3rd February 2012

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Volume XIII

Issue No. 09

48 Pages

Friday, March 02, 2012 | Rabi-us-Sani 09, 1433 A.H.

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Interfaith event aims to foster understanding

Major progress made in switching to electronic health records Enrollment process for Texas hospitals, health care providers mirrors nation

AUSTIN, Texas: The number of hospitals using health information technology has doubled in the last two years, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Recently released data indicates that nearly 2,000 hospitals and more than 41,000 doctors nationwide Rabbi Steven Morgan, left, emel magazine CEO Sarah Samiya Ali helps her mother, Razia Begum, Fourteen-year-old Maham Khan left, her mother Sumbal Khan center, and have received $3.1 billion in incenJoseph, the Rev. Diane McGehee and Syed Shahid Ali take with her hijab before Sunday's Interfaith thirteen-year-old sister waot for the start of the Interfaith Unity Day at tive payments to help them institute Unity Day event.

Verizon Wireless Theater Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in Houston. part in Sunday's ceremonies. the use of health IT. HOUSTON, Texas: The Muslim organized the most memorable inau- in downtown Houston this past Keynote speaker on the occasion Texas is putting up good numbers Council of USA, under the leader- gural Interfaith Unity Day at the Sunday. Appreciable number of peo- was Sarah Irene Joseph AL Rashid, of its own, according to Stephanie ship of Syed Shahid Ali Sunni, prestigious Verizon Wireless Theater ple attended the event.

Continued on page 21 Goodman, spokesperson for the Texas Continued on page 21

Community Leader, John Hamid and Family has "best day" of their life, meets President Obama

Rubbishing reports: Pak denies ‘tossing aside’ Kashmir issue ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has categorically rejected reports that it has decided to shelve the Kashmir dispute ‘for the time being’ due to internal crises.

Reacting to a report published in a section of the Indian media which claimed that “Pakistan may junk the Kashmir issue temporarily,” Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit called it ‘misleading and far-fetched’.

Continued on page 21

Clinton defends State Department budget WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday faced opposition from Democrats and Republicans in a hearing on the State Department's $51.6 billion budget request.

Clinton, in testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee in charge of the State Department's budget, said the budget request amounts to about a 2-percent increase from 2011 and would allow the

United States to sustain national security missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. She said the budget reflects "the temporary extraordinary costs of operating on the front lines."

"We know how quickly the world is transforming, from Arab revolutions to the rise of new economic powers, to a more dispersed but still dangerous al-Qaida terrorist threat.

Continued on page 21

Sharmeen Chinoy launches anti-acid campaign President Obama in a group photograph with Community Leader and Prominent Businessman, John Hamid, Lubna Hamid (wife) Their Chirdren: Sara Hamid, Sabrena Hamid, Daniyal Hamid and Shan Hamid at Washington DC.

By Raja Zahid Khanzada

DALLAS: Prominent Businessman, Community Leader, Jon Hamid and family recently met with President Obama at Washington.

The meeting was arranged by the Organization “Obama for America”

In a meeting that lasted 25-30 minutes, John Hamid discussed elections, economics and other matters of great importance with the President.

Talking to President, Mr. Hamid pointed out that what is your policy Continued on page 21

KARACHI: Pakistan's first Oscar winner launched a campaign on Tuesday, hoping that her documentary about survivors of acid attacks can help eliminate a crime that disfigures hundreds of women each year.

"Saving Face" by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won the short documentary category at the Academy Awards on Sunday.

The film follows survivors in their fight to bring their attackers to justice and focuses on the work of British Continued on page 21

KARACHI: Saba Obaid (R), the mother of Oscar award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, speaks during a news conference, A Pakistani director won her country's first Oscar on February 27 for 'Saving Face,' a short documentary about acid attacks on women and those who help them recover.

02 ADVERTISEMENT

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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Pak-US relations: Kerry welcomes Sherry as partner in mending ties

A model walks on ramp during a Fashion Show held in Karachi last night.

Pak-US relations may be strained, but lawmakers on both sides have been making efforts to alleviate the tensions and find common ground just as Ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman arrived in Islamabad to provide updates on bilateral ties.

US Senator John Kerry’s address to the US Senate earlier this month indicated that a serious attempt is being made to understand Pakistan’s strategic interests in the region and rebuild a “productive relationship”.

In his address, Senator Kerry was quick to point out Pakistan’s current turbulent political landscape, saying, “Pakistan faces major challenges today, including an economic and fiscal crisis, a growing insurgency within its borders and cities, and chronic energy shortages”. The senator argued that stability in Pakistan remains intricately linked to the US national interests.

Afghanistan’s role in affecting the relationship between Pakistan and the US was also highlighted by Senator Kerry, who emphasised that Islamabad remains anxious about the implication of the end of the war in Afghanistan for regional stability. This in turn, he said, meant that US goals in Afghanistan as well as strategy needed to be made “absolutely clear”. Kerry added that it was important for the reconciliation process to be Afghan-led and supported by “key regional players”.

Kerry was also quick to recognise that there is much reason for distrust on both sides, saying: “A series of tactical disputes have strained our strategic partnership” and, “The truth is we have a lot of work to do to rebuild a productive relationship”.

He also warned that the US “ability to influence events in Pakistan is limited” and Washington should be “realistic about what we can achieve” – but added, “We cannot allow events that might divide us in a small way to distract from the shared interests that unite us in a big way”.

The US lawmaker also took the opportunity to welcome newlyappointed ambassador Sherry Rehman, saying Rehman represents “the traditional values of Jinnah’s Pakistan,” and has fought for “tolerance, moderation, women’s equality and protection of minority rights”.

He said he looked forward to working with Ambassador Rehman as a partner in efforts to mend the relationship, quoting Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s address to Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly in 1947: If you will work in cooperation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed”.

Ambassador Rehman was summoned to Islamabad on Saturday to brief the civilian leadership on the bilateral relationship as the country prepares for a joint session of parliament to review relations with the US.

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EDITORIAL

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Logic behind the demolition Osama bin Laden became a household name following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. Not only was he the world’s most wanted terrorist but a man whose extremist ideology had and continues to wreak havoc globally. Afghanistan was attacked and occupied by the US-led NATO forces because of this one man’s dangerous ideology. For years, the search for the al Qaeda chief was a top priority for the world community. On May 2, 2011, that search ended when he was killed by US Navy SEALs in Pakistan’s garrison town, Abbottabad. It was the worst possible humiliation for Pakistan, a frontline ally of the US in the war on terror, when bin Laden was found near the country’s premier military academy. Questions had been raised about Pakistan’s duplicitous role in the war on terror for years but on May 2, these questions and accusations turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The compound where OBL lived for years without being detected right under the nose of the Pakistani military became an embarrassing reminder of the military’s incompetence and/or alleged complicity. Now that compound has finally been demolished.

What could be the motivation for finally demolishing the house where Osama bin Laden lived for years and was finally taken out? It seems that some neighbours have complained that they were being constantly harassed or watched by the intelligence agencies. But will the demolition of a building help a neighbourhood that is already under suspicion? No valid justification has been given for this act. Maybe it was razed because the compound was a constant

reminder of the failure of the armed forces and intelligence agencies. It virtually became a scar of embarrassment for the military and the spy agencies. By demolishing the compound, they might be trying to wipe out the ignominy but it is doubtful if people will ever forget what happened there on May 2. Or maybe the government has tried to use the same logic as the US did when they buried OBL at sea so that his grave could not be turned into a shrine for the extremists. If the government thinks that by demolishing this building, they can stop his followers from following his ideology, they might be in for a surprise. While the US commandos took away computers and other incriminating material from the OBL compound, Pakistani security and intelligence agencies were also crawling all over the place, and took away truckloads of material from OBL’s lair.

Nothing is known so far what, if anything, all that material contained. Now that the Abbottabad Commission is done with its investigation, perhaps this was considered the ‘right’ moment to get rid of the building.

Some questions, however, still remain unanswered. Did the owner(s) of the building agree to the demolition or was it done at the whim of the establishment? What will happen to the empty plot now? Would it not have been much better to use the compound as a public school or for some other social welfare purpose instead of razing it? May 2, 2011, was a blot on Pakistan. It cannot be erased for centuries. The whole exercise of getting rid of a building is without any sense as such. Clearly, those who took the decision to erase OBL’s compound do not really care for logic.

PM on Taliban talks THE prime minister`s call for the Afghan Taliban to talk to the Karzai government appears to indicate a significant potential turnaround. A public statement of this nature has never been made, and it contrasts with the resistance Pakistan is said to have put up during talks in Islamabad with Mr Karzai last week. On the surface this is a good thing, a development that puts Pakistan in the position of being seen as facilitating peace in the region rather than blocking or at least not furthering it. But its proof will lie in concrete steps. Will this statement be backed up by actual efforts to bring to the Afghan negotiating table any Taliban leaders Pakistan does have access to? And notwithstanding the obviously deliberately timed meeting with the ISI chief just prior to the announcement, does Mr Gilani`s statement have the genuine backing of the military, which would inevitably have to be involved in any such efforts with the Taliban?

If it has some substance to it, the new stance could mark another twist, albeit a welcome one, in what seems to have become a situation in which America, Afghanistan and Pakistan seem to be jostling for control of the process. And it remains unclear to what extent Pakistan truly believes its mantra of `Afghan-led` and `Afghan-

owned` talks, only reaffirmed by Mr Gilani`s carefully phrased encouragement that the Taliban join “intraAfghan” talks. Does this really reflect a desire to let Afghanistan reach a political agreement without Pakistani involvement? Or is it more an indication to the US that, if it wants to be a player, Pakistan should be too? As the country repairs its own relationship with America, the question of its role in the process will inevitably come up, and from that perspective the prime minister`s words could be seen as laying the groundwork for greater Pakistani involvement.

Of course the biggest wild cards in this scenario are the Taliban themselves. Will they agree to talk to what they consider a “puppet regime” in Afghanistan? And will they be able to bridge the splits within their own ranks over talks with the Americans and even over the notion of talks at all? Mr Karzai is clearly making hectic efforts, apparently out of a desire not to be shut out of the process as America proceeds on its own track. And Mr Gilani`s statement demonstrated a step forward on Pakistan`s part. But the Afghan reconciliation process remains beset with competing interests, and it is far too soon to derive too much optimism from any of these moves.

Memo hearing MANSOOR Ijaz`s testimony via video link to the memo commission has at least established one thing: his 15 minutes of fame are about to expire. There was a time in the not-too-distant past that this part-comical, part-tragic character looked like he may have a central role to play in another unsavoury chapter of civil-military ties in Pakistan. But, much to the gratitude of the seemingly few sensible people at the time, it soon became clear that Mr Ijaz`s craving for the spotlight far outshone his ability to cause real damage. Much of the atmosphere of apprehension that surrounded `memogate` had already been punctured by the time Mr Ijaz took to the equivalent of the witness stand in the Pakistan High Commission in London this week. And rightly so for Mr Ijaz`s witness statement has proved to be the most underwhelming of events possible. Virtually everything Mr Ijaz has alleged about the provenance and purpose of the memo comes down to his word against that of Husain Haqqani. Damp squib would be an understatement to describe what has transpired this week.

Perhaps the persons who went on the record to assert the `reasonableness` of Mr Ijaz`s claim ought to

apologise to the country for inflicting the self-aggrandising US citizen on Pakistan`s polity. For those willing to acknowledge the obvious, it was evident from the outset that the hysterical allegations of `treason` and `undermining national security and sovereignty` were a thinly veiled attempt to put a civilian government suspected of not being `loyal enough` to Pakistan on the rack. If it was going to take a caricature like Mr Ijaz to try and make the allegations stick, so be it — never mind the damage to the country in the process.

There is, though, someone else who ought to share the blame for putting the country through the ridiculousness that is `memogate`: Husain Haqqani. While the country will likely never know to what extent, if any, Mr Haqqani was involved in the farce, it seems fairly obvious that an ambitious political appointee made a terribly unwise decision in engaging Mr Ijaz in any capacity whatsoever. It`s a lesson that Pakistani politicians and officials never seem to learn: limit access to only relevant and credible interlocutors or else risk irrelevant and incredible people taking advantage of the access granted to push personal agendas.

Hallelujah!

brutal yet common practice of acid attacks on women in Pakistan. Although the film and its international acclaim has greatly served to bring this barbaric reality of Pakistani society to the foreground, activists say there is still a long way to go before the situation truly takes a turn. While accepting the Oscar, Ms Chinoy dedicated the triumph and glory to the women of Pakistan saying, “For all the women in Pakistan working for change, don’t give up on your dreams — this is for you.” Chinoy emphasised the cruel realities of acid attacks in Pakistan, leaving victims, who are mostly women, viciously disfigured. Although thousands of women are affected by acid attacks, in a country where women are often the victims of numerous crimes, the problem is under-reported due to various contributing factors. Hats off to Ms Chinoy for reminding us to utilise our energies to focus on the much attention-worthy evil of our society. Chinoy has truly brought pride and joy to the country at a desperate time when Pakistan is drowned in the dark waters of ignorance. A big and deserving hallelujah!

February 27, 2012, which started like any other day, ended on a very different note for the entire nation. It was a day of reaffirmation for those who still hold the thread of hope and believe that a ‘real tsunami’ would some day be brought about in the country. Pakistani filmmaker and first-time Oscar nominee, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, won her and Pakistan’s first Oscar for her documentary about acid attack survivors called ‘Saving Face’. Her documentary was co-directed by Daniel Junge and includes Pakistani plastic surgeon, Mohammad Jawad, who performs reconstructive surgery on acid attack survivors in Pakistan. Chinoy’s Oscar marked a historic moment for Pakistan, which greeted the news with extreme enthusiasm and jubilation. Social media and local TV channels have done justice to the huge cinematic triumph for the country by repeatedly showing footage of her accepting the prestigious award. The documentary revolves around the

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OPINIONS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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Our South Asian bondage Ghazi Salahuddin

When it came to reciting Urdu poetry, Meira Kumar, the first woman speaker of Lok Sabha in India, had an edge over our first woman speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Fehmida Mirza. It was refreshing to see Meira rise above the Bollywood lingo and converse in rather chaste Urdu. But our two countries do share this bond of language, given the umbilical relationship that exists between Urdu and Hindi. At the same time, of course, we remain divided in some crucial aspects.

What matters, however, is that we can talk to each other at a poetic level and share emotions and memories that inject a human dimension into our otherwise dumb relations at the official level. Every time we have an encounter of the kind that Meira Kumar's visit to Pakistan provided this week, we have to struggle with ambivalent thoughts about what the rulers of the two countries have made of their independence in 1947.

We do have a penchant for hiding from history but it is the logic of history itself that is bound to prevail, in spite of the narrow and militant nationalism that has been nurtured on both sides to block a natural process of peace and reconciliation. We are constantly reminded through formal

exchanges of delegations and people-topeople contacts that 'Aman ki Asha' is gaining in its impact and its reach.

Just consider the speeches that have been made in functions that were held in honor of Meira Kumar and the Indian parliamentary delegation she led. My reference at the outset is to a segment in Geo's Capital Talk in which the two lady speakers spoke to Hamid Mir on Wednesday.

Dr Fehmida Mirza had visited India earlier and both agreed that in the other's country they felt that they were in their own.

And this touching familiarity was laced with their recitation of couplets.Does this mean that normalization of relations between India and Pakistan now faces no impediments and that the two countries can deal with each other in a rational and civilised fashion, particularly in allowing their citizens to freely travel in the other country? Obviously not. A paradigm shift, though it must come, is not yet at hand. In Pakistan, at least, we have to contend with a somewhat fossilized mindset of the ruling establishment.

What is encouraging is that the political leadership now seems more aware of the dividends that peace will bring. I am reminded of a speech that Nawaz Sharif had made at a SAFMA seminar in Lahore on the eve of the Independence Day last

Jihadi inspiration Muhammad Amir Rana

THE ability of radical elements to infiltrate government departments and security agencies is emerging as a critical threat that can undermine the state’s response to militant extremism. Accounts of links of a retired army major, Osaid Zahidi, with militants indicate the seriousness of the issue.

Major Zahidi served in the Military Intelligence for almost nine years and had gone missing in 2010. His family claimed that he had been picked up by intelligence agencies. With the caveat that due process and other human rights must not be abandoned in the name of fighting terrorism, the danger that radicalisation poses across all sections of society deserves the attention of the authorities. Although the state has taken some measures to address the issue these are mainly security-centric where countering terrorism is the priority.

Little attention has been paid to addressing the issue of radicalisation, which prepares the ground for violent tendencies. At the same time, only half-hearted measures have been taken to identify the sources of inspiration that transform radical tendencies into violence. In this context, radicals and terrorists in Pakistan have found a breeding ground for extremism.

The phenomenon of radicals pene-

trating the security apparatus has caused jitters. The detention of Brigadier Ali Khan for suspected links with the banned Hizbut Tahrir was also seen as an example of the growing influence of the radicals.

Former president Gen Pervez Musharraf had stated in 2004 that some junior army and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) personnel had links with terrorist organisations. Later, 57 PAF personnel were arrested in connection with an attempt on Musharraf’s life. At least some of them have been convicted.

Dr Usman, the mastermind of the October 2009 attack on the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, was a deserter from the army’s medical corps. Last year, several government employees were arrested for links with militant organisations. Islamabad police arrested a junior government employee for links with terrorists; in Lahore a policeman who had established links with Al Qaeda had been assigned VVIP duty, while Punjab police recalled four policemen from VVIP duty for holding extremist views. The talk of screening of the police cadre after Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was killed by one of his elite police guards in January last year has not proceeded beyond rhetoric.

A systematic probe is nowhere in

year. He had called for increased trade for the betterment of the people of the two countries. He had also alluded to the similarity in culture on both sides of the border.

Interestingly, he stirred up a hornet's nest by declaring that he did not see India as an enemy. Some of his old friends, or promoters, who have a 'jihadi' approach towards India, were very angry. In the same seminar, social scientist Dr Muhammad Waseem said that Pakistan should stop supporting anti-India militants because they are not an asset for us and "we need to understand this".

Now, when I say that 'Aman ki Asha' momentum is growing, I should also take note of this recent campaign launched by the Difa-e-Pakistan ensemble with its orchestration of anti-India slogans, with a new anti-American tune. Perhaps more relevant to the subject of this column is the attempt of these people who endorse radical Islam to place Pakistan, in a geostrategic sense, in the Middle-East rather than in South Asia. Earlier this month, we had a Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan summit in Islamabad. This trilateral alliance makes a lot of sense. Religious leaders were right in emphasizing that these countries that share borders also share history and religion, though relating to Iran in a religious context may be problematic for our religious parties who mostly have their linkages in the Arab countries.

Sectarian animosity is an integral part of militant Islamism.

Anyhow, our relations with Afghanistan, particularly in the emerging scenario, have become very crucial. But isn't Afghanistan also an extension of South Asia? We know that it became the eighth member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in 2007 and had been wanting to join the regional bloc since it was formed in the eighties. The imperative of peace with India is essentially an argument against how our national security policies were defined soon after independence. Our military establishment, in its own vested interest, has tragically been India-centric. As a consequence, our social development suffered gravely. Fortunately, this realization is also gaining strength in consonance with the popular support for peace in the region. This point that we should be a social welfare and not a security state was stressed again by Aitzaz Ahsan in a gathering in London held to pay tribute to three poets: Faiz, Jalib and Ustad Daman.

Criticism of how the military and its security agencies have dominated our national sense of direction is steadily growing. Our prime minister had the courage to refer to the "state within the state" in a speech in the National Assembly. As for the significance of Pakistan's identity as a South Asian country, I need to refer to a session in the Karachi Literature Festival held two

weeks ago. I had the privilege of moderating this session on 'Tareekh aur Pakistan'. On the panel were our leading historian Dr Mubarak Ali, scholar Dr Jaffer Ahmad and Sultan-e-Rome, a teacher of history from Swat.

Dr Mubarak noted that in the official narrative, there was a conscious effort to delink Pakistan's history from India and promote an affinity with the Middle East.

Hence, our history lacks continuity. India was partitioned but "you cannot partition history". There are hints of indoctrination in how a sanitized and nationalistic narrative is taught in our educational institutions.

Dr Jaffer Ahmad spoke about a research he had conducted a few years ago of text books up to the graduation level to find that the seminal events of 1971 - an account of how East Pakistan became Bangladesh - were almost totally ignored.

Here is concrete evidence that we do not want to learn from history. As an aside, Germany's example may be mentioned.

They had embarked on an intensive project to study and discuss their Nazi past after the Second World War and I have visited, in divided Berlin in 1987, an entire museum titled: 'Lessons of History'.

