The Spokesman

SNEAK PEEKMalik Riaz ‒ missingthe elephant

Malik Riaz runs a virtualstate within a state. Andthis has been so for quitea while - from GeneralMusharaf ’s time ingovernment, actually.

Here is a different perspective on thepolitical happenings. Both Musharraf andMalik needed each other. Musharraf hadto keep the military brass happy about hisillegitimate rule.

Page 03

PIMS believes in once bitten,twice shy formula for all time

Pakistan Institute ofMedical Sciences, oncethe first choice ofpatients to get treatmentfrom, is nowadays fastfading from the very

patients’ mind because theadministration does not admit evensome of those patients who are sufferingfrom potentially dangerous ailments onthe pretext of security threat.

Page 02

HEC again faces financialcrunch over non-payment

The Higher EducationCommission is onceagain facing financialcrisis, as the FinanceMinistry has failed torelease the third quarter

amount of the current fiscal year to thecommission.

Page 04

Caretaker govt to seek$5b IMF bailout package

Since crisis on account ofbalance of payments inthe months to come islikely, expected caretakergovernment wouldapproach International

Monetary Fund (IMF) for fresh bailoutpackage of around $5 billion in a bid toavoid the eruption of crisis, it has beenlearnt on Saturday.

Page 09

Iʼm the least sexyperson: Jacqueline

India’s film starJacqueline Fernandezopens up about her sexytag, item numbers andher craziest fan. “I'm theleast sexy person you

could meet. I'm extremely clumsy, a bitof a goofball and exactly the opposite ofwhat I exude on screen. I find itlaughable because I don't find myselfsexy,” she said.

Page 10

Australia declare theirinnings at 237 for 9

A to-and-fro openingday at Uppal ended withIndia 5 for 0 in reply toAustralia's 237 for 9declared, out of which 91came next to the almost

unflappable Michael Clarke's name. Thethree sessions were divided and offeredviewers another gripping BhuveshwarKumar nipped out three wickets in themorning, Clarke and Wade batted outthe afternoon without loss beforeAustralia lost their five wickets for 29runs.

Page 11

SUNDAY March 03, 2013 Rabi-us-Sani 20, 1434 I Rawalpindi/Islamabad I Vol V, No. 318 I www.thespokesman.pk Pages 12 I Price 10/-

KHADAM-E-AALA: PLEASETHINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

PG I 03TODAY’S WEATHER

Increasing cloudsHIGH: 29 LOW: 09

PG I 07

AFFLUENT BEAUTY ANDTHE BEAST OF POVERTY– ANISA MUSTAFA

PG I 06

TAX IS THEBADGE OF LIBERTY– EHSAN KAZI

ARIF SHAMIM/MUHAMMAD RIZWAN

LAHORE/LONDON: Estrangedcoalition partners PPP and MQMmoved a step closer towards yet anotherpossible rapproachment on Saturdaywhen Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibadcalled on President Asif Zardari atBilawal House in Lahore and InteriorMinister Rehman Malik called onMQM chief Altaf Hussain in London.

Though there was no confirmationthat the meetings would lead toMQM withdrawing theirresignations from the governmentposts. MQM was, however, non-

committal on the possibility of themrejoining the cabinets in Sindh andCentre. After the meeting whichlasted for an hour, MQM sources saidthat their party position would bemade public later on the issue.

Officially though, presidentialspokesman Farhatullah Babar said thePresident expressed satisfaction over thewithdrawal of resignation by the MQMgovernor and assured him that theelections will be held on time. Duringthe meeting the withdrawal ofresignations from MQM federal andprovincial ministers and overall politicalsituation of the country was discussed.

Both the leaders also agreed to reducetension between MQM and PPP.

Meanwhile in London, FederalMinister for Interior Rehman Malikcalled on MQM Chief Altaf Hussain onSaturday and discussed with himvarious issues including current politicalsituation. The interior minister alsoconveyed President Asif Ali Zardari’sgoodwill message to Altaf Hussain.

The two leaders discussed key issuesin details and agreed to support eachother in larger interests of the country.Malik said both the parties will contestin the elections separately, however, seatadjustment can be discussed in some

cases. The minister hailed the efforts ofMQM and said without their support, itwas not possible for the government tocomplete its five-year term.

Altaf Hussain said old companionshipwill continue in the best interest ofPakistan, for peace and stability inSindh and to strengthen brotherhoodand unity in the country. The MQMchief said his party had always joinedhands with democratic forces.

In another development in Lahore,Additional Attorney General AbdulHai Gilani said Saturday nocontempt notice had been issued toPresident Asif Ali Zardari in the dual

office case. Speaking to mediarepresentatives, he said some privatetelevision channels had aired tickersthat a contempt notice had beenissued to the president.

He said the contempt petition wasat its preliminary stage and it hadnot yet been decided whether it wasmaintainable or not. “The fullbench has so far not decidedwhether any proceedings could beinitiated,” he added.

President Zardari also receiveddeputy prime minister Ch PervaizElahi at the Bilawal House onSaturday. Chairman Sunni Ittehad

Council Sahibzada Fazl Karim alsoaccompanied the DPM. PresidentZardari and Elahi discussed seatadjustment formula with PMLPunjab president and assured himthat PPP would contest the electionsalong with PML. However, there wasno word on the final settlement. ThePML is demanding seats on the basisof elections results of 2008 while PPPwants a renewed formula based oncurrent political situation.

Estranged MQM back in govt’s lap again� Ibad calls on Zardari in Lahore while Altaf meet Malik in London � MQM chief says old companionship will continue � Muttahida tightlipped

OUR STAFF REPORTERS

ISLAMABAD: Following the ordersof Prime Minister Raja PervaizAshraf, the Oil and Gas RegulatoryAuthority (OGRA) on Saturdaydenotified the latest hike inpetroleum products (POL) prices,bringing them back to February 28-level with immediate effect.

The OGRA officials say they havebrought the prices down afterreducing the petroleum levy, whichforced them to make someadjustments in the pricing formula.

According to the latestnotification, petrol after a reductionof Rs 3.53 will be retailed atRs103.70 per litre, diesel after adecrease of Rs 4.35 at Rs 109.21,kerosene oil after a cut of Rs 3.79 atRs 99.90, and light diesel will be soldat its old price Rs 94.98 litre after aslash of Rs 3.79.

OGRA Chairman Saeed AhmadKhan had earlier said that pricereversal notification would be issuedbefore midnight tonight (March 2).

The opposition parties in NationalAssembly, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM) onFriday had staged walkout fromNational Assembly in protest againstthe decision.

The Ministry of Petroleum andNatural Resources shifted the wholeburden of recent practice of pricehike and held OGRA responsible forthe move; however, the summary ofprice determination always isapproved after mutual consultationby the troika of finance division,petroleum ministry and theregulatory body.

Taking notice of such miseriesfaced by the consumers, PrimeMinister Raja Pervaiz Ashrafsummoned Finance Minister

Saleem H Mandviwalla and otherstakeholders to seek a solution to thelatest hike in POL prices. Thefinance minister explained to thepremier the factors involved in therecent move, saying it was not doneintentionally. He briefed the premierabout the overall economic situationin the country and the compulsionsand rationale behind the increase inpetroleum prices.

The finance ministry claimed thatthe subsidies to the power sectormay well be in excess of Rs 365billion which implied Rs 1 billion perday injection. He added that thegovernment had provided anaverage monthly subsidy of Rs 28billion to the power sector duringthe last three months. They said thegovernment extended Rs 419 billionto WAPDA/PEPCO as subsidy (Rs296.3 billion in excess of what wasbudgeted) last year, while the KESCreceived Rs 45.2 billion (Rs 20.6billion in excess of what wasbudgeted). If the past year is takenas precedence, it is likely that thetotal subsidies may well be in excessof Rs 464 billion.

The prime minister, however,directed the Mandviwalla toimmediately withdraw the decisionas it was adversely affecting the livesof the common people. “Thedemocratic government will notimpose any additional burden on thecommon man and will do its utmostto alleviate the sufferings of thepeople,” he said.

Background interviews anddiscussion with various politicalstalwarts and energy expertshave transpired to thisnewspaper that the people-friendly intervention by the primeminister was just a ‘politicalgimmick’ by creating a sympatheticimage of the PPP government.

Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad Saturday called on President Asif Zardari at Bilawal House in Lahore. -APP

RAWALPINDI: Special Anti-Terrorism Court‚ Rawalpindihas dismissed SehbaMusharraf 's petition forunfreezing the assets of formerPresident Pervez Musharraf.

In 2011, during a trial of theBenazir Bhutto murder case,the Anti Terrorism Courtdeclared Musharraf aproclaimed offender.Musharraf ’s bank accountswere frozen and his propertytaken over by the courts.Sehba had filed an applicationagainst the court’s order.

Sehba said since herhusband gifted their farmhouse in Islamabad to her,the court illegally ordered itsconfiscation. She alsomentioned in herapplication, that the moneyin their bank accounts werereserved for the welfare ofthe general population,hence they cannot be froze.

With Sehba Musharraf ’slawyer unable to present therecord of proof of herincome deposited in thecouple’s joint bankaccounts, the court declaredits previous decision to seizethe former ruler’s assets wasright and disposed of thepetition. -APP

FAKHAR KAKAKHEL

PESHAWAR: Tehrik-e-TalibanPakistan (TTP) has formed aneight-member shura or committeeto produce a list of demands,sources close to the central shurainformed The Spokesman oncondition of anonymity.

Sources said the Taliban onemember each from seven tribalagencies and one representing thefrontier regions. “The shura hasmembers from Bajaur, Mohmand,Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, NorthWaziristan and South Waziristanagencies, all tasked with producing

lists of demands that will beapproved by the central shura led byHakimullah Mehsud,” they said.

“Their lists will be in threecategories. They will have a list oftheir colleagues based on their levelof importance. Said Mohammadalias Maulvi Omer from BajaurAgency and Muslim Khan fromSwat will be in the first category,”sources said elaborating the processof prioritizing the lists.

The TTP leadership has alsocommissioned this special body towin the hearts and minds of thecommon tribal populace and figureout estimate damages to people such

as the loss of their buildings andbusiness. “The shura will include aspecial incentive package for tribalsin each agency and frontier regionsaffected by the war. This will also beincluded in the list of demands,” thesource told The Spokesman.

The group will also make a list ofthe “unnecessary” checkpostsestablished in the civilian areas ofvarious towns in FATA. “There arecertain check posts which are

unnecessary and they are reallyinfringing on norms and culture oftribal areas. Even the tribal eldersare complaining about theseunnecessary check posts,” thesource said.

As far as who will lead this specialcommittee, the source said, anelder of the Shobikhel sub-tribe ofthe Mehsuds will most probablylead it as an independent head.This was recommended by all theeight members and was approvedby Hakimullah Mehsud himself.“The person has a religious familybackground and has been amongthe top leaders in the TTP, but I

can’t tell you who so prematurely”the source said.

The Spokesman also sensed a fearthat the process might end up in adeadlock since the situation hadchanged after the arrest of MaulviFaqir Mohammad in Afghanistan;and over the authority ofnegotiators.

“As most of the members have hadreservations over response of thesecurity forces to these overtures,they need guarantees that all thepromises made at the end ofnegotiations will be fulfilled withouthitches, delays and excuses,” thesource told The Spokesman.

TTP forms 8-member shura to finalise demands

KARACHI: Supreme Court KarachiRegistry on Saturday issued written verdictof the ongoing hearing of Karachi Law andOrder Implementation Case.

The 27-pages written verdict included aspecial note of 6 pages by Justice Khilji ArifHussain. The bench comprised JusticeKhilji Arif Hussain, Justice Sarmad JalalUsmani, Justice Gulzar Ahmad, JusticeAthar Saeed while Justice Anwar ZaheerJamali headed the bench. The hearing ofKarachi Law & Order Implementation Casewas started on February 25 and continuedtill 27th February.

In its written verdict, the SC KarachiRegistry declared that the ElectionCommission was fully authorized for newdelimitations in Karachi and thesedelimitations could be made withoutconducting census. The verdict stated thatArticle 51, section 2 of the Constitutionrelates to adjustment of the seats ofNational Assembly and not aboutdelimitations. Delimitations Act of 1974neither imposes ban on new delimitationsnor on the authority of the ElectionCommission. The court said it is true thatcensus was not conducted after 1998 but

there is dire need of new delimitations.These delimitations should be madeaccording to the proportion of populationinstead of equal population.

In his additional note, Justice Khilji ArifHussain stated that according to theConstitution it is the responsibility of theElection Commission to make appropriatearrangements for holding fair, free andtransparent elections in the country.

In Watan Party Case, he said in this case itwas not discussed in the case to increase theseats of Karachi Division rather it talkedabout delimitations.

Moreover, the verdict said that Dr. FarougNaseem did not stressed about MQMpetition on delimitation upon which thecourt disposed of MQM’s plea while thecourt also disposed of Muhajir QaumiMovement’s plea on delimitations.

During the hearing, the court also tooknotice about the involvement of policeofficials in crime cases after assurance ofInspector General Police for taking actionagainst them. The court had also issuednotice to Awais Muzafar Tappi and othersin illegal transfer of lands in RevenueDepartment. –ONLINE

ʻPeople-friendlyʼ govt backtracks

Petrolprice hikewithdrawn� Move comes on PM’s orders � Opposition’sprotest, coming elections forced the decision

ATC refusesto unfreezeMusharraf ’sassets

EC authorisedfor new Karachidelimitations� SC verdict says no census needed for the process� Proposes delimitations on population proportion

� Taliban offer peace but with moreviolence ‒Page 5

RELATED STORY

� PPP, PML-Q agree on seatadjustment formula ‒Page 12

RELATED STORY

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

Journalist bodiescondemn detention of TS stafferISLAMABAD: The National Press

Club and Rawalpindi IslamabadUnion of Journalists havecondemned in severe possible termsthe illegal detention, harassmentand threats to the correspondent of“The Spokesman” by theadministration of IslamicInternational Medical College onFriday. The NPC, RIUJ and theParliamentary Reporters Associationon Saturday demanded the Punjabgovernment to register case againstthe culprits; otherwise they willboycott the parliamentaryproceedings on Monday. PresidentNational Press Club, Farooq FaisalKhan strongly condemned theincident in which the correspondentof the daily was not only stoppedfrom performing his professionalduties by the college administrationbut also held in an unlawful mannerfor more than five hours.

In his statement, he showed hisconcern over the role of theRawalpindi Police in the incident,which was more interested in settlingthe issue between the newspapermanagement and the collegeadministration, instead of conductinginvestigations in a right direction. Hefurther said that the journalists’bodies would also raise the issuethrough protests in front of theParliament House. RIUJ PresidentWaqar Satti also condemned theharassment and illegal detention ofHomer Jan, The Spokesmancorrespondent, by the medical collegeadministration. �STAFF REPORT

Germans visit IslamabadISLAMABAD: Representatives of theGerman solar company DEQ-SYSGmbH, a subsidiary of EnergiequelleGmbH, which is based in the state ofBrandenburg, visited Lahore andIslamabad from February 23 toMarch 1. The company designs, plansand installs turnkey wind turbines,biogas systems, solar power plantsand substations for grid feeding eco-friendly power. After visitingLahore, the delegation visited theEmbassy, exchanged views withPPIB as well as with other Germancompanies. �PR

HOMER BALOCH:

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences,once the first choice of patients to get treatment from, isnowadays fast fading from the very patients’ mind becausethe administration does not admit even some of thosepatients who are suffering from potentially dangerousailments on the pretext of security threat.

The largest hospital in the capital territory is playsdifferent tactics with the patients, especially those hailingfrom the far-flung areas: they get discharged soon afterthey receive initial treatment.

Naeem Khan, a resident of Chak Shahzad, came to thehospital to admit his son who was shot in the leg in aproperty dispute, when contacted said. “The accusedfired four bullets at Jameel and all pierced through hisleg. We immediately shifted him to PIMS hospital wherethe doctors diagnosed that he has got a crack in his legbone due to bullet, but instead of shifting him to a PIMS

ward but the doctors there tried to discharge him on thepretention that the emergency section of the hospital wasalready full and that he must be shifted home, while myson was screaming with pain and was unable to move.”,

He further said that he approached a senior doctor, whohelped in the admission of the patient by using hisinfluence.

A source in the hospital revealed that the reason why ithappens the way it happens is an incident which occurredin January 2012, when some armed men entered the VIPwards of the hospital and opened fire at the in-patients,which resulted in the death of two female women, namelySaleha Bibi and her daughter-attendant Balqees Bibi. Thewomen were the mother and sister of Muhammad Ayaz,Joint Secretary of the Cabinet Division, respectively.

The attackers actually wanted to kill the under-treatment patient Rana Sarwat, a kidnapping for ransomaccused. “The incident exposed the hospital’s security laps.The management, instead of adopting proper steps toprevent such incidents in future, is avoiding new

admissions,” said the source. Ali Jadoon, who wasattending his younger brother in the surgical ward of thehospital, while speaking with The Spokesman said, “Theyalso resisted admitting my younger brother Rafi who gothead injury after a clash with his friends of town, and triedto discharge him after initial treatment. Then we forcedthe management to do x-ray, it revealed that the wound inhis head was not as minor as the doctors in the emergencywere declaring.”

When contacted, Dr Waseem Khwaja, thespokesperson of the hospital, explained, “The hospitalmanagement treats every patient according to theirneeds, not by the requests of the patient’s attendants.”What he meant was that the doctor knows better whenand how to treat the patient.

“However, the issues of space and capacity are there.We have 1,000 beds at the hospital. Out of these 40 arein the emergency section. The issue can only be resolvedwhen new hospitals are set up in the capital,” DrWaseem explained.

STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The Roots SchoolSystem’s DHA-1 campus held its 5thRoots Model United Nations 2013committee sessions on Sunday, withheated debates on global issues, saysa press release. All the delegates hadprepared well for the discussions onglobal, current events, internationalrelations, diplomacy, foreign policy

and the United Nations schemas.The committees for Roots Model

United Nations this year wereDisarmament and InternationalSecurity, United Nations HumanRights Council, Counter-TerrorismCommittee, United NationsDevelopment Group, GlobalEconomic Summit, Joint CrisisCabinet, International Convention onPeace, and Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan.

International Convention onPeace was a specialized committeefocusing on nuclear arsenal and itsglobal eradication. A new countrypossessing nuclear weapon couldcreate a catastrophic cascade ofproliferation.

The eradication of nucleararsenal has to take place in absoluteaccordance with the global zeroaction plans and the timeline

presented by the officials. Athrilling musical evening byPakistan’s megastar Atif Aslamfollowed after the committeesessions had ended. This grandevent was specially organized for the delegates who had workedday and night to prepare their debates.

The mesmerized crowd wascaptivated by Atif ’s exhilarating

performance as they sang along totheir favorite tunes. Atif had hisfans cheering as he sang his megahits like ‘Beyinteha’, ‘Allah dohaihai’, ‘Mein wari jawaan’, ‘Tera honelaga hoon’, ‘Hum kis gali ja rahehain’, ‘Yakeen’, ‘Ehsaas’; but left thecrowd enthralled with his mostfamous debut song ‘Aadat’.Everyone sang along andapplauded his onstage charisma.

Atif Aslam has fans cheering as he sings his mega hits

SALMAN ABBAS

ISLAMABAD: Though ill-planning and corruption remainthe major issues of the Capital Development Authority, yetthe wrong deeds of the civic body’s officials have eitherresulted in losses to the authority or have put its public-friendly projects to a halt. The Kashmir Highway wideningproject is one of these projects, which is hanging in thebalance due to the pathetic attitude of the civic body.

The highway widening project was started in February2011 and was to be completed in February 2013. However,its completion is still a dream. Sources in the CDA said thatthe project could not be completed just because of thefavoritism policy and negligent attitude of the CDA babus.He said that the two sides of the highway, southcarriageway (section-1) and north carriageway (section-2),were being widened by two different firms. Ayub Brotherswas awarded a contract for the southern side while thenorthern side was to be built by a joint venture betweenthree firms.

In order to provide fast access to the new airport, beingbuilt in Fateh Jang, some 30 kilometres from the capital,the city’s prime agency launched the widening plan of thehighway some two years back. The Rs3 billion KashmirHighway or dual carriageway project – under which theroad will have five lanes on each side from Golra Morr toPeshawar Morr – is being constructed under the PublicSector Development Programme.

Officials of the Civil Aviation Authority and CDAdeclared the highway project “the future lifeline” ofIslamabad, as it will provide new links between the capitaland the new airport, and the Lahore and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa motorways. However, the issue which hasbecome a hurdle in the completion of the project is theslackness and carelessness of the civic body.

“The CDA high-ups did not release funds for the highwayproject with regularity and always tried to please one firmat one time and most of the time released funds for oneside [of the road] instead of releasing funds at the sametime for the whole project,” said the source.

The very reason, he said, created a rift between thecontractors of both sides and ultimately affected theproject which has now been extended to June 2014. Hesaid that during the whole period, the contractors left thework for several times due to non-payment of dues. Theofficial said that during the current year, the work will bestarted from Zero Point to Ninth Avenue under which thehighway would be widened from two-way to five-way.

CDA Chairman Syed Tahir Shahbaz told The Spokesmanthat even the PC-1 of the Kashmir Highway project was notapproved before he took over the authority. “Afterbecoming CDA chairman, I got approved the PC-1 of theproject. Now the deadline has been extended for theproject, but the authority will complete the project on apriority basis.”

PIMS believes in once bitten,twice shy formula for all time� The largest hospital in Islamabad Capital Territory refusing to accept more patients on the pretext of security

SHANEL KHALIQ

ISLAMABAD: The second deathanniversary of Shahbaz Bhatti wasobserved on Sunday. Bhatti holdsthe honour of being the firstChristian parliamentarian who roseto the position of a federal ministerin Pakistan. He served as theminister for minorities affairs from2008 to 2011.

Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian criticof Pakistan's blasphemy laws, wasassassinated on March 2, 2011during an attack on his vehicle inIslamabad. The assassins leftleaflets signed 'Taliban al-Qaida'next to his body.

He was born on September 9,1968 in Khushpur in Faisalabadand belonged to a Roman Catholicfamily. From the very beginning,Bhatti was a champion of

minorities’ rights. He was thefounder of All Pakistan MinoritiesAlliance and was elected itschairman in 2002. The same year,he also joined the PakistanPeople’s Party and later become afederal minister.

