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EconomyTime to count

cost of eurozone shrinkage: analysts

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Monitoring DEsk

PESHAWAR — A Pakistani Taliban spokesman on Sunday denied an earlier announcement by the militant group’s deputy chief that it was hold-ing peace talks with the government.The conflicting claims are a clear sign of splits within the movement, which could make it even harder to end the violent insurgency gripping the coun-try. Maulvi Faqir Mohammed, who has been recognized by both militants and officials as the deputy chief of the Pakistani Taliban, said Saturday that the group was in peace talks with the government. Mohammed, the first named commander to confirm talks, said an agreement to end the coun-try’s brutal four-year insurgency was within striking distance.Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan denied the claims, saying there would be no negotiations until the government im-posed Islamic law, or Shariah, in the country. He has previously denied re-ports of peace talks by unnamed com-manders and intelligence officials.“Talks by a handful of people with

the government cannot be deemed as the Taliban talking,” Ehsan told by telephone from an undisclosed loca-tion.The U.S. has pushed for peace nego-tiations between the Afghan branch of the Taliban and Kabul, but the pos-sibility of similar talks between Islam-abad and the Pakistani branch could stoke concern in Washington.Past deals between the Pakistani Tali-ban and the government have broken down and given the militants time to strengthen their fight against U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan.Battered by Pakistani military opera-tions and U.S. drone strikes, the once-formidable Pakistani Taliban has weakened and splintered into more than 100 smaller factions, accord-ing to security officials, analysts and tribesmen from the insurgent heart-land.The result is that the authority of indi-vidual commanders in the movement to control fighters and territory, al-ready murky because of the Taliban’s clandestine nature, is now even more unclear.

nEws DEsk

QUETTA – Pakistani authorities took over Shamsi airbase in the Washuk dis-trict on Sunday, as American person-nel met the deadline for eviction given earlier by the government.The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Frontier Constabulary have taken control of the base. According to sourc-es, the US nationals present at the base had earlier removed radars and other sensitive equipment that was present at the base. Sources say that much of the cargo and drones had been shifted to Afghanistan.However, three vehicles belonging to American authorities were still present at the base this morning.An America flag that was previously hoisted at the base was reportedly re-moved by the CAA authorities.

Pakistan had served a 15 day notice to US to pack up and leave the air strip, located some 300 km south of Quetta, Balochistan. The decision came af-ter a NATO air strike on a Pakistani border post killed at least 24 soldiers, wounding a further 12, on November 26. Pakistan told US to leave the base, suspended fuel and other supplies through land routes, and pulled out from border coordination centers.The Shamsi base, initially leased to the government of UAE in 1992, had been given to the US after it started Opera-tion Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in late 2001. US publicly says it uses the base for refuelling and running mainte-nance on its surveillance drone. How-ever, it is believed that the US has also operated armed versions of its drones from the same air strip to attack targets in Afghanistan, and even in Pakistan.

no talks with Pakistani govt: ttP

Pakistan gets control of

shamsi base

sportsYounis 200 leaves

Bangladesh facing mountain

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Aamir khan names son after Maulana Azad

Major 6.5 quake hits southern Mexico, 2 dead

China’s President vows to tackle trade imbalances

MUMBAI – Bollywood couple Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao have named their newborn son Azad Rao Khan after scholar and free-dom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam....

MEXICO – A major 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico with officials reporting two deaths, as the quake was strongly felt in the capital Mexico City and....

BEIJING – Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to resolve trade imbalances with nations that have huge deficits with the Asian powerhouse, as China marked the tenth....

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khan ready for rematchafter shock defeat

WASHINGTON – Britain’s Amir Khan, saying he felt a rightful victory was stolen from him on Saturday, vowed to return stronger after a con-troversial majority decision defeat....

Monday, deceMber 12, 2011 MuharraM ul haraM 16, 1433 a.hVol.01 no. 152 8 Pages Price rs. 15 [email protected] www.pakreporter.com

EntertainmentKatrina Kaif to

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iran says it will not return Us drone

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran will not return a U.S. surveillance drone captured by its armed forces, a senior commander of the country’s elite Revolutionary Guard said Sunday.Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Guard, said in remarks broadcast on state television that the violation of Iran’s airspace by the U.S. drone was a “hostile act” and warned of a “bigger” response. He did not elaborate on what Tehran might do.“No one returns the symbol of aggres-sion to the party that sought secret and vital intelligence related to the national security of a country,” Salami said.Iranian television broadcast video Thursday of Iranian military officials inspecting what it identified as the RQ-170 Sentinel drone.–News Desk

RAWALPINDI: Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Syed Munawar Hassan addressing at a public gathering at Liaquat Bagh on Sunday.

LALA MUSA – Pakistan People’s Party, Information Secretary and for-mer Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Sunday that President Asif Ali Zardari is now well and will resume his presidential responsibili-ties soon.Kaira said that the doctors attend-ing to President Zardari had allowed him to resume obligations as his health condition is now improving.The president told Kaira from Dubai over telephone on Saturday that the PPP leaders and workers were ready to face all national issues.Zardari directed Kaira to inform party workers that they should face the situation with patience and that it was the policy of the party to keep all political parties on board under the

reconciliation policy.While talking to the media, Kaira said that PML-N President Mian Nawaz Sharif had become politically isolated as no party was supporting him and that he is now seeking help from nationalist parties.He said that Mian Shahbaz Sharif went abroad after every couple of months for treatment but the PPP never drew attention to his visits, adding that it was unfortunate that some people were spreading con-spiracies regarding the president’s illness instead of praying for his health.He also said that there was tension between the United States and Paki-stan after the Nato attack and that national unity was the need of the time in such condition.–APP

President Zardari is now well: kaira

ISLAMABAD – As part of its en-deavor to expand rail network to Eu-rope, Central Asia and Middle East, Pakistan is set to become member of Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) soon, the Railways Minister said Sunday.Set up in 1985, the objective of this was principally to develop the uni-form systems of law which apply to the international carriage of pas-sengers and freight through traffic by rail.Currently, 46 states are OTIF mem-bers and international carriage by rail on railway infrastructure of around 250,000 km and the com-plementary carriage of freight and passengers on several thousand ki-lometres of shipping routes, inland waterways and roads are concerned

by the uniform law created by OTIF.The European Union acceded to this uniform law, COTIF in July, 2011.The OTIF membership would help

