Thursday, 2 May, 2013 Jamadul Sani 21, 1434Rs 17.00 Vol III No 305 19 Pages Karachi — Peshawar Edition

US report warns ofcrisis for Pakistan’sminorities

A US government-appointedpanel in Washington onTuesday said there was a needto step up pressure on Pakistanover religious freedom, warningthat risks to its minorities hadreached a “crisis level.” The USCommission on InternationalReligious Freedom also raisedconcerns about what it called adeteriorating situation in

China. PAGE 04

Pakistan’s discardedall rounder ShahidAfridi has vowed tomake a comeback toPakistan’s one-day squad, claimingthat he is “better than most”. Hewas dropped from the side for theupcoming tours of Scotland,Ireland and England for theChampions Trophy in June, alongwith batsman Umar Akmal and

fast bowler Sohail Tanvir. PAGE 15

US asks India, Pakto restrain theirnuke programmes

DISCARDEDAFRIDI VOWSTO MAKECOMEBACK

Expressing concern over thecontinuing buildup of nuclearweapons in South Asia, the US hasasked India and Pakistan torestrain their atomic and missileprogrammes and play a positiverole in the global non-proliferationcommunity. "The US remainsdeeply concerned by the dangersposed by the continuing buildup ofnuclear weapons and their delivery

systems in South Asia." PAGE 08

Holding Balochistanhostage

On May 1, 2013, 22,000 troopsand 50,000 ‘law enforcers’entered 12 districts ofBalochistan to “conduct a free-and-fair election”. The existingnumber of troops in the areasshall not be revealed to us, northe fact that de facto theseareas had been no-go areas forthe military since the currentBaloch insurgency started in

2005. PAGE 08

May Day markedby global workers' protests

Demonstrations are takingplace across the world asprotesters gather to mark MayDay, the traditional date fordemanding better workers'rights. Protests first began inAsia, with tens of thousands ofworkers in Jakarta calling forimproved conditions andmobilising against government plans to cut fuel

subsidies. PAGE 07

STORY ON PAGE 09

STORIES ON PAGE 02

STORIES ON PAGE 04

STORY ON PAGE 09

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:36 AM Page 1

Thursday, 2 May, 201302

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:36 AM Page 2

News N

03

Thursday, 2 May, 2013

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

THE Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP) on Wednesdaydecided that army troopswould not be deployed at

polling stations, as at least 19 more peo-ple were injured in attacks on electioncandidates in various parts of the country.Finalising its security plan for the generalelection scheduled for May 11, the ECPdecided that seven security personnelwould be deployed on the most sensitivepolling stations, five on moderately sen-sitive and four on the remaining fromMay 10. The army will only be utilised asa quick response force in emergency with20 to 30 personnel in each squad, it wasdecided.

As the ECP came out with its electionsecurity plan, election candidates of var-ious political parties remained under at-tack from elements bent upon disruptingthe first democratic transition of govern-ment in Pakistan.JUI-F RALLY ATTACKED: At least 10people were injured when militants firedeight rockets at an election rally of theJamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) inHarnai district of insurgency-hitBalochistan province. The injured wererushed to a nearby hospital for medicaltreatment. Police officials said the rock-ets were fired from an unknown location.There was no immediate claim of respon-sibility for the attack.PML-N ELECTION OFFICEATTACKED: Unknown armed men

hurled a hand grenade at an office of thePakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) election candidate on Arbab GhulamAli Road area of Quetta.

Police said militants hurled the bombat the election office of PML-N leaderHaji Lashkari Raisani. They said fourparty activists were injured in the attack.

The injured were immediately rushedto civil hospital Quetta for medical treat-

ment. However Raisani was not hurt inthe attack. Police said armed men wereriding a motorcycle and escaped unhurtfrom the spot.

Lashkari Raisani is contesting elec-tion on PB-4 from Quetta city on a PML-N ticket. He is the younger brother offormer chief minister Balochistan NawabAslam Raisani.SHIKARPUR SUICIDE ATTACK:

Furthermore, at least two people were in-jured in a suicide attack which occurrednear the convoy of National People’sParty candidate Dr Ibrahim Jatoi atShikarpur toll plaza. Jatoi remained un-hurt in the attack.DERA MURAD JAMALI ATTACK: Inanother incident, three people were in-jured when a bomb exploded in Balochis-tan’s Dera Murad Jamali region. The

blast took place near the convoy of an in-dependent candidate for PB-32, AllahDino, in the district’s Kachchi Pul area.MINGORA ATTACK: An election can-didate of the Awami National Party(ANP) also escaped an attack in the Min-gora district of Swat valley.

According to initial reports, unidenti-fied gunmen opened fire on the convoyof Wajid Ali Khan, who is contesting onPK-80 constituency in Swat.TERROR BIDS FOILED: The bombdisposal squad (BDS) foiled two terrorbids in Peshawar by defusing bombs tar-geting election candidates of the AwamiNational Party (ANP) and Pakistan Mus-lim League–Nawaz (PML-N).

BDS officials said the first impro-vised explosive device was planted to tar-get the ANP’s provincial assemblycandidate for the PK-8 seat, Arbab Nazirin Mathra. Officials said the bomb,weighing five kilogrammes and plantedin a tin can was defused near Nazir’selection office.

Another bomb planted near the houseof PML-N candidate for PK-7, SyedAbbas Ali Shah alias Mouzam Bacha,was defused in Bacha Ghari area of PirBala on Warsak Road. A BDS officialsaid that the bomb weighed about five toseven kilogrammes. The official said thebomb was exploded with water chargesas it was operated with a remote controland could not have been defused manu-ally. Police said the road was a routinepatrolling route of the police, and the mil-itants may have been planning to “shoottwo birds with one stone”, targeting bothpolice and the contestants at the sametime.NATIONAL HIGHWAY BLOCKED:Moreover, supporters and relatives ofAbdul Fateh Magsi, the slain candidatefor PB-32 (Jhal Magsi), blocked the Na-tional Highway linking Sindh andBalochistan on Wednesday in order toprotest his killing. Long queues of vehi-cles were witnessed on the NationalHighway during the road’s blockade. Theprotesters later agreed to clear the high-way following negotiations with the ad-ministration.

no arMy on pollinG dayas attacKs continUe

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

Clearly not reassured by GeneralKayani’s statement on Tuesday that theelection will be held on time, the leadersof Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Mut-tahida Quami Movement (MQM) andAwami National Party (ANP) onWednesday called upon Ulema andscholars to issue a fatwa against terror-ism and termed the elections as a battlebetween forces which were for andagainst the Taliban.

They also expressed apprehensionsas to whether elections in the current cir-cumstances could be held in a free andtransparent manner.

These three parties have been facingterrorist attacks recently forcing them torestrict their election campaigns. Dozensof political activists from PPP, MQM andANP have been killed in these attacks.

PPP’s Rehman Malik, MQM’s Fa-rooq Sattar and ANP’s Shahi Syed ad-dressed a news briefing in Karachi onWednesday.

In an apparent reference to PML-Nand PTI, they questioned why some po-litical parties had been given freedom tocarry out their election activities while

others have become constant target forthe extremists. They said a conspiracywas being hatched to ensure that rightwing parties come to power in the May11 elections. They urged the people tosupport them in the polls and defeat the

"nefarious designs of extremists and ter-rorists".

MQM’s Farooq Sattar said progres-sive parties were being prevented fromactively participating in election cam-paigns. “The election campaign is being

dictated by the Taliban and not the Elec-tion Commission,” he asserted.

The leaders of PPP, MQM and ANPwelcomed the remarks of General Ash-faq Pervez Kayani that the war againstterrorists was Pakistan’s war.

May 11 to be a battle between progressivesand extremists, say ANP, MQM, PPP

secUrity concerns:pM hands ncMcover to ecpISLAMABAD: Prime Minster Mir Hazar Khan

Khoso has handed over the control of National

Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) to the Election

Commission of Pakistan. PM Khoso has directed

the NCMC, presently working under the

Ministry of Interior, to work hand-in-hand with

the ECP in case of any emergency. He said the

army would be called in for help only in case of

an emergency, and if deemed necessary, would

also be used for targeted operations. The NCMC

is repository of various assets of the country

which include representatives of intelligence

agencies and specialised services. This decision

has been taken by the prime minister to allay

concerns raised by the ECP regarding the law

and order and it is consistent with its policy to

assist the ECP in the conduct of general

elections in a free and fair manner. Alluding to

recent tragic incidents in various parts of the

country as a result of bomb blasts and

terrorists' attacks‚ the prime minister termed

them unfortunate and expressed concern over

the prevailing law and order. Khoso reiterated

the resolve to leave no stone unturned for

providing security to political leaders and

candidates and maintenance of law and order

in the country. The prime minister said though

maintenance of law and order was a provincial

subject‚ the federal government had been

extending all possible assistance to the

provincial governments for beefing up their

capacities in this regard. The caretaker

government, having inherited the over

decades-old law and order problem‚ re-affirmed

its commitment to take all that it takes to

defeat the nefarious designs of those who

threaten the life‚ property and honour of the

people of Pakistan. The government has

decided to use all available resources, including

deployment of the army and civil armed forces

and permitted targeted operations in some

parts of the country to flush out terrorists and

anti-social elements. The PM, who is personally

monitoring the situation, is reportedly in touch

with the provincial governments as well as

federal authorities, besides issuing necessary

directions to take remedial measures as and

when deemed necessary. NNI

KARACHI/ LONDON

NNI

Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) chief AltafHussain on Wednesday hailed the statement issued

by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ash-faq Parvez Kayani on the occasion of Yaum-e-

Shuhada and said the army chief had showncourage in the face of a delicate situation. In astatement issued from London, Altaf Hussain

said General Kayani with his courageous stancehad proved himself to be a valiant solider who wasalways ready to defend his country. Kayani’s state-ment imparted a renewed courage to the nationand helped whittle down the misgivings to alarge extent, he said. It should be mentionedhere that General Kayani said the generalelections would be held on its scheduledtime on May 11, asserting he reiteratedthere should remain no doubt about it.

Altaf hails Kayani’s statement

KARACHI: MQM leader Farooq Sattar, ANP

leader Shahi Syed and PPP leader Rehman

Malik hold hands to express solidarity

after a press conference at Shahi Syed’s

residence on Wednesday. ONLINE

More troopsdeployed inBalochistan QUETTA: More army

troops have been deployed

in far-flung districts of

Balochistan to ensure se-

curity during the upcom-

ing general elections. Ac-

cording to a Pakistan

Army spokesman, a con-

tingent of 800 troops left

for Naseerabad, Jaf-

farabad, Jhal Magsi, Musa

Khel, Kohlu, Sheerani, Dal-

bandin, Ziarat and Harnai.

So far, a total of 1,250

troops have been deployed

in various districts of

Balochistan, including

Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar,

Panjgur, Kharan, Awaran

and Naushki. ONLINE

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:36 AM Page 3

NewsN

04

Thursday, 02 May, 2013

Four militantskilled in orakzai,cache ofexplosives seized ORAKZAI: Fighter jets on Wednesday

targeted insurgent hideouts in the

Orakzai tribal region, killing four

militants and destroying two hideouts.

The militants and their hideouts were

targeted in Upper Orakzai’s Asmat

Khana region with the help of jet

fighters. Moreover, security forces also

foiled a sabotage bid in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa’s capital and seized a huge

cache of explosives along with arresting

two suspects. In another operation,

security forces seized a huge quantity of

explosives from a house in the Urmar

area on the outskirts of Peshawar.

During the operation, two suspects were

taken into custody. Police feigned

ignorance over the operation saying it

may have been carried out by the

security forces. STAFF REPORT

Grandfather kills2-year-old overland dispute inGujranwalaGUJRANWALA: A man killed his two-

year-old granddaughter over a land

dispute with his son in Gujranwala on

Wednesday. According to details, the

accused identified as Hanif, residing in

Risalpura area of Gujranwala, had some

differences with his son over a land

ownership issue. To take revenge, Hanif

drowned his two-year-old granddaughter

Zahra in a water tank and fled after

making sure the child was dead. An FIR

has been lodged against Hanif. INP

navy officialamong four killedin KarachiKARACHI: At least four people,

including a Pakistan Navy official, were

killed in separate incidents of violence

on Wednesday. According to details,

unidentified gunmen opened fire at a

man, identified as Zahid Iqbal, a navy

official, near Tower in Old City area. The

injured was rushed to hospital where he

succumbed to his injuries. Two people

were killed in a firing incident in Baldia

and Lasbela Bridge areas. The bodies

were shifted to hospital. Police

recovered a bullet-riddled body from

Phool Chowk area of Kharadar. Police

said abductors shot dead the man after

kidnapping him. Meanwhile, firing

incidents continued in Baldia Town, Old

City, Shah Faisal Colony, Sohrab Goth,

Kharadar and other areas of the city

during which several persons were

reportedly injured. Separately, six

shops and one car were torched as two

groups clashed over land near Purani

Sabzi Mandi. Police and Rangers

personnel took into custody several

suspects and recovered arms and drugs

from them. INP

seminary studentbeaten to death inFaisalabadFAISALABAD: A 12-year-old seminary

student was beaten to death in Faisalabad

on Wednesday for not being able to

memorise a lesson. The accused seminary

teacher, Qari Farooq, escaped and took the

student’s body along with him. An FIR was

lodged against the suspect by the

seminary administration. Sajjad Ahmed,

12, who was brutally beaten with a stick

died on the spot. Qari Farooq called an

ambulance, took the dead body and

escaped along with several other students.

The police said that both the accused and

the victim belonged to Bahawalpur. NNI

WASHINGTON

INP

aUS government-ap-pointed panel in Wash-ington on Tuesday saidthere was a need to step

up pressure on Pakistan over re-ligious freedom, warning thatrisks to its minorities had reacheda “crisis level.”

In an annual report, the USCommission on InternationalReligious Freedom also raisedconcerns about what it called adeteriorating situation in China,as well as problems in Egypt,Iran, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia

and other nations.The commission called for the

United States to designate Pakistanas a “country of particular con-cern,” meaning it could be subjectto sanctions if it failed to improve.Assessing the year through Janu-ary 31, the commission said reli-gious freedom violations inPakistan “rose to unprecedentedlevels due to chronic sectarian vi-olence” that targeted the ShiaMuslim minority.

“The government continuesto fail to protect Christians, Ah-madis and Hindus,” the reportsaid, charging that blasphemyand other laws “are widely used

to violate religious freedoms andfoster a climate of impunity.”

Sunni Muslim extremistsover the past year have killedhundreds of Shias in Pakistan, es-pecially Hazaras, a communityoriginally from Afghanistan thatis known for its comparativelyliberal attitudes.

“Pakistan is in a crisis rightnow with these particularly se-vere violations of religious free-dom,” said Knox Thames, thecommission’s director of policyand research. The commission,whose members are appointed byPresident Barack Obama and theCongress, said Pakistan faced the

most serious violations of reli-gious freedom among any coun-try not already on the blacklist.

The State Department has notpreviously issued the designationfor Pakistan, with which theUnited States has had a close butprickly relationship since theSeptember 11, 2001, attacks.

The designated countries ofparticular concern on religiousfreedom are China, Eritrea, Iran,Myanmar, North Korea, SaudiArabia and Uzbekistan. Alongwith Pakistan, the commissionurged the State Department toadd Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Tajik-istan, Turkmenistan and Viet-

nam to the list.The commission voiced con-

cern over Myanmar, where a re-cent Human Rights Watch studysaid at least 211 members of theRohingya Muslim communitywere killed in religious violencesince June 2012.

In a first, the report dedi-cated a chapter to western Eu-rope in which it raised questionsabout the ban in secular Franceand Belgium on Muslim womenwearing veils in public. The re-port did not cover the UnitedStates, where incidents last yearincluded a massacre at a Sikhtemple that left six dead.

LONDON

INP

Three British soldiers have been killedand several others injured after the heav-ily-armoured vehicle they were travellingin was hit by a large roadside bomb whilethey were on a routine patrol inAfghanistan. The Afghan Ministry of De-fence on Wednesday said the men hadbeen killed on Tuesday in the Nahr-e

Saraj district of Helmand province, on theborder of Kandahar just north of theprovincial capital Lashkar Gah.

It is understood six other Britonswere injured in the explosion, which hap-pened while the soldiers were inside aMastiff troop carrier – a 15-tonne vehiclewhich is regarded as one of the safest op-erated by the British military. NineAfghans also died in the attack.

British Prime Minister David Cameron

said Britain had paid a “very high price”for the work it was doing in Afghanistan ashe paid tribute to the three soldiers.

The ministry said the injured menreceived immediate medical attentionand were evacuated by air to the mili-tary hospital at Camp Bastion butthree could not be saved. Next of kinhave been informed. The other sol-diers hurt are not thought to have life-threatening injures.

LORALAI

ONLINE

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)Chairman Imran Khan onWednesday said that after cominginto power his party would endmilitary operations in Balochis-tan, adding that bullets do notsolve problems.

Addressing an election rallyat Loralai, he said PTI wouldtransform the country into a wel-fare state, where justice would bedispensed without discrimination.

He said local governmentpolls would be held in the coun-try as soon as possible. “Wewould not allocate developmentfunds to any member of parlia-ment but would empower localbodies,” Khan added.

The PTI chief said thebiggest issue facing Pakistan is

terrorism, which would be dealtwith mutual consultation.

He further said PTI wouldimplement a uniform educa-tion curriculum throughout thecountry.

Khan said people would laythe foundation stone of a “NewPakistan” on May 11. He urgedthe youth to come out of theirhomes on election-day and casttheir votes.

Meanwhile, talking to a pri-vate television channel, Khansaid his party did not believe inpersonal attacks on opponents,but agenda debates between po-litical leadership was a demo-cratic tradition, followed in alldemocratic societies includingwestern countries.

He said he had invited Pak-istan Muslim League-Nawazchief Nawaz Sharif for such a de-

bate, focusing on party mani-festos, in compliance with demo-cratic norms.

He said PTI had, and contin-ues to condemn terrorist attacksthat killed innocent people. “Wecondemn violence against anypolitical party and their workers,”he stated. Responding to a ques-tion, Khan said he had offered hisservices for mediation to resolvematters with Taliban through di-alogue, but the ruling elite in theprevious government was not se-rious about his offer.

The PTI chief said his partystill believed in negotiation andpolitical solutions to the plagueof terrorism. Khan said his elec-tion campaign would gain fur-ther momentum as the electiondraws closer, adding that PTIwill conclude its campaign atthe federal capital.

