Canadian Pakistani Times

Canadian Pakistani Times

All political parties will be consulted for interim govt: President

President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed to hold the most transparent elections of the history in the country on time.

Talking to PPP leaders in Karachi‚ he said all attempts to derail democracy have been frustrated with the help of the masses.

He said the government is completing its constitutional tenure and general elections will be held in accordance with the constitution.

The President said Caretaker government will be formed in consultation with all allies and opposition parties.

He formed a three member committee headed by Khursheed Shah to devise a future strategy of the PPP in Balochistan.

Turkey guarantees safe passage to Kurdish rebels: PM ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday his government was determined to settle the three-decade Kurdish conflict and would guarantee safe passage for rebels wishing to leave the country.

“If you are sincere and honest, you lay down your arms,” Erdogan told his ruling party lawmakers in parliament, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“If you don’t want to live in this country, you are free to go to any country you like. We assure you that … we’ll do our best not to let what happened at our borders before happen again,” he said. Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran all have Kurdish minorities in regions straddling their common borders. In the past there have been clashes between Turkey’s security forces and the PKK as they were leaving the country for northern Iraq where the group enjoys safe haven.

Ankara has acknowledged that a fresh round of talks was being held between Turkey’s secret services and the jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan with the ultimate aim of disarming the rebels. Turkish media have speculated that the nascent talks have produced a roadmap to end the long-running insurgency in Turkey, which has claimed 45,000 lives, mostly Kurdish. But the reported roadmap has not been confirmed by either party. Erdogan’s remarks came as six PKK rebels, including two women, were killed in clashes with Turkish security forces near the Syrian border, a security source said.

January 24, 2013 Volume 1, 044

Thursday

Pak Army, ANA, Isaf reiterate cooperation ISLAMABAD - The military commanders from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Western military alliance pledged on Monday to continue cooperation against the prevalent threat across the Pak-Afghan border posed by the militants through their widely used weapon-Improvised Explosive Device.The development followed a meeting of the Working Group's Sub-Committee for Counter Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IEDs) at the General Headquarters participated by the Armies operational heads from the three sides. The Sub-Committee works under the umbrella of the Tripartite Commission (TPC).This was the third meeting since last year held to discuss the IEDs issue from the TPC platform.

The previous two meetings were reportedly held in May and November 2012, according to informed sources.

Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Major General Sean B. MacFarland, Pakistan Army Director General Military Operations (DG MO) Major General Ishfaq Nadeem and DG MO Afghan National Army (ANA) Major General Afzal Aman were part of the Monday meeting."The participants dwelt at length on measures to counter the IED threat faced by the civil population as well as security forces on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, reviewed and expressed their satisfaction over the progress made so far since establishment of the Working Group as a Sub-Committee of the Tripartite Commission. The Working Group resolved to take forward the good work already done through more intimate cooperation in the field of counter IED," Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. In the recent past, the military men and the civilians at both the sides of the PakAfghan border have increasingly faced terrorist attacks coming from the IEDs. On Jan 13th, over a

dozen Pakistani soldiers lost their lives when the militants targeted their convoy using IEDs near Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency (NWA). The attack had taken place a day after the Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP) announced not to attack Pakistani security forces in the NWA and to launch

'Jehad' in Indian Held Kashmir. Last month, an IED blast had claimed the lives of 10 girls in Afghan province of Nangarhar.The military officials said, the TPC's Sub-Committee on the C-IEDs has categorised landmines as part of the IEDs considering that several attack on allied forces and Pakistan Army were carried out using the landmines."Technically, there's a difference between the landmines and the IEDs, but generally, they have been categorised under the same definition to recognise the threat this kind of lethal technology poses to the forces fighting militancy in the north," a military source said. In November last year, the Pakistan Army, ANA and the ISAF commanders had signed Tripartite Border Coordination Mechanism during the 36th meeting of the TPC.

Reportedly, the C-IEDs sub-committee meeting was also held on the sidelines of the event.

Earlier in May, an ISAF delegation headed by General John Allen had arrived in Pakistan to attend a scheduled TPC meeting. Although, the C-IEDs' sub-committee meeting had reportedly taken place then, the efforts to continue cooperation had remained stalled owing to the PakUS standoff over the NATO supplies resumption.

According to the NATO's official data, the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) recognises IEDs as "one of the main causes of causalties among troops and exact a heavy toll on local populations. With the aim of reducing the risks posed

by IEDs, the alliance helps members and partners in developing their own CIED capabilities, with a particular emphasis on education and training, doctrine development and improving counter-measure technologies."The NATO says it introduced a C-IEDs action plan with two main focus areas: defeating the device itself and disrupting the network.

"With defeating the device, various branches within NATO look at how to detect and neutralise IEDs, prepare and train soldiers for an IED environment, develop technology to prevent IED attacks and protect soldiers and civilians.""C-IED is not just about stopping or neutralising an IED once it is already in place, but also about identifying and disrupting the networks that create and initiate IEDs. The Alliance focuses on reducing the frequency and severity of IED attacks, while also targeting the networks that facilitate them. Understanding the various threat networks at the tactical to strategic levels is vital to success in current and future operations where battle lines are no longer linear," the NATO's official website says.

Obama’s quest for greatness The “legacy thing” may be harder than Barack Obama imagines. Beginning his second term, Obama has a focused, though unstated, agenda: to achieve presidential greatness in the eyes of historians and Americans. In this, he will almost certainly fail. He is already a historic president as the first African American to be elected, but there is a chasm between being historic and being great.

Presidents are ultimately judged not by their total record, or by their ability to enact their agendas, or by their popularity.

They are judged by whether they get a few very big decisions right or wrong. Lyndon Johnson is mostly remembered for failure in Vietnam; it overshadows the passage of two landmark civil rights bills and approval of Medicare and Medicaid. Richard Nixon is not celebrated for creating the Environmental Protection Agency, expanding food stamps or opening talks with China; Watergate dwarfs all.

These appraisals are made while a president is in office and, more definitively, after he’s

left. Does a president’s performance stand the test of time based on what happens later? Did his policies advance or retard the nation’s well-being?

Were they wise or simply expedient? Depending on the answers, much else can be forgiven or forgotten, as Robert Merry shows in his engaging book “Where They Stand: The American Presidents in the Eyes of Voters and Historians.”

Consider Harry Truman. For his last year in office, he was deeply unpopular. His approval rating hit a low of 22 per cent. The Korean War frustrated Americans; the White House was accused

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of cronyism. Yet, historians rank him in the top 10 presidents. Merry relates Truman’s reaction to the Soviets’ 1948 overland blockade of Berlin “to starve out the city [and] bring it under the Soviet yoke.” His top advisers concluded that US withdrawal was inevitable. To which Truman responded: “We stay in Berlin. Period.” The Berlin Airlift followed.

“That decision helps explain why Truman is ranked so high by historians,” writes Merry. With hindsight, many momentous choices seemed correct: ending World War II with atomic bombs (“saving perhaps a million American lives,” argues (Cont to page 11)

10

January 24, 2013

No longer reluctant, Rahul?

It’s been in the works for some time, but it looks like the fifth-generation Nehru family representative, Rahul Gandhi, is taking guard for his big moment ahead of the general elections in India next year. After months, if not years of dithering, the grand old party, the Indian National Congress, announced on Saturday in Jaipur that 42-year-old Rahul would be the vice-president of the party, next in hierarchy to his mother and party chief Sonia Gandhi. With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expected to bow out after his second term in office in 2014, the mantle of government leadership, is likely to fall on Rahul, if and only if, the Congress manages to scrape the numbers’ barrel once again.

One still uses the word likely because the two-time member of the Lok Sabha from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh has been a reluctant politician, seen before key elections, but vanishing from the

political scene soon after.

He’s “officially” been in politics since 2004, when he contested his father, the late Rajiv Gandhi’s Lok Sabha Amethi seat, and won from there. After nine years in politics, familiarisation tours across the country, India would like to get to know this 40-plus leader’s views on a range of issues, from sexual violence against women to foreign affairs.

We’ve also seen the Manmohan SinghSonia Gandhi model of governance, where government and political / party affairs have been neatly divided between the two leaders, who have shown quiet determination in making this power sharing arrangement work.

Rahul’s previous attempts at leading Congress party campaigns in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh haven’t been very successful and the party is still to re-establish itself as a force in these two key states which, between them, send 120 members to the 543-member Lok Sabha.

He’s been in the public eye intermittently, but has had few press or public interactions, where the young man, whose favourite pastime is described as “reading (history, sociology, international relations, development, management, biographies), playing chess and flying, could be questioned closely about his views on a range of issues. For instance, he’s been totally missing from the public discourse following the brutal gang-rape and murder of a young girl in Delhi in mid-December, which has highlighted the general state of women’s insecurity in India, like never before in recent memory.

But, while his mother, Sonia, has spoken

up time and again, the input from her son, Rahul, has been minimal. Young (and old) India would really like to know what he thinks needs to be done as the country hopes for a more equal society, where women’s rights would really be fundamental. It’s a difficult country and people to deal with, with a variety and range of problems anyone would find a daunting challenge. But, if Rahul has to present a credible, acceptable and accessible face to the Indian people, especially the young at a time when 70 per cent of India’s population is below 35.

He can longer afford to make intermittent appearances on the political stage.

Speaking in Jaipur on Sunday afternoon after being appointed Congress Vice-President, Rahul said, “A young and impatient India is demanding a greater voice, and let me tell you they will not watch silently.”

In a rare exposition of his views, the Congress Vice-President said, “Until we start to respect and empower people, we cannot change anything in this country… all are closed systems, designed for mediocrity, mediocrity dominates.”

There’s little doubt that he will now be the

cynosure of all political attention as the country moves towards elections, which must be held around May 2014. And, the media, which has come to believe that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will be his main rival in 2014, has already started comparing the two.

Modi, who won a hat-trick in the Gujarat state elections, was chief executive when hundreds of Muslims were killed following the burning of a train carrying Hindu pilgrims in 2002. He remains a controversial figure, but has tried to woo Indian big business in a bid to gain acceptability as a leader beyond Gujarat.

The BJP itself has said nothing about who will lead the party into the 2014 elections, but Modi’s many, loud followers in cyberspace believe that it will be him leading the charge ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Be that as it may, Rahul Gandhi maybe a member of India’s first political dynasty, but he has a lot to prove before he can take over the reins of the governing establishment. First and foremost, he must ensure that the Congress is within striking distance of retaining power in 2014

Patriot missiles arrive in Turkey ANKARA - Four batteries of Patriot missiles arrived in Turkey on Monday as part of a NATO mission to protect the Turkish border from any spillover of the conflict in neighbouring Syria, a NATO source told AFP. A ship carrying two German Patriot missile batteries anchored at the southwestern port of Iskenderun early Monday and its cargo was being unloaded, the source said on condition of anonymity. A second ship bearing another two Patriot missile batteries from The Netherlands also arrived at Iskenderun after a twoweek journey, waiting behind the German ship to unload its cargo and 300 support troops, the source said. NATO insists the measure is purely defensive. "We hope the mission will not take too long," a German colonel was quoted as saying by the private NTV television at the port of Iskenderun. "If we are wanted to stay longer we will do that," he said, speaking in English.

The United States has also begun deployment of two Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to contribute to the mission, which NATO says will be operational by early February.

Its first shipment arrived by air earlier this month at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey's southeast. Additional equipment will be sent by sea later in January.

The US Patriots "are in Incirlik still,"

Peter Woodmansee, missile defence chief of the US European Command, told AFP. "They will move to Gaziantep once the Turkish military finishes preparing the site. I estimate in another five to seven days or so," he said.

The Americans will be based at Gaziantep, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the Syrian border.

The six batteries of the US-made missiles, effective against aircraft and short-range missiles, will be deployed in the southern city of Adana and the southeastern cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, along with 350 troops from each contributing nation.

Britain will focus G8 on terror threat LONDON - Britain will use its chairmanship of the Group of Eight richest nations to focus on the threat of terrorism following developments in Algeria and Mali, Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday.

Cameron said the "evolving" threat from Al-Qaeda and other jihadists in north Africa required an urgent response, and now outweighed that from previous Islamist hotbeds in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "I will use our chairmanship of the G8 this year to make sure this issue of terrorism and how we respond to it is right at the top of the agenda where it belongs," he said in a statement to parliament on the Algeria hostage crisis.

Britain will contribute intelligence and counter-terrorism assets to an "international effort to find and dismantle the network that planned and ordered the brutal assault" on the In Amenas gas field in Algeria, he said.

It will also work closely with the Algerian

government to learn lessons from the attack, in which three British nationals were confirmed killed and a further three were believed to have died.

Cameron said Britain was also looking at whether to provide "transport and surveillance assets" to help the French military mission in Mali in addition to the two transport planes it has already contributed.

January 24, 2013

11

Pakistan rejects Indian claim of futile UN mission at LoC UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan rejected an Indian argument in the Security Council Monday that the role of United Nations Military Observers Group in India Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors ceasefire along the Line of Control in disputed Kashmir, has been overtaken by the 1972 bilateral Simla agreement, saying the group’s mandate remained “fully valid, relevant and operative.”

“No bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan has overtaken or affected the role or legality of UNMOGIP,” Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan told the 15-nation Council after his Indian counterpart Hardeep Singh Puri questioned the status of the 42-member observer group in the course of a debate on UN peacekeeping.

The open day-long debate was convened

by Pakistan, which holds the presidency of the Security Council for the month of January.

“The mission continues to monitor the ceasefire in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council,” said Khan.

The Indian ambassador raised the issue after Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Gilani, who presided over the council meeting, underscored the “important role” UNMOGIP has played in monitoring peace along the LoC. As Ambassador Khan set the record straight, another Indian delegate challenged Pakistan’s stand.

