Sunday, 28 April, 2013 Jamadul Sani 17, 1434

Finance Adviser to PrimeMinister Dr Shahid Amjad onSaturday claimed a three-hour relief in electricity loadshedding would be providedto consumers starting fromMonday (tomorrow).Addressing a joint pressconference with Federal Ministerfor Water and Power DrMusadaq Malik and FederalMinister for Petroleum SohailWajahat, he said the caretakergovernment has alreadyreleased Rs 20 billion to support

the power sector. page 04

5 killed in Karachiblasts as terrorists gear

up pre-poll attacksstory on page 03

Imran’s anti-nawaztirade gets him in

trouble with eCpstory on page 02

never threatenedBenazir, Musharraf

tells investigatorsstory on page 04

taliban startspring offensive in

afghanistanstory on page 04

3-hour relief inload sheddingfrom Monday

story on page 02

Rs 25.00 Vol III No 301 19 Pages Karachi Edition

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:30 AM Page 1

‘geedar Cannot Be leader’(

(

Nsunday, 28 April, 2013

02

NewsteaChers refuseto Perform dutIeson eleCtIon day QUETTA: Government teachers of 11 dis-

tricts of Balochistan on Saturday refused to

perform duties during May 11 elections due

to security threats. According to details,

the government teachers association

Balochistan has said that banned organisa-

tions had threatened to target the staff

performing duties at polling centres. They

were of the view that Mekran, Kalat, Khuz-

dar, Chaghi and Noshki districts were secu-

rity-risk areas and arrangements made for

security of polling staff were unsatisfactory.

The teachers association claimed that they

were repeatedly receiving threats from de-

funct organizations for staying away of the

electoral process otherwise they had to

face dire consequences. INP

JARANWALA/NANKANA

AGENCIES

PAKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) PresidentNawaz Sharif said on Satur-day that the tiger can never be

hunted and May 11 would be victory dayfor his party.

Addressing a public gathering inJaranwala, Nawaz said the day was notfar when Pakistan would become apeaceful and stable country.

He said that he had also playedcricket but politics was his passion.

“I made the country a nuclear powerby rejecting US president’s offer of $5billion in return for not carrying out nu-clear tests. While India had carried outfive nuclear tests, our government car-ried out six tests in retaliation,” he said.

Sharif promised a strong Pakistanafter coming into power and said that hisparty would eliminate poverty, jobless-ness, terrorism, load shedding and otherproblems.

He said the PML-N governmentwould upgrade Jaranwala to a districtwould connect it with the motorway.

The PML-N president said that thefederal government had made the coun-

try a barren land where there is no breadto eat and no water to drink. People aredying of hunger and starvation while therulers are amassing wealth for their

vested interests. He saidthat he would construct aspecial motorway for thepeople of Jaranawalawhich was a hub of PML-N workers. He said Shah-baz Sharif had completedgreat projects for themasses without any dis-crimination. He said it wasregrettable that factorieshad to be closed down due to the energycrisis and millions of workers have been

rendered joblessness. “There is an un-ending chain of protests and demonstra-tions in the country. The question is thatwho is responsible for this chaotic situa-

tion,” Nawaz said. Nawaz saidthere was never an hour of loadshedding during his tenure asprime minister. “We alwaysspoke the truth with the nation.When the people of south Pun-jab were drowning, we sup-ported them without anydiscrimination. It was Shahbaz

Sharif who set up a base camp there inthe flood-hit areas and focused his com-

plete attention for regeneration andrestoration of flood-hit people,” he said.

He said that the nation could make anassessment by looking at the advertise-ments on TV screens that which partycontributed for the nation and which po-litical group neglected and rejected themasses. He said that he had not come toJaranwala for votes.

“My mission is to make the peopledifferentiate among their well wishersand bad-wishers,” he said. He said thatsome politicians were shouting slogansof change but had no vision.

“They are trapping the youth just fortheir personal aims,” he said. Separately,former Punjab chief minister and Pak-istan Muslim League-Nawaz leaderShahbaz Sharif said that if PML-N re-turned to power‚ he would provide jobsto the unemployed and would give reliefto the farmers as per its manifesto.

Addressing a public meeting inNankana Sahib‚ he said we had carriedout huge development works in Punjabduring the last 5 years.

Shahbaz said that due to the shortageof electricity, the agriculture sector hadbeen affected and industries were beingshut down. “We would steer the countryout of darkness,” he said.

may 11 Is my day: nawaz

BAHAWALPUR

NNI

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)Chairman Imran Khan on Saturdaypledged to create new provincesafter coming into power.

Addressing a large public meet-ing at Bahawalpur, Khan said hisparty would establish moreprovinces only after addressing is-sues of water distribution and otherkey matters. Challenging PakistanMuslim League (PML-N) chiefNawaz Sharif again to a live TV de-bate, Imran said Sharif should notfear the confrontation if he is a trueleader. “Geedar (jackal) cannot bea leader,” Imran quipped.

The PTI chairman further saidthat he would like to ask the PML-N head, if there is a TV debate, whyhis party – despite ruling Punjab forfive years – failed to restructure thepolice force, bring the local govern-ment system and produce energyfor the province. He said the Pak-istan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) government had failed tomake reforms in police, health andeducation sectors.

Khan went on to say that PML-N spent Punjab’s entire budget on asingle road in Lahore. “Punjab gov-ernment spent billions of rupees ona single project in Lahore, lettingthe entire province suffer at themercy of fate,” he said.

Khan alleged the PML-N hadsupported President Asif AliZardari in looting and plunderingthe nation. Khan said his partywould make a new Pakistan accord-ing to the vision of Quaid-e-Azam

Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He saidPTI is a democratic party and hastruly introduced democracy withinits ranks.

Criticising mainstream politicalparties, he said they had not pro-duced a single leader in the pasttwenty-five years. He said his partyhad the credit of awarding 35 per-cent tickets to young leaders.

He further said in PTI’s Pak-istan, the powerful and weak wouldbe treated equally in the eyes of jus-tice. “If the PTI comes to power,no influential person would be ableto register false cases against thepoor in the name of so-called rulesand regulations,” said Khan. Hesaid PTI would introduce a localgovernment system in the countryso that power may be transferred tothe grassroots. He urged the youththat they conduct door-to-doorcampaigns to en-courage peo-ple andurge themto supportPTI in theforthcom-ing elec-tions.

Imran’s antI-nawaztIrade gets hIm Introuble wIth eCP

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

Taking notice of Imran Khan’s speech at Ba-hawalpur on Saturday where he criticisedPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)chief Nawaz Sharif, the Election Commis-sion of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to exam-ine content of the speech to determinewhether the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)chief had violated elections code of conduct.Challenging Nawaz Sharif again to a liveTV debate, Imran had said that the PML-Nchief should not fear the confrontation if heis a true leader. “Geedar (jackal) cannot be aleader,” Imran quipped. A senior official ofECP said that the commission was likely toreview the contents of the speech in the nextmeeting to be held on Tuesday. The officialsaid that entire speech would be put beforethe five-member commission headed byChief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin GEbrahim to evaluate whether Imran Khanhad violated the election code of conduct is-sued by the commission. The ECP had di-rected all contesting candidates to desistfrom hurling accusations at each other dur-ing the election campaigning. The ECP hadissued the directions after the complaint ofpresidential spokesman who had requestedthe election watchdog to take action againstsome political parties, mainly PML-N, forcriticising President Asif Ali Zardari duringthe ongoing election campaign. ECP had di-rected all parties to refrain from personal

criticism. “The political parties, contest-ing candidates and their supporters

shall refrain from deliberate dissemi-nation of false and malicious infor-mation and shall not indulge inforgeries and disinformation to de-

fame other political parties/lead-ers. The use of abusive languageagainst the leaders and candi-dates shall be avoided at allcosts,” the directive read.

New provinceswhen PTI comesinto power: Imran

a hunter Is tryIng to huntdown the tIger But hewIll not suCCeed In hIsatteMpts. the pMl-n wIllprevaIl In the eleCtIons

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:30 AM Page 2

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

AS the elections are just 13 days away,terrorists seem to have geared up theirefforts to destabilise the first democratictransition of government in the country

with three back-to-back bombings targeting two po-litical parties in Karachi and two election candidatesin Sibi and North Waziristan Agency, killing at leastfive people and leaving several others seriously in-jured. At least three people were killed and morethan 20 others injured when terrorists targeted a Pak-istan People’s Party (PPP) corner meeting in theKumharwada area of Lyari. Police sources said thatthe bomb had been fixed to a motorcycle and was re-motely detonated. A woman was reportedly amongthe three killed in the incident while PPP candidatesUzair Jan Baloch and Adnan Baloch were amongthose injured. Uzair Baloch is the leader of the Peo-ple’s Amn Committee and a prominent figure of theLyari gang war. He is contesting on a National As-sembly seat from Lyari. MQM BOMBINGS: A few hours earlier, a car bombwas remotely detonated near a unit office of the MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM) in Orangi Town’s QasbaColony area, leaving two people dead and over 30 othersinjured. Seconds later another bomb exploded near animambargah in the same area, injuring several people.

According to sources, Ali Imambargah and DarulAhad Masjid are located close to the MQM unit office.They said that the MQM unit office was closed at thetime of the blasts making it unclear at this point of timewhat was the terrorists’ target.

DIG West Zafar Abbas Bukhari said that the firstblast was carried out with explosives planted in a pick-up truck, while the second one was an improvised ex-plosive device (IED) containing ball bearings.Eyewitnesses said the device was hurled by a man ona motorcycle. The blasts occurred nearly 15 minutesafter Qasba Colony lost electricity, according to an-other eyewitness. DIG Bukhari said that the law andorder situation had deteriorated to such an extent thatsummoning the army seemed to be the only option leftto ensure security during the elections. A high-levelmeeting was also hurriedly summoned at the Rangers

Headquarters to discuss the worsening law and ordersituation and changing modus operandi of terrorists.

Meanwhile, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement hasgiven another call for strike today (Sunday), urgingtraders and transporters to join the party in mourning theloss of lives in incessant incidents of terrorism.

This is the fifth such incident of the week in Karachi.One blast targeted the Awami National Party (ANP),while the other three targeted MQM’s election offices.

The Taliban have directly threatened the three mainparties in the outgoing government, the PPP, MQM andANP, which are often described as secular.ATTACK ON JI OFFICE IN SIBI: In other incidentsof pre-poll violence, at least four people were injuredwhen suspected militants lobbed a hand grenade at anelection office of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Sibi area ofBalochistan. A police official said that two militants rid-ing a motorcycle threw a hand grenade in the electionoffice of JI candidate for PB-21 Mumtaz Nazar Abro onJinnah Road. The blast damaged the office and left fourpeople injured, he added.BLAST IN NORTH WAZIRISTAN: Meanwhile, abomb explosion destroyed the election office of an in-dependent candidate in North Waziristan Agency.

The timed device went off near the office of AqalKhan but there was no report of any casualty or injuryas the office was empty at the time of the attack. The ex-plosion also damaged several nearby shops.

News N

03

sunday, 28 April, 2013

5 killed in karachi bombings asterrorists gear up pre-poll attacks

mQm wIll notbaCk downfrom Polls:altaf hussaIn

NAWABSHAH: Muttahida Qaumi Movement

(MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Saturday said

innocent people were being targeted in

bombings but his party would not succumb

to pressure and would contest the polls un-

der any circumstances. Addressing a public

gathering in Nawab Shah by telephone,

Altaf said it was conspiracy of destructive

forces and their mission was to derail

democracy. He said, “We know the real mo-

tives behind these terror attacks. The MQM

would not accept the forceful imposition of

Shariah against the will of the people.” He

said that the MQM would upgrade academic

system if voted into power, adding that

schools would be upgraded to colleges with-

out a discrimination of male and female stu-

dents. He said that the MQM would form the

government after forthcoming elections.

While highlighting women’s rights, Altaf

said, “Women enjoy equal rights as com-

pared to men. They should be treated

equally in every walk of life without any dis-

crimination. It is regrettable to say that in-

nocent women are badly and unscrupulously

misbehaved under the pretexts of so-called

traditions and rituals which have nothing to

do with reality.” He said feudal system had

trapped the people. Politicians come and go

but the poor people are bound to remain on

the point from their forefathers had started

their journey. Their fate is in the hands of

feudal lords who have enslaved the peas-

ants in the name of so-called rules and reg-

ulations. “If any haari (peasant) tries to

raise voice against outdated system, he is

trapped in fake and fabricated and bogus

cases forever,” said Altaf. NNI

ptI CanCels May 1 rally In KaraChIKARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has cancelled its public gathering in Karachi

scheduled on May 1, due to the prevailing law and order situation in the provincial metropolis. A PTI

spokesman said that the rally has been called off due to deteriorating law and order situation in the

financial hub of the country. PTI Chairman Imran Khan was scheduled to address the public rally. INP

KARACHI: A view of the damage caused

by a bomb in Qasba Colony. ImRAN GIlANI

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:30 AM Page 3

NewsN

04

sunday, 28 April, 2013

three-hour reliefin load sheddingfrom monday:Pm’s adviserISLAMABAD: Finance Adviser to Prime

Minister Dr Shahid Amjad on Saturday

claimed a three-hour relief in electricity

load shedding would be provided to

consumers starting from Monday

(tomorrow). Addressing a joint press

conference with Federal Minister for Water

and Power Dr Musadaq Malik and Federal

Minister for Petroleum Sohail Wajahat, he

said the caretaker government has already

released Rs 20 billion to support the power

sector, adding that Rs 10 billion would be

released by the end of April. He said Rs 35

billion would be released in May to improve

the power generation situation. Dr Shahid

said release of funds would definitely result

in increase of power generation which

would ultimately lessen load shedding,

simultaneously benefiting industries.

Speaking on the occasion, the petroleum

minister said within two days power

stations would be provided additional 150

million cubic feet of gas. INP

likemindeds geta cold shoulderfrom PtIISLAMABAD: Duped by the Pakistan

Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the

Likeminded faction of the PML sought to

salvage its political life by seeking support

of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) but

the group received a cold response from

Imran Khan’s party which described the

Likeminded’s offer of support as being “too

late and too little”. Informed sources told

Pakistan Today on Saturday that leading

figure of the Likeminded group, Humayun

Akhtar Khan telephoned PTI Chairman

Imran Khan and offered his group’s support

to the PTI. However, Akhtar did not get any

positive response from the PTI chairman.

“The Likeminded group’s offer to PTI at this

stage is too late and too little. They are

now seeking the PTI’s support after the

PML-N left them high and dry,” said the

sources. Repeated attempts were made to

seek the versions of both parties concerned

but they could not be reached. Pakistan

Today had earlier reported that the Hamid

Nasir Chattha-led PML-Likeminded group

were dejected by the PML-N’s decision to

not give them the required number of

seats as per an electoral deal signed

between the two parties at Raiwind

earlier this year. STAFF REPORT

attack leaves shiacleric injured,guard deadKARACHI: Allama Syed Baqir Zaidi, a

prominent Shia leader survived a bid on his

life as his bodyguard took most of the hits

to die later during what could be said as yet

another act of targeted sectarian shooting.

Zaidi came under attack while travelling in

Liaquatabad Unit 4 on Saturday. Sources

said men armed with assault rifles suddenly

intercepted Zaidi’s car and fired quick

bursts hitting all occupants in it before

making their gateway. The injured were

rushed to the hospital but the doctors could

not save Zaidi’s bodyguard. STAFF REPORT

gas pipelinebombed in umerkotUMERKOT: Terrorists on Saturday blew

up a gas pipe in Umerkot. According to

details, unidentified miscreants had

planted explosives with 30-inch diameter

gas pipeline near the Umerkot area of

Sindh. As a result of the blast a portion of

gas pipeline was destroyed. Gas supply to

CNG stations in various cities of Punjab,

including Lahore, Sahiwal, Sheikhupura,

Multan, Gujranwala and Gujrat was

suspended. Shortage of gas also halted

supply to industries of Lahore Zone 1. INP

ISLAMABAD

NNI

fORMER dictator Pervez Musharrafon Saturday told an investigationteam probing his involvement in theBenazir Bhutto assassination case

that he had never issued any threat to theformer prime minister regarding her returnto Pakistan.

A four-member joint investigationteam interrogated Musharraf for twohours and 40 minutes.

The team, headed by FIA Addi-tional Director Khalid Qureshi con-ducted the investigation atMusharraf ’s Islamabad residence thathas been declared a sub-jail.

According to sources, the teamhanded over a questionnaire to the former

president. He was asked as to who issuedthe orders to wash the crime scene on De-cember 27, 2007 after the murder of Be-nazir Bhutto, and on what basis he hadwarned Benazir Bhutto about the possibleterror attacks on her return.

To this, Musharraf said that he wasthen president and it was not his respon-sibility to provide security to Benazir,adding that this question should beasked to then PM and authorities con-cerned. The team also asked Musharrafabout his email to US journalist MarkSegal. Musharraf said that he had notgiven any threats to the former PM be-cause if it were the case, he would nothave been able to strike a successfuldeal with her. Musharraf, who is on afour-day remand, will be presented be-fore a court on April 30.

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)filed a complaint on Saturdaywith the Chief Election Commis-sioner (CEC) to probe incidents ofPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) candidates openly car-rying arms in Lahore in violationof the code of conduct.

The complaint filed bySardar Latif Khosa with theCEC cited incidents of riotingand firing on April 20 and 23,2013 at the Dry Port, Lahore aswell as the attack on the con-voy of an independent candi-date Ayesha Ahad Malik.

Giving background of theincidents, the complaint said ariot-like situation was createdby open use of firearms at ameeting of PML-N candidatesand supporters at the Dry Portin the NA-124, Lahore area on23 April, 2013 resulting ingrievous injuries to some. Un-fortunately, the police tried tocover up this blatant incident ofviolence because the local po-lice continue to support PML-N candidates, the complaintsaid. Yet another incident ofnaked aggression in NA-119 inLahore occurred on Saturday,

April 20 within the jurisdictionof Police Station City Tibbiwhen the car of independentcandidate Ayesha Ahad Malikwas attacked by henchmen ofthe PML-N candidate.

