e-paper pakistantoday 25th November, 2012

Rs 22.00 Vol III No 149 19 Pages Sunday, 25 November, 2012 Muharram 10, 1434Islamabad — Peshawar Edition

CAIROAgencieS

EGYPT’S highest judicialbody has called Presi-dent Mohamed Morsi’srecent decrees of au-

thority “an unprecedented attack”on the independence of the judici-ary, and judges in Alexandria havegone on strike in protest. Presi-dent Morsi on Thursday declaredthat his decisions are protectedfrom judicial review, sparkingoutrage and protests in the streetsof major cities.

Demonstrations in Cairo’sTahrir Square continued intoSaturday, spurring Egyptian se-curity forces to fire tear gas atprotesters, many of whom spent

the night in the iconic protesthub. On Friday, protesters in sev-eral Egyptian cities attacked theoffices of the ruling MuslimBrotherhood, as rival pro- andanti-government groups demon-strated in Cairo about the newpresidential decree. In the citiesof Port Said, Ismailia and Alexan-dria, crowds lobbed stones andexplosives at Muslim Brother-hood offices. The protests came aday after Egyptian President Mo-hamed Morsi put himself aboveoversight and declared that hisdecisions cannot be appealed bythe courts or any other authority.

In a speech to supporters Fri-day at the presidential palace,Mr. Morsi said he wants to moveEgypt forward as a stable and

safe nation and does not wantsole control of the country.

Mr. Morsi’s decree also barsEgypt’s judiciary from dissolvingthe upper house of parliament andan assembly drafting a new consti-tution – two bodies dominated byMr. Morsi’s Islamist allies.

In addition, Mr. Morsi has or-dered retrials of former officialswho used violence in efforts tosuppress last year’s popular revo-lution against longtime presidentHosni Mubarak.

President Morsi’s action fol-lows international praise he re-ceived for mediating a cease-firebetween Israel and Palestiniansin Gaza..

The U.S. government has ex-pressed concern about his decrees.

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABADSHAMiM SHAHid/AgencieS

AT least eight people, includingfour children, were killed andmore than two dozen others in-jured in a high-intensity bomb

blast on Bannu Road in Dera Ismail Khan onSaturday morning.

The explosion occurred on the mainroad, a little distance away from an imambargah, when mourners were making theirway out of the facility in a procession to jointhe main 9th of Ashura procession.

Officials said a powerful improvised ex-plosive device (IED) was planted in a garbagedump besides the road that went off whenthe mourners passed by it.

Most of the victims were believed to bemourners from the surrounding areas whohad arrived to join the 9th Muharram pro-cession. Officials said three people werekilled on the spot while five others suc-cumbed to their injuries at a hospital. The de-ceased included four children.

Doctors at Divisional Headquarter Hos-pital confirmed receiving 30 injured, in-cluding a police constable and threechildren. Soon after the explosion, seniorcivil and police officials rushed to the siteand supervised rescue activities. Contin-gents of military and paramilitary troops

also joined the activities later.Police later told reporters that the IED

was packed in a pressure cooker and placedinside a garbage dump, adding that eight to 10kilogrammes of explosives, nails and ballbearings were used to make the bomb. In a bidto maintain law and order on the eve of 9thand 10th of Muharram, the government hadalready announced a ban on pillion riding andsuspended mobile and wireless telephoneservices. Security has been further tightenedin Dera Ismail Khan following the bombingand all roads connecting the city with Punjab,FATA and the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwahave been blocked for traffic.

On the other hand, the suspension ofmobile phone services on Saturday across thecountry created grave problems for the citi-zens. In Punjab, the service remained sus-pended in 14 cities and towns, includingRawalpindi‚ Lahore‚ Multan‚ Sargodha‚ At-tock‚ Jhang‚ Rahim Yar Khan‚ Faisalabad‚Nankana Saheb‚ Bhakkar‚ Dera Ghazi Khan‚Muzaffargarh‚ Pak Pattan and Gujranwala.In Balochistan the service was suspended inQuetta‚ Kalat‚ Kohlu‚ Dera Bugti‚ Khuzdar‚Turbat‚ Mastung‚ Gawadar‚ Panjgur andHub. Services of mobile phone remained sus-pended in Karachi‚ Hyderabad‚ Larkana‚Khairpur and Noshera Feroze as well, whilethere was also no network coverage inHangu‚ Kohat‚ Peshawar‚ Mardan‚Charsadda‚ Nowshera‚ Dera Ismail Khan‚Tank‚ Mansehra and Haripur and Parachinarin Kurram Agency. Various cities and townsin Azad Jammu and Kashmir, includingMuzaffarabad‚ Rawalakot‚ Mirpur‚ Kotli andNeelum Valley, also stayed off air.The simultaneous ban on pillion ridingalso proved troublesome for the people.

Muharram rallybombed in DI Khan, 8 killedg Suspension of

cellular servicedisrupts rescue,routine activities

Egyptian protests continue;judges join outcry

lAHORe: Shias self flagellate

during a Muharram

procession in the provincial

capital on Saturday. Staff Photo

ISLAMABAD Online

President Asif Ali Zardari andPrime Minister Raja PervezAshraf have called for an endto trivial differences andvowed to continue fight againstterrorism and extremism untiltheir complete elimination.

“We have to forget our triv-ial differences and adopt theteachings of Islam and promotepeace, security and brother-hood,” President Zardari said inhis message on the occasion of‘Yaum-e-Ashur’ to be observedin the country today (Sunday).

“The way to pay tribute toImam Hussain (RA), the leaderof martyrs, is to follow his val-ues wholeheartedly and seekforgiveness for sins so that in-ternal problems can be solvedsuccessfully,” he added. “Evenbefore the advent of Islam, thismonth (Muharram) was seenwith reverence and then Islamelevated its respect and ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) and his

companions observed fast,” hesaid, adding, “For us, this dayalso holds importance as thegrandson of Prophet Muham-mad (PBUH), Hazrat ImamHussain (RA) along with his 72companions embraced martyr-dom in Karbala.”

He said the event of Karbalawas very significant and affectedevery aspect of human life, un-veiled aspects of superior charac-ter, provided standards to judgea person and increased knowl-edge and light by piercing thedark curtains of ignorance anddeceptions. The president saidYaum-e-Ashur gave a lesson ofsacrifice and piety for achievinghigher objectives.

“Hazrat Imam Hussain(RA) decided to live life as alasting symbol of truthfulnessto make the followers ofProphet Muhammad (PBUH)realise that they should havethe basic values of good char-acter, including tolerance, en-durance, sacrifice, equality,justice and fairness,” the pres-

ident said, urging countrymento follow in the footsteps ofHazrat Imam Hussain (RA)and adopt his values to eradi-cate all kinds of ignorancefrom the country.

The prime minister in hismessage said his governmentwould “continue to fightagainst terrorism and extrem-ism unless these forces arethoroughly routed”. “We arefully determined and on this dayof Ashura, we reiterate our

pledge that we would furtherstrengthen unity, political andsocial harmony, mutual toler-ance, and brotherhood in ourranks,” the prime minister said.

“Come and let us vow thatwe would follow the principlesespoused by Hazrat ImamHussain (RA) for security ofour motherland and glory ofIslam and would not hesitate tooffer any sacrifice for the sakeof Islamic principles.”

The prime minister said,

“We can become an ideal soci-ety if we adopt the principles ofHazrat Imam Hussain (RA) inour individual and collectivelives.” Hazrat Imam Hussain(RA) sacrificed his life for hischerished principles, he added.

Ashraf said, “Today is theday of Ashura. This day has aspecial significance in Islamichistory. This is the day whenHazrat Imam Hussain (RA), theHoly Prophet’s grandson, tookon the forces of falsehood for theglory of Islam. On this very day,the battle was fought betweenthe forces of truth and falsehood,which would continue to impartMuslims a lesson of sustainedstruggle against oppression andtyranny until the Day of Judg-ment,” he said.

Ashraf added that in fact,the battle for truth was not onlya beacon for the Muslims butalso for the entire mankind. Hesaid the incident of Karbalaproved to the world that it wasthe truth which held sway in thefight against evil.

“In the plains of Karbala,the companions of Imam Hus-sain (RA) were very small innumber with a few weapons.But they fought bravely againstthe forces of Yazid and thus be-came instrumental in the vic-tory of truth over falsehood.The battle between forces oftruth and falsehood imparts usa lesson of sacrifice and self-lessness,” he added. The primeminister said that by imple-menting the principles of ImamHussain (RA) in their lives,Muslims could not only succeedin this world and the hereafter,but also ensure the universalityof the Islamic message.

President, PM vow to continue fighting terrorism

The offices of PakistanToday will remain closed onSunday, November 25,2012, on account of Youm-e-Ashur, therefore therewill be no edition onMonday, November 26.

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government cash payments promoting cnic registration thief shouts ‘pOtAtOeS, pOtAtOeS, pOtAtOeS’ before pickpocketing shoppers

Lt Gen Abid to head Multan CorpsISLAMABAD: Chief of Logistic Staff at General HeadquartersLieutenant General Abid Pervaiz has been posted as Multan corpscommander. “He will replace Lt. Gen Shafqaat Ahmed, who is retiringfrom service at the end of this month,” said an ISPR statement onSaturday. StAff RepORt

Balochistan govt to withhold salaryof protesting doctors QUETTA: TheBalochistan govern-ment on Saturday de-cided to refuse salaryto protesting doctorsand to seal their pri-vate clinics if they didnot call off the ongo-ing strike. The strikeis being observed onthe call of PakistanMedical AssociationBalochistan following the abduction of Dr Saeed Ahmed Khan, an eyespecialist and head of LRBT Hospital, from Saryab Road, Quetta. Thedoctors have vowed to continue their strike until the cases againstthem are dismissed and their demands fulfilled. They have also de-cided, amid threats, to continue their strike on Ashura. While theprovincial government has sealed all private hospitals, emergencyservices in all public hospitals also remained suspended for the sixthconsecutive day. All people across Balochistan have strongly criticisedthe obstinacy of the doctors in the backdrop of serious terror threatsdue to Muharram. Meanwhile, Quetta Deputy Commissioner HashimKhan said that in case of an emergency, medical treatment will be pro-vided at army hospitals. StAff RepORt

sunday, 25 November, 2012

WASHINGTONAgencieS

During a year with a monster storm andscorching heat waves, Americans haveexperienced the kind of freakish weatherthat many scientists say will occur moreoften on a warming planet.

And as a re-elected president talksabout global warming again, climate ac-tivists are cautiously optimistic that theUS will be more than a disinterested by-stander when the U.N. climate talks re-sume Monday with a two-weekconference in Qatar.

“I think there will be expectationsfrom countries to hear a new voice fromthe United States,” said Jennifer Mor-gan, director of the climate and energyprogram at the World Resources Insti-tute in Washington.

The climate officials and environ-ment ministers meeting in the Qataricapital of Doha will not come up with ananswer to the global temperature risethat is already melting Arctic sea ice andpermafrost, raising and acidifying theseas, and shifting rainfall patterns, whichhas an impact on floods and droughts.

They will focus on side issues, likeextending the Kyoto protocol — an expir-ing emissions pact with a dwindlingnumber of members — and ramping upclimate financing for poor nations.

They will also try to structure thetalks for a new global climate deal that issupposed to be adopted in 2015, aprocess in which American leadership isconsidered crucial.

Many were disappointed thatObama didn’t put more emphasis on cli-mate change during his first term. Hetook some steps to rein in emissions ofheat-trapping gases, such as sharply in-creasing fuel efficiency standards for carsand trucks. But a climate bill that wouldhave capped US emissions stalled in theSenate.

“We need the US to engage even

more,” European Union Climate Com-missioner Connie Hedegaard told TheAssociated Press. “Because that canchange the dynamic of the talks.”

The world tried to move forwardwithout the US after the Bush Adminis-tration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, a1997 pact limiting greenhouse emissionsfrom industrialized nations. As thatagreement expires this year, the climatecurves are still pointing in the wrong di-rection.

The concentration of heat-trappinggases like carbon dioxide has jumped 20percent since 2000, primarily from theburning of fossil fuels like coal and oil,according to a U.N. report released thisweek. And each year, the gap betweenwhat researchers say must be done to re-verse this trend, and what’s actuallybeing done, gets wider.

Bridging that gap, through cleantechnology and renewable energy, is notjust up to the US, but to countries likeIndia and China, whose carbon emis-sions are growing the fastest as theireconomies expand.

But Obama raised hopes of a morerobust US role in the talks when hecalled for a national “conversation” onclimate change after winning re-election.The issue had been virtually absent inthe presidential campaigning until Hur-ricane Sandy slammed into the EastCoast.

The president still faces domesticpolitical constraints, and there’s littlehope of the US increasing its voluntarypledge in the U.N. talks of cutting emis-sions by 17 percent by 2020, comparedto 2005 levels.

Still, just a signal that Washingtonhas faith in the international processwould go a long way, analysts said.

“The perception of many negotiatorsand countries is that the US is not reallyinterested in increasing action on cli-mate change in general,” said Bill Hare,senior scientist at Climate Analytics, a

n o n -profitorgan-izationbasedi nBerlin.

For example, Hare said, the UScould stop “talking down” the stated goalof the U.N. talks to keep the temperaturerise below 2 degrees C (3.6 F) comparedto pre-industrial levels.

Todd Stern, the US special envoy onclimate change, caused alarm among cli-mate activists in August when he saidthat “insisting on a structure that wouldguarantee such a goal will only lead todeadlock.” He later clarified that the USstill supports the 2-degree target, but fa-vors a more flexible way to reach it thandividing up carbon rights to the atmos-phere.

Countries adopted the 2-degree tar-get in 2009, reasoning that a warmingworld is a dangerous world, with flood-ing of coastal cities and island nations,disruptions to agriculture and drinkingwater, and the spread of diseases and theextinction of species.

A recent World Bank report foundthe world is on track toward 4 degrees C

(6.2 F) of warming, which would entail“extreme heat-waves, declining globalfood stocks, loss of ecosystems and bio-diversity, and life-threatening sea levelrise.”

The US, alone among industrializedcountries, didn’t ratify the Kyoto Proto-col because it found it unfair that Chinaand other emerging economies, as devel-oping countries, were not covered by anybinding emissions targets. The US andother rich countries say that firewallmust be removed as the talks enter a newphase aimed at adopting a new climatetreaty by 2015 that applies to all coun-tries.

China — now the world’s top carbonemitter — wants to keep a clear dividingline between developed and developingcountries, noting that historically, theformer bear the brunt of the responsibil-ity for man-made climate change.

The issue is unlikely to be resolvedin Doha, where talks will focus on ex-tending Kyoto as a stopgap measure

while negotiators work on the widerdeal, which would take effect in 2020.

The 27-nation EU, Switzerland, Nor-way and Australia are on board but NewZealand, Canada and Japan don’t wantto be part of a second commitment pe-riod of Kyoto. That means the extendedtreaty would cover only about 15 percentof global emissions.

Delegates in Doha will also try to fi-nalize the rules of the Green ClimateFund, which is supposed to raise $100billion a year by 2020. Financed byricher nations, the fund would supportpoorer nations in converting to cleanerenergy sources and in adapting to a shift-ing climate that may damage people’shealth, agriculture and economies ingeneral. In addition, countries need toagree on a work plan to guide the nego-tiations on a new treaty. Without a time-frame with clear mileposts, there’s a riskof a repeat in 2015 of the hyped-up butultimately disappointing climate summitin Copenhagen in 2009.

Will US role at climate talkS change after Storm?

ISLAMABADOnline

PAKISTAN People’s Party (PPP)legislator Jamshed Dasti, whocame into limelight with his fakedegree, has reportedly decidedto contest the upcoming election

against Foreign Minister Hina RabbaniKhar, even if he has to quit the PPP to de-feat his party fellow.

Sources told Online that Dasti has beenkeeping mum over the show cause noticeissued to him by the PPP in this regard,adding that he might respond publiclythrough a press conference if he receives asecond notice. They said that Dasti was de-termined to contest election against Kharon a National Assembly (NA) seat.

Sources further said that Dasti waspresent at a meeting of key local politicalfigures and PPP leadership, convened byPresident Asif Ali Zardari’s sister FaryalTalpur in Muzaffargarh. Sources said thatalmost all the PPP leaders at the meetingcomplained about Dasti and his alleged in-terference in the constituencies of his partycolleagues.

PPP’s member of the Punjab Assembly

Arshad Sial from Muzaffargarh levelled se-rious charges against Dasti, which led to abrawl between him and Dasti. As thingsheated up, Talpur gave a shut up call toDasti and warned him against interferingin others’ constituencies, sources added.

They said that President Zardari hadalso told Dasti during a meeting at Aiwan-e-Sadr that he would not like to receivesuch complaints and allegations againsthim in future, warning him of “stern dis-ciplinary action” otherwise.

Sources further said that MoazzamKhan Jatoi, who is a cousin of PPP MNASardar Abdul Qayyum Jatoi, had also un-

leashed a flurry of allegations againstDasti.

Chaudhry Aamir Karamat, who isclose to Dasti and is a candidate for theprovincial assembly seat from Khan Pur,told Online that Dasti had decided to con-test election against Khar “on public de-mand” as a deep sense of deprivationexisted among the voters of the con-stituency. Sources said that Dasti wouldcontest election against Khar even if thePPP does not award him a ticket, addingthat he was considering to contest fromtwo constituencies – his own and that ofKhar – as an independent candidate.

Dasti bent on contestingagainst Khar, come what may


03NewseDitorialAn enduring presence:

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Not without cooperation between Pakistan and the USA.

Humayun gauhar says;Life after life: Experience of another kind.

Anam gill says;Return to Rio: An encounter with Severn Cullis Suzuki.

Rana Hussain tahir Koshal says;How unfortunate: Another gem of Rehman Malik.

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pamela Anderson feeds turkeys and pigs farmers hail govt decision of increasing wheat support price Sri lanka welcome back dilshan for second test


MONITORING DESk

While the execution of Ajmal Kasab, theonly gunmen involved in the Mumbai at-tacks captured alive, went unnoticed inPakistan, there is another ‘Pakistan’where people rejoiced and celebrated, ac-cording to India Today.

A village in Indian Bihar state calledPakistan – comprising 35 householdsand a population of about 250 – was upin celebrations over what the called thefinal serving of justice.

Pakistan is the name of a village inSinghiya panchayat, Srinagar block,Purnea district, Bihar. It is about 30kmsfrom Purnea town, the district headquar-ters.

“People in Pakistan not only distrib-uted sweets and burst crackers but alsoplan to organise a feast soon to celebratethe hanging of the terrorist,” said a policeofficer in Purnea, about 350kms from thestate capital.

Surya Murmu, an upbeat Pakistanvillager, said: “We were in a festive moodafter hearing of the hanging and we cele-

brated the event with singing, dancingand distribution of sweets.”

Another villager, Banjua Hembram,said: “We have to get together and have afeast. This is an event that calls for cele-bration.”

That terrorist strike had been onethat had shaken up the village commu-nity, Hembram agreed.

“We were so terribly affected by theevents of November 26, 2008 that wehad decided that it would be best tochange the name of the village. The mat-ter was discussed, but we later droppedthe idea,” Murmu recalls.

District officials said governmentdocuments recorded the name of the vil-lage as Pakistan.

“So how did the village get its name?What is interesting is that there is not oneMuslim family in the village, which com-prises mostly Santhal tribal households.There is not one mosque in this Pak-istan,” the paper said.

Elders in the village recall that the vil-lage was named soon after India’s parti-tion in 1947.

“Many Muslims who earlier livedhere chose to leave for East Pakistan(now Bangladesh), when the country waspartitioned. We decided then that the vil-lage could be named in their memory,”one elderly villager said.

An official in the chief minister’s of-

fice told this correspondent that whenChief Minister Nitish Kumar informed avisiting 21-member Pakistani delegationin August that there was a village namedafter their country in the state, the dele-gation expressed surprise.

In that visiting Pakistani delegation

there were 13 members of the Pakistanparliament, who had never heard of thevillage.

The official said: “The chief ministershowed the map of Pakistan village to thePakistani delegates and explained thatwhen all the Muslims of the village, thenin Islampur district of Bengal, had mi-grated to East Pakistan (nowBangladesh), the villagers left behind de-cided to name a village in memory ofthose who left.” Prior to the the States Re-organisation Act of 1956, Purnea too waspart of Islampur, which now lies in thestate of West Bengal. The Muslims wholeft the village for East Pakistan hadhanded over their property to Hindus inneighbouring areas. “The Santhal tribe,to which the villagers belong, is thelargest tribal group in India.

