Sunday, 31 March, 2013 Jamadi ul Awwal 18, 1434Rs 25.00 Vol III No 273 19 Pages Karachi Edition

STORY ON PAGE 02

STORY ON PAGE 04

Felt a little insulted,humiliated standingbefore judge in court,says MusharrafMusharraf’s name placedon ECL

CSS candidates stealanswer sheets,leave FPSC gropingin the dark

STORY ON PAGE 02

STORY ON PAGE 03

STORY ON PAGE 03

STORIES ON PAGE 03

PML-N holds back ticket announcement for fear

of backlash

Policeman killed, two injuredin Mardan suicide attack

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ANWER ABBAS

PAKISTAN Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) Chairman Imran Khan onSaturday gave a five-year dead-line to eliminate load sheddingfrom the country, if voted into

power. He said his deadline is based onsound judgement, unlike the one given byformer premier and minister for water andpower Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

Addressing the inauguration ceremonyof PTI’s ‘Tabdeeli Razakar Program’, Khansaid corruption was a major reason behindpersistent load shedding across the country.He said PTI vows to maintain power supplyto domestic as well as commercial users,adding that the issue will be completely re-dressed in five years. Khan reiterated his re-solve for recovering looted wealth belongingto the country. He said his first priority wasrecovery of plundered national wealth andholding corrupt personnel accountable.

Young volunteers, said Khan, would be

the foot-soldiers of hisparty’s election cam-paign.

All forces of statusquo, Khan added, arejoining hands overtlyand covertly to onceagain plunder nationalwealth but their de-signs would be thwarted by the PTI, he said.

“All status-quo parties tried their best toattract youngsters by making different offersto them, but they should now admit the fact

that money has no match for passion,”said the PTI chief. Khan said the youthhas committed to bring about a change inthe country through the platform of PTI,adding that status quo parties have turnedpolitics into family businesses and are notconcerned with the country’s progress.

“I want to see youth in power be-cause theywant toserve thecountry.Real com-pe t i t i onwill takeplace dur-ing theseelectionsbetweenforces ofcorruptionand the

PTI and I know how to come out a winner,”said the PTI chief.

Khan said people in streets were con-fronted with hardships due to apathy of these

so-called political leaders who remained inpower for years but took no remedial meas-ure for the masses.

“The tsunami is very much here and itwill reach Mingora on Sunday. A historicgathering is going to be held in Swat,” hesaid, adding that all issues of the countrycould be resolved by bringing reforms in thesystem and by wiping out corruption fromgovernment departments.

Khan said 0.2 million members had reg-istered under the ‘Tabdeeli Razakar Pro-gram’ and the PTI will soon meet its targetof enrolling one million volunteers.

Conveying his message to PTI volun-teers, Khan said, “You will have to conductdoor-to-door visits to inform the public aboutour manifesto. We will implement our man-ifesto in its true letter and spirit. We willovercome the issue of load shedding aftercoming into power”. “We will appoint 10youths at a single booth so the possibility ofrigging polls could be checked during elec-tions,” Khan said. “I want to form a newPakistan where my sons can live alongsideme, happy and safe,” he said.

Will end load shedding infive years, says Imran Khan

CORRUPTION IS AMAJOR REASONBEHIND PERSISTENTLOAD SHEDDINGACROSS THE COUNTRY

LAHORENADEEM SYED

With deadline for filing nomination papersexpiring today (Sunday), major partieshave failed to announce tickets for majordistricts leaving the aspirants high and dry.

In Lahore, the PML-N remained inde-cisive and fell far short of announcing tick-ets for aspirants from major districts of theprovince.

Party sources said the Sharifs, in orderto preempt defections from the party, werekeeping decisions on the ticket for theeleventh hour.

Another senior leader said the partyleadership deliberately withheld decisionsto cool down angry workers protesting dayin and day out against party’s selectionprocess.

Insiders said the PML-N had deferredthe announcement of tickets for Lahore,Gujranwala and Faisalabad while an-nouncing tickets to candidates from DGKhan, Sheikhupura and Sargodha on Sat-urday.

Surprisingly, Nawaz Sharif did notaward tickets to the Leghari brothers, sonsof former president Farooq Leghari.

It has been learnt that the PML-N par-liamentary board would meet on Tuesday

to take up the remaining districts, espe-cially Lahore.

Meanwhile, the party high-ups haveasked all aspirants to file nomination pa-pers on their own for the time being, ex-posing those candidates to the scrutiny ofElection Commission who stand lesschances of getting tickets.

Political analysts say the ditheringover award of tickets would spoil the pre-cious time of candidates, which he shouldotherwise spend in the constituency.

Following the filing of nominations,ECP will start scrutiny of the candidates’papers. This would be followed by a phasein which a candidate could file appeals andresort to withdrawal of his candidacy pa-pers. On April 17 he could produce partyticket before ECP and in return would beallotted party symbol.

The party sources expect quick deci-sion-making once the deadline for nomi-nation paper lapses.

Politicians say parties only had time tofirm up their decisions before April 17.

“The leadership has everything inmind especially whom to awardticket. They are just avoiding back-lash from those not likely to get aticket. Hence they are buying time,”another insider revealed.

PML-N holds back ticketannouncement for fear of backlash

PML-N workers

protest over

distribution

of tickets LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

Disgruntled workers of the PML-Non Saturday protested outside theparty’s Model Town Secretariatagainst the party’s decision toaward tickets to ‘outsiders’.A large number of workers mainlyfrom Lahore, Sheikhupura andLodhran took part in the protestwhen Nawaz Sharif and otherparty leaders were nominatingwomen candidates for the reservedseats.To add fuel to the fire, twoworkers climbed up an electricitypole. Some workers also stoppedthe car of former provincialminister Dost Muhammad Khosaand aggressively protested againstthe party’s selection criteria. Later, party leaders come out toappease the workers.Talking to reporters, the protestingworkers said the party should givetop preference to its own workersin awarding tickets to contestelections.These protests are being sponsoredby various groups within the party,showing a division in the partyacross Punjab.Meanwhile, Khosa met NawazSharif. In the meeting, Nawazassured Khosa that he would nottake the sons of former presidentFarooq Ahmed Khan Legharionboard. Khosa was assured thathe would be given ticket from theconstituency he contestedelections in 2008.

PML-N demandscourts takeMusharraf to task LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has finally broken itssilence on the return of former presidentPervez Musharraf to Pakistan. Talking toreporters on Saturday, Ahsan Iqbal said theformer president had committed a crime byoverthrowing an elected government. Heurged the courts to initiate legalproceedings against Musharraf. Iqbal saidthe list of Musharraf’s crimes was a longone. “He has left no stone unturned indestroying the peace and integrity ofPakistan,” he alleged. The PML-N leaderadded that the former president had put thecountry’s autonomy and sovereignty atstake, adding that he was responsible for theproblems the country was facing today. NNI

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WASHINGTONAGENCIES

FORMER president Per-vez Musharraf has said hefelt a little “insulted andhumiliated” standing be-fore a judge in a Karachi

court, where he appeared to seek exten-sion of his pre-arrest bail in a series ofcases.

“This is the first time that I ever en-tered a courtroom in my life. If I was tobe very frank with you on my feelings,if you want to know my feelings, thefirst feeling when I stand up for thejudge when he entered which was thenorm, the norm which I had to follow, Idid feel somehow a little insulted, a littlehumiliated,” Musharraf told CNN.

“But then I started thinking to my-

self that I have been saying that every-one is equal in the eyes of law. So Ithought to myself, well, I have been say-ing this. The law applies to me also,”said the former military ruler.

Asked if he trusted the judicial sys-tem, Musharraf said “one has to face allthe consequences”.

“I know… my conviction is thatthere is nothing against me. And therewere arrest warrants that were issued,for my non-appearance in the court,” hesaid.

“Now when I appeared in the court,

there shouldn’t be a reason for my ar-rest. And we should proceed with thecases. As far as the cases are concerned,they are politicised and there’s nothingagainst me. From any point of view,there is nothing against me. So there-fore, with that conviction, I’ll face thecourts,” he said.

Musharraf told CNN he never sawa bystander hurl a shoe at him as heheaded into a Karachi court on Friday toseek a bail extension on charges of cor-ruption.

“I didn’t even see it. There wasnothing that hit me. Later on, I was told

that somebody hurled something. Butnothing of that sort was visible,” he said.

“I was also told that there were hun-dreds of people who are my supporters.I think later on I was told that the manwas really overpowered and he got athorough beating or something. But Idon’t know who threw what. I didn’tknow at all,” he said.

Musharraf said he had been livingunder threats of death since September11, 2001, when he supported the Amer-ican war on terror and targeted the Tal-iban. “I’ve been suffering from thisthreat all along,” he said.

Felt insulted, humiliated standingbefore judge in court: Musharraf

Former presidentsays he has beenliving under threatsoF death sinceseptember 11, 2001,when he targetedtaliban

MUSHARRAF’S NAME PLACED ON ECL ISLAMABAD: Former president Pervez Musharraf’s name has beenput in the exit-control list (ECL) for his involvement in several cases.The Interior Ministry has sent a notification to the Federal InvestigationAgency (FIA) Immigration in this regard. On Friday, the Sindh HighCourt had ordered Musharraf to not leave the country without seekingprior permission of the courts concerned. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah hadalso granted a 21-day extension to Musharraf in the Benazir Bhuttoassassination and Akbar Bugti case to appear and surrender before thetrial courts. Musharraf arrived in Karachi on March 24 after four yearsin self-exile to contest the upcoming general elections under thebanner of his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML). He hasfiled his nomination papers for the National Assembly from threeconstituencies – NA-250 (Karachi), NA-32 (Chitral) and NA-48(Islamabad). ONlINE

Qamar Zamanrefuses to bePunjab chiefsecretary

LAHOREONlINE

Federal Education Secretary Qamar ZamanChaudhry has refused to take charge as thePunjab chief secretary, saying officers muchbetter than him could be given the post.Chaudhry is stated to be very close to the Sharifbrothers and the chief election commissioner(CEC) had made recommendations a few daysback for his appointment as the chief secretaryin Punjab. Per media reports, the ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP) orderedchanging the chief secretaries of Punjab andSindh, while Imran Khan, chief of PakistanTehreek-e-Insaaf, had expressed reservationsover Punjab Chief Minister Najam Sethi’sdecision to appoint Chaudhry the Punjab chiefsecretary. Subsequently, Chaudhry voluntarilyexcused from taking charge of the topbureaucratic office in Punjab.

Policeman killed, twoinjured in Mardansuicide attack

PESHAWARSTAFF REPORT

A policeman was killed while two others wereinjured in a suicide blast in Katling Bazaar ofthe city, officials said on Saturday. Accordingto police, the attack occurred when police wason routine patrolling. The bomber had initiallylobbed a hand grenade at police personnelstanding outside a police station in the area,officials said. When he was chased by thepersonnel, the bomber blew up himself, theysaid. The attacker had an accomplice whomanaged to flee and police had started asearch for him, they added. Later, policeconfirmed that the attacker’s accomplice alsoblew himself after he had been surrounded bysecurity personnel when he was hiding in ahouse. The injured were shifted to a nearbyhospital for treatment. Tension prevailed in thearea in the aftermath of the incident. Mardan issituated around 50 km northeast of Peshawar,on the edge of Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt,known as a haven for Taliban and alQaedalinked militants.

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

In a scandal that has literally rocked theFederal Public Service Commission,candidates appearing in the Civil Supe-rior Services examination managed tosteal their answer sheets with the helpof post officials and then returned thesame by solving their papers.

The FPSC, which in presentlylooking into the matter, confirmed thatat least one parcel carrying the CSS an-swer sheets of candidates, who ap-peared at a centre in Faisalabad, had

disappeared for several days while fi-nally reaching its destination — theFPSC head-office in Islamabad.

It was also ascertained by the com-mission in its preliminary report thatnot only the seal of the parcel was tam-pered with but the answer sheets ofseven to eight subjects had also beenfound altered.

Another enquiry is being held bythe Post Office authorities amid reportsthat two of its officials involved in thisscandal have already been identified.

Alarmed by this embarrassing de-velopment, the FPSC has now sought

the details about the dispatch and de-livery of each and every parcel from allthe CSS centres countrywide to see thescale of this scandal. The FPSC hasalso decided to hand over the matter tothe FIA once the initial internal in-quiries of the commission and the PostOffice are completed.

Normally, such a parcel shouldreach its destination even from far-offcities in two days but in this case ittook the parcel several days to reachthe FPSC head office. It is said that un-known number of CSS candidates hadbribed certain officials of the Post Of-

fice to get hold of the parcel while itwas in transit.

After successfully stealing the par-cel, they opened its seal, tampered theiranswer sheets with correct answers, gotthe parcel sealed again and then let itreach its destination.

Top officials in the commission aswell as the Post Office department aretrying to keep the things secret to avoidpublic embarrassment. Sources in theFPSC also raise the question that likethe answer sheets, there is a possibilityof the CSS question papers getting intothe wrong hands.

Css candidates steal answer sheets, leave FPsC groping in the dark

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MIANWALITAYYAB HUSSAIN

PA K I S T A NTehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) chiefImran Khanseems to have

outmanoeuvred his politicalopponents in Mianwali dis-trict, his hometown, andhas acquired an invincibleposition by reconciling thetwo Niazi sub-tribes- Shar-mankhel and Wattakhel.

Khan, who belongs tothe Sharmankhel tribe, hasbeen successful in luringson of his archrival late DrSher Afgan Khan Niazi,Amjad Ali Khan Niazi, intothe folds PTI. Sources saiduntiring efforts by AylaMalik - the granddaughterof Nawab of Kalabagh- se-cured Mianwali’s con-stituency NA-72,Mianwali-II through AmjadNiazi’s inclusion in thePTI.

Though former chiefminister (CM) ShahbazSharif has also filed hisnomination papers to chal-lenge Imran Khan from ad-joining constituencyNA-71, it remains unclearwhether a great dual wouldfollow in the time to come.Though political manoeu-vring and electioneering isin full swing in Mianwali,with political heavyweightsfrom various political par-ties flexing their muscles,PTI seems to be placed bet-ter as a force in the districtespecially after AmjadNiazi’s support.

The move has threat-ened the hold of PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP) andPakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) in the politicalmainstream, and it iswidely viewed that the re-sults of the upcoming gen-eral elections would besurprising and perhapschange the political fabrica l t o g e t h e r .A well-managed electioncampaign has beenlaunched by PTI seniorleader and former MNAAyla Malik who is lookingafter PTI’s campaign in Mi-anwali.

All political parties in-cluding the PTI are busy inelectioneering, with newoffices popping up aroundcorners and wall-chalkingon the rise to muster sup-port against opponentgroups. Shops, restaurantsand several buildings havebeen painted with flags andslogans of various politicalparties.

The picturesque Mian-wali district covers an areaof 5,840 square km. Thedistrict consists of varioustowns including Kalabagh,Isa Khel, Kundian, Paikhel,Piplan, Kamar Mushani,Mochh, Swans, Rokhri,Harnauli, Musa Khel, Al-luwali, Wan Bhachran,

Daud Khel, Uttra Kalan andthe district capital, Mian-wali city.

There are two nationalassembly and four provin-cial assembly seats up forgrabs and there are 7,48,692 registered voters outof which 4,09,230 are maleand 3,39,462 female voters.NA-72 MIANWALI: Theconstituency consists ofvarious towns, includingKundian, Piplan, KamarMushani, Rokhri, Harnauli,Alluwali, Wan Bhachran,Daud Khel and Uttra Kalan.

Previously, there was asingle constituency in Mi-anwali from where eitherNawab of Kalabagh orMaulana Abdus Sattar KhanNiazi was elected, with in-dividuals wielding moresupport than any particularpolitical party.

However, during formerpresident General (r)Musharraf’s era, Mianwaliwas divided into two con-stituencies for the NationalAssembly (NA) - NA-71and NA-72.

In the 2008 elections,Humair Hayat Rokhari suc-ceeded from NA-72, bag-ging 49,294 votes as anindependent candidate,later joining PML-N. Closecontenders were Dr SherAfgan Niazi, who contestedthe election on a PML-Qticket and received 46,931votes while InamullahKhan Niazi, who contested

on a

P M L - Nticket, received 44,868votes. Rokhari would nowface the challenge of PTInominee Amjad Ali KhanNiazi.

Though Amjad has beenwelcomed into PTI acrossMianwali, the Niazi familyhas not shown a great reac-tion. Three immediatecousins of Imran Khan -Saeedullah Niazi, Inamul-lah Niazi and HafeezullahNiazi - have threatened tooppose the move whileSaaedullah, who is formerPTI Punjab president, hastendered his resignationfrom the party.

Inamullah wanted thePTI ticket from the con-cerned constituency andseems rather annoyed bythe party decision to over-look him. He has decided tocontest elections from NA-72 against Amjad KhanNiazi, as an independentcandidate, whereas ShoukatPervez Khan would contest

election on a PPP ticket.However, political punditsdownplay Inamullah’s re-volt and say he cannot dam-age PTI’s prospects as hespends most of his time inLahore and Islamabad.

In addition, the inclu-sion of Amjad Khan Niazihas made the party a forceto reckon with, because theWattaKhel tribe has astrength of around 40,000voters, hinting at the possi-bility that Amjad may winthe seat with a handsomelead.PP-45 MIANWALI:

Owing to the constantlychanging loyalties, a clearpicture of the would-becandidates from PP-45 is adifficult task. The PML-Nis mulling giving a ticket tooutgoing MPA Ali HaiderNoor Khan Niazi, a closerelative of Nawaz Sharif,whereas Gul HamidRokhari, who has alreadyjoined PML-N, is also inthe run.

PML-N, therefore,faces a predicament on theaward of a ticket in thisprovincial assembly con-stituency. If the party givesaway its ticket to AliHaider, Rokhari wouldmost probably contest elec-tion as an independent can-d i d a t e .If the party fails to field aconsensus candidate itwould divide the PML-Nvote bank, favouring its op-ponents in the constituency.

However, the PTI hasfielded Malik Ahmad KhanBhacher as a consensuscandidate and it appears tobe an uphill task to defeathim. Another candidatefrom the constituency isSajjad Bhacher, who wouldcontest election as an inde-pendent candidate, but isnot seen as a threat to eitherside because he is not apopular figure in the re-gion.PP-46 MIANWALI: ThePTI is gaining ground in theconstituency especiallyafter Muhammad SibtainKhan joined the party. Hecontested the last electionon a PML-Q ticket andbagged 27,319 votes.

The outgoing MPAMuhammad Feroz Joyia,who fought the 2008 elec-tion as an independent can-didate and got 34,197 votesand later joined PML-N,was thought to be a toughcontender for the con-stituency. However, the PTIby fielding Sibtain Khan asa consensus candidate forthe constituency has almostmade it impossible forJoyia to win the seat again.Sibtain’s and Bacher’s fam-ilies have a great vote bankin the area. WattaKhel sup-port to both provincial as-sembly candidates alsohighly increases PTI’schances to secure the com-plete district.

PTI appearinginvincible inMianwali

niazi sub-tribesreconcile to

support imranKhan’s party

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

The Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP) is shifting itswebsite on another serverafter cyber attacks by Russ-ian hackers continued on Sat-urday.

The commission’s web-site was first attacked on Fri-day by some Russian hackers.However, the ECP informa-tion wing successfully averted

the attack. The attack contin-ued on Saturday that led theECP to shift the website to an-other server. “Our data is safe.We have a protected system.We have backup of all data,”ECP IT Wing director general,Khizer Aziz told PakistanToday. Talking about the na-ture of attack, the DG said,“These are big attacks. Some-one is trying to steal ourrecord but we have capacityto thwart such attacks.” To a

question, he said the websitewas being attacked fromCanada-based Russian hack-ers. Recently, the ECP up-loaded the list of dualnationality holders, who wereineligible to take part in elec-tions. Whereas, scrutiny ofcandidates, which is basedon online mechanism con-nected the Federal Board ofRevenue, (FBR), NADRA,NAB and the State Bank ofPakistan, is being conducted

for May 11 elections. Aftercompletion of scrutiny onApril 7, the commission willupload the nomination pa-pers of candidates on its of-ficial website. Due to theattacks, the ECP website re-mained shut down through-out the day. Aziz said thatefforts were being made torestore the website on newservers. The efforts werecontinued until the filing ofthis report.

