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PARTNER OF
Despite tactical advantages, drones are unacceptableForeign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit
New CEC will be appointed after consensus
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani PAGE 9
SC to form larger bench for
Benazir murder case
Issues notices to Musharraf, Malik, Babar Awan PAGE 12
BALOCHISTAN ASSEMBLY
Sindh asked to probe Domki killings
The Balochistan Assembly passed a resolution condemn-ing the killing of Nawabzada Bakhtiar Khan Domki’s wife and daughter PAGE 2
SENATE ELECTIONS
Big three carve out Punjab seats
All three major political par-ties in the Punjab Assembly have finalised their nego-tiations over the upcoming Senate elections PAGE 3
30-YEAR ISSUE
150,000 Afghans to be granted visas
The minister for states and frontier regions has said that 150,000 Afghan refugees are likely to be granted long-term visas PAGE 3
DISSENTING VOICES
Senate adopts private power bill
Despite reservations by op-position groups and a coalition partner, the Senate passed the Private Power and Infrastructure Board Bill, 2011 PAGE 9
News in Brief
WednesdayFEBRUARY 1, 2012
RABI-UL-AWWAL 8, 1433 A.H.
Rs20
tribune.com.pk
A THE DRONE CAMPAIGN ELECTION COMMISSION
A LIFE & STYLE
A INTERNATIONAL
A SPORT
A NATIONAL
Th e secret
weapon
against Aids
It reduces the chance of infection by 60% IHT PAGE 9
Lahore gets some Josh
The band will capture the city’s beauty in their latest video PAGE 20
Mohsin
gets nod
from Latif,
Afridi
Good results should lead to continuity, say players PAGE 16
Yes, we kill
Legal, ethical strikes on Obama’s drone admissionAs US president defends the covert campaign, Amnesty seeks explanation
A HUMA IMTIAZ
WASHINGTON
In a rare, yet non-startling ad-mission, US President Barack Obama on Monday confirmed that US drones have targeted Taliban and al Qaeda militants in Pakistan, in a programme that has escalated under his administration.
The confirmation of an oth-erwise clandestine programme brought to fore a host of ethical and legal questions surround-ing it. Obama himself, during an interview on Monday, at-tempted to justify the unpopu-lar programme that Islamabad insists causes more harm than good.
“Notwithstanding tactical advantages of drone strikes, we are of the firm view that these are unlawful, counterproduc-tive and hence unacceptable,” Foreign Office spokesper-son Abdul Basit told AFP on Tuesday.
Islamabad appeared to shrug off the confirmation’s implica-tions though.
Justifying dronesAsked about drones in a chat with web users on Google+ and YouTube, Obama said “a lot of these strikes have been in Fata” – Pakistan’s semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border.
“For the most part, they’ve been very precise strikes against al Qaeda and their af-filiates, and we’re very careful
in terms of how it’s been ap-plied,” Obama said on Monday.
“This is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists, who are trying to go in and harm Americans, hit American fa-cilities, American bases, and so on.”
Obama said that many strikes were carried out “on al Qaeda operatives in places where the capacities of that military in that country may not be able to get them.”
“For us to be able to get them in another way would involve probably a lot more intrusive military action than the ones we’re already engaging in.”
Pakistan’s ‘limited capacity’Obama’s justification for drone strikes was seconded at a hearing of the US Senate Select Intelligence Committee.
“Pakistan military lead-ers have had limited success against al Qaeda operatives, other foreign fighters and Pakistani militants who pose a threat to Islamabad,”
said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. The hearing, attended by leaders of the US intelligence community, including the heads of the CIA and National Intelligence, focused on worldwide threats in 2012.
There was admission of Pakistan’s support in counter-terrorism operations, though.
CIA Director General (retd) David Petraeus said that, on the level of intelligence ser-vices, relations with Pakistan were productive and there was also communication going on.
He said that in October, they had “captured or killed” four al Qaeda leaders, which was also due to some cooperation with Pakistan. Petraeus added that while Pakistan had conducted operations in Fata and Swat, they had not pressured the Haqqani network or Mullah Nazir’s group, nor pressured those present in Balochistan.
Amnesty’s questions“The US must give a detailed explanation of how these strikes are lawful and what is being done to monitor civilian casualties and ensure proper accountability,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director, in a press release.
“What are the rules of en-gagement? What proper legal justification exists for these attacks?” Zarifi asked.
US Attorney General Eric
Holder will reportedly refer-ence US legal arguments in support of such killings by drone attacks in a speech on national security in coming weeks.
Past justifications offered by US officials have invoked legal theories based on a “global war” between the US and al Qaeda, a concept not recog-nised by international human-itarian or human rights law.
“The US must … disclose the relevant legal and factual documentation necessary for a meaningful assessment of the lawfulness of the deliberate kill-ings it is carrying out – simply trying to find another way to say ‘trust us, it’s legal’ will not be good enough,” Zarifi added.
(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP )
The US is acting over and above the law
NIAZ A SHAH
While drone attacks might have some tactical advantage against al Qaeda and its affili-ates, as is being argued, they are against the UN Charter, the law of armed conflict and international human rights law. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter prohibits the “threat or use of force” against another state. The Charter allows for the use of force in only one form, ie, under Article 42, wherein the Security Council may allow the use of force as an enforcement mea-
sure when all peaceful means are exhausted. There, however, is one exception to this rule: States are allowed to use force in self-defence against an armed attack. This is a temporary right, ie, until the Security Council is activated to respond to an armed attack – an issue of international peace and security. The US has traditionally relied on the argument of the right of self-defence. However, al Qaeda and its affiliates are non-state actors – hence three ANALYSIS, PAGE 9
Costs a ton
Diesel shatters Rs100 barrier
Major assault on Kurram
Troops repulse Taliban attack on strategic post
Fuel prices rise by up to 6%
A ZAFAR BHUTTA
ISLAMABAD
What was once an exagger-ated expression to bemoan inflation has now become reality: The price of diesel has crossed Rs100.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) announced an increase in oil prices by up to 6% per litre effective from Wednesday (today), on ac-count of an increase in global oil prices.
Sources said that Ogra had recommended keeping oil
prices unchanged but the fi-nance ministry resisted the proposal and supported an increase in prices to avoid any subsidy.
Ogra has raised the per litre price of petrol by Rs5.37, High Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs4.64, High Octane Blending Component (HOBC)
by Rs6.29, kerosene oil by Rs2.78 and Light Diesel oil (LDO) by Rs3.43.
The new per-litre price of petrol is Rs94.91, kerosene oil
Rs92.02, HOBC Rs118.20, LDO Rs90.21 and HSD Rs103.46.
While the rationale for this month’s price rise is global oil price hike, the govern-ment had increased prices of petrol and HOBC in January, too, despite a decline in in-ternational crude prices and Ogra’s recommendation to keep prices unchanged.
Meanwhile, Ogra had calcu-lated an increase of Rs3.11 per-litre for diesel, in line with the hike in global oil prices, but the government raised the hike to Rs4.64 per-litre, in a bid to earn more revenue through petroleum levy.
Ensuing fighting kills eight soldiers and 35 militants
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
PESHAWAR
Security forces repulsed a major Taliban attack on a strategic check-post in the Kurram tribal region, trigger-ing bloody clashes that left 43 people, among them eight troops, dead and dozens oth-ers wounded, the military said
on Tuesday.“Security forces foiled mis-
creants’ attempt to dislodge
a newly-established check-post on Jogi heights in the Mamozai area (of Central Kurram). And in the (ensuing) exchange of fire 35 miscreants were killed,” said a short state-ment issued by the military’s public relations wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations.
“Eight security personnel also embraced martyrdom and 15 were injured,” it added. Independent confirmation of death tolls is largely impos-sible in the tribal region. The
wounded troops were ferried to the Combined Military Hospital in Thall area.
On January 25, security forces had wrenched back control of the strategic Jogi heights from Taliban in-surgents. Six paramilitary Frontier Corps troops were killed in the operation de-scribed by the military as a ‘big success’.
“The post was established to sever a frequently used route MAJOR ASSAULT, PAGE 9
VIOLENCE
10 more killed in Karachi
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI. At least 10 more people were gunned down in drive-by shootings in Karachi, where about 30 people have lost their lives in fresh sectarian and political violence in January.
A Shia from Gilgit-Baltistan, Naeem Abbas, 26, who had arrived in Karachi two months ago, was shot in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. A vegetable seller from Swat, Omar Rahman, 40, was shot dead in Bawani Chali.
A 56-year-old watchman Mohammad Ahmed was VIOLENCE, PAGE 9
A ANALYSIS
CASUALTIES
15is the number of troops who were wounded while defend-ing the Jogi check-post
Kurram shares its eastern border with the Orakzai and Khyber Agency, and western border with Afghanistan
"For us to be able to
get them [militants]
in another way would
involve probably a lot
more intrusive
military action
US President Barack Obama
"Pakistan military
leaders have had lim-
ited success against al
Qaeda, other foreign
fighters and Pakistani
militants
Director National Intelligence James Clapper
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 11
SOURCE: KARACHISARAF SOURCE: Forex
US Dollar 90.3 90.65
UK Pound Sterling 141.2 143
Euro 118.2 120
Japanese Yen 1.167 1.180
Chinese Yuan 13 13.5
Saudi Riyal 23.95 24.35
UAE Dirham 24.45 24.85
Indian Rupee 1.75 1.85
Australian Dollar 95.3 96.4
Canadian Dollar 89.5 96.4
SOURCE: FOREX.COM.PK
1.44%is the increase in profit of Netsol Technologies to Rs170.6 million during July to December 2011 against the preceding year’s Rs168.13 million. OUR CORRESPONDENT
A RESULT
OPEN MARKET EXCHANGE RATES
FORECAST
Kinnow export target to be missedISLAMABAD. Despite achieving bumper crop this year, Kinnow export target of 0.3 million tons is expected to be missed following the loss of the Iranian market, according to Harvest Tradings. Besides, the Indonesian market, where at least 45,000 tons export of the fruit was expected to be made after concluding the already approved Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), also remained untapped due to negligence of the relevant public sector, said Harvest Tradings Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Jawad. “So far, around 88,000 tons of kinnow against the expected 0.1 million tons have been exported by the mid-Jan with total revenue touching only $54 million,” he said adding that overall export of the fruit is now hardly touching 0.2 million tons this year against target of 0.3 million tons. APP
TENDER
TCP buys sugar at Rs45,720 per tonKARACHI. The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), in response to a tender for purchase of sugar floated on January 23, has awarded contracts to two sugar mills for 10,000 tons at a price of Rs45,720 per ton. Earlier, the TCP received 53 bids from local sugar mills quoting rates in the range of Rs45,720 to Rs50,000 per ton. Two mills, Hunza Sugar Mills Unit-I and Unit-II – of-fered the lowest price of Rs45,720 per ton for 5,000 tons each. “Being the lowest and conforming to all tender terms and conditions, the offers of these mills were accepted and they were awarded contracts for a total quantity of 10,000 tons,” the TCP said in a press release. However, the TCP said in order to complete the purchase of total targeted quantity of 100,000 tons, rest of the bidders, who quoted higher rates in the ten-der opened on Tuesday, had been asked to match the lowest bid price by Wednesday. OUR CORRESPONDENT
CURRENCY
Rupee weakens against dollarKARACHI. The rupee ended weaker at 90.40/45 to the dol-lar, compared with Monday’s close of 90.35/42, driven by increased import payments. The rupee touched a record low of 91.28 to the dollar on January 9, pressured by concerns about higher payments for oil imports and the country’s economic health, especially a weakening current account. The current account recorded a pro-visional deficit of $2.15 billion in the first six months of fiscal 2012, compared with a surplus of $8 million in the same period last year, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan. The deficit is likely to widen further in the coming months because of debt repay-ments and a lack of external aid. In the money market, overnight rates ended flat at 11.90 per cent, unchanged from Monday’s close, due to a lack of liquidity in the interbank market. REUTERS
KSE-100index
11,991.37
11,962.25
11,933.13
11,904.01
11,874.89 11,874
11,991
SOURCE: KSE Tu W Th F M Tu
0.25%
0.97%
Co tt onper maund
5,700
5,8005,800
5,775
5,750
5,725
5,700
SOURCE: KCA W Th F S M Tu
GOLDper 10 grams
50,057
48,343
DOLLAR VS RUPEEinter-bank
EURO VS RUPEEinter-bank
117.07
118.6890
89.975
89.95
89.925
89.8
118.68
118.2775
117.875
117.4725
117.07
50,057
49,607
49,157
48,707
48,257
11.85
11.8375
11.825
11.8125
11.8 W Th F S M Tu W Th F S M Tu W Th F S M Tu
SOURCE: Forex
90
89.9
KIBOR 6 MONTHSin percentage
11.85
11.82
SOURCE: SBP W Th F S M Tu
1.38%
3.55%
0.11% 1.72
%
A SHAHBAZ RANA
ISLAMABAD
The government on Tuesday relaxed a ban on sugar export and allowed the private sec-tor to export 100,000 tons, a move aimed at stabilising prices in the local market and resolving cash flow problems of mills.
The decision was taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, the highest economic decision-making body. Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired the meeting.
The government had banned sugar export in 2009. On Monday, sugar contracts were settled at $634.2 per ton in the London Futures Exchange.
Javed Kayani, President of All Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, the lobby work-ing to safeguard the interests of sugar mills, cautiously wel-comed the move. “It’s a good beginning that will partly re-solve our cash flow problems but sugar mills had sought permission to export 500,000 tons,” he said.
The government has already
decided to purchase 478,000 tons of sugar to arrest the price fall after millers com-plained that they were suf-fering heavy losses.
Ex-factory price of sugar is Rs45-46 per kg while in the wholesale market it is being sold for Rs48-50 per kg. A few months ago, the prices were above Rs65 per kg.
“The decision will partly help increase prices but the government will likely allow export of another 200,000 to 300,000 tons by the end of March due to an expected bumper crop,” said Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan of PML-Q, whose family owns and runs sugar mills.
He said production this year was expected to jump to over 5.2 million tons.
“The decision to allow ex-port was taken after a detailed review of the sugar situation in the country,” said the fi-nance ministry.
In its previous meeting, the ECC had constituted a committee under the chair-manship of Textile Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin to assess the impact of
sugar export and submit recommendations.
The committee, in its rec-ommendations, suggested that 200,000 tons may be ex-ported by the private sector on a first-come-first-served basis.
In the meeting, the ECC was
briefed that sugar stocks from the 2010-11 crushing season stood at 900,000 tons and this year’s crop is expected to give a record production of 4.5 to 4.9 million tons. Annual con-sumption is estimated at 4.2 million tons.
Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh cautioned the min-istries concerned to ensure that no single party benefit-ted from the export permis-sion and finalise modalities in coordination with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Cotton purchase proposal rejected
The ECC rejected the textile ministry’s proposal, seeking purchase of one million cot-ton bales from the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association for “stabilising falling prices of the commodity”.
The ministry had proposed cotton purchase at Rs6,500 per maund. Had the decision been taken, it would have cost the exchequer Rs6.5 billion.
However, during the ECC deliberations it was observed that only a small stock of less than 10 per cent was left with the cotton growers and any in-tervention in such a situation would not be prudent.
“The ECC decided that the policy of free market should continue and market forces be allowed to define the prices of cotton,” said the finance ministry. The committee de-ferred a summary moved by the Ministry of Water and Power for levy of sales tax on hydroelectric power sector and asked the ministry to revisit the committee along with Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) chairman.
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
ISLAMABAD
Tax collection in January has fallen Rs10 to 16 billion short of the target, which may make it difficult for the government to meet budget estimates.
Sources in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) told The Express Tribune that according to provisional figures Rs124 billion in taxes were collected in January against the target of Rs140 billion. However, the figure was Rs15.6 billion or 14.8 per cent higher than the same month last year.
It was probably for the first time in the ongoing fiscal year that the growth in revenue collection has fallen below nominal gross domestic prod-uct (GDP) growth (12 per cent inflation plus 4 per cent GDP). According to tax experts, any growth which is above the nominal GDP rate is consid-ered the result of FBR’s efforts.
“The figure is likely to touch Rs130 billion as some of the
transactions are still in the pipeline,” said Mahmood Alam, Officiating Chairman of FBR.
The government has set budget deficit target at 4.7 per cent of total size of economy or Rs985 billion on the basis of Rs1,952 billion tax collection. Any shortfall in tax revenues will widen the gap by the same amount.
In first half (July-December 2011) of the current fiscal year, the FBR managed to achieve av-erage growth of around 25 per cent. It needs to keep the same growth rate to achieve the full-year target. Last year, tax col-lection stood at Rs1,556 billion.
Analysts express fear that in the absence of a full-fledged
chairman, the FBR may not be able to reach the tax tar-get. Former chairman Salman Siddique retired on January 20 and the government has yet to appoint a new chief.
However, in seven months the FBR has managed to main-
tain the 25 per cent growth rate on the back of a strong performance in the first half. From July through January, it collected Rs964 billion, higher by Rs194 billion or 25.2 per cent than the corresponding period of previous year.
With objections declining, bloc likely to open doors for two years
KARACHI
The European Union aims to bolster Pakistan’s falter-ing economy by fulfilling a 16-month-old pledge to slash tariffs on dozens of textile products this spring.
With World Trade Organisation hurdles cleared, the EU could enshrine trade terms as soon as April or May, said EU ambassador to Pakistan Lars-Gunnar Wigemark. “We are hopeful these trade concessions will finally be approved by the WTO, and then adopted into law by the European Union,” Wigemark told the Financial Times. “It looks very positive.”
The bloc had agreed to grant greater market access to Pakistani exports as a good-will gesture after devastat-ing floods that tore through the country in 2010. But the proposal has been held up in a series of negotiations at the World Trade Organization, which must approve the exemptions.
EU officials are optimistic
that countries that had raised objections – including India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam – are now pre-pared to endorse the measures at a series of WTO meetings in February. France, Italy and Portugal had also initially been wary of the deal, fearing it might hurt their domestic textile industries.
EU hopes the concessions – which are due to last at least two years – will buttress a broader drive by Brussels to improve relations at a time when Pakistan’s ties with the US are at their most strained in a decade. Pakistan has lobbied western countries for greater access for its textiles – which account for some 60% of its exports – with limited success.
Under the deal, EU will remove tariffs on a list of more than 70 items, mainly textile products but also some ethanol. PPI
Medical and chemical products among the highest gainers
BEIJING
Pakistan-China bilateral trade registered an overall growth of 22% by reaching the mark of $10.6 billion in 2011 with Islamabad achieving a slight upper hand over the world’s largest exporter.
Pakistani exports increased 23% to $2.12 billion while im-ports from China the world’s largest importer grew 22%.
“If we have more exportable surplus, the vast Chinese mar-ket will be able to absorb our commodities and services. I have no doubt about that,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khan, adding that the appetite for Pakistani products was increasing.
Pakistan and China have re-solved to increase their trade to $15 billion in the next two to three years.
Pakistan’s exports to China
were $1 billion in 2008, how-ever, exports have doubled since then following imple-mentation of free trade agreement between the two countries. In the past three years, the bilateral Free Trade Commission (FTC) met twice to boost Pakistan-China trade.
Pakistani traders have been especially focusing on textiles, leather products, precious stones, and handicrafts.
“Pakistani traders are now looking eastward towards China with greater interest. This trend is growing”, the ambassador said.
In the years to come, entry points of agricultural produce from Pakistan would also be increased, added Khan.
The biggest increase in ex-ports to China during the year was in cotton yarn, home textiles, garments, copper and copper scrap, plastic scrap, leather goods, fish products, medical and surgical instru-ments, chemical products, and food stuffs. APP
Agriculturalist blames lack of research and government support
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
LAHORE
Despite being home to some of the best natural resources and favourable weather con-ditions, Pakistan’s agricul-tural production is almost 40 per cent less than neigh-bouring countries, says Kisan Board Pakistan Central Vice President Ahmad Khan.
Speaking to newly-elected office-bearers of the Agriculture Journalists Association here on Tuesday, Khan pointed out that in all major crops Pakistan’s pro-duction was the lowest in the region, which was mainly due to lack of research and govern-ment indifference.
Giving comparisons, he said that in sugarcane, through research and good farming practices, regional countries achieved production of 1,200 to 1,500 maunds (37 kg) per
acre while Pakistan harvested 500 to 600 maunds.
Similarly, the region is pro-ducing 50-60 maunds of wheat per acre compared to yields of 27-30 maunds in Pakistan. However, Khan said, some big farmers had reached higher levels, indicating the country has a similar potential.
Elaborating, he said a small number of big and influential farmers had knowledge and access to modern research. However, about 86 per cent farmers, having 12.5 acres or less land, have no access to re-search and modern technology.
Stressing the need for new re-search in all areas, he said the country needed high-yielding, weather and pest-resistant seed varieties that could pro-duce crops with less water.
Tax collection falls short of target
Permission granted
ECC allows export of 100,000 tons of sugarDecision comes in face of price drop in local market, expected bumper sugarcane crop
Govt also finalising secondary public offering of Pakistan Petroleum
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
ISLAMABAD
The board of the Privatisation Commission on Tuesday de-clared five interested parties eligible for participating in the bidding for strategic sale of 88 per cent government shares in the National Power Construction Company.
Headed by Federal Minister for Privatisation Ghous Bux Khan Mahar, the Board en-dorsed the recommendations of the Transaction Committee of the NPCC and pre-qualified five potential parties for partici-pation in the due diligence and bidding process, said the PC.
Ten parties had initially submitted Expressions of Interest for the transaction
at the initial stage while Al-Arab Contracting Company of Saudi Arabia withdrew. The government wants to make strategic sale of 88 per cent of its shares of the NPCC while the remaining 12 per cent shares have been allocated for distribution among employ-ees under Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme (BESOS). KASB Bank is providing Financial Advisory Services for the transaction.
The pre-qualified parties in-clude three Saudi, one Korean and one Pakistani company. The Saudi companies in-clude Saudi Cable Company, Mansour Al Mosaid Company and Durat Al Masana. The other pre-qualified par-ties are GS Engineering and Construction Corporation Korea and Consortium of Fatima Trading Company Limited, Fatima Sugar & Pak-Arab Fertilizer, Pakistan.
Per Gola Holding Company, Consortium of Irink tech WLL Bahrain and Messes Tahir, Consortium of Lilley International Pakistan and Consortium of Mishal Sania Private Limited could not pre-qualify for the bidding, said an official of the PC.
The NPCC currently rated amongst top contractors and is a specialist contracting out-fit for turnkey management of Power Projects.
The PC Board also decided to fast track the capital mar-ket transactions and decided to table the timetable for the Secondary Public Offering of Pakistan Petroleum Limited
in the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation. The government wants to off load its 2.5 per cent shareholding in the PPL in the Karachi Stock Exchange and has estimated that it will get $70 mil-lion through the transaction. It has 69 per cent stakes in PPL.
In March 2011 the PC Board had finalised a roadmap for 12 capital market transac-tions to fetch $830 million. So far, no transaction has been completed.
A six member Transaction Committee is in the process of finalising the Secondary Public Offering of Pakistan Petroleum Limited. The com-mittee is headed by a senior PC board member Iftikhar ul Haq with Mahmood Nawaz Shah, Farid Malik PC Board members and the federal Secretaries Petroleum and Natural Resources, Privatisation, Finance, Chairman SECP and MD PPL as its members.
National Power Construction Company
Privatisation Commission shortlists bidders
Th e pre-qualified
parties include
three Saudi, one
Korean and one
Pakistani company
Crop production lowest
in the region
Pak-China ties
Islamabad gets a slight
upper hand in trade Th e region is
producing 50-60
maunds of wheat per
acre compared
to yields of 27-30
maunds in Pakistan
EU market access to
make headway soon Countries that had
raised objections
including India,
Bangladesh, Brazil,
Indonesia and Vietnam
are now prepared to
endorse the measures
FBR expects to receive Rs130b against target of Rs140b
MEETING HALFWAY: All Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, the lobby working to safeguard the interests of sugar mills, had sought permission to export 500,000 tons. PHOTO: FILE
Analysts express fear
that in the absence
of a full-fledged
chairman, the FBR
may not be able to
reach the tax target
"Rehman: Ajmal and I support each other
without thinking about who gets the wickets.
Our aim is to simply help the team win
FOOTBALL
Tevez lodges appeal over City fineLONDON. Troubled striker Carlos Tevez has appealed to the Premier League against the six-week fine imposed on him by Manchester City after he returned to Argentina without permission in November. City imposed the punishment on the 27-year-old after finding him guilty of gross misconduct on December 22. REUTERS
TENNIS
Seppi, Ljubicic advance in ZagrebZAGREB. Fifth-seed Andreas Seppi from Italy beat Germany’s Daniel Brands 6-4, 7-6 to advance to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors tourna-ment. Earlier, top seed Ivan Ljubicic – the 2006 champion and finalist in 2007 and 2008 – also secured his progress with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 defeat of Slovakian Karol Beck. AGENCIES
16 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 17
Pakistan spinner Abdul Rehman feels there is no element of jealousy or insecurity when he partners Saeed Ajmal in the attack
TENNIS
Zubair books spot in finalNEWS DESK. Talha Zubair cruised into the final of the 17th Sindh Tennis Association (STA) Development Series Ranking tournament with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Fahim Ramzan, according to information provided by the STA. Zubair will face either Omer Shahid or Saud Shoaib in the decider after both posted wins in their last-eight fixtures. Shahid eased past Salman Butt 6-0, 6-2 while Shoaib was leading 7-5, 1-0 when his opponent, Nazif Ahmed, retired hurt. In the under-17 juniors competition, Saud Shoaib earned a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 victory over Marib Malik to secure a berth in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, in the U13 semi-final, Hania Naveed beat Imran Lohya 8-6.
CRICKET
Warne faces legal action from cyclist
MELBOURNE. Shane Warne faced legal action after a cyclist involved in a road rage incident with the Australian leg-end plans to sue for damages to his bike. Web designer Mathew Hollingsworth, 28, is launching a civil claim in the Melbourne Magistrates Court seeking $1,575 for repairs to his hi-tech bicycle plus damages, interest and costs. Hollingsworth alleged that Warne drove his sports car into him after a robust exchange of words in peak-hour traffic in Melbourne on January 17. Warne, meanwhile, had used a series of tweets on the evening of the incident to describe his version of events while lashing out at ‘antagonistic’ cyclists. AFP
ATHLETICS
Gul, Mardan bag K-P event honoursPESHAWAR. Sadia Gul of Bannu was declared the best athlete as Mardan clinched the overall trophy at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inter-Region Girls Youth Athletic Championship. Gul bagged gold medals in the 200-metre (m), 400m and 800m to earn the best athlete award. Meanwhile, Mardan secured the overall trophy by recording 39 points with three gold, three silver and three many bronze medals. Peshawar finished second on 23 points with one gold, three sil-ver and two bronze medals while Hazara Region were third with two gold and two silver medals. APP
TENNIS
Davydenko snaps losing streak
MONTPELLIER. Third-seed Nikolay Davydenko beat Stephane Robert in straight sets to advance to the second round of the Montpellier International tournament. Davydenko entered the first-round fixture on the back of a five-game losing streak but was never troubled as he won 6-2, 6-1 in 59 minutes. Robert’s second serve proved to be his downfall as Davydenko broke his opponent on five occa-sions. Meanwhile, sixth-seed Florian Mayer faced some resistance from Gilles Muller before advancing with a 7-6, 6-3 win. French wildcard Guillaume Rufin also ad-vanced as he defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6. AGENCIES
CRICKET
Player-owned restaurant under fireCOLOMBO. The title of a Colombo restaurant jointly run by Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and batsman Kumar Sangakkara called The Crab Ministry was declared illegal. The Registrar of Companies of the Western Province said that the restaurant was originally registered as The Crab Corporation and using the word ‘ministry’ in the brand name was ‘illegal and unlawful’. The Crab Ministry was recently opened in an upmarket food court of the city. At the restaurant’s opening, Jayawardene and Sangakkara said they had both been interested in entering the food and restaurant business for some time. OUR CORRESPONDENT
HOCKEY
Heuvel to mentor coaches KARACHI. Pakistan’s head coach Michel van dan Heuvel will supervise a coaching clinic at the Hockey Club of Pakistan in Karachi next week. The Dutchman, who is in the city to oversee players’ performance at the ongoing National Hockey Championship, has been ap-pointed course conductor of the clinic, which is a part of the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s development plan to groom coaches. The five-day course, which will be attended by 17 coaches and former international players, begins on February 6. OUR CORRESPONDENT
NETBALL
Sindh gear up for national eventKARACHI. Sindh are set to launch their title defence at the 10th National Women’s Netball Championship as the tournament gets underway from February 6 at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. The event will feature 11 teams: Pakistan Army, Wapda, Higher Education Commission, Sindh, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad, Fata, Lahore Grammar School as well as the hosts. “There has been growth in the popularity of netball in recent years and we are attempting to capitalise on this trend, with different universities actively holding events to promote the sport among the youth in the coun-try,” said Pakistan Netball Federation Secretary Mudassar Arain. OUR CORRESPONDENT
TENNIS
National event for juniors kicks offISLAMABAD. The National Junior Ranking Tennis Tournament featuring over 100 male and female players starts today at the Shalimar Tennis Club, Rawalpindi. The tournament has been organised by the Punjab Tennis Association in collaboration with the Pakistan Tennis Federation. Talking to The Express Tribune, tournament director Inamul Haq said there was much unexplored talent in the country which needed to be promoted through tournaments such as this. The tournament has been divided into four categories to accommodate girls and boys in under-18 and U14 singles and doubles competitions. The event concludes on February 5. OUR CORRESPONDENT
A CRICKET
A TENNIS
"Dhoni: Captaincy’s not a
position that belongs to anyone
and it’s not something I want
to cling on to. If there’s a better
replacement for me, it’s a very
open thing — he can come in
"Murray: I’m gutted to miss
out on the Davis Cup but since
it’s the start of an important
season, which includes the
Olympics in London, it’s probably
a sensible decision
MS Dhoni clarifies that his main concern is to see India win matches, regardless of whether he retains captaincy or relinquishes it for someone more able. AGENCIES
World number four Andy Murray announces his decision to skip Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Slovakia in order to recover from a few ‘minor injuries’ picked up in Australia. AGENCIES
Port Qasim keep Navy
at bay
Only four queens to
woe the kings
Haseem scores match-winning brace in hockey championship
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
Pakistan international Haseem Khan scored a brace to hand Port Qasim a much-needed 2-1 victory over Navy in the National Hockey Championship underway at the Hockey Club of Pakistan, Karachi.
Haseem drew first blood for Port Qasim in the 27th minute and struck again in the 47th minute to help his team notch a rare win in the competition. Navy pulled one back through Sabir in the 66th minute but his effort was not enough to save his team from defeat.
Army outclass PAFMeanwhile, Army continued their good run in the competi-tion, beating PAF 3-1.
Army put PAF on the de-fensive as early as the third minute when Shahid Saleem scored the first goal of the match. Zeeshan Dilshad helped PAF draw level but Mohammad Safeer put Army in the lead in the 39th min-ute with Hassan Arif scoring 10 minutes later to complete the win.
Butt scores in WAPDA win
In the last match of the day, former Pakistan captain Rehan Butt continued his good form, helping Wapda stage a fight-back to defeat NBP 2-1.
Mohammad Atiq gave NBP the lead in the 16th minute. However, Butt levelled for Wapda just four minutes later. Aleem Bilal converted a penalty corner in the 53rd minute to put Wapda in the lead, which they maintained till the end of the match.
PIA and Wapda head the table with 10 points, having secured three wins and a draw. NBP are third, while SSGC occupy fourth place.
Lack of female players worries chess event organisers
A NATASHA RAHEEL
KARACHI
The Pakistan Chess Players’ Association (PCPA) is looking for more women players to participate in the Zahiruddin Farooqi Trophy that starts to-morrow at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi.
The tournament will see Briton Nigel Short, an inter-national Grand Master, and offers a Rs200,000 prize-money, the highest among all chess events held in the coun-try. The event features over 60 players of which only four are female, a matter of great con-cern for the organisers.
According to the PCPA Secretary Shehzad Mirza, women’s chess is still in its infancy in the country and the PCPA will short-listi four or five of the best female performers from the International School Olympiad and invite those players to take part in the competition.
“We still don’t have many professional women chess players so we’re giving a chance to the students,” Mirza told The Express Tribune.
One of the women chess
players, who will be taking part in the Zahiruddin Farooqi Trophy, said that females are discouraged from participat-ing in local events because of the discriminatory behaviour of their male counterparts. Added to this is the attitude of the national federation, which refrains from invest-ing money in women players.
Chess federation refuses to recognise event Meanwhile, the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP) President Altaf Ahmed Chaudhry has said that the Zahiruddin Farooqi Trophy is not an event recognised by the body.
“The organisers didn’t con-sult us before organising the event, so we’re not support-ing them,” said Ahmed. “We can’t bar anyone from holding chess events because we need to promote the sport but the PCPA is not a part of the CFP.”
A SCHEDULE
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
With another impressive se-ries-win in the bag, Pakistan’s interim coach Mohsin Khan, who was first appointed for the series against Sri Lanka, con-tinues to draw support from various quarters with Rashid Latif the latest voice to back his full-time appointment.
Pakistan’s ‘unprecedented show’ under Mohsin, accord-ing to Latif, which has seen the team register Test and One-Day International (ODI) series triumphs over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh before gain-ing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing Test series against England, remains a huge plus for Mohsin.
While the triumphs over Bangladesh and a struggling Sri Lanka were not deemed high-profile scalps, the twin wins over England have earned Mohsin and captain Misbahul Haq much accolade, with the coach using these results to in-fluence his appointment.
However, the former opener is not on the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) list of candidates for the head coach’s position,
with, according to reports, a deal being finalised with Dav Whatmore after his visit to Lahore last month.
“Mohsin is doing a good job,” Latif told reporters in Karachi on the sidelines of former chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed’s book launch. “We’ve seen a lot of good results under him. We’ve hardly seen such a suc-cessful coaching stint from anyone before.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi also sup-ported Mohsin, albeit through covert articulation.
“The results are in front of us,” said Afridi. “The players don’t have any issues and im-portantly the team is progress-ing well under Mohsin. But it’s up to the PCB and who they feel will be good for the team.”
‘We should go all out in final Test’On the Test series against England, Afridi said Pakistan should seek a whitewash in Dubai. “I’m hoping for a 3-0 win. It’ll be important for the continuity and will give confi-dence to the team before the limited-overs leg.”
Series triumph through hard work: RehmanMeanwhile, left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman refused to ac-cept that Pakistan’s success over the world number one Test team was a big surprise, saying the team achieved the 2-0 lead through sheer hard work.
Rehman starred in his team’s 72-run win in the second Test, claiming a career-best six for 25 to bundle England for 72 in the second innings. That gave Pakistan an unassailable lead in the series with the last match in Dubai starting from February 3.
“It’s not surprising,” Rehman told AFP. “We won because we worked really hard before the series and in the two Tests.”
However, Rehman admitted England’s capitulation was a bit surprising.
“We had no idea that it would finish in three or four days, but since the team did well and the pitches helped us we won. We’re trying to contain them so that they make mistakes. That was the game-plan. They made mistakes after getting fed up.” (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)
""Re
with
Our Pakistan spin
$0.84mis the amount former Argentina
midfielder Hernan Crespo was
bought for at the Premier League
Soccer auction, making him the
most expensive player in the Indian
tournament’s first edition. AGENCIES
A VALUE
Balochistan bowlers toil
against Punjab
Federal Areas in control against K-P in Pentangular Cup
A NEWS DESK
Usman Salahuddin scored an unbeaten century and, together with Nasir Jamshed, helped Punjab reach an impressive 335 for four on the opening day of their Pentangular Cup clash against Balochistan.
According to information provided by the Pakistan Cricket Board, Salahuddin made 103 off 210 balls after Jamshed fell short of a century, hitting 80, as Balochistan searched for breakthroughs at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Former captain Shoaib Malik scored 60 off just 78 balls and Ahmed Shehzad contributed 46 to the total as well. Rahat Ali took three for 109 to be the only note-worthy contributor for Balochistan.
Punjab have played two matches in the tournament, winning one and drawing the other. Balochistan have lost the only match they have played.
Saad troubles K-P batsmenElsewhere, Saad Altaf’s five-for enabled Federal Areas to take control of pro-ceedings against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on the opening day of their clash at the Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar.
Altaf took five for 65 as K-P were bundled out for 205 in the 53rd over before Federal Areas reached 130 for one to trail by just 75 runs at stumps. Yasir Shah, with 49, and Waqar Ahmed (35) were the only notable scor-ers for K-P.
In reply, Afaq Raheem made 67 and Umair Khan hit 44 to take Federal Areas to a dominant position.
K-P have lost both their en-counters in the tournament and Federal Areas are search-ing for their first win after managing a draw in their opening clash.
Mohsin saga
Coach getsapproval from Latif, Afridi
GUIDANCE: Mohsin’s impressive stint with the team includes Test triumphs over Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and England and has seen the team lose just one match – a One-Day International – out of 17 games. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan-India series
BCCI president keen on revival: PCB chief Zaka Ashraf holds ‘constructive meeting’ with Srinivasan
A FAWAD HUSSAIN
KARACHI
Attempts to revive bilateral series between Pakistan and India keep being made but the road seems to end at the Indian government’s doorstep.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been looking for a breakthrough that will bring an end to the deadlock which has deprived fans on both sides of the border of bilateral action since the Mumbai at-tacks in November 2008.
In a bid to resume ties, Ashraf and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President N Srinivasan met on the sidelines of the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai. The PCB chief said the meeting held to specifically discuss the resumption was ‘construc-tive’ as the Indian board chief ‘showed keen interest’ in re-viving cricket ties.
“We held a meeting to dis-cuss the revival of bilateral series,” Ashraf told The Express Tribune from Dubai. “It was a constructive meeting as the BCCI president showed keen interest in resuming cricket ties. Srinivasan agreed to re-sume the series. However, he said the BCCI requires its gov-
ernment’s nod over the matter before finalising anything.”
PCB has government’s approval While the BCCI rested the burden of resumption on its
government, the PCB chief hinted at having the approval from its end.
“The PCB is making ef-forts with support from the Pakistan government and the foreign ministry. It’s because fans are keen to see Pakistan and India play again on a reg-ular basis.”
Meeting a breakthrough: Official Uncertainty still revolved around the schedule and the Indian government’s approval is still in the pipeline but a PCB official termed the meet-
ing a huge breakthrough. “The meeting itself is a posi-
tive development,” said the official. “It’s because the two cricketing chiefs finally met after a long time. Initially, we failed to hold talks de-spite repeated attempts,” he said while referring to the Asian Cricket Council meet-ing in December, where the PCB chief failed to meet Srinivasan.
“But now the chances have increased. Hopefully, the Indian government will soon give the green signal as well.”
UNDER CONSIDERATION: While the BCCI president agreed on principle that a series should be held, he can only finalise plans after an approval from the Indian government, according to Ashraf. PHOTO: AFP
Good results should lead to continuity, says former wicket-keeper
Twenty20 series
Shorter format, bigger chanceDhoni looks to young guns as Bailey takes up Australia’s captaincy
SYDNEY
Following a disastrous Test se-ries, the limited-overs leg of India’s tour of Australia kicks off today with the first of two Twenty20 Internationals as the touring captain MS Dhoni looks to leave behind the hor-rors of the 4-0 whitewash.
India should be more com-fortable playing in a format in which they have been world champions and have also won three of their last five Twenty20s. With India and Australia having won two Twenty20s each against each other, both teams would be looking towards improving their records.
Dhoni believes that the in-clusion of talented youngsters in the team will help him do just that, feeling that the younger brigade has helped in lightening up the dress-ing-room atmosphere, and has also ensured that fielding standards will also improve during the series.
“Our limited-overs side looks very different from our Test team,” said Dhoni. “The new boys who have come in are noisier, which really helps lift the dressing-room atmo-sphere and everything is more lively. I don’t think it’s very difficult to stay positive de-spite a disastrous tour so far.
“We’ve really improved as
a fielding side, especially in the shorter formats. On av-erage, out of four fielders,
three of them can really stop the batsmen taking a quick single. When it’s needed in the slog overs, they can field at the boundary without much hassle. I don’t have to be too worried about placing the right fielders at the right position.”
Bailey wants to continue momentumWhile Dhoni has the distinc-tion of leading his team the most times in Twenty20s,
Australia will see a new cap-tain, who is yet to make his international debut, taking up the reigns.
However, George Bailey did not seem overawed by the prospect of leading his national team on debut and declared that Australia would do everything to ensure the visitors’ disastrous tour continues.