Pakistan to have contracts of car-riage for the international carriage of passengers and goods, dangerous goods, use of vehicles, use of rail-

way infrastructure and validation of technical standards and adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for railway material.Talking to media, the Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bi-lour said the federal cabinet has al-ready given its consent to the mem-bership.In this connection, a capacity build-ing and awareness workshop was held here in which the top manage-ment of OTIF and ECO briefed the representatives of ministry of rail-ways, communication, commerce, finance and other stake holders about the potentials of the member-ship and how to deal with the future matters.He said there is no bottleneck in get-ting the OTIF membership rather things were going smooth.–Agencies

ISLAMABAD – As part of its ef-forts to raise awareness about child-related issues and child rights in Pakistan as well as to provide some child-friendly space for poor orphaned children sponsored by it, Islamic Relief holds regular “Children’s Recre-ational Day” at a local hotel.Children from poor areas of Rawalpindi took part in recre-ational activities and met with civil society, educationists, uni-versity students, the media to share their issues with the public.While addressing the large gath-ering at event, the Country Di-

rector of Islamic Relief Pakistan, Fadlullah Wilmot said nutrition, education, better healthcare and a healthy environment are the basic rights of children. He said it is very important to treat fu-ture generation with love and re-spect and to provide all children of whatever race, religion or sex with equal opportunities to ex-plore new horizons.Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to which ev-ery child has an equal right to life, health, nutrition, education and freedom of expression. “It is

our duty to take care of children and provide them all the neces-sary facilities to exercise these rights and as an Islamic country it is even more essential to im-plement the teachings of Islam which make it obligatory to treat all children with love, give them their rights and prevent exploita-tion”, he added.“We need not to show compas-sion in words but stop the ex-ploitation of children at all levels especially under-aged children in the workplace especially those working in hazardous occupa-tions.”–Agencies

Pakistan to expand rail links to Europe, ME: Minister

islamic relief organises “Children’s recreational Day”

Bankruptcy Law practiced

internationally: saigalISLAMABAD – Chairman Standing Committee on Communication (FPCCI) and former Minister Infor-mation Technology, Health and Environment Mu-hammad Noman Saigal has said strengthening the banking sector Bankruptcy Law is practiced globally to provide comfort level to the business community.But in Pakistan the essential component is not associ-ated in this regard, he said, adding that the end-user and any client who defaults the loan is not given any leverage and the decision is always one sided.He said in a statement that instead giving comfort to the client the financial support taken becomes a criti-cal liability of an individual or any company damag-ing the health and the group itself within a span of 24 months or less. “As the interest rate is highest and in Pakistan is not workable at all as per the business returns of any company per annum”.He said the profits are usually at the tune of maxi-mum 10% per annum earned by the various compa-nies in the world. “When it comes to 18% or goes up to 20% plus, with an interest rate of 36 % per annum on credit cards in Pakistan one ends up in a loss in-stead of gaining anything”.Saigol said that the threatening attitude of the bank makes things impossible for any customer of the bank detoriates the health and the business of the customer. He said the economy of Pakistan is go-ing down every year and the banking sector has de-clined.–Agencies

10th national it excellence

award in MarchISLAMABAD – The 10th National IT Excellence Awards is scheduled to be held in March 2012 by Teradata, the organizer and main sponsor of the event. The nominations have been opened for the IT companies under different categories of National IT Excellence Awards till January 6th, 2012.The awards program is designed to acknowledge the outstanding achievements by individuals in the Pakistan information technology (IT) community.“We look forward to recognizing those individuals that have had the greatest impact on the Pakistan IT community – we are looking for the best-of- the-best, said Khuram Rahat, M.D. Teradata Pakistan”.He said the program has grown ever since they launched it in 1997, as part of Pakistan’s Golden Jubi-lee, which recognize professionals in the IT industry.He said that Teradata has taken steps to ensure neutrality and transparency in the nomination and evaluation process the firm will also work with the judges who are selected based on their expertise and leadership in education, IT, and related fields.–Agencies

Dr. siddiqui enlisted in 500 important people

ISLAMABAD – In recognition of brilliant education-al and administrative services, the name of Dr. An-war Hussain Siddiqui, Ex-President, International Is-lamic University, Islamabad has been enlisted in 500 more important people of Islamic World by Royal Institute of Jordan.Last year, his name had also been enlisted in 500 im-perative people of Islamic World. Dr. Anwar Hus-sain Siddiqui is a member of Islamic Ideological Council.He also worked as a Head in Allama Iqbal Open Uni-versity, NIPA Academy, Karachi, Administrative Staff College, Lahore.Dr. Anwar Hussain Siddiqui also worked as Found-er Head in Federal Judicial Academy (Law Ministry), Islamabad and served as a Head of Institute of Eco-nomics, Sharia Academy and Dawa Academy in In-ternational Islamic University, Islamabad.–Agencies

Hoti to join tehrik-e-insaf

on Dec. 16MARDAN – Former federal minister Naw-abzada Khwaja M u h a m m a d Khan Hoti, MNA, will join Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf in a public meeting on De-cember in Mardan.Khwaja Muhammad Khan Hoti has served as federal minister, provin-cial minister, provincial president of Pakistan People Party (PPP) and also senior leader of the ANP.In 1993 he also served as Provencal education minister in Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpho cabinet.–Agencies

The PakisTan RePoRTeR Monday, deceMber 12, 2011National2

ISLAMABAD: Visitors taking keen interest in the items displayed during an exhibition at Nomad Art Gallery in connection to 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence.–Agencies

LONDON – Economists, banks and even punters in bookmakers are studying more and more seri-ously scenarios involving the col-lapse of the eurozone.Maybe not its total evaporation, but certainly shrinkage with pe-ripheral or weak countries falling off the currency’s map -- and in all cases, according to the experts, with a heavy price to pay.Analysts agree that no country would emerge unscathed, at least in the short term.As for the long term? Well, few even dare to imagine the fall-out.In the view of London-based Capi-tal Economics, even a limited re-drawing of the eurozone’s borders, with the exit of the bailed-out trio of Greece, Ireland and Portugal over the next two years, would trigger a drop in eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.0 per-cent in 2012 and 2.5 percent in 2013.That would equate to the same sort of economic contraction endured between 2008 and 2009 following the financial crisis triggered by the collapse in the US home loan mar-ket.In a recent note to investors, UBS

bank calculated that if a “weak” euro country like Greece gave up the currency it would cost every man, woman and child there some 10,000 euros (more than 13,000 dollars) each in the first year, and thousands more over the adjust-ment period.Even a “strong” country like Ger-many would see a loss of between 6,000 and 8,000 euros per head in year one -- between one quarter and one fifth of the country’s an-nual economic output.A return to the drachma, the deutsche mark, the punt and the