Russian hackersattack eCP website

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Christians around the worldand in Pakistan will celebrateEaster today (Sunday) withreligious fervour. It is the cen-tral holiday of the Christianfaith, celebrating the resurrec-tion of Jesus Christ.

Easter marks the end ofLent, a period of fasting andpenitence in preparation forEaster, which begins on AshWednesday and lasts 40 days

(not counting Sundays).The week before Easter,

known as Holy Week, is veryspecial in the Christian tradi-tion while the Sunday beforeEaster is Palm Sunday and thelast three days before Easterare Maundy Thursday or HolyThursday, Good Friday andHoly Saturday (sometimes re-ferred to as Silent Saturday).Palm Sunday, Maundy Thurs-day and Good Friday respec-tively commemorate Jesus’entry in Jerusalem, the Last

Supper and the Crucifixion.Holy Thursday, Good Fri-

day, and Holy Saturday aresometimes referred to as theEaster Triduum (Latin for“Three Days”). In some coun-tries, Easter lasts two days,with the second called “EasterMonday.” The week beginningwith Easter Sunday is calledEaster Week or the Octave ofEaster, and each day is pref-aced with “Easter”. Manychurches in Pakistan start cele-brating Easter late in the

evening of Holy Saturday at aservice called the Easter Vigil.While the celebrations are usu-ally offered on Easter Sundayincluding usual order of Sun-day services in a congregation,but also typically incorporatemore highly festive elements.

The music of the service,in particular, often displays ahighly festive tone; the incor-poration of brass instruments(trumpets, etc.) to supplementa congregation’s usual instru-mentation is common.

Christians to celebrate easter today

ECP relaxes

condition of new

bank account for

candidates

ISLAMABAD APP

The Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP) on Saturdayrelaxed the condition ofopening a new bank accountfor the potential electioncandidates to justify theelection expenditures withinthe announced limits.According to a spokesman,the ECP has decided that allcandidates who would filenomination papers on March31, 2013 may either providethe number of their existingaccount in any bank, if any, oropen new bank account andprovide that number to thereturning officers concernedon the day of scrutiny of theirnomination papers. He saidthe decision has been takenfollowing the calls the ECPhad been receiving from thecandidates that it was notpossible for them to open newbank accounts on March 31,2013 being Sunday.

LAHORERANA HAIDER

The Punjab caretaker govern-ment has ordered all former sec-retaries, ministers and advisers,to return government sanctionedvehicles allotted to them but aChristian senator from the Pak-istan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) has clearly refused toreturn his car, Pakistan Todayhas learnt.

Per reports, out of a total of101 vehicles, 97 have been re-turned to the government fol-lowing the orders, while fourvehicles have not been submit-ted as yet. These vehicles haveregistration numbers LWL-9160, PG-148, LWL-4531 andNC-49 which were under theuse of former adviser to chiefminister Zulfiqar Ali Khosa,Syed Mehdi, Punjab Assemblyformer deputy speaker RanaMashood and Senator KamranMichel, respectively.

Before being posted as theSindh chief secretary, PunjabChief Secretary Nasir MahmoodKhosa issued a notification con-

cerning return of all governmentvehicles from former govern-ment functionaries so that theyare not used during electioncampaigns. Sources told Pak-istan Today that Senator KamranMichel had refused to return hisbullet-proof vehicle claiming hehad threats to his life. PakistanToday made repeated calls andsent text messages to SenatorKamran Michael to ask himabout the nature of threats re-ceived by him but he did not re-spond to the messages.Commenting on SenatorMichael’s refusal to return thevehicle, several Christians saidthat in spite of his influence inthe Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Senator Michael hadbeen the least vocal in highlight-ing the plight of the minoritycommunity yet he was citing se-curity threats to his life.

“Even when he was a mem-ber of the Punjab Assembly andheld two portfolios in the provin-cial cabinet of Shahbaz Sharif,Michael just towed his party lineand kept silent when his commu-nity needed him the most. He didnot do anything when Christians

in Gojra were being subjected toviolence and he vanished fromthe scene on the day JosephColony was set on fire over analleged blasphemy incident.Who does he fear when his ownparty is hand in glove withbanned religious outfits,” saidDavid Fazl, who works as an of-fice superintendent in a missionschool. Asif Bhatti, a resident ofYouhanabad, also criticizedMichael for not speaking up forthe rights of Christians.

“He has obtained a bullet-proof vehicle and several policevehicles as a show of power andnothing else. Michael has neverspoken up for us... he’s never therewhen we need him. ShahbazBhatti showed some courage andspoke for our rights but Michaellacks the moral courage to con-front his party over issues con-cerning Christians. His role inGojra and Joseph Colony is de-plorable. The government has im-posed such cowards on us throughjoint electorate system. We shouldbe given the right to elect our ownrepresentatives. At least they canbe held accountable for not work-ing for the community,” he said.

Christian senator refuses to returngovt’s bullet-proof sUV

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KARACHIAFTAB CHANNA

“YOU serve us and we will serveyou” this is what the outgoingPakistan People’s Party-led Sindhgovernment told its officials and

awarded out-of-turn-promotions to more than 50employees of different cadres to the senior mostpositions. Interestingly, the blessings were showeredupon the blue-eyed officials in the last days of theSindh government and the officials ‘what the sourcesclaimed’ were promoted/absorbed into differentcadres ‘illegally’ violating the set rules of procedures.

The officials that include non-secretariat groupwere absorbed and promoted to topbureaucratic slots as the said officials servedthe PPP leadership since their governmentwas formed in year 2008. However, nowthey will enjoy the luxuries as they did inthe past until theirretirement, PakistanToday has learnt.This move by theoutgoinggovernment, the senior bureaucrats opined, haddeprived the actual employees of the secretariatgroup of their fundamental rights, who havecome through a long and tough competitiveexaminations and trainings by the NationalInstitute of Public Administration and the LahoreAcademy meant to train the bureaucrats. Theofficials told Pakistan Today that there are total 16seats of grade-20 and these seats were to be filled upby promotion of the junior ones however there wereeleven outsiders who were granted promotions onpolitical grounds. Besides, a large number of officialsfrom various departments were absorbed andpromoted to grate 19 on key posts creating a sense ofdeprivation amongst the officials waiting forpromotions for the last many years.

As per the rule, there is no provision in the SindhCivil Servants Act, 1973, and rules framed forabsorption of persons who were not covered underthe definition of ‘Civil Servant”. And hence theabsorption of the official is violation of Section-24 ofthe SCS Act, 1973 that could not press into servicefor their absorption, the officials opined.

Interestingly, the PPP-led government hadpromulgated an Ordinance dated May 4, 2011,terming these absorptions as legal and validretrospectively. The Civil Services Cadres arecreated to recruit efficient and qualified personsthrough a process of recruitment - competitive

examinations to effectively run the governmentmachinery in accordance with the principles of goodgovernance. But, the back door absorptions have notonly sent wrong message to prospective candidatesbut also deformed the cadre formation anddemoralized the PSS officers who have properlyjoined the cadre through due process of recruitment.As per the official documents exclusively availablewith the Pakistan Today, Major (r) Aftab Lodhi,presently posted as Secretary (BS-20) to the Sindhgovernor, Governor Secretariat, after retirement fromPakistan Army, was re-employed on contract in1991. Later on his contract was extended till date ofsuperannuation. This was done in 1994 and hi

superannuation was due on January 31, 2012. AliHassan Brohi, presently awaiting posting in S GADwas an officer in BPS-18 in Pakistan Sports Boardunder the Ministry of Sports and Culture,Government of Pakistan. He came to the Sindhgovernment on deputation basis in 1994. He wasabsorbed in 1995 and thereafter promoted firstly asadditional secretary and then as secretary. RasoolBux Phulpoto presently waiting for posting was anofficer in the education department, government ofSindh, was appointed on adhoc basis in People'sWorks Programme. He was brought to thegovernment of Sindh on deputation basis and wasposted as additional secretary. He was absorbed in1995 and regularized in 2002. Syed Abid Ali Shahposted as secretary zakat and ushr department BS-

20, Kashmore, is an ex-employee of GheeCorporation of Pakistan from where he obtainedgolden hands shake scheme. He came to the Sindhgovernment on deputation for three years in 1999.He was subsequently absorbed in service in theprovincial secretariat as additional secretary and thenpromoted as secretary. SM Kaleem Makki presentlyposted as secretary public health engineering (BS-20) was appointed as PD quality control Sindh SmallIndustries Corporation, industries departmentgovernment of Sindh, in the year 1994 and he wasdeclared surplus after abolition of the post andabsorbed as economist-cum-additional secretary (anex-cadre post) in 2005. Subsequently, the post wastaken up as per cadre schedule and the officer wastermed as cadre officer in secretariat service and waspromoted as secretary (BS-20). Muhammad JafferAbbasi was appointed as deputy secretary PublicService Commission in BS-17. Subsequently, his

post was upgraded in BS-18. He was posted ingovernment of Sindh as deputy secretary on

deputation basis in 1999 and subsequently hewas absorbed in secretariat service in

2005 and he wasassigned seniority from

the date of deputation. DrMuhamamd Ali awaitingposting in SGA&CD was

an employee of Zarai Traqiati BankLimited when he was taken as special

secretary in chief minister secretariat in 2005where he was absorbed in 2006 in BS-20 in

secretariat service. Kashif Siddiqi, employee(PRO) of Board of Intermediate and Secondaryeducation Karachi, was posted on deputation basisas deputy secretary home in 2006 where he wasabsorbed as deputy secretary and given out-of-turnpromotion in 2007 in BS-19 against a future vacancy.Aftab Ahmed Mallah posted as deputy secretary(BS-18) excise and taxation department was workingas dental surgeon (BS-17) in the health department,government of Sindh. He was posted as deputysecretary in the health department. Then he wasallowed promotion as senior dental surgeonbypassing many senior dental surgeons and thenabsorbed in PSS Cadre in 2008.

Abdul Ghani Jokhio, an employee of SCUG localgovernment department, posted as Director (F&A)Secretary (BS-19) LDA was absorbed as additionalsecretary in BS-19 in PSS Cadre in 2008.

Interestingly, Maqbool Memon, who served ascoordinator to President Asif Zardari’s sister MNAFaryal Talpur was absorbed in EX-PCS BS-18.Rafique Qureshi, officer of Ex-PCS (BS-18) waspromoted out-of-turn promotion to BS-19. SuhailAhmed Qureshi, officer of PSS (BS-19) waspromoted out-of-turn in BS-20. Abdul Wahab Shaikhand a large number of other officials were also givenout-of-turn promotions on political basis.

KARACHI

ksunday, 31 March, 2013

05

Low

high

200CsuNNy

wEathEr updatEs

300C

Fajr sunrise Zuhr asr maghrib Isha

5:12 6:28 12:38 4:05 6:46 8:03

mONday tuEsday wEdNEsday

32°C I 20°C 32°C I 21°C 32°C I 20°C

PRAYER TIMINGS

If the Taliban reign spreads, coalition convoys

withdrawing supplies through Karachi will have to

contend with the militants. – Haider Abbas Rizvi

OUT-OF-TURN-PROMOTIONS!(

(

PPP-loyal bureaucracypromoted ‘illegally’

more than 50 oFFicials havebeen absorbed/promoted insecretariat group illegally

Speakers callfor amendinglaw to checkchild marriages

HYDERABADAPP

The speakers of a seminar titled "Wel-fare of girls" was organised by HANDSand other social welfare organisationsat Matiari Deputy Commissioner's Of-fice on Friday. The speakers have de-manded amendment in Child MarriageBill to make it more effective in termsof implementation. They demanded theprotection of child rights and to convertthe bill into a welfare bill for children.They also demanded complete ban onthe marriage of girls falling below theage group of 18 years. HANDS Gen-eral Secretary Bilqees Rehman said thatchild marriage did not only affect thehealth of children, but also pushedthem towards psychological problemsas well. She said that child marriagehad become a serious social issue of thecountry that needed serious attention toget resolved at the earliest. She said thecoming generation of the country de-pended on healthy mothers who wouldbe able to give birth to healthy children,thus ensuring the establishment of ahealthy and disciplined society. Shedemanded severe punishment for thoseparents, who were responsible forchild marriages. The other speakerssaid that in the rural areas, not onlychild marriages were taking place, butinnocent girls were being sold out ascompensation for sins committed bythe parents. They termed this act as agreat violation of the human rights anddemanded that the age of 18 yearsshould be fixed for marriage of girlsand action should be taken againstthose who violated this law.

MQM urgesparties to awardtickets to workers

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

The members of coordination committee ofthe Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM)Saturday urged the leaders of all politico-religious parties including PML (N) to awardparty tickets to their workers instead of theirfamily members, friends, feudal lords and therich. In a joint statement, Saleem Shahzad,Tariq Jawed, Syed Qasim Ali Raza andMuhammad Ashfaq said workers were thebackbone of any political party who gavesacrifices and faced hardships. They said itwas unfortunate that political parties ignoretheir time-tested workers. They said theparties should recognise the services renderedby their loyal workers and should not ignorethem at the time of general elections.KARACHI: Dr Fauzia Siddiqi comes to the city court for submitting nomination papers for NA-250. ONLINE

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KARACHIsunday, 31 March, 2013

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KARACHI: Residents of Madho Goth hold a demonstration in support of their demands outside the press club. ONLINE

KARACHIAPP

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation(KMC) Administrator Hashim RazaZaidi has said that KMC and five DMCsshould complete the budget for next yearby 15th May.

He said this while addressing ameeting of deputy commissioners, mu-nicipal commissioners and senior offi-cers, said a statement issued here onFriday evening.

The KMC administrator said that thesalaries to the DMCs have already beenreleased, therefore employees' salariesand pensions should also be released im-mediately.

Hashim Raza said that the KMC andDMCs should complete assessment oftheir assets, employees’ assets and duesof contractors in one week and the de-ducted amount for pension from thesalaries of ZMC employees should beprovided to the KMC.

The Karachi administrator said thatfour departments of the KMC, includingHealth, Education, Community Develop-ment and Local Taxes should place focalpersons of their departments who couldwork under DMCs or those departmentsthat were run by the KMC.

He said that controversial mattersbetween the KMC and DMCs would bedecided by the Local Government.

Furthermore, he said the administra-tors of ZMCs had been delegated thepowers of council and would be eligibleto pass resolution on any matter.

He also said the list of employees ofdifferent departments who have to beshifted in DMCs should be prepared intwo days.

Moreover, he said that DMC,through correspondence with the Gov-ernment of Sindh, should implement or-ders after receiving of assets, payments,taxes and fees.

The KMC administrator said that thecurrent officers were transit officers;

therefore they should complete theirhome work with reference to establish-ment of DMCs.

He further said 178 UCs fell underthe jurisdiction of different DMCs.

He said that cleanliness worksshould be given special considerationand along with big roads, small streetsshould also be cleaned.

He said all administrators shouldwork with dedication so that better re-sults could be achieved.

The meeting was attended by deputycommissioners of five districts, munici-pal commissioners, Sindh Local Govern-ment Director Rubina Asif, financialadvisor Khalid Shaikh, HRM Senior Di-rector Shoaib Waqar, Local Taxes SeniorDirector Masood Alam,

Culture Senior Director RehmanKhan, Medical and Health Services Sen-ior Director

Dr AD Sajnani, Municipal ServicesSenior Director Dr Shaukat Zaman andother officers concerned.

GrEENWIChUNIvErSITyGETS CSrAWArd

KARACHIAPP

The Greenwich University Karachi has re-ceived Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS)Award 2013 at the Fifth International Summiton Corporate Social Responsibility.An official of the institution said here on Sat-urday that the Award, initiated by NationalForum for Environment and Health, was re-ceived by Assistant Professor Tahira Khan, onbehalf of the Vice Chancellor of GreenwichUniversity, Seema Moghul.He pointed out that the Greenwich Universityreaches out to people at different levels of so-ciety through its CSR activities.The students are actively involved in creatingawareness about Polio eradication, Environ-ment, Community Development and fund rais-ing for organisations working for providingfree medical facilities to the poor and needy, itwas further stated.

IGP SEEKSSPECIALISEdPErSoNNEL ForELECTIoN SECUrITy

KARACHIAPP

Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP)Shahid Nadeem Baluch has called forpreparing lists of police officials who haveundergone training through the elite andeaglet training courses.He was presiding over a meeting at theCentral Police Office (CPO) here on Fri-day which reviewed the matters and per-formance of the Rapid Response Force.The Inspector General of Police directedthe officials concerned that the remainingpolice commandos should be included inthe DIG/SSP reserve force which wouldact as an immediate support force to beprovided to the Thana/ District policewhen required.He instructed that in the perspective of thecoming general elections, the Rapid Re-sponse Force should be kept alert and theprovision of arms and ammunition and therequired equipment should be ensured bythe higher officials of the department.Shahid also called for organising refreshercourses for the officers and jawans of theRapid Response Force.Inspector General of Police said that theoperation/ monitoring room at the CentralPolice Office office would be convertedinto central control room during the gen-eral elections.

‘Issues between KMC, DMCsbe decided by local govt’

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

Aprincipal of a privateprimary school lo-cated in IttehadTown, Baldia, was

shot dead and six students in-cluding two minor girls sus-tained bullet wounds whenunidentified gunmen fired at theschool following a hand grenadeattack on Saturday.

Per details, an annual func-tion was underway at the schoolwhen a group of armed assailantsfired at the principal after hurl-ing a hand grenade. The schoolwas rocked with gunfire wherestudents were being awardedprizes.

“A few motorcyclists arrivedin the town and later sprayedbullets on principal Abdul

Rasheed,” Deputy InspectorGeneral (DIG) West ZaffarAbbas Bukhari told PakistanToday. They hurled a handgrenade inside the school andlater resorted to firing, targetingRasheed,” he added.

“At least six students includ-ing two minor girls also sus-tained injuries during the attackand were later shifted to CivilHospital Karachi (CHK) and Jin-nah Postgraduate Medical Centre(JPMC),” the DIG said.

“Apparently, the target wasthe principal of The NationSchool,” he said. “Rasheed wasalso a locally active leader ofAwami National Party (ANP) inthe town,” he added. Investiga-tions are underway and it wouldbe premature to conclude on rea-sons behind the attack, he said.

A stampede was reported in

the school following the grenadeexplosion and firing. Parents andstudents took shelter in class-rooms during the attack. Eventu-ally, police reached the venueand cordoned off the area.

“Terrorists had been threat-ening Abdul Rasheed and hadasked him to suspend politicalactivities in the town,” an ANPspokesman said. “Rasheed hadinformed law enforcement agen-cies about these life threats butno action was taken,” he added.“Rasheed proposed the name ofSaifullah Afridi for ANP candi-date from PS-90,” he said. Heappealed to Chief Justice (CJ)Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry totake action against the killing ofRasheed. He also demanded theKarachi corps commander, theRangers DG and the Sindh IG totake notice of the killing.

Meanwhile, according to po-lice and rescue sources, threepersons were killed in firing in-cidents that took place in Al-AsifSquare and Aath Chowk in Lyari.

Rangers conducted a searchoperation in Lyari and arrestedtwo suspects in an injured condi-tion after an exchange of fire. ARangers official was also injuredin the firing. Rangers had raidedthe area after receiving informa-tion on criminals involved in atrader’s murder in Empress Mar-ket. When the culprits saw lawenforcers moving in on them,they resorted to firing, injuringone official. The residents of thearea blocked the main road andstaged a protest against Rangers'raids and operations. They wereof the view that Rangers arrestedinnocent people and did not de-tain real terrorists and criminals.