Manish Gupta, a counsellor at the Indian Mission to the UN, said that UNMOGIP had been put in place to supervise the ceasefire line as result of the 1949 Karachi agreement.

That ceasefire line no longer existed. The new one was established on 17 December 1971 and followed by an agreement between the two countries in 1972, which settled their issues by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations, he said.

That resulted in conversion of ceasefire line into the Line of Control. “Thus UNMOGIP remains invalid,” the Indian delegate added.

French, Malian troops recapture key towns Prince Harry has a ‘mental problem’, say Afghan Taliban DIABALY, Mali (AFP) - French and Malian troops recaptured the key frontline towns of Diabaly and Douentza on Monday in a major boost to their push north to flush out Al Qaeda-linked rebels. The inroads are a significant advance in the 11-day offensive led by former colonial power France, whose aim is the "total reconquest" of Mali's strategically important but sparsely populated vast desert north.

The French defence ministry in Paris said "Malian troops backed by French soldiers" retook the two towns in a "definite military victory" for

the forces. A convoy of about 30 armoured vehicles transporting some 200 Malian and French troops moved into Diabaly, 400 kilometres north of the capital Bamako, early Monday, meeting no resistance. The troops got a red carpet welcome from locals who cheered them as the soldiers took photographs on their mobile phones to record the triumphant entry, an AFP journalist said.

Diabaly has been the theatre of air strikes and fighting since it was seized by Islamists a week ago. Douentza lies in what was Islamist territory east and north of the town of Konna, whose capture earlier this month by extremists sparked the French intervention. Konna was recaptured by the Malian army last week. The French onslaught, backed by embattled Malian troops, forged ahead despite threats of further retaliation from jihadists after a stunning hostage attack at a gas plant in neighbouring Algeria resulted in scores of deaths.

A colonel in the Malian army said earlier that a "fringe of the Diabaly population adheres to the jihadists' theories and we must be very careful in the coming hours".

French television footage from Diabaly has shown charred pick-up trucks abandoned by the Islamists amid mud-brick homes.

One resident said the rebels had fled the town which was abandoned by many of its residents, and those remaining lacked food and other essentials. As news of the advances came through, the European Union offered to host a global meeting on Mali in Brussels on February 5, involving the EU, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc.

The EU aims to send about 500 military trainers to Mali by mid-February. On Sunday, French troops buttressed their position as they prepared the drive north, moving into the key central towns of Niono and Sevare.

Sevare has a strategically important airport about 630 kilometres (390 miles) northeast of Bamako that could help serve as a base for operations further north. France swept to the aid of the crippled and weak Malian army on January 11, a day after the hardline Islamists made a push towards Bamako in the government-held southern triangle of the bow-tie shaped nation.

The crisis in Mali began when the nomadic Tuaregs, who have long felt marginalised by government, launched a rebellion a year ago and inflicted such humiliation on the Malian army that it triggered a military coup in Bamako. In the ensuing political vacuum, the central government lost control of the north to the insurgents, and the Tuaregs were instrumental in helping a triad of Islamist rebel groups including AQIM seize control of huge swathes of territory.

But the Tuaregs' alliance of convenience with the Islamists quickly disintegrated. AQIM and other Islamists began to run territories under their control like a particularly brutal medieval emirate and imposed a harsh form of sharia law.

KABUL: Britain’s Prince Harry, who compared shooting insurgents in Afghanistan to playing video games, “has probably developed a mental problem”, the Taliban said on Tuesday.

“There are 49 countries with their powerful military failing in the fight against the mujahideen, and now this prince comes and compares this war with his games, PlayStation or whatever he

to, take a life to save a life, but essentially we’re more of a deterrent than anything else.”

He added, “If there’s people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we’ll take them out of the game, I suppose.”

The Taliban had said it would do its utmost to kidnap or kill Harry during his tour, and an Afghan insurgent warlord labelled him a drunken

calls it,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP. In a recently released interview, Prince Harry had joked that he honed his weapons’ pilot skills playing PlayStation and Xbox computer games.

He also revealed that he had killed Afghan insurgents during sorties against the Taliban while on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan where he was a gunner in Apache attack helicopters.

Queen Elizabeth’s 28-year-old grandson, third in line to the British throne, will return home later this week after a 20-week posting with Nato forces at the CampBastion military base in the southern province of Helmand.

Asked before he left Afghanistan if he had killed insurgents during his tour, he said: “Yeah, so, lots of people have … Yes, we fire when we have

“jackal” out to kill innocent Afghans.

His base was attacked on his birthday last September, but it was never clear if he was the target or if the Taliban raid, in which two US marines were killed, was in response to the anti-Islam film, “Innocence of Muslims”.

Known in the military as Captain Harry Wales, he was deployed to Afghanistan four months ago, shortly after pictures of him frolicking naked with a nude woman at a hotel in Las Vegas were published around the world.

“I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down,” he said of the Vegas incident. “But it was probably a classic example of me being too much army, and not enough prince.”

Obama’s quest for greatness Merry); adopting the Marshall Plan and the policy of “containment” against the Soviets; desegregating the military.

Every school child knows the three “great” presidents: Washington, Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. They topped the first presidential ranking by historians in Life magazine in 1948.

They’ve topped six subsequent rankings elsewhere.

Through no fault of his own, Obama will not be joining them.

The first requirement of presidential greatness is that the country faces a mortal peril: something that puts the American experiment - its embrace of freedom and equality, its trust in democratic institutions, and its belief in itself - at risk.

The great presidents have all defused that risk.

In 1789, no one knew whether the Constitution would survive; Washington’s stature inspired loyalty that gave the system permanence.

Lincoln’s single-minded pursuit of total victory over the Confederacy - when many in the North, discouraged by the endless bloodshed and inconclusive combat, wanted a truce - saved the Union and ended slavery. FDR preserved the nation’s democratic political values and institutions in the face of an economic collapse that gave rise, from left and right, to calls for radical change; and, of course, he presided over victory in World War II. Obama will be denied a similar opportunity because, for all the nation’s serious problems, none yet rises to the level of mortal peril. Obama’s reputation will necessarily be less exalted.

He is probably fooling himself if he thinks Obamacare, by itself, ensures him a spot close to the top in the presidential rankings. Medicare and Medicaid (far larger insurance expansions) didn’t do that for LBJ, so why should a lesser achievement do it for Obama? Indeed, if the implementation goes badly (coverage overestimated, costs underestimated), Obamacare could backfire.

Still, Obama’s enthusiasm for it is telling.

Even without the 2008-09 financial crisis, he would have arrived in office just when the retirement of baby boomers was slowing the economy and raising - through Social Security and Medicare - government spending. The cost of government was increasing; the capacity to pay was decreasing. In these circumstances, Obama chose to expand gov-

ernment. His frame of reference was backwardlooking: the fulfilment of a liberal agenda conceived from the 1930s to the 1960s.

But history’s verdict will be present-oriented and forward-looking. How have his fateful decisions played in the real world? Obama’s reputation will ultimately depend on a handful of these, including (probably) his handling of the economy in the dark months of early 2009, Iran’s nuclear programme, the federal budget and, perhaps, something now unimagined.

“Crises demand leadership,” writes Merry, “and in the American system that leadership can come only from the president.” Not just leadership, but leadership in the right direction.

12

January 24, 2013

Moscow to start evacuating Russians from Syria BEIRUT: Russia said on Monday that it is sending two planes to Lebanon to start evacuating its citizens from Syria, the strongest sign yet that President Bashar Assad’s most important international ally has serious doubts about his ability to cling to power. The Russian announcement came as antigovernment activists reported violence around the country, including air raids on the town of Beit Sahm near Damascus International Airport, just south of the capital.

Russian officials said about 100 of the tens of thousands of Russian nationals in the country will be taken out overland to Lebanon and flown home from there, presumably because renewed fighting near the airport in Damascus has made it too dangerous for the foreigners to use that route out of the Syrian capital.

Assad has dismissed calls that he step down. He has proposed a national reconciliation conference, elections and a new constitution, but the opposition insists he play no role in a resolution to the conflict.

The UN says more than 60,000 people have died in the civil war since March 2011.

Russia has been Assad’s main ally since the conflict began, using its veto power in the UN Security Council to shield Damascus from international sanctions.

Russia recently started to distance itself from the Syrian ruler, signaling that it is resigned to him losing power. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that he understands Syria needs change and that he was not protecting Assad.

Russian officials say the evacuation of thousands of its citizens from Syria – many of them Russian women married to Syrians – could be by both air and sea.

A squadron of Russian Navy ships currently is in the Mediterranean for a planned exercise near Syrian shores later this month. Military officials earlier said that the exercise will simulate marines landing and taking people on board from the shore. Earlier this month, Lakhdar Brahimi,

who is the joint UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, said that Russia seemed as determined as the United States to end Syria’s civil war, but that he didn’t expect a political solution to emerge anytime soon. The Arab League chief said Monday that Brahimi’s mission had not yielded even a ”flicker of hope.” In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Nabil Elaraby proposed that the heads of state gathered there at an economic summit call for an immediate meeting

raid in the northeastern town of Tabqa that killed eight people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Observatory also reported a car bombing in the Damascus neighbourhood of Dummar and said another car bomb exploded late Monday in central Syria, killing at least 30 pro-government gunmen in Salamiyeh.

In addition, the group said there were

of the UN Security Council.

He suggested the Security Council adopt a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Syria and establish a monitoring force to ensure compliance.

Syria’s defence minister said Monday that the army would keep chasing rebels all over the country ”until it achieves victory and thwarts the conspiracy that Syria is being subjected to.”

General Fahd Jassem al-Freij’s comments came as activists reported air raids and shelling around the nation.

Monday’s fighting included a helicopter

clashes in the town of Ras al-Ayn near the border with Turkey between fighters from the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, which leans in favour of Syria’s government and anti-government rebels, who entered the town in November.

Tensions have flared between Syria and Turkey after shells fired from Syria landed on the Turkish side of the border.

As a result, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States decided to send two batteries of Patriot air defence missiles each to protect Turkey, their Nato ally.

Snow causes travel chaos across Europe LONDON - Air, road and rail traffic across much of Europe suffered major disruptions on Monday as heavy snow and freezing weather gripped the continent. The problems at airports were particularly severe, with flights scrapped at Europe's busiest three hubs.

Air passengers also faced long delays and disruptions at other airports in Germany, Britain and France, following widespread cancellations on Sunday.

More than one in 10 flights were scrapped at London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers, while 40 percent were scrapped in Paris and more than a quarter were wiped out at Frankfurt.

Heathrow decided to cut its flight schedule by 10 percent, or 130 flights, in expectation of poor visibility later in the day, but more than 180 services in total were cancelled as the day wore on.

"The additional cancellations are because a number of airports elsewhere in Europe are experiencing problems so that has a knock-on effect for us," a Heathrow spokesman said. "The number could rise as the day goes on."

Flights were suspended at regional airports in northern and central England after fresh snow fell overnight, with planes grounded at Manchester, East Midlands and Leeds Bradford.

Under-sea train services between Britain and continental Europe were also hit, with Eurostar cancelling six trains linking London with Brussels and also Paris due to speed restrictions on the tracks in northern France.

At Germany's main air hub Frankfurt Europe's third-busiest airport after Heathrow and Paris' Charles de Gaulle - 325 take-offs and land-

ings were cancelled, a spokesman for operator Fraport told AFP. In Munich, Germany's number two airport, some 161 flights - or more than 15 percent were cancelled. In France, the civil aviation authority DGAC said it expected to scrap 40 percent of flights to and from Charles de Gaulle and Paris' other main airport, Orly, in a precautionary measure following heavy snowfall on Sunday.

However, snow was no longer falling at either airport on Monday and the cleared runways were able to handle the reduced volume of traffic, said a spokeswoman for operators Aeroports de Paris. In Spain, flights bound for Paris, Munich and Frankfurt were hit, leading to the cancellation of 16 flights to and from Barcelona.

Freezing rain and snow also led to treacherous conditions on railways and roads, causing countless accidents.

In southwestern Germany, police recorded more than 1,000 weather-related accidents and in the northeast, near Berlin, an entire section of motorway was shut to traffic.

In Belgium, three people died and two others were seriously injured when a minibus they were travelling in skidded off the road, overturned and caught fire at a motorway exit near Bruges, local authorities said.

In Moscow, unusually heavy snowfall of almost 50 centimetres (20 inches) caused traffic jams but did not affect flights at its airports, which are well-equipped for snowstorms.

The snowfall over the last four days in the Russian capital exceeded the average for the whole month of January, said Moscow Deputy Mayor Pyotr Biryukov.

Two more Americans die in Algeria WASHINGTON: Two additional Americans were killed in last week’s hostage standoff at a natural gas complex in Algeria, bringing the final US death toll to three, an Obama administration official said Monday. Seven Americans made it out safely. The overall death toll from the standoff has surpassed 80. The FBI has recovered the bodies of the Americans and notified their families, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The official had no details on how the Americans died. The names of the additional two Americans were not immediately released.

Militants who attacked the Ain Amenas gas field in the Sahara had offered to release the pair in exchange for the freedom of two prominent terror suspects jailed in the United States: Omar Abdel Rahman, a blind sheik convicted of plotting to blow up New York City landmarks and considered the spiritual leader of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist convicted of shooting at two US soldiers in

Afghanistan. The Obama administration rejected the offer. Last week’s desert siege began Wednesday when Mali-based, al-Qaida-linked militants attempted to hijack two buses at the plant, were repelled, and then seized the gas refinery.

They said the attack was retaliation for France’s recent military intervention against militant rebels in neighboring Mali, but security experts argue it must have taken weeks of planning to hit the remote site.

One American death was confirmed Friday, that of Texas resident Frederick Buttaccio. Five Americans had been taken out of the country before Saturday’s final assault by Algerian forces against the militants.

