STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—APML chiefPervez Musharraf has said he haddone nothing wrong but was

ready to go to jail if the courtsordered it. “I have a convictionin my heart that I have not doneanything wrong,” he said. He saidthis while addressing a press con-

ference to reveal party manifestofor the upcoming elections at hisfarmhouse in Chak Shehzad nearIslamabad. “The only thing in myheart was to save Pakistan and

now I am here I have the samecommitment, that I will save Pa-kistan.

Musharraf is currently fight-ing a barrage of legal battles in

court, including his implicationin the case of former PM BenazirBhutto’s assassination, Balochleader Nawab Akbar Bugti’s kill-ing in a military operation andtreason charges for sackingjudges and imposing emergencyin 2007.

When asked what he woulddo if he lost the cases and wassentenced to prison, Musharrafsaid: “If that is the decision, I amready to go.”Revealing hisparty’s manifesto, Musharraf saidit was modeled on the APMLelection manifesto of 2010 andwas better than all other politicalparties, adding that it was linkedwith Sura Al Imran.

Musharraf also vowed in hismanifesto speech that, if electedinto power, he would not allowany external forces to intervenein Pakistan, and that his partywould work to further strengthenthe country.

The former militarystrongman said that one of thebiggest ills affecting the coun-try was nepotism and

APML election manifesto launched

I have done nothing wrong,ready to go to jail: Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: APML Chief Pervez Musharraf showingmanifesto booklet of his Party for general elections during apress conference on Monday.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

Continued on Page 6

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE—Anelection tribunal on Monday re-jected the appeal of formerprime minister Raja PervezAshraf, barring him from con-testing the general elections.

In a big blow to the Paki-stan People’s Party, the tribunalenforced the rejection ofAshraf’s nomination papers byReturning Officer KhalidArshad. The former prime min-ister was to run for National As-sembly seat from NA-51 in

Gujar Khan, from where he hadwon in previous two elections.

A relative of Raja JawaidIkhlas, the opponent in the formerPM’s constituency, had com-plained that Pervez Ashraf hadbeen misusing his discretionaryfunds in his constituency whichamounted to pre-poll rigging andshowed his partisan approach andcorrupt practices.

The tribunal, comprising Jus-tice Rauf Ahmad Sheikh and Jus-tice Mamoon Rashid of theLahore High Court, RawalpindiBench, heard the arguments from

both the sides and reserved itsjudgment on Monday.

Raja Pervez Ashraf is thesecretary general of the PPP. Hislawyer, former law ministerFarooq Naek, said that they willappeal against the decision ofthe tribunal. Naek had appearedbefore the two-member tribunalas counsel for the petitioner,seeking an order to turn downthe verdict of the RO.

Naek contended that thenomination papers of his client

Pervez Ashraf out of election raceNawaz, Shahbaz cleared to contest polls: Musharraf’s appeal rejected

Sahibzada FazalKarim passes away

STAFF REPORTER

FAISALABAD—Chairman of theSunni Ittehad Council SahibzadaFazal Karim passed away onMonday.

The 58-year-old Fazal wasundergoing treatment for a liverailment at a hospital inFaisalabad. Born in 1954

Continued on Page 6

Continued on Page 6

PM appointsAdvisor Finance,

reshuffles secretariesISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterJustice (Retd) Mir Hazar KhanKhoso on Monday appointed DrShahid Amjad Chaudhary asAdvisor Finance who wouldserve as minister-incharge of thefinance ministry.

The Prime Minister hasalso approved the transfers andpostings of six federal secretar-

Continued on Page 6

RAWALPINDI/KABUL—A del-egation of Afghan army offi-cials, headed by Director Gen-eral Military Operations, AfghanNational Army, Major GeneralAfzal Aman, visited GeneralHeadquarters and met MajorGen-eral Ashfaq NadeemAhmed, DGMO Pakistan Army

Border post issue withAfghanistan amicably resolved

for talks over border coordina-tion issues on Monday.

The meeting was held in acordial environment, accordingto a statement issued by the InterServices Public Relations.

All ongoing cross-bordercoordination issues includingconstruction of a border post in

Mohmand Agency were dis-cussed and amicably resolved.Both sides agreed on continua-tion of such bilateral interactionsto en-hance bilateral border co-ordination and reduce space fordetractors. Hundreds of Afghanuniversity students in the eastern

Continued on Page 6

BK TAHIR

BAHAWALPUR—The Vice-Chancellor, IUB & theGSCWU, Bahawalpur, Prof.Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar hassaid that the Islamia Univer-sity, Bahawalpur is the cus-todian of this area’s socialand cultural values and try-ing best to keep alive thecenturies old valuable tradi-tions of the best civilizationalive and today’s function isthe symbol of our traditionalhospitality.

He remarked these viewsat a farewell ‘cum’ welcomeceremony jointly arrangedby the Islamia University,Bahawalpur and theCholistan DevelopmentCouncil of Pakistan in the

honour of the outgoingDCO, Dr. Naeem Rauf andDPO, Bahawalpur, SohailHabib Tajik and to welcomethe new DCO, Imran Sikanderand the DPO, Sohail ZafarChatha. Prof. Dr. MuhammadMukhtar informed on the oc-casion that the Islamia Uni-versity, Bahawalpur hadbeen actively performing forthe uplift of the area and com-munity through differentways and in touch with thenational and foreign organi-zations side by side the localones to speed-up the aca-demic, socio-economic andcultural activities to provethat the Islamia University,Bahawalpur had been per-forming in the right directionaccording to the current day

demands for healthy society.He appreciated the per-

formance and contribution ofthe outgoing officials, DCO,Dr. Naeem Rauf and the DPO,Sohail Habib Tajik for theuplift and betterment of thearea and welcomed the newlyposted DCO, Imran Sikanderand the DPO, Sohail ZafarChatha. The outgoing offi-cials termed their stay herememorable while the newDCO and DPO assured toperform according to the rulesand regulations for the bet-terment and welfare of thearea and people as their primeobject was to ensure smoothprocurement of wheat andpeaceful atmosphere for theforthcoming general elec-tions.

PML-N calls forreplacement of allthe four governors

QU E T TA—PML-N leaderMushahid Ullah has calledfor replacement of all thefour governors as their ap-pointments have been madeon political basis and theycan interfere in the upcom-ing polls. While talking tomedia men here Monday hedemanded of the ElectionCommission (EC) to changegovernors of all the fourprovinces. Referring tostatement given by interiminterior minister MalikHabib he clarified that caretaker interior minister hasno links with PML-N andnor his party will like thepartiality from any care takerfunctionary.

Regarding Balochistansituation he said missing per-sons issue should be re-solved immediately. The ill-conceived policies of formergovernment of Balochistanhave given rise to the prevail-ing situation in Balochistan.PML-N has never supportedmilitary operation inBalochistan. It is essentialthat security be provided toleaders of all political partiesin the perspective of upcom-ing elections, he held. He re-iterated that PML-N has fullconfidence on EC and hisparty will emerge victoriousin coming polls with over-whelming majority.—Online

Three dead, twoinjured as car

crashes into treeSARGODHA—A horrific carcrash here on late Sundaynight left three people deadincluding a woman and a mi-nor girl, while two more pas-senger survived with inju-ries. Police said the unfortu-nate family, on its way fromLahore to Jauharabad, metwith accident after the driverlost control and ran the carinto a massive tree near aDhareema village inSargodha. The dead and theinjured were shifted to thehospital.—Online

DCO ordersdemolishing of

buildingsMULTAN—District Coordi-nation Officer (DCO) SyedGulzar Hussain Shah onMonday directed the officersconcerned to demolish allrun down buildings in dan-ger zone before monsoonseason to avoid any unto-ward incident. Presiding ameeting of District Emer-gency Board in his office, hedirected the officers to startdemolition of shabby build-ings and no hurdle in this re-gard would be tolerated.

The DCO also directedTMAs to conduct surveyalongwith WAPDA teams tomake arrangements to avoidshort circuit incidents. Hesaid that acid shops shouldbe shifted out of the marketsand also to take strict actionagainst fireworks sellers. Hebanned the sale of petrolwithout license. Syed Gulzarsaid that all corners and U-turns where road accidentsare common should be rede-signed and for this purposefunds would be provided.

He directed the SocialWelfare and Auqaf depart-ments to set up specialcounters at tombs of the cityto avoid any crime. He alsoannounced a grand opera-tion against encroachmentoutside the Nishtar Hospital.He ordered for launching di-saster response force com-prising 50 members of Res-cue 1122, civil defence andWAPDA departments tocope with the threats of floodduring monsoon.

The DCO directed alltehsildars and patwaris tomonitor the cleanliness pro-cess of roads while hebanned illegal parking standsoutside the hotels, marriagehalls and hospitals. Addi-tional District CollectorMudassar Riaz Malik, all As-sistant Commissioners, CityTraffic Police Officer NazarAbbas, officials of Rescue1122, Civil defence, MDA,WASA, Building Depart-ment, TMAs, Agriculturedepartment, Food depart-ment, Health department andengineers of Pak army werealso present.—APP

200 JI workersbooked on code

of conductviolation

FAISALABAD—The city policeJaranwala have booked 200workers of Jamat-e-Islami (JI)on the charge of blockingroad and violating electioncode of conduct. Police saidthat JI workers were usingloud speakers for their cam-paign near Gulistan Cinema infavour of their JI candidatesYahya Bakhtiar NA-76 and DrSaeed Ahmed PP-54.

City police when tried toforbid them from holdingelection meeting on road, thesupporters got enraged andchanted slogans against thepolice. Later, they dispersed.The police have registered acase against 200 people in-cluding advocates AsimShahzad Awan and RanaAttiq-ur-Rehman.—APP

CHAKWAL—Former DeputyPrime Minister Ch PervaizEllahi on Monday urged theinterim government and Elec-tion Commission of Pakistan(ECP) to hold the general elec-tions on May 11, 2013 intransparent manner. Talkingto mediamen here, he urgedthe government and ECP forproviding security to thecandidates for election cam-paign.

He further said that seatadjustment with PPP havebeen finalized and only 5%matter have been left whichwill be settled in few days.Pervaiz Ellahi said formerPunjab government spentwhole province budget onworthless schemes includingmetro bus, yellow cap,Ahsheyna, Danish schoolsand solar energy lamps and

laptops.He stated the people of

Punjab would make account-

ability of the Sharif brothersin the forthcoming elections.Former Prime Minister ex-pressed hope for winning theelections from the districtwith thumping majority.

BAHAWALPUR: The newly posted DCO, Bahawalpur, Imran Sikhander presenting aportrait the outgoing DCO, Dr Naeem Rauf during a farewell ceremony at IUB while theVice-Chancellor Prof, Dr Muhammad Mukhtar is also standing alongside.

IUB playing vital role incommunity development

Elahi callsfor holding

elections on timeSTAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The ElectionTribunal (ET) of PeshawarHigh Court (PHC) here onMonday dismissed objec-tions appeals against CentralAmeer of Jamiat Ulema Islam(F), Maulana Fazlur Rehman,former Chief Minister, PirSabir Shah and many othersby allowing them to contestthe elections.

Ex Federal MinisterNajmuddin Khan and ex Pro-vincial Minister for SocialWelfare Sitara Ayaz were alsoallowed to contest the elec-

tions as the ET upheld thejudgment of Returning Officerswho allowed them to contestpolls. A three-member Appel-late Election Tribunal of PHCpresided over by JusticeFasihul Mulk and its membersJustice Mazhar Alam Miankheland Justice Irshad Qasir dis-missed elections objectionsfiled by rival candidates againstMaulana Fazlur Rehman, PirSabir Shah, Najmuddin Khan,and Sitara Ayaz and upheld theverdict of ROs concerned as thepetitioners failed to prove theircases.

The objections raised by

appellants Athar Hussain,Rizwan Saeed, MuhammadShakeel and Muhammad Ishaqwho had challenged thejudgement of the ReturningOfficers concerned for accept-ing the nomination papers offormer Chief Minister andPML-N Provincial PresidentPir Sabir Shah from Haripurwere dismissed. The petition-ers had alleged that Pir SabirShah had concealed his assetsin the nomination papers andcontradiction existed in hisstatement in nomination pa-pers and his known sourcesof income and prayed before

the tribunal to set aside theverdict of the Returning Officerconcerned and disqualify himfrom contesting elections.However, the Tribunal did notagree with pleas raised by ap-pellants against Sabir Shahand rejected their objections.

The Tribunal also dis-missed the objections raised byInamullah Khan against thedecision of Returning OfficerNA-27 Lakki Marwat for ac-cepting the nomination papersof JUI-F Chief Maulana FazlurRehman from this constituencyand maintained the verdict ofRO. The Tribunal ruled that as

no income tax dues were pend-ing against Maulana FazlurRehman as per the clearancereport of Federal Board ofRevenue issued on March 3,2013, therefore objectionagainst him was here dis-missed. The Tribunal also dis-missed the objections raisedby appellant Tahira Naveed,challenging the candidature offormer KP Minister for SocialWelfare and Women Develop-ment, Sitara Ayaz on a seat re-served for women on thegrounds of not producing solidevidences against the respon-dent.

Tribunal allows Fazl,Sabir Shah to contest election

SWAT: In-Charge Operational Command Maj General Sanaullah Khan giving prizes to the winners of All PakistanNational Qirrat and Naat Khawani competition at Wadoodia Hall.

QUETTA: A view of All-Parties Conference to streamline the debate on education reforms in the context of theupcoming general elections organized by the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences.

LAHORE—Raja Riaz Ahmed,former Opposition Leader ofthe Punjab Assembly, has wel-comed the announcement ofParton-in-Chief Bilawal BhuttoZardari of yesterday in whichhe reiterated that the direct fi-nancial assistance to the recipi-ents under the BISP will be in-creased from Rs.1000/ permonth to Rs. 2000 per month ifit comes to power after thegeneral elections scheduled tobe held on May 11, 2013.

He said that theprogramme was an outstand-ing successful effort of thePPP Government to empowerthe women also because theassistance under theprogramme was paid to thewomen head of the family. Itenhanced their status at thefamily and social level so im-portant to enable them to takeactive part in the nation build-

ing process, he maintained.He said that the BISP was

a flag ship programme of so-cial security for the poorest

of the poor and the stagger-ing number of the recipientsof 7 million families coveredthe major section of thepeople belonging to poorstrata of our society who wereliving below the poverty line.

He said that theProgramme had earned appre-ciation worldwide especiallyby the World Bank and theAsian Development Bank forits reach to the downtroddenwho would have otherwisefaced starvation leading to lifenot worth living. He said thatthe PPP would stand by thepoor section of the society andwould never leave them inlurch as stated by BilawalBhutto Zardari in hisyesterday’s statement. Theyare the precious asset of thePPP and the Party would con-tinue to strive to improve theirquality of life.

He expressed the confi-dence that the people of Pa-kistan would vote for theParty in the forthcoming elec-tions and would not be de-ceived by the show pieceprojects.

Raja Riaz welcomes announcement of Bilawal

BISP programme issuccessful effort of PPP Govt

No child be deprivedof polio drops

OUR CORRESPONDENT

SAHIWAL—Three days PolioVaccination campaign hasstarted in Sahiwal duringwhich more than 382000 chil-dren under 5 years of age arebeing vaccinated. Commis-sioner Sahiwal DivisionMuhammad Abdullah KhanSumbal inaugurated the cam-paign by administering poliodrops to children at healthdispensary in Farid Town.DCO Dr Sajid MahmoodChouhan, EDO Health DrMuhammad Ashraf Javed,DO Health Dr Shahid Nazeerand AC G Saif Ullah were alsoaccompanied him.

He was told that 968teams have been constitutedfor this campaign including789 mobile teams who willvisit door to door to ensurethat no child will be deprivedof these drops. Since 2008 nopolio case is reported inSahiwal district and it is con-sidered a polio free district.The Commissioner ex-pressed his satisfaction on

this achievement and di-rected that no child will beleft unattended during thiscampaign. He also directedthat mobile teams should in-volve local dignitaries espe-cially lamberdars, teachersand religious leaders toachieve maximum results andfull police protection will alsobe provided to each team.

****District Coordination Of-

ficer Dr Sajid MahmoodChouhan has urged ulema ofvarious sects and other no-tables to work for religiousharmony and peace in soci-ety so that congenial atmo-sphere could be created forpeaceful election campaignsof various candidates in thedistrict. This he said whileaddressing District PeaceCommittee meeting at his of-fice. DPO Syed Khurram Aliand prominent religious per-sonalities were also presentin the meeting. He urged thatcode of conduct for electioncampaigns should be imple-mented with letter.

GCU signs accordwith TurkishUniversitySALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The GovernmentCollege University Lahore(GCU) Monday signed an ac-cord of educational, researchand cultural cooperation withTurkish university, SuleymanShah University Istanbul(SSU), for strengtheningfriendly relations between Tur-key and Pakistan. GCU ViceChancellor Prof Dr MuhammadKhaleeq-ur-Rahman and SSUDean Faculty of Arts and So-cial Sciences Prof Dr AdnanAslan signed the 19-point ac-cord that made a special focuson exchange of students andfaculty members betweenboth the universities in fieldsof Business Administration,Economics, English, PoliticalScience, Psychology andTurkish language.

The accord also providedthe faculty members of bothuniversities to jointly initiateresearch projects and ex-change invitations for par-ticipation in conferences, lec-tures and symposia. Speak-ing on the occasion, ViceChancellor Prof DrMuhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rahman said that moderneducation and research werecomplex.

Conspiracy being hatched to sideline ANPRahmatullah Khan

PESHAWAR—Stalwarts of Awami Na-tional Party (ANP) alleged that a con-spiracy is being hatched to sideline theirparty and bring fundamentalist partiesinto power. “Silence of Election Commis-sion of Pakistan (ECP) and interim gov-ernment over attacking on ANP stalwartsduring campaign indicates that the partyis being tried to prevent from the elec-tions,” said Afrasiyab Khattak, an ANPprovincial president during a press con-

ference here at Press Club on Monday. “There are elements,who want to sabotage the upcoming elections, but we willfoil the plots and contest the elections at any cost,” hevowed. Flanked by the provincial general secretary ArbabTahir, former ANP ministers, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, SyedAqil Shah, Tajuddin Khan, and others, Mr Khattak has ex-pressed reservations over withdrawal of security cover ofthe ANP leadership by elections authorities. He asked theEC to take notice of the conspiracies against the ANP andsuch forces (Extremists) and provide them level playing fieldto all political forces to contest in the polls. “ANP can’t bedeterred from threats of extremist groups, all plots againstthe party would be foiled,” he added. The free and fair is notpossible, if the environment is not conducive and peopleare barred from exercising their right to vote, he added. “TheElection Commission of Pakistan, interim government andpolitical groups have ignored the warning issued by themilitants groups after the elections’ scheduled was an-nounced,” he reminded. He added the interim governmenthad done little to keep fairness and neutrality in the generalelections. If the EC of Pakistan does not work efficientlywork in context of security for holding free and transparentelections, ANP would be doubtful about neutrality and im-partial role in conducting free.

ANP chief seeks adequate securityStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—ANP chief Asfandyar WaliKhan Monday called for provision ofadequate security to the party leaders,members and contestants to ensure free,fair and transparent polls. The demandhas been made in a letter written by himto Chief Election Commissioner (CEC),Justice (Retd) Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim. Thecopies of the letter have also been sentto the President, Prime Minister, ChiefJustice of Pakistan and Chief Ministers

of all the four provinces. In the letter, the ANP chief haddrawn the attention of the ECP to the repeated public threatsof the terrorists’ networks to leadership, members and can-didates of Awami National Party. It said that on April, 2013,party’s senior leader, former provincial minister and candi-date for NA-4, Mr. Arbab Ayub Jan had a narrow escapefrom a remote control bomb attack on his way home from acorner meeting. The attack, he said was claimed by a terror-ist group issuing fresh threats to ANP. On April 12, an-other attack was launched on the motorcade of HajiRehmanullah, an ANP candidate for NA-13 in Swabi. Luck-ily there was no loss of life. A few weeks back a contestantfrom Bannu Mr. Adnan Wazir was attacked. Two of hisclose supporters were killed in the attack and Adnan Wazirwas injured. It said that despite serious threats to ANP, onthe instructions of Election Commission the minimum se-curity provided to their party senior leadership and con-testants has been withdrawn.

JI to launch employment schemeStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—Deputy Chief Jamaat-e-Islami (J.I) Siraj-ul-Haq Mondaypledged that after coming into powertheir party will disburse large-scale in-terest free loans among youth for start-ing their own small and medium sizebusinesses while Imam-e-Masjid will getsalary equal to primary school teachersin the province. He expressed theseviews while addressing a public gath-ering on the occasion of the inaugura-

tion of Central Election Office of J.I candidate from NA-3Israrullah Khan advocate and candidate from PK-1,Baharullah Khan advocate here in Bashirabad. GeneralSecretary, J.I, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shabir Ahmad Khan,Israrullah Khan advocate and Baharullah Khan advocatealso addressed on the occasion. Siraj-ul-Haq said that af-ter coming into power they will develop Peshawar city onthe pattern of Istanbul of Turkey and restore Torkham-Peshawar railway track and initiate large-scale develop-ment schemes for the restoration of infrastructure facili-ties and resolution of electricity related problems of theprovincial metropolis. He was optimistic of achieving his-toric success of J.I in the upcoming general elections.Isararullah Khan advocate said that J.I has announced arevolutionary manifesto and after coming into power willlaunch a revolutionary employment scheme for the youth.

ISLAMABAD—Water andPower Development Author-ity (WAPDA) has startedconstruction work onDarawat dam and Nai Gajdam in Sindh province. Ac-cording to an official ofWAPDA, the dams would ir-rigate over 25000 barren landof Hyderabad and Dadu.

The construction of sitecamps is completed includ-ing soil investigation of damand spillway sites. TheDarawat dam is located atabout 70 kilometers west ofHyderabad and 135 kilome-ters North East of Karachiacross Nai Baran nearJhangir village in Jamshorodistrict of Sindh.

To a question, official saidthe dam will help conserveflood water of Nai Baran andirrigate 25,000 acres of fertile

land adding the dam will helpsocio economic uplift of re-mote areas of Sindh andwomen emancipation and es-pecially fisheries develop-ment. Replying to the ques-tion of financial progress, hesaid PSDP allocation for finan-cial year 2012-13 for con-structing dams in Sindh areRs 2000,000 million and expen-diture up to February, 2013were Rs 2027.414 million andcumulative expenditures up toFebruary 2013 were Rs4334.677 million.

