Canadian Pakistani Times

Canadian Pakistani Times

Quetta blast’s victims laid to rest in Hazara graveyard

Mass burials for 89 victims of a bomb attack targeting Shiite Muslims began Wednesday after three days of nationwide protests at the government's failure to tackle sectarian violence.

Tensions were running high as up to 4,000 mourners gathered to bury the dead in the southwestern city of Quetta, and some pelted a government official's car with stones, prompting security forces and then protesters to fire into the air. No-one was hurt in the incident.

The bomb on Saturday in an area of Quetta dominated by ethnic Hazara Shiites was the second major attack on the minority community in five weeks and prompted protesters to pour onto the streets across the country, shutting down parts of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

Around 1,000 of the mourners, shouting anti-government slogans and beating their chests, quarrelled with their leaders for agreeing to end their sit-in protest, which began on Sunday, and demanded Quetta be handed over to the army.

An angry mob of young people and women, crying and screaming, initially refused to bury the dead but agreed after assurances from their community heads, an AFP reporter said.

"You can see that the burial has been started and the protest sit-in is over," Sardar Saadat Ali, one of the community leader told AFP in the Hazara community graveyard.

Shiite leaders agreed to end the protest after meeting government ministers, who promised a "targeted operation" to catch those responsible for Saturday's atrocity.

Soldiers from the paramilitary Frontier Corps and police were deployed in all markets and on roads in Quetta city as the burials took place, while troops searched every vehicle heading towards the Hazara town area.

February 21, 2013 Volume 1, 048

Thursday

PM urges leaders of all faiths to unite for peace ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday urged leaders of all faiths and religions to stand united and strive for peace and security. Addressing a conference organised here by the Ministry of National Harmony, the prime minister referred to the recent incidents of terrorism and said “let’s come out of this perpetual sense of fear that haunts us all, and where no place is safe anymore”.

He referred to the Hazaras as brothers and patriotic Pakistanis and said the nation was deeply saddened over the plight they underwent in the recent attacks.

“There can be no justification for the murder of the innocent. Who can justify the killing of a child, women or a man who is trying to earn a living?” he said.

Prime Minister Ashraf said no one should take law into their own hands, adding that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure law and order.

He said every citizen was obliged to abide by the law and understand their obligations.

The premier said Pakistan could not live in isolation and had to live with peace and tranquility with its neighbours.

He said no one had the right to impose his

or her will on others.

“Let everyone follow whatever he wishes and if there is a conflict, then they should follow the path of dialogue,” Prime Minister Ashraf said.

The prime minister urged religious leaders of all faiths to stand united and preach the message of love and peace across the country.

He said the interfaith conference was a much-needed event to deliberate on an issue that was a challenge for the country.

Minister for National Harmony Paul Jacob Bhatti said the conference was aimed at creating a conducive environment, as the country was passing through a critical juncture.

CM orders swoop on Lashkhar-e-Jhangvi Suspected militant hideouts LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presided over a meeting on Tuesday which reviewed law and order situation in the province.

According to a Nawa-i-Waqt report, the chief minister has ordered a swoop on the Lashkhare-Jhangvi. The order was passed following the acting IGP briefed the chief minister about the activities of the banned outfit in the province, added the reported Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Special Assistants Khawaja Salman Rafique, Zaeem Hussain Qadri, Members Assembly, Chief Secretary, Acting IG Police Punjab, Secretary Home, Secretary Auqaf, Commissioner Lahore Division and other concerned officials were present. While addressing the meeting the CM said that at present when the country was facing terrorism and extremism, collective efforts were needed to save and make it peaceful.

He expressed deep sorrow over the killing of Hazara people in Quetta and said that the killers do not deserve to be called human. He said that elimination

of extremism and terrorism was utmost necessary for the progress and prosperity of the country. The CM stressed that the murderers of Dr Ali Haider and his son should be arrested immediately. While directing to constitute joint investigation team to trace the murderers, the CM said that he should be kept updated about the progress on daily basis. He said that the murder of the doctor and his son was lamentable and it was a test case for the police. He said that no stone should be left unturned in arresting the culprits. He said that it was the responsibility of the police to protect life and property of the people. While directing to strictly implement ban on mobile phone in jails, the CM said that strict action would be taken against those showing negligence in this regard. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday granted approval to restore 10 extra seats in medical field for male and female students of Azad Kashmir for next three years. The spokesman of Punjab government said that these seats were in addition to the quota of special seats for male and female students of Azad Kashmir.

Prospect of spring election closer after throne speech TORONTO -- The prospect of a spring election drew closer Tuesday as Ontario's opposition leaders took a hard line on the governing Liberals' agenda for the new legislative session.

Rookie Premier Kathleen Wynne's throne speech promised to make the minority parliament work by embracing ideas the opposition parties could support after a bitterly divisive fall session.

But the Progressive Conservatives made it clear they weren't interested in hugging it out.

The only way to rescue the province from financial ruin is to "change the team," said Opposition

Leader Tim Hudak, adding that his party will vote against the speech.

"I just think the approach that says, a little bit of PC, a little bit of NDP and a whole lot of Dal-

ton McGuinty isn't going to get us out of this mess," he said.

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blitzed in Khyber tribal region

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s military jets bombarded three suspected militant hideouts in Khyber tribal region’s Tirah valley area.

At least six suspected militants were killed in the airstrikes, tribal sources told Dawn.com.

The targeted hideouts were completely destroyed in the military onslaught.

The military has stepped up airstrikes in the tribal regions since the beginning of 2013, with at least 45 suspected militants reported as killed and at least a dozen hideouts destroyed.

The death-toll and identities of victims cannot be independently verified the access of media persons and journalists is barred in the area.

02

February 21, 2013

Unbowed Hazaras refuse to bury dead KARACHI: Anger and outrage replaced shock and grief as tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country on Monday to protest over the mass killing of Shia Hazaras in the suicide attack in Quetta three days ago.

From Karachi to Parachinar, and Hyderabad to Multan, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, people staged sit-ins, blocking main thoroughfares.

The protesters’ demand at all these places was the same: call in the army in Quetta and take immediate action against the extremist militant group, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, which in recent months has played havoc with Shias, mainly the peaceful Hazara community of Balochistan, through a string of attacks. The majority of these protesters were Shia men and women, but at many places a large number of people from a cross-section of society joined in to make it a collective voice against violent extremism.

As expected, Quetta remained the most disturbed of all places, with thousands of Hazara men, women and children continuing their protest sit-in for the third consecutive day. Refusing to bury those who died in Saturday’s explosion on Kirani Road, Hazara Town, unless action was taken against the perpetrators, the protesters kept the coffins on the main street.Even a bitter weather was not enough to weaken the agitators’ resolve.

“Installation of lights and other arrangements indicate that we are ready to stay here till the government meets our demands and takes measures to stop Shia genocide,” a representative of the community said.

Nearby, Hazara volunteers kept digging more graves as the death toll rose to 89 after a few more of the injured died on Monday.

The volunteers were not sure how many more graves they may end up digging as several of the over two hundred injured in the incident continued to remain on the list of those critically injured. An air of fear and uncertainty hung over the Balochistan capital, already reeling from an endless wave of bombings over the past few years. Traffic was negligible and most places of business remained closed.

Heavy contingents of law enforcement personnel were posted at all sensitive points in the city and patrolling stepped up.

Representatives of the Hazara community told Dawn that 73 bodies, 16 of them of women, had been identified. “Most of the bodies were of

children and women and some were badly burnt,” one of them said.

The administration was unable to shift the critically injured to Karachi as most of the roads remained blocked the whole day. President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Pervez Ashraf had asked the Balochistan government to send them to

at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

“The dead include 33 Afghan refugees,” the secretary said, adding that 55 refugees who lived in the area were injured.

Quoting from an initial report of the bomb disposal squad, he said about 1,000 kilograms of explosives, along with urea fertiliser, potassium and

Karachi for special treatment.

PUTTING THEIR HEADS TOGETHER: The Hazara Town tragedy and the protesters’ demand were reviewed at a meeting at the Governor’s House. It was presided over by Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi and attended, among others, by the Commander of the Southern Command, Lt Gen Aalam Khattak, Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad, Frontier Corps IG Maj Gen Obaidullah Khattak, Police IG Tariq Omar Khitab and Home Secretary Captain (retd) Akbar Hussain Durrani.

“As the participants were unable to reach a consensus on calling in troops, they decided to approach the protesters with a request for burial of the victims after giving them an assurance that an operation against perpetrators of Saturday’s explosion on Kirani Road and on Alamdar Road (Jan 10) would be launched by law enforcement agencies, including the Frontier Corps,” an official said.

Home Secretary Akbar Durrani told a press conference after the meeting that the death toll had shot up to 89 after five injured people, including a child, died on Monday. He said 110 injured people were being treated at the CMH and 44

sulphuric acid (all easily available in the market), might have been used to trigger an improvised explosive device (IED).

“The terrorists used an unconventional method to carry out the blast. We are in a state of war,” the official said.

In reply to a question, Akbar Durrani said a decision to hand over Quetta to the army had not been taken so far and the paramilitary FC, which was a part of the army, would continue to play its role to maintain peace and order.

“Some hidden hands want to destabilise the country by engineering a Sunni-Shia conflict,” he said. He said a committee, headed by Quetta Commissioner Qambar Dashti, would hold talks with leaders of Shia organisations to persuade them to bury the victims. The home secretary said the government would pay compensation to the bereaved families immediately. He urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide financial support to the families of Afghan refugees who lost their lives or sustained injuries in Saturday’s attack.

PLEA TO DOCTORS: Balochistan Health Secretary Nasibullah Bazai said 19 of the

injured were in a critical condition and the provincial government was bearing expenses of their treatment. He called upon doctors working in government hospitals to ensure their presence, saying that bomb blast victims were suffering because of their absence from duty.

In reply to a question, Mr Bazai said the district administration was being empowered to take action against elements involved in the sale of fake and spurious medicines.

Speaking to the protesters, Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen leader Allama Amin Shahidi said: “We will not bury the victims until an army operation against the banned groups is authorised.”

He urged the administration to shift the critically injured to Karachi immediately.

“Since law enforcement agencies have failed to ensure safety of life and property, people should be issued arms licences and the training to use them,” he said in a moment of undisguised disdain for officialdom..

KARACHI: The angry response to Quetta killings was widespread in Karachi and throughout the day people continued to block main roads by staging sit-in at more than a dozen places.

Right from the Shahrae Faisal to Clifton, at Teen Talwar, protesters refused to leave till our going to press. Train service for upcountry was badly disrupted as an enraged mob blocked the track near Malir, and several flights got delayed because roads leading to the airport were blocked by the enraged crowd.

In the evening violence broke out in Patel Para, near Guru Mandir, following a shootout in which three people were killed, including members of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and ANP. Clashes between armed men and police continued till late in the night, with supporters of ASWJ resorting to violence.

Our Staff Reporter in Lahore adds: Rail traffic came to a halt after operation of all major passenger trains had to be suspended in the wake of countrywide protests against the Quetta explosion. “Operation of 11 express trains from Karachi has been suspended, another six from Lahore will not be operated on Tuesday, while five will not leave Rawalpindi and Peshawar on Wednesday,” a railway spokesman said. Agencies add: Demonstrations were also held in Islamabad, Peshawar, Hyderabad and a number of other cities and towns across the country.

Post-2014 Afghanistan: Pakistan’s nightmare?

KARACHI: They are Pakistanis, Afghans, Arabs, Germans, Turks, Libyans, Sudanese, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz and Uighurs. They operate from Bajaur in the north to the Waziristans in the south. And the areas they target range from Pakistan and its neighbourhood, including Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and China, to the Middle East, Europe and the United States. In the event that civil war breaks out next door or the Afghan Taliban capture significant power after the Western withdrawal, will Afghanistan become a new safe haven for this motley crew of Fata-based militant groups?

“2014 and the Western withdrawal will not mean Pakistan’s problems are over,” says Rahimullah Yusufzai, an expert on Fata and Afghan militancy. “If the Taliban cannot capture Kabul, which is highly likely, they will be operating from the border areas. So they may still need to come to Pakistan for shelter, funds and medical treatment, and the Pakistani Taliban will find safe havens in Afghanistan.”

That is precisely the fear driving the apparent shift in Pakistan’s mindset from banking on the Afghan Taliban for strategic depth in Afghanistan to realising that a broad-based coalition government there is more likely to be in Pakistan’s best interest. But some within the security establishment worry that even a power-sharing system, with the east and south controlled by the Taliban and Uzbek and other ethnic groups controlling the north, could end up providing sanctuaries and operational bases to Pakistan-based militants.

A model already exists for how these groups might operate from Afghanistan. According to Pakistani intelligence estimates, 223 attacks have been carried out from across the border since June 2010, including 14 major ones in which up to 200 militants were involved.

About 150 security personnel have lost their lives. The attacks are believed to originate in Kunar and Nuristan from 18 to 20 camps run by Pakistani militants Maulana Fazlullah of Swat and Abdul Wali (aka Omar Khalid) of Mohmand.

The obvious implication is that if Fatabased militants are not tackled quickly, they could become an even bigger nightmare for Pakistan as the 2014 deadline approaches.

But conversations with security officials reveal how complex the tribal areas’ militant network is. That in itself poses a problem, considering Pakistan’s historical tendency to try to separate

friends from foes.

