MIssIng bAlochs cAse

Wednesday, 11 July, 2012 Shaban 20, 1433islamabad — peshawar editionRs 15.00 Vol iii no 16 19 pages

PAGE | 03 PAGE | 19

Pakistan hasn’t approved drone strikes after US apology

Nawaz Sharif andImran Khan are withUS, says Munter

PAGE |19

Rehman Malik quits Senate over dual nationality

ISLAMABADAgencies

THE dual nationality billfaced stiff oppositionfrom all quarters whenit was presented in theSenate on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, coalition partners andsome members of the ruling Pak-istan People’s Party expressedtheir reservations over the bill pre-sented in the Senate by Law Min-ister Farooq Naik.

The PML-N and Awami Na-tional Party, which is an ally of thegovernment, staged a walkoutfrom the House to mark its protestagainst the bill. Earlier during thesession, ANP Senator Haji Adeelsaid Pakistan’s agreements with16 countries regarding dual na-tionality should be presented.Adeel questioned if someone whohad Pakistani nationality couldbecome the US president or a par-liamentarian in another country.

Senior PPP leaders Aitzaz Ahsanand Raza Rabbani also expressedtheir reservations over the bill.

Ahsan said when someone tookoath as an American citizen theyhad to renounce other nationalities.“It is written in the US citizenship

oath that a person can also take uparms in defence of the country.”Senator Rabbani asked for a re-view of the dual nationality agree-ment with the US. Reservationswere also expressed by MQM Sen-ator Tahir Mashadi, who said hewould inform the standing com-mittee about his reservations.

ANP’s Haji Adeel said hewould not accept the chairman’sruling of referring the bill to theStanding Committee on Law andJustice without permission of theHouse. This led to an exchange ofharsh words between the two.

The opposition and the ANPsaid the government wanted tobulldoze the bill for the sake ofsome corrupt people.

Raja Zafarul Haq and otheropposition members said the PPPwas giving bogus argumentsagainst the constitution framed byits leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

He questioned if a foreign gov-ernment appointed a dual nation-ality holder to higher positions. Hereferred to Moeen Qureshi andShaukat Aziz, holders of dual na-tionalities, who were made primeministers and then left the countrywith their “briefcases”.

Dual nationalitybill stirs up astorm in Senateg PML-N, ANP stage walkout from Housein protest g PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan and RazaRabbani also voice concerns over bill

QUETTAAgencies

Chief Justice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry on Tuesday directed theauthorities concerned to recover allmissing persons within a week andif some were in Farrari Camps, theyshould be presented as well.

He passed the directives whilehearing the Balochistan unrestcase in the Supreme Court’sQuetta Registry. The chief justicesaid all missing persons should berecovered within one week. Tothis, FC Commander Shahbazsaid the missing persons were

present in Farrari Camp.“Do not portray Farrari Camp

as a paranormal spot and if miss-ing persons are there, they shouldbe presented in the given time,”the chief justice said, adding thatdespite clear orders, the missingpersons were not being produced.

“We came here to solve peo-ple’s problems not to hold a pic-nic party,” he said. The chiefjustice ordered the officials topresent missing person MehranBaloch and summoned FC DIGFarrogh Shehzad to appear incourt today (Wednesday).

Gohar Ali- son of missing Ali

Hassan Mengal from Khuzdar -said in his statement that the FCofficers called him at the campand asked to review the case. Thechief justice then issued orders toproduce Ali Hassan Mengal aswell.The counsel for FrontierCorps said in his argument thatthere was no missing person incustody of the FC and such allega-tions were aimed at maligning thereputation of the force. The chiefjustice said there were evidencespresent against the FC and the FCIG had already been asked to savethe reputation of his department.

“Authority of the state is

being challenged, but why is thestate not fulfilling its responsibil-ity,” the chief justice asked thehome secretary while referring tothe attacks on pilgrims busesacross the province. The CJ saidthe government must secure thelife and property of the people ofBalochistan. He said the govern-ment should not only developBalochistan but should deal withhandful of terrorists with an ironhand. He asked why law-enforce-ment agencies were helpless be-fore a few terrorists.

g Raja says govt committedto holding free, fair and transparent elections

ISLAMABADAPP

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf onTuesday said an independent media, judi-ciary and parliament were fruits of thedemocratic system in the country.

“It’s a matter of great pride that Pak-istan has an independent judiciary, an inde-

pendent media, and democratically-electedparliament and basic rights of the middleclass people are the dividends of democ-racy,” the prime minister said while ad-dressing the APP regularisation certificatedistribution ceremony that distributed let-ters among the contract and daily wage em-ployees of the Associated Press of Pakistan(APP) at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.The prime minister said the coalition gov-ernment led by Pakistan People’s Party hadstrong roots in the masses and it was takingeffective steps for the progress, prosperityand welfare of the people.

He said when there was no democ-racy, there was no independent judiciary

or media. The prime minister said the dic-tators damaged the freedom and inde-pendence of judiciary and democracy.Citing the policy of reconciliation of thepresent government, the prime ministersaid the selection of Fakhuruddin GEbrahim as consensus candidate for thepsoition of chief election commissioner in-dicated that consensus could be developedwith sincerity and dedication.

The prime minister said the govern-ment was committed to holding free, fairand transparent election in the country andthe consensus on the new CEC was a stepin the right direction. He said the govern-ment was not against the Supreme Court

and had full respect and honour for it. Theprime minister urged the opposition tocome forward and discuss things with thegovernment to reach consensus on variousissues so that the country could progress.

“The dictators, who are now givingadvices to rule the country, even couldnot take decision on National FinanceCommission in 10 years and it was thecredit of the present democratic govern-ment to finalise the NFC that gave moreshare to the provinces,” he said. Theprime minister said a few former primeministers after their tenures confinedthemselves just to their families insteadof returning to the masses.

Agencies get another deadline

g SC tells officials to produce all missing persons, including those present in ‘Farraricamps’, within 7 days g CJP says authority of state being challenged in Balochistan

Independent judiciary fruit of democracy: PM

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02Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

News

Today’s

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foreIgn neWS

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israel ex-PM guilty of graft, cleared on key charges india a long way from superpower status

seHwAn: A devotee performs dhamaal

during the 760th Urs celebration of Hazrat

Lal shahbaz Qalandar on tuesday. INP

ISLAMABADAgencies

P ML-Q President Shujaat Hus-sain has said dual nationalsshould be conditionally allowedto take part in the elections but

no dual national should be allowed tohold any public office.

Talking to reportersat the PML-Q House fol-lowing a reception held tohonour the party’s fi-nance secretary and spe-cial assistant to the primeminister, Imtiaz AhmedRanjha, Shujaat said,“Dual nationals should beallowed to take part inelections but they wouldhave to cancel their dualnationality before takingoath for any governmentoffice.” He said since thematter was pending with a Senate’sstanding committee, his party wouldconvey its stance to the committee.

About general elections, Shujaatsaid the next polls would be held in

2013 and the PML-Q would take partin the elections as an alliance with itscoalition partners. “We would go forseat-adjustment with the PPP in thenext elections,” he asserted.

Lauding the government’s decisionto appoint a consensus chief electioncommissioner (CEC), Shujaat said the

name of Justice (r)Fakharuddin G Ebrahimwas submitted by thePML-N which was ac-cepted by the coalitiongovernment. He said itwas wrong for the PML-Nleaders to claim credit fornaming the CEC as thenew CEC was a consensusnominee. The PML-Qpresident said reopeningthe NATO supply routeswas a consensus decisionby the coalition govern-ment as it was about

decades-old relations with over 50 statesas part of NATO. Lauding the services ofRanjha, Shujaat said the PML-Q work-ers were the backbone of the party andthe party leadership would leave no

stone unturned to accommodate them. “The appointment of Ranjha as ad-

viser to the PM reflects the party’s com-mitment to accommodating partyworkers. The PML ministers should keeptheir doors open for the workers. Thepeople should not loose hope. We will dowhatever is needed to get the country outof crisis situation,” he added.

Shujaat said he had directed Ran-jha to sit in the PML House and workdiligently to resolve the problems beingfaced by the party workers.

PML-Q Secretary GeneralMushahid Hussain Sayed said the UShad lost its war and its forces had noreason for conducting drone attacks in-side Pakistan. He urged the govern-ment to take a strong stance againstdrone strikes. “The PML-Q is not afamily enterprise, rather it is a party ofthe workers,” he said, adding that theappointment of Ranjha reflected thecommitment of the party leadership forthe welfare of the party workers.

Meanwhile, Shujaat appointed SyedQasim Shah PML-Q KhyberPakhtunkhwa president. Mushahid is-sued the notification in this regard.

QUETTA stAff rePort

At least five people were killed and two otherswere kidnapped in separate incidents across theprovince on Tuesday. In Marriabad area ofQuetta, a man belonging to the Hazara commu-nity committed suicide. Police said the mannamed Asadullah shot himself dead with his pis-tol. His body was handed over to the heirs aftercompleting legal formalities.

In Kalat, unidentified attackers killed a manidentified as Fareeq Muhammad, who was goinghome after work. Also in Kalat, the Levies Forcerecovered a bullet-riddled body from Gidar nearSurab area. Officials said the Levies personnelacted on a tip off, and reached the site where thebody was dumped in an open area after killing.Later, the body was shifted to the district head-quarters hospital’s morgue for identification. Inanother incident, a school teacher, AbdulRasheed, was gunned down in Mastung. Policesaid the death could be a result of old enmity. Inthe Mand area, a heroin addict was found dead.His identity could not be ascertained until the fil-

ing of this report.In another incident, a mob, which was de-

manding the release of a man detained by police,attacked a police station. The resulting violence leftone person dead and several others wounded.Elsewhere, Gwadar Police handed over a deadbody to its relatives. The person was said to havecommitted suicide near the Customs’ House. Po-lice has lodged a case in this regard.

Meanwhile, during the hearing of the case onmissing persons and Balochistan unrest, theBalochistan government told the Supreme Court(SC) that at least 101 people had been targetedand killed in the month of June. Heading a three-member bench of the SC at Quetta Registry, ChiefJustice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry wondered how crimes against the com-mon man could be deterred if the murderer of thechief minister’s nephew had not been traced.Balochistan Advocate General Amanullah Kan-rani submitted before the court that the peoplewho became victims of targeted killings duringJune include 15 policemen and 86 citizens. Jus-tice Khilji Arif Hussain remarked that all killersvanish after committing crime in Balochistan.

Inside job

GUJRANWALA: A woman fed up of domestic disputesand the attitude of her in-laws, looted her own houseafter feeding the family members with sleeping pills andfled with her two-year old child. According to the police,the accused Ayesha w/o Naveed, residing at NowsheraRoad in Baghpura area of Gujranwala, was in disputeswith her in-laws over their rough attitude and otherdomestic issues. On late Monday night, she servedNaveed, his parents and brother, poisonous milk makingthem all faint and become unsconsious. Ayesha lootedmillions of rupees, jewellery and took her two-year-oldson and escaped. A few relatives on getting theinformation reached the scene and informed the policewhich then shifted the unconscious family to a hospitalfor treatment. Th police has registered a case against theaccused and started a search for her. inP

Shujaat favours dualnationality bill but conditions apply

PML-Q presidentsays unanimousappointment ofCEC good omenNames Qasim ShahPML-Q KhyberPakhtunkhwapresident

At least half dozen perish inviolence across Balochistan

Woman robs herown house

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03Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

NewsedItorIalfight for superiority:

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articles on Page 14-15

Who will be Pakistan’s next top state organ?

By Dr Hasan Askari rizviPolitics on the supply route

By Kuldip nayar;The reluctant PM: Dr Singh needs to take the wheel.

By Ali Aftab saeed:Dr Jekyll is back! With a vengence

artS & entertaInment

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Pawnay 14 August a mix of entertainment and clichés eurozone offers spains 30b euros for banks Perera puts sri Lanka on top

WASHINGTONsPeciAL corresPonDent

P AKISTAN has not givenany go-ahead to theUnited States forlaunching drone attacks

on its territory following the US’expression of apology over lastyear’s Salala incident,Ambassador Sherry Rehmansaid in an interview with CNN. She said that the unilateral airstrikes into Pakistani territoryviolate humanitarian andinternational law. “It’s seen asagainst the law. And itcontinues to challenge arelationship that can actuallyaccomplish a lot more on theground than we are doing todayin eliminating terrorism.”Commenting on the complexitiesof the drone programme, theenvoy said it tests the bilateralrelationship at every juncture.“We honestly feel that there are‘better’ ways now of eliminatingal Qaeda, which has been donewith our help. We have beendoing that consistently, riddinghigh and medium value targetsconsistently. We’re the heavylifters in this relationship,”Sherry told CNN.The ambassador observed thatthe drones might appear as aprecise tool to target militants,but the damage they do interms of radicalisingpeople and challengingthe bilateral relationshipis much greater that thebenefits. The dronestrikes are not onlyradicalising a largepopulation, but arealso seen aspredatory, she said. The CNN said the top

Pakistani diplomat inWashington played aninstrumental role in resolvingthe dispute over November 26,2011 US strikes on Salala posts,which had caused a sharpdecline in bilateral relations andclosure of the key Pakistanioverland NATO supply routesinto landlocked Afghanistan. Inthe interview, Sherry reiteratedPakistan’s serious concerns overdrone strikes on its territory. Shesaid Pakistan considered thedrone programmecounterproductive and said “theconcerns over drones can’t justbe brushed aside.” On the lastweek’s expression of remorse bythe United States over the killingof 24 Pakistani soldiers in theAmerican cross-border attackson the Salala posts – the envoysaid it has certainly opened theway for constructive discussionson bilateral relations. But “no,

we have notagreed

on

anything,” she said, and addedthat many conversations wereyet to happen. “As I said, theapology has opened the space foran opportunity where we canhave constructive conversationson several strategic issues,”Sherry told CNN’s ChristianaAmanpour. The diplomat arguedthat her country’s unrivalledsacrifices and counterterrorismsuccesses must be recognised.“We need to understand thatPakistan is looking for someamount of strategic sympathy inthe losses we have incurred overthe last 10 years. We didn’t havemore than one suicide bombingbefore 2001.” “So it’s not that weare saying that all our troublesor volatility, even within parts ofPakistan, have come as a resultof joining force with the UnitedStates and NATO. But much ofit has. I think there needs to beless tough talk in public.”Sherry also underscored theimportance of bridging the trustgap between the two countries.“There’s a trust deficit, that youknow about, between the twocountries, and we must work tobuild that, because both peopleare quite able to worktogether.” Responding to aquestion about Americanperceptions on sentencing of

Shakil Afridi - the Pakistanidoctor employed by the

CIA in hunt for Osamabin Laden before the al

Qaeda chief’s death inan American cross-border operationlast year - theambassador notedthe doctor had noknowledge about thegoal that he wasworking for.

ISLAMABAD Agencies

The nominated ChiefElection Commissioner(CEC) and senior juristJustice (retd.) Fakhruddin GIbrahim Tuesday said thathis first priority as CECwould be to hold transparentelections, while the mediaand civil society would haveto play their role for thispurpose.

Talking to the media onTuesday outside the SupremeCourt here, Fakhruddin GIbrahim said that he waswilling to become CEC.However, he had not yet beeninformed about it officially.Justice Ibrahim said, “Myappointment hasn’t beenmade for now but the day Iwill become the electioncommissioner, the doors ofthe court will be closed forme.” The nominated CEC

said that the post would be achallenge for him and thatthe media should help inadministrating free and fairelections. The in-line CEClaid out his course of actionin this regard, saying, “Aftertaking over as CEC, I will takestock of as to why theelectoral rolls were notprepared thus far.” Hefurther added that the time ofelection will be decided bythe prime minister.

Fakhruddin stressed hewould attempt to createconsensus regarding electionsand meeting all the politicalparties will comprise part ofhis responsibilities in thisconnection. He stressed thatif the country was to besaved, then fresh and fairelections were mandatory. Headded that there was nodifference between Pakistanand India except the periodicholding of transparent

elections and that India wasin a better situation due to afair and free electionsprocess. He also said that hewas against lawmakers beingallowed to have dual-nationalities and also saidthat a four-year tenure for theassemblies might be a goodidea. He said that though thepeople of the country werefacing multiple challenges, hewas sure that change was justaround the corner.

RPPs were a scam forFaisal but retaining12 govt cars is not!Faisal Saleh Hayat, the man who

requested the Supreme Court to probe

corruption in the Rental Power Projects

implicating then water and power

minister and now prime minister, Raja

Pervaiz Ashraf, continues to use 12 of

the 18 government vehicles which were

in his personal use when he was the

minister for the Federal Housing and

Works Ministry. According to a private

TV channel’s sources, Faisal Saleh has

returned six cars which were being

used by his staff, but is still using the

rest which include Toyota Land Cruisers

double cabins and

Honda Civics.

Monitoring

DesK

Contempt of courtbill against Quranand hadith: ImranISLAMABAD: Opposing the new

contempt of court law passed by the

National Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-

Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday

said the nation had been divided through

the legislation, adding that the law was

in violation of the Holy Quran and

Hadith. Addressing a press conference

flanked by Shah Mehmood Qureshi and

Hamid Khan on Tuesday, the PTI chief

said the new bill aimed at protecting new

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. He

said the government wanted to provide

cover to its members so that they could

plunder the national wealth and use it in

the next general election. The

government wanted its ministers to keep

looting the country and the make the

court unable to apprehend them, he

added. He said the government would

make noise on the pretext of democracy

being in jeopardy if the court took action

against their corruption. Khan said he

wanted to tell the courts that they must

strike down the “discriminative” law of

contempt

of court. onLine

aitzaz concerned over contempt billISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader SenatorAitzaz Ahsan has expressed reservations over the contempt ofcourt bill. Talking to reporters on Tuesday outside the

Parliament House, he said he had conveyed hisreservations to the party. The PPP leader said he

was not consulted when the legislation wasbeing made nor did the contempt bill containhis opinions. Aitzaz said he was leaving forNew Delhi on July 12 and would not appear as

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s lawyer inthe NRO implementation case. The NationalAssembly on Monday night passed the

Contempt of Court Bill, 2012, under Article248 (1), exempting all government office-holders, including the prime minister andall other ministers from courtproceedings under contempt charges. inP

Pakistan hasn’t approveddrone strikes after USapology, says Sherry

BRINg oN thE ChallENgE

Ready for CEC slot, says FakhruddinSays free and fair elections a must; opposes dual nationality for lawmakers

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04Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

News

NEW DELHIAfP

India has paid $1.1 million tobuy a collection of letters,papers and photographsrelating to Mahatma Gandhi,preventing their sale at aplanned auction in London.The archive, which belongedto Gandhi’s close friendHermann Kallenbach, aGerman Jewish bodybuilderand architect, was to havegone under the hammer atSotheby’s on Tuesday.Sanjiv Mittal, a jointsecretary at India’s Ministryof Culture, said thegovernment had paid£700,000 for the entirecollection, which will bebrought to India and housedin the National Archive.“It was felt that the lettersare of importance to studythe thoughts of Gandhi onvarious matters,” Mittaltold AFP.“Since we already have someletters exchanged betweenKallenbach and Gandhi, we

thought this would help usfill up the gaps in ourcollection.”Sotheby’s had put a pre-saleestimate of between£500,000 and £700,000 onthe collection.Indian historianRamachandra Guhadiscovered the letters at thehome of Kallenbach’s grand-niece, Isa Sarid.Indian media reported thatthe government purchasefollowed weeks of intense

negotiations withKallenbach’s survivingrelatives. India has in thepast complained bitterlyabout private auctions ofGandhi’s belongings, sayingthey insulted the memory ofa man who rejected materialwealth. Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhiwelcomed the government’smove to bring the collectionto India. “It’s a significantcollection because itprovides us with a very closelook into a very longrelationship between ‘Bapu’(father) and Kallenbach,” hetold AFP.“These letters belong in thepublic domain, not in privatehands, and I hope thegovernment will make theircontents accessible toeveryone,” he said.Most of the correspondence,which spans four decadesfrom 1905 to 1945, is fromfamily, friends and followersof Gandhi, but there are also13 letters written by him toKallenbach.

ISLAMABADonLine

The management of the Pak-istan International Airlines(PIA) on Tuesday terminatedPIA Deputy Managing Direc-tor Saleem Siyani, who wasallegedly drawing a tax-freesalary of $50,000 per month.

According to media re-ports, the salary package ofSiyani was being paid inDubai, while his income taxwas being paid by the PIA.His contract had been signedwhen Captain Ijaz Haroonwas managing director of thePIA in 2009.

