Wednesday, 14 November, 2012 Dhu Al-Haj 28, 1433Rs 15.00 Vol III No 138 19 Pages Islamabad — Peshawar Edition

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Elmo puppeteerfaces underage sex charges

Gen John Allen underinvestigation, scandal widens

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Bangladesh PMdrops plan tovisit Pakistan

QUETTAStAff RePoRt

THE Balochistan political crisis tooka serious turn on Tuesday after theprovincial assembly reposed confi-dence in Chief Minister Nawab

Aslam Raisani, while the provincial chapter ofPPP declared his government unconstitu-

tional. Acting speaker Matiullah Agha chairedthe assembly session on Tuesday whereinSenior Minister Maulana Abdul Wasay tableda unanimous resolution in the House. Theresolution said the worsening law and orderin the province was a conspiracy of internaland external elements and the people weresuffering due to the law and order and it wasincumbent upon the House to review the sit-

uation. Fifty seven members present in theHouse unanimously expressed their confi-dence in the chief minister in a House of 65.

The resolution called for joint line of ac-tion and solidarity to improve the situation.

Opposition members, PPP BalochistanPresident and minister Mir Sadiq Imrani andMinister for Quality Education Jan AliChangezi did not attend the session.

Speaking in the House, Wasay said, “Wewant continuity of democracy and survival ofconstitution. We will fight those elements thattry to stop us from fighting for the rights of the

people,” he said. “There is nobody in thisHouse who demands UN or US guarantee forhis own country,” the minister noted.

Abdul Rehman Mengal said the Centrewas hatching a conspiracy against the provin-cial government as it wanted to impose emer-gency or governor’s rule to delay the generalelection. On the other hand, the PPP Balochis-tan declared the provincial government un-constitutional. The decision by PPPBalochistan chapter was made during theprovincial council session on Tuesday. Thecouncil also said that Chief Minister Balochis-

tan Aslam Raisani had been suspended fromthe party. Earlier, acting governor Muham-mad Aslam Bhootani put off the assembly ses-sion called on November 13 by GovernorNawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi.

Prior to the development, Bhootani hadrefused to chair the session as speaker andhad sent a memo seeking clarification fromthe Supreme Court’s Registrar about the con-stitutional status of the existing provincialgovernment and the chief minister in thebackdrop of SC’s October 12, 2012 interimorder in the Balochistan law and order case.

ISLAMABADStAff RePoRt

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) onTuesday boycotted the National Assembly ses-sion over the alarming law and order situationin Karachi. MQM MNA Abdul Qadir Khanzadasaid if the government’s clear stance on the issuedid not come forth until Wednesday, they wouldstage a complete boycott of the current session.

He lamented that the interior minister hadcontinuously been absent from the House,adding that the two major parties of the coun-try were silent over the situation as if it wasnot their issue. Khanzada said they were walk-ing out of the House to protest against a lackof interest by the two major political parties.

However, PML-N’s Rohail Asghar said theMQM member had raised a finger at his party,despite the party expressing its concern overthe Karachi situation since long. He demandedthat the Supreme Court’s suggestions vis-à-visKarachi and the report of the joint investigativecommittee be placed before the house. Asghar

also questioned who was the governor in Sindhand which party did he belong to.

ANP MNA Bushra Gohar said the violencein Karachi was a failure of intelligence outfitsand suggested constituting an NA committeethat should formulate recommendations.

She said intelligence agencies had failed andthey were blaming various groups for the wors-ening law and order. Kashmala Tariq saidKarachi’s Defence Housing Authority and othermilitary colonies were also part of Karachi, butthere was peace there. She lamented that peacewas restored to any area the government wanted.She questioned if it was a conspiracy to postponethe election by bloodletting in Karachi. She alsodemanded a debate in connection with AsgharKhan case to ascertain the characters who bene-fited from the Mehran Bank scam. PPP MemberAbdul Ghani Talpur proposed a parliamentarycommittee to review the Karachi situation andfind the reasons behind the killings. He alsoproposed the deployment of interior Sindh po-lice in Karachi, saying peace would surely berestored to Karachi after such a move.

ISLAMABADAPP

The National Assembly on Tuesday passed theRight to free and Compulsory Education Bill2012 unanimously to ensure free and compul-sory education to all children of ages betweenfive and sixteen as enshrined in Article 25-A.

The private member bill, also passed by theSenate, was piloted by PPP lawmaker YasmeenRehman. The statement of objects and reasonsof the bill said Article 25A provided for free ed-ucation to all children of ages five to sixteen as afundamental right and its provision was a re-sponsibility of the State.

Accordingly, a comprehensive law to pro-vide for free and compulsory education was themandate of the constitution and the need of thetime. The bill envisions free education for allchildren from age five to 16 in schools estab-lished by the federal government and the localgovernment in Islamabad Capital Territory(ICT). Under the bill, every child, regardless ofsex, nationality or race, shall have a fundamentalright to free and compulsory education in aneighbourhood school. No school, other than aschool established, owned or controlled by the

appropriate government, after the commence-ment of this act, be established or function, with-out obtaining a certificate of registration fromthe prescribed authority.

“Any person who establishes or runs aschool without obtaining certificate of registra-tion or continues to run a school after with-drawal of registration, shall be liable to finewhich may extend to Rs 200,000 and in case ofcontinuing contraventions, to a fine of Rs 25,000for each day,” the bill said. Speaking in theHouse, Rehman said the provision of compul-sory education was a fundamental right of everychildren and the bill would ensure better educa-tion to the children. Chief Whip of the HouseSyed Khurshid Ahmed Shah praised Rehman forbringing the bill in the House, saying provisionof compulsory education to children was en-shrined in the constitution.

He said the constitution fully supportedthe bill and it would be a first step towards thisnoble cause. Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho also con-gratulated the House and Yasmeen Rehmanfor passing such an important bill. She said thebill would not only remove the sense of depri-vation of the poor in the society, but also en-sure quality education.

Balochistan spinning in political whirlpoolg Provincial assembly gives a confident nod to CM Raisani

as PPP Balochistan declares his govt unconstitutional

MQM walks out of NAagainst Karachi bloodbath g Says country’s two major parties unconcernedby Karachi violence g PML-N claims it has beenconcerned by Karachi situation since day one

NA passes Free, Compulsory Education Bill 2012 unanimously

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Clinton in Australia for security talks Counsel admits govt is free to ink accords with foreign........ Climate change may lead to much warmer nY

FIA summons Gilani,son in Hajj scam

ISLAMABAD: The FederalInvestigation Agency (FIA) onTuesday summoned former PrimeMinister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani,his son Abdul Qadir Gilani andZain Sukhera to appear in theSupreme Court regarding the Hajjscam, on November 16. Sourcessaid that summons have beenissued directing them to ensuretheir presence in order to recordtheir respective statements in theHajj corruption case. The sourcesfurther said that the formerpremier Syed Yousaf Raza Gilaniwill be questioned about awarding

contract to Zain Sukhera, an old servant, while Abdul Qadir Gilaniwill be investigated regarding the Hajj scandal and his assets;particularly the purchase of an expensive Mercedes car. inP

Bangladesh PM drops planto visit Pakistan

DHAKA: In a sudden andunexplained development,Bangladeshi Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina scrapped herplanned visit to Pakistan later thismonth. She was expected toattend a meeting of theDevelopment-8, a grouping ofeight nations with Muslimmajority population, onNovember 22. However,Bangladeshi Foreign MinisterDipu Moni is likely to representthe premier now. “We have justbeen informed by the PMO thatshe (Hasina) is not going,” asenior foreign ministry officialfamiliar with the situation said,preferring anonymity. The official

though could not elaborate further about the changed plan. Thedevelopment came three days after Hasina’s press secretary AbulKalam Azad told media that she would go to Islamabad on a three-daytour. It is worth mentioning here that Foreign Minister Hina RabbaniKhar had visited Bangladesh briefly to personally hand over aninvitation to Hasina from President Asif Ali Zardari. However,Bangladesh’s relations with Pakistan have remained frosty. Coincidingwith Khar’s five-hour visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh had reiterated its callfor a formal Pakistani apology for the atrocities committed by troops inthe war of 1971. This would have been Hasina’s first tour to thePakistani capital since her ruling Awami League came to power inDecember 2008 general elections. Hasina had earlier visitedIslamabad as premier during her previous 1996-2001 tenure. inP

NEW DELHIinP

Relaxing the condition requiring an Indiansponsor for every Pakistani fan applyingfor a visa to watch the upcoming Indo-Pakcricket series, India may also allow visaapplications that have match tickets andreturn journey tickets duly attached.

Though India is looking at accommo-dating around 500 Pakistani spectators forthe Delhi tie and 100 each for the othervenues, it has agreed to consider raisingthe ceiling after Islamabad indicated thatthe ticket sales back home may touch2,000 for the Indian capital alone.

The five-match Indo-Pak series, thefirst after bilateral cricket ties weresnapped in 2008 in wake of the 26/11

strikes, will be held between December 25and January 6. Three one-day internation-als (ODIs) and two T-20 matches will beplayed during the nearly fortnight-long se-ries.

The Indian Home Ministry had earlierproposed to insist on strict adherence tothe “Indian sponsor” criterion, given theexperience during the last Indo-Pak seriesin 2007, when 12 Pakistani spectatorswent missing and also the 26/11 probe re-vealed that two Pakistani mastermindshad entered the country to survey targetson the pretext of watching a match at Mo-hali.

However, after getting a feedback fromits own agencies as well as from Islamabadon how this might disadvantage genuinePakistani cricket lovers, who cannot get an

Indian sponsor for their visit, the ministryis actively considering easing the norms.

“Making an Indian sponsor mandatoryfor each Pakistan visa applicant was possi-bly loaded against ordinary Pakistani citi-zens who may not have Indian contacts butstill want to watch the matches here fortheir genuine interest in cricket,” a seniorintelligence official told Times of India.The concerns were discussed at a meetingin the Union Home Ministry on Monday,which decided to also look at visa applica-tions that have the applicant’s match tick-ets as well as return journey tickets by bus,rail or air duly attached.

The return journey tickets are crucialsince they will help intelligence agenciesestablish if the Pakistani fans travel backhome on the date indicated in the tickets.

ISLAMABADonline

MALIK Riaz, formerchief executive ofBahria Town, has ex-pressed a lack oftrust in the Shoaib

Suddle Commission, saying he didnot expect justice from the body.

Talking to reporters after appear-ing before the commission on Tues-day, Riaz said inquiries were beingconducted by FIA in respect of MusaGilani, Aslam Beg and Malik Riaz,adding that he had been facing suchinquiries for the last 16 years.

“On the other hand, a five starShoaib Suddle Commission has beenconstituted for investigating the Ar-salan Iftikhar case,” he observed.

“Justice should be equal for everyone,” he said. “Arsalan Iftikhar shouldbe treated during the course of ad-ministration of justice the way a com-mon man is treated,” he added.

Riaz said Arsalan should not be

given VIP treatment.To a question, he said his pass-

port had not been demanded and if itwas sought, “I will be ready to hand itover to the court rather than the Sud-dle Commission”.

Talking to reporters before ap-pearing before the commission, Riazsaid he was going to tell the commis-sion that he did not recognise it nordid he accept it.

“I have no trust in any commis-

sion, including the Shoaib SuddleCommission. I repose trust only in acommission which holds across theboard accountability, therefore, Idon’t accept proceedings of this com-mission,” he said.

Zahid Bokhari, counsel for Riaz,said, “We have challenged the consti-tutional position of the commission inSupreme Court, as this commissionhad completed its constitutional termon October 5.”

Riaz expresses lack of trustin Suddle commission

ISLAMABADStAff RePoRt

A delegation of Afghan High Peace Council headedby its chairman Salahuddin Rabbani, called onChief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayanion Tuesday. The Afghan delegation remained withthe Army chief for some time and discussed mat-ters of mutual interest, particularly peace processin Afghanistan, said a statement by the Inter-Ser-vices Public Relations (ISPR). The Afghan peacenegotiators are in Pakistan on a three-day visit fortalks to smooth the way out of the deadlock in thereconciliation process in the war-ravaged country.Earlier on Monday soon after his arrival, AfghanHigh Peace Council Chairman Salahuddin Rab-bani met Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, who“assured” Rabbani that Pakistan would do “allwhat it takes for a peaceful Afghanistan”. However,longstanding issues continued to challenge the

reconciliation process even during the negotiatorsvisit. Sunday evening’s cross-border shelling byAfghan forces that caused loss of four lives on thePakistani side was a grim reminder of the chal-

lenges the two countries confront. Afghan Ambas-sador Umar Daudzai was also summoned to theForeign Office on Monday to receive a demarcheover the shelling incident.

Afghan peace negotiators meet Kayani

India may ease visa norms forPakistani cricket fans

Government working outblasphemy-filters for YouTubeFacing widespread public demand, the government is reconsidering the banimposed on Youtube and is working out ways to filter blasphemous content,according to a report by Washington Post on Tuesday. Interior MinisterRehman Malik, a regular social media user, announced last week that thegovernment would set up a committee to find a way to filter anti-Islamcontent on YouTube – most notoriously, the crudely made and offensive“Innocence of Muslims” video – but still let other videos entertain thenation. A ministry official said a large number of people on Twitter,Facebook and other social media sites had asked that the ban be lifted, butthe government wants to ensure that material deemed blasphemous orotherwise objectionable is blocked. “I will do my best to open U tube,” Maliktweeted last Tuesday. “You all know that this matter does not concern myministry yet every body demands me to open it.” The ban was put in place bythe Ministry of Information Technology in mid-September on the orders ofPrime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. Although high-speed Internet access istoo expensive for the vast majority of Pakistanis, many of them use theirphones to surf the Internet because of low per-minute usage charges. This isnot the first time that the Internet has been censored in Pakistan. Twitterwas briefly banned in May for tweets encouraging participation in the“Everyone Draw Muhammad Day” campaign on Facebook. Facebook hasbeen shut down more than once over a page promoting the contest. Thepage still cannot be accessed in Pakistan. MonitoRing DeSk

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Rihanna a good Bond girl: Daniel Craig Bowling legend hopes of trouble free Pakistan-india series

ISLAMABADAPP

PRESIDENT Asif Ali Zardari onTuesday called for creating a re-gional mechanism for exchange ofinformation and coordination andto establish a drug court in the re-

gion to fight the illicit drug trade.Addressing the inaugural session of Re-

gional Ministerial Conference on Counter Nar-cotics at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president saidthe merchants of death did not recognise any po-litical, geographical, ethical, or legal boundariesand were destroying the youth, no matter whatpassport they possessed.

He said the challenge required a close coop-eration and proposed that the offices concernedshould maintain real-time contact, like a hotline,amongst the heads of narcotics control agencies,for better coordination in dealing with the illicitdrug trafficking.

The president said efforts against the nacro-trade could not succeed alone.

“We will conquer the heroin trade onlythrough collective action,” he added.

Zardari said the heroin trade did not flour-ish in vacuum and it was linked with the terroristnetworks in the region.

He said the money from heroin trade wasbeing used to finance terror operations. Accord-ing to the UN, the opium production had in-creased by over 3,000 percent and the revenuefrom the heroin trade had also been steadily ris-ing during the past decade.

However, the problem was much older andwent farther back in history, farther than 2001,he said.

“It goes back to the choices made during thedecades of 1970s and 1980s. That was the timewhen heroin was created as a war weapon by theworld community to fight the rival ideology inthe region,” he added.

“After the war, the international communityleft the region in a hurry. Many things of that erahave now come back to haunt us. One of thesewas the heroin trade,” the president said.

Zardari said the illicit drug trade was nowchallenging the very foundations and posed a se-rious threat to all countries in the region.

The president said the heroin trade hadgrown across borders and was spreading deathand destruction in the name of ideology.

“It is threatening the security of our coun-tries,” he said.

Zardari said the drug trade threatened to de-stroy the national economies by corrupting le-gitimate businesses, increasing inflation anddestabilising interest and exchange rates.

“It undermines good governance by encour-aging crime and corruption and promotes vio-lence,” he added.

The heroin trade threatens us more than itthreatens far-off lands, he said, adding that in-stead of being followers, “we must lead the fightagainst the heroin trade”.

“We must be the one to fight back and wemust win this battle. Failure is no option.”

He recounted various measures takenagainst the narcotics trade and said Pakistan hadaccorded high priority to the efforts aimed atfighting the illicit drug trade.

The President hoped that the deliberationsduring the conference would lay the groundworkfor a concrete action and a set of practical meas-ures could be agreed.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, in herwelcome remarks, said the narcotics trade wasan issue tied to peace, security and prosperityand health and happiness of the people of the re-gion. She stressed a regional approach to jointlyaddress the challenge of drug trade.

The meeting later adopted the agenda forthe two-day ministerial conference. PresidentZardari later hosted a luncheon for the dele-gates.

President for creatingregional mechanismfor narcotics controlg Zardari says drug challenge requires close cooperation,proposes offices concerned maintain real-time contact

ISLAMABADonline

Countries bordering Afghanistan and facedwith the menace of drug trafficking adopteda joint declaration on Tuesday undertaking,inter alia, to set up a regional contact groupat the senior-official level.

Pakistan hosted the first regional confer-ence at the initiative of President Asif AliZardari.

The declaration that renewed regionalcommitment to counter narcotics coopera-tion was adopted unanimously by the repre-sentatives of 12 countries on the first day ofthe two-day ministerial conference.

“We, as participants of this conference,have come very near to the possibility of set-ting up a common hotline and a regionalcontact group,” Foreign Minister Hina Rab-bani Khar said in her opening remarks atTuesday’s ministerial session of the confer-ence.

In his address, representative of theUnited Nations of Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) praised Pakistan’s initiative tohost a regional conference on counteringnarcotics. He also underlined the linkage of

drugs trafficking and economic developmentof the region.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik, whochaired the second session of the ministerialconference, also underlined that the “illegaleconomy with the proceeds of drugs, dampenthe growth of the legal economy”.

Malik rightly pointed out that the Euro-pean countries were registering a growingdemand for drugs used for psychotherapy ascertain countries had permitted limitedusage of narcotics.

“Therefore, on behalf of the region beingbadly affected by drug trafficking, I demandthe Western nations curb the demand anddeclare all kinds of drug usage as illegal,” hedemanded.

“Drug trafficking and money launderingare the two major sources of finance for ter-rorists,” Malik said, adding that “we need tohave a common database, and informationsharing mechanism to impede the flow ofdrugs 90 per cent of the world supplies fromAfghanistan”.

The 14-point joint declaration not onlyexpressed concerns over the threat posed bynarcotics production, trafficking, and de-mand but also realised common and shared

responsibility demanding an integrated,multidisciplinary, mutually reinforcing andbalanced regional approach towards supplyand demand reduction strategies.

Per the declaration, the 12 countriesagreed that the promotion of economic de-velopment affected by the illicit drug trade,required appropriate measures, includingstrengthening of regional cooperation insupport of alternatives and sustainable de-velopment activities.

Indian representative KK Jasswal ex-pressed his government’s complete supportto the declaration. He also praised the gov-ernment of Pakistan’s initiative.

According to Malik, the conference wouldbecome a regular feature and would be heldon the monitoring and implementation on aneed-basis.

The declaration has fixed July 2013 asdeadline for finalisation of the draft termsand reference for the Regional ContactGroup.

