Drones should now come to ahalt................................................Encouraging news from Dar inLondon................................................Early signs of Apartheid in US

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AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—As indicated by PakistanObserver, the KSE-100 IN-DEX despite experiencing cor-rection during last two tradingsessions, finally returned tobullish strength Wednesday toget back at 31454 after gaining230 points.

The positive news flowsincluding BofAML has high-lighted Pakistan as a preferredfrontier market in the secondannual MENA and Frontiersconference for investors in

KSE-100 regains surge,230 points added to index

Riyadh and Dubai, and the timing andmagnitude of the recent drop in oil pricesare important and will have major posi-

tive impact on external and fiscal ac-counts. The govt is using the windfall gainto its advantage in changing its percep-

tion among the masses. All thesepositive development howeverprovide an impetus to the inves-tors despite political uncertaintyon the other handAfter putting the overbought po-sitions the investors are nowagain comfortably settled to com-bat the possible political reactionof Nov 30 rally. The brisk trad-ing activity took the index as highas 31536 level yet it was subsidedat the close at 31454.

OBSERVER REPORT

KATHMANDU—Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifon Wednesday said that his vision for the re-gion was of a dispute-free South Asia whereinstead of fighting one another, the countriesjointly fought poverty, illiteracy, disease, mal-nourishment and unemployment.

Addressing the 18th SAARC summit inKathmandu, Nawaz Sharif appreciated thetheme of the 18th summit, “Deeper RegionalIntegration for Peace and Prosperity”, and said,“The focus on deeper integration for peace andprosperity is most appropriate and reflects ourcommon desire for promoting mutual under-standing and reaching out to each other to cre-ate a win-win scenario.” He said “Saarc mustcapture the imagination of our people and con-tribute to create strong and mutual beneficialbonds. Saarc can contribute immensely towardsbuilding a trust surplus among member states.”

Nawaz envisionsdispute-free S AsiaStresses joint efforts to end poverty,

illiteracy instead of fighting“Interfaith and intercultural harmony must findspecial emphasis in its programs.”

Sharif said that the region, which is home tonearly one quarter of the global population, ismired in poverty, disease and illiteracy with low-est human and social indicators. “More than one-fifth of the population is between 15-24 years ofage which is the largest number of youth to evermake transition into adulthood,” he said. “Weshould invest in our youth to unleash their cre-ativity, talent and enterprise. We need our bondsof trust so we can solve our problems,” he said.

The Prime Minister added, “The regionhowever accounts for only six per cent of theworld’s GDP in purchasing power parity, andonly four per cent share in the world trade whileattracting only three percent of the global FDIwe are one of the least integrated regions in theworld.” Sharif noted that all South Asian coun-tries were vibrant democracies and added that,

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Independent Power Producers(IPPs) have sent notices to the government un-der Sovereign Guarantee over the dues of Rs42273 million, the NTDC has defaulted on.

Sources at IPPAC confirmed that noticeshave been served at PPIB, over powerpurchaser’s failure to pay huge verified and ap-proved receivables to the power producers.

According to the details of dues, Pakgen isto receive Rs 3936m; Lalpir Rs 4724m; KELRs 1685m; Rousch Rs 2928m; Nishat Power

Vicious circular debt resurfaces

14 IPPs demand Rs 42b duesRs 4238m; Nishat Chunian Rs 6066m; LibertyPower Tech Rs 4768m; Hubco Narowal Rs3699m; Atlas Power Rs 4115m; Saif Power Rs2355m; Sapphire Electric Rs 1500m; EngroPower Rs 861m; Orient Power Rs 631m; andHalmore Rs 767m.

‘We welcomed the government’s step ofclearing outstanding dues of the IPPs last yearbut this is not one-time thing due to various is-sues in public sectors organisation related power.The power purchaser has to clear dues on regu-lar basis lest it became too difficult for IPPs to

Nawaz, Modimaintaindistance

KATHMANDU—They sharedthe dais but leave alone a hand-shake, there was no exchangeof courtesies between PrimeMinisters of India and Pakistanduring the nearly three-hourSAARC Summit here onWednesday.

Prime Minister NawazSharif and his Indian counter-part Narendra Modi, who weresitting two seats away fromeach other, did not look at eachother even when PM Sharifcrossed before and after deliv-ering his speech at the 18thmeeting of the eight-memberregional bloc. Leaders ofMaldives and Nepal wereseated between Modi andSharif.

Though there was no“structured” meeting scheduledbetween the two leaders, a briefexchange of pleasantries wasexpected given that they wouldbe attending the same confer-ence and the retreat. WhileSharif had sought to put the ballin India’s court for an initiativefor talks, saying “cancellationof talks was New Delhi’s uni-lateral decision,” and “ball isnow in India’s court for talksbetween both the countries”.India maintained that it was for“meaningful dialogue” whichinvolves specifics.—Online

Veg with lessspice for Modi;

Halal meatfor Nawaz

KATHMANDU—It is asimple vegetarian spread“with less spices and oil”for Prime MinisterNarendra Modi while hisPakistani counterpartNawaz Sharif is havinghalal meat dishes duringtheir stay in Nepal for theSAARC Summit. HotelCrowne Plaza Kathmandu-Soaltee, where the SAARCleaders including Nawaz

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Pak, Sri Lanka,Maldives, BDleaders discuss

bilateral tiesKAT H M A N D U —PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif andSri Lankan PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa held ameeting in Kathmandu onWednesday. They discussedmatters related to bilateralrelations and the regionalsituation. The two countriesagreed to further strengthenand enhance cooperation indiverse fields.

Prime Minister NawazSharif said Pakistan desiresContinued on Page 7

Pakistan scuttlesIndian move toget land accessto Afghanistan

KATHMANDU—Pakistanscuttled an Indian move atthe SAARC summit herewhen it opposed an Indianmove for the inking ofSAARC connectivityagreements.

Diplomatic sources saidthat India wanted the con-nectivity agreements in or-der to have land routes forits goods to Afghanistan andfurther to the Central AsianContinued on Page 7

KATHMANDU: Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay (L), India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C), Pakistan’sPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif (walking past Indian counterpart) and Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala attend theopening session of 18th SAARC summit on Wednesday.

AAMIR MAJEED

KARACHI—Police on Wednesday recovered 33minor girl students of a Karachi seminary who

had been handed over to a family by a teacherand a supervisor of the madrassah over non-pay-ment of a debt.

Acting on a complaint filed by the residents,police raided a house in Liaquatabad C-1 areaand found 26 young girls inside.

Police recover 33 minorgirls from Karachi home

KARACHI: The twenty-six minor girls belonging to Bajaur were recovered from a house inLiaquatabad on Wednesday—INP photo

Later, seven more young girls were recov-ered from the same area, raising the tally to 33.

According to ASI Tanveer, the girls who hailfrom Bajaur tribal region could not speak or

understand Urdu. The seminary handed the girlsover to the family when the family was unableto pay off a loan it had taken from the madrassah.As repayment of the loan, the seminary hadasked the family to take charge of the young

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER

QUETTA—Four polio work-ers, including three women,were killed and three othersinjured on Wednesday morningwhen unknown gunmenopened fire on a polio vacci-nation team near Quetta’s East-ern Bypass area. The LadyHealth Workers Association inthe province subsequently an-nounced a boycott of the poliocampaign in Balochistan.

According to police, armedmen opened fire at the polio

4 polio workers gunneddown in Balochistan

LHWs Association boycotts polio campaignteam, killing four people, injur-ing three. After launching theattack, the assailants escapedfrom the site of incident. Bod-ies of the victims were shiftedto Civil Hospital Quetta forpostmortem.

Speaking to the media, onehealth worker said that untilsecurity is provided, they willcontinue boycotting the cam-paign. They also said that thegovernment has failed to pro-vide security to health workers.

Police and Frontier Corpspersonnel arrived at the scene

to investigate the incident. Nogroup has claimed responsibil-ity for the attack as yet.

After the attack, policeconducted several raids in theEastern Bypass area and de-tained several suspects in rela-tion to the attack on the polioteam. A senior police officersaid that the suspects were be-ing interrogated by police. Healso stated that 700 policemenwere deployed in Quetta toguard polio teams.

A polio vaccination cam-

Continued on Page 7

PM disqualification

SC forms 7-memberlarger bench

ISLAMABAD—Supreme Court (SC) has constituted a 7-memberlarger bench on the request of Justice Jawwad S Khawaja to hearPrime Minister (PM) disqualification case. A 3-member benchof SC led by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja had given decision dur-ing the hearing of the case at Quetta whereby the Chief Justiceof Pakistan (CJP) Nasir ul Mulk was requested to constitute largerbench in view of the importance of the case.

CJP Nasir ul Mulk has ordered for constitution of 7-memberlarger bench of SC. CJP Nasir ul Mulk will head the bench.

The other members of larger bench are Justice Jawwad SKhawaja, Justice Anwar Zahir Jamali, Justice Saqib Nisar, Jus- Continued on Page 7

PTI to filecriminal cases

against ROs: ImranLAHORE—Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, ImranKhan has said that he wouldpresent proofs of rigging in elec-tion tomorrow (Friday), filecriminal cases against Return-ing Officers (ROs) and move tothe Supreme Court (SC).

Recording his statement inthe office of Lahore ElectionCommission, before an electiontribunal, he requested that thecase of PP-147 should not belinked with NA-122 and a deci-sion be announced for PP-147soon. He said he has been toldby the election tribunal judgethat in PP-147, 17955 vote arefake out of 31000 votes whilethere is no record of 50 pollingstations out of 150. Imran Khan

Hafeez 178 putsPak in dominantpositionSHARJAH—MohammadHafeez continued his richvein of form and closed in on

his maiden doublehundred in Tests asPakistan reached 281for three against NewZealand at the close onthe first day of thethird and final Test on

Wednesday.Opener Hafeez, who

returned to the side aftermissing the second Test dueto injury, was unbeaten on178 with captain Misbah-ul-Haq on 38 not out.

Details on Sports Page

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STAFF REPORT

PESHAWAR—A pamphlet attributed to the Is-lamic State militant organisation has been dis-tributed in Wana area of South Waziristan, seek-ing the support of local tribesmen and warningthem against spying for the United States.

The leaflet also warns locals against sup-porting and facilitating US drone strikes, whichhave killed several Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistanand Al Qaeda fighters since 2007.

Leaflets calling for support of IS have re-cently been seen in parts of northwest Pakistan,while pro-IS slogans have appeared on walls in Continued on Page 7

IS pamphlet warns tribesmenagainst spying for US

several cities across the country.The pamphlet, the first such to appear in

Wana, asks for the support of tribesmen, or oth-erwise face dire consequences. It thanks tribes-men for supporting South Waziristan militantcommander Mullah Nazir, who was also killedin a US drone strike. It also praises thetribesmen’s support to Mullah Nazir’s succes-sor, Mufti Salahuddin Ayubi.

The authenticity of the Urdu pamphlet,which carries the IS stamp and monogram andthe words ‘Daish’ and ‘ISIS’ on top, is still be-ing ascertained.

Girl dies in Indiaafter being set onfire for resistingmolestationLUCKNOW—A teenage girldied in northern India oneweek after a gang of men sether on fire as punishment forresisting their attempts tomolest her, police saidWednesday.

The horrific incident isthe latest in India where sexattacks on women continue tooccur on an almost daily basisdespite an internationaloutcry over the fatal gang-rape of a student in 2012.

In the latest case, policehave arrested four men overthe attack which occurredafter the 15-year-old girlstepped outside her home inUttar Pradesh state onNovember 16.

The girl’s family has toldpolice that six men draggedher back inside the houseafter she objected to their

Continued on Page 7

British Muslimsraise concernover newanti-terror lawLONDON—British Muslimrights groups and ordinaryfaithful said they felt singledout by a tough new anti-terrorlaw unveiled on Wednesday,labelling the plannedlegislation divisive andrushed.

While there is agreementon the need to prevent would-be British militants fromjoining the ranks of theIslamic State group, there isalso unease over thegovernment’s hardlinestrategy.

“For us to live in thesame community and worktogether, we have to fighttogether. I think these laws

Drone hit killseight more

in NWA TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—Amid an interna-tional watchdog’s fresh reportthat the US drone strikes inPakistan and Yemen have re-sulted in killing of hundredsof innocent people, the Ameri-can CIA operated drones in afresh missile hit in the NorthWaziristan Agency Wednesdayleft another eight people dead.

Hardly a couple of daysearlier infamous drones missed

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

India can’t havetalks with Pakistanwhen bullets flying

around: MinisterTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM—India cannot have talks withPakistan when bullets are fly-ing around, Minister of Statefor Defence and Planning RaoInderjit Singh saidWednesdayday.

India’s attitue toward Paki-stan has been made clear by thePrime Minister and the De-fence Minister, he said, appar-ently referring to the issue ofrepeated ceasefire violations onthe Line of Control.

“You cannot have talks inan atmosphere when bulletsand mortar shells are being

SIALKOT: Professors and lecturers of Commerce College holding a demonstration for equal implementaion ofcontract policy.

PPP’s Senator Raza Rabbani addressing a press conference at PPP Media Cell.

MULTAN: Principal Post Graduate College MS. Tahira distributing certificates amongthe participants of three-day training workshop on Communication and Leadership Skills.

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) Central Deputy Secretary Infor-mation Senator Mian Raza Rabbanisaid the plans of the federal govern-ment for privatizing national strate-gic institutions particularly the Paki-stan international Airlines Corpora-tion (PIAC) and the Pakistan Steel Mill(PSM) were as a whole in violation tothe provisions of the constitution ofPakistan. The federal governmenthad now started playing a new dramaof appointment of a Chief FinancialOfficer for the PIAC on a hefty salarypackage of Rs.2.7 million per month.The fact was that the corporation al-ready had a full time CFO but the fed-eral government had inducted an ad-ditional CFO so that he could workfor the government’s vested intereststo ease out the process of theprivatisation of the corporation. Thepast experiences regardingprvatisation of national strategic in-stitutions such as Karachi Electric andJawaidan Cement were horrible andyielded no fruit for the masses andthe country.

PML-N be responsible for politicalinstability if institutions privatized: Rabbani

He was addressing a press con-ference at the PPP Media Cell SindhTuesday. He was flanked by Sena-tor Saeed Ghani, KhawajaMuhammad Awan, RehmatullahSerki, Shamshad Qureshi, MohsinRaza, Manzoor Abbas, LateefMughal and Habib Ud Din Junaidi.

On the other hand, the govern-ment had also inducted an additionalChief Marketing Officer (CMO) for asalary package of Rs. 4 million permonth and despite the fact that thecorporation had a full time Chief lawOfficer (CLO), the federal governmenthad appointed an additional CLO fora salary package of Rs. 2 million permonth, said Rabbani, adding that thefederal government of Pakistan Mus-lim League Nawaz (PMLN) was somuch bent upon selling the nationalstrategic institutions as that of thePIAC that beside appointing addi-tional CFO, CMO and CLO, a planwas being chalked out to sack 4000employees in the disguise ofdownsizing. The PPP would make itloud and clear that no such plan fordownsizing would be allowed to hap-pen and in case the federal govern-

ment would still make any effort, thePPP would stand beside the workersand employees of the corporation.

Senator Raza Rabbani said thatthe corporation’s board that wouldbe meeting today should also staywarned to avoid any step towardmaking any approval for the retrench-ments of the workers and the employ-ees. Federal government’s logic thatthe cost of operations of the corpora-tion was heightened owing to 18 per-cent spent on employees’ salaries wasnonsense as the standard cost wasaround 25 percent worldwide. Thefederal government also wanted tooutsource certain operations of thecorporation such as the catering andmanagement of passengers’ affairs tothe blue-eyed partners of PMLN lead-ers or Shuja Azeem.

The federal government wantedto divide the corporation in 2 catego-ries, the PIA-I and the PIA-II and theearlier would be free from any liabilityand thus the blue-eyed would be of-fered an olive branch while the laterwould be kept under state’s obliga-tion for which the expenses andlosses would be borne from the tax-

payers’ pocket, he informed.The salaries of the Cabin Crew

were not disbursed for past 6months but the salaries and perksand privileges of the Cockpit Crewwere being disbursed on time,which was a candid manifest ofPMLN’s mindset of protecting theupper class and neglecting and hu-miliating the low-income workingclass of the people, he deplored.

The PPP Central Deputy Secre-tary Information Senator Mian RazaRabbani while lambasting thePMLN-led federal government saidthey had ordered for 10 jets on wetlease for $2650 per hour while AirBlue had obtained jets on same wetleases for $1700 per hour. In addi-tion, the federal government hadagreed to the suppliers of jets on wetlease that the rent would be paid for275 hours per month whether the jetswould fly or stay on ground. It wasthe legal obligation of the manage-ment of the corporation to take upthe issue failing which the PPPwould be compelled to ask aboutChaudhary Muneer and his alle-giance to the Ittehad Airways.

PESHAWAR—Districts Nurses Associationon Wednesday demanded that nursingschools which is under the ProvincialHealth Services Academy should be re-at-tached with the concerned hospital.

Addressing a press conference here atPeshawar Press Club, President Farukh Jalildeclared that Provincial Health ServicesAcademy is totally unacceptable to nurses.

She also rejected structure and servicerules and demanded to increase nursingstrength by appointing 50,000 nurses, 100male nurses, 400 head nurses and 50 nursing

Re- attachment nursing schoolswith hospitals concerned demanded

superintendents in hospitals of the province.She also demanded nurse allowances

on education basis and said that studentscholarship should be equal to salary of anurse. She demanded of concerned au-thorities to 100 percent increase in special-ization, ward administration, teaching, postRN (BSN) and M.Sc Nursing allowances.

She said that attempts to occupy thebuilding of nurses hostel by Khyber Medi-cal University foiled adding the buildingbelongs to nurses and could only be usedby them.—APP

Denmark envoyvisits IMS

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Jesper MøllerSørensen, Ambassador ofDenmark to Pakistan visitedto the Institute of Manage-ment Sciences (IMSciences)to meet with student and fac-ulty of the Institute and toexplore possibilities of areasfor mutual collaboration.

During his speech hebriefed the participants thatDenmark with a populationof 5.6 million is a happiestnation of the world becauseof its good governance andcommitment to the educationwhere government allocates8% of its budget to educa-tion.

Free education to theDanish students enablesthem to achieve quality edu-cation and then be a part ofdevelopmental process.

He explained that Danishgovernment funds in healthfacilities and primary educa-tion of Pakistani studentsthrough various fundingmechanisms.

He informed the par-ticipants that his visit is apart of reaching the variouscommunities of Pakistan in-cluding educationists, gov-ernment and civil society.Therefore, he is focusingexpansion in the countrythrough bilateral trade op-portunities.

He proposed that the Den-mark may extend its help in thefield of technology to estab-lish successful joint venturessuch as dairy processing unitsmay be established.

PESHAWAR—Chief Minister PervezKhattak has said that revival of theindustrial and economical activitiesand producing maximum attraction forinvestment in various sectors of theprovince was prime objective of hisgovernment adding it would only guar-antee economic health as well as pro-viding precious opportunities to theyouth to demonstrate their talents.

He was talking to ambassador ofthe Republic of Turkey to Pakistan, S.Babur Girgin who called on him hereWednesday. Matters relating to mu-tual cooperation in energy generation,housing, solid waste management andmunicipal services, skills develop-ment, tourism and other sectors werediscussed.

The Chief Minister informed thatconsiderable progress has been madein this regard during the last one yearwherein the public institutions havebeen made subservient to the massesafter introducing reforms and legisla-tions therein bringing about tangibleand encouraging results. A new era ofpeace has been started in the prov-ince whereas the graph of crimes wasalso being gradually dropped due togiving free hand to police force.

He further stated that introducingindependent monitoring system ineducation sector was one of our hun-dreds of institutional reforms that en-sured attendance of the teachers and

Khattak wants Turkishinvestment in KP

students in the schools in wake of theproven fact that education was theonly key to a bright future of a nation.

The Turk Ambassador was alsoaccompanied by Kamil Kolabas Advi-sor to Turk Prime Minister on Interna-tional Aid and Giray Tezel CountryDirector of Turk Development Agencywhile Honorary Consul General ofTurkey in Peshawar Saleem SaifullahKhan, Deputy Chief Mission MalikRiaz Advocate, Mohsin Aziz ViceChairman Board of Investment andTrade (BoIT), Syed Zafar Ali Shah Sec-retary Planning & Development, Spe-cial Secretary to Chief Minister andSecretary Information MuhammadIsrar Khan and other concerned au-thorities were present on the occasion.

He also invited Pervez Khattak forofficial tour of Turkey upon which theChief Minister replied that he will onlyproceed on foreign trip when he sawsome returns for his people.

Talking to the Turk ambassador,the Chief Minister invited the Turk in-vestors to invest in the various sec-tors in the province including energyand housing and assured all type offacilities and guarantees in this regard.He said that the provincial governmentintended to cherish green and cleanPeshawar project as well as to com-plete mass transit system includingmodern bus service between Peshawarand Hayatabad so that the rush of traf-

fic could be minimized in the city aswell as cheap and quick facilities oftransport could be provided to thepeople.

Pervez Khattak maintained that theprovincial government was working onsetting up of two new cities underPeshawar Model Town that would befour times bigger than Hayatabad andeducation city near Col. Sher KhanInterchange on Motorway. The inves-tors of Turkey and all the friendly coun-tries are encouraged and invited toinvest in the same.

He while also welcoming offer ofTurk govt of cooperation in technicaltraining said we want our youth to bewell equipped with education and skillsso that they could easily find jobs bothin land and abroad.

Pervez Khattak said that six newindustrial zones were being estab-lished in the province at the divisionallevel whereas cheap electricity wouldbe provided to its factories under gasto energy and hydel generation plans.

He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wasin-fact unfeasible for industries due togeopolitical factors in the present cir-cumstances whereas cheap electricitywas the only source of attraction forsetting up of industries over here. Onthis occasion it was decided to arrangeseparate departmental briefing for Turkdiplomatic mission and investors in thecoming weeks.—APP

Clean water toanimals necessary

for maximummilk production

LAHORE—Vice Chancellor ofthe University of Veterinaryand Animal Sciences (UVAS)Prof Talat Naseer Pashastressing the importance ofclean water to animal has saidthat provision of clean wateris necessary to get maximummilk production. He said this while speak-ing at an inaugural cer-emony of Kisan Meal whichwas organized by the Diag-nostic Lab and Departmentof Clinical Medicine & Sur-gery of the University ofVeterinary and AnimalSciences(UVAS) in collabo-ration with the AgricultureSector Linkage Programme(ASLP) at Ravi CampusPattoki on Wednesday. Over 200 farmers fromdifferent districts of thePunjab participated.—APP

UMERKOT—Sindh Minister for PopulationWelfare, Syed Ali Mardan Shah, on Wednes-day, said that Survey had been completedfor Natural Gas supply project for Umerkotand Rs 730 million had already been ap-proved in this regard.

Speaking at open-’kacheri’ here, he saidthat total cost of the project was estimatedat over Rs 1 billion and after sanctioning offunds and completion of survey, workcould be started within one month time.

He said PPP fulfilled another promiseand soon residents of Umerkot would beprovided natural gas via Mirpurkhas underdirectives of former President Asif AliZardari and Chairman Bilalwal BhuttoZardari, he added.

He further told the meeting that SindhGovernment had also approved Rs. 220 mil-lion for new development schemes andongoing development works in districtUmkerkot, including construction of roads,drainage and provision of clean drinkingwater schemes which would be carried outon priority basis.

He assured that approval for construc-tion of medical college and cadet college in

Survey completed for gassupply to Umerkot

the district from Sindh Assembly would betaken by next year so that difficulties beingfaced by youths for getting education couldbe reduced.

He said that out of total 21 vacancies ofdoctors in health department 14 posts hadbeen reserved for minorities.

He also directed SDO-WAPDA to en-sure that meter-readers were taking accu-rate reading and power supply to illegalconnections should be immediately termi-nated without accepting any interference.

He also called CMO, Abdul Jalil Thebofor improving performance of municipal in-stitute and keeping the city clean.

Taking notice of a reported case of den-gue virus, he directed the DHO and CMOto carry out fumigation across the districtand submit daily reports. The governmentjobs in Thar Coal planning project wouldbe given to the local people.

Survey Engineer Arif Changizi, informedthe meeting that earlier gas supply toUmerkot was based on plant but consider-ing the population of Umerkot it was de-cided to provide natural gas through pipe-line from Mirpurkhas.—APP

Wantedcriminal killedin encounter

KHAIRPUR—A notoriousdacoit was killed in an en-counter with police near PirJo Goth here on Wednesday.

According to SSPKhairpur, Nasir Aftab dur-ing raid in Katchha area ofIndus River the criminalswho were hiding there,opened fire on police party.

Retaliatory firing by po-lice resulted in killing of awanted criminal Qadir Buxalias Dadir Narejo while hisother accomplices managedto escape from the spot.

The SSP informed thatpolice also recovered oneKalashnikov and cartridgesfrom the place. He said thedeceased was wanted inmany heinous crimes.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Senate Standing Committeeon States and Frontier Regions has calledfor the setting up of a monitoring cell in(FATA) Secretariat to look into the progressof development programmes. The committee meeting chaired bySenator Mu-hammad Saleh Shah was heldon Wednesday at the Parliament House.It was discussed the Protected Relief andRecovery Operation Programme of 2013-2015 in FATA including school feeding,nutrition and food livelihood. FATA So-cial Cohesion and Peace BuildingProgramme also came under discus-sionin the meeting. The committee was told that the devel-opment programmes are being conductedin six agencies of FATA which includeBajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurramand South Waziristan. Discussing the ratio of development pro-grammes, relief work and infrastructuralsupport Senators asked the officers fromSAFRON and FATA if the ratio of popula-tion and area is being consid-ered whiledistributing the funds. Officials told the committee that theprogrammes are based on the security con-ditions, availability of roads and schools

Senate body for setting upmonitoring cell in FATA

in the area. The Senators were told that a total ofUS$12.327 million were spent on a numberof projects for social cohe-sion and resto-ration of social services and infrastructureby UNDP, UNHABITAT, FAO, WHO,UNESCO and UNHCR. Senators laid emphasis on involvinglocal popu-lation of FATA in the nationalmainstream for their socio-economic up-lift. The committee was also briefed aboutthe spe-cial seats reserved for FATA stu-dents in various Medical and EngineeringColleges and Universities. Scholarshipprogrammes and political scholarship crite-ria for students belonging to FATA wasalso discussed. The meeting was attended among oth-ers by Senators Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo,Ahmed Hassan, Mufti Abdul Sattar,Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Nasir, Sena-tor Haji Ghulam Ali, Minister for Statesand Frontier Regions, Abdul QadirBaloch, Secretary SAFRON Pir Jamali,Joint Secretary Tariq Hayat Khan, ACSFATA Azam Khan, D.G. Projects FATASyed Imtiaz Hussain and Rashida Amirfrom World Food Programme.—APP

CHAMAN: A polio worker administering the anti-polio drops to a child before crossingPak-Afghan border.

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan talking to MNA Mohtarma MussarratAhmad Zeb who called on him at Governor’s House.

PESHAWAR: Former Vice Chancellor of Islamia College University, Prof. Qibla Ayazis distributing certificates among the students during closing ceremony of YDSC project.

MULTAN—The district government hassent PC-1 to the Punjab government forrestoration of a historical gate, a segmentof ‘Sarafa Bazaar’ besides visitors’ com-pound of mausoleum of Hazrat Musa PakShaheed in the walled city here,officials said on Tuesday. According to the PC-1, a sum of Rs 240million will bespent on three schemes, in-cluding restoration of a historicalgate ofthe walled city called Haram gate, conser-vation of’Musafir Khana’ of Darbar MusaPak Shaheed and restoration of 270-feetlong face of ‘Sarafa Bazaar’ ie jewellersmarket on both sides of the road insidethe walled city, the archaeology and dis-trict government officials said and addedconservation of Musafir Khana wouldcost Rs 26 million. All the three segments of the project

Restoration of walled city

ISLAMABAD—The weatherwould remain cold and dryduring the next few weeksin most parts of the coun-try and Winter’s first rain islikely by the end of Decem-ber or start of January asper the previous year pat-tern. An offi-cial of Paki-stan Meteo-rological De-p a r t m e n t(PMD) toldAPP that the country hasbeen witnessing first Win-ter rain during the monthsof December or January fromthe last few years. This year too, the firstshower of Winter season isexpected very late due to thechange in weather patterns,the official said. Mainly cold and dryweather is expected in mostparts of the country includ-ing Punjab, KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Sindh,Balochistan, Kashmir andGilgit Baltistan during thenext few days.

No significant rain likelyduring next few weeks

However, partly cloudyweather conditions wouldprevail over Malakand,Hazara and Gilgit Baltistanduring the next few dayswith chances of light rain. The synoptic situationhas indicated the prevalence

of continentalair over mostparts of thec o u n t r y .Whereas weakwesterly waspassing over

Gilgit-Baltistan. The lowest minimumtemperatures recorded dur-ing the last 24 hours wereSkardu -5.0 C, Kalat -4.0,Gilgit, Gupis, Chitral -2.0 C,Hunza and Astore -1.0 C. The minimum tempera-tures recorded in other cit-ies were Islamabad 04 C,Lahore 07 C, Karachi 17 C,Peshawar 06 C, Quetta 01C, Murree 02 C,Muzaffarabad 04 C, Gilgit -02 C, Faisalabad 07 C,Multan 11 C andHyderabad 15 C.—APP

would be completed with the help of Italiangovernment funds under a bigger projectmeant for restoration of Walled City ofMultan. Haram gate would be restored to its origi-nal form and public toilet facility would alsobe made available. Installations of MultanElectric Power Company (Mepco) would beremoved from thesite. The restoration of Sarafa Bazaar includedconservation of old houses, their traditionalwooden windows, blue tiles made inKashikari to make both sides of the marketlook original as they existed in past. All theutility services network would be installedunderground like electricity and telephonewires.Water drainage and water supply systemswould also be improved.—APP

PESHAWAR—The Pakistan Tahrik eInsaf (PTI) Government has set-asidereal issues faced by people of KhyberPakthunkhwa and PTI leadership hasstarted agitation politics with an am-bition to take-control of Islamabad,said Awami National Party (ANP) Gen-eral Secretary KP, Aimal Wali Khan onWednesday. “Inspite of our deep concerns overelection results, the ANP had providedfull opportunity to PTI leadership tofulfill their promises made with peopleafter given a disputed mandate on theso-called slogan of change,” AimalWali said while addressing NationalYouth Organization (NYO) workers

PTI uses KP resources toconquer Islamabad: Aimal

convention in Charsadda district onWednesday. Unfortunately, he said PT Govt hasneither fulfilled the promise of hold-ing local bodies’ election within 90days nor made control over the inci-dents of target killing and extortioncases besides on law and order situ-ation. The ANP leader alleged that the PTIGovt instead to concentrate on theseissues, were using its resources toconquer Islamabad that was highlyregrettable. He said Pakhtoons will have to unitunder the banner of ANP for existenceof survival and solution of their prob-

lems, adding great responsibilities liedon the shoulders of Pakthoons youthto play effective political role in thepresent difficult scenario and guidepeople.

Wali said Pakthoons youth werethe precious asset of the party andurged upon them to work hard for theprogress and prosperity of countryand province. From National Youth Or-ganization platform, he said ANP hadmade tireless efforts for their unity andorganization on political front.

