Government wavering againand so early................................................Ensure Afghan refugees goback permanently................................................President rightly focussing oneconomic corridor

See Page 04

Premier wantsNACTA functionalin anti-terror planFinalises 16 committees on

NAP implementationSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif on Saturday di-rected that the NationalCounter Terrorism AuthorityPakistan (Nacta) be made func-tional with immediate effect.

The prime minister waschairing a meeting of the com-mittee to oversee the imple-mentation of the National Ac-tion Plan, which was workedout two days ago with the con-sensus of all political partiesrepresented in parliament totackle terrorism and militancy.

Following the premier’sdirective, an administrativemeeting of the Nacta has beensummoned for Wednesday. Themeeting will be chaired by In-terior Minister Chaudhry NisarAli Khan and it will reviewanti-terrorism measuresadopted by the government.The anti-terror body has largelyremained dormant resulting inan absence of coordinationamong various intelligence andlaw-enforcement agencieswhich is critical to monitoringactivities of extremist groupsoperating in different parts ofthe country. Nacta is an inde-pendent body answerable di-rectly to the prime minister.

Although its new chief,Hamid Ali Khan, took chargein November this year, Nactais yet to become fully func-tional. Nacta is expected to playa key role in the implementa-tion of the NAP and which willbe monitored by a committee

headed by the prime minister.The committee, constituted onFriday, consists of InteriorMinister Chaudhry Nisar, De-fence Minister KhawajaMohammad Asif, InformationMinister Pervaiz Rashid, Plan-ning and Development Minis-ter Ahsan Iqbal, Minister forStates and Frontier RegionsAbdul Qadir Baloch and SartajAziz, Adviser to Prime Minis-ter on Foreign Affairs and Na-tional Security. During themeeting, the first draft of con-stitutional and legal amend-ments for the trial of enemycombatants and hardcore ter-rorists involved in execution,abetting and financing of massmurders was presented to thePM.

The draft was presented bya legal team, along with Min-ister for Planning and Devel-opment Ahsan Iqbal, FinanceMinister Ishaq Dar, SpecialAssistant to the PM KhawajaZaheer and Federal Law Sec-retary Barrister Zafarullah. ThePM directed the legal team toshare the draft with other po-litical parties for their input.“We will legally protect oursoldiers in their fight againstterrorists,” Nawaz told themeeting.

The premier also directedthat instances of terrorism orsectarian violence against mi-norities should also be includedin the schedule of offencesagainst terrorists. “We want tomake the country a safer place

Continued on Page 7

NAZIR SIYAL

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH—Speaking atthe Bhutto mausoleum to mark BenazirBhutto’s 7th death anniversary on Satur-day, former president and PakistanPeople’s Party co-chairman Asif AliZardari vowed that the misuse of militarycourts will not be allowed.

He said the PPP will only accept mili-tary courts when it is proven that they arenot being used politically. On the otherhand, Zardari admitted that there is a needfor military courts under the prevailingsituation in the country.

The PPP co-chairman was referring tothe current law and order situation emergedagainst the backdrop of deadly Taliban at-tack on an army-run school in Peshawarthat killed 150 people, mostly children.

“We will support military courts whenwe are sure they will not be used against ademocratic party, a journalist or an intel-lect,” said Zardari.

While commenting on the Peshawarschool attack, he claimed that if notice wastaken when 450 PPP workers were killedin 2007 during General Musharraf’s re-gime, the massacre at Army Public Schoolwould not have occurred. He added thatthe operation against terrorism should have

been initiated back then.Zardari also stated that the party does

not understand where the difference be-tween ‘good Taliban’ and ‘bad Taliban’lies.

“We need to know who we are fight-ing against, ever since Ziaul Haq’s regimefighting is all we have done and we willnot be afraid of any evil forces,” Zardariadded. “We will continue fight for therights and for this country to make it pow-erful so that the future generations can livein improved times.”

Reassuring that no cracks have ap-peared in the integrity of party leadership,Asif Ali Zardari vehemently dismissedreports that his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardariwas angry with him over certain politicaldecisions “There is no truth in the rumours,propagandized by our rivals, that I andBilawal are drifting apart,” Zardari said.Zardari also denied reports that seniorparty leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim wasangry with the decisions of party leader-ship. He said Amin Fahim would neverindulge in treason with the party.

Previously at the gathering, PPP partyleaders explained that due to poor healthBilawal was advised against travelling bydoctors, which is why he was out of thecountry. Security threats were also cited

for Bilawal’s unexpected absence at hismother’s death anniversary.

Asif Zardari said it must be ensuredthat the law of military courts does not takethe shape of a ‘black law’ in future.

Zardari said the last time this law wasenacted the result was that ‘we were all injails’.

He said Benazir Bhutto had stressedupon separation of Kashmir and Afghanjihad. “However, those with narrowvission, linked the two and weakened thecause of Kashmir,” he added.

Former president and PakistanPeoples’ Party co-chairman Asif AliZardari on Zardari advised the Prime Min-ister to be careful in the matter and shouldnot let these courts have both of them tried.He warned that under the new law of mili-tary courts one cannot rule out the possi-bility of both him and Prime MinisterNawaz ending up behind bars.

He said that he has been trained by lateBenazir Bhutto. The PPP co-chairman ex-pressed a resolve to continue standing upfor what is right. He said that they wouldcontinue to fight to make this countrystronger.

He said only those would be buried inGarhi Khuda Bakhsh who had led the PPP

Misuse of military courts willnot be allowed: Zardari

Denies differences with Bilawal; We don’t understand differencebetween ‘good’, ‘bad’ Taliban; Law of military courts should not

take shape of ‘black law’; Benazir’s 7th death anniversary observed

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: Former President and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari addressing the public gathering on occasion of former slain PrimeMinister Benazir Bhutto’s 7th death anniversary on Saturday.

Continued on Page 7

Iran testssuicide dronein military drillTEHRAN—Iran’s army saidSaturday it has deployed asuicide drone for the firsttime in massive ongoingmilitary drills near thestrategic Strait of Hormuz atthe entrance to the PersianGulf.

Gen. Ahmad RezaPourdastan, the army’s chiefcommander of ground forces,described the unmannedaircraft as a “mobile bomb,”according to state media,which said the aerial device isdesigned to strike air, groundand naval targets.

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—The Pakistan armyled security forces continuedtheir action against the insur-gents challenging the writ ofthe government in the tribalregion and mowed down yetanother 16 trouble makers thistime in Orakzai agency Satur-day wee hours thus taking the

55 killed in air andground offensives

16 insurgents killed in Orakzai

Continued on Page 7

number of those killed during12 hours action to 55. Twentyterrorists were injured duringthe action. Four men in uniformsustained injuries.

The PAF warplanes, it maybe recalled, had heavilypounded the militants’ posi-tions in Mada Khel area ofDatta Khel Tehsil of NWA Fri-day late evening that had left

23 alleged terrorists dead dur-ing the ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azb. However, the figureshad jumped to 39 on the nightbetween Friday and Saturday.

The security forces, as themilitary sources said, launchedattack on an assembly of thealleged terrorists in KhazanaKandao check post on the con-

Govt, PTItalks still notconclusive

MIAN ARSHAD

ISLAMABAD—Though Paki-stan Muslim League-N and thePakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf Satur-day failed to arrive at an agree-ment on the terms of referenceof the Judicial Commission butboth sides expressed the hopeto reach an understanding af-ter getting briefs from theirleadership. The talks betweenthe two sides were held at theresidence of PTI leaderJehangir Tarin.

However there were re-ports that the dialogue between

SUKKUR: Opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah lighting clay lamps in thememory of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Shaheed at Pakistan Sweet Home.

LAHORE: The govt has fixed that LPG price at Rs 180 per kg. But a man is selling LPGat a high price of Rs 220 per kg.

SUKKUR—The Oppositionleader in the National Assem-bly Syed Khursheed AhmedShah has said that the kill-ers of Ms Benazir Bhutto willbe tried in military courts. Hewas talking to media here onSaturday, Paying rich tributeto Benazir Bhutto, the Op-po-sition Leader said that democ-racy in the country has beenmade possible by the sacri-fices rendered by Bhutto. “Letthere be no doubt that thenation is enjoying the fruit ofde-mocracy because BenazirBhutto struggled for the ruleof law and true democracy inthe country. They would con-tinue to follow the ideals ofBenazir Bhutto”, he added.

Replying to another ques-tion, Shah said that the deci-sion of forming military courtswas taken with a heavy heart.

He said that the attack onPeshawar Army Pub-lic Schoolhas united the entire nationadding that the country is stillcrying for the children thatwere killed in the heinous at-tack. Earlier, Syed KhursheedAhmed Shah attended QuranKhuwani held at the PakistanSweet Home and offeredfateha. He paid homage to themartyred leader Benzir Bhuttoand martyred school childrenof the Army Public SchoolPeshawar.

Talking to orphan children,Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah

Nation enjoys democracybecause of struggle by BB

said that he was very muchimpressed by the personalityof Shaheed Benzair Bhutto

who always worked for theuplift of the downtrodden.

He said that orphans, wid-

ows, handicapped and sickpersons have the equal rights.

Children of Sweet Home

also prayed for eternal peaceof the departed soul of BenzirBhutto on her 7th death anni-

versary and innocent martyredchildren of Peshawar and alsopaid eulogised the courage oftheir Principal Tahira Qazi forembracing martyrdom duringefforts to save lives of so manyminor children.

On the occasion, Assis-tant Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Mall Sukkur Shabir Memonsaid that the Childrent ofSweet Home were providedwith free food, shelter, board-ing facility and quality educa-tion in the renowned educa-tional intuitions of the city.

He said that the SweetHome was being run with theassistance of philanthropists.Meanwhile, the ChairmanSenate Syed Nayyar Hus-sainBokhari, visited the mauso-leum of the martyrs of Bhuttofamily at Garhi Khuda Buxsome 32 kms off here on Sat-urday, on the eve of 7th DeathAnniver-sary of Former Primeand Chairperson of PPP Sha-heed Mohtarma BenazirBhutto on Saturday.

He offered fateha and laidfloral wreaths on the gravesof Shaheed Benazir Bhutto,Zulfiar Ali Bhutto and othermem-bers of Bhutto family.The 7th death anniversary offormer Prime MinisterMohtarma Benazir Bhuttowas also ob-served inHuderabad by the leaders andworkers of Pakistan PeoplesParty here on Saturday.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan In-ternational Air-lines (PIA)has issued a new scheduleof flight operation inPunjab in the wake of thedense fog which causesimmense dif-ficulty in land-ing and taking off thedomes-tic and internationalplanes.

The dense fog blan-keted the plain areas ofPunjab and this bad weatherhas disrupted the traffic sys-

Dense fog engulfs Punjab,disrupts routine life

tem and flight operation aswell. Ac-cording to nationalcareer PIA has grounded theflight operation of Multan,Rahim Yar Khan,Bahawalpur and Dera GhaziKhan until December 31.Thick fog has been reportedat Motorway M2 from PindiBhattian to Lahore and fromIslama-bad to Chakriwhereas motorway policehave decided not to closeMotorway. —INP

ABDULLAH MADNI

TIMERGARA—Eight per-sons including threewomen of same family werekilled when a car fell into aroadside well at Danwa inthe jurisdiction of Balambatpolice station on Saturday,hospital sources said.

They said a non-custompaid motor car bearing NoPS Dir 2266, carrying thefamily of Gul Zamin fromChukiatan Dir Upper toTimergara fell into a road-side water well when itreached a sharp turn atDanwa near Timergara. As

Eight familymembers killed in

road accidenta result Gul Zamin, his sonBacha Zada, wife, brotherSher Zamin, grandson alongwith Kalkotai Bibi, Rukh-sana and RahmanMuhammad were killed onthe spot.

The villagers rescued allthe victims and brought theirdead bodies to the DHQ hos-pital Timergara from wherethey were dispatched to DirUpper. The car was pulled outwith the help of ex-cavator.Residents said that the wellsituated near a sharp turnalong the roadside and sev-eral accidents had occurredat this place.

STAFF REPORTER

TIMERGARA—Deputy chiefof Jamiat Ulema Islam Fazland former federal ministerMaulana Atta-ur-Rehmanhas said that terrorists target-ing school children,mosques, funeral prayers,markets, religious leaders andplaces of preaching were ene-mies of Islam and Pakistan.

Talking to local journal-ists at Ouch on Saturday af-ter condoling the death ofAnwarullah’s mother he saidthat the religion Islam did notpermit anyone to kill inno-cent people and non-combatents. The JUI-Fformer provincial ministerHafiz Akhtar Ali and otherswere also present on the oc-casion. Maulana Atta ur

Terrorists targeting schools enemies of IslamRehman said that killing ofone man was equal to killingof all humanity.

He said that anti-Pakistanagencies like Black Water hadbeen active in the region toterrorize people from differ-ent walks of life. He said theenemies of Pakistan wantedto take advantage of the in-ternal weaknesses of Paki-stan in order to destabilize it.He said that negative propa-ganda against religious semi-naries was also part of West-ern agenda.

He advised the govern-ment and national institu-tions to take every step cau-tiously so that enemies ofPakistan could not succeedin their motives. About theJUI-F he said its leaders hadalso been targeted. “Dozens

of our leaders have beenkilled so far while our partychief Maulana Fazal urRehman was thrice at-tacked,” he said, adding thatAmerica, Israel and Ahmadilobbies had been behindthese conspiracies.

******The subjectspecialists association DirLower on Saturday de-manded of the KhyberPakhtunkhwa governmentto include the cadre in theproposed time scale for-mula. The decision wasmade during a meeting heldhere with association presi-dent Gohar Ali in the chair.Those who spoke on theoccasion included Atta urRahman, Nasir Khan,Mushtaq Ali, Zia ud Din,Inamullah and others. They

said that subject specialistshad been teaching to stu-dents of class XI and XII.They said they should beconsider-ing for the post ofassistant professor.

FAISALABAD—The Housing DepartmentPunjab Secretary Dr Arshad Mehmood saidthe government was committed to provideclean drinking water to people.

Speaking at a meeting of Water and Sani-tation Agency (WASA) here on Saturdayto review the ongoing projects of theWASA regarding water supply and drain-age, he said the clean water was imperativefor preventing various diseases.

He appreciated the WASA for establish-ing cus-tomer relation centers and hopedthat it would help redresse the grievancesof the consumers.

He directed the WASA authorities to en-sure improvement in WASA supply and sew-erage system as per modern day system.

Govt to provide cleandrinking water to people

Briefing the meeting, Managing Direc-tor WASA Syed Zahid Aziz said that Rs 13billion was being spent for the provision ofpotable water in the city and to overcomethe shortage of drinking water and prob-lems of sewerage.

He said that the water supply and sani-tation sys-tem would be improved with thecompletion of the ongoing projects, add-ing the city had been divided in to 15 zonesto control the wastage of the water andmaintain its pressure for supply the water.

The MD said that it had been decided toswitch over to the solar system to reduce theenergy expenses and it would also ensure thesupply of the water and operation of sew-erage system without any interruption.—APP

AERRA chief forspeedy completion

of multi billionprojects in AJK

ISLAMABAD—Deputy Chair-man Earthquake Recon-struction Rehabilitation Au-thority (ERRA) Maj. Gen.Muhammad Azeem Asif Sat-urday directed project man-agers and contractors tocomplete multi billion megaprojects in AJK by Dec 30,2015.

In an extensive projectsprogress re-view meetingheld at ERRA Headquarter,the Deputy Chairman madeit clear that no time exten-sion will be granted forprojects com-pletion and di-rected all concerned to makepractical arrangements forthe competition of projectsby end of next year.

Deputy Chairman ex-pressed satisfac-tion aboutthe projects completed byend of December 2014 andaccorded approval for thenext year working scheduleof projects in Muzaffarabad,Bagh and Rawalakot cities,said a press release.

During the meetingproject Director MuzaffarabadRiaz Noor apprised the meet-ing that 25 mega pro-jects havebeen completed and 50 per centof the Chinese loan amount-ing Rs 34 billion have beenconsumed.

He vowed to completerest of 25 pro-jects by the end2015. About the Bagh citydevelopment schemes,Project Director Altaf Hussainsaid that out of 48 projects 10have been completed. Headded that two Bagh city wa-ter supply schemes havebeen completed which willcater the need of Bagh city in-habitants by 2030.

He said that in the en-tire city, road network hasbeen completed with thecost of Rs. 500 million whichhas improved traffic flow forthe road users. During themeeting he assured that bythe end of 2015 Bagh city 38remaining developmentprojects will be done.

Deputy Chairman appre-ciated and stressed the needto make utmost efforts to uti-lize all resources for the comple-tion of ongoing projects. Hetold the meeting that in Baghcity International standard sta-dium have also been com-pleted which will give greatboost to sports activities inBagh city sports lovers. Headded that community center,circuit house and Para medicalstaff residential flat have alsobeen completed and are in pro-cess of handing over.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

HAFIZABAD—Sahibzada Hamid Raza Chiefof Sunni Ittihad Council Pakistan has de-clared that it fully supported the estab-lishment of Speedy Courts headed by army

Establishment of Speedy Courts hailedmen to weed out terrorism in the country.Addressing the press conference here to-day he said that elimination terroristgroups was inevitable but action shouldbe taken against their supporters with-outany discrimination.

PESHAWAR: JUI-S Maulana Sami-ul-Haq addressing a Press conference.

ATTOCK: MPA Malik Zafar Iqbal and DCO Attock Chaudhry Habibullah presenting acheque of Rs 1 million on behalf of Chief Minister Punjab to President Bar AssociationJand, Malik Sajjad Ahmad.

LANDI KOTAL: Security official presenting a drug smug-gler before media, arrested from Torkham border.

ZHOB/QUETTA—Two militants blew them-selves up when FC and Law Enforcing Agen-cies (LESs) jointly carried out raid nearSabakzai Dam in Zhob, sources said. Accord-ing to the sources, a huge cache of arms wasalso seized in the raid. 800 locally made bombs,50 land mines, 200 kilograms of explosivematerial, hand grenades and Kalashnikovswere recovered from the site, they added

QUETTA—Quetta Police on Saturdayfoiled an attempt of terrorists to sabotageJaffer Express by defusing ten-kg bombplanted at the railway lines, officials said.According to police, unidentified terrorists

LEAs recover huge cache of bombs, explosives

2 militants self-blast to deathBDS diffuses bomb planted along railway lines

planted 5, 5 kg explosive material on theboth sides of railway track near MosaColony to explode Jaffer Express which washeading towards Rawalpindi. Bomb Dis-posal Squad (BDS) on a tip off residentsdefused the bomb after which the policecordoned off the entire area to start searchoperation. Capital City Police Officer (CCPO)Abdur Razzaq Cheema thanked the resi-dents for informing on time and stated thatit’s been third time that the police havefoiled an attempt of sabotage with the helpof natives. Moreover, he further assured tohonor the informant with prize.—Agencies

MULTAN—Anti-Terrorism Court awarded26 years imprisonment to a person for pro-viding fake infor-mation about the pres-ence of bombs at two separate places andcreating panic in the city on eve of lastEid ul Fitr.

According to prosecution, one RanaYousuf phoned 15-Police on July 28, 2014and informed about bomb in Hus-sainAgahi market. The police vacated the ba-zaars and carried out search for the bombbut they did not find bomb. Next day (July29) Rana Yousuf again phoned 15-Police

Man gets 26-year imprisonmentin bomb hoax call case

and informed about bomb in Shah ShamasPark. The law enforce agencies vacatedthe park and carried out search for thebomb but they did not find it again. Therumour of the bombs created immensepanic in the citizen.

Police Lahori gate registered caseagainst the person under different sec-tions and sent challan to Anti-Terrorisimcourt 2. The learned court, deciding thecase, awarded 26 years imprisonmentand imposed fine Rs 100,000 on RanaYousuf.—APP

Two killed inroad accident

SARGODHA—Two personswere killed in an acci-dent inSatellite Town police limitson Saturday. Police saidZeshan, 17, of BashirColony and Ehsanullah, 18,of Gillwala were travelling ontheir motorcycles when theycollided with each other nearMuradabad Colony.

As a result, the both diedon the spot. The bodieswere shifted to the DHQhospital while police haveregistered a case

MULTAN: A youngstercommitted suicide over adomestic dispute here atGross Mandi Phat-tak onFriday night. According toRescue 1122, Naeem Akramof Gross Mandi had a dis-pute with his family oversome domestic issues.

