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ANKARA: President Asif Ali Zardari along with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai at a dinner hosted by President Gul at Cankaya Presidential Palace.

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Attack on spy chief hatched in Quetta: KabulKarzai to submit evidence to Zardari

ANKARA—Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai will submitdocuments and evidence toPakistani President Asif AliZardari at a meeting in Turkeyon Tuesday over the woundingof his intelligence director ina suicide bombing which hesays was planned in Pakistan,his spokesman said.

“President Karzai willsubmit all the documents andevidence in hand to PakistanPresident Asif Ali Zardari,which suggest the attack washatched in Quetta in Pakistan,and follow this up seriously,”

said Siamak Herawi, a spokes-man for Karzai.

The bomber, who hid explo-sives inside his underwear andposed as a peace messenger,wounded spy chief AsadullahKhalid last Thursday in a bra-zen attack that set back a na-scent, already fragile reconcili-ation process.

While the Taliban haveclaimed responsibility for thebombing, Karzai has said theraid was too sophisticated tohave been carried out by the Is-lamist militant group.

“Bigger hands are in-

volved,” said Herawi, repeatinga phrase often used by the Af-ghan leader after high-profileattacks.

Speaking after the attack,Karzai stopped short of directlyblaming the neighbouring coun-try but said he knew “for a fact”the bomber came from Pakistanand that Kabul would seek clari-fication from Islamabad duringmeetings in Turkey.

Karzai was to hold talkswith Zardari at a trilateral sum-mit hosted by Turkish PresidentAbdullah Gul in Ankara onTuesday and Wednesday. For-

eign ministers and senior of-ficials from both countries willalso meet at the summit, theseventh of its kind in Turkey.

Pakistan has said it wouldassist in any investigation intothe bombing, but also urgedKarzai to provide evidence be-fore “leveling charges”, andsuggested Kabul look into anylapses in its own security ar-rangements that may have ledto the raid.

Turkey, a Nato memberthat has troops stationed inAfghanistan, has sought to

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Cabinet todecide CNG

fate todaySTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Federal cabinetwill meet here today in an im-portant meeting which will de-cide the future of compressednatural gas (CNG).

Prime Minister Raja PervezAshraf has summoned a sessionof the cabinet today to discuss asummary by the petroleum min-istry proposing stern measuresto discourage the excessive con-sumption of CNG.

According to the summaryprepared for the federal cabinet,the ministry wants to give clearguidelines about the future ofthe CNG sector to the consum-ers.

The summary proposes theuse of CNG to be restricted onlyto public transport – rickshaws,taxis, wagons and buses.

This means that if the pro-

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CAIRO: A woman on the wheelchair raising political slogans outside the Presidential Palace on Tuesday.

Afghan peace process

Mullah Omer, aideswant NATO pullout

JAVED MAHMOOD

ISLAMABAD—Taliban’s su-preme leader in AfghanistanMullah Omer and his close aideshave demanded unconditionalwithdrawal of NATO forcesfrom Afghanistan and release ofall the Taliban leaders beforestarting peace process in theland-locked country, sourcestold Pakistan Observer on Tues-day.

During recent meetings withthe officials of Pakistan and Af-ghanistan, the Taliban leader andhis associates demanded thatwithout complete withdrawal ofNATO forces and release of de-tained Taliban leaders, the peaceprocess and talks could notmove forward, said sources.

According to sources, senior

Pakistani and Afghan militaryofficials held talks in Kabul withthe representatives of MullahOmer in the second week ofNovember 2012 and discussedwith them ways and means toensure a long-standing peace inwar-torn Afghanistan.

Taliban leaders turned downout rightly the United States de-mand of surrendering arms andterrorism and presented theirdemands to the negotiatingteams. The demands of Taliban,said sources, included uncondi-tional withdrawal of foreignforces from Afghanistan; releaseof arrested Taliban leaders, freemovements of Taliban leaders inAfghanistan and Pakistan; inter-national/regional guarantee ofno foreign aggression againstAfghanistan in future; people of

Afghanistan be given right todecide their own fate, peace pro-cess and system of governance.

Taliban also agreed toceasefire but with the conditionthat the ceasefire would not beused for the re-deployment offoreign forces in Afghanistan,said sources privy to talks be-tween Pakistani, Afghan offi-cials and representatives ofTaliban.

Sources claimed that thenegotiating team of the twocountries also demanded of theTaliban leaders to give up theirsupport for Al-Qaeda, accept theConstitution of Afghanistan thatwas prepared during Bonn talksand facilitate the withdrawal ofNATO forces without resistancefrom the militants.

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Pak, France agree onmulti-field cooperation

Zardari, Hollande mull regional situationPARIS—Addressing a jointpress conference French Presi-dent Francois Hollande andPresident Asif Ali Zardari fol-lowing their talks at Elysee Pal-ace‚ said that they had discussedregional situation and increasingcooperation between the twocountries.

President Asif Ali Zardarisaid he held very useful and con-structive discussion with hisFrench counterpart Francois anddiscussed bilateral issues andcooperation in many fields.

President Zardari said Paki-stan and France are good part-ners‚ and expressed the hopethat cooperation and coordina-tion would be continued in fu-

ture as it remained in the past.The President said Pakistan

has been making efforts for pro-

vide equal opportunities for edu-cation to both boys and girls asPakistan wants that the younggeneration should be given thechance to study‚ to live normallife and live like other childrenof the world.

Referring to case of Malala‚he said every child has the rightto get education. The Presidentsaid “We are committed towardsdemocracy and working againstthe threat of mindset of terror-ism.”

The French President saidhis discussion with Presidentwas very good and encouraging.He said they discussed all theissues and cooperation in the

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Tax Ombudsmanmoves againstRiaz, Arsalan

ISLAMABAD—Federal TaxOmbudsman (FTO) has decidedto take action against real estatetycoon Malik Riaz and DrArsalan Iftikhar.

The Suddle Commission inits report had revealed thatMalik Riaz has evaded taxesworth Rs119 billion and ArsalanIftikhar evaded Rs50 milliontax.

While reacting to this, theFederal Tax Ombudsman saidthe issue of tax evasion could notbe left unattended.

The FTO has also decidedto call in the Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) to take neces-sary action into the matter.—INP

Ephedrine case

LHC grantsbail to three

suspectsSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Approving bail re-quests of all three suspects, theLahore High Court on Tuesdayordered the release of formerdirector general of health, AsadHafeez, Chief Executive OfficerDanas Pharmaceutical AnsarFarooq, and the owner of BerlexLabs, Iftikhar Ahmed Khan inconnection with the Ephedrinequote case.

A divisional bench of theLHC, comprising JusticeChaudhry Mohammad Younisand Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, or-dered the release of the threesuspects on submission of Rs10,000 bail each.

Authorities were investigat-ing the three suspects for theirinvolvement in the alleged mis-use of controlled substanceephedrine, a case which also

SC displeasedover non-arrestof ex-Ogra chiefISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt on Tuesday expresseddispleasure over NationalAccountability Bureau’s(NAB) failure to arrest formerchairman of Oil and GasRegulatory Authority (Ogra)Tauqir Sadiq in a corruptioncase and sought written replyfrom the bureau.

A two-member bench ofthe apex court headed byJustice Jawwad S Khawaja ofthe SC was hearing the Ograscam case where the judgesexpressed annoyance overNAB’s failure to arrest theformer Ogra chief.

The investigating officerof NAB told the court that theMotorway Police did notcooperate to apprehend TauqirSadiq who had traveled viaMotorway. He further apprisedthe bench that he and chairmanNAB were receiving threatswhile attempts were beingmade to register a bogus FIR

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Reko Diq case

Foreign, localcompaniesnot aboveconstitutionISLAMABAD—Chief JusticeIftikhar Mohamamd Chaudhrysaid on Tuesday that Article 5of the Constitution should beconsidered while entering intoan agreement with foreigncompanies and that nocompany, foreign or local, wasabove the Constitution.

According to a privatetelevision channel, a three-member bench of the apexcourt led by Chief JusticeIftikhar resumed the hearingover the Reko Diq case.

During the hearing JusticeIftikhar Chaudhry gave his

Nawaz wantsgovt to focus on

Balochistan woesSALIM AHMED

LAHORE—President PakistanMuslim League-N MuhammadNawaz Sharif has said that so-lution of the problems of thepeople of Balochistan and arrestof murderers of Nawab AkbarBugti are essential for removingthe sense of deprivation of theBalochi people.

He said that the repeated mar-tial laws have promoted a senseof deprivation in Balochistanwhile the present government hasdone nothing for redressing theirgrievances and rather aggravatedtheir problems. He said it is na-tional responsibility that the com-plaints of the people ofBalochistan should be redressedand given their due rights. He saidthat PML-N is in contact with thepolitical leaders of Balochsitanand it will continue to raise itsvoice for their rights and solution

of their problems.He was talking to the lead-

ers of Balochistan National Partyincluding Dr. Jehanzeb JamalDeeni, (Vice President) JehanzebBloach, (Joint Secretary) andformer member national assem-bly and member central commit-tee Rauf Mengal who called onhim in Raiwind today and ex-changed views on national andpolitical situation especially withreference to Balochistan.Muhammad Nawaz Sharif ex-pressed his good wishes forSardar Ata Ullah Khan Mengaland Sardar Akhtar Mengal.

Meanwhile, former federalminister belonging toFaisalabad, Raja Nadir Pervaizalso met Muhammad NawazSharif in Raiwind today and dis-cussed political situation. Kh.Muhammad Asif and SenatorPervaiz Rashid were alsopresent on the occasion.

Ruling party plansheavy recruitment

before electionsLIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—The ruling partyhas planned heavy recruitmentin public sector corporations andgovernment departments beforethe elections.

The sources in the party saidPPP has prepared a comprehen-sive strategy for gaining groundwhich has been lost due to badgovernance. Besides otherprogrammes in media and eco-nomic fields, the party will notonly fill the vacant posts but itwill also create new space in theadministrative set up to accom-modate maximum numbers of

people including party workersand sympathisers.

On assuming power, thePPP brought back thousands ofall those employees which wererecruited by it during its previ-ous rule. The services of theseemployees were terminated byPML (N) and Musharraf govern-ments by declaring the processof recruitment illegal. All suchemployees were re-inductedwith full benefits.

The public sector govern-ment corporations are already onthe verge of collapse includingPIA, Pakistan Railways and Pa-

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Cellphone company towerblown up in MohmandTwo journalists arrested

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Militants inMohmand tribal region’sHaleemzai Tehsil blew up a pri-vate cellphone company’s toweron Tuesday morning.

The militants had plantedhomemade explosives at thecompany’s tower in the tehsil’sMian Mandi area and destroyedit. However, no loss of life wasreported in the explosion in the

Kassai area in Mian Mandi, of-ficials said.

Following the blast, theFrontier Corps launched searchoperation in the area and de-tained scores of tribesmen. Twojournalists were also detained inGhalanai because the tower wassaid to be installed on their prop-erty.

A local journalist also saidtwo newsmen were detained

PM stressesPak-AfghanexchangesSHARAFAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf has said ex-change of delegations betweenPakistan and Afghanistan willenhance mutual trust and under-standing and help in better rela-tions between the two countries.

Talking to an 18-memberAfghan parliamentarydelegation here on Tuesday‚ theprime minister said “Pakistan ismaking all out efforts for peaceand stability in Afghanistanbecause we are neighbours andour generations will have to livetogether.

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Zardari inAnkara

ANKARA—President AsifAli Zardari Tuesday arrivedhere on three-day officialvisit to Turkey to attend the7th Trilateral Summit of Af-ghanistan-Pakistan and Tur-key with President HamidKarzai and PresidentAbdullah Gul.

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NAC protestsagainst

loadsheddingRAFIULLAH MANDOKHAIL

ZHOB—People of Zhob andSherani, losing patience, contin-ued to vent their anger over thepersisting power outages haunt-ing the area as they staged dem-onstrations by blocking NationalHighways. The strike call wasgiven by Nawjawanan ActionCommittee (NAC) Zhob.

The protesters blockedZhob-Quetta-D.I Khan high-ways for all kinds of traffic for

No Swissresponse toletter: Naek

ISLAMABAD—Federal Ministerfor law and Justice Farooq HNaek on Tuesday said that gov-ernment had not received anyresponse from Swiss authoritieson letter, which was written byministry on the orders of Su-preme Court.

He was talking to a groupof journalists here in ParliamentHouse.

Naek said no case will openagainst the President of Pakistanin Swiss Courts. He said wedon’t have any differences withPakistan Muslim league-N onAccountability bill and if theyhave, it was better to ask them.He said that Federal minister

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Aqil Shah’s stayorder petition

rejectedSTAFF REPORTER

P E S H A W A R — K h y b e rPakhtunkhwa Sports Minis-ter Syed Aqil Shah filed apetition in a local court, re-questing to stay the pro-ceeding of a fake degree caseagainst him. The court re-jected Aqil Shah’s plea andordered to record evidenceson January 8.

The Election Commissionof Pakistan had declared theBachelor’s degree of SyedAqil Shah as fake, sendingthe case to the district andsessions judge for his trial.Later the Peshawar districtand sessions court indictedSyed Aqil Shah in the case.

Aqil Shah, who is a mem-ber of the Awami NationalParty, obtained his graduationdegree from Lahore but theinstitution he graduated fromhas not been yet recognisedby the Higher EducationCommission.

DCO appointsteachers

HASEEB UR REHMAN

JHELUM—The District Coor-dination Officer, Jhelum, hasdirected the acting EDO Spe-cial Education to appoint nineteacher on temporary basisin different special educationcentres.

The DCO, Jhelum, Mirzamehmood ul Hassan, in a di-rective asked the acting EDOSpecial Education M MajahidRafiq to appoint teacher ontemporary basis in differentspecial education centres inJhelum. The District Educa-tion, Mirza mehmood ulHassan also called for a reportregarding special children tobe awarded scholarships.

28 motorcyclesrecovered, sixculprits heldSYED ADNAN NOOR

JHANG—The Ahmadpur Sialpolice during its operation tostop incidents of thefts ofmotorcycles have recovered28 motorcycles of differentmakes and models, fake reg-istration books and arrestedsix culprits. This gang wasactively involved in the theftof motorcycles. The JhangDistrict Police Officer, AkhtarUmer Hayat Lalyka, address-ing a press conference saidthat police had arrested a biggang involved in theft of bikesand this gang had been ac-tive in Districts of Toba TekSingh, Khanewal, Faisalabadand Jhang since long.

The DPO said that hehad deputed a team of po-lice officials to trace the cul-prits. He told newsmen thatafter hectic efforts the po-lice party succeeded in trac-ing and arresting the motor-cycle theives. The gangmembers used to preparefake documents, and fakenumber plates to sell the sto-len bikes. This group hadsold 28 motorcycles. TheDPO further told newsmenthat the gang had all theequipments to prepare docu-ments and number plates.

GUL HAMAAD FAROOQI

CH I T R A L —Interna t ionalMountain day was celebratedat Chitral on Tuesday. Mehtar-e-Chitral Fatehul Mulk AliNasir was chief guest on theoccasion. The Mountain Day,celebrated by District YouthForum sponsored by ReliefInternational Chitral, was par-ticipated by different stake-holders including representa-tives of district administration.Addressing the occasion thespeakers said that mountainsand forests are our life and weshould protect them not onlyfor ourselves but for genera-tion to come. The speakers,demonstrating videos itemsregarding cutting of forestssaid that forests were theirfriends and protect us fromnatural calamity and soil ero-sion but we are cutting themin a brutal way.

They said that timber wasbeing smuggled to Dubai. Ex-perts said that forest are de-creasing at the rate of 0.22percent per year but were notincreasing with the same ra-tio. They said that due to cut-ting of forests and grazing ofgoats the barren mountainsare causing natural calamity

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Me-teorological Department andTuesday forecast mainlycold and dry weather in mostparts of the country duringnext 24 hours. Howeverpartly cloudy conditionslikely to prevail over north-ern parts of the country,while rain with thunderstormwith light snowfall over thehills also likely in Malakand,Hazara, Rawalpindi divisions,Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistanduring next 24 hours.

According to met office,Synoptic Situation/Outlook:A shallow trough of westerlywave is affecting Northernareas of the Country. Mainlycold and dry weather is ex-pected in most parts Punjab.Light rain with thunderstormis likely at a few places ofRawalpindi & Gujranwala di-visions during next 24 hours.In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,mainly cold and dry weatheris expected in most parts ofthe province, however lightrain with thunderstorm withlight snowfall over the hillsis likely in Malakand and

Hazara divisions during next24 hours.

Mainly Dry weather isexpected in most parts of theSindh during next 24 hours.In Balochistan and Kashmirmainly cold and dry weatheris expected in most parts ofthe provinces during next 24hours. Mostly Partly Cloudyweather is expected in most

parts of Kashmir, howeverrain with thunderstorm withlight snowfall over the hillsis likely at a few places ofKashmir during next 24hours. Gilgit-Baltistan,mostly partly cloudy weatheris expected in most parts ofGB, however light rain withthunderstorm with lightsnowfall over the hills islikely at a few places of GBduring next 24 hours.—APP

Cold, dry weather predicted

Maintenance of mountains,forests, environment stressed

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MANNDI BAHAUDDIN—Aseminar was held under ar-rangement of members of civilsociety at Raja Hall to observeworking women day. Speakingat the occasion president Soci-ety for Human Amity, Peaceand Education Pakistan MianSharif Zahid said that their or-ganization would continue itsstruggle to promote and pro-tect rights of the workingwomen and in this respect theywere willing to render any sac-rifice. He urged women to equipthemselves with advanced edu-cation and contribute towardsuplift of the country to bring itat par with developed countriesof the world.

President Tameer-e-MillatPakistan (an NGO) Raja Sarwarsaid that they could bring pros-perity in the country with edu-

cating women but in this re-spect Government in the pastdid not pay any attention. Alltop education institutionswere concentrated in a few bigcities and rural areas womenwere ignored. He praisedShahbaz Sharif for honouringworking women by announc-ing their observance day. Hedemanded setting up a univer-sity and medical college in eachdistrict to promote educationfor women in the rural areas.

Syed Tanveer Naqvi saiddesire for learning amongwomen folk was increasingand at present, he added 62%girls and 38% boys werestudying in education insti-tutions. This was very en-couraging trend, he said.President Aurat FoundationMrs. Noreen Rafique saidworking women were playingan important role.

Women advised toacquire modern

education

ON this auspicious occasion of the 49th Independence Day of

the Republic of Kenya, it ismy humble duty and honoron behalf of H.E. Hon. MwaiKibaki, C.G.H, M.P, Presidentof the Republic of Kenya, theGovernment and the Peopleof Kenya to convey ourwarm greetings and bestwishes to The President, TheGovernment and The peopleof Pakistan. Kenya and Paki-stan enjoy good and cordialbilateral relations that dateback to several centuries.These good relations havebenefited both Countrieswhich have resulted to mu-tual support for one anotherat both bilateral and interna-tional forums. The relationscut across all sectors fromSocial, Economic, Education,Cultural and Technical Co-Operation.

Trade between Kenyaand Pakistan has been grow-ing steadily over the years.In 2011 the volume of trade

between the two countrieswas estimated at USD 450 Mil-lion compared to USD 326 Mil-lion in 2010 and 302 Million in2009.This was a growth of38% compared to 7.9 % in 2010and 20% in 2009. Kenya ex-ports to Pakistan grew fromUSD 224 Million in 2010 toUSD 247 Million in 2011 whileexports from Pakistan to Kenyaalmost doubled from USD 102Million in 2010 to USD 203 Mil-lion in 2011. The growth intrade was in both directionswhich is encouraging. Tradeand Investment opportunitiesbetween the two Countries arehuge but remain largely un-tapped. The Business commu-nity from both Countries isencouraged to take advantageof the good relations that bothGovernments have workedtirelessly to establish to exploitthese potentials.

Kenya is a regional busi-ness hub for East and CentralAfrica. In recognition of thisrole the Government of Kenyain collaboration with that of

South Sudan and Ethiopiahave agreed to collaborate tojointly develop infrastructureprojects which can acceleratethe integration their econo-mies. This was demonstrated

recently when the Presidentsof Kenya and South Sudantheir Excellencies Hon. MwaiKibaki and Salva Kiir and thelate Prime Minister of Ethio-

pia, H.E. Meles Zenawi jointlyinaugurated the constructionof Lamu Port under the LamuPort South Sudan EthiopiaTransport Corridor(LAPSSET) which is gearedto connect the landlockedCountries of South Sudan andEthiopia to the Indian oceanthrough the port of Lamu. Theultimate goal of this transportcorridor is to create a landbridge across Africa that canlink the Indian and AtlanticOceans.

The Discovery of Oil inKenya in March this year hasgenerated a lot of excitementand that if commercial discov-eries are made the economicprospects for Kenya and theregion will be bright. Ugandaalready has over 2.5 BillionBarrels of proven oil reserveswhile South Sudan has closeto 6 billion of proven oilserves. Tanzania andMozambique have discov-ered huge quantities of natu-ral gas offshore the coasts ofEast Africa which have been

proven to be commercially vi-able. These discoveries havemade East Africa a hive of ac-tivity in oil and natural gas ex-plorations. If the current rateof discoveries of oil and natu-ral gas are sustained then EastAfrica is expected to play amajor role in world energysupplies in the years to come.

The successful establish-ment of a central governmentin Somalia after almost 20years without a governmentis expected to enhance peacein Somalia and reduce piracyin the Indian Ocean and thusencourage investments inEast African region and thesmooth flow of commerce be-tween Europe, Africa andAsia. Kenya has been under-taking reforms aimed at im-proving the environment ofdoing business and increas-ing the competitiveness ofKenya as an investment des-tination in Africa. This year,Kenya has been ranked as thethird destination of ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) after

Morocco and South Africa.Firms considering divestingtheir production or expan-sion in Africa will find Kenyaan attractive and ideal invest-ment location. Kenya hasamong other advantages aliberal market driveneconomy with a strong ro-bust financial sector, a hugepool of educated and skilledmanpower and the finestflight connections to Europe,America and Asia.

The Kenya time zone issuch that the three conti-nents can be reached withrelative ease. After manydays of hard work, Kenyaoffers some of the finestplaces to relax and unwind.The Country offers some ofthe best in tourism that isunmatched elsewhere in theworld and all visitors are wel-come to enjoy the Kenyanhospitality. I take this oppor-tunity to wish Kenyans andPakistanis a peaceful andprosperous 2013. Long liveKenya! Long live Pakistan!

in shape of tremendousfloods and soil erosion. Theysaid that global warming wasan international issue and for-ests can play a vital role in thisregard but unfortunately hu-man beings did not care ofthem and never thought forits conservation.

The speakers stressedupon the teachers, students,civil society’s representatives,line department and all citizensof Pakistan to play their rolefor protecting the environmentby conservation of forests,mountains and natural re-sources, etc. Intellectuals alsostressed on importance of thisday and role of mountains inhuman life. Dr. Riaz Rehman,programme Manager of ReliefInternational stressed uponthe participants to help pre-vent mountains from becom-ing barren and conservation offorest, river belt and naturalresources. He assured of hisfull support to district youthclub for creating awareness onsuch social issues and its con-servation.

Students of differentschools displayed paintingson different type regardingconservation of forests andprotecting of mountains.

They said that these forests(trees) are major source ofoxygen which is most impor-tant for our life. Local poetspresented poems highlight-ing protection of mountainsand conservation of forestsand natural resources fromdamaging. Those who spokeon the occasion wereAfzalullah Afzal, MehtarFatihul Mulk Ali Nasir,Manzoor Ahamd, presidentDistrict Youth Forum,Rahmat Ali Jafar Dost, RiazurRehman, Shah Fahad AliKhan, Chairman ZoologyDepartment Shaheed BenzirBhutto university,Iqbaluddin Sahar, SajjadAhmad of AKRSP andMinhasuddin Human Re-source Development Officer.Chief guest also distributedawards among the studentsfor best painting and perfor-mance on this topic.

A walk was also held inthis regard which started fromtown hall. Women folk andsocial workers carrying ban-ners inscribed with the mes-sage to public regarding pro-tecting of mountains and cre-ating awareness about im-portance of mountains andnatural resources.

SHER GONDAL

MANDI BAHAUDDIN—PML(N) held a function at resi-dence of district president ofPML (N) Devan Mushtaq tocelebrate their victory in by-elections held recently. Localleaders and workers of theparty attended the function.Speaking at the occasion,Devan Mushtaq said effortsand people-friendly policiesof Punjab Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif had achievedrecord development besidesameliorating condition of thedown-trodden in the prov-ince. Referring to achieve-ments, he said Punjab Gov-ernment executed Yellow Cabscheme which gave self-em-ployment to educated youth.Tractors were given to farm-ers on easy installments thatcontributed towards increas-ing agriculture produce.

He said Ashyana Hous-ing Scheme had providedhouses to shelter-less and

bread was provided by install-ing mechanical Tanures to theneedy. Link roads network wasbuilt in rural areas to facilitatetransportation of agricultureproduce to markets. In educa-tion field, he said, a network ofDanish schools has been es-tablished where educationstandard is at par withAitcheson College. New uni-versities were set up to meetdemand of students for highereducation. These schemes alltogether have brought a revo-lutionary era in the Punjab.

Considering theseachievements, people in gen-eral decided to cast votes infavour of PML-N that resultedinto its victory in by-elections.Referring to PPP government,he said, it had lost its grounddue to incompetence and poorperformance. He said PPP lead-

PML-N activistscelebrate by-polls victory

ers had looted national re-sources and neglected theirworkers. PML-N will win up-coming elections with cleartwo-thirds majority, he assuredthe audience.

*****Senior Vice President of

Pakistan Ex-Servicemen So-ciety (PESS), Commodore(Retd) Muhammad FarooqMirza will visit MandiBahauddin on Dec 18. Hewould meet ex-servicemen ofthe district and discuss theirproblems and difficulties.The same day he will partici-pate in ex-servicemen’s rallyfor demand of “one rank onepension” and other demandsof local level. Later on hewould call on DCO to apprisehim of grievances of ex-ser-vicemen and discuss withhim for their redress.

Shifa holdsfree medi camp

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Shifa Interna-tional Hospital organized aone-day free screening andmedical camp here at its Fa-cilitation Center and con-ducted free hepatitis C, cho-lesterol, blood pressure andbody mass index (BMI) testsusing latest modern technol-ogy. More than 150 peoplefrom various parts of the citythronged to Shifa FacilitationCenter and got free screeningand consultancy from seniorexperts at Shifa InternationalHospital Islamabad throughtele-medicine technology.

This is worth mentioningthat around 4 percent of to-tal screened persons werehepatitis C positive, 8 per-cent were diagnosed withhigh cholesterol and bloodpressure issue was found in10 percent, said a press re-lease here on Tuesday. As-sociate Consultant Emer-gency Medicine Dr. Shari ex-amined many patients usingtele-medicine technology,advised them treatment andprescribed medicine. DirectorStrategic Planning SIHMahmood Mirza, SeniorManager Media SIHAzmatullah Quraishi.

Long live Kenya! Long live Pakistan!Message from Kenyan HC to Pakistan on Independence Day

Nine-yearimprisonment

to SDOSTAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—AccountabilityCourt-II Peshawar Tuesdayannounced verdict on refer-ences filed by NAB KP andawarded nine years rigorousimprisonment (RI) and fine ofRs 7.231 Million to SDO (R)Muhammad RafiqueBangash on charges of ac-cumulation of assets beyondlegal means. The 9 years RIalso included 2 years RI forwillful evading his lawful ar-rest and absconding forwhich NAB (KP) has alsofiled a separate reference U/C 31-A of NAO 1999, said aNAB spokesman here.

The convict belongs tovillage Bazukot of DistrictHangu. During his service heworked in various capacitieswith last appointment as SDOin Works & Services (W&S)Department Peshawar. NAB(KP) taking cognizance of thecase initiated investigationsagainst the accused and fi-nally filed a reference in theCourt of Law in 2003. TheSCO did not appear in Ac-countability Court and fledaway abroad. On his arrival,he was arrested at LahoreAirport in 2008.

TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—The ProvincialDisaster Management Author-ity (PDMA) KhyberPukhtunkhwa has sought fromthe Election commission ofPakistan vote casting facilityfor over 85000 Internally Dis-placed Persons (IDPs) in theirrespective camps in the forth-coming general elections fail-ing which they may be de-prived of their right of fran-chise. The PDMA has also re-quested the National Data-base Registration Authority(NADRA) to arrange mobilevans to issue ID cards to thoseindividuals at camps who have

reached the age of 18.According the official

sources in the PDMA, theauthority has approachedthe Election Commission inthis regard and conveyed tothe Commission the prob-lems of the IDPs who wereout from their respectiveconstituencies and en-camped in Jalozai Noshehra,Togh Serai Hangu IDPscamps and in the outskirtsapprehending that by notdoing so around one lacIDPs may be deprived oftheir right of franchise sincethey were not in a positionto reach their already desig-nated polling stations espe-

cially those to be set up inthe far flung areas.

The sources said thePDMA KP has dispatched asummary to the ElectionCommission requesting toset up a transitory vote cast-ing system for the thou-sands of families who havetaken refuge in Jalozai campin Noshehra and Togh Saraiin Hangu. It has also askedthe NADRA to arrange onpriority basis mobile vans toregister the youths attainingthe age of 18 in the IDPscamps in order to issue themthe Computerized NationalIdentity Cards (CNIC).

As per the statistics of

the PDMA, around 17082families displaced fromKhyber Agency were en-camped within the remits ofJalozai camp in Noshehra,while 68113 families hadfound refuge just outsidethe camp boundary. Like-wise, in Togh Sarai camp ofHangu district, around 2,000families have been accom-modated. These familieswere displaced by the cata-strophic floods as well asmilitancy in various districtsincluding Swat, Swabi, Dir,Noshehra as well as Bajaurand other agencies in FATA.

Inp adds: Provincial Di-saster Management Author-

ity (PDMA) KhyberPakhtunkhwa on Tuesdaysent a letter to Election Com-mission of Pakistan for pro-viding facilities of castingvote in upcoming generalelections to internally dis-place persons (IDPs) in theircamps. PDMA urged the ECPin the letter that IDPS shouldbe registered as voters andprovided facilities of castingvote in the forthcoming gen-eral polls in their camps.

According to PDMA statis-tics, as many as 17,082 affectedfamilies from Khyber Agency areliving in Jalozai camps while68,113 affected families are liv-ing outside the camp.

PDMA seeks vote casting facility for IDPs in camps

KOHAT: Activists of People’s Workers Ittehad hold a demonstration in support of their demands.

Over 8,5000 deserve this treatment

Mrs Mishi MasikaMwatsahu, High Commis-sioner of Kenya.

Priority to educationISLAMABAD—Deputy Speaker SindhAssembly Shehla Raza said that PPPgovernment gives priority to educationand the government has set the targetto provide education to every childrentill 2015. Talking to a private news chan-nel, she said that Islam stresses on edu-cation for all, in pursuance of that gov-ernment has offered special incentivesto girls to get education especially inunderdeveloped areas of the country.

She said that government is also making efforts to im-prove the standard of education. She said that now prov-inces are able to allocate more funds for education after itbecoming the provincial subject. SZABIST organises walkon girls education: A walk was organised here to createawareness about the girls education by the students ofSZABIST Larkana in collaboration with Vow WelfareOrganisation. The walk started from the SZABIST andconcluded in front of Chandka Medical College (CMC).The walk was led by Incharge SZABIST Larkana GoharRaza, Ghulam Mustafa Shaikh, Syed Ghous Ali Shah. Theparticipants were carrying placards and banners inscribedwith slogans such as “education for all”.The walk waslargely participated by teaching staff of SZABIST, notables,social workers, students of various schools. The studentsof different colleges and schools staged a protest demon-stration on Ferozpur Road here against the recent increasein the board examination fees. The students staged a sit-inand blocked the road. They demanded of Chief MinisterPunjab Shahbaz Sharif and Education Minister MujtabaShujaur Rehman to take notice of the increase in the exami-nation fees.—APP

PML-N for new provincesMULTAN—Central leader PakistanMuslim League-N Tehmeena Daultanasaid on Tuesday that new provincesshould be made on administrativegrounds only. Talking to journalists atlocal airport, she said that PML-N wasnot against the creation of new prov-inces but it wants provinces on purelyadministrative ground. She also advo-cated the formation of commission likethe commission formed in India for in-

troducing new provinces. She stated caretaker govern-ment should be announced now as it is proper timing. Shecalled for construction of dam to meet severe electricitycrisis in the country.. Tehmeena Daultana also criticisedPTI and stated that tsunami always bring destructions.She also praised Punjab government and claimed that ithad ensured record development projects across the prov-ince. Gilani terms PML-N hurdle in establishment of Seraikiprovince: Former prime minister and Senior Vice ChairmanPPP, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said that PML-N was mainhurdle in establishment of Seraiki province. Talking tomedia-men after attending Qul of Senator SalahuddinDogar at MCC ground, he said the new province was notin the interest of PML-N and termed it an obstacle in thisregard. He said that a meeting of commission on the newprovince would be held on Monday and added that parlia-ment would make a decision soon in this regard.—APP

MUHAMMAD ZAFAR ANSARI

TOBA TEK SINGH—MianKashif Ishfaq, a leader of Pa-kistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, hasannounced to contest thenational elections for NationalAssembly from NA-93 inToba Tek Singh. As natioanlelections are nearing, thepeople have individuallystarted showing up their in-terest in elections though bighustle and bustle is not yetwitnessed. Talking to a groupof journalists here Mian kashifshowed his enthusiasm towork for the welfare of peopleof his constituency.

