Wednesday, 4 July, 2012 Shaban 13, 1433Karachi editionRs 15.00 Vol iii no 9 18 pages

PAGE |05 PAGE | 18

Constitution doesn’tbar PM from havinga deputy, rules SHC

Speaker exceededlawful authority inPM’s contempt case: SC

Veena Malik says she has a split personality

PAGE |13

MAGIC WORD REOPENS NATO SUPPLIESg Clinton says US sorry for losses suffered in Salala airstrike, Washington working to ensure suchincidents do not happen again g Pakistan to get $1.1 billion under border deal

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD speciAl correspondent/tAyyAb HussAin

P AKISTAN on Tuesday an-nounced it would re-open thesupply routes to NATO forces inAfghanistan after US Secretaryof State Hillary Clinton said

Washington was sorry for the losses sufferedby Pakistan Army in an errant airstrike lastNovember 26 on a border checkpost alongthe border with Afghanistan.

The US had earlier refused to apolo-gise for the mistaken attack – contendingthere were errors on both sides – but Clin-ton broke that impasse in a phone callwith Foreign Minister Hina RabbaniKhar. “We are sorry for the losses suf-fered by the Pakistani military,”Clinton told Khar, a state-ment issued by the StateDepartment said. “Weare committed toworking closelywith Pakistan

and Afghanistan to prevent this from everhappening again.” The deal re-openingthe so-called ground lines of communica-tion – GLOCs – also had face-saving ges-tures by both sides: Pakistan agreed notto increase its tolls for such shipments,and the US agreed it would not ship lethalaid via the routes unless it is intended forAfghan security forces.

But a US official asking not to benamed told AFP that Washington will re-lease about $1.1 billion to Pakistan as partof the deal. The money, from a US “coali-tion support fund” designed to reimbursePakistan for the cost of counter-insur-gency operations, had been withheld dueto tensions between the two countries andIslamabad’s closure of the supply routes.

The coalition support fund isoften the subject of wran-

gling between US andPakistani officials,

with Islam-abad’s claims

often re-jected ands m a l l e rsums ap-proved by

Washingtonfor reim-

bursement.The $1.1

billion that willbe freed up under

the border dealdoes not include

large sums that Pak-istan says it is owed,

said the US official, whospoke on condition of

anonymity.“This is the amount that

has been approved and al-ready gone through the

process,” the US officialtold AFP. But Pak-

istan’s decisionnot to charge

transit fee

from the US raised many eyebrows in thecountry as Islamabad had been demand-ing a heavy tax on each NATO truck pass-ing through the country. The US hastermed the decision Pakistan’s commit-ment to peace efforts in Afghanistan.

“I once again reiterate our deepest re-grets for the tragic incident in Salala lastNovember. I offer our sincere condolencesto the families of the Pakistani soldiers wholost their lives. Foreign Minister Khar andI acknowledged the mistakes that resultedin the loss of Pakistani military lives. Weare sorry for the losses suffered by the Pak-istani military,” Clinton said.

The chief US diplomat struck a num-ber of notes of interest to Pakistan in thestatement, including respect for Pakistanisovereignty, enduring partnership, appre-ciation for Pakistani sacrifices and coop-eration in trade and development areas.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US,Sherry Rehman, who had been reachingout to American lawmakers to convey hercountry’s perspective on various issues,appreciated Clinton’s statement andhoped that “bilateral ties can move to abetter place from here”.

“I am confident that both countriescan agree on many critical issues, espe-cially on bringing peace to the region,”Sherry said in a statement released by theembassy. “Today, as we announce theopening of the GLOC, I am glad that thisbreakthrough is not part of any transac-tion. We are playing our role as responsi-ble global partner in stabilising theregion.” Earlier in the day, the DefenceCommittee of Cabinet (DCC) in a meetingchaired by Prime Minister Raja PervaizAshraf made the crucial decision of re-opening ground supply lines of communi-cation (GLOCs) into Afghanistan forNATO troops.

Following the meeting, InformationMinister Qamar Zaman Kaira announcedthe DCC decision during a press talk.

“Keeping in view the statement by USSecretary of State Hillary Clinton .... theDCC in principle has decided to reopenGLOCs ... No transit fee would be chargedagainst the NATO supplies as financialgains were never a consideration for Pak-istan. Rather, we wanted the world com-munity to respect our sovereignty,” Kairasaid. A source told Pakistan Today thatthe DCC had decided to accept the US re-gret offered by Secretary Clinton despitethe fact that Secretary Clinton did

ISLAMABADAgencies

The Supreme Court on Tuesday saidthat the Public Accounts Committeeof the National Assembly cannotcarry out the audit of the apex judi-ciary as according to Article 68 of theconstitution, parliament cannot dis-cuss the conduct of judges.

According to a report presentedto the Public Accounts Committee(PAC) on Tuesday, three existingand twelve retired judges of theSupreme Court received two resi-dential plots each worth millions ofrupees in expensive sectors of thefederal capital. The Supreme Court(SC) refused to provide audit reportdetails to the Public Accounts Com-mittee (PAC) saying the parliamentcannot review judges’ conduct.

This was said in a reply writtenby the Registrar Supreme Court tothe Chairman Public Accounts Com-mittee with the consent of full courtbench of the Supreme Court inwhich it is mentioned that the con-stitution prohibits PAC to call anyofficial including the registrar of theapex judiciary, however the presi-dent, being the head of the state, hasthe authority to decide about theconsultative sphere of the SupremeCourt, so the committee should con-sult the President of Pakistan. ‘If thecommittee is interested in a formalcourt order, it should approach thepresident,’ the letter said.

The letter referred to Article 68which said: “No discussion shalltake place in [Majlis-e-Shoora (Par-liament)] with respect to the con-duct of any Judge of the SupremeCourt or of a High Court in the dis-charge of his duties”. The PAC, dur-ing the chairmanship of Chaudhry

Nisar Ali Khan, had sent the letterto the SC asking for the audit report.The NA body, under the instruc-tions of present Chairman NadeemAfzal Chan, made the letter public itreceived recently that had been is-sued by the SC’s full court.

According to the PAC report, asmany as 21 judges of the apex court,including Justice (r) KhalilurRehman Ramday, and around 214bureaucrats received residential plotsin G-12 and G-13 sectors of Islam-abad. Justice Ramday was among 15judges of the higher judiciary andaround 56 bureaucrats who receivedtwo plots each in Islamabad. TheCapital Development Authority(CDA) presented lists of 21 judges be-fore the committee, saying all judgeswho acquired one or more plots in Is-lamabad were either sitting or retiredjudges of the SC. The lists showedthat around 15 judges acquired twoor more plots in Islamabad.

The name of judges who re-ceived residential plots include Jus-tice (r) Mansoor Ahmed, JusticeMuhammad Nawaz Abbasi, JusticeFaqir Muhammad Khokhar,

off limitS?

Judges not to be judged: SC

SC says apex judiciary’sconduct can’t be debated inparliament after PAC reportsays three existing and 12retired SC judges receivedtwo expensive plots each inposh sectors of Islamabad

Continued on page 04 Continued on page 04

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02wednesday, 4 July, 2012

News

Today’s

LookQuick

NewS

Story on Page 05

CArTooN

Page 11

constitution doesn’t bar pm from having a deputy: sHcedITorIALfriends, not masters:

CoMMeNT

Articles on Page 14

Pak-Afghan cooperation critical.

dr Hasan Askari rizvi says;The political endgame: No country for elected men.

Ali Aftab saeed says;Not the whole truth: Is that 60 milllion dollars the only money worth retrieving?

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD Agencies

SENIOR doctors at the Punjab Instituteof Cardiology (PIC) announced clo-sure of all departments at the hospitalother than the Emergency Ward anddemanded immediate release of the

arrested doctors as the Young Doctors Associa-tion’s (YDA) strike entered 18th day on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, MedicalTeachers Association (MTA) President Dr IjazAhsan said senior doctors were withdrawingtheir services from all departments, includingthe Outpatient Department (OPDs) and IndoorDepartments.

“Young doctors are the backbone of our sys-tem. All arrested young doctors, particularlyyoung doctors of the PIC should be released im-mediately,” said Ahsan.

He said the doctors currently deputed at PICwere untrained and could not handle heart pa-tients. “It takes a doctor 10 years to do FCPS andthen another five-year training to become a car-diologist. How could you expect new doctors tocome and replace those who have already com-pleted their training?”

Ahsan said only two doctors were present inthe Emergency Ward at PIC on Monday night,adding that they had been “abused and threat-ened” by the attendants as they had been unableto handle the situation.

“Senior doctors are in their 50s and cannotdo rigorous work for 24 hours. That is why weare demanding that our doctors should be re-leased immediately,” Ahsan said.

He said the government was beguiling pa-tients and the media by showing that they haddeployed doctors at all hospitals.

YDA spokesman Dr Salman Kazmi said fivemeetings between the Health Department andthe office bearers of the YDA and the PMA wereheld which remained inconclusive.Solidarity: Expressing solidarity with theMTA, representatives of the Paramedical Al-liance of the PIC and the Young Nurses Associ-

ation (YNA) also announced that they wouldstop working at PIC.25 call off Strike: Meanwhile, 25 doc-tors ended their strike and resumed their dutiesat DHQ hospital in Gujranwala on Tuesday, asthe City District Government Lahore (CDGL) re-leased 24 of the 33 doctors from Kot LakhpatJail. According to a private TV channel, the re-leased doctors dissociated themselves from theprotest movement and promised to extend co-operation to the authorities.

An official at the Central Jail told reportersthat the doctors, who had been shifted to theCM’s Secretariat, had signed affidavits statingthat they were tendering an unconditional apol-ogy and would not strike again. YDA office bear-ers, on the other hand, refuted the statement,saying these doctors were not YDA members butwere students of medical colleges who were ar-rested by police without verification.

The Punjab law minister has said theprovincial government would not hold talks withthe doctors on strike, adding that the ones whoare persistent on holding strikes would be black-listed and terminated.

Meanwhile, Lahore High Court Justice Ai-jazul Hassan issued notices to the health secre-tary, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council(PMDC), and the YDA for July 6 and remarkedthat young doctors’ strike in Punjab was againsttheir oath. Hearing a case against young doctors’strike, Justice Hassan said the law and the con-stitution did not give the doctors any right to goon a strike. yda iSlamabad chapter: The protestsspread to the north with the YDA Islamabadchapter holding a demonstration outside theFederal Government Poly Clinic (FGPC) againstmanhandling of young doctors by the PunjabPolice. The protesters chanted slogans againstthe Punjab government and asked it to meet thedemands of the young doctors.budget: Late in the night a private TV chan-nel reported that the Punjab government had re-duced the budget allocated for medicine anduplift projects by 43 percent.

About Rs 26 billion have been spent on thepayment of salaries of doctors, vehicles andother facilities while Rs 1.10 billion were spentfor Health Professional Allowance.

ISLAMABADinp

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sus-pended the National Assembly mem-bership of PML-N’s Malik JameelAwan in the dual nationality case.

A three-member bench headedby Chief Justice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry and comprising JusticeJawwad S Khawaja and Justice KhiljiArif Hussain heard the case initiatedon a petition against lawmakers hold-ing dual nationality. The PML-NMNA from Gujrat, Malik Jameel, con-fessed before the court of having dualnationality. Suspending the NA mem-bership of Awan, the chief justice saidall lawmakers having dual nationali-ties should be treated uniformly.

The petitioner, Waheed Anjum,

had claimed that as many as 14 law-makers belonging to the PPP, PML-Nand MQM were holding foreign pass-ports despite a clear bar in the consti-tution on dual nationality holdersfrom becoming a lawmaker. Thebench also remarked that there was akind of discrepancy between clausesof citizenship and nationality in Arti-cle-63/1-C of the constitution. Thebench in its previous hearings sus-pended the memberships of adviser toPM on internal affairs Rehman Malik,Amina Buttar and Farah Naz Ispha-hani. Rehman Malik’s counsel AnwarMansoor Khan gave arguments aboutthe legality of parliamentarians notbeing disqualified before the electionsif they held dual nationality. The courtlater adjourned the hearing untilWednesday (today).

No breakthrough ingovt-doctors standoffg Senior doctors withdraw services from PIC g Paramedical Alliance of the PIC, Young NursesAssociation side with MTA, announce to stop working at PIC g 25 doctors call off strike, as 24others are released from jail

ISLAMABADAfp

NATO truckers late Tuesday wel-comed Pakistan’s decision to reopensupply lines into Afghanistan, butdemanded security guarantees be-fore the resumption as Taliban mil-itants threatened to attack supplytrucks.

The Pakistani Taliban threat-ened to attack NATO supply trucksand kill its drivers if they tried to re-sume supplies to troops inAfghanistan, a spokesman said.Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP that theTaliban “will not allow any truck topass and will attack it,” hours afterPakistan confirmed it had decidedto reopen vital NATO supply routesinto Afghanistan which have been

closed since November. Mir Mohammad Yousuf Shah-

wani, head of the largest oil tankerowners association in Pakistan, toldAFP that supply trucks and tankerscould be en route in “days” but in-sisted they needed protection first.“It is a sudden decision but eventhen we can start supplies in days.The thing is, who will protect us,”Shahwani said. “We need security,we need protection. Taliban havekilled dozens of our drivers andtorched hundreds of vehicles,” headded. Pakistani Taliban have car-ried out dozens of attacks, disrupt-ing supplies for 130,000 US-ledinternational troops fighting inAfghanistan, and have repeatedlywarned of more if Pakistan re-opened supply routes.

NATO supply truckers

demand security after

Taliban warning

PML-N’s Malik Jameel suspended

from National Assembly

DUal nationality CaSe

LAHOREstAff report

Since the Mediagate scandal that hit theheadlines a few weeks ago, the media in Pak-istan has been shaken to the core. Each de-velopment in this story is as bizarre as thenext.

In early June, Mubashir Luqman quitDunya News following the leakage of an off-air footage of an interview with property ty-coon Malik Riaz. All hell broke loose as theTV channel and the anchorpersons of the

show, Luqman and Mehr Bukhari, were ac-cused of running a planted interview. Ru-mours were rife on the social media thatLuqman was rejoining Dunya News but he

rejected the reports, while confirming that hewas joining ARY TV network and would soonbe hosting a show on the channel. “I’m join-ing ARY after resolving my issues amicablywith Dunya News,” he told Pakistan Today.There were also reports that Sana Bucha, an-

chorperson of Geo News talk show Lekin,had left the channel in protest against the re-hiring of Amir Liaqat Hussain of the AlamOnline fame. However, Sana has denied thatshe has resigned from her position at Geo, say-ing she has no issues with Amir Liaqat’s hiringas the Vice President of the entire Geo Net-work, Group Executive Director and EditorReligious Affairs. The “Doctor” had embar-rassed himself and the entire network when aleaked YouTube video showed Liaqat makingfun of a woman who had called him with aproblem and using street language off-air.

luqmAn teAms up WitH Ary

media WAtcH

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04wednesday, 4 July, 2012

News

RAWALPINDIinp

TH ER a w a l p i n d iBench of theLahore HighCourt on Tues-

day extended the bail offederal ministerMakhdoom Shahabuddinand former Health directorgeneral Abdul RashidJumma in the Ephedrinequota case until July 9.

During the hearing thetwo-member divisionbench comprising JusticeIjaz Ahmad and Justice AliBaqir Najfi asked Sha-habuddin to appear beforethe ANF’s investigationteam and record his state-ment. Counsel for the min-ister, Shah Khawar arguedthat the ANF had becomeparty in the case which isreflected in the attitude ofthe investigation officers.

He said it appeared that theinvestigation agencies weregong beyond their limits totarget someone or to fulfillsomebody’s desire. Thecounsel said after bail fromthe court, his client himselfwent to the ANF but the in-vestigation team did notbother to meet him and no-body was ready to recordhis statement. He said noofficer was ready to evenmeet him and ultimately hehad to hand over his writ-ten statement to a consta-

ble.Shah Khawar said his

client remained federalminister thrice and therehad been no allegation ofcorruption of a single rupeeagainst him. He said hisclient had been involved inthe case under a preplannedconspiracy. Later, Sha-habuddin went to the ANFand recorded his statement.He said he had come to theANF to prove his innocence.He said a letter had beenwritten to the ANF to checkthe authenticity of the phar-maceutical company.

The court ordered therelease of a pharmaceuticalcompany director, Rizwanon bail. His counsel arguedthat the product was pur-chased from the market ac-cording to fixed rates and ifit was imported beyondquota, his client was not in-volved in it and had doneno crime.

Shahabuddin gets extension in bail till July 9g Minister records statement before ANF in Ephedrine case

not use the word “apolo-gise” - a demand Pakistanhad been making as a pre-condition for NATO routes’reopening.

The DCC also decidedthat no lethal cargo will gointo Afghanistan throughPakistan except equipmentfor Afghan National SecurityForces (ANSF) essential forensuring peace and stability inAfghanistan. The DCCstressed that it was in Pak-istan’s interest to support thetransition and the peace andreconciliation process inAfghanistan, reaffirming Pak-istan’s commitment to elimi-nating terrorism for the sakeof a secure future for Pakistan.

The DCC also reiteratedPakistan’s stance on dronesand agreed to continue to en-gage the US on counterter-rorism cooperation andcounterterrorism tools thatwere in line with interna-tional law and practice. Ad-dressing the DCC, PrimeMinister Ashraf said the con-

tinued closure of supply lineswas not only damaging rela-tions with the US, but alsoPakistan’s ties with 49 othermember states ofNATO/ISAF. Pentagon chiefLeon Panetta welcomed themove, saying the UnitedStates remained “committedto improving our partnershipwith Pakistan and to workingclosely together as our twonations confront commonsecurity challenges in the re-gion”. Sources said prior tothe decision, ISAF com-mander General John Allenhad held talks in Islamabadtwice in the last six days, andoffered a private and per-sonal soft apology to Chief ofArmy Staff Gen AshfaqKayani, which the army chiefhad politely rejected, callingit insufficient. General JohnAllen also praised Pakistan’sdecision to allow supplies toNATO forces. “I look forwardto future opportunities towork together toward ourcommon goals, by taking co-ordinated action against ter-rorists,” he said.

WANAinp

Tribesmen and tribal eld-ers decried the move ofthe local political adminis-tration to close the majorAngoor Adda Road aftersome unknown miscre-ants launched a suicide at-tack on an army camp inthe area. Due to the clo-sure, hundreds of passen-gers were facingdifficulties in reachingWana and it was alsocausing losses to localfruit-related businesses.

