e-paper pakistantoday isb 15th december, 2011

Imran dares govt tokeep people awayfrom Karachi rally

pakistantoday.com.pk thursday, 15 december, 2011 Muharram-ul-haram 19, 1433rs15.00 vol ii no 168 22 pages islamabad — peshawar edition

Cabinet committeeshelves privatisationplan for PSEsPROFIT | PAGE 01

British prime ministersnubs calls to renegotiate with EUPAGE 17PAGE 03

ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

PRESIDENT Asif Ali Zardari got aclean bill of health from his physi-cians on Wednesday and was dis-charged from hospital to move tohis Dubai residence for rest, finally

putting to rest speculations about his condition.However, there was no clear word from thegovernment whether or not the presidentwould return and take rest at the Presidencyor if he would be resting at his residence inJumeirah, a posh residential area in Dubai.

“Actually, it has not yet been decidedwhether [his] rest at home will be in Dubai orin Islamabad. It depends on whether doctorspermit him to travel after discharge. It shouldbe clear tomorrow, God willing,” said Presi-dential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar whenasked if the president would return before De-cember 27 to attend the death anniversary ofhis wife, slain former prime minister BenazirBhutto. The certificate issued by the AmericanHospital further confused the situation as itsaid: “All investigations were within normal

range and he was kept for observation for afew more days and (he) is planned to be dis-charged on December 15, 2011, to rest at homeas advised and to continue on his regular heartmedications.” This again added to the contro-versy about his return, as there was no specificmention about how long he was advised to restand whether he was in a condition to travel.

g President moves to hisresidence in Dubai

g Health certificate reportsleft arm numbness, transient episode of loss of consciousness

continued on page 04

ISLAMABADTAHIR NIAZ

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani hitback on Wednesday at the ‘conspira-tors’ who took the memogate contro-versy to the Supreme Court, saying anincumbent parliamentarian was still intouch with Pakistani-American busi-nessman Mansoor Ijaz, who was a manof “questionable credentials”.

“I would not name him but I want totell you that a sitting parliamentarian isstill in touch with Mansoor Ijaz,” theprime minister insisted while respond-ing to the points raised by members ofthe Upper House of parliament regard-ing the memogate scandal. The primeminister said: “If they (conspirators)have taken the issue to the SupremeCourt to prove who was behind thememo, their intentions are very clear.Should we take a certificate of patriotismfrom someone? If so, we should rather

say goodbye to politics,” he added. Though the prime minister said he

had no objection to the conspirators’move to take the issue to the apexcourt, he termed it a conspiracy against

the president who, he added, was partof parliament. “What do they (conspir-ators) want to achieve?” he asked,adding that Pakistan’s former ambas-sador to the US Husain Haqqani wasmade to resign. However, he said noone should be condemned unheard.

“I took the resignation fromHaqqani in the presence of the presi-dent, army chief and ISI (Inter-Ser-vices Intelligence) DG,” he said,adding that Haqqani had been given achance to clarify his position. The pre-mier said Wali Khan, Maulana Mau-dodi and Nawab Akbar Bugti had alsobeen declared traitors. “This trendshould come to an end… otherwise Ifear another debacle like East Pak-istan,” he warned. He warned furtherthat the country could face disintegra-tion if the constitution was not ad-hered to in letter and spirit.

Gilani hits back at ‘conspirators’ g PM says an incumbent parliamentarian is still in touch with Mansoor Ijazg Says Zardari was sent for treatment in Dubai because of threats to his life

MONITORING DESK

In a claim that is all but guaranteedto send further shock waves rippingthrough Pakistan’s corridors ofpower, British newspaper TheIndependent said in an articlepublished on Wednesday that the‘evidence’ offered by Pakistani-American businessman MansoorIjaz, a central figure in thememogate controversy, in support ofhis allegations also revealed asecond clandestine, rival plot toremove President Asif Ali Zardari

from office. The article quotes asection of the Blackberry Messenger(BBM) conversation where Ijazinforms the recipient on the otherend – he claims that it wasPakistan’s former ambassador to theUS Husain Haqqani - that “seniorArab leaders” had given the greenlight for Zardari to be evicted fromthe Presidency, merely hours afterthe memo highlighting thepresident’s own plight with the

‘Pasha sought Arab approval to oust Zardari’



was there ever going to be a coup? | page 15

Zardari dischargedfrom hospital butno word on return

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02Thursday, 15 December, 2011

News

Today’s

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ISlAMABAD

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NewS

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woRlD vIewMuslim veils are sartorial apartheid

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A ‘model’ public school without furniture, toilets ppp grills pMl-N over Maryam Nawaz’s political launch

TIP complains against alleged CDA

cartel for award of Rs 3b contractIslamabad: The Transparency International Pakistan (TIP)on Wednesday brought the attention of the Capital DevelopmentAuthority (CDA) chairman to a complaint regarding an allegedcartel being formed by the CDA officers for awarding a contractof over Rs 3 billion. The letter written by TIP to the CDAchairman said that the complainant had reported that the CDAofficials had formed a carted to award the Rs 3 billion contract ofthe Park Enclave Infrastructure work to a pre-selectedcontractor. The complainant said that his firm, enlisted as NoLimit Contractor for past 20 years with the CDA, had not beenpre-qualified for the contract, though they had complied with allthe requirements as per the Public Procurement RegulatoryAuthority (PPRA) rules, including the PPRA Regulations of July2008, for application of Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC)Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs). “Kindly institute acommittee, comprising of odd number of persons, with properpowers and authorisations, to address the complaints of biddersaccording to the requirement of Rule No 48, and the committeeshall investigate and decide upon the complaint within 15 days ofthe receipt of the complaint,” the TIP said. The TIP said that theprincipal accounting officer responsible for CDA shall conductan administrative review under the PPRA Notification datedFebruary 10, 2010, on the findings of the complaint and takeaction in accordance with the conduct rules in the event of anunfair procurement process. The CDA chairman should ensurethat the CDA officials do not violate the PPRA Rules, and re-advertise this tender to avoid the charges of mis-procurementunder Rule No 50, if the complaint was found to be correct, saidthe letter. “This act is also termed as a collusive practice underthe Rule No 2 (f). Collusive practices among the bidders (prior toor after bid submission) are designed to establish bid prices atartificial, non-competitive levels and to deprive the procuringagencies of the benefits of free and open competition,”concluded the TIP. MIAN ABRAR

Abbottabad commission

briefed at ISI headquartersIslamabad: The members of the commission probing USAbbottabad raid on Wednesday visited the headquarters of theInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and to get briefing from theagency officials investigating the incident. An official said thecommission members also evaluated evidence found in thecompound used by Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Thoughthe ISI and security officials had already briefed thecommission on the incident, however, for further investigation,it was decided that the commission members should visit theagency’s headquarter and it would be provided the evidencecollected by agency from the compound allegedly used byOsama bin Laden. Although the ISI and security officials havealready briefed the commission on the incident, however forfurther investigations, it was decided that the commissionmembers visit the spy agency’s headquarters. According to anofficial, former ambassador Hussain Haqqani, who was earliersummoned on December 14, has now been asked to appearbefore the commission on December 19 to answer allegationsthat he ignored diplomatic procedures while issuing hundredsof visas to American spies. Former information minister SheikhRashid Ahmed would also appear before the commission onDecember 18 to record his statement. He would also presentbefore the commission relevant record about the visas issued toUS operatives by Haqqani. STAff RepoRT

President’s reply in memogate

case as per law, says BabarIslamabad: President’sspokesman Farhatullah Babaron Wednesday said PresidentAsif Ali Zardari would file hisreply with the Supreme Courtas per law and theconstitution. Babar, however,evaded more comments whenasked if the president wouldmeet the SC deadline tosubmit the reply. Sources toldOnline that army chief GenAshfaq Kayani and ISI DG LtGen Shuja Pasha would filetheir replies through theattorney general. oNlINe

PESHAWARSHAMIM SHAHId

Reaffirming his government’s stance on ensur-ing the country’s sovereignty, Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gilani said it would be on top ofpriorities in the new terms of engagementswith NATO and ISAF in the ongoing war onterror.

“Let the recommendations come first, butI need assurance and guarantee on the sover-eignty of my country,” Gilani said in a pressconference at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gov-ernor’s House on Wednesday. He said unilat-eral actions like the Mohmand attack shouldnot be taken in the future.

Asked about Pakistan’s stance on USdrone attacks and other issues, the prime min-ister said, “So far we are disgruntled, let us waitfor discussions on such matters whenever thedialogue resumes between the two sides.” He,however, defended government’s steps of halt-ing supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan.The prime minister said that in reaction to theMohmand strike, “the government’s decisionswas in accordance with the resolutionsadopted by the joint session of parliament andAll-Parties Conference”. He said the decisionwas in accordance with the expectations of themasses and endorsed by the recently-held am-bassador’s conference. On relations with

Afghanistan, Gilani said, “A sovereign, inde-pendent, stable, peaceful and prosperousAfghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan. Weand Afghan leadership realise that we both suf-fered from terrorism. We have to wage a jointstruggle against violence and terrorism.”

Commenting on relations withAfghanistan, Gilani said others could comeand go back, but “we have to stay here”. Hesaid issues regarding strengthening of rela-tions with Afghanistan could be fixed in newterms and conditions with NATO and ISAF.The prime minister avoided commenting onmedia reports regarding streamlining of affairsbetween the civilian government and military,saying “I am unaware of such reports.”

He, however, said that “all institutions per-form according to the constitution”. Expressingpleasure with the federal cabinet’s meeting inPeshawar, Gilani said, it was helpful in dis-cussing public sector development strategies.He said the federal government allocated fundsfor Lowari Tunnel, Chashma Right Bank Canaland High Way in Mansehra according to theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s proposalsand priorities. He directed for an early comple-tion of remaining portion of the Peshawar By-pass. Besides chairing the federal cabinetmeeting, Gilani attended joint parliamentaryparty meeting and a gathering of PPP stalwartsand activists at the Governor’s House.

Tareen group to joinPTI in few days

ISLAMABAD STAff RepoRT

Under the leadership of Jahangir Khan Tareen,leaders from the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Quaid (PML-Q) are likely to join thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) on December19. The Tareen-led group made the decisionafter PTI Chairman Imran Khan expressedreluctance in forging an alliance with anypolitical party. Previously, the group wasmulling the option of having an alliance withthe PTI after getting a new political partyregistered with the Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP). A source close to the dissidentgroup told Pakistan Today on Wednesday thatthe likeminded leaders would now join the PTIjust before its Karachi rally scheduled forDecember 25. “Around a dozen former andsitting parliamentarians mainly from the PML-Q including Jamal Leghari, Awais Legahari,Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Ishaq Khakwani, JaffarLeghari, Nasrullah Dareshak, Sikandar KhanBosan and Jahangir Tareen from the PML-F areset to join the PTI,” the source said. He said thegroup was mulling how sitting parliamentarianslike Tareen and Legharis would tackle legalchallenges in case they joined the PTI withouttendering resignations to parliament. TheTareen-led group has met numerous times inthe last few weeks in Lahore and Islamabad todecide the group’s future course of action.When contacted, Ghulam Sarwar Khan saidthey were having consultations but the finaldecision would be taken in the meeting today(Thursday) in Islamabad.

Sovereignty to be on top of new

terms with NATO, ISAF: Gilanig PM says let’s wait for discussions on drone attackswhenever dialogue resumes between Pakistan and US

SWAT: Govt High School Qambar students studying in the open

after the school building was destroyed by terrorists. ONLINE

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NewsCoMMeNTCoping with the hype:

Articles on Page 12-13

Realism needs to prevail in the current standoff with the US.

Reforms: Is there really any need?

Nazir Naji says:Security? What security: A defeated notion still kept alive.

dr James Zogby said:Partial much?: The Republican candidates’ Israel bias.

Imran Husain says:Canning democracy: The current crop of politicos won’t do.

foReIgN NewS

Story on Page 16

ARTS & eNTeRTAINMeNTBeauty queen fined after pretending to be sister

Story on Page 18

SPoRTSeCB denies Sharjah snub linked to match-fixing

Story on Page 20

Jewish extremists attack Jerusalem mosque

LAHORENASIR BuTT

DESPITE opposition’sseveral attempts to sab-otage the official busi-ness of the treasury onWednesday, the Punjab

government succeeded in getting theprovincial assembly’s nod to legaliseits wish of delaying the local bodyelections for another six months.

In its 32nd session chaired byDeputy Speaker Rana Mashud, thePunjab Assembly deliberated on anumber of legislations tabled by Min-ister Nadeem Kamran in absence ofLaw Minister Rana Sanaullah.

Interestingly, the oppositionmembers having prior knowledge of

official business for the day, willfullycreated quorum issue several timesand members of the opposition leftthe assembly during the proceeding.

Legislators of the Pakistan Peo-ple’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Mus-lim League-Quaid (PML-Q) SyedHassan Murtaza and Semal Kamranseparately pointed out the lack ofquorum to foil the treasury’s bid totable important legislations, but thegovernment successfully manged thequorum and completed the officialbusiness of the day.

With the passage of Hindu Dispo-sition of property (Amendment) Bill2011, The Punjab Conferment of Pro-prietary Rights on Occupancy Ten-ants and Muqarraridars Bill 2011,was put deferred.

This bill would be presented forpassage later on. A total of ten billspresented in the House were referredto house committees.

These bills included The WalledCity of Lahore Bill, The Punjab LocalGovernment (Second Amendment)Bill 2011, The Ghazi University, DGKhan Bill 2011, The Punjab Civil Ser-vants (Amendment)Bill 2011, TheProvincial Motor Vehicles (Amend-ment)) Bill 2011, The Punjab PublicDefender Service Act 2007 (Repeal)Bill 2011, The Punjab Employees Ef-ficiency, Discipline and Accountabil-ity (Amendment ) Bill 2011, ThePunjab Public Service Commission(Amendment ) Bill 2011, The Settle-ment Commissioners (Validation ofOrders ) (Repeal) Bill 2011, and The

Evacuee Property and Displaced Per-sons Laws (Repeal) Amendment Bill2011.

Besides tabling the bills, MinisterNadim Kamran replied to a numberof queries about the Food Depart-ment, saying the government had es-tablished centres of wheatprocurement in Lahore in RakhChabeel, Raiwind, Burki and Kahna.

He said in 2009-10, a total of64,255 metric tonnes of wheat wasbought in Lahore district.

He said in Hafizabad district, atotal of 15,500 metric tonnes of wheatcould be hoarded and in Chiniot, 36godowns were available for thewheat.

The House was later adjourneduntil today (Thursday).

Punjab govt succeeds in delaying

LB polls for another 6 months

LAHORE/GUJRANWALASTAff RepoRT

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chair-man Imran Khan said on Wednesday thathe was committed to holding his proces-sion in Karachi on December 25 againstall odds, and warned the government notto try and stop the tsunami of people whowould attend.

The PTI chief was holding a press con-ference at his Zaman Park residence, where18 politicians including former Punjab chiefminister Mian Afzal Hayat and Hussain Ja-haniyan Gerdaizi joined the PTI.

Khan said in the current political situa-tion, only a change could save the countryand in Karachi he would gather more peoplethan he did at his public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan, Lahore. He said the war on ter-

ror did not give Pakistan anything otherthan destruction and he had always opposedit, so Pakistan should refrain from beingpart of it in future. “We will not be the slavesof anyone, we want friendship with every-one,” said the cricketer-turned-politician.

He said December 25 was an impor-tant date for him since it was the birth an-niversary of Quaid-e-Azam. He said it wasa sign of revolution that the children ofother political leaders were joining hisparty and across the country, people werebecoming a part of his party on their chil-dren’s request. He said that these young-sters would bring a revolution in thecountry and this was the same youth whohad supported him a lot when he was col-lecting funds for the Shaukat Khanum Me-morial Cancer Hospital. He said he wasglad that seeing the success of the PTI, Pak-

istan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)leaders had started being mindful of therights of their workers because they wereignored and deprived. He guaranteed thatthere would be no corruption in the gov-ernment if his party was elected intopower. Later, addressing a convention ofChristians in Green Town, Khan said hewanted to turn Pakistan into a just and har-monious state where people of all religionsand creeds lived like brothers. Speaking ata ceremony in Gujranwala later, Khan wel-comed into the party former PML-N MPASA Hameed. Former PML-Quaid MPAAshraf Butt, Barrister Ali Ashraf and sixformer presidents of the Chamber of Com-merce Sheikh Muhammad Aslam, ShaukatJavaid, Nawaz Ahmed Bajwa, Asad Elahi,Rana Shahzad Hafeez and Khalid Mah-mood Chadda also joined the PTI.

ISLAMABADSTAff RepoRT

As National Assembly Speaker DrFehmida Mirza accepted the resigna-tion of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khanfrom the office of Public AccountsCommittee (PAC) chairman, the PPPis likely to give the lucrative positionto party’s Information SecretaryQamar Zaman Kaira after making an

offer to the PML-N under the Charterof Democracy. “The government willask opposition leader Nisar Ali Khanto appoint new chairman of the PACfrom opposition members followingthe Charter of Democracy (CoD). Butas we know, the PML-N leader willrefuse the request, the government

will play to the galleries on the issueand later slot may be given to somePPP MNA most likely to QamarZaman Kaira,” said a PPP leader.Fehmida accepted Nisar’s resigna-tion on Wednesday and a notificationin this regard was issued by the Na-tional Assembly’s Secretariat.

Pakistan and

China hold talks

on human rightsIslamabad: Pakistan and China heldconsultations on human rights issues inIslamabad on Wednesday. The Chinesedelegation was led by SpecialRepresentative on Human Rights QiXiaoxia, deputy director general at theDepartment of InternationalOrganisations and Conferences of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of China. AsifDurrani, director general at the UnitedNations, led the Pakistani side. “The twosides exchanged views on a wide range ofissues in the multilateral human rightsfield and on further strengtheningcooperation in the UN human rightsbodies particularly the Human RightsCouncil and the Third Committee of theUN General Assembly,” said a foreignoffice statement. Both sides underlinedthe importance of pursuing dialogue andcooperative approaches at themultilateral level based on the UNcharter. STAff RepoRT

Imran vows to go ahead with Karachi rallyg warns govt not to try and stop people from attending public meeting

Punjabi Taliban attackedPNS Mehran: attacker’s wifeThe wife of a militant killed in the attack on a Navalairbase in Karachi has said that Punjabi Talibanwere involved in the ambush, a TV channel quotedpolice sources on Wednesday. Sabeeha, who is inpolice custody, said her husband Qari Shahid hadbrought five terrorists for attacking the base andtwo for an attack on the CID, Police Lines. She alsodivulged that Shahid was aided by Jandullahterrorists for planting a bomb to target the Malirpolice in Karachi. MoNIToRING deSk

NA speaker accepts Nisar’sresignation as PAC chairman

lAHoRe: The pTI chairman addressing a minorities convention at Green Town on Wednesday. GNI

Islamabad: Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan onWednesday said the government was shying away from summoning ajoint session of the parliament, and that he wanted to raise questions onPresident Asif Ali Zardari’s health in the National Assembly on Thursday(today). “The government should stop concealing facts from the nation.The people on the streets want to know the truth about the president,” hesaid while talking to reporters. He also targeted Imran Khan, asking himto declare the details of assets he possessed in the past 35 years. He saidthat he was amazed how Imran could have purchased land for a house inIslamabad by selling his flat in London. “Has he sold his flat or theBuckingham Palace,” he asked. STAff RepoRT

Govt reluctant to call joint

session of parliament: Nisar

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News

Pakistani military was deliv-ered to Admiral MikeMullen, seeking help fromthe US to rein in an army fu-rious at the May 2 US raidthat killed Osama binLaden. “I was just informedby senior US intel that GD-SII Mr P asked for, and re-ceived permission, fromsenior Arab leaders a fewdays ago to sack Z. For whatits worth,” Ijaz writes in amessage on May 10 accord-ing to The Independent. “Inhis hasty typing, where hemanages to turn ‘DG-ISI’into an anagram, Ijaz wassaying that top Americanspooks have told him thatLieut. Gen. Ahmed ShujaPasha secured a green lightfrom Gulf potentates tooverthrow the government,”says the article.

Ijaz told the newspaperin a phone interview fromLondon a few days ago thatwhen the memo was beingwritten, he wanted to inde-pendently verify whetherthe Zardari government wasreally in trouble.

“One of the things I haddone,” he explained, “was tomake sure that a senior per-son that I know in US intel-ligence would have had theopportunity to review whatwas about to sent over.”This, he said, was why LeonPanetta came to know of the

memo, hinting at a CentralIntelligence Agency (CIA)link.

Ijaz told The Independ-ent that he felt the measurewas necessary “to make surethat there was nothing wewere doing that was againstUS interests”. The “well-placed source” got back tohim about a day later. “Andthe person told me thattheir information was thatPasha had traveled to a fewof the Arab countries to talkabout what would be neces-sary to do in the event theyhad to remove Zardari frompower and so forth,” Ijazwas quoted as saying.

When The Independentasked him if he found theinformation credible, a“slightly exasperated” Ijazreplied: “Of course Ithought it was credible. Iwouldn’t have repeated it ifI didn’t. When I say, ‘a sen-ior intel source,’ I meansenior.”

Based on this ‘credible’information from hissource, Ijaz claimed he had“confirmation that therewas a real threat there atsome point”.

“The question ofwhether the shadow of acoup ever fell on the earlydays of May lies at the veryroot of Memogate and re-mains unresolved. Ijaz hasclaimed that coup jittersspurred Haqqani into ac-

tion. Indeed, all claims inthis regard emanate fromIjaz. They appeared in hiscolumn on the pink pages ofthe FT (Financial Times)and in the memo that hedispatched. Haqqani, bycontrast, denies there wasever talk of a fourth phase ofPakistani military rule. Thearmy and the ISI, at least onthis occasion, won’t dis-agree with the former am-bassador,” said the article.

The article goes on tosay that the need for a coup“never arose” because be-fore the memo even reachedAdmiral Mullen, PrimeMinister Yousaf Raza Gilanihad already declared hissupport for the military andspy agency in no uncertainterms.

Gilani also did not callfor the independent enquiryfloated in the memo, hand-ing the responsibility in-stead to the army’s adjutantgeneral, and told The Inde-pendent a day later that thegovernment, the army andthe ISI were “all on thesame page”.

