Canadian Pakistani Times Thursday January 31, 2013 Volume 1, 045

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‘All 20 on board Kazakh airliner killed in crash’

Former Ogra chief arrested in Abu Dhabi

Trade across Line of Control resumes after 20-day hiatus

ECP issues electionscode of conduct Army, judiciary in support of democracy, says PM

ISLAMABAD: Former chairman of the Oil &

Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Tauqir Sadiq

was arrested in Abu Dhabi, DawnNews reported

on Tuesday. Sadiq is accused of having caused a

loss of Rs83 billion to the national exchequer and

eventually fleeing away. He went into hiding soon

after the Nov 25, 2011 Supreme Court verdict

which had declared his appointment illegal and

had directed the

National Account-

ability Bureau

(NAB) to investi-

gate corruption

cases against him

within 45 days.

Sources told

DawnNews a three-member team of law enforce-

ment officials from Pakistan had arrested the for-

mer Ogra chairman in Abu Dhabi with assistance

from local police.

Authorities are making preparations to

bring the former official back to Pakistan.

Last week, the Supreme Court had or-

dered the NAB to file within a week two corrup-

tion references in the case against Sadiq.

One of the references ordered to be filed

points a finger at the prime minister who had al-

legedly approved Sadiq’s appointment as chair-

man of the Ogra. The other is against the officials

who are accused of obstructing investigations

against Sadiq and facilitating his escape from the

country. They include Interior Minister Rehman

Malik and Pakistan People’s Party’s senior leader

Jehangir Badar who is a close relative of Sadiq.

Prime Minister Ashraf was water and

power minister and head of the selection commit-

tee which had approved Sadiq’s appointment.

ALMATY: All 20 people on board a domestic flight

in Kazakhstan operated by the SCAT airline died

Tuesday when their Bombardier jet crashed on ap-

proach to Almaty airport in thick fog, the airline

said. “Twenty people were on board – five crew

members and 15 passengers,” the airline said in a

statement, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

“According to preliminary information

there are no survivors,” the statement added, saying

the aircraft was a CRJ-200 made by Canadian man-

ufacturer Bombardier.

SCAT said the plane went down about five

kilometres (three miles) short of the financial cen-

tre’s main airport on a flight from the northern

steppe city of Kokshetau.

Commercial KTK television said the

plane crashed into a suburb of Almaty but gave no

information of possible casualties or damage on

the ground.

The Kazinform news agency reported that

officials from both the interior and transportation

ministry had travelled to the site of the crash.

The accident came just a month after a

crash that killed 27, claiming the lives of much of

the top echelon of the Kazakh state border service

including the acting chief.

Aviation disasters remain a scourge across

the former Soviet Union due to ageing hardware

that often has not been replaced since the fall of the

Soviet regime, as well as human error.

MUZAFFARABAD: Six Pakistani goods trucks

crossed into Indian-administered Kashmir on Tues-

day, an official said, ending a 20-day halt in trade

sparked by deadly army clashes earlier this month.

The convoy, carrying onions, dates and

dried fruits, crossed the Line of Control (LoC)

shortly before

midday. Trade r s

on the Pakistani

side complained

that the closure of

the key crossing

point had cost

them 30 million

rupees ($300,000)

following the

flare-up, which left

five soldiers dead.

Brigadier

Ismail Khan, the

director general of

Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s Trade and Travel

Authority (TATA), told AFP that six trucks had

gone to the Indian side at the Titrinot crossing.

Cross-border trade has been encouraged

in recent years as a means to improve relations be-

tween the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought

two wars over Kashmir.

Kashan Masood, the head of the traders’

association in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, said

the recent disruption had hit business hard.

“We had placed orders for tomatoes and

other vegetables from India. They were rotten and

we suffered a loss of 30 million rupees,” he said.

“We are always at risk that our business

will suffer when-

ever tension

starts on (the)

LoC. We are

doing this busi-

ness at our own

risk as we don’t

have any guaran-

tee from the au-

thorities.”

The clashes,

which began on

January 6,

prompted fears

that tensions be-

tween the two countries could escalate, but a cease-

fire agreement on January 16 between commanders

from both armies has held. A cross-border bus

service also resumed on Monday. The route from

Poonch on the Indian-administered side to

Rawalakot on the Pakistani-administered side was

opened in 2005 to enable members of divided fam-

ilies in the region to meet up.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pak-

istan (ECP) on Tuesday issued a final code of con-

duct pertaining to the upcoming general elections.

The code does not permit the president,

the prime minister, federal ministers, governors,

chief ministers, provincial ministers and other

public office holders to participate in election

campaigns “in any manner whatsoever”.

The election commission prepared the

document, comprising of 40 points, after conclud-

ing consultations with political parties.

The rules also restricts political parties

from encouraging or entering into any kind of

agreement debarring women from becoming can-

didates for an election or exercising their right of

vote in an election. It further says that political

parties should “encourage women to participate”

in the election process.

It moreover says that all contesting can-

didates and their supporters are to avoid all activ-

ities which are offences under the election laws,

such as bribing of voters, intimidation as well as

canvassing within 400 yards of a polling station,

including setting up of camps.

Furthermore, wall chalking as part of an

election campaign has also been prohibited.

Whereas, use of loudspeaker would also not be al-

lowed for election campaigns, “except at election

meetings”. The code also makes it mandatory for

candidates to specify a bank account for election

expenses and they are also expected to keep

records in this regard.

Also, the rules require all political par-

ties and candidates to “firmly restrain their work-

ers from exerting undue pressure against the print

and electronic media”.

Moreover, the commission has also im-

posed a ban on display of weapons and fire arms

in public meetings and processions “as well as on

the polling day” and until 24 hours after the con-

solidation of official results by the Returning Of-

ficer”. The commission’s code of conduct also

states that violation of the rules and regulations by

a candidate may also result in his or her

disqualification.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military, judi-

ciary and all political forces support a

democratic system in the country, Prime

Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on

Tuesday, urging all state institutions to

continue working within their bound-

aries. Speaking at a function of the Guj-

jar Khan Bar Association in Islamabad,

PM Ashraf said that, despite the naysay-

ers and all the challenges faced, the Pak-

istan People’s Party (PPP) led

government had completed its five-

year term.

The premier said that the Army

and judiciary support a democratic sys-

tem, and that all political forces are also

in agreement that only a democracy

could run in the country.

Ashraf further said that the PPP

had set a history of reconciliation, and

claimed they could have formed a gov-

ernment in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

and Punjab if they desired. However, he

said, the PPP respected the people’s man-

date and would continue to do so.

The premier’s statement comes

nearly a day after Pakistan People’s

Party (PPP) stalwart Raza Rabbani said

‘a conspiracy’ was being hatched by

certain elements to delay the upcoming

general election for two to three years.

The PPP senator had warned

that “a sword (of Damocles)” was

hanging over democracy and that “it

would continue to be there till the elec-

tion of prime minister after the polls.”

The senator’s remarks were fol-

lowed by a pre-scheduled meeting of

the PPP in which the party leadership

had discussed possible dates for disso-

lution of the National Assembly and

holding elections.

Also today, PPP Co-Chairman

and President Asif Ali Zardari has sum-

moned a meeting of leaders of the coali-

tion parties for Tuesday evening to

discuss the dissolution of assemblies

and the caretaker setup.

02 January 31, 2013

Zardari summons meet-ing of coalition leaders

“Zero Dark Thirty” finds no takers in Pakistan

Kargil adventure was four-man show: general

Fazlullah on top of US drone target list

SLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chair-

man and President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned a meet-

ing of leaders of the coalition parties to discuss important

issues related to the upcoming general elections, Dawn-

News reported.

T h e

meeting which

is scheduled to

take place on

T u e s d a y

evening will be

held in the Pres-

ident House,

sources said.

T h e

meeting will

discuss the dis-

solution of as-

semblies and the

caretaker setup,

DawnNews quoted sources as saying.

Earlier on Monday, the PPP leadership had dis-

cussed the possible dates for dissolution of the National

Assembly and holding elections during a meeting with

President Zardari at the Presidency.

The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister

Raja Pervez Ashraf and PPP ministers.

Sources said the party’s leadership had agreed

that the time had come for making formal contacts with

other political parties on the issue of setting up caretaker

governments at the centre and in the provinces before the

elections, which will become due anytime after the com-

pletion of the National Assembly’s term on March 16.

KARACHI: Pakistani movie distributors and tel-

evision stations are boycotting an Oscar-nomi-

nated film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden

and popular US dramas to avoid offending sen-

sibilities or sparking a violent backlash.

Pakistan may have a starring role in

Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero

Dark Thirty”, which

dramatises the 10-year

CIA hunt for the 9/11 mas-

termind, but local cinemas

are steering clear of a film

they say could make peo-

ple feel humiliated.

Similarly, a local

cable distributor is block-

ing transmission of the

smash hit dramas “Home-

land”, starring Claire

Danes, and “Last Resort”

on the grounds they are

against national interest.

The boycotts are the latest

form of unofficial censor-

ship in Pakistan, where

YouTube has been blocked for four months over

a trailer for the anti-Islam film, “Innocence of

Muslims”.

“Zero Dark Thirty” has topped the box

office charts in the US and earned five Oscar

nods. But in Pakistan, the raid to kill bin Laden

is considered one of the blacker incidents in the

country’s history.

A US Navy SEAL team killed the Al

Qaeda chief in his hideout less than a mile from

Pakistan’s premier military academy on May 2,

2011 in Abbottabad.

“We have not and neither has anyone

else bought Zero Dark Thirty,” said Mohsin

Yaseen, a representative for film distribution

company Cinepax. He described the film as

“pro-American”, despite controversy in the US

over its depictions of so-called “enhanced inter-

rogation techniques,” widely seen as torture.

“It has several scenes which could

make us feel humiliated. It is against the interests

of the Pakistani nation,” said Yaseen.

The chairman of the Film Censors

Board told AFP it had not reviewed “Zero Dark

Thirty” because there had been no request to do

so.

In 2010 censors banned Indian Bolly-

wood comedy “Tere bin Laden”, which poked

fun at the Al Qaeda leader, on the grounds that it

could incite violent backlash and terrorist at-

tacks.

Max Media, which has the rights in

Pakistan to cable channel Star World, is

refusing to transmit “Homeland” and

military drama “Last Resort”. While

“Last Resort” features US nuclear

strikes on Pakistan, the country is re-

ferred to only briefly in “Homeland”,

which stars Damian Lewis as a US Ma-

rine who is also a suspected Al Qaeda

agent. “We strongly believe that pro-

grammes such as ‘Homeland’ and ‘Last

Resort’ are against our national interest,

cultural values and ideology,” said an of-

ficial at Max Media who did not want to

be named.

He said the programmes were sus-

pended in keeping with a code of con-

duct from the Pakistan Electronic Media

Regularity Authority (Pemra) and

warned that even “a vague reference

about Islam can ignite violence in Pakistan”.

But a thriving trade in pirated DVDs al-

lows Pakistanis to watch whatever they want in

the privacy of their homes and “Zero Dark

Thirty”, “Homeland” and “Last Resort” are

big sellers.

“We do not have any threats or con-

cerns, nor has any one stopped us from selling

these DVDs,” said a salesman at one popular

DVD shop in Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD: The men who witnessed the Kargil

fiasco continue to spill the beans. Lt Gen (retd)

Shahid Aziz, a former chief of general staff of Pak-

istan Army who has till now kept his peace about

what he witnessed in the summer of ’99, says the

‘misadventure’ was a four-man show the details of

which were hidden from the rest of the military

commanders initially.

This is the first time someone this senior

in the military hierarchy of the time has spoken in

such detail and with such frankness about the fiasco

that was Kargil.

According to him, initially the Kargil op-

eration was known only to Gen Pervez Musharraf,

chief of general staff Lt Gen Mohammad Aziz,

FCNA (Force Command Northern Areas) com-

mander Lt Gen Javed Hassan and 10-Corps com-

mander Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmad.

The majority of corps commanders and

principal staff officers were kept in the dark, says

Gen Aziz. “Even the-then director general military

operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Tauqir Zia came to

know about it later,” says Gen Aziz who at the time

was serving as director general of the analysis wing

of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

He said that Gen Musharraf worked on a

policy of “need to know” throughout his tenure as

COAS and later president — in other words,

Musharraf would issue orders to only those who

were required to implement orders instead of first

consulting corps commanders and other military of-

ficers. The Kargil operation began in the summer

of 1999 when Pakistani soldiers infiltrated into po-

sitions on the Indian side of the Line of Control.

The infiltration, which managed to cut off Indian

supply lines, took New Delhi by surprise.

Initially, Islamabad claimed that the infil-

trators were mujahideen but it could not maintain

this façade for long. The Indian response coupled

with international pressure forced the Pakistan mil-

itary to withdraw.

However, the aftermath of the operation

served to heighten tensions between Gen Musharraf

and then prime minister Nawaz Sharif which cul-

minated in the October coup when the military re-

moved the elected government and took over.

‘Operation was never planned’

“The Pakistan Army did not plan the op-

eration because Gen Musharraf never saw Kargil

as a major operation. Only the FCNA was involved

in it and perhaps a section of 10-Corps,” says Aziz,

adding that it was a major intelligence failure for

India. More details of the operation are expected in

Gen Aziz’s book which is hitting the bookshelves

next week.

“It was a miscalculated move,” he says

when asked about the operation, adding that “its ob-

jectives were not clear and its ramifications were

not properly evaluated”.

At his picturesque farmhouse in Pind

Begwal in the foothills of Murree, about 30km from

the capital, Gen Aziz was not averse to speaking

frankly about the operation.

“It was a failure because we had to hide

its objectives and results from our own people and

the nation. It had no purpose, no planning and no-

body knows even today how many soldiers lost

their lives.”

He said he was personally not aware of

what information had been shared with then prime

minister Nawaz Sharif, but he felt that Mr Sharif

“was not fully in the picture”.