We have little interest in history. Out of about 140 universities in the country, a department of history exists in only 22.

One may also infer that we have little interest in our future. Or where it belongs.

sight to determine what motivates state functionaries to join the cause of the militants. Major Zahidi might have been persuaded by the militants’ message during his counterterrorism assignment. If this was the case it would not be entirely unprecedented as similar instances have come to light in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Different countries have adopted different measures to shield the officials engaged in counterterrorism operations from radical tendencies. However, as the federal interior minister has conceded, official efforts in this regard have largely been reactive and the government is yet to establish a mechanism to screen security personnel for links with extremist elements.

As far as the common militant is concerned, some sources of inspirations have been identified. Those may also apply to government employees for the simple reason that they too exist in the same society and absorb similar ideological tendencies.

A study by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think tank, on detained militants to identify what motivated and inspired them found that the majority of militants had been incited and provoked through the misinterpretation of religion. Most of the young people who joined jihadi organisations were not under the supervision of their parents. They had been brainwashed

through propaganda tools and misinterpretation of Islamic beliefs, especially those regarding jihad, but most importantly literature of religious and militant organisations played a pivotal role in shaping their opinions and radical and violent tendencies.

Although militants also spread their message through radio, the Internet, CDs and DVDs, they still rely predominantly on the print media, because of its extensive outreach and because it is an inexpensive source of information in remote areas. These publications are easily available in the market.

In its report Understanding the Militants’ Media in Pakistan, PIPS noted that by 1989, the number of jihadi publications in Pakistan had reached 150. Most of them were published from Peshawar and Quetta, capitals of the two Pakistani provinces that border Afghanistan. Both cities were hubs of Afghan, foreign and Pakistani militant groups and served as recruitment centres for volunteers from all over the world.

At the same time, dozens of jihadi media products were being published from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, mainly by Pakistani jihadi groups. Around 100 jihadi monthlies and 12 weeklies were being published from Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad in 1990. These publications were produced in several lan-

guages — 25 in Urdu, 50 in Pushto and Persian, 12 in Arabic and 10 in English.

Such publications that found their way to Pakistan at the time were also published in Iran, the United States, Britain, Germany, Norway, Australia and Switzerland. In the 1990s, Kashmiri militant groups also got into ‘jihad journalism’and were publishing 22 periodicals in 1994. But after 9/11, most of the militant outfits concentrated on Punjab and shifted their ‘media houses’ to the province. The circulation and outreach of the militants’ press is increasing considerably in Punjab with 70 per cent of the militants’ media products being published in Punjab.

The ease of access to this material at almost all bookstores and newspaper stalls points to the government’s failure to check the propaganda machine of militant organisations which makes young people more susceptible to being radicalised.

These publications are also distributed in government offices free of charge and although the authorities have taken note of it, they have failed to take concrete steps to stop their dissemination. Without minimising such obvious means that seek to motivate people to join a violent cause, no counterterrorism policy can succeed.

What is needed is a vision to identify even small openings that have the potential to create a major impact.

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OPINION

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Balochistan, the unattributable story “Over the weekend, they released six or eight people. One of the released was of particular value to them. Maybe this is a nod to the pressure from the media and the political chatter. But probably nothing will change. It could just be a way of showing that they aren’t driving this, that [insurgent] violence will continue and then in a few weeks they can go back to their same tactics.”

So nothing will change?

“Nothing will change. People keep saying that the policy [kill and dump] isn’t working but that opinion isn’t shared by everyone.

There haven’t been any settler killings in 11 months in and around Quetta. Even in the so-called non-tribal belt, the insurgents have been pushed out of the cities and into the hills.”

Dozens of FC personnel have been killed in the last couple of months and insurgent attacks are up.

Kill-and-dump isn’t working, is it?

“They’ve gone through about 300 names. They think there are 1,300 more. It may take another couple of years, but they’ll probably get them all.”

“It’s not because the strategy isn’t working but because it isn’t being implemented. The areas in which the violence is up are under the control of the FC. But when they [the insurgents] run into the hills, the FC doesn’t pursue them. The FC thinks that if they go into the hills, search for the hideouts, it will be called a military operation and they want to avoid that label.”

Cyril Almeida

THE more insightful snippets on Balochistan tend to be unattributable.

“If the Baloch got independence, on the first day we’d pick up a bottle of whisky and drink ourselves silly.

Then on the second day we’d nurse our hangovers. And on the third day, we’d put the bottle aside, pick up our guns and start killing one another.”

“There are only two great martial races in this part of the world: the Pakhtuns and the Rajputs. These Baloch think they are great fighters; in my village, a thousand better fighters are born every year. We know how to deal with them.”

“After a return from a stint in exile, he turned to one of his tribesmen and said, ‘So looks like you’ve been enjoying yourself since I’ve been away.’ The man had married twice in his leader’s absence.

Ashamed, the man went home and shot both his wives.

That’s the mindset. Can anyone really talk about what ‘the Baloch population’ wants?”

So much has been written and said about Balochistan in recent weeks. Genocide. The break up of Pakistan. A pig-headed establishment.

Baloch separatists pursuing self-interest in the name of the Baloch people.

Few, though, have shed light on what the folks who are guiding the state’s policy on Balochistan are thinking. So here goes, a Q&A with the unattributable, who either are doing or know those who are doing.

Is the spate of publicity causing a rethink of the Balochistan policy?

The killing of Pakhtuns by the Baloch insurgents is a new trend that is emerging. What’s behind that?

“They kill the poor labourers working on road and development projects because they say they don’t want any development in their areas, that they will develop the areas themselves after they’ve gained independence.”

“The FC in Balochistan is predominantly drawn from the Pakhtuns, so they’ve started to kill them as a way of lashing out against the FC. It’s a dangerous move, though. The ethnic map of Balochistan has changed dramatically in the last 30 years. The Pakhtuns already talk of joining Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

The Baloch moderates’ boycott of the last election created a leadership vacuum in the province, analysts suggest. At the next general election, will the moderates be able to come to power?

“If the sarkar allows it, there should be a sizeable presence in the Balochistan Assembly.”

Why would the sarkar, aka the establishment, want to keep moderates out of power when the establishment itself bemoans the absence of a credible Baloch political leadership?“They prefer people who are amenable to their demands. They bring them from the most obscure imaginable backgrounds and install them in power because then they can control them.”

What does the security establishment think of the publicity that the

insurgents are getting?

“Nowhere in the world does anyone advocating for the forcible secession of a part of a country get the kind of airtime these sardars are getting.

It’s ridiculous and the media really ought to think about what they’re doing. A case for sedition could be made out.”

“Actually, it’s helped expose these guys [the insurgents]. They’re openly talking about wanting to break away from Pakistan and unintentionally the media has exposed them for what they are: people who are against Pakistan. Maybe some of the sympathy for them will drain away when people hear what they really stand for.”

Is there anything that can be done to try and convince, non-violently, the Baloch separatists to end their insurgency?

“There is one thing: apologise for the killing of Akbar Bugti and say that it wasn’t the action of the Pakistan Army at large but of an individual.

But they won’t do that.”

Hasn’t the state itself created many of the problems it is fighting today?

“The sardars have been lured in and out of power for decades.

Everyone knows those games.”

“Allah Nazar [the most wellknown of the ‘non-tribal’ insurgents] probably turned during his last spell in prison. The things they probably did to him … it hardened him.”

One last time, is there an end to the violence in sight?

“The killings will stop when one side or the other is weakened. Either the state or the insurgents will have to be weakened.”

No points for guessing which side the state thinks will be weakened first.

If all of this sounds rather grim, that’s Balochistan, the land where the intellectually barren fight in the name of ideas on the backs of a wretched people.

Tailpiece: The ‘Musharraf knew Osama was in Pakistan’ claim continues to circulate. Few realise its origins. Bruce Riedel’s sensational claim in the Daily Beast/Newsweek everyone now knows of. But Riedel wasn’t making the claim based on his own investigations. Instead, he linked to an article by a Pakistani journalist, Arif Jamal, in the Jamestown Militant Leadership Monitor.

The MLM piece in turn linked to the original source of the claim that Musharraf hid Osama: a Dec 8, 2011 column in Jang by one Altaf Hasan Qureshi, in which Qureshi quotes former DG ISI Ziauddin Butt saying so at a seminar. The claim was then repeated by Butt in a TV interview to DawnNews’s Azaz Syed on Dec 11.

Yep, the claim that Musharraf hid Osama has been out there in the Pakistani media, in print and on TV, since early December but it took Bruce Riedel to pick up a regurgitation of the claim in an obscure American publication for it to become national news in Pakistan.

Only in the Pakistani media … caveat emptor!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Post letters to Letters to the Editor, The Pakistan Chronicle, 6666 Harwin Dr. Houston, TX 77036 Phone: 713-914-0786; Fax: 713-914-0906 E-mail: pakistanchronicle@gmail.com Letters may be edited for length and clarity

Expenses on Memogate Sir: The way money from the national exchequer is being wasted on the Memogate scandal’s useless inquiry has to be condemned. This issue is only a drama authored by Mansoor Ijaz, an American businessman whose behaviour has shown that he is creating a farce out of Pakistan’s institutional tensions and conflicts. He is media-savvy and has been successful in getting the media’s attention. To become famous, he has created this scandal knowing that Pakistan’s scandalhungry, newly independent media will blow this issue out of proportion. The role of the PML-N, the judiciary and the army in fanning the fire created by the so-called scandal has been disappointing. Pakistan has lots of other serious problems threatening its sovereignty. All of them should focus on them. So far Mansoor Ijaz has simply failed to prove his allegations against Pakistan’s president and former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani. It seems that the clever Mansoor Ijaz wrote this memo himself, sent it to Admiral Mike Mullen through General James Jones, taking benefit out of his contacts and blamed Haqqani for the treasonous attempt. Mansoor Ijaz’s testimony lacks any credence and his loads of evidence hold no weight. He should instead be tried for causing immense damage to Pakistan government and Pakistan’s image internationally. I hope that the wastage of time and resources of the Pakistani nation in this case stops soon.

––– YAHYA KAMAL UDDIN

India succeeds against polio Sir: It is indeed great news that India, the second most populous country in the world and one of the largest countries in South Asia, has been removed from the World Health Organisation (WHO) list of polio nations. It has a population of 1.2 billion people and the birth rate is quite high there, still their anti-polio teams

have been successful in combating this disease. It gives hope to other nations of the world as well. Pakistanis need to learn a lesson from their neighbouring nation. Polio cases are reported regularly from different parts of the country despite the efforts of the antipolio teams. There are many problems that polio teams face in different localities. People in general think that it is a US intrigue against the Muslims. They want to sterilise a whole generation to control rapid population growth of the Muslims. Believing such wrong perceptions, our people opposed the campaign for iodised salt as well when it was introduced and people were asked to use it to avoid serious diseases. All such misperceptions become widespread only because a majority of our people are illiterate. Illiteracy is another serious problem of our nation. The government should involve religious scholars in such of its campaigns. They enjoy influence among the local people and can help government succeed its campaigns aimed at improving the health of our public.

India’s success in combating polio needs to be highlighted to convince our nation to religiously follow anti-polio campaign ensuring disability-free life to our younger generations.

––– HIRA KAMRAN

Quran burning in Bagram ANOTHER provocative incident occurred in Afghanistan that incited anti-US sentiments among the Afghans when the Holy Quran was deliberately burnt in Bagram airbase by US troops. The news was leaked by Afghan employees who work at the airbase.

It triggered anti-US and anti-Nato demonstrations and protest across Afghanistan.

Burning of the Quran, on the one hand, is showing anti-Islam sentiments among US troops, hence endorsing President George W. Bush's declaration of crusade which though he called a 'slip of tongue'.

The Holy Quran is a book of guidance and that guidance is for the entire humanity. It doesn't simply belong only to the Taliban, it

belongs to all Muslims.

The desecration of the Holy Quran is not just harming the Taliban but it is hurting the sentiments of Muslims around the world.

It is unfortunate that this incident took place in Afghanistan.

Had any Muslim burnt the Bible, he would have been labeled extremist. But if any non-Muslim desecrates the Holy Quran or commits blasphemy against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), there is no furor.

The question is why are anti-Islam acts being committed?

––– F. ABDUL SATTAR

Need to initiate dialogue BALOCHISTAN has been simmering for decades due to collective follies of civil and military regimes. We now see the issue being discussed in the US Congress and some day we might find it being debated on the floor of other countries’ assemblies too if we continue to ignore the problem.

The right of the people of Balochistan to a representative government has always been ignored. Even democratic governments did nothing to address this problem.

At present, among the 64 members of the provincial assembly, only 14 belong to the PPP but it is still running the government.

Security forces have also failed to make any concerted efforts to arrest the deteriorating law and order situation. The ‘killing and dumping’ practice goes on unchecked.

It is unfortunate that while our political parties do not waste any time in uniting on issues in which their interests are involved — the latest 20th Amendment being a case in point — they fail to do anything concrete about issues which pose a threat to the integrity of the country.

The only way forward now is to hold an all-parties conference.

––– TARIQ HUSAIN

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PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

7

Bin Laden hideout 'razed to the ground'

Policemen stand guard near the partially demolished compound where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces last May, in Abbottabad.

Terms of engagement: US favours early joint session on resetting ties

Senate session is unlikely to be called before March 11.

ISLAMABAD: Acting US Ambassador Richard Hoagland said on Sunday that Washington is waiting for the Pakistani parliament to debate and approve the new terms of engagement between the two countries.

“We are waiting for the parliament’s decision regarding the relationship between the two countries,” Hoagland was quoted as saying by a news channel.

The US Charge d’ Affairs added that Washington

was informed by Islamabad that the joint session of the parliament would be convened after the Senate elections.

The elections are scheduled for March 2, but the session is unlikely to be called before March 11 – the day half of the 100-member upper house of the parliament retires.

Sources say the government has deliberately delayed the joint session after a resolution tabled in the US Congress seeking ‘right of self-determination’ for Balochistan.

The session was originally scheduled on February 14 and 15, but it was postponed after Pakistan was outraged over the move by a US lawmaker on Balochistan.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani also said last weekend that he would want the joint session to be convened after the Senate elections.

The US, however, is pushing Pakistan to complete its review at the earliest, as this will enable the resumption of Nato supplies suspended since last November.

The acting US Ambassador insisted that his country wants relations with Pakistan based on ‘mutual respect and interest.’

ABBOTABAD: Bulldozers on Monday finished demolishing the house where Osama bin Laden lived for at least five years until he was killed by US special forces last May, an AFP reporter said.

Only the wall of the compound remained intact, surrounding the debris of the three-storey building where the al Qaeda leader hid in the garrison town of Abbottabad and a security official confirmed the demolition had been completed.

Security forces guarding the compound refused to let anyone inside.

“The demolition has been com-

pleted, the three story building was razed to the ground,” a security official told AFP. “We have been ordered to be deployed here until further instructions. The outer wall will remain intact for the moment and we don’t know the plan for the future. First we will remove the debris,” the official added.

Bulldozers began the demolition work late Saturday in Abbottabad’s Bilal Town suburb, where the compound has been under the control of Pakistani security forces since the Americans ended their covert operation on May 2.

Seven killed in Nowshera blast PESHAWAR: A bomb killed at least seven people and wounded another 22 on Monday, targeting a public meeting attended by provincial ministers in northwestern Pakistan, police said.

The bomb went off soon after chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Amir Haider Hoti, and other ministers in his provincial cabinet had left the meeting in the town of Nowshera.

It was the third bomb in five days to hit the northwest, which in recent months had seen a decline in violence.

“The bomb was planted on a motorbike and the target was the meeting,” local police chief Mohammad Hussain said.

The Awami National Party, which leads the provincial government, had called the meeting, attended by its senior members.

“The bomb carried about three to four kilograms of explosives, it was detonated using a remote-controlled device,” Hussain told AFP. The bomb was attached near the fuel tank of the motorcycle, parked about 150 metres from the venue of the meeting, he said.

“At least seven people were killed and 22 others were wounded,” Hussain said, raising an earlier death toll of five.

Doctor Rahim Jan at Peshawar’s main state-run Lady Reading hospital said they received nine of the wounded people and two of them passed away.

On Friday, three suicide bombers blew themselves up at a police station in Peshawar, killing four officers a day after a car bombing killed 13 people at a bus station on the outskirts of Peshawar.

Gilani pleads to include three witnesses in contempt case ISLAMABAD: A day before the scheduled hearing of contempt of court case, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday pleaded the Supreme Court to include three witnesses. The prime minister has requested to include cabinet secretary Nargis Sethi, former law minister Babar Awan and law secretary Masood Chishti as witnesses in a reply submitted by his counsel Aitzaz Ahsan to the apex court. In the reply, Mr Gilani has requested the court to call the mentioned witnesses itself because as a prime minister he does

not want to leave an impression of pressurising the government officials to testify in his favor.

He also requested to bring the summary in which the prime minister was adviced by the apex court not to write letter to Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari under National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

During the last hearing, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, who is the prosecutor in the case, submitted evidence to the court against the prime minister.

ISLAMABAD: A group photograph of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan during a reception by Indian High Commission in the honour of the Lok Sabha Speaker, Meira Kumar.

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08 PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Imran shows reservations over care taker setup

LAHORE: Rescue workers & office at the sir where a small training plane crashed in courtyard of a House in Model Town area.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has shown his reservations over the care taker setup, saying elections held under this setup could not be transparent.

Talking to the media at his residence here, Khan rejected the recently held by-polls and said they were a fraud.

According to the law, electoral rolls were supposed to be published three weeks before the elections but they were even not prepared yet, he alleged.

He criticised the election commission for holding bypolls when it had already

expressed its inability to hold election because of lack of time.

Sham elections cannot bring any change, he added.

The PTI leader said that the 20th Constitutional Amendment proved that there was an understanding between the Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

The two parties always unite for their own vested interests, he said.

Talking of the corruption, khan lamented that no bill was tabled on accountability during the last four years.

Renegade officer: ‘Al Qaeda hit-man’ may walk free as witnesses retract Sindh requests Punjab for his transfer to province.

LAHORE: Alleged al Qaeda member Major Haroon, accused of murder and kidnapping for ransom, may be released soon after most witnesses and complainants withdrew their testimonies.

Major Haroon quit the army in 2002 against what he called pro-American policies of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. He then allegedly joined al Qaeda.

Fearing his release, the Sindh Home Department sent a letter to the home department of Punjab requesting that

Haroon be transferred from Punjab to Sindh. Haroon is also accused of being involved in the kidnapping case of prominent businessman Satish Anand.

Haroon, along with two other coaccused, is presently imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat jail on charges of killing an administrator of Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Dr Abdul-Saboor Malik, in Lahore.

The men are being tried by the additional and sessions judge inside the prison because of the sensitivity of

the matter, police and prosecution department’s sources told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity.

Before being shifted to Kot Lakhpat Jail, the three men were in Adiala Jail for their alleged involvement in the murders of Major General (retd) Ameer Faisal Alvi, his driver and a passer-by in 2008.

Sources familiar with the high-profile murders said armed men wanted to kidnap Dr Saboor for ransom and they killed him when he resisted.

Similarly, Alvi was also gunned down by men who intercepted him for kidnapping.

The investigations of Saboor’s murder case reveal that the accused had been tasked to kidnap affluent people as al Qaeda was in dire need of money, sources added.

During a briefing in the Sindh Assembly last week on former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s murder, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had confirmed Haroon’s contacts with al Qaeda.

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In the initial stages of the investigation, Lahore police had registered a case against the accused on charges of kidnapping for ransom and murder of Saboor under Section 7 of AntiTerrorism Act 1997 and some sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). However, the Lahore High Court later ordered that the ATA section be deleted. The court directed the investigation officer to investigate the case under the PPC and to submit a charge sheet before a lower court.

PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

President Zardari felicitates first-ever Pakistani Oscar winner ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari felicitated Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy on winning the first-ever Oscar award for Pakistan on her documentary ‘Saving Face’. The President in a message appreciated Sharmeen Obaid for highlighting a sensitive topic of acid attacks on women with utmost sensibility and

creativity. He said the country’s artists had all the potential to thrive and prove their skills in the field of arts and culture. The President lauded Sharmeen for bringing laurels to the country by excelling in filmmaking and sending a message to the world about Pakistan’s softer image.

9

India plans wargames near Pakistan border NEW DELHI: The Indian military is to conduct one of its largest mock war drills -- involving 20,000 troops -- close to the country's border with Pakistan, an official said on Monday.

