Monday, 10 September, 2012 Shawwal 22, 1433Rs 15.00 Vol iii no 74 19 pages Karachi edition

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SM Krishna concludes ‘fruitful’Pakistan visit

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Wave of attacks claims 52 lives onrestive day in Iraq

Numbers say Punjab govt’sperformance ‘pathetic’

ISLAMABADAgencies/Monitoring Desk

The late monsoon spellthat has been lashing thecountry for the lastseveral days continuedto rain down misery on

hapless citizens on Sunday, killing atleast 36 people across the country asauthorities warned of continued

showers and possible flooding insome areas. Sunday’s deaths came in incidentslike electrocution, roofs caving inand people washed away by flooedtorrents. According to reports,streams and nullahs in Dera GhaziKhan and Rajanpur districts wereflowing in high flood. Streets ofmajor cities, including Multan,hyderabad and Lahore were

inundated by rainwater, bringingsuffering to the residents. heavy rains also lashed the country’scoastal areas as well as other parts ofSindh, including Sukkur,hyderabad, Larkana, Khairpur,Tharparker, Diplo, Badin andJacobabad. In Balochistan, heavyrainfall in Zhob, Kalat, Sibi andNasirabad inundated several lowlying areas. In hyderabad,

rainwater accumulated up to two tothree feet in several areas, includingLatifabad, Pathan Colony, QaziAbdul Qayyum Road, hali Road,Makki Shah, Phelaili, Qasimabad,and cantonment. At least 15 powerfeeders also tripped due to rainfall,while two women among five peoplereportedly died due to electriccurrent.

Rains shower misery on countrymen, kill 36

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monday, 10 September, 2012

JAMRUDAFP

JAM Bazaar in Pakistan is crampedwith guns, pistols and marijuana,living proof of a booming market inwhat hawkers call the best medicineor “black gold” in the world.

This may be conservative Muslim country,where women are confined to their homes andalcohol banned, but marijuana is a much lovedindulgence. So much so, people are forking outdouble if not triple the cash to feed their habit.An army offensive and infighting betweenIslamist militia are forcing prices and demandto an all-time high, making drug profitsanother unsavory side effect of Taliban-linkedviolence plaguing northwest Pakistan.Narcotics also lines the coffers of local warlordMangal Bagh, Taliban factions and the rivalAnsar al-Islam group in Khyber district.“everyone is tense, everyone is depressed andhash is the easiest available remedy. People use itto forget their worries,” said Kamal Khan, a 51-year-old english teacher, eagerly rolling acigarette. he empties the tobacco from the papercolumn, warms some hash under a lit matchuntil it becomes greasy, then rubs it between twofingers and mixes it into the tobacco, beforepacking it back down into the cigarette.“everybody is a charas addict — police, doctors,officers — a lot of people come here,” said Khan,whose name has been changed on request,using the local slang that translates as “blackgold”. “It opens the hidden corner of your mindand you explore new ideas and thoughts whenyou smoke,” he added. Constantly underpressure from the Americans to move againstthe Al-Qaeda-linked haqqani network, Pakistan

has instead concentrated this year on localTaliban and Bagh’s Lashkar-e-Islam mafia inKhyber. Like the rest of Pakistan’s tribal belt,the district lies outside state control, wheredrug trafficking takes place beyond the writ ofthe government. The area is fiercelyindependent and awash with guns — or as thesaying goes, “even if the stove at home is cold,the barrel of a gun must be kept warm”.Fighting has been a way of life for years, butnow more than half a million Pakistanis havefled battles between the army and militantssince January 20.The town of Bara, a centre for the hash trade,is under siege. In the far-flung valley of Tirah,some of Pakistan’s most fertile land formarijuana and opium, Lashkar-e-Islam andAnsarul Islam are slogging it out for control —their last hope for survival after losing groundto the army. “Bomb blasts, fighting, inflation,our society is full of worries and it is increasingdemand,” said shopkeeper Arshad Afridi.Fellow shopkeeper Rehmat Khan concurred.“Before the operations, a kilo of charas costaround 20,000 rupees ($200). Now it startsfrom 50,000 ($530) and goes up to 65,000($690),” said Khan. The boom has been abonanza to hash merchants who stockpiledhash in goat skins in leaner years, waiting tocash in on military offensives to sell at a higherprice. According to shopkeepers, militantgroups who control Tirah get 2,000 rupees perkilo of hash or as much as 80,000 rupees for a40-kilo consignment intercepted at acheckpoint. They say they earn 10,000 rupeesper kilo and a smuggler 5,000 per kilo deliveredto the neighbouring province of Punjab.None of the spokesman of both the militantgroups were available for comment.

At Jam Bazaar, people openly share cigarettes,even with tribal policemen extracting bribes frompassenger coaches. Loose black and dark brownhash sits on glass counters in hundreds of shops,come of them air conditioned to keep the quality, asshopkeepers drink tea and smoke while trucks andlorries roar past en route to the Afghan border.It’s grown locally in Tirah, a valley cut off from therest of the world by mountains and to a large extent,a no-go area for Pakistani government forces.Farmers say hash is worth far more what they wouldget for an ordinary crop. “We’ve been doing thisbusiness for decades because we have no othersource of income,” Zaman Afridi, a shopkeeper fromTirah, told AFP. Wearing a traditional turban, vestand fingering wooden beads in his left hand, Zamansaid that planting wheat would earn him 20,000rupees but he gets double for planting hash. “If thefields turn out good, then we may get more.”

UN delegation in Islamabad toevaluate missing persons’ issueISLAMABAD: A United Nations working group onenforced or involuntary disappearances arrived in Pakistanon Sunday to evaluate the missing persons’ issues. Duringits mission, the working group will gather informationpertaining to missing persons’ cases. The group will meetgovernment officials, families of the missing persons andwill visit all four provinces of the country. It will present itsfindings related to the missing persons issue to the UnitedNations Commission on human Rights (UNChR). iNp

Another 2 bodies of martyredsoldiers recovered from Gayari ISLAMABAD: Army rescue teams on Sunday recoveredtwo more bodies of martyred soldiers from the Gayarisector of Siachen, bringing the total number of bodiesrecovered so far to 81. According to a spokesman of theInter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the searchoperation continued at Gayari despite weather hazards.he said over 300 men and 50 engineering plants hadbeen employed on the search operation. app

Ephedrine case: ANF arrestspharma company director LAHORE: The Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) arrested thedirector of a pharmaceutical chemical company, NadeemZafar, in connection with the ephedrine quota scam casein Lahore on Sunday. Nadeem had been accused ofmisusing 500 kilograms of ephedrine and has beenshifted to Rawalpindi after his arrest for furtherquestioning, according to ANF sources. iNp

Up to seven MPAs with ‘suspicious’ degrees in KPPESHAWAR: Degrees of a total of seven members of theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have been declared‘suspicious’. Cases have also been registered against someof the suspected MPAs. The evaluation of the degrees ofthe remaining 117 out of 124 members of KhyberPakhtunkhwa Assembly is still going on. In addition, thedegree of the sports minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Syed Aqil Shah has been proven to be counterfeit.Meanwhile the fake-degree cases against senior ProvincialMinister, Raheemdad Khan and another minister namelySher Azam, lie pending in the courts. ageNcies

PM leaves for China todayISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf willleave for China today to participate in World economicForum (WeF). According to reports, the forum isscheduled for September 11-13 in Tinajin. The PM will callupon the Chinese president and other seniorfunctionaries of the regime. Chinese Prime Minister WenJiabao will give a keynote address to the participants. Themeeting will be attended by 2,000 participants hailingfrom 86 countries. ONLiNe

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LAHOREonline

PA K I S T A NTehreek-e-In-saaf ChairmanImran Khan onSunday said all

economic indicators i.e. agri-culture, energy, law andorder, education and health,supported his claim that thePunjab government’s per-formance had been pathetic.

Addressing a press con-ference at the party’s centralmedia cell on Sunday, he shedlight on the failed perform-ance of Punjab governmentand revealed the Punjab gov-ernment’s claimed figures didnot reflect reality.

“The actual figures showthat the average growth inPunjab has been a mere 2.5percent compared to the na-tional growth rate of 3.4 per-cent. Punjab, which ispredominantly an agriculturalarea, has also suffered in thissector as the growth rate inthis sector indicates only onepercent growth compared tothe national average of threepercent,” he stated. Imran saidthe Punjab government hadbeen blaming the federal gov-ernment for shortage of en-ergy, using the 18thamendment as a shield to hide

their own shortcomings. how-ever, the PTI chief stated thatprior to this amendment; Ar-ticle 157 of the constitutiongave explicit authority to theprovinces to undertake energyprojects. he said the Punjabgovernment had not produceda single megawatt of energy inthe last four years. Moreover,he said law and order situationin Punjab was also abysmal.he said there had been anoverall increase in crimes by12 percent, with crimesagainst property increasing by37 percent, robbery by 109percent, murder 15 percentand rape 22 percent. “Therehas been a lot of talk of educa-tion by the Punjab govern-ment; however, statistics showthat 5,700 schools have beenshut down during theirtenure. While the populationhas increased manifold, thegross enrollment at primarylevel has gone down by onepercent,” the PTI chief stated.

Imran said rather thanspending on sectors like healthand education, the entire devel-opment fund had been spenton an ill-planned project i.e. theRapid Bus Transit System. hesaid the project was merely anelection gimmick in order tocreate hype amongst themasses and it cost more thanthe combined provincial

monday, 10 September, 2012

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One small step at a time.

Arif Ansar says;Whose side is history on?: The status of ties between US, Russia, China.

M J Akbar says;

Is that all you’ve got, Dr Singh?: Just a cabinet reshuffle won’t do anything.

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investing in newcomers not a risk: Mahesh Bhatt A nice rally while it lasted Pakistan eye clean sweep

ISLAMABADnA sAhi

Transparency International Pakistan(TIP) has asked the Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) to clarify its position ona contract awarded by Karachi PortTrust (KPT), as port authority wasfound guilty of “misuse of the Sales TaxAct and causing a loss of Rs 350 million.

The TIP has also written letters tothe Supreme Court of Pakistan, PublicAccounts Committee and the NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB) on theissue. In the letter written to the FBRchairman on September 7, 2012, TIPAdvisor Adil Gilani said that the trans-parency watchdog had received acomplaint against a KPT Contractorfor illegal refund/exemptions of GSTby misusing the rules of Zero Sales Taxfor the contractors of internationaltendered contracts. The TIP had ear-lier written a letter dated November20, 2011, to the FBR chairman, seek-ing clarification on whether the con-struction material procured by thecontractor was exempted from SalesTax or not. The previous FBR chair-man had replied that there was no ex-emption from Sales Tax in that case.

however, the Karachi Directorateof Intelligence and Investigation (In-land Revenue) took notice of theComplaint and found the KPT con-

tractor guilty of misusing the SalesTax Act, adding that the tax evasionhad caused a loss of over Rs 350 mil-lion to the national exchequer until2011. According to the letter, a contra-vention report was sent to the KarachiInland Revenue commissioner onMay 7. 2012, for adjudication.

The contravention report foundthat under Sales Tax Act 1990, zero-rated sales does not apply to pur-chases for construction material. Thereport also determined the recoveredof over Rs 360 million should be af-fected from the contractor which re-quest adjudicated by the commissionof Inland Revenue within 120 days ofthe preparation of the date of contra-vention report. Findings of the con-travention report dated May 7, 2012are summarized below.

The report, according to the let-ter, found as per available recordduring 2008-2011, M/s Ssangyong +Usmani JV started claiming refundof Sales Tax which it had paid in re-spect of goods purchased for the saidproject from the local market for thetotal value of Rs 183,984,337 out ofwhich a sum of Rs 157,023,559 wasduly refunded while the balanceamount of Rs 26,960,778 is remain-ing. “M/s Ssangyong + Usmani JVclaimed zero-rating on the local pur-chases on the basis of a clarification

issued by the Board and did not paidsales tax for an amount of Rs.74,058,480/- on the local purchasesmade during 2008-2011. M/sSsangyong + Usmani JV did not paysales tax of Rs. 107,644,794/- on im-ports made during 2008-2011 byclaim of exemption under variousSRO’s thereon”. The AdditionalCommission Inland Revenue Karachiadjudicated the case, and vide itsorder No. 10/2012 dated 28th Au-gust 2012 has given the decision. “Onthe basis of the above considerations,the undersigned has finally arrived atthe conclusion that the registeredperson was involved in the construc-tion of an immoveable infrastructureproject which is excluded from thedefinition of gods. Thus, all sales taxrefund and zero- rated purchasesavailed by the registered person areinadmissible. Further, it is clear thatthey had passed on the incidence ofsales tax on imported goods, but con-cealed from the buyer that they hadavailed exemption at the importstage. Thus, they have contravenedthe provisions of sections 3, 3B, 6(2),7, 8(1)(a), 8A, 23, 26 and 73 of theSales Tax and the entire amount ofsales tax not paid/short paid/ erro-neously recovered is assessable u/s11(2) and recoverable u/s 36(1) of theSales Tax Act, 1990. hence total

amount of sales tax of Rs.351,684,309/- is recoverable fromthe registered person under the saidprovisions, along with default sur-charge (to be calculated at the time ofpayment) under section 34 of SalesTax Act, 1990. Penalty of 100% of theamount of tax involved is also im-posed in terms of S. No. 13 of theTable to section 33 ibid. as the ac-tions of the registered person in thisregard are clearly deliberate andmalafide”, read the decision.

TI demanded the FBR chairmanin the letter that besides recovery ofRs 351,684,309 plus a penalty of Rs351,684,309 for period upto 30 June2011, further recovery of refund madeor zero rated facility availed in FY2012 are also to be made by FBR, onwhich no action has yet been initiated.“Further to these recoveries, and inview of the fact that the constructedmaterial to be used for constructing astructure is not allowed the zero ratedsales tax, TI-Pakistan requestthe Chairman to order detailed in-quiry and all the refunds taken bydifferent contractors since 1990, oncontract of WAPDA, Karachi PortTrust (KPT), Capital DevelopmentAuthority (CDA), National highwayAuthority (NhA), Civil Aviation Au-thority (CAA), Port Qasim Authority(PQA), Pakistan Railways etc.”

PTI chief takes notice of internal differences in party LAHORE: Taking notice of internal differences in theparty, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman ImranKhan on Sunday directed PTI President Javed hashmiand Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi to contactparty’s disgruntled members and address their appre-hensions. Sources in the PTI said some families hailingfrom Punjab were planning to leave the PTI reportedlydue to certain differences which would prove a big set-back for the party. Khan tasked hashmi and Qureshi toaddress the grievances of the members planning toleave the PTI. The sources said hashmi and Qureshiwould soon contact the disgruntled families. iNp

Numbers say Punjab govt’s performance ‘pathetic’: ImranPTI chIef SayS ProvINce’S Ma jor fuNdS dIverTed To Ill-PlaNNed raPId buS ProjecT

budget for education and health. he said theproject initially started with Rs 21 billion al-located for it, however, according to theirsources, the project had been revised and itwas suspected that until its completion ap-proximately Rs 70 billion would have beenspent on it. The PTI chairman added thatPakistan needed change and PTI was thefirst party to have stated in its economicagenda that they would ensure the devolu-tion of power and direct funding downto the village level. he said thePTI was also the firstparty to havestated that itwould broadenthe tax net.

TIP points out tax-evasion by KPTcontractor caused Rs 350m loss

PML-Q general secretaryshot dead in Gujrat

GUJRATAgencies

General Secretary ofPakistan MuslimLeague- Quaid(PML-Q) Gujrat,ChaudhryMuhammad Tufailand his driver werekilled when armedmen opened fire athis vehicle onSunday. According todetails, unidentifiedarmed men openedfire at his car, whilehe was passingthrough a sub-urbanarea of the city. As aresult of the firingMuhammad Tufailand his diver were killed on the spot. The attackersmanaged to escape from the scene after committing thedual murder. A heavy contingent of police cordoned offthe area after the incident and began a search operation.The bodies were shifted to District headquartershospital Gujrat. The PML-Q leadership, including partychief Chaudhry Shujaat hussain, Chaudhry Pervez elahiand others have expressed profound grief over thetargeted killing of its leader. They criticized theprovincial government and law enforcement personnelfor their failure to protect the lives of citizens andmaintain law and order across the province anddemanded the authorities to bring the culprits to justice.Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also expressed hissorrow over the murder of PML-Q district generalsecretary and directed the police authorities to arrestthe culprits as soon as possible.

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monday, 10 September, 2012

News

ISLAMABADshAiq hussAin

Army Chief General AshfaqKayani may visit the UnitedStates in a month or two todiscuss counter-terrorismcooperation along with otherbilateral issues with the topAmerican military leader-ship and strengthen the de-fense ties, as Islamabad andWashington are currentlyengaged in talks to work outa schedule for this vital trip.

The visit of the armychief, if worked out by thetwo sides, would not be inthe context of much awaited‘bilateral strategic dialogue’,which was suspended lastyear after the arrest of CIAoperative Raymond Davis inLahore in January for killingtwo Pakistani citizens.

It would be a separateofficial trip on his part.

Pakistan and the US arecurrently working on the re-vival of the strategic dia-logue and an importantdecision in this regard islikely to be made during theupcoming visit of ForeignMinister hina Rabbani Kharto Washington beginningSeptember 20.

The announcement

about the revival of strategicdialogue and the dates forthe purpose, according todiplomatic sources, will notbe made public during thevisit of Foreign MinisterKhar, as key officials inObama administration arecompletely focused on Presi-dent Obama’s re-election bidin November and the strate-gic dialogue too is likely to beheld early next year.

“Army chief’s visit toWashington, if a decisionwas made about it, would bea part of exchange of trips ofhigh level military officialsbetween Islamabad andWashington,” said a diplo-matic source seekinganonymity.

he, however, said it wasnot possible to give anydates of this important visitas that thing was currentlybeing looked into by the twosides. “You can say that thevisit could take place in amonth or two,” he said.

he said the possibility ofKayani’s trip to Washingtonindicated the improvementin the ties of Pakistan andthe US, as earlier, it was an-nounced by Islamabad thatthere was no likelihood of avisit to the US by the Pak-

istani army chief and back inAugust this year, only ISIDirector Lt General Za-heerul Islam visited theAmerican capital.

In a landmark develop-ment, General Kayani is alsoexpected to make a visit toMoscow later this monthand it would be the first tripby any Pakistan army chiefto Russia.

The source said GeneralKayani’s trip to Moscowwas meant to enhance co-operation with Russia inthe field of defense and itwas not right to say that itwas a sign of Pakistan’s tilttowards that country owingto estrangement with theUnited States.