ANP Charsadda district PresidentArshad Abdullah and General Secre-tary NYO, Sangeen Khan advocatewere also participated.—APP

Army distributesrelief goods among

displaced peopleHANGU—Relief goods andmaterials used during win-ter season have been dis-tributed among displacedtribal people and afghan refu-gees at Babrak camp locatedin Douaba here on behalf ofPakistan Army. Lt Colonel Wajid Kiyanidistributed the relief goodsand materials includingwarm cloth, blankets, sweat-ers, children toys, ready-made cloths, food and household items among more than500 affectees of Orakzai,Khyber and Kuram Agen-cies and Afghan refugeeswho were accommodated atBabrak camp located atDouaba in Hangu district. Speaking on the occasion,Lt Col Wajid Kiyani said tribalpeople had rendered greatsacrifices for the country andthey would not be left alonein this difficult time. On this occasion, theeffectees and tribal eldersthanked Pakistan Army forits extended help and assis-tance. They urged Govern-ment to make arrangementsfor their smooth return tothe areas cleared from mili-tants.—APP

ISLAMABAD—In a bid to provide relief toan appellant, the Federal Ombudsman whilerejecting the loan recovery process of theHouse Building Finance Company Limitedtermed it not in accordance with the prin-ciple of finance division. Ch. Masood Akhtar, a resident ofRawalpindi Cantt. filed a complaint in theWafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat that he hadobtained a loan of Rs. 400,000 from the in-stitution in 2005, however even after pay-ing 100 installments and later on deposit-ing Rs. 350,000 as premature loan adjust-ment, HBFCL was still asking for Rs. 219,499for finalization of the account, said a pressrelease. The complainant lodged an applicationin the Wafaqi Mohtasib for removal of hisgrievance and stated that when he had al-ready paid an amount of Rs. 697,058, thenthe demand of further Rs. 219,499 was un-

Mohtasib rejects HBFCL’sloan recovery process

justified. He also requested the Mohtasibfor a refund of Rs. 54,346 and release of hisproperty documents held by the Company. Meanwhile, the officials of HBFCL ap-peared before the Wafaqi Mohtasib and ap-prised that the appreciation value of eachunits charged on the account by the Bankis 10% for each 100 rupees every year is inaccordance to clause 20(ii) of the Deed ofAssignment and Partnership. Thus the 10%was being compounded and charged onaccumulative basis increasing progres-sively every year i.e 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%,50% and so on up to 100%. However, the Wafaqi Mohtasib, whileexamining the clause 20(ii) of the Deed ofAssignment and Partnership stated thatthe charging of the appreciation value upto 100% on the shares of the company isunprecedented and should be with-drawn.—APP

PESHAWAR—Deputy Commissioner,Charsadda, Fazal Rehman Khan said onWednesday that a plan to setup state-of-the-art recreational park near River Khayaliin Charsadda district was under consider-ation to provide recreational facilities totourists and residents of adjoining districts. “A plan to setup state-of-the-art recre-ational park at River Khayali was under con-sideration and efforts were being made toacquire land on lease for it,” he told APP.

He said people along with families werecoming to Sirdaryab picnic spot for recre-ational purposes in large number especiallyduring weekends, saying the new parkwould be equipped with all modern facili-ties required for tourism and recreation nearRiver Khayali so that people could enjoythemselves. He said Govt has also plannedto enhance facilities at Sirdaryab picnicpoint. When asked about encroachments inCharsadda, the Deputy Commissioner saidoperation against encroachment was un-derway at different areas of Charsadda dis-trict and the same were being removed,adding special crackdown after receivingpublic complaints against encroachmenthave been started at Shabqadar, Umarzai,Utmanzai, Sir Dheri and Rajar areas andnotices were served upon the shopkeepersand people to immediately remove the en-

Recreational park plannednear Khayali river

croachments, otherwise strict actions wouldbe taken against them. The removal of en-croachment would help ensure smooth flowof traffic besides facilitating motorists andpedestrians. Fazal Rehman Khan said government waswell aware of the security threats to antipolio workers, adding foolproof securitywas being given to them during vaccina-tion campaigns. He said polio teams werebeing escorted by the Charsadda policeduring vaccination, adding elements in-volved in firing on polio worker Sajid Khanat Sahqbadar tehsil on Monday would bebrought to justice soon.

To a question about law and order situ-ation besides rise in extortion cases, theDeputy Commissioner said government waswell aware of the law and order in Charsaddadistrict bordering with Mardan, Malakand,Nowshera, Peshawar and MohmandAgency and police patrolling in sensitiveareas have been increased besides settingup special check-points on border areas. Regarding rise in extortion cases inCharssada, the Deputy Commissioner saidmost of such cases were traced out andnoose around such elements was beingtightened. He said this issue was alsobrought into the notice of top police hierar-chy including District Police OfficerCharsadda.

KP RTA directscut in fares of

inter-provincialtransport

PE S H AWA R—The Secre-tary, Regional TransportA u t h o r i t y ( R T A ) ,Peshawar, NiamatullahKhan has directed trans-port companies operatingcommuters’ vehicles on in-ter-provincial routes forcut in their fares within aperiod of 24-hours.

The directives were is-sued by Secretary RTA,Niamatullah Khan, whoalong with Senior Superin-tendent of Police (SSP) Traf-fic Wahid MehmoodWednesday visited the ter-minals of Daiwoo, BilalDaiwoo and Faisal Movers.

During the visit they alsocollected information fromthe commuters of the inter-provincial transport vehiclesand expressed strong an-guish over the charging ofold fares.

They directed the opera-tors of the three terminals forcut in their fares on the pat-tern of Sindh and Punjabfrom the province within aperiod of 24 hours.

They were also directedfor displaying the new faresin their terminals. In case ofnon-compliance they werewarned of the cancellationof their route permits.

Furthermore, they alsovisited different stands ofthe Rent-A-Car and checkedtheir fares. For fixation offares for different districts ameeting was convened onNovember 28 at the office ofSecretary RTA.

Similarly, during visit todifferent schools on WarsakRoad, City Circular Road andRing Road, they checked thevehicles transporting chil-dren from houses to schoolsand from schools to houses.

They directed for the re-moval of the unnecessarycylinders and their installa-tion at protected places. Onthis occasion, three con-demned buses were confis-cated.—APP

11,200 deservingfamilies directed

to get BenazirDebit Cards

KHANEWAL—Benazir In-come Support Programme(BISP) Assistant DirectorNouman Qayyum said11,200 deserving familieswere directed to get theirBenazir Debit Cards at theearliest.

He said debit cardswere being issued to de-serving women in collabo-ration with the NADRA andTameer Bank after conduct-ing a poverty survey attehsil Kabirwala, Jehanianand Mian ChannuKhanewal.

He said divisional direc-tor BISP Multan and DGKhan Nasira Batool directedthe families to contact withthe BISP Khanewal office forgetting their debit cards assoon as possible.

Nouman Qayyum saidthe deserving familiescould receive their monthlyfinancial assistance byATM machines of anybank.—APP

Reduction inpower tariffwelcomed

SUKKUR—President, Paki-stan Muslim League- Nawaz(PML-N) Sukkur chapterYounis Rajput and activistsof PML-N Youth Sukkurhave welcomed the an-nouncement of the federalgovernment regarding re-duction in power tariff.Rajput said that after substan-tial decrease in the prices ofpetroleum products, reduc-tion in the price of electricityis a gift for the masses by thePML-N led government. Speaking in a gathering hereon Tuesday he said that thepresent government is com-mitted to provide relief add-ing that the decision of Paki-stan Muslim League-N gov-ernment to reduce the price ofelectricity will provide relief tothe masses of all the provincesof the country. He said the government isalso making result-oriented ef-forts to change the energy mixfrom thermal to other afford-able sources including coal andhydro generation to bringdown the cost of electricityproduction. Rajput said thatPML-N government will con-tinue to take measures for thewelfare and betterment of thepeople. On the other handPML-N Youth activists includ-ing Arif Nawaz, Saeed Ali, RiazAhmed and others said thatservice to the masses is themotto of PML-N and this pro-cess will continue under theleadership of Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif.—APP

Anti-polio drivecontinues in SWASOUTH WAZIRISTAN—Asmany as 78,000 childrenwould be vaccinated duringthe ongoing anti-polio cam-paign in areas of the agency,said political administrationhere on Wednesday.

According to details,78,000 children would beadministered anti-poliodrops in areas of SouthWaziristan including Barmal,Wana, Toay Khula, Shkaiand border area, AngoorAdda.

Political administrationconfirmed that polio cam-paign that was resumed af-ter a gap of 30 months wasso far running smoothlywith the help and assistanceof Army and Khasadar Forceand tribal elders.

Political Agent SouthWaziristan, Islam Zaen saidthat a close liaison has beenestablished between APAWana and Agency Surgeon toavoid any untoward incidentsand to achieve desired targetfrom the campaign.—APP

LAHORE—Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Sha-hbaz Sharif has saidthat special attention has been paid tothe progress and development of themasses and strengthening of the pro-vincial economy under Annual Devel-opment Programme (ADP). He saidthat solid measures are being taken forthe achieve-ment of the targets of thegrowth rate during next four years. Hesaid that funds of billions of rupeesare being provided speedy develop-ment of the prov-ince and improvingthe living standard of the people

Shahbaz for measures toachieve development targets

through comprehensive reforms insocial sectors.

He said that youth are being im-parted various skills in accordancewith the market needs under Skills De-velopment Programme. He said thatwork is being carried out speedily onvarious schemes under ADP, aimed atuplift of the province and provision ofbasic amenities to the citizens. He saidthat under ADP for the year 2014-15,priorities have been set on realisticbasis for strengthening provincialecon-omy and efforts are being made

in this direction. He was addressing a high levelmeeting regarding Annual DevelopmentProgramme 2014-15 here today. ChairmanPlanning & Development informed aboutpace of work on development pro-jects.The Chief Minister expressed his satis-faction over the release of funds underADP and the per-formance of the con-cerned departments regarding their utili-zation during the last four months. Hesaid that speedy and transparent comple-tion of develop-ment projects is beingensured in the province.—APP

Drones should nowcome to a halt

DRONE strikes that began in Pakistan in 2004 in an unexplainedcircumstances continue till date despite strong resentment and anger not only in Pakistan but also in the United States and else-

where in the world because of the nature of the CIA’s killer programme,which is largely being viewed as death penalty without trial and new faceof state lawlessness in the name of counter-terrorism. The CIA’s SpecialActivities Division has since conducted hundreds of drone strikes in Pa-kistan that have killed thousands of people, Pakistanis and Arabs, mili-tants and civilians alike.

Though Americans describe precision as hallmark of these attacks butunderstandably these overwhelmingly rely on ground intelligence, whichmight not be as precise and correct as it should be and as a result mostlycivilians and innocent people including children and women become vic-tims. Apart from the human rights concerns, the main issue involved istrampling of sovereignty of a country. There have also been legitimate con-cerns that drone strikes, rather than checking terrorism, are complicatingthe problem further. It is because of all this that there has been strong con-demnation of and protest over these attacks both at governmental and people’slevel but the United States has continued with its unilateral policy withvarying frequency and intensity. We believe that there are three strong andcogent reasons for bringing this drone covert war to a complete halt. Firstly,the drone programme constitute violation of sovereignty of a country that isplaying the role of frontline state in the war on terror and has incurred morelosses both in terms of human lives and material in this war than any othercountry of the world. Secondly, the United States launched the war to counterterrorism or eliminate terrorists but now that Pakistan has launched a highlysuccessful operation, called Zarb-e-Azb, that has broken backbone of ter-rorists, there is hardly any justification for continuation of drone strikes.Thirdly, former President General Pervez Musharraf has claimed that heauthorized only one drone strike but so far the United States has carried outhundreds of such attacks killing thousands of people. As continuation of theprogramme is also putting significant strain on Pakistan-US relations aswell, it is hoped that Washington would now review the policy.

Encouraging newsfrom Dar in London

ON the basis of his intensive interaction with buyers and investors inDubai, Abu Dhabi and London, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has ex-

pressed the confidence that response to Sukuk would far exceed the interestevinced in Euro Bonds. The government is offering five year bonds at aninterest rate of 6.75% while 1 billion dollars worth of ten year bonds will beoffered at 7.75% interest rate.

This is justifiable optimism of the Finance Minister as he worked reallyvery hard to address some of the fundamental challenges facing economy ofthe country and took bitter decisions at the cost of popularity of the Govern-ment to ensure critical reforms in the system. That the economy of the coun-try was picking up is manifest from a number of indicators including increasein foreign exchange reserves, exchange rate stability, more FBR collectionsand reduction in fiscal deficit. These are not small achievements if seen in thebackdrop of pretty precarious law and order situation and the war on terror.Pakistan is being projected mostly in negative perspective by the biased Westernmedia as even routine and stray incidents are blown out of proportion. How-ever, despite all this, one must give credit to Ishaq Dar and his team, forwinning confidence of investors and international donors including IMF,World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Asian Development Bank. Infact, Pakistan has all the potential to move forward despite numerous chal-lenges but unfortunately we are bent upon inflicting damage on the countryourselves. It is duty of all political parties and leaders to join hands andhave consensus on fundamental economic issues and goals but regrettablysome unscrupulous elements are trying to rock the boat just for the sake oftheir lust for power. Instead of adopting democratic path, they are usingshort cuts to achieve their designs and that too at the cost of economicinterests and reputation of the country in the comity of nations.

Early signs ofApartheid in US

THERE are a number of indicators, which lead one to think that perhapsApartheid is taking roots in the United States. Monday’s decision by a

Missouri grand jury not to charge a white police officer over the killing of ablack teen in Ferguson led to protests across the United States reflectingsimmering anger among the blacks.

After the Ferguson incident, protests erupted across the country fromNew York City to Los Angeles, as diverse crowds of thousands of peopleflooded the streets to protest the decision in the racially charged case, wav-ing banners that read “Black Lives Matter” and chanting “Hands Up, Don’tShoot”, which became a rallying cry against police killings in the aftermathof Brown’s death. Protesters shot at police, looted stores and set cars andbuildings ablaze in what police said was the worst violence since officerDarren Wilson shot dead Michael Brown on August 9. The family of theunarmed 18-year-old black youth accused the US justice system of system-atically failing young black people. These were the most significant explo-sions of racial frustration since the election of the nation’s first black Presi-dent, and so the Ferguson incident forced the country out of the fantasythat America had entered a “post-racial” era. President Obama while ap-pealing for calm acknowledged that some of this was the legacy of racialdiscrimination. He said violence could never be justified, but recognisedthat the legal system often felt as if it was being applied in a discrimina-tory fashion. President Obama himself has been turned into almost a lameduck with the victory of Republicans in the recently held mid term elec-tions. Pentagon and State Department do not see eye to eye with theWhite House over his policies. One had expected that election of Mr.Obama would improve racial relations but it appears that the Americanshave not accepted a black President in the White House. In our view thepolicy makers, US Think Tanks and people who matter should start giv-ing serious attention to this simmering hatred as it would not be good fora super power which claims to be champion of human rights.

Pak polity — racing backwards

No vindicationfor Ferguson

police

THERE’S understandable disappointment in many quarters over the decision by a

Missouri grand jury not to indictFerguson Police Officer Darren Wil-son for the fatal shooting of an un-armed young black man, MichaelBrown. After hearing testimonyfrom 60 witnesses — some of whomapparently offered conflicting ac-counts — the grand jury concludedthere was not enough evidence towarrant Wilson’s prosecution.

But just because Wilson will notface a trial does not mean that theFerguson, Mo., Police Departmenthas been vindicated or that no con-sequences will result from this epi-sode. The department’s nearly all-white force and its adoption of mili-tary-style equipment and tactics arereminiscent of a long-discredited LosAngeles Police Department, whichlearned the hard lessons of that com-bination in the early 1990s, when thiscity confronted its most notorious in-stance of police abuse, the beatingof Rodney G. King. The provoca-tions of the Ferguson police contin-ued in the aftermath of Brown’sdeath — the department overreactedto early protests and rolled out itsheavy armour; authorities withheldOfficer Wilson’s name, then releasedit after further protests. All of whichonly reinforced the doubts about thedepartment’s competence and rela-tionship to its community. Some ofthose infuriated by the decision notto indict have expressed their hopethat the US Justice Department, af-ter reviewing the case, will bringcharges against Wilson. They areright to demand such a review, whichis underway. St. Louis County Pros-ecuting Atty. Robert McCulloch —whose father was a police officerkilled in the line of duty by a blackman — has hardly distinguishedhimself in this case, and many re-gard him as unduly deferential topolice. While federal review is calledfor, however, the conflicting evi-dence suggests that a civil rightsprosecution of Wilson is highly un-likely and quite possibly unjustified.A broader federal probe into the pat-terns and practices of the FergusonPolice Department is far more likelyto produce constructive change. Inthe end, the events in Ferguson areresonant not because they do or donot add up to a crime. Rather, theyhave stirred such anger because theyremind the nation that the lessons sobrutally inflicted on Los Angelesdecades ago continue to requirelearning. The federal governmentcan and should force Ferguson tolearn them. —Los Angeles Times

*****

Hagel a victimof Obama’s

coterie

THE surprise departure ofUS Secretary of DefenceChuck Hagel from Presi-

dent Barack Obama’s cabinet isthe result of a toxic combinationof Hagel’s willingness to becomethe spokesman for the frustrationsof the armed forces he was sup-posed to manage and the danger-ous alienation of anyone in thecabinet who is outside Obama’sinner circle of aides who managethe White House — as if theywere still campaigning for power.

It is true that Hagel came tosympathise with senior military fig-ures who are furious over Obama’sincoherent policies over a range ofissues, like the disastrous refusal toact over Bashar Al Assad’s govern-ment, the mishandling of EdwardSnowden case, lack of any meaning-ful response to Russia’s invasion ofCrimea and the current rush to waragainst IS without any declared orobvious political objective. All thiswould have put him on a collisioncourse with Obama’s White Houseaides. But even if Hagel did getcaught up in fighting for the troopshe was supposed to be command-ing, he was also isolated as the soleRepublican in a cabinet that is domi-nated by Obama’s cronies from hisearly days in Chicago. Former cabi-net members like Hilary Clinton,Robert Gates and Leon Panetta haveall told the same story of being un-able to break through Obama’spretorian guard and consequent fail-ure to build any close relationshipwith the president. This deep divi-sion within White House thinkingmeans that Obama’s new secretaryof defence must be willing to makehis new and aggressive policies workin the two years he has left to makea mark in the world. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

SO to say, in about 70 years, thepolitical gains Pakistan’s polity has been able to make are

dismal! Pessimistically, it’s Noth-ing! Optimistically, it’s merely theConstitution that itself came to beagreed upon about 25 years after thecountry’s emergence on the map ofthe world. That casts a heavy doubton the credence of Pakistan’s pol-ity. Politically speaking, thingsstand in the same mould now theystood on the first day. The final ver-dict on the quality of the Pak politymay thus be worded: The citizensstill live at their own risk in a coun-try which is consuming itself by itsown pseudo-nationalist, religious,militarist rhetoric!

No wrangling, the fact is that nopolitician and no political party findthe constitution and its provisionstolerable to their will and tempera-ment; they trample them wheneverthey see any of it obstructing whatthey want to do or to achieve. Notonly that, they make use of it againstits spirit; amend it at their will; orsuspend it whenever they do notneed it; ignore it when it doesn’tserve their purpose; and validate anyamendments stuffed into by the mili-tary dictators. To the Paki politicians,the constitution is like a toy!

The latest example in this regardis the ruling party’s attempt toweaken and tame the higher courtswhose newly obtained sort of inde-pendence proves to be a thorn in

National aviation policy 2014

SET to annunciate a revised National Aviation Policy, NAP-2014 through the Ministry of

Aviation, the vision of the govt is toensure “a safe, secure, dynamic, fair,innovative, and customer-centric ap-proach to transform the aviation in-dustry into a potent catalyst forsocio-economic well-being of thenation”. The objectives are, viz (1)comply with ICAO standards ofsafety, security and efficiency as-pects of “Air Transportation” (2)restructure Civilian Aviation Au-thority (CAA) for greater safety,autonomy, positive and pro-activegovernance (3) adopt best interna-tional practices of “Public–PrivatePartnership” for operations andmanagement of airports (4) developstate-of-the-art infrastructure andtechnology for provision of safe,efficient and quality air navigationservices and airport services (5) cre-ate level playing field for nationalairlines (6) promote General Avia-tion for pilots training, tourism, plantprotection, cloud seeding and (7)enhance training and skills in thefield of general aviation.

For “safety and security” the newPolicy envisages (1) an independentSafety Investigation Board (SIB) re-porting directly to Minister of Avia-tion with adequate resources pro-vided as a separate head in the bud-get. A regulatory body would be es-tablished to regulate standards ofaviation security as per CAA stan-dards and Airport Security Force(ASF) Ordinance 1975 and (2) State-of-the-art technology and equipmentprocured to ensure security at Air-ports, all imported equipment beingexempt from all taxes/duties.

Ninety percent ofinspiration isperspiration.

To resolve conflict of interestbetween Regulator & ServiceProvider, CAA shall be splitunder the Director General(DG) CAA into following threeentities with adequate financialand administrative autonomy

(1) Aviation Safety Regulator headedby Deputy Director General (DDGCAA) (2) Airport Services headed byDDG CAA Airport Services and (3)Air Navigation Services headed byDDG CAA Air Navigation services.One has reservations about this, in-stead of the Aviation Safety Regula-tor (ASR) reporting to DG CAA, DGASR must directly report directly, likethe SIB, to the Minister of Aviation.The DG CAA should have only Air-port Services and Air Navigation Ser-vices under him.

For operational infrastructuredevelopment CAA shall (1) developfuture Air Navigation plan in accor-dance with Global Air NavigationPlan (GANP) (2) upgrade its com-munication, navigation and surveil-lance infrastructure as required forPerformance Based Navigation(PBN). Satellite Based systems andtechnology will be introduced andimplemented to keep pace with Glo-bal Air Navigation requirements and(3) improve coordination betweencivil and military aviation authori-ties with respect to flexible use ofairspace (FUA).

The “Operational Policy Guide-lines” for airline registration, fleetsize, age of aircraft includes (1) reg-istration in Pakistan by all operatorsmandatory (2) five airworthy aircraftminimum fleet size for both domes-tic and international operations, op-erator will be eligible for internationaloperations after successful domesticoperations for 2 years (3) paid upcapital for such airlines, enhancedfrom PKR 100 million to 500 mil-lion (4) calendar age of aircraft notmore than twelve (12) years at thetime of induction (5) Aircraft older

than eighteen (18) years shall not beallowed and (6) Foreign airlines shallbe permitted to take equity stakes upto 49% in domestic carriers.

For socio-economic routes (1)no landing and housing charges atsecondary airports for scheduled ser-vices (2) domestic carriers shall op-erate on at least one primary or onesecondary route (a) on PrimaryRoutes at least 10% of total capac-ity of available seat kilometers(ASKs) floated on Trunk routes, or(b) for Secondary Routes at least 5%of ASKs floated on Trunk routes.For Socio-Political Routes guide-lines will be (1) Charter operatorsbe encouraged to operate scheduledcommuter services to/from Gwadar,Turbat, Panjgur, Khuzdar,Dalbandin, Zhob, Rawalakot, andMuzaffarabad. Political integrationshall be the prime objective of thisplan, economic advantages expectedto accrue over time (2) Incentives toinclude no tax, no charges by CAA,permission for wet lease operationup to one year, and privilege to op-erate (with 19 seat or below aircraft)after one year of successful opera-tion (3) No sales tax on fuel usedfor the entire trip on the selectedroutes (average fuel consumption foreach type of aircraft for each roundtrip shall be determined). Ticketssold on these routes shall also be freeof sales tax/FED.

The formulation process of NAP2014 involved studying the (1) Avia-tion policies of Australia, USA, UK,Singapore, China, Canada, and In-dia to analyze the gap between NAP-2000 and global trends and the bestpractices of aviation in 2014. (2) Allstakeholders in the aviation indus-try were consulted and their recom-mendations included (3) profes-sional aviation policy consultantsfrom world’s largest AeronauticalUniversity, Embry Riddle of Florida,were engaged to guide and make rec-ommendations after reviewing the

their heart. One parlia-mentary committee is al-ready busy formulatingsuch proposals which mayhelp cut the judicial paneldown to size. No doubt,all the parliamentary par-

ties will be on the same page to bringthe judges back into their pockets.Hopefully, if the civil society organi-zations especially lawyers fail to stopthis onslaught of politicians againstthe judiciary, once again there willemerge judges of compliant charac-ter inside the High Courts and Su-preme Court. There is one morehurdle to it; it’s the Supreme Courtitself, which may send back theamendment (thus passed) to the par-liament for review, if it does not findsufficient grounds to annul the same.

Hence, one very important gainobtained by the citizens of Pakistan,i.e. sort of independent judiciary,which is in fact an essential part ofthe constitutional scheme for thecountry to run, is going to be lost tothe politicians’ lust for absolutepower. That speaks volumes about thestate of the polity in Pakistan! Thatleaves no hope alive that the Pakipoliticians and political parties willever learn one or two things. How un-fortunate! After about 7 decades theyare still intent upon running a coun-try of more than 180 million citizenslike a principality! Everything, bethey moral or social values, or rulesand laws, is like something they mustbreak and trash in their Ashraafistvein. That’s their way!

In 2013, for the first time one ci-vilian government completed its con-stitutional tenure, general electionswere held and a new governmentsworn in. No doubt, it should be a

matter of routine in a democracy, notsomething both notable and notice-able; however, given the Pakistan’spolitical history where no civiliangovernment was allowed to rule forits full tenure, it’s a Herculeanachievement. In the midst, anotherevent of unprecedented magnitudeand significance took place: a usurpergeneral was brought to the court forthe highest crime allegedly commit-ted by him, i.e. of suspending theconstitution of the country; the caseis sub judice. Both of these happen-ings may be overlooked or underes-timated in the heat of the moment;which otherwise must be reckoned asthe steps forward, no matter howsmall, as far as political evolution ofPakistan is concerned.

It is in the above-discussed con-text that both Inquilabi and AzadiDharnas which took the capital sortof hostage this August need to beseen and explained. Whatever bothof these parties, i.e. Pakistan AwamiTehreek of Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri andPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of ImranKhan, and their allies, in or out ofthe state, aim to achieve and for thatto achieve whatever they do and aredoing need to be weighed againstthe gain of political evolution forPakistan. Will that especially whatthe PTI is aiming at help Pakistan’spolity to evolve or not? Or, will itpush it backwards? That’s the cru-cial question which must be an-swered by all having any concernfor Pakistan!

Although the PAT concluded itsInquilabi Dharna at the end of lastmonth, it is still not out of the game;and no doubt it has declared its part-ing of ways from the PTI and ImranKhan, it may join the 30 November

call of the PTI to stage anotherDharna in Islamabad, and be backin the game. That’s the same poli-tics like of which both have beenplaying in the month of August thisyear when they were planning theirmarches to move together and whenthey landed in the capital and playedtheir tricks in unison, till the PATleft the capital late in October. Un-der the circumstances, it may beconjectured that they may join handsagain. That means the race to thecorridors of powers is intact, and thatthere is no doubt about it thisstruggle is non-political.

How this struggle for powerfares vis-à-vis the political evolutionof Pakistan is the real problem to bedealt with! In addition, regardless ofthe apprehensions of majority ofpolitical analysts about the spon-sored nature of the PAT and PTI’soffensive struggle, it may be sug-gested that what is more importantis not who is behind them but whatimpact they are having and may behaving in future on the political evo-lution of Pakistan. As to this, thewriter’s considered opinion goeslike this: The way PAT and PTI areconducting their fight is certainlyimpacting the polity of Pakistan ex-tremely negatively: first, it’s dis-tracting and confounding the con-stitutionalities; and second, it’s pre-senting no competitive challenges toother political parties including theruling ones in a positive sense tomove forward, it’s detracting theminstead. That’s pushing the Pak pol-ity race backwards!—The writer is Lahore-basedpolitical analyst and author of TheRise of State Aristocracy inPakistan (Urdu) and other books.

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Weekly Magazine

Sadia Zahid MalikEditor

Ph: 2852027-8, Ext: 116Email: magazinesocialdiary@hotmail.com

—Proverb

Aviation policy draft.The need is to develop a first

class CAA management whichwould shed the bureaucratic strait-jacket and a corrupt mindset toimplement NAP-2014, those in thesenior hierarchy presently do notinspire much confidence. Dealingwith the corrupt and efficient in thepresent corrupt societal environ-ment, the corrupt and inefficient area disaster. In one case air bridgesat an international airport in Paki-stan have been leased out for al-most Rs 115 million over 5 yearsthrough a glib talking agency, CAAgot only Rs 45 million. Guess whoall pocketed the Rs 70 million dif-ference? 15% Agency Commissionis well earned, but 250%? One be-lieves Capt Shujaat Azeem has puta stop to this. If National Account-ability Bureau (NAB) cannot sendsome people to jail for this, theyare not doing their job!

Capt Shujaat Azeem has hiswork cut out for him in the presenceof a well entrenched aviation mafia,a genuine public private partnershipin crime, he needs to be eulogizedand encouraged for setting the stagefor “letting a hundred flowersbloom” in the aviation industry ofPakistan, this time well thought out,purposeful and well regulated.Nawaz Sharif’s 1993 “open skies”policy was a sincere attempt toopen up the country to more “for-eign direct investment”, unfortu-nately this window of opportunitywas misused at great cost to Paki-stan. Appointing Capt ShujaatAzeem, a competent professionaland a very successful entrepreneurthe de-facto Aviation Czar, onemust give credit to the PM for hav-ing the courage to re-visit the origi-nal 1993 decision and revise NAP2000 in pragmatic fashion.— The writer, retired army officer,is a leading defence and securityanalyst.

Dr Khalil AhmadEmal:khalilkf@gmail.com

Ikram SehgalEmail:ikram.sehgal@smswppl.com

Voice of the People

Institutions andnation-building

FAISAL SHAHZAD

If we look at the history of Pakistan;out of 67 years of independence,Army ruled Pakistan for about 32years. Other imperialists also sup-ported dictatorship to protect theirinterests. It is believed that the armyof a country should be strong enoughto protect its national interests butin Pakistan, army not only becamethe defender of identity and sover-eignty of the country but also feltitself responsible for running thegovernmental matters. The succes-sive civilian governments and thepoliticians became worst dictatorsand surpassed even the Military rul-ers. It is because of the inefficiencyand corruption of the democraticrulers that whenever they are ousted,the people take a sigh of relief andwelcome a martial law. They targetthe institutions of nation buildingand induct their cronies and blueeyed chicks to make hey while thesun shines on these corrupt leaders.The previous and the present gov-ernment have provided a number ofreasons to impel the army to inter-vene and free the people from ram-pant corruption, nepotism and badgovernance but the Senior com-manders of the Armed forces aregiving the government and so-calleddemocracy to men their ways andrelieve the masses from their oppres-sion. All martial laws were wel-comed by the people.

First martial law was imposedby Gen. Ayub Khan in 1958, afterthat a series of martial laws started.In 1969, Gen. Yahya Khan imposedsecond martial law and as a result,Pakistan had to face a severe lossof East Pakistan in 1971, whicheventually became Bangladesh.Third martial law was imposed byZia ul Haq who took over thecharge of the country in 1977, whenthe country was at the verge of acivil war. The worst patch of mili-tary government was of Gen.Parvaiz Musharraf. He made manychanges in the military act for hispersonal interest in 2007, but themasses were again better off be-cause the later rule of PPP and nowthat of PML-N has broken thebackbone of the nation through cor-ruption and bad governance.