The deputy managing di-rector had been provided withresidences in Karachi as wellas in Dubai. The notificationof his termination had beenalso issued. Earlier, the Na-tional Assembly’s SandingCommittee on Defence had

directed the PIA managementto terminate the contract ofits deputy managing director.The PIA management also re-moved Marketing ConsultantHaider Jalal.

Sc summonsag in IPPs’dues recoverycase todayISLAMABAD:The SupremeCourt has summoned the at-torney general in the IPPsdues recovery case today(Wednesday). A four-memberSC bench, headed by JusticeTassaduq Jillani, was hearingthe petition filed by eight ther-mal power houses (IPPs).During the hearing, the IPPs’lawyer Fakharuddin GEbrahim told the court thatpower load shedding could bereduced by four hours if theIPPs’ dues were paid on time.Ebrahim told the court thatthe government had still notpaid Rs 56 billion to the IPPsthat had been agreed in theagreement, adding that powerload shedding was one of themajor problems in the countryand if it further increased byfour hours, the common manwould be badly affected. INP

LAHOREinP

Founder of Pakistan’s nuclearprogramme Dr Abdul QadeerKhan has expressed his con-sent to “consider” the invita-tion to become caretakerprime minister.

Talking to reporters afterholding a meeting with Pak-istan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)Chairman Imran Khan onTuesday, Dr Qadeer said thathe had advised Imran to be-come soft with like-mindedpolitical parties and make al-liance with them. “There is noroom for rigidity in politicsand Imran Khan must adopta soft policy towards otherlike-minded political parties,”he added.

He said that real politicalchange could not be broughtabout in the country throughsolo flight in politics. Qadeersaid that an alliance betweenthe Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) and the Pakistan Mus-lim League-Quaid (PML-Q)was possible despite the factthat former prime ministerBenazir Bhutto had nomi-nated Pervez Elahi as her pos-sible murderer prior to herassassination. He said that

Asif Ali Zardari had embracedhis wife’s suspected murdererin the name of reconciliation.To a question, he said that ifformer prime minister YousafRaza Gilani failed to hold theground before the SC verdictthen how come the incum-bent Prime Minister Raja Per-vez Ashraf could sustain hisposition before the apexcourt. To another question,he said there was no logic be-hind passing the Contempt ofCourt case in the National As-sembly, as it is in conflict withthe constitution, adding itwas unfair to bulldoze na-tional interest with two-thirdsmajority in the parliament.

PML-N’s Zafar Ali Shah saidreferring the bill to the stand-ing committee without a de-bate would be contrary to theconstitution.

Other opposition memberssaid if ZA Bhutto had beenalive, he would not have al-lowed this amendment. SenateChairman Nayyar Bukhari saidin response to the PML-N’s op-position that they could puttheir viewpoints on the table inthe standing committee. Fa-rooq Naik also reinforced thatthe members could submitamendments in the bill in thestanding committee debatesand their suggestions would bewillingly acknowledged.

“A direct result of this isthat in those countries personsholding dual nationalities/citi-zenship can exercise the rightof vote and can also run forparliamentary elections” Naiksaid, adding that, “Our coun-try’s economy has always beenconsiderably supported byoverseas Pakistanis, whose al-legiance to Pakistan should not

be in doubt.” He said it hadbeen a long-standing demandof the overseas Pakistanis thatthere should be no impedimentin their way to run for electionsfor parliament and they weredeeply concerned with eventsin Pakistan and were keen toplay an effective role andwanted to contribute to na-tional cause. Later in the session, SenateChairman Nayyer Bokharireferred the dual nationalitybill to the parliamentarycommittee on law and justice.Also on Tuesday, a billregarding review of SupremeCourt decisions waspresented in the NationalAssembly by MQM MNAAbdul Qadeer. The ANPoutright announced not tosupport the bill. SenatorAitzaz Ahsan and RazaRabbai also expressed theirreservation over the bill.While presenting the draft,Qadeer said that if parliamentfound flaws or lacuna in theSupreme Court’s decision, itshould have the right todiscuss and review it.

I look 30-40years into future: Zardari

MONITORING DESk

President Asif Ali Zardarion Tuesday said he had tolook 30-40 years into thefuture and it was in thiscontext that he had joinedhands with the PakistanMuslim League-Q andMuttahida QaumiMovement. During hismeeting with journalists atBilawal House, thepresident said the presentpopulation of the countrystood at 210 million and itmust be taken into accounthow it would have grownin the next 30 years. “ThePakistan People’s Party istaking appropriate steps inthis regard,” he added. Infuture, he said, oneemployment would not besufficient for a family, asall members, includingwomen and children, willhave to contribute theirshare in earnings to runthe house.

Agencies get another deadline

The Balochistan chiefsecretary confessed that lawand order in the provincewas unsatisfactory and theywere faced with a war-likesituation. The chiefsecretary said they had todeal with sectarian violenceand battle bannedorganisations.MISSING peRSoNRetURNS: Late onTuesday night, a missingperson appeared in Quettaafter an absence of about oneyear. Police said AbdulWahab had gone missing onAugust 3, 2011 fromHazarganji area of theprovincial capital. He wasresident of Old CustomHouse, Quetta. Police andthe family of the missingperson declined to providefurther details.

Continued fRom page 01

Continued fRom page 01

BUCHARESTAfP

Romanian President TraianBasescu handed over power onTuesday to his rival, parliamentspeaker Crin Antonescu, afterthe constitutional court ap-proved his controversial sus-pension by lawmakers.

The move comes ahead ofa referendum on July 29 onlast week’s parliamentaryvote to impeach the centre-right Basescu in a politicaland constitutional crisis thathas raised fears about thestate of democracy in the EUstate.

Antonescu, a member ofthe centre-left ruling coalitionheaded by Prime MinisterVictor Ponta, is now interimhead of state following thetransfer which was held be-

hind closed doors, the presi-dency said. The constitu-tional court is due to rule onamendments backed byPonta’s coalition on the con-ditions of the referendum,which analysts say are ex-pected to make it easier toimpeach Basescu.

“The court notes that the

procedure for the suspensionfrom his duties of RomanianPresident Traian Basescu hasbeen respected ... and that thefunction of interim presidentwill be assured by Crin An-tonescu,” the court had ruled onMonday. Ponta has been feud-ing with Basescu since his Lib-eral Social Union (USL)

coalition took office in May afterwresting power from centre-right Liberal Democratic Party-led government through ano-confidence motion

He said Monday’s rulingby the country’s top courtconfirmed that “the govern-ment and the parliament re-spected the rules ofdemocracy”. The court, whichhas complained of “virulentattacks” against it by the gov-ernment, ruled that a lawpassed by deputies limitingits power to intervene in par-liamentary decisions was un-constitutional. But it saidobjections by the PDL overthe legality of last week’ssacking of the speakers ofboth houses of parliament –posts both held by the oppo-sition party – were not ad-missible.

DuAl nAtIonAlIty bIll Suspended Romanian president hands over power

India buys Gandhiarchive to halt auction

Dr Qadeer says willconsider invite to become caretaker PM

PIA’s exorbitantly-paiddeputy MD sacked

QUettA: children hold a picture of their missing father during a hearing of the missing

persons case at Balochistan High court on tuesday. INP

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Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

05

NEWS DESk

The Taliban have been poisoning scoresof Afghan schoolgirls for attendingschool, right? Wrong – at least that’s theposition of the World Health Organisa-tion. According to a report in the Chris-tian Science Monitor, schoolgirls andteachers complaining of nausea and othersymptoms have reported poisoned watersupplies at at least 12 girls’ schools acrossAfghanistan since 2009. But there havebeen no fatalities, and despite extensiveefforts by the UN’s World Health Organ-isation to get to the bottom of the matterno one has found proof of poison or anyother organic cause. Now, investigators atthe World Health Organisation (WHO)report that the most likely answer to themystery is that the reports of poisoningare a form of mass hysteria.

The girls and teachers suffering fromsymptoms really believe they’re sick, andin a way, they really are. Nausea is nau-sea, fainting is fainting. And though itseems odd, there have been similar casesaround the world down the centuries.Some historians believe the precipitatingevents that led to the Salem, Mass. WitchTrials of 1692-93, which led to the mur-der of about two dozen accused “witches,”was mass hysteria among a group of girls.

In a little noticed article in the WHO’sWeekly Epidemiological Monitor fromMay titled “Mass Psychogenic Illness inAfghanistan” the organisation reports onthe latest allegation of poisoning inTaluqan district, Takhar Province”: “Atotal of 103 … school girls from Bibi Ha-jerah High School were admitted withsymptoms of weakness, nausea, dizziness,and syncope. Some reported smelling a

stench.... Clinical assessment by the at-tending physicians and similar past historyrule out an organic cause. The cases wereconsidered as a mass psychogenic illness,given treatment and discharged home.”

The WHO goes on: “This is the fourthyear where episodes of suspected mass poi-soning of school girls is reported fromAfghanistan. Like in the previous years theevents are triggered off with one girl devel-oping symptoms of headache, weakness,dizziness, nausea, and fainting. Often theseoutbreaks were believed to be the work ofpolitical elements in the country who op-pose girls education. Reports of stenchsmells preceding the appearance of symp-toms have given credit to the theory ofmass poisoning.... However, investigationsinto the causes of these outbreaks haveyielded no such evidence so far. In the lastfour years over 1,634 cases from 22 schools

have been treated for Mass PsychogenicIllness in Afghanistan. There are no relateddeaths reported.” The cases theAfghanistan incidents most resemble arethe Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962,in which hundreds of people, mostlyschoolgirls, were overcome by fits of mirth-less, extended laughter, in what is nowknown as Tanzania, and the West Bankfainting epidemic of 1983.A hIStoRy of MASS hySteRIAThe similarities between the heavily stud-ied epidemic in the occupied West Bankand Afghanistan are particularly striking.Both places are in a state of conflict,where political violence is a fact of life,and both have powerful local rumor mills.The incidents follow a similar pattern:First a single report of a bad smell, thena small number of girls come down withsymptoms, then it spreads. Local media

fueled the rumors and the incidentsspread in Afghanistan, just as they did inIsrael and Palestine.

Albert Hefez, Israel’s lead psychiatricinvestigator of the incident, wrote in his1985 study “The Role of the Press and theMedical Community in the epidemic of‘Mysterious Gas Poisoning’ in the JordanWest Bank” that Israeli newspaper re-ports of “poisoning” at the start of theepidemic added fuel to the flames. A frontpage article in Haaretz on March 28, 1983even claimed that Israeli military investi-gators had found traces of nerve gas andquoted “army sources” as saying they sus-pected Palestinian militants were poison-ing their own people in order to blameIsrael and provoke an uprising. Palestin-ian leaders followed up with accusationsthat Israel had poisoned them in an at-tempt to drive them from the West Bank.

PM for polio eradicationin FATA on priority

MaSS hyStERIa BlaMEd FoR aFghaN SChoolgIRl ‘PoISoNINg,’ Not thE talIBaN

ISLAMABADinP

ADDRESSING the partici-pants of a briefing onFATA development proj-ects, Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf on Tuesday

said the eradication of polio in FATAwas his government’s priority.

At least 11 cases of polio have beenreported in FATA during the year of thetotal 22 reported from across the coun-try. The prime minister said it was em-barrassing to mention that Pakistanwas among three countries of the worldwhere polio still existed. He said themain cause of polio cases was the inac-cessibility of the polio administeringteams to the families in FATA, but nec-essary steps were being taken to reachout to these families so that polio teamscould immunize the children duringthe campaign being launched this

month.He assured participants that his

government would provide all kinds ofsupport to the peace committees to en-able them to augment their capacity toeffectively combat the activities of ter-rorists and do not let them hold FATAhostage. Ashraf directed the Ministryof Information to project positively thedevelopment activities carried out inFATA. The prime minister said the PPPgovernment had introduced landmarkreforms in the FATA.

The present government intro-duced Political Parties Act with a viewto mainstream them in the country’spolicies and amended the FCR to enti-tle the people the right of appeal to ahigh court. He said holding local bodieselections in FATA would ensure the ef-fective participation of the people inthe decision-making process at thelocal level, which was important for thepromotion of democratic culture.

Ashraf said solar energy offered thebest solution to the energy problem, es-pecially in far flung areas like FATAand Balochistan, where it was difficultto lay transmission lines.

SAFRON Minister EngineerShaukat Ullhah advocated the cause ofequal treatment of IDPs of FATA asthat of Swat and Malakand and addedthat there should be no discriminationin this regard. Wining the hearts andminds of the people was equally impor-tant for the complete rehabilitation ofthe war-affected people, the ministersaid. Haji Muneer Khan Orakzai, par-liamentary leader of FATA MPs, saidthe people of FATA were patriotic Pak-istanis and did not hesitate offeringsacrifice for defending the country. Hecalled upon the government to stream-line the mechanism for release of de-velopment funds that had beenhampering the pace of the execution ofthe development projects.

Judges are paidgovt servants:Ahmad bilour

MONITORING DESk

Minister for Railways GhulamAhmed Bilour on Tuesday saidjudges were paid servants of thegovernment and they could not makeor amend the constitution. Talking toreporters outside parliament, Biloursaid being public representatives, itwas the job of parliamentarians tomake and amend the constitution.Calling the dual nationality case apublic matter and contempt of courta legal matter, Bilour said the ANPhad no concern with the dualnationality case as no one in theirparty held dual nationality. Therailways minister said the PakistanRailways had not offered its servicesfor NATO supplies to Afghanistan.Expressing fears over the suspensionof train services from Peshawar dueto shortage of locomotives, Biloursaid three of the eight trains wereplying from the city.

amended contempt

law attack on judiciary’s

independence,

says ex-servicemenRAWALPINDI

nni

The Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Association(PESA) on Tuesday expressed graveconcerns over the passage of theContempt of Court bill by the NationalAssembly, saying an attack had beenlaunched on the judiciary to protect a fewcorrupt beneficiaries of the NationalReconciliation Ordinance (NRO). Astatement issued after a meeting of thePESA Executive Council said thatamendments regarding dual nationalityholders would place the national securityat great risk, adding that the restorationof NATO supplies reflected a totalmismanagement of the whole affair bythe Government of Pakistan. Themeeting observed that the amendmentsto the Contempt of Court law were aconspiracy to destroy the independenceof judiciary. The meeting added that theamendment goes against the fundamentalprinciple of equality before law as Article248 does not provide immunity for wilfuldefiance of courts’ orders and judgments.“The government must not start themedia trial of the independent judiciary –the last ray of hope which has repeatedlyproved itself above-board. Disobeying thejudiciary is not legal in any country of theworld, while using the parliament toshield the corrupt is the height ofundemocratic attitude,” the statementsaid. It added that the oath of dualnationality holders for loyalty to Pakistanwould have no legal value, as one personcannot be loyal to two countries. PESAmembers called upon the legal fraternity,civil society and general public to resistaggression against the judiciary, opposethe black law, and protect theconstitution unanimously passed in 1973.

two govt schools

blown up in

Peshawar, mohmandPESHAWAR/GHALLANAI

inP

Anti-literacy militants blew up twogovernment schools in Peshawar andMohmand Agency with explosives earlyon Tuesday. According to details,unidentified miscreants had plantedexplosives in a government-run primaryschool located in the Badber area nearPeshawar. The bomb went off in the weehours of Tuesday, partially damagingthe school building. No casualties werereported.Elsewhere in Saafi tehsil ofMohmand Agency, militants targeted amiddle school for boys with explosives.The blast took place on Tuesdaymorning and destroyed the schoolbuilding, but no causality or injury wasreported. So far, the miscreants haveblown up 96 government schools,mostly girls’ schools in different areas ofMohmand Agency.

swAt: A beautiful view of swat river on tuesday. INP

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Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Pedestrian bridge

demanded over

Jinnah AvenueISLAMABAD

onLine

People from different walks of life have de-manded a pedestrian bridge over Jinnah Av-enue. Hundreds of pedestrians cross JinnahAvenue daily to access their offices located onthe other side of the road and face immenseproblems while crossing the road. Mean-while, being a hub of economic and commer-cial activities, a large number of people inF-7/3 and adjacent areas go to blue area forshopping and face the same phenomenon.Citizens have complained that billions of ru-pees are spent in the capital for the construc-tion of new avenues and highways to ensuresmooth traffic flow, but no attention is paidto the safety of pedestrians and mostly allnew avenues lack pedestrian bridges.Citizens demanded of the government tobuild pedestrian bridges over all avenues ofthe federal capital, including Jinnah Avenue. The citizens have expressed their concernover the absence of a pedestrian bridge overthis busy avenue, saying it is unfortunate thatthe authorities are paying no heed towardsthe issue. They said that absence of pedes-trian bridge may result in loss of precioushuman lives.

Prisoner attempts

suicide in adiala JailRAWALPINDI

onLine

A Prisoner attempted to commit suicide byhanging himself in Central Jail Adiala,Rawalpindi.As per Assistant superintendent Riaz Ahmed,prisoner Shehbaz Ahmed was serving a drugsentence in cell No. 4 and he tried to hanghimself by the ventilation shaft using a ropemade from old clothes. But other prisonersprevented him from fulfilling his purpose.The administration has shifted him to hospi-tal and police have registered an attemptedsuicide case against him.

ISLAMABADonLine

CAPITAL Development Authority (CDA)Chairman Engineer Farkhand Iqbal has di-rected the authorities concerned to ensuretimely completion of the ongoing develop-ment projects in the federal capital.

He said this on Tuesday while reviewingthe progress of the ongoing developmentwork. On this occasion Member EngineeringSyed Ibrar Hussain Shah, Planning and De-sign Member A Aziz Qureshi, Director Gen-eral Planning Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu andofficers of the formations concerned werealso present.

The CDA chairman said that develop-ment work, including extension of heliportand security wall around the heliport andconstruction of overhead water tank, is ofimportant nature, which would be completedwell in time with quality.

He directed the formation concernedof the authority to accelerate the pace ofwork inline with international standardsand ensure the availability of all facili-ties in the heliport.

The chairman CDA said that the author-ity would utilize its all resources not only tocomplete the development projects but alsoinitiate more projects beneficial to the public.Later, he took an aerial view of the ongoingdevelopment projects in Islamabad. USC Set to LAUNCh RAMADANReLIef pACkAGe fRoM 15th

The Utility Stores Corporation (USC)has finalised its arrangements to launchmuch-needed Ramadan relief package fromthe coming Sunday to provide relief toprice-stricken masses.

Under the Ramadan relief package, theUSC will reduce the prices of 16 daily essen-tial items up to Rs.15 per kg for which theEconomic Coordination Committee (ECC)of the cabinet had already approved thepackage worth Rs.2.5 billion subsidy.

Out of 16 essential items, Rs.15 per kgreduction has been approved in the prices ofGhee/oil whereas the prices of rice, pulses,small gram, white gram, dates, ‘chakki basin’Sella rice and broken rice would be reducedby Rs.10. Rs 10 percent reduction wouldtake place in the prices of spices and bever-ages and Rs.6 per kg in the price of floor.

CDA chief ordersuplift schemes’timely completion

ISLAMABADKAsHif ABBAsi

Despite the lapse of sixteenmonths, the developmentwork of mega housing proj-ect, Park Enclave, couldnot be started, putting a se-

rious question mark on the credibility ofthe Capital Development Authority(CDA).

While announcing the project onMarch 2011, the high ups of CDAtermed the project as ‘Jewel of Islam-abad’ and claimed that developmentwork of the project would be completedby June 2012.

However, no work is visible on thesite and due to mismanagement; the de-velopment work is being delayed forone reason or the other.

Park Enclave, a housing projectalong with Park Road consisting of 700housing units- was announced by theCDA on March, 2011 and later on it wasinaugurated by then Prime MinisterYusuf Raza Gilani on July 5, 2011.

While announcing the project, thehigh-ups of civic body claimed that de-velopment work of the mega projectwould be completed by June 2012. Onthis, people invested their hard earnedmoney and purchased the plots. Thecivic body sold out 650 plots. Instead ofutilizing the collected amount on theproject, CDA, utilized the funds to run itsday-to- day affairs. Resultantly, the allot-tees showing mistrust on CDA hasstarted refusing to pay further install-ments and demanding reimbursement oftheir money that they have paid so far.

Ironically, in finical year 2012-13

budget, CDA didn’t allocate any fund forthe development of the said project.After this development it seems thatnow this project is no more on CDA’spriority.