The countries invited are Afghanistan,Azerbaijan, China, India, Islamic Republic ofIran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, RussianFederation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,Turkey and Uzbekistan.

12 regional countries agree to form anti-narcotics group

ISLAMABADonline

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ChairmanImran Khan said on Tuesday that the Sindhgovernment had lost the right to rule after“completely failing” to protect the lives andproperties of the people in the province, es-pecially in Karachi.

In a statement issued from his office, thePTI chief said that the de-politicisation of theadministration in Sindh, particularly the po-lice, was the key to restoring peace to the vio-lence-hit province.

He hailed the Supreme Court’s verdict on

the law and order situation in Karachi, but re-gretted that the Sindh government had notimplemented the verdict, and added to themiseries of the people. “Violence is not con-fined to the urban areas, as lawlessness pre-vails across Sindh province. People in ruralareas cannot leave their homes in the eveningas dacoits take to the streets and innocentpeople are kidnapped for ransom,” the PTIchief said.

He said the level of violence across theprovince indicates that either the governmenthas no political will to protect people’s lives,or the criminals have penetrated into theprovincial government.

Cricket matchabandoned tomake way for ViPs

LAHOREStAff RePoRt

The arrival of VIPs’ in Gujranwala forced the match beingplayed between Karachi B and Sialkot to be called off onTuesday. The match was part of the Inter RegionalDepartments U-19 One Day Tournament 2012-13 and wasbeing played at Jinnah Stadium. Per reports, the playerswere compelled to leave the Jinnah Stadium when ahelicopter carrying Special Advisor to Punjab Chief MinisterSardar Zulfiqar Khosa and Punjab Police Inspector GeneralHaji Habibur Rehman was supposed to land there. As usual,the stadium was emptied much in advance of the VIPs’anticipated arrival. On resistance from some players, thesecurity personnel abused them and pushed them out of thestadium. The stadium is the only venue in Gujranwala whichcan be used as a helipad. Sources told Pakistan Today thatthis is not the first time that a match has been abandoned; inreckless disregard for the respectable entity of the commonman, similar acts have been carried out a number of times inthe past and the teams were given one point each.

Sindh govt not justified in continuing ruleafter failing to end violence: imran

QUETTA: Relatives of missing persons hold a protest rally at

Adaki Road on the eve of Baloch Martyrs Day on Tuesday. oNLiNe

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nAPleS: Demonstrators clash with riot police officers during

a demonstration against unemployement on tuesday.

LONDONAgenCieS

Terror suspect Abu Qatada hasbeen released on bail after win-ning his latest appeal to avoidextradition to Jordan.

The radical cleric smiled ashe was driven from Long Lartinprison in Worcestershire andreturned to his family home innorth west London.

He was taken from themaximum security jail in a blackVolkswagen people carrier andmade no attempt to hide fromphotographers.

Qatada was granted bail onMonday after judges ruled re-turning him to his home coun-try to face trial would breach his

human rights.Home Secretary Theresa

May had obtained assurancesfrom Jordan that evidence ob-tained through torture wouldnot be used at his trial.

But in a serious blow, theSpecial Immigration AppealsCommission (Siac) said thiscould still not be guaranteedand refused to back the Govern-ment. The decision is the latesttwist in an 11-year legal battle,that is believed to have cost theBritish taxpayer at least £1m.

Qatada, once described asOsama bin Laden’s right-handman in Europe, will have toobey a 16-hour curfew and canonly go out between 8am and4pm. He will also have to wear

an electronic tag, cannot usethe internet and will be barredfrom contacting certain people- who cannot be named forlegal reasons.

Round-the-clock surveil-lance of his home is now ex-pected to be put in place, at areported cost of up to£100,000 a week.

Downing Street has said theHome Office will be ensuring“we take all the necessary steps”to make sure Qatada does notpose a risk to national security.

Qatada was granted leave toremain in Britain in 1994 afterarriving here and seeking asy-lum but he was convicted of ter-ror charges in Jordan in hisabsence in 1999.

NEWS DESK

Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clashhas found himself in a bit of apickle. The Sesame Streetpuppeteer has been accusedof carrying on a sexual rela-tionship with a 16-year-oldboy in the past. The accuser,now 23-years-old, laid thecharges on Clash in June2012. While Clash acknowl-edges the relationship, hesays it was carried on after theaccuser was legally an adult.

“I had a relationship withthe accuser,” Elmo puppeteerKevin Clash said in a state-ment. “It was between twoconsenting adults and I amdeeply saddened that he is

trying to characterize it assomething other than it was.”

Sesame Workshop quicklyaddressed the issue with theirElmo puppeteer, meeting withboth the accuser and Clash.The Workshop said that thecharge of underage relationswas unsubstantiated, but thatClash has been disciplined forinappropriate Internetusage.According to TMZ, theman behind the Elmo voice re-portedly used his SesameStreet email account to con-tact his accuser back in 2010.Sent after the accuser turned18, the email includes Clashapologizing for “talking aboutsex” and later saying “I loveyou and I will never hurt you.”

NEWS DESK

The Supreme Court in Brazilhas sentenced a former topaide of ex-President Luiz Ina-cio Lula da Silva to 10 yearsand 10 months in jail.

Jose Dirceu, 66, wasfound guilty of setting up an il-legal scheme that used publicfunds to pay coalition partiesfor political support. Dirceuhad acted as Lula’s chief ofstaff from 2003 to 2005. Theformer president is not impli-cated in the scandal, which be-

came known as “Mensalao”,or Big Monthly Allowance.

The Supreme Court alsoordered Dirceu to pay a fineof 676,000 reais($330,000; £210,000). Theformer aide maintained thatthe scheme never existed,and accused Brazil’s conser-vative media of bias againstthe left-wing government.In a statement posted on hisblog, Dirceu said he did notaccept the Supreme Court’s“unfair sentence”.

He made reference to his

days as a left-wing rebel inthe 1960s and 70s andvowed to fight the convic-tion. “During the militarydictatorship I put my life onthe line, I was arrested andjailed. I was banned from thecountry, but did not give upand came back to fight fordemocracy in Brazil.”‘CrIMInAL enter-prISe’: The presidingjudge, Justice Joaquim Bar-bosa, ruled that Dirceu hadplayed a crucial role in thecorruption scheme.

WASHINGTONSPeCiAl CoRReSPonDent

President Barack Obama isconsidering Senator John F.Kerry to serve as his next de-fence secretary and current USambassador to UN Susan Riceas Secretary of State.

Although Kerry is thoughtto covet the job of secretary ofstate, senior administration of-ficials familiar with the transi-tion planning said thatnomination will almost cer-tainly go to Susan E. Rice, theU.S. ambassador to the UnitedNations, The Washington Postreported Tuesday.

Obama’s chief counterter-

rorism adviser, John O. Bren-nan, is a leading contender forthe CIA job if he wants it, offi-cials said. If Brennan goesahead with his plan to leavegovernment, Michael J.Morell, the agency’s acting di-rector, is the prohibitive fa-vorite to take overpermanently. However, theWhite House has not made anydefinitive decisions so far.

Petraeus’s resignation lastweek after revelations of an ex-tramarital affair has compli-cated what was already anintricate puzzle to reassemblethe administration’s nationalsecurity and diplomatic piecesfor Obama’s second term.

The process has becomefurther complicated by con-gressional ire at not being toldthat Petraeus was under FBIinvestigation, on top of whatare likely to be contentiousclosed-door hearings this weekon the administration’s actionssurrounding the Sept. 11 attackon the U.S. diplomatic missionin Benghazi, Libya.

Rice, one of an inner circleof aides who have been withObama since his first presiden-tial campaign in 2007, is underparticular fire over the Beng-hazi incident, in which U.S.Ambassador J. ChristopherStevens and three other Amer-icans were killed.

Anti-terrorismbill tabled in NA

ISLAMABADinP

Anti Terrorism Act’s amend-ment bill 2012 was tabled inthe National Assembly onTuesday. According to thenew bill, law enforcementagencies would be authorizedto take action against terror-ists, cease their assets andconfiscate their properties.

According to section 8 ofthe bill, federal and provincialgovernments will be entitled todirect any official to cease assetsor money of any criminal. More-over, if anyone refuses to followthe government order, that per-son will be considered as a con-vict and will be liable to get fiveyears imprisonment or fineworth Rs 0.5 million or both.

Petraeus andlover used alQaeda emailtricks to keepaffair secret

NEWS DESK

The CIA director and his bi-ographer had a shared Gmailaccount and wrote some oftheir personal missives asdraft emails, which were leftin a draft folder or an elec-tronic, “dropbox”.

They could each then ac-cess the shared account andopen the other’s draft mes-sages, reading them withoutthe emails actually being sent.

Sending emails betweentwo separate accounts leavesan electronic trail, including IPaddresses that have been used.

Al Qaeda terrorists beganusing the technique yearsago. It allowed them to ex-change information withoutsending traceable emails. Anaccount would be opened byone conspirator and a draftemail written and saved. Theaccount could then be openedby a co-conspirator with ac-cess anywhere in the world,who could read the draftemail and delete it.

The process meant the in-formation had never beensent in the form of an email,making the electronic trailweaker. The technique hassince been copied byteenagers in many countriesto avoid having their emailsmonitored by their parents.

ISLAMABADStAff RePoRt

CHIEF Justice ofPakistan (CJP)Iftikhar Muham-mad Chaudhry has

directed the interior secretaryto ensure security arrange-ments for Pakistan’s formerenvoy to the US, HusainHaqqani during his stay inthe country.

He made these remarkswhile presiding over a nine-member bench of the SupremeCourt (SC) hearing the Mem-

ogate case on Tuesday. The CJP also issued direc-

tives that the court should beinformed about the securityarrangements two weeks beforethe next hearing of the case.

Interior SecretaryKhawaja Siddique appearedon court’s orders. He said,“Hussain Haqqani should tellus what type of security con-cerns he has.” Asma Jahangir,counsel for Haqqani, arguedthat her client had apprehen-sions with respect to his arrivalin Pakistan therefore he washesitant to come to Pakistan.

“He can come to Pakistan ifthe government provides himfull protection,” she said.

The CJP said it was bind-ing on the state under Article9 of the constitution to ensuresecurity of all citizens.

He directed Asma to file awritten application on thethreats being faced byHaqqani and later inform theinterior secretary and the SCregistrar about these securityconcerns. Asma said shewould inform the interiorsecretary in writing whatthreats Haqqani was facing,

however, she made it clearthat as to why Haqqani wasstaying in the Prime Minis-ter’s House when he waspresent in Pakistan and whythe interior secretary was sav-ing him from the intelligenceagencies. Asma said shewould give an application tothe interior secretary andwrite therein that Haqqani besaved from the MI and ISI.The CJP reminded Asma thather client had promised and heshould return to the country tokeep it. The court adjournedthe proceedings until January.

SC orders security forHusain Haqqani

Brazil Mensalao trial: formerLula aide Dirceu jailed

Radical cleric Abu Qatadafreed after winning appeal

Obama eyes Kerry as Defence Secy;Susan Rice as Secretary of State

Elmo puppeteer facesunderage sex charges

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News

LAHOREAPP

PRIME Minister Raja PervezAshraf said on Tuesday thatthe real face of Pakistan wasnot terrorism and extremismas was being wrongly per-

ceived by the world, but a country withpeace-loving traditions.

Addressing a mass wedding cere-mony at the Governor’s House, theprime minister said the rich traditions ofPakistan were based on sacrifice andservice to mankind. “A bleak picture isbeing presented in the media about Pak-istan as a country fighting terrorism; thisis not an honest reflection, as Pakistan isa land of sacrifice, love, peace, brother-hood and tolerance,” he said.

The mass marriage ceremony for 50couples was organised by the Ameer

Begum Welfare Trust (ABWT), run byManzoor Ahmed Wattoo, federal minis-ter for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, andhis daughter MPA Rubina Shaheen Wat-too.

The prime minister said that politicshad been misused in the past in thecountry. He claimed that the PakistanPeople’s Party’s (PPP) politics revolvedaround the downtrodden segments ofthe society, adding that the country’sriches were dependent on the welfare ofthe poor. “The PPP and the Jamaat-e-Is-lami (JI) share similar ideologies aboutservice to the masses,” Ashraf said,adding that this similarity could bringthe two parties closer.

The prime minister dispelled the im-pression that various political partiesand state institutions were on a collisioncourse. “There is complete unanimityover the issues of social welfare,” he

added. Ashraf said that only the peoplehad the right to choose their leaders andelect governments.

He stressed on the need for relyingon the collective wisdom of all politicalparties and schools of thought to addressproblems facing the country. He saidthat all problems could be resolvedthrough collective action and the ABWThad set an example in this regard by ar-ranging a mass wedding ceremony.

“Pakistan is a beautiful land with tra-ditions of self-sacrifice and service,” hesaid, adding that protection of humanrights was imbibed in the country’s culture.“The Punjabi Sufi poetry of Mian Muham-mad Bukhsh teaches that these rightsshould be protected at all costs,” he said.

Ashraf congratulated the newly-wedcouples and praised the ABWT for ar-ranging their wedding. He also gave Rs10,000 to each couple.

Peace, not terrorism Pakistan’s

real face, says PM Ashrafg Says PPP and Ji have similar ideology on public welfare

ISLAMABADAPP

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directedthe Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)management to appear before it with rel-evant record by December 4.

The three-member bench comprisingChief Justice Ifthikar MuhammadChaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed andJustice Azmat Saeed issued the directiveafter conducting initial proceedings on asuo motu notice regarding PIA’s ineffi-ciency, clubbed with constitutional peti-tions moved by PML-N leaders MarviMemon and Zaffar Iqbal Jhagra.

At the outset of the hearing, PIA’scounsel Raja Bashir informed the court

that in 2011 the national flag carrier in-curred a loss of Rs 119 billion to the na-tional exchequer. “It will be a miracle ifPIA flights leave on time,” he added.

The chief justice observed that thePIA was a government-owned entity andthe money lost belonged to the nation.

He said that all future procurementsshould be made under the Public Pro-curement Regulatory Authority (PPRA)rules.

The chief justice told the counsel thata forensic audit of the corporation shouldbe conducted and those responsibleshould be pointed out.

He said the PIA, which had helpedestablish many airlines in the past, in-cluding the Emirates and Singapore Air-

lines, now had a fleet of obsolete air-crafts. “Moreover, there are allegations ofcorruption regarding the purchase of newones,” he added.

When asked whether there was over-employment in the PIA,

Raja Bashir said that according to areport by the State Bank of Pakistan,there were 350 employees for everyplane.

Clearing the doubts of the apex court,Raja Bashir apprised the bench that therewere 37 international routes and none ofthem had been leased out by the PIA. “Al-though the PIA does have a businessarrangement with Turkish Airlines underwhich both the airlines facilitate eachother in carrying passengers,” he added.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed said that engi-neers were taking salaries but they werenot doing any work. He said that the PIAhad to buy engines on lease, while its ownengines, which are ready for installationafter being repaired in Singapore andOman, have not been brought back inorder to justify these lease agreements.

The chief justice said that a formerdefence minister had admitted, on a pri-vate channel, that a loss of Rs 44 billionwas incurred in 2008, with a Rs 70 mil-lion loss every day.

However, the counsel said that thelosses had incurred due to fluctuation inthe fuel prices.

The bench adjourned hearing till De-cember 4.

SC summons PIA management on December 4

PTI asks Nisar toretract accusationsagainst Imran

ISLAMABADinP

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)Information Secretary ShafqatMahmood on Tuesday asked PML-Nleader Nisar Ali Khan to retractaccusations he levelled against ImranKhan or submit concrete evidencefailing which he would be taken to courtunder contempt charges. Talking to agroup of reporters at the PTI media cell,Mahmood said PML-N President NawazSharif should seek pardon from thepeople of Pakistan for stealing themandate back in 1990 elections bymisusing public funds which wereprovided to him by the Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI). Asked whether hewould comment over Nawaz’s fatefollowing the judgement in the AsgharKhan case, Mahmood advised Nawaz toquit politics “which is the onlyhonourable option left with him in thewake of the SC judgement”. Welcomingthe chief election commissioner’sstatement about disqualifying those whohad been held responsible in the AsgharKhan case, the PTI leader said theindependent judiciary had held Nawazand Shahbaz Sharif responsible forreceiving money from the ISI to help robthe 1990 elections against the publicaspirations. “Now they will have to facedisqualification by the ElectionCommission of Pakistan as well aspublic anger for their role in theconspiracy,” he added. “By accusingImran Khan, Nisar has made a failedattempt to shift the media’s focus fromthe court order against Nawaz and hisfamily. However, neither the media northe nation will fall for this as no one hasa short memory in today’s modernworld,” said the PTI leader. Mahmoodsaid the court order had proved that thePML-N was a product of theestablishment and that the Sharifs hadalways danced on the tunes of the ISIand the establishment.

SC issues notice toex-secy establishmentin Hajj Scam

ISLAMABADonline

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued anotice to former Secretary EstablishmentIsmael Qureshi over the appointment ofRao Shakeel as director general of Hajjoperations. A three-member bench,headed by Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry, is hearing the Hajjcorruption case. The Federal InvestigationAgency’s (FIA) Hussain Asghar, also chiefinvestigation officer of the case, submitteda progress report to the apex court. Asgharsaid Rao Shakeel’s appointment was madeby Ismael Qureshi who was then secretaryestablishment. He also said that theSupreme Court had barred the FIA fromarresting Qureshi.

IHC takes up pleaon extension inKayani’s tenure

ISLAMABADnni

The Islamabad High Court on Tuesdayapproved for hearing a petition regarding theextension in army chief General AshfaqueKayani’s service. According to a privatetelevision channel, the plea, filed by Col (r)Inamur Rehman, will be heard in third weekof November by a two-member bench. In hispetition, the retired army officer has alsoappealed the court take notice of chief of thearmy staff’s recent statement, stating thatGeneral Kayani was not entitled to remain inoffice after making a political statement.

PeSHAWAR: A Hindu family prays during a ritual while celebrating Diwali — the festival of colours — on tuesday. iNP

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wednesday, 14 november, 2012

ISLAMABADAPP

tHE counsel for a petitionerin the Reko Diq miningagreement issue admittedbefore the Supreme Courton Tuesday that the gov-

ernment was free to enter into com-mercial agreements with foreigncompanies of those countries withwhich it had no treaties, but such ac-cords would be operated within theframework of Pakistan’s legislation.

Raza Kazim, counsel for Dr AbdulHaq Baloch, one of the petitioners, re-sumed his arguments before thethree-member bench of Chief JusticeIftikhar Chaudhry, Justice GulzarAhmed and Justice Azmat Saeed.

The petitioner had moved an ap-plication seeking the initiation ofcriminal proceedings against theprovincial government for violatingthe May 25, 2011 order of the court.

Kazim argued that the TethyanCopper Company Australia (TCCA)was not a mining company and subse-quently the Tehyan Copper Company

Pakistan (TCCP) that had been estab-lished was altogether a new company.

He said that the government hada commercial agreement with theGovernment of Australia but not withCanada, Chilli and South Africa.

The chief justice observed thatsuch agreements would fall within ju-risdiction of the federal governmentand not provincial governments.

He said that BHP, a mining com-pany, in 1989 had tried to explore inthe area but had failed and reached anagreement on February 7, 1998 withTCCA, and questioned under whichrules the relaxation was granted as thefederal government was required tobe in the picture under relevant lawsand the Constitution. Kazim repliedthat TCCA did not control anything inPakistan, as after the year 2000, therewas no Australian investment left inthe country as it was formally sold outby BHP to TCCP.