He, however, recalls a general telling him

that Nawaz Sharif asked “when are you giving us

Kashmir?” during an informal discussion. This sug-

gests, says Gen Aziz, that Mr Sharif was not com-

pletely in the dark.

Gen Aziz himself first discovered that

something was up when he came across wireless

communication intercepts from which he could tell

that something was making the Indian forces panic.

“The intercepts worried me as I thought

we were not aware of whatever was unsettling the

Indians. I deputed two officers to figure out what

was happening.” The next day’s wireless intercepts

were clear enough for Gen Aziz to realise that the

Indians’ anxiety stemmed from the fact that some-

one from Pakistan had captured some areas in

Kargil-Drass sector but it was not clear if they were

mujahideen or regular troops. “I took these inter-

cepts to then ISI director general Lt Gen Ziauddin

Butt and asked what was happening.”

It was then that Gen Aziz was finally told

by Gen Butt that the army had captured some area

in Kargil. This, says Gen Aziz, was not right. In his

opinion, he should have been told about the pro-

posed operation in advance so that he could have

provided his analysis in advance.

A day after this conversation between

Aziz and Butt, the latter called Gen Aziz and told

him that he had been invited to the General Head-

quarters for a briefing on Kargil.

The briefing- During the briefing, which was also

attended by all the principal staff officers, Director

General Military Operations Lt Gen Tauqir Zia ex-

plained that units of NLI (Northern Light Infantry)

and regular troops had captured areas in the Drass-

Kargil sector.

Aziz feels that even though the briefing

was conducted by DGMO Tauqir Zia, it was clear

that he had not been aware of the operation from

the beginning.

The day after the DGMO briefing, the

friction at Kargil operation was reported in the Pak-

istani media; interestingly, the Indian media had

carried stories a day earlier.

This shows that the military leadership

was informed about such a critical operation only

after it began and by that time information was

trickling down to the media.

At the briefing, Gen Zia did explain the

‘objectives’ of the operation — it had cut off India’s

supply lines to Siachen because of the closure of

Zojila Pass on Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Leh road.

This, said Gen Zia, would block India

from supplying its troops in Siachen and subse-

quently, India would evacuate Siachen. That this

did not happen is now history.

Gen Aziz says this was because the plan-

ners “miscalculated the Indian response and overall

repercussions”.

At the briefing, Gen Tauqir Zia talked

about airing pre-recorded Pashto messages that he

hoped would be intercepted by the Indian forces.

His objective was that these intercepts would fool

India into thinking that the Afghan mujahideen had

occupied areas in Kargil.

Gen Aziz says he objected to this plan as

“these would get exposed very shortly”. He adds

that this led to lengthy discussions and finally

Tauqir Zia conceded that the truth could not be hid-

den for long.

In retrospect, Gen Aziz feels that “even if

only NLI men were up there, it would be wrong to

suggest that the operation was carried out by para-

military forces because NLI falls under the military

chain of command unlike the Rangers that are

headed by a military officer but technically they fall

under the control of the ministry of interior”.

The study that never was

But for Gen Aziz the end of the operation

did not mean the end of the matter.

After he was promoted as chief of general

staff, he says that in 2004 he ordered a small study

to inquire into what miscalculations had led to

such a huge loss of men and money. He also asked

each battalion concerned for details.

But the reaction was swift.

An angry Gen Musharraf called him and

asked what the objectives of the study were. “I told

him it would provide a professional understanding

of our mistakes and losses but Gen Musharraf in-

sisted that this was not the time for such a study and

ordered that it be stopped.

WASHINGTON: Pakistani Taliban leader

Maulana Fazlullah is top on a list of potential tar-

gets for US drones, The Washington Post reported

on Monday, quoting official sources.

“Fazlullah is a priority — stalked by

spies on the ground and squarely in the sights of

armed drones,” a senior US Special Operations of-

ficial told the Post. “He is very high on the leader

board. We have assets focused on killing him.”

The US media reported earlier this month

that the Obama administration was preparing new

guidelines for attacking suspected terrorists but

would continue to give the CIA a free hand in tar-

geting terrorists inside Fata.

The report has irked Pakistan, which has

repeatedly asked the US administration to recon-

sider its policy of using drones for attacking ter-

rorists inside Fata. While Pakistanis agree with the

US claim that the drones have killed many top ter-

rorists, they complain that a large number of civil-

ians have also been killed.

Pakistani officials also say that while the

Americans are keen to target Afghan Taliban lead-

ers, they do not show equal enthusiasm in attack-

ing Pakistani militants.

The Americans reject this charge, point-

ing out that the drones have also killed dozens of

senior Pakistani Taliban, including their leader

Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a drone strike

on Aug 23, 2009.

Pakistani officials, however, counter this

argument by claiming that the Afghan government

has allowed Maulana Fazlullah and other Swat Tal-

iban to use their territory for carrying out cross-

border attacks inside Pakistan. And the Americans

are not using their influence to prevent the Afghan

government from doing so.

“Pakistan officials complained for years,

and again after the attack on Malala Yousufzai in

October, that US forces were doing too little to

stop Fazlullah,” the Post noted but also pointed out

that “this has (now) changed”.

The Post also quoted “conflicting reports

from the region” as saying that a recent US drone

strike in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province might

have killed Fazlullah. “Neither US nor Pakistan of-

ficials have been able to confirm his death. Some

of his followers assert that he is still alive,” the re-

port added.

The Post noted that Maulana Fazlullah

remained little known outside Pakistan until this

past October, when a gunman associated with him

tried to kill Malala for demanding equal education

opportunities for girls. Malala survived the assas-

sination attempt and is now recuperating with her

family in Britain. The attempted assassination of a

15-year-old girl made headlines worldwide, and

now “Fazlullah is notorious for murdering and

maiming schoolgirls as part of his vicious cam-

paign to impose Taliban rule on Pakistan,” the re-

port added. The Post report also shows how a blast

Fazlullah orchestrated outside a school in Swat af-

fected lives in both Pakistan and the United States.

The blast killed three schoolgirls and

wounded more than 100 students and teachers. US

Army Staff Sgt. Mark Stets, Sgt. 1st Class

Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller and Sgt. 1st Class David

J. Hartman were also killed in the attack.

Sluss-Tiller, Stets and Hartman had five

daughters and one young son. “These children and

their mothers have struggled to deal with their

losses. Some have fallen into deep depression,” the

report noted. And Pakistani survivors of the 2010

school blast, like Sara Ali, 14, who suffered major

back injuries, “live in fear of another attack”, the

report added.

January 31, 2013 03

Nepra approveselectricity tariff hikeSix killed in suicide blast outside Somali PM’s office

Benazir case: ATC grants defence request to obtain inquiry report

Policeman killed in attack onpolio vaccination team in SwabiPPP, allies to begin talks on caretaker setup: Kaira

MOGADISHU: At least six people were killed

when a suicide bomber blew himself up amongst

a group of security officials outside the Somali

prime minister’s office on Tuesday, army officials

said. “I saw the dead bodies of six people and sev-

eral others were injured,” said Abdukadir Ali, a

Somali military official who stayed near the scene

of the attack in central Mogadishu.

It is believed that many of those killed or

wounded were soldiers or police.

“The bomber was sitting near a perimeter

wall and detonated himself in the midst of a group

of security forces,” Ali added. “There was chaos,

smoke and pieces of human flesh.”

Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Said

was in his office at the time when the attacker

struck, officials in his office said, but he was not

harmed by the blast.

“The area was closed down by the secu-

rity forces … I saw several dead soldiers and oth-

ers injured being rushed to hospital,” said

Mohamed Hussein, a witness.

No group immediately claimed respon-

sibility for the blast, but the Al Qaeda linked She-

bab insurgents have conducted a series of guerrilla

style attacks in the capital.

The insurgents have vowed to topple

newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud,

who took office in September after being chosen

by the country’s new parliament, bringing an end

to eight years of transitional rule.

Shebab fighters are on the back foot,

having fled a string of key towns ahead of a

17,000-strong African Union force, which is fight-

ing alongside Somali government troops to wrest

territory off the extremists.

Ethiopian troops are also battling the

Shebab in the southwest of Somalia.

But the Shebab remain a potent threat,

still controlling rural areas as well as carrying out

guerrilla attacks, including suicide bombings, in

areas apparently under government control.

War-ravaged Mogadishu was hit last year

by a string of bloody bomb attacks, although it has

been calmer in recent weeks. A car bomb in De-

cember killed three people, while in November a

suicide bomber attacked a restaurant.

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regu-

latory Authority (Nepra) allowed on Tuesday for an

increase of Rs 1.33 per unit price of electricity,

DawnNews reported.

The price change would come under the

fuel adjustment charges for the month of December

2012. The increase in price was a result of low elec-

tricity generation during the month of December last

year and the charges would be recovered from the

coming month’s bill, Nepra sources said.

Fuel expenses incurred during the genera-

tion of 6.23 billion units of electricty in Dec stood

at Rs. 55.825 billion.

The Karachi Electricity Supply Corpora-

tion (KESC) would remain exempted from the

price change.

SWABI: Unknown gunmen attacked a polio im-

munisation team in Gullu Dheri area of Swabi dis-

trict on Monday killing a policeman who was

escorting the team.

The two assailants, who were riding a

motorcycle, fled from the area after the attack.

SHO of Swabi police station told

Dawn.com that the two lady health workers, com-

prising the anti-polio team, remained unhurt and

were sent back to their unit, adding that the anti-

polio campaign continued in other parts of the

province. The body of the deceased policeman

was shifted to the District headquarters Hospital

Swabi. Dr Riaz, incharge of the polio campaign

said that 538 teams, comprising of 754 lady health

workers, were operating for the eradication of the

polio virus and that each team was escorted by a

policeman.

He further said that a meeting would be

held with the DCO and DPO to discuss the future

of the three-day immunisation campaign which

was scheduled from Jan 28 till Jan 30.

No group had claimed responsibility for

the attack till the filing of this report.

Nine polio workers were killed in a

string of attacks targeting the immunisation work-

ers across the country in Dec 2012.

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister

Qamar Zaman Kaira on Tuesday said the

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had com-

pleted internal consultations over the dis-

solution of assemblies and the installation

of a caretaker setup and was scheduled to

begin its talks with the allied parties,

DawnNews reported. Speaking at a cere-

mony in Islamabad, Kaira said the govern-

ment was working towards apprising the

nation over developments on a caretaker

setup and assemblies’ dissolution in seven

to 10 days’ time.

The minister said so far no con-

sultations had taken place over who

should be made the caretaker prime min-

ister and a name could only be finalised

once talks were held on the matter.

He said the PPP had constituted a commit-

tee to hold consultations with all parties in this re-

gard. Kaira moreover said the leader of the

opposition in the National Assembly should provide

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf with two instead

of six names for a caretaker premier.

He added that the government and the as-

semblies could perform their duties until

the last day of their tenure.

The PPP leader said the government was

bound to implement its agreement with

Tahirul Qadri, chief of the Tehrik-i-Min-

hajul Quran (TMQ). Criticising Leader of

the Opposition in the NA, Kaira said

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s attitude toward

Farhatullah Babar was inappropriate.

He added that the Pakistan Muslim

League – Nawaz (PML-N) should choose

the route of talks instead of one of sit-ins.

Kaira said the PML-N should first clarify

whether if was in favour of or against the

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in

its existing form.

The minister said the forum to empower

the election commission was not the streets, adding

that the delimitation problem in Karachi was not

the government’s doing.

RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court in

Rawalpindi on Tuesday accepted a request of the

defence lawyer to obtain an inquiry report in the

Benazir Bhutto murder case, DawnNews reported.

The court moreover issued a notice to the

Punjab government to make the report available by

Feb 9. Earlier today, the defence lawyer had sub-

mitted the request to obtain the report. The Federal

Investigation Agency’s prosecutor had opposed the

request, however, the court eventually decided in

its favour.

Also today, the court adjourned a request

to allow key witness and US lobbyist Mark Siegel’s

to testify in the case through video conferencing to

Feb 9.

In his statement recorded before FIA’s

joint investigation team constituted to probe the as-

sassination in 2009, Siegel had accused former

president Pervez Musharraf of extending threats to

Benazir regarding her safety and security in Pak-

istan. Benazir was killed in a gun and suicide bomb

attack after an election rally in Rawalpindi on Dec

27, 2007, weeks after she returned to Pakistan after

years in self-imposed exile.

04 January 31, 2013

Our TeamCheif Editor and Publisher-----------------------------Akbar Warris

Asst. Editor--------------------------------------------------Saad Ali

Advisory & Editorial Board-----------------------------Ahsan Qureshi,

Ausim Mobeen, Zahid Rashid, Aneela Husain, Mushtaq Anjum,

Komal Popli

Technical Assistance------------------------------Ahmad Ashraf

Legal Advisor-----------------------------------------Barrister Khalid Sheikh

Photographer-----------------------------------------Frank B. Raymond

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Email: Canadianpakistanitimes@Gmail.com

Lack of commitment Farhan Bokhari

Change nowhere in sight Shamshad Ahmad

Weak democratic processSeason of defections and of newalliances as the political parties

The dysfunctional state of Pakistan’s democracy

has many obvious aspects. As the country prepares

for what members of Pakistan’s ruling political

structure consider a historical transition from one

elected regime to another through popular vote

later this year, the gaps in the ruling order are all

too obvious.

One such gap was noted by a respected

Pakistani journalist recently, when he claimed in

a TV discussion, that there are some 100 members

of Parliament or roughly just below one-third of

its strength, who have made no contribution to any

discussions in the five years of their terms as

elected representatives since 2008.

By pointing towards the blatant disregard

by these members of Parliament for their obliga-

tions to their constituents, he noted the degree to

which Pakistan’s democracy remains undernour-

ished and underperforming.

The claim comes in a week when Presi-

dent Asif Ali Zardari, according to a report in the

Pakistani press, finally returned to Islamabad after

spending 49 days away from the city - either on an

overseas trip or staying put in Karachi.