School principal killed, six injured

KARACHINNI

An eyewitness in the Shahzeb Khan murder caseidentified on Saturday the four accused, includingShahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur, as the alleged killers.The eyewitness Shah Mohammad identified the accusedduring a hearing in anti-terrorism court the metropolitan.Shahrukh and his friends, namely Siraj and Sajjad Talpurand their servant Ghulam Mustafa Lashari were beingtried in the case as the main accused. The accusedallegedly killed 20-year-old Shahzeb on 25th Decemberlast year over a petty dispute. The case was still hangingin the balance because the alleged killers belonged to aninfluential background.

eyewitness inshahzeb murdercase identifiesfour accused

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07

Newssunday, 31 March, 2013

Let us not pray to be sheltered from

dangers but to be fearless when facing

them. — Rabindranath TagoreN

SInUIjU: north Korean Soldiers patrol the banks of Yalu river near the Chinese border city of Dandong on

Saturday. AGENCIES

BEIjINGAGENCIES

rESCUE teams have found thefirst body almost 36 hours aftera giant landslide in Tibet buried83 mine workers under two mil-lion cubic metres of earth,

China’s state media has reported.Xinhua news agency said said on Sat-

urday rescuers “found the first body”, aftera huge section of land buried a mine work-ers’ camp in Maizhokunggar county, east ofthe Tibetan capital Lhasa, on Friday. The re-port came after officials said at a press con-ference aon Saturday that a massive searchand rescue operation had failed to locate anysurvivors or bodies up to that point. A rescueworker had also described the chance of sur-vivors being found as “slim”, Xinhua said,as teams using sniffer dogs and radarcombed the mountainside in a hunt for sur-vivors that was hampered by bad weather,altitude sickness and further landslides.

The state-run China Central Television

(CCTV) said on Saturday that more than2,000 rescuers dispatched to Maizhokung-gar county in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa,have been searching for the buried.

About 30 excavators were also diggingaway at the site late on Friday as tempera-tures fell to just below freezing.

A 3km-long section of land, with a vol-ume of about two million cubic meters ofmud, rock and debris swept through thearea as the workers were resting and cov-ered an area measuring around four squarekilometers, CCTV said. The miners workfor a subsidiary of the China National GoldGroup Corp, a state-owned enterprise andthe country’s largest gold producer.

The reports said at least two of theburied workers were Tibetan, while mostwere believed to be ethnic Han Chinese.

The landslide came on the same day asa gas blast in a northeast China coal minewhich killed 28 people.‘NAtuRAL dIsAstER’: The reportssaid the landslide was caused by a “naturaldisaster” but did not provide specifics.

China’s new president, Xi Jinping, whowrapped up a visit to the Republic ofCongo in Africa, and Li Keqiang, the newpremier, have ordered “top efforts” to res-cue the victims, Xinhua said.

Doctors at the local county hospital saidthey had been told to prepare to receive sur-vivors but none had arrived. “We were or-dered to make all efforts to receive theinjured,” said a doctor who gave only hersurname, Ge, in the hospital’s emergencysection. On Saturday morning, a hospitalstaff member who gave her surname of Wusaid it had received no one from the land-slide, dead or alive. The Lhasa city govern-ment and China National Gold GroupCorporation did not immediately answercalls late on Friday. The landslide struck atabout 6am local time, but Xinhua’s first newsreports about it ran more than 15 hours later.MINERAL REsOuRcEs: Mountainousregions of Tibet are prone to landslides,which can be exacerbated by heavy miningactivity. Han Chinese have been increas-ingly moving into historically Tibetan

areas, and many Tibetans in China say theirculture is being eroded.

China rejects criticism of its rule, point-

ing to huge ongoing investment it says hasbrought modernisation and better standardsof living to Tibet.

NELSoN MANdELA IN ‘CoMForTAbLE’CoNdITIoNCAPe TOWn: Nelson Mandela, theformer South African president, iscomfortable and able to breathewithout problems as he continues torespond to treatment in hospital for arecurrence of pneumonia, PresidentJacob Zuma’s office has said. After the94-year-old anti-apartheid icon spent athird night in hospital, the presidencycited doctors as saying they haddrained excess fluid from his lungs totackle the infection. “This has resultedin him now being able to breathewithout difficulty. He continues torespond to treatment and iscomfortable,” the statement said. In thefirst detailed mention of his medicalcondition since his hospitalisation, thestatement said he had “developed apleural effusion which was tapped”.Previous medical reports since he wastaken to hospital late on Wednesdayhave said he was responding well andthat he was in “good spirits”. Thesuccessive bulletins have appeared toindicate that the recurrence of the lunginfection afflicting the revered statesmanand Nobel Peace Prize laureate is beingsuccessfully treated. AGENCIES

SyrIAN rEbELSSEIZE KEy ToWNNEAr JordAN DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels have seizedan important town on a main highwaybetween Damascus and the south inDaraa province on the border withJordan, a UK-based watchdog says. TheSyrian Observatory for Human Rights(SOHR) said on Friday that 10 civilians,including a child, were killed in fightingfor Dael, the latest to be seized by therebels over the past 24 hours. “Rebelsseized control of Dael after destroyingthe three army checkpoints at theentrances to the town,” SOHR said.“The town is located on a main roadlinking Daraa to Damascus.” At least 15rebels and a media activist workingwith the rebels were also killed, alongwith 12 loyalist troops, SOHR added.“Large swathes of Daraa [province] arenow under rebel control. ALArM In PArLIAMenT: The captureof Dael came a day after a loyalist MPfrom the province raised the alarm inparliament. Walid al-Zohbi said therebels were advancing “in all towns andvillages in Daraa province, which is tornfrom east to west after the armywithdrew from many positions”. “Theymay have pulled out for tacticalreasons, we don’t know. But at anyrate, terrorists from Al-Nusra Fronthave taken their place,” he added of agroup with roots in Iraq which isblacklisted by Washington as a“terrorist” organisation. AGENCIES

Chances ‘slim’ for trapped Tibet miners 28 KILLED IN CHINA GAS BLASTBeIjIng: A gas blast in a northeast China coal mine has killed 28 people, thelatest incident to damage the industry’s notoriously poor safety record. The officialXinhua news agency cited a spokesman with the provincial work safety andsupervision bureau as saying that 13 others were rescued after Friday’s accident atBabao Coal Mine in the city of Baishan in Jilin province. The cause of the accident isunder investigation, said the spokesman. The mine is a state-owned colliery underthe Tonghua Mining (Group) Co., Ltd, the Xinhua report said. The accident occurredon the same day that a huge landslide came crashing down a mountainside inTibet, burying 83 workers in a gold mining area, state media said. China is theworld’s biggest consumer of coal, relying on the fossil fuel for 70 percent of itsgrowing energy needs. But its mines are among the deadliest in the world becauseof lax regulation, corruption and inefficiency. Accidents are common because safetyis often neglected by bosses seeking quick profits. According to official figures,1,973 people died in coal mining accidents in China in 2011, a 19 percent fall onthe previous year. But labour rights groups say the actual death toll is likely to bemuch higher, partly due to under-reporting of accidents as mine bosses seek tolimit their economic losses and avoid punishment. AGENCIES

PYONGYANGAGENCIES

North Korea has said it is entering a“state of war” with South Korea in thelatest escalation of rhetoric against itsneighbour and the US.

A statement promised “stern physicalactions” against “any provocative act”.

North Korea has threatened attacksalmost daily since it was sanctioned fora third nuclear test in February.

However, few think the North wouldrisk full-blown conflict. It has technicallybeen at war with the South since 1953 asno peace treaty has been signed.

An armistice at the end of the KoreanWar was never turned into a full treaty.The North carried out its third nucleartest on 12 February, which led to the im-position of fresh sanctions.

The annual US-South Korean mili-tary exercises have also taken place, an-

gering Pyongyang further.A North Korean statement released

on Saturday said: “From this time on, theNorth-South relations will be entering thestate of war and all issues raised betweenthe North and the South will be handledaccordingly.

“The long-standing situation of theKorean peninsula being neither at peacenor at war is finally over.”

In Washington, Caitlin Hayden, aspokeswoman for the National SecurityCouncil, said the US had “seen reports ofa new and unconstructive statement fromNorth Korea”. “We take these threats se-riously and remain in close contact withour South Korean allies,” she said.

North Korea has made multiplethreats against both the US and SouthKorea in recent weeks, including warn-ing of a “pre-emptive nuclear strike” onthe US and the scrapping of the KoreanWar armistice.

On Thursday, North Korean statemedia reported leader Kim Jong-un“judged the time has come to settle ac-counts with the US imperialists”. He wassaid to have condemned US B-2 bombersorties over South Korea during militaryexercises as a “reckless phase” that rep-resented an “ultimatum that they will ig-nite a nuclear war at any cost on theKorean peninsula”. US mainland andbases in Hawaii, Guam and South Koreawere all named as potential targets.

State media in the North showedthousands of soldiers and students at amass rally in Pyongyang supporting KimJong-un’s announcement.

North Korea’s most advanced mis-siles are thought to be able to reachAlaska, but not the rest of the USmainland. On Wednesday, Pyongyangcut a military hotline with the South -the last direct official link between thetwo nations.

Pope Francis tocelebrate firstEaster vigil

VATICAN CITY AGENCIES

Pope Francis is to celebrate his first Eastervigil after praying for peace in a MiddleEast “torn apart by injustice and conflicts”during Good Friday’s ceremonies. Thenewly elected Argentine pope will presideover a mass at St Peter’s Basilica onSaturday evening, baptising four adultconverts to the Catholic Church during theservice: an Albanian, an Italian, a Russianand a US national of Vietnamese origin,according to the Vatican. The ceremonywill mark the end of three days ofintensive Easter preparations set toculminate on Sunday when the Vatican’sfirst non-European pope in nearly 1,300years celebrates Easter mass in front oftens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’sSquare. Francis marked Good Friday witha traditional torch-lit ceremony around theColosseum in Rome, presiding over there-enactment of Jesus Christ’s last hoursand praying for Christians in the MiddleEast and for “our Muslim brothers”.“Christians must respond to evil withgood, taking the cross upon themselves asJesus did,” said Francis, who followed theceremony from under a canopyoverlooking the 2,000-year-old Romanamphitheatre. The pope also referred to avisit to Lebanon last year by hispredecessor Benedict XVI, who stunnedthe world by resigning last month at theage of 85. “We saw the beauty and thestrong bond of communion joiningChristians together in that land and thefriendship of our Muslim brothers and somany others,” the 76-year-old pope said.‘Desire for simplicity’ Brazilian, Chinese,Italian, Lebanese and Nigerian faithfultook turns carrying a wooden crossaround the Colosseum, where it iscommonly believed that Christians weremartyred. Prayers read out at theceremony were written by a group ofLebanese young people. The Vatican hasvoiced concern over the fate of Christianminorities in many parts of the Middle Eastand the rise of radical Islam, as well ascalling for an end to conflict in the region.Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi saidthe pope had shortened some of the lengthyEaster ceremonies as part of his “desire forsimplicity”. The pope, the formerarchbishop of Buenos Aires, was known inArgentina for his humble lifestyle, hisoutreach in poor neighbourhoods and hisstrong social advocacy during hishomeland’s devastating economic crisis. Hebegan the most sacred season in theChristian calendar on Holy Thursday bywashing the feet of 12 young prisoners inan unprecedented new take on an ancientpre-Easter ritual. Popes performing theceremony, which commemorates thegesture of humility believed to have beencarried out by Jesus for his 12 disciples attheir last meal, have usually washed thefeet of priests.

North Korea enters ‘stateof war’ with south

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NewsNsunday 31 March, 2013

08 Action will be taken against

officials disrupting elections. — ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed

KABULAGENCIES

AFGHAN President HamidKarzai travelled to Qataron Saturday to discuss Tal-iban militants opening anoffice in the Gulf state for

peace talks that could end more than adecade of war.

Until earlier this year, Karzai was op-posed to the Islamist extremists having ameeting venue in Qatar as he feared thathis government would be frozen out ofany negotiations.

The militants refuse to have directcontact with Karzai, saying he is a puppetof the United States, which supported hisrise to power after the military operationto oust the Taliban in 2001.

But, with NATO-led combat troopsdue to withdraw from Afghanistan by theend of 2014, Karzai agreed to the pro-posed Taliban office in the Qatari capitalDoha and is expected to firm up the planwith the emir of Qatar on Sunday.

Any future peace talks still face nu-merous hurdles before they begin, includ-ing confusion over who would representthe Taliban and Karzai’s insistence thathis appointees are at the centre of negoti-ations.

“We will discuss the peace process, ofcourse, and the opening of an office forthe Taliban in Qatar,” presidentialspokesman Aimal Faizi told AFP beforeKarzai left Kabul.

“If we want to have talks to bringpeace to Afghanistan, the main side mustbe the Afghan government’s representa-tives — the High Peace Council, whichhas members from all the country’s ethnicand political backgrounds,” Faizi added.

A statement from Karzai’s office saidhe was accompanied on the two-day statevisit by foreign minister Zalmai Rassouland Salahuddin Rabbani, chairman of theHigh Peace Council.

Negotiating with the hardline Talibanregime that had harboured Al-Qaeda be-fore the 9/11 attacks was for many yearsan anathema to countries fighting in theUN-backed coalition against the militants.

But the search for a political settle-ment became a priority as the insurgencyraged on with Taliban leaders able to fuelthe violence from safe havens across theborder in Pakistan.

Kabul has repeatedly stressed that itwould only start talks if the militantsbroke all links with Al-Qaeda and gave upviolence, and Faizi said that any Talibanoffice in Qatar must be held to strict con-ditions. “It can only be an address where

the armed opposition sit and talk to theAfghanistan government,” he said. “Thisoffice cannot be used for any other pur-poses.”

The UN this week welcomed newsthat Karzai would visit Qatar, and issuedanother call for the Taliban to come to thepeace table. “You are Afghans, you care,I assume, about your country, you careabout (a) peaceful stable future of thecountry,” Jan Kubis, the UN envoy toAfghanistan, said. But the Qatar officecould mean little if the Taliban refuse tonegotiate with Karzai or the government-appointed High Peace Council.

“The opening of the Taliban office inQatar is not related to Karzai, it is a matterbetween the Taliban and the Qatar gov-ernment,” Taliban spokesman ZabihullahMujahid told AFP.

“If Karzai visits, it is not our concern.Our representatives who are already inQatar won’t see or talk to him.”

Neighbouring Pakistan, which backedthe Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule ofAfghanistan, is seen as key to any work-able peace deal and it has expressed sup-port for the Taliban office in Doha.

But cross relations have worsenedsharply in recent weeks, with Kabul ac-cusing Islamabad of wrecking efforts toend the bloody 11-year insurgency.

Karzai heads to Qatar to discussTaliban peace talks

‘Afghan revolt tocontinue after USwithdrawal’

KABULNNI

General Joseph Dunford, who controls theinternational force in Afghanistan, has said thathe expects Kabul’s insurgency to continuebeyond the US withdrawal in 2014, but is alsohopeful about the direction of the country.Dunford said that he was clear that his forceswere “here to win” and added that they havegot a complete “security and politicaltransition”. The general said attacks on theforce by Afghan colleagues, like the stabbing of26-year-old Sgt Michael C Cable by a 10-year-old Afghan boy with whom he was workingearlier this week, have ‘absolutely’ had animpact on the force. Dunford called such ‘blue-on-green incidents’ a significant threat, ABCNews reports. According to the report, like hispredecessor, Gen John Allen, Dunfordexpressed cautious optimism about the future ofAfghanistan after the withdrawal of US combattroops next year. He said that the Afghansecurity forces have really taken the lead inprotecting their country and were meeting allthe benchmarks the Obama administration hasset. Dunford maintained the biggestrequirement for the Afghans’ success would bea commitment by the US and the internationalcommunity to continue to support the countryand its security forces, the report added.

President seeksreport on rape ofPakistani originwomen in Libya

ISLAMABADONlINE

President Asif Ali Zardari has sought areport on the reported molestation ofwomen of Pakistani origin in Libya.Three British female activists of Pakistaniorigin were brutally raped in front of theirfather by pro-government militiamen inthe eastern city of Benghazi. The womenare said to be “in a very badpsychological state.” The president whileexpressing serious concern over theincident also sought details of steps beingtaken to alleviate the sufferings of thevictims. Pakistani Foreign Ministryspokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry alsocondemned the incident and saidIslamabad was in contact with Libyanauthorities over the matter. Britain’sForeign Office said it was aware of anincident involving British nationals whowere part of an aid convoy, howeverfurther elaborations were not made.

KARACHIPRESS RElEASE

The Annual Meeting of the APNS Gen-eral Council held on March 30 at APNSHouse, Karachi has elected the Execu-tive Committee for the year 2013-14which unanimously elected Sarmad Alias President, Dr Jabbar Khattak as Sen-ior Vice President, Masood Hamid asSecretary General, Imtinan Shahid asVice President, SM Munir Jilani as JointSecretary and Waseem Ahmed electedas Finance Secretary of the Society.

The AGM held under the Chairman-ship of Sarmad Ali, President for theyear 2012-13, unanimously approvedthe report of the Executive Committeefor the preceding year as well as theAnnual Accounts of the Society.

The General Council attended by147 members from across the country,formed an Election Commission headed

by Younus Riaz, Usman Arab Saati andNasir Daad Baloch as members. TheElection Commission conducted theelection of the Executive Committee forthe year 2013-14. Following wereelected un-opposed:

Karachi Daily Seats: Anwar Fa-rooqi (Daily Aghaz Karachi), Dr. JabbarKhattak (Daily Awami Awaz), Arshad A.Zuberi (Daily Business Recorder),Mukhtar Aqil (Daily Jurat), NajamuddinSheikh (Daily Deyanat) and Ilyas Shakir(Daily Qaumi Akhbar).

Lahore Daily Seats: Sarmad Ali(Daily Jang), Masood Hamid (DailyDawn), Imtinan Shahid (DailyKhabrain), Rameeza Majid Nizami(Daily Nawa-i-Waqt), Umer MujibShami (Daily Pakistan), Arif Nizami(Daily Pakistan Today).

Rawalpindi/Islamabad Daily Seats:Mehtab Khan (Daily Ausaf) Islamabad,Khushnood Ali Khan (Daily Sahafat) Is-

lamabadBalochistan Daily Seats: Waseem

Ahmed (Daily Awam Quetta), Syed Fa-seih Iqbal (Daily Balochistan TimesQuetta)

Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Daily Seats:Syed Ayaz Badshah (Daily Mashriq Pe-shawar), Pir Sufaid Shah Hamdard(Daily Wahdat Peshawar)

Sindh excluding Daily Karachi:Javed Mehr Shamsi (Daily KaleemSukkur), Muhammad Aslam Kazi (DailyKawish Hyderabad).

Punjab (excludingLahore/Rwp/Ibd.): Mumtaz A. Tahir(Daily Aftab Multan), Humayon Tariq(Daily Business Report Faisalabad) andS.M. Munir Jilani (Daily PaighamFaisalabad).

General Seats (MetropolitanDailies): Aijaz-ul-Haq (Daily ExpressKarachi), Faisal Zahid Malik (DailyPakistan Observer Islamabad).

General Seats (Regional Dailies):Humayon Gulzar (Daily Sayadat Ba-hawalpur), Jamil Ather (Daily TijaratGujranwala).

Periodicals Seats: Aamer Mahmood(Monthly Kiran Digest Karachi), Mush-taq A. Qureshi (Monthly Naey UfaqKarachi), Sardar Khan Niazi (MonthlyNaya Rukh Karachi) and Dr. WaqarYousuf Azeemi (Monthly Roohani Di-gest Karachi).