Shahbaz Bhatti was a hardcoreenthusiast who supported religiousminorities and protected theirrights. He believed in justice andequality for all citizens of thecountry.

During his tenure, he started anational campaign to encourageinterfaith harmony. He alsoproposed legislation to ban hatespeech and literature. He also holdscredit for proposing theintroduction of quotas for religiousminorities in government posts andthe reservation of four Senate seatsspecifically for minorities.

Candles burn, people weep to remember slain minister� Shahbaz Bhatti was a national champion of interfaith harmony

ISLAMABAD: Dr Paul Bhatti and other activists of Civil Society lighting candles on the death anniversary of former Minister forMinorities Shahbaz Bhatti in Islamabad. �ONLINE

CDA lethargyputs an end topublic-friendlyprojects

Widening Kashmir Highway

ISLAMABAD: Models pose for photograph during the launching ceremony of GROOMING LOUNGE Day spa and salon at G-6 Islamabad. �ONLINE


Venom Inc. This should not beheld against me in a court oflaw as I solemnly declare

that these are absolute lies, dirtywhispers and wild speculation that Ihave heard while crawling in thedark power corridors of the creepyCapital. You will believe them atyour own risk Shh...If you havevenom to spill please don’t hesitateto share with us on our blog atwww.thespokesman.pk

POWER ALLEYS|

Conservative Pakistan?

On social media certain trends develops based onevents or actions that garner widespread attention.Recently, an article on Pakistani men resorting to

drugs in order to dissipate their pent up emotions has setoff an interesting debate where the sarcasm and humourof Pakistan’s twitter community were let loose. We haveput just some of these tweets together for your pleasure.

akchishti �@akchishti#InConservativePakistan Zaid Hamidis our Chief of Staff, Hafiz SaeedDefense Secy, Ahmed Qureshi PrimeMinister & Fazlu Presidentomar r quraishi �@omar_quraishi

#InConservativePakistan = Pakistanshakir husain �@shakirhusain#InConservativePakistan everyone has an uncle whoowns a newspaper.Yaqub Immegrent �@YaqubImmegret#InConservativePakistan Beti we are not conservative, ucan go out but maghrib se pehle ghar ajana.Ayesha Tammy Haq �@tammyhaq#InConservativePakistan preacher designers say womencan buy lawn but cant driveShaheryar Mirza �@mirza9#InConservativePakistan women aren't allowed to rolljoints.Shahzad Qureshi �@ShahzadQurashi#InConservativePakistan You have only naat options ascaller tones.shakir husain �@shakirhusain#InConservativePakistan young people don't spark up infront of their parents like they would in the #GodlessWestShaheryar Mirza �@mirza9#InConservativePakistan elite men and women hide hashat the bottom of cigarette boxes.N O R B A L M ™ �@norbalm#InConservativePakistan the TSUNAMI still doesn't win:)karachikhatmal �@karachikhatmal#InConservativePakistan is a hashtag people think isbeing used to make fun of Pakistan and not the article thatwas demeaning the country.Zarrar Khuhro �@ZarrarKhuhro#InConservativePakistan There's no need to go all seriouson an ironic hashtagShoaib Taimur �@shobz#InConservativePakistan scandals are swept under therug.Yaqub Immegrent �@YaqubImmegret#InConservativePakistan Beti we r not conservative. Wegive u full freedom to choose between Burqa, Hijab andDupatta.Mirza Waheed �@MirzaWaheed#InConservativePakistan , there are two literary festivalsthat feature women writers who wear blue jeans.Ali Salman Alvi �@alisalmanalvi#InConservativePakistan TTP terrorists are termedintelligent by their father Fazulr Rehman. OtherPakistanis are obviously fools.shakir husain �@shakirhusain#InConservativePakistan everything is mysterious, dusky,dusty, sufi, nuclear, underground, poor, and connected toreligion.Ailia Zehra �@AiliaZehra#InConservativePakistan Ansar Abbasi is an expert oneverything.Shoaib Taimur �@shobz#InConservativePakistan everyone on twitter is an analyst;)Zahra Peer �@ZahraPeer#InConservativePakistan It's ok for Junaid Jamshed tosell clothes for way more than what they are worth, butnot singKala Kawa �@kaalakawaa#InCoservativePakistan is well and good, but the true hi-larity resides in #InLiberalPakistan. People not getting it

Is this thesign of badtimes to

come? Thenews about AsifZardari’s fosterbrother, OwaisMuzaffar aliasTappi, beingsummoned

before the Supreme Court over State landirregularities is a bad omen.

Tappi, everybody knows, has been thedefacto Sindh Chief Minister for the lastfive years. The docile Qaim Ali Shah hasnever contested his powers or, for thatmatter anybody else’s either. He is knownto give way to All the President’s Men.Whether it was Pir Mazhurul Haq, WajidDurrani and now almost forgotten,Zulfiqar Mirza. But then Tappi was Tappi,a step ahead of everybody else. Someallege that it was Tappi who got ZulfiMirza out. Being the childhood friend ofAsif, Zulfi overstepped Tappi’s toes also,which proved to be the turning point forhim.

Coming back, the issue is: Can Tappisustain the legal rigmarole. The last timewhen Nawaz Sharif put Asif in jail, Tappihad got out to Dubai before that. This wayAsif had a trusted loyalist-cum-brother tolook after his empire.

The problem is that the President is still,well, the President. It would not look niceif Tappi ran away to Dubai in exile. Heneeds to fight it out here. It becomesgraver still because the land-grabbing isnot the only issue that he is involved in.There may be a Pandora’s Box. And then ithas happened at the fag-end of theirtenure. This means they will not have thefriendly police and the prosecution toneutralize the judiciary as has been thecase so far. Of course, there will be afriendly caretaker government in Sindh,thanks to the MQM trick of moving to theopposition towards the end. But comeelections, the judiciary will be a differentjudiciary

Is this the beginning of the end? Shouldhe run away or fight the case? Whathappens if he gets arrested? What willBhayya do? Will he pardon me as he didlots of others? What if the case does notgets decided before the expiry of Bhayya’sPresidency? What if somebody from hisgang becomes an approver? Tappi faceslots of such—what-if-questions?

The biggest being: What if Bhayya toojoins him in the jail. After all, the Bhayyahas used his immunity against the NROcases. The moment he gets down, thecases will be opened instantly. He does nottrust Naik who keeps saying thateverything’s been handled. Naik has neverseen a jail; Bhayya has. Tappi recallsBhayya reciting the only couplet of Faizthat he knows. Something as “Kuay yaarsay niklay to suay Daar Challay”. Shhhh

Tappi finallysummoned

AZEEM AHMED KHAN

On the first of March theGreat Servant of the Massesaddressed his beloved gov-

ernment workers. Staying true tohis adopted moniker, he providedyet another service to his darlingmasters: he regularized the con-tracts of 100,000 grade 1-16 gov-ernment employees. A true servantindeed. What followed was rightout of the dubious election cam-paigning textbook. It seems thegreat servant has serious doubtsabout the intelligence of themasses, or as he would have it, hismasters.

Khadam-e-Aala: a truly grandtitle. I have always felt some confu-sion over this term. What does theword ‘ala’ entail? Does it meangreat or grand or does it imply‘masses’. On their own, the two in-terpretations may seem somewhatsimilar but when the whole title ofthe self proclaimed Khadam-e-Aala is taken into account, two dis-tinct descriptions arise: ‘The GreatServant’ or ‘The Servant of theMasses’. However they are inter-preted the one constant is the ac-ceptance of the role of servant.

Sharif implored the people pres-ent to ensure that Nawaz Sharif gota majority since coalition govern-ments are susceptible to blackmailand this leaves them impotent. Yes,he actually used the words majorityand blackmail and there has beenno manipulation of words here.The Chief Minister, or Grand Ser-vant of the Masses, actually ac-

cepted that his party was BLACK-MAILED in the government.

It may have been implied butnevertheless, the meaning is clear.Even so, there is little doubt that hisparty, first as coalition partner andthen as opposition, was muchworse than just impotent; invisiblewould be a more apt characteriza-tion. The harrowing question oneis compelled to ask is what crimesdid his party commit to renderthemselves susceptible to black-mail? The success of blackmailrests on the guilt of the entity beingblackmailed. The crime committedhas to be significant enough tomake its concealment essential.Now we know why we witnessedthe friendliest ‘opposition’ in ournation’s history despite the worstperformance by any government.Maybe I am being needlessly cyni-cal. He was probably doing all thisto protect his master, the masses. Agreat servant indeed.

The first part of the Punjab ChiefMinister’s plea also provides a win-dow into the mind of this GreatServant of the Masses. It was hiswish that Nawaz Sharif achieve amajority. Again, maybe he consid-ers Nawaz Sharif to be a part of themasses and therefore, his master.It is baffling how a person who hasbeen indicted in the election rig-ging IJI case can even be consid-ered the national majority leader.He was disqualified from the lastelections but still he is treated assome kind of a Godfather, chosenby destiny to rule his subjects. Yetagain, maybe I am seeing this from

the wrong angle. The youngerSharif may have said this in jest, forif he did not then he surely believeshis masses are actually not capableof understanding why a criminal isunworthy of ruling the nation.Then again, he might be assumingthat if our current president is to beused as the yardstick, criminals rul-ing the nation might not be that biga deal. This would, in all serious-ness, be a fair assessment since thevast majority of our ‘representa-tives’ are in trouble with the courts.

The visionary behind the greatsuccesses of the Yellow Cabs foruniversity graduates scheme,Daanish Schools photo-ops and theSasta Aata hallucination – the priceof flour has increased, hardly mer-iting the term sasta – among manyother facades and gimmicks, went

on to tell his masters that the MetroBus System was a gift from him.What a visionary – admittedly, heis a visionary, for with the provin-cial government’s attitude towardseducation, Punjab’s universitygraduates may be just about suffi-ciently qualified to drive a taxi. OhGreat King, Thy mercy knows nobounds. How benevolent of Theeto sprinkle some of life’s joys on ourhumble beings. And the ShahbazSharif Scholarship Fund worth 10billion. What will your poor chil-dren eat now that you have spenteverything on us?

Even if the CM’s wish for a ma-jority comes true, there can be lit-tle assurance that much good willcome out of it. Their last majoritywas a two thirds majority. Themain focus of that government was

the acquisition of the grand title ofAmeer-ul-Momineen for NawazSharif. Had they even blessed witha teensy bit of vision of foresight,they would have ensured reformsthat would buy them a place in thehearts and minds of the masses. In-stead they built the motorway, afine road no doubt, but a strain onthe already threadbare national fi-nances and certainly very elitist.Shahbaz Sharif would not have tobeg for a majority. Nawaz Sharifcould have even become the localequivalent of Singapore’s Lee KuanYew, a dictator who is loved by themasses.

The analysis above indicates theSharifs’ leaning towards gimmicksand shows. They could haveachieved their own ends throughactually doing something but in-stead they chose stunts such as thetitle of Ameer-ul-Momineen ratherthan earning it through reformswhich they could easily pushthrough parliament due to theirtwo thirds majority. It also exposestheir disturbing yearning for some-thing similar to the divine rulewhich characterized the monar-chies of France before the blood-shed of the French Revolution. Justas the Enlightenment era broughtthe French people out of their sub-servient attitude towards the elitistand oppressive ruling class, thePakistani masses are also ready torid themselves of these so calledservants of the people. Please stopinsulting our intelligence, Khadam-e-mun Mr. Showbaz Sharif, beforeit is too late for you.

Ma l i kR i a zruns a

virtual statewithin a state.And this hasbeen so forquite a while--from GeneralM u s h a r a f ’ stime in govern-ment, actually.

Here is a dif-ferent perspec-tive on the

political happenings. Both Musharrafand Malik needed each other.Musharraf had to keep the militarybrass happy about his illegitimaterule. Malik was handy in providingthe ‘goodies’ required to tie up thewagging tongues. Basically, lots ofwealth in the shape of plots, favours,perks but mostly crude money. In re-turn, Malik got facilitation and accessto every level of power. A whole co-terie of wheeler-dealers flourished inthe process. The stakes, involving tril-lions of rupees, were so high that theeconomic interests of the civil-militarycoterie over-grew Musharraf. He be-came expendable for the larger vestedinterests. Enter Asif Zardari.

It was a match made in heaven. Fewgive credit to Malik Riaz who helpedtailor the new political arrangement.He was instrumental in bringing thesame coterie together in the sameboat. It’s the same old script with thesame old setting, characters and side-kicks that one sees at the Presidency.Only the protagonist, Asif Zardari, hasbeen changed.

We give credit to the judiciary,media and the public for seeing thedemocracy survive for the last fiveyears. The role of Malik Riaz gets ig-nored. Call it the vested interests ofthe coterie, the elite panoply, themafia or simply the biggest real estatescam of the last 66 years—this may bethe most crucial factor that kept thesystem going. This may seem far-fetched but is not irrelevant if one

takes into account the money involvedin the land-grabbing, tax evasion orsheer bribery in these housingschemes. For God’s sake, it’s biggerthan Pakistan’s budget.

Even now the most importantplayer in politics and the up-comingelections is Malik Riaz. Yet this keylink in the political chain is missingfrom our discourse. He pervades allover but his role is not discussed asmuch as it merits. One gets to hearabout him only in whispers, innu-endo.

Not a single comprehensive profileexists of a person who happens to beone of the richest and the most pow-erful persons in the country. Politicalpundits keep harping on about wrongthemes day-in and day-out. TV an-chors ensure the viewers follow thedistractions or, as the Punjabi proverbgoes, the rear light of a moving truck(truck di batti). Come on fellows, it isakin to missing the elephant in theroom.

The mansion in Lahore, allegedlymade for the Man on the Hill, showshow much he is investing in the nextgovernment. But then this just may bepeanuts in comparison to his stakes inretaining the official patronage. Nowthat he has ‘belled’ the SupremeCourt, thanks to Chaudhary Arsalan,he reigns ‘Supreme.’

As of now, he continues to run theState, especially in the beautiful envi-rons of the Margalla Hills. TheSupreme Court ordered an inquiryagainst Malik Riaz in case of grosshuman rights violations. He was ac-cused of fabricating evidence to in-volve some locals in fake cases andcoerced them to

give up their land with the help ofthe local police and the revenue ad-ministration. Here is the official re-port of Islamabad’s Sessions Judge,Mazhar Hussain Minhas: “IslamabadPolice, particularly from the SihalaPolice Station, was completely underthe influence and control of MalikRiaz. SHO Sihala Idrees Rathore andSub-inspector, Ahmed Kamal acted as

his personal servants and instead ofperforming their lawful duties playedwith the liberties of innocent peopleby involving them in false and base-less cases. In certain incidents, evenpolice officials accompanied Bahria’ssecurity staff for the illegal possessionof land.”

Judge Minhas goes on to report thatlike the Police, the Revenue Depart-ment “is completely under the thumbof Malik Riaz. Revenue officers ofMalik’s choice are posted in BahriaTown housing schemes. The officialsfollow his dictates blindly. TehsildarImtiaz Pervez Janjua admits that he isposted in Islamabad since May, 1998.Revenue Officials of Rawalpindi/Is-

lamabad are committing illegalitieswith impunity and do not pay anyheed even to the directions of theCourts. The officials facilitate him inland-grabbing and tax evasion”.

It goes without saying that the Cap-ital Developmenmt Authority (CDA)remains Malik’s baby. He can occupythe CDA land with impunity. A CDAcouncil recently told the IslamabadHigh Court that Bahira Town occu-pied over 1200

kanals of the CDA land, valued at Rs1.25 billion, to build a road to its newlylaunched ‘Bahria Enclave.’ He makesthe CDA launch schemes next to hisown to accelerate the public rush andthen sells his plots at half their prices.

The Commission formed by the Fed-eral Tax Ombudsman mentionsBahria’s scheme, Margallah Enclave,which it says “was a project apparentlyto swindle the hard-earned money ofthe general public. The Securities Ex-change Commission of Pakistan, onthe basis of an inquiry into the scam,had to penalize the directors of BahriaTown with maximum penalty.

Interestingly, his leverage in Punjabis no less. The Commission mentionsthat Punjab Forest Department hasbeen the primary victim of MalikRiaz’s land grabbing. In the revenueestates of Lohi Bhir, Takh Pari andMurree over 11,000 kanals, valuingover Rs 6 billion, has been allegedlygrabbed by Bahria Town.

The Commission concludes: “Whatseems apparent is that the criticalState institutions have been fatallycompromised, resulting in virtuallynon-existent writ of the law. Non-co-operative public officials and the hap-less litigants/witnesses get routinelysubjected to intimidation and black-mail. Fraud, deceit and the land-grab-bing, causing loss worth billions ofrupees to the State and private lands,seem the order of the day.”

Bahria continues to illegally collectadvance money without any develop-ment and construction.

The Central Board of Revenue(CBR) seems to have been handedover to Malik Riaz. It is largely be-cause of him that seven CBR Chair-men got changed in the last five years.The CBR has not verified any muta-tion record of Bahria housing schemessince 1997. The Commission pointsout that Bahria purchased total landfor Rs21.1 billion during 1997-98 to2011. It has not provided mandatorydocumentary evidence of mutationdeeds reflecting transfer of ownership.This omission alone warrants incometax implications of Rs2.03 billionwithout penalty. Now you know whythey still keep a CBR Chairman oncontract.

Fellows, still doubt that the Malikruns the State?

Khadam-e-aala: please think before you speak

TAHIR NIAZ

ISLAMABAD: The unexpectedand disappointing responsefrom the Sindhi nationalist par-ties has forced the PPP to runafter its old ally, MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM)again after the two parted waysa few weeks back.

They were none other thanthe sister of President Asif AliZardari, Faryal Talpur and sen-ior party leader, Syed KhurshidShah who advised the Presidentto bring the Sindhi nationalistparties closer by withdrawingthe Sindh Peoples Local Gov-ernment Ordinance (SPLGO)2012. But the latter opted to gowith the ‘aliens in the province’as the political parties are busyin readjusting their alignments.Pir Pagara, Mumtaz Bhutto andother nationalist leaders ofSindh announced their supportand partnership with the Pak-istan Muslim League-Nawazeven after the withdrawal of

SPLGO by the PPP governmentin Sindh, a move that annoyedMQM.

PPP has been demanding theMQM withdraws its candidatesfrom at least 4 out of 20 na-tional assembly seats fromKarachi in favour of ‘pipli’ can-didates. But the latter declinedin plain terms, believing thatthe constituencies were strong-holds of the MQM and therewas no question of foregoingthem for PPP. As the PPP sawno instant benefit in going with

the MQM, it attempted to bringSindhi nationalists in its foldsbut the move yielded nothingexcept disappointment.

Insiders say that after gettinga disappointing response fromthe Sindhi nationalist parties,the PPP has been left with nooption but to run after its oldally, the MQM. Under the cir-cumstances, this could be theonly way out to secure its seatsin Urban Sindh and give atough time to the nationalistparties which are supporting

the PML-N in Interior Sindh.President Zardari and Gover-nor Sindh are again busy in ne-gotiations to reach a deal on thepolitical issues and provincialcaretaker set up. The insidersbelieve that under the silent un-derstanding MQM would be fa-cilitated by the PPP while thelatter would continue declaringit an opposition party. As thePresident is sitting in Lahore tostreamline things in Punjab, thesituation in Sindh seems notfully favourable to the PPP.

Nationalists made PPP run after MQM again

Malik Riaz-missing the elephant-VIIIPoliticallyIncorrect

Amir Mateen

Sarabjit's lawyer getsdeath threat from TalibanLAHORE: The lawyer of SarabjitSingh, who is on death row in aPakistani prison, on Saturday said hehad received a death threat from theTaliban for pursuing the case of theIndian national. Awais Shiekh said aletter written by an anonymous activistof the banned Tehrik-e-TalibanPakistan had warned his wife to stopher husband from pursuing the case ofSarabjit. He said the letter read: "Ibelong to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistanand I am a resident of Faisalabaddistrict. I want to tell you that yourhusband is representing the case ofSarabjit Singh, who is responsible ofkilling my whole family in a bombblast. �ONLINE

Nigerian community polls from 16thISLAMABAD: The NigerianCommunity in Pakistan is to hold itselections from March 16 to choose thenew office bearers, said NCP PresidentIsaac OA Omomolesho on Saturday.The NCP was established in 2006under a constitution approved by theNigeria High Commission to promoteshared vision and common objectivesof south-south cooperation betweenNigeria and Pakistan. Isaac said theNCP is playing a major role to educateNigerians living in Pakistan to obeythe Pakistani laws and shun illegalactivities. He said that electoralofficers of NCP are appointed to theratio of five from Lahore and eightfrom Islamabad. The tenure of theoffice for all elected members of NCPis for two years. �PR

International Children'sDay of Broadcasting todayISLAMABAD: Broadcasters aroundthe country will provide children andadolescents the opportunity to sharetheir hopes, dreams and aspirationsabout their future in a better world tocontribute to the United Nationsdebate on the post-2015 developmentagenda. UNICEF and leadingbroadcasters in Pakistan will celebratethis year’s International Children’s Dayof Broadcasting, falling on March 3, byinvolving young people in discussingpriorities for the future throughspecially produced ICDB programmes.This year’s theme ‘Our World, OurFuture’ syncs with the theme for globalconsultations led by the UnitedNations to discuss the post-2015development agenda.