A prime example is the late Tahir Yuldashev’s Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, with several hundred Uzbeks operating out of North Waziristan, currently led byAbdul Fattah Ahmadi, aka Usman Ghazi. The fierce fighting force is available for hire by Al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and could well find refuge in northern Afghanistan.

But what of smaller groups less obviously linked to militancy within Pakistan? Pakistani security officials estimate that the Islamic

drone strike last month because he concentrated on Afghanistan, still operate from South Waziristan; and the Hafiz Gulbahadur group in North Waziristan also focuses on Afghanistan but sometimes attacks Pakistani troops.

All have supported the Afghan Taliban in one way or another, and there is no reason to think the favour will not be repaid. And once Fata is no longer needed as a safe haven, even the delicate truces that Pakistan has maintained with militants such as Maulvi Nazir and Hafiz Gulbahadur will become worthless.

Jamaat Uzbekistan, a breakaway faction, has a force of several dozen Central Asians in the tribal areas, led by one Hameedullah Kyrgyzstani. There is the East Turkistan Islamic Movement of Uighurs aiming to create an Islamic state in China’s Uighur region, and a group called the Turkish Jamaat consisting mainly of militants from eastern Turkey who have sought refuge in North Waziristan and want support for an Islamic movement in their home country.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigade, currently led by Abdullah Majid, has a handful of men in North Waziristan plotting operations in the Middle East. While none of these might seem focused on Pakistan, foreign groups have supported Pakistanoriented militants often enough to set a worrying precedent. Then there are the groups under the TTP umbrella and their multiple goals. The most powerful TTP commander, Hakeemullah Mehsud, mainly attacks Pakistan, but has collaborated with the Afghan Taliban against American troops; the followers of Maulvi Nazir, who was killed in a

But the Pakistani Taliban web is much wider than these groups. Ten outfits formerly supported by the state for fighting in Kashmir or other purposes are now linked to the TTP, with the deadliest commander being Asmatullah Muawiya of the ‘Punjabi Taliban’, who security officials believe was involved in the 2008 Islamabad Marriott bombing and attacks on the army and ISI. These and other groups, such as Lashkari-Jhangvi, may have their own agendas, but according to Pakistani intelligence, carry out attacks with material and physical support from the TTP. The 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, executed by an LJ-linked group with militants and material provided by the TTP, is a case in point. In the event of the Afghan Taliban controlling parts of Afghanistan, there is little doubt these militants would find a new operational base if they wanted one.

“If the war escalates next door, Pakistan could lose the tribal war,” says Zahid Hussain, author of Frontline Pakistan: the Struggle with Mili-

tant Islam.

“The ideological lines between the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban are very thin; they share world views and their agendas for the region.” These groups appear to be more of a worry to Pakistan than Al Qaeda, which under Ayman alZawahiri — who Pakistani intelligence believes could be in Fata or in Afghanistan’s border region — appears more focused on Iraq and Syria. But even he is believed to have a force of a few hundred men working within Pakistan, led by his sonin-law and deputy, Safiyan al-Maghrabi, and a dozen or so top commanders, including men in charge of training, screening, media, internal communications, finance, IEDs, security and international affairs.

Despite the series of military operations in Fata, security officials admit that besides Orakzai, all the agencies remain unstable to varying degrees. The TTP’s main bases are in North Waziristan, but it has maintained a presence in most other agencies, including Kurram with its sectarian conflicts and Bajaur and Mohmand with their cross-border strikes.

But who will tackle the problem, and when and how they will do so, all remain troublingly open questions.

Neither the military nor the civilians want to take ownership of a North Waziristan operation.

Elections could be a few weeks away, which would leave a caretaker government overseeing military action and lack of ownership from the next administration. And there is still no consensus across the civilian and military leaderships about whether to talk to Pakistani militants and how to combine that with military action.

“There is now an understanding that Taliban control in Afghanistan is not good for Pakistan,” says Mr Hussain. “But the problem is that it is not being translated into a coherent strategy or a national narrative against militancy.”

Through the first week of January, according to military estimates, over 49,200 Pakistanis had become victims of militant violence (contrary to popular perception, this number includes those injured, not just killed). Of those, about 3,600 army and Frontier Corps personnel have lost their lives.

How high could this death toll go if militant groups aren’t reconciled or defeated before Western troops leave Afghanistan?

India can divert only minimum water from Kishanganga: tribunal ISLAMABAD: In a partial award announced in the Kishanganga dispute, the Hague-based Court of Arbitration allowed India on Monday to divert only a minimum flow of water from Neelum/Kishanganga River for power generation.

The Indian government had sought full diversion of the river water, but the court determined that India was under an obligation to construct and operate the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant (HEP) in such a way as to maintain a minimum flow of water in the river at a rate to be determined by the court in its final award.

A copy of the judgment available with Dawn shows that the final award will be announced in December this year. The court asked India and Pakistan to provide data by June so that it could determine the minimum flow of water.

On May 17, 2010, Pakistan had instituted arbitral proceedings against India under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and approached the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) against violation of the treaty. The ICA granted a stay and stopped India from constructing the 330MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project in occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan had put two questions, which were legal in nature, before the tribunal — whether India’s proposed diversion of the Neelum/Kishanganga River into another tributary breaches India’s legal obligations owed to Pakistan under the treaty and whether under the treaty, India may deplete or bring the reservoir level of a run-of-river plant below the dead storage level in any circumstances except in the case of an unforeseen emergency. On the second question, the court determined that except in the case of an unforeseen emergency, the treaty did not permit reduction

below the dead storage level of the water level in the reservoirs of run-of-river plants on the western rivers. It further said the accumulation of sediment in the reservoir of a run-of-river plant on the western rivers did not constitute an unforeseen emergency that would permit depletion of the reservoir below the dead storage level for drawdown flushing purposes. Accordingly, India may not employ drawdown flushing at the reservoir of the Kishanganga hydroelectric plant to an extent that will entail depletion of the reservoir below dead storage level.

February 21, 2013

03

China given contract to operate Gwadar port ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday formally awarded a multi-billion dollars contract for construction and operation of Gwadar Port to China with the hope that the port’s development would open up new vistas of progress in Pakistan, particularly Balochistan.

Under the contract, the port which will remain the property of Pakistan will be operated by the state-run Chinese firm — China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC). Earlier, the contract was given to the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA). The contract signing ceremony held in the Presidency was attended by President Asif Ali Zardari, Chinese Ambassador Liu Jian, some federal ministers, members of parliament and senior government officials.

“The ceremony was actually held to mark the transfer of the concession agreement from the PSA (Port of Singapore Authority) to the COPHC,” said the president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar.

The PSA is reported to have abandoned the project on the plea that Pakistan failed to meet obligations under the 40-year port-handling agreement signed in Feb 2007. Media reports allege that the PSA, which was to spend $525 million on the project in five years, made no investment because of non-fulfilment of its demand for allotment of land worth Rs15bn.

Last year, the Supreme Court issued a stay order on the Gwadar Port contract, barring the PSA from transferring immovable property of the

Gwadar Port Authority to a private party and allowed the Balochistan government to become a party to the case.

In Dec 2010, China had offered the provincial government to construct 20 more berths

commerce in the region as it holds the key to bringing together the countries of Central Asia and lends new impetus to Pakistan-China relations.”

He highlighted the strategic importance of the port for China and Central Asian republics and

and make the port fully operational if the port was handed over to it.

President Zardari praised the award of the contract to China as an auspicious development in Pakistan-China relations and expressed the hope that it would create new economic opportunities for Pakistan and Balochistan.

The spokesman quoted the president as saying ‘Gwadar will soon be a hub of trade and

its potential of integrating the economies of the countries in the region.

He said the Chinese provinces of Xinjiang and Tibet were closer to Pakistani ports than to any port in China and development of a trade corridor linking Xinjiang to the Middle East via Gwadar held great prospects.

The president said 60 per cent of Chinese import of crude came from countries in the Gulf

and the amount would increase in next decade. “Because of the proximity of the Gulf countries to Gwadar, oil flow from the region to China will be facilitated.” The president praised the role played

by Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghori, who did not attend the ceremony, in the transfer of port operations to China.

AFP adds: China paid about 75 per cent of the initial $250m used to build the port but in 2007 the PSA won a 40-year operating lease.

Then president Pervez Musharraf was reportedly unwilling to upset Washington by giving control of the port to the Chinese.

On Feb 6 Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said New Delhi was concerned by Pakistan’s decision to transfer management of the deepsea port to China, which had interests in a string of other ports encircling India.

Foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan dismissed those concerns last week, telling reporters: “This is not something that any other country should have any reason to be concerned about.”

President Zardari said the building of infrastructure around the port would promote economic activity in Gwadar and Balochistan.

But some analysts warn that it may be some time before Pakistan can benefit from China’s takeover of Gwadar, stressing that the connecting roads and an expanded Karakoram Highway still need to be finished.

Collective wisdom, action must Gunmen attack Nato convoy, kill two in Landi Kotal to eliminate terrorism: PM PESHAWAR: Gunmen in a restive Pakistani tribal region on Monday attacked a convoy of vehicles carrying military equipment bound for Nato operations in Afghanistan, killing two people, officials said. The convoy of some 25 vehicles came under attack after it got stuck in a traffic jam in Landi Kotal town in the Khyber tribal region.

“At least three unidentified gunmen opened fire on the convoy, killing a driver and his helper and damaging two vehicles,” senior local administration official Shakil Burki told AFP. He said the gunmen fled after the attack, adding that one person in the con-

voy was also injured.

A senior local police official confirmed the incident and casualty toll.

There was no immediate claim

of responsibility for the assault, but Pakistani Taliban have often attacked NATO convoys. Khyber is one of the seven semiautonomous northwestern tribal regions where Pakistani military has launched a series of operations against Taliban and al Qaeda linked militants.

Washington considers the tribal belt the main hub of Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.

Former Pakistani Taliban No 2 arrested in Afghanistan: reports SLAMABAD: Strongly condemning the Quetta incident, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Monday said the government would take all out measures to bring the perpetrators to task without making any compromise in this regard.

“It is not time for political divide. It is not time to discriminate between the government and the opposition. We need collective wisdom and action for the nation’s deliverance from the challenges it is facing,” the prime minister said addressing the National Assembly after the house discussed the law and order situation with particular reference to the Quetta killings.

He said the government

would fulfil the demands of the Hazara community including the deployment of security forces in the areas, adding that the foremost objective was to protect their lives and properties.

The prime minister apprised the house that he had directed governor Balochistan to probe whether the incident was due to the negligence of any security agency, assuring that action would be taken if proved any.

He said it was an undeniable fact that our society was in the clutches of different forms of terrorism and violence has affected all the provinces and every section of society.

PESHAWAR: Afghan intelligence officials on Monday claimed to have arrested the former second-in-command of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Maulvi Faqir, along with “four accomplices” while he was trying to enter Pakistan’s Tirah Valley from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.

“Maulvi Faqir and his four accomplices who had entered Nangarhar from Bajaur Agency were apprehended near Basawal on Torkham Road near the border of Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley,” an Afghan intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

“Yes I can confirm their names as they had told us. Maulvi Faqir, Shahid Umar, Maulana Hakeemullah Bajauri, Mualana Turabi and Fateh are the people who have been arrested,” he replied when

asked about the identity of the arrested people. “They were traveling in a vehicle when (we) intercepted near Basawal village of Nangarhar,” he added.

The Afghan intelligence official, who identified himself with the name Abdullah, said: “Arms and ammunition have also been seized from their vehicle. The five are in the custody of Afghan intelligence officials who are interrogating

them.” Maulvi Faqir was the deputy amir (second-in-command) of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Taliban chief in Bajaur Agency, but was later removed from his position in March 2012 on suspicions of entering into a peace deal with the Pakistani government.

Faqir Muhammad, who hails from Chopatra Village of Bajaur Agency, was first part of the Tehreek-i-Nifaz-iShariat-i-Muhammadi, and later the deputy chief of TTP until March 2012 when he announced himself as the TTP chief after the death of Baitullah Mehsud.

Faqir had also publicly accepted his ties with al-Qaeda network and had been accused of a number of cross-border attacks in Bajaur Agency and the settled Lower and Upper Dir district.

04

February 21, 2013

India - an aspiring hegemon Javid Husain

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Fair trial for terrorists?

THE Investigation for Fair Trial Bill, 2012 has drawn a lot of attention as it allows certain lawenforcement agencies to use modern evidencegathering techniques and devices against suspected militants and terrorists.

The bill has drawn criticism due to the potential of posing a direct threat to the privacy and civil liberties of citizens, since it is feared that security agencies would be empowered to intercept communications at whim.

It has been said that this may clash with constitutional guarantees like Articles 14 and 8, which guarantee inviolability of the privacy of citizens. However, the government claims the existing laws are inadequate for modern counter terrorism needs.

The purpose behind the bill appears to be to regulate the use of interception and make it admissible in court against terrorists. This surely cannot be a bad thing as everyone knows that interception is needed, so why not make it a criminal offence if its use is abused or unauthorised?

It is worthwhile comparing this legislation with similar laws, notably UK legislation, to try to find compatibilities and digressions, since the British legal template has apparently been considered in drawing up the Pakistani variant.

Within the bill, the law rests on issuance of warrants to intercept communications, with the power to ask for such warrants vested in the director-general of Inter-Services Intelligence, the three services’ intelligence agencies, the Intelligence Bureau and the police.