A Washington-basedPakistani diplomat also con-firmed the talks between Is-lamabad and Washingtonfor working out the visit ofGeneral Kayani to the US.

he said that the armychief would discuss thecounter-terrorism coopera-tion and other issues of mu-tual interest with theAmerican military officialsand his visit, if it took place,would help decrease furtherthe tension in ties betweenIslamabad and Washington.

rains shower

Due to heavy rain, the water level inhub dam, which supplies drinkingwater to Karachi, rose by eight feeton Saturday night. The presentwater level was reported at 318 feetagainst the storage capacity of 340feet. WAPDA officials said that thewater level was rising steadily. InPunjab there were reports of heavyto light rain. Southern Punjab inparticular was hit hard by rains.heavy showers were reported fromMultan, Bahawalpur, DG Khan,Rajanpur, Vehari, Chichawatni, TTSingh, Faisalabad, Sargodha,Kamaliya, Khanpur, Lahore,Lodhran, Chiniot, Chakwal,Rawalpindi, Attock and Jhelum.The level of rainfall recorded by theMeteorological Department invarious districts was: Khanpur 173mm followed by Rahimyar Khan102, Okara 95, Sahiwal 94,Bahawalnagar 83, Multan 77,Shorkot 70, Chorr 68, Islamabad 66,Bahawalpur 64, Thatta 58, TT Singh55, hyderabad 52, Larkana 47, DGKhan 35, Faisalabad 34, Lahore 27and Murree, Nawabshah,Mohenjodaro and Sargodha 25 mm.Four persons were killed in Multandue to roof collapse andelectrocution, two each in Kamalia,Mian Channu and Lahore, one eachin Lodhran and Faisalabad and TTSingh. hill torrents in DG Khan andRananpur damaged several villagesand crops over vast areas. Rain hasalso been reported in Gilgit-Baltistan, and upper parts of theKPK. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Kabul River was in low flood atNowshera where its water dischargewas 646,500 cusecs. Water level inRiver Khayali on Charsadda Roadwas also seen surging. The Metoffice has forecast more rain in mostparts of the country, includingKarachi, during the next 24 hours.The met office said a well markedlow pressure had entered easternSindh and its adjoining areas. Underthe influence of this weather system,strong monsoon currents wouldcontinue to penetrate in central andsouthern parts of Pakistan,particularly in Sindh. Saturday’swesterly wave over western parts ofPakistan has moved northeast andnow lies over northern parts of thecountry. Widespreadrain/thundershower with scatteredheavy falls is expected in southernPunjab, while scatteredrain/thundershowers with isolatedheavy falls is expected over upperPunjab/Islamabad during the next24 hours. heavy rains would causeurban and flash floods in thevulnerable areas of DG Khan,Multan and Bahawalpur divisionsduring the period. Scatteredrain/thundershower with isolatedheavy falls is expected in KP duringnext 24 hours. Widespreadrain/thundershower with isolatedheavy fall is expected in Sukkar &Larkana divisions, while scatteredrain/thundershower likely in otherparts of Sindh during next 24 hours.In Balochistan, widespreadrain/thundershower with scatteredheavy falls is expected in easternparts of Balochistan during next 24hours. heavy rains would causeflash floods in Quetta, Zhob, Sibi,Kalat and Nasirabad divisionsduring the period.

Continued fRoM page 01

sri nAgAr: indian troops drag a kashmiri man to detention after thrashing him for protesting against the indian government. inP

gen Kayani may headto us in coming months

Clashes, bombingsacross Syria kill 45

BEIRUTAgencies

Acar bomb rippedthrough Syria’slargest city ofAleppo on Sun-day, killing at

least 17 people and wounding40 in one of the main battle-grounds of the country’s civilwar, state-run media said.

The state-run TV airedfootage of fire trucks trying toextinguish the blaze and res-cue workers digging throughmounds of rubble. Aleppo’sgovernor, Mohammed WahidAkkad, was quoted by Syria’sofficial news agency, SANA, assaying 17 dead were civilians.No group immediatelyclaimed responsibility for theattack. SANA blamed terror-ists, the term the regime usesfor rebels. Opposition activistscould not immediately bereached comment.

earlier, Syrian troopsbombarded a string of dis-tricts in and launched attacksacross the country on Sundayas 28 people besides the 17 inthe car bombing were killednationwide in clashes andshelling, a watchdog said.

Shelling in Aleppo de-

stroyed houses in the Midandistrict, a regime bastion thatrebels have been trying toseize from their stronghold inBustan al-Basha since Satur-day, said the Syrian Observa-tory for human Rights. “Thebombardment of Bustan al-Basha has stopped but couldstart up again anytime,” a res-ident told AFP, after a day offierce clashes.

A main water pipe in Bus-tan al-Basha was destroyed onSaturday, either by air strikesor the fighting, according tothe Britain-based watchdog,while residents reported se-vere water shortages in thecity. The governor of Aleppoprovince, Mohammed Akkad,blamed “terrorists” for break-ing the Midan water main aswell as two other pipelines inSuleiman al-halabi district.“Maintenance crews are in theprocess of repairing them andwe hope that the water will re-turn Sunday (today),” he toldpro-regime daily Al-Watan.

Meanwhile, the Observa-tory reported at least two peo-pled killed in hanano afterheavy shelling hit a building inthe eastern Aleppo neighbour-hood, while clashes broke outin the adjacent district of

Sakhur. The nearby neigh-bourhoods of Tariq al-Bab andShaar were also shelled.

In Damascus, clashesbroke out at the YarmukPalestinian refugee camp astroops bombarded the adja-cent Tadamun district in thesoutheast, and the nearby sub-urbs of Al-hajar Al-Aswadand Sayyida Zeinab, the Ob-servatory said.

An activist video posted toYouTube showed plumes ofblack smoke billowing into thesky in the south of the capital,purportedly from a massivefire which broke out inTadamun during shelling at-tacks.

Shelling was also reportedin northwestern Idlibprovince, in central homsprovince, and in the southernprovince of Daraa where sevensoldiers were killed in an am-bush by rebels at a militarycheckpoint, the Observatorysaid. In homs two bombsblew up a bus carrying civil-ians and troops, killing at leastfour people and woundingdozens more. At least 1,267people have been killed sinceSeptember 1, Observatory di-rector Rami Abdel Rahmantold AFP by phone.

g modalities for army chief’s visit being worked out between new

delhi and washington g trip could further decrease Pak-uS tensions

LAHOREstAFF rePort

Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) spokemanSenator Pervaiz Rashidhas termed the talk ofQuaid MQM Altaf hussainagainst Nawaz Sharif andPML-N as unfitting for aparty head.

he said that in a meet-ing between party dele-gates of MQM and PML-Nheld two days ago, an invi-tation on behalf of Altafhussain was given forPML-N chief Nawaz Sharifto visit 9-0. however theinvitation was called offafter PML-N refused to ac-cept the Sindh Local Gov-

ermant Ordinace 2012.The senator said thatPML-N leadership wasready to sit with all politi-cal parties for the sake ofthe country and to manageits problems. he said thestance of PML-N on recentSindh Local GovernmentOrdinance was based onprinciples and there is noneed to be angry over it asPML-N has, like other po-litical parties an equalright to form opinions.Senator Pervaiz Rashidsaid that in the presence ofassemblies, legislatingthrough ordinances or im-posing decision fromabove is against the spiritof democracy.

aNP holds rally to solidify position in upper dir

arsalan Iftikharprobe commissionto start work today

ISLAMABADAgencies

The single-membercommission of Shoaib Suddletasked with probing into DrArsalan Iftikhar case wouldbegin ts work today (Monday),as real estate tycoon MalikRiaz is to file a review pleawith the Supreme Court overits decision of formation of thecommission. Former Sindh police IGShoaib Suddle has acquiredall record of the case fromthe Supreme Court andNational AccountabilityBureau (NAB) and evidenceswill be called to proceed withthe case. The media will beallowed to cover theproceedings of thecommission. According tosources, Zahid Bukhari,lawyer for Malik Riaz, hasprepared draft of the reviewplea to be submitted to theSupreme Court today(Monday). The reviewpetition takes the plea thatthe constitution of thecommission wasunconstitutional and hadviolated the basic rights ofMalik Riaz. According to Bukhari, theimpartiality of the one-member commission wasdoubtful as Suddle hadfamily relations with the chiefjustice. he said according totheir information, Suddle wasamong the people welcomingguests at the wedding of DrArsalan Iftikhar. Malik Riaz has arrived fromLondon to file the reviewplea. Talking to a private TVchannel, Riaz confirmedthat he would file the reviewplea today (Monday). hesaid he had postponed hisoperation for a tumor inorder to be in Pakistan toface cases against him.

altaf should know

how to address a party

leader: pervaiz rashid

g car bomb kills 17, injures 40 in aleppo

UPPER DIRlAtiF khAn

ExPANDING itselection campaign toUpper Dir, the AwamiNational Party (ANP)held a large public rallyaddressed by KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP) ChiefMinister Amir haiderKhan hoti on Saturday. The rally is consideredan important feat byANP in Upper Dir,which is dominated bythe Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) and itsarchrival in the district,Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).The rally was organizedby ANP’s local chapter,headed by its presidentNaveed Anjum Khan.Apart from hoti, and

ANP Senator AfrasiabKhattak, seniorprovincial ministerBashir Ahmad Bilour,Information MinisterIftikhar hussain alsoaddressed the rally. Despite threats to theirlives, the ANP highcommand finallyembarked on acampaign to contact themasses, starting with apublic gathering atBatakhela Malakandionon September 6. As partof the drive, the ANPleadership reachedUpper Dir where it wasaccorded a warmwelcome by partyworkers and stalwartswearing red caps andholding party flags. On the occasion, the

elders andrepresentatives frommore than 300 familiesannounced resignationsfrom various partiessuch as the JI, PakistanMuslim League,Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the PPP. ANPUpper Dir PresidentNaveed Anjam Khanassured Chief Ministerand Afrasiab Khattak ofgifting themparliamentary seats innext general elections. Dir region become partof Pakistan in 1969when the then martiallaw administratorGeneral Yahya Khan hadannounced a merger offormer princely states. Itremained a strongholdof Jamaat-e-Islami until

the PPP started makingits way in. however,currently, the ANP hasemerged as a strongforce in both Upper andLower Dir districts. hajihidayatullah fromLower Dir occupies aministerial berth inprovincial cabinet, whileZahid Khan and ZahidaBibi are senators fromUpper Dir. ANPstalwarts like Zahir ShahKhan, hussain Shah,Naveed Anjum Khanand Ayub Khan are alsoenjoying key offices inparty both at provincialand central level. Addressing the rally,Chief Minister hoti andother party leadershighlighted theachievements of ANP

government during thelast four and a halfyears. They said theparty had encouragedpolitical reconciliationand understanding bytaking the leaders fromother political parties inconfidence. Referring to the issue ofterrorism and militancy,the ANP leaders said itwas harmful to the coreinterests of the country.“Violence and terrorismis contrary to Islamicnorms and obligationsand on such grounds, weresisted against it,” theysaid. They added that asa result of their policy,there exists “peace andtranquility” in almost allparts of the KhyberPakhtunkhwa province.

KHI 10-09-2012_Layout 1 9/10/2012 2:51 AM Page 4

05

monday, 10 September, 2012

News

PESHAWARshAMiM shAhiD

TALIBAN-ALLIeD former em-ployee of Pakistan Air ForceAdnan Rashid, who was sen-tenced to death over involve-ment in the attack on former

president General (r) Pervez Musharaf,is sheltering in North Waziristan, tribalsources told Pakistan Today.

After his escape from Bannu Jail inApril, Rashid is reportedly joined by hisfamily members, and is living in essorivillage near Mirali town of NorthWaziristan. however, he keeps changinghis location frequently. Among the 384

Taliban prisoners who freed from Bannuprison following an attack by the Taliban,Rashid was of utmost value for the Tal-iban. Of the escaped prisoners, officialsclaim that 100 had returned voluntarilyor were rearrested. Of the remaining, 160militants were still at large. Tribalsources told Pakistan Today that on theeve of eidul Fitr, militant commanderToofani visited several hamlets and vil-lages in Mirali. They said the purpose ofsuch a visit was to continue influencinglocal tribesmen and to encourage sup-porters and sympathizers. Toofani losthis both legs in a US drone attack, and isnow on artificial limbs. however, he isstill very active and popular in the area.

he always boards different vehicles whilevisiting the fighters and supporters.

On the eve of the eid, Toofani visitedhurmaz village near Mirali town, whererelatives of killed Taliban commanderhussain were residing. hussain was thechief trainer of bombers and a preacherof suicide bombing. Similarly, Toofanivisited other villages, and introducedAdnan Rashid to local tribesmen, partic-ularly to supporters and sympathizers.Local Taliban supporters awarded awarm welcome to Adnan Rashid. Whileintroducing Rashid, Toofani said the for-mer PAF employee would get an impor-tant slot among the Taliban, and alsoimportant assignments.

Holding of local govtelection constitutionalrequirement, says amin faheem

ISLAMABADinP

Minister for Trade and CommerceMakhdoom Amin Fahim, on Sundaysaid that the opposition should wait asgeneral elections would be heldaccording to schedule. Talking to INP,Fahim said that the government held theconstitution of Pakistan supreme andalso considered holding localgovernment elections as a constitutionalrequirement. he said that theopposition is only limited to criticizing,even the good achievements of theincumbent government, adding thatwhen the government of PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP) was formed, thecountry faced several challenges. hesaid that the PPP-led coalitiongovernment had minimized thesechallenges and was working to bring thecountry on the road to development.Commenting on the recent increase inPOL prices, Fahim said that the recentPOL prices were increased in the wakeof a surge in prices of petroleumproducts in the international market.

PPP’s lG polls

plan to sabotag

democracy: Saad rafiqISLAMABAD

Agencies

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) central leader and MNAKhawaja Saad Rafiq on Sunday saidthat the incumbent government isusing delaying tactics to gain moretime for extending their corrupt tenureby announcing the local governmentelections. While talking to agencies,Saad Rafiq said the Pakistan PeoplesParty (PPP) led coalition governmentwanted to delay the next generalelections by announcing the localgovernment elections, adding that thiswas a conspiracy against democracy.he said the PML-N would never allowthe incumbent government tosabotage the democratic process andwould force the government forholding the general elections earlier.he warned the government to shunthe delaying tactics and urged them toannounce the next general elections,adding that if the government failedto do so then the masses would forcethe government to wind up theircorrupt setup.

baNNu jaIl eScaPee adNaN raShId hIdINg IN NWa

SUKKURAgencies

Federal Minister for Religious AffairsSyed Khursheed Shah said at theinaugural ceremony of the Nusrat BhuttoInternational University in Sukkur onSunday, that the opposition should takethe Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)leadership to the courts if they have anyproof of corruption against them.

While addressing the media, Shahasked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif to takelegal action against the PPP leaders if heconsidered that they had been involved incorrupt practices. he said they could call

upon the superior courts.Shah also said the PML-N had no future

in Sindh and even Punjab and asked Nawazas to how much he believed in the idea of aconfederation because the politicians doingpolitics of confederation had been joiningthe PML-N. he said an uncertain situationhad been created in Sindh regarding thelocal government without going through theordinance. he also said they were ready torespond to all the questions about theordinance, while adding that the presentgovernment gave Larkana and Sukkur thestatus of a metropolitan.

Shah said the government had notdiscussed the interim setup of the

government with the opposition yet.however, the opposition had been takenon board while making amendments in theconstitution and presenting 111 bills andacts, he added. Referring to the reaction ofthe nationalists over the ordinance, Shahsaid: “It is their right; we give them theright to shut doors, shops and routes.” heremarked that if a 1,000 people came outof their homes and blocked the roads, or afew hand grenade explosions were carriedout, people won’t come out of their housesout of the fear of death. The ministerasked the nationalists that if they hadthe confidence they should take part inthe elections and defeat the PPP.

Govt promotingbusiness-friendlyinitiatives: Kaira

OSLOAgencies

Federal Minister for Information andBroadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said atthe inaugural ceremony of the Norway-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce in Oslothat the government of Pakistan hastaken many business friendly initiativesin the country as a result of whichPakistan offers the best investmentopportunities for the foreign as well asthe local investors. he said the law andorder situation in the country wasimproving day by day and the securityforces of Pakistan, with the support of themasses, had defeated the terrorists andextremists on many fronts. he said theeconomy of Pakistan was growing at afast pace and the country needed traderather than aid to further stabilize theeconomy. “The stability of our economywill help us to overcome many challengesfacing our country, particularly the waragainst terrorism”, Kaira added. Whilereferring to the current energy crisis inPakistan, Kaira said that it was severelyaffecting the lives of the masses and thegovernment of Pakistan had taken manyinitiatives to overcome this problem.Referring to the extensive Norwegianpotential and expertise in the energysector, he particularly requested theNorwegian investors and government toinvest in this sector and assist thePakistani government in solving theproblems being faced by the masses. hefurther said that the establishment ofNorway- Pakistan Chamber of Commercewas a step in the right direction and itwould provide a platform for investmentand for strengthening trade ties betweenthe two countries.

Khursheed Shah asks PMl-N to prove allegations against PPP leadership

islAMABAD: Activists of a shia group protest outside national Press club against the demolition of the shrine of imam Jaffar saddiq

by saudi authorities on sunday . ONLiNe

KHI 10-09-2012_Layout 1 9/10/2012 2:51 AM Page 5

monday, 10 September, 2012

KARACHInni

AT least six people wereshot dead here on Sun-day in firing incidents indifferent parts of Karachi.According to details, son

unidentified gunmen opened fire inhaideri Market area and wounded a mannamed Shafiq. he was rushed to a nearbyhospital where he succumbed to wounds.

In another incident of firing, 22-year-old Niaz was shot dead in the jurisdictionof Risala Police Station while dead bodyof a youth was recovered from PuranaGolimar Lasbela area. The deceased wasidentified as Seerat Alvi.

In Karimabad area, some unidenti-fied gunmen riding on motorcycles shotdead a man identified as Sharif while tar-get killing claimed a life in Qasba More.

Meanwhile, Quaidabad police haveclaimed the arrest of four dacoits, includ-ing Amir, Aurangzeb, Nazakat andNadeem. Two other dacoits were arrestedafter an encounter in Aziz Bhatti areawhile Rangers handed over an accused ofLyari gang war, Waseem, to police.

Meanwhile, police arrested two targetkillers allegedly involved in target killing

of 50 people after exchange of fire and re-covered arms and hand grenades fromtheir possession.

According to SSP district west AamirFarooqi, the police during routine patroltraded fire with five culprits at hawksbayRoad in Maripur area of city.

The police after fire exchange ar-rested two target killers while there three

accomplices managed to flee. Police re-covered arms including a Kalashnikov, arepeater, three hand grenades and hun-dreds of bullets from the possession of thedetainees. In the preliminary interroga-tion the detained culprits identified asWaseem Pathan and Afzal belonging toRashid Bengali Group of Lyari have ad-mitted target killing of 50 people.