Tribal elders MalikHafizullah, Malik GulKhan, Malik Habib Charg,Malik Dilawar KhanMehsud, Maulvi Anayatul-lah and several otherswhile talking to the media

said that authorities hadblocked the major AngoorAdda Road for the lastfour months and de-manded of the govern-ment to immediatelyre-open the road which isthe only route connectingremote areas with Wana,headquarters of SouthWaziristan Agency.

The elders said thatlocal fruit sellers were es-pecially in a fix. Because ofthe closure of road, theyare not able to transporttheir fruits to major fruitmarkets and it is causinglosses worth millions tothem. Moreover, severalpetrol pumps on theblocked roads have closeddown since the road wasblocked. They also addedthat aged people and fe-

males were especially fac-ing extreme difficulties incrossing the area to reachWana.

The elders stressedthat every matter could besolved through talks and itwould be better if the gov-ernment sorted out thematter through talks withthe elders of tribe ratherthan taking decision suchas blocking routes withoutconsultation and, thus,creating difficulties for thepoor citizens.

The elders demandedof the government foropening of the road at theearliest and warned thatgovernment would be re-sponsible for any unto-ward incident if the roadwas not re-opened fortraffic.

WASHINGTONinp/nni

Former military ruler Gen-eral (r) Pervez Musharrafhas said that he tried aspresident to convince Iranto make peace with Israeland abandon its nuclearambitions.

Musharraf, during an in-terview conducted by AtlanticMedia Company ownerDavid Bradley, spoke abouthis 2006 “peace effort” tobring reconciliation betweenIsrael and the Arab world.Musharraf flew to Iran to visitPresident Mahmoud Ah-

madinejad, and said he triedto get Iran to pursue a path topeace with Israel, the ForeignPolicy magazine reports. Hesaid that he urged the Islamicnation to move away from thedevelopment of nuclearweapons, but that he madeno progress. “They are deter-mined to develop a nucleararsenal... I did not succeed,”the report quoted him as say-ing. “But Iran has not posedany threat, so they need notgo nuclear,” he added.

In another interview,Musharraf said that he wasreturning to Pakistan nextyear to help the failing

state. In a recent interviewto Aspen Ideas FestivalMedia Company, Mushar-raf resembled himself withformer US president Abra-ham Lincoin, saying he hadbroken the constitution tosave the country. Defend-ing the military coup, theformer military dictatorsaid that the state is beingrun to the ground at themoment, and people areagain running to the mili-tary to save the country.Musharraf said that he wasready to return to the coun-try by putting his life indanger.

TOKYOAfp

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek $3.9 billion inannual international assistance to rebuild the economywhen he attends a conference this weekend in Tokyo,Japanese media reported Tuesday. Karzai voiced therequest when Japanese reporters interviewed him inKabul on Tuesday ahead of the one-day international aidconference for Afghanistan on Sunday, public broadcasterNHK reported. He said his country needs a combined $3.9billion from the international community every year torebuild the Afghan economy starting from 2015, followingthe pullout of NATO forces from Afghanistan, NHK said.During the interview, Karzai reiterated his call for theTaliban to join mainstream politics in Afghanistan bytaking part in forthcoming presidential and generalelections. “My recommendation to Taliban is to join thepeace process and become a political force inAfghanistan,” the Afghan president was quoted by KyodoNews as saying.

SC gives govt 7-day deadline toappoint judgesin special courts

ISLAMABADinp

The Supreme Court onTuesday gave thegovernment a deadline ofseven days for theappointment of judges inspecial courts. A three-member bench comprisingChief Justice of Pakistan(CJP) Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry, Justice Jawad SKhwaja and Justice KhiljiArif Hussain heard the case.Deputy Attorney GeneralRaja Haleem Abbassi told thecourt that the “homework”for the appointment of judgeshad been completed, but thegovernment needed another15 to 20 days to fill the posts.In response, the court refusedto offer more time in thisregard. Justice Khwaja saidthat the posts had been lyingvacant for the last 14 monthsand no action had been taken.

1 security official

killed, 4 injured

in Bajaur blast

KHAR/MARDAN Agencies

A security forces personnelwas killed and another fourwere injured in a remote-controlled blast in BajaurAgency on Tuesday. Anofficial of the NawagaiPolitical Administrationsaid Frontier Corps (FC)personnel had launched asearch operation in the areaafter an early morning blast.The second blast occurredin the Bara Kamangra areaof Nawagai tehsil when aremote-controlled bombwas detonated near the FCpersonnel, killing one ofthem and injuring four.

Five-member JITformed to probeArsalan-riazgraft case

ISLAMABADstAff report

National AccountabilityBureau (NAB)Chairman Admiral (r)Fasih Bukhari hasconstituted a five-member JointInvestigation Team(JIT) to probe thealleged graft caseinvolving ArsalanIftikhar and real estatetycoon Malik Riaz. Peran official handout, theJIT would be headed byNAB’s director-general(DG) of the FinancialCrimes InvestigationWing (FCIW). Thecommittee alsoincludes one membereach from the federalinvestigation agency(FIA) and police, whilethree members arefrom NAB. Thecommittee held its firstmeeting on Tuesday atNAB headquarters withDG FCIW in the chair.The committee hasdecided to procure allrelevant material fromthe quarters concernedwithin a week toproceed ahead.

Judges not to bejudged: SC

Justice Muhammad Javed Buttar, Justice Syed Ashad,Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Sardar MuhammadRaza Khan, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tas-saduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice KhalilurRehman Ramday, Justice Falak Sher, Justice NasirulMulk, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Syed JamshedAli, Justice Ghulam Rabbani, Justice Syed Zahid Hussain,Justice Chaudhary Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Mohammed SairAli, Justice Anwar Zaheer Ali and Justice Khliji Arif Hus-sain. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry did notreceive any plot, according to the list. The PAC chairmansaid the judge’s plots issue resembled the NRO case.

Cricket star

Afridi to front

Pakistan

polio fightKARACHI

Afp

Cricketer Shahid Afridi is tofront efforts to eradicatepolio from the country,going head-to-head withmilitants who have bannedvaccinations in an al Qaeda-linked stronghold on theAfghan border. The formerPakistan captain was bornin Khyber Agency, andcampaigners hope hisPashto credentials canpersuade parents toinoculate their children. “Itis a noble cause and I amhappy to be part ofsmashing polio fromPakistan which has crippledmany children,” Afridi toldAFP. He said the maintarget was remote areas ofPakistan, such as the alQaeda and Taliban infestedtribal belt on the Afghanborder. “I am from that areaand speak their language, soI will try to go door-to-doorto remove any negativeconcept about the campaignand I hope this will help usraise healthy futuregenerations,” added Afridi.The campaign is being runby Pakistan and UNICEF.Aseefa, the youngerdaughter of President AsifAli Zardari and assassinatedex-prime minister BenazirBhutto, is also anambassador for the cause.

ThE rOAd NOT TAkENg Tribal elders demand opening of wana-Angoor Adda road

musharraf says tried persuadingiran to make peace with israel

Karzai to seek $3.9b annual

aid at donors meeting

MAGIC WORD REOPENS Continued fRom page 01

Continued fRom page 01

neW delHi: foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani being received by an indian official at the indira gandhi international

Airport on tuesday. Jilani will meet his indian counterpart today. ONLINE

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wednesday, 4 July, 2012 05

ISLAMABADAmer siAl

THE Economic Coordination Com-mittee (ECC) of the cabinet onTuesday approved a Ramadan re-lief package of Rs 2.5 billion on es-sential food items, providing

sovereign guarantee of Rs 19.1 billion andwavier of demurrage charges Rs 856.5 millionfor the 425MW Nandipur Power Project,while principally approving new gas supplypriority and LPG air-mix project.

Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikhchaired the ECC meeting that approved theRamadan relief package effective from July15, under which prices of 13 essential fooditems would be reduced on 5,700 state-ownedUtility Store Corporations stores. The subsidywould be Rs 6 on 1 kg of flour, Rs 15 per kg on

ghee, Rs 10 per kg each on gram pulse, baisen,dates, basmati, sela and broken rice, black tea,packed milked and spices. An official sourcesaid an untoward situation arose in the meet-ing when the Oil and Gas Regulatory Author-ity (OGRA) chairman opposed the Ministry ofPetroleum’s policy guideline on LPG air mixproject for the industrial sector. Abruptly in-tervening, Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hus-sain said the OGRA chairman was goingbeyond his mandate by intervening in the pol-icy issues which were only the prerogative ofthe ministry. A perturbed minister said theregulator could only implement, monitor andregulate the policy finalised by the govern-ment and could not express any views on thepolicy which was beyond its mandate.

However, the source said the financeminister had to intervene and ask the petro-leum minister to at least allow the ECC mem-

bers to listen to the other’s point of view.The OGRA chairman said the weighted

average cost of gas formula proposed by theministry would be significantly increasinggas prices from the current level of $4mmBTU considering the imported cost of$9 mmBTU. After a detailed discussion theECC approved import of LPG equivalent to250 tonnes with a cost computed on thebasis of weighted average cost of gas. How-ever, the key decision of procurementmethodology and tendering will be broughtto the ECC through a detailed presentationin the next meeting. The ECC also requestedthe Law Ministry to look further into thematter regarding price determination ofLPG on a monthly or six-monthly basis.

The ECC also approved the summaryfor increasing sovereign guarantee from Rs5.3 billion to Rs 19.1 billion in favour of

local banks syndicate as a time gaparrangement until effectiveness of foreignloans for 425MW Nandipur Power Project.The committee also decided to waive de-murrage and detention charges Rs 856.5million on the machinery of the project.

The ECC also approved natural gas loadmanagement plan proposed by the Ministryof Petroleum but subject to approval from theprime minister. The Petroleum Ministry pro-posed that the supply of natural gas to powersector should be given priority over supply tofertilizer sector after domestic sector in thewake of current load shedding in the country.

There was a lengthy discussion on theproposal of changes in composition of busi-ness express moved by the Ministry of Rail-ways, in which it contented that joint venturepartners had from the very outset failed tomeet most of major contractual obligations

like guaranteed revenue of Rs 3.1 million wasto be paid in advance, a commitment that hadnever been fulfilled. In the same way, guaran-teed revenue was to be paid in full whereas thejoint venture partners had been making partpayments and so on. After the detailed discus-sion, the ECC formed a committee comprisinginformation minister, Board of Investmentchairman, Railways secretary and the Plan-ning Commission deputy chairman, whichwill look further into the matter. The sourcesaid the committee was formed as it was as-sessed that the babus were trying to derail theprivatisation process in the Railways.

The ECC also discussed summary regard-ing protection to the motorcycle industrywhich proposed that new eight-digit tarifflines be created in Pakistan Custom Tariff forall the parts of 125CC motorcycles with fivepercent tariff in case of new entrants.

ECC approves Rs 2.5b Ramadan relief packageg Cotton cess enhanced from rs 20 to rs 50 per bale g New gas supply priority approved g Petroleum minister clashes with oGrA chairman

eC ready to holdpolls after July: CeC

PESHAWARApp

Acting Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) Justice Shakirullah Jan has saidthat voter lists would be completed bythe end of the ongoing month and theECP would be in a position to holdgeneral elections after July. Addressinga ceremony on Tuesday, JusticeShakirullah Jan said the delay inpreparation of voters’ lists was not anegligence of the CEC, but a laxity ofStatistics Division. He said due toinattention of Statistics Division, theEC had to suffer and bear additionalburden to complete the voters’ lists.The acting chief election commissionerwas of the view that the ECP was onlyresponsible for monitoring the polls,and it was the government’s job tomaintain law and order.

raiding cops come under

attack, 2 killed, 4 hurtJHANG

nni

At least two policemen were killed andfour others were injured in an attack ona police vehicle on Tuesday morning.Officials said that police sent a team ofcommandos to raid a suspected hideoutof criminals in Jhang district afterreceiving information about thepresence of dangerous absconders. Theraid team, riding on four vehicles,reached the district’s rural area, andwhile it was cordoning off the suspectedhideout, the criminals opened fire at apolice vehicle. All the six policemen onboard got injured in the attack, officialssaid, adding that they were quicklytaken to a hospital where two of themsuccumbed to their injuries, while fourothers were reported in stable condition.After the attack, crossfire startedbetween police and criminals but thelatter succeeded to escape from the area.

Four women killed, fourinjured in grenade attack

KHYBER AGENCYonline

As many as four women were killed andfour others, including women andchildren, were injured in a grenade attackat a house in Khyber Agency on Tuesday.According to details, unidentifiedpersons hurled a hand grenade inside ahouse in Malik Din Khel, a remote area ofKhyber Agency. The explosion killed fourwomen and injured four others, whichincluded women and children. Theinjured were shifted to a hospital. Tribalofficials and Khasadar force reached thescene after the attack however no arrestscould be made until the filing of thisreport. Sources said that the attack was aresult of tribal enmity.

Constitution doesn’tbar PM from havinga deputy: SHC

karachi: The Sindh High Court (SHC) onTuesday rejected a petition challenging theappointment of deputy prime minister. Whilehearing the petition, Justice Munib Akhtarobserved that there was no restriction in theconstitution to appoint a deputy PM, addingthat the prime minister could appoint anyone ashis assistant. The judge remarked that ChaudhryPervaiz Elahi was part of the cabinet as a federalminister, while the government was being runby Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. The petitioner, MoulviIqbal Haider, argued that the Constitution ofPakistan does not have any provision for thepost of deputy prime minister, and such anappointment was illegal. He requested the courtto declare the notification of Chaudhry PervaizElahi’s appointment as deputy PM“unconstitutional and illegal”. The court saidthat the notification on Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’sappointment as Deputy PM also stated that hecould not exercise the prime minister’s powers.Therefore, the notification cannot be declarednull and void, the court ruled. Agencies

QUETTA: A boy quenches

his thirst as temperatures

soared across the country

on Tuesday. ONLINE

NEWS DESK

Unnerved by Pakistan’s new approachof talking trade over Kashmir, sepa-ratists from the valley have lined up tomeet visiting Pakistan foreign secre-tary Jalil Abbas Jilani in New Delhi onhis invitation.

“It’s unfortunate that no headwayis being made vis-à-vis Kashmir.Nothing has moved despite severalrounds of Indo-Pak talks. Talks seem

not serving any purpose. We stressedthe need to push for final resolution tothe dispute during our interaction,”said moderate Hurriyat chairman Mir-waiz Umar Farooq, who met Jilani onTuesday afternoon.

Most separatists are unhappy withIndo-Pak relation making headway ontrade issues and not Kashmir problem.

“Relations between India and Pak-istan cannot be strong enough till theKashmir issue is resolved,” said hard-

line Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali ShahGeelani, who opposed Pakistan’s deci-sion to grant most favoured nation toIndia.

The 83-year-old separatists said hereminded the Pakistan foreign secre-tary that “it’s incumbent upon Pak-istan to push for Kashmir solutionfirst”

“It’s moral, diplomatic and demo-cratic responsibility of Pakistan topressure India to resolve the six-decade old dispute…Kashmir is not aborder issue that the two countrieswill sit across and resolve it. Kashmiris an international dispute,” Geelanitold the Hindustan Times after meet-ing Jilani.

The hardline separatist, who advo-cates for right to self determination,told the Pakistan delegation to pushfor a Kashmir resolution that consid-ers “its historical background”.

Geelani is learnt to have raised theissue of alleged human rights abuses,use of Public safety Act against youthand his “round-the-clock detention” athis Srinagar residence with Jilani.

Both the Mirwaiz and Geelani saidthey do not oppose improved relationsbetween India and Pakistan but

“Kashmir should be at the core of thetalks”.

“Neither are we against Indo-Pakparleys nor CBMs. Our sole concern isKashmir issue should be resolved ac-cording to wishes and aspirations ofpeople of Kashmir,” said the Mirwaiz.

Another separatist leader, YasinMalik, who heads pro-independenceJammu and Kashmir Liberation Front,asked both the countries to seize thepresent moment to resolve the prob-lem.

“Kashmir has witnessed transitionfrom violent movement to peacefulstruggle. This should be acknowledgedby the two countries and push for res-olution as soon as possible. India andPakistan cannot afford to freeze theKashmir issue. If they don’t resolvethe problem, it will have far reachingconsequences and younger generationcan once again explore the option oftaking up the arms,” said Malik.

All the separatist leaders —- theMirwaiz, Geelani and Malik —- met Ji-lani separately in New Delhi. It hasbeen a ritualistic diplomatic gesturefrom Pakistan, much to chagrin ofNew Delhi, to invite separatist leaderswhenever senior official visits India.

SeParatiStSPUSh PakiStanfor kaShmiriSSUe

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wednesday, 4 July, 2012

‘i’m a clown, butwon’t become a

criminal’

PAGe 06

Caught off guard

Zardari’s political adviser resigns

KARACHIAgencies

Political adviser of President Asif AliZardari, Faisal Raza Abidi, resigned fromadvisory and presidentship of PakistanPeople’s Party Karachi Division. Abidi,who is well known for his hard talks inmedia, forwarded his resignation letter tothe party leadership. PPP KarachiDivision Secretary Information KosarAmir has confirmed the report of Abidi’sresignation. Sources said Abidi wasinactive in party activities for a long timeand he had differences with the partyleadership. Abidi had earlier contestedfrom NA-253 against Haider Abbas Rizviof the Muttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) during the 2008 elections. Hehad been selected as the president ofPPP’s Karachi division after the electionsbut was removed after a year aftercomplaints were received against him.The PPP leader has been a part of theCentral Executive Committee (CEC) since2008 and member of Senate since 2009.

Teachers’

recruitment policy

2012 approvedKARACHI

nni

The teacher’s recruitment policy 2012 hasbeen approved by the Sindh chief ministerand accordingly revised recruitment rulesfor the post of PST, JST and HST havebeen notified. Thus the recruitmentagainst the vacancies available now will befilled on the basis of new recruitmentrules. The last date for invitingapplications for current round was June20, 2012. It is hereby clarified thatrecruitment process for appointment ofteachers was started in 2008. Written testswere conducted in 2009. As perrecruitment policy 2008, the securing of60 percent marks was not the only criteriafor the appointment but there were alsoother indicators such as vacancy inrespective union council/taluka anddistrict, and standing on the merit list inthe respective union council/taluka anddistrict. Demand of protesting candidatesfor appointment order just on the basis ofsecuring 60 percent marks is baseless andnot in conformity with recruitment policy.

