ISLAMABADTAYYAB HUSSAIN

Writing a letter to Swiss authoritiesto implement the Supreme Court’sorder is a major thorny issue capableto disrupt the ongoing dialogueprocess between the Pakistan Peo-ple’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Mus-lim League-Nawaz (PML-N), forwhich both the political parties areengaged in hectic parleys withintheir respective circles to seek an ho-nourable way-out for the govern-ment to implement the court orderwhile avoiding any controversy forthe next caretaker prime minister,Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.

Sources in both major politicalparties told this scribe that almost allcontentious issues between themhad been touched upon by their ne-gotiating teams and there seemed aconsensus that all other issues might

be resolved in the manner the issueof the appointment of CEC was re-solved. Along with that all, the PML-N wants that the coalitiongovernment resolves the matter of

writing a letter rather than leaving itfor the caretaker prime minister todo so. However, the PPP seemed in-sistent on delaying the court orderswhile still staying open to any goodidea by PML-N in this regard, thesources revealed.

Moreover, the sources say thePML-N wants that the covert talksbetween the two parties should bemade formal and public. Thesources also claimed that the de-mand made by PML-N chief NawazSharif last week in this regard wasalso a part his strategy. After the

initial contacts made throughbackchannels and intermediaries,the next round of talks would beformal and are likely to be madepublic as demanded by PML-Nchief as the initial confidencebuilding measures (CBMs) hadprovided sound base for furthering

the negotiation process, thesources further claimed.

A source in the PML-N said thathis party wanted a midway to beadopted by the government to imple-ment the apex court order so as thecaretaker prime minister does notfind himself pitted between a rockand a hard place, facing no otherissue but holding transparent andfair elections. “We want the PPP-ledcoalition government to implementthe court order about writing the let-ter as the judiciary is quite deter-mined. We don’t want thegovernment to leave the matter forcaretaker prime minister. There is amidway – a commission could beformed under Article 187 of the con-stitution to write the letter to Swissauthorities. Registrar of the apexcourt may also do so. The chief jus-tice has already hinted that article190 would not be invoked to get thejob done with assistance from thearmed forces,” said the source, stat-ing that all such options may bringabout a solution to the letter issue.

CoNtINuEd oN PagE 04

Sunday, 22 July, 2012 Ramadan 2, 1433Rs 15.00 Vol III No 27 19 Pages

PAGE | 04 PAGE |09

Rahul Gandhi says hewants ‘proactive role’

in Indian politics

Barack Obama praises Muslim democracy-fighters

Politicians want strong democracy in Pakistan

Islamabad — Peshawar Edition

PAGE |19

PESHAWAR/QUETTASTAFF REPORT

At least 20 people, including six children, werekilled in separate attacks launched by suspectedmilitants across the country on Saturday.At least 13 people were killed and more than20 injured in two acts of terrorism in theSpeen Thal area of North Waziristan andDoog Dara area of Upper Dir. Condition ofseveral of the injured was stated to be critical

and officials feared the death toll could rise. Reports from North Waziristan Agency said a suicidebomber blew himself up with explosives packed in hisvest outside the main gate of a compound in SpeenThall, close to the border of Thall area of Hangu district.The explosion razed to ground various portions of thecompound run by Maulana Mohammad Nabi Hanfi, apro-government militant commander. Nabi survived theattack as he was not present inside the building.Officials in Miranshah, headquarter of NWA, said alarge number of people, including teenage boys, werepresent inside the compound when the bomber struck.At least nine people were killed and 16 others were leftinjured. The second terror act occurred in Upper Dirwhere a passenger van was targeted by militants with animprovised explosive device (IED). Officials said thepassenger van was on way to Sheringal from Shahkaasarea when it was hit by the IED near Doog Dara. Threepeople in the van were killed on the spot and a fourthsuccumbed to injuries before reaching the hospital. Sixinjured people were shifted to a hospital. No one hasclaimed responsibility for both terror acts. However,officials said the NWA suicide attack was the result ofrivalry between two militant groups, while the Talibancould be involved in the terror act in Upper Dir.Militants from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban PakistanSwat and Bajaur chapters have taken refuge in the Pak-Afghan border areas and have been launching deadlyattacks on security forces, pro-government tribal eldersand volunteers of peace lashkar in border regions ofUpper Dir from the last one year.

Gwadar attack Meanwhile, in insurgency-hit Balochistan’s Gwadardistrict, suspected Baloch militants gunned down sevenpersonnel of Pakistan Coast Guards, including a juniorcommissioned officer (JCO), while a civilian and threeother soldiers were injured in the attack.Per details, unidentified armed men in a car and twomotorcycles surrounded the checkpost of coast guardsin Pashookan area, 30kms west of Gwadar, on Saturdayafternoon when all men on duty were taking a nap.They barged into the room and opened indiscriminatefire on the personnel, killing seven guards on the spot.Three soldiers and a civilian worker who was paintingthe room got injured by the gunfire.The attackers made away with all the weapons andammunition of the deceased coast guards.Upon receiving information, heavy contingents ofPakistan Coast guards, Frontier Corps Balochistan andLevies Force rushed to the area from Gwadar.The dead and injured were shifted to hospitals in Gwader.The deceased workers were identified as Ghani Asif, SherAli, Riaz Ahmed, Akmal, Adnan, Shahbaz and AbdulSattar. Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Sohailur Rahmansaid the unidentified armed men first surrounded thecamp and later forced their way into the room to kill thesecurity personnel.He said all personnel were asleep at thetime of the attack and were shot at point blank.No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack,however banned outfit Baloch Liberation Front hasbeen carrying out such acts in Makran division.Authorities have rounded up over a dozen suspects forinterrogation. Gwadar, the port town that has seen aconstruction boom over the past decade as part ofPakistan’s plans to develop it with Chinese help, hasbeen left in the lurch due to the conflict betweenBaloch rebels and the government. Balochistan haslong suffered from Islamist militancy, sectarianviolence between Sunni and Shia Muslims and aseparatist insurgency which targets governmentofficials and security agencies.Baloch rebels have been up in arms since in 2004, whenthey started a low-key rebellion against the government,demanding political autonomy and a greater share ofprofits from the oil, gas and mineral resources in theregion. Another arm of the insurgency demandsabsolute secession from the federation.

Swiss letter onlythorny issue inPPP-PML-N deal

g 13 people, including six children,killed in two attacks in Kp

g Baloch militants gun downseven coast guards in Gwadar

g Negotiators mulling midway to resolve Swiss letter

row g Dialogue to enter formal, public phase soon

UPPER DIR: Paramedics treat an injured bomb blast victim at a hospital on Saturday. afp

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Govt’s wrong policies increasing external intervention: Fazl Hidden gems of Sri Lanka

Zardari for controllingprices in Ramadan

ISLaMaBad: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturdaydirected the chief ministers of the four provinces besidesGilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir to effectively controlthe prices of essential items during the holy month ofRamadan to facilitate the people. The president issuedthe directives through letters addressed to the chiefministers. “Prices of any commodity must not be allowedto be raised in the holy month,” he instructed. Hedirected the authorities concerned of urban as well asrural areas to strictly monitor the prices of essentialgoods. APP

Taliban lash men inpublic in Afghanistan PULI aLaM: Taliban militants lashed two men in publicon Saturday, witnesses and officials said, just weeks after avideo surfaced of a woman being executed for adulterybefore a crowd of cheering men. The men received 40 lasheseach with a leather whip in front of more than a hundredpeople in Shash Qala village of Charkh district in Logarprovince, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) south of the capitalKabul. They were arrested by Taliban insurgents while tryingto kidnap the son of a rich man three days earlier, Bashir, avillager, told AFP. “This morning, the Taliban called peopleon loudspeakers to gather and watch two men being lashedby them for trying to kidnap a 10-year old boy,” Bashir said.“They were lashed 40 times each by two armed Talibanwhose faces were covered.” Charkh district chief FarooqHumayun said the local administration was aware of theincident and an investigation was under way. A local Talibancommander in the area, who did not want to be named, toldAFP that they had carried out the punishment to establishsharia law in the country. Public punishments andexecutions were common when the Taliban regime was inpower from 1996 until 2001, when they were ousted by a US-led invasion and launched an insurgency against theWestern-backed government. Earlier this month, a horrificvideo showing the public execution of a 22-year-old womanwho was shot in the back in Parwan province just north ofKabul, allegedly by the Taliban, drew worldwidecondemnation. Afghan President Hamid Karzai this weekadmitted his administration was unable to deliver justice tothe people, despite decade-long international efforts torebuild the war-torn nation. “The reason that the people ofAfghanistan in the villages and across the countryside, (even)in the cities, still seek justice through the traditional methodis because the government neither has the ability to providethat justice nor can it be addressed on time,” he said.Because of corruption in the courts many Afghans prefertraditional justice systems, often local community councils,to settle their disputes. In parts of the country where Talibaninsurgents are most active, the villagers turn to the Taliban’sharsh interpretation of Islamic sharia law. AFP

LAHORE: Children reach out for dates as people broke their first fast of the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday. MURTaZa aLI

MONITORING DESK

Amysterious disease has killed morethan 40 peacocks over the courseof three days in the Thar desert,Geo News reported on Saturday.The channel said that the

mysterious disease in the peacocks wasdiscovered when 15 birds were killed in avillage near Islamkot. Locals said that afterbeing infected by the disease, the eyes of thepeacocks had popped out because of swellingand they died within 24 hours. The diseasehas now spread to several villages. Thesamples of the disease-inflicted peacockshave been sent to Karachi. The channel saidthat about eight to 10 peacocks a day arereportedly dying in areas of Kehri andIslamkot union councils in Tharparkardistrict. Bharumal Amrani who works forpreservation and protection of wildlife inThar said the number of blue peacocks foundonly in India and Thar was dropping each daydue to change in rainfall pattern, increase inhuman population and their anti-environment activities, illegal sale of eggs,

smuggling and the practice of keeping birdsas pets in bungalows and guesthouses inunfavorable conditions. He said the birds hadfallen victim to the mysterious disease thatattacked their throat in initial stages. Thethroat develops a small lump which growsbigger by the day until it bursts and a wormwriggles out of it. The bird first goes blindand then dies suddenly, he said. He said nosurvey of birds, especially of peacocks, hadever been carried out in Thar to count itspopulation. In the past, the birds’ numberhad fallen considerably in the wake of longspell of droughts and installation of electricpoles, he said. As the bird landed on electricalwires its heavy weight caused the wires toswerve downwards and contractother wires, causingelectrocution anddeath of birds,he said.

According to villagers, no Wildlife official hadvisited the area where peacocks are dying insuch large number of theunidentified disease.According to formernazim of Kehriunion council DostAli Wasepoto, scores ofpeacocks have died inKehri, Paluro, Moharioand other villages.

Mysterious disease onpeacock-killing spree in Sindhg Tens of birds dying each day but government oblivious to saving the rare species

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commeNt

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A common enemy demands a common strategy.

Humayun Gauhar says;Revenge with a vengeance: Pakistani politics is tying us up in knots.

Saad Rasool says;NA 151: Of the people, by the people…: You can have your drawing-room discussions; we’ll keep the votes.

M J Akbar says;Politics in the time of Olympics: Sports can teach us a lesson or two.

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Dark knight shooter called himself ‘The Joker’ Super Comrade Putin hits a homer! Bartoli survives another scare to advance

ISLAMABADAGENCIES

THE Awami National Party (ANP) has formallyexplained its opposition on the dual nationalitybill on Saturday when the party’s lawmakersmet Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf herein Islamabad.

In a meeting with the prime minister, the ANPdelegation, led by Senator Haji Adeel, shared theirstance of not being comfortable over the proposed leg-islation on dual nationality.

Senator Adeel himself described the party’s stance as

being based on “principles rather than politics”. “Theparty considers it a grave threat to the sovereignty of thestate if a foreign controversial figure gets into any of thehighest offices of the country.”

Earlier in the day, ANP pledged that it would not re-lent on its opposition to dual nationality bill before dis-patching a delegation to President Asif Ali Zardari andthe prime minister. During the meeting both the partiesagreed not to discuss the bill in either the lower or upperhouse of parliament.

The PM assured the delegation that he would do hisbest in resolving the issue as it was the first time ANP hadstrongly disagreed with the government. He also appre-

ciated ANP’s support. Sources added that ANP had alsoput forth a demand to enhance net hydel profits for Khy-ber-Pakhtunkhwa. On the question of allocation of devel-opment funds, the prime minister said that parity wouldbe observed in this regard. He underscored the impor-tance of completing the ongoing development schemes.He also assured them that the government would assistANP financially and technically in the Chashma rightbank canal, Lowari Tunnel in Chitral and Munda Dam inFata keeping in view their importance for agricultural, en-ergy and flood control.

The negotiations on the bill has been going on be-tween coalition partners in the central government with

MQM strongly supporting the bill while ANP and PML-F opposing it.

Earlier, the ANP had proposed some changes in thedraft bill which would have made it pretty much differentfrom the way the government wants it to be.

The ANP believes that a dual national cannot holdany important public office, including the offices of thepresident and prime minister, key posts in the military,judiciary, bureaucracy and other sensitive departments.

“We want an amendment to the bill barring dual na-tionals from holding important offices. We also want it tobe applicable to top civil bureaucrats of grade 21 and 22,”Haji Adeel added.

VEENA MALIkmakes rs 4 million fromshelved astaghfaar show

MONITORING DESK

Controversial actress Veena Malik reportedly earnedRs 4 million remuneration for acting in the promo

and a few recorded shows of Hero TV’s specialRamadan programme “Astaghfaar”, which hasbeen shelved due to public pressure. A newswebsite, News Tribe, claimed that Hero TV alsoincurred losses of millions of rupees on the shoot ofthe programme as five or six episodes had been

completed for transmission besides hugeexpenses of the staffers deputed in Dubai for

the show. Social media played an importantrole towards stoppage of the programme infew days, as the voices reached the Pakistan

Electronic Media Regulatory Authority whichdirected Hero TV management to stop the showpromo and avoid airing it in Ramadan. The websiteclaimed that the management has called upon theirstaff members from Dubai despite the fact that

they have spent huge money on the programme.

ANP shares reservations over dual nationality bill with PM

Eat what you can,when you canLaHOrE: “Pleasewait, it’s not timeyet,” the man keptyelling but to noavail as the jiyalas,attending an iftardinner in honour ofGovernor PunjabSardar Latif Khosaand SenatorJehangir Badar, hereat Lahore took to thefood already set ontables for them likethis going to be theirlast meal. Repeatedrequests to behavenicely fell to deafears as the attendeesof the event, makingquite a scene of thesituation, didn’t evencare for Azaan tobreak their fast andswept away thevarious dishes set forthem. So much forbeing civil in publicevents. STAFF REPORT

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MANILA: A woman holds a cross towards hostage taker Remer Parparan as he points an

icepick at 10-year-old Jason Pineda during a hostage taking incident on Saturday. The

three-hour incident ended after police officers restrained the hostage taker after which

the victim was taken to hospital. afp

KOLKATAAFP

Hundreds of sex workersfrom around the world whosaid they were denied visasto attend an internationalAIDS conference in theUnited States began theirown meeting in Kolkata onSaturday in protest.

Some 550 representa-tives of sex workers fromIndia and 41 other coun-tries were attending theseven-day event in theeastern Indian city, organ-isers said.

“Sex workers wanted to

be a part of the US confer-ence to fight the challengeof HIV/AIDS across theworld,” said Bharati De,secretary of the Committeefor Coordination of In-domitable Women, whichrepresents sex workers inKolkata.

India’s AIDS controlprogramme has cut newHIV/AIDS infections by 50percent in the last 10 years.The country has an esti-mated 2.4 million peoplewith HIV.

One of India’s keystrategies has been to scaleup preventive education

campaigns among high-risk groups such as sexworkers.

But despite the signifi-cant drop in fresh cases,India still has the highestnumber of people livingwith HIV after South Africaand Nigeria.

The Indian conferencehas been called the sexworkers’ “Freedom Festi-val”.

The Kolkata meetingwill deliberate on the“Seven Freedoms” — theright to move, work, haveaccess to healthcare, par-ticipate, organise, be free

of violence and discrimina-tion — without which sexworkers say they cannot re-duce their vulnerability toHIV.

“Sex workers have de-cided to hold a parallelconference here in Kolkatato make their voicesheard,” Smarajit Jana,chairwoman of the Indianevent, told AFP.

“We hope this confer-ence will make sex work-ers’ voices louder andstronger,” Jana said out-side the conference audito-rium on the eastern fringesof the West Bengal state

capital.Held every two years,

the International AIDSConference is returning tothe United States for thefirst time since 1990, afterbeing kept away by lawsthat barred people withHIV from travelling to thecountry. Some 25,000 peo-ple, including celebrities,scientists and HIV suffer-ers are expected to attendthe US conference whichopens on Sunday to call fora jumpstart in the globalresponse to the three-decade AIDS epidemic.

The US conference

runs until July 27. But “theUS government’s travel re-striction for sex workerswill bar many of them fromattending the conference,”Andrew Hunter, presidentof the Global Network ofSex Work Projects, said inKolkata. “With the US nowleading the fight for les-bian, gay and transgenderequality, we are extremelydisappointed they refuse torevise their restrictions onsex workers and refuse torecognise we’re human be-ings with basic rights,” headded.