The article states thatthe only person claimingthat Lt General Pasha wasindeed touring Arab capitalsto muster support for a coupis Ijaz, and like other claimsand accusations he made inthe memogate controversy,this one also rests on hisquestionable credibility.

He said parliament should sur-vive under all circumstances,even if the government andprime minister were senthome. Gilani asked the oppo-nents to move a no-confidencemotion against him or impeachthe president if they did notlike their faces. However, hechallenged the opponents thatthey could not form a govern-ment if he resigned. He saidthe next government wouldalso be a coalition governmentand general elections would beheld on time. The prime minis-ter said it was for the first timethat the army chief, JointChiefs of Staff Committeechairman and ISI chief weremade answerable to parlia-ment. The government tookbold decisions in the wake ofthe November 26 NATO at-tack, which also reflected theaspirations of the people of thecountry.

“Whether it is the NATOattack or the OBL operation,the government held the na-tional interest supreme,” hesaid. Taking pride in the su-premacy of parliament, thepremier said the issue of the

NATO attack and memogatewas referred to the Parliamen-tary Committee on NationalSecurity. “You (parliamentari-ans) have to take the decision…now the decisions will be takenin parliament whether it isNATO, ISAF, Kashmir issue,policy on Afghanistan and USor the nuclear programme ofthe country,” he said.

On rumours regarding thehealth of the president, Gilanisaid he was not admitted toPakistan Institute of MedicalScience (PIMS) for securityreasons. “We, the family mem-bers rather, forced him to go toDubai,” he added. He said thepresident could not go to PIMSeven to enquire after the healthof his ailing father because ofsecurity threats. On concernsexpressed by the parliamentar-ians on the Balochistan situa-tion, the prime minister said thecommittee constituted by thegovernment on Balochistanwould take all the parliamentar-ians into confidence on theissue. Terming the NationalReconciliation Ordinance(NRO) a reconciliation policy,he said there was no differencebetween the NRO and a pleabargain, and added that evendictators who came with theslogan of ending corruptioncould not eliminate the menace.

The 56-year-old Zardari had flownto Dubai on December 6 on healthgrounds on the insistence of hischildren in the midst of the mem-ogate scandal over alleged at-tempts by one of his close aides toseek US help to limit the powers ofthe military leadership.

“Mr Asif Ali Zardari has beenadmitted to the American HospitalDubai on Tuesday, 6 December2011, with a chief complaint of leftarm numbness and twitching witha transient episode of loss of con-sciousness that lasted for few sec-onds, which was witnessed,” saidthe certificate issued by Dr Khal-doun Taha, MD FACC, AmericanHospital, Dubai.

The certificate said furtherthat upon arrival at the hospital’sEmergency Room, the presidentwas fully awake and consciouswith stable vital signs. “Given his

history of heart disease, cardiacand neurological investigationswere carried out which includedMRI of the brain, lumbar punc-ture, 2-D echocardiogram, carotidDoppler and complete blood test,”said the certificate.

When Babar was askedwhether the president would re-turn home before December 27,the spokesperson said: “I can’tgive a definite date of (the presi-dent’s) return to Pakistan. Itwould depend on the doctor’s per-mission to travel.”

It was also officially an-nounced on December 6 that thepresident had gone to Dubai forhis routine medical tests and tomeet his children. Interestingly,his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardariwas present in Pakistan when thepresident left for Dubai, and oneof his daughters was in Britain.

The president’s close aideand his physician, Petroleum

Minister Dr Asim Hussain, re-peatedly said that the presidentwas normal at when he left forDubai and that he would returnwithin three to four days.

Religious Affairs MinisterSyed Khurshid Shah had claimedin a TV programme on Tuesdaythat the president would mostlikely return before December 27to attend the death anniversaryof Benazir Bhutto. On Sunday,Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gi-lani told BBC that the presidentwas making “rapid improve-ment”, but needed rest andwould take two more weeks toreturn.

Meanwhile, Interior MinisterRehman Malik said on Wednes-day that President Zardari wasfine. “This is his (the president’s)own country. He can returnwhenever he wants,” he said.Malik also said he would advisethe president to take some rest.

Zardari discharged from hospital

Pasha sought

Gilani hits back

continued froM page 1




Awami National Party (ANP)President Asfandyar Wali onWednesday urged Pakistanand Afghanistan not to letanyone use their lands forcarrying out attacks againsteach other, saying thatcross-border movement ofterrorists breaches the sov-ereignty of Pakistan.

Addressing a press con-ference after the meeting ofthe ANP’s Central ExecutiveCommittee (CEC), AsfandyarWali said that he had ap-peared before the AbbottabadCommission on Tuesday andexpressed his party’s point ofview. “The incident of May 2,being an extraordinary viola-tion of Pakistan’s air space,

could not be ignored but thesovereignty of Pakistan wasalso being violated by theUzbek, Arab and other for-eign terrorists in their move-ment from Pakistan toAfghanistan. Had Pakistannot let such violations of itssovereignty take place, the in-cident of May 2 would nothave happened. Both Pak-istan and Afghanistan mustensure that that they will notlet anyone to use their landsagainst each other,” Asfand-yar Wali said.

He also endorsed thetwo measures of the Pak-istan government, closingthe NATO supplies and get-ting Shamsi Airbase vacatedfrom the US, in retaliation tothe NATO strike inMohmand Agency.

Answering a question re-garding threat to the demo-cratic system in the country,the ANP president said thatas a matter of principle, thedemocratic process shouldnot be interrupted. “We,being a democratic party,have reiterated that we areagainst any interruption inthe democratic political sys-tem. Otherwise, I do not ap-prehend any threat todemocracy in the country,”Asfandyar said.

Regarding the petitionby Pakistan Muslim League– Nawaz (PML-N) in theSupreme Court on the mem-ogate issue, Asfandyar saidthat the PML-N should haveasked the parliament to takeup the matter prior to mov-ing the court.

foreign Ministry to

forward envoys’

proposals to

parliamentary body

ISLAMABADSHAIq HuSSAIN

The Foreign Ministry willpresent the recommenda-tions of the Envoys’ Confer-ence today (Thursday)before the ParliamentaryCommittee on National Se-curity, which will meet herewith Senator Raza Rabbaniin the chair. The committeemeeting has been convenedto discuss the situation aris-ing out of November 26NATO air strikes inMohmand Agency and toprobe into the memo pur-portedly sent by PresidentAsif Ali Zardari throughHussain Haqqani, formerPakistani ambassador inWashington and MansoorIjaz, a Pakistani-Americanbusinessman, to the Obamaadministration seeking helpagainst a feared militarycoup in Pakistan.The two-day Envoys’ Con-ference, which concluded onTuesday, suggested the gov-ernment to renegotiate twoimportant accords on NATOsupplies and logistic sup-port to the United States.The conference also askedfor NATO apology overMohmand agency’s strike inwhich 24 Pakistani soldierswere killed along with vari-ous other recommenda-tions. The conference washeld to draw a plan on howto revise the foreign policyand especially reshape therelations with the UnitedStates after the NATO at-tack. The Foreign Ministrywill now present these rec-ommendations before theparliamentary committee,which will give them a finalshape along with its ownrecommendations on how toreshape Pakistan’s US pol-icy. In his comments onWednesday, Foreign OfficeSpokesman Abdul Basit saidthat after the NATO strikeson two Pakistani outposts inMohmand Agency lastmonth, Islamabad wasforced to opt for a harderstance and take certain im-portant decisions such asthe suspension of NATOsupplies and boycott ofBonn Conference. He saidthe agreement to give sup-ply routes to NATO forceswas clinched back in 2002and presently it was in awritten form, along withother pacts with the US.

ISLAMABAD IRfAN BukHARI

THE government’strouble-shooter,Interior MinisterRehman Malik,for the first time

in the last three years admit-ted a failure when he toldthe federal cabinet onWednesday that “despitebest efforts”, he had failed tocatch corrupt elements inthe Pakistan Steel Mills(PSM). Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gilani hadtasked the Federal Investi-gation Agency (FIA) in Au-gust 2009 to unearthcorruption in the PSM.

A source told PakistanToday that during the de-bate in the federal cabinetmeeting over restructuringof the PSM, Malik said some“mafias” had occupied themills and its labour unionswere continuously sabotag-ing the government’s effortsto revive the entity.

“Rehman Malik saidthe labour unions of PSMwere so headstrong thatthey were not allowingeven sincere officers towork for the betterment ofthe mills and dictatingtheir terms to the manage-ment,” the source said.

According to the source,Malik admitted that he hadfailed to unearth cases ofcorruption in the PSMthrough the FIA mainly dueto the powerful “mafias” op-erating in the PSM.

“Despite my seriousand sincere efforts to bringcorrupt elements of thePSM to the book as directedby Prime Minister Gilani in2009, I could not get trans-parent inquiry conductedby the FIA due to pressuretactics of such labourunions,” the source quotedMalik as saying.

In August 2009, Gilanihad sacked then chairman ofPSM Moeen Aftab Sheikh ongraft charges and directed

the FIA to investigate the al-leged corruption in the PSM.The Supreme Court alsotook suo motu notice of theissue and has reprimandedthe FIA several times in thepast two years for its lack ofprogress in the case. Thesource said the PPP minis-ters vowed in the cabinetmeeting that the govern-ment would revive the PSM,as it was founded by ZulfikarAli Bhutto.

“Finance Minister AbdulHafeez Sheikh told the cabi-net that restructuring of thePSM was a must and bailoutpackages could not revivethe sick mills. He (sheikh)told the cabinet that so farRs 50 billion had been pro-vided to the PSM, but to noavail,” the source said.

The source added thatFederal Minister for Reli-gious Affairs Syed KhurshidShah and MQM ministerssought security for 20,000PSM employees in case themills were restructured.

Two peace

militiamen

killed in Bara

ambushLANDIKOTAL

oNlINe

Militants attacked pro-government militia inthe wee hours ofWednesday in KhyberAgency, killing two mili-tiamen and a securityofficial.Sources said the peacelashkar was ambushedwhen it was on routinepatrolling. Two volun-teers were killed whileanother two were in-jured, officials said.The militants also killeda security official afterthey kidnapped five se-curity personnel.The authorities haveblamed Lashkar-e-Islamfor the attack.

‘Cross-border movementbreaches sovereignty’

Malik admits failure in unearthing PSM corruption

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:25 AM

fuTuRe IS NoT IN SAfe HANdS: lack of transport facilities has become an integral but unfortunate part of students’ life. STAFF PHOTO

Thursday, 15 December, 2011

g Mother gave birth to the babies at Poly Clinic, but shifted to PIMS, as surgery is required to separate them

A ‘model’ public school withoutfurniture, toilets PAge 08

ISLAMABADASMA kuNdI

THE conjoined twins girlsborn last week at the PolyClinic have brought happi-ness to their mother Shazia,but there are fears of losing

them too as the babies are conjoined atchest and abdomen and are fighting fortheir survival in the Intensive Care Unit(ICU) of Pakistan Institute of MedicalSciences (PIMS).

Shazia and Ali Mohammad, the par-

ents, reached Poly Clinic Thursday night,the mother gave birth to the conjoinedtwin daughters with a normal delivery.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Ali said,“He don’t believe that these are his babiesas immediately after the delivery thenurse came and announced that my wifegave birth to two baby boys, but aftersometime they said that your wife deliv-ered two conjoined baby girls.”

He said that he did not know the rea-son behind it. “The doctors are sayingyour wife gave birth to premature babieswhereas my wife and we all family mem-

bers know she was nine-month pregnantand delivered the babies after maturity.”

Ali, who is an Afghan refugee cur-rently living in Bhara Kahu, says his wifeis in the state of shock and as she alsodoesn’t believe that she gave birth to pre-mature conjoined twins, while the doc-tors are saying they will operate thebabies after six months.

Dr Shareef Astori, the Poly Clinicspokesperson, told Pakistan Today thatthe delivery was normal, but the littleconjoined girls were underweight as bothof them were of only three kg. He said in

absence of paediatric surgical facility atthe hospital, the babies were shifted tothe PIMS where they could get surgicaltreatment. “There was no complicationin delivery and it was quite normal, butthe babies were underweight. We shiftedthe conjoined twins to the PIMS wherethey will have surgery for separation.”

When contacted, PIMS Executive Di-rector Mehmood Jamal said, “Unfortu-nately, the babies are premature anddelivered in 34 weeks, whereas normallypregnancy takes 40 weeks time to get de-livered mature and normal. It will take A

minimum time of two weeks to examinethem as they are in ICU and it’s hard tokeep such premature babies on normaltemperature.”

He said the PIMS had constituted aspecial team of surgeons headed by DrZaheer Abbasi, which was looking intothe case very keenly.

“This is a very delicate case as apartfrom the fact of being conjoined, the ba-bies are also premature and underweight.If the babies were delivered after a fulltime pregnancy they would have got thechance to develop more organs.”

Conjoined twin sisters fight for survival

Islamabad: The Islamabad HighCourt (IHC) ordered on Wednesdaythe Cabinet Division, Capital Admin-istrative and Development Division(CAAD) and other respondents in acase, to decide the matter of regulari-sation of the contractual employees,working for prevention and controlprograms started by healthy ministry,within two months.

A single-member IHC, comprisingJustice Azeem Khan Afridi, heard thejoint petitions filed by employees,working in various health programmesinitiated by the Health Ministry beforeits devolution to provinces, for theirreinstatement and regularisation inline with the policy announced byPrime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

The court directed all the respon-dents including Cabinet Division sec-retary, CAAD secretary and

sub-committee for Control of Regular-isation of Daily Wage Employees tosettle the issue as per the policy an-nounced by the prime minister. Intheir petitions, the employees hadcontended that the government sackedthem against its own policy. The coun-sels for the petitioners, Shoaib Sha-heen and Amjad Iqbal maintained thatthe government authorities had beenclarifying time and again that the con-tractual employees working in the saidprojects would not be retrenched.

But, they said, when, after havingcompleted their term of more thanthree years, the petitioners ap-proached the authorities concernedfor their regularisation the Establish-ment secretary tried to delay the mat-ter by making false promises to them.Counsel Shaheen submitted that afterthe devolution of the Health Ministry,

all the programmes initiated by theministry were also handed over to theprovinces, while some of the stafferswere sent to departments workingunder the federal government.

At that time the government vowedthat the said employees would also besent to the provincial departments andfederal departments, but nothing hap-pened so far. The counsels said the pe-titioners had served the governmentfor more than five years, while thesome other contractual employeesserving in health department with lessthan two years of service were regu-larised. That was a discriminatory actby the authorities, the counsels con-tended. Upon that, Justice AzeemKhan Afridi ordered the authorities toresolve the issue within two monthsaccording to the policy announced byprime minister. SAlMAN ABBAS

Neighbourhood security systemintroduced in g-10 and g-11

‘Resolve regularisation issue in 2 months’

Islamabad: The Islamabad Police haveintroduced a ‘neighbourhood securitysystem’ in various residential sectors tohelp curb robberies in the city, says a pressstatement issued on Wednesday. Accordingto details, the security system has beenlaunched in houses in G-10 and G-11sectors. Electronic switches were installedin the houses, which when pushed in case of

emergencies, will sound alarms in theadjacent houses, allowing residents to assisttheir neighbours. While briefing the policeabout the security systems, IGP Bani AminKhan directed the SHOs to provideinformation to the citizens about theadvantages of the system and to install it intheir respective areas within the next 15 days.STAff RepoRT

Islamabad: The local police are cluelessabout the miscreants who had interceptedand tried to kidnap a man from Parachinarwhile he was on his way to Daman-e-Koh.The man, Muhammad Akram was escapingpersecution by his enemies back inParachinar. He was stopped by some‘masked men’ who according to him tried tokidnap him while he was travelling in hiscar. He said from their Pashto accent hecould tell that they were also fromParachinar. “When the armed men wereasking me to go with them to their vehicle, I

resisted and screamed out loud and refusedto leave my car. Luckily, a school busappeared and I ran towards it,” scaredMuhammad Akbar, 36, and complained. Abusinessman by profession, Akbar said, theyalso hit his head with the butt end of a gunbefore fleeing. He feared they wanted tokidnap him for some ransom, which he saidwas a routine crime in Parachinar.Malik Asif, the investigation officer at theKohsar police station, said they filed thereport of the incident and police wouldinvestigate the matter. STAff RepoRT

Police clueless about kidnapping attempt

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:25 AM


g Speakers say conflicting states must acknowledge

present realities for regional peace

Islamabad


INDIA and Pakistan will have tomove from state-centric ap-proaches for resolution of theKashmir dispute to some people-centric approaches.

This was observed by Dr ShaheenAkhtar, a senior research analyst, during aroundtable discussion held here at the In-stitute of Regional Studies (IRS) onWednesday. He was of the opinion thatwith the change in the regional and globalrealities, a military solution to Kashmirhad become obsolete. He said this during aroundtable discussion at the Institute ofRegional Studies (IRS) on Wednesday, ac-cording to a press statement issued here.

She said the economic and energyneeds of India and Pakistan as well as theglobal redefinition of the concept of secu-rity in favour of human security had com-pelled the two countries to hold peacetalks. She added that the pressures of in-creasing population and the need for eco-nomic and energy security had graduallypushed Pakistan towards normalisation ofits relations with India. Dr. Akhtar said theKashmiri leadership had also expressed itswillingness towards accepting an alterna-tive solution acceptable to India, Pakistan,and the Kashmiris, which, she said, was be-yond their long-held position on right toself-determination.

She said India and Pakistan had comea long way from their stated positions on

Kashmir like the “jugular vein” and “inte-gral part” to “human security and develop-ment”. She hailed Pakistani leadership forshowing the courage towards redefiningPakistani narrative on the Kashmir disputeafter the resumption of the Composite Di-alogue in 2004. Dr Akhtar regretted thefact that Pakistan’s bold initiatives onKashmir during Musharraf era were notfully reciprocated in the same spirit byIndia. Foreign policy analyst, BA Malik,said Pakistan’s Kashmir policy was out ofsync with its domestic realities, and thatthe decision-makers needed to have a seri-ous rethink of its policy towards India ingeneral and on Kashmir in particular. Hesuggested that Pakistan could compromiseon a slow progress on the Kashmir disputefor the dividends that would ensure peacewith India. He said that peace instead ofKashmir was the core issue for Pakistan.

Agreeing with Amb Malik, defence an-alyst, Lt Gen (retd) Saleem Haider, saidIndia was an emerging economy in theworld and that the way forward for Pakistanwould be to benefit from the growth ofIndia. Mr. John Hill, the deputy politicalcounsellor at the US embassy, said that theUS would welcome any proposals from Pak-istan for a role it could play for the peacefulresolution of Kashmir dispute. He cautioned,however, that in the past their role had alsoproved counter-productive “on some occa-sions”. Mr Pierre Mayaudon, the deputy headof the EU delegation in Islamabad, appreci-ated the progress towards normalisation ofrelations between India and Pakistan.

‘Triple educationbudget’


Speakers at a seminar, held on Wednesday, demandedthat the budget allocated to education be increasedfrom 2 percent to 6 percent of the fiscal budget.The seminar, ‘Education Financing in Pakistan:Challenges and the Way Forward’ was organised byActionAid Pakistan in collaboration with theSustainable Development Policy Institute to mark the14th Sustainable Development Conference.Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Education SardarHussain Babak said: “There is a need forcontextualising the issue. Security is the major issueof KPK that affects the developmental programmesundertaken by the government.“Extremists are causing severe damage to theeducational infrastructure,” he added, citing arecent incident where four schools were blown upby terrorists.AcitionAid Pakistan Country Director Jemal Ahmedsaid education financing was the key to socialdevelopment. He stressed the need to ensureaccessibility, availability, affordability andacceptability of education for all. “Education can play an important role in changing thelives of poor people especially the most marginalisedsection of the society because it is a basic tool of socialand individual empowerment,” he said.Balochistan Colleges and Higher and TechnicalEducation Additional Secretary Tariq Qamar said thegovernment had been successful by increasing theeducation budget of Balochistan to 11 percent of thefiscal budget, but issues persisted.He said: “Educational problems are innumerableand range from capacity issues, security andstability crises, geographical vastness andrestrained accessibility for all.” The educationexperts said resource allocation for education atnational and provincial levels had always beenscarce. They said only 5 percent of students wereperforming well whereas the remaining 95 percentof students were underperforming in both academicand practical fields. The participants of the seminarincluded parliamentarians, members of the civilbureaucracy, educational experts, academicians andcivil society activists.

NATuRe IS BeAuTIful: A nightingale enjoys a cool evening at a park in the federal capital on Wednesday. ONLINE

wAPDA workers uniteagainst privatisation


Water and Power DevelopmentAuthority (WAPDA) employeesstaged a protest rally Wednesdayon the Benazir Bhutto Roadagainst the proposed privatisationof the power distributioncompanies.The protestors, who belonged tothe WAPDA Hydro Electric CentralLabour Union, said thegovernment had not taken theWAPDA employees intoconsideration while making thisdecision.They announced that they wouldstage a sit-in in front of theParliament House on December21st and that WAPDA officesacross the country would remainclosed on the day of the protest.They were holding placards andbanners inscribed with slogans infavour of their demands. The Islamabad Electric SupplyCompany officials also gathered atMarir Hassan Complex andmarched towards the BenazirBhutto Road to participate in theprotest. The rally was led by Mian RehmanGhani and other union leaders whocondemned the policies adopted bythe government for the energysector. Ghani said privatisationwould lead the energy sectortowards another disaster. “Ourcountry is already facing a severeenergy crisis and the government’sdecision to privatise the sector isnot in the best interest of thecountry,” he said.

Pakistan and Indianeed people-centricpolicies

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:25 AM


Islamabad

eveRyoNe NeedS ‘poSITIve’ leISuRe: Students of a seminary play cricket in a ground on Wednesday. ONLINE


MEDICINAL and aro-matic plants andhoney—all play an im-portant role in the livesof Pakistani people. A

recently conducted study suggests thatfrom 25 percent to 60 percent Pakistanisprefer herbal medicines and honey tomainstream medicine.