News & News Comments Periodical(Punjab / KPK): Rahmat Ali Raaz(Weekly Azm Lahore).

News & News Comments Periodical(Sindh / Balochistan): Kazi Asad Abid(Fortnightly Ibrat, Hyderabad).

While seat for News & News Com-ments Periodicals (General), MonthlyCricketer elected by secret ballot.

The President - elect nominatedFauzia Shaheen (Monthly Dastak,Karachi) on woman - publishers seat.

APNs elects executivecommittee for 2013-14

Court summons 6for selling boat to26/11 accused

RAWALPINDIONlINE

Conducting the trial of seven charged withinvolvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks onSaturday an anti-terrorism court summonedsix witnesses for selling a boat and otherequipment to the accused. Judge ChaudhryHabibur Rehman, who is conducting the trialbehind closed doors at Adiala Jail inRawalpindi for security reasons, issuedsummons to Hamza Bin Tariq, MuhammadAli, Saifullah, Umer Draz, Saqib Iqbal andAtiq Ahmed, prosecutors said. “The accusedhad bought the boat, an engine and relatedequipment from these private witnesses,”chief prosecutor Zulfiqar Ali told PTI afterthe hearing. He said since Indian authoritieshad not yet responded to Pakistan’s request toallow a Pakistani judicial commission tocross-examine and record the statements offour witnesses in Mumbai, the prosecution onSaturday requested the judge to proceed withthe trial. “There has already been aconsiderable delay in the case and the courtshould continue the trial proceedings,” Alitold the judge during proceedings.Prosecutors also requested the court to takeup their application to conduct hearings everyday. The judge subsequently adjourned thecase until April 6.

Three die in CNGcylinder explosion

SHEIKHUPURAONlINE

As many as three people died, including twochildren and another 16 were injured in a gascylinder explosion on Saturday. According toreports, a Hafizabad-bound wagon whenreached near Mandi Jahbrah its CNGcylinder exploded killing one woman and aminor on the spot and injuring another 16passengers. After receiving information,rescue teams reached the scene and rushedthe injured to the District HeadquarterHospital. Witnesses claimed that the driver ofwagon had placed a patrol can with thecylinder due to which a fire erupted andexplosion occurred. Police registered a caseand started investigation.

PeSHAWAr: A view of the damage after a bomb explosion in the office of Sawera, an ngO working for

women rights and voters’ education, on Saturday. INP

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News N

09

sunday 31 March, 2013

PPP does not believe in

political victimization.— Qamar Zaman Kaira

NEWS DESK

LARKANA, the ancestralhome of the Bhutto family inrural Sindh has become oneof Pakistan’s biggest flash-point for AIDS as 113 new

cases were registered during the first twomonths of this year, NGO sources said.

Of the 113 new patients, a majority ofthem are young boys, women and chil-dren, and the total number of AIDS pa-tients registered at the clinic being run atChandka Medical College Hospital,Larkana, has risen to 518, according tolocal NGO sources.

“The increase in the number of casesthis year is alarming. The unregistered andunknown cases are unaccounted for andthat is also an alarming situation,” said to

a doctor who didn’t want to be named. Sources in NGOs working in this sec-

tor claimed that the government’s AIDScontrol program has not fulfilled its pur-pose and as many as 20 patients have diedin the last couple of months.

Sources say that Larkana is second toonly Karachi in the registration of AIDScases and the numbers are ever increasing.

“The reason for this is that Larkana, amajor trucking route and a political hub,confirms the fact that locations withgreater population movement contribute tothe transmission of infectious diseases,”one source said.

These rest houses (musafir khanas)and hotels virtually operate as brothels andno one is willing to take action since theyoperate under the patronage of influentialand powerful people, a source said.

Larkana is replete with InjectingDrug Users (IDUs) who reuse andshare syringes and needles. It was inLarkana that the first outbreak of HIVamong IDUs was reported in 2003.

In some cases doctors havefound that AIDS patients have in-fected others as an act of revenge,frustrated with their own condition.

The sections of population most atrisk include IDUs, commercial sex work-ers, children born to infected parent(s),runaway and street children, truck drivers,prisoners and migrant workers.

According to the requirements, allAIDS patients should attend the cliniconce a month for counselling, but these fa-cilities are not being provided at the hos-pital. Most of the AIDS patients feel thatno one does anything for their welfare.

CHITrAL: The participants of an event pose for a photograph after setting up a word record by seating 24 passengers in a small car. INP

Chitral man breaksworld record bycramming 24passengers insmall car

CHITRALINP

A local driver, Rehmat Wali Azad, broke aworld record by cramming 24 passengersin his car here on Saturday. District BarAssociation President Ghulam HazratInqilabi was the chief guest on theoccasion. He awarded Azad a cash prize ofRs 5,000 for his achievement. Addressingthe attendees, Inqilabi said Azad hadperformed excellently by setting 24passengers in an Alto. Rehmat’s son AfsarWali Khan, said last year he had crammed34 people in a car, also an Alto but hisachievement was not acknowledged by thegovernment. He said he was wanted torecord his name in the Guinness Book ofWorld Records. He appealed to the federaland provincial governments as well as thecivil society to support him so that hecould participate in competitions of onnational and international levels.

No contest withMengal for CM’sslot: Zehri

QUETTA APP

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N)Balochistan chapter President SanaullahZehri on Saturday said he had nocompetition with BNP-M chief AkhtarMengal for the chief minister’s slot. He saidthis while addressing a press conference toannounce Faeq Ali Jamali’s joining of hisparty. “We wholeheartedly welcome AkhtarMengal for his return and decision tocontest elections,” however, top slot inBalochistan would go to a person purely onthe basis of majority of the house,” he said.Zehri, dispelling the impression of dividewithin the party, said, “We are intact inBalochistan and tickets would be awardedto the competent and legible leadershipkeeping in view the interest of the party.”He said that a committee comprising elevenmember was finalising the names of thecandidates for contesting general elections.Hailing the joining of Jamali, the PML-Nleader hoped that party would gain strengthin the Jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts.Earlier, Jamali along with other tribal eldersannounced to join the PML-N. The PML-Nleader General (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch andformer Balochistan Minister TahirMehmood Khan were also present.

bhutto’s ancestral land seeingworrying rise in AIdS cases

BANNUIRIN

Parents are going to great lengths toimmunise children after militantsimposed a ban on polio vaccinationsin North Waziristan Agency. Govern-ment officials are withholdingmoney and identity documents fromgroups affiliated with the ban, andparents are travelling long distancesto get their children vaccinated, insome cases smuggling the vaccineback home.

Abdul Hassan* emerged recentlyfrom a hospital in Bannu, just out-side the agency, clutching his toddlerson and niece. Their 100-km bus ridefrom Miranshah, was well worth it,he said, because he was able to getthe children vaccinated. “The chil-dren have received polio drops andthat is a relief,” he said. Militants inthe area banned all polio vaccina-tions in June 2012, to protest thekilling of civilians by drones.

“Around 200,000 children havebeen missed as a result of the ban inWaziristan,” said Mazhar Nisar,health education adviser at the PrimeMinister’s Polio Monitoring and Co-ordination Cell.BAttLINg tHE BAN: The gov-ernment is trying to get the ban re-versed. “We are making efforts tobring the ban to an end, so the anti-polio campaign can resume,” saidFawad Khan, health director at theFederally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA) Secretariat in Peshawar.

Nisar said that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor, officials atthe FATA Secretariat and the politi-cal agent were “all attempting to talkto tribal elders and sort out mattersso anti-polio drives could resume.”

In December 2012, the politicalagent for North Waziristan put inplace measures that included deny-ing tribal people of North Waziristanpassports, national identity cards andother official documentation if com-

munity leaders don’t overturn theban. A small honorarium to tribalelders was also stopped and develop-ment work in some areas has beensuspended. Militants had also im-posed a polio vaccination ban inSouth Waziristan but Nisar said thishad since been somewhat relaxed.

“They told me how to give thedrops, and I brought home enoughfor two neighbours with small chil-dren. I was really scared the mili-tants would discover what I wasdoing.”

A doctor, requesting anonymity,said, generally people are allowed tobring children into the hospital to re-ceive anti-polio drops, but teams arenot permitted to move in the field todeliver them.” So far, the govern-ment’s tactics in North Wazirstanhave not led to a relaxation of theunofficial community ban. Parentsact to protect their children

“Our children are still not receiv-ing drops,” said Amina Bibi*, from

near Miranshah. Bibi said she hadseen “adults who had suffered polio”and “was scared of what could hap-pen if the children are not pro-tected.”

“Some parents take their childrento larger towns like Peshawar orBannu to receive the polio drops,”said Ayesha Hasan, a journalist.

“My son is too young to travel,so I went to Bannu and brought backsome vaccines. Doctors there put itin a plastic bottle, packed ice aroundit and I hid it in a tin of dried milk,”Hazir Gul*, said. “I brought homeenough for two neighbours withsmall children,” he said. Javed Khan,who works at a clinic in Peshawar,said, “At least a dozen or so familieshave come to me over the past sixmonths and taken vaccine home.”dIstRust, MIsINfORMAtION:

An administrative official in Miran-shah, said, “We know parents arebringing in vaccine. They are desper-ate, and we try to help discreetly.”

In the realm of fear, fight for polio continuesI’m articles 62, 63personified,says Musa Gilani

MULTANONlINE

PPP candidate from NA-148, Ali Musa Gilanihas said articles 62 and 63 of the constitution donot apply to him. Talking to reporters aftersubmitting his nomination papers on Saturday,Musa explained that articles 62 and 63 dealt withhonesty and truthfulness of a candidate and hehad never told a lie. To a query, he said the caseagainst him had not been decided yet and articles62 and 63 would not be applied to him before thepunishment. Talking about the services renderedby the last PPP govt, Musa said the PPP hadpledged the masses that it would restore theconstitution of Bhutto, asking “did it not dothat”? He said the PPP was demanding votes inreward of the sacrifices rendered by Yousaf RazaGilani. Musa said some candidates of the PML-N ran away after taking part in the federalgovernment. To another query, he clarified thathe would not like to gain support or votes bycriticising any opponent.

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CoMMeNt

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2850505Web:www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

C

day to day government business won’t run without itUrgency of full caretaker setup

Too late and too early

voting rights for expatriates

POLITICIANS, they say, are a selfish lot. Unless their interests are affected,they won’t raise their voice much less lift a finger to change the status quo onan issue. The recent attempt by the parliamentarians in granting voting rights to

expatriate Pakistanis has proven to be an example in how seriously flawed theirmanner of working is. They were in favour of the measure, making it their joint cause;however, they put it aside just as soon as the Supreme Court adjudicated that dualnationality holders couldn’t contest elections. It appeared as if they lost all theincentive in seeing the move through.

But that was not the only obstacle in the way of granting expatriates their right ofvoting. When the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided to go ahead withthe move, other ministries, whose duty it was to come up with a solution that was costeffective yet practical, indulged in their usual red-tapeism and other delaying tactics,which incurred the wrath of the SC the other day when it ordered to do the needful orelse the officers responsible would be sent home packing. The court also ordered toestablish polling stations in embassies and asked the concerned ministries to jointlywork out a methodology. The ministry of IT informed the court that it could providethe necessary software and technical support within a period of three days, which putsa serious question mark as to why the same ministry is not being allowed to go aheadwith its proposal.

One could say that politicians’ selfishness has kept them from doing the needful.As it happened, when the politicians fought for the cause they were not doing it toplease the whole expatriate community, they had another motive: they wanted toprotect parliamentarians with dual nationalities along with helping the rich expatriates,who contributed handsomely to political parties, to ease their way into the country’spolitics. The reason for this move the parliamentarians gave was that the expatriatePakistanis lessen the impact of foreign exchange crunch through remittances. That istrue but the spin given to the whole remittance scenario didn’t even mention where thebulk of remittances came from. Most of the dual nationality holders, who form only aminority of Pakistani expatriates, spend their incomes in the countries of their choicebut it’s the honest workers who hold only Pakistani passports in the Gulf and othercountries that send in the bulk of remittances. Still no one focused on providing themthe right to vote. That’s how skewed parliamentarians’ approach was but with the SCbearing down on the ECP and other ministries, it is hoped that the entire spectrum ofexpatriates would be able to send in more than just remittances to their homeland.

AFTER Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a caretaker cabinet for Sindh has also beensworn in. Punjab and Balochistan are the two provinces where cabinetformation has yet to take place. Similarly, the affairs of the centre are

currently being looked after solely by interim Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso.On Friday, Khoso held a meeting of the four new provincial chief ministers to discusselection related issues. There are however other pressing issues also besides theholding of the polls that the federal government can ill afford to ignore. Foremost arethe issues related to national economy, law and order and foreign affairs. They requireappointment of interim ministers at the earliest.

The caretakers are supposed to hold office only for a short period. The SC, ECPand all major parties have ruled out any possibility of the prolongation of the interimsetup which is supposed to end when a newly elected government is ushered in afterthe May 11 elections. In case any of the parties gains a simple majority, the transfer ofpower may take no more than a few days. In case of a divided mandate it may take alittle more. Khoso as well as some of the provincial caretaker chief ministers havemade it known that they would not support any move to extend the tenure of theinterim government.

While the Khoso government is not expected to take any policy decision on economicissues, repayments of $785 million to IMF has to be made in three instalments over thenext two months. The energy crisis is meanwhile likely to deepen with the increase inseasonal demand generating new pressures. Someone has to be appointed under thecircumstances to look after the economy. The Pakistani Taliban are determined to wreakhavoc during the elections. The suicide attacks in Peshawar and Mardan and the killingof an ANP leader in Karachi indicate the seriousness of the threat. As the terrorists havea countrywide reach, maintaining law and order cannot solely be the responsibility ofthe provincial governments as maintained by Khoso in his maiden press conference.There has to be an interior minister to coordinate the working of the federal agencies toeffectively deal with the threat. Similarly, a foreign minister and a defence minister arerequired to respond to regional and international challenges. The provinces may havesmall cabinets. But they cannot leave the home departments unattended by a minister.

In the absence of the caretaker cabinets at the centre and the provinces, day to daydecisions will be taken by bureaucracy. Unlike its counterparts in developeddemocracies, the institution has been politicised by successive governments, bothmilitary and civilian. Unless put under the control of a neutral cabinet, it could takedecisions that may cause discontent or give birth to fresh problems.

politicians’ skewed approach to the issue

sunday, 31 March, 2013

10

a look at some of musharraf’s decisions

The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power

they took from the people will return to the people. And so

long as men die, liberty will never perish. –Charlie Chaplin

TIMING is everything. Notgood to be early or late.General Musharraf hasmanaged both. He re-turned too late for elec-

tions and too early for ‘revolution’.Elections are eleven days away whilethe objective conditions on the groundare not ripe enough for an urban upris-ing that changes the status quo. It’s hap-pened twice before, but the status quochanged for the worse.

More social dislocation is necessaryto start a movement. That depends on theperformance of the new governments. Ifthey do well anarchy can be averted, butfor a time because the iniquitous statuswill remain. Chances that we will getgood governance are low: they will becoalitions with their tails tied togetherwith only one thing in common – to lastas long as possible and get richer as longas possible. The masses are nowhere ontheir radar. Unlike Egypt, we have safetyvalves to let steam out – people druggedhigh on the symbols of democracy: par-liaments and a hyper media independentof the state but not of vested interests.

Every citizen has the right to returnto his country, clear his name and exer-cise his fundamental right to travelwithin and without. Musharraf exer-cised that right without getting casesagainst him withdrawn courtesy theUSA and UK or get a pardon courtesythe Saudis. He has returned and put hislife on the line to face everything. Thatis brave. But the self-serving and hyp-ocritical cases against him will keepMusharraf occupied.

If he subverted the constitution onOctober 12, 1999, why did he?Coups don’t happen in a vacuum.They are a reaction to an actionor situation. Didn’t NawazSharif first subvert the consti-tution by removing the armychief illegally, as the SupremeCourt adjudged, and invite thecoup? “General PervezMusharraf, Chief of the ArmyStaff and Chairman Joint Chiefsof Staff Committee, is a holder ofConstitutional post. His purportedarbitrary removal in violation of theprinciple of audi alteram partemwas ab initio void and of nolegal effect” said the SupremeCourt. Did the judges on thatbench subvert the constitu-tion by legitimising thecoup? Did those too whotook oaths under Mushar-raf’s first ProvisionalConstitutional Order?How come those who didunder the first become re-jects but those who werethrown out by the secondsprout wings and remainjudges? Justice is sup-posed to be blind, notcockeyed or selective.Don’t try one person for‘subversion’; try thewhole lot.

In hijacking Mushar-raf’s aircraft and orderingthe pilot to go to India,Sharif pushed the bordersof treason: lucky for himthe pilot had the sense notto comply. He could eas-ily have landed inAhmedabad and handedover an unsuspecting

Pakistan army chief to the Indians, ashameful sight indeed for us to see ourarmy chief in enemy custody, hand-cuffed and being paraded on televisioncourtesy the prime minister of Pakistan.Sharif’s was the coup against the army;the army’s was the countercoup. Heasked for it.

Musharraf will not be alone in thedock. It takes many to do a coup, helpit, legitimise it and sustain it. With himwill be a former prime minister and hishenchmen, many serving and retiredgenerals, judges and politicians. Dothey have the stomach for it? First andforemost, Nawaz Sharif will have to an-swer why he subverted the constitutionby sacking the army chief in the mannerthat he did and tried to throw him intoIndian hands and thus invited the coup.Does he have the stomach for it or willhe start pleading to be sent to Jeddahagain? It was good of Musharraf toagree to send him to a friendly countryand not to an enemy, like Sharif wantedto do to Musharraf. Sharif may be theprime minister again but I don’t give afig: Pakistan comes first.

As to the ‘hero’ Akbar Bugti, hekilled himself by misadventure in tryingto kill soldiers of Pakistan by detonatingthe explosives he had planted in his caveand caved it in, mistakenly killing him-self too. If the army intended to blow upthe cave to kill Bugti, why would it firstsend in its unarmed officers and soldiers?They went in to negotiate with Bugti andarrest him, not to kill the renegade; elsethey would have been armed.

Tell me: what does a state do with aman who takes up arms against it? Thosewho build Bugti up as a hero should beashamed of themselves. It was the Marritribe that first gave him refuge on its landand then betrayed him to the army as re-venge for what he had done to them asGovernor of Balochistan under Bhuttothe patriarch. The tribal warlords andchieftains called Sardars are a stigma onthe name of the Baloch, bloodsucking ra-pacious oppressors, primitive in the ex-treme, holding the power of life anddeath over their people. Until they be-come history the Baloch will remainmired in the Stone Age.

As to Lal Masjid, Musharraf’s mis-take was to take action

too late, wastingtime in hoping

that politicianscould peace-fully negotiatethe govern-ment out of anexplosive situ-ation. Whereare the names,relatives andgraves of the“hundreds of

women andchildren

killed” that our media goes on about? Ifrelatives of missing persons can comeout in protest, why can’t they?

What is the prime duty of a govern-ment? If it is not to protect the integrityand writ of the state and the life of its cit-izens, then what is the point of having astate? Anyone who takes up arms, mis-siles and suicide vests against a state, oc-cupies part of it, declares his own lawthere, establishes courts and drags peoplein, foreigners included, and ‘tries’ andpunishes them, kills its soldiers, policeand citizens and destroys their legitimatebusinesses is a rebel and has to be dealtwith accordingly. Those who create astate within a state are called ‘Kharajis’and are anathema to Islam. The twobrothers who ran the mosque, one surviv-ing, are no scholars but a blot on thename of scholarship and on Islam. It isthey who are the criminals, responsiblefor whatever death and destruction thatoccurred, especially the one who tried toescape like a coward in a burqa. Wouldyou find any of the true soldiers of Islamtrying to escape battle that they hadstarted disguised in female garb? It isthey who have blood on their hands.