Kolkata sex worker

Bharati De said she wasdisappointed she could notgo to Washington.

“The restrictions im-posed by the US on grant-ing visas to sex workershave dashed our hopes ofsharing our opinions withothers,” she told AFP.

More than 34 millionpeople worldwide are liv-ing with HIV, a highernumber than ever before,and around 30 millionhave died from AIDS-re-lated causes since the dis-ease first emerged in the1980s, according to UN-AIDS.

BOSTONAFP

AN Americansupporter of Al-Qaeda pleadedguilty Friday toplotting to bomb

the Pentagon and US Capitolusing remote-controlledmodel planes laden with ex-plosives.

Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, ad-mitted to to attempting toprovide material support toterrorists and attempting todamage and destroy federalbuildings by means of an ex-plosive.

Federal Judge RichardStearns accepted his plea

and set a final sentencinghearing for November 1.

According to his agree-ment with US prosecutors,Ferdaus will be sentenced to17 years in prison, followedby 10 years of probation. Inreturn for his guilty plea, thegovernment agreed to dropfour other charges againsthim. Ferdaus kept quiet dur-ing the one-hour hearing.Several relatives, includinghis parents, attended thesession.

Authorities describedFerdaus as an unmarriedphysics graduate fromBoston’s Northeastern Uni-versity. The Al-Qaeda sup-porter reportedly committed

himself to “violent jihad”early last year. He was ar-rested in September as partof a sting operation in whichFBI agents posed as mem-bers of Al-Qaeda.

During the investigation,Ferdaus described to under-cover agents his step-by-stepplan of attack, Assistant Dis-trict Attorney StephanieSiegmann said. The prosecu-tor said Ferdaus told theagents he planned to use air-craft filled with grenadesand mobile phone-activatedexplosives to bring about the“downfall of this disgustingplace,” the United States.

Ferdaus was also ac-cused of modifying mobile

phones for use as switches inbombs to kill US soldiers inIraq and to having given thedevices to FBI agents “he be-lieved were members of orrecruiters for Al-Qaeda.”

A white Playboy bunnygraced the tail end of one ofthree model planes filledwith C4 plastic explosives,slated to hit the Pentagon orblow the Capitol’s dome “tosmithereens,” he was quotedas saying in court files.

According to the originalcomplaint, when told —falsely — that one of hisphones had been part of abomb that killed three sol-diers, Ferdaus said: “Thatwas exactly what I wanted.”

US al Qaeda supporter

admits to model plane plot

Sex workers denied US visa hold their own aIDS conference

Other than the letter, othermajor issue to be settled informal talks between boththe parties is to set the tim-ing for the next general elec-tions.

“The leadership of alliedparties is pushing the PPPleadership not to agree forearly elections as there aregrim chances of their win inthe next elections. Whilst,the PML-N leadership wantsearly polls – anytime be-tween mid September to midNovember this year as theholy month of Muharram isgoing to start around No-vember 20,” said anothersource in the PPP privy tothe details of the talks andthe backchannel contacts be-tween both major parties.The source said that duringthe formal talks, probablystarting next week, SenatorIshaq Dar would be leadingdelegation from the PML-Nwhile Religious Affairs Min-ister Khursheed Shah wouldhead the PPP team.

The source said that thePML-N had conceded thatthe president and the fourgovernors would remain un-changed while it was alsoagreed that the appointmentof caretaker prime ministerand the four chief ministerswould also be made by thepresident in consultationwith the PML-N. “The presi-dent is an elected head ofstate and we understand thathe has to stay. Moreover, wealso agree that governors areappointed by the head of thestate and this is his preroga-tive to appoint governors.But we do want consultationon caretaker prime ministerand chief ministers,” saidthe PML-N leader.

The source said thatboth the parties had agreedprincipally that no incum-bent prime minister or chiefministers would continueworking in the caretakersetup; rather than that, onlynon-controversial individu-als would be appointed.“Moreover, both the parties

have agreed that no “im-ported” individual would beappointed as prime ministerunder pressure from anyquarter(s) like was the caseof Moeen Qureshi. The care-taker prime minister wouldnot send reference againstany politician to the NABunder corruption charges for“witch hunting” during thenext polls.

The PPP leader said thatthe heads of allied parties, es-pecially the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Quiad and AwamiNational Party, were puttingpressure on President Asif AliZardari to complete the termof the parliament and holdelections on time.

“We want to hold elec-tions in February next yearas we have to honour the re-quest of our allies who havestood by the government inhard times,” said the source,adding that the PML-N lead-ership should also under-stand the compulsion of thePPP who could not ditch itsallies.

Swiss letter

NEWS DESK

The scion of India’s Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has beenwidely tipped as a future primeminister and is initially ex-pected to take over as defenceminister.

“I will play a more proac-tive role in the party and thegovernment. The decision hasbeen taken, the timing is up tomy two bosses – the Congresspresident and the prime min-ister,” he said.

Mr Gandhi, 42, who is theson, grandson and great-grandson of Indian leaders, isseen as the Congress party’shope for the future, especiallyafter recent election set backs.

However, he headed Con-gress’s unsuccessful campaignin Uttar Pradesh state polls inMarch. The party won just 28of the 403 seats at stake for thestate’s legislative assembly,when they had been hoping for

over 100 seats.On Wednesday, Sonia

Gandhi, Congress leader, saidit was up to her son to decideon taking up a bigger role.

Janardan Dwivedi, theCongress spokesman, hailedMr Gandhi’s commitment as a“welcome step” for Congress,which leads a coalition govern-ment but has been strugglingto contain inflation, fiscaldeficit, sliding growth and astring of corruption scandals.

“We will be very happy ifRahul Gandhi takes on somemore responsibility and it willbe a very welcome step,” MrDwivedi said in a statement,adding it was up to the party tooffer a political berth or an of-ficial post to Gandhi.

Veerappa Moily, the cor-porate affairs minister, re-sponded with equalenthusiasm.

“This is a time when we re-quire the enthusiastic and pas-

sionate youth leader to take agreater role not only in politicsbut also governance of thiscountry,” Mr Moily said.

The development followsurgings by Law MinisterSalman Khurshid for MrGandhi to take a greater polit-ical role.

“Until now we have onlyseen cameos of his thought,”Mr Khurshid said earlier thismonth. “But today we need anideology to be given by ournext-generation leader RahulGandhi to move forward. Wehave to be clear about what wewant to go ahead with in thenext elections,” he added.

With Prime MinisterManmohan Singh expectedto stand down at the end ofhis current term, MrGandhi’s actions are beingclosely watched for signs thathe will lead the Congressparty into the next generalelection, due in 2014.

wildlife NGo drops Spain king as patron over huntingMadrId: The wildlife charity WWF dropped Spain’s Juan Carlos as honorary patron of itsSpanish branch Saturday because of an elephant-hunting trip he made to Botswana, thegroup said. “The members of WWF Spain voted today in a general meeting to end theposition of honorary president, held until now by King Juan Carlos, from the statutes of theorganisation,” it said in a statement published online. It said the decision was prompted bycomplaints over the April hunting trip, which came to light when the king was rushed homefor emergency surgery after breaking his hip. With Spaniards suffering in a recession, the kinggot little public sympathy for his injury and a wave of criticism prompted him to apologisewhen he emerged on crutches from hospital. Three months later, WWF in Spain, which hashad the king as its honorary figurehead since its founding in 1968, said it decided that theelephant hunt was bad for its image. “Although this type of hunt is legal and regulated, manymembers considered it incompatible with the honorary presidency of an internationalorganisation for the defence of nature and the environment,” the WWF said. AFP

Rahul Gandhi says he wants

‘proactive role’ in Indian politicsCoNtINuEd fRom PagE 1

Syria chemicalweapons movedbefore wideroffensive: defector

HACIPASAAGENCIES

A senior Syrian militarydefector said President Basharal-Assad’s forces were movingchemical weapons across thecountry for possible use in amilitary retaliation for thekilling of four top securityofficials. “The regime hasstarted moving its chemicalstockpile and redistributing itto prepare for its use,” saidGeneral Mustafa Sheikh, citingrebel intelligence obtained inrecent days. “They are movingit from warehouses to newlocations,” he told Reuters inan interview in southernTurkey, close to the Syrianborder. “They want to burn thecountry. The regime cannot fallwithout perpetrating a sea ofblood.” Syria’s 16-monthconflict has been transformedsince Wednesday, when abomb killed four members ofAssad’s narrow circle of kinand lieutenants, including hispowerful brother-in-law,defence minister andintelligence chief. Sheikh’scomments could not beindependently verified andSyria has denied any suchmove. Western and Israeliofficials, concerned thatchemical stockpiles could fallinto the hands of militants, saida week ago that Syria appearedto be shifting weapons fromstorage sites, but it was notclear whether the operationwas a security precaution or apreparation for deployment.

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05

ISLAMABADONLINE

THE auditor general ofPakistan has revealed ir-regularities of more thanRs 962 million on accountof non-realization of pe-

troleum levy on sale of petroleumproducts in the Ministry of Petroleumand Natural Resources.

According to the Audit Report for2012, it has been exposed that the di-rector general neither monitored theassessment nor collected full amountof petroleum levy from Byco PakistanLtd Karachi on the quantity sold tothem during different period, whichresulted into non realization of petro-leum levy of Rs 962.885 million.

The report said according to Sec-tion 3 of the petroleum products ordi-

nance, every licensee shall pay a de-velopment levy at such rates and insuch manner as the federal govern-ment.

According to section 3-A of thepetroleum products ordinance 1961and notification issued by the DG/OGRA petroleum levy is to be col-lected at the rates notified therein,while contrary to it, the DG oil did notfully monitored the collection processthat resulted into loss of millions ofrupees to the national exchequer.

The audit report further disclosedthat the director general petroleumconcessions did not recover royalty ofRs 200.093 million from explorationand production companies.

According to the regulation of themines, oilfields and mineral develop-ment (Government control) Act 1948read with rule 36 of the Pakistan Pe-

troleum rules 1986, holder of a leaseshall pay royalty @ 12.5 percent of thewellhead value of the petroleum pro-duced and saved.

A departmental committee wasalso constituted to see the issue andcommittee also unanimously agreedthat royalty on LPG was payable onsale value, however, violating allrules, an amount of Rs 200 millionwas not recovered, resulting in loss tothe national exchequer.

Besides, the director general pe-troleum concessions had not recov-ered license rent of Rs 115.591 millionfrom certain exploration and produc-tion companies in respect of licenseheld by them for their fields. It ismandatory for any license holder topay the government annually in ad-vance rents, as prescribed in the Pak-istan petroleum rules.

AGPR exposes Rs 962mirregularities in non-realisationof petroleum levy

SWATHAROON SIRAJ

Students excelled in intermediateexaminations as the Board of Inter-mediate and Secondary Education(BISE) Swat declared the resultslate Friday evening.

A ceremony was organised forthe announcement of top nine posi-tions. Students from the Govern-ment Degree College Mingoragrabbed top 9 positions in the inter-mediate examination 2012. RizwanMunir secured 985 marks out of1100 and topped BISE Swat, whileSooda Shah of the Tipu ModelSchool and College with 978 markssecured second position. ZeeshanAhmad Khan of Government De-gree College Mingora succeeded insecuring third position with 974marks .

In pre-medical (female), SoodaShah of Tipu Model School and Col-

lege bagged the highest position bysecuring 978 marks while AsmaKhan of Swat Public School and Col-lege Mingora secured 965 marks toclinch second position. SyedaFarheen Nasir of Swat Public Schooland College Mingora was the thirdposition holder as she bagged 959marks.

In pre-medical (male) RizwanMunir of Government Degree Col-lege Mingora stood first by securing985 marks while MuhammadZeehsan Ahmad Khan of the sameinstitution secured second positionby scoring 974 marks. Hassan Zeb ofSwat Public School and CollegeMingora Swat secured third positionby scoring 972 marks.

In pre-engineering (female)Shafaq of Swat Public School andCollege Mingora stood first securing894 marks, Kawal Wahab of thesame institution bagged second po-sition by getting 777 marks and Soni

Bibi of Government Degree CollegeMingora stood third by securing 772marks.

In pre-engineering (male) AdilPoshad Khan of Government DegreeCollege Mingora topped by securing964 marks and Zia Ullah of the sameinstitution bagged second positionby getting 962 marks. Numan Malikand Muhammad Asad khan of Gov-ernment Degree College Mingorabagged third positions each by se-curing 961 marks. In the humanitiesgroup, Saida Hussain, a private can-didate clinched the top position byscoring 822 marks and the secondposition was grabbed by DawoodKhan, another private candidate,with 784 marks while Issa Bushra ofGovernment Degree College Kanjugot the third position by securing777 marks.

Overall, BISE intermediate ex-amination the passing percentageremained 63%.

Afghan couple seekingsecurity lands in jailMaNSEHra: A newly marriedcouple from Afghanistan, seekingshelter and security from Pakistaniauthorities, ended up Darul Aman andJail after being arrested by police onarrival in Pakistan. The girl was sentto Darul Aman while the man waslocked up in Mansehra Jail underforeign act. No one knows when thecouple would reunite. The couple saidthat they were attacked as the news oftheir marriage reached Kabul and theywere left with no alternative but toseek protection in Pakistan. INP

Govt’s wrong policiesincreasing externalintervention: Fazl

LaHOrE: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl(JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman onSaturday said wrong policies of the PPP-ledcoalition government had mounted externalaggression and interference in the country.Talking to reporters, Fazl said the presentgovernment was following the footsteps ofthe former dictator, as the rulers bowedbefore their foreign masters time and again.He said corruption, poor law and order andprice hike had made life miserable for thepeople. Fazl condemned the restoration ofNATO supplies and called it an insult toparliament. He added that the rulers hadsold the nation for a few dollars. The JUI-Fchief said the country had been passingthrough difficult situation as it had beenfacing a number of crises and there was adire need to take initiatives to bring thecountry out of the crises. Stressing upon theimportance and significance of the blessingsof Holy Month of Ramadan, he said thenation should bow before Allah Almighty toget rid of corrupt rulers. He advised thenation to keep fasting in Ramazan and prayfive times a day for the imposition of Quranand Islamic laws in the country. ONLINE

Bomb explodesin empty plotPESHawar: A bomb exploded in anempty plot in Pushtakhera, in theoutskirts of Peshawar on Saturday. Therewas no loss of life or property. Accordingto police sources, the bomb exploded witha big bang in a vacant plot at Ali Sherzaiin the vicinity of Pushtakhera policestation. The indigenous bomb weighedone kilogramme, police said. INP

Boys dominate BISE Swat intermediate examinations

PESHAWAR: People buy dates on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. INp

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 5

Sunday, 22 July, 2012

seheR

IftaR 07:06

fIqah-e-hanfI fIqah-e-jafRIa

03:37 seheR

IftaR 07:16

03:27

RaMadan BazaaRs ReMaIn unaPPealInG,UTILITY STORES CLOSED!

ISLAMABADONLINE

dESPITE tall claims, the city districtgovernment has failed to make Ra-madan bazaars functional in the city.Reportedly, July 18 deadline was givento the administration to make all the

Ramazan bazaars functional, but sale of flour was en-sured only by the administration on that day andfailed to ensure the sale of all commodities in severalbazaars, including Nawaz Sharif Park, HaideriChowk and Committee Chowk.

Although the administration had decided to setup total 14 Ramadan bazaars in Rawalpindi districtto provide relief to the consumers during Ramadan,

no solid measures were taken to make the bazaarsfunctional.

The Rawal Town TMA had displayed banners ofsasta bazaars in Liaquat Bagh Model Bazaar, but itfailed to attract consumers due to unavailability of allkitchen items like sugar, grains, basin, meat,chicken, onion, potatoes, ghee and other products ofdaily use.

ISLAMABADINP

Small tobacco growers said on Satur-day that the federal government’sTobacco Board that had been cap-tured by tobacco industry and big to-bacco growers were exploiting them,but they had no alternative but togrow this crop.

This was stated by Kashtkaar Co-ordination Council Secretary GeneralLiaqat Yousufzai while addressing apress conference, organised by TheNetwork for Consumer Protection,an NGO working for tobacco control,

Speaking on the occasion, TheNetwork Executive Director NadeemIqbal said that the federal govern-ment was adopting double standardsby having toothless Tobacco ControlCell to control tobacco use and, onthe other, having Pakistan TobaccoBoard for tobacco promotion underthe guise of protecting small farmers’interest. He said Pakistan had signedand ratified international publichealth treaty with the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), The Frame-work Convention on Tobacco Control(FCTC) in 2004.

“Article 17 and 18 of FCTC obligeparties to treaties to adopt sustain-able alternatives to tobacco crop andmeasures for the protection of envi-ronment and health of people,” headded.

Pakistan had a deadline to adoptand introduce FCTC guidelines byFebruary 2010, but, ostensibly,under the tobacco industry’s pres-sure, Pakistan has convenientlymissed the important deadline.

Speakers at the press conference

condemned the recent statements ofan official of Pakistan TobaccoBoard, saying that there was no am-biguity in FCTC and the governmentshould realise that tobacco wasadding a lot to the disease burdenthat could not be borne by the mea-ger budgetary allocations for health.

