The Frontier Post E-Paper 4 May, 2015

MONDAY, may 4, 2015

A POST OF HOPE SPORTS Mayweather wins richest fight ever by decision

BUSINESS G20 backs off austerity drive in rich nations

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Vol.XXX No. 299

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Regd.237

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Rajab 14, 1436

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FATA/BALOCHISTAN Press freedom day observed in PAGE B4 Landikotal

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Lahore Edition

Nepal to remember Pakistan’s efforts, says Gen Rana RAWALPINDI: Nepalese Army Chief

General Gaurav SJB Rana expressed his gratitude for the support extended

by Pakistan through the Pakistan Army in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that has claimed thousands of lives.

The Pakistan Army’s earthquake relief efforts were praised by General Rana during a visit to the Pakistan Army field hospital on Sunday. General Rana said Pakistan would be remembered by the people of Kathmandu because they provided medical care and supplies to the affectees around the clock.

The hospital, which is set up in Bhaktapur, is the main source of medical aid for the affectees. The army chief also met with Pakistani relief workers and appreciated their help in providing relief to victims of the earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25.

A Pakistan Army urban search and rescue team was also involved in conducting rescue operations day and night. Last week, Under-Secretary-General Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Re-

lief Coordinator Valerie Amos and European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides visited the Bhaktapur Pakistan Army field hospital and praised the field camp, and the army’s rescue and relief efforts.

One week on from Nepal’s deadliest quake in more than 80 years, hopes of finding any more survivors have diminished. In all, 6,621 were killed and 14,023 injured in the 7.9 magnitude earthquake. While multiple teams of rescuers from more than 20 countries have been using sniffer dogs and heat-seeking equipment to find survivors in the rubble, no one has been pulled alive since Thursday evening.

Nepalese army Chief met Pakistani relief workers and appreciated their ef- KATHMANDU: A girl takes care of her younger brother in a tent at a temporary settlement at Tundikhel on Sunday. At least 7,040 persons were confirmed forts to provide solace to the earth- dead with the number of injured exceeding 14,000 in the last Saturday's devastating quake in Nepal. —Xinhua quake victims in Nepal. He said Pakistan will be remembered by people of Kathmandu because doctors from Pakistan Army were present round the clock and they came with ample stock of medicines. —FP Monitoring

Pakistan assures to continue relief operation

Aizaz hails Afghan govt, Taliban talks in Qatar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday once

11 dead, 34 injured in wedding party bus fire

DADU: At least 11 people, including seven women and three children, were killed and 34 others wounded as a bus carrying a wedding party burst into flames at the Khairpur Nathan Shah bypass upon impact with a high-voltage electric cable, police said on Sunday.

Of the 11 who died, 7 were women and 3 were children. The men who were on the bus were able to escape before flames engulfed the vehicle.

The bride and the groom remained unharmed since they were travelling in a separate vehicle.

Thirty-two are critically injured and being treated for burns in various hospitals in the area. Two, who were less-critically injured, are being treated at the Khairpur Nathan Shah Hospital (KNSH).

According to hospital sources, KNSH did not have doctors in emergency today and has no burn ward. Those who were critically injured had to be shifted to oth-

er hospitals because adequate arrangements were not available at KNSH. Fifteen injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Dadu that does not have a burn ward, but did have doctors available. Fifteen were shifted to Larkana Medical University Hospital that has a burn ward. Two were shifted to People’s Medical University Hospital, Nawabshah.

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief and sorrow over the casualties.

Nawaz Sharif asked concerned authorities to ensure such incidents do not happen again. He also directed for the provision of the best medical treatment to the injured.

In January, a fatal bus accident claimed the lives of at least 62 people when the bus caught fire after an oil tanker collided with it off the National Highway in Malir. —FP Monitoring

again assured Nepal that it would continue its relief operation for the earth-quake victims in the neighbouring country.

“Pakistan under special directives from Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif stands shoulder to shoulder with Nepali brothers and sisters in this need of hour,” said Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry while addressing a press conference here at the Foreign Office.

Chaudhry said Pakistan was the first country to respond in sending relief and rescue teams after the devastating earthquake hit Nepal in the last week of April and it was actively continuing its relief operation until today.

Nepalese Ambassador to Pakistan Bharat Raj Paudyal, National Disaster Management Authority Chairman

Dacoits abduct seven policemen RAHIM YAR KHAN: Dacoits abducted

seven police officials, including an Assistant sub-Inspector (ASI), after attacking a security check-post in the Obaro area of Rahim Yar Khan on Sunday.

According to details, about 30 dacoits armed with modern weapons attacked the check-post located in river region Machka, and abducted an ASI and six other police officials of a special squad who were deployed on exclusive duty.

The hostages also include Head Constable Mumtaz, and Constables Asif, Arif Shah, Zia and Tahir. A heavy contingent of Punjab and Sindh police reached the spot and started a search operation in Ghotki, Kashmore, Rahim Yar Khan and other areas. —FP Monitoring

Maj Gen (r) Asghar Nawaz and representatives from Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force were also present in this press conference to explain the relief and rescue operation being launched by Pakistan.

The foreign secretary said Nepal’s Embassy in Islamabad had been playing an effective role in coordinating the relief efforts to Nepal. He further said the first relief consignment comprising four C-130s containing food, medicine and tents was dispatched on the second day after the earthquake in Nepal.

Chaudhry said a 30-bed mobile hospital with 50 doctors, and a 38-member Pakistan Army search team along with trained dogs, were also immediately dispatched to Kathmandu.

The foreign secretary said 93 Pakistanis were evacuated from Nepal

during the relief and rescue operation, while Pakistan also sent 20 Nepalese doctors from King Edward Medical College to Nepal for extending help to their countrymen.

Replying to a question about the sending of some objectionable food materials by Pakistan, he said it was just propaganda in some of the Indian media, adding that reality and propaganda should not be mixed up. “We are helping the Nepalese brothers and sisters with honesty,” he added.

NDMA Chairman Major General (r) Asghar Nawaz, explaining the relief and rescue operation being conducted by Pakistan, said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had given special directions in this regard. “The field hospitals of Pakistan Army have been working very effectively and so far they have provided

India seeks UN intervention on Lakhvi’s release

NEW DELHI: India has sought the United

Nations’ intervention in the release of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the main suspect in Mumbai terror attack who is also believed to be the operational head of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to a report on The Hindu website.

New Delhi has termed Lakhvi’s release a violation of the norms of the global organisation and said the UN should raise the matter with Pakistan.

The Press Trust of India report said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Asoke Mukherjee wrote a letter to the current Chair of the UN Sanctions Committee Jim McLay, saying Lakhvi’s release by a Pakistani court was in vio-

lation of the 1267 UN resolution dealing with designated entities and individuals.

The sanctions measures apply to designated individuals and entities associated with terror groups including al-Qaeda and Laskhar-e-Taiba, wherever located. The LHC on April 10 had dismissed the detention orders of Lakhvi and ordered his release based on the lack of reliability of the sensitive information provided. After the move was criticised in India, Islamabad blamed New Delhi for the development. “Inordinate delay in extending cooperation by India complicated the case and weakened the prosecution’s case,” FO Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam had said. —FP Monitoring

Constitution disapproves unwarranted remarks: Pervaiz

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid said on Sunday the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was committed to protecting the sanctity of all national institutions, including the armed forces and judiciary.

Talking to the media at the conclusion of a three-day conference organised by the National Academy of Letters here, he said the Constitution guaranteed right of expression, but it also disapproved unwarranted remarks against national institutions, particularly judiciary and armed forces. Replying to a question, he Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain, said the PML-N government had im- who, after realising his mistake, had also mediately and strongly responded to the sought an apology.

“The government, however, keeping its statement made by Muttahida Qaumi

constitutional obligations in view also believed in cooling down tempers, instead of aggravating the situation at any level,” he said while responding to anoth-

er question. Answering a query, the minister said the PML-N government led

by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif completely owned the Karachi operation against terrorists, as well as Operation Zarb-e-Azb in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

“In fact, the government and the armed forces are on the same page and the policies made by the government with the consensus of all political parties in the parliament are based on the reports and recommendations forwarded by the security institutions concerned,” he added. Replying to a query about reservations related to the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Pervaiz said the NFC was reactivated by the PML-N government and the share of

provinces had markedly increased due to it. “The provinces are now financially stronger, and both the federal and provincial governments are complimenting each other,” he added.

“The federal government is currently more focused on infrastructure development and financial stability of the country,” Pervaiz continued.

The minister, in response to a question about Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan, said the PML-N government had constitutional responsibilities; therefore, it was working to defuse differences or misgivings instead of igniting them.

“Unfortunately, Imran Khan has developed a tendency to get entangled in one or the other issue without any rhyme or reason," he added. —FP Monitoring

medical treatment to more than 1,000 patients,” he added.

Nepalese Ambassador Bharat Raj Paudyal, appreciating the noble gesture of Pakistan for sending relief goods to Nepal, said around eight million Nepalese could have been affected by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake and the death toll could reach 10,000. He informed that 3.5 million Nepalese need immediate relief assistance.

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Sunday welcomed “reconciliation” talks between the Afghan Taliban and members of the Kabul-backed negotiators in Qatar.

An eight-member delegation of the Taliban and Afghan High Peace Council sat face-to-face in Doha for the second day to share proposals for solution to problems in the wartorn country. —FP Monitoring

‘Mufti’s statement indication of frustrated mind’

ISLAMABAD: A forum led by Hurriyat

leader Syed Ali Gilani has termed Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s statement against him an indication of his frustration.

The spokesman for the forum, Ayaz Akbar, in a statement issued in Srinagar on Sunday, was reacting to the Mufti’s assertions that a case against Syed Ali Gilani would be framed for hoisting the Pakistani flag during the Tral’s rally, KMS reported.

He said the people participating in the rallies usually hoisted party flags, but at times they also raised the Pakistani flag as a mark of respect and love for the country for being staunch supporter of their right to self-determination.

The forum quoted a decision of the Kashmir High Court, which during hearing of a case in 1983, had ruled that the waving of Pakistani flag was not a crime and added that the hoisting of a country’s flag could not be termed a declaration of war against any country.

Akbar said India had occupied the territory with more than seven hundred thousand troops equipped with modern war machinery, but alarm bells went ringing in New Delhi’s corridors with the raising of a flag in Kashmir. —FP Monitoring

LAHORE

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CJ’S NOMINEES FOR JUDGES

LAHORE: In order to fill vacancies of judges in the Lahore High Court, the chief justice has forwarded names of two judicial officers and eight advocates to the Judicial Commission. Presently 49 judges are working in the high court against the constitutionally sanctioned strength of 60. Sources say names of district and sessions judges Sardar Ahmad Naeem and Mushtaq Ahmad Tarar are included in the forwarded list of the nominees. Other are: additional advocate general Shahid Mobeen, advocates Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry, Iram Sajjad Gull, Shahid Mahmood Sheikh, Farrukh Gulzar, Sarfraz Dogar, Aslam Javed, and Shahid Mahmood Abbasi. — FP Monitoring

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MONDAY

MAY 4, 2015

CM TAKES NOTICE OF MURDER, ATTACK ON POLICE POST LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of murder of a local PPP leader Rana Shafaqat in Jaranwala, Faisalabad and sought a report from RPO Faisalabad. The chief minister ordered immediate arrest of the culprits and action against them under the law so that justice could be provided to the affected family. He also has taken notice of attack on a police post in Rahim Yar Khan and sought a report from DPO Rahim Yar Khan. The chief minister directed that all out measures should be taken for the safe recovery of abducted police officials and arrest of attackers at any cost. —FP Monitoring

Land data retrieved from patwaris

Former politician Pervez Saleh speaks at a condolence reference held for the Islam-ul-Haq on the World Press Freedom Dayat the press club. —FP Photo

Three-day polio drive in sensitive UCs from today

LA HORE : The City District Government of Lahore (CDGL) is set to launch a special round of a threeday polio drive from today in 74 sensitive union councils.