franc or any other national curren-cy would mean devaluations for some, appreciation for others.According to Jens Nordvig of Ja-pan’s Nomura Securities, Germa-ny’s currency would rise against the dollar, but Greece would lose 60 percent of its money’s value.Italy, Spain or Belgium would lose around a third each.While scope for exports would im-prove, debt restructuring on that basis would mean a dramatic rise in borrowing costs for those gov-ernments who write off the most.National banking systems would

collapse, experts say, due to a loss of confidence in the value of the currency that replaced the euro.This isn’t rocket science -- panick-ing over hard-earned savings, ex-perience shows citizens pull out what they can and flee while com-panies would struggle to raise in-vestment capital.If the economy stopped function-ing normally, there would then be the threat of widespread social unrest.Germany, meanwhile, would lose export business -- due to a rising national currency and also the emergence of new, cheaper Euro-pean competition.It would be no different in the event Italy or some other big euro-zone economy left.Jacques Cailloux, a Paris-based economist with the Royal Bank of Scotland, told AFP that were France to exit the eurozone, Ger-many would suffer because “its banking system would be staring at exposure to French banking debt worth some 200 billion euros”.US banks would be looking at 10 times that amount, Cailloux added ominously.– Business Desk

LONDON – OPEC meets in Vienna this week to decide on whether to change the cartel’s oil production levels in the face of heightened Iran tensions, higher Libyan output and a weak economic outlook.The Organization of Petro-leum Exporting Countries, which supplies one third of the world’s crude, is Wednes-day set to maintain its official output target of 24.84 million barrels per day -- where it has stood for almost two years.But with the International En-ergy Agency estimating that ac-tual OPEC production, exclud-ing Iraq, stood at 27.32 mbpd in October, the organization may decide to issue a statement promising stricter compliance to its quotas.The Vienna-based cartel meets periodically to set production levels, hoping that its decisions result in favourable market oil prices for its dozen members, which include current OPEC president Iran, oil kingpin Sau-di Arabia, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela.

OPEC Secretary General Abdullah El-Badri last week said that current oil prices of around $100 a barrel were “sat-isfactory,” adding that crude supply was adequate -- indicat-ing that its official output ceil-ing would stay on hold.On Friday, Brent North Sea crude was trading at $107.79 a barrel, while New York’s light sweet stood at $98.11.Despite economic turbulence and a pick up in Libya oil out-put after recent war ravaged its production, crude futures have managed to remain at relative-ly high levels thanks to geopo-litical unrest across the oil-rich Middle East.All eyes at Wednesday’s gath-ering will be on Iran, OPEC’s second-biggest oil pro-ducer after Saudi Arabia, and whose oil sector is at threat from potential EU sanctions over the Islamic republic’s controversial nuclear programme.EU foreign ministers have slapped sanctions on an extra 143 firms and

37 individuals in Iran, after the publication last month of a re-port on the country’s nuclear sector by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).The ministers also threatened to “extend the scope” of puni-tive action to strike at Tehran’s economic heart, saying the EU would examine measures tar-geting the financial system, energy and transport sectors by late January.“Assessing the fallout from the Iranian sanctions, OPEC meets with a complex economic, fun-damental and political back-drop,” said Barclays Capital analyst Sudakshina Unnikrish-nan.–Business Desk

time to count cost of eurozone shrinkage: analysts

oPEC set for meeting amid iran tensions

China’s President vows to tackle

trade imbalances

BEIJING – Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to resolve trade imbalances with nations that have huge deficits with the Asian powerhouse, as China marked the tenth anniversary of its accession to the WTO.In a speech in Beijing on Sunday, Hu said China was not intentionally seeking a trade surplus -- a bugbear for major trade partners such as the United States who say Beijing’s exports are cheap because its currency is undervalued.“We will strengthen economic cooperation with coun-tries that have substantial trade deficits with China, and work together with them to gradually resolve trade imbalances,” Hu said in the Great Hall of the People. “We will... actively expand imports to drive the transformation of the foreign trade pattern in a bid to promote the basic balance of international pay-ments. We do not deliberately pursue a trade surplus.”The United States has recently stepped up criticism of what it says are unfair Chinese trade practices, in the face of deep US voter anger over high unemployment and the state of the economy.Some US lawmakers have criticised China’s yuan cur-rency, which they say is grossly undervalued, and therefore fuels the US trade deficit and costs US jobs.US President Barack Obama -- striving for re-election next November -- said last month that Beijing had not done enough to allow the yuan to reach a fair market value and called on a now “grown up” China to act more responsibly.–Agencies

gold buyers tempt greeks

facing hard times

GREEK – Greece has seen an upsurge in small com-panies and shops offering to buy gold, driven by re-cord prices and the need many people have to raise cash during hard times when jobs are uncertain and money scarce. “Sell your gold,” “We buy your jew-els,” the signs read in Ermou Street, a pedestrian precinct right in the heart of Athens thronged with people doing their Christmas shopping, as money changers and jewellers get in on the act too.In recent months it has become common to have leaflets stuffed into your mailbox or handed out around the city, suggesting that Greeks might want to sell their old baptismal cross so they can afford their dream holiday. Those buying the gold are of-ten reluctant to talk to the press and in one small company office off the street, a worker says only that the owner is abroad and she has been told not to talk to journalists.–Business Desk

Economy 3The PakisTan RePoRTeR Monday, deceMber 12, 2011

sAP sees new acquisition as

boon for cloud computing

WASHINGTON – The acquisition of US firm Success Factors by SAP will make the German software giant number one in “cloud computing” and show a profit from 2013, a top SAP executive said in an inter-view published Saturday.“By integrating SAP solutions with those of Success Factors, we can realise economies of scale and make money more quickly,” Jim Hagemann Snabe, one of SAP’s two co-executives, told the financial weekly Focus.The synergies achieved with the acquisition “are going to help us become number one in the near future” in the rapidly growing market of so-called cloud computing, said Hagemann Snabe.Success Factors specialises in cloud comput-ing, which involves managing on the Inter-net data that is stored on distant servers. It eliminates the need for clients to keep data on their own computers or servers, saving them money and giving them more flexibil-ity. SAP, the world’s leader in professional software, announced last week that it would acquire Success Factors for $3.4 billion (2.5 billion euros).The acquisition is the latest development in the fierce rivalry between SAP and Oracle.–Business Desk

kofi AnnAn

Five years ago, the United Nations replaced the much-maligned Commission on Human Rights with the Human Rights Council,

a historic move that I hoped would mark a new era for the UN’s work in safeguarding the rights of millions of people around the world. The Human Rights Council recently concluded its first review, and it is clear that as a re-sult of robust engagement by its mem-bers, the Council has made important progress in promoting and protecting human rights around the world.Still, many believe the review did not result in the fundamental changes they had hoped for. Some critics have even suggested that Western and demo-cratic states should walk away from the Council. But at a moment when we should be making it stronger, forsak-