To which, he committedsuicide Some unknown menmurdered a youth inBhagtanwala police limits.

Police said on Saturdaythat villagers of Chak Mianatehsil Kotmomin had founda body which was later iden-tified as Sikandar Hayat ofvillage Lurrka from a canal.

The accused had torturedthe youth and threw his bodyinto the canal. Police have reg-istered a case and started in-vestigations.—APP

1736 healthdepartmentemployeesregularized

B A H A W A L P U R —Bahawalpur District HealthDepartment has regularizedthe services of 1736 em-ployees on the directionsof Punjab Government. Ac-cording to the officialsources, on the special di-rections of the govern-ment, Punjab Health De-partment has regular-izedemployees included 1629Lady Health Work-ers, 63Lady Health Supervisorsand 44 drivers.

Executive District Of-ficer (EDO) Health DrShahid Khahleeq and Dis-trict Health OfficerBahawalpur Dr Saeed As-ghar distributed the lettersof regularization among theemployees.

The employees ap-plauded the efforts of thegov-ernment for fulfillingtheir long awaited demandof regularization.—APP

3 drug peddlersarrested

FAISALABAD—Police havearrested three narcotics deal-ers red handed with heroinhere on Saturday. Accordingto official sources, on a tip off,police in seperate raids, ar-rested drug peddlers Salah udDin from 317-B Allama IqbalColony, Ghulam Murtaza from257-RB and Karamat Ali from374-GB and seized more thanone kilogram heroin andchars worth about Rs 800,000.

D-Type Colony, Factoryarea and Ro-dala Road po-lice have registered seperatecases against them. Furtherin-vestigation are inprogress.—APP

PESHAWAR—Khyber Pakhtunkhwa(KPK) government has accorded ap-proval to fix bounty of 150 abscond-ing hard core extremists involved interrorism, suicide attacks and attackson key figures. Sources said theseabsconding hardened terrorists areinvolved in attacks on Bacha Khaninternational airport, PC hotel, ISI of-fice and several other sensitive areasin Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.They have claimed the respon-sibilityof these attacks. Head money rang-ing between Rs 200000 to 10000000has been fixed in respect of these mili-tants. All the details in this regard willbe sent to all police stations on Mon-day. Earlier different departments in-cluding finance department had ex-pressed their reservations on provi-

Nation stands strong-willed against terrorism: Kirmani

KP to fix bounty for 150hard core truant terrorists

sion of fund with reference to fixa-tion of head money of terrorists. 3 la-dies are also included in these 150absconding terrorists whose headmoney has been fixed.

Meanwhile, Political Secretary tothe Prime Minister Dr Asif Kirmani Sat-urday said that the whole nation stoodstrong-willed against the menace ofterrorism. In a statement, he said waragainst terrorism was going on pru-dently, valiantly and with firm resolve.

Asif Kirmani said Pakistan willnever forget the Peshawar tragedy.

He said under Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif ’s leadership, Pakistanwould become a prosperous andpeaceful country. He also viewed thatwith the elimination of terrorism fromthe country, new avenues of prosper-

ity would open.Earlier, Provincial Minister for Co-

operatives Malik Muhammad IqbalChannar and Minister for Social Wel-fare Syed Haroon Ahmed said that thegovernment is fully committed to elimi-nate terrorists from the country.

According to a statement issuedhere, they said the roadmap an-nounced by the Prime Minister to fightagainst terrorism reflected the PrimeMinister’s firm resolve to ensure peacein the country. They said that afterPeshawar tragedy, Pakistan haschanged. The ministers said that thoseattacking future of the country by kill-ing innocent children have no placeto hide, adding that every individualof the nation has become solider tofight against terrorism.—Agencies

MALIK ABDUL QAYYUM

GUJRANWALA—Chief Secre-tary Punjab Naveed AkramCheema has said that Punjabgovernment is paying full

Govt to upgrade health sectorattention to ipgrade thehealth sector. He added thatprovision of staff and equip-ments in all hospitals andrural health centers through-out Punjab will be ensured.

He was addressing a lay-ing stone ceremony oftrauma center and gyne wardat THQs hospital Wazirabadyesterday. CommissionerGujranwala division ShamailAhmed Khawaja, SecretaryHealth Jawad Ahmed, DCOAzmat Mehmood, DG healthPunjab Dr. Zahid pervez,EDO health Gu-jranwala Dr.Saeed Ullah Khan and otherofficers were also partici-pated in the ceremony.

Chief Secretary NaveedAkram Cheema told thattrauma centre would beconsists on 40 beds andgyne ward will be facilitatedwith 15 beds. This projectwill cost Rs.100 millionsand will be completed

OBSERVER REPORT

RAWAPLINDI—Traders ofKiani Market Raja BazarRawaplindi have organized aMehfil-e-Milad near GlassFactory Chok Rawalpindi, inwhich famous Naat Khawansacross from Rawapindi par-ticipated. The ‘Mehfil-e-Milad’ began with the recita-tion from the Holy Qur’aanfollowed by ‘Hamd’.

The partici-pants ex-pressed their immense loveand deep affec-tion for our

Mehfil-e-MiladHoly Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) and renewed theirpledge to truly follow‘Seerat-un-Nabi’ and spreadthe message of peace, toler-ance, harmony and affection.

At the end of the pro-gramme the participants alsoprayed for Pakistan andwhole Islamic world and spe-cially martyr of Peshawar. Atthe end of the programme ahuge lunger was arranged byMr. Ashraf Mughal , Mr.Ashiq Sheikh Zahid andMuhammad Asghar.

BASHIR AHMAD RAHMANI

HAFIZABAD—A young mar-ried woman, mother of twominor children was strangu-lated to death by herhousband in MohallahSharifpura Hafizabad due toher insulting behaviour.

Zafar Iqbal was married toSonia Bibi few years back buttheir relations remained sourdue to her rude and insultingbehaviour. Last night thecouple ex-changed harshwords. Thereupon Zafar Iqbalcaught hold of him and alleg-edly stran-gulated her to death.

The dead body has beenshifted to the DHQ Hospital

Husband goes topolice after killing wife

for autopsy. After committingthe offence, the accused pre-sented himself to the city po-lice, which has registered acase against him. Another 27years old Luqman Ahmad wason way to his Dera for bring-ing milk and when he reachednear Bhiri village two accusedallegedly opened firing on himkilling him on the spot.

The motive of the offencecould not be ascertained asyet. The police are investigat-ing. Riaz Hussain of ShahJamal along with his friendwas on way to his village ona car when it dashed againstthe bulldozer due to poor vis-ibility owing to heavy fog.

FAISALABAD—Additionaland Sessions JudgeFaisalabad has remandedto police custody 3 per-sons accused in PTIworker Haq Nawaz murdercase for seven days anddi-rected police to pro-duce them in the court onJanu-ary, 3.

The accused personsincluding Hafiz Irfan, IlyasToti and Usman Cheemiwere charged with killingPTI worker Haq Nawaz be-fore the arrival of ImranKhan in Faisalabad nearNovelty bridge.

The other seven per-sons accused in this casehave also been arrested.As per Online, former lawminister Rana Sana Ullah,his son in law Rana ShehrYar, DCO Faisalabad Noorul Amin Mengal, state min-ister for water and powerAbid Sher Ali and 300other persons were namedin FIR.—APP

PTI worker murder case

Court grants7-day physical

remand forthree accused

within one-year period.After completion of traumacenter and gyne wardpeoples of surrounding ar-eas shall be able to getmedical facilities.

Herebefore Chief secre-tary inaugurated the newlyconstructed bridge at“Nullah Palkhu” and linkroad of his native town KotJafar. Latter on a farewellceremony was also held inthe honour of Chief Secre-tary Punjab at Circuit

House Gujranwala. Com-missioner GujranwalaShamail Ahmed Khawaja,RPO Syed Dillawar Abbas,DCO Azmat Mehmood,CPO Waqas Nazir and otheradministration officers werealso participated. The speak-ers paid rich tributes to theChief Secretary and said hisremarkable services are anexample for other govern-ment officers.

ISLAMABAD—The met officeforecast mostly cold and dryweather across the countryincluding federal capital dur-ing next 24 hours. Accordingto details, mainly cold and dryweather is expected in mostparts of Punjab, KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Balochistan,Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan andSindh. Meanwhile, continen-tal air is prevailing over mostparts of the country. TheQuetta Met Office has fore-cast cold and frosty weatherfor the provincial capital. Thehighest maximum temperatureis likely between 10 to 12 Cen-tigrade and the lowest be-tween -6 to -4 Centigrade. The

Cold, dry weather likelycold and frosty weather isforecast for rest of the region.The Multan Met office hasforecast dry weather with

chances of mist in the morn-ing for the city and its sub-urbs during the next 24 hours.

The Multan Met officehas forecast cold and dryweather with chances of fogin the morning for the cityand its suburbs during thenext 24 hours.—APP

Government waveringagain and so early

IT was rather sad to observe that within 48 hours of the highly laudableconsensus which emerged at the meeting of the national Parliamentaryleadership conveying a firm message that everyone is quite serious in

addressing the menace of terrorism; the Government seems to have goneback to pre-Peshawar-massacre mode. Two separate developments on Fri-day further strengthened the impression that the Government is unneces-sary relaxing when there is need to demonstrate enthusiasm to maintain thesemblance of complete national unity.

It is worth pointing out that Army Chief General Raheel Sharif workedhard and with speed to help devise a national action plan against terrorism,which was demand of the time. He rushed to Peshawar immediately after theattack, held a series of meetings and on the basis of firm indications of in-volvement from across the border, undertook his visit Kabul where he heldmeaningful discussions both with Afghan President and ISAF Commanderand this was followed by action of the Afghan Army against militants inKunar province and visit to Pakistan by Afghan Army Chief and ISAF Com-mander. The General also played crucial role to make meeting of the Parlia-mentary leaders a success and held an important meeting the following day tofirm up implementation of the plan. However, the process seems to have gonein reverse gear with Government forming a so-called implementation com-mittee on Friday. There is general impression and rightly so that committeesand task forces are set up to derail and defuse real issues. One fails to under-stand what was the need to establish yet another committee. Why not ask therelevant Ministries to initiate implementation and report back? Similarly, thereis also a sort of deadlock in talks between the Government and PTI negoti-ating teams on the definition of rigging. Political issues and problemswould scuttle the spirit for national cooperation and coordination neededto fight the war on terror with required focus. The Prime Minister hadvowed in his address to the nation to lead this war personally and there-fore, he should personally intervene to remove bottlenecks and irritantsthat could hinder progress towards elimination of terrorism from our soil.

Ensure Afghan refugeesgo back permanently

THE issue of Afghan refugees is again in the limelight for the last twoweeks. After Peshawar incident, justifiable demands were raised by

different circles and people of Pakistan to take tangible measures for theirpermanent return to their homeland. In this backdrop, Minister for Statesand Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch emphatically stated at a newsconference that illegal refugees would be sent back immediately and a policywould be formulated for repatriation of the registered ones. The issue isalso among 20 points agreed to by participants of the meeting that gavefinal shape to the national action plan against terrorism.

The issue has assumed serious dimensions in view of grave implica-tions in the realm of security and economy and therefore, a clear cut andtime bound policy should be formulated to ensure their return to Afghani-stan. The confused and ambiguous policy is encouraging not only the refu-gees living in Pakistan to stay back but also attracting still more to come tothis green pasture. Pakistan played host to over three million refugees for arecord period because of volatile situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.However, now the situation in Afghanistan is much better and at least betterthan the Pakistani areas where these refugees have been settled temporarily.However, it seems that some vested interests associated with the process ofmanagement of the refugees are hindering the permanent settlement fortheir own personal interests. Similarly, many Afghan refugees that wentback under voluntary repatriation scheme launched jointly by the UN andPakistan, also came back after availing benefits under the programme. Thereare serious consequences of this unjustified overstay by Afghan refugees asapart from indulging in businesses, they have also established sanctuariesin several areas including midst of Islamabad from where criminal activi-ties are also harboured. We would, therefore, urge the Government to comeout with a clear cut policy and deadlines for repatriation of each and everyrefugee besides millions of other illegal immigrants.

President rightly focussingon economic corridor

DURING his visit to Quetta, President Mamnoon Hussain had extensive exchange of views with almost every stakeholder to have an on

the spot assessment of the situation, including the aspects of law and orderand development of the Province. That would have enabled the President tobetter understand the ground realities and the steps needed to address thesense of alienation of the people.

While talking to Parliamentarians, political and tribal elders, professorsand civil society representatives, Mamnoon Hussain said that Pak-China Eco-nomic Corridor is going to be of a monumental significance and would opendoors of progress and prosperity for the people of Balochistan. We stronglybelieve that the President has rightly focussed on the economic corridor, whichon implementation would transform the future of the region. In fact theBalochistan people would be the real beneficiaries of the corridor. Sparselypopulated and stretching over 44 per cent of the country’s total area,Balochistan is the most backward and least developed Province and in viewof its lesser population, proper attention was not given to its developmentand thus the exploitation of its natural resources lagged far behind.Balochistan possesses enormous industrial potential in key sectors - agri-culture, livestock, fisheries, oil and gas and minerals. Huge mineral re-sources have been identified including the Saindak and Reko Diq depositsin Chaghi. Oil and gas exploration in the Province is another area whichhas remained unexploited to a great extent and is limited to Marri-Bugtiarea due to security reasons. Reports indicate reserves of oil and gas inKalat, Kharan, Kohlu and Lasbela districts. So the development of the cor-ridor will open a new era of progress and the real beneficiaries, as pointedout by the President, will be the people of Balochistan. Unfortunately fordifferent reasons, government departments drag on important projects andwe expect that Mamnoon Hussain as head of state and as a respected gentle-man, would continue to pay his attention for the completion of this impor-tant project that would ultimately be the game changer for Pakistan andBalochistan.

Re-making of men in Pakistan

Racialoutrage

MOST debates on the repercussions of violence inmulticultural America have

coloured points of view dependingon which side of the complex divideAmericans wish to ensconce them-selves in. Antonio Martin was only18 years old, too young to brandisha 9mm pistol at an approachingWhite officer in the small town ofBerkeley, Missouri, just miles fromwhere teenager Michael Brown wasshot dead by a white police officerin Ferguson in August. In the latestcase, Martin was armed, Brownwasn’t. Both had criminal, anti-so-cial histories which caught up withthem in the end. Law enforcementin Martin’s town was handled by aBlack majority police force; Brown’stown had White officers in charge.

In the Martin incident, the pa-trol officer found the youth and anaccomplice, both allegedly wield-ing weapons outside a gas station.As the officer tried to talk down hisfriend, Martin whipped out a gun,but the cop was quicker on the draw,and fired first, reports said. Theyoung man didn’t stand a chance insuch a scenario. Protests erupted,as they normally do following suchincidents, race trumping an inves-tigation into crime and its conse-quences. Social media was on theboil and eye-witness and bloggerswho claimed they were at the scenestoked tensions to a point wheregood sense was dispensed with.

The civil rights movement of thesixties led by the Reverend MartinLuther King, Jr, inspired by Ma-hatma Gandhi’s non-violence forfreedom from British colonialism,brought Blacks to the mainstream ofsociety. They clearly lack work skillsor educational qualifications to sur-vive in a harsh employment land-scape. Social upheaval is the falloutin such a precipitous situation.

Since January, five shootingsby police officers, including theMartin and Brown deaths, haveshaken the country which prides it-self as the land of dreams whereevery individual can rise above hisor her circumstances in life. Enforc-ing the law in such a racially-charged atmosphere where trust isat a new low can be challenge.America has to sit down and talklike it did in the sixties. It’s nevertoo late to start all over again. Rageover race is not the answer.—Khaleej Times

*****

Newmomentum

needed to sealclimate treaty

WORLD leaders have onlygot 12 months till theymeet in Paris next Decem-

ber to agree on a new climate treaty.Their miserable complacency overignoring global warming has beenhighlighted by the way the KyotoProtocol expired in 2012 withoutanything to replace it. The globalecosystem is currently unsustainableand the politicians cannot be allowedto let the world become dangerousfor all species living on it.

But there are two areas of sur-prising hope. The recent meeting inLima agreed on a good draft treatyfor the Paris summit, but further mo-mentum was created by a landmarkdouble announcement from theworld’s biggest polluters, US andChina, who made joint pledges toreduce their emissions significantly.Washington promised to reduce itsgreenhouse gas emissions by 26-28per cent below its 2005 levels by2025, while China agreed to peak itsown carbon dioxide emissions by2030 and increase the proportion ofits non-fossil energy to 20 per cent.Even if this only repackagesAmerica’s previous commitmentand allows China a further decadeof inaction, the fact that both nationsjointly agreed to their commitmentsmakes it harder for smaller countriesto dodge taking action.

Paris will only succeed if itmoves the direction of treaty ob-ligations away from the previousfocus on limiting carbon targetsand refocuses on economic trans-formation as well as pollution orcarbon emissions targets. TheParis treaty has to support the eco-nomic and business changes re-quired to put a price on carbon,reduce harmful subsidies on fos-sil fuels, scale up renewable en-ergy and capture carbon before it.— Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

PAKISTAN is full of difficultpeople in Pakistan. Thequestion is how to deal with

them. Is it by use of power? Is itby persuasion? These difficultpeople have emerged over a num-ber of years as a result of mis-gov-ernance. All of us are responsiblefor this mis-governance.

There is no question of blam-ing one or the other. The difficultbureaucracy, the difficult politi-cian, the difficult people of Paki-stan and other countries residinghere, the difficult ethnic, sectarianand the caste systems where tell-ing lies has become an art and thesuccessive governments have triedall sorts of things starting with theuse of force and losing their all.All these APCs bring about a dead-lock and bitterness that keeps onincreasing in geometric propor-tions. The smile to the face and thestab in the back are now custom-ary in our society and especiallyat the highest level of power. Youmay have a hundred APCs butthere will be no change in charac-ter or view point. In Pakistan therehave been dictators, democracy ofsorts, dead-bodies, character as-sassination by people, liquidationsand mini wars.

But to what account? Democ-racy wants dictatorship to changeso that it can live in peace and notbe accountable to anyone. Theywant a selfish, soft, peaceful ex-istence in which no one should askthem to perform. The basic effortis to remake the other not them-selves. The skills of changing hu-

How to view Elections in IHK

EVERY election in IndianHeld Kashmir (IHK) has hadits own political importance

for India but the history of theseelections in IHK has shown thatelections were neither accepted bythe people of Jammu and Kashmiras a substitute to the right to theirright of self determination or plebi-scite, nor has pacified freedom sen-timents in the valley. The twelfthsstate assembly election in IHK washeld in five phases from Novem-ber 25 to December 20, 2014. IHKis consisted of three political re-gions: 1) Ladakh towards the eastbordering China; 2) Jammu to-wards the south bordering thestates of Himachal Pradesh, Punjaband Pakistan; and 3) Kashmir Val-ley towards the west borderingAzad Jammu & Kashmir. Themain political parties in IHK in-clude the Jammu & Kashmir Na-tional Conference (NC), the IndianNational Congress (Congress),Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) andthe Jammu and Kashmir People’sDemocratic Party (PDP).

According to the results an-nounced on December 23, 2014,the voters gave a fractured man-date. People’s Democratic Party(PDP) emerged as leading party.Out of total 87 seats of Jammu andKashmir State Assembly PDP got28 seats, followed by BJP with 25seats, National Conference got 15seats and Indian National Congressgot 12 seats whereas others smallparties and Independents got 7 seats

You can’t take itwith you whenyou go.

(Jammu & Kashmir People’sConference got 2 seats, Com-munist Party of India got 1seat and Jammu and KashmirPeople’s Democratic Frontgot 1 seat and Independentsgot 3 seats).

About the 2014 election inIHK, many analysts were of theview that support for different par-ties differs from Jammu (65 percentHindu) to Kashmir (97 percentMuslim) to Ladakh (almost equalpopulation of Muslims andBuddists 45-47 percent each), dueto divisions based on regional ide-ologies as well as preference forparticular parties. Therefore, BJPappears to be rather influential inLadakh, whereas the wave of PDPcan be observed in the Valley.