ANOTHER SIX FALL PREYto targeted killing

SSuet Vc for

research culture

in country KARACHI

APP

Sir Syed University of engineering andTechnology (SSUeT) Vice ChancellorProf Dr Syed Jawaid hassan Rizvi hasemphasized the need of creating aca-demic and research culture in thecountry.he said this during the inaugural cere-mony of a seminar library for the fac-ulty of the university’s basic andapplied sciences on Sunday.The library, equipped with the latestcomputer system also holds a numberof high quality reference books, be-sides series of publications and in-formative material in all areas of basicand applied sciences. Dr. Rizvi ex-pressed his confidence that the librarywould be extensively and appropri-ately utilized by the faculty memberfor research work.he on the occasion appreciated thatSSUeT’s department of basic and ap-plied sciences offers published materialthat is freely available to all interestedstudents who, by investing some time,can increase their knowledge about therelevant subject concepts and ideas.SSUeT Vice-Chancellor said the librarywill serve as top most knowledge re-source for students and motivate themto involve themselves into basic and ap-plied science research that is importantfor the advancement of human knowl-edge with different end goals in sight.Basic research is concluded solely forthe purpose of gathering informationand building on existing knowledge, asopposed to applied research, which isgeared to address and answer real-worldproblems, he said.

widespread rains expected in Sindh KARACHI: Widespread rain and thun-dershower with heavy falls is expected indifferent parts of Sindh today (Monday),said a report issued by the Pakistan Mete-orological Department on Sindh.It was reported that the well marked lowpressure registered on Saturday has en-tered eastern Sindh and its adjoining areaswith all chances to cause heavy rains.This well marked low pressure is likely tostart weakening on Tuesday, however, inthe meantime strong monsoon currentswould continue to penetrate in the provinceand may cause heavy rain in urban areasbesides flash flooding in the vulnerableareas. The meteorological department hasadvised all concerned authorities to remainalert during next two days. Meanwhile onSaturday, 67.5mm rainfall was recorded atChhore (Tharparkar), 58.00 mm in Thatta,52.2 mm in hyderabad 47 mm inLarkana,24.5 mm in Nawabshah, 22.0 mmin Mirpurkhas, 4.0 mm in Sukkur andMithi respectively, 3.7 mm in Karachi aswell as at Jacobabad, 3.0 in Rohri and2.0mm in Dadu. APP

minister offered to join Pml-fKARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League(Functional) has offered Federal Ministerfor Privatization and Sindh President ofPML(Q) Ghaus Bakhsh Mehr to join theparty. After the enforcement of Local Gov-ernment Ordinance in Sindh, son of GhausBakhsh Mehr, Shehr Yar Mehr, has resignedfrom the Sindh cabinet while Ghaus BakhshMehr himself criticized the ordinance in theNational Assembly. he had also announcedto support the strike of Sindhi nationalists.Sources said on Sunday that the Ministr forPrivatisatin has already met Pir Pagara butno decision has yet been taken. inP

hYDerABAD: railway colony is submerged in rainwater as heavy showers continue to inundate low-lying areas and major roads in the city. ONLiNe

Two accused arrested, admit killing of 50 people during interrogation

Altaf grieved over deaths due to rains

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) Quaid Altaf hussain has expressedhis deep sorrow over deaths of several per-sons in rain-related incidents in differentareas of Sindh. In a statement issued onSunday, Altaf hussain expressed deepgrief over death of several innocent per-sons due to flooding in streams and otherrain-related incidents such as electrocu-tion due to falling of high tension powerpylon. The MQM chief condoled with thebereaved families and prayed for the de-parted souls to rest in eternal peaces. healso demanded the government to take im-mediate measures for the draining out ofknee-deep accumulated rain water fromthe residential areas and ensure that noelectrocution death occur in future. inP

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07Karachi

monday, 10 September, 2012

kArAchi: An elderly man repairs cng kit at his stall in ranchor line area on sunday. ONLiNe

hYDerABAD: A drummer beats drum while clouds hover over the sky on sunday. ONLiNe

KARACHIAPP

The fact that 26 percentvictims of road accidentsin Karachi comprise chil-dren makes it importantand urgent to create road

sense among the local kids, said Admin-istrator of Karachi Metropolitan Corpo-ration, Mohammad hussain Syed onSunday. Speaking at the launching cer-emony of “highway code for children,”compiled by Karachi Metropolitan Cor-poration, he said children are more vul-nerable to road accidents as comparedto adult population in the city.

“It is therefore extremely importantto inculcate traffic sense among the kidsand help them learn traffic code that isequally relevant for pedestrians, cyclistsand motorists,” he said. Mohammadhussain Syed appreciated the fact thatKMC in the first phase of a campaign hasinitiated highways code awarenessamong students registered with its 552schools.

This, he said was extremely impor-

tant due to constant increase in thenumber of traffic accidents consequentto high speed and wrong sides adoptedby drivers. The KMC administrator alsodrew attention towards steady increasein the number of untrained drivers inkarachi coupled with impatience in gen-eral among road users. he said therewere 1.4 million registered private vehi-cles plying in Karachi besides 250,000motorcycles, 4.2 million chengis (multi-seated motor- bike driven rickshaws).This he said were apart from thousandsof wagons, coaches and buses.

he warned that if the citizens in gen-eral continue with the their careless at-titude and violation of traffic rulespersisted then the situation, in terms ofloss of human lives and public property,may aggravate to serious proportionsand cause severe repercussions. The ad-ministrator of Karachi said the KMC hasstarted with education of students as astrategy to prepare well informed andrules’ compliant citizens.

The “highway code,” published inboth urdu and english has been pennedby Sattar Javaid under the supervision

of Mohammad Ather, the senior directorof transport and communication, KMC.The book will be distributed among allstudents of KMC schools scatteredacross the city.

The KMC administrator on the occa-sion told the journalists that followingthe completion of Zulfiqarabad Oil Ter-minal Parking no oil tanker would be al-lowed to enter into the Karachi citylimits that would not only improve thetraffic flow but will further help shiftingthe heavy traffic out of city. he also re-ferred to inter-city bus terminal projectson Super highway and National high-way that would help restricting entry ofpassenger buses within city limits.

The scheme, he said is similar to in-tercity bus terminus built at Yousf Gothfor the buses running on Karachi-Quettaand Quetta-Karachi route that had sig-nificantly reduced traffic pressure onmajor thoroughfares in Karachi. Mo-hammad hussain Syed on the occasionalso directed the officials of KMC’s Traf-fic and Communication to distributeawareness literature, related to trafficrules, among the citizens in general.

child rights

guaranteed under

crc demandedKARACHI

APP

Doctors and human rights activists haveurged the authorities to ensure avail-ability of rights guaranteed to childrenunder Child Rights Convention, signedby the country several years ago.They also demanded of the society ingeneral to realize the rights of specialchildren in the country and to also en-sure that these are no more violated.expressing their views at an eid Melafor Special Children, organized by DowUniversity of health Sciences (DUhS)in collaboration with Department ofPaediatrics-Civil hospital Karachi, Kon-pal Child Abuse Prevention Society andAl Umeed Rehabilitation Association(AURA) othey said capacities of specialchildren needed to be understood.This also needed to be appreciated andencouraged so as to help the specialchildren become valuable contributingmembers of the society, said Prof.Ayesha Mehnaz, head of pediatrics de-partment, ChK. She highlighted the im-portance of recreation as the right ofevery child. “Being a signatory to ChildRights Convention (CRC) we shouldmake every effort to give children of thiscountry their due rights and bring hap-piness to their lives,” she said.Prof. Ayesha Mehnaz said the event (eidmela) is equally focused to raise publicawareness about rights of special chil-dren that are being violated in our soci-ety.Prof. M. Umar Farooq, Pro-Vice Chan-cellor, DUhS said no society couldprogress without acknowledging rele-vance of its special population besidespolishing and encouraging their capaci-ties. he announced that Dow Universitywould soon establish a School of Devel-opment Paediatric.“This school will provide a platform tounite and chalk out the social care,treatment strategies of special children,”he said. he appreciated the efforts un-dertaken by Konpal child abuse preven-tion society and said that differentorganizations including those of pedia-tricians were witnessed providing reha-bilitative services to the special childrenand this was highly appreciable. Pro-Vice Chancellor of DUhS also hailedschools taking revolutionary steps foractualization of the rights and welfare ofthe special children. Over 300 specialchildren, teachers, faculty members ofDUhS, General physicians, psycholo-gists and students of DMC participatedin this event. The colorful event startedwith fun filled activities organized at thegarden out side Arag auditorium.

26% road accident victims are childrendrug can correct

genetic anomalies in

thalassemia patients KARACHI

APP

Five of the 17 genetic anomalies causingthalassemia (a serious blood disorder)among children can be significantly cor-rected through adequate medication, saidresearchers at a press conference addressedby them at Karachi Press Club on Sunday.Dr Tahir Shamsi, a senior hematologistand Dr. Saqib Ansari, a paediatric oncol-ogist said that the 10 year long researchconducted by them at National Instituteof Blood Diseases has well establishedthat administration of “hydroxyurea,”can either abolish or markedly reduce thethalassemic children’s dependence onregular blood transfusions. They claimedthat 41 percent of the 152 thalassemicchildren registered with NIBD, afterbeing put on the above mentioned drugwere found to be no more anemic andtherefore needed no more blood transfu-sions while dependence of another 39percent on transfusions, were slashed tohalf. The researcher acknowledged thatno improvement could be found in thecondition of 20 percent of the tha-lassemic patients despite being put onthe same medication, in similar dosage,as given to their other counterparts.Dr. Saqib Ansari mentioned that theirresearch work on the extent of efficacy ofthe medicine was initiated in 2003 andits results were subsequently publishedin the Journal of Pediatric hematologyand Oncology, a reputable medical publi-cation of USA, in 2007 and 2011.

Govt dispels false

impressions KARACHI

APP

A spokesman of Sindh Chief Minister onSunday strongly dispelled the impressioncreated by a section of press that theprovincial government under the SindhPeoples Local Government Ordinance2012 may have withdrawn from its au-thority to approve annual budgets of localbodies. Through a handout issued onSunday the spokesman clarified that theSindh government is fully authorized, asunder the local bodies rules 1979 and2001, to approve and/or review the an-nual budgets of local governments underthe Sindh Peoples Local Government Or-dinance 2012. he said during the meetingchaired by Chief Minister Syed Qaim AliShah, all members of Sindh cabinet unan-imously supported the ordinance 2012.

KHI 10-09-2012_Layout 1 9/10/2012 2:51 AM Page 7

low

High

260ctueSday wedneSday tHurSday33°c i 26°c 33°c i 26°c 33°c i 26°c

Prayer timinGSfajr Sunrise zuhr asr maghrib isha

04:30 05:54 12:39 16:04 19:22 20:47

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

ciVil 99215749, 99215960

JinnaH 99201300-39

nicVd 99201271-6

aGHa KHan 34930051

tabba 36811841-50

CALLIGRAPHY

date: July 31 - auG 31, 2012

Venue: Serena Hotel

Satrang gallery is celebrating this spiritual month by exhibiting awonderful calligraphy show. do join us as we present the work often exceptional artists. opening on tuesday , July 31, at 8:00 pm.

GHALIB MADE EASY

date: tHurSday, 7:00 Pm, weeKly eVent

Venue: tHe Second floor (t2f)

Sunny

weatHer uPdateS

31°c

08karachi

HIDDEN AGENDA

"Hidden agenda" an exhibition of Paintings by lahore based

artist ayesha Siddiqui opens on 11th august 2012 at 5 pm at

Koel Gallery ,Karachi. the exhibition will continue till

august 31st,20.

date: auG 11 - 31, 2012

Venue: Koel Gallery KaracHi

Join us at t2f every wednesday for interactive sessions onmirza Ghalib’s poetry, conducted by author and translator,musharraf ali farooqi. Ghalib made easy by @micromafthepoetry of mirza Ghalib (27 december 1797 – 15 february1869) has been considered complex, abstract and difficultto comprehend. even for Ghalib’s contemporaries, hislanguage and imagery presented a challenge.

monday, 10 September, 2012

NEWS DESK

About two months back, 28-year old AsifAhmed* put up an announcement on theinternet to sell one of his kidneys. “I losta lot of money in business some four

years back and pumped in more money by taking aloan, but I’ve lost all. I know there is a law that pro-hibits selling of any organ, but I can’t think of anyother way to pay back this loan,” he told IPS over thephone. however, not one person has contacted himeven to inquire or show any interest. But thenAhmed is based in the southern port city of Karachi,in Sindh province, where the illegal organ trade iswell under control, unlike reports of a rise in Punjabprovince, Zofeen Ibrahim of the IPS reported.

Pakistan enacted a transplant law in 2010 toshake off its reputation as a leading destination fortransplant tourism and bring a stop to illegal organtrafficking. After the passage of the transplant law,organ trafficking stalled to some extent, due to the“attention it garnered,” said Dr Farhat Moazam.But, she added, there is new evidence that “since lastyear, cases are beginning to surface again.”

Moazam is chair of the Centre of Biomedicalethics and Culture at the Sindh Institute of Urologyand Transplantation (SIUT), institutions that re-lentlessly campaigned for the organ law for over twodecades before the law was promulgated in 2010.

She said while there is “suspicion” that both for-eigners and Pakistanis are buying kidneys, the for-mer draw more attention in the media.

“We also get information from our internationalcolleagues (often from the Middle east) about theircitizens who have landed in their hospitals withproblems following a kidney transplant especially inLahore and Rawalpindi”.

After the SIUT, the Transplant Society of Pak-istan (TSP) and members of civil society filed a caseagainst the government for its failure to implementthe Transplantation of human Organ and TissueAct 2010 (ThOTA), in turn failing to stem the flour-ishing trade, the Supreme Court issued directives inJuly to the provincial governments to take action.

“The law remained static and I would call it the fail-ure on the part of the law enforcement agencies andthe transplant authority,” Adib ul hasna Rizvi, headof the TSP, said. “Reports of illegal trade werebrought to the notice of the ministry of health andthe national human Organs Transplantation Au-thority (hOTA), but no action was taken on any ofthe complaints sent to them.” Data compiled by theNational human Organs Transplantation Authorityin 2010 found that 14 out of a total of 42 illegal kid-ney transplant facilities were in Punjab.

“Our advantage is that we have the support ofthe press, the judiciary, and the medical community;what is missing is the will of the government to en-force it and to do so transparently and with an evenhand,” Moazam said. According to the World healthOrganisation, an estimated 10,000 illegally pur-chased organ transplants take place each year. Itsays illicit organ trafficking rings have been uncov-ered in China, India and Pakistan.

Kidneys make up 75 percent of the global illicittrade in organs, according to WhO estimates. Of the106,879 solid organs known to have been trans-planted in 95 member states in 2010 (legally and il-legally), about 73,179 (68.5 percent) were kidneys.

“It is of great concern to see that laws are notenforced,” said Dr. Luc Noel, with the WhO in anemail. Citing the data from the Global Observatory,Noel concluded: “TT (transplant tourism) had prob-ably decreased around 2006-2007 and may be in-creasing again, but we are still estimating thatroughly 10 percent of organ transplants are OT(organ trafficking).

“In Pakistan, this could translate into a stronghOTA associated with the police and efforts to de-velop donation from deceased persons, for instancealong what has been initiated by SIUT,” said Noel.

In July this year, Abdullah halame Nur and hiswife Naado, ethnically Somali, arrived in the easterncity of Lahore, in Punjab, from the Netherlands tobuy a kidney for Nur. Just as the buyer was beingprepped for the operation, the police busted the il-legal transplant network and arrested all present,including the foreign nationals. The well-connected

surgeons and the anaesthetists, identified by thesellers as the ringleaders of the trade, are on ‘in-terim’ bail for the last few months in violation ofThOTA and the Pakistan Penal Code.

“We have yet to see a physician convicted andpunished for transgressing the law,” said Moazam.Noel points out that the organ trade cannot be com-pletely eradicated as long as there is “an unmet needof wealthy patients in search of transplantation, ac-cess to vulnerable individuals willing to sell anorgan, and weak or absent enforcement of the lawleading to the development of organ trafficking andpossibilities for corruption driven by huge illegalprofit.” With the change in dietary pattern like thespread of fast food, renal failure of “epidemic pro-portions” is being predicted in developing countries,said Moazam. But with a weak, or worse still, non-functional health system, and lack of screening,early diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases,kidney trade will only increase, she predicted.

however, there is a dearth of voluntary donors,and many people are not willing to bequeath theirbodies when they die. In a yet-to-be published studyconducted in Karachi by Moazam and her team in2010, detailed interviews with 100 people – 61 per-cent of whom were educated up to class 10 or above– about their opinions on live and deceased dona-tions showed that while there was an acceptance oflive donations, many opposed taking organs fromthe deceased due to a mixture of cultural norms andinterpretation of religious teachings revolvingaround respecting the dead body.

“Some believed that the nephrectomy wouldcause the deceased pain,” said Moazam. What shefound striking was that almost one-third of those in-terviewed were unaware or unsure that it was pos-sible to take organs from the deceased fortransplantation. In addition, the study found that 70percent of the interviewees said they would buy akidney if they could afford to, rather than ask a rel-ative. What was even more unfortunate: fewer thanten percent of those interviewed knew of the exis-tence of a law that criminalises the organ trade.

* Name changed to protect identity.

n despite the enactment of transplant law in 2010, there are reports of a resurgence of the organ trade

NEw LAws, sAME oLdorgaN TraffIcKINg

KHI 10-09-2012_Layout 1 9/10/2012 2:51 AM Page 8

09Foreign News

monday, 10 September, 2012

BAGHDADAFP

Aseries of more than 20 at-tacks across Iraq killed 52people and wounded over250 on Saturday and Sun-day, security and medical

officials said, with targets including secu-rity forces and markets.

The latest violence brings the numberof people killed in attacks so far thismonth to 82, according to an AFP tallybased on security and medical sources.

In the deadliest attack on Sunday,two car bombs exploded in a market nearthe shrine of Imam Ali al-Sharqi in southIraq, a security official said.

Dr Ali al-Alaa, a Maysan provincehealth department official, said the blastskilled 14 people and wounded 60.

Before midnight on Saturday gunmenopened fire on an Iraqi army checkpointnear Balad north of Baghdad and shortlylater a roadside bomb exploded when ad-ditional soldiers arrived. eleven soldiers,including two officers, were killed andeight others wounded, an army coloneland a medical source at Balad hospitalsaid. A police captain was also shot deadon Saturday night in the town of Garma,security and medical officials said.

early Sunday morning a car bomb ex-

ploded in a car park at the rear gate of thestate-owned North Oil Company, about15 kilometres (nine miles) from thenorthern city of Kirkuk, killing seven peo-ple and wounding 17 others, police andDr Othman Abdul Rahman said. The vic-tims were seeking to join a force thatguards oil facilities, a police officer said.

The North Oil Company is responsi-ble for oil exports from northern Iraq.