“It’s important we continue the momentum of the Test team, not just in the cricket
they played, but in the standards they’re setting at their training,” said Bailey. “We’ve talked about that as a T20 group to continue what the Test side started and allowing the One-Day International team to have that feeling when they get together as well. Every op-portunity we get to hit the ground running, we have to take.”
Bailey said he was excited at the prospect of leading
Australia and realised that it was a huge responsibility.
“I’m just excited to be here and be leading and hopefully continuing on the great start to the summer that Australia have had,” he said. “I’m ner-vous about captaincy and debut.
“From the playing aspect you’re anxious to get out there and perform, and the captaining side of things I’m really comfortable with that.” AGENCIES
ALL PRAISE FOR YOUNG BLOOD: The younger Indian players have made the dressing room livelier and improved the fielding standards, according to Dhoni. PHOTO: FILE AFP
FORMULA ONE
Sutil handed suspended sentence
MUNICH. Former Force India driver Adrian Sutil was found guilty of grievous bodily harm by a Munich court and given an 18-month suspended sentence along with a $262,300 fine for a night club brawl in China last year.
The 29-year-old German, who has failed to secure a seat for the new season so far, was found guilty of injuring Eric Lux, chief ex-ecutive of Renault F1 team owners Genii Capital, in a Shanghai nightclub after the Chinese Grand Prix. Lux needed several stitches for a neck wound after Sutil injured him with a cham-pagne glass.
Sutil had denied it was his intention to hurt Lux but rather to throw a drink in his face. REUTERS
BOOK LAUNCH
Sallu shares his story
IN GOOD COMPANY: Former Test cricket and chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu presents his book to Hanif Mohammad at the launch of Sallu Aap Beeti in Karachi yesterday. Apart from Shahid Afridi, other guests included Jahangir Khan, Moin Khan, Rashid Latif, Jalaluddin and Saeed Anwar. PHOTO: EXPRESS
FINE EFFORT: Haseem’s goals either side of the break helped his side to a rare win in the competition. PHOTO: FILE AFP
Rashid Latif“Mohsin is doing a good job. We have seen a lot of good results under him and we’ve hardly seen such a successful coaching stint from anyone before in Pakistan’s history.”
Shahid Afridi“The players do not have any issues and importantly the team is progressing well under Mohsin. But it’s up to the PCB and who they feel will be a good choice for the team.”
Imran Khan“Misbah has provided the continuity and has got the team to be behind him... He is calm on the field and gets the work done quietly. However, I am not a big one for coaches.”
SOLID DEFENCE
210is the number of deliveries Usman Salahuddin has so far faced for an unbeaten 103
RECORD
27is the number of Twenty20s MS Dhoni has led his country in, the most by any Indian
"Th e meeting
itself is a positive
development because
the two cricket chiefs
finally met after a
long time
PCB official
IN GOOD TOUCH: Usman Salahuddin’s patient unbeaten century helped Punjab build a solid foundation. PHOTO: AFP
"We still don’t have
many professional
women chess
players so we’re
giving a chance to
the students
PCPA Secretary Shehzad Mirza
"Rehman: Ajmal and I support each other
without thinking about who gets the wickets.
Our aim is to simply help the team win
FOOTBALL
Tevez lodges appeal over City fineLONDON. Troubled striker Carlos Tevez has appealed to the Premier League against the six-week fine imposed on him by Manchester City after he returned to Argentina without permission in November. City imposed the punishment on the 27-year-old after finding him guilty of gross misconduct on December 22. REUTERS
TENNIS
Seppi, Ljubicic advance in ZagrebZAGREB. Fifth-seed Andreas Seppi from Italy beat Germany’s Daniel Brands 6-4, 7-6 to advance to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors tourna-ment. Earlier, top seed Ivan Ljubicic – the 2006 champion and finalist in 2007 and 2008 – also secured his progress with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 defeat of Slovakian Karol Beck. AGENCIES
16 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 17
Pakistan spinner Abdul Rehman feels there is no element of jealousy or insecurity when he partners Saeed Ajmal in the attack
TENNIS
Zubair books spot in finalNEWS DESK. Talha Zubair cruised into the final of the 17th Sindh Tennis Association (STA) Development Series Ranking tournament with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Fahim Ramzan, according to information provided by the STA. Zubair will face either Omer Shahid or Saud Shoaib in the decider after both posted wins in their last-eight fixtures. Shahid eased past Salman Butt 6-0, 6-2 while Shoaib was leading 7-5, 1-0 when his opponent, Nazif Ahmed, retired hurt. In the under-17 juniors competition, Saud Shoaib earned a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 victory over Marib Malik to secure a berth in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, in the U13 semi-final, Hania Naveed beat Imran Lohya 8-6.
CRICKET
Warne faces legal action from cyclist
MELBOURNE. Shane Warne faced legal action after a cyclist involved in a road rage incident with the Australian leg-end plans to sue for damages to his bike. Web designer Mathew Hollingsworth, 28, is launching a civil claim in the Melbourne Magistrates Court seeking $1,575 for repairs to his hi-tech bicycle plus damages, interest and costs. Hollingsworth alleged that Warne drove his sports car into him after a robust exchange of words in peak-hour traffic in Melbourne on January 17. Warne, meanwhile, had used a series of tweets on the evening of the incident to describe his version of events while lashing out at ‘antagonistic’ cyclists. AFP
ATHLETICS
Gul, Mardan bag K-P event honoursPESHAWAR. Sadia Gul of Bannu was declared the best athlete as Mardan clinched the overall trophy at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inter-Region Girls Youth Athletic Championship. Gul bagged gold medals in the 200-metre (m), 400m and 800m to earn the best athlete award. Meanwhile, Mardan secured the overall trophy by recording 39 points with three gold, three silver and three many bronze medals. Peshawar finished second on 23 points with one gold, three sil-ver and two bronze medals while Hazara Region were third with two gold and two silver medals. APP
TENNIS
Davydenko snaps losing streak
MONTPELLIER. Third-seed Nikolay Davydenko beat Stephane Robert in straight sets to advance to the second round of the Montpellier International tournament. Davydenko entered the first-round fixture on the back of a five-game losing streak but was never troubled as he won 6-2, 6-1 in 59 minutes. Robert’s second serve proved to be his downfall as Davydenko broke his opponent on five occa-sions. Meanwhile, sixth-seed Florian Mayer faced some resistance from Gilles Muller before advancing with a 7-6, 6-3 win. French wildcard Guillaume Rufin also ad-vanced as he defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6. AGENCIES
CRICKET
Player-owned restaurant under fireCOLOMBO. The title of a Colombo restaurant jointly run by Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and batsman Kumar Sangakkara called The Crab Ministry was declared illegal. The Registrar of Companies of the Western Province said that the restaurant was originally registered as The Crab Corporation and using the word ‘ministry’ in the brand name was ‘illegal and unlawful’. The Crab Ministry was recently opened in an upmarket food court of the city. At the restaurant’s opening, Jayawardene and Sangakkara said they had both been interested in entering the food and restaurant business for some time. OUR CORRESPONDENT
HOCKEY
Heuvel to mentor coaches KARACHI. Pakistan’s head coach Michel van dan Heuvel will supervise a coaching clinic at the Hockey Club of Pakistan in Karachi next week. The Dutchman, who is in the city to oversee players’ performance at the ongoing National Hockey Championship, has been ap-pointed course conductor of the clinic, which is a part of the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s development plan to groom coaches. The five-day course, which will be attended by 17 coaches and former international players, begins on February 6. OUR CORRESPONDENT
NETBALL
Sindh gear up for national eventKARACHI. Sindh are set to launch their title defence at the 10th National Women’s Netball Championship as the tournament gets underway from February 6 at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. The event will feature 11 teams: Pakistan Army, Wapda, Higher Education Commission, Sindh, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad, Fata, Lahore Grammar School as well as the hosts. “There has been growth in the popularity of netball in recent years and we are attempting to capitalise on this trend, with different universities actively holding events to promote the sport among the youth in the coun-try,” said Pakistan Netball Federation Secretary Mudassar Arain. OUR CORRESPONDENT
TENNIS
National event for juniors kicks offISLAMABAD. The National Junior Ranking Tennis Tournament featuring over 100 male and female players starts today at the Shalimar Tennis Club, Rawalpindi. The tournament has been organised by the Punjab Tennis Association in collaboration with the Pakistan Tennis Federation. Talking to The Express Tribune, tournament director Inamul Haq said there was much unexplored talent in the country which needed to be promoted through tournaments such as this. The tournament has been divided into four categories to accommodate girls and boys in under-18 and U14 singles and doubles competitions. The event concludes on February 5. OUR CORRESPONDENT
A CRICKET
A TENNIS
"Dhoni: Captaincy’s not a
position that belongs to anyone
and it’s not something I want
to cling on to. If there’s a better
replacement for me, it’s a very
open thing — he can come in
"Murray: I’m gutted to miss
out on the Davis Cup but since
it’s the start of an important
season, which includes the
Olympics in London, it’s probably
a sensible decision
MS Dhoni clarifies that his main concern is to see India win matches, regardless of whether he retains captaincy or relinquishes it for someone more able. AGENCIES
World number four Andy Murray announces his decision to skip Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Slovakia in order to recover from a few ‘minor injuries’ picked up in Australia. AGENCIES
Port Qasim keep Navy
at bay
Only four queens to
woe the kings
Haseem scores match-winning brace in hockey championship
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
Pakistan international Haseem Khan scored a brace to hand Port Qasim a much-needed 2-1 victory over Navy in the National Hockey Championship underway at the Hockey Club of Pakistan, Karachi.
Haseem drew first blood for Port Qasim in the 27th minute and struck again in the 47th minute to help his team notch a rare win in the competition. Navy pulled one back through Sabir in the 66th minute but his effort was not enough to save his team from defeat.
Army outclass PAFMeanwhile, Army continued their good run in the competi-tion, beating PAF 3-1.
Army put PAF on the de-fensive as early as the third minute when Shahid Saleem scored the first goal of the match. Zeeshan Dilshad helped PAF draw level but Mohammad Safeer put Army in the lead in the 39th min-ute with Hassan Arif scoring 10 minutes later to complete the win.
Butt scores in WAPDA win
In the last match of the day, former Pakistan captain Rehan Butt continued his good form, helping Wapda stage a fight-back to defeat NBP 2-1.
Mohammad Atiq gave NBP the lead in the 16th minute. However, Butt levelled for Wapda just four minutes later. Aleem Bilal converted a penalty corner in the 53rd minute to put Wapda in the lead, which they maintained till the end of the match.
PIA and Wapda head the table with 10 points, having secured three wins and a draw. NBP are third, while SSGC occupy fourth place.
Lack of female players worries chess event organisers
A NATASHA RAHEEL
KARACHI
The Pakistan Chess Players’ Association (PCPA) is looking for more women players to participate in the Zahiruddin Farooqi Trophy that starts to-morrow at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi.
The tournament will see Briton Nigel Short, an inter-national Grand Master, and offers a Rs200,000 prize-money, the highest among all chess events held in the coun-try. The event features over 60 players of which only four are female, a matter of great con-cern for the organisers.
According to the PCPA Secretary Shehzad Mirza, women’s chess is still in its infancy in the country and the PCPA will short-listi four or five of the best female performers from the International School Olympiad and invite those players to take part in the competition.
“We still don’t have many professional women chess players so we’re giving a chance to the students,” Mirza told The Express Tribune.
One of the women chess
players, who will be taking part in the Zahiruddin Farooqi Trophy, said that females are discouraged from participat-ing in local events because of the discriminatory behaviour of their male counterparts. Added to this is the attitude of the national federation, which refrains from invest-ing money in women players.
Chess federation refuses to recognise event Meanwhile, the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP) President Altaf Ahmed Chaudhry has said that the Zahiruddin Farooqi Trophy is not an event recognised by the body.
“The organisers didn’t con-sult us before organising the event, so we’re not support-ing them,” said Ahmed. “We can’t bar anyone from holding chess events because we need to promote the sport but the PCPA is not a part of the CFP.”
A SCHEDULE
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
With another impressive se-ries-win in the bag, Pakistan’s interim coach Mohsin Khan, who was first appointed for the series against Sri Lanka, con-tinues to draw support from various quarters with Rashid Latif the latest voice to back his full-time appointment.
Pakistan’s ‘unprecedented show’ under Mohsin, accord-ing to Latif, which has seen the team register Test and One-Day International (ODI) series triumphs over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh before gain-ing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing Test series against England, remains a huge plus for Mohsin.
While the triumphs over Bangladesh and a struggling Sri Lanka were not deemed high-profile scalps, the twin wins over England have earned Mohsin and captain Misbahul Haq much accolade, with the coach using these results to in-fluence his appointment.
However, the former opener is not on the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) list of candidates for the head coach’s position,
with, according to reports, a deal being finalised with Dav Whatmore after his visit to Lahore last month.
“Mohsin is doing a good job,” Latif told reporters in Karachi on the sidelines of former chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed’s book launch. “We’ve seen a lot of good results under him. We’ve hardly seen such a suc-cessful coaching stint from anyone before.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi also sup-ported Mohsin, albeit through covert articulation.
“The results are in front of us,” said Afridi. “The players don’t have any issues and im-portantly the team is progress-ing well under Mohsin. But it’s up to the PCB and who they feel will be good for the team.”
‘We should go all out in final Test’On the Test series against England, Afridi said Pakistan should seek a whitewash in Dubai. “I’m hoping for a 3-0 win. It’ll be important for the continuity and will give confi-dence to the team before the limited-overs leg.”
Series triumph through hard work: RehmanMeanwhile, left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman refused to ac-cept that Pakistan’s success over the world number one Test team was a big surprise, saying the team achieved the 2-0 lead through sheer hard work.
Rehman starred in his team’s 72-run win in the second Test, claiming a career-best six for 25 to bundle England for 72 in the second innings. That gave Pakistan an unassailable lead in the series with the last match in Dubai starting from February 3.
“It’s not surprising,” Rehman told AFP. “We won because we worked really hard before the series and in the two Tests.”
However, Rehman admitted England’s capitulation was a bit surprising.
“We had no idea that it would finish in three or four days, but since the team did well and the pitches helped us we won. We’re trying to contain them so that they make mistakes. That was the game-plan. They made mistakes after getting fed up.” (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)
""Re
with
Our Pakistan spin
$0.84mis the amount former Argentina
midfielder Hernan Crespo was
bought for at the Premier League
Soccer auction, making him the
most expensive player in the Indian
tournament’s first edition. AGENCIES
A VALUE
Balochistan bowlers toil
against Punjab
Federal Areas in control against K-P in Pentangular Cup
A NEWS DESK
Usman Salahuddin scored an unbeaten century and, together with Nasir Jamshed, helped Punjab reach an impressive 335 for four on the opening day of their Pentangular Cup clash against Balochistan.
According to information provided by the Pakistan Cricket Board, Salahuddin made 103 off 210 balls after Jamshed fell short of a century, hitting 80, as Balochistan searched for breakthroughs at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Former captain Shoaib Malik scored 60 off just 78 balls and Ahmed Shehzad contributed 46 to the total as well. Rahat Ali took three for 109 to be the only note-worthy contributor for Balochistan.
Punjab have played two matches in the tournament, winning one and drawing the other. Balochistan have lost the only match they have played.
Saad troubles K-P batsmenElsewhere, Saad Altaf’s five-for enabled Federal Areas to take control of pro-ceedings against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on the opening day of their clash at the Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar.
Altaf took five for 65 as K-P were bundled out for 205 in the 53rd over before Federal Areas reached 130 for one to trail by just 75 runs at stumps. Yasir Shah, with 49, and Waqar Ahmed (35) were the only notable scor-ers for K-P.
In reply, Afaq Raheem made 67 and Umair Khan hit 44 to take Federal Areas to a dominant position.
K-P have lost both their en-counters in the tournament and Federal Areas are search-ing for their first win after managing a draw in their opening clash.
Mohsin saga
Coach getsapproval from Latif, Afridi
GUIDANCE: Mohsin’s impressive stint with the team includes Test triumphs over Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and England and has seen the team lose just one match – a One-Day International – out of 17 games. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan-India series
BCCI president keen on revival: PCB chief Zaka Ashraf holds ‘constructive meeting’ with Srinivasan
A FAWAD HUSSAIN
KARACHI
Attempts to revive bilateral series between Pakistan and India keep being made but the road seems to end at the Indian government’s doorstep.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been looking for a breakthrough that will bring an end to the deadlock which has deprived fans on both sides of the border of bilateral action since the Mumbai at-tacks in November 2008.
In a bid to resume ties, Ashraf and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President N Srinivasan met on the sidelines of the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai. The PCB chief said the meeting held to specifically discuss the resumption was ‘construc-tive’ as the Indian board chief ‘showed keen interest’ in re-viving cricket ties.
“We held a meeting to dis-cuss the revival of bilateral series,” Ashraf told The Express Tribune from Dubai. “It was a constructive meeting as the BCCI president showed keen interest in resuming cricket ties. Srinivasan agreed to re-sume the series. However, he said the BCCI requires its gov-
ernment’s nod over the matter before finalising anything.”
PCB has government’s approval While the BCCI rested the burden of resumption on its
government, the PCB chief hinted at having the approval from its end.
“The PCB is making ef-forts with support from the Pakistan government and the foreign ministry. It’s because fans are keen to see Pakistan and India play again on a reg-ular basis.”
Meeting a breakthrough: Official Uncertainty still revolved around the schedule and the Indian government’s approval is still in the pipeline but a PCB official termed the meet-
ing a huge breakthrough. “The meeting itself is a posi-
tive development,” said the official. “It’s because the two cricketing chiefs finally met after a long time. Initially, we failed to hold talks de-spite repeated attempts,” he said while referring to the Asian Cricket Council meet-ing in December, where the PCB chief failed to meet Srinivasan.
“But now the chances have increased. Hopefully, the Indian government will soon give the green signal as well.”
UNDER CONSIDERATION: While the BCCI president agreed on principle that a series should be held, he can only finalise plans after an approval from the Indian government, according to Ashraf. PHOTO: AFP
Good results should lead to continuity, says former wicket-keeper
Twenty20 series
Shorter format, bigger chanceDhoni looks to young guns as Bailey takes up Australia’s captaincy
SYDNEY
Following a disastrous Test se-ries, the limited-overs leg of India’s tour of Australia kicks off today with the first of two Twenty20 Internationals as the touring captain MS Dhoni looks to leave behind the hor-rors of the 4-0 whitewash.
India should be more com-fortable playing in a format in which they have been world champions and have also won three of their last five Twenty20s. With India and Australia having won two Twenty20s each against each other, both teams would be looking towards improving their records.
Dhoni believes that the in-clusion of talented youngsters in the team will help him do just that, feeling that the younger brigade has helped in lightening up the dress-ing-room atmosphere, and has also ensured that fielding standards will also improve during the series.
“Our limited-overs side looks very different from our Test team,” said Dhoni. “The new boys who have come in are noisier, which really helps lift the dressing-room atmo-sphere and everything is more lively. I don’t think it’s very difficult to stay positive de-spite a disastrous tour so far.
“We’ve really improved as
a fielding side, especially in the shorter formats. On av-erage, out of four fielders,
three of them can really stop the batsmen taking a quick single. When it’s needed in the slog overs, they can field at the boundary without much hassle. I don’t have to be too worried about placing the right fielders at the right position.”
Bailey wants to continue momentumWhile Dhoni has the distinc-tion of leading his team the most times in Twenty20s,
Australia will see a new cap-tain, who is yet to make his international debut, taking up the reigns.
However, George Bailey did not seem overawed by the prospect of leading his national team on debut and declared that Australia would do everything to ensure the visitors’ disastrous tour continues.
“It’s important we continue the momentum of the Test team, not just in the cricket
they played, but in the standards they’re setting at their training,” said Bailey. “We’ve talked about that as a T20 group to continue what the Test side started and allowing the One-Day International team to have that feeling when they get together as well. Every op-portunity we get to hit the ground running, we have to take.”
Bailey said he was excited at the prospect of leading
Australia and realised that it was a huge responsibility.
“I’m just excited to be here and be leading and hopefully continuing on the great start to the summer that Australia have had,” he said. “I’m ner-vous about captaincy and debut.
“From the playing aspect you’re anxious to get out there and perform, and the captaining side of things I’m really comfortable with that.” AGENCIES
ALL PRAISE FOR YOUNG BLOOD: The younger Indian players have made the dressing room livelier and improved the fielding standards, according to Dhoni. PHOTO: FILE AFP
FORMULA ONE
Sutil handed suspended sentence
MUNICH. Former Force India driver Adrian Sutil was found guilty of grievous bodily harm by a Munich court and given an 18-month suspended sentence along with a $262,300 fine for a night club brawl in China last year.
The 29-year-old German, who has failed to secure a seat for the new season so far, was found guilty of injuring Eric Lux, chief ex-ecutive of Renault F1 team owners Genii Capital, in a Shanghai nightclub after the Chinese Grand Prix. Lux needed several stitches for a neck wound after Sutil injured him with a cham-pagne glass.
Sutil had denied it was his intention to hurt Lux but rather to throw a drink in his face. REUTERS
BOOK LAUNCH
Sallu shares his story
IN GOOD COMPANY: Former Test cricket and chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu presents his book to Hanif Mohammad at the launch of Sallu Aap Beeti in Karachi yesterday. Apart from Shahid Afridi, other guests included Jahangir Khan, Moin Khan, Rashid Latif, Jalaluddin and Saeed Anwar. PHOTO: EXPRESS
FINE EFFORT: Haseem’s goals either side of the break helped his side to a rare win in the competition. PHOTO: FILE AFP
Rashid Latif“Mohsin is doing a good job. We have seen a lot of good results under him and we’ve hardly seen such a successful coaching stint from anyone before in Pakistan’s history.”
Shahid Afridi“The players do not have any issues and importantly the team is progressing well under Mohsin. But it’s up to the PCB and who they feel will be a good choice for the team.”
Imran Khan“Misbah has provided the continuity and has got the team to be behind him... He is calm on the field and gets the work done quietly. However, I am not a big one for coaches.”
SOLID DEFENCE
210is the number of deliveries Usman Salahuddin has so far faced for an unbeaten 103
RECORD
27is the number of Twenty20s MS Dhoni has led his country in, the most by any Indian
"Th e meeting
itself is a positive
development because
the two cricket chiefs
finally met after a
long time
PCB official
IN GOOD TOUCH: Usman Salahuddin’s patient unbeaten century helped Punjab build a solid foundation. PHOTO: AFP
"We still don’t have
many professional
women chess
players so we’re
giving a chance to
the students
PCPA Secretary Shehzad Mirza
2 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
"Mirza: We should engage in mutually beneficial
mechanism of resource sharing and lay the foundations
of sustainable democracies in our respective countriesNational Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, addressing the 7th Conference of Parliamentary Union of Islamic Countries
21Kashmiris exchanged sides from
Taitrinote- Chakan-Da-Bagh by
crossing the Line of Control from
the Rawalakot-Poonch route in
the weekly bus service, official
sources said. OUR CORRESPONDENT
A CROSS BORDER TRAVEL
A debate was held in Senate to address concerns about fuel adjustment surcharge (FAS) being added to electric-ity bills. The government was urged to facilitate the con-sumers by withdrawing the tax. Senators claimed that the burden of huge debts taken by the government to bankroll bankrupt institu-tions should not fall on the public. Minimum amount of FAS is about Rs800 for the month of January and the underprivileged people cannot afford it. People of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) condemned the extra cost and questioned the govern-ment’s motive for imposing it in the first place. They claim that since there is no thermal electricity in K-P, the public should not have to pay surcharge.The people of K-P are always
being exploited by the government. Not only is the province self-sufficient in producing hydroelectricity, in fact it produces surplus. Thus, imposing FAS in K-P is not justifiable.The people are demanding exemption from having to pay FAS and this claim is justified in the absence of thermal power stations in the region. Despite being a major electricity producer, K-P faces abnormally long hours of load-shedding and inflated electricity bills. The FAS is an additional unfair burden on the public and the government should immediately withdraw this tax to ease troubles of the marginalised people of K-P. THIS EDITORIAL, SELECTED AND
TRANSLATED BY FAZAL KHALIQ, WAS
FIRST PUBLISHED IN SWAT’S URDU
DAILY CHAND, ON JANUARY 31, 2012.
LOCAL VOICES
A new, unfair burden on K-P’s public
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
ISLAMABAD
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Tuesday di-rected the Ministry of Defence to brief the committee regard-ing an amendment that called for all defence-related agree-ments, treaties and memo-randums to be approved by parliament before coming into effect.
The committee – headed by Nasim Akhtar Chaudhry from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – reviewed the private member’s bill moved by Khurram Jahangir Wattoo and decided to hold a briefing from the ministry in their next meeting.
Through his constitution
amendment bill, Wattoo had suggested insertion of three new clauses in Article 245 which defines functions of the armed forces.
“No treaty, agreement, memorandum of understand-ing (MoU) or any other instru-ment relating to the defence of Pakistan or cooperation in the field of defence shall have the force unless ratified by parliament.”
It further suggested that all such treaties “shall be presented before parliament within 30 days of its signing or execution and duly rati-fied completely or subject to such changes as made by parliament”.
While presenting his bill before the lower house, Watto
had explained its objectives. He had said that no indi-vidual would be able to strike deals relating to the defence of the country after the bill’s passage.
He said that it was only after recent incidents – in-cluding the May 2 US opera-tion in Abbottabad and the November 26 Nato attack on two security posts – that the nation had come to know that the Shamsi Air Base was
being used by US forces.
Final voters’ listMeanwhile, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman Ali Arshad Hakeem informed the committee that the vot-ers’ lists will be completed in time and the accuracy will also be guaranteed on the basis of “one person one vote”. However, the option will be given to voters regarding the place of the registration of the vote, he added.
Election Commission of Pakistan Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed Khan informed the committee that the forth-coming elections will be held according to the authentic vot-ers’ lists prepared by NADRA.
Bill said all such
treaties ‘shall be
presented before
parliament within 30
days of its signing and
duly ratified’
Defence ministry
NA panel wants briefing on defence-related billMeeting will discuss bill that proposes parliament’s pre-approval for all defence-related agreements
Petition was filed by Nazim, whose son Ijaz went missing from school
A UMER FAROOQ
PESHAWAR
The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday adjourned a missing persons’ case after officials of the Frontier Corps sought time to contact concerned officers about the missing persons.
The court was hearing a writ petition filed by one Nazim, whose son, Ijaz, 12, along with his fellow student went missing from the Government Primary School in Lali Jan Kalay.
PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan had sum-moned FC Inspector General Maj General Nadir Zeb after terming the security agencies’ reply unsatisfactory.
Major Zafar, who appeared before the court on behalf of Maj Gen Zeb, sought time from the court to contact the
authorities concerned and enquire about the missing students.
“Because of the unsatisfac-tory reply by security agencies alleged to have picked up the students, who are barely 12 years of age, time has been given to re-probe the matter,” the CJ ordered.
Earlier, the PHC summoned advocate Fazl-e-Ilahi who was allegedly picked up by security agencies along with advocate Aorangzeb. Although, Fazl-e-Ilahi was released within 15 minutes of captivity, Aorangzeb is still missing.
The PHC will, for the first time, question Fazl-e-Elahi over who picked him up and who released him.
During hearing of the case, Colonel Nadim of the Military Intelligence appeared before the court and said there were no records of missing persons, as they are destroyed every three months.
The petition was filed by Imran Khan, son of Aorangzeb.
Court case
FC given time to update
on missing 12-year-olds
After being passed by the NA, the bill now goes to the upper house
FOUZIA SAEED
ISLAMABAD
This week the Senate is ex-pected to finally fulfill the promise – made by the Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani – to make the women’s commis-sion autonomous so that it can be an effective watchdog.
The National Commission on the Status of Women Bill 2011 was designed with the legal ingenuity of Senator Raza Rabbani and was passed unanimously by the National Assembly, with the full back-ing of parliamentarians such as Attiya Inayatullah, Shahnaz Wazir Ali and Riaz Fatiana, members of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus and other progressive parliamentarians.
It awaits its fate in the Senate this week. Pakistani women expect a sixer (chukka) from the senior Senators. Once passed by the upper house and signed by the president, this bill will replace the National Commission on the Status of Women Ordinance from 2000.
The new law will strengthen the commission by giving it financial and administrative autonomy through an inde-pendent secretariat. It will have the authority to investi-gate and gather information on issues regarding women’s rights.
The commission will have increased responsibilities to oversee the international commitments made by the government on all women’s issues. The status of the chair will be elevated to that of a state minister so she can send recommendations directly to the cabinet.
The bill has already been
thoroughly debated and re-vised in the NA, before amend-ments were introduced.
This institution should have been strengthened long ago, considering all of the grave is-sues that women face in this country. President Musharraf’s government showed good in-tentions when they re-formed the many, temporary commis-sions on women into a one per-manent commission in 2000 through an ordinance.
One major drawback was that the secretariat of the commission had been placed in the ministry of women’s de-velopment. This proved to be a problem not so much because
of the legislation, but of its in-terpretation. Starting with the first chair of the Commission in 2000, Shaheen Sardar Ali, then Majida Rizvi, acting chair Dr Faqeer Hussain, and finally Arifa Syeda, all pushed proposals for amending the legislation and making the commission independent with its own secretariat.
All these eminent person-alities tried their best to make the commission a monitoring body, but found themselves struggling with junior clerks to get their own files cleared through the Ministry. For eight years, none of those pro-posed amendments to the or-dinance ever left the women’s ministry.
That pattern changed when Anis Haroon, a well-known women’s rights activist, be-came the chairperson in 2009. The devolution of power amendments to the constitu-tion, led by Senator Rabbani,
finally made the difference. The women’s commission was selected to remain as a national entity in view of our international commitments and to look at the larger pic-ture, while the women’s ministry was devolved to the provinces. In light of the 18th Amendment, a new bill was drafted by Senator Rabbani and was presented to the PM and the cabinet by him on behalf of the implementation commis-sion for the 18th amendment and was approved on June 29, 2011.
After it was tabled in the na on October 13, 2011, the Human Rights Committee was tapped to review and im-prove it. Mumtaz Alam as act-ing chair and Riaz Fatiana as the chair of the Human Rights Committee supported the draft bill. (THE WRITER IS A SOCIAL SCIENTIST,
AUTHOR AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS
ACTIVIST)
A SHEHZAD BALOCH
& FARAZ KHAN
QUETTA/KARACHI
The Balochistan Assembly unanimously passed a resolution condemning the killing of lawmaker Nawabzada Bakhtiar Khan Domki’s wife and daughter and demanded the provincial government to approach its Sindh counterpart to un-earth the culprits behind the killings.
Meanwhile, the Clifton po-lice in Karachi – on behalf of the state – have registered an FIR under Section 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act against unidentified persons in the case.
A complete shutter-down was observed in Sibi, Shoran, Dhaddar, Mach Dera Allahyar, Usta Mohammad, Bakhtiarabad, Lehri, Sohbatpur, Nasirabad and Ghandawa to protest against the killings of the grand-daughter and great grand-daughter of Nawab Akbar Bugti.
In what appears to be a polit-ically-motivated act of terror-ism, the wife, daughter and a driver of the sitting MPA from Balochistan were gunned down in the wee hours on Tuesday morning near the Gizri Bridge in Clifton. But Karachi Additional Inspector
General (IG) Akhtar Hussain Gorchani said the killings ap-peared to be the result of “fam-ily/personal enmity”.
The victims were travelling in their black Toyota Mark II car (ANR-353) when the killers reportedly intercepted them and shot them dead at point-blank range.
Some family sources told The Express Tribune that the vic-tims were in Karachi to at-tend a wedding ceremony of a relative and were on their way home when the incident occurred.
“They were here to at-tend the marriage of Nisar Khuhro’s daughter and were staying at the residence of their maternal uncle since the last three days,” said a relative. “Today (Tuesday) they were returning from the valima ceremony at the Carlton Hotel when they were targeted,” it was disclosed.
They were laid to rest in their ancestral town in Lehri near Sibi.
Balochistan AssemblyMeanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) pro-vincial chief Sardar Sanaullah Zehri took the floor on a point of order and said: “The Sindh government must properly in-vestigate the murders instead of terming this incident a tar-geted killing or tribal feud.”
Lawmakers – including Sheikh Jaffar Mandokhel of the PML-Q, Maulvi Sarwar Musa Khel, Sardar Aslam Bizenjo, Mir Shahnwaz Marri, Abdul Khaliq Bashar Dost, Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd and others – strongly condemned the killings and raised voices against the Sindh government for its fail-
ure to protect lives of innocent people.
“Earlier provincial minister Rustam Jamali was shot dead in Karachi and authorities failed to book the culprits. Sindh government must re-veal why people of Balochistan are being ruthlessly killed in Karachi,” demanded provin-cial minister Abdul Khaliq Bashardost.
Tabling a resolution, the Balochistan Assembly de-manded the provincial gov-ernment to approach the Sindh government for proper investigation.
“We want police to conduct a proper investigation into these murders,” Speaker Aslam
Bhootani told reporters.
InvestigationsThe police remained in the dark about the identity of the culprits and neither confirmed nor denied the presence of a fourth occupant in the car — reportedly a maid, who, according to witnesses, was spared by the killers.
District South DIG Commandant Shaukat Ali Shah told The Express Tribune that the police investigation was still in progress.
DIG Shah, however, said that incident seemed to be a case of personal enmity and the killers were well-trained who fired at least 20 to 25 times.
Balochistan Assembly
Sindh asked to probe Domki family killingsMPAs lash out at Karachi incident; family enmity seen as possible cause
A promise to keep
Women’s commission to win autonomy
"Sindh government
must reveal why
people of Balochistan
are being ruthlessly
killed in Karachi
Provincial minister Abdul Khaliq Bashardost
UNANIMOUS APPROVAL: Provincial Assembly condemned the murder of Domki’s family. PHOTO: NNI
Th is institution
should have been
strengthened long
ago, considering the
grave issues that
women face
GOVERNOR WARNED
FATA tribunal inductions anger lawyersPESHAWAR. FATA Lawyers Forum (FLF) on Tuesday rejected the induction of non- tribal officials in FATA Tribunal and warned to launch a ‘Governor Removal Movement’ if the decision of inducting non-tribal people was not reviewed within 15 days. Ijaz Mohmand, President of FLF, told a press conference here that through induc-tion of non-tribal people in the Fata tribunal, Supreme Court orders which had imposed ban on the induction of retired officers will be violated. He said that lawyers from FATA had time and again requested the Governor that qualified people from Fata should be appointed as officials in the tribunal but these requests had been ignored. The FLF lawyers demanded of Governor Barrister Masud Kausar to review his decision and appoint officials from FATA within 15 days, failing which, they will be compelled to launch agitation against him. PPI
CORRUPTION CHARGES
5 AJK government officials arrested
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
MIRPUR (AJK). Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) Accountability Bureau on Tuesday arrested five officials of AJK local govern-ment & rural development department on charges of embezzlement of official funds related to the World Bank-sponsored develop-ment schemes in the area.
A spokesman for the AJK Ehtesab (Accountability) Bureau said that two deputy directors including Shabir Abbasi and Ahmed Hassan, Assistant Director Aqeel Ahmed, SDO Khawer Mahmood and Sub Engineer Manzoor Hussain were arrested on charges of misappropriation of funds.
The funds were provided by the World Bank for growth of remote areas in the region through launch-ing public welfare projects. Further investigations are in progress and more arrests are expected.
"M
me
of sNation
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 201212
The Express Tribune, Plot #5, Expressway, Off Korangi Road, Karachi • Printed by Matrix Private Limited, 59 - Korangi Creek Road, Karachi • Tel: 92 21 3565 7131 • Email: [email protected]
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012
100 words:An ancient pre-Islamic sculpture that was returned to Afghanistan is displayed at the Afghan National Museum in Kabul. Germany this week returned the sculpture looted during Afghanistan’s civil war, giving hope to Kabul’s cultural mavens that the rest of its stolen treasures will also make their way home. Eight figures, one missing a torso and others without noses, make up the 12 inches limestone antiquity from the second century AD. Faces turned to their left, they are believed to be audience members watching Buddha on his throne in the ancient kingdom of Gandhara, which stretched across part of Afghanistan and Pakistan. PHOTO: REUTERS
ASPEAKERS’ CORNER: MARIA WAQAR
The protest has borne fruit: Maya Khan has been fired and her show taken off air. One more host of Samaa TV has been shown the door, after a clamour of complaints following the fateful epi-
sode of her morning show.This is the moment of vindication for the online commu-
nity of journalists, bloggers and ordinary citizens who were incensed (and rightfully so) after watching Maya and her coterie of minions prey on couples dating in a public park.
But lest these critics lapse into complacency over an ac-complished mission, they must know that there’s more to the story. There’s a deeper trouble which afflicts our ‘free’ media and it certainly cannot be done away with simply by purging journalists and talk-show hosts at the behest of an occasional uproar.
In a way, Maya Khan was just plain unlucky — the of-fensive clip of her show went viral and within a day, she became the talk of the town. But think about it: how many of those who wrote op-eds and blogs criticising the show actually watched it on a regular basis? I, for one, was thor-oughly offended after watching the clip, but didn’t even know that Maya Khan existed before that day.
Quite like her, many TV personalities, are involved in moral policing and passing self-righteous judgments on others. Switch on the television and you’ll see a group of sanctimonious interrogators and preachers openly con-demning ‘moral outcasts’ of society. If we are to judge the situation by these shows, this category comprises a rather wide spectrum of people, ranging from actual criminals to alleged blasphemers and even youngsters who date.
As I write this piece, I can’t help thinking about other equally questionable shows anchored by ‘journalists’. Take the example of one who periodically interviews prisoners complicit in shocking crimes. She thrusts the mic in their faces, questions them insolently and then shames them with her moralistic rants.
Moral policing sells. Many TV personalities have long abandoned standards of impartiality and they try to be the voice of the awaam, which is often unreasonable and ran-corous. Instead of making an effort to open people’s minds, they simply perpetuate prejudices and dogmas. It’s about time the watchmen of our society are also watched.
Moral policing
A POLL OF THE DAY
Can Pakistan be a US ally without compromising its sovereignty?
Poll results reflect the views of a sample of visitors to The Express Tribune website and Facebook page. Log onto tribune.com.pk for details and daily updates
No
Yes
69%
31%
Total Voters: 485
1979Exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran
Religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini made a triumphant return to Iran after 14 years in exile. Up to five million people lined the streets of the nation’s capital, Tehran, to witness the homecoming of the Shia Muslim imam. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 78, was imprisoned by the Shah in 1963 for his opposition to reforms and was expelled the following year, to Iraq - via Turkey. He spent the last few months of his exile in France, near Paris, from where he coordinated the revolution in January that forced the Shah of Iran to go into hiding.
2003Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing 7The US space shuttle Columbia broke as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere killing all seven astronauts on board. This was the first time there had been an accident on landing in the 42 years of American space flight. Then US president George Bush told a nation in shock: “The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors.” Six of the seven astronauts were US citizens. They were Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, and female astronauts Laurel Clark and Indian-born Kalpana Chawla. The seventh – fighter pilot Colonel Ilan Ramon – was Israel’s first astronaut and was carrying with him a miniature Torah scroll of a Holocaust survivor. Columbia disintegrated just 16 minutes before it was due to land at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
A WORD OF THE DAY
Solicitude Anxious care for somebody’s comfort, health or happiness
I was touched by his solicitude for the boy.
SOURCE: OXFORD ADVANCED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY ONLINE
"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free
MichelangeloItalian Renaissance sculptor, painter and architect
A QUOTABLE
A ON THIS DAY...
Wednesday1 February 2012
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A AZAM KHAN
ISLAMABAD
In response to President Asif Ali Zardari’s speech on December 27 criticising the judiciary, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it may constitute a larger bench to address the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.
The court also issued no-tices to former president Pervez Musharraf, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Vice President of the Pakistan Peoples Party Dr Babar Awan and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leader Pervaiz Elahi, along with others allegedly involved in the case, to sub-mit replies to the court.
Heading a three-member bench, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked Attorney General Maulvi
Anwarul Haq to take direc-tives from the government in this regard.
The chief justice also or-dered the special judge of an anti-terrorism court to submit photocopies of the FIR regis-tered in the case, reports and records, and a summary of the progress made in the case so far, by the next hearing.
The court observed that the case was serious in na-ture and that people wanted to know the truth behind
Bhutto’s assassination.The three-member bench,
comprising the chief justice, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Pervaiz, said that the court was concerned because President Zardari had earlier remarked publicly that the court was not taking the matter seriously.