Pakistan village is poor and illiterate;the literacy rate in Purnea district as awhole is just 31.51 percent. There ishardly a literate person in Pakistan vil-lage, where proper roads, a school or ahospital is hard to come by,” the paperadded.

indian ‘Pakistanis’ celebrate kasab’s executiong residents of indian village sharing neighbour’s name plan to throw a feast to commemorate ‘justice been served’

LAHOREStAff RepORt

PAKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif onSaturday ordered Opposition Leader inthe National Assembly Chaudhry NisarAli Khan to build consensus among

other opposition parties with regard to interimsetup before general elections.

During a meeting in Raiwind, Nisar discussedthe current political situation with Nawaz and Pun-jab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, sources said.They added that Nisar briefed the PML-N leadersabout the progress on the matters related to by-elec-tions, interim government and the upcoming gen-eral elections. It was also decided in the meetingthat the PML-N would not allow any hurdle in theway of the general elections, and would avert any at-tempts in this regard.

Nawaz tells Nisar tobuild consensus oninterim setup

Zardari, Nawaz riding‘Samjhota Express’ oncorruption: Imran

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)Chairman Imran Khan said on Saturday thatPresident Asif Ali Zardari and opposition leaderNawaz Sharif were de facto brothers, and werecollectively looting the national wealth. Talking to aparty delegation here, the cricket legend-turnedpolitician alluded that Zardari and Nawaz were“travelling in Samjota Express train” and weresupporting each other in corruption. Khan saidthe PTI was an institution meant for the people,not for family members. He said that even acommon youngster could become a PTI leaderthrough impartial intra-party polls. He said PrimeMinister Raja Pervez Ashraf was providingprotection to the president to conceal hiscorruption. He said the PTI would bowl out anti-state political parties in the upcoming generalelections, He said the PTI would contest againstall major political players without entering into analliance with any other party. StAff RepORt

peSHAWAR: An injured Shia is being taken for medical treatment during the 9th Muharram

procession on Saturday. INP

LONDONinp

Thousands of Pakistani Muslim students inGreat Britain were being provided non-Halal food in their schools, which becamea matter of concern for their parents whotook steps to bring the issue to notice.

According to an Urdu daily, Muslimkids in some schools are not being pro-vided food that falls under the ‘Halal’ de-scription. This fact, horrific for Muslims,was revealed at a Birmingham school fol-lowing which parents raised the issue withteachers and the school administration.

Muslims have two categories of food; oneis considered as Halal, which includes fooditems that could be eaten and the secondone is Haram, including food items whichare forbidden.

A school, which was not named in thereport, houses over 1500 students, a ma-jority of which are of Pakistani origin. Par-ents, besides raising this issue with theschool administration also approached for-mer Lord Mayor Councillor from the area,Muhammad Afzal. It has been decided thatunless the matter is not investigated, Mus-lims kids would not be provided any meatitems to avoid further disturbance.

Non-halal food for Pakistan Muslim

kids in UK schools ignites agony



04

DAMASCUSAgencieS

SYRIA on Fridayc o n d e m n e dTurkey’s requestfor NATO to de-

ploy Patriot defense missilesnear their common border,calling it “provocative”, aftera spate of clashes there thathas raised fear of the Syriancivil war embroiling thewider region.

The 20-month-old up-rising against Syrian Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad hasturned increasingly bloodyand heavy fighting hasoften erupted right alongSyria’s northern borderwith Turkey. Ankara has re-peatedly scrambled fighterjets and responded in kindto stray shells and mortarsflying into its territory.

In the first Syrian re-sponse to Ankara’s requestearlier this week, a min-istry source told Syrianstate television that Dam-ascus would hold Turkey’sprime minister responsible

for increasing tensionsalong the frontier.

Turkey’s missile re-quest may have riled Dam-ascus and its allies -notably Russia and Iran -because it could be seen asa first step toward imple-menting a no-fly zone.

Syrian rebels have beenrequesting a no-fly zone tohelp them hold territoryagainst a government withoverwhelming firepowerfrom the air, but most for-eign governments are loathto impose one for fear ofgetting sucked into the con-flict. The Patriot system isdesigned to intercept air-craft or missiles. Turkeyasked for it after weeks oftalks with its NATO alliesabout how to shore up its900-km (560 mile) border,where it fears security maycrumble as the Syrian armyfights harder to contain therebels - who have enjoyedsanctuary in Turkey.

“Syria stresses its con-demnation of the Turkishgovernment’s latest

provocative step,” the min-istry source told Syria TV.

The source said thatSyria would respect Turkishsovereignty but also said thatit “holds (Tayyip) Erdoganresponsible for the milita-rization of the situation onthe Syrian-Turkish borderand increased tensions”.NATO chief Anders FoghRasmussen said on Thursdaythat the possible deploymentof Patriot missiles was“purely defensive” and would“serve as a deterrent to pos-sible enemies even thinkingof attacks”. The U.S.-ledWestern alliance has hadsome talks on the Turkish re-quest but no decision is ex-pected before next week.TURkEy REJEcTSSyRIAn cRITIcISM:Asked about Syria’s re-marks, Turkish ForeignMinister Ahmet Davutoglusaid Damascus was at faultfor heightened tensions byhaving attacked its ownpeople with tanks and war-planes “without any regardfor any rules of war”.

kARAkinp

At least 16 people werekilled and 25 othersinjured on Saturdaywhen a passenger buscollided into a tractor-trailer on IndusHighway in Ispina,Karak.According to police, thepassenger bus collidedhead-on with an overspeeding tractor-trailerwhich killed at least 10people on the spot andleft dozens injured.The police and rescue

personnel, assisted bythe local people, shiftedthe injured to KarakDistrict Headquarters(DHQ) Hospital wheresix more succumbed totheir wounds, raising thedeath toll to 16. Meanwhile, the policetook both vehicles intocustody and started aninvestigation.EIgHT fAMILyMEMBERS kILLEDAS cAR fALLS InTORAvInE: Eight peopleof the same family werekilled and two othersinjured when a speedy

car fell into a ravine inSehwan Sharif.According to details, anover-speeding car with10 family membersonboard, including awoman and fivechildren, fell into a deepgorge in Jahangarvillage, eight kilometersfrom Sehwan Sharif. Thewoman and the childrendied on the spot.The police and rescuepersonnel pulled out thebodies from the ravineand shifted them to alocal hospital to fulfillmedico-legal formalities.

Interior Ministrydrafts NaCtalegislation

ISLAMABADApp

The Ministry of Interior onSaturday drafted legislationfor the formation of Na-tional Counter TerrorismAuthority (NACTA) afterincorporating the recom-mendations of the con-cerned cabinet committee.The draft now awaits cabi-net’s approval. Sources saidthe draft stated that the na-tional coordinator ofNACTA will be appointedby the federal governmentand that he shall be a com-petent and an eminent pro-fessional (BS-22) withsubstantial experience incivil law enforcement atfederal or provincial level.

The sources furthersaid that 55 people are sup-posed to work in the organ-ization, out of which 29 willbe on deputation fromother departments.

NEWS DESk

Shias in Pakistan, alreadyin the line of fire of terror-ists, are now receivingdeath threat text messageson cell phones ahead of theAshura. “Kill, Kill, Shias,”said the text warnings toShia Muslims.

Militant groups linkedto al Qaeda have stepped upattacks against Shias in re-cent months, believing theyare non-Muslims and liableto be killed. The PakistaniTaliban claimed responsibil-ity for Wednesday’s carnagethat killed more than 23Shias. Over 300 Shias havebeen killed across the coun-try so far this year in sectar-ian violence, human rightsgroups say. “Genocideagainst Shias is already tak-

ing place in Pakistan so thetext messages don’t reallymatter that much,” said JalalHaider, one of the many whoreceived a text threat. Hard-line Sunnis are expected tostrike again this weekend,the climax of the mourningon 10th Muharram.

Radical Sunni groupshave staged high-profilesuicide bombings againstprocessions on that occa-sion before. Muharrammarks the anniversary ofthe Battle of Karbala wherethe grandson of the ProphetMohammad (PBUH) andhis family members werekilled. Local intelligence of-ficials say extremist groupsled by Lashkar-e-Jhangvihave stepped up the bomb-ings and shootings of Shiasto trigger violence.

MONITORING DESk

Pakistani missions in theUAE will be working in twoshifts to accommodate theexpected crowd of illegalPakistani nationals duringthe upcoming two-monthlong amnesty period, theKhaleej Times has said.

The UAE governmentlast week announced anamnesty period startingfrom December 4 to Febru-ary 3, 2013 for people stay-ing in the country withoutlegal documentation.

Jamil Ahmed Khan,ambassador of Pakistan tothe UAE, said: “Both thePakistan missions in AbuDhabi and Dubai have de-vised a full-fledged pro-gramme to take on theinflux of thousands ofamnesty seekers duringthat time.” He said the mis-sions would be working be-yond working hours in twoshifts. Airline and bankcounters would also be es-tablished to facilitate theamnesty seekers so that aone-window operation

could be made possible. Inaddition to this, three sep-arate counters would be es-tablished based on thenature of cases.

The first counter shallbe for those who alreadypossess an expired pass-port, the second for thosewho do not have a passportbut possess a valid/expiredPakistan identity card andthe third for those who donot have any Pakistaniidentity documents at all.

“Cases that do not haveany Pakistani document

shall be referred to Islam-abad for verification oftheir national status,” hesaid. Khan encouraged allPakistanis who had over-stayed in the UAE beyondtheir visa validity to availthe opportunity extendedby the host government sothat they might not faceany retribution in the fu-ture. He said that all Pak-istani citizens living in theUAE should strictly adhereto local laws. “No violationis permissible in this re-gard,” he added.

TEHRANAgencieS

Iran’s Majlis Speaker AliLarijani says hard days lieahead of Israel following theregime’s military aggressionagainst the blockaded GazaStrip, Press TV reports.

Addressing a massiveTasua mourning proces-sion in the Turkish city ofIstanbul on Saturday, Lar-ijani pointed to Israel’s

“new defeat” in its recentaggression against Gaza,saying, “You should rest as-sured that the Zionistregime [of Israel] hasharder days ahead.”

He went on to say thatduring the recent war onGaza Israel used differenttypes of deadly weaponsagainst the oppressed peo-ple of Gaza, but the Westcontinued its arms supplyto the regime instead of

condemning such brutality. The Iranian Majlis

speaker praised the successof the resistance movementagainst Israel and reaf-firmed Iran’s determina-tion to lend all-out supportto the Palestinian nationagainst Israel.

“We pride ourselves onsupporting [Lebanon’s]Hezbollah to win the 33-day war [in 2006]. Wepride ourselves on support-

ing the oppressed Palestin-ian nation in the 22-daywar [in 2008] and the last-week war,” Larijani said.

“We tell the oppressedPalestinian nation that weprovide every kind of assis-tance to them so they candefeat the savage Zionistregime [of Israel,]” headded. Larijani arrived inTurkey on Friday on thelast leg of his tour to Syria,Lebanon and Turkey.

Syria says Turkey’sbid for NATO missiles ‘provocative’

Shias receiving threatening text messages

QUETTAApp

Balochistan Chief MinisterNawab Aslam Raisani onSaturday invited prominentTV anchors and critics of hisgovernment to visit Balochis-tan and review the develop-ment taking place therein.“We are open to constructivecriticism and offer all ourcritics, including TV an-chors, to visit Balochistanand review the developmentprojects which are inprogress,” he said at thechief minister’s secretariat.

Hailing the decision ofthe (ECC) regarding therestoration of power sub-sidy on agricultural tube

wells, he said that the PPP-led government was work-ing hand in hand with thefarmers of the province.

“It was long standingdemand of the provincialgovernment to restore thesubsidy on agriculturaltube wells which has nowbeen accepted,” he said.

Raisani invites TV anchors to Balochistan

Tougher days lie ahead ofIsrael: Majlis speaker

gAZA: A palestinian boy

plays in a demolished

car in the war-torn city

on Saturday.

Google Pakistan restored after takingout hackers’ penguins

ISLAMABADOnline

After good nine hours of stay-ing offline at the hands ofTurkish hackers, Google Pak-istan has now been restoredin the country. Earlier, Turk-ish hackers reportedly tookdown the main search page ofGoogle Pakistan, leaving animage of two penguins walk-ing across a bridge for Pak-istani internet browsers.Instead of the Google logo andsearch bar, the hackers turnedthe page black with an imageof two penguins. They also lefta message in Turkish at thebottom of the page, reading:“Pakistan downed”.

Lowari Tunnel closure strands hundreds of vehicles

CHITRALinp

Hundreds of vehicles carryingpassengers and tourists werestranded on Saturday follow-ing the closure of Lowari Tun-nel due to heavy snowfall.Hundreds of passengers in-cluding women and childrenwere stranded on both sides ofthe tunnel due to the closure ofthe only road connecting Chi-tral with the rest of the coun-try. The stranded people arefacing severe hardships due tothe intense cold weather andlack of accommodation in sur-rounding areas.

Pakistan’s UAE missionsgear up for amnesty seekers

16 killed, 25 injured inKarak road accident


05


News

SRINAGARnni

THE Pakistan Army has asked the In-dian Army not to construct newbunkers and structures along theLine of Control (LoC) and warned totarget the new constructions with

gunfire and mortar shells.The flag meeting of Indian and Pakistan

army officials was held at Aman Sethu afterceasefire violations in Churunda village in Urisector.

The Pakistan Army was led by Lt Col Ajmal,while the Indian side was represented by thecommanding officer of the Maratha regiment.

Reports said the Pakistan army officials toldtheir Indian counterparts that they should notstart fresh constructions along the LoC.

“They warned that they would target newstructures with gunfire and mortar shells”.

They said Indian army was constructing newbunkers and structures along the LoC in Chrundaarea of Uri sector.

“To prevent the constructions, the PakistanArmy fired shells towards Uri sector,” officialstold their Indian counterparts.

Sources said Pakistan army officials warnedthat they would not tolerate any fresh construc-tions along the LoC. “We would retaliate when-ever it happens like the way we did in Churunda,Uri,” Pakistani officials said.

However, sources said the Indian officialstold their Pakistan counterparts that no bunkers

or any other structure had been constructedalong the LoC.

General Officer Commanding (GoC) 19-In-fantry Division Major General Bipin Rawat saidthe Indian Army made it clear to Pakistani offi-cials that no bunkers or structures were beingconstructed. “We informed them that the struc-tures in Churunda village were old and not new.We told them that their firing and shelling wasunprovoked,” he said.

Rawat said the army was just renovating

some of its posts and no fresh posts or bunkerswere being constructed. “The renovation of postswas a routine matter,” he said, adding that bothsides agreed to respect the ceasefire.

On October 16, three civilians were killedduring skirmishes between Pakistani and Indianforces in Churunda, Uri.

Residents of Churunda village staged demon-stration and urged Indian and Pakistani troopsto adhere to ceasefire agreement and stopshelling and firing along the LoC.

No new posts, structures along

LoC, Pakistan tells Indiafile Photo

ISLAMABADAgencieS

Elderly men wait patiently, carefully combing theirbeards, while a guitar-playing student entertains thelong queue of citizens lined-up to be photographed,fingerprinted and questioned inside a crowded officein Islamabad.

This is the unlikely setting for possibly one of Pak-istan’s few success stories - a massive increase in cit-izens signing up for computerised national identitycards (CNICs).

Such things rarely top the agenda of a deeply un-popular government, crippled by daily power cuts, aTaliban insurgency and massive corruption. But bu-reaucrats say the successful ID registration has dra-matically cut the number of ghost voters and isassisting in the distribution of cash payments for thepoor and displaced. “The database has brought a lotof transparency. We signed up so many people,” saidTariq Malik, the 44-year-old chairman of the NationalDatabase and Registration Authority (NADRA). Dur-ing elections five years ago, less than half of Pakistaniadults had a CNIC. Now 91 percent have the plasticgreen cards, said Malik, who previously worked as acounty technology officer in Michigan in the UnitedStates. It is hard to verify such a high rate of registra-tion as Pakistan’s census data is many years out ofdate. Malik said registration spiked after the cardswere required for poor Pakistanis to qualify for cash

payments from the government. However, some fam-ilies, while grateful for the cash, say the flow of aid issporadic. “One year ago when I received a card, I got2,000 rupees. They come after every two to threemonths and give a little bit of money. Now they comeonly after six to seven months and only give 3,000 ru-pees,” said Hanifa Meer Beher, 60, who lives inKarachi’s coastal belt Kaka-pir village.

“This money is not enough and it has not mademy life any better. I am a poor woman. Whenever Ireceive this money, I buy a little bit of flour, rice...I amgrateful that I am getting something.” Internationaldonors like the World Bank, who are using the IDdatabase for cash distributions, say they are happywith the system. The bank helps fund a programwhere around 5.5 million poor families who have reg-istered with NADRA get $10 a month.

“More countries are using cash transfers becausepoor families can choose what to buy and are morelikely to get the money on time than aid given in otherways,” said a World Bank spokesman.

Neighbouring India helps its poor via subsidisedfood or fuel, but much of its aid is stolen and ends upon the black market. Recent efforts to link benefits toidentity cards there have been chaotic.gHOST vOTERS, TAX cHEATS: Pakistan’s newID registrations helped eliminate 37 million ghost vot-ers and add around 44 million real people to electoralroles, said Malik, adding voters can now use their IDnumber to check their registration by text message. A

date has not yet been set for the next election, due inthe first half 2013. In future, the ID database may alsohelp in the fight against tax evasion, fraud and crime,but only if the government uses the information, saysceptics like tax expert Ikramul Haq.

In a country where less than one percent of citi-zens pay income tax, NADRA has identified morethan 2 million rich tax cheats, Malik said. The federalboard of revenue estimates tax evasion means asmuch as $50 billion is missing from the treasury,money that could be used to upgrade crumblingschools and hospitals. But so far, Pakistan’s wealthytax cheats remain untouched, yet authorities, mindfulof pressure from the International Monetary Fund,are making noises about cracking down.

“We have so many enemies. The rich, who are notaccustomed to pay taxes, pension cartels, politicianswho want their voters to get benefits they are not en-titled to,” said Malik. Registering Pakistan’s 180 mil-lion population, spread from the Indian Ocean to theHimalayas, meant sending mobile registration vansand skiers laden with bulky equipment to far-flungvillages and setting up booths at fairs.

Registration drives were carried out at camps fordisplaced families who fled fighting along the danger-ous mountain regions that border Afghanistan. Butregistration in the remote and troubled region hasbeen lower than elsewhere.

In conservative towns where women in black orblue burqas scurry through ramshackle bazaars,women-only ID centres were established after theTaliban objected to men taking women’s fingerprints.ID cORRUPTIOn: Pakistan’s ID database regis-tration operation has not been immune to corruption.Local newspapers carry frequent complaints thatNADRA staff ask for cash to help the poor or illiterateget their benefits.

Around half of the 20 people interviewed saidthat cards often contain deliberate errors and correc-tions are costly. “My name is Ikram Khan and theymentioned in my ID card as Ikram Gul. It was theirfault but they made me suffer,” grumbled Khan as hewaited in line in the frontier city of Peshawar. In thewalled city of Lahore, a housemaid said she had beentrying for more than a year to change her place of res-idence but officials kept telling her to pay Rs 5,000.

Several interviewees said Afghan refugees can getcards illegally by paying around Rs 70,000. The dailywage for a labourer averages around Rs 200.

Malik admits corruption is a problem, but sayshe is working on eliminating it and has sacked cor-rupt employees. “We’ve already let more than 160people go,” he said. Most citizens grudgingly sayNADRA isn’t too bad. Malik said it is up to the gov-ernment to use NADRA’s information to changePakistan. “Our job is to do data analysis,” he said.“The rest of it is up to them.”

government cash payments promotingcnic registration

Partial suspension of mobileservice in Pindi, Peshawar;Rehman takes noticeISLAMABAD: Interiorminister Rehman Malikon Saturday took noticeof a partial suspension ofcellular service in severalareas of Rawalpindi,Peshawar and DI Khan.According to the InteriorMinistry, Rehman Malikdirected the authoritiesto start an inquiryagainst the company andordered the FederalInvestigation Agency(FIA) to closely monitor that the cellular service companyobserves a complete suspension of its service. inp

Senator Sehar Kamranstabilises ISLAMABAD:Senator SeharKamran, whoreportedly attemptedsuicide by swallowingsleeping pills onFriday, is now out ofdanger at a hospital.On Friday night,Pakistan People’sParty’s femalelawmaker SeharKamran swallowed alarge quantity ofsleeping pills in anattempt to commitsuicide. She wasrushed to Poly Clinic in Islamabad, where doctorsmanaged to save her life after washing her stomach.According to the sources, she was still in the hospital butdoctors had declared her condition stable and out ofdanger. Iftikharullah Babar, secretary of the Senate, paidher a visit at the hospital and inquired after herwellbeing. The desperate senator complained to thesecretary about the attitudes of a few personalities in thegovernment. Police have so far not filed a case ofattempted suicide against Sehar. Online

Five killed in KhyberAgency over old enmityBARA: Five people were killed over an old enmity onSaturday when armed men opened fire at a vehicle inMala Korai, Khyber Agency. According to details, rivalsopened fire at a vehicle carrying five people, killing threepersons on the spot and leaving the other two seriouslyinjured. The injured were shifted to a local hospital fortreatment where they succumbed to their injuries. inp

file Photo



ISLAMABADStAff RepORt

THE main 9th Muharram-ul-Harram processionwas held on Saturdayamid stringent securitymeasures. The proces-

s ion began around mid-day fromthe G-6 Imambargah and part ic i -pants had to pass from walk-through gates instal led on themain road.