In Kirkuk itself, two bombings killedthree people and wounded 70 others, po-lice and Dr Mohammed Abdullah said.

The blasts left body parts strewn inthe streets, destroyed cars, and damagedgovernment buildings, an AFP corre-spondent said. The streets were desertedafter the attacks. A car bomb seriouslywounded six soldiers west of Kirkuk, ac-cording to army Captain Taha Khalaf,while another in hawija, also west of thecity, wounded two people, security andmedical sources said. Volatile, oil-richKirkuk province is part of a swathe of dis-puted territory in northern Iraq that theautonomous Kurdistan region wants toincorporate against Baghdad’s wishes.

Three car bombs exploded in Taji, northof Baghdad, killing one person and wound-ing at least seven others, an interior ministryofficial said and a medical source said. Andfive roadside bombs exploded in and aroundBaquba, killing a soldier and wounding 17

others, a police colonel and a doctor said.In Nasiriyah, 305 kilometres (190

miles) south of Baghdad, a bomb ex-ploded around 9:00 am (0600 GMT) on

Sunday near the French honorary con-sulate, causing material damage andwounding an unspecified number of peo-ple, a French diplomat said. Nasiriyah’s

website put the toll from the bombing atone dead and one wounded.

Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded infront of a hotel in Nasiriyah, killing two peo-ple and wounding two others, according tothe head of the Nasiriyah hospital AhmedAbdul Saheb and a security source. Attacksin Tuz Khurmatu, 175 kilometres (110miles) north of Baghdad killed four people,including a police captain and wounded 31,among them a police second lieutenant, itsmayor Shalal Abdul and police LieutenantColonel Khaled al-Bayati said.

In the southern port city of Basra, acar bomb in a market killed three peopleand wounded at least 20 others, policeand a medical official said. In Tal Afar380 kilometres (240 miles) northwest ofBaghdad, a car bomb exploded about8:30 am (0530 GMT) killing two peopleand wounding seven, police First Lieu-tenant Abed Ghayib and Dr Waad Mo-hammed from Tal Afar hospital said.

And south of Samarra, a city north ofBaghdad, another car bomb killed twopolice, including Colonel Thair Idris, andwounded two others, a police lieutenantcolonel and a medical source said. Vio-lence in Iraq is down significantly fromits peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks re-main common, and killed 278 people inAugust according to an AFP tally basedon security and medical officials.

Wave of attacks kills 52 in Iraq

TEHRANAFP

Iran on Sunday hit out at talk of more eUsanctions being applied against it as “ir-responsible,” singling out Britain for rais-ing the prospect it claimed went againstUN nuclear watchdog regulations.

Foreign ministry spokesman RaminMehmanparast issued a statement relayedby state broadcaster IRIB calling Westernsanctions “ineffective” and “obsolete.”

he was reacting to comments madeby eU foreign ministers, meeting inCyprus on Saturday, who said a “growingconsensus” was forming to impose newpunitive measures on Iran to pressure itfurther to make concessions on its dis-puted nuclear programme.

British Foreign Secretary Williamhague said after the meeting that existingeU sanctions were having “a serious im-pact” but it was “necessary to increase thepressure on Iran, to intensify sanctions.”

Britain would urge eU governmentsto agree a new round of sanctions — tar-geting the energy sector and trade — atthe next meeting of eU foreign ministersin mid-October, a diplomatic source atthe meeting told AFP.

hague’s German and French coun-terparts echoed that position, underlin-ing eU frustration that talks this yearbetween Iran and the so-called P5+1group — Britain, France, Germany, theUnited States, Russia and China — hadgone nowhere. Mehmanparast homed inon Britain’s position, saying: “The recentremarks by the British foreign secretarycalling for increasing sanctions againstIran are irresponsible.” he said they “vi-olate” International Atomic energyAgency regulations. he also claimedhague’s remarks sought to undermineIran’s recent hosting of a summit on non-aligned states that supported the Islamicrepublic’s nuclear energy programme aslong as it complied with IAeA oversight.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, attendingthat summit, had urged Iran to abide byIAeA demands for broader inspectionsand six UN resolutions it has so far ig-nored demanding it suspend uraniumenrichment. The P5+1 harbours suspi-cions that Iran’s nuclear activities in-clude a push to develop an atomicweapon breakout capability. Tensionsover the issue have greatly risen in re-cent months, since the Iran/P5+1 nego-tiations effectively stalled in June.

Israel — the Middle east’s sole if un-declared nuclear weapons power — hasthreatened to possibly launch imminentair strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The United States, which has re-peated it could also take military actionagainst Iran as a last resort, is arguingwith Israel that diplomacy has not yetrun its course. Iran insists its nuclearprogramme is exclusively peaceful andpoints to edicts from its supreme leader,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, describing nu-

clear weapons as a “great sin.”however, the IAeA in its latest report

stressed Iran has repeatedly rebuffed itsrequests to be given access to a militarybase suspected to have carried out experi-ments using conventional explosive to testpossible nuclear warhead designs. It alsosaid Iran had installed more than 1,000new uranium enrichment centrifuges in abomb-proof nuclear bunker in Fordo, nearthe holy city of Qom, though had not yetswitched them on. eU and US sanctionsimposed in July have severely crimpedIran’s all-important oil exports.

According to OPeC, Iran’s oil pro-duction has plummeted to its lowestlevel in more than two decades, whilethe International energy Agency says itsoil exports have more than halved thisyear. Iranian President Mahmoud Ah-madinejad admitted on Tuesday that hiscountry had “some problems in sellingoil” because of the sanctions, but he said“we are trying to manage it.”

iran slams talk of more sanctions as ‘irresponsible’

Jews, muslims

stage circumcision

march in GermanyBERLIN

AFP

Around 500 mainly Jewish but someChristian and Muslim protesters gatheredin Berlin on Sunday to demand the rightto circumcision after a disputed courtruling in Germany outlawing the rite.Some protesters were draped in Israeliflags, others wore orthodox Jewish dressfor the peaceful demonstration onBerlin’s Bebelplatz, infamous as the siteof book-burning ceremonies carried outby Adolf hitler’s Nazis.One banner at the demonstrationaccused Germany of reverting to a“colonial power” while another read:“Foreskin? No thank you!”Following the judgement from the courtin Cologne saying circumcision wastantamount to grievous bodily harm,Jewish and Muslim groups joined forcesfor the protest in central Berlin as theforeign minister expressed his concern.“I am very worried about this debate. Itwill not be understood in any wayoutside our country,” Guido Westerwelletold Focus news magazine. “It is completely incomprehensible thatJewish families in Germany might notbe able to have their young boyscircumcised,” added the minister. Diplomats admit the ruling has proved“disastrous” for Germany’s internationalimage, particularly in light of its Nazipast, following uproar from religiousand political leaders in Israel as well asMuslim countries. The leader of Germany’s Jewishcommunity, Dieter Graumann, told thesame publication it was “unbearable”that Jews were being portrayed as “childtorturers” for carrying out the practice.And he backed his predecessor as headof the Central Council of Jews inGermany, Charlotte Knobloch, who saidlast week that Jewish life in Germanywas being questioned for the first timesince 1945. “I can well understand herfeelings,” said Graumann. OnWednesday, the city of Berlin imposednew legal conditions on parents whohave their boys circumcised. Both parents must give writtenpermission after being informed of therisks of the procedure, and provide proofof the “religious motivation and religiousnecessity of the circumcision” before thechild is old enough to take the decisionhimself. Berlin’s top justice official,Thomas heilmann, said the new policywas intended to protect the rights of Jewishand Muslim parents and their children.About four million Muslims and morethan 200,000 Jews live in Germany.

Hong Kong

votes in crucial

legislative pollsHONG KONG

AFP

hong Kong voters went to the pollsSunday in legislative elections seen as acrucial test for the Beijing-backedgovernment, as calls for full democracygrow and disenchantment with Chineserule surges.Nearly 3.5 million people are eligible tocast ballots in the poll, which comesafter weeks of protests against a plan tointroduce Chinese patriotism classesinto schools forced the government intoa last-minute climbdown.Voting began at 7:30 am (2330 GMTSaturday) and will continue until 10:30pm with results not expected untilMonday. The new legislature could pavethe way for universal suffrage in 2017for the job of chief executive and by2020 for the parliament.Forty of the 70 seats — expanded from60 in the outgoing assembly — will bedirectly elected, the first time that morethan half of the seats in the Asianfinancial centre have been decided bypopular vote.The remainder are chosen by relativelysmall “functional constituencies” ofelectors grouped along economic andprofessional lines, including wealthybusiness leaders with strong financialties to the mainland.

TEHRANAFP

The new UN-Arab League envoy forSyria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has spoken bytelephone with Iranian Foreign Minis-ter Ali Akbar Salehi and is contemplat-ing a trip to Tehran, an Iranian officialtold the Mehr news agency on Sunday.

Brahimi, who is embarking on hisfirst Middle east tour since taking overthe position last week from Kofi Annan,spoke with Salehi late Saturday, one of

Iran’s deputy foreign ministers, AbbasAraqchi, was quoted as saying. “It isplanned for him to come to Iran at asuitable time after going to Syria,”Araqchi said. he did not give any fur-ther indication as to a date for the visit.

A foreign ministry statement postedonline said Salehi congratulatedBrahimi on his appointment “andwished him success in his task.” The twodiscussed the situation in Syria andSalehi emphasised that his countrywanted a “peaceful solution without for-

eign intervention,” the statement said.Brahimi was quoted talking about

the “positive role” Iran could play inthe Syrian crisis and his quest for apeaceful solution. Brahimi took up hispost on September 1, succeedingAnnan, who stepped down in frustra-tion at open dissent within the UN Se-curity Council on how to tackle Syria.he is due to visit egypt on Sunday fortalks with Arab League leaders aheadof a trip he hopes to make to Damas-cus, according to his spokesman.

uN envoy talks with iran about syria, plans visit

MuMBAi: indian hindus carry huge idols of the elephant-headed hindu god lord ganesha through the streets on sunday. the

idols have been prepared for the ganesh festival, "ganesh chaturthi", a popular 12-day religious festival which is annually

celebrated across india, this year running september 19-30. afp

kirkuk: iraqis inspect the site of a blast in a car park at the rear gate of

the state-owned north oil company on sunday. afp

KHI 10-09-2012_Layout 1 9/10/2012 2:52 AM Page 9

Since the Non Aligned Move-ment Summit in Tehran, an-alysts have been weighing itssignificance. One can under-stand why there is confu-

sion; in times of transition it is hard tomake sense of events as they occur.evaluating developments requires asense of history that is usually lackingthese days.

A number of unprecedented eventsunfolded this week. For example, USdeclared haqqani network a terroristorganization as Pakistan and Indiaagreed to ease their visa regimes andChina and India decided to resume jointmilitary exercises. Additionally, Presi-dent Putin will visit Pakistan in Octoberand General Kayani’s is heading to Rus-sia. There are also media reports sug-gesting Chinese are to take over GwadarPort. To comprehend these develop-ments one needs to look closely at whatis emerging between the ties of globalpowers such as China, US, and Russia.

As the Cold War ended NAM glidedin to obscurity, there was no one left toalign against. however, now that Russiaand China are increasingly challengingUS, and vice versa, NAM will obviouslybecome more relevant once more.

President Putin’s recent interviewto Russia Today indicated that all isnot well when it comes to US-Russiaties. “Today some want to use militantsfrom Al Qaeda or some other organiza-tions with equally radical views to ac-complish their goals in Syria,” Putinstated in the interview. “This policy isvery short-sighted and is fraught withdire consequences.”

he added, “That was the case dur-ing the war in Afghanistan.” “At thattime, our present partners supported arebel movement there and basicallygave rise to Al Qaeda, which later back-fired on the United States itself.”

Moreover, Russia Defense Ministry

threatened counter measures last weekif US does not relent in implementing amissile shield over europe. The Com-mander of the Russian Strategic MissileForces stated that the country will de-velop a new intercontinental ballisticmissile by 2018.

In the case of US-China ties,things do not look much upbeat ei-ther. During hillary Clinton’s visit toChina last week, Prime Minister WenJiabao showcased his concerns in apress conference:

“Generally speaking, our relation-ship has been moving forward, but re-cently I am more or less worried.” hewent on to add, “I feel that our twocountries should maintain politicalmutual respect and strategic mutualtrust. The United States should re-spect China’s sovereignty and territo-rial integrity.” his comments soundedmore like those that Pakistan makesafter drone strikes.

China and US are increasingly atodds over the territorial disputes of theSouth China Sea.

The country has warned USagainst meddling in the territorial dis-putes while US has called for freedomof navigation in South China Sea. Chi-nese foreign ministry spokesmanhong Lei stated, “Countries outsidethis region should respect the choiceof countries directly concerned withthis issue and should earnestly honortheir commitment of not taking sidesin this dispute.”

China claims indisputable sover-eignty over the islands of South ChinaSea while Philippines, Vietnam andother nations assert the same. RecentlyUS accused China for escalating ten-sions as Beijing set up a remote garrisonin the South China Sea.

On the other hand, some analystshave played up the differences betweenRussia and China, calling it an unnatu-ral alliance. Moreover, this perspectiveblames Russians for not reciprocatingthe Chinese in the Asia Pacific in thesame manner they are supporting theRussians in the case of Iran and Syria.however, this notion was some whatdispelled when the Chinese Presidenthu Jintao and Vladimir Putin met onthe sidelines of 20th informal economicleaders’ meeting of the Asia Pacific eco-nomic Cooperation (APeC) forum.

Both countries reached consensuson key political, economic, securitygoals and agreed to push the China-Russia strategic partnership forward.These were previously decided upon atthe Shanghai Cooperation Organiza-tion (SCO) meeting in June. In 2011,

the volume of trade between the twocountries was worth $83 billion, andPutin expected it to increase to $100billion by 2015.

While the US relations with Chinaand Russia are not going well, Russianand Pakistan are moving closer whileChinese-India ties are heading towardsnormalization.

As Pakistan and India agreed to eas-ing of their visa procedures, China’s De-fense Minster Gen Liang Guanglie’s wasin India last week and consented to re-sume joint military exercises that hadbeen suspended two years ago. The de-fense ministers of the two countries de-cided that closer military ties wouldfacilitate trust and friendship betweenthe two. Despite tensions, trade be-tween India and China has climbedfrom $5 billion in 2002 to nearly $75billion last year. On the other hand, bi-lateral trade between India and Pak-istan was only $300 million in 2004and has increased to $2.7 billion in2011. At a joint press briefing held aftersigning of the visa agreement, Pak-istan’s foreign minister stated, “We willnot be held hostage to history.”

Irrespective of what is happening toUS-Pakistan ties, the views of Pakistanand India on key international issuesare moving closer to those of Russia andChina. In addition to the focus on devel-oping regional trade and energy corri-dors, the buzzwords emanating fromChina, Russia, Pakistan and India arerespect for sovereignty and national in-tegrity of states and resistance to exter-nal intervention in regional disputes.

In this context, the war on terror ap-pears more and more like a transitoryphase. As the global power tussles in-tensifies, the militias, extremists, andstates are likely to be absorbed as prox-ies and partners in to one or the otherfold once more. This phenomenon is in-creasingly at display in the case of Syria.

hillary Clinton herself franklypointed out to this stark reality. Shecommented on his trip to China thatthe two nations are attempting to dosomething that has not been done be-fore in history “which is to write a newanswer to the question of what happenswhen an established power and a risingpower meet”.

This comment pretty much sums upthe present hustle bustle in interna-tional relations. It’s yet to be seen if his-tory will be made or repeated.

The writer is the chief analyst forPoliTact (www.PoliTact.com andhttp:twitter.com/politact) and can bereached at aansar@politact.com

Comment10Whose side is history on?the status of ties between us, russia, china

PolitactBy Arif Ansar

Arif NizamiEditor

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

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

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

one small step at a time

Pakistan-india talks

The hawks on both sides of the border remainedstuck to their guns: ours lamenting that the ‘core’issues have been consigned to the backburner whiletheirs feeling that Pakistan should have done ‘more’

to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice and showngreater commitment to rein in cross-border terrorism. But itis a good augury that the recommenced dialogue has at theleast yielded an accord on the liberalized visa regime.

Where India is concerned even small steps lookmonumental – like resumption of cricketing ties afterinterruptions that have twice lasted for well over a decade(if all goes well, restoration of bilateral cricket this comingDecember would only have taken five years!). This veryagreement too seemed to have been a done deal last Maywhen the Indian commerce secretary visited Pakistan witha mandate to sign but was stalled at our end for unstatedreasons.

While there are some significant sections of the society– media personnel, academics etc – who may feel left out,the opening seems to be for real, promising much freermovement of people across the borders that have sinceSeptember 1965 been more closely shut than anywhere elsein the world. Not just the mercantile, industrial andbanking class is likely to feel the reprieve but dividedfamilies and those on the line of control too are likely tocross over more frequently. Also given the curiosityamongst people in both countries the possibility of pilgrimsand group tourism taking off seems quite distinct as well.

Another good thing is that getting a visa would nolonger take forever: now a 45-day cap has been put on thenumber of days the respective high commission can take onmaking a decision.

Given that this is the first real improvement in the visaregime since 1974, a broad and tangible one at that, itreflects the commitment of the political leadership in bothcountries to take the endeavor for peace in the regionbeyond just peaceniks who were routinely shouted down bythe well-entrenched hawks. This opening up of the people-to-people contact is meant to replace deep distrust withgoodwill and bonhomie and galvanize trade relations tocreate influential pockets of vested interest that could makea pitch for sustainable peace in a neighborhood that haswitnessed conflagration too often for comfort.

This incremental approach towards normalization ofrelations is a silver lining that looks likely to sustain. Forthe sake of the impoverished people of the sub-continentone just hopes that like so many times before it does notturn out to be a mirage.

monday, 10 September, 2012

Just a cabinet reshuffle won’t do anything

is that all you’ve got, Dr singh?

There is a canyon-deep hollow at theheart of government, which echoeswith the rhythm of banality. Two

crises are corroding the nation’s stability.Septic corruption is coiled around theneck of the government, having risen tounimaginable rather than merely un-precedented heights. Calculations of mal-practice and malfeasance are littleconsolation to a citizen battered by re-lentless news of the government theft ex-posed by government agencies. In Assam,violence is turning endemic under Con-

gress watch; in Mumbai, racism skewersthe rhetoric of Shiv Sena politicians whomilk votes from animosity.

The UPA may not have run out oftime, but it seems to have run out of ideasif a cabinet reshuffle represents the gamutof its imagination. An existentialist ques-tion must surely leave Prime MinisterManmohan Singh helpless: Shuffle whomto where? There is little talent left at hiscall. There is no hero armed with a magicwand, waiting in the wilderness, thirstingfor a chance to rub shoulders with history.There is no one who can identify a threadstretched between Delhi and Guwahati,both ruled by Congress, and stitch to-gether a policy framework that will stanchthe bleeding in the North-east. his Gov-ernment’s response to corruption is ashrug rearranged into combative pos-tures; if our face is tarred with corruption,the BJP is also smudged. That may indeedbe true, but how does it reduce the culpa-bility of ministers who handed out coalblocks to tricolour or saffron cronies?

