Ep09september2013

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ZAHID MALIK

ISLAMABAD—The PakistanObserver is privy to the well-debated final strategy ulti-mately evolved by the Stateapparatus to deal with terror-ists and militants. The policyevolved by the civilian govern-ment with inputs of all thestake-holders was dulystamped by the Corps Com-manders at a crucial meeting

on September 5, 2013, chaired

by the cool-minded Chief ofArmy Staff, General Ashfaq

Parvez Kayani.Pakistan is now all set to put

the agreed strategy into opera-tion against the militants, thehallmark of which would bezero-tolerance for the Arab andCentral Asian militants. Theprocess of giving them a finalwarning was already underwayand the arrest of an Al-Qaedaoperative from a university inPunjab on September 6, 2013,was the beginning of an opera-

tion against Pakistan-based for-eign militants.

The strategy reflects sagac-ity and a sense of pragmatic ac-commodation for those elementswith whom an understanding ofdialogue has already been devel-oped. Some Taliban militantsreleased on Friday last are al-ready in Doha, Qatar to facili-tate the ongoing dialogue withTaliban leaders. Cases institutedagainst all those who will be

engaged in dialogue would soon be withdrawn. The Pakistan Observer hasfurther understands that theywould also be given reasonablecompensation, stipends, par-ticularly the tribal youth wouldbe benefited by income-supportprogrammes. “The tribal youthwould be encouraged to start anormal life and play their partin the development and educa-tion of their own areas,” asource said.

Three pronged strategy to deal with terroristsNo compromise with foreign militants, will have to leave Pakistan Defiants to be dealt with iron hand,

come what may Talks with willing Taliban, previous crimes to be pardoned, may keep their weapons

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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari during a farewell guard of honour at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Going by the an-ticipations of ruling PML-N’schief of law enforcement Inte-rior Minister Nisar Ali Khan andheads of political parties areconvening here today to evolveconsensus against the menace ofextremism plaguing the society.

Khan would present whatPML-N describes as newcounter-terror strategy fullybacked by the armed forces that

envisages use of force backed bya political harnessing of the ex-tremist elements. The strategyencompasses measures neces-sary for restoring peace inKarachi and elsewhere as wellas a consensus mechanism forinitiating peace talks withTaliban.

Prime Minister NawazSharif has already finalized theagenda of the multi-party con-ference (MPC), which has beencalled for September 9 (Today).

According to the officials whoattended Premier headed highprofile meeting on the other dayin Raiwind, the PML-N aims toevolve consensus on a counter-terrorism strategy as well as thelaw and order situation ofKarachi.

Interior Minister Khan saidon Sunday that the peopleshould be hopeful regarding out-come of the All Parties Confer-ence (APC).

Addressing the press, the

minister said that the conferencewhich is to be held on Mondayat 11pm would enable the gov-ernment to come to a compre-hensive and “unanimous” reso-lution on counter-terrorism strat-egies.

Asserting that the PML-Nled government had been work-ing hard since assuming power,Nisar said, “this is not just a con-ference. It will chalk out a planof action for the government to

Civilian security strategy

Politicians’ quest for consensus

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STAFF REPORTERS

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE—A fare-well guard of honour ceremony

took place at Aiwan-i-Sadr Sun-day evening for outgoing Presi-dent Asif Ali Zardari to markcompletion of his constitutional

term as President adding a newchapter in the democratic historyof Pakistan. Asif Ali Zardari has

Zardari tenure ends,presented guard of honourAddresses party workers, assures support to Nawaz

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Imran to present4-point agenda

on terrorismOBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf will present its four pointsin the All Parties Conferenceconveyed by Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif to put the countryon the right path, said PTI Chair-man Imran Khan on Sunday.

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Foreign militants marriedto Pakistani ladies

THE agreed strategy todeal with terrorism envisages a sense of ac-

commodation for those foreignmilitants who have married in-side Pakistani territory andhave children as well in the pro-

cess.They would be allowed to

stay in Pakistan on the condi-tion that in future they wouldnot indulge in any militanttraining etc and they would alsoContinued on Page 6

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—As the Dohapeace talks between Taliban andKabul authorities deadlockedwithin twenty four hours of itsresumption in Qatar’s capital inJune, behind-the scene hecticmoves among stake- holders in-cluding Taliban, Afghan Gov-ernment, US, Turkey, SaudiArabia and Pakistan have bright-ened up chances of their resump-tion in Saudi Arabia.

Diplomatic sources saidTurkey is coming up withgreater role to facilitate the talksto ensure peace in war-torn Af-ghanistan. Taliban have agreedto the change of venue and its

delegations have already visitedSaudi Arabia to smoothen waysfor such negotiations especiallybefore Afghan presidential elec-tions being held on April 5 nextyear and exit of most of US-ledNATO forces from Afghanistan.

Habibullah Fouzi, a seniormember of the High PeaceCouncil set up by PresidentHamid Karzai in 2010 to holdpeace talks with Taliban, has al-ready indicated the change ofvenue from Doha.

Diplomatic sources furthersaid over the last ten years, someeminent politico -religious lead-ers from KP have been playingrole as mediators between thegovernment and Taliban in Pa-

kistan and resumption of peacetalks between Afghan Talibanand Kabul authorities. They areno more in the game now asTaliban have developed feelingsof mistrust against them. Newplayers have stepped in includ-ing Maulana Tahir Ashrafi,Chairman Pakistan UlemaCouncil to facilitate such inter-actions among stake-holders,diplomatic sources indicated.

The Doha talks were stalledwhen Taliban raised their flagand banner at the Doha office,strongly objected to by Kabulauthority.

The Kabul government iskeen to secure peace with

Behind the scenes

Flagging Doha peace talksbeing shifted to Saudi ArabiaTurkey coming up with a big role; Taliban agree to change of venue

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LUCKNOW—Hundreds oftroops were deployed to quelldeadly riots and clashes betweenHindus and Muslims sparked bythe killing of three villagers whohad objected when a youngwoman was being harassed innorthern India. Twenty twopeople were killed, including anContinued on Page 6

PPP protests overnot inviting Fahim

SALIM AHMED

ISLAMABAD—The PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP) PresidentAmin Fahim has not been in-vited by the government to at-tend the all parties conference(APC) to be held today (Mon-day) over issue of national se-

Nato airstrikeskill 15 AfghansKABUL, AFGHANISTAN—Afghan officials said Sundaythat an apparent NATOairstrike killed 15 people -nine of them civilians,including women and children- in an eastern province wherethe Taliban are strong. NATOsaid 10 militants died in thestrike, and that it had noreports of any civilian deaths.

Civilian deaths in NATOoperations have long been a

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NY meeting

Nawaz, Singhto focus ontrade, KashmirHAMEED SHAHEEN

ISLAMABAD—The muchsuspense-hanging round ofinformal talks between PrimeMinister of Pakistan MianMohammad Nawaz Sharif andHindustani Premier

Troops deployed afterHindu-Muslim clashes

Indian broadcast journalist anda police photographer, when thetwo groups set upon each otherwith guns and knives in Kawalvillage, in the state of UttarPradesh, police said Sunday.

The violence quickly spreadto neighboring villages in

Rapid ResponseForce beingstrengthenedSHARAFAT KAZMIISLAMABAD— The FederalMinister for Interior andNarcotics Control, ChaudhryNisar Ali Khan has instructedto include Air-wing in theRapid Response Force,upgrade their capacity fornight flying and to place it

Mamnoon takesover as President

todayI S L A M A B A D — M a m n o o nHussain will be sworn as 12thPresident of Pakistan at an im-pressive ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr today.

Chief Justice of Pakistan MrIftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Federal FloodCommission of Pakistan onSunday said River Indus isflowing in Low Flood atGuddu and Kotri Barrage,whereas all other main riversincluding Jhelum, Chenab,Ravi, Sutlej and Kabul areflowing normal. According tothe Daily Flood Situation re-port released by the FFC riverflows and reservoir eleva-tions indicates that TarbelaReservoir, which had earlierattained its Maximum Con-servation Level of 1550.00feet since August 20 2013, isat an elevation of 1548.86feet, which is 1.14 feet belowits Maximum ConservationLevel of 1550.00 feet.

Mangla Reservoir is at anelevation of 1239.05 feet,which is 2.95 feet below itsMaximum Conservation Levelof 1242.00 feet. The Dam Man-agement Authorities have al-ready been advised to take

utmost care and vigilance inoperation of dams and strictlyfollow filling criteria andsafety guidelines. Storageposition of Tarbela, Chashmaand Mangla reservoirs is13.845 MAF as compared tolast year’s 10.183 MAF.

According to Flood Fore-casting Division (FFD),Lahore, on Saturday, troughof Westerly Wave still per-sists over North of Iran. Sea-sonal Low continues to pre-vail over NorthwesternBalochistan and adjoining ar-eas. Moist current from Ara-bian Sea is penetrating endo-chondral parts of the countryupto 3000 feet. The weathersystem is being closely moni-tored by the Pakistan Meteo-rological Department.

As predicted by the FloodForecasting Division (FFD),Lahore, scattered thunder-shower with isolated moderatefalls is expected over Mohmandand Khyber Agencies includ-ing Peshawar.

ISLAMABAD—A sum of Rs55,077.831 was spent on theup- gradation of transmis-sion lines and transformersby all power distributioncompanies (DISCOs) duringthe last five years. Officialsources told APP here onSunday that an amount of Rs8,930.648 million was utilizedin 2008-09, Rs. 9779.598 mil-lion in 2009-10, Rs13,554.087million in 2010-11,Rs.10,555.736 million in 2011-12 and Rs.12,257.736 millionin 2012-13 on the up-grada-tion of transmission lines andtransformers.

Giving the breakup, theysaid that the Lahore ElectricSupply Company (LESCO)spent Rs.10,237.450 million,Gujranwala Electric SupplyCompany (GEPCO)Rs.7,451.443 million, MultanElectric Supply Company(MEPCO) Rs.11,923 million,Islamabad Electric SupplyCompany (IESCO) Rs.7,102,Faisalabad Electric SupplyCompany (FESCO)

Rs.3,821.812 million,Hyderabad Electric SupplyCompany (HESCO)Rs.4,464.307 million andQuetta Electric Supply Com-pany (QUESCO) Rs.6,464.307during the said period.

Meanwhile, the IndusRiver System Authority(IRSA) on Thursday re-leased 220,565 cusecs waterfor various rim stations withinflow of 234,948 cusecs.According to the data re-leased by IRSA, the TarbelaDam has already attained itsmaximum conservation level1550 feet while the ManglaDam was 3.30 feet below toits maximum conservationlevel 1242 feet. Water inflowin the Tarbela Dam was re-corded as 141,300 cusecswith outflow 140,600 cusecs.

The water level in theJhelum River at Mangla Damwas 1238.70 feet, which was198.70 feet higher than itsdead level of 1040 feetwhereas the inflow and out-flow of water was recorded

SHARJEEL INAM MEMON

ASIF Ali Zardari hascompleted his five-year constitutional

term as President of the Is-lamic Republic of Pakistanand left the President’sHouse in a dignified manner.Today, the world recognizesthat today’s Pakistan is quitedifferent from the one fiveyears ago. For the first timein the country’s history,power was transferredpeacefully and democrati-cally. The federation is stron-ger than what it was before.

The Pakistani nation isunited and confident afterscoring landmark victoriesin war on terror. The coun-try is on the track to politi-cal and economic sover-eignty. The state for the firsttime has embarked on an-choring the lives of thedowntrodden with a mas-sive welfare-oriented bud-get. The international com-munity is acknowledgingthese changes as well. Even

President Zardari’s oppo-nents within the country can-not deny the fact that thecountry has made tremen-dous advancement in the ar-eas of stability and self-de-termination in the last fiveyears.

We appreciate the factthat Prime MinisterMohammad Nawaz Sharifhosted a farewell lunch inhonour of President Asif AliZardari and set a tradition ofgiving a warm and dignifiedsendoff to an elected Presi-dent. On December 27, 2007the symbol of the federation,Benazir Bhutto, wasmartyred. This tragedyshook the foundations of thecountry. There was dejectionand mayhem all over thecountry. In this state of af-fairs Asif Ali Zardari steppedin and played his politicalrole.

The manner in whichPresident Zardari, in his ca-pacity as the co-chairmanof Pakistan People’s Partyand as head of the state,

steered the country tosafety in periods of turbu-lence from December 27,2007 to September 8, 2013baffled the mind. Peoplewere mourning the death ofBenazir Bhutto and whenher body reached Nauderofrom Rawalpindi peopleplunged in a state of melan-choly and misery in whichit is almost impossible forany state to control thegrieving multitude.

The slogans of ‘Paki-stan Na Khapey’ were echo-ing from every corner, butAsif Ali Zardari emergedfrom the depth of tragedyand in a voice that trembledwith grief managed to raisethe slogan ‘PakistanKhapey’. His first act ofwisdom was to dispel thesuggestion from some quar-ters to put off general elec-tions for an indefinite pe-

riod after the martyrdom ofBenazir Bhutto and forcedthe then rulers into holdinggeneral elections on Febru-ary 18, 2008.

The biggest challengefor Zardari after the generalelections was how to pro-tect the democratic system.Zardari could have becomethe prime minister, but he

decided to sit at the presi-dency. Since a sword hadbeen hanging over the fed-eral parliamentary anddemocratic system in theform of the Eighth Consti-tutional amendment,Zardari decided to guard thedemocratic system from thepresidency. Had there beenanyone else at the presi-dency, the democratic sys-tem would have been dis-missed within a few months.For the defence of democ-racy, he played a crucial rolein uniting various politicalforces. Along with protect-ing democracy, Asif AliZardari framed a policy thatled to creation of unanimitybetween the political forcesand the armed forces ondealing with the dangers tothe security of the country.

An operation against theterrorists was launched in

Swat, Malakand, Dir andsome other tribal areas afteran evacuation of hundredsof thousands of people andthe country’s flag was onceagain hoisted in those areasafter getting them cleared ofthe terrorists. The most cru-cial factor in this victory wasthe understanding betweenthe political groups and thearmed forces, credit forwhich goes to Asif AliZardari.

The PPP governmentstrove for resolvingBalochistan’s problems andannounced the ‘Aghaz-e-H a q o o q - e - B a l o c h i s t a npackage’. The 18th Consti-tutional amendment is oneof President Asif AliZardari’s greatest achieve-ments. The amendment notonly restored the 1973 Con-stitution, but it alsostrengthened the Parliament,

the federal democratic sys-tem and the federating units.The President did away withthe presidential prerogativeof dissolving governmentand assemblies.

After the 18th amend-ment, the 19th and the 20thamendments were also ap-proved which automaticallyremoved several of thethreats to the federation ofPakistan. With theseamendments, women, mi-norities and the workers gotthose of their rights whichhad been guaranteed in theConstitution. PresidentZardari also initiated theBenazir Income SupportProgramme by virtue ofwhich a welfare net wasgiven to hundreds of thou-sands of deserving families.

President Zardari alsobrought about certainchanges in the country’sforeign policy which en-abled the country to takecertain steps as a fully-fledged sovereign state,namely, giving the Gwadar

port to China and the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project.President Zardari made 10official tours to China dur-ing his presidential termwhich gives a very clear in-dication of a shift inPakistan’s policy. In spiteof being the head of thestate, Zardari chose to re-move the phrase of politi-cal victimization from hisdictionary. He did all thisfor his country and itspeople. He did not forsingle minute think that hehad been kept in jail for 11years and not a single casewas proved against him.Those who had politicallyvictimized him, Zardari gra-ciously forgave them.

Such a course of life ischosen by only thosepeople who prefer to live inhistory rather than thosewho feel contended by be-ing kept alive through themedia only.

The writer is Sindh Min-ister for Information andArchives.

Those who live in history!

5 killed in trafficmishaps at

Faisalabad, HubOUR CORRESPONDENTS

FA I S A L A B A D/HU B—Fivepersons were killed and sixinjured in two separate traf-fic accidents at Faisalabadand Hub on Sunday.

According to details, aspeeding trailer losing con-trol ran over the pedestriansnear by-pass on SamundariRoad in Faisalabad, killingthree persons, while four oth-ers sustained injuries. Fol-lowing the incident, the reck-less trailer driver escapedfrom the scene.

Bodies and injuredpeople were shifted tonearby hospital. Anothermishap took place on RCDHighway in Hub area ofBalochistan, when two truckscollided head-on near Uthalresulting in the death of twopersons and two injured.

PML-Nex-MNA’s son

kidnapped, killedMUZAFFARGARH—Unknownmiscreants kidnapped son offormer MNA of PakistanMuslim League (PML-N) andshot him dead on Sunday.According to Zahida Bibi,mother of the deceased, fewdays earlier unidentified mis-creants from unknown num-ber called at their home num-ber and warned them of direconsequences.

Later the accused ab-ducted Nasir Qureshi s/o ofex-MNA Atta Qureshi fromhis residence located in Gar-den Town of Multan. Thekidnappers brutally torturedand shot him dead later. Thebody was recovered fromMuzaffargarh and it wasshifted to hospital wherepostmortem report confirmedthe torture and death due tobullet shots. The police reg-istered a case against un-known kidnappers and afterregistering a case startedsearch for them.—INP World Education

Day observedOUR CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD—The WorldEducation Day was observedhere by the public and privatesector educational institutionshere on Sunday like other partsof the country. In connectionwith World Education Day,Sindh Education Departmentobserved an Education Weekfrom September 1 to 8, 2013 andorganised different activitieswith full participation of maleand female students of publicsector schools.

On September 8, the lastday of the Education Week, anawareness walk was broughtout from Government HighSchool Circular Building, whichwas led by the District Educa-tion Officer Nadir HussainMousvi. The participants of thewalk after marching throughdifferent routes terminated infront of Hyderabad Press Clubwhere the speakers highlightedthe importance of the day andcalled upon the parents to en-roll their students so that theliteracy rate could be improved.

Six model villagesconstructed

in flood hit areaMUZAFFARGARH—Provin-cial Minister for Housing,Tanvir Aslam, said that thePML-N governmenthonoured its pledge madewith the masses during 2010flood and constructed sixmodel villages inMuzaffargarh. He said thiswhile presiding over a meet-ing of house allotment com-mittee of Turkish Model vil-lage here on Sunday.

He said that the comple-tion of two model villages andhospital which were beingconstructed in collaborationwith Turkey and welfare or-ganizations are in last stage.He further said that house al-lotment process would bemade transplant.

Addressing on the occa-sion, Punjab Auqaf, HaroonSultan Bukhari, said that theprovincial government wastaking initiatives for the pro-vision of maximum facilitiesto the masses according tovision of Chief MinisterPunjab.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Chief Justice of

Pakistan Iftikhar MuhammadChauhdry has said that judi-

cial system is facing challenges

like social evolution while rap-idly growing Internet technol-

ogy has also caused shift in

social behaviors. He stressedthe need for introducing new

laws, as the existing laws couldnot meet the challenges of newcircumstances.

He said this while chairinga meeting of Law and JusticeCommission here on Sunday.The chief justice said that onlya strong judicial system couldprotect people’s right. He saidit was judiciary’s responsibil-ity to provide the people withjustice while the constitutionalso called for dispensation ofspeedy justice.

“A strong judicial systemensures upholding of rightsof the people through fair ap-plication of laws. We are inevolutionary period wherewith each passing day our ju-dicial system is confrontedwith new challenges of chang-ing social values. Our exist-ing procedural laws are old-fashioned incapable to re-

spond various situations andexpectations. The rapid ex-pansion of internet, techno-logical devices and change insocial behaviour have raisednew challenges which de-mand new legislations, mod-ernization and simplificationof existing laws to tackle theseissues,” the CJP stressed.

Justice Chaudhry said thatthere was a need to make theexisting laws compatible withthe requisitions of modern era.The Chief Justice said that thejudicial system is confrontedwith challenges of socialvlaues and procedural lawswhich demands legislation. Hesaid that it is the responsibil-ity of the judiciary to dispenseinexpensive and speedy jus-tice to the people.

He said law reform ismulti-dimensional subject as

CJP stresses change in existing laws

as 23,683 cusecs and 10,000cusecs respectively. The re-lease of water at Kalabagh,Taunsa and Sukkur was re-corded as 195,580, 188,398and 243,650 cusecs respec-tively. Similarly, from theKabul River a total of 23,900cusecs of water was releasedat Nowshera and 46,065cusecs released from theChenab River at Marala.

Meanwhile due to neces-sary repair and maintenancework, power supply would besuspended from 132 KVPeshawar City Grid Stationon Sept 9 and 11 from 7:00am to 12:00 am, resultantlythe consumers of 11 KVGulbahr 1and 2, Islamabad,Sheikhabad and Hastnagrifeeders would be affected.Similarly, power supplywould be suspended from132 KV Jamrud Grid Stationon Sept 9 from 7:00 am to 1:00pm resultantly the consum-ers of 11 KV Hayatabad andRMT feeders would be af-fected.—APP

Rs.55, 077m spent on powertransmission lines up-gradation

Indus in low flood,other rivers normal

HYDERABAD: Students attempting question paper during entry test for NUET&LUMS Units at Latifabad.

BAHAWALPUR: Workers of local NGO and Cholistan Development Council of Pakistan hold a rally in connectionwith International Literacy Day.

it involves reforms in the ad-ministration of justice aswell as procedural changesin the laws to address thechanging needs of the time.Reforms and innovationhave never come the easyway, there is always oppo-sition or reaction which isquite natural but societieswhich are able to debate anddiscuss contentious issueswith a view to find solutionthereto, will finally succeed.

In every society, litigationis on increase due to variousfactors, which keeps alive thechallenge to find out ways andmeans for the expeditious dis-pensation of justice. Today’sjustice system needs to beconstantly updated to keeppace with the constant evolu-tion of modern society andensure substantial, inexpen-

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhrypresiding the meeting of Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan in Supreme Court.

sive and speedy justice as en-shrined in the Constitution, theChief Justice said.

He said the Law and Jus-tice Commission of Pakistan hasbeen mandated to keep underreview, on systematic basis, thestatutes and other laws of thecountry with a view to makerecommendations to the Fed-eral Government and ProvincialGovernments for improvement,modernization and reformthereof. The Commission alsomakes recommendations to theGovernment for reforms in thesystem of administration of jus-tice to ensure inexpensive andexpeditious dispensation ofjustice.