This was stated by USAID Directorfor Pakistan Dr Andrew Sisson whilespeaking at a conference entitled “Medi-cinal and Aromatic Plants and Honey In-dustry” held here on Wednesday.

The conference was attended by alarge number of locals associated with thebusiness of Aromatic plants and honeyindustry.

Majority of them belonged toMalakand Division. Provincial Ministerfor Environment and Forests Wajid Ali

Khan was also present.Dr Andrew Sisson said the US Gov-

ernment, through the US Agency for In-ternational Development’s (USAID)Entrepreneurs Project, has helped 13,000conflict and flood-affected plant collec-tors and bee keepers in Upper Dir andSwat restart their businesses by providingessential tools and training.

He said that cooperation was betweenthe USAID and local farmers for thegrowth of the honey and medicinal andaromatic plants industries, which has po-tential for profit.

“Pakistan’s honey industry has a lotof money,” he observed.

“Pakistan imports $50 million worthof herbal plants each year. While honeyimports are lower. There are also a con-siderable room for growth.

This gap between the demand andsupply provides a fertile opportunityfor the domestic producers, especiallyin the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,

which is the key honey and medicinaland aromatic plants source in thecountry.

These sectors require limited in-vestment in equipment and training,yet offer a stable and significant streamof income. Pakistan already has up totwo million people engaged in the col-lection of herbal plants and small-scalebee-keeping.

However, these industries can offeremployment for many more,” he said.

He also urged the government of Pak-istan to play its role for that industry,“Equally importantly, the governmenthas an important role to play in ensuringthe access of these micro-entrepreneursto information about medicinal plantsand honey, in increasing awareness of thecommercial perspectives in the two sec-tors, as well as in building capacity forproper harvesting, handling, and stor-age,” he added.

Dr Sisson said the US government be-

lieved that support for these two sectorswould contribute significantly to the re-vival of the economy in the war-tornMalakand Region.

Speaking on the occasion, Provincial

Minister for Environment and Forests as-sured the farmers of his government’s fullsupport for improving their businesses.Anges G Luz, Chief of Party USAID alsospoke on the occasion.

State-run dispensaries notproviding services


Majority of public sector dispensariesacross the country do not have basicmedical equipment and are notproviding free medicines to the people.A report issued by Free and FairElection Network (FAFEN) onWednesday says in the 145 dispensariesvisited nationwide in October this yearby FAFEN teams, it was observed thatnecessary equipment and freemedicines were not available for people.The report said items indispensable forprotection from germs andtransmission of communicablediseases, like sterilizers and syringecutters, were not available, while 126facilities did not have free medicines.FAFEN monitors visited 68dispensaries in Punjab, 36 in Sindh, 26in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 inBalochistan, one in Islamabad CapitalTerritory (ICT) and three in theFederally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA).Seventy-six patients interviewed at thedispensaries reported that they did notget free medicines from the in-housepharmacy as per doctors’ prescriptions,while 32 complained of overcharging.All state-run health facilities aresupposed to provide these medicinesfree of cost.Additionally, 65% dispensaries did nothave sterilizers and one third of themlacked syringe cutters.The report said the condition ofbuildings housing 67 dispensaries wasnot good while 43 did not haveboundary walls and 30 were not clean.Seventy-nine percent of the monitoreddispensaries had electricity but 37lacked fans.More than half of the monitoredfacilities did not have arrangements forclean drinking water for patients or forwashrooms with running water.Additionally, 43 dispensaries did nothave a shaded waiting area for patients.Except Sindh, where 26 out of 36dispensaries shared information onsanctioned posts and appointments ofmedical staff, less than half of themonitored facilities providedinformation on medical staff posts ineach region.All the sanctioned posts for femaleparamedical staff were occupied indispensaries that shared information inPunjab, FATA and ICT. One post eachin KP and Balochistan was unoccupiedwhile six in Sindh were vacant.For male paramedical staff, allsanctioned posts were filled indispensaries providing information inFATA and ICT, three positions werevacant inBalochistan and at least 90 percentwere filled in all other regions.


A painting exhibition of masterlypaintings by renowned artist,Mashkoor Raza, kicked off hereat the Nomad Art Gallery onWednesday.

Creating transparency withparts of basic forms of squarescircles and triangles on his can-vas and abstract images ofwomen and horses, Mashkoorshows versatility of handling hissubject, paints and composi-tions.

Using median of oil paint-ings, Mashkoor has created ro-mantic scenes in his art byshowing couple in peaceful envi-ronment.

Mashkoor is an eminentartist and he creates aestheticstransparent impressions throughwhich his images adopt varying

shapes. His exceptional energiescombined with passion and pa-tience bring forth canvases, pa-pers and boards decorated withfuming horses and silent nudeson the one hand, and cool com-positions with harmoniouscolours on the other. AlthoughMashkoor is loyal to his usualpalette, occasionally he goes vio-lent with his colours making fulluse of red. His colour sense,while handling spaces and com-positions, has brought forth abreath of fresh air on the paint-ing scene of Karachi.

Mashkoor said; “I defines thespace not through linear demar-cation but through variations,creating shades in a given colourscheme.” The painter’s achieve-ment of translucency, however,creates a kind of delicacy andhighlights the poetic qualities ofhis work.

Mashkoor’s paintings unveiled at Nomad

Call for boosting production of honey, medicinal herbsg USAID country head says his organisation committed to rehabilitating business sector in insurgency-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:25 AM

low

high

03°CfRIDAy SATURDAy SUNDAy16°C I 04°C 16°C I 03°C 15°C I 03°C

PRAyeR TIMINgSfajr Sunrise Zuhr Asr Maghrib Isha

05:40 06:10 13:30 16:00 on sunset 19:00

CITy DIReCToRy

PolICe eMeRgeNCy 15

AMBUlANCe 115

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hIlAl-e-AhMeR 9250488

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BoMB DISPoSAl 9270698

fIRe BRIgADe CeNTRe 16

CIvIl DefeNCe 9262830

eMeRgeNCy helP

hoSPITAlS

BlooD BANK

PIMS BlooD BANK 9261272

Poly ClINIC BlooD BANK 9209123

CoMPlAINT

wAPDA 111-000-118

SUI gAS 1199

RAIlwAyS

CITy STATIoN (INqUIRy) 117

ReSeRvATIoN 9273614

RAIlwAy PolICe 1333

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flIghT INqUIRy 114

PIA ReSeRvATIoN 111-786-786

CollegeS / UNIveRSITIeS

INTeRNATIoNAl ISlAMIC UNIveRSITy 9260765

BAhRIA UNIveRSITy 9260002

NUMl 9257677

qUAID-e-AZAM UNIveRSITy 90642098

ARID AgRICUlTURe UNIveRSITy 9290151

fJwU 9273235

RIPhA INTeRNATIoNAl UNIveRSITy 111510510

NCA RAwAlPINDI 5770423

PUNJAB lAw College 4421347

MAhRoof INT 2222920

PIMS 9261170

Poly ClINIC 9218300

CDA 9221334

ShIfA INTeRNATIoNAl 4603666

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DISTRICT hqS 5556311-14

UlTRASoNIC ClINIC 2824862

holy fAMIly 9290319

aN iLLustratioN of pakistaN

Do you have a passion for photography?

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what about using your passion for a greater

cause?

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DATe AND TIMe: eveRy fRIDAy 6:30-7:30PMveNUe: KhAAS ART gAlleRy ISlAMABAD

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art thatcombines elements of dancing, ritualcombat & music in a unique synthesis ofself defense and rhythm.

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The band is set to visit Pakistan once again,this time to It's capital. Performing smashinghits like "That's My Name", "My Passion", "Staywith Me" & the new track " feelings on fire "they are sure to set the stage ablaze and makeyou sway.

DATe: TUeSDAy DeC 27, 2011 6:00 PMveNUe: ISlAMABAD

What’s iN the Name?

DATe: Nov 29 - DeC 25, 2011 veNUe: ISlAMABAD

08 Thursday, 15 December, 2011

Islamabad

Islamabad Model School for Girls’ teachers, locals demand restoration of dilapidated building,

basic facilities for students

ISLAMABADkASHIf ABBASI

BELIEVE it or not, there is a pub-lic school in the capital city thathas no basic modern day facili-ties, yet the nameplate on thebuilding’s façade reads: “Islam-

abad Model School for Girls”.A visitor can never miss the absence of

proper furniture, potable water, washrooms andthe dilapidated condition of the building.

Despite the fact that all the federal govern-ment schools (FGSs) have been upgraded andgiven the status of ‘model’ schools, the saidschool is a typical example of official neglect. Thenames of all the FG schools were changed underPM Gilani’s directives but no efforts were madeto upgrade these state-run schools.

A visit, by this scribe, to the IslamabadModel School for Girl at Khana Dak badly ex-posed tall claims of the authorities that the cap-ital is a model city when it comes to the state-runeducation system.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had an-nounced on 8 October 2010 to upgrade all thefederal government schools and colleges to‘model’ institutes. The announcement aimedat ending disparity in the parallel governmentsystems in the country for different socialclasses and providing equal opportunities toall students living within the Islamabad Capi-tal Territory.

But Pakistan Today has learnt that the ModelGirls School at Khana Dhak, which is the onlygovernment middle school for girls in the entirearea and which is catering to the needs of hun-dreds of students is in a shambles. Local sourcessaid the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE)has turned a blind eye to worsening state of af-fairs at the schools. Its building is in a dilapi-dated condition, posing a threat to the life ofstudents and teachers.

As many as 274 girl students, most of

them belonging to underprivileged familiesfrom the surrounding areas, study here.There are only seven female teachers work-ing at the school.

Talking to Pakistan Today, a teacher, seekinganonymity, told this scribe that the only up-gra-dation of public schools done so far was limitedto changing their name.

“You can see a signboard saying the school isa model school but once inside every one can itis a big lie,” she observed. Ironically, there is nofurniture at all in school for students and theyhave to sit on some shabby rugs while attendingtheir classes.

With damaged walls, cracked floors of classrooms and seeping ceilings, the school buildinglooks like a haunted house.

Another teacher said that whenever theteachers raised some issue with the FDE officialsfor the plight of school, they were told to getsome white wash work done to hide the cracks

and shabbiness of the building.Talking to Pakistan Today, a resident of the

neighbourhood said the school building wasbuilt some 70 years ago. “We’ve heard from ourgrandfather that it used to be a Hindu temple,and after partition, it was turned into theschool,” said Asghar Ali.

He said that the authorities were well awareof the school’s condition but they never botheredto take any step for its restoration.

This scribe was told that the school alsofaced the shortage of classrooms. Currently thereare only three classrooms while two classes areheld in the corridor.

“Owing to this shortage of classrooms, weare forced to hold classes in the veranda even onrainy and harsh winter days,” said the teacher.This scribe, however, could not talk to any stu-dents since the school was holding its internalexamination and they were on holidays forpreparation.

A ‘model’ public schoolwithout furniture, toilets

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:25 AM


News

peSHAWAR: pakistan WApdA Hydroelectric Central labour union activists demonstrate in support of their demands outside the Governor’s House on Wednesday. ONLINE

PESHAWARS TA f f R e p o RT

Water and Power DevelopmentAuthority (WAPDA) employeeshave demanded the governmentreview the decision of privatisingthe Peshawar Electric SupplyCompany (PESCO) and havethreatened to besiege the Parlia-ment House Islamabad on Decem-ber 21, in case the decision is nottaken back.

Hundreds of WAPDA employ-ees threatened the governmentduring a protest demonstrationheld under the auspices of Pak-istan WAPDA Hydro Electric Cen-

tral Labour Union (PWHECLU-CBA) outside the cantonment rail-way station on Wednesday.

Holding placards and bannersinscribed with slogans against pri-vatisation of PESCO, unemploy-ment, political interference ingovernment departments and in-crease in electricity bills, the pro-testers chanted slogans against thegovernment’s decision.

After registering their protestwith reporters, the employeesmarched to the Governor’s Houseand blocked Sher Shah Soori Roadfor all kinds of traffic.

Central Chairman Gohar Taj,Provincial Chairman Mohammad

Iqbal and Deputy Chairman Mus-tajab were leading the protesters.

They said on one hand, thegovernment was restoring sackedemployees while on the other therevenue generating inst i tut ionsof the country were being priva-tised.

They expressed concern overthe proposed decision of privatisa-tion and said PESCO was a rev-enue generation institution and itsprivatisation would directly affectthe consumers because the com-pany would increase power tariff.

They demanded the govern-ment review the proposed deci-sion.

Employees demand govt review

decision of privatising PESCO

Blast kills two fC

troops in BalochistanQUETTAoNlINe

At least two Frontier Constabulary per-sonnel were killed and five others in-jured when a roadside bomb struck theirvehicle in Balochistan, media reportedon Wednesday.Reports said the incident took placein the Mand Bulo area of Turbat,where the FC officials were on a rou-tine patrol.The dead and the injured were shifted toa nearby hospital while a large contin-gent of police and paramilitary soldierscordoned off the area and launched asearch operation.No group has claimed responsibilityfor the blast. Balochistan has been wit-nessing a low insurgency waged byBaloch nationalists, demanding moreprovincial autonomy.

haqqani refutes efforts to‘malign’ him

ISLAMABADpReSS ReleASe

Pakistan’s for-mer ambassa-dor to theUnited States,HusainHaqqani hasrejected theimpressionthat he tried toleave the coun-try along withPresidentZardari, as thelatter was leav-

ing for treatment in Dubai. Respondingto reports in a section of the press,Haqqani said, “Prejudice makes somepeople lose all sense of logic. Why wouldI have returned if I was in any hurry toleave the country?” he asked.“Such reporting is a direct attempt tomalign me ahead of Supreme Courtproceedings relating to so-called memoissue as well as an appeal seeking mylegitimate right to be heard and to havefreedom of movement under the lawand constitution,” he said.Haqqani said that he will draw the at-tention of the SC towards these blatantattempts at influencing public opinionand court proceedings through orches-trated news. It is amusing that the reporter and edi-tor of the same newspaper decided totarget my persona the same day reveal-ing their attempt to orchestrate propa-ganda with malicious intent, he added. “I have come to Pakistan to clear myname and won’t leave before doing that.My detractors first said that I won’tcome to Pakistan, I proved them wrong.I will prove them doubly wrong in not sofar a future,” the former envoy said.In his statement, Haqqani said he findsit odd that a column writer claimed tobe in possession of an authentic ac-count of his interaction with the big-four: the President, the PM, the armychief and the DG ISI. “If the proceedings of a meeting be-tween 5 people, including me and fourpeople dealing with national security atthe highest level, are available to thewriter, he clearly possesses rather un-usual information-gathering qualitiesor was engaged in something otherthan journalism.”

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News


SETTING aside the RegistrarOffice’s objections to the ap-peal of former ambassador tothe US Husain Haqqaniagainst the Supreme Court’s

December 1 order in the memo contro-versy, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muham-mad Chaudhry on Wednesday orderedfixation of the appeal before a nine-member larger bench on December 19along with other pleas seeking probeinto the memo issue.

Haqqani’s appeal, filed by his lawyerAsma Jahangir on Friday seeking recall-ing of the court’s December 1 order, wasrejected by the SC Registrar’s Officeafter raising various objections, includ-ing that the appeal could not be filedagainst any order of the court, but a re-view petition could be filed.

Haqqani on Saturday filed anotherplea against the Registrar’s Office’s ob-jections that was referred to the chiefjustice, who after hearing it in chambers,set aside the objections and directed itsfixation for hearing.

In the first hearing of the memo case

on December 1, the Supreme Court hadappointed a commission to probe into“memogate” and had stopped Haqqanifrom leaving the country.

The court had also asked the presi-dent, army chief, the ISI head andHaqqani to submit their replies withthe court within two weeks. The peti-tions seeking probe of memo contro-versy were filed by PML-N leaderNawaz Sharif and others.

On Friday, Haqqani had submittedhis reply to the court, requesting thatNawaz Sharif’s petition be dismissedwith costs. He had also moved a separate

plea challenging the December 1 order ofthe apex court on Nawaz Sharif’s peti-tion on the memo scandal.

In his plea, Haqqani said he wasdeprived of his rights of being heard,guaranteed under the constitution. Hecontended that the court was influ-enced by media hype that was oftenmotivated by ulterior motives and thatit had been based on the accusations ofa dubious individual. He also had con-tended that Nawaz’s petition was notmaintainable under Article 184 (3), ashe had not mentioned any violation offundamental rights.


The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)on Wednesday clarified that there was nomention of resuming NATO supplies dur-ing the telephonic conversation betweenISAF commander General John Allen andArmy Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayanion Monday. “During the telephonic con-versation between General Allen and Gen-eral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on December12, 2011, the issue of reopening NATOsupply routes never came under discus-sion as has been highlighted in the state-ments of the ISAF commander,” said anISPR statement. “It would be appreciatedif unnecessary speculation in this regard isavoided,” it added.

govt likely to allocate

Rs 260m for renovation

of Presidency kitchenISLAMABADfAZAl SHeR

The cash-strapped government is likely toapprove a huge amount for the renovationof the kitchen of Aiwan-e-Sadr as the Cap-ital Development Authority (CDA) hassent a PC-1 of worth Rs 260 million to thePlanning Commission for approval of thereconstruction and renovation of the pres-idency kitchen. “The authority sent a PC-1worth Rs 260 million for renovation ofkitchen and over Rs 2 million for the dem-olition of the existing kitchen to the Plan-ning Commission for approval, a few daysago,” a CDA official said. After the ap-proval, the CDA will execute the project inthe next financial year (2012-13), the offi-cial said. He said that after the renovationof the kitchen of presidency, it would beable to provide food for over 600 VIPs atone time. The government also approveda huge amount for the renovation andconstruction of accommodation in theAiwan-e-Sadr in the current financial year(2011-12) under the Public Sector Devel-opment Programme (PSDP), he said.The official said that in the current finan-cial year, the government approved Rs75.23 million for strengthening the secu-rity system at the Parliament House, Rs1000 million were allocated for the con-struction of 106 family suites for parlia-mentarians, while Rs 37 million wereallocated for the construction of residen-tial and non-residential accommodationfor police at the Aiwan-e- Sadar, he said.

NEW YORKoNlINe

Afghanistan’s “accusatory” stance to-wards Pakistan will not help bilateralties, Islamabad’s envoy at the UN hassaid, advising President Hamid Karzaito learn from India’s “enormous matu-rity” in dealing with issues, the Indianmedia reported on Wednesday.

“I wish President Karzai could takea leaf out of the Indian book, instead ofbeing accusatory towards Pakistan,”Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN Ab-dullah Hussain Haroon told “Hindus-tan Times” in New York.

Noting that a “massive changearound” has come today in the India-Pakistan relations as compared to thepost-26/11 environment, Haroon saidthat the two neighbours were beginningto see “things from each others’ perspec-

tive”, thanks to the dialogue process. Hesaid even if a “leaf falls on the grass inAfghanistan,” the Afghan leader pointsa finger towards Islamabad, saying the“Pakistanis must have done it”.

“It does not work that way. I

think India would be a good examplefor Karzai to follow in which heshould realise that this accusatorygame gets no where”.

The Pakistani envoy said if Indiaand his country were building ties,Afghanistan should “take a clue” andalso be on the same track and “learnfrom India which has shown, in mymind, such enormous maturity”.

“Let’s talk to each other.... May besomething good comes of it. That iswhat is happening between India andPakistan. I think it is a proud momentfor both countries,” he said.

Karzai had last week blamed Pak-istani extremists for the attack on Shi-ite Muslims in Kabul that killed 58people. Demanding justice from thegovernment in Islamabad, Karzai hadsaid his country will pursue the issuewith Pakistan “very seriously”.

LAHORENASIR BuTT

It was Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP)turn to grill the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) over the launchof Maryam Nawaz in politics at theprovincial government’s expense.

Alleging the use of educational insti-tutions for political purposes byMaryam, PPP lawmakers in the PunjabAssembly on Wednesday not onlypointed out political weaknesses of theruling party in Punjab, but also offeredto arrange public gatherings forMaryam, hinting that the PML-n couldnot do so itself.

The House, which was proceeding

smoothly, turned into a fish marketwhen PPP legislator Uzma Bukhari ob-jected to the use of educational institu-tions and colleges as a politicalplatform for the political launch ofMaryam Nawaz. But neither the educa-tion minister nor the speaker gave anyruling on the objection.

Uzma said she welcomed Maryam inthe political battlefield, but the speakershould give a ruling on the issue whetherpublic educational institutions and theirpremises could be used as a politicalplatform for an unelected personality.

She said public meetings were beingarranged at women colleges by pres-surising the heads of these educationalinstitutions. These remarks infuriated

the PML-N and Zaeem Qadri rejectedthe allegations. He said Maryam did notgo to these institutions herself and nopublic money was used for the functions.Qadri said Maryam visited the collegeson invitation by student bodies.

Raja Riaz said if the PML-N couldnot arrange public meetings forMaryam, the PPP was willing toarrange public gatherings for her whereshe could deliver her speeches. Uponthis, Qadri said it was not the PML-Nthat had turned the Presidency and theGovernor’s House into hubs of politicalactivities. “Constitutionally studentunions have right to invite any person-ality, including Maryam Nawaz, at theirfunctions,” he added.

During the question hour earlier,PPP’s Syed Hassan Murtaza not onlyprotested but staged a token walkoutfrom the House against the remarks ofa provincial minister and not includingopposition lawmakers in the sugar-cesscommittees. However, on the instruc-tions of the speaker, provincial minis-ter Ahsanul Haque Qureshi broughthim back in the House.

During the question hour, most ofthe lawmakers from both sides contra-dicted the statistics presented by Par-liamentary Secretary on Food SaeedMughal regarding the payment of99.99 percent of last year’s outstandingdues to sugarcane growers and otherrelevant figures.