The Chief Justice asked him to putforward his stance over the issue asthe court had to decide the issue afterhearing all the parties and for the timebeing, it was hearing the view point of

one party. He said that there wasnothing wrong if a provincial govern-ment with bona fide initiative enteredinto such agreements as it was theirright, but in this specific case every-thing went wrong with the JVA.

The provincial government hadentered into the agreement withoutconsideration, and a comprehensivemonopoly had been in place since1993, he added.

The International Centre for Set-tlement of Investment Disputes(ICSID) reserved its judgment on No-vember 6 over the instant issue be-tween Pakistan and the TethyanCopper Company-Australia (TCC).

The TCC had invoked the jurisdic-tion of the International Chambers ofCommerce (ICC) and ICSID againstthe prospective Reko Diq minerals li-cence. The TCC is a Canadian andChilean consortium of Barrick Goldand Antofagasta Minerals formed toexplore gold and copper at Reko Diq,in Chagi district. The TCC was alsopart of the parties of the allianceagreement with the BHP Minerals In-ternational Exploration Inc.

Counsel admits govt is free to inkaccords with foreign companies

RAWALPINDI online

There has been an alarming surge incases of dog bite cases in various areasof Rawalpindi.

There have been several reports ofsuch cases but authorities did not takeany action to get rid of stray dogs, par-ticularly from city areas.

The number of stray dogs had beenincreasing consistently in the city. Straydogs could be seen roaming in everystreet and road of the town, even in can-tonment areas, particularly during theevening and at night.

In a number of localities in the city, ithad become almost impossible for citizensto move freely at night because of a great

increase in the number of stray dogs.The eradication of stray dogs had

never been taken seriously despite acontinuous rise in the number of deathsdue to dog bites.

A large number of dog-bite caseswere reported monthly, of which manyvictims had succumbed to death becauseof rabies. Most victims did not followproper preventive measures to avoid ra-bies because of the high price of anti-ra-bies tissue culture vaccine available inmarkets, while many public sectorhealthcare facilities could not offertreatment to suspected patients of therabies.

Residents of Rawalpindi had been com-plaining of the indifference shown by theauthorities concerned on the subject.

ISLAMABADkASHif ABBASi

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesdaydeclared the promotion of over 100 bu-reaucrats of different groups, who werepromoted to BPS 21 by the Centre Selec-tion Board (CSB) during the last threeyears, as illegal. Officers whose promo-tions to grade 21 had been declared illegalbelonged to various groups including Dis-trict Management Group, Accounts Group,Customs Group, Land/Revenue Group,Income Tax and others.

A single bench of IHC comprising Jus-

tice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui passed these or-ders in response to a petition filed by morethan 50 officers who had challenged theprocess of the Centre Selection Board(CSB). IHC, in a land mark judgment, en-dorsed the petitioners view and termed theCSB process of promotions of over 100 bu-reaucrats, belonging to various occupa-tional groups, as being against rules andregulations.

The court in its judgment observedthat all the meetings of CSB were unconsti-tutional without jurisdiction. However,civil servants who had earned the promo-tion without superseding other civil ser-

vants would continue to hold their presentposts, the court observed. Over fifty peti-tioners from different occupational groups,through their counsels, had filed a petitionin March this year, challenging the processof CSB meetings held in 2010 and 2011.

The petitioners maintained that de-spite service career expanding over 33years with no adverse remarks in their an-nual confidential reports (ACR) they hadbeen ignored in the promotion process.

“The cases of the petitioners had notbeen recommended for promotion toGrade-21 despite the fact that neither disci-plinary nor departmental proceeding were

pending against them,” the counsel for thepetitioners maintained. They alleged thatCBS had granted them fewer marks by giv-ing undue benefits to other bureaucrats, de-spite the fact that some of the petitionershad earned two of the highest PerformanceEvaluation Reports (PERs) for the years2009 and 2010.

Meanwhile the same bench resumed ahearing regarding the encroachment byowners of kiosks on CDA own land.Deputy Director Directorate of MunicipalAdministration Hassan Rizvi submitted areport highlighting the actions taken byCDA against the encroachments.

RAWALPINDIinP

The Punjab Muttahida Mahaz-e-Asatiza(MMU) announced that they wouldstage a protest demonstration in front ofthe office of secretary schools on No-vember 20 to press their demands.

According to sources, MMU Chair-man Hafiz Abdul Nasir said that thePunjab government had failed to resolve

problems of teachers of the province. Itwas time that teachers should take astand against the government’s indiffer-ence towards them and their problems.

He said that the leader of the teach-ers, Ghulam Mohayuddin had been sus-pended from his job two and a half yearsago on lame accusations and now, whenthe court had ordered to reinstate theteacher, hurdles were being created inthat too.

ISLAMABADonline

Islamabad Police has been inactive with re-gard to the murder of a famous physicianfrom Swat, Dr Muhammad Amin.

Sources said that Dr Amin was killed insector I-9/4 in broad daylight on November4. The police failed to find clues that wouldlead to the killers, even after a passage often days.

The son of the late physician, AhmedKhan, reported that his family had alsobeen receiving death-threats.

He expressed dissatisfaction over

the inaction of the police and judicialauthorities and added that no one hadcontacted him with respect to the killingof his father.

Dr Amin had migrated to Islamabadfrom Mingora, Swat, in 1998 due to se-curity reasons. His murder could be re-lated to the law and order situation inSwat.

The police was of the view that anold enmity could be the cause of themurder.

Social circles requested the authoritiesto arrest and punish the murderers of DrAmin at the earliest.

entry of 163 religious

scholars into Rawalpindi

region banned

during Muharram

rAWALpInDI: The police im-posed a ban on the entry of 163religious scholars intoRawalpindi to ensure law andorder during Muharram-ul-Haram. According to police offi-cials, 10,000 security officialshad been deployed in Rawalpindiwho would provide security to447 rallies on Muharram 10. Theauthorities also wrote to the Inte-rior Minister Rehman Malik forthe provision of cell phone jam-mers. The police requested thecity administration to ban pillionriding on the routes of religiousprocessions and near sensitiveImambargahs from Muharram 7to11. Meanwhile, the entry of 163religious scholars (Zakreen andUlema) from Attock, Chakwal,Jhelum and Rawalpindi had beenbanned in the region to maintaininter-religious harmony. The po-lice divided 447 rallies in threecategories A, B, C, 59 rallies wereplaced in category A, 47 rallies incategory B and 314 rallies wereplaced in category C. Category Ahad been declared the most sen-sitive one. inP

Alarming rise indog bite cases

Promotions of over 100 bureaucrats declared illegal

Islamabad Police fails to investigate murder of physician

Teachers to stage protest in front ofsecretary schools office on 20th

tHe feStiVAl of ligHtS: Hindu girls performing their religious rituals to celebrate the

Diwali festival. iNP

Reko Diq case

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07Islamabad

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

ISLAMABADAPP

WITH the start of chillyweather especially at night,residents of the federalcapital started enjoyingwinter food like chicken

corn soup, doodh jalebi, gajar-ka-halwa,Kashmiri tea, coffee, fried fish and boiledeggs at homes, restaurants, stalls and sweetshops.

As soon as dusk set in, youngsters wouldmake their way to food stalls to enjoy winterdelight food. The number of makeshift stallsat F-6 (Super Market), F-7 (Jinnah Superand Raana Market), F-8, F-10, F-11, G-6(Aabpara and Melody Market), G-7 (SitaraMarket), G-8 Markaz, G-9 (Karachi Com-pany), G-10 and G-11 Markaz, I-8, I-9 and I-10 Markaz, were in business offeringscrumptious winter food and the crowdsaround them enjoyed these pleasant and in-teresting moments.

“Kashmiri tea and coffee are high in de-mand these days. I prepare five drums of teaand coffee and it all sells like hot cakes,” saidKashif Khan, a vendor.

He said that no doubt inflation had dam-aged his business a bit but customers werealways present.

“It’s impossible for me to shop here with-out refreshing myself with a cup of Kashmiritea or a bowl of hot chicken corn soup in win-ters,” said Tayyaba Khan, a visitor at the G-9 Karachi Company.

Apart from warming liquids, fried fish,french fries, pakoras, samosas and vegetablerolls were also high in demand. Such spicyitems are considered to be an integral part ofevening tea in winters.

“There is a craving for fried items duringwinter and it’s hard to resist,” said Hina Asif,adding that even weight conscious peoplecould not stay away from this food.

Mouth-watering gajar-ka-halwa is sup-posed to be an irresistible food item in win-ter. Prepared with carrots, condensed milk,and dry fruits, the delicious dessert not onlyprovides energy, but also adds colour andtaste to meals.

“A bowl of chicken corn soup is nowavailable at Rs 40-60, however the taste andquality of chicken and place where the stallis set up, determines the price,” said a visitorat F-10 Markaz.

Sale of winter food goes upas cold weather grips capital

RAWALPINDIAPP

INTERNATIONAL standardfloodlights would be in-stalled in Jamia School Fa-rooq Azam Road, GirlsSchool Dhoke Kashmirian

and Muslim High School grounds todevelop a new culture of nightsports matches in the city.

“Night matches have become quitepopular and people take more interestin them and that is why we are in theprocess of equipping grounds with thelatest lights to start a new era of night

matches in the city,” said MNA HanifAbassi on Tuesday. He said thatRawalpindi, had two or three groundswhere night matches were organized,and it had been observed that largecrowds turned up whenever a nightmatch was organized.

“Our aim is to develop sports andto equip grounds with lights to intro-duce a new culture of night sports forclubs and re-creational activities dur-ing summers and Ramazan.

We will evolve a system to providegrounds to the clubs so they can getmuch needed practice for nightmatches,” he added.

ISLAMABAD online

Minister for Information andBroadcasting Qamar ZamanKaira said that the passage of theRight to Free and CompulsoryEducation Bill by the NationalAssembly was a historic develop-ment.

Talking to journalists in Is-lamabad on Tuesday he said thatthe unanimous adoption of thebill was testimony to the fact thatwhen it came to constructive poli-cies, all parties joined hands and

demonstrated solidarity.The minister said that the

issue of missing persons inBalochistan was a critical one.

He said that the issue re-mained in focus of the govern-ment‚ the judiciary and media.

As for number of the missingpersons‚ he said that these werebeing exaggerated but relevantagencies of the government hadfiled affidavits in courts of law.

He said that if facts werenarrated incorrectly these affi-davits could be challenged at anypoint in time.

Project to upgradedispensaries halted

RAWALPINDIinP

The project to convert and up-grade 10 municipal dispensariesinto ‘mini hospitals’ in order toprovide healthcare facilities tocitizens in close proximitystopped after the completion of40 percent upgradation work.Sources said that the remaining 60

percent of the work was delayeddue to a shortage of funds to fi-nance the project. Areas where dis-pensaries were to be up-gradedincluded Dhoke Ratta, Mohan-pura, Dhoke Hassu, Dhoke Mang-tal, Sarfraz Road, Amarpura, MilatColony, Akalgarh, Sirajia Park andTalee Mohallah.According to the project, thesedispensaries were to be con-verted into mini hospitals withspecial facilities for mother andchild care and labour rooms be-sides appointing two womenmedical officers at each dispen-sary including two LMEs, twonurses and the procurement ofmachinery for dispensaries.Moreover, they were said to havelaboratory test facilities and 10ECG machines in order to facili-tate people at their doorsteps.Work on four dispensaries atDhoke Hassu, Dhoke Mangtal,Sirajia Park and Millat Colony wasto end by June 15 while the re-maining dispensaries were to beup-graded by August 15. Sources said that 40 percent fundswere released a year ago andaround 60 percent of the workwas pending due to a shortage offunds.

ISLAMABADinP

Residents of Islamabad are being sup-plied less than half of their drinkingwater requirements.

This was announced by the Minis-ter for Religious Affairs KhursheedShah while speaking on a call attentionnotice moved by Nawab Abdul GhaniTalpur and others regarding insuffi-cient provision of potable water to res-idents.

Khurshid said that according to de-tails provided by concerned authori-ties, 75 million gallons of water wereavailable in the federal capital while

the demand was 175 million gallons fora population of one million people.

He said that 180 tube wells wereoperational in the capital city whilewater was also being supplied fromthree dams. He said that an MoU hadalso been signed with China to supplywater from River Indus to the capitaland the project would be completedwithin four years.

The minister said that he had di-rected the concerned authorities toconduct a complete survey regardingthe demand and supply of water sothat a proper mechanism could beevolved to overcome the water short-age issue.

Pindi school groundsto have floodlights

Kaira terms passage of free and compulsoryeducation bill historic development

Islamabad being supplied 75m gallons ofwater against demand of 175m gallons

DRAWBACk: A view of sewage accumulated on the under-construction Sixth Road flyover that is creating problem for the

commuters. iNP

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BoMB diSPoSal 9270698

fiRe BRigade CentRe 16

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PiMS Blood BanK 9261272

Poly CliniC Blood BanK 9209123

CoMPlaint

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SUi gaS 1199

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City Station (enqUiRy) 117

ReSeRVation 9273614

Railway PoliCe 1333

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fligHt enqUiRy 114

Pia ReSeRVation 111-786-786

CollegeS / UniVeRSitieS

inteRnational iSlaMiC UniVeRSity 9260765

BaHRia UniVeRSity 9260002

nUMl 9257677

qUaid-e-aZaM UniVeRSity 90642098

aRid agRiCUltURe UniVeRSity 9290151

fJwU 9273235

RiPHa inteRnational UniVeRSity 111510510

nCa RawalPindi 5770423

PUnJaB law College 4421347

MaHRoof int 2222920

PiMS 9261170

Poly CliniC 9218300

Cda 9221334

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diStRiCt HqS 5556311-14

UltRaSoniC CliniC 2824862

Holy faMily 9290319

Sunny

weatHeR UPdateS

22°C09°C

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

PoTTeRY & HoBBY ceRamics

instructor: Shahid waheedtimings : 4pm - 6:00pm days : Monday, tuesday & wednesday.

date and tiMe: 05:00 PM, weeKly eVentVenue: tHe CentRe foR aRtS & CUltURe

our drumming circle is a (free!) ongoingevent and is held every friday from 5pmto 6pm. we are having a great time, andwant to share the good time with you!our drumming circle has children ...

date: oCt 22 - deC 31VenUe: KUCH KHaaS: aRtS & CUltURe

Yoga WiTH amanDa

this yoga course will creatively and mindfullyincorporate physical poses with the rhythm of thebreath. the course will teach you thefundamentals of yoga, such as good alignment,body mechanics, and breathwork.

date: oCt 22 - deC 31VenUe: KUCH KHaaS: aRtS & CUltURe

DRumming ciRcle

ISLAMABADStAff RePoRt

CHAIRMAN Senate’s StandingCommittee on Defence and De-fence Production SenatorMushahid Hussain on Tuesdaysaid, “Now is the time for Presi-

dent Obama to correct the course of flawed USpolicy towards Pakistan, as he does not have toworry about re-election.”

He said this while addressing a roundtableorganized by the Institute of Regional Studies(IRS) on Tuesday. He maintained that Presi-dent Obama had been re-elected at a time ofdeclining international political clout of theUS. He argued that Obama had won the elec-tion despite strong and vocal opposition fromIsrael, which, he added, was unusual.

He hoped that Obama would rectify themistakes he made in his first term withouthaving to worry about re-election to the of-fice. He added that there had been manyflawed US policies towards Pakistan duringObama’s first term, such as the misuse ofdrone technology, pressuring Pakistan tofacilitate negotiations with the Taliban onone hand and asking it to launch operationsagainst them on the other, and trying to by-pass Pakistan in reaching out to Talibanleadership for talks.

Hussain maintained that Pakistan wouldexpect the new Obama administration to haltdrone attacks, which, he argued, was a viola-tion of international law and caused civiliandeaths. He added that Pakistan would also

want the US to include Pakistan in any recon-ciliation process in Afghanistan, and that Pak-istan would expect the US to resolve itsproblems with Iran diplomatically.

Hussain maintained, however, that Pak-istan would also have to be more firm in its op-position to drone attacks. He added thatAmericans were capable of course-correctionsand that Obama would be bolder in his secondterm in the office.

Hussain shared that he had had the priv-ilege of meeting with the President in waitingof China Xi Jinping. He called him a frank,confident, and farsighted leader. The senatorargued that while China was concentratingon economic development, one of its mainconcerns was growing economic disparityacross regions. He maintained that China wasa more open society than ever before, withmore than 400 million bloggers expressingtheir opinions on the internet.

Hussain was of the view that China wouldcontinue to focus on peaceful rise by projectingsoft power. He cautioned, however, that main-taining a peaceful rise without irking its neigh-bours or worrying a fearful west would be someof the challenges China would face in the yearsto come. He advised the US against pursuing acontainment policy vis-à-vis China. He was ofthe view that such a policy would diminish thedividends of a developing Asia for the world.

Talking about South Asia, Hussain saidthat the region was in transition as electionswere approaching in Pakistan, Afghanistan,India, and Iran. He maintained that new re-gionalism was emerging in South Asia, which

was also taking countries like Afghanistan,Myanmar, Iran, and China into its fold. He wasof the view that India should not have backedout of Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline,as the project could have been a game-changerin regional integration.

Hussain argued that while NATO had de-cided to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014,Pakistan needed realignment of its Afghan pol-icy. He was of the view that signs of changingpolicy perceptions in Pakistan were evidentfrom the fact that Pakistan was now calling fora ‘peaceful, stable, and united Afghanistan’,rather than a ‘friendly Afghanistan’.

He added that China was also showingkeen interest in Afghanistan and had recentlyconcluded economic and security agreementsthere during the visit of Zhou Yongkang,China’s domestic security chief and a memberof the Communist Party’s central Politburo, inSeptember.

Responding to a question about evolv-ing Pak-Russia relations, Hussain said thata shift was evident but Pakistan would haveto assure Russia, and China, that its terri-tory would not be used by terrorists operat-ing in the Dagestan region of Russia orXinjiang province of China.

“We can no longer hide behind the ‘un-governed space’ argument. The government ofPakistan would have to establish the writ of thestate in ungoverned spaces, if those were beingused against other countries by elements resid-ing there,” he said. He maintained that Pak-istan lacked a comprehensivecounter-terrorism strategy.

Opportunity of course-correction for the USn Speakers call on US President Barack Obama to rethink his foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan

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09

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

Foreign News

CAIROAPP

the Arab League welcomedon Monday the formation ofa new Syrian oppositiongroup, but stopped short ofgiving it full recognition as

the representative of the Syrian people.With some Arab states still reluctant

to completely abandon Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad, Arab League foreignministers meeting in Cairo were unableto state clearly that the new Syrian Na-tional Coalition was the sole legitimateSyrian voice.

Leaders of Syria's exiled opposition,beset by bickering and questions abouthow much influence they have on theground, formed the new coalition on Sun-day that is now seeking internationalrecognition as a government-in-waiting.

"The Arab League ministerial councilwelcomes the agreement that the Syrianopposition parties reached ... and callson the other opposition parties to jointhis coalition," said Qatari Prime Minis-ter and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jas-sim, reading the meeting's finalresolution late on Monday.