In the first instance the applicant must seek the authority of the minister of interior to apply for the specific warrant. The applicant then has to apply to the Islamabad High Court for the warrant to be issued. If the warrant will enable the collection of evidence and there is a reasonable possibility of an attempt to commit a scheduled terrorist offence, the judge shall issue the warrant.

In practice, every telephone line needed to be tapped has to be agreed to in writing by the minister of interior, which is contrary to the Rules of Business 1973, and then additionally approved by a senior judge. If not, the person allowing the intercept is committing a criminal offence and liable to go to prison for three years.

The issue is that on a strict reading of the bill, every CCTV camera in the country potentially becomes illegal unless the interior minister and a high court judge have allowed it.

In comparison, British law entrusts the secretary of state with powers to issue warrants of interception only on condition of reasons relating to national security, serious crime or similar circumstances of gravity. However, the list has expanded since 2003.

Crucially, in the UK interception evidence cannot be used in court as evidence. It is solely used for intelligence-gathering purposes requiring the intelligence services and law-enforcement agencies to work together, share the information, and then turn the intelligence into ev-

idence admissible in court.

The power to issue warrants for intercepts is used sparingly and human rights are widely taken into consideration to see whether the act of interference in a person’s private life is necessary and proportionate. According to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, an interception warrant is usually only valid for three months, with an interception of communications commissioner held accountable for oversight of the process administered by the executive.

As regards the necessity of issuing such warrants, British law requires the home secretary to consider the possibility of getting information by other means without resort to intercepts. Also, interception may cause collateral invasion of privacy of other people. This happens for instance when there are multiple users on a single phone line, and necessitates the British home secretary to consider less collaterally damaging methods where possible. The UK courts are not, however, involved in the issuance of warrants, and there is heavy reliance upon integrity and oversight of the executive. Pakistan may be embarking on a timeconsuming process by overburdening the minister of interior as the sole permission-granting authority, and then a high court judge to make a decision.

There are also no emergency regulations that can be used if the intelligence services get information and need to act on it immediately in times of crisis.

Since the intercepted material obtained under legal authority of the fair trial legislation would be admissible as evidence in legal proceedings, there has been debate that the law is draconian in not allowing the accused to have access to orders of interception.

However, even in the UK, the manner of interception is not revealed to the accused, as this may prejudice further investigations by exposing the technology driving such investigations. Disclosure of the existence of an intercept is a criminal offence in the UK. If anything, the law when it comes into effect will make it even harder to prosecute terrorists who already have more than 90 per cent chance of being acquitted, should they even find themselves in court. The bill needs more extensive forethought. The one good thing about it is that there is a one-year time limit in which the government can correct any defects, so if it is signed into law shortly then not only will the rules have to be written to make it operational, but someone is going to be extremely busy in righting all the wrongs contained within it.

“India’s grand strategy divides the world into three concentric circles. In the first, which encompasses the immediate neighbourhood, India has sought primacy and a veto over actions of outside powers.”

– C. Raja Mohan India with a population of 1.24 billion and GDP of $2.19 trillion in nominal terms looms large on the South Asian subcontinent. None of the other South Asian countries comes even close to the size of India’s population and economy. In fact, its population and GDP are more than the combined population and GDP of all the other South Asian countries. By way of comparison, the population and GDP of Pakistan, the second biggest country in South Asia, are estimated to be 183 million and $258 billion respectively. Thus, Pakistan’s population is about one-seventh of that of India and its GDP is about one-ninth of India’s GDP. Over the past decade and a half, India has also succeeded in achieving far higher economic growth rates compared with those recorded by Pakistan. Its advantage over Pakistan in economic wealth has accordingly increased with the passage of time because of the latter’s dismal economic performance. India has also increased rapidly its defence expenditure and acquisition of advanced weapon systems to translate its growing economic strength into military power. India received nine percent of global arms transfers from 2006 to 2010, making it the world’s leading importer of weapons.

It is, therefore, generally recognised by the world community as an emerging great power.

In view of the anarchic nature of international system, it is in the nature of an emerging great power like India to seek hegemony as pointed out

by John J. Mearsheimer in his widely acclaimed book, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. After analysing the characteristics of international politics, Mearsheimer concludes: “Thus, the claim that states maximise relative power is tantamount to arguing that states are disposed to think offensively toward other states even though their ultimate motive is simply to survive.

“In short, great powers have aggressive intentions. Even when a great power achieves a distinct military advantage over its rivals, it continues looking for chances to gain more power. The pursuit of power stops only when hegemony is achieved” (p.34, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics).

It should not cause any surprise, therefore, if India as an emerging great power seeks hegemony in South Asia. Its determination to achieve hegemony in South Asia was unequivocally elaborated by noted Indian security analyst, C. Raja Mohan, in an article, entitled “India and the Balance of Power”, published in the Foreign Affairs issue of July-August 2006: “India’s grand strategy divides the world into three concentric circles. In the first, which encompasses the immediate neighbourhood, India has sought primacy and a veto over the actions of outside powers. In the second, which encompasses the so-called extended neighbourhood stretching across Asia and the India Ocean littoral, India has sought to balance the influence of other powers and prevent them from undercutting its interests. In the third, which includes the entire global stage, India has tried to take its place as one of the great powers, a key player in international peace and security.”

Interestingly, the first of the three factors that in Mohan’s opinion have prevented India from realising its grand strategic goals was the partition of South Asia and the creation of Pakistan (and later Bangladesh) along religious lines.

This factor, according to him, left India with a persistent conflict with Pakistan and an internal Hindu-Muslim divide, separated India from Afghanistan, Iran and, one may add, Central Asia, and created profound problems for India’s engagement with the Muslim Middle East because of Pakistan’s character as an Islamic state.

The other two obstacles identified by

Mohan, in the way of the realisation of its grand strategic goals, were its socialist system and the Cold War, which put India on the losing side of the great political contest of the second half of the twentieth century.

He further points out that while the second and the third obstacles identified by him have disappeared, India needs to deal with the first obstacle, that is to say Pakistan, in the realisation of its grand strategic goals.

The foregoing establishes conclusively India’s hegemonic ambitions in South Asia. The historical record reinforces this conclusion. The way India tried to destabilise Pakistan soon after the partition through the delay in sharing cash balances with Pakistan, cutting off the supply of river water from two headworks under its control in 1948, and the stoppage of trade with Pakistan in 1949 because of the latter’s refusal to devalue its currency were early examples of India’s hegemonic ambitions.

India’s blatant military intervention in East Pakistan in 1971 was an obvious attempt to cut Pakistan down to size. New Delhi’s handling of the disputes with Pakistan, particularly Kashmir, Sir Creek and Siachen, also reflects its hegemonic mindset. The same is true of India’s frequent resort to coercive diplomacy when things don’t go according to its liking in relations with Pakistan. India’s quest for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council is again in pursuit of a great power status to which India thinks it is entitled.

The latest firing incidents across the Line of Control (LoC), particularly the killing of a Pakistani soldier, who had strayed across the LOC, and the threatening statements made by the Indian commanders during the past few weeks were designed to convey to Pakistan that it would have to accept India’s hegemony and learn to live in a subordinate position in the region.

Pakistan’s domestic political instability, the debilitating war on terror in which it is engaged, its deplorable economic performance over the past decade and a half, and the constant American pressure on it because of the crisis in Afghanistan have worked to weaken Pakistan’s position vis-à-vis India. On the other hand, India has been emboldened in the pursuit of its hegemonic ambitions by its much faster economic growth, its rapidly growing military strength, its status as a stable democracy, and the US strategic shift in its favour to contain a rising China.

The issues of peace and security are ultimately decided in this anarchic international system through the logic of power. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s power relative to that of India has weakened over the past decade and a half. If the trend of the relative decline of Pakistan’s power vis-à-vis India continues, the latter’s ability to dictate to Pakistan would grow in strength. Under the present circumstances, the chances of the resolution of major Pakistan-India disputes on satisfactory terms from our point of view appear to be quite remote. India’s decision to resile from the Pakistan-India agreement on Siachen is a case in point.

To safeguard our vital national interests, Pakistan has no choice but to resist India’s hegemonic designs in the region. This would be possible, however, only if we are able to achieve internal political stability and increase our economic strength relative to that of India, while maintaining a credible deterrent at the lowest level of armaments and armed forces.

Our diplomacy should focus on defusing tensions with India to reduce the risk of an armed conflict and to enable us to divert our scarce resources from the military to the urgent task of economic development. We should maintain a firm position on major Pakistan-India disputes without being provocative.

Trade with India should be conducted on a level playing field and a mutually beneficial basis.

Finally, we must strengthen our strategic partnership with China and friendly relations with Iran and Afghanistan to balance India’s power advantage over us.

Solution to rural poverty IN her article titled ‘Land Rights and Democracy’, (Dawn, Feb 4,) Zeenia Shaukat has referred to my earlier letter in Dawn and has posed two pertinent questions which deserve to be in the forefront of a vigorous public debate.

The first is whether abject poverty, particularly in the rural areas of Sindh, symbolises a failure of the state towards its obligation to its citizens.

The second question relates to the means by which to address such poverty.

The answer to the first is an emphatic yes. In fact abject poverty in our society is not only symbolic of the failure of our political system to address the issue, it is symptomatic of its failure to address all crucial questions of public policy. The second question, however, is infinitely more problematic and begs more serious introspection.

Let me admit at the outset that I see nothing wrong with the goals outlined by the writer.

Political and social progress and the empowerment of the people are all laudable goals of public policy. I do take umbrage, however, to the obsession

By Muzaffar A. Isani

with the expropriation and redistribution of land as the ultimate means of alleviating rural poverty.

If land rights associated with ownership are a necessary concomitant to an empowered citizenry, we need to look first and foremost in the direction of state-owned land. Millions of acres of land in Pakistan is either fallow or in the illegal possession of politically powerful individuals. Before we disinherit legal owners of land and discourage any possible future investment in agriculture, we should allocate all available state land, including land in possession of powerful individuals, to landless peasants.

However, while acknowledging its significance as a political, social and economic asset, mere ownership of land will be meaningless without ensuring that it becomes an efficient factor of production.

The manner in which our agricultural sector is organised is patently inefficient and admittedly inequitable. However, expropriation and redistribution of land is definitely not an answer to the conundrum of persistent and growing rural poverty. The only way we can address both efficiency and equity in the agricultural sector is to carry out thorough agrarian reforms.

These reforms must be comprehensive and address all relevant issues such as those of land tenure, land tenancy, rural infrastructure, policies relating to taxes and levies including income tax, marketing arrangements and commercial credit policies. We must also examine our attitude towards commercial agriculture and ascertain an optimal mix of cash crops and food grain production to address the issues of malnutrition.

A crucial issue associated with the organisation of the agricultural sector is whether there is an optimum size of a farm which will address the issues of both efficiency and equity. Admittedly, many studies have concluded that small-size farms are more likely to exhibit greater production efficiency if incentives for more intensive farming and disincentives for non-utilisation of farm land are put in place. Similarly, the question of returns to scale may indeed suggest that there are few if any efficiency gains in the case of largesize farms particularly since these farms are, almost without exception, (Cont.. to next page)

February 21, 2013

05

Lag in Millennium Development Goals PAKISTAN lags behind on 25 Millennium Development Goals indicators with only eight of them on track. The unachieved goals include poverty alleviation, improving literacy rate and ratio of girls in schools, bringing down infant and maternal mortality ratios, improving access to water and sanitation and funding of social sector programmes. The government has projected 16 targets and 33 indicators for achieving the MDGs latest by 2015.

These disclosures came from the UNDP draft report on key messages. The report will be submitted to the UN Development Group by March 30, 2013, which will then become part of inter-government processes for consultation in June-July 2013 before presenting it in General Assembly in September.

The first and foremost important indicator is the volatile economic growth and persistent inequalities. The GDP growth rate between 2000 and 2012 averaged 4.5 per cent, but inequalities increased from 0.27 to 0.29 (Gini-Coefficient).

Then there are also regional disparities due to unequal resource distribution among and within the provinces.

Net primary enrollment in Punjab is 61 per cent as compared to Balochistan’s 44 per cent and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 52 per cent. Similarly, the infant mortality rate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is

76 per 1,000 as compared to 104 in Balochistan and 82 in Punjab.

Within the provinces, there is unequal distribution of resources. Major recipients of provincial resources are big cities. In Punjab, the bulk of the share goes to central Punjab, in K h y b e r Pakhtunkhwa to cities like Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda and D. I Khan while in Sindh maximum shares goes to Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur, respectively. The Planning Commission has also failed to evolve poverty figures for the country for the past many years.

There is also lack of structural transformation that could not be achieved since the launch of the MDGs. Over 40 per cent of the workforce in agriculture sector produces only 21 per cent of GDP. For growth to be inclusive, productivity in

Rehman meets Iranian President, agreed to set-up two more check posts

TEHRAN: Interior Minister Rehman Malik met with President of Iran, Mahmud Ahmedi Nejad and discussed matters of bilateral interests.

Taking to media persons after the meeting, Rehman Malik termed the meeting as “good” and said he conveyed to the Iranian President the greetings of President Asif Ali Zardari.

He said both Iran and Pakistan are two brotherly Muslim countries and appreciated Iran which has always supported Pakistan in hour of need.

He said Pakistan and Iran shares a long border as both the countries need to have joint efforts to combat issues at their borders.

