E-Paper Dec 16, 2012

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MUZAFFARABAD—Kashmirileadership has strongly criti-cized Interior Minister RehmanMalik about talking of releaseof Indian spy Sarbjeet Singh in-stead of raising the issue of im-prisoned Kashmiri leadersAfzal Guru and Dr Faktu.

Talking to INP former AJKPresident and PML-N leaderRaja Farooq Haider said that itappears that Rehman Malik wasacting as Indian Interior Minis-ter for Pakistan. He also ac-cused Malik, Hussain Haqqaniand General Retd MahmoodDurani were on the pay roll ofUS and Indian network. He saidRehman Malik tried to project

himself as Foreign Ministerwhile making statements in for-eign lands for which he has nomandate. He asked the PakistaniForeign Office to take notice ofthe situation.

He said the controvercialstatements by Rehman Malik andhis visit to India at the time ofvisit of APHC delegation wasnothing but a conspiracy to sabo-tage the visit of Kashmiri lead-ership.

Haider was also critical ofSardar Atiq Ahmad Khan overstatements about merger of hisparty with the PML-N. He saidby giving such statements, Atiqwanted to preserve his party from

further bickering and division.Jammu and Kashmir PeoplesParty President Sardar KhalidIbrahim Khan and PML-N AJKGeneral Secretary ShahGhulam Qadir also condemnedthe statement of Rehman Malikabout Sarbjeet Singh. Theywere of the view that Mr Malikmust have raised the case ofKashmiri leaders Dr Faktu andAfzal Guru for release .

They said it appears thatPakistan government underinternational pressure was ona mission to please India in-stead of pressing for the reso-lution of Kashmir and waterissues. —INP

Release of Sarbjeet Singh

Kashmiris criticise Malik’s statement

NEW DELHI—Interior Minis-ter Rehman Malik met IndianPrime Minister ManmohanSingh Saturday and invited himto inaugurate a developmentproject in Pakistan.

Rehman Malik, who ar-

Trade, industry suffer over Rs3b losses

‘Unannounced strike’paralyses financial hub

rived India on a three-day visiton the invitation of Union HomeMinister Sushil Kumar ShindeFriday, said that he had come toIndia with a message of love andpeace.

Malik said his country wants

to work for peace between thetwo nations and in the entire re-gion. He said that they do notwant 9/11 Mumbai bomb blastor Samjhauta Express blast

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STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—A joint meeting ofthe Co-ordination Committee ofMuttahida Quami Movement(MQM) was held in London andPakistan Saturday in order to dis-cuss the contempt of court noticeissued to the MQM Founder andLeader Altaf Hussain by the Su-preme Court.

The meeting unanimouslyagreed that the contempt noticeagainst Hussain is against thenorms of justice as the commentsmade by the honourable judge ofa particular bench of the SupremeCourt on 28th November callingfor new delimitations in Karachiso that no single party had a mo-nopoly were unconstitutional, il-

legal, undemocratic, and an af-front to the mandate of thepeople.

The Co-ordination Commit-tee said, “We believe that nojudge has the right to equate thepopular mandate of a politicalparty with monopoly and to passorder to finish that mandate. It isthe right of the people of Paki-stan to decide as to which partythey choose for their mandate.

While addressing a gatheringof MQM workers on2ndDecember, Hussain had ex-pressed public sentiments andhad appealed to the Chief Justiceof Pakistan to take notice of theinappropriate remarks of thehonourable judge. Instead of tak-ing notice of the judge, a con-tempt of court notice has been is-sued against Hussain which is

Contempt notice in utter contraventionof norms of justice: MQM

RAWALPINDI—An Anti-Terror-ism Court in Rawalpindi on Sat-urday issued summons to sixprosecution witnesses, includinglate Benazir Bhutto’s friend andlobbyist Mark Siegel in theformer prime minister’s assassi-nation case.

The Anti-Terrorism Courtwas hearing the case atRawalpindi’s Adiyala Jail pre-mises. During proceedings,counsels for the prosecution anddefence concluded their argu-ments over two witnesses, Mag-istrate Ahmed Masood Janjuaand police officer (SHO) Aijaz

Shah. Following conclusion ofarguments, the bench issuedsummons for American MarkSiegel, who was also BenazirBhutto’s friend, to appear beforethe court on January 5 to recordhis statement. Siegel is a keyprosecution witness in the case.

According to Siegel, formerpresident General (Retd) PervezMusharraf had threatenedBenazir Bhutto with dire conse-quences if she returned homebefore the 2008 general election.

A statement, recorded bySiegel in the US, says BenazirBhutto received a telephone call

from Musharraf at a time whenshe was with Siegel. In the con-versation that followed, the gen-eral allegedly told Benazir Bhuttothat he would not be responsiblefor her security if she returnedbefore the election.

The court further issued sum-mons to the other five witnesses,including Professor Dr Musadiq,Rescue 1122 In-charge, Dr AbdurRehman, Senior Superintendentof Police (SSP) Yaseen Farooq,and Superintendent Police (SP)Ashfaq Anwar. The hearing wassubsequently adjourned until Dec22.—INP

BB murder case

Six witnesses, includingMark Siegel, summoned

NEW DELHI—Interior MinisterRehman Malik met Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh Sat-urday and invited him to inaugu-rate a development project in hisnative village in Pakistan.

Rehman Malik, who arrivedin India on a three-day visit onthe invitation of Union HomeMinister Sushil Kumar ShindeFriday, said that he had come toIndia with a message of love andpeace.

Malik said his country wantsto work for peace between the

two nations and in the entire re-gion. He said that they do notwant 9/11 Mumbai bomb blast orSamjhauta Express blast again.

Manmohan Singh said thatIndia wants to build favourableties with its neighbour country,Pakistan.

India and Pakistanoperationalised a new visa re-gime on the first day of Malik’sIndia visit on Friday. However,the visa-on-arrival will come intoeffect from January 15, 2013 andthe group tourist visa from March

15, 2013. On September 8, Thegovernments of India and Paki-stan had signed a new visa agree-ment to facilitate travel for thenationals of both countries desir-ous of traveling to the other coun-try and to promote people topeople contact.

In an interview NDTV chan-nel, Interior Minister RehmanMalik said India and Pakistanwould have to learn from theirtroubled past and would have to

Malik invites Manmohan to openuplift project in his native village

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ISLAMABAD—President AsifAli Zardari on Saturday here re-iterated that eradication of po-lio was the foremost priority ofthe government. The Presidentwas talking to a delegation com-prising representatives of inter-national partners against Polioeradication who called on himat Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The delegation comprised ofMrs. Katharina Hulshof,UNICEF Regional Director,Kalayan Banarjee, President Ro-tary International, Dr. WaqarAjmal, Bill Gates & MelindaFoundation, Aziz Memon, Chair-man Polio Plus Committee Ro-tary International , Dr. GuidoSabatinelli, WHO RepresentativePakistan, and Dan Roharmann,Country Head UNICEF.

Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho,Chairperson President’s Polio

Oversight Committee, BegumShahnaz Wazir Ali, SAPM onSocial Sector & PM Focal Per-son on Polio Eradication,Nasreen Haque, Secretary toPresident, Zaid Usman, Addi-tional Secretary, Dr. Altaf Bosan,National Coordinator PM Moni-toring and Coordination Cell forPolio Eradication and other se-nior officials were also presentduring the meeting.

Spokesperson to the Presi-dent Senator Farhatullah Babarsaid that the current situationwith regards to reported poliocases in various parts of thecountry, steps taken for its eradi-cation and the issues involvedin fighting the disease were dis-cussed during the meeting.

The delegation lauded thepersonal interest of the Presidenttowards efforts for eradicating

the menace of Polio from thecountry.

The participants also appre-ciated the role of Dr. Azra FazalPechuho, Begum Shahnaz WazirAli and the provincial chief min-isters in overseeing the efforts foreliminating polio.

The meeting was informedthat the National Emergency Ac-tion Plan (NEAP) adopted fo-cused on greater ownership,oversight and accountabilitymechanism at the Federal, Pro-vincial, District and grossrootlevels besides strategies to en-sure access into the security sen-sitive areas.

The meeting was informedthat the Action Plan was beingimplemented with vigor with theassistance of all stakeholders. Itwas informed that campaign

Govt committed toeradicate polio: President

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Raja reassuresfree, fair polls

SHARAFAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD —Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf has reiteratedthe resolve of the governmentthat the next elections will beheld in fair‚ free and impartialmanner.

This he said while address-ing notables from Gujar Khan inIslamabad on Saturday.

The Prime Minister said thatbogus votes have been elimi-nated. He said in Gujar Khanalone one hundred twenty-onethousand bogus votes were re-moved from the voter list, and noone will be able to poll bugs votesnow.

Raja Pervez Ashraf said thegovernment is going to completeits tenure. He said this has beenpossible due to the political acu-

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Shujaat meetsZardari todayISLAMABAD—President PML-Q Ch Shujaat Hussain will callon President Asif Ali Zardaritoday (Sunday) to endescalating differences betweenPPP and PML-Q. Well-placedsources informed that PresidentZardari made a telephonicconversation with PresidentPML-Q Chaudhry ShujaatHussain and invited him overfor talks.

Deputy Prime Minister Ch.Pervez Elahi and SecretaryGeneral PML-Q MushahidHussain will accompany Ch.Shujaat Hussain during hismeeting with the PresidentZardari at Aiwan-e-Sadar saidsources.

Sources further informedthat cracks have mergedbetween the alliance of PML-Qand PPP as earlier PML-Qleaders joined PPP in Sindhprovince while on the other

Magsi defendsBalochistan CSGHULAM TAHIRQUETTA—Governor BalochistanNawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi hastaken serious view of uncalledfor criticism of Chief SecretaryBabar Yaqoob Fateh by certainmembers of the cabinet.

Nawab Magsi wasaddressing the concludingsession of Institute of Manage-ment Course 14 here Saturday.

The governor stronglycondemned the view of certainmembers of the cabinet andpointed out that the governmentofficials are not the personalservants of the ministers andthey should discharge theirresponsibilities in accordancewith the rules and regulations.

He maintained that theseministers demanded the transferof the chief secretary becausehe had refused to oblige themagainst the rules and regula-tions. The governor pointed out

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Six die in PeshawarAirport rocket attackAll 5 terrorists killed in firing by Armymen TTP claimsresponsibility PAF assets remain safe Houses damaged

PESHAWAR: An injured girl informing relatives about her condition on cell phone afterreceiving medical treatment at a hospital on Sunday.

Protesters demandarmy operation

against sectariangroups

KARACHI—A sit-in of Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen, ShiaUlema Council and like-mindedgroups against sectarian killingscontinued on the second con-secutive day at M.A. JinnahRoad, Numaish Chowrangi onSaturday.

The protesters demanded thearmy operation against bannedoutfits and violent sectariangroups operating in different ar-eas of city.

The protest leaders includingAllama Nazir Abbas strongly con-demned the killing of people be-longing to their community. Theysaid the protest would continue till

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Altaf shouldappear before SC,

advises AitzazSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Prominent law-yer and Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) Senator Aitzaz Ahsan onSaturday advised Altaf Hussainto appear in court after the Su-preme Court issued a contemptnotice to the Muttahidda Qaumi

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TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—After a pause of afew months the provincial me-tropolis of KP was again hit byterrorism. The saboteurs attackedthe Bacha Khan AirportPeshawar with rockets and othersophisticated weapons which re-sulted in death of at least 6 peopleand serious injuries to over fortyothers. The doctors at the KhyberTeaching Hospital feared thatdeath toll would rise as the con-dition of a number of woundedpeople was critical.

Those killed and injured in-cluded females and children. Abig majority of the victims be-longed to the residential area nearthe airport as two projectileslanded there amid the houses.There was no casualty among thepassengers. Exchange of fire be-tween the security forces and theterrorists in the airport continuedfor more than two hours and allfive terrorists were killed.

Meanwhile, TTP hasclaimed responsibility of the at-tack. The Peshawar Airport wassealed, with all the incoming andoutgoing domestic and interna-tional flights suspended and re-directed to Lahore and IslamabadAirports.

The army commandoes tookcontrol of the Peshawar airportand engaged the attackers. TheASF sources said security of the

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Levies officialsdemand Charcoal

AllowanceOUR CORRESPONDENT

TIMERGARA—Officials of theDir Levies have complainedthat they have not been re-ceiving Charcoal allowanceand arrears for the last twoyears. Talking to local journal-ists at Chakdara on Fridaysome of the officials while re-questing not to be named toldthat after military operationsin the area they had been per-forming hard duties side byside with the Pakistan army.

They said that they had toarrange uniform, shoes, jacketand helmet on their own as thegovernment had not been pro-viding them with these safetytools. They said that their ex-tra privileges had beenstopped two years ago. “Morethan 2,000 Levis personnel aregetting Rs 12,000 salay permonth,” they said, adding thatit was difficult for them to meetboth ends meet with that sal-ary. They demanded of thehigher authorities to take no-tice of the matter and resolvetheir grievances.

PML-Q to defendsupporters

HASEEB UR REHMAN

JHELUM—Former FederalMinister Ch ShahbazHussain, a leader of Paki-stan Muslim League-Q, hassaid that no one would beallowed to harm their sup-porters and they wouldstand by them. Ch SHahbazHussain said this during hisvisit to Sanghoi to consolethe people whose houseswere looted recently. He fur-ther said that DPO Jhelumwill have to take notice ofthe robberies in Sanghoiarea.

Ch Shahbaz Hussain saidthat the robbers intentionallytargeted their supportersduring recent by-election.“Even we have lost the elec-tion but we will defend oursupporters at any cost.” ChShahbaz further said that thir-teen robberies had been com-mitted in Sanghoi, and Karriarea in last three days and alltargeted those people whowere strong supporters ofPML-Q. “It is condemnableand challenge for DPOJhelum Dar Ali Khatak’sgood governance. FormerUnion Council Nazim ChKhawar Wajahat Waseemand other PML-Q memberswere also present on the oc-casion.

SIALKOT—Federal Ministerfor National Regulation andServices Dr. Firdous AshiqAwan has said the federalgovernment will soon reformthe 1965 Homoeopath Actand provide legal protectionto registered homoeopathsacross the country. Address-ing an awareness seminarorganized by National Coun-cil for HomoeopathyIslamabad at a local hotel inSialkot on Saturday, she saidthe PPP government wascommitted to promoting ho-meopathy and homoeopathictreatment and for the pur-pose it would encourage ahomeopathic medical collegein Pakistan.

Ch. Tahir Sultan, Adviserto AJK Prime Minister, MPATahir Mehmood Hundali andDr. Mehmoodul Haq Abbasi,President National Councilfor Homeopathy Pakistan,were also present. The fed-eral minister said it was thefirst time in history of thecountry that the governmenthad recognized the servicesof homoeopathic doctors inthe country, adding that therewas a dire need to bring newreforms and legislation in the1965 Homeopathy Act . Dr.Mehmoodul Haq Abbasi,President National Councilfor Homeopathy Pakistan,said the number of registered

homoeopathic doctors hadreached 160,000 in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, FirdousAshiq Awan said the PPPgovernment was committedto setting up a Seraiki prov-ince in the country. Talkingto the media at Sialkot, shesaid Seraiki province was vi-tal for national integrity andprosperity.

Earlier, Federal Ministerfor National Regulation andServices Dr Firdous AshiqAwan said that PakistanPeoples Party (PPP) led gov-ernment was the guardian ofdemocracy in the country.

Talking to media outsidethe Parliament House, shesaid PPP was striving for therights of the masses, addingthat government wasstrengthening institutions inthe country.

Firdous: Govt toreform homoeopathy

ISLAMABAD—Mostly coldand dry weather is expectedin most parts of the countrywhile foggy conditions arelikely to prevail over plain ar-eas of Punjab including twincities of Rawalpindi andIslamabad during next 24hours. Met office here onSaturday said continental airis prevailing over most partsof the country whereas ashallow westerly wave is stillprevailing over Kashmir,Gilgit-Baltistan and adjoin-ing areas.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,mainly cold and dry weatheris expected in most parts ofthe province, however lightrain-snow is likely to occurat a few places of Malakandand Hazara divisions duringnext 24 hours. Shallow Mistyconditions also likely to pre-vail over Peshawar divisionduring late night and earlymorning. In Sindh, mostlydry weather is expected in

Mostly cold, dryweather expected

most parts with likely foggyconditions over Sukkur divi-sion during late night andmorning during same timespan.

Mainly Cold and Dryweather is expected in mostparts of Balochistan, how-ever light rain/thunderstormis likely at a isolated placesof Makran and Kalat divi-sions during next 24 hours.While in Kashmir, light rainwith snowfall over the hillsis expected at isolated placesand in Gilgit-Baltistan lightshower with snowfall overthe hills is expected at iso-lated places during next 24hrs.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Japan deliv-ered emergency relief goodsto National Disaster Man-agement Authority (NDMA)for the two flood affected dis-tricts of Balochistan. HiroshiOe, Ambassador of Japan toPakistan handed over thegoods to Dr Zafar IqbalQadir, Chairman NDMA, saida news release issued here onSaturday.

Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA)delivered 3,150 tents, 13,000blankets and 3,652 plasticsheets, worth Yen 35 Million(USD 437,000) to the NDMAfor Nasirabad and Jaffarabaddistricts in Balochistan.

These districts were se-

verely f looded and inun-dated by Floods 2011 and2012. Chairman NDMA, inhis remarks, appreciatedthe gesture shown by theJapanese Government andthanked Oe for the efforts.He said Japan has alwayssided Pakistan in every ca-tastrophe. Pak-Japan rela-tions are fortifying with thepassage of t ime. He saidthat he sees a bright futurein collaborat ion with Ja-pan.

Oe expressed his sym-pathies to the Governmentof Pakistan for the suffer-ing of the flood affectedpeople. He said the Govern-ment of Japan feels privi-

leged to help 4.85 Millionflood-stricken people ofPakistan. The Governmentof Japan has provided emer-gency grant aid of USD 4.7Million in addition to therelief goods forBalochistan.

He further recalled andappreciated the relief effortsmade by the Government ofPakistan after the Great EastJapan Earthquake and fol-lowing Tsunami. He said thisyear marks the 60th anniver-sary of diplomatic relationsbetween Japan and Pakistanand Japan government looksforward to strong ties withPakistan for the next 60 yearsand beyond.—APP

Japan hands over floodsrelief material to NDMA

Swara case:Remand of

Nikah Khwan, 8others secured

MINGORA—Eight personsincluding a Nikah Khwan andfive members of the local jirgawere given to police for oneday on physical remand forgiving hand of a six years oldgirl to a ten year boy in Swara,in Madyan town of Swat onSaturday. The accused werepresented in a local court herewhere the police obtainedone day physical remandagainst them. The accusedwould now be presented onSunday in the court for fur-ther hearing.

The parents of the girlsNageena 6, in a local jirga, haswillingly agreed to give thehand of their daughter to nineyears old boy Javed son ofNaseeb Gul in Swara, a tribaltradition to settle blood dis-pute between two families.The Nikah was read byMuhammad Jalal son of NoorGul in the jirga. However, onreceiving information DSPMadyan Naveed Khan alongwith police party raided jirgaand arrested nikah khwanMuhammad Jalal and fivemembers of the jirga FerozeShah, Saifullah Khan, AbdurRehman, Sanobar and ShahGulmar, father of the girlTalihzar and father of the boyNaseeb Gul. They werebooked under the relevantlaw by the local police.—APP

Edu only way toBaluchistan’s

prosperityQUETTA—Secretary Livestock Naseem Ahmed Lehrion Saturday said that educa-tion was the only way thatwould put Balochistan on theroad to success and prosper-ity. “Dream of thrivingBalochistan would be accom-plished when our youth isprovided with standard andample education opportuni-ties, he said while address-ing the annual prize distribu-tion ceremony of the Tameer-e- Nau College Quetta”.

Commending the contri-bution of the TNC for the edu-cation sector in Balochistan,he said that passed out stu-dents of the TNC were serv-ing in Army, civil bureaucracyand even are sitting in theparliament. Professor FazalHaq Mir, the principal of theTNC said that staff of the col-lege was striving hard to equipthe youth with quality educa-tion.—APP

FAISALABAD—Despite tallclaims of political leadershipand assurances of authoritiesconcerned gas supply to in-dustrial sector of Faisalabadregion could not be restored onthe eighth consecutive dayadding to miseries of daily wa-gers and industrialist. It shouldbe mentioned that industries ofFaisalabad sector are withoutgas as the Sui Northern GasPipelines Limited (SNPL) an-nounced loadshedding for in-dustrial sector for indefiniteperiod on Dec 08.

The SNPL authorities ap-prised that the decision tohalt gas supply was takendue to huge gap betweendemand and supply Gas cri-ses have hit hard the indus-trial zone as eight days havealready passed without gasand the production processin textile mills has come to astand still. Some factories

have resorted to utilizewoods and are running theboilers by burning them asfuel. However, most of thefactories are not functionalfor the past eight days thathas adversely affected thedaily-wage workers.

The workers as well as theindustrialists in the city havestrongly resented forced holi-days due to more than a weeksuspension of gas supply. Thedaily wagers were of the viewthat they have been thrownout of employment, as the in-dustry cannot run without gassupply. We have exhaustedwhatever savings we had andnow our families are left to facestarvation, they added.

Meanwhile industrialistshave complained that they arefinding it difficult to meet theirexport orders as a result of sus-pension of gas supply that isincurring huge losses, while the

country is also losing muchneeded foreign exchange. Theyadded that industries were al-ready running on 30% of theirinstalled capacity due to sixhours load-shedding of elec-tricity and the suspension ofgas supply for the last one-week has rendered the indus-trial wheel to a complete halt.

They further said that thetextile sector is the worst hitas it would not be able to ful-fill the export orders forChristmas and the New Yearand availing the EU Autono-mous Trade PreferenceScheme (AUTPS) 25% quotagranted to Pakistan endingDec 2012 and also affectingthe exports under the Schemein the beginning of 2013. Theworkers have appealed to thegovernment for an early res-toration of gas supply to theindustries here and save themfrom virtual starvation.—INP

Gas crisis closes industriesmaking workers starving

Zhob upliftdprojects

approvedRAFIULLAH MANDOKHAIL

ZHOB—PML (Q) CentralLeader, senior parliamentar-ian MPA Sheikh Jaffar KhanMandokhail has said that theaim of his politics is the elimi-nation of educational back-wardness, poverty, unem-ployment and to serve themasses without any discrimi-nation. Talking to media menat Janan house, MPA saidthat his first priority is tosolve the problems ofmasses at their door step andit is his mission to make Zhoba model city. He hasstruggled from every plat-form for ending the back-wardness of Zhob, millionsof rupees were approved forthe completion of develop-ment projects in the area.

“There are signs of devel-opment projects completedby us for changing fate ofmasses and they are benefit-ing from these projects tillthis time, adding the devel-opment projects would bringpositive change and prosper-ity in their life”. He said.“Conspiracies are beinghatched by opponents in theway of development. Thesetactics of opponents are mak-ing him stronger. We don’tbelieve in the politics ofprejudice, hypocrisy, corrup-tion and nepotism” he addedto make hurdles in

Early completion of high-ways, gas pipeline and trans-mission line for Zhob is histopmost priority and he hasalways struggled for this pur-pose. He maintained. Reply-ing to a query, he said that theincidents of kidnapping forransom and robberies havecreated a dangerous situa-tion. Security to life and prop-erty of the citizens is respon-sibility of the government. Butunfortunately, the govern-ment seems completely failedin providing security to themasses he said.

PML (Q) leader furthersaid that no nation couldachieve goals of developmentuntil most of its populationgets education, adding illit-eracy was the main hurdle inthe development. He linkedprogress and prosperity withliteracy rate. Elimination ofeducational backwardnesswas the aim of his politics.

Ban on newmarriage halls

OUR CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD—The Adminis-trator Hyderabad Metropoli-tan Corporation Syed BarkatAhmed Rizvi has bannedopening of new marriagehalls and lawns and also di-rected the owners of marriagehalls and lawns to remove allencroachments outside theirpremises within 15 days. Thedecision was made at a meet-ing held with the owners ofmarriage halls and lawns hereon Friday evening.

Syed Barkat Ahmed Rizviclaimed that these marriagehalls and lawns are badly af-fecting the infrastructure ofHyderabad therefore theHMC management has de-cided not to grant permis-sion of opening of more mar-riage halls and lawns. TheAdministrator set the dead-line for removal of all en-croachments outside themarriage halls and lawns andmaintained that if the own-ers failed to do so withinnext 15 days, necessary ac-tion will be initiated by theHMC management. He alsodirected them to strictlyimplement the restrictions ofclosing their marriage hallsand lawns at 12 midnight asin case of violation, actionwill be taken against theowners and bookers.

SUKKUR: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shahtalking to media persons at airport.

SEHWAN: Sindh Minister for Auqaf Sharmila Farooqui talking to media at DargahHazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (RA).

HYDERABAD: Activists of Sindh Tarraqi Pasand Party hold a demonstration againstSPLGO 2012 at Naseem Nagar Chowk.

RAHMATULLAH KHAN

PESHAWAR—Speakers at aworkshop expressed concernover lack of law for the rightsof Senior Citizens in Pakistanand said that there were 6.8percent populations of se-nior citizens, which they ex-pect would rise to 15.8 per-cent till 2050. The workshoptitled, “Media Sensitizationon Senior Citizens” orga-nized by HelpAging Interna-tional and UNFPA here onSaturday. A large number ofmedia persons participated inthe workshop.

There will be 43.3 millionpeople (15.8%) over 60 in Pa-kistan by 2050 as compared to11.6 Million (6.5%) in 2012.

Senior citizen’s rights protection soughtSenior Citizens Bill is pendingin Pakistan parliament since2007. Those who spoke on theoccasion, include representa-tives of the HelpAging DrAmjad Khan, Waqar Qureshiand Najeebullah Khan. WaqazQureshi shared his views re-garding the old men; said se-nior citizens were largest grow-ing population in the worldwhile Pakistan is the sixth mostpopulous country in the worldhaving 6.8% population of se-nior citizens; this figure will riseto 15.8% by 2050.

He said senior citizenswere facing number of prob-lems including discrimination,health, poverty and protec-tion of rights, this vulnerabil-ity of senior citizens becomes

double in disaster situations.Highlighting the role of me-dia regarding needs andrights of senior citizens in Pa-kistan, he said none of thegovernment worked on rightsof senior citizens and due tolack of lack of legislation onrights of senior citizens in Pa-kistan, they were facing muchtroubles in the society whilethe media could have thepower to sensitize this impor-tant issue on priority basis.

“A senior citizen bill ispending in the parliamentsince 2007,” Mr Waqas in-formed the newsmen and saidthe government should ini-tiate the process of legislationfor protection of rights of se-nior citizens. He emphasized

that many civil society orga-nizations, humanitarian anddevelopment organizationsare working for the rights ofsenior citizens in Pakistan butin order to modify or initiatenew polices, a joint effort isrequired a bigger voice is re-quired, and with the help ofMedia the goal can beachieved and Pakistan canfacilitate its graying genera-tion in a respectable way.

Participants were involvedin different interactive activi-ties and group discussions torealize the issues and concernsof senior citizens, Dr. AmjadKhan from HelpAge Interna-tional explained the ageing andhealth and problems beingfaced by senior citizens.

NAZIR SIYAL

LARKANA—Pakistan MuslimLeague-N, if voted to power,will lead the masses on pathto development and successand distribute scholarshipsand laptops among the youth.These views were expressedby the PML-N district Presi-dent while addressing cornermeetings at different loca-tions of Larkana. BabuSarfaraz Jatoi said the peopleof country were angered overthe attitude of PPP and itsleaders’ corruption in country.He said billions had beengulped by the parliamentar-ians. Saleem Mirani, QurabanAli, Abdul Hameed and oth-ers also participated in PML-N gathering.

Meanwhile, a merit viola-

tion and corruption of gov-ernment officials was foundin Highway Department, asthe two relatives of Superin-tending Engineer (SE) Pro-vincial Highway Circle,Larkana, have been allegedlyappointed and posted in theoffice of the XEN ProvincialHighway, Larkana, on thedomicile of Dadu, with medi-cal fitness from Hyderabad.According to the details, theSecretary Works and Ser-vices during his visit toLarkana ordered an inquiryinto the matter. Meanwhile,on demanding the son quotasix leaders of APCA weretransferred and the employ-ees observed pen downstrike on Friday.

According to reportsNaeem Akhtar, son Akhtar Ali

and Abdullah, son of AbdulSattar were appointed by ChiefEngineer Highway Hyderabadwithout following legal formali-ties. The appointed both em-ployees are the close relativesof SE Provincial HighwayCircle, Larkana, Ghulam ShabirKhunharo.

They were also posted atoffice of Executive EngineerProvincial Highway Larkana.Sources told this scribe thatabout 400 appointments inCircle including 100 inLarkana and KamberShahdadkot have been madewithout any advertisementand legal formalities. Secre-tary Works and Services QaziShahid Pervaiz took notice ofthe matter and visitedLarkana to listen the prob-lems of employees’ leaders

and directed inquiry intomatter and resolve the prob-lems of APCA leaders.

President All PakistanClerks Association, Provin-cial Highway unit ZahidAhmed Soomro and GeneralSecretary Assadullah Mirjattold this scribe that SE Pro-vincial Highway, Larkana,has politically victimized theleaders and workers of APCAfor demanding the share ofson quota. He transferred sixsenior employees includingSyed Zahoor Hussain Shah,Senior Clerk, Junior ClerkMustafa Sangi, AssadullahMirjat, Abrar Hussain Qadri,Mansab Ali Khuhawar andothers to SE office from XEN.They demanded of high upsto take notice of matter andinitiate an impartial inquiry.

Height of Pak progress our aim: Babu

PPP to win upcoming pollsBAHAWALPUR—Former Prime MinisterSyed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said thatPakistan People’s Party (PPP) will winmajority of the seats in upcoming gen-eral elections. Talking to mediamen hereon Saturday, this is the first time in Paki-stan; the elected assemblies are complet-ing their tenure. He said that PPP gov-ernment has restored the Constitutionof 1973 and made record amendmentsfor strengthening democratic institu-

tions. Gilani further said, about 8 million people are beingprovided financial aid through Benazir Income SupportProgramme BISP. Earlier he condoled to the family membersof former Chairman District Council Bahawalpur SyedMuhammad Awais Gardezi and offered Fateha for the de-parted soul. Earlier, Pakistan People’s Party senior vice chair-man and former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani saidon Friday the PPP restored judiciary, empowered womenthrough legislation and made media independent. Address-ing a large public meeting here at Ali Town in NA-148 con-stituency, he said the PPP was determined to establish southPunjab province in this tenure for the eradication of senseof deprivation among the people of this belt. Gilani said thatfirst time in the history of Multan mega projects were com-pleted with billions of rupees during his tenure. He said thatShaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhuttohad rendered sacrifices for the rights of the people. He saidthat Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was cater-ing for eight million people across the country and addedthat PPP-led government was bringing change in sourcesof income of poor people.—APP

Teachers Development Education AuthorityHYDERABAD—Senior Sindh Minister forEducation Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq has in-formed that the government has estab-lished Sindh Teachers DevelopmentEducation Authority to ensure impart-ing of quality education to the futuregeneration of the province. Under SindhTeachers Development Education Au-thority, training will be provided to teach-ers on modern pattern so that the futuregeneration could be able to meet the chal-

lenges of the modern world. The minister expressed theseremarks at the concluding session of the four days teacherstraining under Bureau of Curriculum Wing Sindh here atDivisional Technology Resources Centre the other day.Responding to the queries of media persons also presenton the occasion, the minister informed that the govern-ment has decided to make Associate Degree in Teachingcompulsory for appointment of teachers from the next yearso that quality education could be ensured through trainedteachers. Pir Mazhar suspends Director Schools: SeniorSindh Minister for Education Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq paid sur-prise visit of the school named after his mother Hifsa ShahNawaz School here the other day and inspected the ongo-ing development works. Taking the notice of complaintsagainst the Director Schools Hyderabad and even his ab-sence during the visit, the minister ordered for his suspen-sion and directed the authorities concerned that anothersuitable and senior officer of Education Department shouldbe posted as Director Schools Education Hyderabad withimmediate effect.—APP

PPP popular partyLAHORE—Pakistan People’s PartyWomen Wing Lahore President FaizaMalik has said the PPP is the most popu-lar party of the country and it is as popu-lar in Lahore as in other districts ofPunjab. Talking to a delegation of PPPworkers on Saturday, she said thatpeople would reject the PML-N in thenext general elections and the PPP wouldform the next government with the sup-port of the masses. She said the politics

of reconciliation of President Asif Ali Zardari had strength-ened democracy in the country and Prime Minister RajaPervaiz Ashraf was following the mission of MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto Shaheed for the rule of constitution anddemocracy.She said the PML-N was politically dead andupcoming general elections would seal its fate. Mean-while, leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Raja RiazAhmed Thursday said results of upcoming elections wouldbe comparatively different from the previous ones. Talk-ing to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly, he said thePPP was the single largest party of the country which wouldprove its worth in the general elections. He said with thegrace of Allah Almighty the present government was go-ing to accomplish its five-year term. He said the PML-Nleadership always attempted to derail democratic systembut all its efforts failed. Like by-elections, he said, thePunjab government could not rig the general elections.Answering a question, Riaz said Rana Sanaullah wouldnot contest elections from his native constituencyFaisalabad owing to his differences with Abid Sher Ali, aclose relative of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. PYO office-bearers: A divisional meeting of People’s YouthOrganisation (PYO) was held on Saturday at People’s Sec-retariat in which Minister of State for Water and Power andPPP Divisional Coordinator Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi wasthe chief guest.—APP

Transplantation Regulatory BillStaff Reporter

PESHAWA R—Speaker KhyberPakhtunkhwa Assembly, KaramatullahKhan referred the Khyber PakhtunkhwaMedical Transplantation RegulatoryAuthority Bill, 2012 with the consentof the house to standing on health af-ter raising of objections by membersfrom both opposition and treasurybenches. The bill was moved by Pro-vincial Minister for Law and Parliamen-tary Affairs, Arshad Abdullah. Taking

the floor, Mufti Kifayatullah of JUI-F raised objectionsto Clauses, 3, 4 and 6, but Noor Sahar, the woman legisla-tor of PPP questioned the very Islamic legality of thelegislation. She said that it was astonishing that noneout of the total 124 members in provincial assembly ex-cept Saqibullah Khan Chamkani and herself had read thebill. Senior Minister Bashir Bilour and Minister for Infor-mation Mian Iftikhar Hussein suggested the membersshould raise the issue in committee instead of debatingits clauses on the floor of the house. The Speaker alsoreferred the verbal motion of the Alamzeb Khan of ANPregarding alleged irregularities in admissions in Govern-ment College Peshawar to Standing Committee on HigherEducation of the house and directed it to convene a meet-ing within a period of one week to probe violation ofmerit in admissions. The chair also referred the call atten-tion notice of Israr Khan Gandapur regarding the teach-ers’ appointment in D.I.Khan to the committee concernedof the house. The mover had suggested finding out suit-able solution to the problems as the teachers were alsofed up with the existing complications. Fazal ShakoorKhan of ANP did not press his motion after getting as-surance from the Law Minister, Arshad Abdullah to di-rect the District Coordination Officer (DCO) Charsaddato stop the ongoing activities on the land of paper millsfor housing scheme.