The chief justice observed that the court would have taken a suo motu action in the case, but did not because a petition was submitted to the court.
Referring to the grievances of Ch Aslam, the petitioner in the case, Justice Chaudhry asked the attorney general why the government was not giving preference to record the state-ment of an eyewitness who had received injuries when Bhutto was assassinated.
The AG replied that as per investigation conducted by three independent bodies other aspects of the case are also being considered and cases against Musharraf and other officials as mentioned in the petition are already pending before the courts.
During the hearing, the chief justice asked the attor-ney general if he was satis-fied with the progress of the investigation. The AG said that, there was no problem in the case so far, and that the investigations were ongoing.
He also specified that there have so far been three dif-ferent probes into Bhutto’s assassination – one by the Scotland Yard, a United Nations Commission’s report and by a joint investigation team.
In response, the chief jus-tice said that the UN com-mission’s report was civil in nature, not criminal. He added that it was the gov-ernment’s job to take assis-tance from the report and carry out an independent investigation.
The court, while question-ing the Federal Investigation Agency’s credibility, observed that it was compulsory to have an independent inves-tigation body comprising
senior officials from all four provinces.
M e a nw h i l e , l a w ye r Chaudhry Amjad Iqbal sub-mitted an affidavit to the court on behalf of the two alleged suspects in the case – Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema and Kamal Shah, saying that his clients were not involved in the case.
A petition was filed earlier in the court, requesting that a new FIR in BB assassina-tion case be lodged.
The petitioner, Advocate Chaudhry Aslam, who was Bhutto’s former chief pro-tocol officer, prayed to the court that the first FIR sub-mitted in the case did not mention the names of the ‘real culprits’.
The court adjourned the hearing for two weeks.
‘Concerned’ over Zardari’s remarks
SC to form larger bench for Benazir murder caseIssues notices to Musharraf, Malik, Babar Awan and Pervaiz Elahi to submit replies
Th e chief justice ob-
served that the court
would have taken a
suo motu action in
the case, but did not
because a petition was
submitted to the court
Sales of Pakistani medicines plummet, causing severe damage to local industry
A ALI USMAN
LAHORE
As the authorities fumble to grasp what is going on, the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry is suffering severe financial losses, with claims that over two billion rupees has been lost so far.
Advocate General of Punjab Ashtar Ausaf, during a suo motu hearing of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) free medicine case on Tuesday, told the Supreme Court that an interim report in the case will be submitted to the court on February 6.
The death toll, meanwhile, has reportedly reached 117.
Ausaf informed the court that samples of the drugs were sent out to Switzerland,
Belgium and England for tests and they are awaiting results. He said that the move was nec-essary because there was no laboratory in Pakistan which could clearly determine the cause of the deaths by exam-ining the samples.
On the other hand, a high-tech lab built by the Punjab government for Rs2.5 billion, with the latest equipment and highly qualified staff, has re-fused to conduct a chemical analysis of the body parts of three dead bodies, and referred task to an older lab, sources told The Express Tribune.
At the hearing, Ausaf added that, so far, nothing concrete has surfaced in the investiga-tion and an autopsy of the vic-tims’ bodies will be required to determine the actual cause of the deaths.
Heading a three-member bench, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani asked the Lahore High Court inquiry tribunal to continue its probe
into this issue, saying that the investigation report is incon-clusive, as the people respon-sible for the deaths have not been specified in the report.
Justice Jillani also asked why the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested people re-portedly involved in the case. The FIA officials present in the court informed him that, fol-lowing the 18th Amendment, all health-related issues were transferred to the provincial governments and the FIA is authorised to arrest people who are involved in making the medicines.
Justice Jillani ordered the FIA to release the owners of phar-maceutical companies on per-sonal bonds, which, it later emerged, the FIA did.
When Justice Saqib Nisar in-quired about the steps taken by the Punjab government, Ausaf informed the court that the government had contacted the chief justice of the Lahore High Court to constitute a tri-
bunal to investigate the case. The three-member bench also asked why Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had not taken any action regard-ing the issue.
People reluctant to use lo-cal drugs Pakistan’s pharmaceuti-cal manufacturing industry has suffered losses of above Rs2.24 billion in the 15 days since the PIC disaster came to the public attention, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association (PPMA) officials claim.
Multi-national drug compa-nies, on the other hand, are doing a roaring trade, pocket-ing over Rs150 million every
day, according to reports. Health department officials
have said, time and again, that the problem was with the specific batch of these medi-cines and other local medicines were safe to use. However, the trade of local medicines has been considerably reduced.
“The total business of phar-maceutical companies through manufacturing is estimated at around Rs200 billion annu-ally,” PPMA Chairman Dr Riaz Ahmad told The Express Tribune.
“Recently, I had to fire some officials of my marketing team in Sri Lanka. Doctors over there are not prescribing Pakistani medicines and Indian manu-facturers are going to every doc-tor they know or don’t know to convince him to replace Pakistani drugs with Indian drugs, as Pakistani drugs are not reliable,” he added.
“The situation in Pakistan is even worse. It took us 20 years to take the share of locally manufactured drugs to 60per
cent in total consumption of medicines, and we fear now it might take us the next 10 years to maintain this,” Dr Riaz said, adding that “the media needs to play an important role in this regard. We should con-vey to people that Pakistani medicines are safe to use. The problem was just with a spe-cific batch of PIC. Otherwise, hundreds of thousands of pa-tients have been using same medicines and they are very effective.”
Meanwhile, recent investi-gations into the case hinted that more than 100,000 adul-terated pills might have been handed out to heart patients in Lahore. The medicine, called Alfagril, had a manufactur-ing fault because of which the pills developed brown spots on them and consequently re-sulted in a disease in the bone marrow.(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ASAD
KHARAL IN LAHORE AND AZAM KHAN IN
ISLAMABAD)
As death toll rises at home…
PIC drugs samples sent abroad for testing Multi-national drug
companies are doing
a roaring trade,
pocketing over Rs150
million every day
Th e court observed
that it was compulsory
to have an independent
investigation body
comprising senior
officials from all four
provinces
NEW DELHI
India has selected the French firm Dassault over the Eurofighter consortium as the preferred bidder for 126 fighter jets in a major contract esti-mated to be worth $12 billion.
Dassault won the right to enter exclusive negotiations with India after lodging a lower bid than its European rival in the world’s biggest single defence deal currently in process, an Indian government source told AFP on Tuesday.
Dassault, whose Rafale fighter had been pitted against the Eurofighter Typhoon, said it was “honoured and grateful” to be selected and stressed its commitment to meeting the “operational requirements” of the Indian Air Force.
The French government wel-comed the news, but added that the final contract had yet to be signed.
“At this stage – and I want to be cautious – we are in a phase of exclusive negotiations,” French Minister of State for Foreign Trade Pierre Lellouche told France’s BFM radio.
Lellouche declined to release financial details of Dassault’s bid.
Dassault Aviation shares soared more than 20 per cent on the Paris Stock Exchange after the news broke.
The huge contract to supply war planes to fast-developing India has been fiercely fought over for four years.
India in April pulled a sur-prise by cutting out US bidders Boeing and Lockheed Martin
– much to Washington’s dis-appointment – as well as drop-ping Sweden’s Saab AB and the Russian makers of the MiG 35 from the race.
That left Dassault and Eurofighter – a consortium of Britain’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Finmeccanica and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.
James Hardy, Asia-Pacific ed-itor of Jane’s Defence Weekly, said the decision was “a big win for the Rafale” but warned that the French side faced a pe-riod of tough negotiation.
“Rafale has been selected as the preferred bidder but any student of Indian procure-ment knows that this means nothing until the contract is physically signed,” Hardy said.
He predicted that the re-cent sharp depreciation of the Indian currency and “standard contractual wrangling” could delay any final deal for years.
The tendered contract was for the outright purchase of 18 combat aircraft by 2012 with another 108 to be built in India with options to acquire more. AFP
COSTLY “OPERATIONAL
REQUIREMENTS”
$12bis the estimated worth of the contract to be signed between India and Dassault
Fighter jets
India selects French
firm for major deal
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 3
NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM
JUI-S calls out Imran’s ‘bluff’KABEERWAALA. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) and Difa-e-Pakistan Council President Maulana Samiul Haq claims that his party and the Difa-e-Pakistan Council are not interested in politics and only want the enactment of a pure Islamic politi-cal system in Pakistan. He also said that Imran Khan does not want to enrage the US so he should not ‘bluff’ the religious parties by trying to support both sides. OUR CORRESPONDENT
HUSAIN HAQQANI
US ‘gratified’ at lifting of travel banWASHINGTON. The US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Monday that the US was ‘gratified’ that Pakistan’s highest court had lifted travel curbs imposed on Husain Haqqani, the country’s scandal-hit former envoy to the United States. “We expect that Pakistan will resolve this situa-tion and other internal issues in a transparent manner and up-holding Pakistani laws and constitution,” Nuland added. AFP
In the second of a three-part series, we interview a tout in the lower courts
A TAHA SIDDIQUI
LAHORE
According to the latest ju-dicial statistics, published by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, more than 1.2 million cases are pending in courts around the country.
This is due to chronic flaws in the judicial process. One such flaw is the existence of touts, which has led to seri-ous corruption in the lower courts.
A meeting with Abdul Razaq, who works in a district court, was an eye-opener in this regard. “We can manage all sorts of bails,
witness provision and legal advice – whatever the accu-sation is,” he says, and adds that he is an assistant to a senior advocate of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
He wishes to keep his boss’s name secret for the interview, but hands out a business card which states the LHC lawyer’s details, on whose behalf he hunts cli-ents every day in the district court.
Razaq, who sits in his sin-gle room office at the courts, boasts that he helps many people everyday who need the law on their side. “All I need is an FIR and the ID card of the accused, and we can manage a witness to speak on his behalf, and even pro-cure property to pay off the bond for bail, if any”.
According to Razaq, be it kidnapping for ransom, or a murder-related case, one just needs to spend money to bring the court on one’s side, after which the police cannot touch the client.
“The accused doesn’t even have to present himself in front of the judge. We can manage everything includ-ing the bail within 24 hours,” he adds.
Razaq says that, after going over the nature and gravity of each case, he issues the client with a price list for services. “For just pre-arrest bail, we charge six thousand rupees but if you need a fake witness and an asset for the bond, another four thousand rupees can do the trick,” he
clarifies as he dials his cell phone to talk to his boss, telling him about a client sitting with him who is look-ing for a witness to state on oath that his cousin, who has been accused of a kid-napping, has nothing to do with it.
Touts like Razaq are not alone in the money-making business which goes on in the corridors of the lower courts and traces up all the way to the higher courts.
Ali Bajwa, a young lawyer at the lower court who fights civil suits, criminal cases and provides legal assistance to his father at the Supreme Court, agrees that fake witnesses and false docu-ments with properties that do not exist is a routine practice.
“There is no computerised database to cross-check wit-ness backgrounds, property papers, and so on. To conduct it manually takes too long, therefore the registrar over-looks many details, resulting in such corruption,” Bajwa adds, again pointing to the heavy backlog of cases.
Making money in the corridors of the courts
Courting corruption
"All I need is an FIR
and the ID card of the
accused, and we can
manage a witness to
speak on his behalf
Abdul Razaq
Razaq says that, after
going over the nature
and gravity of each
case, he issues the
client with a price list
for services
A QAISER BUTT
ISLAMABAD
The federal minister for states and frontier regions (Safron), Engr. Shaukatullah, has said that 150,000 Afghan refu-gees in Pakistan are likely to be granted visa permits for a long-term stay in the country.
Shaukat told The Express Tribune that his ministry has prepared a comprehensive proposal to arrange the visas for businessmen, students, skilled workers and widows who are among the Afghan refugees, some of whom have lived in Pakistan for 30 years.
“The proposals are being finalised and will be imple-mented after approval,” the minister said. “We have been working with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees on the proposals for quite some time.”
Safron has the consent of the all provincial govern-ments on the issue, a senior official from the ministry told The Express Tribune.
However, another official from the ministry of interior said a couple of provincial gov-ernments, including Punjab, have expressed reservations. The intelligence agencies and law enforcement departments are also worried over the pro-posals, as they could cause
numerous security problems. The official said the provin-
cial governments are likely to express their opposition once the policy is made pub-lic. Shaukat is of the view that the proposals do not re-quire approval by the federal cabinet or the ministry of provincial coordination. “The federal cabinet has nothing to do with the proposals,” he said.
According to the official es-timate, 1.7 million registered and 1 million non-registered Afghan refugees live in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the ministry of foreign affairs has vehe-mently rejected proposals by certain Western countries that suggested absorbing the entire Afghan refugee popula-tion in Pakistan permanently. “The suggestions came dur-ing the last general assem-bly sessions of the United Nation,” said an official from the ministry.
“Those Western countries who are advocating the per-manent stay for Afghan refu-gees should also share the financial burden of Pakistan.”
30-year issue
150,000 Afghans will be
granted long-term visas
Conference participants urge Islamabad to commit to non-interference
A OUR CORRESPONDENTS
PESHAWAR
The left and right may have ar-rived at a middle ground vis-à-vis peace in Afghanistan.
Parties from across the po-litical spectrum, on both sides of the Durand Line, agreed on Tuesday that the international community, including Pakistan, should commit itself to non-interfer-ence in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
Pakistan ought to …War is not a solution to any-thing, and therefore, we have to support dialogue among Afghans, not dictate their affairs, said Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at a day-long conference, The Afghan Issue: Regional Implications and Suggestions for Sustainable
Peace, organised by Center for Discussions and Solutions (CDS).
Pakistan is heading towards isolation and has virtually been left out of playing any role in the ongoing dialogue between US and the Taliban, Fazl said.
The JUI-F chief also insisted that Pakistan needs to mend fences with its neighbours, especially India, otherwise it risks turning into a ‘security state.’
Pakistan should concen-trate on socio-economic
cooperation, instead of geo-strategic obsession, said Awami National Party pro-vincial president Afrasyab Khattak. He added that the country should try to befriend the Afghan people, not any particular group.
Balkanization of Afghanistan would not spare Pakistan, Khattak cautioned.
Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief, and chairman CDS, Qazi Hussain Ahmed also said that Pakistan should support the dialogue.
Afghan voicesSenior Hizb-e-Islami leader Ghairat Baheer said that CIA Director David Petraeus was ‘overlooking’ reconciliation talks in Afghanistan and had personally met him thrice in Kabul.
Son-in-law of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Baheer said the reconciliation in Afghanistan was ‘real’ this time.
“We don’t have any demands in these talks,” said Baheer. “We are seeking a package deal which includes a com-plete withdrawal of troops and a peaceful transition of power.”
“Talks would have to have a broader spectrum and all fac-tions will have to be taken on board for a complete solution,” he said, adding that his party did not demand any office or release of prisoners.
“I hope talks with the Taliban will be successful in Qatar, but Pakistan will have to play a positive role,” he added.
The Afghan people want foreign forces to leave their country and will continue to fight until that happens, said former Afghan prime minis-ter Ahmed Shah Ahmedzai, who is now heading the United National Front against Presence of Western Bases in Afghanistan.
Any solution to the issue should be broad based, Ahmedzai said, adding that if the Taliban come to power again, our message for them is they should not act like they did in the past.
Former intelligence chiefs Gen (retd) Hamid Gul and Gen Asad Durrani also spoke at the conference.
"Pakistan should
concentrate on
socio-economic
cooperation, instead
of geo-strategic
obsession
ANP Provincial President Afrasyab Khattak
Policy towards Afghanistan
Support dialogue, not dictation, politicians tell Pakistan
Proposed amendment will give MPs elected under incomplete ECP legal cover
A QAMAR ZAMAN
ISLAMABAD
Hectic and last-minute ef-forts are being made by the government to seek sup-port from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at provid-ing legal protection to over two dozen MPs. The lawmakers in question were elected during a period when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had an incomplete body.
Sources in the PML-N said that opposition senator Ishaq Dar and Federal Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar were holding talks in Islamabad to evolve a consen-sus over the bill.
“Negotiations are going on…we are hopeful that we’ll find some middle ground. A con-sensus is in sight but not an
immediate possibility,” the sources added.
Earlier this month, the government moved the 20th Amendment Bill in order to provide legal cover to the ac-tions of the chief election commissioner (CEC) during a time when the ECP was incomplete according to defi-nitions provided by the 18th Amendment.
The amendment directed the government to appoint a per-manent election commission body comprising the CEC as well as one retired High Court judge from each of the four provinces.
The government appointed four retired High Court judges as members of the ECP last year. However, the posts re-mained vacant from April 2010 – when the amendment was passed – till their appoint-ment in June 2011. During this period, by-elections were held for a number of parliamentary seats, despite the ECP being virtually incomplete.
On January 30, the National
Assembly standing commit-tee on law and justice had approved the draft of the 20th Amendment bill even while the opposition PML-N boycot-ted the meeting.
The PML-N is pressing the government to have a non-partisan, neutral and inde-pendent ECP by inducting an impartial CEC and to get new election laws enacted before the next parliamentary polls.
The lower house is going to meet this evening (Wednesday) and the bill is likely to be tabled before the house as the Supreme Court had told the government that if the amendment was not adopted by Feb 6, the election of 29 MNAs and MPAs may be declared illegal.
The bill is likely to be ap-proved by the federal cabi-net, scheduled to meet today (Wednesday).
The bill is also likely to be passed by both the National Assembly and Senate, possi-bly by the end of next week, irrespective of PML-N’s stance. The government’s allies — Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Awami National Party and members from tribal areas — are all likely to support the amendment.
The combined strength of allied partners should allow them to comfortably meet the two-third majority needed in both houses of parliament to pass the amendment.
PML-Q’s Riaz Fatiyana and MQM’s Iqbal Qadri have al-ready voiced their support for the amendment during the committee’s meeting, indicat-ing their respective parties will be on board to support the bill when it comes to the National Assembly and Senate.
‘Govt-PML-N consensus’
Covert talks held over 20th amendment
Th e bill is likely to be
passed by both the
National Assembly
and Senate, possibly by
next week, irrespective
of PML-N’s stance
PEACE INITIATIVE: Political parties say war is not a solution. PHOTO: IFTIKHAR FIRDOUS/EXPRESS
A ABDUL MANAN
LAHORE
All three major political par-ties in Punjab assembly have finalised their negotiations over the upcoming Senate elections in a bid to elect unop-posed candidates on the basis of respective parties’ strength in the provincial assembly.
According to sources, of the 12 available seats from Punjab – including 11 retiring senators and one seat for a minority candidate – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will get 7 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will get 4 and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) will get one. The 11 senators retiring in March 2012 include seven elected on general seats and two each on women and technocrat seats. The non-Muslim seat was added in the 18th Amendment.
According to the agreed upon formula, the PML-N has been given four general and a women, technocrat and mi-
nority seat each. PPP’s four allocated seats include two general, and a women and technocrat seat. PML-Q has been allocated a general seat.
Female candidatesBoth PML-N and PPP have asked female applicants to gather support for their Senate candidature and show their strength to party leadership be-fore the election date, March 2.
PML-N’s female applicants are courting PML-Q dissidents for support while PPP’s appli-cants are in talks with PML-Q members to garner support for their candidature.
Of the 81 members initially elected to Punjab Assembly on PML-Q ticket, 38 remain with the party – the remain-ing formed a ‘unification bloc’ which stands with the PML-N.
Coalition negotiationsSources add that coalition part-ners, PPP and PML-Q, have also finalised their negotiations
over the allocation of Senate seats. PML-Q, which will see 20 of its senators retire in March, has managed to solicit five seats for itself – one from Islamabad, one from Punjab, and three from Balochistan.
The arrangement was con-firmed by PML-Q’s parliamen-tary leader in Punjab Assembly, Chaudhry Zahiruddin Khan.
Sources added that par-ty’s former senator, Syed Mushahid Hussain, will be nominated, and elected unop-posed, from Islamabad.
Twice as manyThe PML-N will reap the ben-efit of its majority in Punjab since only one of its senators, Ishaq Dar, will retire while the party will have seven new seats in the upper house, taking its total strength in the Senate post March to 13, from the current 7.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed that on the basis of its strength in the provincial assembly, PML-N will, most probably, elect un-opposed candidates for seven seats in the upcoming Senate elections.
PPP’s Tanvir Ashraf Kaira confirmed that his party would get four seats from Punjab in upcoming Senate elections. Of the party’s five senators gradu-ating in March, one, Dr Babar Awan, belonged to Punjab.
DIVISION
7is the number of seats PML-N will get for unopposed candi-dates from Punjab, while
4is the number of seats PPP will get
Senate elections
Big three carve out Punjab seatsCoalition partners PPP, PML-Q also finalise negotiations
Th e security services
are also worried
about the proposals14%of the total sanctioned posts for
teachers were vacant in 76 of the
79 girls’ high schools monitored
in 59 districts in Dec 2011. PPI
A POOR STATE OF AFFAIRS
ARMED ATTACK
Security man killed, 10 others injuredQUETTA. A security man was killed and ten others sus-tained injuries when a group of armed men attacked their convoy near Marget in Kachhi district on Tuesday night. According to sources, unidentified armed assail-ants fired rocket propelled grenade on security convoy, killing a security man on the spot while injuring ten others. The explosions were followed by intense firing. Local sources said there was exchange of firing between assailants and security personnel till late hours of the evening. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. OUR CORRESPONDENT
ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES
G-B Cabinet announces 3 new divisionsGILGIT. Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Cabinet on Tuesday decided to divide region into three divisions for better administra-tive results. Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah said Gilgit, Hunza Nagar and Ghizer will be one division while district Astore and Diamer will be the second division. Baltistan region has already been notified and is functional. The CM said this action was taken in line with people’s aspirations and resolution passed by the assembly. APP
8 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
Overcoming diff erences
Ban appeals for unity ahead of Syria vote AMMAN
UN leader Ban Ki moon on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to overcome bitter dif-ferences over Syria to increase pressure to end the bloodshed.
The Security Council must be
“united this time, speak and act in a coherent manner, reflecting the wishes of the international community and reflecting the urgent wishes and aspirations of the Syrian people who have been yearn-
ing for freedom,” Ban said after talks in Amman with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.
“This is crucially important,” he told a press conference hours before a Security Council
meeting at which the Arab League was to appeal for back-ing for its political plan for an end to the Syria crisis. Earlier, he said he hoped the Security Council meeting “will bear quick fruit so that the council
can meet the expectations of the international community.”
The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain and France are in New York to back the Arab League and a draft resolution they have
jointly drawn up condemning the Syria violence. But Russia opposes the draft, saying that moves to force President Bashar al Assad, Russia’s last major Middle East ally, are un-acceptable. AGENCIES
A IMPASSE ENDS
SU VC goes on medical leave, teachers go back to workFaculty assured that police and rangers will be removed soon PAGE 14
WednesdayFEBRUARY 1, 2012
KARACHI
VOTER LISTS
No NADRA work today, tomorrowKARACHI. The offices of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) throughout Sindh will remain closed for two days (Wednesday and Thursday). NADRA Sindh chief, Zahid Hussain, told The Express Tribune that public dealing was being suspended as staff will be busy updating voter lists as directed by the Supreme Court. Hussain said staff was working round the clock and they would complete the work before February 5. However, NADRA mobile teams will be working at every office to facilitate people. OUR CORRESPONDENT
PREEMPTIVE STEPS
Ban on pillion ridingKARACHI. The Sindh government has banned pillion riding in Karachi from February 1 to February 5 for se-curity purposes. Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan announced the ban at a press conference on Tuesday. The government had earlier banned pillion riding in the city ahead of the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA). OUR CORRESPONDENT
1916is the year English actress Margaret
Lockwood was born in Karachi
then a part of India. She made her
debut in Lorna Doone (1934) and
became immensely popular as the
wicked lady of British cinema in
the 1940s. OUR CORRESPONDENT
A BAD GIRL
3,000 students take part in olympiad
A ISEO 2012
Singing, chess, technology all part of the talent competition PAGE 15
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
A case filed by a peasant from Umerkot has landed at the doorstep of the top most army official for the Karachi division.
The farmhand, Mushtaq Ahmed, went to the Sindh High Court for his cousin, Moula Bux, a Naik in the 23 Baloch regiment. Ahmed maintains in his petition that Moula Bux was arrested by Military Intelligence on May 25, 2010 and has been detained since then with no proceed-ings being initiated against him. Ahmed feels that he has the right to know under what charges his cousin was being detained and why he was not being prosecuted according to the law.
Ahmed informed the SHC’s Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Nisar M Shaikh that in a letter to Moula Bux’s wife Saeeda, the Corps HQ, Karachi, admitted that her husband was arrested by the MI and was later handed over to the Baloch regiment.
Ahmed appealed to the court to order the people he named in the petition to produce Moula Bux before the high court and to ask the military authorities why he was being held in illegal custody.
The judges put the corps commander of Karachi, the commanding officer of headquarters for the Baloch Regiment, Badin, the secre-tary of defence and the deputy attorney general on notice for February 9.
MALIR MURDER
Another doctor targeted
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI. The killings of doc-tors continued on Tuesday with the latest victim, Ashfaq Qazi, targeted in Malir 15.
Qazi, who was in his early 60s, practised as a dermatologist at his private clinic in Malir after retiring from Social Security Hospital (SSH) about two years ago. He graduated from Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in 1977.
The Pakistan Medical Association’s (PMA) Dr Mirza Ali Azhar who worked with Qazi for several years said: “He was a very pious and courteous man. His death is truly tragic.” Qazi’s death is part of a string of such murders over the last few weeks. “I can’t imagine what the fate of doctors will be in this jungle,” said the PMA’s Dr Idrees Adhi. He urged the IG to reconvene the coordina-tion committee which acted as a good centre point for police and medical fraternity to deal with threats and extortion.
Alleged illegal detention
Court ropes in corps
commander on
farmhand’s petition
KARACHI
The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland has ap-pealed to the Pakistan gov-ernment to release 4,000 botany textbooks, which have been held up at the Karachi Customs for a year. The books are supposed to be distributed to schools, universities and environmental groups across Afghanistan.
Ian Hedge, from the Botanic Garden, said that a consign-ment of 10 tonnes of books arrived safely in Pakistan in February 2011. He told the Scotland BBC Radio that the books have been stuck since then because of bureaucratic and political difficulties between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The books intend to help re-vivify academic life in Afghanistan and provide infor-mation about geography, ecol-ogy, climate and the need for conservation,” he said. “The impasse which is keeping the books at the port is terrible and very sad. There have been at-tempts to get it sorted out at ambassadorial level but we’re still waiting for the books.”
Hedge has been studying the plants of Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan since the 1950s. He said that while working on reference books of plants from the re-gion, it became clear that Afghanistan was under-rep-resented in collections, such as Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden. PPI
Petitioner says reporter of a TV channel ‘impersonated’ Rahman Malik
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
A division bench of the Sindh High Court restrained the Federal Investigation Agency on Tuesday from arresting a cellular phone company executive alleg-edly involved in issuing a SIM card to an ‘imperson-ator’ who posed as Rahman Malik, the federal interior minister.
The Customer Care Executive of U Fone Company, Sumair Ali Abbasi, moved the court, alleging that FIA Cyber Crime Cell has lodged an FIR against him. Alleging harassment by the FIA, the petitioner maintained
that he was bound to en-tertain a request made by a caller to the company system and issue or ac-tivate a SIM after follow-ing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
Under the procedure, the petitioner was bound to make some verifications, check the details from the NADRA database and acti-vate the SIM card accord-ingly, he submitted.
It was also maintained that no photo of the appli-cant or caller appears on the screen (during this verifica-tion process) and therefore an identification by photo could not be made.
The petitioner further maintained that the caller impersonated and identi-fied himself to be Abdul Rahman Malik and not the minister of interior.
The petitioner informed the court that all this was
done by a reporter of a tele-vision channel who wanted to expose the flaws in the system that issues SIM cards, its misuse in crimi-nal and illegal activities, be-sides establishing that how unsafe NADRA’s database system was.
Abbasi said that he was summoned by FIA to ap-pear on February 2 before the agency officials and record his statement as a witness in a case registered by the FIA Cyber Crime Cell but on Monday some peo-ple in plainclothes visited his residence and wanted
to know about his where-abouts. He maintained that it was harassment as once he had been called to record his statement, a raid on his residence was undue intimidation.
The bench, comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Nisar M Shaikh, after hearing the coun-sel for the petitioner also ordered for the issuance of notices to the federal secretaries of interior and information ministries, the director of the FIA in Karachi and other officials of the agency as well as the deputy attorney general for February 7. The court, while restraining the FIA from arresting the peti-tioner, asked him to coop-erate with the investigating officer and not to make this order a pretext for avoid-ing investigations in any manner.
Royal mess
4,000 botany textbooks
held up at customs
Rehman Malik SIM scam
SHC restrains FIA from cellular firm officer’s arrest
HERITAGE FACELIFT
Edward House restored
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI. The restoration of Edward House, one of the prominent Karachi heritage buildings, has been completed.
It is the first of the city’s British-era buildings to have been restored to its original look in a government scheme, said Wasim Ahmed Ursani, the secretary of the antiquities department.
“We have finally finished the work,” he said. “Sindh Antiquities Minister Saifuddin Zoomkawala will visit on February 6.”
Built in 1910, the building was designed by well known Jewish architect Moses Somake. The restoration of the structure, located along Abdullah Haroon Road, was not easy as the façade could not be altered. Some of the same stones were used to give it an original shape, said Ursani. “Fixing the ceilings was even harder.”
The antiquities department works at a slow pace on such projects because of a shortage of staff and finances.
Th e petitioner
said that the caller
identified himself
to as Abdul Rahman
Malik and not the
minister of interior,
Rehman Malik
A NOMAN AHMED
KARACHI
Hundreds of school teachers who had passed the test for permanent government jobs were tear-gassed and soused by the powerful jets of a po-lice water cannon near the Karachi Press Club Tuesday night as they tried to march on to Chief Minister House. Hours later, after the public humiliation, the govern-ment caved in.
January 31 marked the end of the teachers’ contracts, which had already been ex-tended by six months. In a bid to press the government into giving them their jobs back, they amassed at the press club at around noon. The group grew frustrated by the evening when no head-way was made and they de-cided to march to CM House.
The police were waiting for them at Fountain Chowk across from Governor House. In the ensuing clash, a few teachers were badly beaten and at least two were re-ported to have fallen uncon-scious. Many of them were injured.
They were forced to re-treat towards the press club, while police in riot gear followed them, chant-ing “Naara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar” as if some victory had been accomplished. As
many as 40 protesting teach-ers were taken into custody. At least six tear gas shells fell into the back yard of the press club, scattering the coughing and spluttering journalists. Pools of water on the road outside left over by the cannon made the stench unbearable for up to an hour after the action and passers-by who found them-selves in the middle of the ruckus also teared up.
Matiari teacher Allah Dino Talpur, who has a Master’s degree, was one of the peo-ple who fell unconscious. Even after he recovered his hands were ice cold and the tears were still flowing. He told The Express Tribune that the Sindh education minis-ter was not keeping his word which is why they were com-pelled to protest. “We were
given a lollipop,” he said, referring to the six-month extension.
A travel agency employee, Abbas Ali, got stuck in his parking lot along with co-workers, during the riot. After witnessing the ac-tion, they were full of strong words against the government.
Giving inAfter the entire exercise, the government issued an ordi-nance late Tuesday night, giving 5,700 out of 7,200 of
the teachers permanent jobs. All of them passed a test set by the Institute of Business Administration across Sindh.
This was announced by the deputy commissioner for the south, Mustafa Jamal Qazi. He told The Express Tribune that Governor Ishratul Ebad had issued the ordinance which is now with the law depart-ment. “The teachers will be notified by the Sindh edu-cation department in the
morning,” he said, adding that the cases of the remain-ing teachers are being scruti-nized and will be resolved in the next two or three days.
When asked why the po-lice had to be called in, Qazi said that the area around CM House was a red zone and ac-cording to the standard oper-ating procedures, the police had to come into action to thwart any protests or gath-erings there.
STREET SMART: The teachers were intercepted by the police at Fountain Chowk opposite Governor House where they faced tear gas and riot gear. Here a man gestures for help outside the Karachi Press Club whose members also suffered. PHOTO: MOHAMMAD NOMAN/EXPRESS
Hours before govt caves in, lesson in police brutality for teachers 7,200 school teachers passed an IBA test but their contracts weren’t renewed
SPEECHLESS: Journalists Ghazi Salahuddin and Nargis Khanum run for cover on the first floor of the Karachi Press Club. Khanum told The Express Tribune that never in the history of the KPC had she seen such tear gas shelling. Teachers trying to protest at Governor House nearby were the target. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
Matiari teacher Allah
Dino Talpur fell
unconscious. Even
after he recovered his
hands were ice cold
and the tears were
still flowing
January 31 marked
the end of the
teachers’ contracts,
which had already
been extended by six
months
Demanding permanent jobs
18 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
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PRAYER TIMINGS
THE WEATHERMAN REPORTS
27°CKarachi 27°C 11°C SunnyLahore 20°C 06°C CloudyIslamabad 19°C 05°C Cloudy
The weather in the city is likely to remain sunny
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS
Karachi Lahore Islamabad
(0213) (0423) (051)
Rescue Police 15 15 15Ambulance 115 115, 1122 115, 1122 4451122Edhi Trust 2310066 440159 251191Fire Brigade Centre 16 16, 1122 16, 1122Bomb Disposal 2416626 440159 251191Flight Inquiry 114 114 114Railway Inquiry 117 117 117Telephone Inquiry 1217 1217 1217Electricity Complaint 118 111000118 9217579Passport Office 5684351 7325459 810837Human Rights Cell Toll-free number 0800 000 11
KARACHI HOSPITALSJinnah Hospital 5070440Civil Hospital 99215759-40Abbasi Shaheed 99260401Ziauddin Hospital 111-335-111South City 5862303PNS Shifa 48506500Liaquat National Hospital 4939612-4Aga Khan Hospital 49300511 99250051
KARACHI POLICESindh Home Minister’s office 99207744, 99207746-48 Police Control Room (South Zone) 99201196-7Police Control Room (East Zone) 99231426Police Control Room (West Zone) 99246183
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31
CRIMES AND MISDEMEANOURS: Violence and arrests
Your Stars Todayhttp://www.shelleyvonstrunckel.comSHELLEY VON STRUNCKEL by
Sagittarius | November 22 – December 20
In most situations you’ll happily take the views of others into account. But, when there’s pressure, as is now the case, you find it far easier to do whatever needs to be done without distracting discussions.
Simply inform others what’s been decided after the fact. That will be easier for everybody.
Capricorn | December 21 – January 19
You’re doing your best to pretend that you’ve been untouched by the unkind words and aggressive behaviour of one particular individual. While you’ve almost convinced yourself this is true, the emotionally
intense Full Moon, early next week, is bound to bring those feelings to the surface. You can deal with them then.
Aquarius | January 20 – February 17
If ever there was a time for teamwork, and in several situations, it’s now. The problem is that while you and others agree about the big picture, you’ve strongly differing views on several minor issues. As they are
exactly that, minor, there’s no reason they should prevent you forming a united front.
Pisces | February 18 – March 19
Living with unresolved differences isn’t easy. However, you sometimes forget others don’t benefit from your intuitive take on dilemmas. While you sense reaching an accord will require no more than a forthright
exchange, because others are worried discussions will be long and drawn out, they’re doing all they can to avoid them.
Leo | July 22 – August 22
Confident as you are you’re making the best of certain tricky alliances, the fact is, you’re not. The problem is you dread even discussing the issues behind those tensions, so avoid them like the
plague. Obviously this not only means they’ll remain as they are, they could get a lot worse.
Virgo | August 23 – September 22
There’s being sure of your facts, which you are. At the moment, however, you’re in such a hurry to get things resolved that you could easily ignore what others have to say because their information isn’t as
precise. Perhaps. Still, their perspective on the situations in question is valuable, as you’ll soon discover.
Libra | September 23 – October 22
When everything is going smoothly, you can be the most gracious of individuals. But when you feel you or those you care about are being badly treated, you can become rather uptight, and often without even
realising it. You’ve good reason to be forthright, and in doing so would be better than these unspoken tensions.
Scorpio | October 23 – November 21
Differences with others or setbacks in seemingly successful plans could be mistaken for serious problems. However, these are good reason to review what you’ve organised. The actual circumstances
you’re dealing with have changed, and more than you know. These are doing you a service by alerting you to those changes.
Aries | March 20 – April 19
At the end of the week the planet of vision, Neptune, moves into its own sign and into the most sensitive angle of your chart. This begins a lengthy period during which you’ll discover and then deepen
your instincts. While many Aries have a profound intuition, it’s often undeveloped. Now events will change that.
Taurus | April 20 – May 20
Only days ago you would have insisted that the changes you’re now considering in elements of your work or lifestyle were both uninteresting and impractical. And now you’re rearranging things so
they can become a part of your life. Factor this in when other, equally unexpected and similarly unappealing, developments come your way.
Gemini | May 21 – June 20
Every sign will be influenced by the mighty but subtle planet Neptune’s move into a new sign and new position in the chart. While others might feel unsettled by the greater sensitivity it triggers,
you’ll regard it as something new and exciting to learn about, which is exactly what it is.
Cancer | June 21 – July 21
Worrying as the prospect of talking over certain already tense issue may be, there’s no avoiding it. Although the actual discussion is likely to be demanding as you anticipate, the resulting exchange
of ideas will be so rewarding that you’ll walk away feeling better informed and with a genuine sense of accomplishment.
Fajr 5:56 am
Sunrise 7:14 am
Zuhr 12:46 pm
Asr 4:41 pm
Maghrib 6:20 pm
Isha 7:35 pm
Starting time in Karachi
In Cinemas
DON 2: THE CHASE CONTINUES
Universe Cineplex6:30 pm, 9:30 pmAtrium Cinemas2:15 pm, 5:15 pm
AGNEEPATHSynopsis: In a small indian village, Vijay Dinanath Chauhan (Hrithik Roshan) learns about the path of fire from his father. his life is shattered when Kancha (Sanjay Dutt), an evil drug dealer, kills his father. Vijay leaves for Mumbai but his hatred for Kancha brings him back to the village 15 years later.Atrium2:00 pm, 5:15 pm, 8:15 pm, 11:00 pm, 11:30 pmUniverse Cineplex3:00 pm, 3:30 pm, 6:00 pm, 6:30 pm, 9:00 pm, 9:30 pmNishat CinemaDaily: 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 9:00 pm Extra show Sundays: 12:00 pmCapri CinemaDaily: 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 9:00 pm
CONTRABAND
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MISSION IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL
Atrium Cinemas11:30 pmUniverse Cineplex3:30 pm, 6:30 pm, 9:30 pmPrince CinemaDaily: 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 9:00 pm Extra show Sundays: 12:00 pm
HUGOUniverse Cineplex3:00 pm, 5:00 pmAtrium8:30 pm
MAN ON A LEDGE
Atrium2:45 pm, 9:15 pmUniverse Cineplex8:00 pm, 10:30 pm
PLAYERS
Universe Cineplex3:30 pm
UNIVERSE CINEPLEX: 35840996-7; ATRIUM CINEMAS: 111-ATRIUM (287 486);
CAPRI: 021-2259904; NISHAT: 021-2251535/021-2250535; PRINCE: 021-2254760
HAYWIREAtrium7:15 pm
110
15
8
2
12
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49
7
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JAMSHED QUARTERS
Bank robbed, robbers escape
1Nine armed men robbed the branch of a private bank near Islamia
College on Tuesday. They managed to escape along with Rs1.1 million and the weapons snatched from the security guard as well as CCTV recordings. The police have detained the security guard on suspicion of being involved. OUR CORRESPONDENT
JAMSHED TOWN
Three street criminals held
10The police ar-rested three alleged street
criminals, Salman, Atif Ali and Muhammad Saleem, and seized three pistols, three magazines, 15 bullets and a motorcycle from Hill Park and Khalid bin Waleed Road. PPI
ORANGI
Injured in firing
12A man was injured in firing on Tuesday. OUR
CORRESPONDENT
LYARI
Man injured
14Gunmen injured a man near Lyari General
Hospital on Tuesday. OUR
CORRESPONDENT
ARRESTS
28suspects were apprehended in the last 48 hours from Baloch Para, Liaquatabad, Natha Khan Goth and Shah Faisal Colony by the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh on Tuesday. They also recovered 30 dif-ferent kinds of weapons and ammunition from the posses-sion of those arrested. PPI
MALIR
Doctor slain
8Dr Ashfaque, 55, was killed when armed men opened fire on
his car while he was driving past the railway crossing at Malir Halt. According to the police, he died on the spot. His body was taken to Jinnah hospital. PPI
SHAHRA-E-FAISAL
Motorcyclistrun over
9The body of a 25-year-old motorcyclist, Azim, was brought to Jinnah
hospital after he was run over at Cantonment Road on Tuesday. PPI
LYARI
Mugging victim shot dead
16A man was shot dead when he put up a resistance
during a robbery at Lyari Expressway. OUR CORRESPONDENT
GULSHAN-E-MAYMAR
Hit-and-run
13A young man died in an accident on Tuesday. OUR
CORRESPONDENT
KEAMARI
Half a dozen shops robbed
7Nearly a dozen armed men looted cash, mo-bile phones and other
goods from over half a dozen shops and escaped in Kachi Para, said the police. OUR CORRESPONDENT
CLIFTON
Sibi MPA’s family ambushed
6The wife, daughter and a driver of the sit-ting MPA from Sibi in
the Balochistan, Mir Bakhtiar Khan Domki, were gunned down on Tuesday near Gizri bridge while they were going home after attending a wed-ding in Karachi. Additional IG Akhtar Hussain Gorchani said that the killings ap-peared to be the result of a family enmity. OUR
CORRESPONDENT
NEW KARACHI
Three men shot dead
3Irfan, Nizamuddin, and Adnan were shot and killed when unidenti-
fied motorcyclists opened fire on their car in Sector 5 near Bachat Bazaar on Tuesday. The bodies were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. OUR CORRESPONDENT
SADDAR
Jobless youth commits suicide
4The body of a 28-year-old man, who jumped from a
building, was brought to Jinnah hospital on Tuesday. He told his family before leaving home that he was going somewhere in search of a job, said the police. OUR
CORRESPONDENT
NEW KARACHI
Decomposedbody found
11The body of 75-year-old Shabbir Ahmed, thought to be four
days old, was found from a house in Khamiso Goth on Tuesday. OUR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH NAZIMABAD
Security guard, woman killed
2A security guard, Mazhar, 45, and a woman, Faiza Zeeshan,
28, were killed when un-identified gunmen opened fire at a franchise office of a cellular phone company on Tuesday, the police said. The bodies were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. PPI
NORTH KARACHI
Pillion riders hurt in bus crash
5Three pillion riders, Nazir Ahmed, Amir Khan and Tariq
sustained injuries when a bus hit their motorcycle near Nagan Chowrangi on Tuesday. The mob that gathered there after the accident damaged the bus with sticks and stones. The injured were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. PPI
BIN QASIM
Man hurt
15A man was shot and injured in Bhains Colony on
Tuesday. OUR CORRESPONDENT
4 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
37%of children in Islamabad’s rural
areas, aged up to five years, are out
of school despite enforcement of
Section 25-A of the Constitution,
according to a survey released by
SAFED. OUR CORRESPONDENT.