Rehman Malik said in order to combat smuggling and to enhance trade between the two countries Iranian President has consented to set-up two more check posts and in this regard officials from both sides would meet in first week of March to finalise the modalities.

He said Iranian President expressed sympathies over the tragic terrorist incident in Quetta and said joint effort would help both the countries to eliminate menace of terrorism and extremism.

Minister for Postal Services, Sardar Omar Gorgage, who is also accompanying with Rehman Malik during the visit, was also present on the occasion.

Alleged mastermind of Kirani Road blast arrested QUETTA: Security forces claimed to have arrested the mastermind of Saturday’s bomb blast at Quetta’s Kirani Road in a targeted operation conducted early on Tuesday in Killi Qambrani area in outskirts of Quetta, DawnNews reported. According to media reports, six other suspects were also arrested alongside the alleged mastermind, all of whom belonged to a banned organisation. The arrested suspects were shifted to an undisclosed location for further investigations. TV channels reported sources as claiming that a large number of arms, explosive materials, detonators and ammunition were also recovered

from the suspects. Moreover, four suspected terrorists were killed in an encounter with the security forces.

The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital. “Those who were killed were high-profile target killers,” said the home secretary of Baluchistan province, Akbar Hussain Durrani, adding that one of the masterminds of Saturday’s attack was among those in custody. He added that the FC has launched search operation to trace and arrest the suspects involved in bomb blast and target killing. He further said that two personnel of FC also received injuries in the gun battle with the armed men.

Solution to rural poverty organised as an agglomeration of many small farms.

In fact this conclusion is basically warranted by the very use of primitive technology and the organisational and managerial structure of traditional production modes in agriculture. But the issue of farm size addresses only the short-run static efficiency of agricultural production. It is the long-run dynamic aspects of the development of the agricultural sector which is pertinent to the goal of rural poverty alleviation.

The marginal rate of return from agricultural investment in Pakistan is near zero. As a result there is virtually no private commercial investment in agriculture in Pakistan. At the same time, rural infrastructure is in an abysmal state because of inadequate public-sector investment. Irrigation canals and drainage channels are almost never dredged and tend to overflow with the slightest rise in water levels, causing regular flooding and devastation.

There is no R&D from the private or the public sector in new seeds for existing crops or for new crops or cropping patterns. Extension services are no longer available and credit planning is non-existent. Barring the use of tractors and threshers no meaningful technology is being employed in production.

Indeed, the use of these implements has only had the effect of increasing the redundancy of labour without much productivity gains.

It is difficult to visualise a subsistence farmer owning less than, say, 50 acres carrying the burden of the massive investment required for the uplift of the agricultural sector. Indeed, even the so-called large farms of, say, 500 acres, are incapable of undertaking any meaningful level of investment. The main burden of investment must be borne by the public sector.

The political and social landscape is another factor to be reckoned with. In the case of Sindh in particular, the predator urban elites are in perfect agreement with the dysfunctional rural elites on the necessity to keep the surplus agricultural labour, both unemployed and underemployed, tied to the land.

While the need for agrarian reforms is acute, the ultimate emancipation of the landless peasants must come from greater urban opportunities in industry and the service sector. The Sindhi society is being kept rural and poor by design.

agriculture sector needs to be improved and labour needs to be shifted to manufacturing sector.

Nearly 60 per cent of the youth in the age group of 15-24 years is unemployed and idle. The youth unemployment ratio is at seven per cent compared to the overall unemployment rate of five per cent. Even those who work, do so in unpaid jobs. If paid, they are less likely to have access to social security. It has been estimated in the draft report that over 3.5 million enter job market each year. This makes the task difficult for the government to create enough jobs.

Revenue Generation (tax-to-GDP) ratio is less than 10 per cent, which is far less than the regional average of 15-25 per cent. The tax base is only 0.8 million, with more reliance on regressive indirect taxes which hurt the economy and the poor.

As a result, the fiscal space is limited which constrains government’s ability to spend more on social sector and development priorities.

Pakistan has also been facing environment challenges in terms of forest devastation and reduction in biodiversity. Estimates suggest that environmental degradation costs the country at least three per cent of the annual GDP, with disproportionate impact upon the poor and most vulnerable.

Vulnerability to natural disasters (the earthquake in 2005 killed thousands of people, the 2010 floods affected 18 million people, destroyed or damaged 1.88 million houses and ruined 6.2 million acres of crops. It has been estimated that countries suffering from persistent violence have poverty rates 20 per cent higher than the average. Around $10 billion loss is estimated annually due to security-related issues. Foreign direct investment has been on the decline, falling from $5.152 billion in 2008 to $812 million in 2011-12.

The country office of UN in Islamabad has finalised the ‘Key Messages Report’ on Pakistan specific priorities for the post-2015 development agenda which would be submitted to the UN Development Group to be included in final document. However, it seems that the report is mostly given final shape in consultation with few specified non-government organisations.

Parliamentary oversight of ECP proposed SLAMABAD: The Senate Special Committee on Election Issues has proposed parliamentary oversight of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as a long term goal of the evolutionary process of electoral reform.

Headed by Leader of House Jehangir Badr, the committee in a report prepared by it to finalise proposed amendments to the Representation of People’s Act, recommended a permanent committee of each house of parliament or a joint committee comprising members from both houses of parliament to deal with electoral issues.

“The committee should be mandated to introduce a framework for parliamentary oversight of the ECP and to work on further improvement of a sustainable electoral framework,” said the report, a copy of which is available with Dawn.

Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim could not be contacted for comments. But observers believe that the idea of “oversight” may offend the ECP which has been asserting its independence after serving as a toothless body for years. The committee rejected a proposed amendment to empower the ECP to initiate and finalise disciplinary action against any government official for any act calculated to influence the poll results. It would not be appropriate

to create a parallel forum for disciplinary action against officials tasked with holding polls because forums were already available for this purpose, it said. Under the amended version of the proposed amendment, the ECP will refer the matter to the concerned department which will appoint an officer to initiate proceedings under Efficiency and Disciplinary Rules or the Act. The proposal for publication of a list of polling stations was also amended by the committee to add: “The ECP will ensure that the list will be affixed in the offices of relevant union councils and made available on the commission website and through SMS.” The committee rejected as ultra vires an ECP proposal to enhance period of scrutiny of candidates’ nomination papers from the existing seven days to 30 days, pointing out that under Article 224 of the Constitution, election to the National Assembly or a provincial assembly would be held within 60 days of the expiry of the term of the assembly. Election schedule will extend beyond 60 days if the proposal is adopted. However, the committee agreed to enhance the period to 14 days, which will not require an amendment to the Constitution. It rejected a suggestion to increase the nomination fee for NA candidates from Rs4,000 to Rs50,000 and for PA from Rs2,000 to Rs20,000.

February 21, 2013

06

Can the green economy save us?

The world is not in a good shape at the moment – food prices are rising, fresh water is depleting, energy prices are soaring, biodiversity is dying out, intense storms are damaging towns and cities, while floods and droughts are threatening the livelihoods of millions. Clearly, climate change is playing a major role in taking its toll on human populations, just as the scientists had predicted it would. And the rate of change is accelerating. That means the chance of keeping global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century is getting slimmer. Scientists say that if the earth warms more than 2 degrees then we will not be able to avoid runaway climate change that will be catastrophic. In Pakistan, climate change is not a future prediction but a present reality with devastating consequences given the extensive flooding that is beginning to occur annually during the monsoon season. For the past two years, Pakistan has topped the list of the Global Climate Risk Index produced by Germanwatch, a non-governmental organisation that works on global equity issues.

In 2010, Pakistan was listed as the number one country in the world affected by climate related disasters; in 2011 it was ranked as number three. The United Nations-led negotiations on a new global agreement to curb climate change have stalled after the massive momentum that was built up just before the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit held in 2009. The summit proved to be a major disappointment and soon after the week the Copenhagen Accord was signed, the urgency was gone from the talks.

There is a worldwide recession at the moment and affluent countries, especially the US, don’t want to take any actions that they think will slow down their economies further. “I see multilateralism going nowhere,” remarked Barbara Unmuessig, the President of the Heinrich Boll Stiftung (HBS), a German green political foundation. Barbara, who has been involved with environmental issues for more than 20 years, was

visiting Pakistan recently.

“We need to rethink our strategy at the local and national level, and put pressure on our politicians to go in the right direction”. She gave the example of how German citizens put pressure on their political leadership to get rid of nuclear power and substitute it with renewable energy.

Today Germany, which is a highly industrialised country, has an extensive renewable energy system. Her advice to Pakistan, especially given its current energy crisis: “What are the solutions? Try to build your own green economy. In such a large country you can

build your own renewable energy industry”. india_wind Green economy is the new buzzword that is replacing “sustainable development” in the global arena.

The concept of the green economy was first created in 2008 to get governments to spend money on the environment and in 2009 it was presented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as a way forward in response to the global financial crisis. The idea behind it was to shift investments away from business as usual to green

activities making economic sense. Scientists have been calling for a major shift to clean energy technologies and energy efficiency in order to curb carbon emissions causing climate change. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in their special report on renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation called for nations around the globe to invest heavily in renewable energy to bring down prices and make it more affordable to everyone.

Many experts had pinned high hopes on last year’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, which had a theme of “green economy”. The Rio+20 conference (it had been 20 years since the last Earth Summit was held in Rio) failed to deliver anything substantive, however. Barbara had warned in a paper published just before the Rio conference, “Rio+20 must be more than just a repetition of previous international conferences – it must offer a true breakthrough to a social, just, low-carbon and resource efficient world”. Unfortunately, there was no sincere political will, either in the North or the South to do this and today the “business as usual, the ‘brown’ resource intensive development path, prevails”.

Hence, Barbara questions whether the green economy is “the new magic bullet”? In her view, “UNEP’s green economy concept contains nothing that could revolutionise the (global) economy”.

Perhaps the solution is that: “We don’t have to follow big business, we can implement good solutions along with less consumption of resources”. She is clear that the green economy must benefit people and not big businesses and that wasteful consumption patterns and lifestyles (especially in the North) must change.

“We need to rethink development to preserve nature, feed people and make lives better”.

She is clear, however, that it is politics that has to set the standards, limits and goals. We urgently need institutions and decision makers who can make planet Earth deliver for the future.

When absurdity makes sense KARACHI: When Albert Camus wrote that brilliant essay The Myth of Sisyphus in the 1940s it gave birth to a great idea, which perhaps had already been espoused by the existentialist thought that ‘life has no inherent meaning’.

This created the notion of the absurd.

Playwrights such as Samuel Becket and Harold Pinter are two of its best exponents. A play titled ‘The Man on a Black Horse’, written by Rouvan Mahmood and directed by Ali Junejo at T2F on Monday evening took the audience to a realm where the line between the profound and the bizarre gets delightfully blurred.

The play oscillated between surrealistic realisations and peculiar interpretations of fact and fiction, and managed to keep the audience, which had turned up in a thin number because of the volatile city situation, engaged throughout the 90minute duration of the drama.

According to the makers of the play, it’s inspired by the writings of Ferdosi, Rumi, Galczynski and Erich Fromm.

When the play begins, the audience sees a cell and a chair in which a girl Lisa (Meher Jaffri) is sitting. She writes ‘Reality’ on a slate and shows it to the audience. It indicates that the progression of the story will be chapter-wise, and that is exactly what happens because the following two parts of the play are ‘Madness’ and ‘Revelation’. This, however, cannot be considered in the same order. The story goes back and forth, in flashbacks and probable real-time so many times (not to mention with layers of storytelling shifting from linear to parable-like) that it becomes difficult for the viewer to ascertain which is which — reality, madness or revelation. The story basically pivots around two soldiers Sal (Rouvan Mahmud) and Rumi (Ali

Junejo). Sal is loud and assertive while Rumi, as the name suggests, is a bit of an introvert with a poetic streak. He keeps a diary from where he once reads The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in

commit heinous crimes. They long for love. So there is a kaleidoscope of feelings, situations and consequences, at the heart of which all is the feeling of a ‘lack’ of something, something that they cannot

which four beings ride out on white, red, black and pale horses; black symbolises famine and pale death. Lisa appears as the mystery woman. She is not. She plays multiple characters. She can be construed as both soldiers’ conscience, their love-interest, their guilt pangs and their comfort zone.

The soldiers are fighting a war. As it happens in battles, they are confronted with situations over which they have no control. This makes them look back on their lives through different lenses.

They fear death. They crave immortality. They

come to grip with.

Lisa keeps emerging in the scenes eliciting all kinds of feelings out of the two soldiers.

Though the two men themselves often ask questions (about the futility of war, bloodshed and the rest of the evils that come with it) she is the one who instills in both the men the urge to look themselves in the mirror. At a poignant moment, for example, Sal raises the point, “Is the killer of a killer also not a killer?”

It is the movement called Madness that

the existentialist thrust of the play comes forth with full force. The issue of ‘choice’ is touched on. The basic existentialist tenets ‘man is what he does’ and ‘choices in retrospect’ are nicely highlighted in the tussle, hence underlining the absurdity of the whole state of affairs.

While the makers of the play insist that their inspiration is purely literary (and it can’t be disputed) one couldn’t help notice a bit of Quentin Tarantino-like scripting. The refrain of “Is that right” by Lisa sounds Quentinesque and when Sal speaks about the horse being a dirty animal it takes the viewer back to the line from Pulp Fiction, “Pig is a filthy animal”.