The ministers "urged regional and in-ternational organisations to recognise itas a legitimate representative for the as-pirations of the Syrian people," and calledit "a legitimate representative and a pri-mary negotiator with the Arab League."

Petraeus was ‘right’to resign as Ciachief: Panetta

WASHINGTONAPP

David Petraeus was right to resign asdirector of the CIA over an affairbecause the position requires "personalintegrity," Pentagon chief Leon Panettasaid Monday. Panetta, who led theCentral Intelligence Agency for twoyears before moving to the DefenseDepartment, said. Petraeus'sresignation was "a very sad situation tohave a very distinguished career likethat end in this manner." "My heartobviously goes out to him and hisfamily. But I think he took the rightstep," said Panetta, speaking toreporters aboard a US military jetbound for Australia. "I think it'simportant when you're director of theCIA, with all of the challenges that faceyou in that position, that personalintegrity comes first and foremost." Askedif Petraeus had begun his affair while hewas still the US general commandinginternational troops in Afghanistan,Panetta said he did not know.

Arab League gives hesitant welcome to Syria opposition coalition

WASHINGTONAPP

North Korea has conducted motor teststo improve its long-range missiles aftera failed launch in April, a US think tanksaid Monday after reviewing new satel-lite images.

Since the embarrassing flop in April,the communist regime appears to havecarried out at least two tests of large mo-tors needed for rockets and worked on alaunch platform, the US-Korea Instituteat Johns Hopkins University said.

The institute examined commercial

images of the Sohae satellite launch sta-tion between April and September andfound that 34 fuel tanks had been movedand vegetation appeared to be burned,next to a flame trench stained with an or-ange residue. Such fuel tests would boostdevelopment of engines for the Unha-3,the rocket which North Korea unsuccess-fully launched in April, or what seemed tobe a new, longer-range missile displayedat a military parade the same month.

Some analysts believe that a NorthKorean rocket, if successfully developed,could eventually reach the range to hitthe United States.

Nick Hansen, an expert on imageryanalysis, said that North Korea may stepup action after elections in both theUnited States and South Korea, theregime's two primary foes. "In the after-math of the US and South Korean presi-dential elections, Pyongyang may embarkon a new round of activities in the firsthalf of 2013, including rocket and nucleartests that will contribute to further devel-opment of its nuclear deterrent," he wroteon the institute's blog, 38 North.

South Korea's defense minister, KimKwan-Jin, said last week that NorthKorea had completed preparations for

another nuclear test and long-range mis-sile launches. However, 38 North in Sep-tember reported a work stoppage at anew launch pad for intercontinental mis-siles -- possibly due to rain -- that couldset the project back by up to two years.

North Korea defiantly went aheadwith the rocket launch in April, saying itwas trying to put a satellite in orbit, butit disintegrated just two to three minutesafter blast-off. The test put a halt to thelatest international effort to engage theisolated state, with the United Statescalling off plans to deliver badly neededfood assistance.

North Korea carries out tests for missiles

NEW YORKAPP

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asked the US federalgovernment for $30 billion in aid Monday to help his staterecover from the devastation left by superstorm Sandy.

The requested funds will help rebuild the economy, in-frastructure, housing, public buildings and small businesses,Cuomo told reporters in stressing the "cataclysmic" natureof the storm that killed more than 110 people. "This is aneconomy that is important not just for the state, this is aneconomy that is important for the country," Cuomo said."The sooner we get the New York economy running, the bet-ter for this state and this nation."

His request comes three days before President BarackObama tours the areas hit hard by the storm that blastedashore with hurricane force on October 29, triggering majorfloods and tidal surges in New York and New Jersey.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg meanwhile an-nounced a $500 million emergency plan to repair 37 publicschools and three public hospitals closed since Sandy.

Despite major progress, tens of thousands of homes andbusinesses remain without power, and thus unable to heatthe buildings during sometimes frigid temperatures in the

city and its suburbs."Our city has never experienced a storm as destructive as

Hurricane Sandy, and fi-nancing for these repairsis as necessary as is iturgent," Bloombergsaid, adding thatthe city could notwait for the releaseof federal aid funds."These school build-ings and public hos-pitals are resourcesthat hundreds of thou-sands of New Yorkersrely on every day... Thisemergency capital spend-ing is vital investment inour recovery and future."The schools currently closed areattended by about 26,000 stu-dents, who were forced tomove to other institutionswith their teachers.

New York governor seeks$30b in aid after Sandy

Clinton in australiafor security talks

PERTHAPP

US Secretary of State Hillary Clintonarrived in Australia Tuesday for annualsecurity and strategic talks, on what isexpected to be her final visit to thecountry in her current role. Clinton willbe joined by Defense Secretary LeonPanetta for the talks with counterpartsBob Carr and Stephen Smith onWednesday expected to focus onregional security and greater US use ofAustralian facilities. It comes after thearrival of US Marine and Air Force unitsto northern Australia, seen as evidenceof an American "re-balance" towards thePacific after a decade of ground wars inIraq and Afghanistan. "We're going todeal with the suite of strategic issuesthat are of importance to us," Smith saidahead of Clinton's arrival. It is expectedto be her last official trip Down Underwith America's top diplomat saying sheplans to step down at the end of herfour-year term in January despitePresident Barack Obama's re-election.t

israeli aircraftstrike gaza sites

JERUSALEMAPP

Israeli aircraft struck three times inGaza in the early hours of Tuesdaymorning, hitting a weapons storagefacility and two rocket launching sitesused by militants, the military said in astatement. As a growing crisis in theGaza Strip moved into a fifth day, theIsraeli army said it had scored directhits on the targets. No casualties werereported in the strikes which causedloud explosions. Israel warned that itwould hit hard at Palestinian militantswho launch rockets into the Jewishstate. The militants indicated late onMonday that they were ready for a trucebut there was no immediate responsefrom Israel.

ALEPPO: Syrians carry bags to a mountain of rubbish at a roundabout. The city's refuse collection system collapsed weeks ago. AgeNcieS

italy's centre left squares off in uS-style debaterOMe: Italy's centre-left rivals Pier Luigi Bersani and Matteo Renzi faced off on Monday in a game show-styletelevision debate to help decide who will run in next year's election as candidate to succeed Prime Minister MarioMonti. The debate, before a primary on Nov. 25, comes at a time of exceptional uncertainty in Italian politics, withneither of the traditional big parties clear about who will lead them nor even what electoral law will apply at the ballotbox. Bersani, the 61-year-old leader of the Democratic Party, Italy's largest centre-left force and Renzi, the 37-year-oldmayor of Florence who wants to drive out the party's old guard, are the front-runners in the race to lead the left in theelection expected in April. After a genteel encounter which was relatively light on specific policy proposals, it was notimmediately clear who made the bigger impact with potential voters. The Democratic Party, which supports Monti'sunelected government, consistently leads in opinion polls but uncertainty about rules governing the election makes itunclear whether that will translate into a parliamentary majority next year. Bersani, the favourite to win the primary,according to most opinion polls, struck a reassuring tone in keeping with his status as the senior figure in the race. "Idon't ask you to like me, I ask you to trust me," he said. APP

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Comment14

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

After forty years of serving as a judge,I still ponder and reflect as towhether our judiciary is truly inde-pendent or not.

Sixty five years back, the nation became in-dependent and these past sixty five years it hasspent in knowing as to whether the judiciary hasbecome independent or not. Kindly tell me as towho had to remain in the doldrums throughoutthis age long period; the nation or the judiciary.

Two and a half year back, I was accorded afull court reference on the eve of my timely retire-ment from the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Allowme to repeat, at least, what the memory retains.

I had said that despite the fact that the term“independence of judiciary” is a jewel in thecrown of the constitution, yet it is a misnomer.The independence, in fact and in practice, isreferable not to the abstract idea but to the judgeswho constitute the judiciary. If judges are inde-pendent, honest, fair, God fearing and blessedwith judicial approach toward the lis pending be-fore them, the judiciary is bound to be independ-ent. If the judges are dependent, dishonest,unfair, boss fearing and infected with a whimsicalapproach towards every lis that they come across,the judiciary is not independent, rather permitme to say that such like is not a judiciary at all.

Mostly, the independence of judiciary is re-ferred to becoming independent of the dictatesof the government. No doubt this is one of therequirements but not the absolute in itself. Thepast experience from various countries andeven from Pakistan has shown that apart fromthe government, effective influence can be ex-ercised by the politicians and the media. Toachieve independence, judges have to defendthemselves on all the fronts which, by now, hasbecome much more difficult.

Lord Denning, a famous judge of England,when asked as to what might be the qualities ofa good judge, replied tersely; “Above all, a goodjudge must be a thorough gentleman and if heknow a bit of law, all the better.” This smallsentence provides the complete context. Gen-tility cannot be acquired by becoming a judge.It is something inherent in your personality. Itis the outcome of your background. Who youare? How your parents brought you up? Whattype of education you received? What type ofatmosphere surrounded you when you were inthe process of learning, perceiving and concep-tualising? What teachings you received aboutreligion, morality, fair play and fellow beings?Judges are necessarily influenced in the deci-

sions they make, by their upbringing and expe-rience. To make this assessment is the job ofthose who are shouldered with the responsibil-ity of selecting the judges. You can look aroundeverywhere and nationwide. Only a gentlemanwould prove to be an independent judge.

Judges shall always be expected to admin-ister a patient hearing to the parties. It is intheir interest. They shall grasp the law as wellas facts. With the passage of time, they shallknow who is a good and genuine lawyer andwho merely wants to exploit his slogans of“Zinda Baad and Murda Baad”.

A good and patient hearing would inculcatea habit of nurturing a judicial approach. A judi-cial officer is not expected to approach the courtwith any preconceived notions. An open mind,which is very rare, a judicial unconcern, nonex-istent in many people, constitute the virtues thatmake independent judges. Kindly look aroundand then judge as to who constitutes the inde-pendent judiciary and who does not. Judge notthat ye be not judged. Don’t speak in the courtand don’t make remarks that entail upon expres-sion of opinion. If media reporting is correct, weknow of numerous speaker judges who decidethe case on the first day of hearing, without hear-ing. By doing so, they often make mistakes.Sometimes these mistakes are publically identi-fied and overruled by courts of appeal, with allthe powers to substitute mistakes of their own.

When a judge makes remarks in the court,relevant or irrelevant but mostly irrelevant,most of the people interested take a messageand start exploiting either the judge or the sit-uation. In high profile cases involving the gov-ernment and the politicians, as the case maybe, they endeavour to grind their axe to themaximum. The only person defamed, disre-spected and distrusted in such scenario is judgeand judge alone. After all judges of independ-ent judiciary have no agenda of their own.

Judges are expected to do justice in accor-dance with law, and not by making law. For cen-turies, English judges deceived each other in tothinking that they really applied the law made byparliament, that their job was only to interpretlaw and not to make law or give law. Once LordDenning gave a dissenting judgment on whichjudge Simon got really annoyed. Take a note ofhow he described the dissenting opinion. He saidand I quote, “It was a naked usurpation of the leg-islative function under the thin disguise of inter-pretation.” The naked usurpation does notindicate independence. I am referring to theBritish and American judiciary—but how andwhy do you think that I am not referring to them?

Judges are expected not to cultivate biasand prejudices in cases they hear. These arebase characteristics of human nature. High ju-dicial status immunises men and women fromchildlike displays of petulance and prejudice.An independent judiciary does not have judgeswith bias, petulance and prejudices.

Judges are expected to have a deep senseand feeling of self-respect. Judges who have noself-respect, create numerous gods for them-selves, some visible and some invisible. Theyshare their files with parties to the litigation.Worst part of the tragedy is that when suchmatters surface, they do not feel insulted. Agentleman is expected to react when it comes to

self-respect. Judges of independent judiciary donot act in a manner that consequents upon theirown insult, unless they are bent upon achievingsome target of their own. So, they ought to bestrong without being rude and be polite withoutbeing weak. Do not be weak like a judge whodisappointed President Roosevelt of the UnitedStates and forced him to make remarks aboutjudge Oliver Wendel Homes of the SupremeCourt. He said and I quote, “I could carve out ofa banana a judge with more backbone than thatof Oliver Wendel Homes”. Independent judgeshave genuine backbones of their own.

Judges are not expected to speak unneces-sarily in court. It is not the bounden duty of ajudge to make comments on every topic even ifalien to his comprehension. The more detacheda judicial comment is from contemporary ideasand ideals, the more extensive the consequentpublicity. Some judges have achieved a consid-erable degree of expertise in making such state-ments and in displaying immunity fromcontemporary knowledge and concerns.

Too often judges do not own up to their needfor continuing education. They frequently com-pound their reluctance to recognise their non-ex-pertise with a readiness to express themselves incourt on all type of subjects about which theyknow little or nothing, in terms derived neitherfrom the common law nor from common sense.

It is a sine qua non to have judicial approachin every lis that comes up for adjudication and tomaintain a balance between crime and punish-ment. A judge at Ipswich Crown Court, England,who lacked judicial approach and a sense of bal-ance between crime and punishment, imposedfine on a rapist rather than sentencing him toprison, after finding that his teenage victim, whohad innocently accepted a lift in his car, was“guilty of a great deal of contributory negligence”.

As for the important aspect of corruptionamong judges, the lesser said the better it is, be-cause a corrupt judge is not a judge at all, muchless, independent. Better it is to be a broker.

In a humble expression, I conclude my sub-missions as to what type of a judge one oughtto be. Such judges make an independent judi-ciary. You can conclude accordingly. In the lastsix years, what I have been able to conclude isthat only bars have become independent.

I, for one, have serious reservations aboutthe manner and mode of selection of judges inthe superior judiciary. With the passage of timeit will make judges subservient to not one butmany governmental as well as political entities.The earlier mode of selection, very well knownto all of you, was more honourable as well asindependent. The misuse of the earlier mode bysome of the people concerned has probablyforced the legislature to adopt the new course.Someday, it is seriously going to hamper the in-dependence of judiciary.

In the given context, amongst the civiljudges, the district and session judges, themembers of the bar who are aspiring to becomejudges and, above all, my brothers in the supe-rior judiciary, if only one soul agrees to what Ihave submitted, I believe the purpose of mak-ing such submissions, has been well served.

The writer is a former justice of theSupreme Court of Pakistan

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417

Web:www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

A prerequisite for peace

Bridging trust deficit

The Afghan peace mission has arrived inIslamabad at a time when the relations betweenthe two neighbours have further deteriorated.Karzai’s statement on the eve of the

delegation’s arrival that the war on terror did not needto be fought in Afghanistan but in the sanctuaries inPakistan and Afghanistan is not likely to go well with apowerful section of the establishment. Meanwhile,another development has added fresh bitterness intorelations between the neighbouring countries. Failing topersuade Pakistan to initiate military operation in NorthWaziristan, the Karzai administration has allowed theTTP elements to use areas along its side of the DurandLine for raids inside Pakistan. There is a perception thatthe US-led ISAF has ignored, if not connived at, theharbouring of Pakistani militants. Scores of tribesmenand tens of security personnel on the Pakistani side havedied in these surprise attacks. Retaliatory shelling fromPakistani side caused furore in Afghanistan. This alsoled to the postponement of the visit by SalahuddinRabbani’s peace mission, originally scheduled forAugust. Ironically, the Afghan High Peace Councilrepresentatives, led by Rabbani, arrived on the day whenPakistan’s Foreign Office had called Kabul’s ambassadorto protest against the shelling from Afghanistan insidePakistan’s tribal areas. As the delegation arrived a tit fortat struggle was already going on.

While the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan badly needto cooperate with one another to fight extremism andmilitancy, they are strongly divided over crucial policymatters which helps the militant groups. DuringPresident Obama’s first tenure, the US administrationwas itself divided over how to deal with the Taliban, withone section favouring talks and the other recommendingan all out war. Thus promises made to the Taliban tokickstart talks in Qatar were not kept leading the latterto call off talks. In Afghanistan, Karzai wants to holdparleys with the Taliban. Some of his non-Pushtun allieswho fought against the religious militia are opposed tothe move. Both Washington and Kabul expect Pakistanto bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. Pakistanhas promised to try to persuade the religious militia butmaintains it is not in a position to guarantee theirparticipation. All the three countries meanwhile harboursuspicions about one another’s motives.

What is needed to bring peace to the region is ajoint strategy pursued by the US, Pakistan, andAfghanistan. A failure to evolve a consensus is likely toleave the region in a worse situation than after 1990when the US abandoned it in the wake of thedeparture of Soviet troops.

independence of judiciarynot merely an abstract idea

What’s the proper role for thefederal government? Thatquestion has been a major topic

in the election, but all too often, the an-swers have been reduced to silly oversim-plifications that can fit into a140-character Twitter feed.

To conservative Republicans, Presi-dent Barack Obama is a dedicated socialistwho wants to turn Washington into a ver-sion of Moscow — or at least Paris — wherecentral planners make economic decisionsand throttle the free market with suffocat-ing regulations and bloated tax bills.

In the cartoon version of reality pro-pounded by Democrats, Republicans areenslaved to hard-hearted business ty-coons who would let capitalism run wild,while tossing defenseless widows and or-phans into the street, unrestrained by ei-

ther legal or moral limits.Both stereotypes are wrong, of

course, and most Americans know that.What they want, as the saying goes, is notbig government or small government butsmart government. They want balance,moderation, good sense. They are willingto pay taxes, but they want value for theirhard-earned dollars.

David Cote, a Republican business ex-ecutive, argued that higher revenues haveto be part of any budget deal to reduce theballooning federal deficit. “To say that youcan solve this without increases in taxes isludicrous,” he told The New York Times.“Most wealthy people get it. They justdon’t want to be put in the position,though, where you pay more in taxes andprofligate spending continues.”

Now, on the eve of the election, Hur-ricane Sandy has thrown a spotlight on anagency that actually provides a model fora sensible allocation of government re-sources and responsibility — FEMA, the

Federal Emergency Management Agency.FEMA does two things well: It dis-

tributes aid to hard-pressed states at atime when their economies are rattledand their resources depleted. And it co-ordinates relief efforts across state linesor when governors ask for help.

Most attempts to discuss the role ofgovernment in a smart and sane way aredisrupted by ideologues on both sideswho demand allegiance to a black-and-white image of a very gray world. Andthere’s no better example of that sterileand stupid approach than Mitt Romney’sdiscussion of FEMA during a Republicanprimary debate last year.

Asked if disaster relief should be re-turned to the states, Romney said, “Ab-solutely. Every time you have an occasionto take something from the federal gov-ernment and send it back to the states,that’s the right direction. And if you cango even further and send it back to theprivate sector, that’s even better.”

And that’s not just campaign rhetoricaimed at hard-right primary voters. As theTimes notes, the budget advanced by PaulRyan, Romney’s running mate, “would re-sult in severe cutbacks to the agency.” Howwould those cuts fly right now with Repub-lican governors like Chris Christie of NewJersey or Bob McDonnell of Virginia, whomight rail against the evils of Washingtonbut are darn glad that FEMA is ready andable to bail out their flood-drenched states?

At times, President Obama has triedto sidestep this good vs. evil debate andadvance a measured role for Washing-ton. Rescuing the auto industry, for ex-ample, was the right thing to do becauseit saved thousands of jobs. And he madesense during the Denver debate when hetalked about federal investments in edu-cation and research that “create laddersof opportunity and ... frameworks wherethe American people can succeed.”