A NOT IN SCHOOL
"Freeman: Th e mango industry holds great promise
for Pakistan’s prosperity in general and greater revenues
for Sindh and Southern Punjab in particularUSAID Deputy Country Director Karen Freeman
"for
fo
Almost 60 per cent cases were reported from rural areas
A SHABBIR HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD
The fight against child sexual abuse is not going to be a smooth one. As the country continues to grapple with the nuisance, the cases registered 2.27 per cent increase in 2011 in comparison to the ones in the previous year (2010). This was revealed in a report compiled by Sahil, a non-government organisation .
The total number of sexual abuse cases in 2011, stand at a staggering 2,303. If abduction cases are excluded, the figures
of sexual abuse cases of 1,191 victims show that three chil-dren are assaulted every day.
In addition, abduction cases have steadily increased from 850 to 1,112. On aver-age, three children are ab-ducted every day.
The three major crime cat-egories show that there were 505 cases of rape/sodomy, 279 cases of gang rape/sodomy and 141 cases of attempted rape/sodomy. Gender-wise distribution follows trends of the previous years where mostly girls became victims of sexual abuse. The data shows that 72 per cent girls and 28 per cent boys were sexually abused.
Furthermore, a total of 4,846 attackers abused 2,303 children. The largest group identified was that of ac-quaintances, the second largest group being stran-
gers followed by perpetra-tors within the family. Like previous years, the highest percentage of vulnerable age group among girls was 1-15 years.
Among the boys, the age bracket of 6-15 years was the most vulnerable.
The time period of abuse shows that 85 per cent of the children were abused for one time. In five per cent of the cases, children were abused for more than a day, whereas for 10% of victims, the time period remains unknown.
Province-wise division shows that 79 per cent cases of abuse were reported from Punjab, followed by 10 per cent cases from Sindh, then four per cent from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and a combined of three per cent from Islamabad and Baluchistan. Only three cases were reported
from Azad Jammu Kashmir and one from Gilgit.
The urban-rural divide shows that almost 60 per cent cases were reported from rural areas whereas 40 per cent cases were reported from the urban areas.
The identification of a name was given of 56 per cent vic-tims, whereas the identity of 37 per cent of the victims was not revealed. Names and pictures of six percent victims and pictures only of one per-cent victims were published.
Of all the cases, 74 per cent were registered with police, 24 per cent were unregistered and status of almost two per cent cases remained unknown. The report was compiled from 65 national, regional and local newspapers.
Smooth ascend
Child abuse, abduction cases rose in 2011: study PERCENTAGE BREAKUP OF CHILD ABUSE CASES
Punjab Sindh K-P Balochistan G-B & AJK 79 10 4 3 4
STAGGERING
2,303is the total number of child sexual abuse cases in 2011
WASA received multiple complaints of ‘muddy water’ being supplied
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
RAWALPINDI
The water being provided to Rawalpindi will be tested for its quality, the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) said on Tuesday.
Wasa Managing Director (MD) Raja Shaukat Mehmood said the fresh survey is needed to check if clean water is being supplied to the city.
The MD directed the water quality manager to collect samples from head tanks around the city for labora-tory testing. Following the lab tests, Wasa teams will start plugging any leaks in the pipelines.
The recently appointed MD said Rawalpindi has three major sources of water: Rawal Dam, Khanpur Dam, and 290 tube wells spread
across the city. The water is supplied after
treatment at Rawal Dam and Sangjani treatment plants in accordance with WHO stand-ards, he added.
In a recent meeting, Wasa authorities said that that most tube wells, especially those installed on Nullah Lai’s banks, were equipped with hypo-chlorinators to purify water.
The MD said that a well-equipped water testing laboratory was installed at the Rawal Lake Filtration Plant under the supervi-sion of a qualified man-ager. Mehmood was briefed on complaints of muddy water being supplied in Aria Mohallah, which was later rectified.
The Wasa chief also ap-pealed to consumers to clean underground and overhead tanks in their houses, for which Wasa will provide free manpower to consum-ers upon request, the press release said.
Pindi’s water to be
tested for quality
A PEER MUHAMMAD
ISLAMABAD
After the calibre of primary school education came under fire on a national level, a re-port released last week in-dicates the problem is acute in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
With 37 per cent of children up to five years old out of school despite the enforce-ment of Section 25A of the con-stitution, the survey released by the South Asian Forum for Education Development (SAFED) depicts a poor state of education in the city. A number of households, 28 government schools and 26 private schools were surveyed for the purpose.
According to the report, 75.4
per cent children aged three, 36 per cent aged four and 6.8 per cent aged five do not at-tend schools. The learning level of students reflects a more unimpressive statistic with 42 per cent of first grade students in public schools and 59.4 per cent in private schools being able to read.
Similarly, only 52 per cent
of fifth grade public school students and 63.8 per cent of private school students can read sentences.
Furthermore, the report re-veals that 36 per cent of first grade public school students recognise numbers from 10 to 99. This figure marginally improves in the case of private schools with 57.8 per cent of the students.
Concerning arithmetic ex-ercises, 37.9 per cent of pub-lic school and 48.5 per cent private school, third graders can perform subtraction. Of them, 47 per cent are female students and 57.8 per cent
male students. Students who can read English sentences are at 33.6 per cent of fourth graders, 55.8 per cent of fifth graders. 65.4 per cent of sixth grades and 76.2 per cent of sev-enth graders.
The report further high-lighted that compared to 2010, the attendance levels at public and private schools were down by 12.2 per cent and up three per cent, respectively, in 2011.
Teacher attendance in gov-ernment primary, elemen-tary and high schools which stands at 72 per cent, 79 per cent and 85 per cent, is only marginally worse than private school whose ratios reflect a 89.7 per cent, 81.7 per cent and 94.7 per cent attendance in the same categories.
The report shows a troubling trend in the educational sys-tem in the country that is no longer limited to government public schools, but now in-cludes private schools in the ICT.
Education woes
A is for apple, B is for?Report indicates that a large number of students in capital can’t read or do simple arithmetic
Th e report shows a
troubling trend in the
educational system
that is no longer
limited to govt schools,
but now includes
private schools
DENIED
Students not attending schools
age percentage
3 75.4
4 36
5 6.8
COMPARISON
The basic indicatorsPrivate schools
Public Schools
Fifth graders who cannot read sentences
36.2 48
Third graders who cannot perform subtraction
51.5 62.1
First graders who cannot read simple words
40.6 58
First graders who cannot recognise numbers (0-99)
42.2 64
"Bemmessaoud: Th e
children of K-P have
displayed exemplary
resilience and courage
in pursuing their
studies despite a spate
of calamities
Pakistan World Bank Country Director Rachid Bemmessaoud
A ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Inter-city poster competition unearths raw talent
A MAVRA BARI
ISLAMABAD
You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only oneThese lyrics from John Lennon’s song “Imagine” reflect a child’s imagina-tion, undeterred by ground realities.
Around 500 sixth to eighth graders from government schools in the twin cities and Peshawar were given the freedom to imagine the “Pakistan of my dreams”. The 13 winners displayed im-pressive artistic and analyti-cal ability, showcasing their posters of what the Pakistan
of their dreams is like. While such competitions
are a regular fixture in private schools, shifting the same focus to government schools seemed to encourage students from the low socio-economic bracket of the country, ac-cording to the organisers.
“There is immense talent in these students. Art in itself is not promoted, so promoting artistic ability in children who are not very privileged is dually beneficial,” com-mented Dr Ruquia Bibi, the vice-principal of a govern-ment girls high school in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan World Bank Country Director Rachid Bemmessaoud said, “We de-cided to reach out to the chil-dren of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
as they have displayed exem-plary resilience and courage in pursuing their studies de-spite a spate of calamities suf-fered by the province in their last few years.”
He added, “Given the lim-ited resources available in public schools for encourag-ing the artistic expression, the breadth of vision, the in-genuity of strokes and the use of colour in these paintings is simply awesome.”
Ammara Ayub, a seventh grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F-10/2, presented an abstract by using the symbol of peace and doves, among other techniques in her painting. She showed two sides of the coin in Pakistan: terrorism and illiteracy versus educa-
tion and unity.Different in his ap-
proach from most boys, little Muhammad Iqbal of Government High School Boys PAF Base Peshawar Cantt surprised everyone by drawing an all-girls school. His work touched on some of the major issues faced by Pakistan: that of equal rights, female illiteracy and unutilised resources.
Although the sixth grader was unsure of his age, he surely detested the fact that while boys in his locality went to school, so many girls didn’t. Iqbal also translated for his classmate and friend Muhammad Sulaiman Khan, whose drawing depicted an idyllic countryside scene. The painting, Iqbal explained,
says that “there is too much focus on technology and infrastructure nowadays. [Sulaiman feels] that the best life is one where nature is respected and we live in harmony and conserve trees.” Meanwhile, pursuant to Sulaiman’s idea, Sara Sultan, an eighth grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F-10/2, focused on Information Technology’s progression. Sara displayed a sophisticated and clean artistic style communicating effectively how important it is to be connected globally. She shared her love for computers saying, “There is a lack of technology and professionals in Pakistan but I hope that by 2020 there will an abundance of them and I
will be one of them.”Mariam Amjad, a sixth
grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F10/2, also ad-dressed a pressing issue for Pakistan: power outages. She elaborated on her piece, say-ing “ loadshedding is always a big problem for everyone in Pakistan; be it winter or sum-mer. So I envision a country where electricity is always available.”
Instead of portraying a utopian picture of Pakistan, these students chose to ad-dress the problems faced by the country, imagining in-stead a country where these problems no longer exist.
The winning work from the competition will feature in the 2012 diaries and calendars of World Bank.
Tapping potential
Dreaming up a whole new world
CREATIVE EXPRESSION: In the realm of their ideal worlds, the students expressed equal opportunities, end to power outages and reclaiming scenic countryside among other meaningful and strong themes. PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD JAVAID
Haripur ‘honour’ killing
Investigators to face the
music for fudging facts
Departmental inquiry finds three police officials guilty of misconduct
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
HARIPUR
Three police officers who in-vestigated the killing of an adolescent girl in Kotari vil-lage two years ago are likely to face disciplinary action for fudging facts about her death and failing to launch an in-vestigation into the case.
District Police Officer Haripur Muhammad Ali Khan on Tuesday served show cause notices to Inspector Shaukat Khan, Sub-Inspector Babar Khan and Assistant Sub-Inspector Nazak Khan of Khalabat Township police station after a departmental inquiry found them guilty of negligence and failing to determine the cause of the girl’s death.
According to legal experts, the police officials could face termination if they fail to submit a satisfactory reply within the stipulated period of 14 days.
The 13-year-old girl, Rehnaz Bibi, was killed after being shot 30 times by a Kalashnikov on September 9, 2010 and her death was termed an accident by the family. Without conducting a post-mortem the police al-lowed the girl’s burial.
Human rights activists termed her death an act of honour killing and pursued a case against the family in
the Peshawar High Court. The court ordered the Hazara police chief to re-investigate the case on December 23, 2011 and initiate a departmental inquiry against police offi-cials within 30 days.
On the orders of the high court, the girl’s body was ex-humed and the autopsy re-port confirmed that she was shot at and killed. During investigation, one of her un-cles, Aftab Shah, confessed to have accidently shot the girl while he was clean-ing his pistol. He was sent to Haripur jail on judicial remand.
The family had initially claimed that the girl acci-dently shot herself while cleaning a pistol. However, the petitioners claimed that she was killed by her cousin, on her father’s request, for asking a boy she was in love with to marry her without her family’s consent.
The boy’s family, report-edly, had sent her back home the same evening with the promise of sending a pro-posal to her family later. The petitioners had claimed that the police closed the case in connivance with the family and concealed facts pertain-ing to her murder.
Legal experts say
the officials could
face termination if
they fail to submit
a satisfactory reply
within 14 days
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 9
SEIF AL ISLAM REDEEMED?
Qaddafi’s daughter to provide informationTHE HAGUE. Aisha Qaddafi wants to provide “concrete” informa-tion to protect the interests of her brother Seif al Islam, who is wanted for crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday. Qaddafi’s lawyer deliv-ered the request to the ICC, which immediately made it pub-lic. The ICC earlier denied that it had agreed that Qaddafi’s son can be tried in Libya, saying it had not come to a decision. AFP
PAK-US RELATIONS
Munter hopes ties will normaliseLARKANA. US Ambassador Cameron Munter expressed hope on Tuesday that talks on normalisation of relations will begin between the two countries after the debate in parliament. The ambassador also said that the November 26 attacks were “a terrible tragedy and the US will ensure that such incidents do not take place again”. Talking to media during a visit to Moenjodaro, Munter said the attack was “not pre-planned”. PPI
PATRONAGE NEEDED
Help sought for hearing-challengedKARACHI. All Memon Association of the Deaf has urged Pakistanis to come forward and patronise the community of the hearing-challenged. The association’s chairman Javed Jiwa sought help in the promotion of sign language to foster communication between his members and the general public. He also sought help in employment and marriage of the deaf people. He said unless they received assistance at the government level, and from philanthropic individuals, his association members would continue to face challenges. Pakistani deaf persons could perform far better than their counterparts elsewhere in the world, he said, adding that they are not seen begging on the streets and just needed opportunities to progress in life. OUR CORRESPONDENT
2008 MUMBAI SIEGE
Kasab appeals against death penaltyNEW DELHI. The lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks began a Supreme Court appeal against his death sentence on Tuesday by claiming that he had not received a fair trial. A lawyer read out a statement in court from Ajamal Kasab, one of 10 gunmen who laid siege to Mumbai in the attacks that lasted nearly three days and killed 166 people. “I have been wrongly held guilty because I was denied a fair trial. I was denied a counsel,” Kasab, who was not in court on Tuesday, said in a statement read by his appeal lawyer Raju Ramachandran. “The prosecution has failed to prove be-yond a reasonable doubt the charges against me... I may be guilty of killing people and carrying out a terrorist act but I am not guilty of waging war against the state.” AFP
14 people, including three linemen
of PESCO from Badabair area,
Peshawar were kidnapped
by unidentified armed men,
according to the police. APP
A ABDUCTION
SMOOTH SAILING
Twilight in Peshawar
DUSK ON THE RIVER: Locals enjoy boat ride on a river in Peshawar. PHOTO: INP
Says his govt ready to discuss next polls after the 5th budget
ISLAMABAD
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said a new chief election commis-sioner (CEC) would be ap-pointed in consensus with all political parties, as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) wanted to ensure free, fair and transparent general elections.
“The chief election com-missioner will also be ap-pointed in consensus with all the political parties after the retirement of incum-bent CEC, as we did in the case of the appointment of members of the Election Commission,” Gilani said
while responding to the queries of callers from gen-eral public in a live ‘Prime Minister Online’ television programme.
Regarding the opposition demand for the appointment of a NAB chairman, Gilani said there was a difference between the appointment of a CEC and NAB chair-man. “NAB chairman is ap-pointed by the president in consultation with the Leader of House and the Leader of Opposition. “Consultation does not mean consensus,” he added.
To a question about specu-lations regarding the next general elections, Gilani said that unlike the past when there was article 58-2b, and the governments and assemblies with two-thirds
majority were removed un-constitutionally and elec-tions were called, now it is the prime minister’s prerogative.
However, he added that he has already stated that after the holding of Senate elections in February-March and the new budget in May, the government was ready to sit with the opposition to discuss this matter (next elections).
In response to a question about the preparation of new voter lists, he assured that there would be free, fair and transparent elections. The PPP is not a one-timer party, it has come into power by contesting elections and not through an overnight change, adding that “we want transparent elec-tions.” APP
A ZAHID GISHKORI
ISLAMABAD
Despite serious reservations by smaller opposition groups and the government’s coalition partner the Awami National Party (ANP), the Senate passed the Private Power and Infrastructure Board Bill, 2011 on Tuesday.
The bill, aimed at attract-ing and facilitating private investment in the power sec-tor, has already been passed by the National Assembly. The bill will now be sent to President Asif Ali Zardari for final approval.
The Private Power Infrastructure Board was es-tablished in 1994 by the fed-eral government through a notification and later was given legal cover through legislation.
Federal Minister for Water
and Power Naveed Qamar moved the bill in Senate while ANP Senator Haji Adil opposed the move, saying: “This bill is against the spirit of the18th Amendment.” Adil informed lawmakers that he has written a letter to the prime minister to resolve issues pertaining to the controversial bill.
Leader of the Opposition in Senate, Maulana Ghafoor Haideri, observed: “Such a move [establishing such an institution] will hurt provin-cial autonomy.” Speaking on
a point of order, he said there was a need to amend various clauses in the bill.
One concern for the oppo-sition leader was that hydel power projects could not be launched in any province without the prior approval of the concerned federating unit.
Power minister Qamar, on the other hand, highlighted the benefits of the bill, saying it would help the federal gov-ernment implement its power policy fully, award projects and facilitate private power companies.
According to the minister, the bill will empower the con-cerned ministry to coordinate with provincial governments, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and other regulatory bodies over the implementation of power policies.
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami
Party member Abdul Rahim Mandokhel, however, ex-pressed his reservation over the bill. “I will not support the bill as my proposed amend-ments were withdrawn by the concerned committee,” he informed the House angrily, before withdrawing his pro-posed changes.
On the other hand, two op-position parties in Senate, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), supported the bill after the government incorporated their proposed amendments in it.
PML-N senator Ishaq Dar and JI senator Professor Khurshid Ahmed moved six amend-ments, which were inserted, unopposed, into the bill dur-ing debate in the House. Dar opposed the ANP’s stance, denying that it was against
the 18th amendment. Leader of the House Senator Nayyar Hussain Bokhari also en-dorsed Senator Dar saying, “This legislation was not an infringement on the rights of provinces.”
The power minister also in-formed the senate chairman that the Council of Common Interests (CCI) decided the provinces could make invest-ments in the power sector on their own and constitute their own private power boards. “This bill has the represen-tation of all provinces and it would only help the investors to facilitate them in making investment in power genera-tion projects,” Qamar added.
The bill reads: “Now this Board will recommend and facilitate in developing long term power policies in con-sultation with the concerned
provincial governments prior to taking any decision to construct or cause to be con-structed…,” reads the bill.
During proceedings, some lawmakers observed that the newly passed bill will be a body with perpetual succes-sion and a common seal with power to enter into agree-ments and contracts.
Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek also referred a privilege motion moved by ANP sena-tor Zahid Khan to the relevant committee of the Upper House against concerned officials of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) for not re-sponding to a question. Senator Khan sought details of expendi-tures on advertisements for the programme released to differ-ent media organisations. The House will meet again today (Wednesday) at 4 pm.
Parliamentary election
New CEC to be appointed after consensus: PM
Senate session
Private power bill passed despite dissenting voicesOpposition groups, ANP oppose Private Power and Infrastructure Board Bill
Provincial election commission held a meeting chaired by Syed Sher Afgan
A IFTIKHAR FIRDOUS
PESHAWAR
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has encouraged all members of the transgen-der community who possess Computerised National Identity
Cards (CNICs) to enlist them-selves on the electoral rolls from February 9. This would enable them to cast their vote in the next general elections, stated a press release issued from the office of the provin-cial election commission on Tuesday.
The statement emerged dur-ing a meeting held by the pro-vincial election commission, presided over by the director-
general of the election commis-sion Syed Sher Afgan.
It was announced that, in light of the Supreme Court’s de-cision, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has been enlisting members of the transgender community for the next gen-eral elections, and all members of the community have been asked to visit the district office of the election commission
from February 9, where district election and social welfare of-ficers along with NADRA’s mo-bile registration team will also
be present to assist the commu-nity members.
Syed Sher Afgan said that the ECP has been informed of the problems the transgender community has faced in ob-taining CNICs and registering for the vote.
“All the regional election commissioners have been di-rected to enlist transgenders for casting votes … those who do not possess CNICs should be
enlisted, for NADRA to be is-sued their ID cards,” the press release said.
Meanwhile, members of the transgender community have again expressed concern at the format of the CNIC cards, saying that many of them did not know the names of their fathers. The community members also de-manded that the commission allow them to use their aliases with their real names.
Equality in K-P
Transgender voter registration begins on Feb 9Members of the
transgender
community have
again expressed
concern at the format
of the CNIC cards
Th e bill, aimed
at attracting and
facilitating private
investment in the
power sector, has
already been passed
by the NA
ANALYSIS, FROM PAGE 1conditions must be satisfied before the use of force against them can be justified. The first condition is that there must be an ‘armed attack’ against the US which necessitates the use of force in self-defence. The key question here is: What constitutes an armed attack? The severity and scale of dam-age done by the attack of a non-state actor must be such that it would amount to an armed attack had it been carried out by the regular forces of a state. The second condition is that there must a link between the non-state actor and the host state. In Nicaragua v. USA, 1986, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that the host state must exercise an “ef-fective control” over the non-
state actor to trigger the right to use force in self-defence. The ICJ reaffirmed the test of “effective control” in Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro 2007 (para-graphs 399 and 401). Article 8 of the 2001 International Law Commission’s Articles on the Responsibility of States for International Wrongful Acts, reflecting customary law, states that the “conduct of a person or group of persons
shall be considered an act of a State under international law if the person or group of persons is in fact acting on the instructions of, or under the direction or control of, that State in carrying out the conduct”. The factual link be-tween the host and non-state actor must be established be-fore resorting to use force.
In addition, the host state shall either not be willing or unable to control the non-state actor. Once these two conditions are met, then pro-portionate use of force is per-mitted – which is the third condition.
Let us turn to the US claim of self-defence against al Qaeda and its affiliates in Pakistan. First, Pakistan does not have effective control over
al Qaeda or its affiliates. On the contrary, al Qaeda and its affiliates, such as the Pakistani Taliban, are banned under the terrorism legisla-tion in Pakistan. The security forces of Pakistan are actively engaged in fighting al Qaeda and its affiliates. Pakistan clearly does not have “effec-tive control” over al Qaeda and its affiliates and their acts cannot be attributed to Pakistan. The argument that the Pakistan is not willing to do enough to suppress armed groups inside its borders is not convincing: Hundreds of Taliban fighters and Pakistani troops are killed in the ongo-ing armed conflict.
Evidence also suggests that, very often, civilians were killed and property destroyed
in access of “concrete and di-rect military advantage”, i.e. violating the customary prin-ciple of proportionality. The law of armed conflict allows killing and being killed in the battlefield by combatants - but the CIA, a civilian organ of the state, targets individuals away from the battlefield who they regard either as terrorists or supporters of terrorism. The CIA has virtually become a judge, a jury and an execu-tioner violating international human rights law.
Let there be no doubt: Drone attacks violate the UN Charter, the principle of pro-portionality and international human rights law. THE AUTHOR IS A SENIOR LECTURER IN
LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL, UNITED
KINGDOM.
Th e US is acting over and above the law
VIOLENCE, FROM PAGE 1gunned down and his brother Sameer, 26, was injured in a drive-by shooting in Ramswamy. Twenty-four-year-old Amir was gunned down in Yousuf Goth. Three men in their car were ambushed and killed by armed motorcyclists in Sector 5 near the Bachat Bazaar as well.
A receptionist and security guard were killed and at least three others were wounded when men attacked a Telenor franchise in North Nazimabad. This was the fourth time ter-
rorists have attacked fran-chises of telecommunication companies, in what the police say is a Tehreek-i-Taliban ex-tortion racket.
Elsewhere, a retired captain, who worked as a dermatolo-gist, was gunned down near Malir Railway crossing. The 62-year-old Dr Ashfaq Ahmed Qazi was on his way to his clinic. Police suspected sectar-ian motives as he subscribed to the Deoband school of thought and his two sons are muftis at Darul Uloom, Korangi.
10 more killed in Karachi
Evidence also
suggests that, very
often, civilians were
killed and property
destroyed in access of
“concrete and direct
military advantage”
A TAHIR KHAN
ISLAMABAD
As Pakistan and Afghanistan warm up to each other fol-lowing almost four months of tensions sparked by the as-sassination of top peace nego-tiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to visit Islamabad in February.
Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit said President Karzai will attend a trilateral summit with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iranian diplomats confirmed Ahmadinejad will be partici-
pating in the summit.An Afghan diplomat told The
Express Tribune that Karzai’s visit is expected in the third week of February.
Afghanistan had not ac-cepted a proposal from Iran’s president that the summit be held in October to bring President Karzai and President Zardari to the negotiation table to ease tensions between their countries.
Basit said President Karzai will meet his Pakistani coun-terpart at the trilateral sum-mit, the schedule for which will be finalised soon.
However, an Afghan diplo-mat said the summit is likely
to be held in the third week of February. He also confirmed President Karzai will be vis-iting Pakistan to represent Afghanistan at the summit.
Basit said a wide range of issues, with a special focus on the Afghan reconciliation process, will be discussed dur-ing Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s visit to Kabul on Wednesday.
When asked about the agenda of Khar’s visit, he said that both sides will discuss the Afghan reconciliation process. She will hold official talks with Afghan counterpart Zalmay Rasoul and will call on President Hamid Karzai in her day-long visit.
President Karzai to visit Pakistan in mid-Feb
MAJOR ASSAULT, FROM PAGE 1from Tirah Valley (in Khyber Agency) into Kurram Agency and North Waziristan Agency by the miscreants,” said the military statements.
A senior military official earlier told AFP that ‘more than 300 Taliban attacked’ the check-post at around midnight on Monday. “Heavy fighting continued until Tuesday morn-ing,” the military official said.
Security officials told The Express Tribune that helicopter gunships were called in to help the ground troops fight off the massive attack. The military statement said the attackers were unable to dislodge the check-post.
In July last year, security forces launched an offensive to evict Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan fighters from Kurram, mirroring operations that it has carried out across much of the rest of the tribal belt.
This operation proved to be a lengthy one because Kurram Agency borders militant-in-fested tribal regions of Khyber, Orakzai and North Waziristan on three sides and Afghanistan on the fourth side.
Since 2007 the sectarian strife in Kurram was hijacked by Taliban insurgents who use the region as a transit route for its fighters sneaking into Afghanistan to fight alongside their namesakes against the US-led Nato forces. The author-ities have managed to reopen the strategic Thall-Parachinar highway, which closed to traf-fic for over three years. (WITH
ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)
Troops repulse attack
14 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
1845was the year in which the British
authorities in India asked British
explorer and writer Sir Richard
(Francis) Burton (1821-1890) to
investigate brothels in Sindh, and he
provided precise information about
the bordellos he found in Karachi. SOURCE: WHO’S WHO IN GAY AND LESBIAN HISTORY, ROUTLEDGE
A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Around the City
REVELATIONS
9 renowned artists
1Today we unearth the secrets of men and women who
have come from this soil and shall go back to it. Works by Riffat Alvi, Raania Durrani, Aliya Yusuf, Fahim Rao, Nabahat Lotia, Hameer Soomro, Sara Mahmood, Abeer Asim and Zuna Altaf at the Indus Valley School gallery opening
on February 1 at 4:30pm to 8pm (through to Feb. 15).
FUEL FOR THOUGHT
POWERGEN PAK 2012
2 The 5th International Power Generation conference and exhibition will be held on February 2 at 9:15am with the theme “Future Energy Mix in Overcoming the Power
Crises” at Marriott Hotel. The media manager can be reached at 0321-2185653 and 0331-5166609.
SHOW YOU CARE, BE AWARE
Learn about breast cancer
3 Join the PECHS Trauma and General Hospital in the fight against breast cancer. A lecture
by leading breast cancer surgeon Dr Rufina Soomro is being held on Sat February 4 at 4pm. Also, free mam-mographies are being offered for women between 40 and 75 years of age by the PECHS Medical Foundation Trust.
Group show of Jamil Naqsh, Ahmed Parvez, Bashir
Mirza, Shakir Ali and Gulgee, now open at Eye for Art
Gallery at 22 C/2, 6th Comm. lane, Zamzama (till Feb 7)
For obituaries, soyems and requests for Fateha please contact our reporter Sohail Khattak at 0345-520 5968 or email us at [email protected]
More than 80% of parents living in rural areas are aware of the disease
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
While pneumonia contin-ues to be the leading cause of death in the world, with one-fifth of the fatalities in Pakistan, a recent study shows that home treatment in rural areas of the country can be as effective as one at a healthcare facility.
A study published in The Lancet was conducted by the Aga Khan University Hospital’s (AKUH) divi-sion of women and child health in collaboration with the national Lady Health Workers programme, Boston University’s centre for global health and develop-ment and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) de-partment of child and ado-lescent health. “More than 80% of parents living in rural areas were aware of pneumonia,” said the as-sistant professor from the department of paediatrics and child health and one of the study’s researchers, Dr Sajid Soofi. “Most people are concerned about the cost of transport from homes to
the healthcare facility.” In most cases the distance to the closest healthcare facil-ity is about 10 kilometres. Dr Soofi added that this is where the lady health workers can make a significant difference by diagnosis and referring or treating the condition early.
The principal investiga-tor for the Matiari study and chair for the division of women and child health at AKUH, Prof. Zulfiqar A Bhutta said that the point of the study was to see whether lady health workers could manage to do a good job with treating children and the an-swer is yes, they can.
Researchers of the study propose that an oral antibi-otic, Amoxicillin, could be given at home instead of an intravenous antibiotic given at most healthcare facilities as recommended by WHO. In 2008, nearly 1.6 million chil-dren died because of pneumo-nia and 84,210 of them were from Pakistan.
The proposal was made by keeping in mind parents who are unable to bring children to a healthcare facility.
According to Soofi, lady health workers had diagnosed more than 95% of the cases ac-curately. “We found that with training, public sector LHWs in Pakistan were able to sat-
isfactorily diagnose and treat severe pneumonia at home in rural Pakistan,” said Bhutta.
The trial was carried out in Matiari, 250 kilometres north of Karachi with 1,600 villages and an estimated population of 600,000 and a high rate of pneumonia.
Researchers said that the study covered a representa-tive rural population in Sindh where the medical condition was prevalent. “The point was to do the study in tough areas first but we are quite keen to see how successful it will be in other areas as well,” said Bhutta while talking to The Express Tribune. “For exam-ple in Balochistan, there is no doctor in sight for quite a distance in such situations at least there is some reliable al-ternative as opposed to doing nothing.”
The researchers suggested that the findings of this study could also be applied in Balochistan and Punjab.
Hospitals have challenged being handed over to the Sindh government’s controlKARACHI
The new ‘boss’ of the people who work at Jinnah hospi-tal has said in court that none of the staff have been transferred nor have their salaries been frozen.
Sindh Health Secretary Hashim Raza appeared before Justices Maqbool Baqar, Faisal Arab and Sajjad Ali Shah on Monday as they heard a num-ber of identical petitions challenging the transfer of Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) from the federal to the provincial govern-ment’s control.
The bench asked Sindh Additional Advocate General Sarwar Khan to come up with a concrete statement on the part of the govern-ment as it was an important case involving major health institutions. Jinnah hospi-tal, NICVD and the chil-dren’s hospital, all located just a stone’s throw from each other, were devolved
from central control after the 18th amendment came into effect. This new law gives the provinces more control over areas such as health and education but these three hospitals, the largest in Sindh, do not want to be run by the Sindh government for several reasons.
Deputy Attorney General Ashique Raza asked the court for more time to re-spond as the attorney gen-eral of Pakistan would argue the case.
However, right now he is busy before the Supreme Court in matters of national importance. The Sindh gov-ernment’s lawyer Barrister Makhdoom Ali Khan made a similar request and the bench put off the hearing till February 13.
The hospitals have argued that the 18th constitu-tional amendment, which was given as the reason for their transfer to the Sindh government, was flawed. Citing the example of JPMC, the petitioners maintain that besides serv-ing as a leading tertiary care centre, half a dozen institutes were working under its umbrella, includ-ing the hospital, the Basic Medical Sciences Institute,
the College of Nursing, the School of Nursing, the College of Physiotherapy, the School of Occupational Therapy and the College of Medical Technology.
These institutions were working as autonomous organisations, serving the thousands of federal gov-ernment employees besides catering to patients from all over Sindh province.
The hospitals also ar-gued that they were being discriminated against as another hospital, the fed-erally run Sheikh Zayed Medical Centre in Lahore was not transferred to the Punjab government after the 18th amendment and was still being run as fed-eral institution.
There was another exam-ple of PIMS as well. Thus, the three hospitals say that the new law doesn’t mention the devolution of health as a subject.
Devolution
JPMC, NICVD’s new ‘boss’ says salaries have been paid
Th is new law gives
the provinces more
control over health
and education but
these three hospitals
do not want to be run
by the Sindh govt
Hacking cough
Study demonstrates treating pneumonia at home can be effective
WATCH OUT
Symptoms for pneumonia • Fever• Chills• Cough • Rapid breathing
NAMAZ-E-JANAZA
REQUEST FOR FATEHA
With profound sorrow we announce the demise of our beloved
Syed Safdar Hussain Shah Bukhari, son of Syed Ghulam Akbar
Shah Bukhari. He left us peacefully on Tuesday, January 31. His
funeral prayers will be offered on Wednesday, February 1, after
Zohr prayers at Imambargah Yasrab, Phase IV, DHA. May God rest
his soul in eternal peace and give patience to the family. Ameen
Bereaved:Syed Ali Absar Shah Bukhariand familyContact: 0334 390 2907
With profound sorrow we announce the demise of our beloved
Mohammad Hussain, son of Wazir Ali. He left us peacefully
on Saturday, January 28, and was laid to rest. We request you to
please recite Surah-e-Fateha for his departed soul. May God rest
his soul in eternal peace and give patience to the family. Ameen
Bereaved:Kashif Raza, Aamir Raza,Sabeen FatimaContact: 021 32 29 28 99
Syed Safdar Hussain Shah Bukhari (Income Tax Tribunal judge)
Mohammad Hussain
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
A 25-year-old receptionist and a security guard were killed and at least three others were wounded when armed men attacked a Telenor franchise near the Matric Board Office in North Nazimabad on Tuesday.
This was the fourth time terrorists have attacked fran-chises of telecommunication companies. Since December 2011, two franchises, of Telenor and Mobilink each, have been attacked in the same manner. A regional sales officer at Warid was shot dead at one of the company’s franchise in Mehmoodabad on January 18 for what the police say was putting up a resistance to a robbery.
Although the Crime Investigation Department killed and arrested the men
they said were responsible for the attacks, they had also warned that there might be more. The men they had nabbed and killed in an al-leged encounter near Dalmia were from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and were targeting the franchises to compel the telecom compa-nies to pay extortion.
At around 12:52pm, two armed men in shalwar ka-meez, entered the Telenor outlet and opened fire at the staffers before escap-ing within five minutes. As a result, Faiza, 25, security guard Mazhar Butt, salesman Mansoor, 37, and two custom-ers, Waseem, 29, and Imtiaz, 26, were wounded. They were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors pro-nounced Faiza and Mazhar dead and the two others as critical. Faiza, who was mar-
ried, lived in Nazimabad and Mazhar in Orangi Town.
“The security guard had placed his weapon inside and was going out for some work when he was targeted,” said the manager of the outlet, Shahzad Khan, who was also present inside. He escaped unharmed as he locked him-self into a room. “Then the men came inside and opened fire.”
He said that the men even opened the fire on the en-trance door and windows
inside the franchise. Police officers reached the site soon after.
They said that one attacker was injured in the firing by his own companion.
“Apparently, this is part of the series of attacks on fran-chises whose purpose is extor-tion,” said District West DIG Imran Yaqoob Minhas. “We solved the previous two cases in which a Taliban member was killed and another was arrested. Perhaps these guys were their buddies.”
SP Chaudhry Asad told The Express Tribune that the police have obtained the CCTV foot-age and are questioning the men arrested in the earlier attacks.
The owner of the franchise, Noman, is outside Pakistan which is why the police reg-istered an FIR on behalf of the manager.
Extortion scare
Telenor receptionist, guard shot in fourth franchise attack
DISCONNECTED: Armed men attacked a Telenor franchise near the Matric Board Office in North Nazimabad on Tuesday. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Faculty assured that police and Rangers will be removed once 100 security men hired
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
There was a breakthrough in the standoff between the Sindh University vice chancellor and teachers on Tuesday when Dr Nazir Mughal was sent on medical leave as a judicial commit-tee investigates the murder of the director of student affairs.
The teachers had boycot-ted work for nearly a month after Prof (retd) Bashir Ahmed Chanur was mur-dered. He was killed shortly after several students were rusticated. No arrests have been made yet.
On Tuesday, a delegation of protesting teachers met the governor’s adviser on higher education Dr Noshad Sheikh. All the VCs of public universities attended.
The teachers were rep-resented by the Sindh U n i v e r s i t y Te a c h e r s Association’s Dr Azhar Ali Shah, Arfana Mallah, and Naimatullah Laghari, the president of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association for Sindh.
SU Pro Vice Chancellor Dr Parveen Shah will manage the university as acting VC in Dr Mughal’s absence. “Almost all of the teachers’ demands were addressed but we’ll continue our campaign till the removal of the VC, the restoration of student union and the removal of the police and rangers from campus,” Mallah said.
They were assured that the police and Rangers would be removed after 100 security personnel were recruited. Governor House would write
the federal government on this.
The judicial committee will not only investigate the killing but will also look into the allegations of mismanagement.
SU Registrar Akhter Memon told The Express Tribune that Dr Mughal was on medical leave for four days. “He was already not feeling well,” he said. According to him, Dr Mughal and the late Prof Chanur were al-ready working on a campus security plan and Dr Chanur was examining student wel-fare association by-laws. Therefore, Memon added, there was no need for the teachers to make such de-mands. “Dr Mughal’s re-moval is unjustified,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the associa-tion held a protest on the main campus on Tuesday morning and reiterated their demand for the removal of the VC. Several students on motorcycles also gathered on campus and chanted slo-gans against the association and teachers, demanding academic work go back to normal.