PDP is likely to form the nextgovernment in coalition with othergroups. It is a regional party andhad been a part of a coalition thatruled the state during one of its mostpeaceful periods between 2002 and2008. Being a leading party in 2014state elections, it is keeping its op-tions open in forming the next gov-ernment in the state. According toPDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, theformation of new government willtake time. A senior PDP leader andMP Muzaffar Hussain Baig havestated that it would be easier tocome together with Congress thanBJP to form government in Jammuand Kashmir.

(BJP) has made significant elec-tion gains in the state of Jammu andKashmir but despite of aggressiveelection campaign, it failed toachieve its Mission 44+. BJB gainedmore seats due to two factors, firstdue to flood relief campaign by theIndian state highlighting the failureof Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s

government laid the foundations ofhope for BJP in Kashmir and sec-ond BJP attracted more votes, espe-cially the Hindu voted on Modi’spromises for development. BJPcould not gain victory in its mission44+, given its ideological composi-tion, especially the stance on Article370; there was a fear that if BJPwould have won more than 44 seats,then the conflict in IHK would haveescalated further.

Whosoever make governmentin IHK would not affect the statusof Kashmir issue. However, underModi Government, India’s newpolicy of belligerence toward Pa-kistan and its non silver lining atti-tude towards Kashmir is an eyeopener and a wakeup call for Paki-stan. Cancellation of Foreign Sec-retary level talks by India showedthat Kashmir issue could not be re-solved through bilateral approachesonly. Political leadership in Paki-stan should, therefore, raise Kash-mir issue on all forums. Prime Min-ister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif’sstance on Kashmir at the UN Gen-eral Assembly Session was a rightstep. In addition to bilateral ap-proach Pakistan should also adopta legal and human rights approachon Kashmir issue.

Some time the elections in theIndian Held Kashmir (IHK) arehighlighted due to their controver-sial status. The Indians project theseelections as substitute of right ofself-determination, whereas, the AllParties Hurriyat Conference(APHC), a true representative ofKashmiris, has always boycottedtheses elections. The Hurriyat lead-ership believes that these electionsare not the substitute of Kashmiri’sright of self-determination.Kashmiris’ right of self determina-

man nature will be the nationthat will be successful. Doesthe nation have the ideologi-cal force necessary to remakethe people? Ideology is stron-ger than any atomic powerthat we may have. The power

of the atom bomb is only in thehands of humans.

The uniting power of an ideais more a measure of the strengthof a nation than the economic ordevelopment, howsoever thepower structure wants to tell thenation. The deaths in Thar are nota Sindh problem, it is a nationalissue for deaths are occurring allround us. An idea that is limitedin scope to the caste or ethnicityhas very limited or no power tounite a nation. Pakistan has beenin this parochial world for long.This will cause fissures impossibleto heal and destroy all efforts atremaking men. There has to be amoral rearmament movement inPakistan. The APCs are redundantas the moral rearmament requireseach person to play his part. Thisis not the job of the politicians andneither is it the job of specialists.

The committee under a com-mittee will not deliver as the deci-sions will always be of the lowestcommon denominator. The lowestlevel of a deal will be sent in as arecommendation. It is the privilegeof every man to be a re-builder ofthe self and others’ self. Thepresent exercise is an exercise infutility. Human nature can bechanged and has been changed bypeople like Buchanan but to do thisthe examples have to be set byMinisters and politicians and theelites in this society. UnfortunatelyPakistan has encouraged or man-aged to encourage cheats at everylevel. The politicians with not-so-good records have to be discarded

no matter how electable they maybe. One exception and the gamewill be blown over.

If the Cabinet rules well andsets an example of simple rulesthat believe in fairplay and justice,it can yield positive fruit. Ordi-narily Cabinets do not have thatart. In any case these Cabinets oftoday do not understand thestrength of artistic policy making.In this art imagination, discretionand judgment play an importantpart. Te world has started to rec-ognize that the end game is doneby humans and not by technologyor any other means. Pakistan’s de-mocracy has different meaningsfor the democratic forces them-selves and is therefore, full of weak-nesses, hesitancies and disunity theyhave no means to deal with maver-ick humans. The isms have gainedmuch ground and these isms arenothing but bad governance re-flected over time. There the hopewas that the matters will solve them-selves or be left to celestial powersto save them from any catastrophe.

Can Pakistan afford true lib-erty? Why not? Why should lim-ited liberty be for the elites of thiscountry and who think that theyhave the power and the role to rulethis country? The formation ofcharacter is no longer the preroga-tive of others but must be a na-tional ideology. The issue is howto make it to the national agenda?Educational systems have abdi-cated their duties to no one in par-ticular. The material aspects havetaken over. Consider the works andthe duties of each Chief Ministerand you will see strong gaps intheir doings. Material and technol-ogy does not make a man but lessermen. If one were to work out theanatomy of the Pakistani person-alities, then one realizes that it was

a titanic struggle of the men thatmade Pakistan who were of a su-perior quality in terms of passion,for what they believed in and inthe passion to take on major oddsin order to achieve their ends.

They did it worth reason andwithout much fuss, for they be-lieved that Pakistan had to bealive and beyond them. In a coun-try where poverty is rampant thepower structure has to worryabout resisting temptation and yetif you go by what they have si-phoned off from the country’speople and its resources, thosethat were paupers yesterday havetoday assets that run into billions.Money acquired by any meanswhatsoever is probably the big-gest enemy of the making of men.Money makes the heart weak andshifts it lower down the order to-wards the navel. When there islack of control then there is al-ways the demand for totalitariancontrol and in our country thereis also the demand for strong gov-ernment! I do not understand theword as such for strong in whatsense? Unless we put our qualityact together there are going to bemore such catastrophes.

Pakistan has had a chequeredhistory. I recall that when I wasgoing to Australia in 1973 as man-ager the word of advice fromShaheed ZAB was ‘young man wehave had one blot on our country,make sure that you do not add tothat blot. Win or lose does notmatter’. You must come out asgentlemen. Life is what we makeof ourselves not what the US,China, or any other country willmake us. Naïve Ministers may as-sert otherwise. It’s the mind stu-pid that matters.— The writer is a retired FederalSecretary.

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—Proverb

tion has been embedded in UNresolutions; therefore, Kashmirwould remain on UN agenda andthese resolutions would remain rel-evant until the right of self deter-mination is exercised by Kashmiristhrough a fair and impartial plebi-scite in Kashmir. Being a party toKashmir, Pakistan also don’tconsiderer the elections in IndianHeld Kashmir as a substitute toKashmiris’ right of self-determina-tion. Pakistan should uphold itspolitical, diplomatic and moral sup-port for the Kashmiri freedomstruggle. Policy of ‘leaving aside’UNSC resolutions on Kashmirwould damage Pakistan’s prin-cipled stand on Kashmir.

Pakistan is an important coun-try and international communitycannot ignore its stance on Kash-mir for a longer time. In the pre-vailing circumstances of con-straints and resentments, Pakistanneed not be impatient as it canproject and publicize Kashmir is-sue as and when circumstances be-come more appropriate. Further,Pakistan should revive itslongstanding policy of linking theopening of trade and economic re-lations with progress on Kashmir.

The composite dialogue be-tween India and Pakistan hasfailed to find any solution forKashmir. Any dialogue with Indiawithout having Kashmir on theagenda would be a meaninglessexercise. For normalization of re-lations with India, Pakistan shouldnot suggest any out of box solu-tion for Kashmir as it would notbe a substitute to Kashmiris’ rightof self-determination.—The writer is working asResearch Fellow at IslamabadPolicy Research Institute (IPRI).

Dr Zafar AltafEmail:dr_altaf@hotmail.com

Muhammad MunirEmail: munirwarsi@yahoo.com

Reviving the peace process

Voice of the People

Respectingwomen

SYED ZAMAN ALI KAZMI

I would like to draw the attention ofthe concerned authorities towardsthe humiliation and embarrassmentfaced by female patients in the Op-eration Theatres and wards ofBenazir Hospital Rawalpindi. Wehave always respected the privacyof females; for instance men re-serve separate seats in buses andwagons for women and there areseparate lines too in banks and inGovernment offices for women, butthis aspect of privacy seems to havebeen neglected as in Benazir Hos-pital Rawalpindi where the atten-dants in the labour rooms or theGynae Operation

Theatres are male! Protectingthe privacy of the patients is theforemost obligation of anyhealthcare system. Fortunately, wehave been provided with a separateemergency and labour room inCivil Hospital Rawalpindi. Thereis also a separate elective Opera-tion Theatre for Gynae and Obstet-rical cases but unfortunately thestaff is all male. We can easily re-lieve the agony of our patients, whoare actually our own mothers, sis-ters and daughters by employingfemale technicians in at least theOperation Theatres dealing withdelivery cases.

This would also open careersfor the females and hence contrib-ute towards national prosperity. Wemust respect and safeguard themodesty and the rightful place ofwomenfolk in society.—Rawalpindi

Undervaluedhousewives

SIDRA TALHA

Housewives are often undervaluedby their partners and by the societyat large. It is assumed that just be-cause their work doesn’t apparentlyadd to the GDP, hence, their contri-bution towards society is trivial. Ifhousewives don’t go outside to earnan income, it doesn’t mean that theyare not smart enough to compete thework force or are dumb and they arelethargic or have no ambition in life.Such negative connotations and stig-mas make the women, workingwithin the four wall of the house,feel inferior and worthless, leadingto the devaluation of domesticity.

Thus, I believe it is unfair tounderestimate women who chooseto be housewives. It’s not easy tostay at home all the day and raisethe children, take care of all thethings around the house and per-form home duties. If marriage is aninstitute then husband and wifeboth have shared responsibilities tobuild up a family. Therefore, house-wives should be appreciated fortheir services, as any job outside thehouse is no more superior or spe-cial than work inside house.—Karachi

Unity ofour country

FARHAN AHMAD

It has always remained a questionmark either we are united as a na-tion or not? But one thing is veryclear, we need unity against everyenemy of our country. It’s the timeto show unity against the internalenemy. If we still wait for some onethat will come and save us, it is notgoing to happen; we should do it ourselves; no one is coming for us.

It is not only the job of the gov-ernment, the security forces or thesecurity agencies to fight againstthe internal enemy, but we, as anation would have to accept our re-sponsibility as well. Our army isfighting for us from the last nineten years against these enemies. Butis still unable to crush them com-pletely. Though they have restrictedthem to their caves but still they arein our streets and it is our job tounite ourselves against the enemywhich is very dangerous. It is nowhurting us almost every day. The

Caring for the victims of terrorismJAVAID BASHIR

We are living in war conditions for the last three decades. Terrorism has disturbed and impactedour society in many ways. The fallout of the war against terrorism has caused wounds on our

psyche. The surviving victims are damaged more than others; they feel distressed, lonely fatigued, sad-dened and helpless against the inconceivable problems. They can not cope with the loss. We must providethem medical treatment to overcome the trauma suffered by them. They are mentaliy incapacitated; theirmoods change suddenly. We must help them to overcome the shock, sorrow and disgust. Their psychiatricand social needs must be met. Recurring episodes must be checked in time. The experts should assist themto deal with the traumatic experience. They must get the feeling that some one is concerned and care forthem. Media has the responsibility to treat the subject fairly, instead of making terrorists into heroes. Thegovernment should provide guidelines to media persons and regulate their conduct. No country makescompromises over the national interests. The media follows the national interests. We must have a proac-tive policy. We need to take strategic measures against the menace of extremism. Hunger threatens peaceeverywhere. Illiteracy breeds militancy and terrorism. We must spend more on education and eliminationof poverty. The precarious conditions necessitate vigilance and clarity of thought. We must exercise selfrestraint and avoid creating conditions leading to extremism.—Via email

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THE articles, columns andletters are published on thesepages in good faith. However,the contents of these writingsmay not necessarily match theviews of the newspaper.

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View From Abroad

2014 in retrospect

ON the eve of the New Year,people wish to believe thatthings will change for bet-

ter, a new order with emerge. “Let’shope for a better year,” they say,that is a good intention, a fine ex-pectation and a source of hope forthem. That is what we also hopewill happen, of course. Insha’Allah(God willing), 2015 will be a goodyear for the whole world.

This hope must be maintained;however, it must not be forgottenthat a new year is not a magic wandto change the course of events. Thedifficulties we faced over the year,the toxic ideologies and slowlystrengthening hatred, will not sud-denly come to an end. We hope that2015 will be a year when peace willreign, but we also need to do thingsto bring that about. We thereforeneed to cast our eyes briefly overwhat was done wrong in the diffi-cult year 2014:

We entered 2014 with the Syr-ian civil war. The war, which be-gan in 2011, is still going on, withno intervention from the outsideand no proposed solution, and 2014went down as the year that saw theworst losses in the Syrian war. Thedeath toll has exceeded 200,000,and is known to be certainly verymuch higher.

The Ukraine crisis, the result ofgreed alone, ended in a nightmarefor a fine European country andended in nearly 3,000 dead. TheEU, which sought to extend its in-fluence in Ukraine while sidelining

Russia but which also sat back andwatched the internal conflicts, andRussia, which refuses to blink onthe subject of its former allies, arestill settling their accounts. The res-urrection of the Cold War era rival-ries appears to be the handiwork ofthe US deep state.

While all this was going on, thehorror of Ebola also appeared,though initially it attracted littleworld interest. The international or-ganizations believed that money setaside for a solution to the problemin poor countries would not “bringprofit.” Vaccination campaignsonly began toward the end of theyear, after the disease started ap-pearing in the US and Europe; andafter more than 6,000 deaths.

In 2014, Crimea went underRussian control. Scotland made abid for independence, but failed.While the Central African Repub-lic (CAR) was the scene of mur-der and genocide, Boko Haramcontinued with its horrifying at-tacks in Nigeria. One action byBoko Haram, which attracted glo-bal condemnation, was the kidnap-ping of 276 schoolgirls, of whom223 are still in the custody of theterrorist organization. While allthis was going on, 748 people losttheir lives in incidents in Iraq inMarch alone.

As the Israeli-Gaza conflict wasmaking headlines, other conflictswere raging on in Europe, theMiddle East and Africa. While allthis was happening, a Malaysian jetdisappeared, another was shot downover Ukraine, 289 people lost theirlives in a ferry disaster in SouthKorea and 301 in the Soma mine

disaster in Turkey. Millions ofpeople were made refugees in 2014,and hundreds lost their lives whileseeking refuge in new countries inrickety boats. People also starvedto death in the Yarmouk refugeecamp in Syria.

As the number of refugees wasrising and the world was beingdragged into poverty, Europe beganintroducing laws to prevent the ar-rival of migrants. The EuropeanParliament’s elections resulted inwins for extreme right and left wingparties rather than those from thecenter. Since being anti-migrant isregarded as a “vote winner” it be-came a popular policy with partiescontesting the polls. Anti-migrantprotests are still taking place in Ger-many in these last days of 2014. Theeconomic crisis has had a devastat-ing impact on countries such asGreece, Iceland, Greek Cyprus,Belgium and Italy, but has also af-fected the entire euro zone. Fallingoil prices have affected Russia andthe Middle East most of all.

NSA snooping records, picturesof torture perpetrated by the regimein Syria and finally the CIA torturereport were all exposed documentsthat left their mark on 2014. Butthese actually said nothing new.

2014 was a difficult year. Butwhen we look back, we see that agreat many of these tragedieswere the result of using violenceagainst violence, selfishness inthe face of ambition or a prefer-ence for self-interest over humanlife. Again when we look back, wesee that all these tragedies servedthe world’s arms manufacturersand various lobbies that profit

Handling a bully..!

YOU can’t park inside thecompound! Priya stoppedbacking her car into the

vacant space, next to her buildingand looked at the angry old manwho was standing behind, block-ing her way, “Who are you?” sheasked. “I am the chairman of thissociety, you are not a flat owner;you cannot park inside the com-pound!” “There isn’t any rule say-ing outside vehicles cannot parkinside,” said Priya as she startedthe engine. “You dare speak backto me!” shouted the old man, “Iwill have the watchman take theair out of your tires!”

“Mr Chairman,” said Priya asshe leaned out of the window, “Iam going to reverse my car and if

you do not move out, I will reverseonto you. And if the car tires aredeflated when I come down tomor-row morning or any morning, youwill be taken directly to the policestation! Now move!!”

She grinned as the old manjumped out of her way and was no-where in sight as she got out and madeher way to the first floor flat sheshared with Archana and Geeta andwhich was owned by Mrs D’Souzawho lived alone in the third bedroom.

“Your chairman was at it again!”grinned Priya, “he’s got somethingagainst us! Told Archana off yester-day for walking in the compoundtalking into her mobile didn’t he?”

“Said I should not use societypremises to talk with my boyfriend!I told him I was talking to my boss!”said Archana “And were you?”asked Mrs D’Souza laughing.

“Ofcourse I was,” said Archanagrinning, “though he’d be scandal-

ized to know he’s also my boy-friend!”The girls laughed andwaited as Geeta struggled to saysomething, “I don’t like the city!”said Geeta, “I always thought I’dfeel independent and liberated here,but all people make us feel are likewe’re a bunch of whores!”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh?” askedArchana. “Girls!” said MrsD’Souza, “welcome to the singlewoman’s club. When John died tenyears ago, I thought everyone at thefuneral was going to give me a help-ing hand, but dears the only handsthat gave me help were these. I wastreated like an outcaste, suspected byevery wife and thought easy prey bytheir leering spouses!”

“But isn’t this a city?” askedGeeta, “aren’t people more cul-tured, more exposed?” “Ha,ha,ha!”laughed Mrs D’Souza heartily, “ourcities are still filled with villagethinking!” “That chairman….,”

said Priya. “Wasn’t used to see-ing a successful independent girlbehind the wheel of her own car.He felt awfully insecure and hadto assert himself…”

“No parking in the com-pound!” screamed Priya, and thegirls screamed with her. “But..”said the landlady and the threelooked at her in askance, “youhandled him well, and that’s howit’s got to be. So cheers to us citygurlz!”

“Would you have run over theChairman’s legs?” asked Geetathat night when the girls were fall-ing asleep. “What? And have myfender scratched?” yawned Priyaand the girls giggled as they fellasleep. From a window above thechairman looked out fearfully atthe car parked below and hopednobody would deflate its tires inthe night. He hated police stations.—Emal: bobsbanter@gmail.com

from the artificial Cold War cli-mate that efforts are being madeto establish. The savagery wewitnessed over the year had per-haps never before been so wide-ranging and horrifying.

We will be entering 2015 withproblems. Nothing is just going tovanish with a magic wand. If thepolicy of violence in the worldpersists, then nobody should besurprised if these incidents aremultiplied many times over in theyears ahead. If the global commu-nity and the super powers in par-ticular, fails to learn from 2014and insists on implementing thesame failed policy, then thisscourge afflicting almost all coun-tries will continue to grow and be-come even more ghastly.

The year 2014 teaches us is:Violence in the face of violence isleading the world to destruction.The means are wrong. The policybeing applied needs to change.The source of the violence mustbe targeted, and an age of educa-tion using the language of lovemust begin.

The scale of the horror meansthat we need to understand the signgiven us by Allah. Unless themethod changes, the years aheadwill see even more sufferings andafflictions. It would be a shame towaste another tragic year in orderto grasp this fact. Let us not for-get that 2015 will change nothing;it is we who can be the instrumentsof change. — The writer hasauthored more than 300 bookstranslated into 73 languages onpolitics, religion and science.—Courtesy: Arab News

Expansion of SAARC for better ends

SINCE 1947, due to partition’sunpleasant legacies, left behind by the British Govern-

ment of the time, both Pakistan andIndia got engaged into hostile rela-tionship because of lingering par-tition issues including the Jammuand Kashmir dispute. Till late1970s when world politics wasmainly driven by geo-politics ratherthan geo-economics, Pakistan-Indiarelations were also guided by thecold war politics.

Hence between 1947 and 1971both countries fought three majorwars over Kashmir and other is-sues. Since due to its hegemonicpolicies India had political and ter-ritorial disputes with almost allSouth Asian states, South Asiacould not think of realizing thegoal of its economic developmentthrough mutual cooperation. It isalso true that Pakistan and Indiabeing two major economies ofSouth Asia could not concentrateon their economic developmentthrough cooperative economic in-teraction, mainly due to their mu-tual hostilities. Hence economicdevelopment of both countries suf-fered except the decade of 1960swhen Pakistan made remarkablestrides in its economic develop-ment although it ultimately couldnot sustain that.