The mourning procession con-sisted of Shabi Zuljinah, Alam,Tazia, Taboot and Ghewara She-hzada Ali Asghar. Participants men-tioned the sacrifices rendered byImam Hussain (AS), the grandson ofProphet Muhammad (peace be uponhim), his companions and familymembers at Karbala.

The mourners beat their chestsand flogged their backs with chains ina rendition of the treatment meted outto Syed Sajjad, Imam Hussain’s son,who had been taken prisoner by Yazid.

Residents and various socia lorganizat ions offered tea and edi-ble i tems to part ic ipants of theprocession.

Talking to APP, leaders of MajlisWahdat-e-Muslemeen said that Islamis the religion of peace and harmonyand the martyrdom of Imam Hussain(AS) and his companions was for theglory of Islam.

Mili Yagjehti Council Leader Al-lama Sajid Naqvi expressed satisfac-tion over security steps taken by thegovernment to protect citizens fromacts of terrorism.

He said that some anti-state el-ements wanted to destabi l ize thecountry for petty gains , but theywould fai l in fulf i l l ing their nefar-ious designs.

Eyes run dry for Hussain (AS)

RAWALPINDIStAff RepORt

The schedule for mourning pro-cessions in Rawalpindi on Youm-e-Aushur have been announcedand six major Zuljinnah, Alamand Taziya processions would betaken out today (Sunday).

According to sources, a pro-cession would commence fromImambargah Ashiq Husain TailiMuhallah at 10 am, which afterpassing through Benazir BhuttoRoad, Committee Chowk andIqbal Road, would merge withthe central procession taken outfrom College Road.

The third procession would

begin at Imambargah Hifazat AliShah at 1 pm, which would mergewith the central procession atBohar Bazaar Chowk.

The mourning congregationwould be held at Fawara Chowkwhere Zuhrain will be offered.

The fourth main processionwill begin at Imambargah Sha-heedan Karbala Tyre Bazaarthat would merge with the mainprocession at Raja Bazaar,Fawara Chowk.

The fifth major processionwould begin from ImambargahDarbar Badshah Chan Charaghat 3 pm, and would meet themain procession at PuranaQila Chowk.

Tight security measuresfor Youm-e-AshurISLAMABAD: Strict measures have been taken to provide security for thecentral procession of 10th Muharram-ul-Haram. The procession will com-mence from the Isna Ashri area, as the participants gather at the spot. About4,000 police personnel have been deployed in the federal capital and sur-rounding roads, while sniper shooters are in position on the roofs of build-ings. Four ‘mobile jamming cars’ will also be part of the procession in the city.Walkthrough gates have been installed at the premises, where all participantswould be thoroughly frisked and checked. StAff RepORt

Six major mourning processions today


PTI leader Imran Khan said that Imam Hussain (RA) is asymbol of justice, truth, a standard bearer against tyranny,a citadel of courage against cruelty, the epitome of self sac-rifice, a reformer, a person who laid his own life down forthe preservation of the true spirit of Islam. We can attrib-ute the true values of Islam to him, as we offer our saluta-tion to the grandson of the Prophet who was a saviour ofIslam and who, through his sacrifice, ensured that never

again would the values of Islam be forgotten.His refusal to accept the bayt of Yazid, at the cost of his life,

saved Islam. Hussain stood against the despotic ruler of that timewho, while paying lip service to Islam, was also destroying it. Yazidhad lived a life of pelf and governed the Islamic empire in complete

disregard of the teachings of the Quran and the holy prophet. It wasImam Husain and his family’s courageous stand which exposed thedespotic ruler. It was his stand which awoke that Muslim ummah and

gave them the courage to stand up for what they believed in.We as nation today are at a crossroad where thevery values that our religion has taught us, hon-

esty, integrity, tolerance and welfare of thedown trodden, have been challenged. It isour belief that the teachings of Islamshould be practiced and lived in our every-day lives. The tragedy of Karbala has en-lightened Muslims and taught us how ahandful of people with determinationand commitment to the truth changedthe course of history.

cDa fails to verifydegrees of its employees


The Capital Development Authority(CDA) failed to verify academic cre-dentials of its employees, as most ofthe officials were reluctant to submittheir degrees. A Human ResourceDirectorate (HRD) official said thatdegree verification aimed to traceout appointments on fake degrees inthe civic body during the tenure ofthe former CDA chairman. Sourcessaid that the HRD had directed em-ployees to submit academic creden-tials, but only 40 percent of theemployees had submitted their cre-dentials so far. CDA Chairman TahirShahbaz, after taking charge, had di-rected HRD to initiate the verifica-tion process again, yet hardly 10percent of the credentials had beenreceived during two weeks after thedirectives had been issued.Former Prime Minister Yousaf RazaGilani, in March last year, had orderedthe verification of academic creden-tials of all federal government employ-ees within a period of two months.The deadline was later extended to an-other 90 days till August 8, 2011.

lack of teachingstaff irks femalestudents

ISLAMABAD Online

The lack of teaching and non-teachingstaff in Model College for Girls has be-come a source of perpetual nuisancefor female students. The college wasfounded three years ago under thecontrol of the federal directorate ofeducation, but the lack of teachingstaff had turned it into a non-entityfor students. “On our front we are fac-ing a shortage of lecturers in key sub-jects and our curricular activitiescontinue to remain disrupted through-out our academic year. This state ofaffairs shocks us when a teacher whois hired from another college quits ourcollege when our examinations areahead,” said a group of students. Sadia Hussain, a student com-plained, “Our woes have no end aswe have to confront an inextricablyodd situation when we see no re-sponsible assistant to resolve our ad-mission or fee related problems.” Students and parents demanded con-cerned quarters to ensure an early ap-pointment of the teaching andnon-teaching staff or they would beforced to shift to other colleges.

‘Rise in the spirit of themartyrs of Karbala’


07Islamabad


RAWALPINDIinp

The tout mafia in Rawalpindi district courts hasadded to the miseries of troubled litigants.

According to sources, the touts keep wanderingaround the district courts’ premises and mint moneyfrom visitors by offering all kinds of help and assis-tance needed in the courts. They even charge Rs 500to 700 to appear as eye-witnesses for anyone incourts. Sources revealed that the touts allegedly hadlinks in all major law related departments and offices

of the city, including readers, registrars and commis-sioner offices.

A tout in the district court told INP that he of-fered his services to litigants as a personal guarantorto obtain bails, to earn a livelihood for his family. Hesaid that he was numberdar in his village but facedfinancial hardship and was forced to do this job. Hereceived 10 percent of the bail assurance bond.

A visitor at the court said that the touts took ad-vantage of the ignorance of visitors. Many touts werethere just to mint money from troubled com-plainants and respondents.

11 cDa officerstransferred inthird round of reshuffle


In the third round ofreshuff l ing in the Capi-tal Development Au-thority (CDA), 11off icers from differentcadres were transferredand given new assign-ments.Sources said that CDAChairman Tahir Shahbazapproved transfers, ac-cording to which NadeemAfzal Malik BPS-19 officerwas made deputy DG sani-tation from director sani-tation-II. Iftikhar Haider was ap-pointed as deputy directorstate management, andFarooq Sultan Khattak asHRD-II, and Deputy Di-rector Coordination Ghu-lam Bashir was appointedas deputy director statemanagement-I.Muntazir Rafaqat Ali wasappointed director OWO,Khizar Hayat as deputy di-rector sanitation, whileRoshan Khan was ap-pointed as deputy directorlaw, and assistant directorWaheed Akhtar was pro-moted to HRD. TahirAkram assistant directorDMA was appointed asOWO and Amad Din wasmade a coordinator fromDD law.

Touts at district courts addingto litigants’ miseries

RAWALPINDIStAff RepORt

Istehkam-e-Pakistan LawyersMovement (IPLM) President Zaki-ullah Qureshi vowed to work forinter-institutional harmony and toexpose elements that conspired topit institutions against each other,as that amounts to endangering thecountry’s existence.

Speaking to a meeting of thelawyers’ fraternity, he said that theymust play a dedicated role for thesolidarity of Pakistan and to riseagainst elements that were creating

a hostile atmosphere for institutions.Qureshi said that the internal

situation was explosive and foreignpowers threatened Pakistan’s veryexistence while the government wasignorant of its people’s problems.

He said that the governmentlacked the will and capacity to re-solve problems faced by the masses,adding that the political leadershipwas only interested in amassingfortunes at the cost of the poormasses. They had deprived themasses of everything.

He observed that Pakistan wasalready faced with challenges in

Balochistan, Karachi, and FATA asresult of weak governance.

The lawyers must play a positiverole for the stabilization of thecountry and to avoid creating trou-ble for people.

Speaking on the occasion, sen-ior lawyers Ahmad Rashid, TajKhan and Raja Irshad said thatthose involved in conspiring againstthe army and its wings should betried under the High Treason Act.

They said that COAS had alwaysheld the constitution supreme andthose who were defaming securityforces had an anti-Pakistan agenda.

60 vehicles impoundedin operation againsttoken tax defaulters

RAWALPINDIOnline

A grand scale operation was con-ducted against token tax defaultersand vehicles without number platesacross the Rawalpindi division. During the operation, 60 vehicleswere impounded and 283 vehicleswere fined for defaulting on the pay-ment of token tax and the absence ofnumber plates. Staff members ofmotor registration branches, exciseand property tax departments tookpart in the operation and checked2,039 vehicles on various highways.The teams will continue working dur-ing Muharram holidays.The squad led by the motor register-ing authority checked documents of562 vehicles and motor cycles and202 among them were found to be de-faulters on payment. Squads led byETO Nawaz Niazi checked documentsof 1,068 vehicles and motorcyclists inJhelum and found 48 vehicle driversdefaulting on the payment of tokentax and 40 vehicles without registra-tion documents. The non registered vehicles were im-

pounded. Punjab Excise and Taxation SecretaryCapt (r) Zahid Saeed said that the op-eration will continue on Sunday,Muharram 10th.

Lawyers vow to foil conspiracies against Pakistan

Islamabad: a bomb disposal squad personnel checking the entrance of Imam bargah asna ashri, during the 9thmuharram procession. INP

ISLAMABADinp

After recent the auctioning ofcommercial and residential plots,Capital Development Authority(CDA) is expected to overcome itsfinancial crunch and regain asound position to fund its pendingdevelopment and public welfareprojects.

The auctioning of commer-cial and residential plots gener-ated Rs 2.8 billion for CDA

which will help the civic bodyinitiate or execute operationson various projects lingeringdue to a shortage of funds.

CDA had reduced the periodof payment for auctioned plotsfrom six to two months. For thefirst time in CDA’s history, thebidding was relatively higher, atRs 360,000 per square yard of aplot in Blue Area.

According to the schedule, a25 percent down payment oncommercial plots within 72 hours

of the auction, and payment of theremaining amount within twomonths in installments, was a pre-requisite for the auction. In caseof residential plots, a 40 percentdown payment of the total price ofthe plot was to be made in 72hours.

CDA’s new management hasbeen relying on old methods togenerate revenue, by sellingplots instead of finding alter-nate means to beat the financialcrunch.

Plot auctioning alleviatesCDA financial crunch

RAWALPINDIinp

The supply of contami-nated water to MohallahQayyumabad in DhokKala Khan created prob-lems for residents in ob-taining clean potablewater. Residents of the mohal-lah said that they werebeing supplied seweragemixed with water. Whenthey lodged a complaintwith the WASA com-plaint cel l inShamsabad, the on-dutyoff icial said that theirproblem would be re-solved after the 10th ofMuharram.Residents requested theWASA MD to take noticeof the situation and takesteps to provide cleandrinkable water forthem.

Supply of contaminatedwater to Dhok kalakhan annoys residents

open manhole

invites tragedy on

Rashid Minhas RoadRAWALPInDI: A gaping manhole infront of the WAPDA office on RashidMinhas Road could cause accidents, as ithad been covered by a huge stone to indi-cate danger to road users. Citizens talkingto INP complained that damaged portionsof a footpath flanking Rashid Minhasroad had been repaired, but the manholein front of WAPDA office in the middle ofroad was left uncapped with a huge stoneplaced on it. They requested the city dis-trict government to ensure prompt actionin this regard instead of throwing the re-sponsibility on other departments. inp

Security threats, Uk asksits citizens in Pakistan tolimit their movement

ISLAMABADinp

The British government in the wake of an ongoinglaw and order situation issued special directives toits citizens, embassy staff and employees of NGOs inPakistan, to perimeter their movement. In a commu-niqué issued by the UK interior, British citizens wereasked to avoid visiting public places, traveling toother cities especially Peshawar, Charsadda, Kohat,Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat and Bannu.The UK interior ministry warned citizens that theycould be targeted or kidnapped and should thereforestay indoors during the three days of Muharram.


08Islamabad

low

high

moNDay tuesDay weDNesDay19°c i 12°c 21°c i 10°c 19°c i 11°c

Prayer timiNgsfajr sunrise zuhr asr maghrib isha

5:17 6:42 11:53 2:43 5:03 6:30

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

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fJwu 9273235

riPha iNterNatioNal uNiVersity 111510510

Nca rawalPiNDi 5770423

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Pims 9261170

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shifa iNterNatioNal 4603666

ali 4444435

District hqs 5556311-14

ultrasoNic cliNic 2824862

holy family 9290319

sunny

weather uPDates

20°c11°c


POTTeRY & HOBBY CeRAmiCS

instructor: shahid waheedtimings : 4pm - 6:00pm Days : monday, tuesday &wednesday.

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 6pm. we are having a great time, andwant to share the good time with you!our drumming circle has children ...

Date: oct 22 - Dec 31VeNue: Kuch Khaas:arts & culture

YOgA WiTH AmAnDA

this yoga course will creatively and mindfullyincorporate physical poses with the rhythmof the breath. the course will teach you thefundamentals of yoga, such as goodalignment, body mechanics, and breathwork.

Date: oct 22 - Dec 31VeNue: Kuch Khaas: arts &culture

DRumming CiRCLe

NEWS DESk

EvEry year on the tenthday of the holy month ofmuharram, the first on theIslamic lunar calendar,shia muslims show a dis-

tinctive face of Islam, one that seesspirituality in passion and ritualsrather than in law and the familiarpractices that punctuate muslimlives. Open spaces and narrow al-leys in cities, towns and villagestake over from the mosques andseminaries as shias individually

and collectively make a show oftheir piety and their identity. Noobserver of this day, the festival ofashura, will remain unaffected bythe shias’ display of fealty to theirfaith. None will fail to see theuniqueness of shia Islam or the val-ues and spirituality that define it.

- Vali Nasr,

The holy day of ashura marks themartyrdom of Hussain ibn ali, the grand-son of Prophet mohammad (PbUH), in ahistoric seventh century battle. The bat-tle of Karbala, as it’s known, cemented

the schism between sunni and shia mus-lims that arose from a succession dis-pute after the prophet’s death,according to a report by Frontline.

Every year around ashura, themedia is flooded with images of blood-soaked shias self-flagellating. butshias around the world — who makeup between of muslims – observe themonth in a myriad of ways. This yearashura was observed on sunday. Thephotos illustrate how shias commemo-rate the event that defines what they be-lieve is a central narrative of their faith:justice in the face of oppression.

Atop many traditional Shia displays, one find a decorative ornament shaped like a

hand, known as an alm. Each finger represents one of the five figures Shias revere

most: Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), his daughter Fatima (RA), his cousin Ali (RA), who

was also Fatima’s husband; and their two sons, Hasan (RA) and Hussein (RA). Shias

believe Ali (RA) was the rightful successor to the prophet and that only his descendants

could assume the caliphate, a belief that would culminate in the Battle of Karbala.

Processions often feature a horse known as Zuljanah, symbolic of the horse

Hussain (RA) rode during the Battle of Karbala. Narrative retellings of the battle

often include attestations to the bravery and loyalty of Hussain’s (RA) horse, who

protected him throughout the battle. In many parts of the world, observers will bring

an actual horse along in processions, as captured above on the day of Ashura this year

in the Old City area of Lahore.

In an expression of grief over Imam Hussain’s (RA) martyrdom, some Shias

self-flagellate with blades, sometimes to the point that they draw blood. Though

most Shia religious authorities forbid the practice — it is outlawed in Iran, for example

— it regularly occurs in Ashura processions in some parts of the world, as pictured

above in Lahore. The controversial practice has generated criticism for being unsanitary

— mourners will sometimes wash knives in public buckets — while some Shia

theologians argue that to physically hurt the body Allah gave you itself is a sin.

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Foreign News

BAngKOK: thai anti-government protesters wave flags during a protest on Saturday. thai police fired tear gas and detained dozens of people as tensions flared at an

anti-government protest in Bangkok, the scene of several outbreaks of violent unrest in recent years. afP

GAZAAgencieS

ISRAEL eased restrictions onGaza fishermen on Saturday,further implementing a three-day-old truce brokered byEgypt after a week of fierce

fighting, Palestinian officials said.Hundreds of thousands of Palestin-

ian children headed back to school forthe first time in 10 days, in another in-dication normal life was returning aftercross-border violence in which 166Palestinians and six Israelis werekilled.

A statement from the office ofHamas Islamist Prime Minister IsmailHaniyeh said Egypt had notified them

that “Israel has allowed Palestinianfishermen to fish in Gaza’s waters at adistance of six miles, up from threemiles”.

Israel had no immediate comment.A text of the truce deal agreed on

Wednesday calls on Israel to ease curbson the coastal Gaza territory, which ithas largely blockaded since Hamas,which rejects the Jewish state’s right toexist, took power there in 2007.

The sides had disagreed on exactlywhen and how the restrictions wouldactually be lifted.

Israel had formally barred Gazafishermen from heading more thanthree miles out into the MediterraneanSea for about three years, its gunboatsoften enforcing the rule. It said its

blockade was a measure to preventweapons smuggling.

Murad Al-Issi, a member of a localfishermens’ group, told Reuters his col-leagues had already ventured out to thesix-mile limit on Saturday, undisturbedby Israel.

“The Israeli army naval boat whichused to fire and torch Palestinian boatsthat sailed beyond a three-mile dis-tance watched without doing anythingto prevent them,” Issi said.

Palestinians say the Israeli restric-tions had hampered the amount andvariety of fish they could catch.

“This is a good step,” Issi said,adding it would be best to be permitteddouble the distance.

In another apparent Israeli step to

ease restrictions, Palestinian farmerstended land along the testy frontierwith the Jewish state without incident,a day after Israeli troops killed a Pales-tinian man at a border fence.

Palestinians denounced the shoot-ing as a violation of the ceasefire andEgypt intervened to restore calm.

On Saturday, a Reuters photogra-pher saw farmers in the Khan Younisarea working close to the Israeli fron-tier fence.

Hamas security officials were onpatrol and Israeli soldiers looked onwithout interfering, but for a brief ver-bal exchange between one soldier anda Hamas guard, witnesses said.

The Israeli military had no imme-diate comment.

Israel said to ease restrictionson Gaza fishing and farming

WASHINGTONinp

Jesus was born earlier than previouslybelieved, meaning the Christian calen-dar based on the year of his birth is offby several years, the Pope argues in hisnew book.

The book, “Jesus of Nazareth: TheInfancy Narratives,” is on sale nowaround the world with an initial print-ing of 1 million copies. In it, the headof the Catholic Church asserts that theChristian calendar is based on a mis-calculation because Jesus was bornsometime between 7 B.C. and 2 B.C.