“I am so impressed by the vision andconfidence of children and adolescentsin Pakistan and I am confident theywill have a great many ideas andopinions that will contribute to theglobal debate on the futuredevelopment agenda and the vision forthe world that these young people willcontinue to live and work in. Withnearly 90 million young people inPakistan, the collective voice will beimportant on the global scale and wemust harness the wide range ofexpressions that exists,” said DanRohrmann, UNICEF’s Representativein Pakistan. �STAFF REPORT

250 US scholarships LAHORE: The US Agency forInternational Development awardedscholarships to 250 talented studentsenrolled in the recently introducedtwo-year Associate Degree inEducation program and the four-yearBachelor’s Degree in Educationprogram in Punjab. “I am delighted tosee such bright students from Punjabwho have dedicated themselves to alife of learning, scholarship, andservice,” remarked Mr. JefferyBakken, acting US Consul GeneralLahore and USAID Director forPunjab. He added, “I am confidentthat the new comprehensive degreeprograms and USAID scholarshipswill give us better trained teachersand will therefore improve theeducation for thousands of Pakistaniboys and girls.” �ONLINE

Nisar Kazmi rememberedISLAMABAD: Today marks the 41stdeath anniversary of the legendaryUrdu poet Nasir Kazmi. He was knownfor his melancholy yet inspiring poetry,which was characterised by what somesay “Ehsass-e-Mahroomi” (sense ofdeprivation). Nasir was born onAugust 8, 1925, in Indian province ofHaryana. He migrated to Lahore afterthe partition of subcontinent in 1947.He was a journalist and became chiefeditor of the magazine Hamayun in1952. He also worked with RadioPakistan. His poetry was greatlyinfluenced by the works of Mir Taqi Mirand Akhtar Sherani. He later startedwriting Ghazals under the tutelage ofHafeez Hoshyarpuri, his use of symbolsfrom nature a direct result of this. Healso translated English poetry, notablyWalt Whitman’s “Crossing BrooklynFerry” by the title of “Brooklyn Ghaatke Paar”, which is considered to be amasterpiece. �STAFF REPORT

KARACHI: Firefighters extinguishing fire which erupted in the mobile market in Saddar. �ONLINE

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-InsafChairman Imran Khan on Saturdaymade it clear that his party would notenter into an election alliance either withMuttahidda Qaumi Movement or withGeneral Musharraf 's All PakistanMuslim League.

In a statement issued here, Imran madeit clear that PTI was not ready to makeany type of alliance with any of the twoparties. “After enjoying a government forfive long years, MQM parted ways fromruling party and joined the opposition,”he said. The PTI Chairman expresseddetermination that PTI would get theclear majority in upcoming elections as90% of people want change in thecountry which was also a major cause ofhis party.

Imran said that PTI would clean sweepthe next elections and there may be noneed of making alliance with any party,adding that PTI wants to bring a positivechange in the country whereas otherparties only want to come to power. “Wewill prefer to sit in opposition instead ofmaking alliances with the parties sittingin the governments,” said Imran, addingthat these power hungry parties can doanything to come into power.

He pointed out that just for the sake ofpower, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz(PML_N) went into seat adjustmentformula with banned outfits. “We nevertried to bring electables in PTI and thepeople who have joined the party areconsidered as most fair in the politicalclass as no one can raise fingers towardsthem,” said PTI Chief, adding that andJaved Hashmi and Shah MahmoodQureshi were clean politicians who havegiven numerous sacrifices in theirpolitical careers.

He said that still there were manypoliticians who wanted to leave boththe ruling parties but they were stuckup there just because of some fearsabout their political career. “The PTIhas majority of revolutionary faceswithin its fold and no one can thinkabout those names who have beenelected in our intra party elections,” hesaid. �ONLINE

Alliance withMQM, APMLout of thequestion: Imran

ISLAMABAD: The Higher EducationCommission is once again facing financial crisis,as the Finance Ministry has failed to release thethird quarter amount of the current fiscal yearto the commission.

Sources said that the Finance Ministry had torelease the quarterly amount of Rs 12 billion toHEC for the current fiscal year 2012-13;however, the HEC has not received its dueinstallment. The amount was due in January2013, the sources said, “If the amount is notreleased immediately, the Commission will notbe able to pay the salaries to its employees forthe month of March.”

Earlier, the Senate Standing Committee onFinance had directed the Finance Ministry to

release the due amount of Rs 12 billion to HECtill March 1, 2013, however, the ministry failedto release the payment. Besides, the several vicechancellors of Public sector universities havealso written letters to HEC over paucity offunds. The Vice Chancellors stated that thevarsities are unable to pay the salaries of theiremployees due to unavailability of funds.Moreover, they are taking loans from banks torun the financial affairs of their universities.

The vice chancellors said that if funds were notreleased immediately then the situation mightbecome worse and universities might be closed.

QUETTA: The financial condition of theUniversity of Balochistan has reached at analarming situation due to shortage of funds

from Higher Education Commission. Talking toOnline, the Vice Chancellor of University ofBalochistan Rasool Bux Raisani stated thatmonthly salary of the teachers and otherworking staff of the university is approximately80 million rupees, which is yet to be paid due toscarcity of funds.

He said that the university has around2000 wording staff including the teachers,but the university does not have that muchresources that their salaries can be paid. Theuniversity chancellor said that authorizes inthe federal and provincial level have beencontacted pertaining to the matter, but stillthey are yet to hear any thing positive fromauthorizes.�ONLINE

HEC again faces financialcrunch over non-payment� VCs say universities might shut if funds not released � University of Balochistan at stake


LAHORE: President Zardari has givenapproval of flat rate tariff for agriculturaltube wells. He accorded this approval duringthe high level meeting at Balawal House hereon Saturday in which Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf alongwith Federal MinistersMakhdoom Amin Faheem, Khurshid Shah,Qamar Zaman Kaira, Mian Manzoor AhmedWatto and State Minister Imtiaz SafdarWarrich ware present on the occasion.

Watto drew the attention of the presidenton the protest of peasants in Okara onwhich the president directed the primeminister to implement flat rate tariff ofelectricity for the tube well used for the

agriculture purpose. The meeting alsoapproved the measure to prevent the theftof electricity according to which the meterreader would be liable to get signature of theconsumers on the reading card.

Prime Minister Ashraf took the presidentinto confidence on the letter , which he wroteto opposition leader Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan on formation of interimgovernment and appointments of care takerchief ministers .

The meeting also reviewed the mattersregarding seat adjustment with PML(Q) inupcoming polls. The issues about the futurestrategy on abolishing governor rule in

Baluchistan before interim government andPakistan Iran gas pipeline also came under discussion.

The meeting termed the appointment ofblue eyed officers by Punjab government aspre poll rigging in the province and it wasdecided that the list of such officers would beprovided to Election Commission ofPakistan. It was decided during the meetingthat People’s Party would observe nationalwide celebrations on successful completionof the five year democratic tenure of thegovernment. Special events would beorganized by party though out the country inthis regard. �ONLINE

Zardari nod on flat rate for agricultural tubewells

RAWALPINDI: A comprehensive securityplan has been chalked out amidst reportsof terror threats in sensitive areas of thecity. According to sources, the governmentof Punjab has told Punjab police andDistrict Administration of intelligencereports that some terrorists are planningto target Benazir International Airport,Fatima Jinnah University, Daewoo Busterminal and Pirwadhai General Busterminal in Rawalpindi.

Upon receiving information, theDistrict official and Rawalpindi Policehas ensured security arrangement atgovernment run offices to avoid anyuntoward incident. Meanwhile, theentrance of Media and Police officersvehicles has also been stopped inDistrict Katchery to ensure strictsecurity measures and to avoid anyuncertain condition. �ONLINE

ISLAMABAD: An NGO namedIstanbul Network's head andrenowned Pakistani plasticsurgeon, Dr. Azhar Aslam stressedon the importance of Islamic lawsthat guarantees the individualright to life and freedom of expression.

Addressing a gathering here onSaturday on the second annualconference of Istanbul network forliberty, Dr. Azhar Aslamhighlighted the role of Islamicteachings in promoting justice andtolerance in the society.

In the past, Muslims civilizationwere not only dominated in theintellectual sphere of life but werealso superseded in spreading the

values of free society, includingtolerance, free market economyand the rule of law, he explained.The doctor recalled the gloriousmoments of the Muslimscivilization, when the Muslimsintellectuals encouraged cordialenvironment of debates anddiscussion that solved issuesthrough dialogue.

He said that it was the Muslimsintellectuals who were to be blamedfor the failure of Muslimscivilization but not Islam. “FewMuslims have reacted positively tothe recent twin challenges ofmodernity and Muslim declineworldwide,” Dr. Azhar Aslamlamented. �ONLINE

ISLAMABAD: The Braziliangroup Patubatê gave a workshopfor children with collaboration ofthe NGO Lettuce Bee Kids andMashal Model School, which workwith garbage picker children of Islamabad.

In the hands of the musicians FredMagalhães, Fernando Mazoni,Felipe Fiuza, Pablo Maia and the DJLeandronik, scrap is not junk, it ismusic, since Patubatê uses raw andrecyclable materials to build theirmusical instruments. Innovativesounds and a catching energy areextracted from cans, buckets, largebarrels and even parts ofautomobiles, and children in

Islamabad had the chance to be partin this amazing project.

More than 60 children gottogether in the embassy for amusical gathering. They started byplaying with the colorful barrels thatare used by the band on their shows,the children watched an exclusiveperformance and were called on thestage to play with the musicians.After savoring a delicious lunch, themusicians taught the children howto make music out of scrap thatwere brought by them. Emptybottles, boxes and other kinds ofrecycle materials were used to helpchildren express all their musicalcreativity. �PR

Security plan for Rawalpindi

Istanbul Networkseeks Islamic laws

Scrap is not junk, it is music� Brazilian group gives music-for-kids workshop

NEW DELHI: A delegation of Lahore Press Club including its President Arshad Ansarialong with Pakistan’s High Commissioner Salman Bashir. �PR PHOTO


HYDERABAD: Members of a representative body of fishermen protest to register their anger against environmentaldegradation of River Indus. �ONLINE

MONITORING DESK

WASHINGTON: Advocating againstany reduction in the size of AfghanNational Security Force (ANSF), aresearch paper published by theHeritage Foundation - an influentialUS think-tank – warns that it couldlead to providing al Qaeda and otherterror groups an opportunity tocoming back to Afghanistan.

It recalls that when Russia stoppedfunding Najibullah’s regime in 1992,the Afghan air force was groundeddue to lack of fuel, and Afghan armydesertions increased by 60 percentdue to lack of pay and food shortages.This established the chaoticconditions in Afghanistan that, inpart, helped to bring the Taliban intopower in 1994. NATO should learnthe lessons of Afghanistan’s recent

history and ensure that the ANSF arefully funded and capable.

It suggests that the US should arguethat the ANSF should not be reducedin numbers as currently planned.Moreover, the White House shouldpress international partners tocommit funding for the Afghan forceswell into the future, as success will beachieved in Afghanistan when it isable to manage its own internalsecurity in order to prevent al Qaedaand its allies from re-establishingterrorist bases in the country.

The paper goes on to say that in thecontext of security, NATO’s modestgoal is to raise the Afghan forces to alevel where they can — without thehelp of tens of thousands of NATOtroops — take on the Taliban andprevent international terrorist groupsfrom coming back to Afghanistan.

Currently, the ANSF has 352,000Afghans in uniform. However, undercurrent plans, the ANSF will bereduced to a level of 228,500 by 2017.

“This planned reduction will takeplace during the first two years afterNATO troops end combat operationsin the country and during a periodwhen Afghanistan will be at its mostvulnerable. There are no plans forwhat will happen to the 123,500militarily trained young men whowill need jobs when this reductiontakes place. With Afghanunemployment estimated to be ashigh as 35 percent, the lack ofopportunity for former members ofthe ANSF could draw them into theinsurgency,” the think-tank warns.

According to the HeritageFoundation, the NATO decision toreduce ANSF numbers was based on

financial concerns and not a realisticassessment of Kabul’s security needs.The paper also advocates thatAfghanistan will need financialsupport from the internationalcommunity for the foreseeable future.A major part of the post-2014commitment to Afghanistan will bementoring, training, and funding theANSF. Maintaining the ANSF at areduced level of 228,500 troops willcost the international communityapproximately $4.1 billion per year.To place this sum into perspective,the US spent this amount every 12days in Afghanistan on combatoperations in 2012.

The research rues the fact that theinternational community’s financialcontributions have come up short.Although the US has so far committed$2 billion, other NATO members such

as the UK (the world’s seventh-largesteconomy) and Germany (the world’sfourth-largest economy) havecontributed only $110 million and$200 million, respectively.

As NATO troops start to reducetheir numbers in Afghanistan, theresponsibility of security will be left tothe Afghans themselves. The U.S. andits NATO partners have come too farin Afghanistan to let theirachievements be squandered by anunwillingness to properly fund theANSF after 2015. The paper suggeststhat the US should ensure that theANSF remains at 352,000 for theforeseeable future and the NATOleaders should resist the temptation toreduce the ANSF’s size and capabilitysimply for financial reasons.

Furthermore, the internationalpartners provide their fair share of the

funding for the ANSF. Everyonebenefits from a strong ANSF.However, maintaining a robustAfghan force will not be cheap. TheUS should continue to pressinternational partners to commitadequate funding for the ANSF for theforeseeable future.

It urges the US administration toensure that the ANSF has theequipment and capabilities requiredto fulfil their mission—especiallyhelicopters and counter-improvised-explosive-device capability.

The ANSF are just developing thecapabilities required to carry outautonomous operations. While farfrom being perfect, perfection wasnever NATO’s goal for the ANSF. Thegoal is to raise the forces to a levelwhere the Afghans can provide theirown internal security.

‘Reduced Afghan army a risky business’

TAHIR ALI

PESHAWAR: While the Tehrik-e-TalibanPakistan (TTP) has offered the governmentto hold peace talks, the militant outfit hasalso increased its anti-state activitiescompelling the opponent party to bow totheir ‘demands’.

Reports about TTP-government talksemerged in December last year but aproper offer came last month when themilitant outfit asked three right-wingpolitical parties’ heads to work asguarantors during the peace negotiations.Normally, militants announce ceasefire ifthey go for peace agreement, but the TTPhas adopted a policy of aggressiveness anda surge in violence was witnessed duringthe month of February across KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP) and FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas (FATA).

The militants carried out 47 attacks thatresulted in killing of 94 people whileanother 181 sustained injuries. Out ofthese activities six were suicide attackswhile the remaining explosions wereImprovised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Themilitants have also destroyed 10 schools(seven boys and three girls) during themonth of February.

So far, the militants have asked for ‘serioustalks’ without disclosing a list of theirdemands. According to inside sources inmilitants, TTP will ask for the release oftheir comrades and for a free momentacross the border to fight against the ‘infidelforces’ in Afghanistan; in response they willstop their activities against Pakistanisecurity forces and other governmentinstallations - above they will ensure toremain peaceful during the upcomingelections. The TTP has demanded thereleases of two of their ex-spokespersons,Maulvi Omer and Haji Muslim Khan, andanother four commanders as a goodwillgesture before the start of peace negotiation.So during the peace deal, the demand of therelease of other Taliban might be very high.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik hasrepeatedly stated that the militants will haveto announce ceasefire and to lay down theirarms before any peace initiative. On theother hand, TTP head Hakimullah Mehsudhas made it clear that the militants wouldnever pay heed to ‘non-serious propositions

like asking them to lay down arms beforesitting for talks’.

Last month, the Awami National Party(ANP) convened an All Parties Conference(APC) regarding peace negotiation with theTaliban. The TTP rejected its declarationwhile saying that the ANP has used theplatform to avoid militants’ wrath duringthe upcoming general elections. Keepingtheir aggressive approach on the very nextday of the APC, militants attacked ChiefMinister Amir Haider Khan Hoti inMardan. Luckily he survived theassassination attempt.

On Thursday, another APC meeting wasinvited by Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led(JUI-F) in Islamabad. Although themilitants welcomed the decision of the APCthat backed efforts of grand jirga forpromoting peace in tribal areas but at thesame time Ehsanullah Ehsan in a messageto media said that the militants are not readyfor ceasefire until the peace process is notkicked off. “Ceasefire could be consideredwhen formal talks begin,” he said.

Much to the anger of Pakistanigovernment, Omer Studio of TTP on Fridayreleased a video with the title of Zarb eMomin-3 showing Taliban activities againstPakistani security forces in SouthWaziristan. Pakistan army had carried out amassive operation at South Waziristan in2009 and had declared victory over themilitants. The video a copy of which wasalso sent to The Spokesman shows militantsactivities in the Umarkoot, Makeen, SpeenaMila and Dailay areas of South Waziristanthat according to the government werecleared from the militants three year back.In this video, Hakimullah Mehsud andWaliur Rehman, the head of SouthWaziristan chapter, deliver speeches aboutthe achievements of TTP in SouthWaziristan. The video has also shown thebodies of Pakistani security forces beingdragged by the militants.

Surge in Taliban activities clearlysuggests that the militants are exploitingsituation and making the government tobow to their demands. There might be twothings in Taliban’s mind; first thegovernment wants peaceful elections;second Islamabad will seek Taliban’s rolein Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces.

Taliban offerpeace but withmore violence

ISLAMABAD: The ElectionCommission of Pakistan(ECP) has announced thatMuttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) has nowbeen included in the list ofpolitical parties eligible toapply for getting symbol inthe forthcoming GeneralElections-2013.

The ECP stated onSaturday that the MQMaccording to the provision ofArticle 13 of the PoliticalParties Order, 2002 hadsubmitted a consolidatedstatement of accounts of theparty for the year 2010,which was awaited /pending according to therecord available in the ECP.

“Therefore, the ECP hasincluded name of MQM inthe list of political partieseligible to apply for gettingsymbol in the forthcominggeneral elections-2013, aftersubmission of all theconsolidated statements ofaccounts of the party for theyear 2008 to 2012 (fiveyears).” However, thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) is not yet eligible to getelection symbol.

Earlier on Friday, the ECPannounced that 123 politicalparties are eligible to contestthe general elections, butthat list had included thePTI and the MQM. TheMQM was declaredineligible to contest due tothe party’s failure to submitdetails of assets from 2010.The PTI was declaredineligible over the failure tocomplete party elections.Parties which are eligible tocontest the elections includePPP, PML-N, PML-Q,PML-F, ANP and others.

Former president General(r) Pervez Musharraf ’sAPML and Pakistan AwamiTehreek of Dr Tahir ul Qadriare also included in the listof eligible parties.

It is worth mentioningthat the election process inthe country has generated aheated debate, as somecircles are demanding amore active ECP. Some arealso pressing hard for strictimplementation of Article62 and 63 of theConstitution. But someanalysts say it is a part of theplan to get the pollspostponed and install aninterim setup for two tothree years. �ONLINE

RAWALPINDI: The trial of seven Pakistanis charged withinvolvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks was on Saturdayadjourned for two weeks after prosecutors informed the judge thatthey were awaiting an undertaking from Indian authoritiesregarding the visit of a Pakistani judicial commission. Anti-terrorism court Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman, who isconducting proceedings behind closed doors at Adiala Jail inRawalpindi, put off the case till March 16 after prosecutors failedto submit an undertaking from Indian authorities that thePakistani commission would be allowed to cross-examine four keywitnesses in Mumbai. Chief Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali toldthe court that the Indian government was yet to respond toPakistan's request for a written assurance regarding the cross-examination of witnesses in Mumbai. "We are awaiting the Indiangovernment's response," he said. Defence lawyer Riaz Cheematold a news agency after the proceedings that the ball was now inthe Indian government's court. "It (the Indian government)accuses us of delaying the case but now it is taking too much timeto entertain the Pakistani request," he said. "We don't want torepeat this exercise (of visiting India) if we are not given thestatements of the witnesses and allowed to cross-examine them,"Cheema said. The Pakistani judicial commission's visit to Indiahas already been delayed by several weeks over the issue of theassurance that members of the panel would be allowed to cross-examine the Indian witnesses. The commission is set to make asecond visit to Mumbai to record the statements of four witnessesbecause the anti-terrorism court rejected a report submitted afterits first visit on the ground that the panel was not allowed toconduct any cross-examination. �ONLINE

26/11 trial adjourned as govtawaits Indian undertaking

MQMeligible, PTInot: ECP

�Bank on Islamabad’s desire to seek their role in post-2014Afghanistan, as govt want a peaceful general elections

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry on Saturdaystated that the constitution wastreated as mother of all laws and thecourts in Pakistan were upholders ofrule of law.

He was addressing to a certificateawarding ceremony of a one-weekrefresher course on “Sessions trialand appreciation of evidence” forAdditional District & Session Judgesfrom all over Pakistan, includingAzad Kashmir.

The chief justice congratulated theparticipants of the refresher coursewho have successfully completedthis training. He stated that after acumbersome exercise in trial theefforts of a judge culminate intojudgment and the judgment shouldbe well thought of, analytical, basedon evidence and free fromgrammatical errors. It should betransparent and even persuading forthe loser of the case.

“Criminal justice system in ourjurisdiction is not unitary in nature.Its different components namelyinvestigation agency, prosecution,court and corrections act in acentrifugal manner, all striving toachieve common object. So thejudicial officers administeringcriminal justice are advised toacquaint themselves not only withthe substantive and procedurallaws but also the salutary police

rules and different sciences andmodern techniques of investigationlike forensic, medicine, DNA,finger prints, hand writing, cyberlaws, Prison Rules etc,” the chiefjustice stated.

“The Federal Judicial Academywould very soon be converted into aCenter of Excellence and theAcademy will be upgraded to thestatus of Federal University of Lawand Judicial Administration afterthe completion of construction ofPhase-II. Its charter for approval isunder process with the quartersconcerned. This project, oncompletion, will open new avenuesof education and training for judicialofficers,” the chief justice stated.

He said that the academy shouldperiodically revise its curricula tomeet the needs of changingcircumstances. “One of its majoraims should be faculty developmentfor which train-the-trainers coursesshould be arranged. Instead ofcontinuing conventional methods oflecturing, the faculty should laystress on case study and mentoring,”the chief justice stated. “With theimplementation of the NationalJudicial Policy, the backlog has beencut to a considerably small size. I amproud of my district judiciary, whichis back bone of our judicial system asjustice at a grass root level isprovided by it”, he stated. �ONLINE

Courts upholdersof rule of law: CJP

�US think-tank warns against reducing financial assistance and reducing ANSF in numbers �Reminds about the effects of Russian move to stop funding Najibullah regime

QUETTA: Children in traditional dresses at a ceremony to celebrate the Baloch Culture Day. The day getmore importance given the ongoing nationalists-backed insugency in the province. �ONLINE

OKARA: The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad(farmers’ representative body), aftersuccessful talks with the districtadministration, ended its 17-hour-long sit-in against electricity loadshedding and highbills.

Earlier, the protesters blocked the GT Roadat the Okara Bypass and staged an over 17-hour long sit-in resulting in queues ofvehicles, including ambulances that stretchedfor miles on the surrounding roads, whilemotorists including a large number ofchildren and women were stuck in theensuing traffic jam. The protesters alsoaffected railway traffic as they staged a sit-inon the railway track. They placed a containeron the railway track as a result several trains,including Tezgam, Business Express andJaffar Express, were sent back to Lahorewhile Khyber Mail was returned to Karachi.