What about some television anchorswho goaded Musharraf on to launch theoperation, taunting him and questioningwhat the army was for if it couldn’t lib-erate a mosque, promising that theywould not rant against Musharraf if hetook action. When Musharraf said thatthe moment he did they would turnagainst him, they promised that theywould never. Came the operation camethe U-turn: they exploited it to the max-imum to increase ratings and getMusharraf. Are they culpable too?

The president is perfectly within hisconstitutional rights to send a referenceto the Supreme Judicial Council con-cerning any judge. He is also within hisrights to summon him, show him thecharges with the evidence and, if he de-cides to send the reference to the SJC,ask him go on leave while it considers itand gives its opinion, not judgment, tothe president that he is free to accept orreject. So far, so good, but what followedwas unacceptable: forcibly suspendingthe chief justice, putting him and hisfamily under house arrest, cutting off allcommunications and manhandling him.Musharraf went to Karachi. One shouldask the police and intelligence agencieswhat they were up to and under whoseorders. What was the government doing,the interior ministry? That is what blewthe judges case out of proportion and gotMusharraf into trouble. Since the buckstops with him and the prime minister,they paid the price. So did the country.

The National Reconciliation Ordi-nance that withdrew all cases againstBenazir, Zardari and over 8,000 others,as did the Saudi deal with the Sharifsfor going to Jeddah, were both wrongtoo. The US, Britain, certain Musharrafofficials and politicians and some of hisfriends gave him the wrong advice.Pakistan paid the price for it even morethan Musharraf. He has been manenough to admit that the NRO was amistake. But what about the manypseudo democrats who kept whiningthat “democracy would remain in-complete until the two great leadersof the two national parties are al-lowed to return and lead them inelections”? Now everyone com-plains against the NRO and the par-don, not realising that without themBenazir or Sharif could never havereturned. You asked for it, you got it.Don’t bellyache all the time lest youbecome a habitual bellyacher.

As to threats to Musharraf’s life,the state has to realise that this is not theWild West – or is it? In no civilisedcountry are there bounty hunters. Noone can put head money on someoneand incite murder much less releasevideos threatening to kill someone.They would get arrested immediatelyor eliminated by a functioning state.

The writer is a political analyst.He can be contacted athumayun.gauhar786@gmail.com

HUMAYUN GAUHAR

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CoMMeNt Csunday, 31 March, 2013

11

Should South Koreapursue nuclear arms?

What matters in life is not what happens to

you but what you remember and how you

remember it. –Gabriel Garcia Marquez

the us could return nuclear weapons tosouth Korea to contain pyongyang’s threat

BENNETT RAMBERG

FOLLOWING North Korea’s February 12 nuclear weaponstest, the UN Security Council adopted tough penalties on Py-ongyang. Along with a new round of financial sanctions, thecouncil beefed up inspections of suspect cargo to and from

the country and took steps to halt illegal activities by Pyongyang diplo-mats – all intended to squeeze North’s nuclear and missile programmes.

But the sanctions do not address the more serious questionsraised by North Korea’s doubling down challenge threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the United States as well as threats againstSouth Korea and Japan: To keep tensions from boiling over, shouldWashington let Pyongyang pout and rant with little additional push-back, banking that time will force the poor, isolated country to returnto the bargaining table? Or, given the regime’s penchant for risk-tak-ing, ought the United States itself double down and return its nuclearweapons to South Korean soil leaving no doubt that it remains com-mitted to Seoul’s defence by whatever means? Alternatively, shouldSouth Korea, concerned that Washington’s economic challenges andfatigue with global leadership may fray its commitment to theSouth’s defence, move toward nuclear weapons? Would either tackdangerously incite Pyongyang or make it more prudent?

These questions are not simple or easy to answer, but attempt-ing to do so gives a starting point to plot the future. On balance,placing US nuclear weapons back in South Korea may be the bestend point to reduce risks.

It may be years before North Korea can hit the US with a nu-clear missile. South Korea does not have that luxury.

Pyongyang has responded to the new sanctions with its cus-tomary bluster against South Korea, military demonstrations andleadership visits to frontline forces. More ominously it added can-cellation of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War, cutcommunication links with South Korea coupled with the nuclearthreats against the United States.

At other times Washington might have treated North Korea’s rhet-oric as so much puffing. But with both Pyongyang’s nuclear and long-range missile programme advancing, President Barack Obama told ABCnews that although the North “probably can’t” make good on its threatto hit the US homeland “we don’t like margin of error.” The result, thepresident signed off on Pentagon plans to add an additional 14 missilesin Alaska by 2017 to the 30 that possibly could – the programme’s re-liability remains in question – defend the country against such a strike.

While it may be many years before the North can hit the US home-land with the required long-range nuclear-armed ballistic missile,South Korea does not have that luxury. Pyongyang’s arsenal todaycontains shorter-range rockets capable of striking South Korea. Pre-sumably Kim’s scientists are working hard to develop a warhead thatcould fit on to such delivery systems. In the interim the South mustevaluate whether a defence strategy geared toward a conventional-armed adversary is capable of dealing with an emerging nuclear one.

Rather than steer a separate course, Washington counsels SouthKorea that the security relationship remains strong buttressed bysome 28,000 American troops in the South in addition to the off-shore US nuclear umbrella housed in Guam, Okinawa and at seaavailable to deter and fight if needed. To demonstrate the commit-ment, with aircraft launched from Guam and Missouri, the US AirForce conducted a nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 flyover of theSouth in recent military exercises that included nuclear-armed war-ships. At the conclusion of the naval exercises, South Korean offi-cials reported the vessels would “stay a while” to impressPyongyang about Washington’s nuclear commitment.

“A while” does not make for a permanent presence. History sug-gests that a layered nuclear deployment may offer more impact andreassurance, with the location of US nuclear weapons both in and outof the European theatre during the Cold War being a prime example.

History has spoken: Every diplomatic understanding to con-strain North Korea has failed.

Such denuclearisation was not to be. North Korea’s recent teststimulated yet more debate in Seoul. In Washington, even beforePyongyang’s recent test, the House of Representatives Armed Serv-ices Committee formally called upon the Pentagon to review theoption of an American nuclear presence in the South.

Such an appraisal must weigh alternatives and objections againstthe acute vulnerabilities South Korea could confront without a USnuclear presence and the fact that no missile-defence system can per-form to perfection. Absent the return of nuclear weapons, SouthKorea will be open to North Korean nuclear intimidation and morerisk-taking dismissive of the credibility of Washington’s offshore nu-clear forces. The absence could encourage Pyongyang to pursue mil-itary acts and dare Seoul: “Respond and look what we have.” In thenormal course of tensions, North Korea’s arsenal could bully.

A return of nuclear weapons to South Korea will no doubt buttagainst the argument that they’ll impede the diplomatic effort to re-verse Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. However, history has spo-ken: Every understanding to constrain North Korea – the nuclearnon-proliferation treaty, the 1992 peninsula denuclearisation accord,the 1994 Agreed Framework, the 2005 Six-Party Talks agreementto end the programme – has failed along with the North’s 2012 con-sent to suspend nuclear and missile tests for Washington’s food aid.

Rather than hope for a North Korean non-proliferationepiphany, South Korea must better prepare to live with its disturb-ing neighbour while conveying the emphatic message that the Kimregime will gain no military or political advantage. The return ofAmerican nuclear weapons to South Korea would be the strongeststatement the United States can make to buttress the position.

The writer is PhD, JD, served in the Bureau of Politico-MilitaryAffairs in the US Department of State during the George H W Bushadministration. He is the author of “Nuclear Power Plants as Weaponsfor the Enemy” and can be reached at: bennettramberg@aol.com

THE changing of our national guard,with handing over of governmentalreigns to the interim setup, reminds meof the ancient Olympics. The trumpet

has been sounded and participants haveassembled. Swearing in of the interim primeminister is synonymous to the haughtyannouncements of “let the games begin”. And thisweek, as the party tickets are announced andnomination papers get filed, the entire nation willembrace the election fever, in the hope that thenext cycle of democracy shall be a step towardsdeliverance from the past mistakes.

Amidst all this, the true and final politicalpower rests with those who cast the ballot. How-ever, for the next two months, how that politicalpower gets exercised, and in whose favour, hasbeen entrusted to the ‘guardians of democracy’.

Who, you might ask, are these guardians?Well, keeping aside the undercurrents of khakiconspiracy and power of the establishment and in-telligence agencies, from a constitutional perspec-tive, the guardians of democracy are 1) the interimgovernment, 2) the Election Commission of Pak-istan (ECP), and 3) the judiciary. And unless thistripod adopts a concerted and unified approach to-wards guarding the reigns of our future, we mayonce again be faced with painful prospects of in-competent governance.

The first leg of this tripod is the interim gov-ernment. In cricket analogy, the interim govern-ment, in a match between different politicalparties, is the grounds staff – they prepare thepitch, run the roller, and make sure the outfield issmooth and lush green for a fair contest. In accor-dance with Chapter 2 of Part VIII of the Consti-tution, upon the dissolution of the assemblies, theinterim government assumes the responsibilitiesof statecraft, with the primary objective of con-ducting free and fair elections. In this regard, theadministrative responsibilities of governance andconduction of the elections rests with the interim

rulers – including the control of civil bureaucracy,preventing violence and crime through the controlof police, ensuring the availability of requisitetransportation and administrative facilities for thevoters to cast their ballot, and demonstration ofneutrality in terms of accommodating the de-mands from all sides of the partisan divide. Whilethe interim government cannot influence who getsto contest the elections, or even determine ques-tions of moral and technical eligibility, they cancertainly influence the casting of ballots throughdenying facilities or extending favours to partic-ular candidates and constituencies.

The second, and most important, leg of thistripod is the Election Commission of Pakistan.Sticking with the cricket analogy, the ElectionCommission is the umpire – it keeps the score,counts the number of balls per over, calls widesand no-balls, indicates the fours and sixes, looksout for ball-tampering, and is the decision-makerin terms of when a batsman gets out. In the con-stitutional scheme, Article 218 constitutes theElection Commission, and Article 218(3) entrustsit with the duty “to organise and conduct the elec-tion and to make such arrangements as are neces-sary to ensure that the election is conductedhonestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law,and that corrupt practices are guarded against”.And for this purpose, the constitution mandatesthat “all executive authorities” shall assist theECP in discharge of their duties (Article 219 ofthe Constitution). In this regard, the powers of theECP are vast and far-reaching. In fact, the influ-ence of the ECP starts much prior to the electionitself, with “preparing electoral rolls” and “ap-pointing Election Tribunals” (Article 218(4)), andcontinues for some time thereafter to resolve elec-tion disputes (per Article 225).

The third and final leg of the tripod is the ju-diciary. While not directly involved in the electoralprocess, the judiciary sits as the final arbiter of allissues, including those concerning the elections.For a cricketing nation, the judiciary is the third-umpire. All parties can refer a matter to the judici-ary, in accordance with the laid down legalprocedure, for a closer look, and an overturning ofthe decision of the ECP. Judiciary, as a custodianof the constitution, can overturn electoral resultsand disqualify candidates even after they havepassed the test of the ballot and scrutiny of theECP. And in this regard, the judicial responsibility,specifically in terms of qualifications and disqual-ifications of the candidates, has the potential ofshaping the outcome of the electoral process.

In this constitutional scheme, it is importantfor the guardians of our democracy to keep akeen eye on few competing interests. First: a de-gree of deference must be afforded to the abilityand choice of people to elect a candidate of theirown choosing. And the urge to be unkind, in

terms of scrutiny and disqualification, towards acandidate who is disliked or out-of-favor with ourguardians of democracy must be checked. Sec-ond: on the other hand, in an election cycle, whilethe tempers and public passion is at a fever pitch,the urge to simply play to the gallery in order toallow or disqualify candidature must be resisted.In this regard, it would be pertinent to be mindfulof the fact that everyone, no matter how dislikedin public opinion, is innocent till proven guilty.And exactly for this reason, do Article 62 and 63of the Constitution (along with the establishedprinciples of jurisprudence) require a ‘convic-tion’ in most cases, before a candidate can be dis-qualified from contesting or holding an electedoffice. And finally, our guardians must balancethis requirement of a formal conviction, againstadmitted and public guilt, in order to undertakesome weeding out of bad apples, when the recordis amply clear and unquestionable.

A prime example of this is the case of Wa-heedza Shah who, for slapping the Assistant Pre-siding Officer (on camera), in the by-electionsof 25th February, 2012, had been disqualified bythe ECP, for a period of two years. This ban wasupheld by the honourable Sindh High Court but,just two days back, a three-member bench of thehonourable Supreme Court has lifted this ban,allowing her to contest in the upcoming polls.This decision, made for reasons best known tothe court, sends a distasteful signal. When the ac-tion of a contestant is so belligerent, has beencaught on camera, and later adjudicated upon bythe ECP and the Sindh High Court, it is disap-pointing to see the honourable apex court, witha detailed order, overturning the same on the eveof the elections. The message, regardless of thetechnicalities, is one that undermines the author-ity of presiding officers, as well as that of theECP. And this despite the fact that a presiding of-ficer, during the course of the election, is playingan administrative as well as an adjudicatory role(as a judge). One wonders if the court wouldhave ruled the same if the Mrs Shah had metedout the same treatment to a judicial officer, ratherthan a presiding officer.

These are tough times. And the position ofour guardians of democracy, in a country as trou-blesome as Pakistan, is not enviable. There isbound to be criticism of their conduct. Whoeverstands to lose might even indulge in mud-slingingat these esteemed institutions. But for us to grad-uate to a clean democracy, concerns of popularopinion and media chatter will have to be sacri-ficed at the altar of constitutionalism.

The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore. Hehas a Masters in Constitutional Law fromHarvard Law School. He can be reached at:saad@post.harvard.edu

Guardians of democracy

SAAD RASOOl

For us to graduate to a clean democracy, concerns of popular opinion and mediachatter will have to be sacrificed at the altar of constitutionalism

KHI 31-03-2013_Layout 1 3/31/2013 4:48 AM Page 11

“The human spirit is stronger

than anything that can happen to

it. ”— C.C. Scott

ARTS

Asunday, 31 March, 2013

12

KIM KArdAShIANWANTS To CALLbAby EASToN WEST

Kim Kardashian and boyfriend KanyeWest are thinking about calling theirbaby Easton. The pregnant realitystar, who was on Jay Leno’s talkshow last night, told the comedianthat she and West were consideringa non-K name for her unborn babydue in July, the Mirror reported. The32-year-old Kardashian said thatsome of the names on their list are‘K’ names while some aren’t, butshe thinks Easton West is cute.She also talked about filming herbaby’s birth, saying she’s not surethat she wants the ‘Keeping UpWith The Kardashians’ camerasthere, even though it was“beautiful” for Kourtney. “I don’teven think I’ll have a camcorder...I don’t even know if I would wantthat as a memory,” she said.“Although, there’s always achance. I don’t know. I mightchange my mind.” NEWS DESk

COURTESY HP

HAPPY 160th Birth-day to one of the mostrecognizable artists ofmodern times, Vin-cent van Gogh. While

his artwork is revered by more thanjust art lovers, his depression isequally as famous. Van Gogh’s con-stant self-loathing, due in part to thelackluster response to his work,would come to embody the “torturedartist” archetype.

Van Gogh’s use of heavy brushstrokes and layers upon layers of thickoil paint was constantly at odds withcritics in the wake of the soft-spokenImpressionist movement. The artistcompleted most of his most well-known paintings in the last two yearsof his life, and committed suicidewhen he was 37, though this has comeunder dispute recently.

Part of Van Gogh’s mystique is at-tributed to his frequent struggles withmental illness and self-imposed isola-tion that left many of his thoughts andfeelings a mystery except for an ex-tended correspondence with hisyounger brother, Theo Van Gogh. Dueto debilitating bouts of epilepsy and at-tempts to counteract his seizures withabsinthe, Van Gogh would jump be-tween anxiety, hopelessness, and stub-

born determination at the drop of a hat.Van Gogh was quite aware of his

uncontrollable mental state, acknowl-edging that sustaining such a lifewould be difficult, even impossible.In a letter, Van Gogh wrote to Theothat, “because I have a need to speakfrankly, I can’t hide from you that I’movercome by a feeling of great anxi-ety, dejection, a ‘je ne sais quoi’ ofdiscouragement and even despair, too

much to express. And that if I can findno consolation for it, it might all tooeasily overwhelm me unbearably.”

After Van Gogh cut off his ear, hecommitted himself to an asylum wherehe found solace in the support. It wasat Saint Paul-de-Mausole that VanGogh produced his finest work, includ-ing “Irises” — he finally found somerelief in the structure of the hospital.However, as Richard Cork notes in anarticle for Yale Press, “Irises” may ap-pear joyous at first, but upon closer in-spection Van Gogh’s ongoing troublesare revealed. Cork writes, “The irisesand their blaring green leaves fill thecanvas with insistent movement, as ifjostling for room in the confined pic-ture-space. They crowd round the soli-tary white flower in their midst,provoking the suspicion that Vincentequated their clamorous behaviourwith the more disturbed patients con-fined inside the asylum’s walls.”

Despite the possible gloomy inter-pretation of “Irises,” it is also one ofthe prime examples of Van Gogh’s in-novative approach to perspective out-lined in Cornelia Homburg’s newbook, “Van Gogh Up Close.” Theartist’s magnified point of view dis-played in paintings later in life showthat he had an appreciation for whathad come before, but was unafraid toput his own twist on tradition.

happy 160th birthday,vincent van Gogh!

Ali Zafar’s visa toIndia not denied,says publicist

NEWS DESK

Pakistani singer-turned-actor Ali Zafar’spublicist has rejected claims that the star wasdenied the visa to India, it has been claimed.When Zafar missed a promotional event inIndia for his upcoming movie ChashmeBaddoor, the Hindustan Times reported that hisvisa had been turned down. But an insider fromthe production team informed the Indian dailythat Zafar was denied the visa for unknownreasons. However, his publicist, AmmaraHikmat, denied the rumours and said Zafar willbe heading to India soon, the Express Tribunereports. Hikmat said that the report wascompletely incorrect, and that Zafar neverapplied for a visa. She added that due to hisbusy schedule, Zafar was unable to fly to Indiato be an active part of any promotionalactivities

Marilyn Monroe’s suicidal letter tomentor Lee Strasberg, Dwight D.Eisenhower’s heartfelt missives tohis wife during World War II andJohn Lennon’s angry message for

Paul McCartney are amonghundreds of historical documentsbeing offered in an online auction.Douglas Elliman’s Madison Avenueart gallery will display 250documents that will be sold online,the New York Daily News reported.Monroe’s handwritten, undatedletter of despair to the famed acting

teacher is expected to go for 30,000dollars to 50,000 dollars in the May30 sale. John Lennon’s typed,undated draft that contained a hatemessage to Linda and PaulMcCartney after the Beatles brokeup is expected to fetch 40,000dollars to 60,000 dollars.Meanwhile, Dwight D.Eisenhower’s love notes for wifeMamie are believed to be among thelargest group of Eisenhower lettersto survive intact and could bring upto 120,000 dollars, Joseph

Maddalena, whose Profiles inHistory is auctioning the items,said. Other highlights include twolarge leather-bound photo albumscontaining hundreds of images thatAdolph Hitler and Benito Mussoliniexchanged prior to War World II,have a pre-sale estimate of up to50,000 dollars. The sale is thesecond of several planned onlineauctions of the anonymouscollector’s artifacts. The entirecollection contains 3,000 items.NEWS DESk

Marilyn Monroe’s suicidal letter up for auction

KHI 31-03-2013_Layout 1 3/31/2013 4:48 AM Page 12

We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, and never to

be undone…Nothing we ever do is, in strict scientific

literalness, wiped out. — William James in Habit

13ARtssunday, 31 March, 2013

A

MIAn QADIr BUKHSH

1903 - 1962

gHArAnA: PunjabTeACHer: Mian Faqir Bukhsh

A legendaryname, MianQadir Bukhshwas theauthoritativehead orkhalifa of thePunjabgharana.Equally agreatPakhawajplayer, hewasrenowned forhis layakariandreputation asa dedicatedteacher.