Indeed, Zardari’s absence has amply

proven his irrelevance in tackling the many acute

challenges faced by Pakistan. Rather than being

an important agent of progressive change, Zardari

has time and again proved himself to be largely a

non-player, visibly obsessed with overseeing an

increasing crisis of governance and cronyism.

Against this backdrop, it is hardly sur-

prising to see the claim aforementioned.

In addition to such dismal conditions in-

side Parliament, conditions outside the august

house, across the political mainstream, are hardly

surprising. During the past five years under

Zardari’s watch, Pakistan has seen a deepening of

an economic crisis. Meanwhile, the ability of the

(Cont.. to next page)

More than two millennia after his death, Socrates

remains as relevant as ever. The Greeks have al-

ready been getting nostalgic of their old wise man

who doled out self-help tips, while railing against

the hypocrisies of society and the state - and whose

lessons live on more than 2,400 years after his

death. They despise their present political leaders

and their subservience to Brussels bureaucrats. The

situation in Pakistan earlier this month looked no

different. The Athenian scene was enacted in our

capital with lot of ferment and frenzy. Dr Muham-

mad Tahirul Qadri was no Socrates. But, like

Socrates 2,400 years ago, he did storm the citadel

of political ‘power and greed’ in Pakistan.

Whatever his personal motives or political

ambitions, like Socrates, Qadri challenged the rot-

ten system in which the same feudalised and elitist

oligarchy consisting of different men at different

times under different political flags had kept the na-

tion hostage with or without military collusion since

independence. By rebuking the ruling hierarchy and

their hypocritical corrupt practices in the name of

democracy, he showed them their true face in the

mirror. ‘State, not politics’

was his slogan. The people

of Pakistan, like the Athen-

ian public, stood totally

disillusioned with the pre-

vailing ‘democracy’ in

their state.

For the first time,

they were hearing some-

one speaking their mind

and calling for long-

awaited change. They

joined him in throngs be-

cause they knew the

change they wanted will

never come through elections under the present rot-

ten system. Dr Qadri managed to mobilise a huge

crowd for his long march. It was immaterial how

many thousands they were. He did control the street

power presenting an unprecedented spectacle of

discipline. Contrary to general perception of Mus-

lims being a ‘rowdy and aggressive’ people, the

peaceful and disciplined sit-in at Islamabad’s D-

Chowk was a different experience altogether.

But this was not meant to be a ‘discipline

and peace’ rally. It was a wilfully mobilised and

grandiloquently charged political dharna that its

participants genuinely believed would demolish the

system of corrupt politics in their country. They had

gone there to convert Islamabad’s D-Chowk into

Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Qadri’s demand for electoral

reforms under a new caretaker set up before the

coming elections was loud and clear. He cited the

constitution’s Article 254 for deferring the next

elections. The world of politics stood rattled. How

dared he challenge the domain to which nobody, not

even the successive military dictators, could ever

bring change?

Qadri surely was a political outcast, not

because he was a dual national or because in recent

years for security reasons he had been living over-

seas, but only because ancestrally he was neither

the ‘child of fortune’, nor ‘born into power’ as has

been the requisite for being part of the privileged

‘club’ of Pakistani politics. To be part of this feu-

dalised elitist exclusive ‘fraternity’, one must be the

very antithesis of the criteria laid down in Articles

62 and 63 that Qadri had demanded to be imple-

mented in letter and in spirit. No wonder, heartbeats

and pulse rates zoomed up with Qadri’s last 90

minute ultimatum. The ruling hierarchy got the

message. A group of notorious ‘wheelers and deal-

ers” was soon there to deal with the challenge.

Qadri’s crime was no different from that of

Socrates. Curtains in his bulletproof ‘container’

were drawn. The jury sat there briefly before giving

its unanimous verdict. Qadri shall be ‘admitted’ into

the ignominious ‘fraternity’ that he had vowed to

topple. He accepted to be his own executioner. Un-

like the real Greek tragedy, all in the ‘container’

were seen happy, gleefully embracing each other.

The hostage crowd returned home with change

nowhere in sight. There couldn’t be a more comic

end to our ‘Greek tragedy.’

Meanwhile, the media is galore with un-

ending speculations and interpretations. Despite all

the claims to the contrary, nothing has changed in

Pakistan’s corrupt politics. Those who expect the

coming elections to bring any change will be dis-

appointed. The same political wizards remain in

saddle. The same wizardries characterise our polit-

ical scene. The status quo of ‘loot and plunder’ that

Dr Tahirul Qadri threatened to topple has only been

reinforced. Hopes are still being pinned on the com-

ing elections. Democracy is not all about elections.

If that was really so, countries with regularly

elected dictators would have been rated the world’s

most democratic states.

Democracy is also not about wealth or

family lineage. Democracy is about the people, who

are the final arbiters of their destiny. They choose

their leaders in the hope of rule of law, justice and

good governance. In our case, we have seen a num-

ber of political leaders ‘cycled’ through elections

under political as well as military regimes. Invari-

ably, very few of them went beyond maintaining

their own political power and privilege, and secur-

ing their self-serving interests or those of their elite

fraternity. As “elected” leaders, they never inspired

hope to convert Pakistan into a self-reliant, demo-

cratic state enabling its citizens to live their lives

and raise their children in dignity, free from fear,

want, hunger, disease, corruption, violence and in-

justice. Since independence, the people of Pakistan

have had no role in deter-

mining the course of their

history or the direction of

their country’s political,

economic and social poli-

cies. As a newly-indepen-

dent nation, we just could

not cope with the chal-

lenges of freedom inher-

ent in our geopolitical and

structural fault lines. Lan-

guage became our first

bête noire. We lost half the

country, and are still pos-

sessed by the same ghosts

in the name of culture, ethnicity and history. We still

have not been able to evolve a political system that

responds to the needs of an ethnically and linguis-

tically diverse population. There is no constitutional

remedy to the genuine concerns on unequal size of

provinces and lopsided sharing of political and eco-

nomic power.

The problem is that the overbearing feu-

dal, tribal and elitist power structure in Pakistan is

too deeply entrenched to let any systemic change

take place. It does not suit them. They make amend-

ments in the constitution for self-serving reasons

only. Our present provincial set up has long been

the cause of political instability with an ever-loom-

ing threat to the country’s very survival. We must

remember that Pakistan of 1947 could not survive

even for 25 years. Despite the 1973 Constitution,

the remaining Pakistan continues to face threats of

further disintegration mainly due to unaddressed

concerns of different regions.

Lately, there have been demands for more

ethnic-linguistic provincial units in the country. If

this trend were to continue, we will be left with a

loosely wired skeleton of a federation with self-

serving disgruntled and corrupt politicians playing

havoc with this country. In any lopsided unequal

setup, no method of governance will work. It is a

system designed for paralysis, which we are already

experiencing. To avert the vicious cycle of national

tragedies, a serious and purposeful “national effort”

is necessary for a holistic review of our governmen-

tal system before it is too late.

The foremost is the need for rationalisa-

tion of our federal system by recasting our ethnic-

based provincial architecture to be able to redress

our regional disparities. We must remove the inher-

ent flaws in our body politic by replacing the pres-

ent four ethnic-based provinces with as many

administratively-determined provinces as neces-

sary, free of ethnic and parochial labels but still con-

stitutionally keeping their ‘ethnic and historical

identities’ intact. Reason, not self-serving emotion,

should be our yardstick.

Also needed is a political system that suits

our nation’s “genius”. Temperamentally, we are a

‘presidential’ nation. It is time we abandon the sys-

tem that we have never been able to practice, and

opt for an adult franchise-based ‘presidential sys-

tem’ suitably designed and tailored to

Pakistan’s needs.

We must also adopt the ‘proportional’

electoral system to ensure representation of political

parties proportionate to the percentage of popular

vote they receive. It will provide greater access to

non-feudal, non-elitist, educated middle class peo-

ple in the elected assemblies.

IT is a season of defections and of new alliances

as the political parties gear up for the coming elec-

tions. Horse-trading is the name of the game and

political loyalties change overnight. There is no

feeling of shame as political parties embrace turn-

coats with aplomb, all in the name of democracy.

Putting on the back burner their election

manifestos and the grave economic and political

problems faced by the country and the people, the

political parties are engaged in intense wheeling

and dealing, vying to win over the influential and

powerful ‘electables’.

For these power elites it is also all about

managing and strengthening family and clan in-

terests. They will obviously go with the highest

bidder and where the opportunities lie. There is no

political ideology involved when it comes to the

power game.

Hence it did not come as a surprise when

Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood ditched his long af-

filiation with the PML-F faction led by Pir Pagara,

who also happens to be his cousin, to accept the

offer by President Zardari to become governor of

Punjab. The move by the crafty president was not

only aimed at pulling out the rug from under Pir

Pagara who had joined hands with Nawaz Sharif

to undermine the PPP in Sindh, but also to

strengthen his party’s electoral support base in

south Punjab.

Weeks later the new governor an-

nounced at a public rally — in the presence of an-

other cousin and former prime minister Yousuf

Raza Gilani — that his three sons, one of them a

member of the National Assembly and another a

member of the Punjab Assembly, had joined the

PPP. The decision was said to have been taken in

the best interest of the country and democracy.

Another interesting defection to the PPP

which made media headlines last week was that

of Saifuddin Khosa, a PML-N member of the Na-

tional Assembly. The son of Zulfikar Khosa, a sen-

ior adviser to the chief minister of Punjab,

Saifuddin switched sides accusing his party of be-

traying its supporters. It is interesting that it took

him so long and close to the elections to realise

that. It is certainly more to do with local political

dynamics than any principled position.

Such defections have not only benefited

the PPP. The PML-N and some other political par-

ties, abandoning their so-called principled posi-

tions, have also welcomed turncoats in their ranks.

It is not that party-hopping is something

new in Pakistani politics. There was one instance

where almost the entire treasury bench of the Pun-

jab Assembly switched sides in 1993 and then re-

turned to the ranks a week later when political

fortunes turned around. Similarly, the majority of

PML-N members joined the military-sponsored Q

faction after the coup that ousted the Nawaz Sharif

government in 1999.

These defections galore and shifting po-

litical allegiances on the eve of the upcoming gen-

eral elections, which may for the first time in

Pakistan’s history lead to the transfer of power

from one elected government to another, do not

bode well for the future of democracy.

It is indeed a watershed moment for

democracy that an elected parliament will be com-

pleting its full term, though it may not be for the

first time. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s elected govern-

ment also completed its five-year term, but elec-

tions led to a military takeover.

What is most creditable, however, is that

the system has survived defying all dire predic-

tions, conspiracy theories and strains within. That

has raised the hope of democracy finally taking

root in the country with all its shortcomings and

problems. But the faith of the people in the polit-

ical process and elections, as a means for change,

may diminish if the system remains hostage to a

few powerful families and vested interests.

The upcoming elections and peaceful

transition of power are critical to the evolution of

a nascent democratic process. Therefore it is not

only imperative that the elections are free and fair,

but that they also lead to the strengthening of an

inclusive institutional democracy and do not be-

come merely an instrument for the perpetuation of

a dynastic, extractive political system.

Indeed, elections are an essential part of

the democratic process, but they are not the ends

of democracy. What matters most is whether the

system delivers to the people, how it governs and

whether it establishes the rule of law. A functional

and robust democracy requires a process of hori-

zontal accountability and a strong system of

checks and balances.

Unfortunately, all these have been lack-

ing, rendering the democratic process weak and

vulnerable. The absence of governance, wide-

spread charges of corruption at high government

levels, deteriorating law and order, and the eco-

nomic downslide remain major sources of insta-

bility. There is still a danger of the process being

interrupted in case the economic crisis deepens

and there is a complete collapse of law and order

in the country.

Undoubtedly, the passage of the 18th and

20th Amendments to the constitution will go a

long way in strengthening the parliamentary and

federal system and creating an environment for

free and fair elections. But these measures alone

do not fulfil the conditions required for a partici-

patory democracy. The political structure contin-

ues to be dominated by a narrow power elite,

impeding the development of an inclusive democ-

racy. A sense of dynastic entitlement dominates

the country’s political culture. In this situation,

elections become merely an instrument for the

control of means of patronage.

That oligarchic political culture has to

change to make the political process more credible

for the electorate.

It may be true that a representative

democracy offers the only way forward for the

country, however painstaking and slow the

process of change may be. But a system controlled

by a privileged few and disconnected from the as-

pirations of the broad masses cannot survive

for long.

Pakistani society is going through huge

social changes with the emergence of a large mid-

dle class and a massive youth bulge. That has also

generated conditions for radical political change.

Will the upcoming elections make that

change happen?

January 31, 2013 05

Lack of commitment government to begin resolving any of

the profound challenges faced by the

nation has remained far from ade-

quate. The President’s latest pro-

longed absence from Islamabad,

rumoured to have taken place under

spiritual advice, says much about his

lack of commitment to overseeing a

credible reform of the government.

While the buck may, indeed, just stop

with him as the President of Pakistan,

Zardari’s persona typifies a wider

challenge. Left to the whims of its

politicians, the country may, indeed,

be in the danger of continuing to slip

on multiple fronts, notwithstanding its

democratic framework.

Faced with this far-from-

perfect outlook, many Pakistanis are

anxiously looking to see if there is

hope in the future or, indeed, that of

their coming generations. However, a

number of crisis in recent years have

only reinforced the popular impres-

sion of a government that has no in-

terest in overseeing Pakistan’s

outlook improve radically.

The economic crisis alone is

the consequence of several policy

failures. One has, indeed, been the

failure to address acute electricity

shortages that have simply turned

Pakistan into a potential economic

basket case. The closure of many in-

dustries, especially in the textiles sec-

tor, which was once the country’s

largest industrial employer, has meant

that unemployment has risen rapidly.

For the moment, there is no credible

hope of the electricity-related crisis

beginning to end any time soon.