The manoeuvres, named Shoorveer or Brave Warrior, which will also involve 200 Russian-made tanks, are due to begin in the deserts of India's state of Rajasthan next month, army spokesman colonel Jagdeep Dahiya told AFP. "The exercise will be one of the

largest manoeuvres conducted so far," he said, adding that latest warplanes would be factored into the drills, which are scheduled to end in May. In a separate statement the military said tanks, frontline combat vehicles, artillery, helicopters, fighter jets, drones, air-defence weapons and military radars would be part of the exercise.

Another military source said the event would be held less than 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the

highly militarised border with Pakistan, with which India has fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947.

Dahiya dismissed fears the exercise -- to be conducted by an elite military corps raised only for crossborder assault -- would crank up tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.

"We do inform Pakistan in advance whenever such large-scale exercises are conducted by us," the army colonel added.

Conflict brews at St. Andrews Church KARACHI: The recent contention between the two groups around St. Andrews Church located right opposite Jehangir Masjid at a prime location in Sadar, has only exacerbated over a span of few months.

The 13723 sq yards church that exudes medieval and picturesque charms was built in 1868 by the Bombay Provincial government and was meant solely to be devoted for the purpose of worship.

A letter written by Lamhert Major, the then collector to Karachi to the then assistant chaplain W. Middleton vouches for the mentioned fact, ‘That they will bind themselves forever not to erect any building on the ground except the Church alone, no parsonage or dwelling house of any sort except, if necessary, a gatehouse, and not the

es.

latter until after the plan has been approved by the Managing Committee (of Karachi Municipality)’ According to the members of the church’s Pastorate committee, the Bishop, Sadiq Daniel had been plan-

ning to sell the church’s vacant land for commercialization for quite a few years. And so, he had winded up prayers services from the vacant ground for around 4 to 5 years until he finally pronounced his decision to use the land for commercial purpos-

The purport behind this was to generate finances to establish a stateof-the-art grammar school, an estimated 40 billion project in the Trinity Church. The Church’s sources also mentioned that he had even announced to have hired a principal from Britain for the purpose to run the school already.

However, after much protest led by the then Head Reverend, Pervez Sultan who later, allegedly became victim to politics within the church and was then removed, Bishop Sadiq Daniel declared that he wouldn’t sell off the church’s land. However, later the same year in November 2011, in another meeting of the Pastorate committee, attended by 100 members from across the Karachi, held in Trinity Church, he allegedly took an

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about-face measure by blaming the MPA, Saleem Khokhar and St. Andrews Church representatives to scheme for putting the church’s vacant area for sale. There were reportedly, hails of ‘shame’, ‘shame’ from the rest of the committee on the representatives of St. Andrews Church, Yousuf Fazal (the current Head Reverend), Khursheed (Asst.

Reverend), secretary Pastoral committee Albert Dean and Rohail (Supporting member). The Bishop has also been allegedly said to have made the earlier announcement of canceling the church’s sale only to please and satisfy the members.

Later, Saleem Khokhar who is well known for his active support and dedicated work for minority rights, denied any such allegations and drafted and presented a bill to pre-

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PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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11

Case registered against Waheeda Shah

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Senator A. Rehman Malik in a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker, Meira Kumar.

TANDO MOHAMMAD KHAN: A case has been registered against Waheeda Shah, a Pakistan People's Party candidate in Saturday's by elections who slapped a female Assistant Presiding Officer at a polling station here.

On the directives of the Provincial Election Commissioner, Retuning Officer Ali Asghar went to the police station in Tando

Mohammad Khan and after an investigation the case was registered against Waheeda Shah.

According to the police the case was filed under 86/3 b. Under this clause Shah will be tried for interfering with official affairs and can face a prison sentence of three months.

Sindh Home Minister Mansoor Wasan said the incident was being investigated.

Professionals, not politicians, to handle energy sector: PTI ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) announced it will delegate decision-making authority from politicians to professionals in the energy sector to tackle the prevailing crisis.

The party, while describing the incumbent government as incapable of handling the energy crisis, laid out its five-year strategy to overcome the problem at a seminar it hosted on the subject.

"The current government has neither the ability nor the political will to make the sector financially viable by reducing losses and leakages in the system and cutting the cost of energy generation," PTI chief Imran Khan said.

Earlier this week, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held a conference over the same issue where the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif identified energy crisis as the biggest challenge for

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan speaks during a policy seminar series.

any new government.

"Business as usual" is not the solution for the problem, Imran said while addressing PTI's first energy related seminar.

He underlined the need for preventing political interference

in institutional matters.

"The elimination of terrorism and bringing good governance are short-term targets. Tackling the energy crisis, however, is a longterm goal," Imran added.

Indigenous resources such as

domestic gas and Thar Coal have been ignored. Ever-increasing dependence on imported furnace oil has amplified the total oil import bill from $3 billion to $12 billion in the last decade, said a statement issued by the party.

PTI warned that if immediate actions are not taken, Pakistan's power shortages will rise from the current 5,500 megawatts to over 11,000 megawatts in the next five years, resulting in longer hours of load shedding.

The natural gas deficit will rise from 1,600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) to 3,500 mmcfd and the energy import bill will rise from $12 billion to $60-120 billion by 2025, depending on oil prices and drastic increases in tariffs.

Jahangir Khan Tareen, in his comprehensive presentation on energy crisis in the country, also

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unveiled PTI's short and medium term plans to overcome the problem.

The short-term plan that has been designed for two years will attempt to minimize impact of power and gas shortages in the country besides reducing burden of ever increasing tariffs on poor.

In the medium-term plan of five years, PTI will aim to resolve the circular debt crisis and encourage influx of capital flows, plug gas deficit by increasing supply by 3,500 mmcfd, eliminate load shedding by improving efficiency of power plants, and bringing existing offline capacity online.

He said we will liberate public sector enterprises from government interference and appoint independent boards with real powers, including selection of Chief Executive Officers.

12 PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Pakistan urges Taliban to take part in peace talks ISLAMABAD: Prime Pakistan to facilitate nego- sincerity of the former Minister Yousuf Raza tiation efforts in Taliban ally.

"It is now time to turn Gilani on Friday called on Afghanistan, where USTaliban leaders and other led combat troops are due a new leaf and open a new chapter in the history of Afghan insurgent groups to leave by 2014. to take part in a peace Taliban representatives Afghanistan… to build process to end 10 years of have begun contacts with peace and bring prosperity war in neighboring US officials in the Gulf to Afghanistan" said state of Qatar designed to Gilani.

Afghanistan.

Rahimullah Yusufzai, "I would like to appeal build confidence and pave to the Taliban leadership the way for a prisoner an expert on regional as well as to all other exchange, but the militia affairs, said Gilani's comAfghan groups, including has publicly refused to ments marked a shift in HYDERABAD: Students viewing different stalls during Science and Culture Exhibition organized by Directorate Hizb-e-Islami, to partici- talk to Karzai's govern- Pakistani policy. of Schools Education at Meeran High School.

"It's important because pate in an intra-Afghan ment.

Pakistan says it will do I am hearing this for the process for national reconciliation and peace," he anything required by first time, that the Kabul to support an Pakistani prime minister said in a statement.

Afghan President Afghan-led peace process, or somebody that imporHamid Karzai this week but there is a wide degree tant is urging the Taliban skepticism in … to talk directly to the again invited the Taliban of for direct talks with his Afghanistan and the Afghan government," he urging United States about the said.

NEW DELHI: Federal one of the most populous concern for us that despite our government, Minister for Inter Provincial countries of this region, has best efforts, the number of Coordination Mir Hazar Khan done a marvelous job by polio cases in Pakistan has Bijarani said Pakistan has bringing the number of polio been going up for the last been doing its utmost to eradi- cases to zero during the last three years,” he added. cate polio through better one year, he said adding, “we “Last year, there were 198 micro-planning and imple- are doing our best to follow its confirmed polio cases. As we mentation of anti-polio cam- footprints and rid Pakistan of have marched into the year paigns.Bijarani was speaking polio.”

2012, the number of polio at the session “Seeking Polio He said there are multiple cases confirmed by the Polio Free World Progress and the factors which are creating hur- Lab so far has gone up to 11.

Way Forward” during the dles in the way of the polio This is a dismal picture.”

Polio Summit 2012 here as the eradication effort.

“We invite the planners Guest of Honour.He said, “I “One major obstacle is and managers from all over am sure that this forum will Pakistan’s fight against terror the world to assist us in curbsurely provide an opportunity which has made a number of ing this menace,” he added. for polio endemic countries areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa He thanked the organizers including Pakistan and and Balochistan Provinces for sharing Pakistan’s concern Afghanistan to interact with bordering Afghanistan as with particular reference to the India to learn from its experi- highly volatile,” he said Global Goal of Polio MULTAN: A student decorating the hands of other with hina during Cultural Festival of Superior College at Board Office ground. ences in reaching the goal of adding resultantly it is not Eradication. zero case of Polio.” possible for the health The Summit was jointly workers and vaccinators to organized by the Ministry of reach all children in all Health and Family Welfare, areas to administer polio Government of India and drops to them.

Rotary International. The Apart from this, he said summit was inaugurated by large influx of population Prime Minister of India Dr. out of the troubled areas and Manmohan Singh. routine seasonal migration Bijarani expressed the from one region of the belief that the Summit will country to another provides deliberate on the problems and an easy opportunity to polio constraints of the endemic virus to travel from endemic countries and will come up districts to the districts with workable plans and rec- which are free from polio. ommendations by which the He said Pakistan would goal of Polio Eradication like to know about India’s could be achieved. experiences in raising its Bijarani said Pakistan is routine immunization covone of the four endemic coun- erage which is the backbone tries which are seriously not only of Polio engaged in a relentless strug- Eradication but also gle to fight the crippling dis- Elimination of Measles and ease of polio. neo-natal Tetanus.

Whereas India, which is “It is a matter of serious

Pakistan doing utmost to eradicate polio: Bijarani

Both US parties oppose Balochistan resolution ISLAMABAD: A visiting US Congressional delegation assured Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday that both Republicans and Democrats were united in opposing a resolution about Balochistan in the House of Representatives.

"The Congressmen categorically stated that Republicans and Democrats, as well as the US government, were against the resolution tabled… at the sub-committee level. US supported Pakistan's security and territorial integrity," Prime Minister's Office said in a statement issued after the bipartisan

delegation led by David Dreier, who heads the powerful House Rules Committee, met Mr Gilani.

The delegation is visiting the country under the US-Pakistan Legislative Exchange Program. Members of the group will meet legislators and attend workshop organized by the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services.

Conveying government's resentment over the resolution on Balochistan moved in the House of Representatives

by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, the prime minister said: "The people of Pakistan expect the US to be mindful

and respectful of Pakistan's national interests and, in particular, Pakistan's security and territorial integrity."

The resolution calling for recognition of Balochistan's right to self-determination, introduced last week, has riled Pakistan and it is feared that it could become another flashpoint in the complicated bilateral relationship.

The acting ambassador of the US was summoned to the Foreign Office after Rep Rohrabacher tabled the resolution and told that it "was contrary to the spirit of friendly relations and volatile of the principles of the United

Nations Charter, international law and recognized norms of inter-state conduct".

Prime Minister Gilani had also denounced it as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

Even though the Obama administration has distanced itself from the issue, the fears about sudden US concerns about the situation in the province aren't dying down primarily due to a yawning trust deficit between the two allies in the war on terror.

The Congressmen agreed that the trust deficit needed to be removed for

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stabilizing the relationship. They saw a role for the legislators of both countries for rebuilding the missing confidence.

The prime minister reminded them of sacrifices given by Pakistan in the war on terror.

Responding to a message delivered

by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her private meeting with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, on the sidelines of the London Conference on Somalia, that she wanted "to get back into business with Pakistan", he said Pakistan wanted to have excellent relations with the US.

PAKISTAN NEWS 13

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

PM congratulates newly elected members of assemblies ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated the unofficially declared newly elected members of National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies in the bye elections on Saturday.

In a statement, the prime minister said the success of the newly elected members was a clear manifestation that people trust their parliament.

He said the high voter turnout in the bye elections has proved that people across the country have confidence in the democratic process.

The prime minister expressed the hope that democratic institutions will be strengthened as people think that progress and prosperity of the country is possible

only through democracy.

Despite completion of four years of the assemblies, the enthusiastic participation of people in the bye elections makes it evident that only a democratic system can ensure representation of aspirations of the people, he added.

Prime Minister Gilani said the election of young candidates is appreciable as it shows that democracy has a bright future in Pakistan. He said the success of young candidates shows that they are determined to fully take part in the political system of the country.

"The 20th amendment has ensured transparent elections and now nobody can point a finger at the results of elections," he added.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani shaking hands with Dr. Mohammad Bin Saleh Al-Sadah, Minister for Energy and Industry, State of Qatar at Prime Minister’s House.

Attabad Lake blockade demolished

Lawyers busy in convincing for their supporting candidates during Annual Elections of high court bar association held at high court in Lahore.

ATTABAD: The temporary embankment of the new spillway of Attabad lake was demolished through bombing Monday.

A high alert was declared in Hunza and people in nearby villages were evacuated.

The local residents moved to higher grounds while police force was deployed at routes leading towards lower areas and River Indus.

Karakoram Highway was closed for traffic and boat service was also suspended in the lake.

According to the Commissioner Hazara Division, the water level in the River Indus can rise due to the opening of the spillway.

Official sources state that with the opening of the spillway, 50,000 cusecs of water will be released which may lead to floods.

Section 144 was imposed in the district, educational institutions were closed and holidays was declared in government offices as precautionary measures.

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14 PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Annoyed elders threaten to end govt support KHAR: Several tribal elders in Bajaur Agency have warned to suspend support to the local political administration if their names are not included in the list of a tribal delegation to meet President Asif Zardari on Feb 28 in Islamabad.

Tribal elders belonging to various tribes of Slarazi, Mamond, Nawagi, Charmkand, Barang and Utmankhel tehsils told reporters here on Friday that under the auspices of Shaheed Bhutto Foundation a 300-strong tribal delegation from different areas of tribal agencies would meet President Zardari. They said that the local administration had assured them that they would be included, but it ignored them while finalizing the list of elders.

Talking to reporters, Malik Mohammad Younis of Salarzai, Malik Mohammad Rahman of Nawagai, Malik Sultan Zeb of Mamond, Malik Mohammad Khail of Barang and Malik Gul Dad of Utmankhel tribes claimed

that most of 21 elders representing their region in the delegation belonged to Khar tehsil while elders of other regions were ignored.

The elders said that the decision had disappointed them, as they had always supported the government and the local political administration for the restoration of peace and writ of the state.

The elders warned that if their names were not included in the list of tribal elders` delegation they would suspend their support to the local administration and boycott all its functions.

When contacted, coordinator of Shaheed Bhutto Foundation Usman Khan told this scribe that the foundation had made the lists according to the recommendation of the local political administration. He admitted that all the elders in the list of Bajaur delegation belonged to Khar tehsil. He said that were bound to follow the administration`s line.

Mohammad Ijaz (L), brother of former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Aamer, talks with friends at a residence during the return of his brother to Lahore

Governor Punjab Sardar Latif Khan Khosa awarding medal among the position holder students during Convocation 2012 of The University Lahore.

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PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

COMMUNITY PHOTOS 15

Leaders of several major religions spoke on the importance of understanding the beliefs of different faiths at the inaugural Interfaith Unity Day at the Verizon Wireless Theater downtown, The Event was organized by The Muslim Council USA. Photos by: Pakistan Chronicle

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16 PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

OBL was in contact with members of Pakistan's spy agency: Report Osama bin Laden was in routine contact with several senior figures from the Pakistan’s military and its intelligence arm while hiding in the country, British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks had published five million e-mails and secret intelligence files from US security think tank Stratfor on Monday after being obtained by hacktivist group Anonymous.

Stratfor provides analysis of world affairs to major corporations, military officials and government agencies and was once likened by an American business magazine to a “shadow CIA”.

The Telegraph reported that according to one of the e-mails, the firm had been given

access to information papers collected from bin Laden’s Abbotabad compound after US special forces attacked it last May, killing the al Qaeda leader.

The e-mail, from a Stratfor analyst, suggested that up to 12 officials in Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency knew of the safe house.

“Mid to senior level ISI and Pak Mil with one retired Pak Mil General that had knowledge of the OBL arrangements and safehouse,” the email said.

The internal email, however, did not name any of the Pakistani officials allegedly involved, but said the US could use the information as a bargaining chip in post raid negotiations with Islamabad.

Syed Ali Musa Gilani meeting with people after winning the by-election for constituency NA-148.

ABU DHABI: Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahayan, the Foreign Minister of UAE shaking hands.

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PAKISTAN NEWS 17

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

US says Pakistan upbeat on eventual cooperation LONDON: Pakistan welcomed the idea of resuming cooperation with the United States on counter-terrorism and Afghanistan after its parliament reviews badly strained ties, a senior US official said on Thursday.

The official gave an upbeat assessment of talks between the US and Pakistani foreign ministers designed to help repair relations frayed by a November incident in which U.S. aircraft killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar that the United States fully respected the

Pakistani parliament's need to review relations carefully but also stressed the need to resume joint work.

Clinton told Rabbani that "we had to get ready to get back into business with Pakistan and that that was particularly important (on) areas such as counter-terrorism, working together on some of the regional questions, very much to include Afghanistan", said the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The foreign minister was very welcoming of that," the US official added as he briefed on the ministers' one-hour, 15-minute meeting in London, where Clinton is attending a conference on Somalia.

LAHORE: A vendor displaying traditional sweet item to attract the customers.

Cases against Brahamdagh Anti-US Quran protests spread to Pakistan Bugti, Harbyar Marri, Akhtar Mengal quashed QUETTA: All the cases filed against Baloch leaders have been quashed, Geo News reported.

According to notification issued to Balochistan government as well as province's IGP and Commissioner Quetta, cases lodged against Brahamdagh Bugti, Harbyar Marri,

and Akhtar Mengal stand null & void.

Earlier, Federal Interior Minister, Rehman Malik had announced that government was set to put the exiled Baloch nationalist leaders off the hook so that they could return to Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of Pakistani activists took to the streets on Friday, chanting death to America, demanding that their leaders resign and setting fire to a US flag over the burning of Qurans in Afghanistan.

Up to 300 people blocked the main Grand Trunk road in Peshawar, stomped on and set fire to the US flag, and kicked the dummy representing America and beat it with sticks while it was burning.

"The ugly face of America has been revealed with the desecration of holy Quran," a banner read.

In the capital Islamabad, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-eIslam (JUI) told the crowd that the

Islamic world should review its relations with the United States.

"We will not allow Americans to ridicule our religion and our holy Quran,"Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri told the crowd, asking the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to convene a special session to condemn the incident.

In Karachi, hundreds of activists of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, blacklisted as a terror organisation for associations with al Qaeda, chanted "Death to America".

"There is just one remedy for America -jihad and only jihad," the crowd shouted. "Death to America, death to America's friends," echoed

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slogans.

The demonstrators were carrying flags with black and white stripes and inscribed with Koranic verses.

They also held up banners, one of which said: "The defeated Americans are bound to bite dust in their war against Allah and His Book."

President Barack Obama was Thursday forced to apologize for the incident, which the Afghan presidency blamed on a US officer at the Bagram airbase.

"We don't accept Obama's apology. The Muslims don't accept his apology, as it is nothing but a farce," said Naveed Qamar, the head of JuD in Karachi.

18 PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Authored first draft of memo myself, says Ijaz ISLAMABAD: The judicial commission probing the Memogate scandal continued recording US businessman Mansoor Ijaz's testimony today at Pakistan's High Commission in London, Local TV Channel reported.

During his testimony today, Ijaz admitted that he had prepared the first draft of the controversial memo himself without former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani's consent.

Former US General James Jones had asked for the message to be in written form, said Ijaz, adding that he had to author the first draft himself after he was unable to get hold of Haqqani.

Ijaz, who is testifying to the commission by video link, claimed he agreed on secret codes for the army and intelligence chiefs with Haqqani.

Ijaz told judges that the former wrote him a message on his Blackberry referring to the Pakistani government as "friend", and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha as "bad boys".

He also claimed that Ispahani, which is Haqqani's wife's second name, was their code word for the Americans.

Asked by the commission, what he meant by "bad boys", Ijaz replied: "they are army chief and DG (director general) ISI (Pakistan's intelligence service)."

Claiming that he was a Muslim, and reciting the first 'kalma' as evidence, Ijaz said that he was clearing any ambiguity Haqqani's lawyer had raised on his religious background.

Earlier on Wednesday, he said Haqqani told him that the approach to the Americans had been authorized by

Zardari "who wanted to put together a new national security team similar to national security team in USA".