KARACHInni

SITE Association of In-dustry ChairmanMuhammad IrfanMoton has expressedmuch concern and con-

demned the killing of security guardon Tuesday in SITE area by the da-coits who were following the indus-trialist and opened fire while he wasentering his factory.

He said such incidents were oc-curring due to the sheer negligence ofpolice and security agencies of thearea. If the police and the securityagencies had been alert, it would nothave happened. He condemned thekilling in strong words and blamed

the SITE Town Police and the Rangersin the area for not being alert. He saidthe murder was committed in a fac-tory which is situated in SITE area.The victim was the security guard whoworked in a factory at Bawany Chali inSITE Area, a large industrial Unit sit-uated at plot A-47, SITE Karachi.

While expressing condolence onthe demise of security guard, IrfanMoton said that area police and se-curity agencies had not taken anystringent measures to curb the crimein SITE area and were making no ef-forts to protect lives of industrialistswhereas SITE industrial estate wascontributing 39 percent to nationalexchequer and it was providing em-ployment to over o.5 million people.

Representing the biggest and old-

est industrial estate of the country,Moton said the current crisis of lawand order in the capital hub was notsupportive for investments in the in-dustry which required wait and see andinvest stages. The wait and see periodhas to be brought to zero only by strin-gent measures by assuring improve-ment of law and order, he suggested.

He said crime in the SITE areawas increasing and snatching of mo-biles and wages from the workers ongun point was rampart.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed QaimAli Shah in his recent visit to SITEAssociation of Industry wherein IGPand high ranking police officialswere also present had assured thebusiness community that law andorder in the area would improve

after posting of 500 police force, pro-vision of more mobile vans and mo-torbikes, but no tangible progresswas being felt in the area.

The chairman further said al-though during the meeting with thechief minister in the presence of po-lice chief of the province, it was sug-gested that frequent transfer ofpolice officers in the SITE area becarefully decided but perhaps thesuggestions of business communityof the SITE area was not given anyconsideration. He demanded of theSindh CM and governor, and advisorto PM on interior affairs to take nec-essary steps for improvement of thelaw and order in the biggest indus-trial estate of the country on warfooting basis.

KARACHInni

Provincial Information MinisterSharjeel Inam Memon has said thatleaders of ‘Petition League’ - MianNawaz Sharif and Mian ShahbazSharif - are the most corrupt men ofPakistan and both brothers believein minting money and taking bribe.

He said this in a statement issuedhere on Tuesday. He said Mian Broth-ers had taken refuge in stay orderfrom courts because they wanted tosave themselves from corruption

cases worth trillions of rupees.He said: “It is a matter of con-

cern that stay order has been givento those who are involved in mas-sive corruption. Now they are tak-ing refuge under the garb of thecourts. If they are not at fault, whydon’t they face the courts?” He saidit was great desire of Mian Broth-ers that whenever they come inpower, they would appoint theirfavourite officers to get themselvesfree from cases.

He said Nawaz Sharif did theworst corruption during his two

tenures and took the bribe of $140million for the construction of Mo-torway from Lahore to Islamabad.Besides, he created artificial short-age of the wheat in the country andearned billions of rupees in its im-port in the name of their relatives.

He said: “Mian Nawaz Sharif cancross all limits in gaining money.Now the people of Pakistan have aquestion to ask from Sharif Brothersthat it they are not guilty, why don’tthey face the courts and get the stayorder back?”

Sharjeel unravelsPakistan’s ‘mostcorrupt men’Hint: tHey Are brotHers

KArAcHi: policemen arresting protesters during a demonstration rally from Karachi press club toward cm House, organised by primary teachers Association. ONLINE

Police responsible for guard’s killing: SITE Association

Violence leavesseven more dead

KARACHInni

At least seven more people were gunneddown in different areas of the city onTuesday, police said. According to thedetails, suddenly a wave of violence startedin different areas of the metropolis and fourpeople were killed within an hour. Twopeople were shot dead at Baldia Town,Orangi Town, and a trader was gunneddown in SITE area. In another incident,Gulzar Alvi, head constable, was shot deadby unidentified gunmen in Gulbahar,Nazimabad area. Alvi, father of threechildren, was targeted when he was on hisway to duty. His body was shifted to AbbasiShaheed Hospital for legal formalities. Inyet another incident, an unidentifiedtortured dead body was found near zoo,Garden area. Zahid Khan was killed inQuaidabad area in dacoits’ firing. On theother hand, police arrested two suspectsinvolved in several cases of robberies fromShara-e-Fisal area. Police have registeredcases of all the incidents and startedinvestigation.

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:25 AM Page 6

07wednesday, 4 July, 2012

Karachi

Commissioner for

crackdown on sale

of fireworksKARACHI

App

Karachi Commissioner Roshan Ali Shaikhhas directed a crackdown on thepreparation and sale of the fireworks. Heissued instructions to this effect to thedeputy commissioners of all the fivedistricts in the city, says a statement onTuesday. He said that under section 144the ban on preparation and sale of thefireworks be ensured for 15 days. Thecommissioner said that themanufacturing of fireworks in populatedareas as well as their godowns beeliminated in order to avoid the casualtiesin case of any mishap. He also called foraction against those involved in preparingand storage of fireworks.

Police set up posts

in old city area KARACHI

nni

Police have started setting up additionalcheck-posts in the old city area of Karachito deal with the growing threat of moneyextortion and target killing. According toSP Saddar City, police posts are aimed atprotecting traders and shopkeepers fromextortionists. Although majority of thetraders has termed the step assatisfactory, some say criminal peoplecontinue their activities even in the policepresence. Reacting to the development,citizens said such steps had been taken inthe past also and that the posts were leftdeserted after a short time. It remains tobe seen that how long these police postsremain functional this time.

Swedish envoy calls

on CM KARACHI

App

Ambassador of Sweden in Pakistan LarsHjalmar Wide Tuesday called on ChiefMinister Syed Qaim Ali Shah at CM House.On his arrival, he was warmly welcomed bythe chief minister. They discussed mattersof mutual interest. The chief ministerinformed him about socio-economicaspects, geo-political situation and otherfacilities being provided to investors inSindh province. The chief minister informedthe Ambassador of Sweden that there arenumerous opportunities of investments inSindh province pertaining to coal energy,wind energy, solar energy, agriculturesector, fishing and other industrial projects.He apprised him about progress on Tharcoal project and said that the energyproblem of the country will be solved soon.The Ambassador of Sweden assured thatintending investors of Sweden will bebriefed about opportunities in Pakistanparticularly available in the province ofSindh. Later, the Chief Minister Sindhpresented traditional gifts of Sindhi Cap,Ajrak and Khais to him.

KARACHInni

kARACHI Electric Sup-ply Company has so farsuccessfully converteda number of PMTs andconsumer connections

in Clifton and Keamari areas into hightension ABC cable based supply sys-tem that mainly preempts illegal con-nection through kunda thus savingconsiderable units previously stolenbecause of open copper wire.

Starting 2011 with two pilot proj-ects, KESC-pioneered overhead AerialBundle Cable conversion venturewould be covering more PMTs andconsumers in Surjani, Garden, BhitaiColony, Cattle Colony, KBR, LinesArea, PIB, Clayton and Bahadurabadin the coming months.

Under the pilot projects complet-ing this month, KESC issued 252 newconnections and converted 14 PMTs

through ABC cable supply lines thatuse several insulated phase conduc-tors bundled tightly together in con-trast to open copper wire benefiting atotal of 3,865 consumers in Cliftonand Keamari areas that have beenworking satisfactorily.

After ABC conversion, at an aver-age, a total of Rs. 3,552,914 are beingsaved every month from RajputColony 500kva PMT, Abid Plaza500kva substation, Ali Apartmentssubstation, Haji Lemo Goth PMT No.1, 2 and 3 (Toheed), B-177 250KVAPMT, Chaina PMT/Azeem Goth PMT500KVA, Aleem-u-ddin 250KVA PMT(Quaid-a-Azam colony), MadinaManzil PMT 500KVA PMT, DhorajiPMT, Azeem Khan substation, AzeemKhan Goth Block 4-A PMT-1, Quaid-

e- Azam (Pipe wali) 500KVA PMT.The schemes planned for the com-

ing months include 103 PMTs inClifton and Keamari areas, 12 PMTs inSurjani, 26 in Bhitai Colony, 64 inCattle Colony and 28 PMTs in Garden.More upcoming Projects are: Garden28 PMTs; KBR 19 PMTs, Lines Area80 PMTs, Clayton 41 PMTs PIB 55PMTs, and Bhadurabad 3 PMTs. Proj-ects in the pipeline include clustersfrom Gulistan-e-Jauhar and clustersfrom Saddar.

The advantages of thermoplasticABC conversion include control oflosses caused due to illegal hook con-nection, prevention of theft of copperconductor, prevention of fatal acci-dents, minimizing of tripping, mini-mizing of complaints of power failure,

higher current rating and lower shortcircuit rating, higher insulation andmoisture resistance, better resistanceto surge currents, better resistance tochemicals and corrosion, Low dielec-tric losses, longer service life, andhave better electrical and mechanical

properties while being smaller in di-ameter and lower in weight. The ABCdoes not need tree trimming, is mois-ture resistant, and is particularly use-ful in streets with tree plantations,narrow roads, and prevents problemof clearances to buildings.

Folk singer

Alam Lohar

rememberedKARACHI

inp

A big name in Pakistan’s folk music forhis unique style of singing, Alam Loharwas remembered on his deathanniversary on Tuesday. Alam Loharwas born in the small village of AachGoach in Gujrat District in Punjab in afamily of blacksmiths. Alam Lohardeveloped a new style of singing -Punjabi Vaar - an epic or folk tale. He isfamous for his rendition of Waris Shah’sHeer, which he had memorised in 36styles and forms. He recorded his firstalbum at the age of 13 and outsold allother singers in Pakistan in the 1970s.It was the Queen’s Jubilee event in theUK during a singing competitionbetween all Commonwealth countriesthat Alam Lohar won the award for hisbest performance and was awarded witha gold medal for his unique andmelodious voice. In many rural villagesthe local traditional people have calledhim ‘Sher-e-Punjab’ or ‘Heerah’meaning diamond. His famouscompositions are Dharti Panj DaryavanDi, Saiful Malook, Jugni, Mirza, QissaSohni Mahiwal, Sassi Pannu. AlamLohar died in an accident near Sham KiBhaitiyan on July 3, 1979. He wasawarded with the Pride of Performanceaward in 1979 by General Zia-ul-Haq.He also received numerous other awardsin his life.

Light rain forecastKARACHI

App

The Met office has forecast a partlycloudy weather with chances of lightrain in the metropolis for next 24 hours.The maximum temperature will remainin the range of 33 to 35 degrees celsius.

KARACHIAftAb cHAnnA

The Institute of Business Adminis-tration (IBA)-Sukkur is likely tohold tests for teachers’ appoint-ments in relation with an educationreforms programme in Sindh beingsponsored by the World Bank (WB).

The provincial education de-partment had recently announced atleast 19,000 teaching posts includ-ing those of primary school teacher(PST), junior school teacher (JST)and high school teacher (HST).Thousands of applications were re-

ceived by the department from alldistricts of the province.

Since the submission of the saidapplications, the education depart-ment has been negotiating withmajor universities and organiza-tions to conduct tests as part of theselection process. Pakistan Todayhas learnt from reliable sources thatan agreement has almost beenreached with IBA-Sukkur for thelatter to conduct the written tests. AMemorandum of Understanding(MoU) is likely to be signed bySindh’s education department andIBA-Sukkur for this purpose.

The reforms programme, spon-sored by the WB, is a bid to improvethe quality of education in theprovince, especially in government-run institutions. The WB has in-sisted on conducting therecruitment on the basis of merit.Sources said that the recruitment ofteachers in Sindh had been delayeddue to strict conditions laid down bythe WB and the apathy of the educa-tion department’s officials.

The WB had given Rs 8 billionto the province to recruit teachers,with strict rules for recruitmentthrough different stages and third-

party evaluations. The education re-forms programme targets primary,junior and high schools in all dis-tricts of the province on a need-cum-merit basis. The entry test forthe first batch of 6,000 teachers wasconducted in 2007 by IBA-Sukkur.The teachers were appointed on athree-year contract, starting in2008. The entry test of the secondbatch of 8,000 teachers was heldunder the aegis of the University ofSindh in 2009. The teachers fromthe second batch were also ap-pointed on a three-year contract,starting in 2010.

IBA-Sukkur likely to sign MOU with education dept

The ABC of SToleN eleCTriCiTy

g May conduct tests as part of wB-funded education project

KARACHIApp

Provincial Advisor Haleem Adil Shaikh has said thatPakistan cannot live in isolation having weak eco-nomic conditions.

He said this while talking to a delegation of PML(Q) from Lahore at the provincial secretariat of Mus-lim League here Tuesday. He said that foreign policiesare made on the basis of country’s interests and po-litical considerations and countries take decision onthe basis of give and take. Shaikh noted that USA had

already sustained damage because of its rigidness andinflexible attitude of not seeking apology for attack onSalalah check post. If US can seek apology which isacceptable to Pakistan, it can work. However, we needto seek assurances from the USA that similar incidentwould not be repeated in future, he added.

He was of the view that NATO does not only in-volve US, but other European countries are part ofNATO forces. Shaikh said that Pakistan needs to im-prove its economic conditions and therefore itshould adopt a soft attitude to improve relationswith the outside world.

opportunities for investment in transport sector: governor karachi: Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan on Tuesday said that opportunities exist forsuccessful investment in the transport sector. He was talking to a Japanese delegation led by KanwarIdrees at the Governor’s House here. President of the Hino Motors Japan Yoshio Shirai was also presenton the occasion. The governor pointed out that Karachi is a city with a population of 20 million and thatit is on the increase. Therefore, he added, an effective transport system is essential for the metropolis. DrIshrat was of the view that the company that would invest in the transport sector would be successful. Healso pointed out that the government was endeavouring to improve the transport system. Attention isalso being paid towards circular railway and the rapid bus service and matters in this regard with theJapanese government are making headway. The governor opined that more and more buses that areeconomical and environment-friendly are needed. He also handed over key of a bus to Ms Bilquis Edhi.The bus was donated by president of Hino Motors Japan, Yoshi Shirai. App

Pakistan cannot live inisolation, says adviser

KArAcHi: A view of the filth and garbage accumulated in a rain drain at machar colony. ONLINE

g KeSC projects of ABC cable conversion

preempts illegal connections

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:26 AM Page 7

Low

High

280CTHurSdAY FrIdAY SATurdAY34°C I 29°C 34°C I 29°C 34°C I 29°C

PrAYer TIMINGSFajr Sunrise zuhr Asr Maghrib Isha

04:19 05:47 12:37 15:59 19:26 20:54

CITY dIreCTorY

reSCue 1122

edHI CoNTroL 115, 32310066, 2310077

MoTorwAY PoLICe 130

PoLICe 15

GoVerNor’S HouSe 136

CHIeF MINISTer’S HouSe 99202051

FIre BrIGAde 16, 99215007-8

BoMB dISPoSAL 15, 99212667

red CreSCeNT 35833973

KHIdMAT-e-KHALq FouNdATIoN 36333811

eMerGeNCY HeLP

HoSPITALS

BLood BANK

HuSSAINI 32238405-8

FATIMId 32225284, 32258656

PwA 99215740, 32735214

CoMPLAINT

KeSC 118

SuI GAS 1199, 99231603

PTCL 1218

KwSB 1339

CdGK 134

rAILwAYS

eNquIrY 117, 99213565-6

CITY STATIoN 99213538

CANTT STATIoN 99201118

AIrPorT

FLIGHT eNquIrY 114

PIA reSerVATIoN 111-786-786

CoLLeGeS / uNIVerSITIeS

KArACHI uNIVerSITY 99261300-06Ned uNIVerSITY 99261261-8FuuAST 99244141-9duHS 99215754-7SMIC 99217501-3FAST-Nu 111128128, 34100541-7SzABIST 111922478IoBM 35090961-7IBA 111422422IVS 35861039-40

ABBASI SHAHeed 99260400-09

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JINNAH 99201300-39

NICVd 99201271-6

AGHA KHAN 34930051

TABBA 36811841-50

eXhiBition By hamra aBBaS

dATe: JuNe 19 To JuLY 19, 2012VeNue: CANVAS GALLerY

Internationally acclaimed artist Hamra Abbas, recipient ofthe Abraaj capital art prize and the Sharjah biennale juryprize, exhibits her culturally loaded, iconographic works atCanvas Gallery on Tuesday June 19th 2012, from 5 pm - 8pm. Hamra received her BFA and MA from the NationalCollege of Arts, Lahore and a Meisterschueler fromuniversitaet der Kuenste, Berlin. She lives and worksbetween Lahore, Pakistan and Boston, uSA.

GhaliB maDe eaSy

dATe: THurSdAY, 7:00 PM, weeKLY eVeNT

VeNue: THe SeCoNd FLoor (T2F)

PArTLY CLoudY

weATHer uPdATeS

34°C

08wednesday, 4 July, 2012

karachi

mantorama

Mantorama is an exciting new play paying tributeto Saadat Hasan Manto directed by Sunil Shankarand written by Khurram Shafiq. The play depictsmany of Manto´s life events and explores hiswritings through his charcters. date: 5 to-9 July2012, 8pm, Ticket price: rs. 600/-Ticket Price forstudents: rs.300/- (please show yourschool/college/university Id card)

dATe: JuLY 05 - 09, 2012 VeNue: KArACHI ArTS CouNCIL

Join us at T2F every wednesday for interactivesessions on Mirza Ghalib’s poetry, conducted byauthor and translator, Musharraf Ali Farooqi. GhalibMade easy by @MicroMAFThe poetry of MirzaGhalib (27 december 1797 – 15 February 1869) hasbeen considered complex, abstract and difficult tocomprehend.

KARACHIbAKHAt Ali

kARACHI is a harsh city to live in. Its residents facea number of problems on a daily basis, from terror-ism and a paucity of usable water to a lack of suffi-cient healthcare and education. Moreover, povertyand unemployment make things worse. It is not

surprising that many people feel compelled to turn to crime suchas murder, robbery, vehicle theft, and kidnapping for ransom.