Kohat DIg orders

arrest of two cops

allegedly aiding

criminals KARAK

STAff RepoRT

Kohat Deputy Inspector General of Po-lice Masood Khan Afridi on Wednesdaydirected the Karak police to arrest twopolice officials for their alleged negli-gence and providing weapons to the ac-cused.He also suspended two investigation of-ficers in the murder case of Alam Zeb,the brother of alleged gang rape victimUzma Ayub. The DIG also directed theofficials to conduct a fresh inquiry intothe killing of Zeb. Afridi along with the investigation teaminspected the site of the murder and alsovisited the residence of Uzma. Balqasim Jana, Uzma’s mother com-plained to the DIG about the negligenceof the then SHO of Takht-e-Nusrati po-lice station Haji Rehman and added thatconstable Sohail provided a pistol to theaccused to kill Zeb. The DIG ordered thearrest of both police personnel. She also complained that two investiga-tion officers, Muhammad Nawaz andWali Sher, took the accused ASI, Ha-keem Shah in a private vehicle to thecourt and the DIG suspended both theinvestigation officers. He directed the investigation officerDSP Mir Chaman Khan to complete theinquiry into the matter and submit thereport within three days. He also directed Takht-e-Nusrati SHOYousaf Khan to arrest Ibrahim Shah, theprime accused, within two days. The DIG also patrolled the area and di-rected the Karak police to beef up secu-rity to provide complete protection tothe family.

More Sikhs

pledge allegiance

to ImranPESHAWAR

STAff RepoRT

Another group of Sikhs joined the Pak-istan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednes-day, and expressed full confidence inImran khan’s policies. Sikh community leader in Peshawar Sar-dar Santok Singh announced joining thePTI in a press conference along withdozens of companions at PeshawarPress Club. PTI office bearers in Pe-shawar were also present on the occa-sion. Santok Singh and his companionsjoined the PTI a day after a group ofSikhs led by Sahib Singh announcedtheir allegiance to Imran Khan afterquitting the Awami National Party.While addressing the press conference,Santok said that although he was new topolitics, but he and his fellow Sikhs be-lieved that Imran Khan was the onlypolitician who could save the country. PTI leaders welcomed the Sikhs to theirparty, saying their memberships were aproof of the party’s popularity amongthe minorities.

PPP grills PML-N over Maryam Nawaz’s political launch

Karzai should learn from India’s‘enormous maturity’: Haroon

SC accepts Haqqani’s appeal againstDec 1 order in ‘memo’ controversy

Army denies talks on

resuming NATo supplies

peSHAWAR: A Saint Mary School’s student jumps through a ring of fire on the annual sports day on Wednesday. STAFF PHOTO

Security forces arrest

militant commanderSWAT

STAff RepoRT

The security forces on Wednesday ar-rested Hussain Shah, allegedly an im-portant militant commander, fromMingora. According to sources, HussainShah, a resident of Ali Grama village,Kabal Tehsil, was responsible for attackson the security forces. The securityforces arrested Hussain from Mingoraafter receiving intelligence reports andtransferred him to an unknown place forinvestigation.

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Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: [email protected]. Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

Editor’s mail 11Thursday, 15 December, 2011

Momentous decisionsRegrettably, there is no walk of life

left which is free from corruption ofabominable proportions in our country.But the way our bureaucrats and tech-nocrats are doing financial corruptionis beyond one’s comprehension. Ofcourse, they are the people who are sap-ping down Pakistan. They are the peo-ple who are rusting away ourinstitutions. They are the people whoare eroding the moral fabric of our soci-ety.

Indeed, our bureaucrats and tech-nocrats are the real brains behind cor-ruption. They invent various ways andmeans for financial corruption. Trans-port facility for the senior officers, in-cluding BPS-20, 21, 22 is one such formof corruption which is both moral andfinancial. These unscrupulous peoplecause billions of rupees loss to the na-tional exchequer under the head oftransport facility.

The recent decision of the govern-ment to monetise the transport facilityto officers from grade 20 to 22 wouldsave billions of taxpayers’ rupees in thelong run.

Indeed, it is a right step and in theright direction, if implemented in letterand spirit, billions of rupees would besaved. The government should also takesteps to reduce other perks and privi-leges of these bureaucrat and tech-nocrats.

Furthermore, the Parliament ofPakistan deserves handsome praise forunanimously passing the Women Pro-tection Bill and Anti-Acid Throwing Billwhich envisage heavy penalties for of-fenders.

These landmark bills will help pro-tect our womenfolk from several socialevils deep-rooted in our ignorance, dra-conian traditions and male-dominatedsociety. Kudos to the women parlia-mentarians who worked hard to make ita law!

HASHIM ABROIslamabad

Appoint a negotiatorPrime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani

while addressing a moot on water andpower development has commended theefforts of Water and Power Ministry asalso of Wapda while also commentingthat the Kalabagh Dam became a victimof political controversy. It is unfortunatethat the PPP even in its third tenure hasnot been able to sort out the politicalcontroversy on Kalabagh Dam in spite ofits claim to represent all the provinces ofPakistan.

A perfect water and power projecthas not been built since four decades. Itis suggested that a negotiator may be ap-pointed by the Prime Minister fromamongst retired Supreme Court judgesacceptable to all the provinces to call ameeting of their representatives includ-ing engineers to once for all hear out allthe controversial points and give a ver-dict on the net benefits of the dam to sat-isfy the all concerned.

This is essential as Bhasha dam alonewould require too long a time while Kal-abagh Dam could be built in half the timeif political reconciliation could beachieved on the project in a transparentmanner.

DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTILahore

let people decidePresident Zardari’s illness has again

sparked a series of rumour-mongeringwhich has proved to be a further blowto the existing instability of Pakistan.Why do we want an elected governmentto go? Why do we want to derail a polit-ical process?

Are we never going to learn fromour past and at least give our feebledemocracy a chance? We are witnessinga change in the political culture of ourcountry, especially amongst the youthwho have suddenly realised that there isstill hope. But in order for this dream tomature further, we need some time.

Meanwhile, let this government fin-ish its tenure which is hardly a yearnow. If we let it happen it will be agreat achievement for our country’spolitics. The political parties shouldnow stop speculations regarding thefall of government as all this is leadingus nowhere except that we are becom-ing a laughing stock in the interna-tional community.

Our elected government should nowfocus on how to salvage the situation.From Abottabad fiasco to Memogate toSalala checkpost attack by the Natoforces and now to President Zardari’s ill-ness, there is a chaotic situation in Pak-istan, making it even more vulnerablethan before.

We can reverse this process andmake our future governments truly dem-ocratic only if we are given an honestchance to decide our fate.

MUHAMMAD EMAD KHANLahore

The real changeEveryday we hear the word "change"

which we no doubt need desperately,whether it is a "tsunami" of Imran Khanor a revolution of Sharif brothers, but itis observed that majority of the youth isbeing attracted by charismatic personal-ity of Imran Khan.

What really matters is that whoeverclaims to bring this change, must bringreforms in national politics and policies.Regardless of who we support, we mustcultivate a sense of nationalism by bring-ing positive changes in our attitudes,habits and way of thinking. This will helpgreatly in making a better nation alongwith a prosperous country.

AMIR ALILahore

Imran Khan’s assetsThe much awaited detailed assets of

PTI’s Chairman Imran Khan were madepublic in Islamabad. Imran Khan has amanifesto that will give rights to thepoor and downtrodden people of thecountry.

The cricketer-turned-politician owes530 kanals land in Mian Chunno, Punjaband 300 kanals in Islamabad. The for-mer he inherited from his grandfatherand the latter he purchased by getting aloan from his ex-wife.

Should not we call him now LordImran or Baron Imran? Having 300 hun-dred kanals land in Islamabad is a realwonder that can change the fate of thepoor people and will definitely end theirmiseries. I would request the PTA Chair-man to donate his land to the poor peo-ple of Pakistan.

Believe me, by doing so he would be-come Mohatir Muhammad of Pakistan ashe has the vision and flair to change thelives of the poor masses.

IFTIKHAR MIRZAIslamabad

Is it a tough demand?The demand for a formal apology and a guarantee that an at-

tack such as the Nato air strike on Salala checkpost inside Pak-istan’s Mohmand Agency will not take place, at least intentionally,is fair enough considering the extent of loss suffered by the Pak-istani side. However, war dynamics do not allow anyone to issue aguarantee that casualties would be restricted to just a specific areaand that the possibility of error remains predominant. Wasn’teverything supposed to be fair in love and war? To get beaten upby your own ‘ally’ included? But then this significant war principleought to be applied to all and sundry in the war.

That Pakistan gets a good smacking by the internationalmedia and officials in Washington every time it fails to thwart amilitant attack upon the Allied Forces inside Afghanistan showsthat the rules are different for every stakeholder and certainlydon’t draw on the fairness paradigm. Threats to block militaryand civilian assistance to Pakistan, translating to a minisculeamount considering the sum already spent by the Pakistan gov-ernment, hardly does anything for either the ongoing long war

or for the survival of the country. Yes, it may however be instru-mental in stealing the warmth right out of a few very large highlevel pockets.

So, what ought to be done when the Isaf commander re-fuses point blank to issue a ‘guarantee’ that an attack of such amagnitude will not happen again? How does he propose to de-velop a ‘balanced relation between Pakistan and Nato’ in thisbackdrop? Upon what pretext can this relationship possibly de-velop? The next best and acceptable option would be to issue atleast an apology for such a blatant act of barbaric violence withno apparent reason, something that the Pakistan army and thepeople of Pakistan are expecting.

Pakistani officials have still exhibited their commitment to-wards eradicating militancy from their territory but with a re-newed strategy that focuses on achievable and sustainablegoals, as it is always the slow but steady that wins the race.

PROFESSOR KABIL KHANPeshawar

KeSC’s actionsI have come to the conclusion that

the KESC is doing its best to end load-shedding in Karachi. In many areaswhere electricity theft is zero and peoplepay their bills in time, loadshedding hasfinished. From the last two years, 90 per-cent loadshedding is done on a scheduledtime. KESC’s next step which has the

support of every common man is thatthey are disconnecting supplies to power-ful politicians of Sindh who have not paidtheir dues. Sindh’s Law Minister AyazSoomro had his connection discontinuedbecause of this new policy. Power supplywas also disconnected to the farm houseof Haleem Adil Sheikh who is Advisor toSindh Chief Minister.

Now a common man can rest assured

that the powerful politicians, the eliteand the government officials are also an-swerable to some laws and regulations.But one thing is sure: KESC can endloadshedding in the city but it cannot re-duce tariff. For this, the government hasto provide subsidy or will have to takecontrol over KESC.

MUBASHIR MAHMOODKarachi

Hidden behind intentions of the per-sons who sent the infamous memo of theMemogate, there is another one too: theMemo of Treachery, and it has consider-ably been unveiled. Actually it is no greata mystery. It in fact deals with corruption,transferring wealth abroad, placating for-eign support, staying in power and ac-quiring more power. In other words, it isthe money complex in action. It involvesthe puppets living abroad, posing as thelinchpin for such Faustian bargains.

It is certainly not about civilian con-trol over the military establishment –which in itself is a good thing – it isabout the corrupt, self-serving elite whoseek foreign support to keep robbing thepeople of Pakistan. For them, betrayingPakistanis is not an issue, but a part oftheir agenda.

The foreign support that they seekcould:

1. Weaken Pakistan’s national se-

curity by cutting ISI-Army down to size.2. Invite US military forces in

Pakistan for partial occupation, as ifdrones were not enough.

3. Exposing and ultimately com-promising Pakistan’s nuclear projects, de-priving Pakistan of its deterrent.

4. Handing over Pakistanis de-manded by India, without any scrutiny oftheir claims.

It is practically advocating steps lead-ing to Pakistani nation’s eventual andcomplete enslavement to the US geopo-litical diktat and Indian over-lordshipplus much worse. All that was asked bythe authors of the treacherous memo wasto be in power in Pakistan.

Now even Admiral Mike Mullen, therecipient of the memo, has recollected,after initial denial, a memory loss, appar-ently from too much work, and con-firmed that the memo was sent byPakistanis friends of the US. Hussain

Haqqani the Pakistan Ambassador hasobviously rejected Mansoor Ijaz’s claimabout memo. But the irony is that Hus-sain Haqqani is himself known as ‘Amer-ica’s Ambassador for Pakistan inWashington’.

In essence, the memo is a clear case oftreachery against the state of Pakistan.Hussain Haqqani’s resignation is notenough. He should be tried for treason in afair trial. If found guilty, he should be dealtwith according to the law. Remember, itwas Hussain Haqqani who reportedly toldthe Americans that Pakistanis were likecarpet merchants haggling over price.

I want to let him know that we arenot carpet merchants but proud, patri-otic, peace loving, freedom loving nation,except for a tiny minority of self-serving,thieving, foreign supported elite.

The nefarious characters involved inthe plot to weaken ISI, dilute the army,invite American troops into Pakistani

homes, compromise nuclear arsenal, ac-cept every Indian demand and the longlist of crimes of infamy are traitors of theworst order.

If they are not traitors then what istreachery to Pakistan? This is not about aclash between liberals and fundamental-ists. It is about the right of Pakistani na-tion to live in peace and freedom, withsecurity, prosperity and honour. An un-fettered nation, master of its own des-tiny, without being sold to the firstbidder, invaded by America, threatenedby India and betrayed by its own corruptand treacherous elite.

The time has come to squeeze thespace on traitors of all hues. If Islam-abad-Rawalpindi cannot deal with a‘rogue ambassador’, what can it do? Ifthose who betray Pakistan are not dealttoday, it would be tragic.

BRIG (retd) NADIR MIRLahore

The memo of treachery

Some 57 boys belonging to poor fam-ilies were found shackled in chains fromthe basement of a madrassah located inSohrab Goth Karachi. As the news sur-faced, we have seen our so-called humanright activists and NGOs coming out oftheir secure houses blaming the religiousmadrassahs for all the troubles that af-flict Pakistan, but they dare not hold thefactors and vested interests in this coun-try for failure of the state to provide sub-sidised education facilities.

In the developed world, state subsi-dies are only extended for projects thatrelate to the most deprived sections oftheir society. In Pakistan, it is the re-verse.

If trillions of rupees worth real estate

belonging to federal government and itsstate owned enterprises like PakistanRailways were not allowed to be gobbledby the elite land mafia and sold at marketprice, enough money could have beengenerated to fund free education for poorand bail out Railways.

In Karachi, prime real estate belong-ing to federal government was allotted topolitical activists of a pro-Musharrafparty in that city. In Lahore, land worthhundreds of billions was given almostfree for yet another golf course by themilitary junta. The priority is golf, pala-tial residential societies, farm houses forfew instead of more schools, play-grounds, hospitals and colleges for themajority.

Unfortunately for this country, thestate absolves itself of its obligation toprovide education, health and cleandrinking water to the most deprived sec-tions of our society. With such a mindsetof the ruling elite and an establishment,whose priority is confined to allotment ofmore plots to the paid servants and itspolitical cronies, no doubt this country isa perfect breeding ground for fanaticsand religious bigots.

What choice the poor have other thansending their sons and daughters tothese madrassahs with the hope thattheir children may benefit from educa-tion. We should be asking the provincialgovernment, local police and ministry ofreligious affairs for their failure to regu-

late and monitor these madrassahs, lo-cated not in some remote part of Pak-istan, but our major cities and towns.

Yet, instead of blaming the tax-evad-ing traders, feudal and cartels of thiscountry for the plight and miseries suf-fered by millions of our poor, we willblame these madrassahs, most of whomgive free education to the poorest of thepoor. Until the state abolishes thesemadrsaahs and replaces them withschools, Pakistan and its citizens willcontinue suffering because this countryand its citizens are there to serve the rul-ing elite and endure their insatiablegreed.

MALIK TARIQ ALILahore

Sohrab goth madrassah

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Comment12Thursday, 15 December, 2011

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302Karachi – Ph: 021-34330811-3 Fax: 021-34330900Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: [email protected]

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

futile tilt at the windmills

Reforms

Adreadfully daunting task, contesting an election. Manyhave been humbled at this altar. Captains of industry andcommerce, retired generals, exceptional professionals,star civil servants, all of them have been surrounded by

sycophants who have told them one simple yet alluring lie: thepeople love you. Off to the polls, then, and the mightiest of themighty have had their security deposits confiscated by the electioncommission for lack of the minimum number of votes.

It is a Herculean task, requiring an immense amount ofpatience, a skin thicker than would put a rhinoceros to shame andapt judgments on countless of constituency rivalries and dynamics.

Despite the infusion of money into the whole process, it is stillnot possible (yet) to simply buy one’s way into a chamber oflegislature or elected executive office. Many might have splurgedsuccessfully to this end but they would have had also had to gothrough the tortuously difficult motions of an election campaign aswell.

Be that as it may, however, though money cannot guarantee acandidate a success, not having any can also almost surelyguarantee failure. The minimum required campaign war chestmight vary from constituency to constituency but it has become, allaround, a rather expensive proposition. Yes, there is middle-classrepresentation in the houses from all provinces, but they havemade it there despite our political culture, not because of it.

One wonders whether the recent press conference of sixprogressive political parties that asked for election and landreforms only stated the problem and did not really proceed inproviding workable solutions. What exactly does one mean, in2011, by land reforms? And if the Americans can find ways aroundcampaign finance restrictions, then so can we, under the very validassumption that anything that an American can do, a Pakistani cando better.

The uninterrupted evolution of the democratic exercise in thecountry will serve to strengthen, as institutions, our politicalparties and create within them the need to have professional andintellectual members. This will also happen within constituencies,which will feel their case at the federal and provincial levels will bebest represented by bright sparks who are not necessarily landed ormoneyed.

Till then, any proposed election reform would either be a bad,unenforceable law or one that would restrict the freedom of thedemocratic process itself.

on Pak-US relations

Coping with the hype

While the proposals formulated at the ambassadors’conference have yet to be taken to the ParliamentaryCommittee on National Security and then consideredby Parliament, Nato Commander in Afghanistan Gen

John Allen has indicated he has already “a sense of progress”regarding the possible lifting of Pakistan’s communication blackoutimposed after November 26 Nato attack. The General revealed thatin his telephonic conversation with Gen Kayani, both sidesexpressed a commitment to work through the incident even thougha statement by the ISPR has stated that the issue of the reopeningof the supply routes did not come up in the telephonicconversation. These at-odds statements will fuel speculation ratherthan put them to rest.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, too, has talked on thetelephone with Gen Kayani, instead of his Pakistani counterpartDefence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, which indicates that the issue isbeing settled mainly through military channels, keeping the civiliansetup out. The clarification by State Department SpokespersonVictoria Nuland that the $700 million freeze in US aid to Pakistanwas not meant for the civilian component of the aid indicates thatthe measure was meant specifically to put pressure on the military.

The proposals submitted by the ambassadors’ conference arequire realistic. The unusual favours granted to Washington by theCOAS-cum-President in 2002 were meant to provide an incentiveto the US to continue to support his quasi-military rule. There isabsolutely no sense in why Islamabad should not be adequatelycharging the NATO for the wear and tear of Pakistan’s highwayscaused by thousands of Nato containers and for amenities providedto the trucks and their drivers. The NATO enquiry should becredible enough to allow the resumption of the container trafficand mutual coordination. The drone strikes must not beundertaken without a prior understanding with Islamabad and theAfghan refugees should be repatriated at the earliest.

While many would welcome a way out of the untenableconfrontation between the US and Pakistan, the media hype hascreated unrealistic expectations that neither the government northe army is in a position to fulfil. The end of the confrontation,whenever it comes, should be seen to be a joint decision of thecivilian government and the armed forces. It must not lead toanother blame game.

Afghan officials have claimed that 21 Taliban mili-tants have surrendered in the Hirat province (bor-dering the Islamic Republic of Iran). The militants

who have surrendered have pledged living in peace andabiding with the law of the land. The leader of the surren-dering Taliban has assured extending due support to theAfghan government in its drive for reconciliation and thereturn of peace. The Afghan government claims that moremilitants are willing to lay down their arms as well.

Such an act of surrender is surprising as no quarterswere expecting any militant to willingly lay down arms.Could these claims or media reports that the Afghan offi-cials are making be justification for their act of mintingmillions of US dollars from the international community?The international community has given around 36 million

USD to the Afghan government in connection with its Na-tional Reconciliation Policy.

No one can deny that almost all of the Taliban had re-fused to surrender when late Afghan President Prof Rab-bani was leading the commission. But the Afghanauthorities claim that there has been a “change in themindset of Taliban after the assassination of Prof Rab-bani.”

It is also being claimed that it is hard for the militantsto continue their resistance in winter when almost all ofAfghanistan’s mountains are covered by heavy snow. Butthe common Afghan believes that the surrender of the Tal-iban is nothing more than eyewash aimed at minting moreand more dollars from the international community in thename of reconciliation.

– Translated from the original Pashto by ShamimShahid

Surrendering?Daily Wahdat

Regional press

Security? What security?Clinging to fallen idols…

What is the basis of ourtug-of-war with theUS? The question ofnational security.This question is one

of sensitivity and that of immense im-portance for every state. The death of24 of our soldiers in the Nato attack isindeed a big tragedy. But it is unfortu-nate that this has not happened forthe first time. If the registering of ourprotests was so important at thisbreach of our security and sovereignty(as it should be), why did we allowthings to reach such a pass? Why did-n’t we huff and puff at the first suchinstance?

What is the difference betweenthen and now? If we consider the sit-uation, the US was first regularly giv-ing us economic and military aid andwas bearing cross-border incursioninto Afghanistan with patience. Con-comitantly, we also bore the attackson our posts. We were silent when apro-Pakistan jirga was bombed andwe silently let the drone attacks con-tinue. What does this mean? Thismeans that we can be forgiving aboutthe national security issue when wewant and unforgiving and unyieldingwhen we want. This vacillation engen-ders uncertainty and misinformation.Every country in the world has a con-sistent and zero-tolerance policy withregards to its security. There is no lee-way here. Those that exhibit laxity arethe ones that are not only the target offoreign aggression but are also ex-pected to bear such instances.

Even now, our reaction to theNato attack is limited. We’ve blockedNato supply lines on trivial mattersbeforehand. Even now, we have nointention of closing them up forgood. Official statements indicatethat there will be a little give and takeon the matter but the routes will beopened. The conditions that we haveset before the US in our state of um-brage are nowhere near enough to re-dress the aggression we havesuffered. They have already reservedthe right to apologise saying that theywill decide whether to do so aftertheir investigative report. The reportis definitely going to give argumentsin favour of their operation and theirapology, if any, is going to be pref-aced with a string of ifs and buts. Isthat enough recompense for an attackon our national security. No expert

on defence affairs or seasoned politi-cian would say that an apology wouldbe an even trade for the blood of 24of our men.