Topographic survey ofdam, command area and res-ervoir area is completed andexcavation for foundation ofdam is completed, he said. Hesaid concrete pouring workof the dam is in progress and92 percent work is com-pleted.—APP

QUETTA—Institute of Socialand Policy Science (I-SAP)has revealed in its report thatabout 0.58 million children donot go to school inBalochistan province. Speak-ing in All Parties ConsultationMeeting on Condition ofEducation in Balochistanheld here Monday, AliAhmed, Director of I-SAPsaid “ According to data col-lected by the government andnon-governmental organiza-tions, about 0.58 million chil-dren were not enrolled inschools in Balochistan”.

He said that total numberof schools in Balochistan is12,293 and out of them, 8,092are without boundary wall,846 have no roof, 9,579 haveno electricity facility and8,827 have no toilets. He re-gretted that 35 months havepassed after passage of 18th

Amendment into the Consti-tution and the Education De-partment has been transferredto the provinces but theBalochistan government yetto form its educationpolicy.Quoting a policy re-port, he said that Balochistanprovince would need 3,208new schools, 6,600 rooms forexisting schools and 21,789new teachers during next 15years.

He lamented that al-though Rs 22.9 billion wereallocated for Education sec-tor in financial budget ofBalochistan adding that butneither the Balochistan’sEducation Policy is formedon data basis nor the Educa-tion budget is finalised onpolicy basis. Senior journal-ist Saleem Shahid held politi-cal parties responsible forrecruiting their political activ-

ists against the posts of gov-ernment teachers. “A largenumber of activities of politi-cal parties have been re-cruited as government teach-ers who still work for theseparties instead impartingeducation in schools andeven members of central andprovincial executive commit-tees of several political par-ties working in Balochistanare government teachers,”Shahid said.

He said that how standardof education in governmentschools could be improvedwhen teachers are being re-cruited only on political basiswith sheer violation of merit.Pashtunkhawa Milli AwamiParty (PKMAP) leader KabirAfghan said that influentialpersons have occupied sev-eral government schools pre-mises in Quetta.—APP

2 killed in accidentMULTAN—Two personswere killed in a road accidentat Bosan road here on Mon-day. According to police,Mulazim Hussain and hisrelative Sajjad Hussain resi-dents of Bahadur Pur Chowk,were riding a motorcyclewhen a rashly driven car(MNS-16) coming from appo-site direction hit them atBosan road. As a result,Mulazim Hussain died on thespot while Sajjad Hussainsuccumbed to injuries atNishtar Hospital. BahauddinZakariya police took the carinto custody and registereda case against its driverMuhammad Ali.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The recentspate of intensity in terror-ism attacks targeting candi-dates of Awami NationalParty (ANP) failed to intimi-date its party men from par-ticipating in electoral pro-cess. “We are determined tomove forward instead oflooking back and cannot beintimated by such act of cow-ardice by anti-state elementswho are bent upon pushingthe nation back towardsstone age and darkness,” re-marked Arbab Ayub Jan, se-nior leader of ANP and can-didate of NA: 4 while talkingto report.

Arbab Ayub Jan sur-

vived miraculously a bombattack on his motorcadewhile coming back home af-ter addressing an electionrally in his constituency atmain Grand Trunk road onlast Thursday April 11. Thejeep, Arbab Ayub Jan wasembarking become totallydestroyed but he remainedunhurt miraculously alongwith his young son, ArbabUsman, candidate of PK: 9and other supporters. TheApril 11 deadly attack whichwas the third life attempt bymilitants on Arbab Ayub Janfailed to deter him from hiselection plan. On the verynext day, Arbab continuedhis public contact campaignas was scheduled before the

bomb attack.On Sunday (April 14)

Arbab Ayub Jan remainedbusy from 11:00 a.m to 9:00 p.maddressing different public ral-lies and meeting people of hisconstituency to muster maxi-mum support in his favor.“Though we realize that thiselection is very dangerous anddifficult, but we cannot tie ourhands back for the sake ofsafety of our lives and willcontinue our mission of bring-ing peace in the country andmaking the nation prosperousby obstructing the designs offorces of backwardness”, headded. Arbab Ayub Jan saidif he loses his own life in ac-complishment of this mis-sion, the struggle of ANP. Security boost at

food distributionpoints ordered

STAFF REPORTER

P E S H A W A R — K h y b e rPakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary(CS), Ghulam Dastagir Akhtarhas directed to enhance thesecurity arrangements on fooddistribution points and ensureprompt and effective distribu-tion of food items among theIDPs. He said this while pre-siding over a high level meet-ing held at Civil Secretariathere Monday. The meetingamong others was attendedby Country Director WorldFood Program, CCPOPeshawar, Secretary Home,DG PDMA and DG FDMA.Participants of the meetingthoroughly discussed the mat-ters related with food distribu-tion among IDPs and urgedconcerned authorities to work.

SHER MUHAMMAD KHAN

MULTAN—Pakistan Mus-lim League-N has issuedparty tickets to a numberofcandidates in southernPunjab districts Multan,Lodharan and Dera GhaziKhan for the upcominggeneral elections. But nodecision has been made onDost Muhammad Khosayet.

PML–N party high com-mand have issued tickets toSayed Rafi Ul Din Shah forNA–154 (Lodharan), SardarAmjad Farooq Khosa for

NA–171 (DG Khan, TaunsaSharif), Hafiz Abdul Kareemfor NA–172, Abbass Akbarfor PP–199 (Multan), RanaMuhammad Aslam for PP–210 (Lodharan), ShahzadMaqbool Bhutta for PP-198(Multan), Imam BakshQaisrani for PP–240 (DGKhan), Usman Buzdar forPP– 241 (DG Khan), MohsinKhosa for PP – 242,Zulfiqaar Khosa for PP –243, Hassaam Khosa for PP–244, Zeshan Laghari for PP–245. The said candidates willtake part in the upcominggeneral elections in their

electoral circles from PML–N ticket.

*****As no concrete measures

have so far been taken by thegovernment to meet thegrowing energy needs,power crisis is all set to bal-loon out of control in the nearfuture, sources said on Mon-day. According to reports,power shortfall has alreadyreached 1500 – MW affect-ing normal life to great extent.Energy experts say sincethere is no respite in sight forpower consumers from longhours of power cuts and fluc-

tuations coupled with unan-nounced outages, the crisisis likely to deepen furtherwith a gradual rise in the mer-cury.

The phenomenon of elec-tricity outages has picked updrastically, as rural areas faceup to 16 to 18 hours of powercuts and urban areas 8 to 10hours of outages. Sincepower generation directlydepends on supply of fur-nace oil and natural gas, thegovernment needs to ensureadequate fuel supply to thesector on an urgent basis,otherwise the energy short-

fall may soot up at the end ofthis month, April.

To manage the shortfall,power utility companieshave restored to massiveelectricity cuts almost 8 – 10hours urban and 14 – 16hours in rural areas. Withlong hours of load sheddingmasses are facing countlessproblems. Workers, traders,industrialists, domesticwomen and common citizenshave been bearing the bruntof load shedding and are be-ing adversely affected due toa disproportionate durationof power outages.

SHAFFAAT MALIK

TALAGANG—The cleanli-ness situation in Talagang isgoing from bad to worse, astrash heaps can be seen ev-erywhere in the town due tonegligence of local authori-ties. Heaps of garbage, scat-tered construction materialare common scene in thetown. Pedestrians cannot usefootpaths due to encroach-ers, who have extended theirshops by using footpaths.TMA officials claim that theyare doing serious operationsto make Talagang a betterplace to live but residentshave got the different views.

The residents said thatthey cannot see any change

in the situation and it is get-ting worst day by day. Townturning ugly with immensedifficulties for shoppers andtraders. Encroached pave-ments have made it hard forvisitors to walk through themarkets, they added.

They said authorities arenot taking action against theshopkeepers who had en-croached upon the corridorsand footpaths. They allegedthat TMA did not botherabout ensuring proper main-tenance of the only park ofTalagang and there is noother place for public gath-erings in town. Residentshave demanded of the au-thorities to take notice of thesituation.

Man drowns inChitral river

GUL HAMAAD FAROOQI

CHITRAL—A man fell inChitral in river while crossinga suspension bridge atChumrukun. According topolice a man Abdul Hameed,resident of Orghuch was onhis way from Chitral toOrghuch on his motorbike.When he was crossing a sus-pension bridge at Chumurkunvillage situated in a descentand very deep he fell down inriver and as a result died onthe spot. His dead body wasrecovered from the river bylocal volunteers. An eye wit-ness told this scribe that hehad some injuries on his faceand forehead. SHO police sta-tion Chitral said that policehad started investigation un-der section 174 and will file areport on completion of theirinvestigation. Abdul Hameed48 was serving in Pakistanpost office, Chitral.

PML-N gives party tickets in Multan, DGK, Lodhran

0.58m children of Balochistanout of school: I-SAP report

Bomb attacks fail todeter partymen: Arbab

WAPDA starts Darwat,Nai Gaj dams in Sindh

Talagang TMA failsto improve

cleanliness situation

MULTAN: Candidates attempting for the paper vacancies in Pakistan Railway.

BAHAWALPUR: Students of Sadiq Public School hold a protest rally against the in-crease in school up to 140pc.

PESHAWAR: Vice Chancellor, Khyber Medical University Prof Dr Mohammad Hafizullahwith the participants of 3-day International Conference on Medical Education.

ISLAMABAD—The local metoffice has forecast partlycloudy weather with chancesof dust storm for the city andits suburbs during the next24 hours.

On Monday, maximumand minimum temperaturewas recorded as 38.2 degreesCelsius and 22 degrees cen-tigrade, respectively. Humid-ity was recorded as 59 percent at 8 am and 24 per centat 5 pm. A weak westerly waveis present over upper partsof the country and expectedto move eastward.

The weather will remainpartly cloudy in the twincities of Rawalpindi andIslamabad at evening andnight time during the next24 hours. The temperatureswill slightly increase inSindh and Balochistanprovinces during the next24 hours. The highest maxi-mum temperatures recorded

Partly cloudyweather forecast

during the last 24 hourswere Benazirabad 41C,Chhor 40C, Hyderabad,Mithi and Padidan 39C.

The maximum temperaturesrecorded in the other cities wereIslamabad 32 C, Lahore 36C ,Karachi 35 C, Peshawar 33 C,Quetta 24 C, Skardu 22 C,Murree 20 C, Muzaffarabad 33

C, Gilgit 28 C, Faisalabad 35 C,Multan 35 C and Hyderabad 39C. The pollen count recordedin Islamabad was 618 per cu-bic meter. The Multan Metoffice has forecast partlycloudy weather with chancesof dust raising winds for thecity.—APP

World, including Pakistan,totally ignore Rohingyas

MUSLIMS all over the world are bearing the brunt of systematiccampaign of religious hatred and discrimination but the plightof Rohingya community of Myanmar is worst of all as the United

Nations itself is describing them as among the most-persecuted minoritieson the planet. This is happening in the Buddhist dominated society, whichis considered to be torch-bearer of peace and affection but treacherous si-lence of the UN and other influential members of the civilized world totake concrete measures to protect lives, properties and rights of Muslims ofMyanmar is all the more distressing and shameful.

As reforms are underway in the newest democracy of Asia and peopleof Myanmar are expecting improvement in their conditions, the Muslimminority of the country feel that they are becoming scapegoats of its re-forms process following a wave of religious violence. There is no hope forbetter for them as President Thein Sein is suggesting relocation of Muslimsin distress to other countries, no one knows where, despite the fact thatthey have been living in Myanmar for generations. This is really disgustingand shows that the country is not willing to accept these people as its citi-zens and their persecution would continue for an indefinite period. A reportrecently published by British newspaper The Independent said about 100Rohingya Muslims died slowly of hunger after spending 25 days at sea ontheir way to find a new home. Rohingyas are living under a wave of threats,violence, torture and rape. For Rohingya Muslims, who have been de-prived of their citizenship rights in the country in which they have livedsince birth, there is no right for them to education, healthcare, or employ-ment and are not allowed to own land. They have very few options in theface of violence and intimidation not only by organized criminal gangsand religious zealots but also government agencies including border se-curity guards. It is shocking that instead of pressurizing Myanmar gov-ernment to take concrete action to protect rights of its religious minority,some of the Western countries have sent trade and economic delegationsto Myanmar to conclude commercial deals. This selective approach ex-poses claims of these countries about human rights concerns. It is reallyshocking that the West, the OIC and of course, Pakistan, are not takingenough interest to respond to the situation to safeguard life and rights ofRohingyas who are living in virtual siege in many cities of the region likeMungdaw, Min Pya and Mrauk, which may result in famine and massstarvation. When will the conscience of the world wake up?

NAB to act afterelections, surprising

CHAIRMAN National Accountability Bureau (NAB) retired AdmiralFasih Bokhari has came out with a strange logic as he claimed that the

actual scrutiny of nomination papers of election candidates will begin afternext month’s general elections. No one would disagree with him when hesays concealing facts is a criminal offence and anyone who conceals factsshould not only be disqualified but all his privileges should also be takenback but one may ask what NAB has so far done and how miracles wouldhappen after elections.

The issue of corruption and malpractices has been there since long andthat is why the very institution of NAB (and of course its predecessors)was envisioned but regrettably the entity has done nothing but to enter intoimmoral plea bargain with big fish and is indulging in unnecessary delaysin investigation of different cases. There are reasons to believe that so farthe process of accountability pursued by NAB has been lopsided as it workedto the advantage of the Government and well-connected people and onlyacted against a few elements. It was several months back that the issue ofstrict implementation of articles-62 and 63 as well as keeping the corruptout of electoral arena arose and NAB should, therefore, have prepareditself to give the required input but it miserably failed to do so and as aconsequence defaulters of all sorts have almost been cleared by the Re-turning Officers and the appellant tribunals. The question also arises asto why the NAB sat on corruption cases and references for years as aresult of which many of the corruption elements not only reached to as-semblies but also completed full five-year term with full benefits. Scru-tiny after elections would be counter productive as opening of cases againstelected representatives would mean uncertainty and confusion about fateof these people which would in turn divert attention and focus away fromthe real task of governance, legislation and other measures that peopleexpect the parliament to take to improve their lot. What we need is acrossthe board and swift accountability and not an eyewash.

From where truck loadsof explosives come?

Militants attacked two election candidates on Sunday, killing one inSwat and injuring the other in Charsadda. ANP leader Mukarram

Shah was killed when a bomb went off near his vehicle outside his house.According to police, 25 kg of explosives were set off by remote controlwhen Mukarram approached his car.

In this case, a car load of explosive material was used but we knowthat in the past truck loads of explosives were used to bomb targets likeMarriott hotel in Islamabad and only recently Hazara community in Quetta.It is understood that the explosive material was neither produced inIslamabad nor in Quetta but brought from somewhere else. There arereports that most of the explosive material and arms and ammunitionused in acts of terror and sabotage in different parts of the country comefrom across the Western border. The question arises why our friends incontrol of things there in Afghanistan do not keep an eye on their move-ment and how this crosses into Pakistan despite presence of Multi-layersof security and vigilance and even reaches to hundreds of kilometresinside the country escaping attention of our agencies. What scores ofbarriers and check posts are doing besides harassing innocent people?

Development of Balochistan

Politics is the art ofpreventing peoplefrom taking part inaffairs which properlyconcern them.

Lookingfor

Obama’sagenda in

Syria

Many more people aroundthe world are eyeingPresident Obama for

clues as to whether he will takemilitary action in Syria. Their rea-sons may be sound. March was thedeadliest month in the civil war,with more than 6,000 dead. A fifthof Syrians have fled their homes,destabilizing the Middle East.Overall, the number of killings isnow more than 70,000, or aboutthe same as all gun homicides inAmerica over seven years. Tomany, such mounting numbers de-mand firm intervention.

Yet this scrutiny of Mr. Obamaby others has it all wrong. Muchto his credit, the president is eye-ing them back. He keeps probingCongress, foreign allies, and theAmerican people on whether theyare mentally ready to take actionagainst the ruthless, entrenched re-gime of Bashar al-Assad. Thisisn’t “leading from behind.”Obama has seen too many wars gowrong in his lifetime without thegroundwork of mental prepara-tion. To counter massive evil acts,such as the current war crimesagainst civilians in Syria, far morepeople than the president must un-derstand what good they wouldbring to a situation. Motives mustbe clear in order to rally the meansto achieve them.

The White House has rightlywaited for key members of theHouse and Senate to propose billsthat would authorize specific mili-tary action in Syria. “Unless wechange the dynamic ... Assad willcontinue to believe he can hold onto power,” said Senator RobertMenendez (D) of New Jersey,chairman of the Senate ForeignRelations Committee, last week.From mid-April to mid-May, thepresident will host separate visitsfrom leaders of four countries al-ready involved in trying to settlethe Syrian conflict: the UnitedArab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, andTurkey. The White House hintsthat 2013 will be the year for a USfocus on Syria.

These visits to the WhiteHouse by Mideast leaders areaimed at finding common purposefor Syria’s future that will upliftthe whole region. The conflict rep-resents not only a struggle be-tween a dictator and those seek-ing democracy but also a regionalstruggle between the Sunni andShiite branches of Islam. TheUnited States can’t lead the wayto settle that intra-Islamic struggle.“What started out as a peacefuldemand for dignity and freedom,”says Acting Assistant Secretary ofState A. Elizabeth Jones, “has be-come one of the most devastatingconflicts of the 21st century.”

For now, Americans remainuncertain as to what good they cando in Syria. Proposals to armrebels or create a no-fly protectivezone over rebel-held areas requirecertainty that the US is backingthose rebel leaders who will even-tually create a democratic, stableSyria. And any US arms must notreach radical, pro-Al Qaedagroups. Yet by not acting in Syria,the US also risks a collapse of theAssad regime that might result inthe country’s stockpile of chemi-cal weapons getting into thehands of terrorists. In balancingthese contending risks, the Westand friendly Arab nations shouldagree on what values they offerSyria. Opposing evil isn’t enough– its hold on a country is moreeasily broken when its oppositeis asserted.

Last week, Robert Ford, theUS ambassador to Syria, told aSenate panel: “We need to weighin on behalf of those who promotefreedom and tolerance.” Indeed,the State Department is alreadytraining moderate political oppo-nents of Mr. Assad how to run ademocracy and manage a marketeconomy. Good can triumph inSyria if more people understandwhat they can do and how toachieve it. That moment may soonbe arriving. But don’t look toObama quite yet.— Christian Science Monitor

MEDIA WATCH

—Paul Valery French poet

Balochistan is a province withenormous resources, andother big powers and other

countries of the region have rival-ing eyes on those resources. Thatpoint besides, whenever efforts weremade by the government for build-ing infrastructure for roads, educa-tional institutions and healthcaresystem in the past, there was resis-tance from the sardars who took tothe mountains, and the civilian gov-ernment had to deploy military. It isindisputable fact that without peace,there could be no investment or de-velopment. During the last ten years,army has been on the forefront inthe efforts to bring peace, stabilityand tranquillity in Balochistan withthe objective of development of theprovince and welfare of the peopleof Balochistan.

Army initiated numerousschemes for the development ofBalochistan to improve the lives ofthe people. Chief of Army StaffGeneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani tookkeen interest in the affairs ofBalochistan. Although it was not thearmy’s job, but it took initiatives tolaunch development projects to im-

A nation lost in transition

HURMAT GROUP OF PUBLICATIONSZahid Malik

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Sunday Magazine

Sadia Zahid MalikEditor

Ph: 2852027-8, Ext: 116Email: magazinesocialdiary@hotmail.com

While Pakistan seems tohave been ‘lost in transition’ from a newly

founded, under developed countryinto either an Islamic welfare stateor a democracy during the last 65years without much success in ei-ther direction life outside Pakistanhas been going on and the world haschanged a lot during those 65 years.A recent business trip to Hong Kongand China made me painfully awareof the fact that the centre of gravityhas shifted to the East while theWestern world and its allies are get-ting close to another all time recordgreat recession that might plungethe dollar regime into history.Today’s China is a world-classcountry; to me even Europe lookedto have been left far behind.

Hong Kong is a Chinese exclaveand has since developed into an eco-nomic giant, though until recently itwas a British colony but the changeafter that is on the surface, businessand prosperity is booming aroundand in my opinion after Tokyo HongKong is the second most expensivecity for tourist. The fact is that itscloseness to China made it a conve-nient location for world businessesduring the cold war period that didnot want to or were not allowed togo directly to China. That is whydespite its limited territory it has de-veloped a thriving industry andbusiness climate supported by firstclass infrastructure and communi-cation lines. An even larger eco-nomic wonder is China; withinthirty years it has changed from amainly peasant society to a thriv-ing industrial nation. That develop-ment has come for a price, no doubtabout that, but China today has themeans and the confidence to facethe challenges that are coming fromglobalization and Hong Kong is atrue reflection of that myth.

I was all the time scratching my

prove socio-economicconditions of people inBalochistan.

Thousands of Balochhave joined the army as re-cruits and cadets, whichwill enable them to playtheir part in the defence ofthe motherland. It has beendecided to provide them

health facilities in Combined MilitaryHospitals; health camps have also beenestablished. Schools and vocationalcentres have been opened to helpBaloch youth to become productivecitizens. These steps will increase in-come of the Baloch youth and lessentheir dependence on sardars and cen-trifugal forces.

There is some let up in insur-gency due to the efforts of the army,yet insurgency has hampered thegrowth and development of the prov-ince. Balochistan is indeed in thethroes of ethnic, sectarian and tribalschisms. There have been targetedkillings of Punjabi settlers inBalochistan. Ethnic and Shia-Sunnifracas has shaken the erstwhile eth-nic and sectarian harmony, as crimi-nal gangs are stoking ethnic and sec-tarian divisions. Centrifugal forcesoften blame the federation for lackof development of the province. Atthe same time they do not want to seeskilled workers from other provinces.

It is quite common that wherevernew projects come up entrepreneurs,engineers, skilled and unskilled man-power swarm the area. As theseprojects will have favorable impact

on the lives of millions of Balochs,the projects cannot be abandoned orpostponed because the categories ofpersonnel were not available in theprovince, or there were unfoundedfears that Balochs would become aminority. Measures can, however betaken to ensure that local talent, localmanpower and local enterprise aregiven preference. Baloch Sardars andother nationalist leaders should un-derstand that hundred and thousandsof Balochs are settled in Sindh andsouthern Punjab and have equalrights. Legharis, Mazaris, Marris andother tribes have a respectable placein Sindh and Punjab, and nobody hasevery mentioned about migrationfrom Balochistan, because we Paki-stanis they have the right to settlewherever they want.