Another policy failure has,

indeed, been the government’s virtual

inability to tackle an ever-yawning

and fast-growing budget deficit,

which has simply demolished the idea

of prudent economic management. In

large measure, this outcome is driven

by the terrible reality of Pakistan’s

failure to lift the number of its taxpay-

ers beyond the hopeless figure of just

about 0.9 percent of the country’s

population. The failure to tackle the

economic challenge, in large part, is

also driven by a continuing failure of

the government to tackle the mount-

ing losses surrounding large public

sector corporations. Zardari’s Pak-

istan Peoples Party (PPP), which

came to power in 2008, has seen

many public sector corporations only

run deeper into losses in comparison

to their past record, adding to the

strain on the national exchequer.

These bits of evidence must raise

some very compelling questions

about the virtual absence of tangible

fruits of democracy reaching ordinary

Pakistanis. Surrounded by increas-

ingly dismal conditions, ordinary

Pakistanis are, indeed, well within

their rights to ask if a democracy in

name has been able to meet their ex-

pectations. For many, the answer

must be in the negative. Even sur-

rounded by comforts in his ivory

tower, Zardari will be ill-advised to

ignore Pakistan’s increasing journey

southwards, for the chicken will even-

tually come home to roost.

Father of gang-rape victim urges changes in law

Pakistan, Afghanistan move closer ahead of London talks

ISLAMABAD - Apparently perturbed over the Supreme Court’s severe re-

marks on NAB’s partiality and inefficiency regarding cases of mega corrup-

tion it presently investigates, Chairman National Accountability Bureau

(NAB) Admiral (Retd) Fasih Bokhari has ‘warned’

of stepping down alleging that the Bureau was un-

able to carry out its investigation process under the

‘undue’ pressure exerted on it by the Supreme

Court. The Chairman NAB in a letter written to

President Asif Ali Zardari has levelled serious

charges of over-stepping the jurisdiction as well as

powers and pre-poll rigging on the country’s apex

court with the remarks that if these issues were not addressed expeditiously,

he would be forced to resign. “I am constrained to observe and bring to your

notice that the position of the Supreme Court, on this issue, remains clouded

by actions that are bearing heavily on my mandate to strictly abide by the

NAO (National Accountability Ordinance) in both letter and spirit, as the time

for elections approaches,” he said.

NEW DELHI: The father of an Indian student who

died after being gang-raped on a bus has called for

changes in the law to allow a teenage suspect to be

tried as an adult, local media reported on Tuesday.

The father of the 23-year-old victim said

he was shocked that a court ruled that the sixth sus-

pect in the deadly gang-rape case would be tried as

a juvenile, facing a maximum prison term of three

years if convicted.

“I want to ask the lawmakers if an excep-

tion shouldn’t be made in this case,” the father, who

cannot be named for legal reasons, was quoted as

saying in the Hindu newspaper.

“We want to be reassured by the govern-

ment that my right to justice is protected. In this

case the accused is hiding behind legal loopholes

in the system,” he added.

The victim’s family has been

among those calling for the juvenile to

be tried alongside the five other ac-

cused, who face the possibility of being

hanged if found guilty of rape and mur-

der charges.

But the Delhi-based Juvenile

Justice Board on Monday accepted the

school records of the teenage suspect,

which states that he was born on June

4, 1995, making him 17.

“The news came in as the family

sat down to have its evening meal. No-

body has eaten since then,” the father

said from the family’s modest one-

room accommodation in east Delhi.

The dead woman, a physiotherapy stu-

dent, suffered massive intestinal injuries during the

assault on December 16 in which she was raped and

violated with an iron bar.

She died 13 days later after the govern-

ment flew her to a Singapore hospital in a last-ditch

bid to save her life.

Though sexual harassment is common-

place in India and gang-rapes far from rare, the case

has touched a nerve, leading to an outpouring of

criticism of the treatment of women in Indian soci-

ety. A government panel set up to recommend

changes to sexual crime laws last week rejected

calls for the age at which people can be tried as

adults to be lowered to 16 from 18.

ISLAMABAD – Appreciating Pakistan’s role in

the renewed peace process, a top Afghan official

has ‘thanked’ Pakistani government for the release

of Afghan Taliban prisoners while Islamabad’s

military establishment has assured that it ‘fully’

supports Afghan-led settlement in the war-torn

country. The development is said to have followed

a meeting between Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff

General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and visiting De-

fence Minister from Afghanistan General (r) Bis-

millah Khan Muhammadi at the General

Headquarters (GHQ) on Monday.General Muham-

madi led a high-level five-member delegation that

met the top military officials from Pakistan. Apart

from the group meetings, a separate meeting be-

tween the Afghan minister and General Kayani

was also held, military officials said.This meeting

comes against the backdrop of the forthcoming tri-

lateral summit on Afghanistan in London. The

two-day event (February 3-4) is expected to draw

future contours of negotiated settlement in

Afghanistan with the active involvement of Pak-

istan.Afghan Military Operations Director General

(DG MO) Major-Gen Afzal Aman, who was also

among the five-member Afghan team, had earlier

met Peshawar Corps Commander Lt-Gen Khalid

Rabbani and he is reportedly playing key role in

the renewed Pak-Afghan strategic commitments

on cross-border coordination and cooperation.“We

fully support Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace

process as a stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in

the best interest of both the countries,” the military

officials quoted Gen Kayani as telling Muham-

madi.Sources said that the Afghan minister

thanked the Pakistani government for the release

of Afghan Taliban saying “this is going to play a

very positive role in the peace process”. Gen

Muhammadi is further said to have appreciated

what he described as Pakistan’s‘ efforts to fight ter-

rorism and sacrifices rendered by the nation while

“condoling with the grieved families”.According

to the military offi-

cials, both sides

agreed that security

of both the countries

was “inextricably

linked with each

other”. The meeting,

officials said, was an

expression of the

‘growing realisa-

tion’ that Pakistan

held ‘centrality’ in

the eventual negoti-

ated settlement in

Afghanistan. The

two sides are also re-

ported to have re-

viewed the measures

on border coordina-

tion and cooperation

to prevent cross-bor-

der attacks from both the sides against one an-

other.Apart from General Muhammadi, all the

other four members of the Afghan delegation are

serving Afghan Major Generals who visited GHQ

reportedly to meet their Pakistani counterparts.

They are: DG MO Afzal Aman, Military Intelli-

gence and Investigation DG Abdul Manan Farahi,

Training Inspector General Payanda Mohammad

Nazim and National Defence College Afghanistan

Commandant Aminullah Karim.They met Pak-

istan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) DG Lt Gen

Zaheerul Islam, Military Intelligence (MI) DG

Major Gen Noshad Kayani, Training and Evalua-

tion Inspector General Lt Gen Raheel Sharif and

National Defence University (NDU) Commandant

Lt Gen Nasir Janjua in the group meetings, the of-

ficials said.“The two sides discussed matters of

professional interest, with particular focus on en-

hancing mutual defence cooperation and measures

that Afghan National Army and Pakistan Army in-

tend initiating for an enduring training relation-

ship,” a Pakistan Army statement

said.Operationalisation of recently concluded

agreement on Tripartite Border Standing Operating

Procedures was also discussed in detail. The agree-

ment is aimed at improving existing security co-

operation and intelligence sharing mechanisms, on

both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, the statement

added.Pakistan’s military relationship with

Afghanistan and International Security Assistance

Force (Isaf) stays on a positive path amidst reports

that Islamabad is expected to get a key strategic

role in the renewed Afghan peace process. Pakistan

released over a dozen Taliban detainees, after suc-

cessful negotiations with Afghanistan’s High

Peace Council in November and December

2012.Last week, the commanders from the three

sides had pledged continuing cooperation against

the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)

by the militants. In the 36th meeting of the Tripar-

tite Commission held in November last year, the

three forces had signed Tripartite Border Coordi-

nation Mechanism for enhanced border coordina-

tion and cooperation.Agencies add: Afghan

Defence Minister Bismillah Khan also called on

President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday and dis-

cussed matters of defence cooperation and war on

terrorism. Talking to him‚ President Zardari said

Pakistan gives much importance to its ties with

Afghanistan.The president said that Pakistan has

always taken principled stance to support efforts

intended to bring peace, prosperity and stability to

Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan will continue to

support an Afghan-led peace process in the broth-

erly state.President Zardari reiterated that Pakistan

has abiding interest in the stability, prosperity and

development of Afghanistan and it was ready to

contribute its share for the capacity building of

Afghan institutions. Afghan defence minister ex-

pressed his country’s desire to promote defence re-

lations with Pakistan.

NAB chief sends hisresignation to President

06 January 31, 2013

The hullabaloo erupted after Pakistani in-

terior minister Rehman Malik, perceiving

Khan to be unsafe, called upon India to

augment his security.

“He (Khan) is born an Indian

and would like to remain an

Indian. But I will request the

Indian government to provide

him security,” Mr Rehman

said in response to the actors

article, seemingly in an ex-

pression of Muslim solidarity.

Matters were aggravated fur-

ther by Hazif Saeed, founder

of Pakistan’s proscribed

Lashkar-e-Taiba Islamist mil-

itant group, offering Mr Khan

asylum in his country.

“He can live here (in Pak-

istan) for as long as he wants,”

said Saeed, whose LeT India

holds responsible for the No-

vember 2008 siege of Mum-

bai by 10 Pakistani gunmen

during which 166 people died.

India’s federal home secretary

R K Singh responded to both

statements tersely saying that

India was capable of looking

after its citizens.

“Let him (Malik) worry about the secu-

rity of his country’s citizens” Mr Singh re-

torted.

Mr Khan, 47, whose has family roots in

the Pakistani border city of Peshawar and

who has a massive fan following in that

country, said the row over his article was

“meaningless”.

“I never said I was insecure. I would like

to tell all those offering unsolicited advice

that we (Muslims) in India are extremely

safe and happy” he declared adding that

24 hours of controversy over this pointless

matter was more than enough.

“The whole thing has been sensationalised

and trivilaised. Let me get back to doing

what I do best (acting)” stated Mr Khan,

the flamboyant Bollywood superstar who

has appeared in over 75 films, anchored

TV game shows and who also owns an In-

dian Premier League cricket team.

Mr Khan, often known as "King Khan",

recently wrote in Outlook Turning Points,

published by India’s weekly Outlook

magazine in association with

the New York Times, saying

that at times local political

leaders made him a symbol of

all they thought was “wrong

and unpatriotic about Mus-

lims in India”.

He went on to say that he has

been accused of bearing alle-

giance to Pakistan rather than

to India, a not uncommon re-

frain against Muslims voiced

by some political parties.

This, Mr Khan, said was de-

spite him being an Indian

whose Peshawar-born father

participated in the country’s

freedom struggle from Colo-

nial rule that led to independ-

ence and the creation of

Pakistan in 1947.

India today has the world’s

second largest population of

Muslims - over 165 million -

after Indonesia.

Meanwhile, police in Mumbai

who had recently withdrawn Mr Khan’s

security reinstated it over the weekend but

claimed it had nothing to do with the war

of words with Pakistan.

Shah Rukh Khan article sparks warof words between India and Pakistan

Kathleen Wynne is Ontario's first female and

openly gay premier. Wynne won the leadership of

the Liberal Party of Ontario on the third ballot with

1,150 votes to Pupatello's 866. She becomes the

sixth female premier in Canada..

Political history was made in Toronto last night

when Kathleen Wynne became the first female and

openly gay leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario.

When Lynne assumes the office of Premier of On-

tario early next week, she will join five other fe-

male premiers in Canada.

Wynne, an openly gay woman, holds a Bachelor

of Arts degree from Queens University, a Master

of Arts from the University of Toronto, a Master

of Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies

and Education and has completed a one week

course in mediation at Harvard University. She is

the mother of three children, formerly married to

Phil Cowperthwaite.

She came out as being gay at age 37 and lives with

her partner Jane Rounthwaite. On her way to be-

coming Ontario's first gay premier, she gave a re-

markable speech at the convention on Saturday

morning, the words of which will be remembered

long after they were spoken.

Wynne has represented the Toronto riding of Don

Valley West since 2003 and has held portfolios in

transportation, education and aboriginal affairs in

outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty's cabinet.

Wynn first took a run at political office in 1994, in

attempt to become a school trustee, but was de-

feated. In her second attempt in 2000, she was

elected public school trustee in Toronto's Ward 8.

Kathleen Wynne the New Leader of the Ontario Liberals

Maple Leafs Legends take on the Osler Crusaders @ Hockey Night For Osler "Challenge Cup" in

Brampton This week.

Hockey Night For Osler "Challenge Cup" in Brampton

January 31, 2013 07

Enter tainment

In the sequel to 2008’s Race, Saif Ali Khan returns as Ranveer; A sharp

witted protagonist and antagonist whose ambitions are stuck for good in the con

games and as formula prescribes, he’s got murder in his mind.

After opening, with possibly the worst car-explosion special effects in

history, Ranveer, off the radar since Race, appears at a Casino run by Vikram

Thapar (Rajesh Khattar), a millionaire whose motivations for money-doubling

are as philistine as his common sense.

Vikram’s con, in a long line of unoriginal rip-offs in Race 2’s, is one

of the small fishes; there’s bigger game at play. As a song from the movie goes

“Allah Duhai Hai”!

Race 2, shot everywhere except India (as its predecessor), is a lot like

every other sequel: it suffers from ‘sequelitis’ – an epidemic that infects the

genome of box-office breaking movies with spin-off potential. The virus is

global and unbiased in its toxicity: it shares equal affection regardless of geog-

raphies, film industries or originality in plot pitching. Race-400--5

Ranveer, like any other heroic lead-villain of a heist movie, has a de-

ceptive itinerary of money laundering, money nabbing and general hoodwinking

pre-plotted.

His schema compromises: Amaan (John Abraham, leaner, as effective

as possible with the material), a street fighter turned big-fish, his half-sultry sis-

ter (Deepika Padukone), his newly acquired girl-friend (Jacqueline Fernandez),

the returning lynchpin with a fruit fetish (Anil Kapoor) and his new stereotypical

dumb-blonde (Ameesha Patel).