But he has not always governed thatway. The Dodd-Frank bill expanding super-

vision of the financial marketplace did somegood things, but it has also spawned whatThe Economist calls a “hideous complexity”of new regulations that threaten the eco-nomic recovery. And “hideous complexity”is probably an understatement when itcomes to Obamacare, a vast overhaul of themedical delivery system that passed with noRepublican votes and remains deeply un-popular with many Americans.

Investing in basic research makes sense.Investing in specific companies does not.

Government has a more significantrole to play than the minimalist designadvanced by purebred conservatives. Butit should follow a far less intrusive coursethan the one advocated by liberal socialengineers. The dedicated federal workershelping to clean up after Sandy providesome hope that a sensible middle groundis not impossible to find.

The writers can be contacted byemail at stevecokie@gmail.com

Moderation in all thingsincluding government

By Steve and Cokie Roberts

By Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan

ISB 14-11-2012_Layout 1 11/14/2012 6:04 AM Page 10

Comment 15

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

It is good to note that theminorities in general and members ofHindu community in particular havebeen assured at the highest level ofthe President of Pakistan that theywould be provided full protection andtheir constitutional rightssafeguarded.

According to the reports in themedia, President Asif Ali Zardarireiterated the government’s firmcommitment in this regard whilereceiving the report of theParliamentary Committee he had setup last month to visit various districtsof Sindh, meet members of the Hindu

committee and present a report abouttheir grievances to him. TheCommittee Chairman Senator MaulaBux Chandio along with othermembers presented the report to thePresident in Karachi.

The President was quoted assaying that nobody will be allowed toimpose his agenda upon the minoritiesas it is against the teachings of Islamand fundamental principles enshrinedin the 1973 Constitution.

While praising the parliamentarycommittee for its good work, as perthe reports, the president quiteemphatically stated that the

minorities have every right to practicetheir faith freely and the governmentis duty bound to provide conduciveatmosphere to them in this regard sothat they are also able to make theirpositive and effective share in thenation building activities.

It is also praiseworthy indeed thatthe parliamentary committee has notbeen disbanded after submitting itsreport but has instead been directedby President Zardari to continuelooking into the grievances of theminorities and reports of violation oftheir constitutionally guaranteedrights and that their grievances ,if

any, should be redressed at theearliest possible by the authoritiesconcerned.

It would be all the moreappreciated by all in particular theHindu community members ifPresident Asif Ali Zardari also directsto the official quarters concerned thatthe report of the parliamentarycommittee is made public in order tosatisfy the communities who mustalready been appreciative of the stepstaken at the highest level of thepresident.ASMAAR BILAL MUSHTAQ SHAIKH

Lahore

Editor’s mailSend your letters to: Letters to

Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey

Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Fax: +92-42-36298302.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk.

Letters should be addressed to

Pakistan Today exclusively.

lg pollsThe government had announced that LG polls

would be held the before general elections. Thecommon man is shocked by this suddenannouncement. The question is what is thejustification of these polls before general elections?It seems that the government deliberately wants topostpone upcoming general elections. Thegovernment has passed four and a half yearwithout local governments. It would have beenbetter if the government had taken this step in itsfirst year. The country is faces internal andexternal threats. Such a move will add to themiseries of people. For instance, provincial issuesare increasing day by day. Balochistan issuerequires a solution. Similarly, KhyberPakhtunkhwa also requires government attention.The government should spend the rest of its tenurein o resolving these issues rather than opening newPandora Boxes. I appeal to leave the LG polls to thenew government.

TARIQ HUSAIN KHANKarachi

Shortfall of energyThe energy shortages in the country are

worsening by the day as the demand for electricity,gas and other fuel outstrips supplies. Theseshortages have been responsible for the long-duration power blackouts and gas cuts for bothdomestic and industrial consumers across thecountry for several years now. The problem hasaggravated during the last couple of years. Even theaddition of expensive rental 1,700 megawatts to thenational grid by the government has failed toimprove the situation.

The government has done little to overcome theshortages in its three years despite the fact that inhis inaugural speech in March 2008, the primeminister had promised to work on a war footing toend power cuts in the country. There has been asubstantial increase in energy prices, yet thegovernment does not have the financial resources tobridge the supply gap.

The energy shortages, according to the primeminister, are thus feared to double over the next 15years “unless addressed urgently by all stakeholdersin the public and private sectors”. Many would say it

could hit Pakistan much sooner than Mr Gilaniestimates but few experts would disagree with hisadmission that his cash-strapped governmentcannot tackle energy issues on its own. The primeminister has urged the private sector to step forwardto help it. He has announced the formation of agovernment-industry council to makerecommendations for a speedy solution to theproblem that is affecting growth and resulting in joband production cuts. The private sector is reluctantto invest money in this sector for various reasons,not least of which are allegations of corruption inthe award of power projects in the past, judicialactivism, bureaucratic hitches and securityconcerns.

There are many who would readily invest in theenergy sector. But their lack of trust in thegovernment`s ability to implement its policies andprotect their investment is stalling their plans. If thegovernment is serious about forming partnershipwith private investors in the energy sector it willhave to work harder to improve its credibility.

RIZWAN KAREEMKarachi

the drone doctrineAmerican contributions towards the growth

and development of international law andjurisprudence have been great. The foundingfathers of America were genius – GeorgeWashington, Benjamin Franklin, Jefferson, JohnAdams and James Madison – who introduced themodern concepts of democracy, liberty andfundamental right. They were the flag-bearers ofhuman rights and fundamental freedom. Likewise,the “Monroe Doctrine” propounded by thepresident James Monroe in 1823 reflecting the USforeign policy of the time was based on theprinciple of non-intervention that helpedpromoting self-respect among the member ofinternational community.

This process still continues, however, in thenegative direction. The so-called “Bush Doctrine” bythe George W Bush is essentially based on theconcept of Unilateralism in the internationalintercourses. The principle of “No-Fence-Sitting”based on his proclamation that “you are either withus, or with terrorists” has called for the unqualifiedand unquestioned support by the international

community for the War on Terror. Now, the droneattacks conducted by Uncle Sam worldwide, andmainly in Pakistan, is an important developmentand contribution in this regard.

Here are the important points of its newlyintroduced and recently evolved “Drone Doctrine.”Firstly, a single incident like 9/11 can give a nation asort of “license to kill” and impose upon anothernation a “liability to be killed.” Under this license,one can attack any country and dismantle anyregime all over the world. Secondly, in the name ofsome “higher cause” e.g., War on Terror, now onestate can violate the national sovereignty of otherstate and may totally reject the protest or objectionby the other state upon this. Thirdly, no formalauthorisation from the UN Security Council isrequired for an international intervention inviolation of the International Law and UN charterincluding Article 2(4), refraining to the memberstate from the use of force against the territorialintegrity and political independence of other states.Fourthly, a civil and non-military agency of a state,like CIA, can directly and openly involved in the actsof hostility against an alien state. Lastly and mostimportantly, one can act as prosecutor, adjudicatorand executor simultaneously and arbitrarily byrelying on the new fundamental principle of “guiltyuntil proven dead.”

MOHSIN RAZA MALIKLahore

‘Khoon Ki Holi’On the occasion of Diwali (Holi) – the religious

event of a minority community (Nov 13), one ofUrdu private TV channels while referring to therecent spate of killings in Karachi repeatedly usedthe words of “khoon ki holi kheli gayi”.

This was highly objectionable and against thetenants of Islam as our religion prohibits to malignother religions because they in return might do thesame practice. Unfortunately, as a matter of fact,Urdu media is using such controversial terms sincelong.

I hereby appeal to the Urdu media todiscontinue immediately the use of suchobjectionable terms which are bound to widenhatred among different religions.

MOHAMMAD KHAN SIALKarachi

Safeguarding minorities rights

driving away foreigninvestment

Pakistan is a country where theforeign investment tap is fast dryingup. In these circumstances, it isalarming to note that two honourablemembers of the Senate of Pakistanhave acted in a manner as to sendnegative vibes to the world about thecountry’s qualification or otherwise asan attractive destination for foreigninvestment. At least this is the signalthat was sent when Senator ZahidKhan, who chairs the Senate StandingCommittee on Water and Power, andSenator Shahi Syed ordered that theKESC Managing Director be arrestedfor failing to appear in person toanswer questions of the committee.

As the requirement of thecommittee was to apprise itself oncertain issues concerning KESC’sperformance, the power utility hadseen to it that senior executives weresent to the committee hearing tosatisfy the honourable senators’queries. It is therefore quite strangeand rather unparliamentarily toobserve that while the committee didnot even have the time to hear outwhat the KESC team had to statebefore it in response to the questionsthat were sent to KESC management,the committee was offended that theKESC MD had not appeared in personto answer those questions and issuedorders for his arrest.

The senators in their wisdom maynot have realised the impact that thisaction on their part would have onPakistan’s image but it would certainlynegatively influence those foreigninvestors who may have the countryon their list as an investmentdestination. It would serve the nationwell if the honourable Chairman of theSenate as well Speaker of the NationalAssembly were to guide honourablemembers that while they make anattempt to follow house rules, theymust not act in a manner thatdamages the country’s interests in theinternational arena.

SYED OVAIS AKHTARKarachi

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wednesday, 14 november, 2012

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Humaima Malick to debutin Bollywood

ANotHEr Pakistani actress and model gearing up

to debut in Bollywood is Humaima Malick. Malick

has been cast in director Soham Shah’s film

“Sher” (Lion). the film, which is based on the Gujarat

underworld, will also feature Sanjay Dutt, Vivek oberoi

and Suniel Shetty. Shooting for the film has wrapped up,

save for two songs, ndtv.com reported. According to the

website, Malick will be seen in a glamorous avatar in the

film in contrast to her somber look in her Lollywood debut

film “Bol.” Malick’s bravura performance in “Bol” was

highly appreciated worldwide. neWS DeSk

DiCaprio’s charity turnedb’day bash

Actor Leonardo Dicaprio played good

samaritan on his 38th birthday. He asked his

guests for donations to raise money for the

American red cross. Dicaprio used the occasion Sunday

to raise money for the red cross to help those affected

by Hurricane Sandy, by adding a fee to every bottle sold

to be donated for charity, reports contactmusic.com.

the 38-year-old raised a total of $500,000 for American

red cross, and all other donations went to charities

supported by the Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation. Guests

including Beyonce Knowles and her husband Jay-Z,

robert De Niro, cameron Diaz, Mark ruffalo, Emma

Watson, chris rock, and Miranda Kerr were entertained

by live performances from Django reinhardt, Gary clark

Jr. and Eric Lewis. the celebrations took place at a club

named the Darby. neWS DeSk

We wanted the greatest vampiresex ever: Robert Pattinson

Actor robert Pattinson says lovemaking scenes

in the twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, the

last instalment in the popular franchise, are much

more intense because that is how the crew wanted it to

be. the filmmakers wanted to intensify the intimacy of

the lead pair - Edward cullen, played by Pattinson, and

Bella Swan, essayed by Kristen Stewart. And they

wanted to do so without getting an A certificate, reports

thesun.co.uk. “the sex is a lot wilder and more intense

but I think it works better,” said Pattinson. “We wanted to

do something different, we had to figure ways to make it

sexy even though it’s supposed to be 12A. the idea was

for us to have the greatest vampire sex ever,” he added.

Based on author Stephenie Meyer’s novel, the first

twilight movie was released in 2008. neWS DeSk

StOry: A strapping sardaar travels home (Pun-jab) from UK, to claim ancestral property; only tobe welcomed by another family of sardaars who’reage-old clan-dushmans. And the only escape is liv-ing-in with the enemy.revIeW: Move over Chicken Khurana, the realbutter kukkad is here. And he’s here with a bangthis Diwali - singing, dancing, flipping in the air -all in the mustard fields of Phagwara (that’s inPunjab, FYI), classic Bollywood ishtyle. Exceptthat this is a Singham getting Dabangg and Row-dier than any Rathore - on Punjabi steroids - andin total sardaar avatar. Hadippa!

So bring out that tall glass of chilled lassi andlet’s figure the why, what, who of this desi-gheestory. Jassi (Ajay Devgn) jaisa koi nahi. He falls inlove-at-first-sight, in a train with Sukhmeet (Son-akshi), call her Sukh please (she’s quite a ‘peace’of work); and ends up as a guest in her mad-housefull of comical sardaars - The Sandhus. There’s thehead-of-the-house Billu paaji (Sanjay Dutt), brosTony (Mukul Dev) and Tito (Vindoo Dara Singh),

who’ve sworn to never have ice-cream and cold-drinks (rum-on-the-rocks is all he’s ever had, poorliver, sigh!) until they avenge their father’s death;and a kid sardaar who talks about ‘pegs’ (Patialatypes).

Adding solid femme power to this macho sar-daar story is Pammi (Juhi Chawla, delightful)Billu’s mooh-boli-biwi, Bebe (Tanuja) sufferingfrom part-time memory lapses; and lastly Ra-jpreet the loved buffalo (who mooed this cheez?)The problem? The Sandhus have been venge-fully thirsting for Jassi’s head, but can’t lay asword on him because he’s their (unwanted)house-guest (mehmaan equals bhagwan, remem-ber?), he even feigns ‘paira-te-laces’ (paralyses) tostay ‘home’ to save his life.

Ajay Devgn convincingly plays son-of-the-soilwith power, playfulness and colorful pagdis inevery scene. He switches from comedy, action andromance flippantly, impressing with funny lines,gimmicks atop a ghodi (Jassi again) and tons ofPJJs (poor-Punju-jokes). Sonakshi throws in an-

other ‘heavy-weight’ performance. In Ajay’s ownwords, “kaafi bhaari hai” (read: weight). She doesher usual dance routine (with ceetees et al), spouts‘chal jhoota’ to all men, and plays the moophat girlin true sardarni style.

Sanjay Dutt, as the supporting sardaar, is adelight to watch. His gussa makes you giggle andhis angry outbursts are adorable. Juhi Chawlalights up the screen with her comic timing as im-peccable as ever. The coy-cum-cutesy scenes be-tween Dutt and Chawla are amongst the highlightsof this one.

The other members of this madhouse, VindooDara Singh and Mukul Dev also pack a knockoutPunjabi-punch with their dumb’n’dumber act.

Ashwni Dhir entertains in parts, with a plentyof Punju humour and goofy one-liners that crackyou up. While handling all the Jaswinders, Par-minders, Happys and Sweetys, he loses the plot,stretching it all around the sarson-ka-khet (andleaving some behind). This is a mass-entertainer,strung together with a series of Santa-Bantajokes, spiked solidly with macho sardaarisms.

Like Jassi says, “Kabhi toh hasliya karo”,this one makes you laugh - in parts! CouR-

teSY toi

AN U S H K A Sharma, whostarted her acting careerwith Shah Rukh Khan in2008 movie Rab NeBana Di Jodi, will be

seen romancing the superstar onceagain in forthcoming love saga JabTak Hai Jaan. The actress says thateven after four years, SRK’s charmremains the same. “He is equallydelicious. Yes, in my first film itwas an acquired taste because Ididn’t know him, but with thisfilm, I got to know him better,”the 24-year-old told reporters dur-

ing the promotion of the film in thecapital. Jab Tak Hai Jaan releases

on Nov 12 and it also stars KatrinaKaif. Sharing her first experience

with SRK, Anushka said she still re-members the “nervousness” that she

had during the shooting of Rab Ne BanaDi Jodi. “I was really scared, but he

made me so comfortable and I am alwaysgrateful to him for that. Shah Rukh as aco-star is a blessing. In Jab Tak... I was

more of a friend. But both the times, hewas lovely and the best co-star one can

ever had,” she added. neWS DeSk

SON OF SARDAAR — a film review

Shah Rukh Khan

is stilldelicious:AnushkaSharma

Victoria’s Secret angel Miranda Kerr brings glamour to thestreets of new york City as she runs errands. AgeNcieS

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Friends hope Selena Gomez andJustin Bieber don’t get back together

FrIENDS hope Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber’s

break up is here to stay. the 20-year-old actress and

the 18-year-old pop star revealed their split on

Friday after two years together and while those close to the

brunette beauty fully expect Justin to try to win her back,

they are surprised it took so long for the pair to break up as

she has “shed many tears” over him in the past year. A

friend of Selena’s told the Sun newspaper: “It’s been so

difficult to watch this unfold over the past year or so. Selena

has shed so many tears over Justin.” “She’s tried to split up

with him so many times but they have always ended up

back together.” “It’s out in the open now and that is one of

the toughest parts, so that means there’s more chance it

will be permanent this time. But we expect Justin to try to

win her back - and he tends to get what he wants.” Despite

separating last week, the former couple were spotted

together in New York on Sunday, where they are thought to

have held talks about their relationship. neWS DeSk

James Franco’s sleepy date

Actor James Franco took rumoured girlfriend

Ashley Benson to a midnight screening of new

James Bond movie “Skyfall”, but the couple

couldn’t keep their eyes open and kept nodding off

throughout the film. “they tried to stay incognito

catching a late show together. But both James and

Ashley fell asleep. they were woken up by theater staff

at the end of the movie,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted a

source as saying. Franco, 34, was first linked to actress

Benson in September and sources say the couple are

smitten with each other. “they have been seeing each

other for a little over a month, but things are going

well,” a source said last month. neWS DeSk

Demi Moore celebrated alow key 50th birthday

ActrESS Demi Moore has reportedly flown to

Dubai to celebrate her 50th birthday and wants

it to be a low key affair. the actress, who split

from 34-year-old two And A Half Men star Ashton

Kutcher last November after six years of marriage, is

not distressed about the milestone but wants the

occasion today to be a private affair, reported People

magazine. “She’s not unhappy about turning 50. She

looks beautiful and is feeling good after a really, really

tough year,” a source said. the mother-of-three jetted

to the United Arab Emirates from India after celebrating

the 50th birthday of Naomi campbell’s billionaire

boyfriend Vladimir Doronin at a lavish party at the

Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, rajasthan. Moore was

photographed at the extravagant bash wearing a

traditional ghagra choli by Indian designer Manish

Malhotra. Sources close to Moore, who was hospitalised

amid fears for her health earlier this year, say the

actress has finally comes to terms with the end of her

third marriage. neWS DeSk

BOLLYWOOD CELEBS SHAREWHY DIWALI IS SPECIAL

As a kid, I loved Diwali because therewas no school. Now, I love the festivalfor different reasons. It’s the seasonwhen you spend quality time with yourfamily and loved ones, and eat loads ofsweets. But what we shouldn’t miss outon is the positivity and happiness duringthe Diwali celebrations. I wish everyonea happy and positive Diwali.

—Akshay Kumar

Diwali is always a special day, formany reasons. Most of my filmsrelease on Diwali and I don’t know ifit’s because of Diwali that my films dowell, or the fact that my films do wellthat makes Diwali special. I just knowthat the day is always special. So here’swishing everyone a happy Diwali!

— Shah Rukh Khan

I would like to wish all the readers avery happy and fun Diwali. Make surethat this Diwali is even moredhamakedar. Have a great time withyour friends and family and enjoyevery bit of the festival. Lots of love!

— Sonakshi Sinha

“I wish everyone a veryhappy and safe Diwali. Pleaseburn less crackers and burnwhatever you do from a safedistance. Celebrate Diwalipeacefully and make it memorablefor you and your family.”

— Ranbir Kapoor

I’d like to wish everyone a very happyDiwali. I hope that all of you meetyour friends and all those who areclose to you, and spend time withthem. Above all, I hope you have asafe Diwali.