Mian said that commonpeople of Pakistan were suf-fering from a lot of problemsbut no serious effort hadbeen made to improve theirliving conditions, addingtheir problems were multiply-ing with the passage of time.He also listed the problemsespecially faced by educatedbut unskilled youth and illit-

erate people and said thatunemployment was one ofthe top and most dangerousproblem which was forcingpeople to commit suicide. Alarge number of unemployedpersons have committed sui-cide in our country, he said.

He said it was pitty thatthe present government hadutterly failed to take noticeof the young people who hadcommitted suicide. MianKashif also spoke about thetwo young men who hadcommitted suicide in front ofthe house of former PrimeMinister Yousuf Raza Gilaniin Multan and Prime Minis-ter House in Islamabad.Kashif said that if people ofhis constituency gave him achance to serve them hewould try to reduce unem-ployment by establishing anumber of small scaleprojects.

Mian Kashif, highlightingthe importance of educaton,said that his second priority

would be education so hewould try his best to set upschools and college in hisconstituency. He said it wasduty of every body to do hisutmost to increase ratio ofeducation. “I will establisvocational schools for poorwomen, girls and widows.They will be provided voca-tional training and laterwould be provided jobs.”

Mian Kashif, talkingabout the elections said thathis party would not followthe old method of winningelections based on baradrisystem and making top prom-ises with the voters but theparty would inform thepeople about workableagenda mainly concerningtheir welfare. He advised theyouth of the country toequip itself with educationand get training as withouttraining it becomes difficultto get any job. He stressedthe youth to receive techni-cal education.

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Peshawar Elec-tric Supply Company(PESCO) has held an appealto the public to conserveelectricity and to stop un-necessary and illegal use ofelectricity so as to ensurecontinued and uninter-rupted supply of power.Chief Executive PESCO saidthat in order to keepuninterruptible power sup-ply, the consumers shouldadopt following proposalsso that they may not faceinconvenience. He said thatwe can overcome the currentenergy crisis only with thehelp of consumers.

The domestic consum-ers are also requested to useEnergy Savers and tubelights instead of bulbs andiron their clothes in day timeso that energy could be

saved. Sometimes the distri-bution system is badly over-loaded and in such situationin some areas power tripsdown automatically whichcannot be anticipated.

****Speaker, Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa Assembly,Kiramatullah Khan has saidthat beside largest politicalparty, PPP is also the symbolof federation and fully ca-pable to overcome internaland external challengesfaced by the country. He ex-pressed these views whileaddressing a function held inconnections with gas supplyscheme to villages HakeemKhan and Ferozpur hereTuesday. The Speaker,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa As-sembly said that if the peopleelected PPP for another fiveyears it will introduce revo-lutionary measures.

CE PESCO appeals forelectricity conservation

Masses welfare PTI priority: Kashif

BASHIR AHMAD RAHMANI

HAFIZABAD—Addressingheads of Department, newly-

Zero tolerance to negligent,corrupt officials, warns Farah

appointed District Coordina-tion Officer Farah Masoodwarned that she would showzero tolerance to negligentand corrupt officials addingthat she never hesitated totake difficult decisions and todeal with work shirkers. Shesaid that numerous difficultdecisions would be taken forthe betterment of masses andall officers should remainprepared for their satisfac-tory results. She further saidthat excuse of lack of re-sources should not be ac-cepted in the service deliv-ery adding that we shouldwork as a team and serve themasses honestly and withdedication. Farah directed allthe EDOs to ensure improve-ment in the functioning oftheir subordinate officers andtake positive steps for thewelfare of the people.

*****A young man, his wife

and minor daughter receivedserious burns when fireerupted in his house inMohallah Hajipura, Sukheke,on Monday night due toleakage of gas. They wererushed to the DHQ Hospital,Hafizabad, by Rescue 1122but due to their critical con-dition they were referred toLahore hospital where theywere struggling for life. Ac-cording to police source RanaShahbaz, alongwith his wifePerveen Akhtar and 4-year-old Aqsa, was sound asleepwhen plastic gas pipe leakedand due to ignition of matchstick there was a huge explo-sion and fire engulfed thewhole room in no time, caus-ing serious burns to all thethree and damage to thehouse.

*****Punjab Teachers Union,

Hafizabad chapter, has calledupon the Education Depart-ment to double the convey-ance allowance to grade 5 to15 teachers as was awardedto grade 1 to 4 and 16 to 19teachers. Riaz Ahmad Tarar,General Secretary, PunjabTeachers Union, addressinga press conference, said thatthe conveyance allowance ofteachers from 1 to 4 gradewas increased from Rs. 850to 1,700 while grade 16 to 19teachers to Rs. 2,500 to 5,000but the conveyance allow-ance of teachers of grade 5to 15 was not raised accord-ingly which, he said, was dis-criminatory.

*****Universal Birth Registra-

tion Day will be held at JinnahHall today under the aus-pices of Local GovernmentDepartment to create aware-ness among the public to getthe registration of birth oftheir newly-born childrenpromptly.

*****MNA Saira Afzal Tarar

will preside over a functionin Jinnah Hall on December14 in connection with the In-ternational Working WomenDay. DCO Farah Masood,ADC Sohail Ahmad Khanand women activists wouldaddress the gathering. A largenumber of working women ofthe district would attend thefunction.

*****A villager was deprived of

his cash and cell phone bytwo armed bandits nearKaleke Mandi on Tuesdayafternoon. According to po-lice source Irfan Yaqoob ofKassesay was returning to hisvillage on his bike when twoarmed bandits intercepted himnear Kaleke Mandi andsnatched away Rs. 5,000 andcell phone at pistol point. Thepolice are investigating.

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The KhyberPakhtunkhwa Governor,Barrister Masood Kausarhas said that the pivotal roleof lawyers community inrestoration of democracy inthe country, besidesfulfilment of their profes-sional responsibilities andcontribution towards su-premacy of law, is indeed amatter of great pride. Thedemocratic atmosphere,which prevails alongsidefreedom of judiciary in thecountry presently, headded, can rightly be attrib-

uted to the services of thelawyers community to a greatextent and being lawyer byprofession, he, himself al-ways feel proud to be fromamongst them.

Addressing the oath ad-ministering ceremony of theKohat District Bar Associa-tion held at Governor’sHouse, Peshawar on Tues-day, the Governor furtherpointed out that indeed thelawyers always provided wis-dom oriented leadership tothe nation in highly difficulttimes and returned with suc-cess. Mr. Aman KhanBangash newly elected Presi-

dent of the bar also spoke onthis occasion and highlightedcertain problems, which theorganization has been facing,while MPA Mst. MussarratShafi Advocate was alsopresent on this occasion, be-side others. Earlier, Mr. AmanKhan Bangash, Mr. QaisarSiddique, Mr. Iqbal Kakazaiand Mr. Jabbar Hussain tookoath as President, Vice Presi-dent, General Secretary andJoint Secretary of the bar re-spectively on this occasion.

Responding to variouspoints raised in the addressof welcome, the Governorhighly eulogized the lawyers

community for its fair andcourageous role in develop-ment of the nation and said,he always talk with open mindand heart to the lawyers com-munity especially from theforum of Kohat Bar, which, hefurther remarked, also de-serves appreciation for itsproductive response towardsfulfilment of the common re-sponsibilities of ensuring bet-ter working environment forthe lawyers community.

Talking on certain pro-posals for ensuring acceler-ated improvement of socio-

economic activities in thearea, the Governor said thatthe entire Kohat region isblessed by nature with a lotof natural resources and noeffort is being spared for theirproper exploitation and effi-cient management. He alsourged the lawyers commu-nity of Kohat to play theirmore active role in making theavailable national wealthfully useful for the countryand the people alike.

Responding to anotherdemand, the Governor alsoassured that the people of

Kohat will get Circuit Benchof High Court shortly. He alsoassured the bar to help it ingetting its demands for im-provement of the office fix-tures fully improved and de-veloped to the desired level.However to help the bar inmeeting its immediate needs,the Governor also announceda grant of Rs.0.5 million, be-sides Rs.0.3 million for provi-sion of furniture and computeretc. Earlier the Governor ad-ministered oath to the newlyelected office bearer of theDistrict Bar, Kohat.

Kausar praises lawyers’ democracy revival roleHYDERABAD: HESCO chief Muzaffar Abbassi addressing media persons at HESCO Office.

Pak-Iran gas pipelinestands abandoned

THOUGH there is no official confirmation and obviously the onewould not come but all indications lead one to believe that themuch-talked-about and very vital project of import of gas from

brotherly Iran to meet ever-increasing domestic energy requirementsstands virtually abandoned. It is quite obvious that the project has beenshelved under pressure from the United States that wants to target bothIran and Pakistan with one bullet.

The first indication for change of mind on the gas pipeline projectwas abrupt cancellation of visit to Iran by President Asif Ali Zardarialmost at the eleventh hour. Everything seemed to be in place for strikingfinal deal in Tehran as per understanding developed by the two sidesduring earlier visit of President Ahmedinejad to Islamabad but it seemedPakistan was unable to bear the US pressure and postponed the visitwithout giving any reason. The cancellation came at a time when Paki-stan-US energy talks were underway in the Federal Capital where theUS side pledged to provide $200 million for Diamer-Bhasha dam be-sides some cooperation in a few other energy-related projects. But theUS assistance in the energy sector falls much short of Pakistan’s enor-mous requirements and the existing cooperation is nothing but peanut.Second indication of the pressure on Pakistan was the public statementof American Ambassador made in Karachi confirming Washington’sobjections to and pressure on the project. The United States is obviouslypursuing its regional and international agenda in line with its own vestedinterests but it is tragic that we have once again proved that we are unableto safeguard our own interests. What was the justification for backtrack-ing from a project that is in advance stages of implementation and thecountry will have to pay $200 million a month under ‘take or pay’project, in any way. There were, of course, problems associated withfinancing of the project but Tehran had already offered to loan $500million and was agreeable to provide more financial assistance to helpbuild the Pakistan side of the pipeline. But a country that depends onthe US even for upgradation of its tubewells is hardly expected to putup resistance and uphold its national dignity and honour, and this showshow much we have fallen in American trap. We have become so muchvulnerable to American interference in our internal affairs that Wash-ington can any time strangulate us. As IP gas pipeline project standsabandoned, we must explore other options like import of gas fromTurkmenistan and Qatar, otherwise our economic future is doomed.

In defence ofRangers and Police

IN the continued violence in Karachi, at least six more people includingtwo Rangers personnel were killed in different parts of the city on Mon-

day. Two Rangers personnel were critically injured when some unidenti-fied gunmen opened fire on them at a picket at al-Asif Square.

There have been several attacks on defence personnel and installa-tions in the past and these would continue in the foreseeable future tillterrorists are stamped out from every corner of the country. Our armedforces, Rangers, FC, Police and personnel of intelligence agencies havebeen fighting the war on terror with courage and determination as it istheir fundamental responsibility to safeguard the motherland. However,it is ironic that some quarters still find fault with them as at times theyare accused of security lapses and at times blamed for so-called humanrights violations. According to official estimates about seven thousandpersonnel of armed forces and other official organizations have laiddown their lives but this fact is not appreciated in its right perspectivein media or by the civil society. Instead, some foreign funded NGOsand agents of the enemy have made it a fashion to point accusing fin-gers towards law-enforcing agencies every now and then. We wouldurge all segments of the society to appreciate that the law-enforcingagencies are fighting a war of survival of Pakistan and we should lendfullest backing to them in their efforts to defend the country againstinternal and external conspiracies and threats.

Has Katju gone mad?CHAIRMAN of Press Council of India Markandey Katju, who has

earned the reputation of notoriety of coming out with startling state-ments has made yet another revelation that 90% of Indians were idiotswho could easily be misled. But more than that giving a new idea toresolve the Kashmir issue, Katju suggested that unification of Pakistanand India was the only solution to get out of this imbroglio.

The statement reflects a mindset of a section of people in India but itis certainly devoid of ground reality and sanity. It is surprising that howcome a lunatic person of such nature remained judge of Indian SupremeCourt and now heading the prestigious body - the Press Council of India(IPCI) . One is fully aware that there is a vibrant media in India but it isstrange that a person of the type of Katju, who through his statements,gives the impression of a mad man, is being allowed to misuse the plat-form of PCI for propagating his nonsense ideas. While the Indian mediapersons remained silent over the statement by Katju some average citi-zens have taken serious notice saying they were deeply hurt and humili-ated. In contrast, the head of Press Council of Pakistan Shafqat Abbasi isa mature person having fuller understanding of the issues relating to themedia and that is why he is held in high esteem in the press as well inother sections of the society. Though it is for the Indian people to reactover Katju’s remarks about them, but we would urge the Indian govern-ment to take notice of the statement about Pakistan as that has injured thesensitivities of Pakistanis and could be a set back to the process ofnormalisation and understanding between the two countries.

Politics: Problem of Bangladesh

Perjury is often boldand open. It is truththat is shamefaced— as, indeed, inmany cases is nomore than decent.

Bangladesh Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina only represented her people’s senti-

ments when she rejected the invita-tion by Pakistan to attend the sum-mit of Developing Eight. Even ashort visit to Dhaka, which I under-took a few days ago, showed thedepth of Bangladesh’s alienation.Even after three decades when theyfreed themselves from West Paki-stan, they recall the excesses com-mitted by Islamabad and particu-larly remember the atrocities by theretreating Pakistan army. Duringthe last few days they picked up pro-fessors, doctors, lawyers and evenartists and killed them to deny thenew nation a pool of professionals.

Had Islamabad regretted overwhat its armed forces did during theBangladesh liberation war, the an-ger would have mitigated by thistime. But Pakistan has been ada-mant. People there believe thatBangladeshis had broken theircountry. In the words of a Pakistanilawyer, who admitted woefully be-fore me, “We now feel the pangs

Agriculturalrevolution

It is never a good thing for publicpolicy to be dictated by an angryminority. When genetically

modified food was first introduced,its opponents stirred up such anoutcry that “Frankenstein food”was condemned as an abominationand removed from the shelves.Sadly, this was a stance that owedmore to superstition than to sci-ence. As has become abundantlyclear in the intervening years, GMfood is not just safe, but holds outthe last, best hope of feeding anever more crowded planet. In de-claring Europe, in effect, a GM-free zone, the EU has done noth-ing more than put our farmers andresearchers at a grave disadvantage,as their counterparts elsewhere haveseized on its promise.

Yet it still took courage forOwen Paterson, the new Environ-ment Secretary, to say the previouslyunsayable: that much of the preju-dice against GM is sheer “humbug”,not least since such crops have al-ready entered our food chain fromelsewhere, with no ill effects. Down-ing Street, for its part, is urging theEuropean Union to speed up its hor-rifically cumbersome procedures forrubber-stamping particular GMcrops – although why Brusselsshould be involved at all is a matterfor conjecture.

The case of Rothamsted Re-search, a company in Hertfordshire,illustrates both the potential of GMcrops and the bone-headed Luddismof their opponents. The companywas attempting to create a type ofwheat that would deter aphids with-out the need for pesticides – a doubleboon for hard-pressed farmers in theThird World. Yet earlier this year, itscrops were targeted by lawless van-dals. The truth is that mankind hasalways modified its food sources,and has increased crop yields – andhuman happiness – unimaginably inthe process. It is long past time thatBritain got behind the next agricul-tural revolution. — The Telegraph

*****

Womenworkforce

in UAE

The overwhelming ratio of menover women in significant positions at the work place must

change. The UAE will not be ableto meet its challenges if half its popu-lation is not in serious contention forjoining the fast stream to the top. Itis a matter of great pride for thecountry that a substantial number ofits graduates are women, but theyhave to be ready to stay in their ca-reers and deliver what the countryneeds from its educated population.This week, the cabinet passed a use-ful resolution, which required allgovernment bodies and companiesto have women members on theirboards. This positive discriminationis important because it forces slow-moving managements to fast-tracktheir fostering of women in the workplace and it allows role models toemerge at a senior level, who are aninvaluable inspiration to youngwomen starting their careers.

However, at the very least, suchwomen board members also have tobe competent, if not excellent, in theskill sets that the board requires.They would do a great disservice totheir fellow women if they were ap-pointed merely as the “tokenwoman” on the board and then onlyallowed to look at soft issues thatold stereotypes used to allocate towomen. It is essential that womenon boards, or in any position in busi-ness or the civil service, should belooked at in the same way as men.They should be judged on theirtechnical abilities, their manage-ment and people-to-people skills oron the basis of their ability to de-liver a project. These performanceindicators should apply equally tomen and women.

The talent that is being un-leashed in the UAE is fascinating.Only a few years ago, it was unthink-able to see women ministers, entre-preneurs, executives, technicians,pilots or even taxi drivers. Yet, to-day, all these positions are beingfilled by women, who are all part ofthe emerging skills that the UAE isfostering. Women are a vital part ofthe country’s future. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

Lord Darling—British judge

which you did whenIndia was divided tocreate Pakistan.” Iwas a witness tothose days. Pakistanblamed India. It re-fuses to face the fact.The Pakistanis havenot realised till todaythat they had humili-ated nearly every

Bangladeshi who had come to believethat he or she had to liberate them-selves from Pakistan. India did helpbut the fighting was primarily by theMukhti Bahini, which was a band ofnationalist Bangladeshis, ordinarypeople including the intelligentsia,many of whom handled a weapon forthe first time in their life. It was fightfor liberation.

Pakistan still does not realise howthe pride of being a Bangladeshi hasmade them to surmount their diffi-culties (some still doubt them) tomaintain the growth rate of 6.5 percent annually for the last 15 years.They have become self-sufficient infood and the countryside, 70 percentof Bangladesh, looks well off. Acountry which even an optimist hadalmost written off is today one of thebiggest markets in garment andleather goods. Had New Delhi deliv-ered all it promised to do, Bangladeshwould have been galloping by thistime. India appears to have woken upnow but it had made Bangladesh loseits momentum. People in Bangladeshsay that India can do more and they

have a feeling as if at some stage thehelping hand is withdrawn.

Bangladesh’s real problem ispolitics. After the assassination ofBangabandhu Sheikh Mujib-urRahman, the country never settleddown. First it was the army coup andthen a democratic polity raven by ri-valry between two main political par-ties, the Awami League and theBangladesh Nationalist Party, ratherbetween their chiefs, Sheikh Hasinaand Khalida Zia, respectively. Hadthe two reached a consensus—one ofthe big ifs—Bangladesh would havebeen more secure, more orderly andmore confident about its future. Whatkeeps the two apart is not so muchthe power as their viewpoint. Hasinasupports pro-liberation movementwhich her father, Mujib, led success-fully. Khalida has sympathies withthose who succeeded Mujib througha coup. Her husband, Zia-ur Rahman,headed the government which camein the wake of Mujib’s assassination.Khalida is known for her anti-Indiaand pro-Pakistan stance, a stigmawhich she tries to wash off. Her re-cent visit to India at its government’sinvitation was a step in the same di-rection. Her statement at Delhi shouldhelp her. She said that if she returnedto power she would see to it that theanti-India forces which took shelterin Bangladesh during her rule wouldnot be allowed to operate from hercountry’s soil. She did not realise bysaying so she was admitting the guilt.

The main worry that affects

India is a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-religious state. Itis facing serious separatist and

liberation movements in differentregions. The major controversial ar-eas include Assam, Punjab andKashmir. People of several regionsincluding Tripura, Meghalaya,Mizoram, Manipur and Nagalandare passing through identity crisisphase. The basic factors behind theseparatist and liberation move-ments are ethnicity, ideology andreligious identity. The most highprofile liberation movement is runby the people of occupied Kashmir.India introduced AFSPA in 1958 tosuppress separatist and indepen-dence movement in Manipur. Lateron, it was enforced in other insur-gency-ridden north-eastern states. Itwas extended to most parts of In-dian controlled Kashmir soon afterthe armed- struggle began in Kash-mir in 1989. The fraudulent lawgives Indian forces immunity againstprosecution “unless the Indian gov-ernment gives prior sanction forsuch prosecution.” Human rights or-ganizations claim that it is an openlicense to shoot and kill civilians.

North-east region is situated be-tween Indic Asia and MongoloidAsia. The tribal people, in this re-gion, belong to Sino-Tibetian fam-ily. Several communities, here, arestruggling for independent states.Thousands of people have lost theirlives for the cause of freedom be-cause of war like situation in thisregion. The Indian army has beenaccused of massacre of peoplefighting for the liberation of theirsoil. The common people as wellas leaders of the north-east Indiaclaim that their territory was notpart of India. It was included in In-dia without the approval of the lo-cal people. Ethnically, linguisti-cally and culturally North-East In-dia is different from the mainstreamIndia. The people, in general, faceidentity crisis and the local peopleshow their abhorrence for Indian

Liberation movements in Indiaadministration. Territorial disputesamong states are common and ten-sions between natives and immi-grants are multi-fold. Illiteracy, pov-erty and lack of economic opportu-nities are some of the major causesof separatist movements. Several un-derground organizations are work-ing for independence.

According to Assam police sev-eral Muslim fundamentalist groupsare active in Assam including theMULTA, MULFA, UMLFA andHarkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami. The Is-lamic radical groups want a chainof Islamic courts to follow the te-nets of Shariat in Assam. The UnitedLiberation Front of Assam is a sepa-ratist group seeking to establish asovereign Assam through armedstruggle. Ethnic riots erupted inAssam between 1979 and 1985.The Government of India hadbanned the organization in 1990,declared it a terrorist organizationand started military operationagainst it. The government failed tooverpower the militants. In the pasttwo decades some 10,000 peopledied in the clashes between therebels and the government. TheUnited Liberation Front of Assamand several other groups in north-east India are demanding liberationfrom the Indian Union. The two na-tion theory has its roots in Assam. Itmeans that Hindus and Muslims aretwo different nations. A number ofpeople, particularly Islamic mili-tants, want to join the East Bengal.Islamic Manch says that it will workfor the “willful merger of areas ofAssam with the East Bengal.

The people of Bodoland are alsostruggling for independence.Bodoland is an area located in thenorth bank of river Brahmaputra inthe foothills of Bhutan andArunachal Pradesh. Nandita Haksar,a leading human rights lawyer, says“the north-east is very distinct fromthe rest of India essentially becauseof race.” It is claimed that the north-east was never a part of the Indianempire, though a limited number ofpeople used to come here as teach-ers, traders and soldiers from India.The major religions of this area areChristianity, Hinduism and Islam.

Animists and some sects also existhere. In Tripura Bengalis are in ma-jority. The people, in these areas, ingeneral, believe in local nationalismthat leads to the separatist move-ments and a challenge to the author-ity of Indian government. The popu-lation of Nagas is more than onemillion. The independence move-ment started in the Naga Hills in1950. They are fighting against In-dian imperialism and demanding aseparate homeland. A number ofother ethnic groups have politicallyjoined hands with them. It is perti-nent to mention here that ethnicityplays major role in the separatistmovements in north-east India. Thegrowth of local nationalism is strongenough to tackle with Indian influ-ence. Some militant organizationsare fighting for the cause of libera-tion for the Garos.

The Naxalitie movement is oneof the major separatist movementsin India. The militants are real dan-ger to Indian sovereignty. India hasfailed to overpower the strength ofthe militants. In 2008, Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh de-scribed the Naxalite movement asthe single biggest internal securitychallenge ever faced by India. Morethan hundred separatist movementsare working in different regions ofIndia. India’s Maoist insurgency isfighting for communist rule andgreater rights for tribal people. Itstarted its adventures in West Ben-gal in the late 1960s. It has its strong-hold in 40% area of the sub-conti-nent “stretching from the north-eastto central India.” Maoists are per-haps aware of the potential for a tac-tical understanding with the ethnicseparatist groups in the battle againstthe Indian forces. The NNC and theNSCN consider Mao Zedong andZhou Enlai as the “greatest leadersof the century”. India accuses Chinaof backing Maoist guerrilla fighters.

Khalistan, the Land of the Pure,is a proposed Sikh homeland inPunjabi speaking area of Indian heldPunjab. The movement started inthe early 1980s and reached its cli-max in 1984. Indian army attackedGolden temple & killed Thousandsof Sikhs including Bhindranwale in

BLUE-STAR Operation. ThoughIndira Gandhi crushed Khalistanmovement, the idea of Khalistan isstill popular in rural Punjab. Indirawas assassinated by her own Sikhguards in retaliation. KhalistanCommando Force, Babbar KhalsaInternational, Khalistan ZindabadForce, International Sikh YouthFederaton and Khalistan LiberationForce are major organizations. Themovement operates from differentcountries including Canada, theUnited Kingdom and several othercountries. Indian government is-sued a white paper on Kashmir is-sue in 1948. In his statement thethen Prime Minister of India said “I have stated our Government’spolicy and made it clear that wehave no desire to impose our willon Kashmir but to leave final deci-sion to the people of Kashmir.”According to Security Council’sresolution 47 on 21-04-48 “the fi-nal disposition of the State ofJammu and Kashmir will be madein accordance with the will of theKashmiris expressed through thedemocratic method of a free andimpartial plebiscite conducted un-der the auspices of the United Na-tions.” In other words the fate ofKashmir would be decided in a freeand fair plebiscite in this region.

Several groups in Kashmir arefighting against Indian atrocities.The freedom movement in Kash-mir escalated in 1989. Since thenthousands of people have sacrificedtheir lives for the cause of freedom.

It is heart-rending to mentionthe poor condition of communitiesin India. It is an uphill task for themto find employment or secure placefor living in this country. It is acountry that claims to be a progres-sive but still lives in the dark ages.Majority of the minorities are stillstruggling hard to achieve true free-dom. The country is still in the gripof upper class Hindu minority. Anumber of militant groups havebeen working for the establishmentof independent states since 1947.The separatist and liberation move-ments can gain momentum at anytime to a possible division of thecountry into several parts.

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Bangladesh is the revival of funda-mentalism and terrorism whichseemed on its last legs because ofHasina’s determined and persistentonslaughts. Khalida looks the otherside when fundamentalists and theirpartners attack the police and com-mon people. Even the intelligentsiais silent when it sees the rise of radi-cal Islam in the country and call itmoderate. It is playing with fire.

A warning has been given bysalam Azad, an author out on bailafter he wrote a book, ModerateMuslim Country, years ago. Hesaid: “Without democratic institu-tion, people could not survive here(Bangladesh), esspecially minori-ties, secular and democracy lovingpeople.” The next general electionsin Bangladesh scheduled to be heldin early 2014 are crucial because thepluralistic faces will be pittedagainst communal forces. In a way,it would help pro-liberation ele-ments fighting against anti-libera-tion elements. It is necessary for alldemocratic forces to assemble onthe same platform. But it is a pitythat Hasina, who should be at thehead of such people, is spoiling thescenario by bringing in her personaldislikes of people on the one handand preference for the family mem-bers on the other. She would winhands down if she were to shed offher preferences and prejudices.—The writer is a veteran Indianjournalist, syndicated columnist,human right activist and author.

Kuldip NayarEmail:kuldipnayar09@gmail.com

Muhammad Daheemmuhammaddaheem@gmail.com

Voice of the People

Iran’s nuke & spies in Vienna

In the early years of the Cold War,Vienna was the spy capital of theworld, a cosmopolitan, divided

city beside the Iron Curtain thatbuzzed with intrigue as the majorpowers vied for the upper hand. Nowthe city of shadows that provided thebackdrop for the Third Man is united,prosperous and pristine, but the spiesare back in force – this time with Iranplaying the bogeyman role of theSoviet Union.

It is the world’s nuclear watch-dog, the International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA), which draws theworld’s international agencies. Itsquarterly board meetings are attendedby top security officials and nuclearscientists from around the world, in-cluding Iran, and the spies followthem to Vienna. The facts of the Iran’snuclear programme are the holy grailof the intelligence world. The exist-ence and extent of any covert weap-ons activity – suspected in the West,denied in Tehran – could determinewhether the world goes to war again

in the Middle East. As the interna-tional arbiter of the nuclear world, theIAEA has inevitably become an in-telligence target too.

As the international stakes rise,so have the pressures on the IAEA.Yukiya Amano, currently directorgeneral, was elected in 2009 by a verynarrow margin after a divisive con-test in which Amano was widely per-ceived as being the west’s candidate.The leaks have emerged as he is seek-ing re-election and at the same timetrying to strengthen the investigativepowers of the safeguards department– the part of the IAEA devoted toverifying the declarations made bystates – in the face of resistance ledby Russia and about a dozen othercountries.

Opponents of Amano’s plan areconcerned that the proposed reformswould make the IAEA increasinglyreliant, in cases like Iran, on intelli-gence and information supplied bythe West and Israel. In a report on thenew safeguards plan, Mark Hibbs, anuclear expert at the Carnegie En-dowment for International Peace, saidRussia’s stance on the IAEA boardwas being dictated directly by Presi-dent Vladimir Putin, who sees it as

The deteriorating human rightssituation in Syria has been asubject of debate at bilateral as

well as at multilateral fora. Given theescalation of crisis, the world com-munity has put forward many propos-als for the peaceful resolution of theconflict. OIC held its emergency ses-sion in the holy city of Makkah on16 August 2012 to discuss the Syrianconflict. OIC has also suspendedSyria’s membership in the Organiza-tion and the participants of the Con-ference expressed grave concernsover human rights violations in Syria.

OIC is not the only organizationthat suspended Syria’s membership,Arab League has also done the samemuch earlier. It imposed economicsanctions on Syria and also brokeredan unsuccessful peace agreementprior to the Annan Plan. LakhdarBrahimi, has replaced Kofi Annan asthe UN-Arab League special envoyto Syria. Kofi Annan’s six point peaceplan could not produce the desiredresults and ceasefire between therebels and Syrian government could

Syria at crossroadsnot be achieved. So far, Syria hasbeen the only state where the outcomeof Arab Spring seems precarious.More than one and a half year haspassed but Assad regime has notgiven up even in the face of stronginternal and external opposition andis constantly at war with its ownpeople. The situation is becomingmore complicated as regional stateshave conflicting interests in Syria.Apart from religious affiliations theyconsider their economic and geopo-litical interests at stake.

Iran and Syria enjoy close rela-tions since last three decades. It isIran’s only ally in Arab world anddemise of Assad regime will make itmore isolated in the region that’s whyIranian president had strongly op-posed the draft resolution presentedin the OIC meeting and had tried tohighlight Syria’s case in the NAMSummit. The Syrian situation hasbeen on the agenda of Non-Alignedsummit in Tehran. Like the other con-ferences it also was unable to explorethe durable solution because of con-flicting approaches of various statestowards the Syrian Crisis.

Western governments have re-frained from intervening militarily inSyria due to some important reasons.

Corruption inlower courtsMUHAMMAD AZAM

According to the transparency In-ternational, Pakistan is advancingrapidly on the scale of corruption.The present political & bureaucraticsystem is continuation of the admin-istrative system devised by the Brit-ish whose only aim was to extractmaximum material benefit for theirown country from their occupationof the indo-Pakistan subcontinentstopping only just short of provok-ing its population to the extent ofrising in an uncontrollable rebellion.Thus the most corrupt from publicpoint of view was the most pliableinstrument of suppression. Even thejudiciary was also a part of the sameexploitative system.

Not long ago, judiciary wasseparated from the executive in ourcountry but it appears that the oldhabits do die hard. We are lucky tohave an independent and sincereSupreme Court now but the lowercourt still remain blighted. For ex-ample, a few days ago a court clerkin Muzaffargarh (as reported inNawai Waqt Multan dated Dec, 4)was caught red-handed acceptingRs.20000 as bribe step which raisesthe question whether a lower offi-cial can take such a bold step with-out the prior knowledge of some-one higher up. Almost all the pow-erful high officers here are the ben-eficiaries of Wapda and pay little inbills. Therefore whenever a case isbrought by a private citizen againstWapda, such as for removal of dan-gerous high tension overhead wires,it is always thrown out by the judi-cial officers. On the other hand, theWapda officials themselves arenever convicted for abetting in theftof electricity which now stands at40%. It is common knowledge herethat a stay order can be anyone in-cluding corrupt government func-tionaries by talking suitably to acourt official.

The common citizen can onlyhope that the Honourable Chief Jus-tice of Pakistan will take notice ofthe deplorable conditions prevailingat the lower courts and establishsome mechanism to inculcate astrong sense of integrity in the judi-cial arbitration authorities.—Muzaffargarh

Pak-India tiesDR NOOR UL HAQ

After 1971 Indo-Pak war, both coun-tries agreed to “settle their differ-ences by peaceful means throughbilateral negotiations or by any otherpeaceful means mutually agreedupon between them” (clause (ii) ofthe Simla Agreement, July 3, 1972).Even after a lapse of four decadesthe differences are intact and havenot been resolved. About the stateof Jammu and Kashmir, clause(ix)(ii) of the Simla Agreement readsthat “the cease fire of December 17,1971 shall be respected by both sideswithout prejudice to the recognizedposition of either side.

Neither side shall seek to alterit unilaterally, irrespective of mutualdifferences and legal interpreta-tions.” But, in violation of this agree-ment, India unilaterally moved itsArmy and occupied bulk of SiachinGlacier in the north of the state. Inretaliation, the war of 1999 wasfought over Kargil peaks, whichdominate the road from Srinagar toLeh in Indian held Kashmir, to forceIndia to withdraw from Siachin andsettle the Kashmir dispute. US Presi-dent Bill Clinton’s intervention ledto cease fire and withdrawal to origi-nal positions.