Ali Junejo should be commended for directing the play well, because he chose limited physical space (only a cell) to talk about a big subject. The acting of all the three principal performers was praiseworthy. They did justice to their roles.

Meher Jaffri is a natural actress. She looked particularly special when she philosophised about ‘birds’ in one sequence.

Ali Junejo was at ease with being a brooding chap (he could have raised his volume a bit though). Rouvan Mahmud did well as Sal and despite being a bit excessive with his gestures never came across as over-the-top.

Now let’s come to the low points of the play. It could have been trimmed down a bit. There came a time in the play when the audience started to look at their watches. The actors are young.

Hopefully, with the passage of time they will know the virtues of ‘editing’.

Then some of the scenes, such as when the story of a seven or eight-year-old girl is narrated, certain things could have been left unsaid and they still would have had the right kind of effect.

Pakistan, Iran seal security pact CJ takes suo motu notice of Quetta massacre Shahbaz stresses unity TEHRAN - Pakistan and Iran on Monday signed a security agreement aimed at boosting anti-terror cooperation, reported a private TV channel.

With border security management a main feature, both sides decided take stringent measures to overcome terrorism, human trafficking and fake currency. The agreement was signed by Interior Minister Rehman Malik and his Iranian counterpart

Mustafa Najr during a ceremony at Tehran.

The agreement also provides for exchange of information regarding illegal immigrants. Both ministers also agreed to launch an operation against IEDs and fake travel documents.

In order to implement the agreement, Pakistan and Iran will establish a working group. Both the sides also agreed to adopt a common strategy for minimising security violations on Pak-Iran border.

On this occasion, Malik said Iran was facing one Jundullah whereas Pakistan is facing a number of Jundullahs. Besides courtesy call on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Interior Minister, during his two-day visit will discuss measures with the Iranian authorities to strengthen trade and business between the two countries.

ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday, taking suo motu notice of the massacre of Hazara community, issued notices to the attorney general and the Balochistan advocate general and fixed the matter for hearing today (Tuesday).

The tragic incident in Hazara Town on February 16 left 87 citizens dead and 200 injured. The incident caused a rage amongst Hazara Shia community not only in Quetta but also across the country.

Hazara community in Quetta and Shia community all over the country is protesting against it.

Various leaders, religious and political, have criticised the performance of police and other law-enforcement agencies in curbing terrorism in Balochistan.

Such kinds of two horrific incidents of powerful explosions occurred in January on Bacha Khan Road and Alamdar Road in Quetta, resulting in the death of more than 93 persons and injuries to 120, belonging to Hazara community. The situation became critical and, ultimately, governor’s rule was imposed in the Balochistan province on January 14, 2013.

It is pertinent to mention here that during the hearing of Balochistan law and order case on February 15, the chief justice said the state was responsible for enforcing the fundamental rights en-

shrined in Article 9 of the Constitution, so concrete and effective steps must be taken to protect the fundamental rights of people of Balochistan. The next hearing of the case was fixed for March 6.

This is indeed a critical moment in the history of the country. The death of over 87 innocent citizens and injury to 200 others in bomb blasts is failure of the fovernment to provide security to the people and their property as mentioned in articles 4, 9, 14, 24 and 25 of the Constitution.

LAHORE – Condemning fresh wave of sectarian violence, the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday stressed on the need of forging unity.

“Terrorism is the biggest challenge that has shaken foundations of the country. People have been killed. Foreign hand is active. The masses should forge unity to defeat the menace of extremism,” the CM said while addressing an international conference at a Chuna Mandi college. He emphasised on promoting interfaith harmony by following the Sunnah, saying: “By following the Sunnah, we can cope with the challenges like terrorism, extremism, corruption, poverty etc. All problems can be solved by following Islamic principles.”

The CM also highlighted the importance of education and his government’s effort for the cause. He showed solidarity with Hazaras, saying that the targeted killing of Shias in Quetta was highly condemnable. He regretted that violence stayed high in Karachi.

Separately, presiding over a meeting to review law and order in the province, the CM said that protection of life and property of the citizens was the prime responsibility of the police and they should perform duties to create a sense of security among citizens.

Shahbaz directed police to get evidence verified from forensic science agency and utilise modern technology to curb crime.

February 21, 2013

07

Enter tainment Singer Mindy McCready dies in apparent suicide HEBER SPRINGS: Mindy McCready, who hit the top of the country charts before personal problems sidetracked her career, died Sunday in Arkansas in an apparent suicide. She was 37.

The Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that McCready was found dead at a residence in Heber Springs from what appears to be a single, self-inflicted gunshot to the head. An autopsy is pending.

It wasn’t the first suicide attempt for the troubled singer, whose list of problems only continued to grow in 2013.

McCready entered court-ordered rehab earlier this month after her father told a judge she was no longer taking care of herself or her children and was abusing drugs and alcohol. Her sons were put in foster care at the time, but it’s not clear where Zander and Zayne were at the time of McCready’s death.

McCready’s longtime boyfriend David Wilson, the father of her younger son, died last month in Arkansas. Authorities found his body on the same porch where they discovered McCready’s on Sunday, and his death also was investigated as a suicide.

The front porch light remained on Sunday night at McCready’s home in the wooded lakefront community filled with large homes. Yellow crime-scene tape blocked off the front of the house, and a deputy sat watch over the property, referring questions to the sheriff. A pickup truck remained in the driveway.

Wilson’s passing struck McCready hard. She issued a statement last month lamenting his death. She called him her soul mate and a caregiver to her sons in an interview with NBC’s “Today.” She said she’d never gone through anything as painful as his death.

“I just keep telling myself that the more suffering that I go through, the greater character I’ll have,” she said, according to a transcript of the interview. News of McCready’s death spread quickly Sunday night on Twitter, with major country stars paying their respects to the onetime Nashville darling. “Too much tragedy to overcome. R.I.P Mindy McCready,” wrote Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks.

And Jason Aldean added: “Just heard about Mindy McCready. My thoughts and prayers are with her 2 boys and her family.”

Great cinema will emerge from Pakistan: Naseeruddin What is Zinda Bhaag about?

Zinda Bhaag’s a Pakistani film I shot last year and it’s made by a first time film maker. It’s about illegal immigrants in Pakistan and a satire on the national anthem of Pakistan. Pakistan Zinda bad- Pakistan Zinda Bhaag! It’s the story of unemployed guys who see no future, no prospects and they get a few lakhs by begging, borrowing, stealing and scraping from wherever they can.

They are trying to escape on a ship. These are tragic events that occur in real life. I know of incidents where people have boarded the ship hiding in drums.

When they leave Karachi, their ship is only taking circles and comes back to Pakistan. These people are then told they have arrived in Dubai but are finally apprehended in court. I’m playing an agent who helps these 45 youngsters escape.

After Khuda Ke Liye, this will be your second Pakistani film. Many Pakistani actors have also made their careers in India. Will this help in promoting cultural ties between the two countries?

Cinema is the only way I know that will promote cultural ties between India Pakistan. I did plays there and workshops with university students where I spent time with them and played cricket. The kids are very bright like our generation here.

There’s great curiosity, awe and envy of India and they are fascinated by our country.

The tables have turned completely. When we were

young we heard stories of how they had imported cars in Pakistan. Whatever happens between our countries is so tragic. We can’t do anything about it. All we can do is encourage person to person contact. Few people in India have met Pakistanis or interacted with them. If you meet one, you will really change your opinion to some extent.

How do you view Pakistani cinema?

I feel great cinema will emerge from Pakistan in the near future.

Great cinema will also emerge f r o m Bangladesh and Nepal because these are countries which have been through hell. It will be these tortured countries which will produce great cinema, literature, poetry and paintings. I really feel that. It will emerge in the same manner as it did from Italy and Germany after World War II and even from countries like France, Poland and former Czechoslovakia. They really suffered.

Is Indian cinema any different from its’ neighbour?

We are just too fat and contented with our selves.

We’ll never make a great film in our country.

Have you faced any flak for doing Pakistani films or received any threats so far?

Not yet and hope it doesn’t happen. I won’t stop. I don’t go there to preach about India love or make these statements. I want to go there to meet the people, the younger generation.

In conversation with Ali Zafar

Melinda Gayle McCready arrived in Nashville in 1994 still in her teens with tapes of her karaoke vocals and earned a recording contract with BNA Records.

In 1996, her “Guys Do It All the Time” hit No. 1 and its dig at male chauvinism endeared her to females. Her other hits included “Ten Thousand Angels,” also in 1996, and her album by that title sold 2 million copies.

She spent the next 15 years chasing another hit as personal problems began plaguing her. Her problems included a custody battle with her mother over one of her sons, an overdose and discord in her love life.

McCready took her older son, Zander, from her mother and the boy’s legal guardian, Gayle Inge, in late 2011. She fled to Arkansas without permission over what she called child abuse fears. Authorities eventually found McCready hiding in a residence without permission and took the boy into custody.

She and Wilson had a son, Zayne, in April 2012. The older son’s father is McCready’s former boyfriend Billy McKnight.

In May 2010, she was hospitalized briefly after police responded to an overdose call at a home in North Fort Myers, Fla., owned by her mother.

This followed a stint on “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew,” where she declared herself to be clean from drugs. She is the fifth celebrity appearing on that show to have died.

But her troubles began earlier. In 2004, she was charged with obtaining the painkiller OxyContin fraudulently at a pharmacy. She pleaded guilty and was placed on three years’ probation.

She violated the probation with a drunken driving arrest in May 2005. A few days after that arrest, she was beaten and her boyfriend at the time was charged with attempted criminal homicide. Then she attempted suicide in July 2005, overdosed in September 2005 and slit her wrists in December 2008.

Also that year, McCready was charged in Arizona with hindering prosecution and unlawful use of transportation. Those charges stemmed from an alleged attempt in June 2005 to purchase two high performance boats, but she claimed she was trying to stop a con man.

In July 2007, she was arrested in her hometown of Fort Myers, Fla., on misdemeanor charges of scratching her mother on the face during a scuffle and resisting sheriff’s deputies.

She made headlines again in April 2008 when she claimed a longtime relationship with baseball great Roger Clemens. Published reports at the time said she met the pitcher at a Florida karaoke bar when she was 15 and he was 28 and married.

Ali Zafar is busy juggling between the promotions of his upcoming film Chashme Baddoor and shooting for film Chashme Baddoor. The actor speaks to TOI about Chashme Baddoor, David Dhawan and claims that he enjoys music and acting at the same time.

How did you get Chashme Baddoor? Tell us something about your role?

I got a call for this film and that’s when I saw the original film. I loved character and everything fell in place. There are lot of changes in the script, narration and adapted to modern time. I am playing Farooq Shaikh’s character from the old film.

With time things have changed. How do you see that and is there any conscious decision to make Chashme Baddoor for this age?

Every time has its own demands and there is a speed. In today’s world youth needs everything fast and the patience level of audience have also reduced. To keep them engaged throughout has become difficult. There are more angles in the film; Rishi Kapoor is playing an important part too. The basic plot and soul has not been touched. We have maintained honesty.

You have played different characters. Is any character close to you?

An actor needs to play the character which is demanded in the film. In Mere Brother Ki Dulhan there was a flamboyant and loud character. While, in Chasme Badoor I’ am shown as a simple, direct person who has two friends who are in contrast. All I would say that it depends how you enjoy the characters.

How was your experience with David Dhawan?

It’s great to work with David Dhawan. His style of telling things is interesting. There is a kid in David Dhawan and he is young at heart.

What are the things you consider while making a choice between various offers?

I look for two things- script, role and the people whom I work with. I want to work with good people and don’t want negative people. There are few people, who are angry and create tension for others. I will be away from such people.

What matters to you, box office or critical acclaim?

We make films to make profit; at the end of the day if it makes money everyone is happy. If the movie doesn’t do well, but get critical acclaim no one is happy.

Both are important, but box office is extremely important as I want my film to make money for their investors.

Has music taken backseat due to acting career?

I am doing both simultaneously. In my next, I am doing music for the film. At times, I also write songs and I am doing

music actively. Everything I do is related to films.

What is the difference between industry in Pakistan and India? Did you ever face any problem in Pakistan as you act in Indian films?

Bollywood is a big industry and everything is like corporate world. In Pakistan film industry is not big. There is no policy from government for films in Pakistan. I never had any problem in Pak and they give me lot of love.

08

February 21, 2013

Don’t question my loyalty, Mr. Chief Justice Dual citizens can help restore the Chief Justice to his office, but they are not permitted to question the makeup of Pakistan’s election commission.

While hearing a petition by Dr. Tahirul Qadri, who is a dual citizen of Canada and Pakistan, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Honourable Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, questioned the very loyalty of Pakistanis who have settled abroad and have become citizens of other countries. “How can somebody who takes an oath of allegiance to another country be loyal to Pakistan?” the Chief Justice remarked last Monday.

I am deeply disappointed by the honourable Chief Justice’s assertion that dual nationals may not be loyal to Pakistan. The honourable Chief Justice went even a step further and asked if the government of Pakistan should “allow such a person to retain its citizenship?”

I wonder if the honourable Chief Justice would have questioned the loyalty, motives, and locus standi of the thousands of Pakistani expatriates who joined his struggle for an independent judiciary in Pakistan. The two-year movement for independent judiciary started in March 2007 when the military dictator General Musharraf removed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry from his office and ended with his reinstatement in March 2009. The movement galvanised not only the Pakistani lawyers, but thousands of Pakistani expatriates.