However, there are some who choose to stay away from crimeand to earn an honest livelihood. Hasnain Haider, 21, a resident ofNew Iqbalabad Drigh Road, is one such person who has decided toshun the option of becoming a criminal. Instead, he has chosen tobecome a clown to provide for his family of eight comprising fivebrothers and three sisters. His family includes nine-year-old Irfanwho is a mechanic, 12-year-old Farhan who is a tailor, 15-year-oldWasim who is a barber and seven-year-old Shahrukh who is alsoworking as a clown. Speaking to Pakistan Today, Hasnain has nar-rated his story, which serves as a worthy example of courage andperseverance in the face of diversity.

Hasnain started his career as a clown at an early age after thedeath of his father, when he was only eleven years old and was stillin primary school. After his father’s demise, he left school and be-came a helper at a garment factory, where he earned Rs 1,500 amonth. A few years ago, when he was the only one providing for hisfamily, his younger sister six-year-old Armana became ill. The familywas facing financial problems at that time and none of their relativescame forward to offer their support. However, a few of his neighbourswho were involved in crime suggested that if he joined them, he couldcome out of the crisis in a matter of days.

He turned down the offer. He had faced many troubles in hislife and suffered due to financial crises, but had never turned tocrime. Soon, however, his younger brother Yasir was admitted ina hospital. Hasnain sold everything at home to pay for Yasir’s treat-ment. When this did not prove sufficient, he decided to turn tocrime to collect money for his brother’s treatment.

He met a group which was involved in street crimes, obtaineda gun and decided to steal motorbikes. However, he thought ofsomething untoward happening to him and leaving his family with-out a provider made him reconsider his decision.

His cousin suggested that he should work part-time as a clown.This was tough for Hasnain, as it was very difficult for him to try to

smile and make peoplelaugh, given the troubleshis family was facing.However, when hethought about theirtroubles, he decided tohelp them by workingas a clown.

“I never told myneighbourhood friendsor even my family andrelatives that I wasworking as a clown. Iwanted to join the na-tional cricket team, but Inever had time to playcricket”, he said. Further-more, he said that he was work-ing in a garment factory, whileentertaining people during theevening as a clown. There he earned Rs 200to Rs 300 every evening through tips and wages. “I get delicious foodwhere am I hired, and I take that delicious food home for my familymembers,” he added. According to his cousin Sunny, who arrangesprogrammes for Hasnain, the latter was a very different kind of boy.Sunny said that Hasnain remained quiet at home and near his rel-atives and friends. However, when he was disguised as a clown, hewould make people – especially children, laugh and entertain them.

“Despite many financial problems he never thinks aboutcommitting crime to earn money for his family. He believes hecan earn money by working hard and by making others happy,”said Sunny. Speaking to Pakistan Today, Hasnain also spoke aboutwhat it is like being a clown. He said that clowns have many thingsin their tricky minds. Many do slapstick, others do pie-throwing,falling down or stumbling. Some do pantomime; they don’t speakand just act out their skit or story instead.

“Others use magic or juggling and others tell jokes and still others,like myself, use puppets in their performance,” he said. He added thata clown had many decisions to make about his identity, which was notonly in his name, but rather had a great deal to do with tradition, withcostume and with make up. There are many kinds or types of clowns andthey each create their own look. Each clown must create his very ownface which reflects the clown’s character or personality. The clown’s char-acter, his face, is created by the use of makeup, a costume and as well asdeveloping his clown’s personality. “In other words, he has a certainlook and he acts in his own special way. Once the clown establishesthis face, it becomes his trademark, his personal property, and noother clown may dress or make-up exactly like him,” he said.

KArAcHi: labourers are busy in their work at an iron kiln during extremely hot weather conditions. ONLINE

‘I’m a clown, but won’t become a criminal’A young man shuns crime, entertains

citizens to support his family

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:26 AM Page 8

09wednesday, 4 July, 2012

Foreign News

DIWANIYAHAfp

Atruck bomb blamed on alQaeda killed 26 people at acrowded market in centralIraq on Tuesday while at-tacks elsewhere claimed 11

lives, the latest victims of a spike in na-tionwide unrest.

The violence, the bloodiest of whichwas in predominantly Shiite areas,came ahead of commemoration cere-monies on Friday for the birth of a keyfigure in Shiite Islam, and left nearly100 people wounded in the worst un-rest to hit Iraq in three weeks.

Tuesday’s violence was swiftly con-demned by the UN special envoy to Iraqand the country’s parliament speaker.

The morning blast struck a popularmarket in Diwaniyah, 160 kilometres

(100 miles) south of Baghdad, killing26 people and wounding 50, accordingto Adnan Turki, head of the provincialhealth department.

“This attack has the fingerprints ofAl-Qaeda,” provincial governor SalimHussein Alwan told a news conference,adding authorities were investigatingthe explosion.

Shortly after the attack, Diwaniyahofficials imposed a curfew across thecity of some 440,000 people.

Women and children were amongthe victims of the attack that hit themain vegetable market, where 15 shopsand stalls were destroyed, the officialsadded.

“The explosion led to a huge fireball in the sky,” said Muslim Farhan,who was nearby at the time of the blast.“Everyone was running in different di-rections.”

The blast came just hours afternear-simultaneous car bombs targetingShiite pilgrims in Freyha, a village onthe outskirts of the central shrine cityof Karbala, killed four people.

“There were four killed and 13wounded by two car bombs at around7:00 am, (0400 GMT) east of Karbala,”provincial police spokesman Lieu-tenant Colonel Ahmed al-Hasnawi said.

Two separate gun and bomb attacksin the restive province of Diyala, northof Baghdad, killed four people — thesons of two anti-Qaeda militiamen andtwo farmers — security and medical of-ficials said.

Also north of the capital in Taji, apoliceman was among two people killedin simultaneous bomb attacks, an inte-rior ministry official said. A hospital of-ficial said three people died in theblasts.

iraq attacks kill 37

ahead of Shia rituals

BEIRUTAfp

Syrian troops pounded several rebel-held districts in the central city of Homson Tuesday, as the death toll mountedacross the country, said the Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights.

In total, at least 48 people werekilled on Tuesday, bringing to more than120 the death toll over two days, theBritain-based watchdog reported.

Two civilians and three rebels werekilled in Homs, as clashes raged in andaround the neighbourhood of Baba Amr,a former rebel stronghold that the armyseized on March 1 after a fierce 27-dayassault.

Rebels and troops also battled forthe district of Khaldiyeh, the monitoringgroup said. Khaldiyeh is one of severalrebel-held districts of Homs that havebeen besieged by the army for almost amonth.

On Monday troops tried to storm theencircled district of Jourat al-Shiah, ac-cording to the Observatory.

Troops also rained shells in thesouthern province of Daraa, cradle of the16-month uprising against PresidentBashar al-Assad, killing six people, thewatchdog said. Among the victims werea woman and her three children.

In the eastern province of DeirEzzor, much of which is rebel-con-trolled, violent clashes broke out with

regime forces, at least four of whomwere killed, the Observatory said.

The Local Coordination Committees— a network of activists on the ground —said “125 families fled the city of DeirEzzor and its suburbs ... as a result of theunrelenting military attacks.”

Several areas of Damascus provincealso saw heavy violence, the Observatorysaid. Troops shelled the town of Arbeen,killing one child, while two people were shotdead by snipers near the city of Douma.

Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad said Tuesday he regretted that hiscountry’s defence forces shot down aTurkish fighter jet on June 22, but stillinsisted the plane was in Syrian airspace.

“I would have wished 100 percent

that we had not attacked it,” he said twoweeks after the F-4 Phantom jet on atraining mission was shot at and crashedinto the Mediterranean off Syria.

“The plane was flying in an air corri-dor used three times in the past by theIsraeli airforce,” Assad said as an expla-nation of his military’s action in an in-terview with a Turkish newspaperCumhuriyet.

“A country at war always acts likethis, this plane was flying at a very lowaltitude and was shot down by anti-air-craft defences which mistook it for an Is-raeli plane, which attacked Syria in2007,” Assad said, rejecting Turkey’s ac-cusations that the Syrians intentionallytargeted the jet.

trooPS PoUnD Syria’S homS, 48 killeDg Assad regrets downing of Turkish plane

Suu Kyi defiantin ‘Burma’ rowyaNgoN:Opposition leaderAung San SuuKyi on Tuesdaybrushed offorders fromMyanmar’sgovernment tostop calling thecountry “Burma”, aname widely used by democracycampaigners to defy the former junta. Theold regime changed the country’s officialname some two decades ago to Myanmar,saying “Burma” was a relic from Britishcolonial rule and implied the diverse landbelonged only to the Burman ethnicmajority. The country’s electioncommission castigated Suu Kyi last weekfor repeatedly using the term duringrecent overseas trips, accusing her andthe opposition National League forDemocracy (NLD) of flouting theconstitution. But a defiant Suu Kyi toldreporters in Yangon that she would callthe country whatever she liked. “In ademocratic nation, things should be doneafter viewing the desire of the people,” shesaid, adding the army had renamed thecountry without consultation. “Freedomof speech... and the right to speak one’smind freely doesn’t insult anyone. This isalso about democratic principles andpolicy. “So I assume that I can usewhatever I want to use as I believe indemocracy.” Afp

Police raid Sarkozyoffice in campaignfinance probepariS: French police searched NicolasSarkozy’s offices and home Tuesday aspart of their probe into claims the formerpresident was involved in illegal politicalcampaign financing, his lawyer said.Magistrates are investigating claims thatstaff for Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to theL’Oreal cosmetics empire and France’srichest woman, gave envelopes stuffedwith cash to Sarkozy aides to finance his2007 campaign. Around ten policeofficers accompanied investigatingmagistrate Jean-Michel Gentil on the raidon his home and on offices he hasrecently rented in Paris, a source close tothe enquiry said. Sarkozy’s lawyer ThierryHerzog said that the president, who wasdefeated in his re-election bid in May bythe Socialist Francois Hollande, iscurrently in Canada with his family. LeMonde newspaper’s website said thatinvestigators had also searched thelawyers’ offices where Sarkozy was oncean associate. Sarkozy, who has denied anywrongdoing and whose presidentialimmunity from prosecution expired lastmonth, has supplied his diary to judges todisprove claims from witnesses that heattended meetings in the Bettencourthousehold. The witnesses, whosetestimony was reported in the Frenchpress, claimed that Sarkozy held meetingson at least two occasions in theBettencourt home ahead of hispresidential election win in 2007. Afp

MOSCOWAfp

Russia on Tuesday accused the Westof seeking to “distort” the agreementreached last weekend in Geneva on aplan for a political transition to endthe escalating conflict in Syria.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovhailed the accord based on proposalsby envoy Kofi Annan as an “importantstep” but said that Western capitals

had already read more into the finalstatement than what was written onpaper.

“Unfortunately... some Westernparticipants have started in their pub-lic statements to distort the agree-ments that were reached” in Geneva,he told reporters at a news conferencewith his Vietnamese counterpart.

“These (Geneva) agreements arenot there to be interpreted. Theymean exactly what is said in the com-

munique and we need to follow theagreements that were made,” Lavrovadded.

“Our (Russian) position is honestand we are not trying to make it seemmore than what is written in the text.”

His comments came just afterAnnan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzitold reporters Tuesday that a “shift”in positions by Russia and its diplo-matic ally China at the Geneva talksshould not be underestimated.

russia accuses west of distortingGeneva Syria accord

Mali boosts effortsto save northfrom Islamists

BAMAKOAfp

Mali’s embattled interim governmentramped up diplomatic efforts Tuesdayto save the north from Islamist fighterswho have smashed World Heritageshrines in Timbuktu and rigged anothercity with mines. The post-couptransition authorities in Bamako arepowerless in the face of the armed AlQaeda-allied groups occupying thenorth, and Mali’s neighbours in westAfrica have proposed a stronger unitygovernment be formed. West Africanleaders will meet in Burkina Faso’scapital on Saturday to discuss thisoption with senior Malian politicalfigures, as the Islamists escalate effortsto exert their control in the country’snorth. In Timbuktu, where they haveenforced sharia law for the past threemonths, Islamist group Ansar Dine(Defenders of Faith) have smashedseven tombs of ancient Muslim saints aswell as the ‘sacred door’ to a 15thcentury mosque. The UN culturalagency UNESCO on Tuesday called foran end to the “repugnant acts” ofdestruction and called for the head ofthe body to create an emergency fundfor the cultural treasures and send amission to assess the damage. Thedestruction has deeply upset Maliansand prompted outpourings ofcondemnation from abroad.

Unknown diseasekills 60 children inCambodia: WHO

PHNOM PENHAfp

An unidentified disease has killed 60 youngchildren in Cambodia in three months, theWorld Health Organization said Tuesday asit raced to identify the cause. “The numberof deaths reported to WHO is 60 cases andthey have all been in young children,” saidDr Nima Asgari, a public health specialistfor the UN body in Cambodia, adding thatthe first casualties were reported in April.The WHO is currently working with theCambodian Ministry of Health “to identifythe cause and the route of spread of thisdisease”, he said. With the investigationstill at an early stage, Asgari said it wasdifficult to specify the symptoms, which“include high fever and severe chest diseasesymptoms, plus in some children therewere signs of neurological involvement”.There have been 61 reported cases so far,Asgari said, with just one patient surviving.The victims, all aged seven and under, wereadmitted to hospitals in the capital PhnomPenh and the northwestern tourist hub ofSiem Reap.

NALENI: An Indian child stands in floodwaters in Naleni

Village, some 45 kms from Guwahati, the capital city of

India’s northeastern state of Assam, on Tuesday. AFP

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:26 AM Page 9

Comment10wednesday, 4 July, 2012

Arif NizamiEditor

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

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

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

pak-Afghan cooperation critical

Friends, not masters

Two incidents have recently taken place that can marrelations with Afghanistan if not dealt withrealistically. The attack in Upper Dir by TTP militantsfrom shelters in neighbouring Kunar province led to

casualties on the part of Pakistani troops. The only practicalway to deal with attacks of the sort by militant networks iscoordinated action against them by Pakistani and US troops. Itwas an unwise policy to prolong the standoff between the USand Pakistan for nearly seven months. It is time for therequired give-and-take leading to the cleansing of the safehavens of the militants on both sides of the Durand Line. Totreat any militant outfit as a possible client is the height of follyin a world fed up with terrorists and their patrons. There is aneed meanwhile to address the complaint from Afghanistanregarding the launching of rockets in Kunar by Pakistan. Earlierboth Islamabad and Kabul used to blame the militants for anyincident of the type. That now Kabul points a finger atIslamabad indicates a reduction in the level of mutualunderstanding.

Islamabad has claimed that men in Afghan National Armyuniforms entered Pakistan’s territory on Monday and killed twopeople; it is not clear if the attackers were really Afghan soldiersor the TTP elements wearing their uniform. The incident againshows lack of understanding between the two sides which couldbe dangerous.

It is in Pakistan’s supreme national interest to help restorepeace and strengthen security in Afghanistan. The terroristattacks inside Pakistan will multiply if Afghanistan remainsunstable after the allied troops leave it in 2014. Pakistan’sindustry and business is in shambles on account of powershortages. To put them on back on track, Islamabad needsCentral Asian gas and electricity which can reach it only ifthere is stability in Afghanistan. With a power cum tradecorridor established from Central Asia to India on the onehand and to Gwadar Port on the other Pakistan will emerge asthe major beneficiary from the trade which will bring it feesworth billions of dollars. This would make it permanentlyindependent of foreign aid. To improve ties with Afghanistan,Islamabad has to get rid of some of the traditionalmisperceptions. To start with, Afghanistan has to be treated asan equal sovereign state instead of Pakistan’s backyard.Attempts to foist on Kabul a government of the agencies’choice have to be abandoned. Nations need friends but hatethose posing as masters.

We often talk of theendgame inAfghanistan but we willhave to wait for 2014 tosee how this endgame

is fully played out by competing interestsinside and outside Afghanistan.

However, another endgame is al-ready unfolding in Pakistan. It is a polit-ical endgame raising doubts about thefuture of democracy and creating thespectre of Pakistan becoming a non-functioning state. The growing institu-tional conflict and the effort of thesuperior judiciary to stretch its domainof authority at the expense of electedcivilian institutions like the parliamentand the executive adds a new dangerousdimension to the increasingly conflict-ridden politics in the country.

The superior judiciary, especiallythe Supreme Court, has adopted ahighly activist role since the restorationof the chief justice and other judges in2009. They may see their role in purelylegalistic terms but the widespread con-sensus in the political circles is that thesuperior judiciary is stretching its do-main at the expense of the elected par-liament and the federal executive. Onewonders if the courts need to fix sugarprice which was not implemented, re-

move and post officials,and seek legal actionagainst the presidentand the prime minister.The comments made bythe judges during thecourt proceedings getpublished in the news-papers that become apart of the on-going po-litical confrontation be-tween the governmentand the opposition.

Three importantfacts seem to highlightthe current judicial ac-tivism. First, it is a well-known fact that thePPP federal govern-ment and especiallyPresident Asif AliZardari were not keenon restoring the currentchief justice and fewother judges. It was thethreat of the longmarch by the opposi-tion and pressure bythe army chief that thechief justice was re-stored in mid-March2009. Second, the re-stored chief justice andother judges adoptedjudicial activism that

often targeted the federal governmentand some of its key officials. Since 2009,the Supreme Court judges have shownremarkable unanimity of views in judg-ments. We have seen in the past thatsometimes the court gives split judg-ments, some judges diverging from themain judgment. We now see unanimityamong the judges in the cases dealingwith the federal government, the primeminister and the president. Third, theopposition activists are filing more peti-tions against the federal governmentand its leadership in the High Courtsand the Supreme Court than ever be-fore. For them, the courts have becomeanother arena of political contestation.

In any democratic system, theelected institutions enjoy precedenceover non-elected state institutions. Intheir mutual interaction, the state andsocietal institutions observe restraintand show deference towards one an-other. If an institution attempts to over-whelm other institutions for anyreason, institutional imbalance is thenatural consequence which distorts thepolitical process.

In the past, the military over-whelmed civilian institutions andprocesses with a savior complex. This didnot remove the deficiencies in the civilianinstitutions. Rather the civilian institu-tions lost the sense of direction. Thepresent day judges may have the nobledesire of establishing the rule of law andimprove the performance of the execu-tive, the current method of keeping civil-ian institutions under pressure is notgoing to help to achieve the objective. Ifthe judiciary uses activism to place acheck on elected civilian institution, thejudiciary cannot exercise this power as aself-articulated discretion. Judicial ac-tivism need to be accompanied by re-straint and moderation and it cannot beexercised in a manner that it contributesto political uncertainty and chaos.