Talking to Pakistan Today a seniorofficer of CDA said, “What you are talk-ing about the delay in development..even despite the passage of 16 months,the civic body has not even succeeded toaward the contract of design and devel-opment of the project,” the officer said.

He said that on November 4, 2011,CDA pre-qualified four constructionfirms to award tender of the project.Subsequently, the pre-qualified firmssubmitted their technical bids with CDAon January 5,2012. Later on, CDA re-ferred their technical bids to Nespak,which was hired by CDA as consultantfirm for the project for evaluation of

bids documents. The Cabinent Divisionobjected on CDA move for hiring con-sultant firm for awarding tender. Now,CDA has decided to hold open tenderfor the said project. Sources said thatlocal people have started encroachingPark Enclave land as they have notgiven compensation money underagainst their inherited land. They saidthat local of village Mojhan has reoccu-pied a large piece of land.

It is relevant to note here that onthe one hand CDA has failed to failed tostart Park Enclave project but it is goingto develop to new sector C-14 and C-15.

When CDA Spokesman RamzanSajid was contacted, he refused to com-ment and asked this correspondent tocontact the chairman. However, despiterepeated attempts, the Chairman CDAcould not be approached.

CDA’s touted Jewel sinks its credibility PARK enclAVe housIng scheMe

ISLAMABADstAff rePort

Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi’s commitment and love forIslam and Pakistan is rare, especially in progressivewriters.

These views were expressed by Prof. FatehMuhammad Malik while presiding over the QaumiAdbi Seminar on eminent poet, short story writer,intellectual and editor “Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi”arranged by Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL).

Yusuf Hassan and Dr. Naheed Qasmi were thechief guests. Abdul Hameed, Chairman, PALthanked the guests. Dr. Ehsan Akbar, Jalil Aali,Prof. Hameed Ullah Hashmi, Zia-ud-Din Naeem,Farheen Chaudhry and Nelofar Iqbal expressedtheir views. Aftab Zia paid tribute to Qasmi andpresented a poem. The proceedings were con-ducted by Dr Abid Siyal.Prof. Fateh Muhamamd

Malik further said that the whole life of AhmedNadeem Qasmi is an example of struggle for thepromotion of literature.

Dr. Naheed Qasmi said that Ahmed NadeemQasmi’s writings are not only a source of conveyinga message of humanity and friendship to the peopleand also strongly express the emotions of Nation-alism as well. She said that the dominant charac-teristics of Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi’s art are his goodheartiness and truthfulness.

Yusuf Hassan commented that Ahmed NadeemQasmi is a major writer in the progressive traditionin Punjab and has a fame throughout Asia. He pro-duced great literature which will keep his namealive for a long time.

Dr Ehsan Akbar said that stories of AhmedNadeem Qasmi focused mainly on trust. A promi-nent aspect of his literary personality is the pro-moter of the young writers.

PM directs ETPB to settleHindus’ property claims

ISLAMABADAPP

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Tuesday directedthe management of Evacuee Trust Property Board(ETPB) to resolve the issue of properties claims of Hin-dus to the satisfaction of the affected people at the earli-est. The Prime Minister gave these directions whiletalking to Syed Samsam Ali Shah Bokhari, Minister ofState for Information and Broadcasting who called onhim at the PM House and discussed prevailing politicalsituation in the country. Syed Samsam Ali Shah Bokahri took up with the PrimeMinister the chronic issue of properties of the Hindus,which are currently with Evacuee Trust Property Board.The state minister said that the Board was deprivingpeople of their legitimate claims on property and thiswas causing resentment among the member of the mi-nority community.Later, Syed Maratab Ali Kirmani, Baba Hakim Ali, ZakirHussain, Chaudhry Anwer and Raja Khan also joined themeeting with the Prime Minister.

‘Qasmi’s love for Islam, Pakistanrare in progressive writers’

isLAMABAD: cDA chairman farkhand iqbal talks to officials during his visit to a heliport in the capital. STAFF PHoTo

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07Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Islamabad

ISLAMABADonLine

Pakistan Muslim League-Q PresidentChaudhry Shujaat Hussain has saidthat people should not get disap-pointed as revolutionary changeswould be introduced soon to steerPakistan out of crises.

He was addressing a luncheonhosted by Secretary General PMLMushahid Hussain Syed in honour ofAdviser to Prime Minister Imtiaz AhmedRanjha here on Tuesday.

“Workers are the backbone of thisparty and PML would take every meas-ure for their due rights.

The induction of Ranjha proveshow workers are important to us. Nowhe (Ranjha) would establish his officein PML House to solve the problems ofthe people. I have asked him to formu-late a six-month policy in this connec-tion,” he added.

He said that duel nationality holdersshould be allowed to contest electionwith the condition that they cannot keepany government appointment until theyleave their citizenship of another coun-try. The matter is under consideration inthe standing committee and PML wouldpresent its viewpoint there.

He said that the general election

would be held in 2013 and PML wantsto take part in it along with its all al-lies. The party would make seat ad-justment with PPP. It should be agood weather for polls.

He said that the decision regarding

the chief election commissioner withconsensus is very heartening. N-Leagueproposed the name and the governmentaccepted it and now the attempt to takecredit from some leaders of PML-N isshameful, he held.

He said that the matter about con-tempt of court is sub judice. He said thatthe issue of reopening of NATO supplieswas taken be the alliance jointly.

It was not the matter with the US,but 50 countries were involved in it.

People to see positive change soon: Shujaat

ISLAMABADAPP

MINISTER of State for In-terior Imtiaz SafdarWarraich on Tuesdaytold the National Assem-bly that the security

forces and intelligence agencies weretaking effective measures to curbhuman trafficking.

As many as 4999 cases had beenregistered against human traffickerswhile 2861 criminals had beenawarded punishment during year 2011.He was responding to a calling atten-tion notice raised by Raja MuhammadAsad Khan, Nisar Tanveer, MalikShakir Bashir Awan, Sheikh Muham-mad Tariq Rasheed and Shireen Ar-shad Khan about human trafficking inthe country, causing grave concernamongst the public during the nationalassembly proceedings.

“Due to an effective role by Pak-istan against human traffickers, our in-ternational ranking has been improvedand we are now listed among those

countries who have introduced goodmeasures against human traffickers,”said the minister of state on interior.

Warraich said that Pakistan had along bordering area scattered on thou-sands of miles on its western bordersand effective measures were beingtaken to curb human trafficking. Hesaid due to difficult terrain on the Pak-Afghan border, it was difficult to mon-itor the entire bordering area.

However, he said the human traf-fickers normally used Chamman bor-der through which people used totravel to Afghanistan on legal docu-ments. However, he added that thetraffickers used to smuggle peoplefrom Afghanistan to Iran and othercountries through illegal means androutes to Europe and rest of the world.

The minister said that during year2011, 8344 inquiries had been regis-tered against human smugglers and ef-fective measures had been adopted tocurb this menace. Lt. General (R)Abdul Qadir Baloch said that there wasa dire need for the government to sealthe road leading to Mand border where

innocent people from Punjab and Khy-ber Pakhtunkhwa were beingbutchered.

He alleged that the governmenthad failed to provide security to its cit-izens. The minister also assured thehouse that former MNAs would beawarded government passports withina week’s time and he would himselfhold talks with the DG-Nadra to ensureits implementation.

Earlier, on a point of order raisedby Dr Abdul Qadir Khanzada, deputyspeaker national assembly FaisalKarim Kundi had directed the chair-man of rules and privilege committeeto ensure that all the former membersof the house are awarded passports inline with a resolution of the nationalassembly by Thursday.

Kundi said that disobedience to theorders of national assembly was tanta-mount to contempt of the parliament.He said that the DG of the Passportshad refused to release passports for theformer MNAs. He said the applicantshad been issued cards but the pass-ports had not been issued yet.

2,861 human traffickersconvicted in 2011: Warraich

citizens demand

action against fake

currency notes RAWALPINDI

onLine

The citizens, particularly business cir-cles, have expressed grave concern overcirculation of fake currency notes in themarkets, saying even the currency notesdrawn from banks are fake. “I purchased some commodities fromBank Road Saddar and gave a currencynote of Rs 1,000 to the shopkeeper re-turned Rs 610 to me. When I went to an-other shop to buy some othercommodity, the shopkeeper refused totake the currency note of Rs 500, declar-ing it fake. I went back to the first shopkeeper whoalso refused to own it. This way I had tosuffer loss of Rs 500, said Aslam Khan, awoman school teacher. This menace is on the rise particularly inrural areas where illiterate people can-not differentiate between fake and origi-nal notes. The citizens have demanded of the gov-ernment and State Bank of Pakistan totake notice of the matter and ensure im-plementation of relevant laws on thiscount.

Judicial complex

to be inaugurated

on 16thRAWALPINDI

onLine

An inaugural ceremony of the newlyconstructed judicial complex would beheld on July 16 and preparations in thisregard are in full swing.The complex contains around 50 fur-nished and centrally air-conditionedcourts which were constructed in ac-cordance with international stan-dards. Shifting of the staff and theoffice furniture to the complex hasbeen started.Meanwhile, lawyers’ community andcitizens have expressed concern overnon-shifting of several courts, includ-ing four accountability courts andlocal courts, to the judicial complex,saying free and speedy justice wouldbe provided to consumers if all thecourts were shifted to the complex.They demanded of the government toshift all local courts to the judicialcomplex.

culprits involved inimmoral activities booked

ISLAMABADonLine

Margalla police have seized 319 bottlesof liquor along with distilling equipmentand arrested 9 persons, for involvementin immoral activities, from sector F-8 ofthe federal capital.Senior police officers ordered the SHOsto curb narcotics and immoral activitiesfrom their jurisdiction and bring theculprits involved in these activities tojustice. In the light of these orders ASP Mar-galla Moustansir, Feroz constituted ateam comprising of SHO Margalla in-spector Muhammad Hussain, Ishtiaq,shah, Binyamin and other police per-sonnel to arrest the culprits. Police raided a guesthouse in house nostreet F-8/4 and arrested a foreigneralong with 319 bottles of liquor and dis-tilling equipment. In the second raid on a guest housesituated in F-8/3 police arrested 8persons named Malik Asad Ali, RanaAli, Salamat Ali, Gulzar, Nargeezabibi, Jamila Bibi, Sana involved inimmoral activities.

Pakistan, Sudan

enjoy cordial

relations: badarISLAMABAD

onLine

Leader of the House in the Senate Sena-tor Jahangir Badar Tuesday said thatPakistan and Sudan, being brotherlycountries, enjoy close and cordial rela-tions.While interacting with Sudanese Am-bassador Al-Shafie Ahmed Mohamedhere at the Parliament, Badar recalledhis meeting with Sudanese PresidentOmar al-Bashir during his visit to Sudanand declared him as a change agent forcurrent progressive Sudan and appreci-ated that there were a large number ofwomen parliamentarians in Sudan’sParliament.Badar said that exchange of parliamen-tary delegations and more frequent peo-ple-to-people contacts can furthercement bilateral ties. Senator RubinaKhalid who was also present on the oc-casion told the ambassador regardingproactive role of women in the nationaland provincial politics of Pakistan andhow they were striving for change forbetterment and towards a positive andprogressive Pakistani nation.

isLAMABAD: the wife of Us Ambassador Dr Marilyn wyatt poses for a group photo with Us-sponsored students from fAtA who scored positions in ssc Part 1 examination. ONLINE

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08 Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Islamabad

low

high

thurSday frIday Saturday32°c I 26°c 30°c I 26°c 30°c I 26 °c

Prayer tImIngSfajr Sunrise zuhr asr maghrib Isha

03:25 05:05 12:13 15:58 19:21 21:02

cIty dIrectory

PolIce emergency 15

ambulance 115

reScue 1122

hIlal-e-ahmer 9250488

edhI foundatIon 2827844

bomb dISPoSal 9270698

fIre brIgade centre 16

cIvIl defence 9262830

emergency helP

hoSPItalS

blood bank

PImS blood bank 9261272

Poly clInIc blood bank 9209123

comPlaInt

WaPda 111-000-118

SuI gaS 1199

raIlWayS

cIty StatIon (enquIry) 117

reServatIon 9273614

raIlWay PolIce 1333

aIrPort

flIght enquIry 114

PIa reServatIon 111-786-786

collegeS / unIverSItIeS

InternatIonal ISlamIc unIverSIty 9260765

bahrIa unIverSIty 9260002

numl 9257677

quaId-e-azam unIverSIty 90642098

arId agrIculture unIverSIty 9290151

fJWu 9273235

rIPha InternatIonal unIverSIty 111510510

nca raWalPIndI 5770423

PunJab laW college 4421347

mahroof Int 2222920

PImS 9261170

Poly clInIc 9218300

cda 9221334

ShIfa InternatIonal 4603666

alI 4444435

dIStrIct hqS 5556311-14

ultraSonIc clInIc 2824862

holy famIly 9290319

It's suMMeR AgAIn!

It's the summer again & kuch khaas is back with all things awesome! June 18th - July 31st. for more details call 051-8357483

DRuMMIng cIRcle

date and tIme: 05:00 Pm, Weekly eventvenue: the centre for artS & culture

our drumming circle is a (free!) ongoingevent and is held every friday from 5pmto 6pmWe are having a great time, and want toshare the good time with you! ourdrumming circle has children ...

Partly cloudy

Weather uPdateS

34°c

date: June 18 to July 31, 2012 venue: centre for artS and culture

27°c

touR to KhIlAsh, chItRAl,shAnDooR, gIlgIt, etc

every month, fac organizes several tripsand expeditions to various locations inPakistan. for more updates like our communitypage:www.facebook.com/falconadventureclub

date: July 06 to 14, 2012 venue: falcon adventure club

isLAMABAD: woman take interest in an exhibition by Horeen Amjad at the national council of Arts. STAFF PHoTo

ISLAMABADAPP

BECAUSE infants are so muchsmaller than adults and lack theability to sweat, heat and sun expo-sure pose specific risks for babies,experts say. Fortunately, there are

steps parents and caregivers can take to protectinfants this summer, according to the U.S.Food and Drug Administration and the Ameri-can Academy of Pediatrics.

But one of the usual summertime recom-mendations, sunscreen, is not advised for chil-dren under six months old, they pointed out,Medical News Reported. Dr Hari Cheryl Sachs,a pediatrician with the FDA, said parentsshould avoid putting sunscreen on their in-fants.

Sachs explained that young babies’ skin ismuch thinner than that of adults and can ab-

sorb the active, chemical ingredients found insunscreens more easily. She noted that becausethey have a relatively high surface-area tobody-weight ratio, they are at greater risk forallergic reactions or inflammation from expo-sure to sunscreen.

“The best approach is to keep infants under6 months out of the sun, and to avoid exposureto the sun in the hours between 10 a.m. and 2p.m., when ultraviolet (UV) rays are most in-tense,” Sachs said in an FDA news release. Ifnecessary, shade can be created by an umbrellaor stroller canopy, Sachs pointed out.

When there are no other options available,a small amount of sunscreen with a sun-protec-tion factor of at least 15 can be applied to smallareas of exposed skin, such as the cheeks andback of the hands. Applying a small amount ofsunscreen to the baby’s inner wrist first to testfor sensitivity is a good idea, she noted.

Sachs and the American Academy of Pedi-

atrics (AAP) offered additional tips to ensureinfants are protected from sun exposure. Toprevent sunburns, dress infants in lightweightpants and shirts with long sleeves, as well ashats with brims that shade the ears and neck,advised the AAP. Sheer fabrics should beavoided because they could still result in sun-burn.

Ensure babies are well hydrated. Offerthem their usual feeding of breast milk or for-mula, said Sachs. Use a cooler to store the liq-uids if they will be out in the sun for more thana few minutes. Monitor babies for signs of sun-burn or dehydration, including fussiness, red-ness, excessive crying and lack of urination.

If sunscreen is applied to babies, steer clearof products containing the insect repellantDEET. Babies who become sunburned shouldbe taken out of the sun immediately, and coldcompresses should be applied to the affectedareas.

KeeP inFAnTS ouT oF SUN; EXPERTS WARN

ISLAMABADAPP

A practical demonstration of using water as afuel to run the vehicles was held at Pakistan Sci-ence Foundation (PSF), here Tuesdday. Thedemonstration was given by Agha Waqar AhmedKhan, a Khairpur-based Mechanical Engineer,who was invited by the PSF under its “Inventionand Innovation Support” Program to encouragesuch activities for promotion of science and tech-nology in the country.

PSF Chairman Prof Dr Manzoor H Soomro,senior officers of PSF and some other scientificorganizations were present at the demonstra-tion. Agha Waqar said he has developed a kit,which can be fitted with engine to run it on wateras fuel and the engine needs no alteration at all.

He claimed that his device fitted vehicle willgive a mileage of 40 kilometers per liter waterand a bike will give mileage of 150 kilometers perliter water. The mechanical engineer said hewanted guidance for governmental approval tomanufacture the kit on commercial basis andmarket it to overcome the growing energy crisisin the country.

The PSF Chairman requested MoST in thisregard and a meeting was held at the Ministry.MoST Secretary Mr. Akhlaq Ahmed Tararchaired the meeting attended by the PSF Chair-man, officials of Commercialization Cell ofMoST, representative of Engineering Develop-ment Board, Ministry of Industries, experts fromHydrocarbon Development Institute and Ghu-lam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering etc.

Agha Waqar told the meeting that he is

working on the project for the last two years andrunning vehicle on water by using the kit devel-oped by him. He claimed that his kit bears nonegative impact on the vehicle and it is safe hav-ing no risk of backfire or backlash.

The meeting participants made differentqueries about safety standards of the vehicle andefficiency of the kit. Tarar encouraged the inven-tion and guided Mr. Waqar to file an applicationwith Engineering Development Board (EDB) ofMinistry of Industries for approval to commer-cialize the device.

The federal secretary also directed PakistanScience Foundation to facilitate Waqar in filingthe application with EDB. The EDB representa-tive told the meeting that on receiving the appli-cation the matter could be placed before Boardfor technical evaluation of the device.

PSF promoting technological innovation

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09Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Foreign News

DAMASCUSAfP

KOFI Annan met top Iranian offi-cials Tuesday before flying toIraq, as he sought the help of keyregional players in shoring up his

tattered peace plan for Syria after meetingPresident Bashar al-Assad.

The UN and Arab League peace envoyunderlined Tehran’s importance in interna-tional efforts to stem the bloodshed, follow-ing talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister AliAkbar Salehi.

“Iran can play a positive role,” Annansaid, adding that he would continue to workwith the Iranian leadership to resolve the cri-sis, which monitors say has cost more than17,000 lives. “There is a risk that the situa-tion in Syria gets out of hand and spreads to

the region,” Annan told a joint news confer-ence with Salehi, who hailed the envoy’s“neutrality” and reiterated Iranian supportfor his mission. Annan then flew to Baghdadfor talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikion the Syria conflict, a government official.

The former UN chief’s Middle East tripfollows a meeting of world powers in Genevalate last month — to which Iran, Damascus’sstaunchest regional ally, was not invited — tosalvage his peace initiative.

A plan was agreed in Geneva for a polit-ical transition in Syria, which did not makean explicit call for Assad to quit, although theWest and the opposition made clear it sawno role for him in a unity government.

After meeting Assad on Monday, the for-mer UN secretary general said he had agreedwith the Syrian president on a new political“approach” to ending the crisis in Syria that

he would put to the rebels.“We discussed the need to end the vio-

lence and ways and means of doing so. Weagreed an approach which I will share withthe armed opposition,” Annan said in Dam-ascus, before flying to Tehran, where he alsomet Iran’s top security official Saeed Jalili.

The opposition Syrian National Council(SNC) had slammed Annan’s decision tomeet Assad, saying thousands of people havebeen killed despite an April ceasefire.

Deadly violence on the ground showedno sign no abating on Tuesday.

The army rained shells down on therebel-held central town of Rastan as violencekilled 13 people across the country, the Syr-ian Observatory for Human Rights.

“We have many wounded, and there areno doctors here, only two dentists. We can’tdo anything for the wounded. It’s tragic,” an

activist in Rastan told AFP via Skype.Of those killed on Tuesday, seven were

civilians, four were soldiers and two wererebels, the Observatory said, noting that 98people were killed nationwide on Monday,including 34 soldiers, after reporting a simi-lar toll on Sunday. Russia said on Tuesdaythat it wanted to host a new meeting of for-eign powers on the Syria crisis but stressedthat the talks should not decide Assad’s fate.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bog-danov also said the attempt in Geneva tosave Annan’s peace plan needed to be con-tinued with the involvement of countriessuch as Iran, which both Washington andEuropean powers strongly oppose.