The only frisson of excitement isspurred by the prospect of Rahul Gandhientering the portals of power by becominga cabinet minister or working president of

Congress. This begs a separate question.When in the last eight years has RahulGandhi ever been out of power? he hasbeen the working president of the Con-gress whenever he has chosen to work.

Whenever he has taken a decision, ithas been implemented, either at govern-ment or party level. he pushed, where hecould, for a younger generation of chiefministers; and got them in Kashmir andAndhra Pradesh. he sought to revolu-tionise Congress through the Youth Con-gress. No one stopped him. he wanted tolead his party’s campaign in Bihar fromthe front, selecting candidates from apersonal template. he did so. he choseto stake everything in his kitty on theprospect of a few seats more in UttarPradesh. he went ahead.

each time the consequences were dis-appointing, if not disastrous. he wasnever held accountable. Rajiv Gandhi wasnever as powerful when his mother, MrsIndira Gandhi, was prime minister. DrManmohan Singh began his second termas PM by offering to step down the mo-ment Rahul Gandhi wanted the job.There has been some depreciation sincethen, and Dr Singh only expects Rahul

Gandhi to join the cabinet. every senioror junior Congress leader ritually anointsRahul Gandhi heir and pride of Congress;it is the current version of an oath of loy-alty. Rahul Gandhi can pick any portfoliohe wants. he could become home minis-ter this week and use his abilities to sortout Assam and Telangana, both of whichwill be at the top of his agenda if he be-comes PM. Is there a single wish of RahulGandhi in these last eight years that hasbeen thwarted? Not to my knowledge,which may of course be limited, but Iwould be glad to get an education.

It is an important moment in a youngMP’s life when a prime minister inviteshim to join the government. But such anoffer is quite meaningless to anyone whocontrols the cabinet, either directly orthrough a mother’s proxy.

If there is some fire in the works of apossible September reshuffle, then itcomes from the states. Delhi, a rumourmill on an industrial scale, believes thatCongress will change its chief ministersin Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Ma-harashtra. If that be true, the reason willnot be parental joy at the brilliance ofaward, but because all three are deemed

to have failed. That is hardly the mostringing endorsement of talent. Failuremight be a harsh verdict on PrithvirajChavan, but the departure of AshokGehlot and Kiran Reddy is long overdue.So how does it help Dr Singh if they areshifted to Delhi? If they were competentthey would not have failed. Gehlot andReddy do not add value; they extractsomething from a diminished asset.

There is only one Congress leader, MrsSheila Dikshit, who would add stature toDr Singh’s Cabinet, but then the govern-ment of Delhi would become too puny towithstand current storms. If Dr Singh doeshave some capability available, it is out-side Congress. Sharad Pawar, for instance,would make a good home minister.

Thank God, said a wit, that I am notGod. Perhaps Sharad Pawar, looking atthe mess around him, tells himself some-thing similar: Thank you, Prime Minis-ter, that I am not Prime Minister.

The columnist is editor of TheSunday Guardian, published from Delhi,India on Sunday, published fromLondon and Editorial Director, IndiaToday and headlines Today.

third eyeBy M J Akbar

KHI 10-09-2012_Layout 1 9/10/2012 2:52 AM Page 10

Comment 11

monday, 10 September, 2012

In our land of the pure, the peopledesire to have an independent,impartial judiciary but this hope isunfortunately fading day by day. Allinstitutions, either governmental orprivate, depend on the personsworking for it. It was a foolishexpectation that by restoring thepresent judges, the people will havean era of quick justice and unbiasedjudges. Sadly, the bribery allegationson the son of CJ by the real estatetycoon and judges accepting his appealagainst NAB and constituting a joint

investigation team and appointingfederal tax commission has raisedmany questions: why is the son of theCJ being treated differently when thesons of politicians were arrested andinvestigated by FIA and NAB officers?Why do the judges have no trust in thegovernment institutions?

The allegations against the CJ’sson regarding his misuse of the CJ’sresidence for personal benefits,involvement with senior governmentemployees and upgradation of aneconomy air travel ticket to a business

one on his father’s insistence havecompelled people like myself tobelieve that the CJ was well aware ofhis son’s activities.

We believe that the generals areresponsible for not allowingdemocracy to flourish as well asextremism and terrorism but I considerthe judges of superior courts to beequally responsible as they providelegitimacy to military coups and allowthem to amend the constitution. Thejudges are expected to display moralcourage, honesty and impartiality.

The institution of judiciary is thesecond most corrupt organ of the stateand there is no concept of speedyjustice for the ordinary citizens. howcan the rule of law be establishedwhen the executive, establishmentand judiciary have the rot ofcorruption spreading through them?After 65 years of Pakistan’s existence,the country is still on a downhill roadand only a few are responsible for thisdownfall.

S T HUSSAINLahore

Editor’s mailSend your letters to: Letters to

Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey

Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Fax: +92-42-36298302.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk.

Letters should be addressed to Pakistan

Today exclusively.

the Syrian crisisI was amazed and shocked to read Abdul

Rahman Al-Rashed’s article ‘America’s passivestance on Syria,’ published in the Arab News onAugust 31. After observing America’s conducttowards Muslims in general and Palestinians inparticular, and except for one-off move to providehelp to Bosnian Muslims, any one in his right mindcould hardly trust Americans to look after andsafeguard Muslims’ interests? Does he not realizethat the United States in just the tail-end of a coin ofwhich Israel is the head?

The writer seems to be full of admiration forGeorge Bush, even though what he did was illegaland brutal and has multiplied the suffering of Iraqisat least a thousand-fold. No doubt, Saddam hussainwas a ruthless ruler who dealt with his opponentswith an iron-fist but the real democracy has not beenbrought to Iraq and the dictator has been replacedby an ineffectual puppet, Nur al-Maliki. All along,Americans kept criticizing Nur al-Maliki but theyhave still retained him because he suits their purpose.

It is surprising that even after seeing whatAmerican invasion did to Iraq, someone shouldexpress disappointment over its non-interference inSyria on the same scale? however, the disruptiveand destructive American government has notremained a complete bystander in the Syrian issueand is doing what it can through its A-team (not atypo) the Israelis as well as some Muslim states whoare providing arms and ammunition as well as otherassistance to saboteurs and terrorists who are polesapart from the original protesters who were peaceful.

The Syrian revolution started as peacefulprotest, and there was a good chance that it wouldhave succeeded but, unfortunately, it was hijackedby agents of Americans and Israelis and some anti-Shia Muslim states in the neighbourhood.

The writer tries to coax Americans to invadeSyria, saying “This is the first time since the end ofthe Cold War that we see the US scared of Russiananger, despite the fact that the fall of the Syrianregime will be helpful for the US in the event of apossible war against Iran.” What is preventingAmerica’s invasion of Syria is the opposition of Iraqand China, because of which they are unable to get aresolution of their choice at the UN SecurityCouncil. Also, writer’s assertion that the fall of theSyrian regime will be helpful for the US in the eventof a possible war against Iran, lays bare histhinking, making clear that he is not reallyconcerned about Syrians.

It is a bit of a shame that Syria’s neighboursjumped in to settle their personal score, and thusturned a peaceful movement into a civil war. Withoutmilitary intervention from Syria-haters, there was avery good chance that the Chinese, and morespecifically the Russians, through their leverage withBashar al-Assad, would have persuaded him to settlethe issue in a peaceful manner. Alas, that opportunityis lost now, much to the misfortune of people ofSyria and the rest of the Middle east. The only statethat is likely to emerge as a winner is Israel.

SRH HASHMIKarachi

an action plan for the fbrThe FBR is one of the biggest organizations of

the government of Pakistan, spread across variouslocations across the country. Unfortunately it hasonly managed to collect tax from a very small part ofof Pakistan’s total population of 190 million. Overthe years, FBR has utilized a number ofinternational donor-funded improvement projects,mostly on loan which was to be paid from the taxpayers money, but even still it has not managed toadd more than 3 million (1.5%) on the National TaxNumber list. While, on the other hand, the relativelyyounger office of the election Commission ofPakistan has verified more than 90 million (47%)voters already. If the current tax base is increasedfrom 1.5% to 50%, then Pakistan will not need theaid or loans of any other nation or organization inthe future. The people of Pakistan will not need topay high sales tax or import taxes or even highpetrol/diesel cost, etc.

But before we take any drastic measures, I dohave a solution for this conundrum. The currentpresident of Pakistan or the head of FBR can imposean Act for each and every employee being paid fromthe FBR budget, that each tax officer would addrecords of 50 new tax payers to the NTN list by theend of 3 months. And whoever fails to provide thedetails of the required number of new tax payers inthe required time would be removed from servicethe same day. each new record should have thecompany number of the person providing the data,and if the data provided is found to be fake, then theperson who provided this information will beremoved from service.

FBR has around 52,000 employees. If thisprogram is run for one year, for 3 months each time,then by the end of the year the FBR will have 10.5million (5.5%) new tax payers on record. It will be a

new achievement for the FBR to have at least 5% ofthe population as its tax base. Also on the plus side,all those employees who fail to help in the increaseof the tax base of Pakistan, will be removed fromservice and this will help reduce the extra costs atFBR, as only hard working and honest employeeswill be left in one of the most important institutionfor Pakistan’s successful future.

SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEERPeshawar

de-facto division of Sindh?There is a consensus across the country, that if

there is a need to create new provinces, it must bedone only for administrative reasons and not on anyethnic or linguistic basis. The ordinance issued latein the night of 6th September effectively dividesSindh into two difference administrative units,where local governments of certain urban centerswould be run in accordance with a particularsystem, while the rural districts and towns will beadministered through a separate system.

The stage has been set for providing justificationfor division of Sindh. If ever there is a demand bythose who resorted to wall chalking in Karachi, itwill be justified on existing separate administrativesystems in force. People of Sindh gave a mandate tothe PPP and, unfortunately, this very mandate isbeing abused. It seems this PPP government will makeany compromise for their power politics, irrespectiveof the consequences, or its impact on the country.

ANEELA CHANDIOSukkur

Saeed ajmal and iccI guess Saeed Ajmal’s spin has baffled ICC too as

his ‘dusra’ has blown the top of heads of manycricketers in the field. his exclusion from the ICCawards is as disturbing to us as a nation as it ispainful to India-dominated ICC. It is not only unfairon the part of ICC but also reveals their truethinking which is biased. This ICC imposed fine andeven jailed our three players. That was a move tobreak the back of our team. But thanks God that wemade a comeback. They are keeping Pakistan fromtouring other nations but we have Dubai and AbuDhabi close by to redeem that insult also. ICC, readmy letter if you can. You cannot suppress Pakistan.Try some other methods.

AMJAD H MIRZALahore

institutions only as good as the people running them

on the afghan endgameIn response to 9/11 attacks, US and

allies captured Afghanistan inNovember 2001. Taliban governmentwas officially ousted from power on 17November, 2001. In December 2001,Bonn conference born puppet, TheKarzai government in Afghanistan wasinstalled. The most important elementof this war commonly referred to as the“war on terror” was gaininginternational support for US for such ahistorical military alliance of 50 pluscountries against the Taliban and AlQaeda. even the Arab world, to anextent Iran, China, Russia, and otherplayers of power also supported USeither directly or indirectly against theforces of Taliban and Al Qaeda.Pakistan’s role was designated as amajor non-NATO ally.

Pakistan due to its geopoliticalsignificance cannot remain in isolation.Whatever happens in Afghanistan is amatter of concern for Pakistan becauseit shares its longest boundary(approximately 2,640 KM), the Durandline, with Afghanistan. If fightingcontinues in Afghanistan after USwithdrawal (as happened after theSoviet Union’s withdrawal in the1980’s), then Pakistan is going to facesimilar challenges and difficulties it didback then. But this time, Russia, India,Iran and China are also going to chase“strategic depth” in Afghanistanaccording to their own interests.

The present international matrix ofpower is presents dangers as well asopportunities. Despite having all itsinternal problems, Pakistan remains akey player in the endgame ofAfghanistan. 2014 is not far away,Pakistan has to maintain the balance ofpower in the region besides playing aneffective role in dealing with both thechallenges and opportunities. An earlierattempt to prepare and manage analternative multi-dimensional grandstrategy is needed for a multi-levelapplication. It may lead to securePakistan’s political, economical, andstrategic objectives in the wake ofAfghan endgame.

GULZAR ALI MEHBOOBKarachi

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12

For many, controversy’s favourite child Salman Khan might be abig time baddie, but for many others, he is a sweet heart and abest friend. Preity Zinta, who happens to be one of his co-stars,has always remained thick friends with the superstar. Thedimpled beauty is busy now a debutant film producer has spokenher heart out about the ‘Dabangg’ Khan. Talking to reportersabout the song ‘Kudiye Di Kurti’ from her film ‘Ishq in Paris’, thatfeatures Salman, Preity said, “This song was always part of thefilm. It is situational and an integral part of the film. The onlyactor I approached for this film was Salman and he agreed. I thinkit is not correct to take crutches for anything in life.” Preity said,“Our relation goes back ten years and he has always beensupportive. he is has been a friend, who has always been thereirrespective of what the media or people say, he has a big heart.he is honest straight forward guy. For me he is so awesome.” Andshe also added, “For me, my first film as a producer has been anuphill task because you have to work hard in whatever you do. Buthe being there has made a huge difference to me.” NeWs DesK

Salman Khan isawesome: Preity Zinta

Preity Zinta

“Filmmaking is all about ideas. It is the idea that sells. And ifyou have a unique story idea, it will get positive responses,irrespective of the star cast of the film,” Bhatt said in an emailinterview with IANS. “The way I perceive it, investing innewcomers is not a risk. They are the future of our industryand if we can sell a unique idea along with their talent, there isno question of the movie not performing well,” he added. Afterwielding the megaphone for iconic films like ‘Arth’, ‘Dil hai KeManta Nahin’ and ‘Murder’, Bhatt has moved away fromdirection to pave way for new and budding directors. “everyfilmmaker has his unique style of directing and as easy as it isfor audiences to get accustomed to his style, it is equally easyfor them to get weary of it. The industry is evolving and weneed fresh and young talent who relate to today`s fast movingtimes,” he said. The 63-year-old, who now mostly oversees theproduction department of his banner Vishesh Films, feelsyoungsters bring fresh perspectives and ideas in the style offilmmaking. NeWs DesK

Investing in newcomersnot a risk: Mahesh bhatt

Mahesh Bhatt

Actor Ranbir Kapoor only wants to talk about his work, not hislink-ups. The popular actor was left angry at an event recentlywhen he was asked about link-ups with his co-actresses, andabout his equation with Barfi! co-star Ileana D’Cruz. “See, mymotive is to let my film talk. I don’t tell others to write about myaffairs nor do I decide it. I work hard. In Barfi also I have workedhard,” Ranbir told reporters. “If your question is how did I feelworking with Anurag Basu, then I will respect you. But if you askme questions like ‘Why did I not have an affair with Ileana?’, thenyou will lose respect. So I’d like you to ask me questions about mywork, not about my affairs,” added the 29-year-old. Promotionsfor Barfi!, releasing Sep 14, are keeping Ranbir busy these days.The actor plays a deaf and mute boy in the movie, and says he isas nervous about the release as he is always for all his films. Buthe likes the pinch of nervousness.”If I become overconfident, thenmy acting prowess and talent will go away. So I pray for anxietyand nervousness even after 20 years. So yeah, I am nervous andthere is anxiety,” Ranbir said. NeWs DesK

ask me about work, notaffairs: ranbir Kapoor

Ranbir KapoorSalman Khan

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A man with an extended criminal record was arrested outside MileyCyrus’s home in Los Angeles after he tried to force himself into thesinger-actress’s home. Cyrus was reportedly not present at home,when the incident happened. It was her employees who called thepolice. According to Los Angeles police Lt. Brian Wendling,employees inside singer’s house in the Studio City area informed thepolice around 4 a.m. Saturday after the man came to the door andclaimed to be a friend of the 19-year-old singer-actress. The manwho had a pair of nail clipper-like scissors and wore a heart-shapedornament made of rope over his chest then started to light candles,before repeatedly throwing himself against an outside wall as if hewas trying to break into the house, CBS News reported. Police saidwhen they reach there the man then jumped behind some bushesand tried to flee, but surrendered after he was threatened by a Tasergun. The man later identified himself as Jason Luis Rivera. The manwho had a pair of nail clipper-like scissors and wore a heart-shapedornament made of rope over his chest then started to light candles,before repeatedly throwing himself against an outside.NeWs DesK

Man with scissors caughtoutside Miley cyrus’ home

Miley Cyrus

Katy Perry is having a turbulent time with her new bloke JohnMayer. The couple had a bust-up after the MTV Video MusicAwards on Thursday night in Los Angeles. There were alreadyrumors that Katy and John were on the rocks — and they didn’t domuch to stop them as they attended a bash at the Beverly hillshotel. A source said: “John and Katy had been to dinner at Italianrestaurant Madeo before going to the party and something hadclearly gone on. “When they turned up to the esquire event, Katywas walking well in front of John and it was clear they had just hada fight. “Inside, their tempers were both boiling and theyeventually disappeared to have it out in a private room away fromother party-goers.”At least that stopped the others at the partyfeeling like they were reliving their parents’ rows. single We AreNever ever Getting Back Together is rumoured to be written abouthim. If things don’t improve for Katy and John, she’ll be asking torecord a cover of the track. “When they turned up to the esquireevent, Katy was walking well in front of John and it was clear theyhad just had a fight. NeWs DesK