In view of the largest land massand scattered population, Balochistanneeds massive investment for its resi-dents to prosper and progress. Balochleaders therefore should try to createclimate conducive to investment, sothat employment opportunities arethere to be availed by unemployedyouth of Balochistan. The provinces,indeed, require financial resources tobe able to maintain the social andphysical infrastructure, which isneeded to provide basic services tothe people. Since the bulk of the re-sources of the provinces came fromthe divisible pool, they had little roomto maneuver so far as their capacityto tax was concerned. Which is why,at the time of National Finance Com-mission award, weightage was given

for lack of development in the past,its large area and scattered popula-tion, and its cumulative effect willbe substantial. In addition, the megaprojects of Gawadar deep-sea portand coastal highways, revival ofSaindak Project along with lead-zinc project Balochistan provincewould improve the living standardsof its people.

The dissident sardars blame thegovernment for lack of developmentof Balochistan. However, fact of thematter is that provincial governmentoften does not use the developmentfunds provided for the welfare anduplift of Baloch masses, and for de-veloping infrastructure in the prov-ince. For example, during the lastfive years, every year each MPA ofBalochistan was allocated Rs. 25crore for developmental projects forBaloch people, which meant that anamount of Rs. 125 crores was re-leased for every MPA. The questionarises as to where this huge amounthas gone if it has not been spent onthe welfare of common Balochpeople? So far as Sui gas royalty isconcerned, it directly goes into aBugti scion’s pocket. Not a dime isgoing to the Bugti tribe’s bettermentand welfare. No school, no clinic,no public service has it got from thisfabulous money he receives. Dissi-dent sardars should wean off fromthe politics of sham nationalism, andshould work for the welfare of themasses — wretched of the earth.—The writer is Lahore-basedsenior journalist.

head thinking about reasonsfor our failure, I recall my stu-dent days in Lahore, wherestudents from many developedcountries used to come forstudies, we had foreign studenthostels for them and even Girl

students from Saudi Arabia in largenumber use to come for Medical de-gree, Iran & Turkey students werethere in every branch of study, Ma-laysia, Jordan/Palestinian, Arabs andSri Lankan were also there.

Now all types of people fromWest are coming to adventure in thisvery sensitive field concerning ournation’s future, if Education receiveddue attention, which it has not dur-ing all this time, where would westand today. Whatever we had at thetime of partition has been thrown tothe winds. Infrastructure develop-ment with increase in Industrial pro-ductivity has been neglected, so hasbeen energy production. Ayub Khanera was known as an era of decadeof reforms, when our country wasprogressing, which was not liked bythe so called progressive elementswho use to call East is Red and oncoming into power with this sloganthey soon changed their skin andAsia became Green for them and thisappears to have been designed topush Pakistan into bondage, whichwe are now.

It is unfortunate that all the mis-eries that afflict Pakistan aremanmade and our own contribution,we cannot blame others for our manyfailure, the Debacle of East Pakistanshould have opened our eyes butalas! The following four decadeswere marred with mediocrity,adhocracy leading to bankruptcy ofleadership in every walk of life be itpolitical, civil and military bureau-cracy and business leadership, thedilemma is we debate our ideologyand great scholars take pride in ques-tioning our ideology, now talk every-where goes that we are not a nation,one thing that other nations have pro-tected the most for attaining self re-spect in the comity of nation. Withthis assessment of our bright past onewonders what have we been doingall these years in last four decades?

When we look back at our history ithas always been a struggle for poweramong the different parts of the coun-try and their ruling elites, whose onlyaim was to achieve power by hookor crook so a compromised leader-ship emerged on the screen to ruinthe silver lining appearing onPakistan’s horizon. Economy hasbeen neglected most of the time. In-terestingly, it was under military rulewhen our economy did a bit better asit was the case under Ayub Khan,when he had 5 year economic devel-opment plans.

That was the case under Z. A.Bhutto who nationalized upcomingindustries and placed them under PPPstalwarts without any knowledge inbusiness and management for theirpersona plunder. He also took careof the civil service where he de-stroyed the frame that the British hadgiven to it and politicized it and in-troduced corruption. Benazir Bhuttoand Nawaz Sharif were saddled twotimes each to work on the dotted linesof troika of power known as estab-lishment. Benazir IPP’s worked aslast nail in our economic coffin, whileNawaz Sharif claimed largest man-date, coined a new terminology“Qaraz Uttaro Muluk Sanwaro,which was overwhelmingly sup-ported but nobody knows where allthose dollars went? He also called anational convention of business lead-ers on the very first day and formedover a dozen committees to introducereforms to jump start the ailingeconomy, one committee was forExport revamping, where I was alsoa member and I have been protestingall through that period that not asingle suggestion of this report wasimplemented. The same was the fateof other committee reports. Nationalinterest was compromised with thepersonal interest of the rulers.

Then came in General Musharrafas a result of self made coup, whichhad a built-in complex to obtain USsupport instead of that of the peopleof Pakistan, who are supposed to bethe real fountain of power. He provedspineless and submitted to US de-mands to become a frontline state intheir proxy war on terror, Turkey re-

fused to provide air bases on thestrength of parliamentary resolution,in 2003-4 we fell victim on nuclearproliferation allegation and Dr.Qadeer Khan was badly humiliatedon foreign desire, later even BenazirBhutto agreed to provide access toDr. Qadeer and for inspection of ournuclear assets that led to drafting ofinfamous NRO, which wasscrapped by the Apex court but thedamage has been done.

The same can be said about therecent PPP government that has un-dermined and made irrelevantwhatever was left of former insti-tutions like parliament, NAB, min-istries, autonomous bodies and cor-porations and other institutions.The decade from 1988 till 1999 iscalled by economic analysts ‘a lostdecade’. And the era from 1999 to2013 can be called the final ruin ofthe post-colonial national project ofPakistan. During this period thesovereignty and national interest ofPakistan was finally sold for moneyand weaponry to the US and Paki-stan became a US proxy in the warin Afghanistan. And when we arelooking at the parties and candi-dates that are applying to run in thenext elections one is at a loss to un-derstand how they would do anygood to the country. None of theparties has a program for economicdevelopment worth mentioning.

The need for National recon-ciliation and strengthening thesolidarity in Pakistan without for-eign intervention, article 62 and63 have now become laughingstock for all and sundry, caretak-ers are nothing less than chair tak-ers. The change the nation wasaspiring to get is no where insight. Neither with regard to anymeaningful poverty alleviationnor with regard to any new for-eign policy on independent linesso as to substitute our slavery tothe US with good-neighbourly re-lations with China, Iran and Rus-sia. This kind of elections willbring no change and no democ-racy. Why can’t we learn this les-son finally after such a long time?God bless Pakistan.

Mohammad JamilEmail: mjamil1938@hotmail.com

News & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & Views

Ali Ashraf KhanEmail:balti@super.net.pk

Voice of the People

Mian Abdul Waheed whoserved in Pakistan ForeignService for more than

twenty-seven years, twice as ambas-sador to Germany and Italy, recentlylaunched his autobiography ”BeforeMemory Fades”. The book is infor-mative and interesting to read. High-lights include East Pakistan crisis andIndian military interventions;glimpses of foreign services; Rise ofBhutto and Mujib and the unfortunatehostility which prevailed between thetwo and emergence of Pakistan as anuclear power.

Several events which he covershave been ignored by other writersor they did not have the access to theinformation which was available toWaheed. The first crisis which our

A diplomat speaks

Inflation inPakistan

MUHAMMAD RIZWAN AFATB

This is with reference to the Aribakhan letter Inflation in Pakistan. Iagree with most of the views ex-pressed by the writer and I alsowant to add some points.

One of the most important fac-tors influencing poverty in thecountry is inflation. Inflation isdefined as a situation where gen-eral price level is persistently mov-ing up ward in the country. In Pa-kistan general price level is persis-tently rising since its establishment.According to some research theinflation rate reached as high as9.3% in the year 2004-2005 mainlydue to rise in price of wheat andincrease in international oil price.According to the Pakistan Bureauof Statistics (PBS), inflation basedon Consumer Price Index (CPI)was recorded at 8.1 per cent dur-ing the month of January comparedto the same month of the preced-ing year. Rate of inflation hasstarted increasing from last fewmonths, as it was 7.9 per cent inDecember 2012 and 6.9 per cent inNovember 2012.

Inflation in Pakistan is hard tocontrol efficiently and quicklywithout enhancement of agricul-tural production. There is need toprovide credit to small farmers. Hisweak financial position and skilllevel prevent him from employingmodern equipment and inputs to hisfarm. It is not easy task for smallfarmers in Pakistan to obtain credit.It is possible only after several vis-its to the bank and after payingsome percentage of the loan tomobile credit officer (MCO) or toother officials. This increases theeffective rate of return and multi-plies his miseries. So I would liketo request the government to overcome this issue a soon as possibleso that the people get some relief.—Karachi

Where is media?SYED UMARULLAH HUSSAINI

Media is dubbed as ‘fourth pillarof the State’ all over the world;British Member of Parliament LordMacaulay (1800-1859) had giventhis status to media. Media playsan important role as an informativebridge between governing bodiesand general public. It plays a cru-cial character in shaping the healthydemocracy. It is like a mirror whichshows us the naked facts and harshrealities of life.

Democracy and media powermutually cooperate with each other.The media has made the voice ofpublic noteworthy. It is the mediaonly who reminds politicians abouttheir unfulfilled commitmentswhich they proclaimed at the timeof election. Media during the elec-tion helps the masses in electingtheir representatives in power cor-ridor. In the regime of Musharraf,media faced a decisive progress thatwould lead to boom in Pakistan’sElectronic Media.

The new liberal media ruinedthe State’s monopoly on electronicmedia. Now more than hundred TVChannels are broadcasting theirtransmission in the country. Thisprogress paved the way of mediaactivism in the country. In Pakistanmedia is performing as a watchdog. But despite all of these activ-isms, there are some areas on whichmedia remain unvoiced. The con-dition of Pakistani courts is verymiserable. If you go to court andwant to get copies of verdict, youhave to pay bribe to the personnelof courts. If you attend the ‘Dates’in courts, you have to pay to youradvocate as their Kharcha Pani(Bread n Butter), besides their fixedfee. Why media does not exhibitthis flip side of picture?

If you go to any governmentoffice and want to forward your fileto the superior executive, first youhave to pay bribe to his subordi-

Muslims slaughter in MyanmarMUKHTAR AHMED BUTT

How unfortunate it is that the whole world watches as the Myanmar government uses extremistBuddhists to exterminate helpless Muslims in daily brutal massacres. Our media’s silence on this

brutality is not at all understandable. There has been no demonstration against wanton killing of inno-cent Muslims. According to reports Muslims’ homes, shops and mosques are destroyed, some Muslimsend up in refugee camps or hide in the homes of friends or relatives and dozens have been killed.” Theseserious crimes are being repeated time and again, which means that the sanctity of Muslim life isviolated daily, and that the regime and its security services are deliberately liquidating citizens, with-out any regard for the law or the Constitution. It is indeed most regrettable that the war of genocideagainst Burma Muslims takes place at the behest of the Burmese government that turns a blind eye tothose crimes, and does not apply the law to the perpetrators nor safeguards the rights and freedoms ofthe Burma Muslim minority. The government also ignores international appeals demanding an ur-gent and immediate end to this human tragedy. The security agencies are deliberately keeping quieton the issue It is strange that on the other hand the popular front of India has strongly condemned thereported killings of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and demanded the Congress-led UPA govern-ment to initiate diplomatic intervention in the issue to ensure protection of the Muslim citizens ofMyanmar, where as Pakistan has done nothing. Pakistan government should take up the issue to theUNHCR and propose strong resolution against the Myanmar Government and also demand immedi-ate deployment of UN peace keeping force in the area. We also urge the Indian government and theinternational organizations to take immediate steps to provide humanitarian aid and rehabilitationfor the victim’s .Where are the champions of Human Rights violation?—Karachi

READERS

Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

are requested to typetheir letters legibly withdouble spacing and only onone side of the paper.

—Editor

nate. If you want to file an FIR inpolice station, you have to pay bribe.If you want to install Gas, Water orpower connection in your office orhome, you have to pay bribe. Whymedia remains soundless on all thesekind of issues? These are the smallamounts in apparent but it irritatesto middle class. The part of the so-ciety which is most victimized dueto this malpractice, is youth. Theyget discouragement when they hearthat their names do not exist in se-lecting list for next phase of recruit-ment. They face inferiority complexwhen they see that the less educatedand less experienced candidates’names are there in recruitment list.

The irony of the situation in gen-eral is that the selection has alreadybeen made even before advertise-ment of vacancies. Pakistani Policehave been named as the most fre-quent recipient of bribes in 2010Global Corruption Barometer ofTransparency International.Pakistan’s media is very active andworking as watch dog. But whythese malpractices are not displayedon news bulletin or on newspaper?Why media personnel use their jobcards to avoid traffic challans? Theseare some stories which remain be-hind the screen or paper.—Karachi

Teen obesitySYED UMARULLAH HUSSAINI

I am writing to draw the attentiontowards a serious matter that is TeenObesity. Teen obesity has been ris-ing and becoming a global headachefor last 15 years. Obesity for a teen-ager occurs when his or her bodymass index (BMI) is more than 95percent greater as compared to otherteenagers of the same gender andage. It’s no surprise, then, that obe-sity rates among Pakistan youngstershave skyrocketed. Obese teens haveseveral health problems.

They are at high risk of devel-oping complications in health likediabetes, high blood pressure, highcholesterol etc. Parents need to setan example on this issue. If they aretreated poorly they may become thetargets of depression, loneliness oridle behaviour. Public-health expertsand obesity researchers attribute thetrend in part to kids’ increasinglysedentary lifestyles. As teens spendmore and more time anchored be-fore a screen — burning fewer andfewer calories each day — they’restoring more of that unused energyas fat. Hence, the ballooning ratesof obesity. Reasons of facing teenobesity: Lack of exercises may notbe blamed. Anywhere from 17% to34% teenagers are considered to beobsessed or overweight. Teens eattoo much fat (fast food, junk foodetc.) Watching Television and usingComputer in excess. It may be ge-netic. Hormonal Imbalance.

Lower metabolism. This issuecan be prevented by: Cooking athome and make healthy versions ofteen’s favourite foods. Acquiringnew habits of eating. Getting activeas a family. Physical activities.Limiting the hours of watchingTelevision and using computer. Ihope the concerned authorities willlook forward to this issue and playtheir role in increasing teenage lifeexpectancy.—Karachi

‘Lack of jobopportunities’

ALTAMASH BIN SYED

With due respect we would throughyour newspaper like to draw the at-tention on an issue purely to the pub-lic. In this speedy and highly devel-oped world, students are graduatingwith the giant amount every year.Students are enthusiastic for jobs,but in our country there is lack ofjob opportunities. Due to which malestudents and female students bothare facing terrible time.

The reason behind this cause isof course the corruption and ups/downs in politics. Jobs are availablebut educated people are not getting

Is austerity good for your health?

Researchers appear to have implied that people can loseweight during a recession due

to a reduction in eating and increas-ing physical activity. Their dramaticfindings, published online in theBritish Medical Journal, were basedon a study in Cuba, where the popu-lation suffered food and fuel short-ages following the economic crisisof the early 1990s triggered by thecollapse of the Soviet Union.

This resulted in an average of4 to 5kg (8 to 11 lbs) being shedby the people and subsequent rapiddeclines in deaths from diabetesand coronary heart disease. Thescientists from the University ofAlcalá, in Madrid, also discoveredthat when Cubans put the weightback on, cases of diabetes surgedagain. The researchers concludedthat the Cuban crisis could havelessons Britain.

They suggested that an averageweight loss of just eleven poundsacross the UK could cut deaths from

heart disease by a third while themortality rate of type 2 diabetes, theform of the condition related to obe-sity, could also be halved. Wholepopulation trends in food consump-tion and transport policies linked tophysical activity could reduce theburden of two major illnesses, saidthe researchers.

“During the deepest period ofthe economic crisis in Cuba, from1991 to 1995, food was scarce andaccess to gas was greatly reduced,virtually eliminating motorisedtransport and causing the industrialand agricultural sectors to shift tomanual intensive labour,” said ProfManuel Franco, who led the inter-national team of researchers fromSpain, Cuba and the United States.

We found a population-wide lossof 4-5 kg in weight in a relativelyhealthy population was accompa-nied by diabetes mortality falling byhalf and mortality from coronaryheart disease falling by a third. “Sofar, no country or regional popula-tion has successfully reduced thedistribution of body mass index orreduced the prevalence of obesitythrough public health campaigns or

targeted treatment programmes.”They examined the association

between population-wide bodychanges and diabetes incidence,prevalence and death rates from type2 diabetes and cardiovascular dis-ease, cancer and all causes in Cubabetween 1980 and 2010. The coun-try has a long tradition of publichealth and cardiovascular researchwhich provided the necessary datafrom national health surveys, cardio-vascular studies, primary carechronic disease registries and vitalstatistics over three decades.

Four population-based cross-sectional surveys were used and datawere available on height, weight, en-ergy intake, smoking and physicalactivity. All participants were agedbetween 15 and 74. Population-widechanges in energy intake and physi-cal activity were accompanied bylarge changes in body weight. Smok-ing prevalence slowly decreasedduring the 1980s and 1990s and de-clined more rapidly in the 2000s.

Diabetes prevalence surgedfrom 1997 onwards as the popula-tion began to gain weight. New casesdecreased during the weight loss pe-

Andrew Hough

outgoing young diplomat confrontedwas the eruption of Indian supportedcivil war in East Pakistan. The wardid not last long but left in its’ wakelarge scale tragic happening both inthe residential areas and the streetsof big cities. Waheed like many otherPakistanis believed that big powershave been working since long for thebreak up of Pakistan and succeededwithout much trouble once the twowings were split politically.

The diplomat Waheed does notdwell for long on the conduct of war,but has got interesting stories to tellregarding consequences of the war.He starts with Afghan policy in the1965 war between India and Pakistanand confirms at official level that Af-ghan ambassador in a European coun-

Views From Abroad

jobs, just because they don’t havesources, and uneducated people get-ting jobs as they have sources andtheir family members are part ofpolitics. So people with excellentgrades and inspiring CGPAs are get-ting disappointed and they are do-ing what they have never expectedor neither have they ever dreamedof Girls with good grades workingas a sales person in this worst con-dition of our country. This is whatour country is providing us. Some-how lack of job opportunities creat-ing a hassle in our country, illiteracyrate is getting higher day by day andjob rate is going down constantly.We should have to stand up togetherfor this issue to be solved. Govern-ment should take a quick strokeagainst this issue.—Karachi

Side effectsof coffee

AQSA HYDER KHAN

Coffee contains caffeine, a mild butharmful stimulant so when we con-sume too much, we can become ad-dicted to it. It can over stimulate thebrain and drain the adrenal glands,causing chronic fatigue when thebody is in a constant state of artifi-cially induced hyperactivity.

It can elevate your mood whenyou are on it, but it also has the ef-fect of causing a mood ‘crash’ whencoming off of it. This can lead to ner-vousness, irritability, tremors, dehy-dration. It can even stain your teeth.Living on caffeine, as so manyyoung people do today, prevents onefrom truly relaxing and resting aswell. It can also lead to mental im-pairment because the mind simplydoes not function quite as well onstimulants and results in rebound fa-tigue, exhaustion, impatience anddepression.

The caffeine can cause an in-crease in blood pressure, and thosewho suffer from hypertension mayneed to limit their intake. Excessivedrinking causes an increase in cho-lesterol levels due to a compound incoffee known as cafestol, it can in-terfere with the absorption of min-erals by the body. Coffee will causecalcium loss, which can lead to os-teoporosis. . Coffee will promotegastric secretion and increase thegastric acid. Therefore, drinking toomuch coffee will lead to the discom-fort in stomach. Even pregnantwomen should avoid coffee, as it cancause fetal anomaly.—Karachi

Future ofPakistanHUMAN KHAN

I would like to draw the attentionof all that the future of Pakistan iswith its youth. We have to invest inthe coming generations by educat-ing them. The biggest problem ofour system is rote learning , and itsfutility in practical life. It negatesthe very essence of education. Edu-cation must be imparted in a lan-guage the child understands and isable to express himself. We talkabout reforming the education sec-tor but we don’t have thought-pro-voking books in our own languages.Children and youth are in a major-ity in Pakistan.

There are hopes , dreams , anda sense of pride associated withthem. The public school system needa drastic change in curriculum. Chil-dren needs counseling , guidanceand eventually jobs , for which theschool must prepare them.—Karachi

try invited Waheed to give assurancethat his country will never supportIndia against Pakistan. What the am-bassador said was intended to con-firm the street rumor that Afghani-stan will not go to war with a broth-erly country.The author like other Pa-kistanis was keen to find out as to whowas running Pakistan with Gen.Yahya Khan incapacitated and totallydrowned in bottle.While in Europe hegot opportuinity to question Gen. GulHassan who was chief of GeneralStaff of Pakistan Army during theEast Pakistan civil war. According toauthor Gul Hassan tried to absolvehimself by stating that gen. Peerzadaand gen. Hameed were the real advi-sors and close associates of Yahya.He, Gul had no role to play.

Other stories of civil war narratedby Mian Abdul Waheed in his auto-biography include Zhou Enlai’s sym-pathetic observation, America’s dis-patch of 7 fleets to Indian ocean,India’s abusive behavior during ne-gotiations our post war issues andBreznev persuasion of Indra Gandhito hold talk with Bhutto. Always afriend of Pakistan, Zhou Enlai askedKissinger to help against Indian in-vasion. We should take care of thebridge which had helped to establishlinks between the two countries. Ac-cording to Waheed Nixon did order

the deployment of the fleet but it didnot do the needful. Some writersbelieve that 7th fleet was posted inthe Indian ocean to deter India fromlaunching full scale attack on WestPakistan.

Ambassador Wheed has uncov-ered several stories related to BDCivil War which have not been dis-cussed by any other writer beforehim. One such story is Bhutto’s ap-proach to the Soviet leader Breznevrequesting help for a meeting withIndra Gandhi. We are told thatBhutto’s request for a meeting todiscuss POW and related issues wasrejected by the Indian leader.

Ambassador Waheed quoteslate Iftekhar Ali, Foreign Secretary,as saying that Z A Bhutto literallybegged Breznev to help him for ar-ranging meeting with Indian PrimeMinister.

In a related development, Am-bassador Waheed shocked the read-ers by recalling the abusive behav-ior of Indian delegation in the firstround of POW talks.He said the In-dian called us cheat,dishonest andliars etc.

Dr A Q Khan who wrote intro-duction to the books has showeredlimitless praise on Ambassador’swork in the west during Pakistan’sstruggle for a nuclear break through.

riod but then increased until itpeaked in the weight regain years.In 1996, five years after the start ofthe weight loss period, there wasan abrupt downward trend in deathfrom diabetes. This lasted six yearsduring which energy intake gradu-ally recovered and physical activ-ity levels were reduced. In 2002,death rates returned to pre-crisistrends and a dramatic increase indiabetes death was observed.