According to District Coordination Officer retired Capt Muhammad Usman, the CDGL organises two polio drives — one called as special activity for sensitive union councils and an-

other one called a general one held in all 150 union councils of Lahore every month under a standard operating procedure.

“Up to 1,919 polio teams have been constituted to administer polio drops to 597,544 children of age up to five year in the drive,” the DCO said at a meeting at Town Hall on Saturday.

SEALED: The CDGL sealed 16 illegal clinics besides arresting four quakes in April. It also announced making the city quake-free, according to a spokesman.

The CDGL monitoring teams confiscated a huge quantity of substandard medicines and equipments from the 16 clinics.

He also urged the public to inform

Sports diary : Two mega events this month LAHORE: Lahore is going to see sports activities involving international players in May. The Zimbabwe cricket team is all set to play five matches three One-day international and two T20 in Lahore in its tour starting from May 20.

The Punjab Sports Board (PSB) has invited men and women athletes from 40 countries to compete in its International Sports Festival. The festival will also begin from May 20 in different cities of Punjab.

Both events can be game changers, if successfully held, to end drought of international activities in Pakistan, which stems from security concerns, especially after the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Lahore in 2009. Zimbabwe will be the first Test playing country to visit Pakistan after the attack on Sri Lankan players.

The schedule for cricket and sports festival pose challenge for the administration as Nishter Sports Complex will be venue for most of the activities. Though the PSB has planned some events in Multan, Rawalpindi, and Murree, a good number of events will be held in Lahore, where Zimbabwe cricket team will also be playing the series. According to reports, 1,400 athletes from 40 countries in the disciplines of handball, kabaddi (men and women), wrestling (mat), mix-martial arts, weightlifting (men and women), judo (men and

women), cricket (men and women), hockey (men and women), wrestling (mud), karate (men and women), taekwondo (men and women), baseball, fistball, futsal, pentathlon, cricket physically handicapped and blind cricket are to feature in the International Sports Festival.

The PSB also set up training camps of various sports in Lahore last week to prepare its athletes for the festival. A contingent of 318 members will represent Pakistan in games.

The PSB says India will send 290 athletes, followed by 145 from Nepal, 115 Bangladesh, 110 Afghanistan, 99 Sri Lanka, 49 Iran while South Korea and Turkey are expected to field 28 athletes each. Malaysia is likely to appear with 24 athletes, while Iraq and the UAE will field 20 players each. The other countries participating in the festival are: Tajikistan, Yemen, Azerbaijan, Sudan, New Zealand, China, Jordan, Somalia and Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Monaco, UK and Romania, Philippines, Turkmenistan, Qatar, Papua New Guinea, France, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, USA and Mexico.

This time, the SBP has kept Guinness Book of World Record away from the festival as it depends mostly on national sports federations of the foreign teams.

It is a healthy sign as in the last three sports festivals, the federations were ignored due to Guinness Book’s in-

the CDGL about illegal clinics.

The Gulberg Town on Saturday sealed a Sheesha Café at Mini Market (Gulberg). The team also arrested five people, including café’s owner. Moreover, price control magistrates on Saturday got 41 shopkeepers arrested for overcharging.

They also imposed Rs120,100 fine on several. —FP Monitoring

Degree level education on fisheries soon LAHORE: Fisheries Department Punjab will start a degree programme soon for improving knowledge and skills of the students to boost fisheries industry.

The department has already started a six months diploma course for providing information to fish farmers regarding modern methods and techniques on fisheries.

The degree programme will be started after completion of the six months course, said Director General Fisheries Punjab Dr Muhammad Ayub while talking to APP here on Sunday. He said the degree programme is focused on producing export quality fish to increase foreign exchange earning for the country. —FP Monitoring

LAHORE: The Land Records Management Information Systems (LRMIS) Project, a mega project related to property record and transactions, is to be completed by June 30.

The project minimises the role of manual work by patwaris in property transactions, officials say, adding as resistance from patwaris was expected, a steering committee by the Punjab government planned meeting with patwaris in 20 districts to talk out their concerns.

The committee consisted of Board of Revenue senior member Nadeem Ashraf, Planning and Development Department Chairman (also LRMIS project director) Irfan Elahi and others.

“Finally, a senior official (Maqbool Ahmad Dhawla, land director) was assigned to visit districts in order to ensure the completion of the task in the stipulated time,” says a senior official. He said during the marathon field visits, they found patwaris were unaware of the computerisation of land data to be done under the project, and of amendments to the Land Revenue Act of 1967 and Land Revenue Rules of 1968.

The committee adopted a carrot and stick policy for the patwaris. They were offered either to be part of the project and train on legal issues or face the reaction that can end up in their dismissal from service.

This policy worked and the patwaris helped the senior officials in the compilation of data. During the compilation, the officials ensured that entry of tampered with or fake data was caught.

“The land record is not limited to a

patwari alone, as its copies (part in revenue term) are also available with various offices, including the revenue record rooms of the offices of DCOs,” said an official.

“If a patwari is caught committing such crime, it means he has lost his job and will face fraud charges,” he explained. The official said the exercise took up several tasks during the compilation such as correction, verification and scanning of record and its entry into a software.

After the record is inserted into the system, patwaris’ role in property transaction will be no more, the official added. As the deadline is round the corner, he said, 100 per cent of the record had been scanned and 23,500 mauzas, of 25,000, had been inserted in the software of LRMIS system.

Landowners can approach their respective service centre to get any property deal done, or obtain land record in minutes. The government has set up 143 service centres at tehsil level where officials are under scrutiny.

“This includes bio-metric attendance of officials, a log trail system to check entries by the staff, CCTV cameras in offices and prohibition of the use of mobile phone in centres by the officials,” he said.

He said the software was also being upgraded that would make the centres’ official unable to amend the record. He said the land record related to the Lahore Development Authority or other development authorities’ residential schemes, private housing societies, cantonment and Defence would also be incorporated in the system. —FP Monitoring

22 lynching suspects on physical remand

volvement in the festival, which has no L AHO RE: The district and sessions district and sessions court and sought authority in the arena of sports. The real power of sport lies in Olympics and court on Saturday sent 22 suspects their 20-day physical remand.

Asian and Commonwealth games.

DSJ Tariq Iftikhar Ahmed handed allegedly involved in the lynching The Dar Hockey Academy, Lahore, incident in Youhanabad on a three- over the suspects into police custody earned another distinguish when its 14 on a three-day physical remand. day physical remand. trained players represented departNishtar Colony police have so far Police produced the suspects before ments in the recent National Junior the sessions judge due to unavail- produced 69 suspects involved in Championships in Karachi. ability of the anti-terrorism court lynching, damaging public private The academy is being run by a known judge concerned due to a meeting at property and harassing a woman car hockey family of Munir/Tanveer Dars. the Lahore High Court regarding rider before the anti-terrorism court Currently, Munir’s son Tauqir Dar is the performance of special courts and po- and the sessions court to get their mentor of the academy. The academy physical remand to complete interlice. was in the limelight when its player, ArPolice produced suspects, including rogation. slan Qadir, dominated the last ChamPolice on Wednesday had produced Aslam Sahutra, Salamat Masih, pions Trophy held in India, when he Chand, Hameed, Ilyas Masih, Fiaz 47 suspects before the ATC for physscored two, including the winner against Masih, Anmol and Liaqat, before the ical remand. arch-rival India to qualify for the final after 16 years.

Now its two players Arslan with his brother Faisal Qadir is also with the national team, touring Australia for a fournation contest.

In 2012, Khalid Bhatti was the first product of the academy to win the national senior selection. Now, with 14 players in the departments for junior hockey, is not a mean achievement.

Among them are: Aamir Ali, Abid Bhatti and Sikander Mustafa (National Bank of Pakistan, which is also the winner of the junior championships), Bilal Mahmood (Wapda, runner-up), Aamir Yaqoob, Ahad, Suleman and Asif (Punjab-A, fourth placed) and Waseem Akram (PIA, quarter-finalist), Usman and Shaani (Railways, quarterfinalists). It should raise the eyebrows of hockey lovers, especially the Pakistan Hockey Federation and other former Olympians, that if they work with a fighting spirit, they can produce such a good number of players.

The Punjab Olympic Association is holding the Olympic Council of Asia Administration course in Lahore in the coming week. A good number of provincial sports organisers, coaches and administrators have been invited to the course.

The course is awarded by the OCA to the Pakistan Olympic Association, which has forward it to its Punjab Tehreek-e-Pakistan Mustaqeem activists protest against holding a cartoon contest in the US. —FP Photo chapter. —FP Monitoring

NATIONAL

MONDAY MAY 4, 2015

WOMAN BURNT BY BROTHER-IN-LAW DIES IN FAISALABAD

FAISALABAD: A woman who was scorched by her brother-in-law over minor dispute in Faisalabad died on Sunday, media reported. As per details, the suspect Abdul Hameed doused petrol over his sister-inlaw Naseem Akhtar and torched her. As a result of which the victim sustained severe injuries and was at once taken to the Allied Hospital where the doctors stated that 70 percent of woman’s body part has been burnt. The woman however, succumbed to the injuries whereas the police stated that the criminal has been arrested. —FP Monitoring

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PPP'S LEADER RANA SHAFAQAT GUNNED DOWN IN JARANWALA JARANWALA: Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP’s) leader Rana Shafaqat on Sudnay was killed in Jaranwala by some unknown miscreants. As per details, the local president of PPP in Bachiana was inside his office when some unidentified armed men opened fire and assassinated him. Police on getting the information arrived at the scene whereas City Police Officer (CPO) Faisalabad also made an investigation team over this issue. On the other hand, Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif also sought a report on Rana Shafaqat murder by expressing grief over his brutal killing. PM Nawaz further directed the officials to probe into the matter. —FP Monitoring

Chief Minister inspects Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro bus project Says a new culture being introduced in transport sector

LAHORE: Punjab

Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that foundation of a new transport culture is being laid in the province through metro bus projects. He was addressing a high level briefing meeting regarding Rawalpindi-Islamabad metro bus project after visiting 23kilometer track and various stations of metro bus project from Sadr Rawalpindi to Pak Secretariat, Islamabad early in the morning on Sunday.

He said that Rawalpindi-Islamabad metro bus project will bring about a revolution in transport sector and result in speedy, economical, comfortable and safe travelling facility to the masses. He said that a splendid culture is developing in Pakistan and mega projects of a high standard are being executed in a transparent manner. He said that as a result of solid measures taken by Pakistan Muslim League-N, there is a considerable decrease in corruption and Pakistan’s ranking has improved with regard to control over corruption. He said that an organized system of modern, affordable and comfortable transport had not developed in Pakistan in any era since the creation of the country. However, he said, due to metro bus project, a mass transit system of international standard is becoming available to the citizens first time in the history of the country and now the people of all walks of life will be able to reach their place of work and destinations on time.

He said that a revolutionary change will be introduced in public transport sector as a result of completion of Rawalpin-

di-Islamabad metro bus project.

Chairman Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, Members Assembly Malik Abrar, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, Shakeel Awan, Zia Ullah Shah, Director Metro Bus Project Commissioner Rawalpindi Zahid Saeed besides senior officers of Rawalpindi-Islamabad administration, CDA, Police and representatives of contractor companies were present on the occasion.