Impasse ends
SU VC goes on medical leave, teachers resume work
SU Pro Vice
Chancellor Dr
Parveen Shah
will manage the
university as acting
VC in Dr Mughal’s
absence
"Almost all of the
teachers’ demands
were addressed but
we’ll continue our
campaign till the
removal of the VC
SU Teacher’s Association
Tehreek-i-Taliban members detained in earlier cases may provide clues
"Apparently, this
is part of the series of
attacks on franchises
whose purpose is
extortion
District West DIG Imran Yaqoob Minhas
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 19
LOVE BUG
Hasselhoff proposes atop Sydney BridgeSYDNEY. “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff proposed to girlfriend Hayley Roberts, 28 years his junior, on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Hasselhoff, 59, posted the news on his Twitter account, but left his followers guess-ing over how Roberts replied. “Tried it again on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. What do you think she said?,” he tweeted, alongside a picture of him on one knee. AFP
"Kapoor: Th e Dirty Picture is the
highest pirated film in the history of
Indian movies
Producer Ekta Kapoor, who launched the DVD of The Dirty Picture on Monday, rues the damage caused by film piracy around the world. IANS
NEWS IN BRIEFCOMEBACK
Madonna album to release on Feb 3
LONDON. A single from Madonna’s upcoming album MDNA, “Give Me All Your Luvin”, is set for a February 3 release; two days before her performance at the Super Bowl. The track features Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. and was composed by Martin Solveig. REUTERS
SOLACE IN ROMANCE
Bhansali to make Romeo and Juliet
MUMBAI. Sanjay Leela Bhansali had revealed that his next venture, the script of which was already in place, will be a fun film unlike his recent ventures into darker cinema. Mumbai Mirror has learnt that the romantic saga will be an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. TOI
EXTRAVAGANT
Khan and Makhdoom exchange rings
LONDON. Boxer Amir Khan and his fiancee Faryal Makhdoom made their relationship of-ficial by exchanging rings in front of 1,000 of their nearest at a £150,000 engagement party. The ceremony was held at Bolton Wanderers Stadium, Manchester on January 30. DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
CENSORED
Dragon Tattoo cancelled in India
MUMBAI. Sony Pictures will not release its blockbuster movie The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo in India after censors de-manded that scenes showing “bare bottoms” be blurred. India’s Central Board of Film Certification has deemed the film unsuitable for public viewing. AFP
SMOKIN’
Beckham’s the sexiest man
LONDON. David Beckham is The Sexiest Man on the Planet 2012, according to Heat Magazine’s 101 Hottest Hunks in the World list 2012. Beckham beat Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds and Bradley Cooper, who came second, third and fourth respectively. IANS
Beckham is the hottest of them all. PHOTO: FILE
Madonna’s album will release this week. PHOTO: FILE
The film is unsuitable for viewing in its unaltered form. PHOTO: FILE
Fitting fitness insidethe cubicle
Assange to guest star on ‘Th e Simpsons’
Who took the lady home?
NEW YORK
Whether your office is in the business district or on the dining room table, sitting immobile for hours in front of a computer screen is at odds with the fit body. So fitness experts and entrepreneurs are thinking outside the box to transform the cubicle from sedentary prison to multitasking work and workout space.
“We’ve made Americans fat by putting them in cubicles,” said Steve Bordley, CEO of TrekDesk. His solution is a workstation designed to fit over a treadmill. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Bordley said he developed TrekDesk after a leg injury in 2008 crimped his active lifestyle. “I couldn’t run anymore so I started experimenting with a treadmill,” said Bordley. “An epiphany occurred: Walking is a pretty powerful exercise. My back problems went away, I lost 26 pounds and I slept great.”
“We’ve evolved over millions of years to be moving through the wilderness while hunt-ing game. Our body was designed around that movement,” he said. “It’s the people who sit all day who have to fight lethargy.”
When it comes to doing her paperwork, Minneapolis-based personal trainer and group fitness instructor Chris Freytag prefers to stand. “I’m totally in love with my standing workstation,” she said. “The treadmill desk is a great concept, but it’s large. I would probably put mine in my basement and I’m not going to work in the basement.”
As chair of the Board of Directors for the American Council on Exercise (Ace), Freytag
is acutely aware of the need to move, even while forced to spend a lot of time at her desk. For her, the beauty of the standing workstation lies in its mobility. “You can pull it into the family room or wheel it around the house,” she said.
For those on a tight budget, Dr Cedric Bryant, Ace’s chief science officer, has another solu-tion. “Invest on a headset,” he said. “I handle all phone calls while standing or pacing.” He said getting outside the building is a growing corporate trend, and he holds as many stand-ing, walking, or off-site meetings as he can.
“Another strategy would be to set your schedul-ing device to remind you to get out and move for five minutes on the hour,” Bryant said. REUTERS
LOS ANGELES
Controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be a guest character and voice on animated TV comedy “The Simpsons”, playing a neigh-bour of the family after they move from their home in fic-tional Springfield.
Assange’s brief guest star-ring role will be on the show’s February 19 programme, which marks the 500th epi-sode of “The Simpsons”, said Antonia Coffman, a spokes-woman for the show airing on the Fox television network in the United States.
In the episode, the Simpsons — Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and their pets — leave home and move to a rugged and isolated area where they find themselves living next to Assange.
Simpsons executive pro-ducer Al Jean told Entertainment Weekly magazine that the show’s creative team realises Assange is “controversial”, but while putting together the show, they avoided delv-ing into his “legal situation”. Instead, the writers made sure the appearance was sa-tirical. Assange recorded his lines remotely from Britain.
Assange is currently under house arrest outside London and due to appear before Britain’s Supreme Court to appeal his extradition to
Sweden where he has been accused of sexual misconduct by two former WikiLeaks vol-unteers. He angered US offi-cials in 2010 when WikiLeaks, in partnership with major newspapers, published a trove of leaked diplomatic ca-bles that exposed the candid views of American officials and their allies about a wide range of topics including the wars in Afghanistan and, at
the time, Iraq.Last week, English language
channel Russia Today revealed it had given Assange his own television talk show. Assange will interview noteworthy figures on a show dubbed “The World Tomorrow”, the channel said.
“The Simpsons”, which de-buted in 1989 on Fox, is the longest running primetime, scripted television series. REUTERS
Th e 57th Filmfare Awards was a concoction of glamour and anticipation served with an extra tinge of glee for the winners
A NEWS DESK
Bollywood’s most prestigious Filmfare Awards celebrated their 57 years of acknowledging excel-lence on Sunday night.
This time around the fiesta was hosted by stars Shahrukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. The two hosts started off with a Khans versus Kapoors war and bragged about the importance of their last name. However, it was Vidya Balan who was voted the most powerful person in B-Town, according to timesofindia.com
Ranbir Kapoor and Vidya Balan took home the prize for Best Actor and Best Actress for Rockstar and The Dirty Picture respectively. It was a double win for Ranbir as he not just picked the Best Actor trophy, but also the critics’ choice Best Actor Award too.
However, it was Zoya Akthar’s directorial venture Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which bagged most of the awards at the event. The film re-ceived seven most popular awards namely Best Film, Best Dialogue, Best Director, Best Movie (Critics), Best Supporting Actor (Farhan Akhtar), Best Choreography and Best Cinematography, according to entertainment.oneindia.in.
Rockstar followed in the second place with five awards, including Best Lyrics for Irshad Kamil for the song “Nadaan Parindey”, Best Music Director for AR Rahman and Best Playback Singer (male) for Mohit Chuhan’s rendition of “Jo Bhi Main”.
The other big winner turned out to be Delhi
ODD MIX: Controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be a guest character on animated TV comedy “The Simpsons”, playing a neighbour of the family. PHOTOS: FILE
A RAFAY MAHMOOD
KARACHI
The open air auditorium at the Karachi Arts Council was considered the best venue for bands during the heyday of live rock music in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Almost a decade later, when the pros-pects of the Pakistani music industry go from gloomy to gloomier, the sight of hordes of eager fans cheering out-side the same venue was pleasantly surprising. It was in anticipation of Islamabad-based rock band Qayaas that made the fans’ voice go up by several decibels.
After a painful delay of two
hours, Qayaas — compris-ing of Umair Jaswal on lead vocals, Khurram Waqar and Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor on guitars, Shaheryar Ghayas on bass guitar and Salman Rafique(Fifu) on drums and percussions — finally made their way into the auditorium.
No matter how good a band is at live performances, the most important thing is to have is an entertaining vo-calist. Jaswal is an ideal per-son to lead the band as he knows where and how to lift the crowd as well as how to cover up technical glitches (if any). Meanwhile, Waqar and Ghafoor are two of the finest
live guitarists in Pakistan, who, when perform together, can steal the show. However, the most interesting member of the band was Ghayas, who, despite being the bassist (one of the most undervalued posi-tions in the band) showed the
energy of a one-man army. His attitude and energy on stage should be inspiring for upcoming rock musicians.
Though around 400 in num-ber, the crowd looked scarce in a 1,200-seating capacity venue. However, this did not, in any way, seem to hinder Qayaas’ energy on stage. “Can anyone tell you how to live?” shouted Jaswal. “Do you be-lieve in what the government says?” And the crowd roared in a loud disagreement. It was more than just a healthy response for a band that is per-forming in a proper concert for the first time in Karachi.
The band played their entire
debut album Uss Paar and some songs in particular had people head banging throughout. A song that was requested over and over again by fans was “Ishq” — a beautifully done Sufi track. However, the most popular tracks of the evening remained “Umeed” and “Tanha”, as the entire crowd sang to them.
The last song of the evening, the album’s title track “Uss Paar”, was dedicated to Rohail Hyatt, who was also in atten-dance. The heavy-yet-catchy beat was an ideal ending to a night full of pure rock music, something that Karachi has been longing for for a while.
Belly, which won for Best Debut Director (Abhinay Deo), Best Editing (Huzefa Lokhandwala) and Best Production Design (Shashank Tere).
Priyanka Chopra won the Best Actor critics (female) award for playing the femme fatale in Vishal Bharadwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf. IANS
Slap attackJust one day after the awards during which he entertained the audience, Khan made the news again, this time for physically abusing his good friend Farah Khan’s husband.
The Bollywood superstar allegedly assaulted Farah’s husband and film-maker Shirish Kunder at a party thrown by actor Sanjay Dutt on Sunday, The Hindustan Times reported.
The argument apparently started when Khan confronted Kunder about his remarks on Khan’s movie RA.One, which the superstar had also pro-duced. Kunder had tweeted: “I just heard a 150 crore firework fizzle.” When things got out of hand, Dutt had to intervene to stop the brawl.
Farah Khan confirmed the incident. “Shirish, my husband, was beaten up by Shahrukh and his three bodyguards at Sanjay Dutt’s party. Shahrukh asked Shirish why he had tweeted against him. There was no provocation from our side. He had screamed at Shirish telling him that he would destroy me as well,” the chore-ographer-director told Headlines Today.
Farah also messaged reporters: “Shahrukh has always told me that physical abuse is the worst way to sort out a problem and that it means the person who’s hitting has either a personal or professional crisis going on — it saddens me to see him doing the same.”(SOURCES: IANS, ENTERTAINMENT.ONEINDIA.IN, TIMESOFINDIA)
Bringing rock backQayaas: Arguably the best live act since Karavan split up
Sarmad Ghafoor Salman Rafique
Khurram Waqar Sheheryar Ghayas
Umair JaswalPHOTOS: KOHI MARRI
PHOTO: FILE
PHOTOS: FILE
ROCK AND ROLL
400people attended rock band Qayaas’ concert at the Karachi Arts Council
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 5
FUEL FORWARD
Going the biogas routeMULTAN. Biogas plant and production engineer Muneeb Iqbal said that biogas was a cheap source of energy and urged people to set up biogas plants in the district. Talking to reporters, Iqbal said that setting up bio gas plants in cities could help the people of the area fulfill their gas and electric-ity requirements much more cheaply. He said that fertiliser could also be produced through the same plants. APP
MURDER
Man shoots sister cash rowFAISALABAD. A youth shot and killed his sister over a dispute over finances on Wednesday. According to police officials, Chak Thatha Sarwar resident Noor Muhammad’s wife Bashiran Bibi was shot and killed by her brother Shahid for failing to give him money when he demanded it. The ac-cused has fled the scene and police officials have registered a case. OUR CORRESPONDENT
Police arrest two gang members, doctors say women were gang raped
A KASHIF ZAFAR
BAHAWALPUR
Three abducted women were recovered from a dug out in the kachcha area near the Punjab-Sindh border on Wednesday.
According to police officials, the women had recently been kidnapped by a gang of pro-claimed offenders and had been gang raped. “By the looks of it and going by what they have told us so far, it looks to be part of some kind of human trafficking operation,” said district police officer (DPO) Sohail Zafar Chattha.
The DPO recovered three women in the Kachcha area of Sadiqabad circle around 200km away from Bahawalpur after police re-ceived an anonymous tip-off about their location. Zafar said that the women had been kidnapped from different areas of the province and all of them had been gang raped and severely tortured during their incarceration. “We have sent the women to the hospi-tal where they are receiving treatment and medical tests have been issued,” he said.
Police officials had been
searching for the gang of pro-claimed offenders for several months and there was head money on the accused. Police have arrested three of the ac-cused and are now searching for the remaining three gang members involved in the case.
Zafar constituted a special team under Sadiqabad circle Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP) Tanveer Hussain and Station House Officer (SHO) Inspectors Abbas Akhtar, Chaudhry Ghulam Dastgir, Usman Haider Gujjar and Sub-Inspector Muslam Zia who took part in the opera-tion. “When the kidnappers saw the police approach they started firing with automatic weapons and after 5 to 6 hours of exchanging fire, we recov-ered the victims and have apprehended three accused, while three have fled,” Dastgir told reporters.
“They called themselves the ‘Lathani Gang’ and we were moved from place to place. This is the seventeenth hide out I have been inside dur-ing the last three years,” said one of the victims, Fauzia. “There were several other women were brought in and then taken to different places. They would tie us up and as-sault us. I don’t even remem-ber how many of them were there,” said another victim Majeeda Bibi.
The DPO said that the gang leader ‘Meera Lathani’ was a wanted criminal with head money of Rs500,000. “From our preliminary questioning we have discovered that the gang also has several women in their employ. They initially con the women to join them for a shopping trip after be-friending them and then they are abducted,” he added.
Police have arrested Meera Lathani but his son, gang member, Afzal Lathani fled from the scene to interior Sindh. Inspector Akhtar told reporters that any trafficking operation was probably taking place across the border. “It ap-pears that people were being taken across the Sindh border after being kidnapped from here. It could be the other way around,” he said.
He further said we arrested two members of this criminal gang, Shaukat and Baksho recovered during the opera-tion. He told that Shireen,
who was kidnapped from Jehlum around four years ago, Majeeda from Lahore near Kala Shah Kako was kid-napped around two years ago and Fauzia was kidnapped around ten years ago from the Khanpur city had been recov-ered from the dug out. “The women don’t know much. They have experienced severe trauma and were blindfolded most of the time. They say that there were dozens of oth-ers who went through the same thing,” Dastagir said.
Doctors at the DHQ hospital said that all three women had been gang raped and severely tortured. “There are countless signs of torture on their bod-ies, bruises and cuts and two of the women also gave birth to children,” said Dr Laiba. “We recovered the children as well. One is Zulfiqar, 5 months, and Farzana, 2,” po-lice said.
The women are now in the custody of Bohang Police Station and their children are with them. The DPO said that the families of the victims were being contacted in this regard. “Many of the family members had given up hope of ever hearing from them again because so much time had passed,” he added.
*Names of the victims have been altered to protect their identities
Th ree women recovered from ‘Lathani Gang’ hideout
"Th ere many
others who were
brought in and taken
somewhere else. Th ey
would tie us and rape
us. I don’t know how
many there were
Victim Majeeda Bibi
Rescue 1122 vans being used to hose down a construction factory
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
FAISALABAD
A local construction factory owner has been accused of using Rescue 1122 fire brigade vehicles to aid his business interests.
According to police offi-cials in Faisalabad, two to three Rescue 1122 vehicles are allegedly being used for the construction of a private factory in the area. “The fire brigade hose has been used to water down the freshly constructed cement and the factory owner is using these vehicles to transport con-struction materials,” said an eyewitness Jameel Khan.
According to local resi-dents, the incident was re-ported on Sargodha road near Samana Pul. “Several people have seen the fire brigade ve-hicles make daily trips to the site to hose down the build-ing and to transport bricks and other materials to and from the place,” said a local resident.
The factory owner, Mushtaq Raheem, was ac-cused of pressuring local politicians to put in a word
for him to use the official vehicles. “They have been harassing the department. He actually said that ‘while Rescue officials aren’t put-ting out fires they should help him build his factory’,” said a fire brigade official who chose to remain anony-mous. “We have been mak-ing daily trips to this site and hosing down the property for three days instead of taking emergency calls. We’ve also been asked not to ask any questions and transport raw
materials to and from the construction site,” he said.
“This is shameful. He has been using rescue resources for construction rather than letting these people do their job,” said a local resident Aimen Khawar. “What if ambulances were now used to transport furniture instead of patients? This is just as wrong,” she added.
“This is an under construc-tion factory which is being provided water through these government vehicles.
No one even questioned the practice until the fire brigade switched off their radio and stopped taking calls to serve the construction factory’s interest,” said a fire brigade official. “Several staff mem-bers reported the matter to the press but we don’t want to lose our jobs,” said a junior fire brigade official.
Factory owner Mushtaq Raheem said that he was un-aware of any fire brigade ve-hicles parked on his property. “I have done nothing wrong
and the vehicles I hired to hose the building down are not fire brigade or rescue ve-hicles,” he said.
“How can he say they are not rescue vehicles when they have the official Rescue 1122 seal on the van as well as the tools to put out fires,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the DO (Fire Brigade) said he was unaware of the incident. “I have not heard about any rescue ve-hicles being used under false pretenses. An investigation has been launched into the matter and strict action will be taken if the allegations are proven true,” he said.
Fire brigade officials say they were sent on the appli-cation of an influential per-son. The department received a phone call to send the vans and the only way to find out who made the call is to go through the factory records as well as the phone records, they said.
Watering down
Fire brigade branches out "What if
ambulances were
now used to
transport furniture
instead of patients?
Th is is just as wrong
Resident Aimen Khawar
TALKING UP A STORM
Sanaullah says ‘turncoats don’t bring tsunamis’
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
FAISALABAD. Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan claimed that those making lofty claims about bringing a ‘tsunami in the coming general elections’ would face a crushing defeat.
Addressing a street soling project in New Khalid Abad Union Council No.264 on Tuesday, Sanaullah said, “How can all the lotas who are changing their loyal-ties and joining Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) bring a tsunami? They cannot even manage a drizzle.”
He said that the load shed-ding of gas and electricity coupled with unemploy-ment had stalled all development activity in the country.
“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is the only party that is trying to work for the poor. The chief minister has started dozens of development proj-ects and this is a practical reality not hollow rhetoric,” he added.
“The only way out of the present crisis is for the people to keep supporting the PML-N otherwise they will only be bringing in more corrupt leaders,” he said.
A RAMEEZ KHAN
LAHORE
“Fourteen toll plazas will be constructed on the northern loop of the Ring Road, the Lahore Ring Road (LRR) dep-uty project director, Najam Waheed, told The Express Tribune on Tuesday.
These include Niazi Chowk, Mehmood Booti, GT Road, Harbanspura, Abdullah Gul, and Packages 6, 7, 10 and 11. However, rates for the toll tax have not been revealed yet.
Waheed said motorcycles and rickshaws would not be
allowed to enter the Ring Road once it is completed by the end of February.
The northern loop was originally scheduled to be complete by November 2011. Waheed said currently motor-cyclists mostly used the Ring Road till the Bhatta Chowk Interchange to enter and exit Defence.
“As soon as the toll pla-zas are set up, bikes and rickshaws will instantly be banned on the Ring Road. The Ring Road is a fast mov-ing track and slow moving ve-
hicles will not only endanger their own lives but also the lives of other commuters.”
Zubair Jan, a resident of Defence, said that the road ahead of Bhatta Interchange was only used by racers. He said most of them performed stunts and there were no traf-fic police to address to stop them.
Reasons for delayAs many as 35 km of the 40 km long northern loop has been completed.
Work on the remaining sec-
tion (package 14, 16 and 17) was inaugurated in April last year. It was to be complete by November.
Lahore Commissioner Jawad
Rafique Malik, who is the Lahore Ring Road project di-rector, told The Express Tribune the two packages would be completed by the end of February. He attributed the delay in construction to the time taken in acquiring land and setting up the Ring Road Authority.
The LRR northern loop’s fifth and final interchange (package 15) had been inaugu-rated a month earlier by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The commissioner hoped that work on the southern loop,
linking the road to the mo-torway, would be completed by the end of 2012.
The Southern loop will have five interchanges. It is divided in four sections and is 48 km long.
A Nespak official said an international firm will build the southern loop on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. He said the eight kilo-metre southern loop stretch connecting Package 17 to Ferozepur Road would take at least eight months to complete.
Lahore Ring Road
Commuters to pay tax through 14 toll plazas Project likely to be ready by end of February; two and three wheelers
"Th e November
2011 deadline was
missed due to time
taken in land
acquisition and
establishment of the
Ring Road Authority
Commissioner
A CHECK AND BALANCE
4,568IT laboratories, set up in
public high schools in the
Punjab, are being inspected by
the CM’s task force for
corruption and theft. PPI
VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE
Court fixes April 17 for next hearing LAHORE. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of Lahore High Court on Tuesday fixed April 17 for arguments on a plea challenging levy of registration fee by Excise and Taxation Department on capital value of vehicles. The Punjab government had submitted its reply claiming that it had the right to collect this fee. It stated that the purchase prices had nexus with the horsepower of the vehicle and provincial government had the authority to collect the fee. Petitioner Zaheer Siddique through Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique sub-mitted that the fee, imposed by the department for registration of vehicles, was illegal and against the Constitution. He asserted that the fee on capital value could be imposed by the federal government only in view of item 50/54 of federal legislative list and the provinces had no authority to impose it. He said that registration fee, such as that charged in Punjab, was not imposed in other provinces, therefore, it was discriminatory and in violation of article 25 of the Constitution. He requested the court to cancel the registration fee. OUR CORRESPONDENT
6 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 7
Earlier this month, I was in South Africa teaching a course in Stellenbosch, an exceedingly picturesque university town,
50 kilometres east of Cape Town. One afternoon, in a rare gap in our rigorous schedule, a senior British barrister invited a Nigerian British colleague and I to lunch, at one of Stellenbosch’s finest restaurants. During the meal, rendered all the more delicious by the restaurant’s breathtaking setting, our host casually remarked that a little more than 15 years ago, the three of us could not have eaten together at this place. As I then glanced around the table, I realised that each of us sitting around the table, represented the three major racial groups in South Africa: white, black and Indian.
Although I laughed at first, the comment made me uncomfortable and I decided to explore apartheid through the experiences of the people who had lived it. In the course of my enquiries, I discovered that the serene Stellenbosch had not only been an Afrikaner stronghold, but also the intellectual breeding ground of
apartheid. I also noticed that despite the repeal of laws that had socially and economically segregated South Africa along racial lines, there was not only little mingling of races but also a tre-mendous disparity, especially between the whites and the blacks and to a lesser extent, the Indians. Of course, no white South African I spoke with, admitted that he or she had supported apartheid, but equally, no black South African I met seemed entirely comfort-able in his or her surroundings.
My initial reaction was one of relief for being born a free citizen in my own country. I also felt somewhat superior due to my Islamic heritage: after all, Islam prohibited slavery. Had not Hazrat Bilal (RA), who had been brought to Arabia as an Abyssinian slave, been set free by the efforts of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and over time, become one of his esteemed compan-ions. Very soon, I started to feel judg-mental: I wondered what it was about the white races that lent itself to so much cruelty and thought, that trou-
bled though it may be, Pakistan was better than South Africa because it did not suffer from racism. I ended on the usual note of victimhood: if only we had a little bit more economic and political stability, our people would be second to none in the world.
My smug reverie did not last. A col-league who had just had news of terror attacks in Jamrud in which 30 people had been killed, wanted to know if my family was safe. I assured him that it must be as Jamrud was in the north-west and I did not have any family there. Although he seemed relieved for me, his eyes had such a look of pity for what it meant to be a Pakistani that the South Africa that barely minutes ago had seemed to be the alien ‘other’, became a mirror, cruelly reflecting the injustice in Pakistani society. I realised that whilst Pakistan may not suffer from overt racism, it had, despite its Islamic pretensions, become an in-creasingly inhumane society, bitterly divided along lines of religion, class, ethnicity, gender and politics. The only difference being that the oppres-
sors and the oppressed could not be easily recognised by their skin colour.
I wondered, if it was perhaps the legacy of the two-nation theory from which we trace our very existence that has affected our psyche in such a way that we are more attuned to recognising factors that divide rather than join us as a society. However, rather than delving into historical causes, it is perhaps more important to focus our energies on our future, which seems to me to lie in accepting and respecting each other first and foremost as Pakistanis, regardless of all other identities we may subscribe to and, to borrow the concept from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in con-sciously embracing our diversity as a many coloured rainbow. The day before I was leaving South Africa, I asked an Indian South African, who had grown up in the apartheid era, why Indians had not protested against injustice in their society. “We were not exposed to the world”, he said, “we did not know better”.
What is our excuse?
GAMBER DARR
Colour me
rainbow
The writer is a Lincoln’s Inn barrister practicing in Islamabad and holds a degree in Economics and Literature from Bryn Mawr College, US
In many Western societies, in-stances of extremism and militancy in Muslim countries are cited as evidence of Islam’s alleged incom-
patibility with tolerance and dissent. There is, of course, no empirical
evidence to support this contention; it also ignores the political, economic and cultural factors that have gone into this phenomenon. In fact, religious extremism, sometimes inaccurately referred to as ‘fundamentalism’, came much later to Muslim countries than to those associated with democracy and liberalism. In this context, people in two self-proclaimed stalwarts of democracy — the US and Israel — one old and the other young, continue to show a strong fasci-nation with ‘fundamentalism’, which appears to be deepening its influence on national politics and electoral processes.
This is particularly surprising in the case of the US (long a refuge for those persecuted in their own homelands on the basis of their religion), when it is recalled that separation of religion and state was enshrined in the Constitution
and many of its founding fathers prided themselves on their commitment to keeping the two separate. And yet, reli-gion has come to wield an increasingly powerful influence in national politics; its first evidence emerging during John F Kennedy’s (a Roman Catholic) campaign for the US Presidency. Ever since, fundamentalist groups have played a visible role in elections; but it was Barack Obama’s presidential bid that galvanised the right wing Christian evangelicals to demonstrate their clout in national politics, with many alleging that he was a ‘closet Muslim’, influenc-ing some 25 per cent of Americans to believe that he was not a Christian!
Israel, too, has had problems with fundamentalist groups, some of whom have spawned extremism and militancy, impacting on both domestic and foreign policies. In addition to its historical ‘divide’ between the European Jews (Ashkenazi) and local Jews (Sephardic), the country has gone through another transformation, with over a million Jews coming from the
former Soviet Union, most of whom are deeply conservative, thus strengthen-ing extreme right wing parties. This has influenced not only politics but social behaviour as well, that is deeply worrying the moderates. Recent reports indicate discrimination against females becoming institutionalised and even so-cially acceptable in government circles.
Women’s exclusion, known as ‘hadarat nashim’, is advocated forcefully by ultra orthodox sects who accuse liberals of waging a war against ‘pious’ people. The best known of these ultra-orthodox sects, known as the Haredim are even ambivalent about the establishment of the Israeli state, convinced that it was insufficiently religious and established prematurely, because the Messiah had not yet arrived! More significantly, they run their own schools, which are unregulated by the state and, there-fore, follow their own syllabi. Sounds familiar to many of us in Pakistan!
This is a phenomenon that is assuming unprecedented importance in American politics as well, with evangelical groups
coming together to exert influence in both local and national electoral pro-cesses, particularly to undercut moderate Republicans. It is also a by-product of their influence that prompts those aspir-ing for elected office in the US, to swear their loyalty to Israel, occasionally in rather obsequious ways.
It is in this context that former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich’s recent statement about the Palestinians being an “invented people”, should be viewed: as a product of the deeply symbiotic relations between Christian evangelicals in the US and the ultra-orthodox in Israel. This also ex-plains the deep embarrassment suffered by President Obama, when his much heralded initiative on the Middle East was scuttled by the Israeli leadership, confi-dent as it was of unquestioning support in the US Congress. Ever since, Obama has repeatedly reiterated his loyalty to the Jewish state, but has not been forgiven for this initiative, nor has it prevented his Republican opponents from accusing him of “throwing Israel under the bus”.
GTARIQ FATEMI
Political
influence of
fringe religious
groups
Letters will be edited for policy, contentand clarity. All letters must have the writer's name and address. You may send your letters to:[email protected]
In the interest of promoting journalistic integrity and transparency, The Express Tribune has Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim as its Ombudsman.If any individual or government representa-tive is unsatisfied with material published in The Express Tribune, they can contact Justice Ebrahim directly at:Address: F67, Block 5, Clifton, Karachi Fax: (021) 35875958 Email: [email protected]
Publisher Bilal Ali Lakhani
Executive Editor Muhammad Ziauddin
Editor Kamal Siddiqi
Plot # 5, Expressway,Off Korangi Road, Karachi.
Phone: 021-35800051-58Fax: 021-35800050
Mail: [email protected]
The writer was Pakistan’s ambassador to the EU from 2002-2004 and to the US in 1999 [email protected]
per cent of the population of Japan will com-prise of senior citizens, over the age of 65, by the year 2060, accord-ing to a recent report released on January 30 by the country’s Health and Welfare Ministry. This will account for a one-third decline in its present population of 128 million, thereby placing a greater burden on a smaller working-age population to support Japan’s social security and tax systems
40
is the number of years Muhammad Sabir, a resident of the town of Havelian near Abbottabad, was held captive by his own brother, on grounds of being ‘mentally ill’. He was kept in cold, unhygienic condi-tions, chained to a pillar in an open courtyard when local police raided the men’s home on January 29, acting on an intelligence tip. Sabir was found to be suffering from malnourish-ment and various psychological ailments
30
Husain HaqqaniPakistan’s former ambassador to the US
"I am glad that the
Supreme Court has
restored my right to
travel which had been
rescinded without
any charges fi led
against me
Brad AdamsAsia director at Human Rights Watch
"Th e commission’s
failure to get to
the bottom of the
Shahzad Saleem killing
illustrates the ability
of the ISI to remain
beyond the reach of
Pakistan’s criminal
justice system
Aisamul Haq QureshiPakistan tennis player
"Sania Mirza and
I can form a strong
team considering our
rankings
Apertinent question indeed at a time when anchors want to be known more for their wardrobe than for their library, and when hosts posing as journalists prance around parks demanding to see nikahnamas. The crisis that Pakistan’s broadcast journalism is going through is deeper than it appears and certainly not confined to one
ratings-hungry anchor, or one revenue-thirsty channel. At the heart of this crisis lies a fundamental question, which at one
time or the other has been asked in almost all media markets across the world: “What is journalism for?”
Trust a pope to come up with an explanation. This is what John Paul II said in 2000: “With its vast and direct influence on public opinion, jour-nalism cannot be guided by economic forces, profit, and special interest. It must instead be felt as a mission in a certain sense sacred, carried out in the knowledge that the powerful means of communication have been entrusted to you for the good of all.”
The operative part is the “good of all”. In essence then, journalists have a wider responsibility to the citizenry at large, a responsibility which hinges on them to uphold the sacred public trust by telling their readers/viewers the truth. Truth itself may be open to many philosophical inter-pretations, but in the context of journalism, it can simply mean protect-ing information from all external agendas and saying it as it is.
These agendas take many shapes and forms. Personal, political, and corporate, to name a few. The first two are usually not hard to detect, and neither are they hard to grapple with. Probably because mostly they come in shades of black or white. It’s the corporate agendas that pose the biggest challenge. And especially so in the Pakistani context. Here’s how: Pakistani channels are corporate entities, just like most channels in the private sector the world over. No issues here. Corporate entities exist to make profit. No issues here either. But here’s where a traditional corporate entity and a media organisation should begin to diverge.
This is exactly why in traditional newsrooms there exists a firewall between the editorial and marketing divisions. The corporate side of the media house has to look at the balance sheet, but expecting the journalist to do the same is not only unfair, it undercuts the very basis of journalistic principles. Proprietors who treat their media business like any other business end up falling into this trap, perhaps not realizing that a media house by its very nature has a social responsibility within a democratic polity which far outweighs consideration centred around dol-lars and cents. They fail to realise that journalists are not like employees of other companies because they have an obligation and a responsibility that overrides their employers’ immediate corporate interests.
By fulfilling this responsibility, journalists can accumulate a “trust capital”, or in other words, credibility. And credibility — if nurtured lov-ingly — ultimately translates into financial gain for the proprietor and his news organisation. After buying the Washington Post in 1933, Eugene Meyer laid down a principle which stated: “In pursuit of the truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such a course be necessary for the public good.”
Such an approach frees the journalist from the burdens of corporate pressures, and allows him to pursue professional excellence. This is what is expected from him. But to do this requires a deep understanding of the philosophy of journalism which is deeply woven into the fabric of a free and democratic society. What are the chances that the likes of Maya Khan know such a responsibility weighs down on their shoulders when they venture out with cameras and DSNGs? What are the chances that proprietors of media houses are aware of the sacred trust they have been bestowed upon when they get a license to start a news channel? And what are the chances that journalists working in the electronic media in Pakistan realise that their primary loyalty lies not with their corporate organisations, but with the average citizen of Pakistan.
This here is where the root cause of the media crisis lies. And to over-come it, we the media will need to do more than just fire an anchor who prances around in public parks demanding to see nikah namas.
So who will watch
the watchdog?
Over a hundred people have died in Punjab because somebody gave them spurious medicines. We still do not know whether the cheap medicines hospitals bought to
pass on to the poor in the name of ‘welfare’ were con-taminated, expired or sub-standard. We also do not know whether fake pharmaceutical companies push obscene quantities of such drugs into the market or only to hospitals. But we do know that the guilty will either not be found at all or, if discovered, will not be punished. In short, either heads will not roll or else the wrong ones will.
For, say what you will, heads do roll in the country such as that of Haqqani but then there are heads and heads and, of course, some heads are more equal than others. And we do know that there will be no moral panic about people dying in Lahore. People do, after all, keep dying like flies in Lahore and Karachi and Peshawar and in Quetta too. Sometimes it is the dengue virus which kills them because we do not kill it in time and we love the puddles in our cities even if it costs us lives. Sometimes they are killed because our political strongmen have to preserve their ter-ritorial niche — such as the famous ‘Kati Pahari’ in Karachi — and that takes lives on a daily basis in a never-ending vendetta. And sometimes the militants (our assets, anyone?) blow them up in suicide attacks if other things do not work. And then there are ‘the agencies’ and the ‘nationalists’ and crossfire and trig-ger-happy armed men. But then we do not practice family planning through other means so the only way we have of curtailing our population growth is to kill them off through these rather dramatic meth-ods. There is no moral panic about these methods; we take them with philosophical fortitude.
So is there never any moral panic in Pakistan? Not even when there is a rocket attack on the PMA itself? Well, there is. Did you not see the ‘memogate’ moral panic. A letter to the Americans about which noth-ing was done and not much could have ever been
done anyway did create a moral panic of sorts. But actual violation of the constitution — real takeovers by the army and suspensions of the constitution or the intention to change government by bribery or force — was celebrated with sweets. That was not a case for a moral panic. There was something of a moral panic when Osama was found holed up — if you can bring yourself to call a mansion a ‘hole’— near the PMA but not so much about him being there in the first place than about the Americans having taken him out. Then there is some moral panic about the loss of our sovereignty when the Ameicans, who are supposed to be our allies, use our air space or set foot in our country but none whatsoever when the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan is proclaimed and nobody is allowed to visit parts of FATA unless he has the equivalent of a visa from a local militant commander. Indeed, the militants could well have been ruling scenic Swat but for their ill-timed push into Buner with everybody praising their just administration. Of course we would have required permission to visit Swat. But such viola-tions of sovereignty go unnoticed.
But over one thing there is the mother of moral panics. That is if young people meet each other in a public park. In that case middle-aged aunties raised during the Ziaul Haq years chase them with cam-eras, promise them that they would remain off-air and then record their confessions for all to watch and condemn. Such kind of intrusion into peoples’ private lives in the light of morality was officially en-couraged during Ziaul Haq’s regime when policemen asked couples for their marriage certificate (nikah nama). How they went about it has been narrated by many people but let me refer the reader to Fouzia Saeed’s recent book Working with Sharks (OUP, 2012). She went with a male colleague after a UNDP confer-ence to a lake near Islamabad and was chased by a Rawalpindi policeman and his civilian accomplice posing to be Islamabad policemen on duty. Most
people would have given some hush-money and washed their hands off the whole sordid episode but no, not Fouzia Saeed. She got after the busybody and got him punished. Such men are dangerous and that is why most people would not have dared take them on but Fouzia is made of sterner stuff. Moreover, she has a wonderful family to support her including a husband who understands her. But how many of us have such assets at home? Very few indeed! Which is why the blackmailers find such easy preys.
The point I am trying to make is that this vigilan-tism which is creeping into our society will eat up the concept of privacy and tolerance. Societies have passed through stages when they are consumed with such moral panics. In medieval Europe and puritani-cal New England they caused much suffering. Old women were denounced as witches and burnt. In much of Pakistan and India, Valentine’s day is the day of resurgent moral panic. Every year couples are attacked in both countries in the name of morality. The assumption is that violence against people who have never harmed you; vulgar curiosity into other peoples’ affairs; violation of privacy — all these things are not immoral.
And yet history records how the Caliph Hazrat Omar (RA) was told by some people he had watched secretly that their privacy should not have been violated; that he should not have watched them in this manner in the first place. He did not punish them but we would if we could. For us violation of privacy and shaming young people is not wrong. The only thing which is wrong is if girl meets boy. That is the only thing the aunties fret and fume about while Rome burns around them. Drugs kill people in the winter and dengue in the summer and our assets all the year round. These things are not a case of moral panic but girl meets boy!
GDR TARIQ RAHMAN
Moral panics
The writer is executive director special projects at ARY News and was previously director news at Dunya TV (2010-11) and Express News (2006-2010). He can be reached on Twitter @fahdhusain
G
Fahd Husain
Well well well! The un-disputable fact is that ‘His Master’s Voice’ has, yet again — punching
other nations in their excruciatingly vulnerable guts in a last-ditch attempt to salvage American pride — surfaced from the realms of supposed ‘secrecy’ to headline news around the world. And everyone, it seems, is supposed to stand up and shout ‘Hip Hip Hooray!’.
Come on Mr Barack Obama! Surely, in this particular instance, you can’t realistically expect to calmly wash your hands of the explosive situa-tion you have artificially created in Afghanistan, give the country back to the murderous thugs known as the ‘Taliban’, walk away leaving yet another civil war in your wake and expect to be greeted with cheers?
The rabid predator, disguised as Uncle Sam, has been deeply involved in ‘secret’ negotiations with the Taliban for most probably, two or three years, as has Saudi Arabia, which has its own colonising axe to grind and has, reportedly, supported the Taliban from the very first day of their unholy inception. The news that the Taliban are currently in the
final stages of opening an office in Qatar has let the cat, well and truly out of its ridiculously transparent bag. However, what has come as a com-plete surprise, a shocking one by any measure, is that this ‘peace’ office and ensuing negotiations, has the full sup-port of the US, the UN and, here’s the nasty — Amnesty International — a body that yelled ‘human rights abuse’ until it was blue in its face when the Taliban ran riot in Afghanistan from 1996-2001. So what the hell — for hell it surely will be, for the innocents caught up in the inevitable civil war to come, if and when the Taliban are allowed to set so much as a toe-nail in the Afghan parliament — is going on?
Aside from the astronomical fi-nancial costs, it is public knowledge that America has paid for its ‘Afghan adventure’ with the deaths of at least 1,800 American service person-nel since it ‘invaded’ the country in 2001. But this amounts to zilch — no offence intended to the families of the dead — in comparison to the liter-ally thousands of innocent Afghans killed during ‘insurgent’ action, or by American and allied forces who have developed a penchant for annihilating
wedding parties, along with the death and displacement of thousands more due to war-related issues; including starvation, lack of medical assistance, disease and exposure. And just when this wrongly-maligned country is, at long last, beginning to breath with a modicum of hope, the Americans decide to hand the remnants of their indigestible mess right back to those they used as an excuse for inviting themselves in the first place!