“The country is paying the worsthuman health and environmentalcost of tobacco cultivation. Tobacco-related annual deforestation in Pak-istan is more than 20% and humanhealth cost is increasing due to thegrowing tobacco-related sicknessesin tobacco farmers’ community. Pak-istan needs to comply with obliga-

tions to FCTC by understanding thehuman factor associated with to-bacco farming. Severe health threatsto tobacco farmers include bladdercancer and irritant and allergic skindisorders and green tobacco sicknessare commonly observed in tobaccogrowers’ community in Pakistan.Also the cumulative seasonal expo-sure to nicotine equivalent to smok-ing goes by at least 180 cigarettes,”they said.

They added 16 applications ofpesticides were recommended duringthree-month tobacco growing periodthat caused respiratory, nerve skinand kidney damage in tobacco farm-

ers.On the other hand, child labour

in tobacco farming remains a blatantviolation of fundamental humanrights by tobacco industry. “Childrenas young as 5 years old are involvedin tobacco farming and are move vul-nerable to poisoning from pesticides,fertilizers and other injuries. Pak-istan is bound under United NationsConvention on the Rights of TheChild and International Labour Or-ganisation Convention to take imme-diate and effective action to prohibitand eliminate child labour,” they ob-served.

Hazrat Jamal, another farmer,said that tobacco cultivation islabour intensive and all the membersof a family are involved in its cultiva-tion and drying in furnace. Ashfaq,Programme Manager, CommunityDevelopment Organisation (CDO)working with tobacco growers for al-ternative tobacco crop, says that tun-nel farming is the answer as under ita farmer can cultivate throughout theyear and his whole family is also in-volved.

He also said that raising supportprice for tobacco is not an answer tothe issue as raising price will givemore incentive to farmers to grow to-bacco which jeopardize the food se-curity as farmer will not be growingwheat or vegetable.

Tobacco growers of Sawabi (Khy-ber Pakhtunkhwa) urged the govern-ment to devise and support global,national and local funding mecha-nisms to assist tobacco farmers to re-duce their economic reliance ontobacco and move toward healthy al-ternatives to tobacco crop.

g Small growers demand alternatives to tobacco crop g allege tobacco board and big farmers are exploiting them

What should they grow, if not tobacco?

Trains?What trains?rawaLPINdI: Prolonged delay in arrivaland departure of trains at various railwaystations of the country continued to irk thepassengers on Saturday.According to details, Jaffer Expressingcoming from Quetta scheduled at8:45am arrived at station 11:45amwhile Karachi Express due at 12pm wasdelayed for three hours.On the other hand Karachi-Lahore Ex-press reached destination at 5:15pmwith nine hours delay, Karrkurram Ex-press with two hours delay, AllamaIqbal Express at 7:30pm with sevenhours delay and Tezgam at 4:45pmwith more than two hours delay.The passengers including women, chil-dren, patients and elderly people hadto wait for hours due to delay in arrivaland departure of trains. They also com-plained of rough attitude of railwaystaff and not providing correct infor-mation to the public. STAFF REPORT

Talented Gilgit girlmakes it to London

School of EconomicsISLAMABAD

APP

Munira Shaheen, a brilliant student, seems tohave set an example that movers and shakerscan emerge from the grassroots level by striv-ing sincerely and passionately for the setgoal. Belonging to Daynor, a backward villageof Gilgit, Munira has won the LSE Master’sAward 2012-13 for MSc in anthropology anddevelopment from the prestigious LondonSchool of Economics and Political Science.Munira who is currently doing her Masters inProject Management (MPM) from ShaheedZulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science andTechnology (SZABIST), Islamabad campus,was selected for the programme on the basisof her brilliant academic record and servicesat the community level for promotion of edu-cation. Belonging to a poor family, MuniraShaheen faced great hardships in getting ed-ucation as her parents could not afford theexpenses. In spite of all hardships, she man-aged to complete her bachelor degree whilesimultaneously teaching poor children of herbackward village. Munira then joined anNGO in her region and continued working inmore organised manner to promote educa-tion and raise awareness among the illiteratecommunity members. “Things are nowchanging as people are realising vitality of ed-ucation and sending their children to school,”she said. Her job with the NGO enabled Mu-nira to pursue a master’s degree at SZABIST.“While surfing internet one day, I cameacross the LSE award which I applied for on-line and after the due process of evaluationand assessment, I got selected on merit,” shesaid. She urged the youth to never lose hopeand continue struggling with determination.

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 6

07Sunday, 22 July, 2012

Islamabad

ISLAMABADAPP

THE authorities concernedof the provinces have beenasked to ensure 100 per-cent coverage during everypolio immunisation drive.

According to an official of thePolio Eradication Programme, theprovinces have also been directed toreach every child to protect him fromthe crippling disease. He said over 34

million children received anti-poliodrops during the last three-day na-tional polio immunisation campaignacross the country. He added 77,628house-to-house vaccination teams,5,702 transit vaccination teams onbusy bus and railway stations, air-ports, bazaars and 9,702 fixed vacci-nation posts were set up for the drive.

He said a total of 16,914 area in-charges and 3,178 union council in-charges supervised the vaccinationteams. The WHO and UNICEF dis-

trict and union council level staffhave provided assistance for monitor-ing activities in close collaborationwith local authorities, he said.

He said that under the augmentedplan, the government is getting sup-port of parliamentarians, media per-sons and ulema to address the issueslike refusal of parents to get their chil-dren vaccinated and low coverage ofvaccination in some areas. He furthersaid the plan guaranteed achieving fulloversight, ownership and accountabil-

ity for anti-polio programme perform-ance at each administrative level, be-sides ensuring adequate preparationsfor anti-polio campaigns. He claimedthe government was committed to im-plementing the emergency plan in truespirit, especially at union council levelof each district.

He said that collective efforts ofthe government, development part-ners, local communities and mediacould help alleviate the sufferings ofall children.

ancient bridge

in Dhoke Juma

about to fall!RAWALPINDI

ONLINE

A 100-year-old bridge in the DhokeJumma area of Cantonment BoardRawalpindi is posing a serious threat. The residence of the area said that thebridge was over 100-year old and hadexceeded its usual age.The bridge is also used for heavy traf-fic putting lives of the people at risk.Its reconstruction is the need of thehour for security of people, the resi-dents said.Meanwhile, an electricity pole erectedin the middle of Dhoke Juma on amud dune by Wapda is also a sourceof concern for the residents of thearea.The residents have appealed to the Can-tonment Board and WAPDA to recon-struct the old bridge and take care of theloose electricity pole.

Security barriersremoved from outside hi-fi hotels

ISLAMABADONLINE

The enforcement department of theCapital Development Authority (CDA)has removed obstructions and securitybarriers erected in front of five-starhotels of the capital.The staff of the enforcement direc-torate, led by Deputy DirectorMuhammad Sanaullah, removed theblocks erected in front of MarriottHotel, Serena Hotel and IslamabadHotel and opened the road and foot-paths for use by the general public.These blocks were erected at the en-trance points of these hotels in view ofsecurity concern.The blocks created many hurdles for

the general public as well as com-muters and hampered the smooth flowof traffic.The blocks have been removed for theconvenience of the public with the co-operation and nod of the hotel admin-istrations.

No water inSector G-8-1

ISLAMABADONLINE

Acute shortage of water has hit SectorG-8-1 due to nonfunctional tube-wells,creating serious problems for the resi-dents of the sector.The residents do not have water forcleaning utensils or drinking. The resi-dents of Cabinet Block, FIA and KarachiFlats have complained several times thattube-well No 210 has not been function-ing for six days, but no person has comefor its repair.The residents have appealed to the au-thorities concerned to take immediatenotice of the nonfunctional tube-welleven during Ramadan and ensure its re-pair so that the masses are providedwith some relief.

no matter what it takes, eRadICate POlIO!g Provinces asked to ensure 100 percent coverage

RAWALPINDISTAFF REPORT

In every three minutes, one per-son develops an eye disease inPakistan while a very small num-ber has access to affordable andquality health services, the of ahospital said Al-Shifa Trust EyeHospital President Lt-Gen (r)

Hamid Javaid.Spike in eye diseases has now

reached the proportions of epi-demic raising new challenges, hesaid, adding 170,000 people hadlost sight while the total numberof the blind in Pakistan had ex-ceeded three million. Majority ofpeople in Pakistan had curableblindness while 80 per cent of

blindness could be avoidedthrough prevention or treatment,he pointed out.

He said: “We have providedeye-care facilities to six millionpeople through four hospitals inRawalpindi, Sukkur, Kohat andMuzaffarabad. At Al-Shifa, we pro-vide facilities that match the facil-ities in the state-of-the-art

hospitals in America and India.We are imparting training to 100paramedics and arranging special-isation for twenty doctors besidesproviding free treatment to half amillion people every year.”

“Prevention and control ofblindness by providing standardand sustainable eye care serviceswhich are accessible to all regard-

less of gender, race, colour or reli-gion is our basic aim,” he stated.

Blindness is one of the majorhealth problems in Pakistan drain-ing both its human and economicresources, said Hamid Javaid,adding that Pakistan needs moreassistance to make medical treat-ment available to the people suf-fering from optical diseases.

ISLAMABADONLINE

Federal Minister Wajahat Hussainhas said that the Employers OldAge Benefits Institution (EOBI), awelfare organisation, is doing itslevel best to bring about positivechanges in the lives of workingcommunity of industrial and com-mercial organisations.

While speaking at the conclud-ing session of a conference of theEOBI’s regional heads, he askedthem to have access to the grass-roots’ level to achieve the goals ofthe institution.

He said the EOBI was basically

a welfare institution for the work-ing class which provided financialsupport to the workers of industrialand commercial establishments.

He said the government hadtaken revolutionary steps for em-ployees and EOBI pensioners. Theminimum pension had been raisedfrom Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,600 permonth, he added.

Speaking on the occasion,EOBI Chairman Zafar Iqbal Gondaldirected the regional heads to per-sonally visit the field, inform theemployees of the benefits of thescheme and convince them to gettheir units registered with theEOBI.

WASA demands 28more tube-wells rawaLPINdI: The Water and Sanitation Depart-ment (WASA) has moved a summary to the Punjabgovernment for installation of 28 new tube-wells toensure sufficient supply of water.At least 11 out of the 28 tube-wells would be installedfrom the grants of MNAs, MPAs and the Rawal TownTMA and 12 from the budget earmarked last yearwhile the remaining five would be installed from thecurrent budget.According to the WASA, 50 new personnel, includingvalve men, tube-well operators, heavy duty driversand motor technical staff would also be inducted formaking these tube-wells functional.The summary in this regard has been forwarded to thePunjab government after approval by the WASA gov-erning board.It’s hoped that the planned tube-wells would becomeoperational and vacant posts would be filled beforethe next summer. ONL INE

In the next 3 minutes, one more person will catch an eye diseaseg al-Shifa chief says 80pc of blindness can be avoided through prevention or treatment

‘EOBI will changepeople’s lives forever’

SCRUMPTIOUS! People buy dates from a stall as the first fast concluded on Saturday. ONLINE

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 7

08 Sunday, 22 July, 2012

Islamabad

low

High

moNDay tueSDay weDNeSDay35°c i 27°c 32°c i 26°c 31°c i 26 °c

Prayer timiNGSfajr Sunrise zuhr asr maghrib isha

03:35 05:12 12:14 15:58 19:15 20:53

city Directory

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reScue 1122

Hilal-e-aHmer 9250488

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IT'S SuMMER AGAIN!

it's the summer again & kuch khaas is back with all things awesome!

June 18th - July 31st.

for more details call 051-8357483

DRuMMING CIRCLE

Date aND time: 05:00 Pm, weekly eVeNtVeNue: tHe ceNtre for artS & culture

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TREK TO SNOW LAKE AND HISPAR PASS

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Date: July 07 to 21, 2012VeNue: iSlamabaD airPort

ISLAMABADAG E N C I E S

STOP getting annoyed by thatpatch of grey hair on yourscalp as a new study hasfound that it could be a signof healthy body. “Spanish sci-

entists who studied wild boars foundthat having grey hair and a rather griz-zled look could actually be a sign thatyou have a long and healthy life aheadof you,” the `Daily Mail` reported. The scientists said gray hair which re-sults from absence of melanin seemedto be a mark of good health in wildboars.

“As with human hair, wild boarsshow hair graying all across their bodyfur,” Galvan said. “But we found thatboars showing hair graying were actu-ally those in prime condition and withthe lowest levels of oxidative damage,”he said.

Scientists, however, said that being aredhead could make one more suscepti-ble to illness an observation found inwild boar populations.

According to the report published inthe current issue of the journal, Physio-logical and Biochemical Zoology, wildboars with reddish coats have more celldamage than more mundanely colouredwild pigs.

They say the reason is that the pro-duction of red pigment uses up an an-tioxidant that could otherwise destroythe free radicals that damage cells.

In humans, studies have found thatred hair and red pigments ormelanins, in skin are l inked to higherrates of cancer.

“Given that all higher vertebrates,including humans, share the same typesof melanins in skin, hair and plumage,these results increase our scant current

knowledge on the physiological conse-quences of pigmentation,” said lead re-searcher Ismael Galvan of the MuseoNacional de Ciencias Naturales in Spain.

The researchers looked at two typesof melanin, the pigment that gives ourhair and skin its colour.

Galvan and his colleagues wanted toknow whether producing red hair wouldeat up an antioxidant GSH, leaving thebody`s cells more vulnerable to free

radicals.They found that the more pheome-

lanin a boar had in its fur, the morelikely it was to have less GSH in themuscle cells and more oxidative stress.

“This suggests that certain col-orations may have important conse-quences for wild boars. Pheomelaninresponsible for chestnut colorationsmay make animals more susceptible tooxidative damage,” said Galvan.

BEEF UP tHE PrOtEIN: Protein richfoods, such as lean meat, soy, wholegrains, eggs, and cereals not only helpyou in maintaining long strands ofhealthy black hair, but they also give yourhair a natural shine and smooth texture.

Eat FOOdS tHat arE rIcH IN VItaMINS, MINEraLS aNd IrON:Food items, such as green leafy vegetables,tomatoes, bananas and cauliflower willhelp in preventing and treating prematuregreying of hair. It can show wonderful re-sults for healthy hair growth as well.

aMLa: Amla is an excellent remedy forgrey hair when mixed in coconut oil andapplied to your scalp on a regular basis.Best would be to boil some dried amlapieces in coconut oil and let it standovernight. Apply this oil to your hair forspeedy treatment of grey hair. If you wantyou can grate some ginger and honey inthis mixture too.

tHE BLack tEa rEMEdY: Make onecup of black tea without adding milk to itand add one tablespoon of salt to thismixture. Now massage the lukewarm teaon your head, making sure that your hairroots are nicely nourished. Let the mix-ture stay on your hair for at least half anhour.

HENNa POwdEr: can come to yourrescue. Make a paste with henna powder,yogurt, methi seeds, coffee, basil juiceand mint juice and boil it nicely. Let the mixture stand overnight beforeyou apply it on your hair. Wash your hairwith shampoo in about 3 hours for natu-ral black hair colour.

MaSSaGE YOUr ScaLP wItH cOcONUt OIL: Boil one cup of coconutoil. Add hibiscus leaves, almond oil andmethi powder to the mixture. Cool andstrain and keep it in a glass jar to apply atleast 3-4 times in a week.

Grey hair a siGn of Good health

HOME REMEDIESFOR GREY HAIR

HAIRTURNINGGREY?THATMEANSYOU AREHEALTHY!

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 8

09Sunday, 22 July, 2012

Foreign News

DAMASCUSAFP

HEAVY clashes betweentroops and rebels ragedinto a second day inSyria’s second cityAleppo on Saturday, ac-

tivists said, while a tense calm reigned inDamascus after days of fierce fighting.

The fighting in Aleppo came a dayafter the UN Security Council votedunanimously to grant a “final” 30-dayextension to a troubled observer missioncharged with overseeing a tattered peaceplan for Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for HumanRights said that in Aleppo “battles havebeen ongoing since Friday morning be-tween regular forces and fighters fromrebel units in the Salaheddin neighbour-hood.”

The clashes appeared to be spread-ing by early afternoon, the group said.

“Violent clashes are taking place be-

tween Syrian regime forces and rebelfighters in the Sakhur neighbourhoodand the Haydariya area,” it said, addingtroops were “using heavy machine gunsand shelling.”

The Local Coordination Committees— a grassroots activist network — re-ported “an exodus of residents of the(Salaheddin) neighbourhood because offear of regime bombardment and an of-fensive.” The fighting is the worst yet inthe northern commercial hub, which hadbeen largely spared from the protestsand violence that have accompanied thecountry’s 16-month uprising againstPresident Bashar al-Assad.

On Friday, activists said troops hadopened fire on demonstrators in the city,killing at least one person.

In Damascus, a day after regimeforces launched a major counter-offen-sive to retake rebel-held areas, residentsreported the city was largely calm.

But the Britain-based Observatorysaid the army had bombarded the Al-

Kaddam and Assali neighbourhoods onthe southern outskirts overnight, andresidents reported fighting in the Al-Hajar Al-Aswad and Tadamon districts.

A resident of the Yarmuk Palestinianrefugee camp, on the outskirts of thecapital, said he had not left sinceWednesday.

“It’s dangerous to leave the camp be-cause there are snipers posted at the en-trance and they shoot at any gathering.”