Regarding heart disease andstroke death trends there was a slowdecline from 1980 to 1996 followedby a dramatic decline after theweight loss phase. These descend-ing trends have halted during theweight regain phase. Prof WalterWillett, of the Harvard School ofPublic Health, Boston, whoanalysed the research for the jour-nal, said it adds “powerful evidencea reduction in overweight and obe-sity would have major population-wide benefits”. He also said the au-thors are appropriately cautious intheir conclusions and avoid “attrib-uting all the changes in disease ratesto changes in weight”. — Courtesy:The Telegraph

Read this morning thatthere’d been a racist attackin London, where a 56 year

old Indian returning home with hisdaughter was thrashed in a packedtrain. According to newspaper re-ports he was punched eighteentimes on the face, watched in silenceby all the other passengers.

In the same paper I saw anotherfifty or odd years gentleman fromour own country thrashing a SriLankan monk, dressed in his mo-nastic robes. The man who was do-

ing the thrashing, appeared a decentsort of a fellow though the monk ap-peared quite a frail, thin and weakman. How easy to thrash the defense-less! Aren’t there better ways than thisto express our concerns?

We cry ourselves hoarse whenam Indian is a victim of a racist at-tack, but have no qualms of doingsomething insensitive to a foreigner!And our thrashing needn’t be onlyusing our fists: We stare at visitorsto our country as if they are animalsin a zoo. I have traveled to Americaand Europe on many occasions andother than one incidence of being lik-ened to Saddam Hussein because ofmy beard in Spain, and that to onlyonce, most of the time they do noteven look up at you, or stare, and yetwe ogle, make jokes and make them

feel awfully vulnerable in our coun-try. Yes, our thrashing is done withour eyes sometimes and often withour tongue; we speak in our mothertongue, knowing they will not under-stand, yet adding enough jibe andvenom to make them know they arebeing spoken about. Yet we cry outwhen our countryman or women aretreated shabbily. If you or I want tobe treated with dignity abroad, weneed to treat our visitors in the sameway when they visit our country. Andthere are other ways we attack them,one being cheating:

In Portugal, I came across a stall,where I saw a Rajasthani flute on dis-play, I looked at it, and the Spanishgirl asked me whether I played theflute and when I said I did, she askedme to play a tune. She enjoyed the

Thrashing the defenseless..!little tune I played and when I askedher whether she bought many goodsfrom our country, she smiled andsaid, “You have much to offer, butwhen I order a second consignmentI am cheated!” We thrash the weak!It was a decent looking gentlemanI saw thrashing that poor Buddhistmonk, I wonder how he would feelif he had been thrashed in the Lon-don tube by thugs while his daugh-ter watched?

I wonder whether his handwould have been raised in retalia-tion or he would have been puttinghis hands together asking formercy? I guess we all know whathe would have done. Yet, it was soeasy thrashing the defenselessmonk, wasn’t it?—Email: bobsbanter@gmail.com

Stop politics of hatred

The recent surge in violence hascaused grave concerns. ManyPakistanis have been sent to

their early graves for crime not com-mitted or known. Pakistan once heldup as the most moderate of the Is-lamic state seems to be embracing ex-tremists and their dysfunctional vio-lent ideas. The ongoing war on terrorhas drained the financial assets of Pa-kistan to the very detriment of the Pa-kistani people rendering the peopleunemployed. The press is secretlypaid to write articles that would jus-tify governmental actions even if theyconstitute blatant violations of humanrights, corruption, or loss of publicinstitutions.

Instead of devising new methodsto unite and rearranging the basicbuilding blocks of Pakistan, the out-going PPP government came up withnew tricks to divide the nation. Theyfloated the idea of Seraiki province

without consulting the peopleliving in that province includ-ing the people demandingnew province. Thegovernment’s tactic of “di-viding” Punjab is merely po-litical, since it knows it is re-

ally very hard for PPP to gain votesfrom the province. Paid media ispropagating this absurd doctrine ofneed more provinces on the behestof President Zardari. The danger oflighting a fire in Punjab is that it canengulf the entire country. To form-ing new provinces in this alreadyfragmented society will deteriorateethnicity of this society further, ifnot completely mutilate it. Further,I fail to understand PPP’s doublestandard ideology. On the one handthey are insisting to divide Punjaband on the other hand their partymembers say “Dividing Sindhmeans dividing Pakistan and we willnot let that happen”.

The demand for a Hazara prov-ince out of KPK has again been re-newed. MQM supporters would de-mand for Karachi and Hyderabad asa separate province, unacceptable toSindhi nationalists. All the tribal

based communities will also put for-ward their demands for separateprovinces that would not only be fi-nancially problematic for state butalso create chaos across the country.Just imagine, dozens were killed onmere change of name from NWFPto Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and thenimagine the bloodletting which couldwelcome the partition of a province.And with every drop of blood wastedin the name of division of provinces,it is PPP who would be responsible.PPP leaders absolutely lack the vi-sion. Even if at all new provinces areto be made in Pakistan; reason of cre-ation of new provinces should mainlybe administrative in nature and po-litical in practice. If we do it on eth-nic lines there is no doubt that Paki-stan will meet the same fate of 1971again even if we keep it denying likeof previous occasions.

Obviously the people who arecalling for more provinces don’t un-derstand that they are inviting moreproblems. At the end all they will dois create more layers of governmentadministration and bureaucracy. Theywant to divide Punjab which is al-ready the best governed and man-

aged, would it not help to divide themore poorly managed provinces?Our country is daily moving to-wards total political, economic andsocial collapse. We are not far fromthe road to disintegration. It will bethe fault of all us if it happens. Letus sit together and speak honesttruths to one another. This situationneeds to be arrested before it is toolate. Let us use superior argumentsamong ourselves in the spirit of giveand take to decide what we want.The spirit of religious tolerance andsectarian harmony is equally essen-tial besides the need for forging soli-darity among all the linguistic, cul-tural, regional and ethnic entities inthe country. National rebirth mustbegin with the family through theinculcation of values and virtues oftruth, fairness, selfless and justicein the youths and in every Pakistani.

Owing to their lust for politi-cal power, PPP leaders have re-sorted to dividing the nation interms of ethnicities. Security is notabout tanks and military weapons,but it’s about confidence and trustbetween the people and the com-munity. This is lacking.

Name of the book : ‘Before Memory Fades’Author : Mian Abdul WaheedReviewed by : Hamid AlviPublisher : Jumhoori PublicationsPages : 263Price : Rs 780/-

Shaukat M ZafarEmail: smzafar101@gmail.com

COURT NOTICE

In the Court of Mr. RanaMuhammad Yousaf

Shahib, Judge BankingCourt No-I GujranwalaOLD P.W.D Rest House

OPP. CommissionerOfficer, Gujranwala.

Suit No.355-1/2012Shahbaz Khan S/O Ch,Nazeer Ahmed —PlaintiffVersusBank Al-Falah Limited —De-fendantSummons U/S 9 (5) of the Fi-nancial Institutions (Recoveryof Finances) Ordinance; 2001(Ordinance No.XLVI of 2001)Summons to: Bank Al-FalahLimited G.T. RoadGujranwala through BranchManager.WHEREAS the aforesaidplaintiff has instituted a suit fordeclaration of Accounts withpermanent injunction againstyou. A Summons u/s 9(5) Or-dinance XIVI of 2001 referredto above is hereby issued re-quiring you to make within 30days of the service of the Sum-mon, an application for leaveto defend the suit in the formof written statement U/S 10 ofthe said ordinance.

Take notice that on yourfailure to file such applicationwithin time specified above,the Banking Court shall passa decree as prayed for in theplaint, in the favour of theplaintiff Banking Company.Next date for further proceed-ings, in the case has been fixedon 26.04.2013.

Given under my hand andthe seal of the court, this15.04.2013

Seal of the CourtBanking Court I

Gujranwala

COURT NOTICE

In the Court of Syed ImamAli Shah, Judge BankingCourt No-II Gujranwala

Suit No.158/2013NIB Bank Ltd G.T. RoadGujranwala —PlaintiffVersusMr. Kalbe-Abbas Baig —De-fendantSummons U/S 9 (5) of the Fi-nancial Institutions (Recoveryof Finances) Ordinance; 2001(Ordinance No.XLVI of 2001)Summons to: Mr. Kalbe-Abbas Baig S/O MirzaHashmat Baig R/O 7/2-2, Col-lage Road Mohallah 4-Febru-ary Gunj Gujranwala, Also atM/S Insan Pur Foods Prop,Ship Concern Registered of-fice at Al-Hassain BuildingBank Square, Deal Bazar,Gujranwala through KalbeAbbas BaigWHEREAS the aforesaidplaintiff has instituted a suitagainst you and other for therecovery of Rs=1,900,998/17-along with mark up/interestand cost etc, claimed to bepayable by you A Summonsu/s 9(5) Ordinance XIVI of2001 referred to above ishereby issued requiring you tomake within 30 days of theservice of the Summon, an ap-plication for leave to defendthe suit in the form of writtenstatement U/S 10 of the saidordinance.Take notice that on your fail-ure to file such applicationwithin time specified above,the Banking Court shall passa decree as prayed for in theplaint, in the favour of theplaintiff Banking Company.Next date for further proceed-ings, in the case has been fixedon 10.06.2013.

Given under my hand andthe seal of the court, this15.04.2013

Seal of the CourtBanking Court II

Gujranwala

LAHORE: The Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia Mourad Bourehla snapped with M Farooq Hameed, HonoraryConsul of Tunisia and Khalid Butt, Resident Editor Pakistan Observer, Lahore. M Farooq Hameed was given the award ofTunisian Republic at a well attended function.

LOST & FOUND

Original file of my plot #IDN-37747 Bahria TownPhase 8 has been lost if some-one find it please send it onthe following address. FarakhHussain House # E-42/9Satelite Town RawalpindiContact: 0333-5109822.

ies. Taimur Azmat Usman hasnow been posted as Secre-taryFood Security, Ahmed BakhshLehri as Secretary Establish-ment Di-vision, Chaudhry Ijazas Chief Secretary Sindh, RajaAbbas as Secretary Board of In-vestment, Nasir Khosa as Sec-retary Textiles and Dr. WaqarMasood as Secretary Fi-nance.—APP

PM appointsAdvisor Finance

From Page 1

favouritism and his party wouldtake all measures to root outcorruption, especially in govern-ment circles and among the richand powerful.

Musharraf also said that al-leviating the people’s despair andprotecting Pakistan against exter-nal and internal threats were ma-jor parts of his party’s manifesto.The APML leader also vowed towork for the promotion of peaceand prosperity in Pakistan ifelected into power.

He also stated that his partyhad an effective plan for theutilisation of water resourcesthrough the construction of theKalabagh dam. He said that hisparty would also evoke strategiesto enhance agriculture and im-prove irrigation in the country.Reflecting on the country’s poli-tics, Musharraf said he was theonly leader who had imple-mented an effective democracyin the country and, if elected inpower, he would ‘restore’ democ-racy in the country.

I have donenothing wrong

From Page 1

Sahibzada Haji MuhammadFazal Karim was a senior andvocal member of the SIC. TheSIC chief had denounced suicidebombings as un-Islamic and hadcondemned the attack on “DataDarbar”, and the attack on MalalaYousafzai demanding a crack-down against terrorists.

He began his political careerwith the Pakistan MuslimLeague–N and was elected as aMember of National Assemblyfrom Faisalabad under the partyticket. He was later associatedwith the Jamiat Ulema-i-Paki-stan. His funeral prayers wouldbe offered at 10 am today.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister,Justice (Retd) Mir Hazar KhanKhoso has expressed his profoundgrief and sorrow over the passingaway of Sahib-zada FazalKareem, Chief of Sunni IttehadCouncil.

In a message to his son, thePrime Minister appreciated hiscontribution towards public ser-vice and prayed to Almighty Al-lah to rest the departed soul ineternal peace and grant courageto the family to bear this irrepa-rable loss with fortitude.

Sahibzada FazalFrom Page 1

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Without formallyannouncing the PML-N candi-dates, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Monday formallystarted the party election cam-paign in Lahore amid claims tobring real change in the countryfor the benefit of public at large,if voted to power. M a r y a mNawaz, the daughter of PML-NPresident inaugurated the PML-N central election office in NA-120 at Lower Mal amid greatenthusiasm among the partyworkers. A large number ofwomen workers of the PML-Nalso participated in the inaugu-ral function. They raised fullthroated slogans in favour ofNawaz Sharif on the occasion.

Addressing on the occasion,Maryam Nawaz said the PML-N would bring revolutionarychanges in the country, if votedto power. She said the PML-Nis waging a just struggle for im-proving the lot of have-nots andstrengthening the country.

Young PML-N workerswere wearing T-shirts inscribedwith election symbol of thePML-N while the womenworkers had green veils on theirheads. A PML-N activist also

brought a lion on the occasionwhich attracted the people. Mu-sic was played while the PML-N workers also danced on drumbeat.

The PML-N’s central elec-tion office in Lahore will alsomonitor election campaign inevery constituency of nationaland provincial assemblies ofLahore.

Moreover, the PML-Nleader Tariq Azim has said, fol-lowing abysmal performance intheir five years of loot and plun-der, Pakistan People’s Party(PPP), with nothing worthwhileto claim, has now embarkedupon a strategy to hoodwink thenation through blatant misrep-resentation of facts, first witheconomy and now with energy.

PML-N starts electioncampaign in Lahore

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—The upcoming gen-eral elections will be importantmilestone for Pakistan as it wouldbe first time in Pakistan’s historythat power would be transferredafter completion of democraticterm. Peter Heyward, the Aus-tralian High Commissioner to Pa-kistan said this while announc-ing an additional $4.2 millionsupport for Election Commissionof Pakistan to hold transparent,credible and inclusive electionsin the country.

The funding is additional toinitial contribution of $3.2 mil-lion provided by Austria in 2011-12 bringing Australia’s total con-tribution to the ECP TO $7.4million.. The electoral Cycle sup-port to the ECP Project has beendeveloped by the Unitd nationsDevelopment Program (UNDP)to help ECP deliver its five year2010-2014 strategic Plan. It aimsto increase the capacity of ECP.It may be noted that European

Union, Norway, Japan, the unitedStates and UNDP are other do-nors to the electoral Cycle Sup-port to ECP Project.

The Australian High Com-missioner also announced a 4year $13 million commitment tofund an agricultural developmentproject in six remote districts ofBalochistan. Australian Assis-tance to the Balochistan BorderAreas project has been developedby the FAO in conjunction withthe government of Pakistan,Balochistan provincial Govern-ment and AusAID and builds onthe USAID Balochistan Agricul-ture project that has been operat-ing for the past eight years in thenorthern districts of the province.

The Australian High Com-missioner said that the fundingwill expand to districts of Chagai,Kech, Kharan, Nushki, Panjguarand Washuk. The High Commis-sioner said that as part of theUSAID Balochistan AgriculturalProject, a group of 15 men andwomen farmers from the prov-

ince visited Australia in Januarythis year for a sheep and wooltour. It focused on training insheep management, sharing andwool handling with the aim ofboosting the farm incomes inBalochistan. An exhibition ofphotographs from the sheep andwool tour will be shown at the2013 Austrlaia Day in Spring re-ception.

Australia Day in Spring is acelebration of Australia in Paki-stan and celebrating events willbe held in Karachi, Lahore andIslamabad this week. While dis-cussing two way trade betweenAustralia and Pakistan, the HighCommissioner said that currentlythe two way trade is around AUD706 million while agriculturebusiness and agricultural sciencelinkages continue to drive theAustralia- Pakistan economicand trade ties, education servicesare also increasingly importantand there are opportunities inother sectors where Australia isstrong he pointed out.

Australia pins hope onPakistan’s elections

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—The Karachi Waterand sewerage Board (KW&SB)Managing Director (MD)Misbahuddin Farid disclosed thatthere were more than 500 commer-cial entities were deceiving themasses for bottled mineral waterbut were simply using plain tabwater being supplied by the waterutility. Immediate action should betaken against such impostors andtheir water connections should im-mediately be disconnected.

The MD said that theKW&SB was a public servicedepartment and providing waterthrough taps was our utmost pri-ority. The officials of the waterutility should work together forthe betterment of the institution.All the Deputy Managing Direc-tors must monitor their respec-tive departments and ensure thatquality of work was improved.

He was addressing a highlevel meeting of the KW&SBofficials at the MD Secretariat

Monday. The meeting discussedseveral administrative mattersincluding improvement in Wa-ter Supply System; ensuringdaily supply as per schedule andschedules must be placed at allpumping stations. All DeputyManaging Directors, Chief En-gineers, Directors and Officerswere present. The MDdirected that Emergency Centres

must be active 24 hours. Staffwould be deployed in threeshifts so that citizens of Karachimay not face any troubles to reg-ister their complaints.

Fake bottled water on salewere wrongly rejected as henever misused discretionarypowers to allocate developmentfunds for his constituency.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was ac-cused of misappropriating devel-opment funds and indulging innepotism.

It is interesting to note herethat both the former prime min-isters of Pakistan People’s Party- Yousuf Raza Gilani and RajaPervez Ashraf - stand ineligibleto contest May 11 elections.

The Election Tribunal hasdismissed all appeals againstNawaz Sharif and ShahbazSharif and declared them eligibleto contest elections from Lahore.

Nawaz Sharif will contestelections from NA-120 Lahore,while Shahbaz Sharif will con-test election from PP-161Lahore. Four appeals were filedagainst acceptance of nominationpapers of Nawaz Sharif fromNA-120 Lahore. Similarly, 4 ap-peals were filed against accep-tance of candidature of MianShahbaz Sharif from PP-161.

The petitions were filed be-fore the Election Tribunal inLahore to disqualify Nawaz

Sharif on the grounds of manydiscrepancies and concealment inassets and income statements.

Earlier‚ the Election Tribu-nal of Lahore had declined tohear the appeals against both thePML-N leaders on personalgrounds, after which appealsagainst them were transferred tothe new tribunal comprising Jus-tice Nasir Saeed Shaikh and Jus-tice Shahid Wahid. Moreover,the PML-N President NawazShasrif’s election campaign forNA-120 has been formallystarted with the opening of elec-tion office opposite Nasir Bagh.

Begum Kalsoom Nawaz ac-companied by Maryam Nawazled a rally from the PML-N Sec-retariat which was participatedby the party activists includingfemale workers. The PML-Nworkers chanted slogans infavour of Nawaz Sharif.

Meanwhile, the Election Tri-bunal on Monday rejected the ap-peal of former military ruler Gen-eral (Retd.) Pervez Musharrafagainst rejection of his nomina-tion papers for NA-250 inKarachi. The Sindh High Court’sElection Tribunal hearing the

appeal upheld the verdict of re-turning officer and declared thatthe former dictator could not runfor elections from NA-250.

Musharraf’s nomination pa-pers for National Assembly con-stituency NA-250 were rejectedover the objections of subvertingthe constitution and sacking topjudiciary in 2007 emergency.

On Monday, Musharraf’slawyer Khawaja Naveed arguedbefore the tribunal, comprisingJustice Faisal Arab and JusticeMunir Ahmed, that his client ful-filled the criteria set by Article62 and 63 of the constitution, andwas let inside Kaaba severaltimes.

However, he could not sat-isfy the tribunal.

Musharraf launched his ownparty, All Pakistan MuslimLeague (APML), in 2010 andreturned to Pakistan in Marchafter ending his self-imposed ex-ile to take part in the election.

He is currently facing seriesof cases including former primeminister Benazir Bhutto andBaloch leader Nawab AkbarBugti murder cases and judgessacking and house arrest cases.

Pervez Ashraf out of raceFrom Page 1

JUI-F manifestoFrom Back Page

Afghanistan, he maintained. JUI-F Chief said his party,

from the very first day, is againstwar in Afghanistan continuedfrom 12 years and support thedialogue process as it is the onlyway to maintain peace in the re-gion.

He said the efforts will bemade for enforcement of theUnited Nations (UN) resolutionson Kashmir, adding both the Pa-kistan and India should have toshow seriousness in resolving thelong run pending issue.

Peace and security will beestablished in FATA throughJirgas, which have already beenestablished. These jirgas will beencouraged to bring peace inFATA and their experience willbe used in other parts of thecountry.

Maulana said the Parliamentwill find ways to make Balochpeople real stakeholders in megaprojects like Gawadar,RECODEC, SANDAK as wellas gas pipeline and any finalagreement will be made bindingon all stakeholders.

He said that the semi-inde-pendent boards under parliamen-tary oversight will be establishedto run ailing corporations likePakistan International Airlines(PIA), Pakistan Steels, PakistanRailways, WAPDA etc.

Fazl said the inter-bankingrate will be made attractive toencourage overseas Pakistanis tosend remittances through normalbanking channels rather thanHawala/Hundi system.

ISLAMABAD—President Asif AliZardari Monday urged the peopleof the tribal areas to participatein the election and elect the rep-resentatives who can bring abouta positive change in their lives.

Addressing a grand tribaljirga of elders from the FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas hereat the President House, the Presi-dent said the country was head-ing towards a democratic transi-tion, for the first time in its his-tory. The President urged thepeople from the tribal belt not tobe deterred and participate in theelectoral process so that theyelect true representa-tives whocan help resolve the problemsthey are facing. He said that se-curity concerns and fragile lawand order situation should not bea hindrance in the way of voting.He said that he himself has suf-fered and given sacrifices in thewar against militancy, and men-tioned the sacrifice of ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

The jirga was also attendedby Chairman Senate NayyarHussain Bokhari, GovernorKhyber Pukhtunkhwah EngineerShaukatullah, federal minis-ters,elders from different Agencies ofFATA, ACS FATA, Dr Tashfeen

President urges FATA peopleto participate in elections

Khan, senior officials of FATASecretariat and high officials.President Zardari said a nationthat does not change its circum-stances, should not expect any-one else to bring about a changefor them.

“You have skilled man-power, highly qualified engi-neers, doctors and other profes-sionals, who can play their ac-tive role in bringing about asocio-economic change in theirrespective areas,” the Presidentsaid. The President mentionedthe Benazir Income Support Pro-gram (BISP) and said that despitesome initial resistance in someparts of FATA, the program hasnow started receiving attention.He said a number of features canlater be added to the program,that can cater to the health, edu-cation and stipends for the tribalpeople through BISP socialsafety net.

President Zardari said thatthe democratic government fromday one had been doing a lot forthe uplift of the area and to bringit at par with the rest of the de-veloped areas of the country.