Us report warns of crisisfor pakistan’s minorities

Imran vows to end military operations in Balochistan

Kayani on list of 500powerful people

MONITORING DESK

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) GeneralAshfaq Pervaiz Kayani’s name appeared inthe list of 500 most powerful people in theworld published by the Foreign Policy (FP)Magazine’s May/June 2013 issue. Theindividuals included in the FP Power Mapcome from different professions andindustries. The magazine claims to using a“list of lists” approach to put the rankingstogether. In 2012, General Kayani wasranked at 28 in the Forbes World’s MostPowerful People list. Director General ofthe Inter Services Intelligence LieutenantGeneral Zaheer-ul-Islam was ranked 52.The said list, along Forbes 100 MostPowerful Women list, The Wall StreetJournal, the Fortune Global 500 and GlobalJournal Top 100 NGOs are some of thesources used to draft the FP list, in whichGeneral Kayani is listed as the onlyPakistani. The list also includes AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai, Burmese LeaderAung San Suu Kyi, United NationalSecretary General Ban Ki Moon, Microsoftchairman Bill Gates and Indian NationalCongress President Sonia Gandhi.

3 British soldiers killed in Afghanistan roadside bomb attack

IMRAN’S CLEAN CHIT TO THE TALIBANIn a startling claim, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran

Khan has said that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was

not killed by the Taliban. Speaking in an interview with

British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, the PTI chief said that

Bhutto had been “clearly killed by people worried she was

going to come into power”. He did not say whether his claim

was based on any concrete evidence that he was privy to.

The Benazir Bhutto murder case is currently underway in an

anti-terrorist court in Rawalpindi. Khan’s claim contradicts

the investigations done by a UN commission as well as

Britain’s Scotland Yard Police. Benazir Bhutto was

assassinated on December 27, 2007 in Rawalpindi while she

was campaigning ahead of 2008 elections. Investigators are

currently questioning former military ruler and president

General (r) Pervez Musharraf who was heading the country at

the time of her assassination. Musharraf has repeatedly

denied his involvement and has instead blamed the slain

leader for ignoring security warnings by the then regime led

by prime minister Shaukat Aziz. MONITORING DESK

QUETTA: A blast victim is being shiftedto the hospital fortreatment onWednesday. INP

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:36 AM Page 4

KARACHI

AAMIR MAJEED

THE police high-upshave directedinvestigators not toissue any statementover the suspiciouskilling of a family in

DHA Phase-IV the other day. Abdul Wajid Durani, Chief Finance

Officer (CFO) of Sanghar Sugar Mills,his wife Wajiha and three minor childrenincluding two sons Rehan, 11, Aris, 04,and a daughter Rameen 9 were founddead in a Bungalow No 81/3, DHAPhase IV on Tuesday. After visiting thecrime scene, the police officers hadissued a statement that it was murder-cum-suicide case. The police said theCFO killed his wife and three children,and later committed suicide. The deadbodies of the CFO’s wife and his threechildren were recovered from one roomwhile his body was found from anotherroom.

However, the investigators believedthe family was murdered and it was nota murder-cum-suicide case. A policeofficer, seeking anonymity, told PakistanToday that a number of questions arosewhen they started probe into the matter.

The room where the CFO was founddead was locked from outside, thepoliceman said, adding if the CFOwould have committed suicide afterkilling his wife and children, then heshould have locked his room from the

inside. “It seems the killer murdered himand his family and locked the room fromthe outside,” he added.

“The house where the killings tookplace is situated in the area where thereis no empty plot and there are houses atboth sides of the crime scene, butinterestingly no one heard gun shotsfrom the house. The CFO’s cook servinghim for the last one year was alsopresent in the house. But healso claimed that he didnot hear any gunshots,” the copmaintained.

“The CFOwas living inthe housealone as hiswife andchildrenwereresidingabroad.They use tovisitPakistanfrequentlyduring break inacademic years.They arrived inPakistan just a fewdays ago to spend time withDurrani”, the officer furthercommented.

Another police officer said that thecook and father of Wajid Durani came tothe police station and informed them that

Wajid and his family were murdered bysomeone. When police reached the spot,the CFO’s wife and children were founddead in one room while the CFO wasfound dead in another room.

The cook told police that the CFOasked him the night before not to preparedinner as they would eat outside. He toldpolice that he went to his room and slept,and had no idea when the family cameback. “I received a phone call from anunknown person who introduced himselfas Shamim. He said the CFO was notattending his call and asked me to tellhim about him (Shamim)”, the copquoted the cook as having said.

The cook claimed henever gave his cell

number to Shamim,rather he talked

to him for thefirst time in

his life. Hefurther toldpolice thataftersometimeCFO’sfatheralso

arrivedthere, and

when theyopened the

doorthey

foundthe whole familydead.

The police officerfurther told that the CFO

sent an email to many friends wherein heexpressed his desperation over someissue. But it was beyond our thinkingthat why a man murdered his family andlater committed suicide without ajustifiable reason, the officer wondered.

“We have been directed by our high-ups not to issue any statement to media asthe family has requested not to make thisincident public,” Senior Superintendentof Police (SSP) South Nasir Aftab toldPakistan Today. “The investigations areunderway and they are hopeful ofreaching the bottom of the wholeincident,” he added. “At this point, all we

know is the CFO murdered his familyand later committed suicide,” he

reiterated.

KARACHI

kThursday, 2 May, 2013

05

Low

high

FrIdAy SAtUrdAy SUndAy38°C I 27°C 36°C I 27°C 37°C I 27°C

PRAyER TIMINGS

SUnny

WeAther UpdAteS

390C

Fajr Sunrise Zuhr Asr Maghrib Isha

4:37 5:57 12:30 3:58 7:01 8:23

250C

We are now going for transfer of power from one democratic

government to another democratic one and it will be a historic milestone

for the nation – Hyderabad Commissioner Dr Riaz Ahmed Memon

cFo’s MUrderMystery deepens

HigH-ups ask investigators not to issue any statement over tHe suspicious killings

POLICE OFFICER

The house where the

killings took place is

situated in the area where

there is no empty plot.

There are residential

houses at both sides of

the CFO’s home but,

interestingly, no one

heard gun shots

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

Residents of Old Sabzi Mandi turnedviolent while protesting against landgrabbers in the metropolis on Wednesday.Police and eyewitnesses said thatresidents of Old Sabzi Mandi area,including scores of women, took to theroads in protest against illegalconstructions being carried out by landmafia. The situation turned violent whenmafia supporters opened fire on theinfuriated protestors who later ransackeddozens of area shops and torched severalvehicles. Rioting lasted for more thanthree hours and had turned the area intoa battle field. Police said that one manwas injured as a result of firing.Meanwhile, police and rangers resorted toaerial firing to disperse the unruly mob.

naval oFFicershot dead

KARACHI: APakistan Navy

(PN) sailor wasshot and killedin Kharadararea of themetropolis

earlier onWednesday.

According topolice, PN sailor Zahid

Iqbal was targeted when he was standingbeside a cobbler near Edhi head office. Itmerits mentio here that Zahid Iqbal isthe second staffer of PN killed this year.Earlier, Lt Commander Azeem of PNwas also shot at and wounded nearKarachi Port in February. He latersuccumbed to his injury after remainingin coma for a couple of days. ONLINE

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:37 AM Page 5

KARACHIThursday, 2 May, 2013

06

k

The Sindh caretaker government has initiated consultation with

all relevant stakeholders on provincial budget for fiscal year

2013-14 - Caretaker Minister for Finance Shakaib Qureshi.

KARACHI: A petrol pump worker instals a new price tag after reduction in the prices of petroleum products. ONLINE

three more die incontinued violence

KARACHI

NNI

Despite ongoing rangers and police opera-tions being carried out in the metropolis,violence still continued unabated in thecity and has claimed three lives onWednesday.Police said a tortured body was found fromGulshan-e-Sikandar in Kemari Town and an-other from Phool Chowk in Kharadar area.Moreover, rescue sources said a man wasgunned down in Baldia Town No.7 area.The deceased could not be identified until thefiling of this report. 25 HELD: Police and rangers, in a joint oper-ation conducted near Bilawal ChorangiClifton, detained 25 accused and recoveredhuge cache of arms from their possession.According to media reports, police said somewanted accused, affiliated with a politicalparty, were also arrested, including Guddu Bi-hari and others. Talking to reporters, SSPSouth Nasir Aftab said that the operation waslaunched against wanted miscreants and 25 ac-cused were arrested.

WaF asks partiesto strategise poll meetings

KARACHI

APP

Joint Action Committee of Civil Society Or-ganisations and Women Action Forum (WAF)have urged all political parties to adopt thor-ough strategies in arranging their electionmeetings and stressed that they must be sup-ported in their arrangements by police andrangers. “Army must extend security where itis required,” said WAF spokesperson, MonizaInam. On behalf of the country’s civil society,she also expressed their solidarity with all po-litical parties contesting the forthcoming na-tional polls and condemned attacks on theirmembers and workers.“We condemn these attacks in no uncertainterms and extend condolence to those whohave lost their loved ones in these attacks,”she said. Moniza Inam said that ban on thedisplay of arms must be strictly implementedand any one found violating the ban must beplaced on remand for a month.

KARACHI

ISMAIL DILAWAR

AS May 1, the InternationalLabour Day, saw the worldexpressing solidarity withthe labourers, there aresome in this densely-popu-

lated financial hub of Pakistan who have toworry about much more than making bothends meet.

The ‘dilemma of identity’ can be themost appropriate word we can use whiletelling the story of millions of Afghanrefugees, Christian minority and the inter-nally displaced persons.

These under-privileged segments of ourclass-based society, willy-nilly, have to dodirty jobs to earn livelihood for their poordependents living, in most cases, far awayfrom their near and dear ones. Putting theirhands in filthy garbage and stinky guttersis the lifestyle they hatefully have to adoptfor reasons ranging from the damagingside-effects of the US-led global war on ter-ror to the lack of education.

“Kuchray Wala” (trash collector) and“Bhungy” (sweeper) are the titles we gen-erally assign to such poor labourers whocould not have the luxury to stretch back athome even on May Day, an internationalpublic holiday.

To Basheer Mohammad, a 13-year-oldAfghan refugee who lives at a garbagedump in impoverished Bhutta Village ofKeamari Town with his elderly father andyounger brother, words like Labor Day orChild Labour mean nothing.

“I don’t go to school now,” said the kidwhen this reporter spotted him filling hishalf-full gunny bag with recyclable trash atthe garbage dump in the scorching sunlightof Wednesday afternoon.

Dressed untidily, the Afghan boy waslooking for trash preferably made of plastic,iron or paper that, he said, was saleable ata price ranging from Rs 6 to 354 per kilo-gram. Whereas Basher was reluctant tospare some time for an uncalled for inter-view, however, his father, Mohammad Hus-sain, working nearby, had a lot to share hisplight with Pakistan Today.

“I have to leave my family back inAfghanistan and shift to an Afghan refugeecamp in Sohrab Goth when half and a yearback a fight between Taliban and Americareduced my only vehicle to ashes,” he said.Mohammad hails from Jowzjan, one of 34provinces of Afghanistan, which had beena hotspot of war on terror in the war-rav-aged country.

Besides Basheer, the 60-year-old

bearded man fathers Ali Mohammad, 15,Raj Mohammad, 10, Akhtar Mohammad,7, Khan Mohammad, 4 and 11-year-oldShatireena who, in Afghanistan, go to aseminary to get Islamic education. Hiswife, Ameena, is a house wife.

“All my children including Basher usedto go to school until I got my vehicle burntthat left me heavily indebted (Rs 4 lac). So,I had to migrate here in search of liveli-hood,” said Mohammad who has to pay Rs40,000 under a one-year contract he has en-tered into with one of his countrymen(Afghan) for collecting garbage from thearea.

The 15-year-old Ali too, he said, wasassociated with the dirty job he was com-pelled to do.

What, however, perturbs the troubledfamily the most is the question of theiridentity. “Police every now and then stopus and ask for the identity cards that haveexpired,” said the old man. “Just a coupleof days back the police stopped our vehicleand took Rs 200 from each of us saying youdon’t have identity cards,” recalledBasheer.

Why don’t you have the identity cards?“Because the new ‘Bacha’ (king) would de-cide whether we should be issued new IDcards or sent back to Afghanistan,” repliedMohammad. “We are waiting for the elec-tion results now,” said the brilliant childlabour.

The poor garbage collectors said thou-sands of Afghans living in a mohajir campnear Sohrab Goth were facing the samefate. According to official figures up to2005, some 2.7 million homeless Afghanswere living in Pakistan of which, theUNHCR data suggests, only 1.7 millionwere registered.

According to Basher, many of his coun-trymen were affiliated with relatively prof-itable garbage business in Machar Colony,Teen Hatti, Sohrab Goth, Keamari, Sher-shah, Sadder other impoverished cityneighborhoods.

“Who would willingly love to live faraway from his family? I would go back tomy country when the security situation hasimproved,” said Mohammad, who is veryappreciative of Pakistan, he described as‘Islamic country’.

Sarfaraz David, a Christian employeeof Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, whomust clean private gutters in part-time tomake sustenance for his 8-member family,was another neglected labour seen walkingfast on the I.I Chundrigar Road near JangPress Building with a thin bamboo and longiron bar in his hand.

“If we take an off what would we eat,sir! You know, inflation is so backbreakingthat we can’t be choosy in terms of work,”replied 35-year-old David, who lives withhis parents, spouse, three children and ayoungling brother in a rented house of EsaNagri.

Drawing only Rs 8,000 from KWSB,David has to clean gutters part-time to sup-port his family. Even this part-time job, ashe said, does not make a difference. “Somegive me Rs 50 or Rs 100 maximum,” saidDavid, whose father, Mr David, had mi-grated to Karachi from Faisalabad, he couldnot recall when.

His brother also was working in a pri-vate firm and earning Rs 7,000 a month.

Besides poverty, David also has to fightwith the contemptuous behaviour of the

people around. “People despise us asBhungy (sweeper) but all we can do is toget sad,” he was visibly shocked. Anotherfactor he cited as haunting his fraternitywas a religious bigot.

“We are living here for decades butwithout having a clear idea whether or notwe are Pakistanis,” said the poor laboureradding, “There are people who embrace usbut there are some who hate us.”

A rough estimate shows that each of theChristian and Hindu minorities constituted208 million or 1.6 percent of Pakistan’stotal population back in 2005.

Asked if he was OK with his dirty job,David replied in negative: “Who would liketo dip his hands in filthy stinky sewagewater if not compelled”. Why this job only?“Because I am uneducated and then the div-idend here is relatively higher than otherprivate jobs,” he replied.

Abdullah, 25, is another hard workinglabour from Quetta, the federal capital ofBalochistan province, who was seen atwork on the May Day. He has his own is-sues pertaining to the law and order and theresultant downing rates of recyclablegarbage he collects from dawn to dusk invarious localities of this violence-hit me-tropolis.

“The violence in this city is reallyhaunting us both in terms of business andprotection,” said the youngling trash collec-tor who lives in Gulshan-e-Sikandar Ababdarea of Keamari Town.

Holding a gunny bag half-full of differ-ent refuses, Abdullah said at least four ofhis relatives had fallen prey to incidents ofethnic violence in the city. “I still rememberhow 8-year-old Mohammad was killed incrossfire between two ethnic groups inMachar Colony,” he recalled.

The city’s uncertain law and order sit-uation, he said, had rendered the buyers (ofscrap) without cash. “Gone are the dayswhen the buyers used to pay us on the spot.Every next day the banks are closed for astrike or violence. They say we can’t en-cash our cheques,” he said.

This uncertainty, Abdullah complained,had brought the prices of recyclable scrapdown. The trash items made of plastic, ironand paper that once used to be priced at Rs42, Rs 48 and Rs 20 per kilogram nowfetch, respectively, Rs 35, Rs 38 and Rs 10only. The rates of scrap copper also de-creased to Rs 550 from Rs 800 per kg.

Abdullah, who has received his educa-tion from a Maddrassah and is engaged tobe married soon, sees Karachi as an idealplace for living provided the city becomespeaceful for all those living here.

saddeninG colors oF laBoUr UnFold on May day

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:37 AM Page 6

syria oppositiondenoUnceshezBollah 'threat' DAMASCUS: Syria's opposition has

denounced what it called "threats" from

the head of Hezbollah, and warned

against any intervention by the

movement or by Iran, which backs the

Lebanese group, in the Syrian conflict.

The Syrian National Coalition's (SNC)

statement on Wednesday comes after

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader,

said Syrian rebels would not be able to

defeat President Bashar al-Assad's

regime militarily. "The Syrians and the

Lebanese hoped ... that the Hezbollah

leadership would stop their attacks on

Homs and Damascus and take into

account the gravity of the situation in

the region," the SNC said. "But they

heard nothing but threats ... and

warnings against setting the region on

fire and an admission of their

interference in Syrian affairs."

Nasrallah, speaking in a televised

address on Tuesday, said that Syria had

"real friends in the region", apparently

indicating that his group would

intervene on the government's side if

the need arises. AGENCIES

BoMBs Kill aFGhanoFFicial andBritish troops KABUL: An Afghan official has said

fighters used a bomb and small arms to

kill a representative of a government

peace council entrusted with helping

start talks with the Taliban. Omaer

Zawak, a spokesman for the governor of

Helmand, said the attack that killed

Malim Shah Wali Khan on Wednesday

also wounded the province's deputy

governor. A bodyguard also died and

four others were wounded. He said the

armed group first detonated a bomb

next to Khan's car and then attacked

with assault rifles. A day earlier, at least

12 people, including three British soldier,

were killed by a roadside bomb in

Helmand. Six British soldiers have now

been killed this year in Afghanistan,

where British casualties have slowed

over the past year. AGENCIES

07

NewsThursday, 2 May, 2013

The weak can never forgive.

Forgiveness is the attribute of the

strong. — Mahatma Gandhi N

OKKAN

AGENCIES

At least one person has died and 10 peo-ple have been injured in central Myanmarafter Buddhist gangs set fire to hundredsof homes and overrun two mosques.

Tuesday's flare-up in Okkan, 110kmnorth of Yangon, is the latest anti-Muslimviolence to shake the Southeast Asian na-tion since late March.

In Chauk Tal, an outlying village,leaping flames still rose on Tuesday nightfrom the remains of several fiercely burn-ing structures, while distressed villagerscried and hurled buckets of water to tryand douse the flames.

Residents said as many as 400 Bud-dhists armed with bricks and sticks ram-paged through the area.

"We hadn't really seen [violence] inthis central part," said Al Jazeera's Scott

Heidler, reporting from Bangkok. "[Theviolence] is definitely spreading; in this

latest incident troops and security forceshad to come in to prevent any more vio-lence. You can view what's going on inMyanmar as a tinderbox."

Eighteen people are reported to havebeen arrested.

The mobs targeted Muslim shops andransacked two mosques; about 20 riot po-lice were later deployed to guard one ofthem, a single-story structure, which hadits doors broken and windows smashed.

In Okkan, two mosques were overrunand looted, while more than 100 Muslimhomes in three nearby villages weretorched in arson attacks.

"They came around 1pm and most ofthe people were from this town, not fromoutside. There were around 50 of them,"said Khin Maung Than, a 60-year-oldshopkeeper in Okkan.