Zahid Bukhari, counsel of former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani, said that media had misreported the statement regarding seeking US help for COAS removal. The court ordered the media to show responsibility in the matter and also instructed the media not to broadcast footage of the commission's proceedings. The Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court, Justice Faiz Essa is heading the Memo Commission while Chief Justice Sindh High Court Mushir Alam and Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court, Hameed-ur-Rehman are the other two members of the commission.

Memo commission seeks Ijaz's phone record ISLAMABAD: The memo commission on Friday continued recording testimony of an 'ill-behaved' Mansoor Ijaz via video conferencing from London High Commission.

During the proceedings on the third consecutive day, Ijaz showed a portion only four out of 39 pages of his telephone's bill to the commission.

He argued before the panel that his telephone was registered on his com-

pany's name and that he cannot reveal the bill's entire content because it is classified, following which, the commission directed its secretary Jawwad Abbas to contact and retrieve the copy of bill from the telephone company and courier it to them.

Ijaz further said that Husain Haqqani (former ambassador to the United States) uses two phones one official and one per-

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sonal, adding that Haqqani used his personal phone during their communication on May 9.

An interesting situation arose during the proceedings when Ijaz called Zahid Bukhri, the counsel for Haqqani, "non-sense."

Hot words were exchanged afterwards and Bukhari raised objections over Ijaz's behavior.

The commission directed Ijaz to behave in accordance with court norms.

PAKISTAN NEWS 19

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Afghan officials 'in talks with Quetta Taliban' KANDAHAR: Afghan officials are holding talks with the Taliban in Pakistan, the head of a provincial peace council in the insurgency's heartland Kandahar said on Tuesday, in a possible signal that Islamabad is boosting its support for Afghan peace efforts.

Kandahar peace council's chairman Ata Mohammad Ahmadi said the officials had been meeting for "some time" with mid-level Taliban commanders in Quetta, where the leadership of the militant group is reported to be based.

"In the last 10 days, our peace council delegation has gone to Quetta three times in twos and threes," he said.

The Afghan government has repeatedly urged Pakistan to support its efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

Ties between the two countries were strained for months after the assassination in September of Afghan peace envoy and former president Burhanuddin Rabbani.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said: "While emphasizing the importance of Pakistan's support for the peace process, I hereby request our brotherly government of Pakistan to support and facilitate our direct negotiation efforts as part of

the peace process."

The Afghan president's new appeal comes after an acrimonious visit to Pakistan last week during which he asked the Pakistani government to help bring Taliban leaders to the negotiating table. Pakistani officials called it "preposterous" to suggest that they would be able to do so.

Since that visit, Mr Karzai has discussed the issue in phone calls with both US President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Mr Gilani's office said he had assured Mr Karzai in their call on Tuesday that Pakistan "would wholeheartedly support a peace process in Afghanistan which is Afghan-owned and Afghan-led".

But Mr Karzai's statement suggested that he was still pushing for a more concrete commitment from Pakistan to help get negotiations going. He once again invited the Taliban to take part in direct talks with the Afghan government and stressed the need for Pakistan to "support and facilitate our direct negotiation".

"Pakistan's support to the peace process will be crucial to its success, as well as a significant contribution to the security and stability of Afghanistan and the entire region,"

LAHORE: Different bands participating march band competition organized by Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab at Punjab Stadium.

Mr Karzai said in the statement.

Though Mr Karzai did not give details on what sort of facilitation he was expecting, Afghan officials have previously asked for Islamabad to promise safe passage for Taliban representatives going to meeting sites outside of Pakistan.

They also want access to certain

Taliban prisoners in Pakistani jails.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said after a recent trip to Kabul that a lot of the ill will between the neighbors had faded.

She said Islamabad would encourage Afghan militant groups to pursue peace if asked by Kabul.

"We are very optimistic about

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President Karzai's recent trip to Pakistan and that may have opened the door," said Arsala Rahmani, a senior member of Afghanistan's High Peace Council tasked with reaching out to insurgents.

Afghanistan is known to want access to Taliban leaders belonging to the so-called Quetta Shura.

20

PAKISTAN NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Pakistan jets kill 15 Taliban militants: officials PESHAWAR: Pakistani jets bombed militant hideouts in a northwestern tribal area early Thursday, killing at least 15 Taliban insurgents, officials said.

The jets targeted hideouts in the Upper Orakzai area and destroyed four compounds in the rugged terrain near the Afghan border.

"Two war planes were sent to the area early this morning after reports from local intelligence sources that militants from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were hiding in the mountainous region," a senior military officer told AFP. "The bombings targeted Khadizai, Samarbazar and Bermela

areas and destroyed four hideouts," he said adding that at least 15 militants were killed.

Local security officials confirmed the air strikes and the casualties.

Independent confirmation of the death toll was not immediately possible as the lawless tribal region is barred for journalists.

Most of Upper Orakzai is in Taliban hands and is the scene of frequent clashes between security forces and Islamist militants while government troops are in control of its lower reaches.

A similar air strike early this month left 20 militants dead, officials said.

HYDERABAD: Sindh Minister for Information Ms. Shazia Mari offering Fateha after condoling with the family members of lady pilot captain Anita Qureshi at Qasimabad who lost her life in the aircraft crashed incident in Lahore during the training.

New regulations will not curtail media freedom, assures Firdous ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan has dispelled the impression that the new laws and regulations that the government is proposing will threaten the freedom of media in Pakistan.

“No such rule will be imposed,” Firdous told a press conference on Monday. “We will seek consensus from television channel operators and only those points will be included in the final draft at which a consensus has been reached.”

Firdous said that the new regulations will build on the traditions of accountability and healthy debate and competition which have been introduced by the media.

Justifying the need for a new policy, Firdous said that regulations need to be updated to reflect the change in needs. “In 2002, when there wasn’t a single satellite television channel in Pakistan, a policy was devised. Ten years later, when there are 89 local and 26 foreign channels operating in Pakistan, is there no need to consult again and evolve a new mechanism?” she questioned.

She said that the objective of the policy is to curtail all illegal operational mechanisms and enforcement of Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority rules.

The salient feature of the policy will be protection of Pakistan’s sociocultural and religious values and supremacy of

national interest. “There are recommendations on how television channels can help forge unity among the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. There are also recommendations pertaining to programmes on religion and news and current affairs. It also touches upon advertisements, privacy and personal data protection,” she said.

Firdous said that before new licenses can be granted, the capacity of the cable system needs to be upgraded. Currently, she said, the system works on analogue technology which allows 60 to 65 channels to be operated but 89 channels are being aired. “License-holders then complain that cable operators keep switching

channels on and off at will. We want to allow channels only when the network has the capacity to operate them. The system is being digitalised and we’re looking at other options like DTH,” she said, adding that this is in the interest of cable operators, license subscribers and viewers.

The information minister said that Pemra had only opened consultations today and negotiated with the Council of Complaints as a first step. “The biggest stakeholder, Pakistan Broadcasting Association, is yet to be taken on board.

Until a final policy is drafted, Pemra has no right to dictate anyone anything and the government will not allow it.”

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However, she said, Pemra was formed to ensure a responsible media and it must continue to do so. “The parliament works under the constitution, the judiciary follows some rules and regulations as does the executive. Then why shouldn’t an important institution like the media not have a code of conduct,” she said. The 2002 code of conduct, she said, could not be implemented properly and had gaps which need to be rectified. “The government alone cannot implement laws through force.

Media operators need to partner with us.

This is the concept we’re trying to introduce. There should be mediation and consultation, not confrontation.”

CONTINUATIONS 21

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • March 02, 2012

Major progress made in switching to electronic health recordsEnrollment process for Texas hospitals, health care providers mirrors nation Continued from front page Health and Human Services Commission. Goodman reports that as of Feb. 18, more than $208.9 million in incentive funds have gone to 211 Texas hospitals and more than $56.5 million has been paid to 2,704 health care providers.

"The enrollment process has gone really well in Texas," said Goodman.

The goal of the incentive program is to move hospitals and health care providers to the use of electronic health records (EHRs).

The American Hospital Association conducted a survey in

2011 that revealed that 35 percent of hospitals in the United States were using EHRs. That figure is up significantly over the 16 percent reported in 2009. Additionally, 85 percent of hospitals indicate they are likely to apply for incentive payments by 2015 to install the technology. The funding, from the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, will provide medical records that can follow patients wherever they receive health care. Its goal is to improve the quality of health care, make it more efficient and reduce medical errors.

In January, the Centers for

Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) paid out incentive funds totaling $519 million to providers. The incentive payments can total as much as $44,000 under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program and $63,750 under the Medicaid program.

Goodman said that in Texas, HHSC is ready to start the audit process. “That’s going to tell us a lot more about how well our doctors and hospitals are doing in implementing and using electronic health records.

We don’t just want to have new technology in place. We want to use it to improve patient care.”

Community Leader, John Hamid and Family has "best day" of their life, meets President Obama Continued from front page as a president regrading to support the Democracy in Pakistan he also asked about the US Government’s Policy of Strengthening the democracy in Pakistan.

President answered US Government policy is clear, The US Government will continue to support Democratic Institution not only in Pakistan but other countries in the world as well.

Later, President Obama had lunch with Hamid and

Family.

On the Occasion, Lubna Hamid (wife) Their Chirdren: Sara Hamid, Sabrena Hamid, Daniyal Hamid and Shan Hamid also met the President Obama, They also invited President to visit Dallas and President answered that he will visit Dallas after upcoming Election.

Talking to Pakistan Chronicle Sara hamid (Daughter) said "I'm probably gonna remember this as the best day of my life."

Interfaith event aims to foster understanding Continued from front page CEO & Editor-in-Chief of emel, United Kingdom. Present on the occasion were Honorable Mike Laster, Councilperson District “J”, City of Houston; Honorable John Healey, Jr., District Attorney, Fort Bend County, Texas; Honorable Ronald Green, Controller, City of Houston; Honorable Alexander AL Green, Congressperson from the 9th Congressional District, Houston; Honorable Adrian Garcia, the Sheriff of Harris County; Syed Fawad Ali Shah, Commercial Attaché, Consulate General of Pakistan, Houston; Reverend Diane McGehee, Director, Center for Missional Excellence, Houston; Rabbi Steven Morgen, Board Member of the Jewish Federation, ADL, & Interfaith Ministries of Houston; Ajit Giani, Office of External Affairs & Media,

Houston Baha’i Community; Elliot Gershenson, President/CEO, Interfaith Ministries of Houston; Chaya Timmaraju, Member of Board of Directors, Vedanta Society of Greater Houston; Venerable Hui Yong Shih, Jade Buddha Temple; and many others. All the speakers spoke on the main theme of the event, and that was “Interfaith Unity for Humanity and Better Society”. At every moment, Americans are striving to make our Union better and better. People of faith and religion are in large numbers in USA and have to do their very important role in this crucial endeavor to better our communities; by coming together to understand each others’ faith, and respect the differences; bring forth the common values of serving the humanity; and as such utilizing this diversity to strengthen the American society: Prosperity of All.

Reverend Diane McGehee said that her faith teaches to stand against oppression, and love the enemy by praying for them and pardoning.

Sarah Irene Joseph AL Rashid, who converted to Islam at the age of 16 in 1988 after being brought up as a Catholic, talked about Muslims being followers of Mercy Unto the Worlds Muhammad Peace Be Upon him. She said mutual understanding among people of faith is very important, as enemies of peace in this world, want to divide people of faith on the basis of unfounded fear.

“We will strive to make it an annual event. Hopefully next time, more people will attend, and we will bring forth even more enhanced program & vision,” said Syed Shahid Ali Sunni of the Muslim Council of USA. For more information, people can call him at 1-281-250-7101.

Clinton defends State Department budget Continued from front page In this time, only the United States of America has the reach, resources, and relationships to anchor a more peaceful and prosperous world," she said.

"We have ended one war, we are winding down another. We've cemented our place as a Pacific power while maintaining our alliance across the Atlantic. We have elevated the role of economics within our diplomacy, and we have reached beyond governments to engage directly

with people with a special focus on women and girls."

Senators on both sides of the aisle warned Clinton it is unlikely the State Department will get everything it wants under the proposed budget.

"It's going to be difficult to get a bill through this year," said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee.

In reference to a question from Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., about the ongoing violence

in Syria, Clinton said Syrian President Bashar Assad could fit the definition of a war criminal.

She said, however, she is reluctant to use the term.

"I think that based on definitions of war criminal and crimes against humanity, there would be an argument to be made that he would fit into that category," Clinton said, adding, however, that charging Assad as such would limit options in persuading him to step down from power.

Sharmeen Chinoy launches anti-acid campaign Continued from front page Pakistani plastic surgeon Mohammad Jawad, who helped restore their faces and lives.

The team behind the documentary are using their website to launch a campaign designed to raise awareness about acid attacks, which can disfigure around 200 women a year in Pakistan, and to strengthen legislation against the violence.

"The film must be more than an expose of horrendous crimes, it must be a recipe for addressing the problem and a hope for the future," codirector Daniel Junge says on www.savingfacefilm.com.

Pakistan's parliament last year adopted tougher penalties for acid attacks, increasing the punishment to between 14 years and life, and a minimum fine of one million rupees ($11,000).

Obaid-Chinoy's mother, Saba, told AFP that the campaign was launched formally after her daughter won the Oscar, which had "provided her with a unique opportunity and strength to strive for her goal more effectively".

"The campaign is mainly aimed at making our society more humane and better to live. It is to help and remedy those who are victims of such brutality and injustice," she told AFP. "Saving Face is uniquely positioned to advance awareness, education and prevention efforts," the website says.

The chairwoman of Acid Survivors Pakistan, which is a partner in the campaign, told AFP that the fight to eliminate the crime had only just started and that the outreach program was designed to generate "systemic change".

Rubbishing reports: Pak denies ‘tossing aside’ Kashmir issue Continued from front page The Times of India had reported that the Pakistani establishment, in a bid to carry forward its peace plan on Kashmir, had invited leaders of both factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to Islamabad for talks to explain its ‘changed position’ on the long-standing dispute.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi Shahid Malik, accompanied by a few other members of the diplomatic staff, drove to hard-line APHC leader Syed Ali Geelani’s winter address in Delhi on Saturday and handed him an invitation from Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.

The report said: “Malik has already invited the chairman of the moderate wing of APHC, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, along with Shabir

Shah and Nayeem Khan to Pakistan for talks on its change perception on Kashmir.”

However, Pakistan denies the assertion.

“There was no change in Pakistan’s principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” added the Foreign Office spokesperson.

“The government and people of Pakistan strongly believe that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute should be resolved in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Pakistan will continue extending its moral, political and diplomatic support to valiant Kashmiris in their legitimate struggle for right to selfdetermination, Basit added.

Pakistan believes in cricket diplomacy: Khar ABU DHABI: Foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Monday called for the resumption of cricket ties with arch-rivals India.

“Pakistan pushes for cricket ties with every country, especially with India,” Khar told reporters while watching the third and final Twenty20 between Pakistan and England here on Monday.

“I remember that prime minister Manmohan Singh said that it (cricket) is a great way to go and if both the governments feel it’s a great way then we should go that way.”

Khar said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was also endeavouring to revive the ties.

“PCB chairman has written letters to the Indian Board and when I was in India (last year) I noticed a great deal of keenness on the part of India and the International Cricket Council (ICC) to revive this brand of cricket,” said Khar.

“Let me clearly articulate that the Pakistani government not only supports but also pushes that international cricket should be played

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among all countries.”

India stalled all bi-lateral cricketing ties with Pakistan following terrorists attacks on their commercial hub Mumbai in November 2008 which New Delhi blamed on militants based across the border.

Despite both countries slated to play in 2012 under the ICC Future Tours Programme, India’s hectic schedule has been the main hurdle in the revival of the ties.

Pakistan last toured India in 2007, while India featured in the Asia Cup held on their neighbour’s grounds in 2008.

Khar said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani – who attended the World Cup semi-final in Mohali on Singh’s invitation in March last year – also wants Indo-Pak cricket to be revived. “Our prime minister has always talked about the resumption and India is also very enthusiastic. The only problem is scheduling and that is why there have been problems but cricket plays a huge role in bringing people of both the countries together so it should be played.”

22 ADVERTISEMENT

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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ENTERTAINMENT 23

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Kangna Ranaut to play Mandakini?

She might play the lead opposite Akshay in 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2' he buzz in the industry is that Balaji is on the verge of signing Kangna Ranaut as Dawood Ibrahim’s actress girlfriend in Milan Luthria’s 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2'! So far, only Akshay Kumar has been announced as the hero to play the character of the don. Kareena had been approached to play the lead but she has opted out.

Kangna perhaps would be the best choice for the film considering she had played the lead in 'Once Upton A Time In Mumbaai' and had got accolades for her performance too. Apparently, her character is based on actress Mandakini who was linked with Dawood during her heydays.

But Tanuj Garg, CEO, Balaji, sounded cagey and wasn’t willing to confirm the news. "We're still in the process of locking the final script. After that, our priority is to finalise the second actor after Akshay. Only then will we figure out the casting for the girls. Perhaps people are speculating on Kangna since she's also in our other production, ‘Shootout At Wadala’,” he said.

We hope Kangna bags this one as the actress really needs some big projects to get her back into the reckoning.

T

Director Mark Jackson and actress Joslyn Jensen arrive on the red carpet for the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California.

Saif’s case against Sharma is ‘weak’ However, girlfriend Kareena Kapoor has spoken up for him aif Ali Khan might have apologised for his behaviour but it doesn’t mean he is entirely out of trouble. The Mumbai police probing last week’s midnight brawl involving Saif said his counter complaint against the South African businessman Iqbal Sharma does not carry 'much weight' as the Bollywood actor had not suffered any injury. Khan, according to investigators, has also not submitted any medical report to corroborate his claim that he too got injured during the fracas while acting in self-defence after being first hit by Sharma. "While recording his statement, Saif repeatedly claimed that Sharma was the first to hit him. But he also mentioned he reacted to defend himself.

That is enough for us to say he had punched Sharma," said an investigating officer at Colaba police station. "Moreover, Saif's complaint against Sharma does not hold much weight as he had no injuries," the officer added.

Amid high drama, Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was arrested last Wednesday with two others for assaulting an NRI businessman. All three were later released on bail after being interrogated. The police have recorded the statement of witnesses at the Taj Mahal hotel who were either present during the brawl at 'Wasabi' restaurant or had rushed to the spot on hearing the commotion.

Investigators, who had pinned their hopes on CCTV footage for evidence against Khan, were left disappointed when they were told yesterday that there were no video cameras installed in the area where the brawl had taken place.

Meanwhile, Sharma has apparently left for South Africa for some work after obtaining permission from the police.

While the world is still divided over who’s right and who’s wrong in the entire episode, Saif has full support of his lady love Kareena Kapoor. She said, “I haven’t spoken about what happened that night, but now I feel I should because whatever is being said is completely one-sided. This man (Iqbal Sharma) is publicity-hungry. How can a man with a broken nose and jaw speak continuously on TV for more than 10 hours? Saif was provoked. He’s a thorough gentleman and would never get into a brawl, especially with women around.”

According to Kareena, it was Iqbal Sharma who came to their table and started shouting at them. She also said that Saif Ali Khan said sorry to him but still Iqbal Sharma continued with his grudge.

S

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24 ADVERTISEMENT

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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Community shocked over Sardar Shaikh who gunned down family, killed self

Sisters: Vivian Shaikh, 14, left was taken to hospital in Houston, Texas, and is in a critical condition, but Jacqueline Shaikh, 12, right, was dead when police came.

HOUSTON, Texas: As per the press release of Houston Police Department, they are presently investigating a murder/suicide incident at 6161 Reims, # 921 about 1p.m. on Sunday (February 26).

The deceased victim is identified as Jacqueline Shaikh, 11, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The wounded victims are her sister, Vivian Shaikh, 14, and her mother, Maria Isabel Gorena, 43. The two surviving family members remain in critical condition at Ben Taub General Hospital, when the last reports came in.

The suspect, Sardar Shaikh, 47, fatally shot himself at the scene.

HPD Homicide Division Sergeant W. Bush and Continued on page 42

MQM Dallas celebrates day of Appreciation

By Raja zahid A Khanzada

Dallas:MQM Dallas celebrates day of Appreciation in regards of the BIGGEST WOMEN GATHERING IN THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE WORLD Held on 19 February 2012 at Bagh-e-Quaid-e-Azam,

Karachi .

Members of Central Organizing committee of MQM USA, Irshad Kamali and Asad Siddiqui along with the members of Dallas Unit committee congratulated women of Pakistan, workers and supporters of MQM and

Leader of MQM Mr. Altaf Hussain on organizing a successful and world's largest gathering of women in Karachi on February 19th 2012 in Bagh-e-Jinnah ground.