Our Army is the 7th largest inthe world in terms of active troops.Pakistani army has always provedthat they are one of the best orga-nized group that helps and eventake the responsibility of protect-ing the civilians. Army played anadmirable role across the countryby helping people during earth-quake and flood. Military has al-ways tried to produce a viable so-lution without getting into anystrife and bringing all segments ofthe country together and for thisreason, it is one of the most presti-gious institutions of Pakistan.—Lahore

Hurdles behindquality education

ASIF MEHMOOD

It is said that education can bringchange in society. Indeed, educa-tion brings positive change inman’s behaviour. Formal educa-tion, informal education, profes-sional education etc. are kinds ofeducation. Undoubtedly, our soci-ety tries its level best to educateyoung generation. But our socialproblems are arising day by day.Educated people remain unem-ployed and pessimist. Why theycan’t get jobs despite having edu-cation. Perhaps, it is because of lackof their abilities or our educationsystem is responsible for all thischaos. The whole scenario showsa dismal picture and tells that thereis something wrong anywhere.

Now a days, it is common per-ception of people that today’s stu-dents, mostly have less capabilities.So to say, people compare today’sstudent with old one. Often time,they reach to the conclusion thatstandard of education is falling rap-idly. You can easily judge this bycomparing today’s 10th class stu-

Future of Sindh lies in educationKHALID SALLEH

These days the incidence of ghost teachers is being publicized on print and electronic media. Most ofthese ghosts are either TV stars, media men or engaged in different trades, businesses and even

politics playing cronies to the politicians – both local and higher level. A list recently announced at socialmedia reveals that majority of ghost teachers run their own business and never visit schools and collegeswhere they are posted. According to data showed by social media, many of them are influentials andbelong to different political parties. The Sindh Education Minister is reluctant to take any legal oradministrative action against them as most of them are politicised and PPP workers who have strongroots in the party. Therefore, literacy rate and standard of education is declining in Sindh day by dayespecially in the rural areas of Sindh. A Sindhi youth having earned an F.Sc level education is unawareof the basic knowledge of photosynthesis. The copy culture is at the highest rate in Sindh during exami-nations. Despite imposition of Section 144, the Photostat machines are openly used to copy materialfrom text books for providing to the examinees in the examination centres. It is need of the hour to takeimmediate action to save Sindh education that is at the verge of death and the Sindh government isrequested to take strict action against ghost influential ghost teachers and also have a review of theexamination system, to secure the future of the Sindhi youth.—Qasmabad Hyderabd

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View From Abroad

Apply more pressure on Iran

AN extension of the international negotiations with Iranmay be better than the talks

breaking down altogether, but an in-definite string of extensions does notmake for a sound long-term strategy.Continued extensions leave Iran as anuclear weapons threshold state, rais-ing the risk that Iran eventually buildsnuclear weapons. In addition, even ifIran never builds nuclear weapons,its current capability causes severechallenges for global non-prolifera-tion efforts, Middle Eastern security

and human rights inside Iran.If we were prepared to live with

this situation, we could simply de-clare the status quo to be a “compre-hensive” deal and be done with thematter. But we are not. The tempo-rary deal struck last year was nevermeant to be permanent. Moreover,extensions on their own don’t get usany closer to a final deal. The failureof diplomacy to date has not been theresult of insufficient time. The diplo-mats have been at it for over a year.The problem is that Iran’s supremeleader is not yet ready to make thenecessary concessions.

The solution, therefore, is tobring more pressure to bear on Iran.

We could immediately slap toughersanctions on Iran, but Iran might usethis as a pretext to walk away fromthe talks, and many would (wrongly)blame the US Congress, not Iran, fordiplomacy’s failure. This would beproblematic because internationalsupport will be required for the con-tinued success of the sanctions regimeand for possible tougher measuresdown the road.

Rather than additional sanctions,therefore, the Obama administrationand Congress must make it clear toIran and to our international partnersthat July 1 is a firm deadline. Therewill be no more extensions. Iran hasseveral months to make a hard deci-

Matthew Korenig

Grab that peace..!

MANY years ago, I wentthrough a time when myfinancial world started

falling apart. Suddenly creditorswere banging at my door and Icouldn’t even pay the minimum onmy credit card. It was a time whenI feared the sound of footsteps onmy staircase, because it could onlymean one thing; someone comingto get his payment. That’s when Isuddenly realized that this was the

time of crisis I needed to solidly relyon God, and I did. That’s when I un-derstood the real meaning of thatphrase; ‘the peace that passes under-standing!’ Yes, let me tell you that it’sreally a peace that is beyond under-standing, really a peace that you can’tcomprehend. You stop being afraid,you stop worrying, and in the midst ofthe storms of life, you actually learnto smile, and let me tell you anothersecretthat with that peace the stormsactually pass away!

Here’s a song that does justice tothe phrase: Seasons of my soul Theycome and go. But as they slip away Iknow something else remains That

will not change Places in my heartare torn apart But in my brokeness, Ifind That something stays behindThat will not change. The peace thatpasses understanding Is a blessingthat will never fade away

The peace that passes understand-ing Is here to stay. The peace thatpasses understanding Never passesaway Lord, in times of old My hearthad known. With quiet words of yourtender love And your gentle touch Thatchanges me. Even through the storm,I’m safe and I’m warm. Lord, Youhave comforted me. With grace inYour hiding place. I am at peace. Peacecomes like the dawn. Peace that the

world Can’t understand. You take myhand and I stand. The waters mayfall... The peace that passes under-standing Is a blessing that will neverfade away. The peace that passesunderstanding Is here to stay Thepeace that passes understandingNever passes away’ So dear friendif you are going through a tumultu-ous time today, and you think noth-ing is going to change, that your daysof quiet and peace are over, like mego to the Lord in prayer and get theimmense benefits of the peace thatpasses understanding! It’s all yoursfor the asking. Grab it..!—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

sion, and if it does not, the interna-tional community will impose theharshest remaining sanctions onIran. With the option of another ex-tension off the table and the no-dealpath looking increasingly unattrac-tive, this approach offers our besthope of getting Iran’s supremeleader to place verifiable curbs onhis nuclear program. The writer, anAssociate Professor at GeorgetownUniversity, is Senior Fellow in theBrent Scowcroft Centre on Interna-tional Security at The Atlantic Coun-cil and a former adviser on Iranpolicy in the Office of the Secretaryof Defence.— Courtesy: USA Today

Nuclear talks: Will it be fruitful?

THE first round of trilateral talksbetween Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and

his American Counterpart John Kerrryconcluded in Vienna Sunday evening,only one day before the deadline ofnuclear talks. Earlier top diplomatsfrom the United States (US), Iran andEuropean Union (EU) were holdinghigh level talks on Iran’s nuclear pro-gram in Muscat, Oman. Iran wants toknow uranium enrichment limits aswell as timetable for uplifting of USand EU sanctions, while the US andEU want to impose the possible lim-its on enrichment. Mohammad JavadZarif, Foreign Minister of Iran hasexpressed optimism and said “thesediscussions will bear fruit within ashort span of time if Washington putforward “reasonable demands”.

The six powers changed theirstrategy in 2011 from coercion to

negotiation which later shaped intoan interim nuclear deal. Since No-vember 2013, these diplomatic ini-tiatives to resolve the Iranian nuclearissue have produced several propos-als for a negotiated settlement andbuild confidence between Iran and theinternational community. The twosides clinched an interim nuclear ac-cord, which took effect on January20, 2014 and expired six months later.However, they agreed to extend theirtalks until November 24 this year asthey remained divided on a numberof key issues. The interim nucleardeal is widely considered an olivebranch to Iran which halted 20 per-cent enrichment activities. Moreover,according to IAEA, Iran had sus-pended all operations at the Fordowfacility. The latest report of IAEAshares the information that Iran hadprovided the IAEA information toaddress allegations of possible mili-tary activities and committed to ac-cept additional protocol.

In response, P5+1 provided fuelassemblies for the Tehran Research

Reactor (TRR). Moreover, P5+1 sup-ported IAEA technical cooperation tomodernize and maintain the safety ofthe TRR. The six world powers hadput together a detailed package toprovide medical isotopes for cancerpatients in Iran which was suspendeddue to strict sanctions on Iran by theUS. Though they faced criticism byIsrael, but they had provided sanc-tions relief to Iran on sales of pre-cious metals and petrochemicals.

The ISIL threat had provided achance for cooperation in the regionand for building confidence betweenthe US and Iran. US presidentObama therefore dispatched a letterto Iranian supreme leader AyatollahAli Khamenei seeking enhanced co-operation on regional issues. How-ever, this nuclear diplomacy wasoverturned by Iran which showstheir lack of trust. Iran has an-nounced time and again that it willnever give up its right to developpeaceful nuclear technology whileWashington wants to curb Iranianability to build a nuclear weapon.

The ongoing regional security en-vironment coupled with currentstatements suggests that there isvery slight hope of a permanentdeal between Iran and the Six pow-ers. However these discussionsseem nearly to be melting the icebetween the two parties. This dealis prerequisite for a stable MiddleEast as this will help in decreasingtensions in the region. Yet, at thispoint of time there are rare chancesof a permanent nuclear deal. How-ever the nuclear diplomacy willbear fruits and later both partiesmay accept a middle way whichwould be a win-win situation forall. This middle way may bespelled as P5+1 accepts the Iranianright to a peaceful program but un-der strict watch to keep away froma bomb. This would be a face sav-ing for both parties. However, theissue of the extent of centrifugesproduction would remain a seriouschallenge for the US and Iran.— The writer is Islamabad-basedpolitical ananlyst.

Choosing medical profession as career

THE book has been authoredby a seasoned medicalteacher Prof. Dr. M.Yasin

Khan Durrani, which providesguidelines for parents and chil-dren aspiring to join medicalprofession as MBBS/BDS doc-

tors. The book very genuinelyemphasizes the importance of ap-titude and mental inclination ofthe students, who opt to be futuredoctors. Unfortunately, many ofthe universities and colleges don’thave students- counseling cen-

ters to aptly provide the students”how to choose a career?” Thereis a dire need that students-coun-seling center manned with ap-propriately qualified and expe-rienced staff , be established.

The book is the first publi-cation of its kind in the countryhelping the parents and the stu-dents in choosing the medicalprofession as their career. It hasbeen observed that the studentsjoin the medical profession imi-tating a mad race without anyaptitude to serve the ailing hu-manity, which is responsible formany ills in the medical profes-sion and negligence of patient-care in the hospitals. Medicine isa profession which demands com-mitment and dedication to savethe human life. The book also in-cludes list of accredited medical dent with 5th grade student of previ-

ous decade. This gap is presentingalarming situation. What’s the rea-son behind this? It shows that wehave failed to give quality educationto our children.

Now come toward reason behindsubstandard education. It is veryironic that we use a phrase ‘Govern-ment Ghost School’. It happenswhenever we talk about quality edu-cation. I hope you have heard or readabout Ghost schools umpteen times.True, there are many GovernmentGhost schools but what about pri-vate educational institutes. I thinkthese private schools are equally re-sponsible for substandard educationas Government schools. Now aquestion will be in your mind thatwhy it is so. Firstly, it is because oflack of checks and balances uponregistration process of private schoolregistrations. You can easily find 5schools in one street. No matter, theirowners are able to fulfil basic needsof children’s training or not.

They simply arrange classes;decorate their offices for student’sparents’ attraction and so can starttheir business easily. Second, privateschools teachers are appointed onvery meagre salaries. At some insti-tutes, Montessori class teachers getRs. 3000 per month. Similarly,Matric class teachers get from 6000to 8000, whereas the sal;ary of aGovernment school teacher is almostdouble. How a teacher can give hisfull attention upon students’ train-ing? Can this meagre amount of sala-ries fulfil teachers’ needs? Shouldnot there be a criterion for privateschool registration? It is pertinent tomention here that private schools ev-ery nook and corner of the city with-out and check is, obviously a dan-ger. Education administrative de-partment should not compromiseupon criterion or registration re-quirements.

If private schools owners can’t pro-vide proper academic facilities andatmosphere to the students and paysuitable amount of money to teach-ers then should not be allowed to runschools. For the sake of Allah Al-mighty don’t make education a busi-ness. Another question arises hereagain as to why parents are tendingtowards private schools even in ruralareas? I think it is because lack ofattention on extra circular activitiesin Government schools. As, to keepchildren aware of their history, cul-ture, religion is very much necessary.These requirements can be made pos-sible by arranging seminars on cul-tural, religious and moral values. Butour Government Schools, mostly, re-main closed even on Allama IqbalDay, Quaid Azam Day etc. and thestudents celebrate such days at home.There should be different types ofseminars on such days for informa-tion and education of the youngergeneration and the youth. Otherwise,the quality education dream seemsnext to impossible.—Attock

Malnutrition inland of plenty

MARIAM AHMED

Indus valley, now comprising themountains, planes and deserts of Pa-kistan, has traditionally been world’sbread basket. The bowl of the worldfamous Basmati rice is located be-tween Ravi and Chenab. Officialforecast put this year’s paddy pro-duction at nearly 10 million tonnes.

Yet, millions of people go to bedhungry in my country every day. Thedrought in the Thar district, for ex-ample, has taken the lives of 96 chil-dren in two months and about 300in a year, because of malnutrition.Around 40 million persons, oraround one in five people, are un-dernourished in Pakistan. Hunger isa global issue: 805 million peopledo not have enough to eat. The goodnews is that hunger is going down;the number of under-nourishedpeople has gone down by 200 mil-lion people as compared to the fig-ures twenty years ago.

Malnutrition is a lot more prob-lematic than hunger alone, as it af-fects the people in many ways. Twobillion people suffer from ‘hiddenhunger’ or under-nutrition, i.e. vita-min or mineral deficiencies. Under-

Name of the book : Why should I become a doctorAuthor : Prof. M Yasin Khan DurraniReviewed by : Abdul Karim JanjuaPublisher : Opthalmic Newsnet, F-10

IslamabadPages : 124Price : Rs 400\-

colleges in Pakistan and recentdevelopments and growth inhealth sector in the country. Thelanguage is palatable and easy tounderstand. I believe this is agood addition and a useful learn-ing for parents, students who wishto build their career as a Medicalor a Dental doctor, and aptlyrecommended by the Vice Chan-cellor of University of HealthSciences, Lahore (Prof. Maj.Gen. Muhammad Aslam (R) andthe Principal of Rawalpindi Medi-cal College (Prof. MuhammadUmar), they are highly experi-enced teachers and well ac-claimed academicians of thecountry. The book is a pocketedition for the students and isavailable at the main bookstalls of the country at a dis-counted price.

Khurram AbbasEmail:khurram.minhas89@yahoo.com

Towards a tolerant society

A study conducted by one ofthe psychologists working inthe rehabilitation facility pro-

vides a comprehensive picture of therationale behind the radicalizationprocess. Based on the in depth inter-views of the students as ‘prospectivesuicide bombers’ the study unearthsmany obscure facts and provides sig-nificant information for politicians,policy makers, , strategists, econo-mists and defence planners etc toutilize while formulating future poli-cies and strategists.

Socio-economic deprivation, ac-cording to the findings of the study,is the main cause of radicalization introubled areas. A total of 70% ofradicalized youth belonged to low-salaried class. They were compelledto join the militants due to lack ofjob opportunities and continued so-

cial pressure. Another noteworthy ob-servation that the research hasbrought to the fore is the fact that al-most the entire population of theradicalized youth ranging largely be-tween ages fifteen to twenty, belongto non-militant backgrounds. The ra-tionale behind it is simple, when eas-ily available socio-economically de-prived young boys are readily avail-able to increasingly meet the needsand requirements of these organiza-tions why put your own flesh andblood into trouble?

The religious factor at 59% maybe serving as a major contributor to-wards the radicalization process, butthe socio-economic factor precedesthe religious aspect. Compelled tojoin the militant groups for economicissues these young boys are then in-doctrinated at length to accept the sig-nificance and benefits of blowingoneself up as suicide bombers as avital feature of jihad. Thus, economicfactor becomes a primary issue thatforms the framework upon which the

edifice of militancy is built. At thisstage of rehabilitation, the presenceof the civil administration becomesessential to aid and augment the de-velopment work in order to rebuildthe post operated areas. Reforms atthe political, social and economiclevel need to be introduced, not onlyfor the re-integration of the youth intomainstream society, but also as a pre-ventative measure for any futureradicalization of more children.

Development programs, employ-ment opportunities, education andawareness programs become essen-tial in this backdrop. The need forsuch programs to be implemented onwar footings is greatly felt for revers-ing the influence of militants in thetroubled areas. Since terrorism propa-gates on ideological basis, the funda-mental postulates upon which theyoperate must be made clear to people.

Educating the society is the onlysure means of succeeding in de-radicalization. Psycho-social reform-ists-cum-educationists, intelligentsia

and policymakers, jurists and poli-ticians, journalists andanchorpersons should dedicatethemselves to help educate the so-ciety through media, using politi-cal, social and education forums,involving locals, elders, and jirgas.

Thus, the socio-economic fac-tors that become instrumental inradicalizing our youth need to beaddressed at multiple levels. De-velopmental projects can providejob opportunities and enhance lo-cal economic conditions. Simi-larly, awareness and reformthrough education is another pre-requisite that can reverse the cur-rent influence of militancy.

It is heartening to know thatthe current government’s socialagenda includes education as a vi-tal factor that requires to be com-pletely energized along with im-portant dimensions such as healthand youth empowerment.— The writer is freelancecolumnist.

Amna MalikEmail:amnamalikk69@gmail.com

nutrition is responsible for almosthalf of all child deaths, and a quar-ter of living children are stunted dueto inadequate nutrition.

Obesity is also an off-shoot ofmalnutrition. Diets containing exces-sive fats, sugars and salts affect morethan 500 million people world wide.Obesity can lead to heart stroke, dia-betes and cancer - ranking as the topcauses of death in the world. Malnu-trition, that is hunger, micronutrientdeficiencies and obesity togethercosts an estimated $2.8 to 3.5 trillion,or 4-5% of global GDP. That’s $400to 500 per person. Now is the time totackle malnutrition.

A gathering in Rome recently pre-sented a unique opportunity to galva-nize world attention on ‘more and bet-ter food for all: the Second Interna-tional Conference on Nutrition(ICN2)’ - jointly organized by the UNFood and Agriculture Organization(FAO) and the World Health Organi-zation (WHO). Over 170 countriesmade a number of concrete commit-ments and adopted a series of recom-mendations on policies and invest-ments aimed at ensuring that all peoplehave access to healthier and more sus-tainable diets. This is an importantstarting point. But the real challengeis to hear these intentions resonate inregional and national actions through-out the world. The true success of theICN2 in the glamorous setting of an-cient Rome, will be measured in theremote villages of Pakistan.—Via email

Education asocial instrument

ASIF MEHMOOD

Education means to impart knowl-edge. As Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) said “Seek knowledge fromthe Cradle to Grave” Education is amedium of awareness. If you areeducated you know your rights andduties and you can play an impor-tant role in society leading tonation’s development. Though theimportance of education is increas-ing in Pakistan and the Constitutionhas also proclaimed as a right of thepeople, still of the total budget only3% is given to education which isnot enough for quality education.Education is important as it preparesa person to get new skills and valuethat are very necessary in today’ssociety. As education is knowledge,knowledge is power; power is re-spect and respect ultimately leads tohappiness. It is the educationthrough which citizens get them-selves aware about the politics ofgovernment and can bring thechange either by supporting or pro-testing the change.

As far as education in Pakistanis concerned, according to a reportUNESCO, the illiteracy percentagewas 79% in Pakistan in 2012 and thenumber of Pakistan was the 180th inthe list of 221 in big and small coun-tries in the world. To remove the ob-stacles in the way of education inPakistan, English should be mediumof instruction, primary educationshould be made compulsory, tal-ented and qualified staff should beappointed and scholarships and fi-nancial support should be providedto the students so that more and morepeople get educated, as it is only theeducation which can turn a burdenof population into fruitful human re-source and as said by NelsonMandela: “No country can really de-velop unless its citizens are edu-cated” In a nutshell, education isvery important and precious, andwithout knowledge the nation wouldfunction poorly. All I want is educa-tion because I want knowledge, hap-piness and financial security.—Via email

Ferguson protests spread across the U.S.

WESLEY PRUDEN

THE laughter has yet to turn to tears, but the applause forHillary Clinton is beginning to sound a little thinner thanit did only yesterday. The lady may still be the way to bet,

but only the foolish would throw in the deed to the farm. Hillaryhas got to be feeling little butterflies in the pit of her tummy. Bubba,too. She has been here before. “Inevitable nominees” always runinto rough weather when the game gets going, and the 2016 cam-paign is about to get going. We must enjoy the day around theThanksgiving table and of the coming of the season of the Christchild. Snarling and sniping begin soon. The public opinion pollshave to be unnerving for the Clintons, and so are the numbersfrom the actual polls, as revealed by the exit polls from Nov. 4. AWall Street Journal/NBC poll taken in September showed that Mrs.Clinton’s favorability number is down to 43 percent after a steepdive and down from 59 percent when the buzz about Hillary asinevitable was first getting cranked up years ago.

The recent exit polls are pregnant with implausibility. Consid-erably fewer than a majority of November voters — only 43 per-cent — said she would make a good president. Even more alarm-ing, when she was matched against “a Republican candidate,” shelost, 40 percent to 34 percent. After that, President Obama, to whomshe is closely linked, like it or not (and you can bet she doesn’t likeit), opened his post-midterm rant against the Republicans, shun-ning prospects of compromise, and finally revealing his long-awaited amnesty scheme. That won’t help her, either. “As a can-didate,” Douglas Schoen and Patrick Caddell, onetime pollstersfor Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, observe in The Wall StreetJournal: “Mrs. Clinton would likely inherit a damaged party, andas a former member of his administration, she would struggle withthe consequences of Mr. Obama’s go-it-alone governance.”

The Clintons got a particularly bitter taste of what probablylies ahead when they went back to Arkansas to campaign for Demo-cratic candidates for governor and Congress. All were buried un-der a Republican landslide. Bubba felt particularly burned becausehe imagined that he had lost none of his mojo at home, and he wascampaigning for candidates rightly regarded as the best the Demo-crats could find. “Everyone likes Bill,” says one Democratic bigmule, “and nobody but a few feminists likes Hillary. But everyoneis a little bit bored with both of them.” Not even the thrill of seeinganother president from Arkansas, if only a synthetic favorite daugh-ter-by-marriage, relieves the boredom. If the Clinton magic nolonger works there, it might not work anywhere.

Hillary has none of the charm and wit of Bubba, rascal that heis, and none of his sure-footed skill at campaigning. Hillary some-times mistakes her protective bubble for the big world outside. It’sdifficult to imagine Bubba saying, as Hillary did campaigning for aloser in Massachusetts, “Don’t let anybody tell you that it’s corpora-tions and businesses that create jobs.” Maybe they didn’t offer acourse in Economics 101 at Wellesley College, but only an appren-tice would say something so carelessly revealing. She should havelearned something about corporations and jobs when she was on theboard of directors at Wal-Mart. Her remark was of a piece with herfamous scorn of critics of whatever she was doing, or not doing, ayear after the deadly siege of the American legation in Benghazi:

—Courtesy: Washington Times[Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times]

ALEXANDER J. MOTYL

HYBRID war is the term analysts apply to what many believe is Russia’s new way of war-making in southeasternUkraine, one that employs a variety of means—propaganda,

subversion, outright aggression, support for proxies, and the like—while remaining undeclared or denied. Butusov believes that therecent G-20 summit in Australia confronted Russia’s illegitimatelyelected president, Vladimir Putin, with a “new reality of worldpolitics” and “an anti-Putin front.” Butusov is therefore “99 per-cent certain” that Russia will refrain from attacking Ukraine, be-cause Putin now understands that “any further escalation” willresult in “new packets of sanctions much more quickly. And Rus-sia is already paralyzed by the drop in world prices for raw mate-rials.”

Moreover, Ukraine’s current focus on an exclusively defen-sive strategy isn’t sustainable in the long run. “We cannot,” writesButusov, “construct rows of trenches and fill them with soldiersalong the whole line of the front.” As a result, the Russian mili-tants are always able to take the initiative, strike unexpectedlywherever they want to, and inflict casualties on the Ukrainianarmy. Such attrition is both demoralizing and destabilizing.Butusov therefore suggests that Kyiv change its tactics—fromplaying defense to playing offense, but with “a scalpel.” Ukraineneeds a “new concept of military activities.”

It is imperative that quick-response strike forces be created onthe basis of existing formations and that systematic work be con-ducted toward liquidating the knots of resistance and the units of theadversary. Our defense should be proactive. The enemy should notremain in peace. We need a war of diversionary groups, howitzersand mortars, large armored units, and well-defended convoys.

In a word, Butusov is recommending that Ukraine adopt hit-and-run tactics against the Russian proxies, engage in surgicalstrikes against strategic targets, both on the front line and in theoccupied Donbas, and thereby force the terrorists to dig in, an-ticipate, and lose the initiative. Ukraine’s offensive actions wouldtherefore mirror Russia’s hybrid war. Ukrainian “little green men”and diversionary units would strike at vulnerable targets in therear, while lightly armed commandoes enjoying the support ofmobile artillery units would harass the Russians and their prox-ies along the whole length of the front. Here are the two keyelements of Butusov’s plan:

We can drive out the Russian Federation from the Donbas,but for that we need to conduct a genuine war—without flags,without PR, without advertising. Without any large attacks ormaneuvers. Instead, locally, surgically, and fatally. There shouldbe one goal of the war: to inflict maximal casualties on the armiesof the occupiers. First, Kyiv would neither discuss what it is upto nor admit to having a Ukrainian military presence behind en-emy lines. Like Moscow, Kyiv would adamantly insist that theattacks are being launched by local resistance to the proxies.Second, the goal of the offensive would not be to win back terri-tory—at least not immediately—but to impose unacceptable ca-sualties on Putin’s forces.

Would Butusov’s plan work? It’s obviously premised on theinability or unwillingness of Putin to launch a full-scale attackon Ukraine. If he does not or cannot, Ukraine’s hands are free. Ifhe does, hit-and-run tactics may still be useful, but Ukraine’sprimary task would then be to defend its territory. As I’ve writ-ten many times, we have no idea what Putin will or will not do.In that case, either you may agree with Butusov or you may not.

But there would be two ancillary advantages to Butusov’s strat-egy. First, localized strikes would not offer Russia the option of claim-ing that it must launch a full-scale attack in response to a Ukrainianoffensive. Since Ukraine would purposely eschew “large attacks ormaneuvers,” Russia would be placed in the same position Ukrainehas been in for much of 2014: continually facing small-scale attacksthat, individually, never quite merited a massive response.

Second, thanks to Kyiv’s cut-off of government subsidies,social unrest in the Donbas enclave has noticeably increased,with locals demanding that the proxies provide them with moneyand goods. The unrest is sure to intensify as the temperaturesdrop in the months ahead. Butusov’s plan would both build onand contribute to such unrest. Seen in this light, disrupting sepa-ratist rule behind the lines could turn out to be the best way ofweakening separatist forces on the front lines.

—Courtesy: World Affairs

OSAMA AL SHARIF

WHILE international and regional efforts are focused on fighting Islamicmilitants in Syria and Iraq, one coun-

try is quickly emerging as an immediate dan-ger to its neighbours, to most of North Africaand perhaps to Europe. Libya is already a failedstate; a divided country with two governmentsand two parliaments and hundreds of tribal fac-tions fighting under different banners. In thechaos and break out of violence that followedthe overthrow and summary execution of dic-tator Muammar Qadhafi in October 2011, gov-ernment institutions began to collapse and fac-tional confrontations gripped most of Libya.Attempts to keep Libya united and maintain apolitical process failed repeatedly and militantgroups, belonging to various tribes, quicklydivided the country among themselves.

Today, a coalition of various Islamist fac-tions, the Dawn of Libya, is in control of Tri-poli. In the past few days, the air force of thenational Libyan army began bombing selectedtargets in the capital and other towns in the westof the country. In Benghazi, Libya’s main cityin the east, militants belonging to Ansar AlSharia, designated by the UN as a terroristgroup, are fighting a bloody war for control ofthe city against the forces of retired Gen.

New regional challengeKhalifa Haftar and the Libyan national army.

The Libyan uprising against Qadhafi’s rulein February 2011 would not have succeededwithout the intervention of Western forces.NATO air force, comprised mostly of US, Frenchand British planes, destroyed Qadhafi’s militiasand provided essential logistical aid to armedrebel groups from various tribes. But no soonerhad the regime collapsed than Western supportfor a sustainable political process began to wane.Following the killing of US ambassador inBenghazi in September 2012, allegedly by AlQaeda affiliated terrorists, the Western presencein the country was quickly reduced. Today mostforeign embassies remain closed.

Special UN envoy to Libya BernardinoLeón failed to launch a national dialogue amongvarious factions. The General National Coun-cil in Tripoli, associated with Islamist forcesand controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, hasbeen reinstated through a controversial rulingby a constitutional court two weeks ago, whicheffectively dissolved the elected parliament thathas been relocated to Tobruk.

As the country slipped into civil war, anewcomer emerged on the scene in Libya.Fighters loyal to the Islamic State (IS) havetaken control of the city of Derna, in the east,in the past few weeks. This is the closest IS-controlled city to Europe: about 320 kilometres

from the EU’s southern shores. Reports say thatIS militants include Libyan jihadists who hadreturned from Syria and Iraq, in addition toother fighters from North Africa.

The militant faction in Derna calls itselfthe “Barqa” provincial division of IS which isthe Roman name given to eastern Libya. Manytribes in the east are calling for a state of theirown in the Barqa province, which includesBenghazi and most of Libya’s oil fields in theeast. The chaos in Libya will go on for manyyears. The current military campaign by thenational army and Haftar’s forces is unlikelyto succeed in chasing out Islamist rebels anduniting the country. Naturally, thedestabilisation of Libya threatens itsneighbours. Last week, Egyptian PresidentAbdel Fattah Al Sisi urged the United Statesand Europe to provide assistance to the Libyanarmy in its fight against Islamist militants.Egypt believes that Libyan jihadists are pro-viding Ansar Beit Al Maqdis in Sinai, anothergroup now affiliated with IS, with weapons andfighters. The long desert border between Egyptand Libya is a security nightmare for the Egyp-tian army, which has been waging a bloody waragainst militants in Sinai. Sisi believes thatconcentrating military efforts on Syria and Iraqwill make Libya an attractive option for ISmilitants.

Egypt and the UAE denied reports that theirair force had carried out strikes against mili-tants in Libya. But UAE’s Foreign MinisterAbdullah Ben Zayed was quoted last week assaying that his country had “a huge responsi-bility in getting Libya on the right side”. Headded: “We believe especially that the coun-tries that played a role in getting rid of Qadhafi,first of all, should have played a far bigger rolethe day after. They haven’t.”

But with the United States and its alliescaught up in an extended military campaign inSyria and Iraq, it is difficult to see a change inpolicy to encompass Libya in the fight againstIS militants anytime soon. Furthermore, pro-viding air cover to the Libyan army will not beenough to dislodge Islamist fighters from keypositions, as the two-month allied bombard-ment of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish borderhas proved. Libya has indeed become a hugegeopolitical liability.

Addressing the complex problem there willrequire regional and international effort. Fail-ure to realise that the Libyan situation will getmore complicated in the coming weeks willforce America’s allies to act unilaterally. Egyptand the UAE are already doing that. But will itbe enough?[The writer is a journalist and political com-mentator based in Amman]

Time for a HybridWar Against Russia?