“The calculation of the beginningof our calendar – based on the birth ofJesus – was made by Dionysius Ex-iguus, who made a mistake in his cal-culations by several years,” PopeBenedict XVI writes. “The actual dateof Jesus’ birth was several years be-fore.” The Christian calendar was cre-ated by an Eastern European monknamed Dionysius Exiguus. He inventedthe now commonly used Anno Domini(A.D.) era, which counts years based onthe birth of Jesus. He came up withthis concept in the year 525, or, 525years after the birth of Jesus.

This claim isn’t a new one, and will

likely not have any consequences, but itis the first time the leader of the churchhas stated publicly such doubts about oneof the keystones of Catholic tradition. Theassertion that Jesus was born earlier thanDionysius Exiguus believed means theChristian calendar, based on his birthyear, is off by several years. The Bibledoes not specify when Jesus was born,and it seems Dionysius based his calcu-lations on vague references to Jesus’ age.This is one of several new arguments the

pope, 85, makes in the book. He also saysthat, despite what most people think of asa typical nativity scene, there were no an-imals present at Jesus’ birth.

The book is the final installment ofBenedict’s trilogy. The first book dealtwith Jesus’ public ministry, and thesecond with his death. Both previousbooks topped bestseller lists in Italy.All three books are published under thepope’s real name, Joseph Ratzinger,who was born in Germany.

Pope says christian calendarbased on miscalculation

Tensions flare atpolitical rally inBangkok

BANGkOkApp

Thai police fired tear gas as tensions flared atan anti-government protest Saturday in thecapital Bangkok, the scene of severaloutbreaks of violent unrest in recent years.Thousands of police have been deployed forthe rally, organised by the royalist groupPitak Siam, which wants Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra’s government to stepdown. The authorities expect tens ofthousands of people to attend thedemonstration, the first major street protestagainst Yingluck’s 16-month-oldadministration. Police estimated that about10,000 protesters were gathered by about9:00 am at the Royal Plaza in the city’shistoric district. “In the name of Pitak Siamand its allies I promise that we will topplethis government,” the movement’s head,retired general Boonlert Kaewprasit, tolddemonstrators from the rally stage. Policefired 10 tear gas canisters at a group ofprotesters who removed barbed wire andbarriers blocking their route in front of a UNbuilding close to the main rally site, policesaid. “Tear gas was used in one area becauseprotesters did not comply with the rules,”said national police spokesman MajorGeneral Piya Uthayo.

In restaurantexplosion 14 killedin north China

BEIJINGApp

The death toll from an explosion at a hot potrestaurant in north China’s Shanxi Provinceon Friday evening rose to 14 early Saturdaywith another 47 people being injured, localinvestigators said. The explosion, whichoccurred last evening, triggered a blaze at theXiyangyang (Happy Sheep) Hot PotRestaurant in Shouyang County of JinzhongCity. Initial investigations showed theexplosion was caused by a gas leak.According to official media, Hot pot, theChinese counterpart of fondue, is a kind ofstew using a metal pot kept simmering bycharcoal, electricity or gas. Investigators fromthe local county government said the injured,including 17 severely, were sent to hospitalafter the accident. They said among the dead,six were killed at the scene and eight othersdied in hospital despite medical treatment.

Middle East nucleartalks will not occurnext month: US

WASHINGTONApp

Talks planned for next month onbanning nuclear weapons in the MiddleEast will not take place, the UnitedStates said on Friday, a developmentlikely to anger Arab states but pleaseIsrael. The State Department announcedthat the mid-December conference oncreating a zone free of weapons of massdestruction, or WMD, would not occurand did not make clear when, orwhether, it would take place. Earlier thismonth, diplomats told Reuters that thetalks were likely to be postponed, ratherthan canceled outright. “As a co-sponsorof the proposed conference ... the UnitedStates regrets to announce that theconference cannot be convened becauseof present conditions in the Middle Eastand the fact that states in the regionhave not reached agreement onacceptable conditions for a conference,”State Department spokeswomanVictoria Nuland said in a statement.Nuland said that “a deep conceptual gappersists in the region” on how to handleregional security and arms control,adding that “outside states cannotimpose a process on the region any morethan they can dictate an outcome.”

Sarkozy deniesreceiving moneyfrom L’Orealheiress

BORDEAUXApp

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has toldjudges he received no money fromFrance’s richest woman, LilianeBettencourt, amid allegations that his2007 election campaign was illegallyfinanced, a newspaper said Saturday.“I have known the Bettencourts for 28years and I am 57... They have nevergiven me a sou (cent) and I have neverasked them,” Sarkozy said during a12-hour hearing in front ofinvestigating magistrates in thesouthern city of Bordeaux onThursday, the Sud Ouest dailyreported.Sarkozy escaped indictment but willcontinue to be investigated over theallegations after the panel of threeexamining magistrates decidedThursday to treat him as a witnessunder caution rather than formallycharging him.The newspaper report was the first toquote him from the written transcriptof the confidential enquiry session.


Comment10


Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417

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

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

not without cooperation betweenpakistan and the uSA

an enduring presence

The Al-Qaeda and Taliban who were waiting outthe departure of the US troops would bedismayed by Panetta’s determination tomaintain an enduring presence in the country.

The administration, according to the DefenceSecretary, remains focused on its responsibility todisrupt, degrade, dismantle and ultimately defeat thosewho attacked America on 9/11. The US investedbillions of dollars and suffered losses of over 1,600military personnel in the longest conflict of its history.It cannot, therefore, afford to allow the Al-Qaeda toreturn to what it calls the ‘historic epicentre for violentextremism’. Panetta maintains that cooperation fromPakistan is highly important to achieve the aim.Cooperation, however, cannot be one sided. It alwaystakes two to tango.

Pakistan and the US have two years to cleanse theregion of the militants. Whatever the nature and shapeof the post-2014 US presence in Afghanistan, the bulkof its fighting force and the state of the art militaryassets would no more be available after the cut-offdate. A prolonged US military presence in Afghanistan,even if it is limited, would also be resented by China,Russia and Iran and pressures would start mounting toget it terminated. Once the foreign troops leaveAfghanistan, the challenge of eliminating the Al-Qaeda,Taliban and TTP would have to be met entirely by theAfghan security forces. This is likely to lead to asituation where practically the wit of the Afghangovernment would be confined to Kabul. It suitsneither the US nor Pakistan if militants, some with aglobal or a regional reach, were to establish controlover vast areas in Afghanistan to use them as launchingpads. While Panetta talks about the pockets of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan, he tends toforget that equally harmful for Afghanistan and theregion are the militants who have taken shelter inKunar, Nuristan and elsewhere after being defeated bythe Pakistan army.

So far both the US and Pakistan have concentratedon fighting militants who directly target them and havegenerally tolerated the presence of those who onlyattack the other side. It is widely understood that theISAF leaders know the precise location from whereFazlullah’s group has conducted attacks insidePakistan, including the attempt to kill MalalaYuosafzai. Similarly, Pakistan has avoided taking onthe highly lethal terrorists in North Waziristan. The USand Pakistan lack confidence in one another. It wouldsimply be impossible to eliminate militancy from theregion unless the two sides develop mutual trust andare able to work in coordination against the commonenemy.

Life after life experience of another kind

Ironic, isn’t it, that the day mylast article ‘Life after death’ ap-peared, my brother-in-law IqbalHaider passed away? Which iswhy I didn’t write last week, be-

cause I was in Karachi without the timeor inclination to put pen to paper.

In Iqbal’s death, Pakistan’s pro-gressive forces lost perhaps the greatestand most vocal and active championand the movement for the enforcementof human rights a gladiator. Iqbal wasa good man. He touched the hearts andlives of many, patently obvious by theway people responded to his passingand the numbers that turned up tomourn him. May God smile down uponhim and rest his soul in peace!

Iqbal Haider stuck to his beliefs andprinciples, walked out of Benazir’s cab-inet when she protested that as lawminister he had given parole to SheikhRashid to attend parliament, which washis constitutional right. He had thecourage of his convictions and wasoften dangerously outspoken in his owninimitable, emotional style. Anotherlike him will not be easily found. Hav-ing the courage of one’s convictions andstruggling for human beings and theirrights is the stuff a ‘momin’ or true be-liever is made of, for that is Haqooq-ul-Ibad. I’m sure Iqbal is in prefect peacesurrounded by heaven’s luminosity re-ported by those with Near Death Expe-riences – “And God said, ‘Let there beLight’ and there was Light.”

My friend Aitizaz Ahsan, who wasone of Iqbal Haider’s best friends, alsofound the coincidence of my article ap-pearing on the same day as Iqbal’sdeath most intriguing and kept men-tioning it repeatedly. He was very af-fected by Iqbal’s passing and asked me:“This life after death is all very well, butwhat if there is nothing?”

“If there is nothing,” I replied,“then what is the problem? We willhave no consciousness to know thatthere is nothing. So relax.”

On the third day of Iqbal’s deathwas his ‘soyem’. The first man whoseNDE I talked about in my article cameto attend, you know the one who keptsaying to his doctors, “Don’t revive me,don’t revive me.” His name is S MSaleem, who first introduced bottled

mineral water to Pakistan called ‘Aab-e-Hayat’. I took his permission to men-tion his name and requested him to talkopenly with Aitizaz about his experi-ence. I left them alone so I don’t knowwhat transpired. Saleem smiled andsaid to me again, “I am not scared ofdying.”

I am still receiving many letters inresponse to that article. One of themstruck me for many reasons, not leastfor how it was misunderstood, andneeds comment and clarification. I can-not give the person’s name without per-mission. He wrote: “I’ve just beenreading your piece on NDE and notedwith some interest that the only personmentioned as having ‘gone to hell’ wasa Sri Lankan Christian.

“Says a lot for us Christian ‘Kufaar’,doesn’t it?

“I had an NDE in a New Delhi hos-pital in 1998 on account of a rupturedappendix, and am glad to report Ididn’t get to experience hell – norheaven, for that matter.”

Good Lord! I wonder how hejumped to such a conclusion becausethat is not what I meant at all, thatChristians and other non-Muslims goto hell. I didn’t say that the Sri Lankangentleman had gone to hell, he said ithimself. That the Sri Lankan happenedto be Christian is just a coincidence –many of the NDEs I talked about thathappened in America were also Chris-tians and didn’t experience hell. Theexperience of hell that the Sri Lankantalked about could be shared by anyoneof any faith. In any case, my religiondoesn’t say that Christians, or Jews forthat matter, are ‘Kufaar’ or infidels, but“People of the Book” whose Messen-gers, Moses, David and Jesus are theprophets of the Muslims as well, andmany more, 124,000 of them in all.People of any faith can be good or bad,so why make a big deal of it? It’s akinto having a chip on one’s shoulder.

Actually, the vast majority of peopleadhere to the faith they happen to beborn in. And the vast majority is alsoserious about their religions-by-birth tosome degree. As to the Indian gentle-man having no NDE, again there aremany, and I know some who also expe-rienced nothing. The question is: werethey clinically dead or not? I stress thatwhat I wrote is not conclusive one wayor the other. I simply reported therecorded experiences of thousands.Most of them were about people ‘dying’in hospitals because it’s easy to recordthem there. That is all. I also knowabout similar experiences of many inaccidents who were revived. I still won-der how they reported in exact detailnot only what they heard but also whatthey saw and how accurate they were.

I agree: this needs further investi-gation and study and perhaps we maynever come to the answer in this life,for that would defeat the purpose of life

on earth. Just like we don’t rememberwhere we were before we were born oreven the process of our birth and ourvery early life, we don’t know where wewill go after death on earth. That toowould defeat life’s purpose. So muchmore has happened recently that onecannot simply ignore it. A friend said tome (an American Christian lady jour-nalist who lives in London, in case youare interested), “God has stopped send-ing us his messengers, perhaps throughthe experiences to NDEs He gives usgentle reminders about our mortalityon earth.” Look at death simply as birthinto a new dimension.

As far as I am concerned, there isno religion in the afterlife – nochurches, mosques, mandirs, syna-gogues, or temples; no popes, no mul-lahs, no padres, no pundits, no monks– only God with whom every spirit hasdirect, if one way, contact without in-termediaries, as it is on earth but isn’tfollowed. There may be higher spirits toguide us, as many think there are onearth too who influence our subcon-scious that in turn influences our con-scious mind, which we think are ourown bright ideas. In the Hereafter thereare no religions, only God, only oneFaith in God the One and Only, theSupreme Creator. For all I know,heaven and hell might have many lev-els, with those who have performedwell and continue to perform well inthe Hereafter going to higher levels. Idon’t know. That is where I have got toso far. I don’t know to what sort of fur-ther understanding life’s experienceswill take me in future.

We are told that we are judged byour deeds alone. I believe that it is theintentions behind our deeds that aremore important than the deeds them-selves. If someone does a lot of goodworks with the intention of getting fa-mous and appreciated, or to reserve aseat in heaven, then the benefit he getsfor his good deeds is diminished some-what. You cannot fool God. And, veryimportantly, one is judged by theknowledge one has gathered, digested,analysed and understood, the wisdomone has acquired and the conclusionsone has arrived at.

I have run out of space again, so Icannot talk about the experience of aonce skeptical Christian neurosurgeonin America when he had an NDE andhis cortex also shut down, removingany possibility of hallucination. His ex-traordinary experience appeared as acover story in Newsweek recently. Heis now writing a book about it. Many ofyou may also have read it on the iInter-net because it is doing the rounds onmany e-mails and blogs. I will talkabout it next in ‘Luminosity’.

The writer is a political analyst. Hecan be contacted [email protected]

By Humayun Gauhar

In 1992, Severn Suzuki, at the age of12, gave a group of United Nationsdelegates a fervent and sincere

tongue-lashing. Suzuki, on behalf of theEnvironmental Children’s Organisation(ECO), a group she founded, gave anearly seven-minute speech, a child’splea for survival – not just of humansbut of all species – demanding govern-ments and all adults to take steps to re-verse the damage that was being done tothe environment. She finished by tellingthe quiet conference room packed withdelegates and various heads of states:“My father always says, ‘You are whatyou do, not what you say.’ Well, whatyou do makes me cry at night.” As shewalked from the podium, a rousing ova-tion ensued. The numerous YouTubevideos of her speech have received many

millions of hits and been translated inseveral languages.

Suzuki continued her eco-crusadeby speaking and writing about the inter-connection between culture and envi-ronment, and the need for people to actwith the environment in mind. At YaleUniversity, she co-founded the SkyfishProject, an internet-based think tankthat encouraged her generation to adopta sustainable lifestyle.

Today, 32-year-old Severn, an envi-ronmental activist, speaker, televisionhost, author, and a mother of two con-tinues to campaign for Earth.

“Today I’m no longer a child, but I’mworried about what kind of environ-ment my children will grow up in. 20years since Rio, I have learned that ad-dressing our leaders is not enough. AsGandhi said many years ago, “We mustbecome the change we want to see.” Iknow change is possible, because I amchanging, still figuring out what I think.

I am still deciding how to live my life.The challenges are great, but if we ac-cept individual responsibility and makesustainable choices, we will rise to thechallenges, and we will become part ofthe positive tide of change.”

It was a pleasure meeting Severn,whom I greatly admire, in Rio duringthe UN Earth Summit in June 2012, andgetting to talk to her. It was fascinatingto see her hopeful albeit the failed dia-logue at the summit. She expressed herdisappointment in the lack of leadershipin developed countries like Canada andUS. “It is appalling. But we are currentlyin the midst of global flux and change ofthe economies and power dynamics ofthe world,” she said.

She was only 12 but it is still movingto see her in her famous speech in whichshe said, “If you don’t know how to fixit, please, stop breaking it.” Some 20years later, assessing the progress up tillnow, she had this to say:

“On the eve of the Earth Summit2012, a report came out in the scientificjournal Nature that said that we hu-mans are pushing for a potential stateshift of our global ecosystem. We are at-tacking the planet’s systems in so manyways, on so many levels, that we maypush it towards a tipping point thatcould put us in a different climate statethat would be irreversible. We are in adesperate situation today, 20 years afterRio ‘92.”

When it comes to curtailing carbonemissions, especially by the most indus-trialised nations fighting tooth and nailto preserve the status quo, and capital-ists who are looking for new markets,there isn’t enough progress with regardsto saving the environment. In Severn’sopinion it was more about developing anew culture of sustainable marketsshifting from “greed economy” to “greeneconomy”.

The UN Earth Summit inviting vari-

ous world leaders and claiming to be thebiggest conference in world’s historyended with nothing but a useless docu-ment known as “The Future We Want”.Going through the details of the docu-ment I must say, it was just the same oldrhetoric. The document comprised ofdetails stressing on the future webought, not the one we want. We have aserious problem with the intersectionbetween governance and corporatepower and greed. Our highest level lead-ers on the planet are not leading for thegood of humanity and the life supportecosystems that support us.

Listening to Severn after so manyyears, she still sounded positive aboutchange. According to her there are manysolutions underway. But they aredwarfed by the challenges. “It is eerie towatch the speech I gave in Rio in 1992,because everything is still relevanttoday,” she said to me on the sidelinesof the summit.

Return to RioAn encounter with Severn cullis Suzuki

By Anam Gill


Comment 11


might is not always rightApropos to an article by renowned former

ambassador Mr Zafar Hilaly ‘As the TsunamiWeakens’, the writer sheds light on the dynamicsof this country that forcibly involved the militaryin the past to salvage the country from sidelines ofdisasters and internal chaos. Though army’scircumstantial involvements in an otherwise somecheckered civilian rules, some of which reflecteddictatorial traits themselves, did prove beneficialin short terms but their overstaying in powerbeyond mandates, have always resulted inrepulsion and dislike in common public. I couldn’tagree with the esteemed writer more when hewrote that it was not always the people of Pakistanbut also the politicians and their leaders whocelebrated and distributed sweets on army’scoming to fore to resurrect faltering equations ingoverning the country while keeping nationalinterests supreme.

The present military hierarchy has invariablyshown its resolve to let the democracy cement itsfootprints in Pakistan remaining within thedictates of constitutional requirements and in truereflection of subservience to civilian rule. Therehave been some uncomfortable strictures for theinstitution of the armed forces during on-goingtransition of the country to firmer democracy butthey all were taken in true stride to make thecountry democratically stronger.

How true has been the write-up when itswriter mentions the fact that military does nothave the right but it certainly has the might tointerfere and will exercise its weight when itcomes to issues affecting security and integrity ofthe country. He supported his argument on twoparticular scenarios amongst others when hethought that military be constrained to do its dutyand exercise its right by saying that,“notwithstanding tiresome soliloquies to thecontrary from judges and politicians, especially ifthe government does not govern and if themilitary’s fighting abilities or morale is beingadversely affected.” He has a solid argument but itis us who do not want to grasp the essence of hispowerful write-up for we find ourselves undercheck for damaging the country.

The current debate on essentially a non-issueis the statements by the army chief and the ChiefJustice of Pakistan. The respective statements ofCOAS and CJP on the need to uphold thesupremacy of law recently, were neverthelessexploited to give an imminent impression of aconflict between the two state institutions. Themedia anchors left no stone unturned to plagueour minds on baseless, unfounded theories andself-assumed rifts between the two sensitiveinstitutions of the country.

Thank God, it did not take much time for our

normally out of breath anchors and better senseprevailed. Media must refrain from polluting ourminds on issues that otherwise affect the security,integrity and national cohesion. They must worktowards unity and not creating disharmony.Nonetheless, we sure do need to learn to respectthe laws of the land and elected bodies. It is,however, a pity that failures of our politiciansdespite their repeated sojourns to the thrones ofpower in Pakistan have always forced the peopleto ponder whether civilian eras have been good fortheir wholesome growth of the country or themilitary ones. After all, it was a civilian whoinvited the armed forces to rule the country whenthe latter was in its infancy.

Today, as a nation we find ourselves at crossroads of our destiny. The current dynamics thatare to decide the fate of this country do not augerwell so far. Elections are around the corner andthe nation anxiously yearns for a positiveturnaround from the election exercise that couldprovide them a relief from increasing corruption,bad governance and most of all strengthensinternal cohesion and amity between various stateorgans, all working in tandem for a bettertomorrow for our future generations.

ENGINEER JAVED IQBALIslamabad

life threat on Park roadLack of speed breaker on Park Road is posing

a life threat for the students, faculty and otherstaff of Comsats Institute of Information andTechnology (CIIT). There is a desperate need forthe construction of speed breakers on this roadbecause the pedestrians and drivers are facing aconstant threat of accidents.

An accident is an unforeseen and anunplanned event or circumstance, often with lackof intention and necessity. It usually implies agenerally negative outcome which may have beenavoided, had the circumstance leading up to theaccident been recognised and acted upon prior toits occurrence. In this case, the circumstanceleading to the accident is the “lack of speedbreaker”. If a speed breaker is built, theseaccidents can be avoided.