But the SNC said that its priority was to“work for the fall of the Assad regime and allits symbols,” insisting there could be no po-litical transition until the embattled presi-

dent’s departure. The opposition coalition’snew leader Abdel Basset Sayda is due totravel to Moscow on Wednesday at the invi-tation of the Russian foreign ministry, theSNC said. Annan, whose observers in Syriahave been grounded because of escalating vi-olence, admitted in remarks published byFrench newspaper Le Monde ahead of hisDamascus trip that his peace blueprint hasso far foundered. He has previously ex-pressed frustration that while Moscow andIran are mentioned by some as stumblingblocks to peace, “little is said about othercountries which send arms, money, and havea presence on the ground.”

Russia is sending a flotilla of six war-ships led by an anti-submarine destroyer toits naval base at Syria’s port of Tartus, the In-terfax news agency reported on Tuesday, cit-ing a military source.

Annan seeks Iran, Iraq help in ending Syria crisis

JERUSALEMAfP

An Israeli court on Tuesday found for-mer prime minister Ehud Olmertguilty on one charge in a closelywatched corruption case, but clearedhim on two other charges, in a verdicthe hailed as just.

The decision to convict Olmerton the lesser charge of “breach oftrust,” over favours he granted a for-mer colleague during his time asminister, could jeopardise Olmert’spolitical future.

But the Jerusalem district court’sacquittal of the former leader on thetwo more serious corruption charges,related to his alleged receipt of cash-stuffed envelopes and multiple-billingfor trips abroad, was seen as a victoryfor Olmert.

“We unanimously decided... toconvict the defendant on the felony ofbreach of trust,” the three judges over-seeing the case wrote in the verdict.

Olmert still faces a second trialover allegations he accepted bribesduring his time as Jerusalem mayor tosmooth the way for the construction

of the massive Holyland residentialcomplex in the city.

But his acquittal on the most seri-ous charges against him in this trial,including the allegations that forcedhim to resign from his post as primeminister in 2008, was described as awin for him by political observers.

Olmert faced three primary alle-gations in the first trial against him.

The first charge, on which he wasconvicted, related to favours hegranted a former colleague, UriMesser, during his time as trade andindustry minister.

Olmert was also accused of receiv-ing hundreds of thousands of dollarsfrom Jewish-American businessmanMorris Talanski, in return for promot-ing his companies in Israel.

And he was alleged to have en-gaged in multiple-billing of trips over-seas, on occasions charging as manyas four different institutions for thesame trip, in what was dubbed theRishon Tours affair. But he was ac-quitted on both those charges, withjudges saying the evidence failed toprove “beyond a reasonable doubt”that Olmert was guilty.

The former premier hailed theverdict outside the courtroom.

“There was no corruption, I re-ceived no money, there were no cashenvelopes, there was nothing from allof these things they tried to attributeto me,” Olmert told reporters.

“The Talanski and Rishon Toursaffairs were at the heart of the accusa-tions levelled against me and I havebeen cleared on both these cases. Itwas all false,” he said.

He acknowledged his convictionon the third set of allegations, but saidthe judgement described his behav-iour as “procedural misconduct.”

Olmert was mayor of Jerusalemfrom 1993 to 2003 after which heserved as a cabinet minister, holdingthe trade and industry portfolio aswell as several others, before becom-ing premier in 2006.

He led the centre-right Kadimaparty into government, but resignedfrom the premiership in September2008 after police recommended he beindicted in several graft cases.

He has consistently proclaimedhis innocence, calling the allegationsagainst him a “ruthless witch-hunt.”

Egypt’s dissolvedhouse meets, defyingcourt ruling

CAIROAfP

Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliamentconvened on Tuesday in defiance of thepowerful military and the judiciary,following a decree by newly electedPresident Mohamed Morsi to reinstate theassembly. “We are gathered today to reviewthe court rulings, the ruling of the SupremeConstitutional Court,” which ordered thecourt invalid, speaker Saad al-Katatni said.“I want to stress, we are not contradictingthe ruling, but looking at a mechanism forthe implementation of the ruling of therespected court. There is no other agendatoday,” he added. MPs from several politicalparties boycotted Tuesday’s session, withsome describing Morsi’s move as a“constitutional coup.” Katatni insistedduring a brief opening statement, which wasaired live on television, that the house“respects the law and judicial rulings.” Lastmonth, the Supreme Constitutional Courthad said certain articles in the law governingthe parliamentary elections were invalid,annulling the Islamist-led house. Themilitary, which was running the countryafter Hosni Mubarak was ousted, thendissolved the house and took legislativecontrol, as part of a document that grantedthe Supreme Council of the Armed Forcessweeping powers. But Morsi on Sundayordered the lower house to reconvene.

tibetan sets himselfalight in China protest

BEIJINGAfP

A young Tibetan man set himself on fire nearTibet’s capital of Lhasa on Saturday, a rightsgroup said, the latest in a series of protestsagainst Chinese rule. The fate of the 22-year-old man, whose name was given as TsewangDorjee, was unknown though there werereports he had died, London-based FreeTibet said in a statement on Tuesday.Government officials could not be reachedfor comment. With the latest incident, atleast 41 people have set themselves on fire inTibetan-inhabited areas of China in protestat repressive government policies, accordingto activists. The rights group saidauthorities have tightened security inDamxung county near Lhasa following theincident, detaining witnesses and cuttingoff communications. On May 27, two menset themselves on fire in front of theJokhang temple, a renowned centre forBuddhist pilgrimage in the centre of Lhasa,in the first such incident to hit the city.Lhasa was the scene of violent anti-Chinesegovernment protests in 2008, which laterspread to other areas inhabited by Tibetans,and authorities have kept the city undertight security since then. Tibetans have longchafed under China’s rule over the vastHimalayan plateau, saying that Beijing hascurbed religious freedoms and their cultureis being eroded by an influx of Han Chinese,the country’s main ethnic group.

Israel ex-PM guilty of graft,cleared on key charges

BengHAZi: refugees from the town of tawargha fill containers with water at a refugee camp of around 2,500 people on tuesday. AFP

aSEaN wants UNlaw to settle SouthChina Sea row

PHNOM PENHAfP

Southeast Asian states want a UN maritimeconvention to be the basis for settling competingclaims in the South China Sea, a draft documentshowed Tuesday. Southeast Asian foreign ministersare meeting in Cambodia to draw up a long-delayedcode of conduct to be signed by them and Chinaaimed at easing friction in the disputed regionalhotspot. The draft document outlining ASEAN’sposition, which was seen by AFP, called on all sidesto “undertake to resolve territorial... disputes in the(South China Sea) by peaceful means in accordancewith international law, including UNCLOS”.UNCLOS is the UN Convention on the Law of theSea, an international treaty that sets limits on howmuch of a neighbouring sea a nation can consider astheir territorial waters or exclusive economic zone.China is a signatory to UNCLOS, but experts say itsclaim of essentially all of the South China Sea, hometo vital shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oiland gas deposits, would fail under its provisions.Taiwan and ASEAN members the Philippines,Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia all make rival claimson areas of the sea, where tensions have mountedrecently. Beijing voiced opposition to the row beingdiscussed at this week’s ASEAN Regional Forum, asecurity-dominated meeting beginning Thursday.

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:38 AM Page 9

Comment10Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Arif NizamiEditor

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

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

who will be Pakistan’s next top state organ?

fight for superiority

Despite hints from the Supreme Court indicating itsdispleasure, the government has got the contemptbill passed in the National Assembly. The next step isto get it through the Senate so that it becomes law

before July 12 when Raja Pervez Asharaf is to appear before theapex court. The government was in haste to ensure that thenew PM is not prematurely removed. While the PPP leadershipconsiders that the completion of its tenure is its constitutionalright, it is also keen for an orderly transfer of power. Theagreement on retired judge Fakhruddin G Ibrahim as a jointcandidate for the post of CEC indicates the government’skeenness for holding honest elections.

The next step is the appointment of a caretaker setup. Thegovernment has apprehensions that the removal of the PM atthis stage may cause problems. The executive cannot reduce ortake away the powers of the Supreme Court to initiatecontempt proceedings against any accused guaranteed underArticle 204 of the Constitution. The new bill will only exemptholders of public office from the mischief of contempt in“exercise of powers and performance of functions” and allowsfor suspension of a sentence during the pendency of an appeal.

Will the new law save Pervez Ashraf’s job? The PPPmaintains that if protection was not given to the electedrepresentatives, they would not be able to perform their dutiesefficiently. While the majority in the NA supported the PPP,the PML(N) called it a black law that would provide thegovernment a license for abusing its authority. The CJ holdsthat the constitution empowers the apex court to strike downany law which is in conflict with the Constitution. He has alsosuggested that the doctrine of the supremacy of parliament isout of step with the times.

The matter is, thus, bound to land up in the court. Like anumber of other political cases, this too would consume thejudges’ precious time while depriving the common man oftimely justice. The apex court needs to review the situation inits entirety. A perception is being formed that after coming outof one sort of extreme where the executive dictated to the courtthe country is moving towards another extreme where thecourt dictates to both the executive and legislature. Unlessmeasures are taken to remove the perception, there is alikelihood of the confrontation between the executive andlegislature on one side and the court on the other continuingeven after fresh elections. The court needs to consider if thesituation strengthens or weakens the system.

The reopening of supplyroute through Pakistan forNATO/United States goodson July 3 was the outcomeof one of the longest and ar-

duous negotiation processes betweenthe United States and Pakistan. Onboth sides, domestic considerations, inaddition to security and foreign policyfactors, influenced the process, makingit difficult to evolve a mutually accept-able solution.

Both sides became hostage to theinitial moves after the Salala border postincident. The US military authoritieswere not prepared to accept any respon-sibility for the incident. Nor were theywilling to make any conciliatory gestureagainst the backdrop of May 2 incidentinvolving secret military raid in Abbot-tabad. The Salala incident was viewed inPakistan as yet another evidence ofAmerican military activity being in totaldisregard of its implications for Pak-istan’s besieged civilian government andthe military that was pursuing an un-popular war in the tribal areas.

Pakistan’s army/ISI decided to playtough primarily to assuage domesticpublic opinion that raised questionabout its professional capacity to se-cure Pakistan territory against US mil-itary operations. It encouraged the

Islamists and militantsto launch an anti-USpropaganda barrage.The military looked to-wards the civilian gov-ernment to take thefinal decision. The lat-ter was not in the habitof deciding key secu-rity issues all by itself,it passed on the matterto the parliament. Thisdelayed the matter andgave the opportunity tothe Islamists and themainstream oppositionto play on the deaths ofPakistani soldiers tomake it difficult for thegovernment and theparliament to adopt amoderate posture. Theofficial circles arguedpublicly that Pakistansuffered a loss of $100billion because of theuse of roads by heavytrucks and tankersthat carried Americansupplies through Pak-istan. In this way theofficial circles joinedthe anti-US campaign.A good number of re-tired army officers ar-

gued that Pakistan suffered enormouslosses in its relations with the US afterSeptember 2001.

The civilian government and themilitary became hostage to the ongoinganti-US campaign when they wanted torestore the supply route. By May, Pak-istani civilian and military leadershipwanted to revive the relationship withthe US, but no high official had thecourage to say so in public and ques-tion the Islamist perspective of defi-ance of the West. They could not makea case in public that the revival of rela-tionship was in Pakistan’s interest.

The US and Pakistan have shownaccommodation to resolve the supplyroute issue. The US Secretary of Stateexpressed “sorry for the losses sufferedby the Pakistan military,” and bothsides “acknowledged the mistakes thatresulted in the loss of Pakistani militarylives.” Pakistan did not insist on newtransit fee but expected that the USwould release funds under CoalitionSupport Fund, the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Law, and military assistance inthe form of equipment and training.

The resolution of the supply routeissue has hopefully generated goodwillthat will enable Pakistan and the US tofind accommodating solutions to otherproblems like the drone attacks, two-way movement of militants on theAfghan-Pakistan border, the Haqqanigroup in North Waziristan, Pakistan’ssecurity concerns in Afghanistan after2014 and support for Afghan reconcili-ation and stability.

Pakistan could not contribute tosolving the Afghan problem and protectits interests in and around Afghanistanwithout engagement with other statesdealing with the Afghan problem. Therehas been a lot of active diplomacy onAfghanistan in the post-Salala incidentperiod. The US signed a strategic part-nership agreement with Afghanistanand designated it as a Non-NATO ally.It also resolved the problem of night-raids and control of prisons to the satis-faction of Afghanistan. The USstrengthened wide ranging economicand security cooperation with Indiawhich signed a strategic partnershiparrangement with Afghanistan. This wasin addition to India’s significant contri-bution to Afghanistan’s economic recon-structions and development. China’srole also expanded in Afghanistan in2011 with involvement in mineral devel-opment. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan andKyrgyzstan are engaging with Russiaand the US in connection with terrorismissues and Afghanistan. Iran is dealingwith Afghanistan at the bilateral level.

The only country out of this loopduring these months was Pakistan. The

US and others may not be able to evolvea satisfactory solution of Afghanistan byexcluding Pakistan. However, Pakistancannot promote stability inAfghanistan and secure its interests inisolation from other countries. If Pak-istan stays away from the Afghanistanprocess, India gets a better opportunityto be more proactive.

Pakistan’s latest decision on coop-eration with the US and NATO providesPakistan with a new opportunity to en-gage with the rest of the world for evolv-ing a workable solution of the Afghanproblem in a manner that Pakistan’s se-curity is ensured. Pakistan would needskilful diplomacy, patience and internalcoherence to be an active participant inthe changing political and security en-vironment in an around Afghanistan.

The major challenge to Pakistan’srole comes from within its territory.The Islamists and militants are chal-lenging the revived relations with theUS by street agitation. They are not ex-pected to succeed in launching a na-tionwide agitation because themainstream political parties would notjoin them. However, they have the ca-pacity to create law and order situationand disrupt working of the governmentfor some days. It will be clear in a weekor so if Pakistan’s foreign policy is runby Islamic and militant groups or thefederal government.

Pakistan’s military authorities needto use their covert influence with someof these Islamist groups to calm themdown. The civilian government alonecannot cope with their challenge be-cause it also faces strong pressure fromthe superior judiciary and the opposi-tion. As the military is part of the deci-sion and it will benefit from the revivedrelationship, it needs to contribute to-wards sustaining the new relationship.

The United States can also helpPakistan to cope with internal opposi-tion. Its official and non-official circlesneed to tone down their negative rhet-oric about Pakistan. Too much fixationon the Haqqani group and the trashingPakistani criticism of drone attacks ad-versely affect bilateral negotiations andprovide ample ammunition to the Is-lamists to shoot down Pakistan’s effortsto maintain normal interaction withthe US. Counter-terrorism polices can-not be decided in Washington alone.There is a need to adopt a shared ap-proach with Pakistan. If the US faces adifficult domestic situation onAfghanistan, Pakistan’s governmentand military too have to cope with ahighly volatile domestic context.

The writer is an independentpolitical and defence analyst.

Politics on the supply routethe rubber meets the road

By Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi

with a vengence

Dr Jekyll is back!

It was quite obvious after last Ra-madan that Geo was going to hire DrAmir Liaqat back. Geo had six to

eight anchors last year, ranging from Ju-naid Jamshed to Omar Sharif and ofcourse Sahir Lodhi, for around six hoursof Ramadan special programming. Still,Amir Liaqat single-handedly took on allof them with his marathon transmissionson ARY every day. The biggest factor be-hind claiming the biggest chunk out of

the total market share for any mediagroup was Dr Amir Liaqat himself. Thisyear I hear that the market has expandedeven more. The banaspatis are on fire;so are the colas and the rest. The mediaindustry is expecting approximately 450million rupees for commercials and en-dorsements this Ramadan.

As expected, there was a lot of hueand cry when Dr Amir was made vicepresident of the network. It was under-standable because most people don’tknow that it’s an honorary post. Presi-dents of TV channels have absolutely notask to perform except going to eventsand getting photographed. It is just thatwhen the company hires somebody formillions, they have to offer him a post thatjustifies those millions paid to him. Thisjustification is not for others; but evenSaiths these days like to follow HR poli-cies and hierarchy charts, even if it is onlyon paper. And with the exception ofsweepers and drivers, whom the HR man-ager hires, all the others are hired by thedepartment heads or Saiths themselves.

As usual the know-it-alls – who have

absolutely nothing to do with any of it –were found in big numbers on the socialmedia, claiming that higher officials andanchor persons were contemplating re-signing in protest against Amir’s return.This acute need on the part of people tohave heroes – to the extent of creatingone by making up stories like this – I willnever understand. Most of the peoplewho were rumored to have resigned arehabitual; they do it every July beforeevaluations. The real guy who was said tobe actually responsible for Amir’s exit inthe first place realised how importantAmir is for the network and is said tohave kept his cool ever since his return.The people who thought that this guywould leave and had placed their mat-tresses in office ready to take over assoon as they were asked to are the onlyones disappointed. Rest assured: the net-work must have renewed the contracts ofall the big guns by now – it must be inprocess at any rate. Therefore sadly noheroes for social media activists, andmost probably no budget left for raises ofregular employees.

For all those who missed the gooddoctor’s debut show yesterday, it’s amust-watch. I repeat, it’s a must-watch.The program was on his second coming.He was convincing like always. It provedhis high ratings no matter what the otherchannels show. I couldn’t grasp every-thing he said as I tend to struggle whenthis much information is passed on to-wards me at such a fast rate. However, Idistinctly remember some glimpses of hisbrilliance. For instance, when he said thatpeople spoke ill of the Prophet (PBUH)too when he went to Madina! Or, when hesaid that social media activists should be-have because in this war between rightand left, we have forgotten what is rightand wrong; although we were told 1400years ago that we have to say Assalam-o-alaikum to our right and to our left (thisis pure poetry in action!). Then he put theicing on the cake by spotting the idealtime to play the ace of spades, that is,how his mother raised him.

Love him or hate him, nobody cansay, “Ghalib film dekhi hai aap ne?” bet-ter than Amir Liaqat. While on the topic,

Ghalib had famously said, “Mai gayawaqt naheen hoon ke aa bhi na sakoon.”In his comeback program, Dr. sahab tooexpressed a somewhat similar sentiment,in more or less equally elegant mannerwhen he observed: “Channel maa na-heen hote ke badle na jaa saken.”

I like Amir Liaqat more than any an-chor in any channel, and I am not beingfacetious. I started liking him after hisleaked videos because I admired the factthat unlike the rest of the anchors, atleast he hadn’t started acting self right-eously in his real life after playing for solong what he does for the gallery. It issaid that people get the leaders they de-serve. I think the same goes for anchors.Except, the rest of the anchors – who areby no means any better than Dr. Amir –take themselves too seriously, whereasthe pause and then the smile the gooddoctor gives after every sentence basi-cally means in a refreshingly honest way,“blow this.”

The writer is a member of the bandBeygairat Brigade.

By Ali Aftab Saeed

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:38 AM Page 10

on the yda strikeFor the last three weeks or so, Punjab

had witnessed the ever worst healthcarecrisis in public sector hospitals. Whoshould be held responsible for taking thehealthcare system to such a low? The doc-tors had their own unflinching demands.But the Punjab government, too, lookedadamant to teach the YDA a lesson - os-tensibly an effort to stave off similar de-mands from other government employees.

It was not manifest as to whom thedoctors were at war with – was it the Pun-jab government, the bureaucracy or thepatients? The doctors even became averseto the media for not portraying the truepicture. They were also ill-disposed to-wards the high court after it took up theircase and ordered young doctors to resumeworking in the emergencies. So, the youngdoctors had unwisely opened many frontsinstead of focusing their attention on theobjective that can potentially lead them tohave their due demands.

The YDA was formed in 2008 when ahandful of young doctors protested thesuspension orders of some lady doctorsof Mayo Hospital and succeeded in hav-ing their colleagues reinstated. This, infact, emboldened the young doctors.Since then, the YDA has gone on manystrikes so as to force the Punjab govern-ment to meet their demands. The Punjabgovernment has also been yielding to thedemands. The salary of a doctor in BPS-17 has been enhanced to Rs. 44000 andin BPS-18 to Rs. 54000. But this time,the Punjab government posed stiff resist-ance to the YDA’s demand-package.

YDA’s minimum demands were theinduction of medical officers in BPS-18 in-stead of BPS-17, enhancement of thestipends for postgraduate residents andincrease in doctors’ health professional al-lowance. There was also the demand of theprovision of official residence and cars inBPS-20 and BPS-21 which was valid andought to be fulfilled. The demand of a clearservice structure having rules for transfersand time-scale promotions to next scaleswas also by no means unreasonable.