In any case, the Kargil war in-ternationalized the Kashmir disputefor the time being, and, in January2004, the Prime Minister of India,Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Gen-eral Pervez Musharraf, President ofPakistan initiated a composite dia-logue process to settle their differ-ences and identified eight issues. Ofthese, the dispute of Jammu andKashmir is the core issue. It is notprimarily a territorial problem asoften represented. It is a humanitar-ian issue. It relates to the fundamen-tal right of the people of Kashmir toself-determination in accordancewith the 1948 United Nations Se-

Impact of sectarian violenceSYEDA MANAL

The sectarian violence has badly affected the different aspects of our social life. The worst hit area isreligion where a wide scale intolerance has defaced the social order in Pakistan. Due to its deep-

rooted religious intolerance in sectarianism, Islam is being projected as a religion of violence, terror andfanaticism which is inimical to its real spirit and teaching. One feels scared and unsafe of going to themosque for prayers because they have become the targets of bomb attacks and gun battles by thereligious fanatics. People are killed in broad day light in the crowded areas. The worshipers, who areoffering prayers, are gunned down and blood is profusely shed in the worshiping places. The widespread sectarian activities have not only made our political system highly vulnerable but also causeda colossal damage to our economy by affecting and destabilizing the industrial sector of the country.The industrial production has been curtailed due to uncertain political and law and order situation.Sectarianism in Pakistan has taken a distinctively violent form, separating it from the many otherMuslim societies with sectarian tendencies. Sectarian violence has worsened progressively within thelast two decades claiming thousands of lives.—Islamabad

Views From Abroad

READERS

Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

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

—Editor

David E. Sanger in his book ‘Con-front and Conceal Obama’s SecretWars and Surprising Use of Ameri-can Power’, has highlighted the lim-its of US power to intervene in Syria.He described that Syrian governmentenjoys three advantages that Qaddafiwas lacking. First, Syrian fighting istaking place in crowded neighbor andpossibility of any air attack is ruledout as it will kill hundreds of people.Second, Unlike Egyptian military,Syrian military is well trained andwell armed. Lastly, the opposition isdeeply divided and cannot even agreeon a strategy to topple a regime.

According to him, the Oppositionforce was a ragtag group of free-formmilitias. Now the third factor hassomewhat changed. Syrian NationalCoalition has been formed and Tur-key has recognized the Syrian Na-tional Coalition as the sole represen-tative of the Syrian people. ThenFrance became the first Western stateto recognize the newly formed Syr-ian opposition and later on UnitedStates and Britain have also followedthe suit. The leader of the new bodyAhmed Moaz- al- Khatib has urgedthe world to arm the rebels with spe-cialized weapons to reduce the suf-ferings of the Syrians. Russia and

curity Council Resolutions. So far thecomposite dialogue process hasfailed to solve any issue or dispute.It was suspended in November 2008on grounds of the terror attack inBombay. In July 2009, the PrimeMinister of India, ManmohanSingh, and the Prime Minister ofPakistan, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani,in a joint statement at Sharm-el-Sheikh agreed to de-link peace talksfrom acts of terror.

Yet it took another three yearsfor the resumption of the process inMarch 2011 at the Secretary level. Itis obvious that unless there is achange in the mindset of the politicalleadership, there is little hope of reso-lution of Indo-Pak disputes. Let bothcountries show the courage to resolveall issues and disputes in a civilizedmanner through negotiation, media-tion and arbitration in a given time-frame to restore cordial relations be-tween the two neighbours so thatthere is normalcy, peace and prosper-ity in the region.—Via email

Talk showsor fight club

TAHIRA SHAHEEN

I would like to bring to notice throughyour newspaper that Talk shows havebeen very popular in our country andevery channel air their talk shows indifferent timing every day. They callpoliticians of different parties andraise different kind of issues that ourpublic is facing.They debate on dif-ferent kinds of issues and some timethey fight with each other and newsanchor enjoyed. They shows bad im-pression on the mind of viewers, andalso give bad impression of thecountry’s.

So I humbly request high au-thorities and anchor person that theythink for the betterment andrelaxment of their viewers and at theend of show the news anchor shouldtake solution or compel them tosolve problems. The result will bevery positive and helpful not just forour public but also for our govern-ment. These will not make theirshows painful but relief for life.—Islamabad

Renewableenergy prospects

TAHIR HASNAIN

As the world wakes up to the realityof climate change and expanding en-ergy demand, electricity will in-creasingly have to come from re-newable sources such as wind andsolar. To follow the course to agreener energy future, Pakistan isin a good position to exploit thesealternatives because it has abundantwind and sunshine. Societies acrossthe globe are developing technologi-cally and have become increasinglydependent on external energysources for domestic cooking, trans-portation, the production of manymanufactured goods, and the deliv-ery of services. This energy allowspeople who can afford the cost tolive under otherwise unfavourableclimatic conditions through the useof heating, ventilation, and/or air con-ditioning. As a consequence, energydemand has tremendously increasedover a period of time.

The growing production and con-sumption of energy places a widerange of pressures on the environmentand public health. Energy security,energy efficiency and environmentalsustainability are currently thebuzzwords extensively being high-lighted in debates related to energyand environment. Renewable energyis an alternative to fossil fuels andnuclear power. It is also termed asalternative energy. Pakistan is meet-ing its energy needs derived from fivemain sources i.e. oil (36%), naturalgas (27%), hydroelectricity (32%),coal & nuclear power (5%). Energyconsumption pattern shows that in-dustrial sector consumes large part ofthe energy followed by the transport;domestic & commercial; and agricul-ture sectors. The country currentlyacquires most of the electricity fromprivate power plants that mainly de-pend on fossil fuels (oil & gas). Inview of depleting oil and gas reservesand rising international oil marketprices, there has been price hike and

Golden era of Judiciary

There is a crucial debate goingon between the role of the Parliament, the Executive, and

the Judiciary and how each one ofthem should work keeping them-selves within their own limits anddrawing their own circles. Keepingnorms on one side, this article triesto give a brief account of the waythings are, by looking at some of thedecisions and their implications.

The executive branch of the gov-ernment is responsible to protect therights of the people, however whenthere is no remedy, the only hope isthe Supreme Court. As is reportedwith frequency, it is not only theweakest that knocks at the doors ofSupreme Court; the most powerfulalso look at the Supreme Court withhope. In the past there are exampleswhen politician, senior civil ser-vants, disgruntled military officerscame to the Supreme Court as thelast hope. In many instances evenpeople who were against the rein-statement of the sacked Judges came

to ask for help. Moreover, many po-litical parties who took a stanceagainst the reinstallation of the Ju-diciary later resorted to SupremeCourt for help. In the ParliamentaryCommittees, government officialsattend the meetings and address theconcerns of the parliamentarians andon one such occasion, the sitting MPtold a civil servant that if you don’tlisten to us we will go to the Su-preme Court to ask for help.

Although debates about the ex-act roles of institutes in tackling ex-ternal and internal challenges exists,there is a need to revisit how thingswith respect to the judicial systemstand today. Lets look at some of thedecisions/issues. According to 1973constitution of Pakistan, a personceases to be the citizen of Pakistanif he/she acquires citizenship of an-other country, hence should be dis-qualified from the membership ofparliaments and senate.

SC proceeded with the disquali-fication of the members of parlia-ment who had dual nationalities.Many lawmakers resigned to avoiddisqualification. Never in the historyof Pakistan, this issue was noticed.The Supreme Court also took no-

tice of the fact that Punjab Govern-ment has not paid past six monthssalaries to the teachers of 26 collegesassociated with the Punjab CollegesPilot Project (PCPP) and directedthe Government to pay their duesalaries. Blasphemous content onyoutube was hurting the sentimentsof the Muslims worldwide and inPakistan, the Supreme Court of Pa-kistan (SC) took notice of this is-sue and ordered the Pakistan Tele-communication Authority (PTA) toblock links to such blasphemousvideos from the internet that hadsparked anti-US protests across theMuslim world, which were subse-quently blocked.

The Chief Justice has been try-ing to follow the pulse of those af-fected by the judicial system. Eversince his time at the BalochistanHigh Court, the Chief Justicespends his Eid days with the pris-oners; unlike many politicians, didnot try to get coverage in the press.Likewise, the judge has reached outto address grievances at the com-mon level. Whether it is rulingagainst the sale of human kidneysor non-payment of salaries toPunjab teachers, the judge’s role is

visible. Those who criticize ac-tivism in Judiciary should knowthat the beneficiaries of such de-cisions are the common people ofPakistan who are fed up with thestatus quo and gross injusticesagainst them. Why did only theCJP pass an order for immediatepayment to the most respectedteachers while the salaries of thePunjab Colleges Pilot Projectwere withheld for six months?

Another area has been the is-sue of governance in the adminis-tration. As per the Transparency In-ternational assessment, the Su-preme Court has taken up cases in-volving Rs. 400 billion. The ques-tion that needs to be asked is didthe judges have any benefit fromall of the above? The reinstatementof the Judiciary is by no means aremarkable achievement for whichthe lawyers, media, and politicalparties deserve credit. It is men ofcharacter like him who had thecourage to stay steadfast in thewake of highest pressure on them.Whenever the history of Pakistanwill be written the name of IftikharChaudary will always be remem-bered by all generations.

an arena for confronting US influ-ence. “Currently, Russia’s intelli-gence agencies are heavily interven-ing in IAEA safeguards matters, andthey fear the IAEA could become atool of the United States and its al-lies, countries that have suppliednearly all of the intelligence pointingto military and nuclear weapons ac-tivities in Iran,” he wrote.

Yossi Melman, the Israeli co-au-thor of Spies Against Armageddon,described Vienna as a “nest of spies”.“There is a great volume of traffic ofsenior officials and nuclear scientistscoming to the IAEA, particularlywhen there is a board meeting. Sothey are targets while they are therefor break-ins, bugging or recruit-ment,” he said.

His book describes a Mossad op-eration to break in to the Vienna flatof the head of the Syrian atomic en-ergy commission, Ibrahim Othman,in March 2007, in which Israeli spiesare alleged to have found details ona laptop computer about Syria’s co-vert construction of a nuclear reac-tor at al-Kibar. Mossad also exploredways of trying to compromise theformer IAEA director general,Mohamed ElBaradei, whom Israel

China both states are against themilitary solution of the Syrian con-flict. Russian military base in Syr-ian port of Tartus has strategic sig-nificance as it gives Russia accessto Mediterarian Sea. It is Russia’sonly naval base outside former So-viet Union and Russian Presidenthas also asserted to uphold the sov-ereignty of Syria. Like Russia,China too has its interests at stakeas it is a major economic partner ofArab states. Notwithstanding theArab leaders’ opposition to SyrianRegime, China has maintained itstraditional stance on non-interven-tion in internal affairs of states.Apart from China’s and Russia’sinterests in the region, both statesdon’t want to see a replay of whathappened in Libya where the UNmandate to establish no fly zonewas misused and led to a forcedregime change that’s why they havevetoed three UN resolutions draftedon Syrian crisis. Given the complex-ity of Syrian Crisis, and the sectar-ian dimension of the conflict that hasfar reaching implications for the re-gional states, its peaceful resolutionis desirable.—The writer works at IslamabadPolicy Research Institute.

believed was overly sympathetic toIran. One plot, never carried out,was to deposit funds in his bankaccount that he would not be ableto explain and then to spreadrumours he was in the pay ofTehran. Melman added thatBritain’s external spy service Brit-ish spies had been successful in ex-tracting intelligence in Vienna aboutthe Iranian programme. “If youspeak to Mossad people,” he said,“they are almost very complimen-tary about MI6’s capacity and itssuccess against the Iranians.”

The Guardian has also learnedthat for security reasons, there areno longer any Farsi speakers in thesafeguards department to analysethe flow of documents coming inabout the Iranian nuclearprogramme. A former inspectorsaid: “Non availability of Farsispeakers is a serious problem. Weasked for something to be doneabout it but we were told it was amatter of trust, that these peoplewould have relatives in Iran andwould be open to pressure.” Thewriter is diplomatic editor of thenewspaper.— Courtesy: The Guardian

Suddenly so many holidaysand I noticed there was nonewspaper. Actually I should

have known, they had warned methe day before it would happen. Itwas a small box on the front page:‘On account of this or that, the of-fices of this newspaper will remainclosed and there will be no issueof the paper tomorrow morning.’

The problem with the day be-fore is that you never really takethe next day’s hassle and bother,too seriously, till ofcourse the nextday actually arrives. So t’was dif-ferent that morning: Not a singlenewspaper! I had no idea what new

scam had been discovered, whetherRahul had been hit by another mis-sile from the BJP, or Vadra by Vadrahimself. I couldn’t feel the feel goodfactor without the morning paperrubbing those feel good words intomy brain.

I was startled and not a little per-turbed to find that I would not beable to know how many senior citi-zens, housewife’s, businessmen re-turning from work, and bank clerksand jewellery shop owners, had beenshot at, had their houses burgled,throats slit and money stolenthrough the whole of yesterday andlast night! There was no obituarycolumn to see whether friendswere still alive, and I wonderedwhat they would say when I didn’tturn up at cemetery and cremato-rium, and comforted myself withmorbid thought that anyway theywouldn’t know.

Were any more bodies of inno-cents found in Gujarat? Was sad rapevictim not going to be shot by lensman’s camera today and not revealmore horrific details of mass assaultsby otherwise mild timid men whounder the shield of police protectionbared their otherwise docile, domes-ticated loins and ravished, violatedsomeone else’s spouse and daugh-ter? No report of what Obama hadsaid after winning, or what Romneyhad decided to do with the rest ofhis Mormon life!

Ah such news! What would I dotoday without such spicy details?With no paper in hand I climbed upstairs onto terrace floor. Who was itthat seemed to say hello? I helloedback and a bobbing, bouncing,beaming ball of enthusiasm threw itsjoyous beams at me. “Welcome!” itseemed to say. “Welcome to the landof the living!” “Watch me light up

A different morning..!those sleeping plants, watch mewake those birds to catch theirworms and stuff like that! Hey Bobit’s a new day. Its good to be alivehuh?” I smiled and heard the wak-ing sounds from world around.Mother’s lighting breakfast fire.Men, slurping morning coffee.Babies gurgling. Children gig-gling. Sparrows twittering, hensclucking and sleepy cock crowingin the distance. In the balconyacross a middle aged man gavewife a cheeky peck, and she blush-ing looked across and turned awaywith self conscious happy smile.

The sun grinned at me. “It’s ahappy world out there.” “Yes,” Isaid and nodded to God above,“how well we newspaper men hidHis jubilant, joyous day with mel-ancholic, mournful talk and idioticheadlines..!—Email: bobsbanter@gmail.com

Julian Borger

Saman ZulfqarEmail: samanz.pk@gmail.com

Faiqa Abdul HayeeEmail: faiqaabdulhaye@hotmail.com

a huge gap between demand and sup-ply of the electricity. As a conse-quence, consumers are facing burdenof the power load-shedding and arealso paying huge bills.

Renewable energy in Pakistan isa relatively underdeveloped sector.Most of the renewable energy in Pa-kistan comes from hydroelectricity.In recent years, there has been someinterest by environmentalist groupsand from the authorities to explorenew renewable energy resources forenergy production, in light of the on-going energy crises and power short-ages affecting the country. There havebeen some efforts to install and ex-pand the use of solar energy in Paki-stan. The Alternate Energy Develop-ment Board (AEDB) completedprojects whereby villagers that re-ceived solar panels were also givensolar cookers. AEDB reports thatduring the project, deforestation de-creased by 80% near the villages andthe cookers were also made in Paki-stan, which generated local economicgrowth. In all provinces the AEDBhas created 100 solar homes in orderto exploit solar energy.

Given the surplus potential inwind energy, Pakistan has been en-gaged in wind related projects as well.In recent years, the government hascompleted several wind energyprojects and the success in this regarddemonstrates that wind energy is vi-able in the country. In Mirpur Sakro,85 micro turbines have been installedto power 356 homes. In Kund Malir,40 turbines have been installed,which power 111 homes. The AEDBhas also acquired 18,000 acres for theinstallation of more wind turbines.The government is also developingwind power plants in Jhimpir, Gharo,Keti Bandar and Bin Qasim in Sindh.—Via email

Corruption amongPolicemenAHMED KHAN

Corruption has deepened into oursociety; the police who is apparentlya law enforcement agency and is thereto stop people from illegal activitiesand corruption is also involved in tak-ing bribes. Last week I was drivingin Islamabad and unfortunately wasfined for over speeding at one of thecheck posts, but I didn’t have moneyto pay at the time so the police of-ficer let me go but not without takingmy cell number so he could contactme. He wanted the money so badlythat he kept on calling me until I paidhim and when I did, he was so pleasedthat he even said that whenever youhave a problem don’t hesitate to callme. I was shocked that our societyhas become so shameless and corruptthat we would do anything for money.If the police have also becomecorrupt…then God help this country.—Via email

*****ADEEL AMJAD

Torture cases have become a norm inour society. Just recently a death tookplace in the custody of police andapparently it is the case of torture.During the investigation eight policeofficials were involved in the deathof an innocent labourer and these of-fenders also contacted the widow tobribe her. Police teams are investi-gating the case of torture in detail.During the investigating time, onealarming thin that has been found outat the moment is that the ASP him-self has been involved in the brutal-ity and he is one of the eight policeofficial who was accused in this caseof torturing the labourer to death inthe police custody.

That’s why people of Pakistandon’t trust their police because oftheir rough and inappropriate behav-ior. Police should punish these of-fenders to set an example for rest ofthe police department.—Via email

HUBERT VÉDRINE

THE West has nothing to fear but fearitself. The collapse of the SovietUnion in 1991 was supposed to markboth the “end of history” and the birth

of an international community founded on theuniversal acceptance of Western values aworld in which “market democracy” was thenorm. Instead, the West has suffered a litanyof disappointments — from costly wars to fi-nancial crises to the rise of non-Western pow-ers — that has left it deeply disillusioned. Farfrom a cooperative, rule-based order, the con-temporary world is a place of vast, permanentcompetition — a muddled melee among re-gional poles, countries, governments, busi-nesses, banks, financial funds, rating agencies,producers, consumers, individuals, interna-tional media, and criminal organizations, if notalso between “civilizations.” This competitioncontinues even in the forums that are supposedto regulate it: the World Trade Organization,the G-20, and others.

After the end of the Cold War, those in theWest with universalist sensibilities particu-larly in Europe strove to promote internationalexchange. Of course, this exchange was sup-posed to be unidirectional the projection ofthe values of freedom and progress and themarket economy onto the rest of the world. But,to the consternation of the proselytizing West,the outside world is now being projected ontoit. Just as colonized peoples turned colonizers’ideas liberté, égalité against them, the global-ized peoples have begun to leverage the de-regulated global economy to their advantage.As a result, we have seen the rise of the BRICS(Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa)and dozens of other “emerging” countries thatsignal the end of Western control over globalaffairs. Faced with this disorienting new reality,part of the Western elite has taken refuge indenial, insisting on ever more openness andglobalization and falling further and further outof touch with public opinion. Meanwhile, theaccumulation of these upheavals is producinga sense of vertigo and even panic among West-ern populations. All the world’s flows trade,finance, migration, culture seem totally un-checked and uncontrollable, at least by theWest and the international organizations thathave, until now, served their interests. In theUnited States, the Republican Party is adrift.Unable to accept the end of a John Wayne-esque era, party leaders seek at once to isolatethe United States and curb the threat of com-petition from the “rest.” This reaction, no doubt,contributed to the GOP’s defeat on Nov. 6.

In Europe, we are seeing the rise of utopianand protest votes, quasi-mutinies at the polls,a sharp increase in anti-incumbency, and, onthe flip side, voter abstention and general dis-trust. These phenomena are linked not only tothe economic crisis and the recession but alsoto a gnawing feeling of powerlessness that isundermining civic confidence. Nowhere is the

Decline Is a Choicepsychological distress more acute than inFrance, where surveys have found that citizensare more worried about the future than in Af-ghanistan. The anxiety that prevails in Europeabout the emerging world order has created anew audience for catastrophic predictions. This

intellectual current, fed by apocalyptic extrapo-lations of all kinds, seeks utopian panaceas inthe form of rational world government, Euro-pean federalism, international civil society, andinternational justice. Such ideals offer a substi-tute for confidence in the market and the ven-

eration of multilateralism and the international“community.” It is a mindset that stands in starkcontrast with that of non-European peoples,who brim with optimism and regard the futurewith confidence and appetite.

Today, use of the phrase “win-win global-ization” amounts to provocation, at least in Eu-rope. Europeans have been especially disap-pointed by the current shifts because many des-perately wanted to believe they were living in apost-tragic world that had evolved beyond his-tory and identity. It was their age of innocence.But instead they got austerity and an almostpost-democratic system of sanctions to ensure

budgetary discipline. For the moment at least,the debate over eurozone economic policy hasbeen settled in favor of iron-fisted Merkelianrule. But the election of François Hollande inFrance has opened a crucial parallel debateabout growth and the appropriate balance be-

tween efficiency and democracy in Europe. Asa result, it is not impossible to imagine a com-promise involving reforms that are not overlyharsh or hasty and that are gradual enough tobe socially and politically palatable.

It is on this kind of deal-making that the

West’s future will turn. Given the magnitude ofthe global shifts under way, the course chartedby Western governments today will have amonumental impact on world politics tomorrow.The challenges facing the United States andEurope today are different but intertwined: Eu-ropeans must awaken from their strategic slum-ber; Americans must accept the new global re-alities and adapt their strategy accordingly. Theemergence of certain countries, formerly referredto as “Third World” or by the well-intentionedeuphemism “developing countries” (even whenthey were not), is now an undeniable fact. Thereis China with its more than 1.3 billion inhabit-

ants and staggering economic growth, thewhole of Asia, and the BRICS, minus Russia,which is more hovering than emerging. All told,some observers count as many as 100 emerg-ing countries. This means that we now havethe older developed countries of the G-7 andthe OECD, the emerging or emerged countries(the most important of which are members ofthe G-20), and the pre-emerging countries fromthe so-called Global South, most of which arelocated in Africa. Indeed, half of the world’s 20fastest-growing economics are located in Af-rica.

A daily barrage of figures and statisticspaints a picture of this brave new world. Butwith the exception of a handful of Westernmultinational corporations that have a short-term interest in recklessly transferring core orcutting-edge technology, the West remains stu-pefied by, if not oblivious to, the enormous ad-justments that will be required in order to adapt.Already, the West has begun to lose its mo-nopoly on industrial capacity, technical exper-tise, and even currency, now that China andJapan have begun trading in yuan and yen.Likewise, soft power is now part of the arsenalof a growing list of emerging countries. Eventhe balance of military power — as reflected inrising military budgets in China, India, and Bra-zil — is shifting ever so slightly, as is the geo-political clout that is the handmaiden of militarymight. Indeed, how else can one explain India’sand Brazil’s decision to ally themselves withRussia and China in the U.N. Security Councilto block Western intervention in Syria? There is no aspect of Western supremacy thatemerging countries are not prepared to chal-lenge — now or in the future — from the distri-bution of power within international institutionsto the values that underwrite them. For the first

time in history, as former U.S. national securityadvisors Zbigniew Brzezinski and BrentScowcroft rightly pointed out in 2008, “all ofhumanity is politically active.”

But if emerging powers have grown increas-ingly assertive on the world stage, they do notappear poised to supplant their more estab-lished counterparts at least not yet. The mete-oric rise of such powers over the last decadehas, to a certain extent, obscured the fact thatall suffer from vulnerabilities. Political risks, suchas the uncertain future of the Russian and Chi-nese regimes and a limited but growing opposi-tion in many other countries, could eventually

impede their development. Likewise, inequality has risen to explosive

levels in many emerging countries, just asgrowth rates are tapering off and high inflationhas necessitated “cooling” policies in placeslike Brazil. Environmental problems, pollution,overexploitation, and scarcity also loom on thehorizon. It is important to remember, moreover,that per capita income is still very low in mostemerging countries and will remain so for theforeseeable future. And while demographicscan be an asset, they can also be a liability:India is weighed down by overpopulation,China by its aging population, and Russia bydepopulation. Russia may have oil and gas, butit is struggling to establish a modern economy.There is also a tendency to overestimate theunity and homogeneity of the emerging pow-ers. They come together to criticize the Westand stake claims, but are just as often dividedby individual rivalries strategic competition be-tween China and India, commercial competitionbetween Brazil and Argentina, and competitionbetween Nigeria and South Africa over leader-ship in Africa.

Likewise, we tend to forget, especially inEurope, that Western countries retain consid-erable advantages. Not only do they dominatethe word’s international institutions, but West-ern countries still enjoy colossal wealth andeconomic power. The West comprises 58 per-cent of global GDP and 40 percent of interna-tional trade when you include Japan. Moreover,the American capacity for invention and cre-ation remains unrivaled, and its soft power un-equaled. The United States has won 39 percentof Nobel Prizes ever awarded and 48 percent ofprizes in the sciences, medicine, and technol-ogy. What’s more, the West boasts almost allthe top global universities, and its educationlevels are still higher than in other parts of theworld. Finally, Western countries retain a mili-tary advantage that they are unlikely to relin-quish anytime soon. U.S. defense spending con-tinues to represent close to half of global mili-tary spending, and France and Britain havemaintained their military capabilities. Moreover,the prospect of American disengagement isdeeply worrying to neighbors of the largestemerging powers, strengthening the UnitedStates’ position worldwide and making possibleproposals like President Barack Obama’s planto establish a trans-Pacific free trade zone thatwould exclude China. Lastly, American culturalsupremacy is beyond question and to that wecan add the vitality of Francophonie (even ifthe French elite is losing interest in it) andHispanidad. In short, the West is in no dangerof being eclipsed by the rest. So what will thefuture hold? It seems clear that the West willnever recover the unique position it held fromthe 16th through the 20th centuries, nor will theUnited States regain the kind of unchallengedpower it enjoyed in 1945 or during thehyperpower decade of the 1990s. It will no longerbe the only force shaping the world.

—Courtesy FP

The New Liberalism and the end of American ascendancy.

Faced with these challenges, how should Western countries proceed? Formulating and sticking to a coher-ent strategy will be paramount if the West is to maximize its interests, even as the balance of power shifts infavor of emerging countries. Inevitably, this will mean accepting the necessary adjustments to international

institutions and reaching agreements with new powers on rules and norms, as well as on reasonable timetablesfor any changes agreed upon.

KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN

SUVARNABHUMI International Airport recentlyopened three exclusive“Asean Lanes” for “Asean

Nationals” visiting Thailand. This ispart of the effort, or rather the publicrelations blitz, to prepare the countryfor the Asean Community (AC), or tobe more precise the Asean EconomicCommunity (AEC) - the noble objec-tive Thais are crazy about these days.Many Asean visitors were bewilderedto see three white banners with blackletters reading “Asean Nationals”, asthey had no idea of their purpose.Some said they looked like airport ad-vertisements. Noticeably, the airportauthorities jammed too much informa-tion on the televisions above each ofthe immigration counters - so much sothat the main message was lost. In theworld’s renowned international air-ports, there is no such audiovisualpollution.

Thailand was the first country tointroduce Asean lanes. But the ideawas not new. To commemorate the 5thAsean Summit in December 1995, Thai-land created an Asean lane at DonMueang Airport, the country’s princi-pal airport at the time. After nearly threeyears, it was abolished because Aseanvisitors showed no sense of belong-ing to the group and did not see them-selves as Asean nationals when theyvisited other countries. As it turnedout, more foreign tourists, especiallyEuropeans, used the Asean lane. TheEuropean identity is much strongerthan the Asean identity due to theformer’s political and cultural union.Many visitors from Asean will easilyrecall the uncomfortable feeling when,checking in at major European airportsfor connecting flights, they mistakenlyqueued up at so-called EU lanes. In2000, the member nations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation agreedthat an Apec lane must be set up tofacilitate the movement of investorsand traders among them. Apeccardholders can go through diplomaticlanes at immigration counters at mem-ber countries’ airports. No such ar-rangement within Asean.

Former Indonesian foreign minis-ter Hassan Wirayuda once proposeda plan for Asean to issue the so-called“laissez passir” document for Aseanbureaucrats who travel frequently —not even a common passport like theEU passport. But it was immediatelyshot down. The visa-free travel docu-ment would help promote a sense ofbelonging and empowerment amongAsean bureaucrats. The nearly 80Asean civil servants at the Jakarta-based Asean Secretariat still have togo through immigration regulations assome of them were openly recruitedand do not hold official passports.Truth be told, not all of the new Aseanmembers are comfortable with the idea

Constructing myriad facets of theAsean identity

of granting visa-free travel. They stillfear that ill-intentioned elements mightsneak in and cause trouble inside theircountries, especially extremists andmilitants. Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar andCambodia are extremely sensitive.However, some of them frankly admitthat visa fees, which average US$20per trip, are still desirable because theyhelp offset the costs of the immigra-tion operations.

No one grasps the idea that withmore Asean tourists coming - and ex-pected to total 120 million in the next

three years - they would bring in moreforeign earnings for their countries.Officials responsible for tourism pro-motion in Asean are at a loss as theytry to come up with a Schengen-likevisa scheme allowing tourists to enterall Asean members with a single visa.This idea, which was also taken up at

the Phnom Penh summit last month,has been on the table for years with-out a consensus being reached. Backin the mid-1990s, the Asean leadersalso used to discuss the adoption of acommon time zone to facilitate work-ing hours among Asean countries.Currently, time differences of up tothree hours exist between Asean’s

major cities. Countries benefiting fromearlier hours thought it was a bad ideato kick of trading and banking hoursat the same time.

Understanding the complexities anddifficulties of building a common Aseanidentity amid the euphoria of diversity,the Asean leaders are going after easierprojects. They have also learned somehard lessons from their experience.When the Hezbollah group attackedLebanon in 2006, both workers from thePhilippines and Thais were affected.Thailand asked the Philippines, which

has an embassy in Lebanon, to helpcare for and protect its citizens, whichwent well despite some language andfinancial problems. For the first time, anAsean embassy attempted to assistother member’s nationals. The rescuedThais praised Asean and said they wereproud to be Asean citizens. The big-

gest achievement in forging a commonidentity is the new alignment of calen-dars of higher educational institutionsin Asean. Now, all universities withinthe grouping will begin and end theiracademic years at the same time. Thenew academic year will start next Sep-tember.

—Courtesy The Nation, Thailand

RAMZY BAROUD

PALESTINE became a “nonmember state” at the UnitedNations on Nov. 29. The draftof the U.N. resolution beckon-

ing what many perceive as a historicmoment passed by a huge majority ofGeneral Assembly members: 138-9, with41 abstentions. It was accompanied bya passionate speech delivered by Pal-estinian Authority President MahmoudAbbas. But decades earlier, a more im-pressive and animated Palestinianleader, Yasser Arafat, sought interna-tional solidarity as well. The occasionthen was also termed “historic.” Em-powered by Arab support at the RabatArab League summit in October 1974,which bestowed on the Palestine Lib-eration Organization (PLO) the ever-opaque title “the sole legitimate repre-sentative of the Palestinian people,”Arafat was invited to speak at the U.N.General Assembly.

Arafat’s language signaled a depar-ture from what was perceived by West-ern powers as radical political and terri-torial ambitions. In his speech on Nov.13 that year, Arafat spoke of the grow-ing PLO’s legitimacy that compelled hisactions: “The PLO has earned its legiti-macy because of the sacrifice inherentin its pioneering role and also becauseof its dedicated leadership of thestruggle. It has also been granted thislegitimacy by the Palestinian masses.The PLO has also gained its legitimacyby representing every faction, union orgroup as well as every Palestinian tal-ent, either in the National Council or inpeople’s institutions.”

The same can hardly be said ofAbbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA),which exists as a result of an ambigu-ous “peace process” nearly 20 yearsago. It has all but completely destroyedthe PLO’s once functioning institu-tions, redefined the Palestinian nationalproject of liberation around a more“pragmatic,” or self-serving, discoursethat is largely tailored around self-pres-ervation, absence of financial account-ability and a system of political tribal-ism. Abbas is no Yasser Arafat. More-over, the Arafat of 1974 was slightlydifferent from an earlier Arafat who ledthe revolutionary Fatah party. In 1974,Arafat made a statehood proposal thatitself represented a departure fromFatah’s own previous commitment to a“democratic state on all Palestine.”Arafat’s revised demands contained thewillingness to settle for “establishingan independent national state on all lib-erated Palestinian territory.”

While the difference between bothvisions may be attributed to a reinter-pretation of the Palestinian liberationstrategy, history showed that it wasmuch more. Since that date, and despitemuch saber-rattling by the United Statesand Israel against Arafat’s “terrorism”and such, the PLO under Arafat’s Fatahleadership underwent a decade-longscrutiny process, where the U.S. placedaustere demands in exchange for anAmerican “engagement” of the Pales-tinian leadership. This itself was the

Rerun of Palestinian history?precondition that yielded Oslo and itsabysmal consequences. Arafat wascareful to always sugarcoat any of hisconcessions with a parallel decisionthat was promoted to Palestinians as anational triumph of some sort. Backthen, there was no Hamas to stage amajor challenge to the PLO’s policies,and leftist groups within the PLO struc-ture were either politically marginalizedby Fatah or had no substantial pres-

ences among the Palestinian masses.The field was virtually empty of anyreal opposition. Even some of Arafat’sopponents found him sincere, despitetheir protests against his style and dis-

tressing concessions. The rise of thePLO’s acceptability in international are-nas was demonstrated in its admissionas a U.N. “nonstate entity” with an ob-server status on Nov. 22, 1974.

The Israeli war and subsequent in-vasion of Lebanon in 1982 had the de-clared goal of destroying the PLO andwas aimed at stifling the growing legiti-macy of the PLO regionally and inter-nationally. Without an actual powerbase — in this case, Lebanon — Israelileaders calculated that the PLO wouldeither collapse or capitulate. Weakened,but not obliterated, the PLO, after theLebanon war was a different entity fromthe one that existed before 1982. Armedresistance was no longer on the table,at least not in any practical terms. Suchchange suited some Arab countries justfine. A few years later, Arafat and Fatah

were assessing the new reality fromheadquarters in Tunisia. Amid thechanging political landscape in Pales-tine, a popular uprising (Intifada)erupted in 1987 and, quite spontane-ously, a local leadership formedthroughout the occupied territories.New names of Palestinian intellectualswere emerging. They were communityleaders and freedom fighters whomostly organized around a discourse

created from local universities, Israeliprisons and Palestinian streets.