KHALIfA AKHTAr HUSSAIn KHAn

1947-2001

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHerS: Mian Qadir Bukhsh, Ustad Mashooqay Khanand UstadAslam Khan

The lastrecognisedkhalifa of thePunjabtradition,AkhtarHussain wasrespected forhisknowledgeover thetraditionalsolorepertoire ofPunjab.

USTAD SHAUKAT HUSSAIn KHAn

1930-1996

gHArAnA: Punjab & Delhi TeACHerS: Pandit Hiralal & Mian Qadir Bukhsh

The late UstadShaukatHussain Khanranked amongstthe finestmusicians ofSouth Asia.Apart from hisprowess overthe solorepertoire, themaestro’s fortewas hisimpeccableaccompaniment.

USTAD fArYAAD HUSSAIn “BHULLI” KHAn

1945-2004

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHer: Ustad Ghulam Hussain “Jullundhari”

Ustad BhulliKhan was anoutstandingmusicianrenowned forhis tayyariand masteryover the “TenFinger Style”created by hismentor, LalaGhulamHussain.Bhulli Khanwon specialpraise overhis ability toplay thedifficult “DhireDhire” bol.

USTAD BASHIr HUSSAIn “gOgA”

1940- 1991

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHerS: Ustad Mureed Hussain & Baba Hameed Khan

Anoutstandingsoloist,Ustad GogaKhan was aregularparticipant inthe tabladungals ofPakistan. Hissolos weremarked byclear tonalreproduction,exquisitedexterity anddaringpanache.

USTAD ALTAf HUSSAIn “TAfO” KHAn

1945-

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHerS: Mian Qadir Bukhsh & Haji Fida Hussain

The renownedTafo Khan isrecognised forhis matchlesstayyari. Hissoloperformancesarecharacterisedby his dazzlingprowess overdifficult bolsandcharismaticstagepresence.

USTAD BASHIr KHAn

1946-

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHer: Mian Karim Bukhsh “Pairna”

A seniordisciple ofMian KarimBukhsh Pairna,Bashir Khan isan outstandingsoloist and ahighly ratedmember of thePunjabgharana. Oneof the last fewtabla playersof Pakistanconcentratingon propagatingthe traditionalsolorepertoire.

USTAD ABDUL SATTAr “TArI” KHAn

1953-

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHer: Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan

Also known asthe “Prince ofTabla”, thecelebrated TariKhan has alarge followingamongstclassical musiclisteners. Hisgreatestcontributiontowards tablaplaying isredefining tablaaccompanimentto the ghazalgenre.

ArSHAD ALI

1955-

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHerS: Ustad Allahditta Khan & Ustad Rasheed Khan

Arshad Ali is agifted musician,who made hisname with hisaccompanimentwith ghazalmaestroGhulam Ali.Arshadpossesses ahuge repertoireof traditionalcompositions ofthe PunjabGharana.

MOHAMMeD AjMAL KHAn

1958-

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHer: Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan

Based inIslamabad,Ajmal isfollowing in histeacher’s mouldby providingexcellentaccompaniment.He is presentlyassociated withLok Virsa andPakistanTelevisionNetwork.

ejAz HUSSAIn “BALLU” KHAn

1962-

gHArAnA: Punjab TeACHer: Ustad Altaf Hussain “Tafo” Khan

Ballu Khanhasestablishedhimself as atabla playerofoutstandingmerit.Despitebeingassociatedwith thePakistani filmindustry,Ballu hasmaintained astrict regimeof practiceand focus onsolo tabla.

gHULAM ABBAS KHAn

1956-

gHArAnA: Punjab Ustad Ghulam Hassan “Kook” Khan & Ustad Allah Rakha Khan

Ghulam AbbasKhan’srigoroustraining andcloseassociationwith UstadSalamat AliKhan helpedhim to developinto a fine allround tablaplayer. Hisplayingdisplays all thehallmarks ofthe Punjabgharana.

toP

tAbL

A NA

wAz

oF

PAKI

stAN N

EW

S D

ES

k

KHI 31-03-2013_Layout 1 3/31/2013 4:49 AM Page 13

NEWS DESK

No, the "Tanzverbot" isn't the latest German dance craze.It's quite the opposite: the decades-old law that bans allorganized dancing in Germany on Good Friday and otherreligious holidays. And with church attendance fallingaround Germany, its citizens are increasingly calling forthe ban to be ended, reports the Wall Street Journal. A rallyin Frankfurt yesterday drew a couple dozen protesters,carrying the slogan: "I'll let you pray—you let me dance."Depending on the state, fines for breaking the rule rangefrom $6.50 to $650. "When someone is dancing Fridayevening in a club in the basement, that doesn't disturb anyChristians who are praying or doing something in thechurch during the day," says one protester. Germanymaintains many Christian-based laws, including a "churchtax" on all citizens who belong to a church, regardless ofwhether they attend. "They can dance on 364 days a year,"says one politician. "We cannot just forget our history."

NEWS DESK

As a sofa-treating agent, dimethyl fumarate gave peopleblisters and rashes, but now it's getting a secondchance—as a much ballyhooed multiple sclerosis drugcalled Tecfidera, whose sales could be enormous.Among doctors, there's "astrong consensus thatTecfidera offers a morefavorable clinical pro-file than other oral orinjectable first-lineoptions," says an ana-lyst. Indeed, some pa-tients have reportedlybeen waiting for Tec-fidera's FDA approval,

which came yesterday, before starting any kind of MStreatment. That's because the drug appears highly effec-tive, with few side effects—plus, it's a pill, as opposedto an injection, the New York Times reports. Whilecompetitors like Gilenya require doctors to closelymonitor patients for side effects, Tecfidera requires less

oversight; its top side ef-fect is flushing. Sold byBiogen Idec, it will be

the third oral treat-ment to hit the $14billion MS market.An analyst tells theTimes that Tecfideracould hit $1.7 billionin sales by 2015 and$2.6 billion by 2017.

NEWS DESK

WITH their tiny wires and circuits,robotic ants won’t be taking over theworld anytime soon. But what theseartificial insects lack in processingpower, they make up for in

efficiency: Robotic ants can automatically choose theshortest route from their food sources back to their nests,just like real ants, a new study says. This gives valuableinsight into how people should plan transportation andcommunication systems. “It’s really interesting to look atsocial insects because [they] can give us a way to manageinformation in our societies,” said Guy Theraulaz, abehavioral biologist at the National Center for ScientificResearch in France, a co-author on the study. “We takesome inspiration from nature.” Robo-ants aren’t sodifferent from the insects they mimic. Real ants have tinybrains, which means navigating everyday life, withall its sights and vibrations, is achallenge. So to save brainpower,these insects have evolved toignore outside stimulation. “Antsare pretty dumb by themselves,”said study leader Simon Garnier,a biologist at the New JerseyInstitute of Technology’s SwarmLab. “They have about a hundredthousand neurons. There aremore neurons in your finger.”

tHE PAtH MOst EffIcIENt: Despite theirsimplemindedness, ants almost always take the most ef-ficient path home, which has long stumped the scientificcommunity. So Garnier and colleagues programmedtiny robots to act like ants using a series of simple com-puter commands and then put them in a labyrinth. Whenthe robot ants reached a fork in the road, they kept walk-ing straight until they hit an obstacle and veered off inthe direction of least resistance—the shortest distance.The ants were relying on simple physics. “If I blindfoldyou and put you in the corridor, and you hit the wall,you’re more likely to take the path that deviates less,”said Garnier, whose study was published March 28 in

the journal PLOS ComputationalBiology. Once the robot ants

find the most efficientway through the

labyrinth, they

alert their peers by calling attention to the pathway withlights. (Real ants use pheromones, or chemical mark-ers.) The robot ants go marching one by one, each lay-ing down a new layer of light. Soon, all ants aretraveling on the same, highly productive road. (Watcha video of fierce army ants.) “It’s like if you want to goto a restaurant with your friends, and one says, ‘I wantto go to pizza.’ The other says, ‘I want to go to Chinesefood.’ And at one point, if more friends say theywant to go to pizza, you’ll go there,” Garnier added.

cOMBAtINg “cOLLEctIvE MAdNEss”: It’scalled the “ant algorithm,” and our societies could benefitfrom applying it to everyday problems. (Also see “CouldCyborg Cockroaches Save Your Life?”) Like ants, “we areoverloaded with information, but we didn’t develop theappropriate filter,” said Theraulaz, of the French scientificcenter. “Now we produce a kind of collective madness,and that’s the problem.” Adopting more collective-swarmintelligence would also make human society less costly

and more productive, Theraulaz said. For example,thinking like an ant swarm could better plan shippingroutes, place cell phone towers, and task assign-ments within companies. The next step is to build

more robot-ant studies to further test thealgorithm and then apply it to large-scale systems, such as city planning

and freeway mapping. “We can build verysimple entities,” Theraulaz said. “This

kind of technology will invade societyand promote collective intelligence.”

INFOTAINMENT

ISunday, 31 March, 2013

14For the execution of the voyage to the Indies,

I did not make use of intelligence,

mathematics or maps. –Christopher Columbus

obesity is onyour breath

Obesity may have a scent—and it isn'tChicken McNuggets. A new study hasfound that people with higher levelsof methane and hydrogen on theirbreath tend to be fatter, thanks togas-emitting microorganisms that livein our gut and may contribute toweight gain, reports Time.One of the researchers says that theM. smithii microbes scavenge energyand nutrients from food, extractingmore calories from each meal fortheir hosts. So people with elevatedlevels of these pesky critters in theirinsides may have them to thank forpacking on the pounds. If that's thecase, the issue may be detectablewith just a breath test. “Our hope isthat this is one piece of the complexpuzzle that is obesity,” she says, “andthat by identifying people who areobese because they have thismicroorganism, we can manipulateand work with the gut microbiome tolead to benefits in weight loss in thatsubgroup.” NEWS DESk

Solar-poweredplane ready for toughestflight yet

Solar Impulse is ready for itstoughest challenge yet: Starting May1, the sun-powered plane will begin along, slow trip from California to theother side of the United States,reports the Mercury News. With four10-horsepower engines, the SolarImpulse flies at 35 miles per hour—that's with the wind at its back. Factorin four stops of up to 10 days eachalong the way, and the journey turnsinto a long one: The plane is expectedto land at JFK in early July."This airplane could do it nonstop,"says co-pilot and project CEO AndréBorschberg. "But because the pilot isnot as sustainable as the technology,we have limited ourselves to 24-hourflight duration." In development since2003, the Solar Impulse first flew for24 hours in 2010, then from Madridto Morocco last year. If the cross-America flight goes well, Borschbergsays they will try taking their solarplane around the world in 2015. "It'sa beautiful dream, but in terms ofpractical application, I think we're stillabout 15 years away," said one solarcell developer. NEWS DESk

biological computercreated at Stanford

In the foreseeable future, humans might carrymicroscopic natural computers inside their cells thatcould guard against disease and warn of toxicthreats based on a Stanford research achievement.A team of engineers there has invented genetictransistors, completing a simple computer within aliving cell, a major step forward in the emergingfield of synthetic biology. The startling achievement,to be unveiled in Friday's issue of the journalScience, presages the day when "living computers'inside the human body could screen for cancer,detect toxic chemicals or even turn cell reproductionon and off. The computers could deliver true-falseanswers to virtually any biological question thatmight be posed within a cell. For instance: Is toxicmercury present? It could detect it. Also: They cancount. This would be a useful tool when treatingdiseases like cancer, where cells divideuncontrollably. Suppose a liver cell carries a counterthat records how many times it divides. Once thecounter hits 500, for instance, the cell could beprogrammed to die. These cell-based computers willbe a different kind of computer, Endy said. "We'renot going to replace the silicon computers. We're notgoing to replace your phone or your laptop. Butwe're going to get computing working in placeswhere silicon would never work. "Any place youwant a little bit of logic, a little bit of computation, alittle bit of memory -- we're going to be able to dothat,' said Endy. Conceptually, it's like electronics,where a transistor controls the flow of electronsalong a circuit. But biology is the basis for what theteam calls a "transcriptor,' which controls the flow ofan important protein as it travels along a strand ofDNA. Transcriptors are a biological version ofelectrical engineers' "logic gates' -- the buildingblocks of digital circuits that send and receivesignals. The gates could derive true-false answers tovirtually any biological question that might be posedwithin a cell. For instance: Is toxic mercury present?It could detect it. Also: They can count. This wouldbe a useful tool when treating diseases like cancer,where cells divide uncontrollably. Suppose a liver cellcarries a counter that records how many times itdivides. Once the counter hits 500, for instance, thecell could be programmed to die. Endy's work"clearly demonstrates the power of synthetic biologyand could revolutionize how we compute in thefuture,' said UC Berkeley biochemical engineer JayKeasling. He is director of the Synthetic BiologyEngineeringResearch Center that helped supportresearch at Stanford. Endy, recruited to Stanfordfrom the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is abuilder -- a civil engineer who started with boyhoodErector Sets and Legos, later working on bridgerepair projects for Amtrak. Now he's building withthe stuff of life to use it as a technology platform."Biology is not just a science of discovery, but also atechnology for making things,' he said. NEWS DESk

NEWS DESK

President Obama's budget proposalwill include funds for a wild planto use a robotic spacecraft to snagan asteroid and drag it closeenough to Earth for astronauts toland on and study it, Aviation Weekreports. The project, as dreamed upin a study last year by the Keck In-stitute, would involve locating asmall asteroid (small here meaningabout 1.1 million pounds), flying toit using solar-electric propulsion,grabbing it with a 7-meter "capturebag," and dropping it off near themoon. Obama's budget will slip$100 million into NASA's budgetfor the project, which is somethingof a drop in the bucket, given thatKeck estimates that the projectwould ultimately cost $2.65 bil-lion. In addition to its scientificapplications, the technology devel-oped for the mission would be use-ful for redirecting asteroids oncollision courses with Earth.

robot ants could make us more efficient

Good Friday dancing ban has Germany in a twist

sofa-treating chemical reborn as major Ms drug

US might try to catch an asteroid

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rEvErSE SWING IS AN ArTboWLEd by A FEW: WAQAr

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Ssunday, 31 March, 2013

15

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

PAKISTAN’S reverse swingking Waqar Younis has pointedout that reverse swing is an artbowled by a few bowlers and

not everyone can perform with the ball heand his mate Wasim (Akram) used to do.

"When I was really small I loved thePakistan cricket team. Waqar was one ofthe greatest bowlers ever, and I was abowler so I really enjoyed watching him.I was a big Pakistan fan until I got older,when I noticed that I should actuallysupport my home team," Usain Bolt, theworld's fastest sprinter from Jamaica, hadonce famously answered when asked whowere his heroes when he was a child.

What began with Safraz Nawaz wasmade popular by Younis. The Pakistanifast bowler had mastered the nuances ofreverse swing and terrorised the batsmenin his nearly 15-year-old career. Younis'trademark was his ability to reverse swingthe ball at high speed and this made himone of the most talented and feared fastbowlers in modern cricket. He took 373Test and 416 ODI wickets. Younis has thebest strike rate for any bowler with over350 Test wickets. In terms of deliveriesbowled, he has taken the fastest 50, 300,350 and 400 wickets in ODI matches and

the fastest 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350wickets in Tests.

The 41-year-old former Pakistan fastbowler and captain has now taken up thechallenge of guiding the HyderabadSunrisers pacers in the IPL. "When Istarted my career, reverse swing was anew thing and not many knew what it wasall about. Hence, the batsmen were caughtunawares and I was quite successful. Butnow the players are quite aware of it andhave spent a lot of time studying it andhave come up with ways to counter it.Hence, the element of surprise is not thereanymore and bowlers now have to workharder than we did. Yet, it is an effectiveway of getting a batsman out," Younissaid.

Younis, however, said everyonecannot bowl the reverse swing. "All fastbowlers cannot bowl the reverse swing. Ifyou look around the world, only a few aresuccessful at it. This is because of thestyle and action of the bowler. Only somecan effectively bowl the reverse swing.Every bowler has a different role andhence my job is to see who fits where. Iwill be working closely with thenewcomers and see if any of them aresuited to bowl the reverse swing. T20 is afast game and hence strategies have to beplanned accordingly," the 'BurewalaExpress' said.

jOHANNESBERGAGENCIES

The chief executive of the KwaZulu-NatalCricket Union, Jesse Chellan, says a reportthis week suggesting that Hashim Amlacould quit the Dolphins at the end of thisseason is “factually incorrect andmisleading” and that KZN Cricket takesthe “strongest exception to it”.

The report claimed Amla was unhappywith various aspects of administration atthe union, including a gripe that newsigning Lonwabo Tsotsobe was paid morethan him, and that he could move to theLions or the Cape Cobras next season.

Chellan slammed the report saying itcontained “elements and insinuations thatare factually incorrect and misleading. Thearticle compromises the good name ofHashim Amla and of the KZN CricketUnion, and as such KZN Cricket takes thestrongest exception.” The report claimed:Amla was “miffed” that (new signing)Tsotsobe was paid R20 000 more than himto play for the franchise. He wasn’t invited

to play in a match for the Dolphins in thedomestic Ram Slam T20 Challenge.

He was unhappy with the way hisbrother, Ahmed, had been treated at theunion. Ahmed Amla had been “promised”the job of coach of the KZN amateur team,but was ignored in favour of formerinternational Roger Telemachus.

Chellan pointed out that Amla was anationally contracted player and did notreceive independent payments from KZNCricket. “Hashim Amla is a CSAcontracted player, and all CSA contractedplayers determine the franchise that theyplay for. The franchises have no say in thismatter. It is the player’s choice.

“I wish to state categorically that atno stage has Hashim Amla approachedKZN Cricket for any additional paymentto remain with or play for the Dolphins.This would be contrary to the CSA andSouth African Cricketers’ Associationguidelines in this regard. So theallegation that Hashim is unhappy withKZN Cricket for not paying him anyadditional fee is totally false,” said

Chellan. The chief executive said thatAmla was approached to play for theDolphins between the Test and ODIseries, but that his agent, Ismail Kajee,said he was unavailable. Chellan deniedthat Ahmed Amla had been promised thecoaching job with the amateur squad,saying the position was subject toapplications and interviews. Telemachuswas deemed the best available man forthe job. As for the allegation that AhmedAmla had been treated unfairly, Chellansaid that “KZN Cricket is still in contractnegotiations with all players whosecontracts conclude on April 30, and thisincludes Ahmed Amla” .

Ahmed Amla, 33, has had a modestcareer for the Dolphins since his debutin 1997/8. He has played in 128 first-class matches, scoring 13 hundreds and33 fifties at an average of 34.3. He wasinjured for most of last season and hasnot played for the senior team thisseason. He has, however, scored 374runs at 37 for the amateur team in thethree-day competition.