We raise a lot of hue and cry aboutsecurity issue; we have practicallyturned our country into a securitystate. Our national income and for-eign loans are neither used on devel-opmental projects and infrastructurenor on creating employment and eco-nomic growth. The lion’s share isspent on security-related matters.What does that mean? The baseline isthat wherever there is expenditure onsecurity, the primary reason is to savethe country from foreign aggressionand give the public a secure environ-ment to live in. Russia, China, India,the US and other countries where se-curity was given top billing and astrong defence infrastructure wasbuilt, the public was given peace andthe opportunity to prosper. What didwe get?

Our main aim in giving securitytop priority was to liberate Kashmir.We fought three wars with India onthat count. In all three instances, wewere the one who initiated the pro-ceedings. Immediately after inde-pendence, when conflict arose on thefate of Kashmir, before negotiationscould be started, some local com-manders initiated proceedings inKashmir and said that it was the tribalmujahideen crossing over to helptheir Kashmiri brethren. The present-day Azad Kashmir is the fruit of Kash-miri labour. The tribal mujahideenhad scarce little to do with it and thepeople of Gilgit-Baltistan was liber-ated and defended by local residents.But the presence of these tribal mu-jahideen was used as an excuse byIndia to formally send it army toKashmir and this army occupationcontinues to this date.

We sent insurgents in 1965 withthe idea that the Kashmiris would risewith them but that id not happenwhich then led to us formally initiat-ing military action in Chumb sector.We then had to fight the ’65 war con-sequently and go to Tashkent andpromise that we would solve the Kash-mir dispute by talking it out bilater-ally. This amounted to leaving UN outof the reckoning. Another conse-quence of the 1965 war was that theidea strengthened in East Pakistanthat Pakistan’s defence capabilitieswere centred in and meant for WestPakistan and that East Pakistan wouldbe thrown to the wolves in the case ofwar with India. This led to the genesisof the idea of cessions. Our notions ofstate security had been badly defeatedand we gave India the room to ma-noeuvre in 1971, giving it chance tobreak our country into two. Uptillthen, every paisa spent on defencehad gone down the drain.

After the 1971 war, we had to ap-peal to the international communityfor the freeing of 95000 prisoners ofwar. We opened the Kargil front againin 1999 and had to appeal to the US

for the freeing of our soldiers fromIndia. We already had the nuclearbomb at that point in time. It was abomb that was solely for dealing withIndia. But it amounted to naught inthis case.

In 1979, we started interfering inAfghanistan’s internal matters. Aftera while, America bought our servicesin the country for dollars and arms.When the retreat of the Soviet Armywas assured, we bestowed onAfghanistan the status of our ‘strate-gic depth’ and asked US to recognisethis in the Geneva Accord. The electedPM did not deem this to be suitable atthe time and he drafted the Accord asper international rules and signed it.

Our security’s guardians startedberating the US for abandoning uswhereas in reality, the US had comethrough on its commitment by givingus the promised aid and arms whilealso ignoring our nuclear programmeas an added bonus. What they did wasprop up Zia’s government which wasindeed harmful to Pakistan. But oursecurity experts were revelling in thepower of ruling the country. They hadalready cooked up a plan to ensure‘strategic depth’ by propping up theTaliban. The rule of our propped-upTaliban did not last but what did hap-pen was that the country was occupiedby the US. Now we are again adamantthat the US should ensure our andcurb India’s influence in Afghanistanbefore exiting.

It is common sense that the USfought this was to ensure its own in-terest, not ours. After accumulatingsuch huge losses, it will do what is inits own best interests. If it deems fit,it will change the schedule of its with-drawal but it will never give us the op-portunity to bring Afghanistan underour influence. Whatever we want forourselves, we’ll have to milk it whilestaying inside the framework of theUS’ interests. If we think that we canbring the US to its knees by closingsupply routes or airspace, we are deadwrong. On the flipside, we could sus-tain even more losses. We’ve alreadysuffered much due to declaringAfghanistan our ‘strategic depth’. Ap-parently, not enough.

Isn’t it time we reviewed our secu-rity paradigm and the faulty policiesassociated with it. Before preparing a‘new roadmap of relations with theUS’, it would be better if we made anew roadmap for our security and itspolicies. Our notion of ‘security’ isnow badly outmoded and thoroughlydefeated. We should reformulate itand then start a new chapter of rela-tions with our neighbours and inter-national powers. By includingAfghanistan in our security calculus,we have divided ourselves on the east-ern and western front and spread our-selves too thin. We have nothing togain in Afghanistan. Its better weopen our eyes to that.

The writer is one of Pakistan’smost widely read columnists.

By Nazir Naji

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:26 AM

Comment 13Thursday, 15 December, 2011

Gop hopefuls quash palestinian hopes

Partial much?

Who says Pakistan’s political lead-ership wants democracy? Reviewthe last week and give me a real-

istic answer! There is a hue and cry de-signed to disenfranchise the electorate. Thegovernment is being asked to go. By so-called ‘new’ democrats, part and parcel ofthe very same system albeit sidelined fornow, who intend to replace it. There isnothing new on offer; it’s the ‘same ole’ganging up under new apparel. The mootquestion: is the Pakistani electorate goingto fall for this sham again?

I for one sincerely hope not. Democ-racy is the right of free vote, the guaranteeof freedom and defined unequivocally as ‘ofthe people, for the people and by the peo-ple’. This is denied to us by the existing sys-tem. What we have is an elitist democracydesigned for those in political power andthose in cahoots with them. “In politicalpower” here defines all those in politicalreckoning, whether in or out of office, witha highly affected sense of entitlement.

It is this sense of entitlement that is be-hind the creation of hundreds of registeredpolitical parties that operate with no osten-sible financial resources, without a pro-gramme and perhaps with just a counciland some lackeys. They neither go to thepolls nor perform any visible political func-tion. There very existence is questionable.The continued absence of qualifying crite-ria is condemnable.

The free right of the people ex-ists only to the extent of the vote.That too is dubious as it is, to a verylarge degree, sequestered withinthe feudal and baraderi systems.The voter becomes irrelevant oncea representative is elected. Withinparliaments and the various eche-lons of power, a different energyprevails. That energy is concen-trated purely on the machinationsof aggrandising the so-called elite.

The current emergence of alter-nate political options is very wel-come. The peoples’ euphoria isbased on the belief that, perhaps,things will be different. A hugepress campaign on the Internet isdiscussing whether Imran Khancan or cannot bring “change”. It’s avery relevant discussion. However,a lot is inspired by rhetoric and theemotional response to it. It is thisemotional response that politiciansprey upon because it does not de-mand an inviolable commitment.All it does is whip up frenzy. Underthe present political system, noth-ing will ever change.

It has been a downer to see thatthe emerging leadership is seekingto befriend electable candidates in

an environment that is mentally preparedfor a real change. The concept of murshidand mureed is the very crux of what isdamaging the peoples’ rights. Zulfikar AliBhutto provided the real alternative in the1970 election. His slogan delivered the bal-lot despite the fact that it attacked a ‘benev-olent’ dictatorship during which Pakistanprospered more than at any other time. Hisfirst parliament consisted of primarily ofthose who at the time were termed unelec-table. That was his political tidal wave.

The electronic media has unleashed adeluge of talk show participants who pro-mote and project political programmes andvisions, if that is what they can be called,and argue incessantly in favour of literallynothing. I don’t know what the program iscalled but the recent skit depicting Imranis pertinently factual of what is being saidand the manner that it is being said.

The time is here for the people tochange the politician. It is apparent thatpolitical parties will continue to fight eachother on rhetoric-based platforms with theusual promise of solving all problems oncein office. The manifestoes are only releasedunder duress picking up a few issues with-out any penalties for default. We need tochange this.

The people should provide the mani-festo and criteria for electing its futureleadership. There are existing, unmet de-mands that need reiteration and specificpolicy decisions regarding modusoperandi and timeframe for resolution.There are expectations, aspirations, per-haps one can go so far as calling it a peo-ples’ vision; these need to be expressedand responded to by political aspirants.These need to quantified, recorded andpublished. Someone, perhaps an organisa-tion, with the resources needs to take upthe challenge.

The electronic media needs to play anational role in ensuring that coherent re-sponses and answers are made available tothe electorate. Their responsibility does notlie simply with providing entertainment byrelaying political squabbles or doctored on-line telephone calls. Let the electorate viewthe responses of all political parties to theirspecific questions. And let them elect can-didates based on their declared values.

There has been a huge amount of“chunna lagaoing” for the last sixty yearswhile the nation has shouted itself hoarse.It’s time for delivery. The last thing Pak-istanis want to see five years down the lineis a similar clamour for recognition.Democracy is embodied in the constitu-tion; it is the peoples’ right, no one must beallowed to can it.

The writer may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]

It’s the peoples’ system and the people shall fix it

Canning democracy

Random Thoughts

By Imran Husain

On December 7, 2012, six Re-publican candidates forPresident (Rep Ron Paul

was not invited) appeared beforethe Republican Jewish Coalition(NRC) to campaign for Christianvotes. There are Jewish Republi-cans, to be sure, but not enough tomake a difference in this primarycontest. No, the real prize that drewthe candidates to the NRC eventwere the 40 percent of GOP pri-mary voters who are declared"born-again" Christians who fer-vently believe that Israel can do nowrong and that it is their religiousduty to support any and all Israelipolicies as a prerequisite to hastenthe "Day of Judgment".

The speeches were mostly filledwith hysterical criticism of Presi-dent Obama's "appeasement" of Is-rael's enemies and hyperbolicpraise for Israel. Because their re-marks included such irresponsiblecharges and promises, I have in-cluded significant excerpts below inorder to give a flavor of how out oftouch today's GOP is from currentMiddle Eastern realities:

Newt Gingrich"As President, on my first day

in office, I will issue an executiveorder directing the US Embassy inIsrael to be moved to Jerusalem asprovided for in the legislation I in-troduced in Congress in 1995…TheUS should explicitly reject the con-cept of a right of return for Pales-tinian refugees. The so-called rightof return is a historically impossibledemand that would be a demo-graphic disaster and mean the endof the Jewish state of Israel. We arefor a right to prosperity, a right tofreedom, a right to the rule of law,a right to private property, but wemust be totally opposed to a rightof return…[And] the UN camps

system must be replaced by a sys-tem of earned income and propertyrights to restore dignity and hopeto every Palestinian.”

[Gingrich on The Jewish Chan-nel, the next day]

"Remember there was noPalestine as a state. It was part ofthe Ottoman Empire. And I thinkthat we've had an invented Pales-tinian people, who are in factArabs, and were historically part ofthe Arab community. And they hada chance to go many places. And fora variety of political reasons wehave sustained this war against Is-rael now since the 1940's, and Ithink it’s tragic."

Michele Bachmann“It seems as if lately, our Presi-

dent has forgotten the importanceof Israel to America and thinks ofour relationship only in terms ofwhat we do for Israel. The Presi-dent is more concerned about Is-rael building homes on its own landthan the threats that Israel andAmerica face in the region…Ourpolicy has confused engagementwith appeasement and has inspiredIsrael’s enemies.

“Obama improperly calls forIsrael to retreat to indefensible1949 armistice lines with swaps,and to then still face further de-mands to divide Jerusalem andallow a Palestinian ‘right of return’to overrun the entire state of Israel.The Obama administration has alsounconditionally given the Palestini-ans unprecedented amounts of USforeign aid, and opposed Congres-sional efforts to condition aid onthe real steps that would bringabout peace."

“The so-called Palestinian‘right of return,’ would demograph-ically destroy Israel by swamping itwith millions of Arabs who neverlived in Israel, thereby turning theworld’s only Jewish state into theworld’s 23rd Arab state.

“My administration will fullyrecognise Jerusalem as Israel’s un-divided capital…My administrationwill also recognise Israel’s 1980 an-nexation of the Golan Heights andany settlements, which Israel, as asovereign state, chooses to annex.Simply put, my administration willaccord Israel the respect to whichsovereign, democratic nations areentitled."

Mitt Romney"Over the past three years,

President Obama has... chastened

Israel. He’s publicly proposed thatIsrael adopt indefensible borders.He’s insulted its PM. And he’s beentimid and weak in the face of theexistential threat of a nuclear Iran.

"These actions have embold-ened Palestinian hard-liners whonow are poised to form a unity gov-ernment with terrorist Hamas andfeel they can bypass Israel at thebargaining table. President Obamahas immeasurably set back theprospect of peace in the MiddleEast."

Rick Perry"President Obama has system-

atically undermined America's re-lationship with Israel…I want to beclear I support the goal of a Pales-tinian state, but it should be thePalestinians who meet certain pre-conditions.

"Instead, the administrationhas insisted on previously unheard-of preconditions for Israel, such asan immediate stop to all settlementactivity. President Obama has sug-gested the 1967 borders as a basisfor negotiations. And he has insti-tuted the practice of "indirecttalks", subverting the Oslo Accords.

"Israel does not need our Pres-ident demanding gratitude forbeing the best friend Israel has everhad while his Secretary of Defenserails that Israel has to "get back tothe damn table" with the Palestini-ans, and his Secretary of Statequestions the viability of Israel'sdemocracy, even as his Ambassa-dor to Belgium blames anti-Semi-tism among Muslims on Israel'sfailure to accommodate the Pales-tinians"…This torrent of hostilitytowards Israel does not seem tohave been coordinated, but ratheris the natural expression of this ad-ministration's attitude towards Is-rael."

All of this goes beyond the nor-mal platitudes offered up in anelection year. It was dangerous,shameful, and crass pandering,making it clear how far today'sGOP has moved from the reality-based foreign policy of the Bush-Baker era. And while it's hard toimagine the alternate universe in-habited by these candidates forPresident, it's frightening to thinkof where they will take US’ MiddleEast policy should any of them beelected.

The writer is President of theArab-American Institute.

Washington Watch

By Dr James J Zogby

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:26 AM


14 Foreign News

GAZA CITy: A palestinian flag flutters as thousands of supporters of the Islamist movement Hamas gather in Gaza City to celebrate the 24th anniversary of its foundation on Wednesday. afp

JERUSALEMAfp

JEWISH extremists onWednesday tried to torchan old mosque inJerusalem, as Israel re-opened a controversial

ramp leading to the Al-Aqsa mosquecompound, whose closure sparkedMuslim anger. The overnight attackon the disused mosque in downtownwest Jerusalem saw unknown attack-ers try and set the building alight anddaub its exterior walls with racistanti-Arab slogans written in Hebrew.

It was the latest in a slew of so-called “price tag” incidents — revengeattacks by Jewish extremists whichgenerally target Palestinians andArabs, although they have also beendirected at the army and leftwing Is-raelis. The attack targeted the NebiAkasha mosque, which dates back tothe 13th century and had not beenused as a place of worship since Is-rael’s creation in 1948. The city coun-cil currently uses the building as astorage facility. “During the night,there was an attempt to set fire to adisused mosque in the city centre,”police spokesman Micky Rosenfeldtold AFP, saying an investigation had

been opened into the attack whichtook place just off Jaffa Street, westJerusalem’s main shopping artery.

The attack was swiftly condemnedby the Al Aqsa Foundation, an off-shoot of Israel’s Islamic Movement,which said it held Israel “fully respon-sible for this terrible crime” and fornot acting against the perpetrators.Arab Israeli MP Mohammed Barakealso lashed out at his fellow parlia-mentarians for fanning the flames ofracial hatred with a spate of draft leg-islation targeting Israel’s Arab minor-ity. “Responsibility for the mosque

burning does not only lie with thegang of fascists who carried it out, butalso with some of the scumbagsamong the MPs and ministers,” hesaid in a statement.

“Those MPs should not pretendthey are shocked when the draft lawsthey back become a raging fire that de-vours mosques,” he said. Oppositionhead Tzipi Livni called the arson “ahate crime” carried out by “a con-stantly growing group of extreme Is-raelis who are forcefully trying to turnIsrael to a different state which — likethem — is lawless.”

Jewish extremists attackJerusalem mosque

STRASBOURGAfp

The European Parliament honoured fiveArab Spring activists with its Sakharovhuman rights prize Wednesday, includingthe Tunisian who sparked region-wideuprisings by setting himself on fire.

Just two of the winners, who share a50,000 euro ($70,000) prize, were in theparliament for the presentation cere-mony. Tunisian fruitseller MohamedBouazizi won the award posthumouslyfor freedom of thought, while a Syrianpair, lawyer Razan Zeitouneh and car-toonist Ali Farzat, were prevented from

attending “for obvious reasons”, accord-ing to EU foreign affairs chief CatherineAshton on Tuesday. The other winnerswere Egypt’s Asmaa Mahfouz and Libyandissident Ahmed al-Zubair Ahmed al-Sanusi. Parliament president Jerzy Buzekhailed “five courageous women and menwho represent the Arab Spring,” on theday Time magazine named simply ‘theProtester’ as its person of the year.

Bouazizi, an unemployed universitygraduate, set himself on fire on December17 to protest abuses under the 23-yearTunisian regime of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.He died two weeks later. Egypt’s Mahfouzhelped organise strikes and protests against

Hosni Mubarak’s regime. “I would like totell you how proud I am for all the martyrsof Arab revolution. We will not betraythem,” she said in her acceptance speech.Libyan dissident Sanusi, 77, spent 31 yearsin prison after trying to organise a coupagainst late leader Moamer Kadhafi and isnow working with the country’s new rulers.

While calling for reconciliation, he point-edly thanked Libya’s European neighboursfor their “unambiguous diplomatic and mil-itary support.” Zeitouneh, a 34-year-oldlawyer, created a blog to document atrocitiescommitted by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime during its relentless crack-down on pro-democracy campaigners. She

is in hiding and sent a letter praising “all thebrave people in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya,Yemen, Bahrain and beyond” for fighting tosecure a future “free of repression, prisons,and blood-spilling.” Farzat is a politicalsatirist whose cartoons have helped fuel thepro-democracy revolts. In August, Syrianregime security forces brutally beat him,breaking both his hands. He sent a videomessage expressing his grief and sorrow atthe number of victims in Syria which “in-creases with every minute.” Past winners ofthe prize named after Soviet-era physicistand political dissident Andrei Sakharov in-clude anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandelaand former UN chief Kofi Annan.

EU parliament celebrates Arab Spring with Sakharov prize

Belgium’s lone wolf

gunman felt

‘harassed’ by policeLIEGE

Afp

The lone wolf Belgian gunman who wenton a murderous spree in the city of Liege,killing four people before turning a gun onhimself, had a long criminal record andseemed fearful of returning to jail. As ashocked nation sought to understand themotives behind the carnage by 33-year-oldNordine Amrani, tearful residents of Liegelaid wreaths on the city’s central SaintLambert Square Wednesday, scene of theattack the previous day. “It’s awful justbeing here, having to take the bus, afterwhat happened,” said a woman on thesquare. The site was packed withChristmas shoppers and children just outof school when Amrani lobbed grenades atbus shelters and turned his assault rifle onthe crowd. A 15-year-old boy died on thespot while a baby of 17 months and a 17-year-old boy succumbed to injuries inhospital. Police early Wednesday alsofound the body of a cleaning-woman ofaround 40 in a shed used by Amrani tostash cannabis plants and an impressivecollection of illegal weapons. “NordineAmrani committed suicide with a bullet tothe head,” Liege city prosecutor DanieleReynders told a press conference.

Israel reopens access

ramp to Al-Aqsa

compoundJERUSALEM

Afp

Israel on Wednesday reopened acontroversial wooden access ramp toJerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound,just over 48 hours after it was closed onsafety grounds in a move which hadsparked Muslim anger. “It was opened thismorning,” police spokesman MickyRosenfeld told AFP, saying it was “open asas normal for visitors, both Christian andJewish.” He said no work had been carriedout to stabilise or alter the ramp, butpointed out that a fire engine had beenstationed nearby and other unspecifiedsafety precautions put in place. “It hasn’tbeen touched yet, nobody has changedanything,” he said. “The decision was madeby the municipality that it can be usedagain.” The structure has been at the centreof a complex row between the city counciland the Jewish and Muslim groups whichrespectively oversee the Western Wall plazaand the Al-Aqsa mosque compound next toit. The city says the ramp poses a firehazard and could collapse onto thewomen’s prayer section by the WesternWall. But Muslim leaders fear thedemolition could have a destabilising effecton the mosque compound and accuse Israelof failing to coordinate the renovation withthe Waqf, which oversees Islamic heritagesites. It was closed on Sunday night, butPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in anapparent about-face, on Tuesday orderedthe existing ramp be strengthened to makeit safe. “The government’s decision tofortify the ramp and fix its safetyshortcomings, in accordance with the city’sengineer’s orders, ensures themunicipality’s preliminary demands toensure the safety of those using it,” the citycouncil said late on Tuesday.