Shuttle diplomacy — as jetting around the globe at taxpayers expense is known (when a Skype conference would serve the purpose equally well) with participants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, America, UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, possibly Turkey and a few other interested parties — is currently in full swing. Unfortunately though, as politicians, bureaucrats and gener-als play their complicated game of one-upmanship on the global stage, those who will be most affected by the outcome — the Afghan people — are left to wring their hands in fear at the spectre of a civil war that they neither want nor have the blood left to pay for. All these people desire is peace, but are unlikely to get little of it.
GZAHRAH NASIR
America and
the Taliban
The writer is author of The Gun Tree: One Woman’s War (Oxford University Press, 2001) and lives in Bhurban
Acontroversy that started with such fanfare has limped to a stalemate, making everyone wonder what all the fuss was about in the first place. Of course, the flip side of this argument is that all the parties seem to have been let-off quite lightly and perhaps, that is one reason
why they aren’t taking much of an interest in it. The memogate controversy started to peter out when American businessman, Mansoor Ijaz refused to travel to Pakistan to testify in front of a judicial commission and a parliamentary committee. It is now, all but dead, after Husain Haqqani — the main protagonist of the drama — was finally allowed to leave the country. Not only did memogate consume our body politic for many weeks, it may have snatched from the country one of its most able diplomats.
While the controversy was playing out, it seemed as if memo-gate may ultimately be responsible for a seismic shift in rela-tions between the civilians and the military. All that remained to be seen was which direction the balance of power would shift. Ultimately that shift failed to materialise although for once, the civilians were actually able to look the military leader-ship in the eye and not cower. In Pakistan, that represents prog-ress of a kind. And while just about everyone came out of the memogate controversy having sullied their reputations, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ended up smelling of roses. He cast-off the image of a timid yes-man who would simply drift along with the political winds. He fired the military-approved defence secretary and he lashed out against the army and the ISI chiefs and vowed that they wouldn’t be given any further extensions. There may have been no concrete shift in the military-civilian dynamic but at least there was a rhetorical shift.
A succession of Supreme Court rulings against the govern-ment led many to believe that the Court may have revealed itself to be more sympathetic to the military rather than the civilians. The judicial commission it set up to investigate the memogate issue more thoroughly, is still in place but without Haqqani and Ijaz in the country, it looks as if it will be impos-sible for it to come up with a credible judgment. Hopefully, this means that the government can breathe easy and serve out its term without the hindrance of ginned-up controversies.
According to a report in this newspaper, a madrassa based on the outskirts of Lahore has been placed under close intelligence scrutiny. The reasons given mention presence of a number of foreigners at the institute, including
30 from Afghanistan and three from Burma. Nearly 500 of the other pupils are said to be from outside Punjab, mainly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There may be other reasons to suspect what is happening at the seminary. What is welcome is that the intelligence authorities appear to have take some notice of the unusual make-up of students at the premises.
This, of course, is just one madrassa. We do not know how many others may be running with the purpose of pursuing a particular jihadi or militant ideology. It is known that tens of thousands of seminaries operate across the country; their number continues to increase as poverty and the desperation of parents rise. It is true, as Maulana Fazlur Rehman stated recently during a rally in Karachi that not all these madrassas are responsible for spreading terrorism. But the point is that a very large number promotes an extremist mindset that feeds in to the thinking of groups such as the Taliban. It is for this reason that we need to keep a very close eye on seminar-ies operating in cities and towns across our country. In some ways, it is ironic that the JUI-F chief, who had so fervently defended madrassas, is the patron-in-chief of the institution which has now been placed under watch.
It is also ironic that this seminary, based in the Raiwind area, as we are told is affiliated with the Wafaqul Madaris. One would have thought that the central body regulating madrassas would adopt more caution in those it chooses to register. The situation leaves open the question of what is happening at the majority of madrassas which are unregulated and unrecorded in any way. Pakistan has come to be seen as a world centre of militant training. Somehow, for the sake of our country, we need to change this image.
Athird attack on a cell phone franchise in just two months — this time the target was a Telenor franchise in Nazimabad, Karachi, which killed two people — signals a shift in tactics by those behind them. Allegedly the Taliban,
they are now using terrorism as an accompaniment to extortion. After the two earlier attacks, one at a Telenor franchise in December 2011 and the other at a Mobilink franchise in January of this year, it seemed the attacks would finally end, after police claimed to have killed the mastermind. He was, the police said, a member of the Taliban and was demanding millions of rupees in extortion money. Now, it turns out the plot against cell phone franchises involved more than just one person.
From a law enforcement point of view, the police are almost helpless at stopping such localised attacks. While one of the attackers is reported to have been ar-rested in this attack, there are thousands of cell phone franchises in the city and beyond keeping an armed guard or two on duty, there is very little that can be done to protect them. The only possible solution seemed to be to target those behind the attacks before they could strike again, but with the Taliban’s involvement now seemingly confirmed, that would require breaking the back of a determined militant group. Such an effort would require not just authorities in Karachi but the en-tire country to pool their intelligence and law enforce-ment capabilities. Previously, it had been known that the Taliban was using bank robberies and kidnappings for ransom to fund their militant activities. The attacks on cell phone franchises are a more dangerous exten-sion of that tactic. Citizens will now feel hesitant going to public places as the militants have shown that they can strike anywhere at any time. There is no way for the police to secure every cell phone franchise in the city. So, as long as these attacks continue, fear will pervade. These attacks may not be as spectacular as previous Taliban attacks but they cause no less fear.
Th e fizzling out
of memogate
Th e truth behind
madrassas
Attack on mobile
phone franchise
Th e memogate
controversy
started to peter
out when
American
businessman,
Mansoor
Ijaz refused
to travel to
Pakistan to
testify in front
of a judicial
commission
and a
parliamentary
committee
Bloggers vs thanedars
This is with reference to Feisal H Naqvi’s article of January 31 titled, “Bloggers vs thanedars”.
I beg to differ and will not be part of the ‘Lynch Maya Bandwagon’. She did not deserve to be fired. Her two apologies were more than enough. If you think of it, what she did has been done by mem-bers of our police for years — and I have yet to hear of any policemen fired from his job for asking a couple’s nikah nama.
A park is a public space and that means a film crew can go there and film if they want. Also, there were some couples who managed to evade the camera crew, those who didn’t chose to stay and an-swer her, no doubt asinine, questions. The producer, to his credit, took long shots and avoided disclosing the identi-ties of the couples.
I do agree that the defence she took was not really that good, that parents need to know where their children are. But seriously, the reaction to it was very
disproportionate — and she definitely did not deserve to be fired.
Ali WazirIslamabad
Over a 100 dead and no one to blame?Who else but the Punjab chief minister, who also happens to be the provincial health minister, should be held responsi-ble for the deaths of over a hundred poor patients administered free medicines by the Punjab Institute of Cardiology? All of these went to a government-run hospital because they could not afford to purchase medicines from the private sector. The Punjab health department is responsible for ensuring the quality of medicines provided to hospitals in the province and quite clearly the blame for this tragedy should lie squarely on its shoulders.
Instead of accepting his failure, the chief minister is trying to pass on the blame to doctors. Senior doctors have been suspended and some have been
arrested, and while they are to blame as well, the buck, so to speak, stops with the province’s chief executive. Also, what is the purpose of asking the Lahore High Court to conduct a judicial inquiry into the matter? Isn’t the provincial health department’s internal system enough to ascertain where the responsibility lies?
Also, one needs to ask the chief min-ister that why has he kept so many pro-vincial portfolios all to himself? Surely, one qualified PML-N MPA could be found to be given the post of health minister.
The excuse being given that the federal government is responsible for register-ing the drugs and issuing licences is just another way of passing the buck because even if that is the case, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the it ultimately the Punjab health departments job to ensure that the medicines given at facili-ties owned by the provincial government are safe for human consumption.
The Punjab chief minister should exhibit the moral courage to accept failure and responsibility for what has
happened. In future, the following should be done: 1. Instead of having a civil servant as secretary, the Punjab health department should be headed by a senior professional doctor. 2. The provincial governments should set up an authority which will check the qual-ity of medicines provided to patients throughout the province. 3. All testing laboratories should be upgraded and equipped with new technology so that all medicines can be checked before being introduced into the market.
ST HussainLahore
(II)Had the medicines scandal happened even in India, by now the minister in charge of the health department would have either resigned, or would have been sacked. However, in this situation, the person who would sack the health minister is also the health minister him-self! So perhaps it would be too much to
expect the Punjab chief minister to take responsibility for this tragedy and tender his resignation.
Of course, this is Pakistan, a land where no one ever resigns, so the next best thing we should expect is that enough checks should be put in place that nothing of this sort happens again. Also, the families of those who have died should be given generous financial compensation.
Nadya A KhanLahore
What happened to the Great People?This is with reference to Anwer Mooraj’s article of January 30 titled “What hap-pened to the Great People?”.
Going through our past, one feels that we were also civilised, literate, disci-plined, hard-working and committed. But something happened. Was it because the generation before us was more hon-est, more devoted and more educated?
Or, was it because they were more God-fearing and law-abiding than us.
As someone has rightly said, if wealth is lost nothing is lost, if health is lost something is lost, but if character is lost all is lost.
Tariq AnwaarToronto
6 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 7
Earlier this month, I was in South Africa teaching a course in Stellenbosch, an exceedingly picturesque university town,
50 kilometres east of Cape Town. One afternoon, in a rare gap in our rigorous schedule, a senior British barrister invited a Nigerian British colleague and I to lunch, at one of Stellenbosch’s finest restaurants. During the meal, rendered all the more delicious by the restaurant’s breathtaking setting, our host casually remarked that a little more than 15 years ago, the three of us could not have eaten together at this place. As I then glanced around the table, I realised that each of us sitting around the table, represented the three major racial groups in South Africa: white, black and Indian.
Although I laughed at first, the comment made me uncomfortable and I decided to explore apartheid through the experiences of the people who had lived it. In the course of my enquiries, I discovered that the serene Stellenbosch had not only been an Afrikaner stronghold, but also the intellectual breeding ground of
apartheid. I also noticed that despite the repeal of laws that had socially and economically segregated South Africa along racial lines, there was not only little mingling of races but also a tre-mendous disparity, especially between the whites and the blacks and to a lesser extent, the Indians. Of course, no white South African I spoke with, admitted that he or she had supported apartheid, but equally, no black South African I met seemed entirely comfort-able in his or her surroundings.
My initial reaction was one of relief for being born a free citizen in my own country. I also felt somewhat superior due to my Islamic heritage: after all, Islam prohibited slavery. Had not Hazrat Bilal (RA), who had been brought to Arabia as an Abyssinian slave, been set free by the efforts of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and over time, become one of his esteemed compan-ions. Very soon, I started to feel judg-mental: I wondered what it was about the white races that lent itself to so much cruelty and thought, that trou-
bled though it may be, Pakistan was better than South Africa because it did not suffer from racism. I ended on the usual note of victimhood: if only we had a little bit more economic and political stability, our people would be second to none in the world.
My smug reverie did not last. A col-league who had just had news of terror attacks in Jamrud in which 30 people had been killed, wanted to know if my family was safe. I assured him that it must be as Jamrud was in the north-west and I did not have any family there. Although he seemed relieved for me, his eyes had such a look of pity for what it meant to be a Pakistani that the South Africa that barely minutes ago had seemed to be the alien ‘other’, became a mirror, cruelly reflecting the injustice in Pakistani society. I realised that whilst Pakistan may not suffer from overt racism, it had, despite its Islamic pretensions, become an in-creasingly inhumane society, bitterly divided along lines of religion, class, ethnicity, gender and politics. The only difference being that the oppres-
sors and the oppressed could not be easily recognised by their skin colour.
I wondered, if it was perhaps the legacy of the two-nation theory from which we trace our very existence that has affected our psyche in such a way that we are more attuned to recognising factors that divide rather than join us as a society. However, rather than delving into historical causes, it is perhaps more important to focus our energies on our future, which seems to me to lie in accepting and respecting each other first and foremost as Pakistanis, regardless of all other identities we may subscribe to and, to borrow the concept from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in con-sciously embracing our diversity as a many coloured rainbow. The day before I was leaving South Africa, I asked an Indian South African, who had grown up in the apartheid era, why Indians had not protested against injustice in their society. “We were not exposed to the world”, he said, “we did not know better”.
What is our excuse?
GAMBER DARR
Colour me
rainbow
The writer is a Lincoln’s Inn barrister practicing in Islamabad and holds a degree in Economics and Literature from Bryn Mawr College, US
In many Western societies, in-stances of extremism and militancy in Muslim countries are cited as evidence of Islam’s alleged incom-
patibility with tolerance and dissent. There is, of course, no empirical
evidence to support this contention; it also ignores the political, economic and cultural factors that have gone into this phenomenon. In fact, religious extremism, sometimes inaccurately referred to as ‘fundamentalism’, came much later to Muslim countries than to those associated with democracy and liberalism. In this context, people in two self-proclaimed stalwarts of democracy — the US and Israel — one old and the other young, continue to show a strong fasci-nation with ‘fundamentalism’, which appears to be deepening its influence on national politics and electoral processes.
This is particularly surprising in the case of the US (long a refuge for those persecuted in their own homelands on the basis of their religion), when it is recalled that separation of religion and state was enshrined in the Constitution
and many of its founding fathers prided themselves on their commitment to keeping the two separate. And yet, reli-gion has come to wield an increasingly powerful influence in national politics; its first evidence emerging during John F Kennedy’s (a Roman Catholic) campaign for the US Presidency. Ever since, fundamentalist groups have played a visible role in elections; but it was Barack Obama’s presidential bid that galvanised the right wing Christian evangelicals to demonstrate their clout in national politics, with many alleging that he was a ‘closet Muslim’, influenc-ing some 25 per cent of Americans to believe that he was not a Christian!
Israel, too, has had problems with fundamentalist groups, some of whom have spawned extremism and militancy, impacting on both domestic and foreign policies. In addition to its historical ‘divide’ between the European Jews (Ashkenazi) and local Jews (Sephardic), the country has gone through another transformation, with over a million Jews coming from the
former Soviet Union, most of whom are deeply conservative, thus strengthen-ing extreme right wing parties. This has influenced not only politics but social behaviour as well, that is deeply worrying the moderates. Recent reports indicate discrimination against females becoming institutionalised and even so-cially acceptable in government circles.
Women’s exclusion, known as ‘hadarat nashim’, is advocated forcefully by ultra orthodox sects who accuse liberals of waging a war against ‘pious’ people. The best known of these ultra-orthodox sects, known as the Haredim are even ambivalent about the establishment of the Israeli state, convinced that it was insufficiently religious and established prematurely, because the Messiah had not yet arrived! More significantly, they run their own schools, which are unregulated by the state and, there-fore, follow their own syllabi. Sounds familiar to many of us in Pakistan!
This is a phenomenon that is assuming unprecedented importance in American politics as well, with evangelical groups
coming together to exert influence in both local and national electoral pro-cesses, particularly to undercut moderate Republicans. It is also a by-product of their influence that prompts those aspir-ing for elected office in the US, to swear their loyalty to Israel, occasionally in rather obsequious ways.
It is in this context that former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich’s recent statement about the Palestinians being an “invented people”, should be viewed: as a product of the deeply symbiotic relations between Christian evangelicals in the US and the ultra-orthodox in Israel. This also ex-plains the deep embarrassment suffered by President Obama, when his much heralded initiative on the Middle East was scuttled by the Israeli leadership, confi-dent as it was of unquestioning support in the US Congress. Ever since, Obama has repeatedly reiterated his loyalty to the Jewish state, but has not been forgiven for this initiative, nor has it prevented his Republican opponents from accusing him of “throwing Israel under the bus”.
GTARIQ FATEMI
Political
influence of
fringe religious
groups
Letters will be edited for policy, contentand clarity. All letters must have the writer's name and address. You may send your letters to:[email protected]
In the interest of promoting journalistic integrity and transparency, The Express Tribune has Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim as its Ombudsman.If any individual or government representa-tive is unsatisfied with material published in The Express Tribune, they can contact Justice Ebrahim directly at:Address: F67, Block 5, Clifton, Karachi Fax: (021) 35875958 Email: [email protected]
Publisher Bilal Ali Lakhani
Executive Editor Muhammad Ziauddin
Editor Kamal Siddiqi
Plot # 5, Expressway,Off Korangi Road, Karachi.
Phone: 021-35800051-58Fax: 021-35800050
Mail: [email protected]
The writer was Pakistan’s ambassador to the EU from 2002-2004 and to the US in 1999 [email protected]
per cent of the population of Japan will com-prise of senior citizens, over the age of 65, by the year 2060, accord-ing to a recent report released on January 30 by the country’s Health and Welfare Ministry. This will account for a one-third decline in its present population of 128 million, thereby placing a greater burden on a smaller working-age population to support Japan’s social security and tax systems
40
is the number of years Muhammad Sabir, a resident of the town of Havelian near Abbottabad, was held captive by his own brother, on grounds of being ‘mentally ill’. He was kept in cold, unhygienic condi-tions, chained to a pillar in an open courtyard when local police raided the men’s home on January 29, acting on an intelligence tip. Sabir was found to be suffering from malnourish-ment and various psychological ailments
30
Husain HaqqaniPakistan’s former ambassador to the US
"I am glad that the
Supreme Court has
restored my right to
travel which had been
rescinded without
any charges fi led
against me
Brad AdamsAsia director at Human Rights Watch
"Th e commission’s
failure to get to
the bottom of the
Shahzad Saleem killing
illustrates the ability
of the ISI to remain
beyond the reach of
Pakistan’s criminal
justice system
Aisamul Haq QureshiPakistan tennis player
"Sania Mirza and
I can form a strong
team considering our
rankings
Apertinent question indeed at a time when anchors want to be known more for their wardrobe than for their library, and when hosts posing as journalists prance around parks demanding to see nikahnamas. The crisis that Pakistan’s broadcast journalism is going through is deeper than it appears and certainly not confined to one
ratings-hungry anchor, or one revenue-thirsty channel. At the heart of this crisis lies a fundamental question, which at one
time or the other has been asked in almost all media markets across the world: “What is journalism for?”
Trust a pope to come up with an explanation. This is what John Paul II said in 2000: “With its vast and direct influence on public opinion, jour-nalism cannot be guided by economic forces, profit, and special interest. It must instead be felt as a mission in a certain sense sacred, carried out in the knowledge that the powerful means of communication have been entrusted to you for the good of all.”
The operative part is the “good of all”. In essence then, journalists have a wider responsibility to the citizenry at large, a responsibility which hinges on them to uphold the sacred public trust by telling their readers/viewers the truth. Truth itself may be open to many philosophical inter-pretations, but in the context of journalism, it can simply mean protect-ing information from all external agendas and saying it as it is.
These agendas take many shapes and forms. Personal, political, and corporate, to name a few. The first two are usually not hard to detect, and neither are they hard to grapple with. Probably because mostly they come in shades of black or white. It’s the corporate agendas that pose the biggest challenge. And especially so in the Pakistani context. Here’s how: Pakistani channels are corporate entities, just like most channels in the private sector the world over. No issues here. Corporate entities exist to make profit. No issues here either. But here’s where a traditional corporate entity and a media organisation should begin to diverge.
This is exactly why in traditional newsrooms there exists a firewall between the editorial and marketing divisions. The corporate side of the media house has to look at the balance sheet, but expecting the journalist to do the same is not only unfair, it undercuts the very basis of journalistic principles. Proprietors who treat their media business like any other business end up falling into this trap, perhaps not realizing that a media house by its very nature has a social responsibility within a democratic polity which far outweighs consideration centred around dol-lars and cents. They fail to realise that journalists are not like employees of other companies because they have an obligation and a responsibility that overrides their employers’ immediate corporate interests.
By fulfilling this responsibility, journalists can accumulate a “trust capital”, or in other words, credibility. And credibility — if nurtured lov-ingly — ultimately translates into financial gain for the proprietor and his news organisation. After buying the Washington Post in 1933, Eugene Meyer laid down a principle which stated: “In pursuit of the truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such a course be necessary for the public good.”
Such an approach frees the journalist from the burdens of corporate pressures, and allows him to pursue professional excellence. This is what is expected from him. But to do this requires a deep understanding of the philosophy of journalism which is deeply woven into the fabric of a free and democratic society. What are the chances that the likes of Maya Khan know such a responsibility weighs down on their shoulders when they venture out with cameras and DSNGs? What are the chances that proprietors of media houses are aware of the sacred trust they have been bestowed upon when they get a license to start a news channel? And what are the chances that journalists working in the electronic media in Pakistan realise that their primary loyalty lies not with their corporate organisations, but with the average citizen of Pakistan.
This here is where the root cause of the media crisis lies. And to over-come it, we the media will need to do more than just fire an anchor who prances around in public parks demanding to see nikah namas.
So who will watch
the watchdog?
Over a hundred people have died in Punjab because somebody gave them spurious medicines. We still do not know whether the cheap medicines hospitals bought to
pass on to the poor in the name of ‘welfare’ were con-taminated, expired or sub-standard. We also do not know whether fake pharmaceutical companies push obscene quantities of such drugs into the market or only to hospitals. But we do know that the guilty will either not be found at all or, if discovered, will not be punished. In short, either heads will not roll or else the wrong ones will.
For, say what you will, heads do roll in the country such as that of Haqqani but then there are heads and heads and, of course, some heads are more equal than others. And we do know that there will be no moral panic about people dying in Lahore. People do, after all, keep dying like flies in Lahore and Karachi and Peshawar and in Quetta too. Sometimes it is the dengue virus which kills them because we do not kill it in time and we love the puddles in our cities even if it costs us lives. Sometimes they are killed because our political strongmen have to preserve their ter-ritorial niche — such as the famous ‘Kati Pahari’ in Karachi — and that takes lives on a daily basis in a never-ending vendetta. And sometimes the militants (our assets, anyone?) blow them up in suicide attacks if other things do not work. And then there are ‘the agencies’ and the ‘nationalists’ and crossfire and trig-ger-happy armed men. But then we do not practice family planning through other means so the only way we have of curtailing our population growth is to kill them off through these rather dramatic meth-ods. There is no moral panic about these methods; we take them with philosophical fortitude.
So is there never any moral panic in Pakistan? Not even when there is a rocket attack on the PMA itself? Well, there is. Did you not see the ‘memogate’ moral panic. A letter to the Americans about which noth-ing was done and not much could have ever been
done anyway did create a moral panic of sorts. But actual violation of the constitution — real takeovers by the army and suspensions of the constitution or the intention to change government by bribery or force — was celebrated with sweets. That was not a case for a moral panic. There was something of a moral panic when Osama was found holed up — if you can bring yourself to call a mansion a ‘hole’— near the PMA but not so much about him being there in the first place than about the Americans having taken him out. Then there is some moral panic about the loss of our sovereignty when the Ameicans, who are supposed to be our allies, use our air space or set foot in our country but none whatsoever when the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan is proclaimed and nobody is allowed to visit parts of FATA unless he has the equivalent of a visa from a local militant commander. Indeed, the militants could well have been ruling scenic Swat but for their ill-timed push into Buner with everybody praising their just administration. Of course we would have required permission to visit Swat. But such viola-tions of sovereignty go unnoticed.
But over one thing there is the mother of moral panics. That is if young people meet each other in a public park. In that case middle-aged aunties raised during the Ziaul Haq years chase them with cam-eras, promise them that they would remain off-air and then record their confessions for all to watch and condemn. Such kind of intrusion into peoples’ private lives in the light of morality was officially en-couraged during Ziaul Haq’s regime when policemen asked couples for their marriage certificate (nikah nama). How they went about it has been narrated by many people but let me refer the reader to Fouzia Saeed’s recent book Working with Sharks (OUP, 2012). She went with a male colleague after a UNDP confer-ence to a lake near Islamabad and was chased by a Rawalpindi policeman and his civilian accomplice posing to be Islamabad policemen on duty. Most
people would have given some hush-money and washed their hands off the whole sordid episode but no, not Fouzia Saeed. She got after the busybody and got him punished. Such men are dangerous and that is why most people would not have dared take them on but Fouzia is made of sterner stuff. Moreover, she has a wonderful family to support her including a husband who understands her. But how many of us have such assets at home? Very few indeed! Which is why the blackmailers find such easy preys.
The point I am trying to make is that this vigilan-tism which is creeping into our society will eat up the concept of privacy and tolerance. Societies have passed through stages when they are consumed with such moral panics. In medieval Europe and puritani-cal New England they caused much suffering. Old women were denounced as witches and burnt. In much of Pakistan and India, Valentine’s day is the day of resurgent moral panic. Every year couples are attacked in both countries in the name of morality. The assumption is that violence against people who have never harmed you; vulgar curiosity into other peoples’ affairs; violation of privacy — all these things are not immoral.
And yet history records how the Caliph Hazrat Omar (RA) was told by some people he had watched secretly that their privacy should not have been violated; that he should not have watched them in this manner in the first place. He did not punish them but we would if we could. For us violation of privacy and shaming young people is not wrong. The only thing which is wrong is if girl meets boy. That is the only thing the aunties fret and fume about while Rome burns around them. Drugs kill people in the winter and dengue in the summer and our assets all the year round. These things are not a case of moral panic but girl meets boy!
GDR TARIQ RAHMAN
Moral panics
The writer is executive director special projects at ARY News and was previously director news at Dunya TV (2010-11) and Express News (2006-2010). He can be reached on Twitter @fahdhusain
G
Fahd Husain
Well well well! The un-disputable fact is that ‘His Master’s Voice’ has, yet again — punching
other nations in their excruciatingly vulnerable guts in a last-ditch attempt to salvage American pride — surfaced from the realms of supposed ‘secrecy’ to headline news around the world. And everyone, it seems, is supposed to stand up and shout ‘Hip Hip Hooray!’.
Come on Mr Barack Obama! Surely, in this particular instance, you can’t realistically expect to calmly wash your hands of the explosive situa-tion you have artificially created in Afghanistan, give the country back to the murderous thugs known as the ‘Taliban’, walk away leaving yet another civil war in your wake and expect to be greeted with cheers?
The rabid predator, disguised as Uncle Sam, has been deeply involved in ‘secret’ negotiations with the Taliban for most probably, two or three years, as has Saudi Arabia, which has its own colonising axe to grind and has, reportedly, supported the Taliban from the very first day of their unholy inception. The news that the Taliban are currently in the
final stages of opening an office in Qatar has let the cat, well and truly out of its ridiculously transparent bag. However, what has come as a com-plete surprise, a shocking one by any measure, is that this ‘peace’ office and ensuing negotiations, has the full sup-port of the US, the UN and, here’s the nasty — Amnesty International — a body that yelled ‘human rights abuse’ until it was blue in its face when the Taliban ran riot in Afghanistan from 1996-2001. So what the hell — for hell it surely will be, for the innocents caught up in the inevitable civil war to come, if and when the Taliban are allowed to set so much as a toe-nail in the Afghan parliament — is going on?
Aside from the astronomical fi-nancial costs, it is public knowledge that America has paid for its ‘Afghan adventure’ with the deaths of at least 1,800 American service person-nel since it ‘invaded’ the country in 2001. But this amounts to zilch — no offence intended to the families of the dead — in comparison to the liter-ally thousands of innocent Afghans killed during ‘insurgent’ action, or by American and allied forces who have developed a penchant for annihilating
wedding parties, along with the death and displacement of thousands more due to war-related issues; including starvation, lack of medical assistance, disease and exposure. And just when this wrongly-maligned country is, at long last, beginning to breath with a modicum of hope, the Americans decide to hand the remnants of their indigestible mess right back to those they used as an excuse for inviting themselves in the first place!
Shuttle diplomacy — as jetting around the globe at taxpayers expense is known (when a Skype conference would serve the purpose equally well) with participants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, America, UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, possibly Turkey and a few other interested parties — is currently in full swing. Unfortunately though, as politicians, bureaucrats and gener-als play their complicated game of one-upmanship on the global stage, those who will be most affected by the outcome — the Afghan people — are left to wring their hands in fear at the spectre of a civil war that they neither want nor have the blood left to pay for. All these people desire is peace, but are unlikely to get little of it.
GZAHRAH NASIR
America and
the Taliban
The writer is author of The Gun Tree: One Woman’s War (Oxford University Press, 2001) and lives in Bhurban
Acontroversy that started with such fanfare has limped to a stalemate, making everyone wonder what all the fuss was about in the first place. Of course, the flip side of this argument is that all the parties seem to have been let-off quite lightly and perhaps, that is one reason
why they aren’t taking much of an interest in it. The memogate controversy started to peter out when American businessman, Mansoor Ijaz refused to travel to Pakistan to testify in front of a judicial commission and a parliamentary committee. It is now, all but dead, after Husain Haqqani — the main protagonist of the drama — was finally allowed to leave the country. Not only did memogate consume our body politic for many weeks, it may have snatched from the country one of its most able diplomats.
While the controversy was playing out, it seemed as if memo-gate may ultimately be responsible for a seismic shift in rela-tions between the civilians and the military. All that remained to be seen was which direction the balance of power would shift. Ultimately that shift failed to materialise although for once, the civilians were actually able to look the military leader-ship in the eye and not cower. In Pakistan, that represents prog-ress of a kind. And while just about everyone came out of the memogate controversy having sullied their reputations, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ended up smelling of roses. He cast-off the image of a timid yes-man who would simply drift along with the political winds. He fired the military-approved defence secretary and he lashed out against the army and the ISI chiefs and vowed that they wouldn’t be given any further extensions. There may have been no concrete shift in the military-civilian dynamic but at least there was a rhetorical shift.
A succession of Supreme Court rulings against the govern-ment led many to believe that the Court may have revealed itself to be more sympathetic to the military rather than the civilians. The judicial commission it set up to investigate the memogate issue more thoroughly, is still in place but without Haqqani and Ijaz in the country, it looks as if it will be impos-sible for it to come up with a credible judgment. Hopefully, this means that the government can breathe easy and serve out its term without the hindrance of ginned-up controversies.
According to a report in this newspaper, a madrassa based on the outskirts of Lahore has been placed under close intelligence scrutiny. The reasons given mention presence of a number of foreigners at the institute, including
30 from Afghanistan and three from Burma. Nearly 500 of the other pupils are said to be from outside Punjab, mainly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There may be other reasons to suspect what is happening at the seminary. What is welcome is that the intelligence authorities appear to have take some notice of the unusual make-up of students at the premises.
This, of course, is just one madrassa. We do not know how many others may be running with the purpose of pursuing a particular jihadi or militant ideology. It is known that tens of thousands of seminaries operate across the country; their number continues to increase as poverty and the desperation of parents rise. It is true, as Maulana Fazlur Rehman stated recently during a rally in Karachi that not all these madrassas are responsible for spreading terrorism. But the point is that a very large number promotes an extremist mindset that feeds in to the thinking of groups such as the Taliban. It is for this reason that we need to keep a very close eye on seminar-ies operating in cities and towns across our country. In some ways, it is ironic that the JUI-F chief, who had so fervently defended madrassas, is the patron-in-chief of the institution which has now been placed under watch.
It is also ironic that this seminary, based in the Raiwind area, as we are told is affiliated with the Wafaqul Madaris. One would have thought that the central body regulating madrassas would adopt more caution in those it chooses to register. The situation leaves open the question of what is happening at the majority of madrassas which are unregulated and unrecorded in any way. Pakistan has come to be seen as a world centre of militant training. Somehow, for the sake of our country, we need to change this image.
Athird attack on a cell phone franchise in just two months — this time the target was a Telenor franchise in Nazimabad, Karachi, which killed two people — signals a shift in tactics by those behind them. Allegedly the Taliban,
they are now using terrorism as an accompaniment to extortion. After the two earlier attacks, one at a Telenor franchise in December 2011 and the other at a Mobilink franchise in January of this year, it seemed the attacks would finally end, after police claimed to have killed the mastermind. He was, the police said, a member of the Taliban and was demanding millions of rupees in extortion money. Now, it turns out the plot against cell phone franchises involved more than just one person.
From a law enforcement point of view, the police are almost helpless at stopping such localised attacks. While one of the attackers is reported to have been ar-rested in this attack, there are thousands of cell phone franchises in the city and beyond keeping an armed guard or two on duty, there is very little that can be done to protect them. The only possible solution seemed to be to target those behind the attacks before they could strike again, but with the Taliban’s involvement now seemingly confirmed, that would require breaking the back of a determined militant group. Such an effort would require not just authorities in Karachi but the en-tire country to pool their intelligence and law enforce-ment capabilities. Previously, it had been known that the Taliban was using bank robberies and kidnappings for ransom to fund their militant activities. The attacks on cell phone franchises are a more dangerous exten-sion of that tactic. Citizens will now feel hesitant going to public places as the militants have shown that they can strike anywhere at any time. There is no way for the police to secure every cell phone franchise in the city. So, as long as these attacks continue, fear will pervade. These attacks may not be as spectacular as previous Taliban attacks but they cause no less fear.
Th e fizzling out
of memogate
Th e truth behind
madrassas
Attack on mobile
phone franchise
Th e memogate
controversy
started to peter
out when
American
businessman,
Mansoor
Ijaz refused
to travel to
Pakistan to
testify in front
of a judicial
commission
and a
parliamentary
committee
Bloggers vs thanedars
This is with reference to Feisal H Naqvi’s article of January 31 titled, “Bloggers vs thanedars”.
I beg to differ and will not be part of the ‘Lynch Maya Bandwagon’. She did not deserve to be fired. Her two apologies were more than enough. If you think of it, what she did has been done by mem-bers of our police for years — and I have yet to hear of any policemen fired from his job for asking a couple’s nikah nama.
A park is a public space and that means a film crew can go there and film if they want. Also, there were some couples who managed to evade the camera crew, those who didn’t chose to stay and an-swer her, no doubt asinine, questions. The producer, to his credit, took long shots and avoided disclosing the identi-ties of the couples.
I do agree that the defence she took was not really that good, that parents need to know where their children are. But seriously, the reaction to it was very
disproportionate — and she definitely did not deserve to be fired.
Ali WazirIslamabad
Over a 100 dead and no one to blame?Who else but the Punjab chief minister, who also happens to be the provincial health minister, should be held responsi-ble for the deaths of over a hundred poor patients administered free medicines by the Punjab Institute of Cardiology? All of these went to a government-run hospital because they could not afford to purchase medicines from the private sector. The Punjab health department is responsible for ensuring the quality of medicines provided to hospitals in the province and quite clearly the blame for this tragedy should lie squarely on its shoulders.
Instead of accepting his failure, the chief minister is trying to pass on the blame to doctors. Senior doctors have been suspended and some have been
arrested, and while they are to blame as well, the buck, so to speak, stops with the province’s chief executive. Also, what is the purpose of asking the Lahore High Court to conduct a judicial inquiry into the matter? Isn’t the provincial health department’s internal system enough to ascertain where the responsibility lies?
Also, one needs to ask the chief min-ister that why has he kept so many pro-vincial portfolios all to himself? Surely, one qualified PML-N MPA could be found to be given the post of health minister.
The excuse being given that the federal government is responsible for register-ing the drugs and issuing licences is just another way of passing the buck because even if that is the case, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the it ultimately the Punjab health departments job to ensure that the medicines given at facili-ties owned by the provincial government are safe for human consumption.
The Punjab chief minister should exhibit the moral courage to accept failure and responsibility for what has
happened. In future, the following should be done: 1. Instead of having a civil servant as secretary, the Punjab health department should be headed by a senior professional doctor. 2. The provincial governments should set up an authority which will check the qual-ity of medicines provided to patients throughout the province. 3. All testing laboratories should be upgraded and equipped with new technology so that all medicines can be checked before being introduced into the market.
ST HussainLahore
(II)Had the medicines scandal happened even in India, by now the minister in charge of the health department would have either resigned, or would have been sacked. However, in this situation, the person who would sack the health minister is also the health minister him-self! So perhaps it would be too much to
expect the Punjab chief minister to take responsibility for this tragedy and tender his resignation.
Of course, this is Pakistan, a land where no one ever resigns, so the next best thing we should expect is that enough checks should be put in place that nothing of this sort happens again. Also, the families of those who have died should be given generous financial compensation.
Nadya A KhanLahore
What happened to the Great People?This is with reference to Anwer Mooraj’s article of January 30 titled “What hap-pened to the Great People?”.
Going through our past, one feels that we were also civilised, literate, disci-plined, hard-working and committed. But something happened. Was it because the generation before us was more hon-est, more devoted and more educated?
Or, was it because they were more God-fearing and law-abiding than us.
As someone has rightly said, if wealth is lost nothing is lost, if health is lost something is lost, but if character is lost all is lost.
Tariq AnwaarToronto
10 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
"Wigemark: EU could enshrine
market access terms
as soon as April or MayEU Ambassador to Pakistan Lars-Gunnar Wigemark
Rs5,000is the revised fare for a seat in the
Karachi-Lahore Business Train
against the initial agreed fare of
Rs3,500. Officials cite exquisite
catering of Pearl Continental as
the reason for the hike. PPI
"Ghauri: Pakistan
is considered an
unreliable supplier
of goods, particularly
the textile sector
American Business Forum President Salim Ghauri
AALL ABOARD
Pick-And-Shovel PlayA strategy where investments
are made in companies that are
providers of necessary equipment
for an industry. For example an
investor would purchase stock in
a company that manufactures
seismic data equipment used by
exploration companies.
A BUSINESS LEXICON
SOURCE: INVESTOPEDIA
A REPUTATION
"m
a
KSE’s benchmark 100-share index crawled down eight points
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
The stock market wandered along the neutral line as lack of triggers and no major cor-porate announcement pushed investors to the sidelines on Tuesday.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.07 per cent or 8.12 points to end at the 11,874.89 point level.
Despite considerable decline in political noise, the court hearing over the NRO case scheduled today (Wednesday) played its part in keeping investors away and glued to developments, said Elixir
Securities equity dealer Sibtain Mustafa.
Overall, volumes have lost considerable steam as institu-tional activity dries up along with jobbers surrendering to one-year long trending market that have failed to make new highs, added Mustafa. Trade volumes continued to decline
and fell to the paltry level of 60 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 67 mil-lion shares.
Fertilizer stocks closed flat-tish only with the exception of Engro which closed down 1% while Fatima Fertilizer jumped 2.4% on better fer-tiliser sales witnessed in
December. Among oil stocks, both Pakistan Oilfields and Oil & Gas Development Company witnessed snap rallies but closed with clipped gains of 0.4% each.
Foreign institutional inves-tors were net buyers of Rs202 million worth of shares, ac-cording to data maintained
by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Attock Petroleum and Attock Refinery gained 0.7% & 2.9%, respectively, over expectations of better half-yearly results scheduled to be announced Wednesday and Thursday.
Jahangir Siddiqui and
Company was the volume leader with 6.23 million shares gaining Rs0.27 to finish at Rs5.57. It was followed by Azgard Nine with 4.13 million shares firming Rs0.24 to close at Rs3.4 and Fauji Fertilizer Company with 3.28 million shares losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs186.95.
Index wanders around the neutral lineMARKET WATCH
STAGNANT
the number of stocks whose prices remained the same
IN THE RED
the number of stocks whose prices went down
117IN THE BLACK
the number of stocks whose prices went up
98 115
Saudi contract price jumps to record high at $1,028 per ton
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
ISLAMABAD
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices are likely to go up by Rs15 per kg in line with Saudi Aramco contract price, which soared to a record high of $1,028 per ton on Monday, up $142 in a month, industry people say.
Domestic LPG prices, which are linked with the Saudi Aramco price, are expected to rise by at least Rs15,000 per ton to Rs107,000 per ton with effect from February 3.
According to a statement is-sued by the All Pakistan LPG Association on Tuesday, the price of a domestic LPG cylin-der (11.8 kg) will rise by Rs177
and commercial cylinder (45.4 kg) by Rs681.
“Retail price can jump to Rs155-160 per kg while prices for domestic and commercial cylinders will increase from Rs1,650 to Rs1,830 and from Rs6,356 to Rs7,035 respec-tively,” the association said.
“We urge the government to reconsider the imposition of petroleum levy on local LPG, which can further increase prices,” said Belal Jabbar, spokes-man for the LPG Association.
On January 16, the govern-ment imposed petroleum levy at the rate of Rs11,486 per ton on domestic LPG production in order to increase the prices and bring them at par with those of imports.
According to Jabbar, LPG imports dropped to around 12,000 tons in January com-pared to 17,000 tons in December.