TV channels have footageof the incident and despite anapplication for registration of acase; no crime report was reg-istered nor was any culprit ar-rested. Instead, the Punjab IGwent for reconciliation and hadthe vehicle repaired, it said.

The attack on Ayesha AhadMalik must be seen in the back-drop of the PML-N leaders’open threats to her, it added.The smashing of the car was atrailer to be followed by attackson her life if she did not desist,the complaint said. The PML-N candidates and their support-ers are patronised by the policethat is a hurdle in holding offree and fair election in Lahore.Other parties are showing re-straint but may be provoked tocounter violence and intimida-tion, said the complaint. Meas-ures must be taken to preventPML-N candidates, supportedby the local administrationloyal to Sharifs, from resortingto acts of violence and intimi-dation, the petition said.

LAHORE

INP

A day after Indian prisonerSarabjit Singh was assaulted in-side Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail,his family has been granted visato visit him in hospital. ThePakistani High Commission inDelhi also said it will extend allpossible help to facilitate theirtravel to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Sarabjit con-tinues to be critical and in anintensive care unit (ICU). Twoprisoners have been chargedand two officials suspendedfollowing the attack on him.

Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh condemnedthe attack and called it a “verysad incident”.

Condemning the attack,Indian Minister of State forHome Affairs RPN Singh said,“Our deputy high commis-sioner has lodged a protest

with the Pakistan Foreign Of-fice. We want an explanationas to how it happened. Ourgovernment tried its best to gethim freed. We condemn the in-cident. It is Pakistan’s respon-sibility to ensure Indians intheir jails are safe.”

The police on Saturdayregistered a case of attemptedmurder against two prisonersfor assaulting Sarabjit. FIRagainst prisoners Amer Aftaband Mudassar was registeredfollowing a complaint fromAssistant Superintendent Ish-tiaq Ahmed Gill of Kot Lakh-path Jail. The two men werebooked under sections 324 (at-tempted murder) and 334(causing severe injuries) of thePakistan Penal Code.

Sources said doctors arewaiting for Sarabjit to stabilisebefore conducting further tests.Sarabjit has suffered injuries onhis head and swelling on his

face. Doctors were unable toperform surgery on him on Fri-day because of extensive inter-nal bleeding caused by a severehead injury. “No surgery can beperformed till his condition sta-bilises,” a source said.

Meanwhile, Indian offi-cials have met Sarabjit Singhin Lahore. In 2012, he facedthreats from groups after therelease of fellow prisoner Sur-jit Singh. In the aftermath ofthe Afzal Guru hanging, thethreat to Sarbjit’s life in-creased, his family claimed.

“Sarabjit sent me lettersthrough his lawyer, sayingthat he was being threatened.He said people told him hewas alive when Afzal wasexecuted in India, so we aregoing to attack you. I told thehome minister and the exter-nal affairs minister about thesituation. I want to go to Pak-istan tomorrow morning,” his

sister Dalbir Kaur said.Human rights activist AnsarBurney, who plans to head toLahore to meet Sabarjit,raised serious concerns say-ing it was a suspicious at-tack. Meanwhile, a citizen,Sarfarz Hussain, moved awrit petition in the SupremeCourt’s Lahore Registry onSaturday, requesting the apexcourt to form a high levelmedical board for treatmentof Sarabjit.

The petitioner also re-quested that the case be re-ferred to Federal InvestigationAuthority (FIA) for further in-quiry and all officials involvedbe brought to justice withoutany discrimination.

It has also been appealedto the court that SarabjitSingh’s imprisonment be re-voked and the medical boardmay be sent along with thevictim for treatment, abroad.

LAHORE

NAdEEm SyEd

Can a candidate be represent-ing a party and be independ-ent at the same time?Apparently one cannot, de-clares a source quite well-versed with the ECP and theelection rules. For every con-testing candidate under thenomenclature ‘independent’ itis mandatory to make a decla-ration that he or she does notbelong to any party. Thatbeing the case, one is amazedhow the PML-N hot shotChaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is atthe same time a party stalwartand an independent? Anotherquestion that begs an answer,how come it escaped theECP’s otherwise keenly ob-servant apparatchiks?

As the story goes, Nisar’snomination papers were ac-cepted for NA-52 as a candi-date contesting under thePML-N’s banner and he waspromptly allotted the partysymbol, Tiger. But in caseShahbaz Sharif leaves hisPunjab fief and opts for a fed-eral position, leaving thechief minister’s position

open, Nisar perhaps wantedto keep his hat in the provin-cial ring as well. The partydidn’t oblige its Prince ofRawalpindi Division with theprovincial ticket, because theprevious winner was unwill-ing to yield his from PP-6.Despite that dampener, Nisardidn’t withdraw his papersand has been allotted ‘Cow’as symbol for his ‘indepen-dent’ position.

It is indeed surprising howNisar got away during theprocess of scrutiny for he is awell-known figure as a PML-Nleader, has been in the party’stop echelons for ages and itsleader of the opposition in theNational Assembly that com-pleted its tenure only recently?

Perhaps the returning offi-cers were too intent in dis-qualifying candidates underArticle 62 and 63 to find otherreasons for disqualification.

This also needs to benoted that Nisar in these up-coming election is makinganother record of sorts: fromone district he is contestingfrom four constituencies ontwo NA and two Punjab As-sembly seats.

Iran, India todiscuss extensionof IP gas pipelinenext week TEHRAN: Iranian and Indian oil

ministers are due to discuss extension

of a gas pipeline project which is due

to take Iran’s rich gas reserves to

Pakistan and then to India in a

meeting in New Delhi next week.

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi is

stated to visit New Delhi next week to

hold a meeting with Indian Petroleum

and Natural Gas Minister Veerappa

Moily on the peace pipeline. Pricing

formula and security of the pipeline

will stand atop the topics to be

discussed by the two ministers. Earlier

this month, Iranian Oil Ministry

Spokesman Alireza Nikzad Rahbar

announced that New Delhi has

renewed interest in the extension of

Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline to

India. “Since India has been

motivated by Pakistan’s seriousness in

construction of the (Iran-Pakistan)

peace pipeline, New Delhi is

negotiating to join the project,” Nikzad

Rahbar said. The Iranian official noted

that there had been considerable

progress in the IP gas pipeline, with

Iranian contractors starting work on

the Pakistani section of the pipeline,

after finishing nearly 900 kilometers

of the pipeline on Iran’s soil. INP

never threatened benazir,musharraf tells investigators

ISLAMABAD: Senators belonging to

major political parties, Pakistan

Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N),

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and

Awami National Party (ANP),

expressed anguish stating that former

military ruler Pervez Musharraf was

being given preferential treatment

despite his chequered past due to

which he is facing several criminal

cases in courts. Addressing a joint

press conference on Saturday

Senators Ishaq Dar and Senator

Mushahidullah Khan of PML-N,

Senator Raza Rabbani of PPP and

Senator Zahid Khan of ANP said they

sternly opposed the leniency given to

Musharraf by the interim government

and objected the discriminatory

approach of the present government

since Musharraf has been staying at

his own house despite being

imprisoned. Senate had passed a

resolution seeking Musharraf’s trial

under Article 6 for abrogation of the

constitution. However, the Muttahida

Qaumi Movement (MQM) and

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-

Q) senators neither supported nor

opposed the resolution. INP

senators flay InterIM govt for BeIng soft on Musharraf

sarabjit’s family gets visa to visit him in lahore

the curious case of nisar,the ‘Independent’

ppp moves CeC over pMl-n-ledviolence in lahore

taliban start springoffensive inafghanistan

KABUL

INP

The Taliban on Saturday announced the start oftheir spring offensive signalling plans to step upattacks as the weather warms acrossAfghanistan, making both travel and fightingeasier. The militant group’s leadership vowedthat every possible tactic would be utilised inorder to detain or inflict heavy casualties on theforeign transgressors. It said that will includemore so-called insider attacks by members ofthe Afghan security forces against their col-leagues or foreign troops. Such attacks threatenthe strength of the Afghan forces as they workto take over responsibility from internationalforces. The latest one occurred in March, whena member of Afghanistan’s government-backedmilitia program shot and killed five of his col-leagues in Badghis province in northwestAfghanistan.

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:30 AM Page 4

KARACHI

ksunday, 28 April, 2013

05

Low

high

MondAy tUeSdAy WedneSdAy35°CI26°C 37°C I24°C 36°C I25°C

PRAyER TImINGS

SUnny

WeAther UpdAteS

340C

Fajr Sunrise Zuhr Asr Maghrib Isha

4:39 6:00 12:30 3:58 7:00 8:21

270C

Make-A-Wish Foundation organises a walk on the World

Wish Day to create awareness about granting the wishes

of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses

KARACHI

AFTAb ChANNA

ALTHOUGH terroristshave started targetingpoliticians andworkers of thepolitical parties,

particularly those belonging to theleft-wing, the interim governmentboth at the federal and provinciallevel seems reluctant to ensurefoolproof security to the foster brotherof President Asif Ali Zardari, OwaisMuzzaffar, commonly known asTappi.

Owais Muzzaffar, who hasannounced to contest generalelections from PS-88 Thatta,Ghorabari, against the Shirazibrothers of Thatta, who remainedassociated with former PakistanPeople’s Party-led government, hasalso forwarded various letters to thechief minister, home department andthe ministry of interior.

However, Owais Muzzaffar hasreceived no positive response fromthe interim government that raised

serious threats to his life, the sourcessaid, adding that Owais Muzzaffar

was running his electioncampaign as per hisschedule.

Interestingly, theShirazis parted ways withthe PPP within a short spanof time as their demands,whatever they were, wereturned down by PPP leaderOwais Muzzaffar andformer MNA Faryal Talpur.

Sources in the home departmenttold Pakistan Today that lawenforcement agencies had recentlyinformed the Sindh government aboutthe serious threats to OwaisMuzzaffar by the Talibans and the

Peoples Ammn Committee who werereportedly planning to attack

President Zardari’s brother tosabotage the general elections.

With the continued blasts andtargeted killings in the city, thelaw enforcers are confusedwhether to provide foolproofsecurity to every candidatecontesting the polls or the force be

utilised to ensure peaceful atmosphereduring the elections.

Talking exclusively to PakistanToday, Owais Muzzaffar told thatanti-democratic forces were again

playing their dirty politics to sabotagethe peaceful holding of elections.

“I have approached the interimgovernment for the foolproof security,however it seems reluctant to provideme sufficient security”, he added.

“We (the PPP) have the history ofsacrifices and our brave leaderShaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhuttoalso sacrificed her life for thedemocracy. And, every leader of thePPP is ready to render his life, but thelukewarm response of the interimgovt to my repeated requests is asheer injustice”, he said.

When asked about the allegationsleveled by Shirazi brothers aboutofficial protocols, Owais Muzzaffarsaid he had a single police mobilebesides his few private securityguards. However, the Shirazis wereviolating the code of conduct of theElection Commission of Pakistan, headded.

Owais Muzzaffar demanded thecaretaker government and the chiefelection commissioner to ensurehis foolproof security onemergency basis.

tappi also wants ‘fool-proof’ security

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

A teenager was killed on Saturdayby his schoolmate’s guard inDefence, allegedly in a scuffleover his girlfriend.

According to details, Hamza,16, son of garment factory ownerTalib Sohail Ahmed, went to theKhayaban-e-Sehar area to meet hisschoolmate Shoaib to resolve thematter. Initial details suggestedthat Shoaib had been harassingHamza’s girlfriend.

The meeting between the tworeportedly turned into a fight, overwhich Shoaib’s guard opened fireand shot Hamza four times. Hamzadied on the spot.

Shoaib and his guard, identifiedas Aman, fled the scene. The policeare trying to trace the cell phonesof the two accused.

The mobile phones of Hamzaand the girl were also confiscatedfor further investigations.

Hamza was an O Levelsstudent at WashingtonInternational School. His family

said they know the killers but hadnot registered a case of the murderyet.

In a similar case, 20-year-oldShahzeb Khan, son of a policeofficer, was shot dead in his car inDecember last year in the Defencearea. The incident caused uproaracross the country, after which thechief justice took suo motu of theincident. Shahrukh Jatoi, son of aninfluential businessman, alongwith his friends and a houseworker, is being tried for murder inthe case.

I have approaChedthe InterIM governMentfor seCurIt y, howeverIt seeMs reluCtantto provIde MesuffICIent seCurIt y

Owais Muzzaffar

another teenagerfalls victim to scuffle

PtI and Pml-fleaders join PPP

KARACHI: While shifting of loyalties ison its peak, senior leaders from PakistanMuslim League-Functional (PML-F) andPakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) from districtThatta announced to join PPP along withtheir tribes, friends and supporters. Theannouncement came after PML-F districtThatta president Sardar Rameez Zaur andSardar Jam Qaim Ali met PPP leader OwaisMuzzaffar at the Bilawal House onSaturday. Chiefs of various tribes includingSardar Jam Farooq, Pir Sikandar Shah andPir Ali Hassan along with their supportersalso announced to join PPP. Speaking onthe occasion, Owais Muzzaffar said thatdistrict Thatta had always been thestronghold of PPP. The people fromdifferent walks of life are joining PPP due toits ever-growing popularity. The PPP willsweep the polls from all parts of the countryand it will form next government withheavy majority, he added. STAFF REPORT

Chiefs of various tribesinCluding sardar Jamfarooq, Pir sikandar shahand Pir ali hassan alongwith their suPPortersannounCe suPPort for PPP

KARACHI

INP

The Election Commission of Pakistan onSaturday announced to postpone polls onPS-64 (Mirpurkhas-I) on account of WaqarBuland Khan’s death, one of the candidatesrunning for the seat.

A spokesman of the ECP said a date forpolling on the said seat would be announcedlater.

A notification issued by the commissionin this regard said: “the returning officerconcerned has terminated the proceedingsrelating to election to that constituency” andthat “fresh proceedings will commenceafter the general elections and the schedulefor the said constituency will be announcedin due course of time and law”.

In its notification, the ECP added that it

would not be mandatory for the othercandidates contesting for the seat to filefresh nomination papers.

PPP’s Hanif Memon, PML-F’sMukhtiar Narejo, Attaullah Haidri of Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat and Shabbir Qaimkhaniof MQM were in the race from thisconstituency.

Earlier on Tuesday, the returning officerhad announced postponement of electionfor PS-64 for an indefinite period over thedeath of Khan, an independent candidatewho died on Monday due to sudden cardiacarrest.

Khan was PPP’s senior worker and wasexpected to be the party’s favouritecandidate until the PPP picked up Memonas its candidate for the seat. Khan had thendecided to contest as an independentcandidate.

Polls for Ps-64 cancelleddue to candidate’s death

HYDERABAD: A teacher puts her signature on a banner during ‘Every Child Needs a Teacher’ campaign organised by SPARC outside the press club on Saturday. INP

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:30 AM Page 5

KARACHIsunday, 28 April, 2013

06

k

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

TRADERS and industrialists warned thegovernment regarding the dilapidatedcondition of the city’s Jam SadiqBridge that has deteriorated furtherand may collapse at any time.

In an SOS to the federal and provincial gov-ernments, the trade and industrialist bodies haveearnestly demanded of Sindh Governor DrIshratul Ebad to immediately take notice of theextremely vulnerable situation and to instructthe KMC to start repairs on the bridge withoutfurther delay.

Korangi Association of Trade and Industry(KATI) Chairman Mohammad Zubair Chhayahad cautioned the government that any disastercould occur due to the dilapidated condition ofJam Sadiq Bridge, which needed complete re-pairs. He said that the issue had been broughtinto the notice of government officials manytimes but nothing had been done in this regardso far. He also appealed to the caretaker minis-ters Mian Zahid Hussain, Khalid Tawab andIqbal Pakwala to use their good offices and takeup this matter with the government on prioritybasis.

He said that the government should take se-rious notice of the condition and should issueimmediate orders for its repairs as PC-I of its re-

pairs have already been prepared. He appealedto the federal government to release funds forthe project so that the work on PC-I could be ini-tiated by KMC.

He further endorsed the KMC administra-tor’s statement that the decaying state of thebridge had already been brought to the knowl-

edge of the governor and chief minister. Hementioned that the Public Accounts Committeeof the outgoing Sindh Assembly had also takenup this issue and called for its immediate repairs.He demanded complete revamping of thebridge, which he said was crumbling fast andcould collapse at any given moment.

mQm and anP reiteratesame stance KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement coordination committeeon Saturday categorically stated that MQM would not boycott electionsdespite conspiracies. In a telephonic conversation with MQM Chief AltafHussain, the coordination committee members said that despite attackson workers and leaders, morale of MQM workers was high and theywould not surrender before terrorists. Paying rich tribute to the membersof coordination committee, Altaf Hussain said he was pleased to see thecourage of his party workers. Meanwhile, Awami National Party leaderSenator Shahi Syed has announced to fully participate in the generalelections despite attacks on the party. Talking to media on Saturday‚ hesaid the situation of attacks on the political parties before the electionswas a question mark on free‚ fair and transparent elections. He said peo-ple were with us and they would cast their votes in elections despitethreats. He said a great conspiracy was being hatched against his party.He appealed the civil society‚ media and scholars to raise the voiceagainst attacks on political parties. INP

seven more killed inviolence KARACHI: At least seven persons were shot dead and two policepersonnel injured by unknown culprits in various areas of the city onSaturday, police said. Police said Hassan Kashmiri was gunned downin Golimar, Tariq was killed in Orangi Town, Akram was shot deadin Korangi No 3.5, Naeem was gunned down by unknown armedmen in Lyari Chakiwara, and two men were killed in DefenseKhyaban-e-Ittehad and Sabah Cinema New Karachi. The bodieswere moved to hospitals for medico-legal formalities. NNI

rangers raIduzaIr baloCh’shouse

KARACHI: Six people were held assecurity personnel raided the house ofprominent figure Sardar Uzair Jan Baloch inLyari area of the metropolis. The allegedcriminals were held from different locationsof the mentioned areas, while Kalashnikov,SMG, rocket launcher and large quantity ofammunition were also recovered from thenabbed accused. Rangers confirmed thearrest by saying that those arrested weremoved to an undisclosed location forinterrogation. It may be noted here that thiswas the third operation within 48 hours tonab criminal elements from the metropolisahead of the general elections scheduled totake place on May 11. Meanwhile, Rangersarrested 25 people from Latifabad area ofHyderabad after Rangers and policelaunched a joint operation in different partsof area. The operation was launched afterThursday’s attack on Rangers Headquartersin which one official was killed and threeothers wounded. Rangers cordoned offdifferent areas of Latifabad and arrested 25suspects during house-to-house search.Large quantity of arms was also recoveredduring the operation. The arrested suspectswere shifted to an undisclosed location forfurther investigation. INP

two ttP men heldKARACHI: Two terror suspects of bannedTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) werearrested following a raid in the metropolison Saturday morning. According to police, ahouse was raided at Sohrab Goth and twoTTP men were arrested along with arms.Police said that the suspects were involvedin a number of terrorist and extortionactivities. Further investigations from thenabbed accused have been initiated. NNI

KARACHI

NNI

Minister for Human Rights andWomen Development Anis Ha-roon directed the Human RightsDepartment director to provideimmediate financial help to the500 people registered with thedepartment and who have com-pleted the verification process.