The meeting was at-tended by the Chief Justicesof the High Courts‚ AttorneyGeneral and Chief Justice ofFederal Shariat Court.—NNI

Petrol price is burdenLAHORE—The Pakistan Railways willbear an additional burden of Rs 240million after a raise in prices of petro-leum products and this burden will notbe shifted to passengers. The deci-sion was taken in a high level meetingof the PR officers presided over byRailways Minister Khawja SaadRafique at the PR Headquarters hereon Saturday. It was decided that theadditional burden would be borne

through other means of its income. It was decided in themeeting that officer working on a same place for threeyears would be transferred to other place and no pres-sure or approach would be entertained. Situation of PRhospitals was reviewed in the meeting and a committeewas formed to upgrade hospitals in Lahore and Multan.A strategy was also made for recovery of millions ofrupees from the Business Train administration run un-der the public-private partnership and the process ofrecovery would be made speedy and transparent. It wasdecided that a new policy for the disposal of scrap willbe approved within a few days.—APP

‘Army role in Court order undemocratic’HYDERABAD—Senior Sindh Ministerfor Education Nisar Ahmed Khuhrotermed the demand by Muttahida QaumiMovement of calling army in Karachifor restoration of law and order asagainst the norms of democracy. He saidthat Karachi experienced ups and downsin respect of law and order and the demo-cratic government has potential to en-sure protection to the life and propertyof the people with the help of civilian

forces and organisations. The only solution to maintain-ing law and order in Karachi is to make continuous effortsand this is the reason that the Sindh Government hasstarted a targeted operation with consensus of all politicalforces, the Minister stated while talking to media personsafter attending a seminar as chief guest on the topic, “Thecontrol on leaving education half- way in Sindh,” organisedby Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association here atGovernment Zubeda College on Saturday night. The Min-ister said that MQM was a coalition partner in the previ-ous government and during that regime no demand of call-ing the army in Karachi come forward from MQM despitethe fact that Karachi was facing the same situation whichprevails at present. The Minister maintained that PakistanPeoples Party never surrendered before the terrorist ele-ments and always fought against terrorism. “We are thank-ful to the people of Sindh who expressed full confidenceon PPP and re-elected it with a thumping majority in Sindh.The uplift of common people, restoration of law and or-der and improvement in health and education in the prov-ince are the priorities of the present provincial govern-ment, the Minister informed. He said that the presentgovernment has allocated Rs 132 billion in the annualbudget for education this year. He said that maximumfacilities will be provided to educational institutions in-cluding furniture, repairs, renovation and extension ofschool buildings.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Rain with thun-dershower is expected at iso-lated places of Kashmir,Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar,Kohat, Islamabad,Rawalpindi, Gujranwala,Lahore and Sargodha divi-sions during next 24 hours.Synoptic Situation/Outlook:Seasonal low liesover North Balochistan andadjoining areas. A shallowwesterly wave is present overupper parts of the country.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,rain with thundershower isexpected at isolated places ofMalakand, Hazara, Peshawarand Kohat division,whereas, hot and humidweather is expected in otherparts of the province duringnext 24 hours.

Mainly hot and humid

weather is expected in mostparts of the Sindh during next24 hours. In Balochistan,mainly hot and dry weather isexpected in most parts of theprovince during next 24 hours.

Rain with thundershower isexpected at isolated places ofKashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan dur-ing next 24 hours.

Fair or partly cloudyweather is expected in the cityover next 24 hours and otherareas of Sindh will experiencehot and humid weather.—APP

Panel to monitor month-long Hajj operationISLAMABAD—An 11-memberHajj Advisory Committee(HAC) has been tasked tomonitor the month-long Hajjflight operation set to com-mence from Monday (Septem-ber 9), an official of the Minis-try of Religious Affairs andInterfaith Harmony said onSunday. Talking to APP by tele-phone, requesting while notmentioning his name, he saidthe Minister for Religious Af-fairs and Interfaith Harmonywould be the chairman of thecommittee. While State Min-ister for Religious Affairs, Sec-retary of the ministry andchairmen of the Standing Com-mittees (Religious Affairs) ofNational Assembly and Sen-ate, Parliamentary Secretary forReligious Affairs, one Memberof the Senate, Two Membersof the National Assembly, Am-bassador of Pakistan in KSA,Director General Hajj, Jeddahand Chairman/Secretary ofHajj Organizers Association ofPakistan have been included

as the members of the commit-tee.

The committee wouldalso suggest measure toimprove the hajj operationin future. He said 143,368Pakistani pilgrims would goto Saudi Arabia for per-forming the sacred rel i-gious ceremony through288 Hajj flights. The lastHajj f l ight would go toSaudi Arabia on October 9.A total of 122 buildingshave already been hired toaccommodate 86,021 Gov-ernment Scheme Pilgrims.The Hajj operation wouldbe conducted from Karachi,Quetta, Islamabad, Lahore,Sukkur, Peshawar,Faisalabad, Rahim YarKhan, Multan and Sialkot.

The boarding cards wouldbe issued to the intending pil-grims at their respective Hajicamps. The vaccination of theintending pilgrims would con-tinue in the Haji Camps fromSept 2 to Oct 9, he said. The

Ministry has made a specialhelp line operational to facili-tate the intending Hajjaj. AllHajjaj could get Hajj informa-tion from the helpline 0800-77000; 0800-1166622. The com-plaints could also be registeredat the website of the ministry.

The complaints wouldremain present till the re-moval. The complaints would

be monitored personally bythe minister, Secretary Reli-gious Affairs. The complaintdata would help improvingfuture Hajj operations. A 540member Hajj Medical Mis-sion would remain present inSaudia for providing medicalfacilities to the intending pil-grims. 230 Mauvineen-e-Hujjaj, 270 seasonal staff and

900 local Muavneen wouldbe present at the Saudia forassisting the Hujjaj.

Meanwhile, talking toAPP Vice President Rafi-e-Hujjaj Committee Babu ImranQureshi advised all the in-tending pilgrims to bring withthem at least 1200 SaudiRiyals for purchasing gifts forrelatives and meeting the day

to day expenses of 40 daystay in Saudi Arabia. He said800 Saudi Riyal has been cal-culated as food expenses ofa pilgrim. For purchasing fivekg dates 80 Riyals needed,Transportation expenses arecalculated as 100 Riyals, forpurchasing gift items of therelatives at least 220 Riyalsare needed.—APP

I S L A M A B A D — P r i m eMinister’s Advisor on For-eign Affairs and National Se-curity Sartaj Aziz says end-ing of terrorism and mainte-nance of good governanceare essential for economicrevival of the country. In aninterview‚ he said dialogueis government’s first prior-ity and PML-N is seekingsupport of all political par-ties in this regard.

Sartaj Aziz peace andstabil i ty in the region isinevitable for economicdevelopment and prosper-ity in the country. He saidthe National Securi tyCouncil will provide a plat-form for collective thinkingand involvement of al ls takeholders to discuss

vital issues of national se-curity. He said the councilwould discuss both con-ventional and non-conven-tional threats faced by thecountry.

He said Pakistan is a re-sponsible nuclear state withsecure command and controlsystem. Sartaj Aziz said thatimage of the country has en-hanced in the presence ofdemocratically elected gov-ernment and vibrant media.He said that Pakistan wantsto maintain good relationswith India for economic sta-bility andpeace in region. Hesaid meeting of Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif and IndianPrime Minister ManmohanSingh will be held in NewYork.—NNI

Thundershowerat isolated places

Dialogue is govt’sfirst priority: Sartaj

HAMEED SHAHEEN

I S L A M A B A D — S a r d a rAttique Ahmed Khan, ex-premier of AJK and presidentof Muslim Conference, onSunday forcefully sug-gested that geo-politicalconditions in the region re-quired a retired or being re-tired Army General to be thepresident of Pakistan. If inUSA a retired general can betheir foreign minister, whycan’t be a retired general thepresident of Pakistan, hequeried.

Talking to Pakistan Ob-server here Sunday after-noon, Sardar Attique Ahmedargued that the overall politi-cal, internal and internationalconditions surrounding Pa-kistan today demanded a re-tired army general to be thehead of state. “There must bea good coordination betweenthe government and the

Retired Generalshould head Pak

state: Attiquearmed forces in defence, for-eign and financial domains. Iurge that keeping in view the‘sensitive’ regional environ-ment there must be a consti-tutional role of the armedforces of Pakistan in the na-tional/international/regionalaffairs. It is the dire need ofPakistan ringed by hostileneighbors, he stressed.

He appreciated the trib-ute of Secretary GeneralUNO Mr Ban Ki-moon whoin his recent visit to Pakistanpaid to the Armed Forces ofPakistan as the best force ofthe world. Myself and thenation of Pakistan andpeople of Kashmir are proudof the Pakistan armed forces,who not only defend thefrontiers of the country buthelp offset the natural calami-ties like floods, earthquake,etc. Their helping role in AzadKashmir is a history in itself,he added.

LAHORE—PPP LahorePresident Samina KhalidGhurki on Sunday laudedthe role of Asif Ali Zardarias President for democracyand introducing reconcilia-tion in politics in the coun-try. Ghurki. Talking to APP,she said for the first time in

Zardari introduced politicsof reconciliation: Ghurki

the country’s history ademocratically elected presi-dent had completed his ten-ure and left the office for thenext elected president.

She said that Zaradri hadgathered all political forces ata platform to strengthen de-mocracy.—APP

Another bailoutpackage for PSM

THE ECC on Saturday approved yet another bailout package forPakistan Steel Mills (PSM) totalling Rs 2.9 billion spread overthree months that would also include the salary for workers. This

was not the first bailout as four bailout packages worth Rs 40.507 billionwere offered earlier to the PSM from 2009 to 2012, but despite that itslosses piled up to Rs. 86.27 billion by June 30, 2013 and liabilities rose toRs. 98.57 billion, resulting in a negative equity position.

It is note worthy that even after the repeated payment of huge amounts,the PSM has not been able to achieve break even what to talk of earningprofits. There are many reasons for it, including mismanagement, over-staffing and failure to ensure proper maintenance. Also 4,800 peopleworking on daily wages were absorbed as permanent workers in the Millin 2010, adding Rs. 2 billion to the financial cost in the first year withrecurring expenditure of Rs. one billion per annum. As a result the costof production is going high while the Mills are still running below 15%capacity. In addition, it owes arrears of billions of rupees of the KESCand SSGCL and at one time the two utility service providers had toshut down their supplies. In view of the monumental losses, the incum-bent Government ordered a probe into alleged involvement of top rankedofficials of PSM in corruption and embezzlement, but the report hasneither been made public nor any action taken. In our view the bailoutpackage is a symbolic solution and typical bureaucratic handling of anissue of highly technical and professional nature. The PSM needs amajor surgery including perhaps privatisation, appointment of highlyprofessional metallurgical engineer as head, handshake for the surplusstaff and for once financial requirements fully met instead of wastingnational resources by doling in a few billions in instalments that are onlysufficient to pay the salary. Therefore, we expect that the economic man-ager of the Government would give a serious thinking to the chronicdisease and take a bitter decision, as the country cannot afford to regu-larly pump meagre resources to keep the PSM alive.

Legitimate demand forHazara Province

PARLIAMENTARIANS from Hazara Division at a meeting on Saturday decided to launch a joint and forceful campaign for the creation

of Hazara Province and a committee has been formed to get the supportfrom the leading national parties to get resolutions for the separate Prov-ince passed from KPK and National Assemblies and the Senate. In aneffort to renew the debate on a separate Hazara Province, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers from the region have already submitted a reso-lution in the Provincial Assembly which is likely to be tabled in the Houseon 10th September.

The movement for Hazara Province, which was launched in 1987turned into a resistance when the NWFP was renamed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP). As the protests grew, parties that never supported themovement in the past succumbed to the locals’ demands. Hazara is knownfor politics of groups and biradaries (clans) along with a post-1947 refer-endum for Muslim League ideology. Leaders, have always won the sym-pathies of Hazara electorates in the name of patriotism and develop-ment. However, little development has come in the area and now peopleare out to get their rights. Their demand is bound to take the shape of amass movement as they have been sidelined from the mainstream poli-tics. Otherwise too Hazara has totally a different culture and historyand people are entitled to get a new Province. We would point out thatas people of Hazara have been traditionally supportive of Mian NawazSharif, therefore, it is incumbent upon the Federal Government to give asympathetic view to their just demand and the injustice done to themduring the 18th Constitutional Amendment should be rectified.

EU takes principledposition on Syria

THE European Union (EU) called Saturday for a clear and strong international response to Assad regime’s alleged use of chemical weap-

ons in Syria, but said U.N. inspectors investigating the incident shouldreport their initial findings before any action is taken. Though the EUused diplomatic language but the thrust is that it opposed attack on Syriaas a matter of principle.

The EU statement came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry soughtto persuade sceptical European allies to join an international coalition onSyria after a Group of 20 summit ended Friday with a stalemate betweenWashington and Russia. The statement did not explicitly endorse militaryaction and at the same time, the European Union stressed the need to ad-dress the Syrian crisis through the U.N. process. It is a legitimate stancebecause in the wake of strong opposition by Russia, China and some othercountries, any attack without UN mandate would lead to dangerous conse-quences and there is possibility of involvement of some other neighbouringcountries. EU, a conglomerate of 28 countries, having strong economy,political influence and collective wisdom is not short of a super power andone can forecast that in the days to come, it would have a major and deci-sive role in world affairs. The EU took the stance in view of strong publicopposition in the member countries against launching of attack on Syria. APoll carried for the Sunday Telegraph of London shows that British votersoppose any military attack even if it is proved beyond doubt that Assadregime used chemical weapons on his people. The poll also reveals thatfewer than one in five voters believe Britain should join the United Statesin strikes on Syria. Therefore, while appreciating the position taken by theEU we would urge that it should continue to follow balanced and prag-matic policy on other issues facing the world instead of toeing US lines.

Karachi’s hollow security strategy

Footprints on thesands of time are notmade by sitting down.

Will therebe peace inKarachi?FINALLY, the government of

Prime Minister NawazSharif has moved to tackle the

issues of the violence-plaguedcommercial capital of Karachi. Aspecial meeting of the cabinetidentified extortion, target killing,kidnapping for ransom and terrorismas the “four heinous crimes” thatneed to be taken care of immediatelyand, as expected, refused to bring inthe army for the so-called “targetedaction”, assigning the task to theparamilitary Rangers with supportfrom the police. And while almostall political parties have supportedthe government’s planned action,there are concerns amongindependent observers and someconcerns among leading traders andindustrialists, though many areunwilling to go public about it.

Among the major concerns iswhether such an action is possibleunder the current governor andchief minister of the province, whohave been holding these positionsfor many years and so share theblame for the deteriorating law andorder situation — more than 2,000people have been killed so far thisyear in different acts of violence,including sectarian, ethnic andpolitical killings as well asterrorism. Kidnappings for ransomsand extortion threats have alsopeaked, and all this has happenedunder the leadership of the verypeople who will supervise theplanned action. The paramilitaryRangers have been in Karachi since1996, assigned to control crime andmaintain peace, but to no avail.However, security officials blamelack of political support andwillingness for the failure of theparamilitary force. The police, onthe other hand, are a force probablyno one can trust. There is evidenceof the collision of senior policemenwith the criminals they aresupposed to target, and whileInterior Minister Chaudhry NisarAli has said that such elements inuniform will be targeted, the merefact that they have not been targetedfor years raises doubts if that willhappen again. But while there is lotto worry, the positive is that foronce the political forces seemunited in tackling the issue once andfor all. There are bound to bedifferences going forward,especially when criminals under thecover of the political parties willbe taken to task, but one can onlyhope that the maturity shown by thepoliticians right now extends thenas well. After all, as the interiorminister aptly put it: “Karachi andits people do not deserve this.” Andalso, the realisation seems to bethere that with the contribution thatKarachi makes to the economy ofPakistan, it will be tough for theSouth Asian nation to get out of itseconomic troubles without firstensuring peace in its commercialcapital. — Khaleej Times

*****

Punishmentfor drink-

drivingA family in Dubai wakes up

one morning, numbed byinconsolable grief — two

children deprived of a father, aloving wife deprived of her bestfriend. Roy Nasr was in the primeof his life, a successfulbusinessman with a thriving foodand catering company.

Early on Friday morning,when most were enjoying a dayoff, a chance to rest, Nasr was witha group of cyclists on a long-distance ride, crossing over AlSafa bridge in Dubai. The grouphad taken precautions and had anescort car warning other road users— it was 5.40am. A car swervedinto the cyclists, fatally injuringNasr. Reports indicate that thedriver of the vehicle was drunkand lost control of his car, strikingthe cyclists. If so, the driver mustface the stiffest punishmentpossible, amounting to an act ofwilful homicide with a motorvehicle. Statistics from lawenforcement authorities show thatthe incidence of drink-driving ison the rise in the UAE. For thisthere can be no excuse. There iszero tolerance for driving withalcohol. If you drink and drive,you don’t deserve to live in theUAE. Mandatory prison sentencesfollowed by deportation will sendthe right message. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

—Proverb

THE people of Karachi hopedand considered that the twodays visit by the Prime

Minister to their city would be theultimate game changer. It was hopedthat finally a federal government willtake both the political as well asoperational risks to restore the statusof Karachi as the city of lights. Themany meetings that the PrimeMinister had with the differentstakeholders seemed interesting aswell as thought provoking.However, when the visit has endedthe one thought with which theprime Minister has left the peopleof Karachi is that of bewildermentand astonishment. What the peopleexpected was a ‘green signal’ for theconduct of a military operation andnot the ‘watch and go’ situation withwhich their Prime Minister has leftthem to live in Karachi.

The operational, monitoring andthe legal committees that the PrimeMinister formed only indicate thatthe State is not prepared to take anytough decision. Karachi had alreadyarrived at a critical threshold. Sowere we told, and beyond whichonly a military operation couldrevive and restore normal life in thecity. How could the federalgovernment expect that theoperational committee workingunder the current Chief Minister ofSindh could supervise mattersinvolving targeted operation againstcriminals of all sorts in Karachi?How can the rangers who have beendeployed on the streets of Karachifor the past 16 years and who havebeen part of an administration thatfailed be expected to lead anoperation now and succeed? Whichmagic wand will force theintelligence agencies to collate andcollaborate now and provide in timeactionable intelligence to thoseplanning and executing operationssomething that they failed to do inpast? The daily meeting of thesecurity establishment includingrangers, intelligence agencies andthe police will hold only cosmetic

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meaning andproduce littleresult as all ofthem are part ofthe failedadministrativetools that were

used in the past to change the city’sstatus.

The announcement of theformation of committees onlysuggests that the federal governmenthas little stomach for any preemptiveoperation and is unwilling to taketough decisions.Thus the only choiceit made was to pull back from theinitial euphoria that it created aboutputting Karachi right. The federalgovernment has only allowed themomentum to fade away. Why it builtit in the first place is difficult tounderstand?

If the prerequisite of anypunishment is to first find who isresponsible for committing the crimethen the people of Karachi have nodoubt on where to fix thisresponsibility. Those from the federalgovernment who came to find out thecriminals, fix responsibility andexecute operations to punish culpritswent back unsure suggesting that thevarious threats in Karachi weremaybe overhyped? The demand forthe military operation in Karachi wasnot the demand of political partieswho all have their vested interests. Itwas the demand of people of Karachi.Force and its application is anessential tool of statecraft. Had theforce which has now been tasked tolead operations be so effective itwould not have failed in itsapplication for the last so many years?Over the years Rangers having beendeployed on the streets of Karachihave become as good or bad as theSindh police. To expect the rangerseven under enhanced authority tobring about any change in the city isasking too much from a force that hasalready failed to deliver.

The single security strategy inKarachi that Mr Nawaz Sharif couldhave followed was that of permanentand deep feral engagement. But anystrategy that he may have in mind wasput to the chopping block when hetook the course of democracypromotion and consensus building.How can cooperation come aboutwhen the interests of all the political

parties in Karachi diverge? The worstpart of Mr Nawaz Sharif’s politicalimagination is to try and offer suchan agenda of peace in Karachi to thepolitical parties that all can bear andlive with. This only means federalretrenchment and favoring a modestapproach and offering a limitedoperational posture. Such a strategywill only ensure that the ‘rise of therest’ in Karachi will continue largelyunopposed and unabated. A moderatecourse of action may have won MrNawaz Sharif a political victory butat what cost? Have we advanced orcompromised the interests of the cityof Karachi? Having squandered themost important resource – time, MrNawaz Sharif like all the leadersbefore him has left the people ofKarachi on the mercy of the killersand criminals that are the extensionof the very political parties whosefavors he seeks. The former HomeMinister of Sindh Dr ZulfiqarMirza had put on record the backingof political parties to theperpetrators of the violence in thecity. How can then the politicalparties be trusted to cooperate andfind a political solution to thegrowing troubles in Karachi whenthey along with the criminal gangsare themselves the central actors inthe bloodshed that we witness daily?Such political imagination has onlyput to stake the State competence andits honesty of purpose.

All the federation talk aboutconducting an operation in Karachi‘on now or never basis’ to eliminatecriminals in Karachi within sixmonths now sounds like a hollowstrategy. Even when given specialpowers the rangers along with thepolice don’t have the capability tolaunch cleanup operation in sensitiveareas like Layari Town, Sorab Ghoth,Manghopir, Orangi Town, Landhiand Ranchore Line etc. We know thatthe magnitude of Karachi’s insecurityhas further been compounded by themovement of the terrorists from theTribal areas. Militant groups withlinks with Talibans today generatemillions of dollars through theircriminal activities like bank robberiesand kidnapping for ransom etc.

The dumped dead bodies inKarachi and the scared Karachiites –scared for their lives did not want thePrime Minister to only announce the

formation of committees and someinstitutional reforms. These are notmeasures for immediate crimecontrol that can bring them relief.These committees will do little tostop the extortionists from strippingthe people from their hard earnedmoney. Only in Sher Shah one ofKarachi’s biggest market over 6000shops are stripped of over Rs600,000 daily.

Two factors pronouncedlyaffect the security dynamics ofKarachi. One- Political rivalrybetween the political parties whowant to grasp greater share in theeconomy and the governance of thecity. Two- The struggle between theliberals and the fundamentalists ofhow the city’s life should be run.Both factors have roots that lead tovarious political parties and theirpolitical agenda. It is only for thisreason that the vast majority of thepeople of Karachi demanded a shortterm military operation and not along term politically guided securitycampaign under the supervision ofthe very political parties that all havea hand in the city’s deterioratingsecurity conditions.

The 34000 strong police forcealmost 50% of which has beenrecruited on political grounds is notthe force to meet the challengesposed by the growing insecurity inKarachi. Lahore a relatively lesspopulated and peaceful city boostsa police force 67000 strong. Even ifretired army personnel’s arerecruited in Karachi they willunfortunately become part of thesame system that defines thestanding of our police force inKarachi. It’s not the resource inpolice force but the system thatmagnifies its incompetence as aninstitution.

Tasking rangers to lead andexecute operations in Karachi alongwith an incompetent and weakpolice force is a hollow securitystrategy gifted to the people ofKarachi by the government. Themilitary jargon that says ‘neverreinforce failure’ aptly describes themistake that the government seemsto have now committed. The resultsof which unfortunately allKarachiites will have to live with.—The writer is a senior politicalanalyst.

Mr. PM arrest economic downslide..!

THERE is a strong feeling thatgovernment is mortgaging thefuture of the country with the

foreign donor agencies, by taking somuch huge amount of loans (that toojust for the repayment of the oldloans), which this poor country maynever be able to repay. This meansthat in every terms, we have gonebankrupt; and can’t even breathe,without the debt life line.

The gravity of the loanrepayment situation can be gaugedthat during the FY 2102-13 Pakistanspent about 1 trillion PKR out of theFBR’s revenue earnings of less than2 trillion PKR. Today, Pakistan is notunder huge debt, rather, it iscompletely buried under the debt.The government has borrowedRs.611 billion in just 40 days fromthe state bank of Pakistan, as againstRs.507 billion in full year (2012-13).In other words, the PMLN’sgovernment has borrowed Rs.15.3billion per day in 40 days, as againstRs.1.4 billion per day by the previousregime in 2012-13.

The 6% depreciation of Rupeevs the USD in the last 80 days, hascost Pakistan Rs.3.5 billion per day

and has added additional Rs.276billion in public debt in the last80 days. (Figures quoted in thispara and its preceding para werereported by Dr. Ashfaque H

Khan, in his article, titled “A nation’sdebt” published by in a nationalEnglish dated 27 August, 2013).

H’able Prime Minister MianNawaz Sharif Sahab, you alwaysspoke against the debt burden throughout the last 5 years tenure of the PPP.However, now your government hasbroken the entire 365 days record ofthe PPP government in just first 40days, as per the details explainedabove. As such, kindly take it as veryserious matter (of the economic lifeand death of Pakistan) because, allthe world knows that the USSR, thestrongest nuclear power of the world,was broken, not because of anyenemy action, but by its owneconomic melt down.