— Madhuri Dixit

“My best wishes and warm Diwaligreetings to all the readers. Light thediyas, enjoy the sweets, but in smallportions. Have loads of fun, be safeand please ensure the safety ofothers. It’s a delightful occasion andshould remain that way — light,warm and fun-filled.”

—Katrina Kaif

“Every Diwali is my favourite as I lovethe festival. I love dressing up for it.Here’s wishing all the readers a grandDiwali. Have fun and enjoy yourself withyour family. Four years ago, Eid, Diwaliand my birthday fell on the same day;and it was a multiple celebration. Everyfestival should be enjoyed to the fullest.”

— Tabu

I wish all readers a very happy Diwali.Laugh, smile and have lots of fun withyour loved ones. Be safe, and have aprosperous Diwali.

—Ajay Devgn

neWS DeSk

Ashton Kutcher’s role asSteve Jobs is uncanny,says co-star Josh GadJosh Gad, who plays Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in theupcoming biopic about the late tech visionary Steve Jobs, is allpraise for his co-star Ashton Kutcher, calling his act as uncannyin the film. Ashton is going to blow a lot of people away. Hisperformance was absolutely transformational, Gad told Usmagazine at the BAFTA Britannia Awards in Los Angeles onNovember 7. If he looked any more like Steve Jobs, I think itwould just confuse a lot of people in thinking Steve Jobs neverpassed away. It’s that uncanny, he said. And indeed,photographs from the set seem to verify the resemblance. In onepicture, Kutcher, 34 — a tech entrepreneur in his own right —channels the Apple Inc. icon in jeans, sneakers, a sweater vest,and round rimless glasses like the kind Jobs used to wear. But itwasn’t just the actor’s physical makeover that impressed hisco-star. He really immersed himself, Gad said. I thinkhe has an appreciation for Steve Jobs, the likes ofwhich I’ve never seen in any actor who’sportrayed a real, living person.” neWS DeSk

VIDYA BALANto tie the knot on December 18?

Rumours of Vidya Balan getting marriedto Siddharth Roy Kapur have

resurfaced. We hear Vid and Sid willtie the knot around December 18. Ithas also been said that Vidya’s closefriend, fashion designer SabyasachiMukherjee, has been roped in todesign her wedding trousseau. Wetried to get in touch with Vidya,Siddharth and Sabya but all threechose not to respond. Vidya andSiddharth have acknowledged theirrelationship in public. When a storyof them being married already was

reported in August last year,Siddharth had denied the news viasms to us stating, “Nope, not true.”

Siddharth has, however, beenkeeping mum on the issue thistime around. neWS

Daniel Craig thinks Rihanna wouldmake a better Bond girl than Bey-once Knowles - because she’s ‘dirt-ier’. The 44-year-old actor - whoreprises his role as James Bond inthe latest film in the series, ‘Sky-fall’ - believes the ‘You Da One’ hit-maker would be a better star of thefilm series than Beyonce Knowles.Asked who would make a betterBond girl of the two singers, hetold GlobalGrind.com: ‘I think Ri-hanna. She’s dirtier.’ However,when his co-stars Berenice Mar-lohe and Naomie Harris wereasked the same question, theyopted for Beyonce. When told ofDaniel’s reasoning, Naomie ex-claimed: ‘Is that what you need tobe a Bond girl?’ While the two ac-tresses were not thrilled by

Daniel’s answer, Ri-hanna was de-lighted. Shetweeted a link tothe interview andwrote: ‘This makes mehappy.’ Meanwhile, Danielexpressed his belief that theseries has lasted so long be-cause the producers makeevery decision based on theneeds of the audience. He said: ‘Ithink the Brocollis have been mak-ing these films so long and keptthem an event and they’ve neverforgotten these films are about theaudience, nobody else, and they’rethe most important. Plus IanFleming created a pretty greatcharacter and I was lucky enoughto have a go at him.’ neWS DeSk

Rihanna a good Bond girl: Daniel Craig

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14Infotainment

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

Seattle company builds world’s fastest computer

SEATTLE-BASED Cray is behind the newworld’s fastest supercomputer, according toa list released Monday. “Titan,” a Cray XK7

system activated last month at Oak Ridge NationalLaboratory, in Tennessee, took the top spot in the40th edition of the twice-a-year TOP500 List.Titan achieved 17.59 Petaflops (quadrillions ofcalculations per second), topping LawrenceLivermore (Calif.) National Laboratory’s IBM-based Sequoia system, which hit 16.32 Petaflops.“The new Top500 list clearly demonstrates theU.S. commitment to applying high-performancecomputing to breakthrough science, and that’s ourfocus at Oak Ridge,” laboratory Director ThomMason said in a news release. “We’ll deliverscience from Day One with Titan, and I lookforward to the advancements the Titan team willmake in areas such as materials research, nuclearenergy, combustion and climate science.” Titanreplaced Oak Ridge’s XT5 Jaguar computer, whichwas the world’s fastest in November 2009 andJune 2010. It is capable of a theoretical peak speedof 27 Petaflops, 10 times faster than Jaguar, whileusing approximately 9 megawatts of electricity,roughly the amount required for 9,000 homes andjust 20 percent more than Jaguar, according to thelaboratory. The energy savings come from a hybridarchitecture that combines traditional centralprocessing units with graphic processing units,which were first created for gaming.“It’s not practical or affordable to continueincreasing supercomputing capacity withtraditional CPU-only architecture,” Jeff Nichols,the laboratory’s associate director for computingand computational sciences, said in the release.“Combining GPUs and CPUs is a responsible movetoward lowering our carbon footprint, and Titanwill enable scientific leadership by providingunprecedented computing power for research inenergy, climate change, materials, and otherdisciplines.” So what’s the point of all that speed?It “will allow U.S. scientists and industry to addressproblems they could only dream of tackling before,”said Buddy Bland, Titan project manager at theU.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge LeadershipComputing Facility. Early applications includeresearching the magnetic properties of materials toaccelerate such technologies as next-generationelectric motors and generators; improving fuelefficiency by modeling combustion of large-molecule hydrocarbon fuels; faster fuel-rodsimulations that extend the life cycles of agingnuclear reactors and ensure they remain safe; andcalculating specific climate change adaptation andmitigation scenarios. neWS DeSk

Russians, Ukranian dominate world pole dancing championship

AFTER Americans went to the polls, the restof the world went to the poles — for theWorld Pole Dancing

Championships this past weekend inZurich, Switzerland. Dancers from 26countries did what theycould do to raise thebar for the sport,which has becomeas popular ingyms as it hasin exotic nightclubs. Some saythe physical act ofclimbing andtwirling around apole has rootsin the Chinesecircus,according to

PolicyMic.com.Back then, it wasperformed by men morethan women. It wasn’t untilthe late 1980s that poledancing moved into gentlemen’sclubs. Because of pole dancing’sAsian roots, the Chinese pole dancingteam had high hopes to win big inZurich, according to GlobalTimes. neWS

IN the coming century willNew York warm up by threedegrees Fahrenheit andhave a climate like Rich-mond, Virginia?

Or will it warm by eight de-grees and become more like thestate capital of Georgia, a city withthe nickname “Hotlanta”?

That’s the range currently rep-resented by more than two dozendifferent climate models, but anew study published today in thejournal Science shows the higher,hotter predictions are more likelyto be accurate.

Bad weatherJohn Fasullo is a scientist at

the National Center for Atmos-pheric Research (NCAR). He’s thelead author on the study, whichanalyzed the differences between16 climate models.

“We really just wanted to askthe naïve question, ‘Which modelbest reproduced what we saw inthe satellite observations?’” hesays.

Fasullo was trying to work

around the problem of clouds.They are key atmospheric indica-tors, but they can be tricky to ob-serve with precision, and thatcan lead to variation between cli-mate models.

“An easier way to approachthe problem was to look at the en-vironment in which clouds existand ask the question, ‘Which mod-els give the best representation ofthat environment?’” says Fasullo.

He looked at the atmosphericdry zones in the subtropics, andfound that most climate modelsfail to account for this dryness.

The models that do tend toshow the most warming in thefuture.

“You can kind of think of thesedry zones as an iris of the climatesystem. As the system warms up,the iris dilates and lets more sun-light into the system,” he says.

More warming can lead tomore powerful storms, whichdraw on energy from warmerocean temperatures.

Kevin Trenberth is a seniorscientist at NCAR and he co-au-thored the study.

“The odds of a strong stormare increasing,” he says.

Hurricanes like Sandy occurnaturally, but Trenberth says be-tween five to 10 percent of theirpower can be attributed to man-made global warming.

“When you’re having stormsurges that are flooding the sub-way system, a 10 percent effectmight be enough that if you didn’thave it, it wouldn’t have flooded.”

Changing political climate?For years, these scientific

warnings have come up againstpublic skepticism and politicalapathy.

But that may be starting tochange. In the aftermath of Hurri-cane Sandy, New York City MayorMichael Bloomberg, an independ-ent, gave a surprise endorsementto President Obama just beforethe election, praising his leader-ship on climate change.

Governor Andrew Cuomoalso brought up the issue as hetoured the devastation in thebeachfront community of Breezy

Point, Queens.“I think there is climate

change. I think that is a reality. Ithink if we don’t acknowledge it,then it’s just avoidance on ourpart,” says Cuomo.

Although the topic was notice-ably absent from the presidentialcampaign, President Obamabriefly mentioned it during his re-election acceptance speech earlyWednesday morning: “We wantour children to live in an Americathat isn’t burdened by debt, thatisn’t weakened by inequality, thatisn’t threatened by the destructivepower of a warming planet.”

But Trenberth says he’s stillworried that climate change isn’thigh enough on the list of politi-cal priorities.

Carbon dioxide is retained fora long time in the atmosphere, soeven if emissions were cut drasti-cally today, it would be decadesbefore the effects would be felt.

“By the time everyone recog-nizes that climate change is amajor problem, it’s far far toolate to do anything about it,” hesays. neWS DeSk

Climatechange maylead tomuch

French surgeons strike over pay limits

FRENCH surgeons began on Monday anopen-ended strike to protest againstperceived threats to their freedom and pay.

The protest has been called by 30 unions andprofessional bodies who are making variousdemands, with organisers claiming a significantimpact in some regions. Hospital surgeons’ unionBloc is leading a protest against an agreementaccepted by the three largest doctors’ unions at theend of October, which says any fees over 2.5 timesthe basic state tariffs is excessive. The surgeons argue they have the right to chargehigher rates. Meanwhile, state hospital interns,who have joined in the strike, are fighting againstfeared new moves limiting the freedom of youngdoctors to work where they want. Thousands ofinterns wearing white coats and surgical masksmarched in Paris shouting: “Tomorrow’s healthlies with young doctors” and “No to discountedmedical care”. Health Minister Marisol Touraineon Monday insisted that the October agreementwas a “good” one.Bloc official Xavier Gouyou-Beauchamp said therewas a very strong response to the call, adding that70 percent of private clinics would be affected. InStrasbourg, the protest made a huge impact with95 percent of surgeons on strike, said GuillaumeLohr, the head of three private clinics in theeastern city. The national surgeons’ unionmeanwhile said up to 70 percent of the operatingtheatres had been affected in Brittany. Paris public hospitals body AP-HP said a clearerpicture of the magnitude of the walkout would onlybe known later. It said some operations had beencancelled but emergencies would be dealt with byother surgeons who had been requisitioned. Somepoliticians and consumer bodies have voicedconcern that many doctors - especially specialists -are setting very high fees. Other issues raised bysome of the strikers include legal changes thatcould make patients use doctors selected by thetop-up insurers to be better reimbursed. neWS DeSk

China plans to launch anothermanned spacecraft Shenzhou-10 in early June 2013, a leadspace program official saidhere Saturday. Like in theShenzhou-9 mission, the crewmight include two men astro-nauts and a woman, who arescheduled to enter the Tian-gong-1 space lab module, NiuHongguang, deputy com-mander-in-chief of China’smanned space program, saidon the sidelines of the 18th Na-tional Congress of the Com-munist Party of China. “Theywill stay in space for 15 days,operating both automated andmanual space dockings withthe target orbiter Tiangong-1,conducting scientific experi-ments in the lab module andgiving science lectures to spec-tators on the Earth,” he said.

In the coming mission, Shen-zhou-10 will offer ferryingservices of personnel and sup-plies for Tiangong-1, furthertesting the astronauts’ abilitiesof working and living in space,as well as the functions of thelab module, he said. “The suc-cess of this mission might en-able China to construct a spacelab and a space station,” hesaid. Tiangong-1 was sent intospace in September 2011. Itdocked with the Shenzhou-8unmanned spacecraft last No-vember and the mannedShenzhou-9 in June this year,verifying China’s space dock-ing capabilities. Shenzhou-9carried the first Chinesewoman Liu Yang, togetherwith two male crew mates,into outer space. “After morethan a year of operation in

space, Tiangong-1 is still ingood condition,” Niu said.“Tiangong-1, with a design lifeof two years, will likely remainin orbit for further operationafter the space docking withShenzhou-10,” he said. Thelaunch rocket and spaceshiphave been assembled and arebeing tested, and astronautsare being trained, Niu said.“The selection for the crewwill begin in early 2013,” hesaid. China initiated themanned space program in1992. It successfully sent YangLiwei, the country’s first astro-naut, into orbit on Shenzhou-5 spacecraft in 2003. Yangwas followed by a two-manmission that carried Fei Jun-long and Nie Haisheng in2005. The trio of Shenzhou-7astronauts Zhai Zhigang, LiuBoming and Jing Haipeng or-bited the Earth for three daysin 2008, and Zhai became thefirst Chinese to conduct extra-vehicular activities on Sept.27, 2008. China plans to buildits own space station inaround 2020. “The space sta-tion is a state-level space ex-perimental platform. We willmake the best use of it to solvesome problems concerningthe country’s scientific, tech-nological development andpeople’s livelihoods,” Niu

China to launch mannedspaceship in June

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Wednesday, 14 november, 2012

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djokovic builds big lead in tennis ranking

LAHOREStAff RePoRt

CHAIRMAN Pakistan CricketBoard , Mohammad ZakaAshraf has said that thename of batting coach forthe national team has not

yet been finalised and it is premature tosay at this stage that PCB will send a bat-ting coach with the team for the tour ofIndia next month.

“We are in process of selecting themost suitable candidate and the commit-tee formed by PCB for choosing an expertis working on it and we are not sure thatwe will be able to make a final selectionbefore our teams tour to India “,he toldreporters here on Tuesday at the inaugu-ration of first ever level four coachingcourse at National Cricket academy .

He said the Indian Higher Commis-sioner has sought two-week time for an-nouncing visa policy for Pakistanispectators who will be going to India forwatching Pak-Indi series matches.

“We are in touch with the IndianHigh Commission on this issue and noth-ing has yet been finalized and all the newsappearing in media that Pakistani specta-tors desirous to get visas must be spon-sored by Indians is totally wrong “,hesaid. “ As soon as we receive visas policyfrom the Indian High Commission wewill make it public “,he said.

To a question, Chairman, PCB saidthey are willing to work with Punjab Gov-ernment for the revival and resumption ofinternational cricket in Pakistan andPCB’s only demand from the Punjab Gov-ernment is to provide fool proof securityto the foreign teams. “ No matter it is Fed-eral or Punjab Government ,we are readyto work together for achieving a collectivecause of bringing back internationalcricket to Pakistan “,he said adding “ We

want a firm official assurance from thePunjab Government that it will be provid-ing top security to the foreign teams “.

Ross Turner the Australian courseconductor threw light on the importanceof the course and termed it a step forwardto groom head coach and leaders incricket team management .

The level four course is being at-tended by 17 participants while on the

side lines of the week long activity levelthree is also being conducted with 27 par-ticipating in it.

He said the level four course will en-able the participants to serve the game ina more professional way after acquiringthe most modern knowledge of coaching.

“ The former players who are takingup coaching have edge over other partic-ipants because they have the experience

of playing cricket and they also know thetechnical aspects of the game “,he said.Answering a question, he said, “ we are invery safe compound , enjoying our stayand there is no security issue “.

He said the entire process to becomea level four coach is span over 18 monthsin which candidates are assessed twiceand assigned coaching assignments afterwhich they are certified.

Batting coach not yet finalised, says Zaka

LAHOREStAff RePoRt

As Pakistan continues its search for a battingcoach, former captain Wasim Akram has cau-tioned against over coaching when it comes tothe national team. "Whoever is coaching Pak-istan should tell them - meetings should be 15minutes because if you let it run for 16 minutesthey`ll forget the first 15. These details are im-portant," a report quoted Akram, as saying.

Akram emphasized that quick thinking andreacting instinctively in cricket is better, espe-cially for a team like Pakistan.

"Different areas have different mentalities,the sub continent, England, South Africa, Aus-tralia wherever. The less we think the better itis for us as it gives us less time to clutter ourheads, so you have to be straight forward," hesaid. Akram said that a lack of confidenceamong the players was the main problem,adding that the talent is present and just needsto be utilized properly.

"Pakistan need a batting coach to teachthese young kids the fundamentals of batting.You used to see batsmen going onto their frontfoot to hit their shots, when you see Pak-istani players they don`t do that. “Theydon`t seem to have the confidence tocome out," he said.

"I look at the batsmen like a bowler:`how can I get them, where are theirweaknesses`, and see someone like Mo-hammad Hafeez, who isn`t a front footplayer, as a target. What they need is con-fidence, the talent is there," the 46-year old said.

Fast bowling legend said hewas confident Pakistan's hotly-anticipated tour of India nextmonth would pass offsafely and urged thetwo sides to use threatsby Hindu radicals as moti-vation. Pakistan will meettheir arch-rivals in five one-day inter-nationals and two

Twenty20s in December andJanuary, their first full series since2007, but Indian Hindu groupshave urged Delhi to cancel andthreatened protests.

The right-wing Shiv Senaand Vishwa Hindu Parishad de-

manded India refuse to resume cricket ties untilPakistan brings to justice the masterminds be-hind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left166 people dead. India halted all bilateral cricketwith Pakistan after Mumbai, but earlier thismonth approved the short tour announced bythe Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)in July. Wasim, one of the sport's greatest everbowlers and now popular in India as a commen-tator, said he was hopeful of a trouble-free tour."I can't wait for this tour to happen," Wasim toldAFP. "I am confident that the Indian govern-ment will make this tour a happy and safe onefor our team because the whole world is waitingfor this and want it to be series reviving one."

Wasim said all threats should act as moti-vation for both the countries.

"We toured India despite threats," saidWasim, who led Pakistan on the India tour in1999 despite Shiv Sena activists dug up the pitchat the Delhi stadium, forcing officials to movethe first Test to Chennai. "We had full confi-dence in Indian security and that tour came offvery well and I am sure this time too India willmake sure it go untroubled."

Wasim said that after a break of five years,the cricket-mad Indian public were desperate

to see their side take on their old rivals."The whole of India is keenly waiting

for this tour to happen and I am surecome December 25 they will thong thestadium," said Wasim of the first

Twenty20 in Bangalore. "I am sure In-dian fans will give a good response to our

team." Ahmedabad will host thesecond Twenty20 on Novem-

ber 27 followed by one-dayin Chennai (December30), Kolkata (Jan 3) andDelhi (Jan 6).