LPG prices likely to rise
Rs15 per kg
US diplomat says misconceptions about Pakistan fading away
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
LAHORE
Pakistan’s economy is going to take off in a couple of years as misperceptions about the country are fast fading away, says US Commercial Counsellor Brian McClreary.
During a visit to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday, McClreary said Pakistan had vast potential to become a de-veloped economy, but it was only suffering because of lack of technology and the US was keen and taking measures to remove the hurdles coming in the way of expanding Pak-US economic relations.
The diplomat said the US embassy in Pakistan was making efforts to highlight Pakistan’s potential so that US businessmen could make investment in the sector of their choice.
Describing Pakistani entre-preneurs as very creative, he
said, “we all need to do a bet-ter job collectively to create more success stories and the embassy is ready to extend cooperation.”
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI Vice President Saeeda Nazar underscored the need for a free trade agreement between the two countries and asked the US policymakers to give some attention to this area.
LCCI is planning to send a sector-specific delegation to the US in May to take part in the International Franchises Expo.
Exports to the US, the biggest trading partner of Pakistan, ranged from $3.7 to $3.9 bil-lion per year over the past four years. “We do have greater ca-pacity to increase exports to $5 to $6 billion but it requires not only greater access to the US market but also some transfer of technology,” she said.
Economy to take off in
a couple of yearsExports to the US, the
biggest trading partner
of Pakistan, ranged
from $3.7 to $3.9 billion
per year over the past
four years
The petroleum ministry has sought political consensus from Parliament for what appears to be an aggressive gas load management plan, aimed at constraining the growth in de-mand for natural gas.
In his testimony before the National Assembly Petroleum and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, Petroleum Secretary Ijaz Chaudhry explained the govern-ment’s challenges in managing the nation’s dwindling reserves of gas and laid out a plan for rationing the available gas between the vari-ous sectors that use it.
The plan calls for raising prices on compressed natural gas (CNG) used as fuel by vehicles, switching from guaranteed supply to “as available” contracts for captive power plants in industrial units, banning the use of CNG in private vehicles and linking expansions in gas allocations to ad-ditions of supply to the gas grid.
“No sector is ready to cooperate [with the government] on the gas load management plan,” said Chaudhry.
CNGEffective Wednesday, CNG will now be subject to a 10% infrastructure development cess. CNG prices in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and the Potohar region (Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Gujjar Khan) will now be Rs74.30 per kilogramme, which those in the rest of the coun-try will be Rs69.62.
In addition to the tax, the govern-ment is planning on increasing the base prices of CNG. “We have an agreement with the CNG lobby to keep prices at 55% of petrol,” said Chaudhry. “We are requesting the economic co-ordination committee (ECC) of the cabinet to revise this formula.”
The government had also con-sidered lowering diesel prices as a means of encouraging alternatives to CNG, but the price differential was simply too great to achieve any meaningful reduction in CNG consumption without raising CNG price. In the meantime, the govern-ment was considering simply ban-ning the use of CNG in all vehicles except public transportation.
“A ban on CNG use in cars with en-gines over 1,000 cubic centimetres would be challenged in the courts as discriminatory,” said the secretary. “We are currently studying a plan
to ban the use of CNG in private ve-hicles, which would reduce gas con-sumption in that sector by 50%.”
Captive power in industryThe petroleum secretary confirmed that the nine-month gas supply agreements that the state-owned gas companies had with captive power plants in large industrial units were not being honoured.
“The decision to enforce these agreements needs to be made po-litically,” said the secretary. “We are going to revise these agreements with industry to provide gas to them on an ‘as available’ basis.”
Managing supply growthThe petroleum secretary also said that the government should only ex-pand allocations of gas in the same proportion as new supplies of gas to the national system. Chaudhry was met with some hostile questioning when he stated that the state-owned Sui Northern Gas Pipelines and Sui Southern Gas Company had invested Rs250 billion over the last five years in expanding the gas network under development schemes supported by parliamentarians.
“SNGP had imposed a moratorium on new connections 2009, but 90% of new connections went to the domes-tic consumer sector through parlia-mentarians,” he said. He then laid out more numbers that suggested that political interference was ham-pering the ministry’s ability to man-age the gas load. “About 180 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas sup-ply capacity was added to the network last year, but the gas shortfall in-creased by 270 mmcfd, largely due to the spread of new connections under the prime minister’s directives to pro-vide has to development schemes backed by parliamentarians.”
He also added: “The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) relaxed the ban on new CNG stations and is-sued 400 new licences.”
The buyers think that the economics just does not work, but the petroleum ministry seems hell-bent on import-ing liquefied natural gas anyway.
Testifying before the National Assembly Petroleum and Natural Resources Committee, Petroleum Secretary Ijaz Chaudhry admitted that the power sector, the manu-facturing sector and fertiliser pro-ducers had all balked at the idea of purchasing imported LNG at a cost of $18 per million British thermal units (mmbtu), the prevailing inter-national price at which the govern-ment would be able to import LNG.
Chaudhry said that the govern-ment’s plan had been to get the LNG import terminal developers to find the end buyers of the gas, which they had apparently failed to do, largely due to pricing concerns. Even power companies – which are currently relying on highly expen-sive furnace oil – have turned down the idea of buying LNG at its mar-ket rate.
“Power companies have told us that they would rather shut down than have to pay $18 per mmbtu,” Chaudhry told the committee. “[This is despite the fact that] the power companies are currently buy-ing furnace oil at a rate of about $20 per mmbtu.”
Most of the largest industrial consumers of natural gas have sug-gested that the government create a weighted average formula for gas pricing, with the lower local price of gas offsetting the higher interna-tional price. The petroleum ministry seems to be considering the idea.
“We are now working to put the imported LNG into the pipeline sys-tems of [state-owned] Sui Northern Gas Pipelines and the Sui Southern Gas Company and to charge a weighted average price for the gas from manufacturers, the fertiliser sector and the power sector,” said Chaudhry during his testimony.
The petroleum secretary appeared to be confident that despite what amounted to open rebellion by the major buyers of the gas, the coun-try would be able to begin importing LNG within the coming year.
Domestic productionBut importing LNG is not the only component of the government’s plan to combat the gas crisis that
has seen the gas shortage in the country jump to as high as 2,100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) during peak winter demand.
The petroleum ministry had sub-mitted a draft of a new petroleum policy that would pay companies exploring and developing domestic supplies of oil and gas a rate of $6 per mmbtu, significantly higher than the current rate which can often be lower than $3 per mmbtu. Oil and gas companies have been demand-ing higher prices because the cost of exploration has gone up since the last policy was announced in 2001.
Chaudhry said that while the government had some disputes with the provinces over who would exercise regulatory authority over oil and gas companies, there was agreement on the new, higher price to be paid to domestic producers. The hope is that higher prices will attract more companies into explor-ing and producing more domestic oil and gas, which is much cheaper than any imported options.
Pipeline importsAnother option the government is aggressively pursuing is importing gas from Iran and Turkmenistan via pipelines. Both pipelines are more expensive that local production, but cheaper than LNG imports. Gas from the Iran pipeline would cost $11 per mmbtu and from the Turkmenistan pipeline about $13 per mmbtu.
The petroleum secretary also re-futed the allegations that Pakistan might give in to US pressure to aban-don the Iran pipeline.
“The route survey of the pipeline has been completed and companies have been shortlisted for the engi-neering, procurement and construc-tion contracts,” he said, adding that the government was already in the process fof acquiring the land for the pipeline.
If completed on time, gas would begin to flow from Iran by 2014.
Possible CNG ban for private
cars, industry to get gas on
‘as available’ basis
Pushing ahead with LNG
imports, despite opposition
from end buyers
Gas crisis
Govt plans to expand supply, constrain demand growth
New petroleum policy draft
suggests that companies
developing oil and gas
will get $6 per mmbtu,
significantly higher than
current rate which can be
lower than $3 per mmbtu
Effective Wednesday,
CNG will now be subject
to a 10% infrastructure
development cess. CNG
prices in Balochistan and
adjoining areas will now be
Rs74.30 per kilogramme
A ZAFAR BHUTTA
ISLAMABAD
DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 15
"Hussain: I have been warning the nation about these
threats that Karachi was being handed over to terrorists.
I was not taken seriously, my warnings were ridiculed A paraphrasing of MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s comments after an MPA’s family was killed in Gizri
POLICE ENCOUNTER
7-year-old boy rescued from kidnappersSUKKUR. An hour-long encounter between the Ghotki police and a gang of kidnappers on Monday, in Katcho Bhindi forest, led to five arrests and the rescue of seven-year-old Abdullah Gabol. The police found arms on the kidnappers, identified as Abdul Sattar Mirani, Abdul Jabbar Mirani, Abdul Ghaffar Mirani, Mendho Mirani and Mohammad Hassan Mirani. Gabol was kidnapped on October 13, 2011. OUR CORRESPONDENT
1960 is when Finnish diplomat,
politician, and former president,
Maarti Ahtissari taught in
Karachi with the YMCA. He
was awarded the 2008 Nobel
Peace Prize for helping resolve
conflicts. SOURCE THE HUTCHINSON UNABRIDGED
ENCYCLOPEDIA WITH ATLAS AND WEATHER GUIDE
A PIECE OF HISTORY
Free eye clinic offers medical services, accommodation and food
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
SUKKUR
As the third day of the Pir Irani Free Eye Camp at the Mustafai Trust General Hospital Sukkur came to an end, the visually impaired continued to arrive in hopes of a better sight.
Mai Amna, a 55-year-old woman, came from a village near Shaheed Benazirabad, went through surgery on Sunday and was discharged on Monday. “Now I can see the colours of life while earlier, my life was like what you see on a black-and-white televi-sion,” she said.
Allah Warrayo Lashari, from Shikarpur, was all praise for the camp and its management for providing essential services to people in need of financial assistance. “I am a vegetable cart vendor and earn too little to make ends meet,” he said.
Lashari had his left eye oper-ated on at the camp last year and came in for his right eye this year.
Aside from Sukkur, a large number of people came from parts of Rahim Yar Khan and Balochistan as well to undergo surgery at the camp.
Mustafai Trust Hospital’s medical superintendent and eye surgeon Dr Mohammad Ibrahim Bhutto said that by the middle of the third day, a team of five doctors had per-formed 350 operations. Apart from him, two doctors came from Karachi and one each from Lahore and Hyderabad to do the work.
Bhutto said that the Phaco operations normally cost Rs3,000 to Rs30,000, depend-ing on the quality of the lens. Phaco is a modern technique in which the patient is al-lowed to go back to their nor-mal routine within four days.
The patients coming from Sukkur and its surrounding areas are allowed to go home after the operation, while those coming from far-flung areas are required to stay overnight. Besides free opera-tions and lens, the Mustafai hospital annual camp pro-vides patients free accom-modation, free food and free medicines. Bhutto said that if more funds are generated, then such free eye camps could be held twice a year.
New strategy includes writing each member of parliament on foreign policy
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
KARACHI
One of the last religious-party coalitions on the po-litical scene called itself the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal or MMA. That was just six par-ties. Thus, when 40 parties form a group, the natural question arises whether they are contemplating forming an alliance to fight in the elections.
These questions were partly answered on Tuesday by the chief of a leading member of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council. Hafiz Saeed of the Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) stressed, albeit vaguely, that the council was a coalition with the aim to “defend Pakistan”. “Political
activity and ups and downs will continue regardless – but Pakistan has to be safe and se-cure,” he said.
Even though Saeed’s name has not been on a ballot, he claims it was a “misconcep-tion” that the JuD was not a political party, given that its activities – such as bringing together different parties and raising awareness on issues – are of a political nature. The JuD, which is allegedly linked with the banned militant or-ganisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, serves as a pressure group and organises events on re-ligious and political issues, including in favour of the blasphemy law. It also runs a philanthropic wing called the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation.
“We believe the politics of polarisation harms the Ummah,” Saeed said, as he parried questions on whether the party would formally an-nounce itself as a political
party or participate in the elections.
Saeed was briefing journal-ists on Tuesday afternoon about the upcoming Difa-e-Pakistan Council event, to be held in Karachi on February 12. The council has already hosted events in Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
While the JuD hosted the council’s event in Lahore, Saeed said the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) had been entrusted with the responsibility in Karachi and would deal with acquiring permission for the venue and inviting other parties. So far, the venue has been decided as the ground opposite the Mazar-e-Quaid, a space that
has gained considerable popu-larity in the last few months as it was the choice of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), All Pakistan Muslim League and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) for their rallies.
“The rally in Karachi will play a big role in [cementing] the objective of ensuring that no decisions [about Pakistan’s foreign policy] are made si-lently,” Saeed said.
The Difa-e-Pakistan Council has been in touch with main-stream political parties, and delegations have person-ally visited Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif and PTI chairperson Imran Khan. A delegation from the PTI attended the council’s event in Lahore, and accord-ing to Saeed, the JuD expects “good things” from Khan.
One of the council’s new strategies is to personally write to each member of parliament to ensure their
concerns about Pakistan’s for-eign policy are heard. JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan has an-nounced that the party will stage a sit-in at parliament if its committee on national se-curity’s recommendations in-cludes reopening Nato supply lines. Saeed said the JuD and other parties would probably follow suit.
When asked whether out-rage over foreign policy eclipsed a discussion on real issues people face, Saeed said, “I disagree with the assertion that these issues are separate. All the issues in Pakistan have come after the post-2001 agreements it made with the United States.”
Saeed did admit, however, that religious parties have been unsuccessful in amass-ing street power to oust gov-ernments. “Instead of just reacting to urgent issues, we should have constantly mo-tivated people,” he conceded.
Saeed took this opportunity to clarify that Malik Ishaq, who is believed to be a key leader of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and was recently freed from detention, was not a ‘special guest’ at the council’s rally in Multan on Sunday. “Some sections of the media picked this up. He did not address the rally,” he said.
As far as the ‘jinn’ is con-cerned, Saeed concluded, “Some jinns leave [the body] with [the help of] prayers, and other [need to be forced out] with sticks”.
Difa-e-Pakistan Council
Ahead of 40-party rally, JuD chief parries questions on electoral ambitions
Th e Jamaat-e-Islami
will be hosting the
Difa-e-Pakistan
Council event in
Karachi on February 12
ONE FOR ALL
40is the number of politico-religious parties that form the Difa-e-Pakistan Council
An eye opener
When life looks like
what you see on a black-
and-white television
THREE-DAY EYE CAMP
350operations were performed by five doctors
3,000 students are taking part in the five-day International Schools Educational Olympiad
A RABIA ALI
KARACHI
Pakistan may be obsessed with cricket, but at the International Schools Educational Olympiad (ISEO) the chess tables are the big-gest attraction.
Karachi High School, the organiser, claims ISEO is the largest inter-school event in the country with more than 100 schools and 3,000 stu-dents taking part in the five-day tournament.
Around 51 chess players are competing with some strong female contestants. Afroz Muhammad, 11, from the SMB Fatima Jinnah School, seemed determined to win the tournament on Tuesday. “My father used to play chess at home. My in-terest in chess also developed when singer Shehzad Roy introduced chess classes at our school,” she said, before focusing her entire attention on her match.
Chess player Shahzad Mirza, who was judging the tournament, believes that, “Chess is gaining popular-ity among students at a time when computers have taken over physical activity. These kids have a lot of potential. They just need a push from their schools, and the gov-ernment to support them.”
In one of the classrooms, back-to-back chess games were being played by anxious students, who clocked their every move. Tabish Imran from St Patrick’s School re-laxed after beating his op-ponent in a minute. “I am happy to finally win a game after losing two,” he said.
It’s not all about the pawns though. There are a host of events lined up, from sing-ing to Scrabble competi-tions. A cyber fair and a technology quiz are also on the agenda for the techies in the crowd.
The opening ceremony also had a touch of theatre and bonhomie as students of Karachi High School sang songs to welcome the participants while teachers from different schools lit candles as a symbol of har-mony. Noted music com-poser and chief guest Arshad Mehmood was given a life-time achievement award to a standing ovation.
Mehmood was delighted that students were express-ing themselves through poetry and literature. “It is great to see so much talent here. One day these children will make a mark in fine arts and make their country proud.”
The headlines and the media filtered in to the ISEO as well. A group of O’ Level students from Jaffar Public School was confident about the film they had made on the aerial firing on New Year’s Eve would win. “We wanted to focus on that subject because people dying in aerial firing are not highlighted much. The film is about a boy who acciden-tally kills his friend and then commits suicide,” explained Hasan Iqbal, who also plays the main lead. His group came in third in the film-making competition last year, but they are now aim-ing to bag the top prize.
The ISEO features its own version of the media. A group of students from the host school are acting as reporters and interviewed students and teachers with microphones and cameras in tow. “We can’t participate in the events but we perform before the main events - such as being in the choir, or acting as reporters,” said Marium Ali, a student of the 8th grade.
Every school team was headed by a group leader, who is a faculty member of the same institution. Sameen, a teacher from DA School, said that events like this not only benefit stu-dents but the teachers, who get to interact with their peers and learn about dif-ferent educational systems.
While two intermedi-ate students from Bahria College put on a folklore-in-spired performance of “Laila Majnu”, ten students partici-pated in an elocution contest of Urdu prose and poetry. A student of Aitchison College recited Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ‘Nisar mein teri Galiyon’, while another student, Bisam, recited his own poem ‘Kab aaye ga Quaid jaisa koi’ to a volley of applause.
Karachi High School Principal Parveen Kassim
says that she was inspired by an Olympiad she saw in India. “In 1997, I visited one of the top schools in Lucknow and was blown away by the educational Olympiad there. This school was using all of its resources on educational events.”
Three years later, she initi-ated the ISEO at the Karachi High School. It was ini-tially an Interschool Schools
Educational Olympiad, which later took on a re-gional feel. “We had stu-dents coming from Calcutta, Lucknow and Delhi. In 2004, the Indian students were very emotional at their de-parture and left with teary eyes.”
While issues with visas and Indo-Pak ties have kept Indian students away, the security situation in Karachi
has prevented residents of other cities. “People are scared to come to Karachi. We once had 10 to 15 teams coming from Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Hyderabad. Now we just have three teams from other cities.”
While Kassim feels that the event is improving with every passing year, it is dif-ficult to organise due to the lack of funds. The schools are not charged for register-ing in the competition. “If Veena Malik was coming here people would spend money to organise it. But no one wants to come for-ward to promote educational events.”
ISEO 2012
Students checkmate their opponents while others show off their ability to rhyme
KIDNAPPING
Court awards five men life in prison
KARACHI. Five men tried on the charge of kidnapping four men and extorting ransom were convicted and sen-tenced to life imprisonment by an anti-terrorism court here on Tuesday.
Muhammad Ibrahim, Muhammad Saeed, Ameer Baksh, Najafuddin and Muhammad Shahid were tried for kidnapping Kamran, Adil, Ameer Sajid and Farooq from the jurisdiction of Sachal police station on February 4, 2007. They released the hostages after taking a ransom of Rs300,000 from each of the hostage’s family. Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso also or-dered for all their immovable property to be confiscated. OUR CORRESPONDENT
MBA BANKING
KU Business School opens admissions
KARACHI. The Karachi University Business School (KUBS), in collaboration with the Institute of Bankers Pakistan, an-nounced on Tuesday that it had started admissions for its two-year professional MBA Banking programme. Admission forms are avail-able at the United Bank Limited Silver Jubilee gate branch for Rs500.
The last date for submis-sion is February 8. An entrance test will be con-ducted on February 12 at the university, followed by in-terviews of successful candi-dates on February 17 and 18. The KUBS was established in 2000, after the Institute of Business Administration was given the status of an autonomous degree-awarding institution. OUR
CORRESPONDENT
SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT
Qingqi rickshaws appeal for permits
KARACHI. The All Karachi Qingqi Rickshaw Welfare Association has appealed to the Sindh transport depart-ment to allot them route permits.
Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, the association’s Syed Safdar Shah Qadri said that if the government provides Qingqi rickshaws legal status and allots them route permits, as buses and minibuses have, then they will earn tax in return.
Qadri asked the DIG traf-fic to stop fining Qingqi rickshaws for not having route permits. “We have been trying to contact the government for legalisation and routes but they are not giving it importance,” said Qadri. There are 15,000 to 20,000 Qingqi rickshaws in Karachi. OUR CORRESPONDENT
BIG TALKER: A student takes part in the elocution competition at the ISEO held at the Karachi High School on Tuesday. PHOTOS: AYESHA MIR/EXPRESS
A group of O’ Level
students from Jaffar
Public School was
confident about the
film they had made on
aerial firing on New
Year’s Eve would win
"If Veena Malik was
coming here people
would spend money
to organise it. But no
one wants to come
forward to promote
educational events
Karachi High School Principal Parveen Kassim
Students compete in chess on the first day of the ISEO held at the Karachi High School on Tuesday. The event will take place till Friday, and the closing ceremony will be on January 4.
20 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
Life StyleGONE FOREVER
Scherzinger, Abdul not returning to ‘X Factor’LOS ANGELES. Reports suggest that Steve Jones isn’t the only one not coming back to “X Factor” next season. Judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul might not be returning either. A source con-firmed that both Abdul and Scherzinger were not renewed, “Simon wants to take the show in a different direction,” says the insider. However, another source said, “Nicole is not returning to the show because she wants to focus on her music career.” E!ONLINE
GON
SchLOS A
comandfirm“Siminsithe
A INSECURITY
"Gosling: It’s quite
hard. Th e boxers
have been training
around me and they
could all beat me up
Actor Ryan Gosling talks about preparing for boxing scenes in his upcoming
film Only God Forgives. HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM
Song videos shot at iconic locations
‘JANA THA HUM NE’ — NOORI
This song by one of the most followed pop bands, Noori, was shot in front of Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. The song “Jana Tha Hum Ne” was in the band’s first album Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan which was released in 2003.Though the band — founded by two brothers Ali Noor and Ali Hamza — got hold of professional cameras (shown in the video), it was still given a very casual feel. It captured the essence of Minar-e-Pakistan and portrayed the activities of people around the iconic structure in a fun, lively way.
‘DEEWANE’— FUZON
Bollywood star Urmila Matondkar was invited to Lahore via the Wagah border crossing in 2003 to star in a music video on peace between India and Pakistan. The video for a song by Fuzon called “Deewane” also starred Pakistani actors Resham and Shamil Khan along with Matondkar. In the video, the Bollywood actor plays a journalist who enters the country through Wagah Border and gets acquainted with Pakistani culture and people. The idea was initiated by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Fuzon contributed their song for the peace promoting venture.
‘NA REY NA’ – ALI AZMAT
Ali Azmat’s track “Na Rey Na” from the album Social Circus was shot at the Red Light District in Lahore. The Red Light Area is known to be the centre of prostitution in the city. The video itself, however, shows a man’s brush with death and how he associates the faces he sees in real life with a character he meets in his afterlife. The album released in 2005 and was Azmat’s first solo venture since his split from the rock band Junoon. Social Circus was a massive departure from Junoon’s style and won 23 awards in Pakistan, including Best Album and Best Producer.
SOURCES: THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE
PHOTOS: FILE
Celebmeter: The 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards
A INSECURITY
"Gosling
hard. Th e
have bee
around m
could all
Actor Ryan Goslinfor boxing scen
film OnlyHO
A SHER KHAN
LAHORE
South Asian-Canadian fusion band Josh came to Lahore to film the second music video from their recently released album Beyond Kismat. According to the band members, the album has already become a glittering success and sold over 55,000 albums in four weeks. The band was on the rooftop of Mian Yousuf Salahuddin’s haveli trying to reincarnate Delhi in the city of Lahore. The single “Yeh Zameen”, which is being directed by Maram and Aabroo, was actually composed by Rahul Dev Burman in 1982. The song has been modernised and given a ‘Josh twist’. The Express Tribune spoke to band members Rupinder Magon (Rup) and Qurram Hussain (Q) about their latest video.
Band member Rup kick-started the conversation with details about the main theme of their video. “We want to highlight Lahore’s beautiful inner city and to show the commonalities between the sub-continental culture of India and Pakistan.” Besides
portraying the neighborhood culture, the video is also an interesting tribute to Rahul Dev Burman (RD Burman). The video features Rup courting a neighbourhood crush played by Karachi-based actor Aamina Sheikh.
“This part of Lahore has the scenery of the sub-continent, if you go to the older parts of Delhi, you will get a similar sort of scenery,” says Q. “We are just excited and blessed that we still have sceneries such as this in Pakistan and we are excited about revealing it to the world.”
Regarding the location of the video, Q says, “It really does not matter where we shoot it. It will be interest-ing when people see the video and do not realise that it was shot in Lahore. They will get the message that it’s all just one and the same.”
Aamina Sheikh was really excited about the band’s recent plans. “They have done a commendable job,” says Sheikh. “Lahore has the most attractive back-drop in Pakistan. There is so much to offer here.”
New direction: Bollywood days
Although the band found their initial popular-ity in Pakistan and their hometown Ontario, they’ve now moved towards another direction altogether. “We are busy with several projects right now. We will be creating songs and doing vocals as well. It’s a little bit different in India because when a director takes an artist for their film, they make all the music,” says Rup.
At the same time, they don’t plan on com-promising on their original music. “We will continue releasing singles from Beyond Kismat. However, our focus has shifted to Bollywood.”
He adds, “We release in many territories. It’s easier to release in Pakistan or the United Kingdom but in India it is different as it is a Bollywood dominated market.”
According to an insider, Josh is set to com-pose an album for an upcoming Indian film featuring Akhshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu. The band, which has developed an interna-tional following over the years, maintains that the decision to focus on Bollywood will not distract the band from releasing their next album.
Besides Bollywood, some of their songs have also featured in Hollywood films. In the past, they have recorded the song “Chaddi Wale Yaar” for the Canadian hockey based film Speedy Singhs which had been produced by Akshay Kumar. Rup also made his acting debut in the same film. Besides acting and singing for films, Rup has also ventured into writing. In September 2011, Times of India re-ported that the band member had been busy authoring a recipe book for men.
Lahore gets some Josh Rup and Q visit the historical city to shoot their latest video
We want to highlight Lahore’s
beautiful inner city and to show
the commonalities between
the sub-continental culture of
India and Pakistan
Band member Rupinder Magon
According to an insider, Josh is set to
compose an album for an upcoming
Indian film featuring Akhshay Kumar
and Bipasha Basu
LAYOUT : MAHA HAIDER
PHOTOS: PUBLICITY
Natalie Portman Matthew Morrison Emily Blunt Michelle Williams Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
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49
50
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PARTNER OF
Th e prospects of democracy generate hopes and fearsThe New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman IHT PAGE 9
It’s a very challenging relationshipUS Secretary of State Hilary Clinton PAGE 12
PERENNIAL BASKET-CASE
Govt baulks at bailing out railways
The federal government is reluctant to give Pakistan Railways the Rs5 billion it needs in order to remain solvent PAGE 3
UPCOMING TALENT
The right way to fall: Natasha Ejaz
With the 4th episode of Uth Records, Pakistani audiences witnessed a young and talented artist in the form of Natasha Ejaz PAGE 19
FINANCIAL FRAUD
Steals from WAPDA, starts father’s business
FIA has begun the extradi-tion process against a man accused of having stolen Rs190 million from the Wapda PAGE 11
FLYING START
Vettel dominates season-opener
World Champion earned his 11th win in his 63rd Grand Prix, beating McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Russian Vitaly Petrov PAGE 15
POLITICAL CRISIS
Kuwait to intercede in Bahrain crisis
Bahrain’s opposition group Wefaq has accepted Kuwait as a mediator with Bahrain’s gov-ernment to end a political crisis gripping the kingdom PAGE 8
ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY
Father pleads innocence for son
A person arrested in Gilgit for alleged blasphemy is mentally ill and was recently being treated at a hospital, The Express Tribune has learnt PAGE 2 VettelNatasha Ejaz
News in Brief
MondayMARCH 28, 2011
RABI-US-SANI 22, 1432 A.H.
Rs20
tribune.com.pk
A IN THE ARAB WORLD PAKISTAN AND THE UNITED STATES
A SPORT
A REGIONAL
Libyan rebels make more
territorial gains
Gain control of main oil terminals in the country’s eastern half PAGE 8
A INTERNATIONAL
Radiation spike seen in
water near Japan reactor
Reliance on old science left govt unprepared for tsunami IHT PAGE 1
Indo-Pak Express rolls on
Aisam, Bopanna advance in Sony Ericsson Open PAGE 15
Tough
decisions
need to be
made
We know what needs to be done, but who will swallow this bitter pill?PAGE 10
A BUSINESS
ns
be
eeds ho will r pill?
SWEET MESSAGE: Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry poses with Indian Border Security Force (BSF) Inspector-General Himmat Singh as he presents sweets to BSF soldiers after arriving in India at the Attari border post on Sunday. PHOTO: AFP
Saudi prince promises meaningful help to Islamabad in return
A QAISER BUTT
ISLAMABAD
In the backdrop of the current political uprisings in the Arab world, Pakistan has decided to play a significant role in the region by supporting Saudi Arabia, sources told The Express Tribune.
The decision came follow-ing a string of meetings that Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, special emissary of the Saudi king, had with the Pakistani leadership over the weekend.
The Saudi royal family scion met the top political and mil-
itary leaders, among them President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
Prince Bandar’s whirlwind tour came as mass protests are sweeping across most of the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries. Though there is no immediate threat of an upris-ing against the Saudi rulers, the situation in neighbouring Bahrain is a cause for serious concern.
In his interaction with Premier Gilani, the Saudi prince indicated that the oil-rich kingdom would ex-tend meaningful support to Pakistan to improve its ailing ARAB WORLD, PAGE 9
Unrest in the Arab world
Islamabad assures
Riyadh of support
A IRFAN GHAURI
ISLAMABAD
In an attempt to take a lead in peace-making gestures, Pakistan on Sunday remitted the sentence of an Indian man held in a Pakistan jail for the last 27 years, soon after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ac-cepted his Indian counterpart’s invitation to watch the Cricket World Cup semi-final match be-tween the two countries’ teams.
President Asif Ali Zardari
remitted the sentence of Gopal Das, who was first sen-tenced to life imprisonment in 1987, on the advice of the prime minister, according to the president’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar.
The remission was granted on humanitarian grounds to hon-our an appeal made two weeks ago by the Supreme Court of India for Das’ release, whose family say he had mistakenly crossed the border in 1984.
Das had entered a plea to the Indian apex court through his brother, which ruled that while it had no jurisdiction in Pakistan, it could make an appeal for his release to the Pakistan government.
“We cannot give any direc-tion to Pakistan authorities because we have no jurisdic-tion over them. The Indian authorities have done all that they could in the matter. However, that does not pre-
vent us from making a request MOHALI SEMI-FINAL, PAGE 9
Ahead of Mohali semi-fi nal
Pakistan takes lead in diplomatic gesturesPresident Zardari frees an Indian held for 27 years, after appeal from Indian Supreme Court
Th e minister for trade amassed as much as Rs500m in the scam
A ADIL JAWAD
KARACHI
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has established that certain influential po-litical people benefited from illegal National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) land deals and officers of the NICL and others acted as front men
for various state dignitaries, including the federal trade minister, Makhdoom Amin Faheem.
Sources also said that intense political pressure was brought to bear upon FIA, whose offi-cials were told to hide facts in a report submitted to the Supreme Court about the in-volvement of influential peo-ple in the deal.
FIA investigators alleged that the minister amassed Rs500 million in the deal, inflicting
a massive blow to the national exchequer.
According to sources, other accounts in which the ill-got-ten money was later trans-ferred were operated by less known persons or business as-sociates with distinct political associations.
Interestingly, the FIA was being pressed into withhold-ing his name from being in-cluded in the investigation.
According to sources, an in-vestigation into the bank ac-
counts of the central accused, Khalid Anwer, disclosed that of the Rs900 million paid from the national exchequer Rs40.1 million was used to write off debts of the federal minister and other members of his family.
On January 31, the FIA sub-mitted a report in the Supreme Court according to which NICL paid Rs900 million for a 10-acre plot in Korangi in August 2009. The money was FIA, PAGE 9
Scandalous land deal
Senior federal minister among NICL beneficiaries: FIA
"Th e prison is
gloomy; O Friends!
Tell the eastern wind,
To at least allow some
talk of my beloved for
divinity’s sake
Indian Justice Markandey Katju quoting Faiz Ahmad Faiz
A ADITI PHADNIS &
ZAHID GISHKORI
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD
India on Sunday poured cold water on expectations of a breakthrough at the home secretary-level talks be-tween Islamabad and New Delhi starting today, even as Pakistan vowed that it would approach the negotiations with an open mind and ex-pected a “reciprocal response” from its neighbour.
The scheduled negotiations have since been overshadowed by possible summit level talks on Wednesday after or when Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counter-part Manmohan Singh watch the World Cup semifinal be-tween their two sides at Mohali.
The Indian side did not sound optimistic at all. An of-ficial who spoke to The Express Tribune attributed New Delhi’s lukewarm response towards the talks to Pakistan’s alleged “lack of sincerity in cooperat-ing with India in any anti-terror initiatives”. The official claimed that the prosecution’s attempt to bring the 26/11 guilty to justice in Pakistan “had not moved an inch” and that India’s request for provid-
ing the voice samples of the at-tackers’ handlers “had fallen on deaf ears”.
Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, who is heading Pakistan’s delegation, told reporters at the Wagah border that terrorism, drug smuggling, visa policies and other important issues would be discussed at the talks.
“We have not chalked out any specific agenda for two-day talks. We are going with an open mind and expect a positive response from the Indian side. We hope that these talks will pave the way for the resolution of out stand-ing issues,” he said.
Nine months ago, Indian officials said, Interior Minister Rehman MalikDIALOGUE, PAGE 9
Secretary-level dialogue
India sees little hope for breakthrough Strain of pessimism put down to lack of progress in handling anti-terror initiatives
"We expect a
positive response
from the Indian
side and hope that
these talks will lead
to the resolution of
outstanding issues
Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry
53
PARTNER OF
Th e prospects of democracy generate hopes and fearsThe New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman IHT PAGE 9
It’s a very challenging relationshipUS Secretary of State Hilary Clinton PAGE 12
PERENNIAL BASKET-CASE
Govt baulks at bailing out railways
The federal government is reluctant to give Pakistan Railways the Rs5 billion it needs in order to remain solvent PAGE 3
UPCOMING TALENT
The right way to fall: Natasha Ejaz
With the 4th episode of Uth Records, Pakistani audiences witnessed a young and talented artist in the form of Natasha Ejaz PAGE 19
FINANCIAL FRAUD
Steals from WAPDA, starts father’s business
FIA has begun the extradi-tion process against a man accused of having stolen Rs190 million from the Wapda PAGE 11
FLYING START
Vettel dominates season-opener
World Champion earned his 11th win in his 63rd Grand Prix, beating McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Russian Vitaly Petrov PAGE 15
POLITICAL CRISIS
Kuwait to intercede in Bahrain crisis
Bahrain’s opposition group Wefaq has accepted Kuwait as a mediator with Bahrain’s gov-ernment to end a political crisis gripping the kingdom PAGE 8
ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY
Father pleads innocence for son
A person arrested in Gilgit for alleged blasphemy is mentally ill and was recently being treated at a hospital, The Express Tribune has learnt PAGE 2 VettelNatasha Ejaz
News in Brief
MondayMARCH 28, 2011
RABI-US-SANI 22, 1432 A.H.
Rs20
tribune.com.pk
A IN THE ARAB WORLD PAKISTAN AND THE UNITED STATES
A SPORT
A REGIONAL
Libyan rebels make more
territorial gains
Gain control of main oil terminals in the country’s eastern half PAGE 8
A INTERNATIONAL
Radiation spike seen in
water near Japan reactor
Reliance on old science left govt unprepared for tsunami IHT PAGE 1
Indo-Pak Express rolls on
Aisam, Bopanna advance in Sony Ericsson Open PAGE 15
Tough
decisions
need to be
made
We know what needs to be done, but who will swallow this bitter pill?PAGE 10
A BUSINESS
ns
be
eeds ho will r pill?
SWEET MESSAGE: Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry poses with Indian Border Security Force (BSF) Inspector-General Himmat Singh as he presents sweets to BSF soldiers after arriving in India at the Attari border post on Sunday. PHOTO: AFP
Saudi prince promises meaningful help to Islamabad in return
A QAISER BUTT
ISLAMABAD
In the backdrop of the current political uprisings in the Arab world, Pakistan has decided to play a significant role in the region by supporting Saudi Arabia, sources told The Express Tribune.
The decision came follow-ing a string of meetings that Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, special emissary of the Saudi king, had with the Pakistani leadership over the weekend.
The Saudi royal family scion met the top political and mil-
itary leaders, among them President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
Prince Bandar’s whirlwind tour came as mass protests are sweeping across most of the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries. Though there is no immediate threat of an upris-ing against the Saudi rulers, the situation in neighbouring Bahrain is a cause for serious concern.
In his interaction with Premier Gilani, the Saudi prince indicated that the oil-rich kingdom would ex-tend meaningful support to Pakistan to improve its ailing ARAB WORLD, PAGE 9
Unrest in the Arab world
Islamabad assures
Riyadh of support
A IRFAN GHAURI
ISLAMABAD
In an attempt to take a lead in peace-making gestures, Pakistan on Sunday remitted the sentence of an Indian man held in a Pakistan jail for the last 27 years, soon after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ac-cepted his Indian counterpart’s invitation to watch the Cricket World Cup semi-final match be-tween the two countries’ teams.
President Asif Ali Zardari
remitted the sentence of Gopal Das, who was first sen-tenced to life imprisonment in 1987, on the advice of the prime minister, according to the president’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar.
The remission was granted on humanitarian grounds to hon-our an appeal made two weeks ago by the Supreme Court of India for Das’ release, whose family say he had mistakenly crossed the border in 1984.
Das had entered a plea to the Indian apex court through his brother, which ruled that while it had no jurisdiction in Pakistan, it could make an appeal for his release to the Pakistan government.
“We cannot give any direc-tion to Pakistan authorities because we have no jurisdic-tion over them. The Indian authorities have done all that they could in the matter. However, that does not pre-
vent us from making a request MOHALI SEMI-FINAL, PAGE 9
Ahead of Mohali semi-fi nal
Pakistan takes lead in diplomatic gesturesPresident Zardari frees an Indian held for 27 years, after appeal from Indian Supreme Court
Th e minister for trade amassed as much as Rs500m in the scam
A ADIL JAWAD
KARACHI
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has established that certain influential po-litical people benefited from illegal National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) land deals and officers of the NICL and others acted as front men
for various state dignitaries, including the federal trade minister, Makhdoom Amin Faheem.
Sources also said that intense political pressure was brought to bear upon FIA, whose offi-cials were told to hide facts in a report submitted to the Supreme Court about the in-volvement of influential peo-ple in the deal.
FIA investigators alleged that the minister amassed Rs500 million in the deal, inflicting
a massive blow to the national exchequer.
According to sources, other accounts in which the ill-got-ten money was later trans-ferred were operated by less known persons or business as-sociates with distinct political associations.
Interestingly, the FIA was being pressed into withhold-ing his name from being in-cluded in the investigation.
According to sources, an in-vestigation into the bank ac-
counts of the central accused, Khalid Anwer, disclosed that of the Rs900 million paid from the national exchequer Rs40.1 million was used to write off debts of the federal minister and other members of his family.
On January 31, the FIA sub-mitted a report in the Supreme Court according to which NICL paid Rs900 million for a 10-acre plot in Korangi in August 2009. The money was FIA, PAGE 9
Scandalous land deal
Senior federal minister among NICL beneficiaries: FIA
"Th e prison is
gloomy; O Friends!
Tell the eastern wind,
To at least allow some
talk of my beloved for
divinity’s sake
Indian Justice Markandey Katju quoting Faiz Ahmad Faiz
A ADITI PHADNIS &
ZAHID GISHKORI
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD
India on Sunday poured cold water on expectations of a breakthrough at the home secretary-level talks be-tween Islamabad and New Delhi starting today, even as Pakistan vowed that it would approach the negotiations with an open mind and ex-pected a “reciprocal response” from its neighbour.
The scheduled negotiations have since been overshadowed by possible summit level talks on Wednesday after or when Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counter-part Manmohan Singh watch the World Cup semifinal be-tween their two sides at Mohali.
The Indian side did not sound optimistic at all. An of-ficial who spoke to The Express Tribune attributed New Delhi’s lukewarm response towards the talks to Pakistan’s alleged “lack of sincerity in cooperat-ing with India in any anti-terror initiatives”. The official claimed that the prosecution’s attempt to bring the 26/11 guilty to justice in Pakistan “had not moved an inch” and that India’s request for provid-
ing the voice samples of the at-tackers’ handlers “had fallen on deaf ears”.
Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, who is heading Pakistan’s delegation, told reporters at the Wagah border that terrorism, drug smuggling, visa policies and other important issues would be discussed at the talks.
“We have not chalked out any specific agenda for two-day talks. We are going with an open mind and expect a positive response from the Indian side. We hope that these talks will pave the way for the resolution of out stand-ing issues,” he said.
Nine months ago, Indian officials said, Interior Minister Rehman MalikDIALOGUE, PAGE 9
Secretary-level dialogue
India sees little hope for breakthrough Strain of pessimism put down to lack of progress in handling anti-terror initiatives
"We expect a
positive response
from the Indian
side and hope that
these talks will lead
to the resolution of
outstanding issues
Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry
54
2 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 4, 2011
A ‘SAINTLY’ EXPENDITURE
"Musharraf: Who is the real commander of Taliban? Is it
Mullah Umar, Hikmatyar or Haqqani? Th en there are several
other groups which make negotiations a difficult prospectFormer president Pervez Musharraf
"Mu
Mulla
othFo
Rs200mwas approved by President Asif
Ali Zardari as a special grant for
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s shrine
and other development projects
in Sehwan. PPI
Although Bahawalpur is a relatively small city, there are no alternate roads except the Circular Road and a handful of narrow bazaars. The roads, which are used for transportation, are so narrow that it causes frequent traffic jams every now and then. It appears that the traffic control authorities are sound asleep.When the Circular Road was being expanded, its width was more than what it is now, prob-ably because the future needs were underestimated. Similarly, no one seemed to have thought about where the cars would be parked when the plaza maps were being drawn up in the Circular Road’s vicinity. No designated area was assigned for parking purposes. Reportedly, “hush-hush” money was involved and a corrupt mafia of Tehsil Municipal Corporation (TMA) accepted black money. Now, people park their vehicles on roads causing traffic bottlenecks.
Despite this, if a proper system to regulate traffic was implemented with responsible traffic police officers and em-ployees, the situation could be improved.Auto rickshaws cause another major obstruction. The traffic police in the city appear to be indifferent to the situation. Roads are blocked by staging a rickshaw stand at areas like the Chowak Bazar, Farid Gate and Phulown Wala Chowk. Due to this, pedestrians especially women, suffer tremendously. Many times residents of the inner city also face problems to reach home after work.The main reason behind Bahawalpur’s abysmal traffic situation is that there are virtu-ally no traffic signals in the city. Irrespective of countless false announcements, signals have still not been installed. THIS EDITORIAL, SELECTED AND
TRANSLATED BY KASHIF ZAFAR, WAS
PUBLISHED IN BAHAWALPUR’S DAILY
SAYADAT ON NOVEMBER 30, 2011.
LOCAL VOICES
Bahawalpur’s traffic congestion
CONDEMNATION
Catholic clerics deplore air strikeFAISALABAD. The Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC) has condemned the Nato air strike on the country’s check-posts, martyring a number of Pakistan Army soldiers and two officers. On behalf of the Christian community, the bishops expressed shock and concern over the incident and termed the air strike as a direct attack on the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan. They said the acts violate inter-national law and expressed sympathy and solidarity with the victims’ families. Bishop Joseph Coutts President PCBC said the soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country. He paid glowing tributes to their patriotism. OUR CORRESPONDENT
FRESH LOYALTIES
PPP welcomes former ANP membersMALAKAND. Prominent members of the Awani National Party, such as Rehmat Gul of Dargai and his family, have announced allegiance to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) at a gathering held in Sakhalot. Former Nazim Ahmad Ali Shah was also in attendance and said that the PPP has a history of extraordinary struggle against the non-democratic forces that are disrupting develop-ment and progress of the country. People’s party repre-sentatives welcomed the new members and assured that they would be duly respected and consulted in all district level party decisions. APP
BALOCH RIGHTS
HRCP to observe Dec 10 for provinceISLAMABAD. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has declared December 10 as the International Human Rights Day in solidarity with the people of Balochistan this year. HRCP offices, human rights activists and volunteers across Pakistan will express soli-darity with the people of Balochistan on December 10. Progress on Baloch issues and democratic management of these will also be highlighted in different moots. PPI
TUBERCULOSIS IN FATA
Workshop advocates combating diseasePESHAWAR. Directorate of Health Services Fata has ventured out, in collaboration with the education department of the region, to create awareness among the population about tuberculosis. The initiative involves teachers and students in referring possible tuberculosis patients to doctors and providing treatment. A two-day orientation workshop was organised for this purpose, chaired by the Director Health Services Fata, Dr Fawad Khan where participants were trained on advocacy communication and social mobilisation to create awareness on how to combat tuberculosis. APP
"Hoti: Halting Nato
supply lines, asking
for vacating Shamsi
Airbase and refusing
to attend Bonn
Conference clearly
delineate Pakistan’s
stance on Nato attack
Khyber-Pakthunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti
A RESOLUTE STANCE A TAHA SIDDIQUI
LAHORE
“A focus on the freight depart-ment can turn around the financial woes of Pakistan Railways,” says the head of public relations for the ail-ing organisation, Abdul Hameed Razil, who is ada-mant that funds are not being misappropriated.
“The prime minister an-nounced a bail-out package last year but we have not re-ceived a single rupee of the 11 billion that was promised,” Razil adds, putting the blame squarely on the government.
Investigations into the multi-billion-rupee organisa-tion also revealed that more than 10,000 acres of land was owned by Pakistan Railways in prime locations across all four provinces. A report compiled by the National Assembly`s standing com-mittee on railways and pre-sented to the public accounts committee stated that the rev-enue potential of the alleged land could reach around Rs10 billion annually.
However, the mismanage-ment of Pakistan Railways cannot be applied in this spe-cific situation. Rather, the blame lies with the failure of various administrative depart-ments which have rendered the organisation helpless. With more than 382 court cases on these lands, civic
agencies have allowed katchi abadis and encroachments to thrive on PR property for years. Residents have made permanent structures – and PR officials say that without the help of law enforcement agencies the property cannot be cleared.
“Besides the illegal settle-ments, we are also facing con-stant trouble from provincial governments, who demand a share when revenue is gen-erated through these lands, once cleared,” claims Razil, adding that the dispute be-tween the federal and provin-cial governments over PR land revenue collection had been going on for 15 years and was currently being heard at the Council of Common Interests.
The losses to PR have not only affected railway opera-tions but have also led to the delay in salaries and pensions of employees. “I had to wait
for two months before getting my 13,000 rupees pension,” says Anwar Bhatti, the bread-winner for a family of five.
Corruption or mismanagement?PR officials have said that the shortage of funds has been the biggest obstacle in reviving the organisation. However, Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has openly accepted that there is corruption in PR.
“I don’t say that there is no corruption in my ministry but the question is which ministry has no corruption,” Bilour said in October 2010 on the floor of the National Assembly.
Furthermore, corruption is not limited to those in se-nior positions. Low-level cor-ruption is hurting Pakistan Railways as well – for exam-ple, at least 50% of losses are caused by ticket-less travel.
“I boarded the train near Rawalpindi after a ticket teller told me he could provide me a ticket,” says Iftikhar, a fre-quent passenger of the rail-way network. “But instead of giving me a ticket at the beginning of the journey, he handed me a ticket at the end of the journey of a shorter route,” Iftikhar claims, add-ing that he paid Rs130 for a ticket worth Rs25. “The teller applied that method with
every one of us who boarded the train from my village.”
While many passengers pre-fer to buy their tickets at the last minute, a trip to the reser-vation desk showed that a ma-jority of seats had been booked in advance, with a two-week wait for some trains.
But who buys these tickets? Some passengers travelling from Karachi revealed that they bought tickets from a
friend who was selling tick-ets on the black market for Rs4,000 each, showing a ticket worth Rs3,500.
The passengers claimed that the even though they were in the wrong for buying tick-ets on the black market, the ticket teller went even fur-ther than them as he wanted to seat additional people in their cabin without tickets. Once the unwanted passen-gers were settled in their cabin they revealed that the ticket teller had been paid for ac-commodating them into first class while they held economy class tickets.
Ticket tellers have in essence found their own mechanism to generate revenue for them-selves. All passengers are taken aboard as long as they receive their cut. People are even stacked in the power
generation bogey for cheap tickets.
A passenger exiting one of these bogeys at Lahore Railway station said he had paid Rs1,000 for a trip from Karachi to Lahore. “They told us that we will get seats but I had to stand the whole time after a while I got tired and lay down in the corridor,” says the passenger, showing a handwritten note of the amount he paid.
A journey of neglect, incompetence and corruptionThe second of a three-part series follows the money trail
FUNCTIONAL
90engines are on the tracks – out of a total fleet strength of 500
Pakistan Railways Special Report
*1950s to 1990s figures are the ten year average. Figures for 2000s and 2010s are from the first year of the decade.
"Th e prime
minister announced
a bail-out package
last year but we have
not received a single
rupee of the 11 billion
promised
PR spokesperson Abdul Hameed Razil
"I don’t say that
there is no corruption
in my ministry but
the question is which
ministry has no
corruption
Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour
1950 37.542
1960 45.920
1970 59.383
1980 80.493
1990 111.845
2000 144.522
2010 173.593
UN estimates for Pakistanpopulation (in millions):
Judge may move ex parte if Sehba Musharraf fails to turn up again
A MUDASSIR RAJA
RAWALPINDI
The judge of an anti-terror-ism court hearing the Benazir Bhutto murder case expressed his annoyance over the ab-sence of lawyers represent-ing former first lady Sehba Musharraf, warning of an ex parte decision.
Special Judge ATC-I Shahid Rafique observed on Saturday that he might proceed ex
parte to decide the applica-tion of Sehba Musharraf on the next date of hearing if her lawyers fail to turn up again.
The applicant had chal-lenged a decision of the court that declared her husband former president Pervez Musharraf a proclaimed of-fender, after he avoided court proceedings in the case in which he was cited an accused.
Special Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali had already raised objection over the maintenance of the ap-plication, saying Sehba Musharraf had not signed the
application herself. He further argued that
under the criminal procedure law, no proclaimed offender could be represented in ab-sence unless he/she was ei-ther arrested or had obtained bail from the court of law.
Separately, the court for-mally initiated a formal trial
in the case and recorded the statements of two police of-
ficers who were deputed at Rawalpindi’s City police sta-
tion on December 27, 2007, when former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and 24 of her supporters were killed in a gun and bomb attack.
The court summoned as many as eight more prosecu-tion witnesses to record their statements on December 10, the next date of hearing.
Separately, the court
formally initiated a
formal trial in the
case and recorded the
statements of two
police officers
Special Public
Prosecutor Ali had
already raised objection
over the application,
saying Sehba had not
signed it herself
Benazir Bhutto murder case
Court issues last warning to Musharraf’s spouse
AT RISK?: Sehba Musharraf with husband. PHOTO: FILE
DESIGN: ANAM HALEEM
Helicopter gunships used in attack on militant hideouts
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
PESHAWAR
Army helicopter gunships pounded suspected militant hideouts and killed at least 12 militants in the Upper Orakzai Agency on Friday. Two security personnel also sustained inju-ries in the operation.
There were two main op-erations. Helicopter gunships bombed militant hideouts early morning in the Zakhtan, Arhang and Shakkar Tangi areas of the agency, killing eight militants and destroying three hideouts in the process, sources said. A late Thursday night encounter between militants and security forces in the Khadezai area of the agency killed four militants,
while two security personnel were injured.
“Troops were advancing in the Inzar Kalay area when the militants attacked, two of the security men were injured,” said an official. According to sources, the injured were shifted to the Kalaya Hospital.
Several militants have been killed and scores injured since targeted attacks have been launched to clear Orakzai and Kurram agencies. An opera-tion was launched in Orakzai Agency in March last year and in Kurram this summer. Security forces also launched a massive crackdown against mil-itants in Upper Orakzai Agency two weeks ago to clear the re-maining parts of the agency of Tehreek-i-Taliban militants.
Security forces have in-creased their advances in the agencies over the past few days.
Aitzaz addresses gathering in Mirpur, emphasises the need for ‘wise use’ of ballot
A AH NIZAMI
MIRPUR
Pakistan can emerge as a suc-cessful nation by strictly ad-hering to the teachings of its scholars, Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association former president Aitzaz Ahsan said on Saturday.
Ahsan was speaking at the 10th annual Mian Muhammad Buksh (RA) conference organ-ised by the Mian Muhammad Buksh Society to pay tribute to the mystic poet/ scholar for his contributions to the nation.
Eminent Ulema and other religious scholars presented
his famous poetic anthol-ogy Saif-al-Malook on the occasion.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court Chief Justice Muhammad Azam Khan chaired the event. Pilgrims, including admir-ers of the poet from various parts of the country were in attendance.
By acting upon the teachings of Islam and following in the
footsteps of great preachers, supporters and custodians of human values based on equality, Ahsan said “we will have to prove ourselves as true Muslims”.
Referring to the ongoing political situation in the country, Ahsan emphasised on the “wise use” of ballot in order to be ensure a change in the country’s political system, adding, “Otherwise the idea of
bringing change could prove futile.”
He emphasised on the need to establish tolerance within the society.
Aitzaz said he had a “deep-rooted, heart-felt affiliation” with Kashmir. He pointed out that his mother and paternal grandfather had sworn in 1948 that neither would don silk clothes nor wear jewelry unless the state of Jammu and Kashmir was liberated.
Ahsan paid rich tributes to the legal fraternity of AJK for their enthusiastic support for the lawyers’ movement in Pakistan which he said had led to the restoration of the judiciary and had rid the country off the long dictatorial rule of former president Pervez Musharraf.
Orakzai and Kurram operations
12 militants killed as
security forces advance
Paying tribute
‘Pakistan should adhere to teachings of its scholars’
"We will have to
prove ourselves as
true Muslims who
value Islam’s message
of equality
SCBA former president Aitzaz Ahsan
2 THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 4, 2011
A ‘SAINTLY’ EXPENDITURE
"Musharraf: Who is the real commander of Taliban? Is it
Mullah Umar, Hikmatyar or Haqqani? Th en there are several
other groups which make negotiations a difficult prospectFormer president Pervez Musharraf
"Mu
Mulla
othFo
Rs200mwas approved by President Asif
Ali Zardari as a special grant for
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s shrine
and other development projects
in Sehwan. PPI
Although Bahawalpur is a relatively small city, there are no alternate roads except the Circular Road and a handful of narrow bazaars. The roads, which are used for transportation, are so narrow that it causes frequent traffic jams every now and then. It appears that the traffic control authorities are sound asleep.When the Circular Road was being expanded, its width was more than what it is now, prob-ably because the future needs were underestimated. Similarly, no one seemed to have thought about where the cars would be parked when the plaza maps were being drawn up in the Circular Road’s vicinity. No designated area was assigned for parking purposes. Reportedly, “hush-hush” money was involved and a corrupt mafia of Tehsil Municipal Corporation (TMA) accepted black money. Now, people park their vehicles on roads causing traffic bottlenecks.
Despite this, if a proper system to regulate traffic was implemented with responsible traffic police officers and em-ployees, the situation could be improved.Auto rickshaws cause another major obstruction. The traffic police in the city appear to be indifferent to the situation. Roads are blocked by staging a rickshaw stand at areas like the Chowak Bazar, Farid Gate and Phulown Wala Chowk. Due to this, pedestrians especially women, suffer tremendously. Many times residents of the inner city also face problems to reach home after work.The main reason behind Bahawalpur’s abysmal traffic situation is that there are virtu-ally no traffic signals in the city. Irrespective of countless false announcements, signals have still not been installed. THIS EDITORIAL, SELECTED AND
TRANSLATED BY KASHIF ZAFAR, WAS
PUBLISHED IN BAHAWALPUR’S DAILY
SAYADAT ON NOVEMBER 30, 2011.
LOCAL VOICES
Bahawalpur’s traffic congestion
CONDEMNATION
Catholic clerics deplore air strikeFAISALABAD. The Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC) has condemned the Nato air strike on the country’s check-posts, martyring a number of Pakistan Army soldiers and two officers. On behalf of the Christian community, the bishops expressed shock and concern over the incident and termed the air strike as a direct attack on the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan. They said the acts violate inter-national law and expressed sympathy and solidarity with the victims’ families. Bishop Joseph Coutts President PCBC said the soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country. He paid glowing tributes to their patriotism. OUR CORRESPONDENT
FRESH LOYALTIES
PPP welcomes former ANP membersMALAKAND. Prominent members of the Awani National Party, such as Rehmat Gul of Dargai and his family, have announced allegiance to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) at a gathering held in Sakhalot. Former Nazim Ahmad Ali Shah was also in attendance and said that the PPP has a history of extraordinary struggle against the non-democratic forces that are disrupting develop-ment and progress of the country. People’s party repre-sentatives welcomed the new members and assured that they would be duly respected and consulted in all district level party decisions. APP
BALOCH RIGHTS
HRCP to observe Dec 10 for provinceISLAMABAD. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has declared December 10 as the International Human Rights Day in solidarity with the people of Balochistan this year. HRCP offices, human rights activists and volunteers across Pakistan will express soli-darity with the people of Balochistan on December 10. Progress on Baloch issues and democratic management of these will also be highlighted in different moots. PPI
TUBERCULOSIS IN FATA
Workshop advocates combating diseasePESHAWAR. Directorate of Health Services Fata has ventured out, in collaboration with the education department of the region, to create awareness among the population about tuberculosis. The initiative involves teachers and students in referring possible tuberculosis patients to doctors and providing treatment. A two-day orientation workshop was organised for this purpose, chaired by the Director Health Services Fata, Dr Fawad Khan where participants were trained on advocacy communication and social mobilisation to create awareness on how to combat tuberculosis. APP
"Hoti: Halting Nato
supply lines, asking
for vacating Shamsi
Airbase and refusing
to attend Bonn
Conference clearly
delineate Pakistan’s
stance on Nato attack
Khyber-Pakthunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti
A RESOLUTE STANCE A TAHA SIDDIQUI
LAHORE
“A focus on the freight depart-ment can turn around the financial woes of Pakistan Railways,” says the head of public relations for the ail-ing organisation, Abdul Hameed Razil, who is ada-mant that funds are not being misappropriated.
“The prime minister an-nounced a bail-out package last year but we have not re-ceived a single rupee of the 11 billion that was promised,” Razil adds, putting the blame squarely on the government.
Investigations into the multi-billion-rupee organisa-tion also revealed that more than 10,000 acres of land was owned by Pakistan Railways in prime locations across all four provinces. A report compiled by the National Assembly`s standing com-mittee on railways and pre-sented to the public accounts committee stated that the rev-enue potential of the alleged land could reach around Rs10 billion annually.
However, the mismanage-ment of Pakistan Railways cannot be applied in this spe-cific situation. Rather, the blame lies with the failure of various administrative depart-ments which have rendered the organisation helpless. With more than 382 court cases on these lands, civic
agencies have allowed katchi abadis and encroachments to thrive on PR property for years. Residents have made permanent structures – and PR officials say that without the help of law enforcement agencies the property cannot be cleared.
“Besides the illegal settle-ments, we are also facing con-stant trouble from provincial governments, who demand a share when revenue is gen-erated through these lands, once cleared,” claims Razil, adding that the dispute be-tween the federal and provin-cial governments over PR land revenue collection had been going on for 15 years and was currently being heard at the Council of Common Interests.
The losses to PR have not only affected railway opera-tions but have also led to the delay in salaries and pensions of employees. “I had to wait
for two months before getting my 13,000 rupees pension,” says Anwar Bhatti, the bread-winner for a family of five.
Corruption or mismanagement?PR officials have said that the shortage of funds has been the biggest obstacle in reviving the organisation. However, Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has openly accepted that there is corruption in PR.
“I don’t say that there is no corruption in my ministry but the question is which ministry has no corruption,” Bilour said in October 2010 on the floor of the National Assembly.
Furthermore, corruption is not limited to those in se-nior positions. Low-level cor-ruption is hurting Pakistan Railways as well – for exam-ple, at least 50% of losses are caused by ticket-less travel.
“I boarded the train near Rawalpindi after a ticket teller told me he could provide me a ticket,” says Iftikhar, a fre-quent passenger of the rail-way network. “But instead of giving me a ticket at the beginning of the journey, he handed me a ticket at the end of the journey of a shorter route,” Iftikhar claims, add-ing that he paid Rs130 for a ticket worth Rs25. “The teller applied that method with
every one of us who boarded the train from my village.”
While many passengers pre-fer to buy their tickets at the last minute, a trip to the reser-vation desk showed that a ma-jority of seats had been booked in advance, with a two-week wait for some trains.
But who buys these tickets? Some passengers travelling from Karachi revealed that they bought tickets from a
friend who was selling tick-ets on the black market for Rs4,000 each, showing a ticket worth Rs3,500.
The passengers claimed that the even though they were in the wrong for buying tick-ets on the black market, the ticket teller went even fur-ther than them as he wanted to seat additional people in their cabin without tickets. Once the unwanted passen-gers were settled in their cabin they revealed that the ticket teller had been paid for ac-commodating them into first class while they held economy class tickets.
Ticket tellers have in essence found their own mechanism to generate revenue for them-selves. All passengers are taken aboard as long as they receive their cut. People are even stacked in the power
generation bogey for cheap tickets.
A passenger exiting one of these bogeys at Lahore Railway station said he had paid Rs1,000 for a trip from Karachi to Lahore. “They told us that we will get seats but I had to stand the whole time after a while I got tired and lay down in the corridor,” says the passenger, showing a handwritten note of the amount he paid.
A journey of neglect, incompetence and corruptionThe second of a three-part series follows the money trail
FUNCTIONAL
90engines are on the tracks – out of a total fleet strength of 500
Pakistan Railways Special Report
*1950s to 1990s figures are the ten year average. Figures for 2000s and 2010s are from the first year of the decade.
"Th e prime
minister announced
a bail-out package
last year but we have
not received a single
rupee of the 11 billion
promised
PR spokesperson Abdul Hameed Razil
"I don’t say that
there is no corruption
in my ministry but
the question is which
ministry has no
corruption
Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour
1950 37.542
1960 45.920
1970 59.383
1980 80.493
1990 111.845
2000 144.522
2010 173.593
UN estimates for Pakistanpopulation (in millions):
Judge may move ex parte if Sehba Musharraf fails to turn up again
A MUDASSIR RAJA
RAWALPINDI
The judge of an anti-terror-ism court hearing the Benazir Bhutto murder case expressed his annoyance over the ab-sence of lawyers represent-ing former first lady Sehba Musharraf, warning of an ex parte decision.
Special Judge ATC-I Shahid Rafique observed on Saturday that he might proceed ex
parte to decide the applica-tion of Sehba Musharraf on the next date of hearing if her lawyers fail to turn up again.
The applicant had chal-lenged a decision of the court that declared her husband former president Pervez Musharraf a proclaimed of-fender, after he avoided court proceedings in the case in which he was cited an accused.
Special Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali had already raised objection over the maintenance of the ap-plication, saying Sehba Musharraf had not signed the
application herself. He further argued that
under the criminal procedure law, no proclaimed offender could be represented in ab-sence unless he/she was ei-ther arrested or had obtained bail from the court of law.
Separately, the court for-mally initiated a formal trial
in the case and recorded the statements of two police of-
ficers who were deputed at Rawalpindi’s City police sta-
tion on December 27, 2007, when former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and 24 of her supporters were killed in a gun and bomb attack.
The court summoned as many as eight more prosecu-tion witnesses to record their statements on December 10, the next date of hearing.
Separately, the court
formally initiated a
formal trial in the
case and recorded the
statements of two
police officers
Special Public
Prosecutor Ali had
already raised objection
over the application,
saying Sehba had not
signed it herself
Benazir Bhutto murder case
Court issues last warning to Musharraf’s spouse
AT RISK?: Sehba Musharraf with husband. PHOTO: FILE
DESIGN: ANAM HALEEM
Helicopter gunships used in attack on militant hideouts
A OUR CORRESPONDENT
PESHAWAR
Army helicopter gunships pounded suspected militant hideouts and killed at least 12 militants in the Upper Orakzai Agency on Friday. Two security personnel also sustained inju-ries in the operation.
There were two main op-erations. Helicopter gunships bombed militant hideouts early morning in the Zakhtan, Arhang and Shakkar Tangi areas of the agency, killing eight militants and destroying three hideouts in the process, sources said. A late Thursday night encounter between militants and security forces in the Khadezai area of the agency killed four militants,
while two security personnel were injured.
“Troops were advancing in the Inzar Kalay area when the militants attacked, two of the security men were injured,” said an official. According to sources, the injured were shifted to the Kalaya Hospital.
Several militants have been killed and scores injured since targeted attacks have been launched to clear Orakzai and Kurram agencies. An opera-tion was launched in Orakzai Agency in March last year and in Kurram this summer. Security forces also launched a massive crackdown against mil-itants in Upper Orakzai Agency two weeks ago to clear the re-maining parts of the agency of Tehreek-i-Taliban militants.
Security forces have in-creased their advances in the agencies over the past few days.
Aitzaz addresses gathering in Mirpur, emphasises the need for ‘wise use’ of ballot
A AH NIZAMI
MIRPUR
Pakistan can emerge as a suc-cessful nation by strictly ad-hering to the teachings of its scholars, Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association former president Aitzaz Ahsan said on Saturday.
Ahsan was speaking at the 10th annual Mian Muhammad Buksh (RA) conference organ-ised by the Mian Muhammad Buksh Society to pay tribute to the mystic poet/ scholar for his contributions to the nation.
Eminent Ulema and other religious scholars presented
his famous poetic anthol-ogy Saif-al-Malook on the occasion.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court Chief Justice Muhammad Azam Khan chaired the event. Pilgrims, including admir-ers of the poet from various parts of the country were in attendance.
By acting upon the teachings of Islam and following in the
footsteps of great preachers, supporters and custodians of human values based on equality, Ahsan said “we will have to prove ourselves as true Muslims”.
Referring to the ongoing political situation in the country, Ahsan emphasised on the “wise use” of ballot in order to be ensure a change in the country’s political system, adding, “Otherwise the idea of
bringing change could prove futile.”
He emphasised on the need to establish tolerance within the society.
Aitzaz said he had a “deep-rooted, heart-felt affiliation” with Kashmir. He pointed out that his mother and paternal grandfather had sworn in 1948 that neither would don silk clothes nor wear jewelry unless the state of Jammu and Kashmir was liberated.
Ahsan paid rich tributes to the legal fraternity of AJK for their enthusiastic support for the lawyers’ movement in Pakistan which he said had led to the restoration of the judiciary and had rid the country off the long dictatorial rule of former president Pervez Musharraf.
Orakzai and Kurram operations
12 militants killed as
security forces advance
Paying tribute
‘Pakistan should adhere to teachings of its scholars’
"We will have to
prove ourselves as
true Muslims who
value Islam’s message
of equality
SCBA former president Aitzaz Ahsan
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 3
NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM
JUI-S calls out Imran’s ‘bluff’KABEERWAALA. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) and Difa-e-Pakistan Council President Maulana Samiul Haq claims that his party and the Difa-e-Pakistan Council are not interested in politics and only want the enactment of a pure Islamic politi-cal system in Pakistan. He also said that Imran Khan does not want to enrage the US so he should not ‘bluff’ the religious parties by trying to support both sides. OUR CORRESPONDENT
HUSAIN HAQQANI
US ‘gratified’ at lifting of travel banWASHINGTON. The US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Monday that the US was ‘gratified’ that Pakistan’s highest court had lifted travel curbs imposed on Husain Haqqani, the country’s scandal-hit former envoy to the United States. “We expect that Pakistan will resolve this situa-tion and other internal issues in a transparent manner and up-holding Pakistani laws and constitution,” Nuland added. AFP
In the second of a three-part series, we interview a tout in the lower courts
A TAHA SIDDIQUI
LAHORE
According to the latest ju-dicial statistics, published by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, more than 1.2 million cases are pending in courts around the country.
This is due to chronic flaws in the judicial process. One such flaw is the existence of touts, which has led to seri-ous corruption in the lower courts.
A meeting with Abdul Razaq, who works in a district court, was an eye-opener in this regard. “We can manage all sorts of bails,
witness provision and legal advice – whatever the accu-sation is,” he says, and adds that he is an assistant to a senior advocate of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
He wishes to keep his boss’s name secret for the interview, but hands out a business card which states the LHC lawyer’s details, on whose behalf he hunts cli-ents every day in the district court.
Razaq, who sits in his sin-gle room office at the courts, boasts that he helps many people everyday who need the law on their side. “All I need is an FIR and the ID card of the accused, and we can manage a witness to speak on his behalf, and even pro-cure property to pay off the bond for bail, if any”.
According to Razaq, be it kidnapping for ransom, or a murder-related case, one just needs to spend money to bring the court on one’s side, after which the police cannot touch the client.
“The accused doesn’t even have to present himself in front of the judge. We can manage everything includ-ing the bail within 24 hours,” he adds.
Razaq says that, after going over the nature and gravity of each case, he issues the client with a price list for services. “For just pre-arrest bail, we charge six thousand rupees but if you need a fake witness and an asset for the bond, another four thousand rupees can do the trick,” he
clarifies as he dials his cell phone to talk to his boss, telling him about a client sitting with him who is look-ing for a witness to state on oath that his cousin, who has been accused of a kid-napping, has nothing to do with it.
Touts like Razaq are not alone in the money-making business which goes on in the corridors of the lower courts and traces up all the way to the higher courts.
Ali Bajwa, a young lawyer at the lower court who fights civil suits, criminal cases and provides legal assistance to his father at the Supreme Court, agrees that fake witnesses and false docu-ments with properties that do not exist is a routine practice.
“There is no computerised database to cross-check wit-ness backgrounds, property papers, and so on. To conduct it manually takes too long, therefore the registrar over-looks many details, resulting in such corruption,” Bajwa adds, again pointing to the heavy backlog of cases.
Making money in the corridors of the courts
Courting corruption
"All I need is an FIR
and the ID card of the
accused, and we can
manage a witness to
speak on his behalf
Abdul Razaq
Razaq says that, after
going over the nature
and gravity of each
case, he issues the
client with a price list
for services
A QAISER BUTT
ISLAMABAD
The federal minister for states and frontier regions (Safron), Engr. Shaukatullah, has said that 150,000 Afghan refu-gees in Pakistan are likely to be granted visa permits for a long-term stay in the country.
Shaukat told The Express Tribune that his ministry has prepared a comprehensive proposal to arrange the visas for businessmen, students, skilled workers and widows who are among the Afghan refugees, some of whom have lived in Pakistan for 30 years.
“The proposals are being finalised and will be imple-mented after approval,” the minister said. “We have been working with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees on the proposals for quite some time.”
Safron has the consent of the all provincial govern-ments on the issue, a senior official from the ministry told The Express Tribune.
However, another official from the ministry of interior said a couple of provincial gov-ernments, including Punjab, have expressed reservations. The intelligence agencies and law enforcement departments are also worried over the pro-posals, as they could cause
numerous security problems. The official said the provin-
cial governments are likely to express their opposition once the policy is made pub-lic. Shaukat is of the view that the proposals do not re-quire approval by the federal cabinet or the ministry of provincial coordination. “The federal cabinet has nothing to do with the proposals,” he said.
According to the official es-timate, 1.7 million registered and 1 million non-registered Afghan refugees live in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the ministry of foreign affairs has vehe-mently rejected proposals by certain Western countries that suggested absorbing the entire Afghan refugee popula-tion in Pakistan permanently. “The suggestions came dur-ing the last general assem-bly sessions of the United Nation,” said an official from the ministry.
“Those Western countries who are advocating the per-manent stay for Afghan refu-gees should also share the financial burden of Pakistan.”
30-year issue
150,000 Afghans will be
granted long-term visas
Conference participants urge Islamabad to commit to non-interference
A OUR CORRESPONDENTS
PESHAWAR
The left and right may have ar-rived at a middle ground vis-à-vis peace in Afghanistan.
Parties from across the po-litical spectrum, on both sides of the Durand Line, agreed on Tuesday that the international community, including Pakistan, should commit itself to non-interfer-ence in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
Pakistan ought to …War is not a solution to any-thing, and therefore, we have to support dialogue among Afghans, not dictate their affairs, said Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at a day-long conference, The Afghan Issue: Regional Implications and Suggestions for Sustainable
Peace, organised by Center for Discussions and Solutions (CDS).
Pakistan is heading towards isolation and has virtually been left out of playing any role in the ongoing dialogue between US and the Taliban, Fazl said.
The JUI-F chief also insisted that Pakistan needs to mend fences with its neighbours, especially India, otherwise it risks turning into a ‘security state.’
Pakistan should concen-trate on socio-economic
cooperation, instead of geo-strategic obsession, said Awami National Party pro-vincial president Afrasyab Khattak. He added that the country should try to befriend the Afghan people, not any particular group.
Balkanization of Afghanistan would not spare Pakistan, Khattak cautioned.
Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief, and chairman CDS, Qazi Hussain Ahmed also said that Pakistan should support the dialogue.
Afghan voicesSenior Hizb-e-Islami leader Ghairat Baheer said that CIA Director David Petraeus was ‘overlooking’ reconciliation talks in Afghanistan and had personally met him thrice in Kabul.
Son-in-law of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Baheer said the reconciliation in Afghanistan was ‘real’ this time.
“We don’t have any demands in these talks,” said Baheer. “We are seeking a package deal which includes a com-plete withdrawal of troops and a peaceful transition of power.”
“Talks would have to have a broader spectrum and all fac-tions will have to be taken on board for a complete solution,” he said, adding that his party did not demand any office or release of prisoners.
“I hope talks with the Taliban will be successful in Qatar, but Pakistan will have to play a positive role,” he added.
The Afghan people want foreign forces to leave their country and will continue to fight until that happens, said former Afghan prime minis-ter Ahmed Shah Ahmedzai, who is now heading the United National Front against Presence of Western Bases in Afghanistan.
Any solution to the issue should be broad based, Ahmedzai said, adding that if the Taliban come to power again, our message for them is they should not act like they did in the past.
Former intelligence chiefs Gen (retd) Hamid Gul and Gen Asad Durrani also spoke at the conference.
"Pakistan should
concentrate on
socio-economic
cooperation, instead
of geo-strategic
obsession
ANP Provincial President Afrasyab Khattak
Policy towards Afghanistan
Support dialogue, not dictation, politicians tell Pakistan
Proposed amendment will give MPs elected under incomplete ECP legal cover
A QAMAR ZAMAN
ISLAMABAD
Hectic and last-minute ef-forts are being made by the government to seek sup-port from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at provid-ing legal protection to over two dozen MPs. The lawmakers in question were elected during a period when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had an incomplete body.
Sources in the PML-N said that opposition senator Ishaq Dar and Federal Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar were holding talks in Islamabad to evolve a consen-sus over the bill.
“Negotiations are going on…we are hopeful that we’ll find some middle ground. A con-sensus is in sight but not an
immediate possibility,” the sources added.
Earlier this month, the government moved the 20th Amendment Bill in order to provide legal cover to the ac-tions of the chief election commissioner (CEC) during a time when the ECP was incomplete according to defi-nitions provided by the 18th Amendment.
The amendment directed the government to appoint a per-manent election commission body comprising the CEC as well as one retired High Court judge from each of the four provinces.
The government appointed four retired High Court judges as members of the ECP last year. However, the posts re-mained vacant from April 2010 – when the amendment was passed – till their appoint-ment in June 2011. During this period, by-elections were held for a number of parliamentary seats, despite the ECP being virtually incomplete.
On January 30, the National
Assembly standing commit-tee on law and justice had approved the draft of the 20th Amendment bill even while the opposition PML-N boycot-ted the meeting.
The PML-N is pressing the government to have a non-partisan, neutral and inde-pendent ECP by inducting an impartial CEC and to get new election laws enacted before the next parliamentary polls.
The lower house is going to meet this evening (Wednesday) and the bill is likely to be tabled before the house as the Supreme Court had told the government that if the amendment was not adopted by Feb 6, the election of 29 MNAs and MPAs may be declared illegal.
The bill is likely to be ap-proved by the federal cabi-net, scheduled to meet today (Wednesday).
The bill is also likely to be passed by both the National Assembly and Senate, possi-bly by the end of next week, irrespective of PML-N’s stance. The government’s allies — Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Awami National Party and members from tribal areas — are all likely to support the amendment.
The combined strength of allied partners should allow them to comfortably meet the two-third majority needed in both houses of parliament to pass the amendment.
PML-Q’s Riaz Fatiyana and MQM’s Iqbal Qadri have al-ready voiced their support for the amendment during the committee’s meeting, indicat-ing their respective parties will be on board to support the bill when it comes to the National Assembly and Senate.
‘Govt-PML-N consensus’
Covert talks held over 20th amendment
Th e bill is likely to be
passed by both the
National Assembly
and Senate, possibly by
next week, irrespective
of PML-N’s stance
PEACE INITIATIVE: Political parties say war is not a solution. PHOTO: IFTIKHAR FIRDOUS/EXPRESS
A ABDUL MANAN
LAHORE
All three major political par-ties in Punjab assembly have finalised their negotiations over the upcoming Senate elections in a bid to elect unop-posed candidates on the basis of respective parties’ strength in the provincial assembly.
According to sources, of the 12 available seats from Punjab – including 11 retiring senators and one seat for a minority candidate – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will get 7 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will get 4 and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) will get one. The 11 senators retiring in March 2012 include seven elected on general seats and two each on women and technocrat seats. The non-Muslim seat was added in the 18th Amendment.
According to the agreed upon formula, the PML-N has been given four general and a women, technocrat and mi-
nority seat each. PPP’s four allocated seats include two general, and a women and technocrat seat. PML-Q has been allocated a general seat.
Female candidatesBoth PML-N and PPP have asked female applicants to gather support for their Senate candidature and show their strength to party leadership be-fore the election date, March 2.
PML-N’s female applicants are courting PML-Q dissidents for support while PPP’s appli-cants are in talks with PML-Q members to garner support for their candidature.
Of the 81 members initially elected to Punjab Assembly on PML-Q ticket, 38 remain with the party – the remain-ing formed a ‘unification bloc’ which stands with the PML-N.
Coalition negotiationsSources add that coalition part-ners, PPP and PML-Q, have also finalised their negotiations
over the allocation of Senate seats. PML-Q, which will see 20 of its senators retire in March, has managed to solicit five seats for itself – one from Islamabad, one from Punjab, and three from Balochistan.
The arrangement was con-firmed by PML-Q’s parliamen-tary leader in Punjab Assembly, Chaudhry Zahiruddin Khan.
Sources added that par-ty’s former senator, Syed Mushahid Hussain, will be nominated, and elected unop-posed, from Islamabad.
Twice as manyThe PML-N will reap the ben-efit of its majority in Punjab since only one of its senators, Ishaq Dar, will retire while the party will have seven new seats in the upper house, taking its total strength in the Senate post March to 13, from the current 7.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed that on the basis of its strength in the provincial assembly, PML-N will, most probably, elect un-opposed candidates for seven seats in the upcoming Senate elections.
PPP’s Tanvir Ashraf Kaira confirmed that his party would get four seats from Punjab in upcoming Senate elections. Of the party’s five senators gradu-ating in March, one, Dr Babar Awan, belonged to Punjab.
DIVISION
7is the number of seats PML-N will get for unopposed candi-dates from Punjab, while
4is the number of seats PPP will get
Senate elections
Big three carve out Punjab seatsCoalition partners PPP, PML-Q also finalise negotiations
Th e security services
are also worried
about the proposals14%of the total sanctioned posts for
teachers were vacant in 76 of the
79 girls’ high schools monitored
in 59 districts in Dec 2011. PPI
A POOR STATE OF AFFAIRS
ARMED ATTACK
Security man killed, 10 others injuredQUETTA. A security man was killed and ten others sus-tained injuries when a group of armed men attacked their convoy near Marget in Kachhi district on Tuesday night. According to sources, unidentified armed assail-ants fired rocket propelled grenade on security convoy, killing a security man on the spot while injuring ten others. The explosions were followed by intense firing. Local sources said there was exchange of firing between assailants and security personnel till late hours of the evening. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. OUR CORRESPONDENT
ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES
G-B Cabinet announces 3 new divisionsGILGIT. Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Cabinet on Tuesday decided to divide region into three divisions for better administra-tive results. Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah said Gilgit, Hunza Nagar and Ghizer will be one division while district Astore and Diamer will be the second division. Baltistan region has already been notified and is functional. The CM said this action was taken in line with people’s aspirations and resolution passed by the assembly. APP
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56
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58
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Adviser to the chief minister,
Haleem Adil Sheikh
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