The Chief Minister directed concerned authorities to complete the finishing work of metro bus project within a week so that people of the twin cities could avail a transport service of international standard. He directed that debris on the route of the project be removed immediately.

He said that plantation work on both sides of the route be completed by working round the clock and due attention be paid to the finishing and beautification of the pillars of metro bus, bus stations,

underpasses and other places. He said that issues regarding quality and finishing of metro bus project be removed immediately and horticulture and decoration work of the stations be completed within a week.

He said that the companies and the persons who displayed good performance in the execution of metro bus project will be encouraged while in case of any defect or flaw, those concerned will be held accountable.

The Chief Minister further said that a comprehensive planning is being made for security and prevention of accidents on all stations and the track of metro bus project while arrangements will be made especially on the metro bus track in Islamabad for the safety of pedestrians crossing the road.

Shahbaz Sharif directed that the construction companies should immediately remove the debris from both sides of the track especially from Murree Road while pillars of overhead track and all stations should be beautifully decorated. He said that lakhs of people of Rawalpindi and Islamabad will benefit from metro bus project.

The Chief Minister also appreciated the patience displayed by the citizens of Rawalpindi and Islamabad especially traders during the construction work of Rawalpindi-Islamabad metro bus project.

He further said that no planning had ever been made for mass transit system in Pakistan. However, he said, after Lahore, metro bus project in Rawalpindi will result in availability of a quality transport system to the masses. –FP Monitoring

ISLAMABAD: People cooling themselves off at Shahdara picnic point as mercury went up on Sunday. —DNA

Federal Ombudsman decides to go online to address complaints of expatriates

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Ombudsman

has decided to put in place an online complaint registration system and open one window operation at major airports to address grievances of over 7 million overseas Pakistanis as a small gesture of acknowledgement to their vital contribution in economy of the country.

Overseas Pakistanis have contributed almost $16 Billion in fiscal year 2013-14 as remittances and according to the latest data their remittances have shown 17.9 percent growth hence the Federal Ombudsman Salman Farooqi has taken the initiative of appointing a Grievance Commissioner to ensure timely removal of their complaints, said the Ombudsman secretariat sources here Sunday.

Overseas Pakistanis complaints range from illegal occupation of their lands, homes, delay in addressing their complaints by immigration, passport offices,

PIA, FIA, National Database and Registration Authority, Overseas Pakistanis Foundation or other federal agencies.

The newly appointed Grievance Commissioner for overseas Pakistanis Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar senior adviser Law has already held many meetings with concerned federal agencies to implement the decision and to identify complaints of expatriates.

He has taken various steps for timely removal of their complaints. The focal persons have been appointed in different federal agencies and foreign missions and their emails have been given where expatriates can send their complaints through email. The Complaint Custodian would be appointed to forward all their complaints to the relevant federal departments like ministry of foreign affairs, NADRA, PIA, Civil Aviation Authority, Passport and Immigration, min-

istry of overseas, Federal Board of Revenue and foreign missions.

The federal agencies have been also instructed to create their websites providing their links to Federal Ombudsman's website www.ombudsman.gov.pk.

The grievance commissioner has proposed that a dedicated website need to be created where the overseas Pakistanis can register and launch their complaints online against federal government departments and will be able to track these. Such a system would be first of its kind anywhere in the world, said grievance commissioner while explaining the online mechanism for expatriates. He said all the concerned government departments would be 'main part of this system and perform online action on complaints assigned or transferred' by the Complaints Custodian within the stipulated timeframe of seven days. —FP Monitoring

Minorities enjoying complete 1,123 journalists killed religious freedom: Ahsan Iqbal since 1992: Report SIALKOT: Federal Minister for Plan-

ning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said the minorities are enjoying complete religious freedom in the country and the present government was making all out efforts for protecting the rights of the minorities.

He stated this while addressing the participants of a ceremony held at TMA Hall Narowal on Sunday, after distributing the Christmas grant cheques of Rs 3500 each to 70 deserving Christians. Local MPAs Khawaja Waseem Butt, Rana Manan Khan, Assistant Commissioner Narowal Mian Behzad Adil and local notables were also present on this occasion.

He said the Christian community was playing an important role with the Muslims for national prosperity and solidarity. The minister said that every religion of the world gives the lessons of love, peace, unity, and respect of the humanity. Ahsan Iqbal said that the PML-N government was strivISLAMABAD: Visitors taking interest in pictures at a photo exhibition on the Arctic arranged by the Canadian High ing for safeguarding the rights of the minorities, besides, ensuring the protection of their lives and properties as well. —FP Monitoring Commission on Sunday. —DNA

ISLAMABAD: As the United Nations observes

World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Reporters without borders (RWB), a nonprofit organisation that tracks attacks on press freedom, has ranked every country according to its press freedom index.

India's ranking on the World Press Freedom Index has not improved over the years. It has always scored a three-digit ranking its inception, Hindustan Times reported.

According to RWB, attacks on media last year were identified as the major issues for India's low score.

Since 1992, 1,123 journalists have been killed in the line of duty. While Iraq tops the list with 166 journalist killings. The Scandinavian countries-Finland, Norway and Denmark topped the list. China, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia were placed at the end of the list with many Asian and African countries where press freedom is dwindling. —FP Monitoring

Mushahidullah urges rich nations to honour $10 billion climate funding pledges

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Cli-

mate Change, Senator Mushahidullah Khan on Sunday urged rich countries to deliver on $10 billion climate finance pledges to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) made last year to meet costs of tackling climate changeinduced disasters in poor countries.

The minister said the rich countries at UN-led donor conference last year on November 20 in Berlin, Germany, pledged a total $10.2 billion to GCF against informal target of $10 billion in initial capitalisation set by GCF to help developing countries tackle climate change.

"But, it is a matter of serious concern for developing countries that the rich countries have contributed so far only 42 percent of the $10 billion," he deplored in a statement. Quoting an analysis published on April 30 by the GCF, the federal minister said the United States was overdue on $1.5 billion, Japan $750 million and Canada $130 million.

He said the head of the United Nations' flagship GCF had recently warned that it

could not kick off work as planned because leading backers including the US, Canada and Australia had not delivered funds. "This means the GCF will have to hold back plans to back green energy projects in developing countries, including Pakistan, ahead of this year's UNled global climate summit to be held in Paris in December this year to agree on a global climate deal aimed at putting cap on carbon emissions to keep global emission rise to two degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels," he said.

However, the minister cautioned that with inadequate financial resources and lack of technology, "we, developing countries, cannot fight the negative impacts of climate change, protect our economies and people from them."

"Therefore, rich nations, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, US and UK, should honour their combined $10 billion financial pledges as early as possible, which they made during the last year's UN-led donor conference," he urged.

The GCF is a major part of a plan agreed in 2009, whereby rich countries agreed to mobilise $100 billion every year from 2020 from both public and private sources in the rich countries to help developing nations adapt to a changing global climate and reduce their own carbon emissions by boosting forest growth, energy-efficient urban transportation, shifting to renewable energies such as solar or wind and help them adapt to erratic weather patterns and their deleterious impacts.

The GCF established in 2010 within the framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a global funding mechanism to redistribute money from the developed to the developing world in order to assist the developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter debilitating impacts of climate change.

Over 198 countries rich and poor are signatories to the UNFCCC, which is an international environmental treaty that was opened for signature at the Earth

Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and came into force in 1994.

Mushahidullah Khan highlighted that the GCF is only hope for developing countries including Pakistan to deal with debilitating impacts of climate change, particularly floods, sea-level rise, typhoons, cyclones, extreme heatwave events, droughts, shifting/changing rainfall patterns.

Over the next 15 years, the global

economy will require an estimated $89 trillion in infrastructure investments across cities, energy, and land-use systems, and $4.1 trillion in incremental investment for the low-carbon transition to keep within the internationally agreed limit of a 2 degree Celsius temperature rise above the pre-industrial temperature level, according to the World Bank's recent estimates.

Mushahidullah Khan said that Pakistan had suffered over 25 billion dollars in economic damages to public infrastructure, agriculture, irrigation network, health and educational facilities from five consecutive floods since 2010.

The country required over 35 billion dollars to recover these damages, he added. "To recover these damages in Pakistan and other poor countries, the developing countries need a credible trajectory for realizing the $100 billion goal per year by 2020, for which full operationalisation of the GCF is indispensable," he stressed.

According to the World Bank, two

key ways for governments to free up funding to help achieve the $100 billion target by 2020 was by "putting a price on carbon" through carbon taxes or emission trading schemes and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.

"With a small percentage of the money that saved by ending subsidies or of the revenue raised from a carbon tax or permit sale going to climate finance, governments could help meet the $100 billion climate finance commitment and other mitigation and adaptation needs," Senator Mushahidullah Khan suggested.

"The elimination of fossil fuel subsidies would make a significant contribution to the goal of keeping average temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," said Mushahidullah Khan, referring to the goal which world leaders several years ago decided was necessary to avoid what global warming advocates say will be potentially catastrophic effects on the planet. —FP Monitoring

SPORTS

www.thefrontierpost.pk

MONDAY MAY 4, 2015

MOTORCYCLING: LORENZO WINS SPANISH MOTOGP JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA: Jorge Lorenzo celebrated being kept on by Yamaha for next season by winning the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez on Sunday in commanding style. The 27-year-old two-time world champion, winning his first MotoGP since the Japanese one last year, came home well clear of world champion Marc Marquez on a Honda. Marquez, who rode here despite a broken pinky finger on his left hand, held off Italian legend and series leader Valentino Rossi, who had the consolation of becoming the first rider to achieve the 200 podium mark. —FP Monitoring

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FOOTBALL: DOMINANT CHELSEA THREE POINTS FROM GLORY LONDON: The English Premier League crown will be within Chelsea's grasp on Sunday when they host Crystal Palace needing three points to become champions. While their early-season free-flowing football has faded, Chelsea have unquestionably been the season's stand-out team as they seek a first English title since 2010. The circumstances of their last coronation were quite different, with a side steered

by Carlo Ancelotti eviscerating Wigan Athletic 8-0 at Stamford Bridge on the campaign's final day to set a new Premier League scoring record of 103 goals in a season. —FP Monitoring

Mayweather wins richest fight ever by decision BOXING

Pacquiao says hampered by shoulder injury

LAS VEGAS: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

was money once again in the richest fight ever.

Mayweather used his reach and his jab Saturday night to frustrate Manny Pacquiao, piling up enough points to win a unanimous decision in their welterweight title bout.

Mayweather remained unbeaten in 48 fights with a win that cemented his legacy as the best of his generation.

Pacquiao did what he wanted to do, chasing Mayweather around the ring most of the fight. But he was never able to land a sustained volume of punches, often looking frustrated as Mayweather worked his defensive wizardry once again.

Two ringside judges scored the fight 116-112, while the third had it 118-110.

The Associated Press had Mayweather ahead 115-113.

“I'm a calculated fighter, he is a tough competitor,” Mayweather said. “My dad wanted me to do more but Pacquiao is an awkward fighter.“ The richest fight in boxing history, a bout that made Mayweather at least $180 million, wasn't the best.

Far from it, with long periods where both fighters fought cautiously, looking for an edge.

There were no knockdowns, and neither fighter seemed terribly hurt at

China secures women's doubles gold at TT worlds SUZHOU: Two pairs from China defeated

respective opponents to reach the women's doubles final at the world table tennis championships, securing the gold for the host China here on Sunday.