Later, a government delegation, led byKhurram Wattoo, held talks with the PFUoffice-bearers and assured them ofacceptance of their demands after whichthe farmers’ union ended their 17-hourlong sit-in.

Khurram Wattoo informed the farmers’body that a notification would be issued onWednesday after approval from the federalcabinet. Speaking on the occasion, thepresident of Pakistan Kissan Ittehad,Chaudhry Anwar said that the farmerswould march towards Islamabad if thenotification was not issued. The protesters,while talking to media, said that they hadinformed Prime Minister Raja PervaizAshraf about the overbilling upon which thePM formed a committee comprising federalministers Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattooand Khursheed Shah to look into the matter.They blamed that the said committee didnothing on the matter. �AGENCIES

Sherpao tofight forPakhtuns rightsPESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP)Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao onSaturday said his party would continuemaking efforts to ensure rights to thePakhtuns irrespective of their politicalaffiliations.

“All the Pakhtuns living in KhyberPakhtunkhwa, FATA, Balochistan and otherparts of the country are equal to us and wewill pull out all stops to remove the growingsense of deprivation among them, he saidwhile talking to a delegation of prominenttribal elders and youth hailing from DarraAdamkhel. The elders announced joiningthe QWP on the occasion. They werepreviously associated with the AwamiNational Party and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Sherpao asked the government to set up atrust to help all the families affected bymilitancy. “The government shouldestablish the trust to provide education andhealth facilities to children of the displacedpeople as they have been going throughtough time and desperately need help,” hemaintained. To the demands of the tribalelders about the provision of health andeducation facilities, he said that the QWP’smanifesto, which would soon be madepublic, also called for the provision of allthe amenities of life to the general publicand they would spare no effort tomaterialize it if voted to power. �ONLINE

‘Pir’ arrestedfor blasphemyARIFWALA: The locals thrashed a fake saint(pir) and his companions on the charges ofburning Quranic verses in the Machee Singharea and handed them over to the police.

As per details, the so-called saint, MureedAhmed and his followers, including NoorAhmed, were accused of blasphemy, as localssaid they had burnt some papers on whichQuranic verses were written. On the otherhand, the accused claimed that they wereworshipping in the fields when the peoplecaught them.

The police have registered a case after takenthe burnt pages into custody and startedprobing the matter. �ONLINE

Farmers endsit-in againstloadshedding

ARIF WALA: In yet another example ofbarbarianism, a husband axed to death hiswife in Chak No 21/EB over a domesticdispute on Saturday and later burnt her body.

According to media reports, MuhammadLatif along with his five friends axed to deathhis wife Rasheed Bibi. He set her body on fireand tried to bury her in graveyard. Thevictim’s father Muhammad Shaban, aresident of 15/EB, informed the police abouthis heinous crime. Police reached the spot

but criminals escaped from the scene. Theyshifted the body to hospital for an autopsy.

It is a shameful reality that the domesticviolence is an ignored issue while all theefforts to bring legislation to control theinhuman practice through state interventionare foiled by the religious and right-wingcircles. On Friday, a mother of three died inhospital after she suffered severe torture byher in-laws. She was a resident of Mirpur,Azad Kashmir. �AGENCIES

Man axes wife to death, burns body


THE SPOKESMANChief Editor: Huma Ali

Executive Editor: Atif MateenResident Editor: Saeed Minhas

Consulting Editors: Jalees Hazir Samina Choonara

Re-imagining the Left

Once considered the signifier of howyou were more than just educated, andactually enlightened, subscribing toLeft-leaning thinking used to be amembership into the cabal of the“radical chic”. The Left was never anyone political party with numericalstrength, but the cultural grid ofPakistani society from the ‘40s up untilthe early ‘80s. To be sure, there weremany factions of Left parties, dividedalong the lines of those who supportedLenin’s theory of a communism arisingfrom State capitalism or imperialism,or Mao Zhedong’s agrarianrevolutionary model, others still whosupported sub-nationalism or believedthe Left was not responsive enough todiscrimination based on caste orgender. But they were all imbricated inthe contestations over what constitutedPakistani culture.

There wasn’t a newspaper with masscirculation that could be conceivedwithout a Left-leaning editor sincethey were the people who understoodthe nervous system of society, nouniversity teacher with a largefollowing of acolytes who was notmade “sexier” by his or her radicalpolitics, and no one who read Urduliterature and poetry and remaineduntouched by the progressive writers.There was no concept of an artist withretrogressive ideas, or even anarchitect, and this was not only true for”high art”.

Even popular cinema of the ‘70s and‘80s, mostly Punjabi films, werescripted and directed by socialists. Thestoryline always comprising a folklorehero - plebian to the point of beingugly, illiterate, loud and brash - whostood up to the power of the landedelite, often going against the law thatsupported the powerful.

It is this ethos that is revived in tworecent books on Pakistan’s Left politics- Taimur Rehman’s The Class Structureof Pakistan and Saadia Toor’s The Stateof Islam, Culture and Cold War Politicsin Pakistan. The books offer detailedand divergent perspectives. In anatmosphere averse to intellectual andacademic discussion, these argumentsopen some old wine in new bottles.

The books are being discussedtogether for two reasons: they cameout roughly around the same time,Toor in 2011 and Rehman in 2012, andfor the fact that the writers belong to

the same generation of academics.Both books are based on doctoraltheses which almost always guaranteea bad read unless an editor takes mercyon us. For Toor, we are blessed withPluto editors but for Rehman we arenot as lucky with Oxford UniversityPress, where the text is littered withdissertation debris, protractedreferences, cross references, badlyreprinted lists of unexplained chartsand graphs, and literature reviews thatleave just two chapters to read in theentire book.

Toor argues for an alternate narrativeto Pakistan as the land of terror andbombs where the space for progressivethinking and politics has beenshrinking. She speaks to theimperialism of assumptions involved inconsidering the state of Pakistan today

as a necessary teleology of a nation-state formed on the limited idea ofreligion.

According to Toor, this is thehistoriography of powerful “Indianist”historians who think the “arroganceand narrow mindedness” of a singleman, Jinnah, is responsible for thisnation-state project. She argues thatwe forget how a Muslim “ethnicnationalism” evolved across Indiabased on being left out of all powerarrangements in the decade before theBritish departed. The nation-stateproject was not on the cards as late as1940 when the Muslim League gave upon the idea of sharing power with theIndian National Congress (INC) insovereign Muslim states within India.This had as much to do with the INCas it did with the League which wasinitially a progressive minded, secularorganisation with Jinnah describing

the party’s economic policy as “Islamicsocialism”. It was Jinnah’s League thatimagined the end of colonialism as anegalitarian future for all.

She argues that project Pakistan was,from its inception, influenced byprogressive politics which is a narrativethat is suppressed by all mainstreamaccounts of history. Much larger thanits organisational strength was thehistorically significant influence theLeft exerted on the cultural politics ofthe emerging nation. She alsodocuments how this influence wassubverted over the years by local elitesand compromised in the Cold War eraby successive regimes, remarking that‘the story of the marginalisation of theLeft is thus a crucial part of the story ofthe Islamisation of Pakistan’.

Later in the book she also reflects on

how in Pakistan as in other Muslimcountries, the rise of Islamists as asocial and political force wasengineered by inducting them intoState institutions and cleansing theironly effective nemesis, the Left. Sheargues that it is not just militancy thatis shrinking the space for progressivepolitics but the nature and internalcontradictions of progressives thatgradually succumbed in the 1980s topressures of the neo-liberal economy.

The best and most searing critiquefrom Toor is of middle class liberalswho believed they constituted the Leftand who were made completelyredundant with the end of the ColdWar. It was these liberals who were thefirst to concede to the philosophy of theWord Bank to bypass largelyineffectual governments byundertaking foreign funded, smallwelfare projects on women, children,

the minorities, health and education.By “projectising” national

development, they capitulated to theabstractions of “universal humanrights” instead of an active engagementwith globalisation and its effects on thelocal economy. She argues that it is theliberal obsession with “Talibanisation”and the relentless discourse on “thesecurity threat” they pose that derailsall political engagement with theconditions of high inflation, underemployment, and food insecurity thatimpoverishes the lives of a majority ofpeople in the country.

Toor makes a case of this fall fromgrace of left-liberals under GeneralMusharaf ’s government and how itaffected feminist organisations whostood up to General Zia but weresupine when it came to Musharafbecause he restored the avenues offoreign funding for their organisations.She sees hope not in the speciousarguments of the neo liberals whorepresent no one but their own classinterests , but in the working classmovements of peasants, power-loomworkers, ship-breakers associations,fisher folk, unofficial trade unions ingovernment departments liketelecommunications, the steel mills,and the paramedics. Because, saysToor, ‘…unlike the religious extremistsor the liberal elite, they represent thehopes and aspirations of the vastmajority of Pakistanis…’ and ‘it isthrough their struggles that it(Pakistan) has any hope of survivingand triumphing over the storms thatthreaten to engulf it.’

The flaw if any in Toor’s book is thatit is rehearses the cultural history ofPakistan - albeit with a different bent -which makes it address the politicalWest, but the book may do very well asprescribed historical text in Pakistaniacademia for younger generations ofPakistanis growing up without thenecessary staple of hope.

(Part II, Was Marx an Orientalist?A review of Taimur Rehman’s TheClass Structure in Pakistan, will bepublished tomorrow)

THE WRITER IS CONSULTING

EDITOR AT THE SPOKESMAN

Block 11, G-6/1, Aabpara, IslamabadTelephone: 051 260 7153-4

Fax: 051 260 [email protected]

SAMINA CHOONARA With election round the corner and Left parties aligning to contest them forthe first time in this country’s history, it may be relevant to open the debateon what the Left references in Pakistan and discuss new formulations

The current national assembly of Pakistan passed more than oneresolution during its tenure to bring peace to the FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP),emphasising the need for talks with the militants instead of usingforce against them. As a follow up, the government had brokeredseveral truces with various militant factions to pacify them, but to noavail. None of the religious or political parties deemed it appropriateto launch the peace offensive on those occasions the way they havedone it now. There is a perception that they have become active onthe behest of the US and the West, who are now talking peace forensuring a safe exit of NATO forces from Afghanistan. MaulanaFazlur Rehman was upbeat when he said that even the US andEuropean ambassadors had taken great interest in the success of thelatest All Parties Conference (APC) convened by his party. Hisbriefings to the ambassadors lend credence to the above perception.

Despite the fact that Pakistan is an ally in the “war on terror”, therole of its western allies occupying Afghanistan has beeninexplicable. Fugitive Pakistani militants, including Fazlullah, arecomfortably nestled in sanctuaries in Afghanistan’s Kunar andNuristan provinces, from where they have been launchingmurderous attacks on Pakistan border posts and civilians inbordering villages, with more than a little help from our friendsand allies. More than once, they beheaded captured Pakistanisoldiers and put the footage of their heads on worldwide display.The religious parties and some political parties neither condemnedthe Fazlullah thugs nor TTP militants when they destroyedschools, mosques, shrines and barber shops, causing death anddestruction and maiming innocent citizens.

In November 2012, the KP Minister for Information and PublicRelations, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said that ‘his party wouldcontinue the fight against terrorism’. Without giving any reason forits change of heart, on 14 February 2013, his Awami National Party(ANP) held an APC to push for peace talks with the same terroristsit had been vowing to fight till death. However, the TTP rejected theoffer put forward by ANP’s APC. Hakimullah Mehsud’s TTP hasnow welcomed the Maulana’s APC though. It is a bit odd that whensecurity forces have dismantled the infrastructure of the militantsand they are on the run, the religious right and political parties arebreathing life into them and once again providing them theopportunity to regroup. Inspired by the efforts of Maulana FazlurRehman, KP Governor Shaukatullah said on Friday that his officewould serve as the coordination office of a tribal jirga to facilitatenegotiations between the government and the TTP.

According to reports, the security establishment considers theTTP and LeJ as al-Qaeda linked extremists, and believes thataccepting their demands would amount to admitting the defeat ofthe State. Those pushing for peace with terrorists need to begintheir declarations with the primacy of the constitution of Pakistanand the writ of the state rather than their readiness to talk to thosewho flout both with impunity.

Respect our constitution

In Pakistan, as in other Muslim countries, the rise of Islamists as asocial and political force was engineered by inducting them intoState institutions and cleansing their only effective nemesis, the Left

The Leader of the Opposition in theNational Assembly, Chaudhary Nisar AliKhan, said last week that allparliamentarians pay tax since it isdeducted from their salaries. He wasresponding to an ongoing debate on theissue of the taxpaying behaviour of variousparliamentarians and politicians. It seemsthat the issue of tax, though much debated,is little understood in terms of its purposeand importance. At the same time manyinternational reports say that Pakistan hasthe lowest tax-to-GDP ratio in the worldShouldn’t we be looking for a correlationbetween not understanding the concept oftax and not paying it?

Unfortunately, we don’t have a habit ofreflecting on such things. Rather, we startbuying whatever is offered - particularly if itis packaged in some fancy jargon andreflects poorly on us as a nation. Conversely,there are plenty of reports which reveal thatthe people of Pakistan pay much in charityand donations. Can we find a correlationbetween understanding the importance of

charity and paying it, too? But we’d ratherfollow reports which are negative and saysomething in global terms: Tax to GDPratio, etc. The point is not to diminish theimportance of tax but quite the contrary.

We have been witnessing an unendingblame game for decades when it comes tothis issue, but without any results. Theproblem lies in the fact that most of thedebate and discussion often revolves aroundvery legal and technical terms withouttouching the real questions: why tax is, orshould be, imposed in the first place. Wehave a tendency of taking things forgranted. It goes without question thatPakistan cannot afford to remain a low tax-paying country, but the issue is whetherpeople have been given enough awarenessabout such an important matter at all? Asksomeone on the street why they should paytax and just hear what they have to say.

No one is questioning why thegovernment should be paid out of people’spockets. The issue of tax is not as simpleand straightforward as we tend to assume.Similarly, it could be considered the mostimportant aspect of any modern state but it

is not understood in real terms. Thepurpose of this article is, in fact, to generatea purposeful debate for understanding theconcept of tax in any modern state and tooutline the various relations andcorrelations deemed necessary in theconcept of tax.

Frankly speaking, many people are not infavour of paying tax and when asked aboutthe concept of tax, most people consider it asort of burden. So quite understandablythey try to avoid it by any means. This is theissue with the common understanding. Theother issue is that of trust or rather mistrustwhen it comes to the governments ingeneral and on tax departments inparticular. We should not forget that incountries with high Tax to GDP ratio, thelevel of trust in governments is also muchhigher in general. So in this situation, it isevident that when the variable of trust is inplay, the taxpaying attitude canautomatically follow. However, these issuesare generally ignored here when it comes tothe issue of tax and trust, and instead it isassumed that people should pay taxregardless of the circumstances or

conditions. On the issue of relations and correlations

in the tax debate, famous American-IndianJournalist, Fareed Zakria, in his bookFuture of Freedom, outlines how theavailability of easy money to governments interms of foreign aid etc. results in asituation where taxation is mostly avoided.He writes: ‘Easy money means agovernment doesn’t need to tax its citizens.When a government taxes its people it hasto provide benefits in returns, beginningwith services, accountability, and goodgovernance but ending up with liberty andrepresentation’. When we see the situationin light of this observation, we find thatthough much is said by the government onthe issue of tax, it seems that the realintention of the government is not towardserious implementation of revenuecollection because it would mean a higherlevel of accountability, which has not been apriority area of the regimes in this country.

In the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith putforth that every tax is, to the person whopays it, a badge, not of slavery, but of liberty.While saying so, he was referring to an

important point in the whole tax debate,that by paying tax a citizen actually secureshis liberty. The tax question is in fact animportant question in the overall debate fora modern democratic state. While it is truethat with the help of such continuousdebates and discussions, the West was ableto instill such concepts with much clarity inthe minds of its citizens, there have been nosuch efforts on our side of the world. In factwe started borrowing many concepts,categories, including tax, without realisingour own socio-cultural behaviors andpatterns of governance. We assumed thatwith the passage of time, people wouldautomatically become accustomed to suchconcepts. But, of course, this didn’t happen.Our attitude of indifference toward ourground realities actually cost us a great deal.Now the concepts of the State, governmentand even democracy are facing a threatbecause we did not prepare our people forthese things and instead relied more onwrong and misconceived assumptions.

THE WRITER IS A DEVELOPMENT

CONSULTANT BASED IN ISLAMABAD

Tax is the badge of liberty

Nightmares of Malik Riaz-VI

It looks like that East India Companyhas landed in Pakistan for resultswhich can be imagined. I will not besurprised that a private army is raisedto defend similar to private Army ofEast India Company. It is easy to

recruit retired army Jawans, somemembers of outlawed outfits. BT canpay them handsome salaries whichour government can't afford. Patrioticpersons should start fearing such ascenario. MR should have paid decentprices to petty land owners whoselands have been grabbed rather thanpublicity about funds for floods, freeKitchens and payment to politiciansand Somali pirates.

MAHMOOD

[email protected]

Malik Riaz-the myth of benevolence -VIIBetter come to Lahore and visit'Bahria Dastarkhawan. Did any bigempires dare to offer free meal? Hegot this name starting from being awhitewash man. So everyone can raisefingers on him, but they need to lookat themselves in the mirror as well.

IMRAN

[email protected]

I wish such people are caught andgiven exemplary sentences so that a

benchmark is set for rest of the society

[email protected]

Zoom in, zoom out

Do not trust the sold out Media

TARIQ AFZAL DURRANI

[email protected]

Pakistani people are by and largedishonest to themselves, their friends,and any contact they come across.They deserve what they do.

S.M.KHALID

[email protected]

Amazing filmIt is not that big a surprise thatHrithik Roshan and other stars arepraising the film Kai Po Che. The filmthat revolves around passion forcricket and is in the backdrop ofGujrat’s Godhra riots, is not only aboutthree friends’ virtues and their passionabout their aims.

It is also a sweltering critique of the

filthy politics, revenge andcommunalism. Director AbhishekKapoor has done a wonderful jobthrough his direction and an amazingstar cast that has Sushant SinghRajput, Rajkumar Yadav and AmitSadh. The 3 actors may not be as wellknown as Abhishek Bachchan orHrithink Roshan, but their histrionicdexterity is truly amazing. Particularlythat of Rajput, whose character is anenthusiastic youth who vehementlybelieves that humanity is well overreligious barriers.

IPSITA TRIPATHI

Waziristan challengeMalala Yusufzai was the victim of anattack by the Taliban of Fazlullah group.This resulted in pressure on Pakistan togo for operations in North Waziristan.But this is a concerning matter;operations are performed to bring relief.Any operation should be performedafter mustering proper intelligence,with proper assistance of locals, keepingtribal traditions in mind. There has tobe a mechanism that ensures timelyreplacement by a pro-active civil

dispensation as and when the armyleaves the area. Army is managing theaffairs of the civilians as the governmentis not able to take charge. Theadministrations can’t move without theescort of the army. This never happenedeven in the worst operations during thetime of the British.

Army’s challenges are doubled sincea massive number of troops on theeastern front have moved to thewestern border, thus leaving thedefending against India anunbalanced task. The situation hasbeen exploited by neighbouringcountries and an invisible foreignhand seems to be working behindfuelling insurgency in the troubledareas of FATA as well as Balochistan.Vacation of posts by NATO-ISAFforces on the other side of the borderleaves the Durand Line vulnerablefor Pakistan. This indicates towardsthe plot to keep Pakistan Armyengaged on the western borders, sothat continued engagement weakensthe armed forces from within. HencePakistan has more at stake thanwhat appears at the face value. Thehuman side has never been givenpriority. People of FATA are fed up

with terrorism.

SHAHBAZ THUTTAL

PTI electionsPTI conducting elections in the partyis work commending, but the ensuingcircus is not. I mean granted that thefact that the party is holding interpartyelections is something that must bepraised, but surely when such bizarrescenes are being witnessed one wouldhave to question them. It’s like thecurrent ruling party’s claim that they arethe first democratically electedgovernment to complete their 5-yeartenure in the 65-year history ofPakistan. That fact is worthcommending as well, but what we needto also factor in is that, what exactly hasbeen achieved in that tenure. Just“rewriting history” isn’t enough, what isbeing rewritten is more important.

WALI

LAHORE

Please email your letters [email protected] or postthem to our address in Islamabad.

EDITOR’SMAIL BOX

Feedback from the web

EHSAN KAZI

The tax question is an important question in the overall debate for a modern democratic state. While it is true that withthe help of continuous debates and discussions, the West was able to instill such concepts with much clarity in the mindsof its citizens, there have been no similar efforts on our side of the world


Literary festivals have becomeanother “in thing”, especially in ourtwo metropolitan cities of Karachiand Lahore. These festivals providespaces where the elite meet andindulge in “gup shup”. This was myfirst impression when I went to theKarachi Literary Festival. I’d gonethere only for Kenize Murad, thefamous novelist who is thegranddaughter of the Wali ofOwadh, a former princely state inBritish India.

In the Karachi Literary Festival,when I heard Nadim Aslam’s story ofliterary taste development, I wasreminded about my owndevelopment of taste in literature.We all know that reading books wasa firmly rooted tradition in oursociety before and after the partitionof India, with libraries being acommon phenomenon in everytown. These libraries were greatpromoters of the tradition of readingin the subcontinent.

I started to read stories of UmroAyyar, hundreds of Arabian nights,the story of Tarzan, and other fairytales. There was only one privatelibrary in the city where I was born,called Qureshi library. ZahidQureshi was the owner of thatlibrary. He has a very interestingpersonality. I used to go to hislibrary regularly. The library wasinside a small shop and a bigportrait of Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto wasfixed on the wall. Zahid Qureshi hadjoined PPP in 1967 at the residenceof Dr Mubashir Hassan in Lahore.

I was in my teens when I startedvisiting that library. One day, I sawpolicemen carrying away some booksand Zahid Qureshi being arrestedoutside the library. Later, I was toldthat Zahid Qureshi had arranged a“Quran khawani” for Bhutto, to payhim a tribute on his first anniversary.How could Zia’s police bear that?