Because of hostilities of thesetwo states in South Asia, and dueto lack of their cooperation in de-veloping trade and economic rela-tions, apart from their non coop-eration with India due to their owndisputes with that country, thesmaller South Asian states alsosuffered because of lack of coop-eration between India and Paki-stan. It was only in late 1980’s, six

years after China had initiated eco-nomic reforms, that South Asianleaders created South Asian Asso-ciation for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) in 1985 to focus on theircountries’ economic developmentand poverty alleviation throughmutual cooperation.

Since its creation, SAARC hasbeen endeavouring to achieve theobjective of South Asian economicdevelopment by building mutualtrade and investment oriented re-lations. In this direction SAARCmade some progress including ini-tially signing the South Asian Pref-erential Trade Agreement(SAPTA) in 1994 and then sign-ing the South Asian Free TradeAgreement (SAFTA) in 2004.

To facilitate and ensure imple-mentation of these agreements andmany more to come, SAARC alsocreated a robust institutional setup. Although these efforts of theSAARC are worth appreciating,still due to lingering mutual dis-putes and resultant lack of trustamong SAARC member states, theregion is lagging behind than otherregional organizations in achiev-ing the goals of economic coop-eration and integration. The majorimpediments in trade facilitationhave been non implementation ofSAFTA mainly due to non-re-moval of tariff and non tariff bar-riers and non-reduction of numberof trade-able items in the negativelist by India, and Pakistan-Indiahostilities over Kashmir.

However, in view of increas-ing economic difficulties inSAARC countries and to followworld trend of preferring economicdevelopment over geo-politics,during 17th SAARC Summit heldin November 2011 in Maldives andthe 18th SAARC summit held inNovember 2014, leaders ofSAARC member states have dis-played their firm resolve toachieve the goal of economic co-

operation and converting the re-gion into an Economic Union. Butto achieve this goal there is a needthat SAARC member states re-solve their mutual disputes on ur-gent basis to enhance mutual trustlevel and accord priority to en-hancing their economic develop-ment by increasing their tradethrough implementation of SAFTAand carrying out intra-regional in-vestments.

But since South Asian countriesare facing acute shortages of energywhich could be met only by intraand inter-regional energy trade, andthese states also need majorinfrastructural development, andboth these requirements will needheavy investments. For this pur-pose, having scarce domestic re-sources, South Asia would requireextra-regional sources of invest-ment as well. For this requirementto be met, being a closer neighbourto South Asia, China is the poten-tial source. And, for making invest-ments abroad, China has abundantresources. For example, accordingto CRS (Congressional ResearchService) Report for the US Con-gress dated 24 June 2011, for thelast 31 years China’s GDP grew atan average annual rate of about 10percent, its economy grew almost13 - fold and hundreds of millionsof people were brought outof extreme poverty.

In 2010 China became the sec-ond largest economy in the worldafter the US with its real domesticproduct (GDP) as 10 trillion $, percapita income as 7600$ and its for-eign exchange reserves equal to 3trillion dollars. Today China hasinvested large sum in US TreasuryBonds thus holding 22% of publicdebt of the US.

China has reached such a stateof economic progress that now itrequires new sources of growth,and for this purpose, because of itsproximity to South Asia, it consid-

Harun Yahya

ers economic cooperation withSAARC region as a promisingand priority option.

At bilateral level, it has al-ready made considerable volumeof investments in almost all SouthAsian states including India,Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, SriLanka, Afghanistan, Maldivesand Bhutan. To develop deeperpolitico-economic relations withSouth Asia, China is wishing toraise its status from an observer inthe SAARC to itsfull membership. In view ofChina’s immense economic clout,with capacity of generating largescale exports, imports and over-seas investments with relatedtechnology sharing capacity itlooks attractive if SAARC coun-tries can embrace this historicopportunity of exploiting manypolitico-economic benefits bysupporting China to become a fullmember of the SAARC.

China’s presence in theSAARC as a regular member willalso improve political environ-ment in South Asia. Its strategy ofpeaceful rise will act as a goodguide for South Asian countriesto learn how to resolve mutualdisputes through dialogue, simul-taneously advancing friendly po-litico-economic relations.

With two major powers (In-dia and China) being members ofthe SAARC, political atmospherewill become congenial and Chinawill be able to assist in resolvingmutual South Asian disputes aswell. Thus, in view of many ad-vantages involved for South Asiait will be prudent for South Asiancountries to work jointly atSAARC forum to create consen-sus for China’sSAARC membership by helpingto address Indian apprehensionsin this regard.—The writer works for IslamabadPolicy Research Institute (IPRI).

recent incident in Peshawar was avery painful incident. It hurt everyPakistani. If we can bear it more,then no problem, let it go the way itis going. But if we want to save ourchildren, it’s the time to do some se-rious work. We have defeated ourexternal enemy in the past and I amsure we can defeat them also. We willsucceed if we get united as a nation.

Our political parties and securityforces have decided to work togetherwhich is a very good thing and theyneed help from us as well; we canprovide them information. If we seesome doubtful person, we should in-form the nearest police station, if wesee any doubtful thing near us in oursurrounding, we should call the po-lice. Hope we will soon start think-ing and will soon wakeup. May Al-lah give us the ability and strength tocrush these terrorists from their roots.—Tarbela

A reasonto mournSYED MOIZ ALI

The barbarian attack on Army Pub-lic School in Peshawar is an attackon humanity which cannot be for-given or forgotten. It has shaken theworld and condemnation messageshave been pouring in from allaround the globe. I urge the gov-ernment, our security agencies andArmed forces to see in every eyethe anger against the terrorists whocommitted this brutal crime againstchildren, and read what the nationwants to do with them now. Everycitizen demands complete extermi-nation of the terrorists and elimi-nation of all their supporters to se-cure our country from these en-emies of mankind and Islam.

The entire world prays for thechildren, the school teachers and allthose who lost their lives in this at-tack. May God give their familiesstrength to bear this great loss, andcourage to stand against terrorists.—Via email

Strangulatinggrip of IMFMUHAMMAD AKRAM

We should be thankful to Russia fortaking a bold stand to protect its se-curity needs for which it took retalia-tion in the form of western sanctionsincluding a steep fall in oil prices. Butpoor countries like Pakistan have notbeen allowed to reap any benefit fromthis cut in oil price as the IMF hasnot only banned any concession in ourelectricity price but has also orderedour government to increase taxes tocancel any benefits accruing fromfalling oil prices.

Our government has thus decidedto abolish all income tax concessionsand to escalate its rates for all incomegroups leaving no disposable incomein the hands of the people, a surerecipe for poverty generation. It maybe pointed out that everything in ourcountry is already taxed to the teeth,right from our table salt to our shoes,but most of this tax somehow findsits way into the private pockets of thebureaucracy. That is the reason theamount of actual tax collected is onlya fraction of amount extorted fromthe public. Unfortunately, our taxescan only be received in rupees, ourlegal currency, and not in foreign ex-change. The previous governmenthad printed rupees to the tune of bil-lions and yet no hyperinflation wasrecorded. This is because agriculturalproduction makes up for our domes-tic economic shortfall.

What we need is dollars and se-vere taxation hits our economic pro-ductivity very badly resulting in con-tinued escalation of our current ac-count deficit. I should say, though inthe lighter vain, that had we been al-lowed to print dollars instead wewould need to impose no taxes at all.But the IMF, which is decidedly usedas an international politico-economictool to hold down our economy topunish our people for demanding in-dependent policies, is breathingheavily down our neck. While Rus-sia, receiving drubbing by othermeans, will most likely break freefrom the western clutches, we see nolight at the end of the tunnel and there-

Col M Hanif (Retd)Email:hanifsardar@hotmail.com

fore must endure our miserable des-tiny in the death grip of the IMF.—Muzaffargarh

Peshawar incident!Who is responsible?

IRAM SADIA

History of attacks on Pakistan islonger than ten years. Terrorists tar-geted mosques, church, army, airforce with their shameful acts. Almost60 thousand people lost their lives inthese attacks. But on 16th December2014, they did most ghastly act byattacking the innocent school childrenof the Army Public School.

They killed 135 children and 9staff members. When they could notcope with Pak Army in battlefield,they attacked the little innocent chil-dren. Those so called jahadis, whocall them true followers of Islam,should know that in Islam murder ofone human being is the murder ofwhole humanity. They must knowthat Islam forbids beating women andchildren even though they are notMuslims. Had the Federal and KPKgovernment focused on securityrather than power politics, 135 chil-dren might have been alive!—Via email

Justicein Pakistan

ALI HUSNAIN NAQVI

Pakistan was created through a con-stitutional battle waged by men likeQuaid-i-Azam, Allama Iqbal, Fazalul Haq, etc. Yet for almost four de-cades, Pakistan was ruled by menwhose sole legitimacy flowed froma military uniform.

This country has either seenmilitary rule or rule by a jungle law.There never has been even one sin-cere government that worked tomake us a great nation. We have al-lowed religious extremists and sec-tarian warlords to create pockets ofpower in the name of security orstrategy, not realizing that such mal-ice will breed bigger demons, whichwould threaten the very state. In suchan environment a bigger, wellequipped group calling itself ‘TTP’emerged, taking control over largeareas of what constitutes territory ofPakistan. Yet the tragedy is that thosewho have been entrusted public of-fices of importance, lack intellectualcapacity and foresight to review theirfollies and consequences of theirmyopic vision.

Even today we witness ten-dency of some that majesty of lawbe humbled to satisfy misplacedego of few. If the Constitution ofPakistan, its laws are not supremeand their interpretation by superiorjudiciary through its verdict are tobe challenged, then God forbid, fu-ture of this nation as a sovereignindependent country is liable to bejeopardized. We have seen mightySoviet Union, collapse, crumbleand disintegrate, in spite of its mas-sive military power and yet we failto learn any lessons.

Our religion teaches us thatcountries cannot exist where justiceand equality are not adopted as statepolicy, yet we fail to reform. Re-cently government lifted morato-rium on death penalties after atro-cious massacre of children in APSPeshawar but judiciary issued a stayorder on the Government’s decisionwhich acting as a barrier on the wayto terrorists’ execution. What ourjudiciary is doing? Who will jus-tify this act of judiciary? Is our ju-diciary facilitating us or terrorismin the country?— Via email

CARL GERSHMAN

THE following is a speech given by CarlGershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, at The Europe-

U.S. Dialogue on Human Rights in Prague re-cently.

Having been asked to speak about the dialoguebetween the United States and Europe on humanrights, let me say right off that I don’t speak forthe U.S. government but rather for a bipartisannongovernmental organization with the mission,mandated by the U.S. Congress, of strengthen-ing democracy around the world. We have manyEuropean partners, including many Czech part-ners and now also the aptly-named EuropeanEndowment for Democracy. We also attach avery high priority to the transatlantic partnershipin aiding human rights and democracy.But I regret that this partnership is not advancedby the way the invitation to this conference hasframed the issue before us. It reads more likean invitation to an academic seminar than to apolicy forum intended to promote collaborationto achieve common objectives. The invitationstates that when the protection of human rightsbecomes a goal of foreign policy, we’re facedwith “a series of dilemmas.” These dilemmasinclude the questions of what human rights“exactly…entail” and to what extent they areuniversal. Further complicating the issue is thecontention that during the Cold War human-rights advocacy was used to advance the strate-gic objective of “weakening the adversary.”With these dilemmas in mind, we’re asked to

Reaffirming US-European Commitment toDemocratic Universalism

consider the meaning of human rights in today’sworld and how we can “reconcile different viewson their content and promotion.”

Implicit in the way the invitation has posedthe questions before us is the view that humanrights, understood as basic civic and political free-doms as opposed to social and economic needs,are not universal, and that we should be on guardagainst those who would use human rights toadvance political agendas. Such advocates ofhuman rights are allegedly guilty of what a Czechofficial has called “false universalism,” meaningthat they wish to impose a narrow Western viewof human rights on non-Western cultures andcountries. The debate that is being posed today isthus between two points of view – one that proudlysupports democratic universalism and the otherthat rejects it. The latter point of view is properlytermed moral relativism.

Just last month at a conference in SouthKorea, when I told a group of Asian democ-racy practitioners about this debate that is nowgoing on in the Czech Republic, they immedi-ately saw the parallel with a similar debate thatoccurred in Asia in the 1990s when Singapore’sLee Kuan Yew, taking the relativist position,said that “Asian values” were inconsistent withdemocracy, which he called a Western idea thathad no indigenous Asian roots.

The opposition to Lee’s relativism was ledby Kim Dae-jung, who later became SouthKorea’s president and received the Nobel PeacePrize in 2000. Kim made three basic points.The first was that democratic ideals were rootedin Asian culture, and that two millennia beforeJohn Locke, the Chinese philosopher Meng-

tzu had preached that “the will of the people isthe will of heaven” and bestowed on the rulera mandate to provide good and accountablegovernance. The second was that Asia hadmany democratic traditions, among them theConfucian idea that opposition to an erringmonarch is a paramount duty, a teaching thatanticipated both the American Declaration ofIndependence of 1776 and the “people’s power”movement in the Philippines more than twocenturies later. And the third was that democ-racy would succeed and spread in Asia becauseits flame “continues to burn in…the aspirationsof its people.” Authoritarian rulers, he said,might claim to provide effective governanceand economic development, but policies “thattry to protect people from the bad elements ofeconomic and social change will never be ef-fective if imposed without consent; the samepolicies, arrived at through public debate,” hesaid, “will have the strength of Asia’s proudand self-reliant people.”

The Asian-values argument in defense ofauthoritarianism never caught on, partly becausedemocracy has sunk deep roots in Asia in India,South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia andother countries; and also because Asians rejectedthe notion that democracy is a Western idea at atime when the desire for democracy was becom-ing a genuinely global phenomenon. The world-wide spread of popular support for democracyhas been documented in a profusion of publicopinion surveys, known as “democracy barom-eters,” that have gathered data on attitudes to-ward democracy in every region of the worldoutside the West. Summarizing these surveys,

Larry Diamond has written that “Although thereis wide variation across countries and regions,with low levels of trust in parties and politi-cians…, people virtually everywhere say theyprefer democracy to authoritarianism. Whatpeople want is not a retreat to dictatorship but amore accountable and deeper democracy.”

Given the popularity of democracy, it’s notsurprising that autocrats today don’t reject de-mocracy explicitly but rather redefine it by at-taching to it an adjective suggesting that theirform of democracy is culturally indigenous andnot subservient to Western values or interests.Thus we have Bolivarian democracy in Ven-ezuela, socialist democracy in China, revolu-tionary democracy in Ethiopia, Islamic democ-racy in Iran, and illiberal democracy in Hun-gary. We also used to have sovereign or man-aged democracy in Russia, but Putin now seemsto prefer “traditional values,” as expressed inthe pro-authoritarian and nationalist writingsof his favorite philosopher Ivan Ilyin.

What all these modified, hyphenatedversions of democracy have in common isa contempt for real democratic values thatpresuppose respect for human rights. Thecommunists used to call this “bourgeois de-mocracy,” and they offered as an alterna-tive what they said was a higher and moreegalitarian form of political organizationcalled “people’s democracy” or “proletar-ian democracy.” So none of this is new,and it should be very familiar to people inthis country who lived through four decadesof this Orwellian nightmare.

—Courtesy: World Affairs

JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF USA

AS we contemplate how to strike back at North Korea because it is believed to be behind the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s computer network, the foremost

proposal is tightening sanctions. In my visits to targeted coun-tries, I have seen how this strategy can be cruel to innocent peoplewho know nothing about international disputes and are alreadysuffering under dictatorial leaders. The imposition of economicembargoes on unsavory regimes is most often ineffective andcan be counterproductive. In Cuba, where the news media arecontrolled by the government, many people are convinced thattheir economic plight is caused by the United States and thatthey are being defended by the actions of their Communist lead-ers, who are therefore strengthened in power. I have visited thehomes of both Castro brothers and some of the regime’s othertop officials, and it is obvious that their living conditions havenot suffered because of the embargo. Many Cuban families aredeprived of good incomes, certain foods, cellphones, Internetaccess and basic freedoms, but at least they have access to agood education and health care, and they live in a tropical envi-ronment where the soil is productive and where some fortunatefamilies may have trees that bear bananas and other fruit. In ad-dition, Cubans receive about $2 billion annually in remittancesfrom friends and relatives in the United States.

The situation is more tragic in North Korea, where none ofthese advantages exist. The U.S. embargo, imposed 64 years agoat the start of the Korean War, has been more strictly enforced,with every effort made to restrict or damage North Korea’seconomy. During my visits to Pyongyang, I have had extensivediscussions with government officials and forceful female lead-ers who emphasized the plight of people who were starving. TheUnited Nations’ World Food Program estimates that at least 600grams of cereal per day is needed for a “survival ration” and thatthe daily food distribution in North Korea has at times been aslow as 128 grams. In 1998, U.S. congressional staffers who vis-ited the country reported a range of 300,000 to 800,000 dyingeach year from starvation.

In 2001, the Carter Center arranged for North Korean agricul-tural leaders to go to Mexico to learn how to increase productionof their indigenous crops, and the U.S. contribution of grain roseto 695,000 tons in the late 1990s during a brief period of U.S.-North Korean reconciliation. However, the contribution was dras-tically reduced under President George W. Bush and then termi-nated completely by President Obama in 2010. I visited the StateDepartment then and was told that the main problem was NorthKorea’s refusal to permit any supervision of food deliveries.

In 2011, I returned to North Korea, accompanied by formerpresident of Finland Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Ire-land Mary Robinson and former prime minister of Norway GroBrundtland, a physician who had been director of the WorldHealth Organization. We stopped first in Beijing for briefingsfrom regional World Food Program officials, who said there wereno restraints on monitoring of food deliveries to families in NorthKorea. They followed us to Pyongyang and accompanied us torural areas where tiny food allotments were being distributed tofamilies. The government gave an official guarantee that all suchfood deliveries could be monitored by the United States and otherdonors. I reported this to Washington, with the assessment thatone-third of North Korean children were malnourished andstunted in their growth and that daily food intake was between700 and 1,400 calories per person, compared with a normalAmerican’s 2,000 to 2,500. Our government took no action.

—Courtesy: WP

Cuba, NorthKorea, and getting

sanctions right

DAVID IGNATIUS

WATCHING events unfold in Iraq this year has been likeviewing a slow-motion train wreck. Iraqi tribal leadershave been warning since spring about the rise of the

terrorist Islamic State and pleading for American help. But aftermonths of slaughter, the United States is only now beginning tobuild an effective tribal-assistance program.

The Albu Nimr tribe has been savaged especially, in part becauseit supported what became the U.S.-led “Awakening” movement inAnbar province. In 2004, members of the Albu Nimr made early con-tacts with U.S. Marine officers in Amman, Jordan, that helped fosterthe later, broader Awakening campaign against al-Qaeda.

David Ignatius writes a twice-a-week foreign affairs column andcontributes to the PostPartisan blog. View Archive Back in October, Iwrote about the plight of the Albu Nimr as Islamic State fighters ad-vanced on the tribe’s ancestral home near Hit, along the EuphratesRiver. Pleas to Centcom and the Iraqi military on the night of Oct. 23brought no aid, and the tribal fighters surrendered; over the next fewweeks, several hundred tribesmen were killed .

“What happened to the Nimrs was an unmitigated tragedy,” saysone top U.S. official. U.S. commanders say they lacked systems forquick response. Centcom is now said to have a hotline for the tribes,but material assistance has been limited.

The Albu Nimr catastrophe happened partly because of crossedwires. Many of the tribe’s leaders were based in Amman, but U.S.policy at the time was seeking to draw Sunni fighters toward Baghdadand the new, less-polarizing prime minister, Haider al-Abadi. In ef-fect, Baghdad trumped Amman, and the Albu Nimr were caught inthe middle. A step toward needed Jordanian-Iraqi cooperation camethis week, as Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi announced thatJordan would train and arm Sunni tribal units. This unusual Amman-Baghdad project followed a visit by Abadi to the United Arab Emir-ates, which pledged support for arming and training Anbar’s sheiks.The Kuwaitis have also pledged weapons and ammunition for thisSunni “national guard.”