Some of those dual citizens left their families abroad to be with the Chief Justice in Pakistan to join him and the rest of the nation in the quest for an independent judiciary. I don’t recall the honourable Chief Justice ever questioning the loyalty of the dual citizens who came in droves to his support.

Expatriates of the world unite One of the inescapable consequences of globalisation is the mobility of capital and labour across national borders and continents. It is not just the containers stuffed with goods being shipped from one corner of the world to another that has been the hallmark of globalisation. Globalisation has resulted in millions of workers leaving their countries of birth to search for jobs in foreign lands.

This has created a new global class of workers who have assumed nationalities of their adopted homes, wherever they were permitted to do so, but have, at the same time, not severed ties with their countries of birth where their families and memories continue to reside.

This new class of globalised skilled and unskilled workers remits over $500 billion annually to their countries of birth to support the social safety net, which in countries like Pakistan are either missing or not strong enough to catch most of those falling into abysmal poverty. The World Bank recently reported that developing countries would receive over $400 billion in remittances from ex-

patriate workers. While India, China, and the Philippines are the largest recipients of remittances, other countries including Tajikstan, Liberia, and Lebanon, despite smaller remittance amounts, rely even more on remittances because of the small domestic economic base.

In an earlier piece that appeared in the same space, I have argued for a greater political role for Pakistani expatriates who remitted nearly $14 billion to Pakistan in 2012. I based my assertion on the fact that remittances accounted for 7 per cent of the Pakistani GDP in 2011, whereas the entire tax collection accounted for a mere 10 per cent in Pakistan. Why would Pakistan deny a voice to those who may not live physically in the country, but their financial support is prompting the consumer spending and maintaining the social safety nets.

I wrote: “While the government is severely constrained in its ability to assist the needy, the expatriates subsidise the maintenance of a broken social safety net in Pakistan. In most instances, remittances pay for rents, medicines, grocery bills, mar-

riage expenses and other similar needs of low-income households who are unlikely to receive any meaningful support from the government. Similarly, remittances pay for tuition fees for children who would not be educated otherwise because of missing or inadequate public sector schools. The remittances therefore, plug the gap in social spending in Pakistan.”

Globally, remittances have by far exceeded the amounts doled out as official development assistance. Even with a much smaller cash outlay to Pakistan than remittances, the IMF and the World Bank assert huge pressure on Pakistan and dictate changes to Pakistan’s domestic policies; recall the structural adjustment programs. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, however, has not raised concerns about the IMF and the World Bank dictating their terms to the State. In comparison, the expats, who have sent $14 billion in 2012 to Pak-

istan, have to now prove their loyalty to Pakistan.

Paranoia in Pakistan What I find disturbing in Pakistan is the approach of the courts that have started to question the loyalties of Pakistanis who hold dual citizenships. Recently, it started with the superior courts questioning the loyalty of the former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, Mr. Husain Haqqani (who holds only Pakistani citizenship), and then followed with the disqualification of legislators who held dual citizenships.

I am amenable to the idea that dual citizens may not be allowed to hold public office. What I find extremely disturbing is the notion, now supported by the Supreme Court, that dual citizens may not be loyal to their country of birth. I wonder if the honourable Chief Justice realises the implications of his assertions. If the country of birth cannot trust the loyalty of dual citizens, why should the adopted country trust the dual citizens? Such an approach would effectively create a class of bastard citizens whose loyalty will be doubted by both home and adopted countries.

This may happen even when both the adopted homeland and the country of birth continue to benefit from the toils of these hard workers.

There has been a sordid history of questioning the loyalty of dual citizens. Earlier in 1949, the US Ambassador to Germany, George Bancroft, criticised such a notion when he asserted that “as soon tolerate a man with two wives as a man with two countries; as soon bear with polygamy as that state of double allegiance which common sense so

repudiates that it has not even coined a word to express it.”

(David Leblang, 2011).

Much has changed in the past six decades since Ambassador Bancroft expressed his utter disgust with the very idea of dual citizenships. In fact, the negative population growth rates in Europe have made Europeans increasingly dependent on immigrant workers, some of whom embrace dual citizenships.

According to David Leblang, the number of countries offering dual citizenship had increased to 84 in 2006. This has certainly benefitted the countries of birth since a simultaneous increased in the share of remittances has also been observed globally.

Source: David Leblang (2011) The Canadian Mullah The Pakistani-Canadian, Dr. Tahirul Qadri, must have taken the following oath of citizenship: “I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen.” Now, here is an interesting twist.

Dr. Qadri has not taken “an oath of allegiance to another country” as was suggested by the honourable Chief Justice, but instead has pledged to bear true allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the second.

May I remind the readers that while Dr. Qadri has pledged allegiance to Queen Elizabeth and her heirs, many a founding fathers and mothers of Pakistan had pledged similar allegiances to Queen’s father and grandfather. Did we ever question the loyalty of those who served the British Raj before they served the land of the pure?

I too am a Canadian citizen who was born in Pakistan. What I have learnt from faithfully observing the laws of Canada is a strong belief in equity, social justice and human rights. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is entrenched in the Constitution, promises (among others) the right to life, liberty, and security of the person. Why would adhering to such a noble commitment make me or anyone else disloyal to Pakistan or to this planet?

Govt not sincere in creating new provinces: Nawaz RAHIM YAR KHAN – Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) chief Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said Monday that PPP government was not sincere to create new provinces and federal government was making just a ‘Mansooba’ (plan) instead of a ‘Sooba’ (provice).

Addressing a public gathering in Mohsinabad Liaquatpur, 100 kilometer away from here, Nawaz said Centre was betraying people in the name of creation of new provinces. He added that PML-N government was the first to raise voice for the restoration of Bahawalpur

province and 80 billion rupees were spent on southern Punjab.

“I do not take politics as politics but a worship,” said Nawaz.

Sharif said he was in Rahim Yar Khan on the invitation of new member of PML-N Makhdoom Ahmad Alam Anwar who quit PMLQ and joined Nawaz League. He said despite enjoying full five-year term the PPP government gave nothing to the people of Pakistan and masses were facing multiple problems. Had PML-N enjoyed power in the Centre for five years, situation would have been entirely different now, he claimed adding, if elected he would give loans to the skilled youths of Pakistan. Once in power, the PML-N government would serve the people and win their hearts, Sharif maintained. He said if President Zardari would pay heed to problems of the masses for an hour daily there would be no 18-hour load-shedding of electricity in the country and condition of the people would have been different now. Sharif said taxes collected from the people were filling the pockets of ministers.

He said People's Party took part in elections with the slogan ‘Roti Kapra aur Makaan’ but people

could not get even ‘Roti’ and ‘Kapra’. They snatched right of living form the poor people of Pakistan, he added. Sharif vowed that he would never let down people of Pakistan. “I would not compromise on the sovereignty of the country and will work day and night to change the condition of the people,” he claimed. Sharif further said that his government would not pay heed to the unfair demands of America in the best interest of the public and country. He added that service of the people was his first priority. He said he used to take political advice from his father but some elements did not like that. He said when his father died, dictator Musharraf did not allow him to come to Pakistan and participate in his funerals.

He claimed credit for the restoration of judiciary which was now taking sue moto notices against the corruption, law and order and unconstitutional acts went to his party. He stressed for the immediate removal of the government accusing it of doing unprecedented corruption. Sharif added that federal government destroyed the agriculture sector in Pakistan by increasing rate of commodities related to the agricultural sector.

February 21, 2013

SPORTS The age-old concept of ‘occupying the crease’ is drilled into the minds of young cricketers from the moment they first pick up a bat. In Test matches, in particular, this approach brings great rewards.

However, the purpose of staying at the crease is to score runs and the rules of cricket are clear; the team that makes the most runs wins.

It seems though that Pakistan’s team management is at odds with those rules as was evident from the results of the first two Test matches against South Africa.

It was the continuation of the same trend that the management introduced in UAE over the last two years; the trend of trying to blunt down the opposition by staying at the wicket and scoring runs as an afterthought.

Pakistan was lucky that the wizardry of the spin twins Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman camouflaged this weakness against England last year; however, in South African conditions scoring at three runs per over was a bare minimum yet it seemed no one was paying attention!

The world-class bowling attack of the hosts was never taken on by Pakistan in either Johannesburg or Cape Town, and whilst the tourists were blown away in the opening innings at the Bullring, their lukewarm approach cost them the opportunity of squaring the series at Newlands.

The first innings total of 338 was compiled at a run rate of 2.9 runs per over, while the second innings score of 169 was mustered at a yawning rate of 2.3 runs to the over.

The Pakistani batsmen allowed the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander to keep a tight leash on them by remaining strokeless, even a Morkel-less attack on day four saw

09

Why play it safe?

Misbah-ul-Haq’s men collect a mere 57 runs in the opening session of the day and there was a loss of five wickets in the process which sealed the game.

Just imagine the outcome if Misbah and Azhar Ali batted a tad more sensibly and scored 40-

ball box.

50 runs more by mere rotation of strike and the odd boundary during their stay at the wicket which lasted nearly 36 overs for a paltry 69 runs.

They were buckled down for no apparent reason before Misbah gifted his wicket to Robin Peterson with the most ill-timed sweep shot ever.

The rest of the batting line-up failed to offer any resistance, a sight we are all used to now, and the second new ball the greatest threat to the Pakistani batsmen rested peacefully, unused in the

They realized very quickly that they had to be positive and aggressive in their approach otherwise Ajmal would have made the chase an insurmountable one.

Graeme Smith, his men and the outstanding coach Gary Kirsten devised a strategy mid-way in the match; Ajmal was to be handled with care while the rest were to be taken for runs. In the second innings, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez and the listless Tanvir Ahmed all conceded more than

On the contrary, the hosts chased down the tricky 182-run target in a mere 43.1 overs, scoring at 4.2 runs per over despite the threat of Ajmal who was wheeling away at one end.

five runs to the over, and the momentum was never given away despite the loss of six wickets.

While Misbah has done good things for Pakistan cricket since taking over in late 2010, the tour of South Africa was his ultimate challenge. It is extremely disappointing to note that his defensive mindset cost the tourists a real opportunity of winning the Cape Town Test.

The ‘safety first’ method had been his trademark and for some reason he believed that a tame approach would take his team through against the rampaging Proteas.

What irks more is the presence of Dav Whatmore as Pakistan’s coach. Whatmore was renowned for his out-of-the-box tactics especially in the 1996 World Cup when the pinch-hitting strategy of Sanath Jayasuria and Romesh Kaluwithrana won the Sri Lankans their sole World Cup title to date. Now he seems clueless, the innovative coach of the past has taken a back seat and it is evident that he is ‘hoping’ rather than planning for results to go Pakistan’s way.

The series is gone and the prospects of a whitewash loom. Misbah and his team would have to come out of their shells and go all guns blazing if they are to restore their pride in Centurion’s third and final Test.

The performance of Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq and the brilliance of Ajmal has proven that Misbah has match winners in his team – all he needs to do now is coerce them, make them fight together and make them believe that they can restore some semblance of parity.

A win in the third Test is a possibility with the right attitude but to realize that, the dour and defensive mindset has to be surpassed.

Pacers let down Pakistan Pakistan gain in ICC rankings despite series loss KARACHI - Former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has expressed his disappointment with the think-tank for the selection of medium-pacers Tanvir Ahmed and Rahat Ali for the tour to South Africa.

"Pakistan is known for its fast-bowling legacy over the last five decades," Waqar told ESPNcricinfo. "We are better than this and have better options than Tanvir. I don't know what the selectors and team management have seen in him.

Do they not know we need a bowler who can bowl with sheer pace in South Africa? Where is Aizaz Cheema and Wahab Riaz?

Why weren't they picked in the first place?" Tanvir's previous national call-up was in May 2011, after which he was dropped for his poor performance and fitness.

Before he was dropped, he played four Tests and picked up 16 wickets. Shortly after the Pakistan team landed in South Africa, Ali and Tanvir were called in as late reinforcements to bolster a side that already had four quicks. Tanvir's outing in the second Test was disappointing. He bowled only 10 overs out of 102.1 in the first innings and was given another five overs in the second innings to finish with figures of 10-4-26-0 and 5-0-43-1. He failed to impress with the new ball, bowling at a speed of around 120kph.

One of Pakistan's selectors refused to take the responsibility for Tanvir's selection, saying the team management had demanded reinforcement and it was their decision to play him in the final XI. "The problem isn't Tanvir. It lies with the selectors and the team think-tank who have to decide where they are going. I am really disappointed with Umar Gul, too. In my time, consistency was the key for every bowler. There was always a plan and a back-up plan with a lot of commitment, but here everything looked uncertain." In spite of being known for their fast bowlers, Pakistan have relied on spinners over the last three years, following bans on M Asif and M Aamir. Saeed Ajmal has emerged as a dependable strike bowler for Pakistan on all surfaces. "He (Ajmal) will continue to play his part with success - because he knows his role and his line and length," Waqar said. "We talk about our fragile batting, but it's the fast bowlers who are letting the team down. Gul looked bad with both the new and old ball." He said Pakistan wasted new ball in both Tests. "We bowled to their strengths. South Africa simply bowled in the right areas at perfect lengths. Pakistan were in a good position in the second Test, thanks to Ajmal's outstanding bowling. But we lost the opportunity and handed them a win."