The Observatory also reported gov-ernment forces were shelling several dis-tricts of the rebel city of Homs, includingKhaldiyeh, and said fighting was ongo-ing in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.

Clashes in Syria’s Aleppo,

tense calm in Damascus

BrIJUNI ISLaNd: UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Saturday that Syrianauthorities have “manifestly failed” to protect civilians and called on theinternational community to act to stop the violence. “The Syrian government hasmanifestly failed to protect civilians and the international community has acollective responsibility to live up to the UN charter and act on its principles,” Bansaid during a visit to Croatia’s Brijuni Island as part of a week-long Balkans tour.Ban added that he was “deeply distressed by the rising death toll and the numberof people forced to flee their homes” as heavy clashes between troops and rebelsraged in Syria’s second city Aleppo Saturday, according to activists. AFP

Syrian government is not

protecting civilians: Ban

kHOGANI: Afghan National Army soldiers inspect the wreckage of a car destroyed by a roadside bomb in Nangarhar province on Saturday. AFP

AURORAAFP

Bomb squad experts will try Saturday toenter a gunman’s booby-trapped apartment,hours after a late-night vigil for the 12 killedin a US cinema massacre that also injured70.

Hundreds of mourners held candles,many sobbing and hugging each other in anoutpouring of grief for those who died whenthe gunman opened fire in a packed cinemashowing Batman movie “The Dark KnightRises.”

The shooting drew expressions of con-cern from political leaders led by PresidentBarack Obama, and revived the perennialdebate about gun control in the UnitedStates.

On Saturday, Obama promised justice tothe residents of Aurora, Colorado, saying:“The federal government stands ready to do

everything necessary to bring whoever’s re-sponsible for this heinous crime to justice.”

He said the government “will take everystep possible” to ensure the safety of allAmericans.

Bomb squad experts had been trying formuch of the day Friday to gain entrance tothe apartment since shortly after the shoot-ing in the town of Aurora just outside Den-ver. But they gave up shortly beforesundown, and said they would resume againSaturday, when they hope to make a break-through that could also reveal clues as themotives of 24-year-old gunman JamesHolmes.

“It is a very vexing problem how to enterthat apartment safely. I personally havenever seen anything like what the picturesshow us is in there. I’m a layman when itcomes to bomb stuff, said Aurora police chiefDan Oates. “I see an awful lot of wires, tripwires, jars full of ammunition, jars full of liq-

uid. Some things that look like mortarrounds. We have a lot of challenge, to get inthere safely.”

Late Friday the town gathered for twovigils, including a midnight one, as itemerged that Holmes bought more than6,000 rounds of ammunition on the Inter-net, and four guns, in the two months beforethe shootings. The masked, black-cladshooter burst into a movie theater barely 20minutes into the midnight screening, throw-ing two tear-gas type devices before openingfire. Police arrested Holmes — who waswearing full body armor and a gas mask, ap-parently to protect him from effects of hisown tear gas — without encountering resist-ance by his car at the rear of the theater.

Holmes, who reportedly attended theUniversity of Colorado medical school untillast month, had no criminal record asidefrom a citation for speeding in October 2011,according to police.

US mourns cinema massacre victims

DENVER: Two women mourn the loss of

a relative near the theater on Saturday

where 12 people were killed the other

day by a graduate student who told po-

lice he was ‘the Joker’. afp

Breivik massacreboosted democracy:Norway PM

BErLIN: Norway’s democracy grewstronger after Anders Behring Breivik’sdeadly attacks, Norwegian Prime MinisterJens Stoltenberg said on the eve of the firstanniversary of the slaughter Sunday.“Norway is today more imbued withdemocracy and diversity than it was on July22, 2011,” Stoltenberg told the German dailySueddeutsche Zeitung in an interviewpublished Saturday. Breivik’s bombing inOslo and his subsequent rampage on theisland of Utoeya claimed 77 lives that day.The attacks prompted record numbers ofpeople to join political organisations andyouth groups, Stoltenberg said. Democracyis “the most important weapon in the fightagainst violence,” he added. Breivikmaintained that his attacks were necessaryto defend Norway, a normally quiet countryknown for its tolerance and quality of life,against multiculturalism and a “Musliminvasion.” He has not denied the killings,but pleaded not guilty and wants the courtto find him of sane mind to show thatpolitical extremism, not psychosis, wasbehind his actions. AFP

South Sudan cancelsdirect talks withSudan after ‘air raid’

JUBAAFP

South Sudan said Saturday it was cancellingplanned face-to-face peace talks with Sudanafter accusing Khartoum of launching anew air raid on its territory. Sudan deniedbombing its southern neighbour, saying ithad only targeted Darfuri rebels inside itsown territory. “We were left with no choicebut to suspend our direct bilateral talkswith Sudan,” the spokesman for Juba’sdelegation at the talks in Addis Ababa, AtifKiir, said. “You cannot sit with them tonegotiate when they are bombing ourterritory,” he added. “The only negotiationsthat will happen now will happen throughthe panel,” he said, referring to an AfricanUnion mediation panel conducting the talksin the Ethiopian capital. The negotiations tosettle disputes stemming from the South’sindependence in July last year stalled inApril, but resumed in May. “There wasbombing yesterday morning at a placecalled Rubaker,” in northern Bahr elGhazal, South Sudan’s military spokesmanPhilip Aguer told AFP earlier, adding that“this might have implications becausemaybe that is the intention of Sudan tobomb us and to stop talking.”

Putin signs lawbranding NGOs‘foreign agents’

MOSCOWAFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin hassigned into law a controversial billpassed by parliament that brands NGOswho receive funding from abroad as“foreign agents”, the Kremlin saidSaturday. The law, which has causedhuge concern among activists who fearit will be used to stigmatise criticalNGOs, was signed by Putin after it wasrushed through the lower and upperhouses of parliament before theirsummer breaks. Putin “signedthe federal law onregulating the activitiesof Non-GovernmentalOrganisations (NGOs)who carry out the roleof a foreign agent”, theKremlin said in astatement. The law,which sailed throughthe State Duma lowerhouse on July 13 andthen the upper houseFederation Council on July18, requires NGOs whoreceive foreignfunding toregister withtheauthoritiesas foreignagents.

waSHINGtON: US President Barack Obama on Friday praised the courageof dissidents fighting for democracy in Muslim countries, in a message mark-ing the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “On behalf of the Ameri-can people, Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to Muslim Americansand Muslims around the world at the start of Ramadan,” Obama said in a

statement. Although he did not mention by name the “Arab Spring” uprisingsagainst authoritarian Arab rulers, Obama said “this year, Ramadan holds spe-

cial meaning for those citizens in the Middle East and North Africa who arecourageously achieving democracy and self-determination and for those who are

still struggling to achieve their universal rights.” The president vowed that “theUnited States continues to stand with those who seek the chance to decide their own

destiny, to live free from fear and violence and to practice their faith freely,” likely refer-ring in part to the escalating violence in Syria. AFP

Obama praises Muslim democracy-fighters

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Comment10Sunday, 22 July, 2012

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302Karachi – Ph: 021-34330811-3 Fax: 021-34330900Islamabad – 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 common enemy demandsa common strategy

quid pro quo

One can understand the anger in Islamabad over thecross-border raids by the TTP militants shelteringin Kunar. One hopes that the information providedby PM Pervez Ashraf to Karzai regarding their

hideouts is accurate. The question is whether the demand thatthe Nato and Afghan forces take strong and immediate actionagainst the TTP hideouts would receive due consideration.The Afghan government and Nato forces have been asking fora similar operation against the Haqqani network for years.They have held the network responsible for some of the mostdaring and devastating attacks this year on Nato and Afghantroops in Kabul and inside the eastern provinces borderingPakistan. Islamabad has rejected the accusations maintainingthat the Nato forces were looking for a scapegoat to cover uptheir own inefficiencies. In a tit-for-tat response, Nato forceshave made no move to go after the TTP militants operatingfrom Afghan safe havens. This has further strengthened theperception that the US and Pakistan are pursuing altogetherdifferent goals while pretending to be allies. The Pakistaniestablishment has been accused of continuing to patronisesome of the jihadi networks considering them assets in thepursuit of for an unchanging anti-India agenda. This is howthe hesitation to take action against the Haqqani network,JuD, and LeJ is being interpreted.

The differences between the US and Pakistan haveencouraged the militants on both sides of the Pak-Afghanborder. While this has imposed a heavy punishment on Natotroops, the organisation’s tribulations would end after itstroops withdraw in 2014. In the case of Pakistan, the sufferingwould be long-lasting and militant attacks could pose seriousthreat to the integrity of the state in case they emergevictorious in Afghanistan.

PM Pervez Ashraf and Kayani have emphasised theimportance of an early completion of the TAPI gas pipelineproject. They also stressed the speedy implementation of theCASA-1000 power transmission line and upgrading rail androad infrastructure between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Theprojects are highly vital for a power starved Pakistan. In caseof better communication system turning the area into a tradecorridor, Pakistan’s economy would benefit. The projectswould, however, remain day dreams unless there is peace inAfghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas. This requires aconcerted action against the militants by the US and Pakistan.As British Prime Minister Cameron put it, the terrorists thatare trying to wreck Afghanistan are by and large the sameterrorists that are trying to wreck Pakistan and there is a needfor joint action against them. This, however, requires a quidpro quo. Cooperation is possible only if neither Afghanistannor Pakistan allow safe havens to the militants.

Revenge with a vengeancePakistani politics is tying us up in knots

With a wily politician ruling theroost, is it surprising that weget many red herrings to di-vert us from core issues totangential issues? Lose your

way in tangents and diversions and you loseyourself. The core issue is the disease at theroot of our problems – our iniquitous, inhu-man system – that goes untreated.

President Zardari is no less wily than hisfather-in-law Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or Bhutto’shandpicked army chief General Zia-ul-Haqwho overthrew and hanged him. Never judgethe luck of a man till you see his end, they tellus, but right now Zardari seems wilier than ei-ther, though less destructive so far.

After not winning enough seats to form agovernment in the 1970 elections, patriarchBhutto was instrumental in helping a maniacalgang of the most stupid and destructive generalsin our history to break Jinnah’s Pakistan. Onlythen did he get to rule the leftover Pakistan. Hedeliberately proceeded to destroy its urbaneconomy in the name of nationalisation underthe cover of ‘Islamic socialism’. The strategy wasto take the urban economy into his hands andshift economic and thus political power back tothe feudal. A great concept became a bad name.

Bhutto made General Zia army chief be-cause he thought he was loyal to him. The ‘loyal’general hanged him because there was only onegrave with two possible occupants, the ousteror the ousted. General Zia proceeded to tear upour social fabric under the guise of Islamic Pak-istan using the Afghan jihad as cover. It wasunder him that extremism, fanaticism and ter-rorism took birth to be raised to adulthood byhis successors in the name of ‘strategic depth’.He gave the greatest of faiths a bad name. BothBhutto and Zia met sorry ends. Bhutto becamea martyr to many. Zia became a martyr to some.The rest is history. But for Bhutto’s martyrdomthere would have been no Prime Minister Be-nazir or President Zardari. Let’s hope that whenZardari meets his end, it is not violent but nat-ural, legal and constitutional.

What the wily seemingly do and what theyactually mean is often two different things. Addto the mix our intelligence agencies that showone thing and intend another, presenting mov-ing targets behind which reality is camou-flaged, and everyone is kept hopping. The icingon this cake is our rumour mill whose wheels

have been churning since our advent. Now wealso have the syrup of a poorly regulated elec-tronic media whose raw material often is gos-sip and you have a pot about to blow. However,unlike what is happening in the Arab world,our media and parliaments are safety valvesthat let the social steam out of the kettle, pre-venting it from exploding. Any wonder we havea neurotic state, myopic and bipolar with noagreed ideology or reason for existence.

I was most amused to read that the rulingPeoples Party and the opposing Nawaz Leagueare confabulating to agree on a caretaker primeminister. This creates the impression that weare in for early elections before the naturalterms of our assemblies are up in March 2013.However, this could also be a red herring to di-vert us into thinking about early elections whilethe real plan might be quite another.

What could that plan be? Another journalist-analyst has his sparrow that tells him everything.I have Maverick the Monkey who tells me thebald truth. He was over for dinner the other day.It was easy, for all I had to feed him was the stapleof our government – peanuts. He loves them. Butthis time he was not telling me anything. He wasconjecturing, surmising, even suggesting.

“The obvious thing for President Zardari todo,” he said, “is to take the constitutional optionof extending parliament’s term by six months tillSeptember 2013. A 90-day election campaignwould follow and the ballot would take place endDecember 2013. It would require declaring anemergency of course but our bizarre conditionamply justifies it, provided the deep state –America, the army and the Supreme Court – goalong. The chief justice could be a problem forhe could strike down the emergency. But Zardarihas the sword of the chief justice’s son’s allegedshenanigans dangling over his head. If it gets badthe chief justice’s position could become unten-able. But he could strike back by not sacking yetanother prime minister but by asking the armyto come to his aid to force the government towrite the letter to a foreign government to re-open graft cases against our head of state – ergo,military intervention.”

“Very clever,” I said, “but the army cannotdo any such thing without the defence secretaryordering it to in writing. She has to be orderedby the defence minister who he has to be orderedby the prime minister who will do nothing unlesshis party chief the president orders him to. It’s ahole in the bucket situation. Unless the govern-ment comes to the conclusion that the letter canbe worded in such a way that the chief justice issatisfied while the Swiss refuse to proceed withthe case, recognizing our president’s immunityapart from it possibly being time barred.”

“But it would mean violating the constitutionand also a tacit admission that the chargesagainst Zardari may have some substance,” saidMaverick. “Once the letter is written the SupremeCourt could well ask the Election Commission todeclare Zardari’s election null and void, just as itdid Prime Minister Gilani’s. In this country any-thing could happen, don’t have any doubts aboutit if you know your history. Why, you are said tohave had an American co-national as your am-

bassador to Washington and also a British co-na-tional as a member of your Command and Con-trol Authority. What could be more dementedthan that? A president who had enough chargesagainst him to pave the motorway?”

As often happens when one tries to thinktoo much, Maverick was getting tied in knots.Like Cassius, we Pakistanis, whether human ormonkey, think too much, though some wouldsay there’s little difference between the two. Ac-tually, there is. Monkeys are far more rationalthan humans. They have an acute survival in-stinct. Humans have an acute suicidal instinct.

“Yes, I see the problem,” conceded Maverick.“America and the world may not be able to stom-ach an overt army intervention because theyhave to appear to support democracy even if it isan excuse for it. Also, Pakistan’s our leaders arejust what America’s doctors ordered, for they dotheir bidding obediently, which is why they havelasted so long. In the unlikely event that nation-alist ‘aberrations’ are thrown up as our leader-ship, America will balk and they won’t last long.”

“So,” I said, “the impression of early elec-tions may be right after all if Zardari is left withno other option.”

“Maybe,” said Maverick. “His party is mostlikely to win the most seats again and form thenext coalition government. By the way, AsmaJehangir is being touted as the latest caretakerprime minister and your friend Hussain Ha-roon the second ‘soft’ option. Asma’s most at-tractive trait for Zardari is that she is notenamoured of the chief justice while HussainHaroon is your best ambassador. That he is alsoa great chef and gourmet could be the clincher.”

“No problem with those two,” I told him.“People whose names are floated are usuallythe ones not to make it.”

“Funny lot you are,” said Maverick. “Wechoose leaders from our own tribe and choosefrom amongst the best. You guys get peoplewhose loyalties are split between tribes and whoare from the worst amongst you. In any case, ifZardari were to pull off an extension, then by De-cember 2013 both the army chief – if the currentone doesn’t take an unlikely third term – and thechief justice – who is a thorn in the president’sside – would have retired and their replacementsstill be trying to find their feet. The sunshinewould be that Asif Zardari could win a secondterm through the present assemblies where hehas a majority. The constitution doesn’t say thatthe same Electoral College cannot reelect thesame president. The game would change, withZardari the lone survivor continuing to rule theroost. The party of the people would have provedwith a vengeance that democracy is the best re-venge. But this isn’t democracy. This is a sham– ‘kleptocracy’ and ‘ineptocracy’.”

“What goes of your father,” I said in right-eous Punjabi umbrage.

“This is as much my country as it is yours,”was Maverick’s riposte. I thought he was goingto bean me. Maverick left in a huff before Icould invite him for iftar-dinner. Poor chap.The table my dear wife lays out during Ra-madan has to be eaten to be believed. Weight-watchers don’t stand a chance.

By Humayun Gauhar

The by-elections in Multan hadbeen a focus of attention for allquarters of the political divide.In the aftermath of the insolent

disqualification of former Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gilani (by the SupremeCourt), corruption charges against hisfamily (e.g. the ephedrine case), and a ter-rible record of four years of incompetentgovernance by his party, a fraction of thepolitical junta had assumed that peoplewill turn up and cast a debilitating ballotagainst PPP and the Gilani family. To

make the situation worse for PPP and MrGilani, the oppositions forces had not con-tested their separate candidates to opposethe PPP… and had instead chosen to sup-port an independent (in many ways joint)candidate to collectively counter the PPP.

Result? No real use. The people ofNA-151 have returned the Gilani family astheir chosen representative.