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Corps Com-mander Peshawar, Lieuten-ant General Khalid Rabbanihas said that respected pro-fession of teaching is a com-mitment and dedication thataims to further nurture thehidden capabilities of newgeneration. He expressedthese views in a certificateawarding ceremony of ArmyPublic School and CollegesSystem (APSAC) here Sat-urday. Begum Corps Com-mander was the Chief Gueston the occasion.

Corps Commander con-gratulated the organizersfor successful holding of

the event and said that al-though APSAC is partlynew yet its endeavors areworth mentioning and welloriented. He said that sig-nificant of teachers in thesociety cannot be under-mined as they are respon-sible for the character build-ing of our new generation.He said that APSACS isfully discharging its socialobligations by teachingchildren of each and socialstrata and expressed thehope that the system wouldfurther flourish with eachpassing day.

Lieutenant GeneralKhalid Rabbani also appre-ciated the efforts of Azra

Yasmin, Regional coordina-tor, Lieutenant Colonel, IrtizaShaheen of APSCAC secre-tariat for their efforts to en-hance the working and effi-ciency of the secretariat.Earlier Begum Corps Com-mander and Corps Com-mander distributed certifi-cates among principals, ses-sion heads and teachers forachieving excellence andshowing professional exu-berance in their duties. Prin-cipal of the year award wasgiven to Tahira Qazi of ArmyPublic School (APS)Peshawar while Schools ofthe year trophies wereawarded to APS Mardan andAPS Junior Peshawar.

OUR CORRESPONDENTS

SHIKARPUR/QUETTA—Fourpassengers were killed,while 15 others were seri-ously injured in collision ofa passenger van and a truckon Sukkur-Shikarpur roadnear Jamra graveyard in thejurisdiction of Lakhi GhulamShah police station Saturdaymorning. According to re-ports, the ill-fated van wascoming from Hyderabad af-ter attending MuslimLeague Functional’sProgramme collided with atruck coming from oppositeside on Indus Highway road.

As a result of collision,four passengers includingvan driver Gul MuhammadBhatti, Haq Nawaz Khoso,Rasool Bux Khoso andGhulam Qader Qambrani diedon the spot. The other 15passengers identified as ArzMuhammad Khoso, MantharAhmed Khoso, Razi KhanKhoso, Mukhtiar Unar,Khamiso Khoso, NasrullahKhoso, Rab Nawaz Khoso,Akbar Ali Khoso, KhadimHussain Khoso, GhulamNabi Khoso, Rahim BuxKhoso, Haji Ghulam QaderKhoso, Faiz MuhammadKhoso, Haji Abdullah Khoso

and Muhammad AnwarKhoso were injured.

They were sent to CivilHospital for medical treat-ment. The bodies of the de-ceased were handed over totheir relatives after con-ducting postmortem at CivilHospital Shikarpur. Two ofthe injured Arz MuhammadKhoso and Haji AbdullahKhoso were referred toSukkur and Larkana hospi-tal in serious condition.

Quetta—At least threepassengers were killed and 15others including women in-jured in a road accident tookplace in Windar area ofLasbella district on Saturday.Police sources said that aQuetta-bound passengercoach coming from Karachioverturned on national high-way in Winder area when thedriver lost his control on thecoach.

Resultantly, three com-muters identified as Murad,Omar and Musa were killedon the spot and 15 others in-cluding Irfan, Abona Bibi,Sher Ahmed, Abdul Ahad, AliAkbar, Satiash Kumar, OmarRaza, Tayyab, Anil, NaraishKumar, Saraish Kumar andRazia Bibi were injured, po-lice said.

7 killed, 30 injuredin road accidents

Christians to getX-Mas salaries

in advanceOUR CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD—The ViceChancellor University ofSindh Dr. Nazir A. Mughal hasallowed the payment of onebasic salary in advance to allregular and contractual em-ployees of Christian commu-nity on account of Christmas.The Registrar informed hereon Friday that one month ad-vance basic salary will be paidto employees of the Christiancommunity by December 17,2012. The advance paymentwill be recovered in four equalmonthly installments from thesalaries of these employeesfor February to May, 2013.

Meanwhile, Christianemployees of Post GraduateMedical Institute and LahoreGeneral Hospital will also gettheir salary for the currentmonth before December 20 sothey could celebrate Christ-mas Principal PGMI and LGHProf Anjum Habib Vohra saidthat the administration hadalso been directed to arrangea function in connection withChristmas wherein Xmascake will also be cut to sharethe celebrations of Christiancommunity. He said that thePrincipal Nursing SchoolLGH had also been directedto pay the monthly stipend.

Corps Commander emphasizessanctity of teacher’s role

OUR CORRESPONDENTS

CHITRAL/QUETTA—Withheavy snowfall in the district,the communication systemhas been badly affected and

most of the link roads includ-ing Lowari tunnel has beenclosed for all types of vehicu-lar transportation. So far twofeet snow has been recordedin the district and severe coldwave has gripped the area.

However, Jawans of PakArmy have removed the snowand opened Lowari tunnel thatlinks Chitral with the rest of thecountry. People are facing dif-ficulties due to shortage ofLPG and firewood to carry out

their daily affairs and are con-fined inside their houses.

Roads leading to ShindurPass, Yar Khoon and Broghalare also closed due to snow-fall. Hundreds of vehicles

carrying passengers andtourists remained stranded asLowari Tunnel was closed fortraffic after snowfall in thearea on Saturday. Accordingto details, Chitral was discon-nected with rest of the coun-try as Lowari Tunnel wasclosed for all kind of traffic.The authorities were not al-lowing the vehicles to crossthe tunnel as heavy snow hascovered road in the entirearea.

Dozens of vehicles withhundreds of passengers in-cluding women and children,tourists were stranded on bothsides of the tunnel due to clo-sure of the only road link con-

necting Chitral with other partsof country.

Quetta: Biting chilledweather has forced people toremain indoor after the pro-vincial capital also receivedsnowfall on mountains andrain in the city on Saturday.The mountains surroundingQuetta valley including KohZarghoo, Koh Takato, KohChiltan and Koh Murdar alsoreceived snowfall on thirdconsecutive day on Saturday,

Snowfall disrupts communications system, Quetta faces biting chilled weather

Lowari Tunnel closed for all traffic

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—“Journey ofFriendship” a 13-Episode TVserial on a travelogue onChina, was launched at theEmbassy Residence on Sat-urday. The serial introducesthe Chinese people and theirculture to the Pakistani audi-ence and has been made forthe first time by a Pakistaniteam, says a report receivedSingapore.

Ms. Saadia Haseeb,Managing Director of SHPproduction, informed the au-dience that it was for the firsttime that Chinese culture hasbeen introduced to the

people of Pakistan by a Paki-stani production team. “Jour-ney of Friendship” waslaunched in Beijing, Chinabefore coming to Singapore.Addressing the gathering,Pakistan’s High Commis-sioner in Singapore, SyedHasan Javed stated that thistravelogue on China will helpenhancing understanding,friendship, and goodwill be-tween Pakistan and the Chi-nese speaking community inEast Asia.

The event was attendedby prominent cultural bodiesand personalities ofSingapore including headsof Singapore-China Society,

representatives ofSingapore-Chinese WomenAssociation and media bod-ies. The Serial is a valuableinsight for all those who visitChina or are interested toknow as to what the Chineselife is like. The traveloguecovers six cities includingBeijing, Shanghai, Guilin,Shenzhen, Hong Kong andMacau. It shows differentaspects of Chinese lifestyleincluding cuisines, shop-ping, cultural and life tradi-tions, education andprogress, etc. This travel-ogue series, is a window tothe culture of Pakistan andPeople’s Republic of China.

China travelogue ‘Journeyof Friendship’ launched

PESHAWAR: Commander Lieutenant General Khalid Rabbani with teachers of APSACSafter an award distribution ceremony.

ABBOTTABAD: A beautiful view of snow cowered mountains after snowfall.

BASHIR AHMAD RAHMANI

H A F I Z A B A D — R a h e e l aWakeel, daughter of AbdulWakeel, of Dhingranwali,who got missing in SamjotaExpress accident about sixyears ago, has appealed tothe government to get herfather released from Indianjail. Addressing media, shesaid that the Interior Minis-ter was expressing sympa-thies with the family membersof Sarjeet Singh but despiteher several representationsand appeals to him as well asthe President, the Prime Min-ister and the Chief Ministerhad done nothing practicalto get freedom of her fatherfrom the detention of Indians.

She said that India had gotthe freedom of their prisonersin Pakistan but our govern-ment was not taking any stepto get released her father whowas languishing in Indian jail.She particularly criticised

Rehman Malik for expressinghis sympathies with the familymembers of Sarjeet Singh dur-ing his visit to India.

****Local citizens on Satur-

day protested against abruptand prolonged load shed-ding, which has been re-started by the GEPCO. Dueto prolonged and unsched-uled power outage, the busi-ness activities in the city hascome to a standstill. Theworst affected werepowerloom workers. LocalHousewives Association andPowerloom Workers Unionhave called upon GEPCO au-thorities to ensure decreasein the loadshedding hours.

****Zaheer Akbar Mirza and

Aamir Sohail Mughal wereelected Chairman and Gen-eral Secretary respectively ofPress Club/Union of Journal-ists, Hafizabad, for 2013. Theelection proceedings were

conducted by presiding of-ficer Ch. Shafqat HussainTarar. Other office-bearerselected are: Senior V.P AbdulJabbar, V.P. Yaqoob ShahzadAmar, Joint SecretaryShaheed Alam Shaheed, Fi-nance Secretary AbdulHameed and Ofifce SecrataryHafiz Ateeq-ur-Rehman.

****Dependants of Dilawar

Hussain alias Saeen ofMohallah Mughalpura,Hafizabad, on Saturdaystaged a demonstration atFawara Chowk to protestagainst his kidnapping bysome unknown persons threedays ago. Khalid Pervaiz,brother of Saeen, protestedagainst non-registration ofcase by the police. The SHOCity Syed Arif Hussain Shahrushed to the spot and on hisassurance that a case wouldbe registered against the kid-nappers, the protesters dis-persed peacefully.

Daughter appeals father’srelease from Indian jailPower outages affecting powerlooms

SUKKUR: Businesses were closed in the city due to unan-nounced strike to show solidarity with MQM Chief AltafHussain.

Man involved instealing PEPCO

transformers heldQUETTA—The police ar-rested an accused involvedin stealing and selling ofpublic electrical appliancesand recovered 41 electricaltransformers from his pos-session here in the weehours of Saturday.

According to details, thepolice on a tip off conductedraid at a house located inQuetta, the capital city ofBalochistan province. Dur-ing raid 41 electrical trans-formers of different capacitiesand other electrical appli-ances stolen from Gujranwaladistrict of Punjab were recov-ered. The police arrested theaccused present in thehouse.—INP

turning weather very cold.Low gas pressures and

suspension of gas supplywas also reported from sev-eral localities of the city afterpressure surged on main gas

supply system as peopleswitched on gas heaters. Re-ports reaching here said thatrain also lashed in Kuchlak,Qila Abdullah, Pishin, Ziarat,Harnai, Khanozai and severalothers parts of northernBalochistan. According toMet Office sources, anotherwesterly rain system wouldenter Balochistan within nexttwo days and northern andcentral Balochistan and themetropolis of Quetta might

receive more rains that wouldfurther drop mercury. Rightwith the start of first snowfall of the season in theMurree, people from everywalk of life have startedreaching the coldest spot ofthe country to enjoy theblissful moments.

During snow fall all theroads towards hilly areas likemurree get blocked and in thissituation terrific wardens ofMotorway police are reallyhelpful forthe tourists, ac-cording to PTV. “We belongto Punjab but we have espe-cially come to murree to en-joy ourselves in such a beau-tiful weather”, said a visitor.

SBP’s welcomerate reduction

THIS newspaper has been repeatedly urging the State Bank and policymakers to bring down the policy rate to give much needed stimulusto the economy through incentives to the investors. In this perspec-

tive it is a welcome development that the State Bank on Friday cut theinterest rate by 50 basic points bringing it down from 10 percent to 9.5%.

Though the business community had been expecting one percent cutin view of decelerating inflation but it appears that the State Bank hasbeen over cautious and does not want excessive circulation of moneythat could once again push up the inflation and hit the common manadversely. There was a case for further rate cut because inflation had notspiked despite two rate reductions since June and in fact it had rathercome down and these are obvious signs that the economy is doing betterthan before. According to some senior bankers, a change is taking placeand the banks are lending more to businesses as the loans have becomecheaper and government borrowings for budgetary support have somewhat shrunk creating space for banks to accommodate higher credit de-mand from the private sector. According to latest State Bank statictics,loans to the private sector recorded an increase of just Rs 40 billion inone year to October 2012 but their investment in non bank financial insti-tutions witnessed a big rise of Rs 88 billion during this period. This showsthe lending behaviour of banks in a falling interest rates regime. Thebusiness community has welcomed the reduction in the interest rates asthis gives a clear signal that the government and the central bank werealive to the needs of the economy which had not been picking up lead-ing to closure of many industries and shrinking foreign investment dueto law and order situation. We believe that what is important at thisstage is not just the quantum of interest rate cut but a policy direction.The country needed a pro-growth easy monetary policy to further rein-force the policy signal for business community and the cut in the dis-count rate, though nominal, is a step in the right direction.

Refute NABstatement with facts

THE statement by Chairman NAB Admiral Fasih Bokhari (Retd) thatcorruption of the order of Rs 7 billion was taking place on daily basis

in the country has created a storm like situation in the political, bureau-cratic and business circles. If NAB Chairman is to be believed, and heinsisted on it in his press conference a couple of days back that corrup-tion of the order of Rs 2500 to Rs 3000 billion, is more than the total taxcollection in a year.

Taking serious notice, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf rightlyformed a Cabinet Committee to look into the issue and submit a report.There was strong criticism of the statement in the upper house of Parlia-ment on Friday where Senators protested and observed that the claim ofthe NAB Chairman was contrary to the facts. Some of the Senators saidthat politicians were being insulted by declaring them as tax evaders anddemanded that tax returns filed by generals, judges and owners of mediahouses should also be revealed. We believe that while the Parliamentar-ians have every right to defend themselves but mere speeches would nothold much ground and there is need to come out with hard facts. Sev-eral international institutions in their reports have placed Pakistan asone of the most corrupt countries in the world which has blackened thevery face of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is a known fact that cor-ruption is taking place from Patwaris and policemen to the senior levelofficers in the award of contracts, smuggling and public dealing. Otherareas identified by the NAB for corruption are untaxed agriculture, rev-enue departments, land grabbing and encroachments, loan default, over-staffing, ghost employment, wealth tax, energy losses and other irregu-larities. Even there is open admission of theft of electricity and gas byindustrial sector costing ordinary consumers to the tune of billions ofrupees. We admit that a vast majority of politicians and bureaucrats arehonest but a tiny minority is bringing a bad name to the whole lot. It istherefore necessary that hard facts and figures be brought before thenation through a transparent investigation and analysis as mere con-demnation and statements would not settle the matter.

Massacre ofstudents in US schoolsIT is unfortunate and sad that there is periodic occurrence of shooting in

educational institutions in the United States and some European coun-tries where innocent souls are targeted. The other day 28 people includ-ing 20 children were killed when a shooter opened fire at an elementaryschool in Newtown, Connecticut in which the principal and school psy-chologist were also killed.

The shooter, identified by three law enforcement officials as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, was also killed, apparently by his own hand.Separately, his mother’s body was found at a Newtown residence. TheNewtown shooting was the second-deadliest school shooting in US,behind only the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead.In an emotional response to the horrific shooting, President Obama,father of two girls spoke holding hands with tears welling in his eyessaying we have to come together to take meaningful action to preventmore tragedies like this. It appeared to be an act of frustration and tat-tering social cohesion in family bonds, which are fast eroding in theWest. It is in fact a direct consequence of a culture where the moneyrules and family values have been lost and frustrated youths finding nosource to console them go on the shooting spree.

Need for an economic security council?

The forgotten man atthe bottom of theeconomic pyramid isthe poor.

Pakistan today is an embattledstate where the writ of thegovernment is not visible in

the peripheral areas and even in thelarge cities where rules of excep-tion far outweigh the rules of inclu-sion. Te elites are having it thereway without realizing that they aresitting on a powder keg. As we en-tered the 21st century instead ofconsolidating our strengths we wentin to limbo and weakness. The na-tion state as a result has lesscreedal, less assertive, less defin-ing, even less hallowed. Sover-eignty, self-determination, evennon-intervention have had to yieldsome of their innocence. Globalactions have made us more likesand paper where the ordinary citi-zen is keen on showing his edges.Universal truths or undiluted normsare no longer with us.

As a state we are less and lessconcerned with our citizens andhave allowed the white man to de-fine us and tell us what to do. Thecolonial legacy has been trans-formed into one of inferiority com-plex. We get sold for some dollarsthat are promised to us but in factthey do not come to us. The K-Lbill is a case in point. We in Paki-stan do not even know the differ-ence when a loan is passed on to usvia the USAID or when it is passedon through the USDA. The K-Lamount has been passed on to us

What to sayto ourselvesThe mass shooting of children,

teachers, the principal, andothers at the Sandy Hook El-

ementary School in Newtown, Con-necticut, has evoked strong emotionsin Americans – a mix of anger, fear,and hopelessness. President Obamawiped away tears at a press confer-ence as he expressed his own griefover the tragedy. But one of themost common reactions may bethis: How can we end this type ofgun slaughter? Mr. Obama alludedto this response in his remark:“We’re going to have to come to-gether and take meaningful actionto prevent more tragedies like this,regardless of the politics.”

Part of the answer lies in bettersecurity in institutions like schools,better detection of potential shoot-ers, and a tightening of laws on gunownership. Each person can take re-sponsibility for ensuring more reli-able protection of the innocent. Butbeyond taking public action, the ul-timate solution lies in each indi-vidual understanding that theseshooters act out of the same anger,fear, and hopelessness that their vio-lence evokes in us. We cannot af-ford – as individuals or as a society– to keep mirroring their motivatingangst. The best antidote is to em-brace the opposite of those thoughtsand feelings. These include empa-thy, calmness, mercy, hope, andopenness, all of which have asmuch substance to deter killingsover time as do metal detectors inthe moment. Historians have docu-mented a long decline in violenceas societies have adopted the ide-als and qualities that bring harmonyin relationships. This does not meansimply being nice. It requires acommitment to seeking justicewhen someone has been wronged,being contrite when we have donewrong, and offering forgiveness tothose who admit their wrongs.

America saw a stunning ex-ample of forgiveness in 2006 after agunman killed five Amish girls inNickel Mines, Pa. The Amish fami-lies of those killed went to the homeof the gunman’s widow with flow-ers, food, and hugs. Obama’s com-ments after the Newtown killingsreminded us what to embrace aftera tragedy. The Newtown commu-nity, he said, “needs us to be at ourbest as Americans, and I will do ev-erything in my power as presidentto help, because while nothing canfill the space of a lost child or lovedone, all of us can extend a hand tothose in need, to remind them thatwe are there for them, that we arepraying for them, that the love theyfelt for those they lost endures notjust in their memories, but also inours.” — USA Today

*****

Syria’sdisplacedmillions

More than half a million Syrians have been counted bythe UNHCR as seeking

shelter from Syria’s brutal civil warin neighbouring countries, and asimilar number have probably qui-etly moved and found work in othercountries without telling anyone. Inaddition, well over two millionpeople have been internally dis-placed as the fighting rages throughSyria’s largest cities. This means thatover three million people have hadto flee their homes, and face a veryuncertain future. The harshest fatehas befallen the very poor who hadto flee their homes at short noticeand are now living in refugee camps.Internal displacement is destroyingnormal family life for millions ofpeople. Even the better off who havemoved to the Gulf states or Europeshare the deep insecurity of not be-ing able to return home and are con-cerned about the fate of their rela-tives and property.

The war continues unabated asthe opposition feels it might beabout to defeat the government, andBashar Al Assad’s forces are get-ting ready for a decisive stand. Butthis titanic struggle is remote fromthe refugees, whose situation is in-creasingly desperate. Winter iscoming and in the camps, the coldwill kill the elderly and weak. Theyneed an end to the fighting and achance to return to their normallives in their homes, if they are stillstanding. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

Franklin D Roosevelt—US president

through the USAOIDand therefore theywill manage the loanthrough the interna-tional agencies likeFAO, CIMMYT andICARDA to nameonly a few.

These Consoli-dated group on Agri-culture Research

[CGIAR] are handmaidens of theWest. They will be involved in any-thing but action to develop; strategyhere and strategy there and no con-crete work. The white man will cometo add to the burdens of the statethrough this loaning process nothingtangible will ever be achieved. Paki-stan will continue to be in transitionand firefighting situation all the timebecause if for 65 years or so we havedone nothing but encouraged aggres-sive actions against our neighbors atime had to come when the same ac-tions would rebound on our country.The wheel had to come around.

Some thing else has also hap-pened. If the option is to be peoplecentric then the security of the peoplewould have acquired a differentmeaning. Then the people had to bemade free of fear-fear of many kinds.If I start recounting the doomsayersand then the doom days announcersthen we have to wonder what wentwrong with the independence that weso cherished. To understand indepen-dence we had to had to understandhow the economy had to work, howit had to be made equitable and fairso that fear was removed from thesystems that were to develop this so-ciety. In fact there are no systems inplace. There are no institutions inplace. The loosely used word on in-stitutions and organizations are notunderstood in management parlance.Infact the humpty dumpty [Alice in

Wonderland characters] situation isvisible. There is a contention betweenold habits and perceptions and newrealities and needs. These new reali-ties and needs are a function of cog-nitive abilities in the elites of thiscountry.Where is the freedom fromwant? In a subliminal way this hasbeen kept out of the minds of thepeople by a lot of noise that one wit-nesses on the idiot box. In freedomsthere are many kids of pervasive free-doms. Freedom in the political sys-tem is a one off action and was donein 1947 but then we never went thewhole hog to cherish this and to pur-sue it passionately. It is passion andsense of belonging to a country thatbuilds the essential vitality of a na-tion. It is as a physicist would put it acentripetal force and guards againstcentrifugal forces that always con-verge on a weak state.

Is Pakistan’s population free frominsecurity? I tried to ask this ques-tion from all kinds of people in thelowest quintile of the population. Noone had an encouraging word for thepopular party in power. Do our elitepolicy makers think about the worstfear that the population will have. Weare so it seems in a larger curse thatis a recurring one. Pakistan had tried,unsuccessfully, to play the numbersgame and indicate that poverty hadbeen reduced. The cheap ways of us-ing statistics to prove point is com-mon in our country. We fudge figuresand our data is inconsistent. The datarecorders follow the whims of theirmasters. Neat functional segregationsno longer work and the world be-comes more complex by the day. Theday of the specialists ar numbered andthe more generalized exponentialmanager is needed to meet the re-quirements and compulsions of thestate. How after all are issues of eco-nomic realities to be answered? The

Prime Minister of Bangladeshdeclined to attend D-8 Summit recently held at Islamabad

asking Pakistan to tender apologiesfor 1971 killings. It is understand-able she is doing this on the behestof India and personal apathy towardsPakistan. It may be recalled, on re-turn from Pakistan, and on recogni-tion of Bangladesh by PakistanMujeeb-ur-Rehman came to attendIslamic summit conference inLahore. He did not demand any suchapology. It must be recalled Indianpropaganda machinery was ex-tremely active during March andDecember 1971 War. India waschurning out fabricated news ofwanting killings by Pakistan Army.By now much is written and ana-lyzed on this issue. The myth of kill-ing of millions and raping hundredsof thousands Bangladeshi women isabsolutely fabricated. In a civil warthere is bound to be casualties. Jus-tice Hamudur Rehman Commissionin detail analyzed the causalities onthe basis of evidence and witnesses.There have not been more then26,000 causalities on both sides. Anormal figure in a civil war any time.Historically, thousands of years warhas brought misery and death onnations. More so, in civil wars.

1971 rebellion by the Bengali el-ements of Pakistan Armed Forces inEast Bengal Regiments and EastPakistan Rifles was not an impul-sive act. There minds were pollutedby continued Indian penetration inrank and file of Armed Forcesthrough Awami league. 1971 war,therefore, was in reality continuityof 1965 war. 1965 war presented In-dians an opportunity to analyze the

Myth of killings — 1971 Warweakness of Pakistan in the EasternSector both politically and militarily.Politically politicians of West Paki-stan never wanted to part with thepower and handover power to themajority party of East Pakistan. Mili-tarily, Pakistan strategic doctrinebased on offensive from West Paki-stan in case East Pakistan is attackedproved completely flawed and fail-ure. The author was in Comilla onthe fateful day of 4th March whenconvening of National Assembly waspostponed, East Pakistan was in thegrip of built up anti West Pakistanhysteria. Awami League goons, itsstudent wings, especially in the uni-versities of Dhaka and Raj Shahi andin Chittagong were already harass-ing non Bengali population of any ori-gin. Arms and ammunition wasstacked in Dhaka, Raj Shahi Univer-sities, and in Chittagong collages andscores of other places through outErstwhile East Pakistan.

Independent analysts, even fromBangladesh who researched negatethe figures. The myth of three mil-lion killings by the West Pakistanarmy is far from factual position.With 27000 troops at the peak of warin December 1971 the figure of 112killing per soldier is mind-boggling.It is an absolutely fabricated and con-cocted figure. Shermila Boos in herlatest research book has concludedthe same that there may have beenaltogether 100,000 causalities She hasbeen under severe criticism from theHasina Wajid government and thoseelements who still cherish Indianview. Same is the story of the rapevictims. Even the Bengali analystsconcluded not more than couple ofhundred raped cases reported proved.Most of these by Mukhti Bahani,these figures are normal in wars andespecially civil wars. The study ofEuropean wars, if you dig a foot ofspace any where in Europe you will

find blood, so is the story of the Rus-sian side when they were attacked bythe Germany and around 20 millioncausalities occurred. This is the goryside of the war. Pakistan army is awell organized and a well-disciplinedforce recognized internationally Pa-kistani contingents under UN areserving in score of countries. It isengaged on its Eastern Borders andthere has not been a single incidentreported. Ill discipline is severelypunished and not tolerated.

It is now documented and ana-lyzed lot, that, in East Pakistan po-litical dissent, uprising and war werecoordinated by the Indians. Theyworked ever since partition and uppedit after 1965. By July 1971 when gov-ernment of Pakistan Authority wasfully reestablished, Awami leaguewas invited for political settlement.It would have to come to the tablebut for Indians did not allow AwamiLeague leaders in Calcutta even tomeet Pakistani mission. India hadinvaded and invested East Pakistanin a calculated and well planned man-ner. Pakistan Army was grossly out-numbered by the Indian and was tiredof civil war, from March to Decem-ber. Three incomplete infantry divi-sions of Pakistan around (27000troops) defending the borders of EastPakistan were strung along the bor-ders. Indians, a professional armyforty time more with complete navaland air superiority, hostile populationand Mukhti Bahani force of half amillion placed Pakistan at setbackfrom day one of war.

There is always difference be-tween myth and reality. To seek, wemust question ourselves to find thetruth. Truth rally strength with pas-sage of time irrespective of propa-ganda and perception. There is a starkdifference in the psychology of SouthAsian people and the West. Thefarmer is easily misled, emotionalized

and rash. The people in West are ex-ploitable in the name of humanrights. The impact of propaganda byIndian is so penetrating thatintelligencia and people of sanemind are also misled / swayed. Inhis recent article “Problem ofBangladesh” Kaldip Nayyer, harpedthe same off repeated theme andblamed Pakistan Army, and la-mented why Pakistan do not apolo-gize. The question is, hasBangladesh apologized on Killingsof non Bengalis?

Has India apologize invading asovereign country, violating settledinternational borders and causingsuffering to millions. Hasina Wajidgovernment instead of digging thegraves should look inward. IfAwami League had not resorted toviolence with five and half pointsof Mujeeb ur Rehman already con-ceded in parlays, certainly with afurther dialogue, there would havebeen some agreement. Even if wehad to part ways it would have beenas friends or to remain in the shapeof loose federation. It was not to be,as India did not want it so.

Let our younger generation re-member these details. All segmentsof Pakistani society, to include in-tellectuals, politicians and militaryto bring forward the facts. We mustlearn lesson from our past and notto repeat mistakes. Pakistan todayis being surrounded by hostileforces from within and outside. Theagenda which was unfolded in EastPakistan with the connivance of theinternational actors is yet not fin-ished. Agenda is the same, actorsare the same but the ground haschanged. The nations who do notlearn from history, they themselvesbecome history.—The writer, a retired Brigadieris SJ (Bar), participated in 1965and 1971 Wars.

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deficit in the world is no longer fis-cal but the structural deficit is interms of both policy making and itsexecution. Traditional institutes donot work any more and are not suf-ficient to meet the challenges. Ide-ologies have changed and greed hastaken over. This has resulted in asense of growing urgency and wehave sensed that there is unfailingfutility. So what is the time ripe for?To land ourselves n to the hands ofthe rogues from other countries orare we to take action and make our-selves more resilient. Does Paki-stan have that kind of eminence inthe human system that people canbe got together for the commongood? Where are they likely to befound? They are here and they canbe found by scouting and not bythe current supercilious manner ofcrony selection process. The con-ceptual part is poor mostly becausethe people in the bureaucracy areunable to their convictions and nowthere are only two legs of the pillarof the state and not three. And allthese constitutional organizationsare unable to deliver.

There are many profound ques-tions that Pakistanis have to and areasking of our elites. Pakistan’s natu-ral resources have been raped. Allmanners of people have gatheredwhat they can. Governance of Pa-kistan will have to keep on movingin new directions and with new di-mensions. There are growing eco-logical issues that are to be ad-dressed. Is the present governmentcapable of galvanizing support forsuch important issues involving thepeople of this country? Islamabadis not Pakistan for there are otherareas to which the people of thiscountry require support and somewho have actually joined the suf-ferers and the marginal groups.

Dr Zafar AltafEmail: [email protected]

Tariq KhalilEmail: [email protected]

Voice of the People

Coasting to climate disaster

They made some progress at theannual December round of theinternational negotiations on

controlling climate change, held thisyear in Qatar. They agreed that thecountries that cause the warmingshould compensate the ones that suf-fer the most from it. The principle,known as the Loss and Damagemechanism, has no numbers attachedto it, but it’s a step forward. The onlystep forward, unfortunately.

In the first phase of these talks,which concluded with the Kyoto Pro-tocol of 1997, the emphasis was on“mitigation”; that is, on stopping thewarming by cutting human emissionsof carbon dioxide and other “green-house gases.” That made good sense,but they didn’t get anywhere. Fifteenyears later, emissions are still rising,not falling. So gradually the empha-sis shifted to “adaptation.” If we can’tagree on measures to stop the aver-age global temperature from goingup, can we learn to live with it?What’s the plan for developing new

crops to withstand the droughts andhigh temperatures that are coming?What’s the plan for coping with mas-sive floods that drown river valleysand inundate coastlines? Well, thereare no such plans in most places, sothe emphasis has shifted again, tocompensation. Terrible things willhappen to poor countries, so who paysfor them? In principle, says the newLoss and Damage mechanism, therich countries that are responsible forthe warming pay. But the “mecha-nism” has no method for assessingthe damage or allocating the blame,so it will become a lawyers’ play-ground of little use to anybody else.

Besides, the rich countries aregoing to be fully committed finan-cially in just covering the cost oftheir own damages. Consider, for ex-ample, the $60 billion that US Presi-dent Barack Obama has just re-quested from Congress to deal withthe devastation left by SuperstormSandy. In practice, there will be verylittle left to compensate the poorcountries for their disasters, even ifthe rich ones have good intentions.So if mitigation is a lost cause, andif adaptation will never keep up with

December 16 comes every yearto haunt the nation, particularly those few remaining who

were witness to the debacle. I had themisfortune to be one. On this day theQuaid’s Pakistan, which was consid-ered an epitome of ‘Divided weStand’, got actually divided by break-ing lose all bonds of unity betweenthe two wings. That day the largestMuslim army suffered the humilia-tion of the greatest defeat. This wasthe darkest day of our national his-tory that stunned everyone. How didit happen? Equipped with the hind-sight knowledge, I will try to recon-struct some of the sad saga.

In early July 70 I was posted toEast Pakistan as the Principal StaffOfficer (GSO-1) to late Major Gen-eral Rao Farman Ali Khan – in chargeMartial Law (Civil Affairs). In mysuch capacity I had the opportunityof seeing the events unfolding them-selves from the vantage viewpoint ofthe Governor’s House, Dacca – thethen epicentre of the entire activityin East Pakistan. I had also access tothe events of the past buried in thefiles which kept popping up randomlyduring my daily official work. Thisall presented me with a fairly clearpicture of all that was happening thereand why. If I am asked who to blamefor the debacle I would say that wewere all – from the common man inthe street to the highest person in theoffice, equally responsible for it. Thecommon man for committing the sinof keeping himself ignorant of the un-der currents simmering there eversince that fateful 19TH day of March

Fall of Dhaka1948 when Quaid rais-ing his admonishingfinger to the Bengalistudents at the DaccaUniversity convoca-tion had warned themthat Urdu will be theonly official state lan-guage of Pakistan, andnot trying to assess theanguish caused to the

Bengalis and take measures to bringthe rapprochement. The highest in au-thority were guilty of being toogreedy, power hungry and selfish.Unfortunately we all treated EastPakistan as a colony of ours and nevergranted them their justly deservedstatus of being the major human or-gan of the Pakistan’s body – 54 per-cent of the population. As power bar-ons of the Federal governmentmostly haled from West Pakistanthey never shared the power will-ingly or happily with their Bengalibrethren. Imagine, the Bengalisthough in majority going jubilant in1956 when Suhrawardy got them the‘parity’ (equal treatment) with theWest Pakistanis! Ever heard of amajority thanking the minority fortreating them as equals? We did itagain in 1971.