Sir, unfortunately, all financialindicators points that your era ismoving the country fast towardseconomic melt down. You mayremember, I requested you to to takethe personal charge of the affairs ofthe country, lest the situation may notcome to a pass, where even you maynot become helpless, to stem the rot.

In this regard, after declaring aneconomic emergency, the followingeconomy and austerity measures are

suggested for adoption, to at least putup an impression to the masses, thatgovernment is seriouslycontemplating to improve theeconomic resurgence of Pakistan.And also to dispel the impression thatyour economic policy is not to justblindly run the country on domesticand foreign loans and to merely passyour tenure of the government,without bothering about therepercussions of the future inabilityof the country, to pay back theseloans.

Immediate 50% reduction of allthe pay and perks of the entiregovernment servants/employees frompresident to the peon. This shouldinclude all government employees,employees of the government semi-g o v e r n m e n t / a u t o n o m o u scorporations/ banks, PIA, Railways,Steel Mills etc. However, uponimprovement of the economicsituation the unpaid 50% salaryamount should be gradually givenback to the employees.

Moreover, for all thesegovernment employees, there shouldbe a 50% rebate in payment of allutility bills and educational fees oftheir children during this period ofeconomic emergency. 50%expenditure reduction in the entirePSDP. Absolute ban on the foreigntrips of the government officials. All

international meetings to beattended by the respective envoy’sof Pakistan, in that country. Absoluteban on the foreign medical treatmenton government expenditure, rightfrom the top to the bottom.

Cessation of the entire subsidyon the food items available to theSenators, MNA’s and MPA’s at theParliament’s cafeteria, where Rotiis served almost free; and even inPeshawar, it is selling at Rs.15/- forthe general Public. Complete ban (inreal sense) on the officialentertainments at all levels.

NAB may be directed to takevery immediate steps (absolutelyruthlessly) to recover (from withinand outside Pakistan) all the lootednational money, on a fast track basis.Immediate nationalisation (withoutgiving any time to the ultra richpeople to move their preciousjewellery out of Pakistan) of theGold, diamonds, gems and preciousmetal in Pakistan.

Reduce taxation rate of all typesof taxes, GST, levies, excise etc. toa maximum of 10%. During thecurrency of this economicemergency period, there should bea ban on increase in the prices andrates of POL, utilities and allessential items.– The writer is a freelancecolumnist.

Muhammad Ali EhsanEmail: [email protected]

Syed Nayyaruddin Ahmad Email:[email protected]

Voice of the People

Premeditated USstrike against Syria

M FAZAL ELAHI

The US President Barack Obamais hell-bent on launching apremeditated war against Syria.Justification for aggression againstthis Arab country given by theObama Administration is allegeduse of Chemical Weapons againstthe Syrian civilians by theincumbent government headed byPresident Bashar-al-Assad. To goahead with its plan to strike Syria,the Obama Administration has beenhectically engaged in mustering thesupport of its allies. Surprisinglyfor the world and shockingly for theUS, so far the response has beenlukewarm. In the absence of anytangible evidence of the alleged useof chemical weapons by theincumbent Syrian governmentagainst its civilians, the US alliesare, this time, acting relatively morecautiously and sensibly byrefraining from out-rightlysupporting the US intent to launcha war against Syria.

It is a universal fact that war isterrible thing. It does more harmthan good. History standstestimony to the glaring fact thatAmerica’s hegemonic designs havealways cost it heavily. Needless tosay, it also cost its allies very dearly.Lost wars and trillions of dollarsof American tax payers’ hardearned money spent on these futilewars have earned the US and itscitizens nothing but bad name andworld condemnation. Wars wagedby the US against nations havealways been looked down upon bythe civilized world with a sense ofutter indignation. It has never beenlonged-for because it has terriblydevastated those who had to bearthe brunt of it. Today when GreatBritain, one of the most trustedallies of the US has abandoned hersupport to the US adventure andthere is a declared opposition fromcountries like Russia and Iran, theU.S. public is also against the USintervention in Syria. According toa recent online poll conducted onthe issue, some 56 percent of thosesurveyed said the United Statesshould not intervene in Syria, whileonly 19 percent supported theaction.

It seems sense has ultimatelyprevailed among some of US’sallies, the US public representativesand the public at large. Time isrunning out fast. World powers thatmatter must not sit back and watchthis drama as silent bystanders.They must join hands and actquickly to convince the USPresident that the war he is hell-bent on imposing on Syria, couldprove to be catastrophic not onlyfor the region but for the entireworld. God forbid, if they fail intheir endeavors to do so andPresident Obama decides to goahead with the attack on Syria, theworld should be prepared to facethe devastating consequences ofthis foreseeable war.—Islamabad

*****MUHAMMAD RIZWAN AFATB

After the First World War, theLeague of Nations was founded toprovide peace, security andeconomic independence to theworld nations. It was aimed atdiscourage the incidence of wars inEurope. Despite the fact the thenUS President Wilson wasinstrumental in promoting the ideaof the League of Nations, theUnited State did not formally jointhe League as its member, thoughit agreed to the objectives of theLeague.

The League of Nations couldnot deliver and resultantly the worldhad to experience the havocs of theWorld War-II. The League ofNations was succeeded by theUnited Nations Organization(UNO) in 1945. The main motiveof UNO was to ensure peace amongthe states. There are 193 membersof UN. The main purpose of UN isto reduce the chaos in the world.

Re-birth of Pakistani CinemaSUMBUL BATOOL

If we take an over all look of Pakistan film industry, we come to known that almost one-third ofPakistani cinema is dead now. The reasons behind this death of the cinema include Islamization of

President Zia, introduction of VCR, cable television, cultural on-slaught from India and engineeredpopularity of bollywood and the Indian actors, keenness of Pakistani artists to join Bollywood and rat-race among the Pakistani producers to inject Indian trends and exclude Pak ideology from the Pakistanifilms. Pakistani films produced during the last two decades with thoughtless and aimless content devoidof national honour or past heritage gave way to the insurgence of Indian films which with the exceptionof none, glorify the Indian institutions, professionals, cultre and traditions and Ram is always present inthe theme of their films. The Pakistani film industry which once promoted to more than 700 cinema nowhas just over 100 which ultimate decrease in the production of films from 200 to 25. The production ofthe Projects like “Main Hoon Shahid Afridi” by Humayun Saeed; Shaheed Rafique’s “Ishq-i-Khuda”,“CHAMBELLI” the first political film written by Shahbaz Nawaz and directed by Ismail are a few ofthe reviving pills for Pakistani cinema. As our film industry is returning back with more interesting andpositive reflection of our society, it is now the responsibility of the Pakistanis to welcome the come backof Pakistani cinema and give it precedence over the imported culture-based movies. The entertainmentchannels of the Pakistani electronic media houses should also realize their national responsibility andhelp restore the Pakistani Film industry.—Karachi

READERS

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

—Editor

Catastrophe of inaction

THE idea is gaining ground insome circles that anexcessively limited strike

against Bashar al-Assad’s chemicalweapons program would undermineUS credibility and interests morethan would a decision not to strike.On its face, this argument isappealing: After all the build-up andexpressions of moral indignation,supporters of intervention would, ofcourse, feel let down by a weakattack. Assad and his Russian andIranian backers would no doubtdeclare that they have once againdefeated the great superpower. Andthe media may fill with questionsabout the United States’ strength anddetermination.

But even a weak strike is morein line with US interests than a refusalto strike or, worse, congressionalaction blocking any attack. Not justUS credibility but also the will of theSyrian opposition is at stake.Especially after this lengthy build-upand public debate, Syrian rebels andtheir supporters would view a US

failure to act as abandonment of theircause. In particular, the moderateSyrian opposition, which relies onsupport from the United States andits allies, would be devastated. Thesepeople are the majority of theopposition. The al-Qaeda franchisesthat have no expectation of US aidand other terrorists are estimated tocomprise 15 percent to 20 percent ofSyria’s opposition fighters. So at thismoment, inaction is likely tostrengthen Assad, Iran, Hezbollah andal-Qaeda — and weaken the lonegroup whose interests coincide withAmerica’s at all.

The Washington debate is parsingthis issue too finely. At the end of theday, Syrians are going to see one oftwo things: Either nothing will occur,and they will be left to fight Assad’sbrutality on their own, or US missileswill explode on military facilities andunits flying Assad’s flag. Some maybe disappointed that larger plumes ofsmoke are not rising from more Assadfacilities, but among Syrian rebelsthere would be no doubt that theUnited States had taken their side andhurt their enemy. And that logicwould hold true for Syrians even ifUS officials then said, no,

Views From Abroad

‘Safeguarding sovereignty’

IN addition to entrepreneurialachievements, Mr Shirazi is arenowned writer on socio-

economic issues. He has beenwriting in several newspapers andmagazines. He authored six booksof which one—Aid or Trade—wasadjudged as the best book of the yearby the Writers Guild. The bookswere published by Ferozsons, aleading publishing house.

His present book—Safeguarding Sovereignty— alsopublished by Ferozsons— has a

simple yet profound creed: Self-Reliance. The book deals withvarious themes ranging from thePakistan economy, economic policy,industry and role of the World Bankand IFIs in Pakistan’s economiclandscape. According to Mr Shirazi,the country’s sovereignty has beencompromised due to reliance onforeign aid, loans and credits.Parliamentary democracy andreliance on local resources areessential for Pakistan’s economicsustainability.

A FBR report that Mr Shirazicities, confirms that the undergroundeconomy constitutes 79% of theofficial economy. Thus just 21% ofthe economy pays taxes—and annualrevenues of a mere Rs 2 trillion only.If the remaining 79% hidden incomeis explored and documented, theadditional revenue of Rs 8 trillionwould be sufficient enough to doaway with the begging bowl offoreign aid. He recommendsrevamping of the customs and salestax departments to ensure strongadministration and avoid and underinvoicing which deprive industry offair competition and the country ofvaluable revenues.

Mr Shirazi states that Pakistanisare extremely charitable. They giveup to 5% of GDP in donations. Thismakes Pakistan one of the mostcharitable nations in the world, Yet,curiously, we refuse to pay taxes. Thisis an issue which the governmentwhich overcome. The trust deficitbetween government and taxpayerhas to be reduced so taxpayers paywhat they owe in the knowledge their

Washington hasn’t taken their side.Rhetoric may be real in Washington,but smoke and debris tell their ownstory on the ground.

Internationalists making the casefor a stronger response will be morethan matched by isolationistsdelighting in having kept the UnitedStates out of “someone else’s war.”In fact, the isolationist narrative israpidly becoming dominant. ToSyrian fighters, the message will beunambiguous. A better option, ofcourse, would be a robust strikecoupled with meaningful support tothe Free Syrian Army. The Obamaadministration makes a bad mistakeby defining both the strike and itsjustification exclusively in terms ofpunishing Assad for using chemicalweapons and denying that it intendsfor the strike to alter the balance ofpower in Syria.

The United States has importantnational interests in weakening Iran’smost important ally in the Levant,ensuring that Lebanese Hezbollah’sfirst invasion of another country failsand showing Iran that even thedeployment of Revolution Guardtraining teams cannot save Tehran’sproxies. At this point, either action

or inaction will affect the balance.Even weak action would keep hopealive among the opposition. Inactionwould probably convince them thatthey’re on their own. This wouldn’tbe the first time that a USadministration has disappointedallies with inadequate support orweak strikes. Although it hasgenerally been possible, over time,to recover from suchdisappointments by increasingsupport and other demonstrations ofcommitment, overcoming the senseof abandonment likely to be instilledby inaction at this point might beimpossible.

The president created this sourchoice between an inadequate strikeand no strike. It is a choice betweena bad option and a less bad option.The less bad option is to strike nowand continue to push for more robustaction as necessary in the future.That decision demands the supportof those who are serious about theoutcome in Syria and maintainingUS credibility. The writer is ascholar at the American EnterpriseInstitute and director of its CriticalThreats Project.— Courtesy: The Washington Post

I firmly believe it was Advani’syatra in 1992 that divided, splitand tore to smithereens the deli-

cate fabric that was India. He did itpurposefully and relentlessly, be-cause he wanted his party to get intopower. With every mile of his Yatra,hate was manufactured. Mile aftermile of peace and quiet was turnedinto a cesspool of anger. Neighbor

looked at neighbor and suddenly no-ticed differences they and their fathersbefore them had understood and ig-nored. And the same year, the hatemushroomed into the destruction ofthe temple and even more hate, till thewhole of the country became a fac-tory of hostility. And now it’s happen-ing again, but there’s one difference:Even as the VHP pushes the yatra for-ward the priests in the area of Ayodyaare reluctant to be any part of it.

They know this yatra has no reli-gious significance. They know thatthough the procession will carry godsand devotees, it is all a political gim-mick that will only incense the people

and ignite communal anger. That thewhole yatra is a political exercise!Why do we allow this? Why does ourlaw allow this?

Using religion to divide shouldbe given as stringent a punishmentas murder or rape, because inevita-bly murders and rapes are instigatedinto happening. Not one but hun-dreds. I imagine a conversation withone of these men: “You want to do ayatra sir?” “Yes!” “For whom?” “Formy religion!” “Does your religionteach love?” “I don’t know!” “Whatdo you know?” “I know that I cantake a yatra and unite everybody!”

“Oh no. You can use the yatra to

And now the yatras..!divide everybody! You use the yatrato make people insecure. To makethem afraid of their neighbor! Godmy friend is not a God of hate, Heis a God of love, whichever religionyou follow will tell you that!”

But then that’s a wasted con-versation, right? Because it’s notfor religion but for politics that hedoes his yatra. But you have a re-sponse to make: Believe in thesepeople, or take the advice of thepriests in the temple town, whohave said, “that this is just a po-litical gimmick!” Don’t fall forsuch gimmicks..!—Email: [email protected]

Frederick W Kagan

However, despite the ineffectivenessof the UN in averting conflictswherein a super power is involvedand in resolving long-standing issueslike Kashmir, it continues to be aforum of mutual interactions wheremoral pressures are released to avertbloody conflicts. The US intensionsto attack Syria are another test for theUN. The US stubbornness not evenrespect the UN is very unfortunate.However, the saner pleas fromcountries like Russia and Iran shouldbe heard by the US. It is the duty ofthe UN to act immediately and stopUS from heading towards amisadventure which will not onlydisastrous for the world peace butalso for the future of the UN.—Karachi

Which bombmore lethal?

MIR TABASSUM MAIRAJ

Government drops POL price hikebomb on people”......a headlinecarried by a couple of newspaperson 1st September 2013. Bomb blastsby Taliban are more lethal anddamaging and their effects areirreversible. Hundreds of tragicstories are created and familiessuffer for the rest of their lives.

But the bomb used byGovernment effects thousands offamilies economically and socially.It works as a slow poison and appearsas catalyst for suicides and sometimessuicides after killing life partnersalong with innocent kids. HazratOmer, the second caliph, was worriedabout non-human creatures living inhis domain, but for present day rulershuman blood has no significance.Fear of Allah is missing from thehearts of leaders as well as thefollowers. The whole nation wantsChange without any sacrifice…Whata nation!!!—Islamabad

Wapda:Inflated billsISHFAQUE RUSTAMANI

The role of Wapda in controllingpower theft is pathetic. As a result,the country faces a colossal energycrisis. The cause of this is massivecorruption and inefficiency of theWAPDA officials. The people whobribe meter reader or other officerspay no electricity bills. On the otherhand, those who pay their bills regu-larly and are not involved in dishon-est practices receive reward in theshape of excess units or inflated elec-tricity bills.

In Pakistan there is no rewardfor honesty. This compels people toresort to illegal and unacceptableoptions like illegal connections andbribing the officials concerned.

I am one of those who get 200to 300 excess units of electricityevery month. I live in AbdullahTown, Phase 2, Qasimabad,Hyderabad. I went from pillar to postand registered many complaints butall in vain. I would like to ask theMinister for Water and Power andother officers concerned why arehonest people, who are never in-volved in power theft, sent inflatedelectricity bills? Why is honesty inour country not rewarded?—Hyderabad

Youth andoperation peace

HASHIM ABRO

Indeed, youth are considered as thefoundation for a strong, stable andpeaceful society, as well as thenation’s future. They can be a cata-lyst for development and their ac-tive participation in nation build-ing can create a better society,looking positively toward the fu-ture. Unfortunately, the youth ofPakistan are left out of every im-portant sphere in the society. The(re) tired “Babas”, many of themproven deadwoods, have blockedall ways of growth and develop-ment, particularly, professional andintellectual growth in the Pakistanisociety. The hiring and rehiring of

ON Thursday 5th Septembera farewell lunch was hostedby Prime Minister Nawaz

Sharif for the out going PresidentAsif Ali Zardari on completion ofhis five year term in the office. Itwas a nice gesture to bring on boardall national leaders from all politicalparties to bid a joint Good bye toMr. Zardari. Prime Minister Sharifinvited local dignitaries includingprovincial governors, chiefministers, chief of the army staff andchairman joint chiefs of staffcommittee, which was another goodgesture. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafrefused to be a part of it which toowas a good gesture.

Mr. Zardari giving an extempospeech and the Prime Ministerdelivering a written speech on howsmoothly the whole transition hadtaken place due to their maturity inpolitics and support for the cause ofdemocracy. Another good gestureindeed! While all was hunky doreyin the Prime Minister house to watchon television for common Pakistani’s,the realization emerged of what reallystands for this country at the moment.I was lost for words when thefollowing came to my mind:

With Islamabad’s latest fiscal andmacroeconomic adjustments with

IMF and its request for a $ 6.6 billionbailout package or loan forrepayment of the fund’s outstandingloans. A fiscal adjustment of about2.5 per cent of GDP in its budgetfor 2013-14 to reduce fiscal deficitfrom 8.8pc to 6.3pc of GDP duringthe next financial year and a newExtended Fund Facility (EFF) ofabout $5bn repayable in 10 years.Some heavy repayments due to theIMF in October-November whenPakistan has to repay 1.685m SDRs($2.5bn) that could reduce reservesto a critical level and put pressure onexchange rate.

A struggling economy ofPakistan with mammoth problemslike energy shortages, infrastructurebottlenecks, and Talibaninsurgency, IMF cash flow withimmense strings attached, would theloans be able to get the economyback on its feet? No recentgovernment has proved effective indealing with the problems above norat managing the public financesefficiently, leaving the economydependent on aid from multilateralinstitutions. With foreign debt atover US$50 billion already, half ofthe state budget is funded withforeign loans and with just 2% ofthe population paying any tax, thepath is clearly unsustainable.

In less than three years, the percapita debt burden of Pakistanis hasincreased by 170%, as thegovernment has been trying to keepthe economy afloat, through

borrowing and spending. As a result,debt servicing is five times as big asthe ever shrinking developmentbudget; total liabilities have reachedUS$117 billion, about half of themwith internal creditors and the restwith international creditors.

IMF loan may have bought sometime for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifto govern for a while but he needs tounderstand, unless austere measuresare not adopted, over billing ofGovernment departments, corruption,recovering from the floods, massivespendings on security for leaders,MNA’s, extravagnce of unlimitedamounts by Administration andBureaucrats, lavish dinners andlunches etc, he must limit spendingin every sector.

There is raising malaise in thegeneral public due rise in oil prices,with Government subsidiesabandoned, the consumers will haveto bear the burden of increased costs.Another factor which might lead tofurther tension is the high price ofwheat and more in general foodstuffs.The government keeps the price ofwheat high to please the farmers(including the big landlords whodominate the main party in thecoalition), even if production is goingup. The result is that the poorer strataof the population cannot afford to buyenough food. Even if productionshould be sufficient; malnutritionlevels are going up. The price ofwheat has almost trebled from 2008;

consumer prices have increased17.7% in the year to April.

Whatever happened to the onedish culture adopted for privateweddings? Doesn’t the Governmentneed to apply such measures onitself? National leaders and topofficials must be treated with lavishluncheon on tax payers money toshow solidarity of democracy lovingforces? (The Prime Minister as abillionaire himself with roots in thesteel industry, pays just US$10 ayear in tax himself!) Don’t suchspendings, show of force through along list of menu cards for luncheonsand dinners hit the economy? Whatkind of message is being releighedto the public of Pakistan or the mediaboth National and International, thatwe are irresponsible in controllingour spending habits? What will beachieved by such flaunts? What oneunderstands here is “penny wisepound foolish” strategy beingapplied, so is this the vision for a“Roshan Pakistan?”

Although no society in theworld is absolutely clean ofexhibiting wealth and riches,unfortunately in our country for thelast several decades it has becomea fashion, a way of life whichpeople have adopted with pride andgusto. So such exhibition isjustified to the people of PakistanMr. Prime Minister?— The writer is Lahore-basedfreelance columnist.

One dish for all

old dinosaurs have dimmed thechances of employment, empow-erment and proper utilization ofyoung talent of Pakistan.

Now the much more demanded‘operation for peace’ in the peace-starved Karachi has been launchedand all sundry are sounding withoptimism about the operation that itwould make our Karachi “ free fromcrime, criminals, weapons, mafias,gangs, extortionists, extremists,intolerants and fascists as it used tobe some three decades ago.

However, what is needed nowin the wake of this ‘operation forpeace’ is to tape the gushing ener-gies, talent and skills of youth ofSindh, particularly, the youth living,working and getting education indifferent educational institutions inKarachi, so as to come forward andmake their efforts to rekindle trustand confidence, promote toleranceand toleration among various com-munities living in this city throughtheir organized efforts such as“Peace Walks”, “ Peace and Re-spect”, “ Peace and Tolerance’ semi-nars, sermons, talk shows etc. aboveall exposing the criminals and out-laws in their respective vicinitieswith a view to making this opera-tion classically result-oriented forestablishing perpetual peace inKarachi, historically known as “MaiKalachi” ( humble, humane and hos-pitable Karachi).—Islamabad

Terrorism - addressthe root-cause

SAKHI SARWAR

Pakistan is passing through a peculiarsituation of terrorism, created andcontinued due to the unconditionalallegiance of our successivegovernments to their anti-Pakistanforeign masters, which annoyedmany people at home and abroad,who with the passage of time havefurther hardened and are resorting toextremism. This extremism, if leftunresolved for a long time, gives wayto the militant attributes in individualsand communities. Again, if themilitancy is allowed to go unabated,it ends up in desperation leading toterrorism and even suicidal militancy.The thoughtless and self-centredrulers and their law enforcingagencies, without realizing therepercussions of their use of force,thus adding insult to injury created alot of enemies within – the disastrousfactor which no science has a solutionfor. Now these originally dismayedbut gradually hardened elements havegone a step further in creating a mythand a well organized cult to bring thecommon people in their fold throughecstatic brain-washing motivatingand mobilizing them to embracedeath for a cause.

So the annoyed, otherwisesimple and innocent people aredesperately indulging in the acts ofterrorism and even suicidal attacksoriginally on those, whom theythought were playing the tune oftheir foreign masters and currentlyeven on the innocent Pakistanis thusputting the country in a state of messand converting this earthly paradiseinto a blazing hell. There is a strongneed to conduct seminars andsymposia of social scientists,scholars, professionals, intelligentsiato find a solution of the human issuein a humane manner and proceedwith a message that we are seriousin casting away the yoke ofsubservience of others, are capableof going ahead like an honourableliving nation. We should also extenda hand of reconciliation towards theangry Pakistanis to convince andpersuade them to join hands innation building as aspired by ourgreat Quaid and his companions.—Islamabad

Name of the book : ‘Safeguarding Sovereignty’Author : Yusuf H ShiraziReviewed by : Abdul Karim JanjuaPublisher : Ferozsons (Pvt) Ltd.Pages : 269Price : Rs 895/-

tax rupees will be spent helping thecountry achieve economicindependence and sustainability.