This she said while holdinga meeting to review the progressof the projects running under thedepartment.

The minister said that thecaretaker government had takeninitiatives to enforce and estab-lish Provincial Human RightsCommission per Sindh HumanRights Act 2011which waspassed by the Sindh Assembly.The minister showed her sur-prise over the fact that no onehad taken any initiative to en-force the said act. She furthersaid that she would take up thematter with Sindh chief ministerto fix the responsibility on thepeople involved in this negli-

gence. She also directed the of-ficers concerned to organise aprovincial conference in Hyder-abad in the next week for creat-ing awareness among themasses about Sindh HumanRights Act 2011.

On the occasion, the HumanRights minister was informedthat three projects, namelyHuman Rights Complaint Cell,Medical, Legal and FinancialAid Programme and Series ofHuman Rights awareness Cam-paigns were underway. She wasfurther informed about the tollfree number 0800-00011 that thedepartment had activated in a bidto reach out to the masses. Shewas also informed that the cellwas working from 9am to 8pm.The minister was apprised thatthe department had receivedabout 2,000 applications for fi-nancial help, out of which 500applications have been verifiedfrom Zakat Council and SocialWelfare Officers of the respec-tive districts.NEW ANTI-GRAFFITI

ORdINANCE WILL PREvENT

MENACE: The Sindh Ministerof Law and Prison MehmoodYusuf Mandviwalla expectedthat the promulgation of thePrevention of Defacement ofProperty Ordinance-2013 willprevent the menace fromgrowing and upon thepromulgation of this ordinance,it will no longer be possible toruin aesthetics of cities.

Per details, graffiti which hasbeen used without any form offear or restriction had beenbanned, which had otherwise be-come a mode of cheap marketingfor small businesses. The minis-ter further said that the new ordi-nance prohibited defacement ofproperty and made the offencepunishable with an imprisonmentterm of six months, fine or both.

He further said that the newlaw also introduced the estab-lishment of an Anti Property-De-facement Task Force whichwould include people from thecivil society, including a memberof electronic and print media.

MQM leader Nabil Gabol has filed an appeal in the

Sindh High Court for deploying army at Lyari’s

polling stations on the day of election

Jam sadiq bridge in shambles

Provincial conference onhuman rights soon: minister

HYDERABAD: A supporter of an independent candidate has fixed his leader’s election

symbol ‘comb’ in his hair. INP

fILE PHOTO

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:31 AM Page 6

07

Newssunday, 28 April, 2013

In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes

aimed to topple the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with hostility

toward it. His crimes were proved by evidence –North Korean authorites N

DAMASCUS

AGENCIES

A UN spokesman has said that in-vestigators from the world bodyhave started collecting evidenceoutside Syria on the suspected useof chemical weapons.

Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, on Friday wrote to SyrianPresident Bashar al-Assad with anew request for access to investi-

gators inside the war-torn coun-try. Last month, both the Syriangovernment and rebels accusedeach other of using chemicalweapons in an attack on the vil-lage of Khan al-Assal outside thenorthern city of Aleppo.

Following the incident, theSyria government called forthe UN to investigate allegedchemical weapons use by rebels.

Syria, however, has still not

allowed a team of experts into thecountry because it wants the in-vestigation limited to the singleKhan al-Assal incident, while theUN chief is urging theSyrian government to accept anexpanded UN probe.

Weapons inspectors willdetermine whether bannedchemical agents were usedin Syrian conflict only if theyare able to access sites and

take soil, blood, urine or tissuesamples and examine them incertified laboratories, accord-ing to the Organisation for theProhibition of ChemicalWeapons, which works withthe UN on inspections.

Assertions of chemical-weapons use in Syria by Westernand Israeli officials citing photos,sporadic shelling and traces oftoxins do not meet the standard

of proof needed for a UN team ofexperts waiting to gather theirown field evidence, the organisa-tion said.‘GAME CHANGER’: For hispart, US President Barack Obamagave warning to Syria that its useof chemical weapons would be a“game changer” for the US butmade clear he was in no rush to in-tervene in the country’s civil waron the basis of evidence he said

was still preliminary.“Horrific as it is when mor-

tars are being fired on civiliansand people are being indiscrimi-nately killed, to use potentialweapons of mass destruction oncivilian populations crosses an-other line with respect to interna-tional norms and internationallaw,” Obama said at the WhiteHouse as he began talks with Jor-dan’s King Abdullah on Friday.

un InvestIgates syrIa CheMICal weapons use

Iraq violencespills intofifth day

BAGHDAD

AGENCIES

SECTARIAN tensions have escalated in Iraq, where thedeath toll from a wave of violence has passed 200, offi-cials and reports have said. On Saturday, the fifth con-secutive day of protests, gunmen killed four armyintelligence soldiers and wounded a fourth in Ramadi,

West of Bgahdad. “Four soldiers in civilians clothes have beenkilled and a fourth injured near a protest site in Ramadi,” said AlJazeera’s Omar Al Saleh, reporting from Baghdad. “The men were stopped by gunmen protecting the protest. It’s notclear how things developed and what led to the killing. Some saythey were intelligence agents, others say they were soldiers onleave and were stopped,” he said. Five other people, members ofan anti-al-Qaeda group, were also killed south of Tikrit, our corre-spondent said. Later, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki renewed acall for calm and said sectarian strife had returned to Iraq fromelsewhere in the region. In televised remarks, Maliki said: “Sec-tarianism is evil, and the wind of sectarianism does not need a li-cence to cross from a country to another, because if it begins in aplace, it will move to another place. “Strife is knocking on thedoors of everyone, and no one will survive if it enters, becausethere is a wind behind it, and money, and plans.” His office alsoreleased a statement vowing he would not remain silent over theearlier killing of soldiers, and called on peaceful protesters to“kick out the criminals that target army and police.” dAILy PROTESTS: Our correspondent in Baghdad said whilesectarian tension was intense between political parties, it did not af-fect “ordinary people - not enough to raise alarms”.“But all parties are trying to polarise their communities on a sectar-ian basis; there is a fear that things could go wider,” he said.Thousands of protesters have gathered in cities across thecountry this week to voice their anger at the government, calling onthe prime minister to step down and an end to the discriminationagainst Sunnis.

DHAKA

AGENCIES

Protests in Bangladesh have spread toa second city with hundreds of peoplethrowing stones and setting fire to ve-hicles, as authorities made arrests inconnection with the collapse of factorybuilding that killed more than 300workers. Police said on Saturday theyhad arrested two owners of the gar-ment business and two engineers in-volved in approving the design of theshoddily constructed eight-story build-ing which collapsed on Wednesday.

Deputy Home Minister ShamsulHaque Tuku said police had arrestedBazlus Samad, managing director ofNew Wave Apparels Ltd, and Mah-mudur Rahman Tapash, the companychairman.

He told reporters that police hadalso detained the wife of MohammedSohel Rana, the owner of the collapsedRana Plaza building, for questioning.The top three floors of the eight-storybuilding were illegally constructed.

“Everyone involved - includingthe designer, engineer, and builders -will be arrested for putting up this de-fective building,” Haque said.

Dhaka police superintendentHabibur Rahman said Rana was alocal leader of ruling Awami

League’s youth front. Officials saidRana Plaza, on the outskirts of thecapital, Dhaka, had been built with-out the correct permits, and theworkers were allowed in on Wednes-day despite warnings the previousday that it was structurally unsafe.

MOSCOW

AGENCIES

Russian law enforcement of-ficers have detained 140 peo-ple at a Muslim prayer roomin the capital, Moscow, as partof a search for extremistgroups, Russian news agen-cies have quoted federal offi-cials as saying.

A statement on Friday fromthe Federal Security Bureau(FSB), reported by Russiannews agencies, said amongthose detained were 30 citizensof unspecified foreign countries.

Russian InformationAgency said the detaineeswere taken to police stationsfor identification and question-ing, and there was no immedi-

ate word on whether anywould be charged.

State television showedmen lining up and boarding apolice bus after being detained.NO ExPLANATION

PROvIdEd: There was noindication of any link to theApril 15 attack at the BostonMarathon, in which US author-ities believe two ethnicChechen brothers with roots inRussia’s North Caucasus setoff bombs that killed three peo-ple and wounded 264.

Authorities in Russia haveso far declined to comment onthe issue.

President Vladimir Putinsaid in a television appearanceon Thursday that the Bostonbombings justified his tough

line against rebels in the NorthCaucasus and that Russia andthe US must step up coopera-tion against them.

RIA reported that law en-forcement authorities saidsome people who had been atthe prayer room in the past hadjoined an extremist group inthe North Caucasus.

But government critics saysuch raids are aimed largely atflushing out illegal migrantsfrom the ex-Soviet republics ofthe South Caucasus and Cen-tral Asia, and to show that theauthorities are taking actionagainst extremists.

About 300 people were de-tained in a similar sweep in StPetersburg in February, andmost were swiftly released.

maduro orders arrestof american filmmakerCARACAS: Facing an invigorated opposition

and mounting demands for a recount,

President Nicolas Maduro’s week-old

government on Friday stepped up

accusations that its political adversaries are

plotting to destabilise the country. The

escalating political tension comes as officials

signaled they may be preparing to arrest

opposition leader Henrique Capriles, a

charismatic lawyer who says Maduro stole

the election that was called to decide who

would succeed Hugo Chavez after the

populist died last month of cancer. AGENCIES

Protests spread in Bangladeshamid arrest of factory owners

russia ‘detains scoresin sweep at mosque’

PYONGYANG

AGENCIES

North Korea will put a US citizen on trial for“committing crimes” against the country andaiming to topple the regime, the North’s officialnews agency has said.

On Saturday, amid soaring tensions betweenPyongyang and the West, the KCNA said US cit-izen Pae Jun-Ho had admitted to the charges andwould soon face “judgment”. He has been inprison in the North since November.

“In the process of investigation he admit-ted that he committed crimes aimed to topplethe Democratic People’s Republic of Koreawith hostility toward it,” the report said. “His

crimes were proved by evidence”.Pae was arrested in November as he entered

the northeastern port city of Rason, which liesinside a special economic zone near NorthKorea’s border with Russia and China.

“He will soon be taken to the Supreme Courtof the DPRK to face judgment,” according to thereport, which did not say what the charges werebased on. South Korean media in Decemberidentified the detainee as a 44-year-old Korean-American tour operator.

He was travelling with five othertourists and was detained when a computerhard disk was found among the group’s be-longings, according to the South Koreannewspaper Kookmin Ilbo.

North Korea to put Us citizen on trial

MARDRID, SPAIN: Police clash with demonstrators during a protest near

the Spanish Parliament in Madrid. Spain’s government has revised down

its forecast for the Spanish economy this year, saying the level of

contraction is very likely to be worse than previously predicted. AGENCIES

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:31 AM Page 7

NewsNsunday 28 April, 2013

08

PESHAWAR

ShAmIm ShAhId

THE Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is likely toface a close fight from the Pak-istan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on

almost all national and provincial assem-bly seats in Hazara region.

Whereas the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JIU-F), the Tehreek Sooba Hazaraand the Awami National Party’s exis-tence in election campaign in six districtsof Hazara is satisfactory and this couldmultiply hardships for the PML-N can-didates. Some of its influential candi-dates can change political atmosphere,whereas some of its stalwarts and publicopinion makers are struggling for an-other province.

Since the Partition, Hazara region isconsidered a stronghold of the MuslimLeague whereas its people, particularlynon-Pakhtun have proved themselvesarchrivals of nationalist forces. Politi-cians from this area have occupied im-portant offices. Late Iqbal Jadoon,Sahibzada Pir Sabir Shah and SardarMehtab Ahmad Khan have served theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa as its chief minis-ters. Whereas Habibullah Khan Tareenwas the KP Assembly speaker. GoharAyub Khan had worked in multiple ca-pacities as the National Assembly’sspeaker and foreign minister.

Nawaz Sharif remained MNA fromHazara for three times. The PML-N pres-ident calls Hazara his second home. Hisson-in-law Captain (r) Safdar is consid-

ered and treated as a member of the Shariffamily in Hazara.

With all their tall claims, most of theleading politicians and influential familiesfrom Hazara have been involved in poli-tics of horse trading and changing loyal-ties. In the past, with change ofgovernments in Islamabad and Peshawar,dozens of politicians used to change theirloyalties overnight. Even they did notbother to take their families into confi-dence. And similar is the existing situationwhereas politicians who either remainclose to Pervez Musharraf or ChaudhryShujaat Hussain or occupied importantministries recently joined the PML-Nwhereas some of them joined the PTI andJUI-F. Some of them who had served asANP ministers for five years recentlyswitched over to the PML-N and JUI-F.

Despite certain shortfalls, the PML-Nwas the biggest political force in Hazarain 2008 elections as it got four out ofseven national and five provincial assem-bly seats. The PML-N had swept on allNational Assembly seats from both Abbot-tabad and Haripur whereas PML-Q be-came victorious in Battagram and half ofMansehra. The lone NA seat from Kohis-tan went to an independent who later be-came part of then ruling PPP. The PML-Nhad won one of two NA seats fromMansehra, but in by-elections the seatwent to JUI-F. The PML-N had won fourof five KP Assembly seats in Abbottabadand only one in Haripur. The remainingseats were won by independent candi-dates, JUI-F, ANP and PML-Q. As manyas eight, a highest number of independentcandidates was elected to the provincial

assembly from Hazara in 2008 elections.This time political atmosphere in Haz-

ara is different. So far, PML-Q is not vis-ible as its top leaders such as Gohar AyubKhan, Sardar Yousaf, Wajehul ZamanKhan have joined the PML-N.

In reaction, the PML-N had lost itsmost credible and diehard ex-MNA SardarMushtaq who is now facing Omar AyubKhan on NA seat from Haripur. FormerPML-Q lawmaker Salahuddin Saeed istrying to retain his seat on a PTIticket. Former PML-Q presidentQasim Shah has challenged Sar-dar Yousaf on National Assemblyseat. Prince Nawaz is con-testing as independ-ent candidate.PML-N leaderSardar Mehtabis contestingfrom both na-tional andprovincia la s s e m b l ys e a tw h e r e a sSabir Shahis runningfor a provin-cial assemblyseat. Bothalong with ex-federal ministerAmir Muqam (whois contesting from twoprovincial and one NA seatfrom Swat) are counted amongstthe most favourite candidates of PML-N

for the chief minister’s office.In NA-17 constituency, Sardar Mehtab

is facing PTI’s Azhar Jadoon. On NA-18Murtaza Javed Abbasi is contestingagainst Baba Haider Zaman, on NA-19Omar Ayub Khan Is facing Sardar Mush-taq of PPP, on NA-20 Sardar Yousaf fac-ing JUI-F’s Qasim Shah, on NA-21 Capt(r) Safdar is facing PTI’s ShehzadaSalahuddin Saeed, on NA-22 BattagramAlamzeb Khan is facing Prince Nawaz

and on NA-23 Kohistan Aurangzebfacing JUI (F) Mehboob Jan. Like-wise is the situation on all 19provincial assembly seats whereas

PTI, JUI (F) and PPPhave fieldedstrong candi-dates. The candi-dates of other

political partieslike JI, ANPand inde-p e n d e n t scould causesetbacks tothe PML-N.

On suchg r o u n d s ,

elections inHazara region

are not easy forthe PML-N. The

PTI and BabaHaider Zaman-led

group are likely to givea real tough time to those

who were in the assemblies for thelast five years.

PtI puts Pml-n in a fix in hazara

PESHAWAR

APP

Four former chief ministers of KhyberPakhtunkhwa have accelerated theirelections campaigns to secure a seat inthe provincial legislature with mainfocus to reoccupy their past positions aschief executives of the province.

These former CMs are PML-N lead-ers Sardar Mehtab Khan and Pir SabirShah, JUI-F leader Akram Khan Durraniand Awami National Party leader AmirHaider Khan Hoti.

Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao whoruled the province twice as chief execu-tive in 1988 and 1993 is contesting forNA seat from his home districtCharsadda. His son and PML-N leaderPir Sabir Shah is contesting polls for aprovincial seat. The political observersbelieve that position of all former CMsto win election were bright keeping inview their past track record of develop-mental work and strong roots among thepeople. Sardar Mehtab, Aftab Sherpaoand Pir Sabir Shah have never lost elec-tions against the provincial seats.

Whereas Ameer Haider Hoti startedhis political career from 2008 electionsand made a debut in the provincial as-sembly and rose to the prestigious officeof chief executive owing to ANP's ma-jority in the House. Durrani ruled theprovince for five years 2002-2007 inMMA government.