In those days, showing anyaffection for Bhutto was banned andwas considered a crime by theauthorities. After some days, ZahidQureshi returned and his passion forBhutto had increased. One dayZahid Qureashi said to me, ‘Youshould read this book’ and hehanded over a copy of Zinda Bhutto,Murda Bhutto written by late SattarTahir. This book transformed mecompletely. After that, he suggestedanother book, Third World Unity,Myth or Reality, written by ZulfiqarAli Bhutto and I read that as well.

There were many classical books ofUrdu fiction in that library includingshort stories (of Prem Chand, SadatHussain Minto, Krishan Chandar,Asmat Chughtai and others), novels(written by Quratulain Haider andAbdullah Hussein), andtranslations of Russian, British andAmerican fiction. I read them all. Iremember that Qureshiencouraged not only me but othersas well who visited his library.

Zahid Qureshi is now an old man(he was disabled due to polio that hehad since his childhood) but is stillrunning his library. And I believe hehas created a taste of literatureamong hundreds of men and women

in my city without the cooperation ofany government institute or anyother agency. He indirectlypromoted a secular, liberal andenlightened culture among the lowermiddle class and among the poor aswell, those who cannot afford to buyexpensive books.

In the literary festivals in Karachiand Lahore neither such librariansnor those who visit their librarieswere called. There was my highschool teacher, Saeed Sahib, whobelonged to Jamat-e-Islami. Healways used to distribute booksamong students and insisted uponmaking it a habit to read somethingdaily. My Math teacher also played avery important role in developingthe taste of reading and writingamong his students. There weremany people in our society, in theschool, college, university andworkplace, following the left or rightideology, and all these people tried todevelop a taste of reading ofliterature, history and other socialsciences amongst the people. Theywere actually mentors. Now suchmentors are gradually vanishing.

Our mainstream media and thenewly born electronic media are notfocusing on such mentors. Theirmain focus is on some writers whowrite in English and have an elitebackground or those publishinghouses which publish the work of theelite class only. Our lower middleclass and the poor do not have theresources to purchase bookspublished by such publishing houses.Libraries which provide world classliterature on cheap rent are nowvanishing.

Nobody in these literary festivalsdared to address this issue. Thesedays in my city there are two privatelibraries run by two such personswho have a passion for books and donot get any profit from this business.They are the main source ofproviding books for lower middleclass and poor people. Thegovernment-run libraries are in apathetic state. There was aMunicipal Committee library whichwas converted into the office ofDeputy Tehseel Nazim in the firsttenure of local government. Theother is Jinnah Public Library wherewe do not find any book worthreading and to get membership ofthat library is also very difficult.

Nowadays, in the lower middleclass and among the poor, religiousliterature or such fiction is popularwhich are being provided cheaply insome libraries established byreligious groups. In my town, in theless-privileged segments of thepopulation, only those writers arepopular who weave stories that havea mystic-religious mixture.

In ‘80s and ‘90s, writers and poetsof Saraiki, Sindhi, Pushtu, Punjabi,Balti and Hindko had filled somevacuum and inspired many youngmen and women who are now activein social fields with a progressivethinking and have some connectionwith the less-privileged sections ofour society. I did not see those poetsand writers of Saraiki, Punjabi,Sindhi, Pushtu, Balochi and Baltiwho are very popular among thepeasants and the working class, atthe festivals. We need to focus onwriters and poets who are addressingthe downtrodden.

THE WRITER IS A FREELANCER

Elitist festivals

When Pat Robertson speaks, people listen.Sometimes they laugh. And sometimes they

cringe. Whatever you think of him, Robertson

stands alone as Evangelical America’s mostreliable quote machine.

As the godfather of the Christian Coalition,he also stands atop a pyramid of Protestantpower. He’s the highest priest of the politicalwing of the Evangelical movement over the lastthree decades.

But his “God will punish America” shtick isgetting old.

And so is Pat.Maybe that’s why he’s been saying some truly

crazy things lately.On November 27, 2012, Pat Robertson told

his legion of loyal viewers that radiocarbondating proves conclusively that dinosaurs werenot on Noah’s Ark. In fact, Brother Pat said thedinosaurs lived on the earth “before the time ofthe Bible.”

Yes. You read that correctly. Pat Robertsonacknowledged a “time before the Bible.”

But he wasn’t done. He said the earth is not6,000 years old and, even more shocking, thatChristians should not “cover it up.”

Then Robertson went in for the kill: “If youfight science, you’re going to lose your children,and I believe in telling it the way it was.”

It’s okay. Don’t fret. Mr. 700 Club wasn’t on

the verge of admitting to a long-standing man-crush on Richard Dawkins, thus flipping theuniverse into some Bizarro reality, or finallytearing asunder the fabric of space and time.Just a couple weeks prior to his creationismapostasy, he did rail against “miserableAtheists” and their nefarious plot to “stealChristmas” and purloin the “happiness” itbrings to believers.

Now that’s the Pat we all knowand…well…not “love,” but that’s the Pat we dorely upon to keep the order of the universeintact and keep us informed about the mind(such as it is) of the Religious Right.

But that mind is changing. Sort of.His latest, greatest hit came on February 25,

2013. Responding to a viewer’s question aboutthe best way to cleanse troublesome “demonicspirits” from secondhand sweaters, Robertsonruminated on the power of prayer as a stainstick and explained how evil spirits can anddo attach themselves to material items. Herecalled the story of a bewitched ring in thePhilippines and warned of the spiritualdanger lurking in undue emotionalattachments to demonic material possessions.As to all those secondhand sweaters from

Goodwill, Robertson said: “It isn’t going tohurt you any to rebuke any spirits that attachthemselves to those clothes.”

Is this just another kooky superstition?Or is Reverend Robertson finally coming

closer to Jesus?You know…the other Jesus.Not the money-making venture capitalist

and “job creator” of American mythology. No,Brother Pat might be hearing the gentlewhispers of the Biblical Jesus…of the Gospels,of the Book of Matthew and theBeatitudesand the Sermons on the Mount andthe Plain.

Because that Jesus did believe materialpossessions—and an obscene, worldlyattachment to them—were evil. According tothat Jesus, the wealthy and powerful mightinherit trust funds, but the meek shall inheritthe earth. That Jesus wanted the money-changers out of the temple, full-stop. He evendeclared that a camel has a far better chanceof slipping through the eye of a needle thanrich man has of getting into Heaven.

In fact, apostles of the Biblical Jesus warnedthat love of money is the root of all evil. Theypreached detachment from the flesh and

worldly possessions and many of ‘empracticed it. Perhaps that’s why Jesus and hisardent followers were big on secondhandclothing—sack-cloth, to be precise.

So, technically-speaking, Robertson’s right.Demons can and do “attach themselves” tomaterial goods—in de facto labor camps aroundAsia, in a network of sweatshops around LatinAmerica and wherever labor and resources areexploited for the high profit margins offashionistas living in NY, Paris and Milan.

The all-too-real demons of wage slavery,child labor and life-endangering workingconditions plague the clothing business—bothat the high and low ends. Many of those “in”and “hip” shirts we put on our backs comedirectly “off the backs” of the meek workerswho made ‘em in deplorable conditions.

And proof of hell exists right here onearth—in Bangladesh. That’s where aninferno of flames engulfed a factory where thepoor paid for the sins of Disney, Sears, Wal-Mart and the voracious American consumerswho feast on an endless banquet of cheapstuff.

If he really wants to come to Jesus,Reverend Robertson should concern himself

with rebuking all those firsthand sweatersfrom sweatshops, all those pants made bycheap child workers and all those other labor-intensive products that feed the beast ofAmerican consumerism.

Like Jesus before him, the good reverendcould make the ultimate fashion statementand appear on the 700 Club in the latest insack-cloth—a style revived throughoutChristian history. Hey, the Franciscans werereally just “going retro.”

For a reverend who has lived a rich man’slife. A professed Christian who has lordedover diamond and gold mines, pressed theflesh of the powerful and positioned himselfas a kingmaker in the worldliest of realms,rebuking the demon of possessions could do alot to help bring him closer to Jesus, and tobring Jesus closer to his self-proclaimedfollowers.

Embracing the reality of science andrebuking undue attachment to possessions is agood start. Let us pray that ReverendRobertson continues to see the light as heapproaches the end of his tunnel.

(COUNTERPUNCH)

If you missed all the kerfuffle over theOscar Awards this week you wereeither in a coma or orbiting somewherein space. One of the very fewdrawbacks of 24 hour news channels,which seemed like a revolution at parwith the moon-landing to those of uswho are old enough to remember lifebefore they started, is that you riskexposure to all sorts of unsavoury factsabout the world that you may havewished to avoid.

I am not referring to the harshrealities of our world as unsavoury,though they may not be very cheerful.What makes me gnash my teeth is therelentless stream of informationemanating from a pervasive celebrityculture. It defies logic why aspects oflife that are so remote from andirrelevant to ordinary people’s livescommand such a dominant place inthe imagination of the media and itsinsatiable audience. I know a little bitof psychology, not a great deal, butenough to understand how aspirationsand fantasies of the unreachable canmake mundane lives more bearableand interesting. It partially explainswhy mainstream news channels inBritain feel compelled to cover eventslike the Oscars or royal weddings todeath, analysing every detail, fromevery conceivable angle, at everypossible opportunity.

From reporters rubbing shoulderswith adoring crowds hoping to catch afleeting glimpse of the rich andfamous, to fashionably preenednewsmen mingling with the sameluminous beings in private gatherings,there isn’t a single fragment of the livesof celebrities that has escaped publicconsumption. It matters not that someof us may suffer from migraines and beprone to nausea particularly whenassaulted with images of the world’smost shallow creatures floating onclouds of delusion and grandeur. It isalmost as though these glitteringspecimens of perfect human evolutioninhabit another planet. Given that only

the smallest fraction of the world’spopulation has access to events like theOscars, it may as well as be happeningon the moon.

I wouldn’t blame you for suspectingthe hand of the green-eyed monster inmy slightly random diatribe againstwhat most people deem to be a veryentertaining spectacle. Judging by themillions that are spent on the publicityand organisation of the Oscarsceremony, the billions earned inbroadcasting and advertising revenue,I would seem to be in a very smallminority of disgruntled critics. I amoften called a killjoy and told to lightenup a bit. After all what harm does it do,it’s just a bit of fun in an otherwiseruthless and dismal world. It’s not sobad for the economy or tourism either.

So why do I break out in a cold sweatjust thinking about these fabulouslyaffluent and glittering people paradingflawlessly across our TV screens? Oneclue lies in a recent report by Oxfamwhich revealed that the 100 richestbillionaires on the planet have themeans to relieve ‘extreme’ worldpoverty four times over. This newsstory nearly jolted me out of my chairas I took in the very real prospect ofworld poverty being eliminated if a fewfortunate people shared just onequarter of their wealth. According toOxfam the $240bn (£150bn) netincome amassed in 2012 by thesebillionaires is enough to alleviatedeprivation for the world’s poorest.That is just one year’s earnings. Thereport also highlighted that in thepast two decades, the richest 1% haveincreased their incomes by 60% atthe cost of wages and jobs for thepoorest who are sliding even deeperinto what is now called an‘underclass’. They are so poor theydon’t even figure on the scale used tomeasure the relations between the topand bottom earners in society.

These statistics don’t come as acomplete surprise since the growingdisparity between the global rich andpoor has been an increasing source ofconcern for those who are less likely to

benefit from the growingaccumulation of wealth in fewerhands. However, reports such as thisrarely do more than provide fodder forconversation at the dinner tables ofthose who have a slightly larger thanaverage conscience. No doubt someare even moved to go so far as todonate a few pounds to Oxfam. IndeedBritain is one of the top 8 mostcharitable nations in the world. Not allbillionaires are tax-dodging, heartlessmonsters who are immune to theplight of the poor either. Recently,Richard Branson offered half hisfortune to a billionaire charityorganisation set up by Bill Gates calledThe Giving Pledge. It is verycommendable that these super-richpeople are willing to share a part oftheir good fortune with others and I’msure I wouldn’t mind so much if theyheld an award ceremony to give prizesto each other. But they don’t andinstead we get awards ceremonycelebrating the fact that some peopleare born beautiful and have thefinances to further enhance theirnatural assets.

According to the HollywoodReporter, the Oscars extravaganza cost$38.3 million in 2012, of which $1mwas spent on the main set, $1m on achandelier, $87,000 on champagne,$34,000 on chocolate truffles. I havedeliberately highlighted what seem tome the costs that are hardest tocomprehend when you contrast themwith Oxfam’s claim that one in eightpeople in the world go to bed hungryat night. One of the reasons why suchdisparity can go on existing in a world,which has more than enoughresources to eliminate it, is related tothe way in which poverty is conceivedin Western societies. Ruth Lister callsthis the “othering of poverty”, which isthe way in which the affluent treat thepoor as if they were “others” thuscreating a distance which makes itharder to relate to their suffering.Charity groups working to support thepoor in Britain call it “povertyism”.

Another concept that is relevant is

the “stigma” attached to being poor,particularly in capitalist societieswhere success is often measured inmonetary terms. The stigmatisation ofthe poor has intensified in the past fewdecades with the rise of the underclasswhich has put greater financialpressure on states. The publicdiscourse around poverty has shiftedfrom notions of responsibility forprotecting the vulnerable tosafeguarding hard-working citizenswhose interests are being threatenedby swathes of lazy, unemployedpeople who scrounge social benefits.This makes it easier to argue that therich are perfectly entitled to flaunttheir hard-earned wealth in the faceof the deprivation of others becausethe poor are to blame for theirmisfortune. Putting aside for nowthe realities of the causes of povertyand its relationship to the inevitablevicissitudes of capitalism, theattitude I am talking about is evidentin the way in which the poor areshunned or vilified in Britain withderogatory terms like “chavs” and“hoodies” meaning pretty much“scum of the earth”.

Doing away with the Oscars, royalweddings or any other ostentatiouspublic displays of wealth and privilegewon’t change the status of poverty inthe world. These are simply symptomsor, some may say, the outcomes of theunderlying economic inequalities thatcapitalism generates. However, thesecelebrations contribute to thelegitimacy and reproduction of thoseinequalities by making celebrityculture the new “opium” of the masses.Every time they flash up on my screen,I can’t help thinking that the designerdresses and shoes that the actressesstrut about in, or the $25,000 redcarpet they tread on, could save thelives of thousands of starving childrenin Pakistan and India. If that makesme a killjoy what does it make them?

THE WRITER IS A DOCTORAL

RESEARCHER IN SOCIOLOGY BASED AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM

Affluent beauty and the beast of poverty

ANISA MUSTAFA

AAMIR HUSSAINI

Doing away with the Oscars, royal weddings or other ostentatious displays won’t change poverty. However, these celebrations contribute to the legitimacy and reproduction of inequalities by making celebrity culture the new “opium” of the masses

The main focus of these literary festivals ison writers who write in English and have anelite background or those publishing houseswhich publish the work of the elite class only

For a reverend who has lived a rich man’s life. A professed Christian who has lorded over diamond and gold mines, pressed the flesh of the powerful and positioned himself as a kingmaker in the worldliest of realms, rebuking the demon of possessions could do a lot to help bring him closer to Jesus, and to bring Jesus closer to his self-proclaimed followers

Did Pat Robertson finally come to Jesus?JP SOTTILE


ʻChavez again receivingchemotherapyʼCARACAS: Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chavez has been receivingchemotherapy since recovering from asevere respiratory infection in mid-January and “continues his battle forlife,” his vice-president said late Friday.Vice-President Nicolas Madurosuggested the chemotherapy wascontinuing in the government’s firstmention of it as among treatmentsthat Venezuela’s cancer-strickenpresident has received since his Dec.11 cancer surgery in Cuba. –AGENCIES

Posters promoting Africanpope appear in RomeROME: Cardinal Peter Turkson ofGhana is not "running" for pope buthe clearly has supporters who thinkenough of him that they haveplastered posters with his picturearound Rome. "Vote Peter KodwoAppiah Turkson at the conclave!," waswritten in bold on posters above aphotograph of the cardinal, afavourite among bookmakers tosucceed Benedict, who on Thursdaybecame the first pope in six centuriesto resign. –AGENCIES

Moscow skeptical aboutUS autopsy of Russian boyMOSCOW: Russia voiced strongskepticism Saturday about the U.S.autopsy on a 3-year-old adoptedRussian boy in Texas and demandedfurther investigation as thousandsrallied in Moscow to support theKremlin ban on U.S. adoptions ofRussian children. Max Shatto'sdeath in January, ruled accidental,came a month after Moscow passeda ban on international adoptions inretaliation for a new US lawtargeting alleged Russian humanrights violators. –AGENCIES

2 Afghan boys killed onmistaken identity: NATOKABUL: NATO forces accidentallyshot dead two boys during anoperation in Afghanistan's south, thealliance said on Saturday, in the latestin a series of incidents involvingallegations of civilian deaths at thehands of international troops. Theshooting in the southern province ofUruzgan could further strain therelationship between the NATO-ledInternational Assistance Force (ISAF)and Afghan President Hamid Karzai,who has demanded US Special Forcesleave another province overallegations of torture. –AGENCIES

BD students held for murderof anti-Islam bloggerDHAKA: Bangladesh police arrestedfive students of an elite privateuniversity on Saturday on charges ofmurdering an anti-Islamist bloggerwhose death triggered nationwideturmoil. The students allegedlyconfessed to hacking to deathAhmed Rajib Haider, 35, onFebruary 15 after he helped organiseprotests against leaders of the JI ontrial for war crimes, police said.“They targeted him because of hisallegedly blasphemous writingsagainst Islam,” Dhaka police deputycommissioner Masudur Rahmantold AFP. –AGENCIES

TONY CARTALUCCI

THE US State Department,and to a greater extent,US foreign policy itself,having exhaustedcompletely their collective

credibility, has attempted yet another“reset.” By bringing in John Kerry topose as the next US Secretary of State,it is hoped global opinion will see USforeign policy in a new, more tolerantlight. Kerry, however, has wasted notime attempting to simply resellverbatim the same failed, absurd policyUS Secretary of State Hillary Clintondestroyed her career peddling,spinning, and covering up - as finalizedin the case of Benghazi, Libya.

The Washington Post’s piece, “U.S.announces expanded battlefield aid toSyrian rebels, but not arms,” rehashesthe same tired, patently false narrativethat has been used throughout theduration of the US-fueled Syrianconflict. The Washington Post reports:“The Obama administration willprovide food and medicine to Syrianrebel fighters, Secretary of State JohnF. Kerry said Thursday, announcing acautious U.S. foray into front-linebattlefield support that falls far short ofthe heavy weapons or high-tech gearthe rebels seek. The stakes are really

high, and we can’t risk letting thiscountry - in the heart of the MiddleEast - be destroyed by vicious autocratsor hijacked by the extremists,” Kerrysaid following discussions among agroup of Western and Arab nationsthat are funding, and in some casesarming, the fighters.

The United States will, for the firsttime, send supplies through the rebels’central military headquarters, withU.S. advisers supervising thedistribution of food rations andmedical supplies, U.S. officials said.The shift is intended to give the U.S.-backed Syrian Opposition Coalitiongreater say over the aid, but it is also atest of the rebels’ ability to keepdonated supplies out of the hands ofextremists in their midst.”

The Washington Post report is averified lie. US assistance, cash,weapons, and covert military supporthad been ongoing in Syria since 2007 -in other words - before the currentconflict even began. And the US hasbeen providing this support not formoderates, but specifically andintentionally for the ideologicalfoundation of al-Qaeda itself, thesectarian extremist MuslimBrotherhood, since the Bushadministration.

Outright admissions by

administration officials, Saudi andLebanese officials working in tandemwith the US, and US intelligenceagents have outlined a criminalconspiracy that has now transcendedtwo presidencies and provided theclearest example yet of the corporate-financier driven “continuity of agenda”that truly guides Western foreignpolicy. This criminal conspiracy hasalso incurred a staggering list ofegregious crimes against humanity,crimes we are reminded of daily by thevery interests responsible for them,including the 70,000 alleged dead inthe Syrian conflict so far.

Secretary Kerry’s “desire” to keepweapons out of the hands of extremistsis willfully disingenuous misdirection.It has been extremists the US has been,on record, purposefully propping up inSyria years before the conflict evenbegan in 2011.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalistSeymour Hersh, in his 2007 NewYorker report titled, “The Redirection:Is the Administration’s new policybenefitting our enemies in the war onterrorism?” stated explicitly that: “Toundermine Iran, which ispredominantly Shiite, the BushAdministration has decided, in effect, toreconfigure its priorities in the MiddleEast. In Lebanon, the Administration

has cooperated with Saudi Arabia’sgovernment, which is Sunni, inclandestine operations that are intendedto weaken Hezbollah, the Shiiteorganization that is backed by Iran. TheU.S. has also taken part in clandestineoperations aimed at Iran and its allySyria. A by-product of these activitieshas been the bolstering of Sunniextremist groups that espouse a militantvision of Islam and are hostile toAmerica and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.”

Hersh’s report would also include:“the Saudi government, withWashington’s approval, would providefunds and logistical aid to weaken thegovernment of President Bashir Assad[sic], of Syria. The Israelis believe thatputting such pressure on the Assadgovernment will make it moreconciliatory and open to negotiations.”Hersh also reported that a supporter ofthe Lebanese pro-US-Saudi Haririfaction had met Dick Cheney inWashington and relayed personally theimportance of using the MuslimBrotherhood in Syria in any moveagainst the ruling government.

At one point in Hersh’s report, it iseven admitted that officials from USally Saudi Arabia admitted to“controlling” the “religiousfundamentalists.” The report statesspecifically: “[Saudi Arabia’s] Bandar

and other Saudis have assured theWhite House that “they will keep a veryclose eye on the religiousfundamentalists. Their message to uswas ‘We’ve created this movement, andwe can control it.’ It’s not that we don’twant the Salafis to throw bombs; it’swho they throw them at - Hezbollah,Moqtada al-Sadr, Iran, and at theSyrians, if they continue to work withHezbollah and Iran.”

While Kerry, as did Clinton beforehim, and others throughout theWestern establishment attempt toportray the rise of the MuslimBrotherhood, and its armed front, al-Qaeda, in Syria as an unforeseeable,unfortunate consequence of anequally unforeseeable, unfortunateconflict - it is clear that in 2007, such“consequences” were essentialelements of a premeditated conflictthe West had poured cash, weapons,and logistics into the creation of,along with its partners in the MiddleEast, including Israel, Saudi Arabia,and Qatar.