Few rivalries in sportare as intense as India andPakistan on the cricketfield, and Wasim said hehoped the men in greenwould be buoyed by theoccasion."I use to thrivein an India match," said

Wasim, who helped hisside maintain a dominant

record over their arch-rivalsduring the span of his 104

Test and 356 one-day interna-tionals career.

BRISBANEAgenCieS

South Africa’s batsmen dug in to earn adraw in the first Test against Australiaafter Michael Clarke followed a record-breaking score with an aggressive decla-ration. Clarke took his overnight score of218 to 259 this morning, the highest everTest innings at the Gabba as he eclipsedAlastair Cook’s 235 in Brisbane for Eng-land in 2010, and then declared with alead of 115 an hour before lunch.

South Africa suffered some earlywobbles in their reply, but reached tea on114 for three and pressed on to 166 forfive in a quiet evening session beforestumps were drawn. Clarke was in impe-rious form once again as Australiapadded their lead in the morning.

The Australia captain matchedCook’s tally with a triple when he droveVernon Philander through cover andthen surpassed him in the next over, hit-ting Morne Morkel straight back downthe ground for four.

Morkel did not take kindly to that,delivering a blow to his stomach with thenext ball, but it did nothing to knockClarke out of his stride. Mike Husseyadded some drama to the proceedingstoo as he scored his 16th Test century.

He was on 99 when South Africalaunched a huge appeal for lbw, withHussey only saved when television re-plays showed the slightest inside edge onPhilander’s delivery. The century wasthen achieved despite a near run-out ashe went for a quick single.

And his dismissal came from the verynext ball he faced as he hit a shot straightto substitute Faf du Plessis at cover to gofor precisely 100.

Matthew Wade came in to add anunbeaten 19 before Australia declared on565 for five. The move paid early divi-dends as Alviro Petersen went for justfive, but Australia could not add to thepressure despite a couple of close callsbefore the interval.

First Graeme Smith edged a PeterSiddle delivery just short of Hussey in theslips, and then James Pattinson bowledHashim Amla with a no-ball, the bats-man called back by the umpire after hehad started to walk off.

Australia continued to probe forbreakthroughs in the afternoon and theireagerness to get on with the task sawthem use up their remaining reviews in

attempts to get rid of Amla and JacquesKallis, the latter claim never standing achance. But between the two, Smithedged into the slips for 23, and Australiagot the wicket they most wanted whenAmla was caught by Hussey off Siddle for38 just before tea.

Kallis reached the second interval on40 but added only a further nine runs be-fore edging spinner Nathan Lyon toClarke at slip. AB de Villiers and JacquesRudolph batted through most of a low-key finale, until the latter was given outlbw to Lyon (two for 41) and failed tooverturn the decision on review.

De Villiers finished 29 not out withPhilander on one, while Pattinson tooktwo for 58. Clarke told Sky Sports 1 after-wards: “It’s always nice making runs, Iguess it’s even more special against thenumber one team in the world.

“It was unfortunate we couldn’t getthe result but we can take a lot of confi-dence into the next match. “I don’t thinkwe were at our best on day one but con-gratulations to Rob Quiney making hisdebut, Ed Cowan with his maiden hun-dred and Michael Hussey as well.

“We’ll turn up in Adelaide with theexact same plan, we want to win thematch.” Opposite number Graeme Smithadded: “Credit to Michael and the wayhis team batted, they put us under a littlebit of pressure on the last day but we heldon. “I think the challenge for us was al-ways going to be the first Test, to get intothe series, and we’ve done that and wecan go on to Adelaide with confidence.We know as a team we’re capable of play-ing better than this.”

Bowling legend hopes of troublefree Pakistan-India seriesAkram cautions against over-coaching national team

Africa, Australia draw first Test

South Africa 1st innings 450 all out; 151.4 overs (An

Petersen 64, HM Amla 104, JH kallis 147, AB de Villiers

40, JA Rudolph 31, BW Hilfenhaus 2-73, Jl Pattinson 3-93,

PM Siddle 2-111, nM lyon 2-136)

Australia 1st innings: overnight 487/4 (MJ Clarke 218*, Mek

Hussey 86*, 121 ov

eJM Cowan run out (Steyn) 136

DA Warner c kallis b Steyn 4

RJ Quiney c Steyn b Morkel 9

Rt Ponting c kallis b Morkel 0

MJ Clarke not out 259

Mek Hussey c sub (f du Plessis) b Morkel 100

MS Wade not out 19

extras (lb 14, w 1, nb 23) 38

total (5 wickets dec; 138 overs)

Did not bat nM lyon, PM Siddle, Jl Pattinson, BW

Hilfenhaus

fall of wickets 1-13 (Warner, 4.4 ov), 2-30 (Quiney, 7.4 ov),

3-40 (Ponting, 9.3 ov), 4-299 (Cowan, 84.4 ov), 5-527

(Hussey, 130.1 ov)

Bowling: DW Steyn 30-3-129-1, VD Philander 30-3-103-0,

M Morkel 31-6-127-3, Rk kleinveldt 21-1-97-0, JH kallis 12-

3-30-0, gC Smith 9-0-36-0, HM Amla 2-0-9-0, An

Petersen 3-0-20-0

South Africa 2nd innings

An Petersen c Wade b Pattinson 5

gC Smith c Quiney b Pattinson 23

HM Amla c Hussey b Siddle 38

JH kallis c Clarke b lyon 49

AB de Villiers not out 29

JA Rudolph lbw b lyon 11

VD Philander not out 1

extras (b 2, w 4, nb 4) 10

total (5 wickets; 68 overs) 166

Did not bat JP Duminy, M Morkel, DW Steyn, Rk kleinveldt

fall of wickets 1-6 (Petersen, 1.3 ov), 2-55 (Smith, 20.5 ov),

3-102 (Amla, 32.5 ov), 4-129 (kallis, 48.5 ov), 5-165

(Rudolph, 62.6 ov)

Bowling: BW Hilfenhaus 15-3-26-0, Jl Pattinson 19-3-58-

2, PM Siddle 17-4-36-1, nM lyon 13-5-41-2, RJ Quiney

4-3-3-0

toss South Africa, who chose to bat

Series 3-match series level 0-0

test debuts RJ Quiney (Australia); Rk kleinveldt (South

Africa)

Player of the match MJ Clarke (Australia)

umpires Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and Bf Bowden (new

Zealand)

tV umpire RA kettleborough (england)

Match referee RS Madugalle (Sri lanka)

Reserve umpire PR Reiffel.

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PunjaB inTeRnaTional sPoRTs FesTival

Sports 16

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

LAHORE StAff RePoRt

pAKISTAN scooped to an-other two gold medals, asbaseball and fistball earnedone medal each, to raise thegold tally to 11 staying at top

of medals table of the Punjab InternationalSports Festival 2012 here on Tuesday.

It was in fact the Pakistan’s day onwhich the players in green not only tooktwo gold medals but they also won twomore matches. The Punjab Greens footballteam stunned visiting Sri Lankan footballteam with a 3-0 win while another Punjabteam hammered Sri Lankan fistball team2-0 in a third position match.

The Pakistan team returned smilingfrom the baseball field when they rippedapart the Sri Lankan team in the final 21-2here at Iqbal Park Sports Complex ground.

The score count clearly shows thedominance of Pakistan team throughoutthe whole innings that rattled the visitingteam totally helpless.

Pakistan's Sumair Zawar scored 2runs, Mohammad Asif, Umair Bhattiachieved 2 each, Zaheer ,Zubair, Usman,Ahsan, Ahmad, Basit and Murtaza gained

one each. Sri Lankan Iresh Kosla andChamara Piries shared one run each.

Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lank and Pak-istan participated in Punjab InternationalBaseball Festival 2012. Afghanistan got 4thand Nepal on 3rd position in the event.

Final match was played between Pak-istan and Sri Lanka at Cricket Stadium,Model Town and Shaukat Javed, formerInspector General Police Punjab and VicePresident Pakistan Olympic Associationand President Pakistan Federation Base-ball was the chief guest.

The second gold of the day came fromthe Pakistan firstball team at the Univer-sity of Lahore ground where the hometeam defeated Nepal 3-1.

Pakistan in its dominating posture gotthree scores and kept the visiting team atbay accept for once while the home teamcaptain Mujadid Awan for his controlledand leading role in his team’s victory gotthe best player of the tournament award.

In the third position match, PunjabGreens defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 and thewins of Pakistan and Punjab came in

front of Pakistan Fistball Federationpresident MA Rauf, who is also chairmanUniversity of Lahore. In the football,league match of the festival Pakistangrabbed a surprise win over Sri Lanka 3-0. Although the win have no bearing onthe final which is to be played betweenYemen and Serbia on November 15 but itboosted the Punjab team’s progress intothe football family.

Organising secretary Mian Rizwanwho managed the football event in collab-oration with the Sports Board Punjab was

the chief guest on the occasion and pre-sented souvenirs to the officials and partic-ipants. Punjab Greens captain ArifMahmood opened the account in the 15thminute and was doubled by Naseem Abbasin the 70th minute. Arif scored his secondand third of the team in the 80th minuteto seal win for Punjab Greens.

Pakistan which is leading the tablewith 11 gold medals expect to win anothergold in touch ball competition when thehome team will take on Sri Lanka in thefinal today (Wednesday).

PAKISTAN SCOOP TWO MORE GOLD MEDALS

DHAKA AgenCieS

Kieran Powell and Shivnarine Chanderpaulstruck centuries to push West Indies towards abig total in the first innings of the first Testagainst Bangladesh on Tuesday.

The tourists reached 361-4 at the close onthe opening day with Chanderpaul unbeaten on123 alongside Denesh Ramdin (52 not out), hav-ing completed his 26th test century. Powell wasearlier out for 117 after Bangladesh had putWest Indies in a spot of trouble with three wick-ets in the morning session.

The left-hander, making his second century,added 125 runs with Chanderpaul for the fourthwicket as the duo batted out the second sessionto restore order for West Indies, who won thetoss and elected to bat.

“I think we definitely won this day,” Powelltold the reporters.

“Two guys getting centuries, 350 on theboard and only four wickets down, it is a com-manding position to press on for a good total.

“Generally we look at 400 in the first in-

nings, but from this position, 500-plus shouldbe a good total.” The home side opened thebowling with debutant Sohag Gazi, who wasgreeted by Chris Gayle with a big six over long-on off his very first delivery.

Gayle hit him for another six in the fourthball to finish the first over with 18 runs on theboard but Gazi had the last laugh when he tookthe wicket of the left-hander in the fifth over.

Mahmudullah took the catch at long-off asGayle mistimed off a flighted delivery to departfor 24. Gazi thought he had other opener Powellfor seven but the left-hander was given a re-prieve after the ball hit the helmet of the sillypoint fielder before heading towards Rubel Hos-sain, who dived to his left for a sharp catch.

Darren Bravo, however, had no such luck asthe same fielder took the catch off Gazi to dis-miss him on 14.

Bangladesh took the honours in the open-ing session when Shahadat Hossain dismissedMarlon Samuels for 16 with Gazi this timeshowing his skill as a fielder by taking a divingcatch in the deep. The hosts' advantage slippedaway though in the wicketless second sessiondominated by Powell and Chanderpaul.

Powell completed his century sweeping left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan to the fine-legboundary to go to the break on 115 not out.

The 22-year old, however, could add onlytwo runs to his score on the resumption after teabefore he missed the line of a Gazi delivery andwas clean bowled. His 178-ball innings con-tained 18 fours and a six off Gazi over mid-off.

gayle first to hit six from first ball of testDHAKA

AgenCieS

Flamboyant West Indies opener Chris Gayle became the first player to hit a six from thefirst ball of a test match when he launched his big-hit against Bangladesh on Tuesday,the International Cricket Council said. Gayle smashed debutant Sohag Gazi over long-on, taking 18 from the first over but the 21-year-old off-spinner took revenge by havingthe opener caught for 24. West Indies reached 361-4 after the first day of the first test.The first officially recognised test match commenced on March 15, 1877 and was con-tested by England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Windies in controlagainst Bangladesh

WeSt inDieS first innings

C. gayle c Mahmudullah b gazi 24

k. Powell b gazi 117

D. Bravo c Rubel b gazi 14

M.Samuels c gazi b Shahadat 16

S. Chanderpaul not out 123

D. Ramdin not out 52

eXtRAS (lb-7 w-1 nb-7) 15

totAl (four wickets; 90 overs) 361

to bat: D. Sammy, S. narine, V. Permaul, t. Best, R. Rampaul.

fall of wickets: 1-32 2-74 3-106 4-231

Bowling (to date): Sohag gazi 32-6-97-3, Shahadat Hossain

14-0-73-1 (nb-7), Rubel Hossain 9-0-54-0 (w-1), Mahmudullah

7-0-29-0, Shakib Al Hasan 19-2-69-0, naeem islam 8-1-24-0, nasir

Hossain 1-0-8-0

SCoReBoARD

ISB 14-11-2012_Layout 1 11/14/2012 6:06 AM Page 17

Sports17

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

Mclaren link upwith formula e electric series

LONDON AgenCieS

Formula One race winners McLaren areto provide the engine, transmission andelectronics for cars that will compete ina new Formula E electric series due tostart up in 2014.McLaren will join forces with Spark Rac-ing Technology, led by Frenchman Fred-eric Vasseur, as part of a consortium todesign and assemble the racecars."I'm a passionate believer in the rolethat motorsport can play in showcasingand spearheading the development offuture technologies, and regard the For-mula E concept as an exciting innova-tion for global motorsport," saidMcLaren F1 team principal MartinWhitmarsh in a statement on Monday."McLaren has worked with FredericVasseur for many years, and our associ-ation has been very successful," addedthe Briton.Vasseur set up the ART team, whichcompeted in this year's GP2 and GP3 se-ries as Lotus, with Nicolas Todt whosefather Jean is the president of the gov-erning International Automobile Feder-ation (FIA).Britain's Lewis Hamilton, who won the2008 Formula One championship withMcLaren, raced for ART in FormulaThree Euroseries."Working together in Formula E,McLaren's world-class technology andSpark Racing Technology's expertknowledge will combine to allow bothcompanies to stay at the forefront oftechnical innovation and hopefully openup great opportunities for the racingcars of tomorrow," said Whitmarsh.McLaren, who build their own sports-cars at their Woking headquarters, havediversified into a range of applied tech-nologies in recent years.They are also the official suppliers ofelectronic control units to Formula Oneand NASCAR and have developed a120KW E-motor for hybrid and electricvehicles. Formula E will be an FIA-sanc-tioned championship, with the commer-cial rights licensed to a HongKong-based consortium, which aims tohold races in the heart of at least 10cities around the world.

is Sunday's f1 raceweird enough foraustin, texas?

AUSTINAgenCieS

As the Texas capital prepares to host thefirst Grand Prix in the United States infive years, some in laid-back Austin saythis weekend's glamorous race clasheswith the city's soul.In this environmentally-conscious col-lege town of 800,000, where thebumper stickers say "Keep AustinWeird" and there are no professionalsports teams, there is widespread oppo-sition to the Formula One race.Some skeptics have come around, em-bracing the race and the sleek partiesthat come with it, while others are stillshaking their heads over fears of cloggedstreets, noisy helicopter traffic and anegative impact on the environment, allfor a ritzy event they say is simply un-Austin."Many opponents said that this is kindof the wrong image - frivolous emis-sions, carbon and other pollutants intothe air just for amusement purposes -for a city that wants to be seen as themost sustainable city in the UnitedStates," said Tom Smith, director of theTexas office of Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer advocacy group.Officials at Circuit of the Americas,which owns the new racetrack, saythey're working to minimize the envi-ronmental impact of the event and pointout that F1 innovations lead to more ef-ficient passenger cars.Texas Comptroller Susan Combs toutsthe economic impact of the event, whichshe says will generate some $220 mil-lion for the state.

SingaPoRe: Rory Mcilroy watches his tee

shot on the second hole in Singapore open.

LONDONAgenCieS

nOVAK Djokovic cappeda second consecutivestrong year with theATP World Tour Finaltitle and a huge lead in

the men's tennis rankings.Djokovic had earlier wrapped up

the year-end No. 1 ranking but his 7-6(8-6), 7-5 win Monday over RogerFederer really pushed his advantage.He has 12,920 points, which is 2,655points more than the second-rankedFederer and nearly 5,000 more than

No. 3 Andy Murray.Djokovic racked up his point total

over 18 tournaments, which is thelowest total among players in the Top10. Federer, for example, was in 21tournaments and Murray 20.

In the last two years Djokovic hasa 145-18 record with 16 champi-onships and $22.5 million in win-nings. Four of those titles were atGrand Slam events and Djokovic willhead into the 2013 Australian Open asa two-time defending champion.

Federer, who was looking for athird consecutive ATP Finals title,also had a strong year, going 71-12

with six titles -- including at Wimble-don -- and $7.4 million in winnings.

Murray has 8,000 rankings pointsand Rafael Nadal, who missed the sec-ond half of the year with an injury,has 6,795 for fourth place. Fifth-ranked David Ferrer has pulled closeto Nadal with 6,430 points.

Tomas Berdych had 4,605 pointsfor the No. 6 ranking and Juan Martindel Potro (4,480) is seventh. Jo-Wil-fried Tsonga has 3,490 rankingpoints, which is eighth-most. JankoTipsarevic is No. 9 at 2,990 andRichard Gasquet (2,515) finishes theyear at No. 10.

Djokovic builds big lead in tennis rankingFederer calls forfaster courts tocome back to tennis

LOnDOn: There has been criticism ofthe fact that tennis courts all over the globehave slowed down and become more stan-dardized - leading to longer rallies and thedominance of baseline play. Roger Federeris one of the players who thinks that thereshould be more tournaments on fastercourts. ''It's an easy fix. Just make quickercourts, then it's hard to defend,'' Federercommented. ''Attacking style is more im-portant. It's only on this type of slow courtsthat you can defend the way we are alldoing right now. What you don't want isthat you hit 15 great shots and at the end, itends up in an error,'' he said. ''So I thinksometimes quicker courts do help thecause. I think it would help from time totime to move to something a bit faster.That would help to learn, as well, for manydifferent players, different playing styles, torealize that coming to the net is a goodthing, it's not a bad thing.'' ''I think somevariety would be nice, some really slowstuff and then some really fast stuff, in-stead of trying to make everything sort ofthe same. You sort of protect the top guysreally by doing that because you have thebest possible chance to have them in thesemis at this point, I think. But should thatbe the goal? I'm not sure.'' AgenCieS

ISB 14-11-2012_Layout 1 11/14/2012 6:06 AM Page 18

Sports 18

wednesday, 14 november, 2012

watch it LiveESPNSports Center07:30PM

P&t gym outplaytauseef Club andbecome H groupChampion

LAHOREStAff RePoRt

P&T Gym, has become H group Championof LCCA Super Cricket League when theyoutplay Tauseef Club by 133 runs playedIteefaq Hospital ground on Tuesday. Finebatting by Baber Manzoor, Tayabtahir(P&T Gym) and 2nd Hatric by AwaisManzoor(Tauseef Club) were the main fea-ture of the match. Earlier Awais Manzoorhas also awarded Hatric against East ZoneWhites in LCCA League. Scores: P&T Gym 264/7 in 40 overs. BaberManzoor 87, Tayab Tahir 73, M Asim 25,HAseeb ur Rehman 21, Ali Manzoor 16,Waqas Ahmed 14. Awais MAnzoor3/26(including Hatric), Sheraz Baig 2/59,Waqas Khan 1/42, Sher Baz Khan 1/48. Tauseef Club 131 all out in 35.5 overs. She-hzad Muhayudin 28, ISrar Baig 20, IbrarBaig 19, sher Baz Khan 18, Waqas Khan 10,Awais, Manzoor 10. Rohail ALi 2/29, AliManzoor 2/16, HAseeb ur Rehman 2/9,Wajid 1/28, Babaer Manzoor 1/8.

globetrottingColsaerts earns2013 Pga tour card

NEWSDESK

Big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaertshas won a 2013 PGA Tour card and isset to join several Ryder Cup teammates who play the majority of their golfin the United States."It's official now...PGA Tour member!!"the world number 34 said on his Twitteraccount on Monday after the PGA Tourseason came to a close on Sunday.Colsaerts earned enough money as anon-member in 2012 and is therefore el-igible for a place on the world's most lu-crative circuit next season.World number one Rory McIlroy, third-ranked Luke Donald and number fourLee Westwood are among several topEuropeans who spend the majority oftheir time competing in the U.S.Colsaerts became the first Belgian toplay in the Ryder Cup in September. The29-year-old left a lasting impression onAmerican golf fans with a virtuoso per-formance in his first match when he was10-under with his own ball as he andWestwood defeated Tiger Woods andSteve Stricker one up in a fourballs en-counter. The longest driver on his owncircuit, at 318.6 yards he averages threeyards more than the PGA Tour's biggesthitter Bubba Watson, said that he wouldstill commit to events in Europe.