Ding Ning/Li Xiaoxia routed Li Jie of the Netherlands and Li Qian of Poland in straight sets (11-5, 11-2, 11-7, 11-6) while another Chinese duo Liu Shiwen/Zhu Yuling rallied to beat Feng Tianwei/Yu Mengyu of Singapore 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 in the semifinals.

China demonstrated its supremacy at these championships as its star players have won the women's singles and men's doubles titles the previous day, and also had a part in mixed doubles gold with China's world No.1 Xu Xin claiming the title with South Korean Yang Hae-un. —Xinhua

LAS VEGAS: Filipino Manny Pacquiao said a shoulder injury hampered his bid

to hand Floyd Mayweather a first ever defeat as a professional on Saturday as the American improved his record to 48-0 with a unanimous decision.

Pacquiao, a 2-1 underdog going into the welterweight bout billed as the "Fight of the Century" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, suffered the injury during a sparring session, according to his trainer Freddie Roach. "In the third round, I felt pain in the shoulder," eight-division world champion Pacquiao told reporters after dropping to 57-6-2. "We didn't throw a lot of combinations because it hurt." "The thing is, what we wanted to do we could not do because of my (right) shoulder." Roach said the injury occurred after Pacquiao collided with another fighter during sparring and their arms got entangled. An MRI exam subsequently revealed a tear in the Filipino southpaw's right shoulder, though Roach said the boxer had since made good progress and he felt that he could still compete in the ring. —FP Monitoring

Pacquiao’s defeat disappoints millions of Filipino any time. Pacquiao landed probably the biggest punch in the fight in the fourth round, a left hand that sent Mayweather into the ropes, but he wasn't able to consistently land against the elusive champion.

The fight was a chess match, with Mayweather using his jab to keep Pacquiao away most of the fight.

Pacquiao tried to force the action, but

Mayweather was often out of his reach by the time he found his way inside.

“I thought I won the fight, he didn't do anything,” Pacquiao said. “I got him many times with a lot of punches.“ A sellout crowd at the MGM Grand arena roared every time Pacquaio threw a punch, but a good percentage of what he threw never landed.

Mayweather often came back with

Park and Thompson share LPGA lead GOLF

DALLAS: World number two Park In-

Bee had four birdies in a two-underpar 69 on Saturday to grab a share of the LPGA North Texas Shootout lead alongside Lexi Thompson.

Thompson also had four birdies and just one bogey in a 68 as she joined the South Korean star on nine-under 204 after 54 holes.

Canadian 17-year-old Brooke Henderson, who held the first-round lead after qualifying for the field on Monday, had at least a share of the lead much of the day, but faded with two late bogeys in an even par 71.

That left her tied for third on eight-under 205, where she was joined by Australian Hall of Famer Karrie Webb (64) and American Angela Stanford (67).

Park shrugged off a bogey at the second with birdies at four and seven. A birdie at 14 saw her tie Henderson for the lead. She was tied with Thompson atop the board when she arrived at 17, falling back with a bogey before a birdie at the par-five 18th at Las Colinas.

"Ball-striking was I think pretty solid," said the former world number one, whose 13 US LPGA titles include five major championships. "I mis-drove it a couple times and that brought me a little bit of trouble, so I made a couple bogeys," said Park. "There were birdie chances there that were just so close, but just didn't go in." Thompson, whose four career victories include one major, opened with a birdie at the first. She picked up another shot at the par-five seventh, and gained her first share of the lead with a birdie at the 10th. —FP Monitoring

straight right hands, then moved away before Pacquiao could respond. Ringside punch stats showed Mayweather landing 148 punches of 435, whilc Pacquiao landed 81 of 429. The volume of punches for Pacquiao was a lot lower than the 600-700 he usually throws in a fight as he tried to measure his aggression against an opponent who was hard to trap. —FP Monitoring

MANILA: Millions of Filipinos groaned in disappointment on Sunday as

their national hero Manny Pacquiao lost to American rival Floyd Mayweather in the megabout.

The nation of 100 million people ground to a halt as most people stopped to watch Pacquiao. Filipinos filled parks, squares, gymnasiums, cinemas and bars across the nation to watch Pacquiao's 12-round battle with Mayweather in Las Vegas, which he lost in a unanimous points decision that many at home deemed unfair and disappointing. Thousands of mostly poor people gathered in the main public square of Manila's Marikina suburb to watch the fight on a giant screen mounted on the back of a flat-bed truck. —FP Monitoring

Hamza Akbar to play on pro snooker circuit in England

KARACHI: Pakistan's newly crowned Asian Snooker Champion Hamza Akbar was looking forward to make his mark on the professional circuit in England.

"By virtue of winning the Asian crown I have qualified for the professional circuit," he told reporters after a reception hosted in his honor by Pakistan Billiard and Snooker Association (PBSA) here at the Karachi Club Annexe on Sunday.

He said as per the ruling, he can play on the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) circuit for two years. He said he will be directly placed in the main draw and he will be joining the circuit in July after event in Iran.

Hamza Akbar, he was eagerly looking forward to rub shoulders with top professionals of the world. He said he had to finish among the top 64 in next two years on the WPBSA to continue playing

on the professional circuit.

Hamza, 21-year-old, is the second Pakistani after Muhammad Yousuf to win the continental title after a lapse of 17 years. Dazzling Hamza defeated former IBSF World Snooker Champion Pankaj Advani 7-6 to win the title for

Juventus bring out the best in rejuvenated Tevez FOOTBALL

MILAN: Carlos Tevez arrived at Juventus with a reputation as a troublemaker who had fallen out of favour both at his former club Manchester City and the Argentine national side.

But two years at the Turin side have turned Tevez back into what he was earlier in his career, a forward whose speed, quick thinking and instinct for goal make him a nightmare for opposing defenders. Juve have tamed the wilder instincts of a player who was once sent off for Boca Juniors in his homeland after SUzHoU: zhu Yuling and Liu Shiwen of China take selfie on the podium after the awarding ceremony for the celebrating a goal against River Plate by Women’s double final match at the 53rd Table Tennis World Championships on Sunday. zhu Yuling and Liu flapping his arms to imitate a chicken.

Shiwen won 4-3 and claimed the title. —Xinhua It was an inflammatory reference to the

fact that Boca fans use "chickens" as a derogatory nickname for their arch-rivals. Nowadays, his trademark celebration is to pull a baby's dummy from his shorts and put it in his mouth, a tribute to his daughter.

The 31-year-old scored 21 goals in his first season as Juventus won Serie A by a 17-point margin and has been instrumental in helping them win the title again this year.

Serie A's joint leading scorer with 18 goals, Tevez has also won league titles in Argentina (Boca), Brazil (Corinthians) and England (Manchester City and Manchester United) and saved West Ham United from relegation in his only season at the London club. —FP Monitoring

KP Inter-Region Boys Youth Games TT, Kabaddi begins PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inter-Region Boys Youth Games Table Tennis and Kabaddi Championships got under way here at two different venues in a joint collaboration of Peshawar Uplift Programme and Directorate of Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here on Sunday.

Prominent social worker of Peshawar Falak Naz and Pir Barkat Shah, President KP Kabaddi Association graced the occasion as chief guest on Table Tennis and Kabaddi events.

Project Coordinator of Peshawar Uplift Programme Salahuddin, Organiz-

ing Secretary Syed Saqlain Shah, members of the organizing committee Jamshed Baloch, Ameer Zahir Shah, Secretary KP Table Tennis Association Kifayat Ullah, officials, players and spectators were also present.

Teams from Dera Ismail Khan Khan, Bannu, Kohat, Mardan, Hazara, Swat and host Peshawar are taking part in both Table Tennis and Kabaddi.

In the table tennis matches played at PSB Coaching Center, Kohat defeated Mardan by 3-0. In the first singles Fahad of Kohat beat Asif of Mardan by 3-0, in the second singles Obaid of Kohat beat

Sami Ullah of Mardan by 3-0 while in the last singles Osama of Kohat beat Asif of Mardan by 3-0.

In the second match Dera Ismail Khan beat Bannu by 3-0 and moved into the next round. In the first singles Faisal of Dera Ismail Khan beat Shah Fahad of Bannu by 3-1, in the second match Hamza of Dera Ismail Khan beat Ummam Khawjah by 3-0 while in the third singles Shahbir beat Kifayat Ullah by 3-0.

In the Kabaddi event played at Qayyum Sports Complex, Swat defeated Dera Ismail Khan by 45-13 points. —FP Monitoring

Bannu win Boys Weightlifting title PESHAWAR: Bannu clinched the trophy after securing more points in the Khy-

ber Pakhtunkhwa Inter-Region Youth Games Weightlifting Championship played in a joint collaboration of Peshawar Uplift Programme and Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs here at Qayyum Sports Complex Gymnasium on Sunday. President Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Billiard and Snooker Association Zulfiqar Ali Butt was the chief guest on this occasion. Organizing Secretary Syed Saqlain Shah, Jamshed Baloch, members of the organizing committee, representative of the Peshawar Uplift Programme, players and spectators were also present. Bannu secured 45 points and took first position, followed

by Peshawar with 30 points while Hazara got 20 points and recorded third position. —FP Monitoring

Pakistan at Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). "It was always my dream to win the title and my hard work paid dividend," country's new snooker prodigy, told reporters. He thanked Almighty for achieving his objective after being 4-5 down.

"Despite being behind, I played my normal game and kept reciting Quran and Darood Sharif and that helped me to win the title," he remarked. He dedicated his victory to his whole family including his grandmother, coaches, friends and wellwishers and PBSA. He expressed the hope that Pakistan Sports authorities will provide long-standing cash incentives to players for their achievements for the country including former IBSF World Champion and World Team and 6-Red Asian champion Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Sajjad. —FP Monitoring

Shaheryar to watch 2nd test in Dhaka

KARACHI: Shaheryar Muhammad Khan,

Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is due leave for Dhaka on Tuesday to watch the second cricket test between the 2-nation starting on May 6.

During his stay in Bangladesh, he would also be holding meetings with officials Board of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to discuss future plans. "I want to motivate the team ahead of the second test," he said. Pakistan suffered 3-0 loss in ODI series and Shahid Afridi's team was beaten in the one-off T20 against Bangladesh.

PCB chief is believed to fly to Kolkata from Dhaka to meet Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) Jagmohan Dalmiya. During the meeting with BCCI boss, Shaheryar Khan is expected to discuss the holding of proposed Pakistan's home series against arch-rival in United Arab Emirates (UAE) in upcoming in December. BCCI officials have expressed their keenness to play series against Pakistan subject to clearance from the India Government.

Pakistan was expected to play two test matches, five One-day Internationals two Twenty20 Internationals against India. —FP Monitoring

EDITORIAL

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MONDAY

MAY 4, 2015

Editor-in-Chief & Chief Executive | REHMAT SHAH AFRIDI Resident Editor | RIFAT ALAM Managing Editor | MAJ. (R) JAVED IQBAL Email: thefrontierpost1@outlook.com — rehmatshahafridi@outlook.com Tel: +92 42-36300931-4 Printed and published by Rehmat Shah Afridi at Maidan Press, 10-Queen’s Road Lahore

International Fire Fighter’s Day (IFFD)

4

th May always been celebrated in appreciation, condolence for brave fighters, who gifted their life for saving those people or materials get surrounded by fire. Those who bravely attempt and either back alive or dead, they deserve a bid Salute.