Also in 2007, the Wall Street Journalwould publish a report titled, “ToCheck Syria, U.S. Explores Bond WithMuslim Brothers.” In this report, it wasrevealed that even in 2007, Syrianopposition groups were being createdfrom whole-cloth by the US State

Department and paraded around infront of Syria’s embassies in the West.

And while the Wall Street Journalthen, just as the US State Departmentand the Western media houses are nowportraying the Syrian opposition asrepresenting a wide range of interestsacross Syrian society, it was admittedthen, just as it is plainly obvious now,that the sectarian extremist MuslimBrotherhood was in fact at the verycenter of the “uprising”: ‘One of theNSF’s most influential members is theSyrian branch of the MuslimBrotherhood -- the decades-oldpolitical movement active across theMiddle East whose leaders haveinspired the terrorist groups Hamasand al Qaeda. Its Syrian offshoot saysit has renounced armed struggle infavor of democratic reform.’

It was evidently clear, even in 2007,that extremists would play a leadingrole in any future armed conflict tooverthrow the Syrian government,and now, years later, that engineeredconflict has been executed verbatimand to horrific consequence -consequences the West not onlyrefuses to take responsibility for, butseeks to further compound withincreased aid to the forces of armedsedition it itself created.

(PressTV.ir)

John Kerry’s verified lie on SyriaIt was evidently clear, even in 2007, that extremists would play a leading role in any future armed conflict tooverthrow the Syrian government, and now, years later, that engineered conflict has been executed verbatim

TEHRAN: The Syrian and Iranianforeign ministers on Saturdayaccused the United States of doublestandards over the Obamaadministration's decision to provideaid to rebels fighting to topplePresident Bashar Assad, saying thiswill only prolong the conflict.

The remarks were the first officialstatements from Iran and Syriafollowing US Secretary of State JohnKerry's announcement this week thatWashington will provide, for the firsttime, non-lethal aid directly to Syria'srebels, in addition to $60 million inassistance to Syria's politicalopposition. peaking at a joint press

conference in Tehran, Syria's Walid al-Moallem and his Iranian counterpart,Ali Akbar Salehi, stressed thatwhether Assad stays or goes will bedecided in presidential electionsscheduled for next year.

"Assad is Syria's legal president untilthe next elections. Individuals havethe freedom to run as candidates.Until that time, Assad is Syria'spresident," Salehi said. Iran is astaunch ally of the Syrian regime andhas stood by the embattled Assadthroughout the country's nearly 2-year-old conflict. Kerry announcedthe aid at an international conferenceon Syria in Rome on Thursday. In the

coming days, several Europeannations are expected to take similarsteps in working with the militarywing of the opposition to increasepressure on Assad to step down andpave the way for a democratictransition. Iranian Foreign MinisterAli-Akbar Salehi said Saturday that nocountry, except Syria, would beallowed to decide for the Syrians.

Salehi made the remarks at a jointpress conference with his visitingSyrian counterpart Walid al-Moallemin Tehran. No country outside has theright to make decisions for Syria,Salehi said, adding that nobody caninflict its will on the Syrians using

force and arms. Salehi said there is nomilitary solution to the Syrian issue,and the first and foremost demand ofthe Islamic republic is to end theviolence in the Arab state.

Iran's Salehi said the US movewould prolong the Syrian conflict, anuprising-turned-civil war in which70,000 people have been killed. "Ifyou really feel sorry about the ongoingsituation in Syria you should force theopposition to sit at the negotiationtable with the Syrian government andput an end to bloodshed," he said."Why do you encourage theopposition to continue these acts ofviolence?" Iran and Russia support

Assad, while the US, Europe andMiddle Eastern countries generallyback the opposition. Some Europeancountries are expected to break withWashington and start supplying theSyrian rebels with weapons in the nextfew months, the representative of theSyrian opposition in Britain said. TheNational Coalition's Londonrepresentative, Walid Saffour,predicted that by the next meeting ofthe western and Arab Friends of Syriagroup in Turkey, due in late spring orearly summer, "there will be abreakthrough that will end therestrictions of the Europeancountries". –AGENCIES

Syria, Iran accuse US of double standards

HEBRON: A Palestinian protester resists arrest by Israeli soldiers during clashes following a protest demanding the reopening of ShuhadaStreet, the one-time heart of the city. Flanked by a handful of Jewish settlement enclaves, the Shuhada Street was partially closed off in1994 after local settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim worshippers at the city's Al-Ibrahimi mosque, killing 29 of them. –ONLINE

DHAKA: At least three people,including two teenagers, were killedas violence rocked Bangladesh forthe third day on Saturday as thedeath toll rose to 49 in clashes thaterupted after a top leader offundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islamiwas sentenced to death for "crimesagainst humanity" during the 1971liberation war.

Bangladesh police opened fire atJamaat-e-Islami protesters, killingthree people outside the port city ofChittagong. Two persons, includinga teenage boy, were killed in agunfight between Jamaat and Shibiractivists and law enforcers inSatkania area in the morning, theDaily Star reported.

In Jaldhaka area, police openedfire to disperse unruly protestersleading to the death of 15-year-oldAtiqul Islam.

With violence showing no signs ofabating, paramilitary border guardshave been deployed across thecountry to beef up security and easetension that has gripped the nation.

Violence broke out after 73-year-old Delwar Hossain Sayedee,vice-president of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), was sentenced to deathby International Crimes Tribunal onThursday. Meanwhile, five studentsof North South University (NSU)were arrested last night inconnection with the killing ofblogger Ahmed Rajib Haidar. Rajib,a blogger and activist of Shahbaghmovement, was brutally killed by

miscreants in the capital's Mirpurarea on February 15. At least 46people were killed in rioting tillyesterday triggered by the deathsentence to Sayedee, who was foundguilty of eight counts out of 20,involving rape, mass killings andatrocities during the 1971 freedomwar against Pakistan.

Officials said that law enforcementagencies appeared to be the primetarget of the right-wing JI activists.

The tense situation prompted localauthorities to enforce ban ongathering of more than four peopleunder section 144 of CriminalProcedure Code in troubled areas, fivenorthwestern and one southwesterndistrict, said to be JI strongholds.Many people, including policemen,were injured when the supporters ofJamaat-e-Islami and its student wingIslami Chhatra Shibir clashed withpolice and ruling party men indifferent locations in the country. Thelatest violence came a day after theUnited States called for calm in theimpoverished South Asian nation.“While engaging in a peaceful protestis a fundamental democratic right, webelieve violence is never the answer,”US State Department deputy actingspokesman Patrick Ventrell toldreporters in Washington. But hestressed the United States believes“it is important to bring justice tothose who have committed warcrimes and atrocities” whileensuring that the trials be “free, fair,transparent”. –AGENCIES

3 more killedin Bangladeshprotests

RAMALLAH: Israeli forcesSaturday arrested fivePalestinians from across theWest Bank and EastJerusalem, according tolocal and Palestiniansecurity sources. OnePalestinian from Bethlehemand another two, includinga 13-year-old boy, fromHebron were arrested. Theywere detained at OferMilitary camp nearRamallah. Israeli policearrested two Palestiniansfrom East Jerusalem afterraiding their home inSilwan. Wadi HilwehInformation Center saidpolice inspected their homesbefore arresting them. Theywere taken to the RussianCompound police station inWest Jerusalem forinterrogation.

As protests continueacross Palestine insupport of thousands ofprisoners languishing inIsraeli jails, localorganizations say that theIsraeli authorities haveincreased their pressureon Palestinian humanrights defenders. –AGENCIES

MANILA: Malaysian Prime MinisterNajib Razak and Philippine PresidentBenigno Aquino on Saturday urged agroup of Filipinos in northern Borneo tosurrender in the aftermath of a clash thatkilled 15 people. Twelve members of thegroup were killed on Friday, along withtwo Malaysian police commandos andone local resident in a clash in LahadDatu town in Sabah, 1,600 kilometreseast of Kuala Lumpur.

The Filipinos occupied a village in LahadDatu in the northern Borneo region Feb 12to press their historical land claim.

"The rebels have to surrender or theywill face the action of our securityforces," Najib said while paying respectsto the two police officers. "There is noother option. No discussion, justsurrender." In Manila, Aquino echoedNajib's demand and called on theremaining group of Filipinos in LahadDatu to lay down their arms.

"If you have grievances, the path youchose was wrong. The just, and indeed, theonly correct thing for you to do is tosurrender," the president said.

"To those who have influence and thecapacity to reason with those in Lahad

Datu, I ask you to convey this message:surrender now, without conditions."

Malaysian police chief Ismail Omar saidthe group of about 200 people from thePhilippine sultanate of Sulu was trappedand had nowhere else to run.

The sultanate leased the land in 1878 tothe British North Borneo Company, whichpassed it to Malaysia in 1963. KualaLumpur currently pays the sultan 5,300ringgit per year in token rent.

Princess Jaycel, daughter of SultanJamalul Kiram III, said in Manila that thegroup would remain in Lahad Datu despitethe shootout with Malaysian forces.

"After we buried our brothers and sisterat sundown, every one of the 224 leftdecided to die in Lahad Datu in pursuit oftheir dreams and aspirations," she said.

"They have decided to put everything inthe hands of Allah."

Malaysia's home minister,Hishammuddin Hussein, and nationalpolice chief, Ismail Omar, were in Sabah onSaturday to oversee security operations.

Ismail also urged the Filipinos to turnthemselves in, saying "we have no otheroptions but to take the necessary action todetain them." –AGENCIES

Malaysia, Philippinesgive ultimatum toFilipinos in Sabah

Kerry seeks consensus in EgyptCAIRO: US Secretary of State John Kerry is calling on bickeringEgyptian leaders and opposition politicians to forge a political consensusthat will allow the country to emerge from economic crisis. Kerry, on hisfirst overseas trip as a member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet,was scheduled to meet Saturday with a number of opposition figuresalong with Egypt's foreign minister. He will see President MohammedMorsi on Sunday. US officials said Kerry was particularly concernedthat Egypt takes the reforms necessary to qualify for a $4.8 billionInternational Monetary Fund loan package. One official said it wasextremely important for the new Egypt for there to be a firm economicfoundation and that requires reaching agreement with the IMF. To getthat Egypt must make reforms, like increasing tax collections andcurbing energy subsidies. –AGENCIES

Five arrestedin West Bank,East Jerusalem


PAAPAM asks FBR towithdraw tax forindustryʼs survivalISLAMABAD: PakistanAssociation of Automotive Parts &Accessories Manufacturers(PAAPAM) conveyed its seriousconcerns on phenomenal increasesin withholding taxes and urgedthe Federal Board of Revenue(FBR) to withdraw it immediately. PAAPAM Chairman, Munir Bana,in a letter to FBR Chairman, AliArshad Hakeem, has pointed outthat increasing withholding taxesvide SRO 98(I) 2013 and SRO140(I)/2013 would be the last nailin the industry's coffin, as it wouldsiphon away substantial liquidityand increase financial costs. Hesaid that SRO 98(I) 2013 subjectsindustries to withholding tax of20% of sales tax payable onpurchases, and on the other hand,SRO 140(I)/2013 increaseswithholding income-tax from 3%to 5% on imports of industrial rawmaterials. –AGENCIES

PTCL launches Smart TVapp for EVO customersISLAMABAD: PakistanTelecommunication CompanyLimited (PTCL) has launched astandalone application enabling itsEVO customers to access digitaltelevision service on their PCs,laptops and smartphones. Theunique service of PTCL Smart TVPC application has brought Pakistanin the list of a few countries acrossthe globe, where digital TV servicesare accessible on laptops, PCs andSmartphones. With this PakistanTelecommunication Company offer,Smart TVPC application allowscustomers to be more interactive andmore in control with their TV service as compared toconventional TV broadcast or cableTV. The PakistanTelecommunication Company SmartTV application enables its viewers towatch content of last 7 Days of theavailable 12 TV channels. It alsoallows the viewers to record the TVprograms on their local storage.Omar Khalid, PakistanTelecommunication CompanyExecutive Vice President (EVP)Wireless Business, said “PTCL SmartTV application will enable its EVOcustomers to experience multi-screenviewing and uninterruptable rich livecontent on their PC screens.”“Customers can access 12 TVchannels through EVO Wingle, EVODongle, EVO Nitro, EVO Cloud andEVO Tab” Omar added. –AGENCIES

ZEESHAN JAVAID

ISLAMABAD: National Transmission andDispatch Company (NTDC) On Saturdayannounced with assistance of United StatesAgency for International Development(USAID) to replace old mechanical meterswith electro-static meters in the limit ofthree power distribution companies(DISCOs).

An official of NTDC informed thatcompany has completed its plan to replacethe old meters with electro-static meters inthree power distribution companiesincluding Lahore Electric Supply Company(LESCO), Faisalabad Electric SupplyCompany (FESCO) and Peshawar ElectricSupply Company (PESCO) to bring downthe volume of line losses.

He further said that the plan would beinitiated in couple of weeks, while thesupply of electro-static meter has beenensured with assistance of USAID.

A communiqué issued from USAID

secretariat maintained that agency underpower distribution program has beenassisting the power companies to replaceold mechanical meters and any damagedmeters with state of the art electro-staticmeters in three government-owned powerdistribution companies (DISCOs).

The overall objective of this program is toimprove the commercial viability ofDISCOs by improving the accuracy of theenergy billed to the customers andeliminating the need to estimate bills.

USIAD further added that it will behelpful to improve the confidence of theconsumers in the accuracy of their bills andis expected to reduce the commercial lossesof DISCOs and improve their profitability.

John Pullinger, Director of FieldOperations for the Power DistributionProgram says “The meter replacementproject is a step-by-step process. The gridfeeders are first surveyed and metersidentified for replacement in accordancewith DISCO records and approval.

Replacements are fully recorded on officialDISCO forms.

The meters which have to be replaced arefurther evaluated to decide whether toinstall meters on walls or poles. Wherepossible meters are installed on the wall ofthe consumer but this is often not possible.

Meters are replaced in accordance withthe DISCOs technical specifications set forall subdivisions and all retired meters aregiven back to DISCOs for destruction aftertwo full billing cycles (to allow customers tochallenge readings).

The installation teams pay attention tothe smallest of details including, tidyingup (where possible) the tangle of wires onthe poles”.

Pullinger noted the importance of thecorrect placement of meters callingattention to the consequences of notinstalling meters at readable heights,which results in meter readers notobtaining accurate reading leading toinaccurate billing for customers. “This

project ensures that all meters areinstalled at a readable height, and is asmall but powerful intervention whichwould help meter readers in taking moreaccurate readings.” Looking ahead, theprogram will also install automaticallyread meters of various technologies indifferent DISCOS.

Walk-by automatic radio frequency (RF)meters allow meter reading by hand carriedcomputer units, while fully automatedmeter reading (AMR) systems transmit realtime power consumption to a centralcontrol. Examples of both types will beinstalled in selected sub divisions.

The USAID Power Distribution Programis a five year, USAID-funded programaimed at working jointly with DISCOs inPakistan to improve their performance interms of a reduction in losses, andimprovement in both revenues andcustomer services, to bring them to the levelof well-run utilities in other progressivecountries.

Old meters for new

NTDC to replace old meters inpower distribution companies

RAWALPINDI: H.E Ole E Moesb, Danish Ambassador to Pakistan, being warmly received by Mr. Sheharyar Mirza, General Manager Pearl Continental HotelRawalpindi upon his arrival at the hotel. —STAFF PHOTO

� Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar electric supply companies to get new meters to counter line losses

Dawood Ghaznavilooks to futuregeneration of leadersSHANEL KHALIQ

D awood Ghaznavi, the Associate Dean ofKarachi School of Business and Leadership(KSBL) has a vision to produce a generation

of future leaders for Pakistan. He has an experiencethat spans over a period of 30 years and is spreadover both the corporate and the education sector. Heholds a Masters Degree in Engineering from Moscowand a Masters Degree in Management from YaleUniversity, USA. In the education sector he has beenworking as an associate professor of management atLahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)and was also Director of the Social EnterpriseDevelopment Centre (SEDC). He has lead trainingsand seminars for senior and middle managementduring this time also. He has also been associated toAsian Development Bank, Nestle, WWF and GlaxoLabs. The journey towards the establishment ofKSBL started in 2009 when the Karachi EducationInitiative (KEI) was set up as a nonprofit entity todevelop a state-of-the-art business school that couldmatch international standards. The idea behind itaccording to the man himself is not only to producefuture business leader and entrepreneurs but also totrain the youth so that they can generate employmentthemselves. Moreover the students at the schools areinculcated with business ethics and values so thatthey can contribute positively to the economy and thesociety. When describing the KSBL he says that theyhave aimed to develop an institution that can matchany other varsity of international caliber. It has beendeveloped under the “The International AdvisoryCouncil”. The KEI board includes a host of illustriousentrepreneurs and tycoons such as chairman HussainDawood, Engro Corporation ex-president Asad Umar,Arif Habib Corporation Limited Chairman and CEOArif Habib, A F Ferguson and Company SeniorPartner Shabbar Zaidi and CEO F Robert WheelerIII. Ghaznavi is confident of the school’s success inthe coming years although he is aware that otherquality institutions have also been in the market for along time now. However he views competition in thissector as healthy and says that exchange of facultymembers of different local universities takes palce forteaching and training. KSBL itself is interested inorganizing seminars and invite students of differentuniversities to come together and learn from eachother. For him the idea is to cooperate and add to thecountry’s pool of business acumen and resources.

According to him what sets KSBL apart from otherinstitutions is that the focus of the programs will be onthe local market. He feels that there is a lot of room inthe local market that needs to be explored. Also theuniversity aims to produce leaders that will work inPakistan and help serve the local economy. For thispurpose the specially designed syllabus by E RobertWheeler III aims to explore the loopholes and problemswith the local market. A research center has beenestablished on campus to promote innovation and studyin the local market.

Analysis

SAHTAK BLAOCH

ISLAMABAD: Since crisis on account of balance ofpayments in the months to come is likely, expectedcaretaker government would approach InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) for fresh bailout package ofaround $5 billion in a bid to avoid the eruption ofcrisis, it has been learnt on Saturday.

At present, Pakistan is repaying the loan, $7.6billion, taken in 2008 under the standby arrangementprogramme (SBA), which was increased to $11.3billion but the country was not eligible for the last twodisbursements of $3.2 billion due to failure to complywith the performance criteria. Similarly, in the nextfinancial year Islamabad would have to repay $3.4billion to the IMF. Hence, Pakistan would have nooption but to seek a fresh bailout package from theIMF to remove the possibility of default. Thegovernment so far failed to bring promised reforms inGeneral Sales Tax (GST) and power sector, whichbecame the reason in suspending the programme.

Sources aware of the matter told this scribe thatsince the outgoing PPP led coalition governmenthas decided not approach IMF before upcominggeneral elections; therefore, the caretakergovernment might seek fresh bailout package toavoid eruption of crisis on balance of payments.

“Cash starved Pakistan in an estimated bid topostpone the shortfall would soon approachInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) for freshbailout package of around $ 5 billion to avoid theeruption of crisis on balance of payments in themonths to come, a senior official told this scribe in atelephonic communication.

Sources also said the incumbent PPP led coalitiongovernment surprisingly believes that there would

be no balance of payments crisis in next few monthsdespite the fact the foreign currency reserves aresharply depleting. Even, Finance Minister SaleemMandviwalla other day said that there would be nobalance of payments crisis, as the foreign currencyreserves were 'manageable'.

At present, Pakistan's foreign exchange reservesrecorded at $13.185 billion during the week endedFebruary 22 wherein central bank hold reservesstood $8.227 billion and commercial banks reservesat $ 4.958 billion. The finance ministry officials are ofthe view that forex reserves might decline to $7.5-8.5billion at the end of the current fiscal year 2012-2013due to heavy repayment to the IMF. There would betremendous pressure on balance of payments inApril-June 2013 period. Therefore, sources said thatgovernment would has no other option in hand otherthan to approach IMF for bailout package of around$ 5billion in the months to come.

Reportedly, the governor State Bank of Pakistan(SBP), Yaseen Anwar has opposed a newInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) programmefor the time being and stated that even though thedomestic forex reserve position was challenging,but it was manageable.

Pakistan has paid over $3.2 billion to the IMFsince July 2012 putting pressure on alreadydepleting foreign exchange reserves. The country'sexternal account is under extreme pressure sinceinflows were negligible during the year 2012 whileoutflows eroded the country's reserves. Remainingamount due under IMF/SBA until Sep-2015 is3239million. The remaining repayments to IMF andother foreign obligations would certainly hit thecountry's external position with weak reserves andsharply declining foreign investments.

Caretaker govt to seek$5b IMF bailout package

Jaguar Land Rover studying full production in India MUMBAI/LONDON: Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is investigating the potential ofmanufacturing cars in India, company sources said, as the British luxury carmakerlooks to build on its growth in emerging markets with the help of Indian parent TataMotors. JLR, which has ridden a wave of surging demand in China and other emergingmarkets to post record profits over the past year, is "actively exploring the possibility" ofbuilding cars from scratch in India, said one company source. "The idea is being lookedinto, with the (Jaguar) XF and (Land Rover) Freelander the obvious candidates," saidanother source with knowledge of the matter. The British brands, which alreadyassemble two models in India using parts and engines shipped from factories in theUK, will also begin assembling its popular Range Rover Evoque in the country soon,the first source said without providing details. –AGENCIES

NEW YORK: Globalequity markets felland the euroslumped to a

two-month low onFriday as weakeconomic data fromEurope and Chinaweighed on prices, butWall Street stocksrebounded on news ofsurprisingly strong U.S.manufacturing andconsumer sentiment.

Concerns aboutimminent U.S.spending cuts and

political stalematein Rome remainedmajor headwinds

for risky assets. The pace of growth in U.S.manufacturing rising to its fastest rate in over ayear and a half in February offset some jitters.The Institute for Supply Management (ISM)said its index of national factory activity rose to54.2 from 53.1 in January, topping economists'forecasts for a pullback to 52.5.

