E paper pdf (26 09 2014) isb

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PIATO BE SPLIT INTOTWO, GULF AIRLINES MAY BUY CORE BUSINESS UNDER THE PLAN, AIRLINE WILL BE SPUN OFF AS A SEPARATE ENTITY AND PIA’S OTHER INTERESTS - SUCH AS GROUND-HANDLING, CATERING, HOTELS AND EVEN A POULTRY BUSINESS - WOULD GO INTO A HOLDING COMPANY THAT WOULD BE RETAINED BY THE STATE

Friday, 26 September, 2014 Zul Qida 30, 1435 Rs 17.00 Vol V No 89 16 Pages

Islamabad Edition

ELDERLY AHMADI MAN, SENTENCED FOR BLASPHEMY, SHOT BY COP INSIDE ADIALA JAIL

STORY ON PAGE 10

ToP ANTI-Terror coP survIves boMbINg IN KArAchI, Two oThers KIlled

KARACHI: An injured man is being transported to the hospital following a bomb attack on the convoy of senior police officer Farooq Awan on Thursday. ONLINE

SSP Farooq Awan was going home when a remotely-detonated bomb weighing 80kgs exploded

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STORY ON PAGE 03

STORY ON PAGE 03

MQM HOLDS SIT-INS PML-N grills PTI on ACROSS KARACHI KP govt’s performance TO PROTEST

Marvi Memon says PTI has badly failed to deliver in KP, lagging behind Punjab in health, education and development sectors

PTI MNAs fail to show up for resignation verification

STORIES ON PAGE 02

POWERLESS JIRGA STRUGGLING TO GET HEARD g

JIRGA MEMBERS DISAPPOINTED OVER GOVT’S COLD RESPONSE TO THEIR PROPOSAL, CONSIDER DISSOLVING JIRGA, HOWEVER LIKELY TO MEET KHAN, QADRI SOON STORY ON PAGE 02

SC RESERVES JUDGMENT OVER HIGH COURT’S JURISDICTION IN ELECTION DISPUTES g

CJP SAYS ELECTION TRIBUNAL IS NOT SUBORDINATE TO HIGH COURTS AS IT IS ALSO A CONSTITUTIONAL INSTITUTION STORY ON PAGE 02

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WORKERS’ ARREST g

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PARTY ORGANISES SIT-INS AT 11 VENUES, INCLUDING IN FRONT OF CM’S HOUSE ALTAF HUSSAIN ACCUSES RANGERS OF DISCRIMINATING AGAINST MQM, ACCUSES SECTION OF MEDIA OF ‘BIAS’ AGAINST PARTY RANGERS SAY 15 MQM WORKERS DETAINED AFTER A RANGERS’ PATROL VEHICLE WAS FIRED AT ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT EMPHASIS NEED FOR NEW PROVINCES IN WAKE OF ‘DISCRIMINATION’ STORY ON PAGE 03

02 NEWS

Friday, 26 September 2014

PML-N griLLs PTi oN KP govT’s PerforMaNce MArvI MeMoN SAyS PTI hAS BAdly fAIled To delIver IN kP, lAggINg BehINd PuNjAB IN heAlTh, eduCATIoN ANd develoPMeNT SeCTorS ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) government has released a white paper titled “A Great Betrayal in the Name of Change”, lambasting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government over its alleged mismanagement during the last 14 months of its rule in the province.

The paper, which provides a comparative analysis of the KP government with that of the Punjab government, is based on the “research” of National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Chairman MNA Marvi Memon.

The paper, released Thursday during a joint press conference by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid, State Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Zubair and Marvi Memon, states that PTI has betrayed people of KP as its provincial government mismanaged affairs in all important departments and 11 of its ministers were found involved in corruption but no action was taken against them.

Marvi, while describing salient fea-

tures of the paper, said tall claims were made by PTI in 2013 elections for a better governance model. She said PTI attracted youth, women and the educated middleclass into voting but it ended up polluting their minds with hatred and introduced a politics of “blames-minus-proofs”.

LAGGING BEHIND IN EDUCATION: In education sector, instead of creating records of excellence for rest of Pakistan to follow, PTI government in KP has lagged behind, Marviadded.

According to the paper, Punjab has allocated 26.13 per cent to education in 2014-15, up from 25.91 per cent in 201314, while KP has allocated 27.47per cent of its budget to education in 2014-15, down from 28.03per cent in 2013-14.She said Punjab has increased its overall allocation for education, while KP has brought it down to more than 0.5per cent.

Punjab has increased its allocation for education by 14.81per centwhile KP has increased its allocation for education by 13.31per cent, while also reducing expenditure on development by more than 5 per cent, Marvi said.

The paper disclosed that while the Punjab government was trying to ensure

the provision of facilities to its students and teachers, the KP government was reducing its allocations for development projects on education.

Punjab has allocated more than Rs 11 billion for the provision of missing facilities and school reconstruction while KP has allocated a little more than Rs 4 billion on school reconstruction and rehabilitation. The Punjab government is mostly utilising its own resources for development of schools, while the KP government is relying almost exclusively on donors. Marvi said the much-hyped education emergency and enrolment drive by the KP government has brought about little change as children in KP Chief Min-

ister Pervez Khattak’s own constituency Tangi Khattak are compelled to attend school under the open sky.

Literacy rate in Punjab reached a record height of 79.21 per cent while KP government’s failure is evident from the fact that in one year its literacy rate dropped by 2 per cent, from 64.6 per cent to 62.6 per cent, the report stated.

FALLING SHORT OF HEALTHCARE: Moreover, according to paper, World Bank has decided to reduce the duration of a healthcare project in KP from three years to one year and curtail its grant from $16 to $10.2 million because of extensive implementation delays.

The Health Department said that 104

polio cases were detected in FATA, 25 in KPK, 11 in Sindh, one in Punjab and two in Balochistan. With a staggering increase of 800 per cent in the number of polio cases, World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared Peshawar as the world’s “largest reservoir” of endemic polio and called for urgent action to boost vaccination. Almost every polio case in 2013 in Pakistan could be linked genetically to strains of the virus circulating in Peshawar.

According to paper, the anti-polio campaign was due to be held from August 18 to 21 in KP and FATA. However, the campaign was postponed as the UNICEF offices in Peshawar have been closed due to sit-in in Islamabad.

SC reserves PTI MNAs fail to show up for resignation verification judgment over high NA speaker says PTI members will have to appear individually to verify resignations as per NA rules HASHMI URGES NA SPEAKER TO ACCEPT PTI RESIGNATIONS court’s jurisdiction in election disputes ISLAMABAD NNI

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CJP says election tribunal is not subordinate to high courts as it is also a constitutional institution ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved judgement regarding the high court’s jurisdiction in entertaining the interim orders of the election tribunals on post-election disputes. The three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, heard a number of identical appeals on poll disputes.

The chief justice observed that in case the window allowing the high court to entertain election disputes is not shut, it would open flood gates of election related cases.

Mulk also said that under the law, election tribunal is not subordinated to the high courts but it is also a constitutional institution. The CJ, while referring to Article 203, said that the high court can only monitor the lower courts concerned.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed observed that jurisdiction of the election tribunals were for a limited time since it has to decide matters in four months. “If the election disputes are not decided in 120 days and remained undecided for pendency in high courts or the apex courts, the entire scheme of law would be frustrated,” he added.

Further, Justice Amir Hani Muslim said that the purpose of the election tribunal was to decide the elections disputes immediately.

However, Deputy Attorney General Khawaja Ahmed Hosain supported the high court’s jurisdiction to entertain appeals against the tribunal’s interim orders.

“The window of opportunity available with the litigants at the interim stage by approaching the high courts should not be shut,” he said.

The tribunals in some of its interim orders directed verification of thumb impressions of voters in certain polling stations in various constituencies. The successful candidates challenged the interim orders of different tribunals before the respective high courts.

However, the high courts rejected these petitions on the grounds that they do not have the jurisdiction to entertain interlocutory orders of the tribunals in view of the constitutional bar under Article 225 of the constitution which only empowers the tribunals to determine controversies relating to the post election litigations.

The questions which came up during the proceedings needing interpretation of the Supreme Court were: whether Article 225 ousts the jurisdiction of the high court with regard to post election disputes and whether the bar contained in Article 225 is absolute. Also, whether the jurisdiction of the high court under Article 199 of the constitution can be exercised against interlocutory orders passed by the election tribunal during the trial.

The members of the National Assembly belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) failed to appear before National Assembly Speaker Ayyaz Sadiq on Thursday for verification of their resignations.

The speaker had called them to appear individually to verify their resignations. However, the PTI leadership insisted that all members should be called together in response to which the speaker said that all PTI members could not be called altogether in order to confirm that there are not under pressure. “I have to confirm from every member of PTI that their resignation is not the result of any coercion and they have decided independently, without any pressure. Whatever I will decide, it will be within the legal and constitutional parameter and no one can force me for this purpose,” Sadiq said.

He said that the assembly rules clearly state that all members should be called separately to confirm their resignations. He said two more members of PTI have sent their resignations to speaker. Talking to journalists in speaker’s chambers, Sadiq said that he called three members of PTI – Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umer and Ali Muhammad – for the verification of resignations, but they did not appear. “I can call them again and if they don’t come again I will consult legal experts. I have the right to accept and reject the resignations of PTI members,” said the speaker.

Sadiq stated that some PTI members wanted to meet him privately but he did not respond to them. “One can go to court if I accept the resignations without any verification. Record shows it that I always gave more time to the opposition than ruling party in the House. I am always unbiased,” speaker said. He said that SM Zafar stated in an English newspaper that

MULTAN: Renegade president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on Thursday urged the National Assembly speaker to accept resignations of the PTI members as per constitution. The resignations were handed over to NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the presence of the media on Aug 27. Speaking at a press conference, Hashmi said the PTI sit-in was losing its significance with the passage of time. STAFF REPORT

there is no need to call the members who resigned from their posts in NA because they themselves declared their resignations; hence their resignations should be accepted. However, the speaker further added, “The NA amended its rules when the Supreme Court gave a verdict in 1976 that any member who resigns should be called individually for the verification of resignations and the speaker was to verify the resignations. The NA rules and regulations are also clear in this regard.” The speaker stated that if a member is

continuously absent for 40 days, then any other member can point out this issue through a resolution after which the House has to decide the issue through voting within seven days.

Answering to a question that what is the need for verification of the resignations of those members who submitted their resignations themselves, the speaker said, “Those members did not give their resignations to me and submitted their resignations to the NA secretary office. I have received a sealed envelope so it is mandatory to call those members who resigned.”

POWERLESS JIRGA STRUGGLING TO GET HEARD jIrgA MeMBerS dISAPPoINTed over govT’S Cold reSPoNSe To TheIr ProPoSAl, CoNSIder dISSolvINg jIrgA, however lIkely To MeeT khAN, QAdrI SooN ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

The Parliament-authorised opposition political jirga, which was formed for facilitating the dialogue process between the government and antigovernment protesters, appears to be losing steam owing to lacklustre response by the government on its proposals to end the political impasse.

A jirga member told Pakistan Today that other members had expressed their concerns over the cold shoulder given by the government over their proposal. However, the jirga has decided to hold another meeting to review whether the jirga should play a facilitator’s role or not. With the dialogue process stalled between negotiating panels of the government and protesters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), the parliament’s representative panel had floated new proposals to address major demands of both the parties.

The jirga came up with a comprehensive set of proposals to deal with the logjam, calling for investigation into allegations of pre-election rigging, election-day rigging, post-election manipulation, role of the caretaker government in rigging, role of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the rigging and any conspiracy wherein Pakistan

Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) or Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can be found guilty of the illegal practice. However, some members of the jirga wanted the body to be dissolved as neither the government nor the opposition parties were giving any importance to the efforts of the reconciliatory body, the jirga member told Pakistan Today.

“The jirga was informed that despite contacts made with the government, no response has been received. It seems that the government has no plan to go for a political solution of the sit-ins,” he added. The source asserted that there was no logic in meeting the leaders of PTI and PAT without any response from the prime minister.

The jirga member, however, added that it has been decided that while the premier was abroad, the jirga would try to meet Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri to know whether there was any eagerness to show flexibility in dialogue process.

BIZENJO IS HOPEFUL: However, Senator Hasil Khan Bizenjo, another key member of the parliamentary jirga, sounded hopeful over breakthrough in the dialogue process and stressed the jirga’s importance saying, “There is no other option which can provide a breakthrough in talks other than jirga. We can provide a face saving to the three parties involved in dialogue including the govern-

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BIzeNjo BelIeveS jIrgA CAN ProvIde A wAy ouT, SAyS jIrgA wIll MeeT oN 29Th ment, PTI and PAT.” Bizenjo said that the jirga meeting had decided to wait for prime minister’s return from the US. “We will meet again on September 29. Meanwhile, our team members will most likely meet PTI chief and Dr Qadri,” he added. He also made it clear that the jirga had been mandated to facilitate dialogue process and not leading the dialogue.

THEY DON’T WANT A SOLUTION: Speaking on the issue, PTI leader and a member of its negotiating panel, Asad Umar, told Pakistan Today that it seems that the government had decided not to pursue a “political solution” and rather it believed in an “administrative solution”.

Umar said that the jirga was playing a role of interlocutor between the protesters and government and their proposals were actually not binding on either of the parties. He said that the jirga had contacted PTI and wanted to meet Khan, which would be decided soon. The PTI leader added that it seemed that the government was holding talks with PTI and PAT under a “false fear of any military takeover”. “Though we had told them there was no threat of a military intervention but they did not believe us. They don’t believe in public pressure. It seems that rulers think that there is no threat to them now as the voice of the people has no value for the regime,” he added.

Friday, 26 September 2014

NEWS

03

ToP aNTi-Terror coP survives boMbiNg iN Karachi, Two oThers KiLLed SSP Farooq Awan was going home when a remotely-detonated bomb weighing 80kgs exploded KARACHI

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STAFF REPORT

T least two people were killed and eight others, including two women and police personnel, were injured when a remotelydetonated bomb rigged in a parked vehicle targeted the convoy of senior anti-terror police officer Farooq Awan in Karachi’s Defence area on Thursday night. Awan, a senior superintendent of police, escaped the attack with minor injuries.

According to details, the attack targeted SSP Farooq Awan’s bomb-proof vehicle near Gizri graveyard roundabout when he was going home from work. The blast was heard in various areas of the city.

Counter-Terrorism In-charge Raja Umer Khitab told reporters that the attack was similar to the one on slain SP Chaudhry Aslam and over 80 kilogrammes of explosives were used.

Police sources said that the impact of the blast had completely damaged a police mobile escorting Awan’s Toyota Prado, while the policeman’s vehicle was partially damaged.

Awan and the other injured people were rushed to a private hospital where doctors said that there was no serious threat to their lives.

SSP Awan is a highly decorated police officer who has served a good part of his 31-year career in anti-terrorism. Highlights in his career include investigating cases such as the Daniel Pearl murder

case, and the attack on Iranian engineers.

He has served as DSP Anti-Terror Wing of the Crime Investigation Department, as an SSP with the Anti-Violent Crime Cell, Investigation East, Crime Branch and Special Investigation Unit of the Crime Investigation Agency.

Awan, who started his police career as an ASI in 1982, made a name for himself in combating crime between 1998 and 2007, when he arrested those involved in kidnapping, and terror related activities. In recognition of Awan’s performance, the government of Sindh, intended to grant him accelerated promotion. The Sindh government promoted him and a few other officers under Section 9A of the Civil Service Act 1973.

His promotion among a host of other of-

KARACHI: People look at the damaged SUV of senior police officer Farooq Awan after his convoy was attacked with a bomb in Defence area on Thursday. ONLINE

ficers came under review when the court took up a case of out of turn promotions.

As per court orders, Awan and other offi-

MQM HOLDS SIT-INS ACROSS KARACHI TO PROTEST WORKERS’ ARREST PArTy orgANISeS SIT-INS AT 11 veNueS, INCludINg IN froNT of ChIef MINISTer’S houSe

AlTAf huSSAIN ACCuSeS rANgerS of dISCrIMINATINg AgAINST MQM, ACCuSeS SeCTIoN of MedIA of ‘BIAS’ AgAINST PArTy

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Thursday called on workers to stage sit-ins protests across Karachi against the arrest of party workers during a Rangers’ raid late on Wednesday night.

Dozens of MQM workers were arrested during a raid carried out by Sindh Rangers in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Maymar area out of which eight were released in the early hours of Thursday. A party official confirmed that while eight have been released, over 15 remain in Rangers’ custody. The MQM has selected 11 venues to hold demonstrations against the arrest of party workers.

These include areas of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Rizvia Society, Sharah-e-Faisal, Landhi, Numaish, Liaquatabad, Teen Talwar and Gulshan-e-Iqbal. The central protest venue is outside Chief Minister’s House.

Altaf Hussain made the announcement of citywide protests while addressing a ‘sit-in’ held by MQM legislators and office bearers outside Chief Minister’s House.