The minority pronouncing themajority unpatriotic, traitor and se-cessionist! Minority forcing the ma-jority to leave the country whosefoundations they had laid in 1906!Not only, that the Bengalis weretreated as un-equals but it is also afact that they were the major rev-enue earner for Pakistan during itsearly years, mainly through the ex-port of their Golden Fibre toManchester and Dundee jute mills inthe UK. They bore the major finan-cial burden of Pakistan and happilytoo for more than 15 years and till1962 the cash flow was from EastPakistan to West Pakistan. Thereaf-ter, after an equilibrium of about twoyears the process reversed but not thatheavily. Bengalis had, therefore, ev-

FIR at aPolice station

SYED MUZAMMIL HUSSAIN

People are always annoyed of ourpolice system. They always com-plain of their non-cooperative atti-tude. Yes our police system is not ofthe level of the police of the devel-oped world but there were somesigns of improvement. This shouldbe appreciated to encourage our po-lice officials who are doing well.I lost my wallet on December10,2012 and subsequently i was de-prived of my important documentslike NIC, HBL ATM, Identity cardof the International Islamic Univer-sity, Islamabad, etc.

It was very cruel fact that some-one succeeded in debiting my ac-count and purchased some itemsfrom Barkat Mega Mart Rawalpindithus depriving me of Rs 10,000 (Ru-pees Ten Thousand only). I want tobring into notice of the readers thatcontrary to my expectation,Sadiqabad Rawalpindi police waskind enough to record my report ofloss and the whole process was com-pleted within thirty minutes. I wantto appreciate the police and that maybe a novel example for all that po-lice were appreciated in a countrylike Pakistan.—Rawalpindi

Democracy &business interests

MOEZ MOBEEN

As the local media reported on ma-jority of Pakistan’s lawmakers notpaying their taxes, internationalmedia reported how the internationalgiant Google funneled 9.8 billiondollars of revenues from interna-tional subsidiaries to Bermuda lastyear in order to halve its tax bill.Instead of being ashamed of its taxavoidance Google’s CEO EricSchmidt presented it as an achieve-ment saying:” I am very proud ofthe [tax] structure that we set up. Wedid it based on incentives that thegovernments offered us tooperate…Its called Capitalism”.

Google’s UK chief, while de-fending his company’s practicessaid:”Google plays by the rule setby the politicians. The only peoplewho really have choices are politi-cians who set the tax rates” Democ-racy in Pakistan is presented as theultimate governance model to theextent that it has become sacred andbeyond critique and question. Thisblind faith in democracy has mis-led our intellectuals in the diagno-sis of our problems and often sys-tematic problems related to thegovernance model are ignored be-cause of the principle “surely de-mocracy cannot be wrong”.

But as the tax avoidance of law-makers in Pakistan and the recentexample of the multinational com-pany Google shows democraticmodel of governance around theworld has led to an alliance of busi-ness interests and legislators wheresuch laws are made which suits theinterests of the few over the many.To avoid asking questions about thedemocratic model of governance,such corruption is presented as “in-dividual” and not “systematic”.However the frequency of suchcases and their spread across thedeveloping world as well as maturedemocracies shows that this is notan issue of some individuals rathera systematic flaw of the system. Foras long as lawmaking remains in thehands of human beings, this windowof corruption will remain open forindeed by Schmidt was right, this iscapitalism as we know it, wheremoney can buy you laws.—Islamabad

Biting handthat feeds

MALIK TARIQ ALI

Starling comments were publishedby media about recent meeting ofFederal Cabinet, where some min-isters were very critical of NABchairman for disclosure of massivedaily corruption and pilferage rang-ing to Rs 7 to 8 billion. Few evendared to make observations thatNAB chief was biting the hand thatfeeds him. Loyalty, if any, shouldbe to Pakistan, its people and theconstitution, followed by politicalloyalty by party members to de-clared party manifesto, which is acommitment to people and not to un-declared ambitions and greed forassets of few. Where in the worldexists right to representation by in-dividuals without paying all due taxliabilities/

What they forgot is that theyhave all taken an oath to uphold ruleof law and the constitution, not in-dividuals who themselves havetaken a similar oath. These minis-ters represent the sick mindset thatprevails within our ruling elite, whoconsider getting elected or selected

Only poor pay taxesASGHAR MAHMOOD

According to reports, in Pakistan, only 2 million people pay taxesin the population of 180 million. It means only one percent popu-

lation is in the tax net. This is not the correct position. There are twotypes of taxes, namely, direct taxes levied on incomes, profits, fees,wealth, property. etc. and indirect taxes, which every body, unob-trusively pays. These indirect taxes include duties on imports, rawmaterials, consumer goods and so-called luxury items like ciga-rettes and cell phones which low-income groups also use. It meansthat 100% urban population pay taxes, direct and indirect. A largechunk of rural population also pay taxes of some kind. Even alow-paid construction worker and a beggar using a Cell phonealso pay tax/ duty to the government. So the reports about only 2million people paying taxes are erroneous and misleading. All sala-ried persons, in private and public sectors, pay income taxes, ac-cording to law. However, rich and influential people, mostly politi-cians and business tycoon, do not pay taxes.—Islamabad

Views From Abroad

READERS

Email:[email protected]

are requested to typetheir letters legibly withdouble spacing and only onone side of the paper.

—Editor

ery reason to be chary of and chagrinwith the sala Punzabis. (every WestPakistani was a Punjabi to them).Though the Bengalis proved them-selves to be equally, if not more, pa-triotic than the West Pakistan duringthe 65 war with India, yet the state ofmutual confidence between the twoleft more to be desired. By 1970 therelations deteriorated further and ir-reversibly. The proverbial last strawthat broke the camel’s back wasBhutto’s rejection of the 1970 elec-tion results which had given ShaikhMujib ur Rehman’s Awami League aclear cut majority to form the gov-ernment at the centre. ZAB’s oneafter the other statements like “wewill break the legs of any one goingto Dacca to attend the NA sessionthere”, “Udhar tum idhar humm”, “Anyone going to Dacca should buyonly one way ticket as he will notbe allowed to return” and “I wouldrather be a top dog of half of Paki-stan than be an underdog of full Pa-kistan” left little doubt in the mindsof Mujib and company who optedfor the Civil Disobedience in theprovince. Their provincial autonomystance kept becoming tougher by theday and all negotiations betweenthem and the West Pakistani leadersand the Federal government led byGen Yahya himself failed.

Handling of the East Pakistan is-sue at the International level, too, wasa fiasco on our part. We had not onlynot mobilised any world opinion inour favour but had rather alienatedthem mostly. On the other hand IndiraGandhi undertook a whirlwind tourof 19 countries in October 1970propagating the imaginary atrocitiesagainst the Bengalis and particularlythe Hindus of East Pakistan and yetassuring each one of them that Indiahad no designs of attacking it. Whileshe was convincing and canvassingthe world powers, her army’s East-ern Command was giving the finaltouches to the Attack Plan in FortWilliam at the eastern bank of river

to public office a license to do as theywish with state lands, assets, jobs andtax payer money. The hand that feedsall public servants(civil cum khaki)and elected executive public officeholders, including the President,PM, Governors, CM, Ministers,Judges, etc is the state of Pakistan,its 180 million unfortunate citizensand the national exchequer and notthose whom constitution empowersto make these appointments onmerit, or those elected to servepeople and play role of custodiansstrictly in accordance with consti-tution. It is for elected public officeholders and paid civil or khaki ser-vants of this unfortunate state to re-alize whether they have been loyaland served Pakistan, which has fedthem, given them honor, respect andopportunity. What have they givenback to this country?

Why have some of these paid orelected public servants betrayed trustof this nation and pledged an oathof loyalty to another country, shiftedall their assets there and consider thiscountry not worthy for their fami-lies to reside in. The crippling powershortages, collapsed state owned air,road and rail transport system, inse-curity, the billions of rupees beingdaily pilfered from state corpora-tions, the despicable state of roads,bridges, the colossal tax evasion,massive inflation etc all point to fail-ures of not just this elected govern-ment, but those who preceded it, in-cluding the corrupt military juntasof Musharraf and Zia.—Illinois, US

Where areyellow cabs?

KHURRAM SHAHZAD AWAN

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif hasannounced the yellow cab scheme forthe educated un-employed individu-als of the Punjab Province. At thebeginning, the eligible criteria for theapplication was FA and degree rel-evant to the 12 years of full time edu-cation but after that the criteria waschanged to matric level certificationwith a valid driving license. Totalnumber of yellow cabs including six-teen thousand Mehran Motor cars andfour thousand Bolan were announcedto be distributed among the success-ful individuals after the balloting.

The first balloting was held inRawalpind in the presence of chiefminister Shahbaz Sharif. After thefirst draw there was a restrictionamong the successful candidates asthey have to fulfill the requirementof initial driving training from theNational Logistic Corporation Dina,Jhelum after getting the training cer-tificate they are eligible to take theyellow cab. Now a big corruption inthe yellow cab scheme is going on, alarge number of successful candidatesare waiting for their taxi’s but theadministration is making them foolby declaring that all the yellow cab’shave been finished. How it is pos-sible? Some of the candidates wereinformed by the administration thattheir file has been displaced, this is abig blunder with the involvement ofbureaucracy as they have sold out thecab’s to their relatives by using un-fair means. Some successful candi-dates said that they were forced totake the Mehran car as compared tothe Bolan because they have alreadysold out the Bolan. This is a big cor-ruption and all the young successfulcandidates requested to the chief min-ister that an inquiry should be orderedto disclose the corruption in the dis-tribution of yellow cab’s.—Islamabad

AppreciateCapital Police

ADEEL AMJAD

Islamabad police is doing an excel-lent job for last couple of months inorder to ensure the safety of the citi-zens. Just recently, Islamabad policearrested four criminals from variousareas of the city and found severalillegal items from them.

Tarnol police during patrollingarrested three outlaws separately inthe area of Jhangi Saydan and recov-ered drugs from them. In the same

Corruption in Pakistan

The menace of corruption haslinks to a multitude of vices.Its roots are linked to injus-

tice, mistrust, suspicion, extremismand terrorist activities. It creates asense of insecurity, exacerbatespoverty and adds to the misfortuneof the vulnerable segments of thesociety. It also instills a sense ofhopelessness and despondency andthreatens the strength of good val-ues which have been establishedover centuries of civilized struggle.The word “Corruption” has its ori-gin in a Latin verb “corrupts” mean-ing “to break”. Literally, it means“a broken object”. In simple words,corruption means “the misuse ofentrusted power for private ben-efit.” Conceptually, corruption is aform of behavior which departsfrom ethics, morality, tradition, lawand civic virtue.

The term corruption has variousdefinitions. The United NationsManual on Anti-Corruption, theTransparency International, and themultilateral financial institutions likethe World Bank and Asian Devel-opment Bank define corruption as,“abuse of public office for privategains” The National Anti CorruptionStrategy (NACS) has defined cor-ruption as “a behavior on the part ofoffice holders in the public or pri-vate sector whereby they improperlyand unlawfully enrich themselves

and/or those close to them, or induceothers to do so, by misusing the po-sition in which they are placed.”

Section 9 of the National Ac-countability Ordinance 1999 has de-fined corruption and corrupt prac-tices in a comprehensive manner. Ithas enlisted about twelve differentshades of corruption. Illegal gratifi-cations, bribery, extortion, abuse ofoffice, fraud, cheating and criminalbreach of trust are some of the cor-rupt practices mentioned in the NAO1999 (Annex A).

Starting with the Prevention ofCorruption Act 1947, there are aboutsixty pieces of enactments and rulesthat deal with offences of corruptionand corrupt practices in Pakistan(Annex B). The ultimate victim ofcorruption and poverty is the humandignity itself. Hence corruptioncauses breach in the social order andemerges as a potential threat to theprosperity, peace and stability ofhuman civilization across the globe.Corruption in government spendingleads to serious reduction in impactof development program and resultsin perpetual increase in cost of main-tenance of public assets.

The primary responsibility ofensuring the culture of sound man-agement or what we generally callgood governance lies directly onshoulders of the civil administra-tion. In a democratic dispensation,the process of accountability startsat the first stage of the “conver-sion process” – the elections,which is the connecting link be-tween the rulers and the ruled. It

is at this stage that the foundationof sound and transparent politicalculture could be laid. The elector-ate ought to carefully demonstratetheir first choice (right to vote) ofthe process and to exercise theirright only under the dictates oftheir conscience. In return, the rul-ers who are the custodians of thepolitical environs ought to honourthe trust reposed in them and tojudiciously exercise the powersthey derive from that trust. In or-der to ensure consistency andsustainability of an accountable,transparent and open political pro-cess, it is imperative to keep theconnecting link intact.

On independence, Pakistan in-herited weak political institutions.Performance of these institutions inthe country over the years furtherdamaged the culture of transparencyand accountability. Admittedly, ef-forts at establishing a strong politi-cal dispensation have been facingfrustrations head on but these insti-tutions have also failed to capitalizeupon the available opportunities.Their internal democratic traditionsare still weak and non transparent.Due to lack of respect for participa-tive values, the mainstream politi-cal parties are generally dominatedby a single person.

The corporate sector is also lit-tered with failures due to corruptpractices. Scandals in the corporatesector are subjects of headlines inthe media. Wrong practices seem toocommon, and unacceptable behav-ior has become a normal practice.

Corporate governance has beenpracticed only in form and not sub-stance. Chairmen, chief executiveofficers and directors are appointedon the basis of political and per-sonal clout. Merit is a less visiblecommodity. Thus politicization andinefficiency at the top managementlevels has resulted in steep declinein the quality of output. Illegal con-vergence of interest has encour-aged insider trading which causesfrustration and setback to the genu-ine investor.

The essential components ofcorruption Free State are the ruleof law, accountability, transparencyand predictability. The rule of lawmeans equal application of law,equal protection by law and equal-ity before law. In the absence ofthe rule of law, institutions getweak and become hatcheries forcorrupt practices.

Major causes of corruption inPakistan are as follows: Lack ofeffective internal accountabilitymechanism. Discretionary powersand their flagrant abuse by thepublic office holders. Absence ofand weakness of the watch-dogagencies. Political leaders’ incom-petence and betrayal of publictrust with penchant for self-en-richment. Lack of transparency inthe government’s decision-mak-ing process. Lengthy and cumber-some procedures in the executivesystem. Weaknesses in the judi-cial system. Political choices.Power of influential people. Inad-equate wage envelope.

the speed at which the climate isgoing bad, and if compensation is anice idea whose time will nevercome, what is the next stage in theseclimate talks? Prayer? Emigration toanother planet? Mass suicide?

There will be a fourth stage tothe negotiations, but first we willhave to wait until rising tempera-tures, falling food production andcatastrophic storms shake govern-ments out of their present lethargy.That probably won’t happen untilquite late in the decade — and bythen, at the current rate of emissions,we will be well past the point atwhich we could hold the rise in av-erage global temperature down to 2degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahr-enheit). We will, in fact, be on coursefor 3, 4 or even 5 degrees C of warm-ing, because beyond plus 2 degrees,the warming that we have alreadycreated will trigger “feedbacks”:natural sources of carbon dioxideemissions like melting permafrostWhich we cannot shut off.

So then, when it’s too late, ev-erybody will really want a deal, butjust cutting greenhouse gas emis-sions won’t be enough any more. We

Hooghly, Calcutta. Whereas in ourcase despite Nixon’s more or lessordering Kissinger to ‘do something’ their 7th Fleet just passed bythe Bay of Bengal without even ra-dioing the customary courtesy goodwill message or tooting its hornsthrice ceremonially. I am personallya witness to the Chinese repeatedenquiries as to what could they do,after we had established am emer-gency radio link with them? But allthat we could get from the stuporladen President’s Secretariat atRawalpindi was, “Just wait, please”.

Hopes from the sincere Chinesefriends were so high that when theIndians parachuted their troops atNarain Ganj every one thought themto be the Chinese! Our EasternCommand had a morbid fear of theIndians capturing a piece of the ter-ritory and passing it on to theMuktis who would plant a flag thereand declare it to be Bangladesh, andwhich the Indians will recogniseinstantly. Thus giving birth toBangladesh. Consequently theyspread the troops in a thin line allalong the border, weakening them-selves all over. There was no depth,no reserves, no second lines. Therewas enemy (Indians) in the front andenemy at the back (Muktis). Theynever realised that it was not the ter-ritory but the capital of the countrythat mattered. It had to be the War-saw, the Paris, the Moscow, the Ber-lin and in our case the Dacca whichuntil captured by the enemy thecountry would not fall. If only theyhad concentrated all the troops inDacca, made a fortress out of it andfought there for months, which theycould do, the East Pakistan storywould have been different. We stillwouldn’t have been able to avert thecreation of Bangladesh but it wouldhave come into being by the inter-vention of the world powers andprobably the UNO itself. Pakistanwould not have had to suffer the ig-nominy of the defeat.

will need some way to hold thetemperature down while we dealwith our emissions problem, orelse the temperature goes so highthat mass starvation sets in. Therule of thumb is that we lose 10percent of global food productionfor every rise in average globaltemperature of one degree C.

There probably is a way to stopthe warming from passing plus 2 de-grees C and triggering the feed-backs, during the decades it willtake to get our emissions backdown. It’s called “geo-engineering”:direct human intervention in the cli-mate system. Our greenhouse gasemissions are an inadvertent ex-ample of geo-engineering that ispushing the climate in the wrongdirection. Another, deliberate kindof geo-engineering may be neededto stop it. So we had better hope thatneutral observers like the fossil fuelindustries are right in insisting thatglobal warming is a fraud. Maybeall those scientists really are mak-ing it up just to get more money inresearch grants. That would be ahappy ending, so fingers crossed.— Courtesy: The Japan Times

Gwynne Dyer

way, in G-9/3 margalla police stoppeda taxi and asked its passenger to showhis identification documents. How-ever passenger refused and startedthreatening the police. During theintervening time a passenger pulledout a 9mm pistol but he was over-come by superior police and arrestedby them. This shows that how toughthe situation is, they still perform theirduties in a good manner.—Islamabad

Whitherwelfare regime

HASHIM ABRO

There is no state-run welfare regimeto avert extreme poverty in my Sindhprovince. Rural population suffersfrom extreme poverty, which iscaused by poor harvests, environ-mental degradation, tribal infightingand consecutive disasters, unem-ployment and other scarcities. Ru-dimentary health care also does notexist in many parts of the province.There s no adequate care for peoplewith serious illnesses in many partsof upper and lower Sindh districts,unless they have some financial sup-port and are shifted to the provin-cial capital, Karachi.

The ruling party has also donenothing for equal rights for womenin the upper and lower Sindh regions.Equality remains a distant goal inpractical terms. Millions of girls andwomen have no access to primary andsecondary education there. However,the International aid organizations arerequested to take practical steps toprovide food aid and warm clothesto the flood victims and also to thepoor population and access to educa-tion and health to them in the upperand lower Sindh districts.—Islamabad

HelpingSyrian victimsKHAWAJA UMER FAROOQ

According to recent estimates fortythousand people lost their lives andthree hundred thousand have beendisplaced in Syria after heavy shell-ing and bombardment of govern-ment forces in rebels controlled ar-eas. Thousands of Syrian people areliving in tents in neighboring Tur-key and Jordon. Winter brings moretroubles for displaced Syrians andthings are going bad to worse. Ac-cording to aid agencies three millionaffected people are in urgent needof food and shelter in war affectedareas. Media continues showingmiserable pictures of innocentwomen and children who are pay-ing high price for brutalities of Assadforces. Due to economic recessionand silence of big powers world re-sponse is very slow and aid agen-cies find it hard to provide assistanceto thousands of displaced families.Saudi government again set remark-able example of humanity.

According to media news SaudiArabia pledged to donate $100 mil-lion in humanitarian aid to the Syr-ian people during a Friends of Syriameeting. Speaking at the opening ses-sion Saudi Foreign Minister an-nounced 100 million dollars humani-tarian aid to Syrian people. Saudigovernment has also setup tent cityin neighboring Jordan to facilitiesthousands of displaced people mostlyare women and children. Arab for-eign ministers have also agreed dur-ing a meeting to send hundreds ofmillions of dollars aid to the Pales-tinian Authority to rebuild infrastruc-ture after Israelis invasion and de-struction of Gaza. At a time whenworld is facing worst economic criesthis example is worth following forother countries.—Jeddah, KSA

Col Riaz JafriEmail: [email protected]

Samina Amir MalikEmail:[email protected]

Secretaries of Sate

SULTAN AL QASSEMI

WHY the Muslim Brotherhood has Gulf leadersworried now more thanever. As tensions mount

in Cairo over the MuslimBrotherhood’s erratic political deci-sions, the Brotherhood is also tryingto navigate suspicion about its mo-tives from oil-rich countries in the Gulf.In particular, the United Arab Emirates(UAE) has emerged as one of theBrotherhood’s primary antagonists:

Relations have deteriorated so muchthat a senior Brotherhood leader re-cently accused the UAE, home to morethan 300,000 Egyptians, of “financingthe opposition” in Egypt.

Emiratis first encountered the Mus-lim Brotherhood even before they hada country of their own. The UAE,

along with the other states in the ArabGulf, initially welcomed Muslim Broth-erhood members fleeing EgyptianPresident Gamal Abdel Nasser’s per-secution in the 1950s and 1960s. TheBrothers flourished in the UAE: Theywere educated, professional, and up-wardly mobile individuals who gainedemployment in various public and pri-vate posts, including the judicial andeducation sector. The UAE achievedindependence in 1971, and three yearslater UAE nationals influenced bythese new arrivals officially foundedthe UAE chapter of the Muslim Broth-erhood, known as Al Islah (“Reform”).

JAMES TRAUB

OBAMA’S likely national securitypicks are going to reinforce his innate caution for better and for worse.In each of the most recent two-term

presidencies Reagan, Clinton, Bush the sec-ond term has featured a foreign policy signifi-cantly different from the first. One of the rea-sons for this is that presidents typicallyshuffle their national security staff betweenterms. In the Clinton era, the forcefulMadeleine Albright replaced the difference-splitting Warren Christopher at the State De-partment. George W. Bush disposed of ColinPowell, whom he didn’t listen to, in favor ofCondoleezza Rice, whom he did, and then re-placed the bellicose Donald Rumsfeld with thecautious Robert Gates at the Pentagon. Nowwe know that Susan Rice will not replaceHillary Clinton as Barack Obama’s secretaryof state, and it seems very likely that JohnKerry will do so instead.

As I wrote recently, Kerry is more likeHillary Clinton in both temperament andworldview than any other even plausible can-didate to replace her. And because Obama re-spects Kerry without being close to him, ashas been true of his relationship with Clinton,foreign policy will probably continue to beformulated in the White House, and executedby the State Department. (During the secondGeorge W. Bush administration, by contrast,the center of policymaking shifted to State.)The break between Obama I and II will thusalmost certainly be less drastic than BillClinton’s change from waiting for Europe toact to seizing the mantle of leadership, orGeorge Bush’s from bombast and unilateralismto, well, slightly less bombast andunilateralism.

But administrations do change policy ormood for two other reasons: Because the worldchanges, and because officials learn from theirmistakes. For Obama, 2013 will be differentfrom 2009 because the Arab world is in tumultrather than paralysis, Europe is struggling tosurvive as a coherent entity, Iraq is yesterday’snews, Afghanistan is waning rather than wax-

ing, China’s booming growth can no longerbe taken for granted, and so forth. The ad-ministration has uniquely advertised its ownchange in posture by talking up the “pivot to

Asia.”But what about second thoughts and les-

sons learned? The Bush administration dis-covered that going it alone has a high cost,

and that legitimacy must be earned and notmerely asserted. Of course, no one admittedthat at the time; it just became obviousthrough action. The military, where mistakescost lives, has institutions dedicated to scru-tinizing past behavior; the civilian world isdeathly afraid of admitting errors in public,and rarely does. One senior Obama adminis-tration official with whom I spoke eagerlyticked off a list of changes in the world, butthen balked at the idea that he and his col-leagues had misread their own environment.

But they have, if not at all as disastrouslyas George Bush and his team did. Obama be-lieved, and those around him believed per-

haps even more strongly, that his own ora-torical and convening gifts — the sharp breakfrom Bush which he was prepared to make —was itself a powerful diplomatic tool that

would raise America’s standing in the worldand change its relations with adversaries andrivals. The policy of “engaging” even adver-saries like Iran and North Korea was based

both on a calculus of mutual interest and onthe magic of a new moment and a new man.But it turned out that the “Obama Effect,” asone senior State Department official called it,was much weaker than expected. “The ideawas that there would be something recipro-cal from bad actors,” the official said, “andwe found out very quickly that wasn’t thecase. We’ve gone back to a more traditionalsort of approach.”

Obama believed that Bush had unneces-sarily alienated almost everyone bad actors,Russia, China, Western allies and that a newpolicy of “mutual respect for mutual inter-ests,” as he often put it, could serve as an

emollient. The new policy worked in Europe,the one region where leaders and citizenscherished Obama’s gifts as much as Ameri-can voters did (or more). It worked tempo-rarily in Russia, whose leaders wanted topatch up relations with the United States inthe aftermath of the war with Georgia. It didnot work in China, however, where bothObama and Hillary Clinton hoped that put-ting aside irritants like Taiwan, Tibet, andhuman rights would lead to progress on arange of bilateral and global issues. China,like Iran, did not see its interests as “mutual”with those of the United States, and so sim-ply pocketed the American show of respect.

One official I spoke to argued that Clintonhad never been quite as persuaded of themagic of engagement as Obama had been,and that in any case both understood thattrying and failing to repair relations withTehran and Beijing put Washington in a stron-ger position to get tough with them after-wards. That is, no mistake — so no lesson.Perhaps what this demonstrates is that it’s

hard to learn a lesson from a policy whichdoes not work out as you had hoped but alsodoes not ruinously fail. But the proof of thelearning process is in the subsequent action.White House policy towards Iran, Russia,China, and others now feels more traditionalthan “transformational,” to use a word oncevery much in vogue. There has been a re-gression to the mean.

And this is true beyond the realm of bilat-eral relations. In early speeches and in hisnational security strategy, Obama laid greatstress on rebuilding international institutions.He has, in fact, embedded the G-20 at the heartof global economic policymaking, but he has

GARY YOUNG

NEWTOWN shootings: if notnow, when is the time to talkabout gun control? With28, including 20 children,

shot dead in Connecticut, it’s not‘politics’ but basic decency to insistAmerica have this debate. Friday’smass shooting at Sandy Hook schoolin Newtown, Connecticut is shock-ing and horrifying – the time and theplace of these massacres inevitablycatch us unawares.

But the fact that another massshooting has occurred is not shock-ing, any more than the last one was,or the next one will be. Just as withthe mass killings earlier this year at aSikh temple in Wisconsin and theAurora movie theater, near Denver,Colorado, the chorus of empatheticresponses that will follow these tragicshootings in Newtown, Connecticutmarks a stubborn refrain in a peren-nial American elegy. Different sing-ers mouthing different words, butbasically singing the same song.

Psychological profiles of theshooter emerge, along with portraitsof the victims, while the political classcloses ranks so that the nation canheal. Incanted tones to sooth a per-manent scar. All rituals serve a pur-pose. And this one is no different.This Friday, 28 people are currentlyreported shot dead, including 20 chil-dren.

Their families must be givenspace to mourn, and that spaceshould be respected. But it does nothonour the dead to insist that theremust be no room in that space forrational thought and critical ap-praisal. Indeed, such situations de-mand both. For one can only accountfor so many “isolated” incidents be-fore it becomes necessary to startdealing with a pattern.

It is simply not plausible to un-derstand events in Connecticut thisFriday without having a conversa-tion about guns in a country wheremore than 84 people a day are killedwith guns, and more than twice thatnumber are injured with them. Amidall the column inches and airtime nowbeing devoted to these horrificslayings, though, that elephant in theroom will remain affectionately pat-ted, discreetly fed and politely in-dulged.

To claim that “this is not the time”ignores the reality that America hasfound itself incapable of finding anyappropriate time to have this urgentconversation. The victims inNewtown, Connecticut deserve atleast that. And these tragedies takeplace everyday, albeit on a smaller

On America’s dividing linescale.

America’s president, BarackObama, understands this. The num-ber of homicide victims in his hometown of Chicago this year has out-numbered the fatalities among UStroops serving in Kabul.

In response to the Aurorashootings in July, President Obamawas right to suspend the routine cam-paign rhetoric and play the statesman.Nobody wanted to hear about MittRomney’s tax records and stimulat-ing the economy on that day. Therewere other days for electioneering,true, but he was wrong to insist onthis:

“There are going to be otherdays for politics. This is a day forprayer and reflection.” Yet that “otherday” for debating gun laws nevercame – not at any point in the threemonths that remained before the elec-tion. Even now, right on cue, thepresident’s spokesman, Jay Carney,has intoned the familiar strain that“now is not the time” to talk aboutgun control.

For what are we to reflect on if nothow this, and so many other similar

calamities, came about. Those whoinsist that we should not “play poli-tics” with the victim’s grief conve-niently ignore that politics is whatcaused that grief. Not party politics.But a blend of opportunism on theright that flagrantly mischaracterisesthe issue, and spinelessness on theleft that refuses to address it.

Americans are no more prone tomental illness or violence than anyother people in the world. What theydo have is more guns: roughly, 90 forevery 100 people. And regions andstates with higher rates of gun own-ership have significantly higher ratesof homicide than states with lowerrates of gun ownership.

The trite insistence that “gunsdon’t kill people, people kill people”simply avoids the reality that peoplecan kill people much more easily withguns than anything else that’s acces-sible. Americans understand this.That’s why a plurality supportsgreater gun control, and a majority

thinks the sale of firearms should bemore tightly regulated. The trouble isthat people feel powerless to do any-thing about it. The gun lobby hasproved sufficiently potent in rallyingopposition to virtually all gun con-trol measures that Democrats have allbut given up on arguing for it. In themeantime, the country is literally andmetaphorically dying for it.

Gun control is possible. There areboth a constituency for it and an ar-gument for it. But it can’t happen with-

out a political coalition prepared tofight for it. If America can twice electa black president, it can do this.[Editor’s note: this is a revised andupdated version of an article by GaryYounge that appeared 20 July 2012.This article was also amended as thenumber of casualties was confirmed].

—Courtesy Guardian

But Al Islah soon ran afoul of theUAE government: According to oneformer member, it drifted away from itsstated, benign activities of “sports,culture, charitable work, and socialactivities” and into political activities.By the early 1990s, the UAE’s judicialand education sector was effectivelya state within a state: The Brotherhoodwould make sure that those who quali-fied for educational scholarships andgrants were either Brotherhood mem-bers, affiliates, or sympathizers. Withina short period, the student councils

and professional associations such asthe jurist and teachers union wereturned into Muslim Brotherhood out-posts dedicated to advancing their in-terests.

In 2006, the UAE started reassign-ing Al Islah members who worked inthe education field to other posts a

move to decrease their influence onyoung Emiratis. Since the Brotherhoodmembers were no longer in a positionto pick scholarship awardees, they at-tempted to set up UAE student coun-cils in countries as far afield as Aus-tralia to recruit new members. The emer-gence of a moderately Islamist gov-ernment in Turkey also offered Al Islahmembers an ideal location to connectwith Brotherhood members across theMiddle East. Some meetings were heldunder the auspices of Western gov-ernments and associations, promptingthe UAE to shut down a number ofNGOs and think tanks.

In the past year, relations havegone from bad to worse. The UAElaunched a nationwide crackdownagainst Al Islah, detaining scores ofits members and affiliates and goingso far as to accuse it of setting up an“armed wing” in the country. At theheart of the UAE’s hostility to theMuslim Brotherhood is the fear thatunlike home grown parties or blocs thegroup believes that its allegiance to atransnational Islamist network, headedby the supreme guide, trumps alle-giance to the nation-state.

Recent developments in Egyptwhere President Mohamed Morsyseems determined to advance theBrotherhood’s interests over that ofall Egyptians have only exacerbatedsuch fears. The main obstacle to build-ing ties between the UAE and the newEgyptian government comes from theclandestine links the Egyptian Broth-erhood maintains with undergroundcells in the UAE. The Brotherhood’shistory of not keeping promises to itsown people also doesn’t bode well forpromises given to foreign govern-ments such as the UAE.

Disagreements about the Brother-hood also profoundly shape the po-litical battle lines between the GulfArab states. Qatar enjoys the best re-lations with the Brothers, offering fi-nancial aid and the dedicated media“mouthpiece” of Al Jazeera to the ser-vice of the group. The UAE, by crack-ing down on the Brotherhood, is posi-tioning itself as the regional counter-balance to neighboring Qatar.

Despite the Brotherhood’s close-ness to Qatar, the group is most keenon building ties with Saudi Arabia.According to one senior Gulf sourcewith whom I spoke, the Brotherhoodhad given the Saudi government spe-

cific assurances regarding its positiontoward Iran, which the kingdom viewsas its main regional rival. However,Saudi leaders remain skeptical of thegroup even after the death of formerSaudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef,who was known for his hatred of theorganization, and after numerousBrotherhood visits. One senior sourcepresent during recent negotiations inTurkey to coordinate support for Syr-ian rebels informed me of thekingdom’s strict rejection of a MuslimBrotherhood figure as head the Syr-ian opposition.

—Courtesy FP

YU LINTAO

ALTHOUGH Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas regained greatpopularity in the Palestinian territories after the UN General Assembly

voted overwhelmingly to grant an upgrade ofPalestine’s status from an “entity” to a “non-member state,” the dream of the Palestiniansto found a country of their own with indepen-dent sovereignty as well as territorial integrityappears to be even more distant. Some observ-ers said the significance of Palestine’s statusupgrade is more symbolic than substantive.

As Israel and the United States were com-pletely against Palestine’s becoming a UN non-member observer, the status upgrade wouldbring the Palestinians more practical difficul-ties and present greater barricades to creating

Palestine’s UN status upgrade brings uncertainty?an independent state.