"A very impressive ISM number with the onlycaution being a decline in employment thoughstill in expanding territory," David Ader, head Ofgovernment bond strategy at CRT CapitalGroup in Stamford, Connecticut. Another signof optimism was a report that showed U.S.consumer sentiment rose in February asAmericans were more hopeful that the jobsmarket will improve, even as confidence in fiscalpolicy was near all-time lows.

While economic data from Europe and Chinawas disappointing, there are clear signs ofeconomic recovery in the United States and

some evidence that Japan is beginning to turnaround, a potential swing factor in 2013, saidAndrew Milligan, head of global strategy atStandard Life Investments in Edinburgh. "Wecan stand back and have a wider discussion ifyou wish about politics and markets, andanother discussion about whether equityprices have gotten ahead of themselves, but asof Friday it was a most reassuring number,"Milligan said.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up12.44 points, or 0.09 percent, at 14,066.93. TheStandard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 0.34points, or 0.02 percent, at 1,515.02. The NasdaqComposite Index .IXIC was down 3.32 points,or 0.11 percent, at 3,156.87. MSCI's all-countryworld equity index .MIWD00000PUS fell 0.32percent to 353.38. In Europe, the FTSEurofirst300 .FTEU3 of leading regional companies fell0.07 percent to 1170.67. –AGENCIES

Dollar gains, US shares pare losses on data


Keith is my love shield: NicoleLONDON: Actress Nicole Kidman says husband Keith Urban hasbecome her love shield. She insists the country singer, with who she hastwo daughters, has given her a very strong home life to offset some ofher characters' lives in her movies. "He's given me a home. He's givenme really strong love - he's given me a love shield. I have my girls andmy husband and I have a very, very strong real life to counterbalancemy fantasy life now.” She recalled how she felt incredibly lonely afterwinning an Oscar in 2003 for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in 'TheHours' because she did not have such a strong family structure aroundher. "When I won the Oscar it was kind of a mix of popping open abottle of champagne but at the same time feeling incredibly lonelybecause I didn't have what I have now." �AGENCIES

MUMBAI: Priyanka Chopra seems to be flying high. After bagging a cool Rs 2.8crore for an item song in the Sanjay Gupta-directed Shootout At Wadala, we havelearnt that Ekta Kapoor arranged a chartered flight to ensure that Priyanka reachedKolkata in time after being delayed while shooting for the same number inMumbai. Priyanka was supposed to complete the item number by early eveningand catch a flight to Kolkata to shoot for Yash Raj Film’s Gunday. “Had she left theshoot and gone to Kolkata, the song would have been incomplete, so she preferredto leave after completing it,” the Indian media reported. The actor was supposed toreach Kolkata by Wednesday night as she was part of the Thursday morningschedule of Gunday. Her shoot in Mumbai, however, went on till late evening andPriyanka missed her flight. �AGENCIES

Ratnam's next filmon Indo-Pakistan partitionMUMBAI: Indianfilmmaker ManiRatnam's next movie willbe a love story againstthe backdrop of theIndia-Pakistan partition.The script will be writtenby Rensil D'Silva, whohas earlier penned filmslike Rang De Basantiand Kurbaan.

He has already given ago-ahead to Rensil towrite his next Hindi film.The project will be moreof drama set in the backdrop of the partition whilethere is a love story at the centre of it. Mani apparentlyis looking at working with younger actors for this film.This will be the second time that Mani and Rensil willbe working together. Their earlier project Lajo didn'ttake off. Lajjo, a period piece set during the partition,was announced a few years ago. It was due to starAamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor with music by ARRahman and lyrics by Gulzar. The project was shelvedbecause the budget went skyrocketing. Now, Ratnam islooking at reviving the project and getting RensilD’Silva to take a fresh look at the script. �AGENCIES

Heera Mandi in Indiaʼsfilmmakerʼs mindNEW DELHI: Sometime ago, Heera Mandi,the red-light area ofLahore, hit headlines inIndia. The reason: India’sfilmmaker Sanjay LeelaBhansali planned tomake a film of the samename. The project fellthrough later, apparentlybecause he couldn’t finda suitable female actorfor it. Even as the trade isabuzz with talk thatBhansali might soon goahead with Heera Mandi, with Rani Mukerji in thelead, the director admits that the film exists in his mind.

“However, right now, I am living Ram Leela andmy other four projects (productions). Nothing elsecomes to mind. It’s (Heera Mandi) definitely aproject that I dream of making. But officially, as ofnow, it’s all Ram Leela,” says the filmmaker. AskBhansali if he plans to cast Rani in Heera Mandi andhe says, “God willing, if something emerges, we willdefinitely work together. She’s an actor who isn’tdone with what she has to do. I think she’s one of thefinest our country has ever had.” �AGENCIES

Raeth band to sing forupcoming Indian filmLUCKNOW: WajhiFarouqui, lead vocalist ofRaeth band fromPakistan, has said thatIndia is like second hometo him. "With a lot ofrock concerts happeninghere, I come to Indiavery often. I haveperformed in Mumbai,Delhi, and the musiclovers of West Bengalhave always surprised mewith their love,” he said.

“India is a place withrich heritage and culture, so I love being here. As myancestors belonged to Ajmer, so my fondness forIndia is even greater,” he said. The band isn't justperforming at concerts in India, but has also madeinroads into the Indian film industry. “Our bandwould be singing for filmmaker Rakesh RanjanKumar's upcoming film, Marksheet. This moviespins around the real life character Ranjit Don whowas accused of leaking the CAT paper,” informsWajhi. “I am also in talks with other filmmakers, butit would not be OK to talk about those offers beforeinking any agreements,” he said. �AGENCIES

Rishi wants to put hisversatility to testMUMBAI: In DavidDhawan's upcomingflick Chashme Baddoor,senior Indian filmstarRishi Kapoor will beseen as a retired sailorwho is a bachelor.Playing a diehardromantic, the veteranactor will sport tattoosand ride a Harley-Davidson. Rishi says heis not interested inplaying typical fatherroles anymore and wantsto put his versatility to test.

In Chashme Baddoor, the challenge was to play aromantic. “It is something I was known for in myprime. Joseph Furtado, my character, is retired andlives in Goa where he discovers love. He falls forJosephine played by Lilette Dubey. The three guys, AliZafar, Siddharth and Divyendu, take advantage of thecouple,” he says. Rishi's look in the film has beeninspired by Sunny Leone's husband Daniel Weber, whosports a stubble and has tattoos all over. “I wanted mycharacter to appear loud and ostentatious and so gottattoos on my hand,” he said. �AGENCIES

Chopra flying high, courtesy Ekta Kapoor

“Respect your guns. They are yourmother and your father.” In WarWitch, those orders are barked atorphaned African children who havebeen kidnapped and conscripted intoa rebel army after their village hasbeen decimated and their parentsslain. Kim Nguyen, the director ofWar Witch, explains what it took tomake a film in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo.

The adolescent captives in thismesmerizing, cinematic hallucinationare herded into a forest, where theyare handed AK-47s and trained to besoldiers under a warlord known as theGreat Tiger. Although the location isidentified only as sub-Saharan Africa,the War Witch was filmed in Congo,ground zero of endless carnage andunspeakable atrocities.

Because the narrative is driven bythe sporadic off-screen narration ofKomona (Rachel Mwanza) — a soft-voiced girl with spiky, braided hair,who is 12 when the story begins and14 when it ends — War Witch barelyacknowledges the political andeconomic factors behind the strife.The combatants are identified only asthe government and the rebels. Thevillagers are caught in the squeeze.

The story unfolds as a child’smagical realist fable, haunted byghosts in the imagination of the girl,who addresses her remarks to herunborn child, the product of rape.Komona ominously voices her doubts

about “whether God will give me thestrength to love you,” and shecontemplates drowning her babywhen it is born. The film examines theconcepts of good and evil in the mindof a child who is repeatedly forced todo what she calls bad things butmaintains an elemental moral sense.

The fourth feature directed by KimNguyen, a Montreal-based filmmakerof Vietnamese descent, War Witchshows a lot of gunfire but little actual

bloodshed. There is nothing soovertly grisly that you might want toavert your eyes. This discretion lendsthe film an almost disembodiedfeeling, as if the horrors Komonawitnesses and perpetuates weresomehow unreal to her, although theyare not. The movie is committed torevealing the world throughKomona’s eyes, and you never feel ataint of voyeurism or condescension.It stays true to her. �NY TIMES

The first half of “Stoker” passes in arapture of dread, as the vieweranticipates terrible things to come.This is partly because the director,Park Chan-wook, here making hisEnglish-language debut, is aninternationally renowned master ofbloodshed. His vengeance trilogy — inparticular the middle chapter, Oldboy,currently being remade by Spike Lee— is cherished by many cinephiles, inSouth Korea and beyond, for its blendof visual elegance, melodrama andextreme violence.

Three of South Korea’s best knowndirectors have or will have their firstEnglish-language production releasedthis year. So it may be Park Chan-wook reputation that induces a stateof queasy anticipation in the earlyscenes of Stoker. But it is also,unquestionably, his craft. We findourselves in a world of lurid, saturatedcolours; languorous cameramovements; temporal displacements;and jagged shards of sound: anatmosphere that replicates the innerexperience of India Stoker, aConnecticut teenager who manifeststhe funereal demeanor of WednesdayAddams and the seething intensity ofa poem by Sylvia Plath.

India, played by Mia Wasikowska, isan introspective, solitary teenagerwho, on her 18th birthday, loses herfather (Dermot Mulroney, inflashbacks) to a car accident. Shemopes around the lawns and hallwaysof her family’s enormous estate,seething at her mother, Eve (NicoleKidman), who seems to India

insufficiently grief-stricken. The girl’smood grows darker with the arrival ofCharlie (Matthew Goode), ahandsome uncle she never knew shehad.

Wasikowska has played CharlotteBrontë’s Jane Eyre and Lewis Carroll’sAlice, and there is something literaryabout the watchful, musically giftedIndia. The territory staked out inStoker — a landscape of familysecrets, sexual subtext and aristocraticentitlement — is at times reminiscentof a Henry James tale. The patternsand symbols that pop up aroundIndia may be signs of a sinisterexternal presence, or they may befigments of her own feverishimagination.

Compared with the mayhem of

Oldboy or Lady Vengeance, theviolence in Stoker is relativelyrestrained, though its cruelty isextreme. But the ugliness that isuncovered in the Stoker familyhistory is finally less haunting, andless interesting, than India herself.Wasikowska has a remarkable abilityto use the watchful stillness of herfeatures to hint at the girl’semotional turmoil; her eyebrows,widening in alarm or contracting infury, may be the film’s most potenteffect. She faces appalling andoccasionally preposterouscircumstances with a mixture ofinnocence and skeptical intelligencethat is close to heroic. That goes forthe actress as well as the charactershe plays. �NY TIMES

War Witch

Atrocities through a childʼs eyes�Hollywood film examines concepts of good and evil in the mind of a child who isrepeatedly forced to do what she calls bad things but maintains an elemental moral sense

Stoker ̶ a landscape of familysecrets, aristocratic entitlement

MUMBAI: Filmstar Jacqueline Fernandez opens up about her sexy tag, item numbersand her craziest fan.

You're one of the fastest growing celebrities on follow.That's so cool. I didn't expect that. It's nice to know that I have fans reaching out to

me, who are interested in knowing what I'm up to. I hope I don't disappoint them andcan give them what they want.

How do you react to your 'sexy' tag?It's weird that I have a sexy tag because, in reality, I'm the least sexy person you

could meet. I'm extremely clumsy, a bit of a goofball and exactly the opposite of whatI exude on screen. I find it laughable because I don't find myself sexy. And the peoplewho know me don't find me sexy either. But I do want to do different cinema andshow my real side.

How open are you to doing item numbers?I have been trying to change the term 'item'. I feel, when an actress is approached

to be a part of a song from a movie, it's more of a special appearance or may be aspecial song. I am very open to doing these special appearances that lend an extratouch to the film.

What is craziest thing a fan has done for you?The craziest thing a fan has done was to stalk my manager. He has been harassed by

this guy, who is a very sweet fan and lives in the Caribbean. He basically has to know myevery movement of every second of every day. He will not leave my manager alone till hegets his answers. He is very sweet and very obsessed.

Tell us about female co-stars like Sonam and Asin.Asin and I have been friends for a long time now. Even though I haven't worked with

Sonam, she's always so genuinely helpful. She even tells me what nail polish I shouldwear with what dress. It just shows how she has no insecurities, she's very confident ofthe person she is.

How comfortable are you with Hindi now?I'm definitely a lot more comfortable than I was a couple of years ago. I love

languages. But learning languages is a process. I do take classes.What do you like to wear on a daily basis?I like comfy, baggy stuff. In winter, I love big baggy jumpers. If it's summer, I love

cotton dresses or shorts and tees. A lot of people tell me that I need to dress up more.But for me it's all about comfort and being myself. �MONITORING

Iʼm the least sexy personLONDON: Susan Boyle,the Scottish singer withthe big voice who enjoyeda period of internationalfame in 2009 afterappearing on a Britishtalent show, has landed apart in a Christmas movie.Boyle, 51, will appear inThe Christmas Candle, afilm based on the novellaby Max Lucado about amagic candle that changeslife for people at the turnof the 20th century in adull village with askeptical minister.

The producers did notsay what part Boyle wouldplay, or whether shewould sing. SamanthaBarks, Hans Mathesonand Lesley Manville also appear in the film. “Everyone on set is adelight to work with and it’s a fantastic experience to be part of theteam,” Boyle said in a statement. “I’m really enjoying getting dressedin the period costumes and stepping back in time and although it’svery cold filming on location, I’m wearing long johns under mybustle,” she said.

Boyle, whose unassuming looks belie a powerful mezzo-sopranovoice, gained international attention after appearing on the varietyshow Britain’s Got Talent and performing a soaring rendition of “IDreamed a Dream” from the musical “Les Misérables.” Her firstalbum, of the same name, was one of the best-selling records everrecorded in Britain and reached the top of the charts on both sides ofthe Atlantic. Since then she has released two more studio albums anda live compilation. �MONITORING

Boyle gets a film role


GOTHENBURG: Barbora Prochazkova of Czech Republic, Mariya Ryemyen of Ukraine and Gloria Hooper of Italy (L-R) compete in the 60m Women Round 1 event at the European Athletics Indoor Championships on Saturday. �AGENCIES

SINGAPORE: World number two ChoiNa-Yeon emerged from a two-and-a-half-hour storm delay to birdie the lasthole and dramatically snatch a share ofthe HSBC Women's Champions leadalongside Stacy Lewis on Saturday.Choi, who is eyeing the number oneranking of Taiwan's Tseng Yani, holed a10-footer in front of a big gallery on thedamp 18th green to card five-under-par67 for a total of 14-under 202 atSingapore's par-72 Sentosa Golf Club.The putt ended an engrossing day-longduel between Choi and America'sLewis, who was incensed when playwas halted with the final group alreadyon the 18th fairway and with hernarrow one-shot lead in the balance.

When they finally resumed, after atorrential downpour, Choi fired closestto the flag and steadied herself to drain

the psychologically important birdie,which left her beaming ahead ofSunday's final round. "I think that freesme up for tomorrow. I think I canremember that feeling for tomorrow,"she said. "I mean, I finished strong andthat putt, I hit it pretty solid. "I was alittle nervous for the third shot, I don'tknow why. A lot of people were waitingI didn't expect that. But I made it reallywell and I feel great." Lewis, the worldnumber four, had remonstrated withofficials when play was suspended andbemoaned a "very frustrating" day aftershe gave up a two-shot overnight lead,finishing with a 69. "It was veryfrustrating. We waited all day, the paceof play was not very good, and it'sfrustrating," she said. "Three fastplayers are in the back there, and wehad to sit there and wait."

Choi and Lewis will play the lastround with America's Paula Creamer,who continued to make light ofwhiplash injuries from a car crash inThailand last week when she scored 69to lie two shots back from the leaders.Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn, 17,Danielle Kang, Yoo Sun-Young andAzahara Munoz are the closestchallengers to the top trio, lying threestrokes behind Creamer on nine-under-par 207. Tseng's 107-week reignas world number one cannot end inSingapore, and it was just as well as thefrowning "Pride of Taiwan" bogeyedfour out of eight holes around the turnbefore finishing with 71 for 212, 10shots off the lead. Tseng, now into herthird year at the top of women's golf,started the season positively with top-three finishes in Australia and

Thailand but a poor final position onSunday will put her number oneranking in serious jeopardy.

Lewis started the day two shots clear,but two bogeys in her first three holesimmediately plunged her into adogfight with Choi, who opened withtwo birdies to go top. Lewis hit backwith birdies on seven, eight and nineand another on 12 as she twice pulledlevel with Choi, only for the SouthKorean to retake the lead with birdieson 10 and 14. But on the next hole, thepar-four 15th, Lewis stormed back intothe lead with a snaking birdie putt,while Na left herself too much to do forpar and took bogey. As they teed off on18, Lewis looked certain to claim theclubhouse lead – until the sirensounded to halt play, as dark cloudsloomed. Creamer, playing one group

ahead, finished her round with asizzling birdie, and in the nick of time."My goodness gracious. We saw it (thestorm) coming and we're thinking okay,we'll probably all just finish, buthonestly I'm shocked that they didn'tget the last hole in," she said.

The American, ranked 13th in theworld and with nine victories to hername, closed with a precision wedgeinto the last green which span backwithin two feet of the hole, earning hera fifth birdie against two bogeys for 69."Dinner will taste a lot better,"Creamer, who headed straight to thetreatment room for work on herwhiplash problems, said of her birdiefinish. "Just look forward to a good daytomorrow. This is much more thanwhat I ever expected to be in, thisposition right now." �AGENCIES

Stormy finish as Choi Na snatches joint lead

ACAPULCO: Former world No. 1 RafaelNadal continued his domination overcountryman Nicolas Almagro Friday tobook his spot in the Mexican Open finalagainst three-time defending champ DavidFerrer. The 26-year-old Nadal, who isseeking his 52nd career ATP Tour title,defeated Almagro 7-5, 6-4 in their one hour,48 minute semi-final match. Nadal has nowreached his third-straight final after missingmore than seven months with a left kneeinjury. "I started the match a little bitnervous. I have not touched the ball as cleanas in previous days and I played shorter thanI would have liked, but I also faced a playerwho hits the ball very hard," said Nadal, whois looking for his 38th clay court titleSaturday. "In the second set I attacked alittle more and I could lead my shots a littlebetter." Nadal won this event eight years agoin his only previous appearance.

In Saturday's final, he will square offagainst top seed Ferrer, who needed threesets to beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-7(5/7), 6-1 in the other semifinal. Nadalclaimed his victory on his first match pointagainst third seeded Almagro, running hiswin streak over the fellow Spaniard to aperfect 9-0. Almagro hit a forehand into thenet to set up match point, then Nadal won itwhen Almagro hit another forehand widedown the line. Nadal finished with two aces,three double faults and saved all four breakpoint chances he faced. Almagro fired sevenaces but had his serve broken twice.Almagro, a two-time winner here (2008 and2009), was making his ninth careerappearance in this event. He is now 26-7overall in the tournament.

Defending champ Ferrer needed twohours and 23 minutes to eliminate Fognini.The 30-year-old Ferrer is into his fourthstraight Mexican Open final and is now on a19-match winning streak in the tournament.He has a career mark of 22-3 in the event.Nadal has a 16-4 career record againstFerrer, including a 13-1 mark on clay.Ferrer's lone clay court victory over Nadalcame in their first meeting at the 2004Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. Onthe women's side, Spaniard Carla SuarezNavarro advanced to the final by easilybeating compatriot Silvia Soler-Espinosa intwo sets, 6-2, 6-1, in a match that lasted onehour and eight minutes. In the other semi,Italian top seed Sara Errani booked her spotin the final with a dominating 6-2, 6-1 winover France's Alize Cornet. �AGENCIES

HYDERABAD: A to-and-fro openingday at Uppal ended with India 5 for 0in reply to Australia's 237 for 9declared, out of which 91 came next tothe almost unflappable MichaelClarke's name. The three sessionswere divided and offered viewersanother gripping Bhuveshwar Kumarnipped out three wickets in themorning, Clarke and Matthew Wadebatted out the afternoon without lossbefore Australia lost their five wicketsfor 29 runs. Soon after he was bowledfor 91, Clarke surprisingly declared at237 for 9 to give India three overs toface in the day.

Having opted to bat, Australia losttheir openers inside five overs afterBhuvneshwar produced a gooddisplay of swing bowling. DavidWarner inside-edged a deliveryjagging back in to becomeBhuvneshwar's first Test wicket, andin the next over Ed Cowan was struckin line with middle stump whenbeaten by an incutter. Bhuvneshwar'seighth unbroken over began withShane Watson clipping to themidwicket boundary to raiseAustralia's 50, and whenBhuvneshwar dropped short thebatsman tapped him past point forfour more. But the last delivery of theover gave Bhuvneshwar his thirdwicket, as Watson was beaten for

movement and the lack of bounce tobe struck on the back leg in front of offstump. Bhuvneshwar's figures of 9-1-36-3 had left Australia in big trouble.

Ishant Sharma turned in awicketless opening spell (5-1-21-0) ofwhich 20 runs came in boundaries,which forced MS Dhoni to turn to RAshwin. The offspinner struck in hissixth over, getting an out-of-sortsPhillip Hughes to edge a cut to Dhonifor 19. Clarke, not surprisingly, wasthe most commanding of Australia'sbatsmen and hit two fours and six ashe again laid the platform for anotherfine innings.

Clarke had two nervous momentsafter lunch when an edge offBhuvneshwar dropped short of Dhoniand an appeal for lbw from Ishant wasturned down, but otherwise was solid.

He drove Harbhajan Singh pastcover for three and clippedBhuvneshwar for four with trademarksparkling footwork, before takingIshant for two boundaries in an over.As in his first spell in the morning,Ishant produced a couple gooddeliveries after lunch (5-0-17-0) butdid not apply enough pressure.

Wade was more assured against spinthan he had been in Chennai, asexemplified by shots straight andsquare of the wicket. Harbhajan andRavindra Jadeja were thumped down

the ground with power and sweptoffline, while Ashwin was cut andpulled off the back foot with precision.Wade played with a full face of the batmore often than not and this earnedhim a longer stay at the crease than inthe first Test. On 52, Clarke inside-edged a catch off Ashwin thatCheteshwar Pujara at short leg failedto take.