First, let’s take a look at the excusespresented by the opposition parties. In theaftermath of this election defeat, the op-position parties (and certain segment ofthe media that was rooting for the opposi-tion) have chosen three primary excusesto justify/defend their defeat: 1) The Gilanifamily, being pirs of the area, won by amargin of over 25,000 votes in the generalelection of 2008… so this victory marginof only 4,000, in many ways, is a verdictagainst them by the people; 2) The turnoutfor this election was much lower (esti-mated at only 20%) than can be expectedin the general elections, and therefore thiselection cannot be viewed as a certificationthat majority of the constituency supportsGilanis and the PPP; and 3) None of themajor political leaders of different parties

(Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan) visitedthe constituency, so it cannot be claimedby PPP that all the opposition parties (to-gether) exerted their muscle and could notdefeat the Gilanis in Multan.

But behind the veil of these excuses,the facts are that the opposition politicalparties got beat. Yes, Nawaz Sharif andImran Khan did not visit the constituency,but then neither did any of the big-wigs ofPPP (except Gilani). Moreover, this con-stituency of Multan happens to be home toShah Mehmood Qureshi and JavedHashmi, carries significant influence ofthe southern Punjab leaders such as Je-hangir Tareen and Shafqat Mehmood, andhas considerable party-vote for N-Leagueand Jamaat-e-Islami. All these factorssupported the candidate opposing Gilanis.Additionally, the opposition parties werenot contesting against each other, andwere all just supporting the same (joint)candidate. These factors and strengths willnot conspire together in any single con-stituency during the general elections.

Turning, away from politics, to theissue of this election being either a verdictin favour of the judiciary (for disqualifying

Yousaf Raza Gillani) or in favour of thePPP (as the representative of the people’swill). Prior to the election, anchors acrossour media waves, were all unanimous intheir belief that the public had ‘matured’over the past many years, that it was sim-ply fed up with the PPP junta, and hadsworn allegiance to ‘Chief tere jaannisaar’… and as a result, this election(which, in effect, was a sort of referendumon the decision of the judiciary to disqual-ify the former prime minister) would cer-tainly be cast in favour of supremacy oflaw, and against the gaddi-nasheen.

Wrong again. he results of NA-151 have shown that

the divide between law and politics, in ourcountry, is rather large. I have written, inthe past, about the contempt of YousafRaza Gilani, and am of the concerted opin-ion that (notwithstanding the valid criti-cism of the apex court’s judgment on itsmerits), on the facts of the case, the formerprime minister was guilty of contempt ofcourt. However, the guilt or the convictionseems to be of little consequence to Mr Gi-lani, and his family, in the political sphere.The people who follow them, and hang

their aspirations on the Gilani tree, seemto not be bothered with the nuances ofcontempt law and writing of the Swiss let-ter. These issues, of law and constitution-ality, are still only limited to the spherespolitical talk-shows and elitist drawing-rooms. In rural politics, where politicaldharras, family allegiances, historical sup-port, and who-can-get-you-out-of-jail is-sues come into play, no one seems to betoo concerned about the nuances of Article63(1)(g) or Article 248.

For better or worse, the Pakistan Peo-ple’s Party understands this paradigm.Perhaps better than all the others. Anddespite its bad governance and an aggres-sive onslaught from the judiciary, if (in thecoming elections) the electoral college ofPunjab gets split equally between NawazSharif and Imran Khan, don’t be surprisedto see Asif Zardari back in power in a fewmonths.

The writer is a lawyer based inLahore. He has a Masters inConstitutional Law from Harvard LawSchool. He can be reached at:saad@post.harvard.edu

You can have your drawing-room discussions; we’ll keep the votes

Na 151: Of the people, by the people…

By Saad Rasool

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Comment 11Sunday, 22 July, 2012

the oppressed womenGirls can’t marry against the wishes of their par-

ents, below 40-year women can’t go to market unlessescorted by a male family member, girls shall not usemobile phone outside their homes, girls and womenshall have to use hijab (dopatta, head cover) whileoutside their homes —- no, no we are not in DarraAdem Khel, Mira Shah or Wana in Pakistani tribalbelt; we are in a village about 40-KM from Delhiwherein its Panchayat (elders’ gathering) has decidedto regulate the lives of its female residents. As perPanchayat, they have taken these steps to establishthe feminine honor, to protect them from widespread lawlessness and mobs molestation.

Instead of addressing the lawlessness issue, ap-parently they have chosen the easiest path —- restrictthe girls and women’ movement. But that will notsolve the main issue, tomorrow someone may saythat schools have failed to improve the ethical andmoral character of their students, means we shallclose all the schools! There is no end to such think-ing. I wonder of Indian political parties and civil soci-ety’ reaction to these open human rights violation bythese self-reformists. They have to be careful, couldlead to what we have been facing in Pakistan whereinin some conservative constituencies, women are notpermitted to even cast their votes. And that decisionto bar the women from voting is jointly taken by allthe religious and liberal parties.

MASOOD KHANJubail, Saudi Arabia

ban on Hizb-ut-tahrirDespite severe torture, hardships and strict ban,

Hizb-ut-Tahrir (the Party of Liberation), since its es-tablishment in 1953 in Al-Quds (Jerusalem), contin-ues to work effectively and tirelessly in more than 50countries with a sole purpose of bringing intellectualand systematic revival among the Muslim Ummah.

The party aims and strives to restore Islamic Khi-lafah State, unifying all the Muslim under a Caliphateruled by Islamic law with a Caliph as Head of theState, elected by Muslims.

The party has adopted and follows the mostpeaceful method of Prophet S.A.W to bring about arevolution and actual change in the society as RasoolSAW did with constant years of struggle in Makkah.

Hizb-ut-Tahrir firmly believes that Islam couldnot be restored to its actual by getting involved inDemocracy or Terrorism, ruling out the use of bulletand ballot for a real change. The major allegations onthe party includes, showing dissatisfaction on thepolicies of the government, distributing leafletsagainst the unacceptable policies all across the coun-try and penetrating in the Pakistan Army.

We all know that showing concerns over the gov-ernment policies is the right of every citizen and one

would wonder how distribution of the pamphlets andleaflets in the general public scould ever be termed asterrorism or sectarianism. Similarly, the soldiers ofPakistan Army are also Muslims, they are not aliens, sowhy not carry a good and rational message to them?

After a deep study about the aims and objectivesof Hizb-ut-Tahrir, being a student of Journalism, Icall upon the members of civil society, media per-sons, lawyers, judges and sensible persons of the so-ciety to take a principle stand against theunreasonable ban on Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Pakistan, theglobal Islamic group which categorically rejects theuse of weapons and carrying out a peaceful politicalstruggle since its formation.

I appeal the rational-minded media persons, peo-ple of law and others, on humanitarian grounds, toforce the authorities for an immediate recovery ofHizb’s spokesman for Pakistan Naveed Butt, com-pelling the government to provide justification on hisabduction. People in Pakistan rigorously demand theauthorities to lift a ban from Hizb-ut-Tahrir.

SYED HASSAM AHMEDKarachi

too many roadblocksBasti Saidan Shah is an immense designed slum

in the middle of Lahore. It was created by an execu-tive order of the then PM Nawaz Sharif. It is sur-rounded by affluence like the Gymkhana Golf course,the upper Mall, the Cantonment, the state guesthouse complex, NIPA complex. As long as the popu-lation pressures were bearable, there was a statusquo of co-existence here. Unfortunately after 9/11 thefollowing government offices, occupying palatialHindu houses decided to block major roads underthe guise of security. The major culprits are the Intel-ligence Bureau head office on the Mall, the RangersHQ on the Mall and the offices of NIPA on the Mall.

Coming in from the lower Mall, the access to thebasti is a single lane running along the Rangers HQcalled Anand Road. Not only has the service lane ofthe Mall been blocked but the left lane on AnandRoad has also been declared a “no-go area” for thepublic. We request the designer/architect of the bastito kindly tell the requisite authorities to loosen theirpurse strings and pave a larger portion of the nowcongested Anand road. This solution is the favouritemodus operandi of the politicians from smaller con-stituencies. You don’t have to step on the toes of thepowerful ruling class and the poor are happy as wellfor the facility, not to mention the kickbacks. Wonderwhy they missed this opportunity.

One also has to ask why after 65 years of inde-pendence, we have still not been able to properlyhouse these government outfits in secure and pur-pose-built offices. There are so many such offices allover the city causing chaos in traffic that moving thefederal ones to the Governor’s House compoundwould be the natural solution. The provincial onesshould also be moved off the major roads. The almostsiege-like barricading of GOR 1 presents a patheticsight. This place should be the expanded Race CoursePark area and not a country club for Sarkaris. If thecity planners don’t look at this problem soon, it willworsen. I guess, at the heart of the matter is thechanging mathematics of power: whether it’s the fed-eral government or the provincial government thatwill decide the matter?

S AMIRLahore

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.

Sports can teach us a lesson or two

politics in the time of Olympics

When propaganda works, it becomesconventional wisdom fairly quickly.As the Olympic torch fleets from hand

to heroic hand on its way to the London Games,we offer it the aura of a tradition stretchingback to that hoary past when this event was re-stricted to a few nude Greek men.

There is certainly a very pre-electricitytouch to this torch which conjures up visions ofan olden golden age. A bit of reflection suggeststhat a torch could not have been much use,since the sports were held during daylight. Infact, this wheeze was dreamt up by the Nazis forthe 1936 Berlin extravaganza as part of a pub-licity drive for Hitler’s pseudo-white Aryan ma-niac delusions. The world destroyed Nazis, butkept the torch.

Nor did the logo, of five interlinked cir-cles, originate in some great architecturalsymbol of ancient Greece. It was born in theintelligent imagination of the man who rein-vented the Olympics, Baron Pierre de Cou-bertin, when he saw a magazineadvertisement for Dunlop bicycle tyres with asimilar display. It might however be the mostsignificant contribution made by an ad agencyto world history.

This logo was first revealed in 1914, so intwo years it will reach its centenary moment.Surely this is sufficient cause for the advertisingand sports industries to pool their considerabletalents, and raise sufficient funds to celebratein the manner to which they are accustomed.1914 also saw the advent of the First WorldWar, but no one seems particularly eager to re-call that first instance of organised, relentlessand often pointless carnage on a multinationalscale.

Baron Coubertin became convinced thatsport was a better option than war, and whocan blame him. But, to succeed, he argued,sport had to be organised on the lines of reli-gion, with its own church, dogma and ritual.This profound insight is the basis of the com-mercial success of all contemporary sport.

Each sport has its own Pope, who is infalli-ble as long as he is in office. His support systemis a cluster of cardinals and a structured orderof bishops. This should end all questions about

why politicians want to be at the command cen-tre. It is not the sport that they love, but the in-fallibility that they crave.

There is nothing democratic about sportsmanagement. Its culture is that of an opaquecabal, and woe betide any heretic who attemptsto disturb its secret society methods of insidertrading, as the current Sports Minister AjayMaken discovered when he thought that theGovernment of India was more important thanthe Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI). The chorus that silenced him was a for-midable all-party alliance.

If the alliance that squashed Maken formeda coalition government in Delhi, it would be thestrongest, most stable, policy-focused rulingpartnership in Indian history. Perhaps RahulGandhi should, when he takes effective chargeof Congress in September, hire Lalit Modi asconsultant to decipher the bcci code of manage-ment. If Modi is held up in London, there is al-ways Jagmohan Dalmiya waiting to serve inCalcutta.

Politics, far more than sport, needs the glueof symbols. The BJP revived from a near-deathexperience in the 1984 general elections byturning a brick into a magnet during its cam-paign for the construction of a temple at Ayo-dhya. The Gandhi cap has rather lost itsadhesive quality for the Congress. When itsleaders are forced by protocol to wear them,they look faintly ridiculous. Moreover, AnnaHazare has co-opted the cap into his ownbrand image.

A torch could be a good substitute. One canvisualise the excitement created by Youth Con-gress volunteers holding aloft the Torch of Re-form, as they race from village to village,behind a bus with dancing and music on theupper deck. This in turn would ensure TV cov-erage, as news channels need the barest excuseto show free footage of Hindi film songs. TVwould also encourage sponsors to jump in withfree packets of sweets for children among thespectators. Every PCC would send one torch toan AICC session; all of them would be used toignite one giant flame to inaugurate a fierystart.

Sceptics will always dismiss any revolu-tionary idea. When Baron Coubertin per-suaded a few countries to throw a javelin, didhe know that one day, more than a centurylater, a blond mayor of London called BorisJohnson would aspire to become prime minis-ter of a great power on the strength of hisOlympic skills? A sneer is the privilege of a pes-simist.

The Congress is in obvious need of a strongdose of optimism. The Olympic spirit is in theair. It should breathe deeply.

The columnist is editor of The SundayGuardian, published from Delhi, India onSunday, published from London andEditorial Director, India Today andHeadlines Today.

Third EyeBy M J Akbar

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12 Sunday, 22 July, 2012

actors should forget healthissues on set: salman khan

BoLLyWooD star Salman Khan, who has been

battling health issues and even underwent

surgery for Trigeminal neuralgia, a facial nerve

disorder, says it is important for actors to forget such

problems while shooting as the pain and discomfort

can’t be reflected on screen. “In spite of all the nerve

problems and the aneurism and the travelling and cold

and the pain and all that stuff, eventually it’s what you

show on screen. you can’t put subtitles saying - ‘here

the actor was unwell’ or ‘here was a backache’ or ‘here

the cold’ led to pain or ‘a headache happened’! you

can’t say all that,” the 46-year-old said here. “you

have to give a shot and forget about all that for those

20 to 30 seconds. It is easy to put aside everything if

you are interested in the film you are doing,” he

added. Salman, who underwent surgery for a facial

nerve disorder last year, was warned against rigorous

physical action. But he underwent extensive Parkour

training for a month to pull off the daredevil stunts in

his forthcoming film Ek Tha Tiger. COURTESY HT

amitabh, jaya visit shatrughansinha after surgery

MEGASTAR Amitabh Bachchan, along with wife

Jaya, paid a visit to actor-friend Shatrughan

Sinha, who is recovering after undergoing a

bypass surgery. “Shatrughan Sinha in hospital with a

bypass heart surgery. Jaya and I immediately go and

visit him,” Amitabh wrote on his blog, after visiting the

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital Thursday. “he

has done well and so have the doctors and he remains

in his room, out of the ICU, chatting dime a dozen with

his humour intact! So reassuring,” added the 69-year-

old, who has worked with the “Khamosh” star in films

like “Bombay to Goa”, “Kaala Patthar” and “naseeb”.

Big B was glad to see his actor-politician friend on the

road to quick recovery. “Watching colleagues in

hospital beds, suffering and in medical condition, is

disturbing. But Shatrughan is in good spirits, as he

always is, talking non-stop and showing no signs of

the trauma he has been through. Thank god,” he

posted. NEWS DESk

I don’t want to compete withaamir: ekta kapoor

John Ekta Kapoor, who is producing Shootout At

Wadala, has decided to push the release date

of the movie to 2013 to avoid any clash with

Aamir Khan’s Talaas”. She says she doesn’t want to

take on such “mammoth” competition. Talaash is

coming on nov 30. how can we decide to take on the

mammoth Aamir Khan? I don’t want to compete with

him, absolutely not,” Ekta told reporters here.

Shootout At Wadala , a prequel to Shootout At

Lokhandwala, was earlier supposed to release Dec 7.

But since Aamir’s Talaash will either release in

november-end or in the first week of December,

Shootout At Wadala will now hit the screens Jan 18,

2013. Ekta assures that viewers have a lot to look

forward to in the Sanjay Gupta-directed Shootout At

Wadala, which features Anil Kapoor, John Abraham,

Kangna Ranaut, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpai, Tusshar

Kapoor, Ronit Roy and Mahesh. NEWS DESk

At least 14 people were killed

and about 50 injured as a gas

mask-wearing gunman opened

fire early Friday at a suburban

Denver movie theatre during a premiere

showing of the new Batman movie.

A 24-year-old suspect is in custody and

an apartment building in north Aurora,

about 10 miles (16 km) from downtown

Denver, connected to the suspect was

being evacuated and searched for

possible explosives, DenverPost.com

reported citing police chief

Dan Oates.

the suspect in the mass

shooting at the midnight

premiere of the new

Batman movie in suburban

Denver on Friday had

coloured his hair red and

told police he was “the

Joker,” a media report said.

the suspect made the claim

of being the fictional arch

enemy of Batman during

the investigation of the shooting early

Friday in a movie theatre showing “the

Dark Knight Rises”, CNN said citing a

federal law enforcement source.

ten people died at the scene and four

others died at hospitals in the shooting

at the Aurora Mall, where three theatres

were showing the latest Batman movie

“the Dark Knight Rises”. Most of the

wounded and killed were at theatre 9.

Oates said there was no evidence of a

second suspect, but the man in custody

had made a statement about possible

explosives in his residence. there was

also no immediate word of any motive.

“Witnesses tell us he released some sort

of canister. they heard a hissing sound

and some gas emerged and the gunman

opened fire,” Oates said at a news

conference. the violent and chaotic

scene erupted about 12.30 a.m. local

time as a gunman stood at the front of

one of the Century 16 theatres at the

Aurora Mall, CBS reported. Police,

ambulances and emergency crews

swarmed on the scene after frantic calls

started flooding the 911 switchboard,

the channel said citing officials.