ALTAF SLAMS RANGERS, MEDIA FOR ‘BIAS’: The MQM chief lambasted former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary and termed him a “liar and hypocrite”. He also blamed some sections of the media for harbouring a bias against MQM, and warned

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement supporters stage a sit-in at Nagin Chorangi on Thursday against arrest of their party fellows in a Rangers raid in Gulshan-e-Maymar on Wednesday night. ONLINE

owners of media houses as well as journalists against “airing any lies” against his party. Hussain also accused the Rangers of discriminating against his party. He said courts had ruled against several parties and had ordered to eliminate their militant wings, but Rangers had been targeting peaceful MQM activists.

“Carry as many raids as you can but we will never bow down,” a defiant Hussain said in a message apparently directed at the paramilitary force.

In his statement, he said the MQM had been striving to bring a durable peace to Karachi and instead of praising

Three BulleT-rIddled BodIeS fouNd IN PANjgur QUETTA: Police on Thursday recovered three mutilated bodies in Panjgur district of Balochistan. Police official Murad Buledi said that police recovered three bodies from Rakhshan Nadi and Washbud areas of Panjgur, adding that the bodies were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital, Panjgur for identification. “All victims have received multiple bullets,” he said. Locals of the area claimed they had informed the police about the presence of the bodies late on Wednesday night and added that the police party arrived at the spot on Thursday. A large number of family members of missing persons gathered at the hospital for identification of the bodies, a doctor in the hospital told reporters on the condition of anonymity.

According to sources in the Balochistan Home and Tribal Affairs Department, so far 53 mutilated bodies have been found in Quetta, Khuzdar, Turbat, Panjgur and other troubled areas of the province during the current year.

However, Baloch nationalist groups say the figure is higher than what was being quoted by the officials. A shutter down strike was observed on Thursday in Kharan, Panjgur and other parts of Balochistan on the call of Baloch Varna Movement against the killings. STAFF REPORT

its efforts, authorities were targeting MQM workers. “We don’t want Rangers in Sindh. Now a new province is a must,” Hussain said. He said terrorists of banned outfits were targeting law enforcement agencies, public and private installations, but instead of curbing such elements, MQM’s innocent activists were being arrested and tortured.

The MQM chief said double standards were in place when it came to different parties, saying those who stormed the Pakistan Television Headquarters, barged into the precincts of the Parliament and other government buildings

were being given a soft treatment while peaceful political activists of MQM were being arrested. He added that MQM always supported the armed forces and urged the army to arrest the corrupt and assured his full cooperation in this regard.

He also alleged that some elements had decided to declare patriotic citizens as traitors. He also reiterated his stance on ‘Mohajirs’ and said they are asked to repatriate every now and then. Speaking about party’s grievances, he said MQM was being targeted in the pretext of Karachi operation and alleged that MQM activists were subjected to extra-judicial murders and have even been arrested right from their wedding ceremonies.

RANGERS SAY MQM WORKERS OPENED FIRE AT PERSONNEL: Meanwhile, a spokesman for Sindh Rangers, Major Sibtain Rizvi said personnel of the paramilitary force were on routine patrol in Gulshan-e-Maymar at 8pm on Wednesday when they were fired at from inside a building.

Without naming MQM, he said 23 suspects were arrested from that building and were questioned, the spokesman said, adding that some were later released. He did not confirm the specified number of those released.

The spokesman added that a proper legal course of action would be taken against those suspected of involvement in the attack.

NEW YORK APP

tion, human rights, law and justice and media and transparency.

The premier reached New York early Thursday afternoon to address the 69th session of the UN General Assembly. During his stay in New York, the prime minister will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries and co-host the UN Peacekeeping Summit with Vice President Joe Biden, the UN secretary general, president of Rwanda and the prime ministers of Japan and Bangladesh.

CMYK

elderly AhMAdI MAN, SeNTeNCed for BlASPheMy, ShoT By CoP INSIde AdIAlA jAIl

eMPhASIS Need for New ProvINCeS IN wAke of ‘dISCrIMINATIoN’

NAWAZ MEETS PHILANTHROPIST GEORGE SOROS Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Open Society Foundations Chairman George Soros on Thursday in New York.

The premier informed Soros about steps taken by the government to universalise primary education and appreciated his foundation’s work in Pakistan. The Open Society Foundation undertook rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake devastated eight districts, four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and four in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The foundation has also established a thinktank in Lahore and the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives.

Further, PM Nawaz informed Soros, a hedge fund manager and philanthropist, about investment opportunities in Pakistan.

Open Society Foundations works on educa-

cers were demoted to Grade 19.

After the court’s orders on July 10, 2013, he was promoted again.

RAWALPINDI: A 70-year-old Ahmadi man sentenced to death for blasphemy was shot by a constable within the premises of Adiala jail on Thursday. Mohammad Asghar, a British citizen whose defence had stated that he had mental health problems, was convicted and sentenced in January this year for committing blasphemy. Asghar was shot at by Constable Yousuf of the Elite Force on Thursday following which the injured inmate was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, jail authorities said.

“The inmate was shot at by the constable… he has been taken to a hospital,” SP Investigation Haroon Joya said. Joya added that prison authorities will begin legal proceedings against the constable involved in the shooting. Constable Yusuf fired at the convict but the bullet injured his arm.

According to SHO Saddar Baironi police station, the convict was out of danger. Jail officials said that no jail staff member is allowed to take arms inside the jail but the policeman, who was in uniform and was not searched, had hidden the pistol in his shoes.

The policemen took out the pistol from his long shoes and as he took aim of the prisoner, he was grabbed by other jail staffers. However, during the scuffle, the bullet got fired which injured Asghar’s arm.

Asghar was convicted and sentenced to death after the court rejected defence claims that he was suffering from mental health problems. The British High Commission in Islamabad said: “We are urgently looking into reports that a British national has been injured in prison in Pakistan.” STAFF REPORT

eIdul AzhA To fAll oN oCT 6 KARACHI: Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman Thursday announced that Zil Haj moon has not been sighted in the country therefore Eidul Azha will be celebrated on October 6 (Monday). The various zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committees had convened a meeting to sight the moon in major cities of the country, while the Central Ruet-eHilal committee meeting was held at the Meteorological office in Karachi. On September 24, Saudi Arabia announced that the Zil Haj moon had been sighted and Eidul Azha would be celebrated in the kingdom on Saturday, October 4.

Accordingly, the Day of Arafat would fall on October 3. STAFF REPORT

04 NEWS

Friday, 26 September 2014

France strikes islamic state in iraq aFter Us-led syria raids OVERNIGHT US-LED AIR STRIKES IN EASTERN SYRIA KILL 14 ISLAMIC STATE FIGHTERS PARIS/BEIRUT

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AGENCIES

RENCH fighter jets struck targets in Iraq on Thursday and the United States and its allies stepped up air raids in Syria against Islamic State militants who have taken over large areas of both countries.

France’s strikes were its first since Sept. 19 when Paris joined the United States military action against Islamic State in Iraq and followed the beheading of a French tourist, reported late on Wednesday, in Algeria in retaliation.

Overnight, US-led air strikes in eastern Syria killed 14 Islamic State fighters, according to a monitoring group, while on the ground, Kurdish

OBAMA SAYS WORLD NEEDS TO DO MORE TO TACKLE EBOLA

forces were reported to have pushed back an advance by the Islamists towards the border town of Kobani.

A third night of air raids by the United States and its allies targeted Islamic State-controlled oil refineries in three remote locations in eastern Syria to try to cut off a major source of revenue for the al Qaeda offshoot, US officials said. The strikes also seem to be intended to hamper Islamic State’s ability to operate across the Syria-Iraq frontier, an area where it has declared an Islamic caliphate.

The air raids follow growing alarm in Western and Arab capitals at Islamic State’s rapid military gains in Iraq and Syria and the beheadings of U.S. and British hostages posted on the internet.

Some 140,000 refugees have fled to

Turkey, many telling of villages burnt and captives beheaded. “The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force, so the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death,” Obama said at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he wanted Britain to join the strikes against Islamic State in Iraq after the Baghdad government requested London’s help. He recalled parliament to secure its approval for military action on Friday.

FRENCH RAID A government spokesman gave no details of the French raids on Iraq, and France has so far ruled out joining raids on Islamic State in Syria. But Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian opened the door to possibly joining strikes in Syria, hours after a French tourist was beheaded by an Algerian Islamist group citing Paris’ military action against Islamic State in Iraq.

The death of French tourist Herve Gourdel, who was beheaded in Algeria 24 hours after an ultimatum was given to France to halt attacks in Iraq, appeared on toughen Paris’ resolve.

“The opportunity is not there today.

We already have an important task in Iraq and we will see in the coming days how the situation evolves,” Le Drian told RTL radio. Pressed on whether it was a possibility in the future, Le Drian, who is taking part in a war cabinet meeting on Thursday, said: “The question is on the table”.

The US military said that it, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, used fighter jets and drones to attack 12 Islamic State-controlled oil refineries in eastern Syria, which generate up to $2 million a day for the militants.

In addition to the 14 Islamic State fighters, the strikes also killed at least five civilians, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

NO PLANS FOR NAWAZ-MODI MEETING ON UNGA SIDELINES: FO

BRAZIL FIGHTS DENGUE WITH ‘GOOD’ MOSQUITOES RIO AGENCIES

Researchers in Rio de Janeiro belonging to the state Brazilian laboratory, Fiocruz, had released at least 10,000 mosquitoes that were infected with bacteria that blocks dengue fever. They released the mosquitoes as part of a project identified as the Eliminate the dengue: Challenge Brazil. The Latin American nation has been witnessing a steep rise in the number of confirmed dengue cases during the past two to three years. Brazilian health authorities said in the first seven weeks of 2013 over 200,000 people were infected with dengue fever in comparison to the 70,000 during the same period in 2014. The researchers hope that the ‘good’ mosquitoes will soon breed, multiply and also become the majority population. In the process, they can minimise the incidence of dengue cases. Researchers said the intercellular bacteria, identified as Wolbachia, which is being introduced, does not get transmitted to people. Brazilian authorities further said that similar initiatives are being implemented in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia.

SC FORMS COMMITTEE TO REVISIT COURT RULES OF 1980

Spokesperson says Pakistan wants to resolve all issues with India through negotiations ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

NEW YORK AGENCIES

US President Barack Obama has said the global community has not done enough to respond to the crisis posed by the Ebola outbreak that is currently spiralling out of control in West Africa. “There is still a significant gap between where we are and where we need to be,” Obama said on Thursday while addressing a high-level UN meeting on Ebola. The crisis in West Africa is the largest ever outbreak of Ebola, with more than 6,200 people believed to have been infected, almost half of whom have died. US health officials have warned that the number of infected people could explode to at least 1.4 million by mid-January, though they have also cautioned that the total number could peak well below if efforts are ramped up. Margaret Chan, director of the World Health Organisation, addressed the Ebola meeting before Obama and warned that the outbreak would likely get worse before it got better. The virus, she said, is “still running ahead, jumping over everything we put in place to slow it down”. ‘Step up’ efforts Obama has dispatched 3,000 US troops to Liberia to set up facilities and form training teams to help treat Ebola victims. On Thursday, politicians in the US Congress also approved the use of leftover Afghanistan war money to begin funding Obama’s $1bn request to help fight the outbreak.

While Obama touted US contributions, he warned other countries that the US does not have the capacity to fight the epidemic on its own. “Everybody’s got to move fast in order for us to make a difference,” he said. “If we do, we’ll save hundreds of thousands of lives.” UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon also urged world leaders to “step up” efforts to fight Ebola.

Pakistan said on Thursday it has neither sought any meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session nor has a request been received from the other side.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam, during her weekly briefing, said, “Pakistan wants to resolve all the disputes with India through negotiations for peace and development in the region.” Aslam clarified that India cancelled the talks between foreign secretaries of the two neighbouring countries on the pretext of the Pakistani high commissioner’s meeting with Hurriyat leaders.

Referring to a decision of the Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan to lodge a formal protest with India through the Foreign Office over lack of relief efforts in Indian-adminis-

tered Kashmir, Aslam said, “Pakistan is very much concerned over the plight of flood-affected people in occupied Kashmir and has offered assistance to India in relief activities.”

She said every Pakistani felt the pain and sufferings of Kashmiris and were ready to help. “Even Azad Kashmir’s government has appealed that the LOC should be opened to undertake relief activities.”

In response to a question about allegations levelled by outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai against Pakistan, the spokesperson

said that Pakistan was looking forward to working with the new Afghan leadership. She added that Pakistan wants to resolve issues of terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil and cross border attacks through dialogue.

Further, when a journalist brought up the issue of drone attacks in light of a strike in North Waziristan on September 24, which killed at least 10 suspected militants, Aslam said “Pakistan is raising this issue at different forums to further strengthen public opinion against drone strikes.”

She added that a resolution was adopted at the UN Human Rights Council which termed drone strikes as illegal, having no sanction under international law. When asked the reason for the delay in Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline, Aslam said both the countries had signed an agreement under which Iran was to provide a soft loan of $500 million to build the pipeline of Pakistan’s side; however because of sanctions, it could not fulfil the commitment.

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday constituted a two-judge panel comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar for revisiting the Supreme Court Rules of 1980. The SC’s full court meeting was held on Thursday and was attended by all judges. The meeting discussed the proposal of Pakistan Bar Council for amendments to be incorporated in Supreme Court Rules 1980. The task was entrusted to an already constituted two member Supreme Court Rules revising committee for further consideration and suggestions. Deliberating on the issue of institution and disposal of cases in the Supreme Court, the full court noted that between July 1 and September 19, the court decided 2,424 cases against the institution of 4,544 cases, with a total backlog of cases at 22,640 cases. The full court observed the rising trend in institution of the cases due to the fact that the high courts are working with almost full strength of judges. The gap between institution and disposal is also partly due to summer vacations.

SBP denies laxity in verifying Election 2013 candidates’ data Spokesman says bank provided complete information without any deficiency or delay KARAchI STAFF REPORT

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has rejected the report of 2013 election observers claiming that the central bank had not timely provided the candidates’ data to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for scrutiny.

In a statement issued Thursday, the SBP chief spokesman clarified that the bank had provided complete information without any deficiency or delay as agreed with the ECP “A mutually agreed reporting format mechanism was developed between SBP and ECP for scrutinising the nomination papers of contesting candidates

for the election 2013. The mechanism was finalised at the highest level in meetings with the ECP which were also attended by the SBP governor,” the spokesman said.

Giving details of the agreed arrangements, the spokesman said that returning officers (ROs) were required to upload the particulars of candidates contesting election on the web portal of ECP for onward submission to the State Bank.

In response, the State Bank had to provide the required information about the defaults of contesting candidates within 24 hours. “SBP started receiving requests from ECP through online system from March 26, 2013 and completed the process on April 7, 2013 on

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daily basis. No instance of any delay was reported whatsoever,” the spokesman maintained.

The spokesman elaborated that the State Bank had made special arrangements whereby officials were deputed exclusively for the purpose and particulars of 24,286 candidates and their 110,972 family members were searched in e-CIB database and responses were uploaded without delay.

He further said, “SBP had also developed an online information portal for the purpose of smooth and efficient verification of the data. In this regard, ECP was requested by the SBP through a letter dated March 29, 2013 to advise all the returning officers to seek the verifi-

cation of loan defaults as per agreed arrangements, instead of approaching State Bank directly.”

Shedding light on SBP’s efficient role, the spokesman stated, “A directorlevel official of State Bank was deputed at ECP during the entire period for coordination and on-spot resolution of any related matters. Also, a senior SBP official well-versed with e-CIB assisted the Lahore High Court in disposal of appeals of the candidates. It is important to mention that SBP facilitated the opening of bank branches on weekly holidays for settlement of any outstanding dues from the contesting candidates. Thus, the SBP carried out this task day and night in national interest.”

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Britain arrests nine in operation against militants POLICE SAY ARRESTS NOT IN RESPONSE TO ANY IMMEDIATE THREAT; MEN WERE HELD ON SUSPICION OF ENCOURAGING TERRORISM AND BELONGING TO AND SUPPORTING A BANNED ORGANISATION LONDON

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RITISH police arrested nine men as part of an operation into terrorist militancy on Thursday, with media reporting the country’s most high-profile radical

US probes casualties, touts Arab role in Syria strikes WASHINGTON: The Pentagon said Thursday it will investigate reports that civilians were killed in USled air strikes in Syria this week but insisted the raids were carried out with precision.

The US military said its bombing raids this week were carefully calibrated to avoid civilian casualties and touted the role of coalition partners from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the latest strikes carried out on Wednesday.

“We don’t have credible operational reports” that civilians were killed in three days of air strikes, spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.

But “we are taking a look at that,” Kirby said, describing the media reports and video as “allegations.”

Recounting the details of Wednesday’s round of strikes, Kirby said Saudi and UAE warplanes played the leading role in the attack, devoting more planes and dumping more bomb tonnage than American forces.