Mr Shirazi emphasises thatprosperity cannot be ensured withoutinvestment, production and export.This and this alone will ensureemployment and earn foreignexchange.

The author believes in theindependence and separation ofpowers of the three branches ofgovernment; Parliament Executiveand Judiciary. Politicians shouldbe concerned with makingpolicies, the executives entrustedwith implementation and judiciaryfor adjudication. He has a highview of the bureaucracy. Theyshould be shielded frompoliticisation and recruited onmerit, integrity and a strong valuesystem.

Cumulatively Mr Shirazirecommends that these measures,principally will amount tosafeguarding sovereignty of thecountry and lead to dignity andhonour for the nation.

Ayesha Zee KhanEmail: [email protected]

Though the Governmentwould also withdraw the ArmedForces, heavy equipment anddismantle its bases but wouldkeep check-posts till full imple-mentation of the agreement. Themilitants arrested during all thisperiod, numbering around 1100,would also be released in phasesand no cases against them wouldbe pursued provided they abideby their commitments made inadvance.

The strategy evolved withthe input of all the stakeholdersalso lays emphasis on fast trackdevelopment of the tribal beltwith the establishment of facto-ries, schools and hospitals andother developmental projects.

The foreign militants, particu-larly the most dangerous ones areassociated with Al-Qaeda, IslamicJihad Union, Khorasan Force, Is-lamic Movement of Uzbekistan,Turkestan Islamic Party, EasternTurkestan Islamic Movement,Jundullah, German Taliban, JandulKhalafa, Ansar al AseerulMujahideen and Fidayeen al Islamand they would be forced to leave.

Interestingly, some Pakistanisincluding Hakeemullah Mehsudof the TTP and Matiur Rehmanand Qari Zafar of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are considered as “foreignagents” and cannot be, therefore,accepted as part of any negotiat-ing team.

Three prongedFrom Page 1

be totally forbidden to leadprayers as Imams or become

Foreign militants marriedFrom Page 1

Taliban ahead of presidentialelections as they do not acceptsuch exercise in Afghanistanwithout their role and consent.

President Hamid Karzai vis-ited Pakistan recently and alsodiscussed the issue of stalledDoha talks with Pak authorities.Pakistan on Saturday releasedseven Taliban prisoners, a moveconsidered by diplomaticcircles, to further soften upTaliban to sit on negotiatingtable.

Due to Turkey’s amplifyingrole in this exercise, the shift-ing of venue to Turkey cannotbe ruled out, diplomatic sourceson condition of anonymity said.

Flagging DohaFrom Page 1

Imran was addressing the InsafLabour Convention at Aiwan-e-Iqbal here.

He said that he wanted tostart a dialogue to end terrorismand take Pakistan out of the“US” War on Terror. He addedthat he would suggest that we“adopt a policy of reconciliationin the tribal areas (based) on thepattern of Nelson Mandela’spolicy.” Imran will also proposemilitary operation against thosewho don’t negotiate “but onceagain call an APC before launch-ing the military operation.”

“I requested a small meet-ing with interior minister, chiefof army staff and prime minis-ter behind closed doors beforethe APC because Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is the provincemost affected by terrorism. Iwant to know what the govern-ment policy on drone strikes is,”he added. “We will try to standunited against terrorism because

without getting rid of this men-ace Pakistan cannot progress,”he added. Addressing the con-vention Imran said that PTI wastaking practical steps for thewelfare of labourers and an Ac-countability Bill was beingdrafted in KP. He said big fishinvolved in corruption would benabbed under the Accountabil-ity Law in KP.

“A football manufacturingfactory in Sialkot became worldfamous for its product just be-cause the owner did one thing.He took good care of hislabourers. Pakistan will getblessings if the labourers aretaken care of, but here, they arekept like slaves,” he added.Imran added, “When I metMahathir Mohammad I ques-tioned him about privatisation.He said the privatisation whichbenefits the country is good butthe one which benefits a groupof people is harmful. This is

what has been happening in Pa-kistan. The poor keep gettingpoorer and the rich even richer.”

The PTI chairman said thatlabourers couldn’t get theirrights until they take to theroads. “We don’t have su-premacy of law here. You(labourers) will not be heard ifyou don’t speak up for yourrights. We have the law of thejungle here,” he said. Imran saidhe feared conditions wouldworsen for labourers in days tocome as 70% of the parliamen-tarians in Pakistan didn’t paytaxes.

“Our government gave therich the chance to take theirblack money out and then bringit back through banks and makeit white money. Tax collectionin this country is one of the poor-est in the world. We have to dotwo things for development: endcorruption and US war on ter-rorism,” he maintained.

Imran to present 4-pointFrom Page 1

Muzaffarnagar district on Satur-day night.A curfew has beenimposed in three riot-hit areasof Muzaffarnagar, said the headof the states home ministry,R.M. Srivastava. The situationis still very tense, but under con-trol. Soldiers were going doorto door to search for weapons.A state of high alert was de-clared for the entire state of UttarPradesh, which has a populationof 200 million people.

The clashes broke out Sat-urday after thousands of Hindufarmers held a meeting in Kawalto demand justice in the Aug. 27killing of three men who hadspoken out when a woman wasbeing verbally harassed. Thestates minority welfare minister,Mohammad Azam Khan, saidsome at the meeting gave pro-vocative speeches calling for

Muslims to be killed.The farm-ers were attacked as they werereturning home after the meet-ing, senior police official ArunKumar said. The attackseemed well planned, Kumarsaid. Some were armed withrifles and sharp-edged weapons.Gunfire was reported from sev-eral areas of the village. Withinhours clashes broke out in neigh-boring villages, Kumar said. Aleader from the Hindu national-ist Bharatiya Janata Party saidtensions had been simmeringsince the three men were killedon Aug. 27 in a tea shop. Hadthe killers been arrested, the situ-ation might not have gone outof hand, Vijay Bahadur Pathaksaid.Uttar Pradesh was at theheart of some of Indias worstcommunal clashes in December1992, after a Hindu mob razed

the 16th-century Babri mosquein Ayodhya.

The government has warnedthat India is seeing a rise in com-munal violence, with 451 inci-dents reported already this year,compared with 410 for all of2012.Tensions were expected toescalate in the run-up to next yearsnational elections, Home Minis-ter Sushilkumar Shinde told re-porters in New Delhi on Saturday.He said all 28 of Indias statesshould stay alert and improve theirability to gather intelligence.

Communal violence lastmonth left two dead and 22 in-jured in a village in Bihar state,east of Uttar Pradesh, accordingto Indian media. Outbreaks havealso been reported recently inUttar Pradeshs district of Shamli,as well as in the disputed Hima-layan territory of Kashmir.

RIYADH—SEP 7: Some 350Pakistani expats gathered at thePakistani embassy’s spaciousaudito-rium on September 6 fora colorful evening of po-etry,songs, music, catwalk, breakdance and dinner — all arrangedby Ms Sajida Chaudhry, aRiyadh socialite who called herpresentation ‘Virsa-e-Pakistan’.The occasion was Pakistan De-fense Day.

The crowd of overseas Pa-kistanis demonstrated a veryhigh level of spirit of national-ism, unity, solidarity, resolve,and optimism during the timeswhen back home terrorism, ex-tremism, sectarian, ethnicity andrich-poor disparity dot the na-tional canvas. Pin drop silence,good mannerism, disci-pline andcollective sense of positivitymarked the occasion.

Girls and boys, men, womenand children en-joyed the cul-tural-cum-variety show as muchas they enjoyed the evening’sfine fusion buffet served to theinvitees. The menu and the des-serts were well thought of by theorganizers and Ms Sajida de-serves kudos.

Her articulate humor filledcompering, and per-sonalizedbut extempore style showed shewas not only comfortable withthe familiar crowd of Paki-stanigentry of Riyadh who were in-vited to the show, but was alsoat ease with the group of Paki-stani youth volunteers both girlsand boys who swarmed around

her throughout the evening.Some called her Sajida

auntie, some Ms Sajida. In shortshe made it quite obvious at leastto me that she is well respected,well known and part of themover and shaker elite whodraw their strength in and fromthe community — an asset thePakistani embassy specially itscommunity welfare sectiondraws its strength and drivefrom.

Green and White donned theauditorium and the stage. So didpictures of the Quaid on thewall, with President Zardari andPrime Minster Nawaz Sharif’sphotos side by side but belowJinnah’s — a rare feat symbol-izing unity and political matu-rity coming of age, statesman-ship in works, and continuity ofde-mocratic process now a donedeal.

As if this was not enough forthe Pakistanis who had gatheredat their embassy to feel goodabout, historical pictures depict-ing high notes in Pak-Saudi re-lations decked the ivory whiteperimeter walls of the hall add-ing nostalgic aroma to the on-going event. For me it was emo-tional and reminiscing on posi-tive note.

Telegraphically I would callthe show a kaleido-scopicevening filled with patchwork ofphotos past and present, music,dance and poetry sewn togetherin nationalistic theme, coloredwith positive mes-sages and

dyed with optimistic overtonesof a better Pakistan. The eveningkicked off with Qirat and Naat.

Thereafter, intermittentmusic, drumbeats, songs,speeches, tabla, khattak, breakdance, fashion walks, etc.spanned the evening, depictinga brimful of forward lookingnation which believe in and as-pire to be moderate, forward-looking with Islam as its reli-gion and fountainhead. ThePakistani envoy Naeem Khanreinforced this in his 5 minutespeech to the Pakistanis whohad shown up to revel by cel-ebrating Sept 6 as a victory day.The Virsa-e-Pakistan show for-mat and the acts appeared tohave been well rehearsed andwell-timed.

Theme emphasis was unityof the four prov-inces, four lan-guages, four people enjoinedlike a bouquet of flowers tiedtogether by a common thread ofPakistan ideology, Pakistani lifestlye, and Pakistaniat as a na-tional attitude. Brand Pakistanemerged last evening of Paki-stan incorporated! The eveningwas not amiss with introduc-tionof personalities.

Shamshad Siddiqui’s briefspeech called for one nation, onepeople, united by one cause. Hegot a good, well-deserving ap-plause from the crowd. ShahnazMuzammil, a female poet fromLahore, read out 2 inspiring po-ems, the one being ‘Ma’(Mother) getting maximum ap-

plause.People who have read

Maxim Gorky or the Good Earthby Pearl S Buck related well,and there were many in thecrowd.

The youth got goosebumps,I’m sure, because, it was allabout the country albeit the na-tion as the mother, and thepeople albeit the youth as thechild. Pakistani youth as we allknow is incensed with movingahead while the rest remainsaddicted to the past. Therefore,Ma appeared to put the fault linein the context. And, it was a shotin the arm. Bravo Shahnaz!Mein Maa Hoon Mein TujhayPeechay Kabhi Hatnay NahiDoungi

Tu Shaheen Hai TerayBaazo Kabhi Katnay NahiDoungi. Then came butterfliesin the stomach with WaqarNaseem Wamiq’s delivery —and the verses crawled under theskin invoking a Jago Huwa Sav-era and High 5s from the youngcrowd.

After Shanaz’s Ma,Wamiq’s verse acted like a sur-realistic shot gun hitting targetsin the ma-ture audience. appar-ently it did because claps and‘zabardast’ echoed the hall.Kuch Deyr Sochnay MeinManzar Badal Gaya Khud HeeKo Khojnay Mein Manzar BadalGaya Wamiq Khayal e Yaar NeAysa Keya Kamal Dekha JoAainay Mein Manzar BadalGaya Mashallah!—AP

Pakistan expats colorful evening

Defence Day celebrate in S Arabia

Troops deployedFrom Page 1

earned a rare distinction of be-ing the only democraticallyelected President in the 66-yearlong history of Pakistan to havecompleted a full five-year con-stitutional tenure.

The activities of PresidentAsif Ali Zardari as the Head ofState formally came to an end fol-lowing the ceremony of farewellguard of honour by the smartlyturned out contingents of thearmed forces. President Zardaribecame ‘former president’ fromthe midnight of Sunday.

President Asif Zardari afterreceiving the guard of honour leftfor Lahore where he was presidedover a meeting of PakistanPeople’s Party’s central leader-ship.

Later former President, AsifAli Zardari spoke to PakistanPeople’s Party workers at theBilawal House on Sunday.

“I am certain that Aulfikar AliBhutto and Benazir Bhutto alongwith all martyrs of the PPP arelooking down on us.”

Asif Ali Zardari said therewere forces that were setting fireto the region and these forces

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Nawaz, Singh to focusFrom Page 1

curity. Expressing concern,sources in the PPP said that se-nior party leader Syed KhurshidShah was invited as Leader oftheOpposition in the National As-sembly while Syed Qaim Aliwas extended invitation in chiefministers’ capacity.

The sources said that thegovernment had sent invita-tion to the leaders of all thepolitical parties and ignoringFahim was a matter of con-cern. Meanwhile, Informa-tion Minister Pervaiz Rashidtermed PPP’s reservation asbaseless. Information Minis-ter Pervaiz Rashid said onlyparliamentary leaders havebeen invited to the All-PartyConference to be held inIslamabad tomorrow. In an in-terview‚ he said the complaintof Pakistan Peoples Partyleader Makhdoom AminFahim is unjustified‚ as thepartys parliamentary leaderSyed Khurshid Shah has beeninvited to the conference.

It may be added that thePPP had objected thatMakhdoom Amin Fahim hasnot been invited to the confer-ence. Information Ministersaid Sheikh Rashid Ahmed andIjazul Haq‚ who have wononly one seat each‚ have alsonot been invited to the confer-ence.

PPP protestsFrom Page 1

sore point between the Afghangovernment and the U.S.-ledtroops in the country, and theyhave been a major factor in theanimosity many Afghans feel to-ward foreign forces. Conflictingaccounts of who or how manydied also are common, espe-cially when remote, dangerousregions are involved and accessby independent observers is re-stricted.

The latest disputedairstr ike occurred in theWatapur district of Kunar, aprovince that lies along theborder with Pakistan. It’s amilitant stronghold, and manyArab and other foreign insur-gents are believed to operatethere alongside the AfghanTaliban. Some are suspectedof links to the Al-Qaida ter-rorist network.

Kunar province policechief Abdul Habib SayedKhaili said the airstrike hit apickup truck carrying thewomen and children in Qorovillage soon after three Araband three Afghan militants

boarded it Saturday evening.He said some reports called ita drone strike, but that Afghanofficials had been unable toconfirm that. Of the 15 dead,four were women, four werechildren and one was thedriver, the police official said.Watapur district chief ZalmaiYousefi confirmed theairstrike. He also said 15people were killed, includingwomen and children.

NATO spokeswoman 1stLt. AnnMarie Annicelli con-firmed that the military alli-ance carried out a “precisionstrike” that killed 10 “enemyforces,” but that it had receivedno reports of any civilians dy-ing in the airstrike. Annicellihad no immediate details onwho exactly the dead were orwhat prompted the airstrike,but said NATO was still inves-tigating the matter. “We takeall allegations of civilian ca-sualties seriously,” NATO saidin a statement.

Even as U.S.-led foreignforces draw down their pres-

ence in Afghanistan, with afull exit expected by the endof 2014, the air support theyprovide Afghan troops inmany regions is still a crucialpart of operations against theTaliban, the resurgent Islam-ist militant movement thatwants to topple the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

Past strikes that kill civil-ians have infuriated Afghans.President Hamid Karzai hasspoken out forcefully againstthem and banned Afghantroops from requesting NATOairstrikes during operations inresidential areas. As the vio-lence in Afghanistan hasspread, civilians are increas-ingly getting caught up in it.

Around 1,000 Afghan ci-vilians have been killed andmore than 2,000 wounded inthe first half of this year - ahuge portion of them in insur-gent attacks - according to theUnited Nations. That markeda 24 percent increase in casu-alties compared to the sameperiod last year.—AP

Nato airstrikes kill 15 AfghansFrom Page 1

wanted to destabilise Pakistan aswell.Zardari said, he had acceptedthe mandate of the present gov-ernment to ensure that democracywas strengthened. “We will standwith democracy and democraticforces. Mian Sahib, we will notlet you weaken and fight anti-democratic forces alongside you.”

According to the president itwas easy to light a match but dif-ficult to extinguish a fire. “Wehave formed new traditions andestablished a new Pakistan. Wehave strengthened parliament.”

Mr Zardari told party work-ers that with the completion of hisfive-year tenure his responsibili-ties now lay with the party. “Nowmy doors are open for workers,”he told those in attendance.

PPP leaders, including MianManzoor Wattoo, Aitzaz Ahsan,Latif Khan Khosa and others werepresent at the Bilawal House towelcome Asif Ali Zardari.

The outgoing President AsifAli Zardari reminded that hestrengthened the parliament andempowered the women folk of thecountry.

“I had set a history by ensur-

ing smooth transition of powerfrom one democratic governmentto the other”, he mentioned.

Asif Ali Zardari said that hewill fully participate in the poli-tics of the country and will remainin contact with the masses.

Manmohan Singh arebelievably to be held in NewYork on September 27, 2013,Pakistan Observer gatheredthis information here.

It will be the maiden talksround between the two premiersof Pakistan and of Hindustanfacing tough situation at the do-mestic front from persistent vio-lations by Hindustan the Line ofControl in Jammu and Kashmir.Mian Nawaz Sharif tempera-mentally lays stress on someways out to spiral the level oftrade in the region especiallywith Hindustan. To Hindustanthis desire of Pakistan Premieris an opportunity to mellowdown the stuck-up bone of un-solved Kashmir, a dispute ofrunning over 65 years, each de-cade marked with tense warsand borders deployments in theregion.

Here in Pakistan the domes-tic political lobbies want sometangible progress on Kashmir atthis New York summit betweenthe two premiers. Islamabadpolitical intellectuals are skep-tical about any ‘solid’ advanceon the Kashmir talks front. Thefact is that any Pakistani leaderwho could achieve any leniencyin the hardened Hindustani atti-tude towards resolving Kashmirdispute can ascend the ladder ofpopularity unmatched.

Viewing the Nawaz-Manmohan New York meet sce-

nario, voices are going louder inthe Hindustani-occupied parts ofJammu and Kashmir that thethread of summit negotiations bepicked up from whereMusharraf-Vajpayee, Musharraf-Singh had left the grope afterKashmir. The Musharraf for-mula had gathered a growingnumber of sympathizers inHindustan-held Kashmir (HHK).Musharraf had proposed that thefour regions of Jammu and Kash-mir be identified, they should bedemilitarized, there should beself-rule, the management of theJ&K state be tripartite – Pakistan,Hindustan and Kashmiris, calledjoint mechanism, the Line ofControl to go irrelevant. This ideaof President Musharraf had foundfavor in AJK also. But somehowor the other this formula couldnot be materialized due to someangry patches of occurrences inthe region.

Pakistan premier is happilyconvinced of his previous talkswith the then Hindustani premierMr Attal Behari Vajpayee atLahore when the latter came toPakistan on a bus via Wagah bor-der to show softening of Delhi’sstone-hearted Kashmir attitude.Mian Sahib is on press recordsaying that had his governmentnot overthrown in 1999, Kash-mir dispute would have beensettled surely. But serious lobbiestake this angle even now as toosimple. What is most puzzling

for Mian Nawaz Sharif sitting atthe chair of decisions/fate-mak-ing for the country are two mon-sters: economic dip; unsolvedKashmir issue; he seems to haveselected economic betterment aspriority number one so that theburning sighs of Pakistanis canturn into soothing breathers. It isno doubt that Mian Brothers areMade-in-Pakistan personalities.They look first for the ill spots inthe national fabric for repair andprogress. Their Pakistaniat isundoubtedly supreme and un-blemished. I personally believeand the nation too in this incon-trovertible truth. Bravo to SharifBrothers!!

But much more depends onhow much the Pakistan,Hindustan premiers summitachieves in their New Yorktalks to be held on the marginsof the UN General Assembly’sannual session. Around thesame time (Sep 27, 2013) theOIC Foreign Ministers Con-tact Group on Kashmir wouldalso be having meetings insideUN committee rooms. I at-tended several ones. On Sun-day our learned diplomatSardar Masood Abdullah Paki-stan Ambassador at the UN leftfor USA after having acolourful bunch of necessaryhigh-ups briefings. It is MrMasood who has had to lay thestage of talks. We wish successto each round.

Muezzin or deliver lectures.“Local tribal leaders would be

held responsible for any viola-tions,” the source confided.

Politicians’ questFrom Page 1

follow.”“Political party members

will also get a chance to addressthe conference,” said the interiorminister.Karachi operation “It has beenthree days since Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif visited Karachi,”said Nisar, adding that the deci-sion to approve a Rangers-ledoperation in the city had startedto bear fruits.

“Sixty four targeted raidshave been carried out by Rang-ers in the last three days whichhas resulted in the arrests of vari-ous extortionists and recovery ofweapons,” he said.

Leader of parties FrontierColony, Site, Badr commercial,Clifton, Gizri and various otherareas of Karachi,” said the inte-rior minister, while reading outfrom a report.

Bringing his address to aclose, he said, “Rangers andPolice will themselves informthe public of the outcomesachieved from the operation”.

Rapid ResponseFrom Page 1

under NACTA operations. Healso ordered to revamp theNational Crisis ManagementCell (NCMC) and its opera-tions.

The Minister also directedDG FIA to revamp the immigra-tion process in order to facilitatethe public. The complaint andcomments counters be establishedat all major airports of the coun-try ,where announcements bemade after every 15 minutes inorder to address the problems andto record the complaints of thepassengers, the Minister added.The Mimister said this on Sundaywhile chairing a high-level meet-ing of officials of Ministry of In-terior and Narcotics Control andHeads of its Attached Depart-ments to discuss the latest secu-rity situation of the country.

Th Minister instructed theIG Islamabad and Traffic Policeto systematically minimize thetime duration of the trafficroutes set in place for the on-ground movements of theVVIPs. He noted that a scien-tific and professional inputshould be given into the settingup of these routes so that thetraffic does not have to stop formore than five to ten minutes.

He ensured that the facilita-tion of the public is a high prior-ity for the government and di-rected the officials to ensure thatthe citizens do not have to sufferany hindrance due to the misman-agement of the authorities.The IGIslamabad Police briefed theMinister about the assignment ofsecurity personnel at themosques, imam bargahs andother places of worship.

The Chairman NADRA toldthe meeting that the project to au-tomate the entry/exit points ofIslamabad was already underway.He stated that e-tags would be pro-vided to the vehicle owners ofIslamabad and Rawalpindi to fa-cilitate the easy movement of thecitizens to and from the city. Thee-tags shall be provided after thor-ough scrutiny. This automatedsystem will help to record andverify the credentials and registra-tion of the vehicles and the pas-sengers using a biometric system.The Federal Minister stressed thatunnecessary barricades needed tobe removed and the process needsto be streamlined at the e-toll sys-tem at Rawat and Golra toll pla-zas, beside other vantage points.The Minister for Interior directedIGP, FIA, NCMC and NACTA torise to the occasion and keep de-livering progress in terms of strictdeadlines in view.

Mamnoon takesFrom Page 1

will administer the oath of of-fice to the President-elect. Theceremony will be attended bypolitical leaders and otherprominent personalities.

Prime Minister NawazSharif, outgoing President AsifAli Zardari, former PresidentRafiq Tarar, former Prime Min-isters Mir ZafarullahKhanJamali, Chaudhry ShujaatHussain,Syed Yusuf Raza Gilaniand Raja Pervez Ashraf, as wellas Chairman of Senate, SpeakerNational Assembly, federalMinisters, Provincial Governorsand Chief Ministers, Presidentand Prime Minister of AJK, Ser-vices Chiefs, senior civil offi-cials and diplomats will attendthe ceremony.