But the recent demand-package hadsome unreasonable demands too. Therewere objections raised by the health bu-reaucracy. The bureaucracy said that thedemand of universal one scale up-grada-tion would be very hard to implement. It

says that after one-scale upgrading, thehealth department would have 2,600posts in BPS-20 and 600 posts in BPS-21, posing a serious threat to the existinghealth hierarchy in the province where,at present, there are around 600 posts inBPS-20 and 7 posts in BPS-21 for doctors.

Given the problems that this strikecreated, both the government and YDAshould look at their behaviour introspec-tively. The government should put in aproper mechanism for conflict resolutionso that the doctors have a proper channelthrough which to negotiate. The YDAshould also look at its protest methodsand realistically assess whether their de-mands hold water. They must changetheir tack as Punjab and its people canill-afford a similar health crisis.

MUHAMMAD TAHIR IQBALLahore

the establishment’ssplit personality

This is apropos of your editorial“Caught in the Crossfire: Courtesy ourestablishment’s split personality”. Thereis no denying the fact that the aforemen-tioned split personality has made us suffertremendously, not only on the nationalfront of progress and development butalso on the international front with re-gards to cooperation with other countries.

While we point out the ills plaguingthe establishment, we still need to draw awider picture of our national character.We need to analyse that whether theidentity our country has acquired todayamong the comity of the nations is onlythe making of the establishment or areits traditional allies spread throughoutour institutions (whether state or non-state) even more responsible for con-structing this paradigm.

The control that the establishmenthas over public opinion is what gives it thestrength that overpowers the collectivewill of the people and their elected institu-tions. In the recent NATO supply issue,wasn’t it the dominant public opinion thathelped the establishment to prolong theblockage of supplies? Whenever, we con-template freeing the destiny of Pakistanfrom the clutches of the establishmenthaving a split personality, we must takeinto consideration the social psychologyof its arbitrators among our people andinstitutions. These people empower theestablishment by buttressing favourablepublic opinion for it that enables it to playall the wrong shots at critical times. Wemust try to bridge the destructive dishar-mony between the dominant public opin-ion and expressed will of the majority.This means people working in the mediaand socio-political institutions must notbe afraid to call a spade a spade.

SOHAIL RAMZAN RANALahore

Comment 11Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Iam probably among the very fewwho still have faith in the capabil-ity of Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh to take India out of the economicmorass in which it is stuck. I do notlike his World Bank-guided model. Yethe has given the country a growth rateof 8 to 9 per cent in a decade and morethan doubled the growth rate of 3.5 percent, our cumulative performancesince independence in August 1947.

True, the Prime Minister has comea long way from his report on South-South Cooperation, a definitive workwhich reflected a left-of-centre ap-proach, something akin to the socialistpattern of society that JawaharlalNehru had enunciated. But ManmohanSingh defends his reforms as prag-matic, suited to India’s genius. The endresult has been a huge distance be-tween the rich and the poor. He nowtalks of “inclusive growth” but he hasbeen stuck there for a long time, al-though he has sold the idea to his ad-miring followers in the West. ToPresident Barrack Obama, he is still a“guru.”

Whether Manmohan Singh wouldsucceed giving a new direction toIndia’s economy is yet to be seen.However, there are difficulties in hisway. His credibility to set things righthas been eroded. Investors fromabroad and from within the countryare demanding their pound of flesh.Inflation is high and fiscal deficit looksunbridgeable. People are too used tosubsidies and they would not take a cutlightly.

On the other hand, one major im-pediment has lessened. Congress pres-ident Sonia Gandhi who was notallowing certain reforms has with-drawn her objection to them. Herbackseat driving has cost ManmohanSingh dearly. He has lost the image ofpurity he once enjoyed. There is thegeneral belief that he connived at the

various scams. That he knew about themobiles (2G spectrum) corruptionrunning into hundreds of crores anddid not interfere to stop it is taken forgranted.

The resignation by AgriculturalMinister Sharad Pawar from the chair-manship of the Group of Ministerslooking into the 2G scandal is a healthydevelopment. No report emanatingfrom him would have been consideredfair and untainted. Such resignations,probably suggested, and the exit ofPranab Mukherjee who could not havedone worse than he did as finance min-ister, give more leeway to ManmohanSingh. The only thing expected fromhim is to lead the process of recovery,made more difficult because of mon-soon’s failure in some parts of thecountry. Also Sonia Gandhi is stilloverlooking his shoulders.

Since he would be grappling withmany problems, he would expect sup-port and understanding from his ownparty, the allies in the coalition theCongress leads and even the BJP in theopposition. The latter has offered helpon certain reforms but its contention isthat the Congress party is itself dividedover some of the steps contemplated.This was the BJP’s position even in thebudget session of parliament but theCongress was then not prepared to bitethe bullet.

The real problem that ManmohanSingh faces is the government’s ally,Trinamool Congress headed by mercu-rial Mamata Banerjee. She, in fact, hu-miliated the prime minister by naminghim as a candidate for the office of thePresident of India. After meeting SoniaGandhi, she and the other ally of thegovernment, Mulayam Singh of Sama-jwadi Party from UP, proposed hisname kicking Manmohan Singh up-stairs. Sonia Gandhi should have re-torted immediately to the suggestionand issued a statement saying therewas no question of changing Manmo-han Singh as the prime minister. Sheallowed the confusion to prevail for 24hours, humiliating Manmohan Singhfurther.

I do not know why the prime min-ister is saying every now and then thathe is willing to vacate his place forRahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi’s son.Manmohan Singh should know by thistime, having been in the Congress for25 years, that whenever Sonia Gandhidecides, she would not even ask himwhy she is putting her son in his place.At present, Rahul’s image is down be-

cause of the battering of the Congressin Bihar and UP, the two states wherehe campaigned during the assemblyelections. He would need some time torefurbish his appeal.

Besides giving direction to thematters of economy, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh should show that heis really in command of the country.He should have publicly asked for a re-port on the killing of ‘Naxalites’ whothe human rights activists allege wereinnocent villagers. In fact, he shouldhave ordered a judicial inquirystraightaway to verify the facts becausethe police has the reputation of beinggun crazy. The wobbling home minis-ter P Chidambaram is not known forquick decision.

Coming to the issue of prisoners inIndia and Pakistan, the prime ministershould have taken the matter in hisown hands when Pakistan releasedSurjeet Singh and not Sarabjit Singh,as was announced earlier. Many televi-sion channels from Pakistan informedme about Sarabjit’s release and got myreaction. Apparently, the hardlinersmade Islamabad change its decision.The prime minister should have takenup the matter at his level because therelationship between the two countriesis getting affected by the “mistakenidentity”, if it was so.

One thing that comes out clearlyfrom the recent confusion is that pris-oners on both sides are consideredmere pawns on a chessboard and arekept in jail beyond the tenure of thesentence to play the opportunisticgame. Surjeet Singh who has been re-leased spent nearly 10 years more be-cause that is the practice. No onebothers on both sides about humansuffering. No one is accountable andnobody is taken to task for detainingprisoners illegally.

In India, there are examples whereits own prisoners are in jail even if theyhave served their sentence. For exam-ple, I would like to know the fate ofSikh prisoners languishing in jail since1984. Had the government shownagility, the prisoners would have beenreleased by this time.

Economic reforms may be impor-tant, but more important is the peo-ple’s feeling that the government is justand cares for them. Prime MinisterManmohan Singh can begin from thisnote.

The writer is a senior Indianjournalist.

Dr singh needs to take the wheel

The reluctant PM

By kuldip Nayar

Editor’s mailSend your letters to: Letters to

Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-ShaareyFatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk.

Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:38 AM Page 11

12 Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

harper Beckham turns 1

HAPPy birthday to a special little someone!

Harper Seven Beckham—yes, you

recognized the last name correctly—

celebrates her first birthday today. She is the fourth

child and only daughter of superstar couple david

Beckham and Victoria Beckham. Born only a year

ago in Los Angeles, this supercute baby joined

brothers Brooklyn, 13, Romeo, 9, and Cruz, 7.

Before Harper’s birth, her parents had expressed a

strong desire to have a daughter. With stunningly

good-looking, musically adept and athletic genes

(thank you, soccer star dad and pop star mom),

Harper is destined to blossom into an über-

successful young woman. How will the baby

celebrate her very first birthday? We can only guess

the Beckham family will have something fun (that

doesn’t involve superheroes) planned! news DesK

Rihanna’s order forcesrestaurant to close

RIHANNA ordered so much food from a

Portuguese restaurant that the eatery had

to remain closed for the rest of the day.

The 24-year-old singer performed at the

Barclaycard Wireless Festival in London, England at

the weekend and requested a delivery from a local

Nando’s eatery. “Rihanna ordered every item from the

restaurant and asked for it to be delivered to her

private backstage area,” Contactmusic quoted a

backstage worker as telling the daily Star. Her

massive order is said to have cost around £7,000.

“The restaurant had to shut their doors for the

remainder of the day as they had no stock left.

Everyone was laughing, saying that only Rihanna

could clear out Nando’s,” the source added. news DesK

Reports of Salman Khan hittingKatrina Kaif bring to light howwomen in Bollywood have alwaysfaced harassment anddiscrimination.SALMAN khAN: SoMy ALI,AIShWARyA RAI, kAtRINAkAIf: When Salman was datingactor Somy Ali in the 90s, it wasreported that he smashed a bottleof cola on her head in a fit of rage. Aishwarya admitted in aninterview that Salman had hither during their relationship. In2001, Ash’s family had filed acomplaint about Salman comingto their house drunk andbreaking furniture and windowpanes. In 2003 the actor issued astatement against Sallu in whichshe wrote, “I stood by himenduring alcoholism andmisbehavior in its worst phasesand in turn, I was at thereceiving end of his abuse(verbal, physical, emotional),infidelity and indignity.”Salman allegedly slapped

Katrina Kaif on the sets of theirfilm Yuvraaj in 2008, after hesaw a picture of her in anewspaper with Akshay Kumarat an IPL match. He alsoreportedly slapped her earlier ata coffee shop.RAhUL MAhAJAN: DIMpyGANGULy: Rahul Mahajan, thereality TV actor, already had ahistory of abuse, with reportsthat he used to beat his formerwife Shweta. Dimpy, whomarried Mahajan on reality showRahul Dulhaniya Le Jaayengelater alleged that Mahajan hadbeaten her and threatened herwith a gun. Dimpy claimed thatMahajan punched and kicked herafter wanting to know thecontents of an SMS on herphone. However, she later wentback to him.ZeeNAt AMAN: SANJAykhAN, MAZhAR khAN:Sanjay Khan and Zeenat Amanmet on the sets of a film in 1980and started dating. It has been

reported that Khan assaultedZeenat in full public view in thelobby of a Mumbai Hotel.According to reports, Khan beather so badly that the actor had adoctor and nurse attending to herfor eight days and she had to takeanti-depressants three times aday. Reason: Khan wanted to re-shoot a song from their filmAbdullha, but she refused due toother commitments. Zeenat married actor MazharKhan in 1985. It was reportedthat Mazhar beat her and thecouple later filed for divorce.BoLLyWooD AND theCAStING CoUCh: MadhurBhandarkar/Preeti Jain In July2004, actor Preeti Jain lodged acomplaint against filmmakerMadhur Bhandarkar alleging thathe had raped her 16 timesbetween 1999 and 2004, underthe pretext of casting her as actorin his films. Madhur insists thecomplaint was of “cheating” anddid not mention rape.

DIBAkeRBANeRJee/pAyALRohAtGI: In March 2011, actorPayal Rohatgi accused filmmakerDibakar Banerjee of trying to takeadvantage of her physically. Payalsaid, “Dibakar commented that Ihad gained weight. He asked meto show him my stomach. I didn’tlike it.” Dibakar said she made thecomments to malign his image.IRRfAN khAN/MAMAtApAteL: Irrfan Khan was accusedof deceitful intimacy by actorMamata Patel who worked withhim in Paan Singh Tomar.Mamata said that Irrfan exploitedher during the outdoor shoot ofthe film and threatened her tostay mum about their relationand also promised her meatyroles in future projects.SUBhASh GhAI/RINAGoLAN: New York-raised RinaGolan in her book Dear MisterBollywood: How I Fell In Lovewith India, Bollywood and ShahRukh Khan, named industry

veterans Subhash Ghai, AnupJalota and Anees Bazmee in herbiography, claiming that they allasked her for sexual favours whenshe met them for work.ISMAIL DARBAR/pooNAMyADAv: Music director IsmailDarbar was accused of beingresponsible for Sa Re Ga Macontestant Poonam Yadav’ssupposed pregnancy, abortionand a suicide attempt thatfollowed. Poonam slammed theaccusations saying, “Ismail sirhas been my pillar of strength.Don’t drag his name into this.”RAJkUMARSANtoShI/MAMtAkULkARNI: Actor MamtaKulkarni had accused filmmakerRajkumar Santoshi of asking herfor sexual favours on the sets ofChina Gate and said that whenshe refused, he cut her role.Santoshi denied all rumours andpost this incident Mamta lost outmany roles in Bollywood, and hercareer was cut short. coUrtesy Ht

Suri in a dress

by Splendid

Suri wearing

Raincoat by

Hatley, boots

by Burberry

Bollywood women face violence, discrimination

PaWNay 14 aUgUSt a mix of entertainment and clichés

Children are the key tohappiness: Jolie

HOLLyWOOd star Angelina Jolie says her

children are the key to her happiness. The 37-

year-old actor, who raises Maddox, 10, Pax,

eight, Zahara, seven, Shiloh, six, and three-year-old

twins Knox and Vivienne with fiance Brad Pitt, said that

her life is enriched by her family, reported Femalefirst.

“For me, being a mother has enriched my world so

much more than I could ever have imagined. It’s hard

to say that I needed to be able to care for children to

become happy in my life, but I think there’s a lot of

truth to that,” said Jolie. “My mother was very devoted

to my brother and me. Having experienced that level

of love makes you understand how much your children

will appreciate you,” she added. coUrtesy Ht

LAHOREKUnwAr KHULDUne sHAHiD

Q UAID-E-AZAM, Allama Iqbaland Maulana Shaukat Ali are intown, and are generating morehype than any theatrical offer-

ing has generated in a long time, cour-tesy ‘Pawnay 14 August’. After blowingthe proverbial roof off Karachi with sheerentertainment, it’s Lahore’s turn to get adose of what is being touted as the ‘sav-iour’ of Pakistani theatre.

One could hence be forgiven if oneentered the Alhamra Arts Council withgargantuan expectations, which werefurther inflated by the fact that the scribewas asked for extra passes on three sep-arate occasions – even though he doesnot border on looking like a ticket re-seller – from hordes vying to trace aroute into the hall. The title of the playtells that it’s of a politico-satirical nature,but when one factors in the fact that onepenning this satire is the maestro of thisparticular genre, the anticipation justifi-ably becomes sky-high. When the mas-termind behind Fifty Fifty, AanganTerha, Studio Dhaai, Loose Talk,amongst other great specimens of satir-ical humour, serves up his humour forthe first time on stage, it is normal to ex-pect something unprecedentedly special– that unfortunately is not how this one-act play turned out to be.

The play depicts Quaid-e-Azam, Al-lama Iqbal and Maulana Shaukat Ali inmodern day Pakistan, as they facepalmtheir way through many chance encoun-ters at the waiting lounge of the JinnahInternational Airport, Karachi. These en-counters run the whole gamut from lead-ing politicians to political partysupporters; from Bengalis to Sindhis;from Chaudhary Shujaat to Veena Malik.And while one and all seemed to quoteIqbal’s poetry and cite Quaid’s ideals,quite often misinterpreting them fortheir own benefit, no one actually recog-nised the three founding fathers of Pak-istan as they sat in the lounge waiting fortheir flight with their tickets on chance…

As far as entertainment value is con-cerned, Pawnay 14 August is indeed top-drawer. It is a laugh-a-minute ride, as theplay takes jibes at the politicians, theirparties, their followers, celebrities, thearmy, PIA, our history, among otherthings and synthesises a satire on modernday Pakistan, that seems like a spoof ofwhat these founding fathers intended it tobe. There is many a dialogue that wouldgive the audience laughter fits; and onewould expect that from a piece written byAnwar Maqsood. The writing has all thewit and drollness that the great man canconjure up at the drop of a hat, but Paw-

nay 14 August lacks that rude awakeningpunch that one associates with the writingof the master of Urdu satire. The playhighlights the fact that this isn’t Quaid’sPakistan, nor the one Iqbal dreamt of…but hang on a minute, is that reallygroundbreaking news? Isn’t that whatevery politician – ironically the butt ofmuch ridicule throughout the play –keeps on reminding us in every single oneof their gatherings? The fact that the playis already a commercial blockbuster is un-derstandable since it emphasises upon –and exaggerates – what the masses ad-mire dutifully: ridiculing everything asso-ciated with Pakistan, left, right and centrewithout as much as giving a hint as to howto change the scenario. Relentless mock-ing of our socio-political scene is preciselywhat an average Pakistani wants to see –probably why similar satire is beingbroadcasted on almost every TV channel– and Pawnay 14 August gives them thatin quality and abundance. Fittingly,there’s a ‘ray of hope’ in the climax, forwhich neither the performers nor the au-dience had to exercise their little greycells. After criticising the current situationin Pakistan, it was the ‘perfect ending’since it threw the gauntlet over to the cur-rent generation, without telling themwhat needs to be done, and more impor-tantly how it could be done.

Excuse the writer for expecting morefrom a play written by a man who has theability leave earth shattering messagesby even the flimsiest of puns. Like for in-stance how he once famously trans-formed the line from a famous national

song “Iss parcham ke saaye talay humaik hain” to “Kiss parcham ke saaye talayhum aik hain?” and summoned a sting-ing query by a mere alphabetical modi-fication. That sort of sting is not there inPawnay 14 August.

Although to be fair, there are a fewdialogues which manifest the darker sideof Anwar Maqsood’s humour. Especiallywhen the Bengali passenger, retraces themelancholy of the 1971 and how ‘WestPakistanis’ were ready to bend over infront of their enemies, but not in front oftheir Bengali brothers. And after leavingfor his flight he asked the founding fa-thers why the government of Pakistandoesn’t announce a half-day on 14th Au-gust, considering that half of the originalPakistan is no longer a part of the coun-try – that was possibly the only knockoutpunch that the play had.

As far as the performances are con-cerned, most of them were top notch;and kudos to the cast for that! There isnot a single weak performer in the cast,and they do justice to the wealth of witthat is at their disposal by delivering thepunches competently. However, ar-guably it was Dawar Mehmood – who isalso the director of the play – as MaulanaShaukat Ali, who stood out among a veryimpressive array of actors.

All in all, the play has indubitable en-tertainment value and is bound to havecommercial success; but if you’re lookingfor a revolutionary message, the onlyway you’d be getting that from Pawnay14 August is if you’ve been living under arock for the past few years.

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:38 AM Page 12

13

Raveena tandon’s kidsmeet Roger Federer

RAVEENA Tandon Thadani and husband Anil,

who were in London recently, not just

watched the semi-finals live at Wimbledon

but also met current champ Roger Federer, who won

his seventh Wimbledon title on Sunday evening.

Says a source close to Raveena, “Anil wanted their

children Rasha and Ranbir Vardhan to watch a Wim-

bledon match live so all four of them went to Lon-

don. Raveena also wanted to watch Mahesh

Bhupathi, Sania Mirza and Leander Paes play, though

she’s not much of a tennis fan. They went to watch

Sania play against the William sisters — Serena and

Venus. Along with Rasha and Ranbir, the couple also

took along Ritiesh Sidhwani’s son.” during the break,

when Raveena and Anil went to the Players Lounge,

they saw Federer relaxing there. coUrtesy Ht

Saif hopes to do romanticfilms in his 50s

HE is in his 40s and will be seen in romantic-

comedy ‘Cocktail’ soon. Actor Saif Ali Khan says

that he hopes do a romcom even when he is ten

years older. Saif has tasted box office success and

audience appreciation whenever he did a rom-com: ‘Kal

Ho Na Ho’ (2003), ‘Hum Tum’ (2004), ‘Salaam Namaste’

(2005), ‘Love Aaj Kal’ (2009). “I hope I can do romantic

films at the age of 50. There is no age for romance. If the

story is nice and the character suits you then why not do

it. It is not like you can do only action films at a certain

age. As long as you look good doing the part, there

should not be any problem,” Saif said in an interview. In

Cocktail, he plays a flirt, opposite diana Penty and

deepika Padukone. “When we were shooting for the film

we had this as a working title, we had thought of giving

some nice Hindi title later. coUrtesy toi

Usher’s former son tragedy:an update

POLICE are continuing their investigation

concerning the tragic jet-ski accident that left

Usher’s former stepson Kyle Glover in critical

condition, and now, a new detail has been revealed.