Ten warplanes from the two Arab states flew with six US aircraft in Wednesday’s raids on oil refineries held by the IS group. And 80 percent of the bomb tonnage was delivered by the Saudi and UAE planes, Kirby said. The strikes against 12 targets hit the majority of IS-held refineries but the extremist group still controlled several other refineries as well, he said. AGENCIES

Muslim preacher was among those held.

Britain last month raised its international threat level to the second-highest classification of “severe”, meaning an attack is considered highly likely, and Prime Minister David Cameron has said the Islamic State group battling for territory in Syria and

Iraq poses the country’s greatest ever security risk.

Police said the arrests were not in response to any immediate threat but that the men were held on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and belonging to and supporting a banned organisation.

“These arrests and searches are part of an ongoing investiga-

tion into terrorism,” police said in a statement.

The BBC and Sky News reported that one of the men held was Anjem Choudary, the former head of the now banned organisation al Muhajiroun.

It gained notoriety for staging events to commemorate the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States with leaflets that referred to the hijackers as “the Magnificent 19″.

Police declined to confirm if Choudary, who has recently spoken out against the West’s inter-

vention against Islamic State, had been held or to give further details.

The men, aged between 22 and 51, were in custody at police stations in central London while 19 properties across the capital and in Stoke-on-Trent in central England were being searched.Choudary’s followers have been linked to a number of militant plots in the past, and one of the men who hacked a British soldier to death on a London street in May last year had attended demonstrations the

Afghan security deal within days, US predicts OFFICIAL SAYS FRAGILE AFGHAN GOVT FACES ENORMOUS CHALLENGES AND GHANI AND ABDULLAH WOULD HAVE TO STEER THEIR TEAMS TOWARDS WORKING TOGETHER

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The United States (US) is preparing to sign a delayed security deal with Afghanistan within days of the inauguration next week of president-elect Ashraf Ghani, a US official revealed Wednesday.

The final results of the contentious elections will also be released by the Afghan election commission shortly after Monday’s inauguration, which will hopefully “turn the page” on a turbulent few months. “Everyone considers the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) closed in terms of the negotiation,” a senior State Department official said, referring to the bilateral security deal governing the presence of US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

“No-one has talked about kind of reopening the issues or anything else within the BSA,” the official said. “Given that there’s great consistency in terms of their commitment to do it and that it’s been fully negotiated and has closed, we expect that it will be fully signed in a matter of days after the new administration starts.”

After reaching a power-sharing accord for a unity govt with his challenger Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani is to be inaugurated Monday as president. Abdullah will serve as chief executive — a new role similar to prime minister. The State Department official, who asked not to be named, said there were “very good omens for how this will actually work.” But he conceded the fragile Afghan govt faced enormous challenges and Ghani and Abdullah would have to steer their teams towards working together. “This has been a very adversarial, acrimonious elections process for going on almost a year, with particularly heightened tensions over the course of the last few months,” he told reporters. “So to pivot fairly immediately from that adversarial relationship to one of collaboration is obviously going to take time.”

British PM to apologise to queen over ‘purring’ gaffe LONDON AGENCIES

British Prime Minister David Cameron will apologise to Queen Elizabeth II in person after describing how she “purred” down the telephone when he told her Scotland had rejected independence, media reported Thursday.

Cameron was caught on camera Tuesday making the remarks to former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in the United States, where he has been attending the UN General Assembly.

“The definition of relief is being the prime minister of the United Kingdom and ringing the Queen and saying: ‘It’s alright, it’s OK.’ That was something,” Cameron said. “She purred down the line.”

Cameron said he was “very embarrassed” and “extremely sorry” about what had happened. It is thought he will say sorry to the 88-year-old monarch at the next of their regular weekly meetings.

“It was a private conversation, but clearly a private conversation that I should-

n’t have had and won’t have again,” he told reporters in New York. “My office has already been in touch with the palace to make that clear and I will do so as well.”

By constitutional convention, the queen must remain impartial over political issues such as the Scottish independence debate.

Royal officials had insisted she would not seek to influence last Thursday’s closely-fought referendum but she did tell

a well-wisher days before the vote: “I hope people will think very carefully about the future.” Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, who led the campaign for independence, was granted an audience with the queen at her Balmoral residence in the Scottish Highlands on Wednesday, officials said. Salmond announced hours after the referendum result was announced that he would step down in November.

preacher had organised.

Choudary has never been charged with any terrorism-related crimes.

In 2011 his home and a community centre in east London where he used to teach were raided by counter-terrorism police. He told Reuters at the time that he had done nothing illegal.

“The definition of terrorism is more suitable for the US/UK policy in Muslim lands than those who are removing their oppressive regimes,” Choudary said in a tweet he wrote hours before the police arrests.

Saudi pilots get death threats after raids on jihadists RIYADH: Saudi pilots who conducted air strikes on jihadists in Syria received online death threats after photos were published of those involved, among them a son of the crown prince. The official Saudi Press Agency released photographs of eight airmen it said were involved in Tuesday’s US-led operation, carried out with Gulf allies. In one picture they stood, some smiling, in green flight suits with arms around each other in front of one of their fighter jets. One of the pilots involved in the raids is a son of Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz himself, according to Saudi newspapers. Dozens of Islamic State group (IS) and al Qaeda militants were reported killed in the coalition air raids, sparking jihadist threats online where the Saudi pilots’ photos reappeared. One Twitter user said the air force men were “wanted by IS” while another said their throats “will sooner or later be slit”. A broader threat came from a Twitter post which called for the killing of police as well as military men. Some Internet users, however, defended the Saudi airmen. “The Saudi pilots returned safe and sound on Tuesday morning after having accomplished their duty in carrying out successful and effective strikes against the Islamic State extremist organisation in Syria,” SPA said overnight. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Jordan also confirmed their participation. Washington said Qatar was also involved. “My sons, the pilots, fulfilled their obligation toward their religion, their homeland and their king,” SPA quoted Crown Prince Salman as saying. He was “proud of the professionalism and bravery” of the Saudi air force men, SPA said. Their combat mission happened to coincide with the kingdom’s 84th national day. Saudi Arabia is dominated by the ultra-conservative Sunni doctrine of Wahabism. The kingdom’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh last month said Al Qaeda and the IS group “have nothing to do with Islam and (their proponents) are the enemy number one of Islam”. The country is seeking to deter youths from becoming jihadists but fighters from Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Morocco make up the majority of about 12,000 foreign extremists who have travelled to Syria and Iraq, according to the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation. AGENCIES

Ukraine to shut Russia border, seek EU membership UKRAINE WOULD MAKE A FORMAL EU MEMBERSHIP BID IN 2020 THAT WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THIS YEAR’S SIGNING OF A LANDMARK POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION PACT KIEV AGENCIES

President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday ordered a temporary closure of Ukraine’s porous border with Russia and voiced plans to apply for EU membership in 2020 as part of his ex-Soviet country’s Westward shift.

A senior Ukrainian security source said that the border security measures was designed to halt the alleged smuggling of weapons into the separatist east and

would enter into force “soon”.

The two steps underscore the extent of Kiev’s alienation from its historic master and deal a further blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dream of folding Ukraine into a Kremlin-led alliance that could rival Nato and the European Union. The plunge in the neighbours’ relations comes in the wake of the February ouster in Kiev of a Moscow-backed leader and the Kremlin’s subsequent annexation of Crimea and alleged backing of a bloody pro-Russian revolt.

But the announcements also threaten to further devastate Ukraine’s imploding economy by halting trade between the mutually dependent nations and increasing the likelihood of Russia adopting retaliatory steps. A decree published on the presidential website ordered the government “to settle… the issue of temporarily closing checkpoints on Ukraine’s state border with the Russian Federation to cars, sea and pedestrian traffic.”

It added that the 2,000-kilometre land frontier with Ukraine’s giant northeastern neighbour may be closed “to other forms of traffic” if necessary.

The presidency said Poroshenko also told a meeting of judges that Ukraine would make a formal EU membership bid in 2020 that was made possible by this

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year’s signing of a landmark political and economic association pact. Poroshenko said his “Strategy 2020″ plan “envisions 60 reforms and social programmes whose adoption will prepare Ukraine to apply for membership in the European Union in six years,” his press service said. Ukraine has already infuriated Russia by announcing plans to seek future Nato membership – a step the Kremlin views as a direct national security threat. Poroshenko reaffirmed those intentions on Thursday by tweeting that he had just “instructed the cabinet minister to revoke Ukraine’s non-aligned (nation) status”. There was no immediate reaction to Poroshenko’s various decisions from Moscow. Both Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of sending elite forces and heavy weapons such as

surface-to-air missiles into eastern Ukraine to help the separatist uprising that pro-Kremlin gunmen launched in April.

Russia denies the charges and dismisses Nato satellite imagery purporting to show its troops in Ukraine as fabrications designed to back the military alliance’s expansion toward its border. A senior security source said the border closure instructions were originally drafted by Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council in order to limit future cross-border travel to rail service and passenger flights.

Ukrainian lawmakers had last week backed Poroshenko’s proposal for rebelheld parts of the Russian-speaking east to hold local council elections December 7 that would help restore law and order but not pursue any independence claims.

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Couple arrested for kidnapping 11-year-old girl

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Climate can’t be fought alone

Fire breaks out in Tarnol Police Station ISLAMABAD: A fire broke out at the Tarnol Police Station on Thursday.

According to the police spokesman, no damage was reported in the incident, while the cause of the incident also had to be determined yet. Few valuables placed in Mal Khaana of the police station were burnt in the fire following which the fire fighters successfully tackled the blaze. Separately, two police constables Faisal and Hamar were injured during a scuffle among policemen while shifting their luggage from one area to the other in Sabiz Mandi Police precincts. APP

WEATHER UPDATES

PLANNING MINISTER FOR ADOPTING PROACTIVE MEASURES TO MITIGATE NATURAL CALAMITY ISLAMABAD

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PEAKERS at a round table conference on Climate Change and Natural Disasters stressed the need for adopting proactive approach to mitigate the threats of climate changes including flash floods, droughts and other natural disasters.

Addressing the event organised by the Ministry of Planning Development and Reforms, aiming to adopt consolidated measures to avoid natural calamities and minimising the after effects of these disasters, the speakers urged the need for addressing the capacity issues

in terms of forecasting, upgrading the ability of relevant departments and improving coordination among different rescue and relief agencies to minimise losses occurred due to these natural calamities.

The speakers asked for adopting proactive planning to manage risks instead of reactive responses, besides making concrete long-medium and short-term strategies to overcome and meet such challenges.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Planning Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said that the floods were a part of ecosystem and a source to enhance underground water level.

“Indeed we are required to improve

our level of forecasting infrastructure to minimise the losses but from last so many years, the planning sector was badly ignored and now the country was facing different issues like energy, gas and climate problems,” he remarked.

The minister said that government was trying to transform Planning Commission into a policy think tank not only to address these challenges but to present solid measures to avoid these challenges in future. The planning minister said that government could not overcome all these challenges alone due to financial constraints and urged the need for developing public private partnership by taking the civil society and academia on board to crate synergies.

“We need to bridge the gaps and practically implement the solution to minimise the impacts of climate change in the country as this calamity provides

us an opportunity to build water storage capacity, wet land for bio-diversity and revisit our urban planning,” he added.

Addressing the round table, Ministry of Planning Development and Reforms director general informed that during recent floods standing crop over 2.5 million hectare was destroyed. He said that according to the initial estimates, the flash floods incurred losses to national economy was recorded at about Rs 250 billion as 1.758 million people were affected due to floods.

Speaking on the occasion, head of Sustainable Policy Institute, Abid Slahri urged the need to strengthen relations with India on climate change and improving the coordination among state agencies like NDMA, PDMA, SDMA and Rescue 1122, fully equipping them to make rescue and relief operations more effective.

ISLAMABAD: Golra Police Thursday arrested a couple, Razia and Qadeem, residents of Choora Stop, for allegedly attempting to kidnap an 11-year-old girl, Sana, after giving her tranquilisers, a police spokesman said. Locals informed the girl’s parents about the kidnapping bid and fortunately, the girl was saved after her parents contacted the police. Saddar Zone SP Muhammad Ilyas constituted a special team under the supervision of DSP Muhammad Hussain Lasi including Sub Inspector Alamgir Khan and others. The team took prompt action and succeeded to arrest both of the alleged criminals. Further investigations are underway. APP

Three more schools vacated from police ISLAMABAD: Three more educational institutions have been vacated of the policemen who were brought in the capital as extra force to counter the sit-ins of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) at the Constitution Avenue. The police personnel have been shifted to a sports complex. According to details, the schools which have been vacated are Boys School F/8-3, H-9 College and another boys’ school located in Prime Minister Colony. However, seven schools and colleges are still occupied by Punjab Police. Due to prolong sit-ins by PTI and PAT, over 14,000 police personnel were called in Islamabad and were being resided in 63 educational institutes. ONLINE

ISLAMABAD: Workers of All Parties Kashmir Coordination Council/Kashmir Centre Rawalpindi submit a memorandum to representatives of UN during their demonstration against Indian government over the issues of flood-affected people of Indian-occupied Kashmir, at UN Office in the capital. ONLINE

IHC restrains provinces from harassing PTDC employees ISLAMABAD ONLINE

Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued stay order restraining the provincial governments from harassing employees of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and interfering in its administrative matters.

The court has issued 15-day notices to federation through secretary

and chief secretaries Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK and sought report from them.

A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi took up PTDC case for hearing Thursday. Raja Saimul Haq Satti counsel for PTDC appeared in the court and told PTDC is a separate entity and its employees are working in all the four provinces and AJK.

This department has its assets as well. PTDC is having different hotels and buildings all over the country.

He argued that provincial governments have started harassing the employees of PTDC following the passage of 18th Amendment of the Constitution and these governments are also taking control of the assets of PTDC. The learned counsel told the court PTDC has not been handed

over to PTDC through 18th Amendment. On the other hand KP government issued ordinance on September, 1, 2014 under which action was started against the employees. PTDC employees come under the control of federal government, therefore, provincial governments be restrained from harassing PTDC employees.

Assets of PTDC should also remain with it. A stay order be issued in this regard, he prayed.

Business community calls for early shifting of district courts ISLAMABAD NNI

A delegation of Islamabad Chambers of Commerce and Industry ICCI F-8 Courts Shifting Committee led by ICCI Senior Vice President Khalid Chaudhry called on ICT Chief Commissioner Zulfiqar Haider in his office and apprised him of the problems being faced by the residents and business community of F-8 Sector due to the presence of district court in F-8 Markaz.

Committee Chairman Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi, Zafar Bakhtawari, Muzammil Hussain Sabri, Naeem Siddiqui, Ejaz Rafi Butt, Naeem ur Rehman Piracha and Saifur Rehman were also present at the occasion.

Chaudhry said that F-8 Markaz is one of the major business centres of Islamabad, but presence of district courts and ICT offices in it was creating

lot of problems for the residents of the area including lot of traffic rush, lack of parking facility and security issues. He said that crimes rate and car theft incidents were on the rise in the area and due to lack of transport facility, people of far flung areas were also finding it difficult to reach courts easily.

He said district court in F-8 Markaz was also creating law and order problems in this important business centre and already three incidents including suicide attack have occurred in Kuchehri in which many precious lives were lost. He said the residents of the areas including the judges and lawyers were also feeling insure.

He stressed that district court and all ICT office should be shifted from F-8 Markaz and first the Tehsil Office should be shifted, which will facilitate the shifting of other offices. It will rid the people of the multiple problems and facilitate the growth of

business activities as well.

Speaking at the occasion, Zulfiqar Haider assured that the issue of shifting of district court and ICT offices from F-8 Markaz will be addressed in collaboration with ICCI and it will be his first priority to resolve this problem. He said all highlighted issues will be given due consideration and all possible measures will be taken to remove the concerns of residents as well as the business community of the area.

He said the policy of putting ban on the open sale of diesel to private persons at petrol pumps will also be revisited to facilitate the people. He said business community is playing an important role in developing the local economy and local administration will make all possible efforts to facilitate them so that the economy could flourish in order to create more jobs and generate more revenue for the government.

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IHC wants to know why cattle market was shifted ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought report in writing from Islamabad Assistant Commissioner (AC) Shoaib Ali with respect to shifting of cattle market I-11 sector to some other sector in Islamabad. A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui took up for hearing Yasmin Haider case Thursday. Muhammad Aslam Khaki counsel for the petitioner told the court CDA has set up cattle market in sector I-11 which is polluting all the sectors located around this sector. Traffic problems are on rise and fear for eruption of epidemics is looming large. Orders be issued for relocating cattle market to some other sector far away from populated areas, he prayed. Justice Siddiqui remarked, “Local administration of Islamabad is not visible anywhere. Vehicles of triple one brigade can be seen on constitution avenue but CDA administration is not seen anywhere. Had administration been present then this situation would not have arisen in Red Zone.” The counsel for the petitioner said that the fundamental rights of the citizens are being violated due to establishment of cattle market in I-11. The sacrificial animals are being brought from other cities to this market on the eve of Eidul Azha and outbreak of Congo fever is being feared. The court while directing Islamabad AC to file written report before it till Monday on the steps taken with reference to cattle market, adjourned the hearing of the case. ONLINE

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Friday, 26 September, 2014

Lake View Park is more of ‘garbage view park’ these days ISLAMABAD: Water surface of the Rawal Lake View Park is presenting nasty look due to unattended garbage contamination from the lake.