Worldwide, safety measures have always taken as priority via indoor fixed equipment, alarms or emergency exits. It astonishes that in last three four years, in Pakistan, we have observed many incidents of fire in huge government buildings or factories, as well as in transports, where huge figure of deaths and injuries have been recorded. According to roughly data of casualties due to such accidents, research says short Circuiting 50%, Careless Smoking 10%, Gas Leakage 5%, Candle/Heater 2%, Forest Fires 1%, Fire Works 1%, LPG/Cylinder Blast 0.82%, Kitchen Fire 0.18%, Unknown 25% and others 5% respectively found to be the leading causes of the reported fire incidents Accident is something else that we see in case of transports but negligence is there, but in big factories and very important government entity got fired in such a way that it gives impression of pre planned incidence. On one hand we got to know that no documents are safe in result of fire incidence, and in some cases we heard about huge causalities due to big fire as no emergency doors were opened, means deliberately closed, or equipments are out of order, there, we left to blame only administration. Our service might observe slow to reach in place of incidence but majority the case is done deliberately.

Karachi Baldia Town Factory Fire in 2012, 289 Persons died and openly blame was that it is political incidence. No so far, in March 2015, a fire on the eighth and fourth floors of the Income Tax Office adjacent to the Sind Secretariat destroyed numerous records that mainly include all records of income tax records.

Such incidents make poor history and discourage our fire extinguisher team to come forward and serve as they are life savers and hardly ever blamed for loss due to fire eve, not around the world but in Pakistan as well. For examples, in banks, it is scheduled to give training for how to save themselves and smoke alarms are being checked simultaneously with fire extinguishers’ and emergency exit door IFFD is honourable day, celebrated all around the world that results in encouragement of our behaviours’ to come forward and serve us in such emergencies. Latest training methods, monitoring, efficient fighters, latest equipments are required though to think for the fighters as well, and steps should be taken to counter the deliberate actions as discussed above either in revenge or to hide actual records and political conduct.

World reaction to devastating earthquake in impoverished Nepal is heartening

T

he tragedy of the thousands of deaths in Nepal following a devastating earthquake is only made worse by the fact that much of the suffering could have been avoided.

The earthquake was inevitable. Experts had been predicting it since the last significant one in 1934, which resulted in nearly 11,000 deaths in Nepal and neighboring India.

Saturday’s earthquake rocked a large portion of central Nepal, from Mount Everest to the capital of Kathmandu and points west.

As difficult as it has been to reach victims in the capital, getting to those in the outlying areas has been nearly impossible. While approximately 200 climbers have been rescued from Mount Everest, the situation is becoming desperate for thousands of people in remote mountain villages.

The world is reacting quickly. The United States and the European Union, among many nations, are dispatching aid. Notably, China and India, which share a troubled history in the region, have stepped up.

Nepal, a mountainous nation between India and Tibet, has been a shambles politically for a long time. The 10-year Maoist insurgency ended in 2006, but after two elections there is still no constitution.

The people deservedly have little confidence in the government’s ability to do much of anything, let alone cope with this enormous crisis. The Nepali government has been concerned with the earthquake risk, and the U.N. Development Program and supporting governments, including the United States, have offered help.

But work proceeded at a plodding pace in a poor country that had to spend so much effort on day-to-day survival.

Alyssa Ayres, a senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia for the Council on Foreign Relations, in a blog post reflected on her experience several years ago walking in downtown Kathmandu and observing many poorly constructed buildings: “As we ducked into a traditional courtyard, winding our way through a low narrow corridor before emerging into an open square surrounded by high traditional homes, we saw a big stick propping one edge of a building up against another.”

Such tragedy. The hope is that the nations rushing in aid will remain to help Nepal prepare for the next, inevitable earthquake.

—Courtesy Buffalo News

Too clever by half

T

BY MARK KENNY

he U.S. balancing act in the Middle East could leave it with diminished influence across the region. The regional crises gripping the Middle East these days are hardly the result of “superpowers” withdrawing from the region. The U.S., for one, is not distancing itself from the region. If anything, U.S. subsidization of so many of the participants and direct interventions since its withdrawal from Iraq in 2010 speaks to the primacy of the Persian Gulf and surrounding areas in the U.S’s military and diplomatic posture.

What is different is how the U.S. is not directly exercising its capacity to intervene, and that it is looking for a new partner to pick up part of the tab since no other world power – China, Russia or the European Union – is capable or willing to. Particularly in the war against the Islamic State group, this de facto partner is the Islamic Republic of Iran, and so the U.S. is giving ground in some areas to Tehran, but asserting it in others. That it can deal with both camps of the Gulf Cold War – one led by Iran, the other by Saudi Arabia – speaks to its continued outsized role there.

During the Cold War, the U.S. rarely intervened directly against Soviet

F

clients or states that challenged American primacy in the region, the Marines’ short-lived deployment to Lebanon during the 1980s being an exception.

Claims of “disengagement” confuse a lack of direct military action for a lack of meddling. Historically, such measures were left to Britain, and after 1971, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Anwar Sadat’s Egypt and imperial Iran.

Fighting between two or more regional blocs without direct U.S. participation is nothing new to the area.

Yemen is the most recent, but not necessarily most important, example of this type of proxy war. The U.S. had pursued a counterterrorism campaign there, and it also subsidized a counterinsurgency carried out by regional partners. Whatever success these efforts brought evaporated after the counterinsurgents failed to offer the Yemeni people anything of substance.

Rather than further embroil itself in the crisis there – where a former American ally, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, is now on the side of pro-Iranian insurgents, the Houthis – the U.S. is leaving it to the coalition put together by Saudi Arabia to roll back Tehran and contain al-Qaida. A major counterinsurgency operation in the Middle East will

apparently be left largely to the Gulf States that frequently demand the U.S. resolve such matters for them.

The proxy war in Yemen has not come without costs to U.S. influence. Although the U.S. remains the top arms supplier for countries across the region, Arab (and the Israeli) governments are even less willing to accept coaching on “democracy promotion” or human rights. The U.S. does not lack influence in these countries, but it does allow its influence to sit on a shelf gathering dust as it shields these countries from the consequences of their actions.

The overriding issue is the unspoken American desire to bring Iran, once a trusted enforcer in the region before the 1979 revolution, back in from the cold.

Ostensibly, the U.S. is willing to deal with Iran in order to forestall a preventive war launched by Israel that was meant to set back Iran’s nuclear program.

The U.S. has opted for more engagement because it believes Iran can do things the Arab powers cannot. The Saudis cannot take decisive action in Iraq against the Islamic State. And they or other Gulf Cooperation Council members cannot hope to bring the Syrian regime to the negotiating table

Catastrophe in Yemen

BY MAUREEN DOWD inding a political solution will not be easy; it may not even be possible. For one thing, it will require Saudi Arabia to accept the Houthis, an indigenous Yemeni group, as part of the governing power structure. But such a solution is the only hope for bringing some stability to the country and refocusing international and Yemeni resources on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the most lethal Al Qaeda affiliate, which is the real beneficiary of the widening chaos.

Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen’s civil war was always a risky gamble. Now there’s evidence showing just how damaging four weeks of airstrikes have been: more than 1,000 civilians killed, more than 4,000 wounded, and 150,000 displaced. Meanwhile, the fighting and a Saudi-led blockade have deprived Yemenis of food, fuel, water and medicines, causing what a Red Cross official called a humanitarian catastrophe. Yemen has long been a weak state, and with each day it draws closer to collapse.

The Saudis claim the air strikes have punished the Houthi rebels, who have tried to take over Yemen, by wiping out many of their weapons and military installations around the country. But the rebels, who are supported by Shiite Iran, are still on the march.

The Saudis, who lead a coalition of Sunni Arab nations, are nowhere near to restoring the Yemeni president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Mr. Hadi was ousted by the Houthis in January and driven into exile in Saudi Arabia.

The Obama administration has helped the Saudis with intelligence and tactical advice and by deploying warships off the Yemeni coast. Now it is wisely urging them to end the bombing. The White

with their current level of support for the rebels. The U.S. will not directly involve itself in either of these conflicts after more than a decade of foreign occupations. Iran, for the White House, is the logical security partner here. As The Atlantic put it, “Iran is trying to keep the post-Saddam [Hussein] order together,” even if maintaining that order causes just as many problems as solutions.

Therein lies the problem with this detente with the Islamic Republic. What remains to be seen is if and how this engagement affects Iranian foreign policy, which, while hegemonic, is no longer “revolutionary” in any meaningful sense of the word, and is still often adversarial to the interests of the U.S. Because the nuclear deal (which is set to be finalized in June) does not take Iran’s doings in the region into account, it will most likely have no effect on Iran’s behavior.

This concession is the second, and greatest, weakness of the U.S’s strategic planning in the region today. What is presented as a clever balancing act now could mean that the U.S. will lose influence over both the Saudi and Iranian camps in years to come.

—Courtesy The Sydney Morning Herald

LETTERS TO EDITOR

Please send your letters to editor@thefrointerpost.pk

House seems to have realized that the Saudis appear to have no credible strategy for achieving their political goals, or even managing their intervention.

On Tuesday, they declared a halt to most military operations, only to resume bombing hours later.

More airstrikes followed on Thursday as warplanes from the coalition struck Houthi targets around the Yemeni cities of Aden and Ibb. The Sunnis constitute a majority in Yemen. Saudi Arabia and other Sunni countries intervened because they feared that a Houthi takeover would extend the influence of Iran, which also has footholds in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. That fear appears to be exaggerated in Yemen. Nevertheless, the intervention has threatened to turn what has been a civil war between competing branches of Islam into a wider regional struggle involving Iran.

Saudi Arabia has been further unnerved by the possibility of a nuclear deal involving the United States, other major powers and Iran. Such a deal, it fears, would help make Iran the dominant regional power and spur reconciliation with the United States, thus putting Saudi Arabia’s security relationship with Washington in jeopardy. This has left American policy makers with a formidable diplomatic challenge: reassuring the Sunni nations of continued support while trying to see if Iran, an adversary since 1979, could be nudged into a more productive relationship.

Before the outbreak of the Houthi offensive, a United Nations-led diplomatic initiative had made some progress, but the Security Council never gave it enough support and attention. And now, the United Nations official who led the negotiations, Jamal Benomar, a Moroccan diplomat, has resigned and returned to New York.

The Nobel Peace Prize for Maulana and Bilquis Edhi

This is with reference to Kamran Shafi’s article, “The Nobel Peace Prize for Maulana and Bilquis Edhi”. Mr Shafi has brought forward a great idea and one which has been oft-mooted on Facebook and other avenues. But as I read the article, I thought, does one really need a Nobel Prize to be truly recognised? Is it some sort of an accreditation without which greatness or contribution is somehow less accepted? Isaac Newton or William Shakespeare or Louis Pasteur are recognised and respected without having received this stamp. Would Nelson Mandela or Mother Teresa been any less respected had they not been awarded the Nobel peace prize? The Edhis and the Adeeb Rizvis of this world stand tall on their own. A Nobel prize would be nice, but its absence will certainly not diminish their stature.

SAEED MIRZA KARACHI

Save electricity

The federal government has made the right decision by directing traders to close down markets at 8:00 pm in order to save electricity. The step will help ease the ongoing energy crisis and reduce the duration of load shedding. In most of the advanced countries, shopping malls are closed at 8:00 pm and only food and pharmacy shops remain open till late at night. The Islamabad Traders Association has held a shutterdown strike against the government’s decision. It is the government’s responsibility to protect the national interest and not the financial benefits of a few thousand shopkeepers who are notorious for evading income tax.

It is the job of good leaders to lead the nation and implement policies that are in the public interest. The government’s decision to close marriage halls by 10:00 pm is also praiseworthy. I hope that the government will not bow down before greedy traders who only want to make money and have no care for the country’s problems.