The plight of the Albu Nimr and other tribes is suggested by e-mails sent over the past few months as the Islamic State terrorizedAnbar. “Today, we have a small window of opportunity to recruitfighters from Sunni tribes because they are mad about losing theirlivelihoods and their relatives have been killed,” wrote one Albu Nimrleader in a Nov. 18 e-mail, after the Hit massacre, to a retired Marinemajor who had served in Anbar. The problem, the tribal leader argued,was that because the United States was working so closely with theShiite-led government in Baghdad, Sunnis in Anbar doubted therewas any U.S. commitment to giving them more power. Without thispolitical commitment, weapons and even Apache gunships would beof little use. “This effort will not succeed as a strategy simply becausethere is no political solution offered as part of the recruitment,” theAlbu Nimr leader warned.

On Nov. 21, the same tribal leader advised Centcom, throughthe retired Marine major, that Albu Nimr volunteers still fight-ing near Hit had not been fed properly for three days and that 17had given up because of hunger. “The whole effort will collapsevery soon if no proper supplies and proper food [are] delivered.”The Albu Nimr continued to knock on the U.S. door. On Dec.11, the tribal leader wrote to the retired Marine major: “I mustsay, people are very disappointed with the level of support bygovernment to tribal fighters which is almost nonexistent.” Tendays before, he said, Albu Nimr fighters had been forced to giveup a position they had retaken along the Euphrates, with severaldozen captured, and that the situation in nearby Ramadi was “verycritical.” A retired Marine brigadier general who served in Anbarsummarized the lesson for rolling back the Islamic State.

—Courtesy: Washington Post

U.S. slow supportingIraqi tribes in fight

against IS

KABUL—Conflicts and attacks haveclaimed the lives of 54 people, including44 Taliban militants, in Afghanistan overthe past two days, government sources saidon Saturday. In the latest violent incident,armed militants opened fire in Alinegardistrict of the eastern Laghman provinceSaturday morning, killing a civilian andinjuring three others, provincial govern-ment said in a statement. A total of 44 Taliban militants havebeen killed during series of operationsacross the conflict-ridden country over thepast 24 hours, Interior Ministry said.“During the operations which conductedin Ghazni, Kandahar, Paktika, Khost,Uruzgan, Badakhshan, Jowzjan, Sar-e-Pul,Logar and Kunar provinces since Friday,44 armed Taliban militants have been

54 killed in conflicts,attacks in Afghanistan

killed, eight wounded and one was arrestedby Afghan National Security Forces,” theministry said. The security forces have also seizedarms and ammunitions, including explo-sive devices, from militants during the op-erations. However, according to officialsin Logar province 60 km south of Kabul,five civilians were killed and six otherssustained injuries during air raids alleg-edly conducted by the NATO-led forceson Friday.

Niaz Mohammad Amiri, the deputy toLogar provincial government, told localmedia that “U.S. forces pursuing Talibanmilitants mistakenly bombarded a housein Logar Friday morning inflicted casual-ties on civilians.” Meantime, Mohammad Amin, a local

official in Logar province, said, “The airstrike occurred at 3:30 a.m. local time Fri-day in Abjosh village, Baraki Barak dis-trict of Logar province, leaving five civil-ians dead and wounding six others.”NATO-led forces have not confirmed theincident.

Moreover, a roadside bomb in thesouthern Kandahar province claimedfour lives, a local official said Saturday.“A mine planted by militants struck acar in Dand district Friday evening, leav-ing four persons, including three secu-rity personnel and a civilian, dead,”spokesman for Kandahar provincial gov-ernment Samim Khapalwak told report-ers.Two other civilians were wounded in theblast, he added.—Xinhua

BEIJING—Small schools in southwestChina’s Tibet Autonomous Region have“gone digital”, meaning that all 63,600 ofthe country’s small schools now have accessto digital teaching devices and resources.Small schools, or the official term “teachingspots”, are seen by many as the weakest linkin China’s elementary education.

Most are nestled in remote and mountain-ous areas; are understaffed; and, as a result,were often unable to offer all eight compul-sory subjects to elementary-level students. To ensure rural children have access toquality education, the education and financeministries initiated a joint program in No-vember 2012 to install information technol-ogy at all education centers. During the past two years, governmentfunds have financed the installation of digi-tal satellite receivers, computers, flat-screenTVs and electronic whiteboards, enabling thesmall schools to utilize standardized digitalteaching resources.The program is changing

China’s small schoolsgo digital

the educational landscape.Ma Fujun, 48, is the only registered

teacher in Huayagou Primary School inXinmin Village, northwest China’s NingxiaHui Autonomous Region. The school has 22students across grade one, two and three.“It’s hard to attract teachers because of trans-portation issues,” Ma said. “I cannot teachall three classes alone.” The digital program has really helpedMa.”We can offer all compulsory subjectsnow. Distance education means our kids canhave music, art and English classes, and theirChinese and math levels are advancingthanks to other people’s teaching methods.” “We like to have classes on the comput-ers, especially music ,” said student YuJiaojiao, 8. “We’ve learned several songs. It’sfun.” Primary schools are required to offereight courses to grade one, two and three stu-dents in China — Chinese, math, English,ethics, science, music, art and PE.—Xinhua

Fire kills 8 atIndia timber

marketNEW DELHI—At least eightpeople were killed and threeothers sustained serious burninjuries in a timber market firein the western Indian state ofMaharashtra early Saturday, asenior police official said.

“The fire broke out at 2:30a.m. local time at a woodgodown in the state’s Bhiwanditown. Soon it spread to adja-cent godowns in the market.While eight people were killedon the spot, the injured havebeen admitted to a hospitalwhere they are battling for theirlives,” he said on condition ofanonymity.

Local TV channels showedfootage of firemen strugglingto douse the blaze hours afterthe incident. A probe has beenordered into the incident, theofficial added.—Xinhua

BEIJING—The water from asouth China river flowed intoBeijing on Saturday after ajourney of over 1,200 kilo-meters along the South-to-North Water DiversionProject. It took 15 days forthe water to arrive in Beijingfrom its source—theHanjiang River, a tributaryof the Yangtze River, China’slargest waterway. Saturday’sdelivery marks the comple-tion of the middle route’sfirst stage, construction ofwhich began exactly 12 yearsago.

The project will have sig-nificant economic, social andenvironmental impacts, saidE Jingping, chief of the StateCouncil’s South-to-NorthWater Diversion ProjectCommission Office. Nextyear, about 800 million cu-bic meters of water will besent to Beijing from thesouth. Beijing, on average,consumes 3.6 billion cubicmeters of water annually andthe project will eventuallydeliver 1 billion cubic metersof water to Beijing.

The water resource percapita in Beij ing is oneeightieth of the world aver-age. The project will allevi-ate the pressure Beijing faces

Mega projectbrings water fromsouth to Beijing

to meet demand, said SunGuosheng, director of theproject’s Beijing office, butthe project would not com-pletely solve Beijing’s waterissues. Additional measuresmust be taken.

Dean of Beijing NormalUniversity’s College of Wa-ter Sciences, Xu Xinyi, saidBeijing and other placesalong the project’s routemust promote water conser-vation in industry, agricul-ture and at the municipal-ad-ministration level.

Similarly, Zhang Tong,deputy chief of the BeijingInstitute of Water, urged thecity to place restrictions onindustries that require largequantities of water.

Beij ing Mayor WangAnshun promised citywidewater conservation promo-tion efforts to limit wasteful-ness. The middle route’s firststage starts at theDanjiangkou Reservoir inthe central province ofHubei.

The middle route willsupply 9.5 bi l l ion cubicmeters of water annually tonorthern regions, includingthe cities of Beijing andTianjin, and provinces ofHenan and Hebei.—Xinhua

“US forces were chasing down Taliban militants, but mistakenly bom-barded a house.As a result, civilians were victimsof the attack.

DAMASCUS—At least 17jihadist fighters have beenkilled over the past two daysin their battle against Syrianmilitary positions in thesouthern province of al-Qunaitera, an oppositionmonitoring group reportedon Saturday.

Three rebel leaders wereamong those killed during abattle last Thursday wagedby an array of jihadist groupsagainst Syrian military postsin the countryside ofQunaitera, which borders theIsraeli-occupied GolanHeights, said the Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights,which relies on a network ofactivists on ground.

The battle aimed at con-trolling many military postsin the countryside ofQunaitera, mainly three mili-tary posts in the towns of Talal-Kurum, Mant al-Hussan,and Jaba, the Observatorysaid.

It said that Syrian gun-ships on Saturday droppedcrude barrel bombs on thetowns of Um Batneh andMashara in al-Qunaiteracountryside, leaving un-known losses among therebel groups.

Meanwhile, the statenews agency SANA saidSyrian troops dealt “heavyblows” to positions of the“terrorist” groups in the townof Mashara in al-Qunaitera,

Syrian troops kill 17jihadists near

Israel-held territorycharging that those jihadistgroups were working in co-ordination with Israel.

Citing a military source,SANA said Syrian troops arecontinuing their operationsMashara, adding that 20rebel fighters were killed inthe nearby town of Buraiqa.

Meanwhile, the state-runal-Ekhbaria TV aired a foot-age purporting to show thedead bodies of the jihadistfighters in the al-Qunaiteracountryside.

Various jihadist groupshave been trying to advancein al-Qunaitera by wagingmany battles on differentfronts hoping to open theway to the capital Damascus.The Syrian troops have so farmanaged to withstand repeti-tive attacks in that key prov-ince.

Government officialshave accused Israel of aidingthe jihadists there to serve apersonal interest of imposinga buffer zone in al-Qunaiterato distant its occupied terrainfrom nearby violence.

Separately, the Observa-tory said on Saturday that theal-Qaida- linked Nusra Fronthad cut off water and elec-tricity in the city of Idlib fora week, in retaliation to gov-ernment troops’ capture of 40female university studentsover charges of being rela-tives of rebel fighters.—Xinhua

He did not provide thename of the drone. Theconservative Kayhan dailyreferred to it as the Yasir,while an online news websitecalled it the Raad. Officialscould not be reached forcomment.

The Yasir drone, firstunveiled last year, can fly forup to 10 hours and carry out360-degree imaging, officialssaid at the time. Westernmilitary analysts say the Yasiris a modified version of theAmerican ScanEagle drone.Iran said in December 2012that it had seized at least threeBoeing-designed ScanEagledrones after they allegedly vio-lated its airspace over the Per-sian Gulf.

Iran is believed to haveproduced its own remotely pi-loted suicide drone, the Raad-85, which is designed to crashinto targets and set off its war-head.

The six-day military exer-cise is being carried out over527,000 square kilometers(850,000 square miles) near theStrait of Hormuz, a narrowwaterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supplypasses.

Iran frequently touts ad-vances in its homegrown aero-space industries. It says its mostadvanced drone, the Shahed-129, can reach much of theMiddle East, including Israel.The drone is said to have arange of 1,700 kilometers(1,050 miles) and a 24-hourflight capability, and can carryeight bombs or missiles ca-pable of hitting both stationaryand moving targets.—AP

Iran testssuicide drone

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for every Pakistani regardless of theindividual’s faith or ethnicity,” said thePremier. Prime Minister Nawazemphasised on seamless coordinationbetween law enforcement agencies aswell as among the provincial govern-ments and the federal government toachieve optimum results with regardsto the new counter-terrorism action planwithin a short period of time.

The premier said that the governmenthas made an iron resolve to deal with mis-creant elements with a heavy hand. “Thegovernment is committed to take all nec-essary steps to ensure that the blood spilledin the Peshawar school carnage does notgo waste,” he said. The premier alsofinalised the constitution of an umbrellacommittee and 15 sub-committees relatedto the implementation of the National Ac-tion Plan and set a time-frame for all pan-els to submit their recommendations oneliminating terrorism in Pakistan.

The PM’s office issued a notificationcontaining the composition of the com-mittees and a time-frame for submissionof recommendations. The main commit-tee tasked with the implementation of Na-tional Action Plan on counter-terrorismwill be headed by Prime Minister NawazSharif and will comprise Interior Minis-ter Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, FinanceMinister Ishaq Dar, Minister for PlanningAhsan Iqbal, Information MinisterPervaiz Rasheed, Defence MinisterKhawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister forSafron Abdul Qadir Baloch, GovernorSardar Mehtab, Advisor to PM on For-eign Affairs and National Security SartajAziz and Special Assistant to PM on Par-liamentary Affairs Barrister ZafarullahKhan.

The 15 sub-committees, focusing onvarious anti-terror strategies, are as fol-lows: Armed militias Further, the premierhas also formed a sub-committee, to beheaded by the interior minister, and as-signed to propose an action plan withinthree days on the elimination of armed

militias. The committee comprises of DGInter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen-eral Rizwan Akhtar, DG Intelligence Bu-reau (IB) Aftab Sultan, DG Military Op-erations Major General Aamer Riaz, allprovincial home secretaries, includingthose of the Federally Administered TribalAreas (Fata), Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) andAzad Jammu and Kashmir, the Nacta na-tional coordinator and the interior secre-tary. Hate speech, extremist material An-other sub-committee, also headed by theinterior minister, has been tasked withfurnishing recommendations within threedays on the subject of countering hatespeech and extremist material.

The panel consists of the ministers ofreligious affairs, planning and informa-tion, DG ISI, DG IB, MD Pakistan Tele-vision, all provincial home secretaries andAuqaf departments, Nacta’s national co-ordinator and the interior secretary. Fi-nances of terrorist organisations Further,the premier has also formed a sub-com-mittee under the finance minister, taskedto submit recommendations on chokingfinances for terrorists and terroristorganisations. Governor of the State BankAshraf Mehmood Wathra, DG ISI, inte-rior secretary, FBR Chairman TariqBajwa, DG FIA Akbar Hoti and the fi-nance secretary will be part of the com-mittee. Re-emergence of bannedorganisations The interior minister willalso head another sub-body to recommendmeasures against the re-emergence of pro-scribed organisations. The committee alsocomprises of DG ISI, DG IB, all homesecretaries and the interior secretary.Counter-terrorism force Another sub-committee, also headed by the interiorminister and comprising ministers of fi-nance and defence, DG MO, secretariesof finance and interior and Nacta’s coor-dinator, has been assigned to recommendsteps for establishing and deploying adedicated Counter- Terrorism Force.

The prime minister has directed thatthe deployment of the force be completed

by May 31, 2015, and has also directedthe finance minister to work out the cashflow requirement for raising the force byDecember 31. Religious persecution An-other sub-committee was tasked to fur-nish a report on taking effective stepsagainst religious persecution. Headed byinterior minister, the body will consist ofthe minister and secretary of religious af-fairs, the interior secretary, all provincialpolice officers, IGPs of GB, AJK and ICT,all home secretaries and Auqaf depart-ments and NACTA coordinator.Madrassah regulation Interior MinisterKhan will also head a sub-committee onthe registration and regulation ofmadrassas.

The body will hold meetings withvarious organisations of the Wifaq-ul-Madaris and furnish the report within twoweeks. The committee comprises of theminister and secretary of religious affairs,State Minister for Education BalighurRehman, all home secretaries and Auqafdepartments. Terrorist glorification bymedia Another sub-committee, to beheaded by the information minister, willput forth recommendations on the ban-ning of any glorification of terrorism andterrorist organisations by print and elec-tronic media. The panel will comprise theinterior minister, SAPM Irfan Siddiqui,Zafarullah Khan and the information sec-retary. Fata reforms The prime ministeralso formed a sub-committee under theK-P governor, which will furnish recom-mendations within a week on administra-tive and development reforms in Fata,with an immediate focus on rehabilitationof IDPs. Ministers for finance, planningand Safron, as well as the economic af-fairs secretary, Corps Commander 11Corps Peshawar and Fata chief secretarywill be part of the committee.

Dismantling terrorist communicationnetworks The interior minister will alsohead a sub-committee assigned to recom-mend steps within three days on how todismantle the communication networks of

terrorist organisations and tangible mea-sures against the use of internet and so-cial media for terrorism. Karachi opera-tion Another sub-body, formed underNisar Ali Khan, will present its recom-mendations within three days on the sub-ject of taking the ongoing operation inKarachi to its logical conclusion. SindhGovernor Ishratul Ibad, Sindh Chief Min-ister Qaim Ali Shah, DG Rangers andother senior officials will be part the body.Punjab Another sub-committee, to beheaded by the interior minister, has beenassigned to recommend measures withinthree days on zero tolerance for militancyin some parts of Punjab.

DG ISI, DG IB, home secretary andprovincial police officer are members ofthe committee. Sectarian terrorism Thesub-committee tasked with presenting rec-ommendations on subject of dealingfirmly with sectarian terrorism within aweek will be headed by the interior min-ister and comprised of DG IB, all provin-cial police officers, home secretaries andheads of counter terrorism departments,besides the interior secretary and the Nactacoordinator. Afghan refugees InteriorMinister Nisar Ali Kahn will also headanother sub- committee to furnish recom-mendations within a week on the formu-lation of a comprehensive policy to dealwith the issue of Afghan refugees, ban-ning registration of all unregistered ille-gal refugees. The K-P governor, Safronminister, NADRA chairman and othersenior officials will be part of the body.Criminal justice reforms Furthermore,Nisar Ali Khan will also head a sub-com-mittee n the revamping and reforming thecriminal justice system to strengthencounter-terrorism departments, includinggranting of powers to the provincial CIDsto intercept terrorist communications. Be-sides others, the sub-body also comprisedof interior secretary, all provincial secre-taries, representatives of the ISI, IB andlaw secretary. The recommendations willbe finalised within a week.

Premier wants NACTAFrom Page 1

Misuse ofmilitary courts

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and he would also be buriedthere.

Party leaders and workerspaid rich tributes to theirmartyred leaders for her ser-vices to the country and partythat led to her ultimate martyr-dom.

Large number of partyjiyalas from all over the coun-try visited the mausoleum oftheir leader at Garhi KhudaBakhsh and offered Fateha.However according to eye wit-nesses the gathering this yearwas less than in the past andthe young workers missed theirchairperson Bilawal BhuttoZardari from the all importantevent.

PPP workers and leadersalso held a function at LiaquatBagh in Rawalpindi wheretheir leader was assassinated byterrorists.

They offered Fateha andshowered petals at the site.Meetings were also held at dis-trict, divisional and provincialheadquarters of the PPP to payhomage to Mohtarma BenazirBhutto.

Govt, PTItalks still notconclusive

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the government and PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf negotiatingteams witnessed importantprogress.

Both the sides would con-sult their respective leadershipsfor seeking guidance on thethree points.

The government teamagreed to all points, exceptthree related to the proposedJudicial Commission Ordi-nance.

The next round of the talkswill be held on Tuesday asthere is a meeting with the op-position parties on Monday todiscuss national security is-sues.

Later talking to newsmen,PTI leader Jahangir Tareen saidserious efforts are under wayto reach an understanding withthe government on constitutionof judicial commission to probethe alleged rigging in the elec-tions.

He said both sides havedemonstrated flexibility andthe issue can be settled if thegovernment team takes anotherstep forward.

To a question about thecounter-terrorism National Ac-tion Plan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader said the govern-ment should take action imme-diately.

He said with every pass-ing day, complications willsurface and enforcement ofthe plan would become diffi-cult.

He said his party fullybacked the government in itsefforts to root out terrorismfrom the country.

55 killed in air and ground offensivesFrom Page 1

verge of Orakzai and Khyber agency Saturdaywee hours leaving at least sixteen insurgentsdead.

As many as twenty miscreants were injuredand four security personals also sustained in-juries in the shootout.

“Security forces ambushed a large assem-bly of terrorists on the border of Khyber andOrakzai agency in Khazana Kandao andShireen Darra area on the night between Fri-day and Saturday that led to an intense battlewith the trouble makers where in sixteen mili-tants were killed and 20 others were injured.The fleeing militants left behind nine bodiesof their accomplices while two seriouslywounded terrorists were apprehended. Foursoldiers also sustained injuries in exchange offire”, the Inter Services Public Relations saidon Saturday.

Some reports said the exchange of fire be-tween the security forces and the insurgentstook place following militants’ attack on theKhazana security check post that was effec-

tively retaliated by the forces who also appre-hended two seriously wounded militants andshifted nine dead bodies of the alleged terror-ists, which the attackers left behind, to Kalayaheadquarters.

The security forces are also reported tohave launched a major search and hunt opera-tion following the skirmishes.

It may be recalled, that the security forces,that have conducting operations in NorthWaziristan agency for the last more than sixmonths and Operation Khyber in the restiveKhyber agency since October 2014, had pacedup their action against the trouble makers afterthe deadly terrorists attack on Army PublicSchool on December 16 that resulted in mar-tyrdom of over 150 people including 135 in-nocent school kids.