There are also a lot of deal breaking and half-interested late night

booty calls that trail away to ritzy dance numbers.

Double take cons and U-turns go off without intrigue or punch

(there’s a vengeance-driven backstory, that one outguesses an hour before it

happens on-screen).

Consequences and upshots are relegated to second class citizenship,

outmoded by infrequent growls, car chases, fisticuffs and skimpy bikini beach-

parties (as another song goes: everyone has a “Party on their Mind”). And of

course, shelling out millions and then, unsurprisingly, billions is as stress free

as delivering dialogues (and in a way, that’s what they are: dialogues).

IT WOULD be nice to watch Zero Dark Thirty in

the cinema in Pakistan. The extraordinary final se-

quence when Seal Team Six swoops into Abbot-

tabad and raids the compound where Osama bin

Laden had remained undetected for six years would

definitely benefit from surround sound and a big

screen. And it would be fun to listen to the chortles

of derision from a Pakistani audience in a real time,

rather than following the tweets and Facebook up-

dates of those who watched versions downloaded

from the internet weeks before its release in the

UK. But I’m not holding my breath that Kathryn

Bigelow’s account of the hunt for America’s great-

est enemy will go on general release here any time

soon. The film’s distributors have not offered it for

theatrical release in Pakistan over concerns that the

official censors would take exception to it.

While the movie is controversial in the

US over the suggestion that the CIA’s “enhanced

interrogation” techniques were instrumental in nab-

bing Osama bin Laden, in Pakistan the film is an

unwelcome reminder of a past humiliation.

The country’s security establishment is

still seething over the Americans’ decision to mount

a massive operation without bothering to involve

the Pakistanis, nominally allies in the war against

Al Qaeda.

So, in Pakistan many people are making

do with illegal downloads and pirated DVDs. In my

local video shop it comes in two different cases.

One has the original artwork on the cover; the other

features a large portrait of Osama bin Laden, a char-

acter whose face is never actually shown in the

film. “For me the biggest problem was that the pro-

duction design was so weak,” says Wajahat Khan,

a television journalist. Not only is he unconvinced

by many of the locations used to stand in for Pak-

istan, Khan is, like many others, bemused by the

depiction of Pakistanis speaking Arabic to each

other. And he thinks the film-makers are guilty of

“imagining Pakistan to be what they want it to be”.

“It does a disservice to how complex the

society is,” Khan explains. “This society may have

housed Osama bin Laden, but it’s not the backyard

of a local mosque in Jeddah.”

Expatriate life is also shown to be grim-

mer than the reality of large and spacious houses

enjoyed by diplomats in Kabul. Perhaps the foreign

press corps is to blame for disabusing Zero Dark

Thirty’s screenwriter, Mark Boal. During a visit to

Pakistan before filming began, Boal asked a group

of hacks whether foreigners in Islamabad enjoy

“crazy parties where everyone gets naked in the

pool”. The poor man looked crestfallen when told

the (all too depressing) truth that Islamabad is a

pretty subdued place.

INACCURACIES: Although it was de-

scribed by Bigelow as a “reported film”, Zero Dark

Thirty offers a feast for fact-checkers. Inaccuracies

abound, largely due to the need to compress the

decade-long hunt, create composite characters and

make the whole thing work as a piece of drama.

A single character, Maya, is used to carry

the film. She is portrayed as a lone voice challeng-

ing the CIA’s bureaucratic inertia after Bin Laden

trail goes cold and she is placed at the centre of the

action. She is shown dining in a poor imitation of

Islamabad’s Marriott hotel even though it was

blown up in 2008. Her car is attacked by gunmen

as she drives out of her house – something that has

happened more than once to US government em-

ployees in Peshawar, but not to anyone’s knowl-

edge in Islamabad.

One of the CIA’s overseas “black sites”

used for interrogating members of al-Qaeda is

shown in Pakistan itself, presumably to place Maya

in both the torture scenes and where the action was

in the CIA’s Islamabad station.

Her character appears to be based on a

real CIA agent named as Jen in an account of the

Bin Laden raid written by former Navy Seal Matt

Bissonnette. But Peter Bergen, a journalist and au-

thor who has researched Bin Laden more deeply

than anyone else, claims the CIA officer who

worked on the search for eight years up until his

death and was convinced he was hiding in the Ab-

bottabad compound was actually a man.

In December the acting director of CIA

went public to criticise the film for taking “signifi-

cant artistic licence, while portraying itself as being

historically accurate”. The film, which claims to be

based on “firsthand accounts of actual events”, adds

tantalising and colourful details that build on what

has been reported elsewhere.

But it’s hard to know what to believe

when the film makes an astonishing error in por-

traying one of the gambits used to try and identify

whether Bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad. A

controversial hepatitis B vaccination programme

run on behalf of the CIA in the town in an attempt

to get hold of Bin Laden family DNA is clearly

shown as an anti-polio campaign. It’s a truly sloppy

mistake given how widely reported the incident

was. And it’s also potentially dangerous. The scan-

dal of the CIA using aid workers as cover for oper-

ations has helped to inflame deep mistrust in

Pakistan’s tribal areas towards vaccination pro-

grammes. Two Taliban commanders have banned

polio eradication from their areas of control. Last

month, six polio vaccinators were murdered by

gunmen while going about their work.

Another curious departure from the truth,

likely only to be noticed in Pakistan, is the decision

to rename the CIA’s station chief in Islamabad who,

as accurately depicted in the movie, has to leave the

country after anti-drone campaigners blew his

cover by naming him in a court action.

For some reason the film-makers name

the character Joseph Bradley, not the real-life

Jonathan Banks whose name is now irretrievably

all over the internet. Could this be some small (but

pointless) quid pro quo for the access Boal was

granted to CIA officers and White House officials?

Or just artistic licence?

Movie Review: Race 2

Zero Dark Thirty: theview from Pakistan

Zero Dark Thirty: theview from Pakistan

The tale of a Dilli wallahKARACHI: It’s no joke laughing at yourself in order to make

others’ laugh with you. It requires a fair degree of wit and a

sharp understanding of how fine the line between quality and

coarse humour is. (Click here for an exclusive interview of

Saad Haroon with Dawn.com)

It was a delight to witness standup comedian Saad Ha-

roon put up a hilarious performance marked with intelligent

and occasionally sensitive punch-lines in a show titled ‘Don’t

worry, be Pakistani’ in the PACC auditorium.

Haroon began from the beginning, letting the audi-

ence know that it was the

10th anniversary of his ca-

reer in comedy, a career that

his father, a Dilli wallah,

admonished him from join-

ing because it had drugs

and bad women (which

confused him as to whether

his father was convincing

him to join the profession).

His father wanted him to

join his business and be-

come a ‘businessman’.

At the age of 13

he started working at his

factory and felt that the

workers there had become

his family because his fa-

ther yelled at both him and

them the same way. When

he asked for wages, his fa-

ther would say all he had

was his (son’s). Therefore,

what would he need a

salary for.

The comedian carried on with the argument and

touched on the textile industry. He said since textiles had to do

with clothing people, it was the opposite of pornography.

Haroon, during the gig, also interacted and chitchatted

with the audience. Upon knowing that one of the girls in the

hall was single and was researching consumerism, he made

quite a few off-the-cuff funny remarks. He said he never un-

derstood why girls would offer tea to their potential in-laws;

instead they should bring stronger beverages like coffee or en-

ergy drinks to make their case more compelling. He reverted

to his Dilli wallah father and said when things came to a pass,

his father fired him and he became a comedian.

However, becoming a comedian was no cakewalk.

When someone would ask him what he did for a living, he’d

say he’s a comedian, and they’d remark: “What else do you

do?” Then he asked another audience member about what kept

him busy and the young man replied he was studying in Turkey,

to which the comedian retorted “you get to see all those Turkish

plays before they come to Pakistan.” This reminded him of his

school days. He said he remembered class VII the most because

he did it twice. “I was a bad student,” he confessed. When the

Islamiat teacher once asked him about the five pillars of Islam,

he answered they were faith, unity, discipline and the remaining

two he had forgotten.

After that Haroon came to the topic of Karachi in par-

ticular and partition of the subcontinent in general. He said

there was a time when parents warned their children against

meeting strangers. These days they stopped them from stepping

out of their house where strangers lived. On partition he men-

tioned that it’s time we put an end to discussing the justification

for partition. He kept cracking jokes about the word ‘partition’

suggesting people took it lightly and then intelligently threw a

line saying we got separated from India because we feared we’d

be persecuted there as a minority; ‘we wanted a land where we

could persecute our own minorities’.

The highlight of Haroon’s accomplished performance,

in the eyes of this reviewer, was when he lectured on how in

the days of yore boys at the age of 16 achieved bigger feats.

Alexander won many a battle, Mohammad bin Qasim con-

quered Sindh, and “somewhere along the way 16 became

sweet”. With reference to partition he said Mohammad Ali Jin-

nah was not just a great leader but a great lawyer, “the best di-

vorce lawyer”.

08 January 31, 2013

ADDIS ABABA: An international

donor conference to drum up funds

and troops to help the military op-

eration against militants in Mali

opened on Tuesday at the African

Union (AU) headquarters in

Ethiopia’s capital.

“The whole world has

gathered here, it’s very good for

Mali,” Malian Foreign Minister

Tieman Coulibaly said.

African leaders and offi-

cials, as well as representatives

from the United Nations, Euro-

pean Union, Japan and the United

States are also taking part in the

conference. The conference

opened a day after French-led

forces seized Mali’s fabled city of

Timbuktu from militants as part of

an offensive against the radicals

who have controlled the country’s

vast desert north for 10 months.

“We are all gathered here

to express solidarity with the Re-

public of Mali and its people,”

African Union

Commission

c h i e f

N k o s a z a n a

D l a m i n i -

Zuma said in

her opening

speech.

“ W e

all know the

gravity of the

crisis … It is a

situation that

requires a

swift and ef-

fective inter-

national response for it

threatens Mali, the re-

gion, the continent and

even beyond.”

AU Peace and Secu-

rity Commissioner

Ramtane Lamamra

said on Monday the

African-led force for

Mali (AFISMA) will

cost $460 million, with the AU

promising to contribute an “un-

precedented” $50 million for

the mission and Mali’s army.

However, there is no

clear figure for how much the

conference is aiming to raise,

although diplomats had sug-

gested some $700 million will

be needed for AFISMA and the

Malian army, in addition to

heavy humanitarian costs.

UN leader Ban Ki-

moon warned ahead of the con-

ference there was a “moral

imperative for the entire inter-

national community” to provide

support. Ban, speaking at the

54-member AU’s two-day sum-

mit meeting which closed late

Monday, and which was domi-

nated by discussion on the con-

flict in Mali, said he was

“determined to help the people

of Mali at this critical hour.”

On a hot summer afternoon in 1940, a boy of 14

was rushing on his bicycle to his hometown near

Jhang, part of present day Pakistan. He covered his

head under a heavy turban because the barber had

accidentally shaved off his hair.

When he reached the town, he saw people

lined up on either side of the road, greeting him

with loud cheers. The boy had earned a distinction

in his matriculation examinations; the young genius

had broken all previous records within the

province, he was Abdus Salam.

Salam was born on January 29, 1926 in

Jhang, then a small town in Punjab. After attending

Government College, Jhang he went to Govern-

ment College, Lahore in 1946 where he was

awarded a masters degree in Mathematics, securing

first place in the College with 95.5 per cent.

A wrangler in Cambridge

After his masters, Salam had

two choices: Join the civil services or go

abroad for further education. Luckily, he

was offered a scholarship and instantly

opted for the latter.

In 1946 at St. John’s College in

Cambridge, Salam did his Tripos (BA

honors) in just two years (the course usu-

ally takes three years) and because of this,

he was given the title of ‘wrangler’ – a

term given to students at Cambridge for

obtaining first-class honours in the Uni-

versity’s undergraduate degree in mathe-

matics.

Salam was appointed as a fel-

low at the Institute of Advanced Study,

Princeton University, USA In 1951,

where he attended a lecture by Albert

Einstein. Author Zakaria Virk mentions a witty in-

cident between Salam and Einstein in her book “Dr.

Abdus Salam – Champion of Science in the Third

World”:

“One day, when Prof Salam was studying

in Princeton, New Jersey, he met Prof Einstein ca-

sually on the campus of the Institute for Advanced

Study. Einstein asked him, ‘what kind of research

are you doing?’ Salam replied, ‘I am working on

the renormalisation theory,’ to which Einstein

replied, ‘I am not interested in that.’ After a few

moments of silence, Einstein asked the Pakistani,

‘have you studied my Relativity Theory.?’ Salam

replied, ‘I am not interested in that.’”

The story of his doctoral thesis too is truly

inspiring; he had taken up the complex task of elim-

inating infinities from the Meson Theory. Salam

found a unique solution to this problem in just three

short months! However, as per the regulations at

Cambridge, he had to wait three years to receive his

doctorate degree in 1952.

Back to Pakistan

While he was waiting to get his degree,

Salam returned to Pakistan with the hope of serving

his country. Upon his return, Salam was appointed

the head of the Mathematics Department at Gov-

ernment College, Lahore from 1951-54. However,

in that period with no research, minimal contacts

or updated material to work with, Salam faced com-

plete intellectual isolation.

In addition to this, neglecting Salam’s out-

standing academic career at Cambridge and Prince-

ton, his principal at the college advised him to put

aside his research, offering him three substandard

jobs: warden of the hostel, chief treasurer of the col-

lege or president of the football club. Resignedly,

Salam took up the football club offer. However, this

occurrence resulted in major disappointment for

Salam, prompting him to return to Cambridge as a

lecturer. He was the pioneer of the Theoretical

Physics Department at Imperial College, London,

where he taught from 1957 to 1993.

Back at Cambridge, he studied and inter-

acted with PAM Dirac, Max Born, Wolfgang Pauli

and other great minds of the time.