Akram Parvez member chamber Continued on page 42

Friday, March 02, 2012

Urdu play 'Nai Subah' to be screened on March 09 at Stafford Civic Center rdu play 'Nai Subah' is set to be staged on march 9th 2012 at Stafford Civic Center. The city of Houston is the only fortunate city in America where Urdu plays are staged on aperiodical basis for past 25 years .This was possible due to the interest shown by our community and secondly due to the untiring efforts of artists from houston who gather under the guidance of Masood Ahmad...whose passion is not only to write these plays but to direct/produce plays on non-prfit basis. He is a Sociologist by education and an author of a book 'KHAYAL' ..also he has written many Afsanas, short stories and articles for various newspapers and magazines beside writing telefilms and drama serials.

These plays staged in Houston always carry nice messages in a com-

U

ical style with a tinch of satire. The subject of these plays have been social issues of Pakistanis living in this city, including Immigrants dilema. But this time Masood is taking his audience to Pakistan thru 'Nai Subah'.The timing of the play is perfect as Pakistan Day march 23rd will be just 2 weeks away.....and will certaily help in elevating the national spirit and morale of the Pakistanis living in Houston. 'Nai Subah' as the title suggests, based on the fact that the sufferings of the nation and the problems like power, water , gas unemployment , terrorism, economy etc are temporary and ought to change. But for that everyone including politicians have to make sincere efforts and contribute their two cents towards the progress of the country.

Everythings has a beginning and Continued on page 42

26 COMMUNITY PHOTOS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Dallas: MQM Dallas celebrates day of Appreciation in regards of the Biggest Women Gathering in The Political History of the World.

Dallas: Hafiz Saim Zaki and Hafiza Tooba Zaki Khatan at Hifz-ul-Quran Ceremony held at Local hotel in Dallas. The world renowned Islamic Scholar Dr.Jamil Rathore was the Chief Guest of this occasion, Allama Babar Rehmani, Allama Siraj Ahmed Misbahi, Hafiz Bilal Ahmed and other renowned Islamic Imams of DFW area also attend this Ruhani Mehfil ( Photo by Pakistan Chronicle)

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PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

NATIONAL NEWS 27

City helps families after worker showers two Houston houses with sewage HOUSTON: The City of Houston on Saturday helped two families whose houses were an absolute mess due to an error by a public works employee.

Toilets, bathtubs and sinks at the two southeast Houston houses became fecal fountains Thursday afternoon when a City of Houston Public Works employee tried to clear a clogged sewer line and sent the sewage, at high pressure, in entirely the wrong direction.

Alfredo Nuno’s home at Greendowns Street and the Gulf Freeway was the hardest hit. The sewage exploded through his toilet and bathtub, showering the bathroom with fecal matter and spreading sewer water of various consistencies down the hallway, into his bedroom, US First Lady Michelle Obama arrives for the 2012 Governors' Dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. and through the bathroom wall, flooding his kitchen.

A spokesperson for the City of Houston Public Works confirmed Thursday that a city employee was cleaning a sewer line behind a home on Greendowns Street three houses away from Nuno’s home. Alvin Wright with the Public Works Breed may be another factor. Department believes the worker was AUSTIN, Texas -- Last year Cooper surgeon specializing in the face, said Brothers was at home crawling on the bites are becoming more com- Still, Dr. Weinfeld points out that all trying to clear grease that often clogs the floor when his world came to a mon as Austin continues to grow. dogs are unpredictable.

“I’ve seen injuries from the sudden stop. Reggie, the family dog “The structures that seem to be bitof eight years bit the infant on the ten most often are the nose and the whole spectrum,” he said. “From lips,” he said.

Yorkshire Terriers, up to the classic face.

Emergency rooms elsewhere are ‘pit bull’ injury.”

Cooper’s mother, Shelley, was As for the Brothers family, they in the room at the time. “It was liter- reporting the same. According to the ally a split second when I heard a Centers for Disease Control and just want people to hear their story Prevention, there were 306,000 non- and not leave children under 10 cry,” she said.

Emergency crews rushed fatal dog bites in 2006 nationwide. alone with any dog.

Cooper to Dell Children’s Medical In 2010, there were 342,000.

Jay Wilton, a dog behaviorist at “Nobody Center where he underwent a surthe Triple Crown Academy in Hutto, ever expects it gery to save his nose.

The family’s skittish keeshond said that owners are not taking the will happen, proper time to train their pets. “You but the most mix had never bitten before.

The incident underscored a star- need both [owner and dog] to come common dog occur tling statistic at Dell Children's. Last together and have that relationship bites your year the emergency room saw a 50 and get that understanding,” he said. within percent rise in dog bites from the Yet there may be other reasons, family dog or a year before; doctors treated 292 too. Dog ownership is at its highest n e i g h b o r ’ s children in all. level ever, with more than 78 mil- dog,” Shelley Dr. Adam Weinfeld, a plastic lion U.S. families now owning dogs. Brothers said.

Dog bites increase in Central Texas; is breed a factor?

More U.S. kids living in high-poverty areas: study WASHINGTON: Years of economic setbacks have taken their toll on the nation's youngest residents, with another 1.6 million children living in high-poverty neighborhoods, according to one study that shows nearly 8 million children residing in poor areas in 2010.

In 2000, 6.3 million children lived in high poverty in the United States, a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found.

The growth - a 25 percent increase reverses the trend just a decade ago that saw fewer children living in communities with high poverty rates, according to the nonprofit group.

And three-quarters of those children live in such areas despite having at least one parent working, the study showed.

The findings reflect the hit the U.S. economy took during and after the 20072009 recession even as signs now point to steady recovery. The nation's jobs market has improved, the number of home sales has grown and recent gains on Wall Street have prompted optimism among investors.

"The recession has really set back much of the progress that was made in the

1990s when poverty went down," Robert Sampson, a professor of social sciences at Harvard University and head of the Social Sciences Program at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Laura Speer, associate director for policy reform and data at the foundation, said the data is a key indicator because the poverty children face growing up can have a direct impact on their success as adults.

"Their families have a harder time providing for basic necessities like good housing, being able to access health insurance and good quality health care," Speer said. "Kids who attend schools that are in low-income communities ... tend to struggle in school in lots of different ways."

The foundation, which focuses on children and family issues, gathered the data looking at U.S. Census data from 2010, the latest year available.

The study defined high-poverty communities as those areas where 30 percent or more are in poverty, defined by the federal government in 2010 as annual income of less than $22,314 for a family of four.

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sewer drains. But he says the high pressure water the worker was using may have cleared the clog so quickly that the high pressure in shot the wrong direction before he could turn it off.

On Saturday, the city paid for workers to go out to the home and start repairs. They worked for more than 16 hours and now the walls are partially gutted and the floors look cleaner. While there’s still a lot of work to be done, Alfredo Nuno’s wife said she was appreciative the city stepped up to help.

“I’m happy with the people that are doing this job, I’m happy with the people that allowed them to do this job and like I said, I’m happy with Channel 11 for doing the report and helping us,” said homeowner Marie Nuno.

Behind Nuno’s home, a neighbor’s house on Southern Street received the same treatment. Ana Zamorano stood outside her rental home on Thursday, refusing to go back inside because of the stench.

The Nuno family said they hope to have everything back to normal by the end of the month.

28 NATIONAL/LOCAL

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Romney: 'I just am who I am' WASHINGTON: Mitt Romney says anyone who thinks there's something wrong with being successful in America "better vote for the other guy."

The former Massachusetts governor says he wants to use his success "and that knowhow to help the American people."

Critics point to a disconnect between the average American and Romney, the Harvardeducated son of a Michigan governor who

made hundreds of millions running a private equity firm. But Romney refutes the criticism, pointing out that while other candidates have come and gone from the race, he's still running. He says he's gotten more votes than anyone in the race so far.

Romney adds: "You know, I can't be perfect. I just am who I am."

He made his comments on Fox News Sunday.

Volunteer opportunities: Mentors needed at youth centers

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the Americans for Prosperity Presidential Forum in Troy, Michigan.

Friends' Facebook tales of trip ends in tragedy Two Nebraskans, traveling back to Lincoln after a trip to Texas, died in a head-on collision early Sunday morning.

Justin Springer and Sheila Cronk, both 26, were killed after a Jeep headed the wrong way on a northbound stretch of U.S. 59 in Stafford crashed into their rental car at 2:30 a.m.

The driver, Rodney Armstrong, 45, of Houston, was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital, according to Stafford Police Department spokesman Raphael Virata.

Police are investigating whether alcohol was involved in the incident. Armstrong has not been charged, investigators said.

Springer and Cronk made the nearly 900-mile trip from Lincoln for a friend's wedding in Houston last week. They documented some of the journey on their Facebook pages.

Cronk worked at a rehabilitation hospital in Lincoln and Springer worked as a general manager at a retail store, according to their Facebook pages.

Springer expressed on Feb. 15 that he was nervous about his first plane ride, referring to the trip for the Houston wedding. "Only 9 days until I have the opportunity to burn to death if I survive the actual crashing of my first plain ride ... if it crashes that is," he wrote.

The pair took a trip to Mexico while they were in the South. On Friday at about 5 p.m., Sheila wrote "Beaches and Mexico. Cannot wait."

Springer wrote jokingly on his wall on Friday, "Hey. We're not dead. So there's that."

Cronk replied along with several other friends, "We're still alive and kicking. For now.

We're on our way to Mexico to shop!"

Springer posted pictures from the trip with Cronk posing happily and of the places they visited. They wrote that they drank margaritas and had fun. They even had a mishap with the border patrol Saturday on their way back.

Springer wrote at about 2 p.m. Saturday, "Well for the last four hours we were possible Mexican citizens. Disaster narrowly avoided."

Cronk's mother, Janet Klapperich Cronk, posted a Facebook note that shed light onto Springer's comment. She wrote Sunday morning, "I'm sooo relieved Sheila and Justin made it back across the border from Mexico safe ... considering they didn't have a passport!!!!"

Only a few hours later, she linked an article about their death.

"This is my daughter Sheila Cronk and her good friend Justin Springer .... we just got the news early this morning....they went down to houston for a friends wedding."

Be a mentor to a young person in a program sponsored by a juvenile probation department and a nonprofit youth services agency. Coming to any of three of the agency's youth centers (in Spring Branch, Acres Homes or Missouri City) for an hour or two once or more a week, you can interact with a small group of youngsters to help them with their homework and engage them in light recreational activities.

Program sessions last from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

'Fight for Air Climb' Fight lung disease by serving as a support volunteer at the March 24 "Houston Fight for Air Climb," a vertical fundraising race taking place on the stairs inside a 48-story downtown office building. Volunteers will assist with setup, rest stops, parking, distribution of food and beverages, monitoring stairwells and cleanup. In return for their involvement, volunteers will be accorded free commemorative T-shirts, goody bags and refreshments.

Alzheimer's patients Remembrance of things past brings needed

stimulation and enjoyment to Alzheimer's patients at a facility in Spring, thanks to the involvement of "reminiscence volunteers."

These volunteers interact on a one-to-one basis with residents to encourage memory and discussion of events, people, places and things of significance from various stages of the residents' lives. Volunteer time commitments can be flexible, and training will be provided.

Other opportunities » Monitor cases of abuse and neglect for a nonprofit children's advocacy organization. » Assist visually impaired persons with simple chores such as grocery shopping and reading their mail. » Tend a community garden in Magnolia that yields produce for needy families. » Manage a magazine cart that distributes reading materials at a nursing home near Willowbrook Mall.

For more information, contact Volunteer Houston from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. MondaysFridays at (713) 965-0031 or go to www.volunteerhouston.org.

No relief for shrinking state school budgets AUSTIN, Texas: Republican lawmakers have been bragging on the campaign trail about increasing school spending.

Meanwhile Democrats are demanding a special legislative session to reverse the first cut in per-student spending for the first time in at least 50 years.

Which one is right depends on the perspective. The Legislature did put an additional $1.5 billion in the Foundation School Program. But that is only one part

of state spending on public education.

Lawmakers cut $1.55 billion elsewhere and rewrote the school funding formula to cut $4 billion.

Texas per student spending is about $8,900 per year, a $538 drop compared to the last budget.

So far the state’s Republican leadership has refused to call a special session to increase the funding, despite having $7 billion in the Rainy Day Fund.

Scientists see red on NASA cuts of Mars missions WASHINGTON: Upset scientists want to make sure the U.S. doesn’t give up on future Mars exploration because of a tight federal budget.

Mars advocates are meeting with NASA officials Monday to reboot a Mars program that scientists say was gutted by cuts in President Barack Obama’s proposed 2013 budget.

Researchers compare it to calling off the moon

mission just before Apollo 11 landed.

NASA officials say they won’t be able to fly joint Mars missions with Europe in 2016 and 2018. That also delays indefinitely scientists’ No. 1 priority, which is a mission to return rocks and soil from Mars to Earth.

NASA is trying to find a cheaper alternative for its 2018 mission.

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LOCAL NEWS 29

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

UH program helps students revive quest for a bachelor's

By Monica Rhor

After starts and stops, three college campuses and 13 years, Jimaya Tates is on track to get a long-desired bachelor's degree this spring.

For years, life - as it's been known to do - had seemed to conspire against her efforts to obtain a diploma. Illness, death, grief, family responsibilities, job demands. All stood in the way of the college credits she needed.

Then Tates saw a flier describing a new University of HoustonDowntown program geared for students who had "stopped out" of school before completing a degree. It offered online courses, flexible hours, one-stop advising and the opportunity to transfer up to 78 credit hours.

In other words, it was ideal for someone like Tates, a 34-year-old administrative assistant with a fulltime job and a fair bit of college already on her transcripts.

"My mother was always an advocate of education. She instilled it in me, and it was always something I believed in as a child," said Tates, who is finishing up the last 12 credits of a bachelor's of applied arts and science degree. "I knew I could have better opportunities with a degree."

Finish@UT launched Like UH-Downtown, a growing number of brick-and-mortar colleges and universities are targeting students like Tates, who have dropped out of college just short of a degree.

Earlier this month, the University

of Texas launched Finish@UT, an online college completion program that allows returning students to earn undergraduate degrees from UTArlington, UT-Permian Basin and UT-El Paso. Last year, the state Higher Education Coordinating Board started the Grad Texas initiative, a central clearinghouse for college completion programs offered through eight Texas universities, including the UH-Downtown, UHClear Lake and Lamar University.

The programs typically offer online courses, accelerated classes, customized courses of studies and support systems tailored for nontraditional students.

Project Grad requires students to have completed at least 90 credit hours of college, while Finish@UT requires 48 hours.

"These are students who progressed far enough in their studies but, for whatever reason, fell out of system," said Dominic Chavez, a spokesman for the Higher Education Coordinating Board. "That population is a population that can very quickly, with targeted efforts, become degree completers."

The pool of potential students is sizeable.

About 3.2 million Texans older than age 25 have some college credit but no degree, according to the U.S. census. The coordinating board counts about 40,692 people who attended public colleges or universities and accumulated at least 90 hours but never graduated.

Jimaya Tates, right, is finishing her bachelor's degree at UH-D, through a program for people who had some college credits but not a degree. Karen Kaser, left, is the interim director of the program.

For that population, getting a degree can mean a substantial bump in salary.

Every two years of college represents an additional 5 percent boost in salary, with another 5 to 7 percent added for each degree earned, said Jeff Stohl, director of research at the Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce.

"It used to be that the experiential component carried a lot of weight, and there was less concern about a degree, but now it's more important to have a degree because it gets you through the door," said Stohl, who calls it the "sheepskin effect."

Transfer credits For many people holding some credit, a major barrier to going back to college is the thought of starting over from scratch since many traditional programs accept few, if any, transfer credits.

Tates, for example, had earned an associate's degree and six certifications from Houston Community College, as well as 12 credit hours from the University of Houston Bauer College of Business when she decided to return to school.

The UH-D program accepted 66 of her hours, allowing Tates to finish the rest of her degree in two years.

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For students with full-time jobs and families to raise, saving a few semesters can be the difference between getting a degree and leaving that goal unfinished, said Karen Kaser, interim director of the UH-D bachelor's of applied arts and science degree program.

"There are not very many places to go where someone can get their degree in a short amount of time and not start over," Kaser said. "We tell students if you send us your unofficial transcript, we will look at it and let you know and let you know where you stand."

Grad Texas also includes an online calculator that allows students to plug in their already-earned credit hours and work with an adviser to map out a route to a degree, said Chavez.

So far, about 130 students have enrolled with declared majors through the Finish@UT program, while 1,498 people have created accounts through the Grad Texas program. But those numbers are expected to increase as the economy and personal desire send more people back to school.

"In order to get promoted, a lot of organizations and businesses are requiring bachelor's degrees, so more people are coming back to school," said Kaser.

In Tates' case, her degree has not only opened the door to possible promotions but also to graduate school.

She's now planning to pursue a master's in health care administration.

30 NATIONAL NEWS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Child support debts may leave some with no income WASHINGTON: Old child support debts could cost thousands of poor men their only income next year because of a policy aimed at reducing the cost to the government of mailing paper checks to pay federal benefits.

The Treasury Department will start paying benefits electronically next March.

It will stop issuing the paper checks that many people rely on to safeguard a portion of their benefits from states trying to collect back child support.

States can freeze the bank accounts of people who owe child support. A separate Treasury Department rule, in place since last May in a preliminary form, guarantees them the power to freeze Social Security, disability and veterans’ benefits that have been deposited into those accounts.

Once paper checks are eliminated, about 275,000 people could lose access to all of their income, advocates say.

"It’s kind of Orwellian, what’s being set up here for a segment of the population," says Johnson Tyler, an attorney who represents poor and disabled people collecting federal benefits. "It’s going to be a nightmare in about a year unless something changes." In many cases, the bills are decades old and the children long grown.

Much of the money owed is interest and fees that add up when men are unable to pay because they are disabled, institutionalized or imprisoned.

Most of the money will go to governments, not to the children of the men with child support debts, independent analyses show. States are allowed to keep child support money as repayment for welfare previously provided for those children.

In some instances, the grown children are supporting their fathers.

The rule change illustrates how a

politically desirable goal like cracking down on so-called deadbeat dads can have complicated, even counterproductive, effects in practice.

"The rule doesn’t look at the fact that the money is mostly interest, the money is going to the state, the kids are usually adults, and it’s leaving the payer with nothing," says Ashlee Highland, a legal aid attorney who works with the poor of Chicago. Highland says her office has clients in eviction, in foreclosure and unable to pay their bills because of states’ aggressive efforts to collect back child support. Marcial Herrera, 44, has had his bank account frozen repeatedly since 2009, blocking his access to $800 a month in government benefits. Unable to work because of a severe back injury he suffered in 2000, Herrera fell behind on child support. He owes more than $7,000 -- not to his 22-year-old son, but to the state of New York, because his son received welfare years earlier.

Herrera sought help in court and had his son speak on his behalf, but the judge could not erase the thousands he already owed. "I’m just waiting for them to lock me up," he says. "I don’t see no other way of me repaying that debt."

Alegal aid attorney suggested Herrera collect his benefits by paper check. It costs him $15 to cash the check each month, but at least he can be sure that he will have money to pay his bills.

States have had the ability to freeze accounts for years. That’s why people like Herrera rely on paper checks to safeguard part of their income.

Starting next March, that option will disappear. The Treasury Department will deposit federal benefits directly into bank accounts or load them onto prepaid debit

cards. Either way, state child support agencies will be able to seize all of it.

Electronic payments are expected to save the government $1 billion over the next 10 years, the Treasury Department says. It costs the government about $1 to mail a check, compared with about 10 cents for an electronic transfer.

The Treasury Department understands that forcing people into direct deposit could deprive them of all of their income, say officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the rule-writing process. States can garnish only 65 percent of benefits before the federal government sends them out. But the limit does not apply once the money is in an account and states ask banks to freeze it, according to a Treasury Department memo obtained by The Associated Press.

A Treasury spokesman declined to discuss the policy. The officials who spoke on condition of anonymity say they believe the policy is legally unavoidable.

They described a dilemma: Restrain states trying to collect child-support debts or risk depriving thousands of people of their only income.

Treasury’s legal justification assumes that receiving a paper check is still an option, says Tyler, the Brooklyn attorney.

Letting state agencies seize the money contradicts the public stance of the Department of Health and Human Services, the federal agency in charge of child support collections. The department does not want states to collect child support so aggressively that poor people lose their only income, spokesman Ken Wolfe says. "Child support enforcement—getting that money and passing it on to parents and children—is a measure to fight

poverty, and it doesn’t make sense to accomplish that by impoverishing somebody else," he says.