Officers found the gunman near a car

behind the theatre. “A gas

mask, rifle, handgun at

least one additional

weapon (were) found

inside,” they said. A CBS

correspondent reported one

of the weapons was an AK-

47 assault rifle. President

Barack Obama, who was

notified about the shooting

by homeland security

adviser John Brennan, said

he is “shocked and

saddened” by the “horrific and tragic”

shooting. the FBI said that there is no

indication that the shooting has any

connection to terrorism. An amateur

video posted to Youtube showed people

walking around outside the theatre,

allegedly in the moments after the

incident. One man was seen wearing a

shirt that appeared to be bloodstained.

He was being led by a police officer.

Some people could be heard shouting. A

witness, Hayden Miller, told KUSA-tV

that he was inside theatre 16 and

heard several shots. “Like little

explosions going on and shortly after

that we heard people screaming,” he

told the station. NEWS DESk

dark knight shootercalled himself ‘the joker’

shOOteRIdentIfIeshIMself asthe ‘jOkeR’

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 12

13

I have no shame: Mila

ACTRESS Mila Kunis says she is shameless as

she does not mind starring in grossout hu-

mour. “I really have no shame. I think that

certain things are funny and certain things are okay

to make fun of, including myself. I think that you

have to laugh at the absurdity of this entire industry

and the absurdity of what it is we do. If I didn’t, I’d

go crazy,” contactmusic.com quoted Kunis,28, as

saying. The actress has been doing television show,

“That 70s Show” and cartoon “ Family Guy” for many

years now, and says that she is in a financially se-

cure position. “After doing a TV show for eight years

and a cartoon for more than a decade, you are, fi-

nancially speaking, in a very lucky position where

you don’t have to work for the sake of working. And

I decided to take advantage of that,” Kunis said. “I

don’t live lavishly, so it’s not like I have 20 assistants

and travel privately and shop every day. I actually

live a very mediocre lifestyle. So I decided to step

back and do things not just for the sake of doing

them, but because I believe in them and I want to do

them,” she added. NEWS DESk S

Pattinson and stewartliving together?

tWILIGhT stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen

Stewart, who are dating in real life, have

reportedly taken their romance to the next level by

setting up a home together. They are said to have settled

in together at a pad here, reports hollywoodlife.com.

“They love each a lot and have major trust in each other.

They also don’t like how they can’t really go out all the

time and do regular things so that has really made them

home-bodies for the most part,” said a source. “But

instead of being hermits, they try to hit the town on dates

occasionally, but they think their fame has made them

boring people for their age,” the source added. NEWS DESk

kareena and katrina at war?

ChoREoGRAPhER Ganesh Acharya was recently

in a dilemma. Ganesh, who got accolades for his

Chikni Chameli at the start of the year, was

called in by Kareena Kapoor to direct halkat Jawani, her

item song in heroine. So far so good. however, we

hear from sources that through the making of halkat...,

Ganesh was stressed because he had clear instructions

from filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar and Bebo to ensure

that halkat... outdid Katrina Kaif’s Chikni Chameli.

When ToI contacted Ganesh, he shared, “It’s not just

Madhur Bhandarkar and Kareena Kapoor who want the

song to outdo Chikni Chameli but also a lot of people

from the industry are expecting the same.” he further

adds, “After Chikni Chameli, there was definitely a lot of

pressure to create the magic in halkat Jawani, but this

song, I guarantee, is going to be a dhamaka.” Ganesh is

confident that halkat... will be the song of the year and

will have everyone grooving to it. NEWS DESk

Q. wHat dOES Qt’S StaNd FOr?

a. QT’S stands for my passion to createsomething that is new, unique, representsquality yet affordability for people likemyself. However as far as the name isconcerned, it is to connect with young girlsbetween the ages of 5 to teen.

Q. wHat waS tHE IdEa BEHINdLaUNcHING a BraNd FOr GIrLSOF aGES 5 tO tEEN?

a. Being the mother of two young girls myself Ialways struggled with limited availability ofoptions that were there in the market. And ifyou do find a dress that is acceptable the priceswere such it would make the decision to buyreally difficult. Many of my friends alsocomplained about the same which promptedme to do something about it and hence Idecided to bring a brand which is good inquality and variety yet affordable.

Q. wHat kINd OF ExPErIENcE dOYOU HaVE tO MakE dESIGNErdrESSES?

a. Unlike many such interviews that youmay have conducted and I have read I amnot going to claim that I have had thispassion for last many years or took diplomain fashion designing. The truth is that it’s allinstincts, knowing what to do with colorsand as they say “necessity is the mother ofall creations” so I may not be your typicaldesigner but that’s probably that’s whatmakes my dresses unique!

Q. wHat IS SO UNIQUE aBOUttHE drESSES tHat YOU HaVE crEatEd?

a. I was hoping that you would ask this,

for one thing there are no 2dresses in one design in eachsize so there won’t be anyoneelse in same age/size wearingthe same dress. Secondly I donot get my designs byimitating others. These are alloriginal ideas and made withthe thought of creatingsomething that would lookgood on girls. The fabric andstitching quality is simply thebest you can get making surecomfort is not compromised.

Q. wHat IS tHE USP OFYOUr BraNd OPPOSItEOtHErS?

a. There is no designer in Pakistan thattargets and focuses only on this segmenthence you can call me a specialist in thiscategory with many options to choose from.

Q. wHat IS tHE trUtH BEHINd

YOUr cLaIM OF aFFOrdaBILItY

OBVIOUSLY PrOFItaBILItY IS

wHat EVErYONE LOOkS FOr?

a. You are right no business can survivewithout profitability however if it isreasonable it becomes more sustainable.My concept behind this venture was to takeadvantage of economy of scale – let meexplain if anyone wanted to make any oneof these dresses it will cost the same as theycan buy from me. My earnings come fromwhat I save on buying and stitching in bulk.

Q. wHEN IS YOUr ExHIBItIONaNd wHat SHOULd wE ExPEct?

a. The exhibition is on the 27th and 28th

of July at Xinhua Mall Gulberg and trustme whatever your expectations are you willfind those met there.

Q. wHat arE YOUr PLaNS aFtErtHE ExHIBItION?

a. I have plans to do a same one in Karachinext time and subsequent to that you canexpect my first flagship shop here inLahore.

Q. tELL US SOMEtHING aBOUtYOUrSELF?

a. Well I have a background of doingBS with double math and physics andthen Masters in Physics fromGovernment College Lahore. Marriedwith three kids, two girls and a boyand my husband who supported methrough this venture works in amultinational company and has textile background that helpswith my line of work.

q&a with qurat-ul-ain, a new designer for young women

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 13

14Sunday, 22 July, 2012

Infotainment

Women with fat babies havehigher risk of breast cancer

wOMEN whose firstborn children weighedmore than 8.25 pounds at birth have morethan double the risk of getting breast

cancer, compared to women who have smaller babiesaccording to a new study. The findings, published inthe journal PLoS One, suggest that giving birth to abig baby creates a hormonal environment in themother that's conducive to the development of breastcancer in women later in their lives. Researchersevaluated women's health histories, their babies birthweight, and their levels of three pregnancy hormones:estrogen, anti-estrogen and insulinlike growthfactors. They found that women whose firstbornbabies had a high birthweight had higher levels ofestrogen and insulinlike growth factors duringpregnancy, as well as lower anti-estrogen levels.However, these results demonstrate an association,not "a cause-and-effect link," said the studyresearcher Dr. Radek Bukowski. COURTESY JEzEBEL

Olympic torch-bearer’stattoo goes wrong

aN Olympic torch-bearer who had a tattoo tocommemorate her experience fell foul of apoor-speller who inscribed her arm with the

word “Oylmpic.” Jerri Peterson carried the flamingtorch through Derby in June after she was nominatedfor the honour by the hotel chain where she worked.Peterson, 54, had the $10 (£6.40) tattoo done back inher native Atlanta. She told the BBC: “I always wantedto have a tattoo but I never felt quite passionateenough about any one thing to have it put on my bodypermanently. “So when I was selected for thiswonderful honour, I thought ‘that’s it – I’m ready tohave my tattoo’.” But Peterson, who didn’t notice theerror herself until it was flagged up by her husband,bears no hard feelings towards the tattoo artist – andhas declined his offer to correct it. She added: “It’s theOy-limpics – it’s as unique as I am.” NEWS DESk

Walking differently may showsigns of dementia

wALKING changes instead may indicate anincreased risk developing memorydisorders and dementia."For busy

doctors who have limited time with their patients,monitoring deterioration and other changes in aperson's gait is ideal because it doesn't require anyexpensive technology or take a lot of time to assess.It is relatively simple and straightforward," saidWilliam Thies of the Alzheimer's Association. ASwiss research team from the Basel Mobility Centerstudied the gait of individuals with varying levels ofcognitive health, using a 10-meter-long electronicwalkway with almost 30,000 integrated pressuresensors."Those with Alzheimer's dementia walkedslower than those with mild cognitive impairment,who in turn walked slower than those who werecognitively healthy," said research leader StephanieA. Bridenbaugh, in a statement. NEWS DESk

High consumption of vitamin E ei-ther from diet or vitamin supple-ments may lower the risk of livercancer, according to a study pub-lished in the Journal of the NationalCancer Institute.

Analysis by the Shanghai CancerInstitute of two studies conductedwith Vanderbilt University revealeda lower liver cancer risk among thosewho had high intake of vitamin Ewith those who had low intake. In astatement, the paper's authors high-light that vitamin E has already beenassociated with protecting DNAagainst damage. "We found a clear,inverse dose-response relation be-tween vitamin E intake and livercancer risk," the authors write, in astatement.

Liver cancer is the third mostcommon cause of cancer mortality inthe world, the fifth most commoncancer found in men and the seventhmost common in women. Approxi-mately 85% of liver cancers occur indeveloping nations, with 54% inChina alone. Using validated food-

frequency questionnaires, the re-searchers conducted in-person inter-views to gather data on studyparticipants' dietary habits.

The investigators then comparedliver cancer risk among participantswho had high intake of vita-min E with those who hadlow intake. The analysis in-cluded 267 liver cancer pa-tients (118 women and 149men) who were diagnosedbetween two yearsafter study enroll-ment and an aver-age of 10.9(SWHS) or 5.5(SMHS) years offollow-up. Vita-min E intake fromdiet and vitaminE supplementuse were bothassociated with alower risk of livercancer. This associa-tion was consistentamong participants with and

without self-reported liver disease ora family history of liver cancer.

"Overall, the take home messageis that high intake of vitamin E ei-

ther from dietor sup-

plements was related to lower risk ofliver cancer in middle-aged or olderpeople from China," said Xiao OuShu of the Vanderbilt EpidemiologyCenter. Foods rich in vitamin E

Nuts, seeds, avocados, toma-toes, spinach, blackber-

ries, mangoes, olive oilCOURTESy HUffINGTON pOST

ALTHOUGH Sri Lanka isthought of as a rather ex-otic island, it exudes agritty feel. Arriving in thecapital Colombo on the

southwest Coast, you can't miss the oc-casional cow aimlessly wonderingdown the main road and it's a commonsight to pass an old sarong-clad manon a stool outside his shop, pouringsome rice and curry into his mouth.

But it's only once you leave thedusty hustle of the big city that youwill really begin falling in love with SriLanka (it's not easy getting gushy overthe constant bibbing on car horns inthe city). Because away from the bigneon bar signs and flashy brass-sell-ing stores, you'll find jungle, longstretches of golden-sandy beachesand ancient ruins - all of which willhave you looking on in awe. There areso many sights, smells and sounds totake in, but here are a few of myfavourites; a few gems that you justcan't miss in Sri Lanka. It's worth thewinding car ride to get there and eventhe tenner you might have to pay toget in. But the beauty you see oncethere, well that's raw and untouchedand definitely worth it.

Up in the Hill Country liesKandy - a city of history and lushgreen hills. The town centre is setjust by a gorgeous lake and it is herethat you'll find an array of gemstonespecialists, antique stores and sarimakers. The air is lighter and coolerup in Kandy - a definite relief fromthe smoggy atmosphere of Colombo,but it's the scenic beauty and the cul-ture that will really grab you. Justaround the corner from the town isthe Temple Of The Sacred ToothRelic - an ancient Bhuddist building

which houses (as the name suggests)the relic of the tooth of Bhudda. Asyou can imagine, this is a very im-portant place to the locals. You canwatch the monestary rituals beingperformed three times a day (atdawn, at noon and in the evening)and you are welcome to wanderthrough the grounds to the templeitself. Remember, it is custom totake off your shoes when enteringthe religious building and shouldersand legs knees must be covered.tHE tEa FIELdS: You may notknow this, but Sri Lanka is theworld's third largest producer of tea- impressive huh! And consideringus Brits drink a lot of the stuff, it'svery fascinating to see where it allcomes from. Not far from Kandy,you'll find a whole host of tea plan-tations - which put together provideover one million people with jobs.Just by taking a stroll, you'll see thelocal ladies picking the leaves fromthe plantations - and if you stop offat a factory, you'll get a good lessonon how those leaves go from beingon a plant to being in a tea bag.You'll also get a complementarycuppa at the end, which is totallyworth it. Pinnewala Elephant Or-phanage This little sanctuary on theroad to Kandy is a place that willmake your heart melt. Here you willmeet young, elderly and sick wildelephants who have been brought inbecause they need constant care andattention from local volunteers andworkers. The staff will encourageyou to be active and if you're not toonervous, do offer to feed the babyeles their milk. You can also haveyour picture taken next to any adult-eles who are feeling photo-friendly

(at least one usually is).If you're feeling particularly

brave, you can even go on a bit of aride through the trees on the back ofone of the trained elephants. The£10 ride comes with a caretaker andsomeone who will look after you andtalk you through the trail - so you'renever on your own. And there's evena chance for a little play in a localstream if you're up for gettingsplashed. And if you're there aroundsunset, ask to follow the elephantsdown to their bathing grounds - anearby river. Here you can watch thelarge herd play in the water whileyou enjoy a well-earned juice androti in the nearby café.SIGIrIYa rOck: Fancy a bit of ahike - or better still, a great view?Then this SL gem will fit into yourtrip nicely. Sigiriya Rock Fortress - aUNESCO World Heritage Site - is a1,214ft high stone structure in thecentral district of Sri Lanka. It'sthought to be a 'magma plug' from anow extinct and long-disappearedvolcano. The walls of Sigiriya showscribblings from pilgrims and it'sthought that the rock was used as ashelter for a monastery way back in5th Century BC. The surroundinggardens make a scenic walk before-hand and of course the view from thetop is quite special. Even the locallittle kiddies and old aunties are ableto make it to the top. Just beware,there are quite a number of steps sobring plenty of water and take it easy.aNcIENt rUINS OF POLON-NarUwa: Polonnaruwa is SriLanka's medieval capital and it'shere where you'll get to be really ad-venturous with your history. Theruins of the ancient city are there to

be discovered and within the area,you'll find the left overs of palaces,dagobas, temples and walls. It's trulybeautiful to see. Nearby Habaranaand Dambulla are worth a visit too,because you'll find scattered ruins enroute. There is also a rather locallywell-known wild elephant who al-ways seems to be hanging out on theroad to Dambulla.adaM'S PEak (SrI Pada:) An-other sky-high feature of Central SriLanka is this stunning 7,359ft coni-cal mountain. Visitors from all faithscome from miles around to make thetrip to the top of Adam's Peak - all inorder to see the 'sacred footprint'which lies near the summit. Thoughtto belong to Buddha, this footprint isover 5ft 11in in length.

You'll need to be fit to scale thisone - so it may not be one for all thefamily, but it certainly is somethingunique if you do decide to do it, es-pecially if you start the hike earlyenough to watch the sunrise fromthe mountain. It really is a wonder-ous view from up there! The trip tothe top and back down can take upto seven hours, so give yourselfplenty of time, carbs and water!

December to April are the bestmonths to visit - the other months ofthe year are likely to bring heavy rainto the area.UNawatUNa aNd SOUtHcOaSt BEacHES: Drive south ofColombo on the Galle Road andyou'll eventually reach the southcoast - and here's where you'll findsome of the prettiest beaches on theisland. There are palm trees-a-plentyand a series of cute boutique hotelsto stop off at if you fancy lunch oreven a stay. WASHINGTON POST

Vitamen E may lower risks of liver cancer

HiDDen gemS of Sri LAnkA

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 14

Sunday, 22 July, 2012

Page 18

mcilroy, westwoodstill struggling at open

CARLSBADAFP

FRENCH top seed Marion Bar-toli held off a spirited challengefrom young AmericanChristina McHale to move into

the semi-finals of the WTA Carlsbad eventwith a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win on Friday. Bartoli,who will not be playing the LondonOlympics, competed with a thigh strap-ping after suffering an injury in her matchthe day before.

She cut down her double-faults froma massive 18 the previous night to 11against fifth seed McHale, who beat her atthe US Open last summer.

"I really don't know why it's happen-ing," she said of the faulty serve. "But it'shurting my whole motion. Maybe I'm notjumping as high as I'm able to do whenI'm on my best. "When you're goingthrough those kind of patches you have tofind a way somehow, that's obviously agood sign for me."

The French number one accountedfor her second straight American victimas she beat McHale in a struggle lastingalmost three hours. She ousted VaniaKing 24 hours earlier to start her week insouthern California. Bartoli has achievedher career best at the tournament on herseventh appearance.