In 1959, Salam became the youngest Fel-

low of the Royal Society at the age of 33 years. The

Royal Society is the oldest science association on

the planet.

During the 50s, Salam visited Pakistan

often as an advisor on science policy to the govern-

ment and in 1961 he was finally appointed as a

Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of Pak-

istan. He laid the foundation of Pakistan Upper At-

mosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and

made remarkable contributions in creating a culture

of science in Pakistan.

In 1973, at the Conference of Islamic

Countries in Lahore, Salam presented a memoran-

dum for the creation of Islamic Science

Foundation.

The dream of ICTP

During a meeting at the International

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Salam proposed

the Idea of an International Center for Theortical

Physics (ICTP). He planned a platform for physi-

cists from the developing world to stop the ‘brain

drain.’ In his book Salam wrote, “The notion of a

centre that should cater particularly to the needs of

physicists from developing countries had lived with

me from 1954, when I was forced to leave my own

country. I realised that if I stayed there much longer,

I would have to leave physics, through sheer intel-

lectual isolation” (Ideals and Realities 3rd ed.,

World Scientific, 392, 1989).

Salam was interested to establish the cen-

tre in Pakistan. He also passed on this idea to Pres-

ident Ayub Khan. When Ayub Khan briefed his

Finance Minister, Mohammad Shoaib, about the

idea, the minister dismissively replied, “Salam

wants to make a hotel for scientists rather than a

centre.”

Unification of Fundamental Forces

Dr Salam was often quoted as saying,

“Progress, begins with the belief that what is nec-

essary is possible.” With this spirit he presented the

unification theory of electromagnetic and weak

forces – the basic but very different forces of na-

ture; he named it the ‘Electroweak Force.’

The theory predicted basic particles of W

and Z bosons. The experimental stamp was put to

theory when Carlo Rubbia discovered them in atom

smashing machines at the Center for European Nu-

clear Research (CERN). Rubbia was also conferred

the Noble Prize in 1984 with Simon Van Der Meer

for the discovery of the

particles.

Despite being afflicted

with Parkinson’s disease,

Salam produced high

level research papers until

1995. He worked on Chi-

rality and its role in the

origin of life, gravity,

fermions, superconductiv-

ity, symmetry, proton

decay and science and

human development.

The Nobel Prize

In 1979, he shared the

Noble Prize of Physics

with US physicists Steven

Weinberg and

S h e l d o n

Glashow. For the Nobel Prize ceremony,

he wore the traditional Pakistani dress of

shalwar and sherwani with a turban. He

was also allowed to give his speech in

Urdu.

ICTP and TWAS

Beside the unification of

Physics, Salam had another passion; to

unify humanity for science. He often said

science is the common heritage of

mankind. In 1964, he setup a rendezvous

for science called the International Cen-

tre for Theoretical Physics. And due to

the laudable efforts of the Italian govern-

ment, the centre still continues to do

wonders in the beautiful city of Trieste.

Unesco and IAEA also supported the ef-

fort for the centre which was set up to

bridge the gap between the scientists of

the south and the north. The ICTP mis-

sion statement says:

“Foster the growth of advanced

studies and research in physical and

mathematical sciences, especially in sup-

port of excellence in developing coun-

tries. Develop high-level scientific

programmes keeping in mind the needs

of developing countries, and provide an

international forum of scientific contact

for scientists from all countries. Conduct

research at the highest international standards and

maintain a conducive environment of scientific in-

quiry for the entire ICTP community.”

The center also offers strong scientific re-

search and outreach programs, organising more

than 60 international conferences, seminars and nu-

merous workshops annually. Thousands of scien-

tists and scholars visit the ICTP every year to avail

the center’s travel fellowships as well.

Salam was the Founding Director for the

ICTP from 1964 to 1993.

Apart from his passion for Physics, Salam

also felt strongly about providing a platform for sci-

entists from the developing world. He established

the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS),

also located in Trieste, for this very reason. TWAS

supports scientists in the developing world through

a variety of grants and fellowships.

Salam breathed his last in Oxford, Eng-

land on November 21, 1996.

In an email to Dawn.com, world

renowned physicist, author and professor of physics

at the University of Texas, USA, Steven Weinberg

said: “As a graduate student, though I had not yet

met Salam, I spent a good deal of time reading his

papers on quantum field theory. So I was very

pleased when he invited me to spend 1961-2 at Im-

perial College, where he was the leading theorist.

We became friends and collaborators, and wrote a

paper together (with Jeffrey Goldstone) that turned

out to be pretty important. Of course, before and

after that Salam did work of the highest importance

in theoretical physics. Physicists in general, and I

in particular, miss him greatly.”

International donor conference for war-torn Mali opens

Salam – The forgotten genius

January 31, 2013 09

SPORTS

EAST LONDON: The touring Pakistanis were held to a draw when

bad light brought an early end to their four-day match against a

South African Invitation XI at Buffalo Park on Monday.

The Invitation XI, set 323 to win, were 190 for five in their

second innings when the match was called off. Home team captain

Justin Ontong made an unbeaten 51 after his side had seemed in

danger of defeat when he went in to bat with his team on 101 for

four. Opening bowlers Umar Gul and Junaid Khan both struck early

in the second innings. The tall Mohammad Irfan took two wickets

and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal claimed one.

Earlier, the Invitation XI opening bowler Kyle Abbott took

three quick wickets – one with the old ball and two with the second

new ball – before the tourists declared on 250 for nine. They lost

four wickets for ten runs on Monday.

The Pakistanis travel to Johannesburg on Tuesday to pre-

pare for the first Test against South Africa starting at the Wanderers

Stadium on.

Pakistan, having completed a convincing

ODI-series win in India, are set to take on the

mighty South Africans in what promises to be

a grueling Test and limited-overs tour.

But while the focus of the Pakistani

cricketers and fans alike has been on Graeme

Smith’s men, various reports say that the top

T20 stars from the country may yet again face

an IPL blackout.

Gautam Bhattacharyya, writing for

Gulf News, said: “What may have escaped

the notice of cricket fans is the U-turn of In-

dian cricket board on the issue of allowing

Pakistani players to take part in the IPL after

a gap of four years.

“It was in the last week of Decem-

ber that the IPL governing council quietly is-

sued a diktat to all the franchises not to go for

players from Pakistan — despite earlier ver-

bal assurances from the IPL chairman and

positive vibes in the wake of the BCCI allow-

ing Sialkot Stallions from that country to take

part in the Champions League T-20.”

According to Bhattacharyya, the de-

cision was taken well in advance of Pakistan’s

tour to India and certainly did not come as a

result of the fallout between the two countries

over recent border tensions.

The subtle move by the governing

council of the IPL, it seems, drowned in the

anticipation of the Pakistan-India series that

was played in front of jam-packed stadiums

and kept fans transfixed.

There is no doubt that players like

Junaid Khan, Nasir Jamshed, Saeed Ajmal

and even Mohammad Irfan would offer

greater pull for Indian crowds after their per-

formance in that series but according to Times

of India they have so far not been included in

the auction list.

“There is no problem buying Pak-

istan cricketers in the auction, but somehow

there was no move from anywhere to include

them for the auction,” a franchisee owner told

Times of India.

An official decision on the inclusion

of Pakistan players is yet to be taken by the

BCCI and with the auction set to take place

on February 3, 2013, in Chennai, their fate

hangs in the balance.

At present, Pakistan’s top cricketers

will be focused on tackling Hashim Amla,

Dale Steyn and company, but they will be

keeping one eye on developments in India

after having been barred from the Bangladesh

Premier League.

-------------------

Umar Gul has remained the linchpin of Pakistan’s

bowling attack ever since the spot-fixing scandal

derailed the careers of Mohammad Asif and the

prodigious Mohammad Amir.

Gul has had a topsy-turvy run in ODIs,

performed like a dream in T20s but his Test returns

are still ordinary compared to the leading fast

bowlers of the present time.

Former fast bowlers have been of the

opinion that Gul has been best when a clear role has

been defined for him. As Pakistan prepare for the

three-match Test series against the world’s best out-

fit in their own den, it is clear that Gul will have to

spearhead the fast bowling pack. The enormous

task of leading newcomers Junaid Khan, Moham-

mad Irfan and possibly Ehsan Adil against South

Africa’s classy order, falls squarely on his shoul-

ders. Pakistani fast bowlers have played pivotal

roles in the ODI wins that the team has notched up

against the Proteas at home, and even their two Test

wins out of nine matches have come on the back of

incisive spells from the quicks.

Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar com-

bined with the wizardry of Mushtaq Ahmed in Dur-

ban in 1998 while Akhtar, who bowled only in one

innings, partnered with Asif to deliver the knockout

punch at Port Elizabeth in 2007.

Fresh prospects

Despite their performances in the limited-

overs formats in India the trio of Gul, Irfan and Ju-

naid together are untested in Test cricket.

While Gul and Junaid have played in the

longest format together in Sri Lanka, the lanky

Irfan is yet to make his debut and there remains a

question mark on his sustainability for the rigours

of the five-day game.

Considering this, Gul’s role becomes

magnified. If Pakistan are to dismantle the host’s

battling line, brimming with acts like Hashim

Amla, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and AB de

Villiers, the ‘Guldozer’ will have to roll.

This is the Peshawar-born fast bowler’s

first Test series in South Africa; so far he has

claimed a mere 10 wickets in the four Tests he has

featured in against them in Pakistan and UAE.

Overall too, his record at Test level bor-

ders on the ordinary, a return of 158 wickets at

33.68 runs per wicket is hardly going to send shiv-

ers down the spine of any class batting line-up. The

28-year-old has managed only four five-wicket

hauls in his 45-match Test career.

Gul made his Test debut in 2003 against

Bangladesh but it was the Lahore Test in 2004 ver-

sus India that truly put the bowler in the spotlight.

His five wickets in the first innings put a dent in the

Indian line up but his solitary wicket in the second

made a mess of VVS Laxman’s stumps and cap-

tured the imagination of the Pakistan fans.

Since then, Gul has put in the odd brilliant

performance against top sides, but the scarcity of

fast bowling resources at the Test level has meant

that he has been a steady influence. After the loss

of Amir and Asif he has played a useful role back-

ing up the quality spinners Pakistan has relied on

recently. Since August 2010, Gul has featured in 15

Tests and taken 50 wickets without a single five-

wicket haul; the matches have been spread across

UAE, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka and

Bangladesh.

In South Africa, the conditions will suit

him. The ball flies off a length at the first two ven-

ues Wanderers, Johannesburg, and New Lands,

Cape Town. There is some seam movement on

offer as well, but especially Johannesburg, espe-

cially, can see runs come quickly due to the nature

of the wicket and a lightning fast outfield.

Here Gul’s experience would come in

handy, provided he keeps his head. He would have

to aim for a consistent line and length with due re-

liance on his ‘heavy ball’, the venomous bouncer

he has up his sleeve. He should not forget also that

he has a potent yorker in his repertoire that can sur-

prise and barge through the defences of the best in

the business.

The biggest question, though, is whether

the ‘senior’ player is ready for the challenge? At

times, he looks clueless with the red cherry and

seems to run out of options fast when the batsmen

are dominating.

In his last two Tests played in Sri Lanka

last summer he claimed a solitary wicket conceding

220 runs. Even on a lively Pallekele wicket, venue

for the last Test, the right-armer failed to make in-

roads. Gul, perhaps, is the embodiment of Pakistan

cricket. He can be two different bowlers within the

space of a dozen deliveries. The challenge for him

on this tour is to rise and be counted as Pakistan

weathers the storm against a well-oiled machine.

If he has to go down in the annals of the

game as one of Pakistan’s best he would have to de-

liver against the best, keep it consistent and account

for over a dozen scalps if Pakistan are to win the

series. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq has already laid it

down to his boys: ‘perform a notch beyond your

ability if you are to surmount the South Africans’.

Gul has to do exactly the same and if he

does, he would for sure become the world-class act

he has threatened to since long.

Will Pakistani stars play in IPL 6?Solid Pakistanis held todraw by SA Invitation XI

Gul’s big test

Women’s World Cup: Pakistan confined to Barabati StadiumNEW DELHI: Pakistan’s women cricketers in

India for the World Cup are staying in the stadium

premises instead of a hotel for security reasons, the

International Cricket Council said on Tuesday.

The entire squad is living in the club

house of the Barabati stadium in the eastern city

of Cuttack where Pakistan are due to play its

matches in the eight-nation tournament starting on

Thursday.

“I can confirm the team is staying at the

Barabati stadium,” an ICC spokeswoman told AFP

from Cuttack.

“The ICC con-

sidered all options and

the best security for the

teams, and we have cho-

sen to use the Barabati

stadium club house.”

Cuttack was

added as a last-minute

venue after the right-

wing nationalist Shiv

Sena party threatened to

disrupt Pakistan’s

matches in Mumbai,

where the entire tourna-

ment was originally

scheduled to be played.

Matches in group B

— featuring Pakistan,

Australia, New Zealand

and South Africa —

were shunted to Cuttack,

where Pakistan will re-

main if they qualify for

the second round.

But the Pakistani team will still have to

travel to Mumbai if they make the final at the

Brabourne stadium on February 17.

Pakistan team manager Ayesha Ashar

said the entire squad was happy with the arrange-

ments made at the Barabati stadium. “The arrange-

ments are more like we get in Pakistan,” Ashar was

quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news

agency. “We are happy with the facilities provided

to us by the organisers.”

Pakistan open their campaign against

Australia at the Barabati stadium on Friday.

10 January 31, 2013

The professional Muslim Ulema of Pakistan have

influenced our thinking so much that we see every-

thing in religious terms. We keep a keen record of

“atrocities against Muslims” but we ignore the

enemy within who hides behind Islam. Earlier, we

used to see two centres of evil: India and Israel but

with time they have increased to include America

and Europe. Iran is rapidly moving away because

of our growing sectarianism and it is hard to name

any real friend – Saudi Arabia and China are our

‘friends’ only in the sense that they are not enemies.