Having searched for a wicket allafternoon, India found thebreakthrough in a dramatic 69th over,sandwiched between two let-offs byDhoni. Having just been reprievedwhen Dhoni muffed a stumping,Wade cut Harbhajan in the air

towards the off side, from whereBhuvneshwar threw himself to his leftand held an athletic catch. On thefinal ball of the over, Dhoni put downan edge off Moises Henriques glove asHarbhajan produced a spittingdelivery.

Having survived a couple shouts,Henriques was bowled by a peachfrom Jadeja that ripped past the bat tohit the stumps. Jadeja then added thedebutant Glenn Maxwell (13), whoedged a cut to Dhoni, after whichHarbhajan claimed Peter Siddle for 0.On 91, Clarke missed a sweep atJadeja and was bowled. Elevendeliveries later, he declared. �AGENCIES

Australia declare innings at 237 for 9Second India Test in Hyderabad

SCOREBOARDAUSTRALIA FIRST INNINGSD Warner b Kumar 6E Cowan lbw b Kumar 4P Hughes c Dhoni b Ashwin 19S Watson lbw b Kumar 23M Clarke b Jadeja 91M Wade c Kumar b Harbhajan Singh 62M Henriques b Jadeja 5G Maxwell c Dhoni b Jadeja 13P Siddle lbw b Harbhajan Singh 0J Pattinson not out 1X Doherty not out 0EXTRAS: (B 9, LB 4) 13TOTAL: (9 wickets dec; 85 overs) 237FALL OF WICKETS: 1-10, 2-15, 3-57, 4-63, 5-208, 6-217, 7-233, 8-236, 9-236BOWLINGKumar 15-2-53-3Sharma 17-5-45-0

Ashwin 15-6-41-1Harbhajan 22-2-52-2Jadeja 16-4-33-3INDIA FIRST INNINGSM Vijay not out 0V Sehwag not out 4To bat: C Pujara, S Tendulkar, V Kohli, R Jadeja, MSDhoni, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, B Kumar, ISharmaEXTRAS: (W 1) 1TOTAL: (0 wickets; 3 overs) 5BOWLINGJ Pattinson 2-1-1-0P Siddle 1-0-4-0Toss: Australia and who chose to batUmpires: K Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and MErasmus (South Africa)Third umpire: S RaviMatch referee: C Broad (England)

QUEENSTOWN: England lost theirfour-day warm-up match by threewickets on Saturday when a NewZealand XI chased down a 333-runtarget with eight balls to spare. BJWatling led the charge with anunbeaten 89 while opener Tom Lathammade 48 as England lost a first-classwarm-up match for the first time sincebeing beaten by an Indian side sevenyears ago. England declared at theirovernight second innings total of 256for nine – with Matt Prior (68) the maincontributor and Graeme Swannunbeaten on 41 – but their hopes for anearly breakthrough did not eventuate.Latham and Hamish Rutherford, incontention for one opening spot in theNew Zealand Test team, put on 56 forthe first wicket when Chris Woakes

dismissed Rutherford for 33.Stuart Broad produced a glimmer of

hope when he bowled Carl Cachopa fora duck before Neil Broom (41) settledin with Latham to lead New Zealandout of trouble. Broad also dismissedBroom and Woakes removed Brownlie(17) to have New Zealand at 167-5 at teabefore Watling dominated the finalsession in partnership with all-rounder Cory Anderson (44). JoeRoot, who claimed the wickets ofAnderson and Jimmy Neesham (20)finished with figures of two for 42,Woakes took two for 67 and Broadtwo for 90. Graham Onions, however,suffered in the big hitting close tofinish with none for 82 off 16 overswhile Swann, who claimed Latham'swicket, had one for 44 off 20. �AGENCIES

QUEENSTOWN: Left-armpaceman Neil Wagner has beenrewarded with a place in NewZealand's squad for the first Testagainst England after taking sixwickets in the ongoing tourmatch in Queenstown. The South Africa-born 26-year-old joins a squad of 13 for theMarch 6 test in Dunedin, NewZealand Cricket said in astatement on Saturday, andcould earn his fourth test cap ifthe hosts elect to field an all-pace attack. �AGENCIES

HSBC Women's Golf Championship

England fall to NewZealand XI in warm-up

Hosts add Wagner tosquad for first Test

Nadal facesFerrer in MexicanOpen final

LOS ANGELES: Lance Armstrong wasfacing two more lawsuits on Fridayspawned by his admission that banneddrugs fueled all seven of his Tour deFrance victories. The Nebraska-basedAcceptance Insurance Company suedArmstrong and Tailwind SportsCorporation claiming he committedfraud by concealing his use ofperformance enhancing drugs duringthe 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tours. "By hischeating and deception, Armstrongcommitted fraud. This suit seeksrepayment of $3 million in undeservedan unearned pay Lance Armstrongobtained by fraud," stated the lawsuitfiled in Travis County Court in Austin,Texas. The payment cited was a $3million bonus paid to Armstrong for hisfirst three Tour victories.

Acceptance claims that Armstrong'slies void the policy under which themoney was paid out. In October,Armstrong was stripped of his Tour titlesas well as all other results from August

1998 and bannedfor life after the USAnti-DopingAgency determinedhe was the keyfigure in asophisticateddoping program onhis US PostalService team. He finally made a belatedadmission of doping in a televisedinterview with Oprah Winfrey inJanuary, in which he said he used acombination of blood-dopingtransfusions, blood-boosting EPO andtestosterone throughout his career.Armstrong was also sued Thursday infederal court in Los Angeles in a class-action lawsuit claiming Armstrong andFRS – maker of nutritional supplements– engaged in false advertising.Armstrong spokesman Mark Fabianisaid the Texan and his advisers had nocomment on the suits, which are just thelatest legal woes to spring from

Armstrong's disgrace.The US government has joined a

"whistle-blower" lawsuit seeking help theUS Postal Service recoup "tens ofmillions" paid to Armstrong when itsponsored his team with more than $30million – a lawsuit that could deliver atriple-damages blow costing Armstrongmore than $90 million. That lawsuit wasfirst filed by Armstrong's disgracedformer teammate Floyd Landis, whoclaims Armstrong and team managerJohan Bruyneel defrauded taxpayers andthe government by having Armstrongand other riders use performance-enhancing drugs. Texas insurancecompany SCA, which paid him $12.1million in bonuses for multiple Tourvictories, is also suing Armstrong. InBritain, he is being sued by the SundayTimes, which is seeking repayment of the£1 million ($1.6 million, 1.2 million euros)libel settlement Armstrong won againstthe newspaper in 2006 after it printedallegations that he doped. �AGENCIES

Choi Na Yeon looks on after a shot along thefairway during round three. �AGENCIES

Armstrong faces two new lawsuits

KUALA LUMPUR:Karolina Pliskova qualifiedfor her first ever WTA finalby crushing fourth seedAyumi Morita of Japan 6-0,6-2 in just 47 minutes onSaturday.

The world No. 127, whohas not dropped a set in thetournament, said she wassurprised by the ease of thevictory and by how well shehas been playing in theBMW Malaysian Open. "Iexpected a tough match butand I'm surprised it wasn't,"said Pliskova, who turns 21on March 21. "I've beenbetter in other tournamentsbut the results were not asgood as this. I'm excited toplay in my first final andcan't wait to see who I'll beplaying. "I'm quite surprisedI have yet to drop a set but Idid tell myself I must finishthe matches off quickly asthe weather is really tough,"the Czech Republic playeradded. �AGENCIES

Pliskovasails intofirst careerfinal

Tennis

Tennis

Renowned poetessShabnam Shakeel diesKARACHI: Renowned poetessShabnam Shakeel, aged 71, passedaway here on Saturday. She wasborn on March 12‚ 1942 inLahore. She worked as lecturer atdifferent government colleges forwomen before opting forpremature retirement. She wasawarded Presidents' Pride ofPerformance Award in 2004. Herpoetic collection includesShabzad‚ Iztaraab and MusafatRaigan. Her Namaz-e-Janaza willbe offered in F-11 Graveyard inIslamabad on Sunday after Zoharprayer. Chairman‚ PakistanAcademy of Letters AbdulHameed expressed grief andsorrow over the sad demise ofShabnam Shakeel. –AGENCIES

Two policemenkilled in Held KashmirSRINAGAR: Insurgents shot andkilled two policemen at a marketplace in Indian-administeredKashmir, police said. A policestatement said the assailants fledafter Saturday’s attack near a busstop in Handwara, a town 90kilometres north of Srinagar.Nearly a dozen militant groupshave been fighting for Kashmir’sindependence from India or itsmerger with neighboring Pakistansince 1989. –AGENCIES

Arif Nizami servesnotice on Urdu dailyISLAMABAD: Arif Nizami, Editor

of Pakistan Today, has serveddefamation notice to a daily Urdupaper for making ‘uncalled’ and‘false statements’ against him. Inthe notice, he had demandedpublishing of apology in the saidpaper and payment of Rs. 100million as damages within sevendays otherwise legal proceedingswould be initiated against thepaper. -Online

Former MPA indictedfor dual nationalityLAHORE: Session Court, Lahorehas indicted former MPA, RanaAsif for having dual nationality,while it has also ordered to giveadvertisement in newspapers forarrest of Amna Butter. TheElection Commission told thehonourable court on Saturday thatformer MPA, Asif Mehmood andAmna Butter, in addition toformer MNA, Shahnaz Sheikhbetrayed the Election Commissionby having dual nationality. TheSession Judge of Lahoresummoned the witnesses andsubsequently, indicted Rana Asif.The lawyer of former MNA,Shahnaz Sheikh asked for time togive arguments. The courtaccepted the request. Hearing ofthe case was adjourned till March5. –ONLINE

Security tightened forwitnesses of BB murder case ISLAMABAD: Witnesses ofBenazir murder case are receivinglife threats from the bannedgroups while Sub InspectorAshfaq of Rawalpindi police hasbeen missing for the last two days.As per a private TV channel, thewitnesses included inspector IjazShah of Rawalpindi, SubInspector Ilyas of Gujrat and SubInspector Ashfaq of Lahore. Theyreceived threats from unknownnumber from Afghanistan.However, the report has been filedwith police and security agenciesand witnesses would be providedtight security. –ONLINE

SUNDAYMARCH 03, 2013THE SPOKESMAN - RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD

OUR STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE: Coalition partners PPP andPML-Q have finally agreed to a seatadjustment formula in Punjab while thedifferences remain on contesting theelections on a joint symbol and on somekey seats including the one held by ChAhmed Mukhtar.

On Saturday a high-powered PMLdelegation comprising Ch Shujaat, ChPervaiz Elahi and sons Moonis and Rasikhalong with Amir Sunni Ittehad CouncilSahibzada Fazle Karim called on PresidentZardari at Bilawal House and spoke atlength about the possible consensus on seatadjustment between the two parties inPunjab. Also came under discussion was

name of the caretaker prime minister thatCh Shujaat promised to provide to the PPPin next four days.

However, the points of contentions –contesting on joint symbol of Arrow andseat held by Ch Ahmed Mukhtar –remained unresolved. PPP wants PML tocontest on the joint symbol while the PMLwants to stay with Cycle. Of all the seats onwhich the two parties agreed to contestfrom, the discussion on Ch AhmedMukhtar’s seat remained contentious. PPPsaid according to agreed upon formula theseat won by a party would have to stay withthe party but PML leaders were of the viewthat it was the home seat and mattered themost. Both the parties agreed to disagreeand put off the discussion for few days.

Sunni Ittehad Council Amir Sahibzadafazle Karim said that SIC would becomepart of ruling alliance in the elections butits alliance will be with PML-Q rather thanthe PPP. All parties agreed to the proposal.

Also on Saturday, PML-Q and the Nawabof Bahawalpur Salahuddin Abbasi agreedon a seat adjustment formula for threedistricts in southern Punjab.

The agreement over the Bahawalnagar,Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur districtswas finalised during a meeting betweenPML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain,party leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi andAbbasi, who also heads the BahawalpurNational Awami Party (BNAP), at thelatter’s residence in Lahore.

Shujaat said the PML could not strike an

electoral alliance with the Pakistan MuslimLeague – Nawaz (PML-N), adding that thevarious factions of the Muslim Leaguecould not come together “due to thestubbornness of one man”. ChaudhryShujaat said that as elections were aroundthe corner, to speak of a political alliance atthis point was useless. “An alliance withPML-N is impossible”, he said.

Referring to Pir Pagara’s statements,Chaudhry Shujaat said his notion ofalliances is a good one, however despitedated efforts by his father and PML doingan alliance was impossible.

Pagara’s remarks came in the aftermathof the alliances that his party formed withthe Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz PML-N. Pervez Elahi said on the occasion that

PML-N was consulting other politicalparties for seat-adjustments. “Once theassemblies are dissolved, a lot of things willbecome obvious.” he claimed.

The Nawab of Bahawalpur SalahuddinAbbasi, who was also present at thebriefing, said his Bahawalpur NationalAwami Party will make electoral alliancewith PML in general elections. Sheddinglight on his relations with PPP he said, “I’ lltell you why I cooperated with the PPP forthe first time. It was because an agreementwas reached between myself and BenazirBhutto, in London."

Abbasi said that Benazir Bhutto hadtold him that she would move for theprovince of Bahawalpur as soon as sheassumed office.

DENVER: A former CIA contractorwho triggered an internationalincident in 2011 when he killed twomen in Lahore, Pakistan pleadedguilty on Friday to assaulting a manin a dispute over a parking spot,prosecutors said.

Raymond Allen Davis enteredthe plea in Douglas CountyDistrict Court to misdemeanorthird-degree assault and receiveda two-year probationary sentence,said Lisa Pinto, spokeswoman for

the district attorney’s office.Pinto said Davis was also ordered to

take anger management classes andwrite a letter of apology to the victim,Jeff Maes. Davis, 38, was originallycharged with second-degree felonyassault in the altercation with Maesin October 2011.

Officers were sent to a bagel storeparking lot on reports of a fightbetween the two men, according toDouglas County Sheriff ’sspokesman Ron Hanavan. Police

said Davis started the fight andknocked Maes to the ground. Hewas arrested at the scene. A USArmy veteran and former SpecialForces soldier, Davis madeinternational headlines when heshot and killed two men in Lahorein January 2011.

Davis, who was working inPakistan at the time under a CIAcontract with Xe Services, thecontroversial private security firmformerly known as Blackwater,

said he acted in self-defence. Hewas acquitted of murder andallowed to leave Pakistan after a$2.3 million payment was made tothe men’s families.

Then-Secretary of State HillaryClinton said at the time that theUS government did not pay the“blood money” but would notreveal who did. She alsopromised top TV anchors ofPakistan a trial for the killings inthe US court. –AGENCIES

Though Hillary promised to try US spy for ʻkillingsʼ in Lahore, but...

Raymond Davis pleads guilty to assault in US

PPP, PML-Q agree on seat adjustment formula

OUR STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD: The JudicialCommission of Pakistan (JCP)Saturday recommendedappointment of seven additionaljudges at the Peshawar High Court(PHC), but the law minister,attorney general and lawyers’representatives did not attend themeeting due to differences overcommission’s proceedings.

The meeting was held with ChiefJustice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhary in the chair. Thoserecommended to be appointed asadditional judges at the PHCinclude Justices Abdul Latif Khan,Malik Manzoor, Afsar Ali Shah, LalJan Khattak, Ikramullah Khan,Musarat Hilali and Saud Khan.

The Commission also approved 6-month extension in the service of sixadditional judges of the LahoreHigh Court, who were to completetheir one-year contract by March 27,2013. These additional judgesinclude Aisha Malik, ShahidHameed, Abdul Sami Khan, Abad-ur-Rehman Lodhi, Shujjat A Khanand Baqir Naqvi.

Law Minister, Attorney Generaland representative of the PakistanBar Council did not attend themeeting due to persistingdifferences over the proceedings ofthe commission. According toPakistan Bar Council Vice ChairmanSyed Qalb-i-Hassan, superior bars

would not send their representativesto the JCP meeting because lawyershave reservations regarding thecommission’s proceedings about theappointment of judges. He said barcouncil’s special committee hadfinalized the proposed amendmentsin the JCP’s rules, as executive bodyof the PBC would consider theseproposed amendments on March 9,and later on it would be forwardedto the commission.

It is to mention here that onNovember 7, 2012, the PakistanBar Council had unanimouslypassed a resolution stressing thatnominees of the Bar Councils toJCP should be meaningfullyconsulted in respect of theappointment of Judges and shouldalso have a hand in initiating thenames of proposed Judges. Itbelieved that the above objectivescould not be achieved till the Rulesframed by the JCP are suitablyamended. It resolved to defer thenomination of its representative tothe JCP till positive steps are takento amend the relevant Rules.

In another resolution on the sameday, the PBC appealed to thepolitical parties in the Parliament toamend in the Constitution so thatthe provisions of Article 175-A of theConstitution are suitably amendedto meet the long outstandingdemand of the Council for ameaningful participation in theprocess of appointment of Judges.

KARACHI: Women hold a demonstration against the arrest of Shia youths on Saturday. –ONLINE

RAWALPINDI:Accountability Court,Rawalpindi Saturdayacquitted Malik Riaz,property tycoon and his sonAli Riaz in 1401-kanal landreference.

Both have been exoneratedby the AC on the applicationfiled by NAB under section31 (B) seeking their acquittal.The court has alsoexonerated another accusedPatwari Rizwan in thisreference due to recovery ofamount from him by NABunder plea bargain.However, the court hasdisqualified him for holdingany public office for ten yearsand he will not be entitled toobtain any loan from a bankor financial institution.

NAB Prosecutor SardarZulqarnain told the courtthis case remained withanti corruptiondepartment for two yearsbut it could not recoverthis amount. The creditgoes to NAB that casecame before it 2 monthsearlier and it recovered asum of Rs 23 million fromPatwari Rizwan underplea bargain.

Prosecutor of Punjab Anti-Corruption raised objectionover plea bargainapplication.

Talking to reporters afterhis acquittal from thereference, Malik Riaz said heforgives the people who hadregistered false case againsthim. –AGENCIES

KARACHI/QUETTA: Violence continuedto grip Karachi and Balochistan as another15 people were killed in the two provincialcapitals of the country.

At least 11 people were killed in separateincidents of violence in different parts ofKarachi while four people were shot andthen burnt to death in Turbat district onSaturday. Three people were gunneddown and one person was injured due tofiring in the Orangi Town. The assailantsmanaged to flee. In another incident, oneperson was shot dead in Karachi’s ShahFaisal Colony. Police said the victim, whowas killed in the colony’s Green Townarea, was a madrassa teacher.

Separately, two people were killed duringfiring in the Moach Goth area whereas oneperson was shot dead in Liaquatabad’s B-1area. A body bearing torture marks wasfound in Karachi’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town.The body has not yet been identified. InManghopir, two alleged dacoits and afemale bystander were killed during apolice encounter.

In Turbat, a burnt vehicle with fourbodies was found at Rodban Bridge.“Unidentified armed men ridingmotorcycles opened fire from three sides

on a car in which four persons weretravelling,” a police official said. The armedmen later set the car on fire. All fourpersons in the car were burnt to death. Theattackers escaped before security personnelreached the spot.

Upon receiving information, the Leviesforce reached the spot and took the deadbody into hospital and claimed that thefour-boarded personals were heading toMand from Tump when unknowncriminals opened fired on them. Therelative of the two deceased identified twodead bodies as that of Abdullah son of DadAllah and Nasir son of Afzal hailing fromMand but the identity of two other couldnot be ascertained yet.

In a separate development, FrontierCorps paramilitary troops conducted atargeted operation in the Eastern Bypassarea of Quetta. FC sources said sixsuspected target-killers were arrested andarms and ammunition were recoveredfrom their possession.

“All six terrorists were involved intargeted killings and kidnappings,” said anofficial of the FC , requesting not to benamed since he was not authorized tospeak to media. –AGENCIES

Karachi, Balochistancontinue to bleed

JCP appoints7 additionalPHC judges� Gives 6-month extension to 6 LHC judges� Law minister, AG and lawyers’ reps stay away

NAB rescues tycoonMalik Riaz,son acquitted inland reference

� Differences persist on joint symbol and seat held by Mukhtar � Nawab of Bahawalpur joins hands with Chaudhrys

� Receives two-year probationary sentence � To take anger management classes, write apology letter to victim

� 11 lives lost in Karachi � 4 persons burnt to death in Turbat

WASHINGTON: Barack Obamawarned on Saturday of a "rippleeffect" through the US economy thatwould cost hundreds of thousands ofjobs after he reluctantly signed anorder to begin a huge $85bn (£56bn)programme of government cuts.

The president even called the act"not smart" on the morning after thecuts officially became governmentpolicy, in a move that has beendubbed "sequestration" and hasplunged Washington into anotherpolitical crisis. "The pain will be real.Many middle-class families will havetheir lives disrupted in a significantway," Obama said in his weeklyaddress. He added that up to

750,000 jobs could be lost and half apercentage point knocked offAmerica's economic growth this year."This will cause a ripple effect acrossthe economy. Businesses will sufferbecause customers will have lessmoney to spend ... These cuts are notsmart. They will hurt our economyand cost us jobs," he said.

The hardest-hit part of thegovernment will be the Pentagon,which has to make $40bn of cutsbetween now and September – about9% of its budget. Defence chiefs havealready said that the move will delaydeployments – such as a recent moveof an aircraft carrier to the Gulf – andhurt national security. –AGENCIES

Huge job losses asObama orders $85b cuts

Pagara, Chattha seek PML unificationLAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded (PML-LM) have agreed to form a high-level committee to resolve mattersregarding seat adjustment in the upcoming general elections. Head of PML-F Pir Pagaramet PML-LM Chief Hamid Nasir Chattha at his residence and discussed important issuesrelating to upcoming elections. Kashmala Tariq, Maj. (R) Ghulam Abbas, ShiekhMohammad Rizwan from PML-LM and Muhammad Ali Durrani, Imran Riaz and ShiekhAnwar from PML-F were also present. Both Hamid Nsair Chattha and Pir Pagarah urgedupon all factions of PML that if they get united, they could jointly give tough time to otherparties in the upcoming elections. Chattha said PML has major vote bank in the country andif they become united, they can easily form government. –STAFF REPORTER

Published by Ahmad Waleed from Yasmin Majeed Printing Press, 69-Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

The Spokesman

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