ing the Council is the wrong way to advance human rights.Recent events in the Middle East, North Africa, and elsewhere once again dem-onstrate that we must have a credible, balanced, and pre-eminent global body to expose human rights abuses and take actions to alleviate them. Human rights are universal and must be uni-versally upheld. Therefore, to be effec-tive, this body must be accountable to all countries — not only to a few — and also be broadly representative. The Human Rights Council is both.Some say that by enabling authoritar-ian states to be elected as members, the Council’s effectiveness is diminished. They argue further that the time and ef-fort expended to improve the Council’s methods is not worth the incremental progress. Instead, they believe demo-cratic states should not use up their diplomatic capital at the Council, but seek instead to advance human rights

in other forums.It is true that the Council has not al-ways lived up to its potential and that at times the diplomatic effort it requires is time- consuming and difficult. But these are not sufficient reasons to give up on it. Imagine an ostensibly global human rights body that was only ac-countable to and representative of a handful of countries. It could not cred-ibly or effectively speak out against or influence human rights situations in much of the world.In the midst of the Arab Spring, the Human Rights Council — backed by the UN General Assembly’s univer-sal membership - voted unanimously to suspend Libya’s membership. The Council has also condemned Syria’s hu-man rights violations by a strong major-ity vote, forced it to withdraw its bid for a seat, and appointed an investigation into human rights violations there. The Council’s actions were seen as legiti-

mate because they were supported by a globally representative body.More consequential to the Council’s effectiveness than its composition has been the fact that many Council mem-bers — from all regions of the world — have begun to break free from the regional straightjackets of the past and worked together to advance human rights. The regional bloc voting prac-tices of the past are giving way to more considered discussion and collective action. This engagement on the part of countries has helped to make the Council more effective and progressive than other human rights institutions. In June, the Council took a historic step by adopting a resolution to pro-tect the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, helping to establish that sexual orientation can-not be grounds for discrimination and the abuse of rights. The effort was led by South Africa, despite vigorous op-

position from neighbouring countries, along with support from Brazil, Co-lombia, the US and many others.Council action in response to the hu-man rights situations in Iran, Libya, and Syria has, in each case, been pos-sible due to the support of countries from Africa and Latin America, and even from within the Middle East.It is true that conducting effective di-plomacy and changing political dy-namics is hard, but working to find agreement with countries that have disparate worldviews has always been a difficult endeavour. Nevertheless, it is important and worthwhile.Human rights are at the core of the United Nations’ identity and enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. People everywhere still look to the United Nations to uphold respect for universal and indivisible rights.–Christian Science Monitor

saudi women not open to change

Eman Al Nafjan

What do Sau-di women want? I wish I could give you an easy

answer. But Saudi Arabia is a diverse land, spread out across a vast territory almost a fourth the size of the US and divided by religious sects and among some 45 tribes.Divining the Saudi people’s demands, never mind those of Saudi women, is no simple task. By law, every Saudi wom-an has a male guardian.At birth, the guardianship is given to her father and then upon marriage to her husband. If a woman is a widow, her guardianship is given to her son — meaning that she would need her own son’s permission for the majority of her interac-tions with the government, including the right to travel abroad.Legal recourse is difficult to ob-tain, especially because abuse is only recognised when it’s physical abuse. Even then, the Saudi justice system is patriar-chal, bordering on the misogy-nistic.For example, to this day the Justice Ministry has not issued a law banning child marriage, leaving the decision at the dis-cretion of the girl’s father.You would think that women living under these conditions would long for liberty, inde-pendence, and civil rights.Many do, as this year’s driving campaign makes clear. Howev-er, it’s just not that simple.Millions of others are still not sure they are ready for change. Some explain their indecision as a fear that they might have to assume responsibilities they

are incapable of undertaking.One fellow Saudi tells me that she sees what women have to put up with abroad: “I see how American women have to run around the city running er-rands, and I don’t want to open that door. As long as women driving is banned, no one will have these expectations for me,” she says.In fact, Saudi Arabia may be even more conservative than most outsiders think. There are some who are not only passive-ly happy with the status quo but also loud in their resistance to any form of change.In 2009, a Jeddah woman named Rawdah Al Yousuf, in collaboration with members of the royal family, organised a campaign to strengthen the guardianship system. It was called “My Guardian Knows What’s Best for Me.” They urged the king not to give in to local activists and international human rights organisations re-garding the guardianship sys-tem.Another campaign gathered thousands of signatures from both men and women calling for the extension of gender segregation laws to hospitals — the same segregation laws that have led to Saudi women only making up 15 per cent of the national workforce and an unemployment rate for women so high that the government won’t release the numbers. The only public places where these laws are not enforced are malls and hospitals. Yet there are Saudis who would like to see segregation even there.School systemNone of this is a surprise, con-sidering what is being taught in the public school system. In religion classes, students learn

that the Saudi interpretation of Islam supersedes any worldly concepts of human rights.Women have the most to lose, yet these ideas are so ingrained that I defy you to find a report of a Saudi mother complaining about what her children are be-ing taught.Women in most countries may take their aspirations for free-dom for granted, but for many of us, it is brand new.An exasperated expatriate in Riyadh once expressed to me how frustrated she was with the requirement to wear an abaya everywhere. She won-dered: How do you all put up with having to cover your fac-es for your whole adult lives? What she didn’t realise was that many Saudi women look at her and wonder: How can she walk around without an abaya? How is it that she doesn’t feel exposed and naked?Yet I am happy to say that I am one of many women hun-gry for self-determination — women who have realised that though liberty and rights come with responsibility, it also gives them and their daughters the autonomy to pursue their hap-piness.And yes, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Saudi wom-en who are fighting for their rights — and the well-covered driving campaign is just one of many battles, from fighting for the right to manage their own businesses to being allowed to freely leave and enter the coun-try without their guardian’s permission.Even something as simple as recognising women lawyers in our judicial system could be transformational. And that, of course, is why it is so hard.— Washington Post