The invitees also includefamily members, friends andrelatives of the new President.

He will be the 12th Presi-dent of Islamic Republic of Pa-kistan. Others who remainedhead of state were IskandarMirza(23rd March, 1957-27thOctober, 1958), AyubKhan(27th October,1958-8thJune, 1962), Yahya Khan (25thMarch, 1969-20th December,1971), Zulfikar Ali Bhutto(20thDecember, 1971-13th August1973), Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry(14th August,1973-16th Sep-tember, 1978),MuhammadZiaul Haq (16thSeptember, 1978-17th Au-gust,1988), Ghulam Ishaq Khan(17th August, 1988-18th July1993), Farooq Leghari(14thNovember, 1993- 2nd Decem-ber, 1997), Muhammad RafiqTarar(Ist January, 1998-20thJune 2001), Pervez Musharraf(20thJune 2001-18th August,2008) and Asif Ali Zardari (9thSeptember, 2008- 8th Septem-ber, 2013).

NEW YORK: Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova kiss the trophy after defeating Ashleigh Barty and CaseyDellacqua in the women’s doubles final of the 2013 US Open tennis tournament.

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Among morethan 2000 spectators atShalimar Gardens inSrinagar where on Saturdaythe renowned musicianZubin Mehta mesmerizedthe people with his orches-tra, notable absentee wasthe State cricketer, ParvezRasool.

“No, I didn’t go watchthe show”, the 25-year-oldall-rounder said exclusivelyover telephone from hisouth Kashmir’s Bijbehararesidence.

No member of the fam-ily attended the program.No, the family was not op-posing the protests. ZubinMehta’s concert in Indian-

Parvez Rasool family was notableabsentee at Zubin Mehta’s concert

administered Kashmir hadrun into controversy withseparatists and human rightsactivists opposing it.

“No member of our fam-ily is interested in music”,Parvez’s brother, Asif Rasoolsaid. “Yes, it was the first ofthis kind of a program inSrinagar”.

“But Parvez is only in-terested in cricket. He wantsto play the game and enjoychatting with his cricket-lov-ing friends”, the brother, alsothe cricketer, added.

“When at home, Parvezhelps in doing householdwork. He also remains busyoffering regular namaz atregular intervals|”.

Rasool brothers’ father(Ghulam Rasool Zargar) wasa roller operator on ground,He also played the game in

Anantnag in the 1970s. Likehis both sons, his fatherwas also an all-rounder.

The family was disap-pointed when Parvez wasnot chosen to play in anyof the five ODI matches onlast Zimbabwe tour but hadnot lost hopes.

“Parvez now hopes toplay in the Irani Trophymatches. He is likely to beselected in the Rest of In-dia team”, the brothersigned off.

The Jammu and Kash-mir Cricket Association(JKCA) has not yet ropedin any coach for the Ranjiside. After Bishan Bedi leftcoaching the State team,there was a talk ofAzharuddin being hired.However, no progress ismade on the issue, it is learnt.

Kashif winsDefence Day

cycle raceLAHORE—Kashif Bari wonthe defence day 20 kilometrecycle race held under theauspices of Punjab CyclingAssociation here on Sun-day. Lahore’s Kashif clocked37m.22seconds to win theevent in style touching thefinish line with a visible leadand behind him wasMuhammad Imran Nazeer ofKasur.

Former national cham-pion ,Masood Sadiq flaggedoff the riders from DPSschool model. Secretary,PCA,Farrukh Wazir headedthe organising committee ofthe race.

President ,PCA,Moazam Khan was the chiefguest at the prize distribu-tion ceremony and gaveaway cash prizes to the topposition holders of theevent. U14 riders MustafaSani was given encourage-ment award for competingalong side experienced cy-clists.

Shakil Ahmed, ShahzadaButt, Nazakat Ali,MuhammadBabar, Haroon Rasheed andMuhammad Bashir per-formed the duties of judgesof the event which termi-nated at the same point af-ter going through some des-ignated points of the vicin-ity.—APP

K A R A C H I — P a c e m a nRumman RAIS Khansnapped-up four wickets tobowl Omar Cricket Club anexciting four runs victoryover Qasmi CC to the PeaceCup Ramzan T20 FloodlightCricket Tournament at LawaiStadium Naya Nazimabadhere on Saturday Night.

Rumman finished withexcellent figures of four wick-ets for 15 runs in four oversas Qasmi CC chasing 135 forvictory, was restricted to 130in their 20 overs.

With this triumph OmarCC created history by win-ning fifth major Ramazan

Saama, APP inInter-Media

Football finalISLAMABAD—Saama TV andAssociated Press of Pakistan(APP) have made it to the fi-nal of the Inter Media Foot-ball Tournament beingplayed here at PakistanSports Complex.

In the first semi-final,Saama TV beat JournalistEleven by 4-0 while in thesecond semi-final AssociatedPress of Pakistan (APP)thrashed Geo TV by 1-0.

Muhammad Shoaib ofAPP scored the lone goal ofthe match in the second halfof the game. Geo TV teamtried their level best but couldnot score a goal.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Saeed Ajmaland Younus Khan, the starsof Pakistan’s 221 runs victoryin the first Test against Zim-babwe at the Harare SportsClub, have gained in the lat-est Reliance ICC PlayerRankings for Tests that werereleased on Sunday.

While Saeed’s matchhaul of 11 for 118 has helpedhim move up a place to thirdin the latest Reliance ICCPlayer Rankings for TestBowlers, Younus has beenrewarded with a jump of twoplaces to sixth for his un-beaten knock of 200 in thesecond innings on the Reli-ance ICC Player Rankings forTest Batsmen.

Saeed’s efforts with theball have helped him gain 36ratings points to thereby re-gain the number-three slotfrom Sri Lanka’s RanganaHerath. Saeed was lastranked third at the end of theTest series against SouthAfrica in February 2013.

If the performance in thefirst Test is anything to goby, then Saeed could poten-tially over-take SouthAfrica’s second-rankedVernon Philander if he deliv-ers a similar performance in

NEW YORK—The all-Czechteam of Andrea Hlavackovaand Lucie Hradecka avengedtheir loss in last year’swomen’s doubles final onSaturday night in ArthurAshe Stadium, defeating theNo. 8 seeds Ashleigh Bartyand Casey Dellacqua ofAustralia, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, to takehome the 2013 crown.

“Before the match I toldLucie, last year was a silveryear, we were always second,so let’s get this Grand Slamtrophy and make this seasonworth it,” an emotionalHlavackova said followingthe match.

Though the 2011 FrenchOpen champions haven’tgotten the results they’vewanted over the past twoyears, they entered the USOpen as the No. 4 seeds andwere red hot entering the fi-nal after downing Serena andVenus Williams in the semifi-nals. They generally domi-nated their competitionalong the way, droppingonly one set en route to thefinal, to the No. 3 seeds NadiaPetrova and KatarinaSrebotnik in thequarterfinals.

“We got ourselves to-gether also health wise, be-cause Lucie was injured a lotduring the year,” Hlavackovasaid. “And we clicked right

Czech duo make historyin women’s doubles final

away from the first matchvery well, even though wehad no matches to preparefor US Open. It’s been a greatwave we have been ridingthese two weeks. I cannotdescribe how I feel.”

Hlavackova andHradecka, longtime doublespartners, have won 10 tour-level titles together. The USOpen was their 12th event asa team in 2013.

Runners-up Barty andDellacqua were playing inonly their fifth event to-gether, but they’ve had in-credible success as adoubles team, advancing tothe finals of Wimbledon andthe Australian Open in addi-tion to the US Open in 2013.They entered the final hav-ing not lost a set, with victo-ries over three Top 10 teams.

“I don’t think there’sany secret [to our suc-cess],” Dellacqua said. “It’sjust about coming out hereand having fun with afriend. We enjoy playingtogether and I think that’swhy we’ve had a lot of suc-cess.”

It was a tight contest tostart off the match. Bothteams held serve in the firstset until the Aussies cap-tured the first break to take a5-4 lead. They had the op-portunity to serve out the

set, but the Czech team im-mediately broke back, put-ting the set back on serve andeventually sending it to atiebreak, which the Aussiesdominated.

Barty and Dellacquaused the momentum fromtheir first set win and took thefirst game of the second setby breaking Hradecka’sserve. It turned out to be theonly game of the second setthe Aussies would win, asthe Czech duo were unstop-pable at the net, blastingoverhead winners and find-ing all the right empty spacesto win six straight games.

It was anyone’s match inthe third set, with both teamsexchanging breaks and hit-ting an equal number of win-ners at 12. Though they hadsome rowdy Australian fansin their corner, Barty andDellacqua couldn’t convertall their chances to break andthey ultimately had the moreerror-filled set, with 11 un-forced errors to the Czechteam’s six.

“Hopefully one day we’llbe able to lift one of thosetrophies but we’ll keep buck-ling down and trying ourbest,” said the 17-year-oldBarty, the youngest womanon court on Saturday.

With the win, Hlavackovaadded another piece of hard-

ware to her trophy case. Shewon the US Open mixeddoubles title with partnerMax Mirnyi of Belarus onFriday.

“It’s been amazing, I can’tbelieve I won two GrandSlams in two weeks,” saidHlavackova, who is the firstwoman to win both thewomen’s doubles and mixeddoubles title at the US Opensince Cara Black in 2008.

When asked how she wasgoing to travel with both tro-phies, Hlavackova repliedwith a smile, “I remember fromlast year they send them, soI’m totally fine. Even if [theydidn’t] I would pay extra lug-gage for trophy like that.”

After a 2012 seasonwhere they were the run-ners-up at both Wimbledonand the US Open and silvermedalists at the LondonOlympics, and a 2013 sea-son that found them exitingfrom of the rest of the GrandSlams in earlier rounds thanthey had hoped, the twofriends shared an emotionalembrace at the net after theirwin on Saturday. Not onlydid they succeed in captur-ing their second Grand Slamcareer title, but they alsobecame the only all-Czechteam to win a US Open titlein the history of the tourna-ment.—AFP

BUENOS AIRES—Tokyo wasawarded the 2020 summerGames on Saturday, beatingIstanbul in a head-to-headvote after Prime MinisterShinzo Abe delivered a char-ismatic plea to the Interna-tional Olympic Committee.

The statesman’s slick nar-rative was aimed at allayingIOC concerns over thecrippled Fukushima nuclearplant, and would appear tohave been pitched perfectlyas the Japanese won convinc-ingly by 60 votes to Istanbul’s36.

Tokyo won the right tostage the sporting extrava-ganza for the second time,

Tokyo awarded 2020summer Olympic Games

having hosted in 1964 whenthe Games first went to Asia,after two years of intense lob-bying and tens of millions ofdollars spent.

“I would like to thank ev-eryone in the Olympic move-ment and we will host wonder-ful Olympic Games,” a clearlydelighted Abe told Reuters.

Bid leader TsunekazuTakeda said: “It is a greathonour that Tokyo has beenchosen. “The first thing I willdo when I return is to thank allof Japan,” he told Reuters.

For Istanbul it was a fifthunsuccessful bid to host asummer Olympics.

“I think it is an election

between a traditional candida-ture and new grounds, andtoday it was the traditionalcandidature that won,” IOCvice-president and presidentialcandidate Thomas Bach toldReuters.

Madrid, which had pitcheda safe, affordable, “sensible”bid had been earlier eliminatedfirst in a secret vote by IOCmembers on a head to headwith Istanbul after the two cit-ies were tied in second placeafter the initial vote. Madrid’sattempt to host 2020 had beena third consecutive bid.

The next summer Olym-pics will be hosted by Rio deJaneiro in 2016.—AFP

ARGENTINA: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other members of the Japanesedelegation celebrate as IOC President Jacques Rogge announces that Tokyo will hostthe 2020 Olympic Games during the 125th IOC session in Buenos Aires.

Saeed, Younus on charge inICC Player Rankings for Tests

the second Test also startingin Harare, from Tuesday 10September.

The Reliance ICC PlayerRankings for Test Bowlers isstill headed by South Africa’sDale Steyn.

Outside the top 20, theonly other bowler to make apositive move was Pakistan’sJunaid Khan in 34th (up byfour).

Apart from the Player ofthe Match in the HarareTest, Younus Khan, Pakistan

captain Misbah-ul-Haq in15th (up by one) is the onlyother batsman inside the top20 to head in the right direc-tion in the Reliance ICCPlayer Rankings for TestBatsmen.

The Reliance ICC PlayerRankings for Test Batsmen isstill headed by Hashim Amla,followed by West Indies’Shivnarine Chanderpaul insecond place and SouthAfrica’s AB de Villiers in thirdposition.—APP

HYDERABAD: Karate players taking exercise at coaching camp organized by HyderabadKarate Association at Sachal Sarmast College.

Stars in actionas Hockey Blue

Astro-turfinaugurated

KARACHI—Galaxy of Olym-pians and internationals ofyesteryears were seen in ac-tion as the newly installedBlue Astro-turf named after ex-Olympian Islahuddin and Dr.late S.M.A.Shah was inaugu-rated here in North Nazimabadon Saturday night.

The Blue Synthetic Turfis the first laid in biggest me-tropolis of the country at thecost of over Rs.50 million toattract the youth to towardshockey. Sindh Government incollaboration with its sportsdepartment funded the costof its installation. Islah XI beat Dr.Junaid AliShah XI 11-8 in an exhibitionhockey match under flood-lights to mark the occasion. Pakistan hockey stalwartsled by former Pakistan cap-tain Islahuddin, ShahnazShaikh, Hasan Sardar, QamarZia, Sameer Hussain, KamranAshraf, Waseem Feroze,Hanif Khan, and HaseemKhan thrilled the crowd withtheir skill and stickwork. Olympian Qamar Ibrahimshowing agility, speed anddribble, slammed in threegoals. Islahuddin Siddiquibanged in two goals. HasanSardar, Sameer Hussain alsoscored one goals while Dr.Junaid Ali Shah banged intwo goals for his team. “This is a historic occasionthat Blue Synthetic turfhasbeen installed in Karachi,”Islahuddin said at the inaugu-ration. He said he will carryforward the mission of lateDr.Shah of promoting and de-veloping sports and patron-izing genuine players.—APP

Omar CC clinch Peace Cup Cricketevent.

Omar CC choosing to batfirst, mustered 134 all out intheir 20 overs. ShahryarGhani slammed a 31-ball 48with four boundaries andbrace of sixes. Fakhar Zamanreturned unbeaten on 32 andAkbar-ur-Rehman made 31.

Haris Ayaz captured thelast three wickets for 31 runsto complete a hat-trick.

Qasmi CC in responsecould manage 130 for 9 in 20overs, Zakir Malik top-scored with 31.Rumman Raisgot good support fromAdnan Kalim and MisbahKhan, who chipped in with

two wickets apiece.At the presentation cer-

emony chief guest SamadA.Habib distributed theprizes. Omar CC captainAdnan Kalim got the winner’strophy with cash Rs, 300,000rupees. Qasmi CC skipperAbid Qasmi received runners-up trophy and purse of Rs150000. Haris Ayaz of QasmiCC was named man of the fi-nal carrying Rs 5000. Akbar-ur-Rehman (Man of the tour-nament. Shafaat Hussain(best batsman), MuhammadSami (best bowler)Muhammad Hassan (bestwicketkeeper) awards.—APP

SPORTS REPORTER

KARACHI—A Prize Distribu-tion Ceremony was held atDHA Country and Golf Clubat the end of 4thSindh GolfAssociation (SGA) Cup 2013golf tournament which con-cluded on Sunday evening.Vice President SGA AhmedAbdul Bari was the chiefguest who distributed prizesamongst the winners of thetournament in various cat-egories.

The three days 4th SGACup 2013 tournament wasplayed from Friday to Sun-day at the greens of DHAGolf Club in which a largenumber of amateurs, se-niors, juniors, veterans andladies golfers from all overthe country participated

SGA Cup Golf Tournamentwith great enthusiasm. Theplaying conditions at the 18holes lush green refur-bished turf of DHA GolfClub with windy weatherwere perfect. Golf InvitationMatch was played on Sun-day.

Attractive prizes weregiven to various individualgolfers who won the cham-pionship in various catego-ries. In amateurs MuhammadWaseem Rana of DHA with ascore of 145 was the winnersgross while Taha Piracha ofDHA with a score of 140 waswinner net.

In seniors Brig Mohtarmof DHA with a score of 71was winner (Net) whereas LtCol Sheikh Shahid Mahboobof DHA with a score of 82was winner (Gross).

THE “Cinnamon Challenge”, which involves trying to swallow a teaspoonof cinnamon without water within

sixty seconds, has led to many calls to poi-son centers, emergency departments visitsand hospitalizations of teenagers who re-quire ventilator support forcollapsed lungs.

Swallowing a teaspoonof Cinnamon within sixtyseconds is a nearly impos-sible challenge.

Even on the onlinedare, there is a warning:“It’s going to burn, you aregoing to cough, and regretyou tried.”

The Cinnamon Chal-lenge is a dare that hasspread throughout theInternet.

While most childrenknow about it, very fewparents and teachers do, re-searchers from the Univer-sity of Miami MillerSchool of Medicine wrotein the journal Pediatrics.

Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D., the GeorgeBatchelor Professor of Pediatrics and Di-rector of the Batchelor Children’s ResearchInstitute, said:

“Given the allure of social media,peer pressure and a trendy new fad, pedia-tricians and parents have a ‘challenge’ oftheir own in counseling tweens and teensregarding the sensibilities of the choicesthey make and the potential health risks ofthis dare.

Ingesting and Aspirating Dry Cinnamonby Children and Adolescents: The ‘Cinna-

mon Challenge.”The authors said that parents need to

be told about the Cinnamon Challenge, andthey need to advise their children aboutthe dangers.

Parental advice really matters to kids,they added. “Schools and pe-diatricians should be encour-aged to discuss with childrenthe ‘Cinnamon Challenge’and its possible harmful ef-fects.”

Co-author JudySchaechter, M.D., M.B.A.,Interim Chair of Pediatrics,was surprised to find outduring a recent dinner witha dozen pediatricians thatnone of them had ever heardof the Cinnamon Challenge.

Even though mostteenagers who choose to dothe challenge endure onlytemporary effects, the re-searchers wrote that poisoncenters are receiving an in-creasing number of calls re-

lated to the Cinnamon Challenge, andmore kids are ending up in emergency de-partments and being hospitalized.

Cinnamon is a caustic powder consist-ing of cellulose fibers which do not dis-solve and are not biodegradable in thelungs. Animal studies have shown that cin-namon can cause inflammation of the air-ways and lungs (if it is inhaled), and it canalso cause lesions and scarring in the lungsand airways. People with asthma, pulmo-nary cystic fibrosis, chronic lung diseaseor a hypersensitivity to spice need to beespecially careful.

The cinnamon challenge landsmany children in hospital

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Unaffordablehouse rents in the twin citiesof Islamabad and Rawalpindiare creating accommodationproblems for bachelors, stu-dents and working class.

The increasing demandfor residential accommoda-tion, prices of rental housingin cities are not according tothe size or quality of house.

Hanif Arshaf, a propertydealer said the demand forhousing has increased withthe onset of winter and influxof people from hill stations

Citizens decry overunaffordable house rents

like Murree, AJK and KhyberPakhtunkhwa to pass cold daysin the twin cities.

He said the dealers earnmaximum revenue in this sea-son as compare to summer orother season.

The houses in elite classsectors of cities unaffordable forthe middle class.

Mohsin Ali, a student liv-ing in F-6 said taking the advan-tage of his helplessness, the al-lottee is demanding more rent.

He said that he had no otheroption but to live in the singleroom as the twin cities have noproper accommodation facility

for working class, bachelorsand students.

An other property dealerBashir Ahmed informed thatthe range of house rents in theVIP sector are around Rs56,000 to 80,000, adding thatin the other sectors of the fed-eral capital it ranges from Rs35,000 to 50,000.

He said most of the peoplepreferred to live in the flats dueto the security issues and theowners of the residential pla-zas increases the rate of flats’rents.

“The bachelor hostels arealso engaged in money-making

spree without providingproper facilities to the inhab-itants,” he added.

Amir Saleem, a studentsaid, “we had been lodging atuniversity hostel after payingRs. 4000 per month but aftercompletion of study, wewould be unable to find ac-commodation in cities”.

He said rents have beenskyrocketing for the last threeto four years due to inflationbut the situation deteriorateswhen people from hilly areasarrive here and pay rents inadvance, leaving no place forpoor students and bachelors.

CITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Around 140dengue fever suspects have so farbeen brought to the allied hospi-tals of the city, where last yearmore than 200 such patients vis-ited the allied hospitals who wereprovided the required treatmentand discharged after recovery.

“This year around 140 den-gue suspects were brought to thehospitals so far, out of whichnine cases were positive whowere provided the requiredtreatment and six dischargedafter recovery, and three wereadmitted in the hospital”, Focalperson for RMC and AlliedHospitals of Rawalpindi,Deputy Medical Superintendent(DMS) Holy Family Hospital(HFH) Dr. Javed Hayat saild

140 dengue feversuspects visit hospitals

while talking to APP here onSunday.

To date, the Holy FamilyHospital (HFH) has registered132 dengue fever suspects whileeight suspects were registeredwith Benazir BhuttoHospital(BBH), Javaid added.“Presently only two denguepositive patients are under treat-ment in HFH and one in BBH,”he added.

He said the hospitals havefull capacity and potential tomeet any situation arising outof the seasonal disease’s out-break, adding that he chance ofdengue fever would end in midof October when the weatherconditions change.

Meanwhile, District HealthOfficer Dr. Javaid Chaudry in-formed APP that a comprehen-

sive anti-dengue campaign wasbeing run to prevent the denguevirus in the Rawalpindi district.

Currently, he said preven-tion of the disease was priorityof the government and the dis-trict health administration wasworking day and night to avoidthe possible outbreak of the in-fection.

“All out efforts are beingmade to control dengue cases inRawalpindi district. Dengue fe-ver situation is under control inRawalpindi region,” claimed thehealth officer.

He said maximum ar-rangements for the treatmentof dengue fever patients havebeen made in the city hospi-tals, adding, “All possible pre-ventive measures are in placeto meet any eventuality.”

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—President Inter-national Islamic UniversityIslamabad (IIUI) met withPresident, University of Is-lamic Sciences, Jordan, Dr.Abdul Nasir Abul Fazal in hisrecent visit to Saudi Arabia.Both the presidents signedagreement of mutual coopera-tion in their meeting.

According to the memoran-dum between both the institu-tions, both universities willmake sure the possibilities ofmutual exchange of teachers,organizing of educationalcourses, and to jointly intro-duce literary and researchedbased activities in both the uni-

IIUI, Jordan varsity foracademic cooperation

versities including interna-tional conferences and work-shops.

According to the body ofmemorandum, both universi-ties will formulate curriculumof Islamic Studies, ArabicStudies including social sci-ences with mutual consulta-tion to make the degrees ofMasters, M Phil and PhDs ac-ceptable equally in both sides.

In the meeting Dr. AdDraweesh briefed Dr. AbdulNasir about IIUI programs,performances and upcomingplans in detail . Dr. AdDraweesh also highlighted theefforts of IIUI for the progressand prosperity of Islam andMuslim Ummah.

Educate aChild Scheme

ISLAMABAD—Vice-ChancellorAllama Iqbal Open University(AIOU) Prof. Dr. Nazir AhmedSangi has said that AIOU wouldprovide primary and middle-leveleducation to around one millionstudents through open schoolingsystem under the “Educate AChild Scheme”.