AHMEDABADAgenCieS

tWO days before the com-mencement of what isbilled as the 'revenge se-ries' for India, Englandwicket-keeper Matt Prior

on Tuesday said that the tourists arewell prepared for the tough challengeof taming the hosts.

"We have given ourselves the bestchance, we have prepared as well as wecan. It's now down to performing onthe pitch. It's a tough challenge for allof us," he said ahead of the openingTest commencing at the Motera hereon November 15.

"Coming over here, we had a longpreparation. We have been able to playa lot of cricket on these types of wick-ets. We are now ready after gettingused to the heat, the spinning tracks,the traffic. We are going into the Testmatch feeling fully prepared," he de-clared. It has been 28 years since anyteam from Old Blighty had come andbearded India in its own den and Priorsaid England are well aware of the his-tory. "It's always a very challengingplace to come and play.

India know their conditions fantas-tically well as we do when we play inEngland where we are brought up play-ing the swinging ball and we play itpretty well. Likewise these guys arebrought up playing the spinning balland they play it pretty well," he said.

"Cricket is a religion out here andto be able to play in front of peoplewith that mentality is a fantastic op-portunity. To come out and win in this

environment would be even better.Record speaks for itself how it's beensince England last won over here," headded.

Incidentally, India were last beatenat home in a Test rubber by Australiain 2004-05 season and since then theyhave either won the series or drawnthem against all other opponents.

Prior conceded that the 3-0 routagainst the Pakistan spin duo of SaeedAjmal and Abdur Rehman in theUnited Arab Emirates a few monthsago, still rankles the England squad.

But the 30-year-old South Africaborn stumper also insisted that theteam has the ability to move ahead andtake on the new challenge head-on asit has a very good batting line-up.

Prior was non-committal whenasked about the Test wicket at theMotera Stadium that looked barren.

"My reading of wickets is verypoor. We will have to wait and see howthe wickets change.

"A lot of times in India you lookedat the wicket and felt it's going to dete-riorate and become dust bowls and itplays flat right through. And at othertimes it looks flat for three days andsuddenly ball starts turning and keep-ing low on the last two days. That's whywe have to keep our mind and optionsopen," he said.

When the inevitable question onthe return to the side of star batsmanKevin Pietersen came up, Prior cameout with a straight bat.

"We wouldn't want KP to changetoo much because it's how he is thatmakes him so special. If KP comes on(as a) shy, introvert character I will be

more worried because I want him to goout and express himself like he does.

"You only have to walk roundIndia. These guys who have seen himin IPL can't wait to see him bat. Wecertainly can't either."

"It's always in the back of theirminds (the debacle against Pakistan).But as an international sportsman youhave to move on quickly," Prior said.

"What I hope we can do is learnfrom our own experiences, learn fromour mistakes and take them forwardinto these Test matches. Every big bat-ter in our side wants to score big runsin India. We have a very, very good bat-ting team." Prior was of the same opin-ion as his teammate Graeme Swannthat the very successful (at home) In-dian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwinand Pragyan Ojha may not be as mys-tical as their Pakistan counterparts, butwere no less bowlers.

"Probably (they are less mystical).(But) It does not make them any lessquality bowlers. And we have to prepareas if against any other spin bowlers. Weknow their quality. We know theirknowledge of their own conditions willcertainly help. I reiterate the point thatwe have given ourselves the best oppor-tunity through our preparations outhere," he said. "We have done a lot ofgood work. We had a bad experience(against Pakistan in UAE) and we arelearning from that. If you have beenhere (in the subcontinent) before youknow what to expect and it does notchange really. What is important is howwe use the experience to situations,wickets, crowds and everything else (toperform better)," he added.

England is ready for Testseries against India: Prior

Mcilroy piles upfurther player ofthe year honours

NEWSDESK

World number one Rory McIlroy addedfurther accolades to his already bulgingresume when he was named winner ofthe PGA of America Player of the Yearaward and the Vardon Trophy on Mon-day.The 23-year-old Northern Irishman,who clinched his second major title witha record eight-shot victory at the PGAChampionship in August, was alwayslikely to land both honours after tri-umphing a season-high four times onthe 2012 PGA Tour.McIlroy followed in the footsteps of hisRyder Cup team mate Luke Donaldwhen he became the second player towin the money list titles in both Europeand the United States.He is also a heavy favourite to becomethe PGA Tour's Player of the Year, whichis voted upon by tour members andscheduled to be announced early nextmonth.McIlroy comfortably held off the chal-lenge of Americans Tiger Woods, BubbaWatson, Jason Dufner, Brandt Snedekerand Matt Kuchar to claim PGA of Amer-ica Player of the Year honours.He finished with 100 points whileWoods ended up with 66, Masterschampion Watson and Dufner each to-talled 50, Snedeker earned 36 andKuchar 34. McIlroy won the VardonTrophy, first presented in 1937, with anadjusted scoring average of 68.87. JimFuryk was second on 69.30 and Dufnerthird (69.45).McIlroy, who secured the EuropeanTour Race to Dubai title by finishingthird at the Singapore Open on Sunday,is vying with Woods, Dufner, FedExCupchampion Snedeker and Watson for thePGA Tour's Player of the Year award.Those five players were named on Mon-day as the final nominees for the presti-gious Jack Nicklaus Award.

LONDON AgenCieS

Sponsorship deals and record revenuesfrom the sale of almost 11 million ticketshelped London organisers to hit theirtarget of raising 2.4 billion pounds tostage the Olympics and Paralympics.

The income covered the core costs ofputting on the world's largest sportingevent, said Paul Deighton, the formerGoldman Sachs banker who served aschief executive of the London Organis-ing Committee (LOCOG) for the Gamesin July and August.

The British government separatelyprovided almost nine billion pounds ofpublic money to build and provide secu-rity for the venues in east London for theGames.

"Throughout this period we havemade clear our aim for LOCOG to breakeven, and we remain confident that ourrevenues will meet our costs," Deightonsaid in a written submission to the Lon-don Assembly released on Tuesday.

The success of the London Gameshas earned Deighton a position with thefinance ministry overseeing delivery ofinfrastructure projects. He will take upthe role at the start of next year.

London organisers raised almost750 million pounds through domesticsponsorship deals with more than 40businesses including oil company BP,British Airways and telecoms companyBT. That was almost on a par with thesum reported by Beijing after it hostedthe Games in 2008 and almost fourtimes what Athens generated in 2004,the last time the summer Games were inEurope. Revenue from ticket sales alsotopped forecasts at a record 659 millionpounds after near sell-outs crowds forboth the Olympics and Paralympics.

The fact that any tickets were leftover will irk some Britons who were un-able to get in to see live action aftermissing out in an initial ballot for seats.

The majority of more than 300,000unsold tickets were for early rounds ofOlympic football, LOCOG said.

LAHOREStAff RePoRt

SPM Bucks moved into the quarter fi-nals of the Amar Cables T-20 veterancricket tournament after defeating Gul-berg Gymkhana in super over here onTuesday at Ali Garh cricket ground.

Both the sides made 138 runs eachin their respective innings and the tiewas decided in super over and SPMmoved ahead. Brief scores, SPM Bucksbatted first were allout at in 19.5 overs.Man of the match, Tariq Ramzan 37,Saud Cheema 19 & Ashfaq Ahmad 17runs. Gulberg Gymkhana bowlingMuhammad Kaleem bowling well 4/30,Abdul Ghaffor 2/22, Nazeer Hussain2/26, Afzal Munir 2/15 & Asif Mehmood1/23 wickets. In reply GulbergGymkhana 138/7 after 20 overs. AsifMehmood 32, Muhammad Zubair 21,Afzal Munir 42, Muhammad Amir 14 &Azhar Hussain 15 runs not out. SPM

Bucks bowling Qadeer Shah 2/20, ZahidKhan 1/32 & Sohail Imran 1/27 wickets.

Following are the quarter final fix-tures,Nov 18, Amar Cables vs ChaudharySports at Shah Faisal Cricket Ground.

SPM Stags vs Golden Eagles at Ali GarhCricket Ground. Nov 19, LHR Muham-madan vs LHR Tigers at Race CoursePark Ground, Textile Tigers vs SPMBucks at Shah Faisal Cricket Ground.

Veteran cricket reaches to QF stage

SPONSORS HELP LONDON ORGANISERS TO BALANCE BOOKSPanama need 22 men tocontain Spain, coach saysBArCeLOnA: "The best thing to take on Spain would be to allow us to play with22 players instead of 11," Valdes joked in Tuesday's Spanish sports dailyMarca."Against Spain it is absurd to think of it as just another day and just an-other team. "You can't take them head on. Everything we try to do in games willhave to doubled. Twice the attention, the concentration, the effort, helping eachother out and so on." Visitors Spain are the world and European champions. Theytop the FIFA world rankings and last lost a match in a 1-0 friendly reverse in Eng-land a year ago. Since then have won Euro 2012 and they top their group in quali-fying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Panama are ranked 46th in the world buthave reached the final stage of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying competition.They will host a Spain side lacking many of their regulars. Vicente del Bosque hasrested stalwarts such as Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Gerard Pique and Fernando Torres,giving a number of fringe players the chance to impress.Chelsea's Juan Mata, who was left out of the last three Spain squads, is back in theside and had words of praise for Panama coach Valdes."Dely Valdes played for Real Oviedo," Mata told a news conference, referring tothe Spanish club where he started his playing career. "I have seen goals he scoredin their Tartiere stadium. He is the image of football in this country and I am surehe will imbue his team with the same footballing spirit he had."AgenCieS

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Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Editor: Arif Nizami

QuettA: Security personnel and area residents look at the damage caused by a bomb targeting a fC vehicle on tuesday. oNLiNe

WASHINGTONAgenCieS

THE top US commander inAfghanistan, General JohnAllen, is under investigation foralleged inappropriate commu-

nication with a woman at the center ofthe scandal involving former CIA Direc-tor David Petraeus, a senior US defenceofficial said on Tuesday.

The revelation threatens to fell an-other of the US military’s biggest namesand suggests that the scandal involvingPetraeus - a retired four-star general whohad Allen’s job in Afghanistan beforemoving to the CIA last year - could ex-pand. The US official said the FBI uncov-ered between 20,000 and 30,000 pagesof communications - mostly emails span-ning from 2010 to 2012 - between Allenand Jill Kelley, who has been identifiedas a longtime friend of the Petraeus fam-ily and a Tampa, Florida, volunteer social

liaison with military families at MacDillAir Force Base.

It was Kelley’s complaints about ha-rassing emails from the woman withwhom Petraeus had had an affair, PaulaBroadwell, that prompted an FBI inves-tigation that ultimately disclosed Pe-traeus’ involvement with Broadwell.Petraeus resigned from the CIA post onFriday. Asked whether there was concernabout the disclosure of classified infor-mation, the official said, on condition ofanonymity: “We are concerned about in-appropriate communications. We are notgoing to speculate as to what is containedin these documents.” Defence SecretaryLeon Panetta told reporters flying withhim to Australia that he had asked thatAllen’s nomination to be Commander ofUS European Command and SupremeAllied Commander Europe be delayed“and the president has agreed.”

President Barack Obama has put thenomination on hold, the White Housesaid on Tuesday. Allen, who is now inWashington, was due to face a Senateconfirmation hearing on Thursday, aswas his successor in Afghanistan, Gen-eral Joseph Dunford.

The FBI referred the case to the Pen-tagon on Sunday and Panetta directed

the Defence Department’s InspectorGeneral to handle the investigation.Panetta informed the top Republicanand Democrat on the Senate ArmedServices Committee during the flight toAustralia. The House Armed ServicesCommittee was also notified.

The US defence official said thatAllen denied wrongdoing and thatPanetta had opted to keep him in his jobwhile the matter was under review - anduntil Dunford can be confirmed to re-place him, a process that gains urgencygiven the cloud the scandal could castover the mission in Afghanistan.

“While the matter is under investi-gation and before the facts are deter-mined, General Allen will remaincommander of ISAF,” Panetta said, re-ferring to the NATO—led force inAfghanistan. Only hours earlier, Panettahad said he was reviewing Allen’s rec-ommendations on the future US pres-ence in Afghanistan after most troopswithdraw by the end of 2014. Com-mending Allen’s leadership inAfghanistan, Panetta said: “He is enti-tled to due process in this matter.” Atthe same time, he noted that he wantedthe Senate to act promptly on Dunford’snomination. The US official said Panetta

was informed of the matter involvingAllen on Sunday as he flew to Hawaii,after the Pentagon’s top lawyer calledPanetta’s chief of staff. The WhiteHouse was informed next.FBI rAID, SHIrtLeSS pHOtOS:Evidence that the case involving Petraeuswas not fully closed came late Mondaywhen FBI agents searched the Charlotte,North Carolina, house of Broadwell.

Agents entered the house carryingboxes at around 9 p.m. (0200 GMTTuesday) and about four hours later tookaway what appeared to be two computersand about 10 boxes. During the search,agents inside could be seen movingthrough multiple rooms, gathering mate-rials and taking photos.

Broadwell’s family was not at homeat the time. The FBI and a Justice De-partment official would not commenton the raid.

US officials had said in recent daysthat their investigation was largelycomplete and that prosecutors had de-termined it was unlikely they wouldbring charges in that case, whichstarted when Kelley contacted an FBIagent in Tampa about harassing emailsfrom an anonymous source.

That FBI agent, who has not been

identified, has also come under scrutinyafter it was discovered he had sent shirt-less photographs of himself to Kelley,but “long before” this investigation, alaw enforcement official told Reuters.The photographs were first reported bythe Wall Street Journal.

ISLAMABADAPP

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday as-sured the Afghan High Peace Council thatPakistan would continue to extend everypossible support to its Afghan brothers intheir journey towards peace and socio-eco-nomic development.

He said that a peaceful, stable and eco-nomically developed Afghanistan was vitalfor Pakistan’s own stability and prosperity.

He said that Pakistan firmly believed inthe Afghan-led and the Afghan-owned rec-onciliation process, which was the most vi-able way to ensure permanent peace andstability in Afghanistan.

The president said this during his meet-ing with the Afghan delegation led bySalahuddain Rabbani, Chairman AfghanPeace Council at the presidency.

Peace process in Afghanistan, regionalsituation and Pak- afghan bilateral relationswere discussed during the meeting.

Briefing media representatives aboutthe meeting, Spokesperson to the presi-dent, Senator Farhatullah Babar said thepresident welcomed the Afghan delegationand said that the people of Pakistan had aspecial place for late Burhanuddin Rab-bani and assured that the country will

continue to work with him in fulfilling hislate father Burhanuddin Rabbani’s unfin-ished agenda for peace and reconciliationin Afghanistan.

Commenting on efforts to curb extrem-ism, the president said that terrorism was acommon threat for both the countries andurged for working together on both sides foreliminating this scourge and to ensure peaceand stability in the region.

The president also stressed the need tofocus on curbing the financing of terrorismas there exist a clear nexus between the largescale heroin trade and terrorism. He saidthat the money generated from the herointrade was being used to finance terror oper-ations and vowed to conquer the herointrade through collective actions.

The spokesperson said that discussingrecent incidents of shelling on the bordersthe two leaders urged for increased coordi-nation between the two countries to stopsuch incidents in future.

Rabbani thanked the president for thesupport and cooperation Pakistan has beenextending towards peace, stability and devel-opment of Afghanistan.

He said that Afghanistan was keen tofurther strengthen its brotherly relationshipwith Pakistan as the destinies of the peopleof the two countries were interlinked.

LONDONinP

The Haqqani network, responsible for aseries of high-profile attacks on UStroops in Afghanistan, is prepared toenter talks with the United States if sanc-tioned by the head of the Taliban, ac-cording to a senior commander.

The commander said that theHaqqanis, a militia operating as abranch of the Afghan Taliban, wouldkeep up pressure on international forcesto leave. Peace talks between the US andthe Taliban have stalled over the issue of

a prisoner exchange, described by mili-tant negotiators as a crucial confidencebuilding gesture. The unidentifiedHaqqani commander accused Washing-ton of trying to sow divisions within in-surgent ranks. “However, if the centralshura, headed by Taliban supremeleader Mullah Mohammad Omar, de-cided to hold talks with the UnitedStates, we would welcome it,” he said.

His comments echo similar state-ments by other leaders, who accuse theUS of insincerity.

Meanwhile, the 2014 deadline forthe withdrawal of international forces

draws nearer with many Taliban watch-ers concluding that the insurgents arecontent to sit tight and wait for NATO-led forces to leave.

The commander added that theHaqqani network welcomed Obama’s re-election, predicting he would be demor-alised by battlefield losses and pull outUS forces earlier than expected.

“From what we see on the ground,Obama would not wait for 2014 to callback his forces,” he said. “They suf-fered heavy human and financiallosses and are not in a position to suf-fer more,” he added.

QUETTAStAff RePoRt

Two people were killed and 10 paramilitarysoldiers injured in a bomb blast that targeteda Frontier Corp checkpost on Quetta’s Air-port Road on Tuesday. Reports said a bombplanted on a bicycle exploded as an FC mo-bile van passed along the checkpost set up atAlam Chowk. As a result, two citizens werekilled, while 10 FC soldiers were injured.

Several other vehicles in the surround-

ings were also damaged by the explosion.Following the incident, FC and rescue

teams reached the spot and cordoned off thearea. They moved the injured soldiers to theCMH and the bodies to Civil Hospital. Aprobe into the incident has been initiatedand an important breakthrough is expected,police said. According to the Bomb DisposalSquad, about five to 10 kilogrammes of ex-plosives were used in the blast. They, how-ever, did not say whether the bomb was atimed device or remotely detonated.

g obama puts gen

Allen’s NATo

nomination on hold

Gen Allen under investigation, scandal widens

Zardari vows to continuesupporting Afghanistan

2 killed, 10 FC soldiers injured in Quetta bombing

Haqqanis ready for talks if MullahOmar approves: commander

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