It was then that the legend of theIntifada was born with characters suchas children with slingshots, mothers

battling soldiers, and a massive reser-voir of a new type of Palestinian fighteralong with fresh language and dis-course. Equally important, new move-ments were appearing from outside thetraditional PLO confines. One suchmovement is Hamas, which has grownin numbers and political relevance inways once thought impossible. That re-ality proved alarming to the U.S., Israeland, of course, the traditional PLO lead-ership. There were enough vested in-terests to reach a “compromise.” Thisnaturally meant more concessions bythe Palestinian leadership in exchangefor some symbolic recompense by theAmericans. The latter happily floatedIsrael’s trial balloons so that the Israelileadership didn’t appear weak or com-promising.

—Courtesy Japan Times

Palestine’s New Status: A History Rerun or a New Palestinian.

Change has been seriously affecting humanity in myriad aspects.

On the ground the reality was starkly different: Fledg-ling illegal Jewish settlements became fortified cities and arelatively small settler population grew to over half a million;Jerusalem is now besieged by settlements and cut off fromthe rest of the occupied territories; the Palestinian Authority,established in 1994 to guide Palestinians toward indepen-dence, became the permanent status of a Palestinian leader-ship that existed as far as Israel would permit; polarizationcaused by PA corruption and the PA’s security coordinationwith Israel led to civil strife that divided the Palestinianproject between factional and self-serving agendas.

These include engaging the mainstream media in Asean topromote all Asean programmes and other projects. One of thepriorities is to promote interfaith dialogue and understanding,and a culture of tolerance within the Asean community. So far,

the Asean media community is still very parochial, writing aboutthemselves and their ties with Asean without broader referencesor perspective. Indeed, none of the major media establishments

in Asean have attempted to promote Asean as a collectiveidentity. The European media has been a strong proponent to

create a stronger sense of a European community.

According to sources, theofficials of Pakistan, Afghani-stan and representatives ofTaliban have agreed to holdmore rounds of talks in phasesto consider the proposals andconditions that involve theUnited States, United Kingdom,Pakistan, Afghanistan andTaliban and move forward forthe peace process.

Sources said that it was agood development that theUnited States, United Kingdomand Afghanistan did not involveIndia in the peace talks withTaliban as they have understoodthe key role of Pakistan in re-viving peace in the land-lockedcountry and bringing Taliban tothe negotiation table.

According to sources, lastmonth Pakistan government hadreleased a few Taliban leaders onthe assurance of the UnitedStates, United Kingdom and Af-ghanistan regarding the revival ofpeace process that would moti-vate Taliban to give up terrorism

Mullah Omer, aideswant NATO pullout

From Page 1in both the countries.

Without involving Pakistanin talks with Taliban, neither theUS nor UK could succeed in re-viving peace in Afghanistan, end-ing militancy and withdrawingNATO forces peacefully fromAfghanistan, said the sources.

kistan Steel Mills which werestuffed by the ruling party with-out observing merit.

The party sources said it isthe duty of the government toprovide jobs to the jobless andit is easy way to accommodatemaximum numbers of peopleincluding estranged partyworkers who will be helpful inmustering support during elec-tions.

Ruling partyplans

From Page 1

The Trilateral Ankara Sum-mit provides a comprehensiveplatform for promoting highlevel political dialogue, securitycooperation and economic de-velopment partnership amongthe three brotherly countries forbringing peace, stability anddevelopment in Afghanistan andthe entire region.

President Zardari during hisstay in Turkey, besides the Sum-mit, will also hold bilateralmeetings with Turkish PresidentAbdullah Gul and Turkish PrimeMinitser Reccep Tayab Erdoganbesides joint meeting of thethree Presidents with the Turk-ish Prime Minister.

The President tonight willalso attend the welcome dinner

Zardari in AnkaraFrom Page 1

raise its international standing inrecent years, playing host tohigh-level diplomatic events andattempting to act as a broker inconflict resolution.

Turkey’s foreign ministerhas said he wants its largest city,Istanbul, to be a “UN city”.

A Turkish official said onMonday a special hotline hadbeen set up to allow Turkey,Afghanistan and Pakistan tocommunicate better duringtimes of crisis.

While the latest spat is un-likely to cause any lasting dam-age – Karzai has issued moredirect charges at Pakistan in thepast and has said contacts be-tween both countries would con-tinue – ties between Kabul andIslamabad remain strained.

Afghanistan has been angeredby cross-border raids by militantgroups from Pakistan, and has re-

Attack on spy chiefhatched in Quetta: Kabul

From Page 1peatedly accused its neighbour’sintelligence agency of backing Af-ghan insurgent groups to advanceits own interests in the country.

Pakistan denies the accusa-tions and says it is committedto helping bring peace to Af-ghanistan.

The attack onAfghanistan’s top spy was al-most a carbon copy of lastyear’s assassination of thecountry’s chief peace negotia-tor, Burhanuddin Rabbani, akilling in which Afghanistanalleged Pakistan was involved.Pakistan denied the accusa-tions.—AP

hosted by Turkish PresidentAbdullah Gul for him and hisafghan counterpart HamidKarzai.

Earlier upon arrival at theAnkara international Airport, thePresident was received by highranking officials of the foreignoffice of Turkey while Mr.Burhan Kayaturk, ChairmanPak-Turkey ParliamentaryFriendship Group and ambassa-dors of the two countries werealso present.

Pakistan’s Ambassador toTurkey Muhammad HaroonShaukat and senior officials offoreign office and Pakistan’sembassy in Turkey were alsopresent to welcome the Presi-dent at the Airport.

Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar,Foreign Minister, Mr. ArbabAlamgir, Minister for Commu-nication, Mr. Imtiaz SafdarWarraich, Minister of state forinterior, Mr. Hamid Yar Hiraj,Minister of State and ChairmanERRA, General Ashfaq ParvaizKayani, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.General Zaheer-ul-Islam, DG,ISI, Mr. Jalil Abbas Jilani, For-eign Secretary, Mr. MuhammadArif Azeem, Secretary Rail-ways, Khawaja MuhammadSiddique Akbar, Interior Secre-tary and Maj. Gen. Azeem Asif,Deputy Chairman ERRA areincluded in President’s entou-rage.—NNI

from the Ghalanai press clubunder the collective and territo-rial responsibility law.

Journalists in Ghalanaiblocked the Peshawar-GhalanaiRoad for traffic to protestagainst the detaining of theircolleagues. The road wasopened after assurance given byAssistant Political Agent,Ghalanai, and Jamshed Khanthat he would be taking up thecase for the detainees’ release.

Cellphonecompany

From Page 1Referring to the recent visit

of Chairman of the Afghan HighPeace Council SalahuddinRabbani and Foreign MinisterZalmai Rassoul‚ he said the re-lations are on the right direc-tions.”

A member of the Afghandelegation welcomed the pro-posal of Pakistan to conveneUlema Conference between thetwo countries. He suggested thatinteractions of academia‚ mediaand other sections of the soci-ety should also be encouragedfor better understanding be-tween the two countries.

The Prime Minister assuredthe Afghan delegation that hewould look into the complaintsregarding delay in clearance ofAfghan goods at Karachi seaportand welcomed the proposal for in-teraction among all sections ofthe society of the two countries.

PM stressesFrom Page 1

embroiled former Prime Minis-ter Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son AliMusa Gilani and former TextileMinister MakhdoomShahabuddin.

According to a challan sub-mitted by the Deputy DirectorAbid Zulfiqar of the Anti Nar-cotics Force (ANF), which hasbeen investigating the case,former director general of healthDr Asad Hafeez allegedly mis-used his authority in the alloca-tion and local sale conversion of2,500kg ephedrine to the twopharmaceutical companies –Berlex Lab International, ofwhich Ansar Farooq was CEO,and Danas Pharmaceutical,which is owned by the third sus-pect Iftikhar Ahmed Khan.

posal is approved by the federalcabinet, more than 70 per centCNG consumers (the privatesector), or about 2.5 millionpeople, will have to sell theirCNG kits, which will be ren-dered useless, to scrap dealers.

Moreover, the summary alsoproposes to fix the price of CNGat 80 per cent parity with that ofpetrol. In other words, CNGprices for the remaining 30 percent of consumers (the publictransport sector) will be raisedso that it is only 20 per centcheaper than petrol.

On top of that, the guide-lines proposed in the summarywith ensure that the ongoingpolicy of ‘squeezing the CNGstations’ is strengthened, align-ing the pricing of CNG to thatof distribution of other fuels likepetrol and diesel “In (due)course of time, all CNG stationswill be pressed to convert themselves to LPG,” adds the petro-leum ministry’s summary.

Cabinetto decide

From Page 1

LHC grants bailFrom Page 1

against them.Replying to this, Justice

Jawwad Khawaja said that theauthorities should apprehend theculprit who is threatening them,and who could be sentenced upto 10 years in prison followingthe NAB laws.

Justice Khilji Arif said thatif they will allow the culprits toescape, then they are bound toreceive threats.

The investigating officeralso told the court that the bu-reau has sought assistance fromIslamabad and Punjab Policealong with the counter terrorismagencies to arrest Tauqir Sadiq.On this, Justice Khilji remarkedthat he must be hiding in high-profile official residences.

While adjourning the hear-ing till December 19, the courtsummoned the Inspector Gen-eral Punjab Police along withInspector General MotorwayPolice.—INP

SC displeasedFrom Page 1

Pak, France agreeFrom Page 1

field of education‚ health‚ de-fence and economy.

He said the France has con-tinued its offer in many field in-cluding health and education. Hesaid France is also an active partof many European Unionprogrammes especially inhealth.

Replying to a question oncooperation in energy sector‚ theFrench President said Francewould extend its full help andcooperation to Pakistan to meetits energy requirements.

He said they also discussedthe future of Afghanistan anddiscussed the necessity to tackleterrorism and drug traffickingwhich he accepted the main is-sue of the world and it requiredinternational cooperation‚

He said the role of Pakistanin the stability and security in theregion was also discussed duringthe meeting in order to help sta-bility in the region and ease ten-

sion. He said for this purpose‚France has been talking to theinternational community.

The French President saidboth the leaders also discussednuclear issue and exchangedviews on this important subject.

Replying to a question on co-operation in energy sector‚ theFrench President said Francewould extend its full help and co-operation to Pakistan to meet itsenergy requirements. The twoleaders also discussed the futureof Afghanistan and necessity totackle terrorism and drug traffick-ing which requires internationalcooperation‚ The role of Pakistanin the stability and security in theregion was also discussed duringthe meeting. For this purpose‚France has been talking to the in-ternational community. TheFrench President said both theleaders also exchanged views onnuclear issues.— NNI

remarks that according toArticle 5 of the Constitutionthe law was applicable to every-one inside Pakistan, and thatthere is no requirement of citi-zenship for the law to apply.

Chaudhry further said thatthe Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM)contract was cancelled as it wasagainst the law and that the samelaw applied to the Reko Diqagreement.

The Chief Justice wondered

Foreign, local companiesFrom Page 1

how could the government ofBalochistan object to the con-cessions in the Reko Diq con-tract which were granted by thegovernment itself adding thatthe Balochistan governmentshould make amend to its ownmistakes rather than pass on theonus to the court.

Counsel for the Balochistangovernment, Ahmer Bilal Sufiinformed the court that the con-cessions granted were against

the law and the flaw came intolight upon review of the records.

Justice Iftikhar respondedand said that concessions aside,a contract has no legal status ifit is not in accordance with thelaw.

The chief justice further saidthat any amendment madewould have to be according tothe law and that the Contract Actallows for limited amendmentsto be made in case of a mistakein an agreement.— NNI

several hours by setting tyresablaze.

A large number of vehiclesfrom and to Zhob lined up in ashort span of time due to block-ade that caused immense troubleto the commuters.

The angry mob raised vocif-erous slogans against the gov-ernment and QESCO.

President of NAC AbdullahJan Kakar said that the peopleof Zhob and Sherani were fac-ing 18 hours of power outagesdaily that has made their livesmiserable, adding the govern-ment had badly failed to over-come the problem of power sus-pension.

NAC protests againstloadshedding

From Page 1

No Swissresponse

From Page 1Khurshid Shah was talking withPMLN and accountability billwill be brought to Parliament.

He said that three provincialassemblies rejected Kalabaghdam project and its constructionwould be against democracy andunity of the country. He said anyprovince can take the Kalabaghissue to the Council of Com-mon Interest forum. He made itclear that according to the billtabled in the parliament, the bu-reaucrats would have to leave dualnationality within 90 days. —APP

LHC grants bailLAHORE—Approving bail re-quests of all three suspects, theLahore High Court (LHC) onTuesday ordered the release offormer Director General ofHealth, Asad Hafeez, ChiefExecutive Officer Danas Phar-maceutical Ansar Farooq, andthe owner of Berlex Labs,Iftikhar Ahmed Khan in con-nection with the Ephedrinequota case.

Authorities were investigat-ing the three suspects for theiralleged involvement in the mis-use of controlled substanceephedrine.—INP

L O D H E R A N — P a k i s t a nTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ChairmanImran Khan on Tuesday saidthat Nawaz Sharif and AsifZardari were equally respon-sible for the economic slaugh-ter of people of Pakistan.

The tsunami of changewould sweep away plunderersof national wealth, feudal lordsand the discriminatory system,the PTI chief said while address-ing different public gatheringsheld here on the launch of hismass contact drive.

Imran Khan said that evenall government parties could notstop the tsunami of change. Hepromised that his party wouldintroduce a new foreign policy,ensure justice to all segments ofsociety where the poor and feu-dal would be treated in the samemanner and the provision of ba-sic amenities like education,health, employment would beresponsibility of the state.

He promised to bring tobook the killers of PPP Chair-woman Benazir Bhutto, stating

that the UN report had also in-dicated that some insiderswere involved in Benazir’s as-sassination.

Holding Punjab govern-ment responsible for chaos anddeterioration in Punjab, ImranKhan said that Nawaz Sharifruled Punjab province for over25 years but did nothing for thepoor. He said that Nawaz-Zardari alliance was continu-ing for the past five years andthey had done nothing for thepoor.

“Nawaz helped Zardari’srule for five years. Now he isclaiming to take his turn and rulethe poor of Pakistan. The peoplenow know his real face and theywon’t allow him to continue thefake fight between PPP andPML-N.”

Nawaz Sharif ruled Punjabfor 25 years and also served asprime minister twice but he didnothing for the poor. Whatchange he is claiming to bring inhis new Pakistan,” argued ImranKhan, adding that like an inca-

Nawaz, Zardari responsible forecono-slaughter of people: Imran

DHAKA—Bangladesh first warcrimes tribunal’s Chairman Jus-tice Mohammed Nizamul Huqresigned on Tuesday in thewake of a controversy over hisreported Skype conversationwith an expatriate war crimesexpert.

Justice Huq is believed tohave resigned to end the con-troversy touched off by theleak of the said conversation.

Law Minister ShafiqueAhmed and State Minister forLaw Qamrul Islam confirmedbdnews24.com that Huq hadindeed tendered his resignationletter.

“But he will continue toserve as a High Court judge,”the Law Minister said. Later,Justice Huq also confirmed hisresignation.

“Yes I have tendered it,” hesaid pre-empting the obviousquestion regarding the talksdoing the rounds in the courtsince midday.

The first tribunal had notbegun proceedings before

lunch. Only one of thetribunal’s members, JusticeAnwarul Haque had arrived inthe morning while the chair-man had apparently called insick.

Another tribunal member,Justice Jahangir Hossain, ar-rived during lunch recess andwhen the tribunal began itsproceedings the chairman re-mained conspicuously absentgiving further impetus to therumours that he had resigned.

Pro-Jamaat-e-Islami andBNP lawyers demanded resig-nation of the justice after theDaily Amar Desh publishedthe reported conversation witha Brussels-based academicianZiauddin Mahmud.

Huq was serving as a HighCourt Justice before being ap-pointed the Chairman of thethree-member InternationalCrimes Tribunal-1 on Mar 25,2010. Later, the governmentconstituted a second tribunal forhastening the trial of alleged warcriminals.—SANA

Bangladesh war crimestribunal head resigns

pable man, Nawaz was in a habitto copying the slogans raised bythe PTI.

Flanked by PTI leadersJaved Hashmi, Shah MahmoodQureshi, Jahangir Khan Tareen,Shafqat Mahmood and others,Imran Khan said that the smallfarmers were badly hit due to theanti-poor policies of the govern-ment and prices of urea, pesti-cides and other commodities hadbeen increased time and again.He said that continued load shed-ding had furthered the problemsof the small farmers and the lackof water had spoiled agriculturesector. The PTI chief advisedNawaz Sharif to change his be-havior if he was really sincere inbringing about a change in Paki-stan.

“There are only 20 guards forQueen of UK but 1260 police-men have been escorting Shariffamily. With thousands ofguards and Raiwind Palace tolive in, Nawaz Sharif behaveslike a Mughal emperor,” ImranKhan remarked.—NNI

4,000 MW powershortfallISLAMABAD—Electricity short-fall in the country has reached4,000 MW with closure of nineunits of Terbela Dam. Accord-ing to sources, nine units ofTarbela Dam have been closedand only five units are produc-ing electricity. The power gen-eration from Tarbela Dam hasdecreased by 3,238MW due toclosure of nine units due towhich overall power shortfall in-creased up to 4,000MW. Thesources informed that Tarbela Damis only producing 240MW of elec-tricity. It has been reportedthat29,200 cusecs of water in enteringTarbela while 40,000 cusecs is dis-charging. —INP

4 cops injuredin villagers fireMIAN CHANNU—At least fourpolice cops were injured whenvillagers opened fire at policemobile which approached twoclashing groups here on Tues-day. According to details, twogroups in village 119/15-L ofMian Channu traded fire overland dispute. Police after gettinginformation reached the area butthe clashing groups started fir-ing at police mobile van injur-ing four cops. The injured copswere rushed to local hospitalwhere from police constableAurangzeb with serious woundswas referred to Nishtar HospitalMultan for treatment. The policeregistered a case against armedmen of both groups and startedraids for their arrest. —INP

Guard robs cashfrom bank vanLAHORE—A private securityguard looted money amountingto millions from a bank’s cashvan here. Police said a guard ofa private company, who wasposted to provide security tobank’s cash van, took away acash-filled bag from the vehicleoutside the bank in FerozpurRoad near Ichhra. Officials saidthe guard, identified as Ramzan,robbed over Rs20 million. Theysaid CCTV recording has beenacquired but it might not behelpful due to darkness in thenight.— NNI

LODHRAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan addressing a public rally on Tuesday.

AnotherQuetta doctor

kidnappedQUETTA—Unknown armed menkidnapped another doctor from thecity on Monday night.Policesources said that unidentified gun-men intercepted the vehicle of Dr.Abdul Aziz of Helper Eye Hospi-tal and offloaded him and forcedhim to board their vehicle.

The kidnappers took away thedoctor to unknown destination,police said adding that theabandoned vehicle of the doc-tor was found on Badini roadin Bhosa Mandi area by Satel-lite Town police. Police saidthat kidnapped doctor belongedto Buledi Baloch tribe. —APP

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—In order to gird moresternly for the challenges of theirpolitical rivals in Punjab arena,Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)Punjab Chapter has requested thePrime Minister, Raja PervezAshraf, to be a frequent leadingfigure in all mega public meet-ings going to be held under thebanner of PPP prior to caretakersetup for the upcoming general

elections in Punjab. Prime Min-ister Raja Pervez Ashraf will ad-dress a public gathering in Kasuron Sunday where he will inau-gurate regional passport and SuiGas offices besides likely to an-nounce different public develop-ment projects.

Well-placed sources in PPPtold this scribe that the party lead-ership took the defeat in the re-cent by-election seriously andwas mapping out a comprehen-

sive tactical plan to recapturethose constituencies havingdominant vote bank of the PPPespecially those won in 2008general elections by the party.

Furthermore, after restric-tions on the political activities ofthe President Asif Ali Zardari bythe courts, only Raja PervezAshraf is a figure that could leadthe public gatherings in Punjabby announcing public develop-ment projects for different cities.

Raja to lead PPP publicgatherings in Punjab soon

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Chairman UlemaCouncil, Maulana TahirMehmood Ashrafi Tuesday de-manded that the elements respon-sible for creating unrest inKarachi and Quetta be exposedand punished.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Ashrafi termed the armedattack on Jamia Ahsan ul Uloomin Karachi as a conspiracy tospark a clash between religiousand political parties.

Attack on seminary aconspiracy: Ashrafi

Expressing his deep sorrowover the incidents of target kill-ings and bloodshed, Ashrafi de-scribed a killing as a condem-nable act regardless of whichschool of thought the victim be-longed to.

He called upon all the politi-cal and religious parties to puttheir heads together to put a halton the ongoing bloodshed acrossthe country.

Ashrafi said the Army shouldnot be bothered for the verifica-tion of voters’ lists.

JI condemnsgiving up IPgas pipeline

projectLAHORE—Ameer Jamaat eIslami Syed Munawar Hasanhas strongly condemned theabandoning of the Iran Pak(IP)gas project under the US pres-sure and said it was tantamountto surrendering the country’ ssovereignty and progress toplease Washington. In a state-ment here on Tuesday, he saidthe rulers in Islamabad wereleast bothered about the prob-lems faced by the nation becauseof an acute energy crisis, andwere prepared to do anything onUS dictation.

He said President Zardari’sdash to London to attend theMalala Conference instead ofvisiting Tehran to give a finalshape to the Pak Iran pipe lineproject, proved that the nationalinterest was not the priority ofthe rulers.

Syed Munawar Hasan saidthat brotherly Muslim countryIran had laid the gas pipe lineup to the Pakistan border.

OGRA okays hikein gas tariffs

ISLAMABAD—Oil and GasRegulatory Authority (OGRA)has recommended substantialincrease in gas tariffs for indus-tries, fertilizer factories, powerhouses, CNG stations and thedomestic customers effectivefrom 1st of January, 2013. Ac-cording to the OGRA recom-mendations, the tariff for do-mestic customers using gas upto 100 units per month couldincrease by Rs6/14 perMMBTU, up to 300 units byRs12/28 and those using gasmore than 300 units by Rs30per MMBTU.—NNI

EMMA, a 6-year-old from Phillipsburg,Pa., had been fighting the disease for nearlytwo years and doctors at Children’s Hos-

pital of Philadelphia said there were no stan-dard treatments left. So they took a gamble ona new, potentiallygroundbreaking treatment —using HIV.

They removed millions ofEmma’s disease-fightingwhite blood cells and usedgenetically altered HIV — avirus that easily gets into hu-man immune systems — toturn Emma’s cells into a kindof immunological “directedmissile,” specifically pro-grammed to destroy the leu-kemia cells. The cells werethen returned to Emma’sbody.

“All of the things thatmake the HIV virus able tocause disease have been re-moved from this particularvirus whose only purpose isto put a gene into a cell,” saidDr. Stephan Grupp, a pediatric oncologist atCHOP who uses HIV to infiltrate the im-mune system. “There is no danger of infec-tion and there is no longer the HIV virus.”

Kari Whitehead, Emma’s mother, said thatinitially after the treatment Emma becamevery ill — she had a fever as high as 105degrees — and doctors warned the familythat she might not make it through the night.

Grupp then gave the second grader a rheu-matoid arthritis drug “off label.”

In arthritis, the drug was meant to blocka specific part of the body’s immune reac-tion, part caused by white blood cells calledT cells. In Emma’s case, it blocked the sideeffect of the cancer treatment. In just 12

hours, she stabilized. “She was the first child in the world

they tried it on and they told us they didn’tknow what to expect,” Whitehead told ABCNews. “They do feel now that the arthritis

drug that they used will keepthe kids in the future fromgetting any where close to that[sick].”

Grupp says that Emma,now eight months past hertreatment, is in complete re-mission.

“She has no leukemia inher body for any test that wecan do — even the most sen-sitive tests,” he said. “Weneed to see that the remissiongoes on for a couple of yearsbefore we think aboutwhether she is cured or not.It is too soon to say.”

He said that the treatmentis being tried experimentallyat two hospitals and was in-tended for childhood leukemiathat has returned and no longerresponds to chemotherapy.

He said doctors hoped the T cell treatmentwould eventually replace bone marrowtransplants.

“This treatment was really her[Emma’s] only chance,” Grupp said. “Shehas been treated with extended chemo-therapy and she wasn’t getting any better.… For me, it’s incredible.”

Whitehead said Emma, now 7, lookedand felt “amazing” and had reunited withher dog Lucy. “There is a big difference,”she said. “She has a ton of energy. She’sback with her class. She was even able toplay a little bit of soccer. So she’s doingwonderful right now.”

Doctors find success usingretooled HIV to fight

LIAQAT TOOR

JAPAN, a land of rising Sunand one of the brightest economic stars in the east is a

household name in Pakistan assymbols of Japan in shape ofvehicles, watches, kitchen gad-gets and other commoditieshave become part our life.

This distinguished equa-tion between both the countriesmade bilateral relations noveland special. The journey ofsuch ties which began in the50s, grew to new heights. Froma trading partner, Japan has be-come a major source of eco-nomic assistance and invest-ment in Pakistan.

These special relations ex-ploded into a grand show in alocal hotel on Monday eveningwhen Japanese ambassador toPakistan Hiroshi Oe threw agrand gala to celebrate theBirthday of His Majesty Em-peror Akihito, the 125th Em-peror of Japan, who will be 79years old on 23rd December,2012, which is a National Dayof Japan.

The show attracted Min-isters, politicians, parliamen-tarians, businessmen,

mediamen and eminent person-alities of civil society besidesmembers of diplomatic corps

including ambassadors andHigh Commissioners of differ-ent countries. A large number

of ex-diplomats, ex-civil andex-Generals were also part ofthe celebrations.

A spirit of friendship andcooperation was flowing in thejam-packed hall where theguests were treated with warmhospitality from the ambassa-dor and his team.

After the national anthemsof both the countries wereplayed, a cakecutting cer-emony was per-formed by theJapanese ambas-sador who was joined by theChief Guest on the occasionDr. Farooq Sattar, Minister forOverseas Pakistanis and othereminent personalities.

The traditional foods ofPakistan and Japan and theamazing cultural outbursts ofthe host country treated theparticipants. A big screen in-stalled on the occasion wasshowing Japanese progress inevery human activity.

Since his arrival in Paki-stan, one year and sevenmonths ago, Japanese ambas-sador Hiroshi Oe has been put-ting his hard work as a missionto further build Pak-Japan eco-nomic and commercial rela-tions. He was successful in the

ISLAMABAD: A view of Faisal Mosque’s reflection in accumulated rainwater after first winter rain in Federal Capital.

Japan’s National Day

Japan is one of the brightest economic stars in the eastTremendous aid flows to Pakistan from major donor country; Japan to strive for further deepen Pak-Japan eco-nomic ties: Hiroshi Oe; Heavy participation, goodwill and spirit of cooperation were hallmarks of celebrations

ISLAMABAD: Chief guest Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr Farooq Sattar,Ambassador of Japan Hiroshi Oe, President AJK Sardar Yaqub, Mrs Midori Oe and MNAPalwasha Khan cutting the cake to celebrate the birthday of his Majesty Emperor of Japan,at a local hotel.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

sense that there were fre-quent exchanges of businessdelegations between Tokyoand Islamabad. His frequentvisits to Chambers of Com-merce and Industry in Paki-stan and participation in busi-ness and investment seminars

in Pakistan andJapan haveborne fruit asnew spirit hasbeen injected insuch economic

and commercial ties.In his brief remarks on

the occasion, Hiroshi Oe saidthis year commemorates the60th anniversary of the es-tablishment of diplomatic re-lations between Japan andPakistan.

A variety of events incultural and economic fieldswere held including culturalevents in Islamabad such asCalendars Exhibition,Ikebana workshops and theJapanese Film Festival,Spirit of Budo Exhibition andholding of economic confer-ences and exchange of busi-ness and investment delega-tions.

ception.

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Dean of Dip-lomatic Corps, Rodolfo J. MartinSaravia Ambassador of the Argen-

tine Republic hosted a dinner toBid Farewell the year 2012 at LaMontana Restaurant in MargallaHills.The dinner was attended bymore than 40 Ambassador’s andHigh Commissioner’s, Federal Sec-retaries, MNA’s and distinguishmembers of the Business and So-cial Community and Representa-tives of the Media.

The owner of the restaurant

ISLAMABAD: Guests at a dinner hosted by Ambassador of Argentine Rodolfo J. Martin.

La Montana Dr. MuhammadAmjad offered the Dean to spon-sor the whole event at his beau-tiful restaurant. Every guest leftthe premises of the restaurant

with a beautiful gift to remem-ber this event for long time.

A Cuban Musical Trio called“A3, Jazz Band” enthralled thecrowd with its unique sound onthis reception entertained theguests during the Dinner. And theywere really great in music field.

It is important to mentionalso, that this Cuban Jazz Bandwas brought to Pakistan under

the generous sponsorship of theArgentina Pakistan Pharmaceu-tical Joint Venture BF Bio-sciences (Bago and Ferozsons).

In his speech the Dean of Dip-

lomatic Corps Rodolfo J. MartinSaravia, thanked Dr. Amjad for hisgenerous support to the Dean forsponsoring this event and also ap-preciate the Media Consultant Ms.Arzoo Kazmi for her role in help-ing to organize this event.

On a whole it was a verywell planned and successfulevent from the Embassy of Ar-gentine Republic.

Farewell to year 2012

Residents enjoyfirst winter rain

ISLAMABAD—The first winterrain in the city on Tuesday pro-vided relief from the dry chillyweather besides giving an oppor-tunity to the residents of the capi-tal city to enjoy the scenic beautyof the city. The cloudy weatherprovided an opportunity to thepeople to visit the coffee andsnack shops and demand in greentea, soups, samosas, pakoras anddry fruits was witnessed.

People were seen throngingrestaurants and other recreationalspots as well. The rain also cre-ated traffic problems due to slip-pery roads. Long queues of traf-fic were witnessed on busy roadsand traffic signals.—Online

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Deputy Speakerof the National Assembly FaisalKarim Kundi on Monday saidthat the next general electionswould be free and fair, whichwould be won by the PakistanPeoples’ Party (PPP) on the ba-sis of its performance.

The Deputy Speaker wasaddressing a seminar held here atthe PNCA in connection with theInternational Human Rights Day.

“The ideology of the PPPis to protect the human rights.The people should vote for thePPP in the next elections,” he

PPP gave sacrifices forupholding human rights

added. Kundi said that the PPPleadership and workers hadgiven a lot of sacrifices for up-holding the human rights. Itsgovernment had provided em-ployment opportunities to

those, who were inducted evenduring the dictator’s rule.

He said that the PPP hadtaken into confidence all the po-litical forces regarding the waron terror and then succeeded inthe Swat operation. Both the ci-vilians and the personnel of lawenforcement agencies have made

unparallel sacrfices in the fightagainst terrorism, he added.

He suggested that the PPPshould table a resolution in theParliament for giving the title of“Daughter of Pakistan” to

Malala Yousufzai. The advisor to the prime

minister Fawad Chaudhry saidthat the manifestation of humanrights in Pakistan had been in-troduced during the PPP’s gov-ernment. He said when Malalawas attacked, the only partywhich supported her was thePPP. PPP leaders Nafisa ShahMNA and Malik Hakmin alsoattended the seminar.

ISLAMABAD—Education, trustbuilding and a pragmatic approachhave been identified as key ele-ments that can lead both Afghani-stan and Pakistan to a better bilat-eral understanding and futureprogress of the region at the “Af-ghanistan-Pakistan Track II & IIIWorkshop”, which concludedTuesday at the Pakistan Institutefor Parliamentary Services (PIPS).

Addressing the workshopGerman Ambassador to Pakistan,Dr. Cyrill Nunn stated: “The cur-rent development in Pakistan-

Picture on Page 10

Trust, edu needed for Pak-Afghan tiesAfghanistan relations is movingahead.” Supplementing the tune,Pakistani Parliamentarian SardarMahtab Ahmed Khan Abbasiemphasized: “Education must begiven the top priority”, addingboth the governments of Af-ghanistan and Pakistan must takeup education promotion on warfooting.

Earlier, talking about theobjectives of the two-day work-shop, Deputy Speaker of theAfghan Senate, Mr. Gul Afghansaid: “Today we have to ensure

that the issues between the twocountries can be resolved.”

The ruling Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) Leader of the Housein the Senate of Pakistan, Sena-tor Jehangir Bader said: “To bringboth Civil Society and Parliamen-tarians in the Track II & III meanto institutionalize this forum.” Inhis keynote address he added,“So both can sit together and rec-ommend to their government inorder to “install lasting peace,harmony and economic stabilityin the region.”—NNI

Shabash PakistanculminatesCITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—As many as 270Nustians attended the third andfinal session of Shabash Paki-stan, held at the main campus ofNational University of Sciencesand Technology here on Tues-day.

Shabash Pakistan is a nationbranding movement started byNUST and School of Leadership.The movement aims at revivingpatriotism and Pakistaniyat inthe youth of Pakistan.

Shabash Pakistan is a seriesof three one-day sessions sched-uled for four universities namelyNUST, Bahria, COMSATS andAir University. The theme of thethird and final session was So-cial Action Projects.

Anchored by UmairJaliawala, it took off with a re-view of the day-two session ofLeadership in Action.

The participants were tocome up with action plans forthe problems they had identi-fied in earlier sessions. The ses-sion specifically emphasized onLeadership in Action not Posi-tion.