ENGINEER S T HUSSAIN VIA EMAIL

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BUSINESS

www.thefrontierpost.pk

MONDAY MAY 4, 2015

B3

G20 backs off austerity drive in rich nations

BAKU: Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar meeting with EIB delegation headed by Roman Escolano Vice President in Baku on Sunday. —DNA

Google sets to foster entrepreneur in KP

PESHAWAR: Google set its foot with

the aim to boost entrepreneur in Khyber Pakhtunnkhwa for the first time by organizing a daylong conference here at a hotel with young talented entrepreneurs, experts from the Information Technology, and those using Google to foster their businesses attended.

The conference was held under the aegis of Google Business Group-Peshawar headed by Ms Maryam Arshad.

GBG is a group of individuals who have volunteered to foster a community of entrepreneurs, tech-preneurs and other professionals.

Launched in the last quarter of year 2014, Google eventually marked its international presence in this region.

GDayX is an annual conference supported by Google run by its various business groups.

GDayX Peshawar provided an opportunity to showcase Peshawar's community to the public, presented their 2015 plans for promoting technology and businesses, celebrate online business successes and inspired others with technology and encourage them to join our GBG network.

The event began with GBG-Peshawar's Manager Maryam Arshad who discussed about the evolution of Google Business Group, how important

it is to take essential key players: academia, IT Ministry and the Chamber of Commerce together to promote technology and future plans of the GBG chapter for its community.

This was followed by a panel discussionmoderated by Zainab Durani (GBG-Peshawar member) on "Building an Online Social Presence with the use of Google Tools".

The panelists, all dynamic young female entrepreneursincluded Seema Gul, Founder Pashmina - Founder Meena's Delights,Mahoor Jamal Founder EMJAYS and Saira Qureshi Founder Subrang Jewelry.

Later, Irfan Ajmal (founder MQC) gave an insightful session on Inbound Marketing and its future.

Uzair from Peshawar 2.0 explained the importance of Google for Education and encouraged its usage in academic institutions.

Farhan Shah (Founder Empower.PK) spoke about "Eradicating unemployment through technology".

The sessions were engaging and gave the audience a chance to bring up their queries related to the topics at hand.

Iqra National University Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board were the main partners for the event.

Khyber Chamber of Commerce and

Industry, Youth Forum - Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Peshawar and Empower PK were also partners for the event.

Khyber Chamber of Commerce and Industry's President Faud Ishaq appreciated the efforts of GBG-Peshawar and announced the launch of IT excellence award for this year's nominations at the annual excellence award function.

Roohi Zahir Shah, former President of WCCIP encouraged youngsters to promote IT and Business and bridge the gap between these entities.

Farah Hamid, Secretary KPITB encouraged GBG-Peshawar's team and the promotion of technology.

Obaid ur Rehman, Chancellor Iqra National University promised to promote IT and take it parallel with academia.

She urged the attendees to participate in healthy activities and announced about an upcoming international conference for the students and entrepreneurs of Peshawar with the name of Iqra Youth Development Conference 2015.

Mementos were presented to all partners and speakers and the efforts of other team members comprising Hunain Hayat and Zainab Durrani, were acknowledged by Ms Maryam Arshad.

—FP Monitoring

Russia signs up to $100b BRICS fund to rival IMF

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir

Putin ratified an accord Saturday to set up a $100-billion reserve fund for the so-called BRICS -- the five leading emerging economies that include Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa.

Moscow is expected to contribute $18 billion to the reserve, well behind the $41 billion China has promised to pour into the fund that was set up after an agreement signed in July 2014

in Brazil. The emerging economies also plan to form their own international bank based in Shanghai to challenge western dominance over international money markets.

"The accord on the creation of a common reserve fund for BRICS countries has been ratified," a document from the Kremlin quoted by RIA Novosti news agency said.

The fund is meant to shield the BRICS against "short-term liquidity pressures"

and promote greater cooperation between the five member countries.

Russia -- which has suffered huge currency fluctuations since the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine -- sees the fund as an alternative to international financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank that are dominated by the United States. The BRICS countries between them account for 40 percent of the world's population, and a fifth of the planet's GDP. —FP Monitoring

VW recalls 5,869 cars on problems with fuel pump BEIJING: German carmaker Volkswa-

gen and its joint venture in China FAW-Volkswagen will recall a total of 5,869 cars in China due to problems with fuel pumps, according to China's quality watchdog.

The recalls, which starts on July 8, involves eight imported Golf Variant, produced in June of 2014, 512 imported Audi A3 40TFSI, made between Dec. 2013 and March 2014, 4,377 Golf A7 1.4T, manufactured between April and June of 2014, as well as 972 Audi A3 35TFSI, made between April and July of 2014, according to a notice issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Some of the above-mentioned cars might have abnormal or disfunctioning fuel pumps, which might cause inability to start the cars or, under some extreme circumstances, lead to the flameout.

The company will contact clients and replace the flawed parts free of

NEW YORK: Finance leaders of the G20 economies edged away from a longrunning drive toward government austerity in rich nations, rejecting the idea of setting hard targets for reducing national debt in a sign of worries over a sluggish global recovery.

The G20 club of advanced and emerging economies also said it would be watching for negative effects from massive monetary stimulus, such as Japan's - a nod to concerns of developing nations that those policies risk flooding their economies with hot capital and driving up their currencies.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a news conference that officials from the Group of 20 nations believed overall debt reduction was more important than specific figures.

"We agreed that these would be soft parameters, these would be some kind of strategic objectives and goals which might be amended or adjusted, depending on the specific situations in the national economies," he said.

Russia - this year's G20 chair - had hoped to secure an agreement on setting fixed targets for reducing debt by the time G20 leaders meet in St. Petersburg in September.

But the United States and Japan have firmly opposed the idea of committing to fixed debt-to-GDP targets, with Washington trying to keep the focus of the G20 on growth.

‘Govt investment policies matchless’

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Economy

Watch (PEW) on Sunday said Pakistan offers best investment-friendly and incentives-driven policies offering limitless opportunities to foreign investors.

Foreign investors shouldn’t let propaganda scare them away from exploring enormous investment potential in energy, oil and gas, coal, infrastructure, communication, telecom, agriculture and dairy development, it said.

Pakistan offers over 180 million consumers, fully convertible currency, unrestricted equity, profit repatriation, no double taxation and attractive tax breaks which has so far lured 600 multinationals, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.

Govt to save Rs 200b in refund claims

ISLAMABAD: Imposition of simplified single digit sales tax regime would revolutionise national economy by simplifying tax compliance and eradicating corruption causing massive loss to the national kitty, a business leader said Sunday.

Existing sales tax system is full of ambiguities resulting flourishing business of fake and flying invoices while reforms will bring a pleasant change in business environment which is the goal of government, said President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum Mian Zahid Hussain.

Talking to the business community, he said that non-refundable and non-adjustable sales tax at import and manufacturing stage will help businessmen save a lot of time and billions of rupees

"Quite frankly, the language could have been stronger but it's sufficient to move this forward," said Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

In a communiqué after a two-day meeting, the G20 said it would be "mindful" of possible side effects from extended periods of monetary stimulus, a phrase added the insistence of South Korea to take into account the concerns of emerging markets.

"Monetary policy should be directed toward domestic price stability and continuing to support economic recovery," the statement said.

The economic policies of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have weakened the yen, but only as a by-product of stimulus geared at pulling the country out of deflation, the country's finance minister said.

"To say that a cheap yen is our goal will grossly miss the point," Taro Aso told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"The big D - deflation - is too difficult and too persistent to get rid of. At the end of the day, a shrinking Japan can only do harm to the world."

The BOJ is not alone in flooding its economy with cheap funds to try to boost borrowing and spending. The U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and, to some extent, the European Central Bank have as well. —FP Monitoring

while saving around Rs200 billion per annum paid by FBR to those who file fake refund claims, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain who has also served as provincial minister said that single digit sales tax will eliminate malpractices in refund claims and input tax and reduce administrative costs in the FBR. It will give relief to the common man especially to the lower and middle income group by reducing the inflation, increase revenue, provide support to limping industry and trigger industrial expansion providing revenue and jobs, he remarked.

The veteran business leader said that government would be able to spend more on developmental projects and break the begging bowl as tax theft and smuggling would be reduced substantially. —FP Monitoring

He said that many leading global groups want to invest in Pakistan, the world’s sixth largest country by population, to enjoy higher returns, but western media has been conspiring to cause fear in their hearts.

Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that we have unmet demand for energy, housing, transportation, health, education, unexploited mineral deposits and one of the largest and least exploited coal reserves in the world.

Propaganda hasn’t deterred Chinese, Koreans and Arabs etc. from investments in Pakistan therefore it shouldn’t discourage the western investors as the government has unleashed a new era of development in Pakistan with the help of China. —FP Monitoring

Wheat and vegetables crop affected SIALKOT: Wheat and other Rabi crops

spreading on a vast area have been badly affected in the district due to current rainfall and hailstorm.

Agriculture department officials told APP on Sunday that according to a survey, standing wheat and vegetable crops spreading over 500,000 acres have been affected in Sialkot, Pasrur, Daska and Sambrial tehsils.

The officials said that wheat was sown over 510,000 acres out of which 228,000 acres of wheat crop had been affected in four tehsils. Similarly sunflower, gram, lentil, tomato and vegetables crops cultivated over 281,000 acres had also been affected badly due to current rainfall while timely wheat harvesting was suffered due to rain and it affected the per acre yield of wheat crop 25 to 28 per-

European Union sees supplies of natural gas from Turkmenistan by 2019

ASHGABAT: The European Union, keen to lessen its dependence on Russia for energy supplies, expects to start receiving natural gas from Turkmenistan by 2019, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said in an interview.

Russia currently supplies around a third of Europe's gas needs, but Moscow's annexation of Crimea and its involvement in the military conflict in eastern Ukraine has added urgency to the EU's search for gas from alternative sources.

"We have good mutual understanding.

For Turkmenistan it is very important to diversify its export options, while for the EU it is very important to diversify its imports," Sefcovic told Reuters in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.

"Europe expects supplies of Turkmen gas to begin by 2019," he said, speaking in Russian.

Turkmenistan, a Central Asian nation with the

world's fourth-largest reserves of natural gas, is keen to diversify exports of the fuel away from Russia which will cut its imports to 4 billion cubic metres this year from 11 bcm in 2014.

Sefcovic is overseeing the EU's push for an energy union, a single market for power and gas based on better connections between member states and aimed at curbing Russia's dominant position, particularly in the gas market.

Visiting Ashgabat on Friday, he met Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natiq Aliyev, Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Baymurad Hojamukhamedov and Yagshygeldy Kakayev, who heads Turkmenistan's hydrocarbon resources agency.

"In this format we discussed all aspects referring to the trans-Caspian pipeline," Sefcovic said.

"We made a big step in the strategic direction." "Political decision" The project, designed

to bring Turkmen gas to Europe across the Caspian Sea via the so-called "southern gas corridor" which includes Azerbaijan and Turkey, has been stuck for years due to political, ecological and financial uncertainties.

"Now there is a political decision that Turkmenistan will become part of this project and will feed the European direction," Sefcovic said.

Last year, Turkmenistan and Turkey signed a framework agreement to supply gas to the proposed Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), which will take gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea. To connect to TANAP, Turkmenistan needs to build its own, 300-km (187-mile) link under the Caspian Sea, a disputed area between Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan.

TANAP will be built from the Turkish-Geor-

gian border to Turkey's frontier with Bulgaria and Greece.

Its construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2018 in order to start deliveries of gas from Shah Deniz II in 2019.

"Between 2019 and 2020 all these pipelines from Azerbaijan to the borders of Europe - in the direction of Greece, Albania and Italy must be built," Sefcovic said.