Symbols over substance: On November 29,the 67th UN General Assembly adopted a reso-lution to grant Palestine the status of a UNobserver state. UN member states voted 138 to9, with 41 abstentions, to support a draft reso-lution co-sponsored by about 70 countries. Themove was an implicit recognition of Palestine’sstatehood at the UN. Just the year before, Pal-estine failed to become a full member of theworld body as the United States vowed to useits veto power at the UN Security Council.Though the UN non-member observer statuswill enable Palestine to become a full memberin UN agencies as well as a member in the In-ternational Court of Justice, which would en-able the Palestinians to file complaints againstIsrael, the status upgrade was of more sym-bolic significance for the Palestinians, said

Chen Shuangqing, a researcher with the Insti-tute of West Asian and African Studies at theChina Institutes of Contemporary InternationalRelations.

“Acceptance of Palestine as a non-mem-ber state would implicitly recognize the Pales-tinians’ right to create a country of their own.However, under the current situation in whichmost parts of the Palestinian territories are un-der the occupation of Israel, it is not realistic to

found a Palestinian state with territorial integ-rity,” said Chen. “On the other hand,” Chensaid, “Palestine in fact has not realized nationalunity at this point. It is still under the adminis-

tration of two different parties with totally dif-ferent political views.” Yin Gang, a senior re-searcher on Middle East studies with the Chi-nese Academy of Social Sciences, echoedChen. Yin said it is not the right time for Pales-tine to become a state observer of the UN be-

cause it is not yet united and large parts of itsterritories are still under the control of Israel.

“The bid was not conducive to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks,” Yin said to BeijingReview. “For the Palestinians, the bid was oflittle substantive significance, on the contrary,it could possibly cause them more trouble asthey might face pressure from Israel.” Soonafter, in a punitive measure, Israel declaredthe suspension of monthly tax revenues andother funds regularly transferred to the Pal-estinian National Authority (PNA), part ofwhich is used to pay for the electricity billsPalestine owes to Israel.“This part of tax rev-enue accounts for about one 10th to oneeighth of the PNA’s fiscal budget. The sus-pension will certainly cause financial troublefor the PNA,” Yin said.

—Courtsy Beijing Review

Amid all the column inches and airtime now being de-voted to these horrific slayings, though, that elephant in theroom will remain affectionately patted, discreetly fed and

politely indulged.

The UAE has held scores of citizens for months without trial as part of this effort,even as the UAE’s laws demand that every citizen to be granted a transparent trial. Abdul-Ghaffar Hussein, the head of the government-appointed UAE Human Rights Association,has called on the country’s Federal Public Prosecution to “end the interrogation of detain-

ees as soon as possible and bring the detainees to trial.”

UN member states voted 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions, to support adraft resolution co-sponsored by about 70 countries. The move was an

implicit recognition of Palestine’s statehood at the UN. Just the year be-fore, Palestine failed to become a full member of the world body as theUnited States vowed to use its veto power at the UN Security Council.

I wonder, though, if there is a danger of some learning some lessons too well. Obama has found that the worldis more intransigent than he had thought, and American influence more limited. This has reinforced his own cau-

tionary impulses. He now faces a calamity in Syria, and he has responded by giving it a wide berth.

On America’s wind energy industry, further emphasising the dividing line.

The Brothers and the Gulf

Political Islam after the ‘Arab Spring‘ Gulf cools towards Muslim Brothers.

also learned the limits of bodies like theUnited Nations. “American leadership,” saysan administration official, “will depend onour capacity to mobilize a coalition of coun-tries to solve a particular problem” — that is,on what George Bush would have called “acoalition of the willing.” And Obama’s con-duct of the war on terror has of course cometo resemble Bush’s. A policy initially de-scribed as “countering violent extremism” —and intended to mix soft power, diplomacy,development, criminal justice, and militarystrikes — has gradually given way to a mili-tarized approach involving drones and spe-cial forces.

On balance, we should be grateful thatObama has learned useful lessons from mis-takes of modest proportions. White Housepolicy in the second term is likely to be morechastened, and to raise fewer expectationsthat it cannot satisfy. The pivot to Asia willallow the president to operate in a regionwhich does not require impossible choicesunder the most urgent conditions. And anational security team led by Secretary ofState John Kerry, National Security AdvisorTom Donilon, and Secretary of DefenseChuck Hagel would offer the prospect of sta-bility, caution, and realism.

I wonder, though, if there is a danger ofsome learning some lessons too well. Obamahas found that the world is more intransi-gent than he had thought, and American in-fluence more limited. This has reinforced hisown cautionary impulses. He now faces acalamity in Syria, and he has responded bygiving it a wide berth. John Hannah of FP’sShadow Government blog recently accusedObama of failing to act decisively in Syriaout of craven political calculations. I thinkHannah is right that Washington shouldhave acted weeks or months ago, but wrongabout the motive for inaction. The presidentand his team are now deeply imbued with anawareness of the limits of American power inthe face of profound upheavals. They knowall too well that a forceful American role canmake things worse.

—Courtesy FP

LAHORE: An attractive view of seasonal flowers blooming at a roadside greenbelt.

again. Manmohan Singh said thatIndia wants to build favourableties with its neighbour country,Pakistan. Malik also invited theIndian Prime Minister to visit Pa-kistan and inaugurate a develop-ment project in his native village.

India and Pakistanoperationalised a new visa re-gime on the first day of Malik’sIndia visit on Friday.

However, the visa-on-arrivalwill come into effect from Janu-ary 15, 2013 and the group tour-ist visa from March 15, 2013.

On September 8, The gov-ernments of India and Pakistanhad signed a new visa agreementto facilitate travel for the nation-als of both countries desirous oftraveling to the other country and

to promote people to people con-tact. In an interview NDTV chan-nel, Interior Minister RehmanMalik said India and Pakistanwould have to learn from theirtroubled past and would have tolook forward and towards thefuture.

Malik stated he had nevercompared the demolition of theBabri mosque to the 9/11 attacksor to the Mumbai attacks, add-ing that, his statements had beenmisunderstood.

Regarding the case ofSaurabh Kalia, an officer in theIndian Army who had died dur-ing the Kargil War, the ministersaid he was “willing” to have thecase investigated. “I only saidcircumstances of his death are

disputed, I am asking for moreinformation…I feel the pain ofCaptain Kalia’s father; I will defi-nitely look into the matter,”Malik said to NDTV.

On the issue of JamaatudDawa chief Hafiz Saeed, he saidPakistan needed evidence againsthim which could stand in court.

He added that althoughSaeed had earlier been arrested,he had been released by thecourts and that the governmentrespected the orders of the judi-ciary.

On the accord sealed by In-dia and Pakistan easing toughvisa restrictions for travelers, theminister said the agreementwould lead to mutual cooperationbetween the two countries.—INP

‘Unannounced strike’paralyses financial hub

From Page 1

look forward and towards thefuture. Malik stated he had nevercompared the demolition of theBabri mosque to the 9/11 attacksor to the Mumbai attacks, add-ing that, his statements had beenmisunderstood.

Regarding the case ofSaurabh Kalia, an officer in theIndian Army who had died dur-ing the Kargil War, the ministersaid he was “willing” to have thecase investigated.

“I only said circumstancesof his death are disputed, I amasking for more information…Ifeel the pain of Captain Kalia’sfather; I will definitely look intothe matter,” Malik said to NDTV.

On the issue of JamaatudDawa chief Hafiz Saeed, he saidPakistan needed evidence againsthim which could stand in court.

He added that althoughSaeed had earlier been arrested,he had been released by thecourts and that the governmentrespected the orders of the judi-ciary. On the accord sealed by In-dia and Pakistan easing toughvisa restrictions for travelers, theminister said the agreementwould lead to mutual cooperationbetween the two countries.—INP

Malik invitesFrom Page 1

Protesters demandarmy operation

From Page 1

men of President Asif Ali Zardariand vision of Shaheed BenazirBhutto.

The Prime Minister said Pa-kistan Peoples Party believes instrengthening institutions. He saidthe appointment of CharudhryNisar Ali Khan as Chairman Pub-lic Accounts Committee andFakhruddin G. Ibrahim as ChiefElection Commissioner are proofof its efforts and commitments tostrengthen institutions.

The Prime Minister said nogovernment in the past has car-ried out as much developmentwork as done by the present PPPled coalition government. Hechallenged that the amount ofwork carried out by this govern-ment is more than the cumula-tive work done by governmentsin the last twenty five years.

He said that contrary to“Sasti Roti Scheme or distribu-tion of laptops”‚ which wereabandonment‚ the federal gov-ernment launched Benazir In-come Support Programme‚which is recognized globally asone of the best programmes.

Raja reassuresFrom Page 1

assurance from federal govern-ment to stop the sectarian vio-lence. The protesters also declinedto meet Commissioner Karachiwith respect to the negotiation andfurther urged their desire to talkto representatives of federal gov-ernment and no one else.

Aerial firing was also re-ported at the NumaishChowrangi area on Saturdaythough no casualties or any otherloss was reported.—Agencies

quality has witnessed significantimprovement in its reach out tothe children especially that of thefar flung and inaccessible areasand Polio reach out had extendedto 80 percent districts of the coun-try with 95 percent coverage.

The meeting was further in-formed that the number of poliocases this year as compared to lastyear have decreased considerably.The President while appreciatingthe assistance and interest of theinternational partners in comple-menting Government’s efforts re-iterated that eradication of Poliowas the foremost priority of thegovernment. He said, “we havemade Polio eradication campaign

a cross party issue and all the po-litical parties and societal forceswere now supporting the cause.”

Discussing Polio situation intribal areas and some parts ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Presi-dent said that the government wasmaking efforts with the support ofpolitical and religious leaders andother notables of the areas to reachout even in those areas where in-accessibility and security issueshad hampered polio eradicationcampaigns in the past.

During the meeting, thePresident also telephonedMaulana Fazl-ur-Rehman andrequested him to meet the delega-tion to discuss issues related to

resistance in polio campaign bysome on ideological grounds.

Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehmansaid that the delegation is wel-come to meet him later today.

It was decided that a delega-tion comprising Dr. Azra FazalPechuho, Begum ShahnazWazir Ali, Mrs. KatharinaHulshof, Kalayan Banarjee, Dr.Waqar Ajmal, Aziz Memon, Dr.Guido Sabatinelli, and DanRoharmann would meet him Sat-urday night. The meeting was alsoinformed that under the guidanceof the President a new transit strat-egy has been introduced to coverchildren moving out of and in toFATA. —Agencies

Govt committed toFrom Page 1

Movement (MQM) chief over“his contemptuous assertionsagainst the judiciary”.

However, whether thecourt’s order was right or wrongis another debate altogether,added Ahsan.

Speaking after the inaugura-tion of an art exhibition inLahore, the former SupremeCourt Bar Association presidentsaid the judiciary should stayaway from politics, and that thejudges and politicians shouldboth tend to their own responsi-bilities. The apex court on Fri-day had summoned MQM chief

Altaf Hussain to appear before itin person on Jan 7 and defend hisstatements against the judges.

“Prime facie, we are of theopinion that the language usedis not only contemptuous butthat he (Mr Hussain) advancesthreat which is tantamount to in-terference with and obstructionof the process of the court by ad-vancing threats to the judges ofthe Supreme Court and it alsotended to bring the Judges intohatred, ridicule and contempt,”said the court order dictated bythe three-judge bench headed byChief Justice Iftikhar

Muhammad Chaudhry. Re-sponding to the notice, Hussainhad said the party’s response inthis regard would be in accor-dance with the law and the Con-stitution. Hussain said he wouldrespond to the contempt noticeafter consulting his legal advis-ers, appealing to his party’smembers and supporters to re-frain from taking the law intotheir hands.

MQM is a key coalitionmember of the PPP-led govern-ment and is the largest politicalparty in Karachi, Pakistan’s com-mercial capital.

Altaf should appearFrom Page 1

hand PML-N is also trying tobreak away members of PML-Qin Punjab

The PML-Q leadership inmeeting with the PresidentZardari will inform the PPP lead-ership regarding their reserva-tions and differences on theaforementioned issues.—Online

Zardari meetsFrom Page 1

that the public servants shouldhave the courage not to obligeany order against the rules andregulations from any quarter.

He maintained that those of-ficers who hesitate to abide bythe rules and regulations are notservants of the government butpersonal servants of those whoissue wrong orders. He said suchofficers equally share the respon-sibility of corrupt practices.

The governor observed thatunder any circumstances, thecriticism by the members of thecabinet would not be tolerated.

He said the chief secretarywas strictly discharging his re-sponsibilities according to theRules of Business.

Magsi defendsBalochistan CS

From Page 1

Contempt noticeFrom Page 1

against the norms of justice.”The Co-ordination Commit-

tee said, “Altaf Hussain is not anindividual. He is the head of thethird largest political party of thecountry and enjoys the unflinch-ing support of millions of people.Issuing a notice against him forgiving voice to public sentimentshas hurt the feelings of the peopleand has scorned their mandate.”

“It is because of this that awave of anger and resentment hasswept across millions of peoplein the country who have heldpeaceful protests in many citiesin order to express their senti-ments. Ignoring their feelingswould be equal to negating pub-lic aspirations.”

The Co-ordination Commit-tee said that the MQM is astaunch believer in the freedomand independence of judiciary.The MQM feels that steps againstany political party or a segmentof population that could dimin-ish the respect and dignity of in-stitutions in the eyes of the pub-lic should be avoided.

The Co-ordination Commit-tee declared, in no uncertainterms, that the workers of theMQM would willingly give theirlives, but they would not bowbefore unjust decisions.

ISLAMABAD—Govt College Uni-versity Lahore, won the All Paki-stan Bilingual Declamation Con-test held at PAF Academy Risalpur.Air Chief Marshal Tahir RafiqueButt, Chief of the Air Staff, Paki-stan Air Force was the chief gueston the occasion. The talented youthfrom 45 premier institutions ofPakistan participated in the contestheld at PAF Academy Risalpurfrom 13 to 14 Dec 2012.

Air Chief Marshal TahirRafique Butt, Chief of the AirStaff, Pakistan Air Force awardedprizes to the winners. First prizein English was awarded to SyedaBareeha Fatima of Kinnaird Col-lege for Women Lahore, whereassecond prize in English was wonby GC Hamza Ishtiaq of PMAKakul. In Urdu debates, First

prize was awarded to Zahid Aliof Govt. College UniversityLahore and second was given toHasan Hameed of NORE-I,Baheria College, Karachi.

All Pakistan Bilingual Dec-lamation Contest has been a regu-lar feature on the academic train-ing calendar of PAF Academysince 1974. The declamation con-test over the years has become aprestigious event for leading uni-versities, colleges, and institu-tions from Karachi to Khyber.Enthusiastic teams gather at Pa-kistan Air Force AcademyRisalpur every year from allover the country and activelyparticipate in the contest. Theyalso get a chance to interact withthe cadets and get a glimpse oflife in the academy.

Bilingual declamationcontest held at PAFAcademy Risalpur

ConvocationLAHORE—The University ofVeterinary and Animal Sciences(UVAS) is arranging its 4th con-vocation on December 17.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. DrTalat Naseer Pasha on Saturdaychaired a meeting in this regardand finalized arrangements forthe convocation.

The VC told the meeting thatPunjab Governor Latif KhanKhosa had consented to chair theconvocation and award medalsand degrees to graduates.

Degrees and medals will beawarded to Ph.D, M.Phil, MBA(life sciences), DVM and BS(Hons) graduates.—APP

Airports all over the country hasbeen beefed up after the incident.

The eye witnesses and thesecurity forces said five rocketswere fired by the terrorists latein the evening on Saturday tar-geting the Peshawar Airport. Oneprojectile landed inside terminaland two hit the residential areaclose to the airport. The securityforces said another rocket also hita security Check post in the Uni-versity Town area. Officials saidthe rockets were probably firedfrom the Shalober area of theKhyber agency.

Soon after the rocket explo-sions, a group of terrorists triedto storm Peshawar Airport withan explosive laden vehicle whichwas rammed with the wall of thePeshawar airport. The officialssaid they were effectivelychecked by the security forcesincluding the Airport SecurityForce (ASF). Yet the independentsources and the credible officialsources said the terrorists man-aged to intrude into the airport

building and were exchangingfire with the Army men who hadtaken control of the Airport build-ing. This impression was alsoconfirmed by the fact that inter-mittent firing could be heard andseen on TV channels for morethan two hours.

There was utter confusion formore than an hour as the Police,the provincial ministers and themedia were not allowed to enterthe airport while the scores ofpassengers stranded inside thepassenger lounge and the wait-ing area were directed to staywhere they were. The provincialInformation Minister and offi-cials claimed that firing inside theairport was from the securityforces as a precautionary mea-sure. Credible sources in the se-curity forces told this scribe thatthe Army commandos were en-gaging the terrorists inside theairport building. The securityforces and the officials also ad-mitted there were a few bodieslying inside the airport and theywere most probably of the terror-ists killed during exchange of firewith the security forces. “ Werecovered two dead bodies withexplosive jackets on while an-other jacket was defused.

As the security forces and therescue teams rushed to the sitesof the rocket landings the victimswere rushed to the nearbyKhyber Teaching Hospital(KTH) where the medics pro-nounced three people dead andover forty others were admittedfor treatment. “We received threedead bodies and over thirty in-jured with at least four people inhighly critical condition and we

are trying to save their lives. Allthe victims brought to us are thecivilians who received splintersof the rockets and the bulletwounds”, the Chief ExecutiveKhyber Teaching Hospital Dr.Umar Ayub told media. He saidemergency has been declared inthe hospital and all the surgeonshave been called. A few vehiclesparked outside the airport build-ing caught fire. The ASF sourcessaid the airport terminal and theallied installations were safe withthe PAF spokesman saying nolose was reported to the installa-tions close to PAF base. “Thesituation is well under control andno loss occurred to any plane”,PAF sources said.

The security forces hadkicked off search operation in thevast area of air port and the cleanup operation ended at 11 p.m.

The Khyber PakhtunkhwaGovernor, Barrister MasoodKausar has strongly condemnedthe rocket attacks on PeshawarAirport and said that the elementsinvolved in the terrorist activitiesneither had any concern for hu-manity nor had they any respectfor the religious or cultural normsof the society. Such nefariousactions on part of miscreants andterrorists, he added, would neverdeter the government to maintainpeace and normalcy. He said theelements involved would bebrought to justice.

Expressing his deep sympa-thies with members of the be-reaved families, the Governorprayed for the eternal peace ofthe departed souls and courageto the bereaved families to bearthe irreparable loss with patience.

Six killed in PeshawarFrom Page 1

WASHINGTON—A US marinewould be court-martialed nextweek for urinating on corpses ofTaliban fighters, the Departmentof Defense announced Friday.

It said Staff Sgt JosephChamblin would be tried by spe-cial court martial at Marine CorpsBase Camp Lejeune in NorthCarolina on December 19.

He has also been charged withother alleged misconduct that tookplace during the said counter-in-surgency operation in the MusaQala district of Helmand provinceon July 27, 2011.

The charges were referred tocourt martial by Lieutenant Gen-eral Richard P. Mills, the com-manding general of Marine CorpsCombat Development Commandon Sept 21, 2012. Chamblin is

Marine desecrating Talibancorpses to face trial

assigned to Third Battalion, Sec-ond Marine Regiment at CampLejeune. In September this year,Chamblin along with Staff Ser-geant Edward Deptola was chargedwith other misconduct that alleg-edly took place during the sameoperation, to include being derelictin their duties by failing to prop-erly supervise their juniors.Deptola is also charged with fail-ing to stop the unnecessary dam-age to Afghan compounds and in-discriminately firing a recoveredenemy machine gun.

In August, three marines werepunished for misconduct thatcame to light during several in-vestigations into the desecrationand filming of deceased Taliban,shown in a video that became pub-lic in January 2012.—INP

KABUL—France flew its lastcombat troops out of Afghani-stan on Saturday, two years be-fore allied nations in the100,000-strong Nato missionled by the United States are dueto recall their fighting forces.

Around 200 soldiers of the25th Belfort infantry regiment,responsible for overseeing thehastened French exit from the11-year war, took off around2:30 pm local time (1000 GMT),an airport official told AFP.

They are expected to returnto France on December 18 fol-lowing a three-day decompres-sion stay on the Mediterraneanisland of Cyprus.

Their departure meansFrance has around 1,500 sol-diers left in Afghanistan, thevast majority in Kabul. Theyare due to stay into 2013 to takeresponsibility for repatriatingequipment and training the Af-ghan army to take over.

After then, only severalhundred French soldiers in-volved in cooperation or train-ing missions will remain in thecountry.

At the height of its involve-ment, France had 4,000 soldiersin Afghanistan as the fifth larg-est military contingent in theInternational Security Assis-tance Force (ISAF), behind theUnited States, Britain, Ger-many and Italy.

France joined the Nato coa-lition in late 2001 to help propup the new government againstan insurgency, which began af-ter a US-led invasion toppledthe Taliban government earlierthat year for giving refuge toOsama bin Laden and his alQaeda network, following the9/11 attacks on New York and

Washington.In 2007, the French moved

into the strategic province ofKapisa, which straddles thetransit route from Kabul to Pa-kistan, after president NicolasSarkozy agreed to an Americanrequest to take on more of thefight against the Taliban.

What followed was an in-creasingly bloody fight againstinsurgents and armed groups.

After a series of attack, no-tably in January when an Af-ghan soldier shot dead fiveFrench troops, Sarkozy an-nounced that the combat mis-sion in Kapisa and the districtof Surobi would end in 2013.

His successor FrancoisHollande fast tracked that to theend of 2012, initially to veiledcriticism from US officials, andthe last French combat soldiersleft Kapisa and returned toKabul on November 20.

Insider attacks have spi-raled this year, with 61 Natosoldiers killed by Afghan secu-

Last French combattroops leave Afghanistan

BEIJING—China provided theUnited Nations with detailedclaims to waters in the East ChinaSea on Friday, apparently paddingout its legal argument in an ongo-ing territorial dispute with Japan.

The Foreign Ministry said itsubmitted documents claimingwaters extending beyond its 200-nautical-mile (370-kilometer) ex-clusive economic zone. It saidgeological features dictated thatChina’s claim extended to theedge of the continental shelf offthe Chinese coast, about 200 ki-lometers (124 miles) from Japan’sOkinawa island.

A statement posted to the For-eign Ministry’s website gave nospecifics, but China had pledgedto make such a submission shortlyafter its dispute with Japan over

uninhabited islands in the EastChina Sea flared again in Septem-ber. Japan angered China by buy-ing the islands from their privateJapanese owners to block a rivalbid by Tokyo’s nationalist mayor,a move Japan had hoped wouldprevent a bigger crisis.

Violent anti-Japaneseprotests then broke out acrossChina to assert what many Chi-nese believe is their country’sages-old claim on the rocky out-crops, known as Senkaku in Ja-pan and Diaoyu in China. Taiwanalso claims them.

China’s move is a way for itto underscore its claim, but willhave little real impact. The U.N.commission to which it submit-ted its claim, which comprisesgeological experts, evaluates the

China submits to UN detailedoceanic claims in E China Sea

rity personnel, fuelling distrustin the war against the Taliban.

The attacks have led to callsin other Western countries,where the long war is increas-ingly unpopular, for early troopwithdrawals. But Nato has in-sisted it will follow the agreedprogramme of pulling out allcombat troops by the end of2014.French and Afghan com-manders say Kapisa stabilisedbut two out of its six districts arethought to be at least partly con-trolled by insurgents.

Security in the province isnow the responsibility of 4,700Afghan police and soldiers, sup-ported by 250 American sol-diers. France is not the firstcountry to end its combat mis-sion. Canada did so in July 2011and the Netherlands in August2010. The United States pulledout 33,000 “surge” troops ear-lier this year, although it still hassome 68,000 soldiers serving inAfghanistan.France has lost 88soldiers in Afghanistan.—AFP

markers on technical grounds buthas no authority to resolve over-lapping claims.The U.N. submis-sion represents one aspect ofChina’s approach to the dispute.Another involves dispatching ves-sels to patrol in the area and con-front Japanese Coast Guardships.On Thursday, China for thefirst time dispatched a plane overthe islands, prompting Tokyo toaccuse it of violating Japanese airspace. Japan’s Defense Agencysaid four Japanese F-15 jetsheaded to the area in response,but the nonmilitary Chineseplane was nowhere to be seenby the time they got there. TheForeign Ministry said a formalprotest was sent to the Chinesegovernment through its embassyin Japan.—AP

PM meetsannoyed partyleaders todayISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf will meet an-noyed party leaders in Lahore onSunday. On Friday three PPP law-makers including Jamil Shah,Nishat Ahmed Daha and BabarHussain resigned from PunjabAssembly membership on ac-count of having differences withthe main PPP leadership for sometime. After addressing a publicmeeting in Kasur on Sunday,Prime Minister Raja PervezAshraf will reach Lahore and pre-side over parliamentary partymeeting of PPP Punjab. Accord-ing to sources, the aim of hisLahore visit is to convince angryparty leaders, including SamiullahKhan and his wife Uzma Bukhari.It is also expected that the fundsof these leaders would also be re-leased after meeting with thePrime Minister.—Online

NEW DELHI—The health ofmedical services in Indianarmed forces is deteriorating fastwith a report published on Sat-urday saying attrition level ofspecialists is at an all-time high.

Trained doctors are leavingservices even after paying Rs 1.5million as bond money whichshows the “deficiency” in thesystem. The attrition level offresh recruits through IndianArmed Forces Medical Serviceshas touched an all-time high of24% in 2010 from 3% in 2007,a review of performance ofarmed forces hospitals carriedout the Comptroller and Audi-tor General has said. The CAGreport, tabled in Parliament, saidduring 2006-2010, at least 250specialists left the services pre-maturely. The maximum attri-tion of specialists was in thefields of anesthesiology, obstet-rics, medicine and gynaecology.“This explains high levels ofdeficiency of specialists in thesedisciplines,” the report said.

In several hospitals, therewere no specialists available.During 2007-2010, of the 508doctors commissioned, 73 optedout of service by paying the

bond money of Rs 15 lakh. Thereport urged the armed forces torevise the bond money upwardsto arrest the exodus.

AFMS is an inter-servicesorganization which functionsunder the defence ministry andis assisted by the directors gen-eral medical service for the In-dian army, Indian navy and In-dian Air Force for overseeingthe functioning of the hospitalsof the respective services, andis one of the critical logisticsarms of the armed forces bothin war and peace.

Under AFMS, there are 133military hospitals (Army 111,Navy 10 and IAF 12) of vary-ing sizes spread across the coun-try in addition to 90 field hospi-tals.

There was an overall short-age of 12% medical officers(MO) in hospitals. Barring thetertiary care hospitals, defi-ciency existed in field hospitals(36%), peripheral (6%), mid-zonal (19%) and zonal hospitals(9%). Even among the com-mand and specialist hospitals,the posted strength varied from(-) 25% in Udhampur to 93% inR&R Hospital Delhi. —Online

Pak brisk response tonatural calamitiesglobally acclaimed

UNITED NATIONS—The devas-tating impact of recent naturaldisasters has led to growing re-alization for efficient interna-tional and national emergencyresponse systems in handlinglarge scale catastrophes,Pakistan’s envoy to the UN said.

Speaking in the General As-sembly, Permanent Representa-tive, Ambassador Masood Khansaid Pakistan agrees with UNSecretary-General’s emphasison more investment in buildingcommunity resilience throughdisaster risk reduction and for along-term development orientedprocess.

He was speaking on the sub-ject of “Strengthening of the Co-ordination of Humanitarian andDisaster Relief Assistance of theUnited Nations, including Spe-cial Economic Assistance.”

Citing the devastating im-pact of hurricane Sandy, whereit took days to come out of thedisaster’s immediate impact,Ambassador Khan said thatsuch situations become evenmore challenging when a natu-ral disaster strikes a develop-ing country.—APP

Rabbani staysaway from party,

govt affairsISLAMABAD—Chairman Parlia-mentary Committee on NationalSecurity and PPP senator MianRaza Rabbani has decided to dis-tance himself from party mattersdue to his differences with partyleadership. Sources told OnlineSaturday his visits from Karachito Islamabad are now but a fewand far between as he has decidedto stay away from party and gov-ernment matters. A close aide ofMian Raza Rabbani told Onlineon condition of anonymity that hewas now determined to concen-trate on his legal practice in SindhHigh Court. —Online

Sick Indian army personnelfacing medics shortage

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Preparations areunderway to give Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, a founder leader ofMinhaj-ul-Quran Interna-tional (MQI) and PakistanAwami Tehrik (PAT), a befit-ting reception and welcomeon his return to Pakistan

Welcome banners, party’sflags and posters of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri have been hoistedand hoardings erected almostalong all major city roads, es-pecially in Township while awelcoming campaign has alsobeen initiated through DrTahir-ul-Qadri’s posters onthe back of auto-rickshaws inthe city. According to the of-ficial statement of MQI, allthe expenditures being in-curred on advertisement cam-

paign to welcome Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri are being borne by thepeople themselves since allsegments of soci-ety are taking partin this campaign.The official state-ment further re-veals that peoplesold their houses,their jewellery,and their belong-ings to book busesto transport themto Minar-e-Paki-stan on December23.

MQI leader-ship claims thatthe arrival of DrTahir-ul-Qadri af-ter residing so many years inCanada in Pakistan is the be-ginning of demolishing a sys-

tem, which is erected on hoo-liganism, authoritarianism,manipulative tactics, and cor-

r u p t i o nand simul-taneouslyd a w n i n gof a newp r o s p e r-ous, stableand peace-ful Paki-stan. Thep a r t y ’r a n k e r sf u r t h e rclaim thatthe adventof DrTahir-ul-Qadri in

Pakistan is for the purpose ofchange and their slogan to savethe country, not the politics is

vividly indicated that as longas this electoral systemstayed intact, it is impossibleto think of change leave alonemake it happen.

In a statement, Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said hundreds ofelections held under thepresent system would fail tobring about any change in thecountry. He said that theywanted to bring real changein Pakistan and those whoclaimed to do so by remain-ing a part of this present sys-tem were deceiving thepeople.

“MQI has no hiddenagenda and those who com-pare it with other parties arenot doing apt political analy-sis as MQI has only a soleslogan and this is to save thestate, not politics,” he added.

I am coming to change nation’sdestiny: Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri

8 persons injuredin house collapseLAHORE—Eight persons of afamily including four womenand four children were injuredas a rundown building collapsedduring rain at Yateem KhanaChowk on Saturday. Accordingto a Rescue 1122 spokesman,the family members were tak-ing lunch when the roof cavedin. Rescue 1122 reached thespot and rushed the injuredpersons to Jinnah Hospital.The injured were identified asMaryam (5), Sidra (4) daugh-ter of Muhammad Ramazan,Asma (7), Hifza (7), Nasrin(21), Sawera (24), Bilqees (15)and Rani (14).—APP

‘PPP working forpeople’s rights’LAHORE—Pakistan People’sParty leader and Evacuee TrustProperty Board Chairman SyedAsif Hashmi said on Saturday theparty had always worked forrights of the people. Talking toAPP on Sunday, he said fakedemocratic leaders could notmislead the people and the PPPleadership . He said that thePresident Asif Ali Zardari andPrime Minister Raja PervaizAshraf would protect democracyunder the policy of reconciliation.He said power-hungry peoplecould not compete followers ofZulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed. Hesaid the PPP was still workingfor providing basic facilities in-cluding “ Roti, Kapra andMakan” to the masses. He saidthe PPP-led government had re-solved several constitutional andnational issues.—APP

HYDERABAD: Students walk past near the closed shops during strike against Supreme Court of Pakistan contempt noticeto MQM chief Altaf Hussain on Saturday.

A BLACKHEAD, or open comedo is awide opening on the skin with a blackened mass of skin debris covering the

opening. Despite their name, some blackheadscan be yellowish in color. A comedo is a wid-ened hair follicle which is filledwith skin debris (keratin squa-mae), bacteria and oil (sebum).

A closed comedo is awhitehead, while an opencomedo is a blackhead. theplural of “comedo” iscomedomes”.

Blackheads are said to bethe first stage of acne. Theyform before bacteria invade thepores of the patient’s skin. Ablackhead can develop into apimple, which is also knownas a papule or pustule.

Blackheads, and acne ingeneral, usually develop afterpuberty, when hormone lev-els surge and reach the skin.The presence of higher levelsof hormones in the skin trig-gers the stimulation of the se-baceous glands, which pro-duce oily substances. The sebaceous glandsproduce too much oil in the pores, which accu-mulates and gets stuck. When the occluded oilis exposed to air it becomes black.

Several conditions and circumstances cancause blackheads, or make them worse, such asthe use of topical oils and make up. Blackheadscan affect people with any type of skin, butare generally more common in those with oilyskin.

The overproduction of oil is the main causeof the emergence of blackheads. This is likelyto occur in a high proportion of humans duringpuberty. Spikes in hormone production canresult in the high levels of DHT

(dihydrotestosterone), a hormone which trig-gers overactivity in the oil glands, resulting inclogged pores.

Clean skin - if the skin is not cleaned prop-erly, more blackheads can appear, especially

during those milestones in lifewhen they are more prevalent,such as puberty. Improperlycleaned skin makes it morelikely that dead skin cells buildup within the pores. The poreopenings can become clogged,which accelerates the build upof oil inside - thus causingblackheads to form. However,many experts warn that dirtdoes not cause blackheads toform - which frequently con-fuses and frustrates patients.Blackheads are caused by oxi-dized oil, not dirt, experts add.Over-cleaning the skin can leadto irritation.

In some cases, blackheadscan emerge if moisturizers, sunscreens, make up, or founda-tions are overused.

In the majority of cases,blackhead susceptibility is not heredity, withthe exception of some severe acnes.

Food does not cause acne - although par-ents and grandparents commonly tell theirteenage offspring not to eat chocolates andgreasy foods, because they think they en-courage the formation of acne - they do notcause blackheads or make them worse. Somestudies have pointed towards a link betweensome dairy products and acne, but the evi-dence is not compelling.

Stress - stress does not directly affectblackhead occurrence. However, stress andanxiety can cause people to pick at their black-heads and acne, which may make them worse.

What are blackheads?How to get rid of black

LIAQAT TOOR

AN AROMA of feelings offriendship and brotherhood was spilling at the

grand show of Bahrain NationalDay on Friday evening in a localwhen Mohamed IbrahimMohamed Abdulqader, ambas-sador of Kingdom of Bahrain toPakistan extended invitations tomembers of Diplomatic Corpsand elites of Pakistan society toshare the rejoicing momentswith him.