They have excellent relations with our enemies and

do not support us in our disputes with India and

America, or in our red-hot anger against Israel.

We strongly believe that in our 65 years

of national life, we have been attacked five times

by India, once by Russia, that we are “spiritually”

fighting America for the last 12 years, that we

fought our East Wing and lost it because of Indian

aggression which the world supported because of

the bias established by Indian propaganda. We be-

lieve that we were always on the right side, that we

were persecuted.

It was always hard for us to ask: are we

really so innocent and so persecuted? Why does the

world hate us? All these 65 years we have been

teaching our students that one billion Hindus hate

us because they are bigoted and jealous of our

merit. It has been considered unpatriotic to ask why

we failed to befriend them in 700 years.

War is a tragedy but we refuse to see that

a society at war with itself is an abomination. We

love to talk of “we”, but we are “we” only in hate

against “others”; when it comes to sacrifice or serv-

ice, everyone is an individual.

War is a tragedy because it tries to achieve

an objective through use of force and destruction.

Even when it ends in one’s victory, it does not end;

it sows the seeds of future wars because those who

are vanquished and disgraced never forget the

wounds of defeat. Their collective memory passes

to posterity generation after generation and nour-

ishes the desire to avenge. Our subcontinent re-

mained in a state of war for centuries between the

Muslims kings and a resisting India. A narrow class

of Muslim victors in India won prosperity and

power but the large Indian population suffered the

tragedy of defeat and suffering for all these cen-

turies, while Muslim masses had no share of victory

except vain pride and widespread ignorance. This

history of war has left an aching scar on both sides

of our people. It is partially, if not wholly, respon-

sible for the lingering misery of our masses on both

sides. Although for several reasons we in Pakistan

refuse to see, the fact is that India started its recov-

ery only after 1947, Bangladesh only after 1971

while we have yet to start.

As a result of this war, Muslims remained

a medieval-minded crowd for centuries, taking

pride in their ability to wield the sword, until the

Aligarh University movement of modern learning

started some change. But we, in Pakistan, never

questioned our Civilizational Narcissism which

keeps breeding new tragedies of paranoia and

chaos. The legacy of centuries of war never leaves

us. Both the nations have spent, since 1947, trillions

annually on meaninglessly large armies and arms-

building, keeping their masses in misery, stupor and

barren hate. The total resources spent by both

amount to a sum that could have brought us to mod-

ern European levels of life and learning, had we

spent them productively.

War is a tragedy

but a society at war with

itself and everything

around, with no objective

and no remorse is more

than a tragedy; it is a total

disaster. Our society with

its special mindset is at

war with itself and the

world, with other reli-

gions and its own reli-

gious diversity. It is in a

state of schizophrenia

passing into paranoia. The

roots of this mindset lie in

our narcissism, in our self image of righteousness.

We do not take criticism and never feel sorry for

our wrongs. A semi-educated boy can start yelling

at you if you point out a mistake.

It is a depressing state of affairs. Many

sensitive patriots have lost all hope that health can

be restored. Ever since 1947, the nation has been

moving down the slope. Each period has left us

more frustrated and hopeless. Every time we dis-

cover that standards have fallen further. But that is

not how human societies should move in this age

of immense opportunity.

It is right to reject what was wrong in the

past but it is not right to predict that the wrong will

continue forever. Admitted that it is our special abil-

ity as humans that we conduct mass destruction;

this special ability is a tragic aspect of our mind but

that same mind is capable of science, wisdom, tol-

erance and inclusiveness. We can perhaps halt de-

struction by practicing and preaching critical

thinking with humility. Human societies all around

us are growing and developing. Why can’t our land

of disaster outgrow its roots? And do we have an

option other than trying?

A society at war with itself

View of Jinnah Avenue from Uzbek HotelUzbek Hotel is not really a hotel, and it’s not in

Uzbekistan. It’s a popular ethnic restaurant in Is-

lamabad. The owner is a Punjabi but the majority

of the cooking and serving staff is Uzbek. Some

of you who have enjoyed our specialty – haddi

pulao, which is rice cooked in beef broth and

served with a gigantic bone and long handled

spoon to scoop out the marrow – have been

waited on by me, and likely took me as an

Uzbek boy.

And that is the point of me working

here. I am a Hazara from Quetta. I moved to Is-

lamabad with my mother and two sisters while my

father stayed back to look after his shop, that is

our only source of family income. We were sent

away because my father feared for our lives. Haz-

aras have the unfortunate distinction of being the

face of the Shia sect, though not all Hazaras are

Shia. My family is atheist – my father believes in

no religion, my mother believes in him, and we,

the children, are trained to believe that we were

not born into a religion and as adults can decide

for ourselves – but that does not make us any

safer. If anything ‘they’ might kill us for looking

like Shias AND for being atheist kafirs.

It’s difficult to hide anywhere in Pak-

istan if you carry a Hazara face on your shoulders.

The Uzbek Hotel gives me the invisibility I need.

I am usually taken for an Uzbek because a major-

ity of men who work here look like me, and I have

no reason or intention to correct that impression.

If you can lay low and stay low, you are counted

as a successful person among the Hazaras, one

who is more likely to die a natural death. I am

studying for a journalism degree in the day, hold-

ing gainful employment in the night and not

known to murderers as a Hazara from Quetta. At

22, I am brimming with potential to do well. For

myself, my family, and my country.

I will graduate next year, and have built

up a sizeable collection of academic awards and

my published letters to editors, to get an intern-

ship in mainstream news media. I want to be a

journalist. Not an ‘ethnic’ journalist; just a profes-

sional, trustworthy, Pakistani journalist. Through

news media I want to inform, educate, entertain,

and inspire my audience to have hope and dream

big. And I plan to do this by reporting the truth.

I read two newspapers every day, follow

prime time current affairs programmes on televi-

sion, and frequently scan the evening tickers.

There is very little truth in what they tell us, es-

pecially about us.

Uzbek Hotel is popular across social and

cultural classes. Its patrons include students and

clerks, shop keepers and industrialists, and every-

one in between. Outside, on the pavement and in

the ground next door that is used as a parking lot,

beggars, cabbies, personal drivers and guards rep-

resenting every district of Pakistan; and vendors

of roasted corn, balloons, flowers, fruit and azaar

band; far outnumber the customers inside. To-

gether, the restaurant and its ambiance becomes a

microcosm of Pakistan – a small number of peo-

ple eating and a large number waiting for crumbs

to be thrown at them. A general opinion picked

from this mini-Pakistan is a true reflection of the

public mood. Also, diners tend to be relaxed and

uninhibited in their conversations around a bunch

of Uzbeks who likely don’t know the language

and if they do, don’t care.

My world also includes hundreds of

young men at college who come from all parts of

the country. For about 10 days, before, during, and

immediately after Dr. Tahirul Qadri’s march in Is-

lamabad, everyone in my world – students, mid-

dle class families, the rich and powerful, the

beggars and vendors, men, women and khawaja

saras – went through a whirlwind of emotions that

was largely missed by the media. There were an-

imated discussions in the college cafeteria, laid

back conversations in the VIP marquee of the

restaurant, more open and irreverent exchanges in

the hall, and swear words-laced analyses offered

by drivers in the parking ground. That is where

the big story was, that every journalist searched

for on Jinnah Avenue and under the rug of Dr.

Qadri’s container.

By day two when everyone was secretly

wishing for a miracle that would deliver them

from the tyranny of those who exploit them in the

name of democracy, the media was abuzz with

speculations about who was backing Dr. Qadri.

When the crowds were talking about the interior

minister’s public assurance that whoever it was,

the army and its intelligence agencies were not

behind Dr. Qadri, the media was greeting the Dec-

laration as a sign of political maturity.

There are only two powers on the streets

of Islamabad – the army and the government. If

the government says it’s not the army, this is

ample admission that the government and its al-

lies set the stage for the visiting doctor, people de-

duced, but by that time, the media had moved on

to the next story.

January 31, 2013 11

LONDON - The former head of the British armed

forces who recently retired and appointed as a de-

fence advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron on

Sunday confirmed that the war in Afghanistan is a

war on Islam. Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 pro-

gramme about Britains continued occupation of

Afghanistan, Gen (r) Sir Richard Dannatt said:

There is an Islamist agenda which if we dont op-

pose and face it off in southern Afghanistan, or

Afghanistan, or in South Asia, then frankly that in-

fluence will grow. We could see it moving from

South Asia to the Middle East to North Africa and

to the high water mark of the Islamic caliphate in

the 14th, 15th Century.

He explicitly said if Muslims adopted Is-

lams political ideas and

the Khilafah ruling sys-

tem, this would be unac-

ceptable and warranted a

military response from

Britain. He had no issues

with Muslims praying or

enacting spiritual rituals,

provided they surrendered

political life to Western

values. Taji Mustafa,

media representative of

Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain,

said: General Dannatt, a

recent adviser to Prime

Minister Cameron, has

previously been on the

record attacking Islams

ruling system, the Khi-

lafah (Caliphate). How-

ever, this exchange on the

BBC confirms a particu-

lar matter.

He tried to justify this

by attempting to label

Islam as a religion and

not a deen, or way of life

that encompasses politi-

cal matters as well.

These comments echo

the language of warmongers like Tony Blair,

George W Bush and Donald Rumsfeld - all of them

justified the war on terror by demonising the desire

of Muslims to restore the Islamic Caliphate - some-

thing that enjoys overwhelming popular support in

the Muslim World, he said.

If Dannatts comments are a reflection of

the thinking of the new British government, it is an

indication that David Camerons government would

be committing itself to an almost perpetual war

against the political aspirations of the Muslim

World - to move towards a greater role for Islam in

governance and a greater move to shed the shackles

of colonialism, both of which are represented in the

aspiration for the return of the Caliphate.

KABUL/KANDAHAR: Charred bodies lie scat-

tered against blood-stained walls and debris covers

the ground. For Afghanistan, the only unusual

thing in this gruesome scene is that the blood is red

paint — and part of an art installation.

It’s a work by 23-year-old Afghan artist

Malina Suliman, who risks

her life, sometimes working

by flashlight after dark, to

create art in southern Kan-

dahar province, the birth-

place of the Taliban and

still one of the country’s

most dangerous areas.

Her pieces, which

range from conceptual art

to paintings and sculpture,

are bold representations of

the problems facing her

generation and have drawn

praise from top officials in

Kandahar, making her ex-

ceptional in a place where

women face even greater

restrictions than in other

parts of the country.

“Many people had never seen an art in-

stallation…Some were offended and others were

hurt because they’d experienced it before,” Suli-

man said of “War and Chaos,” which was in an ex-

hibit last year and depicts the aftermath of a

suicide bombing, an all too common event in Kan-

dahar. Her haunting, powerful pieces earned her

an invitation last year to President Hamid Karzai’s

palace in Kabul, where she showed her art to the

Afghan leader, who is also from Kandahar.

Suliman’s artwork is now making waves

in the Afghan capital of Kabul, where she lived

after fleeing the violence of her native province as

a child. In December, she had two exhibits there,

a highlight of which was a sculpture of a woman

in baggy clothing with a noose tied around her

neck. An exhibit in Kandahar, where the Taliban

and tribal elders dominate public opinion, was the

first there in three decades.

She drew a mostly male crowd of around

100, including Kandahar governor Tooryalai Wesa

and some of Karzai’s relatives.

“I was taken aback by her work. I had

only seen great art abroad, but never here,” Wesa

later told Reuters, recalling the exhibit, which fea-

tured a painting of a foetus in the womb suspended

from a tree and being pulled in different ways. “I

hope it persuades more women to do the same.”

Suliman said this piece, called “Today’s

Life”, reflected the frustrations of her generation.

“Before a child is born, the parents are

already thinking that a son can support them and a

daughter can be married off to a wealthy suitor.

They don’t stop to think what the child may want,”

she said.

Slow progress for art

Thirty years of war and conflict, starting

with the Soviet inva-

sion of 1979, effec-

tively shelved

Afghanistan’s art

scene.

The austere 1996-

2001 rule of the Taliban

then banned most art

outright, declaring it

un-Islamic. Since the

group was toppled al-

most twelve years ago,

large Afghan cities

have resurrected some-

thing of an art move-

ment, but progress is

slow. Herat city,

in the country’s west,

now has art studios for

rent, while Mazar-i-Sharif in the north has an artist

collective and a lively graffiti scene.

Suliman, who is self-confident and ener-

getic with almond-shaped eyes, joined the Kanda-

har Fine Art Association, a relatively new, all-male

group whose goal is to support and exhibit local

art, one year ago.

The small collective of 10 artists caught

the eye of the Ministry of Information and Culture,

which funded and last year opened Kandahar’s

first art gallery, where Suliman has exhibited.

Since she joined the collective, several more Kan-

dahar-based female artists have come on board.

But the stakes remain high.

“One of our biggest fears is that people

will mistake us for creating art for foreigners or

working with NGOs. People who work with

NGOs get shot without question in Kandahar,” she

said. Despite her success, Suliman has received

threatening phone calls warning her against attend-

ing her own exhibits, and the Taliban have spoken

out against her.

Even creating her art must take place

away from public view.

She often waits until after dusk, working

with a dim flashlight.

Suliman recalls her first exhibit in Kan-

dahar last year, and how she trembled as she made

her way towards the gallery, in fear of it being

bombed.

“I was so scared…whenever there is a

gathering of government officials it becomes a tar-

get,” she said.

But one of Suliman’s greatest challenges

lies at home.

“The night of my first exhibit my family

told me ‘if you go, don’t come back’,” she said

with a wry laugh.

While her sisters and mother now sup-

port her ambition and passion, her brothers and

property developer father remain fiercely opposed

— attitudes typical for Afghanistan.

She is now looking to expand Kanda-

har’s budding art scene to nearby Helmand, hoping

to secure locally-sourced funds for workshops

and training.