Katy Perry having a rowwith john Mayer

Katy Perry

Kareena Kapoor starrer ‘heroine’ is all set to hit the silverscreen on September 21 and the actress is going out of her waypromote her film. Bebo is very much into the character she isportraying in the film and gave some interesting bytes duringan interview to a daily. So when the question of ‘heroine’making Rs 200 crore at the box office was put before the 31-year-old actress, she replied, “We don’t have Salman Khan toget us Rs. 200 cr. If we do decent business, it will be a bigthing for me as an actress, as in India it is all about heroes.”Kareena also said that people should stop perturbing her withquestions of marriage with Saif and also asserted that it isimportant to give a fair chance in films to married actresses.hail to woman power. We agree with your Bebo!If we dodecent business, it will be a big thing for me as an actress, asin India it is all about heroes.” Kareena also said that peopleshould stop perturbing her with questions of marriage withSaif and also asserted that it is important to give a fair chancein films to married actresses. NeWs DesK

heroes’ world bollywood,says Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor

how did you feel when the man you gave nine years of yourlife to, left you?I felt abandoned. I was living in a lala land till then. Now sitting today Ifeel I was so foolish. during those nine years, I retracted from my work,pushed back opportunities, stood like a rock for the man I loved, did notmeet people just to give that extra time to make my relationship workand then I realized that the thing I was working so hard for was goneovernight. It took me months to realize that it’s over and I am abandoned.I went through a lot of pain. I used to howl, went into isolation, it hurt.But then after some time the mind has to take over.how did you cope with being treated like a discarded woman?I would be the biggest liar if I said there was no struggle and that therewere no wounds. I never wanted to talk about my wounds at that timebecause people dig into them deeper when you talk. I am a single girl.I need to be in the business and work peacefully. I can’t let the baggageof my private life get into work. Artists are more fragile than normalpeople. But I know that I am a role model for zillions of people so nomatter how deep you are hurting, you need to come out strong.What does love mean to you?I am a very traditional type of a girl. I like simple things in life. I didn’t fallin love in day one. I was chased. I was wooed. I gave my 100 per cent tomy relationship, whether it was my loyalty or respect. I know I made a fab-ulous girlfriend and would make a fabulous homemaker. I have parentswho still deeply love each other. so these are things I value too deeply inlife. To me love is not something that can be manipulated.has this bitter experience taught you lessons in life?Nothing can save something that is not meant to be, no matter how hardyou try. I want to tell womenthat you need to love yourself and make yourselfa priority. It’s only when you are happy yourself, can you make everyone elsearound you happy. I am still a dreamer and still believe in fairy tales, but thereis only that much one should give another person. You need to keep some-thing for yourself. I am to blame for what happened to me. I allowed a lot.Anyone who pulls you down in your life, should not be in your life.you isolated so many people like Salman for this one relationship? do you regret it? I isolated myself. It’s silly, but I did it out of choice. I was foolish.I guess that kind of love does not exist any more, at least not in our business.But when you are right, everyone comes around. salman is today a friend.What has changed for you today?I walk without make-up and people tell me I glow. I see my picturesthen and now. It’s as if a dark cloud has lifted above my head. Today Ihave love and respect for myself. Today, I know I am a fantastic woman.I am so enriched because so much has happened in my life. The way Ican express myself is because of the life I have lead. It’s only when you

experience life can you emote it. Allthis has made me a better actor.We now see a new bipasha whois ready to mingle with men?From childhood I love and got alongwith only men. If a man has a crush onme, I am not supposed to be at fault forthat. during the nine years, I confined myselfand never stepped out. I didn’t have a life. I worked,went to a gym and came back to my hotel room. Evenif a man loved me, it was never communicated tome. I make friends easily irrespective of the sex. I lovepeople. Today I feel happy, light and free. You haveseen me so long in a confined and controlled mannerthat you may think I am trying to create an image.Were there people who helped you get out of it?Rocky s is my friend and brother. He held me withhis hands and made me stand on my feet. It’s myfriends who helped me. Friendship is the most selfless,beautiful relationship God has made. Bhatt sahabpicked me for ‘Raaz 3’ when I was in self-doubt andmade me feel that it was okay not to be strong.Would you fall in love again?Yes, I am not cynical about love. I am still a sim-ple, uncomplicated trusting girl. I wouldagain give my 100 per cent to a relationshipif I were to have one. But I also believe thatit’s okay to be single and as a singlewoman I can be happy.are you vindictive?Not at all. I believe in respecting peo-ple’s relationships. I may not haverespect for him, but have respectfor anyone who is in a relationship.What has changed for you professionally today?I was born in delhi, went to Kolkata,wanted to become a doctor, becamea model, traveled around the world, gotbored of modeling, became a part of films,made love my priority, had a failed love life, re-alized the mistake I had made by pushing back the one support system ofwork that I had. Today I am ready to struggle again. courTeSy ToI

basu who has had a trying year with her personal travails,returns triumphant with the super opening of raaz 3

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H AVe you ever wonderedwhy your doctor asks youto do odd things like touchyour nose during an officevisit, then scribbles notes

in your chart? It’s because there aremany physical tests that can tellwhether your body is functioning asit should. While we tend to leave it todoctors and medical tests to figureout if something’s wrong, we can ac-tually use many of these checks our-selves to determine whether allsystems are go. here, five odd med-ical tests you can do at home.

The diamond test or‘schamroth’s sign’

What it tests for: Cardiovas-cular, lung, or other diseases

How to do it: hold up (ordown) both index fingers and turnthem so the nails are facing eachother. Press the nails together andyou should be able to see a tiny, nar-row, diamond-shaped space betweenyour nails where the nails come flattogether but the nail beds don’ttouch each other.

What it means: If your nailsare rounded over and can’t press flattogether, it’s a sign of “clubbing,” athickening of the fingertips that oc-curs when not enough oxygen is cir-culating in the bloodstream.Clubbing can be a sign of cardiovas-cular disease, such as coronary arterydisease or heart failure, or of lungdisease, like COPD, lung infection, orlung cancer. In some cases, inflam-matory bowel disease and cirrhosisof the liver also cause clubbing.

What to do if you fail: Lookclosely at your fingers for other signs ofclubbing. Measure the thickness of yourfingertips all the way around; if they’reclubbing, you’ll notice that they’re no-ticeably thicker above the top knucklethan below it. Clubbing is important tobring to your doctor’s attention to mon-itor your heart and lung health.

Romberg’s testWhat it tests for: Degenera-

tive diseases (or intoxication)How to do it: Stand with your

feet exactly together, arms by yoursides. Now close your eyes and staythat way for a full minute. how do youfeel: perfectly balanced, or as if you’reswaying or falling forward? It’s best todo this test with someone watchingyou to detect swaying. A variation ofthis test is to do it standing heel to toeon a straight line.

What it means: This test meas-ures proprioception or positioning,considered the “sixth sense” that tellsus where our bodies are in space. Pro-prioception requires accurate sensoryinput from our joints and muscles andhealthy functioning of the dorsalcolumns of the spinal cord, whichallow us to perceive the position of ourlimbs both in relation to other parts ofour bodies and to the environment.When you can’t balance with your eyesclosed, it’s considered a sign of sen-sory ataxia, or loss of motor coordina-tion, which can be a sign of diabeticneuropathy, multiple sclerosis, innerear problems, lumbar spinal stenosis,or another degenerative disease.Romberg’s test is also sometimes usedas a test of intoxication or drug use.

What to do if you fail: It ispossible to fail this test when nothingis wrong with you, but — because itcan also indicate a serious condition— it’s worth discussing with your doc-tor. If you’re also experiencing othersymptoms, such as numbness, tin-gling in your arms or legs, or balanceproblems, ask your doctor for a refer-ral to a neurologist.

Finger measurement testWhat it tests for: Osteoarthri-

tis, and other things. . . .How to do it: hold your hands

flat and look closely at the lengths ofyour fingers in relation to eachother. Is your index finger shorterthan your ring finger?

What it means: A recent studyat the University of Nottingham inengland found that if a woman’sindex finger is shorter than her ringfinger, she’s more than twice as likelyas others to develop osteoarthritis ofthe knee or hip. There’s no scientificexplanation yet for the connection be-tween finger size and arthritis risk.

Several other studies havefound another use for fingermeasurement: It can be used toguess at penis size. According to studiesdone in South Korea, if a man’s ring fin-ger is significantly longer than his indexfinger, he’s likely to be well endowed,while a short ring finger indicates aver-age to below-average size. Previousstudies have shown that a long indexfinger is an indication of lower testos-terone exposure in the womb.

What to do if you fail: Women:In this case, there’s no immediate ac-tion to take. Just be on the alert forsigns of osteoarthritis such as knee,hip, shoulder, or back pain. If you dodevelop pain and suspect osteoarthri-tis, you might mention the fingerlength research to your doctor. Guys: Ifyou notice her looking at your ring fin-ger, distract her by buying her a drink.

The nose test and the heel test

What it tests for: Neu-rodegenerative disease

How to do it: holdyour arm out, finger ex-

tended. Close your eyesand try to touch your nose with

your finger. Then do it again withthe other hand. You should be able

to do this smoothly and accurately.Next, lie down and run the heel of onefoot up and down the shin of the op-posite extended leg.

What it means: These are twocomponents of basic neurological test-ing, which evaluates coordination andfine motor movement indicative of thehealth of the cerebellum, the part of thebrain that governs motor movement,coordination, balance, and muscle tone.Failure to do the nose and heel tests ac-curately can be one sign of a neurode-generative disease such as multiplesclerosis or a brain tumor or lesion.

What to do if you fail: Trythese tests several times before youconclude something’s wrong, as manyfactors — such as having had a glassof wine — can affect it. If you regularlyfail to get your finger anywhere nearyour nose, alert your doctor.

The ‘Prayer Position’ testand the pinky tests

What it tests for: Rheumatoidarthritis

How to do it: hold your handsin the position for traditional prayer,with the fingers and palms flat andtouching. See if your pinky fingerstands straight, as it’s supposed to.

What it means: If you aren’table to place your hands flat againsteach other, it suggests that either yourwrists don’t bend flexibly or your fin-gers and knuckles aren’t straight. Thisis a possible indicator of rheumatoidarthritis (RA), which makes jointsswell and stiffen and fingers becomegnarled or bent. The inability to extendthe little finger is another indicator ofRA, because the little finger tends to bethe first thing to lose function.

What to do if you fail: If yoususpect you’re developing rheuma-toid arthritis, which is an autoim-mune disease, schedule a visit withyour doctor. Before you go, surveyyour family to determine if there’s afamily history ofRA, whichoften hasa geneticb a s i s .neWs Desk

Parents were asked to answer 11 questions, wherethose who got four or fewer correct were consideredto have low-level knowledge. While it may not soundlike a big deal, experts say that this lack of knowl-edge can negatively affect parents’ interactions withtheir babies. We asked study author Dr. heatherParadis, a fellow in pediatrics at the University ofRochester Medical Center, why so many parentsdon’t know what to expect after expecting and whatthey need to know about their babies’ development.

why do so many parents lackknowledge about infant development?

I think that parents get parenting informationfrom a variety of sources, from reading magazinesand books ... most importantly, parents look forinformation from their child’s doctors.

There’s a lot of information that’s out thereabout what to expect when people are pregnant,but I don’t know that there is quite as much infor-mation on what to expect about how your childgrows and develops in the first years of life, andthere’s a tremendous amount of change. This studywas surprising in just how many parents don’thave knowledge of normal infant development.

do you have a sense as to whetherthis is a new trend?

I think that a lot of emphasis in the past hasbeen placed maybe on what we would call ‘high-risk’ parents—those with a lower education,lower socioeconomic status. But one of the sur-prising things that this study showed is that it’snot only those parents we should be targeting,but it’s something we should expand to the general

population of parents. everyone could benefit.

what was one of the most surprisingthings the study revealed in terms ofparents’ confusion?

The most surprising thing to me was not nec-essarily what knowledge they did or didn’t have,but how that knowledge translated into actual be-havior, or observed interaction with the child.That connection is something lacking in previousstudies. This study showed that parents who havehigher knowledge of normal infant developmentwere shown to have higher (quality) observed in-teractions with their children. The other thing isthat we looked at not only parent/child interac-tion but parents’ reports of frequency of what Iwould call enrichment activities, such as readingbooks with a child, singing songs. We know earlyenrichment activities with kids leads to higherIQs, earlier reading, better school preparation.

The parents with the higher knowledge of nor-

mal infant development also had a significantlyhigher reported frequency of doing those enrich-ment activities with their kids.

what are the potential negatives?Parents who have unrealistic expectations

could misinterpret a child’s normal behavior andcould respond inappropriately. An example wouldbe like a mom who expects an 18-month-old childto sit still during an appointment. eighteen-month-olds are normally curious. I would expectthem to be wandering around the room. If parentsare expecting a child to sit still on a chair for anentire appointment, they may take normal curios-ity and interpret it as intentional defiance, ratherthan the normal curiosity it is. That could lead toinappropriate harsh discipline or the withdrawalof affection. I think quite often parents maybe un-derestimate a child’s ability to pick up languageskills. A lot of parents don’t think that it’s worth-while to read a book to their infant, to their 2-month-old, and they definitely should be doingthat, even if it’s to look at pictures and let the childhear the normal qualities of voice. They might notunderstand the words the parent is saying butthey definitely understand what’s going on andthe interaction going on between the two of them.

How should parents go abouteducating themselves?

Certainly, I think it’s an opportunity for pedi-atricians that, even during our brief office encoun-ters with parents, we can potentially do somethingthat can have a large impact on the way that par-ents and children interact. I do think that gettinginformation from reputable sources, asking achild’s doctor for recommendations on books andWeb sites to get high-quality information, issomething parents could do. neWs Desk

14Infotainment

monday, 10 September, 2012

river turns red in china

ChINA’S Yangtze river, the third longest in theworld, turned red on Thursday afternoon,state television reported. State broadcaster

CCTV said that the environmental protection bureauin Chongqing had ruled out the possibilities ofindustrial and sewage pollution causing the river toturn red. “It’s not a problem,” one boatman said inChongqing. “The water [color] is within the normalrange. For us boatmen, [the color] just means theriver is washing its water. “[But] the color this yearis redder and darker,” he added. Investigations arestill underway but authorities said silt depositsbrought in by floods from upstream were a likelycause for the color. courtesY the telegrAPh

Teenager floats £30 camerainto space to capturecurvature of earth

Ateenager has floated a £30 camera he boughton eBay into space to capture amazingimages of the earth. They look like they could

be the latest images taken from a multi-million poundNASA satellite but these stunning snaps were actuallytaken from a £30 camera bought off eBay by ateenager.Adam Cudworth, 19, managed to capturethese incredible views of the earth from space usinglittle more than a balloon and his second-handcamera. And while NASA spends hundreds ofmillions of pounds each year on high tech satellitesAdam, whose scientific background consists of onlya Physics A-Level, achieved his incredible feat - ona £200 budget.The student spent 40 hours workingon a home-made device consisting of a boxcontaining a GPS, radio and microprocessor - whichsoared to an incredible height of 110,210 ft (33,592m)when he released it last Thursday. After takingtwo-and-a-half hours to float over 20 miles up intothe earth’s stratosphere, his contraption capturedout-of-this-world images giving breathtaking viewsof our planet from space. courtesY the telegrAPh

Son’s video of mothersleepwalking becomes viral hit

Amother prone to sleepwalking was filmedby her son talking about a “tomato cage”and dancing in a video that has become an

online hit. The mother, dressed in her pajamas, isfilmed by her son in the midst of a sleepwalkingepisode. When she is asked by her son what she isdoing, she dances, then replies that she is wearingan imaginary “special coat”. She continues to sayrandom sentences and pulls a strange dance movebefore heading out of the kitchen. The video hasbecome an online hit with almost a million viewssince it was uploaded on September 6. The follow-up video showing the mother’s reaction when theson shows her the footage of her sleepwalking hashad nearly two million views. neWs Desk

5 weird medical tests you can try right now

Five things new parents need to know

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Monday, 10 september, 2012

Page 17

murray blows away berdychto reach open final

DUBAI Agencies

FORMeR champions Pak-istan would be looking togive their World Twenty20preparations another shotin the arm on Monday (to-

morrow) by whitewashing Australia intheir three-match Twenty20 Interna-tional series.

Pakistan have already achieved anunassailable 2-0 lead in the series witha thrilling victory in Super over on Fri-day night and now look set to completethe rout against the Aussies, who haveslumped to tenth in the T20 Interna-tional rankings following their back-to-back losses.

Captained by allrounder Moham-mad hafeez, Pakistan are already re-garded by many as one of the titlefavourites at the ICC World Twenty20Championship which will be held in SriLanka from September 18. Their em-phatic series triumph in Dubai has fur-ther consolidated Pakistan’s status asone of the main title contenders for theworld T20 crown.

And now hafeez and Co are lookingto complete the job by conquering the

Aussies in the final game of the series.Pakistan’s series triumph has helped

them jump to number four in theTwenty20 International rankings whichhafeez believes is a good sign for themahead of the T20 World Cup.

hafeez said the series victory willgive his team more confidence.

“It’s a great sign as captain. I amhappy in the way players are respondingto me as captain. everyone is confidentand this is a great sign for the team

ahead of the World Twenty20,” saidhafeez after Friday night’s win.

“As captain I feel very proud of myteam and I hope from here on they willcontinue also in the mega event,” saidhafeez of the World Twenty20 in whichPakistan are in Group D along with NewZealand and Bangladesh.

hafeez said allrounder Shahid Afridiwas doubtful for the third and finalmatch after injuring his left hand duringPakistan’s 2-1 defeat in the precedingone-day series.

Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal also hurthis shoulder on Friday but will be fit forMonday’s final match, said hafeez.

The skipper was pleased with theway his team fought for victory in thesecond game.

“It was an exciting finish,” saidhafeez. “It was tense, but you knowTwenty20 cricket can bring such tensemoments. In the end I am happy thatwe won, even though it was in theSuper over. I think we fought well inthe 40 overs.”

Australia captain George Bailey wasdisappointed at the loss.

“It was exciting finish. I think ourbowling was good but we couldn’t finishthat game well,” said Bailey.

PAKISTAN EYE CLEAN SWEEP

DUBAIAFP

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore on Sun-day said he was happy with the team'sprogress in the shortest format of thegame ahead of this month's WorldTwenty20, saying the team was re-sponding well.

Pakistan pulled off a sensationalsuper over win against Australia in thesecond Twenty20 here on Friday, tak-ing an unassailable 2-0 lead in thethree-match series with the finalmatch also in Dubai on Monday.

Whatmore said it was good to havewins on the board. "I am very muchdelighted," Whatmore told reporters."We can't do any more than to win twoout of two, it was an exciting finish butit's good to have the experience of thesuper over leading up to the WorldTwenty20."

The 58-year-old former Australian

batsman said his team responded wellafter losing the preceding one-day se-ries 2-1. "We played consistent cricketand the players have responded wellafter the ODIs because there was justone day in between the change of theformat," said Whatmore, who tookover in March this year.

"There is a very strong bond be-tween the players, that's very good andthey support each other and are readyto play for each other and for the coun-try," said Whatmore, who also coachedSri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup title.

Whatmore said he was sure of theteam's combination for the WorldTwenty20, where Pakistan is in GroupD along with Bangladesh and NewZealand. "I am sure of the combina-tion. We certainly need to know theconditions in Kandy where our firsttwo matches are to pick the best com-bination. We don't have easy oppo-nents because we think all the teams

are tough," said Whatmore.Whatmore hinted Pakistan might

not risk Shahid Afridi on Monday afterthe allrounder injured his left hand inthe third one-day but was confidentoff-spinner Saeed Ajmal will recoverfrom a shoulder problem.

Australian batsman CameronWhite said his team was preparingwell for the World Twenty20 despitedropping in the rankings below Ire-land.

"The bigger picture from thepreparation point of view is that weare experiencing tough conditions andsimilar conditions to what we aregoing to experience in Sri Lanka," saidWhite, former Twenty20 captain.