JOHANNESBURG: Several players from Pakistan improved their rankings despite losing the series to world number one side South Africa, who are set to pocket $450,000 after they guaranteed the number one position in the ICC Test Championship beyond the April 1 cut-off date for prize money to be awarded in 2013.

In the Test player rankings, Pakistan’s Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Saeed Ajmal and Azhar Ali improved their positions in the rankings while captain Misbah-ul-Haq dropped down two places.

Younis rose to number nine after his fighting century in the first innings of the second Test while Shafiq, who partnered Younis to steady Pakistan, moved into the 16th position with England’s Ian Bell and Azhar Ali rose to number 11. Meanwhile, Misbah moved down two spots to occupy the 12th position.

In the bowlers’ rankings, Saeed Ajmal, who took 10 wickets in the second Tets against South Africa, jumped up by two spots to the third

position, behind South Africa’s Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.

Mohammad Irfan, who made his Test debut at Newlands, entered the rankings at number 95. The Proteas’ four-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second Test at Newlands on Sunday means they now cannot be caught at the top of the rankings by nearest rivals England, who are in New Zealand, or Australia, who are touring India.

The prize money is a significant increase from previous years, when $175 000 was given the teams topping the test or oneday international championship table.

While South Africa have sealed the number one spot, the battle for second, third and fourth positions is still alive with 13 points separating second-ranked England from fifth-ranked India. The nation that claims second position at the cut-off date will pick up $350,000, while the team finishing third will collect $250,000 and fourth takes home $150,000.

Azarenka injury ensures Serena remains No 1 DUBAI - Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka suffered a blow for the second successive year at the Dubai Open when she pulled with a heel injury, ensuring that Serena Williams will hold on to the world number one ranking this week.

Azarenka, the only unbeaten leading player on the tour this year, beat Williams in three sets in the final of the Qatar Open on Sunday, having played through part of that tournament with painkillers. Now, however, the bruising continues to cause pain in practice and the Belarussian has decided against risking it any further. Last year she also won the Qatar Open and similarly withdrew from the Dubai Open with a foot injury.

Azarenka would have regained the top spot had she won the title this week. Instead Williams is likely to remain number one at least until the Indian Wells tournament next month. "I'm very disappointed, but I have to listen to my body," said Azarenka, who suffered a ranking oddity by losing the world number one spot to Williams yesterday despite a rare success against the American the day

before. "The injury happened last week when I played a lot of tennis, so going on to a new tournament is just too much. The heel kept getting worse, and I needed to re-evaluate.

Sometimes the schedule is just too difficult. Unfortunately you can't know when you plan it in November what will happen in February. "I didn't want to continue taking painkillers because sometimes it's better to feel the

pain. so that you can control the injury.

Otherwise it can cause something which is much worse. This is just a warning that I have to take care of myself."

Azarenka also admitted that planning a schedule would become "progressively more difficult" as the women's game is becoming more and more physically demanding.

This was something which became clearer, she said, after she had won the Australian Open for the second successive time last month. "I never realised before just how much it takes out of you," she said. "Physically and mentally it just drains you out - and then you realise."

10

February 21, 2013

Health News Some call it one of the most powerful plant foods on the planet.

There’s some evidence it may help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. That’s quite a tall order for a tiny seed that’s been around for centuries.

Flaxseed was cultivated in Babylon as early as 3000 BC. In the 8th century, King Charlemagne believed so strongly in the health benefits of flaxseed that he passed laws requiring his subjects to consume it. Now, thirteen centuries later, some experts say we have preliminary research to back up what Charlemagne suspected.

Flaxseed is found in all kinds of today's foods from crackers to frozen waffles to oatmeal. The Flax Council estimates close to 300 new flax-based products were launched in the U.S. and Canada in 2010 alone. Not only has consumer demand for flaxseed grown, agricultural use has also increased. Flaxseed is what's used to feed all those chickens that are laying eggs with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

Although flaxseed contains all sorts of healthy components, it owes its primary healthy reputation to three of them:

‘Intelligence agencies had a role in Lal Masjid operation’

· Omega-3 essential fatty acids, "good" fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s. · Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75 to 800 times more lignans than other plant foods. · Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.

NAB chief tones down tirade against judiciary ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: National Accountability Bureau Chairman Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari toned down his tirade against the judiciary in a reply he submitted to the Supreme Court on Tuesday to answer the contempt charges.

The NAB chief praised Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for the role he had played for independence of the judiciary and held the media, and not himself, responsible for committing contempt of court.

The reply read out by his counsel Navid Rasul Mirza before a three-judge bench hearing the contempt case stated that the communication between him and President Asif Ali Zardari was privileged.

Admiral Bokhari is facing the contempt charges for writing a strongly-worded letter to the president accusing the superior judiciary of influencing NAB’s investigation into the rental

power projects scam.

The court office had on Feb 16 returned his application in which he had accused the bench of bias and that he already stood condemned. The office refused to entertain the application on grounds that it was meant to scandalise the judiciary.

The reply submitted on Tuesday recalled that Admiral Bokhari, after retirement as navy chief, took part in the movement for reinstatement of the chief justice in 2007. It stated that Admiral Bokhari could not think of and did not intend to commit contempt of court. It was the media which had committed the contempt, it said. The reply held the Jan 27 letter to the president as a confidential communication/ report made by him as administrative head of NAB on his personal letterhead to his appointing authority and said he owed a statutory responsibility of submitting an annual report to the president.

The letter, the NAB chief explained, was meant only for the president, and not for the media, expressing ignorance how the media got hold of it.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: Testifying before the Lal Masjid Commission on Tuesday, a witness presented new information about the perceived role of intelligence agencies in the events leading up to the 2007 operation.

He suggested that the government had not given due support to those working to avoid a military confrontation. Nadeem Ahmad is the chairman of Khubaib Foundation, a Turkish-funded relief organisation that took part in rescue and relief operations during and after the Lal Masjid operation.

He told the court that before the military operation, he had tried to convince Ghazi Abdul Rasheed — the brother of Maulana Abdul Aziz, the Khateeb of Lal Masjid — to avoid a confrontation with the government, and Ghazi Rasheed told him that an intelligence agency had given its support to the mosque administration.

According to Mr Ahmad’s testimony, Ghazi Rasheed felt that, with the support of an intelligence agency, the Lal Masjid administration would be able to “topple” Pervez Musharraf’s government and enforce Sharia law in Pakistan.

However, Mr Ahmad reports that Maulana Fazalur Rehman, the chief of the JUI-F, claimed that the intelligence agencies were deceiving the clerics and playing them false. The Maulana alleged that a “dispute” between two spy agencies was behind the matter.

Justice Shahzado Sheikh, the lone judge on the Federal Shariat Court’s Lal Masjid Commission, also took statements from government representatives, although former president Pervez Musharraf and prime minister Shaukat Aziz failed, for the third time, to appear before the court. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been asked to serve them notices yet again through the embassies. Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, who was the federal railways minister in 2007, cited his unrelated portfolio and “not very cordial” relationship with Shaukat Aziz when telling the court he “had had no mandate” to influence the government on the situation.

He claimed, since the matter was not brought into the federal cabinet, he did not know who ordered the military operation.

Abdul Shakoor Tahir, thenChief Coordinator for PTV, told the commission that he had planned the “special transmission” on the Lal Masjid operation.

He said, however, that the interview with a burqa-clad Maulana Aziz had not been his initiative. Justice Shahzado Sheikh turned finally to Shanaz A. Riaz, Director-General of the Federal Directorate of Education. The court asked her to suggest possible reforms, including scientific education, that could help influence madressah culture and reduce the likelihood of such incidents in the future.

Prospect of spring election closer after throne speech deciding to entrench the McGuinty agenda that brought us the biggest jobs and debt crisis that we've seen in our lifetimes."

The New Democrats will vote for the throne speech and stave off an election for now, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

But that support will disappear if her list of demands aren't in the spring budget, she said.

"I've been pretty clear. The expectations are not outrageous, they're not unachievable," Horwath said. "They're things that I need to see in the budget. That's it."

It's the clearest sign yet that Ontario could be plunged in an election this spring, unless the Liberals can persuade one of the parties to support their fiscal plan.

The speech laid out their blueprint for the new legislative session, promising to pay down Ontario's $12-billion deficit while building a "fair society" that leaves no one behind.

It also promised to work collaboratively with the opposition parties "in the spirit of renewed co-operation" to get things done.

Wynne expressed hope that her overtures would encourage the opposition parties to work out their differences.

"I think that there is lots for both opposition parties to work with us on," she said. "I hope that they're able to see that."

Improving homecare and tackling youth unemployment are issues that all three parties can get behind, she said.

"Those are things that really are not partisan issues," Wynne said. "Those are concerns of the people of the province."

The Liberals also promised in the speech to keep a close eye on corporate taxes, work with public sector workers on wage talks and give local residents more say in whether they get a wind farm, gas plant or casino.

They plan to restrain spending to one per cent below gross domestic product once the budget is balanced in 2017-18 -- something the Liberals believed the Tories would support.

They also said they'd "evaluate corporate tax compliance," which the NDP wanted.

The Liberals also reached out to the oppo-

sition parties on the Employer Health Tax, saying they'd consider raising the exemption threshold.

Currently, businesses don't have to pay the tax on the first $400,000 of payroll, but the NDP wanted to end the exemption for businesses with payrolls over $5 million.

The Liberals promised to tackle youth and aboriginal unemployment, while making efforts to give people with disabilities better access to jobs.

The government will also contribute $50 million to a new venture capital fund to give small- and medium-sized businesses a leg up, the speech said.

At the same time, they'll let people on social assistance keep more of their earnings when they work.

As for the Liberals' rocky relationship with labour groups and teachers angry over imposed contracts, the government will "build a sustainable model for wage negotiations" that will respect collective bargaining, the speech stated.

"It will show its respect for teachers, support staff, principals and school boards," Lt. Gov. David Onley said as he read the speech.

Union leaders said there are ongoing talks about bringing back extracurricular activities, but their members are looking for something more concrete. "I didn't hear anything in particular in the throne speech that gave me any other sense of encouragement or hope," said Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario. The Liberals said they'd make transit, roads and bridges a priority, hinting that improving such infrastructure may require politically unpopular levies. Provincially funded Metrolinx is musing about charging commuters for parking at their GO Transit stations -- something the Liberals promised they wouldn't do last year when they hiked licence and registration fees.

But Wynne said it's too early to say which "revenue tools" should be used.

Municipalities should have a say in it, as well as a voice in their regional development, the speech said.

"So that local populations are involved from the beginning if there is going to be a gas plant or a casino or a wind plant or a quarry in their hometown," Onley read.

February 21, 2013

11

Syria rebels target Assad as missile toll mounts DAMASCUS - Insurgents fired mortar rounds at one of President Bashar al-Assad's palaces in the Syrian capital on Tuesday, as the death toll mounted from a devastating missile strike on second city Aleppo. The shelling, which was claimed by the rebel Free Syrian Army, came as dozens of Russians left the war-battered country on a plane sent

by Moscow as its navy reportedly sent four warships to the Mediterranean for a larger evacuation.

The fresh violence came as the United Nations said more than four million people inside Syria are in desperate need of aid, up sharply from 2.5 million in September.

In Damascus, two mortar shells crashed into an area "near the southern wall of Tishreen palace" and two hospitals, causing damage but no casualties, state news agency SANA quoted an unnamed official as saying.

Little is known about Assad's movements, and Tishreen is normally reserved for dignitaries, but it was the first time his regime has reported shells falling near a palace since the conflict flared 23 months ago. The military council of the rebel Free Syrian Army announced on Facebook that "the Free Army has fired mortars at the Tishreen presidential palace" in west Damascus.

The shelling came a day after an apparent

surface-to-surface missile attack flattened a residential area of Aleppo city, killing at least 31 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.

Fourteen children and five women were among the dead, and the "toll is likely to rise as bodies are being retrieved from under the rubble," it said, adding people were critically injured.

There were no planes overhead when the missile hit, according to residents, and the extent of the destruction indicated a surface-to-surface missile was likely used, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. Abu Hisham, an Aleppo-based citizen journalist, said "housing in the district was informally built. It took one surface-to-surface rocket to destroy an entire neighbourhood."

Video footage and photographs shot by activists in Aleppo, scene of fierce fighting since

the army launched an all-out assault to stop a rebel advance on the city on July 20, showed massive destruction in Jabal Badro.

Amateur film posted online by the antiregime Aleppo Media Centre showed crowds of people gathering around hills of rubble and a bulldozer shovelling the debris as residents searched for relatives. "I swear to God! I rescued a baby aged just two months from the rubble!" an unidentified man cried out in the video, whose authenticity AFP could not verify. In the regime stronghold of Latakia, two Russian government planes carried humanitarian aid from Moscow to the port city, before taking back 99 Russians and other ex-Soviet citizens who wanted to leave on their return trip.

Moscow, which unlike other world powers still keeps close ties with the Assad regime, also announced it would host Syrian Foreign Minister

Mossad exposed after mystery prisoner death The mysterious arrest and suicide of an Australian-Israeli with Mossad ties in a top-secret prison cell near Tel Aviv has raised a questions about how Israel’s shadowy spy outfit chooses its agents. While some reports suggested the man now identified as Ben Zygier may have been a loose-lipped braggart with psychological problems, a veteran Israeli defence analyst dismissed the claims, saying it would have shown up clearly in the agency’s exhaustive vetting procedures.