The lake view park management is minting money by charging entry fees of Rs 20 per adult and Rs 10 per child and hundreds of families daily visit the park, but there is no mechanism to keep the water surface clean. Adeel Khan, a park visitor, said that Lake View Park is a beautiful place in the recreational spots of the capital city, but the water on the edge of lake is presenting a bad look due to garbage heaps visible on the surface.

Another visitor, Rozina said that there was a dire need that the Lake View Park management should keep the water surface clean and beautiful, adding that particularly on the corners of lake, garbage heaps were visible.

Another visitor expressed concerns over the overall cleanliness of the park, saying that the park management has failed to keep the park tidy and water clean.

The visitors demanded that the CDA higher authorities should take notice of the negligence and issue strict instruction to save the environment and beauty of the park. When contacted, a park official claimed that the management was keeping the surface clean, but due to on-going heavy rains the garbage keep flowing towards the tail end. He rejected that it was all because of the negligence by the lake authorities. APP

Five-day anti-polio drive to start from 29th RAWALPINDI: A five-day anti-polio drive would commence in the entire district from September 29 to administer polio drops to 711,744 children less than five years of age.

During the campaign, 1,408 polio teams would go door-to-door and administer polio drops to children, Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Dr Zafar Iqbal Gondal said Thursday. He said staff deployed for the campaign has been issued special instructions and informed that no negligence in this regard would be tolerated.

EDO said, “As many as 250 special centres will be set up to facilitate the parents so that their children could be vaccinated in nearby areas. Sufficient quantity of vaccine is available, and no stone will be left unturned to make the campaign a success.”

The Health Department officials have been directed to remain vigilant, particularly in those areas where poliovirus was found during the last year’s campaign, the District Programme Coordinator Javaid Iqbal Chaudhry said.

He said all possible steps had been taken by the Health Department to make the campaign a success.

The DPC urged the citizens, particularly the parents, to come forward and play their role for the elimination of the crippling disease from society. “The parents should cooperate with the special teams so that the set target could be achieved.”

He said continuous efforts were being made to control polio. Special teams have also been formed to cover areas from where complaints about unattended children are registered, he said, adding that special arrangements have also been made to cover Cantonment Board areas of Rawalpindi. APP

RAWALPINDI: Children play on a fallen tree trunk at DHQ Hospital. INP

Of ‘transplanting’ students PMDC BEGINS WORK FOR ADMISSIONS OF SHIFA MEDICAL STUDENTS IN ALTERNATIVE INSTITUTES ISLAMABAD

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FTER halting admissions in Shifa College of Medicine and Dentistry (SCMD) on the orders of Islamabad High Court (IHC), Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has started working for the admissions

of students in other institutes.

PMDC President Prof Dr Masood Hamid Khan had ordered an highlevel wnquiry against SCMD Islamabad in pursuance of orders of IHC. The PMDC has issued orders for suspension of admission process further in SCMD. IHC had restrained SCMD from providing admission to students till further orders.

According to PMDC, PMDC will not let the one year of medical students be wasted and the students will be adjusted in alternative institutes.

The court had also questioned the affiliation of this college remarking that the affiliation should have been made with accredited university and not Shifa Tameer Millat University which is not approved by PMDC. It has been told that action has been taken against those institutes who are not affiliated with PMDC and are playing with the future of students.

Four arrested for attack on senior judge ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Police has apprehended four people involved in attack on Senior Civil Judge Dilawar Abbasi. The accused, months ago, attacked the vehicle of civil judge of subordinate courts and fled away. Police arrested accused from F-8 courts of Islamabad. Sources said that police arrested four accused in a dramatic way while they were plotting another mission.

Police shifted the accused to unidentified place for interrogation. ONLINE

5,455 capital students may lose academic year due to colleges’ closure ISLAMABAD sOHAIL rAmZAN

Despite protests by parents, students and teachers of Islamabad, the district administration has failed to open all the schools and colleges and three colleges having enrollment of 5455 students are still occupied by the police force brought in Islamabad in connection with sit-ins of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI.) Around 40 schools and colleges of the capital were given under control of Punjab Police on August 12 for their

accommodation and later a number of schools and colleges were vacated gradually.

On Sept 3, the thrice revised date of re-opening of schools and colleges in the capital after summer vacations, 30 schools and colleges failed to open their gates to students. Importantly, none of the 8 model colleges situated in urban Islamabad could be re-opened as all of these were occupied by police due to availability of a large number of classrooms present for accommodation.

As the pressure from the parents and students grew on the administra-

tion, it lethargically started to vacate the schools and colleges from the police and up till Sept 19, only 11 of the occupied schools could be vacated.

In the third week of September, the patience of the parents ran out and protests were staged against the administration in front of many schools and colleges of the capital. Amid much furor from the civil society, on Sept 19, the Islamabad High Court directed the Islamabad Capital City (ICT) Administration to clear off the schools and colleges from the police in response to a writ petition filed by Islamabad traders.

But despite protests and orders of IHC, three model colleges namely IMCB F-7/3 (2747 enrolled students, IMCB F-8/4 (2700 enrolled students) and IMCB G-6/2 (1016 enrolled students) are still closed for 5455 students of these colleges. The parents of students of these colleges protested to the administration as they fear loss of academic year of their children due to the closure of these schools. The management of these schools has already informed the Federal Department of Education (FDE) about their inability to make up for the lapse of considerable time.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal presides over a roundtable meeting on Climate Change and Disaster Management at the Planning Commission. INP

Clear altar and make way, sacrificial animals are here!

ISLAMABAD APP

Sacrificial animals have started arriving in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi from different parts of the country.

The sellers are trying to occupy ideal and main spaces in the markets to attract maximum num-

ber of buyers. The residents of twin cities have started visiting the cattle markets to buy sacrificial animals for Eidul Azha.

An animal seller Rehmat Ullah said that there was shortage of animals because of floods in various cities of Punjab including Sargodha, Jhang, Bahawalpur, Multan and Muzaffargarh from

where most of the animals are brought into markets for sale. He said that the prices are likely to come down in case a large number of animals arrive in the city before Eid. Rehmat said that maximum number of animals are expected to be sold on day and night before Eidul Azha as usual.

The prices of bulls in the market have increased as compared to last year while the `A’ category bull is on sale for Rs 100,000 and onwards against its previous price of Rs 70,000 and the price of `B’ category bull has increased from Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 and prices of `C’ category has surged from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000, Ghulam

CMYK

Hussain an animal dealer claimed.

He said that despite the increased prices of sacrificial animals the demand of the animals is being expected to get momentum ahead of Eidul Azha in few days.

“The sellers are demanding high prices for the animals because they have a lot of time to

wait for the customers ready to pay their desired prices,” said a buyer Muhammad Irshad.

The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) issued directions that strict action would be taken against those who sell or buy animals at any place outside the designated markets.

08 COMMENT

Friday, 26 Septemebr, 2014

MQM protests too much Even when there are other legal forums available

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ESPItE the ongoing operation which started in Karachi in September last year, street crime, target killings, and extortion continue to take place. thousands have been arrested since, with some belonging to a number of political parties. While other parties have generally let the law take its course, the MQM has invariably opted for protests.

With the Eid arriving, plans are afoot by the gangs of criminals to snatch animal skins by force. Law enforcement agencies have therefore increased vigilance. the Rangers insist that some of the MQM workers arrested during a raid had fired at them. A number of them were consequently nabbed, those found innocent were set free and those involve in firing were taken into custody. MQM chief Altaf Husain has meanwhile called for sit-ins as a protest against the arrests in Karachi. He has also accused the media for bias against the MQM. He has moreover threatened owners of the media houses and journalists against what he calls “airing lies”. this is not unusual on Altaf Hussain’s part as he has used much stronger language against anchorpersons and commentators in the past also. the Ranges are in Karachi on account of the incompetence of the consecutive Sindh governments of which the MQM has been a part since 2002. Had the parties in power concentrated on improving the performance of the police instead of making political appointments and promoting incompetent blue-eyed boys, there would have been no need to deploy the Rangers. Last year the MQM was foremost in demanding an operation in Karachi. Activists of Sunni Ittehad, ANP and PPP have also been arrested during the operation. A PPP MNA has come out of jail after a year. Only MQM has taken recourse to threatening language. there is a need on the part of the MQM to act maturely. It should take recourse to the courts to get its activists released. Seeking their freedom through protests conveys the message that they have a weak legal case.

Beyond Waziristan Zarb-e-Azb in depth and essence

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F course, the Peshawar Corps Commander, Lt Gen Khalid Rabbani, did not just present his personal views when stressing the need to expand Zarb-e-Azb to southern Punjab and Balochistan at the National Defence University (NDU) the other day. the military hierarchy does not accommodate personal viewpoints. He was, most likely, expanding on the chief’s earlier claim, that the operation would target terrorists of all hues and colours, all across the country. the elaboration is timely because the taliban seem to have overcome the initial shock and awe of the bombardment, though still in a very limited manner, and have mounted a number of attacks on security personnel and positions.

It is interesting that the military has stared mentioning both southern Punjab and Balochistan in the context of the NW operation. though not directly ttP, groups based there are openly affiliated with the militia now on the run in NW, and have consistently carried out sectarian attacks with the government and the military choosing to turn a blind eye. Gen Rabbani’s posturing now seems to indicate that the operation might indeed be wholesome, contrary to opinion in large parts of Punjab and Balochistan. Going after the lashkars and jaishes that served as chosen proxies for so long, it seems, will be the operation’s litmus test.

It is hoped that the military – now firmly in the driving seat as far as the operation is concerned, at least – will be swift in undertaking this extremely sensitive part of the operation that it has, for all intents and purposes, itself announced. And while Gen Rabbani might have been slightly unfair by blaming civilian governments for delaying the operation since 2011 – the army did go ahead with it when it needed to, despite civilian counter-currents – the prospect of a crackdown should serve as an eye opener for the Punjab and Baloch governments. the latter is well aware of the downside of continuing sectarian genocide and non-state proxy actors challenging the writ of state. Punjab is slightly more complex. Extremist organisations actually hold territory in the periphery and dismantling them will definitely trigger vicious reprisal attacks. then there is the government. Not only has it been too soft with these groups, there are credible cases which prove certain sections of the government might have protected certain terrorists for quite a while. For the operation to be a thorough success, such habits will have to be broken and culprits made examples of. Nothing less will ensure Pakistan’s survival.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963, 042-36375965

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A war worth fighting But we’re not there yet only we hadn’t left Iraq or if only we took military action in Syria sooner, ISIL wouldn’t be the menace it is today. these critics forget that we left Iraq because the Bush Administration had negotiated an agreement with the Iraqi government that would have put US forces who remained in the country after 2011 at great risk. After more than seven years of occupation, Iraqis wanted us to leave. these critics also ignore the simple fact that any US engagement early in the Syrian conflict would not have doused the flames of the conflict, as much as it would have added additional fuel to the Syrian fires.

Increased American arms to the opposition would have resulted in increased Iranian and Russian support for their ally. Direct US engagement would have created an even greater incentive for extremists to come to Syria.

And, in any case, the President understood that in the process of winding down two failed wars, the American people had little tolerance for getting into a new one.

What’s different today is that the grotesque behaviour of ISIL, coupled with their rapid advances on the ground, has created a sense of urgency and outrage provoking demands for an American response. And so the President has responded with: some initial steps designed to stop ISIL’s advance; an intensified effort to mobilise an international coalition of partners willing to join the campaign against the IS; and the development of a strategy that will be able to accomplish the objective of degrading and destroying the IS. the painstaking work needed to build a coalition is the first order of business. But putting together the pieces that will be required to accomplish this mission will not be easy. Most of our NAtO allies share outrage over ISIL’s behaviour, but too many remain gun shy. turkey, which

Washington Watch

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Dr James J Zogby

t appears that we may be going to war against the Islamic State (IS). I use the word “appears” advisedly, because appearances may be deceiving. It’s true that we’ve already bombed almost 200 IS targets. And it’s true that President Barack Obama has declared his intention to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the IS, with VicePresident Joe Biden upping the rhetorical ante promising to “follow them to the gates of hell”. It’s also true that Congress has now appropriated significant sums to train and arm a select group of Syria opposition fighters. But even with all this, there are still too many pieces of this puzzle that don’t fit or are missing to be able to say what we are doing or where it will go.

I’m not one of those who scoffed at the President, a few weeks back, when he told reporters that he had not yet developed a strategy to confront ISIL—the precursor to IS. Despite the rants of critics on the right— some of whom think that a good strategy consists of bombing first and asking questions later—I want my President to spend time developing a strategy.

I also don’t agree with those same hawks who argue that if

shares borders with both Syria and Iraq, has been an enabler of some of the violent extremist groups now allied with the IS. they may feel threatened by dangers posed by this now out-ofcontrol creature they helped nurture, but they have given no indication that they ready to take military action to confront it. Arab allies in Jordan and the Gulf are conflicted. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been the most forthcoming in offering support to the coalition—but they have also asked important questions about strategy and have asked for assurances about the commitment of others to join the effort.

What about the strategy? ISIL has fed off of the deep grievances of Sunni Arabs in both Iraq and Syria. In the former they are a disenfranchised minority, in the latter a disenfranchised majority. In Iraq, one key component of the effort to defeat ISIL must include reforming the system of governance to provide for full Sunni partnership. the first step involved removing former Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, who had tormented Sunni Arabs while recklessly pursuing a sectarian agenda.

His successor has been inclined to create a more inclusive government, but efforts, to date, have been less than satisfactory. Key ministries have gone to sectarian figures and the main Iraqi armed forces fighting the IS remain Shi’a militias many of whom maintain strong ties with Iran. Compounding this problem is the fact that the other main armed force waging war against the IS is the Kurdish Peshmerga—whom many Iraqi Arabs fear harbours separatist ambitions.

Given this unsettled state of affairs, many Sunni Arab states will be cautious about the extent of their involvement if they fear that the result will be to consolidate Iran’s hold over Iraq. Despite ISIL’s barbaric actions, these Arab states understand that if Sunni

grievances have fuelled that movement, bombing Sunnis in order to allow Shi’a militias to take over will only fan the flames of sectarian hostility—with the potential of making a bad situation even worse.

If finding a strategy is difficult for Iraq, Syria presents an even more complicated situation. the outrage that fueled the ISIL movement was the relentless brutality of Syrian government and its refusal to consider serious internal reforms. the external political coalition that represents the Syrian opposition to the regime is diverse and includes several thoughtful visionary leaders. But there are concerns that this external leadership’s ties to the armed elements on the ground in Syria are less than organic. the groups engaged in the fight against the regime are remarkably fragmented, with many now espouse some form of extremist religious ideology. they fight the regime and each other. While some of these groups have been bitterly opposed to the ISIL, there are indications that they may not support a US-led effort to oust the IS, if they feel that the beneficiary will be the regime.

Facing this complexity and the obvious dangers involved, there are many who are opposed to any US action. But given ISIL’s terrorist actions against all who oppose their rule, their genocidal campaigns against minorities groups in areas they have subdued, and the existential threat they pose to the entire region, doing nothing is as unacceptable as the hawks’ inclination to just do anything.

Finding the right course of action will be like threading a needle. It will require leadership, discipline, a long term commitment, and thoughtful diplomacy. that’s why I say it appears we may be going to war. this is one that’s worth fighting, but we’re not there yet.

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan today exclusively

Editor’s mail

NAB in action It is reported that the National Accountability Bureau in its investigation of corruption of Rs3.6bn in tawana Pakistan scandal has decided to bring former Federal Minister Zubaida Jalal under investigation and to arrest former Chief Secretary Balochistan and others involved. It is heartening to read news of accountability being in practice in our country where often it’s not prioritised. this is a good policy but NAB should be further empowered and given freedom to work in a more independent, improved and speedy working for elimination of this menace of corruption. Furthermore, it should be ensured that investigations are conducted in fair manner by following the due process of law so that no innocent gets harmed.