According to an incident report, the driver of the

watercraft has been identified as family friend Jeffrey

S. Hubbard. Melissa Cummings of the Georgia

department of Natural Resources tells E! News, “The

entire incident in question is under investigation, which

includes Mr. Hubbard. We are not currently speculating

on what charges might be filed.” The incident report

lists Hubbard as the watercraft operator and confirms

that no alcohol was involved. news DesK

Reports of Salman Khan hittingKatrina Kaif bring to light howwomen in Bollywood have alwaysfaced harassment anddiscrimination.SALMAN khAN: SoMy ALI,AIShWARyA RAI, kAtRINAkAIf: When Salman was datingactor Somy Ali in the 90s, it wasreported that he smashed a bottleof cola on her head in a fit of rage. Aishwarya admitted in aninterview that Salman had hither during their relationship. In2001, Ash’s family had filed acomplaint about Salman comingto their house drunk andbreaking furniture and windowpanes. In 2003 the actor issued astatement against Sallu in whichshe wrote, “I stood by himenduring alcoholism andmisbehavior in its worst phasesand in turn, I was at thereceiving end of his abuse(verbal, physical, emotional),infidelity and indignity.”Salman allegedly slapped

Katrina Kaif on the sets of theirfilm Yuvraaj in 2008, after hesaw a picture of her in anewspaper with Akshay Kumarat an IPL match. He alsoreportedly slapped her earlier ata coffee shop.RAhUL MAhAJAN: DIMpyGANGULy: Rahul Mahajan, thereality TV actor, already had ahistory of abuse, with reportsthat he used to beat his formerwife Shweta. Dimpy, whomarried Mahajan on reality showRahul Dulhaniya Le Jaayengelater alleged that Mahajan hadbeaten her and threatened herwith a gun. Dimpy claimed thatMahajan punched and kicked herafter wanting to know thecontents of an SMS on herphone. However, she later wentback to him.ZeeNAt AMAN: SANJAykhAN, MAZhAR khAN:Sanjay Khan and Zeenat Amanmet on the sets of a film in 1980and started dating. It has been

reported that Khan assaultedZeenat in full public view in thelobby of a Mumbai Hotel.According to reports, Khan beather so badly that the actor had adoctor and nurse attending to herfor eight days and she had to takeanti-depressants three times aday. Reason: Khan wanted to re-shoot a song from their filmAbdullha, but she refused due toother commitments. Zeenat married actor MazharKhan in 1985. It was reportedthat Mazhar beat her and thecouple later filed for divorce.BoLLyWooD AND theCAStING CoUCh: MadhurBhandarkar/Preeti Jain In July2004, actor Preeti Jain lodged acomplaint against filmmakerMadhur Bhandarkar alleging thathe had raped her 16 timesbetween 1999 and 2004, underthe pretext of casting her as actorin his films. Madhur insists thecomplaint was of “cheating” anddid not mention rape.

DIBAkeRBANeRJee/pAyALRohAtGI: In March 2011, actorPayal Rohatgi accused filmmakerDibakar Banerjee of trying to takeadvantage of her physically. Payalsaid, “Dibakar commented that Ihad gained weight. He asked meto show him my stomach. I didn’tlike it.” Dibakar said she made thecomments to malign his image.IRRfAN khAN/MAMAtApAteL: Irrfan Khan was accusedof deceitful intimacy by actorMamata Patel who worked withhim in Paan Singh Tomar.Mamata said that Irrfan exploitedher during the outdoor shoot ofthe film and threatened her tostay mum about their relationand also promised her meatyroles in future projects.SUBhASh GhAI/RINAGoLAN: New York-raised RinaGolan in her book Dear MisterBollywood: How I Fell In Lovewith India, Bollywood and ShahRukh Khan, named industry

veterans Subhash Ghai, AnupJalota and Anees Bazmee in herbiography, claiming that they allasked her for sexual favours whenshe met them for work.ISMAIL DARBAR/pooNAMyADAv: Music director IsmailDarbar was accused of beingresponsible for Sa Re Ga Macontestant Poonam Yadav’ssupposed pregnancy, abortionand a suicide attempt thatfollowed. Poonam slammed theaccusations saying, “Ismail sirhas been my pillar of strength.Don’t drag his name into this.”RAJkUMARSANtoShI/MAMtAkULkARNI: Actor MamtaKulkarni had accused filmmakerRajkumar Santoshi of asking herfor sexual favours on the sets ofChina Gate and said that whenshe refused, he cut her role.Santoshi denied all rumours andpost this incident Mamta lost outmany roles in Bollywood, and hercareer was cut short. coUrtesy Ht

Suri dressed in

Monsoon Uk

Suri wearing

crew cuts

Suri dressed in

Monsoon Uk

Suri wearing

crew cuts

Suri wearing

Raincoat by

Hatley, boots

by Burberry

Suri spotted in GAP

T-shirt, shoes by

Nordstorm, capri by

Splendid Littles

Suri in a

gorgeous

navy dress

Bollywood women face violence, discrimination holmes gets primarycustody of Suri

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have reportedly agreed that theirdaughter Suri should live primarily with her mother in NewYork with generous visitation by her father. According tosources, the terms of physical custody of the 6-year-old girl wasa key element of the settlement announced on Monday, justdays after Holmes filed for divorce, People Magazine reported.“They both love their daughter, and Tom thinks she should bewith her mother,” one source said. The source said that Cruisealso “didn’t want his family dragged through the mud.” “Neitherone of them wanted this to be hashed out in public,” the sourceadded. Holmes has long loved New York and will enroll herdaughter, who had been home-schooled by tutors, into a privateschool in Manhattan in the fall, sources said. news DesK

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:38 AM Page 13

11Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Python escapes, wraps itselfaround toddler

WILLIAM Winans, a one-year-old boy in Mattoon, Ill., is recovering

after an escaped python crawled into his crib, wrapped itself

around his leg and bit him. devin Winans, William's father, went

into the boy's room after he heard him moving around in his crib. He reached

into the crib and felt something "really slimy." "I immediately turned the light

on and saw the snake, a ball python, wrapped around his foot, constricting it,

and trying to eat his foot," he said. devin Winans pulled the snake off William

and the boy was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for the bite

on his foot, according to The Herald & Review. According to follow-up report

in The Herald & Review, the escaped python belonged to the occupant of a

neighboring apartment. Mattoon police cited Shelby C. Guyette, 23, for not

having a secure terrarium. Sadly, there have been other instances of pet

snakes escaping and attacking children. Last July, Jaren Hare and Charles

"Jason" darnell, a Florida couple, were found guilty in the death of Hare's 2-

year-old daughter, Shaianna. news DesK

EX-CIa veteran says RoswellUFo was out of this world

IT was 65 years ago today that the Roswell daily Record blasted

an infamous headline claiming local military officials had

captured a flying saucer on a nearby ranch. And now, a former

CIA agent says it really happened. "It was not a damn weather

balloon -- it was what it was billed when people first reported it," said

Chase Brandon, a 35-year CIA veteran. "It was a craft that clearly did

not come from this planet, it crashed and I don't doubt for a second

that the use of the word 'remains' and 'cadavers' was exactly what

people were talking about." Brandon served as an undercover, covert

operations officer in the agency's Clandestine Service for 25 years,

where he was assigned missions in international terrorism,

counterinsurgency, global narcotics trafficking and weapons

smuggling. He spent his final 10 years of CIA service on the director's

staff as the agency's first official liaison to the entertainment and

publication industries. news DesK

Monkey terrorises governmentmedical college

HEALTH officials in India are going bananas over allegations that

a monkey was able to slip into a hospital in the city of Jammu

and terrorize patients and visitors for nearly three hours before

being removed.The monkey had come into the emergency ward of

Government Medical College Hospital to either beat the heat or find

food and ended up dozing on a bed for more than three hours. As might

be expected, the patients at the adjoining beds weren't too thrilled to

have a monkey as their roommate. "I came to show my child, but you

can see the situation. It looks less like a hospital for humans and more

for animals. The monkey is on the next bed and four-five dogs are

roaming outside, the hospital looks like a zoo," one patient said. "My

relative got fruits for the patient, but the monkey snatched it," a visitor

told NdTV. The monkey reportedly left on its own after three hours, but

its presence has officials like Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of

Jammu and Kashmir, going ape. news DesK

WhAt IS It? The Logitech K760 is a wireless,solar-powered keyboard designed for Apple de-vices (Mac, iPhone, iPad). It switches betweenthe three with the tap of a key.Who'S It foR? Anyone who uses a wirelesskeyboard to compose on a MacBook/iPhone/iPad,constantly switches between the devices, and hatesreplacing batteries.DeSIGN: Logitech mimicked the aesthetic ofApple's wireless keyboard with a silver andwhite color scheme. But the Logitech's inclineisn't quite as steep, the keys have a deeper dim-ple, plastic replaces aluminum, and there's agiant solar strip across the top.USING It: Simple. To pair it with an iPhone,iPad, or Mac, set the device's Bluetooth to active.The keyboard can assign a device to one of threehot keys. Tap the one you want. Follow theprompts and compose your next masterpiece.the BeSt pARt:The solar power. Never changing batteries is atech sloth's dream.tRAGIC fLAW: Build quality. The K760 justdoesn't match the feel—both in the quality andperformance—of Apple's standard-issue. Thekeys are virtually same size as Apple's keyboards(though spaced ever-so-slightly wider), but forthe first few hours, the keyboard felt totally alien.

teSt NoteS 8 Used at home casually over the span of two

weeks.8 Bluetooth hot keys basically tied for the Best

Part. Not having to take your hands off yourkeyboard to quickly switch which deviceyou're typing on is fantastic.

8 Typed this review with the keyboard. Didn'twant to commit suicide by the end.

8 Compared to Apple, the keys feel a bit moreclacky, and not as springy.

8 The plastic overlay on the keyboard is prone toscratching, and is especially visible on the solarpanels. If you're trying to slip this in a bag, beware.

ShoULD yoU BUy It? If you are frequently typ-ing long things on iOS devices at home or work, andyou hate swapping out batteries, then absolutely. Thething works reliably and exactly as advertised. Nowwhether or not you'll like the feel of the keys or the over-all look of the product is another thing. It just doesn'tcompare to the best products out there in that regard.But that wasn't really the aim of this product anyway.Logitech K760 Wireless Solar Keyboard8 Price: $808 Compatible Devices: Any Bluetooth-

equipped Mac, iPhone or iPad8 Battery life: 3 months without light (fully

charged, used 8 hours a day).CouRTESy GIZMoDo

If you use a wireless keyboard, you know pairing with different

devices and hunting down batteries can be the bane of one's

tech existence. As a remedy, Logitech offers the K760 Wireless

Solar Keyboard. It never needs batteries, and it quickly

switches between Mac and iOS devices. The Apple Keyboard isbeautifully designed—should you ditch it for this?

1-peRfUMe yoUR pALMS: Cutting onions, cleaning fish, or han-dling garlic can leave a strong odor on your hands. Wash them withtoothpaste to remove the smell. 2-CLeAN yoUR JeWeLRy: Use asoft toothbrush with a tiny amount of toothpaste to brush dull metal jew-elry, then rinse and polish it to a shine with a soft cloth. Soak seriouslygrungy metal in a cup of water with dissolved toothpaste. Don't use it to geta pearly white finish on actual pearls—toothpaste damages the surface. 3-pUt pASte oN A DAMp SpoNGe to WIpe CRAyoN off pAINteDWALLS: 4-DefoG GoGGLeS:The mild abrasive in toothpaste is perfect forremoving the crud that causes your sporty eyewear to fog up. As a preventativemeasure, just lightly rub toothpaste inside a diving mask, motorcycle goggles, or on ahockey helmet face guard. Wipe and rinse the surface clean. (Note: YMMV—toothpastecan remove special coatings like anti-glare treatments.) 5-CLeAR ZItS: Cover pimples with adab of toothpaste before you hit the sack, then wash your face clean in the morning. This works for bug bites and beestings too—just remove the stinger first. The paste will dry out and shrink your offending blemishes. 6-Do yoUR NAILS: Toothpaste works on toenails and fingernails like it does on teeth. Clean your nails with a tooth-brush and paste to make them strong and shiny. 7-De-fUNk A BottLe: Wash baby bottles with toothpaste and abottle scrubber, making sure to rinse them very well with water. The paste will get rid of that nauseating sour milk smell. 8-ReMove SoAp SCUM: Rub a glass shower door with a damp sponge and a squirt of toothpaste. For heavy scumand soap stains, let the toothpaste sit on the door for several minutes before rinsing it off. 9-poLISh ChRoMefAUCet fIxtUReS: 10-hIDe DRINk RINGS: If you aren't fanatical about putting coasters under your drinks,then you probably have water rings on your wooden furniture. Rub them off with toothpaste and a soft cloth. 11-ReMove StAINS: Scrub a carpet stain with toothpaste on an abrasive brush, then rinse with water. Tough stains re-quire a couple of scrubbings. Toothpaste can also remove stains in cotton clothes, but it doesn't work for all types of fabric.

Besides keeping your teeth sparkly, toothpaste offers a widerange of cleaning, cosmetic—even healing abilities around thehouse. Just be sure to use the white pasty stuff, not gel. And forany of these tips that call for an actual toothbrush, just considerthat tool off-limits for the mouth from here on out

Infotainment

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:39 AM Page 14

wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Page 18

non-stop Serena setto go at Stanford

PALLEkELEAfP

yOUNG all-rounder ThisaraPerera followed his fourwickets with 75 off 86 ballsas Sri Lanka seized controlof the final Test against

Pakistan in Pallekele on Tuesday.Pakistan, seeking a series-levelling

win, paid for sloppy fielding as Sri Lankarecovered from a middle-order collapseto make 337 in their first innings on thethird day.

The tourists, trailing by 111 runs, were27-1 in their second knock by stumps, los-ing opener Taufeeq Umar for four, leg-before to seamer Nuwan Kulasekara.

Mohammad Hafeez was unbeaten on

eight and Azhar Ali was on six, with Pak-istan trailing by 84 runs with nine wick-ets in hand.The resolute batting by thehosts has given them a chance to build onthe 1-0 series lead. Sri Lanka won the firstTest by 209 runs before the second wasdrawn.

Sri Lanka were only 10 runs aheadwhen they lost their seventh wicket, butPerera and Kulasekara (33) snatched theinitiative by adding 84 for the eighth.

Perera, a 23-year-old from Colomboplaying only his sixth Test, smashed fourfours and three sixes in his maiden half-century after being dropped twice on 11and 22. Seamer Umar Gul first missed areturn catch and then saw skipper Mis-bah-ul Haq spill a low chance in the slipsoff his own bowling.

Perera, whose four wickets in the firstinnings engineered Pakistan's collapsefor 226, was last man out when he wasbowled by left-arm seamer Junaid Khan.

Junaid finished with 5-70, his secondsuccessive five-wicket haul, while off-spinner Saeed Ajmal claimed 3-66.

The third day's play provided a keentussle between bat and ball, compensat-

ing for the entire second day being lostdue to rain.

Tharanga Paranavitana and ThilanSamaraweera led Sri Lanka's charge witha fourth-wicket stand of 143 after surviv-ing a testing morning session in overcastconditions.

The pair had come together whenskipper Mahela Jayawardene fell off thelast ball of the first day's play to leave SriLanka tottering at 44-3 at stumps.

Left-handed Paranavitana scored 75,his highest score in the series, and Sama-raweera made 73 in a timely return toform after aggregating just 21 runs in theprevious two Tests.

Pakistan bounced back in the post-lunch session as Ajmal grabbed two quickwickets to leave Sri Lanka on 204-6 afterthey were comfortably placed at 187-3.

Samaraweera was lucky to get to ahalf-century as Younis Khan floored ashoulder-high catch off Gul when thebatsman was on 49.

The fourth-wicket stand was brokenmidway through the afternoon sessionwhen Samaraweera played back to Ajmaland was out leg-before.

New man Angelo Mathews beganwith a promising on-drive off Moham-mad Sami for four, but fell for nine whenhe sliced Junaid to Asad Shafiq at gully.

Paranavita's five-hour vigil endedsoon after, bowled by Ajmal to make SriLanka 204-6, still 23 runs away from

gaining the lead.Pakistan felt the absence of wicket-

keeper Adnan Akmal, who was confinedto the dressing room with a hairline frac-ture in his left hand sustained while bat-ting on the opening day. Umar, who keptwickets, conceded 16 byes.

Perera puts Sri Lanka on topPakistan pay for sloppy fielding

PAKistAn 1st innings 226 (Asad shafiq 75, t. Perera 4-63, r.

Herath 3-40)

sri LAnKA 1st innings (overnight 44-3):

t. Paranavitana b Ajmal 75

D. chandimal lbw b Junaid 8

K. sangakkara b Junaid 0

M. Jayawardene lbw b sami 12

t. samaraweera lbw b Ajmal 73

A. Mathews c shafiq b Junaid 9

P. Jayawardene lbw b gul 20

t. Perera not out 75

n. Kulasekara c taufeeq b Junaid 33

r. Herath lbw b Ajmal 2

D. fernando not out 0

extras: (b16, lb7, w6, nb1) 30

total (all out, 100.2 overs) 337

fall of wickets: 1-14 (chandimal), 2-14 (sangakkara), 3-44 (M.

Jayawardene), 4-187 (samaraweera), 5-200 (Mathews), 6-204

(Paranavitana), 7-236 (P. Jayawardene), 8-320 (Kulasekara), 9-

337 (Herath), 10-337 (Perera).

Bowling: gul 22-3-90-1 (w5), Junaid 28.2-3-70-5, sami 17-1-69-

1 (w1), Ajmal 25-5-66-3, younis 3-0-9-0 (nb1), Hafeez 5-0-10-0

PAKistAn 2nd innings:

Mohammad Hafeez not out 8

taufeeq Umar lbw b Kulasekara 4

Azhar Ali not out 6

extras: (lb4, w5) 9

total (for one wicket, six overs) 27

fall of wicket: 1-16 (taufeeq).

Bowling: Kulasekara 3-1-9-1, Perera 3-0-14-0 (w5).

Pakistan trail by 84 runs with nine wickets in hand.

toss: sri Lanka

Umpires: steve Davis (AUs) and simon taufel (AUs)

tV umpire: ranmore Martinesz (sri)

Match referee: David Boon (AUs)

scoreBoArD

LONDONAfP

South Africa wicketkeeper MarkBoucher has retired from interna-tional cricket after suffering a severeeye injury during his country's tourmatch against Somerset, team cap-tain Graeme Smith revealed on Tues-day.

Boucher had to undergo surgeryon a "laceration" to the white of theleft eyeball on Monday night afterbeing struck by a bail on day one ofthe Proteas' tour match at Taunton.

The incident occurred when a ballfrom spinner Imran Tahir cleanbowled Gemaal Hussain, withBoucher stood up to the stumps andwearing a cap instead of a helmet.

He immediately hit the groundand was helped from the pitch withblood apparently coming from hiseye.

The 35-year-old was due to re-turn home after the operation andSmith, speaking at Taunton, read outa statement on Boucher's behalf thatconfirmed his retirement from SouthAfrica duty.

"I never anticipate announcingmy retirement now but circum-stances dictate differently," Bouchersaid in the statement.

"For now, I'd like to thank ahuge number of people for theirheartfelt support for the last 24hours. I now head onto a road ofuncertain recovery."