Aftab Sherpao is contesting electionfrom PK-20 Charsadda-IV, a seat he hasbeen winning since 1988. Sherpao twiceretained his provincial seat in the past

when he got opportunity to becomeChief Minister of the province while in2002 and 2008 elections he retained hisNA-8 constituency. The QWP chief isalso in the field for NA-8 Charsadda-2constituency where he has been chal-lenged by Taimur Khan of ANP and Je-hanzeb Dhaki of PTI.

Against Sherpao, the PakistanPeople’s Party had awardedticket to Wasifullah Khan, JUI-F has nominated Qamar Shahand JI has fielded AbdulMatan from theconstituency. In2008 elections,Sherpao hadwon from thisconstituencyby a narrowmargin of670 votesas he hadsecured30,625votesagainstANP'sBashirUmarzai(29,951). Ironi-cally, despite seatadjustment betweenQWP and JUI-F for NA-7Charsadda-I against ANP ChiefAsfandyar Wali Khan and few provincialassemblies' seats, both parties have leftNA-8 open. The QWP and JUI (F) havejoined hands in Charsadda against ANPchief Asfandyar Wali Khan to give him

tough time as both the parties have con-siderable vote bank in the area.

Similarly, former CM SardarMehtab is contesting election from NA-17 Abbottabad-I and PK-45, the con-stituencies he had never lost from thetime he was in politics therefore he en-joys a slight psychological edge over

his rival candidates. In elections2008, Sardar Mehtab had con-tested election on a PML-Nticket and defeated independent

Dr Azhar Jadoonby obtaining58,045 votesagainst his op-ponent 36668

votes. DrJadoon isagain in thefieldagainstMehtabfrom theplatformof Pak-

istanTehreek-e-

Insaf wherethe political

pundits are ex-pecting a close

fight between the twoarchrivals. Similarly,

JUI-F leader Akram Durrani,who was elected as chief minister ofKP after MMA has swept the 2002 gen-eral elections in the province, is con-testing election from PK-70 and NA-26Bannu. The mainstream political par-

ties had fielded strong candidatesagainst Durrani but the real contest willbe between Durrani and Prof. Ibrahim,head of Jamaat Islami KP.

Durrani had left this seat for hisparty chief Fazlur Rehman in the lastelection and the latter won it with a greatmargin 91,884 votes against MalikNaseerullah Khan 56,646 votes.

Another former CM Sabir Shah iscontesting elections from PK-52 com-prising of Darban Qanungo Halka ofHaripur, Ghazi Tehsil and Khalabat(Kachi, Beer, Pind Khan Khel, andKakotri villages) and is considered a po-tential candidate for 2013 polls. He hasbeen winning his seat since 1988.

In 2008, Shah had defeated FaisalZaman, now PTI candidate with a closemargin of 739 votes as Pir Sabir Shahbagged 22,614 votes against FaisalZaman (21,975 votes. Former CMAmeer Haider will try his luck fromNA-9 Mardan-1 and PK-23 on ANPticket and his real electoral battle wouldbe against PML-N leader MuhammadKhan Hoti and JUI-F leader ShujaulMulk while PPP candidate Shazia Aur-ganzaib can also surprise many.

Haider Hoti had won PK-23 Mardanin last elections. Khawaja Hoti wasposing a serious threat to Haider as faras elections are concerned as he has asignificant vote bank in the constituency.

Khawaja Hoti had won NA-9 Mar-dan on ANP ticket by securing 31,075votes against PPP candidate KhanzadaKhan (24,217) votes. Later, KhawajaHoti resigned after developing differ-ences with ANP and joined the PML-N.

abdul QadIrgIlanI’s guardstorture Pml-nworkers

MULTAN

INP

Abdul Qadir Gilani’s security guards onSaturday allegedly tortured Pakistan Mus-lim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers overa dispute while police also recovered a9mm pistol from the former premier’sson’s vehicle. According to police, the pistol was recov-ered allegedly from a Land Cruiser ownedby Gilani, during checking. The driver andGilani’s secretary were present at the timeof the search, both of whom were detained.The former prime minister’s son is Pak-istan Peoples Party’s (PPP) candidate fromNA-151.Meanwhile, security guards and workers ofAbdul Qadir Gilani resorted to aerial firingand tortured PML-N supporters over a dis-pute on removing party flag. Following the incident residents of the areastaged a protest against the Gilani familyfor alleged torture and blocked Band BosanChowk in Multan.Police reached the spot and brought the sit-uation under control. Local people de-manded the Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP) to take action against peo-ple involved in aerial firing.

Four former KP CMs are in election race

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:31 AM Page 8

News N

09

sunday 28 April, 2013

fire guts 60shops, 70 cabinsin gujranwalaGUJRANWALA: A massive fire caused by

electric short circuiting early Saturday

morning gutted at least 60 shops and 70

cabins. According to rescue sources, the

fire erupted due to electric short circuiting

at a UPS shop in Qaisra Bazaar of

Gujranwala. The fire engulfed neighboring

shops as well. Strong winds further

escalated the fire which engulfed the

entire market. Fire tenders and rescue

workers, owners of shops and local people

rushed the scene to put out the fire to

minimise loss. However, firemen faced

problems dousing out the fire because of

the narrow streets of the congested

market. The fire was extinguished after

hectic efforts of over two and half hours.

At least 60 shops and 70 cabins were

gutted causing damage worth millions of

rupees. Locals and shops owners

complained that the damage could have

been contained but rescue teams arrived

to the scene too late. They complained

that they had been calling the fire

department for hours but to no avail. The

affectees demanded the provincial

government to take action against the

authorities concerned for negligence and

asked for compensation of their losses. INP

kidnapped formerbalochistanminister rescuedQUETTA: Abducted former Balochistan

minister, Sultan Tareen, was rescued from

his kidnappers on Saturday. According to

details, Sultan Tareen was released from

the Qilla Abdullah area in Balochistan.

According to the family sources, Tareen

was rescued by joint efforts of tribal

elders and local administration and he

reached home in Harnai. The former

minister was kidnapped by some

unidentified gunmen from the Kachlak

area last month when he was going to

Pishin from Quetta. Sources said the

minister was released by kidnappers after

payment of ransom. However, Tareen’s

brother and the administration have

denied the claim. INP

surgeon kidnappedin ChamanCHAMAN: Unknown miscreants

kidnapped Dr Mubashir Ahsan at

gunpoint on Saturday. According to

Levies sources, Dr Mubbashir Ahsan, a

surgeon of Civil Hospital Chaman as per

routine left the house for morning walk.

When he came out of his house the

kidnappers abducted him. Dr Ahsan

showed resistance but the kidnappers

took him in the vehicle. The security

forces getting the information placed a

strict cordoned off and launched search

operation but the abductors managed to

escape. Meanwhile, doctors across the

district held protests against the

kidnapping of senior fellow. All state-run

hospitals were locked down. Dr Akhtar,

MS Civil Hospital said that attempts

were made in the past also to abduct

doctors. He said that Dr Ahsan’s family

got a call from abductors, who

threatened to kill him. INP

sC to hear petitionsagainst nab chiefISLAMABAD: A larger Supreme Court

bench has been formed to take up

petitions against the appointment of Fasih

Bokhari as NAB chief. The five-member

bench, led by Justice Tassaduq Hussain

Jilani, will hear petitions on Monday. The

bench includes Justice Nasirul Mulk,

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Sardmad

Jalal Usmani and Justice Amir Hani.

Chaudhry Nisar and Shahid Orakzai had

challenged Bokhari’s appointment. INP

WASHINGTON

ONlINE

IN the late 1970s, Central Intelli-gence Agency had informationthat China might have provided afairly comprehensive package of

proven nuclear weapons design informa-tion to Pakistan, a recently declassifieddocument has revealed. According to re-cently declassified CIA data obtained bythe National Security Archive under theFreedom of Information Act, the CIAhad evidence suggesting close Pakistan-China nuclear cooperation to the point offacilitating a nuclear weapons capability,although the intelligence communitysaw this as possibly a special case basedon an alliance that had existed since1963. "This allegation has come up be-fore, for example in a State Departmentdocument and in major news stories butthis is the first time the CIA has releasedsome of its own information," accordingto the set of two documents obtained by

the National Security Archive. "The esti-mate highlights some of the main devel-opments, including "verbal consent (in1974) to help Pakistan de-velop a 'nuclear blast' ca-pability", "hedged andconditional commit-ment" in 1976 toprovide nuclearweapons tech-nology, andunspecifiedexcised infor-mation thatraised the"possibilitythat China hasprovided a fairlycomprehensivepackage of provennuclear weapon de-sign information", theNSA said. "Even withoutChinese help, the Pakistanis coulddevelop a nuclear weapon, but access to

Chinese weapons design and test datamight be crucial in establishing Islam-

abad's confidence in an untestedweapons capability," said a

1983 national intelligenceestimate of the CIA,

which is heavily ex-cised. The ex-

changes may nothave been one-way and thereference toChinese "in-volvement" inPakistan's ura-nium enrich-

ment pro-gramme

probably refers togas centrifuge tech-

nology, which Pak-istan shared with the

Chinese, it noted. Signifi-cant portions of the document cov-

ering technology sharing are excised, but

more may be learned if additional detailsare released under appeal, the NSAadded. With nuclear proliferation a pol-icy priority for the Jimmy Carter admin-istration, and Pakistan already a specialconcern, the possibility that China andPakistan were sharing nuclear weapons-related information began worrying USgovernment officials, NSA said. How-ever, the CIA had no hard evidence--andthe soft evidence that concerned them ismassively excised in the December1979 report just as Beijing and Wash-ington were normalising relations-so the"precise nature and extent of this coop-eration is uncertain", the NSA said."These concerns did not go away duringthe Reagan administration. While nu-clear proliferation was not a top priority,the administration was apprehensiveabout the implications of the spread ofnuclear capabilities and that China mayhave been aiding and abetting some po-tential proliferators by selling non-safe-guarded nuclear materials," NSA said.

China provided nuclear weaponsdesigns to Pakistan: CIa report

declassifieddata reveals CIa had

evidence suggesting closepakistan-China nuclear

cooperation to the pointof facilitating nuclear

weapons capability

CHINIOT: River Chenab has dried up as India has blocked water to one of the main rivers of Pakistan’s Punjab province. INP

LONDON

INP

After the Ministry of Defence confirmed the UK'suse of armed drones in Afghanistan, anti-war protes-tors gathered outside an RAF base in Lincolnshire.The RAF began remotely operating its Reaper un-manned aerial vehicles deployed to Afghanistan fromthe Lincolnshire airbase earlier this week. Previouslyoperated from a United States Air Force base in Ne-vada, the aircraft are used to support coalition groundforces in Afghanistan. Drone missionsover Afghanistan have been flown byRAF pilots operating on British soilfor the first time The hi-tech Reaperdrones are primarily used to gather intelligenceon enemy activity on the ground, but they alsocarry 500lb bombs and Hellfire mis-siles for precision strikes on insur-gents. In a statement issued onThursday, the RAF said it hadcommenced supporting the International Security As-sistance Force and Afghan ground troops with "armedintelligence and surveillance missions" remotely pi-

loted from RAF Waddington. Members of the StopThe War Coalition, CND, The Drone Campaign Net-work and War on Want will march from Lincoln tothe nearby RAF Waddington base. The organisers ofthe protest march and rally claimed that drones madeit easier for politicians to launch military interven-tions and have increased civilian casualties. Com-menting ahead of the protest, War on Want seniorcampaigns officer Rafeef Ziadahsaid, "Drones, controlled faraway from conflict zones,

ease politicians' decisions to launch military strikesand order extrajudicial assassinations, without demo-cratic oversight or accountability to the public. "Nowis the time to ban killer drones - before it is too late."Stop the War Coalition Vice Chairman Chris Nine-ham claimed that drones were being used to continuethe "deeply unpopular War on Terror" with no publicscrutiny. A majority of the British public supportedthe United Kingdom government aiding the UnitedStates target and kill known terrorists with drone

strikes, a surveypublished earlier inMarch suggested.

However backing forthe controversial practise

dropped significantly if they were told civil-ians would be injured or killed in the attacks. Thefindings came in a joint study from the University ofSurrey's Centre for International Intervention and de-fence think-tank the Royal United Services Institute(RUSI) in collaboration with YouGov. The Ministryof Defence has defended its use of drones inAfghanistan, which it says have saved the lives ofcountless military personnel and civilians.

Protests after UK confirmsusing drones in Afghanistan

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:31 AM Page 9

karachi’s enigmaKarachi generates about two-thirds of revenue of Pakistanand thus plays an important role in building the economy ofthe country. An unstable Karachi means an unstablePakistan. Karachi’s major problem is its dense population,which needs resources to be provided to citizens to controlsecurity issues. The second problem of Karachi is its beingmini-Pakistan, in which people from all over the countryare living, although controlling different communities is adifficult task for law-enforcement agencies.

The third problem of Karachi is the law and order situationwhich becomes difficult for security agencies to maintain. The

fourth major problem of the city is sectarian violence anddiscrimination of people on the basis of caste and religion.As mentioned above, different languages are spoken anddifferent people from inside Pakistan are living in Karachi.

Different parties have been formed on the basis ofreligion and caste and, as a consequence, these have createdproblems for citizens who are forced to observe strikes andwheel-jams. All these affect the economy of Pakistan veryseriously. Moreover, as a result of targeted killings manypeople have lost their lives. Therefore, the government andlaw-enforcement agencies should do their best in order toovercome Karachi’s acute law and order problem.

YUSRA SHAKILKarachi

CoMMeNT

Aziz-ud-Din AhmadEditor

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

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

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

C

Complaints over musharraf’s handling are needlessunjustified protest

Justice and Islam

attack on sarabjit singh

S ARABJIT Singh was perhaps the most high profile Indian prisoner being held inPakistan’s jails. The fact that the death row prisoner was attacked while in KotLakpat Jail and is now fighting for his life is beyond ridiculous. Jail authorities are

aware that Indian prisoners remain at the centre of diplomacy between the two countriesand Sarabjit was a special prisoner at that, with an almost 23 year long internationalcampaign around securing his freedom. With today having been declared crucial for hissurvival, Pakistan risks another diplomatic tussle with India if Sarabjit Singh dies.

With protests having erupted in Jammu in Indian-administered Kashmir, it appearsthat prison authorities were unaware of the diplomatic consequences of not uppingsecurity for Sarabjit after a tussle occurred in the jail involving him in the last week. Theformer Indian foreign minister SM Krishna has asked the Indian government to lodge astrong protest with Pakistan and that such brutality has “no place in a civilized world.”The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also chipped in his two bits and calledit a “very sad” incident. For those who do not remember, earlier on June 26, 2912, newsof Sarabjit’s release was flashed by news outlets before it emerged his name had beenmistaken. His sister, Dilip Kaur, had also visited Pakistan to attempt lobby Pakistaniauthorities to release him. She and three other members of Sarabjit’s family have beenissued immediate visit visas to attempt to dissipate the consequences.

However, it is beyond one’s imagination, why Kot Lakpat jail authorities and theHome Department had not responded to the “threats” Singh’s lawyers reported afterKashmiri separatist, Afzal Guru, was hanged in New Dehli. The Human RightsCommission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also condemned the “dastardly act” and called onthe government to start an inquiry into the matter and punish the guilty. Singh had beensentenced to death in 1990, a sentence upheld by the Supreme Court (SC), over spyingand being involved in an attack in Punjab in which 14 people were killed. Thecontroversial sentence was also upheld after former president Pervez Musharraf alsorefused Sarabjit’s mercy petition. Singh’s family has continued to maintain that he was afarmer who accidentally crossed the border while drunk, as so many others do. Matterspertaining to a possible release were complicated by the last high profile Indian prisonerto be released, who claimed he was a spy as soon as he crossed the border, but then whatis the value of a spy after 20 years in prison? Sarabjit was for India like Afzal Guru forPakistan – perhaps even more. An attempted murder case against two prisoners and thesuspension of two jail officials are an inadequate response to the brutal attack on him.Accountability should be higher to save the diplomatic impasse between the two countries.

T HE armed forces all over the world enjoys esteem for being the guardian of thecountry’s geographical frontiers. On account of its peculiar training and a varietyof offensive and defensive equipment put at its disposal, it is also called out by

the civil administration for help in emergencies. The military can deal with the complexchallenges only if it is well-trained, well-equipped and is highly professional. It must notindulge in any other activity, least of all in time consuming politics – a vocation it isneither meant to indulge in nor is it trained for, if it is to perform its duties satisfactorily.The military is required to be subservient to the civilian authority, all the more so indemocracies. Like other institutions and agencies of the state, the military has to act inaccordance with the constitution and abide by the country’s laws. Unless it does so itsprestige would undergo slippage. Article 244 of Pakistan’s Constitution requiresmembers of the armed forces to take oath to “uphold the Constitution of the IslamicRepublic of Pakistan which embodies the will of the people” and not to engage “in anypolitical activities whatsoever” and to “honestly and faithfully serve Pakistan in thePakistan Army (or Navy or Air Force) as required by and under the law.” Unfortunatelyfour generals with Bonapartist tendencies violated their oath and staged military coups.

A delegation of 75 officers from Command and Staff College, Quetta, led by a seniorofficer, reportedly met the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence onFriday and expressed concern over the arrest of the former president. Musharraf was thelast general to violate the constitution. There are serious cases registered against himwhich include putting the Supreme Court judges under arrest and being involved inBenazir Bhutto’s murder. The fact that one is an ex-officer of the armed forces does notprovide him immunity from law. Knowing that these cases were pending against him,Musharraf decided to return and face the courts. Musharraf is assisted by capable lawyersand has all the opportunities available under law to prove himself innocent. The treatmentmeted out to him is by no means humiliating as has been claimed. The law requires arrestand questioning of those accused of serious crimes. There is in fact a perception in certainsections that he is being pampered as he has been allowed, against common practice, tostay and be questioned at his Islamabad farm house instead of the police station. Musharrafhas decided to enter politics. Why should he not be treated like other politicians?