The security forces in ground and aerialoffensives since then have mowed down around200 alleged terrorists in Khyber and NorthWaziristan agencies besides apprehending doz-ens of suspects.

LAHORE—Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan, SirajulHaq has said that restoration ofpeace in the country was thebiggest national issue and sug-gested that all the parties shouldstage a National Peace Marchto stress the point.

Addressing a luncheonhosted by JI in the honour offamilies of the Christians work-ing at Mansoora on Saturday,Sirajul Haq said that the solu-tion of all the problems facedby the country including terror-ism, lies in the enforcement ofthe Islamic system as an Is-lamic government was respon-sible for the protection of thelife, property and honour of allits citizens including the mi-norities.

The JI chief said that thepolitical parties had accepted

Restoration of peace in country biggestnational issue: Siraj

the setting up of military courtsonly under special circum-stances which was however notan ideal situation. He said allthe political and religious par-ties had given a mandate to thegovernment for taking extremesteps for uprooting terrorismand restoration of peace andnow responsibility falls on gov-ernment to take necessary mea-sures to achieve the task.

Sirajul Haq said that un-fortunately, the laws alreadyexisting in the country were notenforced. However, he said, twas the duty of the governmentto remove the flaws in the ju-dicial system, fill the vacantposts in the judiciary, and toprovide sufficient funds to thejudiciary to facilitate its func-tioning.

Describing the Peshawar

tragedy as a big tragedy notonly for Pakistan but also forentire Muslim world, he saidthe civil and military leadershiphad joined hands to wipe outterrorism.

He further said it had beendecided to observe the year2015 as the year of peace.

Referring to the rights ofthe minorities in the country,the JI chief pointed out that theQuaid-e-Azam had stated inclear terms that the Muslimsand the non-Muslims wouldenjoy equal rights in Pakistan.But unfortunately, he said, the

rulers had betrayed thecountry’s ideology and the con-stitution with the result that notonly the eastern wing of Paki-stan was lost but innumerableproblems cropped up for thenation.

Sirajul Haq said that asSenior Minister in theKhyber government, he wasthe first to propose that theminorities in the countryshould be given the title ofPakistanis, and the Hindus,the Christians and the Sikhsshould call themselves asPakistanis community.—INP

Indian army chief in Assam toreview situation, ops intensified

GUWAHATI—Indian Armychief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhagreached Assam on Saturday,as the security forces intensi-fied operations along theBhutan border in the after-math of the gory killings byBodo militants.

An Army spokesman saidGen Suhag headed to theArmy base in Rangia straightfrom the Guwahati airportand reviewed the securitysituation with the Army’s topbrass.

The general is expected to

make an aerial visit to someof the areas along the Bhutanborder in Udalguri, Baksa andChirang districts.

The Army has already in-tensified operations along theAssam-Arunachal Pradesh in-terstate border and along theinternational border withBhutan in the aftermath of themassacre by the NationalDemocratic Front of Bodoland(Songbijit) that has left over73 people dead and renderedover 70,000 people homelessin Sonitpur, Kokrajhar,Udalguri and Chirang.

The central governmenthas already sent 50 compa-nies of additional forces in-cluding those from the

Sashastra Seema Bal, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Cen-tral Reserve Police Force andBorder Security Force to con-trol the situation.

Although there has beenno fresh incident of violencesince Tuesday’s killings, theexodus of people continued inthe districts. Assam Policesources said the Bhutan bor-der has been sealed and a spe-cial operation might belaunched soon against mili-tants from the northeast hid-ing there.

The State Disaster Man-agement Authority said over70,000 people have takenshelter in 77 relief camps inthe affected districts.—IANS

Shabaz for assuredsecurity of educational

institutions, airportsSALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharifhas directed that steps regarding foolproof security at publicand private educational institutions should be completed at theearliest. He said that security plan evolved for schools, collegesand universities should be implemented at any cost. He said thatthe law of ban on display of arms should be strictly implementedand action be taken against violators. Special attention should bepaid to checking of entry and exit points of the province, headded.

He was presiding over a high level meeting here today whichconsidered in detail security arrangements in public and privateeducational institutions of the province. Provincial Minister forHome Col. (R) Shuja Khanzada, Member National AssemblyHamza Shahbaz, Members Provincial Assembly Rana Sanaullah,Zaeem Hussain Qadri, Special Assistant Azm-ul-Haq, RanaMaqbool, Chief Secretary, Inspector General Police and secre-taries of Schools Education, Higher Education, Finance, Auqaf,Law and Information departments and concerned officers werepresent on the occasion. Addressing the meeting, the Chief Min-ister directed that checking and effective monitoring of securityplan should be conducted. He said that the work of raising theboundary walls of educational institutions and installation ofCCTV cameras there should be completed at the earliest. PunjabInformation Technology Board along with concerned departmentsshould make comprehensive planning regarding installation ofCCTV cameras, he added. He said that extraordinary steps haveto be taken in extraordinary situation. He said that cabinet com-mittee on law and order is empowered to decide security mea-sures and other important matters in educational institutions.Shahbaz Sharif said that he will personally review security ar-rangements daily and report regarding monitoring of securityplan be submitted to him on daily basis. He said that no compro-mise would be made regarding foolproof security of educationalinstitutions. He said that cabinet committee should hold meetingabout security arrangements on daily basis. He directed that ac-tion against those using bogus number plates on vehicles shouldbe continued.

The Chief Minister presided over another meeting whichreviewed in detail security arrangements at airports in Punjab.Addressing the meeting, he directed that foolproof security ar-rangements should be ensured at airports of the province and allconcerned institutions should perform their duties under bestcoordination. He said that institutions deployed for security ofairports should discharge their responsibilities efficiently. Spe-cial Assistant to Prime Minister on Aviation Shujat Azeem, Sec-retary Aviation, DG Rangers Punjab, DG Airport Security Force,DG Civil Aviation Authority, Chief Secretary, Inspector GeneralPolice Punjab, Secretary Home and officers of law enforcementagencies attended the meeting.

UNSC to vote on Palestinianstatehood bid by Monday

UNITED NATIONS—The UN Security Council will vote on a draftresolution calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state byMonday, says Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Erekat told reporters that some revisions were made to the Jor-danian-drafted text before sending it to the Security Council. He didnot reveal the details of the amendments, Press TV reported on Sat-urday.

The draft resolution, approved by the Arab League in Septem-ber, sets 2016 as the year for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Pal-estinian territories. The text is also expected to lay out a time-framefor negotiations on a final peace deal between Israelis and Palestin-ians.

In the past few months, the Palestinian national unity govern-ment has been pushing for a UN resolution that determines the bor-ders of a future Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 lines. Israelhas expressed anger over the motion.

In 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem Al Qudsand the Gaza Strip but withdrew from the enclave and laid siege to itin 2005.

Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on theterritories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem Al Quds and the be-sieged Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from theoccupied Palestinian territories.

In November 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgradePalestine’s status at the UN from ‘non-member observer entity’ to‘non-member observer state’ despite strong opposition from Israeland the US. The upgrade allows the Palestinians to participate indebates at the UN General Assembly and improve their chances ofjoining UN agencies and the International Criminal Court wherethey could file complaints against Israel.—IANS

N. Korea callsObama‘monkey’SEOUL— NorthKorea calledPresident Barack Obama “amonkey” and blamed theU.S. on Saturday forshutting down its Internetamid the hacking row overthe comedy “The Inter-view.” North Korea hasdenied involvement in acrippling cyberattack onSony Pictures but hasexpressed fury over thecomedy depicting anassassination of its leaderKim Jong Un. SonyPictures initially called offthe release citing threats ofterror attacks against U.S.movie theaters. Obamacriticized Sony’s decision,and the movie has openedthis week. On Saturday,the North’s powerfulNational Defense Commis-sion, the country’s topgoverning body led byKim, said that Obama wasbehind the release of “TheInterview.” It described themovie as illegal, dishonestand reactionary.—AP

Poroshenkohails Ukraine‘warriors’KIEV—UkrainianPresident PetroPoroshenko on Saturdaywelcomed home as heroes145 soldiers freed by pro-Russian rebels during thelargest prisoner swap ofthe eight-month separatistwar. The Western-backedleader, beaming andwearing a black bomberjacket, walked up to theback cargo bay of amilitary transport planethat landed at a militaryairport outside Kiev in thedawn hours of Saturday tohail the men. He firmly shookhands and tightly embracedthem — some young andothers sporting greyingbeards — as they trundleddown the steps wearingregular civilian clothes andknitted skull caps in thesearing cold. —AFP

Madagascarex-presidentunder housearrestJOHANNESBURG— Madagascar’s formerpresident has been movedto house arrest in thecapital Antananarivo,following months ofdetention, according to arepresentative on Saturday.Marc Ravalomanana wasformally placed under housearrest following a decisionby Madagascan authoritiesto allow him return to thecapital, Antananarivo, onDec. 24 to spend Christmaswith his family, according tohis representative BrianCurrin. Ravalomanana isbeing held in the home heshares with his wife andsons. —AP

WASHINGTON—After 13 years, theUnited States is winding down its warin Afghanistan, plagued by doubtsabout what was accomplished at sucha high cost.

Instead of a sense of triumph at theclose of the longest conflict inAmerica’s history, there is mostly re-gret and fatigue over a war that claimedthe lives of more than 2,300 Americantroops and cost more than a trilliondollars.

US commanders insist the Afghansecurity forces will hold the line in astalemate with the Taliban. But someofficials fear a repeat of Iraq, in whichan American-trained army virtually col-lapsed in the face of an extremist on-slaught. A large majority of Americansnow say the war was not worth it, andonly 23 per cent of US soldiers believethe mission has been a success, accord-ing to recent polls. But when it began,

US plagued by doubts as it exits Afghan warthe war enjoyed overwhelming supportand victory seemed within reach.Less than a month after Al Qaeda’s at-tacks of September 11, 2001, presidentGeorge W. Bush captured the nation’ssense of righteous anger as he an-nounced military action in Afghanistanin a televised address in October.

The goal was to “disrupt the use ofAfghanistan as a terrorist base of op-erations,” Bush said, and to attack theTaliban regime that had hosted Al Qaedaand refused to hand over its leaders.

US objectives were met with stun-ning speed. Al Qaeda training campswere wiped out and Northern Alliancefighters — backed by US-led air strikesand a small number of American specialforces — toppled the Taliban regimewithin a month.

For the United States, the warseemed all but over. But the Taliban even-tually regrouped from safe havens, even

as Washington’s attention shifted to anew war in Iraq. The Taliban grew into avirulent insurgency that exploited re-sentment of a corrupt, ineffective gov-ernment in Kabul.

The United States formed the back-bone of an international force that founditself in a protracted fight with insur-gents. The US-led contingent steadilyexpanded — while the goals of the warbecame increasingly ambitious as well.

Washington and its allies embracedthe lofty ideals of nation-building, vow-ing to fight corruption, foster economicdevelopment, and forge a “stable, demo-cratic state” in an impoverished landmired in war for decades.

The results were often disappoint-ing. International aid helped build roadsand schools, but it also was blamed forfuelling rampant corruption, with someof the money ending up with the insur-gents. Attempts to broker peace talks

with the Taliban in recent years came tonothing. Critics say Washington misseda chance at cutting a deal early in thewar, when the insurgents were on theretreat.

Fighting the elusive Taliban, withtheir homemade bombs and Pakistanisanctuaries, proved frustrating for West-ern troops, who struggled to grasp thelanguage and tribal rivalries of an alienculture.

ommanders appealed for moretroops. And Washington kept sendingforces “in the vain hope that somethingmight somehow improve”, wrote retiredgeneral Daniel Bolger, author of “WhyWe Lost”. Having reached a peak ofmore than 100,000 US forces, the Ameri-can presence is down to about 11,000troops, now that Nato’s combat missionis over. The balance sheet for the cam-paign is decidedly mixed.

The intervention deprived Al Qaeda

of a sanctuary, ousted the Taliban frompower, eased the repression of womenand created an Afghan army that couldmake it difficult for the insurgents to re-turn to their once dominant role, analystssaid.

But Al Qaeda — even after its leaderOsama bin Laden was killed by US com-mandos — has spawned cells elsewhereand inspired new extremists in Syria andIraq, while women’s advances are fragileand could easily unravel.

The Taliban may no longer run minis-tries but they are far from defeated andcould yet turn the tide against the Kabulgovernment’s army, which has sufferedunsustainably high casualties and deser-tions.

“The Taliban have nowhere near thepower they did in 2001, but they are cer-tainly not finished,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the BrookingsInstitution think tank.—AFP

ISLAMABAD—Finance Minister SenatorIshaq Dar has said the two nuclear en-ergy plant in Karachi would be pursuedto meet the future energy requirementsof the country.

The Minister made the remark whenDirector General Strategic Plans Divi-sion (SPD) Lieutenant General ZubairMahmood Hayat called on him on Sat-urday afternoon to discuss the financ-ing mechanism of K2-K3 nuclear energyprojects .

Secretary EAD and DG SPD gave ajoint briefing to the Minister about thestatus of the projects.

The energy projects will be a part ofPak-China Energy Corridor and will bejointly financed by China (EXIM Bank)and Pakistan in a ratio 82 and 18% re-spectively. On a question made by theFinance Minister Gen. Hayat told the

K-2, K-3 projects to generate cheap energy: Dar

Minis ter tha t the project when com-pleted will be the cheapest source ofenergy.

This project will help a long way inovercoming the energy crunch whichis experienced now by the country.

The project will use very secure andhighly efficient third generation equip-ment to make cheapest electricity.

The Minister appreciating the effortsof EAD and Pakistan Atomic EnergyCommission in making a plan for theprojects said that” InshAllah we will takePakistan where the rest of the developedworld stands now.

When we planned to build the Motorwayit was considered ahead of time but now ithas increased its value many-fold and ifthese energy projects are pursued perplanned we shall be able to meet the futureenergy requirements of Pakistan”.—INP

MOSCOW—The Kremlin has branded theexpansion of NATO as a fundamentalthreat to Russia in a revised military doc-trine that dramatically reflects deteriorat-ing relations with the West.

The new document, approved by Rus-sian President Vladimir Putin, decries the“reinforcement of NATO´s offensive ca-pacities directly on Russia´s borders, andmeasures taken to deploy a global anti-mis-sile defence system” in Central Europe.

NATO was already seen a major threatin an earlier version of the doctrine pub-lished in 2010, but the war in Ukraine hasfurther raised tensions to levels not seensince the Cold War.

The alarmed tone of the new versioncomes in the wake of repeated protests byMoscow over NATO´s decision to posi-tion troops in alliance member states likePoland or the Baltic states that border Rus-sia.

The Kremlin has also opposedNATO´s American-driven plan to base itsanti-missile defence shield in Central Eu-rope, which Moscow views as directedforemost against Russia.

The doctrine´s harsher tone also fol-lows Wednesday´s decision by Ukraine toabandon its non-aligned status — a sym-bolic move that provoked Moscow´s an-ger by potentially clearing the way for Kievto request NATO membership.

Ukraine faces a huge task to bring itsmilitary up to NATO norms, and key mem-bers of the alliance, including France andGermany, remain sceptical about it joining

New Russian militarydoctrine labels NATO

as main threatthe alliance.

Despite its new anti-NATO edge, theRussian doctrine remains primarily defen-sive in nature, calling any military actionby Russia justifiable only after all non-vio-lent options to settle a conflict have beenexhausted.

In the same vein, it notes the “decreasedlikelihood of a large-scale war against Rus-sia”, although it does list a number of in-creasing threats to stability like territorialdisputes, “interference in the internal af-fairs” of nations, and the use of strategicarms in space.

Russia´s new military doctrine also in-troduces the concept of “non-nuclear dis-suasion” based on maintaining a high de-gree of preparedness of conventional mili-tary forces. It also urges active participa-tion in regional security organisations likethe Commonwealth of Independent States,made up of nine former Soviet Republics;and the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation formed by Russia, China, andseveral ex-Soviet Caucasian republics.

It reserves however the right to usethe country´s nuclear arsenal in the eventof aggression against Russia or its allies,or in case of “threat to the very existenceof the state.”

Among the principal duties listed in thedoctrine for the country´s armed forcesduring times of peace is the protection “ofRussia´s national interests in the Arctic”, astrategic region in Russia´s future energydevelopment to which the United Statesand Canada also lay claim. —AFP

STAFF REPORTER

QUETTA—Fearing a pos-sible jail break, the provin-cial government ofBalochistan has shifted 24high-profile prisoners fromDistrict Jail Quetta.

The decision to shift thehigh profile prisoners wasmade at a meeting held atthe Home and Tribal AffairsDepartment of Balochistan.Senior officers from Homeand Prison departmentsparticipated in the meeting,which discussed possibleattacks on prisons in theprovince.

Muhammad Asif Butt,the Superintendent of Dis-trict Jail Quetta, told report-ers that 24 high-profile pris-oners have been shifted.

He said Frontier Corps,Balochistan Constabulary,Police and Rapid ResponseForce personnel were de-ployed around the jail toavoid occurrence of anyuntoward incident during

24 prisoners shiftedfrom Quetta

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Muttahida Qaumi Move-ment on Saturday presented its recom-mendations for National Security Planaimed at rooting out the menace of ter-rorism from the country.

Addressing a press conference herein Khursheed Begum Memorial Hall,MQM leader Dr. Farooq Sattar stressedupon fixing a period during which theproposed military courts will remainfunctional.

He noted that local governments,vigilance and community policing sys-tems were necessary to counter terror-ism, adding that police reforms, indepen-dent and responsible judiciary were alsoimportant to rid the country of terror-ism.

Sattar said military courts would onlyprovide a temporary solution to the is-sue at hand, adding that the parliament

MQM presentsrecommendations for NSP

should take necessary steps to ensure ef-fective functionality of National CounterTerrorism Authority.

Sattar demanded the government toimmediately implement the anti-terrorismpolicy. Sattar said that the policy of theNational Counter Terrorism Authoritymust be regulated by the parliament andthat the military courts are a temporarysolution to the problem.

He said that MQM supported the for-mation of the military courts after strongassurances that it is only a temporary so-lution and that only terrorists will be tar-geted.

MQM leader said that many terrorist at-tacks could have been averted had theNACTA come into effect in 2013.

Another MQM leader Barrister FaorghNaseem said the military courts should onlybe used against the terrorists, warning thathis party would go to the courts in case itwas used against any political party.

the shifting. “All prisoners have

been sentenced to death,”he said.There are a total of 97 pris-oners who have beenawarded the death sen-tence. A total of 14 prison-ers have filed their mercypetitions before PresidentMamnoon Hussain.

“Within a few days’time, the fate of these pris-oners would be decided,” anofficer of the Home Depart-ment said.The number of inmates in all11 jails in Balochistan ismore than 3000. Accordingto sources in the prison de-partment, four jails — in-cluding District Jail Quetta,Khuzdar, Gaddani andMachh — have been de-clared sensitive.

Security around jailshas been beefed up in theaftermath of the Peshawarschool carnage and the lift-ing of the moratorium onthe death penalty by thefederal government.

Syria ready todiscuss Russiancrisis end plan

BEIRUT —Syria said onSaturday it is willing to par-ticipate in “preliminary con-sultations” in Moscowaimed at restarting peacetalks next year to end its civilwar.

“Syria is ready to partici-pate in preliminary consul-tations in Moscow in orderto meet the aspirations ofSyrians to find a way out ofcrisis,” state television said,quoting a source at the Syr-ian foreign ministry.

Moscow, an ally of Syr-ian President Bashar al-Assad, has pushed to restarttalks that collapsed inGeneva in February.Russian Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov said thismonth that he wanted Syr-ian opposition groups toagree among themselveson a common approachbefore setting up directtalks with the Damascusgovernment.

But Lavrov did notspecify which oppositiongroups should takepart .—Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif chairing a meeting on the implementation of NationalAction Plan at the PM’s Office.

Gurbangulyexpresses hiscondolences

withMamnoon

OBSERVER REPORT

T U R K M E N I S TA N —P r e s i -dent of TurkmenistanGurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has expressedhis deepest condolencesto President of the IslamicRepublic of PakistanMamnoon Hussain forlarge number of deathsand injuries in the terror-ist attack in Peshawarcity.

In his message theleader of the Turkmenstate noted the fact thatthe casualties includingchildren aroused particu-lar bitterness.