President Zardari’s comeback

President Asif Ali Zardari said that his “enemies will be disappointed” be-cause he is recovering and will soon return to Pakistan. Mr Zardari told an anchorperson that those who run away do so with their families but he left his son in Pakistan. It is good to know that the president is feeling better now and we wish him a speedy recovery. This has also put to rest

all those rumours, speculations and motivated agendas, the authors of which were frothing at the mouth about the president’s well-being and purported ‘developments’ in the offing. While such rumour-mongering must be condemned, it would be advis-able for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to learn a lesson from this furore. When the president flew out to Dubai, we saw contradictory statements coming from the presidential spokesman and other government and party officials. It would have been better if an authoritative official statement had been issued to scotch any rumours and speculations. In this day and age of the media revolution, when even social network-ing sites can lead to further fog and confusion, it is advisable for all political parties, especially the ruling party, to appoint one spokesperson who would inform the public well in time of any new developments. The irresponsibility of the media and populace aside, the government should also take some responsibility in this regard and not mishandle any such situation in future.On the other hand, President Zardari’s announcement that he will be back soon has blackened the faces of all those scandal-mongers who were looking forward to ousting the president and the government one way or the other. Ever since the PPP-led government took office after the 2008 elections, it has faced adverse reac-tions from many quarters, including the media. Every other day we heard analysts giving a timeframe for when this government would fall. Nevertheless, it has sur-vived to date and looks likely to complete its tenure. Those who wanted a military-judicial alliance to turf out the government are also in for disappointment as Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Chaudhry reiterated that there are limits for every institution as per the constitution and all institutions should stay within their parameters so that the country can progress. CJ Chaudhry observed that our nation can achieve political stability, economic development and prosper if we adhere to the dictates of the constitution. The Opposition is also not in the mood to derail democracy. This is substantiated by Mian Nawaz Sharif’s politically mature statements. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) may have gone to the Supreme Court with its Memogate petition but this move cannot be taken as an outright demand to oust the government. Their lordships and the Opposition are not willing to de-rail democracy. And why should they? Any move leading to the destruction of the democratic process will in effect be as damaging to the opposition parties and the independence of the judiciary as it would the incumbents. It was only wishful thinking on the part of Zardari-haters that the judiciary and the PPP’s rival politi-cal parties, especially the PML-N, would help the undemocratic forces. Pakistan is no stranger to military interventions, be they direct or indirect. More than three de-cades have been spent under direct military rule and the other three decades have been spent with the military meddling in political affairs. Now that a democratic dispensation is in place after almost a decade of military dictatorship, it should be given a chance to complete its tenure. Impatience is not the answer; the ballot box is.–Daily Times

Monday, december 12, 2011 Muharram ul Haram 16, 1433 a.HTel: 111-002200;Fax: 2825524

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Human rights Council is for all

The PakisTan RePoRTeR Monday, deceMber 12, 2011Editorial4

Major 6.5 quake hits southern

Mexico, 2 dead

MEXICO – A major 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico with officials reporting two deaths, as the quake was strongly felt in the capital Mexico City and southern Guerrero state.The temblor occurred at 7:47 pm (0147 GMT Sunday) about 166 kilometers (103 miles) southwest of Mexi-co City, at a depth of about 65 kilometers, according to US Geological Survey.The epicenter was located 133 kilometers north of the large beach resort city of Acapulco, on the country’s Pacific coast.The death toll included an 11-year-old boy in the town of Iguana and another fatality on a road near Paloblanco, said Arturo Martinez, a spokesman for the government of Chilpancingo in Guerrero state.The Pacific Tsunami Warning center said no destruc-tive Pacific-wide tsunami was expected.USGS originally measured the quake at a stronger 6.7 magnitude, but downgraded it to 6.5 about an hour later.Mexican President Felipe Calderon issued a com-ment through his official Twitter account, saying there was “no major damage reported at the time, however the reports are preliminary.“If you are aware of damage, please tell us,” he add-ed. Some areas of the capital, where thousands of pilgrims were congregating for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, experienced temporary electricity blackouts, and cell phone networks quickly became saturated.–Monitoring Desk

russians look for change after anti-Putin rallies

RUSSIA – Russians sought out the first signs of change Sunday after tens of thousands rallied across the country and swarmed Moscow in the biggest ever show of defiance against Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule. Saturday’s historic demonstrations near the Kremlin saw more than 50,000 chant “Russia without Putin” and deride his ruling party for its narrow victory in December 4 elections that were al-leged to have been riddled with fraud.The show of public anger was unprecedented for a city that emerged from the tumultuous 1990s as the birthplace of the “managed democracy” system that Putin set up across Russia on his rise to the presiden-cy in 2000. The ex-KGB chief now serves as premier and this month’s legislative poll was seen as a litmus test of his decision to return to the Kremlin for up to 12 more years in March elections that he seemed des-tined to win. But scenes similar to those seen Satur-day in Moscow were also replayed on a smaller scale across the industrial hubs of Siberia and the Urals -- a sign that Putin’s path back may be more fraught than it appeared just a week ago.–Agencies

FRANCE – Former Panama strongman Manuel Noriega flew out of France on Sunday, beginning his return home to more prison time two decades after being ousted in a bloody US invasion.An Iberia plane carrying the former dictator took off from a Paris airport shortly after 0800 GMT and headed to Madrid, from where the 77-year-old was to begin the final leg of his jour-ney home.“This morning French authori-ties handed Manuel Noriega over to Panamanian authorities for his extradition to Panama,” Bruno Badre, a spokesman for the French justice ministry, told after the plane took off.Noriega is due to arrive in Pan-ama on an Iberia flight at 5:30

pm (2230 GMT), guarded by a delegation of six foreign minis-try officials, police, doctors and a prosecutor who prepared the transfer in Paris.Under tight security, Panama’s military ruler from 1983 to 1989 will be flown by helicopter from the airport to El Renacer prison northwest of the capital in a lush area near the Panama Canal.After serving more than 20 years in prisons in the United States and France for drug traf-ficking and money laundering, Noriega will face three separate sentences of 20 years in Panama for crimes committed under his dictatorship, including the murder of critics.“While Panama is known for being peaceful and tolerant,

emotions are running high and inmate safety is our priority,” Foreign Minister Roberto Hen-riquez said Friday. “He will get the same treatment as any other inmate -- dignified and respect-ful but firm.”And yet his prison condi-tions have drawn criticism, with Minister of Government Roxana Mendez telling that the former dictator will spend his days in a “recently remodeled” facility with a private bathroom and high-tech features aimed at boosting security.He will be allowed visits by rel-atives several times a week, and local media reports say his cell will have a small visiting room, a double bed, a refrigerator, fur-niture and chairs, plus a ramp for easy mobility.–Agencies