Anti-Muslim violence hits central Myanmar

JARAKATA

AGENCIES

dEMONSTRATIONS aretaking place across theworld as protesters gatherto mark May Day, the tra-ditional date for demand-

ing better workers' rights.Protests first began in Asia, with

tens of thousands of workers in Jakartacalling for improved conditions andmobilising against government plansto cut fuel subsidies. Al Jazeera's StepVaessen, reporting from Jarakata, said:"Everywhere I look I see demonstrat-ing workers; this is the biggest rallyI've seen here. "The president [SusiloBambang Yudhoyono], announcedyesterday that the fuel price will go upas it is heavily subsidesed.

ISTANBUL CLASHES

With 80 countries around the worldmarking May 1 as a public holiday,Istanbul's Taksim Square was inlockdown on Wednesday, after theTurkish government banned MayDay protests there. The square is thesite of a 1977 May Day massacre inwhich dozens of people died underdisputed circumstances.

Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra,reporting from Istanbul, said: "Therehave been scuffles, particularly inareas that lead to Taksim Square,which has been sealed off.

CAMBODIA WORKERS

In Phnom Pehn, the Cambodian cap-

ital, garment factory workers de-manded higher wages and betterworking conditions.

Organisers said about 5,000demonstrators, including unionworkers, gathered for the rally,chanting slogans and holding ban-ners. Protesters came from 16 unionsand associations in Cambodia tomark International Labour Day andurge whoever wins the general elec-tion in July to meet their demands.

"I demand that my pay is in-creased to $150 per month," saidgarment worker Neang Leakena,from the Chinese-owned Deum Porgarment factory.

EUROPEAN PROTESTS

In Athens, Greece's capital, the mainpublic and private sector unionscalled a 24-hour strike to protestagainst the government's austeritypolicies.

Greece has had to enforce taxrises and spending cuts as part ofdeals with the International Mone-tary Fund and its eurozone partnersto overcome a crippling debt crisis.

On Sunday, parliament approveda bill which will leave 15,000 civilservants out of work by the end ofnext year. In Moscow, the Russiancapital, authorities sanctioned 16separate rallies, including one led byVladimir Putin's ruling United Rus-sia party.

Other groups, including theCommunist Party, are holding gath-erings of their own. Up to 90,000people are expected.

May day marked by global workers' protests

DHAKA

AGENCIES

May Day rallies in Bangladesh havetaken on an added significance as work-ers marched through the streets to de-mand improved safety standards after thedeaths of more than 400 people after abuilding collapsed near Dhaka.

Almost 150 people are still missingfollow the collapse of the structure lastweek which housed clothing factoriesand other businesses.

Some protesters on Wednesdaycalled for the death penalty for the ownerof the factory, who remains under arrestin the capital. The EU said on Tuesdaythat it was concerned about labour con-ditions and is considering action to en-courage improvements in the country.

In a statement issued by CatherineAshton, the EU foreign affairs chief, andKarel de Gucht, the trade commissioner,

the bloc said measures could includeusing its trade preference system whichgives Bangladesh duty- and quota-freeaccess to EU markets.

The EU is Bangladesh's largest tradepartner and clothes made inside thebuilding - an illegally built structure thattoppled last week - were produced forEuropean and Canadian retailers.

"The EU is presently considering ap-propriate action, including through theGeneralised System of Preferences(GSP) - through which Bangladesh cur-rently receives duty-free and quota-freeaccess to the EU market under the'Everything But

Arms' scheme - in order to incen-tivise responsible management of supplychains involving developing countries,"said the the statement,

Britain's Primark and Canada'sLoblaw, two Western retailers that hadfactories in the building, have pledged to

compensate families of the victims.

ASSET FREEzE

The building's collapse has sparked vio-lent protests and a top Bangladeshi courton Tuesday ordered the government to"immediately" confiscate the property ofMohammed Sohel Rana, the owner ofthe collapsed building.

A two-judge panel of the High Courtalso asked the central bank to freeze theassets of the owners of the five garmentfactories in the building, and use themoney to pay the salaries and other ben-efits of their workers.

The order came after police producedRana and the factory owners in court.The order did not elaborate but it was im-plied that the salaries of the dead victimswould be paid to their relatives. The courthas given the police 15 days to interro-gate Rana.

deadly bombingsrock iraqi cities

BAGHDAD

AGENCIES

At least 15 people have been killed in aseries of bomb blasts across Iraq, policeand medics say. Wednesday's attacksfollow a sharp increase in violence thathas prompted warnings of a full-blownsectarian conflict between Sunnis andShia. A suicide bomber wearing anexplosives vest detonated himself in themidst of a group of government-backedSunni fighters who were collecting theirsalaries east of the city of Fallujah,killing six, police sources said. In Baiji,180km north of the capital Baghdad,police said a roadside bomb killed fourpolicemen. A car bomb in a Shia districtin northeastern Baghdad killed at leastthree people and wounded 14, police andhospital sources said. Another car bombnorth of the city of Ramadi killed twopolicemen and wounded another 10. Iraqis home to a number of Sunni groupsincluding a local al-Qaeda affiliate thathas launched frequent attacks toundermine the government and provokewider confrontation.

Bangladesh factory-collapsetoll passes 400

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:37 AM Page 7

NewsNThursday 2 May, 2013

08

WASHINGTON

INP

ExPRESSING con-cern over the con-tinuing buildup ofnuclear weapons in

South Asia, the US has askedIndia and Pakistan to restraintheir atomic and missile pro-grammes and play a positiverole in the global non-prolifer-ation community.

"The United States remainsdeeply concerned by the dangersposed by the continuing buildupof nuclear weapons and their de-livery systems in South Asia,"Assistant Secretary of State forInternational Security and Non-proliferation Thomas Country-man said in his address to the2015 Review Conference of theStates Parties to the Treaty onthe Nonproliferation of NuclearWeapons in Geneva.

"Consistent with our sharedvision of a world without nu-clear weapons, the United Stateshas repeatedly called on Indiaand Pakistan to restrain their nu-clear and missile programmes;end the production of fissile ma-terial for use in nuclearweapons; and support the com-mencement of negotiations in

the Conference on Disarmamentof a Fissile Material CutoffTreaty," he said. "In that regard,it is with concern and deep dis-appointment that we note Pak-istan's reluctance to support thestart of such negotiations," theUS official said.

"We would welcome mean-ingful trust and confidence-building between thesenuclear-armed states; we mustfind ways to reduce regional ten-sions and diminish the risk thatnuclear weapons could be used,either intentionally or acciden-tally, in a crisis," he said. TheUnited States, he said continuedto encourage both India and Pak-istan to play a positive role inthe global non-proliferationcommunity and take steps toprevent proliferation, includingbringing their strategic tradecontrols in line with the guide-lines of the multilateral supplierregimes. "We support, in aphased manner, India's goal ofjoining the four multilateral ex-port control regimes," he said,adding that the US remains cog-nizant of its non-proliferationcommitments and objectiveswhen considering how to con-duct its bilateral relations withany country.

Us asks india, pakistan to restraintheir nuclear, missile programmes

US EXPERT FAVORS CIVILIANNUCLEAR DEAL FOR PAKISTAN WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: An American analyst on

South Asia has said that the United States should offer

Pakistan a conditions-based civilian nuclear deal as a

way to save the relationship, which severely tested

during the last decade, as well as secure long-term

interests with regard to containing militancy and

atomic safety. Christine Fair, an assistant

professor in the Center for Peace and Security

Studies, said Washington should adopt a new

approach towards Pakistan, since the previous US

policies toward the South Asian country had failed.

She favoured a civilian nuclear deal as a way to

make the relationship productive. The US traditional

approach of “muddling through” its management of

Pakistan would not yield positive dividends forever, she said.

‘TIME FOR A BIG IDEA FOR PAKISTAN’: “If the United States wants one last chance of

salvaging a relationship with Pakistan, it should put on the table a conditions-based, civilian-

nuclear deal,” she proposed in an opinion piece appearing in Time magazine. Such an

“enormous” deal and “political inducement”, the expert said, should help Islamabad curb the

alleged support for militancy and help Washington achieve its goal of ensuring security of

Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Putting the nuclear deal on the negotiating table with Pakistan

should have a clarifying effect, Fair said. As 2014 looms, the United States should recognise

that some meager prospects for a peaceful Pakistan may be the prize rather than a functional

Afghanistan, Fair added. Unfortunately, during the last 11 years, Washington and its allies

have persistently pursued a policy—howsoever inept and ill-conceived—that prioritized

Afghanistan. Unable to forge a tandem policy to manage the twinned threats inhering in and

from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the international community had a semblance of an

Afghanistan strategy while never formulating a Pakistan strategy at all, Fair maintained. APP

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

A United States (US) Congres-sional delegation led by SenatorJoe Donnelly held a meetingwith Foreign Secretary JalilAbbas Jilani on Wednesday inIslamabad to discuss matters ofmutual interest.

The US delegation also in-cluded Senator HeidiHeitkamp, Senator TammyBaldwin, Senator Chris Mur-phy, Congressman Peter Welch,and US Ambassador to Pak-istan Richard Olson.

“The two sides exchangedviews on the current status ofbilateral relations, upcomingelections in Pakistan, and re-gional issues including the sit-uation in Afghanistan,” said aForeign Office statement.

The foreign secretary un-

derscored the traditional impor-tance of Pakistan’s relationshipwith the US and apprised theAmerican legislators about var-ious facets of the relationshipfocusing on people-to-peoplecontacts and its benefit.

He appreciated the USCongressional support forgrowth of democracy in Pak-istan. The foreign secretary alsobriefed the US delegation on re-cent developments with regardsto peace and stability inAfghanistan.

The US delegation ac-knowledged the importance ofPakistan-US relationship in thecurrent international environ-ment and reiterated support tothe development of democracyand democratic institutions inPakistan. The US side also tooknote of Pakistan’s efforts for re-gional peace and prosperity.

US legislators discuss elections with foreign secretary

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas

Jilani meets a US Congressional delegation led

by Senator Joe Donnelly at Foreign Office. INP

WASHINGTON

INP

The United States has expressed con-cern over violence and condemnedterrorists for targeting politicians andtheir supporters during election cam-paign in Pakistan.

The US also condemned the re-cent statements by terrorist groupsindicating their intent to disrupt Pak-istan’s democratic process.

Replying to questions duringbriefing on Tuesday, Acting StateDepartment spokesman Patrick Ven-trell said the US supported the rightof the Pakistanis to participate in thepolls to fulfill their aspirations for apeaceful, prosperous, and democraticnation.

He said the US looks forward towitnessing timely, transparent, free,and fair elections on May 11. Theseelections will mark an importantdemocratic transition, a historic de-velopment of which the people ofPakistan can be very proud. He madeit clear that they do not support anyparticular party or any individualcandidate, and look forward to en-gaging the next democratically

elected government.Asked about the spike in the vio-

lence in the last few weeks, andwhether people can go out withoutany fear and vote, Ventrell said theUS in addition to condemning the vi-olence surrounding the elections alsourged the Pakistanis to go out andvote and express their free will sothat democracy can prevail and thepeople’s voice can be heard.

“We’re concerned about the vio-lence but we urge the electoralprocess to continue” he remarked.

About return of former presidentPervez Musharraf and cases againsthim, he said, “We haven’t taken a po-sition on Musharraf’s return to Pak-istan.”

Us condemnsattacks on politicians

oBaMa pledGesto reneW GitMoprison closUre Bid

WASHINGTON: Amid a hunger strike by

Guantanamo Bay inmates, US President

Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged to re-in-

vigorate his administration’s bid to close down

the infamous prison, housing several terrorism

suspects without charges. “It is not a surprise

to me that we've got problems in Guan-

tanamo, which is why, when I was campaign-

ing in 2007 and 2008 --- I said we need to

close Guantanamo. I continue to believe that

we've got to close Guantanamo,” Obama told

reporters at the White House. The US presi-

dent was responding to a question following

reports that around 100 of 160 prisoners are

on a hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Obama said he has asked his team to “review

everything that's currently being done in

Guantanamo, everything that we can do ad-

ministratively, and I'm going to re-engage

with Congress to try to make the case that

this is not something that's in the best inter-

ests of the American people”. He said the

prison – which is outside the pales of tradi-

tional mainstream American system - is not

necessary to keep the country safe. “It is ex-

pensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of

our international standing. It lessens coopera-

tion with our allies on counterterrorism ef-

forts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It

needs to be closed.” Taking a swipe at the US

Congress for blocking his plan to shut down

the prison, Obama said, “Now Congress deter-

mined that they would not let us close it and

despite the fact that there are a number of

the folks who are currently in Guantanamo

who the courts have said could be returned

to their country of origin or potentially a

third country.” Expanding on the issue over

Guantanamo prison, where hundreds of ter-

rorism suspects were detained after the 9/11

terrorist attacks, Obama noted that it is not

sustainable. “I mean, the notion that we're

going to continue to keep over a hundred in-

dividuals in a no man's land in perpetuity,

even at a time when we've wound down the

war in Iraq, we're winding down the war in

Afghanistan, we're having success defeating

al Qaeda core, we've kept the pressure up

on all these transnational terrorist networks,

when we've transferred detention authority

in Afghanistan – the idea that we would still

maintain forever a group of individuals who

have not been tried – that is contrary to who

we are, it is contrary to our interests, and it

needs to stop.” SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

state Dept spokesmansays tHey Haven’ttaken position onmusHarraf’s return

two pakistanidiplomats injured incessna plane crash VIRGINIA: Two Pakistani diplomats were

injured when their Cessna plane crashed in

West Virginia. The injured diplomats were

identified as Shujaat Rathore and Habib

Paracha. US media reported that three

residents from McLean and Great Falls

were hospitalised after their small plane

crashed at a Tucker County airstrip in West

Virginia.

The crash happened on Friday in Canaan

Valley near Davis at the Windwood Fly-In

Resort, which has a 3,000-foot runway.

The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Police said witnesses reported the single-

engine Cessna touched down but ran out

of room. The pilot tried to pull back up, but

the plane clipped the tops of trees.

Police identified the pilot as Waseem

Haider, 46, of Great Falls. The passengers

were Shujjat Rathore, and Muhammad

Paracha. INP

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:37 AM Page 8

News N

09

Thursday 2 May, 2013

ISLAMABAD

TAyyAb HuSSAIN

FORMER Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) leaderand current president of PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),

Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, on Wednesdaylashed out at PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif forkeeping party workers in the dark about hissecret exile deal with military dictator Gen-eral (r) Pervez Musharraf

In an exclusive interview with PakistanToday, he said the PML-N workers and hehimself only came to know about the dealwhen Sharif accepted at London airport thata deal had been inked for seven years.

Hashmi began his election campaign forNA-48 with a rare salvo against Nawaz. Thepresence of Nawaz in the federal capital onWednesday had already heated the politicalenvironment. Since both senior politicianswere campaigning in opposite camps in thefederal capital, the passion and fervour of theworkers was at a new high.

Asked why he had decided to terminatehis decades-long association with the PML-N, Hashmi said it was an easy decision forhim, as he decided to start a new struggle forthe people of Pakistan after suffering astroke. He said Nawaz had never liked himdue to his blatant expression of views duringparty meetings. Hashmi said the tipping pointarrived when he made a public demand to thepolitical elites of the country to bring back tothe country their wealth abroad that had beenstashed away in foreign bank accounts.

He said such a situation compelled him tojoin the PTI which he found the best platformwhere he could deliver for the country's devel-opment and prosperity by serving the poor.Describing his decision of parting ways withNawaz historic, Hashmi said Nawaz had

handed over the party affairs to him when hewas under detention during Musharraf's mar-tial law. "Nawaz never awarded party ticket tome with an open heart during my 24-year-longassociation with the PML-N. Every time I hadto fight for the ticket. In year 1988, NawazSharif refused me a ticket and said the tickethad already been decided for the son of thethen governor Punjab (Makhdoom SajjadQureshi)," he asserted, referring to Shah Mah-mood Qureshi, adding that he had to fight forthe ticket and eventually won it. He added that

his contributions for the party were never dulyrecognised by Sharifs. He lamented that whilehe and other party workers were fightingagainst the tyrant regime in jails, the Sharifswere enjoying luxuries in Saudi Arabia bykeeping them in dark about the deal. "Thepeople close to Nawaz today, including NisarAli Khan, Ishaq Dar and others, were also en-joying their normal lives in Pakistan seekingrelaxation from Musharraf under a deal whileI along with other party workers were jailed,"said the veteran politician, who is contesting

elections on PTI tickets from NA 48 Islam-abad and NA-149 Multan simultaneously.

Hashmi made it clear that he had no lustfor power and he would never accept the cov-eted posts of prime minister or federal minis-ter, rather he would prefer to work for deliveryof rights of the poor masses while serving asan MNA. The PTI heavyweight further al-leged that PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari waselected as a president under a deal between thePPP and PML-N. "PML-Q's Chaudhry Shu-jaat, JI's Qazi Hussain Ahmed, JUI-F chief

Maulana Fazlur Rehman and all other partieshad assured full support to the PML-N ifNawaz Sharif proposed me for presidency.However, since a deal was already struck,Nawaz did not propose my name and ratherpicked a weak candidate, making it a three-way fight. This helped Asif Zardari clinch theslot for the president," he asserted.

Coming down hard on Nawaz, Hashmisaid when the Musharraf toppled his (Nawaz)government and forced him to leave the coun-try, he took up the gauntlet to fight the war ofparty’s survival due to which he had to go be-hind bars. The PTI leader said PML-N leadershad turned their cannons towards ImranKhan, as they had miserably failed to deliverwhen they were enjoying power. He said thePML-N leadership had no pro-masses agendadue to which, in utter desperation, they hadresorted to criticising PTI chairman ImranKhan. To a question, he said since the PML-N had miserably failed to deliver and muster-ing the masses' support in their favour for thegeneral elections, therefore, it wasted time inalluding to Imran Khan's speeches, whichnever revealed foul language.

in rare critique, hashmi firesa salvo at former party chief

Nawaz never liked medue to my blatant

expression of viewsduring party meetings.

The tipping pointarrived when I made apublic demand to thepolitical elites of the

country to bring backthe wealth they had

stashed away inforeign bank accounts

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

Nawaz Sharif, president of his own factionof the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Nawaz), on Wednesday said premiershipwas not his destination as he wanted tobring the country out of crises.

Addressing the business community ofthe twin cities, Nawaz said that traders, in-dustrialists and businessmen were thebackbone of the country. He said aftercoming into power all financial policieswould be planned in consultation with the

business community. He said Pakistanneeded experienced leadership to bring thecountry out of problems, adding that hisparty would be victorious on May 11.

He said that former president PervezMusharraf was responsible for electricitycrisis, but President Asif Zardari also didnothing to resolve the problem. He said thepriorities of the PPP government were notprogress of the country rather corruption.

Nawaz said electricity was not avail-able for 20 hours in the area, adding thatthe industry has been closed and childrenwere unable to study. He said that the

rulers had filled their pockets through cor-ruption, adding that the ministers were alsoinvolved in this matter. He said that therewas no load shedding, unemployment, un-rest in Karachi and Balochistan and therewere no terrorism during his rule. He saidgas and electricity were available to thepeople and the country was progressing.