The growing importance ofBahrain, economic and politicalhas felt all over the world as in-vestors, businessmen and dip-lomats in great numbers are at-tracted to this archipelago of 33islands in the Gulf. Once knownas ‘Island of Pearls’ Bahrain isfast turning into a modern statewith fast growing economy.

Mohamed IbrahimMohamed Abdulqader is wellknown personality in Govern-ment and private circles of Pa-kistan who has been putting hisefforts to bring both the coun-tries further closer to each other.

This was why when the

ambassador threw the show forcelebrating National Day there

was tremendous response froma large number of ambassadors,

particularly from Arab coun-tries, politicians from vast po-

litical spectrum, Parliamentar-ians, businessmen, specially in-vited guests from Bahrain, re-tired Generals, ex-diplomats andcivil servants and opinion lead-ers of Pakistani society. General(retd) Ehsan ul Haq and Lt. Gen(retd) Hamid Gul were also partof the show.

Minister forR a i l w a y s ,Ghulam AhmedBilour, repre-senting the government was theChief Guest on the occasion,who joined the ambassador ofBahrain in the ceremonies ofplaying of national anthems ofboth the countries and cakecutting. Other eminent person-alities also joined them on thestage amidst applause by theguests.

The grand gala was amemorable gathering where theguests were treated with warmhospitality of the ambassadorand his team. During about twoand a half hours show the par-ticipants interacted with eachon all subjects including thelatest developments in Paki-stan and the region. Pak-Bahrain relations were also a

ISLAMABAD: Girls decorating a Christmas tree at a local hotel as the preparations for Christmas are in full swing.

Bahrain National Day

‘Island of Pearls’ is turning into modern entityPak-Bahrain relations are privileged and responsive; Both states enjoy extremely cor-dial, brotherly ties: Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Abdulqader; Aroma of friendship

and festive mood spills at grand show of celebrations

ISLAMABAD: Chief guest Federal Minister for Railway Ghulam Ahmad Bilore, Ambassadorof Bahrain Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Abdulqader, President AJK Sardar Yaqub, Ambassa-dor of Algeria Dr Ahmad Benflis, Ambassador of Iraq Dr Rushdi Al-Ani, Ambassador of MoroccoMohammed Rida El Fassi, Ambassador of UAE Eisa Abdullah Al Basha Al-Nuaimi, DeputyHead of Mission Sultanate of Oman Sammar Ahmad Alzadjai and others cutting the cake onthe occasion of the National Day of the Kingdom of Bahrain, at a local hotel.—PO photo

topic discussed among theguests. Traditional foods ofPakistan and Bahrain servedon the occasion were really atreat for the participants.

Two screens in the cor-ners were showing the his-tory and developments in

Bahrain. Tradi-tional musicbeamed on thescreen was re-ally enjoyed bythe guests.

Bahrain is emerging animportant player not only inthe world but also in the re-gion. Pakistan and Bahrainenjoy privileged, brotherlyand responsive relations withstrong system of consulta-tion.

The sagacious leadershipof Kingdom of Bahrain hasturned their country into apeaceful place after some dis-orders sometimes back.Over fifty thousand Paki-stanis are playing their rolein its development. Pakistanand Bahrain have unbreak-able bonds which are neces-sary for peace and develop-ment of the region.

ception.

ISLAMABAD: People sitting around the fire to keep themselves warm and protect fromcold weather.

Street crimes inRA Bazaar

RAWALPINDI—Street crimes haveescalated in the area of R.A Bazaarcausing many concerns amongstthe residents while the Police isacting like a silent spectator.

The inhabitants complainedthat muggers were roaming freelyin the area and snatching valu-ables from the residents espe-cially in Tanch Bhatta, PeoplesColony and Chungi no. 22

The residents have de-manded of CPO Rawalpindi andother concerning authorities totake strict action.—Online

G-14 allottees concerned overdelay in commission report

CITY REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D—Allottees ofSector G-14 of the federal capi-tal have expressed their con-cerns over the delay in the re-port of local commissionformed by Islamabad HighCourt (IHC) regarding illegalhouses in the sector.

The commission, compris-ing of Retired, District and Ses-sions Judge Chaudhry MazharHussain Minhas, was to sub-mit its report about the housesof the affectees, especiallyabout the complaints of con-struction of houses and one

room structures by theland mafia after the ban onconstructions on November30.

The commissioner soughtmore time to finalize the re-port from the court of JudgeJustice Riaz Khan on Decem-ber 5, which was awarded.

The allottees are anxiousabout the delay in the comple-tion of the report, saying thatdelay in the report maystrengthen the land mafia in thesector and delay the develop-ment work in the sector.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that some land mafia per-sons had constructed small

structures and huts in SectorG-14/2 and 3 to get compen-sation money from the civic au-thority.

On getting complaint of theillegal activity, IHC constituteda commission to investigate thematter and submit its report inthe court.

Earlier, the commissionwas given November 30 dead-line to finalize the report, butit was given more time on re-quest.

The allottees appealed tothe commission to finalize thereport as soon as possible soas the development work in thesector could get pace.

RAWALPINDI—Rawalpindi’sAnti-Terrorism Court on Satur-day issued notices to all partiesin the Pervez Musharraf assetscase to appear for the prelimi-nary hearing of the request forthe obtaining the records ofMusharraf’s assets.

Notices issued overMusharraf’s assets case

According to a private tele-vision channel, Judge ChaudhryHabibur Rehman heard the pe-tition filed by Sehba Musharrafto restore the former president’sfrozen accounts.

During the hearing, thepetitioner’s counsel Ilyas

Siddiqui submitted another re-quest, seeking records of jointaccounts held by Musharraf.

Subsequently, the court is-sued notices to all parties in thecase to appear for a preliminaryhearing and adjourned the hear-ing until Dec 22.—NNI

ISLAMABAD—With the startof first snow fall of the seasonin the Murree, people from ev-ery walk of life have startedreaching the coldest spot of the

Tourists enjoy first snowfallcountry to enjoy the blissfulmoments.

During snow fall all theroads towards hilly areas likemurree get blocked and in this

situation terrific wardens ofMotorway police are reallyhelpful forthe tourists.A touristsaid “we have come from Punjabto enjoy snowfall.—APP

CJ directs FJA towork towards

capacity buildingSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Chief Jus-tice of Pakistan, Ift ikharMuhammad Chaudhry Satur-day stressed upon the FederalJudicial Academy to play itsrole towards capacity build-ing of the judicial officers, asthe judiciary was in need ofcapable and well trained of-ficers.

Addressing a gathering atFederal Judicial Academy, theChief Justice said there shouldno uniformity in the salariesand perks of judicial officers,office holders and staffers oflower judiciary.

Chaudhry Ift ikharMuhammad Chaudhry saidhe had earned respect in theinsti tution of judiciary,stressing that the culture forservice delivery be pro-moted to ensure speedy dis-pensation of justice topeople.

He also directed theDirector General, Federal Ju-dicial Academy to givemaximum wages / salaries todaily wagers and contractualstaff.

RAWALPINDI: People struggling to enter into passenger wagon due to shortage oftransport caused by non-availability of CNG.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf talking to Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, MNA and Chairperson of theNational Polio Monitoring Committee who called on him at the PM’s House.

ISLAMABAD—Sale of win-ter clothes including thesecond-hand woolies atLunda bazaars has in-creased after rains lashedtwin cities of Islamabad andRawalpindi.

All kinds of wears andaccessories includinggloves, woolen hats, muf-flers, pullovers, sweatershirts and jackets are seenhanging in front of stalls,shops in various markets, toattract the customers.

Ghulam Ahmad, a cus-tomer at Faizabad Lundastalls, said the prices of newwinter wears are out of theirreach. “We, therefore, rush tosecond-hand clothes’ stallswhere quality clothes areavailable at affordable rates,”

Rain increases saleof winter clothes

he added. Stalls of winter clothes

and sales points of shoescan be witnessed at AabparaMarket, Melody Market, Su-per Market, Jinnah SuperMarket, Sittara Market,Peshawar Morr, KarachiCompany, Faizabad, Com-mercial Market, SadiqabadChowk, Raja Bazaar and atmany other big shoppingmalls and markets of the twincities.

Shopkeepers lookedbusy all of the day for run-ning their business in winterseason.

“Our sales have doubledand we expect a further in-crease in the sales followingwinter days ahead,” claimedshopkeeper.—APP

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf has saidthat government is encour-aging participation of allstakeholders including me-dia ulema and civil societyorganizations for the successof polio eradication as it isamong the top priorities ofthe Government.

The Prime Minister wastalking to Dr. Azra FazalPechuho, MNA and Chair-person of the National PolioMonitoring Committee, whocalled on him at the PM’sHouse on Saturday.

Raja Pervez Ashraf appre-ciated the role played by theleadership of all the prov-inces, especially GovernorKPK, Barrister MasoodKausar and Dr. Azra FazalPechuho, MNA, towardseradication of polio in Paki-stan.

Govt endeavouring forsuccess of polio drive: PM

Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuhoapprised the Prime Ministerabout the steps taken by theNational Task Force andother Heath Authorities inthe country for strengthen-ing and coordinating variouseffort to make the polio eradi-cation programme effectiveto pursue the polio eradica-tion programme. She in-formed that Governor KPKand Health Authorities areeffectively managing the antipolio campaign in FATA.

Meanwhile, Three daynew Polio campaign wouldkick off in the district fromMonday Dec 17 in whichmore than 0.6m children un-der the age of 5 would bevaccinated.

In order to save the coun-try from the crippling dis-ease, the new campaign ofpolio would start inRawalpindi from 17 andwould end on 19. 1397 mo-

bile teams would participatein the polio campaign.

In view of this, 85 teamswould perform duty at air-port, railway stations bus ter-minals and public parks and258 health facilitate centreshas been established in thisregard.

30 Mobiles Teams ofhealth center would performduty at transport terminalsduring day and night whowould immunize polio dropsto under age children of pas-sengers, tourists respec-tively.

The Health Center, Edu-cation, Civil Defence Teach-ing, Hospitals, workers andServices of social welfare andagricultural personals wouldperform duty during poliocampaign while strict actionwould be taken against allthose personals who wouldshow sheer negligence dur-ing duty.

ISLAMABAD—A two-day Na-tional Stakeholder Confer-ence on Juvenile Justice Sys-tem in Pakistan will start fromtomorrow (Monday) toevaluate implementation ofconcerned laws includingJuvenile Justice System Or-dinance 2000 and others.

Advisor to Prime Minis-ter on Human Rights,Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar willbe the chief gust while Ger-man Ambassador Dr CyrillNunn will be the guest ofhonour at the conferencebeing jointly organized byIslamabad Society for HumanRights and Prisoners AID(SHARP) and German Em-bassy.

Conference on JuvenileJustice System

The participants of theconference will discuss andevaluate Juvenile JusticeSystem Ordinance 2000 andimplementation of the lawsince 2000. The Chief Guestwill address on this occasionparticularly in the perspec-tive of government initiativeson juvenile Justice System.

The Participants and leg-islators will draft recommen-dations for the legislativesauthorities and Policy mak-ers to improve juvenile jus-tice system in Pakistan for thebetterment of juvenile of-fenders and also socio-cul-tural behaviour of the soci-ety. At the end of conferencerecommendations/sugges-

tions will submit to the Gov-ernment of Pakistan by theparticipants of the confer-ence.

Dr Farooq Sattar will at-tend the conference as guestSpeaker and highlight thecurrent situation of Juvenilesin Pakistan. ChairmanSHARP Syed Liaquat AliBanori, CEO IBHI PakistanSaiyed Mohib Asad, Inspec-tor General of Prisons fromall provinces, Member of Par-liament from federal assem-bly and Provincial Assembly,representatives of INGOs/NGOs, legal and administra-tive sector and people fromall walks of life will attend theconference.—Online

RIC to startfunctioningfrom Jan 01

RAWALPINDI—RawalpindiInstitute of Cardiology (RIC)will start functioning fromJanuary, 01.

At the first leg of itsoperationalization, regularadmission of patients andemergency ward will beopened.

The hospital has beenbuilt at the cost of 2.45 bil-lion rupees and the enrolmentprocess of 652 staff membersis in final stage.

As many as 22 contain-ers carrying state of the artmachinery and 272 beds im-ported from Italy havereached the hospital.

Installation of modernmachinery will be startedfrom the next week while asmany as 100 patients are be-ing checked daily in OPD atpresent.—Online

ISLAMABAD—The PakistanBroadcasting Corporation ison way to become modernmulti-media organization likeBBC, VOA, Deutsche Welleand others.’

Addressing a functionorganized in his honor byPBC CBA union here atBroadcasting House, Direc-tor General, PBC MurtazaSolangi said the organizationachieved landmark achieve-ments over the past fouryears and is now recognizedas authentic source of infor-mation locally and interna-tionally. ‘It is due to image-building of Radio Pakistanthat ambassadors of impor-tant countries like US, China,and other countries sparetime to express their viewsthrough this organization,’ headded.

Radio Pakistan has thedistinction of running bilin-gual website besides livestreaming its programmes.Radio Pakistan now has read-ers and viewers besides itstraditional audience. He in-formed that after the comple-tion of satellite earth station,the broadcasts of Radio Pa-kistan will be available acrossthe globe. The people willalso be able to enjoyprogrammes on cable in thecountry.

He said we are focusingto replace aging transmittersand 100 kilowatt transmitteris being inaugurated inLarkana on 27th of thismonth. A 500 KW transmit-ter is being installed at

Radio Pakistan focussing onreplacement of old transmitters

Faqirabad with JAICA’s as-sistance. New transmittersare also being installed inPeshawar and D.I Khan.These measures will help re-vive lost glory of RadioPakistan.Referring to de-mands of PBC workers, theDirector General said work-ers still working on contractwill be regularized. He as-sured that the housingscheme announced by thePrime Minister for Radio em-ployees will be finalizedwithin the remaining tenureof the present government.

He exhorted the workers

to come up to the expecta-tions of the nation as overthree billion rupees are beingspent on organization fromtax payers’ money.

Technical Advisor,Mujaded Sheikh briefed thePBC workers about technicalprogress made by the orga-nization over the past fourand a half years.

Secretary General CBAUnion, Ijaz Ahmed thankedthe government and DirectorGeneral for regularizing 661employees and taking theunion on board in decision-making.—INP

Journalists, theirfamilies to get freemedical facilities

RAWA L P I N D I —Journalis tcommunity and their familieswill be provided free medicaltreatment, medicines andtests facilities.

An agreement in this re-spect has been signed be-tween Rawalpindi, IslamabadUnion of Journalists (RIUJ)Dastoor group and RealityMedical Center (RMC). DrZahid Awan, chairman RIUJWelfare committee andMuhammad Yunus, adminis-trator Reality Medical CenterGawalmandi signed the ac-cord.

In line with this agreementmedicines, x-ray, ECG, ultrasound and over two hun-dreds medical tests facility willbe provided free of cost to thejournalists and their families.The process for preparationof health cards has beenstarted on this count.

Provision of free medicalfacility will start from Janu-ary, 1, 2013. All the journal-ists possessing health cardsissued by RIUJ will be en-titled to free medical facilities.

The RIUJ has asked thejournalists to provide 3 pass-port size photographs, cop-ies of NICs in respect ofthemselves and their familymembers and Photostat cop-ies of B forms to Dr ZahidAwan, chairman welfarecommittee of RIUJ, ImranAsghar of daily expressnews and Latif Adil of Dinin order to obtain healthcards.—Online

Non-availabilityof admission

formsRAWALPINDI—Non-avail-ability of admission forms formatric examination hasadded to the mental agonyof private candidates.

“We went to the bankbranches designated by theRawalpindi Education Board(RED) to collect admissionforms but they were not avail-able there, said a group of can-didates while standing out abank branch expressing de-spair over non provision of theforms by the bank manage-ment. “We have informedchairman and controller exami-nation of the board to take im-mediate action towards sup-ply of these forms otherwisewe will have to suffer our oneacademic year, they added.

“We have not even gotexamination schedule so far,said another group of privatecandidates. The privatematric candidates have de-manded extension of date fordepositing admission feeotherwise they will be forcedto hold protest rallies.—Online

I S L A M A B A D —Islamabadrocked to a concert celebrat-ing the International AIDSDay, held at Lok Virsa hereon Saturday.

The melodious and ener-getic voice of Uzair Jaswal,ambassador of schools4lifeinitiative under which thisevent was held, entertaineda capacity crowd, said a pressrelease.

The concert wasorganised by Rutgers WPFPakistan and Bedari, non-profit organizations under theschools4life program.

This concert centered oncelebrating the efforts carriedout to raise awareness aboutHIV and AIDS, as well asending the stigma and taboosurrounding HIV and AIDS.

The goodwill ambassa-dors for schools4life, alongwith Uzair Jaswal, includedAlmadar Khan, MuneebArshad and Abdur Rahim,who celebrated the globalmovement for youth to takeaction and stop the spread ofHIV and AIDS.

Students of school4life

Celebration of Int’lWorld AIDS Day

also actively participated inthe event, by performing aroutine.

The message was to en-courage the audience to“take responsibility for life”& raise awareness of HIV &AIDS in society.

In Pakistan, theschools4life campaign is withregards to promoting LifeSkills Based Education(LSBE).

LSBE provides youngpeople with knowledge, coreskills and attitudes to helpthem make informed deci-sions, manage their emo-tions, communicate effec-tively and practice positiveand health- seekingbehaviour and to developleadership skills and confi-dence among the students,in order to enhance the qual-ity of life of these youngpeople.

Rutgers WPF Pakistanand Bedari are carrying outthe schools4life programmein collaboration withdance4life international.—APP

06:2001:3003:45

07:00

Zohr

December 17-18

NATIONAL conferenceon Juvenile Justice Sys-tem will be held, 9 a. m on17, 18 at Islamabad Hotel.

December 19

THE Institute of StrategicStudies, Islamabad is or-ganizing a Public Talk on‘Prospects of Resolvingthe Kashmir Dispute:Views from the APHC’ byLeaders of All PartiesHurriyat Conference(APHC), Indian OccupiedKashmir at 1000 hrs at itspremises.

December 20

THE Institute of StrategicStudies, Islamabad is or-ganizing a Public Talk on‘Framing Pakistan-USRelations in Obama’sSecond-Term: Role of thePakistani Diaspora’ byIrfan Mali, PresidentUSPAK Foundation,Washington D.C, at 2230hrs at its premises’.

Decaying housesin Rawal Town

may cause mishapRAWALPINDI—More than100 old and decaying housesin Rawal Town area may bethe cause of a mishap andneeds attention of the con-cerned authorities.

Over 100 houses con-structed in pre-partition erain Bhabhara Bazaar, ChatianHatian, Boher Bazaar andother area are now decaying.These residential buildingsare in narrow streets and al-leys, making it near to impos-sible to provide emergencyhelp in case of any mis-chance.

It is relevant to mentionhere that the Rawal Townadministration carried on theoperation against the dan-gerous buildings in residen-tial and commercial areas ofthe town but has totallyfailed in the task. The townadministration authorities areof the view that the residentsdo not let them take actionagainst the decaying housesand start protests wheneverthe authority tries to erasethe dangerous buildings.

Meanwhile, residents ofvarious localities inside thecity demanded of RawalTown administration authori-ties to erase the decayinghouses, as these were notonly dangerous for the resi-dents but also for thepassers-by.—INP

SRINAGAR—Chairman ofHurriyat Conference (G) SyedAli Shah Geelani has asked thecivil society to work for theKashmir cause and not leaveeverything to the leaders.

“We have capable people inKashmir who can work to addressvarious dimensions of Kashmir is-sue. But they leave everything toGeelani. They should not blame theleaders but work at their own level.Instead of raising finger at us theyshould understand that we are noteven allowed to move outside thehouse for prayers,” Geelani said ad-dressing a seminar titled ‘WorldHuman Rights Day and OppressedPeople of Kashmir’ at his residencehere.

Geelani said despite sacri-fices people are not safeguard-ing their contribution. “Sacrificeand voting cannot go together.

Despite sacrifice, people arestrengthening New Delhi’s rulehere.”

Geelani said that Institute ofKashmir Studies was shut down‘with the collaboration of so-called friends.’ “A center was run-ning in which we tried to docu-ment Kashmir history, but certainelements contributed in shuttingit down.” However, Geelani saidthat people should not feel de-jected and appealed them to main-tain unity.

Reacting to the statement ofNational Conference GeneralSecretary Sheikh Nazir thatSheikh Abdullah never signed1975 Accord, Geelani said, “Theythink people are fool. More than30 years have passed since theaccord took place. Sheikh’s sonand grandson continue to hold thechair. They continue to enter into

alliance after alliance with Con-gress whom they used to callgandi naali kay keeday. Theythink people will forgive them fortheir sins. Chief Minister is bru-tal than his grandfather.”

Geelani also said that NewDelhi has ‘sent a battery of Hinduofficers to rule the state throughbureaucracy and police.’ “Gover-nor, DGP, 4 ADGPs, 6 IGPs, 5DIGs, 4 Principal Secretaries,Chief Electoral Officer, 6 Com-missioner Secretaries are Hin-dus,” Geelani said.

He termed Kashmir as aneconomic, political, human andreligious issue. “Until we are notfree from India, our religion andresources are under threat.

If people will not raise voiceagainst injustice, I warn you thatfuture of Kashmir will be dark.I want to educate people about

the injustice done to them, butgovernment keeps me underhouse arrest.”

Geelani said his amalgamwill fight for the release of Mus-lim League leader Dr QasimFaktoo and other Kashmiri youthwho were recently awarded lifesentence. Geelani said he willconsult lawyers to fight for theirrelease and also launch a cam-paign for their release.

He said that 150 youth havebeen slapped with PSA this yearand 850 youth are in different jailsin J&K and outside. “Thirty threeare convicts and five have beenawarded death sentence and lifeimprisonment.”

Geelani demanded that FIRshould be registered against 500officers of police and paramilitarywhom Coalition of Civil Societyrecently accused of human rights

violations. Asiya Andrabi alsospoke on the occasion. “Judiciaryhas been no different toKashmiris. My husband’s sen-tence is a political vendetta. Weshould move beyond calling one-day protests and conferences,”she said. Asiya called on thepeople and leadership to capital-ize on the sacrifice rendered byhis husband and others. “How-ever, we should not forget thefamilies of sufferers.”

She also asked the govern-ment of Pakistan to take up theissue of Kashmir youth who havebeen sentenced to life imprison-ment.

Prof. Hameeda Nayeemasked the leadership to move be-yond sloganeering and present arational case of Kashmir issue. “Itis not only killings and torture; ourevery right has been vandalized.

We have miserly failed topresent Kashmir issue beyonda territorial dispute between In-dia and Pakistan.”

She also castigated Hurriyat(M) for their scheduled Pakistanvisit. “Pakistan has always sup-ported us. They have never beenagainst the third option, whatwill they present to Pakistan,”Hameeda said.—NNI

Dr Sheikh ShowkatHussain said Kashmiris havefailed to document human rightsviolations. “We failed to argueour case in various internationalorganizations,” he said.

Other who spoke on the oc-casion included Ghulam NabiSumji, Zamrooda Habib, AbdulMajid Zargar, MuhammadShafi, Abdul Ahad Para,Arjimand Hussain Talib andPeer Saifullah.—NNI

Geelani asks people to sacrifice more for Kashmir cause

ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister of AJK Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan addressing a press conference.

AH RAO

MI R P U R—The cross-LoCcivil society dialogue organizedby a New Delhi-based NGO -Centre for Dialogue and Recon-ciliation began Friday in Jammucity of Indian heldKashmir.About 70 luminariesfrom diverse segments of thccivil society from both sides ofthe LoC in Jammu & Kashmir(AJK and IHK), Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and India,are participating in the confer-ence, says a report reaching hereSaturday from across the line ofcontrol. In her welcome note thehost CDR’s Executive Director,Ms. Sushobha Barve, said “Asan Indian and a South Asian Iam deeply unhappy about thesocial, political and physicalbarriers that we have created

Cross-LoC J & K Civil Societydialogue begins in Jammu

Call to allow free trade travel and movementthat are preventing people frommeeting and talking to one an-other. These barriers are unac-ceptable.

The civil society hasto put all its efforts to bringdown every such barrier to cre-ate spaces, explore ways andmeans to find solutions thathave eluded us for the past sixdecades.” , according to thereport.The inaugural sessionwas chaired by Indian Air ViceMarshal (retired) Kapil Kak. Hemade a plea that entry and exitpoints between the two parts ofthe erstwhile princely stateshould be made flexible.Otherspeakers included Justice (re-tired) Abdul Majid Malik,former chief justice of AJKHigh Court, Justice (retired)Bilal Nazki, former Chief Jus-tice of Orissa High Court,

Amina Bibi, Member of Gilgit/Balitistan Legislative and AnilGupta, senior advocate. Justice(Retd) Majid Malik hoped thegathecring could convey a mes-sage to all those forces whichwere against peace, that herewas a group committed anddedicated to peace.

He said his very pres-ence in Jammu, where he couldexchange views with friends,filled him with inspiration. Hehoped that both India and Paki-stan realized that people ofJammu and Kashmir had legiti-mate demands like free commu-nication, free movement andfree expression. Justice BilalNazki hoped that the dialoguecould result in a consensuswhich could be presented toboth the governments of Indiaand Pakistan.

Advocate Anil Guptacalled for a cultural exchangeacross the LoC, which would in-clude students, lawyers, journal-ists and businessmen exchangeas well. Amina Bibi member ofGilgit/Baltistan Legislative As-sembly recalled her roots inKargil and called for reopeningof traditional trade routes thathad existed earlier betweenKargil and Skardu. Aziz AhmedKhan, former Pakistan HighCommissioner to India was thefinal speaker. He said that hewas impressed by the personali-ties, who were participating inthe conference from both sides.For some of them coming fromacross the LoC to Jammu hadbeen an emotional moment. Hestated civil society had a veryimportant role to play in bridg-ing the divide, the report added.

Mirwaiz urgesIndia to hold talkswith Pakistan onKashmir dispute

SRINAGAR—The All PartiesHurriyet Conference Chair-man Mirwaiz Umar Farooqhas urged India to create acongenial atmosphere fortalks with Pakistan on Kash-mir dispute.

He was talking to media atSrinagar airport Saturday be-fore leaving for New Delhi onway to Lahore at the head of aseven-member delegation.

He said Pakistan shouldstress for inclusion of peopleof Kashmir in the dialogueprocess with India to make itmeaningful and result-ori-ented.

During its weeklong visitto Pakistan‚ the APHC delega-tion will hold talks with thePakistani leadership on Kash-mir dispute.

The delegation will alsomeet people of differentwalks of life and apprise themabout the situation prevailingin occupied Kashmir.

The delegation will alsovisit Azad Kashmir and holdtalks with the AJK leadership.Other members of the delega-t ion are Professor AbdulGhani Butt‚ Maulana AbbasAnsari‚ Agha Syed HassanAl-Moosavi‚ Bilal GhaniLone‚ Mukhtar Ahmad Wazaand Musaddiq Aadil.—NNI

Kashmiris’sacrifices not to

go waste: ShabbirSRINAGAR—Senior leader ofthe All Parties Hurriyet Con-ference, Shabbir AhmedShah, has said that the unpar-alleled sacrifices of Kashmirimartyrs had centre-staged theKashmir dispute at the globallevel.Shabbir Ahmed Shah ina statement issued inSrinagar, today, paid glowingtributes to prominent libera-tion leader, Shams-ul-Haq, onhis martyrdom anniversary.

He said that the sacri-fices of Kashmiri martyrswould not be allowed to gowaste and their missionwould be accomplished at allcosts.

The All Parties HurriyetConference leader main-tained that the Kashmiriswould continue their ongoingliberation struggle till theKashmir dispute was settledin accordance with their as-pirations in line with the rel-evant UN resolutions.—KMS

SRINAGAR—A report of Inter-national Peoples’ Tribunal onHuman Rights and Justice inKashmir (IPTK) and the Asso-ciation of Parents of Disap-peared Persons (APDP) re-leased recently examined 214cases of human rights violationin Kashmir and 500 persons ac-cused of perpetrating those vio-lations.

A statement of IPTK andAPDP said, IPTK and APDPreleased its report ‘Alleged Per-petrators: Stories of Impunity inJammu and Kashmir’ that ex-amines 214 cases of humanrights violations and for the firsttime, the role of 500 allegedperpetrators in these crimes wasdiscussed.

The statement said that therelease of this report, a few daysbefore the Human Rights Day,was an important moment in the

IPTK, APDP report examines 214 HR casesongoing struggle against impu-nity of the State in Kashmir.

It said the struggle againstimpunity for human rightsviolations is the struggle ofthe people of Jammu andKashmir as a whole. “It is astruggle that is required to besupported by all people ofconscience who believe in theconcept of human rights andthe r ights of vict ims ofcrimes,” the statement said.

It said following the releaseof the alleged Perpetrators re-port, the reaction of the mediaraises worrying issues that needto be critically questioned.“While the international mediacarried out extensive reportingof the issues raised, the report-ing of the Indian media, andsome segments of the Jammuand Kashmir media was ex-tremely disappointing. It is clear

that in the Indian media particu-larly, and some segments of theJammu and Kashmir media,there was a near complete blackout of this report,” the statementsaid.

The statement said even forthe release of the report on un-marked and unidentified gravesin Jammu and Kashmir in 2009,the response of the Indian me-dia was disappointing.

“It appears that the re-sponsibility for this lies es-sentially with the editorialmanagement, and possiblyless with the actual reporterson ground,” the statementsaid. “The media forms a veryimportant part of any struggleagainst impunity, humanrights violations and the mis-use of State power. Impunityis furthered when the State isnot held accountable. –NNI

SRINAGAR—The High Courthas given four weeks to the fam-ily of Tufail Matoo to file replyto a closure report submitted bySpecial Investigation (SIT) ofPolice after its probe into thefirst civilian killing of summerunrest 2010 hit a dead end.

On November 30, exactly ayear after SIT was constitutedunder High Court directions toinvestigate circumstanceswhich led to death of TufailMatoo, police filed an‘untraced” report before a citycourt here closing its investiga-tions into the matter.

Matoo a 12th standard stu-dent died on June 11, 2010 al-legedly after being hit by a tearsmoke shell in Rajouri Kadal.The police had said he died af-ter being hit by a stone but post-mortem report of the deceasedhad revealed that he was hit bya tear smoke shell in the head.

Tufail Matoo killing case: HC grants 4weeks to family for response to SIT report

The killing had led to wide-spread protests across Srinagarcity for the next three days, fol-lowed by a series of civilian kill-ings in the valley that year.

Sources said the police in itsstatus report filed before theHigh Court said that though theformal investigations have beenconcluded with all forensic re-ports saying that the weaponsused were no lethal, it will how-ever, carry on its investigationssecretly. On November 12, theHigh Court had granted a lastopportunity to SIT to concludeits probe into death of Matoo.“We filed a status report beforethe High Court which mentionsthat police has concluded its in-vestigations into the matter andfiled a closure report as‘untraced’ before the CJMSrinagar,” Advocate Tantraytold Kashmir

Taking a strong exception to

the two months delay into theinvestigations, the CJM had onDecember 24 2010 observedthat there is complete lack of co-ordination between the policeofficers concerned.

Y. P Bourney, the then CJMin his order had said: “It is as-tonishing that yet the SHO con-cerned is writing reminders to theSub Divisional Police Officer(SDPO) latest on December 4,that needful is still awaited. Itshows complete lack of coordi-nation between them as a resultof which the matter has got de-layed for two months.”

The judge had added that ifthe investigations are allowed togo in such a face then it wouldnever be concluded. “In thegiven circumstances, SSPSrinagar is directed to constitutea SIT immediately for earlycompletion of investigation inaccordance with law.—NNI

TAHIR QAYYUM

MUZAFFARABAD—The PrimeMinister AJ&K Chaudry AbdulMajeed has said that the basecamp of freedom movementwas the representative of thepeople of Jammu & Kashmirand our ancestors had decidedto accede with Pakistan and nodelaying tactics by so-calleddemocracy of India can changethe minds and hearts of thepeople of the state.

The AJ&K premier main-tained it while addressing ahuge public rally in Bagh Azad

No rest till self-determinationachieved: Majeed

Kashmir. He reaffirmed thatKashmiris would fight for theirfundamental right to self deter-mination until and unless theyachieve their goal.

The Prime Minister saidthat he had come with a mes-sage of party chairman BilawalBhutto Zardari, Asifa BhuttoZardari, Bukhtawar BhuttoZardari and Malala Yousaf Zaithat Kashmiris were not alonein their struggle.

He announced to establishthe first Women University ofthe state in Bagh with AsifaBhutto Zardari’s name where

as Malot Girls Degree collegewas named after the name ofthe pride of Pakistan MalalaYousaf Zai who made enor-mous efforts for female edu-cation in Pakistan. He also an-nounced the grand package of30 million for district Bagh.

He held that PakistanPeople’s Party had never en-tered in power through backdoors.

The people of Pakistanand Kashmir always gavemandate to PPP whenever thefree, fair and transparent pollswere conducted.

NEW DELHI—Chairman ofJammu Kashmir Liberation Front(JKLF) Muhammad Yasin Malik,currently admitted in the FortisHospital, Delhi, was again oper-ated upon for removal of stentsfrom his kidneys.

“Malik is recovering fromthe operation but is still in inten-sive care unit (ICU) of the hospi-tal,” said JKLF spokesman in astatement, appealing the people ofJammu Kashmir to keep prayingfor recovery and well being ofMalik. Meanwhile, Front haspaid rich tributes to late SofiMuhammad Akbar on his deathanniversary, describing him a leg-end who had spurned the luxu-ries of power and assembly mem-bership and chosen the way ofstruggle against New Delhi’s con-trol over Jammu Kashmir.

Yasin Malik’s kidneystents removed

“Sofi was a saintly person,who led a common man’s life andalways believed in struggle andwork. He was a symbol of free-dom during his life and will al-ways remain so,” the spokesmanquoted Front vice-chairman ad-vocated Bashir Ahmad Bhat ashaving said. Meanwhile, JKLF isorganizing a condolence meetingon December 14, at 11 am at hisSofi’s graveyard in Sopore tomark his death anniversary.