The disqualification of Yousaf RazaGilani and his removal from the officeof prime minister will continue to bedebated in legal and political circles. Itis also well known that there are twoconflicting views on the writing of let-ter by the Government of Pakistan forreopening corruption cases againstPakistan’s sitting president in a foreigncountry. There may not be any legaland political precedent of the insis-tence by the highest court in a countryto put its own sitting president on trialin another country. The memo case willalso involve the presidency.

The matter has become more polit-ically sensitive with the demand of theSupreme Court to the new prime min-ister to explain his position on this

matter by July 12. What adds to theconcern about the future of the presentday democratic order is that the LahoreHigh Court has also taken up an issuerelating the president. It has asked himto quit his political party office in orderto continue as president? This is aquestion of political morality andshould the issues of political moralitybe settled in courts or the parliament?

Does all this mean that we are nowheading towards an institutional clashas the superior judiciary takes upthese matters involving the president.Interestingly enough, the support ofopposition to the executive-judiciaryconfrontation is based on the existingpolitical divisions which have becomesharper after the removal of the primeminister.

The PML(N), the PTI and the Ja-maat-e-Islami and the legal communityaffiliated with or sympathise of theseparties support the Supreme Court inits bid to revive the case against thepresident. Those supporting the PPPand its allied parties view this as a bidby the superior judiciary to removethem from power. The independent po-litical observers are perturbed that thecurrent political tensions will accentu-ate when a new round of court casesstarts against the new prime ministerand the president.

Pakistan is currently facing devastat-ing socio-economic problems with fal-tering economy, growing internaldisorder, sectarian killings, religious ex-tremism and terrorism. These issuescannot be addressed by a court judg-ment. Similarly, if the executive and ju-diciary engage in another confrontation,Pakistan is likely to experience adminis-trative paralysis and political anarchy.

Any interim political arrangementdominated by the judiciary and sup-ported by the military may remove thePPP-led federal government but it doesnot offer a credible solution to the mul-tiple crises of the state and society.

The only practical solution is that thesuperior judiciary should step back andgive a breathing space to the federal gov-ernment which would make arrange-ments for early general elections;perhaps before the end of the year. ThePML(N) and the PPP-led coalitionshould agree on a new Chief ElectionCommissioner and then evolve consen-sus on caretaker prime minister andchief ministers so that new elections areannounced. Any other strategy to resolvePakistan’s problems will have unman-ageable negative consequences.

The writer is an independentpolitical and defence analyst.

The political endgameno country for elected men

By Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi

is that 60 milllion dollars the only money worth retrieving?

Not the whole truth

The court has asked the new PM tomake it clear by 12th of July if he isgoing to write to the Swiss govern-

ment. This confrontation has to end orthis all will turn into a disaster. Unfortu-nately, the PPP can’t play a major role insurrendering completely since it is a po-litical party with emotional voters to takecare of and it is the judiciary who seemsto be in an attacking mode. By saying at-

tacking mode, I don’t wish to be held incontempt of the judges but it is a matterof few months only that the new govern-ment is ushered in after the elections,when the much needed Swiss action ontheir behalf can be affected without leav-ing a bad taste in the mouth. After all, wehave waited for the whole of 65 years…afew months won’t bring the skies down.

Most of the analysts believe, with orwithout much logic, that the PPP can’tearn the martyrdom status they wish foreven if SC keeps on disqualifying theirprime ministers one after the other. Ifthat be the case, why have we startedhearing voices even though not so assur-ing, casting unflattering shadows on therole of the judiciary and its adamant ac-tivism. After all, it has only been lessthan four years since their restorationafter a heroic movement and no un-savoury practices have been detectedever since in the higher halls of justice?

For the SC, respect for its decisionsis much more important than their abil-ity to get them implemented, which may

prove to be another bugger’s muddle.The initial outburst against it accusing itof being Sharif Court instead of SupremeCourt wasn’t as bad as the silent whis-pers we hear these days about it deliber-ately or unconsciously paving the pathfor yet another army take over.

I say ‘unconsciously’ because I find alot of convincing arguments that thecourts wants to deal evenhandedly withboth the civil and military arms of the gov-ernment but the military is better placedto twist their arm to create some space forthemselves. Moreover, I’m inclined to be-lieve that the military had more of a handin the Malik Riaz fiasco (which took placejust six months before the termination ofthis government) as it had more to gainfrom it than the PPP. It makes no sense forthe clever-by-a-half contractor and theinept PPP government to risk more of theSC’s ire when all they have is, by popularestimates, less than half a year to sink. TheSC has talked about summoning the armychief regarding the missing persons. Ifneither the PPP, nor the army is behind

this ill-fated Dr Arsalan case, then itstands to reason that the 36 odd outstand-ing Bahria cases may have been the solecause. But still, even if it was just to putthe CJ on the back foot, it is the army topbrass that the magician land developer hasa partnership with through the DHA.

Those not so happy with the judiciarythese days argue that the judges restora-tion movement was against Musharraf’sdecision to unconstitutionally sack them,not against his dictatorship. Had theybeen against his dictatorship, theywouldn’t have taken the oath on PCO inthe first place. With this, they try to aug-ment their stance the judges are powerhungry and not concerned about the direstate the country is in.

The situation with governmentshould never go to a point where the SCwill need to look to other power playersfor help. The image building of militarydoctors coming for the replacement oftheir protesting civilian counterpartsdoes not portend well for the country.The military has already wrested the case

of the three NLC generals from NABsince 2010. The case of railway landunder army occupation is not to be re-turned but the rent paid by the latteragain is a favourable one for the army.We are only aware of fact the Royal PalmGolf Club land worth billions was sold fora pittance to or through the army. ButWapda has also alleged that huge tractsof its land are under the army’s control.Who would be more in favour of theSupreme Court than the majority of thecommon people that includes us, for ac-countability to be across the board andnot just the measly $60m holding up thestate to ransom? Many hundreds of mil-lions of dollars that the Sharif familycreamed off in the Motorways and othercontracts also need going into. We wishall the luck to this CJ and his team andpray he clears up the country of rampantcorruption without undue harm to thesystem, good or bad.

The writer is a member of the bandBeygairat Brigade.

By Ali Aftab Saeed

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:26 AM Page 10

Comment 11wednesday, 4 July, 2012

The strike of the Young Doctors could be deemed tobe unethical. The biggest sufferers are the poorest of thepoor, pensioners and widows who cannot afford to payfor private medical services. But while we condemn themethods of their protest, we need to understand thatthese doctors must be respected and well rewarded interms of emoluments. It is the moral obligation of thepolitical executive to prevent them from ridicule andharassment of our snobbish civil bureaucracy, who lookdown upon everybody and have assumed role of mastersinstead of public servants. Our Grade 21/22 civilservants who at time of retirement justify the unethicaland immoral allotment of two plots in Islamabad’s CDA

should desist from sermonising the doctors on ethicsand morals.

In a country where lawlessness and crime thrives,the DPO or DCO lives in a spacious house spread overacres, while government employed doctors, professorsand teachers live in small quarters. Merely stating thatdoctors belong to an honourable professional committedto healing the sick or wounded is not enough. All overthe developed world, doctors, professors and otherprofessionals are better paid than civil servants, policeofficers and members of security apparatus.Remuneration by the state reflects upon its priorities.

Our bureaucracy, inspite of its perks, is riddled with

corruption; it sends shivers down my spine when Iimagine what would happen if doctors were to indulgein similar behaviour and start to seek bribes from poorpatients for their services. As it is, our medico legaldoctors who in a manner administratively report topolice are notorious for corruption, issuing wrongreports to save murderers and rapists.

While the state cannot give doctors a salarycompared to those prevailing in the internationalmarket, their emoluments and perks should becomparable to other civil servants.

SHAHZAD KHALILSialkot

Caveat emptor?Consumers of the country have been

badly hit by the government’s policies andinflationary pressures. Their budgetconstraints change every week due to hikein consumer price index. Every week,news reports shed light on how bundle ofgoods are not in the reach of consumers.Moreover, big private companiesespecially wholesalers have designed newstrategies to worsen the situation forconsumers. Recently, it was reported insome sections of that two big superstoresmerged and were now asking highermargins of their suppliers. It is obviousthat as soon as this information reachesother retailers, they too would demandhigher selling margins equivalent to thosebeing given to these merged mega stores.Eventually, all these high selling marginswill have to be paid by the consumers.

It is time for the concerned authoritiesto take action against cartelisation anddo the needful to reduce the prices whichwill go up in disguise of discounts andpromos offered by these big stores.

ABU BAKAR KAREEMLahore

The dual nationality issueThe SC has cancelled the membership

of a number of MNAs and MPAs belongingto PPP, PML(N) and other politicalparties for holding dual nationality.

The nation is also divided on thisissue as no national debate has been heldon this important matter. The logicprevailing in the judiciary is that in thepast, PMs were imported from abroadwho left the country after improving theirpersonal CV because of a lack of theircommitment to Pakistan. The pertinentquestion is, who was responsible forcalling dual nationals to serve in thesepositions of importance and why?

Is it not fair that all these civilbureaucrats, defence forces officers andtechnocrats who have positions ofauthority and access to confidential

information be removed from theirpositions and asked to abandon theirother nationality?

To appreciate those Pakistanis whoare sending billions of dollars annually tokeep the Pakistani economy afloat, thereshould be some sort of recognition fortheir love for Pakistan. They should begiven special incentives to invest inPakistan by providing them free of costgovernment land for the established ofhospitals, schools, colleges and universityprojects. Those who remit more thanUS$100,000 in a year should be a given acertification of a Very ImportantPakistani (VIP) and given specialprotocol on their visit to Pakistan.

Those who have looted Pakistanimoney and have invested abroad inproperty and business must not be allowedto contest elections unless they repatriatetheir wealth from abroad. Thesepoliticians also do not have an interest inPakistan’s future or the welfare of thePakistanis as their stakes lie elsewhere.

S T HUSSAINLahore

The open roadsPakistan and the US looked close to a

breakthrough as the meeting of theDefence Committee of Cabinet came onthe heels of overnight talks between topPakistan and US officials to narrow downtheir differences. It was the second timein less than a week that the ISAFCommander, John Allen, landed inPakistan to help break the impasse onrestoration of NATO supplies. He, alongwith US deputy secretary of state TomNides held extensive talks with theirPakistani interlocutors including ForeignMinister Hina Rabbani Khar and Chief ofArmy Staff Gen Kayani. To keep media atbay, the talks were held at Hina Rabbani’sresidence and at the GHQ. The two sideshad finally reached an agreement.

In the meeting at Ms Khar’sresidence at the Ministers’ Enclave, thetwo sides took to finalising the nitty-gritty of a proposed agreement for

reopening of the NATO supplies andother contentious matters between thetwo states. As per the agreement the USwould come up with some sort of apologyon the Salala attack; and the US wouldannounce immediate release of paymentsunder CSF. The issue of charges to bepaid by NATO to Pakistan for usingcountry’s road network was also settleddownward from what Pakistan haddemanded –$5,000 per container – toaround $1,000. The US has givenassurance that it would compensatePakistan in some other way. Pakistan-USrelations hit snags when a month or soago the US had recalled its technical staffengaged in drafting and finalisingmutually acceptable terms for restorationof NATO supply routes.

Obviously the opening of NATOsupply would help (a) end the bilateralimpasse, diplomatic stalemate and theensuing blame-game; (b) enough hasbeen done in terms of ‘punishment’ tothe ally for ‘deliberate’ attack on Salalathat killed 24 Pakistan soldiers; (c) themessage is clearly sent across that anysuch attempt by the US would beconsidered as an act of aggression andthat it would carry more severerepercussions; (d) the hostile elementswithin Pakistan like the DPC must alsobe convinced that hostility must not begiven way to spoil the relations out ofemotionalism; (e) if the formula ofpayment is agreed upon, the ultimatebeneficiary of this deal would obviouslybe the nation; (f) with this Pakistan hasonce again proved that its strategicimportance cannot be undermined (g)this also goes to the credit of PrimeMinister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf that suchan important issue has been amicablysolved within the first week of himassuming his office.

ESCHMALL SARDARPeshawar

(ii)It has been reported by the media

that the opening of GLOCs for NATOthrough Pakistan is imminent. In thisregard, the conditions decided entail that

besides other things, the US will pay toPakistan within one week, an amount of$400 million, out of the overdue CSFpayment of $2.4billion. It will payanother $400 million by December 2012.There is no mention of the paymentschedule for the remaining $1.6 billion ofthe CSF.

Firstly, this small instalment lookslike a joke of a condition. Secondly, whyis Pakistan allowing CSF overduepayment to be made in instalments, letalone measly instalments, in the firstplace? Pakistan is not demanding thispayment from a poor man or anorganisation. Moreover, this is not aid orcharity but Pakistan’s right as a coalitionpartner of the US.

Pakistan must also be wary that theUS will definitely attach its ownconditions with regards to these overduepayments. Given the US’ track record ofusing the stoppage of payments as abrokerage and pressurisation tactic, wemust insist on this amount being paidlump-sum. Because, payments paid inbroken instalments are as good aspayments denied. Because while $2.4billion may be a big sum for Pakistan, itis peanuts for the US.

SYED NAYYAR UDDIN AHMADLahore

down the drainNAB has disclosed that Pakistan

loses up to Rs 8 billionn per day due tocorruption. The TIP had previouslyevaluated that corruption of Rs 8500billion had taken place during four year;but the per day corruption figure of Rs8bn now given by NAB means thatcorruption of a whopping Rs 11.6 trillionhas taken place in four years. Now thequestion arises: what is NAB doing? Areother related institutions not failing?Who is responsible? Is it only thejudiciary’s job to take suo moto notices tostem this rot? If so, then what is thefunction of other state institutions?

TARIQ HUSAIN KHANKarachi

Probation officers neededThe probation system was

founded on the concepts ofrehabilitation and diversion but theidea has not been materialised yet intrue spirit in Pakistan. The majorproblem is that the government is notinterested in non-custodial measuresand there is also a lack of politicalsupport coupled with lack of properdevelopment of the probation andparole department.

Currently there are 81 juvenileoffenders in Youthful OffenderIndustrial School (YOIS) Karachi, 26in YOIS Hyderabad, 03 in RemandHome Karachi, 20 in Juvenile WardSukkur and 16 in Juvenile WardLarkana who could be released undersection 11 of the Juvenile JusticeSystem Ordinance 2000 and undersection 05 of Probation OffendersOrdinance 1960. But owning to the factthere are only three Probation OfficersIn Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkurworking out of 23 districts of Sindh,the system of diversion of the juvenileoffenders seems doomed to fail.Moreover, the delay in the trailprocesses further aggravates thesituation.

The Sindh Government hadannounced 16 posts of probationofficers while 13 posts of parole officersin 2010 through the Sindh PublicService Commission. Though thecommission has given its finalrecommendations for successfulcandidates, yet the notification ofappointment has long been delayed.This delay in the process of inductionthrough the SPSC frustrates theaspiring candidates as they usually sitwaiting for the issuing of the finalnotification.

But the delay is not only frustratingthe aspirants to the posts of probationand parole officers but it alsohampering the diversion system and therehabilitation of juvenile offenders. TheGovernment of Sindh should nowexpedite the process of issuingnotifications.

RAJA SHARJEEL HASSAN SOOMROKarachi

Fair demands; unfair methods?

Editor’s mailSend your letters to: Letters to

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

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

Letters should be addressed to Pakistan

Today exclusively.

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:26 AM Page 11

12 wednesday, 4 July, 2012

Adele’s beau planning to propose

ADELE, who recently announced that she ispregnant, may also be expecting a weddingas her boyfriend is reportedly planning to

propose to her. The 23-year-old announced onFriday that she and her boyfriend of nearly a year,Simon Konecki, a 38-year-old nonprofit CEO, areexpecting their first child together. Konecki wasplanning to go down his knees marriage to thesinger before he learned she was pregnant,according to sources. “He was planning to proposeanyway!” a source said. Raised by a single mom, apal of the singer told the tabloid that Adele “wantsa low-key affair where her mother gives her away.”More than anything, “she wants to be a wife andmom,” the friend added. Agencies

Beyonce shines at BET awards

BEYONCE shone like the sun at Sunday’s BETAwards in L.A. on Sunday! Dressed in agorgeous chartreuse Stephane Rolland gown,

the “Love on Top” singer showed off her incredible legsin the number’s hip-high slit. She paired theasymmetrical dress with Givenchy heels and LorraineSchwartz diamond and platinum earrings. It was a bignight for the 30-year-old superstar, who walked out withthe award for Best Female R&B Artist, plus a VideoDirector Of The Year honor for her and Alan Ferguson’s“Dance for You and Party.” Her hubby Jay-Z, 42, alsowas a big winner. He and his Watch the Thronecollaborator Kanye West won for Best Group and saw“Otis” take the Video Of The Year category, in whichBeyonce held two nods! Agencies

Chris Brown tweetsabout Rihanna’sgrandmother’s death

CHRIS Brown showed his support for his ex-girlfriendRihanna, after the singer recently lost hergrandmother, Clara “Dolly” Braithwaite, to cancer.

Brown took to his Twitter account on Sunday to express hiscondolences prior to his appearance at the 2012 BETAwards. ‘Praying for family and the lost loved one. She waslike my grandmother. Love you GRAN GRAN! RIP’ ChrisBrown (@chrisbrown) Brown was among the manywinners, including Beyoncé, Kanye West and Jay-Z, atSunday’s awards ceremony, taking home theFandemonium and Best Male R&B Artist award. Agencies

HOLLYWOODCELEBRITY K

IDS

OUT AND ABOUT

Angelina Jolie exits Grauman's ChineseTheatre after the "Kung Fu Panda 2"premiere, holding the hands of two ofher six kids, Shiloh and Maddox.

Ben Affleck is on daddy

duty as he spends the

day out with daughters

Violet and Seraphina.

Reese Witherspoon enjoye on the beach with her dau and some friends during a July party in Malibu, Califo

Nicole Richie and Joel

Madden took their kids

out for some fun in the

sun in Santa Monica, Calif.

Jessica Alba

grabs a treat

with her

daughter Honor.

Jennifer Lopez

hits The Grov

with twins Ma

and Emme.

Heidi Klum spends a funfilled day with daughtersLeni and Lou at a park inthe Tribeca section ofNew York City.

Halle Berry wears a bluedress over her bikini asshe takes her daughterNahla shopping forgroceries at Bristol Farms.

Nicole Kidman

steps out with

baby Faith,

13 months.