He said the appointment of aGovernor from FATA was theright step in the direction and will

go a long way in bringing the areainto the national mainstream andalso to acknowledge it as an im-portant part of the country andalso to recognize the sacrifices ofits people. The President termedthe valiant and courageouspeople of FATA as “de-fendersof the frontiers”. He acknowl-edged their sacrifices andstruggle, along with the armedforces of the country, to makePakistan a safer place to live.

The President said the demo-cratic government in the past fiveyears has taken a number of mea-sures for the uplift of tribal peopleand have opened for the first timeopportunity for reforms in FATAthat had been denied for the pastover a century.

He said besides giving a newjudicial system, the people oftribal areas have been allowed,for the first time, to freely par-ticipate in political ac-tivities.

The President said the newjudicial system in FATA ensuresdue process, the right to appealand the right to bail - again forthe first time, adding that actu-ally it is a leap forward for thepeople of FATA towards free-doms, liberties, human rights andpolitical participation.

city of Jalalabad took to thestreets on Monday to protest thebuilding of a Pakistani mili-tarygate in what the Afghan defenceministry says is inside Afghani-stan. The incident is the latest inrising tensions between the twosides, whose attempts to lure theTaliban to the peace table havestalled amid their feuding.

The protest was sparked bya statement on Sunday by AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai who or-dered his top officials to takeimmediate action to remove thegate and other “Pakistani militaryinstallations near the DurandLine”. Afghanistan maintainsthat activity by either side alongthe Durand Line must be ap-proved by both countries.

“Establishing a gate by Pa-kistan on the Durand Line andinside Afghani-stan is against allinternational norms,” Afghandefence ministry spokes-man,General Zahir Azimi, told a newsconference on Monday.

“We will use all options toremove whatever they havebuilt,” he added, without elabo-rating. —Reuters

Border postFrom Page 1

ISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt of Pakistan on Mondayadjourned the hearing of thetreason case against formerPresident General (retd) PervezMusharraf till April 17 seekinga reply from the federation.

In its interim order the apexcourt stated that it appeared thatthe federal government had nottaken any action despite a Sen-ate resolution and court order.During proceedings AttorneyGeneral Irfan Qadir appearedbefore the two member benchhearing the case and said he hadobjections regarding the pro-ceedings not the petition. Qadiradded that he would submit hisobjections in writing.

Justice Khilji Arif remarkedthat the court should be in-formed of the federation’s stanceregarding Musharraf’s Novem-ber 3 actions. He asked ifMusharraf’s actions violatedArticle 6 of the constitution. Jus-tice Arif further remarked thatif Article 6 was applicable, pro-

SC seeks reply from federationin Musharraf treason case

ceedings would move forwardaccording to this.

Earlier during proceedings,Justice Jawwad S Khawaja re-marked that it has been fouryears since July 31, 2009 orderwas issued and the court wantedto know what did the federationdo in that regard.

He continued saying that thecourt will issue notice to the fed-eration and not to the attorneygeneral. The federation can askanyone to appear.

The lawyer of the petitionerA.K. Dogar has requested to re-place the advocate on-record.While presenting his arguments,Dogar said that the advocate on-record has asked to withdraw thepetition without the directives ofthe petitioner.In it’s interim order issued thecourt inquired from the federalgovernment about whether theNovember 2007 imposition ofemergency by General (retd)Pervez Musharraf was constitu-tional or unconstitutional.

Rs 3,000decline in

gold prices inone daySTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—All Sindh SarafaAssociation recorded a Rs 3000drop in gold prices per tola onMonday, bringing the price ofgold to Rs 53,500 per tola. Thisis the biggest ever fall in goldprices to be recorded in one day.

The price of gold in the in-ternational markets is also facinga two year low, trading at $ 1,444per ounce after a sharp drop byover $57 per ounce. The price ofgold has decreased by 20 percentsince it reached a record high inSeptember 2011. Analysts sayinvestors are taking less interestin trading gold at this time as theyexpect an improvement in theglobal economy.

Meanwhile, Reuters addsfrom Singapore that gold sankfurther into bear-market territoryon Monday as prices dropped toa two-year trough on fears of cen-tral bank sales and less monetarystimulus, while holdings on glo-bal exchange-traded funds hittheir lowest in more than a year.

Along with gold, investorsditched other commodities fromoil to copper after a less-than-forecast growth in China’s grossdomestic product in the first quar-ter stoked doubts about the healthof the global economy.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Medicaland Dental Council has decidedto formulate and assure all Medi-cal colleges to allocate 50% bedsin free for the poor patient includ-ing consultation fee and treat-ment. This was decided in ameeting of administratorPM&DC, Dr Raja AmjadMahood, advisor UG Lt Gen (R)Rehan Barney with federal min-ister Shahzada Jamal Nasir.

The minister has directed thePM&DC officials to establish ahotline network with all the pri-vate and public medical colleges

Private medical colleges togive 50% free health facilities

to help-facilitate the patient com-plaints on war footings.

The minister was also ap-praised by the PM&DC officialsto refrain media from unethicalpractices of fake promotional ad-vertising of fake doctors. The min-ister has assured that PEMRA andAPNS will be given clear-cut di-rections to ban such advertisingpromotion fake doctors and Clin-ics. Along, it was also decidedthat a fee structure will be devisedfor all the doctors to charge frompatients. PM&DC had also beendirected to launch a strict actionagainst the quacks and fake medi-cal doctors.

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Mystery sur-rounds over the existenceof slap gate controversybetween S. Sreesanth andHarbhajan Singh.

Deepu Santhanam hasnow defended the claimthat Harbhajan had notslapped his brother.

Speaking exclusivelyover telephone, he said,“my brother was notslapped by HarbhajanSingh. It was elbowed fromthe back”.

“Yes, this disclosurehas come only after fivelong years, but it was onlywhen media compared therecent incident (fight be-tween Gautam Gambhir andVirat Kohli) with slap gate.Sreesanth was very muchfed up with slapgate,slapgate and out of emo-tions said this to the me-dia”, his brother, DeepuSanthnam, who owns mu-sic shop in Kochi, said.

Sreesanth has removedall his controversial tweetsfrom his twitter handle andalso been warned by theBCCI to speak on the sub-ject.

“My brother is a very

Sreesanth was not slappedon face, insists his brother

religious man (Sreesanthvery recently visited Shirdi toseek Sai Baba’s solace) andwill not speak lie”, Deepu, theelder brother, who alsoplayed the game at schoollevel and was instrumental inswitching Sreesanth fromspinner to pace bowler,added.

Sreesanth family wereunaware of Sreesanth’scricketing ambitions for along time. When Sreesanthfamily became aware of theiryounger son’s yearning to bea cricketer, they were worried.Sreesanth family knew thatnot everyone can make thecut and be chosen to repre-sent India. However, being aclose-knit family, they de-cided to support him whenthey realized that he was pas-sionate about the game.

Members of Sreesanthfamily are connected to thedramatic arts in a direct orindirect ways. His brother-in-law also encouraged him anddid his best to help him in histraining and career. So,Sreesanth family back-ground is an important fac-tor in making him a success-ful cricketer. Sreesanth’sBrother-in-law is a famousSouth Indian Playback singerMadhu Balakrishnan. He isan award winning singer,

who sings in all the SouthIndian Languages He isalso part of the S36 bandformed by Sreesanth.Sreesanth’s sisterNiveditha is a televisionactress in Kerala.

Sreesanth’s father(Santhakumaran Nair) is aretired Life Insurance Cor-poration employee. Hismother (Savithri Devi) usedto work for the treasury de-partment.

“We are not in posses-sion with the audio”, heconfirmed. “We have de-cided not to discuss on thisissue with him”.

It is not even knownwhether the audio exists infirst place. Even if it exists,how can it be Lalit Modi,when he is no more attachedwith the IPL. It is wonderedwhether he would ever re-lease it from London, wherehe has been living now.

Sreesanth’s personalcoach, P. Shiv Kumar wasalso wondering with the re-cent controversy. “The in-cident happened some fiveyears ago and we wouldlike to bury it there”, he saidexclusively, again.Harbhajan and Sreesanthare due to meet on April 17in Jaipur, when Royals playMumbai Indians.

ATTOCK: Tent peggers displaying theiur skills during the final of Tent Pagging competition in Jashn-e-Baharan Festival.

ABBOTTABAD: National Squash players undergo army-style drills during training camp organised by Paki-stan Squash Federation at Army School of Physical Training, Kakul.

PESHAWAR: Directorate of Sports KP Women, Rashida Ghaznavi with the winningteam of KP Inter-Region Women Taekwondo Championship at Gymnasium Hall QayyumSports Complex.

A B B O T A B A D — N a t i o n a lSquash players are goingthrough tough army-styledrills at Army School ofPhysical Training, KakulAbbotabad to improve theirfitness level ahead of the 17thAsian (seniors) SquashChampionship.

The Championship willroll into action at MushafSquash Complex, PakistanSports Complex Islamabadfrom May 1.

“We have arranged thecamp here to better equip ourplayers for lengthier con-tests”, national head coachJamshed Gul told APP onMonday.

The three-week longcamp set up by PakistanSquash Federation (PSF) inlush green Kakul Academyon March 27 will continue tillApril 17. “After that we willmove the camp to SportsComplex Islamabad,” Gulsaid.

He said players were un-dergoing physical training,

Squash players undergotough army-style training

under the supervision of Pa-kistan Army’s Physical In-structor Muhammad SajjadShah besides practicing inthe courts at Jahangir KhanSquash Complex.

Jamshed Gul said Paki-stan players faced fitnessproblems despite being a tal-ented lot. “We have somevery talented guys but theyhave fitness issues. But I amsure these drills will help themovercome their grey areas,”he said.

He was confident that thearmy-style drills would takethe fitness level of nationalplayers close to that of inter-national standards. “Thesedrills will not only make themphysically strong but alsomake them mentally tougher.I am sure soon we will be ableto regain our lost glory inSquash,” he maintained.

He said that the AsianSquash Championshipwould help attract more in-ternational squash to thecountry.

Army’s Physical Instruc-tor Sajjad Shah said that Pa-kistan players were very tal-ented and if they continuedworking with the same zealand passion it would betough for any side to beatthem. “The intense trainingthey are getting here will taketheir fitness to a higherlevel,” he said.

“This is something verydemanding. This is surelygoing to improve our staminato stay on the courts forlengthier contests,” saidSquash player FarhanMehboob.

So far nine countries in-cluding Malaysia, Kuwait, SriLanka, China, Korea, HongKong, Iran, Iraq and Jordonhave confirmed their partici-pation in the championship.Over 40 male and female play-ers from these countries areexpected to feature in thefive-day extravaganza.

Pakistan being the hostswill have 12 players in thischampionship, including sixfemale players. The nationalmen outfit will be comprisedof Amir Atlas, FarhanMehboob, Nasir Iqbal, Dan-ish Atlas and Ali Bukhari.While female team consistsof Marya Toor, RushnaMehboob, Zoya Khalid,Saima Shaukat, Rifat Khanand Samar Anjam.—APP

L A H O R E — M o h a m m a dShabbir once again suc-ceeded in intimidating hisfellow competitors and af-ter curbing their challenge,retained the title of the 33rdPunjab Open Golf Champi-onship at the GujranwalaGolf and Country ClubCourse on Monday.

A victory of this pres-tige and honour and lucra-tive in terms of money is notsomething new for him butin the process left behindmany champions in disarrayand anguish by underlinghis golfing talent.

And the most affectedone was his club mate,Mohammad Nazir ofIslamabad who played su-perb golf in all the threerounds, even remained a

Shabbir retains PunjabOpen Golf title

leader at the end of day oneand day two, , but in theultimate reckoning had toconcede victory by the bar-est of margins. Nazir had athree days aggregate scoreof 204, twelve under parwhile Shabbir remained su-perior by one stroke andcompiled an aggregatescore of 203, thirteen underpar.

The only consolationfor Nazir is that he wasloudly applauded by all theprofessionals and expertsfor putting up a wonderfulperformance and apparentwas his consistency on allthree days of the competi-tion.

Shabbir was once againall charged up at the Coursewith his putter in full con-

trol, he fashioned under parrounds on all three daysand even when he was lurk-ing behind Nazir for somemoments, the all conquer-ing look did not fade awayat any stage. With this kindof excellence, he made othertop names like MohammadMunir, Matloob Ahmed,Imdad Hussain andMohammad Tariq look ordi-nary.

Shahid Wahab Rao, Sec-retary of Punjab Golf Asso-ciation stated that thischampionship has pro-duced a number of records.On the first day 33 partici-pating professionalsshowed their abilities bycoming up with under parrounds. On the second daythe cut was made at a score

of one over par and on thefinal day 22 contendersproduced under par roundsand four competitors hadpar rounds, a high qualityperformance noticed firsttime in any open golf com-petition. Shabbir hopedthat Pakistan golf federationwill promote him overseasby sponsoring his foreigntrips to Asian Golf Tourevents .

In the amateurs sectionGhazanfar Mehmood ofRawalpindi Golf Club wonthe first gross with scoresof 72, 70 and 75 and an ag-gregate of 217. Wasim Ranaof DHA, Karachi came sec-ond with scores of 73, 76,and 72 and a total for threedays of 221.Zohaib Asifwas third in this category.Top position in Ladies sec-tion was won by TahiraN a z i r ( R a w a l p i n d i ) w i t hShahzadi Gulfam (Garrison,Lahore) as the runnersup.Ana James Gill of RoyalPalm came third.—APP

Cueists camp forAsian Snooker

commencesKARACHI—Training camp ofPakistani cueists in prepara-tion for 29th Asian SnookerChampionship commenced atKhurram Agha Snooker Club,Tariq Road here on Monday.

Pakistan Billiards andSnooker Federation (PBSF) isconducting the 11-day train-ing camp to put the cueistsin top shape for the Asianevent to be played at a hotelhere from April 27 to May 3.

Reigning IBSF WorldChampion Muhammad Asif,ex-Asian number twoMuhammad Sajjad, NationalChampion Hamza Akbar, ImranShehzad, Abdul Sattar, BabarMasih and Shahid Aftab andstandby Abu Saim, all reportedfor the training camp. NaveedKapdia is supervising thetraining camp which runs from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.—APP

ITF approvesPakistan appealagainst referee

L O N D O N — I n t e r n a t i o n a lTennis Federation (ITF) ap-proved the appeal by Paki-stan against a Sri Lankan ref-eree and said the petitionwould be submitted beforethe Board of Directors nextmonth.

Pakistan tennis starAisam-ul-Haq gave a one-and-a-half-hour briefing tothe ITF Davis Cup Commit-tee at the meeting held inLondon. He informed thecommittee about Pakistan’sreservations on the decisionof the Sri Lankan referee due

to which Pakistan were con-troversially disqualified fromtheir ‘home’ Davis Cupmatch, played in Yangon,Myanmar, against NewZealand last weekend be-cause of “unplayable” courtconditions.

Pakistan were leading thematch 1-0 when the refereedeclared New Zealand win-ner in the Cup match due topoor surface of the court.

The three-day Asia/Oceania Group II tie wasstaged in Yangon after NewZealand had refused to playin Pakistan due to securityconcerns.—AFP

Punjab dominateInter-provincialU-14 SwimmingLAHORE—Punjab swimmersdominated the opening day ofthe Pakistan Sports Board In-ter-provincial Under-14 Swim-ming Championship on Mon-day at Islamabad.

Punjab talented swimmersscooped four gold besides cre-ating new national records inthree events.

In 200 metres freestyle,Mohammad Rizwan of Punjabcreated national record of 2.59seconds to win gold medalwhile his teammateMohammad Hamza securedsecond position and HassanAhmed of KhyberPakhtunkhwa got bronzemedal.

In 100 metres breaststroke,Punjab’s Hamza establishedanother record for the provincewith a time of 1.33.91 secondsto secure gold medal whileAbdur Rehman also of Punjabwon silver medal whileBalochistan’s Ali Abbas gotthird position.

In 100 metres backstroke,Rizwan won another gold medalwith another record for Punjabprovince with a timing of 1.30.07seconds. Similarly, Punjab’sRizwan took his third gold medaland the fourth for his provincewhen he won the 100 mertesbutterfly event with a time of1.38.31. Islamabad’s Khurshidwas placed second and Farhanof KPK was third.—APP

LAHORE—Former Pakistancricket captain, Imzamam ulHaq has termed Lahore CityCricket Association “ a rolemodel body “ for promotingcricket at grass root level dur-ing previous three years andcalled for continuation ofpresent set up of the associa-tion. “We have seen a signifi-cant cricket development atearly level in recent years andefforts are being made in rightdirection to re-establishLahore’s name as nursery toidentify new talent and togroom it”, he said here on Mon-day.

The former dashing bats-man was of the view that thereis dire need to continue thepolices of the present set upof LCCA under the guidanceof Khawaja Nadeem Ahmedand this objective can beachieved by his re-election fora second term.

LCCA a role model body forpromoting cricket: Inzamam

“After two decades darkera in cricket in Lahore, a rayof hope emerged with the elec-tion of Kh Nadeem and sin-cere efforts are being made tobetter the sagging fortune ofLahore’s cricket which is evi-dent from the results achievedby Lahore’s teams in domes-tic tournaments in recentyears “,he asserted.

Inzamam called for con-tinuation of President LCCAby his re-election enablinghim to put in more efforts witha renewed zeal to further im-prove club cricket which is theback bone of cricket structure.

He said the task assignedto LCCA is not easy as longterms efforts with devotionand dedication are needed togive Lahore’s its previous sta-tus of a cricket body whichproduced a number of test andinternational cricketers in thepast.—APP

J A K A R T A — U n d e f e a t e dWorld Boxing Associationfeatherweight champion ChrisJohn of Indonesia Sunday re-tained his title in a technicaldraw after a headbutt left adeep cut over his right eye.

The bout with Japan’sSatoshi Hosono at the indoortennis stadium in Jakarta wasstopped by the referee at twominutes and 12 seconds intoround three after a head buttby Hosono left John with abloody gash over his right eye.

John, 33, defended his titlefor the 18th time after a tie wasdeclared. With the latest result,his record stands at 48 wins,three draws and no losses, put-ting him within reach of thebenchmark set by Mexicangreat Ricardo Lopez, who re-tired undefeated with 51 victo-ries. “Honestly, I’m not satis-fied with my performance. But Isuffered a serious injury thatforced me to stop,” he told thestadium packed with cheeringIndonesian fans. “I hope tocompete again to satisfy myfans in Indonesia,” he added.

Sunday’s result leftHosono, ranked sixth in theWBA, with 23 wins, including17 KOs against two defeatsand a draw.

Meanwhile, GuillermoRigondeaux retained his WBAsuper bantamweight champi-onship and added the WBOsuper bantamweight belt,unanimously outpointingNonito Donaire on Saturdaynight at Radio City Music Hall.

Rigondeaux improved to12-0, receiving winning scoresof 114-113, 115-112 and 116-111 in the unification bout. Hefailed to knock out an oppo-nent for only the fourth timesince turning pro, but over-came being knocked downtwice in the opening minute of

John retains crownin technical draw

the 10th round in a perfor-mance that had some booingthe lack of action.—AFP

ISLAMABAD: Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force presenting the Crest ofhis office to Lieutenant General Viktor Nikolayevich Bondarev. Commander-in-Chief Federation Air Force at Air Head-quarters.

JAIPUR—Indian s e c u r i t yforces have found a dead falconfitted with a small camera whichhas sparked alarm near thecountry’s highly milita-risedborder with Pakistan, an officialsaid Monday. The carcass wasdiscovered near the ancient fortcity of Jaisalmer in the far westof the desert state of Rajasthanwhere the Indian armed forcesregularly conduct drills and wargames. “It was fitted with somedevice and an antenna,” a senior

Border Security Force officerstationed in the state told AFPby telephone on condition ofanonymity.

Suspicions were initiallythat the bird might have beenused for military spying, but thecamera did not appear very so-phisticated and it might in-steadhave been the work of Pakistanihunters, the official said.

“However, the possibility ofit being an espionage attemptfrom Pakistan cannot be ruled

out at this stage,” he said, add-ing that an investigation wasbeing carried out.

In 2010, Indian police de-tained a pigeon under armedguard after it was caught on analleged spying mission.

Local officers in Punjabstate, which lies to the north ofRajasthan, said the white birdhad a ring around its foot and aPakistani phone number andaddress stamped on its body inred ink.—Agencies

Dead falcon sparks spying fearson Pakistan-India border

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Sindh HighCourt issued stay order on print-ing of ballot papers of elevenconstituencies of Karachi Mon-day.

According to sources, theSHC has ordered to stop theprinting of ballot papers of 11constituencies of Karachi afterMuttahida Qaumi Movementfiled an appeal against the newdelimitation of Karachi constitu-encies.

On the other hand, the Elec-tion Commission of Pakistanhas completed the printing ofthose 11 controversial constitu-encies of Karachi.

It may be mentioned thatSHC had reserved its judgmenton Monday on the petition filedby the MQM against delimita-tion of three national and eightprovincial assembly constituen-cies in Karachi.

The political party had chal-lenged the electioncommission’s March 22 notifi-cation regarding delimitation of11 Karachi constituencies, term-ing it “nothing but gerrymander-ing” and “against the spirit andprinciple of one man-one vote”.

In his concluding argu-ments, Deputy Attorney GeneralAshiq Raza sub-mitted that con-stituencies were redrawn fol-lowing the Supreme Court or-der on Karachi violence case.

He contended the electioncommission was empoweredunder Section 10-A of the De-limitation of Constituencies Act

to redraw constituencies.The commission also justi-

fied the delimitation, mention-ing that apex court had observedthat boundaries of administra-tive units like police sta-tion andrevenue estates ought to be al-tered to avoid political polariza-tion and break the cycle of eth-nic strife and turf wars.

The court was told theschedule for general elections2013 was issued on March 22and the process started with theissuance of schedule and not bythe completion of the term ofassemblies.

“The petition is not main-tain-able and devoid of anymerit and may kindly be dis-missed,” the election commis-sion submitted.

MQM counsel Farogh

Naseem submitted that delimi-tation was not made accordingto the last recognised census of1998 but on the basis of in-com-plete census.

The constituencies were re-drawn without a fresh census,which could not be done underthe law, he argued.

The lawyer contended thatafter the election process hadstarted neither the constituenciescould be redrawn nor the elec-toral rolls could be changed asboth are relevant to each otheras it would affect the entire elec-tion process.

The SHC division benchheaded by Justice MaqboolBaqar reserved the judgmentand directed the counsel to filetheir written synopsis withintwo days.