FARVAT MALIK Lahore

Medieval times As per news reports, hundreds of Iraqi Yazidi girls and women are being held by the Islamic State (IS) militants and these are being sold and bought as war bounty. torture, rape and killings are part of treatment meted out to these unfortunate souls. At the same time there is no trace of more than 200 Nigerian school girls earlier kidnapped by Boko Haram (BH). Sad that all this is being done in the name of religion. But for sure, we all know what IS and BH are doing is not new in the history of mankind. Every group and empire had been doing the same in medieval times, regardless they belonged to East or West. But today, world has forgotten that ruthless treat-

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

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ment of the captured and enslaved people as a horrible nightmare; perhaps IS and BH are here to wake us from the dream that the world has moved forward on human rights and equality. For them, it’s the same course of history, ruler and the ruled, religion, sect, ethnicity don’t matter. though West and regional powers have taken a serious note of these ruthless murderers who are no else than an army of thugs, kidnappers and extortionists, we need boots on the ground to chase them out. they have captured large swaths of land, towns and cities, are running their own finances from loot, selling oil and committing extortion. therefore, getting them out of civilian areas may not be a task for the air force only. Pakistan has done this experiment for long but was ultimately forced to send troops in North Waziristan. time is running out, we have to save these poor Yazidi girls and women from the wicked enslavement of IS as no one of us want to go back to dark medieval times.

equal share of 37 per cent for Sindh which had only 15 per cent of the total irrigated area. the contention that Punjab for the time being may utilise its ground water is fallacious as Punjab has already depleted its ground water by over-pumping of tube wells.

Depriving Punjab of its share of water while preserving 14 per cent share of KP to irrigate 8 lac acres of Dera Ismail Khan is not fair or just. Moreover CCI had agreed in allocating shares of all the four provinces and it would be unthinkable that Punjab could agree to decimate its share already reduced to 37 per cent for no reason at all. this would be regarded as another attempt at Punjab bashing which could not be in national interest as it would amount to destroying the bread basket of Pakistan.

MASOOD KHAN Jubail, Saudi Arabia

I congratulate Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Dr Abdullah Abdullah and above all the people of Afghanistan for signing a historic power sharing agreement on September 21. Finally uncertainty is over. Both these gentlemen are prominent and influential figures. It is time they both work together in harmony so that the sufferings of the past 20 plus years of our Afghan brethren can come to end. Muslim Ummah the world over is suffering. It is now the right time our leaders show magnanimity and maturity to rise above their personal interest to serve the downtrodden.

What a volte face It appeared strange to read the views of eminent engineer Mr Shams-ul-Mulk about KBD stating that KBD might be built without a canal on the left side for Punjab. this position was preposterous as how it would be possible for Punjab to avail its 37 per cent share of water from the dam as per historic Water Accord of 1991. Punjab had agreed to 37 per cent share although it had 73 per cent of the irrigated area of Pakistan and agreeing to an

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

CMYK

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DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI Lahore

A new beginning

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

AFZAL RAHIM Islamabad I

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

WORLD VIEW 09

Friday, 26 September, 2014

Afghanistan's failed transformation

new York Times

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ahMED RaShID

N Sunday, after months of bitter wrangling, the two leading candidates in Afghanistan’s presidential election agreed to form a national unity government. Ashraf Ghani, a Pashtun technocrat, is to be president, and Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister of mixed Tajik and Pashtun descent, is to be chief executive, a newly created post akin to prime minister. The power-sharing agreement came after an audit of the ballots cast in April, in an election widely believed to have been partially rigged. It has no basis in Afghanistan’s election law.

And given the rancor that has come before, it may not hold very long.

This deal, which was brokered with help from Washington, is yet another makeshift compromise that only reveals the shortcomings of the United States’ 13-year presence in Afghanistan. But rather than admit these failures, American and NATO officials would have us think that democracy is gaining traction in Afghanistan, the Taliban insurgency has stalled and Al Qaeda is being defeated. All these arguments, of course, serve as an excuse for U.S. troops to start withdrawing at the end of the year, a plan that seemed wrong when it was made in December 2009 and is proving catastrophically wrong now.

John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, apparently is the only official in Washington who dares speak truth to power. In a Sept. 12 speech at Georgetown University, he said that Afghanistan “remains under assault by insurgents and is short of domestic revenue, plagued by corruption, afflicted by criminal elements involved in opium and smuggling, and struggling to execute basic functions of government.”

His comments were largely ignored by the American media, and there was no immediate reaction from the Obama administration. And yet anything less than a heavy dose of honesty and fresh thinking by Afghans and their Western supporters will almost certainly mean the relapse of Afghanistan into civil war and the emergence of groups even more extreme than the Taliban, as has happened in Iraq and Syria.

Moving from the lengthy U.S. military presence to full Afghan sovereignty

was premised on the completion of four distinct transitions. But none has been successfully carried out, despite more than $640 billion in U.S. direct spending in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2013.

The most critical transition, the one on which everything else rested, was political. Rather than build state institutions or carry out much-needed electoral reforms, President Hamid Karzai spent his long tenure encouraging a form of crony politics that failed to sap the power of the warlords. He won a second term in 2009, after a vastly fraudulent election. The following year, according to U.N. officials, he asked that the United Nations stop supervising elections in the country, and Washington and NATO went along.

The second promised transition was military. U.S. forces were to hand over security matters to Afghan forces, proving that the new, U.S.-trained Afghan Army would then be able to hold back the Taliban on its own. Yet Interior Minister Mohammad Omar Daudzai told Parliament in Kabul on Sept. 16 that the previous six months had been the deadliest ever for the Afghan police. Today there is fighting in 18 of 34 provinces, Afghan and NATO officials have told me. In many areas, Afghan soldiers are barely able to secure their own bases, much less retake lost territory. Helmand, the critical drugs-producing province in southern Afghanistan, is at risk of being taken over by the Taliban. If it falls, all of southern Afghanistan might too.

The third failed transition has to do with economics. According to a senior Afghan official at the Finance Ministry, The Washington Post reported recently,

the Afghan government is broke and needs an emergency $537 million bailout; it was barely able to pay more than half a million government employees this month. Money spent on schools and hospitals has dramatically improved education and health for Afghans, but these services remain dependent on foreign funding. There has been little large-scale investment in agriculture or basic industry; instead, the bulk of the economy has focused on servicing foreign troops and on their spending. And now the troops are about to withdraw.

When I first visited Afghanistan in the 1970s, the country was desperately poor, but it was almost self-sufficient in food and had a small yet thriving export trade in fruit, handicrafts, furs and gems.

Today, Afghanistan imports much of its food and it produces very few commercial goods. The service economy, which is run by the middle class, has been collapsing, as both educated people and billions of dollars in capital have left the country. The resulting vacuum opens the way for the opium-fed underground economy to expand enormously, breeding crime and corruption.

The fourth contribution expected of the U.S. presence was insulating Afghanistan from foreign interference, which many Afghans fear as much as the Taliban. Iran, Pakistan and Russia, but also India, Saudi Arabia and other states helped fuel the civil war in the 1990s. The Obama administration pledged in its first term to negotiate a noninterference agreement among Afghanistan’s neighbors.

But that, too, has not happened, and the country remains vulnerable to meddling

MODI’S AMERICAN BUSINESS indian express C Raja Mohan

What Prime Minister Narendra Modi does with the American business community during his visit to the United States may be more consequential over the longer term than his engagement with the political leadership in Washington. No wonder the PM has chosen to spend some quality time, both individually and collectively, with the leaders of American business in New York and Washington.

If the perception of India as a major business opportunity since the reforms began a quarter of a century ago provided the basis for raising Delhi’s diplomatic profile on the global stage, the economic drift over the last few years has inevitably constrained India’s room for foreign policy manoeuvre. Convincing American companies that India is back in business must be one of Modi’s most important political objectives in the US. As the most business-friendly prime minister India has ever had, Modi might be well placed to successfully pursue this task.

Thanks to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, a thinly veiled contempt for capital is very much part of Delhi’s political culture. Nehru, who kept India’s businessmen at arm’s length at home, made no secret of his distaste at having to deal with what he saw as excessive American materialism and a crass commercial culture during his first visit to the US in 1949.

Modi is probably as “nonNehruvian” as you could get in India, at least on the relationship between private business and national strategy. During his visit to Japan earlier this month, Modi told the captains of industry there that he was a Gujarati and commerce ran through his blood. Modi’s finance minister, Arun Jaitley, in turn, has often said that there is no contradiction in being “pro-poor” and “probusiness” at the same time.

Delhi’s current pro-business orientation marks a new stage in India’s appreciation of the role of international capital in the conduct of the nation’s foreign policy. For Nehru

and Indira Gandhi, focused as they were on economic self-reliance, there was hardly any room for mixing international business and diplomacy. Rajiv Gandhi was the first prime minister who began to see the intrinsic connection between the two.

But it was not easy changing the political culture of the Indian Foreign Service, which privileged political activity over the commercial.

After all, the Indian diplomatic corps emerged out of the Indian Political Service of the pre-Independence period. Under the Raj, these officers proudly called themselves the “politicals” as they engaged in high politics with the princely states in the subcontinent and the principalities on the periphery.

At the dawn of the reform era, P.V. Narasimha Rao began to take business delegations along with him to foreign capitals. He made a special effort to reach out to the business communities, especially in the US. In the early 1990s, for example, the Indian embassy in Washington encouraged the setting up of an “India Interest Group” with leading companies like GE. This group helped Delhi block the anti-Indian resolutions on Kashmir and Punjab that were routinely passed in the US Congress, thanks to the uncontested

lobbying by groups backed by Pakistan. India’s political outreach in Washington was also reinforced by business associations like the CII and Ficci. In the Manmohan Singh years, bilateral CEO forums became an important tool in India’s economic diplomacy. Soon, like everything else, its business diplomacy became an ineffective ritual. The slowdown in the country’s economic growth and Delhi’s policy paralysis over the last few years saw India lose credibility with the business leaders around the world.

As part of his effort to accelerate India’s economic growth, Modi has taken personal charge of India’s engagement with international business. In recognising the importance of US business in the shaping of Washington’s external policies, Modi is emulating China’s strategy in America over the last three decades. Strong ties with American big business helped Beijing fend off bursts of political hostility in Washington. The rapid expansion of American commercial interests in China and the growing economic interdependence between the two countries today acts as the biggest countervailing force to the unfolding geopolitical tensions between the world’s foremost powers.

On a smaller scale, India’s own recent experience underlines the importance of engaging American business in pursuing the country’s larger political goals in Washington.

When then President George W. Bush and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled the historic civil nuclear initiative, it was well understood that getting the approval of the US Congress would be an uphill task. It needed the full mobilisation of American businesses with an interest in India to persuade Congress to support exempting Delhi from the long-standing domestic laws and international rules on nuclear non-proliferation. The US companies saw the civil nuclear initiative as the key to unlock a stronger strategic and economic partnership with India, from which they would benefit significantly.

Close to a decade later, the nuclear deal remains in limbo, with no prospect of India buying American power reactors in the near term. Although American arms sales to India have grown, it has not been easy for US companies to deal with the complex rules and procedures of the ministry of defence in Delhi.

Worse still, American business has turned from ally to adversary, asking Congress and the Obama administration to impose punitive measures on India by citing a range of Delhi policies, including those on IPR, trade, investment and taxation.

For his part, Modi seems determined to reverse this negative turn in relations with American business, which has an important role to play in accelerating India’s economic growth and revitalising Delhi’s strategic partnership with Washington. Whether he can overcome the widespread American scepticism about investing in India and suggest pragmatic pathways to address the many economic disputes with the US are indeed the most interesting questions about Modi’s journey to America.

The writer, a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, is contributing editor for ‘The Indian Express’.

from outside.

History will not look kindly on the legacy of the U.S. government and Mr. Karzai in Afghanistan. But this also means that Afghanistan’s new leaders can do better, and now, simply by acting responsibly — and working together to legitimize the results of this problematic election that has brought them to power.

The four-page joint agreement between Mr. Ghani and Mr. Abdullah calls for convening a loya jirga, a traditional gathering of tribal representatives and elected district councilors, in the next two years in order to amend the Constitution to reflect the recent creation of the chief executive post.

But a loya jirga should be called as soon as possible, so as to promptly give constitutional cover to the power-sharing agreement between Mr. Ghani and Mr. Abdullah. The assembly should also discuss how the present presidential system, which is highly centralized, could be improved and how electoral reforms can be made to prevent future vote-rigging. And the gathering should be convened before the parliamentary elections scheduled for next year: This would allow the legislators who are elected then to have some of the legitimacy that is lacking at present.

2015 is supposed to mark the start of Afghanistan’s “Transformation Decade.”

But if the country is to even get to 2015 in one piece, its new leaders must act fast to correct course after the failed transformation of the last decade.

Ahmed Rashid is the author of six books on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

US strike against IS must observe international rules Global Times The US and its Arab coalition carried out airstrikes using Tomahawk missiles and F-22 fighter jets against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria early Tuesday. US President Barack Obama has claimed that the crackdown on the IS will continue until the end of his term.

The Obama administration did not seek UN approval for the airstrikes. The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also claimed that the airstrikes were not conducted with the permission of the Syrian government.

There are three influential forces in Syria now: government forces, the Western-backed opposition and the IS, among which government forces are the strongest. The US is combating the IS, but it only joins hands with the opposition and meanwhile continues to label the Assad government as an authoritarian regime and suppress it.

Therefore, the military campaign in Syria will be difficult. No matter how much external support the US has gained, it has given up the chance to unite as many forces as possible from within Syria. US hostility against the Assad government is one of the reasons for the surge in IS militancy. Washington at present has neither the power nor the courage to change this attitude.

It will be easier for the US to eradicate the IS if it cooperates with the Syrian government forces. However, at such a critical moment, Washington fails to realize who the biggest enemy is from the mess it creates.

Nonetheless, the IS is the enemy of the world. The positive influences of strikes against it are obvious. But it is not certain whether Washington can avoid escalating confrontation with the Assad government during this "anti-terror" war.

Obama has warned Syria not to "disturb" the US fighters. His latest tough speech shut the door once again on cooperation with the Assad regime. Obama openly vowed not to drag the US troops into the battlefield of the Middle East. Merely carrying out airstrikes could reduce the risks facing the US, but will increase the chances of survival of the IS. China should take a "no objection" attitude toward the US airstrikes. But it should simultaneously encourage the US to conduct operations while remaining respectful of Syrian sovereignty and in accordance with the UN Charter. If the US also targets Syrian government troops in the military campaign, China should adjust its attitude accordingly. With two years left to go in his second term, Obama has shown caution in fighting against the IS. Whether the crackdown will trigger another war is a determining factor to judge Obama's performance. If Obama can withstand pressure from US hawks, he will be remembered by the public.

The IS is bloody and brutal. It's said to be more attractive to extremists than Al Qaeda. The campaign to wipe out the IS shouldn't become a hotbed for another more radical terrorist organization.

It's the expectation of the international community.

10 BUSINESS CORPORATE CORNER

Friday, 26 September, 2014

PIA tO bE SPlIt IntO twO, Gulf AIrlInES MAy buy COrE buSInESS ZUBAIR SAYS PIA’S EMPLOYEE-TOAIRCRAFT RATIO, AT AROUND 600, IS ONE OF THE WORST IN WORLD AND KEEPS GOING UP AS MORE PLANES ARE GROUNDED

LAHORE: Changhong Ruba launched the all new Curved UHD TV in Pakistan. David Hu, CEO Manzoor Khan and Babar Cheema are seen in the picture. Staff pHoto

LAHORE: Borjan CEO Zahid Hussain inaugurates an exhibition of ladies handbags at MM Alam Road. Staff pHoto

LAHORE: On behalf of Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited ,Vice President HR & Admin Sardar Abid Ali Khan presenting a cheque of Rs 2 million to Brigadier Anwaar Ahmad of Pakistan Army for flood relief support activities. pR

BHURBAN: Zulfiqar Ahmad Malik, General Manager Pearl Continental Hotel Bhurban (Murree) receives best employer of the region shield from Asif Javed, Executive Director COTHM Islamabad. pR

SOftlAn And PInk rIbbOn PAkIStAn jOIn hAndS tO hElP bEAt brEASt CAnCEr

KARACHI: For many women, just hearing about Breast Cancer can be a frightening ordeal, but the fact remains that 1 in 9 women in Pakistan are at risk for it; and having greater awareness on how to detect it can be a huge preventive factor and save multiple lives. If diagnosed early, chances of survival increase up to 90%.

In an effort to help increase awareness on this issue amongst women in Pakistan, Softlan, the country's first post wash fabric conditioner has entered into a partnership with Pink Ribbon Pakistan, the country's premier NGO working on breast cancer awareness nationwide. "Softlan has a global reputation of supporting breast cancer awareness and we are looking forward to working closely with Pink Ribbon Pakistan on this issue", stated Omer Qadri (General Manager Marketing, Colgate Palmolive Pakistan) during the MOU signing ceremony. Pink Ribbon Pakistan aims to develop the country's first state of the art breast cancer diagnostic center. "It is a step in the right direction and will certainly boost our awareness campaign this year.

Softlan’s efforts will be a big support in helping us develop our diagnostic center", says Omer Aftab (CEO Pink Ribbon Pakistan). pReSS ReLeaSe

NEW DELHI

P

aGeNCIeS

AKISTAN plans to split ailing national flag carrier PIA into two companies and sell control of the core business to a global airline over the next 18 months, but political opposition to the sell-off will be intense, the country’s privatisation czar said.Financial advisers are now in talks with several airlines about taking over cashstrapped Pakistan International Airlines , which has some 17,000 employees but just 36 aircraft - and 10 of them are grounded due to a lack of spare parts.