The statistics of accidents on Park Road for theyear 2011 and 2012 have been taken from ShehzadTown Police Station. In the year 2011 there havebeen two car accidents, three pedestrian hits andtwo hit and run cases. In the year 2012 there havebeen a single bike accident and three pedestrianhits.

The mentioned statistics represent only thenumber of registered accidents. The number ofunregistered accidents is unknown. With theconstruction of speed breaker the number ofaccidents, occurring due to over speeding, can beminimised.

Consequently, we get to know that building aspeed breaker on Park Road would help preventthe loss of precious lives. As every day thestudents cross this road they face a life threat.These students are the future of our nation. Weneed to protect and secure this future. Therefore,the demand of students and faculty of CIIT may bemet forthwith to avoid any untoward incident.

RIDAH ZAFARRawalpindi

Editor’s mailSend your letters to: Letters to Editor,

Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah,

Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302.

E-mail: [email protected] should be addressed to

Pakistan Today exclusively.

Another gem of Rehman Malik

how unfortunate

“Wives and girl-friends havekilled more than

target killers in Karachi.”“A degree is a degree

whether original or fake.”While I was still trying to

decide which of these twostatements was more nonsen-sical, Rehman Malik took in adeep breath and leaped intothe finish line when he saidlast week that there is ‘no sec-tarian friction in Pakistan’.Our beloved chief ministerstood no chance.

In response to this ridicu-lous statement, a senior Shialeader of Punjab calledRehman Malik ‘stupid and anidiot’. I, however, disagree withthese remarks. Rehman Malikhas proved that he is some-thing much more than that.

Our interior minister willvery easily see a ‘foreign hand’in the blasts of Karachi andRawalpindi that shook thecountry this week, but thenagain, if Zulfiqar Mirza is to bebelieved, Malik sahib does noteven know the difference be-tween an apple and a banana.

Here I would like to helpRehman Malik to recall thatofficial figures, despite all thetampering, indicate that 6,000people have been killedwhereas 8,000 injured in the1,100 plus incidents of sectar-ian violence between 1990 and2012. In reality, more than acouple of thousand of Shiashave been killed in Parachinarand Gilgit-Baltisan alone dur-ing this time.

Although the schism beganover succession after the deathour Holy Prophet (PBUH) in625 AD, sectarianism in Pak-istan dates back to ImamKhomeini’s successful revolu-tion in Iran and the setup of aShia state. This inspired thePakistani Shias and theyformed the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-Fiqah-Jafaria (TNFJ), the firstsectarian organisation of Pak-istan which demanded rightsfor the Shia minority. TheTNFZ later gave rise to the

Tehrik-e-Jafria which nowruns under the name ofTehreek-e-Islami under Al-lama Sajid Naqvi.

The Deobandi SunniSipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan(SSP), which was establishedto counter the TNFJ, was per-suaded by the Pakistani estab-lishment to give up militancyin 1990. The SSP agreed. How-ever, by then Maulana HaqNawaz Jhangvi had been as-sassinated and the blame layon the Shias. Hence, thereemerged a splinter group,Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, namedafter its ‘martyr’, with the soleobjective to kill Shias.

A splinter group of theTNFJ, Sipah-e-MuhammadPakistan (SMP), also appearedon the scene in order tocounter the attacks of LeJ.These two militant groupsgave rise to a vicious cycle ofsectarian attacks across thecountry which saw the murderof Irani diplomat Sadiq Ganjiat the Ambassador Hotel, La-hore, the murder of IranianAir Force cadet in Rawalpindi,the nine-day communal war inParachinar (1996), the Mom-inpura Graveyard Massacre(1998), the murder of MaulanAzam Tariq and many otherclashes in the late 90’s. Thenumber of Shias killed becamenothing more than statisticsfor the people.

However, the worst wasyet to come. What the Shia’sfailed to realise was that aneven deadlier enemy was beingbred across the border on theinstructions of Zia-ul-Haq andwith the money of the Reaganadministration and an oil richSunni country of the MiddleEast. The Taliban inAfghanistan, after driving outthe Soviets, turned againsttheir own masters. The US,who had failed to foresee this,had to pay for their short-sightedness with the 9/11 at-tacks. Soon, our once belovedMuslim brethren across theborder became one of ourdeadliest enemies. The Talibanhatred for Shias grew whenthey were blamed for helpingthe Americans and the North-ern Alliance in overthrowing

the Taliban regime inAfghanistan. They were morethan just ‘kafirs’ now.

Around 8,000 Pakistanimilitants have trained andfought alongside the Talibansince 1994, and they now forma hardcore militia of Islamicactivists, ever ready to carryout attacks on the Shias. It isthey who are responsible forthe cold-blooded killings ofHazara Shias and for attackson imambargahs across thecountry.

Unlike the Shia outfits, theTaliban were well-financed,well-trained, better armed andhad a resource pool of recruitsin thousands of madarisacross Pakistan. Moreover, therecent economic sanctions im-posed on an oil-rich Shia Gulfstate further weakened them.The Taliban targeted imam-bargahs in Quetta (2003,2004), Sialkot (2005), Fateh-pur (2005), Kurram (2008),Chakwal (2009), Lahore(2010) and in many othercities across the country killinghundreds of Shias every year.

Furthermore, these attackswere not confined against theShia community only; theyburnt down Christian colonies,murdered Benazir Bhutto, as-sassinated Shahbaz Bhatti andattacked mausoleums of Sufisaints and political gatherings(except those of MQM) acrossthe country.

Whether our interior min-ister is in denial, or whether hecan’t even comprehend situa-tion, the reality is that thou-sands of Pakistani Shias havedied in sectarian violence andPakistan has become a relo-cated battlefield for the Shia-Sunni violence of the Gulf.Moreover, Pakistan and Iraqare the only countries in theworld where 66 percent of thesuicide bombings are sectarianrelated. It is a pity that theShias cannot mourn in peace.It is a pity that they are beingkilled just for the fact that theyexist. It is a pity that RehmanMalik is still our interior min-ister.

The writer is a staffmember at Pakistan Today.

By Rana Hussain Tahir koshal



12

Paltrow designs exercise top

actress gwyneth Paltrow has teamed up with

fitness brand BEyONd yOgA to create a

special top, which can be worn for a

comfortable exercise routine. The top will be sold

exclusively on her lifestyle blog 'goop'. The 40-year-

old says she decided to design the top because she

could never find such a thing anywhere, reports

femalefirst.co.uk. "I've always wanted a one

shouldered exercise top and could never find one so

we've collaborated with BEyONd yOgA to make my

dream top," Paltrow posted on her blog. "Made from

a luxurious high-tech fabric for active wear - Supplex

- this one-shoulder cami is great because it is quick

drying and offers stretch without stretching out,

keeping in shape even after a workout. Subtle

monochromatic quilting adds stylish detail to this

soft yet durable top," she added about the new

product. neWS deSK

Pamela Anderson feedsturkeys and pigs

bEINg a tireless animal rights activist,

Pamela Anderson couldn't let the turkey

stuffing of Thanksgiving pass by without

offering up an alternative to meat eaters. The 45-

year-old beauty cleverly decided to set an

example to wavering meat eaters by posing with

turkeys and pigs, and feeding them, the daily Mail

reported. Oddly, she chose to feed the turkeys

cranberries in an obvious twist on cranberry

sauce. The former 'Baywatch' babe recently

returned to the water for a campaign to save the

whales. The actress posed for pictures on the SSS

Brigitte Bardot last month in Marina del Rey,

California, and took part in a news conference

promoting the Sea Shepherd Conservation

Society's 2012 campaign to defend the whales.

The group's mission called Operation Zero

Tolerance will began on November 5th in the North

Pacific off of Japan. neWS deSK

LiLo says wild days are over

lINdSAy Lohan claims she's left her wild days

behind, after learning to surround herself

with good people and avoid bad influences.

The 26-year-old actress, currently starring in a TV

film as Elizabeth Taylor, told an American magazine

blamed loneliness for her bad behavior, the daily

Express reported. Lindsay said: "Why did I allow

sycophants and bad influences around me? "I was

lonely and I didn't realise it. That's why I came back

to New york. I can see my family and I have good

people in my life," she added. neWS deSK

JENNIFER Aniston's school crush hasspoken out about his seventh graderomance with the actress. MusicianAdonis Tsilimparis is said to be the

first man to kiss Aniston, 30 years ago, theDaily Mail reported.

Tsilimparis said that the romance betweenthe 12-year-olds is still fresh in his memory, andhe even has a Valentine's Day card to prove it."Dear Adonis," Aniston had written in the card."Love and Friendship Always. Jennifer A."Tsilimparis said that the two youngsters used tosneak behind a school staircase to "make-out."

"She was very open, very, very sweet. Shewas very, very loving, and she had a very bigheart," he said. He went on to say that, al-though he had tried, he hadn't got any furtherthan kissing with the superstar.

"I tried. But she didn't let me...We usedto go to the back stairs at school at lunchtimeand make out," he said. He said that the'Friends' star was just goofballs and that iswhy he loved her. "Total clown, very lovableand that's why everybody liked her," headded. While he went on to say that hedidn't remember how the young couplesplit, classmate Tom Friedner, who alsohad a brief romance with the star, saidthat Tsilimparis ended it. AgencieS

BOLLYWOOD bombshell NehaDhupia gets vocal on her films,relationship status and more.

yOU HAvE A STROng cOnnEcTWITH SOUTH AS yOU WERE BORnIn kERALA?Well, my connection with South India hasbeen amazing. I was born in Kerala,raised there and stayed there for almost10 years. And the City of Nawabs hasbeen very special to me as I won thecoveted Miss India contest here. And thekind of love that this city showered on methen, can never be forgotten.yOU WEnT On TO DO BOLD fILMSLIkE JULIE AnD SHEESHA, BUTLATER SWITcHED OvER TOPERfORMAncE-ORIEnTED ROLESWITH fILMS LIkE DELHIIHEIgHTS, MITHyA, PHAS gAyERE OBAMA...I'm interested in the job I do and I'minterested in doing films that really takeme and my career a long way. Throughmy choice of films, I'm sending out themessage that the script is important tome. It has to be so interesting that onhearing it, I should just jump up and say— Yes! I wanna do it! More than anythingelse, I think Indian cinema is goingthrough a great time and phase. And it'sgreat to see out-of-the-box ideas inBollywood these days, where there's workfor everyone.BUT SOME Of yOUR LASTRELEASES DIDn'T DO WELL ATTHE BOX-OffIcE. EvEn yOURREcEnTLy-RELEASED fILM RUSHfAILED AT THE BOX OffIcE...Firstly, I think it's got a lot to do with thetiming of the film. Maybe, people weren'tready for that kind of a film. Secondly, Idon't really want to blame anybody. I justmove on. You don't sit around and blamepeople for the failure. In fact, I'll sit andlook for different scripts and stories thancurse anybody. It's as simple as that.yOU HAvE ALSO DOnE QUITE AfEW ITEM SOngS. AnD THE BUzzIS THAT yOU'LL BE DOIng AnITEM nUMBER In DIL nE DIL kOPUkARA?I feel item songs are a big way to boostyour career and if any actress is

associated with a 'good' item song,whether it's trendy or entertaining,what's wrong with it? And talking aboutthe item song in Dil Ne Dil Ko Pukara,nothing is confirmed yet. Also, I've beenoffered an item number in TigmanshuDhulia's Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 2, but Idon't know whether I'm going to do thatas well. So, let's see how it materialises.Only time will tell how things will workout, but surely you'll soon see me doingan item number.WHAT'S In THE PIPELInE nEXT?I'm currently working on a film directedby Rensil D'Silva and produced byKaran Johar, opposite Emraan Hashmi,in a lead role. Then, I recently finishedshooting for my first Punjabi filmRangeeley with Jimmy Shergill. Andbeing from Punjab and speaking thelanguage I know, it was great fun andthe script of the film is one of thefunniest and entertaining ones I haveever been part of. Apart from that,there's one more comedy flick I'mlooking forward to working in nextJanuary. I have lots of projects to do,but that doesn't mean if I get aTollywood project, I'll say no. Languageis not important to me. I want to workwith a great director and the scriptshould be interesting. Having twoTelugu films already to my credit, I'mreally looking forward to doing muchmore.REcEnTLy, AT A PRESScOnfEREncE, WHEn yOU WEREASkED If MARRIAgE WAS On THEcARDS, yOU REPLIED, 'TyIng THEknOT! WHEn SALMAn kHAnDOES'...It was a joke. I didn't mean anythingpersonal. See, we come from the samefamily, that's Bollywood. So, I was like lethim marry first and then I will. Also,there are always rumours abouteverybody getting hitched. So, it was anabsolutely harmless comment. Moreover,as soon as I find the right guy, I'll marry,but I'm not ready now. I feel very settledand I don't understand the meaning ofsettling, which is like I have to go and

live with another manwho is supposed

to be perfect. So, as soon as I'm ready, I'lllet the world know, but right now, I'm

looking for Mr Right. cOuRteSy

tOi

Jennifer wasworld-classkisser at 12

Item songs boost career inindustry, says Neha Dhupia

fOR 'TALAASH', yOU HAvE nEITHERSHAvED yOUR HEAD nOR ARE yOUSHOWIng Off yOUR EIgHT PAckS.WHAT'S yOUR AcE THIS TIME AROUnD?Talaash doesn't need me to be bald or have eightpacks. It's a suspense film and not a thriller, likepeople assume. It is a script I really liked, so I'mkeen to see how people react to it. A thriller is avery fast-paced film where, every second, you havesome twists and turns; you have a lot of action,people falling off cliffs, etc. On the other hand, asuspense film is one where there is more intrigueand the pace is faster. But Talaash is more thanjust a suspense. When Reema Kagti and ZoyaAkhtar narrated the script, I was very intrigued. Icouldn't guess what was going to happen next. Iwas hooked on to it. Also, at the core, it's anemotional story and deals with coming to termswith loss. All of us have lost someone close to us;or in the future may lose someone near and dear.That is the reality of life. That is why I wasattracted to the script and, after the narration, Ifound myself crying.yOU SAID TALAASH IS vERy SPEcIAL.WHy? IS IT BEcAUSE IT IS yOURnEXT RELEASE OR IS THERESOMETHIng MORE?Like Rang De Basanti (2006), Lagaan (2001) andTaare Zameen Par (2007), Talaash too will breakboundaries. So, it is a film very close to my heart.BREAkIng nEW gROUnD IS SOMETHIngTHAT IS USUALLy ASSOcIATED WITHyOU, RIgHT?It is really scary what people have come to expectof me. When I do a film like Ghajini (2008) or 3Idiots (2009), I'm more relaxed because it is moremainstream. And if the film turns out well, you getthe sense that people will like it. However, whenyou do a TZP, RDB or Talaash, even if it comes outwell, you do not know whether people will like it ornot. Reema has made the film the way she haswanted to. But the stress of whether people willlike it or not will not leave us until after therelease. There is a lot of stress and tension becauseexpectations are so high.



13

Bloopers in 007 flick 'Skyfall' revealed

FROM daniel Craig's lace-up shoes changing to

slip-ons during a train fight to shades that

appear and disappear, the latest Bond film

'Skyfall' is full of gaffes. The other mistakes in the

movie include, Eve - played by Naomie Harris - knocks

out a car windscreen in one piece, then half of the

glass is back in the frame, the Sun reported. Other

blunders in the movie are, Bond's boss M's bag

vanishes after she puts it on the floor, a car following

Bond in London changes from white to black to white,

the paper said. In another scene, Bond puts a radio

transmitter in his right pocket - but later takes it out

from his left. Another goof up in the movie is that

Embankment Tube station is missing on a trip from

Temple to Westminster when it should be there

between the two stops, the publication added. Another

faux pas happened when Javier Bardem's villain Silva

puts a full glass of whisky on a Bond girl's head but the

level varies during the scene. neWS deSK

Kareena tries pelvic thrustin 'Dabangg 2' item song

KAREENA Kapoor canned an item number for

"dabangg 2" and says it was great fun

shooting for the song as she tried something

new for it. "It was great fun. I loved the song... for the

first time I have done a pelvic thrust. I have never

done that before and Farah Khan has shot it

amazingly. I am looking forward to it because it's a fun

song. I hope people love it," Kareena, who did item

number Halkat jawani in her film Heroine, told IANS.

Arbaaz Khan is making his directorial debut with

dabangg 2, which stars his big brother Salman in the

lead role. designer Manish Malhotra has styled

Kareena's costumes for the item song and Farah has

choreographed her moves. There were reports that her

sister Karisma was on the sets while she was giving

shots for the song and Kareena said: "She came to

meet Salman, Arbaaz, Malaika and all and that's it.

She was not there to give any takes." neWS deSK

R-Patz and Kristen Stewart fly to NYC

rOBERT Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were

spotted at London's Heathrow airport boarding a

plane headed towards New york, the day after

Thanksgiving. According to gossip site HollywoodLife, the

couple were leaving for the Big Apple after possibly

spending time with the 26-year-old actor's family, the

New york Post reported. "Look who's on my plane!!!

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart!!" a fan tweeted

after she saw the celebrity couple. "We just arrived at

the same time they were behind me in the line!" the fan

wrote. She also posted a photograph of the pair, as they

walked towards the aircraft with their carry-on luggage.

According to her tweet, the couple were on first class

and by coincidence, Beatles singer Paul McCartney was

also aboard. It looks like things are sailing smoothly for

the two, despite critics suggesting earlier that the actors

only reunited to help promote their final 'Twilight' flick

and would break up following the film's release. The

recent photo of the pair together outside their promo

duties seems to imply that Pattinson has forgiven

Stewart for her dalliance with married director Rupert

Sanders back in July. The couple have kept quiet about

their relationship status. neWS deSK

EvEn AfTER 24 yEARS In SHOWBIzAnD SOME Of THE BIggESTBOLLyWOOD HITS, EXPEcTATIOnSScARE yOU!Over the years, people have come to expect alot from me. I am happy about that. It meansmy earlier work has gone down well withthem. But it also scares me because you don'tknow whether you will be able to live up to

those expectations always.WHAT AccORDIng TO yOU IS THEDynAMIc Of An 'AAMIR kHAn fRIDAy'?I am a very unpredictable commodity. There is noparticular dynamic for me. That has also been mystrength. The fact that people can't predict howmuch business my film is going to do or whatgrounds it will break is exciting. Even I cannotpredict what my film is going to do. Experiencingthe unknown has a certain charm to it.

Of the three Khans, Salman is massy, you are thethinking Khan and Shah Rukh is the romantic one.I do not know why people call me the thinkingKhan. Of the three Khans — SRK, Salman and me —I'm the one who always goes with my heart. I amnot unhappy with the tag that people think that Iam intelligent. And if they think that I am athinking person, there's nothing wrong with that.But it is just not accurate. My decisions areextremely emotional in nature. If you ask for alogical reason for anything I do, I will not have any.ALSO, THE THREE Of yOU HAvE fILMSRELEASIng AT SHORT MARgInS. IS THATA gOOD OR A BAD THIng?Our films are releasing a few weeks apart from oneanother. I personally feel there is enough space forall our films, especially if they are coming threeweeks away from the other. I have alwaysmaintained that I want Salman and SRK's films todo well, as should mine.DOES SUcH MAgnAnIMITy cOME fROMEXTREME cOnfIDEncE?No. Why do you say that? I think all three of ushave created our individual spaces.In Talaash, you get back with Rani Mukerji andKareena Kapoor. Surely this is exciting.Yes, I'm fortunate that I get to romance these twovery beautiful girls. It was very distracting for meto work on this film because of them. Also, I havehad a fantastic work equation with both of them.With Rani, I did Ghulam (1998) and MangalPandey (2005), and with Kareena, I did thebiggest hit of my career — 3 Idiots — and nowTalaash. Both girls are lucky for me. They areboth fantastic actresses and lovely human beings.I feel very relaxed working with them. They arevery sorted. Both love their work, but at the sametime, they have a great sense of humour. And,they also keep the atmosphere on the setscharged and jovial. cOuRteSy tOi

I was distracted romancing Rani and Kareena: Aamir

HUGH Jackman hasopened up about his16-year-old marriageto actress-and-direc-

tor Deborra-Lee Furness, sayingthat he never spends more thantwo weeks apart from his wife.

The 44-year-old actor saidthat before his wedding, Fur-ness told him that it was vitalthat they saw each other regu-larly, so they wouldn't driftapart and live separate lives.