She next faces an unknown threat inChan Yung-jan, who earned one of thebiggest upsets of her career as the quali-fier outlasted former world No. 1 JelenaJankovic 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (10/8), 7-5.

Second seed Dominika Cibulkovabeat Poland's Ursula Radwanska 6-4, 6-4while Russian fourth seed Nadia Petrovawill line up against the Slovak after beat-ing Varvara Lepchenko of the US 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5).

Taiwan's Chan, who is ranked 161,dealt a blow to the third seededJanokovic's hopes as she won the secondlongest match of the season on the WTATour. The encounter lasted three hours,13 minutes -- four minutes less than thelongest so far on the circuit.

Chan was playing in her ninth careerquarter-final -- her last was three yearsago -- and made the most of the opportu-nity against the Serb.

"It feels very special for me becauseshe was a former No. 1," said Chan. "Thisis my best result since (stomach) surgeryat the end of last year (which cost her

three months off court.)"This really means a lot for me, since

I was in quallies. It could be one of thebest matches in my career."

Jankovic, who has a home in the area,was up a set and led 3-1 in the secondwhen she appeared to come unravelledafter Chan took a medical timeout.

A broken string on the final point didnot help her cause and provided a fittingpunctuation to the disappointing end.

"I'm frustrated and disappointed,"said Jankovic. "I completely lost focus. Itwas so tough mentally and physically andmy forehand let me down.

"I had the match under control andlet it go. I let her come back, I messed up.When you're down you have to keep thefocus."

Chan will be in not so familiar terri-tory when she plays only the fourth WTAlevel semi-final of her career. Her lastcame in 2008 in Strasbourg.

Jankovic has been on a slow roadback to form over the past few seasonsand had played in her first final lastmonth in Birmingham since Cincinnatilast summer. Prior to this week, the Serbhad lost in the first round 11 times thisseason.

Bartoli survives anotherscare to advance

CITIUS, Altius, Fortius is a Latin expressionmeaning "Faster, Higher, Stronger". These wordsform the motto of Baron Pierre de Coubertin's

ideals for the Olympic Movement that he founded in the1890s. The London Olympics 2012 are the second suchevent following the 1948 Games when England werecoming out of the ravages of the World War II. An earlierOlympic Games were held in London in 1908. In the 64years since the 1948 games, primarily owing to the onsetof television and live satellite generated coverage, theOlympics have become the pinnacle event of all sport.

The Olympic Games have a history that goes backto the 6th or 5th century BC. In those days the Gameswere held every four years, and this period, known asan Olympiad, was used by Greeks as one of their unitsof time measurement. Also, a distance of 200 steps wasknown as a stadion, from which the stadium evolved.The long dormant Olympics were revived in the 1890sby Baron de Coubertin who formed the InternationalOlympic Committee in 1894, and the rudimentaryGames were held in Greece in 1896. Except forthe war years of 1916, 1940 and 1944 and theMoscow Games boycott of 1980, the Gameshave been held every four years. The winterOlympics are held two years after the sum-mer Olympics and are on a smaller scale.

In the 1896 Games in Greece, the partic-ipants consisted of 14 nations and 241 athleteswho competed in 43 events. Compared to this,there were 10,500 competitors from 204 countries atthe 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The OlympicGames programme consists of 35 sports, 30 disci-plines and nearly 400 events. The role of television inthe furtherance of the Olympic movement cannot beoverstated. The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlinwere the first Games to be broadcast on television,though only to local audiences. The 1956 WinterOlympics were the first internationally televisedOlympic Games, and the following Winter Games hadtheir broadcasting rights sold for the first time to spe-cialised television broadcasting networks. Today

there is no corner of this planet where the OlympicGames cannot be viewed in all their splendor.

The other day, following his Wimbledon loss toRoger Federer, Andy Murray stated that he wouldvalue a Wimbledon gold medal more than a majorGrand Slam event. That statement underlines the im-portance that the tennis world has started to attach tothe Olympics tennis event that is being held at the tra-ditional tennis home of Wimbledon. Tennis was notheld in the Olympics from 1924 to 1988. The issue thatmade this happen was that the IOC wanted that Wim-bledon not be held during the Olympic year. Therewere also some questions as to who were amateurs andprofessionals among the tennisplayers. But all this was longforgotten when Steffi Grafadded the Olympic gold toher Grand Slam to

achieve the one and only Golden Slam. There havebeen many athletes who have achieved immortalitythrough their performances at the Olympic Games. In1912, the native American athlete Jim Thorpe was thestar with his all-round display in winning both the pen-tathlon and the decathlon. But because he had playedtwo years of semi-pro baseball prior to the Games, hismedals were taken away, only to be restored in 1983.

In the 1920s, Paavo Nurmi was the best middle andlong distance runner in the world, setting worldrecords at distances between 1500m and 20km. Nurmi

won a total of nine gold and three silver medals in the12 events in which he competed at the Olympic Gamesfrom 1920 to 1928. In particular, he won five goldmedals at the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris,which is still the most athletics gold medals at oneOlympics in the history of the Games.

Jesse Owens set the Berlin Olympics stadium alightwith his performances in the sprints and the longjump, reportedly making Adolf Hitler storm out of thestadium in indignation. After the World War II hiatusin London 1948, Emil Zatopek, the “Czech Locomo-tive”, won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metresruns, but his final medal came when he decided at thelast minute to compete in the first marathon of his life.

Other stars of the summer Games that come tomind are, Al Oerter, who won four straight discussmedals from 1964 to 1968, Cassius Clay (later Mo-

hammad Ali) who won gold in the light heavy-weight in Rome 1960, Mark Spitz, whobetween 1968 and 1972, Spitz won nineOlympic golds plus a silver and a bronze. The

highest ever medal winner is Michael Phelpsthe American swimmer who has won 16

Olympic medals – six gold and two bronze atAthens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008.

Nadia Comaneci reset the bar in gymnastics bysecuring the first ever perfect 10 at the 1976 MontrealGames. A Romanian, she was the winner of threeOlympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympicsin Montreal and the first female gymnast to beawarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic event.She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica is hoping to join this illus-trious group of athletes by winning the 100, 200 andthe relay in London. He has already torn up therecord books with some stupendous performancesincluding a run of 9.58 in the 100 and 19.19 in the200 sprints. He is the reigning Olympic champion inall three events and should he win in London as well,would be the first sprinter to do so. The only thing heneeds to fear is the ludicrous foul system where onefalse start and you are out. The IAAF would do wellto consider the card system used by soccer, whichwould give a little bit of cushion to the sprinters.

aussie greatswaugh, Perkinsclash over sledging

LONDONAFP

Former Australian cricket captain SteveWaugh and swimming legend KierenPerkins, both liaison officers with theircountry's Olympic delegation, clashed overthe controversial use of sledging Saturday.Waugh, who once referred to sledging as'mental disintegration', insisted that therewas a role for the tactic, whereby an oppo-nent is subject to a constant barrage of in-sults aimed at undermining his confidence."There is always a role for sledging," Waughsaid on Saturday. "In any sport there aremind games but cricket is a bit different tomost sports because you're out in the fieldfor seven hours but most of these sports areshorter." However, Perkins, the 1992 and1996 Olympic gold medallist in the 1500m,said that the ploy was a sign of weakness onthe part of the sledgers. "The people who dothe sledging generally aren't good enough,so they have to find other ways to slow usdown," said the 38-year-old. "Those of usthat are good enough just get on with it."Meanwhile, Waugh revealed that he had topoint out the finer points of the home ofcricket, Lord's, where the Olympic archery istaking place next week. "I gave some adviceto one of the archery team the other day be-cause she didn't reallyknow what Lord'swas," he ex-plained. "I askedher which end isshe shootingfrom and she said,'The end wherethere is an old, redbuilding behind us'and I said, 'That is ac-tually the Lord'sPavilion'."

A bit of Olympic historySerena williams getstreatment for back pain

WASHINGTONAFP

Reigning Wimbledon champ SerenaWilliams has pulled out of an exhibitionmatch to get treatment for back pain,but she said Friday that would not keepher out of the London Olympics.Williams said she needed to rest herback after her two recent titles. "I'm dis-appointed that I won't be able to see my(Washington) DC fans, but can't wait togo for gold in London," Williams said.The American has never won an Olympicsingles crown but she hopes to changethat when Olympic tennis competitionsbegin on July 28 at Wimbledon.

Probables named forwomen’s world t20

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB)women’s wing on Friday announced 30probables for the ICC Women’s WorldTwenty20 to be played in Sri Lanka fromSeptember 18 to October 7. “The finalsquad will be announced later,” said aspokesperson for the PCB women’s wing.

PROBABLES:Sana mir, bismah maroof, Syeda Nain fatima abidi,mariam Hassan Shah, Nida rashid, rabiya Shah,qanita Jalil, kainat imtiaz, asmavia iqbal, kanwalNaz, Sana Gulzar, almas akram, elizabeth khan, ma-sooma Junaid farooqi, Javeria wadood, Nahida bibi,Sania iqbal khan, Syeda batool fatima, marina iqbal,zeba manzoor Hussain, Sumaiya Siddiqui, Sidra amin,Sidra Nawaz, Javeria rauf, Namra imran, komal feroz,ayesha qazi, Diana baig, Sadia yousaf and aliya riaz.

ALI AKBAR

Comment

carlSbaD: marion bartoli of france plays at thenet against christina mcHale during day seven of the mercury insurance open. afp

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 16

Sports 16Sunday, 22 July, 2012

LONDONAFP

SOUTH Africa captain Graeme Smithhit a century in his 100th Test andshared a record partnership withHashim Amla as the Proteas played

themselves into a strong position on the thirdday of the first Test match against England atthe Oval here on Saturday. South Africa were277 for two at tea, 108 runs behind England'sfirst innings total of 385.

Smith (131) and Amla (131 not out) put on259 for the second wicket before Smith wasbowled off an inside edge, pushing defen-sively at Tim Bresnan.

It was a record second wicket stand forSouth Africa against England, beating by tworuns the mark set by Smith and current coachGary Kirsten at Lord's in 2003.

On a dry pitch, already offering variablebounce and turn for the spinners, Smith andAmla dug in and played risk-free cricket togrind down England's bowling attack.

The pair had to work hard in the firsthour against the combination of fast bowlerJames Anderson and off-spinner GraemeSwann. Left-handed opener Smith in partic-ular struggled to score against Swann andwas stuck on 48 for almost half an hour be-fore working Swann to midwicket for threeruns to raise the slowest half-century of hisTest career.

It took Smith 160 balls to reach his fifty,which came in the last over before the mid-morning drinks break. But the scoring ratepicked up markedly, with Swann conceding21 runs in two overs either side of drinks.

Smith unleashed a flurry of boundaries inthe next hour and needed just 41 deliveries to

notch his second half-century. He completed his 25th Test century two

balls before lunch with a square cut for fouroff seamer Bresnan.

Smith then went back into attritionalmode after lunch, taking 71 more balls to add28 runs, including a burst of three fours offsuccessive balls against Stuart Broad. Hisdismissal came in the eighth over with thesecond new ball, the first ball of a new spellby Bresnan.

Amla, meanwhile, reached his 15th Testcentury off 199 balls with 13 fours. He hadfaced 261 balls by tea, hitting 17 fours.

Smith became the seventh player to scorea century in his 100th Test, joining ColinCowdrey, Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge,Alec Stewart, Inzamam-ul-Haq and RickyPonting. It was his seventh century againstEngland and his fifth in England.

Smith and Amla tame england bowlersSCOREBOARD AT TEA INTERVAL

ENGLAND 1st Innings 385 (A Cook 115, J Trott 71, M Prior 60; M Morkel 4-72)

SOUTH AFRICA 1st Innings (overnight: 86-1)

G. Smith b Bresnan 131

A. Petersen lbw b Anderson 0

H. Amla not out 131

J. kallis not out 10

Extras (lb4, nb1) 5

TOTAL (2 wkts, 92 overs) 277

Fall of wicket: 1-1 (Petersen), 2-260 (Smith)

To bat: AB de Villiers, J Rudolph, JP Duminy, V Philander, D Steyn, M

Morkel, Imran Tahir

Bowling: Anderson 25-5-77-1 (1nb); Broad 18-4-65-0; Swann 28-9-65-0;

Bresnan 16-2-48-1, Bopara 4-0-14-0, Pietersen 1-0-4-0

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, kevin

Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior (wkt), Tim Bresnan, Stuart

Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson

Match situation: South Africa trail by 108 runs with eight first innings

wickets remaining

Toss: England, Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS), Asad Rauf (PAk), TV umpire:

kumar Dharmasena (SRI), Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NzL)

SCOREBOARD

loNDoN: South african captain Graeme Smith celebrates after scoring a century in his 100th test while Hashim amla celebratesafter scoring a century during day 3 of the first test match between england and South africa at the oval in london. afp

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 17

Sports17Sunday, 22 July, 2012

Comaneci raises roof asflame starts London tour

LONDONAFP

OLYMPICS legend Nadia Comanecicarried the 2012 torch on the roofof the North Greenwich Arena asthe flame began a seven-day tour

of London that will culminate at the Gamesopening ceremony.

The perfect 10-scoring Romanian gym-nast, who won five gold medals over the 1976and 1980 Olympics, passed the flame on toBritish ex-NBA basketball star John Amaechiatop the former Millennium Dome, whichwill host the artistic and trampoline gymnas-tics as well as the basketball finals.

The Games organisers hope that with theflame now in the British capital, attentionwill turn towards the sport and the finalcountdown to the Olympics -- and away fromthe security and transport fears that doggedthe last week.

The flame spent the night safe in theTower of London, where the British sover-eign's ceremonial jewels are kept, following adramatic arrival in the city Friday, a weekahead of the opening ceremony on July 27.

It was flown in on a Royal Navy helicop-ter and lowered to the ground by a marinecommando carring it in a Davy lamp at-tached to his waist.

The final seven days in London are thelast legs of an 8,000-mile (12,800-kilometre)journey around Britain that has taken theflame within an hour's travel time of 95 per-cent of the British population, taking in fa-mous sports venues, historic sites and placesof outstanding natural beauty.

Its 36-mile (58-kilometre) tour Saturdayaround east London, taking in five of the sixOlympic host boroughs, started at the RoyalObservatory, Greenwich, the location that setthe world's prime meridian.

Natasha Sinha, 15, started the relay at7:20am, or 0620 Greenwich Mean Time.

Robin Knox-Johnson, the first person tosail solo non-stop around the world, took thetorch on a lap of the Cutty Sark, the tea clip-per ship which has undergone a £50 million

(64 million euro) renovation following a firein 2007. Comeneci, who at the Montreal1976 Games became the first gymnast at theOlympics to get a perfect score of 10, thentook the flame at the North GreenwichArena. "I'm very happy and honoured to bepart of the torch relay," the 50-year-old toldBBC television on top of the 20,000-seaterindoor arena.

"Everybody's very excited, just six days tothe opening ceremony.

"This is an historic place and theOlympics came here three times and that'sunique too."

Thousands of spectators were in thestreets to witness the relay.

Later footballer Fabrice Muamba, whosuffered a heart attack during an FA Cupmatch in March, will carry the flame at theend of the 64th day of its 8,000-mile(12,800-kilometre) relay around Britain.

He will take it through the east Londonborough of Waltham Forest, where he livedas a boy after moving to Britain from theDemocratic Republic of Congo.

Also on Saturday's line-up is Britain'soldest marathon runner Fauja Singh, aged101 years old, who will carry the torchthrough the east London borough ofNewham.

British triple jumper Phillips Idowu, theBeijing 2008 silver medallist, and rapperDizzee Rascal will also carry the torch.

Royal Marine Martyn Williams had thehonour of bringing the Olympic flame to thehost city, abseiling from a Sea King helicop-ter hovering over the entrance to the Towerof London.

"I obviously checked out the view on theway in and saw London and everybody downhere and you think, 'wow this is a bit morethan just a normal abseil'," he told AFP.

"But as soon as I got in the door and gotmy hands on the rope, it is just another ab-seil from a helicopter so I just had to comedown as per usual.

"I said I'd like to do it and the job cameto me so I'm very lucky and very proud to behere."

Soeda surprises Nishikori in all-Japan clashATLANTA

AFP

Go Soeda routed third-seeded compatriotKei Nishikori 6-2, 6-1 at the ATP Tour's At-lanta Open on Friday in the first meetingbetween the two Japanese stars. Eighth-seeded Soeda saved all seven break pointshe faced on serve and went four-for-fouron break point chances on his return in the72-minute quarter-final contest.

"I think he was more nervous, but I wasnervous, too," said Soeda. "His ranking ishigh, and I had nothing to lose." The matchhad historic significance as it was the firstcontest between two Japanese players in anATP World Tour quarter-final, the organ-isers said. This was also the first time thepair have squared off against each other asprofessionals. Soeda, of Kanagawa, turnedpro in 2003 and the younger Nishikori fol-lowed four years later.

World number 19 Nishikori, of Shi-

mane, will now head to the London Gamesand Soeda will join him as soon as the At-lanta hardcourt tournament is over. Theyare expected to play in singles and thendoubles together at the Olympics.