Mohammad Zubair said during a visit to New Delhi on Wednesday that no decision had been taken on the buyer, but he mentioned Emirates Airline, Etihad and Qatar Airways - the Gulf giants that dominate the regional sector - as possibilities.

“It’s going to be the most difficult sale,” said Zubair, who is aiming to raise around $4 billion this fiscal year from the sale of stakes in several companies, anticipating demands that the government hold onto PIA

UNDER THE PLAN, AIRLINE WILL BE SPUN OFF AS A SEPARATE ENTITY AND PIA’S OTHER INTERESTS - SUCH AS GROUND-HANDLING, CATERING, HOTELS AND EVEN A POULTRY BUSINESS - WOULD GO INTO A HOLDING COMPANY THAT WOULD BE RETAINED BY THE STATE

and nurse it back to health itself.

“If we are saying that for 25 years PIA has been going from bad to worse, we can’t claim that we are business-savvy and we can turn it around,” he said. “Anyone who thinks that the government can fund it is living in a fool’s paradise.”

Zubair, a former IBM chief financial officer for the Middle East and Africa, was tapped by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take charge of a central plank of economic reforms promised by Islamabad in return for an International Monetary Fund bailout.

Pakistan announced this week it will seek to raise about $815 million through a sale of shares in Oil & Gas Development Co (OGDC), its largest offering in eight years.

Zubair said investors are returning to Pakistan after weeks of antigovernment protests in Islamabad that have now fizzled out, and the OGDC deal representing 7.5 percent of the company’s share capital would be a test of their confidence.

The OGDC sale is part of a selloff drive to raise capital for an economy that has been crippled for years by power shortages, corruption and

Equity investors hail PSO’s stellar performance at ISE Islamabad” Pakistan State Oil (PSO) CEO Amjad Parvez Janjua and CFO Sohail Butt addressed the Islamabad Stock Exchange Thursday to highlight the stellar performance achieved by the company during FY2014. Speaking at the occasion, Janjua said that PSO closed FY2014 with flying colours. He stated that it was a momentous year in PSO’s operating history when the company recorded all time high sales revenue, operating profit, after tax earnings and market capitalization.

Consequently, the company made highest ever contribution to the government exchequer in the form of duties and taxes. During the year, the company earned a profit after tax of Rs 21.8 billion against 12.6 billion last year and crossed Rs 100 billion mark of market capitalization to be one of the few ‘large cap’ companies on the Stock Exchanges of Pakistan. Janjua added that the company was now on Forbes 2000 list of world’s biggest publicly traded companies. Staff RepoRt

IMC hOldS SuPPlIEr COnfErEnCE KARACHI: Vice President Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Yasuhiro Shido appreciated the efforts of Indus Motor Company (IMC) to enhance the quality of locally manufactured parts. He also showed his satisfaction on the improvement made by the company’s suppliers over the last few years during IMC Annual Suppliers Convention held recently under the theme ‘Excellence knows no Limit’ in Karachi. Shido was the chief guest at the convention that is an annual feature of the company with the aim of recognizing the efforts of the IMC vendors/suppliers. He congratulated the IMC family on remarkable achievements made during the year, particularly bringing the 11th generation Toyota Corolla to Pakistan. He applauded the suppliers’ role for their continuous support in running production smoothly. He also emphasized on introducing green purchasing, which focuses on the procurement of material that should be environment friendly and can be used alternatively. pReSS ReLeaSe

LAHORE: Mobilink Torchbearers handing over food items for flood victims to PDMA. pR

militant violence, and to staunch huge losses from dysfunctional companies. Zubair said the losses of power distribution companies alone are equivalent to one-sixth of the government’s fiscal revenues.

Next on the block will be the government’s 40 percent stake in Habib Bank Ltd, which will be sold in two stages between November and next March, for around $1.2 billion. Also ahead is the sale, targeted at domestic investors, of the state’s 7.5 percent stake in Allied Bank Ltd, for around $150 million, Zubair said.

‘PerhaPs I’ll arrIve’: Once a source of pride for the country, PIA’s decay has made it the butt of jokes, one of which goes that its initials actually stand for ‘Perhaps I’ll Arrive’. Flights are regularly cancelled and engineers say they have to cannibalise some planes to keep others flying.

Last year a PIA pilot was jailed in the United Kingdom for being three times over the alcohol limit before he was due to fly. Pakistani media reported that another pilot delayed a New York-bound flight for more than two hours as he waited for a sandwich delivery.

Over the years, critics say, governments have manipulated state corporations like PIA for political and financial gain, giving jobs to so many supporters that the size of the workforce has become unsustainable in the face of mounting losses.

Zubair said that PIA’s employee-to-aircraft ratio, at around 600, is one of the worst in the world and keeps going up as more planes are grounded. Under his plan, the airline will be spun off as a separate entity and PIA’s other interests such as ground-handling, catering, hotels and even a poultry business would go into a holding company that would be retained by the state.

To avoid mass layoffs that would run into political opposition the holding company would absorb all the employees, keep a share in the airline to earn dividend income and then sell off each of its interests individually over time. Zubair said he could not proceed with the sale of PIA as quickly as other companies, partly because parliament may have to approve legislation allowing it to pass into private hands. “It’s more politically sensitive,” he said. “PIA is not going to be sold just like that.”

(ACQUISITION OF SHIPPING FLEET)

KPT’s love for discharging ‘ill-planned’ tenders irk shipyards KARACHI ISMaIL DILaWaR

The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has earned a bad name in the local and international shipbuilding markets by frequently inviting and discharging its ill-thought-out tenders for the chartering or acquisition of different crafts to upgrade Pakistan’s largest port operator’s ageing fleet.

Contractors affiliated with the local and foreign shipyards are said to have been badly irked by the KPT which, the sources claimed, had invited, discharged, re-invited and again discharged tenders almost a dozen times in recent years. The KPT is again being run by the Pakistan Navy through its serving vice admiral, Shafqat Javed, after the Trust saw civilian chief executives like Nasreen Haque, Javed Hanif Khan and others coming and going one after another during the previous five-year reign of Pakistan People’s Party.

To the sheer disappointment of local and foreign shipbuilding firms, the port operator has discharged what the contractors said ‘ill-planned’ tenders once in a bid to hire two hopper barges, three to four times while acquiring the same barges on construction basis, twice in the acquisition of pilot boats and twice while buying survey boats.

“This non-serious attitude of frequently inviting and discharging tenders has earned for KPT a bad reputation among the local and international shipyards,” an irritated contractor told Pakistan Today.

Latest of the tenders the KPT scrapped was related to the construction and supply of two ASD tugs, each of 75 tons bollard pull (tbp) capacity.

Advertised on June 19, the tender attracted at least 20 contractors who, while preparing to submit the bid on Thursday (Sept 25), were notified exactly after three months on Sept 19 that the tender was discharged.

“We were surprised to know

that the (KPT) chairman has again discharged the tender for tugs,” said another contractor.

This Rs 2 billion project is lingering for over last two years when the KPT in June 2012 had tendered for the acquisition of two ex-shelf tugs to be used at the under construction Pakistan Deep Water Container Port (PDWCP).

Within next six months Turkey’s M/s Uzmar and Holland’s M/s Damen were qualified technically. Then had intervened the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in January 2013 asking the KPT to get the tugs constructed instead of ex-shelf.

Also, the NAB had noticed that the KPT had not prepared or submitted a PC-1 to the federal government. The Bureau then asked KPT for a PC-1 for the multi-million dollars project.

This made KPT declare the rupee instead of US dollar as a currency for the payment. This factor, a KPT insider said, proved to be the fresh stumbling block for the longdelayed project. In a pre-bid meeting with KPT officials in last week of July, the contractors had expressed reservations over the rupeebased mode of payment.

The contractors, the insider said, said their foreign principals would not agree to pay in rupee, which has been devaluing in recent months. “The GM then wrote to the chairman who was quick to declared the tender discharged,” the contractor lamented.

The contractor complained that the KPT officials had been tendering sans doing their “homework”. “At first place, you (KPT) should have sought the approval of the ministry to make dollar as a currency of payment,” he suggested.

While the multi-billion dollars Deep Water Container Port is almost ready to be commissioned, the KPT is yet to make sure it has had all necessities like tugs and pilot boats arranged well before time.

LEISURE 11

Friday, 26 September, 2014

HaGaR tHE HoRRIblE

aries

taurus

gemini

Although you might not be as comfortable in the emotional realms as when you are in motion, it's time to learn new ways of expression. The potential for growth may be rather subtle at first, but the long-term.

The simplest activities at home can bring you great pleasure today but your mind may be distracted by other forms of enjoyment. Perhaps you are longing for a romantic adventure or a spiritual quest.

Your intuitive nature is functioning at a very high frequency now, channeling powerful information that was previously inaccessible. Although your first impulse may be to shut down and rely on more rational.

cancer

leo

virgo

Set aside the struggles that are monopolizing your attention these days, so you can refocus on the future rather than dwell in the past. You are preparing to make powerful changes that can offer new avenues.

Pushing against your self-imposed limitations today is the best way to overcome the obstacles currently in your path. You can get away with eccentric behaviors that might appear overwhelming at other times.

There are secrets you must tell, yet it may take more time to determine the smartest way to share what you're afraid to reveal. This is a time of personal growth, and part of your current work is to increase.

libra

scorpio

sagittarius

Your feelings are quite close to the surface now, yet they may continue to evolve over the days ahead. Controlling your emotions is not the same as monitoring your reactions to others. Don't let your shifting.

The details of your everyday routine grow less important to you now as you seek to break out of any stagnation that lingers in your life. Unfortunately, there may not be any quick fixes, for constraining.

Although you may secretly fear loss of the status quo, you are in an exciting process of gaining freedom as irrepressible Uranus zaps your key planet Jupiter. Even if you must stand up to an authority.

dIlbERt

GaRFIEld

baldo

capricorn

aQuarius

pisces

Your most traditional ideas about home and family are currently in a state of flux. You are opening your heart to new feelings in surprising ways and your beliefs are changing with respect to your goals.

An important teacher may appear on the scene now to show you new ways of thriving in relationships.

You might discover that your preconceived notions about your spouse, lover, friends or associates are.

Your status at work can improve substantially over the months ahead if you have the patience to stick to your ambitious plan. Often you are willing to set your agenda aside in order to flow with the prevailing.

cRosswoRd

sUdoKU

woRd sEaRcH

ACROSS

bRIdGE

How to play fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the squares contains all the digits. the object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

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Today’s soluTions

loUIE's bElatEd wIn

cHEss black TO PlaY aND MaTE IN fOur MOVEs 8

crossword solution

7 6 5 4 3 2

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

chess solution

A

1.Rxe6 Rxe6 2.b6+ Kxb6 [2...Kb8 3.Rh8+] 3.Rh6! *

1

sudoku solution

1 feeling of apprehension (12) 9 expert (5) 10 cheese with small holes (7) 11 fasten — detect and expose (4) 12 most important part of a group (8) 14 overcome with amazement (6) 15 scout's neckerchief ring (6) 18 reach once more (8) 20 ancient egyptian symbol of life — khan (anag) (4) 22 adorable — honeybun (7) 23 residue (5) 24 computer text suggesting that you have made a mistake (5,7) DOwn 2 vent (7) 3 a large number (4) 4 worm-like movement (of the hips?) (6) 5 club (8) 6 old medicinal sucker (5) 7 horse race (12) 8 early dickens novel (7,5) 13 merchant selling garments (8) 16 aromatic root (7) 17 carp (6) 19 clothes drier (5) 21 sums up (4)

across action advantages after aggressive beet board bolster brig certain change clear cover final greet infectious injury lain mental

12

I

Friday, 26 September 2014

ARTS

NdIA’S spacecraft has beamed back its first photos of Mars, showing its crater-marked surface, as the country glowed with pride Thursday after winning Asia’s race to the Red Planet.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) uploaded one of the photos to its Facebook page, showing an orange surface with dark holes, taken from a height of 7,300 kilometres (4,536 miles).

ISRO also posted the photo on Twitter, with the caption “The view is nice up here”. The organisation’s senior scientist V. Koteswara Rao said the spacecraft, called the Mars Orbiter Mission, has taken a dozen photos and that everything was working well.

“The Mars colour camera on board started working soon after Orbiter stabilised in the elliptical orbit of Mars and has taken a dozen quality pictures of its surface and its surroundings,” Rao told a foreign news agency.

“The camera will also take images of the Red Planet’s two moons and beam them to our deep space network centre,” he added, referring to the base near the southern city of Bangalore.

“Health and other parameters of the spacecraft are fine and all the essential functions are performing normally.”

Supremacy in aSia: India became the first Asian country to reach Mars on Wednesday when the unmanned Mangalyaan spacecraft entered the planet’s orbit after a 10-month journey, all on a shoestring budget.

The mission, which is designed to

IndIa’s spacecraft beams back fIrst mars photos

search for evidence of life on the planet, is a huge source of national pride for India as it competes with Asian rivals for success in space.

India beat rival neighbour China, whose first attempt flopped in 2011 despite the Asian superpower pouring billions of dollars into its programme.

At just $74 million, India’s mission cost less than the estimated $100 million budget of the sci-fi blockbuster “Gravity”. It also represents just a fraction of the cost of NASA’s $671 million MAVEN spacecraft, which successfully began orbiting the fourth planet from the sun on Sunday.

India now joins an elite club of the United States, Russia and Europe who can boast of reaching Mars. More than half of all missions to the planet have ended in failure. No single nation had previously succeeded on its first go, although the European Space Agency, which represents a consortium of countries, pulled off the feat at its first attempt.

Scientists presented the Mars photos on Thursday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was on hand in the command centre to witness the achievement.

“The success of our space programme is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation,” a jubilant Modi said on Wednesday. The mission’s success received front-page coverage in Indian newspapers Thursday, with the Hindustan Times declaring “MARTIAN RACE WON” and the Times of India, “India enters super exclusive Mars club.”

Researcher Kep Kee Loh said: ‘Media multi-tasking is becoming more prevalent in our lives today and there is increasing concern about its impacts on our cognition and socialemotional well-being.’

He added that more research is needed to prove that multi-tasking shrinks the brain.

This is because it is also possible that people with less grey matter in the ACC are more drawn to using lots of gadgets simultaneously.

Scientists have previously demonstrated brain structure can be altered on prolonged exposure to novel environments and experience.

Other studies have shown that training – such as learning to juggle or taxi drivers learning the map of London – can increase grey-matter densities in certain parts.

Experts have also warned of the harmful impact technology can have on our memory and attention span.

The University of California team commissioned a survey of more than 18,000 people aged between 18 and 99 and found 20 per cent had problems with memory. Researchers were taken aback by the 14 per cent of 18 to 39year-olds who also worried about their memories.

Multi-tasking with gadgets may shorten attention span, making it harder to focus and form memories, the researchers said, adding that youngsters may be particularly affected by stress. VIA MAIL ONLINE

“India, by becoming the first Asian country to launch a successful Mars mission, has taken the wind out of the sails of nations like China, Japan and South Korea,” it said. Critics of the programme say a country that struggles to feed its people adequately and where roughly half have no toilets should not be splurging on space travel. AGENCIES

COMPLAINTS ON 'BENDY' IPHONE, SOFTWARE BUGS DOG APPLE

MULTI-TASKING MAKES YOUR BRAIN SMALLER: RESEARCH STUDY If you are sending a text, watching the TV or listening to the radio, you may want to stop and give this your full attention. Multi-tasking shrinks the brain, research suggests.

A study found that men and women who frequently used several types of technology at the same time had less grey matter in a key part of the brain. University of Sussex researchers said: ‘Simultaneously using mobile phones, laptops and other media devices could be changing the structure of our brains.’

Worryingly, the part of the brain that shrinks is involved in processing emotion. The finding follows research which has linked multi-tasking with a shortened attention span, depression, anxiety and lower grades at school.

The researchers began by asking 75 healthy men and women how often they divided their attention between different types of technology.

This could mean sending a text message while listening to music and checking email, or speaking on the phone while watching TV and surfing the web. The volunteers were then given brain scans which showed they had less grey matter in a region called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).

The findings held even when differences in personality were taken into account.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, is the first to make a link between multi-tasking and the structure of the brain.

Indians, from government ministers to office workers and cricketers poured onto Twitter to show their national pride, while school students celebrated by eating traditional Indian sweets.

“The space exploration arena is getting crowded and it is important to be ahead of your competition,” the Hindustan Times said in an editorial.

Indian man lives for two months with bullet in his heart NEW DELHI ONLINE

An Indian man was recovering well after undergoing surgery to remove a bullet that had been lodged in his heart for two months, doctors have said. Bharat Sharma, 32 was shot twice in July after becoming accidently caught up in a bank robbery in the country's eastern Uttar Pradesh state, according to a report in the Times of India.