YEMEN – Yemen’s new national unity govern-ment faced its first full day in office Sunday after it was sworn in to lead a three-month transition period until early polls are held and President Ali Abdullah Saleh formally steps down.The official Saba news agency said the swearing-in ceremony Saturday took place at the Republi-can Palace in the capital Sanaa in the presence of Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.The new 34-member cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa, will carry out its duties until February elections, after which Hadi will take over the presidency for an interim two-year period as stipulated by a Gulf-spon-sored deal drafted to resolve Yemen’s political crisis.“Yemen expects this government to improve conditions for a peaceful life for citizens,” Hadi said, chairing a first cabinet meeting. “Our pri-mary duty is for the country to emerge from its economic and security collapse.”UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the swearing-in, calling on all sides to help foster an “inclusive” political transition.“The formation of the government of national unity marks an important milestone,” Ban’s spokesman Martin Nesirky said.“The secretary general calls upon all sides to work towards the full implementation of an in-clusive Yemeni-led transition process, giving all Yemenis including women and the youth a true

stake in the country’s future.”Ban said such a process would be “essential for putting the country on a path towards restoring peace and stability and to lay the foundation for economic recovery.” In Oslo, meanwhile, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday, Arab Spring activist Tawakkol Karman said the international community had failed to provide enough support for the deadly anti-Saleh upris-ing in Yemen. The activist said the struggle for

democracy in her country “did not get the inter-national understanding, support or attention of the other revolutions in the region”.“This should haunt the world’s conscience,” said the 32-year-old mother of three in her acceptance speech after becoming the first Arab woman to receive a Nobel in any category. Interviewed af-ter the award ceremony, Karman lamented that she was barred from running in Yemen’s Febru-ary presidential election.–Monitoring Desk

noriega en route to Panama after 22 years

Yemen’s new national unity govt takes office

Foreign 5The PakisTan RePoRTeR Monday, deceMber 12, 2011

indian anti-corruption

activist holds 1-day

fast

NEW DELHI — A popular anti-corruption activist is ramping up pressure for strong an-ti-corruption measures by holding a one-day fast in the Indian capital.Anna Hazare and hundreds of flag-waving supporters gathered Sunday to demand sweeping legislation that puts low-level bu-reaucrats as well as the prime minister under an anti-graft watchdog.Hazare is seen as India’s most prominent anti-corruption crusader after his 12-day hun-ger strike in August stirred public ire against rampant corruption and won government pledges that a law would be passed this year.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an all-party meeting for Wednesday to seek a political consensus on introducing a bill Dec. 19.–Agencies

The PakisTan RePoRTeR Monday, deceMber 12, 2011Entertainment6Happy Birthday,

Dilip kumar!

MUMBAI – Muhammad Yusuf Khan, popularly known as Dilip Kumar, is a legendary Bollywood ac-tor. Dilip Kumar turns 89 today. He started his career in 1944 with the film Jwar Bha-ta. He starred in a wide variety of films such as An-daz (1949), Aan (1952), the tragic Devdas (1955), the comic Azaad (1955), the historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and the social drama Ganga Jamuna (1961). In 1976, the actor took a five-year break from film performances. In 1981, he returned with a character role in the film Kranti and continued his career play-ing central characters in films such as Shakti (1982), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991). His last film was Qila in 1998. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 for his contributions towards Indian cinema. He has worked in around 60 movies and has inspired many upcoming B-town actors.As his close friend and another Bollywood legend Dev Anand passed away two weeks ago, Dilip sahab had decided not to celebrate his birthday.

Aamir khan names son after Maulana Azad

MUMBAI – Bollywood couple Aamir Khan and Ki-ran Rao have named their newborn son Azad Rao Khan after scholar and freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Aamir’s “great grand uncle”.“Hey guys, most excited to share with y’all that we have finally chosen a name for our baby boy...Azad. Azad Rao Khan. I left the final choice to Kiran, and she has named him after my great grand uncle Maulana Azad, the great freedom fighter, whom the family is most proud of,” Aamir revealed on social networking site Facebook.“Azad means free or liberated. We want to thank everyone for their warm wishes and blessings, and needless to say we are absolutely overjoyed and feel most blessed. Much love,” added the actor-producer.Aamir-Kiran’s son was born Dec 1 through IVF to a surrogate mother at a private clinic in Mumbai. The couple resorted to IVF due to medical complications.This is Kiran’s first baby, but Aamir has a son, Jun-aid, and a daughter, Ira, from his first wife Reena.

Beti B to be lucky for Abhishek Bachchan

katrina kaifto do a Helen!

Angelina Jolie hailed for Balkan war film debut

MUMBAI – Last Month, 16th november turned out to be a red letter day for the Bachchans, as Aishwarya Rai delivered a baby girl and a new member joined the family.But what is even more interesting is the fact that this newly born girl has not even turned a month old and astrologers are already predicting about her career and future.“Considering the date, time and child’s place of birth, we have made the Janma-kundali, which seems very good,” claims a renowned astrologer of the city Avinash Rai, adding, “The girl is born in the Punarvas Nakshatra which is considered to

be one of the most auspicious periods. Rahu-Mer-cury and Venus are in the 12th house together and moon is in the 8th house in the horoscope, there-fore, the girl will prove very lucky for the father,

his stature will increase a lot. As per the kundali the girl can be named with a letter starting ‘He’ like in ‘Heena’.” However, another renowned as-trologer with an experience of over 50 years into this field, highlights an altogether different as-pect of the child’s life. “”Since moon is aspecting the lagana and we have an exalted saturn is the horoscope, child will be very tall and beautiful. Her face will be round, she will grow up in for-eign land and make a career in the field of art. The same field which her family belongs to. Besides, she will be highly qualified and will go for techni-cal education.–Agencies

MUMBAI – Mumbai Mirror had a sneak peek at the much talked about song Chikni Chameli in Karan Johar’s Agneepath. The song, which has been picturised on Katrina Kaif, marks her debut in Dharma Produc-tions. One look at the song, and we could not help but note the striking similarities with Helen’s classic hit `Mungda’ which too has been shot in a similar atmosphere. And here’s some more dope for fans. Katrina, who looks ravish-ing to say the least, has three costume changes in the song. One of them- the yellow saree and the chequered choli - is exactly the same as what Helen wore for her track. The melody is also reminiscent of a Marathi chartbuster Kombdi padali from Jatra which inci-dentally had the same music direc-

tors Ajay and Atul. An-other striking feature of the song is the energy Katrina brings to her dance movements. It seems Sheila has primed her for the all-out desi jhatkas and she looks as though she is enjoying her-self. –Agencies

LONDON – Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has won praise for her directing debut -- a powerful story of love amid the atrocities of the Bosnian war -- from both film critics and victims’ relatives.The Hollywood “A” lister is used to being fet-ed for her performances in films ranging from “Girl, Interrupted” -- which won her the best supporting actress Academy Award in 2000 -- to the “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” movies.But she has also been an ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees since 2001, and has drawn on that experience in the making of “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” due out in the United States later this month.The movie tells the story of a Serb soldier who re-meets a former lover, a Bosnian woman now held captive in the camp he oversees dur-ing the dark days of the 1992-95 Bosnian war.“It’s very difficult to make me sit and see this for two hours, it’s so hard to watch, so you can imagine living it for years, as many of our cast did,” she told reporters at a press screening in Hollywood on Thursday.“We want people to feel what it is like to live in war, and we also want to people who watch this movie to pray that ... something will stop this,” she added.The film’s cast are all local actors who lived through the conflict as the former Yugoslavia

was ripped apart, and the movie was made in Bosnia and Budapest, in two languages: Eng-lish and Serbo-Croatian.British journalist Christiane Amanpour, who covered the Balkan wars including the siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo for the CNN tele-vision news network, calls the movie “really brave, very tough and courageous.”