He said the condition of country hasbeen changed, adding that the PML-Nwould take the country again on the posi-tion where it had left in 1999. He said thepeople should consider who has servedthem and established dams and motorways.

Country comes first, notpremiership: Nawaz

Zardari madecountry beg forforeign aid: Shahbaz

Pakistan needsan experienced

leadershipto bring thecountry outof problems

LAHORE

ONLINE

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)leader Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday al-leged that President Asif Ali Zardari hadforced the country to begging and depend-ing on foreign aid.

Addressing a public meeting in JaloMorr area of Lahore‚ he said the PML-Nhad carried out development projects in-cluding the metro bus project‚ Daanishschools‚ and the Education EndowmentFund at the national level in Punjab in thelast five years.

He alleged that PTI Chairman Imran

Khan was campaigning for the PPP in Pun-jab.

The PML-N leader said the previousgovernment of the PPP had destroyed allpublic institutions and looted the publicwealth.

He said the agriculture sector had beenadversely affected due to the shortage ofelectricity and industries were also beingclosed down.

Shahbaz said if returned to power‚ thePML-N will provide jobs to the unem-ployed and relief to the farmers per theparty’s manifesto.

He asked the masses to vote for thePML-N to bring real change in the country.

LAHORE: Shahbaz

Sharif addresses

an election rally at

NA-130 constituency

on Wednesday. NNI

ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif addresses businessmen

from Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Wednesday. INP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

President Javed Hashmi addresses supporters

during an election rally on Wednesday. ONLINE

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:37 AM Page 9

CoMMeNT

Aziz-ud-Din AhmadEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2850505Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

C

a piece of advice on democracy and terrorism for politiciansKayani’s address

holding Balochistan hostage

labour day

SO that one day, the May Day, to honour those who make lives easier for the rest ofhumanity has gone by, and without much fanfare. It is a day to look around andappreciate the effort and work they put in to make life worthwhile for others while

going through what most others won’t like to. No doubt one needs more than just a dayif one wanted to look into under what conditions the labourers work and survive. Andthis is one perspective that relate pretty much to the situation in Pakistan where going hasbeen getting tough over the past few years.

Power crisis, increasing load shedding, gas shortage, price hikes, and an endemiclack of security are but a few problems that the whole country is facing right now butthese problems take a whole new form for the poor labourers, fort they don’t have meansto find alternatives. As a result, they fall down into a vicious circle of poverty fromwhere escape for them is nigh impossible. Much of Pakistan’s labour class is unaware oftheir rights. In rural areas of Punjab and Sindh, many of them are still found working asbonded labour, or working on some feudal lord’s lands, trying to pay off debt that theirforefathers took and whose interest has grown more than the principal amount, childrenas young as five years old are working in workshops, industrial labour has no optionother than to work without proper safety equipment, no health insurance or other benefitsare offered and on job training is virtually unheard of. What this translates into is thateven though we have a huge labour force, an asset for the country otherwise, which istreated in not so humanely fashion and their contributions to the society often ignored.

Improving their condition is not that difficult, in fact, if the government, and we asindividuals, put our backs into it. The very first thing that should be done is to ensure thattheir rights are not only protected but also afforded to them. Minimum wages must be setand changed according to the inflation in the market. Job creation for this class wouldonly be possible when there is electricity and investment, both local and international,and when there is an improvement in the security situation. Instead of dealing the labourclasses as a burden and looking down upon them, they should be offered the same levelof respect and honour, if not more. Only by doing so would we be able to alienate theirfears and sense of being downtrodden, while bringing them to a level where they aregiven the respect that is due them.

MANY would welcome the categorical assurance by the COAS that theelections would be held on May 11 as scheduled. That the CJ too has issueda similar statement indicates an awareness on their part of the lingering

scepticism among the public at large. This being the first time that power is going tobe transferred from an elected civilian government, which has completed its fulltenure, to a newly elected administration, people watch the rare event with direpremonitions based on real experience. The remarks by the general, therefore, are allthe more reassuring. Thanks the shoddy performance on the part of the politicalparties whenever they come to power, the country has to hear a lecture from the armychief on democratic values and good governance. This time neither the PPP and itserstwhile allies nor the PML-N administration can claim that they would have donewonders if their tenure had not been cut short. Gen Kayani is spot on when he saysthat the success of democracy is intimately linked with the wellbeing and prosperityof the nation. He is also right that the forthcoming elections provide a goldenopportunity to usher in an era of true democratic values in the country. With freshassurances from the army that it values and wholeheartedly supports democracy,which some will take with a pinch of salt because of their past experiences, the nextgovernment would hopefully work hard to consolidate the system. It has to continuethe recently established tradition of tolerance of the opposition and media criticism. Ithas however to focus on governance, be responsive to the common man’s problemsand take a clear cut stand vis a vis the terrorists.

Ironically, here too the political parties need to pay heed to what Gen Kayani hassaid. To start with the general has owned the war against terrorism. He has designatedthose ordering terrorist attacks from their remote strongholds as a small faction whichwants to foist its misconceived notions of Islam on the entire nation. As he put it, theterrorist ideology defies the constitution and the democratic process and considers allforms of bloodshed justified. As the formulation does not come from the Army GreenBook, which, we have been told, may not always reflect the thinking of the army highcommand, but which the COAS himself said carries the stamp of institutionalauthority. There is need on the part of all political parties, many of whom have beenreluctant so far to do so, to take a clear cut stand against the terrorists. In theirelection manifestoes too they have preferred to tiptoe around the issue of terrorism.The political parties must provide support to army action against those who conductattacks in Pakistan.

It is interesting that while the PPP, ANP and MQM have opposed militarydeployment in Karachi, the Sindh government, set up with the consensus of the threeparties, has called out the army to help it hold peaceful elections. The army’spresence would discourage the terrorists and increase the voter turnout.

ensuring that their rights are protected is due us

Thursday, 2 May, 2013

10

through the election bullet

The truth is incontrovertible, malice may

attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in

the end; there it is. –Winston Churchill

ON May 1, 2013, 22,000troops and 50,000 ‘lawenforcers’ entered 12 dis-tricts of Balochistan to“conduct a free-and-fair

election”. The existing number oftroops in the areas shall not be revealedto us, nor the fact that de facto theseareas had been no-go areas for the mil-itary since the current Baloch insur-gency started in 2005. With the entryof troops, the possibility of free-and-fair elections in the province hasended. Rather the Baloch people shallhave elections shoved down theirthroats with a gun to their head.

It does not matter if the Balochpeople want to give their stamp of ap-proval to the selection processes of thePakistani state. Rather, the pretense, orthe formality, that ‘the Baloch people’confirm their stamp of faith in theState, shall be obtained, under thesound of the boots of the fine men inkhaki. If it wasn’t quite obvious whenthe operation was announced, theBalochistan home secretary made itclear the day before the operation: theBalochistan Liberation Army (BLA),the Balochistan Republican Army(BRA), the Balochistan LiberationFront (BLA), the United Baloch Army(UBA) and the Lashkar-e-Balochistan(LB) would be targeted.

No one seems to recall that the out-rage over the kill-and-dump of missingpersons – or “kidnapped Baloch” asMuhammad Hanif chose to clarify – bystate agencies was about individualsfrom the same groups. Over 300 bodiesof these missing persons had been re-covered since 2011 – all the killingsblamed on the Pakistani state. The callsfor the past three years, since the an-nouncement of the token Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package in2009, had been for the withdrawal ofarmy troops from Balochistan and ac-countability of the agencies, neither ofwhich could be delivered during the

PPP-era.Back in 2008, President Zardari

also issued a token apology to theBaloch people. But with nothingchanging on the ground, with one afterthe other Baloch nationalist beingkilled-and-dumped, the resentmentamongst the Baloch people has growndeeper. Bodies have been returned toeach district.

Nothing has also changed about theconception of development being ap-plied to the province. The great hall-mark that the 18th amendment wassupposed to be was circumvented withimprudence. The control of the GwadarPort was handed over to China and theIran-Pakistan gas pipeline started inthe two month period the Balochistangovernment had been dissolved earlierthis year. The so-called failure of thenever existent Balochistan governmentwas in fact that failure (or complicity)of the state apparatus in the spate ofHazara killings – duly stopped theminute the establishment’s aims in theprovince were achieved.

But the joke about the current mil-itary operation in Balochistan runsmuch deeper. It comes on the back offive years of the PPP-led coalition gov-ernments at both the province and cen-tre denying accusations that a militaryoperation was underway in Balochis-tan. It is a bit strange that the caretakergovernment has taken it upon itself totake on the mandate of announcing afull-blown military operation inBalochistan.

This is not to say that the fears ex-pressed by government schools teach-ers are not well-founded. Thediscontent with the Pakistani state issuch that government schools in anumber of districts in Balochistan havenot been able to display the Pakistaniflag for a number of years.

The Balochistan caretaker setuphas pointed to security threats to can-didates and election officials inBalochistan as reason for announcingthe current military operation. But thequestion is how important are the po-litical parties contesting polls inBalochistan to the Baloch people? Letus name them: the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz, the Pakistan PeoplesParty, the Jamaat-i-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, the National Party and theBalochistan National Party-Mengal(BNP-M). Only two of these partieshave any credentials so to speak of inBalochistan. Of these, the NationalParty leadership, including Dr Malikand Hasil Bizenjo, spend the bulk oftheir time in Islamabad, while theBNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal was inself-exile from the country until the in-terim setup took over. However, thebulk of the nationalist movement has

chosen to keep itself outside the trap-ping of the upcoming polls.

Apart from the dismissed NAPgovernment of the Bhutto era,Balochistan cannot be said to haveever had any semblance of ‘represen-tative government’. Nor does there ap-pear to be any serious resolve on partof the Pakistan establishment to giveBalochistan representative govern-ment. Sources from within the state saythat, as a lesson from the separation ofEast Pakistan, they now fear any na-tionalists coming into power throughthe ballot and presenting somethingakin to Sheikh Mujib’s Six Points.

This is why there are army men innine districts, including Dera Bugti,Kohlu, Awaran, Washuk, Khuzdar,Kalat, Mastung, Kharan and Gwadardistricts. The question is what will thecleanup operation mean on theground? “Not a single militant will bespared by May 11” is what the care-taker provincial home minister said.Bullets and arrests have been prom-ised. It is another way of saying: ex-pect more kills-and-dumps, unreportedraids on villages and more anger fromthe Baloch.

When national newspapers con-tinue to express worries that “there isno election excitement in Balochistan”,it appears they are delusional. Elec-tions are a celebration of a belief thatparticipating in the processes of thestate can offer deliverance. Barely any-one in Balochistan believes such. If theBaloch people, as a whole, feel disen-franchised from the processes of thestate, then why bake up this cosmeticdrama of an election in the province?

Let us learn to call a spade a spade:these are not measures to secure theelections, this is a full-blown operationagainst Baloch nationalists.

For Baloch nationalists, theprovince was made to join Pakistan atgunpoint. Now, it appears, after a sixthdecade long insurgency, it will bemade to enter elections at gunpoint.The consequences, it must be said withregret, are fated.

With the military presence inBalochistan, there cannot be a ‘free-and-fair’ election. Let us not subscribeto any such mistaken notions. Anotherfarce is about to be created inBalochistan in the name of representa-tive government. All the efforts at rec-onciliation of Baloch nationalistsshould be considered abandoned.Balochistan is being held hostage inthe name of the elections. The conse-quences will not be pretty.

The writer is the general secretary(Lahore) of the Awami Workers Party.He is a journalist and a researcher.Contact: hashimbrashid@gmail.com

a cost effective approach A successful livestock operation accounts for expenses

occurring at the farm. The entire profit potential of any suc-cessful operation revolves around the foundation of soundand economical calf rearing programme. Rearing youngcalves is a labour intensive and costly segment. From birthto weaning, milk shares highest cost of feeding along withthe health issues associated with hygiene and sanitation ofmilk feeding utensils. These items, if done improperly, canlead to severe consequences; like higher cost of milk feed-ing, increased incidence of scours and drenching resultingin both time and economic loss.

Pakistan is blessed with a huge population of cattleand buffalo (36.9 and 32.7 million heads, respectively).However, majority of livestock farmers are currentlyusing conventional practices which are inefficient,higher in cost, and result in higher mortality rates. Con-ventionally, buffalo calves are kept with dam, fed onseasonal forages, and weaned around one year of age.Inadequate milk feeding and poor husbandry practicesresult in high mortality rate (85.2 percent), and lowerbody weight (60 to 80 kg). Further, conventional rearingof buffalo calves is higher than cattle whereas, marketprice of a weaned buffalo calf is lesser than the cost of

milk feeding. Therefore, farmers have developed awrong concept that rearing of young calves is not prof-itable enterprise and prefer to sell milk instead of feed-ing to calves. With increasing meat prices, livestockfarmers are adopting new strategies to improve calf per-formance at a lesser cost of production.

To reduce the cost of feeding, early weaning from milkis practised. Recently, we weaned buffalo calves from milkat 12, 10 and eight weeks of age. We reported that earlyweaned (eight weeks) calves grew at the same rate, con-sumed less milk and reduced the cost of feeding by 22 per-cent to those weaned later. Results might help to mitigateissues like poor growth and low returns associated with tra-ditional calf rearing practices. We concluded that buffalocalves can be successfully weaned off milk as early as eightweeks of age without negatively affecting growth perform-ance and significantly reducing the feeding cost. Resultssuggest that adopting early weaning strategies might be use-ful to reduce the age of puberty in buffalo heifers, which atthe moment is around 3-3.5 years. Further, better growthrates of male calves can improve the supply of quality bulls.The investigation will help us to mitigate gaps between con-ventional rearing systems and modern feeding strategies.

MUHAMMAD AFZAL RASHID,PROF DR TALAT NASEER PASHA

UVAS, Lahore

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusivelyEditor’s mail

Comradely speakingHASHIM bIN RASHID

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:37 AM Page 10

IT is surprising how US in-telligence agencies’ inabil-ity to differentiate betweenTaliban and al Qaeda – de-

spite 12 long years of war inAfghanistan – is confounding theroad to disengagement in late2014. It has also complicatedshutting down Guantanamo Bay,something President BarackObama promised on his firstcampaign trail. And much worse,it has led to near-complete break-down in communication with themost important partner in the war– Pakistan. Hence the recentscramble towards a workable solution in Brussels.

Yet Brussels was predictably, perhaps deliberately, vague. Kerrythought, after “extensive talks”, that “results are what will tell thestory, not statements and press conferences”. And Karzai’s “let’s hopeforward for the best” was pretty much the same as our foreign secretaryJilani’s “We are looking forward to a very productive and forward-looking session”. If the past provides any insight into the present,Karzai and Pakistan’s foreign office exchanged accusations, Kerry satwide-eyed, and Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani chain-smoked. The result?More power to the Taliban.

After ISAF lost steam on the field some years ago – British forces inHelmand even bribed local Taliban to the tune of some millions to pointtheir guns the other way – the new approach has been reconciliation withcertain pockets of Taliban. But which former Taliban chieftains to take onboard and what to offer them, has only increased differences within thecoalition. First the Americans and Afghans pressured Pakistan into releas-ing high profile detainees, then the Americans flew a few to Qatar, and thenKarzai got upset over being kept in the dark about the Doha initiative, andthen the process unraveled. All the while, Washington refused to entertainKabul’s requests regarding Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo, evenafter the CIA cleared them of serious charges.

The lumping together of Taliban and al Qaeda is a throwback to thedays when George Tenet headed the CIA, from a little before till a littleafter 9/11. And while the Americans could be forgiven for confusing thetwo groups back then, adhering to the same thesis shows they expect theon ground narrative to fit their understanding of things, instead of the otherway around. This inflexibility has also led to sharp differences with Pak-istan, and harmed Islamabad’s counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy, whichhas focused on pitting militant groups against each other.

The Afghan Taliban, though subscribers to the same Wahabi extremismas al Qaeda, do not share the latter’s expansionism. Their “war with theWest” is limited to Afghanistan, and will last only so long as foreigners oc-cupy their country. The Americans still do not understand their wideningcleavage with al Qaeda, especially since the ‘foreigners’ expanded the the-atre of war into Pakistan and bankrolled the TTP. Mulla Omar forbade theTaliban from engaging with the Pakistani military. And the TTP, despitepublic allegiance to him, favour al Qaeda’s tactics.

The Pakistani intelligence realises that a post US withdrawal clash be-tween the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda is imminent, which is why it hasexploited differences in the two groups, and their proxies, to contain alQaeda advances in the tribal area. And the Americans, showing little appetiteto such developments, have targeted both camps with drone strikes. Someof their initiatives, like focusing exclusively on ‘good Taliban’ pockets bol-stered by Pakistan, indicate the CIA might even be deliberately sabotagingthe ISI efforts of five or more years. The only outcome can be stoking theinsurgency on the Pakistani side till at least the American drawdown.

More recently, the NYT’s report, and Karzai’s admission, of the CIAbringing “millions of dollars”, sometimes in plastic bags, to the Afghanpresidential palace, only confirms doubts that the Americans have beenwithout a workable strategy ever since they realised the limits of the mili-tary offensive. And since much of the money has gone to tribal chiefs aswell as Taliban commanders – as per Kabul’s own admission – the discon-nect between Washington’s stated goals and the ground reality has becomemore apparent.

This failure to really understand the war-on-terror enemy also led theAmericans into far worse adventures in the Middle East as it tried to takecontrol of the so called Arab Spring. Libya descended into Salafist chaosas soon as NATO strikes dislodged Gaddaffi, and Washington’s Gulf dar-lings spared little time in funneling jihadi armies into Syria as world focusshifted to Damascus. Again sticking to the old paradigm – that the old anti-Israel Iran-Syria axis is the biggest enemy – led the Americans to ignorethe jihadi threat, and it turned a blind eye to Saudi/Qatari initiative of usingreligious extremists to unseat the Alawite Baathist regime and weaken theirShi’a nemesis Iran.

The GCC and US/Israeli interests may have been aligned initially, butif the al Qaeda aligned al Nusra front is able to dislodge the Assad regime,Israel and America will have the most to lose, placing them in the samecamp as Iran. In one of modern geo-politics’ greatest ironies, the Israelisand their American friends will realise, as soon as petrodollar funded Salafirockets start landing in Tel Aviv and Tehran, that they have more in com-mon with the biggest regional enemy since the fall of the Shah’s peacockthrone than oil monarchies they have held so dear all these years.

In all the wars and ‘interventions’ since 9/11, the Americans and theirallies have left every country they have targeted worse off than before, beit Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya. And little will change if they decide to indulgemilitarily in Syria. And in all these adventures, they have failed to realisethat the biggest threat has come from al Qaeda fanatics, and those fanaticshave had their bread and butter, and their arms, come from the Saudi es-tablishment and its friends. Yet Washington continues to cajole Riyadh andits allies. It seems America does not understand who its real enemies are.