Iran talks withSaudi aboutUS plot claim

TEHRANAfp

Iran held talks with Saudi Arabia to try toconvince Riyadh it had nothing to do withunfounded US claims of a plot to kill theSaudi envoy to Washington, Tehran saidaccording to media on Wednesday. Iran’sintelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi,travelled to Saudi Arabia on Monday toclear up “misunderstandings” created bythe US allegations, foreign ministryspokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said ina report by ISNA news agency. “One of theissues which is of great importance isregional security issues — plots andschemes aimed at endangering relationsand cooperation between regional states,”Mehmanparast was quoted as saying.“America has thrown some allegations atIran which must be exposed as baselessand unfounded through clear and directnegotiations and to remove suspicions,”he said. The US claims — that Iranianofficials were involved in using anIranian-American car salesman to hire aMexican drug gang to blow up the Saudiambassador — “targeted the security andinterests of both Iran and Saudi Arabia,”he said. “These scenarios seek to ensurethe interests of the Zionist regime(Israel),” Mehmanparast said. The UnitedStates made its allegations in earlyOctober and claimed it traced thesupposed plot back to the Quds Force, aspecial operations unit of Iran’sRevolutionary Guards. Iran has repeatedlydenied any involvement in the plot, whichhave strained already frayed relations withSaudi Arabia. The Saudi Press Agencyreported that Moslehi met Crown PrinceNayef bin Abdul Aziz, who is SaudiArabia’s interior minister, and the head ofthe Saudi intelligence service, Mogran binAbdel Aziz. SPA said “questions ofcommon interest” were discussed,without disclosing details. Moslehi’s tripto Riyadh was the first by a top Iranianofficial since Iran-Saudi ties took a divefollowing Saudi military intervention inBahrain in March to back the Sunniregime against Shiite-led democracyprotesters. Relations have furtherdeteriorated with Riyadh accusing Tehranof interfering in neighbouring Arab statesand warning that Iran’s nuclearprogramme could pose a threat to regio

doMA: A palestinian man inspects his burnt truck that is believed to have been torchedin a ‘price tag’ attack, which are usually carried out by extreme Jewish rightwingelements in response to steps by the government to dismantle outposts or to carryout measures seen as harmful to the settlement enterprise. afp

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:26 AM

Foreign News 15Thursday, 15 December, 2011

DAMASCUSAfp

ARMY defectors killed at leasteight Syrian troops Wednes-day in an act of revenge aftersecurity forces shot deadfive civilians, activists said,

in the second such insurgent attack in asmany days. “At least eight soldiers werekilled in an ambush on four military jeepstravelling in the village of Al-Asharna onthe outskirts of (the central city of)Hama,” said the Britain-based Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights. The ambushwas carried out by “army defectors in re-sponse to the death of five Syrian civiliancitizens who were killed (on Wednesday)morning when their car was hit by secu-

rity forces” near Al-Khataab, it said in astatement. The violence comes amiddiplomatic wrangling, as Western nationsseek tough action against Syria at the UNSecurity Council, where the regime ofPresident Bashar al-Assad has supportfrom his veto-wielding ally Russia.

In its statement received in Nicosia, theObservatory said three army “defectors”were wounded when they clashed with reg-ular troops at Lujat in southern Daraaprovince, cradle of the revolt against Assad’s11-year rule. “Heavy gunfire was heard in thetown of Hirak,” also in Daraa, which cameunder assault by military forces backed bytanks and troop carriers, said the rightsgroup. In Douma, to the north of Damascus,telephone lines were completely cut off atdawn while heavy gunfire could be heard

near a state security office.In Harasta, on the outskirts of the capi-

tal, security forces conducted raids and ar-rests in an assault that was coupled with“power-cuts in some neighbourhoods,” theObservatory said. The reports cannot be in-dependently verified as most foreign re-porters cannot enter or move freely in Syria.Activists reported the deaths of at least 23civilians across Syria on Tuesday at thehands of security forces seeking to crush theunprecedented protest movement thaterupted mid-March. Also on Tuesday, armydefectors ambushed a Syrian security patrol,killing seven in revenge for a raid that cost11 civilian lives, they said, while state mediasaid Syrian border guards shot dead two“terrorists” from Turkey. The unrest grip-ping Syria was the focus of a UN Security

Council meeting on Tuesday, with UN rightschief Navi Pillay estimating more than5,000 people have died since March in thegovernment’s crackdown on dissent. Pillay’sprivate briefing to the 15-nation council —where Russia and China blocked a resolu-tion condemning Assad in October —heightened divisions over how to respond tothe Syrian violence. Washington has de-nounced the Security Council’s silence onSyria as “unconscionable.” But Moscow saidthat the West is pursuing an agenda of“regime change” by putting pressure onSyria’s government but not on armed groupsin the troubled country.

Pillay told reporters she had given thenew toll of more than 5,000 dead — includ-ing some 300 children — and recommendedthe Assad regime’s crackdown be referred to

the International Criminal Court. “Thewidespread and systematic nature of thekillings, the detentions and the acts of tor-ture — I felt that these acts constitutedcrimes against humanity,” said Pillay. “Inac-tion by the international community willembolden Syrian authorities, and ensureperpetrators go unpunished,” Pillay said.The Arab League has called an emergencymeeting of the 22-member bloc’s foreignministers in Cairo on Saturday to respond toSyria’s proposal to admit observers in ex-change for an end to regional sanctions.

The meeting would seek recommen-dations for the ministers on steps to takeif Damascus refuses to sign the agree-ment on observers, said MohammedZaidi, an adviser to Arab League chiefNabil al-Arabi.

8 troops die as Syrian army defectors retaliate

LONDONAfp

British Prime Minister David Cameron brushed aside calls Wednesday to renegotiatean EU treaty, as his deputy premier’s appearance beside him in parliament cooled talkof a coalition rift. Conservative leader Cameron said he “made no apologies” for vetoinga new treaty at a eurozone crisis summit last week, a move which led to the other 26

European Union nations making an agreement without Britain. Deputy PrimeMinister Nick Clegg of the pro-Europe Liberal Democrats stayed away on

Monday when Cameron made a statement to lawmakers on the issue, buthe was by his side at prime minister’s weekly questions on Wednesday.Cameron’s comments came a day after European Commission chiefJose Manuel Barroso said that Britain’s demands for its financialservices industry to be exempted from EU regulation threatened tobreak up the single market. At a raucous final session before theChristmas break, opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband said it wasthe “sensible thing for him (Cameron) to do to re-enter thenegotiations and try to get a better deal for Britain.” “I make no

apologies for standing up for Britain,” Cameron replied. The twoparty leaders also traded barbs about the state of the 19-month-

old coalition after Clegg stayed away on Monday and said at theweekend that Cameron’s actions were “bad for Britain”. “Let mesay it’s good to see the deputy prime minister back in the

house,” Miliband said, to laughter from MPs. Cameron hitback, saying that there would always be disagreements in acoalition and “no one in this house is going to be surprisedthat Conservatives and Liberal Democrats perhaps don’talways agree about Europe.” “It’s not that bad, I mean, it’snot like we’re brothers or anything,” he joked, referring toEd Miliband’s battle last year with his brother, formerforeign secretary David Miliband, for the Labour leadership.

Islamists look toextend success in egypt elections

CAIROAfp

Voters poured into polling stationsWednesday in the second round oflandmark elections that will shapeEgypt’s post-revolution future, with manybacking Islamists who have alreadyemerged as front-runners. Some 18.8million Egyptians are eligible to cast theirballots in the second round of the three-phase legislative polls, the first sinceHosni Mubarak was toppled in Februaryafter 30 years in power. The powerfulMuslim Brotherhood, which clinched themost seats in the opening phase throughits Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), waseager to sustain the momentum. “For astrong parliament, which meets thedemands, the concerns and the prioritiesof the people, let’s continue,” the partysaid on its official Facebook page. Longqueues formed outside polling stationsin a third of Egypt’s provinces, wherevoting kicked off at 8:00 am (0600GMT). At the Mohammed Qureib schoolin the Giza working class Bahr al-Aatham neighbourhood, soldiers wereletting voters through five or six at atime. A policeman admonished thevoters not to campaign for candidates ortalk about their preferences, but somewere eager to explain why they werevoting for the FJP.

‘The protester’named Time’sperson of year

NEW YORKAfp

Time magazine named the collective“protester” around the world as its person ofthe year Wednesday, citing the changebrought by street demonstrations from Arabcountries to New York. The shared honor forprotesters beat the traditional individualcontenders, who included Admiral WilliamMcRaven, commander of the US mission tokill Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.“There’s this contagion of protest,”managing editor Richard Stengel said onNBC television. “These are folks who arechanging history already and they willchange history in the future.” The magazine,featuring a cover photo of a female Arabprotester, goes on the newsstands Friday.

Iraqis burn US

flags to celebrate

troop pulloutFALLUJAH

Afp

Hundreds of Iraqis set alight US and Israeliflags on Wednesday as they celebrated theimpending pullout of American forces fromthe country in the former insurgent bastion ofFallujah. Shouting slogans in support of the“resistance,” the demonstrators held upbanners and placards inscribed with phraseslike, “Now we are free” and “Fallujah is theflame of the resistance.” Surrounded by theIraqi army, demonstrators carried postersbearing photos of apparent insurgents, facescovered and carrying weapons. They also heldup pictures of US soldiers killed and militaryvehicles destroyed in the two major offensivesagainst the city in 2004. “We are proud tohave driven the occupier out of Iraq, at thecost of enormous sacrifice,” said Khalid al-Alwa, the local leader of the Islamic Party, aSunni Muslim grouping.

Top Putin ally

quits as Russia

parliament speakerMOSCOW

Afp

A leading ally of Vladimir Putin said onWednesday he was quitting his post asRussian parliament speaker, after polls thatsaw the ruling party lose support and faceprotests against vote-rigging. Boris Gryzlovis the highest-profile casualty yet of thecontroversy surrounding the December 4parliamentary elections that has for the firsttime shaken Putin’s decade-longdomination of Russia. “I have decided torenounce my mandate as a member ofparliament... It would be wrong to occupythe post of speaker for more than twoterms,” said Gryzlov in a statement on thewebsite of the ruling United Russia party.

dAMANHuR: An egyptian nun and a woman wearing a niqab walk past security guards outside a polling station in damanhur in the coastal governorate of Buhaira on Wednesday. AFP

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:26 AM

16 Thursday, 15 December, 2011

in limeligHt

Tokyo: Zac efron greetsJapanese fans at a specialscreening of his latestmovie ‘New year’s eve’.

MuMBAI: Neha dhupia

poses during the promotion

of her upcoming film

‘pappu Can’t dance Saala’.

loNDoN: paula patton posesfor photographers at the ukpremiere of ‘Mission:Impossible - Ghost protocol’.

SToCkHolM: Rooney Maraarrives for the premiere ofthe movie ‘The Girl WithThe dragon Tattoo’.

LAHORE STAff RepoRT

NADEEM Salamat began thethree day music workshop inAl Hamra on Wednesday, De-cember 14, discussing anddemonstrating the basics of

South Asian music, and its modern twistin recent times. The theme of the work-shop was the promotion, projectionand establishmenet of the classicaland semi-classical, sufi and con-temporary music through lec-tures, practicald e m o n s t r a -t i o n s ,teachinga n dsinging.Its ob-jectiveis tor a i s ea w a r e -

ness, un-derstanding

and apprecia-tion of music

for the region.“Music has 12

taals,” said Salamat inhis lecture. “There is no

basic difference betweenWestern or Eastern music

because the basis of music willalways be 12 taals, or notes.” He

said that though there were fusedcompositions appearing in the

music industry today, it was with-out doubt Allan fakir who sang the

first fusion folk song in the history of Pak-istan, and Ghulam Fareed Sabri who sang

the first fusion qawwali. “Music is a naturalphenomenon that human beings cannot livewithout,” he said. “There are many who feelthat it quenches the spiritual thirst but Idon’t take it that way. I think it is essentialfor life.” The music workshop will continuetill December 16, 2011.

Nadeem Salamatbegins music workshopat Al hamra

Hrithik Roshansplashing 2 million a month on fitness

MuMBAI: Bollywood hunk hrithik Roshan is leaving no stone unturned to make a big splash at the box office with

‘Krrish’ sequel. Apparently, hrithik has just hired most expensive American trainers - Kris gethin and Maraica

Johnson - to get back into shape, the actor is also paying two million Indian rupees per month for the rigorous

training session. A source said, “Kris gethin came down to Mumbai in September for the Mr olympia contest. That’s

when he met a common friend of hrithik. And when hrithik was thinking of hiring a trainer to help him get in shape

for ‘Krrish 3’, the friend suggested Kris. The body building process that Kris uses is called DTP. hrithik will have to

go through rigorous training sessions that will change every week.” Zeenews

SRK, Salman’sMuMBAI: We all were waiting to see Aishwarya Rai sizzle

on-screen in Sanjay leela Bhansali’s dream project

‘Bajirao Mastani’ opposite Shah Rukh khan. But buzz has

it that Ash is actually not contemplating making a

comeback any time soon and she is certainly not in talks

with Bhansali over the project in question. ‘Bajirao

Mastani’ was initially offered to Salman khan, when

Salman was in Bhansali’s good books. However, post his

break-up with Aishwarya, Salman’s relationship with

Shah Rukh khan and the filmmaker worsened. After

‘Guzaarish’, Bhansali and Salman’s relationship could

only get worse than ever before. And since ‘Saawariya’

failed miserably, the two haven’t been discussing any

project together. However, what comes as a rude shock

from insiders is that detractors of Salman and Shah

Rukh have been deliberately using Aishwarya’s name

to broaden the animosity between the two

superstars. Moreover, SRk is not doing

‘Bajirao Mastani’ as was

reported earlier.

ZeeNeWS

detractors using Ash to pull Amazon’stop seller for 2011

Steve Jobsbiography

wAShINgToN: A biography of the late Apple co-

founder Steve Jobs was Amazon’s best-selling

book this year despite hitting store shelves

and electronic readers only in late october,

Amazon said Monday. ‘Steve Jobs’ by walter

Isaacson, which went on sale on october 24,

less than three weeks after Job’s death,

topped the list of Amazon top-selling books for

2011, print and Kindle editions combined, the

Seattle-based company said. “even though it

was published in october, the sales have been

phenomenal in both formats,” said Chris

Schluep, Amazon’s senior editor of books. Next

on the list was ‘Bossypants’ by comedian Tina

fey and ‘A Stolen life’ by Jaycee Dugard, a

California girl who was kidnapped as a child

and held for nearly two decades.

Rounding off the top 10 were ‘The

Mill River Recluse’, a self-

published Kindle novel by

Darcie Chan, ‘In the

garden of the Beasts’

Beauty queen fined afterpretending to be sister

LONDONTeleGRApH

Shanna Bukhari, 25, waspulled over while driving herfamily’s red MG sports carearlier this year. She claimedto be her sister but was rum-bled when an eagle-eyed po-lice worker saw her picturein the local newspaper. Thepaper had reported howmodel Bukhari wanted to be-come the first Muslim to rep-resent Britain in the MissUniverse pageant. Bukhariwas brought before thecourts and pleaded guilty towilful police obstruction,driving without insuranceand driving without a licence- as she was only permitted

to use an automatic car. She was fined £800 and ordered to pay £100 costs at Manchestermagistrates’ court. Bukhari, of Deepdale Avenue, Withington, was stopped while drivingon February 21. She was then arrested and charged. The court heard how a police markerhad been placed on the vehicle due to an unrelated investigation. The car was seized andBukhari was given seven days to produce her documents. Instead she repeatedly liedabout her identity, claiming to be her sister and giving various versions of her name. Itwas only when the police community support officer saw her picture in the M.E.N. weekslater that Bukhari was tracked down.

them apart?

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:26 AM

17

NeW

yoR

k: S

carlett Johansson attendsthe ‘W

e Bought a Z

oo’ premiere.

by erik larson, ‘A Dance with Dragons’ by

george RR Martin, ‘The Paris wife’ by Paula

Mclain and ‘The litigators’ by John

grisham, ‘The Abbey’ by Chris Culver and

‘Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle)’ by

Christopher Paolini. AGeNCIeS

NeW yoRk: A huge pearl once worn

by european royalty and last owned

by hollywood siren elizabeth Taylor

sold for a record $11.84 million at a

blockbuster auction in New york on

Tuesday. “la Peregrina”, depicted in

art works over the centuries and

coveted by kings and queens, was

bought for Taylor by her actor

husband Richard Burton in 1969.

Suspended from a Cartier necklace,

the pearl had been estimated to sell

by Christie’s for $2-3 million but the

figure shot up in fierce bidding,

reaching the highest price for any

pearl jewellery at auction. The pear-

shaped white pearl was a highlight of

Christie’s sale of the legendary

jewelry and fashion collections

amassed by Taylor, the so-called

“Crown Jewels of hollywood”. The

actress, who died in March at the age

of 79, had seven husbands during her

glamorous life, countless admirers and

a passion for jewellery. AGeNCIeS

elizabeth taylorpearl sells for $11.84m

MelBouRNe: Rihanna is the most ‘liked’ and ‘listened to’

musicians on facebook in 2011. The singer beat Bob Marley

and Avril lavigne to the top spot, sharing the top three

with the late reggae artist and pop punk singer. After ‘we

found love’, Katy Perry’s ‘last friday Night (T.g.I.f)’ and

lMfAo’s ‘Sexy And I Know It’ were the songs most

‘listened to’ on the social networking site, the Daily

Telegraph reported. Surprisingly, Adele’s ‘Someone like you’

was only on the 10th most ‘listened to’ list and the British

singer didn’t even make it to the top 10 most ‘liked’

musicians on facebook. The Top Ten most ‘liked’ musicians

on facebook in 2011 were: 1. Rihanna, 2. Bob Marley, 3. Avril

lavigne, 4. David guetta, 5. enrique Iglesias, 6. Usher, 7.

lady gaga, 8. Metallica, 9. green Day and 10. Black eyed

Peas. The Top Ten Most listened to Songs on facebook in

2011 were: 1. ‘we found love’ – Rihanna and Calvin harris,

2. ‘last friday Night (T.g.I.f.)’ – Katy Perry, 3. ‘Sexy And I

Know It’ – lMfAo, 4. ‘Titanium’ - David guetta and Sia, 5.

‘first of the year’ – Skrillex, 6. ‘Scary Monsters and Nice

Sprites’ – Skrillex, 7. ‘without you’ – David guetta and

Usher, 8. ‘Stereo hearts’ – gym Class heroes featuring

Adam levine, 9. ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ – foster the People and

10. ‘Someone like you’ – Adele. AGeNCIeS

Rihanna most‘liked’ singer onFacebook

LAHORE XARI JAlIl

ONCE in a while, it isgood to see someonesing about ourworking class…orany working class,

for that matter. Love themes areover done, but never get boringsomehow, because emotions al-ways count. But besides that inPakistan, it has become more ofa tradition to sing about politicalproblems, politicians and theircorruption and several other ‘po-litical’ issues that are all inter-connected. But talking about theworking class, the core of ourcountry, the backbone of oureconomy, and the reason we getall our dirty work done…ah,that’s a different matter alto-gether. By sidelining communistparties since the Zia regime, wehave successfully also sidelinedthe issues that they have alwaysraised: feminism, power to theworking class, justice, anddemocracy among others.

Politics aside, this video re-cently released by Laal band,featuring Ammar Aziz on vocals,concerns itself with that sectionof the working class probablyfacing the worst of circum-

stances: bonded labourers. Itseems surreal as if we are stillliving back in the days whenslavery was rampant; but per-haps in Pakistan’s context it istrue. Slavery in the form ofbonded labour does in fact stillexist, and these labourers aresubject to low wages, long work-ing hours, inhuman workingconditions, and are in the end,bound to serve the feudal lordwho ‘owns’ them.

After ‘Dehshatgardi Murd-abad’, Laal now raises the issueof these laborers, in their song.This was originally a poem byMusarrat Aziz written back inthe 1980s that has been given amelody by her son Ammar.Ammar Aziz himself is an NCAgraduate, is an activist and film-maker, and in an ironic twistworks in an advertising agency!Mussarat Aziz, who was a Social-ist student leader in her time,originally wrote the poemagainst the law of ‘aadhi gawahi’or ‘half witness’ meant forwomen, along with the exploita-tion of bonded laborers.

The video is more focused onthe bonded labour issue, withTaimur Rehman and AmmarAziz singing together at a brickkiln location. The two have also

co-directed the video. The video is simple, yet effec-

tive. There are no flashy editingtechniques, and it is in full colourinstead of dreary sepia tones or adark black and white effect whichis usually considered so hip thesedays. It starts with a messagesaying that there are overall 55million labourers in South Asia,slowly dissolving into a little girlgiggling shyly. Throughout thesong the setting remains in dif-ferent locations at the brick kiln,where Taimur is seen slowlystrumming his guitar and Ammarsporting a red shirt and a darkjacket sings, somehow remindingof those old PTV songs that al-ways gave a message. Honestlyspeaking the composition couldhave been better, but again it iscatchy, and slow, and certainlysignifies the mood of a new dawnapproaching, at the same timeshowing the seriousness of theissue. Again at the very end, wesee some red activists rejoicing ina crowd, dancing with each otherand giving some symbolic movesin their march.

The song is about hope. It isabout a dream to strengthen thosewho are downtrodden and op-pressed, so they can unite and giveway to a greater change. The video

i sstrong,and it suc-c e s s f u l l ytransfers thissimple thoughtacross to any-one watching it.“The band believes thatthe poetry is relevant eventoday as we continue to face op-pression at multiple levels,” sayLaal band members. “Thirteenyears after the Supreme Court de-clared bonded labour to be uncon-stitutional, and a decade after theNational Assembly passed theBonded LabourLiberation Act, there are still onemillion bonded workers in thebrick kilns of Pakistan.”

To his credit Aziz has made a20 minute documentary on theHasht Nagar situation, where in

the1950s peasants

took over the land and occupiedit. Aziz traveled all the way upnorth and made the film there inchallenging circumstances. Hisfilm was also shown at the DhakaPress Club. “All attempts forworkers’ reforms have failed andthe only path to their emancipa-tion is a peoples’ revolution,”says the band. “This song is acelebration of workers’ struggleand hope for a new dawn.”

Laal’s new video abreath of fresh air

RED ALERT

LAHORE STAff RepoRT

The National College of Arts (NCA) held aseries of drawings on Wednesday, Decem-ber 14, where students displayed their col-laborative art work based on collaborativestyles. It is an age-old tradition to havemultiple hands working on a single pieceof artistic creation. This has been mani-fested in different forms in different re-gions of the world.

In the 15th century during the Ot-toman Empire there was the Nakkashaneor studio where different artists worked ona single miniature painting. In medievalEurope there were weaving industrieswhere members of a weaver’s householdwould work on different areas of the same

tapestry. In more recent times there wereless rehearsed collaborations such as thesurrealists’ game of Exquisite Corpse,which involved a single sheet of paperpassed from artist to artist. Each con-tributed an impromptu image, which ledto a strange amalgam at the end. Keepingthis rich tradition of collaborative work inmind, Dua Abbas, Wardha Shabbir, andAli Asad Naqvi have attempted in the se-ries of drawings displayed, a creative col-laboration of their own. The pieces bearimpressions of more than one set of hands,and more than one strain of thought. Con-tributing individually to a single work, yettrying to maintain a kind of anonymity atthe same time to better facilitate theblending of three minds, the artists saythat they found the process refreshing.