Hillary’s dreamsturn a trifle sour

HARARE—Zimbabwe VicePresident Joice Mujuru has beenousted from the ruling party’spowerful central committee afterbeing accused of plotting to as-sassinate President RobertMugabe, state media reportedWednesday. A provincial execu-tive committee refused to acceptMujuru’s election papers ahead ofa key ZANU-PF party congressnext week after a campaignagainst her led by Mugabe’s wifeGrace.

Mujuru’s home district “re-jected her application in electionsthat saw a number of other Zanu-PF bigwigs linked to her nefari-ous activities to oust PresidentRobert Mugabe also failing tomake it,” the paper said. Mujuruhas been the target of sustainedattacks in pro-government news-papers as factions within the partyjostle to take power when 90-year-

Zimbabwe vice-presidentousted from office

MOSCOW/BEIRUT—Fresh Russian efforts toencourage Syrian peace talks are unlikely tomake progress because Moscow rejects oppo-sition and Western calls for the swift departureof President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow has long-supported Assad, including with arms suppliesfor Syria, but he has become a more importantally for Russia since the Arab Spring proteststoppled leaders in the Middle East, some ofwhom had close ties with Moscow. With its in-fluence in the Middle East weakened and rela-tionship with the West under increasing strainover the conflict in Ukraine, Moscow is tryingto restart Syria talks that collapsed in Geneva inFebruary.

Russia says the rise of Islamic State mili-tants, who control large swathes of land in Syriaand Iraq, has made it urgent to unite all forcesagainst them. But Western diplomats say Mos-cow is not offering any new solutions. Moscowhas invited Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem to visit this week after a similar tripby a former Syrian opposition chief earlier thismonth. “It is important that constructive Syrianopposition forces restart political dialogue withofficial (representatives of) Damascus in the faceof dangerous challenges posed by internationalterrorism,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign MinisterMikhail Bogdanov said on Monday accordingto agency Interfax. Russia says cooperating withDamascus is indispensable for fighting “terror-

FERGUSON, USA—Some 2,000 National Guard troops dispatchedto the St. Louis area helped police stave off a second night ofrioting and arson after a grand jury declined to indict a white po-liceman in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager, assympathy protests spread to several U.S. cities. President BarackObama appealed for dialogue, and his attorney general promisedthat a federal probe into the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brownin August would be rigorous. Officer Darren Wilson, the police-man who shot him, said his conscience was clear.

Despite a beefed-up military presence in Ferguson, a police carwas torched near City Hall as darkness fell, and police fired smokebombs and tear gas to scatter protesters. A crowd of demonstratorslater converged near police headquarters, scuffled with officers whodoused them with pepper spray, then smashed storefront windowsas they fled under orders to disperse. Still, the crowds were smallerand more controlled than on Monday, when about a dozen busi-nesses were torched and others were looted amid rock-throwingand sporadic gunfire from protesters and volleys of tear gas fired bypolice. More than 60 people were arrested then, compared with 44arrests on Tuesday night, police said.

“Generally, it was a much better night,” St. Louis County Po-lice Chief Jon Belmar told reporters early Wednesday, adding there

Protests spread across US,more troops deployed

Russia’s new push for Syriadialogue not to be fruitful

ists” on the ground. The United States refusedto cooperate with Assad in a campaign of U.S.-led strikes on Islamic State and other groups thatstarted in September.

A Western diplomat who tracks Syria saidMoscow had not offered anything substantiallynew. Moscow had only recently repeated a pro-posal that Assad stay in power for two yearswith a provisional government, before presiden-tial elections in which he could stand, the dip-lomat said. The Syrian opposition, and its U.S.and Arab backers want Assad to step down. “Todemand Assad’s exit makes no sense now thateveryone’s main enemy is Islamic State, and afinal destabilization of power in Syria can onlybenefit them,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, a foreignpolicy analyst with close ties to Russian authori-ties. Some Western diplomats say Moscow’sinitiative may be a sign that President VladimirPutin is concerned about reports that U.S. Presi-dent Barack Obama has ordered a review ofSyria policy. A statement by the Russian For-eign Ministry announcing the Moualem visitsaid the two ministers would hold talks “againstthe background of U.S. attempts to monopolizethe right to decide on the goals and methods ofanti-terrorist operations.”

“There is a nervousness among Syria andits allies... They fear there is something that theycannot control so they want to take the initia-tive but they don’t want to give any ground,”

the Western diplomat who tracks Syria said.Some diplomats said Moscow was trying toshow it was not isolated by the Ukraine con-flict. “This conflict is stalling all U.S.-Russiacooperation or talks on every possible field, in-cluding Syria,” a Western diplomat in Moscowsaid. “What Russia is trying to do is to showthat it is relevant, that it is a player that cannotbe bypassed.”

Moscow reiterated its readiness to host Syriapeace talks but it is far from clear who wouldrepresent the opposition. While the West hasthrown its weight behind the Turkey-based Na-tional Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary andOpposition Forces, Russia says members of “awide spectrum of social and political forces ofthe Syrian society” should take part. Moscowhas not invited the coalition to take part in anytalks, although Russia’s Bogdanov did meet withmembers in Istanbul six weeks ago and dis-cussed restarting the political process, said AnasAbdah, a senior coalition member. SinceGeneva, increased infighting in the oppositionhas undermined efforts by rebels to take on gov-ernment forces. The rebels Washington wantsto train and equip to take on Islamic State havelost ground to hardliners.

“Things are much more complicated, themoderate Syrian opposition that used to standtogether with the radicals against Assad is fur-ther split,” analyst Lukyanov said. “Some pre-

fer Assad to what is going on, other still want tofight the regime, yet others have lost any hopefor any positive developments.” Moaz Alkhatib,the former head of the opposition coalition, vis-ited Moscow for talks earlier this month. Al-though he no longer leads the main oppositionin exile, he is seen by diplomats as someonewho could play a part in a political solution forSyria. After the meeting Alkhatib said Moscowhad suggested hosting a conference to reboottalks. He said he attended the meeting with twoformer high-ranking Syrian army generals whodefected earlier in the war, a former Syrian dip-lomat and the opposition coalition’s envoy toDoha.“Russia did not offer anything, it just listenedto us and we listened to them,” Alkhatib toldReuters, saying he had repeated a call for Assadto step down. “Syria cannot stand up again withthis man,” he said. The Syrians also say it is notclear what Moscow wants to achieve from re-newed peace talks, a Lebanese political sourceclose to Damascus said. “Moualem will head toRussia to hear what the Russians have to sayand then we will get a clearer idea of it,” thesource said, adding that Syria did not feel pres-sured to compromise. “Nobody is willing to talkabout Assad and his family leaving.” Moualemwill be in Russia on Wednesday and Thursdayand may meet Putin in the Black Sea resort ofSochi.—Reuters

was very little arson or gunfire, and that lawlessness was confinedto a relatively small group. “We saw some protesters out there thatwere really out there for the right reason,” he said. “Unfortunately,there seems to be a few people who are bent on preventing this fromhappening in the most ideal way that it could.” The unrest surround-ing Brown’s death in Ferguson, a predominantly black city with awhite-dominated power structure, underscored the often-tense na-ture of U.S. race relations and strained ties between African-Ameri-can communities and police. Monday’s racially charged protestswere more intense than disturbances that followed the shooting it-self, though much smaller than widespread rioting and looting thatfollowed the acquittal of police officers in the beating of black mo-torist Rodney King in Los Angeles two decades ago.

An enlarged contingent of National Guard troops surrounded busi-nesses damaged in Monday’s violence. Groups of men also gatheredon the roofs of some boarded-up stores to protect the buildings fromfurther damage. Armed with fire extinguishers and, one said, guns,they planned to stay all night. Elsewhere, protests swelled from LosAngeles to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. In New York, police usedpepper spray to control the crowd after protesters tried to block theLincoln Tunnel and Triborough Bridge and marched to Times Square.—Reuters

JEDDAH—The Headquarters ofthe General Secretariat of theOrganisation of Islamic Coop-eration (OIC) in Jeddah hostedthe second meeting of the Ex-ecutive Council of the IslamicBroadcasting Union (IBU) on25 November 2014, preparatoryto the third meeting of the IBUGeneral Assembly held on 26November 2014. The Meetingwas inaugurated by the Minis-ter of Hajj and Acting Ministerof Information and Culture ofthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia DrBandar Bin Muhammad Hajaar.He highlighted the huge roleentrusted to the IBU under theIslamic joint media action in thelight of the challenges facing theMuslim world.

The Secretary General of theOrganisation of Islamic Coop-eration, Mr Iyad Ameen Madani,in his address welcoming theMinister, said that it had becomeundisputable in the contempo-rary world that the media has theupper hand in all facets of life.He drew attention to the impor-tance of joint media action which

OIC SG asks IBU to facenew media challenges

has become a requirement forcountering the intensive misrep-resentation campaigns againstIslam and Muslims, a situationthat calls for dynamic action toscale up the work of the IBU. Forhis part, the Director General ofthe Islamic Broadcasting Union,Dr Mohammed Salem OuldBouk, presented a report of theIBU’s work in the preceding twoyears and the efforts being madeto upgrade its work. He reportedthat the IBU had succeeded insigning agreements with severalmember states in addition to part-nerships established with the Is-lamic Educational, Scientific andCultural Organisation(ISESCO), the Islamic Develop-ment Bank (IDB) and others.The Meeting discussed the re-port on the activities of the IBUand its financial report. At theend of its meeting, the Execu-tive Council issued a numberof recommendations thatwould be discussed by the 3rdmeeting of the IBU GeneralAssembly on Wednesday.Email.

old Mugabe steps down or dies.Mujuru and powerful JusticeMinister Emmerson Mnangagwawere seen as the leading contend-ers to replace Mugabe, who hasbeen in power since independencefrom Britain in 1980.

The battle escalated follow-ing Grace Mugabe’s surprisenomination to lead the powerfulwomen’s wing of ZANU-PF,prompting speculation that shewanted the top job herself. Rob-ert Mugabe, Africa’s oldest leader,is expected to be confirmed as theparty’s leader at the congress earlyin December, but the fight for po-sitions on the powerful politburocould be decisive for the cam-paign to succeed him. Mujuru’sfailure to win a place in the cen-tral committee means she ceasesto be in the party’s top leadershipeven before the congress starts onDecember 3.—AFP

girls’ welfare.A woman from the family added that a

lady teacher from the seminary along with asupervisor came to their house and handedover the girls for safekeeping on the pre-text that it would add pressure to repay theloan. Police officials said that the seminaryowner in her statement had said that she regu-

Police recover 33 minorgirls from Karachi home

From Page 1

paign was launched amid tight security in 11districts of Balochistan earlier this month. Dur-ing the campaign, over 238,000 children belowthe age of five will be administered polio vac-cine.

The districts where the campaign waslaunched include Quetta, Killa Saifullah, KillaAbdullah, Sherani, Zhob, Pishin, Loralai,Naseerabad, Jaffarabad and Lasbela.

Speaking to a reporter from Civil Hospital

4 polio workers gunned downFrom Page 1

Republics which presently notavailable to it. The land con-nectivity agreements wouldhave enabled New Delhi totransport its goods without any

Pakistan scuttles Indian moveFrom Page 1

restrictions by Pakistan. Oppos-ing the cleverly worded Indianmove, Pakistan vetoed it statingthat it was yet to complete its

internal process. Sources saidPakistan’s blocking created“disappointment” among theIndian side, which had initiatedthese proposals.—INP

Sharif and Modi are staying for the two-daySummit, has taken special care of the tastesand preferences of the visiting leaders, reportedPTI. “Modi is having simple vegetarian foodwith less spices and less oil, while for Sharifhalal meat dishes are prepared,” a hotel staffinvolved in preparing the cuisines said.

In lunch, Modi takes jeera rice with daland two types of vegetables besides tawa rotiand vegetable soup. He also takes plain curdand Masala Chaas with his food. “Instruc-tions have been given to make the dishes lessoily and less spicy with less use of paneer,” hesaid. In dinner, the Prime Minister prefers

Veg with less spice for ModiFrom Page 1

Khichadi with Gujrati curry, dal and roti, whilefor dessert, he takes mixed fruit. For break-fast, he takes mixed fruits, utappam or idly anddigestive biscuits along with tea. For Pa-kistani Premier Sharif, halal meats are pre-pared. He also prefers fish in special Pakistanipreparation and takes organic chicken or mut-ton in lunch and dinner. For dessert, he preferssaffron kheer.

Modi has been provided Executive Suitein the hotel’s main building while Sharif isstaying in Real Suite in a separate bungalowbuilt in the premises of the hotel along withall other SAARC dignitaries.—Online

to strengthen bilateral ties withSri Lanka. Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif and MaldivesPresident Abdulla Yameen alsoheld a meeting on the sidelinesof the SAARC summit inKathmandu on Wednesday.They discussed bilateral tiesand regional issues.

Prime Minister said Paki-stan gives special importanceto its relations with Maldives.He said Pakistan and theMaldives are tied in commonreligious bonds. PresidentYameen thanked Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif for extendingcooperation in various sectors.

Bangladesh Prime MinisterHassina Wajid also met PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif and bothleaders discussed bilateral rela-tions.—Online

Pak, Sri Lanka,From Page 1

Quetta, one of the survivors said that no secu-rity arrangements were made for the polio team.“Two men a on motorcycle stopped our car andstarted shooting. No security arrangements weremade,” she said.

“There was a policeman standing in the dis-tance, but he didn’t come to our aid. We calledeveryone but no one came to our rescue. Oneman on a motorcycle came and started our carand took us to the hospital,” she further added.

larly brought in children from Bajaur to edu-cate them in her madrassah in Karachi’s JamshedQuarters area.

She further said that after receiving educa-tion the girls returned to Bajaur where they wereimparted training to others. The owner addedthat she also arranged marriages of poor girls inthe tribal region.

British MuslimsFrom Page 1

will separate us,” said FatimaAli, 46, a nurse. “I think theywere made too hastily,” shesaid.Britain has around 2.8million Muslims, making up4.4 per cent of the population,and many are concentrated inLondon in ethnically diverseareas like Whitechapel whereAli works.

The area is home to theEast London Mosque, billed asthe city’s oldest and as servingthe country’s largest Muslimcongregation.“I don’t thinkthey can stop the terrorists withthis law,” said market traderMohammed Ali, against abackdrop of multi-colouredand sequined cloths.

“This law targets the Mus-lim community.... Just becauseone part of the community iscriminal, it doesn’t make thewhole community criminal,”he said.

The new laws would in-crease surveillance and reloca-tion for people identified asMuslim radicals, force univer-sities to bar extremist preach-ers and toughen laws againstwould-be militants planning toleave for Iraq and Syria andthose returning.

There is broad supportfrom the main parties in par-liament for the draft Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill,which also includes the estab-lishment of a civil libertiespanel to monitor implementa-tion.

But campaign groups likeLiberty, the Islamic HumanRights Commission (IHRC)and CAGE have already comeout against the Counter-Terror-ism and Security Bill, definingit as hasty and counter-produc-tive.

“The new anti-terror driveseems to be more geared to cre-ating otherness in our societythan security,” IHRC chairMassoud Shadjareh told AFP.

“I don’t think there hasbeen any consultation with theMuslim community, “he said,adding: “The consultationseems to be only with a narrowgroup of people who think likethe government.

“The Muslim Council ofBritain, the largest national as-sociation of British Muslimshas not commented on the pro-posals so far but has lobbiedagainst parts of existing anti-terror legislation.

“One of the best repudia-tions we can give to terroristsis by ensuring that we will notcurtail our cherished freedomswhich they wish to destroy,”the Council’s secretary generalShuja Shafi said earlier.

The government estimatesaround 500 Britons have joinedthe Islamic State militants in re-cent months and one of thegroup’s executioners, seen in aseries of grisly videos, has a Brit-ish accent.In Whitechapel, JavadIqbal, another market trader,agreed with the purpose of thelegislative proposals but saidthey risked stigmatising Mus-lims. “I do understand wherethey’re coming from, why theywant to toughen laws, becauseof a very small minority of so-called Muslims,” he said.—AFP

Girl dies in IndiaFrom Page 1

lewd gestures and attempts totouch her, local superinten-dent RK Sahu said.

The men then doused herin kerosene and set her on fireas punishment inShahjahanpur village, 277kilometres southeast of NewDelhi, according to thefamily. The girl was taken toa local hospital but died ofher injuries on Sunday night,the officer said.

“Four of the six accusedhave been arrested. All ofthem belong to the samevillage and are of the samecaste as that of the girl,”Sahu said. Police arehunting for the other twoaccused.—AP

PTI to fileFrom Page 1

said they have decided to go tothe SC with proof of rigging inthe elections.—INP

Drone hit kills eightFrom Page 1

a target in the Nazyan village of Ningerhar province in the neigh-boring Afghanistan though leaving sixteen others dead.

The compound which the drones had hit, housedTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief Mullah Fazlullahwho had a narrow escape and remained safe as many of hissenior aides were killed in the attack. Unconfirmed reportsalso said Mullah Fazlullah alias Mullah Radio was also killedin the attack though there was no official confirmation asyet.

Reports reaching here from Miran Shah the headquar-ters of the North Waziristan agency said, the Americandrones targeted a compound in Kandsirr area of tehsil DattaKhel Wednesday killing at least eight inmates of the houseas the building was destroyed completely.

“The drones hovering in the skies in Kandsirr for sometime targeted the structure with at least two hellfire mis-siles that destroyed the house and killed four inmates”. Iden-tity of those killed in Wednesday’s attack, could not be as-certained. Some officials said the compound hit by the USmissiles, was used by the militants yet that could not beconfirmed by the independent sources.

The US adventurism in the Northern tribal belt has con-tinued unabated and the American drones during over 300missiles hits since August 2008, have killed more than 3000people mostly innocent tribals as admitted by even the in-ternational watch dog though it managed to hit a few dozenwanted militants.

All the appeals made by the Pakistani rulers that dronestrikes must be halted as these were only proving counter-productive in the war against terror, always fell on deaf earsof those at the helm of affairs in Washington who claimedthe drones strikes proved productive in hunting down theAl-Qaeda supervised Taliban in Pakistan’s northern tribalbelt.

Pakistan has strongly been condemning the drone strikein its tribal belt agency terming it an attack on the sover-eignty of the country and calling for immediate halt to dronehits. In the year 2014, the US drones struck as many as 14times in the North Waziristan agency and twice in the SouthWaziristan agency killing hundreds of people, mostly inno-cent tribals, having nothing to do with militancy.

SC forms 7-member larger benchFrom Page 1

tice Asif Saeed Khosa and others. Sources saidthe bench will hear next week the petitions filedby PTI and others seeking disqualification ofPM Nawaz Sharif PTI and others had filed peti-

tions in SC on the matter of calling army by PMNawaz Sharif for facilitating and later givingwrong statement allegedly by him in the par-liament—Online

India can’t havetalks with Pakistan

From Page 1

fired,” Singh told a press con-ference held on the sidelines ofthe 44th All India SainikSchools Pincipals’ Conferenceat Sainik School, Kazhakootamnear here.

Talks with Pakistan werecalled off when they held talkswith separatists, he said, add-ing, “Fundamental remains thesame... We cannot have talkswhen bullets are flyingaround. We will have to waitand watch.”

To a question on one-rank,one pension for defence per-sonnel, he said the NDA Gov-ernment has declared un-equivocally that it wouldimplement it. Provisions weremade in the last budget forthat.

“A final annoucement onthe matter will be made eitherin Parliamnet during the (cur-rent) session or after that,” headded.

On the expanson of Sainikschools in the country, Singhsaid six more schools wouldbe opned - three in UttarPradesh, two in Rajasthan andone in Uthrakand. With this,the number of Sainik schoolsin the country would go up to31.

The objective of the gov-ernment was to make theSainik schools the backbonethat provides young officers toArmy, he pointed out—Online

14 IPPsFrom Page 1

continue with their productionhence government has to payas sovereign guarantor addedthe source to keep generationgoing and avoid the closures ofplants.

But, the source added, thepower purchaser has failed torealize this simple equation andnow the dues of IPPs havemounted to Rs 42,273 millionfor which government has tocome in for rescue.

Nawaz envisions dispute-free S AsiaFrom Page 1

“We earnestly hope that old and new democra-cies in South Asia will join hands to make theregion happy and prosperous.” He further said“The recent monsoon floods in South Asiancountries raised the importance of regional co-ordination on cross-border information sharingand early flood forecasting as human-inducedand natural disaster affects everybody, irrespec-tive of national boundaries and economic sta-tus.”

“In pursuing the Saarc socio-economicagenda we must pay special attention to ruraldevelopment, expansion of agricultural resourcebase, development of action plans to combatcommunicable diseases, promotion of greatercollaboration in the health sector, eliminationof illiteracy, scientific and technological capac-ity building and development of information andcommunication technology.”

The PM said the economic development ofSouth Asia is closely linked to the availabilityof energy at an affordable price and added that:

“With abundant alternate energy resources avail-able region-wide, we need to collectively focuson harnessing indigenous energy production po-tential.” He further said that arrangements fortrans-regional oil and gas pipelines should alsobe considered and added that due to its geo-graphical location, Pakistan is a natural eco-nomic corridor for the region. “Promoting re-gional connectivity is one of the seven pillars ofour development strategy. My government isactively pursuing this initiative which has thepotential to integrate South Asia, China andCentral Asia – the three engines of growth inAsia,” the PM said. “

A soft visa-regime would greatly facilitatethe realisation of these objectives.” Concludinghis speech, the prime minister said: “Havinghosted the fourth and 12th Saarc summits, Pa-kistan would be pleased to offer itself to hostthe 19th summit in Islamabad.” He congratu-lated Nepal for successfully holding the SAARCsummit.

The pamphlet extends sup-port to IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and vows to clearWana of US supporters spyingon the “holy fighters”.

The appearance of the al-leged IS pamphlet in Wana isan indication that the MullahNazir militant group, accusedof harboring anti-US fighters inAfghanistan, may be the maincontact-point for the IslamicState militant group in SouthWaziristan tribal agency.

The organisation has al-ready garnered support fromother militant commanders andoutfits in Pakistan — includ-ing former TTP spokesmanShahidullah Shahid, fiveformer TTP commanders in theFederally Administered TribalAreas, militant groupJundullah, and Pakistan-basedUzbek militants.

IS pamphletFrom Page 1

No outstandingFrom Back Page

further stated that all petitionerbanks, including the NBP, havereceived full and entire amountof their claims, and that thereis nothing outstanding.

The subject matter of Ref-erence No. 11 of 2001 pendingin the Accountability Court,Rawalpindi, was filed on thepremise of default, the lettermentioned. —APP

Governmentconsiders

education as toolfor development

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab Ministerfor Excise & Taxation, Financeand Law Mujtaba Shuja urRehman has said that Punjabgovernment considers educa-tion as a tool to developmentand a record funds have beenprovided for school and highereducation. He said that in or-der to achieve the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs),Rs.2 billion has been reservedfor current fiscal year. He saidthat fashion & design, paintingsand fine arts competitions helpto polish talent of the youth. Hesaid that Punjab government isutilizing all out resources forthe promotion of educationspecially in the field of techni-cal education and an amount ofRs.274 billion is being utilizedfor the promotion of educationsector which is 26.25% of thebudget.

While talking to a delegationof students and teachers of a pri-vate Institute of Fashion andDesign, Mujtaba Shuja urRehman said that due to practi-cal measures of Punjab ChiefMinister, the enrollment of stu-dents in government schools hadbeen enhanced to 11.273 million.

MoU signed betweenNCSW and WhiteRibbon Campaign

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—White RibbonCampaign Pakistan and Na-tional Commission on Status ofWomen (NCSW) have inked aMemorandum of Understand-ing (MoU) to jointly work foradvocacy and awareness ofpro-women laws. The agree-ment was signed during anevent on White Ribbon Dayfor Elimination of Violenceagainst Women in which so-cial activists, legislators, dip-lomats and representatives ofmedia and civil society werepresent. Chairperson KhawarMumtaz signed the MoU onbehalf of NCSW while WhiteRibbon Campaign was repre-sented by its Chief ExecutiveOmer Aftab.

Head Acid Survivor Foun-dation Valerie Khan, EU Am-bassador Lars-GunnarWigemark, Australian HighCommissioner PeterHeyward, MNA ShaistaPervaiz Malik, famous poet

Kishwar Naheed were amongmany others present on theoccasion. White Ribbon andNSCW have agreed to form a‘Strategic Alliance’ to developand execute programs and ini-tiatives.

Chairperson NSCWstated: NCSW strives to ful-fill the promise of a life ofdignity and justice to womenof Pakistan. She mentionedthat Commissions mandate isto address the issues that af-fect the lives of women ad-versely by reviewing and ana-lyzing the laws and policiesand consequently formulatingrecommendations throughdialogue and research to en-able them to hold a positionof equity.

Chief Executive WhiteRibbon Omer Aftab men-tioned that White Ribbon andNSCW have jointly started acampaign on legal literacy ofwomen, saying that govern-ment has introduced severalgood pro-women laws but

women are not aware ofthem. White Ribbon Day forElimination of ViolenceAgainst Women is markedinternationally on November25th to show support andsolidarity with women suf-fering different kinds of vio-lence in their lives.

Published by: Zahid Malik from Ali Akbar House Markaz G-8, Islamabad and printed by Gauhar Zahid Malik at Al Umar Printers

Daish wallchalkingwork ofenemiesLAHORE—Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiu Haqhas said that there is nopresence of “Daish” inPakistan and inimicalforeign forces were behindthe wall chalking to defamethe country. In an interview,Samiul Haq said that theyalso do not accept thesystem against whichTahirul Qadri and ImranKhan were protesting.He, however said thatImran Khan and TahirulQadri should explain whattype of revolution theywere seeking? “Were theytalking of a WesternRevolution or an IslamicRevolution” he ques-tioned. He pointed thatthe first ever sit in wasstaged by late MaulanaAbdul Haq for the enforce-ment of Islamic system inthe country. —INP

Rashidillegallyholds TrustpropertyISLAMABAD —Chairman of Evacuee TrustSiddiqul Farooq hasrevealed that Chief ofAwami Muslim LeagueSheikh Rashid Ahmad hasillegally seized property ofthe Trust over the lastmany years. Addressing anews conference here onWednesday, he said theproperty located close toSheikh Rashid’s Lal Haveliresidence in Rawalpindi isworth millions of rupeesbut no rent is being paid tothe evacuee trust. He saidthe chief of Awami Muslimleague should end illegalcontrol of the propertyand pay the outstandingrent. —Online

Icon ofArabicmusicSabah diesBEIRUT—Lebanesesinger and actressSabah, an icon of Arabmusic, died on Wednes-day after a career thatspanned over six de-cades, Lebanese mediasaid. She was 87. Thediva was famous acrossthe Arab world for herpowerful voice, musicaltalent and joyful brazen-ness and is consideredamong the last of the‘giants’, a crop of cel-ebrated Lebanese singersthat represent a goldenage, including Fayrouz,Wadih el-Safi, NasriShamseddine and others.Sabah, whose real name isJeanette Feghali, first cameto prominence in the fiftiesas a singer and actress inEgyptian movies.—AP

TEHRAN—Iran’s oil ministerhas rejected speculationsthat Iran would withdrawfrom gas deal with Pakistan.Bijan Namdar Zanganeh toldreporters that Iran was pre-pared to start its gas exportsto Pakistan.

“Pakistan has signed adeal to import 21.5 million cu-bic meters of natural gasdaily from Iran and by thebeginning of 2015, it shouldstart receiving this amountof gas according to agree-ment,” he said.

However, Pakistani offi-cials had ascribed their fail-ure in construction of evensingle cubic meters of gaspipeline in their soil to inter-national sanctions, and ac-cording to provisionssigned in the agreement, itwould pay US$3 million toIran in compensation foreach day delay in its pipe-line inauguration. Oil minis-try officials still have notcommented about Pakistaniside’s claims.

Amid uncertainties inconstruction of pipeline, ex-perts from both sides havespeculated that the gas dealwould be suspended, whichZanganeh rejected, sayingthat Iran’s daily production

Iran won’t cancel gasdeal with Pakistan: Bijan

ISLAMABAD—The National As-sembly was informed on Wednes-day that the government has pre-pared a strategy to bring PIA onthe path of profitable operations.The House was also informedthat the estimated financial impactof damages caused by floods thisyear was over forty four point fivebillion rupees. These include overforty one point billion rupees inPunjab, over two point eight bil-lion rupees in Azad Kashmir and508 million rupees in Gilgit-Baltistan. Replying to differentqueries during question hour,Minister of State for Parliamen-tary Affairs, Sheikh Aftab Ahmedsaid a revival plan has been pre-

Floods caused Rs 44.5 billion damagesPIA revival plan prepared to transform national carrier: NA told

pared which will help transformthe national carrier into a dynamicand vibrant institution. It will en-sure cost cutting measures, in-crease in revenue, airworthinessof aircrafts and meet customers’expectations.

The Minister of State said PIABoard of Directors has decidedto retire seven of its old aircrafts.Responding to a question Minis-ter of State for Education and Pro-fessional Training EngineerBaligh-ur-Rehman said over fif-teen million children are out ofschool. He said different strate-gies are being adopted to promoteliteracy. These include focus onenrolment of out of school chil-

dren in existing primary schoolswith underutilized capacity. Chil-dren above the age of seven willbe enrolled in non formal basiceducation, feeder schools ormadrassas. Additional classrooms and teachers will be pro-vided in the existing public for-mal schools to accommodate newstudents. He said in far flung ar-eas, new two rooms formal andone room non formal schools willbe constructed to improve accessof students to education.

He said the strategy also en-visages incentives to retain stu-dents particularly girls and thosefrom disadvantaged groups whodrop out before completing pri-

mary school due to financial con-straints.

To a question he said abol-ishment of evening shift inIslamabad Model Colleges is un-derway in phases.

Parliamentary Secretary forInformation and BroadcastingMohsin Shah Nawaz Ranjha toldthe House that government ad-vertisements worth over 505 mil-lion rupees were released to theelectronic media since first of Julylast year.

To a supplementary he saidin the past there was no criteriafor release of ads to the electronicmedia but the present govern-ment is evolving a criteria for the

purpose. He informed the housethat the government is consider-ing to provide insurance cover tothe working journalists. Respond-ing to yet another question hesaid Radio Pakistan is broadcast-ing weather forecast in its na-tional, regional and local city ser-vice programmes from PBCChitral, Peshawar, Skardu andGilgit on daily basis.

He said apart from this a na-tional hookup feature programmetitled “Safar Bakhair” is beinglaunched to guide the travellersto and from Chitral, Gilgit, Skarduand other northern areas regard-ing weather, roads and air trafficsituation.—INP

of natural gas increased 100million cubic meters, border-ing 600 million cubic metersdaily.

Oil minister emphasisedthat Iran was prepared tostart gas experts to Pakistan;“the operation to constructpipeline to Pakistani bordersapproaches final stages, andwhenever Pakistanis con-struct their domestic gaspipeline network, Iran wouldstart gas delivery to easternneighbour.”

On Pakistanis’ recent

statements relating sanc-tions to gas agreement withIran, Zanganeh told an Ira-nian news agency that theIslamic Republic of Iran hadbeen committed to its obli-gations made in gas dealwith Pakistan, and it ex-pected Pakistan to remaincommitted to its obligationsas well. “Mere remarkswould not be criteria for ac-tion, but provisions made inthe draft of the agreementwould guide the next steps,”said the oil minister.—Online

KARACHI—Report by Sindh governmentpertaining to the deaths in Thar was dis-missed by the Sindh High Court (SHC) onWednesday and ordered the federal gov-ernment to submit its response.