“Resolutely oppos-ing any manifestations ofterrorism and extremism,Turkmenistan fully sup-ports the efforts of theglobal community incombating this evil anderadicating it,” the mes-sage says.

The Pres ident ofTurkmenistan conveyedwords of suppor t andsympathy to the fami-l ies , re la t ives andfr iends of those ki l ledand injured.

IN WEALTHIER nations it is common practice to clamp the baby’s umbilical cord lessthan a minute after birth. But a recent re-

view of published studies suggests delayingcord clamping results in healthier blood andiron levels in babies, and thisbenefit outweighs theslightly higher risk of devel-oping jaundice. The review-ers arrived at this conclusionafter analyzing data onnearly 4,000 women andtheir babies. They reporttheir findings online in aJuly 11th issue of theCochrane Database of Sys-tematic Reviews.

One of the authors,Philippa Middleton of theAustralian Research Centrefor Health of Women andBabies at the University ofAdelaide, says in a state-ment: “In light of growingevidence that delayed cordclamping increases earlyhaemoglobin concentrationsand iron stores in infants, a more liberal ap-proach to delaying clamping of the umbilicalcord in healthy babies appears to be warranted.”

In higher income countries, the standardpractice is to clamp the umbilical cord withina minute of the baby being born. If cord clamp-ing is delayed, the risk that the baby will de-velop jaundice rises. Newborns with jaundiceare treated with light therapy. However, stop-ping the blood from the placenta reaching thebaby before the final few pulses stop, meansthere is a chance the baby will not receiveenough blood from the mother and will havelower iron levels.

“The benefits of delayed cord clamping need

to be weighed against the small additional riskof jaundice in newborns. Later cord clampingto increase iron stores might be particularly ben-eficial in settings where severe anaemia is com-mon” The researchers reviewed 15 trials com-

paring early and late cord clamp-ing covering a total of 3,911women and their infants. Theyexamined results for mothers andbabies separately, using haemo-globin measures as indicators ofhealthy blood and iron levels.

Although another reasonsometimes given for early cordclamping is that it reduces themother’s risk of bleeding afterbirth, the reviewers found noevidence of this. Delayed cordclamping did not change themother’s risk ofhaemorrhaging, losing blood orhaving reduced haemoglobinlevels, they note. But delayingcord clamping did make a dif-ference to the health of the ba-bies. Between one and two daysafter birth, their haemoglobin

levels were higher; between three and sixmonths after birth, they were less likely tobe deficient in iron.

The reviewers also found that delayedcord clamping was linked to higher birthweight and made no difference to deaths innewborns. They also found delayed cordclamping appears to have no effect on longer-term brain development, although only oneof the trials examined this. The reviewersconclude their findings suggest we need toadopt a “more liberal approach” to delayingcord clamping which is likely to benefit ba-bies, “as long as access to treatment for jaun-dice requiring phototherapy is available”.

Delayed cord clamping afterbirth better for baby’s health

Singer Wateen Qadri presents the poetry of Parveen Shakir during a ceremony organizedby Parveen Shakir Trust on the death anniversary of renowned Poet Parveen Shakir atIslamabad Club.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

Workers of PPP attending a ceremony on the 7th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in Rawalpindi.

Smoke rising after fire erupted in some parts of the building of Islamabad Club which was extinguished without any majordamage.

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—On the directions ofMember Administrations and Estate,Capital Development Authority (CDA),Amer Ali Ahmed, an operation was car-ried out against the illegal excavationfor networking purpose and removedthe fiber optic cable. To this effect,Member Administrations and Estate,Amer Ali Ahmed has reiterated a firm

action and directed the Directorate ofMunicipal Administration of CDA tocontinue the operation against the ille-gal cable networking across the boardin the Islamabad without fear or favour.

He said that such illegal excavationwork in the capital city not only caus-ing damage to the infrastructure and isthe major cause of pollution but alsoposing financial loss to the Authority.

He said that CDA would not allow

its land for any kind of illegal network-ing of cables, adding that operationagainst the illegal excavation and net-working of cables would carry on.

The operation is in continuation tothe actions against illegal activities andto bring the fiber optics under the for-mal system of tax net to increase rev-enue generation through it telecom in-frastructure potential. In this regard, aspecial team of telecom unit has been

constituted by the Director MunicipalAdministration, CDA, which is takingeffective measures against the illegalnetworking of cables to discourage thispractice.

Residents of the Federal Capitalhave appreciated the operation againstillegal networking of cables and ex-pressed the hope that such operationwould be extended to the other sectorsof the city.

Operation launched against illegalcable networking in twin cities

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Standing Committeeon Cabinet Secretariat recommended thatgas load-shedding should not be imple-mented for domestic consumers duringpeak hours. The committee which met hereat Parliament House, under the chairman-ship of Rana Muhammad Hayal Khan rec-ommended there should be no gas load-shedding from 0600 hours to 1000 hours,1200 hours to 1500 hours and 1800 hoursto 0000 hours.

Deputy Managing Director, Sui North-ern Gas Pipelines Ltd. (SNGPL) briefedthe committee that SNGPL was meetingthe requirements of more than 4.7 millionconsumers of domestic, commercial, CNG

and industrial categories through its dis-tribution network, said a press release.

All categories of consumers are fedthrough a common distribution networkand there is continuous extension inSNGPL’s network.

On an average, there has been an in-crease in gas demand by 40-50 MMCEDbased on average consumption during sum-mer months and 80-100 MMCED based onaverage consumption during winter months,each year. On the other hand there is noconsiderable increase in inputs. Small fieldswhich have been connected to the system,hardly compensate the reduction of supplydue to depletion of major gas fields sup-plying gas to SNGPL’s system.

Shortfall is bridged through curtail-

ment in different sectors including power,industry, CNG and fertilizer. Presently,gas supply to all sectors, except high pri-ority domestic and commercial, is sus-pended due to increased consumption, thepress release added. Even with the suspen-sion of gas supply to industrial and CNGsectors, demand for domestic sector ex-ceeds the available quantity of gas. In viewof the above, low pressure issues are facedby the consumers especially by those whoare situated at the tail-end of the distribu-tion network, mainly during winter.

The meeting was attended by MNAsMalik Ibrar Ahmad, Syed Javed Ali Shah,Sardar Muhammad Irfan Dogar, ParveenMasood Bhatti, Nighat Parveen Mir, ShahnazSaleem and Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto.

Senate body for no gasload-shedding during peak hours

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Allama Iqbal Open University(AIOU) has rescheduled practical exams ofits F.Sc programme that would now be startedfrom 22nd January, 2015 and would be con-tinued till February 13.

Earlier these exams were scheduled to bestarted from 5th January which has been post-poned on account of law and order situationin the country, this was announced by the Con-troller of Exams Iqbal Hussain, says a pressrelease. Revised schedule of the practical ex-ams has been placed at the University’swebsite www.aiou.edu.pk.

These practical exams will be held atExam Center No.145 (Govt. College of Sci-ence, Wahdat Road, Lahore), Exam Center

No.199 (Govt. Islamia College, SargodhaRoad, Faisalabad) and Exam Center No.185(Block No.4, AIOU Lab, Islamabad).

The students have been divided intogroups, practical exams of the first group isschedule to take place from 0900 to 1200hours while timing of the practical exams forthe 2nd group has scheduled from 1400 to1700 hours.

The revised roll number slips are beingsent to all the concerned students; howeverthe roll number slips already issued to the stu-dents will be valid/acceptable in case revisedroll number slips are not received.

For further information, the students couldcontact the Dy. Controller of Exams, AbidHussain Satti on his telephone no. 051-9250051, 051-9057648.

AIOU reschedules practicalexams of F.Sc programme

Notices issued forselling substandard,unhygienic edibles

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Capital De-velopment Authority (CDA)as part of i ts campaignagainst sale of unhygienic,expired and adulterated ed-ible items in the markets ofthe Federal Capital issued 35notices and challaned 17people for not maintainingthe required standards. Spe-cial teams of the authorityhave confiscated and de-stroyed fifteen (15) liters ofexpired / non-brandedketchup, ten (10) kg of rot-ten tomatoes and ten (10) li-ters of non-branded and sub-standard cooking oil andforty three (43) dozens ofrotten bananas.

Moreover, forty (40)cracked / chipped utensilswere also confiscated andsubsequently destroyed. Dur-ing the operation, teams ofHealth Services Directoratehave partially sealed one(01) bakery for selling unhy-gienic and substandard fooditems. Each special team ofHealth Services Directorateis led by a Food Inspectorand all the teams are work-ing under the supervision ofHealth Officer.

Their performance is be-ing reviewed by the Author-ity on daily basis. In themeanwhile, Member Admin-istration and Estate, Amer AliAhmed has said that opera-tions against the sale of sub-standard and unhygienic fooditems will remain continuewith pace so that availabilityof healthy food and colddrinks could be ensured. Hesaid that stern action wouldbe taken against the violatorsof rules and regulations. Hesaid that the campaign againstunhygienic edible itemswould continue withoutfavour or fear.

Federal capitaldeclared

market areaSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—District admin-istration Islamabad has de-clared federal capital as mar-ket area. This step has beentaken under the directives ofministry of interior. In this con-nection the process of issuinglicenses for purchase and saleof agriculture products hasbeen started.

District administrationIslamabad has directed thetraders community to contactoffice of the administratormarket committee Sabzimandi I-11/4 Islamabad atphone numbers 051-4865811and 9257555 in connectionwith their business matters.

ISLAMABAD—The national businessleaders on Saturday demanded immedi-ate implementation of the action plan tocurb menace of terrorism. The nation hasforged united after losing thousands oflives and hundreds of billions to lawless-ness during last few decades therefore anydelay in not in the national interest, theysaid.

According to a statement issued onSaturday, speaking to the business com-

munity VP Saarc Chamber Iftikhar AliMalik, SM Muneer, Mian Idrees, MianZahid Hussain and others said that thosetrying to disturb national consensusagainst terrorism are not friends but en-emies.

They said that after ending distinc-tion between good and bad Taliban thedifferentiation between religious and non-religious terrorists must be put to an end.Nation deserve an apology from politi-

cal and opinion leaders who supportedterrorists and misguided nation for de-cades, they demanded. For decades gov-ernments preferred to avoid confrontationwith terrorists and relied on statementsthat left country, masses and economyhalf dead but now the situation haschanged which has helped COAS Raheelto become hero of masses. Rejecting allthe arguments against establishment ofmilitary courts.—Agencies

Immediate implementation of action plan demanded

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—In a specially convened meetingof the executives of Nazriya Pakistan Council(NPC), presided over by Chairman Zahid Malik,the council chalked out month long befittingprogrammes to celebrate the holy month of Rabi-ul-Awwal and the sacred event of Eid Milad-un-Nabi (pbuh).

Apart from highlighting various aspects ofthe life of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), particularlyhis universal message of love, peace and equal-ity for the mankind; the programmes will spe-cially focus on expressing the spiritual back-ground of the creation of Pakistan which, wasthe actual force behind the Pakistan movement.Mr. Zahid Malik said, the people would be madeaware of the reality that Pakistan had Godly

blessings in its creation and would prosper alongwith these blessings. “This aspect will bebrought to light in an exclusive lecture on“Riasat-e-Pakistan – Riasta-e-Madina kiTausee”, he said.

Other programmes will include Mehfil-e-Milad for ladies to be arranged by Mrs. FarrukhKhan, President of the ladies wing of NPC. Acompetition of recitation of Naat amongst stu-dents (9th – 12th class) will also be held besidesa very special exhibition of photographs of sa-cred relics belonging to the Holy Prophet (pbuh)and his era, with the courtesy of the brotherlyIslamic country Turkey. In addition, a NaatiyaMushaira will be arranged to be participated bythe poets from the twin cities. A socio-literaryprogramme ‘Nuqta-i-Nazar’ will also be a fea-ture of the Rabi-ul-Awwal programmes.

NPC chalks out befitting programmesto celebrate Rabi-ul-Awwal

06:25 01:3003:45

07:00

Zohr

Asr

Isha

Fajar

Meghrab at Sunset

Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity

Sale of dry fruit has risen with drop of temperature in twin cities.

Children carrying torches participating in rally in connection with Eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH).

People facing hardships due to the construction work of Metro Bus Project near Committee Chowk.

STAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Rawalpindi Arts Council(RAC) in collaboration with Q Commu-nication has staged a family stage dramaentitled “Free Idiots” to provide the citi-zens neat and clean entertainment facili-ties and uplift their intellect level.

The drama is written and directed bySalman Sunny while cast includes ImtiazAli Kashif , Saeed Anwar, LubnaShahzadi, Imran Rushdi, Babar Abbas,Reha Yousaf, Naeem Tota, MahwishIqbal, Neha Qureshi, Akhtar Rashid andNoor. Renowned social worker HajiGulzar Awan, Naheed Manzoor and Resi-dent Director RAC Waqar Ahmed werealso present on this occasion.

The drama revolves aroundShamso’s family and his three sonsShahinsha, Alampanah, and Badshah.Drama is based on social issues alongwith the mixture of satire, irony and com-edy. Shamsu’s sons are lazy and ineffi-cient who always take loan on interest

from Bala, a vagabond of the area. Atlast Bala demanded Shamso to sell hishouse to pay back his sons’ loan.

He also threaten to lodge FIR againsthis sons but Shamsu appealed Bala notto do so. At the end his sons realize theirmistake and felt ashamed.

Haji Gulzar addressing on this occa-sion said that it is a good effort to at-tract the families who are far from theat-rical activities but dramas like Free Idi-ots will attract the families to come backto stage drama.

He said that families must come towatch the drama which is full of seriousmessage and comedy.

Naheed Manzoor said that efforts ofSalam Sunny for revival of family stagedrama are appreciable.

Waqar Ahmed said that the platformof Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC) is toprovide healthy entertainment to thefamilies of twin cities. The drama FreeIdiots will continue till Dec 28 at the au-ditorium of RAC.

Drama ‘Free Idiots’ attractsfamilies at RAC

RAWALPINDI—Police under its ongoingdrive against anti-social elements havearrested 26 lawbreakers and recovered3570 grams charras, 15 liter wine, eightpistols 30 bore with 32 rounds, one rifle12 bore with 10 rounds, two revolverswith f ive rounds and f ireworks i temsfrom the possession of the arrested ac-cused .

According to Rawalpindi policespokesman, Bunni police held Bilal forhaving 510 grams charras. New Townpolice recovered over 500 grams charrasfrom the possession of Mir Zaman.Westridge police rounded up DanishKhan for carrying 1120 grams charraswhile Abdul Samad, Ismail , MansoorAhmed and Atif were sent behind thebars on recovery of charras.

Waris Khan police netted Azhar andIshtiaq and recovered 10 liter wine. NewTown police booked Syed Muhammad

Jan with five liter wine. Other accusedwere arrested for having illegal weapons.

Waris Khan police booked Kamranand Naqash and recovered f ireworksitems while Waris Khan police nabbedKhurram Yousaf and Yasir Ali for pos-sessing 100 kites and 80 kite flying stringrolls.

Meanwhile, Police have arrested 13gamblers and recovered Rs 7210 stakemoney, nine mobile phones and otheritems from their possession.

According to Rawalpindi policespokesman, R.A.Bazaar police acting ona tip-off conducted raids in Tench Bhattaand Aadra areas and nabbed 13 personsnamely Masood, Nisar and others whowere allegedly involved in betting whileplaying cards.

Police recovered cash stake moneyamounting to Rs 7210, nine mobile phonesand other items from their custody. —APP

Drugs, liquor, illegalweapons recovered

Police launchessearch operation in

Dhoke MunshiRAWALPINDI—Police onspecial directive of City Po-lice Officer (CPO) RawalpindiHumayun Bashir Tararlaunched special search op-eration on Saturday inDhoke Munshi and its ad-joining areas in the jurisdic-tion of Airport police station.

Heavy police contingents,police commandos, specialbranch personnel, Elite Force,Muhafiz Squad and Ladiespolice under the supervisionof Superintendent Police (SP)Potohar Division conductedsearch operation in DhokeMunshi and other areas.

According toRawalpindi Police Spokes-man, Police checked 112 per-sons and searched over 36houses. He informed thatspecial search operations tonet the criminals would alsobe launched in other areasof the district.—APP

PEF to educate fourmillion students

by next yearSTAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—The PunjabEducation Foundation(PEF) will arrange freeschool education for fourmillion most deserving stu-dents through its partneringschools in the province bynext year.

According to chairmanPEF Engineer Qamar ul Is-lam Raja, PEF is doing awonderful job by arrangingfree school education for theneedy in the province.

In a statement issuedhere he said that keepingin view the effectiveness ofPEF public partnershipbased models of free edu-cation, the same would fur-ther be expanded so thatevery needy child couldstudy free of cost inPunjab.

He said that all-out re-sources would be utilized toensure that every childcould have equal access tothe basic right of education.

STAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—An exhibition of rarephotographs on the life of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah has at-tracted a large number of visitors atRawalpindi Arts Council (RAC).

More than 100 rare pictures of thegreat leader have been exhibited in theart gallery at RAC while the exhibitionwill continue till December 28.

Chairman Jinnah Iqbal Fikri ForumRana Abdul Baqi alongwith NaheedManzoor and Resident Director RAC

Waqar Ahmed inaugurated the exhi-bition which was also attended by alarge number of people from differentwalk of life.

Addressing the inaugural cer-emony, Rana Abdul Baqi said work,work and work, this was the messageof the great leader and he succeededin achieving a separate homeland, Pa-kistan for the Muslims of sub-conti-nent by adhering to this philosophy.

“He laid out the principles of unity,organization and faith for the nationto make headway on the path to

progress and development,” headded.

Naheed Manzoor said that Quaid-i-Azam was the great leader of the sub-continent and our youth must followhis teachings.

Resident Director RAC WaqarAhmed said that aim to display rarepictures and historical documents per-taining to Quaid-i-Azam is to highlightdifferent aspects of the life of Quaidwho united the Muslims of the sub-continent for acquiring a separatehomeland.

Photographic exhibition on Quaid’s life

Preparations start to celebrateEid Milad un Nabi (PBUH)

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Capital Development Au-thority has started work on the construc-tion of signal free five lane highway be-tween Zero Point and Rawat to meet thedemand of rising traffic. Presently mas-sive traffic jams are witnessed on theroad during morning and afternoon aspeople move to schools and offices.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had di-rected the CDA to widen the dual roadbetween Koral Chowk and Rawat but inview of the ever increasing traffic flow,mainly due to construction of new hous-ing colonies along the road, it has been

decided to widen it to five lanes and makeit a signal free.

Officials in the CDA claimed that it isthe first biggest project in the history ofthe capital being initiated on the direc-tives of the Prime Minister.

The Authori ty plans to constructshopping malls on both the sides of thehighway that would on the one hand be-come a source of income for CDA whileat the same time provide opportunity tothe local and foreign firms to invest in abig way. Meanwhile the Peshawar Mo-tor Interchange being constructed onKashmir way will be opened for traffic inMarch, 2015.

Zero point-Rawat road to bemade signal free and five lane

December 29-31Drama workshop

PAKISTAN National Coun-cil of Arts (PNCA) will orga-nize a three-day drama work-shop from December 29 to31. PNCA would provide acomplete forum to theyoungsters through thisworkshop for polishing theirskills in the field of dramaand theatre.

CITY REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D—Capital DevelopmentAuthori ty (CDA) has ini t iated theproject of replacing traditional elec-trical lights with LED lights on majoravenues of Islamabad with the spon-sorship of private companies.

All the cost of the project will beborne by the private firms and therewill be no financial burden on CDAfor this project. In the first phase of

the project LED lights were being in-stal led on one hundred and eleven(111) poles on Faisal Avenue fromFaisal Mosque to I-8 signal. It wouldbe extended to other major avenuesin phases.

These LED lights were being in-stalled in collaboration with NESCOMand private firm. NESCOM will pro-vide these l ights at concessionalrates.

By replacing traditional lights with

LED lights, CDA would be able tosave Rs. 10 million per annum. More-over, this project will also enable CDAto save reasonable quantity of elec-tr ici ty as exist ing 250 volt bulbswould be replaced by 175 volt bulbs,which would save 75 volts per bulb.

Chairman CDA, Maroof Afzal hasdirected Director Municipal Admin-istration to start the project of instal-lation of LED lights on experimentalbasis so that it could be extended to

the other areas of Islamabad.Chairman CDA said that during the

next phase these lights would be in-stalled on all major roads and avenuesof Islamabad. He said that installa-tion of LED lights will not only savemillions of rupees per annum but willalso add to the beauty of Islamabad.