The US official said two further Americans survived the four-day crisis at an insecure oil rig at the facility. They were flown out to London on Saturday.

Algeria said after Saturday’s assault by government forces that at least 32 extremists and 23 hostages of all nationalities were killed.

On Monday, German soldiers unloaded trucks carrying the missile systems at the port of Iskenderun, while another ship, carrying the Dutch shipment, waited its turn anchored at the harbour.

The UN said that there are an estimated four million people were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in Syria, including at least two million who are internally displaced.

With harsh winter conditions, people are facing heavy rains and sub-zero temperatures, often without adequate food, shelter, water or access to medical care.

The McClatchy news organisation published a report on Monday, supporting activists’ claim that Syrian forces have been targeting bakeries. According to data compiled by the news organisation, government forces attacked bread lines and bakeries at least 80 times last year, causing hundreds of casualties and in most cases destroying the bakeries.

The Syrian government, meantime, blamed a rebel attack on a key power line for a blackout that hit Damascus and much of the country’s south overnight, leaving residents cold and in the dark amid a fuel crisis that has stranded many at home. The Syrian capital’s 2.5 million residents have grown used to frequent power cuts as the country’s conflict has damaged infrastructure and sapped the government’s finances. But some said Monday that the overnight outage was the first to darken the entire capital since the conflict began.

The blackout hit residents especially hard because of rampant fuel shortages and below-freezing temperatures. “We covered ourselves from the cold in blankets because there was no diesel or electricity for the heaters,” said retired teacher Mariam Ghassan, 60. “We changed our whole lives to get organised for power cuts, but now we have no idea when the power will come or go.”

By midday Monday, power had returned to more than half of the capital, and Electricity Minister Imad Khamis said authorities were working to restore it in other areas.

Thai army 'involved' in people smuggling BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai authorities said on Monday they were investigating allegations that army officials were involved in the trafficking of Rohingya boat people fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Rohingya arriving in Thailand risk falling into the hands of people smugglers who demand large sums of money to transport them to Malaysia, while those unable to pay are believed to be forced into labour to pay the fees. "There were army officials involved - some local unit heads," a senior Thai intel official told AFP. Normally Rohingya come ashore on Thailand's southwestern Andaman coast but recently they have been found in the province of Songkhla bordering Malaysia on the other side of the peninsula, he said.

"They could not be there if there were no government officials involved. The trafficking will involve brokers. They could have paid 40,00060,000 baht ($1,350-2,000) to travel to Malaysia

overland," the official added.

National Security Council secretary general Paradorn Pattanathabutr said the army was investigating the claims, which first appeared in local media, but up to now had found no evidence of wrongdoing.

"If we found somebody guilty, they will be punished," he added.

Described by the UN as among the most persecuted minority groups in the world, Rohingya have for years trickled abroad to neighbouring Bangladesh and, increasingly, to Muslim-majority Malaysia. Myanmar views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship. A explosion of tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine since June 2012 has triggered a huge exodus of Rohingya, mostly heading for Malaysia.

Israelis vote in elections seen swinging to the right JERUSALEM: Israelis vote on Tuesday in a general election that is expected to return Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to power at the head of a government of hardline right-wing and religious parties. The ballot to choose Israel’s 19th parliament is likely to usher in a government that will swing further to the right, undermining the chances of a peace deal with the Palestinians and raising the prospect of greater diplomatic isolation for the Jewish state.

Those elected will face key diplomatic and foreign policy questions, including Iran’s nuclear programme, which much of the world believes is a cover for a weapons drive, and pressure to revive peace talks with the Palestinians. No less pressing are the domestic challenges, including a major budget crisis and looming austerity cuts, which are likely to exacerbate already widespread discontent over spiralling prices. Opinion polls have consistently shown that Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud party, running on a joint list with the hardline secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu, is well ahead of its rivals.

But as the day of reckoning neared, the numbers showed falling support for Likud-Beitenu, which is now seen taking 32 seats – 10 fewer than it currently holds – although the centre-left Labour party, its closest contender, is following a distant second with 17.

Final polls late last week had showed the right-wing-religious bloc taking between 61 and 67 seats, compared with 53 to 57 for the cen-

tre-left and Arab parties. In a largely uneventful campaign, the surprise element has been Naftali Bennett, the young, charismatic new leader of the far-right nationalist religious Jewish Home who took over the party in November and is a rising star for the settler lobby. The party, which firmly opposes a Palestinian state and won just three

seats in 2009, is on course to win 15, making it the second faction in parliament and a likely partner in any future coalition government.

Bennett’s explosion onto the political scene has spooked Netanyahu, pundits say, with the premier pushing hard to stem the flow of right-wing votes to Jewish Home by burnishing his own credentials as a defender of Israeli settlement in the occupied territories.

Some 5.65 million Israelis are eligible to vote in Tuesday’s parliamentary elections. Voters will be able to cast ballots at 10,132 polling stations which will open at 0500 GMT and close 15 hours later, with television exit polls due to be broadcast immediately afterwards.

02

January 24, 2013

Obama’s secret weapon in re-election: Pakistani scientist Rayid Ghani Barack Obama’s election as America’s first black president in 2008 was historic on many levels, but the truth may be that Obama’s re-election in 2012 was a much bigger feat.

Visiting his young campaign staffers the morning after his re-election at his campaign headquarters in Chicago, a tearful Obama told the staffers that they had been part of the best campaign team in history.

“You’re smarter, you’re better organised, you’re more effective,” he said. “So I’m absolutely confident that all of you are going to do just amazing things in your lives.”

With a sluggish economy, unemployment teetering at around the eight per cent mark, and growing anti-Obama sentiment in some parts of the country, a second term seemed an uphill task for Obama and it was going to take an extraordinary campaign to make it happen.

Things were different in 2008. Back then he had the fortune of an electorate grown weary of the Bush presidency looking for change and with no real record to defend. His mercurial rise and the zeitgeist of the country at the time seemed to have coincided at the right time.

This time it was going to be harder, with a first term that had left some of his more ardent supporters with a tinge of disappointment given the promise of his first campaign, and the Republicans growing even more strident in their opposition.

America hadn’t been so politically polarized in a long time.

But in a presidential campaign, the incumbent enjoys a few advantages and one of them is a strong organisational setup.

From the get-go David Axelrod, the brain behind the Obama campaign, recognised the role that data and information could play in the election.

The process had been initiated in 2008 but databases were scattered and it wasn’t until the 2010 midterm elections that the Democratic Party, despite heavy losses, was able to streamline the data to accurately forecast results in a meaningful way.

Enter Rayid Ghani.

At first impression Ghani comes across as an affable person, who speaks in short, clipped sentences that don’t give away any more than he intends to. Right away you get the feeling that he knows what he’s talking about. But his unassuming manner belies the fact that he is one of the leading experts in the growing field of analytics and data mining.

An alum of Karachi Grammar School, he moved to the Unites States for college where he attended a small liberal arts school in Tennessee called Sewanee: University of the South.

There he studied computer science and mathematics, but as with many undergraduate experiences, he used his time there to find his true calling.

“What I really did there was explore and figure out what I wanted to do, which ended up being a research career in some form of artificial intelligence and machine learning,” Ghani said. “I

was motivated by two goals: One was to study and understand how we (humans) learn and two: I wanted to solve large practical problems by making computers smarter though the use of data.”

That eventually led him to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for graduate school where he studied Machine Learning and Data Mining. It was during this period that he started working at Accenture Technology labs as chief scientist, before joining Obama For America.

At Accenture, Ghani mined mountains of private data of given corporations to find statistical patterns that could forecast consumer behavior.

said. The basic idea was to merge digital information with details gathered from voting records and interaction in order to provide a blueprint for efficient spending.

“Most of the data we had was from data that we collected either from interacting with people, which might mean either we called someone, someone donated money to us, or if they volunteered, or from voter registration records,” he said.

There’s a common misconception among people that among the data used was voters’ magazine subscriptions, shopping habits, and other specific behavioral data.

“We were a small group of people who were kind of looking at the next generation of tools that would be beneficial for businesses,” he said.

“We were trying to find new approaches to analysing data and see how we could apply it to businesses.” In today’s data-centric world, the onesize-fits-all model is no longer an efficient use of a company’s resources. More and more, corporations are looking for increasingly targeted approaches to attract consumers.

Similar to how Facebook uses information from user profiles to target its advertising, Ghani helped businesses find patterns in consumer behavior so that his clients could develop different strategies that suit individual preferences. It’s what’s known as customer-relationship management or CRM in the corporate sector.

Having spent 10 years at Accenture, Ghani said he was looking for a move into the nonprofit sector, which, serendipitously, is when the Obama campaign came knocking.

“I was always interested in politics,” he said. “Living in the US for 17 years, you tend to follow the politics of the country, because it does affect every person. You read about it, discuss it with co-workers and friends. So [the campaign] wasn’t a completely impossible direction to take.”

Jumping aboard the Obama campaign as chief scientist, Ghani’s job was essentially similar to what he’d done at Accenture — to make sense of huge amounts of information.

“The core of the work I was doing was looking at a large amount of data and making sense of it to help other people make better decisions,” he

“A lot of the things you might have read on the internet are mostly not correct,” he said with a wry laugh. “We don’t care about what car you drive, or what magazines you read. For one thing we don’t have that data, and it’s not very useful.

What car you drive doesn’t tell us which way you’ll be voting.”

The real advantage of data is that it helps in using the resources at your disposal as efficiently as you can, which in the case of political campaigns is money.

“How data helps you, is it makes you more efficient and it helps you spend your money carefully and in the right way,” Ghani said. “You could pick up the phonebook and just start calling everyone, but you’ll either waste calls on people who are already going to vote, or on people who can’t be persuaded to vote your way. But with a data-driven approach, you can target those voters who are much more likely be affected by that call and pick up voters you didn’t have.”

By discerning which voters are the most likely to be swayed, the campaign can then design its ad campaigns and alter its strategy for maximum effectiveness. It’s the smart-bomb method to political campaigning.

But the truth is that we’re still in the infancy of this data-based approach to political campaigns. “My personal hope is that as campaigns get mature in the use of data,” he said. “Data isn’t a secret weapon but an enabler of better democracy and more public participation. I see the future use of data as enabling more personalised and relevant interactions with voters, to get them more education

Walkouts galore in Senate ISLAMABAD: On the opening day of its new session, the Senate on Monday saw four walkouts on different issues and unanimity on three resolutions.

At the outset, the Senators belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-iIslam-F and the Balochistan National Party-A staged separate walkouts to register their protest over promulgation of governor’s rule in Balochistan. Later, Senators from Fata condemned the killing of 18 people,

including women and children, allegedly during an operation by security forces in Bara.

Then came another walkout — this time by the opposition PML-N members to express solidarity with the Senators representing minority communities who protested over satirical remarks made by Interior Minister Rehman Malik. He had compared Dr Tahirul Qadri to the Pope in a press conference during the doctor’s long march last week.

The house unanimously passed a resolution which asked the government to recommend the name of Bashir Ahmad Bilour, slain leader of ANP, for Nobel Price for Peace.

The other two resolutions called for performance-based financial audit of power distribution companies and establishment of a shelter

for orphans and children of unknown parentage in Islamabad.

Governor’s rule Speaking on a point of order, JUI-F Senator Mohammad Khan Sheerani said the entire country had been facing terrorism but governor’s rule had been imposed only on Balochistan.

The Senator, whose party had favoured an in-house change in Balochistan in the wake of an unprecedented protest by Shia Hazara

community over the Jan 10’s deadly terrorist attacks, regretted that the IG of Balochistan and officials of the Frontier Corps, who were responsible for providing security to people, remained untouched.

“Governor’s rule is an insult to the people’s mandate and will bring no change in the province,” he said, declaring that his party would stage a walkout.

Later, BNP-A Senator Kulsoom Parveen claimed that former chief minister of Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani was ready to resign but this option was not considered.

Asking President Zardari to revert the decision of imposing governor’s rule, she also staged a walkout.

Threats to democracy Speaking on a point of order and apparently referring to Dr

Qadri’s long march, PPP stalwart Raza Rabbani cautioned against more efforts to derail democracy in the coming days to get the general elections postponed.

“A conspiracy has been hatched against the democratic system. A few days ago, a failed attempt had been made to murder democracy in front of Parliament House. The ‘revolution’ never came about, but I believe that it is not the last such attempt,” he added.

Mr Rabbani said the role of the ruling elite in the appointment of a caretaker set-up and the chief election commissioner had been eliminated through the 18th and 20th amendments.

He rejected Dr Qadri’s demands, terming the suggestion for a 30-day period for scrutiny of nomination papers of candidates intending to contest elections under Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution as having no basis.

“For what purpose you want 30 days if your motive is not creating Lotas (turncoats),” he retorted. He urged the Senate to send a loud and clear message that attempts to delay elections and set up a technocrats’ government for two or three years would be considered an “attack on the federation”.

Two PML-N Senators, Raja Zafarul Haq and Syed Zafar Ali Shah, drew the attention of the house towards news reports that the US Congress was about to pass a legislation allowing CIA to carry out drone attacks in Pakistan anywhere, and any time. They asked the government to come out with a clear stance on the issue.

Leader of the house Jahangir Badar assured them that he would ask Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to brief the Senate.

about issues, more involved in political discussions, and have them even participate in creating public policies.”

And it’s an approach that can be applied anywhere if tailored to the circumstances and realities of any given place — even Pakistan.

“A lot of this is certainly applicable in Pakistan but things have to start small,” Ghani said.

“First, there is a lack of data, so political parties need to start collecting this data themselves. Then they need to use it to understand the voters and allocate resources more efficiently. Parties that focus more on grassroots organising are the ones most likely to collect and make more effective use of this data and as this process gets more mature and democratic, I hope it leads to a better educated public making informed voting decisions that are good for the country and its people.”