SHC issues stay order on 11constituencies in Karachi

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—With general elec-tions 24 days, no traditionalfervour and enthusiasm is inevidence so far in regard toelection campaign from anymajor political party in Lahorewhich is Pakistan’s secondbiggest and the capital of themost populous provincePunjab, it also commands themost number of seats in thenational parliament.

Disillusionment is cer-tainly high with the PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP)’s fiveyears poor performance in thegovernment but the traditional

appetite for election fever isdampened as a whole across theprovince.

This is the first time in 66year history that Pakistan is onits way to vote after experienc-ing the completion of the fullfive-year term of a democrati-cally elected government butthe journey to the elections isturning out to be a bumpy ride.

All three major parties in-cluding Pakistan MuslimLeague-N, Pakistan People’sParty and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf did not finalize the can-didates from all the national andprovincial constituencies of themetropolis and confusion is

prevailing over the minds of thesupporters of their respectiveparties.

Intra-party conflicts arealso being witnessed on the is-sue of distribution of electiontickets since the workers of theeach political party are demon-strating protest in weird waysto press their leaders to allocatetickets to their desired candi-dates.

On the other hand, the po-litical parties are tight-lippedand not disclosing their trumpcards and also have not devisedany election strategy to clinchnational and provincial seatsfrom the constituencies of

Lahore.Even before partitionLahore remained a hub of po-litical activities and it is a truebut trite maxim that a politicalparty that comes off with a bigpublic gathering from Lahoregets a position to outrace its op-ponents across the country.Contrary to the past precedentsset in this regard, overall politi-cal situation remained stagnantin Lahore.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nchief Mian Nawaz Sharif,former Chief Minister MianShahbaz Sharif, HamzaShahbaz Sharif, Khawaja SaadRafique and Pervez Maliklanded as the final candidates

from Lahore and political ac-tivities are being heated upsomehow but after the decisionof Hakim Ali Bhatti for contest-ing elections as an independentcandidate from the constituencyof NA-125, Khawaja SaadRafique will face tough timesince Hakim Ali will damagePML-N vote bank from thisconstituency.

As PTI is concerned, somenames have been confirmed sofar for the constituencies of na-tional and provincial assem-blies. However, PTI still re-mains bogged down with moreintra-party conflict as com-pared to its rival political par-

ties.Reportedly, PTI chief

Imran Khan has got the ticketback the party granted to itsstrong candidate Aleem Khanfrom NA-127 and Aleem Khanis out of the race though he as-sured the party that he wouldremain a party loyal and workdiligently to bring the party tothe winning level in comingelections.

Imran Khan, Hamid Khan,Karamat Khokhar, WaleedIqbal, Shafqat Mehmood andDr Yasmin Rashid have been fi-nalized so far while Dr ShahidRafique, a potential candidateof PTI who scored maximum

votes after PTI chief ImranKhan in elections 2002, hasnot been given election ticketso far despite the fact hecould prove to be a darkhorse. Karamat Khokhar isalso under pressure from thePTI chief Imran Khan for notnominating his close rela-tives.

Pakistan Peoples Partyonly nominated NaveedChaudhary, Tariq Sher Mayo,Samina Khalid Ghurki andBushara Aitzaz so far whilethe remaining constituenciesare still lying vacant in hopeof getting some strong can-didates.

Election fever still lacks heat

Russian airforce chiefvisits PAF

HeadquartersSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Lieutenant Gen-eral Viktor NikolayevichBondarev Commander-in-Chief, Russian Federation AirForce visited Air HeadquartersIslamabad Monday.

It is the first ever visit ofRussian Air Chief to Pakistan,Air Chief Marshal Tahir RafiqueButt, Chief of the Air Staff, Pa-kistan Air Force had his maidenvisit to Russia in August 2012,for participation in the Interna-tional Military Conference.

Lieutenant General ViktorNikolayevich Bondarev is vis-iting Pakistan on the invitationof Air Chief Marshal TahirRafique Butt, Chief of the AirStaff, Pakistan Air Force.

The visiting guest paid hom-age to the martyrs of PAF bylaying floral wreath on Martyrs’Monument at Air Headquarters,Islamabad.

Later he called on Air ChiefMarshal Tahir Rafique Butt inhis office. Both remained to-gether for some time and dis-cussed matters of professionalinterest.

The delegation also attendeda briefing at Air Headquarters onthe organization, role and func-tioning of Pakistan Air Force.

Later in the day, the RussianDelegation visited Air DefenceCommand, Pakistan Air Force.

The Delegation attended abriefing on the working of AirDefence Command and also vis-ited Air Defence Operation Cen-tre.

On their arrival, the Delega-tion was received by Air ViceMarshal Ejaz Mahmood Malik,Air Officer Commanding, AirDefence Command, PakistanAir Force.

No MNA,MPA funds ifelected: Imran

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Chairman Paki-stan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),Imran Khan Monday expressedthe resolve to put an end to thefunds issued to MNAs and MPAsif his party is elected to power inthe upcoming polls.

Talking to a private TV chan-nel, Imran Khan said the oldfaces cannot be expected to bringabout a change in the country.

He said 80 percent candi-dates of PTI have a clean slate,as they had never been electedas assembly members. Thirty-five percent tickets were allottedto candidates below 30 years ofage, he added.

ISLAMABAD—Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) leaderMaulana Fazl ur Rehman onMonday announced 12 pointsmanifesto of his party for upcom-ing general election.

In a press conference hereat National Press Club, he pre-sented the manifesto of his partyand said that JUI-F will resolvethe problems of masses on prior-ity. Elaborating his manifesto, hesaid the ‘war on terror’ has led toincrease in terrorist activities inthe country as well as in thewhole region and therefore, thecountry’s foreign policy will beformulated in the best nationalinterest.

Relations with theneighbour countries will bestrengthened and there should bea balance in import and exportof the country to strengthen theeconomy, he added.

Fazl said that the nationalresources will be used and extraexpenditures including the un-necessary protocol to the minis-ters will be controlled to stabi-

lize the economy, adding thecountry’s economy will dependon national resources instead ofexternal aids or loans.

The bad governance of thepast governments had made Pa-kistan a security state against itsideology of welfare state, addingthat the security will be given tothe lives and properties of everycitizen.

Maulana Fazl ur Rehmansaid the quality and free educa-tion will be provided in the gov-ernment educational institutionsto everyone and education willmade compulsory for every citi-zen till matric.

He said that justice at doorstep will be provided to everycitizen by changing the old sys-tem of judiciary.

Importance will also givento local government system andAfghan reconciliation will besupported but Afghan Taliban’sright to be party of the reconcili-ation process will be acknowl-edged to ensure peace in

JUI-F announces12-point manifesto

Lady judgeescapes

attempt on lifeTARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR–A female judge inShabqadar Charsadda districtMonday escaped unhurt in abomb explosion that the maingate of her house.

According to reports someunknown militants planted abomb in front of female civiljudgeShabqadar Sanam Taj inHaleemzai village, which ex-ploded with a bang. However,no casualties were reported inthe blast. The main gate of thehouse was damaged in the explo-sion.

“A bomb exploded in frontof the house of a female civiljudge here on Monday. However,the attempt remained abortiveads no casualties were reportedin the explosion”, Police and thedistrict administration said.

The bomb disposal squaddefused a bomb in KhawajaAwais village of Charsadda dis-trict. According to bomb dis-posal squad five kilogram bombwas planted in a bag lying in anopen area.

OGRA barred fromissuing 200 CNGlicencesStaff ReporterISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt pf Pakistan on Mondaybarred Oil and Gas RegulatoryAuthority from issuing 200 CNGlicences, approved in the tenureof former prime minister RajaPervaiz Ashraf. A three-memberSC bench, headed by Chief Jus-tice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry was hearing the caseconcerning licences of CNG sta-tions issued in the tenure of twoformer prime ministers. Duringthe hearing, the SC sought pro-cedure of issuing gas station li-cences in the four provinces andthe federal capital Islamabad. Italso stated the court should beinformed how much gas is avail-able in the country and on whatbasis the licences are issued.

Uninterruptedpower supplyISLAMABAD—Election Com-mission of Pakistan ECP hasasked WAPDA to ensure unin-terrupted power supply in orderto facilitate printing of ballot pa-pers. The ECP has written a let-ter to WAPDA, further asking tomake alternative power supplyarrangements, including genera-tors, in the wake ofloadshedding in printing pressoffices, so that printing of bal-lot papers could be completed ontime.—Online

Three die in roofcollapseSIALKOT—At least three chil-dren have died and another sus-tained injuries after burying un-der debris of a collapsed roof ofhouse in village near Sialkot.According to Media Reports,marriage celebrations were un-derway when roof of house col-lapsed with a loud bang and threeguest children buried under de-bris of flatted roof. All three chil-dren expired under debris of theroof and another sustained inju-ries in the incident.—Online

Continued on Page 6

ECP offices, politicalleaders security tightened

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Interior Min-istry has decided to tighten secu-rity of Election Commission of-fices and political leaders.

A high-level meeting chairedby Interior Minister MalikMuhammad Habib here on Mon-

day reviewed law and order andsecurity-related issues with spe-cial reference to KhyberPakhtunkhwa.

During the meeting, the care-taker interior minister directedthe authorities to ensure the se-curity of ANP leaders amongother political leaders contesting

candidates.Habib Muhammad Malik

also directed the authorities tobeef up security of Election Com-mission offices.

The interior minister said thatpolice, rangers and FC shouldkeep their focus on providingsecurity to the political leaders.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Jamaat-e Islami(JI) Chief Syed MunawwarHasan launched 29-point partymanifesto for upcoming generalelections during a ceremony heldat a local hotel Monday.

According to manifesto, theJI claimed that it wanted to makePakistan a model state similar toMedina, where everyone wouldenjoy equal rights.

Sovereignty of the countrywas among the top prioritiesmentioned in the manifesto,whereas elimination of terrorismand lawlessness were alsoplaced on top. The manifesto

JI manifesto focuses onpower crises, terrorism

stressed elimination feudal, sys-tem of unemployment andpower crises.

The manifesto also showeddetermination to activate indus-trial sector in every area of thecountry depends upon its spe-cialty by introducing a revolu-tionary industrial program.

It also covered housingschemes for the poor and lessprivileged people includingavailability of justice to all andequal education facilities to all.

It carried special mentioningof JI’s determination for theelimination of corruption fromthe country and returning of na-tional exchequer from plunders.

MEDITATION can be extremely effective at preventing winter ailments like cold and flu, according

to a new research. Adults who meditatedor did moderately intense exercise, suchas a brisk walk, for eight weeks sufferedfewer colds than thosewho did nothing, accord-ing to a study from theUniversity ofWisconsin?Madison. Pre-vious research has foundthat mindfulness medita-tion may improve mood,decrease stress, and boostimmune function.

Some of the earliest ref-erences to meditation arefound in the Hindu Vedas.Around the 6th to 5th cen-turies BCE, other forms ofmeditation developed inTaoist China and BuddhistIndia. The new study di-vided 149 people into threegroups. One performedmindful meditation, a type ofmeditation that essentially involves focus-ing the mind on the present, the Daily Mailreported.

Another group jogged regularly for eightweeks while the third group did nothing. Theresearchers then followed the health of thevolunteers through the winter from Septem-ber to May, although they didn‘t checkwhether or not people carried on exercisingor meditating after the eight?week period.

The participants were observed for coldand flu symptoms such as a runny nose,stuffiness, sneezing, and sore throat. Nasalwash samples were collected and analysedthree days after the symptoms began. The

Meditation can stave offcold and flu: Study

study, found that meditators missed 76 percent fewer days of work from Septemberthrough to May than those who did noth-ing. Those who had exercised missed 48per cent fewer days during this period.

In addition, mindful meditation can re-duce the duration or severityof acute respiratory infec-tions such by up to 50 percent, and exercise by up to 40per cent. According to thewebsite Scientific America,those who had exercised ormeditated suffered for an av-erage of five days; colds ofparticipants in the controlgroup lasted eight. In addi-tion, tests confirmed that theself-reported length of coldscorrelated with the level of an-tibodies in the body, whichindicate the presence of a vi-rus. “Nothing has previouslybeen shown to prevent acuterespiratory infections,” saidlead author Dr Bruce Barrett,a family medicine doctor and

associate professor at the University. “Alot of previous information suggested thatmeditation and exercise might have preven-tion benefits, but no high-quality,randomised trial had been done,” Barrettsaid. “Flu shots are partially effective, butonly work for three strains of flu each year.The apparent 40 to 50 per cent benefit ofmindfulness training is a very importantfinding, as is the apparent 30 to 40 per centbenefit of exercise training. If this pans outin future research, the impact could be sub-stantive indeed,” Barrett said. The studywas published in the Annals of FamilyMedicine.

RAWALPINDI: Artistes performing during stage play titled ‘Shah Hussain Faqir SainDa’ by Asma Butt, organized by Rawalpindi Arts Council.

ISLAMABAD: Students on their way travelling on the rooftop of a passenger bus facing danger of any mishap.

ISLAMABAD—Several Privatehospitals in twin cities ofIslamabad Rawalpindi are fear-lessly making bucks by fleec-ing patients through differenthidden charges and unneces-sary medical treatments in thename of providing qualitytreatment. The minimum con-sultation fees in private hos-pitals range from Rs 600 to1500, compared to very nomi-nal charges in governmenthospitals.

“Private hospitals chargetoo much in the name of pro-viding quality treatment”, AliRaza a private hospital visitortold the agency.

An estimate reveals thatminimum room charges ofprivate hospitals are aroundRs 10,000 and that of VIProoms are more than Rs15,000. Similarly, patients inIntensive Care Units (ICUs)are heavily charged. The di-alysis and other tests arebecoming simply

unaffordable for middleclass and even upper-middle class. Mostly, thegovernment hospitals inIslamabad are overlappedwith the patients, so peopleresort to private hospital forbetter treatment.

“But these hospitals areavailing unfair advantage ofthe helplessness of patients.The patients have no otheroption than to resort to privatehospitals for treatment sincegovernment hospitals are al-ready overlapped”, said anofficial of a hospital.

Poor quality of services areprovided to the patients. Assoon as the members of theirparamedical staffs find anotherjob they quit their jobs at thesehospitals. It is observed thatat night hours young gradu-ates of medicine are appointedin the Emergency at these pri-vate hospotals to treat pa-tients.

The fresh medical gradu-

ates undergoing house jobsand even under graduatemedical students are usuallyseen in the Emergency, as-suming the responsibility ofpatient’s treatment. This isan alarming situation and de-mands immediate action tobe taken by the Health Min-istry against the hospitals.Any manhandling of the pa-tients by these inexperi-enced medical students canresults in loss of preciouslives.

Ground realities revealthat there is no such conceptas free treatment of patientsunder charity foundationsalso. Some patients beingtreated under one such foun-dation told that they are beingcharged by the hospital.

“At one hand they are pro-moting their so-called charityfoundation by massive adver-tisement, on the other handthey even charge for breath-ing”, stated a patient.—APP

Private hospitals ‘fleecing’patients through hidden charges

STAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D — P e o p l ethrong ‘Culture Pavilions’of the continuing folk festi-val of “Lok Mela” as mas-ter pieces of craftmen ondisplay, depicting tradi-tional colours, remain a ma-jor source of inspiration forthem. The festival at pictur-esque Shakarparian hasbeen organized by Lok Virsa(National Institute of Folk& Traditional Heritage), aspecialized institution work-ing for the promotion andpreservation of Pakistan’sculture at the federalcapital.It opened on Friday,

said a news release.“Culture pavilions” cre-

ated by different provincesare major attractions of thefestival. While visiting thefestival grounds one will seean aesthetically designedcolourful pavilion depictingthe rich culture and tradi-tional architecture of the landof Sufi saints - Sindh prov-ince.

Coordinated by Sindhculture department, a contin-gent of over one hundredparticipants including masterartisans in various craftfields, folk artists, rural musi-cians, instrumentalists andfolk dance groups is actively

participating and showcasingtheir cultural heritage. Thefolk artists, musicians andinstrumentalists who areseen busy in performing inthe pavilion include KarimDino Faqir, Sarwar Ghafoor,Faheem Allan, Ahmed Ali,Mir, Rasool Bux, Allah Dino,Arbab Khoso and Jeeram.

Folk dance groups par-ticipating from Sindh areMatka dancers, Sindhi folkdance group, Shahnaeedance group, Firework/Tharidancers and Chapri dancers.Speaking on the occasion,Executive Director LokVirsa, Khalid Javaid saidSindh is famous for a wide

range of folk crafts like lac-quer art, Farasi weaving,blue pottery, embroidery,Ajrak, block printing, carpetweaving, rilli (appliquework), tie-dye, khes weav-ing, wood work and severalothers which al have beenshowcased at the festival.The creative artisans dis-playing their workmanshipinclude Qaino Mal in Thariembroidery, Naseem Sultanin Sindhi embroidery, SahibDino in Sindhi caps, KhanChand in leather embroidery,Arbab Ali and Imdad Ali inAjrak, Lekhraj in glass/woodwork, Gopal Das in tie dye,Naveed Hussain in Chunri,

Naeemuddin in blue pottery,Haleema in darree work,Shahid Hussain in khesweaving, Siyani in lungiweaving, MunawerKhatoon in rilli work,Poonam in Thari work,Suleman in Jandi work,Khadim Hussain in replica(Moenjodaro), Saima Noor inrilli work, Shahnawaz inKhadi/Sussi work, Sarram inThari Charkha, FaqirMohammad in pottery workand others. Most prominentamong female artisans fromSindh is Ms. Haleema Bibi,72 from Badin practicingdarree work. She learnt thisart from her month at an early

age and is transferring it tothe coming generations toensure continuity of thiscenturies old craft tradition.Male artisans participatingin the Sindh pavilion are alsoequally good in demonstrat-ing their skills. For example,Shahib Dino Mallah belong-ing to a remote villageRanipur in Khairpur Miruscatches the visitors’ eye.

He weaves traditional“khes”(thick sheet) and hasgiven 40 years of his life tokeep this art alive and con-tinuing. `Khes’ is a patternedand bound double weavecloth. Although woven incertain areas of Punjab and

Sindh, they are popular allover Pakistan as bed cov-ers, curtains and floor cov-ering. Village men also usethem as `chaddars’. Ac-cording to the coordinator,Sindh pavilion Mr.Habibullah, Deputy Direc-tor, Sindh Culture Depart-ment, a special Sindhi mu-sical night is scheduled inthe festival on April 19 atLok Virsa open air theatrewherein Khan MuhammadChandio Group (Shah-jo-Raag), Faqir Jamal Din &Party (Sung Group), TajMastani, Tufail Sanjrani,Faheem Allan and SarwarGhafoor will perform.

Masterpieces of art at ‘Lok Mela’ capture visitors’ attention

ISLAMABAD: Founder of Pakistan’s Nuclear Programme Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, Founder/Director Roots SchoolSystem Riffat Mushtaq, Ambassador of Turkey Babur Hizlan, Ambassador of Cuba Zenen Buergo Concepcion,Director RSS Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq and Managing Director RSS Mushtaque R Chaudhry posing for a groupphoto with the participants during Silver Jubilee celebration of RSS at Pak China Friendship Center. —PO Photo bySultan Bashir

Parking facilitiesdemanded in

weekly bazaarISLAMABAD—Lack of park-ing system in weekly bazaarAabpara has posed serioustraffic problem.

Due to non-availabilityof any parking space in theweekly bazaar the citizenspark their cars on the mainroad which causes severetraffic jams. This way roadaccidents have become com-mon on every Sunday on themain road running along sidethe bazaar. The motorcyclistspark their motorcycles on thefoot paths and the pedestri-ans particularly women haveto face odd situation on theirway to bazaar when theyhave to pass through thecrowds upon crowds of malecustomers and the norms ofmorality becomes a thin linefor violators and victims. —Online

Strict actionagainst underage

driversRAWALPINDI—City TrafficPolice (CTP), under specialcampaign, is taking strict ac-tion against underage driv-ers and over 280 penalty tick-ets have been issued to un-derage drivers while varioustraffic rules violators havealso been sent behind thebars.

Chief Traffic Officer(CTO) Rawalpindi, SyedIshtiaq Hussaian Shah toldthat strict action in accor-dance with the law is beingtaken against underage driv-ers and no one is being givenany relaxation as the viola-tion of law is one of the maincause of fatal road accidents.

CTP under a comprehen-sive campaign against thejuvenile drivers is takingstrict action, he said addingthat their vehicles and motor-cycles are also being im-pounded without any dis-crimination.

He said that many inci-dents took place due to thedriving of underage who arenot aware of traffic rules andregulations of road. —APP

Japan Ambassadorcalls on PM

ISLAMABAD—Ambassador ofJapan to Pakistan Hiroshi OEMonday paid a courtesy callon Prime Minister Justice(Retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khosohere at the Prime Minister’sHouse. Talking to the ambas-sador, the Prime Minister saidthat his government was fo-cusing all its energies on hold-ing free, fair, transparent andcredible elections in the coun-try on time.

“Power will be handedover to the elected represen-tatives without any delay,”affirmed the Prime Minister.

He said that Pakistan andJapan had close and friendlyrelations. “We look forwardto further improving our eco-nomic and trade relationsand seek Japan’s assistancein the field of education,”Khoso remarked. Referring tothe close cooperation be-tween the two countries,Hiroshi OE appreciated thesupport extended to Japanby Pakistan in the election ofits candidate to the office ofPresident ADB.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Keeping alive itsrich and historic tradition of all-round academic excellence,Roots Millennium Schools’ or-ganized a prolific Silver Jubileecelebration for completing 25glorious years and also deco-rated students with medals inrecognition of Ivy League Uni-versity placements, CambridgeUniversity acceptance, GlobalUndergraduate scholarships,summer school placements andHigh Achiever Award Cer-emony thus recognizing its Stu-dents’ and Teachers’. The cer-emony was attended by 500scholarship recipients and theirfamilies, earning a net four yearscholarship to a staggering Rs.1.4 billion this academic year.

Mustafa Babur Hizlan Am-bassador from the brotherlyRepublic of Turkey was the

Chief Guest on this special sil-ver Jubilee occasion. NationalHero and decorated scientistDr. Abdul Qadeer Khan NI &Bar was the special Guest ofhonor to deliver a key noteaddress to graduating Class of2013. Chaudhry FaisalMushtaq TI Chief ExecutiveRMS, Col & Mrs. MushtaqRasul Chaudhry Founder/CEO& Chairperson RSS, Dr. JunaidZaidi, Rector Comsats, ZenenBuergo Concepcion Ambassa-dor of Cuba, MuhammadRashad DaureeawoMauritius High Commis-sioner, Emilian Ion Ambas-sador of Romania, Bharat RajPaudyal Ambassador ofNepal, Ms. Uzma YousafCountry Manager CIE,Nadia Kamran Director Edu-cation UK British Council &along with many other Dip-lomats graced the ceremony.