NCAites impress with ‘group art’ ‘Son of Pakistan’premiere todayat PAf Cinema

LAHORE STAff RepoRT

The PAF Cinema in Cantt will beshowing new Lollywood release, ‘Sonof Pakistan’, on Thursday, December15, 2011. Red Carpet will be at 5:30pm. The film is directed by JarrarMirza and produced by ChaudhryHameed Alam. It stars Babar Ali,Shamil Khan, Babrik Shah, Sana,Meera, Laila, Bilal Khan (late), Ghu-lam Muhiuddin, Sila Hussain, ShafqatCheema, and Laila Zubairi.

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:26 AM


lin Dan kicks off SuperSeries final with win

ISLAMABADApp

PAKISTAN former cricket cap-tain, coach and team managerIntikhab Alam said onWednesday that the team isoptimistic regarding its

chances against the upcoming England se-ries to be held in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) next year. Intikhab, who now worksas the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Director ofGame Development and its Director ofCricket Operations (International), hasbeen in the UAE this week to check onarrangements ahead of the tour.

In a press release issued here, he said:“We are very positive. The way the teamhas gelled means morale is rocketing highbut we have to make sure we keep playingthat same way. “England is the numberone Test side in the world and so despiteour recent successes (against Zimbabwe,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) they will bedifferent kettle of fish.

“They will be a real test but we haveenough talent to beat them. We havedone it in the past and we can do itagain.” Intikhab said he expected Pak-istan’s bowling would be the team’sstrength in the upcoming series that fea-tures three Tests, four ODIs and threeT20Is, starting with the opening Test atDubai Sports City which begins on 17

January. “What we have to work on isour fielding and batting against betterattacks like England,” he said. “But weare fortunate to have a complete bowl-ing attack with all the spin options - leg-spin, left-arm and off-spin - and we havegood fast bowlers as well.”

And Intikhab said the Pakistan play-ers’ familiarity with conditions in theUAE would also work in their favour.“We’ve been playing back-to-back seriesbut the players will have a fortnight’s rest

before they come back here to the UAE sothey should be in good shape. “The teamis used to playing here in the UAE withmatches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and alsoSharjah so we should have an advantagein that respect.” Intikhab checked out thefacilities at Dubai Sports City and wasimpressed by what he saw.

“I wanted to check out the facilitiesat the (ICC) Global Cricket Academy,” hesaid. “I think it’s all very good and theyhave got all the necessary equipment, in-

cluding different types of pitches,” hesaid. “There’s the ProBatter simulator,where you can face any bowler you want.It makes sense and it’s very good as itgives you the same atmosphere as youget facing that bowler for real. Andthere’s a spin bowling machine - that’svery interesting too. “The facilities aretop class (at the ICC Global CricketAcademy). They’ve worked very hard,provided all the facilities and you can’tcomplain about anything,” he added.

‘Pakistan team positive aboutits chances in England series’

pcb looks to improve domestic cricketlaHORE: Former Pakistan cricket captain Wasim Akram has refused to be partof the task team formed by the PCB to improve domestic cricket. The PCB has de-cided to form a task team to improve domestic cricket which will be headed by In-tikhab Alam. An official of the board said that Wasim Akram was also requestedto be a part of the body but he excused because of his pre-scheduled professionalcommitments. Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Sarfraz Nawaz, Imtiaz Ahmed,Moin Khan, Iqbal Qasim and Zakir Khan (Director Domestic Cricket, Secretary ofCommittee). Chairman PCB, Ch Zaka Ashraf, approved to constitute a Task Teamto give suggestions to PCB for the improvement of Domestic Cricket in Pakistan.The Task Team will study and review the existing structure of domestic cricketconsidering its weaknesses and strengths and will propose any changes, if theyfeel that is required. The body will meet and deliberate at the times and places oftheir convenience. They will meet as many times as they consider appropriate toundertake the study and review. The body will have a recommendatory role andthe recommendations will not be binding on PCB. They will assist PCB in evaluat-ing the domestic cricket and its structures. The task team will submit its recom-mendations to the PCB within two months of its formulation. STAff RepoRT

LAHORESTAff RepoRT

The English and Wales Cricket Board havedenied the snub of Shajrah Stadium in theirupcoming series against Pakistan for linksto alleged match-fixing. The Sharjah Sta-dium’s international return was temporarilyput on hold, as the “grand old lady” of cricketin the United Arab Emirates was omittedfrom the list of venues hosting matches forthe upcoming series against England.

The Pakistan and England series com-mences on January 17, features 3 Testmatches, 4 One Day Internationals and 3Twenty20 internationals and will only beplayed entirely at two venues, the SheikhZayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and the DubaiSports City Stadium.

According to Pakpassion, the SharjahStadium, built in the early 1980s, was thehub of one-day cricket between 1984 and2003 and has hosted 201 one-day interna-tionals - a world record for a limited overmatches venue. Arch rivals Pakistan andIndia played at Sharjah regularly until NewDelhi refused to give permission to their na-tional team to play at the neutral venue in2000. When the proceedings of theQayyum Inquiry into match-fixing werepublished in 2000, Sharjah Cricket Sta-dium’s name turned up again and again andonce India refused to play there, the venuewas banished to the cricketing wilderness.

The ground did not stage internationalcricket between 2003 and last year, whenAfghanistan used it for a two-match one-dayseries against Canada.

In recent times though the stadium hadbeen unkempt and hardly looked fit to hostcricket again. However, refurbished, re-vamped and relaunched, the glory days ofSharjah were back when Pakistan hosted SriLanka in a Test match and also a One Dayinternational last month. Fans supportingboth Asian teams packed the stadium to therafters and to some it felt as if Sharjah hadnever been “away from hosting cricket”.Prior to the publication of the schedule be-tween Pakistan and England, Sharjah hadbeen widely expected to host at least two ofthe limited overs matches and there weremany raised eyebrows when the scheduledid not include Sharjah for any matchesagainst England. Whispers of Sharjah beingignored for the series versus England due tothe previous murmurs of match fixing beganto surface and some started to question whythe venue that had the best attendancesagainst Sri Lanka was ignored.

An ECB spokesman quoted by thewebsite denied the allegations that theSharjah Cricket Stadium had been ignoredas a venue against Pakistan due to it’s linksto alleged match fixing and despite the factthat the Sharjah Stadium had once againproved that it was fit, ready and worthy ofhosting international cricket. “The tour

itinerary to UAE was agreed and publi-cised prior to the renovation work beingcompleted at Sharjah cricket ground”stated the ECB spokesman.” He contin-ued “ECB’s view was that it would nothave been fair to supporters to change pre-publicised venues at this late stage whenmany would have already made travelarrangements and booked accommoda-

tion.” When asked if the Sharjah CricketStadium had been snubbed by the ECBdue to previous alleged match fixing links,the ECB spokesman stated “No, that is notcorrect.” When contacted byPakPassion.net a PCB spokesman how-ever stated that “The Pakistan CricketBoard were very keen to ensure that Shar-jah was the host for at least a couple of

matches against England, but the Englandand Wales Cricket Board were not keen onplaying in Sharjah.” The PCB spokesmanadded “The Sharjah Cricket Stadium haddone a very good recently in hosting theSri Lankans for a Test match and a OneDay International and we felt that it wasworthy of hosting some cricket for the se-ries against England.”

ECB denies Sharjah snub linked to match-fixing

India great gavaskardemands IPl dues

NEW DELHIAfp

Former India captainSunil Gavaskar says he is“shaken and baffled” byhis national cricketboard’s refusal to pay his$1 million fees per sea-son for the Indian Pre-mier League. Gavaskarsays the cash-rich Boardof Control for Cricket in

India (BCCI) owes him the money for servingon the governing council of the glitzyTwenty20 league for the first three seasonsfrom 2008 to 2010. He said the money waspromised to him by the then IPL chief LalitModi, who was subsequently sacked by theBCCI after the third season on charges of fi-nancial irregularities. “The BCCI has made aU-turn on my contract,” Gavaskar told theNDTV news channel. “I am baffled after read-ing reports that the BCCI has refused to payme my dues. “My faith in the BCCI has beenshaken.” The IPL, which features leadingplayers from around the world in a franchise-based contest, is facing a government probeinto financial mismanagement and moneylaundering. The BCCI has declined to com-ment on Gavaskar’s demand. The fifth edi-tion of the IPL is due to start next April.

Bopanna arrives toattend Aisam’s wedding

LAHORESTAff RepoRT

Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis star andformer partner of Pakistan tennis aceAisam ul Haq has arrived in the city toattend the wedding ceremony of hispartner. Pakistan tennis legend Asiamwill be tying the knot with Farah Akmalthis coming Saturday with Walima re-ception scheduled for December 18 atthe Model Town Club.

CENTURIONAfp

South Africa will seek to end a sequence of disappoint-ing results in home series when they take on Sri Lankain the first of three Tests at SuperSport Park on Thurs-day. South Africa have lost one and shared three of fourmost recent home series, with a loss against Australiain 2008/09 followed by drawn series against England,India and Australia. Sri Lanka, though, should not pro-vide too stiff a challenge for the home side.

The tourists have had more than a year of poor re-sults and appear to be particularly vulnerable in bowlingsince the retirement of world record-breaking off-spin-ner Muttiah Muralitharan, whose last Test match,against India in Galle in July 2010, marked Sri Lanka’smost recent win. Since then Sri Lanka have lost four and

drawn 10 of 14 Tests. The large number of drawn gamesis an indication that Sri Lanka’s batting is stronger thantheir bowling - but they will be up against a strong SouthAfrican bowling attack in conditions expected to favourpacemen. “The main thing we need to adapt to is thebounce and the pace,” Sri Lanka vice-captain AngeloMathews said. He admitted the team had not playedwell recently but said there was a confident mood in theside. “The team is in a good mood but we need to showit out there on the field.”

Much would appear to depend on the form of KumarSangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who have been SriLanka’s leading batsmen for the past decade - and whoshared a world-record third-wicket stand of 624 whenthe sides last met five years ago in Sri Lanka. Sangakkarasuffered a hand injury in his team’s only warm-up matchat the weekend but is expected to play.

South Africa seek step up against Sri LankaSouTH AfRICA (pRoBABle): graeme Smith

(capt), AB de villiers (vice- capt), Jacques Rudolph,

hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Mark

Boucher (wkt), vernon Philander, Dale Steyn,

Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir

SRI lANkA (fRoM): Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt),

Angelo Mathews (vice- capt), Tharanga

Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela

Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva

(wkt), lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Chanaka

welegedara, Dilhara fernando, Thisara Perera, Ajantha Mendis,

Rangana herath, Thilan Samaraweera, Umpires: Steve Davis and

Rod Tucker (AUS), Tv umpire: Richard Kettleborough (eNg),

Match referee: Chris Broad (eNg)

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:26 AM

Sports 19Thursday, 15 December, 2011

NatioNaL WomeN’s hockey

LAHORESTAff RepoRT

BALOCHISTAN, PunjabWhites, WAPDA, Railwaysand HEC had an easy sailingin the 27th NationalWomen’s Hockey Champi-

onship that resumed after a day’s rest hereat the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

On Wednesday, another five matcheswere played with Balochistan wining thefirst match against Sindh Colours by 1-0.The only goals of the match came in the

first half and Rozeena Tooti Khan ofBalochistan team was the scorer.

In the second match, Punjab Whitesbeat KPK by 2-0 and both the goals werescored in the second half when Abida andRaisa found the proper gaps in betweenthe rivals defence to get the goals.

In the third match, WAPDA beatSindh Whites by a bag full of goals by 14-0. They got eight goals in the first halfwith their striker Ayesha Bashir scoringfive goals, Azra Nasir getting three whileUzma Lal and Rabia Qadir shared twogoals each and Iram Bukhari and Neelma

Hussain shared one apiece.In the fourth match, Railways out-

lasted Army by 3-1. Railways took twogoals lead in the first half and did not letArm sneak past their defence. Maria Sabirbanged in two goals and the third of thewinners came from Asma Ashraf whilethe Army’s lone goal scorer was Shahida.Mrs Yasmeen Rehman (MNA) was thechief guest during the Railways and Armymatch. HEC in the last match of the dayhad to struggle hard to get a win againstPunjab Colours. The goal that separatedthe teams came from HEC’s Mahmona.

BOLTONReuTeRS

The bruises were still visible on Amir Khan’s faceWednesday when he said he was confident of agreeinga rematch with Lamont Peterson after controversiallylosing his WBA super-lightweight and IBF light-wel-terweight titles to the American last week.

The Briton’s camp has lodged an official complaintover the refereeing of Saturday’s fight in WashingtonD.C. where Khan was deducted two points in a split-decision defeat. “We are trying to get the result over-turned, if not then a rematch is going to happen,” Khantold Reuters in an interview at a gym he set up in hishome town of Bolton in northwest England and wherepictures of him adorn several walls.

“Even if the result does get turned over, I wouldstill give Lamont Peterson a deserved re-match. We’lldo it somewhere neutral, not in D.C. or in the U.K.Somewhere like Vegas ... where it will be neutral judg-ing and a neutral referee.” Referee Joseph Cooper pe-nalized Khan one point in the seventh round forpushing and one in the 12th when he hit Peterson onthe break in the fight which was taking place in the

American boxer’s home town. The deductions provedcrucial when the scores were announced, one judgegiving the fight 114-111 to Khan but the other twoscoring it 113-112 for Petersen.Khan said he would neverfight in Washington D.C.again and believed otherboxers would now alsosnub the venue. “Idon’t think therewill be other bigfights there, def-initely not, afterseeing whathappened to me,”he said. “People are going to think whyshould we go there because of the deci-sion, and the refereeing and judging isnot according to our profession.” Confi-dent that Peterson would stick to his wordand agree to a re-match in March or May,Khan was already thinking about how toget back his belts. “(The key is to) not stayon the ropes too long, not stand in front of

him, keep the movement, keep the distance ... be justone step ahead of him really,” the 25-year-old said.

“I always knew he was going to be a toughfighter, he’s got one of those styles that makes

it difficult. “People were say-ing to me you can go in

there and knock him outin four or five roundsbut I knew it was going

to go the distance andI trained very hardfor the fight.” Thedefeat was Khan’ssecond in 28fights since turn-

ing professionalafter winning an Olympic silver medal

at the 2004 Athens Games. His post-fight comments have been blasted as sour

grapes by some Internet bloggers but Khandenied he was being a bad loser. “I’m notcomplaining,” he said. “I’ve said LamontPeterson fought a great fight, it was justjudged unfairly.” The loss has forced him

to delay his plans to move up a weight division, wherehe would hope to fight the likes of Floyd MayweatherJr. “It’s maybe made me stay at this weight categoryfor one more fight, so it’s giving me that one more fightof experience and then from that I’m going to move onto 147 (lbs),” he said. His former promoter Frank War-ren has questioned whether Khan should be consider-ing the change, saying his defense was not as good asit should be, but Khan disagreed.

“I think I’ll be a better fighter at 147 ... the last threepounds are really hard to lose so maybe I lose a bit ofpower and maybe a little bit of speed but at 147 I wouldbe much stronger, wiser,” he explained.

Despite his own disappointment, he still foundtime to dwell on tough times for his other majorsporting passion -- soccer club Bolton Wandererswho lie bottom of the Premier League. “If I do getthe chance it would be good to go and speak to theteam,” said Khan, whose shorts featuring the BoltonWanderers logo are displayed in a frame in thegym’s reception. “If I can give them any motivationI will definitely do that ... We have to turn it roundin the next couple of games, if we don’t we are goingto be relegated and we don’t want that.”

Amir wants result overturned and a rematch

LAHORESTAff RepoRT

The PCB has lost hopes of a bilateral series with India earlynext year after getting a cold response from BCCI officialsduring the Asian Cricket Council meeting in Sin-gapore this week. According to reports, it isunlikely that India will host Pakistan forthe scheduled future tour program Testseries in March-April next year. Thereports said there were many hur-dles in the way, including the or-ganisation of the Asia Cup inBangladesh, India's packed inter-national schedule and the IndianPremier League, which is due tostart from second week of April."The PCB officials who went to at-tend the ACC meeting and talkedwith Indian board officials on thesidelines didn't get a very positiveresponse about resumption of bilat-eral ties, including the scheduled seriesin India next year," the report quotingPCB sources said. It said it was because of this

that the Pakistan government had still not given permis-sion to PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf, to travel to India thismonth for talks. "Perhaps the Pakistan government hassensed the existing scenario and that is why Ashraf has stillnot got a green signal from concerned quarters to visit

India," reports claimed. Interestingly, the AsiaCup venue and dates were finalised last year

when Indo-Pak relations were improvingafter the 2011 World Cup semi-final in

Mohali. Pakistan's PM travelled toMohali for the match on the invita-tion of his Indian counterpart. TheACC meeting in Singapore dis-cussed the dates for the Asia Cup,which is scheduled to be held inMarch. Interestingly, the PCBhas been insisting that the AsiaCup dates can be rescheduled ifthe BCCI confirms it will host Pak-

istan next year in March-April."There is still hope that Pakistan

and India might end up playing a one-day and T20 series in the short span of

time available to the Indian board inMarch-April," a source in the PCB said.

BCCI’s cold response overseries disappoints PCB

Balochistan, PunjabWhites register wins

lAhoRe: The players in action during the National women hockey Championship. NADEEM IjAZ

GUJRANWALA STAff RepoRT

State Bank U-19 completed a 117-run routof National Bank to lift the Inter-Re-gion/Departments U-19 One day CricketTournament 2011-12 Triangular Stagetrophy here at the Jinnah Stadium, Gu-jranwala on Wednesday.

Banking on the efforts of MuhammadAfzal and Junaid Ali, State Bank gathered243 runs and later bowled out NBP forjust 126 runs in 31.1 overs. Shabbir Ali,Abdul Mateen and Fawad Khan were thestars of the match for National Bank.

With this win, State Bank pocketed Rs200,000 while NBP U-19 was given Rs100,000. Junaid Ali of State Bank wasnamed the man of the match. However,NBP’s Sami Aslam with 484 runs was thebest batsman, Babar Azam and JaahidShaukat of NBP and Muhammad Nawaz

of Karachi Region Blues were the bestfielders for six catches each while FawadKhan of State Bank with 15 wickets wasthe best bowler and the best wicketkeeperwas Talha Qureshi (NBP) with 13 dis-missals and all the best players wereawarded Rs 20,000 each.scOREs: State Bank U-19 – 243 in44.4 overs: (Muhammad Afzal 66, Ju-naid Ali 48, Fawad Khan 33, ShahzadAli 33, Usman Qadir 3-66, Fayyaz Butt3-29, Imran Dad 2-59, Salman AliAgha 2-62) v NBP U-19 – 126 in 31.1overs: (Sami Aslam 48, Salman AliAgha 30, Shabbir Ali 3-14, Abdul Ma-teen 3-52, Fawad Khan 2-21)REsult: State Bank U-19 won by117 runstOss: State Bank U-19; Umpires:Akmal Hayat & Nasar Khan; MatchReferee: Ashraf Ali; Official Scorer:Sohail Zaidi.

gUJRANwAlA: PCB’s Director operation Zakir Khan with the winning team after the finalof the Inter Region/Departments U-19 one-day Cricket Tournament 2011-12.

State Bank rout NBP to takeInter-region Cricket crown

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:27 AM

Sports20Thursday, 15 December, 2011

LIUZHOUAfp

China’s badminton star Lin Dan startedhis quest to bag his first-ever Super Seriesfinal title Wednesday by dispatchingcompatriot Chen Long, while women’snumber one Wang Yihan lost to SouthKorea’s Sung Ji Hyun.

“Super” Dan, badminton’s most dec-orated player, beat Chen 21-15, 19-21, 21-17 in a closely fought battle, with bothshuttlers jittery at the last major event ofthe year.

“This was the first match of the tour-nament -- neither of us were prepared tohave to face a teammate,” Lin said of theTuesday draw that pitted China’s top twosingles players against each other.

“I made some mistakes in my attackand I felt my footwork was not right, so Iwas nervous. The first match is alwayshardest.” Lin is seeking to win the “Super

Grand Slam” by adding the Superseriestitle to his Olympics, world champi-onships, World Cup, All-England,Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Asia Cham-pionships and Asian Games wins.

“Of course, I would like to win it all.This is the first time I’ve played in the Su-perseries final -- all the top men’s singlesplayers are here,” Lin said.

“I hope to play well and get better andbetter.” In the upset of the night, SouthKorea’s Sung beat reigning world cham-pion Wang 13-21, 21-16, 21-19, in a evenlyfought battle, with Sung coming from be-hind in the third set to win the roundrobin match.

“I was just too anxious out there, Icouldn’t control the game and she wasable to come back,” a disappointed Wangsaid as sweat dripped from her face.

“We both played hard and at a highlevel -- she was just better than I was dur-ing the last points.”

In other matches, Danish veteranPeter Gade celebrated his 35th birthdayby dispatching Simon Santoso of Indone-sia 21-13, 21-9 in men’s singles, while hiscompatriot Tine Baun beat Germany’sJuliane Schenk 21-12, 21-11 in thewomen’s bracket.

“Today my physical condition was re-ally good,” Gade said, adding that he hadmore on his mind than the Superseriestitle.

“I have already started to change thethings I need to change in the preparationfor the London Olympics, so I shouldthink in the long term, not just focus onthis tournament.”