SHC was hearing the case of suo motunotice of the continued deaths of childrenin Thar where Session Judge Umer Kotsubmitted his report in regard to Thar situ-ation and SHC ordered federal governmentto submit their detailed report till Decem-ber 04.

According to the report submitted, 272children have died of dearth in Thar sinceJanuary.

Favored dealers were given the ten-ders in Khipro whereas the drinking waterwas wasted and was not provided to thepeople of Thar, the report said. 300 sacks

SHC rejects Sindh Govtreport on Thar deaths

of wheat were adulterated with mud whiledistrict hospital in Tharparkar stocked ex-pired medicines.

Chief Secretary Karachi had admittedto 240 deaths in his report whereas 154children were reported dead as per the re-port presented by Session Judge Mithi.Majority of the children who died wereunder 5 years of age whereas 18 out 28health centers were defunct.

The report further denotes that 271vacancies for doctors were unfilled. Thecourt dismissed the provincialgovernment’s report and ordered federalgovernment to submit a detailed report tillDecember 4.

Chief Justice warned to pass a judg-ment in case the report was not submittedby the said date.—INP

WASHINGTON—The US Army plans todeploy about 150 tanks and armored ve-hicles to NATO countries next year andsome of the heavy armor may be stationedin Eastern Europe, a top American gen-eral said Tuesday.

The move is part of a US effortdubbed “Operation Atlantic Resolve” inthe Baltic states and Poland to reassureallies anxious about a resurgent Russia,with American troops deploying for sev-eral months at a time to conduct joint ex-ercises.

Nearly 50 armored vehicles are alreadyin place and another 100 M1 Abrams tanksand Bradley fighting vehicles will be“pre-positioned” in Germany and possi-bly elsewhere for the US troops conduct-ing drills with NATO partners, Lieuten-

US Army may station tanks inEastern Europe: Gen Ben

ant General Ben Hodges told AFP in aphone interview from Estonia.

“The troops will come over and train,and they’ll go back.

The equipment will stay behind,”Hodges said.

The arrangement was “a lot cheaper”than transporting tanks across the At-lantic and more efficient for the trainingmission, the general said.Hodges said hewould soon make a recommendation onwhether to store some of the tanks andarmored vehicles among NATO’s east-ern members.“I’m going to look at op-tions that would include distributing thisequipment in smaller sets, company-sizeor battalion-size, perhaps in the Baltics,Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, places likethat,” he said.”—AFP

MIAN ARSHAD

ISLAMABAD—The CabinetCommittee on Privatization(CCOP) here on Wednes-day approved the Transac-tion Structure for the Di-vestment of GoP residualshares in the ABL (Ltd) asrecommended by thePrivatization Commission.Finance Minister, Ishaq Darchaired the meetingthrough video link fromLondon.

The ChairmanPrivatization Commission,Mohammad Zubair briefedthe meeting about the keyfeatures of the TransactionStructure.

He informed the meet-ing that the PC Board ear-lier in its meeting Wednes-day morning reviewed and

ABL sharesTransaction structure

for disinvestment okayed

India wantsPakistan tohandover

26/11 culpritsNE W DELHI—Knowingfully well that Pakistan willnot succumb to any pres-sure, Indian Home Minis-ter Rajnath Singh onWednesday said thatNew Delhi will build updiplomatic pressure onPakistan to ensure thatthe latter brings the per-petrators of the 26/11 at-tacks in Mumbai to justiceand hand over them to In-dia.

“The previous gov-ernment had reques tedPakistan to prosecute allthe culpr i t s behind thehe inous a t t acks be -cause wha t he ca l l edthis was an a t tack tha twas comple te ly spon-sored by I s l amabad –there is no doubt aboutthat,” Singh said.

Sajna militantgroup in talks

with GovtPESHAWAR—Coming undersevere pressure from opera-tion Zarb-e-Azb, militantgroup led by Khan Syedalias Sajna was holding se-cret talks with the govern-ment for a deal.

TTP sources in FATAhave confirmed that TTPCommander Khan Syedalias Sajna group was hold-ing secret peace talks withthe govt to conclude peacedeal in South WaziristanAgency.

The reports said thatwithin a month or less timeSajna group will concludepeace deal with the govt inSouth Waziristan.—INP

QUETTA: A woman seeing the face of martyred polio team worker at Civil Hospital. Four polio workers includingthree women were shot dead and three others wounded in a targeted attack on their vehicle in eastern bypass area.

No outstandingloans against Ittefaq

Foundries: NBPISLAMABAD—The NationalBank of Pakistan (NBP) hasstated that Ittefaq Found-ries had paid back their allbanks loans, including thatof the NBP, and there wasnothing outstandingagainst them.

“Our books show nooutstanding against thesaid group, companies andguarantors, and the refer-ence may kindly be with-drawn,” said the ExecutiveVice President of the bankin a letter addressed to theNational AccountabilityBureau (NAB).

The NBP in its letter

Continued on Page 7

Ghani not to allowAfghanistan to be

used for proxy warsKATHMANDU—AfghanistanPresident Ashraf Ghani saidWednesday he would not al-low anyone to conduct aproxy war in his country afterwarnings that the rivalry be-tween India and Pakistancould spill across their bor-ders.

N u c l e a r - a r m e dneighbours India and Paki-stan have long accused eachother of using proxy forcesto try to gain influence in Af-ghanistan. But the departureof Nato combat forces fromAfghanistan has raised fearsthat their rivalry could esca-late, further destabilising theirtroubled neighbour. “We willnot allow our territory to beused against any of ourneighbours. But we will notpermit anybody to conductproxy wars on our soil either,”said Ghani at a meeting ofSouth Asian leaders.—AFP

approved the TransactionStructure proposed byLead Managers and BookRunners before its submis-sion to the CCOP.

The meeting was in-formed that TransactionStructure envisages offer-ing the entire GoP shares toboth International and Do-mestic Institutional inves-tors, High Net Worth Indi-viduals and general publicthrough the Karachi StockExchange (KSE) BookBuilding System. The offer-ing of GoP shares will be viaan Officer for Sale Docu-ment (OFSD) in compliancewith the applicable regula-tions of the domestic stockExchange(s) and the Secu-rities Exchange Commissionof Pakistan (SECP).

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister for Informa-tion, Broadcasting and National HeritageSenator Pervaiz Rashid has said that the Paki-stan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) gov-ernment wants development across the coun-try without discrimination.

Talking to media, he said the inaugura-tion of motorway by Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif in a few days, start-ing from Havelian which was a part of Khyber

PML-N wants developmentacrosss country: PR

Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), was an ample proof ofthe fact.

The minister was of the view that IDPswere the benefactors of Pakistan as they hadleft their homes for a war which was for thesurvival of the country, adding that they havesacrificed their today for our better tomorrow. The federal government was helping the IDPsin every possible way. Each IDP family was givenRs 50,000 in the beginning, he added.—APP

BY NOW, most of us are aware that eating fruits and vegetables is good for ourphysical health. But a new study pub-

lished in the BMJ Open suggests eating five aday is linked to better mental well-being. Eat-ing your “5 a day” increaseschanges of higher mentalwell-being, the researcherssay. A previous study sug-gested that consuming fiveportions of fruits and veg-etables a day is the optimumamount for lowering the riskof death from any cause,which contradicts anotherstudy that suggested weshould be eating seven por-tions of fruit and veg a day.

The researchers fromthis latest study, led by Dr.Saverio Stranges of theUniversity of WarwickMedical School in the UK,used data from the HealthSurvey for England,which included nearly14,000 adults over the ageof 16. This survey collected detailed infor-mation on the mental and physical healthof the participants, as well as their health-related behaviors, demographics and socio-economic characteristics.

In addition, the team assessed the par-ticipants’ mental well-being using theWarwick-Edinburgh Mental WellbeingScale, putting the top 15% of participantsin the “high mental well-being” group, thebottom 15% in the low group, and those be-tween 16-84% in the middle group. Over-all, the researchers found that high and lowmental well-being were typically associatedwith the participants’ fruit and vegetable

intake.In detail, 35.5% of participants with high

mental well-being ate five or more portionsof fruits and vegetables a day, compared withonly 6.8% who consumed less than one por-

tion. Additionally, 31.4% of theindividuals from the high men-tal well-being group ate threeto four fruit and veg portionsper day, and 28.4% ate one totwo. “The data suggest that[the] higher an individual’s fruitand vegetable intake, the lowerthe chance of their having lowmental well-being,” says Dr.Stranges.

The researchers also con-sidered other health-related be-haviors - such as smoking, al-cohol intake and obesity - andfound that only smoking andfruit and vegetable intake wereconsistently associated withmental well-being. “Along withsmoking, fruit and vegetableconsumption was the health-related behavior most consis-

tently associated with both low and highmental well-being. These novel findings sug-gest that fruit and vegetable intake may playa potential role as a driver, not just of physi-cal, but also of mental well-being in the gen-eral population.”

Alcohol intake and obesity were associ-ated with low, but not high mental well-be-ing, the researchers add. According to theteam, high mental well-being is more thansimply the absence of symptoms or illness -it is the condition of feeling good and func-tioning well. They add that optimism, happi-ness, self-esteem, resilience and good rela-tionships are also part of this mode of being.

Fruit and veg consumptiontied to mental health

Admiral Dr Marsetio, Chief of the Indonesian Navy exchanging views with Chief of theNaval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah at Naval Headquarters.

Ambassador of Indonesia Burhan Muhammad and Artists present a mock wedding displaying Balinese Dance & JavaneseWedding Ceremony during Indonesian Cultural Workshop at PNCA.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—Soft winter ofIslamabad came with a beau-tiful evening on Tuesdaywhen colours and aromasplashed in a grand show putup by Lebanon’s ever-popu-lar ambassador Mona Al-Tannir to celebrate NationalDay of her country in a localhotel.

Lebanon, known as “theParis of the Middle East” wasalways in the headlines of Pa-kistani media. It is strugglingto regain its past glory as itwas a great centre of eco-nomic and cultural center inMuslim world. A multi-eth-nic and multi-religious coun-try, Lebanon got indepen-dence in 1943 and touchednew heights in a short span oftime. Located on the Mediter-ranean Sea, Lebanon soonbecame a hub of economicand cultural activities withtourists coming from all cor-ners of the globe in greatnumbers.

Interspersed with stabilityand turmoil, this strategically

located country is still an at-tractive tourist destination as

1,274,362 tourists still visitthis beautiful country annu-

ally.The moving spirit behind

the ceremony was a soft-spo-ken, mature, sober, friendlyand energetic ambassadorMona El-Tannir from thisfriendly country who is con-sidered to be one of the bestfriends of Pakistan among thediplomatic community inIslamabad.

Politicians, parliamentar-ians, a large number of mem-bers of diplomatic corps,businessmen, social workers,

intellectuals and friends ofLebanon thronged the showbesides Chief Guest Ch.Muhammad Barjees Tahir,Minister for Kashmir Affairs.The envoy along with herspouse received each and ev-ery guest warmly. The pro-ceedings of the show pickedup on the arrival of the ChiefGuest. After playing of na-tional anthems of both thecountries and ceremonialcake cutting, the guestssettled down in groups ex-

changing views on national,regional and internationalmatters.

The guests were treatedwith special dishes of Leba-non which are very popularall over the world. Coloursof friendship were flowingthrough the ceremony asscreens installed on cornerswere beaming out beauty ofLebanon and its people.

Mona Al-Tannir is striv-ing to boost Pak-Lebanon re-lations, especially in the fieldof tourism and trade. She saidPakistan has very special po-sition in the Muslim Worldwhich should be recognizedand acknowledged by MuslimStates. During her stay in Pa-kistan, she has developed aspecial liking for Pakistan andits people. It is her dream tobring both Lebanon and Pa-kistan closer to each other tomaximum level. Sounding op-timism she said Pakistan willbounce back to stability andplayed an important role in theworld. Pak-Lebanon relationsare also bound to touch newheights, she said.

Lebanon National Day

“The Paris of the Middle East” striving to regain its past gloryTourism booming with 1,274,362 tourists visit annually; Pakistan has special position in Mus-

lim world: Mona Al-Tannir; Grand show abuzz with colours and aroma

Ambassador of Lebanon Mrs Mona El Tannir, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs & GilgitBaltistan Bajees Tahir, Ambassador of Palestine Walid AM Abu Ali, Ambassador of Iraq DrRushdi Al Ani, Ambassador of Yemen Abdo Ali Abdul Rehman, Ambassador of BahrainMohammad Ebrahim Mohammad, Ambassador of Algeria Dr Ahmad Benflis and Ambassa-dor of Egypt Said Hindam cutting the cake during a ceremony to celebrate the 71st Anniver-sary of the Independence Day of Lebanon at a local hotel.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

ZUBAIR QURESHI

ISLAMABAD—Islamabad High Court(IHC) Registrar Office on Wednesdayraised objections over a petition filedby Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)challenging imposition of Section 144in by the district administration. Sincethe start of Muharram-ul-Haram thedistrict administration is keeping the

section 144 intact, says the petitioner.Registrar office of the IHC raised

objections because PTI’s did not placethe notification of section 144 in itspetition. The petition was filed by partylawmaker Asad Umer requested thecourt to declare illegal the impositionof Section 144 which was imposedsine the start of Muharram.

The petitioner’s counsel argued

that through section 144 their partyworkers are being harassed which isillegal and requested the court to re-train the government from “illegally”harassing their workers.

The PTI’s counsel Shoaib Shaheentold Pakistan Observer that the objec-tion would be removed after presenta-tion of the notification before the court.The case has been fixed for Thursday

(today), he said. Earlier, some 8 trad-ers’ associations of Islamabad from G-6, G-9, and G-10 had also filed petitionrequested the court to restrain ImranKhan and his party leaders and workersfrom holding any sit-in on November30 at D-Chowk. However, Justice AtharMinullah referred the matter to DeputyCommissioner Islamabad and directedto address the traders’ grievances.

Objections raised at PTI’s petition against Section 144

IHC office demands copyof notification

MoU betweenQuaid-e-Azam

hospital,Islamabad bar

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Quaid-e-Azam International Hos-pital has signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding(MoU) with Islamabad BarAssociation.

In this Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU),Quaid-e-Azam InternaionalHospital will provide Interna-tional Standard Medical Sur-gical and diagnostic servicesto the registered members ofthe Bar and theirs families.

Both part ies haveagreed to honour policies,rules, and procedures. Fromthe hospital side Chief Ex-ecutive Officer of Quaid-e-Azam International Hospi-tal Dr Shaukat Ali Bangashand President IslamabadBar Naseer Kiyani sign theagreement.

On this occasion ad-dressing to ceremony DrShaukat Ali Bangash saidthe main aim of hospital toprovide internationalstandarad quality health fa-cilities for the countrymenand introduce new technol-ogy in health sector.

ZUBAIR QURESHI

ISLAMABAD—One should not shy away fromdiscussing parenting and issues of growingup children. This is the major theme of thedrama serial ‘Kis Se Kahoon’ to be aired onDecember 7 by PTV Home. A large numberof showbiz personalities, media persons andgeneral public attended the colourful launch-ing ceremony of the drama. Addressing theceremony, veteran director and scrip writer ofthe play Shahid Nadeem said a healthy andconfident generation can tackle all the sensi-tive issues pertaining to questions relating togrowing age and women issues.

The launch ceremony was conducted byFarah Hussain and prominent media person-alities like Mr. Imtiaz Gul, Reham Khan,Faisal Rehman and Noorul Hassan attended

the event. A large number of youth also par-ticipated in the ceremony.

Scripted by Shahid Nadeem and directedby the talented Kashif Nisar, ‘Kis Se Kahoon’is the latest production of CommunicationsResearch Strategies (CRS) that is known forits award winning issue based TV productionslike ‘Khuda Zameen Se Gaya Nahin’ and‘Faseel-e-Jaan Se Aagay’. Main cast of thedrama includes Sajal Ali, Agha Ali, YumnaZaidi, Samina Ahmad, Simi Raheel, MohsinGillani, Aurangzeb Laghari, Eesa Chaudhryand Iftikhar Thakur.

The director Kashif Nisar stated that itwas always very challenging to handle suchsubjects on screen as they needed a subtle andnuanced approach. He promised the audienceand viewers a sensitively done artistic play inshape of ‘Kis Se Kahoon’.

CRS has produced ‘Kis Se Kahoon’ withthe support of EHAD, an organization work-ing on the issue of better parenting.

Speaking at the ceremony the ManagingDirector PTV, Mohammad Malick, said, “Asa state institution it is PTV’s responsibility tobring issues of national importance to fore-front and ‘Kis Se Kahoon’ is another suchexample.”

He added that as a parent he also felt thatparents should be urged to guide their grow-ing up children for their well being. He praisedthe efforts of the whole production team ofthe drama and extended his support for suchsocial causes in the days to come too.

Besides an artistic presentation of thetheme song, teasers and promos of the dramaserial, the show included mesmerizing per-formance by the singer duo Damia and Parisa.

‘Kis Se Kahoon’ to discuss youth’s issues

Drama launched atcolourful musical gala

RAZA UR REHMAN

ISLAMABAD—Chief of the Indonesian Navy Ad-miral Dr Marsetio called on Chief of the Naval StaffAdmiral Muhammad Zakaullah here Wednesdayand discussed various avenues of cooperation be-tween the two navies.

The Indonesian Naval Chief, who is on an offi-cial visit to Pakistan on the invitation of AdmiralZakaullah, also held a detailed discussion on pro-fessional matters with his counterpart.

Earlier upon arrival at the Naval Headquarters,the Indonesian Naval Chief was received by Admi-ral Zakaullah. A smartly turned out contingent ofPakistan Navy clad in ceremonial dress, presentedhim the Guard of Honour. He was then introducedto principal staff officers at Naval Headquarters.

During his recent visit, Admiral Dr Marsetiohas also been conferred with Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Mili-tary) in recognition of his distinguished services andsignificant contributions in strengthening the bilat-eral relationship between Pakistan and Indonesia.

Naval chiefs of Pak, Indonesiadiscuss avenues of cooperation

06:00 01:3004:00

07:00

Zohr

Asr

Isha

Fajar

Meghrab at Sunset

Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity

November 27Kashmir Cause

CONFERENCE on ‘KashmirCause and Elections in Oc-cupied Kashmir’, organisedby Peace and Culture Orga-nization, at the IslamabadHotel, Civic Centre, SectorG-6, Islamabad, 3 pm.

****Iqbal Day

ALLAMA Iqbal Open Univer-sity (AIOU) will hold a func-tion with reference of ‘Iqbal-Day’ on November 27, at 9:30am in its auditorium. Justice(R) Dr. Javed Iqbal will be theChief Guest while Vice-Chan-cellor, AIOU Prof. Dr. ShahidSiddiqui will preside over.

****Inauguration

SIKANDAR Hayat KhanBosan Federal Minister forMinistry of National Foodsecurity and Research(MNFSR) will to be ChiefGuest at the Inauguration ofFish Processing Plant (FDB)on November 27 at 1230 hrsat National Agricultural Re-search Centre (NARC) ParkRoad, Chak Shahzad.

****Int’l Conference

Ministry of Federal Educa-tion and Professional Train-ing is holding a two day In-ternational Conference titled‘E-9 ministerial ReviewMeeting’ at Shamdan Hall,Sareena Hotel. Federal Min-ister for Planning Develop-ment and Reforms, Profes-sor Ahsan Iqbal will be chiefguest at opening ceremonyat 1300 hrs on November 27.

December 07Exhibition

ABH interiors. gallery organiz-ing the exhibition on InteriorDesigning, Architecture, Digi-tal Art, Ceiling Art, Architec-tural Woodwork and fine Arts.Exhibition will start from 25November to 07 December,2014. H.E. Nawaf KhalifehIbrahim Saraireh Ambassador,Hashemite Kingdom of Jordanwill open the exhibition on 25thNovember, 2014 at 4pm.

Ambassador of Egypt Said Hindam hosted a farewell reception in honour of Ambassador of Greece Petros Mavroidisand Ambassador of Austria Axel Wech. Ambassadors of different countries are also seen in the group photo. —POphoto by Sultan Bashir

School children travelling on the rooftop of a van because of non-availability of school transport.

IG NH&MP Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema awarding cash prizes and commendation certificates to the officers who recov-ered kidnapped person.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A meeting of the techni-cal working group on tobacco taxationwas held under the chairmanship of Dr.Amir Sheikh, Joint Secretary (Admin),Ministry of NHSRC. Dr. AmirSheikh emphasized on important assign-ment of working group to review the ex-isting tobacco tax structure in Pakistanand to develop an action plan to increasetaxes on tobacco products in line withFCTC recommendations.

Director Tobacco Control Cell gavedetailed presentation on the subject. Hesaid that Pakistan signed and ratifiedFramework Convention on Tobacco Con-

trol (FCTC) in 2004. According to Article 6of FCTC Pakistan, had to implement taxand price policies which are the provenway to reduce tobacco consumption inthe world. He stated that by raising tobaccotaxes, tobacco consumption and prematuredeaths would be reduced. It would also ben-efit tax collection through enhancement oftobacco taxation in Pakistan.

Director Tobacco Control Cell addedthat by raising tax we could preventyouth to initiating smoking. He quotedreferences from recent report publishedfrom Bloomberg Initiative to reduce to-bacco use, “The Economics of Tobaccoand Tobacco Taxation in Pakistan”. Di-rector Tobacco Control Cell stressed

that this working group should recom-mend high uniform specific cigarette ex-cise tax with annual adjustments to to-bacco tax rates. He also stressed on theneed to impose tax on other tobaccoproducts. He also expressed the impor-tance of earmarking tobacco taxes forhealth purposes and tobacco control.

Mr. Badr-ud-din Ahmad Quraishi,Chief of FBR gave comprehensive pre-sentation on current tobacco tax struc-ture in Pakistan. He thoroughly ex-plained different acts and rules appli-cable to cigarette industries. He also ex-plained FED structure and elucidatedwhy there was two tiers system on to-bacco taxation in Pakistan. He said that

single tier would cause disparity be-tween prices of legal cigarette & illicitcigarettes thus encouraging illicit trade.He also explained the tax structure onimported cigarettes.

Mr. Muhammad ZaheerQureshi, Sec-retary, FBR told the participants that FBRwill be launching Electronic MonitoringSystem in early months of next year formonitoring production of cigarettes. Hesaid that by implementing two tiers sys-tem, there was maximum increase in to-bacco tax revenues up to 12.5 billion inone year. He said that FBR was dealingwith issue of smuggling through maximumenforcement and raids. He proposed toinclude other relevant enforcement agen-

cies in the working group. He also pro-posed to convene next meeting of theworking group in early December, 2014.

Dr. InamulHaq, Senior Health Special-ist, World Bank stressed that this workinggroup should make clear TORs. He pro-posed to work on reforming tobacco taxa-tion system, taking demand reduction mea-sures and curbing smuggling of tobaccoproducts. Dr. Fouad Aslam appreciated theMo NHSRC for notifying this workinggroup and taking measures for reformingtobacco taxation system in Pakistan.

Following decisions were taken inthe meeting: Next meeting of the work-ing groupwill be held in first half of De-cember 2014 and venue may be FBR.

Raising tobacco taxes key topreventing tobacco related deaths

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The British High Commis-sioner to Pakistan Philip Barton CMGOBE, Wednesday, said that alumni-ledassociation offered a platform for ouralumni to roll up their sleeves and toshare their ideas on strengthening Paki-stan. “Whether alumni are in bureau-cracy, business, education, energy, me-dia or other fields” he said while speak-ing at launching ceremony of theChevening Alumni Association of Paki-stan here.

“I welcome and thank all who arehere today to launch the CheveningAlumni Association of Pakistan. Thisnew network of Chevening Alumni is asign of the strong bilateral relations be-tween the UK and Pakistan. Throughalumni-led events, workshops and semi-nars, the network will work towards iden-tifying solutions to the social, economicand development challenges facing Pa-kistan” he added.

“We are proud of the Cheveningalumni and the important contributionthey are already making towardsPakistan’s development.

The Chevening Programme brings im-

mediate benefits for individual scholarsand also delivers long-term benefits forboth Pakistan and the UK” he said add-ing, “The creation of this alumni-led as-sociat ion offers a platform for ouralumni, whether they are in bureaucracy,business, education, energy, media orother fields - to roll up their sleeves andto share their ideas on strengthening Pa-kistan. I look forward to seeing theprogramme of the first Chevening de-bates in spring 2015”.

The event also welcomed home theChevening scholars of the class of 2013/2014 who recently returned to Pakistanafter completing their one year Mastersprogrammes in the UK.

Chevening scholarships offer poten-tial future leaders of Pakistan the oppor-tunity to study for a post-graduate quali-fication in the UK. Upon their returnhome, they become a member of the1,300-strong Pakistan Chevening alumnicommunity. They can now join theChevening Alumni Association of Paki-stan which aims to become a think-tankto raise and discuss alumni-led solutionsto various issues pertaining to the so-cial, economic and broader developmentof Pakistan.

British HC launchesChevening Alumni Think Tank

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Speaker National As-sembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq will inau-gurate a Roundtable Conference on“Women Policing” in Parl iamentHouse today (Thursday).

The Conference is being orga-nized by Women Parliamentary Cau-cus (WPC) with collaboration ofHeinrach-Boll-Stiftung Foundationwith aim to discuss issues and chal-lenges of status of Women Policein Pakistan.

Parl iamentarians, representa-tives from civil society, law enforce-ment agencies, legal practitionersand senior experts from diversefields associated with police Depart-ment and law enforcement agencies

would discuss the status of WomenPolicing and issues confronting it.

The Conference will conversefocusing on achieving the objec-tives to interact with Interior Min-istry, police departments and insti-tutions and gather firsthand knowl-edge about the issues and chal-lenges being faced in recruit ingwomen within the police and theproblems being by the women po-lice in the discharge of their duties.

The participants of the confer-ence will also discuss and assessthe implementation and effective-ness of laws and policies related topolice and the issues in their fullimplementation. They will also learnabout various initiatives taken byNational Police Bureau and other in-

ternational agencies that focus onwomen strengthening women policein Pakistan.

In light of suggestions and rec-ommendation of the part icipants,Women Parl iamentarians Caucuswill deliberate on how they can playits role in making the existing lawsand mechanisms of the police andlaw enforcement agencies more ef-fective.

The presentations will be fol-lowed by discussions in which del-egates will be invited to react topoints raised by the experts and torelate them to their knowledge oftheir experiences. At the conclusionof the Roundtable conference, aJoint Communiqué will be issued.

Round table conferenceon Women Policing today

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD —Inspector General,NH&MP, Zulfiqar Ahamd Cheemaawarded Rs. 50,000 each, along withcommendation certificates, to SPOKhuram Shad and PO Amjad Mumtaz,who displayed exceptional courageand valor while recovering kidnappedson of Madni Textile Mill, owner.

Farhan Saeed was kidnapped 02days ago from Gujranwala. The Inspec-tor General said “Motorway Police is

committed to protect the lives andproperty of the people”.

As per details, NH&MP Controlroom received an information thatsome unidentified armed men havekidnapped an individual fromGujranwala on gun point and havefled in a white Corolla Car numberLEC- 3356. Upon receiving the infor-mation, officers of Motorway Policestarted search vigilantly and weresuccessful in identifying the vehiclenear Kot Momin, which was forced

to stop after a brief chase followedby exchange of fire between the of-ficers and culprits.

One kidnapper expired during theexchange of fire.Whereas, other 03 kid-nappers namely Bilal, Shah Zaib andShamshad Begum were overpoweredand arrested. Farhan Saeed was safelyrecovered. Later on it was discovered,several criminal cases have alreadybeen registered against the kidnap-pers. Farhan Saeed was allegedly kid-napped for ransom.

Inspector General NH&MP awards policeofficers for recovering kidnapped person

RAZA UR REHMAN

IS L A M A B A D—The Second Day of themammoth event, MMUN’14 commencedtoday with a noteworthy DiplomaticMoot moderated by the Ambassadorsfrom around the globe representing UNmember states, Dean of Diplomatic CorpsRodolfo J Martin Saravia Ambassadorof Argentine Republic, Janan MosazaiAmbassador of Afghanistan, His Excel-lency Walid Abu Ali Ambassador of stateof Palestine, Mr. Ali Shiekh AbdullahiDeputy Head of Mission of Somalia,Madam Wijayanthi Edrising DeputyHead of Mission of Sri Lankan HighCommission, Mr. Jauhar Saleem ForeignAdditional Secretary, Mr. Fal ah HassoonDHM from Iraq Embassy with other Dip-lomatic persons had graced the event.

The Diplomatic Moot was an as-tounding approach towards contempo-rary issues that many countries are fac-ing today.

Chaudhary Faisal Mushtaq TI ChiefExecutive Roots Millennium Schools or-ganized the Moot to provide the youthwith opportunity to speak with the dip-lomatic circle and have a life time oppor-tunity to speak on world issues.

The close interactive session withambassadors not only enlightened andmotivated the youth it also greatly in-spired the dignitaries and the foreignenvoy with their sheer enthusiasm, in-telligence and creativity.

One Millennial Student Umer Baberquestioned the Deputy Head of Mission

of Sri Lanka about the efforts of the SriLankan government to ensure free travelin to Sri Lanka for members of other na-tions. In reply, the DHM of Sri Lankadwelled upon her government’s reformsto facilitate the travel process for for-eigners, and shed l ight on how thesereforms were making it easier for foreign-ers, especially those from neighboringcountries, to obtain visas, and getthrough other general internationaltravel procedures. She also promotedand encouraged international travel into Sri Lanka.

Another Millennial Daud Shehzadasked the Argentine Ambassador H.E.Rodolfo J Martin Saravia a question re-garding the new relationships that Ar-gentina was making in the internationalcommunity, in context of the topic of thesession: peace and progress throughpartnership and connectivity.

The Argentine Ambassador elabo-rated upon Argentina’s internationalpolicies, and the recent advances thecountry had made in the way of estab-lishing new ties with other nations.

Saihaan Khan also asked the Ambas-sador of Afghanistan about the exit ofUS armed forces from Afghan soil, andthe ability of the Afghan Defence forcesto maintain stability and security of thenation. The Ambassador elucidated uponthe reform that the Afghan government hadconducted in the various segments of itsarmed forces, and also stated that the co-operation between the US and Afghan mili-tary forces had strengthened the latter.

MMUN Diplomatic Moot

An astounding approachtowards contemporary issues

3-day anti poliocampaign

ISLAMABAD—A 3-day antipolio campaign for rural ar-eas of federal capital willkick off from December 8and will continue till De-cember 10.

District Health Officer DrMuhammad Azhar Khan saidthat arrangements for admin-istering polio drops to 131647children in 12 union councilsof Islamabad are being givenfinal shape.—Online

MUZAFFARABAD: Chairman AKMIDC Wajahat Rashid Beg and Sardar Khushal Abbasi meeting wih Chief ExecutiveAJKRSP, Mian Akhlaque Rasool.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah arrives at DC office in Srinagar to file nomination papers for Sonwar Assembly segment on Wednesday.

ABDUL QAYOOM KHAN

THE Jammu & Kashmir is the only statewhere Muslims being in majority are inelectoral advantage which shapes their po-

litical empowerment within the frame work of In-dian Constitution. In the past, since Indian inde-pendence, in light of conflict of political interestsbetween Srinagar and New Delhi, the only regionalparty National Conference, the architect of ‘Au-tonomy’ ruled the state most of the time particu-larly from 1975 to 2002, with absolute majorityin the state legislature. National Conference wasa dominant political force to reckon with. Havingcompromised with its basic principles and ideol-ogy, Kashmir experienced a fractured mandate forthe first time in 2002 elections, when a new po-litical party ‘Peoples Democratic Party’ bagged16 seats and National Conference won only 28seats.