"It's everyone's expectation that Turkmenistan and Turkmen gas will be a very important part of this cooperation." Sefcovic declined to say how much gas Turkmenistan could supply annually to Europe.

Turkmen officials said in March that "active" negotiations were under way to supply Europe with 10 to 30 bcm of gas per year.

This compares to around 30-35 bcm which Turkmenistan annually exports to China.

‘Detailed work begins’ A working group will

be established in one month to further work on the trans-Caspian project, Sefcovic said.

The group will include deputy energy ministers and foreign ministry experts, he said.

"We agreed that we would work in the format of Turkmenistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the EU, and that we will invite Georgia, because it is an important transit nation from the point of view of the southern gas corridor," he said.

Neighbours Russia and Iran, uneasy about the proposed new gas export route to Europe, have voiced objections to laying a pipeline on the bottom of the Caspian, saying this could harm the fragile ecology of the shallow sea.

Sefcovic said the EU had financed an ecological expertise of the project jointly with the World Bank. "There are technologies which are reliable from the point of view of ecology," he said. —FP Monitoring

B4

FATA/SINDH/BALOCHISTAN

MONDAY

MAY 4, 2015

Families demand solidarity fund for victim journalists KARACHI: The International Media

Local Journalists demonstrating on Press Freedom Day on Sunday.

Press freedom day observed in Landikotal AHMAD NABI KHYBER AGENCY: Like elsewhere in the

World the tribal journalists observed Press Freedom Day (PFD) with commitment to execute their duties and to provide opportunities to people to have information and freely express their views which is their fundamental right.

In this connection on Sunday the lo-

cal media persons staged demonstration to remind the masses to pay tribute to media professionals who risked or lost their lives in the line of duty.

They were holding placards inscribed with different slogans and tightened their mouths with piece of clothes to illustrate ban on press.

Speaking on the occasion President Landikotal press club Ali Shinwari

stressed upon the authorities concerned to implement press and publication act in Federally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA) in addition of provision of security to the journalist community and their families. He asked for compensation of killed and displaced tribal media personals and demanded investigation for probing causes of fourteen killed journalists hailing from

tribal belt who lost their lives while performing their duties.

World Press Freedom Day was established by the General Assembly of the United Nation (UN) in December 1993 and it is annually celebrated across the World. It is to mention here that the tribal media personals have been facing number of restrictions while executing their professional duties.

Conference (IMC) 2015 issued a Karachi declaration on Sunday demanding the government of Pakistan respect and implement all international instruments on the protection of journalists, they signed up including binding and nonbinding resolutions, covenants and declarations of the United States.

Journalists, editors, and representatives of media from Pakistan, and international and regional organizations of journalists met at the International Media Conference in Karachi started from May, 01 to 03, 2015, organized by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day. Journalists from 15 countries representing International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and other journalist unions of the world took part and helped finalised the declaration. The conference was also attended by Federal Executive Council (FEC) members and editors and journalists from different newspapers.

They recalled that there was high number of violations against journalists in Pakistan, in particular the killing of journalists, which has reached over 100 in the last decade.

Pakistan has been one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world.

They further demanded that these

instruments on the protection of journalists are translated in national laws and that the justice system is thoroughly overhauled to end impunity and provide judicial and legislative assistance to prevent serious violations to international humanitarian laws that allows targeting of journalists.

The declaration further urged the authorities to establish the right of the families of the killed journalists for compensation, directly or through media institutions, and the setting up of a solidarity fund for the victims.

The media organizations, they said, have a duty of care and moral responsibility for the safety of all their journalists, in particular news gatherers, staff or freelance, and to provide hostile-environment safety training and equipment, and to negotiate unequivocally with journalists’ representatives the safety and protection of their members, including safety protocols, medical care and life insurance.

The declaration noted that media editors have a responsibility to systematically publicise crimes against journalists, investigate them as thoroughly as possible and expose any failure of government and justice system to make the perpetrators account for their crimes.

In the declaration, it was acknowledged that the primacy of quality training and education for journalists, as well as broader media and information literacy, is part of long-term efforts at media sustainability. –FP Monitoring

Balochistan still waits for Rs 15b Festival brings smile on FATA’s violence effected people for development projects PESHAWAR: A colourful peace and cul-

QUETTA: The Balochistan government

is still waiting for Rs15 billion it had requested from the federal government for various development projects.

Dr Malik said the provincial government required Rs3 billion to develop Quetta and Rs2 billion for the Mangi dam and other small dams in the suburbs of the provincial capital.

Addressing a session of the Balochistan Assembly, the chief minister said development of the province was the topmost priority of the government and the right use of the funds was its obligation.

Malik said that according to Federal Minister for Planning & Development Ahsan Iqbal, the amount of the funds requested was ‘huge’ and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would make a decision in this regard.

The CM said the previous government had created difficulties by making unnecessary appointments in government departments. “So far, 12,000 employees have been regularised in the health and education departments.”

He accused the previous govern-

ment of not making appointments in the education sector through the Balochistan package. “Subsidies are also being paid to farmers, which increases the government’s burden.”

Talking about releasing development funds, the chief minister said the Planning and Development Department could not do anything unless the gov-

tural festival was held to bring smile on the faces of the violence-affected people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

The event was arranged under the auspices of South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-PK) was a bid to show the world a soft image of the region.

People from different walks of life, including politicians, academicians, civil society activists, students, singers and artistes, attended the event in large numbers.

The speakers said such events should happen again and again in a city, where incidence of heinous and criminal acts was high. SAP-PK regional coordinators Allah Noor Afridi and Naeem Khattak said the event was meant to encourage peace lovers to involve themernment departments submit their selves in positive cultural and political proposals. events, which they said was easy tool for He said if any files were pending with combating extremism and violence in the chief secretary or with him, then the government would be responsible for them, but any other delays would be investigated into. –FP Monitoring

SHIKARPUR: Rind tribe held a protest

against detention of their Sardar and his son in front of local press club Shikarpur on Sunday.

According to details several Rind community persons held a protest rally under the leadership of Irshad Essani, Usman Rind, Meer Hassan Rind and others.

Talking to media representatives protesters said that government has de-

tained Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind and his son Meer Sardar Khan Rind for supporting poor villagers of Wahi Pandhi Taluka Johi District Dadu, Sindh.

They further said that Rind community persons of Wahi Pandhi protested against the Polish Natural Resource Company’s (PNRC) occupation of hundreds of acres resource rich land in the area.

On the occasion he demanded the higher authorities to take notice of

inars and workshops in most parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining tribal region.

Civil society activists Dr Sarfraz, Maryam Bibi and Ijaz Durrani paid tribute to all those, who fell victim to militancy and terrorism during the last one decade.

They said FATA lagged far behind in terms of development indicators.

The civil society activists said they had fewer opportunities to participate in social and economic development compared to other parts of the country.

They said the gap between the state and citizens adversely affected the efficient delivery of public services.

Later, local folksingers enthralled the audience, while the people danced to the tunes of Pashto traditional music instruments, Rabab and Mangy. –FP Monitoring

JUI-F stages protest in Landikotal

AHMAD NABI

Rinds protest against detention of sardar WAHEED PHULPOTO

the volatile region.

Different stalls were set up showcasing handicrafts, old jewelry, cultural dresses, antiques, dried fruits and other items from Mohmand and Kurram agencies and Lower and Upper Dir. Women and children participated in the event in good numbers.

Parkha Khan, a young participant from tribal areas, said such events should be frequently held to give more exposure to female artisans from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining tribal region.

The SAP-PK coordinators informed participants about their organisation’s ‘Citizen Action for Peace and Development’ campaign saying the initiative was meant to unite people on the issue of peace and development.

They said peace and development would happen only when violence and extremism ended.

The coordinators said their organisation arranged several debates, sem-

the matter and immediately release Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind and his son Meer Sardar Khan Rind and take steps for elimination occupied land of the poor villagers of Wahi Pandhi otherwise he threatened to accelerate their protest circle.

Three men injured in a tribal clash: The clash erupted between Panhyar and Bhutta community in which two men of Panhyar tribe and one from Bhutta tribe got injured at Dastagir Colony in the limits of Lakhi Gate Police Station on Sunday.

According to reports three people identified as Imdad Panhyar, Murad Panhyar and Sajjad Mangi were injured by knife wounds. Assailants escaped away from the place of incident.

Injured men were shifted to District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital for medical treatment. Motive behind the incident could not be ascertained. Imdad Panhyar was referred to Sukkur Hospital due to his critical condition and other two were reported out of danger.

FIR was not registered till this news was flashed.

KHYBER AGENCY: Jamiat

Ulema-eIslam, Fazal ur Rehman group (JUIF) Landikotal chapter staged a protest rally against lack of basic necessities to the tribesmen on Sunday.

Hundreds of the party workers along with large number of local tribes from across the tehsil participated in it. The protesters led by Ameer Khyber Agency, Mufti Ijaz, naib ameer Maulana Haider, Maulana Mujahid, Salar Haji Murad were holding flags and banners inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands. They marched from Bacha Chowak main Landikotal

bazaar to press club while chanting fullthroat slogans against unavailability if basic needs.

Addressing on the occasion, the JUIF leaders said, “Landikotal has become a hub of problems and since the creation of Pakistan the tribesmen have been deprived of their essential necessities like potable water, electricity and education which is step mother behaviour towards them. On every plat farm, the JUI-F has raised voice in favour of tribal and will leave no stone unturned to get their rights for them.”

The JUI-F leaders came hard on the representatives of the constituency and said that after electing they have

turned blind to the masses and are not interesting to ease the troubles being faced by the locals.

They also criticized those people who allegedly for their personal gains motivate the tribesmen for refusing of polio vaccination and said it will not only cause health hazards to tribal children but will also earn a bad name for our country on internal level.

They asked for early completion of construction work on Pak-Afghan road and stressed upon the authorities to deal the Torkham terminal matter as per consultation of the tribesmen.

At the end after ‘dua’, the rally dispersed peacefully.

MONDAY

www.thefrontierpost.pk

MAY 4, 2015

BRIEF

Attack on Yarmouk camp

UN urges Syria to halt military operations

18 killed in Afghan bus accident HERAT: At least 18 people were

killed while three others wounded after a mini bus plunged at a ravine in western Afghanistan’s province of Badghis on Sunday, an official source said. “The incident took place in Band-e-Mangan, a mountainous area in Bala Murghab district at around 10:00 am on Sunday. The illfated vehicle was travelling from western Herat province to the northern part of the country,” district governor Ahmad Zia Akazai told the media. —Xinhua

Islamic State hit with 24 air strikes by US, allies WASHINGTON: The United States

and its allies staged 24 strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria in a 24-hour period ending Saturday, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement. Seventeen of the strikes were in Syria near the cities of Raqqah, Kobani, Al Hasakah and Dair Az Zawr, hitting Islamic State units, fighting positions, vehicles and other targets. In Iraq, seven airstrikes near Mosul, Ramadi, Bayji, Tal Afar and Fallujah hit units, buildings, fighting positions and a supply cache, the statement said. The strikes took place on Friday and Saturday. —FP Monitoring

Wanted suspect of banned outfit held PESHAWAR: Police on Sunday

arrested a key commander of a banned outfit Javed during a raid in Peshawar. Police and law enforcement agencies conducted a raid and nabbed the suspect, after receiving a tip-off about the presence of criminal elements in the area. The detained criminal was wanted in several criminal activities, including an attack on security officers. He has been shifted to some undisclosed place for interrogation. —FP Monitoring

Baltimore lifts overnight curfew WASHINGTON: Baltimore has lift-

ed an overnight curfew imposed this week, following riots sparked by the death of a black man in police custody. The curfew had been in place since Tuesday, after protests over the death of Freddie Gray, 25, turned violent. On Friday, Baltimore's top prosecutor announced criminal charges against six officers involved in the case. Gray was arrested on 12 April, and died a week later from injuries sustained in a police van.