"He played unbelievably well,"Nishikori told The Atlanta Journal-Con-stitution newspaper. "He didn't miss, andhe was really aggressive. I couldn't put ina ball. I lost my confidence." This is thefirst ATP Tour semi-final for Soeda sincethe opening week of the season, when hemade it to the Chennai Open semis andlost there to Janko Tipsarevic. He is cur-rently ranked 54th in the world.

Soeda next plays Luxembourg's GillesMuller, who beat Australian MatthewEbden 6-4, 6-4 on Friday. The 29-year-old Muller won 32 of his first 35 first-serve points and did not face a breakpoint. Muller is a two-time ATP Tour run-ner-up and is chasing his first title. He isin a final for the first time in seven years.

atlaNta: kei Nishikori of Japan congratulates Go Soeda of Japan at the net after theirmatch during the bb&t atlanta open. afp

ioc hand

Nigeria relay

gold in Pettigrew

dope caseLONDON

AFP

Nigeria were officially awarded themen's 4x400m relay gold medal fromthe 2000 Olympics on Saturday follow-ing a meeting of the InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC) ExecutiveBoard.The Nigerians took the gold originallywon by the United States, who havesince been disqualified because of thelate Antonio Pettigrew confessing tohaving been doped at the time of theGames.Nigeria are elevated to title winners withJamaica taking silver and the Bahamasthe bronze."Pettigrew was disqualified in August2008 but the EB delayed a decision onreallocation until it had received infor-mation stemming from investigationsinto the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Opera-tive (BALCO) sports-doping scandal," astatement read."Having confirmed that no further infor-mation on other athletes would be forth-coming the EB agreed to reallocate themedals and diplomas."The teams from Nigeria, Jamaica andthe Bahamas that finished behind theUS men in the 4x400m race will beawarded gold, silver and bronze medalsrespectively." However, the ExecutiveBoard were not able to perform such anexercise regarding the US women's4x400m relay gold medal winners fromthe 2004 Games despite Crystal Cox ad-mitting afterwards she took steroidsfrom 2001-2004.

rice shouldersburden for australia

MANCHESTERAFP

Stephanie Rice, a triple gold medallistin Beijing four years ago, is battling ashoulder injury as she builds up for theLondon Olympics.The 24-year-old Rice holds the 400mwomen's individual medley worldrecord and collected gold four years agoin her signature event as well as the200m individual medley and in the4x200m freestyle relay.But coach Michael Bohl said Fridaythat the injury remains a concern andhas to be managed in training."She's had problems with the shoulderand the shoulder has been flaring upfrom time to time," said Bohl."It's not bad all the time, but everytimeshe does something pretty hard, ittends to tighten up and she has to goeasy for a day or two. "So it's just really adjusting and manip-ulating her training around to fit inwith the shoulder problem."

LONDONAFP

In Britain's provincial gyms, pools,schools and leisure centres, global super-stars like Usain Bolt are fine-tuning theirpreparations for the London 2012 Gamesin some unlikely venues. Locals at theCheltenham lido have got used to pad-dling around alongside Malawi's twoOlympic swimmers, while China's gym-nasts are training outside Belfast andAfghanistan's lone female athlete is on thetrack in Welwyn Garden City.

More than 200 delegations from morethan 90 countries have set up trainingcamps across the country, far from the hub-bub of the Olympic Park in Stratford.

The camps are a bid to make the restof the UK feel part of the LondonOlympics, while providing an economicboost to the regions in recession-hitBritain. Bolt and the rest of the Jamaicanathletics team are based at the University

of Birmingham in Britain's second city,while their US rivals are training acrosstown at the Alexander Stadium. Sportsfans have been able to watch the Ameri-cans in action on the track, while competi-tors have been out in the city speaking tolocal schoolchildren. Meanwhile 100 and200 metres world record holder Bolt andthe rest of the Jamaican athletics teamhave been kept away from the fans.

Bolt has had his mattress replaced by acustom-made, seven-foot (2.13-metre) or-thopaedic one, in order to help his chronicback problem. "There was a fear Usainwould be uncomfortable with his bed so inthe last few days we've had a special ortho-pedic mattress made for him," the univer-sity's sports director told the DailyTelegraph newspaper.

The university has even given the Ja-maicans food to make them feel at home --but chefs were unable to source a goat'shead. Russia's swimmers are at a boardingschool in the Somerset countryside; the

Namibian and Zambian delegations are ata leisure centre in Glasgow; Kenya's highly-regarded athletes are training around thecity of Bristol, while squads from Trinidadand Tobago, Botswana and New Zealandare in Cardiff. Northern Ireland is hostingthe Australian and Cuban boxers atQueen's University Belfast, while the Su-danese, Kuwaiti, Egyptian and Qatari ath-letics squads are at the Antrim Forum. TheChinese artistic gymnasts are at the Saltocentre in Lisburn and have been givena warm welcome, and have even metlocal golf hero Rory McIlroy. "It was alovely surprise to be greeted at the air-port by so many people," saidhead coach HuangYubin. "It made usfeel very welcomestraight away andhelps build ourexcitement forthe Games."C h i n a ' s

gymnastics squad won 11 golds at the 2008Beijing Games and it is hoped that the pres-ence of such a highly-regarded team willput Northern Ireland on the map for Chi-nese tourists and inspire local athletes. TheLondon Games organisers offered £25,000($40,000, 32,000 euros) to every nationalOlympic committee sending a team to oneof the pre-approved camps, but it is hoped

that the economic reward will morethan outweigh the investment. "Thefact that there are training campsall round Britain was a very delib-

erate part of a strategy of makingsure that the whole country bene-

fited from the Olympic Games inLondon," said Tessa Jowell,

Britain's Olympics minis-ter from 2005 to 2010."In many cases, the facil-ities have been improvedand upgraded," she toldAFP. "Something likethe US track and field

team training in Birmingham is probablyworth millions of pounds in terms of in-ward investment. "It helps the rest of thecountry feel part of it and it makes sure thebenefits, as far as is humanly possible, arespread to the rest of the country."

With an eye on improving theirOlympic performance ahead of the Rio deJaneiro 2016 Games, Brazil has most ofits sports teams in one place, taking overthe ageing Crystal Palace complex insouth London.

They have even brought top Brazilianchef Roberta Sudbrack to turn the nutri-tionists' demands into a menu that will pro-vide a taste of home. Despite the facilities,organisers can do nothing about theweather. China's Liu Xiang, who won the110 metres hurdles gold in Athens 2004,was training at a university college inTwickenham, west London. However, hehas had enough of training in the miserableBritish summer weather and has decampedto Germany to complete his preparations.

World stars warm up in British provinces

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 18

choi, Pagunsanmake open cut

LYTHAMAFP

Reigning Asian Tour number one JuvicPagunsan of the Philippines and SouthKorean star K.J. Choi endured a nervouswait before making the cut at the BritishOpen after Friday's second round. Pagun-san, who teed off in the second group ofthe morning, imagined he had squan-dered his chances of making the cut in theafter a three-putt bogey on the 18th lefthim on two-over par 72 for the day andthree-over 143 for 36 holes. "I wanted tomake a par there to finish at two over butI made a three putt. A bit disappointing,"Pagunsan said. "My first putt was toostrong. I thought it was going to be a bitslow as it was uphill and then a bit down-hill. But my ball passed the hill and thenjust rolled down. It wasn't slow." The Fil-ipino said he lacked feel in his hands inthe earl morning cold. "This morning itwas really bad. That’s why I made a fewbogeys," he said. "My hands couldn’t notfeel the club. It was really hard. It gotbetter. At the start my body was freezingbut I was so happy with the way Iplayed after that." Pagunsan, 34, had towait for over nine hours to learn he hadsqueezed into the last two rounds atRoyal Lytham on the number, a cut linethat moved between 142 and 143 beforefinally settling on the higher number.

WAtCh it Live

ESPNSportscentre

07:30PM

Sports 18Sunday, 22 July, 2012

LYTHAMAFP

rORY McIlroy and Lee West-wood were among the bignames finishing their thirdrounds early Saturday at the

British Open, having played themselvesout of contention at Royal Lytham andSt. Annes. World No. 3 Westwood fireda one-over par 71 to stand on four-over214 through 54 holes at the tricky linkslayout, the Englishman's hopes of claim-ing his first major crown on home soilthis weekend shattered.

World No. 2 McIlroy, the 2011 US

Open winner from Northern Ireland,was four-over through 15 holes withouta sub-par hole on the day.

Westwood made bogeys on three ofthe first six holes, then birdied the par-5seventh and 11th and birdied 13 and 15as well, but for the second time in threedays closed with two bogeys in the finalthree holes to fade back.

"Nothing has been that good thisweek," Westwood said. "I haven't holedenough putts. I hit plenty of fairways.You need to have your game in shape toplay one of these weekends."

Westwood said pin positions weretricky and there was a slight breeze "but

it's still very playable and very scorableout there." Asked if he felt pressure athaving not won a major at age 39, West-wood said "no". Asked if he was sure, headded, "Yeah."

No one had cracked the top 10 of theleaderboard in Saturday's early play asAmerican Brandt Snedeker, the leader at10-under 130 by one stroke over AdamScott of Australia, waited to tee off. TigerWoods, chasing his 15th major title andhis first major triumph since the 2008US Open, was in the penultimate groupalong with Denmark's Thorbjorn Ole-sen, who was excited to play alongsidehis boyhood idol.

from Athensto London

18TH OLYMPIC GAMES IN 1976VENUE: montreal, canadaDATES: July 17 to august 1, 1976NUMBERS OF SPORTS: 21 (198 events)NUMBERS OF NATIONS: 92NUMBERS OF PARTICIPANT: 6028 (4781 menand 1247 women)YOUNGEST GOLD MEDALIST: maria filatova(Soviet union) on 15th birthday in GymnasticsOLDEST GOLD MEDALIST: Harry boldt(west Germany) aged 46 years 157 days in Dressage

FINAL MEDALS TALLY:COUNTRY G S BSoviet union 49 41 35east Germany 40 25 25united States 34 35 25west Germany 10 12 17Japan 9 6 10Poland 7 6 13bulgaria 6 9 7cuba 6 4 3romania 4 9 14Hungary 4 5 13finland 4 2 -Sweden 4 1 -Great britain 3 5 5italy 2 7 4france 2 3 4yugoslavia 2 3 3czechoslovakia 2 2 4New zealand 2 1 1South korea 1 1 4Switzerland 1 1 2Jamaica 1 1 -North korea 1 1 -Norway 1 1 -Denmark 1 - 2mexico 1 - 1trinidad & tobago 1 - -canada - 5 6belgium - 3 3Holland - 2 3Portugal - 2 -Spain - 2 -australia - 1 4iran - 1 1mongolia - 1 -Venezuela - 1 -brazil - - 2austria - - 1bermuda - - 1Pakistan - - 1Puerto rica - - 1thailand - - 1TOTAL 198 199 216

TRIVIA:n in view of the terrorist attack in the 1972 Games

at munich, for the first time in the olympics

elaborate security arrangements were made in

these Games which cost an additional $100 mil-

lion.n the 1976 montreal Games were marred by an

african boycott to protest the fact that the na-

tional rugby team of New zealand had toured

South africa and New zealand was scheduled to

compete in the olympics.n the torch for these Games was brought into the

stadium by two 15-year olds, a boy and a girl -

Stephane Prefontaine of french stock and San-

dra Henderson of english descent, which signi-

fied canada’s joint heritage. interestingly, the

pair were married some years later.n romanian female gymnast Nadia comaneci, be-

came the first to achieve the first-ever maxi-

mum 10.00 marks in the olympics. She ended

the Games with a total of seven maximums.n austrian-born italian klaus Dibiasi, competing in

his fourth Games, became the first diver to gain

three consecutive gold medals.n cuban alberto Juantorena became the first man

to win the 400m/800m olympic double in the

track and field events.n Hungarian miklos Nemeth who won the gold in

the javelin, emulated his father imre Nemeth

who had won the hammer throw in the 1948

Games. they remain the only father and son in

track and field to win gold medals.n american margaret murdock became the first

women to win a shooting medal (a silver) in the

small-bore rifle event.n italian show jumpers raimondo and Piero

D’inzeo set an unprecedented record by compet-

ing in their eighth Games - from 1948 to 1976.n west Germany’s alwin Schockemohle became

the only third rider in the history of the Games

to win a jumping title without any faults.n Soviet union’s basketball player iuliana Semen-

ova at 2.18m (7ft 1 in) became the tallest female

to appear in the olympic Games. She also re-

mains the tallest athlete (male or female) to

win a gold medal.n the revenge men’s basketball match between

Soviet union and the united States did not take

place as the former were beaten by yugoslavia

in the semi-finals.n Hockey was played on an artificial pitch for the

first time.

S. PERvEz QAISER

stats Corner

LONDON: Olympic

torch Bearers John

Amaechi (L) and Nadia

Comaneci posing for

pictures on the viewing

platform of the North

Greenwich Arena. AFP

lytHam: lee westwood of england reacts to his birdie putt on the 15th green during his third round 71 on day three while rory mcilroyof Northern ireland plays a shot from the 6th fairway during the 2012 british open Golf championship. afp

mcilroy, Westwoodstill struggling at open

lytHam: this handout photo released bythe asian tour on July 21, 2012 shows JuvicPagunsan of the Philippines during round threeof the british open golf championship. afp

ISB 22-07-2012_Layout 1 7/22/2012 12:30 AM Page 19

Sunday, 22 July, 2012

19

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

ISLAMABADAPP

PRIME Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Saturday saidpolitical leaders of the country were “pro-Pakistan” andhe would contact them all to solicit their views onmatters of national importance at an appropriatetime.\ “All political leaders are pro-Pakistan and

genuinely desire that the country march on a trajectory of peace,prosperity and stability, under a strong democratic system,” he said.He added that the politicians of the country know the “art of possible”and the recent unanimous selection of the Chief ElectionCommissioner was the physical manifestation of theiracumen and commitment through democraticpractices. Maintaining that the Pakistanipoliticians have learned from history, the primeminister said, “Together we would overcomethe challenges with the same spirit in thefuture as well. They are not going to repeat thesame mistakes, come what may.” Ashraf saidthat the current democratic era in the countrywas passing through an evolution and adegree of ups and downs were inevitable, buthe was optimistic that the system wouldbecome stable with the passage of time.Democracy in Pakistan was strong and stablebecause the people of Pakistan were fullyconvinced that the solution to all ills was inpursuing a strong democratic setup, hemaintained and added that democracy was atthe heart of ideological and intellectualfoundations of Pakistan. LONDON

AGENCIES

One of Pakistan’s most influential cler-ics has renounced his previous supportfor polio immunisation, claiming thatthe programme was a cover for Ameri-can spies, dealing a fresh blow to effortsto rid the world of the crippling virus.

Samiul Haq, nicknamed the fatherof the Taliban for his role in educatingmany of the Afghan students who roseup to capture Kabul in the 1990s, alsooffered foreign governments a chillingdeal: end American drone strikes orleave children unprotected.

He had been an unlikely ally of theWorld Health Organisation andUNICEF. Earlier this year, Haq admin-istered polio drops to his grandson andurged followers to do the same. But henow says he cannot back the policyafter it emerged the CIA had used afake hepatitis drive to hunt for Osamabin Laden last year. Shakil Afridi, thePakistani doctor who organised thevaccination campaign, has been sen-tenced to 33 years in prison andsparked a wave of paranoia about for-eign aid workers. “The moral behindimposing a ban on the vaccination isnot about whether it is un-Islamic ornot, but the moral comes from the caseof Shakil Afridi,” said Haq in an inter-view with The Daily Telegraph. “The

people who are involved in this cam-paign, many agencies are involved, andthey are using it for their other causes.”

Pakistan is one of three countrieswhere the disease remains endemic. Only22 cases have been reported this year –compared with 59 in the same period in2011 – and hopes were high that thecountry could soon be declared polio free.However, hard-line clerics have long op-posed what they suspect is a Westernconspiracy against Muslims. Their oppo-sition meant health workers carefully cul-tivated moderate leaders, who issuedfatwas – or religious rulings – declaringvaccination to be in line with Islamic

teaching. But he explained that while im-munisation might be permitted by Islam,it made no sense for foreign agencies totry to keep children free from diseasewhile at the same time bombing Pakistan.

Samiul Haq renounces support for polio immunisationg Says moral behind imposing a ban on vaccination comes from the case of Shakil afridi

Politicians want strongdemocracy in Pakistan

POLIO WORKERSHOT, KILLEDIN KARACHIThe UN health agency says a localcommunity worker who helped ananti-polio campaign in Pakistan hasbeen shot and killed in Karachi —days after two of its staff wereinjured in a shooting in the city. TheWorld Health Organisation saidMuhammad Ishaq was killed onFriday evening. In a statementSaturday, it did not specify anysuspected motive. Immunisationactivities in Pakistan’s biggest citywere suspended this week after theprevious incident. Pakistan — one ofonly three countries where thedisease is endemic — is in the middleof a campaign to vaccinate childrenunder five. Taliban militants innorthern Pakistan have barred thevaccination campaign from territoryunder their control, saying it can’t goforward until the US stops dronestrikes in the country. NEWS DESK

LONDON: A Yeoman or ‘Beefeater’ holds the Olympic Flame in a lantern after its arrival by helicopter to the Tower of

London on Saturday. The Olympic flame made a dramatic arrival in London on Friday to tour the capital before it plays a

starring role in the opening ceremony in one week’s time. afp

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