The fractured mandate resulted in to a coali-tion Government of Peoples Democratic Party andJammu centric Congress with an agreement of

Disempowering Kashmirpower sharing with rotational Chief Minister-shipfor three years each. The Jammu and Kashmir thushad for the first time a Chief Minister from Jammuin 2005 and Jammu got politically empowered asa result of fractured mandate in Kashmir. In 2008again a fractured mandate resulted into a collationGovernment of National Conference and Con-gress, with more leverage of governance by Jammubased Congress party. In the process the NationalConference lost its ‘colour and flavour’ for whichit was once close to the mind and heart of thepeople of Kashmir and thus had to faced a humili-ating defeat in the parliamentary elections in 2014.

In the present assembly elections, whichNarendra Modi, Prime Minister of India is be-lieved to be personally supervising, an ambitious,never before attempted, master plan to install aBJP Government in Jammu and Kashmir, whatno one has so far thought possible. Modi is knownto make ‘impossible’ ‘possible’. BJP has madetheir ambitions very clear when the BJP supremoAmit Shah said “Imagine the message that wouldgo round the world, if we succeed in installing a

BJP leader as the democratically elected ChiefMinister of Jammu & Kashmir”. After capturingpower in New Delhi and claiming three of the sixLok Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir, theBharatiya Janata Party is hoping to replicate thisin the assembly elections this year by targeting44-plus seats - or a majority - in the 87-memberhouse, up from its last tally of 11.

“Mission 44+” is the name given to the BJPcampaign to get power in the state assembly. Whathas encouraged the BJP to aim high in the assem-bly elections is the response Narendra Modi receivedduring his visits to the Jammu region during theelection campaign that swept him into the primeminister’s office. Modi believes gaining power inIndia’s only Muslim-majority state will be crucialfor the ruling BJP to reinforce its footprint as a na-tional ‘secular’ party. Widely attributed to NarendraModi wave in the Parlimantory election, the BJPmanaged to wrest Jammu-Poonch, Udhampur-Dodaand Leh Lok Sabha seats, with 32.4% vote sharemaking it “number one party” in the J & K pastLok Sabha election, whereas NC slipped to 11%,

Congress to 22.9% and PDP to 21%. In the presentassembly election BJP believes, it is possible tomincemeat of its rivals in the Jammu and Ladakhregion, which accounts for 37 and 4 seats respec-tively. (The Kashmir Valley has 46 seats only). BJPplans to win at least 32-33 seats in Jammu regionand targets 4 seats of Leh, Nobra, Zanaskar &Kargil. Taking advantage of poll boycott, BJP isalso eyeing on 7 seats in Kashmir which has size-able votes of migrant Kashmiri Pandiths. The BJPpresident Amit Shah, who has a track record of suc-cessfully managing the elections, has asked the stateBJP to cultivate the ‘Bakarwals’ in Kashmir, the‘Buddhists’ in Ladakh apart from Kashmiri Pandits.Further BJP leadership is also reported to be hold-ing close door meetings with some strong winningpocket leaders in Kashmir, in a bid to muster theirsupport for making “Mission 44+” a success.

In the given scenario BJP is banking heavilyon expected fractured mandate between Kashmircentric regional parties National Conference andPeoples Democratic Party in Kashmir and con-solidation of Hindu votes in Jammu region by

polarising the election on religious lines so as tomake their mission 44+ a success.

If this proposition succeeds, Kashmir not onlywill get disempowered but it will also prove di-sastrous for this Muslim majority state, as theBJP’s manifesto promises abrogation of Article370 and state subject laws, granting of citizen-ship rights to three lac Hindu migrants from Pa-kistan, creating a separate homeland for KashmiriPandiths and also increasing the number of As-sembly Constituencies in Jammu region through“Delimitation Commission”. Political analystsfollowing the developments in the state say, thatthe BJP will definitely improve its tally in thestate election but its “Mission +44” may remaina dream as the people of Kashmir with theirknown political wisdom may throw a big sur-prise this time by demonstrating unity and vot-ing wisely.

—Courtesy: Greater Kashmir[Ab Qayoom Khan (IFS) Rtd. is Member AllIndia Muslim Majlis - e- Mushawarat.qayoomkhansnn@yahoo.co.in]

BANDIPORA—The only family at Karnai Mohalla of Shahgundvillage here that stayed away from polling was that of FarhatAhmad Dar, a high school student who was killed in police fir-ing on March 14 this year. That Friday, he had left home to buybooks, but later in the day his family received his bullet-riddenbody. “Those who have gone out to vote today, let them vote,”says Farhat’s grandmother, Zoona Begum as she breaks downwhile holding Farhat’s framed picture. “Can our vote bring backour son?” she asks after an uncomfortable pause. “We will nevervote.” On that fateful day, she says Farhat had gone out to pur-chase some books. “But he was shot dead by police. What washis fault?” Zoona asks. Farhat’s killing had triggered massiveprotests in Bandipora district and other areas of Kashmir, forc-ing the government to order a magisterial probe.

Farhat’s father GhulamRasool says they even refused to ac-cept the “blood money.” “Our legislator and other leaders of main-stream parties campaigned for votes but they did not offer evena word of consolation to us. They even failed to bring my son’skillers to justice,” says Dar. “They don’t deserve a single vote.”A short distance from the house of Farhat’s uncle, where hisfamily is presently putting up after the September floods com-pletely damaged their house, many people have come out to votein large numbers at a polling booth in a nearby government school.Till afternoon, out of 3,900 votes, over 1,500 votes were polled.

Paramilitary forces outnumbered policemen manning thepolling booths across the district. Almost all the booths wereprotected by alert men-in-uniform who were armed with ma-chine guns pointing out from sandbags piled up outside thebooths. “We express solidarity with Farhat’s family but voting isimportant for development of our area,” says Ghulam Ahmad, alocal resident. “Voting has nothing to do with killings or Kash-mir issue.” A group of enthused first-time voters also stood inqueues at Shahgund to exercise their franchise. “Our vote willfacilitate better roads, power and water supply to our village,”

Amid poll buzz, a familystays away from voting

says Sajad Ahmad, as his friends seconded his views.The scenes were similar outside many other polling booths

in this district. The reasons given by the people are varied. Anti-incumbency, local issues of development and political loyaltieswere apparently driving people to vote. Some people, who hadcome out to vote, said they want to see a “change” while othersalleged discrimination and neglect of their areas from sitting leg-islators who, they think, “have not done enough for ourwelfare.”On a foggy, cold early morning, people had lined upoutside the polling booth at Sarai Dangarpora village of Sonawari.In the first hour of voting, out of 1289 total votes, 66 votes hadbeen already cast. People outside this booth complained of break-down of EVMs, which, they said, delayed the polling by an hour.In SaderkoteBala village, long queues of men and women couldbe seen till 4 pm, still waiting for their turn outside the pollingbooths. “This is a vote against BJP here. We are voting againstBJP because we think they have evil designs on Kashmir,” saysa local resident, Bilal Ahmad. “Otherwise we boycotted the pollslast time. We also support the pro-freedom groups.” Seventy-two-year-old Abdul Rahman Ganie had come out to vote todaydespite his ill health. “It’s a sin to waste my vote,” says Ganie,who was visibly shaking as he waited to cast his vote inside apolling booth. Of 1116 total votes registered in this polling booth,821 votes had been cast till 3pm.Similar scenes were witnessed in other polling booths of the dis-trict. In Gamroo village, out of 904 totals votes registered, 350votes had been cast till 3.30 pm. Similarly, in Nadihal village636 votes were polled out of 816 total votes registered in onepolling booth, till 3.45 pm. Police and polling officials had atough time to maintain long queues and control the enthusedvoters. “We have never seen such enthusiasm among the vot-ers,” said an election officer at a polling station at Nadihal. Ac-cording to official figures, Bandipora district witnessed 75 per-cent voting.—GK

SRINAGAR—Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairmanHurriyat Conference (G) said elections in thestate have been a military exercise. In a state-ment, he said how the elections can be called as“free and fair” when the entire separatist lead-ers has been arrested.” There is a state spon-sored suppression to crush the aspirations ofpeople,” he alleged. Geelani also criticised po-lice chief for his statement wherein he had as-serted to crush anti-election campaign of pro-freedom camp. “It has proved beyond doubt thatelections are being held under the shadow ofgun and these elections in no way can be calledas peaceful and democratic. These elections arefraud and are manipulated with the help of po-lice and forces. It is police and forces that theytarnished and brought disgrace to these so-calledelections,” Hurriyat (G) chairman alleged.

“India with its deceptive politics and underthe garb of sham elections, installed its stoogesthat bargained against the aspirations of people.In a well-planned understating with these poli-ticians, they were let free to amass huge wealthand they resorted to loot and plunder. They need

Elections a militaryexercise: Geelani

a few stooges,” he claimed. While referring topro-Indian politicians, Geelani said, “Delhi andstate police encourage all these chameleons.”

Terming Kashmir a police state, he said,“Police and politicians, both are in league .It isbetter to handover all affairs to police as all theway they are the key masters at the helm of stateaffairs.” While strongly lashing at police andforces, Geelani said, “Politicians backed bythese, were rejected by people and it is reasonthey face resentment in every nook and cornerof state. It is writing on wall that despite turn-ing Ganderbal and Bandipora into an army gar-rison, the people and youth protested and ex-pressed their resentment. It is an eye-opener forpro Indian parties and we pay our gratitude forpeople of Bandipora and Ganderbal,”Geelani reiterated his appeal for election boycottand called to protests in other districts on the dayof elections. “We should not give our spirits,” hesaid and while strongly criticizing the fresh arrestspree, expressed his hope and in his assurance, saidthat despite all these “arbitrary measures, we willsucceed in our mission for freedom.”—KT

SRINAGAR—In occupied Kashmir, the vet-eran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani criti-cizing Indian police chief’s statement thathe would crush Hurriyet’s anti-election cam-paign has termed it an act of state terrorismon part of India and its puppet administra-tion. Syed Ali Gilani commenting over hisstatement, in a media interview said, “it hasproved beyond doubt that elections are be-ing held under the shadow of gun and theseelections in no way can be called as peace-ful and democratic. These elections are fraudand are manipulated with the help of policeand armed forces.”

“India with its deceptive politics and un-der the garb of sham elections, installed itsstooges that bargained against the aspirationsof people,” he added. “In a well-planned un-derstating with these politicians, they werelet free to amass huge wealth and they re-sorted to loot and plunder. They need a fewstooges, Syed Ali Gilani said while referringto pro-Indian politicians.

“Terming Kashmir a police state, Syed AliGilani said that police and politicians, both arein league. It is better to hand over all affairs topolice as all the way they are the key mastersat the helm of affairs,” he added. “Despite turn-ing Gandarbal and Bandipora into an army gar-rison, the people and youth protested and ex-pressed their resentment,” h said. Syed AliGilani reiterated his appeal for election boy-cott and called for protests in other districts onthe day of so-called elections.

The All Parties Hurriyet Conference de-scribing the election drama as a meaninglessexercise, which would have no bearing onthe internationally-recognised” disputed sta-tus of Jammu and Kashmir. “Staging thedrama of elections under massive militarycover and false promises of developmentcannot change the historic reality overJammu and Kashmir, which has to be ulti-mately resolved as per UN resolutions, “ theAPHC said in a statement. Senior APHCleader, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-

Polls in Kashmir fraud,manipulated: Hurriyet leaders

Safvi in a statement issued in Srinagar saidthat Kashmir dispute was a living reality,which cannot be changed through farcicalelections and suppression.

The Jammu and Kashmir LiberationFront in a statement dismissed elections asmere eyewash, a fixed match having no cred-ibility at all. These manipulated electionscannot deter people from pursuing the pathof freedom,” the statement added. TheHurriyet Conference Jammu and Kashmir(HCJK) leaders Nayeem Ahmad Khan andFarooq Ahmad Dar slammed the arrest drivelaunched by the police throughout Kashmirand termed it as ‘the worst kind Nazi poli-tics.

The Chief of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, AasiyaAndrabi said, “ We have witnessed such poll-ing dramas in 2008 and the participation ofpeople in these elections doesn’t mean peopleare not with movement”. She said the pro-freedom leadership was not allowed to ex-press its viewpoint. Dozens of leaders havebeen put behind bars and many been forcedto go underground. The Muslim League saidthat the participation of people in the elec-tions was “largely because of the mislead-ing campaign of the regional parties.”

Kashmir Freedom Front (KFF)Chairman,Syed Bashir Andrabi in a messagefrom jail said that the election drama in pres-ence of over seven lakh Indian army troopsdidn’t have any constitutional or moral cred-ibility and instead of democratic process itwas a military operation. APHC leader andthe People’s Political Party (PPP) Chairman,Engineer Hilal Ahmad War, terming elec-tions in the disputed territory of Jammu andKashmir a non-issue, reiterated his partystand that elections in Kashmir cannot besubstitute to the plebiscite as guaranteed bythe UN. Kashmir Tehreek-e-KhawateenChairperson, Zamruda Habib in a statementsaid that election ploy could not be substi-tute to the Kashmiris’ inalienable right toself-determination.—KMS

HAMEED SHAHEEN

ISLAMABAD—arge number of Kashmiris fromboth parts of the Jammu and Kashmir state onWednesday took protest march in Birmingham andshouted slogans outside of Indian consulate there -Go India, Go India from Kashmir. n his FB post-ing the Muslim Conference central leader Raja EjazKala Khan said that Kashmiris would not rest tillthe dislodgement of India from Jammu and Kash-

UK Kashmiris protestfake IHK poll

JAMMU—The Chief patron of National Pan-thers Party, Professor Bhim Singh has said thatboth Congress and BJP are exploiting theKashmiri voters, particularly those of Jammuregion in the name of religion and caste. Ad-dressing rallies in different areas of Jammu,Bhim Singh urged people to defeat these com-

BJP, congress exploitingKashmiri voters: Bhim

Muslims, Dalits, tribals make up

53% of allIndian prisonersNEW DELHI—Muslims,Dalits And adivasis — three ofthe most vulnerable sections ofIndian society — make upmore than half of India’s prisonpopulation, according to an of-ficial report on prisons releasedthis month. Although the pro-portion of these three commu-nities in India adds up to about39%, their share amongst pris-oners is considerably higher at53 per cent. India had 4.2 lakhpeople in prison in 2013.Nearly 20% of them were Mus-lims although the share of Mus-lims in India’s population isabout 13% according to Cen-sus 2001. Religion-wise datafrom Census 2011 is yet to bereleased. Dalits make up 22%of prisoners, almost one in four.Their proportion in populationis about 17% according to Cen-sus 2011. While adivasis makeup 11% of prisoners, their sharein the general population is 9%.

Most experts say that this dis-turbing trend is not because thesecommunities commit morecrimes. Rather, it arises becausethey are economically and so-cially under-privileged, unable tofight costly cases or often evenpay for bail. Some say that thesecommunities are targeted withfalse cases.—KMS 3 injured as NC,

Cong workersclash in Drass

JAMMU—Three political activ-ists were injured one of them se-riously during a clash betweenNational Conference (NC) andCongress activists at Polling Sta-tion at Drass in Kargil duringpolling, Wednesday. Official re-ports said that three political ac-tivists were injured one of themseriously during a clash betweenNational Conference (NC) andCongress activists at BahmbatPolling Station at Drass in Kargilduring polling, today.The injured political activistswere shifted to the Kargil hospi-tal where they were providednecessary treatment. Police hasregistered a case and started in-vestigation. The situation wasunder control, police said. Mean-while, the people of Sarchey vil-lage in Kargil boycotted the elec-tion and did not turn up for vot-ing due to resentment over thepoliticians for not carrying devel-opment works.—KT

mir. Indian presence in Kashmir is illegal and inviolation of the United Nations Security Councilresolutions. The protesters said that India was stag-ing fake polls in occupied Kashmir to hoodwinkthe world community. Local polls cannot be thereplacement of an international plebiscite whichIndia had agreed back in 1948-49 via SecruityCouncil resolutions signed by her. ho can acceptthe credibility of such polls done under bayonetsof over 800,000 Indian troops. via FB.

munal forces and parties in the territory.Prof Singh blamed the NC-Congress regime fordirect discrimination in the distribution of re-lief to the flood victims. He said that no reliefwas given to the flood victims in Udhampur,Kathua, Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch and other ar-eas of Jammu region. —KMS

Corporation: Aningenious device

for obtaining profitwithout individual

responsibility.

—Ambrose Bierce ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Germany to Pakistan, Dr. Syrill Nunn called on FederalMinister for Commerce, Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan.

ISLAMABAD: British High Commissioner, Mr Philip Barton called on the State Min-ister for IT Ms. Anusha Rahman.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar meeting with the representatives of the international investment companies.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—British High Commissionerto Pakistan Philip Barton called on Minis-ter of State for Information TechnologyAnusha Rehman in her office on Wednes-day and discussed areas of mutual inter-est and cooperation between the twocountries, especially in the information andtelecom sector. The High Commissionerapprised the Minister that the UK appre-ciates the vision and efforts of Pakistanfor the development of information andcommunication technology sector and ex-pressed willingness to cooperate and col-laborate in areas of common interest in theICT sector.

While expressing her views on bilateralrelationship, the Minister said that Pakistanand UK enjoy strong cordial relations andUK governments engagement with Minis-try of Information Technology for enhance-

Anusha, British HC discusscooperation in IT sector

ment of ICTs in Pakistan will further aug-ment this bond. The minister further addedthat Ministry of IT under the leadership ofPrime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif iscommitted to deliver on PML-N’s manifestofor the betterment of the people of Pakistanin particular, the welfare of masses living inunderserved and unserved areas of thecountry by using information communica-tion technologies.

Telecenters, technology parks, avail-ability of next generation spectrum and techcity supporting start ups are some of thekey milestones to realize this objective. TheHigh Commissioner appreciated the com-mitment of the present government of Paki-stan in putting the country on the path oftechnological advancement and some of thekey potential areas of cooperation includ-ing information technology as an enablerin education, cyber security and cybercrimes were identified.

ZUBAIR QURESHI

ISLAMABAD—Energy is the vital concern of govern-ment and all efforts are being made to overcome theenergy crisis in Pakistan. Minister of State for Educa-tion and Interior, Engineer Muhammad Balighur Rahmansaid this at the concluding ceremony of 3-day Interna-tional Conference on Energy Systems and Policies atAir University here on Wednesday. He commended theuniversity’s efforts for holding such an important con-ference. “Such conferences are very helpful in explor-ing alternative solutions to the current energy crisis.Hopefully, the conference will guide the government indesigning the future policies for a stable energy sys-tem in the country especially when the deficit in ourenergy demand and supply has reached to alarminglimits.”

He added that this situation is causing serious set-backs to our social, economic, and developmental pro-grams with very adverse effects on our nationalgrowth, development and security issues. We knowthat Pakistan is rich in a variety of natural energy re-sources. It remains for our scientists and engineers to

Govt putting all efforts to triumph over energy crisis: BalighInternational Conference on Energy Systems & Policies concludes at AU

find workable solutions to our energy crisis. He ex-plained several policies introduced by the governmentto seriously address the framework issues related toenergy sector.

He informed that by February 2015, all CNG sta-tions will be converted to LNG stations to overcomethe difficulties faced by public. He talked about sev-eral power projects planned to be set up by the gov-ernment including the 1100 MW Solar Power Plant inBahawalpur.

He said that international and national scholars par-ticipated in the conference surely have nice experiencesof knowledge sharing and knowledge dissemination formutual professional benefits. He said, it’s very posi-tive sign that educational institutes are taking the ini-tiatives at their own in the matters of national interestconsidering their social responsibility.

He appreciated the Air University management forconducting this significant conference with interna-tional and national scholars and experts who gave theiruseful inputs to handle energy dilemma. In his con-cluding remarks the chief guest hailed the Air Univer-sity for this distinguished effort.

Vice Chancellor Air University, Air Vice Marshal

(Retd) Faaiz Amir expressed his gratitude to chief guestof ceremony, international & national invited speak-ers and conference management team. In his speech

he said that Pakistan needs to develop a policy frame-work that ensures affordable energy for all its citi-zens.

He highlighted that the conference touched uponenergy generation technologies, renewable energy re-sources and technologies, nuclear energy, energy ef-ficiency and conservation measures, and last but notthe least the impact of all these technologies and prac-tices on planet earth.

He pointed the significance of technical discus-sions for the practical application of technologies onenergy efficient buildings and fuel efficient designsof automotive engines.

He added that we also deliberated the Impact ofenergy consumption on climate change and effects ofclimate change on wind energy. He said that “Westrongly believe that it is the combined effect of thiscreative teaching and creative research that ensuresa knowledge-based society”. Prof Dr Afzaal Malik, theconference chair thanked to all scholars for their use-ful contribution, the faculty, students and all support-ing staff for conducting a successful conference atAir University.

SBP auctions MTBsof Rs 183.2630395bKARACHI—State Bank ofPakistan (SBP) onWednesday auctionedGovernment of Pakistanmarket treasury bills(MTBs) of Rs 183.2630395billion; with face value ofRs 193.56104 billion. Thebids offered for 3, 6 and12-months MTBsamounted Rs 183.5750465billion; having face valueof Rs 193.88604 billion,said SBP statement.—APP

KP flour millersdemand wheat exportPESHAWAR—Chairman AllPakistan Floor MillsAssociation (APFMA)Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Naeem Butt has said flourmillers in KP did notprocure wheat from theopen market due to ban onthe purchase of thecommodity by the Punjabgovernment. Addressingthe first meeting ofAPFMA Executive bodyhere Wednesday, hedemanded of the centraland provincial govern-ments for devising acomprehensive strategyregarding purchase ofwheat to meet the wheatrequirement of theprovince. Naeem Butt saidwheat in large quantitywas available in the openmarket but it was of verylow quality and there wasevery possibility of itsbeing rotten.—APP

Ismail Shah electedAPT Vice PresidentISLAMABAD—ChairmanTelecommunicationAuthority (PTA) Dr. SyedIsmail Shah has been electedVice President (VP) of AsiaPacific Telecommunity(APT) during the 13thsession of the APT GeneralAssembly held at Yangon,Myanmar. The APT wasfounded on the jointinitiatives of the UnitedNations Economic andSocial Commission forAsia and Pacific(UNESCAP) and theInternational Telecommu-nication Union (ITU) saida press release. TheGeneral Assembly is thesupreme organ of the APTand it is composed of allthe members and associ-ate members of thetelecommunity. It meets inordinary session everyyears. It is pertinent tomention that the generalassembly establishedgeneral policies andprinciple to achieve theobjectives of thetelecommunity, estab-lishes the basis for theannual budget.—APP

FPCCI to discussecono-situationwith politicians

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Federation of Pa-kistan Chambers of Commerceand Industry (FPCCI) hasplanned that FPCCI leadershipwill meet political leaders ofdifferent parties and apprisethem of the current economicsituation and present possiblesolutions.

This was stated by Act-ing President FPCCI, ShaukatAhmed in a statement here onWednesday. He said that thecurrent situation in thecountry was discouraginglocal and foreign invest-ment in the country.

ISE-10 indexstays bullish

ISLAMABAD—The IslamabadStock Exchange (ISE) onWednesday witnessed bull-ish trend as the ISE-10 indexwas up by 6.66 points to closeat 4116.67 points. A total of44000 shares were traded,which showed a positivegrowth of 10,000 shares, whencompared with previous day’strading of 34000 shares.

Out of 151 companies,share prices of 96 compa-nies recorded increase whilethose of 55 companies de-creased and no company re-mained stable in today’strading. The share price ofAbbott Laboratories in-creased by Rs 30.70 whilethat of Linde Pakistan de-creased by Rs 9.95 per share.PIA, Bank of Punjab and DGKhan Cement remained thetop trading companies with20,000, 10,000 and 9000shares respectively.—APP

MIAN ARSHAD

ISLAMABAD—Secretary Pe-troleum and Natural Re-sources Abid Saeed,Wednesday, emphasized toaccelerate the explorationactivities as the governmenthad issued many explora-tion licenses under petro-leum policy 2012. Address-ing hat 20th Annual Techni-cal Conference (ATC) 2014,here, he said that sector wasa game changer that wouldbring prosperity to thecountry and to the compa-nies as well. ATC was jointlyorganized by Pakistan As-sociation of Petroleum Geo-scientists (PAPG) and Soci-ety of Petroleum Engineer(SPE) Pakistan was in inau-gurated by Muhammad RafiMD/CEO Oil & Gas Devel-opment Company Limited(OGDCL) on the subject of“Energy Challenges of Pa-kistan and E&P Strategies”.

Abid Saed said that ATCwas premier event whereprofessionals from explora-tion and production (E&P)companies, academia andservices providers’ pre-

Secretary Petroleumfor acceleration of

exploration activitiessented their technical papersapplications of innovativetechnical and share experi-ences. He appreciated theefforts of PAPG and SPE Pa-kistan to provide an excellentopportunity to the E&P com-panies operating in Pakistanand assured that the govern-ment was deeply interestedfor security issues and regu-latory matters being faced byE&P and services compa-nies working in different ar-eas of the country.

Geologists, geoscien-tists, petroleum engineersand students gathered at acommon platform set everyyear for the industry profes-sionals to meet and discussthe issues and sketch strat-egies for the industry. Thisyear’s theme “Energy Chal-lenges of Pakistan and E&PStrategies” is more than ap-propriate in the light of cur-rent energy crisis that thenation is facing today. Ad-visor to the Chief Ministerof the Balochistan on “En-ergy Crises Challenges andSolution” Qaiser Bengalialso delivered key addresson the occasion.

Kisaan melaattracts farmersacross Punjab

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The UniversityDiagnostic Lab and Depart-ment of Clinical Medicine &Surgery of the University ofVeterinary and Animal Sci-ences Lahore in collaborationwith the Agriculture SectorLinkage Programme (ASLP)arranged a Farmers’ Day(Kisan Mela) on Ravi Cam-pus Pattoki. Vice-ChancellorProf Dr Talat Naseer Pashainaugurated the mela inwhich over 200 farmers fromdifferent districts of Punjabparticipated. A large numberof students and faculty mem-bers also attended the mela.

Addressing the farmers,the Vice-Chancellor spokeabout the importance ofclean water and said cleanwater is necessary for ani-mals for getting maximummilk production from them.He said that a pot of watermust be kept near animalsfor 24 hours. He said thatthe university is providingawareness to farmers aboutanimal nutrition, health andmanagement. He said thatthe university is working inclose collaboration of thecommunity for the benefit ofpoor farmers.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Expressing seri-ous concern over continueddeclined in textile exportsowing to deteriorated powercrisis, the PakistanReadymade Garments Manu-facturers & Exporters Asso-ciation (Prgmea) has soughtthe level playing field forvalue-added textile industryof Punjab, as industries inother provinces are enjoyingsmooth gas and power sup-plies, rendering the Punjabindustry uncompetitivewithin the country. PRGMEAcentral chairman Ijaz Khokharobserved that the country

PRGMEA seeks level playing fieldfor value-added textile industry

has exported textile madegoods worth of $4.6 billionduring July-October 2014-2015 against $4.7 billion of thesame period of the previousyear, showing drop of 1.54percent.

“Punjab industry is try-ing to cope with growingcost of production becauseof gas shortages, high elec-tricity tariff and stuck-upsales tax refunds,” he said“The government shouldprovide level-playing field byraising gas and power sup-ply to the industry to helpexporters cut their energycosts and release billions ofrupees stuck in sales tax re-

funds,” he said. He said thatdue to gas shortages, millscannot process our fabric intime and the sewing unitssimply cannot guarantee ontime deliveries of export ship-ments. With this productiv-ity level we cannot competewith Bangladesh let aloneIndia or China.”

Ijaz Khokhar said thatgovernment was anticipatingenhancing country’s exportsby $1 billion annually follow-ing getting GSP plus status.However, things moved inopposite direction, as exportsplunged in last severalmonths mainly due to theongoing energy shortage.The country’s overall exportshave shrunk by 6.86 percentin July-October to $7.98 bil-lion from $8.56 billion of thecorresponding period lastyear. PRGMEA North ZoneSenior Vice-Chairman MalikNaseer, observed that thegovernment seems unable toaddress the business com-munity problems in short-run,as it could not provide gas tothe textile units due to scar-city of gas in the country.

According to him, con-tinuously declining law andorder situation in the coun-try, followed by lingeringenergy shortages which hasvirtually crippled the indus-try, are the prime reasons fortextile exports decline.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Power tariffs in Pakistan linkedwith international standards manipulated bythe donors while the price mechanismshould be based in accordance with do-mestic conditions, per capital income andstate of the economy. There is a need oftransparent power pricing system as peopleare not getting any relief despite burningcheap and indigenous natural gas but cost-ing is oil based benefiting only to the pricepolicy-making authorities. The taxes includ-ing GST should also slashed considerablyto translate the actual spirit of utility ratherthan making utilities a tax collecting agen-cies.

The President Lasbela Chamber ofCommerce and industry (LCCI), Yakoob AKarim has demanded of the government toreduce power tariff significantly in order toprovide relief to the industrial as well do-

Power tariffs need to set inline of per capita income

mestic consumers. The present governmenthas almost broken the back of the industryby frequently increasing utility tariffs par-ticularly electricity and gas prices, it how-ever avoiding to reduce electricity tariffsdespite the frequent falling prices of fur-nace oil which is largely used in generatingelectricity.

“The international oil prices havecrashed already and still falling frequentlyand so far a record level of price has beenreduced so far but the government is stub-born to not only continuing with the ex-isting power tariff but even consideringa little more increase in electricity prices.He said that it would be s sheer injusticewith the consumers that the governmentalways jacks up electricity prices when-ever global oil prices increase even witha fraction of dollar and it refrains fromreducing the tariff when the POL pricegets crashed.

MobilinkCustomer-

Connect ExpoconcludedSTAFF REPORTER

KA R A C H I—Mobilink’sCustomer Connect, a 2-day expo showcasingMobilink’s portfolio ofbusiness products, ser-vices and offers con-cluded in a local hotel inKarachi today. The expo-sition is part of a seriesbeing carried out acrossPakistan. The event wasorganized with the objec-tive of providing first handinformation to MobilinkBusiness Customers re-garding Mobilink B2B so-lutions. Mobilink Busi-ness Service Division(BSD) showcased dis-plays for Products, Inter-national Products, Cus-tomer Portal, One Card andFixed, Voice & and mobiledata. The participantswere provided one-on-onesessions by Mobilinkteam along with breakoutsessions with MobilinkBusiness Team. The eventwas also attended byPresident & CEOMobilink, JeffreyHedberg.

Azfar Manzoor, VicePresident BSD comment-ing on the event said;“Business Services isMobilink’s key area of fo-cus. Customer Connectevents reflect Mobilink’sphilosophy of placingcustomers at the core ofour business and aims atcatering to their evolvingneeds. Mobilink believesin establishing an inter-personal relationship withour business customers inorder to be able to providethem with targeted, cost-effective and state-of-the-art solutions which caterto their specific needs. Iam confident that by shar-ing the latest portfolio ofservices with our custom-ers and recording theirfeedback through theseevents will support in fur-ther optimising solutionsfor our customers.