Sharma had surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his waist, but local surgeons had refused to take out the one in his heart, fearing he would die instantly, the report said. Sharma finally travelled to the western city of Ahmedabad for the surgery on Tuesday to remove the .20 calibre bullet lodged near the apex of his heart's left ventricle. Cardiac surgeon Anil Jain said he and his team of two performed a "complicated" three-hour operation to remove the bullet and stitch up the heart.

"The bullet was stuck horizontally between the valves," said Jain, from the SAL private hospital in Ahmedabad. "Also, since the patient had lost lots of blood after the incident, we had to be very careful," he said. "How the patient survived and reached us is pure destiny, Jain said. The doctor said Sharma would be able to return to work in another month after his recovery in the hospital's intensive care unit.

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

Apple released and then abruptly pulled back an update for the iOS software powering the iPhone on Wednesday after users complained of bugs, including one that disabled cellular service.

The apparently botched update came after a rash of complaints posted on social media about the reportedly fragile body on some of the largescreen iPhones which went on sale last week. Apple released a tweak to its iOS 8 operating system, called iOS 8.0.1, but then pulled the software after complaints that the update disabled cellular service and Apple's touch-identification system.

In a statement to the news website TechCrunch, Apple said: "We have received reports of an issue with the iOS 8.0.1 update. We are actively investigating these reports and will provide information as quickly as we can. In the meantime we have pulled back the iOS 8.0.1 update."

The news caused further embarrassment to Apple after some users posted comments about bends in the bodies of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus when carried in trouser pockets.

On the MacRumors forum of Apple users, one iPhone buyer noted that, after carrying the handset in a front pocket for 18 hours, "I saw the reflection of the window in the iPhones slightly distorted."

The user posted a picture of the bent iPhone, and dozens posted similar complaints on Twitter.

Apple said Monday it sold more than 10 million of the new smartphones in the first three days since launching in a handful of countries, setting a new record for opening weekend sales. The new iPhones were launched Friday in the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico and Singapore. They will be available in more than 20 additional countries on September 26, and 115 countries by the end of the year.

TECH GIANTS FACE-OFF: SAMSUNG LAUNCHES NOTE 4 PHABLET IN RESPONSE TO APPLE SEOUL: South Korea's Samsung launched the latest version of its oversized Galaxy Note smartphone earlier than expected Wednesday after US rival Apple reported record sales of its latest iPhone 6. Samsung said the Galaxy Note 4 -- initially scheduled for launch in October -would hit stores in South Korea and China this week before being sold in 140 nations by the end of next month. It would be the first time a flagship Samsung product has gone on sale in China ahead of other markets, reflecting the firm's desire to battle growing competition from cheaper Chinese-made rivals. Samsung initially pioneered the market for the "phablet" devices -- sized between a smartphone and a tablet computer -- when it introduced its Galaxy Note series in 2011. Along with the Galaxy S smartphones, they helped the South Korean electronics giant dethrone Apple as the world's top maker of smartphones. But Samsung has faced a growing challenge in an increasingly saturated market, where competition from cheaper Chinese handset makers has intensified in recent years. The company in July reported a 20-percent drop in its net profit for the second quarter, and its shares are currently trading

CMYK

Friday, 26 September, 2014

ARTS

I would be very happy If ‘KamIney 2′ happens: shahId Kapoor

ALI, RANVEER AND GOVINDA ARE THE ‘KILLER TRIO’ IN TITLE TRACK OF ‘KILL DIL’

s

ENTERTAINMENT DESK The much awaited title track of bollywood’s upcoming comedy film “Kill Dil” which stars Ali Zafar and Ranveer Singh along with comedy king Govinda, is finally out. The song penned by Gulzar and composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, begins with whistling by Ali, Ranveer and Govinda. As the song picks up pace, it begins with the note “Get ready for the killer trio” indicating the three heartthrobs as the “Kill Dil” trio. The song sung by Sonu Nigam and Shankar Mahadevan shows gun wielding friends Ranveer and Ali matching steps with the dance-guru Govinda himself. Kill Dil directed by Shaad Ali, revolves around two killers Ranveer and Ali who play Dev and Tutu in the film. Govinda who plays Bhaiyaji, takes these orphans under his tutelage.

Evertyhing's fine, till Parineeti Chopra aka Disha enters their lives. The film is all set to be released on 14th of November.

‘SUPER NANI’ PUSHED FORWARD TO AVOID CLASH WITH SRK ‘HAPPY NEW YEAR'

Director Indra Kumar, who was planning to release his “Super Nani” during Diwali, has pushed the release date forward to avoid a clash with Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Happy New Year”. A small-budget drama, ‘Super Naani’ was scheduled for an Oct 24 release, but now the film starring Rekha, Sharman Joshi, and Anupam Kher, among others, will be released Oct 31. “We have postponed our film and there are several reasons behind this. One of the major reasons to push the film was that we want to avoid the clash with Shah Rukh Khan,” Kumar told. Director Farah Khan’s bigbudget multi-starrer “Happy New Year” is expected to hit the screens in the third week of October. AGENCIES

HAHID KAPOOR’S ‘Haider’ with Vishal Bhardwaj is ready to come out, but that is not enough for the actor. His wish is that the filmmaker should make ‘Kaminey 2′ with him.

Released in 2009, ‘Kaminey’ starred Shahid in a double role and he won accolades for his performance from all quarters. The film had been a path-breaking film in Shahid Kapoor’s career and the actor has. Though speculations about “Kaminey 2” have been doing rounds for a while, it is only now that Shahid Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj decided to reveal about their third outing together.

While reports are doing the round that Shahid is, in fact, already a part of ‘Kaminey 2′, the actor said, “I would be very happy if ‘Kaminey 2′ happens.”

Kaminey had tasted critical acclaim and audience appreciation. Also, the music had gained popularity, especially the club number ‘Dhan Te Nan’.

“I had an amazing experience with Vishal sir working on ‘Kaminey’ and now ‘Haider’. I just hope he casts me in his next film and I hope that this film is ‘Kaminey 2′,” the 33-year-old said on the sets of reality show “Cine Stars Ki Khoj”.

Kaminey had tasted critical acclaim and audience appreciation. Also, the music had gained popularity, especially the club number ‘Dhan Te Nan’.

An excited Shahid Kapoor also revealed that this time around too, Kaminey 2 will have an amazing re-interpretation of the same song but in the form of a romantic version.

In fact, Shahid Kapoor revealed that Vishal Bhardwaj already has the ready script. Once Haider releases, Vishal’s team will soon complete the screenplay of the Kaminey 2.

An adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, “Haider” also stars Shraddha Kapoor. The film will hit theatres Oct 2. AGENCIES

KATRINA KAIF: BOX OFFICE SUCCESS MATTERS TO ME After delivering many hits in her career, actress Katrina Kaif says she is lucky that most of her films have performed well at the box office.

Katrina, 31, who has given many successful films including ‘Dhoom 3′, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ and ‘Raajneeti’, said box-office numbers do matter to her. “Box office success does matter to me.

Everyone wants their films to do well because you have worked hard. As an actress one craves for that acceptance. I am super fortunate that I have not seen the other side. My films mostly have done well at the box office and I have a lot of gratitude and happiness. I just hope that continues with my next film too. When your film doesn’t do well after so much of hardwork there is heartbreak and it’s not a good feeling,” Katrina said. Often touted as the number one actress in the industry, Katrina says she considers herself lucky that the audience have accepted her. “Acceptance from the viewers is very important for me. Our viewers are very fair and also forgiving. They are very kind. They love you because of your good work. But they don’t look out for detailed flaws. They are happy to accept the good. Two films have not done well. Nobody has that answer. I just keep praying and hoping the record remains well. Besides destiny and blessings from god, it’s good script sense and what the audience might like.

I hope my script sense is good,” Katrina Kaif told reporters. The British-descent actress is all geared up for her next action-thriller ‘Bang Bang’, which is hitting theatres on October 2. The film will see Katrina reunite with her ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ co-star

Hrithik Roshan. “I have been lucky that people have liked the chemistry with most of my co-actors. In a way the audience has liked two individual human beings together. I am happy that people are appreciating my chemistry with Hrithik,” she said. The actress says that ‘Bang Bang’ was an unpredictable journey for the film’s crew because they had suffered many roadblocks during the shooting. “Many times I felt while shooting for the film it is destined to be a hard journey. I got used to it. In Kashmir the terrorist attack happened and the shooting got delayed. Then I was in Spain and I was catching a flight to Prague, I got a call from my manager that Hrithik’s brain surgery will happen. The unit was already in Prague.

AGENCIES

LAHORE

spired by the festive colors of thehistoric Winter Palace and the gowns and uniforms of The Tsars and Tsarinas,

BOB DYLAN TO BE HONOURED AT PRE-GRAMMYS GALA

Legendary singer Bob Dylan will be honoured by some of the music industry’s biggest names at a special pre-Grammys event next year. Jack White, Neil Young, The Black Keys, Willie Nelson and Crosby, Stills and Nash will perform at the gala to celebrate the 73-year-old being named 2015’s MusiCares person of the year. Carole King and Bruce Springsteen are among the previous recipients. Dylan has won 10 Grammys, seven of them after being handed a lifetime achievement award in 1992. Beck, Tom Jones and Norah Jones are amongst the stars who will perform versions of the musician’s songs at the show on February 6, 2015, two days before the Grammys. AGENCIES

JEREMY RENNER CONFIRMS HE SECRETLY MARRIED SONNI PACHECO

Ammara Khan to make runway debut at PFDC with ‘The Winter Palace: A Celebration of the Russian Tsarina’ LOTUS PR

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featuring hues such as rich gold, silvers, soft pastels, amber, taupe, Prussian blues, coral and ivory.

Couture House‘ Ammara Khan’ is all set to make its runaway debut on Day 2 of the prestigious PFDC L'Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2014 with the collection titled “The Winter Palace: A Celebration of the Russian Tsarina”.

The collection, inspired by the luxurious and opulent lifestyles of the Russian Royalty, comprises structured jackets, tapered long trousers, floorsweeping gowns, voluminous skirts, Aline flowing tunics and classic saris.

The materials used include silk brocades, French laces, net, velvet and organza. Ammara Khan has employed exquisite age old techniques of embroidery using silver and gold thread with meticulous craftsmanship, embellished with crystals, semi-precious stones and lustrous pearls. The color palette is in-

CMYK

Speaking about Ammara Khan’s participation in PLBW 2014, Ammara Khan, Creative Head of the atelier, said: “I’m very excited to be part of Pakistan’s foremost bridal fashion platform and hope to make a positive contribution. I’m extremely grateful to the Council for this opportunity and wish all the participating designers’ success.”

Founded in 2002, the couture house Ammara Khan is renowned for its signature focus on supreme luxury and exquisite craftsmanship. Ammara Khan’s design philosophy is a harmonious blend of the classic and contemporary. With a childhood love for fashion, Ammara Khan pursued her dream and acquired formal education from the renowned Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) New York and Polimoda in Florence, Italy specializing in evening wear.

Currently,Ammara Khan is available at Ensemble Dubai and at its studio in Lahore. Going forward, the PLBW 2014 collection will be showcased at select multi-designer boutiques in Pakistan and abroad.

‘The Avengers’ star Jeremy Renner has confirmed that he got married to his girlfriend Sonni Pacheco. The 43-year-old actor, who has a daughter Ava Berlin with Pacheco, opened up about his secret wedding saying that he wants to protect his wife and family’s privacy. “I have tried to protect my family’s privacy and my wife’s privacy. I don’t need her to get hammered with my life,” he said.

“Privacy issues are important because I want her to go about her day without being bothered. Media follows me around, that’s fine.

But I don’t like being followed when I’m with my family. I’ve been talked about a whole lot, because the less I put out there, the less people know, and it makes it interesting, I assume,” he added. Renner is next to appear in ‘Kill the Messenger’ alongside Andy Garcia, Rosemarie DeWitt, Michael Sheen and Mary Elizabeth Winstead among others. AGENCIES

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Suryakumar happy to play finiSher for kkr SPORTS DESK Suryakumar Yadav is happy to have “finally played the role of a finisher” for Kolkata Knight Riders. Suryakumar struck an unbeaten 43 off 19 against Perth Scorchers on Wednesday night, carrying Knight Riders to a win - their 12th successive in Twenty20s - from a tricky position. Finishing off a game for his team is something he has always strived to do, Suryakumar said, and he was glad to get the job done despite being under immense pressure. “I feel this has been the most high-pressure game I have played till date,” Suryakumar told clt20.com. “I have never played the role of a finisher till date for Kolkata Knight Riders. I have been trying for quite some time now to finish games for Knight Riders, but I was never able to play that role successfully. I tried finishing games in the IPL as well, but I was making mistakes.” In Knight Riders’ previous game, Suryakumar was unbeaten as the team got over the line, hitting 14 not out off 5. He said he did not consider that innings substantial enough to be that of a finisher, though it did give him confidence.

“In the last game against Lahore Lions, though I had a very small role to play in that chase, that innings gave me the confidence that I can play my role to good effect. I carried that confidence into this game.”

Against Scorchers, Suryakumar said the pressure really began to mount on him when the big-hitting Yusuf Pathan was out with 27 needed off 15. “That was the first time I became nervous because we all know that Yusuf Pathan is someone who can take the game away from the opposition from anywhere. At that time I remembered one thing that my captain and the coach had told me - “Whenever you keep calm, you can excel more during nervous situations.” That is exactly what I did tonight and the result is there to be seen.” Given his interest in playing the finisher for Knight Riders, Suryakumar said he had more mental tactics to calm himself when under pressure in a chase. “I just don’t think about the situation at that time,” he said. “If I know that I have to score 29-odd runs from 11 balls then I have to do it; it is my job. I feel thinking about the pressure situation will only result in adding more pressure on myself. Instead I think about other things like ‘what will I do after winning the game’, ‘what would an experienced player have done if he was in this situation?’ I follow that and then take it from there.” In the Scorchers game, Surayakumar said it helped that the penultimate over was bowled by Nathan Coulter-Nile, whom he had previously played with at Mumbai Indians. “I had an idea about his stock balls in the death overs, since I have played him when we both were a part of Mumbai Indians.

Friday, 26 September, 2014

‘Started off aS a faSt bowler’

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SPORTS DESK

ULDEEP Yadav, the Kolkata Knight Riders chinaman bowler, has revealed in an interview that he began his life in cricket as a seam bowler, and that he cried when his coach first asked him to switch to spin.

Kuldeep was one of India’s best performers at the Under-19 World Cup in the UAE, and has made an immediate impact since breaking through to Knight Riders’ first team.

Having made his debut for the side during the Champions League T20, Kuldeep has taken four wickets in two matches, and conceded his runs at an economy rate of 5.63 an over.

“I started off as a fast bowler but one day my coach, Kapil Pandey, called me said that speed is not my forte and I should bowl spin,” Kuldeep told PTI. “And that really changed my future course of action and I became a chinaman bowler.

“Though I did not like bowling spin and I even cried after the change, of course now I look back and feel it was for my good. I would not have gone the distance as a fast bowler.”

Kuldeep said he enjoys the atmosphere in the Knight Riders dressing room.

“It’s great to be part of the KKR squad,” he said. “Nobody has airs about themselves and are very down to earth. They never make me feel like a junior player. Everybody respects and supports each other and we all gel like a family.”

WATSON ‘WILL PLAY A LOT MORE TESTS’: CLARKE SPORTS DESK Australia’s captain Michael Clarke believes his former deputy Shane Watson is facing stiff competition for his place in the side but remains part of the team’s Test future.

Watson will miss the upcoming series against Pakistan in the UAE due to a calf injury and his place in the Test side is likely to be occupied by Mitchell Marsh. It continues Watson’s unfortunate run of injuries over the past few years, after he missed the entire 201112 home Test summer with calf and hamstring problems, and three Tests of the following season due to a calf injury. He played on the 2013 Test tour of India as a batsman only but failed to have any impact, and his future selection appears to hinge on his being able to bowl.

At 33, he still has time ahead of him but if younger allrounders such as Marsh, or in spinning conditions, Glenn Maxwell, succeed, it will create tougher decisions for the selectors. However, Clarke said Watson remained an important

player for Australia in the next few years, provided his body allowed him to play at his best.

“I think if Watto is batting and bowling, he’s a huge part of our team, but he’s obviously got some stiff competition now as well,” Clarke told reporters at the New South Wales season launch on Wednesday. “Watto’s greatest challenge has been trying to stay fit and healthy and I think we also need to understand and respect that he’s pushed his body to the max being a batsman and bowler.

“He bowls at a good pace and is a destructive batter so there’s still going to be injuries for the rest of his career, as there is for Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner and all the allrounders. If Watto can get himself fit and healthy he’ll certainly play a lot more Tests, one-day and Twenty20 cricket for Australia.” Fitness problems have played havoc with Watson’s international career; he has played only 52 of a possible 106 Tests since his debut, the majority of those he has missed being due to injuries.