As per details on Sundaywhile addressing in a meeting withthe University’s teachers and of-ficers Vice-Chancellor stated thatthese schools will be establishedwhere literacy rate is less than40% particularly in the country’sremote regions. He also offeredprivate sector institutions to comeforward to join hands to accom-plish this national task. “AIOUwill share its resources and capac-ity with nongovernmental organi-zation (NGOs) to achieve the de-sires goals in the education sector“, he added.—Online

CITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—RawalpindiArts Council (RAC) in collabo-ration with educational and lit-erary society Table Talk Forumarranged a Sham-e-Afsaanawhich was presided over by re-nowned writer and critic AhmedJaved. Waqar Ahmed, ResidentDirector RAC welcomed thehonorable guests and termed thesession fruitful. Renownedwriter and critic Ahmed Javedin his opening remarks threwlight on the history of short storyin Urdu literature and its currentscenario.

He said that the element ofterror is also included in shortstory due existing situation. On

the occasion, short story writersFarrukh Azeem read his shortstory with the title of “KuchLikhney se Pehle”, Asim Buttwith title of “Dhundh”, IrfanAhmed Urfi with title of“Faraim se Bahir” and ShahidHameed with the title of “Quettame Kuchlaak” which were ap-plauded by participants. WaqarAhmed, Resident DirectorRAC, Dr Sarwat Zuhra, SohailCh, Saeed Ahmed, Habib Ch,Mazhar Masud, Shahzad Azharand other also expressed theirviews on short story.

The participants applaudedRawalpindi Arts Council that theorganization is playing its won-derful role for the promotion ofliterary activities.

RAC arrangesSham-e-Afsaana

Two-year childelectrocuted

RAWALPINDI—A two-year oldbaby was electrocuted while play-ing in the courtyard of his househere on Sunday in Rawalpindi,Rescue 1122 reported.

Rescue 1122 received anemergency call that a two yearsbaby touch the electric wire in thearea of Dhoke Syedan street No.7.The Rescue 1122 reached on thespot but the baby had already ex-pired. —APP

September 10

LAUNCH ceremony ofSANSAR-Pakistan atMargalla Hotel, Islamabad.The ceremony will start at2:30 p.m and will continuetill 5:40 p.m in the evening.Executive Director, SDPI DrAbid Suleri will inaugurate.

*****PRESS Council of Pakistanwill hold an interactivegathering at PCP Secre-tariat, Zero Point at 3 pm to6 pm to focus on effectivepromulgation of freedom ofinformation law enacted bythe KPK Government.

Sethi payssurprise visit

to AirportISLAMABAD—Secretary CivilAviation Authority (CAA)Nargis Sethi on Sunday tookstrict notice of non-availabilityof PIA staff at IslamabadAirport’s international departurelounge.

Nargis Sethi paid a surprisevisit to Islamabad Airport andtook notice of the non-availabil-ity of PIA staff at internationaldeparture lounge.

The Secretary Civil Aviationordered the opening of all thecounters of international depar-ture and deputed Civil Aviationstaff at the lounge.—Online

New judicialyear of SC

begins todayISLAMABAD—The new ‘Judi-cial Year’ of Supreme Court ofPakistan would start from today(Monday, September 9).

The opening ceremony ofthe new “Judicial Year 2013-14”would be held at the premisesof SC which would be inaugu-rated and presided over by ChiefJustice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry.

The event will provide anopportunity to reset judicial tar-gets, objectives and goals and toovercome the challenges facedby the judiciary.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that all preparations havebeen completed in this regard.

The new judicial year is alsovery significant as CJ IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry will re-tire this year and it is expectedthat the senior most judge of theSupreme Court after Iftikhar Ch.is Justice Tassadak HussainJilani, who will be the next ChiefJustice of Pakistan. —Online

Ulema urged topromote peace

RAWALPINDI—City Police Of-ficer (CPO) Rawalpindi BilalSiddique Kamyana has urgedupon the Ulema of all sects toplay their due role for the pro-motion of peace and religiousharmony in the society.

He said this while chairinga meeting held here in CPO of-fice which was attended amongother by Ulema-e-Akram ofvarious sects.

Ulema-e-Akram felicitatedthe CPO for taking charge of theoffice. They assured that theywill extent all kinds of supportto promote peace and religiousharmony here. CPO said strin-gent security arrangements willbe made for the safety of all thereligious events. Appreciatingthe exemplary role of Ulema forpromoting the religious har-mony, tolerance and brother-hood, the CPO said that con-certed efforts should be made tofoil the nefarious designs of theanti social elements. —APP

Poor sanitationin Blue Area

ISLAMABAD—Blue area is cen-ter of commercial activities inthe federal capital but scatteredgarbage in its parking places ismarring its attraction and beauty,while the Capital DevelopmentAuthority (CDA) is turning ablind eye towards the situation.

The garbage kept scatteredaround the overfilled trolleysplaced in the parking places ofthe commercial area but officialsof sanitation department do notturn up regularly to clean themess. The shoppers and shop-keepers have to face nuisance tothe stink emitting from the gar-bage. Traders and shopkeepersof the Blue Area said that thegarbage trolleys and waste binsplaced in the parking places arenot cleaned on regular basis thatis creating the problem. —INP

How friendly animals and human beings are? Just see this picture as monkeys are being given food to eat at the road side of Daman-e- Koh.

Citizens hold banners and placards during a rally in connection with International LiteracyDay at Super Market on Sunday.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Ambassador of Korea RoKyong Chol and other dignitaries cutting cake to celebrate 65th Anniversary of the Found-ing of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at an Islamabad hotel. —PO photo bySultan Bashir

Briefs

And I’m not an actress.I don’t think I am anactress. I think I’ve

created a brand and abusiness.

— Pamela Anderson

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—During the firstmonth of current fiscal year,about 3,249 kilogram of goldworth of US$ 134.92 millionwas imported which showed anincrease of 1,119.88 percent asagainst the same period of lastyear.

According to Pakistan Bu-reau of Statistics (PBS) data,during July 2012, about 199 kgof gold worth $11.06 millionwas imported. The import ofyellow metal also increased by235.19 kg as compared to theimports worth of $40.252 mil-lion during June 2013.

The overall imports of metal

3,249 kg gold imported infirst month of current FY

group, registered an increase of49.39 per cent and 5.88 percentduring first month of the year2013-14, when compared to July2012 and June 2013 respec-tively. The metal imports in tothe country during the periodunder review were recorded at$ 331.574 million against $221.957 million during July2012 and $ 313.148 million inJune 2013.

Similarly imports of iron andsteel scrap registered a growth of0.87 per cent and 15.94 per centduring July 2013 as compared tothose during July 2012 and June2013 respectively. Imports ofiron and steel decreased by 6.51percent and 50.01 percent as

compared to July 2012 and June2013 respectively.

The imports decreased from$86.357 million during July2012 and $ 164.618 million inJune 2013 to $80.736 millionduring July 2013. The importsof aluminum wrought andworked during July 2013 de-creased by 6.8 percent and 15.35percent during July 2012 andJune 2013 respectively.

The aluminum wrought andworked imports during firstmonth of current fiscal yearstood at $9.445 million whereasit was recorded at $10.134 mil-lion and $11.158 million duringJuly 2012 and June 2013 respec-tively.

PQ remains activeKARACHI—One ship arrivedat Port to off-load furnace oilat Fotco on Saturday. Berthoccupancy was maintained at42 percent at the Port onSaturday where a total of sixships namely M.V KPS-IAlican Bey-Powership, M.TGulf Oasis, M.V Dong Hai Jun(Dredger), M.V Diamond Star,M.T Karachi, M.V Ince BeyleRbeyi are currently occupyingberths to load/offload, cement,containers, wheat, diesel oil.Cargo handling operation werecarried out smoothly at thePort where a cargo volume53928 tonnes comprising48010 import, 5918 tonnesexport handled at the Portduring last 24 hours. M.VMSC Clementina, M.VMaersk Detriot at Qict, M.TChemroad Fuji at arrival onSunday as per schedule.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D — D e n m a r kthrough a new five year programcommencing in the autumn thisyear, will extend and expand itssupport to people in Pakistanwith a total budget of aroundUS$ 50 million.

The program will focus onreconstruction, rehabilitation,education and the socio-eco-nomic development of theNorthern border areas, said apress release recently issued byDenmark Embassy here.

The Denmark government

Denmark to spend $50m for education,socio-economic dev in Pakistan

launched its first phase of devel-opment cooperation with Paki-stan in 2010 which has been fo-cusing on quality education tochildren in conflict affected ar-eas through UNICEF and recon-struction of infrastructure anddelivery services in FATA, KPKand Baluchistan.

Additionally, the Govern-ment of Denmark is workingwith the civil society in Pakistanin the areas of democratic de-velopment, human rights andgender equality.

Denmark has also providedhumanitarian assistance to Pa-

kistan during the earthquake in2005 and during the floods in2010-12, where Denmark con-tributed with more than USD 30million for flood relief response.

It may be mentioned herethat Denmark’s new Ambassa-dor to Pakistan, Jesper MollerSorensen had already stated thatone of his key goals during hisAmbassadorship is to strengthenbilateral ties between Pakistanand Denmark.

The Embassy will, for thefirst time, open a commercialsection to strengthen its supportto businesses.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Netherlands iskeen to start a new phase of traderelations with Pakistan speciallyin agriculture, water, energy andlogistics which are the areas ofexpertise of Netherlands.

This was said by the DutchAmbassador to Pakistan, MrMarcel de Vink in Karachi at thelaunching of the Dutch BusinessCircle Pakistan. The Nether-

Netherlands keen to start new phaseof trade relations with Pakistan

lands feels there are many op-portunities and ample scope toenhance trade relations with Pa-kistan. Mr de Vink said theDutch Business Circle stands forequality, flexibility and infor-mality between the membersand was sure to grow and pros-per if all members worked hardwith dedication.

The Dutch envoy said the tiesbetween Holland and this regiongo back centuries when the Dutch

established a business post inThatta in the 1650s. He added thatthe Dutch are an enterprisingpeople renowned for doing busi-ness with the world. He addedthat Holland’s agriculture sectorwas very productive andHollandwas among the largest ex-porters of dairy and meat products.

Mr de Vink appreciatedHonorary Consul of the Nether-lands in Karachi Mr TarekMoinuddin Khan for looking

after Dutch interests in Karachi.Earlier Mr Tarek M. Khan whointroduced the Dutch envoy saidthe DBCP was sure to meet withsuccess as the Pakistani peoplewere dedicated workers andkeen to benefit from the bestpractices and expertise of Dutchcorporations. The inaugurationwas attended by representativesof the Dutch government andsenior management of Dutchcompanies in Pakistan.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Managing Director(MD) Sui Southern Gas PipelinesLimited (SSGPL) Zohair Siddiqihas expressed his fear that ongo-ing campaign against gas theft canfail due to loose writ of the gov-ernment. Talking to media personshere on Sunday, Zohair Siddiqi saidthat about six million cubic feet gaswas being annually stolen inKarachi city only and in someplaces of countryside areas of themetropolis entire towns were be-ing facilitated through theft of gas.

He also expressed grave con-cern over the gas theft inBalochistan, saying that situationin the province is threatening. TheMD SSGPL said that the Sui gasauthorities were conducting raidsagainst gas mafia in assistance withFIA. However, he said that due topoor administration and loose writ

Weak state apparatus hurts drive againstgas theft, warns MD SSGPL

KARACHI: The Ambassador of the Netherlands Marcel de Vink, presenting shield to KalimFarooqui, at launching of Dutch Business Circle.

ISLAMABAD—The Bureau ofEmigration and Overseas Em-ployment (BEOE) has regis-tered 379949 professional,skilled and semi skilled work-ers of various cadres for over-seas employment upto Julythis year.

BEOE, an attached de-partment of Ministry of Over-seas Pakistanis and HumanResource Development, reg-istered 203620 workers fromPunjab, 30720 from Sindh,94842 from Khyber

Pakhtunkhwan, 5279 fromBalochistan, 24224 from AzadKashmir, 550 from NorthernAreas and 20714 from TribalAreas.

According to official datathe registered workers includedEngineers (2624), Doctors(601), Nurses (195), Teachers(485), Accountants (1664),Managers (1998), Welders(7751), Secretaries/Stenogra-phers (148), Storekeepers (869),Agriculturists (9649), Clerks/Typists (3212), Foremen/super-

visors (3472), Masons (28708),Carpenters (19129), Electricians(16818), Cooks (3756), Plumb-ers (10809), Waiters/Bearers(2640), Steel Fixers (15468),Painters (8493), Labourers(132678), Technicians (18284),Mechanics (9133), Cable Joint-ers (182), Drivers (50636), Op-erators (7564), Tailors (3331),Surveyors (1138), Fitters(6291), Denters (1915), Comp/Analysts (1450), Designers(379), Goldsmiths (80), Phar-macists (101), Riggers (434),

Salesmen (7266), Draftsmen(208), Blacksmiths (154), Pho-tographers (92) and Artists (14).

Talking to APP, DirectorGeneral BEOE, Habib UrRehman Khan informed that theBureau being, a regulatory body,controls, regulates, facilitatesand monitors the emigrationprocess applied by the OverseasEmployment Promoters(OEPs), in the private sectorwhich number has raised to1676.

He said overseas employment

is playing a vital role in reduc-ing the pressure of un-employ-ment at home, besides being amajor means of earning foreignexchange in the shape of over-seas workers’ remittances.

Overseas employment isthus, serving as the mainstayfor very feeble nationaleconomy, by providing muchneeded financial outlay fordebt servicing, imports bill, al-leviation of poverty, develop-ment projects and economicactivities.—Agencies

0.379m skilled workers listed for overseas employment

ISLAMABAD—In view of thesignificance of 969 megawatts(MW) Neelum-Jhelum Hydro-power Project and directives ofthe Prime Minister, Water andPower Development Authority(WAPDA) is making all pos-sible efforts to complete theproject in time.

Official sources told APPthat the project, besides gener-ating much-needed hydel elec-tricity in the country, is also ofimmense importance for Paki-stan to establish priority waterrights. Expressing satisfactionover the pace of work, they saidthe project is an excellent oppor-tunity for socio-economic upliftof the local populace by provid-ing them job opportunities andboosting other economic activi-ties in the area.

The sources said two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) werealso imported from Germany tocomplete the project in time,saying that these machines havealready been made functional on

WAPDA to complete 969 MWNeelum-Jhelum project in time

the project.Out of total 67-kilometre tun-

nels, over 33 kilometres long tun-

nels have been excavated, whileexcavation of under-ground powerhouse stands at over 70 percent andtransformers hall at 95 per cent. De-sander of the project is over 88 percent and the Nauseri bridge is 100per cent complete, they added.

The Power House of theproject is located in the ChattarKalass, 22 kms south ofMuzaffarabad. Installed capac-ity of the project is 969 MW

comprising four units of 240MW each.

The original cost of the

project was Rs 130 billion butthe revised PC-1 cost of theproject was put at Rs 274.882billion as it has escalated due tochange in design and machineryrequirement owing to the earth-quake of 2005. Neelum JehlumHydro electric Project envisagesthe diversion of Neelum riverwater through a tunnel and afterproducing power, out-fallinginto Jehlum river.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—The Quality En-hancement Cell (QEC) of the In-stitute of Business Management(IoBM) stands among the topbusiness schools of Pakistan inthe Quantitative Assessment ofthe Quality Enhancement Cellof the Higher Education Com-mission (HEC), Government ofPakistan. IoBM has obtained atotal score 96.5 % for the periodending June 30, 2013.

Quality Assurance Agency(QAA) of the HEC assesses theprogress of the Quality En-hancement Cells established inthe public and private sector uni-versities through quantitative /scorecard system.

Quality Assurance Agency

IoBM excels among HEC QEC(QAA) of the HEC felicitatedIoBM on its achievement per-taining to quality enhancementand acknowledged the instru-mental role of Mr. ShahjehanKarim, President IoBM and theIoBM QEC amid the guidanceand supervision of Dr. AkhlaqAhmed and Mr. Moin Ali Khanin this regard.

Besides a congenial atmo-sphere conducive to learning,purpose-built campus and state-of-the-art facilities the contrib-uting factor to Institute of Busi-ness Management (IoBM) qual-ity assurance has been its illus-trious and distinguished faculty.

The recent examples ofIoBM faculty highlightedhome and abroad are Dr.Nadia Ayub,Assistant Profes-sor and Head of Business Psy-chology, among the winnersof the HEC best faculty awardand Dr. Shahida Wizarat, HoDEconomics, Director Re-search and Chief Editor Paki-stan Business Review (PBR),winning the best paper awardfor her paper on “Natural Re-sources, Conflict and Growth:Uncovering the TransmissionMechanism” organized byDiponegoro Universi ty,Semarang, Indonesia.

NEW DELHI—The Tosh Grouphas secured a deal to launchproducts of Bharat ElectronicsLimited, or BEL, in the MiddleEast and North Africa region(Mena), its top official said.

The Dubai-based diversifiedbusiness conglomerate, whichdeals in textiles, home appliancesand mining equipment amongothers, recently acquired the soledistribution rights for BEL prod-ucts in the Mena region.

Tosh Group chairman ManoRamchandani said his businessteam sees strong demand forBEL products in the region.

“The Mena is growing rapidlydespite unrest in some parts of theregion. We see strong growth pros-pects in most countries of the re-

BEL set to enter MENAgion that will help generate demandfor wide range of BEL’s products,”Ramchandani told Khaleej Timesin an interview.

BEL, which was establishedin 1954, is a state-owned electron-ics company with nine factoriesand regional offices in India. TheBanglore-based company gener-ates $1.12 billion revenue annu-ally by manufacturing advancedelectronic products such as radars,avionics, professional electroniccomponents, solar photovoltaicsystems, telecom and broadcastequipment, among others.

The Indian company has alsoexpanded its horizons and toucheda chord with the common manthrough products like electronicvoting machines.—Agencies

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TAXILA—After launchingmaximum manpower export tothe Gulf countries, Pakistan isnow eyeing to catch the job mar-ket of the Far East and Africancountries to explore new poten-tial for the export of skilled man-power to these countries.

This was stated by Manag-ing Director Overseas Employ-ment Corporation (OEC) SaeedAhmed Sheikh while talking tonewsmen on Sunday. He saidthat Pakistan is exploring thenew job markets for the skilledPakistani manpower export toKorea, Canada, Nigeria, Oman,Libya, Ethiopia, Jordan andMalaysia. He said that OEC, theonly public sector manpowerexport organization has so farprovided over 140,000 jobs in54 different countries. The OECis promoting Pakistani

Pakistan to explore manpower exportto Far East, Africa: MD OEC

ZTBL toestablish

model farmsOBSERVER REPORT

FAISALABAD—Zarai TaraqiatiBank Limited (ZTBL) has de-cided to establish a chain ofZTBL Model Farms in all thefour provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

A spokesman of the ZTBLtold media here Sunday that thedecision to this effect has beentaken to further augment andmake efforts for more meaning-ful farming for the benefits of thegrowers throughout the county.

He said, “these model farmswould be equipped with latestagriculture machinery and tech-nological interventions accord-ing ecological zones to experi-ment and disseminate the suc-cess of modern techniques ap-plied in agriculture and to intro-duce progressive farming”.

“The model farms wouldserve as center of excellence forall the agriculture activities andcater for the information, train-ing, needs of the farmers to servethe problems encounter by themand increase their productivitythereby contributing to the na-tional economy”, he added.

The spokesman further saidthat the ZTBL had made a valu-able contribution in enhancingproductivity of crops, livestock,dairy, poultry, fisheries, etc.through introduction of improvedhybrid seed varieties, tunnelfarming and balanced use of fer-tilizer, plant nutrients and protec-tion by making use of pesticides.

Mexican tax reformto avoid salestax on food,

medicineMEXICO CITY—The Mexicangovernment has decided againstlevying a controversial sales taxon food and medicine as part ofa key fiscal reform it will presenton Sunday, officials in the rul-ing Institutional RevolutionaryParty, or PRI, said on Saturday.

The government is aimingto boost Mexico’s weak tax rev-enues by around 4 percentagepoints of gross domestic prod-uct (GDP), and was seriouslyconsidering widening the appli-cation of value added tax (VAT)to include food and medicines.

This was viewed as a riskymeasure politically though be-cause of the impact it wouldhave on the poor, who make uproughly half of the population inLatin America’s No. 2 economy.

The economy suffered a sur-prise contraction in the secondquarter, prompting fears highertaxes would drag on an eventualrecovery. Recent street protestsover other reforms aiming to openup the oil industry to foreign capi-tal and overhaul a failing educa-tion system undertaken by Presi-dent Enrique Pena Nieto havestirred fears of social unrest inMexico, prompting a more cau-tious approach.—APP

workforce to foreign countrieswhich is extending a greatsource to the Pakistan’s eco-nomic growth in the shape ofvaluable foreign remittances.

He said that apart frommeeting the specific and exact-ing standards of foreign employ-ers, the corporation also acts asa protector of emigrants to en-sure their welfare and to pro-mote harmonious working rela-tionship between the employersand the employees. He addedthat corporation is mandated topromote employment of profes-sionals, highly skilled, skilled,semi-skilled and un-skilledmanpower in foreign countries.

To a question, he said thatOEC has received the well per-formance award from the gov-ernment of South Korea for ex-porting skilled labourers fromPakistan. He said that govern-ments of Saudi Arabia, Malay-

sia, Libya and Maldives havesent their requests to Pakistanfor the import of medical pro-fessionals, while the delegationof ministry of Health, SaudiArabia, has already visited Pa-kistan for the selection of thedoctors.

He said that government hasplanned to send over 700 medicalprofessionals, doctors to KSA ev-ery year. He said that a delegationof the kingdom is also nowadaysengaged here to select more healthprofessionals from Pakistan.

Responding to another ques-tion, Mr Sheikh said that overthe decades a significant num-ber of Pakistanis had been go-ing to the Gulf countries for jobsbut the demand is now shiftingfrom unskilled to skilled andtrained manpower and acceler-ated efforts would be needed totrain our labour force in differ-ent sectors.

KARACHI: Managing Director SSGC Zuhair Siddiqui ad-dressing a luncheon meeting with journalists.—PO photo bySultan Chaki

of the state SSGPL raiding teamswere attacked in various localitieswhich has weakened the signifi-cance of the crack downs. ZohairSiddiqi also criticized the role ofKarachi Electric Supply Company

(KESC) saying that it was black-mailing the SSGPL. KESC is de-faulter of Rs 50 billion but for thelast three months it was paying onlycurrent bills which was a matter ofgrave concern, he added.

Dams outflowincreasesISLAMABAD—Water outflowthrough Tarbela and Mangladams has been increased tofacilitate agro-irrigation andelectricity supply. As suchwater outflow from Tarbeladam has been increased by30,000 cusecs, increasing thetotal outflow to 1, 50,000cusecs, to date; with inflowrecorded at 17, 900 cusecs.The available water resourcesstored at Tarbela Dam hasbeen recorded at 6.51 millionacre feet, after a reduction of65000 acre feet of water, withwater leveling at 1548.86 feet.Water level at Mangla Damwas recorded at 1239 feet,with a 10,000 cusecs of waterinflow recorded, and waterresources stored at 7.155million acre feet. The outflowsfrom dams have beenengineered after ensuringnormalcy in Rivers; and allProvinces were being providedwater according to theirdesignated quotas.—Online

Ufone to reward itscustomersISLAMABAD—Ufone – themost prevalent telecomcompany of Pakistan, hasdecided to reward theircustomers with 1 tolaGold byjust making a single call in aday. Now subscribers will notonly be able to make callsthrough Pakistan’s mostextensivetelecom network butwill also be rewarded fordoing so, under a campaigncalled the Ufone Golden CallOffer. Every day 10 luckycustomers will be given 1tolasona each through luckydraw. By making more calls,each subscriber can enhancetheir chances of winning thelucky draw by automaticallygetting multiple entries. Thereis absolutely no extra chargesfor making these calls hencecustomers can try their luckwith as many calls they make.