"Well Deb, when I met herhad done 20 movies. She said,'Hugh, we're never going to beaway from each other for morethan two weeks.' I said, 'Great,why?' She said, 'I've just been ontoo many movies, and I see peo-ple drift apart'," the Daily Mailquoted him as saying in an inter-view with The Grill Team onAustralian radio station Triple M104.9 FM. "People think you'regoing to fall in love with yourleading lady and have an affair,it's not always that. "It's just youget used to living apart and youget used to living a life on yourown ... then when you hit a rockypatch you're not together, you'realready living your own life,

you're on location, an all of asudden that person over therelooks fantastic," he said.

Jackman - who has 2 chil-dren Oscar, 12, and Ava, seven,with Lee Furness - moved backto his native Sydney six monthsago to work on 'The Wolverine'and he is having a really "happytime" being among friends andfamily back in Australia.

"We've got the kids settledinto school here which is tough,somehow we came back and set-tled straight in, the movie wasready to go, it's been the bestmovie experience so somehowthat takes the pressure off," hesaid. "I spent a lot of time withmy dad who is not well, whenyou're with one of your parentswho you know is not going to getbetter you make the most ofevery moment. "So having that,and the kids settled and Deb wasreally happy to be here, she al-ways loves it here ... I'm neverhappier than when I'm here, Iswim in the ocean every morning,and my best friends are here, andeven though I have a blessed lifeand a lucky life I come back hereand I love it," he added. AgencieS

Hugh Jackmanreveals secret tohappy marriage

LARRy Hagman, who created one

of American television’s most

supreme villains in the

conniving, amoral oilman J.R. Ewing of

“dallas,” died on Friday, the dallas

Morning News reported. He was 81.

Hagman died at a dallas hospital of

complications from his battle with throat

cancer, the newspaper said, quoting a

statement from his family. He had

suffered from liver cancer and cirrhosis of

the liver in the 1990s after decades of

drinking. Hagman’s mother was stage

and movie star Mary Martin and he

became a star himself in 1965 on “I

dream of Jeannie,” a popular television

sitcom in which he played Major Anthony

Nelson, an astronaut who discovers a

beautiful genie in a bottle. “dallas,” which

made its premiere on the CBS network in

1978, made Hagman a superstar. The

show quickly became one of the

network’s top-rated programs, built an

international following and inspired a

spin-off, imitators and a revival in 2012.

“dallas” was the night-time soap-opera

story of a Texas family, fabulously

wealthy from oil and cattle, and its plot

brimmed with back-stabbing, double-

dealing, family feuds, violence, adultery

and other bad behavior. In the middle of

it all stood Hagman’s black-hearted J.R.

Ewing - grinning wickedly in a broad

cowboy hat and boots, plotting how to

cheat his business competitors and cheat

on his wife. He was the villain TV viewers

loved to despise during the show’s 356-

episode run from 1978 to 1991. AgencieS

‘Notorious’ TV villain LarryHagman dies at 81


14Infotainment


Naked man on statue bringsLondon traffic to standstill

TOURISTS were shocked today when theytried to take pictures of Nelson’s Column –but ended up with a London Eye-ful instead.

It was in fact a naked man who had straddled astatue in the city and brought traffic to a standstillfor hours. Whitehall was full of red faces as policefrantically tried to grab the bare man who wasposing on the monument to Prince George.At one point he balanced precariously on the Dukeof Cambridge’s head, as Lord Nelson looked on inthe background. He was seen waving his armsaround and talking to emergency service crews ascrowds of curious onlookers gathered at either endof a 100-metre cordon.The man was eventually coaxed down shortlybefore 3pm and put into the back of a police van.He was detained under the Mental Health Act,according to Scotland Yard. cOuRteSy tHe MiRROR

Thief shouts ‘POTATOES,POTATOES, POTATOES’ beforepickpocketing shoppers

Asneaky thief is pretending to be sprout ofhis mind by screaming the names ofvegetables – before he pickpockets

bewildered shoppers. The crook swipes purses andwallets after distracting his victims by hopping upand down in the fruit and veg aisle of supermarketsand shouting “POTATOES”, “SWEDE”,“CABBAGE” and “TURNIPS”.He has struck several times in recent weeksincluding stealing credit cards and £200 in cashfrom a 90-year-old man and his 88-year-old wifein a Sainsbury’s store. Hilary Brown, 59, said thecrook approached her dad and stepmum in thesupermarket and shouted “potatoes, potatoes,potatoes” at the top of his voice as he jumped onthe spot. He then nabbed the bemused couple’svaluables before running out of the store inDorking, Surrey. Hilary said: “He distracted myfather by shouting out all these vegetable names.“My father thought ‘you’re a bit strange’ butthought nothing of it and carried on shopping.Later he realised his wallet had been taken out ofhis back pocket and my stepmother’s purse hadbeen taken out of her handbag, which had been inher bag hanging on the back of the trolley.“He must have unzipped her bag, taken it andzipped it back up.” It is believed the crook hastargeted at least fivepeople at variousstores in the areain the past fewweeks.cOuRteSy tHe

MiRROR

Goodnight ‘Snow White’: Longest comapatient ever passes away after 42 years

Calling all code breakers,can you crack this secretwartime message, becausespy chiefs certainly can’t…Experts admit the note at-tached to the leg of a deadpigeon found in a chimneyhas left them baffled. Andthey have asked any for-mer code crackers to help.Homeowner David Martindiscovered the bird’s re-mains when he was refur-bishing his house inSurrey and spotted a littlered canister containingthe message on PigeonService paper. Spooks atGCHQ have spent weekstrying to fathom out whatit means. One said: “Wedidn’t hold out any hopesbecause the sort of codesthat were constructed tobe used during these oper-ations were designed onlyto be able to be read by thesenders and recipients.“Unless you get rathermore idea than we have ofwho actually sent thismessage, and who it wassent to, we are not goingto find out what the codebeing used was. “Thereare still quite a lot of peo-ple alive who worked incommunications centresduring the war and who

might have some knowl-edge about this. “It wouldbe very interesting if any-one did have informationif they could put it in thepot and we could see if wecould get any further withit.” About 250,000 pi-geons were used duringthe Second World War topass on vital messages bythe military. The onefound in David’s chimneyhas 27 handwritten blocksof letters. It may be basedon a specific code bookput together for a particu-lar operation, whichwould probably have nowbeen destroyed. So what

could the 70-year-old se-cret mean? Perhaps thepigeon was bringing backinformation of the Loft-waffe or movements in theBird Reich…

can YoU help crackthe code? here is themessage in full…aoaKN hVPKD fNfJw yiDDc

rqXsr DJhfP goVfN miaPX

Pabuz wyyNP cmPNw hJrzh

NlXKg memKK oNoib aKeeq

waota rbqrh DJofm tPzeh

lKXgh rgght Jrzcq fNKtq

KlDts fqirw aoaKN 27 1525/6

cOuRteSy tHe MiRROR

THE world’s longest coma patient, aMiami woman who had been called the‘Sleeping Snow White’ during the 42years she remained comatose, has died atthe age of 59. Edwarda O’Bara was a

cheery high school student in 1970 when she sud-denly fell ill, threw up her medicine and slippedinto a diabetic coma. But before she became com-atose she turned to her mother and pleaded withher to ‘promise ... you won’t leave me.’

Her mother stayed true to her word, enduringa grueling schedule to constantly stay near herdaughter until the mother died five years ago andthe woman’s sister became her primary care giver- until Edwarda passed away on Wednesday.

As a popular 16-year-old, Edwarda had abright future ahead of her but then she became illwith a severe bout of pneumonia.

In the early hours of January 3 in 1970, she‘woke up shaking and in great pain because theoral form of insulin she had been taking wasn’treaching her blood stream,’ according to her fam-ily. She was rushed to hospital and as she lay inher bed, she turned to her mother, Kaye O’Bara,and pleaded with her to stay near. ‘Promise meyou won’t leave me,’ the teen begged her mother,according to the Miami Herald.

Terrified, O’Bara assured daughter, ‘Of coursenot. I would never leave you, darling,’ having noidea of the long ordeal ahead. The mother keptthat promise, taking care of her daughter, untilKaye O’Bara herself died five years ago.

For more than 35 years, Kaye O’Bara re-mained constantly by Edwarda’s bedside, endur-ing a grueling schedule to give her daughteraround the clock care. She would only sleep for 90minutes at a time, so she would always be acces-sible to her daughter. The devoted mother wouldnot institutionalize Edwarda, even though the fi-nancial burden became a great challenge to thefamily. Though Kaye died at the age of 80 onMarch 7, 2008, she never gave up hope that herdaughter would one day wake up from her coma.

Edwarda’s father, Joe, had passed away in1977. He died from a heart attack, believed to havebeen brought on by the strain of caring for his ail-ing daughter. After their mother’s passing, Ed-warda’s sister Colleen stepped in and continuedthe tradition to offer constant care to Edwarda ather home in Miami Gardens. Colleen quit her pre-vious job as a horse trainer to care full time for hersister. “I didn’t give it a second thought. She’s mysister,” Colleen O’Bara said, “and I love her.”

As part of her care, her body was turned every

two hours to keep away bedsores, she was giveninsulin and fed through a tube. Colleen would alsolovingly braid her sister’s grey hairs, suck themucus from Edwarda’s throat to allow her tobreath and constantly speak to her sister, assum-ing Edwarda was soaking up her every word.

She mixes baby food, milk, eggs, orange juice,Mazola oil, brewer’s yeast and a piece of whitebread into a blender and then a wire meshstrainer, pouring the concoction into Edwarda’sfeeding tube every two hours, day and night. Shesuctions mucus from Edwarda’s throat, whispersendearments in her ear and braids her long grayhair. Family and friends would also visit her, play-ing music and reading to the woman.

Kaye O’Bara was a devout Catholic who saidshe felt the presence of the Virgin Mary in herdaughter’s room. That led Dr Wayne Dyer to writea book about the family and their unconditionalcare for Edwarda, ‘A Promise Is A Promise: An Al-most Unbelievable Story of a Mother’s Uncondi-tional Love and What It Can Teach Us.’ The bookattracted widespread attention and visitors fromaround the world would come and visit the ailingwoman and encourage her family. “I had to learnto let strangers in,” Colleen O’Bara said, “becausethey aren’t strangers.” cOuRteSy dAily MAil

Spy chiefs stumped by secret messagefound on leg of dead WWII pigeon


Sunday, 25 november, 2012

Page 18

hamilton fastest beforeemotional farewell

kHULNAAgencieS

Shakib Al Hasan gifted his wicket on 97to West Indies in a disappointing end toan otherwise remarkable Saturday for theall-rounder who became only the secondbowler to take 100 test wickets forBangladesh. The stumps on the fourthday were drawn immediately after Shakibwent, with Bangladesh on 226 for sixwickets in their second innings of the sec-ond test and needing 35 to make West In-dies bat again following the visitors'sdeclaration on 648-9.

Shakib defied West Indies for morethan three hours but just when he lookedset for a well-deserved century he chargeddown left-arm spinner Veerasammy Per-maul and was caught by Tino Best at midoff. Shakib shared 144 runs with NasirHossain for the sixth wicket after a famil-iar Bangladesh batting collapse cost themtheir first five for 82 runs.

The left-armer had earlier taken fourwickets to join Mohammad Rafique as theonly Bangladesh test bowlers to break the100 mark. Nasir, who remained unbeatenon 64, will resume the fifth day's playhoping to bat out a session or two andgive Bangladesh a chance of avoiding thedefeat. West Indies took a wicket off thethird ball of Bangladesh's second inningsto boost their chance of a 2-0 seriessweep. Fidel Edwards trapped openerNazimuddin leg before for a golden duckbefore Best took three wickets in quick

succession to rip the heart out ofBangladesh's top order. Best bowledopener Tamim Iqbal off his first ball inthe second innings for 28 and rattled thestumps of Naeem Islam (two) the sameover. Shahriar Nafees was given a re-prieve on eight after Edwards had himcaught by Marlon Samuels at gully when

television replays confirmed the bowlerbowled a front-foot no-ball. However,Shahriar was unable to take advantage ofthe let off and was out for 21, edging Bestat slip for Darren Sammy to complete thecatch. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim threwhis wicket when he charged Permauldown the track and missed the line to be

bowled for 10. Earlier, Shivnarine Chan-derpaul made some quick runs beforeShakib pushed West Indies towards adeclaration. Shakib had Denesh Ramdincaught by Rahim for 31 three balls beforehe made Sammy his 100th test wicket asMahmudullah took the West Indies cap-tain at slip for nought.

Windies back in charge after Shakib gifts wicket

ADELAIDEAgencieS

SOUTH Africa's pacemenrouted Australia's batsmenwith five late wickets to leavethe hosts reeling at 111-5 at the

close of day three on Saturday and givethe tourists faint hope of pulling off anunlikely victory in the second test. Dis-missed for 388 at tea to trail Australia'smassive first innings total by 162 runs,Rory Kleinveldt took three wickets in awithering pace assault, with fellow quicksDale Steyn and Morne Morkel taking awicket each as the Adelaide Oval pitchbared its teeth late in the day.

First innings hero Michael Clarkeand Mike Hussey survived a nervous fewovers as shadows crept across theground, with the hosts stuttering to astill-precarious 273-run lead. "What wedid tonight in the last session was exactlywhat we needed to still have a sniff in thegame," all-rounder Faf du Plessis told re-porters, after scoring an impressive 78 ondebut to help the Proteas avoid the fol-low-on. "Because if they just went 4 1/2runs an over with no wickets, we wouldhave been under massive pressure. At themoment, we're still in there."

Clarke, who scored a second consec-utive double-century in the first innings,was on nine, with Hussey on five after apulsating day in hot conditions. DavidWarner and Ed Cowan pushed the leadto 239, before Kleinveldt ended their 77-run opening stand amid a superb burst ofswing bowling. Kleinveldt, a late selectionfollowing a back injury to Vernon Philan-der, removed Warner for 41, the pugna-cious opener miscuing a swipe off hispads to produce a simple catch to DuPlessis at extra cover.

The two-test paceman Kleinveldtthen had Rob Quiney feathering an edgeto wicketkeeper AB de Villiers in thesame over, the Australian number threeslumping to his second duck of the testfollowing a nine in his sole innings inBrisbane. Kleinveldt made it a third inquick succession by bowling Cowan

through the gate, before Dale Steyn hadthe out-of-form Ricky Ponting out for 16when the former Australia captain playedonto his stumps. Nightwatchman PeterSiddle strode out to the crease to meetClarke but headed back quickly, manag-ing just one run, after nicking to De Vil-liers off Morkel. The powerhouse displayopened the door slightly for South Africa,but they will be mindful of history at Ade-laide Oval, where the greatest successfulrun chase was by England in 1901/02when they mowed down 315 for victory.

After conceding 180 runs in a way-ward, wicketless performance duringAustralia's first innings, legspinnerImran Tahir's nightmare test continuedon Saturday. Tahir celebrated what hethought was a breakthrough wicket whenopener Cowan edged to extra cover in histhird over, but umpire Billy Bowdensummoned a video review which con-firmed the spinner had over-stepped hismark. The no-ball granted Cowan a re-prieve and Tahir went on to bleed 38

runs from his seven-over spell. Thetourists were earlier buoyed by a fightinghalf-century from Jacques Kallis, battlingthrough the pain of his hamstring injuryin a 93-run stand with Du Plessis.

Du Plessis also showed great com-posure with a 78 on debut and put theAustralian attack to the sword with abreathless display of clean hitting inthe final overs. Australia captainClarke ended Kallis's innings on 58 asthe burly all-rounder was caught be-hind courtesy of a miscued sweep.Kallis is expected to bat again in thesecond innings but would be unlikelyto play the third and final test in Perth,a major blow for South Africa, theteam doctor said after the close.

Spinner Nathan Lyon took the firstwicket of the day when he had JacquesRudolph out for 29, slapping a catchstraight to extra cover. "We're prettyhappy with where we are sitting at themoment with a a 273-run lead," he toldreporters after finishing with 2-91.

Pacemen give SAglimmer of hope

Du Plessisenjoys the silenceafter ribbing

ADELAIDE AgencieS

Faf du Plessis's gallant 78 helped SouthAfrica avoid the follow-on on day three ofthe second test on Saturday, but the 28-year-old all-rounder admitted a nervousstumble on the stairs nearly put paid tohis test debut at the crease. Du Plessis hadalready shown an endearing penchant forslapstick when he made a horrible mess ofa catch on Friday, spilling a simple chanceat backward point. "I was very nervousbefore I went out. Probably the morenervous I've been was making my one-daydebut, for the first time playing for SouthAfrica," Du Plessis told reporters."Then I had an absolute shocker goingdown the stairs. My boot clipped one ofthe stairs and my whole foot came out. Ihad to kneel in front of the whole crowdthere, while they were abusing me fromboth sides. "And my shoelaces were tiedand my pad was in the way, so I couldn'tget my foot back in. So I was thinking,'I'm going to get timed out here.'"My foot slipped in three-quarters of theway, and I thought I'm just going to haverun on like this and I'll sort it out when Iget there. "When I got in, I thought, itcan't go worse than that." After a superbknock including 13 fours and a six, DuPlessis was eventually dismissed by asharp catch from Australia captainMichael Clarke, bringing South Africa'sinnings to a close at 388. Althought thetourists still trailed by 162 runs, the crowdwas more subdued as he strode back tothe changerooms. "Yeah, they were much,much better," said Du Plessis, who en-joyed a 93-run partnership with injuredveteran Jacques Kallis to ensure Australiawould bat again. South Africa's pacemenrattled through Australia's top order aftertea to leave the hosts 111-5 at the close ofthe day, with a lead of 273 runs.Clarke and Mike Hussey, who torched thehosts with a 272-run partnership on dayone, will resume for Australia on day fourat Adelaide Oval, where the greatest suc-cessful run chase was 315 runs, by Eng-land in 1901-02. Du Plessis said the SouthAfricans were buoyed at having a sniff atan unlikely victory and early wicketswould be key on Sunday with the pitchlikely to deteriorate further.