Port Qasimshippingactivity

KARACHI—Four shipsC.V Al-Bahia, C.V SealandWashington, M.T Ji Xiangand M.T Chemroad Rosecarrying containers,chemicals and palm oilwere allotted berths atQasim International con-tainer Terminal, EngroVopak Terminal and LiquidCargo Terminal respec-tively at Port Qasim (PQ)on Tuesday, 25th Novem-ber 2014. Meanwhile twomore ships with Contain-ers and Diesel oil also ar-rived at outer anchorageof Port Qasim during last24 hours. Berth occu-pancy was observed atthe Port at 57% on Thurs-day, where eight shipsnamely ships C.V Al-Ba-hia, C.V Sealand Washing-ton, C.V Safmarine Ngami,M.V Grand Pioneer, M.VOcean Lion, M.TChemroad Rose, M.T JiXiang and M.T Karachi arecurrently occupying PQAberths to load/ offloadcontainers, Cement, Sun-flowers seeds, Palm Oil,Chemicals and Furnace oilrespectively during last 24hours.—APP

Currency Selling Buying

USA 101.60 101.40

UK 159.55 159.23

Euro 126.75 126.50

Canada 90.21 90.04

Switzerland 105.41 105.20

Australia 86.77 86.60

Sweden 13.68 13.66

Japan 0.8624 0.8607

Norway 14.92 14.89

Singapore 78.11 77.96

Denmark 17.04 17.00

Saudi Arabia 27.08 27.02

Hong Kong 13.10 13.08

Kuwait 349.14 348.45

Malaysia 30.35 30.29

Newzealand 79.45 79.29

Qatar 27.90 27.85

UAE 27.66 27.61

Kr Won 0.0917 0.0916

Thailand 3.098 3.091

Daily opening& closing ratesPMEX Index 2,793Total Volume (Lots): 17,825Traded Value (Rs): 3,492,343,510

Commodity -------------------- Price Quotation --------------- Open ---------- CloseCRUDE OIL ------------------- $ Per Barrel --------------------- 75.70 ---------- 73.90SILVER ------------------------- $ Per Ounce -------------------- 16.447 --------- 16.732GOLD --------------------------- $ Per Ounce -------------------- 1,198.4 -------- 1,200.1GOLD --------------------------- Rs Per 10 gms ------------------ 39,670 --------- 39,706MTOLAGOLD --------------- Rs Per Tola --------------------- 47,750 --------- 47,624GOLD --------------------------- Rs Per Tola --------------------- 47,750 --------- 47,624RICEIRRI6 --------------------- Rs Per 100 kg ------------------- 3,288 ---------- 3,287PALMOLEIN ----------------- Rs Per Maund ----------------- 3,721 ---------- 3,720SUGAR ------------------------- Rs Per kg ------------------------ 48.91 ---------- 48.90ICOTTON --------------------- US Cents per pound --------- 59.32 ---------- 48.90WHEAT ------------------------ Rs Per 100 kg ------------------- 3,446 ---------- 3,445

The total value traded was PKR 3.49 billion as compared to PKR 2.005 billion reportedon last business day , an increase of 70 percent. Number of lots traded also increasedby 74 percent to 17,825 from 10,273. PMEX Commodity Index increased by 0.01percent and closed at 2,793. Major business was contributed by crude oil amounting toPKR 2.005 billion, a 56 percent increase when compared to the previous trading day.This was followed by gold (PKR 1.157 billion) and silver (PKR 330 million).

KARACHI: Chief Executive Officer-TDAP, SM Muneer, Mian Zahid Hussain, Ex D.G.FIA, Ghalib Ali Bandesha and Shahid Hayat at KATI.—PO Photo

M. Shakeel Munir, acting President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industrypresenting ICCI insignia to Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan and Chairman, Senate Stand-ing Committee on Industries & Production during his visit to Chamber House.

KARACHI: President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Iftikhar AhmedVohara presenting chamber crest to Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran,Mehdi Subhani during his visit to KCCI.

MIAN ARSHAD

ISLAMABAD—Chairman Senate StandingCommittee on Industries and ProductionSenator Mushahid Ullah Khan, on Wednes-day, said that government was determinedto resolve issues of industry on prioritybasis to facilitate smooth growth. Address-ing business community here at IslamabadChamber of Commerce & Industry he saidthat the consistent progress of the indus-try was vital for better economic develop-ment of the country. He said governmentwas making all possible efforts to reviveindustrialization in the country and wasexploring various options for the restora-tion of sick industries. For this purpose,government was working on short and long-term energy projects to ensure consistentsupply of electricity and gas to industries.

He said government was also settingpriorities for export-oriented industries andthose that provide more job opportunitiesto pave way for a flourishing Pakistan. Hesaid political dharnas were affecting theeconomy; however, government was pre-

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—“Economic and business policies must beprovided constitutional cover in order to mitigate themisunderstandings in the corporate community.” It wasstated by President Pak-China Joint Chamber of Com-merce and Industry, Mr. Shah Faisal Afridi in meetingwith a delegation from World Bank. The delegation wascomprised of Mr. Vincent Palmade, Lead economist,South Asia Region, Mr. Justin Hill, Senior Private sectordevelopment specialist at World Bank. Mr. Amjad Bashir,Trade and Competitiveness officer, Ms. Saima Zuberi,Associate operations officer and Mr. Wang Zihai, Chair-man of association of Chinese companies in Pakistanwas also present in the meeting. The delegation has ar-rived at Pakistan with a special purpose to discuss andupdate the proposals for the improvement of private spe-cial economic zones by overcoming social and politicalconstraints to fulfill the needs of investment up to itsoptimal level.

Members of the delegation, while exchanging theirview with Mr. Shah Faisal Afridi, discussed the pros-pects of business opportunities under the umbrella ofspecial economic zones and at the same time they showed

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—NESPAK, a state-owned com-pany, is all set to restart its operations inUAE, it was revealed during an MoU sing-ing ceremony held between NESPAK andM/s Al Burj Engineering Consultants inDubai. Amjad A. Khan, Managing DirectorNESPAK, signed the MoU on behalf ofNESPAK and Mr. Abdullah Al Jasmi, Chair-man Al Burj Engineering Consultants, rep-resented his company. Al Burj EngineeringConsultant is one of the leading Architec-tural & Engineering Consulting Companieswith over 29 years of experience in local &Middle East markets. Detailed discussionsregarding various aspects of associationbetween NESPAK and Al Burj EngineeringConsultant were also held between the of-

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Buksh Energy Pvt. Ltd. has de-veloped unique solutions in the renewableand alternate energy sector of Pakistan tocreate green solutions that have helped cre-ate positive scalable impact and benefit forthe masses. In lieu of a successful busi-ness friendly relationship with Bank Alfalahin renewable energy projects undertakenin the past, it’s an honor to announce thatBank Alfalah Limited and Buksh Energyhave joined hands once again under thebanner of “Green Financing Partnership”.

The program has been designed for BankAlfalah Limited Classic, Gold and Premiumcredit card customers who would now beable to enjoy customizable Solar Home So-lutions designed by Buksh Energy Pvt. Ltd.Under a tri-patriach relationship, BAFLwould lease finance the home solution toit’s customers, the initiative has been de-signed considering the high upfront cost ofthe solar solutions and is a first ever pro-gram of its nature. The home solution con-sists of 500W upto 4.5kW, which iscustomizable and can be designed accord-ing to the customer’s demands, which may

NESPAK to restart accretion in UAEficials of the two companies.

The MD NESPAK invited the ChairmanAl Burj Engineering Consultant to visit Pa-kistan as NESPAK’s Guest so as to witnessthe procedures and quality work being pro-duced in NESPAK offices along with theusage of the latest computer softwares. Mr.Abdullah Al Jasmi accepted the invitationwith thanks and showed keen interest tosubmit a joint proposal for upcoming CableCar Project in Saudi Arabia. It is to be re-called that NESPAK has recently signedMoUs with two Chinese Consultancy com-panies and has also been registered in UKas NESPAK UK (Pvt) Limited. NESPAK isstressing hard to target overseas market andhas been able to win projects in Oman,Saudi Arabia and Qatar while projects inAfghanistan are in progress.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—A delegation of Chinese investors met PunjabChief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and expressedinterest in investment in power generation projects basedon solid waste. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Min-ister said that energy crisis has badly affected every sec-tor and the government is making sincere efforts for re-solving this problem.

He said that work is in progress on projects of genera-tion of power from different sources. He said that there arevast opportunities of investment in energy sector in Punjaband the government has provided a conducive atmosphere

Chinese investors meet Shahbaz,keen to invest in power projects

to foreign investors. He said that investment by Chinesecompany in the projects of generation of power from solidwaste will be welcomed. Chairman Lahore Waste Manage-ment Company Kh. Ahmed Hasaan, Commissioner LahoreDivision and concerned officials were present on the oc-casion.

Moreover, Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad ShahbazSharif has strongly condemned the attack on Polio workerson Eastern Bye-pass, Quetta and expressed deep sense ofsorrow and grief over the death of four Polio workers. TheChief Minister said that Polio workers are discharging animportant responsibility of saving the future of childrenand attack on them is a brutal and highly deplorable act.

Buksh Energy, Bank Alfalah join handsfor ‘Green Financing Partnership’

include additional Fans, LED Lights, AirConditioner and LCD TVs. The partnershipprogram has been designed considering thehigh upfront cost of a solar solution and tomake it readily available because of the largescale and multi-patriarch benefits alternateand renewable energy can provide.

At the agreement signing ceremonyAGM Consumer Finance and Operations,Zaheer Abbas commented: “It is a greatmoment for us as this is perhaps the firstsuch partnership by any bank on creditcards. We hope to achieve maximum mile-age out of it due to increasing awarenessbeing generated for solar solutions, sav-ings in electricity bills and also access toregular source of power being given to cus-tomers avoiding the load shedding relevantissues”. Saaqib Malik - Head of Cards, Con-sumer Finance Group on the occasion com-mented: “We are extremely excited of thisstrategic partnership with Buksh Energy.This is first of its kind product offeringthrough a credit card in Pakistan, which notonly caters to the most wanted electricityneed of households these days but alsoenables them to get access to continue elec-tricity through cheaper means.

Govt sets priority to resolve industryissues for sustainable growth

pared to cope with such challenges. Heassured that Senate Standing Committee onIndustries and Production would play itsrole to enhance the industrial and produc-tion sector in order to ensure continuousdevelopment of the manufacturing activi-ties in the country.

Acknowledging the role of businesscommunity in the economic developmentof the country, he also invited ICCI repre-sentatives to present their proposals in themeeting of Standing Committee on Indus-tries and Production for addressing the is-sues of industry, which would be given dueconsideration to facilitate industrial growth.Speaking at the occasion, Shakeel Munir,Acting President, Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce & Industry highlighted the is-sues being faced by the local industry. Hesaid government should ensure interruptedenergy supply to industry to enable it torun up to its capacity. He said basic infra-structure in industrial areas of Islamabadwas in urgent need of up gradation to pro-mote industrial activities and improve theircompetitiveness.

PCJCCI stresses constitutional coverfor economic, business policies

concerns regarding security matters related to powershortages, land procurement including documentationand legal issues that are faced by foreign investors inPakistan. Responding to the queries raised by the del-egates, Mr. Faisal Afridi said, “Government has estab-lished numerous organizations such as PBIT and BOI forproviding guidance to the local and foreign investors,moreover Punjab business and economic council PBECis made especially to bridge the gap between private andgovernment sectors, such organizations and institutesare designed to build an integrated business environ-ment”.

Faisal Afridi told that Haier Ruba Special Economiczone was initiated in 2006 with his struggle in collabora-tion of Chinese investors, which became pioneer in in-troducing the idea of one window optimized operation;that was highly appreciated both by government andprivate sector. “Despite all odds the idea flourished show-ing that Pakistan can provide suitable environment tosustain special economic zones, Afridi said elaboratingthat at present there are 11 successful companies, whichare working under the umbrella of this Special EconomicZone (SEZ) and despite all challenges, the companieshave shown remarkable growth in just a period of 8 years.

Unilever expandspartnership with

Daraz.pkISLAMABAD—Unilever hasexpanded on its partnershipwith Daraz.pk by addingSunsilk to the portfolio ofproducts available on theonline store. Earlier this year,Unilever had become thefirst FMCG in Pakistan to of-fer an online retail solutionfor customers. As part of thislatest initiative, customerswill be able to purchaseSunsilk from its very ownshop-in-shop on Daraz.pk.With the website’s efficientdelivery time, free returns,and multiple payment meth-ods including cash on deliv-ery, customers will be able toget their hair fix any time ofday, no matter where they are.The addition of Sunsilkcomes as Daraz.pk continuesto build on its already exten-sive offering of internationalpersonal care and beautybrands alongside its wideassortment of local labels.

Amir Paracha, VP – Cus-tomer Development,Unilever Pakistan Limited,highlighted, “At Unilever,we believe in the potential ofe-commerce and are workingto make it one of our corechannels for customer out-reach. We strongly believein making the purchasingdecision easier for our con-sumers. This initiative goestowards saving consumersthe hassle of shopping insupermarkets by offering theadvantage of having theirfavorite Unilever items deliv-ered to their doorsteps.”Speaking on the occasion,Farees Shah – Cofounder,Daraz.pk said, “Daraz.pk hasover 1.7 million visits to itssite monthly.—PR

SMEDA completescapacity-building

programSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Small andMedium Enterprises Devel-opment Authority(SMEDA), in collaborationwith Senior Experten Service(SES), a German agency, hasconcluded a program withthe assistance of their ex-pert, Mr. Hans JoachimHanusch, for capacity build-ing of Faisalabad Chambersof Commerce and Industries(FCCI).

The program was athree-week intensive exer-cise undertaken by SMEDAto assist FCCI throughtransfer of knowledge andinternational best practiceson Chamber functions andoperations. The assignmentaimed to take into accountthe strengths and weak-nesses in the service deliv-ery and advocacy system.

ISLAMABAD: President Pak Gulf, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas with apprentice officers ofKashmir Institute of Management during their visit to Centaurs shopping mall.

MIRPUR: Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh sweeps during his innings against Zimbabwe in 3rd ODI on Wednesday.

GUJRAT: DCO Liaqat Ali Chattha giving away best performance trophy to deaf cricket players.

Karate girls bringU-16 crown to

Khanewal with 4gold medals

KHANEWAL—Karate girls ofKhanewal won the inter-dis-trict U-16 girls Karate compe-tition by winning four goldand one silver medals tosnatch top position with 70points in Multan division.

Khanewal girls Ayeshawon gold medal in 40kg cat-egory, Nabeela in 44kg cat-egory, Maimoona in 48kg andMahum in 52kg category.Javeria won silver medal in 56kg category.

Saira from Lodhran wongold in 56 kg category andthree other girls from Lodhranincluding Ayesha (38 kg),Misbah Hussain (44 kg), andMaryam (48 kg) secured sil-vers medals. Overall, theysecured 45 points to win sec-ond position for Lodhran.

Maryam from Vehari wongold medal in 38 kg categoryand her fellow Samreen wonsilver medal in 40 kg category.They secured 25 points andwon third position for Vehari.

Nadia Batool from Multanwon silver medal in 52 kg cat-egory. Divisional sports of-ficer Chaudhry MuhammadSiddiq distributed prizesamong the winners.

Match referee AkramZaki, corner judges Nasir Ali(Khanewal), Hameed Bhatti(Vehari), Ali Akram (Lodhran),Muhammad Hussain(Multan) besides Karatecoach Naeem Khalid and oth-ers were present.—APP

KARACHI—The Kenyan cricket teamwill arrive here in Pakistan on Decem-ber 11 to play a five match one dayseries against Pakistan A.

All five matches of the rubber willbe played at the Gaddafi Stadium inLahore which was decided in a meet-ing chaired by PCB COO SubhanAhmad.

The entire series wouldconsist of day matches andshall be spread over 45 overseach said Zakir Khan Chair-man Organizing Committee forthe series and PCB s DirectorInternational Cricket.

Kenya would thus becomethe second national team afterAfghanistan to have visitedthis country since March 92009.

The series is part of PCB sChairman ShaharyarMohammad Khan’s sustained en-deavors to bring international cricketback to Pakistan which may see morenational teams visiting this country in2015.

The five matches will be played onDecember 13, 15, 16, 18 and 20 Thevisiting team will fly back home onDecember 21.

Meanwhile, legendary batsmanJaved Miandad while backing theKenya next month’s tour to Pakistan

Kenya to tour Pakistan in Decembersaid if this visit fails to bring in otherforeign teams here than it would provean expensive gamble for the PakistanCricket Board. The Kenyan cricket team will ar-rive in Pakistan for a five-match ODIseries against Pakistan A on Decem-ber 11. All matches will be played at

the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Kenyawould thus become the second na-tional team after Afghanistan to havevisited this country since March 9,2009. Talking to APP, Miandad said theKenyan team tour to Pakistan is anexpensive one as no internationalteam besides Afghanistan has visitedthe country. “Kenyan team tourshould prove fruitful and should helpin reviving in international cricket in

the country,” he said. Miandad said after the Kenyanteam’s tour PCB should rope in toursagainst the stronger sides in thecricket world with request to the ICC.“I hope this tour helps in restoringcricket in the country so that pur play-ers could also be groomed well,” he

said. Talking about the Paki-stan Super League (PSL),Miandad said PSL shouldalso be held in Pakistan, asin the years to come it canattract a lot of players onceit is leashed. “PSL is our ownleague and to play it in UAEwill not end the country’sdrought of internationalcricket,” he said. Miandad said the PCBshould take the initiativeand see how it goes in Paki-

stan. “I am sure once the league startsit will attract a lot of foreign playerswho are retired or domestic playersof other countries,” he pointed.

Former PCB Director General saidwe can interact our domestic playerswith the national team which will boostthe player’s morale and will give themconfidence. “We need to fix our do-mestic cricket first through which wecan get a handful of talented players,”he maintained.—Agencies

NBP BasketballCup

KARACHI—The 9th editionof NBP Cup Baskeball tour-nament goes into action atArambagh Floodlit Courtsfrom Thursday with 12 pro-vincial teams in the fray.

Karachi Colours will meetKarachi Whites in an exhibi-tion to mark the opening ofthe event.

A cash prize money of Rs35,000 will be at the offer inthe event, Karachi BasketballAssociation said in a pressrelease issued on Wednes-day.

Azad Kashmir Ministerof Sports and Youth AffairsMuhammad Salim Butt willbe the chief guest at theopening ceremony.DMDKW&SB Muhammad Aslamwill preside over the func-tion.

Top two teams from eachof the four groups willqualify for the last eightround.—APP

SPORTS REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A two-member contingent ofSki Federation of Pakistan (SFP) has de-parted to Austria for participation in the In-ternational Ski Federation (FIS) AlpineTraining Camp.

The FIS Alpine Training Camp is or-ganized every year in Stubaital andHintertux, Austria under the FIS Devel-opment Program, says a press release is-sued here.

The contingent comprises a male and afemale athlete. The month long trainingcamp would provide Muhammad Karim and

Two-member SFP to participatein Alpine Training Camp

Ms. Ifrah Wali an opportunity to train alongworld class skiers in a competitive environ-ment.

The camp focuses on polishing the Al-pine Ski Skills besides enhancing the physi-cal fitness of the athletes.

The camp would culminate on Decem-ber 20. It is worth mention-ing here that Karim partici-pated in the same trainingcamp last year, whichproved instrumental in hisqualification for OlympicWinter Games 2014 Sochi,Russia. Whereas Ms Ifrahhas represented Pakistan inthe 1st South Asian WinterGames held in India and wona gold medal.

SFP is paying special at-tention towards training offemale athletes that aims atsending a female athlete inOlympic Winter Games 2018to be held in Pyeong Chang,Republic of Korea.

The President SFP, Air Marshal SohailGul Khan has laid special emphasis on thefact that SFP must continue training hardfor the mega event and use the availabletime to the fullest in order to earn a respect-able position on the skiing in the interna-tional world.

Railways interunit cycling

championshipLAHORE—Pakistan Rail-ways inter unit cyclingchampionship will be heldhere on Thursday (Nov 27)at cycling velodrome.

Dr Farman Khan VicePresident Pakistan RailwaysSports Board will be the chiefguest at the prize distribu-tion ceremony.

Teams from Lahore,Multan, Sukkur, Rawalpindiand Karachi will participatein the event.—APP

Rizwan,Rashid join

camp for finaltrials today

KARACHI—Two playersforward MuhammadRizwan Senior and half backRashid Mahmood reportedat the national camp andwill be appearing in the fi-nal round trials for the se-lection in Pakistan hockeyteam for next month’sChampions Trophy.

“We will watch form andfitness of Rizwan and Rashidbefore deciding their selec-tion in the team,” chief se-lector Islahuddin Siddiquitold APP on Wednesday atHockey Club of PakistanStadium.

Selection Committeealso consisting of OlympianAyaz Mahmood, KhalidBashir, Arshad Chaudhryand Mussdique Hussainhave already named a pro-visional 20-member Pakistansquad for the ChampionsTrophy being staged in In-dian city of Bhubneshwarfrom December 6-14.

“After final rounds oftrials, selection committeewill shortlist an 18-membersquad for Champions Tro-phy” Islahuddin said.

Both Rizwan Senior andRashid Mahmood were thepart of Pakistan team whichwon the silver medal in theAsian Games which endedin Incheon (Korea) lastmonth.Both just returnedthe other day fromAmsterdam, the Nether-lands midway through theircontest while playing inDutch Hockey League.

“Both are goodplayers.But, selectorswanted to see their formand fitness before decidingtheir fate,” he said. Be-cause of their vast experi-ence both Rizwan andRashid are almost certainselection.

“Both showed goodform despite joining thecamp straight away after 12hours flight,” chief coachmanager Olympian ShahnazShaikh said. According toreports Ali Shan, Rizwan Ali,Arsalan Qadir, AzfarYaqoob and Tasawar Abbaswill be battling for the placein the final 18-membersquad.—APP

Ifrah Wali Muhammad Karim

PESHAWAR—25th November 2014: TheTurkish Ambassador H. E. Mr. Sadik BaburGIRGIN appreciated the Malik SaadShaheed Sports Trust (MSSST) Registeredactivities and its achievements and said thatthese initiatives of MSSST will also pro-mote Sports interaction between Turkey &Pakistan.

The Turkish Ambassador in Pakistan H.E. Sadik Babur GIRGIN visited MSSSTHead office at Central Police OfficePeshawar this morning along with TurkishHonorary Consul-General in KhyberPakhtunkhwa Mr. SalimSaifullah Khan, H.E. Mr. Kamil KOLABAS Advisor to TIKAPresident at Turkish Prime Minister’s Sec-retariat, Mr. Giray TEZEL TIKA’s CountryHead for Pakistan and Mr.G h a z a n f a r M a h m o o dDirector(Ambassador’s Office) besidesMalik Riaz Ex-Advisor to Chief MinisterKPK, Acting Chairman Malik Tajamul Hayat,Member MSSST Board of Trustees (BOT)Syed Ali Nawaz Gilani, Mr. Mazhar-ul-Haq,Mr. imtiaz Ahmad were also present on theoccasion.

The visiting Turkish Ambassador and

Turkish Ambassador appreciatesMSSST achievements

other dignitaries also witness the MSSSTdocumtmatery and also Ambassador writehis impressions on visitor’s book and payrich tributes to the MSSST activities espe-cially for the young and deserving playersof Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Ambassador Babur Girgin alsomentioned that Turkey & Pakistan last yearsigned an MOU for cooperation & interac-tion in the various fields of Sports, we (Tur-key) will encourage MSSST with in the framework of that MOU. The MSSST appreci-ated the support extended byTIKA(Turkish Cooperation & CoordinationAgency) last year and its was also desiredthat TIKA cooperation with MSSST shouldbe increased.Later on Malik Tajamul Hussain ActingChairman MSSST presented souveneirs tothe Ambassador, Member BOT MSSSTpresented Souveneirs to the HonoraryConsul-General of Turkey in KPK Mr.SaleemSaifullah Khan and Member BOTMSSST Syed Ali Nawaz Gilani presentedmomento to the visiting H. E. Mr. KamilKOLABAS Advisor to TIKA President atTurkish Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

MIRPUR—Important runs and early wick-ets were the reason for Bangladesh’s 124-run win over Zimbabwe in the third ODI inMirpur, which also gave them the serieswith two matches in hand.

The visitors sunk to a new low, record-ing their biggest loss in terms of runs toBangladesh in an ODI on the back of awhitewash in the Test series. This time Zim-babwe were chasing a daunting target of298; only once have they chased a scorethat high to win. There was no repeat to-night as they were bowled out for 173 runsin 39.5 overs, with Arafat Sunny picking upfour wickets for a second time in as manymatches. Mashrafe Mortaza and RubelHossain took two wickets while Shakib AlHasan and Mahmudullah picked up oneeach. But it was the runs Bangladesh hadposted which were decisive.

Two polar opposite partnerships setBangladesh on their 297-run pedestal: Firstcame a steady 120-run accumulation be-tween Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haquewhich was built on by Shakib Al Hasan andMushfiqur Rahim, who added 72 off 48 forthe fourth wicket. Mahmudullah and SabbirRahman then provided the late flourish asBangladesh carted 103 runs in the last 10overs.

Tamim and Anamul batted for 25.5 oversand were pried apart by a run-out. A slightmix-up was followed by Tamim losing hisgrip on the bat while trying to slide it tosafety. Both his feet were in the air as thestumps were broken. It was his second run-out in consecutivematches, after he had made40 off 63 balls with twofours, and a six hit overlong-on in the first over.

Anamul reached 50 off66 balls, but played out 12overs from 20.4 to 32.4 with-out a boundary. He even-tually got nine fours in his120-ball innings, a flickthrough square-leg and alofted drive over coverstanding out. He picked upfour of his boundariesthrough third man and fineleg, and scored 39 runs be-hind square on either sideof the wicket.

Anamul fell five runsshort of a fourth ODI hun-dred when he found deepmidwicket off a TafadzwaKamungozi long-hop in the36th over. Shakib andMushfiqur got together atthis point and smartly ne-gotiating Bangladesh’straditional bogey period -the second Powerplay -

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe, 3rd ODI

Anamul, Sunny star in series winbefore launching into the Zimbabwe attack.

Aside from the early movement, the visi-tors’ bowlers were largely ineffective andat times quite ordinary. Only TinashePanyangara stood firm with his 2-54, bowl-ing a good first spell and capping thingsoff well at the death.

The others were wayward though andShakib and Mushfiqur took advantage,hammering 45 runs in the three overs fromthe 41st. They fell in the 44th over, Shakibto a miscued pull and Mushfiqur dragginga Panyangara delivery onto his stumps.Mahmudullah and Sabbir got together andcarried on the good work, adding 46 runsoff 30 deliveries. Mahmudullah looked tobe in good form, profiting from his wristworkto make an unbeaten 26-ball 33, while Sabbiralso showcased his ability as a finisher witha 13-ball 22, including a reverse hit throughthird-man.

Zimbabwe needed their top order tostand up if they had any chance of over-hauling the target, but Mashrafe would notlet them. He had Vusi Sibanda top-edging apull to deep square leg in the third over.Masakadza was the Bangladesh captain’snext victim, caught down the leg side, butreplays showed the batsman had not hit it.Masakadza had stood at the crease in dis-belief and there were some heated ex-changes as he left the field.

Bangladesh lost Shafiul Islam to a strainon his right thigh but Rubel Hossain, whoreplaced him, took the third wicket having

PESHAWAR—Home Economic College andPost Graduate College recorded victoriesagainst their respective rivals in the Uni-versity of Peshawar Inter-College GirlsCricket Championship played here at JinnahCollege ground on Wednesday.

Deputy Director Sports University ofPeshawar Miss Chaman Gul was the chiefguest on this occasion and before the startof the matches the players of all the teamswere introduced to her.

In the opening match Home EconomicCollege University of Peshawar defeatedPoly Technique Girls College by nine wick-ets. Poly Technique Girls College Peshawarwon the toss and elected to bat first bysetting up 82 runs target for the loss of eightwickets after playing the allotted 20 overs.Nayyab Khan, Rubina, Nazish hit elegantknock of 23, 19 and 17 runs and were themain contributors.

Maria Momina and Sabaun took twowickets each while Sana and Zargona gotone wicket.

In reply, Home Economic College forWomen chased the target for the loss ofone wicket with opener Zargona smashed44 runs knock including two sixes and four

HEC, PGC advance in UoPInter-College Girls Cricket

boundaries. Mohmina and Sabaun made 20and 18 runs respectively and guided theteam to nine wickets victory.

In the second match Post Graduate De-partment University of Peshawar team out-classed FEF Degree College Nahaki byseven wickets.

FEF Degree College skipper Haleemawon the toss and elected to bat first bysetting up 88 runs target for the loss of ninewickets with Shaheen made vital 36 runsincluding four boundaries and one six,Reema scored 23 runs, Sana made 17 runs.For Post Graduate Department team of Uni-versity of Peshawar Sehrish, Samia, Asmatook two wickets each.

In reply, Post Graduate Departmentteam chased the target for the loss of threewickets with Sehrish made a superb knockof 55 runs and Asma scored 34 runs andSamia was not out on 21 runs. For FEFNahaki Haleema, Reema and Sana took onewicket each.

Now Jinnah College for Women will faceHome Economic College in the first semi-finals while PG will clash against Girls Col-lege Charsadda No. 1 in the second semi-finals.—APP

Bangladesh innings:Tamim run out ................. 40Anamul b Kamungozi .... 95Mominul b Masakadza .. 15Shakib c Chigumbura bPanyangara ..................... 40Mushfiqur b Panyangara 33Mahmudullah not out ... 33Sabbir b Madziva ........... 22Mashrafe not out ............. 2Extras: (lb 10, w 4, nb 3) . 17Total: (6 wickets) .......... 297Fall of wickets: 1-121, 2-160,3-167, 4-239, 5-244, 6-290Bowling: ............ O-M-R-WPanyangara ......... 10-0-54-2Madziva ................. 9-0-60-1Chigumbura .......... 3-0-18-0Kamungozi .......... 10-0-40-1T Maruma .............. 2-0-15-0Sibanda ................ 10-0-64-0Masakadza ............ 5-0-25-1SF Mire .................. 1-0-11-0Zimbabwe innings:Masakadza b Mortaza ... 12

SCOREBOARDSibanda c Sunnyb Mortaza .......................... 9Maruma b Hossain .......... 8Taylor lbw b Shakib ....... 28Mire b Sunny .................. 12Chakabva b Mahmudullah14Chigumbura not out ...... 53Moor lbw b Rubel ............ 2Madziva b Sunny ........... 11Panyangara b Sunny ....... 0T Kamungozi b Sunny .... 4Extras: (b 8, lb 1, w 11) ... 20Total: (all out) ............... 173Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-22, 3-39, 4-80, 5-82, 6-119, 7-126,8-153, 9-153, 10-173Bowling: ............ O-M-R-WMashrafe ............... 7-2-24-2Shafiul ................. 2.1-0-20-0Rubel ................... 5.5-0-22-2Sabbir ..................... 2-0-16-0Arafat .................. 8.5-0-27-4Shakib .................... 7-1-19-1Mahmudullah ....... 5-0-29-1Mominul .................. 2-0-7-0

SHARJAH: Mohammad Hafeez gets ready to sweep during Pakistan vs New Zealand 3rd Test’s first day on Wednesday.

GELSENKIRCHEN: Schalke’s defender Jan Kirchhoff heads an own goal during the UEFA Champions Leaguesecond leg Group G football match against Chelsea in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany.