Australia’s ABC which broke the story of his identity last week, said Zygier had worked for Mossad until he was arrested in early 2010 for reasons which remain a mystery, and was thrown into an isolated high-security cell in Ayalon prison where he was found hanged 10 months later.

Although Israel confirmed the death of a dual national in prison in December 2010, it has refused to comment on his involvement with Mossad nor said anything about why he was arrested, key details which remain subject to a court-ordered blackout in the name of national security.

But last week, a human rights lawyer who met Zygier just days before he died, confirmed his contact at the prison was a Mossad agent.

And on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that exposing intelligence activities could “badly damage” state security in what appeared to be the closest admission yet of the prisoner’s links to Mossad. Australian journalist Jason Koutsoukis, who interviewed Zygier several times in early 2010 said the Melbourne-raised lawyer had vehemently denied spying. But a friend who knew Zygier from his days living on a kibbutz told Haaretz newspaper the young Australian had “bragged about his work for the Mossad.” Another friend quoted by the paper said Zygier told him about a traumatic experience providing security backup for Israeli intelligence operatives in Lebanon. “Ben ... told me that he had been compelled to kill a boy and girl while providing security for an operation in Lebanon. He told me he was hospitalised for a month with shell shock,” he said.

“It astounds me if that could really happen. If so, how

did they recruit him into the Mossad?” he wondered. “Israel does not recruit someone who says he’s in Mossad. If someone says he’s Mossad, he’d be fired,” said another Israeli friend who knew the Zygier family.

Intelligence and defence expert Yossi Melman told AFP that any flaws in Zygier’s character would almost certainly have been known to his employers. “The vetting is very, very, very rigorous,” he said.

“It can take a year before someone is recruited, just to begin as a cadet. You undergo psychological screening and psychometric exams and you talk to psychologists, you are interviewed, then you are given some sort of tests in the field,” he said. “If (Zygier) had any past problems ... I am sure that Mossad knew about it,” said Melman, whose book “Spies Against Armageddon” looks at Mossad operations targeting Iranian nuclear scientists.

According to the latest report by ABC published on Monday, Zygier was arrested by his Mossad handlers after leaking detailed information about his work to the Australian intelligence services.

It said Zygier had given the Australians a comprehensive account of a number of Mossad operations, including plans for a top-secret mission in Italy that had been years in the making. Zygier, who also went by several other surnames - Alon, Allen and Burrowes - was reportedly one of three Australian Jews working for Mossad who changed their names several times to take out new passports, enabling them to travel to Middle Eastern countries where Israelis cannot enter. It said he was involved in setting up a Europe-based communications company for Mossad that exported electronic components to Iran and to other Arab countries, working alongside two other Australian-Israelis also employed by the spy agency. But the alarms went off at Mossad after it uncovered his contact with the Australian spy agency, ASIO, ABC said. Zygier’s sudden arrest in February 2010 took place shortly after Dubai police accused Mossad of being behind a January hit on a top Hamas man and said it was seeking more than a dozen suspects with Western passports - four of them Australian.

Three-day strike begins in Indian-administered Kashmir SRINAGAR: Most shops and businesses were shut on Wednesday in Indian-administered Kashmir after separatists called for a three-day strike to demand the return of the body of a Kashmiri man secretly executed and buried in the Indian capital. The strike began Wednesday and authorities imposed a ban on the assembly of more than four people to prevent protests in the region.

Kashmir was rocked by violent anti-India protests after Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in a New Delhi jail on February 9, 2013. He was convicted of involvement in a 2001 attack on India’s Parliament.

Three protesters died in clashes with troops. Many Kashmiris believe Guru did not get a fair trial and the execution’s secrecy only fuelled the anger in a region where antiIndia sentiment runs deep.

Walid al-Muallem for talks on the crisis next week.

On February 13, a top Russian official said Syria's opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib was also due in Moscow, though he did not specify when. Observers are watching for any hints of Russia planning a full-scale evacuation of its citizens, which would be seen as a tacit admission from Moscow that Assad is doomed in his fight against rebels. Meanwhile, hundreds of troops backed by military vehicles poured into Aleppo province, as rebels clashed with loyalists around Kwayris military airport as they pushed on with an assault to take control of Aleppo international airport. At least 40 people were killed across Syrian on Tuesday, including five in a car bomb attack in Damascus province, the Observatory said.

In Geneva, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos described the situation as "devastating" as she announced that four million people inside Syrian needed aid.

"We are watching a humanitarian tragedy unfold before our eyes," said Amos.

The United Nations says at least 70,000 people have been killed in the near two-year conflict, while the number of Syrians who have fled their homeland now tops 850,000.

Saudi Arabia recalls envoy from Sri Lanka RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador from Colombo in a titfor-tat move amid tensions after a Sri Lankan nanny convicted of murder was beheaded in the kingdom, the official SPA news agency reported.

“Based on the decision by the Sri Lankan government to withdraw its ambassador from the kingdom, the (Saudi) foreign ministry has recalled its ambassador in Sri Lanka for consultations,” SPA reported late Tuesday quoting a ministry spokesman. Tensions between both countries have been strained since the January 9 execution at a prison in Riyadh of Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafik, who was only 17 when she was charged with smothering a four-month-old baby in Saudi Arabia in 2005. Nafik was found guilty of smothering the infant in her care after an argument with the child’s mother, the Saudi interior ministry said.

Last month, Sri Lanka’s Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella announced that women

under 25 were now banned from going to Saudi Arabia to work as maids, adding that it was the first step towards a worldwide travel ban for low-paying jobs.

The United States and the United Nations have led international

condemnation of the execution.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia’s strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.

In 2012, the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom executed 76 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The USbased Human Rights Watch put the number at 69. This year, it has so far beheaded 14 people.

Cameron confronts ‘shameful’ colonial crime in India AMRITSAR: British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the site of a colonial-era massacre in India on Wednesday, describing the episode as “deeply shameful” while stopping short of a public apology.

On the last leg of a three-day trip aimed at forging deeper economic ties, Cameron took the bold decision to visit the city of Amritsar and tackle an enduring scar of British rule on the subcontinent, which ended in 1947.

Dressed in a dark suit and bowing his head, he laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims at Jallianwala Bagh, where British troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protesters in 1919.

In a message in the visitors’ book, he wrote: “This was a deeply shameful event in British history and one that Winston Churchill rightly declared at the time as ‘monstrous’.

“We must never forget what happened here. And in remembering we must ensure that the United Kingdom stands up for the right of peaceful protest around the world.”

The number of casualties at the Jallianwala Bagh garden is unclear, with colonial-era records showing about 400 deaths while Indian figures put the number killed at closer to 1,000.

Bhusan Behl, who heads a trust for the families of victims, has campaigned for decades on behalf of his grandfather who was killed at the entrance to the walled area.

He said he was hoping that Cameron would say sorry for the slaughter ordered by General Reginald Dyer, which was immortalised in Richard Attenborough’s film “Gandhi” and features in Salman Rushdie’s epic book “Midnight’s Children”.

12

February 21, 2013

Martha Hall Findlay who is one of the hopefuls for the Liberal party of Canada leadership race but the only one (till now) who took time out to meet GTA’s community leader and ethnic media in a very informal way. ...Very open question answer session and would admit that she seemed willing to discuss all issues and won’t beat around the bush when answering. She herself being a successful lawyer, businesswoman

and an entrepreneur with experience does seem to understand day to day issues of a common person to a reasonable extent. In my view it does not matter if she wins this race or not does not really matter but the liberal party & all other political should take some time out and engage themselves more in understanding day to day community issues at grass root levels. Good luck Martha in days to come. Way to go.

Hazara Waiting for "Peace" but for how long?

Gugni Gill's Valentine Gala 2013

A Star Studded Rendezvous Being a part of those progressive educated and versatile South Asians I not only felt gratified but also felt Anokhi myself. Bollywood’s Star Power comes to those who belong to Anokhi and who ruminate Anokhi.

Not one not two but a series of stars , achievers and achieving inspired the community gathered alike. A team of young at heart, soul and body teamed up 10 years ago in the midst of Canadian hegemony and walked all the way successfully into their 10th anniversary. It was a belief along with their dream and passion which could be seen in their words while they spoke and their eyes while they posed.

It wasn’t an easy job to gather all those celebrities under one roof and is definitely not a single persons sweat. At Anokhi I felt the power of united, relentless, wired and passionate people, be it Raj Girn, Founder/ President/CEO/Publisher orHina Ansari Editor in chief Anokhi and the star power infused by these young achievers.

And since you know you cannot see yourself, so well as by reflection, I, your glass,

Pakistan it has to be their way or the highway. This problem has been there all along since the creation of Pakistan but now there is no room under the rug to hold the dirt.

Security agencies of Pakistan if are serious to address this issue should step in and take matters in their own hands as the government has failed miserably both at the federal and for sure on the provincial level in Frontier, Blochistan & Sindh specially in Karachi. Where lawlessness seems to be at its best and the matter of the fact is that there seems to be no one there to really challenge them. As a nation it is “now or never” for Pakistan. So someone or some party or some agency has to step up to the plate. Otherwise who know what the end result might be?

PPP invites applications for party ticket will modestly discover to yourself, that of yourself which you yet know not of.

Concluding with these words of William Shakespeare ..still more to come for Anokhi, more milestones to embed, it’s The Beginning.

Candidates required to submit tax returns of three years ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan has made it mandatory for candidates for national and provincial assembly seats to submit income and agriculture tax returns of the past three years.

According to changes in declaration and oath approved by the ECP at a meeting presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim here on Tuesday, candidates will be required to disclose their income and source and income tax paid over the past three years.

They will also have to submit details of their children studying abroad and expenses incurred on their education, foreign trips undertaken by them during the period and cost incurred and a copy of the passport used.

The candidates will be required to give details of agricultural land held by them and agriculture income and tax paid during that period. Earlier they were required to provide details of their movable and immovable property in and outside Pakistan, but now they will also have to state location, description, built-up area and market value of the house or apartment in which they are living.

The candidates will also have to submit names of their spouse and dependants and declare that the names are cor-

The shameless attitude of the government & all major political parties of Pakistan continued even after the second day of the Quetta blast incident which has claimed closer to 90 lives so far with a couple of hundred injured. All these so c...alled leaders will say mute as they would pass this horrible incident to just pass as the other that happens every day all over the country. These wise so called leaders don’t seem to realize that hazara tribe which in majority happens to be shia a faction of Islam which is in minority is been targeted repeatedly so who could be behind it specially some sunni factions who are in majority and would just want these victims to be wiped out from Pakistan, as they (sunni) groups we all clearly know think that they are the only custodians of Islam and in

rect and no name has been left out. They will be required to give details of companies owned by them, their spouse or dependants. They will also have to submit a statement on oath that they have neither ceased to be a citizen of Pakistan nor they have acquired or applied for citizenship of a foreign state and a declaration that they will have no objection if information relating to acquisition of citizenship of a foreign state or application for such citizenship is provided by a foreign state to the ministry of foreign affairs. Failure to provide details about any matter mentioned in the form shall render their nomination invalid.

Those who have been members of the national or a provincial assembly will be required to describe what they consider to be the most important contribution made by them for the benefit of their constituency. Candidates will also be required to state whether they made any payment to their political party to obtain its ticket, and if so how much. They will also have to disclose if they received any amount of money from the party which awarded them the ticket. They will be required to provide details of any donation given by them to any recognised charitable organisation or educational institution over the past three years.

Candidates will also be required to provide details of the bank account opened for election expenses, along with the name and branch of the bank and an undertaking that they will make all election expenses from the amount deposited in the account and will not make any transaction for poll expenses through another account.

They will have to provide details of the value of total assets and expenditure including mortgages secured on property or land and their personal expenditure, indicating increase or decrease over the previous year. An official of the ECP told Dawn that rules needed to be amended for making changes in the format of nomination papers and declarations, which the commission would be able to do with the approval by the president. He said a reference for the purpose was being sent to the president through the ministry of law and justice. He said the commission had taken notice of reports about Sindh government’s plan to give 27,500 plots to PPP workers and sought a report from the chief secretary. The ECP decided that a ban on transfer of Rs250 million by the Finance Division to the ministry of law for payments to be made to the bar councils will be lifted next month after expiry of the term of the National Assembly.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has invited applications from those aspiring for the party tickets to contest the general election.

A party announcement says the applications, addressed to PPP Parliamentarians president Makhdoom Amin Fahim, should be sent to its central secretariat in Islamabad’s G-6 Sector by March 10.

A bank draft of Rs40,000 for a National Assembly seat and

downloading.

The candidates for the PML-N tickets have been asked to provide details of their previous political affiliations, date of joining the party, political and social services, if any, role in the struggle for restoration of democracy and previous electoral performance. No such details have been sought by the PPP. The candidates for the PML-N ticket will also have to justify their suitability for the con-

Rs30,000 for a provincial assembly seat must be sent with the applications. The Pakistan Muslim League-N has already invited such applications by March 5 on a form to be obtained from the party’s Model Town office in Lahore, central secretariat in Islamabad and provincial offices in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The party has also put the form on its website for

stituency from where they intend to contest elections.

The party has asked the candidates to attach with their applications a bank draft of Rs50,000 for a National Assembly ticket, Rs30,000 for a provincial assembly seat, Rs100,000 for a reserved seat for women and minorities in the National Assembly and Rs75,000 in a provincial assembly.