When asked if she is scared, she men-

tions her sculpture of the hanged woman and

smiles. “That’s what happens to women when they

ask for their rights in this country,” she says, im-

pudently.

KARACHI: Pink Chiffon, Eden Robe and Vasim

Asghar presented their collection in Act One of Day

2 of the ongoing Karachi Fashion Week.

Pink Chiffon presented a puritanical pal-

lete with lace trimmings and then moving on to a

more colourful presentation with Indian motif

block print in classic eastern wear. A one-off was

an off-shoulder silk leopard skin print dress worn

by model Fouzia.

Eden Robe for kids had tiny tots in smart

jackets in deep, formal colours with waistcoats and

shalwar kurtas. It was simply adorable the way the

boys took to the ramp.

Eden Robe for men featured the same at-

tire in slightly mature form and colours as well as

pattern. Velvet pajamas, jamawar sherwanis, Kash-

miri embroidered kurtas, Chinese collar jackets, tux

with velvet collars, rough-cut jackets and moon-

light shimmer fabric were just some of the designs

and elements used in creating the collection.

Designer Vasim Asghar’s Moulin Rouge-

inspired collection in red and deep black featured a

short dress worn by Saima Azhar over sheer red

stockings. Loose, billowing fabric was used to cre-

ate further drama and special effects in the clothes.

Fouzia in an oversized v-high neck, a short black

sequin dress worn over striped stockings added to

the element of surprise which slightly tamed down

as the show progressed. Intelligent use of minimal

embellishments on such a strong pallete and Iraj

and Nadia’s multi-tier long shirts drew the segment

to a sensational close.

Sobia Waheed and Sapphire, both of

Brands Just Pret, showed a navy blue jumpsuit with

silk scarf, handkerchief prints, orange and gold,

military green silk dress with calligraphic motifs

and matching accessories with prints with mute em-

broidery, respectively.

Probably the most-awaited segment since

the KFW began, the tribute to Mehnaz courtesy

Shabs Couture commenced by observing a moment

of silence and prayer for the departed soul. What

ensued not only warmed hearts and tugged at the

heartstrings and was an intensely emotional mo-

ment for all and sundry while remembering the

legacy left behind by the indomitable singer, and

also in many ways symbolizing the undying, re-

silient spirit of Karachi which the late singer called

home. The collection and accessories were as

wacky and crazy as the style sense of the divas of

Lollywood during the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s shown

to the tune of Mein jis din bhula doon… and other

such classic compositions.

Malaysian designer and KFW regular

Sharifah Kirana showed form-hugging, clinging

classic Hollywood gowns, impressive colour block-

ing and a line inspired by the concept of hijab in Is-

lamic fashion for women. It showed a highly

evolved sense of design and spoke volumes about

the market for such products in Pakistan for women

who want to dress modestly while maintaining a

keen eye on styles and ongoing high fashion trends.

Afghan war is war on Islam: UK PM advisor

Afghan female artist beats the odds to create

KFW pays tribute to Mehnaz

12 January 31, 2013

SEOUL: North Korea on Tuesday

vowed “merciless” retaliation

against the South for its support of

UN sanctions, as Seoul urged Py-

ongyang to step back from a widely

expected nuclear test.

The perennially tense situ-

ation on the Korean peninsula has

been stretched to its limit in the past

week, with almost daily threats from

the North that it is prepar-

ing to conduct a nuclear

test as a riposte to the ex-

panded sanctions.

A lengthy com-

mentary published Tues-

day by the official Korean

Central News Agency

(KCNA) reiterated that

the sanctions resolution

passed by the UN Secu-

rity Council was tanta-

mount to a “declaration

of war”.

Noting what it called the

South’s “despicable” support for the

resolution, KCNA said it was an act

of gross provocation that would not

go unanswered. “The provokers will

meet only merciless retaliatory

blows,” it said. The commentary

made no specific mention of the nu-

clear test that the North’s top military

body had explicitly signalled in a

statement carried by KCNA last

week.

The National Defence

Commission had said the test was

aimed at “arch-enemy” the United

States, which had proposed the UN

resolution penalising Pyongyang for

a banned rocket launch in December.

In Seoul, the foreign min-

istry on Tuesday noted that the UN

resolution had warned of further

“significant action” against the

North it it proceeds with another test.

“The government once

again strongly urges North Korea to

pay heed to the continued warnings

from the international community

and not push ahead with any further

provocations, including a nuclear

test,” spokesman Cho Tai-Young

said. “I don’t really understand why

North Korea is sticking to an act that

threatens security in the region at a

time when its people are struggling

from a lack of food,” Cho said.

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai

accused foreign countries on Tuesday of

plotting against his war-weary nation’s

peace programme, saying all negotiations

should take place under his administra-

tion. Without pointing a finger at any par-

ticular country, Karzai said he had told the

US government during a recent visit to

Washington that “no foreign party must

try to take the Afghan peace process in

its hand”. All negotiations with Taliban in-

surgents should take place through the

government-appointed High Peace Coun-

cil, but unnamed “foreigners” had tried to

sidestep the council, Karzai said.

Karzai made the comments in a

long diversion during a speech to a water

management conference in Kabul, but it

was unclear why he raised the issue or

who exactly he was targeting.

A senior official told AFP that

Karzai was referring “to foreign and inter-

nal elements who are trying to tell the Tal-

iban to hold talks with other groups and

encouraging political groups to hold talks

with the Taliban”.

The plan was to weaken the

Afghan government, he said, adding that

the “foreign elements” were from both

Western and regional countries.

Afghan Defence Minister Bis-

millah Khan Muhammadi is on a five-day

visit to neighbouring Pakistan, where he

has met Chief of Army Staff General Ash-

faq Kayani.

Afghan-Pakistani relations are

understood to have improved recently de-

spite years of suspicion and mutual accu-

sations of Taliban violence plaguing both

countries. “Any effort to conduct peace

talks individually is not an effort for peace

but it’s a plot by the foreigners, aimed at

weakening Afghanistan,” Karzai said.

Washington began tentative

moves towards peace with the Taliban a

year ago. But the militia broke off the

talks a few months later, apparently over

the failure of the United States to free Tal-

iban prisoners held at GuantanamoBay.

The Taliban are in the process of

opening a political office in Qatar to facil-

itate talks, but the US ambassador to

Afghanistan said earlier this month that a

peace process “hasn’t even really begun”.

The United States, which will

withdraw its combat troops next year, has

repeatedly said any peace process should

be Afghan-led.

Pakistan, which Kabul accuses

of harbouring Taliban fighters, said it

freed 26 Taliban prisoners late last year in

a bid to kick-start peace talks ahead of the

withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

WASHINGTON: Congress sent a $50.5

billion emergency relief measure for Su-

perstorm Sandy victims to President

Barack Obama for his signature Monday,

three months after the storm ravaged

coastal areas in much of the Northeast.

Despite opposition from conser-

vatives concerned about adding billions of

dollars more to the nation’s debt, the Sen-

ate cleared the long-delayed bill, 62-36,

after House Republicans had

stripped it earlier this month

of spending unrelated to dis-

asters. All 36 votes against

the bill were from Republi-

can senators.

The House passed

the bill two weeks ago. The

long debate over Sandy aid

has exposed deep divisions

within the Republican Party

– still reeling from losses in

the November election –

over how far to go in their

fight to cut US spending. Lawmakers say

the money is urgently needed to start re-

building homes, businesses, public trans-

portation facilities and other infrastructure

damaged by the Oct 29 storm, one of the

worst to strike the Northeast. Sandy is

blamed for more than 130 deaths in the

US and tens of billions of dollars in prop-

erty damages, particularly in New York

and New Jersey.

“I commend Congress for giving

families and businesses the help they de-

serve, and I will sign this bill into law as

soon as it hits my desk,” Obama said in a

statement late Monday.

The biggest chunk of money is

$16 billion for Housing and Urban Devel-

opment Department community develop-

ment block grants. Of that, about $12.1

billion will be shared among Sandy vic-

tims as well as those from other federally

declared disasters in 2011-2013. The re-

maining $3.9 billion is solely for Sandy-

related projects.

More than $11 billion will go to

the Federal Emergency Management

Agency’s disaster relief aid fund for shel-

ter, restoring power and other storm-inter-

rupted utility services and meeting other

immediate needs arising from Sandy and

other disasters.

Another $10 billion is devoted to

repairing New York and New Jersey tran-

sit systems and making them more resist-

ant to future storms.

Earlier in January, Congress ap-

proved and Obama signed a $9.7 billion

bill to replenish the National Flood Insur-

ance Program, which has received well

over 100,000 flood insurance claims from

businesses, homeowners and renters re-

lated to Sandy.

Added to the new, $50.5 billion

package, the total is roughly in line with

the $60.4 billion that Obama requested in

December. Sandy damaged or destroyed

305,000 housing units in New York and

more than 265,000 businesses were dis-

rupted there, according to officials. In

New Jersey, more than 346,000 house-

holds were destroyed or damaged.

The aid package was greased for

passage before the last Congress ad-

journed and the new legislature came in

on Jan 3. But House Speaker John

Boehner refused to bring it to the floor

after two-thirds of House

Republicans voted against

a “fiscal cliff” deficit-re-

duction deal raising taxes

on the wealthy while de-

ferring spending cuts to

have been shared between

defence and domestic pro-

grams. The ruckus trig-

gered angry bickering

within Republican ranks.

New Jersey governor

Chris Christie, a promi-

nent Republican, angrily

blamed Boehner and the other House Re-

publicans “for the continued suffering of

these innocent victims.” Top House Re-

publicans responded by bringing new

Sandy aid legislation to the floor under

ground rules designed to win over as

many Republicans as possible while re-

taining support from Democrats eager to

approve as much in disaster aid as possi-

ble. Republican leaders cut spending in

the Senate bill unrelated to disasters. One

was to transfer $1 billion for training Iraqi

policemen to instead be used on bolstering

security at US diplomatic missions. The

shift in money followed a Sept 11 terrorist

attack on the American consulate in Beng-

hazi, Libya, where the US ambassador and

three other Americans were killed.

ALEPPO: The bodies of at least 68 young men and

boys, all executed with a single gunshot to the

head or neck, were found on Tuesday in a river in

the Syrian city of Aleppo, a watchdog and rebels

said. A Free Syrian Army (FSA) captain at the

scene said at least 68 bodies had been found and

that many more were still being dragged from the

water, in a rebel-held area.

The bodies were found in the Quweiq

River, which separates the Bustan al-Qasr district

from Ansari in the southwest of the city, the Syrian

Observatory for Human Rights said.

“Until now we have recovered 68 bodies,

some of them just teens,” said Captain Abu Sada,

adding that all of them had been “executed by the

regime.”

“But there must be more than 100. There

are still many in the water, and we are trying to re-

cover them,” he added.

A volunteer said as he helped load one of

the bodies on a truck: “We don’t know who they

are because there was no ID on them”.

At least 15 bodies could already be seen

on the truck, with others continuing to arrive.

Abu Sada said they would be taken to the

hospital at Zarzur where relatives could seek to

identify them.

“Those who are not identified will be

buried in a common grave,” he added.

“My brother disappeared weeks ago

when he was crossing (through) the regime-held

zone, and we don’t know where he is or what has

become of him,” said Mohammed Abdel Aziz, as

he looked at the mud-covered bodies one by one.

“They could have been executed a cou-

ple of days ago and the current brought the bodies

this far,” an FSA fighter, Abu Anas, told AFP.

The 129-kilometre river originates in

Turkey to the north and flows to the southwest of

Aleppo, traversing both regime and rebel-

held areas.

“This is not the first time that we have

found the bodies of people executed, but so many,

never,” he says numbly, as he examines the body

of a boy of about 12 with a gunshot wound to the

back of the neck.

The shabiha (pro-government militia)

seize people crossing the checkpoint … and they

torture and execute many of them,” said Abu Anas.

In video filmed by activists and pub-

lished by the Observatory on YouTube, the cam-

eraman walks along the river, less than two metres

wide, and films some 50 bodies that have been

pulled onto the concrete path.

Most have their hands are tied behind

their backs and pools of blood trail from their

heads. Their faces are white and bodies bloated.

All look to be young men, some teens,

wearing jeans, button-up shirts and sneakers.

The cameraman films them one-by-one

as he walks slowly down the path, then starts run-

ning toward more ahead of him.

US Congress passes $50.5 billion superstorm aid bill

North Korea threatens ‘mer-ciless’ retaliation on South

Egypt military chief warns of collapse of stateKarzai accuses foreign countries of ‘plotting’ against Afghan peace

Bodies of 68 executed young men, boys found in Syria

CAIRO: Egyptian Defence Minister

and military chief General Abdel

Fattah al Sissi warned on Tuesday

that the political crisis rocking the

country could lead to the collapse of

the state.

Failure to resolve the situ-

ation “could lead to grave repercus-

sions if the political forces do not

act” to tackle it, Sissi said in com-

ments posted on his Facebook page.

“The continuing conflict

between political forces and their

differences concerning the manage-

ment of the country could lead to a

collapse of the state and threaten fu-

ture generations,” Sissi said in the

comments, which were extracts of a

speech he gave to students at a mili-

tary academy.

Sissi further warned that

the political, economic, social and

security problems facing Egypt con-

stitute “a threat to the country’s se-

curity and stability”.

He stressed that “the at-

tempts to undermine the stability of

state institutions is a dangerous thing

that harms national security and the

future of the country,” but stressed

that “the army will remain strong …

as a pillar of the state’s foundations.”

Fifty-two people have died

in five days of violence that erupted

Thursday night in Egypt as the coun-

try marked the second anniversary of

the start of the uprising that toppled

former president Hosni Mubarak.

A curfew has been im-

posed in three provinces: Port Said,

Ismailiya and Suez.

The bloodiest clashes and

most of the deaths have occurred in

Port Said, with rioting breaking out

on Saturday after 21 supporters of a

local football club were sentenced to

death for their roles in a deadly foot-

ball riot last year.