Being of Pakistani origin, it’s not a stretch to wonder what role Ghani’s own politics play in this, especially given the ups and downs the relationship between America and Pakistan has taken over the years. But for Ghani, whose family lives in London, while he works in the US, it’s a lot simpler. “At this point I really don’t know what I am,” he said. “It’s less about country than about the larger world. For me it was a really easy decision, ‘Is Obama better for the world than (Mitt) Romney?’ Absolutely.”

What attracted Ghani to the campaign was Obama himself as a candidate.

“He is great at emotionally connecting with, motivating, and energising people but what was more important to me was what he had done in his first term and how much still remained to be done,” he said.

In addition to that, it was the diversity of the people on the campaign that was one of the great things about working for the Obama campaign Ghani said.

“There were so many people with different backgrounds and experiences, but they were all there for the same reason,” he said.

The campaign itself was an understandably grueling and exhausting experience.

“It’s unlike any other workplace,” he said.

“We were, spending 15, 16, 18 hours a day together, with no weekends. It’s something you enjoy when it’s over, because when you’re in it, it’s not easy.” So after a long and grueling, albeit rewarding, campaign, what’s next for him?

“Well the campaign’s over now,” Ghani said. “I’m looking at different things and trying to stay connected with the non-profit world, and trying to help non-profits use data to become more efficient and better.”

Ghani is one of a small number of tech wizards in a world that is becoming increasingly data oriented. If the 2008 campaign was about charisma and hope, the 2012 campaign was about science and data. Gone are the days when political campaigns were an art form run by people who played by gut instinct.

Now it’s run by people like Rayid Ghani.

PML-N holds key to dissolution of assemblies, claims Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, on Tuesday claimed that his party held the key to the dissolution of assemblies, DawnNews reported.

Speaking to media representatives outside the Parliament House in Islamabad, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PMLN) leader said his party did not accept the agreement between the government with Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran (TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.

He added that the PML-N feared that attempts were being made to delay the general elections.

Nisar said the PML-N was in talks with several political parties over the formation of a caretaker set-up, adding that the talks had been going on for the past two

months. He said the talks over the caretaker set-up were about to reach their logical conclusion.

Nisar moreover said new provinces did not belong to ‘some makhdoom’ and would only be formed with the will of the people. He said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its allies were not interested in the creation of new provinces, adding that it was only an election issue for the PPP. The PML-N leader added that the provinces would only be formed after the people of southern Punjab and Bahawalpur express their willingness for it.

Nisar said the PML-N was in favour of the formation of new provinces, adding that they would only be formed in accordance with the Constitution and not through sloganeering.

Karachi delimitation not possible before elections: CEC Fakhruddin KARACHI: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ibrahim said on Tuesday the delimitation of constituencies in Karachi was not possible before upcoming general elections, DawnNews reported. Speaking to media persons in Karachi, Justice Ibrahim said he believed that the upcoming general elections would be held in a transparent manner.

Serious efforts are being made to complete the process of verifying the voters’ list in Karachi, said Ibrahim, adding that Corps Commander Karachi had assured him that army personnel would be provided to the election commission’s staff wherever necessary. The CEC said there was no issue over the law and order situation in the country.

Justice (retd) Ibrahim urged citizens to quickly register their votes for the elections, adding that it was the duty of every Pakistani to cast his or her vote.

Only transparent elections can result in the improvement of the country’s situation and that Pakistan had no future if the elections were not held transparently, he said.

January 24, 2013

No delimitation in Karachi before elections: CEC Chief Election Commissioner Fakruddin G. Ibrahim said on Tuesday that there will not be any new de-limitation of constituencies in Karachi before the elections.

Talking to media persons during to his visit to Karachi to oversee voters’ verification process, Ibrahim said that up till now the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not faced any law and order situation, adding he has talked to Corp Commander, Karachi and he has assured them that army will support the ECP staff.

Replying to question, CEC said that he is not running away, implying that he will not resign. “I will do whatever necessary to hold elections,” he added.

Chief ECP said that he wants that elections should be held early, adding the ECP will closely work with the future interim government to hold free and fair elections in the country.

“Honest and fair election is the guarantee for our better future,” he asserted.

He said all stake-holders are cooperating with the Election Commission in this regard.

Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim said presently there is no law and order situation in the country.

Qadri announces decision not to contest polls LAHORE: Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran (TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Tuesday announced his decision not to contest Pakistan’s upcoming general elections.

The Canadian-Pakistani cleric led thousands of people to Islamabad last week, protesting for electoral reforms.

However, he called off the four-day sit-in after the federal government decided to accept some of his demands.

Speaking to media representatives in Lahore, Qadri announced that neither him or his family would take part in polls even if his party, the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT), decides to contest the general election.

Qadri said that his party had started the consultation process with the government regarding electoral reforms.

He said that some people did not wish that reforms take place in Pakistan, which he said was the reason that the masses were being disillusioned by the democratic process.

03

Officials warn Kashmiris of possible nuclear attack

SRINAGAR: Officials in Indian-administered Kashmir are warning residents to build bomb-proof basements, collect two weeks’ worth of food and water and be prepared for a possible nuclear war.

There was no official reason given for the sudden concern about a nuclear attack in the region, repeatedly fought over by India and Pakistan.

However, a series of deadly skirmishes along a cease-fire

line in recent weeks has heightened tensions between the two countries.

Kashmir police published the advisory Monday in the Greater Kashmir newspaper.

The notice advised people to build bomb shelters with toilets and stockpile food. It also provided advice on how to survive attacks with chemical and biological weapons.

Local authorities did not answer calls for comment.

Two blasts, suicide attack kill 16 in Baghdad: police

PML-N holds key to dissolution of assemblies: Nisar

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, on Tuesday claimed that his party held the key to the dissolution of assemblies.

Speaking to media representatives outside the Parliament House in Islamabad, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said his party did not accept the agreement between the government with Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran (TMQ)

chief Dr Tahirul Qadri. He added that the PML-N feared that attempts were being made to delay the general elections.

Nisar said the PML-N was in talks with several political parties over the formation of a caretaker set-up, adding that the talks had been going on for the past two months. He said the talks over the caretaker set-up were about to reach their logical conclusion. Nisar moreover said new provinces did not belong to some Makhdoom and would only be formed with the will of the people. He said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its allies were not interested in the creation of new provinces, adding that it was only an election issue for the PPP. The PML-N leader added that the provinces would only be formed after the people of southern Punjab and Bahawalpur expressed their willingness for it.

Nisar said the PML-N was in favour of creation of new provinces, adding that they would only be formed in accordance with the Constitution and not through sloganeering.

Intervention on Qadri’s march averted Lal-Masjid like situtation: Shujaat LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain revealed on Tuesday that some government authorities had decided to use force against the participants of the long march organised by Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran(TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri, DawnNews reported.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Shujaat said that the decision was made to use force against the participants of Qadri’s long march on Jan 16 upon which he, seeking to avoid a repeat of the Lal Masjid operation incident, contacted Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to press for negotiations.

Shujaat added that bloodshed on the scale of the Lal

Masjid operation would have occurred had intervention not taken place. The PML-Q president added that according to the agreement taken place with the TMQ chief, elections would be held in a transparent manner.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, also belonging to the PML-Q, said that the country had averted a disaster through the “Islamabad declaration”, adding that matter would have gotten out of hand had force been used.

Mushahid Hussain further said that the PML-Q president was discussing the setup of a caretaker government with coalition partners.

BAGHDAD: Three blasts, including a suicide bomber attack near an army base, killed at least 16 people and wounded 50 more in Baghdad on Tuesday, police and hospital sources said.

The blasts struck an Iraqi army checkpoint south of Baghdad, a military base north of the capital, and a mostly Shia neighbourhood in north Baghdad, the officials said.

In the deadliest attack, six people were killed when a car bomb was detonated near an army camp in the town of Taji, 25 kilometres north of Baghdad, an army officer and a medical official said.

At least 20 other people were wounded.

South of the capital in the town of Mahmudiyah, at least five people were killed and 14 others wounded by a suicide car bomb, officials said. And a car bomb near a market in the north Baghdad neighbourhood of Shuala killed five people and wounded 12.

No group claimed responsibility. Tuesday’s violence came after four days of relative calm in Iraq following a spate of attacks claimed by Al Qaeda’s front group that left at least 88 people dead on January 1517, according to an AFP tally.

04

January 24, 2013

The investor’s exchange Amber Darr

Our Team Cheif Editor and Publisher-----------------------------Akbar Warris Asst. Editor--------------------------------------------------Saad Ali Advisory & Editorial Board-----------------------------Ahsan Qureshi, Ausim Mobeen, Zahid Rashid, Aneela Husain, Mushtaq Anjum, Komal Popli Technical Assistance------------------------------Ahmad Ashraf Legal Advisor-----------------------------------------Barrister Khalid Sheikh Photographer-----------------------------------------Frank B. Raymond Marketing Team--------------------------------------416-371-9849 Email: Canadianpakistanitimes@Gmail.com

Dr Qadri’s quest for change Dr Tahirul Qadri - Islamic scholar, Professor of Law, founder of the socio-religious organisation Minhaj-ul-Quran and ‘citizen of two worlds’ - Pakistan and Canada - has returned after years and taken, if not Pakistan, at least Islamabad by storm.

He has arrived, like a deus ex machina, when the discontent of most citizens of this large country deprived of gas, electricity and affordable staples - has reached saturation, if not boiling, point. Some 50,000 of his supporters - men, women and children, many from rural areas, others urban and more educated - peacefully occupied the main Blue Area boulevard in town in the near-freezing winter weather for almost five days at a stretch.

His movement for electoral reform to rid the federal and provincial parliaments of those who are corrupt and/or do not pay taxes or repay loans has raised many questions, not least about its chances of success. To many, the timing is suspect, as for the first time in Pakistan, a democratically-elected government is to complete in two months its fiveyear term, leading to a caretaker government for conducting fresh elections. Is it to facilitate another army takeover, which the military has however denied?

Even given that he has a well organised system across the country and abroad, the funds required for the very large meeting he addressed on arrival in Lahore a month ago, for the long march to Islamabad on January 14, and the subsequent dharna or sit-in would appear to some to indicate significant support from abroad. Activist Muslim sects and movements in Pakistan have been supported since the American-inspired Afghan jihad against Russian occupation by various nearby Muslim countries, leading to sectarian strife. Does the sudden rise of Dr Qadri indicate that the Western countries are now backing his moderate Muslim movement with its clear anti-terrorism message, based on the traditional and populist Barelvi sect? On its own merits, such a movement is what Pakistan needs to counter terrorism at home and rectify its image abroad.

Tactically, it seemed Dr Qadri may have over-reached. His demands for immediate dissolution of the assemblies and reconstitution of the Election Commission isolated him from most political parties who - albeit reactively - termed them non-serious and unconstitutional, and assembled publicly and hastily to pledge their protection of the democratic system and commit to having elections on time. Had his followers become uncontrollable, the government - initially uncertain how to respond - may well have arrested him. In the event, their increased number, steadfast presence and consistent discipline impelled the government to wisely meet and negotiate with him, leading to the signature of the Islamabad Declaration on Jan-

uary 17 between Dr Qadri and the government or coalition partners; committing the government to giving a date for elections, well preceded by parliamentary dissolution, a month-long period for strict scrutiny of electoral candidates, and further negotiation about Election Commission constitution. It is unfortunate that the opposition could not rise to the occasion and participate in this entente.

Regardless of this, and while the agreement has been criticised for lacking substance and co-opting Dr Qadri as a virtual partner of the government, it should eventually impact across Pakistan’s political landscape, keeping in mind that political change is an incremental process.

Dr Qadri was able to use his eloquence and marshalling of street power to highlight the need for electoral reform through strict implementation of the existing Articles of the constitution and of electoral mechanisms. However, how to implement such reform remains a difficult process in the face of the political elite that has persisted in power throughout - a classic catch-22 situation.

What matters is the need for such reform being publicly articulated and acknowledged.

In these days, we have heard many claims from many quarters of being able to raise equally large and sustained rallies; but the fact remains that no one in Pakistan has done so in recent history.

Furthermore, irrespective of whether or not he has some hidden agenda and who may be behind it, the support he has received demonstrates the demand for better governance. Walking along the Blue Area boulevard, one was impressed by the courage and commitment of his followers. The mood - throughout the large multitude of people from all over the country, waving a sea of Pakistani flags - was infectious and optimistic. One met people from the tribal areas, and a boy who had come all the way from faraway interior Sindh, having sold his goat to do so.

Another participant said their leader had decreed that “not even a leaf be touched in this our capital city.” None of the stage-management and opportunism evident in political rallies was visible.

To the contrary, one was struck by his supporters’ dedication to the promise of change brought by Dr Qadri.

His main achievement and legacy as the eminence grise brokering this agreement should be two-fold. To hold a mirror to Pakistan’s flawed political process as a wake-up call to the political parties to improve their performance as befits a modern-day democracy. And to establish the foundation for an activist and nationwide religious force firmly opposed to extremism and terrorism.

He has strikingly showcased the Pakistani populace’s desire for both.

Real people, mere numbers WHERE on earth did all these people come from?

The question is being asked following the winding up of Dr Qadri’s long march.

And this is where the story had begun on Dec 23, the day the leader of the latest revolution had held a huge gathering at the Minar-i-Pakistan.

Everyone was curious about his resources and ability to build the raw material into a cohesive whole committed to go the whole hog.

Subsequently, the focus of the search shifted to Dr Qadri’s possible backers. Since he had

A. R. Rehman

been presumed to have been tasked to do a job, his own ability and resources were of secondary importance. Those believed to be pulling the strings were to ensure numbers by his side.