SHARJAH—Mohammad Hafeezmissed the second Test of the seriesdue to injury, went to England brieflyto get his action tested, but he couldhave well been playing in Abu Dhabiwhere he had scored 96 and 101*. Hestarted the day with a boundarythrough point and went on to com-plete his seventh Test century, mak-ing most of a pitch with no grass, nocracks and no signs of life. Hafeez’sunbeaten 178 was also the highestanyone had scored in a Sharjah Test.The innings came at a good rate too,taking Pakistan to a dominant posi-tion after they had opted to bat.

Despite the unhelpful conditions,New Zealand had managed to pick upthree wickets, including that of YounisKhan, in the first two sessions. Butthen Misbah-ul-Haq ensured thewobble was a minor one as he pro-vided solid support to Hafeez in a cen-tury stand.

Hafeez grabbed centrestage butmuch of the attention at the start ofthe match had centred on the come-back of Daniel Vettori, who had beendrafted into the XI at the last minutein New Zealand’s bid to find a series-equalising victory. Vettori’s previousTest outing was more than two yearsago. This Test - his 112th for NewZealand - took him past StephenFleming as the most-capped NewZealand player.

Vettori led his team into theground, knowing this could be his lastTest and despite no first-class cricketin almost a year, started off with amaiden when called in within the first10 overs. With no help from the pitch,Vettori was accurate in the three overshe bowled before lunch. The only timehe lost his length, Hafeez carted himover midwicket for a six.

He had to wait for 35 overs beforegetting another spell. By that time,Pakistan had moved to 143 for 2. Ittook him only eight more deliveries tomake his presence felt as he beat thein-form Younis with his drift andstruck him right in front. It was Younis’first single-digit score this home sea-

Pakistan 1st innings:Hafeez not out ........................ 178Shan Masood b Craig ............. 12Azhar Ali c Taylor b Craig ...... 39Younis Khan lbw b Vettori ........ 5Misbah not out ....................... 38Extras: (lb 4, w 4, nb 1) ............... 9Total: (3 wickets) .................... 281Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-131, 3-160Bowling: ...................... O-M-R-WTA Boult ........................ 17-5-47-0TG Southee ................... 18-3-43-0DL Vettori ...................... 12-4-28-1Anderson ...................... 12-4-28-0MD Craig ....................... 16-3-67-2IS Sodhi ......................... 15-2-64-0

3rd Test: Hafeez 178 putsPakistan in dominant position

son. Younis asked for a review of thedecision after some discussion withHafeez, but the replays only showedover and over again how Vettori’s arm-ball had outdone Younis.

Hafeez had no such problems. Hewasn’t flamboyant as most of hisboundaries came off three shots - thepull, the cover drive and the cut - buthe remained busy. In the first hour, hescored 30 runs off the 40 deliveries hefaced and slowed down in the secondhour. It was only towards the end ofthe first session that he struck acouple of boundaries - one a pull offIsh Sodhi, another a smooth coverdrive off Mark Craig - to move closeto a half-century.

After a couple of overs of waitingpost lunch, Hafeez moved into hisstride again, cutting a Trent Boult de-livery to reach his fifty with a bound-ary. He followed that up with a power-ful pull off the same bowler two overslater, then stepped out to launch Sodhiover long-on for an effortless six. Asthe spinners settled in for a spell,Hafeez used the cut shot to good ef-fect, finding regular boundaries withprecision.

One such boundary off Craig tookhim to 99 and he completed his cen-tury off the very next delivery with aneasy single. A prolonged sajda indi-cated the runs may have been the balmafter a tumultuous couple of weeks.The calmness that he exuded at thatstage also signalled he was focussedfor a lot more. A couple of length de-liveries from Trent Boult were punchedon the up through cover, then the cutshot again, followed by pulls the mo-ment anyone pitched short.

The ease with which Hafeezhandled the bowlers was in contrastto how slow the others batted aroundhim. He was the dominant partner inalmost all the partnerships - 31 out off44 for the first wicket, quick 46 out of87 for the second, 24 out of 29 for thethird and 77 out of unbeaten 121 forthe fourth.

That the others were stifled waspartly due to the New Zealand bowlers

making it tough to score by stickingto their plans and partly because thebatsmen did not disturb them fromtheir plans. The seamers oftenchanged the angle and frequently usedthe bouncers to keep the batsmenguessing and the spinners stuck tolines around off stump, but Azhar Ali,Shan Masood and, to an extent,Misbah were happy to block them out.

Shan Masood was reluctant tocome forward to both pace and slowbowlers and scored at snail’s pace. Hefinally paid the price as he came for-ward to Craig’s first delivery to himand played down the wrong line. Azharhad moved to 39 off 101 deliveriesbefore he played a loose drive to awide delivery from Craig straight afterlunch and was caught at slip.

In the overs that followed, NewZealand’s three-men spin attack couldonly produce one chance. Misbah, on20, got a faint edge on a turning deliv-ery from Sodhi but BJ Watlingcouldn’t get his gloves around theball. Misbah responded with a fiercecut off the next ball and later smashedSodhi for a straight six too. It was aclean hit, not as big as the two straightsixes Hafeez had smashed off the spin-ners. The effect, on the scoreboard andon New Zealand, was the same.—AFP

SYDNEY—Australian batsman PhillipHughes remained in a critical conditionWednesday after surgery to relieve pres-sure on his brain, as players rallied aroundthe bowler who inflicted the damage.

The 25-year-old, who was pressing fora Test recall, was knocked out by a SeanAbbott bouncer in a freak incident at theSydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday, crum-bling to the ground unconscious after theheavy blow to the lower head.

He underwent emergency surgery and

was in an induced coma in intensive care atSt Vincent’s Hospital. “Philip’s condition isunchanged and he remains critical,” Aus-tralian team doctor Peter Brukner said in a

Hughes critical after surgerybrief statement on Wednesday afternoon.

Test captain Michael Clarke was one ofthe first to arrive at the hospital on Wednes-day, resuming a vigil at his close friend’sbedside and comforting Hughes’s motherand sister.

Hughes made his Test debut in SouthAfrica in 2009, where he made 75 in the sec-ond innings at Johannesburg. The left-hander followed up in the second Test atDurban with centuries in both innings,amassing some 275 runs at the crease.

The runs dried up and despite playing26 Tests he has never se-cured a regular place in theteam, partly due to his per-ceived weakness against theshort ball.

But with doubts over thefitness of Clarke for the firstTest against India nextmonth in Brisbane, he wasseen as a potential replace-ment. Shaun Marsh is nowthe frontrunner.

The popular Hugheswas wearing a helmet duringthe Sheffield Shield gamewhen he was struck butmanufacturer Masuri said hedid not have their most up-to-date model.

“From the footage andpictures currently availableto Masuri, it appears that PhilHughes was struck by theball to the rear of the grilleand below the back of theshell, missing his MasuriOriginal Test model helmet,”the company said.

“This is a vulnerable area of the headand neck that helmets cannot fully protect,while enabling batsmen to have full andproper movement.”—AFP

GELSENKIRCHEN—Jose Mourinho´sChelsea marched into the ChampionsLeague last 16 as Group G winners onTuesday after their emphatic 5-0 winat Robert di Matteo´s Schalke 04.

Mourinho´s Premier League lead-ers brushed Di Matteo´s ineffectiveRoyal Blues aside in Gelsenkirchen ascaptain John Terry put them aheadwithin just two minutes of the kick-off.

Further first-half scores by Willianand an own goal from defender JanKirchhoff were followed by second-half strikes from Didier Drogba andBrazil midfielder Ramires.

“I am very happy, it was a veryimpressive performance,” beamedMourinho. “We weren´t coming hereto see if a point would be enough toput us through and we showed thatfrom the first minute. “It was 90 min-utes of good football.”

The result matched Schalke´srecord European home defeat whenthey were hammered 6-1 by RealMadrid in last season´s round of 16,first leg, in February this year.

Chelsea remain unbeaten in all 19matches this season and are now four

Five-star Chelsea smash Schalke to reach last 16points clear in the table ahead of theirfinal match at home to second-placedSporting Lisbon in a fortnight.

Di Matteo´s unbeaten home recordafter four wins was ended by his formerclub in brutal fashion. “It was alreadya difficult evening for us and we madeit even harder by conceding so early,”said Di Matteo, who apologised toSchalke fans for the performance.

“I was surprised by our lack ofconfidence, we weren´t aggressiveenough and we gave them far toomuch space. “We have to look aheadnow and put this behind us as quicklyas possible.”

Schalke drop to third, having beenleap-frogged by Sporting who won 3-1 at home to Maribor, who they mustbeat in Slovenia in their final game nextmonth to stand any chance of pro-gressing. “It´s hard to find words forthis,” said Schalke captain BenediktHoewedes. “I can only apologise forour performance. We gave Chelseatoo much space to play. They are sogood individually and we let themscore too many goals.”

Di Matteo, who is just eight gamesinto the Schalke job, remains the only

Chelsea manager to win the Champi-ons League and Mourinho refused toeven talk about him in the match´sbuild-up.

The self-styled ´Special One´, whowon the Champions League with In-ter Milan in 2010 and Porto in 2004, isbidding to win the European crown atthe fifth attempt with Chelsea and hisside dominated their hosts inGelsenkirchen. Chelsea needed lessthan two minutes to take the lead atSchalke´s Veltins Arena.

Eden Hazard put Diego Costa awayand the Spain striker tested Schalkegoalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann, whopalmed his shot away.

Cesc Fabregas floated in the re-sulting corner from which Chelseacaptain John Terry rose highest tohead home barely challenged.

Cameroon striker Eric Choupo-Moting gave Schalke brief hope on 13minutes when his shot deflected offGary Cahill´s boot and looped overChelsea goalkeeper Thibault Courtois,but it clattered off the bar.

Chelsea were unpicking theSchalke defence with worryingy easeas they doubled their lead.—AFP

NICOSIA—Lionel Messi became the all timeleading goalscorer in the ChampionsLeague just four days after achieving the

same feat in La Liga with his 72nd goal inthe competition against APOEL Nicosia onTuesday.

Messi breaks ChampionsLeague scoring record

Messi was captaining Barca on thenight and stabbed home his side’s secondgoal of the evening from close range afterLuis Suarez had opened his account for theclub with the opener.

The Argentine moves ahead of Raul,who scored 71 goals in 142 appearancesfor Real Madrid and Schalke, with CristianoRonaldo just one goal further back on 70.

Messi now hold both records at just 27years of age and reached the new recordmark in 51 fewer games than Raul with bothmen having won the tournament threetimes.

Meanwhile, Luis Suarez finally regis-tered his first Barcelona goal since a clubrecord move from Liverpool in July with abrilliant solo effort to open the scoring awayto APOEL Nicosia in the ChampionsLeague on Tuesday.

The Uruguayan turned his marker onthe edge of the area before firing a low fin-ish across Urko Pardo to break his duck onhis fifth appearance for the Catalan giantson 27 minutes.

Suarez had to wait until October 25 tomake his debut in a 3-1 defeat to Real Madridas he served a four-month suspension forbiting Italian defender Giorgio Chielini atthe World Cup.—AFP

World champHamilton

nominated forBBC award

LONDON—Formula Onechampion Lewis Hamiltonwill battle with the likes ofEuropean Ryder Cup starRory McIlroy and RealMadrid’s Gareth Bale for theBBC’s prestigious 2014Sports Personality of theYear award.

Hamilton secured hissecond F1 world title in AbuDhabi at the weekend andthe British driver is expectedto be a leading contender forthe prize.

Wales winger Bale, whohelped Madrid win theChampions League lastseason in his first year withthe Spanish giants, and Brit-ish Open and US PGAChampionship winnerMcIlroy, a key member of theEuropean team that retainedthe Ryder Cup against theUnited States, will be alsobe in the running. McIlroyis bidding to become the firstgolfer to win the awardsince Nick Faldo in 1989.

Athlete Jo Pavey, dres-sage star CharlotteDujardin, boxer Carl Froch,visually impaired skier KellyGallagher, swimmer AdamPeaty, gymnast MaxWhitlock and skeleton bobracer Lizzy Yarnold completethe 10-strong list for the an-nual prize.—AFP

French tennisfederation official

banned for lifePARIS—A French chair um-pire on the futures and chal-lenger tours became the firstofficial to be suspended forcorruption by the Tennis In-tegrity Unit when he receiveda life ban on Wednesday.

The charges against 22-year-old Morgan Lamribreached four articles of theTIU’s anti-corruption pro-gram in 2012 and 2013.These involve attempts toinfluence the outcome of anevent, to ‘’facilitate anyplayer not to use his or herbest efforts,’’ and to ‘’wa-ger or attempt to wager’’ onthe outcome of a match.

Lamri said he won’t ap-peal the sanction. He deniedcorruption, but told TheAssociated Press in a phoneinterview that he bet onmatches he was not in-volved in.

‘’I can’t believe theydecided I am guilty withouteven hearing me,’’ saidLamri, who did not cooper-ate with investigators.—AP

BY NOW, most of us are aware that eating fruits and vegetables is good for ourphysical health. But a new study pub-

lished in the BMJ Open suggests eating five aday is linked to better mental well-being. Eat-ing your “5 a day” increaseschanges of higher mental well-being, the researchers say. Aprevious study suggested thatconsuming five portions offruits and vegetables a day isthe optimum amount for low-ering the risk of death fromany cause, which contradictsanother study that suggestedwe should be eating seven por-tions of fruit and veg a day.

The researchers from thislatest study, led by Dr. SaverioStranges of the University ofWarwick Medical School inthe UK, used data from theHealth Survey for England,which included nearly 14,000adults over the age of 16. Thissurvey collected detailed in-formation on the mental and physical healthof the participants, as well as their health-re-lated behaviors, demographics and socio-eco-nomic characteristics.

In addition, the team assessed the partici-pants’ mental well-being using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, putting thetop 15% of participants in the “high mentalwell-being” group, the bottom 15% in the lowgroup, and those between 16-84% in the middlegroup. Overall, the researchers found that highand low mental well-being were typically as-sociated with the participants’ fruit and veg-etable intake.

In detail, 35.5% of participants with high

Fruit and veg consumptiontied to mental health

IGP Sindh Ghulam Hayder Jamali presiding over a meeting regarding SIMs verification system with a 9-member delegation of PTA at CPO.

mental well-being ate five or more portionsof fruits and vegetables a day, compared withonly 6.8% who consumed less than one por-tion. Additionally, 31.4% of the individualsfrom the high mental well-being group ate

three to four fruit and vegportions per day, and 28.4%ate one to two. “The data sug-gest that [the] higher anindividual’s fruit and veg-etable intake, the lower thechance of their having lowmental well-being,” says Dr.Stranges.

The researchers alsoconsidered other health-re-lated behaviors - such assmoking, alcohol intake andobesity - and found that onlysmoking and fruit and veg-etable intake were consis-tently associated with men-tal well-being. “Along withsmoking, fruit and vegetableconsumption was the health-related behavior most con-

sistently associated with both low and highmental well-being. These novel findings sug-gest that fruit and vegetable intake may playa potential role as a driver, not just of physi-cal, but also of mental well-being in the gen-eral population.”

Alcohol intake and obesity were associ-ated with low, but not high mental well-being,the researchers add. According to the team,high mental well-being is more than simplythe absence of symptoms or illness - it is thecondition of feeling good and functioning well.They add that optimism, happiness, self-es-teem, resilience and good relationships are alsopart of this mode of being.

Rangers officials stand guard near a newly built Chowki in Lyari area.—PO photo by Sultan Chaki

The acting Consul General of Oman, Mr Hilal Ali Mohammed Al Salmi, hosted a re-ception on the Occasion of 44th National Day at a local hotel. Picture shows SeniorMinister of Sindh Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, AR Sattar, Naveed Ishtiaq, with Chinese dip-lomats and guests.—PO photo

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Inspector General (IG)of Police, Sindh Ghulam Hayder Jamalihas constituted a committee of DIGs in-cluding DIG CIA and Zonal DIGs ofKarachi to formulate practical recom-mendations in close coordination anddiscussion with Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Authority (PTA), Karachi Zonewith regard to SIMs issued before intro-ducing Biometric Verification System(BVS) especially in the province ofSindh. The committee has further been

IG for re-verification of SIMsissued before biometric system

directed to identify the quantum of un-verified SIMs issued and to recommendsuitable action for ensuring BVS.

This came out at a meeting heldunder the chairmanship of InspectorGeneral of Sindh Police. During themeeting thread there discussion washeld with a 9-member delegation ofPTA here at Central Police Office. Hemeeting suggested that those un-veri-fied prepaid SIMs, which are not func-tioning for more than a month may beblocked, PTA to direct cellular compa-nies to bind their customers to get veri-

fied their SIMs through BVS within agiven frame-work of time and NADRAmay also be requested in black & whiteto give access to police with regard toSIMs verification Data.

The delegation of PTA informed themeeting that Joint Working Group(JWG) comprising of senior represen-tative of Ministry of Information Tech-nology, Ministry of Information,NADRA, FIA, IB, PTA etc has alreadybeen formed to look into the issue ofavailability of un-verified SIMs and todevice a comprehensive re-verification

execution plan through BVS. “The firstmeeting of JWG was held on Novem-ber, 24 2014 and the follow up meetingis scheduled on Nov 28, 2014, the meet-ing was further informed.

The Sindh Police Officers whileexpressing their some reservations re-quested the chair to approach the Min-istry of Interior to make few officers ofDIG ranks the part of the JWG forachieving fruitful results, as far asKarachi and other parts of Sindh areconcerned. The forum agreed to and theformal request would be send shortly.

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—It would be alame excuse on behalf of thefederal government to privatisethe national strategic institu-tions on the pretext of inabilityto keep them running. It wasthe moral and legal obligationof the government to ensure the

Lecture on privatisation of national institutions

Senator Ghani lambastsFed Govt for dual standard

masses get better means of liv-ing through policies and plansof the government rather thanimposing retrenchments ofworkers.

Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) Senator Saeed Ghanisaid this while delivering a lec-ture to the students of ShaheedZulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute ofScience and Technology yes-terday. The theme of the lec-ture was, “Political economy ofPrivatisation”.

Ghani while deploring theculture of favouritism said it

had already caused many piv-otal and strategic national in-stitutions to the hands of theblue-eyed under the policy ofprivatisation of the federal gov-ernment led by the PakistanMuslim League Nawaz andPervez Musharraf.

Sadly, the present federalgovernment had adopted a sicknotion that described they werenot responsible for making thenational strategic institutionsworking. The federal govern-ment had the legal obligationtoward the welfare of the

people denying which wouldbe tantamount to admitting theabsence of any government, hecommented.

While lambasting the fed-eral government for its dualstandard, the PPP SenatorSaeed Ghani said that the muchtrumpeted Metro Bus Project ofPMLN in Punjab was in fact acontradiction to PMLN’s ownlogic about the privatisation ofnational institutions. Theproject was being run under thegovernment’s aegis.

The PPP Senator Saeed

Ghani while rejecting thegovernment’s claim on increas-ing deficit at loss-making na-tional strategic institutions,amounting to Rs. 500 billion,said the situation was oppositeand contrary to the facts.

In reply to a question, thePPP Senator Saeed Ghani therewas a need to improve themechanization of the nationalinstitutions in order to enhancetheir performance. The statewould be left with empty handsif it would continue with theirpolicy to sell all.

KARACHI—International Centre forChemical and Biological Sciences(ICCBS), University of Karachi (UoK),has inked a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) with the University ofBenin, Nigeria. An announcement hereon Wednesday said that the MoU hasbeen signed with an objective to furtherenhance mutual collaborative activitiesbetween both the countries in variousfields of sciences.

The MoU was signed through postalservice. Director ICCBS-UoK Prof. Dr.Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary and ViceChancellor University of BeninProf.OG Oshodin signed the MoU on

ICCBS, Benin VarsityNigeria ink MoU

behalf of their institutions. According toan official of the ICCBS, “The Universityof Benin is an established University,which strives to enhance and strengthenits teaching and research capacities, andhas taken various initiatives to complementits educational excellence and has enteredinto various collaborative agreements withother parties to enhance its research inmedicinal plants and drug discovery pro-grams.

Conversely, International Center forChemical and Biological Sciences(ICCBS) at the University of Karachiis regarded as one of the finest aca-demic research establishments of

chemical sciences in the developingworld”.

As per MoU, it was agreed that ex-change of research staff and facilitieswill take place between both the institu-tions. Moreover, it was agreed that a jointresearch project will also be carried outin which exchange of research materialsuch as voucher samples and naturalproduct extracts will take place. This willdevelop linkages between academiciansand researchers. This agreement will beeffective for a period of five years fromthe date of signing. This MoU may beterminated by either party by prior writ-ten notice.—APP

KARACHI—The Aga Khan University Exami-nation Board hosted annual high achieversawards ceremony at the University campus hereon Wednesday, recognising the outstanding stu-dents who took the 2014 Secondary School Cer-tificate and Higher Secondary School Certifi-cate examinations. The Board recognised 185high achievers from 21 cities across Pakistanincluding Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur,Daharki, Naushero Feroz, Khairpur, Lahore,Islamabad, Peshawar, Gilgit-Baltistan, Skarduand Chitral.

“Every single student is unique. AKU ex-amination board has helped us recognise ouruniqueness and cultivate it to attain success inlife”, said one of the award recipients. The dis-tinctions were awarded to those who achievedthe highest marks in any of the subjects or in

AKU hosts annual highachievers awards ceremony

any of the subject groups offered in SSC andHSSC exams.

The top three position holders in both quali-fications also received cash prizes. Among thetop SSC candidates were Hiba Khalid (1st) ofP.E.C.H.S Girls’ School, Karachi, MalihaAhmed Eesha (2nd) of Nusrat Jehan AcademyGirls High School, Chenab Nagar and SyedaKanza Kazmi (3rd) of Al-Murtaza School (Girls)Karachi.

The top HSSC candidates were AfshanHussain (1st) of Habib Girls Higher SecondarySchool, Karachi, Sadori (2nd) and Sadaf BatoolRizvi (3rd) of Aga Khan Higher SecondarySchool, Karachi. The Award Ceremony this yearalso marked an important milestone: the an-nouncement of the first 10 awardees of the AKU-EB Bridge Scholarship. —APP

KARACHI—Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui has directedthe assistant commissioners to activate all public-sector employ-ment exchanges with the assistance of the concerned officers tomake them an effective source for seeking employment in the pri-vate sector. The commissioner, presiding over the 19th meeting of

the Placement Bureau set up at the Commissioner Office, here onWednesday, said that the bureau will be linked with the ILO toexplore employment opportunities for the young people abroad.Besides, the Overseas Employment Corporation will also be addedinto this network and will be further activated.—APP

Employment exchanges to be activated

BY NOW, most of us are aware that eating fruits and vegetables is good for ourphysical health. But a new study pub-

lished in the BMJ Open suggests eating five aday is linked to better mental well-being. Eat-ing your “5 a day” increaseschanges of higher mental well-being, the researchers say. Aprevious study suggested thatconsuming five portions offruits and vegetables a day isthe optimum amount for low-ering the risk of death fromany cause, which contradictsanother study that suggestedwe should be eating seven por-tions of fruit and veg a day.

The researchers from thislatest study, led by Dr. SaverioStranges of the University ofWarwick Medical School inthe UK, used data from theHealth Survey for England,which included nearly 14,000adults over the age of 16. Thissurvey collected detailed in-formation on the mental and physical healthof the participants, as well as their health-re-lated behaviors, demographics and socio-eco-nomic characteristics.

In addition, the team assessed the partici-pants’ mental well-being using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, putting thetop 15% of participants in the “high mentalwell-being” group, the bottom 15% in the lowgroup, and those between 16-84% in the middlegroup. Overall, the researchers found that highand low mental well-being were typically as-sociated with the participants’ fruit and veg-etable intake.

In detail, 35.5% of participants with high

Fruit and veg consumptiontied to mental health

Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif presiding over a meeting to review Annual Development Programme 2014-15.

mental well-being ate five or more portionsof fruits and vegetables a day, compared withonly 6.8% who consumed less than one por-tion. Additionally, 31.4% of the individualsfrom the high mental well-being group ate

three to four fruit and vegportions per day, and 28.4%ate one to two. “The data sug-gest that [the] higher anindividual’s fruit and veg-etable intake, the lower thechance of their having lowmental well-being,” says Dr.Stranges.

The researchers alsoconsidered other health-re-lated behaviors - such assmoking, alcohol intake andobesity - and found that onlysmoking and fruit and veg-etable intake were consis-tently associated with men-tal well-being. “Along withsmoking, fruit and vegetableconsumption was the health-related behavior most con-

sistently associated with both low and highmental well-being. These novel findings sug-gest that fruit and vegetable intake may playa potential role as a driver, not just of physi-cal, but also of mental well-being in the gen-eral population.”

Alcohol intake and obesity were associ-ated with low, but not high mental well-being,the researchers add. According to the team,high mental well-being is more than simplythe absence of symptoms or illness - it is thecondition of feeling good and functioning well.They add that optimism, happiness, self-es-teem, resilience and good relationships are alsopart of this mode of being.

Residents of Satukatla hold a demonstration in support of their demands.

A delegation of World Health Organisation is discussing anti-Ebola measures with Advisoron Health Khawaja Suleman Rafique.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The delegation recommended givingcommendatory certificates to doctors and staffof Allied Hospital Faisalabad for treatment of asuspected Ebola virus patient according to SOPsand dealing with this issue in a professional man-ner. Kh. Salman Rafiq apprised the delegation ofthe measures taken for checking Ebola virus andmedical facilities provided to a suspected Ebolavirus patient late Zulfiqar of Chiniot.

He informed the delegation that blood samplesof the family of late Zulfiqar and doctors and staffwho treated the patient at District HeadquartersHospital Chiniot have been sent for analysis to NIH

Measures being takento check Ebola virus

Islamabad. Secretary Health Jawad Rafiq Maliksaid that guidelines of World Health Organizationand SOPs are being followed for checking Ebolavirus and guidance will be sought from the del-egation for taking more steps in this regard.

He asked the delegation to help purchasesafety kits from international market for the staffand doctors treating Ebola virus patients. He saidthat Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad ShahbazSharif has allowed using all possible resourcesfor overcoming this problem. Head of the del-egation Dr. Rayana Boughaka assured that WHOwill extend complete cooperation for purchas-ing thermal scanners, thermal guns and safetykits from international market.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—White Ribbon CampaignPakistan and National Commission onStatus of Women (NCSW) have inked aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU)to jointly work for advocacy and aware-ness of pro-women laws. The agreementwas signed during an event on WhiteRibbon Day for Elimination of Violenceagainst Women in which social activists,legislators, diplomats and representa-tives of media and civil society werepresent. Chairperson Khawar Mumtazsigned the MoU on behalf of NCSWwhile White Ribbon Campaign was rep-resented by its Chief Executive Omer

MoU signed between NCSWand White Ribbon Campaign

Aftab.Head Acid Survivor Foundation

Valerie Khan, EU Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Australian High Com-missioner Peter Heyward, MNA ShaistaPervaiz Malik, famous poet KishwarNaheed were among many others presenton the occasion. White Ribbon and NSCWhave agreed to form a ‘Strategic Alliance’to develop and execute programs and ini-tiatives.

Chairperson NSCW stated: NCSWstrives to fulfill the promise of a life ofdignity and justice to women of Pakistan.She mentioned that Commissions mandateis to address the issues that affect the livesof women adversely by reviewing and ana-

lyzing the laws and policies and conse-quently formulating recommendationsthrough dialogue and research to enablethem to hold a position of equity.

Chief Executive White RibbonOmer Aftab mentioned that White Rib-bon and NSCW have jointly started acampaign on legal literacy of women,saying that government has introducedseveral good pro-women laws butwomen are not aware of them. WhiteRibbon Day for Elimination of Vio-lence Against Women is marked inter-nationally on November 25th to showsupport and solidarity with women suf-fering different kinds of violence intheir lives.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab Minister for Excise& Taxation, Finance and Law MujtabaShuja ur Rehman has said that Punjabgovernment considers education as atool to development and a record fundshave been provided for school andhigher education. He said that in orderto achieve the Millennium Develop-ment Goals (MDGs), Rs.2 billion hasbeen reserved for current fiscal year.

Government considers educationas tool for development

He said that fashion & design, paint-ings and fine arts competitions help topolish talent of the youth. He said thatPunjab government is utilizing all outresources for the promotion of educa-tion specially in the field of technicaleducation and an amount of Rs.274billion is being utilized for the promo-tion of education sector which is26.25% of the budget.

While talking to a delegation of stu-dents and teachers of a private Insti-

tute of Fashion and Design, MujtabaShuja ur Rehman said that due to prac-tical measures of Punjab Chief Minis-ter, the enrollment of students in gov-ernment schools had been enhanced to11.273 million. He said that Head ofDFID Richard Montgomery has main-tained that textbooks have been pro-vided in schools for the first time be-fore the start of new academic sessionwhich is a splendid achievement ofPunjab government and an example of

good governance.He said that British educationist Sir

Michael Barber while lauding the ef-forts of Punjab government, said thatthe attendance of teachers in schools hasconsiderably improved due to imple-mentation of the reforms programmebeing jointly implemented by Punjabgovernment and DFID and the rate ofattendance of teachers in schools of thePunjab has reached up to the level ofthe British schools.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The GIZ, a Germanbased International NGO workingin closed collaboration with theGovernment of Germany has of-fered a project with the cost ofaround Euro 1.7 million for Sup-porting Social Standards in theTextile & Garment Industry inPunjab, duly funded by GermanFederal Foreign Office, Berlin.

Punjab Minister Labour & Hu-

Implementation of Social Standards SupportProgramme for textile, garment industries

man Resource, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar,disclosed this while addressing theconcluding session of a workshop onImplementation of Social StandardsSupport Program to the textile andgarment industries in Punjab heldhere Wednesday.

The Minister said that thisproject has been developed in thecontext of GSP Plus Status grantedto Pakistan for support in the imple-mentation and ensuring greater com-pliance with the International Labour

Standards in the Textile & GarmentIndustry. Duration of the project istwo years, he told.

The Labour & Human ResourceDepartment, Punjab wil l be animplementing partner in this projectand will work in close collaborationwith the concerned stakeholders in-cluding ILO Office to achieve targetsof the project, he added. The projectaims to bring about change in threeareas of intervention i.e. improvingworking conditions through pilot

projects at different levels thathave been identified together withpartners, developing appropriateplatforms for dialogue and suitablestructures for cooperation that pro-mote regular information andknowledge sharing and facilitatecooperation between government,employers and workers along withproviding reliable data on the pi-lot measures at factory level, whichare required to convince employ-ers, he further informed.

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Punjab Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) or-ganized on day lecture on “Negotiating Ethnicity: Experiencesof South Asian Americans”.

On this occasion, University of Connecticut USA, Depart-ment of Sociology and Asian American Studies Professor DrBandana Purkayastha shed light on the topic while Director CSASDr Umbreen Javaid, faculty members and MPhil/PhD scholars

PU CSAS organizes lectureof CSAS and Department of Political Science were also present.In his address, Dr Bandana said that the issue of ethnicity risesin the second generation of the South Asia settled in America.

He said that they have to face it in schools, colleges and attheir work places. He said that they often have to forget theirparticular Nationality and turn to adopt many ways includingseeking similarities in their dressing, fashions, foods and othercultural aspects. They also form professional groups and use themas pressure groups he added more.

LAHORE—The Punjab Prosecution DepartmentWednesday submitted the challan of Model Townincident in the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). Sevennominated and 43 unknown accused, including Pa-kistan Awami Tehreek Secretary General Khurram

PPC submits challanNawaz Gandapur have been held responsible forattacking police during an action at Minhaj ul QuranSecretariat. It may be mentioned that the ATC hadalready issued perpetual warrants of the nominatedaccused on Nove 25.—APP