The writer is Middle East Correspondent, Pakistan Today, and can bereached at jafry.shahab@gmail.com

every country where the us has intervened has been worse off because of it

SOMETIMES perception is almostmore important than the reality. Thisis exactly the case in Pakistan’s po-litical minefield. Righteousness is

tearing apart our country and it does not seemto matter what the facts are. Everyone is en-titled to his or her own opinion, but not facts.Perception is created and twisted so effec-tively that if the facts do not coincide withperception, conspiracy theories are producedto correspond to it.

It is the function of all-powerful media torenew or reverse our perception. The mediapundits shake up the familiar situation, and,as if by magic, we see a new meaning init.Once the perception is built, nothing canundo it. Take for example Fakhruddin GEbrahim, the man in charge of the transitionof power in Pakistan. He has stainlessdecades of service to the nation, shining withhonesty and integrity. That is the general per-ception but let us take account of what theElection Commission of Pakistan (ECP) hasactually achieved under his auspicious lead-ership.

According to news reports, ECP has sim-ply failed to prevent 55 candidates from Pun-jab, belonging to 10 different sectariangroups, from contesting the general electionsdespite the fact that intelligence agencies hadwarned the ECP. After a 14-day period duringwhich the eligibility of nearly 25,000 candi-dates were examined under the criteria laiddown in articles 62 and 63 of the constitution,no one has been disqualified for tax evasion,non-filing of tax returns, defaulting on pay-ment of bank loans or for false declaration ofassets and liabilities. At least 35 former mem-bers of national and provincial assemblieswho failed to get their degrees verified fromHigher Education Commission (HEC) arerunning for May 11 elections.

The TTP is targeting the liberal partieslike PPP, ANP and MQM in election cam-paign. On the other hand, there are no threatsto other parties including PTI and PML-N.How can Fakhrudin G Ebrahim term theseelections as free and fair, since level playingfield is being negated to the three importantpolitical players?The only response fromECP on this alarming situation is nothing butdeafening silence.

Recently, I had a chance to interact withand observe the operations of ECP officials.

I was utterly surprised to see that, FarkhruBhai, as he is called among his close circles,is treated as merely a symbol of integrity andhis subordinates don’t even trust him to talkto the media. “He sometimes doesn’t knowwhat he is saying. We don’t want him tomake any factual errors while talking to themedia,” said an ECP official while denyingus the interview Fakhru Bhai had earlier cor-dially committed to give. After that, he wasnot even allowed to speak to us. It left meconsternated if the octogenarian electioncommissioner was even allowed to take hisown decisions or he was being manipulatedand is too weary to stand up for himself. Ipersonally feel he just wants the elections tobe held on time, by any means, so that he cango home triumphant.

The perception about him, however, isthat of an upright man, struggling to fix allills for ‘free and fair’ elections.

Talking about perception, one cannot ig-nore the myth of Chief Justice of Pakistan,Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s incorrupt-ible omnipotence. An epitome of justice andintegrity, as goes the perception, but a quickglance at the facts without going into the de-tails of the decisions taken in our national in-terest, reveals uncomfortable truths.

Iftikhar Chaudhry is an institution in him-self, literally. There has been no dissent inany major constitutional case in the pastyears. During the days of Lawyers’ Move-ment, courts have somehow assumed them-selves to be the representative of the people.Judicial activism has gone to an extent ofpopulism. Judges, along with media, haveformed a parallel establishment, sendingelected prime minister home while orderingthe arrest of another, as was done in the pastby the military dictators. The double stan-dards, exhibited during the Memogate caseand the way Arasalan Iftikhar case was dealtwith, is no secret. At one point, it was evendifficult for the media to defend the courts.According to a report by the US State Dept,‘every three out four terrorists are acquittedby the courts’. Judges have issued contemptnotices to the politicians for not obeying theirorders while keeping hush when the agenciesdid the same in missing persons’ case.

As for the perception, he is the messiah,the righteous one, the saviour.

The real test case of this curse of percep-tion is President Asif Ali Zardari. Nothinghas benefited media more than his notoriousimage, which was sold to the nation round the

clock, for five years. The stamp of Mr 10 per-cent is still wet on him and obviously, ac-cording to some, he had Benazir Bhuttomurdered so that he could become the presi-dent of Pakistan.

Contrary to the perception, his achieve-ments are historic and unprecedented. Fromthe passing of 18th amendment bill and giv-ing away of his powers to the parliament tothe first ever completion of the democraticgovernment’s tenure, Zardari has made his-tory while others have merely made head-lines.

His smart handling of party and state af-fairs during the ongoing judicial activism,smear campaign by the media, pressure fromthe military and other political opponents,natural calamities and the pugnacious waveof terrorism in the country have visibly un-nerved and frustrated the harbingers of hisdoom.

There is a lot of hullabaloo about corrup-tion but even a journalist like Ansar Abbasior Kamran Khan cannot point out one corrup-tion scandal that involves presidency. Creditmust also be given to his nerves for listeningto such callous criticism against him and re-maining neutral and dignified.

Other than that, his sharp focus on for-eign policy has set Pakistan’s position righton the international front. Our relations withUK and US are excellent, so are our ties withChina. We have achieved much access intoEU and its markets. We are back in the Com-monwealth and playing a positive role. Wehave no disputes with the Muslim world.Gwadar port agreement and Pak-Iran gaspipeline projects will go down in the historyas a turning point for our economy and re-gional stability. Let us also not forget the im-mense pressure from the US government tohalt this deal. Zardari’s most laudableachievement is a gradual shift in the relation-ship between India and Pakistan and a policyshift in the strategic depth doctrine inAfghanistan.

Although, the above-mentioned and sev-eral other steps are not popular amongmasses and media, the fact remains thatZardari has proven himself to be a successfuland visionary statesman. But then again, asGustave Flaubert once said, “There’s no truthin the world. There is only perception”.

The author is a senior producer in a newschannel and can be reached on twitter@zeekhan

CoMMeNT CThursday, 2 May, 2013

11First and last, what is demanded

of genius is love of truth. –

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

the curse of perceptionHow perception trumps facts at any given time

america doesn’t knowits real enemies

ZEESHAN KHAN

SHAHAb JAFRy

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:37 AM Page 11

NEWS DESK

Tom Hanks was the big name on the nom-inations list Tuesday for this year's TonyAwards, but the musicals "Kinky Boots"and "Matilda" were vying for the heaviest

haul of gongs. Hanks, betterknown for his work in

Hollywood, shone in"Lucky Guy," a NoraEphron play about theups and downs of con-troversial New Yorkjournalist Mike

McAlary. Hanks is up forthe best per-

formance byan actor ina leadingrole in ap l a y ."LuckyG u y "is alsolistedf o r

best play and four other categories, whilethe revival of "Golden Boy" surpassed thatwith eight nominations.

But the main rivalry at this year'sTonys could be between "Kinky Boots,"with 13 nominations, including best musi-cal and best director, and "Matilda," theadaptation of the beloved children's bookby Roald Dahl, with 12 nominations.

"Kinky Boots," based on a Britishmovie, tells the story of the unlikely rein-carnation of a near bankrupt shoe factory.Pop star Cyndi Lauper -- famous for hersong "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" --wrote the music and lyrics.

"Matilda," which recounts a supernat-urally gifted girl's determination to makesomething of her life, has enjoyed rave re-views and is produced by the RoyalShakespeare Company.The nominationslist snubbed some major stars, includingScarlett Johansson in "Cat on a Hot TinRoof" and Al Pacino in the intense real es-tate salesmen drama "Glengarry GlenRoss." The awards will be presented inNew York on June 9.

dePP, HeARdKEPT RELATIONSECRET FORPARADISNEWS DESK: Actor Johnny Depp's

relationship with Amber Heard had

begun immediately after his breakup

with girlfriend Vanessa Paradis, but they

kept mum about it. Depp and Paradis

ended their 14-year-long relationship in

June last year. But Heard didn't want to

go public about her relationship with

Depp because she found it unethical,

reports radaronline.com. "Johnny and

Amber began dating pretty soon after

he split with Vanessa. At first, Amber

was a little apprehensive, because she

didn't want to be seen as the mistress.

But Johnny won her over with his

generosity and he was constantly giving

her gifts," a source said. Depp and Heard

recently parted ways, but they have now

reconciled their relationship.

NEWS DESK

H OW popular are MicheleObama’s impeccably tonedarms? So popular that theAmerican Society of Plastic

Surgeons reports that upper-arm-liftprocedures in the United States (US)have increased from a modest 338 in2000 to nearly 15,500 in 2012, and sug-gests that one reason for the 4,473%change may stem from the First Lady’sphysique. According to the Los Ange-les Times: “The ASPS said that doctorsdidn’t point to a single reason for theincrease, but took note of poll data in-dicating that women ‘are paying closerattention to the arms of female celebri-ties’ including Jennifer Aniston, DemiMoore and Kelly Ripa. The most-ad-mired arms of all? Those of First LadyMichelle Obama.

Take that, Jennifer Aniston’s arms,which did not even muscle their wayinto this year’s White House Corre-spondents’ Dinner, where the First

Lady’s arms presided from thepodium. In other plastic-surgery news, Americansspent $11 billion on cos-metic procedures last yearalone. The most popularsurgery remains breastaugmentation, with around286,000 procedures con-ducted in the US last year—unsurprisingly, concentratedmostly in the region of theUS containing the city ofLos Angeles. Meanwhile,the northeastern US (in-cluding New York City)edged out all other regionswhen it came to rhinoplastyand the aforementioned upper-arm lifts. Readers interested inexploring the latter proce-dure—which involves an in-cision from the armpit to theelbow, usually along theback of the arm, to removeexcess skin—must be

warned, though. Theupper-arm lift, offi-

cially titled “bra-c h i o p l a s t y , ”leaves an un-sightly scarthough, whichwill not lookso fierce in allsleeveless out-fits one plansto wear postsurgery.

ARTS

AThursday, 2 May, 2013

12The heart's memory eliminatesthe bad and magnifies the good.–Gabriel Garcia Marquez

KRISTEN STEWART CROWNEDWORLD’S BEST-DRESSED WOMAN

Michelle’s arms inspire4,000% rise in tricep-centric plastic surgery

10 besT-dRessedwoMeN of 2013:1. Kristen Stewart2. Emma Watson3. The Duchess ofCambridge4. Emma Stone5. Taylor Swift6. Victoria Beckham7. Cheryl Cole8. Blake Lively9. Katy Perry10. Beyonce

NEWS DESK: Kristen

Stewart beat competition

from Emma Watson, the

Duchess of Cambridge

and Victoria Beckham to

be named Glamour

Magazine's world's best-

dressed woman for the

second year running.

The 23-year-old actress

was praised for her

"personal rock-chick

style." The 'Twilight' star

also picked up the

honour of being named

in the best-dressed

couple list with boyfriend

Robert Pattinson who

was named best-dressed

man, the Mirror

reported. Watson kept

her second spot from

last year while Duchess

Kate was bumped up

one place on the list

from last year's fourth

place. The 31-year-old

royal was honoured for

"taking maternity chic in

her nude-pump-adorned

stride." The final two

places in the top five

were taken by Emma

Stone and Taylor Swift.

Victoria Beckham, Cheryl

Cole and Beyonce were

the other who made it to

the top 10.

Tom Hanks, ‘Kinky’musical up for Tonys

iron Man 3 Getsrecord openinGat internationalBox oFFice

NEWS DESK: The Rentrak institute

announced that the third installment of the

Iron Man franchise generated a whopping

$195.3million worldwide during its opening

weekend. While North American fans will

have to wait another week to see the film,

the debut of Iron Man 3 (outside North

America) ranks as theninth biggest of all

time, bumping down Harry Potter and the

Order of the Phoenix ($193 million),

according to figures published on April 28.

And Tom Cruise has become Iron Man's

first victim. His film Oblivion takes the box

office's second spot with $30.24 million in

international revenues. Joseph Kosinski's

sci-fi adventure has now generated

$263.53M worldwide since its release.

srK heads tolondon in JUne ForeiGhth sUrGeryNEWS DESK: After much delay and pro-

longed pain, it has finally been decided that

Shah Rukh Khan will go under the knife for

his shoulder pain in London in June. The sur-

gery that had been postponed for the com-

pletion of his shoot for Chennai Express will

be his eighth, reported Bollywood Life,

adding that his IPL team Kolkata Knight Rid-

ers needed him as well which was another

reason for the delay.

Apparently, the ac-

cident-prone

Khan has also

suffered in-

juries like three

broken ribs, a

twisted ankle, a

broken right toe, an

injury to his left

shoulder, a neck in-

jury, a broken back

bone and an injured left

knee in the past.

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:38 AM Page 12

COuRTESy TOI

g ULZAR sahab's recent visit to Pak-istan turned into a national contro-versy even though, in reality, it was

a visit that was extremely personal andemotional. Born in Dina 78 years ago, hevisited his native place for the first time 70years later.

Being an Urdu poet himself, he hadkept in touch with many writers and poetsfrom Pakistan and would often meet themoutside India. Pakistani director and friendHasan Zia invited him for the ‘Aman KiAsha’ Literary Festival at Karachi and hewas only too happy to accept the invita-tion. Vishal Bhardwaj, who he also con-siders his son, went along as he wanted torecord a qawaali with Pakistani qawaalsfor his upcoming film. The artists were notbeing allowed to come to India, so Gulzarfelt that their work should be representedin our films. It was decided that theywould record the song in Lahore, then visitDina and finally go to Karachi for the lit-erary festival. There were many storiescirculated on him cutting short his visitand returning to India, but Gulzar sahabnever spoke. Hear is what he has to sayabout it now.Sir, could you share details of what ac-tually happened during your visit toPakistan in February this year?

I left Pakistan with my father at theage of eight. During these 70 years, I hadflown to Lahore only once, earlier in 2004on an emergency visa for four days tomeet my mentor Ahmed Nadeem Qasmisahab to see him in hospital as he had suf-fered a heart attack. But going to Dina, mybirth place, was a desire I held for a longtime. I had felt like going there many atimes, but did not want to wash away theimages in which I had lived and alwaysfeared that just like other cities of theworld, there would be changes even there.

I am 78 and I knew that this would proba-bly be my last chance and I may not beable to go there again. Doing that wouldcomplete the circle for me.

I wanted to cross the Wagah border onfoot. Walking on that soil I felt like I waswalking to my homeland, my birthplace.The feeling was extremely intimate. In-stinctively, as soon as I reached the Pak-istan border, I took off my mojaris (shoes)and wanted to put my feet on the soil.

It might sound childish, but I wantedto feel the ground. My friend Hasan Ziahad come to receive us from Pakistan andwe could see him waving at us, while ourpassports were being checked. With themwe first went to Lahore, where Vishal andI recorded over two nights.

During daytime, we visited the streetsof Lahore, but I realised that being who Iam, it had become impossible for me tojust walk across the street and have abutta with a common man. While peoplethere love me, I was always crowdedaround by friends and their relatives, whohad come from all over to just meet me. Iwas always around people and that starteddisturbing me. I was lonely inside, but Icould not explain that to anybody. Iwanted to just have some ‘channas’ andask the cobbler “ki mere jute ka naap zaratheek kar dein”. I wanted to get my shoes

polished, but was not being allowed andfelt the suffocation till I decided that wewould go to Dina the next day.

It was a five-hour journey to Jhelumand we set out in two cars. Vishal andRekha were in the other car and Hasan Ziaand a poet friend were in my car. I enjoyedthe landscape of Pakistan and stopped enroute to finally have kelas. People in Pak-istan show their love to you through foodand our car dickey was filled with all kindsof non-vegetarian eatables. Honestly, ‘itnijagah hoti nahi jitna woh khilate hain’.

My friends had a lot to talk about, butI just wanted them to not talk and let mebe on my own. I had not seen so manyUrdu signboards in my entire life andwanted to read each of them on the way. Iwas silently sitting in the car and readingand reading and had never read so muchUrdu in one day. We reached Jhelum andfrom there, Dina station.

It was exactly the way I had left it 70years ago, except for one small brick roomnow built for women. Next to the station,there were open fields looking at whichbrought back many memories. I remem-bered one parting from my father when heused to go to Pahar Ganj in Delhi to bring“sauda” for his hatti (shop). I wanted to gowith him, but four people were holding meback and I could see just his figure stand-ing in the train and going away. WheneverI would hear the whistle of the train or seethe train, I would go to the station and waitfor him. Thinking about it, I started gettingmore and more choked. As it is, peoplearound me were all talking and I was notgetting a chance to be alone. I only wantedsilence. It was difficult for me to explainto my kind hosts, who had prepared foodfor me, that I had no appetite and wouldnot be able to swallow anything. I tookwater a few times. It was close to sunsetand I wanted to visit the main bazaar,where we had lived. It used to be on a

straight road from the station. To my sur-prise, I found that the main bazaar hadbeen left untouched and a new bazaar hadcome up on an adjacent road. Both thebazaars meet at Daata Chowk, where weparked our cars and started walking intothe old bazaar. Everything came alive. Iwas walking ahead of everyone and couldstraightaway, without help, reach the galliwhere we lived. Except a few windowshere and there, everything was the same.People knew that I was coming and theyall surrounded me. A few shopkeepersrecognised me and started talking aboutmy family — my sister, older brother,even my “mamu”.

Then suddenly one of them asked meabout Allahditta. My father had a lot ofMuslim friends and he had brought up oneof the sons of his friends his own, Al-lahditta. I told them how I had lost touchwith him after he went to Karachi manyyears back and now owned a textile millthere. They remembered small details ofhow my brother's then father-in-lawMakhan Singh Kale Wale shared his namewith my father's name, Makhan SinghKurlan Wale. Then he said to me, 'Your fa-ther used to collect Rs 5 rent from me. Youmy landlord has come now, so take themoney from me'. I cried and just held hishand and sat down with him. Then wewent to my school, where they were wait-ing for me. It used to be a primary schoolwhen I was there with just two blocks. Ithas now become a high school with thethird block named 'Gulzar Kalra block'. Ibecame too emotional.

On the way back, I wanted to go toKurlan, a mile away from Dina, where myfather was born, but it was getting darkand Hasan Zia could see my condition andadvised me to not go ahead and go backto Lahore with Vishal and Rekha in mycar. He could understand what I wasgoing through as I was wiping my nose

again and again. It is only when we weremidway on the highway that we stoppedby at Lala Musa where I had memories ofeating Mia ki dal from a famous shopthere. I knew I had kept everybody hun-gry with me. It was dark by the time wereturned to Lahore.

Now, it was time to go back to ourrecording, but I realised that even with theqawaals singing in the background, I wastotally alone. People say you feel happyvisiting your childhood. I don't think so.There is something nice, but sad about it.I was feeling unwell and Vishal realisedit first. He said let's pack up. I did notwant to be admitted in the hospital thereand at such times you want to be back tothe place where you know the medicalset-up. Vishal held my hand and said,'Let's not go to Karachi Gulzar sahab'.There was a lot of responsibility on HasanZia's head who had come to Lahore onlyto accompany me to the Karachi literaryfestival but I am grateful to him for hisunderstanding. Vishal and I decided tocome back to Mumbai and not talk aboutit much to avoid it becoming a contro-versy. But by the time we reached Amrit-sar, everyone knew and it had become justthat — a controversy.Tell us about your father?