By comparison, Clarke him-

self has missed only one Test due to injury, when his back prevented him from taking the field in Delhi in 2013, but he faces a challenge to prove his fitness for the Pakistan Tests.

Clarke suffered a hamstring injury ahead of the recent one-day tri-series in Zimbabwe and aggravated the problem when he played his first match of the tournament, forcing him to fly home early. He will fly to the UAE on Tuesday, six days before the rest of the Test squad, to work with the team physio Alex Kountouris and give himself the best possible chance of recovering in time.

“Alex knows my body very well,” Clarke said. “He’ll be the one that gives me the allclear to play the Test matches if he thinks I’m fully fit. If I pass what Alex needs me to pass that will give me a lot of confidence as well.” Watson captained Australia in Delhi when Clarke was ruled out, but Brad Haddin will become Australia’s 45th Test captain if Clarke misses the first Test in Dubai, which begins on October 22.

SLC allows Senanayake to play domestic cricket SPORTS DESK Sachithra Senanayake has been green-lighted to play in Sri Lanka’s Mercantile Cricket tournament, after Sri Lanka Cricket analysed a report by the experts with whom the offspinner reworked his action.

The board said “Sachithra has shown tremendous improvement” following the week-long remedial work he undertook alongside human movement specialist Daryl Foster at the University of Western Australia in Perth but was unwilling to indicate whether the flex in his elbow had been brought to within the 15-degree legal limit.

Senanayake had undergone several rounds of biome-

chanical testing aimed at providing a scientific indication on his progress, during and after the remedial work in Perth. The reports generated from these tests specify the flexion in his elbow at each stage of the remedial process.

The ICC test that had originally had Senanayake banned from international cricket showed him flexing his elbow as much as 43 degrees.

“Even if the flexion has been given to us [in the University of Western Australia report], it is something which we cannot share with anybody,” board CEO Ashley de Silva said. “They have done post-remedial testing. We are happy with the results of the post-testing.”

SLC said that

Senanayake’s remedial work was ongoing under the supervision of local coaches, but appeared hopeful that he will be cleared to return to international cricket soon. An official release said: “SLC will coordinate with ICC on the date of his retesting in the near future.”

The board’s cricket operations manager Carlton Bernardus did not set down a timeline for Senanayake’s international return, but said SLC would look to act quickly. “He’s one of our assets, so we need to get him back fast,” Bernardus said. “He will be monitored during the domestic matches, when he plays. He will be recorded. We want to see him not only in the nets but also on the playing field. We have the

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opportunity of going for a second test. We need to be confident. That is the confidence we’re trying to place in the player, by putting him on field.”

There are disincentives for rushing a player back to international cricket too soon. If Senanayake is cleared to play international cricket again, and is once more reported and found guilty of contravening the legal limits of flexion within two years of his original suspension, he will be suspended from bowling in international cricket for a minimum of one year.

The Mercantile one-day matches do not hold List A status, but are a major fixture in Sri Lanka’s domestic calendar.

Although Senanayake’s action has not yet been officially cleared, the ICC’s guidelines on bowlers reported for suspect actions state that “a player that has been suspended from international cricket… shall be permitted to continue playing domestic cricket [under the supervision and consent of his home board]”.

Senanayake had been instrumental to Sri Lanka’s limited overs success in 2014, and had been particularly effective in the World T20 and the ODI series in England.

The World Cup in February is the obvious target for his return, but Sri Lanka also have seven-match ODI series against England and New Zealand in the interim.

Friday, 26 September, 2014

murray through in Shenzhen, troicki dumpS top Seed ferrer out

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2014 RED BULL DOESN’T SUIT ME: VETTEL

SPORTS DESK

NDY Murray beat Somdev Devvarman 6-3 6-3 at the Shenzhen Open in China whilst Viktor Troicki claimed a shock win over top seed David Ferrer. The Scot capitalised on four of his seven break points against the Indian who skipped the ongoing Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea to focus on the professional tour.

Murray, seeded second for the tournament, took five games in a row from 3 apiece in the first set to seemingly take control of the contest.

However, Murray let slip a twogame advantage in the second set but recovered to see it out comfortably.

Top seed David Ferrer was bundled out of the Shenzhen Open second round

by Serb Viktor Troicki on Thursday.

To compound the Spaniard’s misery, the 6-3 6-4 defeat will not help his chances of reaching the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Ferrer, 32, is currently seventh in the race to qualify for the Nov. 9-16 event in London. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have already booked three of the eight spots for the singles. Tomas Berdych is almost neck and neck with Ferrer, just 25 points behind in eighth spot before this week’s

SPORTS 15

SPORTS DESK Sebastian Vettel now has no doubt that his driving style simply does not suit the characteristics of the 2014 Red Bull Formula 1 car. The German has made good progress in recent weeks with understanding the RB10, and achieved his best result of the season with second place at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Having changed chassis repeatedly in recent months to rule out other factors, Vettel is convinced his style is just incompatible with this year’s design. “Every time I want to push or make something happen, it just doesn’t,” said Vettel, who is 57 points adrift of teammate Daniel Ricciardo in the standings. “I think it is a characteristic of this year’s car in combination with the downforce we have, with the tyres. It just maybe doesn’t give me yet what I want in a certain area of the corner. tournaments, but ninth-placed Milos Raonic is not far behind, with Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray on his heels.

World number 174 Troicki fired 13 aces to canter to victory in just 66 minutes, his first over world number five

troicki dumpS top Seed ferrer out of Shenzhen

Ferrer in four matches.

ATP RAce To London sTAndings (ToP eighT quALify): 1. Novak Djokovic 8150-qualified 2. Roger Federer 7020-qualified 3. Rafa Nadal 6645-qualified

Kvitova ends Garcia’s dream run to enter Wuhan semis SPORTS DESK

Top seed David Ferrer was bundled out of the Shenzhen Open second round by Serb Viktor Troicki on Thursday. To compound the Spaniard’s misery, the 6-3 6-4 defeat will not help his chances of reaching the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. Ferrer, 32, is currently seventh in the race to qualify for the Nov. 9-16 event in London. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have already booked three of the eight spots for the singles. Tomas Berdych is almost neck and neck with Ferrer, just 25 points behind in eighth spot before this week’s tournaments, but ninthplaced Milos Raonic is not far behind, with Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray on his heels. World number 174 Troicki fired 13 aces to canter to victory in just 66 minutes, his first over world number five Ferrer in four matches. SPORTS DESK

4. Stanislas Wawrinka 4795 5. Marin Cilic 3935 6. Kei Nishikori 3675 7. David Ferrer 3535 8. Tomas Berdych 3510 9. Milos Raonic 3440 10. Grigor Dimitrov 3335

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova ended the dream run of France’s Caroline Garcia with a clinical performance to reach the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open on Thursday.

Kvitova, the highest seed standing at the hard court tournament after the exits of top two seeds Serena Williams and Romanian Simona Halep, defeated Garcia 6-3 6-4 in the $2.4 million inaugural WTA event.

The 24-year-old Czech broke Garcia, ranked 49 in the world, once in each set to win the quarter-final.

Garcia, 20, accounted for former world number one Venus Williams and Agnieszka Radwanska enroute to the last eight in the tournament but too many unforced errors hurt her on Thursday. “I know Garcia had a great week here, that she beat Venus and Aga 7-6 in the third. You always have to be prepared for a fight,” Kvitova said.

“I knew that she can play really well, and that she can serve well and play very aggressively from the baseline, so I knew that I had to be ready for her. “It was quite humid and hot

today, and I was really sweating a lot, but the court feels faster, which is something that probably suits my game a lot. I’m serving well, so that’s helpful too.” The victory also kept twice Wimbledon champion Kvitova on course for qualifying for the yearending WTA Finals in Singapore.

A title at Wuhan will confirm

Kvitova’s spot with Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep having already booked their places.

Another player who kept her hopes alive for the Singapore event was Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.

The sixth seed also marched into the semi-finals with a 6-3 7-5 win against another Frenchwoman, Alize Cornet.

KAYMER SAYS LANGER HELPED HIM GET USED TO LIFE IN JUNGLE

SPORTS DESK A few sage words of advice from 2004 European captain Bernhard Langer helped Martin Kaymer get used to life in the Ryder Cup “jungle” after a jittery debut, the U.S. The young German told a news conference that he was taken aback when he first experienced the electric atmosphere and hurly-burly of the biennial match against the United States at Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010. “Standing on the first tee it was very intimidating for me,” said Kaymer on the eve of the 40th Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. “It was too much, I couldn’t really handle the whole situation. “I don’t know how to explain it but it was like playing in the jungle a little bit.

“In 2012 I had a very nice conversation with Bernhard and the moral of the talk was, at the end of the day it’s just you, the golf ball and the golf course that you have to play.

Rowsell pleased with British women’s team pursuit title defence

Flawless rookie Smith takes two stroke lead in Japan SPORTS DESK Australian rookie Cameron Smith carded a flawless five-under-par 66 to take a two-stroke lead over his more illustrious rivals after the opening round of the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship on Thursday.

The in-form 21-year-old, who earned his Asian Tour card at Qualifying School this year, drained five birdies between the 11th and 17th holes to stay clear of five players grouped in a tie for second at the Ohtone Country Club in Ibaraki Prefecture.

“I’m feeling really good. We had a little break in the middle of the year and it’s really good to be back, fresh and competitive again,” said Smith, who has already had three top 10 finishes this season.

“I putted well today as I struggled a bit in the last couple of

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weeks with the putter but today was really nice and hopefully I can keep that going for the next three days.”

American David Lipsky, the current Order of Merit leader, India’s Arjun Atwal and Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng were among a group of nine players tied for seventh spot, three strokes behind the leader.

“I don’t feel like I played great today but I got around by getting an under-par score which is good,” Lipsky said after offsetting four birdies with two bogeys during his round at the par-71 course north of Tokyo.

“I hit the ball pretty poorly and I didn’t putt particularly well from long range but I holed lots of good putts and got the easy ones up and down.

“My game still feels pretty solid. Everything feels like it’s moving in the right direction.”

Joanna Rowsell admitted it was job done after she teamed up with Laura Trott, Dani King and Elinor Barker to successfully defend their women’s team pursuit title on day one of the 2014 British Cycling National Track Championships. The Wiggle Honda quartet, which included three reigning world champions in the discipline in Trott, Barker and Rowsell, clocked a time of 4:27.324 minutes over the four kilometres at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. It was enough to see them take top spot on the podium ahead of the Pearl Izumi team with VC St Raphael taking bronze. The title is likely to be the foursome’s last in Wiggle Honda colours, with Trott joining Matrix Fitness-Vulpine and Rowsell linking up with Pearl Izumi in 2015. Rowsell said: “There’s some good friendly rivalry between Wiggle Honda and Pearl Izumi so it was a good competition there. That was nice. SPORTS DESK

SPORTS Friday, 26 September, 2014

Pakistan beat inDia 2-1 in asian Games hockey match INCHEON

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efending champion Pakistan beat arch-rivals india 2-1 in a pool “B” match in the Asian games hockey event at Munhak Hockey Stadium on

Thursday.

The crucial encounter decided the fate of the group as the win lifted Pakistan to the top of the pool, sealing a place for the defending champions in the semi-finals.

Pakistan will be meeting Oman in its last league tie. Pakistan is so far looking strong having earlier won two opening leagues. While there were some problems against China in the first two quarters, the team delivered sparkling performance in the last 20-minutes.

Bhutta scored the first goal in the 37th minute, leading Pakistan 1-0 at the end of the third quarter with only 15 minutes left to play. nikkin Thimmaiah leveled the score for india in the 53rd minute, only for Pakistan to take the lead again two minutes later as Waqas scored after a great scramble.

The defeat was the first in three games for the indian side. Pakistan now advance to the event’s semi-finals. The

winner between india and China on Saturday will determine the other semi-finalist from the pool. Both teams are level on six points from three matches. Japan blank Singapore 13-0 Meanwhile, Kenta Tanaka and Toshiro Tachibana slammed hat-tricks as Japan blanked Singapore 13-0 to remain in contention for the semi-finals from pool A. With two wins from three games, Japan drew level with hosts South Korea and Malaysia, who meet later on Wednesday after gaining full points from their first two matches.

Singapore ended the competition with four losses, having conceded 35 goals and scored only three.

Japan’s Korean coach Kang KeonWook admitted Saturday’s match against Malaysia will be crucial to his team’s chances.

“Malaysia are a strong team so i guess it is going to be a pretty intense match,” Kang said. “We have made plans for that game and ensure our strong points are not wasted.

“Oman recorded their first win in three pool B games with a 3-1 romp over winless Sri Lanka, but the effort came too late to stay in line for the semi-finals.

WOMEN’S CRICKET TEAM BEAT CHINA BY 9 WICKETS TO REACH FINAL

SPORTS DESK Securing a berth in the final match, Pakistan women’s cricket on Thursday beat China by nine wickets at the 2014 Asian games in incheon. nida Rashid, with her

stellar bowling, restricted China to only 37 runs at the loss of 10 wickets. Pakistan made 41 runs in only 8 overs, sending China out of the mega event.

Javeria Wadood made 21 runs while Bismah Maroof scored 13 for Pakistan.

On September 24, Pakistan qualified for today’s semi-final match by defeating Thailand by 51 runs.

Pakistan play in the 17th Asian games as defending champions after winning the title back in 2010 in guangzhou, China.

YASIR FIFTY GUIDES STAGS HOME SPORTS DESK faisalabad Wolves went down to Peshawar Panthers by 11 runs despite Misbah-ul-Haq’s efforts.

Misbah made 36 off 29 in the chase of 140 but was the ninth batsman out off the second ball of the last over. Wolves needed 22 off the last two overs but imran Khan conceded only three in the 19th, and despite Misbah hitting a six in the last over, 19 off the final six deliveries proved to be too much for Wolves.

Ali Waqas (28) and Asif Ali (29) were the only other contributors of note for Wolves but they fell within successive overs and it came down to Misbah with

the lower order collapsing around him. Mohammad imran Khan picked up 4 for 20 while imran Khan took 2 for 27.

Panthers made 139 for 9 after being asked to bat.

Rafatullah Mohmand cracked 43 off 21 at the top of the order even as his opening partner israrullah crawled to 3 off 13. Mohammad Rizwan’s 37 at no.

6 was the only other decent score as all the Wolves bowlers chipped in with wickets.

Group D: Mohammad Yasir’s maiden Twenty20 half-century powered Bahawalpur Stags to a seven-wicket win against Lahore Lions in Karachi. Chasing 141,

Yasir slammed eight fours and two sixes during a 41ball 57, as he and naeemuddin (34) added 55 for the second wicket to give the team a solid foundation.

Both batsmen fell within four overs of each other by the 16th over, but faisal Mubashir and Kamran Hussain ensured Stags gunned down the total with 14 deliveries to spare.

Lions, having been inserted, lost Kamran Akmal early, but were driven by a 61-run, second-wicket partnership between Azhar Ali and imam-ul-Haq. However, Abdul Rehman (3 for 24) and Tauqeer Riasat (2 for 21) pegged Lions back with regular blows, and restricted the team to 140 for 6.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad.

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PAKISTAN GET TOUGH ON SUSPECT BOWLERS KaRaCHI AGENCIES Pakistan on Thursday suspended 16 domestic bowlers with suspect actions, a senior official said, in a major crackdown against chucking following the ban of ace spinner Saeed Ajmal. Ajmal was suspended earlier this month after he was found to straighten his elbow up to 43 degrees, well above the prescribed limit of 15. The ban jolted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) into action to avoid further international embarrassment.

“We have 29 bowlers reported for suspect bowling actions in the current home cricket season and half of them were reported twice, so we have banned around 16 from domestic matches,” director of domestic cricket Inthikab Alam told reporters. “All these bowlers will not be allowed to play in domestic matches and will go to the national cricket academy to get their actions altered,” said Alam, a former Pakistan captain and leg-spinner. To deal with the problem, the PCB has revived its biomechanics laboratory in Lahore this month after it was left inoperational for seven years over allegations of financial irregularities in buying its machinery.

Ajmal was the seventh Pakistani reported for suspect actions in international matches, joining Shahid Afridi, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Riaz Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Shoaib Akhtar. Even the two spinners called up to replace Ajmal while he undergoes remedial work Ä Atif Maqbool and Adnan Rasool Ä have been reported. Under the ICC rules bowlers are permitted to straighten their bowling arm up to 15 degrees, which has been established as the point at which any straightening will become visible to the naked eye. Speaking separately, Captain Misbah-ul Haq said he was “praying” for Ajmal, who is ranked the world’s best one-day bowler, to return soon. “First of all I will pray Ajmal returns to the team for the World Cup,” he said. Australia and New Zealand cohost the mega event from February 14 to March 29. “But we also have to be ready to play without him. If a player is not there you have to cope with that situation. There is no doubt he is a great bowler and will be missed.”