In an interview with Amanpour on ABC tele-vision last week, Jolie said the Bosnian conflict was “our generation’s war.”“This was, you know, the worst genocide since World War II in Europe,” she said, add-ing: “What were we all doing? And did we do enough? And why do we not speak about this enough?”–Agencies

shilpa shetty confirms that

she is pregnantMUMBAI – Bolly-wood actress Shilpa Shetty is expect-ing her first child with husband Raj Kundra, and is cur-rently in her second trimester. Shilpa Shetty conforms her pregnancy news on Twitter today, As she tweets “Tweetos,”YES”an addition 2 r family is r confirmation 2 all queries:)We seek blessings from all in this very beautiful phase of our lives.”Good wishes on Twitter for the couple.“SO happy 4 my friend @TheShil-paShetty and her husband Raj, for the new, on the way, angel of happiness,” posted Shilpa’s good friend, actress Raveena Tandon.

Sports 7The PakisTan RePoRTeR Monday, deceMber 12, 2011

khan ready for rematch after shock defeat

WASHINGTON – Britain’s Amir Khan, saying he felt a rightful victory was stolen from him on Satur-day, vowed to return stronger after a controversial majority decision defeat to American Lamont Peter-son.The 25-year-old English boxer said he was putting his plans to rise into the welterweight ranks on hold for one more fight in order to face Peterson in a re-match that he hopes will be staged in England.Referee Joe Cooper took points from Khan in the sev-enth and 12th rounds for shoving hometown hero Peterson and that proved to be the margin of Khan’s loss before a sellout crowd of 8,647 at the Washing-ton Convention Center.One judge scored Khan a 115-110 winner while the other two handed Peterson the verdict by 113-112. All three judges scored the last round even, so Khan would have kept his titles by majority draw without the last deduction.“I was up against the referee and Lamont,” Khan said. “The referee was a bit on his side. When you come to his home, you are two points down before the fight starts. I went to his hometown. I beat him. And I didn’t get it.“A few of the (boxing) commissioners came to me and said that it was a disgusting decision. Even Lamont was shocked he won the fight.”Khan called it “all a learning curve” and vowed “I will come back stronger.” “It’s boxing.–Agencies

Barcelona fight back in Madrid to clinch El Clasico

LONDON – Barcelona overcame the shock of con-ceding a goal after just 23 seconds -- the fastest in El Clasico history -- to defeat bitter rivals Real Madrid 3-1 on Saturday and go top of La Liga.French striker Karim Benzema scored the early goal to give Real a 1-0 lead after a terrible clearance from Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes.Alexis Sanchez, who was chosen ahead of David Villa, levelled in the 30th minute after a sublime through ball from Lionel Messi.A drive from Xavi in the 53rd minute took a wicked deflection off Marcelo and beyond the desperate reach of Iker Casillas in the Real goal as Barcelona went into a 2-1 lead.Cesc Fabregas then added the third in the 65th min-ute, scoring with a diving header from a fine cross by Dani Alves.It was the former Arsenal man’s 10th league goal of the campaign. Real, who now trail Barca on goal difference, still have a game in hand, but this result brought to an end a 15-match winning streak for Jose Mourinho’s side.–Agencies

Cirrus des Aigles leads Hong kong racing fields

LONDON – Some of the world’s top horses will compete in Hong Kong this weekend at one of the richest meetings on the global racing calendar, among them Cirrus des Aigles, win-ner of Britain’s Champion Stakes.The French raider pulled off a shock victory in Britain’s most valuable race at Ascot in Octo-ber, when the 12/1 shot beat favourite So You Think, and is now listed as the joint number-two horse in the World Thoroughbred Rank-ings. His Ascot win was marred by a row over jockey Christophe Soumillon’s use of the whip, when he was fined 50,000 pounds and suspended for five days, but Soumillon will be on board again for the Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday.

International bookmakers make Cirrus des Aigles favourite for the 2,000-metre race, with Hong Kong champion Ambitious Dragon -- bidding to become the first home horse to

win the race for six years -- close behind in the betting. The race has a prize purse of HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) -- HK$11.4 million for the winner -- and is one of four Group One contests in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong In-ternational Races.One of the world’s richest meetings, the event draws top horses -- this year including 22 in-ternational Group One winners -- trainers and jockeys to the territory’s Sha Tin course with prize money totalling HK$68 million.The 2,400-metre Hong Kong Vase sees a re-match between France’s Dunaden and Eng-land’s Red Cadeaux, the winner and run-ner-up in Australia’s biggest horse race, the Melbourne Cup, in November.–Sports Desk

CHITTAGONG – Younis Khan motored to his third double-hun-dred off just 290 balls, and Asad Shafiq completed a maiden ton, before Misbah-ul-Haq ended Ban-gladesh’s on-field misery with a declaration. Pakistan finished with a hefty 459-run lead and will fancy their chances of an innings win against the trigger-happy home line-up. Bangladesh’s openers saw off the six overs in the lead-up to tea without damage, but were left facing a mountain with seven ses-sions left in the match.Bangladesh’s seamers found the spirit on the fourth morning to test both overnight batsmen with bounce and pace, but were too sloppy to make them pay for their mistakes. It took Younis only three balls in the morning to get to his 19th Test ton, glancing Shaha-dat Hossain through fine-leg for four. Shahadat promptly offered

him a couple of freebies - one too straight, and the other too wide - and Younis looted smooth bound-aries to suggest the overnight break in play hadn’t diminished his touch or appetite. Shahadat hit his straps quickly, though, and

proceeded to give Shafiq a thor-ough working over.Shafiq’s compulsive forward press tends to leave him committed to playing at bouncers even if he isn’t balanced to do so. Bangladesh were too flat on the second eve-

ning, but Shahadat summoned an extra yard of effort to test Shafiq in his first spell today. In his second over, he whipped down a bum-per that reared up quickly to catch Shafiq in an awry position, and he fended it uncomfortably off the glove.Shahadat persevered, and eventu-ally broke Shafiq’s patience with another menacing bouncer, elicit-ing the top edge off a hook shot. The ball swirled towards Rubel Hossain at fine leg, who made an apology of an effort running in. Shahadat applauded the effort, and it wasn’t clear if he was be-ing sarcastic or genuine. His lively opening spell ended with that over, and Shafiq breathed easy to complete his half-century.Rubel replaced him, and also worked up impressive speeds - at times touching 145 kph - from his round the wicket angle.–Sports Desk

Younis 200 leaves Bangladesh facing mountain

LAHORE: A view of play during a tie of 27th National Women Hockey Championship at National Hockey Stadium.