We have condemned the hooliganism and violence outside the court at the time ofMusharraf’s appearance. Being under the protection of numerous well-armed FC andpolice personnel Musharraf did not need the presence of slogan shouting supporters, thusprovoking his opponents to join the competition that was bound to degenerate into anunseemly melee.

sunday, 28 April, 2013

10

according to god’s islam in the quran

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily

admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart

without words than words without a heart. –Mahatma Gandhi

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

SINCE the Constitution saysthat Pakistan is an Islamicrepublic it becomes incum-bent upon the State to followGod’s Islam in the Quran.

Very important is God’s injunction not tohate someone so much that you cannot dojustice to him. Those who don’t under-stand this have to be flawed Muslims.

If this Divine advice applies to allState institutions it is reflected in execu-tive and judicial procedures and judg-ments. They have to realize that they toowill be judged one day, if not on earththen certainly in Heaven where the Judgewill be God, the ultimate Chief Justice.Those who understand this recognizetheir cosmic insignificance and don’ttake themselves too seriously. Such peo-ple aren’t pompous, obsessed with pro-tocol, pomp and panoply. They know thatwhen they appear in God’s Court theywill be alone so they should not playmini-god in their own little courts forGod knows all and He knows best.

This is not to say that dispensingjustice is not indispensible, but done in-judiciously, with partiality, without dueprocess, balance and equity, not re-maining within the parameters of God’slaws in a state based on religion makesjustice a deficient pantomime and ab-horrent to the Almighty.

We call ourselves an Islamic republicbut in essence we are neither. But sinceour constitution says so we have no op-tion but to go on hypocritically pretend-ing that Pakistan is Islamic and arepublic. Actually, it has become a crim-inal state where rulers loot the people; amodel of what a modern Islamic Stateand republic ought not to be. Whilehypocrisy is a grave sin in Islam, wehave hypocritically created a two-facedfacade of an Islamic state where theessence of Islam is missing. Instead, wor-ship of the Golden Calf is the essencebased on ‘might is right’ and flourishing.We have created the deceitful facade ofBritish parliamentary democracy but theessence of democracy is missing. Insteaddynasticism is the essence and thriving.

I am talking of God’s Islam in theQuran, not its myriad interpretationsfoisted on us by de facto clerics mas-querading as scholars. God’s Islam isabout the inalienable rights of His Cre-ations, especially of Man. It is about wel-fare, societal balance or adl, realdemocracy, egalitarianism, justice, equityand due process. The Quran is a code oflife, thus it is not only spiritual but secularand worldly too. It is about God and hisUnity and the wellbeing and welfare ofMan, his right to life, liberty and the pur-suit of happiness, equal opportunities, a

dignified life, his right to develop his mindto its fullest potential and so much more.

Amongst Man’s many obligations isto choose his leadership from his com-munity and choose from amongst thebest. Pakistan has consistently failed inthis and continuously chooses fromamongst the worst. Our human conditionis pathetic to the point of defying de-scription and getting worse. We wronglytranslate our name ‘Pakistan’ as ‘Land ofthe Pure’. Instead, we are ruled by theimpure and have become the ‘Land ofthe Poor’ – poor in every respect, not justmaterially but in Faith, mind and values.

Instead of living up to what we sopompously claim, we thoughtlessly holdour much-mutilated constitution thatspews alien colonial systems so dearthat one would imagine that it is a divinebook, not one made by feeble, self-serv-ing man designed to keep all the leversof power in the hands of a small rulingclass that preys on the people – “Eaglessnatch the morsels of the weak,” saidthe poet Faiz. “Whenever the flesh ofworkers is sold in bazaars and the bloodof the poor flows on the streets, such avolcano erupts in my breast that I cannotdescribe. I lose control over my heart.”

It is vital for a State to have a workableconstitution that delivers and ensures soci-etal balance, the dispensation of real jus-tice and good governance. Some 23,000cases are pending before the SupremeCourt while some 2.6 million await hear-ing in the entire judiciary. Many under trialprisoners have spent more time in prisonthan they would have had they been con-victed. Is this justice Islamic style – im-prison God’s greatest Creation and throwaway the key? Is this justice any style?

A constitution is based on a people’ssocial contract and is the basic law fromwhich all laws and systems emanate. Butit is neither more important than God’s lawnor the State it is supposed to serve. Ifthere were no State there would be no con-stitution. If the State falls the constitutionfalls. If the constitution falls the State stilllives and could get a better constitution.When a constitution starts harming a Stateand its citizens, it must either be correctedor a new one made based on our originalsocial contract, Mr. Jinnah’s speech of Au-gust 11, 1947 that was shelved and re-placed by the Objectives Resolutiondetermining two years after achieving theobjective why we had sought it. Ridicu-lous. We have changed our constitution 20times so far, but only for the worse.

Everyone should not only read God’slaw but also try and understand it, partic-ularly those who are makers of laws anddispensers of justice in an Islamic state.To understand the concept of justice anddue process in Islam read and reflect onverses 36:65, 24:24 and 41:19-23in theQuran. God says that on the Day of Judg-ment He will call our hands and feet, astoo our skins, hearing and sight as wit-nesses “as to [our] deeds.”

Why does God who knows every-thing need to call witnesses? To showhow important due process is, that everysoul be satisfied that justice has beendone to it because it has been judged onthe basis of incontrovertible evidence. Ifthe Almighty needs to follow due process,who the hell is puny Man not to follow itmeticulously regardless of the accused’sstation in life? If all are equal before Godthey have to be equal before judges.

On Judgment Day we will be judgedby our deeds, our intentions behind themand the amount of knowledge we havegained, digested, understood and actedupon. God couldn’t care less if we wereking or chief judge, how much wealth weaccumulated. What matters is how hon-estly we discharged our responsibilitiesand what we did with the wealth en-trusted to us by Him, for all wealth be-longs to the Almighty some of which hegives to us as a trust to spend on ourselvessensibly and on those in need. It is a verysocialist concept except that in Islam allwealth belongs to God who is Perfectwhile in socialism it belongs to the Statethat is made and run by imperfect man.

You decide: do our State and its sys-tems, particularly its various justice sys-tems run along Islamic lines? Do ourjustice systems measure up to states notbased on religion? Is the constitution moreimportant or the State? Do the beneficiar-ies of the status quo equate the State withthe constitution to preserve their benefits?Whether there are millions of under trialprisoners awaiting trial while the powerfulget stay orders and are qualified to contestelections to hold leadership positionswhile the relatively weak are disqualified?Where huge defaulters get away to occupypositions in which they can continueadding to their ill-gotten wealth? Answertruthfully and hang your head in shame.Then they expect us to choose fromamongst the best when they ensure thatonly the worst are on offer.

Is it impartial for a judge to suggestthat if a citizen files a petition before us toask the State to try someone for treason, oris it incitement? Is it impartial for a judgeto get stroppy when the government does-n’t do so or is it overstepping? Yet it wasgood that Justice Jawad Khwaja said inGeneral Musharraf’s case: “We will dojustice in a way that justice will be seen tohave been done. We will give [a] verdictkeeping in view [the] law and [the] Con-stitution…Only those stand scared who arenot with the truth…There should be nodouble standards. Discrimination betweenthe haves and have-nots should come to anend now. The era of lords is no more here.”

Big words indeed, but why would aSupreme Court judge have to say this in anormal country where it is understood toprevail? Because some judges are awarethat justice doesn’t always prevail, thatthere are misgivings about judicial impar-tiality. It gives the cat away but it’s goodthat some judges are sensitive to these con-cerns. In saying, ‘discrimination betweenthe haves and have-nots should come to anend now” is an inadvertent admission thatsuch discrimination exists. But the “era oflords” still persists; perhaps the good judgewas expressing a desire.

These words will only become bigwhen they are translated into action,though one should thank the judge foreven saying so in a country where hardlyanyone does. Only when judges live upto this claim will we know who really isscared of the truth and who is not.

Ask yourself one more question. Atthe cusp of elections, why is terrorism in-creasing in all provinces except in the Pun-jab? Coincidence? Or is suo moto meantonly for a pretty girl’s alleged bottles?

The writer is a political analyst.He can be contacted athumayun.gauhar786@gmail.com

humAyuN GAuhAR

how the high-profile indian prisoner was notgiven adequate security must be identified

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:31 AM Page 10

CoMMeNT Csunday, 28 April, 2013

11Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light

can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only

love can do that. –Martin Luther King, Jr.

Acase, which was all too eventual,seeking the initiation of HighTreason proceedings against General(retd.) Pervez Musharraf, has been

filed and is pending adjudication before thehonorable Supreme Court. In fact, five distinctpetitions, asking the honorable Supreme Court to‘direct’ the commencement of Musharraf’s trialunder Article 6 of the Constitution, are beingheard by a three-member bench of the apexCourt, comprising of Justice Khawaja, JusticeKhilji and Justice Afzal. And resultantly, as iscustomary in Pakistan, the media waves are abuzzwith chatter about the merits of a High Treasoncharge against the retired General, along with thepossibility and consequences of his conviction.

But before delving into any such debate, it ispertinent to clarify the law that governs the issueof High Treason in Pakistan.

The ‘crime’ and guilt of ‘High Treason’ hasbeen defined in Article 6 of the Constitution ofPakistan. By way of background, it is significantto note that Article 6 is an innovation of the 1973Constitution. The previous two Constitutions,those of 1956 and 1962, did not contain any pro-vision relating to high treason. However, andwisely so, with the experience of two constitu-tional abrogations (in 1958 and 1969), theframers of the 1973 Constitution incorporatedArticle 6 into the constitutional paradigm.Specifically, Article 6(1), declares that “any per-son who abrogates or subverts or suspends orholds in abeyance“ the Constitution of Pakistan,or “attempts or conspires” to do the same to be“guilty of high treason”. Furthermore, Article6(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan declares any-one who ‘aides or abets’ such acts, shall also beguilty of high treason, and that no such acts shallby validated by any court (Article 6(2A)).Thereafter, Article 6(3) of the Constitution stip-ulates that the Parliament “shall by law, providefor the punishment of persons found guilty ofhigh treason”. And, pursuant to Article 6(3), theParliament has made a law, The High Treason(Punishment) Act, 1973, which in section 2, de-

clares the punishment for high treason to be“death or imprisonment for life”. Additionally,section 3 of the High Treason Act mandates that“no court shall take cognizance of an offencepunishable under this act except upon a com-plaint in writing made by a person authorized bythe Federal Government in this behalf.”

Consequently, in explicit terms, the law re-quires that only the Federal Government,through an authorized person, has the powerand the prerogative to initiate high treason pro-ceedings. (An amendment to section 3 of theHigh Treason Act, allowing “any citizen” tomake “a complaint” was proposed in 2010, butthis was never enacted into the law). It is alsopertinent to mention that it is unclear what thenature of these proceedings might be. In theabsence of established domestic jurisprudenceor framework for a trial of high treason, thereis ambiguity as to what a charge of high treasonwould entail, how would it be prosecuted, howwould the jurisdiction of courts work in this re-gard, and on what standard of proof would thedefence have to substantiate.

The fact that it is the only the Federal Gov-ernment, and not the courts, that can take cog-nizance of and initiate high treason proceedings,was recently affirmed in the landmark judgmentof the honorable Supreme Court, in the case ofPakistan Lawyers Forum v. Federation of Pak-istan (PLD 2005 SC 719). In response to thePetitioners urging that the Supreme Court “takecognizance of the matter [of High Treason, pur-suant to Article 6 of the Constitution] and initiatea prosecution against the President” the Courtdeclared that, in the absence of a written refer-ence filed by the Federal Government (througha duly authorized person), “it is not the functionof the Courts of law” to take up such proceedingsthemselves. The same principle was also appliedearlier in the case of Muhammad Nawaz Sharifv. Federation of Pakistan (PLD 1993 SC 473).

Under the High Treason Act, the Secretaryof Interior is authorized (through an instrumentdated some decades back), as the person who,on behalf of the Federal Government, can initi-ate the proceedings of high treason against anyindividual. However, in the present circum-stances, despite the return of General (retd.)Musharraf, the caretaker Federal Governmentseems to have made a conscious decision to notfile a complaint under section 3 of the HighTreason Punishment Act 1973, and wants toavoid the issue, leaving it for the newly electedGovernment to pursue, once takes charge.

In this backdrop, the case before theSupreme Court prays for a direction to be givento the interim Government to start such pro-ceedings, without hiding behind any ‘excuses’(in the spirit of let justice be done, though heav-ens may fall). The defence, on the other hand,is resisting such a direction, taking numerouspleas ranging from bias within the bench, to

non-impleadment of those who ‘aided and abet-ted’ the actions of General Musharraf, raisingobjections to the dicta of July 31st, 2009 judg-ment (Sindh High Court Bar Association case),and even arguing that such a direction by thehonorable Supreme Court will amount an abro-gation of a prerogative that law has exclusivelyreserved for the executive. As a result, the ef-fective constitutional issue before the court iswhether, under Article 184, the honorableSupreme Court can ‘direct’ the Federal Govern-ment to initiate such proceedings – emulating,essentially, the ‘justice of peace’ powers of aSessions Judge (under section 22-A and 22-Bof the Criminal Procedure Code) to register anF.I.R., in case the police is refusing to do so.

There can be no denial of the fact that Gen-eral Musharraf has played havoc with the consti-tutional fabric of our nation, and that he shouldhave to pay for his deeds (part of which, at least,he already is paying for). However, the impulseof revenge and a desire to see the General fallmust be balanced against the requirements of lawand mandate of the Constitution. Expanding thecontours of law, through interpretation, to incor-porate powers such as those of ‘justice of peace’(which in themselves are perhaps unconstitu-tional, for being in violation of the doctrine ofseparation of power, under Article 175 of theConstitution), is not nearly the appropriate rem-edy in this case. The desire to see Musharraf be-hind bars (or hung?) is not sufficient in itself todisregard the mandate of law. The absence ofpolitical will, as lamentable as it is, cannot besubstituted with an infusion of judicial mettle.And that too, in a case as sensitive and funda-mental, as one concerning high treason.

It would perhaps be prudent to learn, in thisregard, from the experience of other countriesthat have tried individuals for high treason. InTurkey, for example, high treason proceedings,against Adnan Menderes and Abdullah Öcalan,were protracted, deliberate and still controver-sial. In fact, even 20 years after the conviction,the European Court of Human Rights ruled thatTurkey had violated Article 3, 5, and 6 of the Eu-ropean Convention of Human Rights by grantingÖcalan no effective remedy of appeal.

We must resist the temptation to make simi-lar mistakes. The national and judicial resolve,in regards to the due process of law, is tested themost when applied to those who we despite as anation. Still, the endeavor of law is to ensure thatjustice, to the most vile, is not turned into alynching process. And that the letter and spirit ofthe law be followed, even more conscientiouslywhen trying the villains. This, is the real test of‘let justice be done, though heavens may fall.’

The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore. Hehas a Masters in Constitutional Law fromHarvard Law School. He can be reached at:saad@post.harvard.edu

trying for treason

SAAd RASOOl

quick fix or long term solution?Compulsory voting

FOUR decadesand nine elec-tions later andthe statistics forpolitical en-

gagement among the popu-lace of this country present ableak picture. For the eightelections which have beenconducted in the presentstate of Pakistan, without itseastern wing, the averagevoter turnout has been alowly 44.78 per cent, asgleaned from statistics gath-ered from IDEA (Institutefor Democracy and Electoral Assistance) and 45.3 per cent accordingto the ECP, placing Pakistan in the lowest rungs of voter participation.

A voter turnout this low is not the most frantic nod of legiti-macy a government could ask for. Compare the same withBangladesh, which having conducted the same number of electionssince its independence has managed to bring up its rate of voterparticipation to an average of 63.70 per cent, with a significant85.26 per cent of registered voters coming out to vote in the lastgeneral elections held in 2008, compared to 44.58 per cent in Pak-istan for the same year. The contrast is disturbing. For a democracy,the status quo must change, the voter turnout must increase to givecoming government’s greater legitimacy and be held accountableby a greater number of people. Many have touted compulsory vot-ing as the solution to our chronically low voter turnout, but is itreally all that and does it have its own downsides?

Commentators cite a host of reasons for this abysmally lowvoter turnout. A lack of ownership of government and governmentdecisions felt by the population at large has often been cited as in-stilling a sense of political apathy among Pakistanis. A people who,time and again, feel that while their vote might help people getelected to the legislature, their voices certainly do not ring loud inthe same legislatures. The feeling that the ruling classes do nothave the interest of the masses close to their hearts has set inamong Pakistanis, spurring a sort of lazy apathy towards democ-racy, which tends to manifest itself through a low voter turnout.

Poll day violence too is often an important deciding factor invoter turnout. However important the vote might be, it is still notas important as life and limb.

Then of course there is the lack of female participation in thepolitical process in Pakistan. Having been to a number of politicalrallies and gatherings in the past few weeks, I have noticed an al-most unnerving lack of any women at such gatherings. Pakistan’smale chauvinism is on full display in the marked difference in par-ticipation among genders in the political process.

What then can be done to fix this very fundamental problem facingthe budding democracy in this country? One solution on offer is theimposition of compulsory voting as is the case in a number of coun-tries around the world. Proponents of compulsory voting often cite thehigh voter turnout in countries such as Australia, Belgium, the Nether-lands where for all three, voter turnout is higher than 90 per cent. Toapply the same to Pakistan, however, would be a failure in compar-isons and more importantly, intelligence. Six out of the seven countrieswith compulsory voting which have voter turnouts greater than 90 percent have a GDP per capita higher than $20,000, the seventh beingUruguay which is close to that number at $15,786. A higher GDP, cor-relates strongly with strong institutions, which are necessary for im-plementing any sort of punishment for not voting. As it is, institutionsare to Pakistan what honesty is to thieves, an oxymoron.

A country where the writ of the state is shaky at best, imple-menting a mechanism to penalize Election Day offenders wouldbe difficult at best. In that regard, Sindh and Punjab might be easiernuts to crack than KPK or Balochistan, both provinces which arein the grips of civil war. I would imagine trying to get the penaltyout of someone in Loralai might present some minor inconven-iences to the person assigned the said task.