KATIE’S REASONS FORDIVORCING TOMREVEALED! Tom Cruise, 50, tied the knot with Katie Holmes, 33, in a storybook Italiancastle in November 2006. Unfortunately, their fairytale romance has gonesour and Holmes has filed for a divorce from Cruise. Here’s why: to keepSuri away from Scientology. TMZ.com claims Holmes filed for divorcemainly over Cruise’s ties to Scientology, “fearing that Tom would drag Surideep into the church.” “We’re told the couple had been arguing over Suri -that she’s now of the age where Scientology becomes a significant part ofher life,” says the tabloid. “Suri faced an inquisition of 99 sinister questionsat a Scientology boot camp. The chilling prospect helped to convince KatieHolmes to divorce the movie superstar,” reports the Sun. Katie Holmes’friends believe that the actress’ career will be relaunched following hermulti-million divorce from husband Tom Cruise. The star, who posedseductively in a bathing suit earlier this year for Brazilian jewellery label HStern, is expected to build on the acclaim she won as Jackie Kennedy in themini TV series The Kennedys. Agencies

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:26 AM Page 12

13

A magazine report claimsthat Salman Khan beat upex-flame Katrina Kaif whenshe walked in wearing a“figurehugging, cleavage-revealing dress that showedtoo much skin.” Katrina’sfriend vehemently deniesthe incident saying thereport is completelyuntrue. Salman wassupposedly sitting out onthe set, waiting for hisheroine to emerge from hervanity van. When she did,it was allegedly in afigurehugging, cleavage-revealing dress that showedtoo much skin. Or soSalman is said to have felt.Irritated, he supposedlyquestioned her about whatshe was wearing and why.Katrina apparentlyshrugged her slimshoulders and quipped thatit was the director’sdecision. …A perfectlylegitimate response but one

that evidently caused herex-beau to flip his lid.‘I’ll see your director!’ heis supposed to haveretorted hotly, beforeallegedly breaking outinto a torrent of foullanguage. But worse wasapparently yet to come.“This is completelyuntrue. Salman andKatrina chose to work inthe same film becausethere was no animositybetween them. They gotalong famously duringthe Dublin and theIstanbul schedules.Salman cares for Katrinaa lot. She is like family,”a friend commented“People make up a lot ofstories. Only becausethey couldn’t keep up totheir commitment ofmaking an appearance atan awards function,rumours started flying,”she added. Agencies

Shahid Kapoor goes back to class!

Amagazine Being a Bollywood actor is notjust about looking good and spreadingyour arms wide for romantic songs. And

after Ranbir Kapoor’s sign-language lessons forthe yet-to-release Barfi! and AyushmannKhurrana’s eyebrow-threading training for VickyDonor, it’s time for Shahid Kapoor to go back tothe classroom. The actor’s focus is now on a yet-untitled Yash Raj project. And to convincinglyportray a middle-class Marwari boy in the film, heis all set to undergo a workshop to learn theaccent and the nuances of the language. “Shahidwill learn the tone and the manner in which thelanguage is spoken,” a source tells us. So far, weknow that the script for the romantic-drama hasbeen written by Jaideep Sahni and is beingdirected by Maneesh Sharma. In fact, it wasManeesh who insisted that Shahid learn the finercharacteristics and accent for the part. Theworkshop will be held around mid-July forapproximately 10-12 days. After that, the unit willhead to Jaipur where they will commence shootingfrom the first week of August. Agencies

Kate Winslet is not a diva

EDDIE Oscar winning actress Kate Winslet says shehates diva-like behaviour on set and does her bestto put big-headed young actors in their place. The

Titanic star is critical of the way some young actorsbehave behind the scenes on films. “I had greatexamples set to me at a very young age and to this day Iam still grateful for that because whenever I am workingwith a younger actor who I think might be slightly out ofline, or getting a little bit too pleased with themselves, Iknow I have to set my good example and really set itwell. “I might be playing the lead but no one’s trailer isgoing to be bigger than anyone else’s, no one is going tohave all these stars flopping around, no one is going tohave a great big entourage,” she said. Agencies

First Look: Naomi Watts asPrincess Di in upcoming movie

DOWNFALL director Oliver Hirschbiegel’sPrincess Diana biopic is currently filming inCroatia, and today brings us a first look at

headliner Naomi Watts in character as the late Englishrose. Caught in Flight will follow Princess Di’s lifeduring the two years leading up to her tragic death in1997. Particularly, the film will focus on the royal’srelationship with British-Pakistani heart and lungsurgeon Dr. Hasnat Kahn, which ended shortly beforethe fatal accident. “She is a part of our history, anincredible woman and fascinating but a tragic ending,”Watts said, after landing the lead role back inFebruary. “The filmmakers came to me and it’s a goodscript and it’s very scary and I kind of wanted to say‘no’ but I couldn’t.”desK

DID SALMAN BEAT KATRINA?

AGENCIES

RUMORS that Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcherare dating are getting harder for the pair todeny after they were spotted looking like waymore than just friends on a recent lunch date.

On Saturday, the two actors grabbed lunch at SohoHouse in Los Angeles and eyewitnesses told Us Weeklythey couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

“They were seated on a couch on the same side ofthe table and Mila was running her hands through Ash-ton’s hair. She had her elbow resting on his back andcouldn’t stop playing with his hair and rubbing hisshoulders. He leaned in and whispered to her and kissedher cheek. They were holding hands,” said the source.

Rumors the two were dating began in April, and arep for the 28-year-old actress told reporters the twowere not dating, but had “been friends for a long time.”

The pair met on the set of “That ‘70s Show” in 1998and played an on-screen couple for several seasons. In2001 Kunis told People magazine that Kutcher was herfirst real on-camera kiss, and revealed that she had ahuge crush on him back when she was just 15 years old:

Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcherdating: rumored coupleget cozy on lunch date

ed a stroll ughter Ava a Fourth of ornia.

.

z

ve

ax

Veena says she has a split personality Pakistani model-turned-actor VeenaMalik, who was born as Zahida, says

that she has a dual personality inreal life. “I have a split personal-

ity. Veena Malik was bornwhen I was 10 years old. Za-

hida Malik’s personality isvery elusive, quite. She

would sit in the cornerand cry all the time.She falls in love very

easily. She wants tostick to one

person.

She has no interest in cameras andlights. She is a very simple person,”Veena said in an interview “Veena is avery different person. I have pulledZahida out of wrong relationship.Veena is a brave person. She hardlycries. She is a very strong person. Iam so thankful to my studies like psy-chology that helped me understandmyself. I am two people at one,” sheadded. Veena played a double role inher debut Bollywood film Daal MeinKuch Kaala Hai released on Friday.

HindustAn times

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:26 AM Page 13

Wednesday, 4 July, 2012

Page 16

Dilshan, Sangakkara lift gloom with tonsCOLOMBO

Afp

SRI Lanka's Tillakaratne Dil-shan and Kumar Sangakkarasmashed successive cen-turies against Pakistan tolight up the rain-hit second

Test in Colombo on Tuesday.The hosts, replying to Pakistan's first

innings total of 551-6 declared, took theirovernight score of 70-1 to 278-5 bystumps on the fourth day at the SinhaleseSports Club.

Dilshan scored 121 and Sangakkarawas unbeaten on 144 as the pair put on225 runs for the second wicket afteropener Tharanga Paranavitana fell forzero on Monday.

Pakistan grabbed four wickets in thefinal session to leave Sri Lanka still need-ing 74 more runs to save the follow-on onthe last day.

But a draw appears likely as rain onceagain wiped off two hours of play in thepost-lunch session after bad weather onthe previous two days restricted thebowlers to only 71 of the stipulated 180overs.

More rain has been forecast for thefinal day on Wednesday.

Sangakkara had scored an unbeaten199 and Dilshan made 101 in the first Testin Galle last week which Sri Lanka won by209 runs to take the lead in the three-match series.

Both settled down once again topound the Pakistani attack on a deadpitch that provided no assistance to the

bowlers.Dilshan was the first to the landmark,

lofting off-spinner Saeed Ajmal for a sixto bring up his 14th Test hundred and thethird against Pakistan.

Left-handed Sangakkara surpassedAustralian legend Don Bradman's tally of29 centuries with a single off Ajmal in thenext over.

When Sangakkara reached 60, he be-come the highest run-getter against Pak-istan, surpassing Indian great SunilGavaskar's tally of 2,089 runs from 24Tests.

Sangakkara, who is playing his 15thTest against Pakistan, has scored ninecenturies against them with a top score of230 in Lahore in March, 2002.

Dilshan was dismissed in the finalhour of play when he was trapped leg-be-fore by left-arm seamer Junaid Khan. Hehit 13 fours and a six.

Junaid then picked up his third

wicket as skipper Mahela Jayawardenepadded up to an incoming delivery andwas declared leg-before by umpire SimonTaufel for no score. Ajmal removed Thi-lan Samaraweera for zero and Abdur

Rehman sent back nightwatchman SurajRandiv in the day's last over to enablePakistan to end the day on a high.

The third Test will be played inPallekele from July 8.

pAKistAn 1st innings 551-6 declared (mohammad Hafeez 196,

taufeeq umar 65, Azhar Ali 157, misbah-ul Haq 66 not out, r.

Herath 3-164)

sri lAnKA 1st innings (overnight 70-1):

t. paranavitana c Azhar b Junaid 0

t. dilshan lbw b Junaid 121

K. sangakkara not out 144

m. Jayawardene lbw b Junaid 0

t. samaraweera lbw b Ajmal 0

s. randiv lbw b rehman 5

extras: (b4, lb4) 8

total (for five wickets, 85.4 overs) 278

fall of wickets: 1-11 (paranavitana), 2-236 (dilshan), 3-250 (m.

Jayawardene), 4-259 (samaraweera), 5-278 (randiv).

bowling: cheema 18-5-66-0, Junaid 19-3-56-3, Ajmal 26-0-77-

1, rehman 16.4-3-50-1, Hafeez 6-0-21-0.

sri lanka trail by 273 runs with five wickets in hand

toss: sri lanka

umpires: ian gould (eng) and simon taufel (Aus)

tV umpire: ruchira palliyaguruge (sri)

match referee: david boon (Aus).

scoreboArd

LAHOREstAff report

The Pakistan cricket Board on Tuesdayconfirmed the participation of the do-mestic T20 champions Sialkot Stal-lions in the October's Twenty20Champions League

An official of the PCB said thatthey received an invitation from Indiainviting the national champions toplay the qualification round of theLeague, which he believes is a step to-wards reviving cricket ties between thearch-rivals which have been sus-pended since 2008.

The Board of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI) last month gave the goahead to include Pakistan's Twenty20champions in the multinationalleague, which brings together 10 topteams, including those from India,

Australia and South Africa."PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board)

confirms that an invitation has beenreceived from the Champions LtagueTwenty20, inviting the winners of Pak-istan Twenty20 event to participate inthe qualifying tournament," a state-ment issued by the PCB said.

"The invitation will be discussed inthe PCB's Executive CoordinationCommittee meeting on Wednesday."

The PCB last month called the in-vitation "the first step towards reviv-ing cricketing ties between the twocountries". According to a foreignnews agency, the main league will beheld from October 9-28 in SouthAfrica, with qualifying rounds takingplace before the main event.

The Sialkot Stallions won the do-mestic Twenty20 event in Pakistanearlier this year. They were due to fea-

ture in the inaugural ChampionsLeague in 2009 but were not invitedafter India severed bilateral relationswith Pakistan in the wake of terroristattacks on Mumbai.

New Delhi blamed militants basedin Pakistan for the attacks which left166 people dead. Both Pakistan andIndia have since come a long way innormalising ties, with the opening oftrade earlier this year.

Pakistan's President Asif AliZardari toured India for a day earlierthis year, requesting prime ministerManmohan Singh to revive cricketingties, prompting BCCI's decision to in-clude a Pakistani team in the league.

Pakistan expects a breakthroughin relations later this year but theBCCI said the Indian team's hecticschedule is the main hurdle in arrang-ing any series in the near future.

PCB receives ChampionsLeague invite from India

Kamran summoned by PCB integrity committeeKARACHI

Afp

A Pakistani cricket committee hassummoned wicket-keeper batsmanKamran Akmal in a bid to clear himfrom suspicion of match-fixing and re-vive his derailed career, an official saidTuesday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)integrity committee will questionKamran on Wednesday, following hisinclusion in the preliminary 30-mansquad for the World Twenty20 in SriLanka in September and October.

"Kamran has been summoned bythe committee and he has been askedto submit some material," PCBspokesman Nadeem Sarwar told AFP,without giving further details.

The 30 year old has not been se-

lected for Pakistan since the 2011World Cup, and the board said he wasnot considered for selection becausehe had not been cleared by the com-mittee.

"Kamran is among the 30 proba-bles for the World Twenty20 but hisinclusion in the final team is subject toclearance from the integrity commit-tee," chief selector Iqbal Qasim toldAFP.

Kamran's name was mentioned atlast year's spot-fixing trial in England,but he was neither summoned by theLondon court nor banned by the Inter-national Cricket Council (ICC).

Former Test captain Salman Buttand pacemen Mohammad Asif andMohammad Aamer were banned andjailed for contriving deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test against

England in 2010.Kamran was also accused of delib-

erately under-performing during Pak-istan's surprise defeat againstAustralia in the 2010 Sydney Test,where he failed to run out Shane Wat-son and dropped three chances onMichael Hussey.

Despite the allegations, Kamranclaimed to have a clearance letter fromthe ICC saying he is not being investi-gated.

He also vowed to clear his namethrough the integrity committee,which reportedly asked for details ofhis assets and bank accounts.

He was axed from the team after adismal keeping behind the stumps atthe World Cup where he dropped NewZealand's Ross Taylor twice in pace-man Shoaib Akhtar's one over.

Lords to hostolympic event

LONDONAfp

It's been 112 years since cricket made a briefOlympic Games appearance. At the LondonGames, the sport will still be absent, but itsspiritual home of Lord's will at least providea support role when it hosts the archerycompetition. The sport, which once againwill be dominated by South Korea, has al-ready had its test event at the famousvenue, albeit played out on a very chillyweek in October last year in front of emptystands. But the ground got the thumbs upfrom competitors and officials. "They likeit," said Tom Dielen, the secretary-generalof International Archery. "They haven't hadtoo many problems with the slope. Archeryhas fallen in love with Lord's."South Korea has won 18 golds since archeryreturned to the Olympics in 1972 after a 52-year absence, double the tally of their clos-est challengers, the United States.They also took gold and silver at the 2009world championships.But at the Beijing Olympics four years, thecountry, although dominating the teamevents, missed out on the individual golds, asurprising development given that Koreanarchers hold the world records. In London,South Korea men's team will be led by 2008team champion Im Dong Hyun, the 2011world championship runner-up Oh JinHyek and newcomer Kim Bubmin.The United States has the top ranked BradyEllison, Jake Kaminski and Jacob Wukie.France, which will be competing in their12th Games, will look to ThomasFaucheron, Romain Girouille and Gael Pre-vost. In the women's tournament, SouthKorea's strongest rivals are expected to beIndia, China, Taiwan and reigning worldchampions Italy. South Korea's team will be made up of top-ranked Ki Bo Bae, 2004 Olympic teamchampion Lee Sun Jin and rookie ChoiHyeonju. India will rely on Bombayla Devi,Deepika Kumari and Chekrovolu Swuro. TheOlympic archery tournament consists of fourmedal events -- men's individual, women'sindividual, men's team, and women's team.In all four events, the distance from thearcher to the target is 70 metres.

Gillespie adds toKiwis injury problemsWelliNgtoN: Paceman Mark Gille-spie will miss New Zealand's tour of theWest Indies after damaging his anklewhile running, adding to the Black Caps'injury list, officials said Tuesday.Gillespie was due to travel to Antigua forthe first of two Tests beginning on July25 but chief selector Kim Littlejohn saidhe would remain in New Zealand aftersuffering ligament damage and severebruising to his ankle."As a precautionary measure Mark feelsthat it would be the right decision to stayin Wellington to continue working on hisrehabilitation," Littlejohn said.New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor has al-ready confirmed he will miss the five-match one-day series beginning inKingston on Friday after injuring hisshoulder during a pre-tour Twenty20 in-ternational series in Florida.Taylor, whose side were crushed by theWest Indies in both the Florida T20matches, is also in doubt for the Testseries. Afp

CoLoMBo: Pakistani cricketer Abdur rehman (C) celebrates with his

teammates after dismissing Suraj randiv. AFP

Kumar Sangakkara celebrates after scoring a century during the

fourth day of the second Test match. AFP

Murray, Ferrer set-up wimbledonquarter-final clash

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:27 AM Page 14

Sports 15wednesday, 4 July, 2012

LAHOREstAff report

WEST Indies openerChris Gayle and Pak-istan allrounderShahid Afridi,among the biggest

entertainers in the Twenty20 format,have been named the two internationalicon players in the inaugural Sri LankaPremier League that begins August 10.

The presence of the duo, who will joinfive other Sri Lanka players as icons oftheir respective teams, lends the fledglingleague some star power and has the po-tential to boost viewership.

Gayle, who is set to play New Zealandin five ODIs and two Tests at home in aseries that ends August 6, will representthe Uva province, while Afridi will playfor Nagenahira, reported ESPNcricinfo.

Last week Sri Lanka Cricket auc-tioned the seven Sri Lanka PremierLeague teams for an average price of $4.3million. A number of Indian companiesare believed to have successfully bid forteams in the Sri Lanka Premier League(SLPL), highlighting the lure of the fran-chise model in cricket's largest marketdespite the BCCI's reluctance to allow In-dian players to participate.

Among the companies are the Wad-hawan Group, a business conglomeratewith interests in real estate, retail and ed-ucation, India Cricket Dundee, an Indianfan organisation along the lines of theBarmy Army, and the Delhi-based RudraGroup, which also has interests in real es-tate.

A player draft will be conducted onJuly 5 and 6, with a lottery held to deter-

mine the order in which players arepicked. SLC will determine the value ofthe contract for each player in advanceand the franchises will be made aware ofthe cost of the player. The players will bedrafted in two groups - the first consist-ing of players from Sri Lanka and the sec-ond, the foreign players. The draft isbeing seen as the best way to ensure thatplayers are evenly distributed among theteams, making it a level playing field.