Wolfe said HHS is developing guidelines for states to "make sure we’re not putting someone into deep poverty as a result of an automatic collection." He declined to provide details of those plans.

Lawyers from HHS agreed with Treasury’s decision to let states seize benefits, according to the Treasury memo.

An early version of the Treasury department rule protected people from having their federal benefits frozen by debt collectors—including private collection agencies and states seeking back child support. State child support agencies replied in public comments on the proposed rule that blocking their access to people’s benefits would cause great harm to parents and children receiving child support. HHS research suggests the policy could deepen the hardship for people who collect benefits as well.

People who owe large amounts of child support are almost universally poor.

Among those owing $30,000 or more, three-fourths had no reported income or income of less than $10,000, HHS says.

Many had their earnings interrupted by disability or jail time and are unlikely to repay the child support debt, the government-sponsored research says.

The usual methods of collecting back child support often don’t work with the poor. States typically start by garnishing wages. If that doesn’t work, they can suspend driver’s licenses, revoke passports and take away professional credentials.

Those measures have little effect on poor people without jobs who rely on federal benefits. They have no wages to garnish and no passports. Many can’t afford a

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car and do not need a driver’s license.

State child support agencies echo the HHS view that child support enforcement should not be so draconian that people end up with nothing.

"You don’t want the noncustodial parent to go out and be living on the streets.

You’re not going to collect anything at that point," says Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The Idaho department requires people who owe child support to show good faith by paying a minimum amount and seeking jobs when they are out of work, Shanahan says.

The White House is reviewing the final version of the rule. Its impact so far has been limited, legal-aid lawyers say, because people can still use paper checks.

A White House spokeswoman did not respond a request for comment. In a letter sent last week, the National Consumer Law Center and dozens of other groups called on the head of the Social Security Administration to withdraw his support for the rule. "While both current and past due child support orders should be paid," the letter said, it should not result "in the complete impoverishment of recipients" of federal benefits.

The issue has failed to raise alarm in part because most people feel little in common with men labeled deadbeat dads, says John Vail, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Litigation who provided legal services for the poor for decades.

"There’s not a lot of sympathy for deadbeat dads, and justly so," Vail says.

"But everybody’s got limits, and I think people who have never walked a mile in some of those old, worn-out shoes are a little quick to rush to judgment about what that life might be like."

LOCAL NEWS 31

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Houston woman accused of using fake social security number to finance vehicle

US President Barack Obama gestures during the 2012 Governors' Dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington.

New drug sparks sharp increase in execution cost in Texas HOUSTON: The switch to a substitute drug to carry out executions is driving up the costs of carrying out capital punishment in Texas.

A year ago, Texas replaced sodium thiopental as one of the three lethal injection drugs after the European supplier stopped making it and no other source could be found. It was replaced by pentobarbital.

The Austin AmericanStatesman reported Friday that the new drug means it costs nearly $1,300 now for drugs for each execution. That’s up from $83 under the previous mixture.

Prison officials say each drug has become more expensive but the bulk of the increase is due to the pentobarbital.

Texas judge refuses marriage ceremonies until same-sex marriage is legal DALLAS: A Dallas County judge is taking a stand for same-sex marriage.

Judge Tonya Parker is a lesbian, and she says she won't conduct marriage ceremonies until they can legally be performed for her.

Parker said she does not send away couples without an explanation. "I use it as my opportunity to give them a lesson about marriage inequality in this state, because I feel like I have to tell them why I'm turning them away," she said. Parker says she believes people have the right to marry, and that she sends couples to other judges who will perform the ceremony.

But she believes it is not right to apply a law to one group of people and not others.

HOUSTON: A Houston woman was accused of using a fake social security number to get credit approval for an automobile, according to Houston police. Hildania Lopez, 33, was charged with making a false statement to obtain credit, which is a felony offense.

Police stopped Lopez after she ran a stop sign in a southwest Houston neighborhood well-known for drug activities on January 7, 2012. Lopez did not have a valid driver’s license, but handed the officer an identification card with her photo, name and birthday. She also provided a vehicle registration showing she purchased the maroon 2004 Lincoln Navigator from Popular Motors in the 1800 block of Wirt Road, according to court documents.

Lopez told the officer that she worked at a taco truck on Highway 290 and Antoine, but could not provide her manager’s name or work number.

The officer noticed a large decal displaying Santa Muerto – also known as the Saint of Death—on her rear window. He also saw two Santa Muerto tattoos on Lopez’s arm and

Gov. Perry has surgery on collarbone AUSTIN, Texas: Governor Rick Perry had surgery Friday morning.

The governor had his right collarbone repaired. The governor’s office says he is still trying to heal from a 2009 bicycle acci-

Perry’s Working Retirement Sheds Light on a Perk Gov. Rick Perry speaks at Williamson County Republican dinner in Round Rock, his first public speech since leaving the presidential race.

Enlargephoto by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera Gov. Rick Perry speaks at Williamson County Republican dinner in Round Rock, his first public speech since leaving the presidential race.

An obscure 1991 provision dealing with state pension benefits was only a few paragraphs long, and it escaped public notice at the time. Even the lawmakers who passed it said they did not know what the fine print accomplished until it became law.

But 20 years later, Gov. Rick Perry — and an elite group of other veteran politicians — can thank Government Code 813.503 for the lucrative pension benefits they are allowed to collect without leaving office.

Politicians’ pension records are private, so it is unknown how many are taking advantage of the provision. But any state representative, senator or nonjudicial state-elected official who meets the age and service requirements is entitled to some benefit under the law, at wildly varying amounts depending on the official’s highest average state salary and individual circumstances, Employees Retirement System officials say.

Perry invoked the provision last year, disclosing in December that he had boosted his take-home pay by more than $90,000 a year through his onthe-job retirement. He also makes $150,000 a year as governor.

It was the first in-depth look the public has had at a retirement perk that was quietly enhanced and slipped into the law.

In Texas, the considerable pension benefits given to politicians are exempt from government

back. Officers said that symbol is commonly associated with drug traffickers.

The officer suspected the vehicle was used to transport drugs and decided to further investigate.

Investigators went to Popular Motors to check on the sale of the vehicle. The general manager confirmed Lopez was financed the SUV, which was priced at more than $14,000, based on her credit application in February 2011. The general manager then provided investigators with the original credit application and the documents Lopez provided at the time of purchase.

The owner of Popular Motors said Lopez would usually come to the business to make payments, but was behind a few notes and they were actually intending to repossess the vehicle. The owner told police if Lopez had indeed falsified her credit application, he would consider the offense to be a theft.

After contacting the Social Security Administration, investigators determined Lopez had falsified information. Charges were filed and her bail was set at $2,000.

transparency laws and not subject to ethics disclosure rules. But Perry, a presidential candidate before dropping out last month, had to reveal the pension payments to the Federal Election Commission.

The unexpected news that he was already collecting retirement benefits stirred disbelief from critics and open-government advocates. They wondered how a politician could “retire” without leaving work — or having to tell anyone about it.

“Anytime taxpayers’ money is involved, they should have the right to know how it is being spent,” said Keith Elkins, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

“They are being denied the opportunity to voice their support, or opposition, to such policies.”

Perry, who made the elimination of lavish congressional perks a centerpiece of his unsuccessful presidential campaign, declined to release the paperwork he completed to get the early pension.

But he noted that the public already knew he took his. And he said he would be foolish not to.

“I would suggest to you that it’s rather inappropriate if you’ve earned something if you don’t take it and take care of your family,” Perry said. “This was put into place by the Legislature, and if your point is it’s not appropriate, then the Legislature will change it.”

There has not exactly been a rush to eliminate the provision, which many politicians, past and present, say they were not aware of until Perry ran for president.

Among them is former state Sen. Bob Glasgow, D-Stephenville, who carried the pension revision in the Senate in 1991. He said that he did not know he had sponsored a new perk — or that it was of particular interest to Bob Bullock, then the lieutenant governor.

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dent. Perry is an avid athlete, who runs several times a week.

His office called KVUE after the surgery and reported everything with the surgery went well.

Perry’s outpatient procedure was done in Austin.

32 SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Italian engineer invents floating solar panels SAN GIULIANO: Rays of the winter sun bounce off gleaming mirrors on the tiny lake of Colignola in Italy, where engineers have built a cost-effective prototype for floating, rotating solar panels.

“You are standing on a photovoltaic floating plant which tracks the sun, it’s the first platform of its kind in the world!” said Marco Rosa-Clot, a professor at Florence University, proudly showing off his new project.

Rosa-Clot and his team say they are revolutionising solar power and that their floating flower-petal-like panels soaking up the Tuscan sun have already attracted a lot of interest from international buyers.

Standard solar panels on buildings or in fields have been

criticised for taking up valuable agricultural land, being unsightly and losing energy through overheating – issues the floating plants would resolve.

The Floating Tracking Cooling Concentrator (FTCC) system is designed to exploit unused areas of artificial reservoirs or disused quarries.

While the water keeps the panels at low temperatures, reflectors are positioned to maximise solar capture at different times of day, making it more efficient than a traditional installation, Rosa-Clot said.

The head of Scintec, a small family business which produces a variety of renewable energy and industrial devices, Rosa-Clot said the pilot plant set up on the lake near Pisa, Tuscany, was a model

Asia-aviation-aerospace-military-drones-Singapore,FOCUS by Bhavan Jaipragas.This photograph taken on February 15, 2012 shows an Elbit System Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on display at the Singapore Airshow.

of efficiency.

“It’s a small-scale design, 30 kilowatts, which would suffice for a dozen or so families.

The standard is set at 3kW per apartment,” he said.

At an estimated price of around 1,600 euros per kW including installation, a plant the size of Colignola could cost some 48,000 euros.Scintec says its system costs 20 per cent less than ground-based structures.

‘No miraculous solution’ The flat panels are winged by reflectors and sit on raft-like structures which are

anchored to the lake bed with a pylon.

Decked out in jeans and jacket, the engineer explained the benefit that a place like sun-kissed Sicily with its 75 square kilometres of artificial reservoirs and lakes could draw from the system.

“If we covered just 10 per cent of that area with floating photovoltaic panels, we would have one gigawatt of power installed,” he said – enough to power 10 million 100-watt light bulbs.

Engineer Raniero Cazzaniga, who works on the project, said that some people think classic solar installations are spoiling the landscape.

Appointment.

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PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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34 HEALTH

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Six Must-Ask Interview Questions

By Joe Turner

Interviewing can be a gut-wrenching process. Most books on how to interview list hundreds of questions you need to be ready to answer, but few talk about the questions you need to ask.

Take more control at your next interview by asking some pointed questions of your own. Here are six must-ask questions and why you should know the answers.

1. What happened to the person who previously did this job? (If a new position: How has this job been performed in the past?

Why You Need to Ask: You need to know any problems or past history associated with this position. For instance, was your predecessor fired or promoted? Is this a temporary

position or brand new? The answer will tell you about management's expectations and how the company is gearing to grow.

2. Why did you choose to work here? What keeps you here?

Why You Need to Ask: Although you may like this company, you're an outsider. You need to find out what an insider has to say about working there. Who better to ask than your interviewer? This also forces the interviewer to step out of their official corporate role and answer personally as an employee and potential coworker.

3. What is the first problem the person you hire must attend to?

Why You Need to Ask: You need to be on the same page as your new manager, as well as be clear on what the initial expectations are and that you can deliver. What you don't want is to allow yourself to be misled about the job’s requirements and end up overwhelmed and over your head after the first week on the job.

4. What can you tell me about the individual to whom I would report?

Why You Need to Ask: It doesn't matter how wonderful the company might be; your time will be spent working for a specific manager. You need to find out who this person is and what kind of manager he is -earlier rather than later, before per-

sonality clashes develop. If you're an independent type used to working through solutions on your own, for instance, you'll chafe when you find you're being supervised by a micromanager.

5. What are the company's fiveyear sales and profit projections?

Why You Need to Ask: You need to know about the future of the company you plan to spend several years of your life working for. It doesn't have to be this exact question. For example, you might want to ask about the company's future plans for new products and services or any planned market expansion. Of

course, you've done your own research, but nothing can beat an insider’s observations and insights.

This also shows you've done your homework and are serious about this company.

6. What's our next step?

Why You Need to Ask: This is your closing and the most important question to ask at the end of the interview. You need to know what happens after this point. Many books advise asking for the job now, but most people may feel too intimidated to bluntly do so. And with more candidates already scheduled for interviews, the company is not likely to make you an offer yet. You may also need to do some additional research on the company, making it too early to ask for the job.

A good compromise:

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Take the lead and set a plan for follow-up. You'll also be able to gauge the company's enthusiasm with the answer. Don't forget to ask for your interviewer’s direct phone number and the best time to call.

What to Remember As a job seeker, the key to a good interview is to find out as much about your potential employer as possible.

Asking these six questions will not only make you appear more committed as a candidate, but will also give you better insight into both the challenges and opportunities that may lie ahead for you.

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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36 ENTERTAINMENT

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Oscars 2012: 'The Artist' sweeps 84th Academy Awards 'The Artist' sweeps 5 Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Score and Best Costume Design. Hugo was not far behind and also managed to bag 5 Oscars.

THE OSCAR WINNERS Best Film: Tom cruise presents Best Motion Picture Oscar to Thomas Langmann for 'The Artist'.

Best Actress: Colin Firth presents oscar for Actress in a leading role (female) Oscar to Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady. Meryl said, "When I hear my name I see half of America of going aww, not her again! But whatever. I want to thank my husband, colleages, friends.

This is such a great honour but friendships, love matter to me more." Merly Gets a standing ovation. Its Meryl's 3rd Oscar.

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin wins the Best Actor Oscar for The Artist .

He thanks Michel, co-star, wife and cast of The Artist.

Natalie Portman on stage to present Actor in a leading role Oscar. She compliments each nominee individually by saying what makes their performance different.

Oscar pays tribute to the artists who passed away in the recent past.

Likes of Jane Russsell, Ken Russell, Whitney Houston, Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Taylor Short film Animated: Oscar goes to William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg for The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore Best Director: Michael Douglas presents Oscar to Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist. He thanks academy, cast, dog, thanks the financers

Short Film (Live Action): Bridesmaids cast on stage to present Oscar for Short Film (Live Action) .

Oscar goes to Terry George and Oorlagh George for The Shore.

Terry thanks daughter Oorlagh, the producer, dedicates award to the Irish people.

Original Screenplay: Oscar goes to Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris. Woody skips the Oscar.

Jolie thanks Allen for accepting award on Academy's behalf Adapted Screenplay: Angelina Jolie presents Oscar for Adapted Screenplay to Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash for The Descendants. Alexander thanks Clooney, fellow nominees, author of the novel, mother.

Best Original Song: Will Ferell and Zach Galifianakis present Best Original Song Oscar to Bret McKenzie from Man or Muppet Best Original Score: Peneope Cruz and Owen Wilson present award for Best Original Score to Ludovic Bource for The Artist. He says" I want to pay tribute to fellow nominees, power of music, I want to thank academy, it's a special award. " Best Actor in a supporting role: Melissa Leo presents the Oscar to Christopher Plummer for Beginners. He is 82 years old and wins his first Oscar. Asks his trophy: Where have you been! Thanks Academy, fellow nominees, Thanks costar Ewan McGregor, producers, daughter Amanda, long suffering wife Elaine Best Visual Effects: EmmaStone and Ben Stiller on stage to present Best Visual Effects Oscar to Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben

Jodi Breakers and Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya fail Bollywood has been putting out dud love stories for the last three weeks. Ek Main aur Ekk Tu that did average business seems like a masterpiece in comparision to Prateik-Amy Jackson love story Ekk Deewana Tha that collected something to the tune of 50 odd lakhs on day one and had to unceremoniously withdrawn from some theatres across India. This week saw the release of the Bipasha Basu-R Madhavan flick Jodi Breakers that reportedly spent 12 odd crores on marketing alone. A trade analyst says, ``The film posters and hoardings will probably have a longer shelf life than the film itself. The film collected something to the tune of 1.55 cr on day one. That is really poor considering it is 22 odd cr film. It was shot in Greece. Bipasha and Madhavan were also paid very well.'' The other love story Kumar Taurani's Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya met a marginally better fate that Jodi Breakers. While this film cost much less because it was an indigenous product shot in Punjab; the film also is a failure because it barely collected approximately 1.74 cr on day one. The only good thing here is that Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza gave a happy end to their real life love story. There reel love story though will allegedly make distributors shed a lot of tears because the film holds no magic for the junta.

Winners for Best Documentary Shor "Saving Face," Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy hoist their trophy onstage at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California.

Grossmann and Alex Henning for HUGO. They thank to Martin Scorsese, thanks artists all over the world, academy, producers, Paramount Best Animated feature film: Chris Rock presents Best Animated feature film Oscar to Gore Verbinski for Rango. Gore thanks Johnny Depp, family and cast of Rango.

Best Documentary: Oscar goes to TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas for Undefeated Best Sound Mixing: Oscar goes to Tom Fleischman and John Midgley for Hugo. They thank Academy, Martin Scorsese, fellow nominees, crew of Hugo Best Sound Editing: Oscar

goes to Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty for Hugo. The duo thank Martin Scorsese Best Film Editing: Bradley Cooper and Tina Fey present the Best Film Editing oscar to Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'.

Best Supporting Actress: Actor Christian Bale presents Best Supporting Actress Oscar to Octavia Spencer for 'The Help'. She gets a standing ovation. Octavia cries and thanks Academy, her family, HELP family. I share this award for everyone.

Best Foreign Language Film: Sandra Bullock on stage to present Best Foreign Language Film. Oscar goes to Iran, Asghar Farhadi

I've created an identity of my own: Soha Ali oha Ali Khan is quite kicked about her film Chaurahein finally getting a theatrical release. "It has already done well in film festivals," she informs of the film that's been directed by Rajshree Ojha, of Aisha Fame.

Some of the other actors in the film include Ankur Khanna, Victor Banerjee, Roopa Ganguly, Zeenat Aman, Shayan Munshi, Suchitra Pillai, Arundathi Nag, and Sid Makkar. Although the film is not your typical masala fare, Soha feels that there are enough people in India who want to watch such kind of movies. "Some films are aspirational," she says, "But there is room for stories which don't have a beginning or end. It's like watching a few days in the lives of some people." The film, with its own take on relationships, has three stories interwoven with each other. While one takes place in Mumbai, the others are based in Kolkata and Chennai.

Talking about her role, Soha reveals that she's part of the story based in Mumbai. "It's a relationship between a writer and this girl, who're very different people. The stories in the film are of ordinary people, but told in a nuanced manner," she adds. Although the film's up for release now, it's one of Soha's first films, as she shot it in 2007. "It was Rajshree's first film and one of my first films as well. I remember meeting her six years back when she narrated the story to me. The character had enough interesting moments for me to say yes to it," she says.

The most important thing Soha says she's learnt in her career till now, is that the director is the captain of the ship. "Even if it's a bad story, a great director can turn it into something brilliant. I've seen what a difference a good director can make to an actor's performance," says Soha, who has had a good end to 2011 with Soundtrack. "The film didn't receive even one bad review and I'm really proud of it as I had a difficult role in it," she adds. With Mira Nair's Midnight's Children, a rom-com Chemistry and Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster Part 2 in her kitty, she's on a roll! "I believe I have grown by leaps and bounds in the last five years and created an identity of my own," says the actress.

S

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receives it for "A Separation" Best Makeup: Oscar goes to Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland for The Iron Lady. They thank Meryl Streep for keeping them employed for last 37 years.

Best Costume Design: Oscar for costume Design goes to Mark Bridges for The Artist Art Direction: And the Oscar goes to Dante Ferretti (Production Design); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration) for Hugo. The husband wife thank Martin Scorsese and dedicate award to Italy.

Best Cinematography: And the Oscar goes to Robert Richardson for Hugo. "Martin you are genius, I am glad you put cinematography first!", says Robert

ENTERTAINMENT 37

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Ali Zafar, Aditi charm the youngsters

Aditi Rao Hydari & Ali Zafar.

s coming-of-age film London Paris New York closes in on its release; the film is receiving an unprecedented response as leads Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari kick off their city tours to promote the film, starting with the youth metropolis Pune.

Promising to bring the wit back into Bollywood's romantic comedies, London Paris New York starring Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari , mirrors the 3 states of love set in an international

A

scenario ,and also marks the directorial debut of Anu Menon.

The students at Indira Gandhi College were the first to receive an unplugged live performance from Ali and Aditi both of whom have sung in the film.As a token of appreciation the youngsters also prepared a special AV for the film, leaving the duo overwhelmed.

The next pit stop was a press conference at a popular mall, where the team spoke about the film at length and interacted with the crowds that had gathered in numbers to catch a glimpse of the stars.