Monday, deceMber 12, 2011

Resident Editor: Iftikhar Hussain, Printer: Rohani Art Press, 35-E Chughtai Plaza, Fazal-e-Haq Road, Blue Area, Islamabad.

NEW DELHI – A Delhi court has sentenced an Indian army jawan to seven years in jail for doubling as a Pakistan intelligence agent and supplying sensitive defence-related information to the neighbouring country, Indian media reported on Sunday.District and Additional Sessions judge of Delhi High Court O.P. Gupta jailed Anil Kumar Dubey, 39, convicting him under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Indian Act for passing on secret information to Pakistan about the movement and deployment of army troops in

India. According to the prosecu-tion, the Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Dubey from his home at Mahipalpur on October 20, 2006 on a tip-off that an alleged Pakistan High Commission employee would be visiting him to procure some sensitive information.Police had caught Dubey while he was handing over a bag, containing some CDs and other documents, including some notifications per-taining to army’s anti-insurgency operations, to the alleged Pakistan High Commission employee, Mohd Farooq.

Raids at Dubey’s house led to re-covery of three cheque books, two of which belonged to Farooq and one to Shamshad Hussain, another alleged Pakistan Embassy official.Police in its search of Dubey’s desk at Army Group Insurance Bhawan also recovered documents pertain-ing to new dialling system and AGI journal of the year 2005, the prose-cution said. As Farooq enjoyed dip-lomatic immunity, he was handed over to Pakistan High Commission through ministry of external affairs, while Dubey was arrested, it said.–Monitoring Desk

ISLAMABAD – Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has con-stituted an-eleven member larger bench to resume hearing from Monday, a presi-dential reference, regarding revisiting of late premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s murder case.The larger bench includes the Chief Jus-tice, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Nasir ul Mulk, Justice Jawwad S. Khawja, Jus-tice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Tariq Parvez, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Sarmad Jalal Os-mani and Justice Amir Hani Muslim that will take up the Presidential reference sent to apex Court under Article 186.The counsels for the parties as well as am-icus curiae are being requested to ensure

their presence for the case as it is likely to proceed on day to day basis from 12th December to 16th December, 2011 as the Court will have break for winter vacations from 19th December to 31st December 2011.Notices to all concerned including incum-bent president of Supreme Court Bar As-sociation have been issued.On the last date of hearing on June 29, the matter was adjourned by the larger Bench with the observation that the apex Court would take up the case subject to availabil-ity of the Bench.On April 21, the Court had also ap-pointed amicus curiae including senior advocates/jurists, M/s Ali Ahmed Kurd, Tariq Mehmood, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, Khalid Anwar,

Makhdoom Ali Khan, S. M. Zafar, Aitzaz Ahsan, Zahoorul Haq and Abdul Latif Af-ridi.Khalid Anwar had expressed his inabil-ity to assist the Court as amicus curiae by sending a written request which was ac-cepted by the Court and in his place Qazi Muhammad Ashraf was appointed as am-icus curiae.During the course of hearing on June 29, Attorney General for Pakistan also requested more time to prepare further arguments particularly with reference to each question referred by the President of Pakistan.While Dr Babar Awan, counsel for refer-ring authority had completed his argu-ments over the case raising five major questions for the apex Court to revisit the

murder case.The amicus curiae would start their argu-ments in the case.Besides, the Chief Justice of Pakistan also constituted four benches (to sit after larger bench) at the Principal seat to hear a num-ber of important cases in the next week starting from December 12.The first bench includes the Chief Justice and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, the second bench of Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Jus-tice Jawwad S. Khawja and Justice Amir Hani Muslim, third bench of Justice Tas-saduq Hussain Jillani and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, third bench of Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani, and fourth bench of Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Tariq Parvez will take up a number of cases.–APP

indian army soldier jailed for leaking info to Pakistan

sC takes up ZAB reference today

8

no full payment to growers: sugar

mills ownersISLAMABAD – The sugar mills owners have refused to pay pre-scribed price to sugar cane grow-er, if government would not pur-chase 0.2 million tons sugar for Rs 65 per kg. While talking to Online, the former chairman of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), Sikandar Khan said that last year farmers were paid Rs 240 to 250 per 40 kg but this year it would not be possible for them to pay even support price of sugarcane that is Rs150 to the farmers because gov-ernment is not ready to purchase their 0.2 million tons sugar on Rs65 per kg and insisting to buy it on Rs53 per kg.“If government procures sugar at rate of Rs53 per kg then sugar in-dustry would bear a loss of Rs 2.4 billion which will ultimately hit poor farmers badly as sugar mills owner would not be able to pay even reasonable price to the farm-ers”, he said, adding that it will also discouraging for sugarcane farmers in long term to cultivate sugarcane crop.He said that Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) had issued a gal-lop tender for purchase of 200,000 tons of sugar on November 4, 2011 and at that time retail price of sug-ar was around Rs 65 per kg. The 27 mills of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association submitted their bids of Rs 65 to Rs 66 per kg but TCP used delaying tactics and did not purchase their sugar.–Agencies

KARACHI: Migratory Siberian birds walk at Karachi seaside on Sunday.–Agencies

no threat from Pti: Punjab CM

D.G.KHAN – Punjab Chief Minister, Mian Shahbaz Sharif has said that there was no threat from Pakistan Tahrik-e-Insaf (PTI) and added electoral alliance with any party would be made with the consultation of his party leaders.Addressing the Dera Ghazi Khan Government Girls College students, Punjab CM said that so long the money begged from abroad continue pouring in, the nation could not live the life with respect and hon-our..Earlier, he laid the foundation stone of Ghazi Medical College. Mian Shahbaz Sharif on this occasion said that the construction of medical college would be completed in eight months at a cost of Rs8.18 billion.Later, talking to media Shahbaz Sharif said that ML-N was not worried over PTI advance in Punjab.–News Desk