For many days, this is how the equation was, or was widely perceived to be. The march, as it kicked off from Lahore on Jan 13, was large enough. Its size was to swell and its breadth enlarged by the joining of various political groupings on the way. Bar a few habitual fun-makers and (Cont.. to page 5)

A SOMEWHAT underplayed, but certainly significant corollary of last week’s political turmoil was its impact on the Pakistani stock market.

On Jan 15, as stocks plummeted more than 500 points, there was an entirely reasonable fear amongst investors and observers alike, that the fall would spiral out of control.

Contrary to all dire predictions, however, stocks rallied the following day and analysts dubbed the fall as merely a correction, albeit a major one. Even though a crash had been averted, and the index steadily rose over the next few days, this major dip raised concerns, particularly in the mind of the uninitiated investor, of the wisdom of venturing into an arena as volatile and as vulnerable to external events, as the stock market.

The concerns of this would-be investor are not entirely unfounded. In the last decade, Pakistani stock exchanges have witnessed at least three major crashes and a potential investor is bound to have noted that although the precise circumstances of each crash were different, each one was characterised by extensive losses to the investing public and little or no perceptible damage to the brokers.

This disparity in the outcome for the average investor and the experienced broker, is likely to have given rise to two distinct thoughts in the investor’s mind: either that the market was the playground of experts, best avoided by the novice or, more worryingly, that the market was in fact controlled by these experts, and manipulated to their advantage at the expense of the investors.

Is there any merit in either of these thoughts? Before answering this, let’s establish certain basics of the stock exchange: a stock exchange is ultimately only a limited liability company, licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to undertake trading in stocks and shares. However, unlike an ordinary limited liability company, a stock exchange has the legal mandate, under section 34 of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969, to make regulations (with the approval of the SECP) to regulate its business, its members and brokers. As a result, a stock exchange is not only a “self-regulatory organisation” but also the “front-line regulator” of the capital markets and by virtue of this status, enjoys a degree of prestige as well as autonomy in the conduct of its affairs.

Over the years, this very prestige and autonomy, conferred upon the stock exchanges, and particularly on the Karachi Stock Exchange, the oldest and most dynamic of the three exchanges presently operating in Pakistan, an aura of exclusivity, which the exchanges jealously guarded by restricting membership.

The primary hope someone had of acquiring a membership — or a seat on the exchange — was on the death or bankruptcy of an existing member and then too upon payment of an exorbitant price. Consequently, not only did exchange memberships remain concentrated amongst a privileged few but also over time this small community developed a unique language for the conduct of its business, which rendered the workings of the exchange nearly unintelligible to an outsider.

As if this was not sufficient to lend cre-

dence to the worst fears of investors, the situation was further complicated by the “mutualised” structure of the exchange.

Simply put, this meant that the fortunate few who held a seat on the exchange were the very people who had the right to trade on it and a person wishing to invest in shares, had no choice but to utilise their services.

Whilst historically such a structure was the universal norm for exchanges, it gave rise to valid concerns about the loyalties of members of the exchange in times of crisis: would they safeguard the interests of brokers, and therefore their own? Or would they take tough measures that may become necessary for the protection of investors?

Given this environment, it is hardly surprising that the would-be investor maintained a distance from the exchange. And it would not even have mattered too much, had this distance not been an important factor in limiting the growth not only of the capital market but also of companies and by extension, the economy.

The real tragedy, however, does not lie in the investor’s hesitation, but in the fact that members of the stock exchange, who by virtue of their privileged status, had a duty to the exchanges and to the economy, who also had countless international examples of demutualisation of exchanges available to them and who were urged repeatedly by the SECP to demutualise, preferred to protect their own position rather than to take the initiative to modernise.

The good news is, however, that this bleak scenario is already a thing of the past. The SECP, tired of waiting for the exchanges to demutualise voluntarily, decided to proceed with demutualisation by legal fiat.

It was a result of its concerted efforts that in May 2012, the legislature enacted the Stock Exchanges (Corporatisation, Demutualisation and Integration) Act, 2012. This law provided a time-bound plan for the segregation of the members’ ownership rights from their trading rights.

Despite threats of possible derailment, the process outlined in the act, was duly completed in December 2012. The management of the exchanges was vested in newly constituted boards of directors, and trading right holders, although represented on the boards, did not form the majority. Is our wouldbe investor now perfectly insulated against the vagaries of the market? Unfortunately, there can be no definitive answer to that question because given the circumstances, markets, even the best regulated ones, can crash.

Demutualisation is however a first step in the direction of introducing a corporate culture in the market and in breaking the barriers of exclusivity and language that have deterred investors in the past. This, along with programmes for investor education, some of which are already under way, will provide the investor the only real safeguard available: to understand the market he is investing in and to have the assurance that this market is being governed and operated in accordance with the best, internationally accepted standards.

Revolution or evolution?

Javed Husain After 65 years of Pakistan’s existence, the people are justifiably disillusioned with the performance of our rulers, be they civilian or military, democratic or undemocratic. All of them are responsible in varying degrees for the bad governance and lawlessness that have become the lot of the people of Pakistan.

The dismantling of Musharraf’s military dictatorship and the recommencement of the democratic process rekindled hopes of a new beginning. It was hoped that, instead of the arbitrariness, cronyism, destruction of the institutions of state, widespread poverty, increased inequality of wealth and income, corruption and lawlessness that were the hallmark of the Musharraf era, the people would be able to taste the fruit of democracy in the form of law and order to protect the weak against the excesses of the strong and economic progress to improve their standard of living.

Unfortunately, these expectations were not fulfilled. The corruption, bad governance and open defiance of the dictates of law have reached new heights under the five-year rule of the PPPled government at the centre. Understandably, the people are now desperate for a change for the better. It is this overwhelming desire of the people for change that Imran Khan tapped into to build up support for PTI. Imran’s goal has been to secure the mandate of the people for the required change by participating and winning in the forthcoming elections. This is an evolutionary approach aimed at bringing about the required reform, while working through the system.

In contrast, Tahirul Qadri, who wanted to exploit the people’s discontent for his own purposes, chose a different path. His statements, which were in the nature of ultimatums issued from time to time, demanded changes in the political and electoral system in the name of the people of Pakistan, but without any mandate from them.

He, therefore, chose the method of the long march, instead of participation in the elections to highlight his demands and demonstrate the public support for them.

Qadri stressed initially that polls should not be held without key reforms, relating to the caretaker governments and the electoral process, even if it meant delaying them beyond the mandatory period laid down in the constitution. His de-

mand that military and judiciary should be consulted in the establishment of the caretaker governments preceding the elections caused widespread concern, as being the thin end of the wedge to reintroduce the army’s role in the political process in violation of the constitution.

There was also a lack of clarity about his ultimate political aims and objectives. Questions were raised about his sincerity of purpose because of his Canadian nationality, which he has not renounced so far. No wonder that there was little support for Qadri’s overall agenda and approach in the mainstream political parties, especially those in the opposition at the centre.

Qadri ultimately failed to achieve the high sounding and ambitious goals that he had set for himself at the public meeting held at Lahore on December 23 last year. The agreement that he finally reached with the representatives of the coalition partners in the federal government was a far cry from his earlier demands. Fortunately, in accordance with the letter and spirit of the constitution, it did not provide for any consultation with the military or the judiciary for the establishment of the caretaker government.

Recent developments in the country have once again generated a debate whether the country needs a revolutionary or an evolutionary approach to overcome its current grave political, economic and social problems. Those in favour of a revolutionary approach cite the desperation of the people and their disappointment with the current system, which has failed to deliver during the past five years. They fear that business as usual will merely prolong the agony of the people, as the present ruling class will continue to rule the country for protecting its own vested interests, rather than the interests of the people at large.

They, therefore, advocate radical steps, even if they are extra-constitutional or unconstitutional to stabilise the economy, to provide immediate relief to the people and to restore law and order in the country. If one reads between the lines, the advocates of this revolutionary approach are indirectly calling for another experiment with disguised or undisguised military rule. Their refrain as in the past is that the county is more important than the constitution and, therefore, anything is (Cont.. to next page)

January 24, 2013

Real people, mere numbers brash foretellers, even media commentators were by and large careful with their take on the Qadri thrust — not knowing where the alley would lead this country. Before things started to unravel rather fast on Wednesday, there was plenty to worry about. The ending did have a synchronised look about it, Wednesday’s timeline offering Pakistani democracy its busiest hour ever. Just before sunset that day the government finally discovered its voice. Qamar Zaman Kaira took on Dr Qadri directly, pointing out the flaws in his reading of constitutional law. The wrap-up had begun in earnest.

Within minutes, Mian Nawaz Sharif emerged as a statesman of Pakistani democracy, acting as a spokesman for the opposition parties he had gathered under one flag at Raiwind. The opposition meeting rejected any extra-constitutional steps.

That was the operational part even though an effort was made to balance it with a reiteration of the old demand about an election date.

Not too far behind in time, it was Imran Khan’s turn to play the true democrat. He won himself praise and instant entry into the club of mature politicians by turning down Dr Qadri’s invitation to join the sit-in in Islamabad.

Now what had changed between the start of the march, or when Dr Qadri had first announced his intentions on Dec 23, and the afternoon of Jan 16? The politicians were for sure finally behaving differently than they had over the previous few days, but what had stopped them from coming up with their principled stands at the outset of the Qadri march?

Indeed, most of these politicians had chosen to at least not appear adversarial to the Qadri campaign.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had publicly pledged support for the long march as had the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q). Imran Khan had gradually warmed up to Dr Qadri after initially ‘failing to understand’ what his demands were all about. Nawaz Sharif and his party had chosen not to come in the way of the marchers, even when the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) was for once under severe attack by a group of protesters, for its alleged promotion of terrorists, and even when the marchers had first collected in Lahore. If Dr Qadri was a threat to the system he had been a threat all along.

But clearly, the politicians had been waiting and not willing to commit themselves otherwise until the Wednesday afternoon flurry, as if making doubly sure about the army’s disinterest before gallantly standing

by democracy.

The MQM had distanced itself from the march earlier on, but not from Dr Qadri. The PML-Q’s compulsions, of first supporting Dr Qadri and then acting as government mediators in the affair were also never discussed by its leaders. These mysteries remain unsolved as also this small matter in which a respected news organisation was alleged to have fallen for someone impersonating as a resigned National Accountability Bureau chief.

The number of optimists who say the time of outside interventions in politics has passed has increased. But their argument is yet to be fully formed. Their assurances in this case were met with upsetting clues similar to those that had in the past ended in a coup.

Now the prophecies about the end of the era where interventions were possible have been revived to their strongest point, and to make things easier, in Qadri, their makers have a major example to back their predictions. The belief will take time to spread.

As for the relatively easier question about the ability of individual impact-makers to conjure up numbers on the street, an answer lies in a study beginning with how space left vacant by the state is filled by the private enterprise.

The reform undertaken in any backward area is invariably followed by a situation where the reformer, buoyed by the support base he has built, aims for a larger political role. Of this at least four examples can be quoted from Lahore alone.

Dr Tahirul Qadri and his followers have their origins in the Minhajul Quran education system that began in Lahore some three decades ago, in an area that was once considered to be the state’s domain. Imran Khan made his reputation with his work in the health sector while Mian Amir, Lahore’s mayor in Gen Musharraf’s period, is another one who entered politics after success in the education sector.

Not to forget, Hafiz Saeed, an old friend of the state who has since given the latter competition when it comes to welfare work, especially in the wake of disasters such as earthquakes and floods. All these men have gathered followers and resources along the way and are looking to assert themselves politically. In a non-dynastical political system, some could perhaps have been drawn into the major political parties. Alternately, they work on their own or by entering alliances where they can retain their individuality.

Revolution or evolution? permissible in the interest of the country.

It seems that those advocating this revolutionary approach have failed to draw the right lessons from our history.

The past four military takeovers in various ways are the main source of many of the ills from which the country currently suffers.

The cavalier fashion in which our military rulers trampled on the constitution sounded the death-knell for the rule of law in this country.

If our military rulers could violate the constitution with impunity, they regarded the normal law of the land with even greater contempt.

Thus, military governments are primarily (but not exclusively) responsible for the lawlessness in the country.

The absence of rule of law means that the weak and the poor in the society are at the mercy of the powerful and the rich sections of the society. It also means that there is no check on the excesses of the state machinery against the rights of the people. Considering the important role that contractual obligations play in the economic field, the absence of the rule of law also has a retarding effect on the economic progress of the country.

From the political point of view, military governments have been responsible for most of the national disasters. Ayub Khan was responsible for the blunder of the 1965 war, which derailed our economy and sowed the seeds for the dismemberment of Pakistan. Yahya Khan’s mishandling led to Pakistan’s military defeat in East Pakistan and its separation.

Ziaul Haq was responsible for mutilating the country’s constitution and encouraging religious extremism, which later spawned the demon of terrorism in the country.

Musharraf was responsible, besides Kargil, for leading the country to the abyss of 9/11 from whose catastrophic effects we are still suffering in the form of terrorist attacks and other spillover effects of the continuing armed conflict between the foreign forces and their opponents in Afghanistan.

In foreign affairs, his sole achievement was capitulation before the US and sell out to India!

Overall, these military rulers treated the country as their personal fiefdoms. They engendered instability in the country by weakening the institutions of the state for their personal interests. They did not allow the democratic process to take root in the country.

Every time they took the reins of the government in their hands, they left the country in a worse shape than the one which they inherited from their predecessors.

In a nutshell, the country would be much better off without another experiment of military rule, whether disguised or undisguised.

Hopefully, the forthcoming elections will throw up better leaders at the federal and provincial levels, as people will surely reject corrupt and incompetent representatives.

Our long-term interest lies in continuing the democratic process and in reforming it by learning from our mistakes as we go along. If we have the courage and the patience to persevere, political and economic conditions in the country will definitely improve over time.