Subsequently, there ensueda discussion with Project Lead-ers about their experience ofbringing in the change. Talkingabout the difficulties they facedwhile making efforts to achievetheir goals, the leaders presentedproject reports.

ISLAMABAD: Students set on fire dry leaves at a roadside to keep themselves warm ona cold day.

ISLAMABAD: IG Bani Amin looking at the pictures displayed at an exhibition organizedby RIPJA in collaboration with Islamabad Police at PNCA.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

STAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D — F e d e r a lMinister for Defence SyedNaveed Qamar Tuesdayunderlined the need to de-velop people-to-peoplecontact among the coun-tries of South Asian regionand said that there shouldbe a process of learning bysharing from each other.

“We need to look intodeeper integration in theregion whereby not justthe merchandise but ourpeople particularly youthand communities can inter-act with each.

This is the way it usedto be some three centuriesback and it is time now thatwe should learn from ourhistories where mutual re-spect and honor allowedus to co-exist and pros-per,” he said while speak-

ing at a conference ‘Sus-tainable Development inSouth Asia: Shaping the Fu-ture’.

The conference was or-ganized by Sustainable De-velopment Policy Institu-tion here at a local hotel.

The minister said thattoday South Asia was theleast connected region inthe world and it connectiv-ity indicators were evenpoorer than Sub-saharanAfrica.

“If we continue to be asdistant as we are today, ourchildren may never be ableto interact, talk, meet andplay with their children inthe neighborhoods. Such alost opportunity will be syn-onymous to a youth stolenin the name of history’s bag-gage,” he added.

He said Pakistan was un-dertaking a foreign policy in

ISLAMABAD: Pukhtun Students Federation holding protest in favour of their demandsoutside National Press Club.

ISLAMABAD: Faisal Karim Kundi, Deputy Speaker, National Assembly speaking dur-ing the seminar on ‘Role of Political parties in promoting a culture of human rights’,organised by PPP Human Rights Cell at PNCA.

the new emerging realities inthe best interest of the peopleof Pakistan and the develop-ment and prosperity in theregion. He said realistic re-view of Pakistan’s foreignpolicy focusing on “lookingtowards Asia” as envisionedby Shaheed Benazir Bhuttowas underway.

“We value our relation-ship with the powers in Asia.Pakistan has played an activerole in SAARC for formuliza-tion of the processes towardssetting up food bank andsupporting other regional ar-rangements including SouthAsia Free Trade Agreement(SAFTA).”

Naveed Qamar said Paki-stan government believed intaking people, media and civilsociety along and it had thehonour of taking civil soci-ety along on key issues ofnational and regional inter-

ests.“We have passed several

laws on women protectionand against discriminatorypractices in collaborationand technical support fromcivil society and especially inclose collaboration withSDPI,” he said.

Today under the PPPgovernment, he said peopleof Pakistan were witnessingexemplary freedom of expres-sion, independence of thejudiciary and sovereignty ofparliament.

“Never before inPakistan’s history, has themedia been so free. We alsobelieve that without women’sparticipation, sustainabledevelopment cannot be en-sured,” he added.

He expressed the hopethat the conference wouldprovide a chance to partici-pants to know of research

work done on various issuesconfronting as challengesthe South Asian countries.

The minister said he him-self had been associated withSDPI for many years as amember of its Board of Gov-ernors.

“I admire SDPI as a primethinktank in the country thatconducts policy dialogueand provides space to ex-perts on South Asia to comeup with their research on is-sues of regional concern,” hesaid.

He said the theme ofSDPI’s conference “Sustain-able Development in SouthAsia: Shaping the Future”was very relevant to thepost-global financial crisisdiscourse currently takingplace in the region andworld over.

“We have now under-stood that in order to grow

Naveed stresses people-to-people contact in South Asian regiontogether as a global commu-nity developmental consider-ations need to go beyondmere concerns for economicgrowth. We need to think interms of the very pillars ofsustainable developmentwhich implies that we alsoregard social justice and re-spect our environment andnatural resources,” he main-tained.

He said the middle classin South Asia was gettingmore empowered and therewas a youth bulge that pro-vided substantial productiveopportunities for the region.He said however there werealso challenges being facedby the South Asian region.It (South Asian) continuesto be the fastest urbanizingregion in the world. This hasput pressures on govern-ments in terms of dealingwith service delivery in in-

frastructure and social sec-tors.

“We still remain a re-gion with highest incidenceof malnourished childrenand children out of school.

Khurram Javed fromDiplomatic Academy,Azerbaijan stressed onimplementation of IP, TAPIand Trans-Caspian projectsfor initiating developmentin the region. Naeem Akramfrom Economic Affairs Divi-sion, Pakistan identified in-flation, change in tempera-ture and precipitation asmajor impediment in growthand threat for human andfood security.

Dr. Saba Gul Khattakconcluded the session withview that “The heart of theconflict lies in the differenceof logic in politics and sci-ence and it needs to be workout at earliest”.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A ‘One BillionRising (OBR)’ campaign, be-ing taken up by differentcountries across the globeto mobilize general publicand motivate makers to taketheir responsibilities in end-ing violence against womenhas been launched here onTuesday. OBR is a collectivevoice of one billion women,men, children and trans-gen-ders across the globe forZero tolerance to violenceagainst women.

The campaign, launchedat the auditorium of Depart-ment of Earth Sciences,Quaid-e-Azam University or-

‘One Billion Rising’ campaign toend violence against women

ganized by Aurat Foundation(AF), was organized byRozan, WLP, AMAL, WORD,We Can and RSPN.

Addressing the cer-emony a representative of AFinformed that according tointernational statistics, oneout of three women in theworld will be rapped or beatenin her life time which comesto more than one billionwomen. In Pakistan approxi-mately 70 to 90 percentwomen are subjected to do-mestic violence every year,she said.

OBR, she said, is a glo-bal activist movement to endviolence against women andgirls started by Eve Ensler, a

prominent activist who ad-dresses issues of violenceagainst women and girls.

Dr. Farzana Bari, Chair-person Department of GenderStudies, QAU, gave a de-tailed presentation on ‘situ-ational analysis of ViolenceAgainst Women’ (VAW) andstated that creating aware-ness and personal commit-ment to refrain from inflictingviolence on other especiallyon women is imperative.

She noted that theyshould not forget that gen-der based violence is a struc-tural issue and power imbal-ance between men andwomen is central to all formsof VAW.

ISLAMABAD—People of twincities remained deprived fromCompressed Natural Gas(CNG) on 19th day followingthe unannounced strike ofCNG association adding mis-eries to their lives.

The gas stations are shuteven though the CNG asso-ciations had not officiallygiven a strike call. To makethings worse, the unofficialstrike is apparently for an in-definite period and no datehas been announced as towhen the closed gas stationswill reopen.

Due to strike of CNGmassive queues of vehicleswere seen at a few company-operated gas stations in thecity that were opened afterthree days weekly load shed-ding.

Suspension of CNG hasdisturbed the routine life ofpeople from all social seg-ments and resulted into lossof billion of rupees to the al-

ready deteriorating economyof the country.

Due to suspension ofCNG people faced immensedifficulties to access theirdestinations and workplaces.The commuters, mostly onway to work, faced extremedifficulties in reaching theirdestinations. Naveed Islaman employee of a multi na-tional company who waswaiting for a CNG at a sta-tion told Online that both thegovernment and the CNG as-sociation were equally re-sponsible for significantlyincreasing the miseries ofpeople.

He viewed that both theparties were pressing peoplefor their wasted interests.

He further said that hehad been waiting here to getCNG from last two hours anddo not know how much timehe will have to spend to getfuel.

He said that all the stake

holders in this situation areequally responsible as noone is concerned about thesufferings of most vulnerablesegment that is common man.

Raheela a governmentemployee said that due tosuspension of CNG cab driv-ers have increased the faresand they are demandeddouble fares in façade of ply-ing on petrol bit expensive toCNG. She said that womenhave to wait for hours to getcab at affordable prices or noother option to pay doublefares demanded by the driv-ers.

She said that in this en-tire scenario no one is thereto notice the sufferings ofcitizens.

Pakistan’s fuel oil importsdeclined to a nearly four-yearlow in November, as thecountry skipped purchasesof low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO)that month, official datashowed.—Online

CNG strike: People continue to suffer

Mountains, source ofwater and natural beauty

Six housessealed

in F-6/1CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Capital Devel-opment Authority (CDA) hassealed six more houses ofSector F-6/1 in continuationof operation against non con-forming use and violations ofbuilding by-laws in differentresidential sectors ofIslamabad. Enforcement,Building Control MagistrateCDA took apart in the opera-tion.

During the operationhouse no.49 situated instreet 32 being used asboutique showroom, houseno 4 situated in street 4 be-ing used as art gallery,house no 15 situated atSchool Road being used asgym, house 41 situated instreet 38 used for Officepurpose, house no 20 situ-ated at 7th Avenue beingused as furniture décor,house no 39 situated instreet 32 being used asboutique centre were sealedfor non conforming use andin violations of CDA By-Laws.

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Capital Devel-opment Authority (CDA) hasinitiated a long term partner-ship program with local com-munities to ensure the pro-tection and preservation ofMargalla Hills National Park(MHNP) and the uplift of lo-cal community.

The establishment of freeMedical Camp at Gokina Vil-lage of National Park was afirst step in this regard, whichwas inaugurated by MemberEnvironment, CDA Dr. KazimNiaz on Tuesday. Under thispartnership program CDA incollaboration with NationalRural Support Program(NRSP) would initiate differ-ent social and welfare

Programme initiated topreserve Margallah Hills

projects, which will not onlysupport in uplifting the liv-ing standards of local com-munities but will also help inimproving their social andeconomic conditions.

In this first medical camp,senior doctors of CDA Capi-tal Hospital and paramedicalstaff conducted medicalcheckup and different clini-cal tests of the local resi-dents. Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce and Industries(ICCI) has provided the medi-cine free of cost. Lady doc-tors were present for thecheckup of female residents.

Member Environment Dr.Kazim Niaz told that in thesecond phase another medi-cal camp would be held inTilhar Village on December 13.

SHARAFAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD—Capital Devel-opment Authority (CDA)Tourism Division in collabo-ration with Ibex Club andAdventure Club organized5th consecutive climbingcompetitions supervised bythe Sports Climbing Associa-tion at Ibex Club, Lake ViewPark.

Chairman CDA, SyedTahir Shahbaz was the chiefguest of the adventurousfestivity, which was partici-pated by members of CDABoard.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Chairman CDA, SyedTahir Shahbaz said that theInternational Mountain Dayis an opportunity to highlightthe importance of mountainsin our life as well as the op-portunities and resourcesblessed by the nature in form

of these mountains.He said that we are lucky

that major mountain peaks ofthe world are in Pakistan,which are not only the sourceof water to irrigate our cropsbut also add serenity andbeauty to the natural envi-ronment of the country.

He said that we shouldpromote this sport to raiseawareness about the conser-vation of the mountains andother natural resources to thebenefit of the mankind.

The thrilling competi-tions were participated byvarious clubs, schools, col-leges and universities fromvarious cities.

A few institutions andtheir students with activeparticipation in the competi-tion were, Roots School Sys-tem, Beacon House School,City School, Froebels, FatimaJinnah Women University.

NUST (NUST AdventureClub), International IslamicUniversity, Quaid-e-AzamUniversity and climbers fromvarious clubs. Pak TurkSchool Peshawar, CitySchool Mardan, NusratJahan Inter College ChenabNagar and Fairy Meadowsteams participated from othercities.

President AdventureClub Pakistan, Tahir ImranKhan congratulated all posi-tion holders and announceda 2 day complimentary train-ing course and one monthfree climbing practice inclimbing arena on behalf ofIbex Club.

He further announced theholding of the next mega com-petition on InternationalWomen Day on March 8th asthe club is organizing thisevent for last seven yearssince 2007.

Maryam Khanreinstatedas ADGC

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minis-ter Raja Pervez Ashraf onTuesday reappointedMaryam Khan as Addi-t ional Deputy Commis-sioner General (ADGC)Islamabad.

On December 7, whilehearing a suo moto case ofharassing government em-ployees, the apex court or-dered Attorney General ofPakistan Irfan Qadir tosubmit report regardingthe stance on harassingthree officials , ADCGIslamabad Maryam Khan,Assistant CommissionerSaddar Rabia Aurangzeband SP Dr KhurramRashid.—NNI

Role of media incombating

mental disorderCITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A workshopon “Mind and Health, asawareness program for Me-dia” was organized at MCHcenter, PIMS hospital Tues-day. During this workshop,both the print and electronicmedia professionals weretrained with the different as-pects of mental health.

Asima khan, chief psy-chologist, Department ofPsychiatry PIMS, introducesthe participants with the ba-sic criteria for mental illness,including common mentaldisorders like depression,anxiety and drug addiction.

She further mentioneddifferent strategies to copesuch situations and help thesufferer in order to behealthy. Prof. Dr. Rizwan Taj,Head Department of Psychia-try, PIMS Islamabad, spokeon the role of media in de-creasing the rate of mentaldisorders in the society.

He also mentioned thatvulnerable individuals withsuicide thoughts are moreprone to imitation behaviorand follow a copy cat suicideafter following some wellknown person suicide. So, inreporting the suicide, neverglorify suicide as well asmethod of suicide.

Preparationsfor Christmas

ISLAMABAD—Christmas tree,main ritual of the Christmascelebration to welcome thearrival of Santa Claus, createsmore charm to the festivityof Christmas with itscolourful decorative look.

With a few days left toChristmas, the members ofChristian community startdecorating the evergreen co-niferous tree, real or artificial,as a tradition associated withthe celebration of Christmas.

The tree is usuallydecked with different orna-ments including baubles,small bells painted gold andsilver, stars of differentshapes and sizes, pinecones,apples, candies, tinsel andballoons made from glass,metal, wood and ceramic..—Online

Journalistkidnapping caseISLAMABAD—While takingaction over complaint of asenior journalist, PirwadhaiPolice Station Rawalpindiregistered a FIR against uni-dentified persons in kidnap-ping and torture case.

As per details, the casewas registered over complaintof the journalist, Zaffar IqbalQazi. The case was registeredunder section 365/506 underFIR number 594. It may bementioned here that someunidentified persons torturedthe journalist and tried to kid-nap him but the residents ofthe area foiled their attempt.

The incident occurred lastWednesday night inK h a y a b a n - e - S i r - S y e dRawalpindi. According to Se-nior Staff Reporter of this NewsAgency, NNI, Zaffar IqbalQazi, he was in his home whentwo unidentified persons, in acar, called him out from hishome and subjected torture.

According to the journal-ist, the persons said that youwere reporting false againstthem and they tried to kid-nap him..—NNI

06:2001:3003:45

07:00

Zohr

December 12

“NUML internationalconference on businessand management” at9:30am on Tuesday &Wednesday, December12, 2012 at IT Hall, IslamBlock by the Departmentof Management Sci-ences. Dr Javaid R.Laghari, Chairman HECwill be the Chief Guestand Dr Nadeem ul Haque,Deputy Chairman Plan-ning Commission wouldbe Guest of Honour at thefirst day of event.

December 13

SPECIAL Plenary andClosing Plenary of SDPI’sFifteenth Sustainable De-velopment Conferencewill be held at Best West-ern Hotel, 6, IslamabadClub Road, 12 noon-5 pm.

HEC attempting toregularize illegallyappointed internees

ISLAMABAD—The HigherEducation Commission(HEC) has expedited its ef-forts to regularize the illegallyappointed hundreds of in-ternees in its different divi-sions.

According to availabledocuments with Online it re-vealed that year back Highereducation commission hadappointed 188 candidates inits different divisions overpolitical influence and in thisregard violated the pre-defined criteria for intern-ship.

Documents revealed that43 candidates were ap-pointed in Human Resourcedivision section, 18 wereplaced in Information tech-nology (IT) and four candi-dates were appointed in Hu-man Resources managementsection.

Higher Education Com-mission selected these can-didates without giving anyadvertisement in the nationaldailies and currently officialsare making efforts to regular-ize these illegally selectedcandidates.An Officialsource said that the author-ity has adopted discrimina-tory attitude with daily wa-gers and contract employeesas these people are waitingfor their regularization fromyears but no steps havebeen taken by the authority.

This discriminatory atti-tude is spreading sense ofdeprivation among theseemployees.

The source told that ear-lier candidates were ap-pointed for six months periodon paid internship but aftercompletion of their durationauthority is continuouslymaking efforts for extensionof internship period of thesecandidates.—Online

ZAHEERUL HASSAN

PAKISTAN’S Foreignminister has invitedleading members ofthe Executive Council

of APHC, senior veteran pro-movement leaders to visit Pa-kistan from 15 to 22 Decem-ber 2012.

Probably, purpose behindthe invitation was to take ini-tiative and paving path forresolution of an old and burn-ing issue of “Kashmir”through consultative processbetween the political leader-ship of Pakistan and India. Asusual India has shown her non-serious attitude in settlingdown of the matter while re-fusing the visa to the leadersof All Parties Hurriyet Confer-ence Azad Jammu and Kash-mir (APHC). It is mentionablehere that the APHC has thehistory of fighting for therights of Kashmir peacefully.

‘Kashmir Movement” ba-sically started on the day when

British have sold Kashmiries’territory to Sikh ruler under acontract deed. However themoment which was started in1931 against Dogra rule is stillgoing on since Kashmiri stilldeprived of basic human rights.

Indeed, the issue of Jammuand Kashmir is the oldest unre-solved issue on the agenda ofthe United Nations Organiza-tion. From January 1948 to May1964, United Nations Organiza-tion passed sixteen resolutionsand carried out many debates/discussions concerning Jammuand Kashmir.

In this connection UN Se-curity Council Resolutionsnumber 91, 96 of 1951 and UNSecurity Council ResolutionNumber 98 of 1952 have veryclearly stated plebiscite is theonly answer to solve KashmirIssue. In all of its resolutions,including resolutions of United

Nations Commission for Indiaand Pakistan (UNCIP), UNasked India for a fair and im-partial plebiscite to decide thefuture status of Jammu andKashmir as per the wishes of itssubjects.

In this connection, at timesIslamabad preferred to discussothers issues of CBMs, but NewDelhi never ever shown encour-aging reaction in relation toKashmir problem.

In fact, Kashmir issue al-ways remained very tricky andtouchy aspect in internal andexternal Indo-Pakistan politics.We should admit from the out-set that none of the governmentis in a position to delink Kash-mir issue independently fromtheir local traditional politics;therefore win-win solutionwould be the answer of resolv-ing the issue, i.e. ‘division ofKashmir while taking

Kashmiries into confidence”.South Asian security situa-

tion is also directly linked withthe Kashmir problem due to thehistory of the wars between In-dia and Pakistan. Moreover re-gional Geopolitics, where getsstimuli from the interference ofsuper powers there it too influ-ences by the factors like naturalresources, geographical fea-tures, agro economy, need ofhydro generation, strategicallyvital locations and developmentof nuclear capability. The re-gional security gets threateneddue to the lust of capture ofnatural resources by any pow-erful regional actor and pinch-ing issue like Kashmir. Thus, wecan say that resolving of issuebetween two nuclear sates getmore importance because igni-tion may push the region intonuclear conflict.

India and Pakistan resumed

the new phase of negotiationsin March, 2009, which were thefirst structured bilateral talks.But every time, prime ministersand foreign ministers of both thecountries have ended their meet-ings with issuance of positivenotes, and vowed that their dia-logue would pave the way forthe solution of real issues, par-ticularly the core dispute ofKashmir, but the same failedwithout producing tangible re-sults.

Notably, on November 10,2011, the then Prime MinisterGilani and Prime MinisterManmohan Singh met on thesidelines of the SAARC sum-mit in Maldives. They agreed toimprove their bilateral relationsby resolving all issues. Quitecontrarily, two days after thatmeeting, Singh stated, “I leftGilani in no doubt that if publicopinion in India is not satisfied

that justice is being done tothose responsible to the barba-rous attack of Mumbai, it wouldnot be possible to move forwardwith the peace process.”

Pakistan’s Foreign MinisterKhar pointed out that with hercounterpart Krishna, she dis-cussed all the outstanding issuessuch as terrorism, Siachen, SirCreek, Wullar Barrage, waterand especially main dispute ofKashmir.

On December 10 ,2012Srinagar, A report released by theResearch Section of KashmirMedia Service on the occasionof the World Human Rights Day.The report states Indian securityforces rendered 22,764 womenwidowed and 107,441 childrenorphaned. It also reveled that thetroops molested 10,042 womenand damaged 105,970 structures.It maintained that the Indiantroops and police subjected over

8,000 people to custodial disap-pearance during the last 23 years.In Occupied State of Jammu &Kashmir (OSJK), Indian army,in their fresh act of state terror-ism, martyred two youth inPoonch district.

The Indian armed forceskilled the youth during indis-criminate firing at Nangi Tekriin Krishna Ghati area of the dis-trict. According to BBC 354-page reort was compiled by theAssociation of parents of Dis-appeared Persons (APDP) andthe international people’s Tribu-nal on Human Rights and Jus-tice in Indian-Held Kashmir.The reposted reveals that 214cases of abuse and highlightedthe role of officials in the kill-ing of nearly 70 people and dis-appearances of 8,000 peopleover two decades The reportnames military officials of verysenior rank as “perpetrators”. In

Kashmir: India is not serious in peace process this regard Srinagr basedKartik Murukutla, a humanrights lawyer and one of theauthors of the report, saidIndia’s priority in Kashmir wasto control the territory, not pur-sue justice.

Therefore, we can say:Firstly India is not sincere to-wards resolution of Kashmirissue through consultative pro-cess, secondly India does notwant kashmiri leadership tovisit Pakistan and meet Paki-stani political leadership andlastly India is aiming at creat-ing divide within the promovement camp by allowingonly few leaders to visit Paki-stan. At the end I would liketo say that, World communityshould put pressure on Indiafor resolution of Kashmir con-flict under UN resolutionssince it is the only way to es-tablish peace in South Asia.Moreover, Indian politicalleadership too should changetheir mindset over Kashmirissue.—Kashmir Watch

SRINAGAR: JKLF activists demonstrating against strike by hoisting day-time ‘Mashals’.

MUZAFFARABAD: Deputy Administrator Municipal Corporation listening to people’sproblems in Mohajir Colony.

ISLAMABAD: AJK President Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan cutting Japan National Day cake with Japanese Ambassador.

SRINAGAR—The Jammu andKashmir Liberation Front orga-nized a torch procession inSrinagar to seek attention of in-ternational community and Indiancivil society towards the recentlife sentences awarded to innocentKashmiris. The procession wasled by JKLF Chairman,Muhammad Yasin Malik and wasjoined by Hurriyet leaders includ-ing Shabbir Ahmed Shah, JavedAhmed Mir, Mohammad Ahsan

Yaseen Malik threatens ‘Jail Chalo’

Torch rally in Srinagar against life sentencesUntoo and Altaf Khan. It startedfrom JKLF headquarters atMaisuma and ended at MadinaChowk on Monday evening.

Clashes between protestersand Indian troops erupted whenthe torch procession marched to-wards the historic Ghanta Gharin Srinagar. Earlier, MuhammadYasin Malik in a media interviewon the sidelines of a seminar inSrinagar threatened to launch ‘JailChalo Movement’ (voluntary ar-

rests) across the territory if theKashmiris facing life sentenceswere not released forthwith.

“Twenty-nine Kashmirishave been sentenced life termimprisonment by various courts.After 20 years, our youth are be-ing booked in old cases. In case,these life sentences are not re-voked and all the youth released,we’ll launch ‘Jail Chalo Move-ment’ across occupied Kashmir,”he said. The JKLF Chairman also

stressed a united voice for theKashmir cause.

Protests were also held inthe Nishat area of the cityagainst the court verdict. Ac-cording to reports, family andrelatives of Showkat Khan whowas sentenced to life imprison-ment, took to the streets andstaged demonstrations against theverdict. The protesters, includinga large number of women blockedthe road. —KMS

Hurriyat (M)leaders meet

representativesin Jammu regionSRINAGAR—In a bid to reacha broad consensus on variousaspects of Kashmir issue aheadof the Pakistan visit, seniorHurriyat leaders SaleemGeelani and Zaffar Akbar Bhatheld separate meetings with therepresentatives of Muslim andPandit communities at Poonch,Rajouri, Kishtwar andBhaderwah areas of Jammu re-gion.

The two leaders met the rep-resentatives of various commu-nities of the region on the in-structions of APHC ChairmanMirwaiz Umar Farooq. AHurriyat spokesman said duringthe separate meetings, nearlythree dozen representatives be-longing to various communitiesheld deliberations with theHurriyat leaders in connectionwith the upcoming Pakistanvisit.

The Hurriyat leaders told theparticipants that the APHC wasthe representative body of thepeople of Jammu and Kashmir.They further said that Kashmirwas a dispute and it should besolved in its historical context.“Kashmir was the long pendingdispute. Point of view of everycommunity of Jammu and Kash-mir was of great significance. Itis the traditional stand of theparty that Kashmiris should beconsidered as the prime party ofthe dispute and scheduled visitof Hurriyat leaders to Pakistanwas one such effort in that di-rection,” Zafar and Saleem toldthem. “We want to reach consen-sus ahead of Pak visit,” they said.

While speaking to a gather-ing at Jammu press club throughtelephone, Hurriyat Chairman,Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told theparticipants that the conglomer-ate wants relations should im-prove between India and Paki-stan. —NNI

Five killed, 4injured in IHKroad accident

SRINAGAR—Five people werekilled and four others were in-jured in a road accident in Dodadistrict, today. Five people diedand four others were injuredwhen a vehicle which was onits way from Kishtwar to Dodaskidded off the road and rolledinto a deep gorge at Singhora inDoda. The injured have beenhospitalized, a local police of-ficer said.

Meanwhile, the night tem-perature across Kashmir dippedbelow freezing point with Lehin Ladakh remaining the cold-est place in the region.—KMS

SRINAGAR—Senior leader ofthe All Parties Hurriyet Confer-ence, Shabbir Ahmad Shah hasurged all pro-freedom leadershipto unite at a single platform forthe bigger cause of Kashmir.

Shabbir Ahmad Shah ad-dressing a seminar at Maisumain Srinagar laid stress on formu-lation of a Common MinimumProgramme by the Hurriyet lead-ership. He said that a sustainedcampaign should be launched fordemilitarization, revocation ofdraconian laws including ArmedForces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) and Public Safety Act(PSA) from the occupied terri-tory.

The seminar was attended byseveral Hurriyet leaders, intellec-

Speakers at seminar see India’sbias against Kashmiris

tuals, human rights activists andvictims of human rights viola-tions. The JKLF Vice Chairman,Bashir Ahmed Butt on the occa-sion said that India had failed tointimidate the Kashmiris intosubmission even after using alltools to suppress their voice.“New Delhi should read the writ-ing on the wall that it can’t killthe sentiment,” he said.

APHC leader, NayeemAhmed Khan speaking at theseminar condemned the recentverdicts by Indian courts. Heurged the international commu-nity to see what the so-calledlargest democracy of the worldhad done in occupied Kashmir.“We want to show the interna-tional community how Kashmir

witnessed custodial killings,rapes, fake encounters and howinnocents were buried in themass graves,” he added.

Liberation leader, JavedAhmad Mir on the occasion saidthat India had filled prisons andKashmiris were being madescapegoats for the petty politi-cal interests by New Delhi. Pro-fessor Sheikh Showkat Hussainsaid that earlier there was aproper rule for slapping life sen-tences. “It could have been ei-ther 10 years or even less. Thepractice was in place for past100 years. But, all of a suddenthe meaning of lifers waschanged and now life sentencemeans to die in the prison,” hesaid.—KMS

AH RAO

MIRPUR—Lawyers in variousparts of AJK including the capi-tal city of Muzaffarabad andMirpur have strongly reacted bytaking to the street agittionagainst the recent reported actionby the AJK government aboutgetting the construction work ofthe building of the Rest Houseof the Supreme Court of AJK inMirpur.The construction of theAzad Jammu and Kashmir Su-preme Court’s rest house inMirpur was got stopped on Sat-urday by the district administra-tion reportedly on the verbal or-ders of the higher AJK authori-ties for the reasons best knownto them, authentic sources con-firmed to this Correspondenthere.

The AJK Supreme CourtRest House building was beingconstructed on an officially-al-lotted piece of land comprising10 kanalsand 13 marlas at the

Lawyers protest against stoppingconstruction work of SC building

picturesque Bhutto Park at thebank of Mangla dam lake inMirpur.In Mirpur lawyersbrought out a procession besidesholding a protest meeting underthe auspices of the District BarAssociation at the District Courtpremises on Monday. Address-ing the protestant advocatesspeakers including PresidentMirpur DBA Arshad MahmoodMallick Advocate, Mirpur DBAGeneral Secretary Syed FaizanHaider Advocate, General Sec-retary Supreme Court Bar Asso-ciation Khalid Yousaf Advocateand others said “ the forcible ac-tion by the local administrationat the behest of the AJK govern-ment about getting the construc-tion work on AJK SupremeCourt building in the town ishighly condemnable.

The lawyers processionpassed through main city streetsbesides central shaheed chowk.They termed the action by theAJK government as totally un-

warranted and uncalled for. Thedemonstrating lawyers raisedslogans against the AJK govern-ment and the district administra-tion for the action – which theytermed a blatant insult and dis-grace of the apex judiciary.Theprotestant lawyers demanded ofthe withdrawal of the reportedorders of the AJK governmentobstructing the construction ofAJK Supreme Court building inMirpur within next 24 hours.They also declared to take directaction besides launching a for-mal movement across AJKagainst the aforesaid action of thehigher AJK authorities. InMuzaffarabad President AJKSupreme Court Bar AssociationRaza Ali Khan said while ad-dressing a press conference lateMonday afternoon, strongly con-demned the action by AJK gov-ernment. He termed the govern-ment action the reflection of itstraditional biased and hostile at-titude towards judiciary in AJK.

Hurriyat delegationto leave for

Pakistan on FridaySRINAGAR—With suspicionlooming large over the issuanceof passport to two of its execu-tive members, Hurriyat Confer-ence (M) delegation is leavingfor Pakistan on Friday. Theamalgam would be howeverholding its last round of consul-tation round on Wednesday.

Regional Passport Officerat Srinagar said on Mondayevening that two more execu-tive members Molvi AbbasAnsari and Musadiq Aadil wereissued passports on Mondaywhereas the application of an-other executive memberMukhtar Ahmad Waza was stillunder process.

The delegation would betraveling to Pakistan for a weekduring which they will be hold-ing talks with Pakistan PrimeMinster Raja Pervez Ashraf,Foreign Minster Hina RabaniKhar, Mian Manzoor Watoo,Mian Nawaz Shareef, ImranKhan and other leaders.

Meanwhile Senior separat-ist leader Shabir Ahmad Shahis understood to have appliedfor the travel documents fortraveling through Line of Con-trol.

Hurriayt Conference (M)Chairman Mirwaiz UmerFarooq said that six of its ex-ecutive members includingProf. Ab. Gani Bhat, Bilal GaniLone, Molvi Abas Ansari, AgaSyed Hassan and Musadiq Adilhave been issued passportswhereas Passport for MukhatarAhmad Waza was still pend-ing.—INP

Kashmir needs aunited voice: Malik

SRINAGAR—Jammu andKashmir Liberation Front chair-man Muhammad Yasin Malikhas said Kashmir desperatelyneeded a united voice so that the‘bigger cause’ is pursued effec-tively.

Talking to journalists on thesidelines of a seminar atMaisuma here, Malik said, “Di-vision among leadership is di-vision of people of Kashmir.Not just India but the worldcommunity sees Kashmir as adivided nation. My stand iswhen we are fighting for a big-ger cause, there is a need for aunited voice. There are certainlysome differences but we haveto walk together for a biggercause.”

Many participants in theseminar, organized by JKLF tocommemorate the world humanrights day, pressed for unityamong the separatist leadershipwith a Common Minimum Pro-gram. Malik said the forces al-ready have powers to kill peoplefollowing the presence of ‘dra-conian’ laws like AFSPA andPSA. “The fresh life-sentenceannounced against two people isthe cases of early ’90s.—KMS

SRINAGAR—Reiterating its de-mands, the Association of Par-ents of Disappeared Persons(APDP) has appealed the inter-national community to put pres-sure on India to respect the hu-man rights of people in Kashmir.

The appeal came from thePresident of APDP, ParveenaAhnager, during theassociation’s monthly sit-in inprotest against the enforced dis-appearance in Kashmir.

The sit-in was held a dayahead of its scheduled date inview of the strike observedagainst the conviction of ex-mili-tants.

In connection with the Inter-national Human Rights Day, theAPDP has demanded repeal ofdraconian laws that vest exces-

APDP urges world community to putpressure on India to respect HRs

sive and arbitrary powers withtroops and guarantee legal im-munity placing them beyond thereach of accountability.

APDP demanded repealingof Armed Forces Special Pow-ers Act, Jammu and KashmirPublic Safety Act, Jammu andKashmir Disturbed Areas Actand sections of the Ranbir PenalCode which require executivesanction for prosecution oftroops and public servants.APDP firmly resolved to con-tinue its struggle for truth, jus-tice and accountability.

He reiterated that their dearones had been disappeared bytroops and their related agenciesfrom homes, streets and lanes.

“In most cases, the perpe-trators have been identified by

the family members and casesagainst them are pending in dif-ferent courts,” he said. “We de-mand that an independent cred-ible investigation should be ini-tiated against these perpetratorsand our cases heard.” APDP saidthe relevant people should bemade to account for the where-abouts of the disappeared.

It said that despite being asignatory to the Internationalconventions against humanrights, India has a terrible trackrecord in Kashmir.