Boucher retires from South African duty‘Wickekeeper must wear helmetagainst spinners’

MUMBAIBiPin DAni

Saba Karim, the former Indian wicketkeeper, wasshocked to hear the news about the serious eye injury toSouth African wicketkeeper, Mark Boucher. "Ohhh, howit happened? Did he not wear the helmet?" were the im-mediate questions asked by the 45-year-old Karim.The35-year-old Boucher was injured while standing up toleg-spinner Imran Tahir on the opening afternoon of thetwo-day tour match with Somerset.He was wearing a cap, rather than a helmet, when a ballbowled Gemaal Hussain, flicking a bail up off the stumpsand into his face."It was uncommon on those days for keepers to wear hel-mets. Perhaps after my incident the wickekeepers havestarted using helmets. The keepers should wear helmetswhen spinners are bowling", Karim added. "Boucher,otheriwse, has always been wearing the helmets". "If thesurgery is being peroformed immediately, I can under-stand the seriousness of the injury". In the year 2000,Saba Karim was hit below his right eye by a rising deliv-ery from leg-spinner Anil Kumble while keeping wicketsduring India's opening match against Bangladesh in theAsia Cup, Kumble's googly shot up from a good lengthand grazed the flap of Bangladeshi batsman HabibulBashar's pad before hitting Karim's face. The injury ruledthe Bengal wicketkeeper-batsman out of further action inthe tournament and had to return to Calcutta same night."In my case, the surgery was not performed immediately.My macula was injured. Hope this does not happen toBoucher", Saba Karim signed off.

multan, faisalabadofficials receivefestival briefing

LAHOREstAff rePort

The officials of the Multan and Faisal-abad districts have been asked to formdifferent organizing committees and gen-erate funds from different quarters tohold the Punjab Youth Sports Festival inan appropriate manner.In the second meeting held here onTuesday the district officials at 90Shahra-i-Quaid-i-Azam, DeputySpeaker and Chairman OrganizingCommittee Sports Punjab Rana Mash-hood Ahmed Khan said that PunjabYouth Festival is going to be a trend-setting event, which would end negativ-ity about the country. Secretary Sports Punjab Haroon AhmedKhan and Director General Sports BoardPunjab and Youth Affairs Usman Anwarwere also present on the occasion.In the first meeting District officials ofLahore and Gujranwala were briefedabout the organization of the festivalwhile in the second meeting MPAs,MNAs and other government officials ofMultan and Faisalabad were given detailsof the festival.They districts officials were given a time-frame of next three days to form commit-tees to hold the event in an aptly mannerand give their feedback to the chairmanorganizing committee. Similar meetingswith officials of other districts will beheld in the coming days.

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:39 AM Page 16

Sports 16Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

Boucher blowovershadowssouth Africa draw

LONDONAfP

Mark Boucher’s retirement overshadowedhalf-centuries from Hashim Amla and JPDuminy as South Africa warmed up fornext week’s first Test against England in adrawn tour match at Somerset on Tues-day. While Amla and Duminy looked ingood form, it was Boucher’s decision to re-tire from international action, revealed bySouth African captain Graeme Smith dur-ing the second and final day at Taunton,that took the spotlight. The long-servingSouth African wicketkeeper was forced tohang up his gloves after being hit in theeye by a bail during the first day’s play.Boucher, who had already planned to quitat the end of the England tour, neededthree hours of surgery on his eye andopted to bring forward his retirementplans as he contemplates a lengthy reha-bilitation. “It is with sadness, and in somepain, that I make this announcement,”Boucher said in a statement. “Due to theseverity of my eye injury, I will not be ableto play international cricket again. I hadprepared for this UK tour as well, if notbetter than I have prepared for any tour inmy career. “For now, I’d like to thank ahuge number of people for their heartfeltsupport for the last 24 hours. I now headonto a road of uncertain recovery.” Teammanager Mohammad Moosajee said:“They are hoping that with time and whenthe swelling and inflammation settles wewill get a clearer picture. But at the minutethe prognosis is unclear. “We need to re-main as positive as we can - but we willonly know in a few weeks’ time.”

Pak karate team to

take part in AKf

event in tashkentLAHORE

stAff rePort

A six-member Pakistan Karate team willtake part in the in 11th Asian Karate Federa-tion Karate Championship being held fromJuly 14-18 at Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Pak-istan team comprises three men and womenplayers, said a spokesman of Pakistan KarateFederation here on Tuesday. Men teammembers are Baz Muhammad, MuhammadKashif and Muhammad Ramzan who arethe Gold Medalist of 1st South Asian KarateChampionship2011, India Another medalprospect in the team is Saadi Abbas who wongold medal in -67 Kg Class in 10thAsianKarate Championship, 2011, . Binishand Kulsoom are participating first time in11th Asian karate Championship. Both thefemale players are Gold Medalist of 1st SouthAsian Karate Championship2011, India.Khalid Noor is the coach and Nasim AhmedQureshi will be the Manager of the team. Theteam will return home on July 18.

LAHOREstAff rePort

The organizing committee of the Punjab YouthSport Festival 2012 has started to receive encour-aging response from general public which isshowing great interest for participation in the fes-tival in different ways.

“The Punjab Youth Festival websitewww.sportsportal.punjab.gov.pk which is yet tobe officially launched has reached nearly 100,000visits,” informed Director General Sports BoardPunjab Usman Anwar here on Tuesday.

He said that the Punjab government officiallylaunched awareness campaign last month andsince then people are coming with different ideas.“In just less than a month we have receivednearly 6000 ideas online and the hype is gainingpace,” he said.

The DG SBP further stated that the main pur-pose of holding this Festival is to give directionto the young generation of the country and endthe state of dejection from society. “It is thedream of Chief Minister Punjab, Mian ShahbazSharif to see the youth of the country progress toa direction through which Pakistan is seen as atrue sovereign and peace-loving country in the

world,” he added.“The website is carrying all the details of the

event like registration form for participation,forms for volunteers, details of the Punjab YouthFestival, National Youth Festival and Interna-tional Youth Festival.”

Usman further said that the website also in-clude schedule of different sports events to be or-ganized at mass level, visit to different areas of

mobile campaign floats, festival inspirationquotes, suggestion box and festival flow chart .

“The sportsportal have the messages of ChiefMinister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif, ChairmanSports Board Punjab Hamza Shahbaz Sharif andChairman Organising Committee Sports PunjabRana Mashhood Ahmed Khan.

“At one corner of the portal there is a sectionof press releases while the flow chart has furtherdetails of the different levels of events fromNeighbourhood and Village level to Provincialstage. In between there will be sports competi-tions and different other events at Union Council,Tehsil, District and Divisional levels,” saidUsman. He further added that helpline numberand e-mail address have also been given to pro-vide complete assistance to the people desirousof participation in the Punjab Youth Festival.

Usman Anwar also informed that similar in-formation is also available on the given links offacebook (which have more than 700 likes), twit-ter, youtube and G+ on the website.

“We have received overwhelming responsefrom the public as scores of youth have registeredas volunteers to extend support in the successfulorganization of sports and other events of the fes-tival,” said Usman.

MANCHESTERAfP

England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and elected tofield in the fifth and final one-day international (ODI)against Australia at Old Trafford here on Tuesday.England, already a series-winning 3-0 up, made one changefrom the side that won the fourth ODI by eight wickets atChester-le-Street on Saturday. Off-spinner James Tredwell, in his first ODI in over a year,replaced seamer Tim Bresnan, out with a sore elbow.That meant England were fielding two spinners, with SamitPatel retaining his place in the side.Australia were forced into making two changes after experi-enced paceman Brett Lee and all-rounder Shane Watsonboth withdrew from the tour after suffering calf injurieswhile bowling at Chester-le-Street.Their places were taken by Steven Smith and Xavier Do-herty as Australia also opted to field two spinners, withwicket-keeper Matthew Wade filling the opener’s spot va-cated by Watson.Australia opted to leave out left-arm quick Mitchell John-son, who had insisted he had recovered from a foot injurythat sidelined him on Saturday.Rain had reduced this day/night match to a 32 overs perside contest.england: Alastair Cook (capt), Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott,Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan, Craig Kieswetter (wkt), SamitPatel, Stuart Broad, James Tredwell, Steven Finn, JamesAndersonAustralia: David Warner, Matthew Wade (wkt), Peter For-rest, Michael Clarke (capt), David Hussey, George Bailey,Steven Smith, Ben Hilfenhaus, Xavier Doherty, ClintMcKay, James Pattinson Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Ian Gould (ENG)TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

MANCHESTERAfP

Former South Africa coach Mickey Arthur hailedthe “phenomenal” Mark Boucher after the Proteaswicket-keeper was forced into premature interna-tional retirement by a freak eye injury.

Boucher had to undergo three hours of surgeryafter being struck in the left eyeball by a bail on thefirst day of South Africa’s opening match of their tourof England against Somerset at Taunton on Monday.

The incident occurred when a ball from spinnerImran Tahir clean bowled Gemaal Hussain, with

Boucher stood up to the stumps and wearing a capinstead of a helmet. The 35-year-old, a Proteas main-stay for the best part of 15 years, was due to returnhome after being released from hospital on Tuesdayand South Africa captain Graeme Smith, speaking atTaunton, read out a statement on Boucher’s behalfthat confirmed his international retirement.“I was re-ally disappointed for him,” Arthur, now coachingAustralia, told BBC Radio ahead of the fifth one-dayinternational against England at Old Trafford here onTuesday. “I know he wanted to come here because hewanted it to be his real swansong as a Test series, soit is really disappointing to end this way for Mark.”

COLORADO SPRINGSAfP

HOPE Solo, the starting goalkeeper for the

defending champion United States women’s

Olympic football squad, has been given only

a warning after a positive doping test. The

US Anti-doping Agency (USAdA)

announced the violation and punishment on Monday,

16 days before the Americans are set to open their

Olympic campaign against France in Glasgow,

Scotland. Solo, 30, tested positive for canrenone in a

random urine sample taken last June 15. But canrenone is

classified as a specified substance, allowing for sanctions against

an athlete to be reduced if found in a sample. Solo was taking a

prescribed medication in a therapeutic dose under the care of a

physician and the medication, when metabolized, resulted in

the adverse analytical finding, according to USAdA. “I took a

medication prescribed by my personal doctor for pre-

menstrual purposes that I did not know contained a

diuretic,” Solo said in a statement. “Once informed of this

fact, I immediately cooperated with USAdA and shared

with them everything they needed to properly conclude

that I made an honest mistake and that the

medication did not enhance my performance in any

way.” A meaningful ban of any sort would have kept

Solo out of the Olympic squad but accepting a warning

allows her to play. “As someone who believes in clean sport,

I am glad to have worked with USAdA to resolve this matter

and I look forward to representing my country at the 2012

Olympic Games in London,” Solo said. USAdA chief executive

Travis T. Tygart indicated that he felt the lack of a ban was justified

in Solo’s case. “As in all cases, we thoroughly investigate the

circumstances and always do what is fair and right for clean athletes

and the integrity of sport,” he said. US Soccer was quick with a

statement of its own in support of Solo. “After discussions with Hope,

we fully support her clarification that the positive test for canrenone

was due to the use of a prescribed medication from a personal

doctor for pre-menstrual purposes and not related to performance

enhancement in any way,” US Soccer said in its statement. “We

fully cooperated with USAdA during the disciplinary process to

ensure it could be resolved quickly. Hope has accepted the

public warning for her rule violation. US Soccer, Hope and the

rest of the women’s national team staff and players are

looking forward to continuing preparations for the Olympics.”

olympian Solo only warnedafter positive dope test

arthur salutes ‘phenomenal’ BoucherEngland win tossand field against australia

Punjab youth Sports Festival website gets mass hits

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:39 AM Page 17

Sports17Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

SHANGHAIAfP

C HINESE hurdler Liu Xiang endured

injury agony at the Beijing Olympics

and bitter injustice at last year’s world

championships, but now he looks on

the verge of redemption in London.

It’s been a long road back for the unassuming

“Flying Man”, 28, who won 110m hurdles gold

at Athens 2004 but was struck down by an

Achilles injury in Beijing, a bleak moment in an

otherwise glittering Olympics for the hosts. Liu’s

withdrawal in severe pain, without even clearing

a hurdle in his first heat, caused such profound

shock that fans flooded out of the Bird’s Nest

stadium and a Chinese TV presenter wept as he

announced the news. It was the start of the

long spell in the doldrums for Liu, who had

claimed China’s first ever sprint gold in a world

record-equalling 12.91sec in Athens, and

lowered the mark to 12.88 two years later in

Lausanne. American surgeons removed calcium

deposits from his right Achilles tendon in

december 2008, but it was more than a year

after Beijing before he returned to the track in

his home city of Shanghai.

But Liu remained troubled by the injury and he

took another six months off in 2010 before

returning to form with Asian

Games gold

that

November,

clocking

13.09 in

front of a

huge crowd

in China’s

Guangzhou.

The breakthrough came in May

last year when Liu, with a new

starting technique of taking

seven strides rather than eight

to the first hurdle, glided over

the barriers to shock in-form

American david Oliver in

Shanghai. It set up a mouth-

watering world

championships final two

months later in daegu, South

Korea, featuring Liu, Oliver

and reigning Olympic

champion dayron Robles, the

world record-holder from

Cuba. Liu was accelerating

smoothly over the last third

and looked set to overhaul

Robles, leading in the next lane,

at the line. But the Cuban

reached across and grabbed

Liu’s arm once before the

last hurdle and once again

after, checking his momentum

as the Chinese runner finished

third. Robles was later

disqualified, handing the title to

America’s Jason Richardson, while

Liu was awarded silver. Although

there was outrage in China, Liu took

the incident calmly. Revenge could

be on the menu this year. In the

current season, Liu has beaten

Robles over 60 metres in

Birmingham and he came second

to Aries Merritt in the world indoor

championships in March. Outdoors,

he has enjoyed convincing wins in

Kawasaki and Shanghai, where he

left Oliver and Richardson trailing. At

the Prefontaine Classic, he equalled

Robles’ world mark of 12.87, aided by

wind. Liu’s personal best, the former

world record of 12.88, is now six years old,

and his last world title came in Osaka 2007.

But in London, he can cap a momentous

comeback by claiming a second Olympic gold

medal, along with retribution over Robles —

and, if the stars align, erase the Cuban’s 12.87

from the record books.

lIU lEaPShURdlES INPURSUIt oFREdEMPtIoN

SEOULAfP

He lacks the toned physique of an Olympian but“dear respected” leader Kim Jong-Un will be the in-spiration when North Korea’s athletes go for gold atthe London Olympics.

North Korea are aiming for a record number ofmedals in London in what would be a timely boostfor Kim, the new face of the country’s ruling dynastyand its all-pervasive personality cult.

The portly young man in his late twenties is justmonths into his reign after the death of his fatherKim Jong-Il, the guiding light for the North’s athletesat previous Games.

When Pak Hyon-Suk clinched women’sweightlifting gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, sheheaped praise on Kim Jong-Il, who was known asthe “Dear Leader” or “Dear General”.

“I just kept it in my head that my Dear General’seyes would be watching over me, and that encour-aged me to lift this weight,” said Pak. “I am overjoyedby the fact that I have brought great joy to our DearLeader.” Pyongyang announced in early June that 51athletes had qualified in 11 sports for London, withits main medal hopes in weightlifting, wrestling andwomen’s football.

At Beijing in 2008 the North won two gold, onesilver and three bronze medals to finish in 34th placeoverall — below its best showing of four golds amongnine medals at Barcelona 1992. Little is known aboutthe sporting tastes of the younger Kim, often tagged“dear respected” in state media, apart from a re-ported passion for American basketball during hisschool years. But the talents of his father, who diedin December, were such that he famously carded fiveholes in one in his first round of golf, according toofficial media. At the 2003 University Games inSouth Korea, a troupe of North Korean cheerleaderswept uncontrollably when they saw a poster of theDear Leader getting wet in the rain.

And at the Beijing Olympics, South Korean ath-letes were under strict instructions not to point orlaugh at badges or portraits depicting Kim Jong-Il.

During the Olympics, attention often focuses onthe North’s decision to march, or not, in tandem with

South Korea at the opening ceremony.In a rough barometer of political relations, the

two Koreas marched together in 2000 and 2004 butcould not reach agreement in 2008.

Relations are currently at their frostiest for yearsand there has been no discussion at all about a jointmarch in London. Several other incidents involvingNorth Korea have gone down in sporting lore.

In June last year, football coach Kim Kwang-Min blamed a 2-0 women’s World Cup loss to theUnited States partly on a pre-tournament lightningstrike which was said to have hit several players.

The following month, there was another boltfrom the blue — football’s governing body FIFA saidfive members of the team had tested positive forbanned anabolic steroids.

The Koreans claimed the steroids came from aChinese remedy, which includes an extract from thegland of the musk deer, and was given to the playershit by lightning. But FIFA banned North Korea fromthe 2015 women’s World Cup.

Men’s football provided North Korea with ar-guably their finest moment, when they shockedmighty Italy 1-0 to reach the World Cup quarter-fi-nals in 1966.

But there were ugly scenes in 2005, when thePyongyang crowd threw rocks and bottles at the Syr-ian referee during a World Cup qualifying lossagainst Iran.

In April 2009 the North accused arch-rivalsSouth Korea of poisoning the food of its players wholost a World Cup qualifier in Seoul.

And last November, a 1-0 victory in a qualifierover former colonial ruler Japan was seen as sweetrevenge for past injuries — and a chance to humiliatethe visiting team.

Only 150 tickets were allocated to Japanese sup-porters, and players were held up for four hours atimmigration.

They were told off for laughing and had itemssuch as bananas, chewing gum and instant noodlesconfiscated, Japanese media said.

Before the game, deafening boos drowned outthe Japanese national anthem in an intimidating at-mosphere at Pyongyang’s Kim Il-Sung Stadium,named after the current leader’s grandfather.

MOSCOWAfP

Russia’s track and field athletics chief ValentinBalakhnichev said Tuesday he had high hopes for

his country’s chances of winning medals at theLondon Olympics which start on July 27.Unveiling the country’s athletics squad, Balakhnichevsaid that results from last week’s national athleticschampionships in Cheboksary boosted his optimismahead of the Olympics.“Our athletes performed season’s best results in sixdisciplines at Cheboksary,” Balakhnichev said. “Ibelieve we did everything right and we’re still movingthe right direction.”Russia’s pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva, a 30-

year-old two-time Olympic champion, who is also theworld record holder, is one of the country’s red hotfavourites for gold at the London Games.Reigning world champions Maria Abakumova injavelin, Tatiana Chernova in heptathlon, TatianaLysenko in hammer, Maria Savinova over 800metres, Anna Chicherova in high jump are alsoamong Russia’s gold medal hopes.Four 2012 European champions - Irina Davydva,Olga Golovkina, veteran Yury Borzakovsky and SergeiShubenkov - also have serious medal chances.Balakhnichev added: “We did everything we could inthese four years after the Beijing Olympics. We’vechosen the country’s best athletes to compete at themain event of the four-year period.“All of our athletes understand perferctly that it’s a

great honour to represent Russia at the Olympics.“It will be extremely tough to clinch a place at thepodium at London but I hope that our people’ssupport will help us to perform at the upcomingGames with dignity.”MeN400m: Maxim Dyldin, Pavel Trenikhin4x400m relay: Maxim Dyldin, Pavel Trenikhin,Vladimir Krasnov, Denis Alekseyev, ValentinKruglyakov, Sergei Petukhov800m: Yury Borzakovsky, Ivan Tukhtachev1500m: Yegor Nikolayev110m hurdles: Sergei Shubenkov, KonstantinShabanov, Alexei Dremin400m hurdles: Vyacheslav Sakayev3,000m steeplechase: Nikolai Chavkin

Marathon: Alexei Reunkov, GrigoryAndreyev, Dmitry Safronovpole vault: Sergei Kuchereanu, DmitryStarodubtsev, Yevgeny Lukianenkohigh jump: Ivan Ukhov, Andrei Silnov,Alexander ShustovLong jump: Alexander Menkov, SergeiMorgunov, Alexander Petrovtriple jump: Lyukman AdamsDiscus: Bogdan Pishchalnikovhammer: Kirill Ikonnikov, IgorVinnichenko, Alexei ZagornyJavelin: Ilya KorotkovShot put: Maxim Sidorov, Ivan Yushkov,Soslan Tsirikhov20km walk: Valery Borchin, AndreiKrivov, Vladimir Kanaikin50km walk: Sergei Bakulin, SergeiKirdyapkin, Igor YerokhinDecathlon: Sergei Sviridov, Ilya Shkurenev

WoMeN100m: YevgeniaPolyakovva4x100m:YevgeniaPolyakovva, NataliaRusakova, YelizavetaSavlinis, Olga Belkina,Yulia Chermoshanskaya200m: AlexandraFedoriva400m: AntoninaKrivoshapka, YuliaGushchina, Tatiana Firova4x400m: AntoninaKrivoshapka, YuliaGushchina, Tatiana Firova,Natalia Nazarova, KseniaVdovina, AnastasiaKapachinskaya

ISINBAYEVA SPEARHEADS RUSSIAN TEAM IN LONDON

NEWPORTAfP

US seventh seed Donald Young crashed out in thefirst round of the ATP Hall of FameChampionships on Monday while American sixthseed Ryan Harrison barely avoided an early ousteras well. American MichaelRussell rallied to eliminateYoung 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 in anopening-round match atthe $398,250 grass-courtevent. Harrison battled fortwo hours and 48 minutesbefore escaping BelgianRuben Bemelmans 7-6(10/8), 6-7 (5/7), 7-5. Nextup for Harrison is eitherAustralianMarinko

Matosevic or American Jesse Levine while Russellbooked a second-round date with either AmericanRajeev Ram or Grega Zemlja of Slovenia. France’sNicholas Mahut outlasted Swiss Marco Chiudinelli6-0, 7-6 (7/2), to potentially book a second-roundmatch against US top seed John Isner, who mustdefeat Ukranian qualifier Sergei Bubka to faceMahut in round two. Mahut and Isner could meetin a rematch of their 2010 Wimbledon encounterthat became the longest match in tennis history.Isner defeated Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/3),70-68 after just over 11 hours of play over threedays. Belgium’s Olivier Rochus outlasted Japan’sGo Soeda 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 and could face anotherJapanese player, second seed Kei Nishikori, inthe second round. Nishikori opens againstDutchman Igor Sijsling. Israel’s Dudi Seladefeated Canada’s Frank Dancevic 6-0, 6-2 andAmerican Jack Sock beat Russian Igor Kunitsyn7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in other opening matches.