Perseverance and hard slog are the answer to our problems. There is no magic formula for an instantaneous resolution of the challenges confronting our nation. So steady evolutionary progress, rather than revolutionary chaos, is the need of the hour.

05

Ragaa Fashion Show & 4 Mega pageants on March 22nd 2013 Ragaa Models, a known modelling agency of Toronto is organising Ragaa Fashion Show and 4 mega pageants Mr. & Miss SouthAsia Canada 2013, Mrs Yummy Mummy Canada 2013 and Smart kid contest 2013 in Mirage banquet & Convention Center, Etobicoke on March 22nd 2013 to tap modelling talent in the South Asian Community .

According to Saravpreet Minhas, the organiser and producer of the show, the event billed as mini Bollywood show is being held under the strict supervision of Kaushik Ghosh, the internationally renowned Indian choreographer. Ghosh who has had the reputation of training dozens of model celebrities of India will help the organisers in discovering beauty and talent among budding artistes of Canada. This show will definitely

There will be no audition but straight entry in contest for meant for kids as all kids must be given chance to show their talent. Likewise there will be no audition of contestants for title of Mrs Yummy Mummy Canada 2013 since this contest is meant for selection not of a beautiful but a perfect lady who is either a very successful career woman or a very loving mother or a very dedicated wife ! So that more ladies must come forward and should take part in this unique contest happening in Canada.

Prior to the March 22nd show, the organisers have planned Bollywood/Modelling/Television & Image Building workshop starting from March 18th under the supervision of Indian Choreographer Kaushik Ghosh. This workshop is open

be at par with Indias’ most glamorous shows like Femina Miss India, Grasim Mr. India and DLF Mrs India pageants.

Mr. Ghosh will also join the organisers in performing the enviable task of selecting winners for coveted titles of Smart Kids, Mr/Miss South Asia 2013-1, Mr/Miss South Asia Canada 2013-2, Mr/Miss South Asia Canada 2013-3 and Mrs Yummy Mummy Canada 2013.

The much awaited July 6th event will also showcase the contestants vying with one and another to grab other titles like Mr. Catwalk, Mr Personality, Mr Photogenic, Mr Talent, Mr. Physique, in the male category . Miss Catwalk, Miss. Personality, Miss. Photogenic, Miss Talent ,Miss. Gorgeous for girls and Mrs. Catwalk , Mrs. Personality, Mrs. Photogenic, Mrs. Gorgeous for Mrs yummy mummy.

for kids, boys, girls and ladies aged from 3 to 60 years, added Saravpreet Minhas, Founder of Ragaa Models.

The Pageants accept participants who claim ancestry from the countries of: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and SriLanka. Please contact us if you have any questions about your ethnic qualifications.

Male, female or kid who wish to take part in this unique fashion show, please send your entries asap.

If you are a designer, fashion store, or boutique owner this is the show for u to participate where your collections will be displayed on the ramp by Canada’s leading celebrity models.

For further details please visit: WWW.RAGAAMODELS.CA or call 647-274-7897

06 January 24, 2013

India's women commuters face daily harassment On a wintry evening in Delhi, beautician Geeta Misarvan leaves work, steeling herself for a long wait until a bus arrives, and with it the dreaded prospect of being groped by strangers during the ride home.

"Once a guy sees you travelling alone, he will come and stand right behind you. Then, he will lean in and try to touch you," Misarvan said, describing an ordeal endured daily by many women in urban India.

In Delhi's crowded coaches, where men easily outnumber women, the sense of hostility and fear is particularly palpable in the wake of the widely-discussed gang-rape and murder of a young student on a moving bus in the city last month.

"It's terrifying," Misarvan told AFP. "Sometimes I just lose it and ask the guy to stand properly but then he just yells at you, telling you to shut up. "It's upsetting, but what more can I do? If the guy gets even more aggressive or violent, no one on that bus is going to help me... so I just put up with it and wait for my bus stop," she said.

Once 34-year-old Misarvan steps off the bus, she hunts for an auto-rickshaw, which are cheaper than taxis, since it's too dark and unsafe to make the 35-minute walk alone to her house. On most evenings it takes her 90 minutes to arrive home from work.

India's expanding economy has seen unprecedented numbers of women join the workforce, but their emergence has been accompanied by growing threats to their security.

Like many working women, Poonam, a 21-year-old barista at an upmarket coffee shop in

the capital, often stays late serving customers and says her parents fret nonstop about her comings and goings, calling her every night.

"I try to get an auto-rickshaw (home) because it's safer but the drivers haggle for double pay

out the "active participation" of women, but there are signs that the Delhi gang-rape case has led some to turn their backs on the workplace.

A survey by industry group ASSOCHAM published this month showed a 40 per cent fall in

and I can't always afford it. So I end up waiting late at night for the bus, which never arrives on time," she told AFP. Once on board, Poonam, who declined to give her surname, says that sexual harassment is a constant risk. "There's nothing you can do about it, if you tell your family, chances are they will just tell you to stay home," she said.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that economic progress is impossible with-

the productivity of female employees at call centres and IT firms in the country because many had reduced their hours or had quit their jobs.

Insensitive comments from politicians implying women are to blame for sexual assaults and clumsy "safety tips" from police have only fuelled anger among commuters.

A Delhi Police advisory posted on its official website suggests that women should "turn

Free or charge missing people kept in detention ISLAMABAD – A counsel for Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) said Monday that a group of men detained for years on suspicion of terror attacks had been held on “moral grounds”, admitting there was no evidence against them.Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heading a three-member bench, including Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Azmat Saeed, hearing the Raifa Bibi’s petition, said the intelligence agencies do not have authority to keep anyone in their custody for indefinite period and no ‘moral ground’ had any legal value.The Supreme Court gave the government until Tuesday to resolve the issue of Adiyala jail’s ‘missing’ prisoners.The chief justice noted that out of 11 prisoners, four have already died, and told the authorities to either present evidence against the remaining seven detainees or release them without further delay. He said it was a question of freedom of citizens as promised by the constitution of the land.These men were first arrested in November 2007 and their release ordered in May 2010, only for them to disappear. The Supreme Court decided to inves-

tigate why the men had been held and in February 2012, they appeared before the court, in poor health, barely able to stand or talk.During the pro-

ceedings, Raja Irshad, the counsel for ISI and MI, said the agencies handed over the Adiala Jail prisoners to the Fata administration who were keeping them in Parachinar internment centre. The chief justice said, “You (the agencies) cannot acquit yourself from the case as the agencies had taken

them in their custody”.The CJP said, “When you arrested the prisoners you had said their trial would be conducted, which had not happened so far.”

Raja Irsahd said it the court pass an order, they would release the detainees. The chief justice remarked why should the court issue order and told him that the agencies should decide about it by themselves. The counsel said that the agencies did not arrest people who have clean record. The chief justice inquired from the counsel if there was no evidence against the detainees then why the agencies have been keeping them detained.

“Do you have any justification for it,” the CJP questioned.

He said that if the custody proved illegal then law would take its course, as no one was above the law.Earlier, Deputy Attorney General Dil Muhammad Khan Ali pleaded that as per the law, after every 120 days the internment centre’ authority had to review the detainees’ conditions and evidences against them. The CJP ordered the government and intelligence agencies to report back to the court on today (Tuesday) about what would happen to the detainees.

off" prospective attackers by vomiting or "acting crazy". Just days after the December 16 gang-rape, KP Raghuvanshi, a senior police officer in Mumbai told female college students to carry a packet of chilli powder with them always and use it when threatened, the Press Trust of India reported.

While trains in Mumbai and Delhi run segregated women-only coaches in response to the high incidence of sexual harassment, many have now called for more vigilance by authorities and frequent police checks.

Police and prosecutors have outlined how the student and her male companion struggled to find transport to go home and so agreed to climb aboard the bus driven by the rapists.

The group allegedly beat up the man and repeatedly raped and assaulted the victim with a rusting metal bar in the back of the bus while driving around Delhi for some 45 minutes.

Since the attack, beautician Misarvan, who often boarded similar privately-run buses to visit her widowed mother in west Delhi, says she is too afraid to keep doing so and now spends more to take an auto-rickshaw instead. Like her other female colleagues, she tries to leave work as early as possible and expresses no faith in the Indian police's ability to protect her.

"Nowhere in this country is safe," says the mother of two, the first woman in her family to have a job.

"I worry a lot about my daughter growing up here, whether she will have to endure the same problems, the same risks that I deal with every time I leave my house," she added. AFP

Taliban storm Kabul police complex KABUL - Nato troops joined a fight against a Taliban suicide squad that stormed a Kabul police headquarters at dawn Monday, killing three police officers and unleashing a stand-off that lasted for more than eight hours.The Taliban claimed the attack, which turned into the longest stand-off between the insurgents and security forces in Kabul since a major co-ordinated raid on the capital lasted 18 hours in April last year.Three of the five attackers were killed in the early part of the assault while two others wearing suicide vests holed up in the five-storey building in west Kabul and fired on security forces, a police officer told AFP. They were later also killed."It's over. The last two terrorists are dead and they were not even given the chance to detonate their suicide vests," Kabul police chief General Mohammad Ayoub Salangi told AFP.The reason it took so long to overpower the last two men was "because our boys acted very carefully," he said. "There were lots of important documents so we acted very carefully to not cause any damage to those documents."Four traffic police, two members of the special forces and

Steps to stop polio virus exportation urged KARACHI: The Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell, World Health Organisation, Unicef and partners in Pakistan’s Polio Eradication Initiative have called for urgent pre-emptive measures against exportation of the polio virus after pos-

tional departure lounges of all airports so that all children under five years leaving the country are vaccinated against the poliovirus.

The Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell has already asked the Sindh

itive samples linked to the Sukkur district were discovered in Egypt, officials said on Monday.

“Two sewage samples collected from the Al Salam and Al Haggana areas of Cairo district and analysed in a laboratory bore resemblance to a strain discovered recently in sewage water tested in Sukkur,” said a joint statement of Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell, World Health Organisation and Unicef.

“As a preemptive measure and to reduce the possibility of spread of the polio virus beyond Pakistan’s borders, the government’s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell is advising all provincial governments and federal administration to set up permanent vaccination counters inside interna-

government to improve its polio immunisation efforts to stop transmission of the virus in the province on an emergency basis, it added.

“Importation of polio virus is a stark reminder of risks associated with active poliovirus transmission in the country, and the need to make efforts to stop the transmission on urgent basis in Pakistan,” the statement quoted Shahnaz Wazir Ali, the PM’s focal person on polio eradication, as saying. Although, it said, the virus had not infected any child in Egypt and the country remained polio-free since 2004, the Egyptian ministry of health had ordered immediate vaccination of all children aged below five years in the localities near Cairo from where the Pakistan-origin virus was discovered.

“Dr Ahmed Omar, of the ministry of health and population in Egypt, has stated that the ministry will start a campaign to vaccinate children under-five against polio in Ezbet Hagana Peace and Kaliobeya in Cairo,” it said.

It said the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) recently had also recommended international travel restrictions for the three polio endemic countries under the International Health Regulations.

“The assessment of the IMB reflects the global concern over Pakistan and other polio endemic countries. However, regarding travel restrictions, it is understandable that every polio-free country would like to maintain its polio-free status and may consider taking steps to avoid importation of the virus,” the statement quoted the emergency coordinator for polio eradication at the WHO, Dr Elias Durry, as saying.

Pakistan took major strides last year with a 71 per cent reduction in the number of polio cases with all but 28 districts free of polio virus transmission.

The recent security related incidents in different parts of the country have exposed children to risk of contracting polio, a disease that causes permanent paralysis in young children.

“Polio virus type 3 has not been found in Pakistan since April 2012, whereas environmental samples have been found mostly negative for the polio virus except for a few sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh,” said the statement.

“According to Unicef’s acting head of polio unit, Michael Coleman, it reinforces the urgent need for all caregivers across Pakistan to vaccinate children under five years of age against polio through the nearest health facility or through campaign vaccination teams. The country had reported 58 polio cases last year whereas this year, no polio case has been reported so far.”

Girl aged eight killed in quake off Indonesia, 15 injured BANDA ACEH: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Aceh province Tuesday, killing an eight-year-old girl and leaving 15 people injured, officials said.

The quake struck 112 kilometres southeast of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh at 22:22 GMT, at a depth of 37 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

“An eight-year-old girl in Pidie district was killed after a cupboard in her bedroom fell on her when the quake shook the ground,” the district’s

disaster management agency chief Apriyadi, who goes by one name, told AFP. He added that 15 people were injured, five of them seriously, due to collapsing walls.

At least 50 houses in the district were also damaged with walls partly collapsed, he said. The Indonesian Meteorology, Geophysics and Climatology Agency (BMKG) issued no tsunami alert.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

half a dozen civilians were wounded, deputy interior minister General Abdul Rahman said.An AFP photographer said Norwegian soldiers were seen firing at the police building.Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed its participation in the operation but insisted it was small."We do have a very small number of people assisting the Afghan security forces officials in the scene. It's primarily an advising role and absolutely the Afghan officials are in the lead," an Isaf spokesman told AFP.Nato says the Taliban insurgency has been weakened and characterised the attack as a ploy to attract media attention, but the time it took to mop up the insurgents will be seen as an embarrassment."They (the Taliban) are losing the fight," said General Gunter Katz, Isaf military spokesman. "They cannot fight face to face.