Players at the $500,000 tournamenthave been divided into groups of fourduring round-robin play, with the top twoin each group advancing to Saturday’ssemi-finals.Results from group play in badminton’s Super Series

finals played in liuzhou, China wednesday (x denotes

group and seeding):

MeN’S SINGleS: lee Chong wei (MASxA1) bt Sho

Sasaki (JPNxA4) 21-11, 18-21, 21-12, Peter hoeg gade

(DeNxA2) bt Simon Santoso (INAxA3) 21-13, 21-9, lin

Dan (ChNxB2) bt Chen long (ChNxB1) 21-15, 19-21, 21-17

WoMeN’S SINGleS: Sung Ji hyun (KoRxA4) bt wang

yihan (ChNxA1) 13-21, 21-16, 21-19, Tine Baun (DeNxA3) bt

Juliane Schenk (geRxA2) 21-12, 21-11, wang Xin (ChNxB1)

bt Sayaka Sato (JPNxB4) 21-7, 21-9, Saina Nehwal

(INDxB2) bt youn Joo Bae (KoRxB3) 21-14 17-21 21-14

MeN’S douBleS: Chai Biao/guo Zhendong (ChNxA3)

Cai yun/fu haifeng (ChNxA1) 21-15, 14-21, 21-19,

hashimoto hirokatsu/hirata Noriyasu (JPNxA4) bt Ko

Sung hyun/yoo yeon Seong (RoKxA2) 21-19, 18-21, 21-19

WoMeN’S douBleS: wang Xiaoli/yu yang (ChNxA1)

bt Poon lok yan/Tse ying Suet hKgxA4) 21-9, 21-11,

ha Jun eun/Kim Min Jung (RoKxA2) bt Cheng wen

hsing/Chien yu Chin (TPexA3) 21-18, 21-18

MIXed douBleS: Zhang Nan/Zhao yunlei (ChNxA1)

bt Xu Chen/Ma Jin (ChNxA2) 21-18 19-21 21-18, Tontowi

Ahmad/liliyana Natsir (INAxA3) bt Robert

Blair/gabrielle white (SCo/eNgxA4) 21-10, 21-12,

Joachim fischer Nielsen/Christina Pedersen (DeNxB1)

bt Sudket Prapakamol/Saralee Thoungthongkam

(ThAxB4) 21-15, 21-17, Chen hung ling/Cheng wen

hsing (TPexB2) Shintaro Ikeda/Reiko Shiota (JPNxB3),

19-21, 21-16, 21-17.

lIUZhoU: lee Chong wei of Malaysia returnsagainst Sasaki Sho of Japan. AFP

Lin Dan kicks off Super Series final with win

MADRIDAfp

A goal in each half from JoseCallejon and Cristiano Ronaldohelped Real Madrid get their de-fence of the Spanish Copa delRey off to a winning start atthird tier club Ponferradina onTuesday.

Real won the Cup for thefirst time since 1993 when theybeat Barcelona in last season’sfinal, but Jose Mourinho’s sidecame into this last 32 first-leg tielooking for a morale boost afterlosing 3-1 at home to their bitterrivals in Saturday’s Clasico.Mourinho made nine changes tohis starting line-up against Pon-ferradina, who sit second intheir division, with Ronaldo andMarcelo the only men keepingtheir places.

Sami Khedira set up Callejonto score his sixth goal of the sea-son just before the half hour, butthe visitors looked laboured attimes, and were reduced to tenmen when Raul Albiol was sent

off for a second yellow card mid-way through the second half.

However, Ronaldo sealed a2-0 win shortly after, leavingMadrid very much in pole posi-tion ahead of next Tuesday’ssecond-leg.

The match was one of 13being played on Tuesday night,while Barcelona, who are cur-rently in Japan at the ClubWorld Cup, won the first leg oftheir tie with third-tier L’Hospi-talet 1-0 last month.

ReSulTS fRoM THe SpANISHkINGS’ Cup oN TueSdAy:

lAST 32 fIRST leGPoNTfeRRADA 0 ReAl MADRID 2

CADIZ 0 vAleNCIA 0

MIRANDeS 1 vIllARReAl 1

AlMeRIA 1 oSASUNA 3

AlCoRCoN 1 ReAl ZARAgoZA 1

CelTA vIgo 0 eSPANyol 0

CoRDoBA 1 ReAl BeTIS 0

ReAl MAlloRCA 0 SPoRTINg gIJoN 1

RACINg SANTANDeR 3 RAyo vAleCANo 2

geTAfe 0 MAlAgA 1

ReAl SoCIeDAD 4 gRANADA 1

DePoRTIvo lA CoRUNA 3 levANTe 1

etihad supportshalf Marathon race

LAHORESTAff RepoRT

Etihad Airways sponsored the Islam-abad Dashers’ first Annual HalfMarathon in which a total funding ofRs 525,000 was raised, and would beutilized for building the Mashal Schooland Cancer Hospital in Lahore.The marathon was a joint collaborationbetween the Canadian High Commis-sion in Islamabad and the IslamabadDashers.Etihad’s Country Manager Amer Khanin Pakistan said: “Etihad Airways isproud to have been associated withsuch committed and talented individu-als. We are always on the lookout forways and means by which we can helpmake a difference in the local commu-nity.”On behalf of the Islamabad Dashers,Ms Sadia Salman expressed his grati-tude to Etihad Airways and all partici-pants, for supporting the first AnnualHalf Marathon. She appreciated thesuccessful and smooth conclusion ofthis fun filled healthy activity.

Nathiagali CycleRace on 23rd

LAHORESTAff RepoRT

Abbottabad to Nathiagali National CycleRace will be held on December 23 withthe winner getting the Lala Ayub Trophy.President KPK Cycling Association andSecretary Pakistan Cycling FederationSyed Azhar Ali Shah disclosed that thePCF awarded the event of Abbottabad toNathiagali National Cycle Race to KhyberPK Cycling Association.They said that all the four provinces,FATA, Army, Railways, Sui SouthernGas, WAPDA, Islamabad and special in-vitee Afghanistan will participate in therace. The race will start from Board ofSecondary Education Office MurreeRoad, Abbottabad and will finish atNathiagali Bazar.The cyclists will climb 32 km distancefrom 4000 ft sea level to 8000 ft sea level.This is the highest in Galliyat. KPK SportsMinister Syed Aqil Shah will be the chiefguest of closing ceremony at Nathiagali.Meanwhile, a general council meeting ofthe Pakistan Cycling Federation will beheld under the chairmanship of Presi-dent PCF Munawar Baseer at Abbot-tabad on December 22. The PCF aim tointernationally recognise the Abbot-tabad as Sports City of Pakistan and inthis regard the PCF have planed a num-ber of cycling event at Abbottabad. Thelast Tour De Pakistan Cycle Race wasalso finished at Abbottabad.

PIA, Army notchwins in PPl

LAHORESTAff RepoRT

PIA and Army registered wins in theeighth Pakistan Premier Football League2011 on Wednesday.PIA defeated PMC Athletico FC by 1-0 atthe PMC Football Ground, Faisalabad.The all important goal of the match wasscored by PIA’s Imran Khan who camein as a substitute forward and banged inthe goal in the 86th minute.Army beat KPT by 2-0 at the JinnahFootball Stadium, Islamabad. Army gottheir goals from forward Shakeel Yousufin the 45th minute and Ansar Ahmed inthe 63rd minute.Meanwhile, two matches were played inthe eighth Pakistan Football FederationLeague 2011 Second Division onWednesday.SSGC and PPWD played a goalless drawat the Railways Football Stadium herewhile PTV beat ZTBL by 2-0 at the samevenue later in the day.

Ten-man Madrid labour to Cup victory

PoNfeRRADA: Ponferradina’s defender Samuel San Jose (l)vies with Real Madrid’s forward gonzalo higuain (R). AFP

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:27 AM

Sports 21Thursday, 15 December, 2011

watCh it LivE

TEN SPORTSSouth Africa vSri Lanka Test 1 Day 101:30PM

TEN SPORTSUEFA EuropaLeague10:55PM

TOYOTA: Brazil’s Santos striker

Neymar (R) scores a goal past Japan’s

Kashiwa Reysol players Naoya Kondo

(L) and Hidekazu Otani (C). AFP

TOYOTAAfp

NEYMAR showed why heis the most coveted playeroutside Europe as he litup the Club World Cupwith a sumptuous strike

Wednesday to send Santos on their wayto a likely final against Barcelona. All thetalk before the semi-final clash againstthe host side Kashiwa Reysol had beenabout the 19-year-old forward, and he didnot disappoint, scoring a sensational firstgoal as the Brazilians ran out 3-1 winners.

He will probably meet Barcelonaand Lionel Messi in Sunday’s final,though the European champions firstneed to dispose of the Qataris Al Sadd inthe other semi-final on Thursday. How-ever, Santos coach Muricy Ramalho, whocut a prickly figure at the post-matchpress conference, admitted he was con-cerned about the number of chancesKashiwa created, especially in the sec-ond-half. “There were some difficultiesin defence,” he said. “Usually that’s notthe case in Brazil for us, but tonight thedefence was not functioning.”

He soon however grew impatient atreporters’ questions over his backline.“When we are defending but not attack-ing we are criticised, but when we attackwe are criticised for not defending,” hesaid, claiming Neymar’s goal was nothing

unusual for the teenage talisman.The young Brazilian interna-

tional, who has been linked with al-most every top club in Europe andcompared to the Argentine Messi, wasalmost on the scoresheet after onlyfive minutes, but his low shotbounced off a post. On 19 minutes hedid score, and it was some strike.

He picked the ball up with his back togoal, dummied inside and from outsidethe box unleashed an unstoppable left-footed curling shot that nestled in the topcorner of the net. Goalkeeper TakanoriSugeno had no chance.

Five minutes later the SouthAmerican champions went two goalsahead when striker Borges, who hasbeen in prolific form in the past year,got away from his marker and crashedthe ball into the other corner ofSugeno’s goal. Japanese championsKashiwa, who have their very own tal-ented Brazilians in coach Nelsinhoand J-League player of the year Lean-dro Domingues, were stunned.

But to their credit they belatedlyfound some rhythm at the Toyota Sta-dium and they had the better of the restof the first-half, without really creatinga clear chance on goal for their yellow-shirted fans in the crowd of 29,173.Santos might have taken a 3-0 leadminutes after the re-start, but Sugenosaved with his legs from Danilo.

Neymar lightsup ClubWorld Cup

Bowlers shine inPIA-hBl match

LAHORESTAff RepoRT

The eleventh round of the Quaid-i-AzamTrophy rolled into action and on theopening day PIA took lead againstHabib Bank at the LCCA ground onWednesday while National Bank playedcautiously against WAPDA at GaddafiStadium. PIA first bowled out HabibBank in 37.2 overs and then took slen-der six runs lead by scoring 134 runs forsix at the close of play. Ali Imran of PIAwas the star bowler with six wicketswhile Sarmad Anwar and Danih Kaneriadamaged the PIA innings with three andtwo wickets respectively.SCoReS: habib Bank 128 in 37.2 overs (Shan Ma-

sood 17, Ahmed Shahzad 15, fahad Masood 44, Dan-

ish Kaneria 20, Ali Imran 6-45, Kamran Sajid 3-12) v

PIA 134-6 in 34 overs (Kamran Sajid 41, faisal Iqbal

35, Sarfraz Ahmed 28*, Sarmad Anwar 3-60, Danish

Kaneria 2-37).

Toss: PIA

Umpires: Zameer haider & Ahsan Raza

Referee: Aziz-ur-Rehman

At gaddafi Stadium, lahore. National Bank 274-7 in

75.4 overs (fawad Alam 65, qaiser Abbas 84*,

wahab Riaz 28*, hammad Azam 24, Imran Khan 4-

82) v wAPDA.

Umpires: Saleem Badar & Ihtsham-ul-haq

Referee: Saadat Ali.

Surgery setbackfor Australia’s Rice

SYDNEYAfp

Australian triple Olympic champion Stephanie Ricefaced a battle to reach London 2012 Wednesdayafter undergoing shoulder tendon surgery justmonths before national trials. Rice, 23, revealed theoperation on her official Twitter feed, describing itas an “arthroscopy on my right shoulder which hada small tear in the tendon”. “Everything else was a-ok and should be back in the water before Christ-mas,” she said. “Surgery went really well. Surprisedwith how much movement I’ve already got back inmy shoulder,” added Rice, saying she was trying tokeep positive. The Beijing 2008 triple gold-medal-list now has just three months to find top form, withAustralia’s London Olympic swimming trials sched-uled for March. It is the same shoulder that requiredsurgery last year, forcing her to withdraw from thePan Pacific Swimming Championships and theDelhi Commonwealth Games. Rice became the pin-up girl of Australian swimming after her Beijingblitz, which equalled the record Australian individ-ual haul for a single Olympics held by athlete BettyCuthbert and swimmers Shane Gould and IanThorpe. But the intervening years have been a strug-gle for the one-time golden girl, with a disappoint-ing season in 2009 and the 2010 surgery keepingher from the pool for several months. Rice won twobronze medals in the individual medley and medleyrelay at the July World Championships in Shanghai,her first major international meet since 2009, butfailed to take a medal in her other individual events.

NEW DELHIAfp

The Indian Olympic Associa-tion will formally ask organisersof the London Games to dropDow Chemical as a sponsorover its links to the Bhopal dis-aster, acting chief Vijay KumarMalhotra said Wednesday.

“We will express our dis-pleasure to London Games or-ganisers and ask them to dropDow as one of their sponsors,”Malhotra told AFP, addingthat the company’s role was“unacceptable”.

In 2001, Dow Chemicalbought fellow chemical com-pany Union Carbide, whosepesticide plant leaked gas intothe central Indian city ofBhopal in 1984, killing tens ofthousands in the world’s worstindustrial accident.

Malhotra said the IndianOlympic Association wouldformulate its demand overDow at a two-day meeting of

the body in New Delhi which isset to begin on Thursday. Hestressed that India would notboycott the event. Indian ac-tivists have been battling formore compensation moneywith protests being led byShivraj Chauhan, the chiefminister of Madhya Pradeshstate where Bhopal is located.Malhotra said he had receiveda petition on Wednesdaysigned by 11,000 campaignersfor Bhopal victims, led by for-mer hockey Olympian AslamSher Khan. Union Carbide set-tled with the Indian govern-ment in 1989 by paying $470million for the Bhopal victims.Dow, which is sponsoring afabric shroud to be installed onthe main Olympic Stadium,says all liabilities for the disas-ter were resolved with thispayment. Malhotra, an influ-ential member of the main op-position Bhartiya JanataParty, has sent letters to SportsMinister Ajay Maken andPrime Minister ManmohanSingh seeking their advice onthe contentious issue.

“Olympics are about love,brotherhood and transparencyand this company (Dow) islinked with (Union Carbide)which was responsible forkilling thousands of Indianpeople,” he said. “It’s unaccept-able that such a company is asponsor in the Olympics.”

India to ask Londonto drop Dow Chemical

ISB 15-12-2011_Layout 1 12/15/2011 1:27 AM

Published by Arif Nizami for Nawa Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd. Printed by Ghulam Akbar, AA & NHT Group, Plot 24, Shalimar Road, Lilly Market, Soan Garden, Islamabad.

Thursday, 15 December, 2011 22

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA ReuTeRS

US Defence Secretary LeonPanetta on Wednesdaydeclared that success inAfghanistan could not beachieved without cooper-

ation from Pakistan, warning that Pak-istanis “better damn well” work towardsecuring their country.

“Ultimately, to win in Afghanistan,we have to win in Pakistan as well,”Panetta said as he visited US troops inPaktika province of Afghanistan, ac-cording to the American Forces PressService. “If we are going to secure[Afghanistan], the Pakistanis betterdamn well secure their country, aswell.” Thanking the American troopsfor their hard work in the region, the

US defence secretary maintained thattheir sacrifice had created real results.“For all the sacrifice that you are doing,the reality is that it is paying off andthat we are moving in the right direc-tion, and we are winning this verytough conflict here in Afghanistan. Andit is mainly due to you, to all of you,” hesaid, according to AFPS. Still, therewere many obstacles in Afghanistan’spath forward, Panetta said. “Are therechallenges out there? You are damnedright there are challenges. Are we goingto be able to take on those challenges?You are damned right we are,” he said.But Panetta expressed confidence thatAfghanistan would eventually be a na-tion of self-governance, free of safehavens for the Taliban. “And that is be-cause of what you are doing right here,right now,” he said.

SC reservesverdict inRPPs’ case


The Supreme Court on Wednesday reservedits verdict in the Rental Power Projects(RPPs) case and directed the counsel for theMinistry of Water and Power and PakistanElectric Power Company Limited (PEPCO),Khawaja Tariq Rahim to submit his writtenarguments by Saturday. A two-member SCbench comprising Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry and Justice KhiljiArif Hussain heard a suo motu case alongwith two identical petitions filed by federalminister Faisal Saleh Hayat and PML-NMNA Khawaja Asif alleging huge corruptionin the award of RPPs’ contracts. Reservingits verdict, the court held that a detailedjudgement, instead of a short order, wouldbe announced. Concluding his arguments,Rahim informed the bench that upondetermination by NEPRA, outstandingamount of fuel price would be paid to theReshma Power Project. Counsel for KarkeyRPP, Akram Sheikh while concluding hisarguments stated that per the accord,Karkey was bound to supply 231MW ofelectricity, whereas total power generatingcapacity of Karkey was 330MW if fuel wassupplied to it, which he contended was theresponsibility of the government. The chiefjustice asked Akram Sheikh to produce anydocument to prove his contention that fuelsupply to the RPP was the government’sresponsibility, on which he said it had beendescribed in Regenerative Fuel Cell (RFC),which is the amended form of request forproposals (RFP). Khawaja Asif submitted asynopsis and rebuttal before the bench andcontended that one party was given sixRPPs, which he said was admitted by thecounsel for Walters Power International,adding that despite the experience of Bhikkirental power project, the same party wasawarded contract of six RPPs. He said incase of Bhikki, the rent agreement was forone year, whereas gas supply agreementwas for nine months, adding that power of$137 million was supplied by it, whereas itwas paid an amount of $217 million. Hesaid NEPRA being a regulatory authoritywas mandated to oversee the power sector,however it seemed to be abysmally absentin the decision making process for thesubject matter and appropriate inquiries.He said violation of PPRA rules by PPIB inall the RPPs tenders was also witnessed.He said annual loss to the local industrywas around Rs210 billion per year due toload shedding. He regretted that masseshave crushed by buying electricity fromthese RPPs on very high rates.

ISLAMABADMASood ReHMAN

The Supreme Court fixed the hearing ofmatters pertaining to the government’sfailure to implement its verdict in the Na-tional Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)case for the first week of January andasked the president, prime minister and36 others to explain why the court’s De-cember 16, 2009 verdict declaring theNRO unconstitutional had not yet beenimplemented in letter and spirit.

The court issued notices to the attor-ney general and the prosecutor general ofthe National Accountability Bureau

(NAB). It also asked the president andprime minister as well as their principalsecretaries, the NAB chairman, provincialgovernors, chief secretaries, police inspec-tors general, secretaries of interior, law,cabinet, establishment and home, advo-cates general, provincial prosecutors gen-eral and others, to file by the first week ofJanuary their replies explaining why theverdict in question was not implementeddespite the fact that there was no stayorder against it and a review petition on ithad been dismissed last week. Chief Jus-tice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issueda fresh order in the NRO implementationcase and recalled that the apex court had

declared the NRO void ab initio and beingultra vires to the constitution on Decem-ber 16, 2009, and later dismissed the re-view plea against it on December 8, 2011.However, he said, the verdict was still notimplemented in letter and spirit.

The court said in its December 16,2009 verdict that all the cases (approxi-mately 8,041) that were closed under theNRO, promulgated by former presidentPervez Musharraf, should be reopened,which included the Swiss cases againstPresident Asif Ali Zardari as well. Thecourt orders were implemented in thou-sands of other cases, but the letter for therestoration of Swiss cases relating to

President Zardari was not sent to Swissauthorities. A three-member SupremeCourt bench headed by the chief justicehad previously heard the NRO imple-mentation case where several top officialsfaced the music for failing to obey theapex court’s orders, which included for-mer NAB chairman Naveed Ahsan, Pros-ecutor General Dr Danishwar Malik andDeputy Prosecutor Abdul Baseer Qureshi.

On December 8, 2011, the court haddismissed the government’s review peti-tion against the NRO verdict and told allthe authorities concerned to comply withthe December 16, 2009 judgement com-pletely and without any further delay.

Afghanistan success lies inIslamabad, says Panetta

SC gives january deadline for explanation of NRO fiasco

kABul: uS Secretary of defence leon panetta and Afghanistan president Harmid karzai during their joint press conference at the presidential palace on Wednesday. AFP

Pakistan toimpose NATOtransit tax

MONITORING DESK

Pakistan is drawing up plans to tax NATO forusing its territory to supply troops inAfghanistan, in retaliation for the recent deathof its soldiers in a “friendly fire” incident inMohmand Agency, The Guardian said in areport on Wednesday. Under the proposal, atransit tax or fee will be imposed on everyshipping container sent through Pakistan,senior military and civilian officials told TheGuardian. The move follows the death of 24soldiers shelled by a US helicopter at acheckpoint last month. The tax is likely to addtens of millions of dollars a year to the cost ofthe decade-long war. It is thought that thegovernment would levy around $1,500 (£970)per shipping container sent through Pakistan,along with separate charges for each fuel tankerthat goes through to Afghanistan. Islamabadsuspended the movement of NATO supplies tothe landlocked country altogether after thedeaths on November 26. The tax on NATOsupplies would provide Pakistan with a face-saving way of reopening the route. Followingthe deaths at the border, Pakistan alsoterminated the American use of a small airbase,Shamsi, and boycotted an internationalconference on Afghanistan.The internationalcoalition in Afghanistan has benefited from freetransit of goods through Pakistan for nearly adecade, under agreements forged withIslamabad soon after the overthrow of theTaliban regime.A senior Pakistani official saidthe free transit of US and NATO militarysupplies was allowed under two agreementssigned in 2002, when dictator Gen (r) PervezMusharraf was ruling the country.“Under theagreement, NATO got to use our transportinfrastructure for no cost, but what we got inreturn, we don’t know. It is high time to revisitthe agreement,” said the official, who did notwant to be named, as the new policy has not yetbeen announced. “The agreement appears to beone-sided.”The levy would also confirm thedramatically changing nature of Pakistan’s tieswith its western partners, from a strategicalliance to a transactional relationship, withdeep suspicions on both sides.

g US defence secretary says Pakistanis ‘betterdamn well’ work toward securing country

US not cutting $700mcivilian aid to PakistanWasHINGtON: US State Departmentspokeswoman Victoria Nuland said onWednesday that Washington had not cutthe $700 million civilian aid to Pakistanand the Defence Authorisation Bill wasunder discussion in Congress, Americanmedia reported. Nuland was quoted assaying that the Department of Defenceprovided strategy on how to utilisemilitary aid and how to note its success.If this legislation became law, the USwould work with the government ofPakistan to make sure that therequirements were fulfilled, she added.American lawmakers had earlier agreedto freeze $700 million in US aid toPakistan until it provided someassurances of assistance in the fightagainst improvised explosive devices(IEDS) in the region. ONLINE

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