The SLPL will run for three weeks,

with the final to be held on August 31.There will be 24 games in total, split be-tween Colombo and Pallekele. Teams willbe allowed a maximum of 18 players, outof which six can be foreign players.Teams will be allowed play a maximum offour foreign players per game. Out of theremaining seven players in the XI, onemust be a Sri Lanka Under-21 interna-tional.ViSa haSSleS to deNy afridi,taNVir participatioN iN eNg-

laNd t20 : Meanwhile, Sohail Tanvirand Shahid Afridi, the Pakistani crick-eters, will not feature in this the FriendsLife Twenty20 championships in Englandthis year due to visa-related hassles.

Worcestershire had initially plannedto have Tanvir for the entire T20 season,but his recall to the Pakistan squad forthe One-Day International series in SriLanka last month deemed him unavail-able for the first half of the tournament.And now, with visa issues refusing to be

resolved, the county will have to do with-out the lef-arm paceman for rest of thetournament too.

"It has been well documented thatobtaining visa for overseas professionalsis becoming more and more difficult,"said David Leatherdale, Chief Executiveof Worcestershire County Cricket Club."We are very disappointed that Sohailwon't be joining us. But with just fourgroup matches remaining, and still noguarantee that the visa process has beencompleted in Pakistan, his stay with theclub is no longer practical."

Sohail's unavailability meant Worces-tershire have only one overseas player inPhil Hughes, the Australian opener, fortheir T20 campaign. The team, though, ison course for a quarterfinal berth afterfour wins in their first six matches.

Afridi, the former Pakistan captain,who was supposed to be available forHampshire's entire T20 campaign, is alsounavailable. The delay in obtaining a visameant that Hampshire stuck to their cur-rent set of players for the remainder ofthe tournament.

"We are deep into the 2012 competi-tion and the side is settled so we don't feelit is right to change that now," said GilesWhite, manager of Hampshire CountyCricket Club.

Afridi was one of the shining stars inthe county's campaign in 2011. His 17wickets in ten matches helped the sidequalify for the semifinal, which they lostto Somerset in the one-over eliminator.Hamsphire, however, did not rule Afridiout for the future. "The door is still openfor him to return to Hampshire in futureyears should circumstances suit both par-ties," said White.

Gayle, Afridi named icon players in SL League

Aisam loses in third round thriller

loNdoN: The doubles team of Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshiand Jean-Julein Roger lost in the third round of the Wim-bledon tennis tournament. Aisam Qureshi and Roger lostto J.Marray of United Kingdom and F.Nielsen of Den-mark in a tough five set match (6-7, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 5-7). Afp

Junior open

Squash semis

today

LAHOREstAff reports

The Lahore Junior Open Squash Cham-pionship 2012 has reached the semi-finalstage here on Tuesday. In the quarterfi-nal matches were started at 1000 hourstoday at Punjab Squash Complex, OldClub Road, Davis Road Lahore. In all theunder-11, 13 and 15 age categories quar-ter-final matches were decided while inthe girls category first round encountersand then quarter-finals were held. Quarterfinal results:Boys under-11: Farhan Hashmi beatAhmed Anwar 11-3, 11-7, 11-3, Hamza AliShahid beat Khakan Farooq Malik 11-6,11-4, 11-5, Hamad Khan beat IbtisamRiaz 11-5, 11-5, 11-5, Baaz Ali Khan beatUzair Raja 11-5, 11-0, 11-3Boys under-13: Darosham Khan beatSaram Bin Shoukat 11-4, 11-4, 11-3, HarisQasim beat Rehan Tahir 11-4, 11-1, 13-11,Shahzad Ali Khan beat Aun Abbas 11-6,7-11, 11-8, 11-9, Uzair Rashid beatSalman Khan 11-7, 11-5, 11-3Boys under-15: Abdul Qadir beat AsaadAbid Khan 11-2, 11-9, 11-2, Khizar Qasimbeat Ijaz Khan 11-5, 11-3, 10-12, 11-9,Usmar Hassan beat M. Kibria 11-4, 11-6,11-13, 11-4, Arslan Ramzan beat WajidAkbar 19-17, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2Girls under-15: Nimra Shahid beat BismaAshraf 11-1, 11-2, Aiman Shahbaz beatSana Muneer 11-0, 11-1, Noor Ul Ain beatRoma Yousaf 12-10, 11-3, Kaiynat Li-aquat beat Farah Manzoor 11-2, 11-1.Girls under-15 1ST round: Nimra Shahidbeat Bye, Bisma Ashraf beat Hina Riaz12-10, 11-4, Sana Muneer beat FatimaMuneer 11-1, 11-4, Aiman Shahbaz beatBye, Roma Yousaf beat Bye, Noor Ul Ainbeat Laiba Shahid 11-2, 11-2, Farah Man-zoor beat Sidra M. Ayoub 11-7, 11-6,Kaiynat Liaquat beat Bye.

PCB appreciates

BCCI's invitation LAHORE

stAff report

Hailing the decision of the ChampionsLeague organising committee, which in-cludes Board of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI), to invite Pakistan's SialkotStallions in the qualifying stage of thetournament, Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) chief operating officer SubhanAhmed said this could be the first steptowards the revival of bilateral ties withIndia.Pakistan's domestic T20 champions gotan official invitation from the organisingcommittee of the Champions League,which includes the boards of India,South Africa and Australia, to be one ofthe six teams to play in the qualifyingstage this year."We see this as a very positive develop-ment and since India is one of the mainstake holders in the Champions Leagueobviously it is the first step towards therevival of bilateral ties with India,"Ahmed said.Sialkot Stallions will have to competewith five other teams in the qualifyingstage to grab one of the two spots avail-able to qualify for the main round of thecompetition.Due to strained relations after the Mum-bai terror attacks in November, 2008India has avoided inviting either Pak-istani players for the Indian PremierLeague or a team from Pakistan for theChampions League.But at the Indian Cricket Board's work-ing committee meeting two months back,it was decided to invite a team from Pak-istan for the Champions League, whichwas initially to be held in India. .Ahmed said now that an official invita-tion had come from the organisers, theexecutive coordination committee of thePCB would discuss it on July 4."Pakistan has a very strong T20 domesticbase and obviously we were always keento have representation in the ChampionsLeague," Ahmed said.The cricket boards of India, Australiaand South Africa jointly own and operatethe Champions League, which is a tour-nament contested by the domestic T20champions from Test playing nations.Sialkot Stallions a team led by Pakistan'sformer captain and all-rounder ShoaibMalik are the reigning national andsuper eights T20 champions.

From Athens to LondonPERvEz QASAR

First Olympic Games in 1896Venue: Athens, GreeceDates: April 6-15, 1896Numbers of Sports: 9 (43 events)Numbers of Nations: 14Numbers of Participant: 241 (all male)Youngest Gold medallist: Alfred Hajos( Hungary) aged 18 years 70 days inswiminngOldest medallist: Georgios Orphandis(Greece) aged 37 years in shootingfinal medals tallycountry g s b total

united states 11 7 1 19

greece 10 19 17 46

germany 7 5 2 14

france 5 4 2 11

great britain 3 3 1 7

Hungary 2 1 2 5

Austria 2 - 3 5

Australia 2 - - 2

denmark 1 2 4 7

switzerland 1 2 - 3

total 44 43 32 119

triVia: Greek businessman GeorgesAveroff from Alexandria, Egypt paid

920,000 drachma (£ 36,500 at the 1896exchange rate) for the reconstruction ofthe Panathenean Stadium at Athens.

The Panathenean Stadium at Athens,the venue for the first Olympic Games in1896 was actually been built in 330 BC bythe orator Luycurgus, a disciple of Plato.Australia, France, Greece, Great Britainand Switzerland are the only five coun-tries have never failed to be representedat all Olympic Games since 1896.James Connolly (United Sates) wonthe triple jump on 6 April 1896,and thus became the firstOlympic champion sincethe AncientGames. Healso finishedsecond in thehigh jumpand third inthe long jump.

Alfred Hajos (Hungary) won the100m and the 1,200m events. For thelonger race, the swimmers were trans-ported by boat and left to swim back toshore alone. Only first and second placefinishers of first Olympic Games were

awarded medals. The winners receivedsilver medals and crowns of olivebranches, while second place finishers re-ceived bronze medals.QuiZ:Q 1: What was the unique achieve-ment of the Soviet union wrestlingteam at montreal olympics in1976?

A. All the 10 members ofthe team returned home

with medals.Q 2: Which coun-try won the men’shandball title at

montreal in 1976?A. Soviet Union

Q 3: When did the mod-ern pentathlon make its

debut in olympics ?A. 1912

Q 4: What was the name of themain stadium at mexico city, thevenue of the 1968 games ?

A. Estodio OlympicoQ 5: Who is the only olympic gymnastto win five gold in one celebration ?

A. Anton Heide (United States).

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:27 AM Page 15

Sports16wednesday, 4 July, 2012

LONDONAfp

aNDY Murray on Tuesdayreached a fifth successiveWimbledon quarter-finalwhere he will meet Span-ish bulldozer David Ferrer

who has made the last eight for the firsttime at the 10th attempt.

British fourth seed Murray beatCroatian 16th seed Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 as organisers scrambled tomake up for lost time caused by heavyrain.

He will now attempt to go on to afourth All England Club semi-final onthe trot, but will first have to get pastseventh-seeded Ferrer who put outformer US Open champion Juan Mar-tin del Potro 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Murray had led Queen's Club win-ner Cilic, against whom he was de-fending a 5-1 career record, 7-5, 3-1overnight when play was suspendeddue to Monday's downpours.

They played twogames Tuesday

before morerain sentthem offCourt Onefor an hour.

But onthe resump-tion, the

S c o t

was rarely troubled as Cilic struggledwith his opponent and the damp,chilly conditions.

Murray was playing his last 16 tieagainst a background of controversyafter it was suggested that, as thecountry's best hope for a finalist sinceBunny Austin in 1938, he should playall his matches on Centre Court.

"I honestly don't care which courtI play on. It makes no difference butobviously every player would rather beon Centre Court because you know youare going to get your match in regard-less of the weather," Murray said.

"I don't think I deserve to playevery match on Centre Court. It's justannoying when the weather is bad.

"I haven't always dealt with raindelays that well in the past, so it'sgood experience for me. Probably fromnow on I will play on Centre so it won'tbe a problem."

Only three of the scheduled last 16men's ties had been completed onMonday with Novak Djokovic, RogerFederer and Mikhail Youzhny able toenjoy a day-off before Wednesday'squarter-finals.

Federer will play Youzhny lookingfor a 14th win in 14 matches againstthe Russian.

Defending champion Djokovic willtackle German 31stseed Florian Mayer,who reached thequarter-finals for the

second time, eightyears after his first

appearance, witha 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win overFrench 18thseed RichardGasquet.

It wasMayer's firstwin over 2007semi- f inal is t

Gasquet since 2004 and was sweet re-venge for losing a Davis Cup quarter-final rubber to the French player in2011 after being two sets to loveahead. "It's an unbelievable feeling.Eight years ago I was here in the quar-ters, and now eight years later it's hap-pened again. So it's a wonderful dreamfor me," said Mayer.

Ferrer never got the chance tostart his match on Monday, but the30-year-old, now carrying Spain'shopes after the shock elimination ofRafael Nadal, wasted no time againstninth seed Del Potro, racing home be-neath the Centre Court roof in undertwo hours.

Del Potro, who had also made thelast 16 in 2011, was undone by 20 un-forced errors compared to Ferrer's

more conservative eight."Of course I prefer Rafael or an-

other Spaniard here with me because Iam only with my team," said Ferrer,who is tied 5-5 in career meetings withMurray.

Philipp Kohlschreiber, the 27thseed, became the second German intothe last eight, ending US qualifierBrian Baker's fairytale run with a 6-1,7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win in an hour and 55minutes on Court 12.

He will faces either French fifthseed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or US 10thseed Mardy Fish in the last eight.

Kohlschreiber, who fired 23 aces,goes fourth on the list of the mostGrand Slams played before reachingthe last eight, having got there on the33rd attempt.

Bahria Garden hostsAmbassador’s Golf

LAHOREstAff report

The Opening ceremony of 1st Ambas-sador’s Golf Association Tournament2012 was held at Garden City Golf &Country Club, Phase 8, Bahria TownRawalpindi.Rodolfo J. Martin Saravia, AmbassadorArgentina ad President AGAP was thechief guest on the prize distribution cer-emony. Vice Chief Executive Cdr (r) MIlyas (President Garden City Golf &Country Club), Vice Chief ExecutiveProjects II Marium Rehman & manyother distinguished guests were presenton the occasion.Chief Guest Rodolfo J. Martin awardedprizes to the winner & Runner ups.1stPrize in Category (A) goes to MikkoLainejoki 43 points. In Category (B) LTGeneral Mr Syed Sabahat was the win-ner, Category (C)Mr Rodolfo J. MartinSaravia win 1st prize.

Young rising stars triumphant

LAHOREstAff report

In the 5th National Inter-Club WomenFootball Championship-2012YoungRising Stars registered a big win onTuesday at the Islamabad ground. Young Rising Star WFC Rawalpindibeat Hazara Shaheen WFC Abbotabad4:0 @ Jinnah Sports Complex Sta-dium, Islamabad. Scorer Rising Star:Nabeela Hashmi 1 Goal @ 2 Minute,Zara Kiani 1 Goal @ 20 Minute,Bushra Jamali 1 Goal @ 27 Minute andSaher Zaman 1 Goal @ 30 Minute, As-mara Kiani 1 Goal @ 40 Minute andMaapara 1 Goal @ 55 Minute.

ushna wins in egyptLAHORE

stAff report

Ushna Suhail of Pakistan defeatedItalian to qualify for main draw of theITF Pro-circuit Women Tennis inEgyptUshna Suhail, who has been bothwomen and junior tennis champion inPakistan, is currently working hard totrain and compete in ITF ProcircuitWomens Tennis. Currently she is inShrem ul Sheikh, Egypt participatingin a tournament. She lost in doublesquarters last week.On Monday she qualified for the nextmain round by defeating her oppo-nent from Italy, Emy Damiani. Ushnaplayed a very aggressive game andfinished the match in straight setswith a scoreline of 6-1, 6-1.She is playing her next single firstround against 3 seed from Kazak-istan, Kamila Kerimbayeva. For thedoubles, her partner is Adnya Naikfrom India.

CondolenceLAHORE

stAff report

Cricket Organiser and Chairman ofEast Zone Cricket Association Tourn-ment Committee Waqqar-ul-Munirand Sye Tauqeer Ali Shah presidentWest Zone cricket Association,Tauseef Club, Wahdat Eaglets, ServiceClub, Rising Stars, MughalpuraWhites, Model Town Club, AkhterAbdul Rehman Club, Mehboob ParkGymkhana, Aamir Memorial, PrinceClub, ,Ghari Shaho Gym and manyother clubs of the city have expressedtheir deep shock and grief over thesad demise on the death of PCB Um-pire, President Of Rising star club andjoint secretary of EAst Zone cricketAssociation Hanif Muhammad. In acondolence message they conveyedtheir sorrow on the death of HanifMuhammad.

Murray, Ferrer set-upWimbledon quarters clash

kohlschreiber ends Baker'sfairytale run

loNdoN: Philipp Kohlschreiber made it intothe quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the firsttime, ending US qualifier Brian Baker's fairytalerun in a straight sets win at Wimbledon on Tues-day. The German 27th seed won 6-1, 7-6 (7/4),6-3 in an hour and 55 minutes on Court 12 andnow faces either French fifth seed Jo-WilfriedTsonga or US 10th seed Mardy Fish in the lasteight. Baker lost six years of his career after fivedifferent operations on a hernia, then his leftand right hips and finally his right elbow. Heeventually felt ready to return to tennis in July2011 and the 27-year-old has enjoyed a remark-ably successful time back on the circuit. Bakerstarted the year ranked 458 but the world num-ber 126 will break into the top 100 after hisWimbledon run, with the American likely toenter at around 77. Kohlschreiber goes fourth on

the list of the most Grand Slams played before reaching the last eight, having got thereon the 33rd attempt. Fabrice Santoro holds the unenviable record at 54, followed byAustralian doubles duo Mark Woodforde on 38 and Todd Woodbridge on 34. TheGerman made it into the last eight thanks to some 23 aces and superb net play.Kohlschreiber was 3-1 up in the first set when the players went off for a rain break. Afp

MAdrId: Spanish national football team players parade on a open bus in

Madrid after winning the euro Cup for the second time 4-0 against Italy. AFP

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:27 AM Page 16

eUro 2012 WinnerS watch it Live

TEN SPORTS2nd Test: Pakistanvs Sri Lanka 09:30AM

STAR SPORTSWimbledonTennis04:00PM

Sports 17wednesday, 4 July, 2012

uS stars eye

30-medal

olympic haulEUGENE

Afp

USA Track and Field officials and USOlympic coaches are confident ofachieving their goal of a 30-medal haulfrom the London Olympics after watch-ing competitors qualify over the past 10days. "There's a real opportunity forthat," US Olympic men's track coach An-drew Valmon said. "We have a strongteam. If we are clicking on all cylindersanything is possible."A blend of talented veterans, some hop-ing for a return to the medal podium,and top newcomers advancing from theUS Olympic Track and Field Trialsstaged at Hayward Field give the Ameri-cans a chance to improve on 2008 dis-appointment."That is a reachable goal," USA Trackand Field chief executive Max Siegelsaid of 30 US athletics medals. "I'm con-fident we will have a good showing inLondon. The athletes performed well.We have a strong team."Americans claimed 23 medals from ath-letics at Beijing with seven golds, ninesilvers and seven bronzes. But the 2008US men produced only 14 medals, thesecond-fewest at any Olympics, and onlyfour golds, the fewest of any Olympics.And most of the disappointments at thetrials came on the men's side. WalterDix, second in the 100 and 200 meters atlast year's worlds and third in the sameevents at the 2008 Olympics, failed toqualify in either after a leg injury.Beijing Olympic decathlon winner BryanClay, former world shot put championAdam Nelson and 2004 400m winnerJeremy Wariner also missed London. Sodid 2008 Olympic 110 hurdles medalistDavid Oliver and 400 hurdles medalistBershawn Jackson.But some of the trials stars were on themen's side as well, including world de-cathlon record-setter Ashton Eaton,5,000 and 10,000 doubler Galen Ruppand 110 hurdles stars Jason Richardsonand Aries Merritt, each under 13 sec-onds for the first time in their lives.