These attacks are only to attract media. They carry out their attacks in the cities and crowded areas where civilians suffer."He praised the role of the Afghan security forces in countering the attack.The assault began with a massive carbomb explosion that shattered the windows of nearby homes.A local resident described the initial explosion as "very very big -- it was massive". It was followed by several other explosions and gunfire.Taliban insurgents, who are waging an 11-year war against the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai, claimed credit for the attack, which it said began at 5:00 am (0030 GMT)."A large number of fedayeen (suicide bombers) entered a building in Dehmazang and are attacking an American training centre, a police centre and other military centres and have caused heavy casualties on the enemy," a Taliban spokesman said.There is no US or Nato-run training facility in the area and the Taliban are known to exaggerate when claiming attacks.Monday's attack came less than a week after a squad of suicide bombers attacked the Afghan intelligence agency headquarters in Kabul, killing at least one guard and wounding dozens of civilians.All six attackers were killed in the brazen attack on the National Directorate of Security (NDS), also claimed by the Taliban.Afghan police and other security forces are increasingly targets of Taliban attacks as they take a bigger role in the battle against the insurgents before Nato withdraws the bulk of its 100,000 combat troops by the end of 2014.

January 24, 2013

07

Enter tainment MUMBAI: A new Indian film looks at the sensitive topic of sexual harassment in the workplace at a time when Bollywood has come under fire for its portrayal of women, after a fatal gang-rape shocked the nation.

“Inkaar” (Denial), a Hindi movie combining crime and romance, explores how a relationship turns sour between Rahul, the alpha male CEO of an advertising agency, and his ambitious protegee Maya, who rises up the company’s ranks.

She claims sexual harassment, a charge he flatly denies, and the film develops through a series of flashbacks as the pair tell their story to a social worker looking at the case.

The theme is an unusual one in an industry that has faced fresh criticism for objectifying women as merely skimpily dressed arm candy for a macho hero.

The brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23year-old student on a bus in New Delhi on December 16 sparked shockwaves and protests across the nation, along with much soul-searching about its treatment and portrayal of women.

Director Sudhir Mishra said the timing of Inkaar’s release, on Friday, was a coincidence but he hoped the film would spark debate on under-discussed issues facing modern and rapidly urbanising India. “The film explains the environment of a workplace from both men’s and women’s points of view,” he told AFP. “Everyone has a point of view on a subject, especially something as strong as sexual harassment. I have come across a cluster of people who work in different offices and they have similar stories to narrate.”

Inkaar’s initial reviews say it has failed to live up to its promise, and should have pushed further its exploration of gender politics in the office.

“The tough questions that the film had started to lay out for us… all get buried under a hurried, compromised end,” said The Indian Express.

But film trade analyst Komal Nahta described it as a “brave attempt” to take on a “bold subject”.

“Films based on sexual harassment

to the plot, featuring scantily clad women in sexually suggestive dance routines.

When the film returns to the storyline, the main female character is often tirelessly wooed by the male protagonist until she gives in to him.

“We talk about public or police apathy towards crimes against women but nothing comes

FM Khar says IaIndian film explores harassment as Bollywood in spotlightndia ‘warmongering’ should be made more and more, but the filmmaker should handle this delicate subject with utmost care,” he told AFP. The “item number” has come under particular fire, a musical performance often unrelated

close to the antipathy shown to women by Bollywood,” said award-winning playwright Mahesh Dattani in a scathing column.

“Bollywood loathes women. Bollywood is a monster that has gone horribly wrong,” he said.

Shabana Azmi, a 62-year-old actor known for her roles in Indian New Wave cinema from the 1970s, suggested there was some responsibility on younger women in the business to insist on better portrayal of female characters.

“Celebration of a woman’s sensuality is healthy but commodification is not and our heroines will do well to make more discerning choices,” she said on Twitter.

Others in the industry defended its movies, saying Bollywood had become a soft target that could not be blamed for inciting violence.

Chitrangada Singh, the female lead in Inkaar, said song-and-dance numbers in films had been around for decades. She pointed in particular to Helen, a legendary Indian star in the 1970s and the most famous “item girl”.

“Helen did a lot of dances during my mother’s time but men were not like this,” she told AFP. Veteran art film actor and television presenter Farooq Sheikh suggested that scripts had deteriorated over the years. “Intelligent writers need to be given a chance,” he said.

An alternative Bollywood is starting to emerge: a crop of “Hindi Indie” directors have done well on the festival circuit and even some mainstream films have departed from the typical love story themes. Films such as last year’s thriller “Kahaani” (Story) and “The Dirty Picture” a year earlier, both starring Vidya Balan, have won praise for presenting stronger female characters.

Among India’s leading independent filmmakers is Anurag Kashyap, who said it was up to the audience to make movie-makers adapt.

“Cinema is business and whatever will work, they’ll keep doing that,” he told NDTV. “You want that to change, stop watching those films… stop buying those tickets.”

Vidya Balan excited to hear 'Kahaani 2' story Katy Perry joins star-studded Obama inauguration After bagging top awards for Kahaani, Sujoy Ghosh has set the ball in momentum for part two and Vidya Balan, who played lead in the original, can't wait to hear the story.

At the prestigious Filmfare awards on Sunday, Vidya bagged the 'best actor (female)' title, while Ghosh was named the best director.

"Ask Sujoy, I am very excited to know which Kahaani he has written. So, let's see," the 33-year-old said at the 58th Filmfare awards.

Recalling her journey with Kahaani, Vidya said: "When we started Kahaani, only two people were associated with it, Sujoy and me. But later others joined in. We tried to make a good film, people liked it and we have grabbed a lot of other awards for the film till now."

Also featuring Parambrata Chatterjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kahaani is going strong at the awards function.

It seems my life is quite set: Saif Ali Khan After an eventful 2012, Saif Ali Khan is looking forward to a racier 2013. The " Race 2" actor is at peace with his personal and professional life.

His last film "Cocktail" managed to do well at the box office, he wed his lady love Kareena Kapoor, and for his forthcoming action thriller

Deepika Padukone and Ameesha Patel, who looked as glamourous as the film looks by its songs and trailers. The Abbas-Mustan movie, set to release Jan 25, is the sequel to 2008 hit film "Race". It also features Anil Kapoor, John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez. Saif, who was part of the earlier movie

"Race 2", he got the chance to drive around in highend cars, shoot in locations like Istanbul and be besides some of Bollywood's gorgeous girls.

Life's set, Saif, isn't it? asked a reporter.

"It feels great! It seems my life is quite set... nazar mat lagao yaar (don't jinx it)," said the actor, who looked extremely stylish and fit at a promotional event. Saif was joined at the Audi car showroom in New Delhi by his "Race 2" co-stars

too, says times have changed a lot for cinema in the country, and sequels are accepted.

"When I did 'Main Khiladi Tu Anari' (1994), we were contemplating on a sequel to it.

But then the idea was dropped because at that time, sequels didn't used to happen. But things change...

There are some films that lend themselves to a sequel, and the 'Race' franchise lends itself perfectly," he said.

WASHINGTON: Pop princess Katy Perry was a starlet in stripes Monday, bundling up in the chill as she joined a bevy of celebrities at Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration.

Perry, sporting a striped orange and black coat, black boots and sunglasses, held hands with boyfriend singer-songwriter John Mayer in the VIP seats just a stone’s throw from the inaugural platform on the west front of the US Capitol. “It’s so exciting, because I really love Obama!” Perry cooed to AFP. The Grammy-nominated “Firework” and “Wide Awake” performer wowed the audience the previous night at a children’s concert, where she wore a decidedly racier ensemble: a red, white and blue American flag-inspired bustier outfit.

If there is one day every four years to make it to Washington, it was Inauguration Day, when the who’s who of the nation – particularly Hollywood and music royalty – descended on the capital. Several celebrities, many of whom signed big checks or attended major campaign fundraising events for Obama last year, crowded into the seats within about 100 yards (meters) of the president. The stars included leather-clad actress Angela Bassett, who played Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and Hispanic American actress Eva Longoria, the “Desperate Housewives” star and Obama inauguration co-chair who was in the official seated gallery tucked in among the nation’s lawmakers.

Reverend Jesse Jackson, the famed civil rights activist who once ran for president, mingled with lawmakers and Obama staffers. Boston Celtics basketball legend Bill Russell was in the crowd too. Actor Jeffrey Wright, a Washington native, told AFP he has supported Obama since his days as a state senator in Illinois.

“He is the leader for the times, for very complicated times, a very complicated country and complicated world,” Wright said.

“We’re fortunate that he’s that leader.

What’s unfortunate though is that his worth is undervalued by too many in this country,” he added.

Near Wright was the actor Marlon Wayans, who comes from a family of actors and currently stars in “A Haunted House,” and who was seeking to make amends for not attending Obama’s first, his-

toric inaugural.

“It looked like I missed out four years ago so I’m kind of doing some retribution,” Wayans said. “I’m just happy he got another term,” he added, saying it was time for lawmakers to tone down their partisan bickering.

“Hopefully they can all work together, because right now everyone’s playing nice, but you know you can’t do it alone.”James Taylor and Kelly Clarkson performed in front of a crowd estimated by inaugural officials at one million, but the bona fide star of the show – other than the Obamas themselves – was Beyonce.

The diva, who looked stunning in a black Emilio Pucci dress, brought down the house by belting the National Anthem. She and her hip-hop husband Jay-Z were among those who caused the greatest stir on the inaugural platform, with Senator Mary Landrieu taking out her smart phone to snap a few pictures of Beyonce.

08

January 24, 2013

Another lesson of time With the end of the Drama in the Capital our choice to remain on the democratic path gets clearer. That means we understand more clearly than before that the world we live in is an inclusive one, not a world for the chosen few; that it is a world where matters should be decided by reason not force, by empathy not dictation. Forces of violent sectarianism and hostile attitudes have yet to wave their white flags, but it is not their world; they can delay our quest towards the path of peace and happiness but cannot keep us diverged forever.

They should be made to realise that they can kill individuals but cannot wipe out mankind. Although the gun intimidates, it does not win respect and should be used only to defend.

But it is time to ask why, after all, are ludicrous endeavors like these necessary? Why can’t we accept the realities of our times and play our games within the scope of these democratic realities? Prudence demands that we do not criticise too harshly the interests that lost in Islamabad; on the other hand wisdom demands that they move to the right side of history. The nation can overcome many of its problems if it decides to stand like a rock, not with, but behind elected governments in its every right move.

People of all professions and incomes aspire to be heard, to be included in decisions that affect their life. We cannot categorise people as common or special. There are no ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’ people except through merit; but merit has to be determined by some established

system of standards. Personal notions of merit cannot prove you or yours truly as extraordinary.

There is no humane algorithm to win somebody’s obedience except through persuasion. You may see your merit as exceptional as you wish but the fellow next to you has to independently acknowledge it as such; your boasting or anger makes no difference, while persecuting him with your force can only alienate him further.

This adherence of equality means democracy. It may infuriate a general or an intellectual alike, but in our world there is no alternative to it except one: befuddle the people with some magic, intoxicate them with a charged emotion, and take away their ambition for equality; so that they abandon their claims. But chances of success in such an endeavor are meager. One could see similar submission in the soldiers of the Qadri brigade, when people agreed with the Allama’s extreme shifts of position and happily left without asking if the government had changed. But one can be almost certain that even a respectful analysis of the agreement in media can awaken the majority from the inertia. Such are the times. Even though the media can be manipulated, the manipulation needs to be globalised in this global media world.

No power, including the sole super power, can hope to harness that privilege. That makes the task of a tyrant or dictator increasingly difficult. It is merit alone that can win. Brilliant crooks can get away with a chunk of the pie of more than their share but that is a trick of brilliance, achieved with

the consent of those that allow. If you happen to be around and know the crook’s design, your success to frustrate his move depends on your ability to awaken those that can say no. That is the path of persuasion and awareness; a path that even prophets had to take to achieve change.

We have to revisit our strategy. We live in a growingly democratic industrial world where economy matters more than nuclear weapons. The way we are at war with ourselves, we hardly need a nuclear enemy to destroy us. Let us accept democracy as our own system to live with the world. Our principal tragedy is lawlessness. At the

moment only one element defeats law: the exploitation of Islam as its shroud. Can we hope that our generals and judges will help elected governments in the equal implementation of law for all, including those who manipulate religion to defeat justice? People will learn to choose the correct people; it is their duty and prerogative. Intellectuals and the media can facilitate and educate each other and the nation.

How whimsical our dreams of the generals and judges emerging as symbols of modesty and wisdom. A dim light does always flicker to indicate the tunnel’s end. Let us reach out for it.

Indo-Pak friendship: The phoenix without wings Arts and sports have played an immense role in propagating peace across the world. Artists, philanthropists and sports celebrities have often proved to be the only people to have tried to change the status quo of the hostile relations between many countries such as India and Pakistan. Whether we talk about candlelight vigil at Wagah-Attari border, participation of Pakistani sportsmen in Indian Premiere League (IPL) or artists traveling across the border to share their work with people residing in both the countries, their efforts to develop the camaraderie between millions of estranged Indians and Pakistanis is endless and many a time beyond belief. However, it is extremely unfortunate that the aforementioned people are always the first to be singled out whenever the tensions between India and Pakistan intensify. Last week nine Pakistani players, who were to participate in Hockey India League (HIL), were sent back home because of the mounting tensions at the Line of Control (LoC).It is also being speculated that Pakistan’s women cricket team may not be able to participate in the upcoming World Cup because of the tragic events which resulted in untimely deaths of Indian and Pakistani soldiers. Indian politicians, enraged with the situation, urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take strictest action against Pakistani authorities.

Some even demanded for “10 heads from Pakistan” for the alleged beheading of an Indian soldier whereas others speculated that certain radical elements were behind the execution.

Although what happened at the LoC can only be described as deplorable and detestable, however, acts of a certain individual or group should not be taken as cue to blame all Pakistanis as most of them bear no ill will towards Indians.

Sujal Tirpal, an Indian from Mumbai said, “It is most unfortunate that many people in India still consider all Pakistanis to be terrorists. It is a

common phenomenon especially in North India where people refuse to believe that Pakistanis can see Indians or India progressing. What most of us fail to realize is that when we stereotype people on the basis of their nationalities, we become prejudiced and offensive in our own thoughts.”