My father called me Punni and was atextile trader with an establishment, bothin Dina and in Delhi. And that's why Inamed my daughter Bosky as that is thename of a famous Chinese silk. We leftPakistan just before Partition. Unlike mybrother who was well educated at that timeand was amongst the first graduates in my‘biradari’, my father was not too hopefulabout what I would do and that still dis-turbs me. When my father died in 1960, Iwas assisting Bimalda (Bimal Roy) inMumbai. I had not been informed but re-ceived a postcard five days later after hedied, informing me about his death.

NEWS DESK

Sarah Jessica Parker may be a wife, mom of three, actress, and

producer, but she does it all without a cell phone! The star of "I Don't

Know How She Does It" opened up to E! News on Tuesday about her

reason for cutting the portable device out of her life. "I don't like

being behind in both phone calls and emails," she said. "So I chose

emails because when you're on a set you can carefully and sneakily

check a Blackberry, but you can't return a phone call. Hearing 'Your

voicemail is full' is horrifying to me." It looks like the 48-year-old is

just like her "Sex and the City" character, Carrie Bradshaw, who

famously went cell phone-free. But while mama Parker has rid her life

of the mobile phone, her tiny tots are starting to picking up the

technology! SJP's 3-year-old twins, Tabitha and Marion, were

photographed on Monday talking into their toy cell phones while

strolling the streets of New York City.

13ARTsThursday, 2 May, 2013

A

Better a witty fool than a foolish

wit. –William Shakespeare

tHis woulD probably be my last cHance to visit pakistan: gulzar

NEWS DESK

N EIL Patrick Harris is the epitomeof a true Renaissance man. He's abig TV star, Broadway singer anddancer, serious magician, and even

serves as the voice of a Disney theme parkride. This week, Harris showed he may have alittle interest in detective work (and pipesmoking) when he launched his new Instagramaccount with an inaugural photo of himselfdressed up in an elaborate Sherlock Holmescostume. And he pulled out all the stops, ac-cessorising with a houndstooth cape, matchinghat, magnifying glass, and, of course that sig-nature pipe. Fiancé David Burtka played Wat-son to his beau's Holmes, donning a newsboycap, bowtie, fake mustache, eyeglasses andholding a cup of tea. And there was a good rea-

son for the costumes: "At our great friends,Becky Baeling & Kris Lythgoe's murder mys-tery wedding," he captioned the pic. "Thegame, as they say, is afoot." Harris already hasa whopping 5.7 million Twitter followerskeeping tabs on his witty observations and funpictures, so it was only a matter of time beforethe 39-year-old took the next social mediastep. So far, 48,000 fans have begun followingthe "How I Met Your Mother" star on Insta-gram, but he's starting out slow.

Since opening an account (username: In-stagranph), the actor has only put up three pic-tures including the Sherlock Homes shot, andan adorable picture of his and Burtka's 2-year-old twins Harper and Gideon, who look as ifthey've stepped straight out of a magazine adin matching leather jackets (his is blue, hers istan), rain boots, and little jeans.

NEWS DESK: Woody Allen is

returning to France for his next

film and bringing Colin Firth and

Emma Stone along as its stars.

Producers Letty Aronson and

Stephen Tenenbaum announced

Tuesday that Allen is set to start

shooting his untitled new

comedy this summer. This is the

writer-director's second time

filming in France and his eighth

film set in Europe. Allen will

reunite with the

cinematographer, production

designer and costume designer

he worked with on some his

previous European productions.

Allen's latest movie, "Blue

Jasmine," is to be released in

July. It stars Cate Blanchett and

Alec Baldwin.

WOODY ALLENCASTS STARSCOLIN FIRTH,EMMA STONE

see Neil PatrickHarris as sherlock

WHY SARAH JESSICAPARKER DOESN’TOWN A CELL PHONE

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:38 AM Page 13

INFOTAINMENT

IThursday, 2 May, 2013

14 Every day sees humanity more

victorious in the struggle with space

and time. — Guglielmo Marconi

While researchers are continuously debating and fine-tuning their advice, they agree that exposure to light isone of the most effective ways to combat jet lag.

“But the rules for when you should seek out or avoidlight are complicated and depend on whether you traveleast or west and how many time zones you are crossing,”said Russell Foster, head of Oxford University’s NuffieldLaboratory of Ophthalmology and one of the world’sleading experts on jet lag.

Sunlight activates the pineal gland, which triggers aphysical process that winds up and sets your body’s in-ternal clock, while darkness encourages your body tosleep by lowering your temperature and sending mela-tonin, a natural sleep-inducing hormone, into the blood-stream.

But obeying signals from sunlight and darkness –which are key to resetting the body’s internal clock – canbe difficult when you’re flying cross-country or halfwayacross the world. Thankfully, two websites offer step-by-step, personalised help for combating jet lag. Using yourflight itinerary, each site provides a suggested sleepschedule based on how many time zones you’ll cross andwhich direction you’ll be travelling.

Jet Lag Rooster is an online calculator that employssimilar guidelines to those used at academic institutions

such as the Mayo Center for Sleep Medicine in Min-nesota and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.Type in your itinerary and the site will give you an hour-by-hour breakdown of when to sleep and when to go out-side and seek sunlight.

For example, on an Atlanta to Moscow itinerarywhere a passenger lands at 10 am, Jet Lag Rooster ad-vises a schedule of doing the best you can that first dayand night (without specifying particular hours) and then,on the following day, avoid light after 11 am. The nextday, it recommends you begin to avoid light a little later

– after 12:30 pm – and on the day after that, it suggestsyou begin to avoid light after 2 pm.

The reasoning behind this advice is that the averageperson can only adjust their internal clock by an incre-mental amount of 60 to 90 minutes a day. Jet Lag Roosterencourages travellers to pace themselves accordingly,which means it may take a person travelling between At-lanta and Moscow about seven to 10 days to shift theirbody clock the necessary 10 hours.

British Airways also created an online jet lag fightingcalculator, where the advice is based on research by ChrisIdzikowski, director of the sleep assessment and advisoryservice at Edinburgh Sleep Centre. The science behindthe site’s conclusions is the same as Jet Lag Rooster’s,but the tool condenses the advice to a few sentences,rather than give an hour-by-hour breakdown.

It’s important to note that when scientists say youshould seek out “light”, they mean ideally being outdoorsfor up to half an hour. Outdoor light is always better thanindoor light. Even an overcast spring day in say, Reyk-javik, will provide enough light to reset a body clock,compared with sitting indoors, which won’t. On the flipside, avoiding light can entail wearing sunglasses or stay-ing indoors.

Special light boxes, or flat lamps that simulate naturalwhite light with a blue tint, are also effective, noted Fos-ter, who has been consulting with Delta on the feasibilityof introducing such lights into airport lounges. However,there is no word yet from the airline on whether it willput the concept into practice.NEWS DESK

tALK about cutting-edge sci-ence. A new study conductedby researchers in Australiashows that women prefer menwith heavy stubble over clean-

shaven guys and guys sporting lightstubble or full beards.

And what sort of men's facial hair dostraight guys think is preferable amongtheir peers? In the study, published in theMay issue of the journal Evolution &Human Behavior, full beards and heavystubble edged out light stubble and theclean-shaven look.

For their research, University of NewSouth Wales professors Barnaby J. Dixsonand Rob C. Brooks presented photos of 10smiling men to 177 heterosexual men and 351women, according to Medicalxpress. Eachman in the photos was shown in four ways --clean-shaven, with five days of beard growth(light stubble), 10 days of growth (heavy stub-ble), and with a full beard. The researchersthen asked the women and men to rate themen in the photos according to their attrac-tiveness, finding heavy stubble to be theclear winner among women.

What explains the hankering forheavy stubble?

"Our findings confirm that beardednessaffects judgments of male socio-sexual at-tributes and suggest that an intermediatelevel of beardedness is most attractivewhile full-bearded men may be perceivedas better fathers who could protect and in-vest in offspring," the researchers con-cluded in the abstract of their study.

Dixson and Brooks hypothesize that

facial hair makes men seem more matureand masculine but also more dominant andaggressive, the website of the Australiaedition of Men's Health reported. "Men,judging other men, might be sensitive tothe overall level of masculine threat andaggression signaled through full beards,"the researchers wrote, according to thewebsite. "Women, by contrast, may bal-

ance...a competitive masculine partneragainst the costs of mating with a too-mas-culine partner." As to why light stubbleloses out to heavy stubble, the researchersbelieve that there's "a threshold of densityand distribution may be necessary forbeards to function as an attractive signal,"Science magazine reported. In otherwords, it's just too patchy. NEWS DESK

nasa spots colossalsaturn hurricane

The hurricane roiling around Saturn's

north pole looks a lot like a hurricane

on Earth—except much, much bigger.

Its eye is about 20 times bigger than

Earth standards at 1,250 miles wide,

and the storm is also more powerful,

with winds as high as 330mph. A NASA

probe caught pictures and video of the

hurricane, giving us our most detailed

look yet, Space.com reports. "We did a

double take when we saw this vortex

because it looks so much like a

hurricane on Earth," says an imaging

team member. Rather than drifting

northward as Earth hurricanes tend to,

this one has been going on at Saturn's

north pole since at least 2004. Another

interesting point: It's "somehow getting

by on the small amounts of water vapor

in Saturn's hydrogen atmosphere," the

imaging team member notes. NEWS DESK

Beard study shows heavy stubble makesmen especially attractive to women

Boston victims getfree prosthetics

People who lost limbs in the Boston

Marathon bombing don't need to worry

about paying for prosthetics if they aren't

covered by insurance, an industry group

has pledged. The American Orthotic and

Prosthetic Association has promised to

supply prosthetics and initial services for

the estimated 20 to 25 victims who

underwent amputations after the blasts,

including a 10-year-old boy and two

victims who lost both legs, Reuters

reports. "We want to ensure that, in the

midst of this horrific tragedy, these

individuals are not further traumatized

by the harsh and unreasonable limits

that are present in all too many health

insurance policies," says a spokesman for

the AOPA, which notes that while a

prosthetic limb can cost anywhere from

$8,000 to $60,000, many insurance

policies cap payouts at $2,500 or

$5,000, USA Today reports. NEWS DESK

Mathematicianfinally crackspoW's coded letters

British soldier John Pryor sent letters

home to his family from a Nazi POW

camp for five years during World War II.

Seventy years later, they finally know

what he actually wrote. A mathematician

at Plymouth University has deciphered

the coded messages hidden inside the

innocuous-looking letters for the first

time since the war, revealing Pryor was

really asking for items to help him

escape and reporting details of German

military targets, the BBC reports. The

BBC explains that the code, which Pryor

would have learned from British secret

agents, involved taking the first letters of

each word, translating those letters to

numbers, and then translating the

numbers back to letters. Deciphered, this

sentence—"A few weeks ago we

arranged a rather useful scheme, so men

could get 'lager'"—reads "MAPS." The

letters would have been deciphered at

the time by British intelligence, but were

then passed on to the family in their

original form. NEWS DESK

Online calculators combat jet lag

A baby girl was abandoned and found crying in thesand at a Hawaii beach soon after she was born,human services officials said Monday.

The full-term, 8-pound newbornwas "abandoned immediately afterbirth," state Department ofHuman Services Director Patri-cia McManaman said.

A woman parked at SandyBeach in east Honolulusometime between 11 p.m.Sunday and midnight heardseveral people screaming,police spokeswomanMichelle Yu said. A fewminutes later the screamingstopped and the womanheard a baby crying.

She walked toward theocean and saw an infant onthe sand. The woman took thebaby to a hospital. Police areinvestigating the case as endan-gering the welfare of a minor andchild abandonment. The baby, whohad been found naked, was doing welland drinking formula at the Queen's MedicalCenter, McManaman said. "We're just very grate-

ful this child is alive and doing well," she said. Ifno one comes forward to claim the child, the

Department of Human Services will filea petition this week with family

court, asking for custody. A hear-ing will be held by Monday. If

no family is identified, thestate will ask the court for

permission to release aphoto of the infant onMonday, McManamansaid.

In 2007, Hawaiibecame the 48th statewith a baby safe havenlaw, said state Rep.John Mizuno. The lawprovides immunity

from prosecution forleaving an unharmed

newborn within 72 hoursof birth at a fire department,

police station or hospital orwith emergency services.

No one has taken advantage ofthe law since it was enacted, Mc-

Manaman said. The baby safe haven hot-line is 800-494-3991. NEWS DESK

Baby found at sandy beach in honolulu

iBM makes world'ssmallest movie

The star of this movie was ready for its

close-up—so ready it was magnified 100

million times. A Boy And His Atom is

officially the world's smallest film, created

by IBM by manipulating thousands of

carbon monoxide molecules into an

animated stop-motion short, reports the

Telegraph. The film, which features a boy

playing with an atom, was shot under a

two-ton scanning tunneling microscope

at -450 degrees, using an extremely

sharp needle to manually move each

atom one by one for 250 frames, reports

Mashable. NEWS DESK

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:38 AM Page 14

sPoRTs

SThursday, 2 May, 2013

15At the moment we have the fast bowling resources to cope with James’injury and it will be great to get him back fully fit for when Steven Finndeparts for England duty — Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

PAKISTAN’S discardedall rounder Shahid Afridihas vowed to make acomeback to Pakistan’sone-day squad, claiming

that he is “better than most”. He was dropped from the side for

the upcoming tours of Scotland, Irelandand England for the Champions Trophyin June, along with batsman UmarAkmal and fast bowler Sohail Tanvir.

“The decision to drop me from theside is taken by the captain (Misbah-ul-Haq),” Afridi reported to have said.

“It isn’t a big thing if the captaindoes not want a player but in cricket,being in and out is a one-off thing. Ithappens and I will soon come back.

“I am still better than most. I knowI have ample cricket left in me and Ican represent Pakistan for the next fewyears. Players usually get dropped but

I appeal to my fans to pray forme.”

Afridi, 33, had beendropped fromPakistan’s squad forthe ODI series inIndia in December2012, but waschosen for the tripto South Africabecause of hisskill as alegspinner. Hefailed to take awicket in 37 overs,though, and scored126 runs in fourinnings with a high scoreof 88. Since the start of2012, Afridi’s taken only 15wickets in 21 ODIs, and five of thosecame in one game against Afghanistan.His batting average during this periodwas 19. He managed to score only 70runs and take three wickets in four

matches for his domestic sidelast month.

“I have beentraining for the

England tour. Iwant to insistonce again thatI will walkaway beforebeing a burdenon the side butfor a while Iunderstand I

have to workhard to come

back,” said Afridi.However,

Afridi could beplaying Twenty20 games

for Hampshire this season.Due to visa issues, he was forced tomiss the T20 matches for the countylast year. In 2011, he had a successfulstint with the county, taking 17 wicketsin 10 matches at 11.17.

discarded afridi vowsto make comeback

MuMBAI

AGENCIES

Mitchell Marsh will return to Australian dutyfor the first time in more than a year afterbeing named in the squad for the ChampionsTrophy ODI tournament that precedes theAshes in England.

Marsh was named in Australia’s 15-mansquad alongside the uncapped fast bowlerNathan Coulter-Nile, while the leader of thenational Twenty20 side, George Bailey, wasnamed vice-captain to Michael Clarke.

The inclusion of Marsh, 21, follows ayear in which he was sent home from theCentre of Excellence in Brisbane and thendisciplined further for his part in the PerthScorchers’ Champions Trophymisadventures, but a handful of stormingdomestic limited-overs displays for WesternAustralia earned him his place. Marsh playedfive Ryobi Cup games last summer for 278runs at 69.50, including his maiden century.

The Warriors narrowly missed the finaldespite that innings, 104 from 96 balls againstTasmania at the WACA, which also followeda hamstring injury that cruelled a significantportion of Marsh’s summer. Marsh, whosemost recent international was a T20 inFebruary 2012, played his lone ODI in SouthAfrica in late 2011. He has largely flattered todeceive in first-class matches thus far, but itis in 50-over fixtures that he has been mostconsistent, averaging 39.90 with the bat and24.85 with the ball across 27 matches.

“We all know what a talented battingallrounder he is,” John Inverarity, the nationalselector, said of Marsh, “and we look to himto fulfil the faith we have in him because he’sa very talented cricketer.”

Marsh will be joined in the squad by hisstate team-mate Coulter-Nile, who made hisT20 international debut during the summerbut is yet to play an ODI. Coulter-Nile, 25,was second only to Kane Richardson on theRyobi Cup wicket tally last season with 16victims at 23.18, and Inverarityalso described him as “one ofthe three or four bestfieldsmen in Australia”.

“Nathan Coulter-Nile is anemerging cricketer as a fast-medium bowler and explosivelower-order batsman,” Inveraritysaid. “He is also one of the finestfieldsmen in Australian cricket andthe energy he brings to his gameis impressive. While Nathan hasplayed a T20 International forAustralia, we are looking forward toseeing him take his very gooddomestic limited overs form ontothe world stage.” The remainderof the Champions Trophy squadwas largely as expected. Theexperienced batsman AdamVoges was included following his maidenODI century against West Indies at the MCG,while Bailey was preferred to Matthew Wadeas vice-captain.

“That was discussed,” Inverarity said ofWade as a potential vice-captain, “but wewent with George last [summer] and hecaptained three of the ODIs and two victoriesthere, and as T20 captain he’s had captaincyexperience and isvery highlyregarded bythe players.”