"Obviously we have not been win-ning, but we have made great stepsfrom the first game to the second andI think we are heading in the right di-rection. From a prepration point ofview it is fantastic," said White.

Whatmore happy with Pakistan's Twenty20 progress

LONDONAFP

england pace bowler James Andersonhas launched a scathing attack on thecaptaincy of Michael Vaughan, wholed his country's successful bid to re-gain the Ashes in 2005.

Vaughan was widely regarded as afine leader after revitalising englandin the run-up to their first Test serieswin over old rivals Australia in 18years.

But Anderson, who didn't featurein the 2005 Ashes after losing hisplace in the england team, claimsVaughan lacked the ability to talk tohis players as individuals and left himfeeling "alone and isolated" when heneeded support.

Writing in his autobiography, anexcerpt of which was published in theMail on Sunday, the 30-year-old, whois now a key member of the englandbowling attack, talked about his rela-tionships with Vaughan and Nasserhussain, another former national

team captain."My relationship with Nasser was

good on and off the field. The samecould be said of my relationship withMichael Vaughan, captain during myearly england years, since his retire-ment. Unfortunately, despite our cor-diality now, I didn't enjoy Vaughan asa captain," Anderson said.

"As a young fast bowler, you needto know that your captain has his armaround your shoulder, if not physi-cally, then metaphorically.

"Unfortunately, that is not some-thing I ever felt playing underVaughan. I actually felt alone and iso-lated when I most needed support.

"Prime example of that was my re-call for the fourth Test against SouthAfrica at the Wanderers in 2005.

"I had spent the first three Testson tour out of favour. My tour was onebig net, and because I had been so farremoved from selection, I wasn't eventhinking about playing.

"When preferred to Simon Jones,I was underprepared. It was five

months since my last first-class action.I didn't bowl very well.

"Although I started okay as firstchange, it wasn't long before I begandragging the ball down short and wide.I got clattered everywhere and wassoon shot of confidence.

"Vaughan asked: 'What's up,mate? Radar gone?'

"'Yeah, I think it has,' I said, des-perate for some backing. All I receivedwas a pat between the shoulder bladesand an instruction to 'keep going'."

Anderson believes Vaughan's fail-ure to communicate well was largelyignored because he was in charge of somany good players that the team's re-sults kept the spotlight off the captain.

"A good captain should know howto talk to his team as individuals. Idon't think Vaughan ever had that inhim - a major reason I've not held himin as high regard as others have," An-derson added.

"he was not as good a captain asothers made out. he was captain of atruly great team in 2005."

broad ponders

england's

net gainsMANCHESTER

AFP

england captain Stuart Broad admitsthere is no point in demanding hisplayers take part in extra practice ses-sions after their crushing Twenty20defeat against South Africa.Broad's side were beaten by sevenwickets in Durham on Saturday andhave litle time to recover before facingthe South Africans again in the secondgame of the three-match T20 series inManchester on Monday.With the end of a long, gruelling inter-national campaign in sight, Broaddoesn't believes there is any extravalue to be gained from putting hisplayers through their paces in compul-sory net sessions before the Old Traf-ford clash.Instead, he believes it could be just asvaluable to have time to recharge men-tally and physically, especially sinceengland will head off for the defence oftheir World Twenty20 crown less than24 hours after Wednesday's final T20showdown with the Proteas in Birm-ingham."It's a tricky time of year," Broad said."You don't want to be netting all thetime, because we've had quite a longcricket season; you've got to actuallymanage your time well."Whether going to the nets and doingcertain things is the best thing to do,we'll have a discussion about; orwhether getting away and actually hav-ing a think about what we do (is bet-ter)."Broad knows england's poor batting intheir last two limited-overs matches,which both ended in defeat againstSouth Africa, must improve.Ravi Bopara's struggles have beenmost notable, but a succession of histeam-mates got out to poor shots, orpoor judgement.Yet Board will leave it to individualshow best to turn things round."The boys have hit a lot of balls thissummer," he said. "Maybe this was amental switch-on, to someone battingthrough and taking responsibility."Whether hitting more balls is a goodoption, we'll have a look."

de Villiers says

Proteas on course

for world t20CHESTER-LE-STREET

AFP

South Africa captain AB de Villiers saidhis side's three-wicket win over reigningchampions england was an encouragingsign ahead of this month's WorldTwenty20 in Sri Lanka.On a generally slow Chester-le-Streetpitch taking turn -- the kind of surfacethat may well confront them in the globaltournament -- South Africa restrictedengland to 118 for seven.Spinners Johan Botha and Robin Peter-son took four wickets between them, asSouth Africa provided the latest evidencethey are no longer solely reliant on pacebowling.But Dale Steyn, arguably the world's bestfast bowler, was named man-of-the-match for a return of one for 13 in fourovers -- all bowled in one-over spells. Saturday's win saw South Africa, theworld's top-ranked Twenty20 side, take a1-0 lead in a three-match series ahead ofMonday's clash in Manchester.De Villiers, asked if victory boded wellfor the team's World Twenty20 chances,replied: "Definitely, it's very similar towhat we are expecting. "There was a little bit of turn, it was quiteslowish. It was really good preparation.The bowlers had really clear plans andI'm proud of the way they came out. Theymade my job really easy out there."South Africa, who failed to make thesemi-finals when england won the WorldTwenty20 in the Caribbean two yearsago, then suffered a top order collapse asthey slumped to 29 for three.But an unbroken stand of 90 in 91 deliv-eries between veteran all-rounderJacques Kallis (48 not out) and JP Du-miny (47 not out) saw the Proteas homewith an over to spare.Kallis was returning after being restedfrom the preceding drawn one-day seriesbetween the two countries and an admir-ing de Villiers said of the world-class all-rounder: "Jacques, coming back from abit of a break, made it look really easy,with JP obviously really playing well atthe other end. "It's great to have Jacquesback -- he obviously offers somethingwith the ball and I think he bowled reallywell today again."Steyn, explaining his approach to bowl-ing in 'micro spells, said: "I spoke to ABbriefly about how he wanted to use me. "The thing is it's only six balls, you've gotto be sure what lines and lengths you aregoing to bowl to, what fields you aregoing to bowl to and then you've just gotto make sure you hit your straps."Just straight lines today was the keything. It was quite difficult for batters tohit over the top," Steyn explained. "Thereweren't a lot of big hits that went for sixor one-bounce four.

england star anderson slamsformer skipper Vaughan

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PuNjAB YouTH FESTIvAL 2012

Sports 16

monday, 10 September, 2012

LAHORE stAFF rePort

The Union Council level ofthe Punjab Youth SportsFestival, that started si-multaneously throughoutthe province among 3464

UCs carries a prize money of Rs 110,700while providing an opportunity to theparticipants from the first level to staketheir claim for top award by moving tothe next level.

The events of the second levelstarted in the province from an intakefrom respective UCs and the residentsof the concerned UC were only eligibleto take part in the events, which areopen for all. As the 30 events of fivesectors started in the province the ac-tivity in the provincial capital formallybegins today (Monday).

In the other districts of Punjab,though activity was slow due to continu-ous rain but still then 164 events wereconducted among 569 Union Councilsthat had competitions between 11233

participants out of which 3960 won theircompetitions.

Gujranwala, Sargodha and Faisal-abad had over 2500 participants eachwhile at Rawalpindi, Multan and DeraGhazi Khan over 1500 took part fromeach divisions.

According to Director GeneralSports Board and Youth Affairs PunjabMr. Usman Anwar, the sports sectorevents include arm wrestling, whichhave three categories, athletics (eightcategories), badminton, billiard, crickettape ball, tug or war, volleyball, body-building (also have three categories),football, fun race of 2.5 kilometres andweightlifting (three categories).

The inter elementary school compe-titions are being held separately amongmale and female students under the su-pervision of education Department atMarkaz level, he added.

An impartial selection committeewill select a best of the best team of theUnion Council to compete in the Tehsillevel, which is the third phase of thefestival.

“We have already broke the worldrecord of participation in the first levelas the participation was around 1.5 mil-lion as compared to the previous worldrecord of around 800,000,” said Usman.

The competitions at the UnionCouncil level will continue till Septem-ber 18 and the Tehsil level will start toinitiate the third level of the festival.

The events and competitions arebeing held at 3464 union councils whichhave 11 sporting events and remainingothers are in general categories.

The general events, Usman Anwarsaid have naat khani, qirat and cookingwhile family event includes cooking,family dressing, healthy baby competi-tions and kitchen gardening while theeducation sector, have debate, essaywriting, milli naghme, naat khani, paint-ing and qirat competitions.

“We expect another record of partic-ipation as the Sports Board Punjab-or-ganized walk to celebrate the success ofthe PYS first level and awareness ondengue on Sunday also yielded recordparticipation of 50,000,” he added.

Competitions begin among 3464 UCs in second phase

LAHOREstAFF rePort

Former Pakistan cricket captain RamizRaja believes that the Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) and the national selectorshould continue to repose faith in Misbah-ul-haq, and retain him as one-day skipper.

In an interview given toPakPassion.net, Raja said that Pakistan'srecent Twenty20 wins against Australia inthe UAe under rookie skipper Mohammadhafeez, should not mean the end of theroad for Misbah's captaincy.

Agreeing that the Pakistan Twenty20squad has flair and high hopes going intothe world cup in Sri Lanka, Raja said thecomposition of the Pakistani one-day squadneeds, at the very least, a rethink.

Notwithstanding the recent 2-1 defeatto Australia in UAe, Raja said that Misbah-ul-haq still has a win percentage of 66.33percent in this format, and therefore,should continue in the role of captain in thefifty over format for the foreseeable future.

"I would stick with Misbah-ul-haq forthe foreseeable future as captain of the one

day team. I think Misbah has done a won-derful job, and Pakistan cricket does notneed such jolts, as would occur if he was re-moved from captaining the one day team,"Raja said.

"Misbah brought the team togetherafter a very difficult phase for Pakistancricket and he brings to the fore a lot ofcalmness. Also, I think, looking at the bat-ting talent available to Pakistan, Misbahstill fits into the team. Pakistan has notfound anybody who is very talented in themiddle order that can replace Misbah-ul-haq," he added.

"You can query some of Misbah's tacticsas captain, but I think, overall, he has donea good job, and I would not change him ascaptain of the one day team at this point intime," stated Ramiz. Raja was unsurewhether Misbah would be the man leadingPakistan into the 2015 world cup.

"It all depends on Misbah's form andhow Pakistan reacts under his captaincy. Atthis moment in time though I would like tosee Misbah-ul-haq hang around and hangin to the role of captain in the fifty over for-mat," he said.

'stick with Misbah asODi skipper: ramiz

LAHOREstAF rePort

Pakistan’s Javaria Khan and Sana Mirare among the top 20 women cricketersin ICC ranking in batting and bowling.

Pakistan women’s cricket team’smiddle batter Javaria Khan achieved aunique distinction of making it to thetop 20 women batters of the world.Javaria Khan reached this feat duringrecent tour of UK where she performedreasonably well both in ODI and T-20matches.

This is for the first time that anyPakistani woman batter has made it tothe top 20 ICC World Ranking. On theother hand, Captain of Pakistani teamSana Mir continues to improve her rank-ing by her effective bowling skills. SanaMir has jumped to 11th from her previ-ous best ranking of 12th.

The tour of UK has proved a goodpreparation for Pakistan team wherePakistani batter Nain Abidi scored thefirst ever ODI century by any Pakistanibatter against Ireland while JaveriaKhan also remained top scorer in thelast T-20 match of the tour against WestIndies where Javeria was top scorerwith 37 on 43 balls while Bisma Maroofscored 36 of 47 balls.

Javaria, sana among top 20cricketers in icc ranking

KHI 10-09-2012_Layout 1 9/10/2012 2:52 AM Page 17

Sports17

monday, 10 September, 2012

NEW YORKAFP

OLYMPIC champion AndyMurray, trying to becomethe first British man to wina Grand Slam title since1936, withstood blustery

conditions Saturday to beat Tomas Berdychand reach the US Open final.

Third seed Murray advanced by defeat-ing the Czech sixth seed 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(9/7) and will face either defending cham-pion Novak Djokovic, the Serbian secondseed, or Spanish fourth seed David Ferrerin Monday's final. "It was brutal," Murraysaid, after a tornado warning had been is-sued earlier in the day.

"Some of the hardest conditions I haveever played in, and I come from Scotland sothat's saying something."

Murray, who owns a 6-5 career recordaginst Ferrer but trails Djokovic 6-8 in theirall-time rivalry, was left not knowing whohe will face in the final after the other semi-final was suspended until Sunday with Fer-rer ahead 5-2. Trying to end a British men'sSlam drought dating to Fred Perry's 1936US title, the lanky 25-year-old Scotsmanbattled through brutal winds to reach hisfifth career Grand Slam final, his second ina row after falling at Wimbledon.

After collecting an Olympic crown lastmonth, avenging his Wimbledon final lossto Roger Federer in the final, this might atlast be Murray's moment.

"I hope so," Murray said. "You cannever say for sure. I know how hard thesetournaments are to win. When the condi-tions are like they were today anything canhappen. You have to be there from the firstpoint to the last."

Murray and his coach, eight-timeGrand Slam champion Ivan Lendl, are the

only Open-era players to drop their firstfour Grand Slam finals, Murray losing atthe 2008 US Open, 2010 and 2011 Aus-tralian Opens and last June at Wimbledon.

Despite wicked breezes, Murray con-nected on 74 percent of his first serves andwon 73 percent of those points while mak-ing only 20 unforced errors to 64 forBerdych. "The wind blew it away for me,"Berdych said. "It was really hard to play apassing shot in this kind of weather, but onthe other hand, it was also tough not tomake mistakes and be aggressive."

Wind gusts whipped the net and play-ers' clothing, played havoc with many servetosses, blew food wrappers across the courtto foil several points and even sent Mur-ray's chair and racquet bag onto the playingarea late in the second set.

"You had to focus for every single point.You had to get in position for every shot.You weren't going for aces because it washard enough to get the second serves in,"said Murray. Umpire Pascal Maria turnedoff the electronic system to signal let servesafter wind gusts set off random beeps.

"This is not about show. This is justabout somehow to try to deal with the con-ditions and then trying to put ball over thenet," Berdych said. "Sometimes was impos-sible." Murray, also trying to become thefirst man to win the Olympic and US Opentitles in the same year, will overtake Spain'sRafael Nadal as World No. 3 in Monday'sworld rankings. This is the first Grand Slamevent since the 2004 French Open withouteither Nadal or Roger Federer in the semi-finals. Nadal was absent with a knee injurywhile Swiss top seed Federer was ousted byBerdych in the quarter-finals.

With Scottish actor Sean Conneryamong those watching, Murray dominatedthe second set and broke Berdych at love toopen the third set and again in the thirdand final games, then broke for a 2-0 leadin the fourth set.

Berdych, who will match his career-best ranking of sixth on Monday, brokeback in the fifth game and they held to thetie-break, where Berdych took a 5-2 lead ona 129-mph ace but errors on the next threepoints pulled Murray even.

Sports journalist's

book on Pakistan

launchedNEW DELHI

hArPAl singh BeDi

“Yeh jo hai Pakistan” a book written bysports journalist Shivendra KumarSingh was released by noted writerAsgar Wajahat at a simple but impres-sive function here last evening.This book published by Bhartiya Jnan-pith is a collection of memoirs of Pak-istan. Speaking on the occasion, Wajahat saidthat it would have been an ordinarybook if the writer has only talked aboutsports, but its special because he at-tempts successfully to capture theessence of Pakistan through its most or-dinary people.he said that there are many ways tobuild the relationship through sportsand other people to people contact. “Wecan also read how the common men ofPakistan think about India so looking atit.”he also said that everyone is trying tofind new ways to develop the relations.Sports don’t see any caste, region, coun-try. Sports see how much sportsmanshipdo you have So we can bring unitythrough sports. It brings healthy rela-tion so these are things which are men-tioned in the book.Former cricketer Chetan Chauhan whoalso was present, shared his experiencesof Pakistan and said: "during our dayswe had very limited access to the placesand players were confined to their hotelroom but now the time has changed.Young generation of both the countrieshave different opinion irrespective ofthe current political scenario."

zulqarnain to

undergo psychiatric

treatment

DUBAIBiPin DAni

Pakistan's discarded wicketkeeper,Zulqarnain haider will be taken to apsychiatrist, revealed Pakistan CricketBoard Chairman Ch Zaka Ashraf.he said: "I have instructed my officialsto search for a good psychiatrist for him.Zulqarnain (haider) underwent somepsychological sessions with Maqbool"Max" Babri, but we still feel some needfor him to take psychiatric treatment." The 26-year-old wicketkeeper Zulqar-nain haider had recently accused hisone-time teammate Kamran Akmal ofbeing involved in corruption, addingthat he will be bringing forward theproof against him soon. he, however,has failed to substantiate his allegations.haider also questioned Akmal's inclu-sion in the team. Akmal has been picked for Pakistan’sWorld Twenty20 squad and now playingthe matches against Australia in UAeafter being out of the national team forover a year. Babri, who had eight long sessions (in-cluding a few hypnosis) with haider,when approached said: "We finished oursessions two months ago.. Well I sug-gested to him to focus on his develop-ment and learn to say sorry for themistakes he may have made in the past. "We can all have done things differentlybut I think he could have consulted mebefore going out with such negativecomments, after all I am his well wisherand his counsellor. I am impressed withPCB that they sent him for counsellingwhen they could have just ignored him. Iknow that PCB Chairman, CeO SubhanAhmad and Intikhab Alam has been dis-cussing him with me and were keen toget him more involved".

MURRAY BLOWS AWAY BERDYCHto reach Open final

Storm forces uS open suspension, men's final Monday

NEW YORK: Violent storms and atornado warning caused the US Opento be suspended Saturday, leaving themen's final to be played on Monday fora fifth successive year and officials ac-cused of bungled scheduling.With a tornado watch in operation, andviolent thunderstorms expected, thesecond men's semi-final was sus-pended at 1711 local time (2111GMT)with Spain's David Ferrer leading de-fending champion Novak Djokovic 5-2in the first set. The women's singlesfinal between Serena Williams and Vic-toria Azarenka, set for Saturday night,had already been put back to Sundayearlier in the day.British third seed Andy Murray hadmade sure of his place in the men'sfinal after beating the Czech Republic'sTomas Berdych."Severe weather is coming and weneeded to give patrons time to get outof the stadium and into their cars,"said tournament director David Breweras the Billie Jean King Tennis Centerwas evacuated."The decision was taken to stop playfor the day." Brewer told a later newsconference: "We're getting very tired ofhaving Monday finals."he added that switching the secondsemi-final to Louis Armstrong Stadiumhad been discussed as a means of get-ting both matches completed in time toallow for the final to be staged on Sun-day as planned. AFP

colombo: a cyclist rides past a cut out of Sri lankan cricket players in

the capital colombo on September 9, 2012. Sri lanka will host the icc

world twenty20 cricket tournament from September 18 to october 7. afp

KHI 10-09-2012_Layout 1 9/10/2012 2:52 AM Page 18

watch it LiveTEN SPORTS3RD T20: PAKISTAN VAUSTRALIA09:00PM

Sports 18

monday, 10 September, 2012

'weirwolf' wins marathon

for four out of four

LONDONAFP

Britain's David Weir won the men'swheelchair marathon for his fourth goldof the Games, as the London ParalympicGames entered their final lap on Sundaywith a valedictory tour of the city'sstreets. In a triumphant finish for thehost nation, Weir -- dubbed "the Weir-wolf" -- claimed a clean sweep of fourgolds out of four races, completing thegruelling 42-kilometre (26.2-mile)course in 1hr 30min 20sec.."It's a dream come true," the 33-year-old London Marathon veteran toldBritain's Channel 4 television after beat-ing great rivals Marcel hug, the "Swisssilver bullet", into silver and Kurt Fearn-ley of Australia into bronze."Obviously I dreamt about winning allmy races but it was going to be a toughorder. I really had to dig deep."