An important question that arises from this this is that whetherthe state has any right in the first place to force people out of theirhouses on Election Day? Would it be an infringement of our rightof choice for the government to force our vote out? Or does greaterlegitimacy offered by a greater turnout outweigh any such minorinfringement of our choice to stay away from the polling booth?

From that concern stems another one. Forcing people to vote willmean bringing to the booth those people who have an absolute zerointerest in politics or governance. The politically uninformed personis not a rarity, people harbour all sorts of interest and it is only fairif someone holds very little interest in the political process. Al-though, to be fair, for something that touches our lives in so manyways, we ought to be fairly well informed about the political processbut that is still choice at the end of the day. Bad, uninformed choicesare bound to be made when you bring the political zombie to vote.Who is to say that a nice bit of fiery rhetoric near Election Day won’tbe the deciding factor for such a voter and if that is indeed the case,we ought to look at compulsory voting with some caution.

With regards to statistics, the world’s average voter turnout forcountries with a parliamentary system of elections and which alsopractice compulsory voting stands at around 78 per cent, compared toan average voter turnout of 70 per cent for countries without compul-sory voting. The payoff from implementing compulsory voting, on theaverage is quite low, around seven per cent. Instead of looking at thisoption which provides such a small dividend, we ought to look at andtry to fix the fundamentals that result in Pakistan’s low voter turnoutrather than looking for quick fixes such as compulsory voting.

Hopefully, this time around, given the charged political atmos-phere, the voter turnout will increase substantially. Should that nothappen, we must pause and reflect and not have a knee jerk reac-tion that might bring such a drastic change to our voting process.

The writer can be contacted at abdullah.humayun@gmail.com.Tweet@Ahshafi

let justice be done, though heavens may fall

AbdullAh humAyuN

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:32 AM Page 11

amitabh set to shootpromo of kbC 7

NEWS DESK: Megastar Amitabh

Bachchan is geared up to shoot

the promos of the seventh sea-

son of popular quiz show, Kaun

Banega Crorepati (KBC). "I

have to start shooting for the

promos of the next season of

KBC!!! Gosh! But it just got over...

ah well, life moves fast and furi-

ous," Amitabh posted on his Twitter

page. The 70-year-old has

hosted five seasons of the

show, except for the third

edition, which was hosted

by superstar Shah Rukh

Khan. The show, based on

international show, ‘Who

Wants To Be A Millionaire’,

is aired on Sony TV.

Franco toreplace JudeLaw in biopic?

NEWS DESK

Hollywood actor JamesFranco is said to be in talksto replace actor Jude Lawin director Werner Her-zog's "Queen of theDesert", a biopic onwriter-explorer GertrudeBell. The film's narrativefollows the life of Bell, whowas even a political attachefor the British empire. Shewas considered a trail-blazer at the turn ofthe 20th century.Franco is likely toplay the historicalfigure's lover HenryCadogan, withwhom she wasuntil his untimelydeath, reports fe-malefirst.co.uk.Franco will staralongside actressNaomi Watts, whowill play the his-toric writer and ar-chaeologist. Thefilm also featuresRobert Pattinson.

arts

Asunday, 28 April, 2013

12I'm in competition with myselfand I'm losing. –Roger Waters

tatum andgordon-levitt to starin ‘guys and dolls’

NEWS DESK: Channing Tatum and

Joseph Gordon-Levitt are set to

take part in a ‘Guys and Dolls’

remake. In the original movie,

based on a 1950s musical, Marlon

Brando and Frank Sinatra played

the two lead roles. According to

Deadline.com, Fox studios has

embarked on the project to

relaunch ‘Guys and Dolls’ on the big

screen as well as on the stage.

Even though there is no

screenwriter or director attached to

the project, Channing Tatum and

Joseph Gordon-Levitt are apparently

interested in participating. The

young actors showed their singing

and dancing abilities in Magic Mike

(2012) and (500) days of Summer

(2009) respectively.

More recently, at the end of

February, the two actors took part

in music-hall-style acts at the Dolby

Theatre during the 85th Oscars.

If an agreement is reached, Tatum

and Gordon-Levitt will be following

in the footsteps of Marlon Brando

and Frank Sinatra, who were

directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

for this comedy released in 1955.

The plot follows a crook who is

short of money (Sinatra) and bets

that his friend, a professional

gambler (Brando), will not be able

to seduce a young innocent

missionary from the Salvation Army.

NEWS DESK

P UTTING an end to all speculation,the makers of Mental have decidedthat the Salman Khan starrer, pro-duced by brother Sohail, will hit

screens on November 22. With two schedulesunder his belt, Sohail, who was all this whileonly interested in getting the film going, re-portedly sat down with Salman and the teamto finalise the release date. While Salman'sfans have reason to smile, the news mayhave given one man the heebie-jeebies.Ever since he came to know of the deci-sion, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose Ram

Leela is releasing on November 29, hasbeen having sleepless nights... and notwithout reason... Earlier too, the film-maker has had his fingers burnt when hismovie Saawariya, which marked RanbirKapoor's debut, clashed with Shah RukhKhan-starrer Om Shanti Om, with disas-trous consequences. Fact is, Bhansali hadpostponed the release of Ram Leela fromAugust to November 29 only to avoid acollision with Rohit Shetty's Chennai Ex-

press that had always been slated for an Eidrelease. However, the November 22 Mentaldate has now posed a new problem for the di-

rector. But why should Bhansali worryabout a movie hitting theatres one week be-

fore the release of his Ram Leela? "Salman'sfilms usually run to packed houses for two

weeks, and Bhansali would thus lose out on amajor portion of the audience. So much so, he isnow contemplating moving his film out of theNovember 29 slot," said the source.

salman Khan’sfilm ‘Mental’gives Leela

Bhansali jitters

NEWS DESK: Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor says she feels blessed to be a part

of 'Raanjhanaa'. The actress will be seen playing different ages in the film and said

it was an incredible opportunity. "It was a great process. I play two different ages.

You have to perform differently and your voice is different too. It was an incredible

opportunity. I am blessed to be a part of Raanjhanaa," she said at a launch event.

Talking about the look in the film, Sonam said that it was simple. "I have a simple

look for Raanjhanaa. I am not so beautiful and glamorous in the film," she said.

Sonam will be seen opposite Tamil actor Dhanush in the film. The actress also

added she had fun shooting the film. "It was fun. I had the most incredible time.

You will be able to see the chemistry on screen," she said. Sonam is the brand

ambassador for a toothpaste with ace designer Manish Malhotra. Manish has

organised an entire fashion line for the summer based on that toothpaste's colours

-red and white. The designer showcased his contemporary collection of saris, long

kurtas over loose pants for women and ethinic kurta pajamas and jackets for men.

Sonam, who was the showstopper, looked fabulous in a red lehenga choli with

silver embroidery at the bottom. Talking about the brands which she endorses,

Sonam said she goes for classic brands which ensure her quality as well as

exclusivity. The actress added she has convinced her father, actor Anil Kapoor to

do the same. "The kind of brands which I do are all classic brands. I don't sign

anything which I don't believe in. I have explained this to dad too," she said.

BLESSED TOBE A PART OF‘RAANjHANAA’:SONAM KAPOOR

NEWS DESK: Hollywood actor George Clooney isreportedly reuniting with his "Argo" co-producerGrant Heslov to make a film based on a newsarticle. The article will be by Joshuah Bearman,one of whose past articles formed the basis forChris Terrio's Oscar-winning script for "Argo".Not much is known about Bearman's latestarticle as it hasn't been published yet, but it issaid that the article talks about a group ofteenagers who smuggle drugs in Coronado inCalifornia, reports femalefirst.co.uk. SonyPictures is in talks to produce the project, whileClooney is likely to direct it.

George Clooney to makefilm with Grant Heslov?

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:32 AM Page 12

13ARTssunday, 28 April, 2013

A

The good times of today, are the sad

thoughts of tomorrow. –Bob Marley

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

T he Pakistan Fashion Design

Council (PFDC) Sunsilk Fasion

Week 2013 Day 3 will commence

on Sunday. Day 3 of the four-day

event, taking place at the Lahore Expo

Centre Johar Town, will showcase the

following designers and their works.

RIZWAN BEYG

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

The Rizwan Beyg philosophy is

fundamentally based on wearable

practical clothes.The pret line aims at

edgy separates in natural fibres like silk

adn cotton and creative current trends .

INSPIRATION:

The collection presented is inspired by

Pakistans artisans who create truck art

and is a homage to their artistry

interpreted the Rizwan Beyg way.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n deconstructed tailoring. n ragged handkerchief hemlinesn mix n match separates n vibrant colours.n short lengths n digitally printed truck art n flora n fauna motifs

ZONIA ANWAAR

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Practical silhouettes with use of

experimental cut lines with right tints

and hues of the season. It's fashion for

people who want to be desirable and ask

for elegance with a twist.

INSPIRATION:

For this Fashion Week our label is coming

with Moscow’s Kremlin inspired colour

palette with soft hues for hot summer

and some bright accents for spring. This

Russian fashion platter will mingle

together with the fun-elegance of 70’s

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR;n Pastel Bliss Colour Paletten Self Stripes and Laces for texture n Bold Stripes in Mink and Bluesn Gold Chunks of Non-conventional

Embellishment and Ornaments n Controlled Lengthsn Cowl backs and Different kind of collars!

NIDA AZWER

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Classy chic. Great attention to detail,

innovative cuts, silhouettes and tailoring

INSPIRATION:

The 1880s. Floral and animal motifs

inspired by the works of William Morris

and William de Morgan

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n Higher hemlinesn Fresh and flowy

NOKIA PRESENTS MOHSIN ALI

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Young Fashion Forward innovative

INSPIRATION:

Nokia Florescent

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR: n Minimalism

SANA SAfINAZ

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Synonymous with graceful, elegant, chic

and eye appeasing styles - Sana and

Safinaz design for the quintessential

Asian woman.

INSPIRATION:

Carrying on from our Spring/Summer

Resort Chic collection, we are looking

into extending it into Spring/Summer

Urban Chic.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n chunky necklaces n bold printsn color blocking

LAYLA CHATOOR

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Elegant and modern garments. For

dynamic women. Feminine silhouettes,

draped and carefully

created, to guarantee a perfect fit.

INSPIRATION:

Vintage 1931 Print Ayesha, from the

Victoria & Albert archives, consisting of

landscapes of

leaves, entwining blossoms, birds

perched on enclosing floral spray and

deer.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n Modern day Grace Kelly.n Aristocratic galomourn Elegant individuality.n Modern

ADNAN PARDESI

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Minimalism.

INSPIRATION:

ELLIPSIS: This is Adnan Pardesy couture

collection for 2013. Adnan for Ellipsis draws

inspiration from the essence of minimalism

with a special focus on sequince, created

through the intentional omission of the

unnecessary only to retain his own personal

style through fabric manipulation.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n Structuren Long structured jacketsn off-shoulder dressesn tone on tone embroidery

n Applique n Voluminous gownsn skirts.

KARMA

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Glamorous, classic, elegant, powerful,

feminine & definitive.

INSPIRATION:

The Roaring Twenties, The Great Gatsby,

Jazz Age, decadence, sparkling, gold

gilded and adulterated glamour.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n Fringesn Graphicn Pearlsn surface beadingn sequinsn flapper silhouette

NIMRA TEXTILES

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Nimsay is a fashion brand committed to

constant market research, innovation

and designs to inspire self-confidence in

a woman. We believe fashion is culture,

a form of expression and can be used to

help women excel in life.

INSPIRATION fOR OUR COLLECTION:n feminine floralsn retro blockingn abstract artn Kilims n ethnic motives.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n statement stripesn geisha girlsn retro blocking

LAKHANI TEXTILES

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Lakhani’s brand philosophy is based on

meeting the needs of modern women of

diverse cultures locally and

internationally. We are not just creating

products, but striving to create

campaigns, trends and philosophy.

INSPIRATION:

Culture, art and Modernism are the core

aspects for our collection.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n rich culture n vibrant colorsn trendyn artsyn modernn romantic

SHARIQ TEXTILES

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

To produce voile for women from every

income bracket.

INSPIRATION:

Expression from Farida Khalo's paintings

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n Fabricationsn sleek long silhouettes n horizontal stripes.

fIRDOUS TEXTILES

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

To continue to be the market leaders and

trendsetters in the industry.

To constantly evolve to cater to an ever

growing clientele.

INSPIRATION:

Fabric that speaks of a luxury and resort

lifestyle.

From day to night- you are a star.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT fOR:n Vibrant colorsn Varied hemlinesn Luxurious prints n Intricate embroidery details

PFDC SUNSILK FASHION WEEK 2013

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:32 AM Page 13

NEWS DESK

A hybrid farmland grass, developedby a team of UK researchers, couldhelp reduce flooding, a study hasshown. A team of plant and soil sci-entists said tests showed the new cul-tivar reduced run-off by 51%,compared with a variety widely usedto feed livestock. They added thatrapid growth and well developedroot systems meant that more mois-ture was retained within the soilrather than running into river sys-tems. The findings appear in the jour-nal Scientific Reports. The novelgrass is a hybrid of perennial ryegrass(Lollium perenne) - which is widelyplanted by farmers for grazing live-stock - and meadow fescue (Festucapratensis), which has environmen-

tal stress-resistant characteristics.GREENER GRASS: Co-author

Kit Macleod, senior research scientistat the James Hutton Institute based inAberdeen, said a long-term projecthad been developing novel foragegrasses but their environmental ben-efits had not really been tested. "So I

had the idea to... set up an experimentto look at how these novel grassescould be good for not only productionfrom a farmer's perspective but alsoreducing run-off," he told reporters."There is a lot of interest in how wemanage agricultural landscapes toproduce multiple benefits - particu-larly in relation to environmentalstresses, such as changing precipita-tion and temperature patterns." Overa two-year period at the RothamstedResearch site in North Devon, theteam found that the hybrid grass re-duced run-off by up to 51% comparedwith perennial ryegrass and by 43%compared with meadow fescue. "Wethink that how [the runoff was re-duced] was to do with changes in thesoil structure, and how this grasschanged that," Dr Macleod explained.

Hybrid grass 'could reduceflooding impact'

InfotaInMent

ISunday, 28 April, 2013

14

'smart skIn' hoPefor touCh sensor

In a first, smartphonesoutpace regular onesIt's a tech milestone: For the

first time, more smartphones

were shipped in a quarter than

regular mobile phones, reports

PC Magazine. Market Research

firm IDC says 216.2 million of

the 418.6 million mobiles

shipped in the first three

months of the year were of the

smartphone variety. An IDC

analyst says it's not complicated: "Phone users want

computers in their pockets. The days where phones

are used primarily to make phone calls and send

text messages are quickly fading away." Samsung

again led the way with 70.7 million phones, followed

by Apple (37.4 million), LG (10.3 million), and

Chinese companies Huawei (9.9 million) and ZTE

(9.1 million). The figures take into account phones

shipped, not sold, notes Andrew Cunningham at

Ars Technica, but they're still telling. "They show

that companies' efforts to cater to 'emerging

markets' is paying off, and we expect smartphone

shipments will only continue to outpace those of

dumbphones as these efforts intensify." NEWS dESK

earth's Core farhotter thanthoughtA team from the US and China made

an experimental array that can sense

pressure in the same range as the

human fingertip. The advance could

speed the development of smarter

artificial skin capable of "feeling"

activity on the surface. The sensors,

which are described in Science

magazine, could also help give robots

a more adaptive sense of touch.

Using bundles of vertical zinc oxide

nanowires, the researchers built

arrays consisting of about 8,000

transistors. “Start QuoteZhong Lin

WangGeorgia Institute of Technology

Each of the transistors can

independently produce an electronic

signal when placed under mechanical

strain. The touch-sensitive transistors

- dubbed taxels - have a sensitivity

comparable to that of a human

fingertip. "Any mechanical motion,

such as the movement of arms or the

fingers of a robot, could be translated

to control signals," said Zhong Lin

Wang, a professor at the Georgia

Institute of Technology. "This could

make artificial skin smarter and more

like the human skin. It would allow

the skin to feel activity on the surface."

Mimicking the sense of touch

electronically has been challenging,

and can be achieved by measuring

changes in resistance prompted by

mechanical touch. The devices

developed by the Georgia Tech

researchers rely on a different physical

phenomenon - tiny polarisation

changes when so-called "piezoelectric"

materials such as zinc oxide are moved

or placed under strain. NEWS dESK

loCk of emPeror's haIr sells for $18kA lock of hair from an Austro-

Hungarian emperor who ruled in

Europe more than a century ago

fetched about $18,000 at auction in

Vienna yesterday—about 20 times the

estimated price, reports the AP. An

Austrian restaurateur bought the

white lock once belonging to Franz

Josef, whose reign from 1848 to 1916

made him one of Europe's longest-

serving monarchs, reports theBBC.

It's an impressive price, but the BBC

also notes that Justin Bieber's hair

sold for charity on eBay in 2011 for

about $38,000. NEWS dESK

man survIves emPIrestate buIldIng JumP

You don't expect a story that begins

"man jumps off Empire State Building"

to end well. But a Massachusetts

tourist has been given a second

chance after his suicide attempt—in

which he climbed a fence lining the

building's 86th floor observation deck

just before midnight Wednesday and

jumped off—was interrupted by the

85th floor. The 33-year-old landed one

floor down and was taken to Bellevue

with a broken ankle. The New York

Post reports that he faces charges of

reckless endangerment, trespassing,

and disorderly conduct. NEWS dESK

NEWS DESK

nEW measurements suggestthe Earth's inner core is farhotter than prior experi-ments suggested, putting itat 6,000C - as hot as the

Sun's surface. The solid iron core is ac-tually crystalline, surrounded by liquid.

But the temperature at whichthat crystal can form had been a sub-ject of long-running debate.

Experiments outlined in Sciencemagazine used X-rays to probe tinysamples of iron at extraordinarypressures to examine how the ironcrystals form and melt.