APDP said enforced and in-voluntary disappearance is a glo-bal phenomena and a crimeagainst humanity. “It constituentsa grave threat to the right to lifeand violates fundamental humanrights,” APDP said.—NNI

SRINAGAR—Looking todownplay the participation ofpanchayat members in Legisla-tive Council elections recently,Hurriyat (G) chairman, Syed AliGeelani has said the village headswere still part of the “ongoingfreedom movement”. “Let themallow us to hold plebiscite and seethat all these panches andsarpanches will vote for freedomfrom India,” Geelani told localnews agency KNS.

The 83-year-old Hurriyatleader asserted that participationof village representatives in LCpolls had no bearing on the statusof Kashmir issue. Defending hisboycott call, he said, the onlyproblem with the voting was that

Panchayat members still part offreedom struggle: Geelani

India and the state governmentwere projecting the elections asreferendum in India’s favour. “Weare not bothered about their par-ticipation in polling, but whatmakes us uncomfortable is theprojection of these elections byGovernment of India as referen-dum on Kashmir issue which isnot true.”

The octogenarian leader, whohas been subjected to frequenthouse arrests, said the govern-ment has been “manufacturingexcuses” to keep him away frompeople. “If they say Geelani’s visittriggers stone pelting, let me askthem, has stone pelting stoppedby keeping me under house ar-rest.” He said he has not been al-

lowed to move out of his housesince April 6, 2012. Geelani saidhe had no link, whatsoever, withstone pelting. However, he wasquick to add that such things hap-pen when people are suppressedand not allowed to raise theirvoice peacefully.

The Hurriyat (G) chairmansaid National Conference founderSheikh Muhammad Abdullah“sabotaged” the plebiscite move-ment for power. “I was young thattime and my voice did not haveimpact, but when I grew up Iraised my voice against whatSheikh had done,” Geelani repliedwhen asked as to why he did notobject to the Sheikh’s policiesthen.—NNI

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

Rates for conversionKARACHI—Following rateswill be applicable for conver-sion into rupees of ForeignCurrency Deposits, DollarBearer Certificates, ForeignCurrency Bearer Certificates,Special US Dollar Bonds andprofits thereon by all banks andfor providing Forward Coveron Foreign Currency Deposits(excluding F.E.25 deposits) bythe State Bank on December12, 2012. The rates are U.S.Dollar Rs 97.2583, JapaneseYen Rs 1.1787 Pound SterlingRs 156.3621 and Euro Rs126.0273.—APP

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Strength of Paki-stan being a Muslim country is100% halal production base withover 180 million consumers anda direct access to a market of 470million halal consumers in Af-ghanistan, Central Asia&Middle East.

Federal Minister for Com-merce Makhdoom Amin Fahimsaid this while talking to mediaafter attending the opening cer-emony of the first ever HalalFood Congress, Middle Eastwhich is a joint venture betweenHalal Development Council(HDC) and the Expo CentreSharjah.

Pakistan, the Minister saidhas emerged as an important

Pakistan an importantsupplier of food: Fahim

player of food supplies to theUAE and the Gulf region par-ticularly in rice, meat, poultry,sea food, fruits & vegetables andspices. He said that all productsin Pakistan are halal and we arein a position to claim a hugechunk of the global halal mar-ket with a little bit of effortwhich require certification ashalal and subsequent labelingand packaging.

The Minister pointed outthat Pakistan’s exports of foodproducts to the UAE have in-creased to over US$ 500 millionand more than US$ 1 billion tothe GCC region. However, heunderlined a dire need of valueaddition which can only beachieved by establishing Brandsin the region and spending on the

marketing efforts.He also urged upon the in-

ternational halal experts to for-mulate strategies to develop theproduction and export of halalproducts from the muslim coun-tries so that the halal marketshould source the halal food andother products from Pakistan,UAE and other muslim coun-tries.

This he said will help de-velop the halal trade with theOIC countries and ultimately thestandard of living of our popu-lation.

Makhdoom Amin Fahimpointed out that it was a matterof great pride and honour forPakistan Pavilion that it was spe-cially inaugurated by H.E Prof.Dr. EkmeleddinIhsanoglu, Sec-

retary General OIC and Dr.Rashid Ehmed bin Fahad,Sharjah Minister for Environ-ment and Water.

The Minister assured allthose visiting the Pakistan Pa-vilion that they will have an op-portunity to meet with the lead-ing halal food suppliers duringthe three-day event at this dedi-cated business platform.

Senior Minister & FederalMinister for Commerce,Makhdoom Amin Fahim alsoattended opening ceremony of3rd global Entrepreneurshipsummit at World Trade Cen-tre Dubai which was open byH.H. Sheikh Mohammad binRashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Ministerof UAE.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Javier M.Carbajosa Sanchez, Ambassa-dor of Spain has pointed outthat it is the media that por-trays an unfair picture and per-ception of Pakistan which isdifferent from reality

In a meeting with the lead-ers of Karachi Chamber ofCommerce and Industry saidthat Pakistan endorsed thatprospects to enhance Pak-

Media paints unfair perception of Pakistan: AmbassadorSpain Trade do exist. Politicalrelations between two countrieswere good however, trade rela-tions need to be enhanced. heobserved.

The Spanish diplomat saidthat to attract investment, safetysecurity, political stability, infra-structure and utilities are of primeimportance. He noted that manyEurozone countries were facingeconomic slowdown, howeverhe said that Spain will revive itseconomy on fast-pace. He in-

formed that Spain is world-leaderin renewable energy in wind, so-lar, etc. and Spain produces 23percent energy from renewablesources which is highest in Eu-rope. Spanish Cellular phone ser-vice provider O2 first cellularservice provide in Europe. Asiawas traditionally not a commer-cial priority, however, Spanishcompanies are now concentrat-ing on Asian markets. Coopera-tion can be materialized in theareas of fashion textiles, banking,

shipping, transportation, pharma-ceutical, dairy, fruits etc.

Speaking on the occasionPresident KCCI MuhammadHaroon Agar urged the Ambas-sador of SpainH.E. Mr. JavierM. CarbajosaSanchez to invite Spanish inves-tors to invest in renewable en-ergy solutions as Spain is one ofthe world’s leading countries inthe development and productionof Renewable Energy and Paki-

stan being energy-hungry coun-try desperately needs energy onwar-footing.

Exchanging views PresidentKCCI Haroon Agar said that

Spain beingworld leader insolar power has

enormous potential to invest in al-ternate and renewable energy so-lutions and help Pakistan in tech-nology transfer. Spain is alsoEurope’s main producer of windenergy, Spanish companies can

exploit the great existing poten-tial and opportunity to produceenergy from wind at Gharo-ketibunder wind corridor in Sindh.

He said that Pakistani textiles,fashion and leather garments,sports goods, fruits have excellentpotential to be exported to Spain.Present trade volume less than 1billion dollar is far below thanpotential and serious efforts areneeded to enhance Pakistan-Spainbilateral trade. Major items ofimports from Spain were machin-

ery, iron & steel products, ceramicproducts, boilers, telecommunica-tion equipment, chemicals etc. Pa-kistan seeks Spain’s support to getGSP plus status and fair access toEU market. Keeping in viewmounting economic crises in Eu-rope there is need to develop closeties between Spain and Pakistanand get mutual benefits. Pakistancan help to Spain to expand itstrade to Central Asian Countries,China, India and Middle Eastwhile Spain in turn could help Pa-

kistan to expand its trade withEuropean countries, in transferof technology, human resourcedevelopment, import of humanresource to Spain etc. He alsoproposed signing of MoU be-tween KCCI and Barcelona orMadrid Chamber of Commerceto enhance exchange of tradeinformation, trade delegations.KCCI can support in organiz-ing single exhibition of Spainin Pakistan, he proposed toAmbassador.

ISMAIL DILAWAR

KARACHI—Claiming to bethe “deepest” seaport of Paki-stan, the Port Qasim Author-ity (PQA) Tuesday declared tohave become the country’sfirst port operator to accom-modate the largest containervessel of 304 meters lengthduring the night time.

Maersk Kolkata is the firstship that, the PQA said, wassuccessfully berthed at mid-night, 3am, on Dec 11 at theQasim International ContainerTerminal (QICT).

“(The) Port Qasim, whichalready has the distinction ofbeing the deepest port in Pa-

PQA able to berth shipsup to 310m length

kistan offering 13 meters draftfrom 15 November 2012, hasadded another feather in its capof historic achievements by alsobeing the first port in Pakistanto declare Night Navigation fa-cility for 310 meters vesselsthroughout the year,” said PQAChairman Vice Admiral (Rtd)Muhammmad Shafi while ad-dressing a ceremony at the PortQasim.

He said Maersk Kolkata wasthe largest vessel ever to berthat night at the country’s secondlargest port which, the chairmansaid, was fast growing in termsof cargo handling and industrialactivities.

The Night Navigation facil-

ity, Shafi said, would enablethe PQA to handle at PortQasim ships of deeper-draughthaving more volume of cargothus reducing the vessels’ turnaround substantially.

“This would also be a ma-jor advantage for all stakehold-ers,” the chairman said addingthe facility would effectivelyslash the cost of doing businessat Port Qasim and give a ma-jor boost to the trade andeconomy of Pakistan where 97percent of trade is carries outthrough the seaports.

Shafi said the Port Qasimhad growth from a single-berthport to that of 15 berths and hadContinued on Page 14

Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chairing the ECC meeting in Islamabad.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The MennoniteEconomic Development Associ-ates (MEDA), an internationalnon-profit making organizationworking in various countries allover the world, and implement-ing USAID’s Entrepreneursproject through key partners inPunjab, Sindh, Baluchistan andKPK, recently signed a Memoran-dum of Cooperation withPakistan’s foremost and leadingmicrofinance bank,Khushhalibank, with an aim topromote their common vision ofpromoting economic develop-ment and access to finance.

The USAID supported Entre-preneurs project aims to signifi-cantly increase the incomes of75,000 mostly women micro-en-trepreneurs engaged in dairy, handembellished fabrics, beekeepingand medicinal plant collection

Khushhalibank, MEDA tofacilitate micro entrepreneurs

across Pakistan through produc-tion and quality improvement,access to better markets and busi-ness service providers such asmicro-finance institutions.

The main objective of thiscollaboration is to provide sustain-able solution for access to financeby micro-entrepreneurs. Both or-ganizations agreed to identify po-tential micro-entrepreneurs andhelp facilitate meetings with thosewilling to avail microfinance fa-cilities from Khushhalibank. Theyalso decided to take appropriatemeasures to prepare businessplans for interested micro-entre-preneurs, improve their technicalskills and linkage developmentwith market. MEDA agreed tostrengthen links of Khushhalibankwith these businessmen andwomen including regular commu-nication, coordination and coun-selling.

At its end, Khushhalibank

pledged to provide orientation ofits microfinance program to theimplementing partner organiza-tions, introduce their programs topotential borrowers for their bet-ter understanding, select eligiblegroups and individuals formicrofinance services as per itspolicies and provide them with thenecessary loans requested onmerit.

This Memorandum will beeffective from the 10th of De-cember until completion of thesub-grants in March 2014. Oneperson each was designated fromboth concerned parties as the fo-cal person, with an aim to coor-dinate and oversee this coopera-tion.

Felicitating both parties on theoccasion, Ghalib Nishtar, Presi-dent Khushhalibank, said that“Small and medium sized micro-entrepreneurs are vital to the eco-nomic growth of the country”.

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Dr AsimHussain, Advisor to the PrimeMinister on Petroleum andNatural Resources while deliv-ering a key note address at thePakistan Petroleum ExplorationConference, 2012 sponsored byE & P and service companies atHouston, USA, highlighted thesalient features of recently an-nounced Petroleum Policy, 2012and invited the investors andInternational E&P companies tocome forward and invest in Pa-kistan to benefit from attractiveprice regime and other incen-tives provided in the policy.

According to a statementissued here today, Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Re-sources has arranged holding ofPakistan Exploration and Pro-motion Conference, 2012 in twoimportant economic centers ofthe world; Houston (USA) and

Int’l energy companiesinvited for Pak investment

London (UK) aiming to show-case the investment friendlypolicies of the present govern-ment in oil and gas sector, par-ticularly offering of 60 new con-cession blocks for bidding roundaftermath of the promulgation ofPetroleum Policy, 2012.

Continued on Page 14

Dr Asim Hussain, Advisor tothe Prime Minister on Petro-leum delivering a key noteaddress at the Pakistan Petro-leum Exploration Conference.

ISLAMABAD—Federal FinanceMinister Hafeez Shaikh has saidon Tuesday that the country willreceive $600 million from theUnited States under the Coali-tion Support Fund (CSF) thismonth.

Talking to media after ameeting of the Economic Coor-dination Committee (ECC) here,Shaikh said that $600 millionwill be received by the end ofcurrent month.

He said that the payment isbeing made against expensesincurred by Islamabad duringJune 2011 to November 2011period.

The expected inflow islikely to bring some respite forthe rupee which is fast erodingits value against the greenback.

Pakistan to receive $600mCSF tranche: Hafeez

Shaikh also claimed thatthe country’s overall economicsituation is ‘well under con-trol.’

The federal finance minis-ter also informed that the ECChas approved the export of200,000 tons of sugar this sea-son as the country has amplestock of the commodity. He saidthat exports would bring inmuch-needed foreign exchangein the country.

Shaikh said that the govern-ment has also decided to changethe pricing formula for theQadirpur gas field as the gasprices of the field were frozenfor the last ten years. SNGPLand OGDCL would soon sign anagreement into this effect, headded.—Online

Picture on Page 14

Ogra, CNGbodies meeting

positiveSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The All PakistanCNG Association (APCNGA) onTuesday said that Oil and GasRegulatory Authority (Ogra) hasaccepted discrepancy in gas billsof the CNG filling stations andassures its resolution by Dec 13th.

This development came ina meeting between delegation ofall CNG associations led byGhiyas Abdullah Paracha,Chairman Supreme CouncilAPCNGA and Ogra officialshere today. The meeting tookplace on the directives of theSupreme Court of Pakistan dur-ing which CNG operators saidthat gas distribution companieswere getting inflated price of gassince last three years in viola-tion of rules and regulations.

Ghiyas Abdullah Parachatold the officials that CNG andpetrol pump business are en-tirely different as far as the ex-panses and other technicalitiesare concerned. Major invest-ment in petrol pumps is madeby Oil Marketing Companieswhile the operators get commis-sion, on the other hand CNG sta-tion owners invest entire amountby themselves, he said.

Paracha also demanded uni-form gas rates and similar taxa-tion on all the sectors on whichOgra officials said that it is privi-lege of the federal government.However, they assured to takethe matter to the concerned quar-ters. Negotiators from both sidescould not agree on diesel powergeneration cost which has be-come a compulsory expense dueto frequent power outages.

They said that if dieselpower generation is not includedin production cost, it will resultin non-availability of CNG toconsumers during four dayswhen CNG stations are opera-tional.

Auto partsmakers seek

NA helpSTAFF REPORT

KARACHI—The local car andauto parts manufacturers Tues-day appealed to the StandingCommittee of the National As-sembly on automobiles to crosscheck their facts on duties andprices of the used imported carsand locally made cars from theindustry instead of relying onfigures provided by what theysaid vested interests.

The appeal was made by themembers and officials of Paki-stan Automobile ManufacturersAssociation (PAMA) and Paki-stan Association of Auto Partsand Accessories Manufacturers(PAAPAM) here at a briefingTuesday.

Chairman PAAPAM MunirK. Bana said commercial importof used cars was officially

Continued on Page 14

Exports of $20b lostStaff ReporterKARACHI—Exports orders ofgarments and textile clothingworth billions of rupees fearedto be lost due to indefinitestrike by the transporters.Warned Chairman PakistanReadymade GarmentsManufacturers and ExportersAssociation (PRGMEA) SZ,Shaikh Muhammad Shafiq.“The strike called by goodstransporters incurring lossesrunning in billions of rupeesdue to stuck up export andimport shipments at theKarachi Port and Port Qasim.The transport carriers strike hascompletely halted the exportand import activities and alsodamaging the industrialmanufacturing capacity of thecountry resulting in per dayloss of around Rs4 billion tothe foreign exchange earningsthrough exports of textileproducts only. Shaikh Shfiquehas earnestly called upon thefederal home minister,Governor and Chief MinisterSindh, I.G Sindh and DirectorGeneral Rangers to provideprotection to the transportersfrom Bhatta Mafia and ensuresmooth plying of trucks ofexport and import cargoes sothat economy of the countryshould not be fully stalled. Hesaid that letters of credit arebeing expired due to the delayof shipments of cargo toforeign countries.

Financial decisionSalim AhmedLAHORE—Students of M.Philfrom University of Engineeringand Technology visit LahoreStock Exchange today. Here,they were given an insight aboutpractical aspects of capitalmarket and investment avenuesby industry professionals.Secretary General South AsianFederation of Exchanges(SAFE) and Managing DirectorLahore Stock Exchange Mr.Aftab Ahmed Chaudhary alsoaddressed the students. Thepanel of professionals includedMr. Qasim, Regional Head IGIInvestments along with LSEofficials. Aftab AhmedChaudhry explained to theparticipants the broad features ofPakistan’s economic & financialsystem, features and characteris-tics of different financialmarkets, regulatory framework,market indicators, investmentproducts, financial services &opportunities available toinvestors in Pakistan and roles& responsibilities beingperformed by various financialinstitutions.

PSQCA set for actionagainst unlicensed

re-rolling millsSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Stan-dard and Quality Control Au-thority (PSQCA) has decided totake strict action against unli-censed re-rolling mills in thetwin cities.

In-charge PSQCARawalpindi division, ImranShaukat said that under rules andregulations, industries engagedin manufacturing of buildingmaterial, its storage and saleshould be licensed.

He said that only four re-rolling mills of the twin citieshave acquired license whileothers were functioning with-out documentation and fulfill-ing legal requirements whichwas violation of PSQCA Act.

ISMAIL DILAWAR

KARACHI—With governmentauthorities, apparently, com-pletely unwary of theeconomy-crippling develop-ment, each passing day of theon-going haulers’ strike iscosting industries in the dol-lar-hungry Pakistan at least Rs3.6 billion, said the traders andindustrialists.

They said the country’s to-tal losses on account of exportswere ranging from at least $ 600to $ 700 million as Tuesday sawthe goods transporters’ strikeentering into the 10th day.

It has been more than a weekthat the haulers have jammed

Industries losing Rs3.6b dailyon transporters strike

Signing of MoU between Halal Development Council and Sharjah Expo Centre. FederalMinister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Faheem is also present.

their wheels in protest of lackof security to the drivers andcleaners and the vehicle itselfand the load limits set by theMotorway Police along with thefines being issued.

“(The) strike has completelyhalted the export and import ac-tivities and has also damaged theindustrial manufacturing capac-ity of the country,” said UsmanAhmed, President of Bin QasimAssociation of Trade and Indus-try (BQATI) in a statement is-sued here Tuesday.

In consequence of the tradehalt, the BQATI chief said, theeconomy was facing a daily lossof around Rs 3.6 billion in termsof foreign exchange earnings.

Usman said the transport ofgoods to factories was being af-fected by the strike thus caus-ing closure of the ghee, cementand soap manufacturing unitsdue to the non-supply of rawmaterials to industries.

The BQATI president saidthe transporters strike hadceased business activities as thegoods were not reaching theports due to which the countryhad suffered a loss of exportsof around $ 600-700 million sofar.

The wheel-jam strike,Usman said, had not only hurtthe shipments of export consign-ments but also disturbed theimport business.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Board ofGovernors (BoGs) of PakistanAgriculture Council (PARC)Tuesday approvedRs.2753.212 million annualbudget for the current financialyear (2013-13) to meet its de-velopment and non-develop-ment expenditures.

Out of the total outlay,Rs.1817 million would be pro-vided by the government and thecouncil would generate Rs.60million through its own re-sources while remainingRs.876.212 million would beprovided as supplementarygrant.

The 34th BoG meeting waspresided over by Federal Min-ister for Food Security and Re-search (MoNFS&R) Mir IsrarUllah Khan Zehri, which amongothers was attended by its mem-

Rs 2753.212m PARCbudget approved

bers from public as well as pri-vate sectors.

The board also approved thead-hoc relief of 20 percent, in-crease in conveyance allowance,20 percent increase in pensionbesides approving enhancementof leave encasement from 180days to 365 days and other al-lowance as announced by thegovernment.

The BoGs meeting was alsoinformed about budget estimatesof the last year and their utiliza-tion. The members were in-formed that budget of Rs.1605million was approved for 2011-12 to meet the development andnon-development expendituresof the council.

Afterwards, the budget wasrevised to Rs.1629.831 million,however the actual expenditureduring the year stood atRs.1628.996 million.

Speaking on the occasion,

the federal minister said thatagriculture scientists have chal-lenging task of coping with thefuture food requirements keep-ing in view the increasing trendin the population of the country.

He said that governmentwas working for the develop-ment of agriculture sector withspecial focus on uplifting thesmall farmers of far-flung andless developed areas of the coun-try.

Zehri said that the govern-ment has spent more thanRs.500 billion for the develop-ment of agriculture sector be-sides establishing a full-fledgedministry for ensuring food secu-rity in the country.

He said that output of theagriculture could be boostedwith the introduction of lazertechnology which would helpreduce use of water for agricul-ture produce.

Motiwala: Govt set to investin agro-based SMEs

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh Governmentis encouraging investment in theSME sector to inculcate entre-preneurial ability and to providea major push to the wider Agrieconomy.

The Sindh Enterprise Devel-opment Fund has been createdto provide legal as well as insti-tutional mechanism to achievesuch objectives.

These views were expressedby by Chairman Sindh Board ofInvestment Muhammad ZubairMotiwala while talking to me-dia after a departmental meet-

ing at his office here on Tues-day.

He said that it aims to pro-vide opportunities for value ad-dition in the agriculture sectorfor multiple economic benefitson growth, intermediary ser-vices and productivity. It alsoseeks to introduce farm levelinterventions to improve effi-ciency and profitability.

He said about the vision ofSEDF he said that to supportentrepreneurship developmentbased on Sindh’s competitiveadvantage. He said the SEDFmission is to introduce technol-ogy and bring value addition in

non conventional yet vital sec-tors of the economy by extend-ing technical and credit assis-tance. The Chairman SBI andSEDF further said that SEDFprovides Technical Assistanceand credit Assistance to prospec-tive Agri-business entrepre-neurs. Such as facilitate appli-cants in preparing feasibilitystudies and also assist the appli-cant in fulfilling the requirementof financial institutions, he said.

In credit assistance SEDFprovides Interest rate subsidy,100 per cent KIBOR of theCapital Cost and 50 per cent ofKIBOR for working capital.

He elaborated that only se-lected individuals capable ofsetting up agri-business projectscan apply for a loan from anyfinancial institution for mediumterm (3-5 years).

SEDF would pay 100 percent KIBOR for capital cost andup to 50% of KIBOR for work-ing capital for three years whichmay be extended up to 5 yearson successful review. The totalmonetary value of the SEDFinterest subsidy should not beexceeding PKR. 50 Million andSEDF financial support shallnot exceed projects valuingPKR. 200 Million.

Etihad airwaysand Alitalia directRome-Abu Dhabi

servicesSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Alitalia, Italy’sflag carrier has begun direct ser-vices from Rome to Abu Dhabiwith a celebratory flight to thecapital of the United Arab Emir-ates (UAE) and the flight wasgreeted by a traditional watercanon salute.

Also greeting the flight wereH.E. Sheikha Lubna Bint KhalidAl Qasimi, UAE Minister forForeign Trade, H.E. GiorgioStarace, Italian Ambassador tothe UAE, H. E. Ali Majed AlMansoori, Chairman of the AbuDhabi Airports Company(ADAC), and senior executivesfrom Etihad Airways.

Alitalia are operating thenew flights in conjunction withcodeshare partner Etihad Air-ways. The launch of the newdirect Rome-Abu Dhabi servicefollows last August’s announce-ment that the Italian carrierwould fly four weekly returnAirbus A330 services betweenthe two capitals.

James Hogan, President andChief Executive Officer ofEtihad Airways, said: “Today’sflight is yet another positivemilestone in our expanding part-nership with Alitalia.

SECP makesfunctional websitemandatory for non-

listed companiesOBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—The SecuritiesExchange and Commission ofPakistan (SECP) directed allnon-listed companies, havingpaid-up capital of Rs200 millionand above to maintain a func-tional website with effect fromJanuary 1, 2013. This initiativeis aimed at providing investorswith a cost-effective and easyaccess to information aboutbusiness in Pakistan.

The requirement is in linewith the current global techno-logical development, to give in-vestors, shareholders and thepublic, an easy access to infor-mation. The SECP anticipatesthat the website with up-to-dateinformation will serve as a valu-able tool for current and poten-tial investors for making in-formed decisions.

An updated website shall bemutually beneficial for the com-panies, providing them with aneffective platform to dissemi-nate relevant information to thestakeholders and seek their feed-back wherever required.

The websites are required todisclose information about thecompanies’ profile, contact in-formation of Board of Directorsand financial and regulatory de-tails. This includes financial re-ports as well as important an-nouncements to be prominentlydisclosed on the proposedwebsites.

Banks to facilitatepublic in exchanging

demonetizedold Rs5 banknote

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The State Bank ofPakistan (SBP) has asked thebanks operating in the countryto issue necessary instructions totheir branches to facilitate thegeneral public in exchangingdemonetized Rs 5 banknote byDecember 31, the end of thiscalendar year.

All banks should displayposters/banners regarding thelast date for the exchange of thedemonetized Rs 5 banknote atpublic counters and other visibleplaces in and outside theirbranches, the State Bank said ina Circular issued to the Presi-dents/Chief Executives of allcommercial and microfinancebanks (MFBs).

Neither SBP/SBP BSC norbanks will exchange or pay anyvalue of such banknote to anyperson or institution after theabove-mentioned deadline (De-cember 31, 2012), an SBP cir-cular said.

It may be recalled that thelast date for exchanging thisbanknote from the field officesof SBP Banking Services Cor-poration (SBP BSC) andbranches of all banks is Decem-ber 31, 2012, till banking hours.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—A Trade Seminarwas held today in local hotelorganized by Pakistan EdibleOil Refiners Association(PEORA) in collaboration withFederation of Oils, Seeds andFats Associations Limited(FOSFA).

Abu Bakar Mammat, Con-sul General of Malaysia inKarachi was the Chief Guest.The delegation from FOSFAconstitutes Mr. Stuart Logan,Chief Executive, Mr. GirishPatel, Immediate Past Presidentand Mr. Roger Rookes, Mem-ber.

This two day Trade Semi-nar is being organized for theawareness amongst the EdibleOil Industry of Pakistan of

Malaysia assures meetingrequirement of edible oil

FOSFA Terms and Conditions,documentation and its execu-tion, International Trading Stan-dards, Technical Support andmanaging disputes and arbitra-tion. An opening Presentationwas given by the Immediate PastPresident of FOSFA, Mr. GirishPatel.

Mian Mohammad Hanifchairman of PEORA in his wel-come address emphasized thatPakistan is the two million tonsmarket for palm products andneed the support of Governmentto reduce duties so that commonman can be benefited with lowprices.

A. Rasheed Janmohammed,Vice Chairman, Pakistan EdibleOil Refiners Association(PEORA) gave a Key Note Pre-sentation on the Pakistan Edible

Oil Scenario. In his presenta-tion he informed the participantsthat Pakistan is the third largestimporter of Palm Oil Products.He briefed the audience withdetailed statistics of import ofPalm Oil Products in Pakistanfrom Malaysia and Indonesia forlast three years. He also high-lighted the impact of FTA signedwith Malaysia and pointed outthe upcoming impact of FTAwhich is signed with Indonesiabut yet to be executed.

Mr. Rasheed Janmohammedalso brief the audience the sce-nario of Edible Oil Refineries inPakistan which has the capacityof 5,500 MT per day but due totariff and other obstacles areunable to utilize 100% capacityrather capacity utilization is un-der 50%.

KARACHI: Group picture shows CG of Malaysia Abu Bakar Mammat, Mian Muhammad Hanif, Chairman, PEORA,Rasheed Janmohammad, VC, PEORA, Mian Muhammed Ahmed, Patron -in-Chief and founder President Bin QasimAssociation of Trade and Industry, President FPCCI Fazal Qadir Sherani and others at the inaugural ceremony seminar.

ISLAMABAD: Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI present-ing crest to Industry and Commerce Minister of IndianPunjab Anil Joshi during his visit to Amritsar. FormerPresident of ICCI Munawar Mughal is also seen in thepicture.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Chaudhry FaisalMushtaq CEO Roots Millen-nium Schools wins the presti-

gious Arabia 500 fastest grow-ing organization award at a cer-emony held at Dubai Trade Con-vention Center presided by H.Ethe Deputy Prime Minister ofUAE and Minister of Economyon December 10, 2012. RootsMillennium Schools, Pakistanwas named the fastest growingorganization at Arabia 500Awards which was attended bymany dignitaries, successfulbusinessmen and Entrepreneursfrom all over the world. TheArabia500 companies, led bydynamic men and women, rep-resented the leading edge of anew approach to competitive-ness.

The All World Arabia 500is the largest collaboration of

CEO Roots MillenniumSchools wins pride award

growth entrepreneurs in theworld. All World systematicallyidentifies Entrepreneurs and Pri-vate growth companies ranks thefastest growing for the Arabia

500, Africa 500, Asia 500,Eurasia 500, and Latin America500. Being on an All Worldranking puts companies on theworld map, drawing the marketto them - what we call VisibilityEconomics.

For the past four years AllWorld and its 70 partnerslaunched an unprecedented ef-fort to scour the Middle East,North Africa, Pakistan, Indiaand Turkey, finding thousands ofgrowing and innovative compa-nies largely unknown to theworld.

The Arabia500 are some ofthe most sophisticated entrepre-neurs, many with operationsspanning more than 100 coun-tries.

currently over 40 percent sharein the country’s total seabornetrade in terms of cargo handling.He recalled that there was a timewhen the port had the capacityto accommodate ships of 10-meter draft only. “Today wehave the deepest navigationalchannel that could accommo-date ships having draft up to 13meters,” the retired vice admi-ral said.

The PQA chief said the Au-thority was acquiring a dredgerthat would dredge the port by 14meters. Earlier, CEO QICTChangez Khan Niazi told thegathering that whereas his sidewas going all out to competewith other national and regionalports the country’s trade was ina bad shape.

PQAFrom Page 13

Dr. Asim Hussain termedthe policy as one of the bestin the world since it offerslevel playing field for E & Pcompanies, both local and in-ternational ones. The policyoffers price up to a maximumof US $ 6.5 per MMBTU foronshore and up to a maximumof US $ 9 per MMBTU foroffshore oil and gas discover-ies. He also informed thatGovernment of Pakistan forthe first time in its history hasformulated policies on TightGas and Low BTU Gas whilepolicies on shale gas, flaredgas, Marginal and Strandedoil and gas fields will soon beannounced.

As regards the prospectsof oil and gas exploration inthe country, Dr. Asim Hussainpointed out that Pakistan isendowed with vast sedimen-tary area of over 800,000square kilo-meters of whichover 70% is yet to be ex-plored.

The success ratio of oil andgas discoveries is one of the bestin the world as is evident fromthe success ratio of 1 : 3.22 dis-covery rate.

The other speakers whospoke on the occasion wereAquil Nadeem, Counsel Gen-eral of Pakistan Houston, G ASabri, former Secretary Petro-leum, Qazi Mohammad SaleemSiddiqui Director General, Pe-troleum Concessions, MasoodSiddiqui, MD, OGDCL, AsimMurtaza, MD, PPL, PeterSeitinger, Country Manager,OMV Pakistan.

Int’l energyFrom Page 13

PTCL holdsday long

go-karting eventSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Tele-communications CompanyLimited (PTCL) held a daylong go-karting event for itsemployees in conjunction withthe earlier held Annual SalesConference.

Held at the go-karting trackin Islamabad, the event was or-ganized as part of PTCL’s effortsto develop team building and tosynergize and invigorate its em-ployees. The activity offered achance to various departments tocome at one platform and de-velop mutual coordination andteam work.

Go-karting is one of themost popular forms of motorsports in the world. It is not onlya great way to spend a fun filledday with family and friends, butis also considered a steppingstone towards professional rac-ing.

PTCL’s countrywide salesmanagement teams comprisingof consumer sales, direct andindirect sales, corporate sales,contact centers, customer care,wire-line and wireless depart-ments’ as well senior officialsfrom the company’s Commer-cial, Human Resource andMarketing departments tookpart in this team building ac-tivity.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The worker remit-tances, which totaled at $ 5.98billion during first five monthsof the current fiscal year rang-ing from July to November(FY13), are said to be a majorsupporting head on the country’scurrent account list.

“The consistent upwardtrend in the remittances is pro-viding support to the current ac-count as during the 4MFY13 itwas witnessed with the surplusof $258 million,” said AbdulAzeem, an InvestCap analyst

Overall, the analyst said, thedecline of 25 percent was ob-served in total remittances to$1billion in November as dur-ing the month of October a hugeremittance of $ 1.37billion waswitnessed due to Eid factor.

However, 5MFY13 remit-tances recorded growth of 14percent YoY to $ 5.98billion.

Saudia Arabia was the mostprominent source, as its sharereached to 27 percent, up by

IMF repayments haunt C/Adespite surging remittances

0.9pps YoY during 5MFY12,thereby becoming the largestcontributor to remittances.

Home remittances comingin from the UK experiencedmassive growth of 42 percentYoY (+ $252mn) during5MFY13.