Bangladesh first innings 387 (Abul Hasan 113, Mahmudullah 76,nasir Hossain 52; fidel edwards 6-90)West indies first innings (overnight 564-4)c.gayle c Rahim b gazi 25K.powell c Shakib b Rubel 13d.Bravo lbw b gazi 127M.Samuels c sub b Rubel 260S.chanderpaul not out 150d.Ramdin c Rahim b Shakib 31d.Sammy c Mahmudullah b Shakib 0V.permaul c gazi b Shakib 13S.narine c Shahriar b Shakib 0f.edwards c Shakib b gazi 2extras (b-10 lb-7 w-2 nb-8) 27total (eight wickets, 200.3 overs) 648did not bat: t.Best fall of wickets: 1-37 2-43 3-369 4-546 5-621 6-621 7-639 8-6399-648Bowling: Sohag gazi 57.3-4-167-3, Abul Hasan 24-0-113-0 (1w,4nb), Rubel Hossain 31-8-86-2 (3nb), naeem islam 14-1-43-0(1nb), Shakib Al Hasan 52-11-151-4 (1w), Mahmudullah 10-0-42-0, nasir Hossain 12-1-29-0.Bangladesh second innings tamim iqbal b Best 28nazimuddin lbw b edwards 0Shahriar nafees c Sammy b Best 21naeem islam b Best 2Shakib Al Hasan c Best b permaul 97Mushfiqur Rahim b permaul 10nasir Hossain not out 64extras (lb-2 w-1 nb-1) 4total (six wickets; 56.1 overs) 226to bat: Mahmudullah, Sohag gazi, Abul Hasan, Rubel Hossain fall of wickets: 1-1 2-49 3-51 4-62 5-82 6-226Bowling: f. edwards 11-0-65-1 (nb-1), S. narine 9-0-48-0, V.permaul 16.1-2-51-2, t. Best 8-0-26-3(w-1), c. gayle 4-0-15-0, d.Sammy 8-3-19-0

ScOReBOARd

AuStRAliA fiRSt inningS 550 SOutH AfRicA fiRSt inningSg. Smith c Wade b Siddle 122 A. petersen run out 54H. Amla st Wade b Warner 11 J. Rudolph c Quiney b lyon 29AB de Villiers lbw b Siddle 1f. du plessis c clarke b Hilfenhaus 78d. Steyn c ponting b Hilfenhaus 1R. Kleinveldt b Hilfenhaus 0J. Kallis c Wade b clarke 58M. Morkel b lyon 6i. tahir not out 10extras (b-7, lb-2, w-3, nb-6) 18total: (all out, 124.3 overs) 388 fall of wickets: 1-138 2-169 3-233 4-233 5-240 6-246 7-2508-343 9-352 10-388Bowling: B. Hilfenhaus 19.3-6-49-3, J. pattinson 9.1-0-41-0 (nb-4, w-1) n. lyon 44-7-91-2, p. Siddle 30.5-6-130-2 (nb-2), M.clarke 7-1-22-1, M. Hussey 1-0-7-0 (w-2), d. Warner 5-0-27-1,R. Quiney 8-3-12-0AuStRAliA SecOnd inningSd. Warner c du plessis b Kleinveldt 41 e. cowan b Kleinveldt 29 R. Quiney c de Villiers b Kleinveldt 0R. ponting b Steyn 16 M. clarke not out 9p. Siddle c de Villiers b Morkel 1M. Hussey 5extras (lb-7, nb-3) 10 total (for five wickets, 32 overs) 111 fall of wickets: 1-77 2-77 3-91 4-98 5-103 Bowling: Steyn 10-4-28-1, Morkel 9-2-24-1, Kleinveldt 6-1-14-3 (nb-2), tahir 7-1-38-0 (nb-1)

ScOReBOARd

sri lankawelcome backDilshan forsecond test

COLOMBO AgencieS

Sri Lanka will welcome back openerTillakaratne Dilshan for the second andfinal test against New Zealand inColombo starting on Sunday after herecovered from a back injury.Dilshan, whose last innings was an un-beaten 102 in the third match of thefive-game ODI series, missed SriLanka's 10-wicket win inside three daysin the first test in Galle."Dilshan is pretty much 100 per cent fitand Dimuth Karunaratne will make wayfor him," captain Mahela Jayawardenetold reporters on Saturday."We want to get Dilshan back intothings ready for the Australia tour,which is very important for us and wewouldn't take a risk with him."When he left he was in pretty goodform and now he feels ready and com-fortable and the physio has given himclearance. He wants to play, he is happyand eager." There was also good newsfor New Zealand with fast bowler TimSouthee likely to play after recoveringfrom a groin injury that prevented himfor bowling on the final day in Galle."He has been having a lot of rehab andparticipated in training yesterday, didthe fitness work and pulled up well sohe has been named in the 12 and he islooking good to play," said New Zealandcaptain Ross Taylor.New Zealand have named the same 11that lost in Galle, plus uncapped leg-spinner Todd Astle, and will make a de-cision on the final make-up of the sideon Sunday morning."Todd has had a lot of success in NewZealand and is not far from being a gen-uine all-rounder," said Taylor."He started off as a batsman and part-time spinner and he has worked hard onhis bowling and turned himself into adecent spinner."He has fitted into the group very well,has got a good work ethic, trains hardand has come into the reckoning."New Zealand's problems against spinhave dominated the match build-up afterRangana Herath took 11 wickets in Galle,giving him 46 from eight tests in 2012.Jayawardene said the player's form gaveSri Lanka a psychological edge."Definitely," he said. "Any bowler whotake a 10-wicket haul in a Test match willcreate problems for the opposition andwe will try and ride on that.Rangana gives us that control factor, hehas been a steady competitor for us andthe way he is bowling right now he will bea big factor for New Zealand, definitely."But we can't rely just on Rangana and Iwas quite happy with the way the otherthree bowlers (Shaminda Eranga, NuwanKulasekara and Suraj Randiv) bowled atGalle and with the pressure and the op-portunities they created."New Zealand's spin phobia has been a keyfactor in five consecutive test lossesagainst the West Indies, India and nowSri Lanka, their worst run since 1955."(Spin has) been a factor as conditionshave been a lot different to what we get athome but the players need to step up andplay better," said Taylor.


Sports 16


LAHOREStAff RepORt

TWO matches of the last round of the Presi-dent's Trophy have been shifted out of Pun-jab, to Islamabad and Mirpur, followingdifferences between the Pakistan Cricket

Board (PCB) and Punjab Government. Faisalabad'sIqbal Stadium was scheduled to host the match be-tween State Bank of Pakistan and Sui Northern GasPipelines Limited while Pakistan International Air-lines and Water and Power DevelopmentAuthority were set to play at JinnahStadium in Sialkot. The troublestarted after the government'scity-district administrationdisrupted the matches of theongoing PCB Under-19 interdistrict/department tour-nament in Gujranwala andSialkot. A match betweenSialkot and Karachi Bluewas interrupted on No-vember 11 when a helicop-ter carrying top Punjabgovernment officials landedat the Gujranwala stadium,forcing the match to be aban-doned. An attempt was made tohost another match in Gujranwala,between Sialkot and Gujranwala, butthe city-district administration refused togive permission. The PCB relocated it to Sialkot butthe match was stopped and the city-district adminis-tration evacuated the stadium for an undisclosed rea-son. "There is no clash between the PCB and thePunjab Government," a PCB was quoted by ESPN-cricinfo. "We are a sports body and want the games togo on and to avoid any further disruption we have de-cided to move our matches from the Punjab provinceto other parts of the country." To avoid further dis-ruptions, the President's Trophy matches have beenmoved to the National Stadium in Islamabad and

Quaid-e-Azam stadium in Mirpur. "In the meantime,we are in negotiations with the Government to sortout any the issues they think need to be sorted," thespokesman said. "We want the smooth functioning ofour tournament and apart from the President's Tro-phy matches the Under-19 match (Peshawar vSialkot) has also been relocated to Peshawar." ThePCB chairman Zaka Ashraf said the board can't affordany disruptions at the moment. "We understand thatthe grounds are the property of the Punjab Govern-ment and it's up to them if they will let us play but

they should show good spirit and work with abig heart," Ashraf told reporters in La-

hore. "But if they carry on with such acondescending attitude we are left

with no other choice but to takethe matches away from theprovince." The row had startedin March this year when thePCB refused to grant permis-sion to the Punjab govern-ment for holding a non-sportsfunction at the RawalpindiStadium. Later the PCB, head-

quartered in Lahore (the capi-tal of Punjab), wrote a letter to

the chief secretary of the PunjabGovernment on April 16 this year

regarding security arrangementsand plans but the government said it

was unaware of such a request. The PCBthen blamed the Punjab Government for lack

of coordination, which affected Bangladesh's pro-posed visit in April, over security and safety con-cerns. Pakistan and Bangladesh were due to play oneODI and one Twenty20 at the Gaddafi Stadium inLahore, on April 29 and 30 this year but the tourwas pulled back over a writ petition filed in theDhaka High Court after the tour appeared to be hitby logistic issues. The PCB, the country's richestsports body, owns no stadiums of its own. Cur-rently, all stadiums around the country are on leasewith MoUs with the city-district governments.

Trophy matchesmoved out of Punjab

LAHOREStAff RepORt

Pakistan`s flamboyant all-rounder,Shahid Afridi, in a bid to confirm hisplace in the national squad that willtour India next month, has agreed tolead the Karachi Dolphins side in theupcoming national T20 champi-onship. Afridi had earlier turneddown the offer.

"Afridi has agreed to lead theKarachi Dolphins squad after wespoke to him and convinced him thatgiven his seniority he is the auto-matic choice to lead his home side,"the President of the Karachi City

Cricket Association, Siraj-ul-IslamBukhari said.

After Afridi`s refusal, the KCCAhad decided to appoint Test bats-man, Asad Shafiq as the captain.

Afridi, who has been strugglingfor form in One-day Internationalsand T20 matches, this year droppeda lucrative contract with the Sydneyside to play in the Australian BigBash T20 league so that he couldmake himself available for the na-tional T20 championship.

Afridi said that he had decided toplay in the national T20 event as itwould allow him to regain his formand also convince the selectors.

The allrounder has made nobones of the fact that he is desperateto play in the coming series in India,which will be the first bilateral con-test between the two countries in fiveyears.

Just how much importance thecricket board and selectors are giv-ing to the national T20 champi-onship can be judged by the fact thatthe captaincy of most regional teamshas gone to senior players.

Younis Khan will be leading theAbbotabad side, Misbah-ul-Haq theFaisalabad side and MohammadYousuf will lead the Lahore Lionsoutfit.

afridi to lead Karachi Dolphins in t20 meet

MUMBAIcRicinfO

In England, it has become customary tolook at Kevin Pietersen and see only aproblem. In India, the talk is of his starquality. That unmistakeable batting tal-ent was to the fore once more on a swel-tering second day of the Mumbai Test ashe began to put his tribulations behindhim and rebuild an England career thathe once imagined might be lost for ever.Alastair Cook, the England captain whomust manage Pietersen's maverick tal-ents, must have looked down the pitchand concluded that this was a problemworth having. Cook, who in his worstmoments must have imagined thatIndia was becoming an insurmountablechallenge, could spot an ally from 22yards away. Between them, they stilledIndia's spin-bowling frenzy.

Cook was 13 runs short of anotherTest hundred at the close, another for-midable innings in pressing circum-stances. Alongside him, Pietersen hadmade an unbeaten 62 in enterprisingfashion. Instead of talk of "reintegra-tion," as formally laid down by theECB, they chatted informally betweenovers of cricketing matters, of runs andwickets and ambitions to win a Testand square the series. It is far too pre-mature to suggest that the good times

were returning, but perhaps the deep-est pain is behind them.

One bemused Indian pundit, ob-serving Pietersen in full flow, suggestedthat he struggled to cope with the regi-mented ways of England, where people"liked to stand in queues." Well, theyhave certainly been queuing up in recentmonths to take a pop at Pietersen. Hewill hear little such criticism in Mumbai.It is perhaps no surprise that in thecountry which lavishes more affectionon him than any other he began to re-discover his mojo. Pietersen, lambastedfor a frenzied approach in Ahmedabad,played confidently against India's spin-ners from the outset. He confidentlydespatched his first ball, from Harbha-jan Singh, to the cover boundary. An-other upbeat drive against Pragyan Ojharestated his well-being. His footworkwas trim, his misjudgements were rare.There were times when his presencealone seemed enough to draw errors inlength from the Indian spin attack.

Cook continued to unravel India'smysteries, a power to be reckoned within all climes, on all surfaces. Twice heused his feet to Ojha, hitting him overmid-on for six and four, as he combatedthe bowler's leg-stump line, backed upby three close leg-side catchers. As hisinnings progressed, he swept as pro-ductively as at any time in his Test ca-

reer. They were shots illustrative of abatsman carefully extending his range.The sweep shot injured two India shortlegs in the process. Chesteshwar Pujarawas struck in the ribs and left the field.The substitute, Ajinkya Rahane,emerged with more padding than a lux-ury sofa and pulled off some nerveless,agile stops - a sofa on casters - beforehe, too took a battering and withdrew

from service. There was not a noticeablerush to take his place. R Ashwin bowledthe best over at Cook - a top-edgedsweep, two play and misses and an edgeshort of slip reminding England thatthis test could swing India's way in aflash - but Harbhajan, returning from a15-month absence for his 99th Test,found little to sustain him. In just threeinnings, Alastair Cook's aggregate forthe series has exceeded 300 - it's 304.The previous England batsman to scoremore than 300 in a series in India wasGraeme Hick, who scored 315 in six in-nings in 1992-93.

The undefeated 110-run stand be-tween Cook and Kevin Pietersen is thefifth for the third wicket for England inTests in India; three of those five are bythis pair. Cheteshwar Pujara has a seriesaverage of 382, which is the second-highest ever for India, behind RahulDravid's 432 against Zimbabwe in2000-01. The 111-run stand betweenPujara and R Ashwin is only the seventhfor the seventh wicket for India in Testsagainst England. Graeme Swann be-came England's 14th bowler, but onlytheir second spinner, to take 200-plusTest wickets. In all, he is the 16th spin-ner to reach the landmark. Monty Pane-sar's 5 for 129 is the sixth instance of anEngland spinner taking a five-for in thefirst innings of a Test since 2000.

Pietersen and Cook set up solid platform

india trouncePakistan in superseries hockey

LANCOAgencieS

India trounced Pakistan 5-2 in their thirdmatch of the nine-a-side Lanco Interna-tional Super Series hockey event here Sat-urday. India dominated the play from thebeginning to the end in the nine-a-sideformat match that is played with twohalves of 20 minutes each. Raghu (7thminute), Akashdeep (9th), S.P. Sunil(15th, 33rd), Manpreet (29) all got on thescoresheet for India while Shafaqat Rasool(20th) and Mohammad Rizwan Sr. (36th)were on target for Pakistan. The two teamswill again clash against each other Sundayfor the third and fourth places. India losttheir previous two matches against Aus-tralia (3-4) and England (1-2), who willface off for the top spot.

Pm urges strict meritin cricket selection

ISLAMABADApp

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf stressedthe need to strictly adhere to the policy ofmerit while selecting cricket team so thatthe best represents the country.He was talk-ing to Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf who called onhim at the Prime Minister House here.TheChairman PCB briefed the Prime Ministeron the measures taken by the Board to en-courage cricket in the country.The PrimeMinister appreciated the efforts made bythe Chairman PCB for reviving cricket withIndia and hoped that this would encouragegreater people-to-people contacts betweenthe two nations having passion for cricket.He appreciated Chairman PCB for en-forcing discipline among players and di-rected that no compromise should bemade in this regard.The Chairman PCBsubmitted a detailed report to the PrimeMinister on the activities and perform-ance of the Cricket Board.

Pioneer club winLAHORE

StAff RepORt

Pioneer Cricket Club beat Shad BaghCricket club by 30 runs at Iqbal parkground in T20 friendly fixture. Pioneer200-6-20 0vers. Nadeem Javed Butt 30,Hamza Islam 40, Bilal khan30. Akbar 3-45. Shad Bagh Cricket club 170-8. AnwarAli 25, Akbar Khan 44. Gulzar Adrees 3-33, Hasan Azam 3-40.

Pakistan chiefselector has noillusions aboutindia tour

LAHOREStAff RepORt

Pakistan cricket's chief selector IqbalQasim has no illusions about how toughthe forthcoming tour to India is going to befor the national team. Pakistan are due totour India from December 22 to play twoT20 matches and three ODIs. It will be thefirst bilateral series between the two coun-tries since 2007 although they have met inICC events. "I have no illusions about howhard this tour will be for our team. Al-though it is a short tour but keeping inmind the significance of the series ourplayers will have to put in their best to dowell," Qasim said. "Given the fact that weare playing a bilateral series after five yearsthere will be a lot of media hype and inter-est in the series and some of our playershave not had a chance to make a full tourof India as yet," the former Test spinnersaid. Qasim was referring to the likes ofUmar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq,Saeed Ajmal, Nasir Jamshed, JunaidKhan, Reza Hasan, Sarfaraz Ahmed etc.who are all in line to be considered for theupcoming India series. Some like Umarand Ajmal played in the 2011 World Cupsemi-final at Mohali but are yet to make afull tour. Qasim didn't rule out the possi-bility of considering some new faces forthe upcoming tour. Pakistan cricket'schief selector Iqbal Qasim has no illusionsabout how tough the forthcoming tour toIndia is going to be for the national team.Pakistan are due to tour India from De-cember 22 to play two T20 matches andthree ODIs. It will be the first bilateral se-ries between the two countries since 2007although they have met in ICC events.

indiA 1St inningS

g gambhir lbw b Anderson 4

V Sehwag b panesar 30

cA pujara st †prior b Swann 135

SR tendulkar b panesar 8

V Kohli c compton b panesar 19

yuvraj Singh b Swann 0

MS dhoni c Swann b panesar 29

R Ashwin lbw b panesar 68

Harbhajan Singh lbw b Swann 21

Z Khan c Bairstow b Swann 11

pp Ojha not out 0

extras (lb 1, nb 1) 2

total (all out; 115.1 overs) 327

fall of wickets 1-4 (gambhir, 0.2 ov), 2-52 (Sehwag, 16.1 ov), 3-

60 (tendulkar, 18.5 ov), 4-118 (Kohli, 38.5 ov), 5-119 (yuvraj Singh,

39.6 ov), 6-169 (dhoni, 61.2 ov), 7-280 (Ashwin, 98.4 ov), 8-315

(Harbhajan Singh, 111.4 ov), 9-316 (pujara, 113.5 ov), 10-327 (Khan,

115.1 ov)

Bowling: JM Anderson 18-3-61-1, ScJ Broad 12-1-60-0, MS

panesar 47-12-129-5, gp Swann 34.1-7-70-4, SR patel 4-1-6-0

englAnd 1St inningS

An cook not out 87

nRd compton c Sehwag b Ojha 29

iJl trott lbw b Ojha 0

Kp pietersen not out 62

extras 0

total (2 wickets; 65 overs) 178

to bat JM Bairstow, SR patel, MJ prior†, ScJ Broad, gp Swann,

MS panesar, JM Anderson

fall of wickets 1-66 (compton, 31.4 ov), 2-68 (trott, 33.6 ov)

Bowling: R Ashwin 225-54-0, pp Ojha 21-3-65-2, Z Khan 8-4-

12-0, Harbhajan Singh 14-0-47-0.

toss india, who chose to bat

player of the match tba

umpires Aleem dar (pakistan) and Al Hill (new Zealand)

tV umpire S Ravi

Match referee RS Mahanama (Sri lanka)

Reserve umpire pg pathak

ScOReBOARd


Sports17


Dubai: mcilroy ignores

sunstroke to move

into three-way tie.

mcilroy, Donaldline up classicduel in desert

DUBAI AgencieS

World number one Rory McIlroy and sec-ond-ranked Luke Donald gave the organis-ers and fans what they wanted when thepair set up a classic duel in the desert afterthe DP World Tour Championship thirdround on Saturday. The two Britons shotmatching six-under-par 66s to sprint threestrokes clear of their nearest rivals on 17-under 199 and will engage in a head-to-head showdown for the $1.33-million firstprize on Sunday. Donald did not drop astroke to par for the third day runningwhile McIlroy was boosted by an inspiredbirdie-birdie-par-eagle burst from the 11thin the final event of the season on the Euro-pean Tour. South African compatriots andclose friends Louis Oosthuizen (68) andCharl Schwartzel (67) were in a tie for thirdplace on 202. The round of the day be-longed to Jeev Milkha Singh who dedicateda sparkling 64 to his ailing 76-year-oldmother back home in India after equallingthe course record. Singh, who became thefirst Indian to play in the U.S. Masters fiveyears ago, said his mother Nirmal was in in-tensive care in Chandigarh after having abad fall in the garden. "She has fracturedher knee and the fibula bone and needsmajor surgery," the 10-times EuropeanTour winner told reporters after chargingthrough the field to finish on 209. "Sheneeds some plates put in and that surgery isgoing to take place tomorrow morning. Weare hoping and praying that everythinggoes fine and she comes out well - I dedi-cate this round to my mum for sure."

singh’s sparkling64 for ailing mumDUBAI: Jeev Milkha Singh dedicated asparkling eight-under-par 64 to his ailing76-year-old mother back home in Indiaafter equalling the course record in the DPWorld Tour Championship third round onSaturday. Singh, who became the first In-dian to play in the U.S. Masters five yearsago, said his mother Nirmal was in inten-sive care in Chandigarh after taking anasty fall in the garden. "She has fracturedher knee and the fibula bone and needsmajor surgery," the 10-times EuropeanTour winner told reporters after surgingthrough the field to finish with a seven-under aggregate of 209. AgencieS

The Czech Republic used to be a part of theerstwhile Czechoslovakia until the iron cur-tain melted a couple of decades ago. With apopulation less than that of greater Lahore,one would be forgiven for thinking that Czechtennis would not amount to a hill of beans. Itwould more than a little surprising therefore,for the sports fans, that this little central Eu-ropean country is the current holder of thetwo biggest team trophies in tennis, the FedCup for women and the Davis Cup for men.The Czechs have always had a strong tennistradition dating back eighty years when theindomitable Karl Kozeluh gave Tilden and coall that they could handle. Then there wasDrobny, the Wimbledon winner in 1953, fol-lowed by Jan Kodes, the 1973 winner. Therewas Ivan Lendl in the 1980s. Lendl won anumber of Grand Slam titles but could neverwin Wimbledon. Martina Navratilova wonnine Wimbledons plus a slew of others. Notbad for a country that had only one indoorcourt till the 1980s.

Last week’s Davis Cup triumph for the

Czechs against Spain was not as big an upsetas one would imagine, mainly due to the ab-sence of Rafael Nadal from the Spanish team.Still, Spain had number five David Ferrer andnumber eleven Nicolas Almagro. They alsohad the big serving lefthander FelicianoLopez who was much better than his 39 ATPranking would indicate. On the fast court thatthe Czechs had prepared, Lopez would havebeen a handful, with his serve swinging awayfrom the opponents’ backhand. But CaptainAlex Corretja went with the rankings and Al-magro came up short against both Berdychand Stepanek the veteran whose fifth matchwin is the stuff of legend.