Seismic waves captured after earth-quakes around the globe can give agreat deal of information as to the thick-

ness and density of layers in the Earth,but they give no indication of tempera-ture. That has to be worked out either incomputer models that simulate theEarth's insides, or in the laboratory.

x-RAy vISION: Measurements inthe early 1990s of iron's "meltingcurves" - from which the core's temper-ature can be deduced - suggested a coretemperature of about 5,000C. "It wasjust the beginning of these kinds ofmeasurements so they made a first esti-mate... to constrain the temperature in-side the Earth," said Agnes Dewaele ofthe French research agency CEA and aco-author of the new research. "Otherpeople made other measurements andcalculations with computers and noth-ing was in agreement. It was not goodfor our field that we didn't agree with

each other," she told reporters.The core temperature is crucial to a

number of disciplines that study regionsof our planet's interior that will never beaccessed directly - guiding our under-standing of everything from earth-quakes to the Earth's magnetic field.

"We have to give answers to geo-physicists, seismologists, geodynami-cists - they need some data to feed theircomputer models," Dr Dewaele said.

The team has now revisited those20-year-old measurements, makinguse of the European Synchrotron Ra-diation Facility - one of the world'smost intense sources of X-rays.

To replicate the enormous pressuresat the core boundary - more than a mil-lion times the pressure at sea level -they used a device called a diamond

anvil cell - essentially a tiny sampleheld between the points of two preci-sion-machined synthetic diamonds.

Once the team's iron samples weresubjected to the high pressures and hightemperatures using a laser, the scientistsused X-ray beams to carry out "diffrac-tion" - bouncing X-rays off the nucleiof the iron atoms and watching how thepattern changed as the iron changedfrom solid to liquid. Those diffractionpatterns give more insight into partiallymolten states of iron, which the teambelieves were what the researchers weremeasuring in the first experiments.

They suggest a core temperatureof about 6,000C, give or take 500C -roughly that of the Sun's surface.

But importantly, Dr Dewaelesaid, "now everything agrees".

Nothing pains some people

more than having to think.

–Martin Luther King, Jr.

With over half of the world’s populationliving in cities and with green space everdwindling, any type of innovation that al-lows people to grow vegetables and herbswithout using up space is always welcomenews. This is probably why a new plant-growing kit called the Smart Herb Gardenhas received more than six times its pledgegoal on Kickstarter.

SMART GARdEN: The Smart HerbGarden is especially intelligent because it re-quires very little attention from the owner.Humans Invent spoke to Mattias Lepp, thecreator of the Herb Garden, to find out howit works. He says, “It grows the plant with-out the need for constant watering or fertil-ising. All you have to do is fill the waterreservoir.” So, the user simply plugs it in and

fills the small water tank until a light indi-cates it has received the required amount ofwater. Each box comes with cartridges con-taining the seed of anything from tomatoes,peppers to basil, with each one lasting up totwo years. The specially designed LEDlights also keep the herbs growing whenthere is less light during winter months.

NANO PARTICLES: What is partic-ularly clever about the Herb Garden how-ever, is the material used to feed the plants.Lepp says, “There is a special nano materialwhich takes care of the nutrients and aera-tion of the plant, as well as the ph level etc.”Nutrients and oxygen that feed the plant arefound in the nanotech capsules, providingthe precise balance needed for the plant togrow. One of the problems in traditional

growing for potted-plants is the need forfrequent watering to keep the plant alivebalanced against the risk of draining awayessential nutrients that comes with over-wa-tering. With the Smart Herb Garden, the fre-quency with which you need to add wateris absurdly low. Lepp says, “There is asmall indicator which tells you if you needto add water but we’ve been testing it in ouroffice and you only need to add water onceevery two months. It’s not very often.” Be-fore the Smart Herb Garden, Lepp createdClick and Grow (also the name of his com-pany), that sold 50,000 units but, based onfeedback from customers, the new designhas been introduced with certain adjust-ments, including the lighting system.

NASA INSPIREd: Lepp’s initial in-

spiration for building smart gardens cameseven years ago when he read an articleabout a space expedition. Lepp says, “Iread an article about a NASA Mars missionand one part of the article was about grow-ing plants in space and this is where I firstcame across aeroponics, understanding itwas possible to grow plants without soil.”Aeroponics, a system where plants cangrow in an air chamber without the needfor roots to grow in soil, was inspired bynature after the observation that certain or-chids in Japan growing on trees are fuelledby the air. While Lepp has gone on to usenano particles instead of air, it was an eyeopener for him to realise that the traditionaluse of soil was not the only method forgrowing plants. COuRTESy humANS INvENT

Plug and grow: The smart herb garden

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:32 AM Page 14

sPoRTs

Ssunday, 28 April, 2013

15The ICC, if they do nothing or they say sorry there’snothing we can do, that is the answer. Cricket in theUnited States will go away — Richard J Kaplan

LONDON

AGENCIES

PA K I S TA N leg-spinner DanishKaneria has lost his appealagainst being found guilty ofspot-fixing but an appeal over hislife ban in Britain will be heard

later, the England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) said on Friday. The 32-year-old,who has played 61 tests, was branded a“grave danger” to the game by the ECBwho last year found him guilty ofencouraging or attempting to encourage

Essex team mate Mervyn Westfield tounderperform in a match in 2009. “An appeal

panel of the Cricket Discipline Commission todaydismissed an appeal by Danish Kaneria against afinding of a disciplinary panel in June 2012 whichfound he had been guilty of two charges under theECB’s regulations,” a statement said. “His furtherappeal against sanction and costs will be heard at alater date. The appeal of Mervyn Westfield against thesanction imposed on him in June 2012 will also beheard at a later date.” Westfield, asked to concede a setnumber of runs during his opening over in a countymatch against Durham in exchange for a payment of6,000 pounds ($9,300), was previously jailed for fourmonths and banned from top-level cricket for fiveyears. Kaneria’s appeal was adjourned in Decemberwhen Westfield failed to show up. The ECB did not sayif the English bowler had attended the latest hearing.

JAIPUR

AGENCIES

A disastrous top order run from theSunrisers Hyderabad, where not a single

player in the top six passed doublefigures, saw the visitors post 144 fornine in 20 overs in their IPL clashagainst the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipuron Saturday.

Darren Sammy helped his siderecover from 29 for six to 127 fornine and Dale Steyn played acameo with 18 off eight balls,while James Faulkner had ablinder with the ball, picking upfive wickets for just 20 runs as thematch, which looked dead andburied, was sparked to life thanksto some individual brilliance.

Captain Kumar Sangakkarareturned to take charge of the visitors as

they won the toss and chose to bat first, but his sidegot off to the worst possible start as Akshath Reddywas dismissed in the first over when he got aleading edge off Ajit Chandila.

The very next over brought more of the same forthe visitors as the skipper went chasing after awider delivery and was caught at slip with JamesFaulkner picking up his first stick. At 6 for two after1.4 overs, the Sunrisers needed somebody torebuild, but Faulkner struck again just two ballslater with Shikhar Dhawan sent on his way for atwo-ball duck. Things went from bad to worse asthe rest of the top order all failed to get into doublefigures and the Sunrisers were reeling at 29 for sixafter 6.1 overs.

Sammy and Amit Mishra combined for solid 58-run partnership lower down the order, beforeMishra became Faulkner’s fourth victim.

Returning to the attack in the 15th over,Faulkner got the breakthrough with a ball just atouch wide outside off stump which Mishra slicedin the air to meet his demise for 21 off 28.

Ashish Reddy then joined Sammy out in themiddle for another tidy partnership of 27 before hewas dismissed for 14, caught at long-on.

The Sunrisers had recovered to 114 for eightand it was up to Sammy to see them home, butFaulkner struck again to dismiss the West Indian for60 off 41 as the Australian finished with figures of4-0-20-5.

With just one over left to go Kevon Cooper washanded the task of bowling the final over, but hefailed to hit his lengths and Steyn took fulladvantage picking up 17 runs from one over,including a six and four off the final ball, to helpput the Sunrisers in a far more competitive position.RAJASTHAN ROYALS: SR Watson, AM Rahane, R

Dravid (capt), STR Binny, BJ Hodge, DH Yagnik

(wk), Sachin Baby, JP Faulkner, K Cooper, A

Chandila, SK Trivedi

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: S Dhawan, PA Reddy,

KC Sangakkara (capt & wk), GH Vihari, NLTC

Perera, DJG Sammy, A Ashish Reddy, KV Sharma,

A Mishra, DW Steyn, I Sharma

gibbs thelatest to signup for CPl

SPORTS DESK

South African top-order batting powerhouseHerschelle Gibbs, the first man in history tohit six sixes in a single over in internationalcricket, has become the latest player to signup for this year’s Caribbean Premier league(CPL). Gibbs achieved the feat in theCaribbean, in St Kitts during the 2007 ICCCricket World Cup, when he dispatchedNetherlands legspinner Daan van Bungeover the ropes six times in a row. And whilefour other players - including Barbados andWest Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers –have done it before or since in professionalcricket, Gibbs was the first man to hit sixsixes on the international stage. It is part ofan hugely impressive cricketing career thatthe right-hander, now 39, will bring to theCPL table, having represented teams all overthe world, including being part of the DeccanChargers squad that won the Indian PremierLeague in 2009. Speaking to the CPLOrganisers, Herschelle’s enthusiasm wasobvious, “I am really looking forward toplaying in the first CPL. I love the Caribbeanand have great memories of touring there.The people are lovely and although eachnation is different, they all have that samewarmth and charm that makes everyone wantto go there. Many of the West Indies playershave become my friends over the yearsand playing alongside them in theirhome countrieswill really bespecial.”

HARARE

AGENCIES

A blazing innings of 45 from EltonChigumbura rescued Zimbabwe asthey closed on 158 for four on daytwo of the second and final testagainst Bangladesh at Harare SportsClub on Friday.

Chigumbura, who was the starwith the ball in the Bangladesh firstinnings, put on an unbeaten 61-runstand for the fifth wicket withMalcolm Waller (30 not out) toalmost certainly help Zimbabweavoid the follow-on.

In reply to Bangladesh’s total of391, Zimbabwe had slumped to 97for four before Chigumbura strode to

the

wicketand startedthrashing away.

Bangladesh added another 91runs to their overnight score of 300

for six, the charge on

Friday led by Nasir Hossain’s fifthtest half-century.

Hossain had amassed 77 beforehe was the ninth wicket to fall.

Number 11 Robiul Islamentertained the crowd with anunbeaten 24 from 18 balls to takeBangladesh to 391. Shakib Al Hasan(81) top-scored in the innings, whilethere was also a valuable 60 fromskipper Mushfiqur Rahim.

The pick of the home bowlerswas Chigumbura, who returnedfigures of three for 75.

Zimbabwe’s problems at the topof the order continued as they lostthree quick wickets.

Captain Brendan Taylor, whoscored centuries in each innings in thefirst test, looked in good touch againhe compiled a patient 36 before tryingan uncharacteristically risky shot.

He attempted to pull a deliveryfrom off-spinner Sohag Gazi to themid-wicket boundary but picked outShakib in the deep instead.

At that stage the follow-on targetof 192 looked a long way off for thehome side but barring a big collapse

on Saturday, they will get the 34 runsthey need to make Bangladesh batagain.

Zimbabwe lead the two-matchseries 1-0 after an emphatic 335-runvictory in the first test last week.

kkr crush kingsXI Punjab

EDEN GARDENS

AGENCIES

Manvinder Bisla scored 51 not out as the Kolkata KnightRiders crushed the Kings XI Punjab by six wickets, with10 balls to spare, at Eden Gardens on Friday in a vitalPepsi Indian Premier League clash. Kolkata ended on150 for four after 18.2 overs in reply to the Kings XI’sbelow par score of 149 for six, after Adam Gilchrist hadwon the toss and decided that his team should bat first.The Kings XI had made a decent start, even thoughSachithra Senanayake bowled a maiden in the secondover. But Gilchrist (27) and Mandeep Singh (25) thenscored 40 runs off the next four overs to end the powerplay on 45 without loss. But the introduction of JacquesKallis (4-0-14-2) changed the complexity of the inningsas he dismissed Mandeep with his first ball. Kallisconceded just 11 runs in his first three overs and returnedto bowl the 18th over, conceding just three runs andclaiming the wicket of David Hussey (21). Manan Vohratop-scored for the visitors with 31 off 21 balls, whichincluded three boundaries and a six. Gurkeerat Singhsmashed 28 off 15 balls with two fours and twomaximums to boost the total and give Punjab a totalworth bowling at. This video is not available in yourregion The big wicket of the in-form David Miller (10)was picked up by Sarabjit Ladda (1-18), who cleanedbowled the hard-hitting South African. Sunil Narine wasunfortunate not to pick up a wicket as he had most of thebatsmen tied up in knots. The West Indian finished withtidy figures of 4-0-22-0.

kanerIaloses appeal overspot-fix ruling

sammy, steyn help rescue sunrisers

Chigumbura keepsZimbabwe in the hunt

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:33 AM Page 16

sPoRTs S

sunday, 28 April, 2013

16Great breakthroughs early and we were right in the hunt

all the way through, Jacques and Manvinder Bisla did

very well to steady the ship — Adam Gilchrist said

Inter-Club t-20women CrICketfrom todayLAHORE: The All Pakistan Interclub

T-20 Women Cricket Tournament

will be held from April 29 here. The

said tournament is going to be held

at the Kinnaird College cricket

ground. All the local and

international cricketers are

participating in the tournament. The

opening ceremony will be

performed by Dr. Ruksana David,

Principal Kinnaird College on April

29 at 9:30am.

SALAMAT SCHOOL WIN INTER-

SCHOOL TT BOY’S TEAM EvENT

TITLE: Salamat School won the

boy’s team event title of Inter-

school Shahjahan Latif Memorial

Lahore District Table Tennis beating

Beacon House School Township

Lahore with an identical margin of

3-0. Farah Omer of Lahore

Grammer School Defence campus

and Famiya Nadeem Lahore

Grammer School Model Town

qualified to meet each other in the

finals of Girl’s under-16. Aleena

Abubakr of LGS Model Town will

play final with Shanzeh Khalid of

same school beating their rivals in

the semifinals of Girl’s Singles

under-14. Haris jamil of Salamat

School entered the finals with

Arsalan Zaheer of his team mate

beating Aqib Rehman of Beacon

House Township and Aneeq Ahmed

of SCIL School in their respective

semifinals of Boy’s Under-16 singles

event. Aneeq Ahmed of SCIL School

qualified to meet Alyyan Hussain of

KIPS Johar Town in the finals of

Boy’s Under-14 singles finals. The

finals of the remaining events will

be played on Sunday at 11 am at

Johar Town opposite Mian Plaza

Lahore. Ahmer Mallick,

Hony.Secretary Pakistan Table

Tennis federation will be the chief

guest.

LoCAL News

SPORTS DESK

GRAEME Swann isitching to return to actionafter declaring that hiselbow has “never feltbetter” following the

surgery he had after being ruled out of theTest series in New Zealand.

He is set play his first match of theseason for Nottinghamshire againstDurham in the County Championship nextweek, his last chance for first-class cricketwith his county before the opening Test ofthe season against New Zealand at Lord’son May 16. But there is the England Lionsgame against New Zealand if the selectorsfeel he needs more overs.

Swann has been bowling in the netsduring Nottinghamshire’s current matchagainst Derbyshire and is feeling no illeffects after having “13 or 14” pieces ofbone removed from his right elbow duringthe operation in the USA, significantlyfewer than came out during the firstsurgery in 2009 when 29 fragments werefound.

“The elbow feels great,” Swann said

while speaking at a Chance to Shine eventto mark the two millionth child to beincluded in the scheme. “I’ve been bowlingwith it over the last two days in the nets andit has never felt better. The aim was alwaysfor me to come back on Monday againstDurham and that is what is going tohappen. I was just bored with stupidbowling in the nets and wanted to get backin the game.”

“I was actually hoping to play thisweek against Derby but it just swelled upa little bit and I was told to get back in mybox. I’m very happy now but this is the lasttime in my career I will have elbowsurgery.”

When Swann was ruled out of the NewZealand series in March, on the openingday of the first Test, he was optimistic thatthe surgery would be a success butadmitted the occasional doubt.

“You go through a mixture ofemotions,” he said. “You have the panic,then the optimism, then the odd pessimisticday pops its head out of nowhere. But thesurgery wasn’t as serious as last time andmy rehab has gone perfectly.”

England missed both Swann’s bowling

andhison-field spark in NewZealand as theattack laboured totake 20 wickets.With Australia’slikely line-up forthe Ashespotentiallyincluding four lefthanders in the toporder he could be infor a bumper seasonwhile he is also acrucial cog in theone-day team whichhas a ChampionsTrophy to aim for.

Swann’s recoveryis a piece of positivenews for England in aweek where KevinPietersen has beenruled out until atleast the Asheswith hisbruised kneetaking longerto heel thanexpected

elbow has‘never feltbetter’, says

swann

SPORTS DESK

Sachin Tendulkar stressed theimportance of “situationalawareness” as a key factor insucceeding in the closing stages ofIPL games. Tendulkar was speakingat an event in Mumbai and wasasked by an audience consisting ofchildren, amateur and aspiringcricketers, how to score ten runs offthe final over to win a T20 games.He said there could be no setformula.

“Basically you have got to seewhat the bowler is bowling andwhat his strengths are, weaknessesare,” Tendulkar said. “What are theareas where you can score off thatparticular bowler. There are manyfactors like the kind of surface youare playing on, the kind of fieldsetting.” Tendulkar said what acricketer needed at a time like thatwas “awareness.” “You have got tohave situational awareness. Onceyou have that, you respond to thesituation according to the bowlerand the opposition.”

At a gathering of about 200people, Tendulkar answered a rangeof questions: about how he relatedto the new Mumbai Indians’ captainRicky Ponting, the technique behindhis trademark straight drive and theformula for his success.