However, Abdul Azeemwarned that the IMF paymentswere more than likely to exertpressure on the current accountdeficit. Moreover, he said, dueto lower imports and rising ex-ports, the trade deficit showed adiverging trend by posting 7 per-cent YoY decline in 4MFY13.

Despite the global economicslowdown exports postedgrowth of 5 percentYoY in4MFY13. The major contribu-tor remained the textile groupexports, which improved by 5percentYoY, said he.

Going forward, the analystsaid, the textile exports were es-timated to be the prime driverfor the growth in exports as itscotton yarn segment posted co-lossal growth of 37 percent.

banned but instead of prosecut-ing the flouters of this ban, thegovernment bodies, includingFederal Board of Revenue(FBR), were backing the crimi-nals issuing forged and mislead-ing figures.

Bana alleged that FBR hadwrongly claimed that age limitreduction of the used carsmight cost the kitty Rs 17 bil-lion per annum, based on du-ties/taxes collected during 12months of 2011-12 on approx56,000 imported used cars.

“In fact, the revenue gen-erated by the government onsimilar quantity of vehiclesmanufactured by the local in-dustry would have been Rs 21.5billion, exceeding the levy onused cars by Rs 4.5 billion perannum, an increase of 26 per-cent,” he said.

Auto partsFrom Page 13

KARACHI: President KCCI Muhammad Haroon Agar presenting crest to Javier MCarbajosa Sanchez, Ambassador of Spain. (Story on Page 13)

ISLAMABAD: Mir Israr Ullah Khan Zehri, Federal Minister for National Food Securityand Research presiding over 34th meeting of PARC’s Borad of Governors.

ISMAIL DILAWAR

KARACHI—Amid widespreadspeculations for another rate-cutof 50 to 100 basis points (bps),the central bank Tuesday set thedate for unveiling its monetarypolicy decision for the nextcouple of months.

Friday, December 14, thestate bank spokesman saidwould be the day of monetarypolicy announcement for themonths of December and Janu-ary.

“The monetary policywould be announced on Decem-ber 14,” said SBP chief spokes-man Syed Wasimuddin in one ofthe shortest ever, one-line, state-ments issued Tuesday.

The businesses and inves-tors in this commercial hub ofthe country have adopted a cau-

SBP set to unveil monetary policy on Fridaytious approach as a bearish trendis being witnessed at KarachiStock Exchange (KSE) for lasttwo days.

Tuesday again saw thebenchmark 100-share index atthe Karachi bourse plunging by86 points to 16,701.69 points onthe back of what the equity ana-lysts said institutional profit-tak-ing ahead of the central bank’smonetary policy announcement.

“(The) stocks closed bearishamid thin trade. Profit-takingcontinued in scrips across theboard as the investors await theSBP policy rate announcementon Dec 14,” viewed ashenMehanti, a senior equity analystand director at Arif Habib Se-curities.

The economic observers areconvinced that the regulators atthe central bank would be fur-

ther slashing the discount rate by50 to 100 owing to the easingConsumer Price Index inflationwhich has contracted to 6 per-cent in November.

The State Bank, the analystsbelieve, seems more focused onthe economic growth that wouldonly be possible if the cost ofborrowings for the private busi-nesses is reduced.

On the other hand, the trad-ers and industrialists demandthat the current 10 percent in-terest rate was still higher andshould therefore be cut to 8 per-cent.

By cutting the policy ratefurther, the regulator, some say,would also be reducing the bur-den of the federal and provin-cial governments, the pressingcurrent budgetary needs ofwhich have let them debt-laden.

Toyota Chinasales tumble

downBEIJING—Toyota Motor Corpis still struggling to revive salesin China, part of a broader slumpJapanese car firms are sufferingas a result of a diplomatic rowbetween the countries.

Toyota’s sales in China to-taled roughly 60,000 vehicleslast month, a senior companyexecutive said, compared with81,800 cars the company and itsChinese partners sold in Novem-ber last year.

The pace of the last month’sdecline - roughly 25 percent froma year earlier - eased from the pre-vious two months but was still “faroff from our more normalized andtargeted sales pace,” said theToyota executive who declined tobe named because the informationhad not yet been made public.Toyota’s numbers indicate thatsales in China by other Japanesecarmakers are also likely to bedown.—Newswire

IPO, WTO toprotect plant

breeders rightsSTAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—IntellectualProperty Organization (IPO) ofPakistan and WTO wing ofPunjab Agriculture Departmentwill collaborate to protect PlantBreeders rights and farmersrights as well as protection ofGeographical Indications anduse of geographical indicationsas economic tools to bring in-vestment in agriculture sector.This was disclosed in a meetingchaired by Mr. Azmat AliRanjah, Secretary Agriculture,Punjab here at Lahore.

The meeting was attended byMr. Sajjad Ahmad, Director Gen-eral, IPO Pakistan, Mr. BilalAhmad But, Additional Secretary(Task Force), Mr. Sher AlamMehsud, Managing DirectorPunjab Seed Corporation, Dr.Mubarak Ali, Chief ExecutivePARB, Dr. Anjum Ali, DirectorGeneral Agriculture (Extension)Punjab, Mr. Natiq Hussain , ChiefPlanning & Evaluation Cell.

WASHINGTON—The USState Department has des-ignated the Jabhat al-Nusramilitia fighting Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syriaa foreign terrorist organiza-tion. The speed with whichthe US government movedto designate a fairly newgroup that has never at-tacked US interests and isengaged in fighting a regimethat successive administra-tions have demonized is evi-dence of the strange bedfel-lows and overlapping agen-das that make the Syrian civilwar so explosive.

The State Departmentsays Jabhat al-Nusra (or the“Nusra Front”) is essentiallya wing of Al Qaeda in Iraq,the jihadi group that flour-ished in Anbar Province af-ter the US invaded to topplethe Baathist regime of secu-lar dictator Saddam Hussein.During the Iraq war, SunniArab tribesmen living alongthe Euphrates in easternSyria flocked to fight withthe friends and relatives in

US names Syria’s Jabhat al-Nusra front as ‘terrorists’the towns along theEuphrates river in AnbarProvince. Think you knowthe Middle East? Take ourgeography quiz!

The terrain, both actualand human, is similar on bothsides of that border, and therat lines that kept foreignfighters and money flowinginto Iraq from Syria work justas well in reverse. Now, thejihadis who fought andlargely lost against the Shiitepolitical ascendancy in Iraqare flocking to eastern Syriato repay a debt of gratitudein a battle that looks morelikely to succeed every day.

The Nusra Front hasgone from victory to victoryin eastern Syria and hasshown signs of both signifi-cant funding and greater mili-tary prowess than the aver-age citizens’ militia, with vet-erans of fighting in Iraq, Af-ghanistan, and Libya amongits numbers. The US ofcourse aided the fight inLibya to bring downMuammar Qaddafi. In Af-

ghanistan and Iraq, thechance to fight and kill Ameri-cans was the major drawingcard. In Iraq, the US toppleda Baathist dictatorship domi-nated by Sunni Arabs, open-ing the door for the politicaldominance of Iraq’s ShiiteArab majority and the fury ofthe country’s Sunni jihadis.In Syria, a Baathist regimedominated by the tinyAlawite sect (a long-ago off-shoot of Shiite Islam) risksbeing brought down by theSunni majority.Iraq’s Shiite Prime MinisterNouri al-Maliki is in the oddposition of now rooting for aBaathist regime to survive,frightened that a religiouslyinspired Sunni regime mayreplace Assad and potentiallydestabilize parts of his coun-try from Haditha in Anbar’sfar west to the northern cityof Mosul. For the US, thesituation is more complicatedstill. The Obama administra-tion appears eager for Assadto fall, but is also afraid ofwhat might replace him, not

least because of Syria’schemical weapons stockpile.If the regime collapses, the af-termath is sure to be chaotic,much as it was in Libya, wherearms stores were lootedthroughout the country. Thepresence of VX and sarinnerve gas, and the fear of AlQaeda aligned militants get-ting their hands on it, has theUS considering sending introops to secure the weap-ons. That’s the context inwhich today’s designationwas made part of an overalleffort to shape the Syrianopposition to US liking, andhopefully have influence inthe political outcome if andwhen Assad’s regime col-lapses. But while the US hasbeen trying to find a govern-ment or leadership in waitingamong Syrian exiles, Nusrahas been going from strengthto strength.

Aaron Zelin, who tracksjihadi groups at the Washing-ton Institute for Near EastPolicy, notes in a recent piecefor Foreign Policy that 20 out

of the 48 “martyrdom” no-tices posted on Al Qaeda fo-rums for the Syria war weremade by people claiming tobe members of Nusra.

Zelin writes that it’shighly unusual for the US todesignate as a terrorist groupanyone who hasn’t attemptedan attack on the US. In fact,the US only designated theHaqqani Network in Afghani-stan, which had been in-volved in attacks on UStroops there for over a de-cade, this September.

His guess as to why theUS took such an unusualstep? The U.S. administra-tion, in designating Jabhat al-Nusra, is likely to argue thatthe group is an outgrowth ofthe Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).While there is not muchopen-source evidence ofthis, classified material mayoffer proof and there is cer-tainly circumstantial evi-dence that Jabhat al-Nusraoperates as a branch of theISI.

Getting Syria’s rebels to

disavow Jabhat al-Nusra maynot be an easy task, however.As in Iraq, jihadists havebeen some of the most effec-tive and audacious fightersagainst the Assad regime,garnering respect from otherrebel groups in the process.

Jabhat al-Nusra seems tohave learned from the mis-takes of al Qaeda in Iraq: Ithas not attacked civiliansrandomly, nor has it shownwanton disregard for humanlife by publicizing videosshowing the beheading of itsenemies. Even if its views areextreme, it is getting the ben-efit of the doubt from otherinsurgents due to its prow-ess on the battlefield.

Will it hurt the group’ssupport inside Syria? It’s hardto see how. The US hasn’t for-mally explained its logic yet,but it’s hard to see how thatwill matter either. The rebellionagainst Assad has raged foralmost two years now and thecountry’s fighters are eagerfor victory, and revenge. —Reuters

MAIDUGURI—A shootout innortheastern Nigeria be-tween security forces andmembers of a radical Islam-ist sect killed at least 15people, including a local po-lice chief, authorities saidTuesday. The shootingstook place in the city ofPotiskum, which has in-creasingly become the sceneof violent attacks by the sectknown as Boko Haram. Armyspokesman Lt. Eli Lazarussaid the attack began lateSunday night in the city andwent on for hours after sus-pected sect membersbombed a local police stationand attacked a bank branch.

Lazarus said the dead in-cluded a police chief and 14suspected Boko Harammembers. Civilians havebeen killed in such shoot-outs before and Nigeria’smilitary routinely downplayssuch casualties. The identityof those who died could notbe independently verifiedTuesday, though Lazarussaid those killed had beencarrying weapons and am-

15 killed in Nigeriashootout with radicals

munition. However, Lazarussaid authorities only col-lected four corpses of thesuspected sect fighters, asthe other 10 “were draggedaway by other Boko Harammembers in order to hide theiridentity.”

It was unclear the moti-vation behind the attack,though analysts and localsecurity officials believeBoko Haram has fundedsome of its attacks throughbank robberies in which sectmembers blow open bankbuildings to steal the moneyinside. Boko Haram, whosename means “Western edu-cation is sacrilege” in theHausa language of Nigeria’sMuslim north, is waging anincreasingly bloody cam-paign of guerrilla attacksagainst the nation’s weakcentral government. Thesect says it wants Nigeria toenact strict Shariah law andrelease its imprisoned mem-bers. Despite a heavy mili-tary and police presence, thesect has been able to launchfrequent attacks.—AP

Jordan’s Kingfrees imprisoned

protestorsAMMAN—Jordan’s king hasordered the release of 116protesters jailed for their in-volvement in last month’sviolent rallies against hikesin fuel prices. The wave ofprotests across the countryin November had featuredrare calls for deposingAbdullah II. Three peoplewere killed and 75 others, in-cluding 58 policemen, wereinjured in the violence asprices for heating and cook-ing gas went up by 54 per-cent, and some oil deriva-tives by up to 28 percent.

Information MinisterSameeh Maaytah said onTuesday that 13 other de-tainees, charged with crimi-nal conspiracy and vandal-ism, were not included in thepardon. The kingdom’s Petranews agency said Abdullahissued the pardon late Mon-day.

Jordan has largely beenspared the mass demonstra-tions that have toppled fourArab leaders during the ArabSpring uprisings. —AP

Nine injured ingunmen fire at

Cairo protestersCAIRO—Nine people werehurt when gunmen fired atprotesters camping in Cairo’sTahrir Square on Tuesday,according to witnesses andEgyptian media, as the oppo-sition called for a major dem-onstration it hopes will forcePresident Mohamed Mursi topostpone a referendum on anew constitution.

“This revolution was notstaged to replace one dictatorwith another,” he said in aninterview with CNN.

Outside the presidentialpalace, anti-Mursi protestershuddled together in front oftheir tents, warming them-selves beside a bonfire in thewinter air. “The referendummust not take place. The con-stitution came after bloodwas spilt. This is not how acountry should be run,”said Ali Hassan, a man in his20s. Opposition leaderswant the referendum to bedelayed and hope they canget sufficiently large num-bers of protesters on thestreets to change Mursi’smind.—Reuters

ADEN—Masked gunmenshot dead a senior intelli-gence officer in southernYemen on Tuesday, local andsecurity officials said. Colo-nel Ahmed Barmadah,deputy head of the PoliticalSecurity Office, the domes-tic intelligence service, wasleaving his house in the portcity of Mukalla in Hadramoutprovince when gunmen on amotorcycle opened fire onhim, the officials said.

No one claimed respon-sibility for the killing but asecurity official said he sus-pected that al Qaeda militants,who are battling the U.S.-backed government, werebehind it. Tuesday’s attackwas the latest in a series ofkillings targeting security of-ficials and politicians in theimpoverished and often cha-otic Arabian Peninsula state.

Yemen’s stability is a pri-ority for the United Statesand its Gulf allies because ofYemen’s strategic position

Gunmen kill spyingofficer in south Yemen

next to top oil exporter SaudiArabia and shipping lanes,and because it is home to awing of al Qaeda. Washing-ton is worried that al Qaeda,entrenched in parts ofYemen, will use a powervacuum to launch attacksabroad, and has stepped updrone strikes on suspectedmilitants with the backing ofPresident Abd-RabbuMansour Hadi.

Yemen-based Al Qaeda inthe Arabian Peninsula(AQAP) and other militantgroups seized parts of thecountry during a revolt lastyear that ousted veteranstrongman president AliAbdullah Saleh in February.The U.S.-backed military of-fensive earlier this year hasdriven the militants out ofthe areas they controlledbut has not prevented themfrom launching attacks thathave dealt damaging blowsto the army and security ap-paratus.—Reuters

SEOUL—North Korea hasstarted to dismantle a contro-versial long-range rocket onits launch pad in an apparentmove to fix a technical prob-lem but still looks likely to goahead with the launch, SouthKorean news reports and ex-perts said on Tuesday. NorthKorea says the launch is toput a weather satellite in orbitbut critics say it is aimed atnurturing the kind of technol-ogy needed to mount anuclear warhead on a long-range missile.

When the first reportsemerged that the rocket partswere being taken down, therewas speculation the Northmight abandon the launchaltogether, but experts saidthe construction of therocket meant that it neededto be removed from its gan-try. “For North Korean rock-ets, it’s the only way to repairthem because they build therocket stage by stage,” saidKwon Se-jin, a rocket expertat the Korea Advanced Insti-

N Korea ‘dismantlingrocket to fix tech glitch’

tute of Science and Technol-ogy in Daejeon, South Korea.

North Korea said onMonday that the launch win-dow had been extended by aweek due to technical prob-lems. “So as it had an-nounced, if the North has aproblem with the first-stagecontrol module, it has to re-place it and take down (therocket) from the top,” saidKwon.

The launch has beentimed to coincide with the firstanniversary of the death offormer leader Kim Jong-il af-ter a failed launch in April. Italso comes as Japan andSouth Korea, long-time foesof the North, are holding elec-tions.

North Korea is bannedfrom testing missile or nucleartechnology under U.N. sanc-tions imposed after its 2006and 2009 nuclear weaponstests, and the United States,South Korea and Japan havecondemned the currentlaunch.—Reuters

RAMALLAH—Israeli soldiersraided the offices of three civilsociety organizations onTuesday in the heart ofRamallah, the de facto Pales-tinian capital in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Enter-ing before dawn, troopswrenched open the doors ofthe Women’s Union, the Pal-estinian NGO Network andAddameer, an advocate forPalestinians in Israeli jails,confiscating five computersfrom the latter group.

The sweeps were the firstof their kind in a Palestiniancity since the West Bank gov-ernment won an initiative atthe United Nations GeneralAssembly on November 29which recognized a de factoPalestinian state, stoking ten-sions with Israel. “This comesin the context of the U.N.’sdecision,” Allam Jarrar of thePalestinian NGO Networktold reporters on Tuesdaymorning, “boycott Israel”leaflets strewn on the floor ofthe raided office.

“This a message by the

Israel raids PalestinianNGO offices

Israelis to the Palestinians,saying that when they takedecisions or form patriotic or-ganizations to seek their free-dom, the occupation will useaggression to try and stop us,”he said. The Israeli military didnot immediately comment.The West Bank has seenmounting clashes betweenIsraeli soldiers and Palestin-ian protestors, leaving twoPalestinians dead since thelaunch on November 14 of aneight-day Israeli offensive inthe Gaza Strip.

Nighttime arrests of Pales-tinians Israel suspects of mili-tant activity have awokensmall towns throughout theWest Bank in the last week,provoking exchanges of gun-fire by troops and stonesheaved at them by increas-ingly defiant locals.

The secular, Western-backed Ramallah governmentcoordinates closely withIsrael’s security forces, despitePalestinian officials accusingIsrael of trying to punish themand their people for their

achievement at the UnitedNations.

“The Israeli governmentdecided to dock our money asa punitive measure and an-nounced its intention to buildthousands of settlement unitsin and around Jerusalem,” Pal-estinian President MahmoudAbbas told the Turkish par-liament on Monday. “This wasa threat to us not to seek pro-tection for our people and ourland and our holy placesthrough specialized interna-tional organizations,” he said.

Israel says it will withhold$200 million in customs dutiesit collects on the Palestinians’behalf and has announced alarge expansion of Jewishsettlements around the WestBank’s Jerusalem hub, to thedismay of European coun-tries. Palestinian leaders havewarned they might retaliate bypursuing resolutions censur-ing Israel in the U.N. SecurityCouncil or filing complaintsagainst Israel at the Interna-tional Criminal Court.—Reuters

Mali PM arrestedBAMAKO—Mali’s prime minister an-nounced his resignation on Tuesday,hours after being arrested by soldierswhile trying to leave the divided and un-stable West African nation for France. Thedevelopment in the Sahel state, whosedesert north was occupied by al Qaeda-linked Islamists following a March coup,seemed likely to complicate African andinternational efforts to organise a militaryintervention to reunite the country. “I,

Cheick Modibo Diarra, hereby resign with my entire govern-ment on Tuesday, December 11, 2012,” a nervous-lookingDiarra said in a statement broadcast on state television earlyon Tuesday morning. News of Diarra’s resignation came hoursafter he was arrested late on Monday as he tried to leave thecountry for France. It was not immediately clear whether hemade the statement of his own volition or was forced to doso. Bakary Mariko, a spokesman for the group of soldiersthat seized power in the March coup, and which remainspowerful despite officially handing power back to civil-ians in April, said Diarra had been arrested for not work-ing fully to address the nation’s problems. “The countryis in crisis but he was blocking the institutions,” Marikosaid. He added Diarra had been taken to the ex-junta’sheadquarters in Kati, a military barracks town just out-side Bamako, after his arrest. Asked if the overnight ar-rest was a second coup, Mariko said: “This is not a coup.The president is still in place but the prime minister wasno longer working in the interests of the country.”—Reuters

Monti leaves political future openROME—Italian Prime Minister MarioMonti said on Tuesday he wanted to in-fluence political debate in whatever rolehe fills after elections next year but he lefthis future open following speculation hemay remain in politics. Financial marketshave reacted nervously to the uncertainpolitical outlook facing Italy after the elec-tion and in particular to the return of SilvioBerlusconi as the candidate of the cen-tre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party.

Berlusconi criticised Monti’s technocrat government on Tues-day, accusing it of accepting severe economic austerity poli-cies dictated by Germany which had dragged Italy into reces-sion. Monti, drafted in to head an unelected government oftechnocrats last year at the height of a financial crisis thathad threatened the stability of the entire euro zone, has so farkept silent on his future. He said on Monday he was concen-trating on his remaining time in government and not thinkingabout whether to stand as a candidate. Speaking on statetelevision RAI on Tuesday, he defended his government’seconomic record and warned against populism and “over-simplified” election promises that hid the true problems fac-ing Italy and he again left his political plans open. “Politics isabove all a question of culture, that is, trying to give directionto people’s ideas,” he told state television RAI. “I think I didit when I was a professor, I’m trying to do it in this brief periodwhen I’m prime minister, I’m sure that whatever hat I’m wear-ing in future, I will continue to do it,” he said. “For the rest...,”he said, leaving the phrase unfinished.—Reuters

Mandela has lung infectionJOHANNESBURG—Former South AfricanPresident Nelson Mandela, who is 94 andhas been in hospital since Saturday fortests, has suffered a recurrence of a lunginfection but is responding to treatment,the government said on Tuesday. Therevered anti-apartheid leader and NobelPeace laureate is spending his fourth dayin a hospital in the South African capitalPretoria. He remains a hero to many ofSouth Africa’s 52 million people and two

brief stretches in hospital in the last two years made frontpage news. “Doctors have concluded the tests, and thesehave revealed a recurrence of a previous lung infection, forwhich Madiba is receiving appropriate treatment and he isresponding to the treatment,” the government said in a state-ment. He was released in 1990 and went on to be electedpresident in the historic all-race elections in 1994 that endedwhite-minority rule in Africa’s most important economy. Heused his unparalleled prestige to push for reconciliation be-tween whites and blacks, setting up a commission to probecrimes committed by both sides in the anti-apartheid struggle.Mandela’s African National Congress has continued to gov-ern since his retirement from politics in 1999, but has beencriticised for perceived corruption and slowness in address-ing apartheid-era inequalities in housing, education andhealthcare. Mandela spent time in a Johannesburg hospitalin 2011 with a respiratory condition, and again in Februarythis year because of abdominal pains.—Reuters

LDP, partners on winning trackTOKYO—Conservative former PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe’s opposition Lib-eral Democratic Party (LDP) and itssmaller ally are heading for a resound-ing victory in Sunday’s election, win-ning more than 300 seats in parliament’s480-member lower house, media sur-veys showed on Tuesday. Abe, 58, whoresigned abruptly as premier in 2007 af-ter a troubled year in office, is pushingthe Bank of Japan (BOJ) for more pow-

erful monetary stimulus and promises to boost publicworks to rev up a stagnant economy. Abe, the grandsonof a wartime cabinet minister who became prime ministerafter World War Two, also favours a tough stance againstChina in a territorial row and loosening the limits of Japan’s65-year-old pacifist constitution on the military. Prime Min-ister Yoshihiko Noda’s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),which surged to power in 2009 for the first time, could getfewer than 80 seats at the election, the papers said. Theconservative Sankei, whose poll was based on a smallersample, said an LDP-New Komeito party coalition couldeven win the two-thirds majority needed to over-ride theupper house, where no party has a majority and which canblock legislation.—Reuters

Re-election after budget defeatVALLETTA—Malta called an early elec-tion on Monday after its centre-right gov-ernment failed to get its 2013 budgetthrough parliament by one vote. PrimeMinister Lawrence Gonzi told journaliststhe Maltese parliament would be dis-solved on January 7 and a new electionheld on March 9. Malta’s Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi leaves the EU councilheadquarters for an European Union lead-ers summit discussing the European

Union’s long-term budget in Brussels. The budget was de-feated after Franco Debono, a member of the ruling National-ist Party, voted against it, robbing the government of its one-seat majority. Debono has been an increasingly fierce critic ofthe government, particularly transport minister Austin Gatt,over decisions to hand the running of the island’s bus sys-tem to Germany’s Arriva and the use of heavy fuel oil at a newpower station instead of gas. Malta, the smallest of the 17countries that use the euro, has largely sidestepped thetroubles of its larger neighbours and its economy grew by 1.9percent in real terms in the third quarter of this year.—AP

DUBAI—The prison sen-tence of a prominent Bahrainirights activist jailed for tak-ing part in unlicensed pro-tests was cut by a year by anappeals court on Tuesday,his lawyer said. In a casecriticised by rights groups,Nabeel Rajab, founder of theBahrain Centre for HumanRights, had been servingthree years for leading pro-tests against the wide pow-ers of the Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa dynasty which rulesthe island kingdom.

Bahrain human rights ac-tivist Nabeel Rajab talks onhis mobile phone as a minia-ture Bahrain Pearl Squaremonument is seen behindhim, upon arriving home inBudaiya, west of Manama,after being detained for overtwo weeks. Bahrain, the baseof the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet,has been in turmoil since thepro-democracy protests ledby its Shi’ite Muslim major-ity erupted last year. Wash-ington has called on its ally

Bahrain court cuts sentencefor activist over protests

to talk to the opposition.A hero to protesters but a

villain for those Bahrainis whofear the protests will bringShi’ite Islamists to power,Rajab was originally sen-tenced by a lower court inAugust, a verdict Washingtonsaid was deeply troubling andrights campaigners called a“dark day for justice”. Thejudge ruled in three cases onTuesday, all related to partici-pating in peaceful protests,and handed Rajab a one-yearjail sentence in one case andsix months each in the othertwo cases, said lawyerMohammed al-Jishi.

He said Rajab had yet todecide whether to appealagain, adding: “It is a veryharsh verdict.” “We were ex-pecting the judge to issue onesentence for the three casescollectively, but he treatedthem as three separate casesand each had a separate sen-tence,” Jishi told Reuters bytelephone from Manama.

Tuesday’s hearing was

Residents hang clothes they are selling to dry under the sun in the coastal town of Cateel that was devastated duringlast Tuesday’s Typhoon Bopha in Davao Oriental, southern Philippines.

attended by monitors fromrights groups and foreign dip-lomats, Jishi said. The Bahraingovernment’s Information Af-fairs Authority said in Augustthe charges against Rajab hadbeen related to violence. Pub-lic prosecutors had saidRajab’s participation inmarches and “provocation ofhis supporters” led to vio-lence, including throwingpetrol bombs and blockingroads. Rajab has been in jailfor about seven months forother charges, Jishi said.

Since April, the authori-ties have stepped up effortsto crack down on unrest.Activists cite an increaseduse of shotgun pellets,whose use officials have de-clined to confirm or deny. InNovember, Interior MinisterSheikh Rashed bin Abdullahal-Khalifa said the Gulf Arabkingdom had temporarilybanned all rallies and gath-erings to ensure publicsafety and stability are re-stored.—Reuters

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

M U M B A I — B h a u s a h e bBadasaheb (B.B.)Nimbalkar didn’t show an-ger or any loud reactionwhen he was denied tobreak Don Bradman’s thenworld record score of 452runs, this was revealed byMadhu Rege.

Speaking exclusivelyfrom his Pune residence,Madhu Rege, possibly theonly alive member of theMaharashtra team, said,“Yes, Nimbalkar felt sorryfor it but didn’t show an-ger or reacted strongly de-spite it was certainlyagainst the spirit of the

Nimbalkar didn’t show anger or loudreaction when he was denied a chanceto break Don Bradman’s world record

Gentlemen”s game.In 1948/49, playing for

Maharashtra againstKathiawar at Pune,Nimbalkar made 443 not out,but he was unable to breakthe record because, with thetotal standing at 826 for 4 atthe lunch interval, theKathiawar side conceded thematch.

Rege was not awareabout the fact that Bradmansent a personal letter toNimbalkar saying that heconsidered Nimbalkar’s in-nings better than his own.

“Our captain, RajaGokhale went to the oppositeteam members and requestedthem to allow Nimbalkar toscore those ten runs, butthey didn’t listen to the ad-

vice”, Rege added.According to Vasu

Paranjape, one member ofthe Kathiawad team, whowas the owner of then onesports goods shop inMatunga told to his play-ers to hire cabs and leavefor Pune station immedi-ately so that Nimbalkar isdeprived of the worldrecord. “I was told this bythe same player, who is nomore now”, Vasu Paranjapesaid.

Had BB Nimbalkar, aged92, died on Wednesday, in-stead of Tuesday, he wouldhave been in line with theWest Indies’ Keith Boyce,who died (October 11, 1996)on the same day of his birth(October 11, 1943).

SPORTS REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan leaptfrom 9th to 5th place in theupdated Men’s WorldRankings table released by theInternational Hockey Federa-tion (FIH), said the federation’swebsite on Tuesday.

Pakistan became the mostimproved nation in the top tenby winning the Bronze medalat the Champions Trophy inMelbourne. The Greenshirtshad ended eight years of medaldrought in the tournamentwhen they overcame India 3-2in the bronze medal play-offlast week.

The top four positionsheld by London 2012 OlympicsGold medallists Germany,Champions Trophy winnersAustralia, Olympic and Cham-pions Trophy Silver medallistsNetherlands and England, re-mained unchanged.

New Zealand continue tohold 6th place ahead of Spainon 7th, Champions Challengefinalists Korea on 8th, Belgiumon 9th and Champions Chal-lenge winners Argentina on10th. Arch-rivals India and Pa-kistan must stop resistingchange in order to reclaim lostglory, former field hockey cap-tain and World Cup starShahbaz Ahmad has said.

Pakistan, four-time WorldCup champions, hit rock bot-tom at the last edition held inNew Delhi, finishing last in the12-team event.

Hockey: Pak moves up to 5thplace in Men’s World Rankings

India, eight-time Olympicchampions, finished the 2010World Cup on home soil in 8thspot. Neither team reached thesemi-finals of the LondonOlympic Games in August thisyear. “When the Europeanswere changing their style ofplay, we (India and Pakistan)were stagnant. We shouldchange,” Ahmad said in an in-terview yesterday. “Weshould come to modernhockey, we should improve ourcoaching system. We have towork hard on our grass roots

development programmes,”the 1994 World Cup winningcaptain added.

“Our way of selectionshave not changed. The thingswe were doing 20 years backis what we are still doing,”Ahmad lamented.

Excerpts from a chat withthe Pakistani hockey great.

How do you like the ideaof World Hockey League in-troduced by InternationalHockey Federation (FIH) forlower ranked countries likeQatar? The World Hockey

League is an excellent con-cept. It is a great chance forsmaller nations to come for-ward and to play and learn fromeach other. I appreciate the steptaken by FIH and AsianHockey Federation and who-ever is involved to empowerthe smaller nations.

A number of Pakistan-bornplayers are playing for the lo-cal club Shabab Qatar andnow are playing for Qatar inthe World Hockey League.Was it a wise decision by themto move to Qatar?

LARKANA: Players of Islamabad and WAPDA teams in action during ShaheedMohtarama Benazir Bhutto National Ranking Badminton Championship 2012 at offic-ers club organized by Sindh Badminton Association.

KARACHI—The naming ofPakistan’s Twenty20 andODI squads for this month’stour to India was not with-out disagreements as the se-lectors overruled captainMisbah-ul-Haq while axingexperienced all-rounderShahid Afridi for the series.

The selectors also cameunder pressure to selectopener Imran Nazir and someother players but stuck totheir guns to give a chanceto the outstanding perform-ers in the ongoing domesticseason.

“Misbah who captainsthe one-day squad wantedAfridi in the squad at the costof Umar Akmal but the selec-tors rejected his suggestion,”The PTI quoted a source assaying.

“Misbah`s argument wasthat Afridi remains a matchwinning player despite beingout of form and his experi-ence would count for a lot inIndia under pressure and sec-ondly that his presencewould put pressure on theIndian side given his pastperformances,” the sourcesaid.

But the source said theselectors insisted on keepingAfridi out of the one-daysquad saying they wanted torebuild the one-day teamkeeping in mind the nextWorld Cup.

“Misbah`s argument wasalso that since they had re-tained Afridi in the T20 squadhe should also be given achance in the ODI squad,”the source said.

In the selection of theT20 squad, there was plentyof outside pressure to retainopener Imran Nazir whostruggled for form in theWorld T20 Cup in Sri Lankafew months back.

Misbah wants Afridifor India tour

“There were people whowanted the selectors to giveNazir another chance but theselectors insisted theywanted to give a chance toAhmed Shahzad,” the sourcesaid.

Another source statedthat the selectors had alsoconveyed to Afridi that thetwo T20 matches in Indiawould be crucial for his fu-ture as a Pakistan team mem-ber.

Interestingly, there wasnot much debate on theouster of either seniorallrounder Abdul Razzaq orfast bowler Mohammad Sami.

“In Razzaq`s case it ap-pears as if he has been pun-

ished for having made thepublic comments aboutHafeez`s captaincy after theteam returned from SriLanka,” the source said.

But a source close to theselectors said the idea be-hind dropping Razzaq was tostart grooming a youngerplayer for the future.

“That is why Asad Ali hasbeen chosen as he is a goodmedium pacer and capablebatsman and performed wellin the recent national T20championship taking 15 wick-ets.”

Asad also hails fromFaisalabad the hometown ofboth the national captains,Hafeez and Misbah.—INP

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA: Scott Jamieson of Scotland poses with the trophy afterwinning The Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa after a three wayplay-off against Steve Webster of England and Eduardo de la Riva of Spain at RoyalDurban Golf Club.

ISLAMABAD—Capital Devel-opment Authority (CDA)Tourism Division on Tues-day organized the 5th con-secutive climbing competi-tions in collaboration withIbex Club and AdventureClub here at Rawal Lake ViewPark.