Under the curfew, residents were ordered to stay home from 22:00 until 05:00, and officials had been expected to keep it in place for another day. But on Sunday morning, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie RawlingsBlake said she did not want to maintain it any longer than was necessary. —FP Monitoring

Senate meets today ISLAMABAD: The Senate session

will begin here at the Parliament House today (Monday) at 4:00 pm. The Upper House of Parliament will transact business relating to private members’ day. —FP Monitoring

UNITED NATIONS: After a reported overnight attack on the Yarmouk refugee camp, the UN relief agency assisting Palestinians across the Middle East called on the Syrian government on Saturday to refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas, “including airborne weapons, whose indiscriminate effects expose civilians to imminent danger and suffering.”

In a statement, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said it was increasingly alarmed about the safety of civilians in Yarmouk, amid reports overnight of armed clashes, the use of heavy weapons and airstrikes.

“Civilians in the camp went through a night of extreme trauma and distress,” said the agency, calling on Syrian authorities to refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas. UNRWA said it would closely monitor reports of civilian fatalities and casualties.

“Our concerns have been heightened because these events follow an earlier night of heavy armed attacks on 27 April, which were condemned by the UN secretary general,” said the press release, YoKoHAMA: People attend a demonstration for the protection of the Japan's pacifist Constitution on Sunday. Thousands of people participated in the recalling UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s strong protest on Japan's Constitution Day. —Xinhua condemnation of the shelling and aerial bombardment of Yarmouk camp on 28 April despite assurances from the Syrian government that the camp would not be attacked while civilians remained inside. —FP Monitoring

Heavy clashes in Aden, alliance accused of cluster bomb use It has refused to rule out the eventual use of ground troops, but to date it has mostly used air power and some artillery on the Saudi border to bombard Iranianallied Houthi militia and allied army units. Aden, a hotbed of anti-Houthi sentiment, has been a flashpoint since the war began on March 26, when the coalition began attacking Houthi forces opposed to Saudi-backed Hadi, who was based in Aden for several weeks before fleeing to Riyadh.

The world's top oil exporter and arch Sunni Muslim regional rival of Shi'ite Iran, Saudi Arabia says it is concerned for its own security and Yemen's stability after Shi'ite Houthi forces captured the capital and began advancing across the country, on its southern border, in September.

Fighting around Yemen has killed more than 1,000 people, including an estimated 551 civilians since the bombings started, the United Nations said on April 24. Its children's agency UNICEF

said at least 115 children were among the dead. The international monitoring group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Saudi-led coalition attacking Yemen had probably used cluster bombs which are banned by most countries.

"Credible evidence indicates that the Saudi-led coalition used banned cluster munitions supplied by the United States in air strikes against Houthi forces," HRW said in a statement. Saudi Arabia's coalition spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the report.

In overnight fighting, warplanes from the coalition struck Sanaa's al Dulaimi military airbase, residents of the Houthicontrolled capital said. The aircraft also targeted a camp of forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, an ally of the Houthis, in Arhab district north of the city, the residents added. There was no immediate word on casualties.

In Aden, fighting continued in central Mualla and Khor Maksar districts, near the main commercial port, as well as in

Egypt using courts and jail to intimidate journalists: Amnesty

After PTI, JI submits resolution against Altaf in PA

ADEN: Local fighters battling the rebel

Houthi militia in Yemen's port of Aden stormed areas around the airport on Sunday in an operation supervised by the Saudi-led coalition, which also provided air support, the group's spokesman said.

"Special forces from the southern fighters have been prepared and trained for an operation to attack Aden airport," said Ali al-Ahmadi, spokesman for the Southern Popular Resistance.

Ahmadi retracted an earlier statement that 40-50 coalition special forces fighters had deployed alongside his militia and Saudi Arabia denied that a major ground operation was under way or that it had put non-Yemeni forces on the ground in Aden.

The coalition, which seeks to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, includes eight other Arab states and is receiving logistical support from the United States, Britain and France.

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities are using the courts to stifle journalism, Amnesty International said on Sunday in a report that listed 18 reporters and media workers jailed and dozens more facing criminal investigations.

The New York-based rights group said several reporters have been detained for long periods without charge or trial, including an Egyptian photographer known as Shawkan who has been held for more than 600 days. Rights groups say a crackdown launched by the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after the overthrow of Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid2013 has muzzled freedom of expression.

"In Egypt today anyone who challenges the authorities' official narrative, criticizes the government or exposes human rights violations is at risk of being tossed into a jail cell, often to be held

indefinitely without charge or trial or face prosecution on trumped-up charges," Amnesty said. The Egyptian foreign ministry responded to the report saying the journalists were arrested based on a warrant from the public prosecutor and afforded full due process.

"Nobody is being targeted for being a journalist. Such accusations are politicised nonsense," said spokesman Badr Abdelatty. The sentencing of three Al Jazeera journalists to between 7 and 10 years in prison last year on charges of spreading lies reinforced the view of rights groups that the government was rolling back freedoms gained after a 2011 uprising.

Australian Peter Greste was deported in February, while Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed are undergoing a retrial after a court found procedural flaws in the original case. —FP Monitoring

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Sun-

day submitted a resolution in Punjab Assembly against Altaf Hussain’s controversial speech against armed forces.

JI’s parliamentary leader in Punjab Assembly Dr. Wasim Akhtar submitted the resolution.

The resolution called on federal government to take notice of Altaf Hussain’s speech against army and impose a ban on Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

The resolution also called for the registration of a case against Hussain under Article 6 of the Constitution.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has already tabled a resolution in the Punjab Assembly. JI further announced that it would bring a resolution against Altaf Hussain in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. —FP Monitoring

the city's north, around a military camp and the airport, where there have been clashes for three days, local sources said.

Iran, which backs the Houthis, does not recognize Hadi and has portrayed the air strikes as an intervention in Yemen's internal affairs.

Commenting on reports that the coalition had deployed troops to Aden, Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said the alliance had not started any major ground offensive in the city.

He told Reuters there were no nonYemeni forces fighting in Aden, but said the coalition would continue to assist local militias and loyal tribes fighting the Houthis.

"All of these options are on the table and we use it to give those loyal (elements) the capabilities to be able to protect themselves and civilians," he said.

"If some such thing happens (a special forces operation), we cannot talk about it in the media." —FP Monitoring

UN, EU reaffirm commitment to help quake-hit Nepal UNITED NATIONS: Wrapping up their

visit to Nepal, the United Nations and European Union aid chiefs stressed that while relief teams are working around the clock to assist the thousands of people affected by the devastating earthquake that struck the Himalayan nation a week ago, aircraft and helicopters are urgently needed, as are emergency shelters, particularly for people in hard-hit rural areas.

According to a press release on Sunday from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, and the European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, have concluded their joint three-day visit to Nepal. —FP Monitoring

Kerry holds talks with Tamils in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: US Secretary of State John

Kerry held talks with Sri Lanka’s top Tamil leaders on Sunday as he wrapped up an overnight visit pushing reconciliation in the island after decades of ethnic war.

Kerry met with heads of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the main political party from the ethnic minority, one day after holding talks with Sri Lanka’s new President Maithripala Sirisena and his government.

US officials said TNA leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan and several other senior party officials held talks at Kerry’s hotel in the capital Colombo. The top US diplomat, whose presence in Colombo marked the island’s return to the world diplomatic fold, heaped praise on the new government of Sirisena who toppled former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse at January elections.

Kerry pledged support to ensure “true reconciliation” in Sri Lanka six years after the end of its 37-year-old Tamil separatist war that claimed at least 100,000 lives. Giving a speech on Saturday, Kerry echoed a long-standing Tamil demand to investigate the cases of thousands who went missing in the final stages of the brutal conflict that ended in May 2009.

“Try to find wherever the truth may lead. No matter how painful that truth is,” Kerry said. “It’s the right and the humane thing to do – and it is, believe it or not, an essential part of the healing process.”

The TNA is in the opposition, but supports Sirisena’s administration that has also promised to investigate allegations that up to 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by troops under Rajapakse’s command. —FP Monitoring

Police register FIR against Mirza, supporters for Badin unrest

BADIN: Police registered an FIR

against former Sindh Home Minister and estranged PPP leader Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and his aides under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) on Sunday.

FIR no 157, filed by local trader Imtiaz Memon, was registered under sections 365, 395, 324 and 337 of the PPC and sections 6 and 7 of the ATA against Zulfiqar Mirza, 26 known and 60 unknown people at Badin Model Police Station.

Dilber Sindhi, Peroze Shahani and Abdul Wahid Chandio are among those nominated in the FIR. Earlier today, the situation in Badin turned violent when Zulfiqar Mirza, along with hundreds of his supporters, besieged the Badin Model Police Station to register a case against alleged police ex-

Mirza lashes out at DSP Badin

PPP women counter Mirza’s onslaught

BADIN: Former Sindh Home Minister Zulifqar Mirza and Deputy Superintendent

KARACHI: PPP’s women leaders Shehla Raza, Sharmila Farooqui, Rubina

of Police (DSP) Abdul Qadir Samoo exchanged harsh words on Sunday after police officials tried to nab a close companion of the former, the media reported.

According to details, an enraged Mirza stormed into Badin Model Police Station and broke the table glass and mobile phone of DSP Samoo as arguments turned violent. Police officers alleged that Mirza had threatened them in an indecent language. On the other hand, Mirza warned that the administration would be held responsible if any of his companions or supporters were harmed. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has taken notice of the incident and directed the officials to probe into the matter. —FP Monitoring

cesses against his supporters in the district.

Mirza alleged that his aide Nadeem Mughal had been taken into detention illegally and that was why he had gone to the police station with his supporters. He asked police officials to lodge an FIR based on complaints made by his aide Nadeem

against PPP MNA Sardar Kamal Khan Chang, PPP Badin General Secretary Aziz Memon, Taj Mohammad Mallah, traders’ leader Imtiaz Ahmed Memon, and other PPP leaders and police officials. Nadeem Mughal was allegedly arrested by the Crime Investigation Agency for unknown

Qaimkhani and others swung into action on Sunday to defend former President Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Feryal Talpur against the onslaught of rebel party’s leader Zulfiqar Mirza. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Sindh Assembly Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza said Mirza had no political weight and he should refrain from mudslinging on the PPP’s leadership. She recalled that Mirza had become Sindh home minister only after joining the PPP. Speaking on the occasion, Sharmila Faorooqui said the PPP would give a befitting response to Mirza’s allegations. “Zulfiqar Mirza is a filthy person,” alleged Faorooqui, adding: “We will not tolerate a single word against Feryal Talpur.” —FP Monitoring

charges but was later released after a protest by supporters. Prior to his entry into the police station, Mirza’s supporters and guards forcibly shut down Taj Mohammad Mallah’s and Imtiaz Ahmed’s shops. Both Mallah and Ahmed recently joined the PPP during Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali

Shah’s visit to Badin a few days ago.

Mirza claims that Nadeem Mughal was whisked away at the behest of those he had lodged complaints against. While speaking to media, he said he would go to any extreme to protect his supporters from those he referred to as “wolves”.

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Mirza warned former President Asif Ali Zardari and functionaries of the Sindh government to bridle their leaders and made it clear he was ready to be arrested for his cause. Mirza and his supporters dispersed from the police station after the police’s refusal to register an FIR. —FP Monitoring