Front has expressed condo-lences at the sad demise ofGhulam Nabi Rather in AshamSonawari. A delegation of JKLFcomprising advocate BashirAhmad Bhat, Noor MuhammadKalwal, M Sideeq Shah, ProfJaved, Syed Nisar Jeelani, AbdulRashid Magloo and CaptainJaved visited the house.—NNI

IHK court saysyouth killed 19years ago was

innocentSRINAGAR—A court in its ver-dict has described the Kashmiryouth, killed by Indian troops19 years back in a fake encoun-ter dubbing him mujahid, as in-nocent.

The Principal District JudgeSrinagar, Muhammad Shafi Jan,in his judgement also directedthe puppet administration to payRs 2.5 million to the family ofthe killed youth.

The father of the deceasedtold media men in Srinagar thatIndian troops killed his 27 yearsold son in a fake encounter onDecember 16, 1993, at DaoodColony in Batamaloo area ofSrinagar when he was comingback from bank.

He said that the police intheir statements before the courtdeclared that his son was an or-dinary citizen and was killed ina fake encounter.

He told media men that thebank officials also presenteddocumentary proof to the courtthat the youth was present in thebank minutes in connectionwith his business before his kill-ing.—KMS

Naqash appeals AIto help stop HRsviolations in IHK

SRINAGAR—The All PartiesHurriyet Conference (APHC)leader, Muhammad YousufNaqash has hailed the recentstatement of Amnesty Interna-tional on unabated gross humanrights violations by Indianforces in the territory and ap-pealed it to exert pressure onDelhi to stop these rightsabuses.

Muhammad Yousuf Naqashin a statement issued in Srinagarsaid that the involved troops andpolice personnel should bebrought to justice.

He also expressed grief andshock over the death of a 16-year-old girl and serious inju-ries to two minor girls inKupwara district of Kashmirdue to the explosion of alandmine planted by Indianforces. He deplored thatlandmines had, so far, takenmany innocent lives besidesrendering thousands othershandicapped in the territory butunfortunately no steps weretaken for clearing the mines.

Meanwhile Naqash paidglowing tributes to the Kashmirimartyrs including prominentliberation leader, Shamsul Haq,on his martyrdom anniversary.

He said that the supremesacrifices of Kashmiri martyrswould not be allowed to gowaste.—KMS

SRINAGAR—In a strongindictment, civil society mem-bers in Kashmir have deploredwhat it called “a near totalblackout,” by the Indian mediaand sections of the Kashmirmedia, of a damning IPTK-APDP report on perpetrators ofhuman rights violations in thestate.

They said that the black-out amounted to keeping theIndian masses ignorant of thecrimes committed by the In-dian state in Jammu and Kash-mir, and therefore (the Indianpeople) “might find them-selves unknowingly party tocriminality and human rightsviolations.”

“While the internationalmedia carried out extensive re-

Blackout of damning HR report: Civilsociety blasts media in JK, Delhi

porting of the issues raised, thereporting of the Indian media,and some segments of theJammu and Kashmir media,was extremely disappointing,”civil society members said in ajoint statement.

It is clear that in the Indianmedia particularly, and somesegments of the Jammu andKashmir media, there was anear complete black out of thisreport,” they said.

The report titled AllegedPerpetrators: Stories of Impu-nity in Jammu and Kashmirwhich, according to the civilsociety members was carriedextensively by the internationalmedia, examines 214 cases ofhuman rights violations and therole of 500 alleged perpetrators

in these crimes.According to its authors -

the International Peoples’ Tri-bunal on Human Rights andJustice in Indian-administeredKashmir (IPTK) and the As-sociation of Parents of Disap-peared Persons (APDP) whoreleased it on Dec 6 - this isthe first time here that the roleof such a large number of per-petrators involved in specificcases has been formally docu-mented.

“The release of this report,a few days before the HumanRights Day, was an importantmoment in the ongoing struggleagainst impunity of the IndianState in Indian-administeredJammu and Kashmir,” civil so-ciety members said.—NNI

SRINAGAR—In an alarmingtrend, most of the children liv-ing in orphanages in Kashmirsuffer from psychiatric andemotional disorders includingdepression, a survey has re-vealed. The survey has attrib-uted the high rate of psychiatricand emotional disorders to or-phanages failing to provide ad-equate facilities and psychoso-cial support to these children.

The survey conducted by asocial activist, Qurat-ul-AinMasoodi, who runs a voluntarygroup Aash, focuses on theprevalence of major psychiatric

Kashmir orphans stressed,depressed: survey

disorders and psychological dis-tress among the children livingin orphanages of Kashmir. It isbased on a sample of 140 chil-dren in various orphanages inKashmir using various scales ofpsychiatric assessment includ-ing the Mini-InternationalNeuro-psychiatric interview.

The study found among theorphans high prevalence ofSeparation Anxiety, Post Trau-matic Stress Disorder (PTSD),Panic Disorder, Social Phobiaand Conduct Disorder, Gener-alized Anxiety disorder andDysthymia. “These rates are

somewhat higher than thosefound in previous studies donein Kashmir. This can be attrib-uted to the orphanages whichfail to provide adequate psycho-social support to these chil-dren,” Qurat states in the study.

UNICEF estimates thatKashmir has as many as100,000 special or orphanedchildren. However an indepen-dent study by UK-based ‘SaveThe Children’ puts the numberof orphans at 2.15 lakhs. “Thesefigures still seem to be conser-vative as very less informationflows from distant areas.

SRINAGAR—Cutting acrossthe political divide, Jammu andKashmir’s mainstream campexpressed dismay over theUnion Home Minister SushilKumar Shinde’s declaration thatthe controversial Armed ForcesSpecial Powers Act (AFSPA)can’t be revoked from the state.

Stating that the Home Min-ister “seems to be ignorant aboutthe ground situation in Kash-mir”, almost all the politicalparties in the state are of theview that bumper tourist season,peaceful Amarnath Yatra andrecord participation of people inPanchayat polls make ampleground for revocation ofAFSPA.

The lone dissenting voice in

GoI should scrap draconianlaws from J&K: Tarigami

the state on the issue is that ofsenior Congress leader and PHEMinister, Taj Mohi-ud-Din.“There are apprehensions that ifAFSPA is revoked partially,such areas may become safeheaven for militants again,” Tajsaid. The development comes aday after Shinde said; “Therecan’t be partial withdrawal ofAFSPA till complete peace re-turns to J&K.”

“We don’t know what pa-rameters Union Home Ministeris considering to judge peace inKashmir,” said senior NationalConference (NC) leader and theLaw Minister, Ali MuhammadSagar. He said Kashmir regis-tered 15 lakh tourist arrivals in2012. “We also witnessed

record Amarnath Yatra and re-cently 93 percent voting inPanchayat elections. Doesn’tthis all signify that peace hasreturned to Kashmir,” the LawMinister said.

He said NC working com-mittee recently passed a resolu-tion in favour of partial with-drawal of AFSPA. “We stronglybelieve that the Act has to go. Ifnot in one go, but in a phasedmanner from the areas wheremilitancy is over,” Sagar said.

The main opposition,Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), believes AFSPA shouldbe scrapped sooner the better.”“There cannot be a mathemati-cal proof to show peace is pre-vailing in Kashmir.—NNI

Charity is injuriousunless it helps the

recipient to becomeindependent of it.

— John D Rockefeller

ISMAIL DILAWAR

KARACHI—The traders, theindustrialists and the brokers atequity market have welcomedthe 50 basis points rate-cut an-nounced by the central bank inits Monetary Policy decision.

As expected, the State Bankof Pakistan on Friday brought itspolicy rate down to a singledigit, 9.5 percent, from 10 per-cent keeping in view the “decel-erating” inflation, contractingprivate sector credit and poorforeign inflows.

The brokers at the KarachiStocks Exchange (KSE) said thedecision was in line with themarket sentiments.

“It was a difficult decisionfor central bankers consideringthe declining Pakistani Rupee,”commented Muhammad Sohail,a senior equity analyst and CEP

Biz sector pleads SBPfor further rate cut

of Topline Securities.The broker, however, said

taking a decision in line withmarket expectations would haveno affect on money and stocksmarket.

“Going forward foreign ex-change reserves trend woulddictate the monetary policymore than the inflation,” heviewed. Meanwhile, in a jointstatement the traders and indus-trialists from various associa-tions also praised the reduction,but said the interest rate shouldhave been slashed at least to 6percent. Patron In-Chief,Korangi Association of Tradeand Industry (KATI) S.MMuneer, Chairman MohammadZubair Chhaya, President AllKarachi Industrial Alliance,Mian Zahid Hussain and ViceChairmen Najmul Arfeen wel-comed the rate-cut.

They, however, said due toa grim situation of the economythe banks’ Non-PerformingLoans (NPLs) were mountingrapidly. This, they said, wassomething warranting a deeperrate-cut in the interest rate.

“The NPLs have now reachedto an alarming level of almostRs800 billion during last fouryears due to various factors in-cluding high mark up rate in Pa-kistan,” said Chhaya.The indus-trialist said the exorbitant increasein the cost of doing business andthe ever- increasing prices of utili-ties and inputs coupled with thebanks’ interest rate, which werehighest in the region, had resultedin the growth of bad debts.

The traders and industrialistsproposed that the revision in theinterest rate should have been toat least 6 percent so the indus-tries could be able to survive.

ISMAT SABIR

THE energy crisis hasforced the textile millsto close their units, es-

pecially in Punjab the indus-try is under severe pressure.Chairman APTMA Punjab,Shahzad Ali Khan, said dailyelectricity load shedding hasincreased to 12 hours. Besides,gas supply to the industry hasalso reduced to 3 days a week,which is likely to be furtherrose and makes the situationmore miserable from nextweek. Electricity crisis hasreached to its highest level, hit-ting hard to the textile indus-trial potential that is earning$12 billion per annum besides

Textile industry of Pakistan worst hit by power cutsproviding jobs to about 10 mil-lion people of people.

He said about 70 percent oftextile industry in Punjab hasbeen affected despite Ministryof Water and Power has the ca-pacity of generating 18,000MW,out of which 6,000MW is Hydeland 12,000MW is thermal gen-eration. The total demand ofelectricity in the country is11,000MW, which can easily bemet only by thermal generation.Total load of textile industry onLESCO system is 550MW perday out of which only 300MWper day is being supplied.

As regards gas supply, theindustry has faced load sheddingfor 77 days in 2008-09, 95 daysin 2009-10, 136 days in 2010-

11, 185 days in 2011-12 and 62days in 2012-13, until 10th ofDecember, the chairman said.Aptma said so far, one third ca-pacity has been closed down andanother 50 percent would beclosed in near future, due toelectricity and gas shortage.

Gohar Ejaz said the Aptmamembers are trying their bestnot to close their units. AhsanBashir said the government hasproved time and again that it wasfunctioning with pro-industryapproach and expressed thehope that sanity would prevailahead and no one would be al-lowed to close the industry foreven a single day.

Pakistani textile sector iscompeting in the region and try-

ing to get maximum share of theChinese textile market in thefuture. Dr Ikhtiar Baig said thatChina will be no more compet-ing with Pakistan in cotton yarnand denim fabric; while Chinahas emerged as one of the big-gest buyers of these items fromPakistan. With increasing wagesand labour costs by 20 percentper annum, China would alsophase out of the garment busi-ness providing opportunity toPakistan and other countries inthe region to get their marketshare.

In future China would befocusing on hitech sectors, likeJapan and Korea. The FederalAdvisor was optimistic for theenhancement of textile exports

due to EU allowing Pakistanduty free market access to thetextile products bringing Paki-stan at par with Bangladesh.

A textile or cloth is a flex-ible woven material consistingof a network of natural or artifi-cial fibers often referred to asthread or yarn. Yarn is producedby spinning raw fibers of wool,flax, cotton, or other material toproduce long strands. Textilesare formed by weaving, knitting,crocheting, knotting, or pressingfibers together.USES

Textiles have an assortmentof uses, the most common ofwhich are for clothing and con-tainers such as bags and baskets.In the household, they are used

in carpeting, upholstered fur-nishings, window shades, tow-els, covering for tables, beds,and other flat surfaces, and inart. In the workplace, they areused in industrial and scientificprocesses such as filtering.

Miscellaneous uses includeflags, backpacks, tents, nets,cleaning devices such as hand-kerchiefs and rags, transporta-tion devices such as balloons,kites, sails, and parachutes, inaddition to strengthening incomposite materials such as fi-berglass and industrialgeotextiles. Children uses tex-tiles to make collage uniform,sew quilt and toys.RAW MATERIAL

Textiles can be made from

many materials that come fromfour main sources: animal(wool, silk), plant (cotton, flax,jute), mineral (asbestos, glassfiber), and synthetic (nylon,polyester, acrylic). In the past,all textiles were made from natu-ral fibres, including plant, ani-mal, and mineral sources. In the20th century, these were supple-mented by artificial fibers madefrom petroleum.

The textile industry is pri-marily concerned with the pro-duction of yarn, and cloth andthe subsequent design or manu-facture of clothing and their dis-tribution. The industry canbroadly be divided in two divi-sions, a large scale organizedsector and a cottage and small

scale sector.The different sectors textilesare:SpinningMost of the spinning units areoperating in organized sectorwith in house weaving, dyingand finishing facilities.WeavingIt comprises of small and me-dium sized entities and work-ing in unorganized, except afew organized larger units.ProcessingThe processing sector, compris-ing dyeing, printing and finish-ing sub-sectors, only a part ofthis sector is able to processlarge quantities.PRINTING

Continued on Page 14

One-window BoIoperation urged

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf directedBoard of Investment (BoI) toexpedite its restructuring andintroduce one-window operationto further facilitate investors inthe country.

The Prime Minister wastalking to Salim Mandviwala,Chairman Board of Investment(BoI) who called on him at thePM House here to apprise himabout BoI’s measures to attractinvestment.

Prime Minister Ashrafsaid that Special EconomicZones (SEZs) Act, 2012, hasbeen enacted to attract For-eign Direct Investment in thecountry.

He said the establishmentof SEZs would attract both do-mestic as well as internationalinvestors. He hoped that theSEZs would play a pivotal rolein national economic develop-ment.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The Pakistan As-sociation of Automotive Parts& Accessories Manufacturers,in a letter written to DeputyPrime Minister Ch PervaizElahi, has asked the govern-ment to extend the reducedlevy of 5 per cent on tractorssale for another year with aview to sustain manufacturinggrowth, which is under seriousthreat of closure due to gassupply suspension on one handand long-hours unannouncedpower loadshedding on theother in Punjab.

PAAPAM Vice ChairmanUsman Malik said that the re-duction of sales tax to 5 percent put the tractor industryand its allied hundreds of vend-

Tractors GST freeze forone year urged

ing units across the country backon track, bringing tractor ratesin the reach of small land-hold-ers- a step forward in farmmechanization, maximizing peracre yield.

He said that auto industry isagain facing a steep decline inproduction and any change inSales Tax regime at this pointmay backfire, leading to closureof industry.

Auto industry appreciatesthe senior industry minister forcontinued support for automo-tive vendors, as on his personalpersuasion, the governmentagreed to reduce sales tax to 5per cent from 16 per cent, headded.

Referring to the promise ofDeputy PM at the PAAPAMannual dinner, Mr. Usman

Malik urged him to fulfill thecommitment of continuingfair support to industry byfreezing the levy on samelevel of 5 per cent for anotheryear.

He said that last year’sdecision of government notonly facilitated the tractormanufacturers and vendorsattached with this sector butalso gave a boost to agricul-ture sector.

The Paapam leader saidthe reduced GST would con-tinue to increase the sale oftractors and ease the problemsbeing faced by the tractormanufacturers and the farmingcommunity, as after the impo-sition of 16 per cent GST lastyear, huge decline in tractorssale were seen.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Power shortfall isintensifying fast with the start ofcanal desilting by the end of cur-rent month, bringing the hydelgeneration to halt when the gov-ernment is even not utilizing thethermal generation up to theoptimum level.

The power generation islurking around 10,000MWagainst the possibility of gener-ating 14,000MW by the govern-

Power-generation lurkingaround 10,000MW

ment. It is learnt that the gov-ernment was heavily relying onthe gas for power generation in-stead of importing furnace oiland producing expensive elec-tricity.

This policy decision has per-turbed the industry at large, de-pending on gas supply to keepoperations of their CaptivePower Plants (CPPs) intact. Itis learnt that there would be nogas supply to the CPPs for nexttwo months and all available gas

would be diverted to the IPPs.But no one knows as how thegovernment would deal with thesituation when hydel generationwould come to zero level due tocanal desilting.

The consumers are unhappywith the government policy ofdepriving them from electricityin winter when demand slashesdown by half. They said the gov-ernment has reduced power gen-eration capacity at the cost ofindustrial growth.

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—A number of taxofficials within the jurisdiction ofKhyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) havebeen kidnapped due to law andorder situation, which is forcingthe customs staff to avoid wear-ing official uniform making italmost impossible for them toachieve assigned revenue collec-tion target for 2012-13.

Chief Commissioner Re-gional Tax Office (RTO)Peshawar Qaisar Ali shared hisexperience of horrifying work-ing atmosphere for tax officialsin the KP with the FBR.

He referred to recentkidnappings of tax officers

Law, order situation hampersrevenue collection target

posted in Peshawar. A staffmember in uniform was alsokidnapped and later killed. Theincident horrified tax officialsworking in the said area andcaused alarm among the tax of-ficials working within territorialjurisdiction of the KP as they areunable to freely check the taxevasion, fraudulent business andanti-smuggling activities.

The kidnappings of tax of-ficers had also send a negativesignal to the tax machinerywhich is reluctant to be postedwithin the territorial jurisdictionof KP, sources added.

According to the Chief Com-missioner RTO Peshawar, “thejurisdiction of RTO, Peshawar is

terribly hit by terrorism and un-imaginable dangerous securitypredicament exits. Many of ourofficers/ officials were kidnappedwhereas one official wasmartyred. Due to harsh securitypredicament even our staff can-not use the uniform in the field asone of the officials (MuhammadYusuf, Naib Qasid) was kid-napped and later martyred in Bara,Khyber Agency as he was in fullofficial uniform.”

“Despite the abovement-ioned terrorism and imaginabledangerous security predicamentthe officers contacted all thewithholding agents in the juris-diction of this RTO to maximisethe collection.

OBSERVER REPORT

MULTAN—Federal Minister forScience and Technology MirChangez Khan Jamali underlinedthe importance of adopting worldstandards of business at home andabroad.

Addressing a seminar titled“Standard and Quality Awarenessin South Punjab” here on Satur-day at a local hotel under the aus-pices of PSQCA, Air Universityand daily Aftab Multan, he saidthat without adopting world stan-dards they could not run the busi-ness neither in the country norabroad.

He announced that National

Jamali for adopting int’l standard of businessQuality Policy would be finalizedby June next year. He said, “Theimportance of south Punjab lies inproducing fine cotton, mangoesand handmade garments throughexports, small and medium indus-tries are earning foreign exchangeand thus strengthening the nationaleconomy”. “We cannot deny theindustrial importance of southPunjab especially Multan at inter-national level.”Speaking on theoccasion, President Chamber ofCommerce and Industry MultanMuhammad Khan Sadozai said themission of PSQCA was very im-portant for this area.

He said the industry of SouthPunjab was facing many chal-

lenges but it was ready to supportPSQCA for completion of its mis-sion.

He announced that the MCCIwould hold an essay writing com-petition among students ofBahauddin Zakariya, Islamia andAir Universities in October 2013and winners would be given cashprizes and certificates.

Member National AssemblySyed Ali Mosa Gilani and ViceChancellor Air University Dr IjazAhmed Malik also addressed theseminar while Deputy DirectorPSQCA Dr Shahzad Afzal and Di-rector Air University MultanCampus Dr Hayyat MuhammadAwan gave technical briefing.

Delay lamentedin issuance of

tax relief papersSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—After the power un-der SRO 565 of issuing tax reliefcertificates were transferred to thecustoms department from InlandRevenue, the business communityis running from pillar to post toget industrial raw material clearedfor months but to no avail.

According to sources, theFederal Board of Revenue (FBR)through SRO 565(I)/2008granted substantial tax relief of10 to 15 percent to telecom, in-dustries, horticulture, automobileand aviation sectors on the im-port of its raw material. They saidthe power of issuing tax reliefcertificates was earlier in the ju-risdiction of Inland Revenue butthe federal authority in budget2012-13 transferred the same tocustoms department.

PQ shipping activityKARACHI—Two ships arrivedat Port load/offload containersat QICT, project cargo at M/W-3 on December 14, 2012.Berth occupancy wasmaintained at 36% at the Porton Friday where a total ofseven ships namely M.V KPS-I Alican Bey-Powership, M.VFreden Borg, M.V CapeFlores, M.V NYK KAI, M.TM.T Mire. M.V SAI Enternity,are currently occupying berthsto load/offload wheat,containers, project, cargo.Cargo handling operationswere carried out smoothly atthe Port where a cargo volumetonnes comprising 7841 tonnesimport, 3649 export 4192tonnes and (701) TUES washandled at the Port during last24 hours. M.V NYK KAI,M.T Mire sailed on Fridayafternoon. M.V Cape Floresand M.V Freden Borg sailed atSaturday morning.—APP

Aptma demandStaff ReporterLAHORE—The APTMAtermed 50-basis point cut inmarkup as meager and half-hearted attempt to rejuvenateeconomy as the businessmenwant State Bank to bring it tothe level of regional countriesof 7 per cent. The AllPakistan Textile MillsAssociation (APTMA)leadership including GoharEjaz, group leader, AhsanBashir, central chairman, andShahzad Ali Khan, chairmanPunjab, stressed that the issueof Rs652 billion industrialNon-Performing Loans(NPLs) would only beresolved by a drastic cut inthe discount rate. The textileindustry leaders said that theSBP Governor should havetaken some bold steps andcurtailed it to at least 250basis points to 7 per cent.“This decrease will hardlyimprove the local investmentscenario.”

Corporate sector’seffortsMuttahir Ahmed KhanKARACHI—Tetra Pak, theworld’s leading food process-ing and packaging company,announced, during a grandceremony, at a local hotel, thewinners of its month longGraffiti Art competition.More than 200 young artistsfrom 7 cities across Pakistanparticipated in the packagedjuice awareness campaign,creating graffiti based worksof art on a wide range ofsubjects such as health,nature, food safety andhappiness. Students fromNorth City School of Art,Karachi School of Art,Sadequain Institute, OrchardGrammar School, BahriaFoundation College, BeaconLight Academy Gulshan, TheCity School and The Educa-tors participated in thecompetition, using theircreativity to emblazon theirunique graffiti designs onportable wall murals and life-sized packaged juice cartons.

Saleem H Mandviwalla, Chairman BoI called on Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Kisan Board Paki-stan (KBP) has urged the gov-ernment not to open agriculturaltrade with India by declaring itas Most Favoured Nation(MFN) because it would deprivethe country from big markets ofagricultural commodities ofCentral Asian States.

KBP President Sardar ZafarHussein talking to journalistssaid that India should not begiven access to Central AsianStates as it would ruin our agro-based industry. He claimed thatAfghanistan and Central AsianStates were big markets of Pa-kistani textile products and ag-ricultural commodities as Paki-stan exports products of billionsof rupees to these countries.

He said that the agricultural

KBP not in favour ofIndo-Pak agri trade

inputs including oil, electricity,diesel, fertilizer and pesticideswere expensive in Pakistan ascompared to India while Indiangovernment also extends facil-ity of loans, free electricity andothers. He said that growers ofPakistan had to spend Rs 321billion more on agricultural in-puts as compared to Indianfarmers because of which agri-cultural commodities were ex-pensive in Pakistan than India.

Sardar Zafar said that Indiaalready had captured our riceand wheat markets and now Af-ghanistan was also being pre-sented to it on the behest of US.He said that India not only ruinour industry and agriculture byselling agricultural commoditieson cheaper rates but might alsodestabilize our security systemby supporting terrorists.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Representatives ofall CNG associations termed theCNG suspension in Karachi forthree days in a week as unjusti-fied and artificial.

Sameer Gulzar, regionalchairman, All Pakistan CNG As-sociation, said that the author-ity had created artificial gas cri-sis in Sindh with the aim to dis-courage the use of CNG as al-ternate fuel.

He questioned that if Sindhfaced severe gas crisis, why allother sectors except CNG sec-tor were exempted from gasload management plan. He re-

CNG suspension unjustifiedjected the proposal to convertthe CNG filling stations intoLPG, saying that inconsistencyin government policies hasbadly shaken the confidence ofthe business community andthe CNG station owners couldnot afford further financiallosses in the conversion ofCNG pumps into LPG filingstations.

He said that although theowners of the CNG stationshave submitted audited ac-counts to the Oil and Gas Regu-latory Authority (OGRA), thedilly-dally tactics were beingused to fix CNG price, despitethe directives of the Supreme

Court. Abdul Sami Khan,President, CNG Dealers Asso-ciation said that OGRA afterconducting four public hearingremained unable to fix CNGprice, due to immense pressureof petroleum ministry thatcaused difficulties for the mo-torist and the CNG pumps own-ers.

To a question, he said thegovernment intended to promoteLPG as alternate fuel but itwould not be affordable for theconsumers and added that thegovernment instead of encour-aging the use of LPG shoulddraft comprehensive plan forCNG sector.

FDI posted24pc decline

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) posted a de-cline of 27 percent during thefirst five months of current fis-cal year 2012-13 (FY13).Economist said that foreign in-vestors are reluctant to invest inPakistan because of energy cri-sis and unclear economic poli-cies. Worst law & order situa-tion and poor industrial infra-structure are some of the majorhurdles in foreign investment,they added.

They said despite the factforeign investment is one ofmain sources to build up thecountry’s foreign exchange re-serves, it is on decline for lastfew years. Although the federalgovernment has already an-nounced a liberal policy for for-eign investors, which allows for-eign investors to repatriate 100percent profit and dividendearned on investment in Paki-stan.

The State Bank of Pakistanon revealed that with a declineof 27.1 percent or $113.7 mil-lion, FDI fell to $305.6 millionduring July-November ofFY13 compared to $419.3 mil-lion in corresponding period oflast fiscal year. During the pe-riod under review, portfolio in-vestment witnessed upwardtrend while, FDI continues todecline.

KARACHI: Haroon Agar, KCCI President and others at Fire and Safety Convention 2012and Award ceremony.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—According to Pa-kistan Bureau of Statistics(PBS) data the Large ScaleManufacturing (LSM) in thecountry posted a cumulativegrowth of 1.95 percent during4MFY13 against the growth of1.17 percent in FY12.

The monthly index posteda robust growth of 3.36%YoYin Oct-13 with two out of threeproduction indices postinggrowth, the Ministry of Indus-tries and OCAC index, record-ing 2.93% and 0.63%, respec-tively.

On the other hand, Provin-cial BOS index posted a de-cline of 0.2%MoM during Oct-12. Similarly, during 4MFY13LSM grew by nominal1.95%YoY.

This, the analysts atInvestCap Research said, wasdue to cheerful production ofheavyweights including foodbeverages and tobacco, iron

LSM grows 3.3pc in 4MFY13and steel products, coke & pe-troleum products, paper andboard and pharmaceuticals.

The heavyweight contribu-tor to industrial production,fertilizer sector is expected totake a hit in terms of produc-tion due to gas supply con-strains, affecting plants thatare dependent on the SuiNorthern Gas Pipelines net-work.

“We expect 15-20%YoYdecline in the production ofFertilizers during the currentfiscal,” said Abdul Azeem ofInvestCap Research.

Another sector that, hesaid, was expected to take hitwas Auto sector due to the in-flux of low priced importedcars and conclusion of cabscheme from government ofPunjab. Furthermore, discon-tinuation of low category carsis likely to keep the productionof auto sector on at bay, theanalyst said. “We expect theproduction of auto sector to be

down by 7-9%,” he added.Moreover, energy crises

coupled with ever deteriorat-ing law and order situation inthe country were expected tohamper growth of textile sec-tor. On the oil front, through-put was expected to rise on theback of Natural Gas crisis inthe country as demand of HighSpeed Diesel, Furnace Oil andPetroleum product is seen tomove on the higher side.

The persistent demand offurnace oil and diesel from thepower sector is estimated tokeep the production of theseproducts on the up. Moreover,closure of CNG is also fore-seen to escalate the demand ofgasoil.

“We anticipate the petro-leum group to post growth of10%YoY during FY13,” AbdulAzeem said. Giving his out-look about the LSM, the ana-lyst said the LSM growthwould be settling at 2-2.5% inFY13.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Trade and industryhas welcomed reduction in in-terest rate announced by StateBank of Pakistan in its MonetaryPolicy. Patron In-Chief, KorangiAssociation of Trade and Indus-try (KATI) S M Muneer, Chair-man Mohammad ZubairChhaya, President All KarachiIndustrial Alliance, Mian ZahidHussain and Vice ChairmenNajmul Arfeen while welcom-ing the reduction of interest ratefrom 10 per cent to 9.50 per centby SBP Governor Yasin Anwar.

They however, said that dueto the grim situation of economyand non-performing laons(NPLs) mounting rapidly, dis-count rate should be lower fur-

Trade, industry hailsinterest rate cut

ther. “NPLs have now reachedto an alarming level of almostRs800 billion during last fouryears due to various factors in-cluding high mark up rate inPakistan”, Chhaya said addingthat exorbirttant increase in costof doing business andskyrocekting prices oif utikitiesand inputs coupled with highestbank interest rate which highestin the region have resulted inbulging NPLs.

Industry leaders have saidthat interest rates should be low-ered to at least 6 per cent so thatindustries would be able to sur-vive Karachi Chamber of Com-merce & Industry’s PresidentMuhammad Haroon Agar whileexpressing dissatisfaction overdecrease in 50 basis point in dis-

count rate by State Bank of Pa-kistan has stated that businesscommunity was expecting a de-crease of 100 basis points in dis-count rate which was also a longwithstanding demand to bringthe discount rate to single-digit.

He said that decrease of 50-basis points will not be muchbeneficial and urged to drasti-cally cut-down the discount rateto the level of 6 to 7 percent en-abling the business communityfor level playing field with thecompetitors in the region. Thedeteriorating law and order situ-ation, energy crises and exorbi-tant increase in the POL priceshas already slowed the pace ofindustrial and commercial ac-tivities as well as the economywhile the high discount rates has

also brought an upshot and in-crease in the cost of doing busi-ness.

The tightened monetarypolicy has also impeded theprogress of private sector withadverse affects on the economy.Due to increased discount rates,the non-performing loans ofbanks are also increasing there-fore, the state of affairs demandgovernment to take notice of thefacts before taking decisions. Heopined that cut-down of discountrate to the level of 6 to 7 percentwill enhance the economic andcommercial activities and wouldalso be a ray of hope motivatingthe abroad shifted industrial unitsto come back to Pakistan and alsoto increase the domestic and for-eign investment.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—First-ever andfirst of its kind in any Cham-bers of Commerce in theSAARC region, LCCI Media-tion Centre, backed and sup-ported by IFC (World BankGroup), has formally beenoperationlised on Saturday atthe Lahore Chamber of Com-merce and Industry for theout-of court settlement ofbusiness disputes throughmediation.

The decision tooperationalise the MediationCentre was taken at a meet-ing between the LCCI Presi-dent Farooq Iftikhar and As-sociate Operations OfficerIFC, World Bank GroupSaima Zuberi and IsfandyarKhan here at the LahoreChamber of Commerce andIndustry. Convener of the

‘LCCI Mediation Centre’ made operationalLCCI Mediation Centre andformer Senior Vice PresidentSohail Lashari and other com-mittee members were alsopresent on the occasion.

The Mediation Centre hasbeen established to help privatesector companies to resolve dis-putes quickly and easily since incommercial court cases are of-ten expensive and take a longtime. It will avoid full-scalecourt procedures and dramati-cally reduce the time and costof resolving disputes. Busi-nesses are often hindered bylong and costly court proceduresand the LCCI Mediation Centrewill help them resolve disputesamicably, allowing them to de-vote more resources to growingand creating jobs.

Speaking on the occasion,the LCCI President FarooqIftikhar said that Mediation Cen-tre is historic achievement for the

business community of Lahore inparticular and for the Punjab ingeneral. He said that the scopeof this centre would be extendedto other chambers of commercein the Punjab by signing MOUswith them. He said that the veryobjective of the Lahore Chamberof Commerce and Industry issmooth running of businesses.

“If two business partnershave dispute over some issue,the LCCI Mediation Centre isthe most suitable forum for themas this would save thecompany’s repute. “We are plan-ning to communicate with theregional and international busi-ness community through theirrelevant government officials,leading chambers, sector asso-ciations, banks, multilateral de-velopment institutions and dip-lomatic missions informingthem of the availability of aworld-class mediation center at

Lahore Chambers for resolv-ing business disputes.”

The Convener of the Me-diation Center Sohail Lasharisaid that this is a landmarkproject not just in Pakistan butalso in the region. It’s a giantleap forward in terms of build-ing a world-class platform at theLahore Chamber for efficientlyresolving business disputes.The establishment of an inter-national standard mediationcentre would not only improveinvestment climate in the coun-try but would also send a verypositive signal abroad becausea large number of foreign in-vestors could not put theirmoney in Pakistan only becauseof absence of an institutional-ized mediation mechanism.

He said that such a media-tion mechanism was need ofthe hour and is a big successof the private sector.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Tuwairqi SteelMills Limited is holding a semi-nar on the introduction of state-of-the-art technology ‘DirectReduction Route of Iron Mak-ing in Pakistan’ here on Mon-day.

Ministry of Industries Addi-tional Secretary Agha Nadeemwould grace the occasion with hispresence while POSCO ResidentDirector Young-Ho Yoo, TSMLDirector Project Zaigham AdilRizvi, Shajarpak MD KhawajaUsman, Midrex CommissioningManagers Paul Jaimungal Singh,Waddington Stawrt Godfrey andMMTE Plant Manager MasoudDarvishi would also speak on theoccasion and share their experi-ences with participants.

TSML Director ProjectZaigham Adil Rizvi said that a

Seminar on steelmanufacturing soon

revolution of industrial growth ison the cards as Tuwairqi SteelMills is ready for commercialproduction in coming January.He said that TSML is Pakistan’sfirst private sector integrated en-vironment-friendly steel manu-facturing project of Al TuwairqiHolding. Terming steel as vitalfor economic development of anycountry, Zaigham Rizvi said thatTSML will serve as a catalyst forindustrial growth in Pakistan add-ing that Saudi Arabia has in-vested almost $400 million in thisproject while South Korean steelgiant POSCO has also invested$15 million to make this megaproject viable.