On the occasion said Ali "LPNY is a Hatke love story with a lot of romance and great music. Our experience from the film, I believe, is different from those who have done similar films in the past.

The characters are different, the story is different. This is our way of telling a love story of today's time and age. " "We are excited about LPNY. It's a step towards bringing something different to the romantic-comedy palette that will appeal to the youth. It speaks their language, reflects their aspirations and the angst and joys of falling in love," adds Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios India and the co-producer of LPNY. London Paris New York will release on 2nd March,2012.

Actress Penelope Ann Miller arrives at The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees' Night at the Getty House in Los Angeles, California.

Deepika Padukone's back in Race 2? fter a day of furious negotiat i o n s , t h e actress l a y s down her conditions for coming back to the film she had walked out of She opted out of the film and left her producer fuming.

She had to face her costars' ire at a recent party. And after going through all the trouble, Deepika Padukone has finally decided to get back on board for Ramesh Taurani's Race 2.

However, the actress has her set of 'conditions'. According to industry insiders, after meeting producer Taurani yesterday, Deepika realised that it wouldn't be in her best interest to contest the filmmaker on monetary grounds.

The damages that Taurani claimed he would ask from the actress might be too high for Dippy, said the source.

Though the official CINTAA (Cine and TV A r t i s t e s ' Association) meeting was called off 30 minutes

A

before its scheduled time on Wednesday, the actress did end up meeting CINTAA general secretary Dharmesh Tiwari.

According to a source present at the meeting, it was Tiwari who asked Deepika to stay away from monetary hassles and allot dates to Taurani.

When contacted, Tiwari said, "There is no final settlement yet. Deepika has spoken to me. I met her on Wednesday. But yes, we expect this fight to end in the next 48 hours."

Deepika, however has given a list of 'conditions' to Taurani. "Deepika has five points of concern. If the producers of Race 2 are interested in having her back on board, they will have to look into the conditions. Now the ball is in their court," said a friend of the actress.

1. Dates can't change Deepika, who will be busy with her other projects Rajinikanth's Kochadaiyaan and Ranbir Kapoor starrer Jawaani Diwani, will not allot fresh dates to Race 2.

2. Direct communication She has requested the producer Ramesh Taurani and directors Abbas-Mustan to not work with middlemen.

3. No interference in personal care Deepika will only work with her chosen set of designers, hair stylist and makeup artist.

4. Right to decide release date The actress wants the filmmakers to consult her for the release of Race 2. This is because she wants no misunderstandings during the promotional phase of the film.

5. Information on overseas shoot In case of a foreign schedule, the actress wants to be informed a month in advance.

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38 COMMUNITY PHOTOS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Pictorial Highlights of Mehfil-e-Milad held at the residence of Famous Community Business Figure, Shakeel Khan.

Pictorial Highlights of Valima Reception of M. Jawad Pathan, Son of Prominent Businessman, Pervez Pathan held at Laziza Sugarland Ballroom .

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PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

IMMIGRATION 39

LEGAL CORNER T

his article will be a weekly feature courtesy of the Law Office of Rehan Alimohammad, PC (see detailed ad on p. 24 of main section) to inform the community about the latest in U.S. Immigration Law. You can always e-mail us questions at mail@attorneyrehan.com. You can subscribe to our e-newsletter to stay current on the latest Immigration developments by emailing us at mail@attorneyrehan.com.

You can visit our website at www.attorneyrehan.com or call our offices at (281) 340-2074 or (866) 814-3920 for more information.

Article #281 IRS Notice CP 90: Final Notice of Intent to Levy There is nothing more unsettling then the CP 90 or the Final Notice of Intent to Levy. This notice is usually the last of several notices which warn the taxpayer before the IRS levies a bank account, wages, or other assets. The CP 91 serves as the final notice before levying social security benefits. The notice also states that the taxpayer has an option to file a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing.

Consequences of Not Responding to the CP 90 If action is not taken prior to the deadline, the IRS can issue the levy. They can also file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. The lien gives the IRS a legal claim to a taxpayer's property as security or payment for the tax debt.

Option #1 The first main option would of course be to pay the balance. However, many cannot afford this option. Also, this would not correct the problem if there are any unfiled tax returns. Before settling any account the IRS usually requires the taxpayer to be in full compliance.

Option #2 The next option would be to set up an installment agreement for the balance.

Usually the installment agreement would be over 60 months, unless the collection statute is less than that time. This is where a tax professional is useful, as you do not want to pay more than you would be legally obligated to pay. The amount of the installment would depend on the amount owed to the IRS. Larger balances require a financial analysis of income, expenses, and assets. Another item that would help here is a request that penalties be abated. The abatement request may not be granted until the installments are complete, but if reasonable cause exists, it could be several thousand dollars saved.

Option #3 Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6320, every taxpayer has a right to a hearing to determine whether a levy or lien is unlawful. Filing a CDP hearing temporarily stops collection actions as it is an appeal.

A CDP determination can be contested in tax court.

Option #4 The most publicized option is what is called the Offer in Compromise. This is the option that is advertised by all the companies on television ads with the slogan "Settle IRS debts for pennies on the dollar."

Per the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) section 8.23.1.2, while an offer or its appeal is pending, and for 30days after an offer is rejected, collection activities should not occur. A notice of federal tax lien may be filed while the offer is pending, however, and it will not normally be released until

the terms of the offer are satisfied or until the liability is fully paid. An Offer in Compromise can be filed on different basis including: doubt as to liability, effective tax administration, or doubt as to collectability.

Except for the doubt as to liability basis, a thorough financial analysis is conducted by the IRS regarding assets, equity, income, and expenses. Hardship is also considered in some cases. If, after the financial analysis, it is determined that the taxpayer has the ability to pay in full, the IRS will usually reject the offer, unless substantial hardships are demonstrated.

Option #5 The fifth and most difficult option is bankruptcy. Per IRM 5.8.10.2.1 the IRS will not consider an Offer in Compromise while a taxpayer is in bankruptcy. Per federal law, bankruptcy provides an automatic stay that stops all collection actions.

Bankruptcy does not discharge all tax liabilities. If a notice of federal tax lien has been filed, the lien may survive bankruptcy against certain assets. Also, bankruptcy extends the collection statute while it is pending and adds another 180 days.

Whether an income tax debt is discharged by bankruptcy depends on the type of bankruptcy filed, and whether several requirements are met. The older the tax debt, the more likely the requirements could be met. However, the tax returns should be filed several years prior as well.

Obviously, filing for bankruptcy has several ramifications on a person's credit so a qualified attorney should be consulted before pursuing this route.

In Summary The Final Notice of Intent to Levy is a scary notice, especially when you are unaware of the reasons for it or cannot pay.

However, there are many options to resolve this difficult situation. A qualified attorney should be contacted before the deadline passes.

Rehan Alimohammad is an Attorney and CPA. Our office handles all tax law and immigration law issues. See www.attorneyrehan.com for more information.

Reminder: Our office will be providing an article weekly in this section.

Next Week topic: Various Legal Topics Disclaimer: This article is not meant as specific advice regarding a person's individual case. An attorney should be consulted. This article does not create an Attorney-Client relationship.

Any tax information or written tax advice contained herein (including any attachments) is not intended to be and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

(The foregoing legend has been affixed pursuant to U.S. Treasury Regulations governing tax practice.)

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40 BUSINESS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Verizon dropping Muslim lifestyles station BUFFALO, N.Y.: A first-of-its kind Muslim lifestyles station launched in upstate New York by a man later convicted of beheading his wife is being dropped from the Verizon FiOS lineup.

Bridges TV General Manager Hunaid Baliwala (hoo-NAYD' bahlee-WAH'-lah) says Verizon informed him the station's viewership is too low. Baliwala says he hasn't been told what the numbers are.

Verizon confirms Bridges will be

out of the lineup March 15.

Bridges TV was founded in 2004

by Muzzammil Hassan (mooZAHM'-mel HAH'-sahn) and his wife, Aasiya (AH'-see-ya) in suburban Buffalo. It managed to stay on the air after Hassan was convicted of beheading his wife in 2009.

But without Verizon as a major carrier, Baliwala says important advertising revenue and the ability to reach a mainstream audience will be diminished.

Euro falls against dollar after G-20 meeting NEW YORK: The euro is falling against the dollar after finance ministers from the world's 20 leading economies said that they would not add money to the International Monetary Fund until the European Union puts up more money to stave off its debt crisis.

The euro fell to $1.3398 in afternoon trading Monday from $1.3459 late Friday. The euro rose to an 11-

Thousands of jobseekers flock to an employment fair in Hefei, east China's Anhui province

week high of $1.3486 on Friday.

The IMF wants to raise about $500 million in new funds to help struggling countries, mostly in Europe. With the G-20 not willing to add cash, traders are concerned that Europe's debt crisis might drag on further. The G-20 nations met over HOUSTON:Move over Facebook the weekend in Mexico.

The dollar was also rising against and Twitter, there’s a new social the British pound and the Swiss franc. media site taking over. It’s called “Pinterest,” and it’s become a way for folks with common interests to connect. It’s also boosting some local businesses.

Pictures and images is what Pinterest is all about. Unlike "I want the United States to feel a Facebook, where you have status sense of responsibility to the interna- updates and post information about tional system. So in that sense if you get yourself, Pinterest is more like an the right American candidate I think that online scrapbook or pin board, can be good for the United States and where you virtually “pin” up new the bank." images (from your own pictures or So far, two people most often men- pictures from websites) or “re-pin” tioned as possible successors are both images from other people’s Pinterest American: U.S. Secretary of State boards.

Hillary Clinton and former White House economic adviser and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.

The State Department has insisted that Clinton would not be taking the job.

Much like in 2011, when Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as ISLAMABAD: Pakistan managing director of the International International Airlines (PIA) Monetary Fund, officials from countries Managing Director Nadeem Khan such as Brazil and the Philippines said it Yousufzai on Friday informed the was time to break the decades-old pat- Senate Defence Committee that it tern of putting an American in charge of would purchase aircraft from the World Bank and a European atop the Boeing without government of IMF. Agustin Carstens, Mexico's central Pakistan’s guarantee. Actual price is bank governor, who had made an unsuc- $190 million but due to our good cessful bid to head up the International past reputation, the company will Monetary fund last year, said on provide us at $150 million and Wednesday the World Bank presidency termed it a good deal. He assured the should be open to a wide field of candi- committee that it is a fair deal withdates. out any kickbacks and rejected reports in this regard. PIA reserves a slot for airlines and from April 2012 induction of new airline will start and that will be continued till 2015 until the old fleet is replaced. He said that the PIA will purchase five 143.68 for selling. Open market: The 777-300 ERs by third and fourth dollar remained unchanged versus the quarters of 2013. rupee, dealers said. It commenced the The PIA MD expressed these day’s trading at Rs 90.90 for buying, and views during the Senate’s Standing closed at the same rate for buying and Rs Committee on Defence and Defence 91.10 for selling. The euro appreciated Produciton meeting, which was versus the local currency as it initiated chaired by Senator Javed Ashraf at the day’s trading at Rs 120.40 for buying, the Parliament House. Through rose 60 paisas and closed at Rs 121 for another point the PIA MD said that buying and Rs 122 for selling. The pound the management has canceled eight sterling strengthened against the local licences over leak of fuel from PIA currency as it initiated the day’s trading in France and other deficiencies at Rs 142.40 for buying, gained 40 paisas pointed out by the Safety and closed at Rs 142.80 for buying and Assessment of Foreign Aircraft Rs 143.80 for selling.

Programme (SAFA).

Newest social media site, ‘Pinterest’ hits it big with Houston businesses

World Bank chief says U.S. should lead some global bodies SINGAPORE: A solid U.S. candidate to head the World Bank would be good for the United States and the bank because the world's largest economy should be represented in top international bodies, outgoing President Robert Zoellick said on Saturday, while emphasizing he has no role in the selection process.

In an interview in Singapore, Zoellick also said he did not believe Spain, Italy or Portugal needed bailouts to ease massive debt burdens but that reforms needed critical support of Germany and other European leading nations and expressed cautious optimism that the global economy would sustain growth this year. The World Bank last week launched the nomination process to select a new president to succeed Zoellick when he steps down in June, inviting names from any of its 187 member countries. The Obama administration has said it would open the process to competition. Zoellick noted however that Americans did not hold top posts at the United Nations, World Trade Organization, regional development banks or International Monetary Fund.

PIA to buy Boeing aircraft without govt’s guarantee

Dollar drifts higher versus rupee KARACHI: The dollar gained strength versus the local currency in the interbank market, dealers said Friday. It started the day’s trading at Rs 90.80 for buying, gained five paisas and closed at Rs 90.85 for buying and Rs 90.90 for selling. The euro continued to rise versus the rupee as it initiated the day’s trading at Rs 121.09 for buying, increased 58 paisas and closed at Rs 121.67 for buying and Rs 121.77 for selling. The pound sterling recorded gains versus the local currency as it initiated the day’s trading at Rs 142.67 for buying, rose 91 paisas and closed at Rs 143.58 for buying and Rs

“I just couldn’t put it away and then I got addicted,” Ling Wang confesses. Wang is a Pinterest pro, and she showed us how it’s done.

“So basically, it’s like a one-stop shop,” Wang said.

On topics like recipes, travel, wedding planning, etc. The site is a hit with brides-to-be, with a wealth of wedding inspiration from flowers, to cakes, to the dress.

But if you think Pinterest is just for fun; think again. Wang is also a 23-year-old photographer with a booming business, thanks to Pinterest.

“People are identifying me more as a photographer because of

Pinterest,” Wang says. It’s giving her exposure by directing folks to her website and helping her direct each of her shoots.

“I just go to a couple of websites grab a couple of pictures, put it on the board,” she explained.

For Wang, Pinterest helps her turn an idea into a reality.

It could be the latest social media craze or the boost your company needs.

“With Pinterest, it’s not about who you know, but rather the ideas,” Wang explained.

Pinterest is now the top driver of retail traffic. It’s an idea that seems to sticking.

US jobless claims hold steady at 4-year low WASHINGTON: New US claims for unemployment benefits were unchanged last week, holding at the lowest level since the early days of the 2007-2009 recession and giving a fresh sign the battered labor market is healing.

Workers filed 351,000 initial claims for state unemployment benefits, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

“It’s broadly in line with recent US data showing a gradually improving economic backdrop,” said Omer Esiner, a market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.

The last two weekly readings have been the lowest since March 2008.

With weekly claims approaching levels last seen before the recession that began in December 2007, economists say employers might be close to ending a long cycle of heavy layoffs, laying the ground for more hiring.

Already, the jobless rate has fallen sharply, dropping to 8.3 percent in January from 9.1 percent in August.

Job gains have exceeded 200,000 for two straight months, and the jobless claims data from last week was taken from the sample period of the February payroll report, which could point to ongoing improvements in hiring.

The US Federal Reserve has left benchmark interest rates near zero since December 2008 to coax companies into hiring, and the recent improvement in

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the labor market has dampened expectations of further monetary stimulus.

Risks abound: Strong jobs and factory data have eased worries US economic growth could slow sharply early this year, but risks of a worsening of Europe’s debt crisis and rising oil prices still threaten the recovery.

The European Commission said the eurozone’s economy is heading into its second recession in just three years, while the wider EU will stagnate.

A Labor Department official said there was nothing unusual in last week’s initial claims data, although claims were estimated for three states, including California. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast initial claims would rise to 354,000 last week.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a measure of labor market trends, fell 7,000 to 359,000 - also the lowest since March 2008.

Prices for US government debt extended losses following the data, while futures for the Standard & Poor’s stock index briefly pared gains.

The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid fell 52,000 to 3.392 million in the week ended Feb 11 from a revised reading of 3.444 million. The drop left continuing claims at their lowest level since August 2008.

ENTERTAINMENT

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

41

Saving Face: Pakistan’s golden moment

Directors Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (L) and Daniel Junge, winners of the Best Documentary Short Subject for the film "Saving Face", pose with their Oscars during the 84th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California.

or Pakistan, 2012 could not have started on a sweeter note. If Sharmeen ObaidChinoy scoring an Academy Award nomination for her documentary Saving Face in the category of Best Documentary (Short Subject) wasn’t good enough, then her getting to take home the Oscar this Sunday night at the 84th Academy Awards presentation, definitely was. With the entire nation rejoicing at her victory, it seemed she had won the Oscar for all of Pakistan.

Obaid-Chinoy is the first Pakistani to receive an Oscar and hopes to screen her award-winning film at local schools, colleges, universities and communities to raise awareness about the victims of acid violence. Saving Face will air on HBO on March 8 in the US.

F

According to a press release, Obaid-Chinoy has produced 16 critically acclaimed films, all of which have been aired internationally.

About Saving Face Detailing the work of a BritishPakistani plastic surgeon, Dr Mohammad Jawad, Saving Face chronicles the doctor’s travels across Pakistan as he performs reconstructive surgery on survivors of acid violence. Being one of the cruellest forms of violence and abuse, acid attacks are underreported in Pakistan but still, at least 150 cases are filed every year.

Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary highlights the struggles and endurance demonstrated by these abused women despite their difficult circumstances. The film was

Winners for Best Documentary Shor "Saving Face," Daniel Junge and Sharmeen ObaidChinoy poses with the trophy in the press room at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California.

shot entirely in Pakistan, mostly on the Seraiki belt, in addition to Rawalpindi, Karachi and Islamabad.

Encouraging words Pakistani film-maker Adnan Malik commented on ObaidChinoy’s win, “I feel like I have woken up to a new chapter in Pakistan’s history. Sharmeen has diligently stuck to her dreams and she is a fantastic Pakistani ambassador. This Oscar is for the entire nation and it has broken the floodgates of what Pakistanis are capable of. Pakistani arts are now firmly entrenched on the world map.”

On the other hand, Hasan Zaidi, a journalist and film-maker enthusiastically said, “You can knock us down and watch us bleed but you can’t keep chains on

Pakistanis. Way to go Sharmeen, you have made us proud and I am sure there are many more Oscars coming our way.”

Ammar Aziz, a rising filmmaker, also shared his feelings on Obaid-Chinoy’s accomplishment.

“This is a victory for the medium of documentaries. They have never been given much importance in our state. Now is the time to celebrate our growing tradition of documentary film-making and realism.”

Proud students One of Obaid-Chinoy’s students Muzna Qamar quipped about the win, “This is a proud moment for the Media Science students of Szabist. She is a talented teacher and I am thrilled to say I worked on a public service message for her called ‘Acid Attack’.

Actress Angelina Jolie poses at the 84th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California.

'The Artist', 'Hugo' in tie with five Oscars each French silent film "The Artist" and period film "Hugo" became the big winners at the star-studded 84th Academy Awards ceremony here as they walked away with five honours each. "The Artist" was named the best picture and also won the best actor and best director's trophy for Jean Dujardin and Michel Hazanavicius respectively.

"The Artist", a black and white film about a silent movie star who fears his downfall after the arrival of talkies, also won in the best costume and best original score categories. The movie is said to be the second silent film to have ever won an Oscar -- the first being 1927 film "Wings", which was awarded at the first Academy Awards in 1929.

"Hugo", directed by Martin Scorsese, won more in the techical categories. Set in 1930s Paris, it is a 3D adventure drama about a boy embroiled in the mystery of his father's death

and an automaton. The film took away the honours in best cinematography, best art direction, best sound editing, best sound mixing and visual effects categories.

Veteran actress Meryl Streep received her third Oscar at the glittering ceremony at the Kodak Theatre here Sunday night. She won the best actress award for her portrayal of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady", which won the best makeup award too.

American actress Octavia Spencer was left in tears as she was awarded the best supporting actress trophy for Reliance DreamWorks' "The Help", in which she essayed the role of a bigmouthed maid named Minny. The best actor in a supporting role award went to Christopher Plummer for "Beginners". At at 82, he is said to be the oldest winner of the golden statuette.

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Congratulations to you Ma’am Sharmeen.”

Rida Salman, one of ObaidChinoy’s students also said, “Being taught by her was one of the best experiences in my four years at Szabist. Her dedication and professionalism reflected in everything she said and taught. One needs to learn the art of storytelling and bringing reality to screen in its rawest form from Sharmeen.”

Obaid-Chinoy’s response Calling the achievement “her dream come true” and the feeling “indescribable”, Obaid-Chinoy encouraged other young Pakistani film-makers to continue their aspirations in this field. Dedicating the award to her film’s primary subjects Rukhsana and Zakia, she ended on a positive note, “Pakistan was in the news today for all the right reasons and I am thrilled that we are now recognised as artists and storytellers.”