He went on to add that, “People who possess such feelings and thoughts for fellow human beings, be it Pakistanis or Indians, can easily resort to the most evil means and kill indiscriminately

without any remorse. If the educated people are unable to understand the difference between innocent Pakistanis, who play no part in jeopardizing the existence of India, and savage militants then we all should just crawl back to our caves.”

However, some Pakistanis and Indians differ from Tirpal’s opinions and believe that if an attack is launched from either side of the border then showing mercy towards any individual is considered against the basic rules of patriotism.

An Indian from Delhi on condition of anonymity said, “I completely agree with the ideology of Shiv Sena and it is our responsibility as Indians to keep Pakistanis away from India. They have never been one of our well-wishers. They attacked us in 1965, 1971, 1999, 2001 and then again in 2008. Sometimes they kill our soldiers and on other occasions they kill innocent civilians. I strongly believe that most Pakistanis are not peace loving and are always plotting against Indians or

India.” “Pakistan’s army, rulers and general public are all against India. We have suffered immensely over the past several decades because of their hidden vendetta against our state. I don’t want Pakistanisportsmen, artists, businessmen or politicians coming to our country and ruining our peace,” he added. Reciprocating equally to the hostile sentiments of the aforementioned individual Salman Abbasi, a Pakistani from Lahore said, “instead of harping on and on about peace and what good it will bring to the South-Asian region, we all should just accept the fact that India and Pakistan can never become friendly nations. We are poles apart and I think we should break all ties with them because they keep on blaming Pakistan for everything that goes wrong on their border or in their country without having the decency to share any substantial evidence with us. They have been blaming us for over six decades now and I really do not think that they are interested in moving on to build better relations with us.” Listening to all the negative comments I just could not stop thinking about why is it so difficult for us to believe that India and Pakistan can put the past behind and embark on a journey of healthy relations? Why is it unfathomable for many of us that we truly belong to the same race and are exactly similar in many ways? Is Indian blood any different for Pakistani blood? Why is it so easy for us to give up on each other without even thinking twice? I refuse to believe that majority of Indians and Pakistanis endorse some of the negative feedback that I received. I know that most of us have positive feelings towards each other and stand united on various fronts. My thoughts were positively reinforced when I read a news report about Indian women protesting against the killings of Shia Muslims in Quetta. Simultaneously my views were once again proven true when young students from India and Pakistan met in New Delhi and vowed to spread peace.

Obama vows to build alliances, not ‘perpetual war' WASHINGTON - President Barack Hussain Obama kicked off his second term with a pledge to resolve US differences with other nations peacefully, and to support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East.Though his speech was watched across the globe, Obama sketched over foreign policy, disdaining "perpetual war" and promising diplomacy of engagement backed with military steel - though did not dwell on specific crises like Iran.The 44th president repeatedly used the "We the People" preamble to the US Constitution to suggest how to reconcile America's founding truths and the current discord and dysfunction of its embittered political system."We

will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully — not because we are naive about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear," he told tens of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall. “We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war,” Obama declared after he and Vice President Joseph Biden took oath of office for their second White House term, which constitutionally commenced on Sunday.

"We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom," he said. "And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the

sick, the marginalised, the victims of prejudice — not out of mere charity, but because peace in our

time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.”The president added: “America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crises abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation.”Obama vowed to “defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.”“We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.

“The president declared to meet the threat of

global warming, despite scepticism on climate change among some Republicans and daunting political and economic barriers to taking meaningful action.

Had armed forces and politicians from both sides of the border acted as gracefully and prudently as other civilians, the situation could have been controlled. It is important for all of us to understand that the people responsible for all the bloodshed do so to serve their own personal interests. They are neither friends of Pakistan nor foes of India. Their only motivation is power and money and by falling into their trap, every time they fuel violence, we just make their task easier. Although it is very difficult to control emotions over the loss of innocent lives, however, by giving rise to situations which may result in further loss of human lives, we prove to be irresponsible. Unless we give peace real chance, radical elements will continue to capitalize on our sentiments and turn us against each other.

January 24, 2013

SPORTS

NEW DELHI: The guns may have fallen silent, but the collateral damage from a deadly flare-up between India and Pakistan is still mounting with major sporting and arts events among those hit by the fallout.

Less than a month ago, Pakistan’s cricket team embarked on its first tour to India in nearly five years.

But hopes the trip would herald a wider cultural thaw were soon dashed by tit-for-tat military exchanges in disputed Kashmir that killed five soldiers in nine days.

Although the two armies agreed a ceasefire on January 16, the impact of the violence is being felt far away from the front line.

In the last few days, some of Pakistan’s leading hockey players have been forced to pull out of a new money-spinning competition while its women cricketers have had to rewrite their World Cup plans.

A Lahore-based theatre group had to scrap a performance at a prestigious Delhi venue and a row has broken out over the participation of Pakistani authors in an international literary festival in Rajasthan. “The arts are always a high-visibility and low-cost target,” said Sanjoy Roy, one of the organisers of this weekend’s Jaipur Literature Festival. Last year’s festival made headlines when the Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie stayed away in the face of threats by Islamic activists.

Now Hindu nationalists are threatening to disrupt this year’s event to protest the presence of Pakistani authors such as Nadeem Aslam and Mohammad Hanif.

09

Collateral damage: Sports, arts pay price of India-Pakistan tensions

Local members of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are to meet police on Tuesday when they will urge officers to instruct festival organisers to rescind the invitations.

“We must send a message across the border that Pakistan must be isolated,” Suman Sharma, vice president of the party’s Rajasthan branch, told AFP. “The absence of a few Pakistani authors will

at an annual theatre festival at the Delhi-based National School of Drama (NSD).

Instead, they ended up putting on a production of a play by Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto at the smaller Akshara theatre.

The play’s director Madeeha Gauhar said police should have been able to guarantee security at the NSD if they were worried about “fringe ele-

not affect the festival, so why bother even having them in Jaipur?”

Roy said there was no question of invitations being withdrawn.

“We are not going to be bullied by any kind of faction,” Roy told AFP. But while the Jaipur organisers are standing firm, Ajoka, a Lahore-based troupe, were not allowed to perform as scheduled on Saturday night

ments”. Jalabala Vaidya, a manager at the Akshara theatre, said it was important for cultural ties to continue even at times of heightened tensions.

“Art and sports should never be dragged in whenever there is war-mongering on either side,” she told The Hindu newspaper.

Anti-Pakistan sentiment has been fuelled in India by the alleged beheading of a soldier along the Kashmir border on January 8. New Delhi

blames Pakistani troops although Islamabad denies responsibility.

Politicians from the government and opposition have criticised the “inhuman” attack with Sushma Swaraj, the BJP’s leader in parliament, calling for India to “get at least 10 heads from the other side”. Salman Bashir, Pakistan’s high commissioner in New Delhi, said Pakistan must not become a political football in the run-up to India’s elections next year.

“India will not be an election issue in Pakistan and I certainly wish that Pakistan does not become an election issue in India,” Bashir told AFP. Protests by Shiv Sena, another right-wing Hindu nationalist party, prompted organisers of the inaugural Hockey India League to send home nine Pakistani stars just as the tournament began last week. “When sport is above prejudice, it is wonderful. But when it aligns with prejudice, sport begins to diminish,” said the squad’s Australian coach Ric Charlesworth. Pakistan’s Imran Butt, who was part of the Mumbai Magicians team which lost four Pakistani players, said he hoped to return some day.

“Despite what happened, we were well looked after during our stay. We are very friendly with the Indian players,” he told AFP. Fear of similar disruption has forced the International Cricket Council to look for a separate venue to host Pakistan’s matches in the women’s World Cup starting on January 31.

The entire tournament was due to be held in Mumbai, but the cricket association in the eastern state of Orissa says it has now been asked to host Pakistan’s group matches.

Deadly Djokovic batters Berdych to reach semis No home Tests holding Pakistan back MELBOURNE: Serbian superman Novak Djokovic remained firmly on course for a third straight Australian Open title on Tuesday after dismantling Tomas Berdych in four sets to set up a last four meeting with Spanish comeback king David Ferrer.

Showing no signs of fatigue from the grinding five-hour duel with Stanislas Wawrinka that ended in the early hours of Monday morning, Djokovic defused the big Czech’s big serve 6-1 46 6-1 6-4 to progress comfortably to his 11th successive grand slam semi-final.

Maria Sharapova was just as impressive

as she continued a ruthless march through the women’s draw with a 6-2 6-2 savaging of Ekaterina Makarova, while Li Na ended Agnieszka Radwanska’s winning streak to continue her love affair with Melbourne Park.

Ferrer staged what he described as a miraculous comeback from two sets down to beat fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 4-6 4-6 7-5 7-6 6-2 but immediately said he would need something even more spectacular if he was to get to his first grand slam final.

Living up to his reputation as the fittest player on the tour, world number one Djokovic returned with his usual deftness and moved his 6ft 5in (1.96m) opponent around the court.

The 25-year-old whipped through the first set against fifth seed Berdych quicksmart, stalled only a little as he lost the second before racing to victory in two and a half hours, sealing the win with his 10th ace.

“It was a great performance,” Djokovic said. “I was hoping to have a shorter match and not go over five hours like the last match.

“It is always going to be tough against Tomas … but I came out and played my best ten-

nis.” Sharapova crushed fellow Russian Makarova in just 66 minutes to set up a last four appointment with Li at a cost of just nine games conceded in the tournament, a record low for the Australian Open. The second seed and 2008 champion relentlessly pummelled Makarova with a barrage of thumping serves and fierce forehands, leaving the 19th seed scrapping for dignity by the end.

“She’s playing unbelievable, so aggressive, and just in the right spot of the court. It’s really tough to play against her now,” said Makarova.

MIRACLE VICTORY “In the end I just was fighting for the games, because I was thinking that, yeah, it’s tough to beat her.”

Ferrer stared defeat full in the face three times before taming Almagro after being dominated by some brilliant tennis from the 10th seed for the first two sets. The fourth seed looked to be heading for the exit when he faced Almagro serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set but he hustled along the baseline to claw his way back into the contest. Twice more Almagro had chances to serve out for victory but he blew them both before suffering a leg injury and Ferrer, who had won all 12 of their previous meetings, emerged a winner after three hours and 44 minutes. Ferrer, 30, has lost all four of his previous grand slam semi-finals, including defeats to world number one Djokovic at the US Open in 2007 and last year. “It was a miracle I won this match,” said Ferrer. “I tried to fight and do my best but next round I need to play my best tennis, better than today,” he said.

“Nole is a special player.”

Li reached her third semi-final in four years at the Australian Open with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Radwanska in the opening match of the day.

Radwanska had come into the contest bursting with confidence on a run of 13 successive wins but looked underpowered as she was bludgeoned into submission by Li in the 102-minute contest There were 10 service breaks in the 21 games and sixth seed Li grabbed six of them to set up a contest against Sharapova, who won all three of their encounters last year.

JOHANNESBURG - Pakistan are losing ground on Test rivals because they cannot host international teams owing to security concerns and accordingly play fewer Test matches, captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Monday.

As his team prepared to take on the world's top-ranked Test team South Africa in the three-Test series starting in Johannesburg on February 1, Misbah said Pakistan were at a disadvantage because of the "limitations".

"As a team it is very difficult when you not playing a format on a regular basis. You really have to work hard. But we have to adjust, you could say it is a limitation for us but we are professionals, we have to do well," he told a news conference. "We don't have home series and when you aren't playing at home then you miss a lot of cricket and you play only about five or six Tests a year when other teams are playing 15 or 16 Tests a year. It really does affect your team."

Pakistan have not hosted a Testplaying team since armed militants attacked the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009, killing eight Pakistanis and wounding six Sri Lankan players. Their 'home' matches since then have been held at neutral venues, mostly in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, while Pakistan have not played a Test series anywhere since July last year. Misbah said that the success of the two-match series between a World XI and a Pakistani All Star team in October last year showed that Pakistan could safely host international matches.

"Pakistan is such a big cricketing nation and the world has to think about bringing international cricket back (to Pakistan). The T20 tournament in Pakistan saw full stadiums for every match. There were no (security) concerns. The people should have international cricket," he said.

Misbah's words were echoed by Pakistan team manager Naveed Akram Cheema who said that the situation in Pakistan was a lot safer than outsiders perceived. "Our people in Pakistan are being deprived of international cricket. There is a difference between perception and reality. People don't come (to Pakistan) on the pretext of security concerns. But I can tell you that it is as safe as any country in the world," he said.

Misbah said Proteas fast bowler Vernon Philander will be one of the South African players to watch out for in their Test series next month. Philander was included in the Proteas squad for the series after missing out in the second Test against

New Zealand with a hamstring injury.

“I think the way Philander is bowling is really taking so many wickets,” Misbah said. “He's really a factor with the new ball and swinging the ball and hitting the seam. “I think the best way is just to stick to your basics and just go there and try and see off these sort of bowlers, and then just capitalise. In Test cricket you need to do your basics right. If the bowler is bowling well or that batsman is batting well, you just have to stick to your basics in how you tackle someone.”

Misbah said he knew his team would have

their work cut out against the hosts, who would be strong favourites to clinch the series. “With the likes of (Hashim) Amla, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, they've got everything in their batting line-up. Then they've got quality bowlers like (Dale) Steyn, (Morne) Morkel and Philander.

They are really a good side and we have to play well against them to put some sort of game on.” Misbah said his side would be keen to prove themselves against the top rated outfit in Test cricket.

“This team has really done well for the last two-and-half years. It's really a big challenge for us to come here to play the number one team in the world, and especially in their conditions, it's really tough. This Pakistan team are ready to take challenges. They have proved that in the last two years, so I think this will really be a test and we really want to play well in South Africa.”