Roots celebratesSilver Jubilee

Graduation ceremony:Golden day for SAS

graduatesSANA JAMAL

IS L A M A B A D—Excitementand cheer filled the air, withsmiling faces everywhere asthe proud graduates walkedup on stage in their academicregalia to receive their hard-earned degrees on gradua-tion day.

The graduation cer-emony of the girl students ofSaudi Arabian School (SAS)in Islamabad was a joyousoccasion – a gathering ofgraduates, parents, teachers,family and friends to cel-ebrate the achievements ofclass of 2013.

The ceremony, Held atSaudi embassy in Islamabad,was a festive event filled withall constituents for the bigday: presentation of degrees,speeches by dignitaries,cheering, happy music andlavish feast.

Being good in busi-ness is the most

fascinating kind of art.Making money is art

and working is art andgood business is the

best art.

— Andy Warhol

ISE index sheds29.81 pointsSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The IslamabadStock Exchange witnessed abearish trend on Monday as theISE-10 index was down by29.81 points to close at 3435.26.

A total of 7,000 shares weretraded, which were down by58,000 shares as compared toprevious day’s trading of 65,000shares.

Out of 137 companies, shareprices of 20 companies recordedincrease and those of 117 regis-tered decrease. No company re-mained stable.

The share price of MurreeBrewery increased by Rs. 10,while that of Mitchells FruitsFarms decreased by Rs. 18.95.Maple Leaf Cement and AskariBank Limited remained the toptrading companies with 6,000and 1,000 respectively.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The LahoreChamber of Commerce andIndustry (LCCI) on Mondaycalled for Barter Trade withIran as unchecked and unprec-edented smuggling is not onlywidening the trade deficit butalso causing huge loss to theexchequer.

The LCCI PresidentFarooq Iftikhar was talking toa ten Member Pakistan Plas-tic Manufacturers Associationdelegation that called on him

LCCI seeks barter trade with Iranunder the leadership of LCCIExecutive Committee MemberMahmood Gazanvi. The delega-tion comprised executive com-mittee member S M Tariq, Presi-dent Plastic Manufacturers As-sociation Muhammad shoaib,Malik Munwar, Javaid Jillani,Chaudhry Mobeen, MianAnjum, Sheikh Waheed, UsmanSharif, Sheikh Pervaiz, SheikhMohammad Ayub, Malik FakhirSultan and Qama ru Zaman.

The LCCI President saidthat the government did not needto go to IMF or World Bank for

funds if smuggling is controlled.He said that smuggling of plas-tic moulding compound and fin-ished products from Iran hadpushed the plastic trade and In-dustry to the verge of closure.

A large number of business-men attached with plastic busi-ness were now planning to shifttheir businesses to other coun-tries as repeated LCCI appealstell on deaf ears of the concernedquarters.

Farooq Iftikhar said afterelectricity and gas shortage,smuggling had also use started

taking its toll on businesses. Thegovernment should bring intoutilization all available resourcesto weed out this menace.

The LCCI President sug-gested to the government to startbarter trade with Iran in order toeliminate smuggling. He saidthat a few years back, India wasfacing same situation and it hadcontrolled it by starting bartertrade with Iran.

The LCCI President alsosought new FBR Chairman’shelp and urged him to bringdown rate of Sales Tax to five

per cent from 16 percent onPlastic moulding compound.

He said that by curtailingSales Tax rate to five per centthe government would be ableto generate more revenue whatit is getting through 16 per centSales Tax. Due to higher tax ratemuch of the money is going intothe pocket of smugglers who arethriving at the cost of country.

The LCCI President saidthat a considerable surge insmuggling from Iran had beenregistered after US sanctions.

Therefore, to save the plas-

tic industry and its trade from atotal collapse, the governmentshould immediately start BarterTrade with Iran.

The President Pakistan Plas-tic and Manufacturers Associa-tion Muhammad Shoaib saidthat it is very unfortunate thaton one hand the Federal Boardof Revenue (FBR) authoritieswere playing arm-twisting withthe exiting taxpayers while onthe other hand the menace ofsmuggling is fast spreading itstentacles under their watch andat the cost of the exchequer.

He said that only because ofhuge smuggling, finished plas-tic products are available in thelocal market at Rs 20 per kg be-low the raw material price thatis very damaging for the localbusinessmen.

He informed the LCCI Presi-dent that the Association had al-ready sent letters to the FBR thatthe smuggling of polymers fromIran was not only causing a hugeloss to the government but wasalso badly damaging the localinvestors who are running theirbusinesses through clean docu-

mentation. He said that only be-cause of these unscrupulous el-ements it has become almostimpossible for the genuine busi-nessmen to continue their busi-nesses.

He said that the total importof plastic raw materialPolyethene and Polyproplene in2011-2012 was about Rs 100 bil-lion. The importers pay advancetax at port about 35 percent in lieuof duties and taxes and if thesmuggling is not stopped, it willlead to a loss of minimum Rs 35billion to the exchequer.

STAFF REPORTER

MIRPUR KHAS—LieutenantGeneral Muhammad MustafaKhan (Retd), HI(M), ChairmanFauji Foundation laid the foun-dation stone of Fauji FoundationWelfare Complex at Wahidabad,Kot Ghulam Muhammad,Sindh.

The Ceremony was attendedby Lieutenant General NaeemKhalid Lodhi (Retd), HI(M), CE& MD Fauji Fertilizer CompanyLimited, Ameer Hassana localnotable and other dignitaries ofthe area.

The land for the complexhas been donated by the familyof Seth Wahid Ali Khan and costof construction, which is esti-

FFCL to build welfarecomplex in rural Sindh

mated to be Rs. 350 million, willbe borne by Fauji FertilizerCompany Limited. The complexis spread over an area of ap-proximately 32 Kanals and willconsist of a model school, sepa-rate vocational centers for malesand females, a dispensary/BasicHealth Unit, mosque and resi-dential area.

The complex is an illustra-tion of persistent commitmenttowards Corporate Social Re-sponsibility of Fauji Foundationand Fauji Fertilizer CompanyLimited. The state of the art fa-cility will provide basic educa-tion, health and vocational train-ing to poor people of far flungarea of rural Sindh besides pro-viding job opportunities.

Brig Munawar Hayat KhanNiazi (Retd) of Fauji FertilizerCompany Limited while brief-ing the media informed that con-struction of the Welfare Com-plex is in keeping with FaujiFertilizer Company Limitedmission to provide basic facili-ties, like health and education allover Pakistan to the ex-service-men/their families in particularand public in general. Fauji Fer-tilizer Company Limited whichis private venture listed underSECP is among the highest Taxpayer entity. Fauji FertilizerCompany Limited actively pur-sue polices to fulfill its socialobligations and allocate one per-cent of its profit before tax forCSR activities.

Lt Gen (Retd) Muhammad Mustafa Khan, MD Fauji Foundation unveiling the groundbreaking plaque of Fauji Foundation Welfare Complex, also present are CE and MD FaujiFertilizer Lt Gen Naeem Khalid Lodhi at Wahidabad, Mirpur Khas, Sindh.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—While theeconomy already depressed touncertain conditions, the loadshedding in the industrial areascausing huge production lossesof the export oriented industries.

Provincial Minister, MianZahid Hussain however hastaken up the issue with the Gov-ernor Sindh, Chief Minister andcaretaker Minister of NaturalResources, Suhail WajahatSiddiqui, with an emphasis toput up more efforts to end upload-shedding from industrialareas.

The Patron In-ChiefKoraqngi Association of Tradeand industry (KATI) S MMuneer, Chairman MohammadZubair Chhaya Vice ChairmenNajmul Arfeen and Niaz Ahmed

Loadshedding incurringhuge industrial losses

have widely condemned theload-shedding in Industrial areasby KESC on pretext of less gassupply by the SSGC.

They said that KESC hasonce again started load-shed-ding in industrial areas thoughexempted from the same consid-ering the massive loss of produc-tion and government revenuedue to the closure of units forhours. They said that load-shed-ding is being carried out in boththe shifts due to which industriesare suffering badly as both theimportant shifts have almostbeen rendered paralysed due todisturbance of intermittent elec-tricity supply. Chhaya said thatwhatever is the matter betweenKESC and SSGC on gas supplyboth the utility organizationsshould resolve that amicably andnot the pass on the brunt of their

own issues to the industry.Meanwhile, Pakistan Tan-

ners Association PTA (S.Z)slammed the renewed extendedelectricity load-shedding of 8-hours on daily basis whichKESC has started from Satur-day. Usman Umer Chairman,Electricity and Gas Commit-tee PTA (S.Z) pointed outthat the production is alreadysuffering due to gas load-shedding which SSGC iscarrying out for last coupleof months now on everyweek-end. It makes extremelydifficult for the local export-ing leather industry to meet itsstipulated shipment schedule ofconsignments which attractspenalty clause for delay insupply of goods to foreigncustomers. It threaten futurebusiness as well.

The disruptions in supplydue to frequent break-downsfurther deepens the problemsover and above load-shedding.This all contributes to push-upproduction cost since work-ers are rendered idle.

He further pointed outthat tanning is a processingindustry and once processingof raw hides & skins started,the full cycle must be com-pleted to save them from get-ting damaged.

He appealed that TanneryZone which is exclusively work-ing for exports, should be ex-empted from load-shedding toensure it continues to con-tribute to national economywith foreign exchange earn-ings which are so vital forthe country in the currentfinancial crisis.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan andSouth Africa here Monday seta moderate bilateral trade tar-get of US $ 1 billion till 2015that would be achieved by im-proving trade mechanism be-tween the two countries.

At present, the trade be-tween the two countries isvery nominal as SouthAfrica’s trade with world isUS $75 to US $ 80 billion andits trade with Pakistan is lessthan one percent of its totaltrade.

“We can even surplus theset trade target if trade mecha-nism is improved,” DeputyDirector General Asia andMiddle-East, Department ofInternational Relations andCooperation Anil Sookal saidat the third session of Pak-South Africa Joint Commis-sion meeting.

The third session of Pak-

Pakistan, South Africato lift trade up to $1b

South Africa Joint Commissionmeeting was held here Mondayduring which progress on abouteight Memorandam of Under-standings (MoUs) was dis-cussed.

In light of the understand-ing reached earlier at the secondJoint Commission meeting, sub-stantive deliberations took placein the meeting in a cordial andconstructive manner on a num-ber of relevant aspects relatingto the bilateral trade, enhancedeconomic cooperation and iden-tifying areas of mutual coopera-tion.

Both sides agreed for closeinteraction between variousministries to deliberate in-depth on related aspects andpropose concrete steps to moveforward.

The Pakistan delegation thatparticipated in the talks was ledby Additional Foreign Secretary,Seema Naqvi while the SouthAfrican delegation was headed

by Anil Sookal.Both the sides thoroughly

discussed the progress on vari-ous MoUs in various sectors ofeconomy including health,higher education, agriculture,mining, information technol-ogy, narcotics control and de-fence production.

During their discussions,the delegation head of SouthAfrica said that his country wasin need of experts in scienceand mathematics fields and of-fered that joint ventures to tapthe potential of mining sectorof Pakistan.

He said that South Africahas expertise in this field andhas been using modern tech-nology. The Joint Commissionmeeting stressed the need fortrade promotion and enhancingmarket access in both the coun-tries besides suggesting forsigning an MoU between tradepromotion bodies of both thecountries.Government using latest

technology for food securitySTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Speakers at adaylong workshop Monday saidthat the government was intro-ducing innovative technologiesto ensure food security for itsrapidly growing population ataffordable prices.

The workshop on “Incorpo-rating Agricultural Service Pro-viders into Demonstration andDissemination Activities in Ru-ral Pakistan” was held at Na-tional Agriculture ResearchCenter (NARC).

“Focus of the government toensure food security for its rap-idly growing population at af-fordable prices, through techno-

logical innovations,” said Mem-ber, Natural Resources Division,Dr. Nadeem Amjad while speak-ing on the occasion.

He said that Agriculture sec-tor is viewed as an engine ofgrowth for economy, so the gov-ernment was involved in utiliz-ing technological applications toenhance its produce.

He was of the view thattechnologies and innovationsgenerated in research laborato-ries remain futile unless they areadopted by the farmers.

A number of innovativetechnologies could not reach thedestiny of effective demonstra-tion and dissemination in Paki-stan.

He said that the governmentwas strengthening private sec-tor to help farmers use thesetechnologies as was done incase of laser land leveling, till-age, high irrigation systems,quality seed, agro-chemicalsand combine harvesting ser-vices.

However, the outreach ofsuch services, throughout Pa-kistan is grossly inadequateand needs attention, he saidadding development of privatesector is also necessary forachieving and sustaining greenand improved nationaleconomy especially under thechallenges of populationgrowth and climate change.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Securities andExchange Commission of Pakistan(SECP) registered 383 new limitedliability companies in March,bringing the total corporate port-folio to 61,887 companies.

According to a statementissued by the Commission hereMonday, compared with preced-ing month, 8% growth in cor-porate registration has been wit-nessed.

The growth witnessed is aresult of persistent efforts putforth by the SECP in order topromote corporatization in thecountry, including holding ofvarious seminars with all stake-holders, awareness campaignsand facilitation extended.

Chasing the previous trend,around 93% companies regis-tered as private limited compa-nies, while around 6% compa-nies registered as single-mem-ber companies during themonth.

Due to the SECP’sfacilitatation regime for foreigninvestors including, fast-trackprovisional registration of com-panies having foreign director-ship, considerable foreign in-vestment has been witnessed bynationals from Germany,Panama, China, the UK, theNetherlands, North Korea, Rus-sia, Syria, Turkey, Italy and Ja-

Corporatisation upbeatrate continues: SECP

pan, in 12 new local companies.These companies are from

communications, engineering,mining and quarrying, trading,construction, services and auto-mobile parts sectors.

The tourism sector has takenthe lead in new registrationswith the incorporation of 54 newcompanies, this month, followedby trading with 52 companies,services with 44, I.T. with 28,corporate agricultural farmingwith 20, broadcasting and tele-casting with 17, communica-tions with 16, construction with13, food and beverages, andtransport with 11 companieseach. Historically, most compa-nies get registered in Lahore orKarachi, however, this month115, were registered at the Com-pany Registration Office (CRO)in Islamabad.

It is followed by the CROsin Lahore and Karachi, register-ing 105 and 101 companies re-spectively. The Peshawar andMultan CROs registered 23companies each, while the CROin Faisalabad and Quetta regis-tered 10 and 5 companies re-spectively.

The Sukkur CRO registered1 company. During the monthreturns for increase in the autho-rized capital of 101 companieswere accepted, with the totalauthorized capital increment ofRs24.55 billion.

Rates for conversionKARACHI—The followingrates will be applicable forconversion into rupees ofForeign Currency Deposits,Dollar Bearer Certificates,Foreign Currency BearerCertificates, Special U.S.Dollar Bonds and profitsthereon by all banks and forproviding Forward Cover onForeign Currency Deposits(excluding F.E. 25 deposits) bythe State Bank on April 16,2013. The rates are U.S.Dollar Rs 98.3294, JapaneseYen Rs 1.0026, Pound SterlingRs 150.5619 and Euro Rs128.5066.—APP

KARACHI: Consul General of France Christian Ramage, Director Alliance Française(AFK) Jean-François Chénin & President AFK Johara Alatas seen presenting the chequeof money generated at Imprisonistic Expo held at AFK to IG Prisons Nusrat Mangan inpresence of Caretaker Minister Law & Jails Mahmud Y. Mandviwala here at CentralJail.—PO photo by Sultan Chaki

Delegation of smallbusinessmen callon Chief Minister

KARACHI—Caretaker ChiefMinister Sindh Justice (Retd)Zahid Kurban Alavi has said thatpresent interim provincial gov-ernment is well aware of theproblems being faced by smallbusinessmen and shopkeepersand it is striving hard to resolvethe problems faced by businesscommunity.

This he said during meetingwith the seven member delega-tion of Alliance of Market As-sociation Sadar and SindhSarafa and Jewellers Associa-tion here at CM House on Mon-day.

The delegation led by Se-nior Vice President of SaddarMarket Association YousufKhan, while other members in-cluded Haroon Rasheed Chand,Ilyas Memon, Rafeeque Jadoon,Talat Masood, Abdul Samad andMansoor.

Traders’ delegation apprisedthe Chief Minister about theirproblems with especial referenceof law and order. They said thatafter the setting up of interim pro-vincial government traders arefeeling sense of security andpeople have attached enormousexpectations with the provincialcaretaker government.

Caretaker Chief MinisterSindh said that provincial gov-ernment has taken effective andprompt measures to maintainlaw and order.

‘These comprehensive mea-sures will restore the peace inKarachi’ he added.

Eurozone posts tradesurplus of 10.4b

euros in FebruaryBRUSSELS—The 17-nationeurozone posted a trade surplusof 10.4 billion euros ($13.6 bn)after recording a revised deficitof 4.7 billion euros in January,Eurostat said Monday.

Seasonally adjusted exportsrose by 0.1 percent in Februaryfrom January while imports fellby 2.1 percent. For the full 27-member European Union, thetrade balance came in at a 1.8billion euro surplus, comparedto a revised 16.8 billion eurosin January.

On a seasonally adjustedbasis, exports slid by 0.1 percentfrom January while importsdropped by 2.3 percent.

Economist Howard Archer atIHS Global Insight said “an im-proved Eurozone trade perfor-mance in February lifts hopesthat net trade made a renewedpositive contribution to eurozoneGDP in the first quarter of 2013,having been only flat in the fourthquarter of 2012.”

He noted that while the fallin eurozone imports helped thenet trade performance, “it alsofuels concern that domestic de-mand in the eurozone remainsweak and could even be falter-ing anew.” The EU’s energydeficit dropped to 34.7 billioneuros in January 2013, from 36.2billion in the same month in2012, according to detailed datareleased by Eurostat.—APP

Call for end toenergy crisisStaff ReporterLAHORE—The caretakergovernment should takemeasures to tackle electricityloadshedding by providingoil to closed thermal powerstations and check theft.These demands were made ina meeting of trade unionrepresentatives and workersunder the aegis of thePakistan Workers Confedera-tion. The meeting waspresided over by RubinaJameel while Akbar AliKhan, Yousaf Baloch, OsamaTariq, Niaz Ahmad, AltafBaloch, and other representa-tives of the confederationalso attended. They said thegovernment should start anational campaign forconservation of energy byclosing commercial centres at7pm.

China invests $1.5bin AlgeriaALGIERS—Beijing has investedmore than $1.5 billion (1.1billion euros) over the pastdecade in Algeria, where 50 topChinese companies and 30,000workers are based, mediareported on Sunday. By the endof 2012, China’s total invest-ments in the North Africancountry over the past decadereached $1.5 billion, Beijing’sambassador to Algiers Liu Yuhetold the daily Liberte. “More than30,000 Chinese people work inAlgeria in sectors includingrailway and road construction.They are also helping to developthe water sector,” he said. Algeriahas granted 50 Chinesecompanies building contractsworth a total of $20 billion,including giving the $1.5-billioncontract for a huge mosque inAlgiers to the China StateConstruction EngineeringCorporation. The project is due tobe completed in 2015. Such dealshave made Algeria the mostimportant African market forChinese businesses, and one ofthe most important in the world,the African Development Banksaid. China has rapidly expandedits economic interests in Africa inrecent years, and more than onemillion Chinese workers arebased on the continent, accordingto Beijing figures. Trade betweenChina and Africa was $200billion in 2012—almost doublethat of the United States with thecontinent.—APP

MEDITATION can be extremely effective at preventing winter ailments like cold and flu, according

to a new research. Adults who meditatedor did moderately intense exercise, suchas a brisk walk, for eight weeks sufferedfewer colds than thosewho did nothing, accord-ing to a study from theUniversity ofWisconsin?Madison. Pre-vious research has foundthat mindfulness medita-tion may improve mood,decrease stress, and boostimmune function.

Some of the earliest ref-erences to meditation arefound in the Hindu Vedas.Around the 6th to 5th cen-turies BCE, other forms ofmeditation developed inTaoist China and BuddhistIndia. The new study di-vided 149 people into threegroups. One performedmindful meditation, a type ofmeditation that essentially involves focus-ing the mind on the present, the Daily Mailreported.

Another group jogged regularly for eightweeks while the third group did nothing. Theresearchers then followed the health of thevolunteers through the winter from Septem-ber to May, although they didn‘t checkwhether or not people carried on exercisingor meditating after the eight?week period.

The participants were observed for coldand flu symptoms such as a runny nose,stuffiness, sneezing, and sore throat. Nasalwash samples were collected and analysedthree days after the symptoms began. The

Meditation can stave offcold and flu: Study

study, found that meditators missed 76 percent fewer days of work from Septemberthrough to May than those who did noth-ing. Those who had exercised missed 48per cent fewer days during this period.

In addition, mindful meditation can re-duce the duration or severityof acute respiratory infec-tions such by up to 50 percent, and exercise by up to 40per cent. According to thewebsite Scientific America,those who had exercised ormeditated suffered for an av-erage of five days; colds ofparticipants in the controlgroup lasted eight. In addi-tion, tests confirmed that theself-reported length of coldscorrelated with the level of an-tibodies in the body, whichindicate the presence of a vi-rus. “Nothing has previouslybeen shown to prevent acuterespiratory infections,” saidlead author Dr Bruce Barrett,a family medicine doctor and

associate professor at the University. “Alot of previous information suggested thatmeditation and exercise might have preven-tion benefits, but no high-quality,randomised trial had been done,” Barrettsaid. “Flu shots are partially effective, butonly work for three strains of flu each year.The apparent 40 to 50 per cent benefit ofmindfulness training is a very importantfinding, as is the apparent 30 to 40 per centbenefit of exercise training. If this pans outin future research, the impact could be sub-stantive indeed,” Barrett said. The studywas published in the Annals of FamilyMedicine.

KARACHI: Chief Minister Justice (Retd) Zahid Kurban Alvi presiding Sindh Education Foundation’s Board of Governors meeting on Monday.

KARACHI: Consul General of France Christian Ramage, Director Alliance FrançaiseJean-François Chénin & President AFK Johara Alatas seen presenting the cheque ofmoney generated at Imprisonistic Expo held at AFK to IG Prisons Nusrat Mangan inpresence of Minister Law and Jails Mahmud Y. Mandviwala here at Central Jail.—POphoto by Sultan Chaki

KARACHI: Sunni Tehreek leaders from Sindh and Punjab Shadab Raza, Noor AhmadQasmi, Mehboob Schto and Iltamas Sabir called on Sunni Tehreek leader Sarwat EjazQadri at Markaz Ahl-e-Sunnat.