KZN cricket denies Amla report

Pakistan confidentof davis Cup winover New Zealand

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Pakistan's Davis Cup coach MohammadKhalid Saturday said he was confident histeam would win against New Zealand intheir Oceania Group II match in Myanmarnext week. Pakistan have been forced toplay their home ties at neutral venues since2010, due to security fears in the countryafter gunmen attacked the Sri Lankancricket team bus in March 2009.That terrorist attack led to the suspension ofall international sporting activities inPakistan as teams refused to tour thecountry. Pakistan requested theInternational Tennis Federation stage its tiein Myanmar, where Khalid feels grasscourts will favour his players. "Grass courtssuit our players and I am confident that ourteam will win the tie," Khalid was quotedby a foreign news agency after the team willdepart on Sunday.The tie will be played from April 5-7 and awin would give Pakistan the chance to playthe group semi-final in September againstthe winners of the other second-round tiebetween Thailand and the Philippines.Pakistan will be represented by topdoubles player Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi, aswell as Aqeel Khan, Yasir Khan andMohammad Abid. Khalid hopes Qureshicontinues his latest form, which has seenhim through to Saturday's doubles final atthe Sony Open in Miami, where he ispartnering Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer."He (Qureshi) is playing well and that's agood sign for us, and besides that otherplayers have also prepared well," saidKhalid. New Zealand beat Pakistan 3-2 intheir last Davis Cup meeting in 2010.

WELLINGTONAGENCIES

New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder has regainedconsciousness and is talking to friends and familyas he recovers from an alleged assault inChristchurch earlier this week, his manager saidon Saturday.

Ryder, 28, was rushed to hospital early onThursday with serious head injuries after beinginvolved in two altercations outside a bar and fastfood restaurant in Merivale, a suburb ofChristchurch. Local media reported Ryder hadsustained a fractured skull and a collapsed lungin the assault. Two men have been charged withassault and will appear in court on April 4.“Jesse's condition has improved to the extent thathe is now out of the induced coma and off theventilator,” Ryder's manager Aaron Klee said ina statement issued through New Zealand Cricket.“Jesse is awake and talking to us, but he isobviously still working through the immediateeffects from being in the coma and the drugs themedical team have been using. “Naturally we

are thrilled with this progress.“This is only the start of the recovery

process for Jesse and there is still a big battleahead to full health, but the progress is positive.”

Ryder had been expected to travel to Indiafor the lucrative Twenty20 tournament with theDelhi Daredevils this week, but had been in aself-imposed exile from international cricketafter a series of alcohol-related incidents.

Despite publicly swearing off alcohol,Ryder had begun drinking again in recent weeks,New Zealand Cricket Players Association chiefexecutive Heath Mills said on Thursday. Police,however, told reporters on Thursday they did notthink alcohol was a factor in the alleged assault.Ryder was not expected to return to internationalcricket for New Zealand's tour of England inMay-June, following their 0-0 draw in therecently completed home test series. Anaggressive batsman with a superb eye anddelicate touch, Ryder has made 1,269 runs in 18tests at an average of 40.93 with a highest scoreof 201 and 1,100 runs in 39 one-dayinternationals at 34.37.

Ryder regains consciousness

Our families are really good friends. In fact, I first met

AB in my dad’s farm and over the years I really got

to know him and respect him a lot. – Danielle Swart

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SUPER EIGHT T-20 CUP(

(

sPoRts S

sunday, 31 March, 2013

16Dad bounced when I was about 14; he just took off man.

He just dropped me off at a mate's one day and said he'd

see me in a week. He never came back. – Jesse Ryder

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

fAISALABAD Wolves pulledout a thrilling two-run win tobook a place in the final of theFaysal Bank T20 Super Eight

Cup here on Saturday evening. Led byPakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Wolvesbatted to a low total of 125 runs butcontained the Lions of Lahore at 123 forall. Misbah playing against the nationalT20 captain Mohammad Hafeez, usedwhat he has in his armory to keep Lionsunder the belt and thus won the matchby two runs.

All the good work done by the Lionsbowlers who contained Wolves for 125runs was spoiled by their batsmen afterNasir Jamshed and Hafeeez extended asolid platform for Lahore.

However, the attack used by Misbahand the tight fielding of the Wolves keptthe Lion in its den. Just for Nasir’s 46,Hafeez’s 36 and Sohail Ahmed’s 19,

none of the Lions could reach thedouble figures and instead they havefour ducks. Their last four wickets fellwithin the space of eight runs and in

their entire innings there were four runouts. Ahsan Adil damaged the Lionsbatting with three wickets while ImranKhaid had two and Asad Ali one to keep

their rivals total below 125. Earlier, Hafeez having taken three

wickets along with two by AdnanRasool and one each by AizazCheema, Zia-ul-Haq and Wahab Riazsaw the Misbah’s eleven wilt.Khurrum Shahzad with 27 was thehighest scorer from their side withImran Khali’s 20 being the secondhighest. When everyone was expectingMisbah to deliver he could only make19 and Asad Ali was also bundled outfor the same score. Farrukh Shahzadand Ali Waqas opened the innings toadd 22 runs together and when theWolves innings finished they playedwith an average of just above six runsan over and were believed to bethrown out. But Misbah proved muchclever than his counterpart to pull awonderful win and wait for the winnerof the second semi-final betweenSialkot Stallions and Rawalpindi Ramsto play in the final on Sunday at 7 pmat the Gaddafi Stadium.

WoLvES ThroUGh ToSUPEr EIGhT T20 FINAL

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The Inter Club Golf Event between a26 member Lahore Gymkhana Golfteam and an equivalent strength RoyalPalm Golf team will tee off onSunday,31st March at the par-72,Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course at 9 amthrough a shot gun start. Competitionwill take place over 1 8holes.

Teams comprise of 12 players inthe handicap category 0-9 and 12players in handicap category 10-18,plus there will a match between theofficials of the two clubs.Gymkhanawill be represented by its captain,AmerMehmood and Chairman SalmanSiddique and they will face the RoyalPalm captain Lt Gen (r) M. Tariq andCEO Ramzan Sheikh.

Tournament format is similar towhat is practiced in the universallyknown Ryder Cup between Europe andAmerica. In this championship, the

two teams will engage each other infour ball match play competition, andsimultaneously singles contests.Pointsat stake will be 26 in four ball matchesand 26 in singles competition,aggregating a total of 52 points. Theteam that accumulates 26.5 points andabove will be the winner of theprestigious contest between twoleading golf clubs of the country.

Whereas Gymkhana boasts ofsome quality players like Ahmed ZafarHayat, Javed A.Khan, Shafique Bhatti,Sameer Iftikhar, Mohsin Anwar andZulfiqar Rana complemented by othertalented ones,the Royal Palm team isdepending on the prowess of MohsenZafar,Omer Salamat,Faisal Sayed, MirMaaz, Col (r) Jameel Khalid andSardar Murad. The other teammembers will also have a significantrole to play.

THe COMPeTIng PAIrS Are: ( Gymkhana

names first); Shahid A.Khan & Taimur

Shabbir vs Mahad Zafar & Abbas Ali Khan;

Ahmed Zafar Hayat & Javed A. Khan vs

Mohsen Zafar & Hussain Hamid; M. Shafique

Bhatti & Shakeel Ahmed vs Omer Salamat &

Faisal Sayed; Sameer Iftikhar & Mohsin

Anwar vs Mir Maaz Mehmood & Col (r)

Jameel Khalid; Qayum Rashid & Zulfiqar

Rana vs Azfar Hassan & Faisal Ali Malik;

Nasir Irshad & Dr Arshad Mahmood vs

Sardar Murad Khan & Raza Ali Khan;

Mohammad Ahad Naeem & Dr Dildar Hussain

vs Imran F. Mian & Abdul Salam Nazir;

Qasim Riaz & Hamid Aziz Sethi vs Imran

Miraj & Imran Zafar; Khurshid Aziz & Dr

Khurram Saadat vs Hamid Sharif & Asim

Tiwana; Omar Zia & Asad Abbas vs Hamayun

Mian & Dr Nasrullah; Tariq Misbah & Ahmad

Khalid vs Haroon Arshad & Farid Malik;

Karamatullah Chaudry & Asad Niaz vs

Abdullah Sharif & Waqar Butt; Amer

Mehmood & Salman Siddique vs Lt Gen (r)

Muhammad Tariq & Ramzan Sheikh.

Competition is likely to be sharp edged with

some matches bound to produce quality golf.

Great care has been taken to prepare the

Gymkhana Golf Course appropriately for this

occasion and some of the greens look exotic.

Fairways are scenic and their condition is

supportive to shot making.

Inter club golf kicks off tomorrow

Wapda win NationalPowerlifting

LAHORE: Wapda won the National Power-lifting Championships 2013 trophy with 110points whereas Railway secured 2nd positionand Punjab secured 3rd position. Wapda wasleading with 70 points when the event startedon the final day with four gold & One Silvermedals whereas Railway is on 2nd positionwith 49 Points and Punjab is on 3rd positionwith 36 points. Sindh has also won one goldmedal in 93 Kg. Class. A large number ofpeople were gathered there and observe theperformance of the players. People appreciatethe performance of the players on every goodlift. Muhammad Khalid Mahmood, DirectorGeneral, Pakistan Olympic Association wasthe Chief Guest of the closing ceremony. Helooked the competition and appreciated theperformance of the players. He distributedprizes among the winners. STAFF REPORT

reSULTS: (B.Wt Kg, Unit, Squat, Bench,

Dead Lift, Total)

59 Kg: Asim Shahzad, 55.96, Wapda, 177,105, 200, 482, Waqar Ahmed, 57.48, Punjab,160, 95, 200, 455, M. Sohail Butt, 53.72, Rail-way, 130, 80, 145, 355, MASTerS: Anwar Saeed, 58.52, Punjab, 125,92.5, 160, 377.5. 66 Kg: Imran Ali, 63.50, Wapda, 170, 95, 185,450, Samad Hameed, 66.00, Railway, 130, 92,180, 402, , Karamat Ali, 62.02, FATA, 130, 110,140, 380, MASTerS: Allah Rakha, 64.00, Wapda, 105,72.5, 120, 297.574 Kg: Nasir Ashraf, 74.00, Wapda, 210, 125,180, 515, Adil Islam, 72.00, Punjab, 160, 115,170, 445, Muhammad Faisal, 69.10, Railway,140, 115, 187.5, 442.5MASTerS: Ch. Amin Farooq, 68.50, Punjab,170, 95, 180, 445, , 83 Kg: Khalid Khan, 82.00, WAPDA, 210, 125,190, 525, M. Adnan Butt, 80.6, Punjab, 160,160, 180, 500, Muhammad Umer, 79.50, Sindh,162.5, 115, 195, 470.5MASTerS: Kashif Naseem, 80.5, Punjab, 150,120, 180, 455, , 93 Kg: Athar Butt, 93.0, Sindh, 250, 190, 255,695, Zaeem Iqbal, 88.0, Railway, 220, 110,220, 550, Yasir-ul-Haque, 90.5, Islamabad,190, 125, 230, 545 MASTerS: Muhammad Ashfaq, 84.0, Wapda,155, 105, 145, 405 105 Kg: Syed Fourqan Haider, 104.8, Railway,270, 165, 250, 685, Aftab Ahmed, 105, Wapda,245, 200, 240, 685, MASTerS: Javaid Iqbal Khan, 99, Punjab, 150,80, 160, 390+120 Kg: Nadeem Rafique, 124.3, Wapda,260, 150, 240, 650, Muhammad Usman, 130.5,Islamabad, 195, 155, 207.5, 557.5, , AnsarIqbal, 121.32, Railway, 200, 165, 190, 555.

Gibbs joins Titans

for T20 playoffsjOHANNESBURG

AGENCIES

Former Proteas opening batsman Her-schelle Gibbs has joined the Titans fran-chise for the Ram Slam T20 Challengeplayoffs. The Titans announced on Fridaythat Gibbs had replaced former NewZealand international Scott Styris in theirT20 squad for the last week of the domesticseason. “Gibbs comes in for Scott Styris.We have a big game coming up and I ampositive his experience will come in handy,”said Titans coach Matthew Maynard. Gibbsis best known for his knock of 175 in SouthAfrica's record ODI run chase against Aus-tralia at the Wanderers in March 2007, andfor becoming the first ODI player to scoresix sixes in an over against the Netherlandsduring the 2007 World Cup in the West In-dies. A veteran of 162 T20 matches, Gibbslast played for South Africa at the 2010World T20 tournament in the West Indies.

Murtaza Ali

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sPoRtsS

sunday, 31 March, 2013

17I didn't know I still had a chance for the Masters but now we know

there are four or five of us in the field here who still might be able to

get to the Masters if we win here. – Germany's Marcel Siem

KarankarubbishesMourinho reports

MADRIDAGENCIES

Real Madrid assistant coach AitorKaranka has downplayed suggestionsmanager Jose Mourinho is set to leave inthe summer.The Portuguese coach has constantly beenlinked with a move back to the BarclaysPremier League ever since joining theclub from Inter Milan back in 2010.Recently, Mourinho fanned the transferflames by admitting again it wasinevitable he would return to Englishfootball at some point.Mourinho left Chelsea in 2007 followingthree-hugely successful seasons.The Portuguese tactician's latestcomments predictably caused a stir in theUK media but Karanka, who wasspeaking at a press conference ahead ofSaturday's La Liga clash at Real Zaragoza,does not think they should be taken tooseriously. "They are just rumours and theday that the coach decides to leave or hasto leave, I will think about my future,"Karanka said. "I am very happy with himand the coaching staff, and I have noplans, for now."Karanka also rubbished a report thatMourinho had sent Paris Saint-Germaina video detailing the weaknesses ofBarcelona. "That's ridiculous. It is nottrue," he said. The Catalans play PSG inthe UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

berdych blow toCzech republic hopes

KIEVAGENICES

Tomas Berdych has withdrawn from CzechRepublic's Davis Cup quarter-final againstKazakhstan next weekend with a shoulderinjury. Berdych announced his decision onFriday following his 6-3 6-3 Miami Mastersquarter-final loss to Richard Gasquet, ofFrance. "I woke up this morning and Iquickly felt a deep pain in my shoulder. Itwas clear that I wouldn't be able to playnext week in Kazakhstan," he said. TheCzech Republic, the defending champions,will be now represented by RadekStepanek, the world number 43, LukasRosol (64), Jan Hajek (98) and Ivo Minar(245), who steps in for Berdych. LastNovember, Berdych and Stepanek led theCzech Republic to their first Davis Cuptrophy since the country becameindependent a decade ago, beating five-timechampions Spain 3-2 in the final.

MADRIDAGENCIES

Inter Milan boss Andrea Stramaccioni willnot shy away from media speculationabout his future at the club ahead ofSaturday's Derby d'Italia with Juventus.Stramaccioni's Inter are a massive 18points behind Juve in the Serie A title raceand are in danger of missing out on UEFAChampions League football for nextseason.

While a Scudetto was never one ofInter president Massimo Moratti'sexpectations of Stramaccioni in the currentcampaign, the 37-year-old manager was

certainly required to qualify for Europe'stop club football competition.

Inter remain in seventh and sevenpoints behind AC Milan who occupy thelast Champions League spot in third.

However, Moratti has recently giventhe Inter manager his backing despitereported contact with club legend JoseMourinho.

"Massimo Moratti's words are alwayscrucial because if he makes a mistake withone of his adjectives, I get savaged,"Stramaccioni was quoted as saying on theclub's website.

"I ask the president then - who backsme - not to get his adjectives wrong

because otherwise I get savaged everytime. But whether the president gets rid ofme tonight or in three years' time, I'llalways thank him, my job is simply towork as hard as I can, we'll try to repay hisfaith with points."

Stramaccioni also reacted in goodhumour to reports Inter were set to appointMourinho in the summer. The Portuguesetactician move to his current job at RealMadrid after guiding Inter to anunprecedented treble in 2010.

"Jose is the benchmark for allyoung coaches, he's Mourinho, I can'tfeel I'm competing with him, I knowhow much he's loved here but I also

know the truth behind this story withthe president," he said.

"It is a shame though that these thingsare used to excite the fans - I'm talking asan Inter fan here - because then people areleft disappointed. Otherwise this club willbecome a place where expectations arebuilt up, before leaving people bitter anddisappointed."

Inter will be without defender JuanJesus for Saturday's clash with Juvethrough suspension , while Joel Obi, GabiMudingayi, Diego Milito, LucaCastellazzi, Matias Silvestre, YutoNagatomo, Dejan Stankovic and RickyAlvarez are on the injured list.

Strama takes job speculation on the chin

LONDONAGENCIES

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey says hehas no regrets at joining the north Londonoutfit despite another testing season.

The Wales international has notperformed at a consistently high levelduring the course of the campaign whilethe team too has not met fan expectationsand is set to finish the season trophyless.

On a personal level, Ramsey puts thisdown to being asked to play in a variety ofpositions but the 22-year-old says he hasno issues taking one for the team.

"The team has suffered as a wholewith consistency over the season and thathas been a factor personally and as a team.But over the past few months I have beenhappy with the way that things have beengoing," Ramsey told the Daily Mail.

"You need to stay in that one positionto get consistency that way. Differentthings are going through your mind whenyou are playing out right to when you areplaying through the middle so you can't

get through that routine of where you wantto play. "I have done a job at wide right,right back and things like that this seasonwhich, if the manager asks me to do I amgoing to do it, even though it is not myfavourite position. It is difficult when youchop and change like that but I'm happy todo it for the team.

"We need to address our consistencyas a team, and that hopefully is somethingthat we can do, especially in this last run-in. If we get that right and our balance thenwe will bring success to the club." Ramseyjoined the Gunners in 2008 and is yet totaste trophy success with the club asmanager Arsene Wenger continues tostruggle to repeat his early triumphs atArsenal. However, he insists it was still theright decision to sign for the Londonersdespite interest from current champions-in-waiting Manchester United. "I camefrom a rugby school and rugby nation, butI fancied giving football a go and luckilyit paid off," he said.

"The main factor in joining Arsenalwas meeting with Arsene Wenger and to

hear what his plans where for me."He has brought through so many

youngsters and given them opportunitiesand turned them into great players.

"They flew me over there to have ameeting with him. I was overwhelmed. Iwas 17 and one of the best managers in theworld wants to meet me face to face.

"It was definitely a hard choice tomake at my age, but I've no regrets, I thinkI made the right choice. I felt more wanted

at Arsenal, I felt the plan was better for meand they gave youngsters moreopportunities. Manchester United also hada lot of midfielders at the time as well.

"It's great that all the British playerschose to commit to the club [Arsenal] andit's important to have that.

"It's good to have players in the sameposition as you, they can relate to you, it'sgoing to be a vital thing in the club'shistory in the near future, I think.

MIAMIAGENCIES

fORMER winner AndyMurray and third seed DavidFerrer will meet in the final ofthe Miami Masters after both

rallied from opening set losses Friday towin their semi-finals in three sets. Lastyear's runner-up Murray lost the openingset in a tiebreaker before beatingFrenchman Richard Gasquet 6-7 (3/7),6-1, 6-2 while Spaniard Ferrer endedGerman veteran Tommy Haas's giant-killing run 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

“I could have made it easier onmyself,” Murray said. “I could haveplayed a better game when I was serving

for the first set, but I didn't. “I respondedwell and obviously he struggled in thethird set with his movement. I just had totake care of my own side of the net. I dida good job of that.”

Murray, the 2009 champion,dropped his first set of the tournament bylosing the opening-set tiebreak to eighthseed Gasquet, but quickly made amendsand dominated the final two sets to reachhis third Miami final. Murray, who is thelone British champion in the history ofthe Miami event, has beaten Ferrer in sixout of 11 career matches, winning five ofthe last seven. Ferrer has only beatenMurray once on a non-clay surface andthat was at the Barclays ATP World TourFinals in 2011. “It is going to be a tough

match. He is an unbelievablecompetitor,” Murray said. “We train a lottogether so we know each other's gameswell so there should be a lot of longrallies.” The 26-year-old Scot clinchedthe win when a frustrated Gasquethammered a return of serve on hisforehand into the bottom of the net onthe first of two match points.

Murray finished with six aces andwon 75 percent of his first-serve pointsin a centre court match that ended justone minute shy of being two hours long.

Murray started slowly, strugglingwith his serve at times as he doublefaulted five times in the match, includingthree times in the opening set. Gasquet,who has won twice already this year butwas hampered by a right foot problem inthis one, was trying to become the firstFrenchman to capture the Miami title.

