discuss geostrategic situation

MQM announces ‘people-centric’ election manifesto kARACHI STAFF REPORT

HE Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Monday announced its manifesto for the election, laying emphasis on reforming education, health, economy, governance, corruption, terrorism, law and order, poverty alleviation, unemployment, industries and labour sectors. While announcing the manifesto at party headquarter Nine Zero, MQM Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar said his party had been striving to abolish the archaic feudal system that gripped the country for a long time. “Guided by the philosophy of realism and practicality the MQM is striving to change Pakistan according to the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal into a welfare state where everyone has equal rights and there is no discrimination on basis of colour, race, language, region, beliefs, sect, religion, and all other prejudices.” “All political and religious parties announce their manifestos at the time of elections. Fancy promises are made but the real test begins after coming into

power when the manifesto has to be implemented and promises made to the public have to be fulfilled. Every party talks about the poor people and gets votes from them but if the political parties that have ruled the country many times actually implemented their manifesto, the situation of the country and the people would have been different,” he said. He said the MQM believed that the circumstances of the poor and middle-class people could not change unless they sent leaders from within themselves to assemblies. “We believe that only those people can understand and solve the problems being faced by the people who have themselves faced those problems in their life. Those who have not faced any problems in their life can neither understand nor find solutions for the problems that are faced by the people,” Sattar said. The salient points of the manifesto prepared by the MQM for the purpose of solving the problems of the people of Pakistan are as follows. eDucATIOn: Dual systems of education would be abolished and Urdumedium institutions would be brought at par with English-medium institutions. Budgetary allocation for education

would be raised from 2.2 percent to 5 percent of the GDP. Madaris (religious seminaries) would be brought in the mainstream system of education. heALTh: Budgetary allocation for providing better healthcare facilities would be increased from 0.6 percent to 5 percent of the GDP. Hospitals would be built in tehsils, districts and villages for making health facilities accessible to all. Training institutions would be established in each district for nurses, health visitors and other paramedical staff. ecOnOMy: Prices of oil, petrol and other items would be gradually reduced for controlling inflation and improving the standard of living of common people. Energy crisis would be solved and the issue of circular debt in the power sector would be resolved. Incentives will be given for progress in the industrial sector in order to create maximum employment opportunities. uRBAn DeVeLOPMenT: A single administrative agency would be established in each city and district that would work under an elected city or district nazim. Traffic management will be taken back from the police department and it will be brought under the control of city

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

CMYK

RAWALPInDI

or district governments. AgRIcuLTuRe: Agrarian reforms would be introduced and a limit will be placed on maximum land holdings of an individual. The surplus land would be distributed among landless peasants and farmers. An alternate system would be established for providing quality seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to farmers at their door-step. Short-term loans would be given to farmers and they would be encouraged in forming cooperative marketing societies in order to eliminate the role of the middle-man. gOOD gOVeRnAnce: All secret funds at the disposal of president, prime minister, provincial chief ministers and ambassadors will be brought under public scrutiny through the Public Accounts Committee. Honest and dedicated government officers would be appointed. The offices of federal and provincial ombudsman, accountant general, anticorruption department, public accounts committee and monitoring teams of prime minister and chief ministers will be headed by elected public representatives in order to make them more efficient and effective. Editor: Arif Nizami

APP

Turkish Armed Forces Commander General Necdet OZEL, heading a high-powered delegation, called on Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman (CJCSC) General Khalid Shameem Wyne on Monday. The two discussed matters relating to bilateral interests between the two countries with an emphasis on the geo-strategic situation of the region, said an ISPR press release. Earlier, on his arrival, Gen OZEL was presented the Guard of Honour by a smart contingent of the armed forces. Later, on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s president, in recognition for his services in bringing the two armed forces closer and improving relations between Turkey and Pakistan, he was conferred the award of Nishan-e-Imtiaz (military) at a graceful ceremony held at Joint Staff Headquarters. Gen OZEL conveyed his greetings and thanks to the people, armed forces and government of Pakistan for the recognition of his contribution in furthering bilateral ties and defence cooperation between the two countries. A number of senior officers from the armed forces were also present on the occasion. Pub-