KALLIS, DUMINY MAKE CHAMPIONS TROPHY TEAM JOHANNESBURG: Jacques Kallis will make a return to South Africa’s one-day

squad for the Champions Trophy, which is due be announced in Cape Town on

Thursday. The final 15 will also see a return to action for JP Duminy, who has not

played competitively since last September. Duminy has spent the last six months

recovering from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon which he sustained on the first day of

the first Test against Australia in Brisbane last November. He was named in the XI

but was injured before he could take any part in the fixture. As of last

Wednesday, he was sprinting at 80%, batting unrestricted and was due to start

bowling at full capacity this week. “We are exercising extreme caution because of

the sensitive nature of the injury but we remain cautiously optimistic of his

speedy return to action,” Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager

who is also a medical doctor, said. South Africa’s other injury concern, Faf du

Plessis, has also made a full recovery in time for the tournament. Du Plessis

missed the last two matches of South Africa’s March ODI series against Pakistan

with lower-back trouble. The niggle meant he was unable to bowl throughout the

series and it eventually became too painful for him to bat as well. He underwent

a six-week rehabilitation program and left for the IPL last week, where he has

joined up with the Chennai Super Kings. Although du Plessis has not played a

game yet, he is available to make his return imminently. As much as both his and

Duminy’s returns have been eagerly anticipated, it’s the inclusion of Kallis that

will lift South Africa’s hopes as they aim to claim major tournament silverware for

the first time since 1998 when they won this tournament in Dhaka. South Africa’s

30-man preliminary squad: AB de Villiers, Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien,

Henry Davids, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean

Elgar, Imran Tahir, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David

Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Justin Ontong, Robin Peterson, Wayne Parnell, Aaron

Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Rusty Theron,

Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe, Vaughn van Jaarsveld South Africa squad

(probable): AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis,

Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, Rory Kleinveldt, David Miller, Morne Morkel,

Robin Peterson, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. AGENCIES

Mitchell Marsh recalled for Champions Trophy

Format changes,complacency hurtBailey’s ashes hopes

LONDON

AGENCIES

George Bailey has conceded that hestruggled with constantly changing formatslast summer, which contributed to his leastproductive Sheffield Shield campaign sincehis maiden season in 2004-05. Theinternational retirements of Ricky Pontingand Michael Hussey in the middle of 2012-13 left the selectors looking to Shield formto find batsmen for the Test tour of Indiaand the Ashes, but Bailey managed only256 runs at 18.28 in Tasmania’s successfulcampaign. A schedule packed with ODIs,Twenty20 internationals, Ryobi Cupmatches, Big Bash League and SheffieldShield cricket meant that from August lastyear until the Shield final in March, Baileyhad to switch between formats 18 times.That is cricket’s equivalent of constant jet-lag, and even for a mature player likeBailey, that proved too great a challenge. Itwas his four-day cricket that suffered: hescored only one half-century in his eightShield matches. “I struggled at differenttimes with switching back through theformats,” Bailey said of his 2012-13 season.“That’s not an excuse, because I think everymodern-day cricketer has to make thosechanges pretty regularly, but I just didn’tadjust to it very well. I certainly felt like Iwas going into Shield games with a one-dayor Twenty20 mentality. It was certainly nota conscious thing, but just not having theawareness and ability to work out how tobuild your innings.” It was a blow to theTest aspirations of Bailey, who is highlyregarded by John Inverarity’s selectionpanel and was on Wednesday namedMichael Clarke’s vice-captain in Australia’ssquad for the Champions Trophy.

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

There is never a dull moment with ShoaibAkhtar, be it bowling or in expressing hisviews about the game. Once the mostfearsome bowler, Akhtar has always lovedto take on challenges and wieldedquestions on the game and Pakistan withthe same ease with which he scaredbatsmen around the world with his paceand aggression, reported Gulf News.

In Dubai to launch the secondedition of the Sprite CricketStars’ programme, organised bythe Ministry of Labour, Akhtarsaid after interacting with thelabourers: “I was delighted tobe close with those who cameto watch me during myplaying days but did not haveaccess to me. I will shareeverything with them andhelp them to boost their talent.Labourers are those who built

today’s Dubai and I will be delighted if Ican contribute to their happiness.”

Akhtar’s remark stunnedeveryone as fans have onlyseen him as an aggressivecricketer. When asked if hehas undergone atransformation, Akhtarsaid: “You all have seen

me only on the field. Offthe field, I am a much calmer

person. I have retired now andhence you see the way I am.”

When asked whetherhe will roll his arm overand bowl a few oversduring the tournament,scheduled to beginfrom May 24 and to beplayed on all Fridays,Akhtar said in a lightervein: “I will bowlmore than a few oversfor the people who candare to face me.” The

final for the event is scheduled forSeptember 20 where he will come again togive the prizes. Pakistan’s new pacesensation Ahmad Jamal, who clocked 143kmph to win the Pakistan Cricket Board’s‘King of Pace’ competition had namedAkhtar as his inspiration. Commenting onit, Akhtar said: “I am happy to hear he isbowing at 143kmh. He should bowl evenfaster with the right kind of guidance.Anyone who wants my help I am ready tooffer. I am willing to help anyonevoluntarily. Jamal has potential and whathe need is moral support on how to handlepressure. I don’t want to take any job fromthe board to help cricketers. “I had spent21 years on the field as a player and do notwant to spend another 21 years more onthe field. I am ready to help any pacer, evenin Dubai or any part of the world. Jamalshould be helped mentally, physically andmorally. So I hope if Mohammad Aamircomes back and Mohammad Irfan’s legsget stronger then Pakistan will have one ofthe finest pace attack in the world.”

aussie battingcoachappointmentbaffles many

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The appointment of Trent Woodhill asbatting coach for next month’s ChampionsTrophy has been met with bafflement.Former greats are saying they had nevereven heard of the Australian. The PakistanCricket Board (PCB) on Mondayappointed the 42-year-old Woodhill forthree weeks after the team’s disastrousperformance with the bat on their recenttour of South Africa. Woodhill is currentlyassistant coach at Delhi Daredevils,second bottom in the Indian PremierLeague, and has had previous spells withNew Zealand and NSW. Former Testcaptain Hanif Mohammad, one ofPakistan’s all-time great batsman and formany years holder of the world-recordfirst class score of 499, was unimpressed.“Who is Woodhill?” he said. “I have heardhis name for the first time in my life. I amsurprised how the PCB chose him whenhis credentials are not known.” Inzamam-ul-Haq worked as batting consultant withthe team ahead of their tour to India inDecember-January but negotiations fellthrough in February. Inzamam-ul-Haqworked as batting consultant with the teamahead of their tour to India in December-January but negotiations with the 120-Testveteran fell through in February. Formerwicketkeeper and captain Rashid Latifalso claimed ignorance. “What can I sayabout a coach whose name I have notheard before?” said Latif. “Pakistan have abatting legend in Javed Miandad whoshould be helping the batsmen.” Miandad,Pakistan’s leading Test run-scorer with8,832, is currently a director general in thePCB. He will help the batsmen during atune-up camp in Abbottabad before theteam’s departure for Britain. Pakistan willplay warm-up games against Scotland andIreland before the eight-team ChampionsTrophy starts on June 6.

shoaib in dubai to start Cricket stars’ programme

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:39 AM Page 16

sPoRTs S

Thursday, 2 May, 2013

16We had a pretty good summer but in our post-

season reviews, the players all identified areas

where we needed to be better — Darren Lehmann

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

THE Pakistan TennisFederation will take therejection case of its DavisCup tie forfeiture to theInternational Tennis

Federation’s Board of Directors. Pakistan on Wednesday vowed to fight

on after the tennis world governing bodyrejected their appeal over their forfeitedDavis Cup tie against New Zealand.

The International Tennis Federation(ITF) upheld the decision to award thematch played in Yangon last month toNew Zealand because the court wasunplayable.

Pakistan were 1-0 up and leading inthe second match when Sri Lankan refereeAshita Ajigala stopped the match andawarded the tie to New Zealand, as thecourts were Pakistan’s responsibility.

The Asia Oceania group II tie wasshifted to Myanmar over security fears inPakistan.

The ITF’s Davis Cup committeerejected the appeal by the Pakistan TennisFederation (PTF) on Tuesday, but PTFPresident Kaleem Imam said the fight

would go on.“The ITF have said that the referee’s

decision was right but we will take theappeal to another forum and will fight onagainst the injustice done to us,” Imamsaid.

“If the referee had felt the courts were

not up to the mark, why did he start the tiein the first place?”

Announcing the appeal had beenrejected, the governing body said the PTFcould now take their case to the ITF boardof directors.

Pakistan was forced to shift the tie to

a neutral venue after the ITF declaredPakistan as unsafe and unsuitable for aninternational event.

Pakistan has been a no-go area forinternational sports teams since militantattacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team busin Lahore in March 2009.

DAVIS CUP TIE AGAINST NEW ZEALAND(

(

pakistan to fight appeal rejectiontHe internationaltennis feDerationupHelD tHe Decision toawarD tHe matcHplayeD in yangon lastmontH to new zealanDbecause tHe court wasunplayable

PuNE

AGENCIES

Pune Warriors legspinner RahulSharma said that instability in thebatting order has been one of themain reasons for the team’s poorperformance in IPL 2013.

“I think we are not clickingtogether,” Rahul told IPLT20.comafter Chennai Super Kings beatWarriors by 37 runs. “It is a new teamand the captain is also new. He iscaptaining well, making goodchanges while bowling but thebatting order is not getting set and themiddle order is collapsing.”

Sharma also conceded that theWarriors bowlers had given away toomany runs towards the end of theinnings, allowingSuper Kings to reach164 for 3 after theywere 103 for 3 in the16th over.

“Since we had agood batting wicket, theplan was to not give thebatsmen too much roombecause they do have alot of hard-hitters lowerdown like MS Dhoni,Dwayne Bravo, AlbieMorkel,” Sharma said.“We wanted to restrictthem to as less aspossible, like 140 or150, but thenaccording to me we gaveabout 20 runs more.”

Super Kings batsman SBadrinath credited the side’s sharpfielding for the win. “I think ourfielding was tremendous,” Badrinathsaid. “Suresh Raina and Albie Morkeleffected run outs. Whenever we havelooked for breaks, our fielding haspulled it up. I think that is a big pluswith our side. I don’t think you canfind any weak fielder on the ground

sothat

issomething

we work hard on aswell.”

Badrinath, who was involvedin a 75-run stand for the thirdwicket with Raina, said thebatsmen had a plan to steady theinnings before the big-hittingbatsmen took charge in the finalovers.

starc on road tofull fitness, hopesto gain pace

MELBOuRNE

AGENCIES

Mitchell Starc has declared the ankle operation thathe underwent five weeks ago such a good move thatit might help him gain pace when he returns tobowling this year. Starc has been named inAustralia’s squads for the Ashes and the ChampionsTrophy one-day tournament, which begins in earlyJune, and he is expected to be fit by then, afterhaving surgery on his left ankle following his earlydeparture from the Test tour of India in March. Starcplayed through pain in the third Test in Mohalibefore being sent home for the operation and he saidhe was already free of the discomfort that hadtroubled him before. Starc, 22, plays all threeformats for Australia and given his ability to swingthe ball, he is likely to be a key man in the Ashescampaign, hence Cricket Australia’s eagerness toensure he would not be carrying a niggle that couldhamper his productivity. “The spur on the insidedidn’t bother me much; that’s why we were talkingabout getting through hopefully 12 months [withoutsurgery],” Starc told reporters in Brisbane onWednesday. “But we’d found one on the outside thathad broken off, that was the one that bothered memost in India, and I didn’t know about that one untilI got back to Australia. That Test in Mohali it waspretty painful... so with the timeline that we neededto be right for the Ashes, we needed to come homeand get it done. “I’ve been back in the gym, doingmy fitness stuff for three weeks now, so I’m feelinggood. I’ve got more movement in my ankle nowthan I did after the first surgery three or four yearsago. It could work in my favour, maybe an extrayard or two of pace if I’m lucky.

captain must betransparent with theplayers: Ganguly

MuMBAI

AGENCIES

Leading a cricket team is no different from running afamily where the members would end up playing forthemselves if the captain loses their faith, feels formerIndia skipper Sourav Ganguly. “As a leader, if youwant a good team, you have to be transparent withyour players. The biggest quality of the leader is to getthe trust of his players,” Ganguly said at the ‘FedExMaster of Deliveries’ event where he discussedleadership with Australian great Adam Gilchrist inMumbai on Tuesday night. “We are in anenvironment where we drop people and as soon asyou are left out, as a player you have so manyquestions on your mind. It is easier to drop a personbut you have to speak to him. This is where youstand, this is where we feel you can go but we wantyou back in the squad and he goes back happy,” heexplained. “And when he comes back he knows theleader has kept his word, he delivers 100 per cent. Ifthat transparency or trust doesn’t generate, at somestage, in a team sport, you find players playing forthemselves. And that is when things start going down.You need to avoid getting in those situations,” hestressed. Elaborating on other challenges of captaincy,Ganguly said identifying and managing talent is nosmall task for a leader. Having people with differentpersonalities in the same dressing room can also be aproblem but Ganguly said “you need them to be whothey are”. “Like in families you have certain peoplegoing the other way, you have to deal with it. I thinkthat is where leadership comes into picture. You haveto handle every individual differently. With all duerespects, you had a Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh todeal with, who are completely different personalities,”the Kolkatan said.

batting collapses aconcern: sharma

SHARMA BACKS KULKARNI AFTERVICTORY OVER KINGS XIMUMBAI: Dhawal Kulkarni found himself in a strange place

on Monday night. Against Kings XI Punjab on Monday, with

17 needed to win, the Mumbai Indians bowler conceded 12

runs in an eight-ball final over, which included a wide and a

no-ball. Two nights before the match against Kings XI,

Kulkarni had bowled a match-winning, three-wicket spell at

the same venue, with the wickets of Tillekaratne Dilshan,

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to his name, but the manner in

which he bowled the final over against Kings XI turned from

a hero to its antithesis. Six deliveries in the eight-ball over -

and what should have been a nine-ball over when square-

leg umpire Asad Rauf failed to notice a full toss above waist

height - were full tosses. Such was the angst against

Kulkarni that a reporter asked Mumbai Indians captain Rohit

Sharma how “Dhawal Kulkarni did everything he could to

lose the match”. But Rohit stood firmly behind his team-

mate. “Dew takes a lot of things out of equation,” Rohit

said. “Spinners find it very hard to turn the ball.

Bowlers, in general, find it difficult to grip the ball. As

far as Dhawal is concerned, you can’t be so

aggressive. It’s just that

anybody can have a bad

game. You see the way

he bowled in the last

game. As I said, it’s not

easy with the dew. You’ve

got to give him some

time. AGENCIES

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:39 AM Page 17

sPoRTsS

Thursday, 2 May, 2013

17She is, without doubt, one of the all-time greats of

women’s tennis both nationally and internationally

— Peter Bretherton about Ann Jones

top seedBartoli oustedin estoril opener

ESTONIL

AGENCIES

Top seed Marion Bartoli bowed out of the OeirasOpen in Estoril in the first round after losing 0-6 6-14-6 to Shuai Peng.Bartoli, ranked 14 in the world, has now lost fivetimes in 11 meetings against her Chinese opponent,who held firm after two one-sided sets to set up ashowdown in round two against Romina Oprandi ofSwitzerland.The former Wimbledon finalist from France isscratching for form after three straight first-roundexits.“The first match on clay is always tough for me andobviously at the beginning I had a lot of troublefinding my game and my feet on the court,” saidBartoli afterwards.“I wasn’t feeling comfortable and Peng Shuai wasplaying extremely well as well. I just tried my hardeston the court and was able to play some good shots inthe second set.“It was a very difficult draw, but I think it is better forme to have those kind of matches early in the claycourt season and try to improve for the big eventscoming up.”

cricket center becomelrca champion

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

Cricket Center Club became the LRCA SpriteLahore League Champion on Wednesday. In the sprite Lahore League final Cricket Centerbeat Model Town Club in a one-sided match by 108runs and become the LRCA Sprite Lahore LeagueChampion. Former Chairman PCB Khalid Mahmood, DirectorDomestic Cricket PCB Zakir Khan, National SelectorAzhar Khan, Head Youth Development NCA HaroonRasheed and Coordinatiro Club Cricket PCB AzharHussain Zaidi distributed the prizes among the playersand officials. Umer Akmal named man of the match. Fahad ul Haq named best batsman of the tournament,M Ishtiaq best bowler, Amer Hamid best all rounder,Haris Nazar best fielder and Waqas Mushtaq namedbest wicket keeper of the tournamentSCORE: Cricket Center 283/10 in 45 overs. UmerAkmal 101 (66 balls), Adnan Akmal 74, Raza Ali Dar39, Mohsin Naveed 3/49, Kashif Iqbal 2/46,Salahuddin Ahmed 2/62.Model Town Club: 175/10 38.3 overs, Imam ul Haq75, Ashraf Ali 31, Haroon Rasheed 27, M Salman3/47, Raza Ali Dar 3/23.

LONDON

AGENCIES

FOR Rafael Nadal to bridge a 7,000-point gapwith Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankingslooks like a tall order, even for a player ofhis qualities, yet he could still threaten theSerb’s hopes of ending 2013 as world No.1.

With the French Open looming large on thehorizon, Nadal is back in the claycourt groove as hecontinues his comeback from a knee injury thatsidelined him for seven months.

The Spaniard has won four titles in six tournamentssince returning in Chile in February, finishing runner-up in the other two, yet remains in unfamiliar territoryoutside the world’s top four.

Starting in Madrid next week, however, where hesuffered a surprise third-round exit last year tocompatriot Fernando Verdasco, fifth-ranked Nadal canstart making inroads.

While the Mallorcan must defend 3,000 points atthe Rome Masters and then at Roland Garros, where hewill be chasing an eighth French Open title, the secondhalf of the year looks like being a win-win situation forthe 11-times grand slam champion.

A stunning second-round defeat by Czech Lukas

Rosol at Wimbledon last year provedto be his final match of 2012,meaning the Spaniard will havesix months to harvest rankingpoints and close the gap onthose above him.

Djokovic is hoping tofinish a third successiveseason as world No.1 butBrad Gilbert, former worldnumber four and coach toAndre Agassi, believes Nadalhas will be breathing down theSerb’s neck later this year.

“To me this is the meatiest part ofthe season,” Gilbert toldATPWorldTour.com

“You’ve got two Masters 1000s back-to-back and then the French and Wimbledon.That’s 6,000 points up for grabs over a shortstretch, and what happens during this time willset the tone as to who has a shot of finishingNo. 1.

“Djokovic is in good position now butit still could be a very tight race.”

Djokovic, world number two Roger

Federer and number three Andy Murray will all bedefending sackloads of points after the French

Open, and providing Nadal suffers no injurysetbacks he will be relishing a pressure-freesecond half of the year.

Gilbert said Nadal’s decision to delay hiscomeback until after the Australian Open and

then skip the Miami Masters was payingdividends.

“What a tremendous effort to be inthe final every week he’s played. I lovethe way he goes about his business,”Gilbert said. “He didn’t rush back until hewas close to 100 percent, and the results

back up that he made the rightdecision.”

don’t write rafa off theno.1 spot, says Gilbert

NEW yORK

AGENCIES

The World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) has voiced its disappointment

with Tuesday’s decision by the judgein Spain’s “Operation Puerto”

doping trial to destroy all theevidence from the case instead

of making it available to othersports bodies and said it is

considering an appeal.Spanish doctor

EufemianoFuentes, the

centralfigure in

the trial, was given a one-year prison term forendangering public health and the judge alsoordered the evidence, including bags of bloodpossibly belonging to athletes from sportsother than cycling, to be destroyed. Herdecision not to release evidence to anti-dopingauthorities for further investigation damagedhopes that the case would unmask otherathletes involved in illegal doping, andprompted widespread condemnation.

“WADA has carefully considered thedecision rendered by the Criminal Court inMadrid in relation with the Operation Puerto,”the agency’s director general, DavidHowman, said in a statement on the agency’swebsite. “The decision to order thedestruction of all the blood bags is particularly

disappointing and unsatisfactory for WADA,and the whole anti-doping community,”Howman added. “Access to this evidencemotivated WADA’s involvement in this case.“This would ensure appropriate sportssanction processes against the cheats whoused Dr Fuentes’s services.”