Radek Stepanek is at the stage inhis career, where most players hangup their singles game for a few yearson the doubles circuit. He was pri-marily a doubles player, but goodenough to reach a career high ofnumber eight in singles. He won hisfirst major at the Australian Openearlier this year partneringLeander Paes and atthe age of 34 wouldnot have beencontemplating

any heroics in singles. But a superb fifthmatch along with a doubles upset partneringBerdych over doubles favourites Granollersand Lopez was just enough to makeStepanek’s career highlight.

Radek Stepanek is an anomaly in today’sgame of baseline trench warfare. He has a su-perb volley, a throwback to the players of the1970s and attacks the net at every opportu-nity. This was something that the purposebuilt court was tailor made for. Although hecould not get past Ferrer’s defence, he wasjust good enough for the doubles and the finalsingles. Thomas Berdych, the world number

6, also beat Almagro in five sets and theDavis Cup was back in Prague for the

second time. They had won in 1980with 20 year Ivan Lendl leading theway.

It is a measure of MichaelClarke’s recent form that inevitable,

and futile attempts are being madewith Donald Bradman. Clarke has

made four double hundreds in 2012,something even Bradman had

failed to do. Certainly, Clarkewould be one of a small

handful of batsmen at the

apex of the game. The others would be Amla,Kohli and perhaps the two Sri Lankan maes-tros, Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

Clarke has the batting style of a real tal-ent. Everything is easy for him. The reflexesand the eye are razor sharp and the ball in-variably hits the sweet spot on his bat. Battingfor him is more an exhibition rather than acontest. But to compare with Bradman, onewould first have to negotiate one of the iconicstatistics of sport, 99.94. That is Bradman’sbatting average, almost twice that of Clarke’s.Case closed!

Australia and South Africa are locked ina titanic struggle for ascendency. It is a pitythat this is a three Test series and with thefirst test hit by rain, it is, by Test standards, ashootout in the final two. Australia seem tobe coming out of their trough. Their batting,anchored by Clarke, is looking awesome, withHussey, Warner and Cowan looking good.The only question mark is Ricky Ponting,who is going through a lean patch and as itoften happens, that is when batsmen get theunplayable deliveries. Kallis produced justthe one, coming on to leg stump and movingaway to hit off. Ponting ended up on all foursand would certainly be contemplating his fu-

ture. His place should be secure for this seriesbut he would have to produce at least one au-thoritative innings to keep his place in theteam. It is quite possible that Ponting’s eyesand reflexes have lost their sharpness as bats-men of his age tend to do. Ponting has oftenbeen called Australia’s best batsman afterBradman. Certainly Michael Clarke, shouldhe be able to maintain his torrid form, wouldhave something to say in this regard.

India trounced England in the first Testmatch, with England’s batting failing to cometo terms with the Indian spinners on theturning Indian tracks. England’s only solacewould be a vastly improved batting perform-ance in the second innings, which gives themhope of an improved performance in the re-maining Tests. Skipper Cooke played a cap-tain’s knock in the second innings, but needsfor the rest of the batting to fire. Kevin Peter-son looks vulnerable to left arm orthodoxspin and Bell looked nervy in his first inningshoick first ball. The revelation on the Indianside looks to be Pujara, who seems to havecloned his temperament and technique tothat of Dravid. Certainly he looked the part inhis double hundred and unbeaten score inthe second innings.

DUBAI AgencieS

Europe's Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulterdusted off lingering jetlag to fire a flaw-less five-under-par 67 in the third roundof the DP World Tour Championship.

The 36-year-old Briton was unableto make much impression on the leadersin the first two rounds of the final tour-nament of the European Tour seasonbut he appeared reinvigorated on Satur-day. "I was tired the first couple of days

and made a few silly mistakes," Poultertold Reuters in an interview on a hot butovercast day in the desert.

"Sometimes, when you're flying allaround the world it's difficult to keepyour energy levels high. "When you flyfrom China to Orlando, from Orlando toLos Angeles, from Los Angeles to Mel-bourne and from Melbourne to Dubai,there is some stage in that trip when youare going to feel a little tired."

Despite the fatigue, it has been a re-warding few weeks for the Florida-

based Englishman. Poulter, the inspi-ration behind Europe's Ryder Cup vic-tory over the United States in Illinois inSeptember, came fourth at the BMWMasters in China at the end of lastmonth before winning the WGC-Cham-pions Tournament in the same countrya week later.

The world number 13 then flew toMelbourne to defend the AustralianMasters title he won in 2011 and fin-ished second behind local favouriteAdam Scott.

Poulter finally shrugs offjetlag to shoot 67

Of Czechs Davis Cup triumph, talent of Clarke and Pujara

ALI AkBAR

SportS thiS Week


Sports 18


Kobayashi setsup website to tryand raise f1 funds

SAO PAULO AgencieS

Kamui Kobayashi, Japan's only currentFormula One driver, is hoping a websitecampaign can help raise the funds to keephim on the starting grid next season afterbeing dropped by the Sauber team. Speak-ing to reporters at the season-endingBrazilian Grand Prix on Friday afterSauber announced Mexican EstebanGutierrez would be taking his place in2013, Kobayashi did his best to sound con-fident. "We see I think still some seats thatare available so we try to get a seat," hesaid. "If we can find some sponsors I thinkit is easier." Kobayashi said money, orrather his lack of it, was "the main issue forsure" in why Sauber, who have severalMexican sponsors, had opted for Gutierrezalongside Germany's Nico Hulkenberg."This is Formula One," shrugged theJapanese, the son of sushi restaurantowner, who arrived in Formula One withToyota support but no other backing andjoined Sauber when the carmaker pulledout at the end of 2009. "For Sauber it is mylast race but for myself I think it is differ-ent. "Everybody looks really worried but Idon't really worry at the moment, I try towork hard to get sponsors and find outwhat's available for next year's seat."Kobayashi, an extrovert overtaker, hashuge popularity in Japan after finishingthird for Sauber in his home race at Suzukathis season but he has suspected for sometime that he would not be kept on at theteam. He said he was trying to harnesssome of the goodwill at home through a'www.kamui-support.com' website, withthe url posted on his Twitter account to93,000 followers, offering wristbands inexchange for a donation."Suzuka had more than 100,000 people atthe race... over the three days we had200,000," said Kobayashi, comfortablyJapan's most successful grand prix driverby career points scored."I think we have a lot of potential to getsome money from the fans as well. It hasbeen just two days but it's going to help mycareer for sure."Force India, Caterham and Marussia stillhave seats available but all have made itclear that they are looking for sponsorshipmoney as part of the deal.

berdych, tipsarevic

heading to indiaCHENNAIAgencieS

World number six Tomas Berdych willheadline the field for this year's ChennaiOpen, organisers have announced. TheCzech will be joined by fellow top-10 playerJanko Tipsarevic in the season-openingevent which gets underway on December31. The 15th-ranked Marin Cilic and worldnumber 17 Stanislas Wawrinka are theother big names at the event. CanadianMilos Raonic, the defending champion,will not be featuring this time around.

french federation willask tauziat to resign

PARIS AgencieS

Nathalie Tauziat will be asked to stepdown from the French tennis federa-tion's (FFT) management committeeafter she testified in favour of formercoach Regis de Camaret who was sen-tenced to eight years in prison on Fridayfor raping young female players."Nathalie Tauziat's statement at the trialwas deeply disturbing. On Monday wewill ask her to resign from the manage-ment committee," FFT director generalGilbert Ysern told reporters on Saturday.

SAO PAULO AgencieS

LEWIS Hamilton prepared foran emotional farewell toMcLaren with the fastest timein practice for the season-end-

ing Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday. TheBriton, who took his 2008 Formula Onetitle at Interlagos and arrived in Brazilafter winning the U.S. Grand Prix inTexas last Sunday, lapped the anti-clock-wise layout with a best time of one minute14.131 seconds in sunny but hazy morningconditions. The 27-year-old, who joinsMercedes next season, then lapped in1:14.026 in the heat of the afternoon.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, thechampionship leader who is favourite toclinch his third successive title on Sun-day, was second fastest in both sessions.

He was just 0.009 off Hamilton'space before lunch and 0.274 slowerafter the break. However, the 25-year-

old German set his morning time onthis year's Pirelli tyres while Hamil-ton's came in a test of next year's pro-totype rubber. Ferrari's FernandoAlonso, Vettel's only title rival but 13points off the lead, was fifth on bothtimesheets - 0.261 and 0.566 slowerrespectively than the quickestMcLaren. Hamilton, who welled upwith emotion in a BBC interview ear-lier in the week, said he was savouringevery moment of the weekend.

"I just took some pictures of my en-gineers. I'll take some pictures of mymechanics later on today and I said wehave to take a picture every day," he toldreporters after practice. "This is one ofthe best Fridays we've had for a long,long time. It's a perfect last Friday tohave. "I feel very good at the moment.we're definitely strong, just as we werein the last three or four races," said theBriton. "But here is so tough on thetyres. I hope that we can continue to

compete with them (Red Bull) tomor-row. That would be the best Saturday tohave a pole, for sure." Vettel said thetrack had been very slippery but washappy with his day's work. "It was quitehot today and, in terms of track condi-tions, not that easy," he said. AustralianMark Webber was third in the morningand afternoon while McLaren's JensonButton was fourth in the first session.Alonso's Brazilian team mate FelipeMassa was fourth after lunch.

Spaniard Alonso must finish on thepodium on Sunday to have any hope oftaking his third title while Vettel will bechampion regardless of other results ifhe can secure fourth place or better.

"We have not yet found the idealbalance on the car, so there is still a lotof work to be done with the engineersgoing into the rest of the weekend,"said the Spaniard, mindful also thatthe weather is expected to turn wet atthe weekend.

Hamilton fastest beforeemotional farewell

watch it LiveESPNAustralia V South Africa05:00AM

In the December of 1980, four men fromCzechoslovakia became heroes in theirhomeland by defeating Italy 4-1 in theDavis Cup final in Prague. Thirty-twoyears later on the same venue, this timeas an independent nation, the Czech Re-public found themselves in similar terri-tory. Their opposition was the veryformidable Spanish armada, whom theyhad already lost to in the 2009 final. Inthe 100th edition of this prestigiouscompetition, the Czechs were looking tocomplete a rare Davis Cup-Fed Cup dou-ble, after their women’s team beat Serbiaat the same Prague venue two weeks ago.

Despite the absence of their favoriteson, Nadal, the Spaniards had a strongline-up led by the in form Ferrer and thenewly crowned Barclays ATP WorldTour Finals doubles champions, MarcelGranollers and Marc Lopez. As for theCzechs, they were relying heavily ontheir two big guns, Berdych andStepanek. The indoor O2 Arena inPrague, with its fast-paced hard court,was tailor-made for the big servingCzechs, who were going all out to neu-tralize the Spanish force.

Heading into the weekend’s fixture,Berdych gave his Spanish counterpartAlmagro a mouthful, terming him as theweak link in the Spanish team. Therewas no love lost between the two, whohad butted heads earlier in the year, atthe Australian Open. On that occasion,the Czech had refused to shake Alma-gro’s hand following a shot blasted rightat him. However, Berdych was not alonein his trash talk, as Feliciano Lopez, inexpressing his disappointment in notbeing selected to take on the Czech, said:“Ask Berdych who he would have pre-ferred not to have as an opponent. Ifanyone could beat Berdych on this courtit’s me. The court is ideal for my game.”

These pre-match statements addedextra spice to an already mouthwatering

finale. On the opening day, Ferrer wasdrawn to take on Stepanek, whileBerdych was to lock horns with Almagro.Ferrer got the Spaniards off to a perfectstart, after a clinical performance againstthe aging Stepanek. The world number 5overcame a hostile crowd and a shakystart, to stay on top of his opponent, be-fore running away with a straight setsvictory 6-3,6-4,6-4.

The first point went to Spain and allthe pressure was on Berdych to perform.Berdych and Almagro had already facedeach other five times this year, with theCzech winning four of those encounters.In the first set, Berdych needed just onebreak point to take a 1 set to love lead.Finally, the home fans had something tocheer about. But the drama, so typical ofDavis Cup matches, was yet to unfold.The talented Spaniard fought back in the

second to level the match and silencedthe crowds. We were in for a battle andthe fans inside the O2 Arena could senseit.

Following a series of controversialcalls by the umpire and some big servingby Berdych, the Czechs went in the as-cendancy again, winning the 3rd set 6-3.And just when it looked like Berdych hadsteadied the boat, a patch of tentativeplay on his part brought Almagro rightback in the match, taking us in to a de-cider. The Czech number 1 had to findhis best tennis to fend off the Spanishchallenge, taking the final set 6-3. Afteralmost 4 hours of high drama, the hostswere able to level the tie on day one.

It came down to the doubles and theCzechs were leaving nothing for chance.With the Spanish pair of Granollers andLopez brimming with confidence after

their victory in London, the hosts wereforced to bring out their A-team ofBerdych and Stepanek. The Spanish duotook the first set of the pivotal doublesrubber, but the Czechs displaying theirsheer ability and big match tempera-ment, prevailed in four sets in threehours and 19 minutes. Taking full advan-tage of a weak Lopez serve, the Czechpair gave their team a 2-1 advantage, justone win away from the crown.

Spirits were high in the Czech campahead of the last day’s play, but theSpaniards had the fresher legs. Ferreroutsmarted Berdych 6-2,6-3,7-5 in thefirst reverse singles to keep Spain alivein the Davis Cup final. Berdych deniedall claims of his bad physical state aftera grueling first 2 days, and admitted thathis opponent was simply ‘too good’. Intothe fifth live rubber and the hopes oftheir respective nations rested on theshoulders of Almagro and Stepanek.

The wily veteran, playing in his thirdbest of five-set match in three days, roseto the occasion and outwitted his Span-ish opponent in four well-contested sets.He defied his 33 years to provide a fairy-tale finish to the 100th final. It was afirst title for the Czech Republic as an in-dependent nation. And fittingly, it wasall done in front of a watery-eyed teamof Ivan Lendl, Tomas Smid, Jan Kodesand Pavel Slozil, who were part of thewinning Czechoslovakia team back in1980.

There were emotional scenes allround. “I was dreaming about this mywhole life and today we’re standing herethe winners," said a tearful Stepanek."We’ve written history today in ourcountry. I can’t describe what I’m feelingright now."

In truly one of the most dramaticends to the year, Czech Republic de-throned Spain to go down in the historybooks as the only nation to win the Hop-man Cup, Fed Cup and Davis Cup in onecalendar year. Thus the Czechs have re-ally cashed in on their impressive mix ofskill and fighting spirit!

Davis Cup final: Czechs cash in

sao Paulo: lewis hamilton storms to pole position with the fastest time.

SABA AZIZ

Comment



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

NEWS DESk

THE teenage girl shotby the Taliban forspeaking out againstmilitants inPakistan is expected

to make Britain her permanent home, according to a report inthe Daily Mail.Malala Yousufzai, 15, is beingtreated at the Queen ElizabethHospital in Birmingham after having a bullet removedfrom her spine.Her parents and two brothersflew to Britain last month sothat they could be with her.A source at the consulate said:‘Because of his experience as ateacher and in administrative

roles in Pakistan it wasdecided he would be bestplaced as a counsellor oradministrative assistant.‘The initial contract is for a yearand the Pakistan governmentwill provide him with a home inBirmingham and a car. Thegovernment feels it has a dutyof care to the family and thesituation in Pakistan for themis very dangerous.’ Everyone inthe Yousufzai family is on atourist visa and the visas willexpire around March 2013.Birmingham Labour MP KhalidMahmood welcomed the movesaying the family would besurrounded by friends andfamily in Birmingham. Malalawas attacked by Taliban

fighters in Mingora, the maintown of Swat Valley, onOctober 9, as she travelledhome from school.She was struck by a bullet justabove her left eye afterextremists boarded her schoolbus - targeting her fordemanding education andstanding up for childrens’rights. The bullet travelleddown the side of her jaw anddamaged her skull, and shewas later flown to Britain fortreatment.The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistanhas threatened to target Malala and members of herfamily, raising questions about whether it would be safe for herto return to Pakistan.

AMRITSARAgencieS

Pakistan has reportedly denied visas toa group of Indian Sikh pilgrims intend-ing to attend the birth anniversary cel-ebrations of Guru Nanak Dev atNankana Sahib, Indian media reportedon Saturday.

“We had applied for the Pakistani visaand when we came here, we learnt thatour visas had been cancelled. We wantedto go for pilgrimage to Nankana SahibGurudwara in Pakistan and now we arefacing difficulty and we are disappointedafter visa cancellation,” said VijendarKaur, a female pilgrim.

Every year thousands of Sikhs payobeisance at the shrine, where the firstSikh guru Guru Nanak Dev was born.

According to the report, citing the Shi-romani Akali Dal Gurudwara PrabandhakCommittee, more than half the pilgrimswere denied visas without assigning anyreason. “This year, we had applied for1,860 visas, out of which 971 visas werecancelled. I feel that it is wrong and disap-pointing for the devotees,” said RamSingh, a member of the Shiromani Gurud-wara Committee.

“We demand that the policy for visas

should be flexible and the cancellation ofvisas at the 11th hour is not justified for aperson, who has been waiting to go for thepilgrimage. This is a very important pil-grimage for the Sikhs and the visa policiesshould be changed so that the Sikhs areable to attend their religious places withoutany problems,” said Singh.

PESHAWARinp

About 20 mortar shells fired fromAfghanistan landed into Pakistani territoryon Saturday, a private TV channel re-ported. No casualties have been reportedso far, it added.

According to the details, the mortarshells landed near Angoor Adda and Zhoba

Pahar areas along the Pak-Afghan border.The shells completely destroyed a vehicle.

For the last few months, severalcross-border shelling and rocket attacksfrom across the border have been fired onPakistani targets, especially in the TribalAreas and Dir district. Pakistani authori-ties have repeatedly told the Afghan gov-ernment to curb such attacks, but acomplete hiatus is awaited.

kARACHIStAff RepORt

Known for sarcastic yet insightfulstyle of writing, senior columnistand social worker Ardeshir Cowasjeepassed away on Saturday.

He has been suffering from ill-ness for a long time. Cowasjee hadgained popularity for columns inDaily Dawn and his efforts for sus-tainable development in Karachimetropolitan, the house of around20 million people. According toNadeem F Piracha, another Dawncolumnist called him one of Pak-istan’s finest & most conscientiouscolumnists. Ardeshir Cowasjee wasborn in 1926 at Karachi and hailsfrom the well-known Cowasjee Parsi(Zoroastrian) family. His father Rus-tom Fakirjee Cowasjee was a busi-nessman in merchant shipping.

Ardeshir attended the Bai VirbaijiSoparivala Parsi High School (BVS)and graduated from DJ Science Col-lege, Karachi. Later, he joined his fa-ther’s business, the Cowasjee Group,

and married Nancy Dinshaw in 1953.He has two children, Ava (daughter)and Rustom (son). Cowasjee was ap-pointed by Prime Minister Zulfikar AliBhutto as Managing Director of Pak-istan Tourism Development Corpora-tion (PTDC) in 1973 but was jailed for72 days in 1976 by Zulfikar Ali Bhuttofor which no explanation has beengiven to date; it is said that Prime Min-ister Bhutto did that to rein Cowasjeebecause the latter was becoming in-

creasingly vocal about Bhutto’s author-itarian ways. Cowasjee subsequentlystarted writing letters to the editor ofDawn Newspaper, which led him to be-come a permanent columnist. Sincethen, his hard-hitting and well-re-searched columns in Dawn have con-tinuously exposed corruption,nepotism and incompetence in differ-ent local, provincial and national gov-ernments for the last twenty years.In2011 Cowasjee bid farewell to Dawn bypublishing his last article in the news-paper on 25 December 2011,howeverhe has hinted that he may write rarelyfor the newspaper in the coming future.

Ardeshir Cowasjee is also the finan-cier of many scholarships for studentswishing to pursue higher education.These include grants for both local andoverseas education. Although these aregiven out as loans, it is not expected thatmost of these funds will be returned tohim. However, Cowasjee does encour-age the receivers to return them so thatothers can benefit from those funds.These philanthropic services are pro-vided by the Cowasjee Foundation.

Malala set to make Britain her permanent home

Pakistan denied visato Sikh pilgrims onGuru Nanak’s birthanniversary: report

Mortar shells fired from

Afghanistan land in Angoor Adda

Renowned columnist ArdeshirCowasjee passes away

QuettA: Security personnel

stand guard as Shias mourn

during a Muharram

procession on Saturday. INP

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e-paper pakistantoday 25th November, 2012