G-20 for fasterstimulus exitWASHINGTON—In what isboth a give and a take for India,the G-20 Summit ended herewith a declaration that whilecountries will not prolong theexit of fiscal stimulus, it will bedone in a calibrated way andclearly communicated in a bidto prevent volatility in currencymarkets. “We remain mindfulof the risks and unintendednegative side effects ofextended periods of monetaryeasing,” said the 27-pagedeclaration, adding that centralbanks will continue to directtheir monetary policies towardswhat their domestic constitu-ency demands. This can be seenas a major dampener foremerging markets like Indiathat blame the unconventionalmonetary policy interventionsof rich nations, such as thefiscal stimulus and the threatsof their abrupt withdrawal.—Agencies

Gold Tezab 47142.00Silver Tezabi 788.75

Gold Tezabi (24-Ct) 46030.00Gold 22 Ct 42090.00SilverTezabi 789.00Silver Thobi 760.00

USA 104.50 104.30

UK 163.18 162.87

EURO 137.84 137.57

Canada 99.70 99.51

Switzerland 111.54 111.33

Australia 95.79 95.61

Sweden 15.83 15.80

Japan 1.0482 1.0462

Norway 17.22 17.19

Singapore 81.93 81.77

Denmark 18.48 18.44

Omani Riyal 256.00 253.00

Saudi Arabia 27.86 27.81

Hong Kong 13.47 13.45

Kuwait 365.90 365.20

Malaysia 31.86 31.80

Newzeland 82.56 82.40

Qatar 28.56 28.64

UAE 28.45 28.40

KR WON 0.0957 0.0955

Thailand 3.248 3.242

Abu Dhabi crudeoil grades average$110.73 a barrel

in AugustABU DHABI—The officialselling price (OSP) of AbuDhabi’s four crude oil gradesaveraged $110.73 a barrel inAugust, higher than $106 abarrel in July, latest data fromthe Abu Dhabi National OilCompany (Adnoc) shows.

Lower supply from someof the oil producing countriesdrove international crudeprices higher last month.

In August, the officialselling price of the emirate’smost popular crude oil grade— Murban — was $111.70a barrel, up from $106.85 abarrel in July, while LowerZakum’s price was $111.50a barrel last month, as per thedata. The official sellingprice of Umm Shaif crude oilgrade in August was $111 perbarrel and that of UpperZakum crude was at $108.70a barrel.

Abu Dhabi accounts formore than 90 per cent of theUAE’s crude oil output, thebulk of which is exported.The UAE’s oil output aver-aged 2.70 million barrels perday (bpd) in July, marginallylower than the estimated 2.73million bpd in June, accord-ing to the Paris-based Inter-national Energy Agency(IEA).

The IEA estimated theUAE’s sustainable oil pro-duction capacity at 2.90 mil-lion bpd at the end of July.The UAE’s average oil out-put last year was 2.65 mil-lion bpd, it added.

The UAE intends to in-crease its oil production capac-ity to 3.5 million bpd by 2020to help meet the rising globaldemand. The Abu Dhabi Ma-rine Operating Company(Adma-Opco), which is major-ity-owned by the Abu DhabiNational Oil Company(Adnoc), plans to invest at least$10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) indeveloping two offshore fieldsto boost the firm’s crude out-put by 60 per cent. Adma-Opcorecently said that it plans toboost its output by 400,000 bar-rels a day to almost 1 millionbarrels a day by 2020.

The offshore oil and gasunit of Adnoc previously hadsaid it planned to reach thistarget by 2017. As per the plan,Adnoc will spend $40 billionon crude, natural gas, petro-chemical and refinery projectsfrom 2010 through 2014. Gasprojects under constructionaccount for $25 billion of that.

The Abu Dhabi MarineOperating Company (Adma-Opco), which is majority-owned by the Abu Dhabi Na-tional Oil Company (Adnoc),plans to invest at least $10 bil-lion (Dh36.7 billion) in devel-oping two offshore fields toboost the firm’s crude outputby 60 per cent. Adma-Opcorecently said that it plans toboost its output by 400,000barrels a day to almost 1 mil-lion barrels a day by 2020. AbuDhabi aims to start producingabout 500 million cubic feet aday of sour gas in 2014 from a$10 billion venture with Occi-dental Petroleum Corp at itsonshore Shah field.—Agen-cies

KARACHI—Follow-ing were the bullionrates in major citiesyesterday.

KARACHI:

MULTAN:

Currency Selling Buying

Bullion Rates

RS PER 10 GRAMS

BEIJING—China’s exports rose7.2 percent year on year toUS$190.61 billion in August,according to customs figuresreleased on Sunday.

The growth rate was 2.1 per-centage points higher than July.Imports also rose last month,gaining 7 percent to US$162.09billion, the General Administra-tion of Customs said in a state-ment.

Total foreign trade grew 7.1percent in August over the samemonth in 2012 to US$352.7 bil-lion, said the statement. Tradesurplus widened by 8.4 percentyear on year to US$28.52 bil-lion last month, the highest sinceJanuary this year, reportsXinhua news.

Zhang Liqun, a researcher at

China’s exportsimprove in August

the Development Research Cen-ter of the State Council, said theimprovement in exports was re-lated to a stable yuan and gov-ernment policies. Chinese au-thorities have exempted all out-bound goods, transport vehiclesand containers from inspectionand quarantine fees from Aug.1 to Dec. 31 this year.

In August, imports and ex-ports with the European Union,China’s largest trade partner,rose 3.2 percent, while that withthe United States, China’s sec-ond-largest trade partner, rose9.2 percent. Trade with ASEAN(Association of Southeast AsianNations) members increased13.3 percent. Trade with Japanshrank 6 percent during the pe-riod.—APP

OBSERVER REPORT

HYDERABAD—The GoverningBody of Hyderabad Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (HCCI)has granted approval of the con-duct of HCCI Elections 2013-14.

The Secretary HCCI who isalso acting as the Returning Of-ficer informed here on Saturdaythat polling for elections of 24seats of Corporate Class and 12seats of Associate Class will beheld on September 28 from 10a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Chamber’sSecretariat in presence of thenominee of Sindh High Court.

The Secretary informed thatelection schedule has alreadybeen displayed at the noticeboard.

According to schedule, themembers shall submit their in-come tax returns with details ofannual turnover on September 8up to 2 p.m. The final list of the

HCCI governing body okaysholding of Chamber’s elections

eligible members will be dis-played at the notice board onSeptember 10. The process ofreceiving nomination forms willbe started on September 12 andcontinue upto September 13 till1 p.m.

The scrutiny of the nomina-tion papers will be conducted onSeptember 14 till 5 p.m. and onSeptember 15, the list of the con-testing candidates will be dis-played at the notice board at 5p.m.

The objections to nomina-tion papers shall be accepted onSeptember 16 upto 5 p.m. andthe decision of the election com-mission will be announced onSeptember 17 at 5 p.m. In caseof objection on the decision ofthe election commission, theappellant commission will ac-cept appeals on September 19till 5 p.m. and decide the appealsif any up to September 21 till 5p.m.

The final list of contestingcandidates will be displayed onSeptember 23 and the polling forthe election of the members ofthe governing body will be heldon September 28 from 10 a.m.to 6 p.m.

On September 29, nomina-tion papers for the post of presi-dent, senior vice- president andvice-president will be acceptedfrom amongst the members ofthe governing body and on thesame day, the final list of thecontesting candidates will bedisplayed after scrutiny at 6 p.m.

On September 30, the poll-ing for the election of the presi-dent, senior- vice-president andvice-president will be held from10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on- thesame day annual general bodymeeting will be held for finalannouncement of the electedoffice bearers and members ofgoverning body of the Cham-ber.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Sikandar HayatKhan Bosan, Federal Ministerfor National Food Security &Research (NFSR) has said thatagricultural research out putmust reach to farmers door steppriority basis. This he statedwhile presiding over a high levelmeeting of Senior Scientistshere at the National AgriculturalResearch Centre (NARC). Ad-ditional Secretary, Ministryof National Food Security andResearch Rao Iftikhar Ahmad,

Sustainable, dynamic farmers friendlypolicies help make agri profitable

and senior officials of Ministrywere also present in the meet-ing.

Sikandar Hayat Bosan saidthat Present government is for-mulating comprehensive, sus-tainable and dynamic farmer’sfriendly policies help to makeagriculture profitable in the cur-rent situation.

Sikandar Hayat Bosan saidthat problems of agricultural sci-entists will be resolved on pri-ority. He said that no doubtagriculture sector is under stressdue to the high cost of inputs and

policy is being framed, in con-sultation with all stakeholders tobring farmers friendly policiesand to achieve food security inthe country. The Federal Min-ister said that present govern-ment is giving top priority to thedevelopment of the agriculturesector with a main focus onsmall farmers.

Sikandar Hayat Bosan im-pressed with the briefing givenby Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, Chair-man, PARC and appreciated thePARC scientists and also stressedthe Agricultural Scientists to take

up at hand challenges which arehampering crop productivity astheir mission to bring prosperityin the country.

Earlier, Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad,Chairman, PARC briefed theFederal Minister for NationalFood Security and Research onclose collaborative projects withProvincial agricultural institu-tions. He said that for increas-ing agricultural production andfood security in the country it isimperative to bring radical in-novative changes in agriculturalresearch to ensure food security.

LONDON—Britain’s second-biggest online estate agentZoopla has hired investmentbank Credit Suisse to exploregrowth opportunities, whichcould include a possible Londonstock market listing.

“We work with various ad-visers and have recently en-gaged Credit Suisse to help usexplore further strategic oppor-tunities as we continue to grow,”the company said in a statementon Sunday.

A report in Britain’s SundayTimes newspaper said the six-year-old property website wasexploring a stock market floatthat could value the firm at upto 1.3 billion pounds ($2.03 bil-lion), citing bankers.

Private-equity backed Brit-ish estate agent Foxtons lastmonth said it plans to sell half

Zoopla hires Credit Suisseto review possible flotation

the company on the Londonstock market in September, aim-ing to ride a recovery in thecountry’s housing market.

Foxtons, majority ownedby BC Partners, begins market-ing its initial public offering(IPO) to investors ahead of anexpected rush of autumn stockofferings which could includethe privatisation of Britain’sRoyal Mail postal service andthe sale of some of thegovernment’s stake in LloydsBanking Group.

The sale follows a success-ful stock market debut byBritain’s largest estate agentCountrywide Holdings inMarch, and comes as govern-ment schemes to free up mort-gage lending and boost buyerconfidence fuel a rise in hous-ing transactions.—Agencies

DHAKA—Bangladesh soldthird generation mobile phonespectrum to four of the country’smobile telephone operators fora total of $525 million at amuch-awaited auction on Sun-day, the telecoms regulator said.

Top operatorGrameenphone, which is major-ity owned by Norway’s Telenor,won the auction to acquire 10megahertz of spectrum for $210million.

Egyptian OrascomTelecom’s Banglalink, Robi, ajoint venture betweenMalaysia’s Axiata Group andJapan’s NTT DoCoMo, and

BD holds auction to open3G services

Airtel, majority owned byIndia’s Bharti Airtel, won bidsfor 5 megahertz of spectrumeach at a price of $105 million.

The upgrade to a faster 3Gnetwork was needed to widenInternet access in Bangladesh,one of the world’s fastest-grow-ing telecoms markets, said SunilKanti Bose, chairman of theBangladesh TelecommunicationRegulatory Commission.

The operators have to pay60 percent of the total price ofspectrum as the first instalmentwithin a month and the balancewithin the next three months, hesaid.

State-owned mobile opera-tor Teletalk last year launchedthe 3G service on a test basis.Teletalk will have to pay $210million for 10 megahertz.

Another operator, Citycell,a joint venture between PacificBangladesh Telecom Limitedand Singapore Telecommunica-tions , was out of the auctionafter failing to deposit the $20million earnest money.

The country’s six mobilephone operators have a total of107 million users while internetservices lag far behind withnearly 40,000 subscribers.—Agencies

SHANGHAI—China will allowunfettered exchange of its yuancurrency in its first free tradezone, a draft plan seen by AFPon Thursday showed, in a boldpush to reform the world’s sec-ond largest economy.

The free trade zone (FTZ)in Shanghai is intended to makethe city into a true internationaltrade and financial centre andchallenge the free economy ofHong Kong, a special adminis-trative region of China, analystsand government officials said.

Premier Li Keqiang, whotook office in March, is backingthe zone — which his cabinetapproved last month - to be oneof the crowning achievements ofhis administration, they said.

The draft plan seen by AFPshowed the FTZ goes beyondgreater liberalisation of trade totake in investment and financial

China to allow free yuanexchange in Shanghai zone

services, including free convert-ibility of currency.

Convertibility of the yuan -allowing the currency to befreely bought and sold, and withit the movement of funds intoand out of China - is the mainobstacle preventing Shanghaifrom competing with global fi-nancial centres such as HongKong, New York or London.

The government keeps atight grip on the capital account— investment and financialtransactions, rather than thoserelated to trade — on worries thatunpredictable inflows or out-flows could harm the economyand reduce its control over it.

But companies in the zonewill have the freedom to tradethe yuan, also known as therenminbi, according to the plan.

“Under the pre-conditionthat risk can be controlled, in the

zone convertibility of therenminbi on the capital accountwill be conducted, the first tocarry out and test (it),” it said.

China’s yuan currency hasso far only been convertible fortrade — to buy imported goodsor turn revenue from exportsback into local funds.

A government official fa-miliar with the plans said com-panies registered in the FTZcould open special accounts tofreely exchange yuan, but withonly a few exceptions theywould be required to close theironshore Chinese accounts.

Under the draft plan, theFTZ would let interest rates beset by the market. China cur-rently fixes deposit rates by ad-ministrative order, but the cen-tral bank began allowing banksto decide their own lending ratesin July.—Agencies

DGCX 2013volumes cross

10m markDUBAI—Year-to-date volumeson the Dubai Gold and Com-modities Exchange (DGCX)have surpassed the 10 millionvolume mark for the first timein the Exchange’s history. Themilestone, reached on August23, was achieved in a total of164 trading days. Total 2013volumes stood at 10.37 millioncontracts at the end of August, arise of 80 per cent from the pre-vious year.

The record volumes wereachieved on the back of brisktrading in August. Tradingclimbed 23 per cent in Augustfrom last year to total 1,159,293contracts, representing a valueof $34.08 billion. Currencies,which were the mainstay ofgrowth, rose 28 per cent year-on-year to reach 1,124,507 con-tracts. Year-to-date volumes inthe segment grew by 89 per cent.

Indian Rupee futures contin-ued its steady volumes expan-sion increasing 16% from lastyear to aggregate 1,011,360 con-tracts in August. Year-to-date(YTD) volumes in the productsurged 72 per cent.

“Surpassing the 10 millioncontract mark this month fur-ther reinforces DGCX’s pro-file as one of the fastest grow-ing exchanges in the world.The sustained growth of ourEmerging Market contracts ata time of such high marketvolatility has been driven bythe Exchange’s ability to offerparticipants some of the besttools in the region to managecurrency and commodity pricerisk. The development of astrong offshore platform forEmerging Market products re-mains a key strategic focus forDGCX, ” said Gary Anderson,CEO of DGCX.—Agencies

Credit Bureau set tocover 100% financial

institutionsABU DHABI—Al Etihad CreditBureau continues to work onscheduled plan and all set toachieve its goal to bring all fi-nancial institutions in the coun-try under the bureau by the endof 2013.

The Banking WorkingGroup of 12 banks, representingaround 80 per cent of the retailborrowers in the country, is test-ing the system with the bureau.Rest of the financial institutionshosting approximately 20 percent of the retail borrowers’ datawill join in the next threemonths. Total 51 financial insti-tutions operate in the UAE.

“Since its establishment,banks and financial institutionsoperating in the UAE showed astrong interest in working along-side the bureau,” Al EtihadCredit Bureau vice-chairmanYounis Haji Al Khoori said in astatement on Saturday.

The bureau is currentlyworking on completing the ini-tial stage of its four-part execu-tion plan and awaiting final ap-proval of its regulations by theUAE Cabinet before it proceedswith the final contract signingwith banks and issuing creditdata reports for clients.

“We are developing,through our two working groupswhich include; 12 banks, theMinistry of Finance, the centralbank and the UAE Banks Fed-eration, as well as telecommu-nications companies, a worldclass credit reporting system andworking practices. Our coopera-tion with the UAE financial in-stitutions reflects the addedvalue that Al Etihad Credit Bu-reau will provide to the bankingand financial sector,” Al Khoorisaid.

The bureau recentlyorganised a workshop for rep-resentatives from 24 banks andfinancial institutions in the UAEto raise awareness of its opera-tions, policies and procedures,in addition to its value addedservices. This workshop will befollowed by several other busi-ness, technical and system-re-lated events.—Agencies

LAHORE: Speaker National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Federal Minister for Rail-ways, Khawaja Saad Rafique inspecting Railways areas.

ISLAMABAD: Group photo of attendees of successful Co-launch of P6. Ahmed Bilal MasudDeputy CEO Huawei Pakistan, Akbar Khan, Chief Marketing Officer of Ufone and Fanhonghead of terminal device department standing.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Federal govern-ment has launched seven newschemes for poverty alleviationand employment across thecountry.

Government has increasedthe allocation of cash supportprogramme from Rs.44 billionfor fiscal year 2012-13 to Rs.75billion for fiscal year 2013-14for poverty alleviation and em-ployment.

Under the Prime Minister’sYouth Training Programme allthose completing a 16 year de-gree programme and havingage blew 25 years will be pro-vided one year trainingprogramme. During the train-ing, they will be entitled to astipend of Rs. 10,000 permonth.

The small business loans

Govt launches 7 schemesfor poverty alleviation

scheme will enable the youthto start their own businesses.Small business loans fromRs.100,000 to Rs. 2,000,000will be made available throughbanking system at a mark upcost of eight percent while theremaining cost will be gener-ated by the government. In thefirst year of the scheme, a to-tal of 50,000 loans will be of-fered.

In Prime Minister ’sMicrofinance Scheme men andwomen will be enable to under-take microenterprise activities,Rs. 5.00 billion have been al-located for Qarz-e-HassanaScheme (loan without mark-up).

These micro loans will bemade available through selectedmicro finance providers includ-ing Akhuwat, NRSP and provin-cial RSPs. Fifty percent of the

beneficiaries of this scheme willbe women.

Under the Prime Minister’sYouth Skills DevelopmentProgramme, 25,000 young per-sons up to the age 25 years withminimum qualification ofmiddle will be imparted train-ing in a number of trades acrossthe country.

Six month training will begiven for which fee will be paidby the government. In the FeeReimbursement Scheme forLess developed Areas bright stu-dents from Balochistan, FATA,Gilgit-Baltistan are being pro-vided tuition fee support forhigher education at Master’s andDoctorate levels. This scheme isbeing extended to other equallyless developed areas such asthose of interior Sindh ,SouthPunjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa.

KARACHI—Top Chairmen,CEO’s & human resources man-agers of 23 distinguished com-panies of corporate sector wereconferred the 4th Global HRExcellence Awards-2013 at amarvelous ceremony held andattended by glitterati of Paki-stani business and social sectors.

Provincial Ministers MirHazar Khan Bijarani & Dr.Sikandar Ali Mandhro andCommissioner Karachi ShoaibAhmed Siddiqui wererespectivily chief guests of threedifferent sessions.

The Global Media Links(GML) and Better PakistanForum (BPF) joined hands toorganize the award ceremonyin order to highlight and prop-erly reward institutionalizedand individuals’ best work inthe field of Human Resource

4th global HR excellenceawards ceremony held

management on a countrywidebasis.

The most noteworthy part ofthe event was conferring SpecialGlobal Excellence Awards tofamous reformer of education &world renowned Pop singerShehzad Roy in the fields ofhumanitarian services and socialwork especially in educationsector. The awards were handedout among the Chairmen, CEO’s& HR Heads of successful com-panies by above mentioned threechief guests.

According to the statistics ofthe award ceremony, initiallyover 55 companies had shownkeen interest to prospectivelyparticipate in the competitionbeing held to award and recog-nize excellence in HR manage-ment services; later 35 compa-nies submitted their nominations

on formal basis to participate inthe event.

Jury of the award competi-tion finally adjudged profiles of23 companies as award winnersamong whom are included somemultinational concerns, Paki-stani large businesses, small andmedium enterprises, and otherpersons who individually par-ticipated in the competition fortheir association with the fieldof HR management.

Among the award winners;few prominent organizations areCoca Cola Export Corporation,Prime HR, Future Parts Com-pany, PepsiCo WorldwideFlavours, ABL, Kay & Emms,HDF, Roots School System,Lotte Chemical , PakOasis,Roots Millennium Schools ,PTCL, PepsiCo, RafhanMaize ,PDIL and others.—NNI

Turkey banksuse privateplacements

LONDON—A slew of privateplacement deals for Turkishbanks in recent weeks couldmean that the lenders eschew theEurobond market altogether inthe near future, a debt capitalmarkets originator said.

Turkey’s largest bank bymarket capitalisation, GarantiBank , has raised $900 millionthrough private placementssince April this year, while Vakifbank raised $400 million in Julyalone.

Others such as Yapi Krediare looking to set up medium-term note programmes that willallow them to issue privateplacements, while Isbank hasalso begun to sell deals, withtransactions in US dollars andSwiss francs.

“Every week we are print-ing private placements (to raise)hundreds of millions of dollars.It shows that whatever is neededin the bond market can be donethrough private placements theycan replace Eurobonds,” thebanker said.

This will help the banksachieve their funding needs, andmeans they don’t need to con-sider Eurobond issuance at atime when the appetite for Turk-ish risk is low. Eurobond inves-tors are bearish on Turkey be-cause of concerns over thecountry’s economy, its currencyand the risk that military actionin neighbouring Syria may spillover, he said.

Garanti Bank’s 5.25 per-cent 2022 note, for example,has fallen six points over thelast month to a cash price of85.3 last Friday, according toTradeweb data. In total, thenote has fallen a whopping 21points since the beginning ofJune. This makes public issu-ance difficult for Turkey’sbanks.—Agencies

THE “Cinnamon Challenge”, which involves trying to swallow a teaspoonof cinnamon without water within

sixty seconds, has led to many calls to poi-son centers, emergency departments visitsand hospitalizations ofteenagers who require ven-tilator support for collapsedlungs.

Swallowing a teaspoonof Cinnamon within sixtyseconds is a nearly impos-sible challenge.

Even on the onlinedare, there is a warning:“It’s going to burn, you aregoing to cough, and regretyou tried.”

The Cinnamon Chal-lenge is a dare that hasspread throughout theInternet.

While most childrenknow about it, very few par-ents and teachers do, re-searchers from the Univer-sity of Miami Miller School of Medicinewrote in the journal Pediatrics.

Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D., the GeorgeBatchelor Professor of Pediatrics and Direc-tor of the Batchelor Children’s Research In-stitute, said:

“Given the allure of social media, peerpressure and a trendy new fad, pediatriciansand parents have a ‘challenge’ of their ownin counseling tweens and teens regarding thesensibilities of the choices they make and thepotential health risks of this dare.

Ingesting and Aspirating Dry Cinnamonby Children and Adolescents: The ‘Cinna-mon Challenge.”

The authors said that parents need to betold about the Cinnamon Challenge, andthey need to advise their children about thedangers.