The Spanish anti-doping agency (AEA)has already said it will appeal against thejudge’s ruling to destroy the evidence andHowman said WADA might follow suit.

“WADA is currently fully reviewing thedecision and any possible appeal or otheraction with its Spanish legal advisors, and theSpanish National Anti-Doping Organisation(AEA),” he said, adding that the appealdeadline was May 17.

WADA, the AEA, the Spanish cyclingfederation (RFEC), the International CyclingUnion (UCI) and the Italian OlympicCommittee (CONI) were all represented inthe three-month trial in Madrid.

Fuentes, who denied doping, said in hisopening testimony that he had clients incycling but also in sports including soccer,tennis, athletics and boxing.

Spain has been hoping the trial will helpto dispel the impression that the nation wassoft on doping and boost Madrid’s bid to winthe right to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

The country is pushing updated anti-doping legislation through parliament whichthe government says will bring Spain into linewith international norms.

wAdA considers Puerto appeal

ESTONIL: Top seed Marion Bartoli

bows to return the ball to Shuai

Peng during the Oeiras Open .

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:39 AM Page 18

GEO SUPERSuper Kings v Kings XI03:30 PM

Warriors v RCB 07-30 PM

UEFA League: Barcelona v

Bayern Munich

12:00 AM

sPoRTs SThursday, 2 May, 2013

18“Ivo did not have a stroke, as some outlets have stated;

rather, he has viral meningitis, We ask for privacy

during his recovery process — Ivo Karlovic wife Alsi

wAtCh It LIve

inter schoolBlind cricKetFroM todayLAHORE: Pakistan Blind Cricket Council is

using the Cricket as an effective tool for

the capacity building and social inclusion

of visually impaired and taking measures

to develop the game at grass-roots level

by focusing the Schools (Educational

Institutes) of the visually challenged. To

achieve this envisioned goal, Pakistan

Blind Cricket Council is conducting “PBCC

Inter-School Blind Cricket Tournament,

from May 2 to 6 at Quaid-e-Azam

University Cricket Ground Islamabad. The

inauguration ceremony of the aforesaid

event will take place at 1100 hrs on dated

May 2 at Quaid-e-Azam University Cricket

Ground Islamabad.

RAVI CLUB BEAT SIALKOT FAMILIA

IN WOMEN INTER-CLUB CRICKET:

Ravi Club beat Sialkot Familia by 58 runs

in the All Pakistan Inter Club T-20 Women

Cricket Tournament here at the Kinnaird

Ground on Wednesday. Ravi club made

136 in 20 overs. Farah Naeem 27, Hina

Azam 24, Hafsa Amjad 21 and Ayesha

Naz 31.Iqra Nawaz, Saba Sardar, Irum

Butt and Zeba Manzoor shared one wicket

each. Sialkot Famalia 78 all out in 16.4

overs. Asma Sikandar 38, Anum Zahra

14. Hafsa was declared the player of the

match. Earlier, Shah Faisal Club beat

Familia Sialkot by 56 runs at Kinnared

College Lahore. Shah Faisal Club batting

first 189/2 after 20 overs. Nida Dar

batted well 63, Maryam Hassan 64, Sania

Khan 35 & Zeenat Khan 13 runs. Sialkot

Club bowling Iqra Nawaz 1/26 & Zeba

Manzoor 1/32 wickets. In reply Familia

Club Sialkot 133/5 after 20 overs. Saba

Manzoor batted well 62, Asma Sikandar

29 & Anjum Zahra 22 runs. Shah Faisal

Club bowling Maryam Hassan 1/8, Saba

Nadir 1/8 & Sania Khan 1/29 wickets.

Qaisar Waheed, Saifullah Umpire & Waqar

Ahmad was the scorer. Later Chief Guest

Miss Hallen Khokhar gave away man of

the match award to Nida Dar. Miss

Nosheen Hanif, Amer Ilyas Butt, Modood

Jafri & Ahsan Butt is also present.

NATIONAL GYM IN 3RD ROUND:

National Gym has qualified for 3rd round of

10 M Siddiq Memorial cricket event when

they beat Dawn Club by 40 runs played at

Mehran Block ground the otherday. Scores:

National Gym 222/6 in 20 overs. Farukh Ali 132,

Waqas Ahmed 11, M Mohsin 23, Ihsan Ali 24, Babar

Wato 19. Ali Azhar 2/28, Ali Sultan 2/25, Hafiz

Umer 1/42, Hamza 1/16. Dawn Club 182 all out in

20 overs. Waleed 42, Rohail 13, Rehan 30, M Umair

31, Hamza 10, Ali Sultan 26. Musadaq ishaq 4/27,

Waqas Ahmed 2/29, Habib 3/17, Kamran 1/33.

WAHDAT EAGLETS DOWN TAUSEEF

CLUB: Wahdat Eaglets has entered into

the 2nd round of 16th Tauseef Trophy

cricket championship when they beat

Tauseef Club by 42 runs played at Model

Town greens ground. Scores: Wahdat Eaglets

180 all out. HAris Nazar 75, Waheed 19, M ALi

Shah 16, Zaheer siddiq 19. Israr Baig 2/22, M ALi

Rana 2/41, Sher Baz Khan 2/35, Awais Manoor

2/37, Mohsin Agha 1/45. Tauseef Club 138 all out.

Sher Baz Khan 44, Ibrar Baig 39, Waqas Khan 14.

Ali Tipu Sultan 3/17, M Ali Shah 3/41, M Asghar

2/19, Zaheer Siddiq 2/8

GHARI SHAHO GYM ADVANCE: Garhi

Shaho Gym has advanced into the next

round of 28th M Yaseen Akhter Memorial

cricket event when they beat Township

Whites by 13 runs played at Township

ground . Scores: Ghari Shaho Gym 112 all out.

Zafar Gohar 20, Asif Gondal 15, Shoaib

Muhammad 25, Zeeshan Akram 14. Qaiser Khan

2/31, Sharif 2/14, Saleem 2/17, Zafar 3/19.

Township Whites 99 all out in 19.2 overs. Saeed

42, Kamran 13, NAdeem 14. Raja Farzan 5/17,

Qasim 2/13, Saleem 1/13, Zafar 1/18, Asif

Gondal 1/14. STAFF REPORT

LoCAL News

NEW yORK

AGENCIES

Vijay Singh has been cleared ofdoping by the US PGA Tourdespite admitting that he used aspray containing elements of abanned substance.

Although he never failed adrugs test, Singh was deemed tohave breached golf’s rules ondoping when he told SportsIllustrated earlier this year he hadused deer antler spray.

The spray was found to havecontained small extracts of IGF-1, a growth hormone on theWorld Anti-Doping Agency’s listof prohibited substances. The USPGA Tour imposed a sanction onSingh following his admissionbut the Fijian appealed, saying hewas unaware the spray containedany banned substances.

He was later cleared whenWADA informed the US Tour theuse of deer antler spray was notprohibited unless a positive test

resulted. “Based on this newinformation, and given WADA’slead role in interpreting theProhibited List, the Tour deemedit only fair to no longer treat Mr.Singh’s use of deer antler spray asa violation of the Tour’s anti-doping program,” the US Toursaid in a statement .

“Since his initial quote wasmade public, Mr. Singh hascooperated with the Tourinvestigation and has beencompletely forthcoming andhonest. “While there was noreason to believe that Mr. Singhknowingly took a prohibitedsubstance, the US Tour Anti-Doping Program clearly statesthat players are responsible foruse of a prohibited substanceregardless of intent.” Singh, 50,was ranked number one in theworld on three separate occasionsbetween 2004 and 2005. He alsowon three Majors: the 2000Masters and the 1998 and 2004US PGA Championships.

sUBoticlooking forward to‘biggest career game’

MADRID

AGENCIES

BORUSSIA Dortmund defender Neven Subotic was a relieved man after theyweathered a late Real Madrid onslaught to reach the Champions League final andset up the biggest game of his life. The German side nearly paid the price formissing several chances at the Bernabeu but held on for a 4-3 aggregate win despitelosing 2-0 after conceding late goals on Tuesday and could feature in an all-German

showpiece at Wembley on May 25. “I don’t care who weplay in the final, I relish the challenge of facingeither Bayern Munich or Barcelona in Londonbecause it will be by some way the biggestgame of my career,” the 24-year-oldSerbia international told Reuters. With a4-1 first-leg lead, Dortmund seemed tobe cruising until Karim Benzema struckin the 83rd minute and Sergio Ramosscored five minutes later to set up afrantic finish. “We lost our focus in thelast 10 minutes and we were also luckynot to fall behind on the night in theopening quarter of an hour but overall Ithink we deserved our 4-3 aggregate win,”said Subotic. “We should have put at leastone away when it was 0-0 here and thatwould have definitely sealed the tie but in theend we are in the final and it’s all that matters,”he added. The centre back, who hardly put afoot wrong before Dortmund wererattled and forced to hang on bytheir fingernails against JoseMourinho’s side, said his team’sindustrious approach paid offagainst the nine-timeEuropean Cup winners. “Wemay not be the mostentertaining team in theworld but there isnowhere I wouldrather playbecause this is ahard-workingoutfit whereplayers put theirbodies on the line foreach other. “Wealways knew Realwere a classy outfitwho could move theball aroundseamlessly butalthough they had morechances... we had thebetter chances to score.”This season’s Bundesligachampions Bayern carry a 4-0 first-leglead into their semi-final return againstBarcelona at the Nou Camp onWednesday as they chase a treble.

singh cleared of doping after deer antler spray admission

Mayweather eyes fight in britainLONDON: Floyd Mayweather Junioris keen to stage a bout in the UK in thenext 18 months, according to hisadvisor. Mayweather, boasting a 43-0career record and fighting RobertGuerrero on May 4, could, dependingon results, take on Amir Khan in astadium venue in the summer of 2014.A fight has long been mooted betweenthe two, but would be dependent onKhan restoring his reputation in thedivision. The Bolton-born fighter islikely to face the winner of a proposedbout between Lamont Peterson andDanny Garcia at the end of the year.Regardless of opponent, though,Mayweather appears keen to perform in

front of a UK audience. His advisor Leonard Ellerbe said: “Floyd cannot waituntil we can come over there and give the UK fans a big, big fight. “Floyd has atremendous fan base in the UK and we’re looking at working on somethingnow where he’s going to come over there. “Ever since the Ricky Hatton fightback in 2007, UK fans have been very loyal to Floyd and he definitelyacknowledges that and he wants to bring a big, big event to the UK. “There’sdefinitely a very strong possibility that Floyd will fight in the UK. We’ll seehow this thing plays out, his focus is Saturday night and then we’ll go fromthere. “But we’re definitely going to bring a big, big event to the UK.” AGENCIES

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:39 AM Page 19

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

Thursday, 02 May, 2013

KABuL

NNI

BRITISH intelligence agency MI6has also revealed that it providedmoney to the office of Afghan pres-ident albeit on a much smaller scale.

A report published by The Guardian, afterdaily New York Times suggested that the USintelligence agency had funded the presidentin large amounts, revealed that British SecretIntelligence Service – known as the MI6 –gave secret money to the president ofAfghanistan, Hamid Karzai, for influence.

“Sources said the MI6 aid was on asmaller scale, and much of it was focusedon trying to promote meetings betweenKarzai’s government and Taliban interme-diaries, as was embarrassingly the case in2010 when MI6 discovered a would-be Tal-iban leader in talks with Karzai was an im-postor from the Pakistani city of Quetta,”the British newspaper wrote.

The Afghan Presidential Palace had de-nied allegations that it had received fundsfrom the US Central Intelligence Agency(CIA). President Karzai has said that most ofsuch money had been spent for the office ofnational security advisor as well as for casesincluding operations, helping out the injured,

providing health services, and paying houserents within the government’s frame.

National security advisor Dr RanginDadfar Spanta told TOLONews that themoney was provided to the office of Presi-dent Karzai for operational purposes,stressing that he had no information on thesource and the amount of money, and onhow it was spent.

Former Afghan minister of commerceand industries Amin Farhang said that theAfghan government should respond forwhere this money was spent.

“When I was serving for the govern-ment, I was aware that the British intelli-gence agency was giving money toNational Security Council,” he said.

Afghan pundits have also said the cir-cumstances of spending such large amountsof money should be clarified.

“This harms Afghanistan’s sover-eignty,” said Abbas Noyan, political expert,“The government of Afghanistan shouldmake it clear for the people, where all thismoney was spent.”

Meanwhile, the National Front ofAfghanistan has released a statement, ask-ing President Karzai for accountability andclarification of “illegitimate” money fromthe intelligence agencies.

The amount of money CIA and MI6have provided to Karzai’s office, and whatthe intelligence agencies gained in returnare not yet clear.

Reports have suggested that the maingoal for CIA and MI6 to pay such moneywas to keep access to President Karzai andinternal circle of the Afghan government.

Mi6 paid the afghan president as well!

KABUL: Afghan senators, in reaction to

remarks by the Afghan president

confirming receiving cash from CIA,

said that “the president has violated

national sovereignty and the country’s

constitution.” The head of the Afghan

senate house also said that the foreign

media was trying to mislead the Afghan

public by releasing such stories ahead

of signing the bilateral security

agreement between the US and

Afghanistan. “Such kind of money has

been given since 11 years ago. Why

didn’t the foreign media release any

report on it? What this report aims is

misleading the public and

inconsideration towards President

Karzai’s demands for signing the

security agreement,” said Fazlulhadi

Muslimyar, head of the senate. Senator

Rafiullah Haidari said, “Why wasn’t it

revealed in the past years that the CIA

paid cash to the presidency? The aim

behind such reports is clear; the foreign

media wants to make problems in

Afghanistan in the interests of their

countries.” The Afghan senators

suggested that the people of

Afghanistan should be enlightened on

how the funds from CIA were spent.

“Receiving CIA money by the

presidency is an insult to the country

and it’s a national betrayal. This issue

should be clarified,” said Senator

Hedayatullah Rahayee. The given cash

is illegal, the senators said, pointing out

that the issue is raising many

questions. “The president has confirmed

that he had received the money from

the CIA. The country’s first man should

be committed to the constitution.

Receiving this money is violating the

constitution,” Senator Ali Akbar

Jamshidi said. NNI

Karzai violated national sovereigntyby receiving CIA money: senators

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

Sarabjit Singh, an Indian spyconvicted of carrying out mul-tiple bombings in Pakistan,passed away at Jinnah Hospi-tal late on Wednesday night.

Sarabjit was critically in-jured in a brawl with two fel-low inmates at Kot LakhpatJail a couple of days ago. Hewas imprisoned in Pakistansince 1990. The spy breathedhis last just as his family re-turned to India via the WagahBorder earlier in the day afterdoctors told them that Sarab-jit was “brain dead”.

A visibly distraught Sarab-jit’s sister Dalbir Kaur told re-porters at Wagah border that

she was returning to India totake care of Sarabjit’s children.She demanded that Pakistanshould hold an enquiry as tohow Sarabjit’s security wascompromised and he was sub-sequently attacked with bricksand iron rods. “If the attack wasplanned by the government it-

self then there is no need for anenquiry. But if Sarabjit was at-tacked without the knowledgeof the authorities then an en-quiry is definitely needed.” In ameeting with the Pakistan’sForeign Secretary on Wednes-day, the Indian High Commis-sioner had requested thatSarabjit Singh be immediatelyreleased on “humanitarian andsympathetic” grounds. Indiaalso proposed that Pakistancould also send Sarabjit to athird country for medical treat-ment. “We are concerned at thecondition of Sarabjit Singh in-dicated by reports made avail-able by doctors treating him inJinnah Hospital,” a statementissued by the Indian ExternalAffairs Ministry had said.

MONITORING DESK

At least five prisoners are being inter-rogated for planning attacks on armyconvoys and senior military officers.

According to a report publishedby BBC Urdu, a civilian intelligenceagency has shifted the five prisoners,detained at Bahawalpur and Adialaprisons for the past three years, to un-known locations for investigation.

The detainees are suspected ofhaving links with the outlawedTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) andthe feared Ghazi Force militant groups.

According to the BBC report, theprisoners are being probed for in-volvement in plots to attack military

targets, as well as conspiring to abductsenior military officials and their fam-ily members. Sources told BBC thatthe suspects were picked up for com-municating with their partners in Mi-ranshah and Kohat.

The suspects were allegedly issu-ing directions to coordinate attacks onthe military and paramilitary forces.

Last year, a brazen attack on thecentral jail in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’sBannu district had resulted in the es-cape of over 300 prisoners.

The freed inmates also includedAdnan Rasheed, a high profile mili-tant and the main suspect in a terroristattack on former president General (r)Pervez Musharraf.

ISLAMABAD

APP

Britain on Wednesday announced its electionobserver mission for the upcoming elections onMay 11 in Pakistan. British High Commis-sioner Adam Thomson, announcing the 25-member UK mission in Islamabad, said,“Credible and acceptable elections on May 11are of tremendous importance not only for Pak-istan but also for United Kingdom.”

Thomson said, “Elections 2013 are theclearest opportunity Pakistan has to consoli-date and deepen its democracy.”

The commissioner expressed concern overthe recent spate of pre-poll violence and con-

demned the incidents. ”UK believes that the vi-olence must not, definitely will not derail theseelection process or reduce their credibility, andeven contemplate delaying in the election.”

“We do not believe, it (violence) will notbe contemplated because for Pakistan delayingelections in the face of terrorist activities, weare very clear that their aim is to destroydemocracy in this country and it will be victoryfor handful terrorists and it will be difficult tohold elections in future.”

The British diplomat guaranteed that theUK observers will adhere to Pakistani lawsand comply with the code of conduct for ob-servers as issued by the Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP).

earthquake hitsparts of the country

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

An earthquake was felt in parts of thecountry on Wednesday, including La-hore, Abbottabad, Peshawar, Narowal,Sheikhpura, Faisalabad and Kashmir.

The quake’s magnitude wasrecorded 5.8 on the Richter scale. Itsepicentre lay in eastern Kashmir, some243 kilometres from Islamabad. It wasalso felt in parts of India.

Earlier in April, a major earthquakethat struck a region near the Iran-Pak-istan border, killed at least 34 people inPakistan’s southwestern Balochistanprovince. The worst-hit areas from the7.8 magnitude quake were reported to beclose to the Pakistan-Iran border.

The country experienced its worstearthquake in 2005 earthquake in whichmore than 73,000 died.

Five inmates detained forplotting attacks on army

‘Critically injured’ Indianspy Sarabjit passes away

UK does not believe violence will delay polls

ABBOTTABAD: Childrenplay cricket on the demolished compound of alQaeda leader Osama BinLaden on the eve of his 2nddeath anniversary. ONLINE

19

KHI 02-05-2013_Layout 1 5/2/2013 2:39 AM Page 20