He further said that owingto environment-friendly produc-tion process and consistenthighly quality of product, DRItechnology is widely being usedin the world.

4m olive treesto be planted

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Provincial Minis-ter for Agriculture ArbabMuhammad Ayub Jan has saidthe provincial governmentwould plan as many as 4 mil-lion saplings of hybrid olivetrees across the province to getolive oil.

Talking to a delegation offarmers from Barra Bangla hereat his residence, he said that Rs.500 million is being spent onmechanism farming to bringagricultural revolution in theprovince.

He said that KP governmenthas taken lead on all other prov-inces of the country by prepar-ing 10-year agriculture policy,adding the under the policy ef-forts would be made to make theprovince self sufficient in wheatproduction and edible oil, im-prove the growth of off seasonvegetables and fruits.

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Export Processing Zones Author-ity M Saadat S Cheema meeting with President ICCI.

The printing sector consists ofoverall processing followed bytextile dyeing and fabric bleach-ing.Garment ManufacturingThe garments manufacturingsegment generates the highestemployment within the textilevalue chain. Over 75pc of theunits are small sized.KNITWEARThe knitwear units mostly areoperating as integrated units, i.e.knitting + processing+ makingup facilities.Filament Yarn ManufacturingFilament yarn consists of fila-ment fibers, very long continu-ous Fibers, either twisted to-gether or only grouped together.Silk is a natural filament andsynthetic filament yarns are usedto produce silk, like effects. TheSynthetic filament yarn manu-facturing industry picked upmomentum during 5th Five YearPlan when demand raised andhence imports increased and pri-vate sector was permitted tomake feasible investment in therising market conditions.

Presently, three kinds of fila-ment yarn are manufactured lo-cally: There are 6 units in thecountry have a capacity of55851 M. Ton polyester filamentyarn.Art Silk and Synthetic WeavingIndustryArtificial silk or, in textile ter-minology, art silk is a syntheticmanufactured fiber which re-sembles silk but costs less toproduce. Art silk is just a syn-onym for rayon. Art Silk andSynthetic Weaving Industry hasdeveloped over the time on cot-tage based Power Looms unitscomprising of 8 to 10 loomsspread all over the country.

TextileFrom Page 13

US online jobsindex up 7pcyear-on-year

NEW YORK—A monthly gaugeof online labour demand in theUnited States rose in Novemberfrom October, and was up 7 per-cent from a year ago, the opera-tor of a job search website said.

Monster Worldwide Inc, anonline careers and recruitingfirm, said its employment indexrose to 158 last month from 156in October.

The index saw annualgrowth in 14 of the 19 industriesand 11 of the 23 occupationsmonitored last month.

The report was another lookat the jobs market ahead of thegovernment’s non-farm payrollsreport that will be released.—Newswire

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Pakistan may startimporting tractors from Indiaafter normalization of trade withthe neighbouring country, anofficial of a leading Indian en-gineering conglomerate said.

According to him, a localtractor firm, which already hastrade links with an Indian coun-terpart, is likely to import partsof tractor if the item is includedin the ‘positive list’ this month.

Meanwhile, representativesof both companies claimed thatthey had an arrangement akin to ajoint venture since 2003, but di-rect trade was avoided because ofrestrictions on import from India.

Representatives of the twocompanies were at the Federa-tion House to attend the meet-ing between members of Con-federation of Indian Industry(CII) and FPCCI.

Rajive Kumar, Head of Ex-ports, Escorts Limited said thatbeing India’s leading engineer-ing conglomerates operating inthe high growth sector of agri-

Pakistan to startimporting Indian tractors

machinery, the group was look-ing for a distribution network forits tractors and farm machinery.

Indian tractors are verysimilar to the ones being manu-factured in Pakistan which isfacing a shortage of importantagricultural machinery.

“If the import/export barri-ers are removed not only short-ages could be met and tractorsassembled/ redesigned herecould be re-exported to otherneighboring countries such asAfghanistan, Iran and others,”he said.

“We are initially in talkswith Pakistani company as dis-tributors, however capital in-vestment may also be made inthe local company later,” hesaid.

Mohammad Iqbal, Manag-ing Director of Universal Trac-tor Pakistan, said that there wasa domestic demand of 90,000tractors while the local produc-tion capacity was only 60,000tractors. “We are ready to im-port CKDs and tractor partsfrom India if the item is deleted

from the negative list,” he saidadding that opening up of tradelinks would benefit the tractorindustry of both countries.

“In the absence of directtrade links, we have imported atleast 100 tractors from Indiansubsidiary companies in Polandand the United States during thepast 10 years,” Iqbal said, add-ing that a Joint Venture Techni-cal Collaboration Plant was builtwhich would help the companyto produce increased number oflocal tractors.

According to him, althoughPakistan had comparativelycheaper tractors, assembling In-dian tractors based on oldertechnologies would be cheaper,resulting in huge savings infreight charges, customs dutyand cost of labour.

“We are hopeful that the min-istry of commerce and other au-thorities concerned will includetractor in the positive list of tradewith India keeping in view theimportance of the agriculturalmachinery and possibilities ofgrowth in this industry,” he said.

Prices of 17items shoot up

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The SensitivePrice Indicator (SPI) for theweek ended on December 13,for the lowest income group upto Rs 8,000, registered decreaseof 0.18 per cent as compared tothe previous week.

The SPI for the week underreview in the above mentionedgroup was recorded at 181.47points against 181.79 points reg-istered in the previous week, ac-cording to provisional figures ofPBS. The weekly SPI has beencomputed with base 2007-2008=100, covering 17 urbancenters and 53 essential items forall income groups and combined.

The SPI for the combinedgroup increased by 0.05 percent, going up from 187.51points in the previous week to187.61 points in the week underreview. As compared to the cor-responding week of last year, theSPI for the combined group inthe week under review wit-nessed increase of 7.54 percent.

AutonomusFBR demanded

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The business com-munity has called for making theFBR an independent institution,setting it free from any influenceof the government and politicalvictimisation.

“When tax department hasalready been declared as anindependent and autonomousinstitution under the Act 2007,then why government im-poses decisions on it throughFinance Division and Estab-l ishment Division, askedAPAT Central general secre-tary Naeem Mir.

He said that governmentshould devise some rules underthe constitution to appoint theFBR chief on the patron of ap-pointment of Election Commis-sion Chairman. The tenure ofFBR head should be fixed forat least four years with a viewto continuation of policies andfor this purpose necessary leg-islation should be made, headded.

All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran leader suggested thegovernment to give the Boardfinancial autonomy, allocatingfunds for it in federal budgetevery year, which could be spenton capacity building of its staff.Besides, he stressed the need forintroducing reforms in the taxdepartment.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Opposing the FBRplan to withdraw Sales Tax Zero-Rating from certain export itemson the excuse of generating morerevenue Pakistan Tanners Asso-ciation (PTA) said that thought-less decision would adverselyaffect exports at a time whenhuge amount of Sales Tax Re-funds are already stuck up withthe FBR and exporters are fac-ing liquidity crunch.

The Pakistan Tanners Asso-ciation (PTA) Central ChairmanAgha Saiddain said the govern-ment may study export policiesof India, China and Bangladeshwhere exporters are facilitatedthrough export friendly policieshe said and added that FBRshould announce export friendlypolicies instead of creating diffi-culties for the industry.

Agha Saiddain said that Paki-stan leather products export vol-ume can be escalated to $3 billionfrom existing worth of about$1.048 billion if government takesall stakeholders on board and fi-

Withdrawal of zero sales tax facility opposednalize export policies with theirconsultations. He asked the au-thorities to take representatives ofexport-oriented industries on boardfor evolving an effective and re-sult-oriented trade and export poli-cies that could help achieve desiregoal of increasing exports.

The PTA Central Chairmanwarned the FBR Chairman againstrevision of Zero-Rating schemekeeping in mind the existing hugetrade gap of US$ 21.271 billionduring 2011–12, as Pakistan total

exports stood at US$ 23.641 bil-lion against the total imports ofUS$ 44.912 billion.

“This huge trade gap has re-sulted in inflation and devalua-tion of Pak Rupee. If zero-ratingfrom five sectors i.e. textileleather carpets sports and surgi-cal is withdrawn, it will adverselyaffect our exports” he said andadded that huge amount of SalesTax Refunds are stuck up withFBR while exporters are alreadyin liquidity crunch.

Japan’s LDP leadsTOKYO—Japanese candidates made finalappeals on Saturday ahead of an electionexpected to restore the conservative Lib-eral Democratic Party (LDP) to power andgive hawkish former premier Shinzo Abe asecond shot at running the world’s thirdbiggest economy. An LDP win on Sun-day would usher in a government com-mitted to a firm stance in a territorial rowwith China, a pro-nuclear energy policydespite last year’s Fukushima disaster and

a radical prescription for hyper-easy monetary policy and bigfiscal spending to beat deflation and tame a strong yen. Me-dia surveys suggest the LDP will win a big majority inparliament’s powerful 480-seat lower house, just three yearsafter a crushing defeat that ended more than 50 years of al-most non-stop rule by the business-friendly party, althoughmany people were undecided in surveys just days before thevote. Together with a small ally, Abe’s LDP could even gainthe two-thirds majority needed to break through a policy dead-lock that has plagued successive governments for half a de-cade. “It really looks more like an avalanche than a landslide,”said Gerry Curtis, a professor at New York’s Columbia Uni-versity and a veteran Japan expert. Abe, 58, who resigned aspremier in 2007 after a troubled year in office, has been talk-ing tough on a row with China over tiny islands in the EastChina Sea, although some experts hold out hope he willtemper his hard line with pragmatism.—Reuters

Italy’s left questions Monti roleROME—Italy’s main centre-left party, lead-ing polls for next year’s election, criticisedcalls for Prime Minister Mario Monti torun for a second term, a move one of theparty’s leading figures said would be “mor-ally questionable”. The Democratic Party(PD) has supported Monti’s technocratgovernment in parliament. But, while it haspledged to continue his fiscal disciplineand wants him to stay on in some roleafter the election, it says he should stay

out of the campaign, which polls suggest he would lose any-way. “It would be illogical and in a certain sense morally ques-tionable if the professor were to enter the race against themain political force which supported him in his reform ef-forts,” Massimo D’Alema, a former prime minister and aninfluential centre-left elder statesman told Friday’s dailyCorriere della Sera. “I have great esteem for him and I hope hedoesn’t.” Centre-right candidate Silvio Berlusconi has offeredto stand aside to allow a Monti candidacy. European politi-cians from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to French Presi-dent Francois Hollande also heaped praise on Monti and at ameeting of European centre-right parties on Saturday, he wasurged to run in the election. Monti avoided public commentson his political future, telling a news conference in Brussels itwould not be “either possible or appropriate” for him to speakon the matter. But in an interview with an online religiousmagazine, Monti said Italians had earned respect for theireconomic sacrifices.—Reuters

Israeli FM quits after indictmentJERUSALEM—Israeli Foreign MinisterAvigdor Lieberman resigned on Fridayafter being charged with fraud and breachof trust, a move that could impact onJanuary’s election which his party, mergedwith Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’sLikud, was tipped to win. Israel’s JusticeMinistry said on Saturday it would chargeLieberman over alleged irregularities tiedto the promotion of an Israeli diplomat whohad leaked him privileged information

about a police probe into his activities. More serious allega-tions, including money-laundering and bribery, were dropped,but even the lesser charges cast a cloud over his politicalfuture and within 24 hours of receiving the ministry report, hestood down. “I have decided to resign my post as foreignminister and deputy prime minister and ... also to remove my(parliamentary) immunity forthwith so I can end this matterquickly, without delay and clear my name absolutely,”Lieberman said in an emailed statement. Netanyahu will serveas acting foreign minister until the January 22 election, anofficial said. Lieberman is not prohibited by law to run in theelection, but it was unclear whether he would choose to doso. On his Facebook page, Lieberman wrote that he hopedthe case would be settled before the vote and that he wouldreturn to public office. Lieberman’s right-wing party YisraelBeiteinu (Our Home is Israel) and Netanyahu’s Likud grouphave formed an electoral pact ahead of the ballot and opinionpolls had predicted they would win.—Reuters

Businessman jailed pending trialATHENS—Prominent Greek businessmanLavrentis Lavrentiadis will be jailed pend-ing his trial for involvement in a bankingscandal, a court source said on Saturday.Lavrentiadis, a high-flying businessmanwho began his career in the chemicals in-dustry and then moved into banking andmedia, was arrested on Saturday at hishome in Athens but taken to hospital laterthat day. He is among the most high-pro-file Greek businessmen to be charged since

Greece sank into a debt crisis, and his arrest comes amidgrowing public anger at a political and business elite blamedfor dragging the country close to financial ruin. The 40-year-old remained in hospital on Saturday, where he faced a mag-istrate who decided he should be held until his trial, the sourcesaid. He is expected to be taken to prison or a prison hospitalin the coming days, the source said. A Greek prosecutor filedfelony charges against him earlier this year in relation to thecollapse of Proton Bank, a small Greek financial institution inwhich he was the biggest shareholder. Proton became thefirst Greek bank to be effectively nationalised after it fell un-der a bank rescue fund set up by Greece and its interna-tional lenders. Lavrentiadis has denied any wrongdoing.In a statement, he said the decision to jail him did not takeinto account his health issues and that the charges againsthim were built on a biased.—Reuters

Brazil leader’s popularity hits highBRASILIA—Brazilian President DilmaRousseff’s approval rating is at an all-timehigh, despite a stalled economy and po-litical scandals that have tarnished thereputation of her ruling Workers’ Party, anopinion poll published on Saturdayshowed. Rousseff’s personal approvalrating rose slightly to 78 percent, from 77percent three months ago, according tothe CNI/Ibope poll. Approval of her left-of-centre government was unchanged at

62 percent, the poll showed. The once-booming Brazilianeconomy almost ground to halt in Rousseff’s first year aspresident in 2011 and recovery has been disappointing thisyear, despite a slew of tax breaks and other incentives adoptedby Rousseff’s economic team. Third-quarter growth of 0.6percent was half that expected by economists and surprisedeven the government, while investment declined for a fifthstraight quarter, prompting calls from business leaders for achange in policy. Pollsters say the slowdown has not af-fected most Brazilian, who continue to consume more andhave a positive view of the government’s efforts to reduceinterest rates to historic lows, while keeping inflation in rea-sonable check. —Reuters

MOSCOW—Russia movedcloser on Friday to adopt-ing a law barring entry toAmericans who violate hu-man rights, the same dayU.S. President BarackObama signed into law arights-linked trade bill Mos-cow finds objectionable.The tit-for-tat responsecame in a near-unanimousvote in the State Duma - thefirst of three votes beforethe bill goes to the upperhouse - hours before Obamasigned the U.S. legislationinto law.

The U.S. legislation isknown as the MagnitskyAct after Sergei Magnitsky,an anti-corruption lawyerwhose death in a Moscowjail in 2009 caused an inter-national outcry. It will re-quire the United States torefuse visas for Russiansaccused of human rightsviolations and freeze anyassets they hold in theUnited States.

Only two deputies in the450-seat Duma votedagainst Russia’s retaliatorybill, which would deny vi-sas to Americans who vio-late the rights of Russiansabroad, as well as seizingtheir assets and preventingthem from doing business inRussia. In debate pepperedwith belligerent speechesreminiscent of Cold Warrhetoric, all four partiesbacked the bill - a rare dis-play in a chamber where the

Russia retaliates against US rights legislationCommunists and Just Rus-sia frequently vote againstKremlin-controlled UnitedRussia.

“We will answer in kind,”

said Vladimir Vasiliyev, thesenior lawmaker for UnitedRussia, which holds a major-ity in the Duma. “The sad-dest thing is that ... the hawks

(in the United States), ColdWar hawks, have again wonout.” “The Magnitsky Act isjust an excuse to meddle inour internal affairs,” said

Just Russia deputyAlexander Tarnavsky.

The spat may make itharder for the two nations tohalt a downward drift in rela-

tions, which had improvedafter Obama launched a “re-set” of ties in 2009. Theformer Cold War foes Haveclashed over the Syria con-

flict and U.S. criticism of theKremlin’s treatment of politi-cal opponents, particularlyafter President VladimirPutin’s return to the Kremlin

in May.Putin signaled on Thurs-

day that he wants to limit thedamage from the dispute,saying that Russia’s re-

sponse to the bill must notbe “excessive”. Russian For-eign Ministry spokesmanAlexander Lukashevich ech-oed that message on Friday.

He warned that “whatgoes around comes around”and said U.S. lawmakersseemed to want “to sacrificethe capital that has beenbuilt up in Russian-Ameri-can relations”, but also sug-gested the response wouldbe measured. “We value ourstrategic interaction with theUnited States, and for thisreason the reaction even tosuch an unfriendly stepshould be proportionate,”Lukashevich told journalistsat a weekly briefing.

The Russian bill saysAmericans affected will in-clude those involved in “un-founded or unjust” sen-tences against Russians - anod to Viktor Bout, a Rus-sian arms trader serving a 25-year prison term in theUnited States in what Mos-cow says was a politicallymotivated prosecution andunfair trial. The Rus-sian bill, expected to besigned by Putin before theend of the year, also targetsAmericans accused of abus-ing Russian-born adoptedchildren and U.S. judges orauthorities deemed to havebeen too lenient in suchcases.

Pro-Kremlin lawmakershave proposed the bill benamed after Dima Yakovlev,a Russian-born boy whodied at the age of 18 monthsafter his adoptive U.S. fam-ily left him locked in a vehiclein Virginia in 2008.—Reuters

NEW DELHI—Pakistan In-terior Minister RehmanMalik on Saturday said thatIndia has not raised IndianArmy’s Captain SaurabhKalia’s issue with him. Theissue of Kalia’s death wasnot part of my agenda in In-dia this time, Malik addedon the second day of thisthree-day visit to India.

He further accused themedia of creating the agendafor the India-Pakistan talks,terming it “not fair”. Clarify-ing his Friday’s remarks onKalia, Malik said he hadbeen “totally misquoted”and that he did not know

India never raised Kaliacase with Pakistan: Malik

“too much of the incident”.Malik had created a

furore yesterday by sayingthat he wasn’t sure whetherCaptain Kalia “was killed bya Pakistani bullet, or theweather” during the Kargilconflict in 1999.

“When the fight is goingon the border, we really don’tknow whether he was killedwith a Pakistani bullet or hedied because of theweather,” Malik had told re-porters here on arrival on athree-day visit.

“I have not examined thiscase, it has just come to mynotice very recently, but I will

WASHINHTON—The Wash-ington Post is reporting thatnuclear negotiations be-tween six major powers andIran could resume soon,probably in Istanbul. Initialmeetings could begin asearly as next week, thoughthey are more likely to startafter the New Year’s Dayholiday.

These new round oftalks was originally expectedto take place at the end ofNovember, soon after the USpresidential election, butwere delayed while the six-nation negotiating group(US, UK, France, Germany,Russia and China), consid-ered what they were goingto put on the table.

According to the Post,that will look rather similar towhat was put on the table atabortive talks in the summer:no new sanctions, a liftingof the ban of sales of aircraftparts to Iran, and help withpeaceful nuclear power gen-eration, in return for Iranstopping its production of

20%, or ‘medium-enriched’,uranium, the removal of itsexisting 20% stockpile andthe closure of its under-ground enrichment plant atFordow.

Reading between thelines somewhat in the Postarticle, the enhancements inthis updated offer to Iran areto be back-loaded. Muchgreater inducements, likesanctions relief and ultimateacceptance of Iran’s right tomake low-enrichment ura-nium, would be available fur-ther down the road in returnfor further Iranian conces-sions, and this “grand bar-gain” would be spelled outmore clearly.

The package has thesame bone structure, but withsome slightly different tat-toos If true, this is a harder-nosed approach than I ex-pected on the basis of con-versations with diplomatsback in October, when itlooked like some more signifi-cant sanctions relief would beoffered up front. It seems that

Washington believes that theintense and deepening sanc-tions on Iran will be enoughto get 20% enrichment haltedand stop the clock on Israelimilitary action. This is whatthe senior official told JobyWarrick of the Post:

Our assessment is that itis possible that they are readyto make a deal...Certainly, thepressure is on. If a deal isdone on this basis, it will seenby western governments asa vindication for the toughsanctions policy of the pastyear. But the approach is highrisk, and will backfire ifTehran feels it is being hu-miliated. In October, westernofficials said that they ac-knowledged that for the dealto work, Iranian negotiatorshad to be able to go home andplausibly claim victory. Bycontrast, the tattoos remarkseems designed to do theopposite - emphasis the su-perficial, decorative enhance-ments to the new offer.

This is one guess at whatis happening.—Reuters

be very happy to see the fa-ther of the soldier, and shakehands and like to know whatexactly happened,” headded.

Giving clarifications,Malik said: “My full sympa-thies are with the family...Since the matter concernsthe Ministry of Defence, Iwill take the information andhave it investigated... Thecause of death is not yet de-termined.

If he was tortured, howcould you expect that wewould give such a body(back), knowing the reactionit would elicit.”—Reuters

Iran nukes talks to resume soon

US President Barack Obama (seated) signs H.R. 6156, the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and MagnitskyRule of Law Accountability Act, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

BAGHDAD—Earlier this week,the State Department desig-nated the al Nusrah Front inSyria as an “alias” for alQaeda in Iraq (AQI). The headof AQI, Abu Bakr al Baghdadial Husseini al Qurshi (a.k.a.Abu Du’a), “is in control ofboth AQI and al Nusrah.” Thedesignation says a lot aboutour knowledge, or lackthereof, of al Qaeda’s clandes-tine international network.

If you go back through allof the articles written about alNusrah in the first elevenmonths of this year, and therehave been many, you will behard pressed to find any thatsay the group is commandedby the same man who leadsAQI.

Yes, the connections be-tween AQI and al Nusrahhave been widely noted, in-cluding in some very thor-ough reporting. But the StateDepartment’s designationpoints to something beyondmere connections: commandand control.

Al Qaeda tried to hide hand in SyriaThis is not intended to be

a knock on the journalists andanalysts (including this au-thor) who have reported onthe group. But it further provesan essential point that getstoo little attention: Despiteeleven-plus years of a multi-national assault on the terror-ist organization, al Qaeda’scommand structure remainsopaque.

Look at it another way. Itis a short jog from Iraq to Syria,right over the border, and yetthere has been no public re-porting (or, none that I’veread) on AQI’s outright “con-trol” of al Nusrah. Again,we’ve known that the two arerelated, but this is different.

There has been a big as-sumption in counterterrorismcircles that al Qaeda’s “core”in South Asia remains isolatedfrom its affiliates. Detailed re-porting about the full cacheof Osama bin Laden’s docu-ments tells a different story.And we know that Abu Bakral Baghdadi’s predecessors in

AQI were in contact with alQaeda’s senior leadership.There is no reason to assumethat this relationship haschanged. We cannot see alQaeda emir Ayman alZawahiri’s contacts with AQI,but that doesn’t mean weshould assume they don’t ex-ist.

AQI, and therefore alNusrah, remains loyal to alQaeda’s core. AQI has swornallegiance to Ayman alZawahiri. “I tell our brothersin Al Qaeda led by Ayman AlZawahiri, go on with God’sblessing and be glad that youhave faithful brothers in theIslamic State of Iraq who aremarching on the path of right,”Abu Bakr al Baghdadi said ina statement released onlineshortly after bin Laden’s de-mise.

And as the State Depart-ment previously noted, alBaghdadi “pledged…to carryout 100 attacks across Iraq inretaliation for bin Laden’sdeath.”—Reuters

BANGKOK—The no-confi-dence vote, due on Wednes-day, has been called by theopposition Democrat Party.They accuse Ms Yingluckand her ruling Pheu Thaiparty of ongoing corruptionand are questioning her linksto her brother, exiled formerThai premier ThaksinShinawatra. “The Prime Min-ister has failed to govern thiscountry as promised. She al-lows corruption,” said Demo-crat Party MP JurinLaksanavisit at the start of thedebate. “She also allows out-side people to influence herand control her administra-tion.”

Many people in Thailandregard Ms Yingluck as aproxy for Mr Thaksin, whowas overthrown in a militarycoup in 2006 and is nowbased in Dubai. Ms

Thai premier facesno trust vote

Yingluck’s Pheu Thai partywon an overwhelming major-ity in elections in July 2011,meaning there is little chanceof Wednesday’s no-confi-dence vote succeeding.

Yet, coming after the Pro-tect Siam group had promisedto “topple” the government,the timing of the debate is sig-nificant. It demonstrates thatthe Democrat Party and thealliance of conservative, pro-royalist groups who make upThailand’s opposition haveno intention of stopping theirassault on Ms Yingluck.“They can’t get rid of PheuThai through democraticmeans, so they are tryingtechnical means,” ProfessorPitch Pongsawat, a professorof political science atBangkok’s ChulalongkornUniversity, told the DailyTelegraph.—AP

French FinanceMinistry denies

budget minister’sresignation

PARIs—France’s Budget Min-istry on Saturday denied amEdia report that Budget Min-ister Jerome Cahuzac was tostep down following allega-tions he had held a secretSwiss bank account.

French news websiteLyonMag said Cahuzac, whois leading a government crack-down on tax evasion, was toannounce his resignation onFriday evening, and could bereplaced by Pierre-Alain Muet,member of parliament for theRhone district in southernFrance.

“We formally deny thisinformation,” sources close tothe minister told Reuters. Con-tacted by Reuters, a pressspokeswoman for Prime Min-ister Jean-Marc Ayrault’s of-fice said Muet was not beingconsidered for the post, andreiterated that Cahuzac wasstill budget minister. Cahuzachas vigorously denied a re-port by the Mediapart newswebsite which said he hadheld an account at Swiss bankUBS until the beginning of2010.—Reuters

Schools,students are

targetsworldwide

BEIJING—A half-day beforea young gunman committedone of the deadliest schoolattacks in U.S. history, a Chi-nese farmer took a kitchenknife and hacked at more than20 children as they enteredtheir rural elementary school.

“It’s these disaffectedpeople who are angry at theworld, who plan to take out asmany people as they can, andthere’s some element there ofnotoriety,” said forensic psy-chologist James Ogloff ofMonash University inMelbourne, Australia. “It’s away of becoming infamous.”

Mass killings, when anindividual tries to kill as manypeople at one time as possible,have occurred in places as faraway as Switzerland, where 14people died in a shootingspree by an unemployed manwho then killed himself in2001, to South Korea, where apolice officer killed 56 peoplebefore he blew himself up in1982.

Distinct from acts of ter-ror that have political or col-lective aims, other mass kill-ers act out of personal griev-ances. Attacks againstschools are a bleak subset,offering easy targets for tak-ing down large numbers ofvictims.

China largely prohibitsprivate ownership of guns.“They choose to attackschool students who are weakin defending themselves andare easily assaulted,” said ZhuZhuohong, an associate re-searcher in psychology at theChinese Academy of Sci-ences.—Reuters

BEIRUT—NATO accusedSyrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of firing Scudmissiles that landed near tothe Turkish border, in ex-plaining why it was sendinganti-missile batteries andtroops to the bloc’s frontier.The Syrian government,which finds itself under at-tack from rebels in the capi-tal Damascus and by a dip-lomatic alliance of Arab andWestern powers, denies fir-ing such long-range, Soviet-built rockets and had no im-mediate comment on the lat-est charge.

Admiral James Stavridis,the American who isNATO’s military commander,wrote in a blog on Friday:“Over the past few days, ahandful of Scud missileswere launched inside Syria,directed by the regimeagainst opposition targets.Several landed fairly close tothe Turkish border, which isvery worrisome.” It was not

Syrian Scuds hit‘near’ Turkey: Nato

clear how close they came.NATO member Turkey, oncefriendly toward Assad butnow among the main alliesof the rebels, has complainedof occasional bullets and ar-tillery fire, some of which hasbeen fatal, for many months.It sought the installation ofmissile defenses on its bor-der some weeks ago.

“Syria is clearly a chaoticand dangerous situation; butwe have an absolute obliga-tion to defend the borders ofthe alliance from any threatemanating from that troubledstate,” Stavridis wrote. Bat-teries of U.S.-made Patriotmissiles, designed to shootdown the likes of the Scudspopularly associated withIraq’s wars under SaddamHussein in the 1990s, areabout to be deployed by theU.S., German and Dutcharmies, each of which is send-ing up to 400 troops to oper-ate and protect the rocketsystems.—Reurers

KINSHASA—Democratic Re-public of Congo PresidentJoseph Kabila said on Satur-day he was planning an ini-tiative aimed at uniting thecentral African nation, tornby an eastern rebellion and afurious political opposition.

“National cohesion mustnot be conditional, it must beopen for all,” Kabila said inan address to parliament. “Aninitiative will be taken shortly,the details to be decided indue course. There should notbe a Congo for the majorityand a separate one for theopposition.” It was a rarepublic address by Kabila,who has been increasingly inthe shadows since he wasreelected in 2011 polls widelyseen as fraudulent and since

Congo plans initiativeto unite country

mutinous soldiers launchedthe M23 rebellion in resource-rich eastern Congo in April.

He gave no details of theinitiative, though M23 rebelshave repeatedly demandedthat Kabila open negotiationsto address opposition griev-ances, along with their own.Congo’s opposition has ac-cused Kabila of stealing the2011 election and of usingsecurity forces to stifle dis-sent. Rebel and governmentrepresentatives are in peacetalks in neighbouring Ugandawhich began after the rebelswithdrew from Goma, theprovincial capital of NorthKivu in eastern Congo,which they had seized fromU.N.-backed Congolese sol-diers in November.—Reuters

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Earlier thisweek, India’s B.B.Nimbalkar, who came closeto Don Bradman for scor-ing highest innings total infirst class cricket, died oneday before his 93rd birth-day. According to thegame’s statisticians,Mohandas Menon, SudhirVaidya, Rajneesh Gupta (allIndians) and Dave Wilson(USA), there are few excep-tional and rare examples ofcricketers born and dead ontheir birth anniversaries ora day before. Boyce beingthe only known cricketerdied on his birthday.

William Attewell of En-gland (b. 12-06-1861 & d.11-06-1927)

Bernard James TindalBosanquet of England (b.13-10-1877 - d. 12-10-1936)

Vernon Seymour

No Happy Birthday please....Ransford of Australia (b. 20-03-1885 - d. 19-03-1958)

KEITH DAVID BOYCEOF WEST INDIES (B. 11-10-1943 - D. 11-10-1996)

Kenneth Roy Rickards ofWest Indies (b. 22-08-1923 -d. 21-08-1995.

David Sheppard of En-gland (b. 06-03-1929- d. 05-03-2005.

“Statistically, aged over60 you are 14% more likely todie on your birthday thanany other day, possiblybecuase of higher stress”,informs Dave Wilson fromUSA.

This assesement wasbased on research made byDr Vladeta Ajdacic-Gross, asenior researcher in psychia-try at the University ofZurich. The findings – froma study over a 40-year periodin Switzerland – back up theidea that ‘birthday stress’ hasa major effect on our lifespan.

“The elderly people mayfeel particularly exposed to

stress on birthdays. Therisk of birthday death roseas people got older”, theresearcher says in his re-port.

This is backed up byother data on hospital ad-mission taken in Canadashowing that strokes weremore likely to occur onbirthdays than other days,especially among patientswith a history of high bloodpressure. It was previouslythought that people wouldbe more likely to die in thedays after their birthday asthe thought of reaching themilestone would help themcling on for longer.

But the researchers saidthis theory was disprovedby their findings, and theysupport the ‘anniversaryreaction’ theory – alsoknown as the birthdayblues. William Shakespeareis also reported to havedied on his 52nd birthdayin 1616 of unknown causes.

HOBART: Peter Siddle took the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara during Australia vs Sri Lanka first Test on Saturday.

NAGPUR: MS Dhoni of India was run out for 99 during 4th Test against England onSaturday.

HOBART, Australia—Four SriLankan wickets rewarded aMike Hussey-induced declara-tion to have Australia in a pow-erful position after the secondday of the first Hobart Test onSaturday. Veteran Hussey’sfifth century in six Tests againstSri Lanka enabled skipperMichael Clarke to call a halt toAustralia’s first innings at 450for five off 131 overs, some 30minutes before tea on a rain-interrupted day.

Clarke’s call was backed byhis bowlers who captured thewickets of Dimuth Karunaratneand the prized scalps of KumarSangakkara, MahelaJayawardene and ThilanSamaraweera in the final ses-sion. At the close, Sri Lankawere 87 for four withTillakaratne Dilshan not out 50with Samaraweera out in day’sfinal over. Dilshan reached his50 off 82 balls when he hookedShane Watson for four in thepenultimate over of the day.

Evergreen Hussey contin-ued to flourish this southernsummer with an unbeaten 115

for his 19th Test century andthird in the last month to sharein a 146-run stand withwicketkeeper Matthew Wade(68).

In his six Tests against SriLanka, Hussey has scored fivecenturies at 109.62. Hussey,batting better than ever at theage of 37, audaciously raisedhis hundred with a pull offShaminda Eranga. AngeloMathews looked set to take thecatch on the mid-wicket bound-ary ropes but fumbled thechance, allowing the ball tobounce over for four to bringup Hussey’s 100.

Hussey’s knock came off184 balls with eight fours and asix. Wade, who had a life on 20when he was dropped by field-ing substitute Suraj Randiv atmid-wicket off ChanakaWelegedara nearing lunch,raised his second Test half-century.

Clarke was the only Aus-tralian wicket to fall out in theday’s third over when he edgedEranga to Sangakkara lowdown at first slip. The Austra-

lian skipper’s 74 off 145 ballstook his tally to 1,432 runs thiscalendar year at 102.28 with apossibility of three more Testinnings to come before year’send. Clarke had been on trackfor his fifth century of 2012,three of them double-centuries,along with his Test highestscore of 329 not out againstIndia in Sydney last January.

Sri Lanka began boldlybut rookie openerKarunaratne was out for 14in the 10th over when henibbled at Ben Hilfenhausand was snapped up byWade. The Australiansstruck two killer blows late inthe day with the key wicketsof Sangakkara andJayawardene.—AFP

Australia vs Sri Lanka 1st Test

Aussies strike afterHussey-led declaration

PARIS—World football’sgoverning body on Saturdaysaid that they were unable tocheck whether claims that anAfrican footballer and notArgentina star Lionel Messiwas the record holder for themost goals scored in a calen-dar year.