Red carpet glory Walking the red carpet with her husband Fahad Chinoy, Sharmeen wore custom Pakistani couturier Bunto Kazmi’s creation with jewellery exclusively designed by Kiran Aman of Kiran Fine Jewellery. She kept the Pakistani spirit alive by also putting on an ensemble by leading fashion designers Sana Safinaz with exclusive jewellery by Sherezad Rahimtoola for the Oscars afterparty.

With additional reporting by Saba Khalid and Sher Khan.

42 NEW & CONTINUATION

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

MQM Dallas celebrates day of Appreciation Continued from page 25 of commerce Rawalpindi was present there and in his remarks he highly appreciates the ideology of Quaid e Tehreek Mr. Altaf Hussain and the recent effort of MQM in Punjab. He said, that the slogan of "Empowered Women, Strong Pakistan" shows that MQM is the only party which talks about the

equality of women in the society and empowering them to bring the strength to the country.

MQM Dallas announces the upcoming event to celebrate the YOM-E-TASEES will be held on 18 March. Attendees will be served with Haleem. MQM Dallas chapter in charge Waqar also present at this occasion.

Hailing a taxi about to cost more Hailing a taxi cab in Houston might hit your pocketbook a bit harder under a proposed rate hike before City Council this week.

If approved on Wednesday, the proposed 13 percent rate hike will U.S. President Barack Obama listens to Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt talk in the Oval Office of the White House in mark the first increase since 2005, Washington. said Chris Newport, spokesman for the city's Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department.

"Essentially, it's rising fuel, parts and maintenance," Newport said.

"You can imagine in the seven years since 2005 that costs have gone up for everyone."

Under the proposal, the rate of a Continued from page 25 artists have to be admired for tak- of them are very devoted fine non-airport trip will go up about 13 an end. This darkness will be ing out time from their busy pro- actors. 'Nai Subah' presents other percent. Hailing a cab will go from over and soon a new subah will fessional schedules for doing late experienced actors like Zayed, emerge just have to lisen to the night rehersals. After the retire- Nasir, Kevin, Amir and Hina who sound of our zameer. ment annoncement by Masood have acted in front of t.v camera The characters are fictitious ahmad, Shahid Iqbal and his wife beside stage. Farah and Jalali are in and have no identification as such. Sara persuaded him to write anoth- this field for a longtime now.

These various role are played by so er play and took the responsibility However, Aisha, Raza and called local talent though no less in to do the organizing/ administra- ..........are new faces for Houston AUSTIN - The percentage of any manner than professional tive responsibilities beside doing Viewers though they are not new Texans with health insurance will known artists from pakistan. These the major roles of the play. ..both for stage. increase to 91 percent - up from 74 percent today - after the national health care law takes effect in 2014, the state's Medicaid director told lawmakers Monday.

The law, however, faces uncerJose Luis Zelaya sat at a long table second student body presidential ing each candidate the same ques- tainty pending a U.S. Supreme in front of a packed auditorium on debate. tion. But this time, he and the five Court review over constitutional the Texas A&M campus Thursday The previous debate was careful- other candidates would take ques- challenges, including a provision night, steadying his nerves for his ly controlled, with a moderator ask- tions submitted by fellow students. in the act mandating people to buy

Urdu play 'Nai Subah' to be screened on March 09 at Stafford Civic Center

$2.50 to $2.75, and the mileage charge also could increase, from $1.80 to $2.20 per mile.

Newport said the city initially suggested an 18 percent increase after a survey was conducted of the 50 most populous cities in the nation, factoring the cities' rates and consumer price index data. The survey found that Houston has the lowest taxicab rates.

"Based on the data, we based our recommendation on 18 percent (hike) for the average trip," Newport said. "We asked the stakeholders for their feedback and the industry wanted it lower" with yearly rate reviews.

Texans with health insurance expected to reach 91 percent

Illegal immigrant runs for student body president at Texas A&M

health insurance. Those who refuse will have to pay a penalty.

An estimated 2.3 million Texans will still lack health insurance after the Affordable Care Act takes effect, partially because undocumented immigrants are not eligible for coverage, State Medicaid Director Billy Millwee told a joint meeting of the House Public Health and Insurance committees.

Community shocked over man shooting wife, 2 daughters before killing self Continued from page 25 Officer C. Sturdivant reported: Ms. Gorena called 911 to report a shooting at her residence, stating her husband had shot her and the couple's two children. She stated she believed the husband had also shot himself.

Responding officers found suspect Shaikh deceased in front of the residence with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Officers found Jacqueline deceased inside.

Paramedics transported Vivian and Maria to the hospital where Vivian is being treated for multiple gunshot wounds and Maria is being treated for a gunshot wound to the back.

At this time, investigators have not determined a motive for the shooting.

Anyone with additional information is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-3083200.

Twelve years before a southwest Houston man turned a gun on

his family and himself on Sunday, he had shown a potential for violence, according to court records.

Maria Isabel Gorena requested a protective order against Sardar Shaikh in July2000, fearing "a clear and present danger of family violence."

The order did not hold for long, however, and one month later Gorena asked a court to dismiss it.

On Sunday, Shaikh, 47, shot Gorena, 43, in the back, paralyzing her, then killed their 11-year-old daughter, Jacqueline Shaikh, and critically wounded their 14-year-old daughter, Vivian Shaikh, after shooting them multiple times. He then left the family's second-floor condominium unit in the 6100 block of Reims and killed himself on the front lawn, collapsing on top of his .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun.

Vivian was shot in the neck and left side of her body and underwent surgery Sunday at Ben Taub General Hospital, Houston Police

Department spokesman John Cannon said.

She had improved slightly and doctors were considering an additional surgery, Cannon said.

Too distraught to talk Investigators attempted to get more information about the incident from Gorena, 43, who was also at Ben Taub General Hospital. Gorena was physically able to talk, but was shaken by the incident.

"She was too distraught to speak after finding out that her younger daughter had been killed," Cannon said.

They were able to locate one relative, connected to Gorena, and were searching for answers from others familiar with the family, he said.

Shaikh has few relatives in the United States, with most of his family in Pakistan, said Sandra Shaikh, who was married to Sardar Shaikh when he began a relationship with Gorena.

She was not aware of the names or locations of his relatives.

Court records show that Sardar Shaikh was previously married to Veronica Lucia Resendiz for less than three months before they divorced in March 1993. He married Sandra Shaikh that same month, according to the records.

Sandra Shaikh had been in a relationship with Sardar Shaikh since 1991, she said.

She divorced him in 2000, after he had already begun a relationship with Gorena. Was 'depressed' Still, Sandra Shaikh and Sardar Shaikh remained friends and she recently spoke with him before he went to visit family in Pakistan.

"He was depressed at the time," she said. "He did complain that they argued a lot about money."

Sardar Shaikh was previously a pizza delivery man, but recently completed courses to position himself for a job in the Texas Medical Center. He was unable to find a job,

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however, and he said Gorena was upset, Sandra Shaikh said. Still, it didn't seem serious enough to spark violence, she said.

"He was not a violent man; that's why it shocked me," Sandra Shaikh said, adding: "And he loved those kids, so I know something must have happened for him to lose his mind."

Jacqueline was in the sixth grade at KIPP Sharpstown College Prep and Vivian is a student at KIPP Houston High School. KIPP Houston counselors were redirected to those schools Monday to help students struggling with grief about the incident, spokeswoman Chris Gonzalez said.

Counselors were speaking to students in large and small group sessions and had met with some students individually, she said.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the student and her mother who are still in critical condition," KIPP Houston said in a statement.

INTERNATIONAL 43

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Russia averts plot to assassinate Putin: state TV

Chandra Bahadur Dangi, 72, poses for a picture after being announced as the world's shortest man living, as well as shortest person ever measured by the Guinness World Records, in Kathmandu.

Iran uranium "discrepancy" still unresolved: IAEA VIENNA: Iran has yet to give an explanation over a small quantity of uranium metal missing from a research site, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a report that voiced concern over possible military links to Tehran's nuclear program.

The discrepancy found at the research site in the Iranian capital came to light after measurements by international inspectors last year failed to match the amount declared by the laboratory.

Experts say the quantity of natural uranium not accounted for is too small to be used for a bomb, but that it could be relevant to weapons-linked tests.

The United States has expressed concern the material may have been diverted to suspected weapons-related research .

"The discrepancy remains to be clarified," said the latest quarterly report on Iran by the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), issued to member states on Friday evening.

U.N. inspectors have sought information from Iran to help explain the issue after their

inventory last August of natural uranium metal and process waste at the research facility in Tehran measured 19.8 kg (43.6 pounds) less than the laboratory's count.

The 11-page IAEA report also showed that Iran had sharply increased its uranium enrichment drive. The findings, which added to fears of escalating tension between Iran and the West, sent oil prices higher.

Preparatory work to install thousands more centrifuges is under way, potentially shortening the time needed to make high-grade uranium for nuclear weapons.

Iran says it is enriching uranium only as fuel for nuclear power plants, not weapons, but its refusal to curb the activity has drawn increasingly tough sanctions aimed at its oil exports. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the report "is concerning, and raises a lot of worrisome questions".

"We continue to urge Iran to abide by its international obligations, and that is something that countries everywhere do, and we want to see them do it, and we hope that they will be listening,"

Clinton told Reuters TV during a visit to Tunisia.

Israel, which has made veiled threats to carry out preemptive strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, said the document offered further proof that Iran was pushing ahead with plans to build an atomic weapon.

"The IAEA report provides more proof that Israel's estimations are accurate. Iran is continuing with its nuclear program unchecked and is enriching uranium to a high level of 20 percent while blatantly ignoring the demands of the international community," said a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In discussions with Iran this month about the discrepancy at the Jabr Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Research Laboratory (JHL), the IAEA said it had requested access to records and staff involved in uranium metal conversion experiments from 1995 to 2002.

"Iran indicated that it no longer possessed the relevant documentation and that the personnel involved were no longer available," the U.N. agency's report said.

MOSCOW: Russia’s secret service has arrested two men in connection with a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after the March 4 presidential elections, Channel One state television said Monday.

The station showed two men who said they were acting on the orders of Chechen warlord Doku Umarov. They said they prepared the attack in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa and were planning to carry it out in Moscow.

The station said three plotters came to Ukraine from the United Arab Emirates via Turkey with “clear instructions from representatives of Doku Umarov.”One of the men died in a blast in early January that prompted the investigation, the report said.

“They told us that first you come to Odessa and learn how to make bombs,”the station showed a man identified as Ilya Pyanzin as saying.

“And then later, in Moscow, you will stage attacks against commercial objects, with the subsequent assassination attempt against Putin,” the man said.

The state television footage, which was apparently shot in Ukraine, showed a video of Putin getting into his car being played on the laptop computer belonging to the second arrested man, identified as Adam Osmayev.

“This was done so that we had an understanding of how he was protected,”Osmayev said.

“The end goal was to come to

Moscow and to try to stage an assassination attempt against premier Putin,” Osmayev said.

“The deadline was after the election of the Russian president,” Osmayev said.

Putin is widely expected to return for a third term as president in March 4 elections after serving two terms in 2000-2008 in which he waged a brutal campaign against Muslim insurgents in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya.

The region remains wracked by violence to this day and Umarov, who has claimed responsibility for some of the deadly suicide attacks in Moscow, remains at large.

Putin’s official spokesman said he can confirm the Channel One report but could not provide a more detailed comment at this time.

“I confirm this information but not commenting at this time,” ITAR-TASS quoted spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

The report said one of the two detained men had told Russian and Ukrainian investigators that some explosives had already been hidden near Kutuzovsky Prospekt, the avenue Putin passes daily to reach the government White House.

It further quoted an unidentified Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) official as saying that the explosive found near a road would have created a blast powerful enough to severely damage Putin’s vehicle.

India assails US NGOs NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed US non-profit groups in an interview published on Friday for whipping up anti-nuclear demonstrations that have stalled two new atomic plants. Mr Singh told the American journal “Science” that “the atomic energy programme has got into difficulties because these

NGOs, mostly I think based in the US, don’t appreciate the need for our country to increase the energy supply.”

India’s fast-growing economy is heavily dependent on coal, but the government hopes to raise the proportion of power produced from nuclear sources from less than three per cent to 25 per cent by 2050.

Heartless thieves pick lovers' padlocks in Germany

BERLIN: German police caught two thieves breaking open "lovers' padlocks" attached to a bridge over the Rhine River in the city of Cologne.

The pair were cutting padlocks, left by amorous couples to symbolize their eternal love, off a railing

on the Hohenzollern Bridge presumably to sell as scrap metal, police said.

"I spotted two men on the other side of the bridge tampering with the lovers' padlocks, so I called for back-up straight away," a police officer said. The men tried to escape with their loot after spotting police but were apprehended on the bridge.

Police discovered over 50 padlocks along with lock cutters in a trolley suitcase, wheeled along by the men. The pair will appear in court on charges of property damage, police said.

Love-struck couples have been fastening padlocks to railings of bridges, engraving them with their initials or adding a few sentimental words and then tossing the keys into the rivers below to symbolize their eternal love.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (R) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) arrives for the opening of The International Conference on Jerusalem in Doha.

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44 ENTERTAINMENT

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

A model walks on ramp during a Fashion Show held in Karachi ..

I will never be an American actor: Jean Dujardin French star Jean Dujardin said early Monday he might consider projects in the US after winning best actor Oscar for silent film " The Artist," but insisted he would "never be an American actor."

Speaking to French journalists after the black-and-white movie scooped five Oscars including Best Picture at the Academy Awards, he said the win had given him a strange out-ofbody experience.

He said he felt well because he had slept 20 minutes in the car. "I've just woken up, and apparently it's not a dream, he (Oscar) is here, and I feel very well, I feel very happy."

"I present him to you, he's called Oscar, he weighs 2 kilos," he told French journalists in the early hours at a Hollywood hotel a stone's throw from where the French-directed movie

crowned its awards season success with Oscar glory.

"It's nice isn't it. He looks handsome!" he said, clutching the golden statuette.

Pressed on how he felt, he said it was "something which has never happened to me, I felt like I left my body. I'm not mystical, but for three seconds, my body stayed where it was, and something very strange happened."

Dujardin -- who jokingly referred to himself as "John of the Garden" with at least one US journalist -- was categorical about speculation that he might pursue a career in the United States.

"We're going to see if there are projects to develop, why not, but I will never be an American actor. Don't dream things up," he said.

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PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

ADVERTISEMENT 45

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46 SPORTS

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

Cricket: Pakistan beaten by England in nail-biting finish

England celebrate their five-run win, Pakistan v England, 3rd Twenty20, Abu Dhabi, February 2012.

Senior players may not be in Dhoni’s control: Wasim HOBART: Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram has backed Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s controversial rotation policy, saying that there is “good reason” behind the move as senior players are either “not in his control” or they have become a “liability”.

Dhoni’s remarks about senior players being slow fielders has triggered speculation that there are dissensions in the Indian dressing room.

Wasim said Dhoni’s comments are an “absolutely genuine” opinion. “In my opinion, Dhoni is a very intelligent person and I totally agree with him because he says what he thinks.

There must be a very good reason behind his comments because I have never heard Dhoni speaking in such a manner,” he said.

“I think either the seniors are not in his control or they are a liability.”

The former Pakistan captain feels Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag will have to be physically fit to sustain themselves in the ODI format from now on.

“As the grounds are big in Australia, players have to be in the best of their health to play.

Nobody questions Tendulkar’s fitness, either you see him fielding at short third-man or fine-leg. You can hide your fielders in Test and T20s but not in ODIs,” Wasim explained.

He also questioned the role of coach Duncan Fletcher in team selection.

“If I am the coach, I will send the best batsman to open the innings. Gautam Gambhir has scored in 90s twice in the series so far and he is the best opener available. It is up to the team management to decide who will be his opening partner,” commented Wasim.

Mahan stops McIlroy in Match Play MARANA, Ariz. : Even as Hunter Mahan motored his way through the Match Play Championship by beating one tough opponent after another, he had reason to feel he was just along for the ride in the final match Sunday afternoon.

All the chatter was about U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and his march to No. 1 in the world.

All the chants Mahan heard as he walked down the first two holes at Dove Mountain were for McIlroy.

With a little extra motivation he didn't need, Mahan won three straight holes on the front nine to seize control and answered McIlroy's charge with birdies of his own for a 2-and-1 victory.

"Deep down, you wanted to postpone that crowning of the No. 1 player in the world for Rory," Mahan said. "He'll get there. I mean, he's phenomenal. He's really talented. He'll be No. 1 eventually. But yeah, when you're a player, and I listen to Johnny Miller and Nick Faldo and all those guys, they had him picked to win.

And that's what everybody was talking about.

"There was absolute motivation in that."

It proved to be too long of a day for McIlroy, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland, who put so much energy into a high-stakes semifinal match against Lee Westwood earlier Sunday. If either of them won the tournament, they would go to No. 1 in the world.

McIlroy, explosive as ever, ran off seven birdies in a 10-hole stretch to overcome an early deficit and beat Westwood. He looked flat in the championship match, made a series of mistakes to lose back-toback holes, and fell too far behind to catch Mahan.

ABU DHABI: England bowlers kept their nerves in the final overs to pull off a sensational five run win over Pakistan in the third and final Twenty20 here on Monday to take the series 2-1.

Set 130 to win Pakistan were going along nicely at 107-4 with 23 needed off the last three overs and 17 off the remaining two but Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach did not lose courage and pulled off the win in the final over.

Broad dismissed a well set Umar Akmal (22) off the third ball of the penultimate over and gave away just four runs, leaving Jade Dernbach to defend 13 in the last, which he successfully did, removing Misbah-ul Haq (28) off the final delivery.

Dernbach finished with 2-24 and most importantly gave World Twenty20 champions an unexpected win.

Pakistan won the first match by eight runs while England won the second by 38 runs -- both played in Dubai.

Pakistan had lost opener Mohammad Hafeez for a second nought of the series but Awais Zia (23) and Shafiq added 40 for the second wickets before Zia was trapped leg-before by Graeme Swann and Shafiq was run out.

Captain Misbah and Umar Akmal added 37 for the fourth wickets and when it looked as if that would help Pakistan cross the line England pulled back with remarkable resilience.

With 13 needed off the final over

Shahid Afridi took a couple before he was run out while taking a second off the next. The next three balls produced singles and a wide and with six needed off the final ball, Misbah was bowled.

Earlier off-spinner Saeed Ajmal finished with 4-23 -- his third four wicket haul in the shortest form of the game -- to restrict England to a modest 129-6 after they won the toss and batted.

Ajmal, who destroyed England in the preceding three-Test series with 24 wickets to help Pakistan to a 3-0 rout, put the brakes on his rival's progress.

Opener Kevin Pietersen top scored with 62 not out, keeping one end intact during his 52-ball knock for his seventh T20 fifty. He hit six boundaries and a six off the last ball of the innings.

Ajmal provided Pakistan with the breakthrough after England raced to 29 by the fifth over, dismissing Craig Kieswetter (17) off a lofted shot at long-on where Shoaib Malik took the catch.

Kieswetter had hit a four and six off paceman Umar Gul in the third over.

Pakistan had Ravi Bopara caught behind off paceman Aizaz Cheema for one and Eoin Morgan run out for nine before Ajmal accounted for Jonny Bairstow (three), Jos Butler (seven) and Samit Patel (16).

The match ended England's long tour of the United Arab Emirates where they lost the Tests but won the one-day series 4-0.

Shelley Nitschke poses with the Belinda Clarke Award trophy at the 2012 Allan Border Medal Awards, Melbourne, February 2012.

Cricket: Clarke wins third Allan Border Medal

Shane Watson poses with the Twenty20 player of the year trophy at the 2012 Allan Border Medal Awards, Melbourne, February, 2012.

MELBOURNE: Australia captain Michael Clarke won his third Allan Border Medal as the nation's cricketer of the year at an awards ceremony in Melbourne on Monday.

Clarke, in his first year as Australia captain after taking over from Ricky Ponting, polled 231 votes from players, media and umpires.

Mike Hussey was second on 174 with all-rounder Shane Watson third on 166 after the voting period which

ended on February 24.

Ponting, who was dropped from the national one-day team last week, finished fourth on 141 votes.

Clarke also claimed the Test player of the year award on a countback from Ponting.

Clarke (1,167 runs at an average of 68.65 over 11 Tests) and Ponting (837 at 52.31 in 10 Tests) both polled nine votes but Clarke was awarded the title because he had more major

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votes.

Watson beat Clarke on a countback to claim the one-day international award and opening batsman David Warner, who hit two centuries in his debut Test season, won the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year Award.

Test great Shane Warne, who retired in 2007 with 708 Test wickets from 145 matches, was officially inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at the awards ceremony.

PAKISTAN CHRONICLE • Friday, March 02, 2012

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