Tendulkar said he didn’t thinktwice before passing on a tip toPonting. “Because I know little bitabout our cricketers, which Rickyhasn’t had the opportunity to watchthem much. Also a lot of things areplanned in team meetings. But thereare things that spontaneously cometo your mind and you share yourthoughts. So it is basically about

sharing our knowledge and givingsome background about thebowler.” Excellence on the cricketfield, he said, had to be priority forany cricketer who was trying tosucceed. A young cricketer he saidneeded to be, “madly in love” withthe sport and due to that to immersehimself in his training. “You can’tcount the number of hours, thenumber of balls you have practised,the number of balls that you havebowled. You can’t be counting. Youcan’t look at your watch. You haveto just practise and practise.”

He gave an example from hischildhood to his audience, saying

that his practicebegan at 7:30am

and ended 12hours

later. “Eventually my coach had tosort of pack my kit bag and send meoff saying ‘it is too dark to playcricket and we all want to go home’.“ Tendulkar said his passion forcricket was still alive, “Boys likeyou or even girls now, whoeverwants to become a cricketer, shouldbe passionate about the game.Cricket should be in your heart firstand then as you mature and grow,slowly you will find how to scoreruns and how to bowl [an] over,how to bowl spells. First cricket hasto be in your heart and the restfollows.” The straight drive, hissignature shot, Tendulkar saidstarted from a correct head positionand balance. “If your balance is notgood then you are not going to beable to play straight, you either dragit with bottom hand to midwicket oryou slice it to cover or cover point.”

When the body was correctlyaligned, “then you can hitbowlers straight. For batting or

bowling, generally on acricket field, you have got

to have good bodybalance.”

saif open womenPowerlifting today LAHORE: The 2nd Saif Sports Saga Open Women

Powerlifting City Cup 2013 will be held on Sunday (April

28) at 664-G-St No 29 near Lums Wateen Chowk Defence

Lahore under auspices of Lahore District Powerlifting

Association and is sponsored by Defence Residents

Association. According to organizing secretary international

powerlifter Aqeel Javed Butt, competitions will be held in

three events Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift in seven body

weight categories. Saif-ul-Azam Khan, chairman SAIF Saga

Sports is chairman of the organizing committee. Competition

will start from 11 am. Prize Distribution will be held at 5 pm.

About 40 women powerlifters belonging to Govt College

Shadbagh, Govt Women Degree College Gulshan Ravi, Punjab

University, Cathredal School, Govt Girls High School

Samanabad, Lahore Gymkhana, National Weightlifting and

Powerlifting Club will participate. Training camp under

supervision of Akeel Butt is in progress at National

Powerlifting Club Coaching Centre here. STAFF REPORT

samir honored with allmountain west team awardLAHORE: Pakistan’s tennis hope

and Davis Cupper Samir Iftikhar

added another feather in his cap

when he was named amongst the

top 10 players of the University of

Colorado and was given the All

Mountain West Team award. He

was honored by the league’s seven

head coaches as member. All-

Mountain West Teams 2012-13 was

given the award at an impressive

ceremony held at Colorado spring

Colorado, USA. According to the

information received the award

came right after Samir had secured

victory over Sai Kartik Nakireddi

(FS) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) of Fresno State to hand University of

New Mexico unassailable lead of 4/1 and place in semi-finals.

It is pertinent to mention that the 21-year Davis Cupper

hailing from WAPDA is termed as the world class potential

and is the first cousin of tennis star Aisamul Haq and son of

former Davis Cupper Tayyab Iftikhar. He as freshman and

sophomore (2nd Year) at the University has achieved # 71

and #101 National rankings in highly competitive NCAA

Intervarsity Tennis. STAFF REPORT

Tendulkar emphasises on‘situational awareness’

PCb to examinekaneria’s appealrejection

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wouldlegally examine the dismissal of the appealmade by leg-spinner Danish Kaneriaagainst his ban on charges of spot-fixing.An ECB panel in London had rejectedKaneria’s appeal against the life ban,handed out to him over charges of spot-fixing. PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf said theBoard lawyers will examine Kaneria’sappeal verdict. “We will ask our lawyers toanalyze the outcome of the appeal hearingof Kaneria and then decide what to do. Butone thing is clear we are not going totolerate corruption of any sort in ourcricket,” he said. Kaneria, only the secondHindu to play for Pakistan with a Testcareer haul of 261 wickets, had appealedagainst the ECB disciplinary committeedecision which finds him guilty of spotfixing. The appeal was also against the lifeban imposed on him to play cricket inEngland and the costs of 100,000 he hasbeen ordered to pay to the ECB. The ECBdisciplinary panel had found him guiltyencouraging his Essex teammate MervynWestfield to under-perform in a match in2009. Westfield’s testimony led to Kaneria’seventual ban last year in June. The ECBsaid in a statement on Friday that Kaneria’sfurther appeal against sanction and costswill be heard at a later date. The PCB hadalso suspended Kaneria from playing anycricket in Pakistan last year pending theoutcome of his appeal hearings. Kaneriasaid after the ECB announcement that hewas disappointed with the verdict. “It isagain disappointing because the way thingswent in the four day hearing I thoughtthings had become clear. But once we knowthe reasons we will decide whether to go tothe high court or not,” he said.

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:33 AM Page 17

sPoRTsS

sunday, 28 April, 2013

17The match against Atletico is of the utmost importance to

us because we are playing against our city rivals and our

main competition for second place — Aitor Karanka

PARIS

AGENCIES

Cycling’s world governing body onFriday roundly rejected claims from theman who brought down LanceArmstrong that they had contributednothing to the fight against doping inthe sport. The head of the the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) Travis Tygarttold a French Senate hearing onThursday that the International CyclingUnion (UCI) had blocked efforts toclean up the tarnished sport since thescandal broke last year. But the UCIresponded strongly, saying in astatement on its website uci.ch: “TheUCI categorically rejects allegations ofcollusion... and states categorically thatit has nothing to hide”. Giving evidenceunder oath to a committee from theupper chamber of parliamentinvestigating the fight against doping,Tygart claimed that the UCI “dideverything to put obstacles in our way”over the Armstrong affair. A devastatingUsada report published last Octobersaid Armstrong orchestrated what ittermed the biggest doping programmein sporting history during his career,sending shockwaves through the sport.The UCI later rubber-stamped thefindings, banned the Texan rider for lifeand stripped him of his record sevenTour de France wins between 1999 and2005. But questions remain about theextent of the governing body’sknowledge of his illegal activities,including claims that they werecomplicit in covering up positive dopetests. Tygart, whose organisation foughta public battle with the UCI overjurisdiction in the Armstrong case, also

criticised the federation’s response sincetheir report, accusing them of doing“absolutely nothing” to crack down onthe use of banned substances. A UCIspokesman accused Tygart of courtingheadlines and countered that Usada andthe World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) stymied the work of anindependent commission it set up tolook into historical doping cases. Thecommission was disbanded in Januaryafter protracted argument about itspowers and whether witnesses would begranted an amnesty protecting themfrom subsequent disciplinary action.“He should establish the facts before

jumping to conclusions,” the UCIspokesman said. “It’s all very well MrTygart talking about cooperation, butlet’s not forget that the IndependentCommission was only disbandedbecause of Usada’s and WADA’s point-blank refusal to cooperate with it.“Simply, the UCI was left with nochoice but to close it down; it made nosense to go forward without theparticipation of these two bodies. “Onecan only assume that their refusal tocooperate with the IndependentCommission was due to their fear thattheir own shortcomings would beexposed. “After all, Usada and WADA

also tested Armstrong over many yearsand also failed to catch him. It wasonly with the benefit of the US FederalInvestigation that Usada was finallyable to gain evidence of Armstrong’sdoping. “No attempt by Travis Tygartto rewrite history will change the factthat Usada failed to catch LanceArmstrong having tested him just 49times during his career. The UCI bycomparison tested Armstrong 189times.” Work by the UCI to catchArmstrong’s former teammates FloydLandis and Tyler also enabled theinvestigation against Armstrong, thespokesman added.

SPORTS DESK

SWEDEN’S AlexanderNoren overcame the testingconditions to take the thirdround lead with a deservingthree-under-par 69 at the

Ballantine’s Championship.Noren battled the gusty winds that

swept through the Blackstone Golf Cluball-day to post a three-day total of nine-under-par 207 for a one-shot lead overSpain’s Pablo Larrazabal and Scotland’sPeter Larrazabal who were tied for secondplace after they returned with 68 and 69respectively. 2010 Ballantine’sChampionship winner Marcus Fraser ofAustralia signed for a 69 to take a share offourth place with countryman BrettRumford on 209 total while Thailand’s

Arnond Vongvanij (75) and KiradechAphibarnrat (75), who held the secondround lead, will have to make up groundsafter they slipped to a share of 10th and15th place respectively. Noren, whotrailed the second round leaders by one,made his move with a birdie on the fourthhole.

The Swede dropped a shot on the par-four ninth but quickly asserted himself bystorming home with a flawless inward-nine that was highlighted by birdies onholes 12, 14 and 18. “It was a nice way tofinish as it was a long and tough day. I alsoheld my short game together very nicely,”said Noren. “I didn’t have that manychances but I took care of them when I gotchances for birdies and made theimportant pars when I needed. So it was abig fight out there today,” added the

Swede. While conditions were tough on aday where only 17 players broke par,Larrazabal is taking it in his stride andbelieves he can rise to the occasion on thefinal day, where it matters most.

“I’ve been here for six years and Ilove tough conditions. I love windconditions, and I love tight pin positions.You know, I love to have fun that way,”said the Spaniard

“The winds on this golf course werevery tough. We were up on a mountainand we had to play on both sides of themountains. The winds were swirlingaround and you’ve to trust yourself and gofor it,” added Larrazabal.

Fraser moved back into contention forhis second Ballantine’s Championshipwin following his victory in 2010.

Starting his round, three shots back of

the leaders in tied-13th, Fraser got off theblocks quickly with two birdies in threeholes.

He birdied holes six and seven beforea bogey-five on the ninth hole saw himturn in 33.

The Australian, who finished secondon the Asian Tour Order of Merit lastseason, grabbed the outright lead at the15th hole after another birdie but let itslipped away after dropping another shoton the closing 18th hole.

“It was a nice way to finish but therewas certainly more good than bad in howI played today,” said Fraser.

“Given the conditions today, I’mhappy to be in the position where I’m rightnow. I managed to hole several long puttsto save par today and that was key,” addedthe Australian.

rIghts grouPs askfIfa to wIthdrawbahraIn CandIdate

SPORTS DESK

Two human rights groups have asked worldsoccer governing body FIFA to withdraw SheikhSalman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa from the race tobecome president of Asian football, accusing theBahraini royal of human rights breaches. In aletter to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the BahrainCenter for Human Rights and the Bahrain YouthSociety for Human Rights said Sheikh Salman,the head of the Bahrain Football Association(BFA), was not fit for the role. “Sheikh Salmanbin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa is involved in humanrights violations with the assistance of his officeand consultants against players, administrators,referees and clubs who participated in thedemocracy protests in February 2011,” the twogroups wrote in Friday’s letter. “We hope thatyou bear in mind the sublime principles of sportand fair play that respect basic human rights andto distance all violators of human rights fromreaching prestigious sport positions in order toembellish their notorious image.”

noren leads ballantine’sChampionship

UCI reject Usada claims over Armstrong

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:33 AM Page 18

GEO SUPERSuper Kings v KKR

03:30 PMDaredevils v Warriors

07:30 PM

sPoRTs Ssunday, 28 April, 2013

18I think Carrick is an under-rated player in England. Sometimes not

only should the goalscorer be rewarded, but the real players in the

heart of the game. Carrick, for me, deserves it — Arsene Wenger

wAtCh It LIve

STAR SPORTSBarclays League: Arsenal vs.Manchester United8:25 PM

BARCELONA

AGENCIES

Seven-time winner Rafael Nadal won back-to-backmatches to advance to the semifinals of the BarcelonaOpen on Friday.

After rain forced several third-roundmatches to be pushed back, Nadalstarted the day by beating BenoitPaire of France 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. Thefifth-ranked Spaniard thendefeated Albert Ramos 6-3, 6-0after his overmatched opponenthad downed Kei Nishikori ofJapan 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) earlier inthe day.

“I played much better inthe second match than in themorning,” Nadal said afterfinishing off Ramos. “Aboveall in the second set, whenAlbert made more mistakes thanusual.” Nadal has won 37 straightmatches on the red clay at Real Clubde Tenis and is on course to make hissixth straight final this year afterreturning from a long injury layoff.

He will face Milos Raonic on Saturday afterthe Canadian outlasted Tommy Robredo 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (2). Fourth-seeded Nicolas Almagro will play PhilippKohlschreiber in the other semifinal.

Nadal responded well to the test of playing twomatches in the same day as he works his way back toform. He returned to the tour in February after a naggingcase of tendinitis in his left knee sidelined him for sevenmonths. Nadal reached five straight finals heading intoBarcelona, but lost to Novak Djokovic last weekend.That ended his eight-year winning run at Monte Carloand raised questions of whether he’s ready to competenext month for the much more grueling French Open

title. Nadal has won at Roland Garros a record seventimes. “I got through a complicated day fine,” Nadalsaid.

Earlier, Robredo fought back from a set down tostop sixth-ranked Tomas Berdych 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-

3 in the third round. The unseededRobredo hit a winner that clipped the

baseline to break Berdych’s servefor the fourth time on match

point.Raonic also defeated

Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 (6)on Friday.

Almagro beat JuanMonaco 6-3, 7-5 tomake his third semifinalin the Catalan capitalafter he broke theArgentine’s serve latebefore serving out the

second set.“I’m excited to have a

shot at making my first finalhere in Barcelona, but it

won’t be easy,” Almagro said.“Kohlschreiber has a great return.”Kohlschreiber rallied past Martin

Klizan of Slovakia 1-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) aftertheir third-round match was postponed on Thursday withKlizan leading 4-3 in the third set. Kohlschreiber thenadvanced to the semifinals after Thomaz Bellucciwithdrew. The 26-year-old Nadal appeared to haveworked out the kinks in his match with Paire, and aftera couple of hours of rest he rolled over Ramos.

Nadal made quick work of the 64th-ranked rival bytaking his first service games in each set. He didn’t giveRamos an opportunity to break his serve and finished hissecond match in just over an hour.

Nadal last lost at the Barcelona Open 10 years agoto Spain’s Davis Cup captain, Alex Corretja.

Nadal wins twice toreach Barcelona semis

li ousts kvitovato book stuttgartsemi-final spot

BERLIN

AGENCIES

World number five Li Na withstood a latecomeback from Petra Kvitova to beat the fifth-seeded Czech 6-3 7-5 on Friday and set up aStuttgart Grand Prix semi-final with Americanqualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands.The second seed from China was put under earlypressure by a series of sizzling Kvitovagroundstrokes but responded by rattling off fiveconsecutive games to snatch the first set.World number eight Kvitova took an early 2-0 leadin the second set before Li bounced back again,reeling off another five straight games.The Australian Open runner-up then twice had herserve broken as the mercurial Kvitova blasted astring of superb service returns past her opponentto level at 5-5.A fine volley and a brilliant return from anunimaginable angle put Li 6-5 ahead and shefinally went through on her third match point whenthe Czech netted a backhand.Mattek-Sands advanced with a 6-4 6-2 win overGerman Sabine Lisicki.Earlier, top seed and defending champion MariaSharapova struggled to dispose of former worldnumber one Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 7-5 4-6 6-4.The world number two has had to work hard in theevent, saving two match points in a three-hourbattle with Czech Lucie Safarova in her first matchthis season on clay on Thursday.“I prefer playing tough matches instead of trainingat home,” the Russian told reporters. “It was hardto get my body going - I need some time to warmup.”Sharapova next meets third-seeded GermanAngelique Kerber who put out Kazakhstan’sYaroslava Shvedova 6-3 7-6.

‘brIght ProsPeCtsfor dIamondleague deal’

SPORTS DESK

The focus of the world’s gaze during the2012 Olympics, athletics is now searching fora new title sponsor for its elite series ofmeetings just two weeks before the seasonopens. Electronics giant Samsung pulled theplug on its Diamond League sponsorship lastmonth, dealing a blow to the 14-meetingseries and raising questions about themarketability of the sport outside of Olympicyears. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt andBritish heptathlete Jessica Ennis are enjoyingthe rewards and profile brought by Olympicsuccess, finding themselves in constantdemand for endorsements but many of theirrivals toil in relative obscurity. The IAAF, thesport’s governing body, strikes an upbeatnote, saying it has a strong group ofinternational commercial partners, pointingout that it signed up Japanese camera makerCanon Inc as recently as last November. Onthe Diamond League specifically, it believesthat a new backer will be found to replaceSouth Korea’s Samsung which was believedto be paying around 3 million euros ($3.9million) per season. “The 14 meetings whichmake up the IAAF Diamond League all havetheir own commercial partners and that doeslimit the commercial sectors from which theIAAF can seek a series sponsor and thepackage of rights it can offer a potentialpartner,” the IAAF told Reuters in astatement.

InIesta wantsbIlbao wIn toease barCa PaIn

SPORTS DESK

Andres Iniesta urged his shell-shocked sideto ease some of the pain of their ChampionsLeague humiliation by taking another steptoward the La Liga title. Barca go intoSaturday’s clash at Athletic Bilbao with thewounds from their 4-0 semi-final first-legthrashing by Bayern Munich on Tuesdaystill raw. As well as all but ending theirhopes of becoming European championsthis season, the defeat has prompted talk ofthe end of an era at the Nou Camp and,combined with Borussia Dortmund’s 4-1win over Real Madrid, a power shift in theEuropean game from Spain to Germany.Iniesta, though, knows there is only one wayfor he and his beleaguered team-mates torespond. “The only thing to do is to pickourselves up and get back to winning theleague,” he said. “Now we have to switchour focus, go to Bilbao, win and ensure thatthe league title is one game closer. “Athleticwill demand that we are at our best. We havethe experience of playing them over the lastfew seasons and we know that it will be anintense and physical game.”

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:34 AM Page 19

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

sunday, 28 April, 2013

KHI 28-04-2013_Layout 1 4/28/2013 2:34 AM Page 20