“Thanks for the ques-tions about Godfrey Chitalu.Our official stats are limitedto FIFA competitions, so wecannot verify this ‘record’,”FIFA’s communications de-partment said on its Twitteraccount @fifamedia.

“We keep records for allFIFA competitions,” it added.

Barcelona forward Messiwas hailed by many as thegreatest player ever in thegame after he scored twice onSunday to beat the 40-year-old record of Germany’s GerdMueller and take his tally to86 for 2012. But claimsemerged on Thursday that hemay still in fact be well shortof Zambia legend Chitalu,who netted 107 times — 49in league matches for KabweWarriors and 58 in cup andinternationals — betweenJanuary 23 and December 10,1972.

A black and white photo-graph of a smiling Chitalu,dressed in a suit and holdinga ball inscribed with “1972Godfrey Chitalu 107 goals”has been widely circulatedon the Internet.

Yet there have also beenclaims that his name wasraised by jealous supportersof Barca rivals Real Madridto prevent the record goingto a Barcelona player.

Zambian commentatorMusonda Chibulu and fellow

researcher Jerry Muchimba,who compiled their data fromdaily newspapers and thesouthern African country’snational archives, had saidthey would try to get Chitalu’stally ratified by FIFA.

The Football Associationof Zambia (FAZ) also said it

wants recognition for theplayer, who is considered oneof the best to have played forThe Copper Bullets, who arethe current holders of the Af-rica Cup of Nations.

“Kabwe Warriors, forwhom Godfrey Chitalu played,

is a legendary team in our coun-try,” FAZ president KalushaBwalya was quoted as sayingon the BBC Sport website.

“Their front line hadGodfrey Chitalu scoring all thegoals — and even for the na-tional team, this man did a lot.So I think it would be impor-

tant for people to recognise hisfeats.” Chitalu died with thewhole national football teamwhen their airplane crashed offthe coast of Gabon in 1993 onthe way to a World Cup quali-fier in Senegal. He was headcoach at the time.—AFP

FIFA can’t verify claimsover Messi record

NAGPUR—After toiling in theNagpur sun for a good partof the third day, Englandfought back with four Indianwickets in the last hour of thefinal Test to even out pro-ceedings.

England, who are 2-1 upin the four-match series, en-dured a marathon 507-ballpartnership by MahendraDhoni and Virat Kohli, whoshared a 198-runs.

Kohli eventually fell for103 while Dhoni was run outon 99 off 246 balls, the un-der-fire captain playing hislongest Test innings in terms

of balls faced, beating hisprevious 187 balls.

All-rounder RavindraJadeja and Piyush Chawlawere also dismissed as Indiaclosed the day 33 runs be-hind England on 297-8.

James Anderson andGraeme Swann were onceagain amongst the wicketsand took their tally to 4-26and 3-76 respectively.

Commentating on thematch, former England bats-man Geoff Boycott said:

“Even if India bat well onSunday, England should geta small lead here. India needto bowl out of their skins –and if they can get Englandout by lunch on the last day,they might have a sniff. En-gland have shown that theycan fold under pressure.”

James Anderson wassparingly used, bowling justeight overs in the first twosessions of the day, whileTim Bresnan bowled slowerthan he managed the previ-

ous evening, and grew pro-gressively less effective.Alastair Cook’s shuffling ofhis bowling options bore nofruit, as the reverse swingbegan to fade and the tour-ists seemed to pin all theirhopes on the new ball afterlunch.

When that did not swingas well, the concern grew, andjust after just three overs withthe new cherry England werecomplaining that the ball wasout of shape.—AFP

England 1st innings: 330India 1st innings:Gambhir b Anderson .... 37Sehwag b Anderson ....... 0Pujara c Bell b Swann ... 26SR Tendulka b Anderson 2Kohli lbw b Swann ...... 103Dhoni run out ................ 99Jadeja lbw b Anderson . 12Ashwin not out ............... 7Chawla b Swann .............. 1Extras (b 5, lb 5) ............. 10Total (8 wickets) .......... 297Fall of wickets 1-1, 2-59, 3-64, 4-71, 5-269, 6-288, 7-295,8-297Bowling ............ O-M-R-WJM Anderson ..... 26-5-68-4TT Bresnan ........ 26-5-69-0MS Panesar ...... 46-15-67-0GP Swann ........ 30.1-9-76-3IJL Trott .................. 1-0-2-0JE Root ................... 1-0-5-0

Kohli ton buoys India before England hit back

LAHORE—Former Pakistancricket captain now battingconsultant of the national team,Inzamam- ul- Haq has urged thePakistani cricketers to displayaggressive cricket to outshineIndian team in T20 and one day.“Aggressive cricket by ourplayers will be the key to suc-cess against India in both theformats of the game during thecoming tour later this month“,he told a news conferenceafter supervising a batting ses-sion of Pakistan cricket teamhere on Saturday at Gadaffi sta-dium. He described the Pakteam a group talented cricket-ers in all departments of thegame and urged the players tostruck a higher level of aggres-sive cricket to overcome Indianopposition. “It would be myutmost effort to nimprove bat-ting techniques of our playerswho must have aggressivecricket in their mind set “,headded. Inzamam said it is a newexperience for him to associatewith the team as a batting ex-pert and he is confident to trans-form his experience to the play-ers without any difficulty . “Iplayed with most of the mem-bers of the present cricket teamand I know their temperamentand approach and there are

some new players in the rankas well and I would be there tohelp them out in order to lift theoverall performance of our bat-ting line “,said the formermiddle order batsman. “ Thistime I am in different role withthe team and I am fully aware ofthe responsibility given to me

and I am confident to deliver inright direction “,he said .

Inzamam said if the teamdisplays aggressive cricketthen it would be able to over-come the pressure of playingagainst India because Pak-In-dia matches are full of pressurefor both the sides. In T20

LAHORE: Inzimam-ul-Haq giving tips to Pakistan cricket team players during thetraining camp for the upcoming tour of India.

Aggressive cricket, key to successagainst India: Inzamam

Australia 1st innings:Warner run out ............... 57Cowan c Eranga ............... 4Hughes b Welegedara ... 86Watson c Jayawardene . 30Clarke b Eranga .............. 74Hussey not out ............ 115MS Wade not out .......... 68Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 1, nb 11)....16Total (5) ........................ 450Fall of wickets 1-18, 2-97, 3-183, 4-198,5-304Bowling .............O-M-R-WKulasekara .......... 32-2-80-0Welegedara ....... 26-1-130-3RMS Eranga ........ 25-5-90-1AD Mathews ...... 15-3-41-0

TM Dilshan ........... 7-0-30-0HMRKB Herath .. 26-4-75-0Sri Lanka 1st innings:Karunaratne b Hilfenhaus14Dilshan not out .............. 50Sangakkara b Siddle ........ 4Jayawardene b Watson . 12Samaraweera b Lyon ........ 7Total (4 wickets) ............. 87Fall of wickets 1-25, 2-42, 3-70,4-87Bowling .............O-M-R-WMA Starc ............... 7-1-30-0BW Hilfenhaus ..... 9-3-18-1NM Lyon .............. 2.1-2-0-1PM Siddle .............. 6-1-23-1SR Watson ............ 5-1-16-1

games batsmen do not relymuch on their technique andtheir main focus is hitting moreand more runs which is onlypossible when they are battingwith sheer concentration and Iwould be helping them to re-main focus during their batting,said the former captain.—APP

Pakistan-IndiaT20

rescheduledNEW DELHI—The secondgame of a two-matchTwenty20 series between In-dia and Pakistan has beenpostponed by a day and willnow be staged atAhmedabad on Dec. 28.

According to Cricinfo,the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) requested the Board ofControl for Cricket in India(BCCI) to reschedule thegame, as December 27 is thedeath anniversary ofPakistan’s former Prime Min-ister Benazir Bhutto, whowas assassinated in 2007.

The BCCI announced themove Saturday. The rest ofthe itinerary for Pakistan’stour, which also featuresthree one-day internationals,remains unchanged.

The tour commenceswith the opening Twenty20game at Bangalore on Dec.25. The three one-dayers willbe held in Chennai on Dec.30, Kolkata on Jan. 3 andNew Delhi on Jan. 6.

This will be the first bilat-eral series between the twoneighbors since Pakistan’stour of India in November2007.—AFP

Laying of blueturf in progressLAHORE—The laying of theBlue Desso Turf at theworld’s largest NationalHockey Stadium is inprogress here under the su-pervision of foreign expertseven in inclimate weather.

A duo of Dutch experts,who have specially flown toPakistan from Holland to su-pervise the laying of theworld’s finest plastic surface,kept working even duringrainy conditions and afterhaving been satisfied withthe proper laying of the re-quired shock pads, theyhave now started to lay theblue turf.

The Punjab governmentsanctioned Rs 3.5 million forthe turf after the Pakistanteam won the Asian Gamesgold medal last year but dueto some unscrupulous con-tractors nefarious acts whichdelayed the laying of the turf.That delay forced the SportsBoard Punjab to form a com-mittee, which ultimately de-cided to cancel the tender ofthat company.

The work was thenhanded over to TS Builders,which after some delay dueto the holding of the PunjabYouth Festival’s nationaland international events,started the laying of theshock pads and the turf im-mediately after the stadiumwas handed over to them onDecember 3.

The Dutch experts firstlaid the shock pads, pastedthem to the asphalt base, af-ter it was repaired to the re-quirement.—APP

A BLACKHEAD, or open comedo is awide opening on the skin with a blackened mass of skin debris covering the

opening. Despite their name, some blackheadscan be yellowish in color. A comedo is a wid-ened hair follicle which isfilled with skin debris (kera-tin squamae), bacteria and oil(sebum). A closed comedo isa whitehead, while an opencomedo is a blackhead. theplural of “comedo” iscomedomes”.

Blackheads are said to bethe first stage of acne. Theyform before bacteria invadethe pores of the patient’s skin.A blackhead can develop intoa pimple, which is alsoknown as a papule or pustule.

Blackheads, and acne ingeneral, usually develop afterpuberty, when hormone levelssurge and reach the skin. Thepresence of higher levels ofhormones in the skin triggersthe stimulation of the seba-ceous glands, which produce oily substances. Thesebaceous glands produce too much oil in thepores, which accumulates and gets stuck. Whenthe occluded oil is exposed to air it becomes black.

Several conditions and circumstances cancause blackheads, or make them worse, suchas the use of topical oils and make up. Black-heads can affect people with any type of skin,but are generally more common in those withoily skin. The overproduction of oil is the maincause of the emergence of blackheads. This islikely to occur in a high proportion of humansduring puberty. Spikes in hormone productioncan result in the high levels of DHT

(dihydrotestosterone), a hormone which trig-gers overactivity in the oil glands, resultingin clogged pores. Clean skin - if the skin isnot cleaned properly, more blackheads canappear, especially during those milestones in

life when they are moreprevalent, such as puberty.Improperly cleaned skinmakes it more likely that deadskin cells build up within thepores. The pore openings canbecome clogged, which ac-celerates the build up of oilinside - thus causing black-heads to form. However,many experts warn that dirtdoes not cause blackheads toform - which frequently con-fuses and frustrates patients.Blackheads are caused byoxidized oil, not dirt, expertsadd. Over-cleaning the skincan lead to irritation. In somecases, blackheads can emergeif moisturizers, sun screens,make up, or foundations are

overused. In the majority of cases, blackheadsusceptibility is not heredity, with the excep-tion of some severe acnes.

Food does not cause acne - although par-ents and grandparents commonly tell their teen-age offspring not to eat chocolates and greasyfoods, because they think they encourage the for-mation of acne - they do not cause blackheads ormake them worse. Some studies have pointedtowards a link between some dairy products andacne, but the evidence is not compelling.

Stress - stress does not directly affectblackhead occurrence. However, stress andanxiety can cause people to pick at their black-heads and acne, which may make them worse.

What are blackheads?How to get rid of black

KARACHI: Protestors burnt on Nagan Chowrangi during a demonstration in support of MQM Chief Altaf Hussain.

KARACHI: Activists of Minhaj-ul-Quran holding a demonstration against ‘corrupt elec-tion system’ on Saturday.

KARACHI—Traditional eth-ics committees in health careorganisations are reactive, ad-dressing only the most visibleethical concerns, pointed outat a symposium organized bythe Aga Khan University Hos-pital on Saturday.

They were unable to high-light deeper organisationalfactors that influence how ahealth care organisation func-tions, instead focusing on is-sues related primarily to clini-cal ethics.

Additionally, ethics com-mittees was not well con-nected with other functions ofthe organisation which results

in employees unable to handleethical issues effectively.

It was pointed out that ad-dressing these issues often fallsbeyond the scope of conventionalethics committees because theymay not pertain to clinical ser-vice, research or academics, butto the way the organisation runs.

Thus common norms andstandards of ethical conduct needto be set, communicated and en-forced in every function of theinstitute, explained Dr. RobynaKhan, Assistant Professor, AKU.

She was speaking as Chair,Sixth Hospital Ethics CommitteeSymposium held at Aga KhanUniversity.

In her keynote address, Dr.Melissa M. Bottrell of theNational Center for Ethics inHealth Care in the UnitedStates identified the majorlimitations of traditional eth-ics committee models and of-fered an Integrated Ethicsmodel as a paradigm shift thatremedies most of these de-fects.

“By envisioning newways of looking at ethical con-cern in health care,” IntegratedEthics empowersorganisations to do the rightthings because it is the rightthing to do”,she said.

Professor Murad Khan,

Response to ethical challengesin healthcare bodies sought

Chair, Department of Psychia-try, AKU described variouscomponents of organisationalethics.

“As part of an organisationalapproach to ethics, committeesshould address matters such asconflict of interest issues, re-source allocation, appointmentsand promotions as well as sup-port other ethical activities intheir institution.”

The Symposium providedan opportunity to review chal-lenges, examine ethical issues inorganisations, and identify therole of leaders, faculty, admin-istration and staff in formulat-ing and implementing solutions.

Summarising the discussionsProfessor Camer Vellani, re-viewed the impact oforganisational culture, leader-ship, and ethics committees asdrivers of success in an inte-grated ethics approach.

Other notable speakers atthe Symposium included Dr.Abdul Bari Khan, CEO,Indus Hospital , AmeenaSaiyid, Managing Director,Oxford University Press,Professor Arif Zaman,former Dean, Lahore Univer-sity of Management Sciences(LUMS) and Dr Nida Bashir,Consultant Surgeon, PatelHospital.—APP

33 accusedheld

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Karachi Po-lice in their ongoing driveagainst the criminals, arrested33 accused from various partsof the metropolis during thelast 24 hours.

A police statement on Fri-day said that said that thosearrested included nineabsconders.

It said that 20 pistols, onerepeater and seven mobilephones recovered from the ac-cused.

There were six encountersof the police with the allegedcriminals and that two gangsof alleged criminals were alsobusted during the period, thepolice statement added

Certificatesdistributed

KARACHI—The Acting USConsul General in Karachi,Corina Sanders, distributed cer-tificates among 34 Sindh andBalochistan policemen.

These police personnel hadsuccessfully completed the USexpert-led ‘Post Blast EvidenceRecovery’ training programme.

The ceremony was held atthe Central Police Office (CPO)here on Friday.—APP

KARACHI: A large number of people selecting and purchasing old woollies from the road-side vendors stalls.

Panic postponeslawyers election,university exams

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—The annual elec-tion of the Karachi Bar Associa-tion (KBA), which was sched-uled to be held on Saturday, waspostponed due to the tense situ-ation prevailing in the city.

The lawyers could not go forballoting for the Association’selection for 2013 which hadbeen deferred keeping in mindsecurity of the lawyers thatmight be risked by a tense citysituation. According to KBAPresident Mahmoodul Hassan,the absence of transport in thecity had also rendered majorityof the voters unable to reach theCity Court to caste their vote. Itmay be mentioned here that Ad-vocates Noor Naz Agha andNaeem Qureshi are contestingelections for the presidential slot.

Meanwhile, the ChiefElection Commission, Districtand Session Judge AhmadSaba said the polling for KBAelection would be held on De-cember 19. Also postponed onSaturday were the B.A Part IIexams by the University ofKarachi citing security con-cerns on the tense day. Theuniversity administration saiddate for the rescheduled paperwould be announced later. .

CNG closuretroubles peopleKARACHII—The commutersand motorists had to suffer a lotdue to closure of CNG stationsacross Sindh on Saturday. Itshould be mentioned that underSNGPL gas loadshedding man-agement plan, supply to CNGstations across Sindh was sus-pended on Friday night for 24hours. Earlier long queues of ve-hicles was seen filling stationsbut most of the motorists failedto get CNG cylinders filled dueto low pressure and as some sta-tions stopped the supply before12pm due to uncertain law andorder situation.—INP

STAFF REPORTER

KA R A C H I—The PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP) willcome up with an overwhelm-ing victory in the next generalelections in the country.

This was stated by the PPPmembers of the Sindh Assem-bly in a joint statement issuedhere on Saturday. They saidthat the PPP would inflict acrushing defeat to the PML-Nand PML-F.

The PPP MPAs in theirstatement made it clear thatthere was no planning ever un-dertaken for the Kalabagh

PPP to emerge withoverwhelming majority

Dam during the governmentsof Shaheed Zulfikar AliBhutto and ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto.They said that there are cer-tain elements that are resort-ing to false propaganda just totry to hide their own sins.

The PPP MPAs in theirstatement also pointed out thatMohtarma Benazir Bhutto hadstaged a historic sit in atKamoo Shaheed (Ghotki)against the Kalabagh Dam andthat the entire country is awareof this.

They said that there werecertain parties that had sided

with the dictatorial regimes ofZiaul Haq and PervezMusharraf and were in collu-sion as far as the unconstitu-tional steps taken during thoseeras. However, as the generalelections draw nearer these el-ements were resorting to falsepropaganda and trying to forgean election alliance against thePPP.

The PPP MPAs in theirstatement further said that thepeople are well aware of the pastof such elements. They said thatin the coming general electionsthe PPP will emerge victoriouswith an overwhelming majority.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—It has been de-cided to initiate a website for theseats of higher learning, accord-ing to the Sindh Governor Dr.Ishrat ul Ebad Khan.

This was informed at ameeting of the vice-chancellorsof the public sector universitiesand the heads of degree award-ing institutes held at the Gover-nor House here on Saturday.

The Sindh Governor, who isalso the Chancellor of the pub-lic sector universities in theprovince, presided over the

Higher learning website installedmeeting.

The website would containinformation regarding all theuniversities and degree award-ing institutes for providing guid-ance to the students regardingthe higher education sector.

It would also provide infor-mation regarding the ranking ofthe seats of higher learning andother required information.Speaking on the occasion, theGovernor called for undertakingconcerted efforts for a solidheadway in the realms of highereducation and for this the pub-lic sector and private universi-

ties in the province should ben-efit from one another’s experi-ences.

He also asked the vice-chan-cellors and others to play theirrole for fostering a positive im-age of the country. Dr. Ishrat saidthat there has been an impres-sive progress in the educationsector.

He said that apart from fa-cilities in research and teaching,the enrolment in the universitieshas also doubled. The Governorsaid that Karachi University hasearned a place among the 500top universities in the world.

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—President PakistanAirlines Pilots’ Association(PALPA) Capt. Suhail Baluchhas welcomed the statement ofNational Assembly StandingCommittee on Defence, in whichthe lawmakers asked the PIAmanagement to review its deci-sion regarding sacking of senior,experienced pilots.

In a statement from PALPAheadquarter, Baluch said “thesesenior pilots, having vast expe-rience and thousands of flyinghours are an asset for the nationalairlines”.

“We should take care of our

NA body’s PIA move hailedassets instead of losing them af-ter huge investment by airlineon their training and grooming”,he added.

He said these senior pilotshave professional license fromCivil Aviation Authority (CAA)and have unmatched profes-sional skills which is far valu-able than a degree besides, PIA,which is already short of flyingcrew, has invested huge amounton the professional trainingthroughout their employment.

A pilot becomes truly ex-pensive commodity when he/she acquired command of anaircraft, by then the airline hasspent at least Rs. 3.5 to 4 crores

on trainings and grooming. Af-ter such a tedious process thepilot gets certified to fly aBoeing-777.

Ironically we are givingaway this asset built over yearsto other airlines which are notbothered what kind of objectionhe or she has on his intermedi-ate or matric certificates ac-quired years ago. In the field offlying what matters most is theflying license acquisition andsubsequent trainings.

In case if the management/au-thorities want to punish the saidpilots they will be rightfully do-ing so and PALPA fully supportsthe management in such a case

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI–As many as 20 teach-ers of Sindh Madressahtul IslamModel Schools have been pro-moted to higher grades.

A statement here on Saturdaysaid that Dr. Mohammad AliShaikh, Vice Chancellor of SindhMadressatul Islam University

Teachers promoted(SMIU) has promoted 20 teach-ers of Sindh Madressatul IslamModel Schools (boys and girls)to the higher grades, on the ba-sis of Time Scale in accordancewith the policy of the Sindhgovernemnt notified on 7th June2010, which was adopted by theSMIU from 1st July 2012. t saidthat the promoted teachers will

get benefit from 1st July 2012.According to the decision

taken by Dr. Muhammad AliShaikh after recommendationsof a three member committeeof SMIU, seven teachers- SyedWajid Ali, Rajab Ali Mallah,Wajid Ali Shah, Abdul Latif,Syed Shahid Zafar Zaidi,Shakeel Ahmed Jamali.

BREAST cancer patients taking thedrug tamoxifen can cut their chancesof having the disease come back or

kill them if they stay on the pills for 10years instead of five years as doctors rec-ommend now, a major study finds.

The results couldchange treatment, espe-cially for younger women.The findings are a surprisebecause earlier researchsuggested that taking thehormone-blocking drug forlonger than five yearsdidn’t help and might evenbe harmful.

In the new study, re-searchers found thatwomen who tooktamoxifen for 10 years low-ered their risk of a recur-rence by 25 percent and ofdying of breast cancer by29 percent compared tothose who took the pills forjust five years.

In absolute terms, con-tinuing on tamoxifen kept three additionalwomen out of every 100 from dying ofbreast cancer within five to 14 years fromwhen their disease was diagnosed. Whenadded to the benefit from the first five yearsof use, a decade of tamoxifen can cut breastcancer mortality in half during the seconddecade after diagnosis, researchersestimate.Some women balk at taking a pre-ventive drug for so long, but for those athigh risk of a recurrence, “this will be aconvincer that they should continue,” saidDr. Peter Ravdin, director of the breast can-cer program at the UT Health Science Cen-ter in San Antonio.

Longer tamoxifen usecuts breast cancer deaths

He reviewed results of the study,which was being presented Wednesdayat a breast cancer conference in San An-tonio and published by the British medi-cal journal Lancet.

“The result of this trial will have amajor, immediate impact onpremenopausal women,”Ravdin said.

About 50,000 of theroughly 230,000 new casesof breast cancer in theUnited States each year oc-cur in women before meno-pause. Most breast cancersare fueled by estrogen, andhormone blockers areknown to cut the risk of re-currence in such cases.

Tamoxifen long was thetop choice, but newer drugscalled aromatase inhibitors— sold as Arimidex, Femara,Aromasin and in genericform — do the job with lessrisk of causing uterine can-cer and other problems.But

the newer drugs don’t work well beforemenopause. Even some women pastmenopause choose tamoxifen over thenewer drugs, which cost more and havedifferent side effects such as joint pain,bone loss and sexual problems.The newstudy aimed to see whether over a verylong time, longer treatment with tamoxifencould help.

Dr. Christina Davies of the Univer-sity of Oxford in England and other re-searchers assigned 6,846 women who al-ready had taken tamoxifen for five yearsto either stay on it or take dummy pillsfor another five years.

LAHORE: PML-N central leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif addressing the opening cer-emony of Party Lawyer’s Youth Wing.

LAHORE: An attractive view of seasonal flowers blooming at a roadside greenbelt.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Provincial Ministerfor Law, Rana Sanaullah hastermed the statement by NABChairman holding Punjab re-sponsible for 65-percent of theunprecedented corruption tak-ing place in the PPP govern-ment, the worst lie in the his-tory of Pakistan. He said thatthe NAB Chairman had giventhat statement either under thepressure of his that leadershipwhich had set records of his-torical corruption or the state-ment was a part and parcel ofthose bids of NAB Chairmanwhich he had been making tocurry favour of his masters justto perpetuate his unlawful ap-pointment.

Rana Sanaullah termed the

statement by NAB Chairmanextremely misleading and aworst example of falsehood. Hesaid that it was evident to theworld that the PPP governmentwas solely responsible for thematchless corruption beingdone in Pakistan those dayswhere a new tale of corruptiongot unfolded with the dawn ofeach day. Posing a question tothe NAB Chairman, he askedas to what Punjab had to dowith over a dozen of worst cor-ruption cases?

He asked if the pockets ofpilgrims were picked in Punjaband billions of rupees in thathead were plundered in theprovince. Did the Punjab gov-ernment commit dacoities in theNICL and the Bank of Punjaband enquired if those who com-

mitted dacoities in those insti-tutions were not sitting in thefederal government with all themedals decorated on theirchests? Drawing the attentiontowards the destruction of thenational institutions like thesteel mills, PIA and railways asa result of corruption, misap-propriation worth billions ofrupees in fertilizers, plunderingof the Bait-ul-Mal funds meantfor widows and the corruptionof billions of rupees in projectslike the Safe City which the Su-preme Court had to take suomotu notice of, he asked if allthose were not a reflection ofthe black deeds of the federalgovernment and further askedas if any of those scandals re-lated to the Punjab govern-ment?

Graft remarks reaction

Punjab law ministerhits back NAB chairman

CITY REPORTER

LAHORE—Lahore TransportCompany (LTC) has made 32routes operational in the cityand provides connectivityfrom Lahore to Sheikhupura,Raiwind, Maraka, Muridkey,Kamonkey and other adjacentareas with modernized Air-con-ditioned bus service. Turkishcompany Albayrak would im-part state of the art buses ofinternational standard on route# B-21 from Lahore RailwayStation to Sheikhupura fromtoday. Modernized bus termi-nal would also be constructedon Railway Station Lahore.

This was stated by Chair-man Lahore Transport Com-pany Khawaja Ahmad Hassanwhile inaugurating new busservice from Lahore RailwayStation to Sheikhupura heretoday. CEO Albayrak,BinyameenKaraca, CEO LTCKh. Haider Latif, COO OmarPirzada, Manager Planning &Operations, HumaDaha, SSPRailways Dr. ShahzadAslamand other officers were alsopresent.

Chairman LTC has saidthat the first time in the history32 routes have been made op-

erational in the city to provideaffordable, modernized and ef-ficient transport facilities to thegeneral public. Scheme of pro-viding free transport facilitiesto the senior citizens and spe-cial persons is being executedsuccessfully by LTC. Privatetransport companies are ren-dering valuable assistance and

coordination in implementingthe scheme launched for se-nior citizens and special per-sons. He said that tensionbetween the students andtransporters has been majorstumbling block in the smoothbus operation but LTC man-agement addressed the issueeffectively.

LTC makes 32 cityroutes operational

LAHORE: Chairman Lahore Transport Company Khawaja Ahmad Hassan along withTurk Company CEO Albayrak, BinyameenKaraca, inaugurating new bus service fromLahore Railway Station to Sheikhupura.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Senior Advisor toPunjab Chief Minister, Sena-tor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali KhanKhosa has approved theguidelines for the registrationof marriage bureaus. All mar-riage bureaus will be boundto register themselves withthe Industries Departmentunder Societies RegistrationAct 1860. Secretary SocialWelfare Department will givelegal form to these guidelinesafter consulting the Law De-partment so that it could beimplemented after legislation.

Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosasaid this while presiding overa meeting regarding legisla-tion for marriage bureaus.Home Secretary, SecretarySocial Welfare Department,DIG Operations, concerningofficials and owners of mar-

riage bureaus also attendedthe meeting.

According to the guide-lines, those looking for lifepartners and running mar-riage bureaus will be boundto sign an agreement so thatinterests of both partiescould be protected. After reg-istration, the marriage bureauwill issue a proper receipt tothe person wanting to getmarried who will also fill aregistration form. That per-son will also be bound tosign the form and attach re-quire certificates. In case ofbeing local, the man wantingto get married, he will providea copy of computerized na-tional identity card of hisown, his parents or guardian.

In case of a girl lookingfor groom, she will not be re-quired to provide her CNICand she will only provide the

copy of CNIC of her parents.If the person living abroadand looking for a life partner,he or she will be bound toprovide a copy of passport,a photograph and copies ofCNIC of the parents. Themarriage bureau will mentiontheir address and registrationnumber in every correspon-dence and even in case ofadvertisement in newspaperor electronic media.

The marriage bureaus willprominently display all in-structions regarding registra-tion in their offices and theirinitial registration fee will befive thousand rupees. Ac-cording to the guidelines, thepersons providing this ser-vice individually or thosedoing match finder businesson the internet will also bebound to follow these rulesand regulations.

Guidecodes for marriagebureaus listings okayed

14 junior clerkspromotedMUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—District Coordi-nation Officer (DCO) LahoreNoor-ul-Amin Mengal hasissued direction for the pro-motion of fourteen JuniorClerks.

He issued these direc-tions while chairing the meet-ing of Departmental Selec-tion/Promotion Committee atTown Hall. DO (HRM) andother officials were alsopresent there.

The Junior Clerks whowere promoted are SajjadAhmad, Abdul Ghafoor,Muhammad Anees, SyedMushtaq Hussain,Muhammad Usman Malik,Dost Muhammad, GhulamHaider, Faqir Muhammad,Muhammad Hassan,Mushtaq Hussain,Muhammad Saghir, Qazi IjazElahi, Manzoor Ahmed andMansoor Ahmed Qureshi.

PPP workingfor people’srights: Asif

LAHORE—Pakistan People’sParty leader and EvacueeTrust Property Board Chair-man Syed Asif Hashmi saidon Saturday the party hadalways worked for rights ofthe people.

Talking to APP on Sun-day, he said fake democraticleaders could not mislead thepeople and the PPP leader-ship . He said that the Presi-dent Asif Ali Zardari andPrime Minister Raja PervaizAshraf would protect democ-racy under the policy of rec-onciliation.

He said power-hungrypeople could not competefollowers of Zulfikar AliBhutto Shaheed. He said thePPP was still working for pro-viding basic facilities includ-ing “ Roti, Kapra and Makan”to the masses. He said thePPP-led government had re-solved several constitutionaland national issues.—APP

LDA officerstransferred

LAHORE—Director GeneralLahore Development Au-thority Ahad Cheema has or-dered the transfers andpostings of LDA three offic-ers. According to a pressrelease issued here on Satur-day, Muhammad Saleem,Deputy Director (GeneralCadre) awaiting posting inthe Directorate of Adminis-tration has been posted asDeputy Director Education,LDA.

Services of Aqeel Ahmed,Deputy Director (ComputerCadre) and Rana ShahidIrshad, Assistant Director(Research Cadre), awaitingposting in the Directorate ofAdministration, have beenplaced at the disposal of Ad-ditional Director General(Housing), LDA, for furtherposting.—APP

CITY REPORTER

LAHORE—District Coordi-nation Officer (DCO) LahoreNoor-ul-Amin Mengal hasoff-work three price controlMagistrates including DO(Livestock) Lahore due topoor and unsatisfactory per-formance on Saturday.

He also directed the pricecontrol Magistrates to makeensure the supply of stan-dardized edibles items oncheap rates in city markets sothat citizens could be facili-tated as much as possible.He expressed these viewswhile chairing a meeting in

this regard at Town Hall onSaturday.

ADC (G) MusarratJabeen, ADC (R) NadirChattha, Assistant Commis-sioners, Administrators, andother officials were presenton the occasion. DCOLahore directed Food Secu-rity officer to keep his staffalert and to submit workingreport of staff at DCO office.He ordered that if any factoryinvolving in making substan-dard food items was found,it must be sealed and itsowner should be get ar-rested.

He revealed that he

would himself pay visit toSunday Bazzars and wouldtake severe action againstresponsible officials in caseof complaints.

He also said that TMAenforcement staff should re-main vigilant and make en-sure the closing of Marriagehalls on time and serving ofone dish in them. He revealedthat he had obtained viola-tion reports in this regard andif any officer found involvein, he would be terminatedfrom his job. He also warnedTMO Ravi Town Malik Ibrarover poor performance in of-ficial working.

Price Control Magistratesoff-work over poor performance

8 persons injuredin house collapseLAHORE—Eight persons ofa family including fourwomen and four childrenwere injured as a rundownbuilding collapsed duringrain at Yateem Khana Chowkon Saturday.

According to a Rescue1122 spokesman, the fam-ily members were takinglunch when the roof cavedin. Rescue 1122 reachedthe spot and rushed the in-jured persons to JinnahHospital.

The injured were identi-fied as Maryam (5), Sidra (4)daughter of MuhammadRamazan, Asma (7), Hifza(7), Nasrin (21), Sawera (24),Bilqees (15) and Rani(14).—APP

ConvocationLAHORE—The University ofVeterinary and Animal Sci-ences (UVAS) is arranging its4th convocation on Decem-ber 17.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. DrTalat Naseer Pasha on Sat-urday chaired a meeting inthis regard and finalized ar-rangements for the convo-cation.

The VC told the meetingthat Punjab Governor LatifKhan Khosa had consentedto chair the convocation andaward medals and degrees tograduates.

Degrees and medalswill be awarded to Ph.D,M.Phil , MBA (l ife sci-ences) , DVM and BS(Hons) graduates.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Capital City PoliceOfficer Muhammad AslamTareen on Friday inauguratedmodern computerized systemof close circuit cameras at po-lice check posts established atThokar Niaz Baig, MohafizTown and Khyban-e-Jinnah.

Addressing on the occa-sion, he said Lahore police wereadopting scientific method un-der which modern computer-

ized surveillance system ofclose circuit cameras had beeninstalled at all entery and existroutes of the city. DIG Opera-tions Muhammad Tahir Rai andSSP Discipline Sharaq Kamalwere also present.

The CCPO said 95 percentwork of the modern system hadbeen completed while the re-maining five percent will becompleted in the next twoweeks. Special police officialshad been deputed for looking

after the system, he added.He said the computerised

system would monitor all ve-hicles as well as movement ofriders and people. Tareen saidLahore police were using allpossible resources to maintainlaw and order in the city and tofoil nefarious designs of terror-ists and anti social elements.

He appreciated the effortsof the DIG Operations and SSPD&I in installing the modernsystem.

CCPO opens close circuitcomputerized cameras