The climbing event heldto mark the InternationalMountain Day and was su-pervised by the SportsClimbing Association.

Chairman CDA, SyedTahir Shahbaz was the chiefguest of the adventurous fes-tivity, which was participatedby members of CDA Board.

Speaking on the occa-sion, he said that the Inter-national Mountain Day wasan opportunity to highlightthe importance of mountainsin human life as well as theopportunities and resourcesblessed by the nature in formof these mountains. Pakistanis lucky to have major moun-tain peaks of the world. Thesepeaks are not only the sourceof water to irrigate our cropsbut also add serenity andbeauty to the natural envi-ronment of the country, headded.

He underlined the need topromote mountain sport toraise awareness about theconservation of the moun-

CDA holds climbingcompetitions to markInt’l Mountain Day

tains and other natural re-sources to the benefit of man-kind.

The thrilling competi-tions at Rawal Lake View Parkwere participated by variousclubs, schools, colleges anduniversities. Students withactive participation in thecompetition were, RootsSchool System, BeaconHouse School, City School,Froebels, Fatima JinnahWomen University.

NUST (NUST AdventureClub), International IslamicUniversity, Quaid-e-AzamUniversity and climbers fromvarious clubs. Pak TurkSchool Peshawar, CitySchool Mardan, NusratJahan Inter College ChenabNagar and Fairy Meadowsteams participated from othercities.

The competition startedon Monday with various cat-egories of boys, while girlscompetitions were held ontoday (Tuesday) and aftertough competitions in under12, under 15 and under 18years age categories, the fi-nal competition of girls andboys (senior category) washeld on the arrival of theguest of honour for theevening, Chairman CDA,Syed Tahir Shahbaz.

Chairman CDA and other

dignitaries enjoyed the thrill-ing competitions and appre-ciated the performance ofclimbers. Chairman CDA alsolauded the efforts of Adven-ture Club Pakistan to orga-nize the competition success-fully and to promote the dar-ing activity for the youth ofthe country.

He commended the con-tribution of the club to pro-vide facility of an interna-tional standard climbing wall,which can help produceclimbers of national and in-ternational level. He assuredfull support to help developclimbing sites and venues forthe promotion of the activ-ity.

In girls competition,Hanna Khan got first posi-tion, Aleeza Khan stoodsecond, whereas MairaKhan and Palwasha bothsecured third position.President Adventure ClubPakistan, Tahir Imran Khancongratulated all positionholders and announced atwo-day complimentarytraining course and onemonth free climbing practicein climbing arena on behalfof Ibex Club.

He also announced tohold the next mega competi-tion on International WomenDay on March 8.—APP

FATA OlympicAssociation

awards cash prizesto medal winners

PESHAWAR—FATA OlympicAssociation Tuesdayawarded cash incentives tothe medal winners of Na-tional Wushu Championshiphere at FATA Olympic Secre-tariat, Qayyum Sports Com-plex.

Former Internationalhockey player and SeniorVice President of FATA Olym-pic Association Imtiaz Afridiwas the chief guest on thisoccasion.

Secretary FATA OlympicAssociation Shahid KhanShinwari, Secretary FATARugby Association NoorAslam Afridi, SecretaryFATA Wushu AssociationAmin Jan, Secretary FATAKarate Association AbdulSamad Afridi, Event Managerat Directorate of SportsFATA, players and specta-tors were also present.

In the National WushuChampionship held atQayyum Sports Complex un-der the aegis of PakistanWushu Federation and withthe collaboration of KhyberPakhtunkhwa WushuAssociatio.

Two members of FATAAbdul Samad and Salim wonbronze medals in the Cham-pionship and was awardedRs. 5000 cash prize each.Speaking on this occasion,Imtiaz Afridi said that despitepoor financial position of theFATA Olympic Association itregularly honoring the play-ers for their performances. Hesaid President FATA Olym-pic Association Engr.Shaukat Ullah have clear in-struction to award cashprizes to those win medals inthe National Championship.He said recently the FOAalso awarded cash reward tothose won medals in the Pa-kistan Youth Games and themedalists of 8th National Ju-Jitsu Championship.

Imtiaz Afridi said that all ef-forts would be taken to facili-tate the players so that theycould show better result at na-tional and international levels.He said currently camps ofFATA Olympic Association arecontinued in 12 differentGames. Imtiaz Afridi said thatawarding cash incentiveswould certainly encouragemore and more players to comewith good performances. ImtiazAfridi and Secretary FATAWushu Association Amin Janthanked Secretary Shahid KhanShinwari for quickly respondedover the performance of PunjabYouth Games, Ju-jitsu andWushu.—APP

Hughesconfident of

Test runsSYDNEY—Australian bats-man Phil Hughes said Tues-day he has put his disap-pointing last Test perfor-mance behind him and isconfident a year of work willpay off when he takes on SriLanka this week.

Hughes returns to theTest arena at Hobart’sBellerive Oval, where heplayed his last Test in Decem-ber 2011 and scored just 24runs in two innings againstNew Zealand.

“This is the groundwhere things probably didn’tpan out perfectly on a per-sonal note,” he told journal-ists in Hobart.

“Twelve months downthe track, I feel like I’m in abetter place now.”

Hughes, who turned 24last month, was last weekhanded a second chance inthe Australian team after vet-eran Ricky Ponting retired.

He has been in solid formin domestic cricket and ap-pears to have satisfied selec-tors that he has overcometechnical issues which madehim vulnerable to the risingball and led to his axing inthe past.

“I feel like I’ve done a lotof work,” said Hughes, whohas 17 Tests to his name.

“I knew I had to makesacrifices along the way andthat was definitely one, to pullout of the Twenty20 complast year, to work on my tech-nique and become a betterplayer.”—AFP

PIA remainson top in NBPGold Cup with

another winLAHORE—Pakistan interna-tional airlines consolidatedtheir position in the NBP GoldCup hockey tournament withanother win outplaying SuiSouthern Gas Company 6-1here on Tuesday at outerground of national hockeystadium.

It was airlines third vic-tory out of four matchesplayed so far and they are attop with nine points at pointstable and their chances forqualifying for the semi finalsappear bright.

The former nationalchampions led 3-0 at half timeby demonstrating higherlevel of play dominated withcollective efforts and mostreliable efforts on part of midfield.

Airlines dominance wasnever in danger in the playand they came with fullforce in both sessions of theplay earning their first goalin the 3rd minute throughInyatullah as Nohaiz Malikscored their second goal inthe 14th minute withMohammad Irfan shone witha goal in the 23rd minutegoal.

The airlines went into thesecond half with the samespirit of aggressive hockeyand constant penetrationwhich led to another set ofthree goals which dumpedSSGC.—APP

Djokovic, Williamscrowned ITF

world championsPARIS—Serbia’s NovakDjokovic and US playerSerena Williams were onTuesday announced as thisyear’s International TennisFederation world champions,based on their performancesin tournaments throughout2012.

The sport’s governingbody also said that US broth-ers Bob and Mike Bryanwere men’s doubles worldchampions for the ninth timein 10 years, while Sara Erraniand Roberta Vinci of Italywere the women’s equivalent.

Dutch wheelchair tennislegend Esther Vergeer won thetitle for the 13th year in suc-cession after she wonParalympic singles gold for thefourth Paralympics in a row.Stephane Houdet of Francewon the men’s award.—AP

EMMA, a 6-year-old from Phillipsburg,Pa., had been fighting the disease fornearly two years and doctors at

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said therewere no standard treatments left. So they tooka gamble on a new, potentially groundbreakingtreatment — using HIV.

They removed millionsof Emma’s disease-fightingwhite blood cells and usedgenetically altered HIV — avirus that easily gets into hu-man immune systems — toturn Emma’s cells into a kindof immunological “directedmissile,” specifically pro-grammed to destroy the leu-kemia cells. The cells werethen returned to Emma’sbody.

“All of the things thatmake the HIV virus able tocause disease have been re-moved from this particularvirus whose only purpose isto put a gene into a cell,”said Dr. Stephan Grupp, apediatric oncologist at CHOP who uses HIVto infiltrate the immune system. “There isno danger of infection and there is no longerthe HIV virus.”

Kari Whitehead, Emma’s mother, saidthat initially after the treatment Emma be-came very ill — she had a fever as high as105 degrees — and doctors warned the fam-ily that she might not make it through thenight. Grupp then gave the second grader arheumatoid arthritis drug “off label.”

In arthritis, the drug was meant to blocka specific part of the body’s immune reac-tion, part caused by white blood cells calledT cells. In Emma’s case, it blocked the side

effect of the cancer treatment. In just 12hours, she stabilized.

“She was the first child in the worldthey tried it on and they told us they didn’tknow what to expect,” Whitehead toldABC News. “They do feel now that the

arthritis drug that they usedwill keep the kids in the fu-ture from getting any whereclose to that [sick].”Gruppsays that Emma, now eightmonths past her treatment, isin complete remission.

“She has no leukemia inher body for any test that wecan do — even the most sen-sitive tests,” he said. “Weneed to see that the remissiongoes on for a couple of yearsbefore we think aboutwhether she is cured or not.It is too soon to say.”

He said that the treatmentis being tried experimentallyat two hospitals and was in-tended for childhood leuke-mia that has returned and no

longer responds to chemotherapy. He saiddoctors hoped the T cell treatment wouldeventually replace bone marrow trans-plants. “This treatment was really her[Emma’s] only chance,” Grupp said. “Shehas been treated with extended chemo-therapy and she wasn’t getting any better.… For me, it’s incredible.”

Whitehead said Emma, now 7, lookedand felt “amazing” and had reunited withher dog Lucy. “There is a big difference,”she said. “She has a ton of energy. She’sback with her class. She was even able toplay a little bit of soccer. So she’s doingwonderful right now.”

Doctors find success usingretooled HIV to fight

KARACHI: US Ambassador Richard Olson called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.

KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan Ulema Council Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi addressinga press conference on Tuesday.

Bomb DisposalSquad rewarded

for defusing80 bombs

STAFF REPOTER

KARACHI—Inspector Generalof Police, Sindh, Fayyaz AhmedLaghari gave away cash prizesto the officials of bomb disposalsquad on Tuesday for their bestperformance during the year2012. The bomb disposal squaddefused 80 bombs from January01 to November 30 this year.

The bomb disposal squad’sofficials who received cash prizeinclude 14 Sub Inspectors, 10Assistant Sub Inspectors, 12Head Constables and 15 Con-stables. The cash prizes rangedfrom Rs.5000/- to 25000/- as perrank and performance.

Speaking at a simple cer-emony attended by IG SpecialBranch, DIG Headquarters,Sindh, DIG Finance, SSPs andothers, IGP Laghari appreciatedthe bomb disposal squad offi-cials for their courage and sav-ing the life of citizens.

Police arrest27 criminals

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Karachi Po-lice in their ongoing driveagainst the criminals, arrested 27accused from various parts ofthe metropolis during the last 24hours.

A police statement on Tues-day said that those arrested in-cluded 11 absconders and threeproclaimed offenders.

It said that 10 pistols, 11rifles, two SMGs, one revolverand one mobile phone recoveredfrom the accused.

Cases have been registeredagainst the accused and policehave started investigations, thestatement added.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—US Ambassador inPakistan, Richard Olson, Tues-day called on Chief MinisterSindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, atCM House here. He was accom-panied by US Consul GeneralKarachi, Michael Dodman, StaffAssistant Tom Niblock and Po-litical officer Ms. Keish Tom.

The Principal Secretary toCM, Muhammad SiddiqueMemon, was also present on theoccasion.

Chief Minister Sindhwarmly welcomed the US Am-bassador and informed himabout performance and achieve-ments of 4 1/2 years of provin-cial government. He highlightedprogrammes of welfare in thefields of health, education, socialsectors, economic betterment,women welfare and upliftment,youth development programmes

US Ambassador calls on Chief Minister

Treatment for fistulapatients at JPMC opens

and livestock development.Meanwhile, US Ambassa-

dor inaugurated a dedicatedtreatment facility worth US dol-lar 4.5 million, for thousands ofwomen reporting with “fistula,”at the Obstetrics and Gynecol-ogy Complex, Jinnah PostGraduate Medical Centre. On theoccasion, he said opening of theupdated and modernized facilityfor women suffering from a de-bilitating obstetric condition alsomarks global activism againstgender violence.

“The complex with 60 newbeds for fistula patients and alsofor those suffering from otherserious complications is ex-pected to be a great help forwomen from marginalized sec-tions,” said the ambassador. “Itis an honour for people of USAto participate in constructionand equipping a very muchneeded essential treatment facil-

ity in Pakistan,” he added.About the dedicated facility

at JPMC, he said it was equallyfocussed on care for a significantnumber of women exposed tocomplication with high incidencerate of morbidity and mortality.“What is all the more satisfyingis that it will also ameliorateworking capacities and capabili-ties of the concerned medicalstaff.

The US Ambassador, appre-ciated the doctors, nurses andparamedics associated withJPMC’s OBGY department forserving the most marginalizedsections of the society under quitedifficult conditions.

“This is appreciable thatthe dedicated unit has been es-tablished in a post graduatelevel tertiary care hospital witha registered number of morethan 1300 trainees from allparts of the country.

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—The Oxford Uni-versity Press Tuesday launchedtwo books dealing with socialchange and urban planning anddevelopment issues. Titled asFrom Micro-finance to theBuilding of Local Institutions:The Origins and Evolution oftheMicro-credit Programme ofthe OPP’s Orangi CharitableTrust, Karachi, Pakistan andMigration and Small Towns inPakistan, the two books havebeen authored by Arif Hasanand Mansoor Raza, respec-tively.

The book on micro-financedeals with the evolution of theOrangi Charitable Trust (OCT)program, its current vision, un-conventional methodology, theleadership of the OCT partners,and issues related to the

program’s management andsustainability. It also describesthe impact of the program onhuman resource developmentand women, and changes inpower relations between pro-ducers and market operators,and between different classes inthe areas where the program isoperative.

The book on migration andsmall towns describes the politi-cal, geographical, and ecologi-cal contexts within which migra-tions to and from Pakistan havetaken place. The scale of rural-urban migration and emigrationhas also been examined alongwith its history, causes, reper-cussions and processes and theactors at play such as emigrantorganizations, state and privateagencies and illegal operators.

An architect and planner,activist, teacher and social re-

searcher, Arif Hasan is has beena consultant and advisor tomany CBOs, NGOs, and donoragencies. Since 1981, he hasbeen involved with the OrangiPilot Project, first as its ChiefConsultant and later as theChairman of its Research &Training Institute. He is also theChairman of the Urban Re-source Centre, Karachi, sinceits inception. He is currently avisiting professor at the Depart-ment of Architecture and Plan-ning at the NED University,Karachi.

Mansoor Raza has been aDeputy Director at the UsmanInstitute of Technology and iscurrently Deputy Director, Ad-vocacy and Research, for theChurch World Service Paki-stan/Afghanistan. He hasworked at the Church WorldService since 2002, overseeing

disaster response activities andmitigation plans for Pakistan aswell as more strategic,fundraising and managerialwork. Prior to this, he workedat the NGO Resource Centre,Karachi. The launch ceremony,held at the NED University ofEngineering and Technology,was attended by students, fac-ulty members, architects, and ur-ban development professionals.

While speaking about thetwo books in her welcome ad-dress, Ameena Saiyid, Manag-ing Director, Oxford UniversityPress Pakistan, said that FromMicro-finance to the Building ofLocal Institutions is an impor-tant work, especially in the con-text of widespread poverty inPakistan and the need, and stepstaken, to eradicate it. She fur-ther highlighted that Migrationand Small Towns in Pakistan has

Oxford launches 2 books on urban uplift and social changea theme highly relevant toour years as an indepen-dent country. While givinghis views about the booksbeing launched, ProfessorNoman Ahmed, Chairman,Department of Architectureand Planning, NED Univer-sity, said that the impact ofthe indigenous develop-ment projects discussed inthe books are an eye-opener on the problemsand concerns of the manycommunities whose liveshave been changed bythem. He emphasized thatanyone interested in theproblems of poor urban ar-eas in many underdevel-oped countries would ben-efit from reading thesebooks. Naila Ghias, JointDirector, OPP-OCT gavean introduction to the OPP-

KARACHI: Oxford University Press launched a book “From Micro-finance to the Build-ing of Local Institutions”. Mansoor Raza, Ameena Saiyid and others are seen in the pic-ture.—PO photo by Imran Gillani

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh Ministerfor Information Sharjeel InamMemon has said that the Sindhgovernment had allocated Rs8.5 billion in its annual budget2012-13. The allocated amountwould be utilized for provisionof clean drinking water throughwater hubs, reverse osmosisplants, ultra filtration plantsand desalination plants in vari-ous parts of the province.

This he said as guest ofhonour while addressing in aseminar “water as corporate so-cial responsibilities” organized byHuman Rights Group of Pakistanhere at a hotel. He added in thefirst phase, a total 225 water fil-

225 filtration plants being establishedtration plants are being estab-lished in 9 districts of province.

He said that pure drinkingwater is the basic need of allhuman beings and the govern-ment has focused to providebasic facilities to the people.

Senior Minister for Educa-tion and Literacy Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq said that lessonsshould be included in curricu-lum regarding awareness us-ing pure drinking water andaccess to pure drinking wateris a basic human right.

He said that due to unsafewater there were many hazardsto the health and this mattershould be taken up seriously. Hesaid the people in remote areasof the province were very happy

because PPP-led governmenthad installed Reverse Osmosisto provide them pure drinkingwater at their door steps.

Chairman of HumanRights Group of Pakistan, Dr.Sher Ali Rizvi Coordinator toChief Minister Sindh on Hu-man Rights Nadia Gabol andmany foreign experts alsospoke on the occasion. Expertfrom Africa Ramzi Odabidstated that Africa was lookingat Pakistan as a role model forwater management.

The Government’s rolewas lauded by Sconke ofUNOCHP for taking suchsolid initiatives. Awards werealso presented at the end ofthe seminar.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The PPP govern-ment is committed to the protec-tion, renovation and conservation,accordingly of places of worshipof the minority communities, saidSindh Minister for Excise andTaxation, Mukesh Kumar Chawlaon Tuesday.

“This is besides protection ofall their rights guaranteed underthe constitution,” he told a delega-tion of minority communities dur-

PPP committed to protectminorities worship places

ing a meeting in his office. Theminister said government has al-located and spending a substan-tial amount for repair, renovationand development work of all theirsites of reverence. “This is part ofour constitutional obligation to-wards citizens of the country,without any discrimination anddistinction,” he said. MukeshKumar Chawla said minoritieshold every right to practice theirreligion without any interferenceand inhibition in the country. He

said President Asif Ali Zardari hasconstituted a 15 member commit-tee for its recommendation tosolve the problems that may befaced by members of the minor-ity communities. Chawla said roleplayed by hindu communityalongwith their muslim brethrenin the economic development ofSindh could not be ignored.

He said PPP is a politicalparty that holds strong democraticcredentials and is open to allpeople of the country.

Youth need correctinformation

about pubertySTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Omer Aftab,an ac-tivist and chief executive ofLifeLine Tuesday announced toraise awareness and advocacycampaign on reproductivehealth rights of Pakistani youth.Only 29% girls and 41% boyshave access to correct informa-tion about puberty and hygienein Pakistan.

“It would be focussed on ad-dressing the physical and emo-tional challenges of adolescentsand also to suggest ways tohandle them,” he said.

The activist said that ourreligion “Islam” itself dis-cusses adulthood throughQuran and Sunnah to teachright practices.

“We have consulted alarge number of religiousscholars from three sects inthis regard who have furthereducated us on the religiousaspect of these matters,” saidOmer Aftab.

These scholars were ofunanimous opinion that impor-tance of right guidance for ado-lescents could not be ignored asat the very first step lack ofproper guidance can lead thechildren to choose wrong com-pany and fall for bad habits.

BLOOD pressure is primarily produced when the heart muscle contracts - it is the pressure of blood

upon the walls of the blood vessels. Thereare two recordings, a high one (systolic)and a lower one (diastolic). The systolicpressure is measured whenthe heart contracts, whilethe diastolic one is gaugedjust before the heart con-tracts. The heart is themuscle that pumps bloodthroughout the body dur-ing every second of ourlives. Low-oxygen blood ispumped towards the lungs,where it becomes oxygen-rich again. Oxygen-richblood is pumped by theheart around to body tosupply tissue, muscle, or-gans and cells. This pump-ing generates blood pres-sure.

According toMedilexicon’s medical dic-tionary, Blood Pressure is:“The pressure or tension of the bloodwithin the systemic arteries, maintained bythe contraction of the left ventricle, theresistance of the arterioles and capillaries,the elasticity of the arterial walls, as wellas the viscosity and volume of the blood;expressed as relative to the ambient atmo-spheric pressure.”

Hypertension is when our blood pres-sure is too high, while hypotension is theopposite; it is when our blood pressure istoo low. Most of us have had our bloodpressure taken at some time in our lives.The procedure is straightforward and pro-vides the doctor or other health care pro-

What is normalblood pressure?

fessional with vital data regarding thecondition of the patient’s blood vesselsand heart.

As mentioned above, two bloodpressure readings are measured: TheSystolic Pressure - this is the maximum

pressure in an artery. It oc-curs when the heart con-tracts; when it is beating,and blood is beingpumped through. The Di-astolic Pressure - this isthe minimum pressure inan artery. It occurs justbefore the heart contracts;in between heartbeats. Itoccurs when the heart isresting. If either the sys-tolic or diastolic pressureis too high, the patient hashypertension (high bloodpressure). So, both read-ings are important. Thepatient needs to be relaxedand seated or lying downcomfortably when theirblood pressure is taken.

Their arm must be well supported. Whathappens when somebody’s blood pres-sure is taken?

Digital Blood Pressure Monitor - A122/65 mmHg blood pressure reading,using an electronic sphygmomanometerA cuff is wrapped around the upper armand is inflated. Velcro keeps it in place.With an electronic sphygmomanometer,the patient just relaxes and waits and thedevice does everything.

A Clinical mercury Manometer has acuff, a tube that leads to a rubber bulb,and another tube which leads to a reser-voir of mercury.

LAHORE: Hindu pilgrims arrive at Wagha Border on foot to celebrate the 304th birth-day of the first Saint Swami Shadaram Sahib, the founder of Shadani Darbar in Mir PurMetholo Sindh.

LAHORE: Motorists are stuck in a traffic jam on Ferozepur Road amid the construction work of Rapid BusTransit System.

LAHORE: An aged man carrying heavy load on his shoulders walking along Ravi Road.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab ChiefMinister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif has said thatinterest-free loans worththree billion rupees are beingprovided to as many as200,000 families underPunjab government’s Self-Employment Scheme to en-able them stand on their ownfeet.

He said that if the coun-try got rid of Zar Baba FortyThieves in the forthcominggeneral elections, interest-free loans will be given inevery corner of the countryand the scope of thisprogramme will be extendedto 4 million families. He saidthat he feels that under thepretext of attending MalalahConference in Paris, AsifZardari has gone to Franceto make a deal in the case ofreceiving kickbacks of mil-lions of dollars in the pur-chase of submarines in 1994.He said that it is an open se-cret that Zardari was paid acommission of millions ofdollars in the deal for subma-rines and now this case has

Zardari reminded to bring back looted money

again surfaced.He said that Sarkozi and

his cronies are facing a trialand the French press is clam-oring that Sarkozi and Zardarireceived kickbacks in thedeal. He said that it is goodthat Asif Zardari has gone toFrance to participate in thefunction to honour MalalahYousafzai who is a greatdaughter of the nation andthe country is proud of herbut it would be much betterif Asif Zardari brings back themoney looted by him in thepurchase of submarines. Hesaid that on the one handAsif Zardari expresses soli-darity with MalalahYousafzai but on the otherhand he is depriving millionsof other daughters of thecountry of education, healthand other facilities throughloot and corruption. He saidif Zardari did not bring thelooted money back, millionsof Malalahs of the countrywill rise in protest as it is thehard-earned money of thepoor masses.

He was addressing at aceremony arranged in con-nection with distribution of

certificates to mark the in-crease in the number of boyand girl students gettingtechnical education underauspices of Punjab Voca-tional Training Council be-yond the figure of two lakhand awarding of cheques ofinterest-free loans under Self-Employment Scheme ofPunjab government atAlhmara Hall today.

Provincial Minister Zakatand Ushr Malik NadeemKamran, Assembly MembersHafiz Mian Nauman, MaizaHameed, Chairman PunjabVocational Training CouncilDr. Faisal Ijaz Khan, ViceChairman Punjab Educa-tional Endowment Fund Dr.Amjad Saqib, senior colum-nist Ata-ul-Haq Qasmi,labour leader KhurshidAhmad Khan and a largenumber of boy and girl stu-dents of various vocationalinstitutions were present onthe occasion.

The Chief Minister an-nounced to include the stu-dents of vocational traininginstitutes, TEVTA and reg-istered institutions of voca-tional education in the

laptop scheme and provisionof free sewing machines tothe skilled girl students. Ad-dressing the function, theChief Minister said that it isunfortunate that accordingto the report of the Trans-parency International, Paki-stan is making ‘unprec-edented progress’ in the fieldof corruption and during lastfour and a half years’ tenureof Zar Baba Forty Thievesthe country has gone up tothe 33rd position from 42ndplace in the list of corruptcountries. He said that hewould ask the elements re-sponsible for the corruptionof Rs.7 billion daily how longthe poor masses, widowsand orphans will continueto be exploited.

He said that nationshould be told why after theloot and plunder of billionsand trillions of rupees it isbeing deceived with theclaims of sacrifices for de-mocracy. He said that publicmoney is being plunderedmercilessly and it is a graveinjustice that while the rulersare enjoying luxuries thepoor are facing hunger.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Government ofPunjab has provided 1500family size bio gas plants torural population with thesubsidy of 75 million rupees.use of bio technology to pro-duce Bio Fuels is very impor-tant to cop the current energycrisis of the country. Thiswas told by Minister for Ag-riculture Malik Ahmad Aliwhile addressing a “NationalSeminar on Opportunitiesand Challenges of Bio Fuelsin Pakistan” at Lahore Cham-ber of Commerce & Indus-tries. Senior vice President ofLahore Chamber of Com-merce Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, ViceChancellor University of Vet-erinary & Animal SciencesProf. Dr. Talat Naseer Pasha,Prof. Whaeed Akhtar ofPunjab University, Dr.

Govt expediting research work

1500 families get bio-gasplants in rural zones

Farkhanda of Lahore Collegefor Women University, largenumber of University stu-dents and representatives ofindustrial and other sectorswere also present in the semi-nar.

Addressing the seminarspeakers gave presentationsregarding importance, prepa-ration and current scenario ofBio Fuels production usingBio Technology. CurrentlyPakistan’s energy require-ments are being met by us-ing 32.8 percent oil, 45.6 per-cent gas, 13 percent hydropower, 1 percent nuclear en-ergy and 6 percent throughcoal. Alternatives resourcesof energy like Bio Fuels, So-lar Energy, Wind energy andBio Gas have become veryimportant for economicgrowth of any country, be-cause these resources are

renewable and cost effectivethan traditional fossil fuels.

Develop countries likeUSA and Brazil are usingEthanol and Gasoline as Fuelfor vehicles. In Pakistan dailyproduction of Ethanol isabout 2,415 kilo liters whichis currently being exportedbecause of non availability ofmodern Bio Technology ser-vices in the country.

Maize, Jatropha and JO-JOBA are used for Ethanolproduction. Maize produc-tion in Pakistan is around 4million tons per year fromwhich Bio Diesel can be pro-duced to lower import ex-penses on fossil fuels.

Minister for AgriculturePunjab said that Punjab Gov-ernment is well aware of theenergy crisis and taking nec-essary steps to explore alter-native resources of energy.

Farrukh CountryDirector of

Acumen FundSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Acumen Fund, apioneering nonprofit globalventure firm addressingpoverty across Africa andin South Asia, Tuesday an-nounced the appointmentof Farrukh H. Khan as Coun-try Director in Pakistan.

He has been serving asa consultant and senior ad-visor to the team for sev-eral months and will be join-ing as Director to lead op-erations in Pakistan. As thePakistan Country Director,Farrukh will also serve asthe CEO and member of theBoard of Directors of thenon-profit local entity Acu-men Fund Pakistan.

“We are thrilled to haveFarrukh join in this capacity,”said Jacqueline Novogratz,CEO of Acumen Fund.

“As a long-time invest-ment professional and a re-spected member of the Paki-stan business community, hehas already made an indel-ible impact on our organiza-tion working closely with thePakistan team in recentmonths.”

With over 25 years ofsenior management andboard level experience,Farrukh is founding partnerand former CEO of BMACapital Management Lim-ited and was instrumental inbuilding all the businessareas of BMA.

Chakwalex-PML-N nazims

join PML-QSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—During meetingwith Pakistan Muslim League(Q) senior central leader andDeputy Prime MinisterChaudhary Pervez Elahi atthe State Guest House hereon Tuesday, several office-bearers, important personali-ties, former nazims and coun-cilors of PML-N Chakwal an-nounced to join PML-Qalong with their hundreds ofcolleagues.

Advisor to the PrimeMinister for IndustriesMuhammad Basharat Rajaand former MPA ParveenSikander Gill were alsopresent. Delegation includedDr Masood Hussain, MalikNaeem Awan, Hafiz MalikShafaqat Awan, MalikJahangir Khan, Malik HafeezAwan, Malik Nadeem Riaz,Hafiz Kamran Sajid and otherleaders.

On this occasion, PervezElahi said that during theirtenure they had put wheel ofprogress and development inmotion in every district of thePunjab besides providingelectricity, gas, potable wa-ter and constructed schools,colleges, hospitals androads where these basic fa-cilities were not provided forthe last fifty-four after cre-ation of Pakistan.

He said that they hadstarted projects andprogrammes for the develop-ment of Punjab and welfareof the people but the so-called “Khadam-e-A’ala” in-stead carrying forward allthese projects ruthless usedofficial resources for endingthem.

LHC grants bailto three suspectsLAHORE—Approving bailrequests of all three sus-pects, the Lahore High Court(LHC) on Tuesday orderedthe release of former Direc-tor General of Health, AsadHafeez, Chief Executive Of-ficer Danas PharmaceuticalAnsar Farooq, and the ownerof Berlex Labs, IftikharAhmed Khan in connectionwith the Ephedrine quotacase.

A divisional bench of theLHC, comprising JusticeChaudhry MohammadYounis and Justice Ali BaqirNajafi, ordered the release ofthe three suspects on sub-mission of Rs10,000 baileach.

Authorities were investi-gating the three suspects fortheir alleged involvement inthe misuse of controlled sub-stance ephedrine.—INP

LAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt Tuesday adjournedhearing of a petition againstdistribution of immoral book-let in girls schools ofGujranwala division.

The single bench com-prising Justice Nasir SaeedSheikh was hearing the peti-tion filed by MuhammadTanzeem Arif through hiscounsel Muhammad NazirUmar.

Earlier, respondent’scounsel submitted that hehad read the booklet and it

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—With a dry spellof cold weather prolonging,there has been 10 to 15 per-cent increase in the numberof cases of upper respiratorytract infections (URTI) invarious hospitals in the cityas compared to the last year.

About 20 to 30 percentpatients out of the total pa-tients visiting the public hos-pitals are infected with URTI.There has been an increaseup to 40 percent in ear, noseand throat (ENT).

Sir Ganga Ram Hospitaldeputy medical superinten-

Dry spell, cold weather leadto respiratory infections

dent (DMS) Dr MasoodAkhtar Sheikh said the caseswere reported when it did notrain for long and the dustaggravated the problem dueto Rapid Bus Transit Project.He said URTI was a viral dis-ease. He said there was nomedicine available for itstreatment. He said, “Patients,especially children, remaininfected with the disease formore than two weeks.” Hesaid there was 10 to 15 per-cent increase in the diseaseas compared to the last year.He said prolonged dryweather and constructionwork on the roads were some

of the reasons. He said thepeople living at Mozang,ichhra, Chowk YateemKhana, Chauburji andShadman were more prone tothe disease.

Services Hospital DMSDr Aftab said the asthmacases had been increased inthe city. People with a familyhistory of asthma should bemore careful. He said, “Coldair can create asthma and ir-ritation in respiratory artery.”

Lahore General HospitalAssistant Prof of MedicineDr Israrul Haq Tor said regu-lar steaming should be given,particularly to children underthe supervision of elders. Hesaid the people should avoidexposure to sudden changein temperature and keep thebody adequately warm.“Avoid oily food and consulta doctor in case of fever in-stead of self-medication,” hesaid, “Those driving motor-cycles during early hours orlate evenings should wearhelmets and cover their facesproperly.”

The Health Departmentspokesperson said theHealth Department hasstarted a campaign againstthe communicable diseases.He said doctors should edu-cate the people about how toavoid an infectious disease.He said the Punjab govern-ment was focusing on healththrough strengthening pri-mary healthcare and diseasepreventive programmes.

0.2m Punjab families get Rs3b underSelf-Employment Scheme: Shahbaz

Hearing against immoral booklet adjournsdid not contain any objec-tionable material.

He further pointed outthat the booklets were distrib-uted in January 2011 but itwere recollected immediatelyafter some parents raisedobjection.

The court adjourning thematter directed petitioner’scounsel to point out objec-tionable contents, on nextdate of hearing. The courtdirected to fix the matter af-ter winter vacations.

The petitioner, in his pe-

tition, submitted that immoralwritten material was beingdistributed in girls schools ofGujranwala division by anNGO.

The petitioner pointedout that he made a represen-tation to chief ministerPunjab and other educationdepartment officers againstthe action but to no use.

He pleaded the court totake notice of the situationand directions be issued torespondents to decide hisrepresentation.—APP