Murray later said he was pleased athis recovery after the disappointment oflosing the first set. “The first set was atough one to lose,” Murray said. “I hitover 20 winners and lost the set.

“So I realized I had to cut out theunforced errors. I did a good job of that.Halfway through the second set I startedto find the right way to play.” Gasquetreceived treatment from the trainerduring the break between the second andthird set for a problem with his rightankle. “I had an ankle problem alreadyfrom Indian Wells,” Gasquet said.

Murray smacked a superb runningcross-court forehand winner to reachmatch point in the eighth ame of the finalset. That set up a double match point andMurray wasted no time winning it on hisfirst serve.

A determined Ferrer twice ralliedfrom a break down in the third set to endthe giant-killing run of 15th-seededHaas, who stunned world No. 1 NovakDjokovic in the fourth round.

MUrrAy, FErrEr ToMEET IN MIAMI FINAL

Ramsey does not regret choosing Arsenal

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sPoRts Ssunday, 31 March, 2013

18I think when you are a top team and you have good players, you should be

very strong when you win or lose. This doesn't change. Also, when you can't win

a title you can have other situations that you can improve. – Roberto Mancini

wAtCh It LIve

GEO SUPERSuper Eight T20 Final07:00 PM

robson, raymondinto Miamidoubles final

MIAMIAGENCIES

Laura Robson and Lisa Raymondcontinued their run at the Sony Open inMiami by thrashing top pairing Sara Erraniand Roberta Vinci to reach the final.Robson and American Raymond were alast-minute pairing, and differ vastly inboth their doubles experience and their age,with 19-year-old Robson going for her firstsenior doubles title while 39-year-oldRaymond has 79, including six grand slamcrowns. The pair showed the strength oftheir contrasting styles perfectly, winningthe first four games and never looking backon the way to a 6-1 6-2 victory in less thanan hour. Italians Errani and Vinci have wonthree of the last four grand slam titles butwere thoroughly outplayed, with Robsonmore than pulling her weight. The teenager,who showed her doubles talents whenwinning a silver medal with Andy Murrayin the mixed pairing at the Olympics lastsummer, will leap from her current rankingof 278 inside the top 100 whatever theresult of Sunday's final. Nadia Petrova andKatarina Srebotnik take on SvetlanaKuznetsova and Flavia Pennetta in thesecond semi-final.

Wapda in final ofinter departmentalbaseball

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Wapda breezed into the final of the NBP-inter departmental baseball championshipearning their third consecutive win afterregistering a superlative 13-1 success overHigher Education Commission (HEC) hereon Saturday at the Central PunjabUniversity. Wapdawill face off with Policein the ultimate show-down on Sunday andPresident Pakistan Federation Baseballformer I.G Punjab Police , Shaukat Javedwill be the chief guest. From the winners,Usman Shaukat and Zubair Nawaz were themain scorers putting up a brilliant show ofskills and technique sharing three runsapiece but it was Umair Bhatti who stolethe show and contributed two runs with onehome run. ZaheerBashir also added tworuns. Amin Afridi, Adnan and Asif allproduced one run each. From HEC, thesolitary run came from Nasir Iqbal.

AFC condoledeath of PakistanfootballerLAHOre: AFC General SecretaryDato’ Alex Sooray and The FootballUnion of Russia President Mr.Nikolai Tolstyykh sends condolenceLetters to PFF President MakhdoomSyed Faisal Saleh Hayat on the saddemise of former Pakistan NationalTeam Captain Masood- Ul- HassanButt. In his letter AFC GeneralSecretary expresses his deepestgrief on the death of Masood- Ul-Hassan Butt. He appreciatedMasood- Ul- Hassan Buttcontributions and stressed entireFootball family to remember hisprecious contributions for the gameof Football. AFC General Secretaryextends his deepest condolence tothe entire Pakistan National sportfraternity and most importantly,to the family of Masood- Ul-Hassan Butt. “Mr. Butt led thenational side when the game wasstill in its infancy in Pakistan. Hisrole as chairman of the selectioncommittee and his publicationson football surely helped developthe roots of this beautiful gamein the South Asian nation” AFCGeneral Secretary said in a letterto PFF President Makhdoom SyedSaleh Hayat. In his letter TheFootball Union of Russia PresidentMr. Nikolai Tolstykh sends hisdeepest condolence on behalf offootball family to Butt family,friends and Pakistan FootballFederation. STAFF REPORT

Final of ElanPolo CupLAHOre: The final of Elan Polo Cupwill be played here Sunday betweenDewa’s Own and Polo D Sufi/MonnooPolo here at Lahore Polo Club.fOLLOWIng Are THe TeAMS:

Dewa’s Own: Emran Akhtar,Sameer Habib Oberoi, Saqib KhanKhakwani.Polo D’Sufi: Sufi MohammadFaooq, Babar Monnoo, Taimur AliMalik, Shah Shamyl Alam.In the subsidiary final, Secuirty willmeet Master Paints. STAFF REPORT

SPORTS DESK

Virender Sehwag, dropped recently fromIndia's Test side, has said his decision togive up the Delhi Daredevils captaincy willhave no effect on his batting in theupcoming IPL season. MahelaJayawardene was named Daredevilscaptain after Sehwag told the franchise hewanted to focus on his batting ahead of theChampions League 2012.

"I don't think it matters whether I am

captaining the side or not," Sehwag toldPTI, when asked if Jayawardene takingover would lessen the burden on him."Captaincy has never affected my game. Ihave never ever felt the pressure on mybatting while leading the side. I have neverfelt any pressure as captain. My approachto batting has always remained the same.

"I have always maintained thatcaptaincy and performance are twoseparate issues altogether. If you talk aboutpressures of captaincy, then I had scored

five consecutive half-centuries [aTwenty20 record] during the last edition ofthe IPL and the highest number of runs forDelhi Daredevils."BREtt LEE ExcItEd By

MENtORsHIP ROLE: Brett Lee hassaid he is "pleased and proud" to be giventhe bowling mentor's role for KolkataKnight Riders and is looking forward tojuggling his dual role as mentor andopening bowler. The former Australia fastbowler replaced Wasim Akram as bowlingmentor for the side after the latter opted totake a year's break.

"I'm really proud and pleased to havebeen given the bowling mentor's role. Myjob is to try and impart knowledge to theguys," he told the Telegraph. "Even thoughit might seem a short span of time, we'llstill have eight weeks in hand. Lots ofcricket will be played during this period.And from what I saw during nets today,each of the players look in good nick."dRAvId HAPPy tO HAvE WAtsON

At tHE stARt: Rahul Dravid has saidRajasthan Royals will be bolstered by thepresence of Shane Watson, who is expectedto join the team in time for the side'ssecond game against Kolkata KnightRiders on April 8.

"Watson brings a lot of quality to theteam," Dravid told the Times of India."Last year, we missed him for the first eightor nine games. This time, we are lucky thatway. If we can play to our potential, weshould be able to do pretty well." He alsoadded that Watson may be promoted toopen the innings with Ajinkya Rahane.

Captaincy has never affected my game: Sehwag

HOUSTONAGENCIES

Steve Wheatcroft took a one-shotlead at the midway point of theHouston Open as world numbertwo Rory McIlroy snuck into theweekend. Wheatcroft produced asecond straight 67 to set 10 underoverall, one shot ahead of fellowAmericans Jason Kokrak andovernight leader DA Points - andnine up on McIlroy.

The Northern Irishman cardedbirdies at the 15th and 16th holesfor a second-round 70 - a score that

left him on one under and throughto Saturday's play with nothing tospare. McIlroy had been facing upto an early finish when he teed offat the 15th hole, but two timelybirdies saw him make the cut.

He told www.pgatour.com: "AsI said, no one likes missing cuts andespecially when it's my last onebefore the Masters. "It's nice tohave another couple of rounds, dosome work on the range thisafternoon and hopefully improve onthe course that I've already done."In fact, it will not be his last cutbefore the Masters - he

subsequently, and with 30 minutesto spare before the deadline, enterednext week's Valero Texas Open inSan Antonio. It was Wheatcroft,though, who was the star of the sayas a blemish-free round, built onmuch-improved driving, put himout ahead. The 35-year-old has onetournament victory to his name onthe second-tier Nationwide Tour,and has never been to The Masters.Nevertheless, he was taking thingsin his stride. "Who knows? I couldshoot 61 tomorrow [Saturday], Icould shoot 71 tomorrow," he said."I really don't know.

McIlroy improves to make Houston Open cut

ESPNMiami Open Tennis final09:00 PM

STAR SPORTSBARCLAYS: Aston Villav Liverpool05:55 PM

MIAMI: Laura robson

and Lisa raymond

continued their run

at the Sony Open.

ESPNLIGA: Real Valladolidv CA Osasuna03:25 PM

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Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 79, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi. Editor: Arif Nizami

sunday, 31 March, 2013

KArACHI: Newly inductedmembers of the interim Sindhcabinet are administered theoath by Sindh GovernorIshratul Ebad Khan onSaturday. STAFF PHOTO

KARACHIISMAIl DIlAWAR

SINDH Governor Dr Ishratul EbadKhan on Saturday administered themuch-awaited oath to an 18-mem-ber caretaker provincial cabinet that

comprises half a dozen businessmen.The new cabinet, which the critics be-

lieve is unnecessarily large having thepotential to cost the cash-strapped Sindhprovince heavily, includes 16 ministersand two advisers.

The provincial ministers sworn in in-clude Shakaib Qureshi, Noorul Huda Shah,

Anis Haroon, Iqbal Dawood Pakwala,Khalid Tawwab, Sardar Yasin Malik, Ghu-lam Qasim Jaskani, Sardar Khan Ghoto,Nawab Kulb Hussain Lahori, Khalid Latif,Abdul Qadeer Chohan, Muhammad SharifAnsari, Mahmood Mandviwala, Dr JunaidAli Shah, Shubbar Zaidi and Dr NK Lohani.Haroon Farooqui and Mian Zahid Hussainwould be officiating as advisers to the care-taker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (r) QurbanAlavi who witnessed the swearing-in cere-mony held here at the Governor’s House.

In the formation of his cabinet, thecaretaker CM took more time than ex-pected as Saturday’s oath-taking came after

over a week after he replaced his predeces-sor Qaim Ali Shah.

The delay, reportedly, has been causedby the political stakeholders who were ne-gotiating to develop consensus on the ap-pointment of the members of caretakercabinet. Apparently, all of the ministers andadvisers are non-political figures, somebeing technocrats and others belonging tobusinesses circles.

Of the 18 inducted in the interim cabinetSaturday, Shakaib Qureshi, Iqbal DawoodPakwala, Khalid Tawwab, Sardar YasinMalik, Shubbar Zaidi and the two advisersHaroon and Mian Zahid are known business

figures. The chief minister’s decision to in-clude businessmen in the caretaker setup,reported to have been dictated by theprovince’s major political stakeholders thePPP and MQM, would draw much-neededsupport of the traders and industrialists whowelcomed the move as soon as the oath-tak-ing ceremony concluded. In a statement,Korangi Association of Trade and Industry(KATI) Patron In-Chief SM Muneer wel-comed the inclusion of business representa-tives in the caretaker setup, saying theinductees were well-reputed and had a vastadministrative experience to deal with is-sues related to trade and commerce.

As speculators have been calling theshots about the portfolios to be assigned tothe ministers, no formal announcement hadcome to the fore with regard to assignmentof the portfolios until the filing of this re-port. With Sindh getting its interim cabinet,it is yet to be seen what size Punjab CMNajam Sethi keeps his cabinet to.

The judges-led caretakers in Sindhwould come draw heavy criticism if thesenior journalist showed frugality in for-mulating his cabinet. Sethi has alreadyhinted that at bringing in a “smart” cabinetto run day-to-day affairs of the country’smost-populated province.

businessmen pleased as 18-member Sindh cabinet is sworn in

UNITED NATIONS ONlINE

Pakistan has supported India’s stand on theUN Arms Trade Treaty that would regulate$70 billion conventional arms trade aroundthe world, saying it favours the arms export-ing countries and does not protect the inter-ests of importers.

“The treaty may be seen by many as es-sentially a product of and by the exportersonly. It falls short of striking an appropriatebalance of interests and obligations amongthe exporters and importers as well as the af-fected states,” said Pakistani Ambassador tothe UN Masood Khan.

In his remarks to the Arms Trade TreatyConference at the UN headquarters in NewYork, Khan said the call for balance wasechoed by an overwhelming majority.

“Some treaty provisions, however, legit-imise in a global legal instrument what the ex-isting national and plurilateral export controlsystems cover. The interests of exportingcountries have been accommodated in theform of special exemptions, exceptions andprotections,” he said. The treaty fell apart dueto lack of consensus among the 193 membercountries because of opposition from NorthKorea, Iran and Syria. Proponents of thetreaty have now decided to put it to vote at theUN General Assembly as early as Tuesday.

While the final decision by India is yet tobe taken, New Delhi is most likely to end upabstaining, if not voting against the drafttreaty. The US on Thursday, however, tried toally Indian fears by arguing that it “does notharm” India’s national interest.

“My own view is that this treaty will notbe harmful to India’s security and certainlynot in any way harm the very strong bilateralrelationship between India and the UnitedStates,” Tom Countryman, head of the US

delegation to the Arms Trade Treaty Confer-ence told reporters during a conference call.

In her intervention during the closing ar-guments, Head of the Indian Delegation to theArms Trade Treaty Conference, SujataMehta, said that the final version fell short ofIndia’s expectations and that of other like-minded countries. “At the commencement ofthis conference India had made clear that theATT should make a real impact on illicit traf-ficking in conventional arms and their illicituse especially by terrorists and other unautho-rised and unlawful non-State actors.”

“The provisions in the final draft on ter-rorism and non-state actors are weak and dif-fused and find no mention in the specificprohibitions of the treaty,” Mehta said in herintervention. India, she said, has stressed con-sistently that the ATT should ensure a balanceof obligations between exporting and import-ing states. “India cannot accept that the Treatybe used as an instrument in the hands of ex-porting states to take unilateral force majeuremeasures against importing states partieswithout consequences,” she said.

“The relevant provisions in the final draftdo not meet our requirements. There is a fun-damental imbalance in the text which isflawed as the weight of obligations is tiltedagainst importing states.

As an importing state we will take meas-ures to ensure that the treaty does not affectthe stability and predictability of defence co-operation agreements and contracts enteredinto by India,” Mehta argued.

The draft text came up for approval onThursday after the UN members failed toadopt it in July last year even after month-long negotiations. UN Secretary-General BanKi-moon showed disappointment on the fail-ure of the conference to reach an agreementon the text, which for the first time wouldhave regulated the international arms trade.

ISLAMABAD: The Higher EducationCommission (HEC) has sent a list of54 former lawmakers holding fakedegrees to the Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP). A private TVchannel quoting sources said the listincluded the names of AkhwndzadaChatan, Samina Khawar Hayat,Ghulam Dastagir Rajar, WaseemAfzal Gondal, Nasir Ali Shah, MirBadshah Qaisrani, Semal Kamranand Shumaila Rana. Degrees ofIsrarullah Zehri and Omar Gorgeg

were declared not genuine and thenames of 189 former memberparliament, failing to submit theirMatric and FA certificates forverification, have also been sent tothe ECP. They include Syed KhurshidShah, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan,Faisal Saleh Hayat, Afrasiab Khatak,Javed Hashmi and Samsam Bukhari.The sources said the names ofImtiaz Safdar Waraich and Qasim Ziawere also included in the list ofuncertified degree holders. ONlINE

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

To prevent defaulters from taking part inMay 11 general elections, the electionswatchdog, the Election Commission ofPakistan on Saturday sought record of de-faulters from eight state-run organisations.

The commission directed senior of-ficials of the Ministry of Housing andWorks, the Pakistan TelecommunicationAuthority, the Capital Development Au-thority (CDA), the Sui Southern GasPipelines Limited (SSGPL), the NationalTelecommunication Department, Pak-istan International Airlines (PIA) and Es-tate Officer, who deal with the Punjab,Sindh, KP and Kashmir houses in Islam-abad, to provide lists of all defaulters.

Through a letter, Additional Secre-tary Afzal Khan directed the chiefs of theorganisations to submit details of de-faulters at the earliest. “I draw your at-tention towards the defaulters of yourdepartment and say that a list of default-ers may be provided to this officethrough hard and soft copies at the earli-est to proceed further in the matterlegally,” read the letter.

A spokesman of the ECP said the de-tails would be shared with the returningofficer for scrutiny of the candidates.

According to the law, defaulters ofutility bills amounting to Rs 10,000 can-not take part in the elections.

WASHINGTONONlINE

A Turkish woman was sentenced to fiveyears in jail by a US court on charges ofsending money to a terrorist outfit in Pak-istan to carry out attacks against Americanmilitary personnel. 40-year-old Oytun AyseMihalik, a lawful permanent resident of theUnited States, residing in California, hadpleaded guilty last August on one count ofproviding material support to terrorists.

Mihalik specifically admitted that shehad provided money to an individual inPakistan with the intention that the money

be used to prepare for and carry out attacksagainst US military personnel and other per-sons overseas, the US justice departmentsaid on Saturday. Using the alias CindyPalmer, Mihalik sent a total of $2,050 inthree wire transfers to the person in Pakistanover the course of three weeks, at the end of2010 and the beginning of 2011.

“International terrorists require a steadypipeline of money to maintain and supporttheir operations,” said US attorney AndreBirotte. “The defendant in this case knowinglyand deliberately made wire transfers to fundterrorist operations overseas, where contribu-tions like these could have a significant and

devastating impact on American interests,” hesaid. Mihalik has been in federal custody sinceshe was arrested on 27 August, 2011, as shewas preparing to board a flight to her nativecountry, Turkey, with a one-way ticket. As partof this case, Mihalik agreed that the US cantake away her immigration status and that shewill be removed from the US to Turkey afterserving her prison sentence. After her arrest,she told the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) that she believed the person in Pakistanwas a member of the Taliban and alQaeda, andshe knew he was using the money for ‘mu-jahidin’ operations against American militaryforces in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

bd police arrest 4

Pakistanis, recover

bombs, fake currency

DHAKAINP

Bangladesh police on Saturday claimedthey arrested four Pakistanis and 12others and seized eight crude bombsand 12.9 million in fake Indian cur-rency while the group was allegedlyplanning subversive activities. “Otherthan the Pakistanis, we arrested 12Bangladeshis including a doctor whilecarrying out our overnight raids in var-ious parts of the capital,” policespokesman Manirul Islam told re-porters. He said plainclothesmen car-ried out the raids on a tip-off while theyalso seized eight crude bombs and ahuge amount of counterfeit Indian andPakistani currencies. Islam said thefour Pakistanis, two of them women,were found to be part of a counterfeitcurrency clique, who provided themoney to Fariduddin Ahmed, a leaderof the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

Pak supports India’s standon UN Arms Trade Treaty

US court sentences Turkish womanfor funding terror in Pakistan

paK envoy to un sayscall For balance isechoed byoverwhelming majority

indian envoy says india hasstressed that att should ensurebalance oF obligations betweenexporting and importing states

54 former lawmakers’ degrees declared fake

ECP orders rejectionof nomination papersover weapons’ displaynAWABSHAH: The ElectionCommission of Pakistan on Saturdayissued instructions to reject allnomination papers of candidateswho displayed weapons publicly,including Nawabshah. The ElectionCommission has banned display ofweapons but still many candidates’supporters bring heavy weapons tooffices of district returning officersin Nawabshah Sessions Court,violating the ban. A similar situationhad been observed in many othercities during nomination papers’filing. The ECP has taken quick andserious action over violation of banon weapons’ display and issuedinstructions to all offices to rejectcandidates’ nomination papers whowere involved in arms’ display. INP

ECP seeks defaulters’ lists from8 state-run organisations

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