KARACHI: Policemen and Rangers standing alert at funeral prayers of former sectorConvener Kashif Anwar Qadri who was killed in firing by unknown assailants in ShahFaisal Colony.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Acting ConsulGeneral (CG) of People’s Re-public of China called onSindh caretaker Chief Minis-ter (CM) Justice (Retd)Zahid Kurban Alavi at CMHouse Monday, They ex-changed their views aboutforthcoming general elec-tions and other matter ofmutual interest.

The caretaker CM in-formed the Chinese CG thatholding of free, fair, transportand non-partisan elections isthe top priority of the gov-ernment while all the re-sources had been put in

Acting Chinese CG calls on CMplace to accomplish this taskin conducive environment,“In this connection I hadheld continuous meetingswith varies politicians, no-tables, intellectuals and otherpeoples belonging to differ-ent walks of life so that theirsuggestions should besought for peaceful and cred-ible conduct of general elec-tions, he added.

He said that Pakistan andChina enjoyed very deep–rooted brotherly and bilateralrelations, which were beingstrengthened with the pas-sage of time.

He stressed upon theChinese Consul General for

increasing the number ofChinese Language learningcenters so that maximumnumber of people could learnChinese language. “Thiswould promote andstrengthen the bilateral rela-tions” , said CM.

He appreciated the con-tribution and cooperation ofChina in development of in-frastructure, especially megaproject like Gawadar Port.

China’s Acting CG saidthat projects like Gawadarport were reflection of deeprooted and time tested Pak-China friendship, which wasin large interest of the peopleof both countries.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Pakistan SunniTehreek (PST) Chief SarwatEjaz Qadri said that the hid-den forces were murderingthe PST activists in targetkilling only to compel thePST to stay away from con-testing the coming generalelections.

The PST was well-awareof that conspiracy andwould foil it by stayingpeaceful under all circum-stances. The PST woulddefeat the perpetrators withthe support of the peopleand unity of the workers.The PST workers should

Qadri: Workers killing conspiracy tostop PST from participating in polls

not listen to the propagandabecause the conspiratorswanted to weaken the PSTand exploit the electionsthrough rigging.

He was addressing ameeting of the PST provin-cial leaders of the PST thatcalled on him at the PSTheadquarter in the city.Shadab Raza Qadri, NoorAhmed Qasmi, MuhammadAli Jatak, Khalid HassanAttari, Mehboob Sehto, AliNawaz Qasmi, Iltimas Sabirand Abdul Lateef Qadri andPST information secretaryFahimuddin Sheikh werepresent.

Qadri demanded of the

government to arrest the tar-get killers of the PST work-ers Muhammad Babar Qadri,Kashif Anwar Qadri and oth-ers.

The PST Chief said thatthe PST was now a fullygrown and strong politicalparty, which could not be in-timidated nor it could becompelled to deviate its pathof serving the country andprotecting the Islamic ideol-ogy of the country.

He said that the PSTwould actively participate inthe elections and the resultswould be a surprise for theopponents and even theperpetrators.

Dr Shah kicksoff 3-day polio

campaignSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The campaignfor administering the anti-Polio vaccine to the infantswas initiated at the SindhGovernment HospitalLiaquatabad Monday.

Sindh caretaker healthminister Dr Syed Junaid AliShah commenced the newphase by administering theanti-Polio vaccine drops to aninfant. Sindh SecretaryHealth Dr Suresh Kumar,Special Secretary Health TahaFarooqui, Sindh GovernmentHospital Liaquatabad Medi-cal Superintendent JamalUddin, Extended Programmeon Immunization (EPI)

Additional Director DrZahoor, Rotary Club repre-sentative Dr Aziz Memon, EPIProject Director MazharKhamisani, Karachi Metro-politan Corporation SeniorDirector Health DrImdadullah, UNICEF repre-sentative Tahira and otherofficial were present.

While talking to the news-men, the caretaker health min-ister said that the societylacked due awareness on thepolio virus and its cripplingforce for life-time.

CNG stationsshutdown

schedule fornext weekSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—All CNG sta-tions in Sindh will remainclosed from 8am on Tuesday,April 16, till 8am on Wednes-day, April 17, 2013 for 24hours. Another shut-downwill be observed on Thurs-day April 18, 2013 from 8amto Friday April 19, 2013 till8am for 24 hours.

The last shut down dur-ing the current week will befrom 8am on Saturday April20, 2013 up to Sunday April21, 2013 at 8am. However,SSGC regrets the inconve-nience which may be causedto CNG users during theabove notified 24-hour shutdown period.

IGP instructsofficers to

upgrade electionsecurity plan

KARACHI—After latest actof terrorism in Swat, the IGPof Sindh has issued instruc-tions to senior police offic-ers for up gradation of elec-tion security plan inKarachi.

Sindh IGP, Shahid NadimBaloch, has also issued in-structions for assured secu-rity of candidates, politicaland religious parties’ leaders,and public in the metropolis.

Alert and vigilant policeofficials should be deployedat entrances, exits of prov-ince, airports, railway sta-tions and buses stands ofthe province, added theSindh IGP in his instructions.

Shahid Nadim Baloch hasdirected the senior police of-ficers to make sure patrollingand police picketing in sen-sitive areas of the city.

Police officials perfor-mance in these sensitive ar-eas should also be moni-tored, instructed the SindhIGP to senior police officersin Karachi.—Online

Violence claims2 more lives, 7

suspectedKARACHI—At least twomore people lost their livesin fresh spate of violence inthe city while Police andRangers launched targetedoperation and arrested sevensuspected criminals in differ-ent areas of Karachi onMonday.

In the area of GulistanJohar a tortured dead bodyof man was recovered buthe could not be identifiedyet. Later on, Police shiftedthe dead body to hospitalfor autopsy and kept inmorgue for further identifica-tion. In another incident ,one more dead body foundin pool of blood mysteri-ously in Rickshaw at ShariaFaisal near Regent Plazasignal.

Police started thoroughinvestigation and also im-pounded the Rickshaw.

Later on, they shifted thedead body to Jinnah hospi-tal for autopsy. However,separate cases have beenregistered and police startedthorough investigation.

Meanwhile in the areaof Gulistan Johar, upon re-ceiving secret information,Police launched targetedoperation at Rabia CityApartments and arrested 7suspected criminals Atleast 300 police personalsincluding female, specialproduction groups took partin target operation.

It merits mentioning herethat Rangers has alsolaunched operation in KaliPhari and Kasbah Colonyand arrested scores of sus-pected criminals and furtherinterrogation is carried onfrom them.—Online

KARACHI—The blood-soaked dead body of a manwas found lying in thebackseat of an auto rick-shaw parked on a thorough-fare near a local hotel here.Rescue sources said the un-mistakable bullet-wounds onthe body and the blood allover the passenger compart-ment of the rickshaw showedthe man died of excessivebleeding after getting shotseveral times that too not

Body found in a rickshawlong ago.

With its driver nowhereto be found, the auto rick-shaw, carrying the “gunned-down passenger”, wasfound parked near RegentPlaza, a three-star hotel, onSharae Faisal, a main arteryof the metropolis. Police saythe identity of the dead manas well as the shooter(s) wasa question they could notanswer right now.

They suspected the

killer(s) after shooting theman to death either hid hisbody in the rickshaw or theywere to dump it somewhereelse but due to some reasonpreferred to make them-selves at large without atrace. The body was shiftedto Jinnah Post-GraduateMedical Center (JPMC) formedicolegalities. An inves-tigation has been launchedinto the not so mysteriousmurder case.—Online

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Sindh caretakerChief Minister (CM) Justice(Retd) Zahid Kurban Alavi pre-sided a meeting of Sindh Edu-cation Foundation (SEF),Board of Governors at CMHouse Monday.

Managing Director SEFProf. Aneeta Ghulam Ali, Ad-ditional Chief Secretary (P&D)Arif Ahmed Khan, SecretaryFinance Sohail Rajput, Addi-tional Secretary CoordinationAbdul Samad Channa, andother officers attended.

Alvi presides over SEF Board of governors meeting

English Medium School to beset up at district level

The meeting discussedvarious matters of budgeting,funding and performance ofthe schools running underSindh Education Foundation.

The caretaker CMstressed upon the educationofficers to pay full attention forproviding quality education tothe students, adding that with-out proper education no anynation can progress.

He urged upon the teach-ers, students, parents, mem-bers of civil society and otherstake holders to pay their posi-tive role for promotion of edu-

cation. Government was in-vesting billion of rupees fordeveloping education sectorand it was the prime responsi-bility of education departmentand all other stakeholders toutilize their potential and ca-pacities to increase the literacyratio.e said that every childwould be given equal oppor-tunities to receive quality edu-cation and for this purposeEnglish medium school at eachdistrict head quarters acrossthe Sindh would be estab-lished through Sindh educa-tion Foundation.

PICTORIAL health warnings on cigarette pickings are not having the desired effect of driving people away

from smoking as the trend of cigarette us-age in Pakistan has been increased by 30percent compared to 1998 figures. Accord-ing to the World Health Or-ganization, in Pakistan, theusage of cigarette smokinghas increased by 30 percent compared to 1998 fig-ures, whereas The PakistanPaediatrics Associationhas estimated that around1,000 to 1,200 school-goingchildren of six to 16-yearage resort to smoking ev-ery day in the country.

To control the tobaccouse, federal governmenthas made it compulsory forthe tobacco companies tocarry pictorial health warn-ings on the cigarette packssince July, 2009. The pic-torial warnings shall coverat least 30% on both sidesof the pack. The warnings must be writtenat the top portions of both the face of pack(in Urdu) and on the back (in English).

It is important to mention here that arecent Maastricht University (Netherlands)study commissioned by a Ministry ofHealth funded organization, found thatgraphic health warnings are “at best inef-fective, and at worst cause health-defeat-ing behavior,” actually making some peoplesmoke more. The researchers also rejectedseveral other studies recommending the ap-plication of threatening graphic health warn-ings because they are biased, methodologi-cally flawed, and do not properly assess

Pictorial warning on cigarettepackings fails to get desired goals

the effectiveness of graphic health warn-ings. The researchers found that there isno scientific evidence that graphic warn-ing labels, such as the familiar warningson packs of cigarettes, are effective.

Even the graphic images used in othercountries to deter smokersare not having the desiredeffect of making peoplesmoke less.

Experts in Pakistan be-lieve that scary graphic warn-ing labels are a popular toolamong the policy makers.Many countries encouragedusing texts and images onpacks of cigarettes. How-ever, there was no clear con-sensus about this in the sci-entific community.

They were of the opin-ion that the graphic warninglabels only work if one im-portant condition is met, thepeople must have to be con-vinced that they can de-crease the risk, and smokers

are often not convinced that they can quitsmoking. In that case the graphic warn-ings have no effect. They believethat too many young people are still opt-ing for smoking and mostly smokers areaware that their smoking habit is damag-ing for their health, but still they smoke.

So the concern authorities shouldlook at more useful campaigns includingincrease in tobacco prices, anti-smokinglegislation, the prohibition of tobaccoadvertising, subsidizing of the anti-smok-ing schemes and comprehensive smok-ing prevention among the young to con-trol tobacco use in Pakistan.

LAHORE: German Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Gyrill Nunn meeting with former ChiefMinister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif at his residence.

LAHORE: PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz and Hamza Shahbaz waving to party workers during launching the PML-Ncampaign for NA-120.

LAHORE: Activists of PTI holding a demonstration in support of their demands.

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—With the imple-mentation of National Cur-riculum Policy 2006, the qual-ity of books has been im-proved enormously whilethis policy has played pivotalrole in executing uniform syl-labus.

It is a matter of satisfac-tion that Punjab CurriculumAuthority has commencedthe process of receivingmanuscripts of new books forthe next academic sessionfrom the current month, en-abling publishers to passthrough all stages easily andget approval for the same tillOctober this year.

In this way, books wouldbe published well in time andthere would be very littlechances of errors and omis-sion in these syllabus books.These views were expressedby Director Gohar Publishersand Senior Vice PresidentLahore PML-N Traders WingAbuzar Ghaffari while ad-dressing a meeting of pub-

National Curriculum Policyimproves quality of text books

lishers here Monday at hisoffice. Those who werepresent on the occasion in-cluded: Ghulam Yazdani,Sajjad Zaheer, AsimMehboob, Kashif Hussain,Altaf Hussain, Abdul MajeedQureshi, Ahmad Najeeb,Sanaullah, MohammadJaved, Ghayasud Din andother publishers.

Abuzar Ghaffari whilepaying glowing tribute toPunjab former Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharifsaid that due to his educa-tion friendly policies, PunjabCurriculum Authority andEducation Department didfast process to preparebooks for the current ses-sion, adding that accordingto Punjab Curriculum Au-thority, Punjab Text BookBoard first time in Punjab’shistory has changed as manyas 81 book’s syllabus in arecord time which has alsobeen appreciated by educa-tion experts, he further added.

In the meeting, publish-ers demanded the Caretaker

Chief Minister Punjab NajamSethi to take action againstrumour-mongers and irre-sponsible quarters who arestill harping the scarcity ofbooks of Punjab Text BookBoard (PTBB) in open mar-ket whereas the fact is thatall PTBB books are easilyavailable everywhere.Besides this, PTBB has setup a stall at Urdu Bazar whereall kinds of PTBB books areavailable. They furtherpleaded that Punjab govern-ment should start negotiationwith Federal Government onenergy crisis immediately sothat different phases of bookspreparing could be com-pleted within prescribeschedule and books could beavailable for students inopen market, he added thatpower outages have per-turbed all publishers, print-ers and press owners enor-mously as due to unsched-uled long-hour load-shed-ding, their businesses havebeen reached at the verge oftotal collapse.

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—University of Vet-erinary and Animal SciencesLahore Vice-Chancellor ProfTalat Naseer Pasha has saidthat smallholder dairy devel-opment is the key to ruralpoverty reduction and im-proved food security andnutrition.

He was addressing theinaugural session of a five-day training course on “Live-stock Business Plan Devel-opment” arranged by the In-stitute of Continuing Educa-tion and Extension and Fac-ulty of Livestock BusinessManagement of the UVAS forthe officers of the Livestockand Dairy Development De-

Training for FATA veterinarians begins at UVAS

Smallholder dairy developmentkey to rural poverty reduction: VC

partment, FATA, under a ca-pacity building projectfunded by the Asian Devel-opment Bank.

The Vice-Chancellorcalled for developing humanresources and knowledgemanagement in the small-holder dairy sector and it issupporting organizations forthe purpose. He said thatfarmer knowledge and atti-tude, low genetic potential ofanimals, disease control andvaccination, lack of effectiveextension services, market-ing issues and improper in-frastructure are some of thechallenges of small holderdairy sector which need to beaddressed.

Prof Pasha said that in

Pakistan a two-tiered actionplan is required: to developsystems to provide profitabil-ity for the smallholder andmaintain quality through thesupply chain while assistingthe development of largerscale commercial farms.

The current scenario andfuture prospects of livestock(dairy, meat, and poultry) busi-ness, major constraints ofdairy business and how totackle them, animal and siteselection for dairy and fatten-ing business are the focus ofthe training program. Thetraining course comprisestheoretical lectures, hands-onpractical sessions and visit todifferent dairy, poultry andmeat business enterprises.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Director Gen-eral, Punjab Emergency Ser-vice (Rescue 1122) Dr. RizwanNaseer has directed the rescu-ers to maintain their physicalfitness and concentrate onadvancement in training toensure quality and standard ofthe Service.

He expressed these viewswhile addressing around 300rescuers, who have served thedepartment over five years,and have been called at Emer-gency Services Academy forrefreshing courses to enhancetheir professional skills.

These rescuers belongingto different districts of the

Rescuer should be a role model: RizwanPunjab shall be imparted train-ing in upcoming three weekspertaining to Fire Investiga-tion, Incident Command Sys-tem, Advance Life Support,Search and Rescue Tech-niques, Advance Fire Fight-ing, Victims and StructureMarking as per InternationalSearch & Rescue AdvisoryGroup (INSARAG).

In his welcome address,the Director General said,“Rescuer should be a rolemodel”. He said the peoplehave great respect for rescu-ers and Rescue 1122 becauseof their noble cause, passionand professional training.Therefore, the rescuersshould concentrate on their

fitness, maintenance of uni-form, professional trainingespecially shifting protocol,and attitude while dealing anemergency.

Dr. Rizwan Naseer said thatsuch refresher courses areconducted in every developedcountry by rescue services toenhance their professionalskills and capacity building. Hesaid the rescuers trained atEmergency Services Academyare not only serving in KhyberPakhtunkhaw, Gilgit Baltistanbut very soon they shall beserving in all provinces of Pa-kistan so that the citizens ofthe country could be providedthe basic right of emergencycare in case of any emergency.

1,100 women injails across thecountry: HRCP

LAHORE—Out of nearly75,000 prisoners in differentjails of the country, 1,100 werewomen among them, reportedHuman Rights Commission ofPakistan (HRCP).

“The misery of thesewomen prisoner as there fami-lies were not pursuing theircases due to social stigma”,said an official of HumanRights Commission of Paki-stan while talking to APP hereon Monday.

Quoting figures of latestreport of HRCP, ‘State of Hu-man Rights in 2012’ the officialstated that the situation isworsen when nearly threedozen women awarded deathpenalty.

The women prisoners, heinformed, were also facing lackof qualified medical assistanceas most of the jails did not havefull time women doctors.

“Women in prison werethe most vulnerable detaineesin Pakistan”, he remarked.

The women police centrein Lahore, Jail Road was re-ported to have an open lock-up while the bathroom insidehad only a four feet wall, hepointed out.

Around 47 postsof consultantslying vacant

LAHORE—As many as 47posts of consultant doctorsare lying vacant in Children’sHospital for the last severalmonths despite the fact thatthese were advertised in na-tional dailies. Hospitalsources while talking to APPand requesting anonymitysaid here that the vacantposts include seats for threeassociate professors, 11 as-sistant professors and 33 se-nior registrars.

Punjab Health depart-ment has advertised for theseposts at least thrice but failedto get positive response fromthe doctors.

When contacted PMAleaders, Dr Salman Kazmi andothers said that neither se-nior nor medical officers wereready to opt for the heavyworkload on meagre salariesin BPS-17 and 18.

They said that Punjabhealth department officials,despite over two dozensmeetings with PMA, YDAand Medical Teachers Asso-ciation (MTA),failed to de-velop consensus on servicestructure of doctors. Thoughhefty amounts were beingspent on procuring medicalequipment but in the absenceof doctors and experts thecommon man won’t get thebenefit, they added.—APP

Campaignagainst measles

soon: SalimaLAHORE—Punjab Ministerfor Health, Mrs. SalimaHashmi has said that a vig-orous campaign will belaunched against measles inthe province.

Addressing a press con-ference at Children Hospitalhere, she said that 30.3 mil-lion children from ninemonths to ten years of agewill be vaccinated during themonth of June. She said thata sum of 3.5 billion rupeeswould be spent for this pur-pose.

She said, more than 350lives were lost in Sindh dueto measles and in view of thisfact Punjab government hadtaken timely preventive mea-sures.

Mrs. Salima Hashmi said,like all over the world, globalimmunization week will beobserved in Punjab from 24to 30 April during which avigorous vaccination cam-paign against measles wouldbe launched. She added thatpublic awarenessprogrammes would also beinitiated.—APP

Immunizationdrive againstpolio starts

LAHORE—Three-day Na-tional Immunization Cam-paign against polio has beeninitiated in Punjab which willcontinue till April 17.

A Spokesman of HealthDepartment Punjab has in-formed that, during three-day anti-polio campaign po-lio vaccine would be admin-istered to 16.5 million chil-dren up to the age of fiveyears.

The Spokesman furtherinformed that Health Depart-ment had constituted 32,899mobile teams which wouldvisit door-to-door for admin-istering polio drops. He saidthat the Health Departmenthad deputed 4114 fixedteams, at the static points, inall the hospitals and medicalcentres.

Moreover, 2119 vaccina-tion teams have been de-puted at exist points of thecities. He said that HealthDepartment has also pro-vided this facility at Airports,Railway Stations, Bus Termi-nals and Toll Plazas onMotorway to administeredpolio drops to the travellingchildren.

Health Department hasalso urged upon the parentsto get polio drops adminis-tered to their children forsaving them from a lifelongdisability.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Former chief min-ister Punjab Shahbaz Sharifon Monday said that PML-N would introduce a rapideducation system such asrapid bus system if it votedto power.

“Like Metro Bus System,the rapid education systemwill also be modern and pro-poor,” the former CM said ina meeting with party workers.

“Our government willspend Rs 700 billion on edu-cation in the next five years,he said, adding, “We willmake legislation to ensure100 percent enrolment inmiddle schools and 100 per-cent in higher secondaryschools.

He said that people were

PML-N to bringrevolution in education

sector: Shahbazaware that the PML-N wouldfulfil all promises like MetroBus System, CardiologyHospitals, Danish Schools,Laptop Distribution Schemeand Ujala Programme.

Shahbaz said those whowanted to bring about so-called change had nothing tooffer except making claimsand fake promises. “How canthose people who lived luxu-rious lives understand thesufferings of common manand they were unaware of themiseries of dengue virus vic-tims, floods and load shed-ding,” he maintained.

Former CM said thatPML-N’s Punjab governmenthad stood with people dur-ing the testing times - be itdengue outbreak, floods orpower outages. “But the so-

called well wishers of peopleenjoyed the pleasant weatherof Europe in those times,” headded.

Meanwhile, former ChiefMinister Shahbaz has saidthat the PML-N would bringabout a radical change in thelifestyle of the common manafter coming to power.

Talking to party workershe claimed, the Nawaz Sharif-led Muslim League was ex-pected to form governmentnot only at Centre but also inthe province as the party hademerged as a sole popularpolitical force during the lastfive years.

He pointed out that con-spiracies were being hatchedagainst the party leadershipand vowed to foil them withthe support of the people.

Special unit forceto curb crimes

LAHORE—Inspector Generalof National Highways &Motorway Police, ZafarAbbas Lak on Monday saidthat new special unit forcewould be instituted on eachsector to curb crimes at na-tional highways &Motorway.

Addressing a prize distri-bution ceremony at ZonalOffice here, he said the spe-cial units would have twowings crime fighting squadand investigation cell underthe supervision of sectorcommander and added thatthey would enforce law andprovide safe journey to com-muters on highways.

He said that NationalHighways and MotorwayPolice would utilize all avail-able resources for curbingcrimes on highway.

He appreciated the brav-ery of patrolling officers ofN-5 Central zone whogunned down a robber dur-ing an exchange of fire at 37Wala Phatak nearChichawatni few days ago onnational highway.—APP