‘Dear respected’Kim inspires North Koreans

young ousted, harrison hangs on at Newport

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:40 AM Page 18

From Athensto London

seVentH oLyMPic gAMes in 1924

VenUe: Paris, france

DAtes: may 4 to July 27,1924

nUMBers of sPorts: 17 (126 events)

nUMBers of nAtions: 44

nUMBers of PArticiPAnt: 3089 (2954 men and

135 women)

yoUngest goLD MeDAList: Jackie fields (united

States) aged 16 years 162 days in boxing

oLDest MeDALList: oscar Swahn (Sweden)) aged

72 years and 280 days, Silver in Shooting

oLDest goLD MeDAList: allen Whitty (britain)

aged 58 years 82 days in Shooting

finAL MeDALs tALLy:coUntry g s Bunited States 45 27 27

finland 14 13 10france 13 15 10great britain 9 13 12Italy 8 3 5

Switzerland 7 8 10norway 5 2 3Sweden 4 13 12holland 4 1 5belgium 3 7 3australia 3 1 2denmark 2 5 2hungary 2 3 4yugoslavia 2 - -czechoslovakia 1 4 5argentina 1 3 2estonia 1 1 4South africa 1 1 1uruguay 1 - -austria - 3 1canada 3 1Poland - 1 1haiti - - 1Japan - - 1new zealand - - 1Portugal - - 1romania - - 1

triViA:n the 1924 games was originally awarded to ams-

terdam, but Ioc president baron de coubertin,then in his last term requested that the gamesbe transferred to Paris, in the hope that the badimage acquired in 1900 could be eradicated.

n the Ioc for the first time during the 1924 games,had taken steps to impose it authority on thestaging of the olympics so that never again coulda host country add events as it wished. So thiswas the first Ioc controlled games.

n the number of participating nations jumped from29 to 44, signaling widespread acceptance of theolympics as a major event, as did the presenceof 1,000 journalists.

n first time that the athletes were accommodated in anolympic village, a group of wood cabins.

n William dehart hubbard of the united States, be-came the first black athlete to win a gold medalin an individual event when he won the longjump in these games

n robert legendre, who had failed to qualify for theunited Sates in the long jump, set a world record inthe event while competing in the pentathlon just aday before the long jump final.

n finnish runner Paavo nurmi, won five gold medalsto add to the three he had won in 1920. his mostspectacular performance occurred on 10 July. firsthe easily won the 1,500m. then, a mere 55 min-utes later, he returned to the track and won the5,000m. he later went on to win three other goldsin the 3000m team race and 10,000m cross-coun-try team and individual events. nurmi’s teammate,ville ritola, did not do badly either in 1924. he wonfour gold medals and two silver.

n new zealand’s arthur Porritt who won thebronze medal in the 100m event in the 1924games, later went on to become his country’sgovernor-general, and for more than 30 years, assurgeon to the british.

S. PERvEz QAISER

stats corner

watch it Live

TEN SPORTSFourth day Test: PakistanV Sri Lanka 09:30AM

Sports 18Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

STANFORDAfP

S ERENA Williams, who seized her 14thGrand Slam singles title at Wimbledonon Saturday, was preparing for a changeof scene this week with her hard-court

WTA title defence at Stanford.Organizers said top-seeded Williams wouldlaunch her Stanford campaign on Wednesday,giving her a bit of time to catch her breath afterdefeating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in thewomen’s singles final on the grass courts of theAll England Club.Williams, who also teamed with sister Venus towin the Wimbledon women’s doubles title,suffered through two foot surgeries and bloodclots on her lungs in 2010-2011 beforereturning to tennis just over a year ago.And she seemed eager to ride the momentum ofher Wimbledon triumph at the famedCalifornian university.“Just let me do a little bit at a time,” she said. “Ihave never felt better.”Williams, who has a first-round bye as one ofthe top four seeds, will face either US wild cardNicole Gibbs or Thai qualifier NoppawanLertcheewakarn in her second-round opener.The 30-year-old American, who has risen tonumber four in the world rankings, was bookedfor her first practice session early Tuesday as shemakes a brief switch from grass to hard courts.Later this month she will return to Londonwhere the 2012 Olympic tennis competition willbe held at Wimbledon starting on July 28 — oneday after the Games’ opening ceremony.Sandwiched this season between Wimbledonand the Summer Games, Stanford has suffereda rash of withdrawals.France’s Marion Bartoli, the 2009 winner, is thesecond seed, followed by Slovakia’s DominikaCibulkova and Serbian Jelena Jankovic.Williams beat Bartoli 7-5, 6-1 in last year’s

Stanford final.Wimbledon semi-finalistAngelique Kerber pulled outwith a lower back complaint andfellow German Sabine Lisicki —a Wimbledon quarter-finalist,withdrew citing an abdominalstrain.Russians SvetlanaKuznetsova with a kneeinjury and Nadia Petrovawith a problematic rightwrist also opted out.China’s Peng Shuai,Romanian MonicaNiculescu,Wimbledon semi-finalist TamiraPaszek andAmericans ChristinaMcHale and VarvaraLepchenko alsopulled out citinginjuries orillness. In

earlyaction on

Monday,Belgian fifthseed Yanina

Wickmayerreached the second

round with a 7-5, 2-6,7-5 victory over Chang

Kai-Chen of Taiwan.South African sixth seed

Chanelle Scheepers beatAmerican Grace Min 6-4, 6-4.Wild card Michelle Larcher de Brito ofPortugal beat Australian JarmilaGajdosova 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. The win camedespite 11 aces from the Australian and10 double-faults from the winner,who next faces Scheepers.

OGAWAAfP

He’d prefer enlightenment to a medal, butwhen Japan’s horse-riding Buddhistmonk Kenki Sato saddles up for London2012, he’ll be representing one of theOlympics’ more unusual families.

Shaven-headed Sato, who starts eachday with a morning prayer, is following hisyounger brother Eiken, who also trainedas a priest and rode at the Beijing Games.His sister, Tae, 24, is a five-time nationalshowjumping champion. And his father,Shodo, who heads a 460-year-old temple

and adjacent horse-riding club,was a member of Japan’sequestrian team before the1980 Games in Moscow —only to have his Olympicdream dashed when Japan

boycotted.Kenki Sato is on ex-

tended leave from theMyoshoji temple in

mountains near Nagano, where his fa-ther is the 25th master, to train for Lon-don where he will compete in eventing,which combines dressage, cross-countryand showjumping.

Among his team-mates is HiroshiHoketsu, 71, the oldest competitor in anysport at Beijing 2008, who is entered inthe separate dressage category. They arenot strongly tipped to end Japan’s 80-yearwait for a second equestrian medal, fol-lowing Baron Takeichi Nishi’s showjump-ing gold of 1932. But Sato said theexperience would have spiritual value.

“I may learn something as a humanbeing when I encounter various peoplewith different religions and languagesabroad,” says the diminutive Sato, whoturns 28 on Wednesday. “I want to feedit back into my path to Buddhist en-lightenment.”

Four years ago, while his brother com-peted at the last Olympics, Sato was serv-ing a year’s apprenticeship for thepriesthood, secluded in a prestigious Zentemple. “My old master secretly showed

me a newspaper clipping about myyounger brother. I was so happy I shedtears,” he remembers.

“Somewhere in my mind, I didn’twant to be outdone by my brother. Thisturned into enormous energy for me tocontinue as a sportsman.”

In 2010, Sato claimed team and indi-vidual eventing golds at the Asian Gamesand finished 35th at the world champi-onships. His journey to London began atthe age of seven, when he started trainingfor competition under his father. “I thinkit was largely because my father could notbecome an Olympian,” he admits.

Sato senior, 61, paired the disparateworlds of Buddhism and equestrianismafter growing up around horses in themountains of Nagano, where they werestill the main mode of transport when hewas a child. He practised horsemanshipwhile attending a Buddhist university inTokyo and opened an equestrian park nextto the temple in 1979. The facility’s club-house overlooks the riding ground from ahillside dotted with tombstones.

MOSCOWAfP

Russia’s track and field athletics chief ValentinBalakhnichev said Tuesday he had high hopes for

his country’s chances of winning medals at theLondon Olympics which start on July 27.Unveiling the country’s athletics squad, Balakhnichevsaid that results from last week’s national athleticschampionships in Cheboksary boosted his optimismahead of the Olympics.“Our athletes performed season’s best results in sixdisciplines at Cheboksary,” Balakhnichev said. “Ibelieve we did everything right and we’re still movingthe right direction.”Russia’s pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva, a 30-

year-old two-time Olympic champion, who is also theworld record holder, is one of the country’s red hotfavourites for gold at the London Games.Reigning world champions Maria Abakumova injavelin, Tatiana Chernova in heptathlon, TatianaLysenko in hammer, Maria Savinova over 800metres, Anna Chicherova in high jump are alsoamong Russia’s gold medal hopes.Four 2012 European champions - Irina Davydva,Olga Golovkina, veteran Yury Borzakovsky and SergeiShubenkov - also have serious medal chances.Balakhnichev added: “We did everything we could inthese four years after the Beijing Olympics. We’vechosen the country’s best athletes to compete at themain event of the four-year period.“All of our athletes understand perferctly that it’s a

great honour to represent Russia at the Olympics.“It will be extremely tough to clinch a place at thepodium at London but I hope that our people’ssupport will help us to perform at the upcomingGames with dignity.”MeN400m: Maxim Dyldin, Pavel Trenikhin4x400m relay: Maxim Dyldin, Pavel Trenikhin,Vladimir Krasnov, Denis Alekseyev, ValentinKruglyakov, Sergei Petukhov800m: Yury Borzakovsky, Ivan Tukhtachev1500m: Yegor Nikolayev110m hurdles: Sergei Shubenkov, KonstantinShabanov, Alexei Dremin400m hurdles: Vyacheslav Sakayev3,000m steeplechase: Nikolai Chavkin

Marathon: Alexei Reunkov, GrigoryAndreyev, Dmitry Safronovpole vault: Sergei Kuchereanu, DmitryStarodubtsev, Yevgeny Lukianenkohigh jump: Ivan Ukhov, Andrei Silnov,Alexander ShustovLong jump: Alexander Menkov, SergeiMorgunov, Alexander Petrovtriple jump: Lyukman AdamsDiscus: Bogdan Pishchalnikovhammer: Kirill Ikonnikov, IgorVinnichenko, Alexei ZagornyJavelin: Ilya KorotkovShot put: Maxim Sidorov, Ivan Yushkov,Soslan Tsirikhov20km walk: Valery Borchin, AndreiKrivov, Vladimir Kanaikin50km walk: Sergei Bakulin, SergeiKirdyapkin, Igor YerokhinDecathlon: Sergei Sviridov, Ilya Shkurenev

WoMeN100m: YevgeniaPolyakovva4x100m:YevgeniaPolyakovva, NataliaRusakova, YelizavetaSavlinis, Olga Belkina,Yulia Chermoshanskaya200m: AlexandraFedoriva400m: AntoninaKrivoshapka, YuliaGushchina, Tatiana Firova4x400m: AntoninaKrivoshapka, YuliaGushchina, Tatiana Firova,Natalia Nazarova, KseniaVdovina, AnastasiaKapachinskaya

MOSCOWAfP

French Open champion MariaSharapova will becomeRussia’s first woman flag-bearer at the openingceremony of the LondonOlympics, Olympic

Committee (ROC) chiefAlexander Zhukov saidTuesday. “We havereached an agreementthat Sharapova willcarry Russia’s flag atthe Olympics

opening,” Zhukov told the press. “Ithink it’s a logical choice. Last monthshe won the French Open to completeher career Grand Slam.”Sharapova won the French Open titlewith a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italy’sSara Errani to seal a rare career GrandSlam — winning the four biggesttournaments in the sport.“I was happy when I received an smsfrom our tennis federation chief ShamilTarpishchev with an offer to carry mycountry’s flag,” Sharapova was quotedas saying. “I just couldn’t believe it’strue. And of course I was happy toaccept the offer.” Russian President

Vladimir Putin and Prime MinisterDmitry Medvedev both sentcongratulatory telegrams to the Florida-based tennis star after her French Opensuccess while the country’s tennis chiefsexpressed their hope that she wouldnow go for gold at the London Games.Sharapova, known affectionately by hershort name “Masha”, is popular inRussia even though she lives in theUnited States and only rarely comeshome. Sharapova has also her loyalty toher home nation clear, competing in theFed Cup and almost always wearing anecklace with the cross of the RussianOrthodox Church when she plays.

SHARAPOVA TO CARRY RUSSIAN OLYMPIC FLAG

SERENa SEt to go at StaNFoRd

Meditating Buddhist monk saddles up for london

ISB 11-07-2012_Layout 1 7/11/2012 2:40 AM Page 19

Wednesday, 11 July, 2012

19

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

Rehman Malikquits parliamentover dual nationality

ISLAMABADAfP

Senior Adviser on Interior Affairs RehmanMalik resigned from parliament on Tuesdayamid a controversy about his dualnationality. The Supreme Court suspendedMalik’s membership of the Upper House ofparliament, the Senate, on June 4 forallegedly running for office while still holdingBritish citizenship. The court rulingdisqualified Malik from his post as interiorminister, but he stayed on as the primeminister’s “adviser” on interior affairs. “Ihave decided to resign from the Senate andhave conveyed my decision to the partyleadership. I am willing to fulfill any otherresponsibility which my party will assignme,” he told reporters in Karachi. Minutesbefore Malik’s announcement, a bill wasintroduced in parliament to do away with theconstitutional clause which bars MPs fromacquiring foreign nationality. “I decided toshun my membership because people areattaching the proposed amendment in thedual nationality law with me,” Malik said.“So I have given up my membership and willnow openly campaign for this bill for thesake of 1.2 million fellow overseasPakistanis.” Malik, elected to the Senate in2009, had earlier told the Supreme Court herenounced his British citizenship andpromised to submit documentary evidencein court. But a certificate presented to athree-member bench headed by ChiefJustice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry failedto satisfy the judges. Last month, theSupreme Court temporarily suspended MPFarahnaz Ispahani, the wife of Pakistan’ssacked ambassador to Washington and anadviser to Zardari. She holds dual Pakistani-US nationality.

BAMAkOAfP

THE extremists controllingnorthern Mali on Tuesdaydestroyed two tombs at theancient Djingareyber mudmosque in Timbuktu, an en-

dangered World Heritage site, wit-nesses told AFP.

“Currently the extremists are busydestroying two tombs of Timbuktu’sgreat Djingareyber mosque. They areshooting in the air to chase away thecrowd, to scare them,” one witnesssaid. “The two mausolea are adjacent tothe western wall of the great mosqueand the extremists have hoes, chisels,they are hitting the mausolea which aremade out of packed earth,” said asource close to the mosque’s imam.

“They say they will destroy every-thing.” Another witness reported thatthe extremists had cried “AllahuAkbar” (God Is Great) as they ham-mered away at the mosque, one of themost important in Timbuktu.

He added that the extremists hadblocked off two main roads leading tothe mosque, which was one of the fa-bled city’s main tourist attractions be-fore the region became a no-go area forWesterners. The same witness reportedthat they had asked a television crewfrom the Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera to film their actions.

The fighters from the group AnsarDine (Defenders of Faith) began theirdestruction of the city’s cultural treas-ures on July 1, shortly after UNESCOplaced them on a list of endangeredWorld Heritage sites. Declaring the an-cient Muslim shrines “haram”, or for-bidden in Islam, Ansar Dine set aboutdestroying seven of Timbuktu’s 16mausolea of ancient Muslim saints.They also destroyed the sacred door ofthe 15th-century Sidi Yahya mosque.

Along with Sidi Yahya, Djingarey-ber and the Sankore mosque bear wit-ness to Timbuktu’s golden age as anintellectual and spiritual capital whichwas crucial in the spread of Islamthroughout Africa. According to the

UNESCO website, the Djingareybermosque — the oldest of the three — wasbuilt by the sultan Kankan Moussaafter his return in 1325 from a pilgrim-age to Mecca. All have been restoredseveral times.

Ansar Dine had paused their cam-paign of destruction for about a week,but said they would continue destroy-ing all the shrines “without exception”amid an outpouring of grief and out-rage both at home and abroad. OnTuesday a source in Ansar Dine toldAFP that “from now on, as soon as for-eigners speak of Timbuktu” they wouldattack anything referred to as a WorldHeritage site.

“There is no world heritage, it does-n’t exist. The infidels must not get in-volved in our business,” said a Tunisianjihadist who gave his name only asAhmed and said he was part of AnsarDine’s “media committee.” “We will de-stroy everything, even if the mausoleaare inside the mosques, and afterwardswe will destroy the mausolea in the re-gion of Timbuktu,” he said.

ISLAMABADnni

United States’ Ambassador toPakistan Cameron Munter said onTuesday that bilateral talks hadnot ended at NATO supplyrestoration, adding that there wasa lot to do for economicdevelopment, and to eliminateterrorism. The US ambassadorsaid that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

(PTI) Chairman Imran Khan andPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) President Nawaz Sharifwere both supporters of theUnited States. Munter further saidthat Pakistan had to become partof the solution, not the problem.He said that NATO attack onSalala checkpost had occurred inhustle, adding that the blockade ofNATO supply had split Pakistanaway from 50 friendly countries.

Babar withdrawsproposed draft seeking ISI accountability

ISLAMABADinP

Following extreme pressure exerted bycertain quarters, opposition and coalitionpartners, president’s spokesmanFarhatullah Babar on Tuesday withdrewhis proposed draft bill pertaining to theaccountability of the Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI). Senator FarhatullahBabar had submitted the bill in his owncapacity in the Senate on July 5.According to the Senate Secretariat, theproposed draft, if adopted by parliament,would make the prime secret agencyanswerable before parliament and theprime minister. The draft was taken backon the same day after facing extremepressure from all ends, including,political, opposition and military, theSenate Secretariat added. Earlier, formerprime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani hadissued a notification to contain the role ofthe country’s superior intelligence agencyby putting it under the Interior Ministry,but due to the military’s pressure, thenotification had to be cancelled.

Contempt ofcourt bill challenged in SC

ISLAMABADonLine

The new Contempt of Court Bill 2012passed by the National Assembly onMonday was challenged in the SupremeCourt of Pakistan on Tuesday. ApplicantSadiq Baloch advocate filed the pleaagainst the new law under Article 3-(184), praying the court to declare thenew contempt law null and void as it wasin violation of Article 25. The applicantmade the federation and Law Ministryrespondents in the application.According to the new contempt law, thepresident, prime minister, chief ministersand governors would be exempted fromcourt trial in contempt of court charges.The bill was brought in the Assembly toprotect PPP’s new prime minister afterformer PM Yousaf Raza Gilani lost hisjob over contempt charges. Thepetitioner said by proposing the bill, thegovernment had taken anunconstitutional and unlawful step.

Mali extremists destroy tombsat ancient Timbuktu mosque

nawaz, Imran arewith us: Munter

westLAnD: People play in a giant lake of mud at the 25th annual ‘Mud

Day’ in westland, Michigan on tuesday. the event, which features a 75’

by 150’ pit filled with 20,000 gallons of water and 200 tons of topsoil,

draws about a thousand American children each year. AFP

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