Parental advice really matters to kids,they added. “Schools and pe-diatricians should be encour-aged to discuss with childrenthe ‘Cinnamon Challenge’and its possible harmful ef-fects.”

Co-author JudySchaechter, M.D., M.B.A.,Interim Chair of Pediatrics,was surprised to find out dur-ing a recent dinner with adozen pediatricians that noneof them had ever heard of theCinnamon Challenge.

Even though most teen-agers who choose to do thechallenge endure only tem-porary effects, the research-ers wrote that poison centersare receiving an increasingnumber of calls related to the

Cinnamon Challenge, and more kids areending up in emergency departments andbeing hospitalized.

Cinnamon is a caustic powder consist-ing of cellulose fibers which do not dis-solve and are not biodegradable in thelungs.

Animal studies have shown that cin-namon can cause inflammation of the air-ways and lungs (if it is inhaled), and it canalso cause lesions and scarring in the lungsand airways. People with asthma, pulmo-nary cystic fibrosis, chronic lung diseaseor a hypersensitivity to spice need to beespecially careful.

The cinnamon challenge landsmany children in hospital

KARACHI: Sewerage water accumulated on a road due to which short route to the Emer-gency of Jinnah Hospital is closed for ambulances and other traffic.

KARACHI—Chairman law andorder sub committee KorangiAssociation of Trade and Indus-try (KATI), Nadeem Khan hassuggested that a committeeshould be formed comprising ofCrop commander, DG Rangersand IG police to monitor andmanaged crackdown againstcriminals, extortionist and kill-ers .

He was of the view that ifthis has not been done the en-tire crackdown may be seen aspolitically motivated and justan eyewash and sindh govern-ment may blame Nawaz Shariffor its failure.

He expressed that instead ofSindh government criminals

KATI law and order body seeksformation of high-level committee

enjoying their own rite in thecity and the Chief Minsterseemhelpless before them.

Nadeem further said thatthe criminals however strongthey may be must be appre-hended and punished so that thecitizens should feel safe andsecure.

He mentioned that in last 5year tenure of Quaim Ali Shaharound 8 to 9 thousand innocentpeople and officials oflaw en-forcement agencies were killedby the terrorist .

Now what we should ex-pected from Quaim Ali Shah hehave to overcome law and or-der issue.

Nadeem further suggested

that crackdowns also be initi-ated against baggies in generaland against those bagging atroundabouts and traffic signals.

They are involved in kid-napping for ransom and mur-ders, he alleged.

Referring to making QaimAli Shah head of operationagainst criminals in the city, hesaid it was not a vised decisionof Nawaz Sharif.

All the powers should bedelegated to the proposed com-mittee of Crop Commander,DG Rangers and IG police

Beside carrying out crack-down against criminals targetshould include drug pad-dlers.—NNI

Warm welcomeawaits Zardari

in KarachiAMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Sindh cabinet underthe chair of Sindh Chief MinisterQaim Ali Shah met to discuss ar-rangements for giving a warmwelcome to former president AsifAli Zardari on his arrival some-times next week.

The cabinet meeting heldhere today besides review of thelaw and order situation inKarachi and implementation ofthe decisions taken by the fed-eral cabinet with regard to themetropolis discussed what theydescribed the outstanding ser-vices of Asif Ali Zardari duringhis five-year term in the presi-dency and the situation in thewake of his tenure which hascome to an end now.

According to informedsources the provincial cabinet willmeet again to finalise arrangementto accord a welcome to the partyleader in a befitting manner.

KARACHI: Activists of MQM hold a protest rally demanding recovery of missing party workers.

KARACHI: Actor/ Producer & Brand Ambassador Zeba Bakhtiar addressing a press con-ference. Nibal Doughan, Business Development Manager MEAP is also seen in the picture.—PO photo by Sultan Chaki

KARACHI: Crane machine being used during the construction of a canopy at Gulshan-e-Jinnah Park Polo Ground.

Jalal: Centre’sinterference inSindh’s affairs not acceptable

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—The conspiracieswere being hatched to changedemography of Sindh provincewhile the Pakistan Muslimleague-Nawaz (PMLN)-ledgovernment in the center wasfollowing the footsteps of thepervious government.

Sindh United Party (SUP)chief Syed Jalal MehmoodShah expressed these viewswhile addressing a press con-ference Sunday.

He said that the SUP Cen-tral executive Committee re-viewed the measures taken bythe federal government for themaintenance of peace and forthe elimination of the lawless-ness in the metropolis.

The party felt that the fed-eral government had adoptedcosmetic measures for overcom-ing the real issues on the patternof the previous government.However, the Sindh provincialgovernment also failed to haveits say as was witnessed in past.He also criticized the federalgovernment that had approvedmore powers to the paramilitaryforce, Pakistan Rangers.

Rangers arrestten suspects

KARACHI—Rangers conducteda targeted operation in ChanesarGoth area of the city and arrestedten suspects. According toRangers’ spokesman, the opera-tion was started early in themorning in which 1500 person-nel took part.

The arrested men are in-volved in heinous crimes. Armsand ammunition were also re-covered from the arrested.

Rangers also seized differentkinds of weapons from the sus-pects’ custody. In another opera-tion‚ the law enforcement agen-cies arrested four suspects fromold Vegetable market.—NNI

Union leadersmeet PR officials

KARACHI—Central Chairman,Railways Workers Union (OpenLine) Manzoor Ahmed Razi andCentral General SecretaryMuhammad Nasim Rao heldmeeting with senior officers ofPakistan Railways in Lahore,the Headquarters of PR, and inother cities.

A news release said here Sun-day that Manzoor Razi and NasimRao have returned to Karachi af-ter visiting Lahore, Rawalpindiand Islamabad where they alsoreviewed the organisational mat-ters of the Union.

The two labour leaders con-vened meetings of DivisionalCommittee, Central Committeeand Headquarters Division of theWorkers Union.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh Chief Minis-ter Syed Qaim Ali Shah said thatthe provincial government wasvery much serious to maintainlaw and order in the Province es-pecially in Karachi. A compre-hensively plan to equip andstrengthen the Sindh Police wasbeing implemented parallel toongoing operations against theterrorists, extortionists, kidnapersby Rangers and Sindh Police.

Addressing the Cabinetmembers. the CM said that theSindh Government had plannedstrengthen the Sindh Police byproviding latest equipments,training by local and foreign train-ers and providing them full moralsupport enabling them to combatthe situation with success.

He said that during last fourdays many achievements hadbeen made by law enforcementagencies against the criminals.

Govt serious on Karachilaw and order issue: Qaim

He said that during last fourdays as many as 260 raids and13 encounters were conductedby the Rangers and Sindh Policein which 5 terrorists including 3of Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan(TTP) had been killed.

In addition to that 354 crimi-nals including 27 absconder, 8involved in murder cases and 6proclaimed offenders had alsobeen arrested and large numberof arms ammunitions was recov-ered.

He said that due to vigilanceand tight operation against theterrorists only one target killinghad been reported during lastfour days.

This he observed well ad-dressing the cabinet meeting heldhere at CM House to review thelaw and order situation and out-come of ongoing operationsagainst the terrorists thisevening.

The Cabinet members of-

fered fateha for ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto, andShaheed party workers beforestarting the meeting. The mem-bers also paid rich tribute to thePresident of Pakistan Asif AliZardari on his successful comple-tion of five years period as Presi-dent and also eulogized his ser-vices and achievements that herendered for the country, democ-racy and PPPP.

He said that establishment ofspecial force within Police tocounter the terrorist was also be-ing considered. He said that oncewe strengthen the Sindh Policeat large, it will be enable to re-store the law and order situationand confidence of people forever.

He said that though compara-tively Sindh province was morepeaceful then other provinces ofcountry which according to himcould be ascertained by the con-fidence and interest of local andforeign investors for their invest-

ment in Sindh, but unnecessaryand managed propaganda aboutlaw and order was being madeby some elements.

He said that instead of con-finement of more than 100 dan-gerous terrorists, our all prisonsare safe.

The Cabinet meeting alsoconstituted the four memberscommittee headed by the SindhMinister for InformationSharjeel Enam Memon withSindh Minister For Health andLocal government Syed OwaisMuzaffar, Advisor to CM forFinance Syed Murad Ali Shah,Sindh Minister Social Welfareand Women Development Ms.Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani asmember to organized seminarsat least one at each divisionalheadquarter of Sindh to educateand disseminate the services,sacrifices and achievements ofPresident Asif Ali Zardariamong the people.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—To express soli-darity with continued move-ment of Egyptian people forrestoration of pro IslamicIkhwan Al Muslameen’s presi-dent Morsi, tens of thousandsof supporters of Jamaat-eIslami (JI) took to street, whilechanting the slogans in supportof Ikhwan and democracy.

The rally was taken outfrom Numaish Chowrangi andculminated at Tibet Centre onM A Jinnah Road Sunday. Ad-dressing the rally, Amir JI Pa-kistan Syed Munawar Hassansaid that today’s rally of thou-

JI’s march in support of Egypt, Syria

Arab Spring phenomena could notbe sidelined: Munawwar Hassan

sands of people was witnessedthat faith and ideology cannotbe held back by force.

He said that internationalterrorists should realize thatArab spring couldn’t bestopped. There was a globalspring of revival among Mus-lims, which was irresistibleand unbeatable. Muslims wererenewing their faith in AllahAlmighty and refreshing theirfaith. In present scenario, itwas unable to sideline theArab Springs phenomena.

He said that elections inPakistan were also engi-neered. We accepted results ofrecent elections just to avoid

anarchy and unrest in the coun-try.

He said that he wanted toremind the Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif of his duties andresponsibilities. He askedSharif to keep his words overpolicy towards inflation andborrowing from internationalmonitory fund and other insti-tutions, he added.

Correlating the electoralprocess in Muslim world, hesaid that election results weretheft in Muslim countriesparticularly the nefariouspractice is repeated recentlyin Egypt , Pales t ine andKarachi, Pakistan.

The Cinnamon Challenge LandsMany Children In Hospital

LAHORE: Students of Lahore Post-Graduate Islamia Girls College, Copper Road, holding an awareness walk on theeve of International Literacy Day on Sunday.

THE “Cinnamon Challenge”, whichinvolves trying to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon without water

within sixty seconds, has led to many callsto poison centers, emergency depart-ments visits and hospitalizations of teen-agers who require ventila-tor support for collapsedlungs.

Swallowing a tea-spoon of Cinnamon withinsixty seconds is a nearlyimpossible challenge.

Even on the onlinedare, there is a warning:“It’s going to burn, you aregoing to cough, and regretyou tried.”

The Cinnamon Chal-lenge is a dare that hasspread throughout theInternet.

While most childrenknow about it, very fewparents and teachers do,researchers from the Uni-versity of Miami MillerSchool of Medicine wrote in the journalPediatrics.

Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D., the GeorgeBatchelor Professor of Pediatrics and Di-rector of the Batchelor Children’s Re-search Institute, said:

“Given the allure of social media,peer pressure and a trendy new fad, pe-diatricians and parents have a ‘challenge’of their own in counseling tweens andteens regarding the sensibilities of thechoices they make and the potential healthrisks of this dare.

Ingesting and Aspirating Dry Cinna-mon by Children and Adolescents: The

‘Cinnamon Challenge.”The authors said that parents need

to be told about the Cinnamon Challenge,and they need to advise their childrenabout the dangers.

Parental advice really matters to kids,they added. “Schools andpediatricians should be en-couraged to discuss withchildren the ‘CinnamonChallenge’ and its possibleharmful effects.”

Co-author JudySchaechter, M.D., M.B.A.,Interim Chair of Pediatrics,was surprised to find outduring a recent dinner witha dozen pediatricians thatnone of them had everheard of the CinnamonChallenge.

Even though mostteenagers who choose todo the challenge endureonly temporary effects, theresearchers wrote that poi-son centers are receiving an

increasing number of calls related to theCinnamon Challenge, and more kids areending up in emergency departments andbeing hospitalized.

Cinnamon is a caustic powder con-sisting of cellulose fibers which do notdissolve and are not biodegradable in thelungs. Animal studies have shown thatcinnamon can cause inflammation of theairways and lungs (if it is inhaled), and itcan also cause lesions and scarring inthe lungs and airways. People withasthma, pulmonary cystic fibrosis,chronic lung disease or a hypersensitiv-ity to spice need to be especially careful.

LAHORE: Students distributing pamphlets among the motorists during Dengue Aware-ness Walk organized by Post-Graduate College of Nursing.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Effective intelli-gence operation based ontechnical expertise is notonly required in Karachi butall over Pakistan. Interroga-tions from terrorists haverevealed that foreign handsincluding Indians are in-volved in terrorist activitiesin Pakistan particularly atKarachi and Quetta. It’swrong perception thatAmerican forces will leaveAfghanistan next year be-cause they have not yetachieved all their vested in-terests in this region.

These thoughts wereshared by Defence Ana-lysts, Columnists and otherexperts during a conferenceon the topic of “Syrian situ-ation and security crisis atKarachi” organized by Pa-kistan Visionary Forum atTECH Society Club Lahoreon Sunday.

Air Marshal (retd) ShahidLatif, Former Chief ISI Gen.(retd) Ziauddin, Former Min-ister of State Qayyum Nizami,Dr. Muhammad Sadiq,Former Auditor GeneralPunjab Jameel Bhatti, Engr.Muhammad Azeem, Engr.Mahmudur RehmanChughtai, Engr. MushtaqAhmed Bhatti, Former Chair-man IRSA Shafqat Masood,Col. (retd) Mahmud Shah,Prof. Dr. Atiya Sayed, BegumAleena Tiwana, Col. (retd)Waheed Hamid, Dr. IkramKoshal, Engr. MuhammadYaqoob Chaudhry, Londonbased Columnist TariqAhmed, Major (retd) KhalidNasr, Columnist & AnalystRauf Tahir and Dr. SultanMehmood were present inthe conference.

Gen. (retd) Ziauddin saidthat security of Karachi couldbe possible through strength-ening and capacity buildingof police because of the rea-

son that Rangers and Armywere not trained enough forsuch operations within ourown territories not with ex-ternal enemies at borders. Heproposed that services of re-tired army personnel by dou-bling their pensions could beutilized for intelligence opera-tions wherever required. Heemphasized that desired re-sults could be achieved byproviding latest weapons,surveillance equipment in-cluding cameras, helicoptersand special training to thepolice force besides hiringmore personnel for law en-forcement agencies. Gen.(retd) Ziauddin added thatpeople should not criticizethe present federal govern-ment because it did not havemore options to exercise inKarachi. Former DG ISI saidthat street crimes in Karachiwere committed more by mo-torcyclists who could becontrolled by adopting a

Extensive effective intelligence operationrequired in Karachi: Gen Ziauddin

strict policy of speed con-trol, de-weaponisation,heavy fines and punish-ments for holding unlicensedweapons and controllingpolicy of mobile sims. Tar-geted operation was not theright solution as by such ac-tions criminals would migrateto other cities.

Air Marshal (retd) ShahidLatif said that various Paki-stani government leadershipsdid not followed securing na-tional interest policies andpursued American alignedpro western policies and al-lowed whatever they wantedfrom us unconditionally. Thatis why Pakistan is now facingsituations like terrorism, law-lessness, socio-economic in-stability, Indian water aggres-sion, unemployment, loadshedding, etc.

He maintained that Paki-stan was misused in cold warby western powers. Al-though Pakistan adopted

LAHORE: Children enjoying swing at Bagh-e-Jinnah during pleasant weather.

American aligned policiesbut when they asked forprovision of civil nucleartechnology as allowed toIndia Pakistan was in-formed that India was a dif-ferent country as comparedto Pakistan. Western pow-ers are foreseeing Pakistanas a small weaker state de-pendent on India not apowerful, independent andprosperous country ofsouth Asian region.

Air Marshal (retd)Shahid revealed that west-ern powers were practicingthe divide and rule policyfor the 54 Muslim countriesenriched with natural re-sources so that they are notable to become big powerblock as a Muslim world.Shahid Latif said that all theareas enroute to centralasian states were effectedby terrorists whom foreignhands were providingfunds as well as weapons.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Min-ister Muhammad ShahbazSharif has said that govern-ment is striving to providebetter facilities of water sup-ply and drainage in the bigcities of the province andWASA will be reorganizedunder a phased reformsprogramme. He said that ser-vices of Turk experts will alsobe acquired for this purpose.He said that the problems re-garding water supply andsewerage in Lahore as well asother major cities will have tobe resolved on priority basis.

He was talking to a del-egation of Istanbul Munici-pality (ISKI), here Sunday.Provincial Minister for FoodBilal Yaseen, Member Na-

WASA to be reorganized

Shahbaz set to address watersupply, sewerage problems

tional Assembly HamzaShahbaz, Khawaja AhmedHasaan, Secretary Housing,Commissioner Lahore Divi-sion, District CoordinationOfficer Lahore, Director Gen-eral LDA, Managing Direc-tor WASA as well as seniorofficials of ISKI were presenton the occasion. It wasagreed in the meeting thatPunjab government and ISKIwill cooperate in the capac-ity-building and introducingreforms in WASA.

Talking to the Turk del-egation, the Chief Ministersaid that Punjab governmentwants to introduce a modernmanagement system of wa-ter supply and drainage ofwaste and rainwater. He saidthat there is a need to reor-ganize the entire structure of

Water and SanitationAgency (WASA) under awell-coordinated and com-prehensive plan. He said thatmodern services will be pro-vided to the citizens throughcapacity-building of WASA.

He said that full benefitwill be taken from the experi-ence and expertise of IstanbulMunicipality for the up-gra-dation of the existing out-dated sewerage and drainagesystem. He said that anagreement will be signed withTurk Municipality for the ca-pacity- building of WASAand introduction of modernmanagement system.

The Chief Minister di-rected concerned authoritiesto undertake short, mediumand long term planning forproviding better services to

the citizens. He said that per-formance of WASA can beimproved through modernmanagement system. Hestressed upon Istanbul Mu-nicipality to cooperate inevolving a short-term planbefore the next monsoon sothat the problems regardingrainwater could be resolved.

He said that instead oftemporary measures, modernand comprehensive planningshould be made for movingahead. He said that provisionof the best services to thecitizens is the responsibilityof the government. He saidthat in view of the increasingpopulation, an effective strat-egy should also be devisedfor checking wastage of wa-ter.

Muhammad ShahbazSharif asked Istanbul Mu-nicipality to prepare a pilotproject for the supply of wa-ter as well as improvement ofsewerage and drainage sys-tem. He said that all out fa-cilities will be provided to theTurk experts in Punjab.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Minister FinancePunjab Mujtaba Shuja urRehman has said that thegovernment will ensure sup-ply of standardized medi-cines to the people and therelevant laws will be strictlyimplemented, whereas, threeDrug Testing Laborites(DTL) are being establishedat Multan, Rawalpindi and

Govt to ensure standardizedmedicines supply to masses

Lahore besides two FoodTesting Laborites will besetup at Faisalabad andRawalpindi in the governmenthas issued Rs. 15 crore forthis purpose.

He said that governmentis spending huge funds forthe uplift of the health sectorand, during the current fiscalyear, as compared to the pre-vious years, Punjab govern-ment has provided 19 percent

additional budget for the pro-vision of health services inPunjab. He said that anamount of Rs.102 billion willbe utilized on the provision ofhealth facilities which is 10.9percent of the total budget. Hesaid that huge amount of7.5billon is being spent on theprovision of free treatmentand medicines to the poorand destitute in public sectorhospitals of the province.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Chief SecretaryPunjab Javed Aslam has di-rected Divisional Commis-sioners and District Coordi-nation Officers to take all outmeasures for the relief andrehabilitation of floodaffectees on permanent ba-sis. He further directed thatall basic facilities should beprovided to the affectees inthe relief camps.

He issued these instruc-tions while presiding over ameeting held to review the ar-rangements made for the re-habilitation of flood affecteesand drainage of water fromflood-hit areas. AdditionalChief Secretary Mirza SohailAamir, Secretary Coordina-tion Ali Tahir, Secretary LocalGovernment Jawad RafiqueMalik, Secretary InformationMomin Agha, DG Rescue-1122 Dr. Rizwan Naseer andofficers of PDMA, Livestock,Health and Irrigation Depart-ments were also present onthe occasion.

The Chief Secretary di-rected divisional commission-ers to increase the number ofdisposal pumps for immediatedrainage of water from the low-lying areas. He further directedto ensure provision of potablewater to the flood affectees.

The officers of PDMA in-formed the meeting that thepace of rehabilitation work ofthe affectees has been accel-erated in the flood affectedareas so that people stayingin the camps could immedi-ately return to their homes.They further informed thatteams of health departmentand district administration areproviding all possible medicalfacilities to the flood affectees.

Geological information im-age is being acquired to reviewthe losses in the affected areas,they added. The Chief Secre-tary directed Secretary Schoolsand Divisional Commissionersto start the repair and mainte-nance work of the schools af-fected due to flood so that stu-dents could continue their edu-cational activities.

CS for rehabilitation of floodaffectees on permanent basis

PR recovers2.7m acres of

land from illegaloccupants

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Pakistan Railwayshas been able to get over 2.7million acres of land vacatedfrom illegal occupants duringthe ongoing anti-encroach-ment drive.

A railways spokesman in-formed that the government ismaking all-out efforts for therestructuring of the railways toprovide best possible travel-ing facilities to the people.

He said the total length ofrailways track in Balochistanis 1202 kilometers and no newtrack was laid in the provinceduring the last five years.

To another question‚ hesaid‚ feasibility study to linkGwadar Port with existing rail-ways network has been com-pleted.

The spokesman said pro-posed route of Gwadar-Tu rba t -Hoshab -Pan jgu r -Basima-Surab-Mastung is 901kilometers in length and a req-uisition of Rs.180.163 billionhas been submitted to Plan-ning Commission for approval.

Moreover, Speaker Na-tional Assembly Sardar AyazSadiq accompanied by FederalRailways Minister KhawajaSaad Rafique visited railwaysland and discussed steps be-ing taken to vacate the land.

No room fornegligent officials

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Director Gen-eral, Punjab Emergency Ser-vice (Rescue 1122), Dr. RizwanNaseer, while addressing theparticipants of an interna-tional course on “CollapsedStructure Search & Rescue”at Emergency Services Acad-emy on Sunday said thatsuch officers showing negli-gence and those who failedto maintain the standard of theEmergency Service shall notbe tolerated.

He said that he hadstarted this Service aftergreat sacrifices & efforts andtoday an effective emer-gency management systemhas been established in Pa-kistan as a result of which thebasic right to timely emer-gency care in case of acci-dents, emergencies and di-sasters has been provided tothe citizens for the first timein history of Pakistan.

Turkishdelegation

meets HamzaSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—A 4-member del-egation of AISKE, an insti-tute of supply and drainageof water of Turkey called onMember National AssemblyHamza Shahbaz Sharif.

The members of the del-egation informed HamzaShahbaz Sharif about the de-tails for supply and drainageof water system in Turkishcities. They also informedHamza Shahbaz about theirexperiences and successes,regarding sewerage systemand provision of potable wa-ter to Turkish people.

They said that the Turk-ish institution will providecomplete assistance andhelp to the WASA regardingsewerage system and supplyof water to the Lahorites andthe system of WASA wouldbe reformed in the light ofTurky’s experiences. Theysaid that the basic problemof provision of water to thecitizens of Lahore will be re-solved on permanent basis.

Hamza Shahbaz assuredthe members of the delega-tion that Punjab governmentwill extend all possible sup-port and cooperation toAISKE so that thelongstanding problem ofsewerage and drinking waterto the citizens could be re-solved jointly with WASA.