Bolt, Blake prepped to make track and field centre stagePARIS

Afp

The doping-tarnished world of athleticsneeded a boost at the 2008 Beijing Olympicsand duly received a massive one from Ja-maican sprint star Usain Bolt, who changedthe face of track and field as we know it. Thegood news for organisers of next month'sLondon Games is that the ebullient 25-year-old remains in tip-top form and professeshimself desperate to defend his double sprintgold medal-showing from four years ago.

But he will have a battle on his hands,having recently been pipped in both the100 and 200m in the Jamaican Olympictrials by training partner Yohan Blake,crowned world champion in Daegu lastyear after Bolt sensationally false started inthe final. Bolt truly revolutionised athleticswith his performances in a captivated Bird'sNest stadium in the Chinese capital, settingthen-world records in both the 100 and200m and also going on to claim a thirdgold as part of Jamaica's WR-setting4x100m relay team. He went on to replicatehis three golds in the 2009 world champi-

onships in Berlin, remarkably setting thecurrent world records of 9.58 and 19.19secin the 100 and 200m respectively.

"I am the Olympic champion and Ihave to show the world I am the best," Boltsaid after his double losses in the trials toBlake. "I will always make a comeback. It isnot like I was blown away. I know what Ineed to do to get it right."

Blake said he had not been shocked byrecording a rare double defeat of Bolt.

"I have been working hard and am see-ing it paying off now," Blake said. "I was notsurprised by the big win. I know what Bolthas to offer and I know he was not at 100percent. I just tried to keep my form."

Contenders for the blue riband event ofthe 100m will come from another Jamaicanin the shape of Asafa Powell and the Amer-ican duo of Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin,the 2004 Olympic 100m champion barredfrom defending his title in Beijing afterbeing banned for doping offences.

Gay, who has committed to racing justthe 100m come London, has made a slowstart to the season, but came through theUS trials alongside Gatlin, the latter insist-

ing they were ready to face the Jamaicanchallenge.

"We all have our eyes on that prize wewant to get at the end," Gatlin said. "If thereare three Jamaicans we have to get out ofthe way, that will be our goal." But athleticsis not all about one man and his roadshow,although meeting organisers and the gen-eral public may beg to differ...

Track and field will be held from Au-gust 3-12, the last 10 days of the Games, atthe newly-built Olympic Stadium, with anestimated 2,000 athletes competing in 47events. The men will compete in 24 eventsand the women in 23, with the latter'sschedule lacking the gruelling 50km racewalk. The US team suffered one of its worstshowings in Olympics history but still fin-ished atop the gold medal standings in Bei-jing thanks to its men's 4x400m relaysquad winning the penultimate race of thecompetition. The Americans finished withseven golds, nine silvers and seven bronzesfor a total of 23. Russia came second with18 medals (six gold, five silver, sevenbronze and Jamaica third with six golds,three silvers and two bronzes.

Kenya bumped up their medal count to14 (5-5-4) with gold medal-winning per-formances in the men's 800m andwomen's 1500m, and the late Samuel Wan-jiru claiming the men's marathon title. TheUS team, always happy to make their "mi-nority" sport centre stage, will again bestrong, with incredible strength in depth inthe sprints and hurdles. On the track it re-mains to be seen how the Ethiopian duo ofKenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibabashape up against a formidable-lookingKenyan middle and long-distance team ledby 800m world record holder David Rud-isha. The two multi-medal-winning long-distance runners claimed the men andwomen's 5000m and 10,000m doubleswithin a day of each other.

But Bekele is battling to regain his formafter a two-year-long battle with an achillestendon problem, and has so far looked offthe pace. Dibaba, meanwhile, won in the5000m at the New York Diamond Leaguebut will have her work cut out against stand-out Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot, who claimedan impressive 5000-10,000m double at theworld championships in Daegu.

Villas-Boas confirmednew Tottenham boss

LONDONAfp

Former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boaswas confirmed as the new manager of Tot-tenham on Tuesday following the shockdeparture of Harry Redknapp last month."The club is delighted to announce AndreVillas-Boas as Head Coach," Spurs con-firmed on their official Twitter feed follow-ing days of speculation concerning thePortuguese coach. The appointment marksa dramatic return to the English PremierLeague for Villas-Boas, who was fired asmanager of Chelsea in March just eightmonths into a three-year contract.Villas-Boas' ill-fated reign at StamfordBridge ended in dismissal after months ofunrest behind the scenes, with rumours ofplayer mutinies and a breakdown in rela-tions with the manager. However the 34-year-old -- who arrived at Chelsea after astellar quadruple-winning season withPorto -- has successfully convinced Spurschairman Daniel Levy that he is the bestman to build on Redknapp's legacy.

Beaten butunbowed, Italysquad returns home

ROMEAfp

Italy's footballers were welcomed back by asmall group of just a few dozen fans onMonday after defeat by Spain in the Euro2012 final but said they were already look-ing forward to the World Cup in 2014. Ar-riving on a flight from Krakow in Poland atRome's Fiumicino airport, the footballersdressed in suits and ties were greeted withshouts of encouragement and later attendeda high-pomp ceremony with President Gior-gio Napolitano. Fans chanted the nationalanthem and asked the players to autographa placard reading "Go Italy" before the foot-ballers boarded their buses. One player,Leonardo Bonucci, admitted to AFP beforegetting on that there was an overwhelmingfeeling of disappointment among his teammates. "There is always sadness because wewere there -- one step away from the dream,from realising something important," hesighed. "Unfortunately we did not manageto impose ourselves against a great team.Now we are leaving this Euro with the willto put into practice the tactics that (coach)Cesare Prandelli taught us," he said.

Sea of fans throw agiant party for heroes

MADRIDAfp

SPAIN'S triumphant Euro2012 heroes parted a red-and-yellow sea of fans incentral Madrid on Mondayin a giant, deafening na-

tional fiesta that swept aside all thoughtsof economic crisis. An open-top double-decker bus ferried the team like a smallboat picking its way through a vast oceanof hundreds of thousands of adoringSpaniards waving flags, cheering anddancing to thumping rock music.

Helicopters hovering above filmeda crowd that seemed to carpet the en-tire heart of the capital to rejoice inSpain's historic 4-0 thrashing of Italyin the Ukrainian capital Kiev. At the cli-max of the party, the players basked inglory in the central Plaza de Cibelessquare, where Queen's "We are theChampions" blared from loudspeakers.

In the centre of the square, a hugeSpain flag was draped around the neck ofan emblematic stone fountain of the god-dess of nature riding a chariot hauled bylions. The team joined a rock group tosing and dance on a huge stage in thesquare, with towering video screens be-hind. Rappers blared out the song "Nohay dos sin tres (You can't have two with-out three)" in praise of Spain's unprece-dented third straight title and the teamdanced along, wearing red T-shirds read-

ing "Champions of Europe.""For me it is a great pride to be able

to captain this team of great players andgreat people," Spain goalkeeper and cap-tain Iker Casillas told fans from the stage.

"Thank you for being here!"Left winger Andres Iniesta, who was

crowned the player of the tournament,said he was humbled to be part of a leg-endary squad.

"But more than anything I feel veryproud to see your expressions of joy inthese difficult times for us -- it is a matterof pride to see you happy," he said.

During the victory parade, Spaniardspacked the streets from the buildingsright to the edge of the bus, which was es-corted by mounted police as it gingerlymade its way to the city centre.

Leaning over the edge of the bus, for-ward Cesc Fabregas brandished the silvertrophy, adding to an unprecedented col-lection that includes the 2008 Euro andthe 2010 World Cup. Residents hungfrom apartment balconies to get a glimpseof their heroes, waving wildly as the teampassed and throwing buckets of water tocool fellow party-goers on the streetbelow. Giant red balloons bobbed abovesupporters' heads.

One fan, 42-year-old Jaime Barea,brought a group of 14 children, his ownand his friends' offspring.

"It will give them an unforgettablememory," he said. "When I was small Idid not have this chance. Spain went for

40 years without winning."Fernando Torres, winner of the

Golden Boot for his three goals and oneassist in the tournament, perched non-chalantly at one point with one leg hang-ing over the edge of the bus.

Barcelona forward Cesc Fabregaslaughed and waved to fans. Real Madrid'sSergio Ramos danced in his seat.

Smiling coach Vicente del Bosque, ina white business shirt, leaned over, wavedgingerly and even swayed to the music.

Chants of "Champions, Champions!"rang through the Spanish capital.

King Juan Carlos, 74, still hobblingafter injuring his hip during an Africanelephant-hunting safari, joined with theroyal family in hailing the victors at thePalacio de la Zarzuela in Madrid.

"Spaniards are proud of you, reallyproud, and not only because each of youare good players but because as a teamyou are terrific," he said before the playersjoined the national fiesta.

Casillas gave the king a Spain shirtwith the number 1, signed by the entireteam.

"The country is more united and peo-ple can forget their problems for a while,"said 27-year-old Jessica Pino in a teamshirt, draped in the Spanish flag and witha Viking hat in the national colours. Theparty erupted from the end of the first halfof the match on Sunday night, whenSpain was already 2-0 up, and huge num-bers of fans invaded the Plaza de Cibeles.

Bonus frozen as French quartet face probePARIS

Afp

Bonuses owed to the France team for hav-ing made the quarter-finals of the re-cently-concluded EuropeanChampionships have been frozen, theFrench football federation announced onTuesday. Each member of the Frenchteam, which lost 2-0 in the quarters toeventual winners Spain, was eligible for abonus of 100,000 euros.

But in light of the in-fighting and ill-discipline that dogged the country's Eurocampaign, federation president Noel LeGraet said: "The whole of the bonuses ofthe France team at Euro 2012 are frozen.

"It's blocked money, which may be re-distributed or maybe not."

Le Graet, up for re-election in Decem-ber, added that four players from thesquad would appear at a disciplinarycommittee "as soon as possible after theirholidays" to explain their behaviour at thetournament hosted by Poland and

Ukraine. "Four players will go before thedisciplinary committee: (Hatem) BenArfa, (Yann) Mvila, (Samir) Nasri and(Jeremy) Menez," Le Graet said after ameeting of the executive committee, abody he said was unable to impose sanc-tions. "The players must be punished,sanctioned, but I don't want to make vic-tims out of them.

"Financial sanctions are detailed inour statutes, and (possible) suspensionsfor the upcoming cases will be examined

most fairly." Nasri verbally abused anAFP journalist after the loss to Spain andwas seen as a disruptive influencethroughout, while Ben Arfa had a dress-ing room row with Laurent Blanc, whostood down as coach after the tourna-ment. Menez railed at a referee, and ges-tured at captain Hugo Lloris during theSpain game, telling him to shut up, whileM'Vila did not shake hands with Blanc orhis replacement when he was substitutedby Olivier Giroud.

KHI 04-07-2012_Layout 1 7/4/2012 3:28 AM Page 17

wednesday, 4 July, 2012

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 79, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi. Editor: Arif Nizami

18

ISLAMABADAgencies

THE Supreme Court on Tues-day issued a 42-page de-tailed verdict of the

disqualification of former primeminister Yousaf Raza Gilani, stat-ing that the National Assemblyspeaker had no discretion left inthe matter when a court of compe-tent jurisdiction had found a mem-ber of parliament guilty of anoffence falling under Article63(1)(g) of the constitution.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Moham-mad Chaudhry himself wrote 42-page ruling in Urdu language while

it also include a six-page additionalnote written by Justice Jawwad SKhawaja. The verdict states that thedisqualification ruling was finalisedafter the government decided not tofile an appeal against the convictionverdict by the seven-member bench.

The order said Gilani’s lawyerscould not satisfied the court that aperson guilty of contempt of courtcan remain prime minister. Theorder said the CJP had ruled thatwhen a court of competent juris-diction found a member of parlia-ment guilty of an offence fallingunder Article 63(1)(g) of the con-stitution, the speaker had no dis-cretion left in the matter. In such

circumstances, the constitution re-quired the speaker to refer thematter of disqualification to theElection Commission. Therefore,by not referring the matter to theElection Commission, the NationalAssembly speaker exceeded herlawful authority. Her decisiontherefore was liable to be struckdown upon judicial review.

Earlier on June 19, a three-member bench, issuing shortorder, disqualified the former pre-mier. The SC declared Gilani dis-qualified from holding a seat inparliament from the date of hisconviction on April 26 by a seven-member bench for contempt of

court. However, National Assem-bly Speaker Dr Fahmida Mirza as-serted the position that noreference was binding, so she didnot move the Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP) against Gilanifor his disqualification. Later, nu-merous identical petitions werefiled against the NA speaker’s rul-ing. Hearing the petition, thebench disqualified Gilani from pre-miership as well as the member-ship of the assembly. Hours afterthe pronouncement of the shortorder, the Election Commissionde-notified Gilani as member ofthe National Assembly and de-clared his seat vacant.

NEW DELHIinp

Pakistan on Tuesday asked India to shareevidence and information regarding AbuJundal, the 26/11 handler arrested bySaudi Arabia and deported to India.

Visiting Pakistani Foreign SecretaryJalil Abbas Jilani said his government hadrequested New Delhi to share evidence onAbu Jundal.

Jundal has admitted being involved inthe 26/11 attacks conspiracy.

The foreign secretary further said hisgovernment would extend to India everypossible help in its fight against terrorism.Pakistani authorities had on Mondayclaimed that 40 Indian nationals were alsoinvolved in the Mumbai attacks.

“Our information is that there were atleast 40 Indian nationals who helped theattackers. We want India to come clean onthis,” an unnamed official of Pakistan’sForeign Office was quoted as saying.

The official further claimed Indian au-thorities had “always been reluctant to giveus the full picture” of the investigation intothe Mumbai attacks. “When a Pakistani ju-dicial commission visited India to collectevidence, it was stopped from cross-exam-ining the witnesses,” he claimed.

Pakistan could take “decisive action” if

it is provided details of the investigation,the official claimed. “We cannot act onhearsay,” he said.

Indian officials have maintained thatan agreement finalised between Delhi andIslamabad before the commission’s visitmade it very clear that the panel would notbe allowed to cross-examine witnesses.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Jalil AbbasJilani arrived in New Delhi to hold talkswith his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathaion various bilateral issues including visa,trade, disputes on Siachin, Sir Creek,Kashmir, and others.

Talking to reporters, Jilani said Pak-istan wanted peace with all its neighborsespecially with India and wanted to resolveevery dispute with New Delhi which wouldbenefit people of both countries.

About the much hyped case of Indianprisoner on death row in Pakistan, SarabjitSingh, he said the issue had already beentaken at the level of home ministers of twocountries who were looking into it.

The foreign secretaries of India andPakistan will meet today (Wednesday) todiscuss various outstanding issues. Thetwo diplomats are also likely to finalise adate for External Affairs Minister SM Kr-ishna’s visit to Islamabad to review theprogress in the dialogue process with hisPakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar.

LAHOREAgencies

With the summer making it-self at home and humidityclimbing up the percentagechart, continued unan-nounced load shedding iswreaking havoc with the peo-ple’s peace of mind, forcingthem to lie awake at nightsand find shade during thedays in wait for that elusive“spark” of electricity.

The duration of load shed-ding has increased in the lastcouple of days owing to thesuspension of oil supply tovarious power plants.

Sources in the NationalTransmission and DespacthCompany (NTDC) said the sup-ply of oil had been suspendedto Kot Addu, Orient and Saifpower plants, adding that dueto technical faults, Foundationpower plant had dropped outof the system, resulting in theelectricity shortfall climbing to5,830 megawatts. NTDC saidthe production of electricitywas recorded at 12,570MWand demand at 18,507MW onTuesday.

However, PEPCO saidelectricity generation cur-rently stood at 13,230MWagainst a demand of18,507MW. Load shedding

continued for up to 14 to 16hours in Lahore and up to 16to 20 hours in rural areas inthe provincial metropolis’ sub-urbs. The federal capital wasalso subjected to severe powercuts. Residents, traders andcivil society expressed seriousconcern over the unan-nounced load shedding in var-ious sectors of Islamabad,with some facing three to eighthours of load shedding at a go.Traders said load sheddingwas affecting businesses,while residents said unan-nounced load shedding hadmade it impossible to get agood night’s sleep.

Taking notice of the wors-ening crisis, President Asif AliZardari again ordered emer-gency measures for mitigat-ing the people’s misery. Ahigh-level meeting chaired byPrime Minister PervaizAshraf decided to clear thecircular debt and enhance re-coveries from defaulters. Italso decided to immediatelycut power connections ofcompanies and individualswho were not paying theirbills. Finance Minister AbdulHafiz Shaikh gave a briefingon the financial issues, whilePetroleum Minister Dr Asimexplained the reasons for lowpower generation.

US moves newforces to Gulf in sign to iran

WASHINGTONAfp

Iran and the United States on Tuesdayunderlined their military readiness forconflict should faltering diplomacy overTehran’s atomic activities fail, as tensionsrose over tougher Western sanctions. Iransaid it successfully fired several dozenmissiles — including a medium-rangeShahab-3 ballistic weapon with a rangecapable of striking Israel — in war gamesin its central desert region designed toshow its capacity for counter-attack. TheUnited States has moved new forces intothe Gulf to keep strategic waterways openand strike deep within Iran in the event ofa regional military escalation, the NewYork Times reported Tuesday. The Timescited senior officials as saying the quietbuild-up was aimed at reassuring Israelthat Washington is serious aboutaddressing Iran’s nuclear program andkeeping the Straits of Hormuz — a key oilchoke point — open. “Don’t even thinkabout closing the strait. We’ll clear themines. Don’t even think about sendingyour fast boats out to harass our vessels orcommercial shipping. We’ll put them onthe bottom of the Gulf.” Some 120lawmakers in Iran’s 290-seat parliamenthave also signed on to a draft bill callingfor the strategic Strait of Hormuz at theentrance to the oil-rich Gulf to be closed tooil tankers headed to Europe in retaliationfor an EU embargo on Iranian crude thatcame into effect on Sunday. US PresidentBarack Obama has sought to roll backIran’s nuclear program though diplomaticmeans — ramping up sanctions tounprecedented levels in recent months —while not ruling out a military strike.

Speaker exceeded lawful authority: SCdetailed verdict says NA speaker had no discretion left in matter as court had found a parliamentarian guilty of offence under Article 63(1)(g)

Pakistan to helpindia in fightagainst terrorismg Asks India to share evidence regarding Abu Jundal

Load shedding backwith a vengeanceg Hot, humid weather coupled with unannounced

power cuts making life miserable for citizens

islAmAbAd: prime minister raja pervaiz Ashraf chairs a meeting of the defence committee of cabinet on tuesday.

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