Hamilton's first Italian win revives title bidMONZA

AFP

Lewis hamilton revived his bid for thisyear's Formula One world title on Sun-day when he swept to a dominant tri-umph for McLaren to record his firstever win in the Italian Grand Prix.

The 27-year-old Briton, startingfrom pole position, led throughout apartfrom a brief spell during the mid-racepit-stops to claim his third win this yearand the 20th of his career.

It lifted him back into contention forthe championship, but his McLarenteam-mate and fellow-Briton JensonButton's hopes of a second world titledisappeared as he was forced to retirewith 20 laps remaining.

"This is amazing for me and I thankmy team for doing an incredible job,"

said hamilton. "It is a great day foreveryone."

Alonso now leads the championshipwith 179 points ahead of hamilton on142 and Finland's former world cham-pion Kimi Raikkonen on 141 with de-fending champion Sebastian Vettel on140 with seven races remaining.

Button's demise allowed MexicanSergio Perez of Sauber to gain full re-ward for a dazzling drive by finishingsecond 4.3 seconds behind hamilton,but 16.2 ahead of championship leaderSpaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari,with Brazilian Felipe Massa fourth alsoin a Ferrari.

It was Perez's third podium finish ofthe season and endorsed the view ofmany paddock observers that he couldbe on the move to replace Massa at Fer-rari next year.

Raikkonen finished fifth for Lotusahead of Michael Schumacher of Mer-cedes, the 43-year-old seven-time cham-pion, with countryman Nico Rosbergseventh in the second Mercedes.

Briton Paul Di Resta came home

eighth for Force India ahead of JapaneseKamui Kobayashi in the second Sauberand Brazilian Bruno Senna, who capi-talised on the late retirement of Aus-tralian Mark Webber of Red Bull, tookthe final point for Williams.

Pistorius shines as

Games near endLONDON

AFP

"Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius on Sat-urday ended the last full day of competi-tion of the London Paralympics bystorming to victory in his favouredevent, as most of the final golds weredecided.Pistorius, 25, had been favourite to re-tain his T44 400m title for single anddouble below-the-knee amputee sprint-ers being the only man in the field torun under 50sec.The result never looked in doubt fromthe gun, as the South African struck outon his own to lead coming into the lasthalf-lap and was roared across the linein 46.68sec by the crowd at the packed80,000-capacity Olympic Stadium."It was very, very special to me," Pisto-rius told Britain's Channel 4 televisionafter the race. "It was the last event ofmy season, the last event of the London2012 Games. Just so special."It was my 11th time I was able to comeout on the track and I just wanted to endand give the crowd something theywould appreciate and take home withthem. "I was very nervous before today'srace. I was quite tired but the crowd justreally kept me going."Brazil meanwhile defended their un-beaten record in five-a-side football,beating France 2-0 to clinch their thirdgold in the three Games since the sportwas introduced. Bosnia-herzegovinagained revenge over Iran for their defeatin Beijing four years ago, clinching themen's sitting volleyball title 3-1, whileChina won three out of four of the teamgold medals played on Saturday in tabletennis. The haul took their overall tallyin the competition to 14 out of 29 goldson offer -- one more than on home soilin 2008 -- with 21 medals in total.In the pool, Victoria Arlen of the UnitedStates secured her first gold of theGames in the S6 100m freestyle afterthree silvers and a row about her classi-fication on the eve of the Games.Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias, whowas born without hands and feet, se-cured his sixth of the Games.Canada wrested the men's wheelchairbasketball title back from their old foesAustralia thanks to a dominant perform-ance from the world's best wheelchairplayer, Patrick Anderson, in front ofthousands of Canadian fans.Anderson scored 34 points to helpCanada win 64-58 and avenge their de-feat to the Australians in the 2008 finalin Beijing.In wheelchair tennis, former militaryhelicopter pilot Noam Gershon, who wasinjured during Israel's 2006 war withLebanon, took the men's quad singles ti-tles for the Jewish nation's first gold ofthe Games. The 29-year-old, who re-ceived congratulations at courtside fromIsrael's president and sports minister,said he planned to mark the win by get-ting "really drunk".

London to bid Games farewellLONDON

AFP

The Paralympic flame willbe extinguished in Londonon Sunday after the finalday of competition at theGames, bringing down the

curtain on a summer of elite sport in theBritish capital. The world's best wheel-chair, amputee, blind and visually im-paired marathon racers compete incentral London from 0700 GMT, takingthe festival of disabled sport to the public,with large crowds expected.

In seven-a-side football, Russia areout for revenge over Ukraine in a repeatof the Beijing final four years ago, whileAustralia take on Canada for "murder-ball" -- wheelchair rugby -- gold.

With 11 days of sport and the biggest,most high-profile Paralympics in theGames' 52-year history at an end, atten-tion then turns to the closing ceremony,which takes place in the Olympic Stadiumfrom 1930 GMT.

Organisers have promised that theshow, headlined by British band Coldplay,will be a celebratory farewell and lookahead to the next competition in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil, in 2016.

"We have taken the flame, being partof and representing the human spirit thatbrings so much power to these Games,and really focused towards the flamegoing out. That's our emotion," said co-artistic director Kim Gavin.

London was awarded the Olympicsand Paralympics in 2005 and has had toface doubts notably over the cost of theproject, security and whether the city'screaking transport system could copewith a massive influx of visitors.

But organisers have won plaudits forthe efficient running of both events, withpacked venues and vocal crowds, defyingnaysayers who predicted chaos and a lackof enthusiasm.

London 2012 chief Sebastian Coe told

reporters on Saturday that he always be-lieved the Games would be a success.

"Nothing has surprised me in thiswhole journey, even in the days where alot of people were not that excited anddidn't believe that what we were doingwould end up where we did. I've neverdoubted that and why would I?," headded. "I wasn't surprised by the (torch)relay, I wasn't surprised about the waysthe Games caught the imagination."

A record 4,200 athletes from 165 na-tions took part in the Paralympics, frommajor stars such as South Africa's OscarPistorius -- the first double-amputee tocompete in the Olympics -- to NorthKorea and the Democratic Republic ofCongo.

At the top end of performances, hun-dreds of world and Games records fell.New stars emerged, watched by the 2.7million people who bought tickets.

Certainly in Britain, where the mediacovered the Games as never before, mil-lions more read about them in newspa-pers and online or watched them ontelevision.

Interest and the focus on perform-ance were signs that disabled sport hadcome of age, said the International Para-lympic Committee (IPC) governing body.

"The fact is our athletes are gettingbetter. They're training full-time. This isnot just a hobby sport. It's professionalsport at its very best," said IPC spokemanCraig Spence on September 4.

"Some countries are enjoying far bet-ter levels of funding, which in turn leadsto better results. We would like to put itdown to their (the athletes') hard workrather than anything else."

Issues undoubtedly remain, not leastthe wide gulf between top-performing na-tions and less developed countries lackingresources for people with disabilities, notjust in sport. But as the flame goes out,there are hopes that the momentum of in-terest can be sustained well beyond theimmediate afterglow, inspiring the nextgeneration of athletes with disabilitiesand encouraging more people into sport.

There are also wider hopes that theGames can be a much-needed spur tohelp to change attitudes the world over.

australia's griffin wins in south KoreaSEOUL

AFP

Australia's Matthew Griffin scored the biggest win of his pro-fessional career with a single stroke victory at the Charity high1Resort Open in South Korea on Sunday.

The 29-year-old led by two overnight but held his nerve ina topsy-turvy final round for an even-par 72 to give him a nine-under total of 278 and the winner's cheque of around$178,000. Kang Kyung-nam, who shot 68, and Park Sang-hyun, on 71, both from South Korea, pushed Griffin all the way,to finish joint second on 279.

Kim Bi-o, winner of two events on the OneAsia circuit al-ready this year, was a shot further back. his hopes of an un-precedented third OneAsia title on home soil came unstuckwith two wayward shots on the par five 13th, although he sal-vaged a bogey with a breathtaking 60-foot putt.

"I am really, really thrilled," Griffin said after his victory."This is what I have worked for all my life, so it is absolutelyamazing to finally get there. "This is immense. It gives me a lotof security and it also repays the faith that my supporters andsponsors have shown in me over the years." Griffin, onceranked the third-best amateur in the world, was a relative late-comer to the professional ranks and only scored his first four-round victory at the South Pacific Open in New Caledonia last

year. he is a natural left-hander who plays the game right-handed. he dedicated his victory to Peter Beck, a friend andmentor who caddied for him occasionally in his amateur andprofessional days, who died in 2010. Park was left ruing hismissed opportunity, saying: "Very disappointed, that's the onlything I feel right now. I sort of think that somehow I was meantto be second in this tournament."

colombo: a cyclist rides past a cut out of Sri

lankan cricket players in the capital colombo

on September 9, 2012. Sri lanka will host the

icc world twenty20 cricket tournament from

September 18 to october 7. afp

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monday, 10 September, 2012

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

19

LAHOREAgencies

INDIAN external Affairs MinisterSM Krishna on Sunday left forIndia after concluding his Pakistanvisit, saying the trip had provedfruitful for better and stronger re-

lations between Pakistan and India.Krishna was in Lahore on his last day

of the visit where he met Punjab GovernorSardar Latif Khosa and Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif, and visited the shrine ofData Sahib, Gurdwara Dera and Minar-e-Pakistan.

he was welcomed at the Lahore airportby Provincial Minister Chaudhry AbdulGhafoor and several other government offi-

cials. Talking to reporters, the Indian exter-nal affairs minister said his visit was one ofthe links to make Pak-India relations peace-ful and friendly. Krishna said Indian peopleand leadership desired to see a prosperous‚stable and strong Pakistan as a neighbor, asit was in the favor of the region.

he said he signed a number of agree-ments with Pakistan including visa libera-tion‚ cultural promotion and all these wouldhelp foster a much cordial relationship withPakistan. Krishna said both neighboringcountries had developed better relations inthe era of democracy, but said issues be-tween both South Asian countries could notbe resolved in one or two meetings.

In a meeting held at the Punjab ChiefMinister’s house, Krishna and Shahbaz

Sharif discussed various bilateral issues.Shahbaz said talks between India and

Pakistan should discuss all outstanding is-sues. Shahbaz said Pakistan and India hadalready fought wars that had proved to beuseless. he said the wars did not give any-thing to the people of the two countries ex-cept problems, difficulties, poverty,unemployment, backwardness and disease.

he said Pakistan and India must givepeace a chance with an open heart.

Talking to reporters later, Krishna saidIndia and Pakistan were sovereign coun-tries and should live like good neighbors.

“We both have no other option but tolive peacefully. We have a good friend inPakistan and a good neighbor,” he said.

The Indian foreign minister stressed

the need for ushering in a new era of coop-eration and cordial relations between Pak-istan and India. “Outstanding issuessaddled on us by history cannot be resolvedwithout dialogue,” he said during his meet-ing with Punjab Governor Latif Khosa atthe Governor’s house. he also stressed theneed to enhance people to people interac-tion, adding that it was the people that wereat the heart of everything.

he said India would like to take the re-lations forward to the most progressive di-rection on all matters. “We need to nurturethe relations and the trust and to build onthe trust between the two countries in thedays to come”, he stressed. Khosa stressedthe need to enhance people to people con-tact in all areas, including trade, art, culture

and education. “We could usher in a newera of happiness through close cooperationin social sciences, education, natural sci-ences, trade and culture,” he added.

The Indian external affairs ministeralso visited the shrine of great Sufi sainthazrat Ali hajvery (RA) known as DataSahib and Minar-e-Pakistan. The Indianminister laid a floral wreath on the shrineand was served with Ladoos, a traditionalsweet of the city. During his visit to Minar-e-Pakistan, Krishna read the resolution ofPakistan and also coined a few words in theguest-book. he later visited GurudawaraDera Sahib (shrine of the fifth Sikh GuruArjun Dev Ji) and Marhi Raja RanjeetSingh, where he was welcomed with Saropa,gifts, sword and a special handkerchief.

NEW DELHIAFP

A total impasse in India’s parliament isnot only undermining the world’sbiggest democracy but also deepeningits economic woes as long-awaitedreforms fall by the wayside.A now familiar chorus of recriminationsechoed around the grandiose circularchamber on Friday as the second of thethree annual sessions ended inparalysis.Faced with MPs from the mainopposition BJP party shouting andwaving papers, the parliamentaryspeaker called an end to proceedingsshortly after midday. The BJP has beendemanding the resignation ofbeleaguered Prime Minister ManmohanSingh over a scandal involving theawarding of coal mining concessions inhis first term as premier, which hascome to be dubbed “Coalgate”.Auditors say the concessions werehanded out too cheaply and in a processthat lacked transparency — heapingmore embarrassment on the main rulingCongress party and Singh in particularwho was in charge of the coal ministry atthe time. Once widely admired as thearchitect of reforms in the 1990s that

transformed the Indian economy, Singhnow finds his latest legislative plansthwarted at every turn.In the latest “monsoon” session whichbegan on August 8, lawmakers spentjust 25 out of a possible 120 hoursconsidering legislation, according toPRS Legislative Research, a New Delhi-based independent study group.Only four bills were cleared by bothhouses of parliament, despite as manyas 30 being listed for consideration onissues such as pensions, landacquisition, tax reform and corruption.“The coal scandal has changed the entirepolitical and economic complexion ofthe country,” Arun Kumar, chairman ofthe Centre for economic Studies andPlanning in New Delhi, told AFP. “Thevictim of this deadlock is the economywhich has been stopped from gettingback to growth,” Kumar said adding thatlawmakers had unanimously ignoredtheir “real business” which, is to “passbills and introduce reforms”.“They are holding back India’s economicgrowth story.”Singh, not normally known for histemper, made a rare outburst toreporters as he expressed his frustrationon Friday afternoon outside parliament.“We take pride in the fact that since

independence we are a practising,functioning democracy. What we haveseen in this session is a total negation ofthat,” said the 79-year-old Congressparty veteran.While few commentators believe theBJP really wants to force electionsbefore the scheduled date in spring2014, the Coalgate revelations have putfurther wind in their sails at a timewhen the economy is experiencing asharp slowdown.India’s economy grew by 5.5 percent inthe second quarter of the year against afigure of eight percent over the sameperiod in 2011. The BJP, a right-winghindu nationalist party which lostpower in 2004, has been unapologeticabout its wrecking tactics, saying theprotests were necessary and thatobstructing parliament was a legitimatemeasure. “We are fighting for a cause,”Sushma Swaraj, the leader of the partyin parliament, told reporters.“Bills were not passed in the house... weare aware of that but the fight againstcorruption is more crucial for thenation,” she said, outlining how theparty now planned to organise moreanti-government street protests.Political pundits warn that a biggereconomic storm is brewing and if the

lawmakers do not pass the crucial billsin the next session then several sectorsof the economy will plunge into crisis.Since independence in 1947, India hasbasked in its image as the world’sbiggest parliamentary democracy butanalysts say that the legislative deadlockand the prospect of politics being playedout on the street do not bode well.“A deeper crisis is clearly visible. Thereis a complete breakdown ofcommunication between the ruling andthe opposition parties,” said SanjayKumar, a researcher at the Delhi-basedCentre for Study of DevelopingSocieties. “If this trend continues, therewill no reforms and the growth story willsee an ill-fated painful end.”Backroom dealers from both the mainparties now have around 10 weeks tosee if they can thrash out theirproblems and ensure that lawmakersget down to some real business whenparliament resumes for the final wintersession of the year. As it stands, thejust-finished monsoon session will beremembered as a complete washout.“This monsoon session will beremembered for no work,” concludedhamid Ansari, the chairman of theupper house of the parliament, as hesuspended the session on Friday.

Govt approvescut in petrol, hikein diesel price

ISLAMABADinP

The Finance Ministry on Sundayapproved a reduction in the price ofpetrol by Rs 4.65 per liter, whilenotifying a further hike in prices ofother petroleum products. Sources inthe Ministry of Petroleum said the newprices would take effect at 12am onSeptember 10. The new price of petrolafter the decrease will be Rs 99.90 perliter, down from Rs 104.55 per liter.With an increase of Rs 3.39 per liter,diesel will now be sold for Rs 115.52 perliter. The price of Kerosene oil has beenraised by Rs 1.85 per liter to Rs 104.6.high-octane will now cost Rs 136.46 perliter after a hike of Rs 3.27.

Rimsha likely tobe shifted to another place

ISLAMABADinP

Blasphemy accused Christian girl RimshaMasih, who was reportedly taken to PoliceLines under strict police security onSaturday after her release on bail, will berelocated to some other place. Accordingto reports, hundreds of police personnelhave been deployed for her security underthe leadership of the seniorsuperintendent of police (Operations).Official sources said that Rimsha would beshifted to some other place on Monday.They said that Rimsha and her familycould be sent abroad on emergency basisif they were offered political asylum by theUnited States or any european country.

Key Taliban

commander killed

in Wana clashWANA

Agencies

An important commander of thebanned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) has been reportedly killedduring clashes with the security forcesin the Zarmelan village of SouthWaziristan Agency. Sources said thateight days ago, key commander of TTPAftab Khan Mehsud was killed inclashes between the security forcesand TTP fighters in Zarmelan villageof SWA. Official sources said AftabAlam was the right hand of TTP chiefhakimullah Mehsud. The report cameto the scene some days after the clashbecause the rugged region is notaccessible to media due to volatile anddifficult terrains.

Pakistan visit ‘fruitful’: Krishna

Indian economy, democracy flounder after monsoon washout

g indian external affairs minister wraps up tour, says tour to make bilateral relations peaceful

sYDneY: A boy jumps from the walkway at Bondi Beach while giant kites fly in the background during the annual Festival of the Winds on sunday. the event was attended

by kite flying enthusiasts of all ages. afp

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