Chairman CDA said those oldbulbs which are being replaced wouldbe installed on other roads, thus sav-ing CDA money.

Chairman CDA while appreciatingthe efforts of Director Municipal Ad-ministration said that due to sponsor-ship by private firms, this project willnot only help reduce the expenses butCDA would be able to install state ofthe art LED lights in Islamabad. Hesaid that CDA will gradually reducethe electr ici ty consumption due toenergy crises and replacement of tra-ditional lights with LED lights will behelpful in this regard.

CDA initiates project

Replacing of traditionalelectrical lights with LED

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The faithful have startedpreparations to celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him) to beheld on 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, withgreat religious fervour.

The mosques, homes and build-ings with colourful lights and buntingsare being decorated to express lovewith the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

They are also purchasing banners,

badges, stickers and flags inscribedwith the slogans paying respect andreverence to the Holy ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) from stalls set upat different areas.

Naat Khawani and processions arebeing planned by various social andreligious organizations to express de-votion and pay tribute to the HolyProphet (PBUH) on His birth anniver-sary.

Banners and billboards containing

information about different Naat com-petitions are being displayed at differ-ent entrance points of streets and mainroads across the twin-cities ofIslamabad and Rawalpindi. Newspa-pers have also started publishing spe-cial supplements, while televisionchannels and radio stations havestarted special programmes. IslamabadCapital Territory (ICT) administrationand police have also been directed totake extra security measures.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A mega scandal on il-legal allotment of 650 plots by cor-rupt elements of Capital Develop-ment Authority (CDA) has surfacedup. An unholy nexus of senior offic-ers of CDA and property mafia has

led to illegal allotment of 650 plotsvaluing billion of rupees in ChakShahzad.

FIA has registered case againstmore than 10 senior officers of CDAand property mafia and has startedconducting raids for their arrest. Asper FIA sources, the case registered

under No 90 in anti corruption cellpolice station Rawalpindi reveals thatsome senior officers of CDA in con-nivance with their favorite propertydealers including Ashiq Abbasi,Hamid Abbasi, Rashid Abbasi andothers have illegally allotted, trans-ferred and regularized 650 plots.

Mega scam of illegal allotment of 650plots by CDA officers unearthed

Funeral prayers in absentia being held for mother of Hurriyat leader Shabir Shah inIslamabad, capital of Pakistan, on Saturday. Habla Begum passed away on Friday morn-ing after prolonged illness.

MUZAFFARABAD: Benazir Bhutto Shaheed rally was taken out by PPP AJK workers on Saturday here.

FIRDOUS SYED

KASHMIR finds itself fully disempoweredand deeply fragmented? Since 1996 assembly elections, it’s become almost a

ritual to declare every “just concluded” electionas, “transparent”, “free and fair”, and “peaceful”.The jargon of “historic” and “of strategic impor-tance” is also part of the standard template. Waita minute, wasn’t the 1977 election also, held muchbefore the advent of militancy, celebrated as thefirst “free and fair” election in the history of J&K.So no more evidence is required to come to a con-clusion that all assembly elections held before1977 were farce. Similarly if conduct of everyelection is a “historic” election, why should webe censured for believing that in Jammu and Kash-mir the history is still in the process of making?And if we are in a democracy why we need to begrateful for the conduct of a “free and fair” elec-tion? As if “free” and “fair” are two benevolentindulgences of our magnificent benefactors, therulers of the day.

Why to be rebuked, if we are forced to as-sume that in the conflict ridden J&K, “free andfair” that too provided that elections in real sense

Is there any hope?are both, free and fair, is a concession and not anecessary condition for the very idea of democ-racy to prevail. Then there are the usual intellec-tuals—pun intended—, screaming from the roof-tops, that this election can provide a handsomedeparture from the rigor of the bloody-conflict.Ever since 1996, this tribe of job seekers has beencontriving formulations of “game changer” “to-wards reconciliation” and “renewed hope”. Howcan we be against the idea of any true reconcilia-tion? Each and every distressed soul of Kashmiris innately desirous of a renewed hope. The ques-tion however remains, is there any hope?

For a change lets agree with Omar Abdullahthat election “process should not be perceived asplebiscite”. Had it been so, a dozen of electionexercises, for parliament and assembly, under-taken since 1996 should have firmly put to restthe deep unrest pervading J&K from the time ofpartition. Without undermining the significanceof an election in a democracy, if a mere conductof an election could resolve the riddle of conflict,people here would have long-back surely em-braced the electoral process as a most sought af-ter panacea for all the ills plaguing J&K. Themore we dwell in the process of elections, more

we horribly discover that while in search of em-powerment we find ourselves fully reduced tonaught. 1996 was promised as “Sky is the limit”.On the contrary 2002 heralded the worst politicalfragmentation of Kashmir. In year 2000 J&Kassembly unanimously passed a resolution for therestoration of greater autonomy. Looking at thefragmented nature of the Kashmiri polity pres-ently, can we even conceive that kind of a pro-forma exercise being carried-out today? Isn’t thisa bitter reality that at present Kashmir finds itselffully disempowered and deeply fragmented?

This is not for the first time that Kashmir wasscared with the much-hyped mission 44+. Kash-mir has traversed this path before also. Why dowe forget the boisterous election of 1983? Isn’t ita part of our muddled history that Dr Farooq in1983 had made an attempt to defy the authoritar-ian ways of Indira Gandhi? For what FarooqAbdullah was made to pay in 1984? Was he notplaced with Bhindranwale and ridiculed almostlike a separatist? Though Farooq afterwardsbarefacedly succumbed before the machinationsof New Delhi, he initially had tried to defend thedignity and special status of Kashmir.

The 1983 election was contested in the back-

drop of Resettlement Bill is an undeniable fact ofthe history. Indira Gandhi, the all powerful primeminister, with all the recourses at her beck andcall, had vigorously campaigned all over the state.In her divisive campaign she had literally pitchedJammu against Kashmir. How many seats Con-gress could garner in 1983? In the house of 76,NC got a whopping 46 and Congress had to re-main contended with just 26 seats. Out of 42 seatsof the valley then, NC got 38, Congress just 2,Molvi Iftikhar Hussain from Pattan and MMaqboll from Shangus. Other two seats were wonby Abdul Gani Lone from Karnah and Ali M Naikas independent from Tral. Out of 32 Jammu seatsCongress had rested 22 and NC 7, two indepen-dents including Bhim Singh from Chenani hadalso won, the result for Doda was withheld. FromLadakh, NC and Congress had shared one seateach from Kargil and Leh. Does this not com-pletely resemble with the broader results of 2014.

After very high profile costly campaign ofNarendra Modi, how many seats BJP could win?Out of a house of 87 presently, it could justmange 25, all from Jammu. BJP was unable toopen its account in Kashmir as well as in Ladakhregion. That for all practical purposes is what a

Jammu centric party can ever get. In 2014 how-ever Kashmir stands fully fragmented. Out of46+2+12=60 (valley+Kargil+Pirpanjal andChenab region) PDP got 28, Congress 10, NC13. 5 others won from Valley and one fromKargil. Owing to multi-cornered contest BJPsnatched Bhaderwah, Kishtawar and Doda inJammu. Such was the consolidation of BJP votein Dogra belt that for the first time, no Hinducandidate from Congress could win the electionthis time around; NC could barely win 2 seats.Is it merely a coincidence that since 2002, NCand PDP have both failed to cross the bench-mark of 28? If a coincidence, what an astonish-ing coincidence it is. Juxtapose the fragmentedstrength of 60 with that of 25 seats of the con-solidated Jammu Dogra region, it obviously willaim to call the shots. Ruefully 67 per cent ofKashmir finds itself hostage to the whims of 33per cent minority. Is this the price we are madeto pay for seeking a place of dignity and honourwithin Indian union? Or shall we rejoice the artof state craft that connives disempowering a ma-jority?

—Courtesy: Greater Kashmir[firdoussyed @ yahoo.com]

JAMMU—Bahujan Samaj Party CandidateNagrota Assembly Constituency RakeshWazir while taking a meeting of the partyworkers of Nagrota Assembly Constitu-ency for assessing the reasons of the partydefeat at the Constituency, it was unani-mous voice of the gathering there that theMoney & Muscle power ruled the elec-tion at Nagrota. The Candidates spentcrores merely to win election which wasonce upon a time considered to be a socialwork and said that the basic institution ofdemocracy had been totally broken overhere.

Mr.Rakesh Wazir said that openmoney, wine and muscle power was usedand the poor voters were purchased in openwith money, wine and other allurements

Money, muscle powerdictated Nagrota polls: BSP

and even muscle power was used wherepoor people resisted and as a result peoplewere beaten even and FIR’s were regis-tered as a last resort.

He said that there was an open distri-bution of Rs. 5000/- to Rs. 10,000/- perhousehold along with wine and for thateven more than 30 complaints were madeeven between 18th and 19th night byBSP.In last two days a big chunk of vot-ers were forced to change their loyaltiesand because of BSP being the party ofthe poor and down trodden was the worstsufferer. He said that if each Candidate isspending more than 10.00 crore on aMLA election what social service he willdo, is better known to the people and theadministration and especially some offic-

ers who were even transferred werebrought to Nagrota for successfully con-ducting of these immoral operations andasked the Election Commissioner of In-dia to take cognizance of the matter oth-erwise the basic institution of democracywould be ruined and the purpose of hold-ing the elections would be defeated. Heasked the party workers to equip them-selves and keep this in mind that theyhave lost the elections, not fight andbounce back with full force with newstrategy to tackle this menace of moneyand muscle power in the next elections.The meeting among others was ad-dressed by Gardhari Lal ,SubhashChander Munshi Ram and Capt. ShivLal Dhingra etc.—KW

JAMMU—Amid hectic efforts for formationof government in Jammu and Kashmir,CPI(M) Saturday said BJP is trying to “im-pose its political design” in the state whichshould be resisted in the “interest of theunity” of the state and safeguarding its spe-cial status.

“The formation of the government ofJammu and Kashmir has become compli-cated because of the nature of the result anda hung Assembly. The BJP, which benefitedfrom the polarization in in the Jammu region,is trying to impose its political design in theformation of the government.”

“This should be resisted in the interestsof the unity of the state and safeguarding itsspecial status,” a CPI(M) statement said.

BJP out to impose its designin Kashmir: CPI(M)

CPI(M) has one MLA in the newly-elected87-member Assembly. PDP, with 28 members,has emerged as the single largest party whileBJP has 25 seats, NC 15 and Congress 12.

BJP is in talks to firm up a coalition gov-ernment. “It is imperative that a secular gov-ernment is formed in Jammu and Kashmirand the secular forces should rise to the oc-casion keeping in mind the larger interestsof the unity and integrity of our country,”CPI(M) said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who isholding consultations with his party leadersof the state on government formation inJammu and Kashmir had yesterday said thathis party will play a “crucial” role whoeverforms the government.—KD

HYDERPORA, IHK—Hurriyat Conference(G)chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has termed theactions of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Is-lamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and BokoHaram as “un-Islamic and inhuman.” He alsosaid that pro-India politicians are opportunistsand unprincipled, who were indifferent to themiseries of the common people.

Addressing people at Hyderpora JamiaMasjid, Geelani said that elections can have nobearing on disputed status of Kashmir . “ Indiauses these farce elections as a tool to prolong itsforced occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.” “Beit Omar Abdullah, Mufti Sayeed or any otherpro-India politician, they all are advocates ofIndian occupation in Kashmir. They are oppor-tunists and work on directions of New Delhi,”he said.

He alleged that the pro-India politicians seekvotes for water, electricity, roads etc “but thensell these votes for their salaries and luxuries.”“These people are power hungry and they havenothing to do with the miseries of the common

TTP, ISIS, Boko Haramacts un-Islamic: Geelani

people,” he said.Geelani also termed the actions of Tehreek-

e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State of Iraqand Syria (ISIS) and Boko Haram as “un-Islamicand inhuman.” Geelani said that these organi-zations were defaming Islam and their actionshad no religious or moral justification. “Islamhas set high values and regards for a human lifeand the Holy Quran terms the murder of a singlehuman being as the murder of whole humanity.Our Prophet (SAW) pardoned his worst enemiesand laid down an excellent example for every-one to follow,” Geelani said.“The people who are killing and kidnappingschool children and subjecting people to theworst torture during their custody, they are com-pletely unaware of the spirit and teaching of Is-lam and have become a big hurdle in propaga-tion of the this pious message,” h added. Hesaid that Islam is the religion of peace, brother-hood and equality. “It treats everyone equally.Islam spread by means of excellent charactershown by its followers,” he added.—KW

NC conveysalliance offer

to PDPSRINAGAR—National Confer-ence has said its offer of sup-port to PDP stands intact as hasbeen expressed by the PartyWorking President OmarAbdullah.

“Our offer has been con-veyed first by the Party Work-ing President through the pub-lic domain, then we issued astatement offering such a sup-port and the support offer hasalso been conveyed verbally tothe PDP through a trusted in-termediary formally. It is onrecord. It is a serious offer andstands as it is. Now it is for PDPto approach National Confer-ence for our support if theychoose to seek it. The ball liesin their court, not ours,” NCspokesman Junaid Mattu saidin a statement.

Refuting reports of any“letter” written by NC to PDP,Mattu said: “We are not beg-ging PDP to accept our supportthat we would write letters tothem. Did PDP seek a letter ofsupport from BJP before autho-rizing their leader and MPMuzaffar Beig to enter intotalks with the BJP? Why askNC for a letter then? They arethe single largest party andhave various options to cobbletogether a government. Theycan choose what they want todo. Our offer is one of the op-tions they have. If they want it,they should reciprocate. No let-ters will be written fromNC.”—GK

Vohra invitesPDP, BJPfor talks

JAMMU/SRINAGAR—IHKGovernor NN Vohra has in-vited PDP and BJP—the firstand second largest parties in theelections—for talks on forma-tion of new government inJammu and Kashmir, Vohra hassent a letter separately to PDPChief Mehbooba Mufti andstate BJP chief Jugal Kishore“for holding discussions on theproposal for government for-mation,” a Raj Bhavan officialsaid. He said they have beengiven reasonable time for hold-ing the parleys.

BJP, which ended up witha tally of 25 in the 87-strongAssembly, and PDP, which se-cured 28 seats, have held dis-cussions in the last two days toexplore the possibility of com-ing together. There was no in-dication as to how the discus-sions have gone.

Two other key players, theNational Conference (NC)which got 15 seats and the Con-gress (12 seats), continued tomake efforts to keep BJP outof power by offering support toPDP, whose response remaineda matter of speculation.NC Working President and theoutgoing Chief Minister OmarAbdullah, who has already de-clared that there is no deal be-tween his party and the BJP,tweeted tonight that only “averbal offer of support” hasbeen conveyed to the PDP. Butit looks like “PDP is playingmind games with the BJP leak-ing about a letter of NC sup-port that doesn’t exist”. —GK

SRINAGAR—In occupied Kashmir, the veteranHurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, has said thatIndia cannot change the reality of the Kashmirdispute through holding of farcical elections anduse of other suppressive tactics in the territory.

Syed Ali Gilani addressing a gathering inSrinagar said that staging of election dramas wasonly aimed at prolonging New Delhi’s illegaloccupation on Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that such wicked tactics had failedto subdue the Kashmiris’ liberation sentimentin the past and would meet the same fate in thefuture as well. He said that no power in the worldcould deter the Kashmiri people from achiev-ing freedom from Indian bondage.

The veteran leader pointed out that all pro-India Kashmiri politicians were opportunists andpower-hungry and they had no concern for themiseries of Kashmiri people.

The All Parties Hurriyet Conference leader,Zafar Akbar Butt, in a statement issued inSrinagar said that Kashmir was a UN-mandateddisputed territory and holding of the sham elec-tions in Kashmir could not be a substitute to theKashmiris’ right to self-determination acknowl-

India cannot change realityof Kashmir dispute: Gilani

edged by the World Body.Meanwhile, the APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz

Umar Farooq, along with a delegation visitedIslamabad town and condoled with seniorHurriyet leader, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, over thedemise of his mother.

He paid rich tributes to the services and sac-rifices of the family of the deceased in the on-going liberation movement. The Mirwaiz wasaccompanied by APHC leaders, Mukhtar AhmedWaza, Ghulam Nabi Zaki, Hakeem AbdurRasheed, Shahid-ul-Islam, M S Rehman Shamsand Mushtaq Ahmed Sofi. A delegation ofJammu and Kashmir Liberation Front also vis-ited the area and expressed solidarity with thebereaved family.

On the other hand, the funeral prayers inabsentia were offered for Shabbir AhmedShah’s mother in Islamabad, today. A largenumber of people belonging to different walksof life including leaders of political parties ofAzad Jammu and Kashmir and Hurriyet orga-nizations and members of Kashmiri commu-nity from the twin cities attended the funeralprayers.—KMS

SRINAGAR—People, party cadres would betaken on board before arriving at any decisionon future course of action. Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) President, Mehbooba Mufti Satur-day said only the PDP Chief Spokesman MrNaeem Akhtar is authorized to articulate theparty’s views in the media on the policy mat-ters.

In a statement issued here, Ms Mufti madeit clear that the statements of the Chief Spokes-man should be taken as the stated position ofthe party on various policy issues. “In the pre-vailing hazy political scenario, unqualified com-ments in the media only add to the confusion

PDP to spell out party standand fuel wild speculations,” she said and addedthat as a responsible political party PDP willtake not only its cadres but the people of theState on board before arriving on any decisionregarding the future course of action.“I want to assure my party cadres and the peoplethat whatever decision is to be taken will betaken in the larger interest of the State and itspeople,” she said and added that the mandategiven by the people to the PDP to represent thepolitical aspirations and economic interests ofall the regions and sub-regions of Jammu andKashmir would be represented and valued inadequate measure.—KW

Kashmir is UN-mandated

disputed territory:Zafar Butt

SRINAGAR—In occupiedKashmir, APHC leader and theChairman of Jammu and Kash-mir Salvation Movement(JKSM), Zafar Akbar Butt, hassaid that Kashmir is a UN-man-dated disputed territory andholding of sham elections in theterritory cannot be a substituteto the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.Zafar AkbarButt in a statement issued inSrinagar said that Kashmir dis-pute was pending with theUnited Nations for the past sev-eral decades and the WorldBody had passed several reso-lutions for its settlement. Hesaid that the fraud elections inthe territory could not affectthis disputed status of Jammuand Kashmir. The APHC leadersaid that the arrests and othercheap tactics by India could notweaken the freedom sentimentof Kashmiri people and the lib-eration movement would betaken to its logical conclusionat all costs.—KMS

SRINAGAR—In occupied Kashmir, the AllParties Hurriyet Conference Chairman,Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, along with a highlevel delegation, today, visited Islamabadtown and condoled with Hurriyet leader,Shabbir Ahmad Shah, over the death of hismother.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on the occasionpaid glowing tributes to the deceased for hercontribution in the liberation movement. Heprayed Allah Almighty to rest the departedsoul in eternal peace and give courage to thebereaved family to bear the loss with pa-tience. Other members of the delegation in-cluded Mukhtar Ahmed Waza, Ghulam NabiZaki, Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, Shahid-ul-Is-lam, M S Rehman Shams and MushtaqAhmed Sofi.

A delegation of Jammu and Kashmir Lib-

Mirwaiz, JKLF & otherscondole with Shabbir Shah

eration Front delegation also visi tedIslamabad town and expressed heartfelt con-dolences with Shabbir Ahmad Shah.

The delegation comprised ShowkatAhmad Bakhshi, Ghulam Rasool Dar Eidhi,Muhammad Yasin Butt, Muhammad SiddeeqShah, Sheikh Abdul Rasheed and JavedAhmad Zargar. The delegation paid rich trib-utes to the deceased and prayed for her heav-enly abode.Meanwhile, Hurriyet Conference Jammu andKashmir, today, organized a meeting inSrinagar to condole the sad demise ofShabbir Shah’s mother.

The meeting was attended by NayeemAhmed Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar,Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, MuhammadYasin Ataai, Bilal Ahmad Shah and othersHurriyet leaders and activists.—KMS

Cold waveacross Kashmirvalley continuesSRINAGAR—In occupied Kash-mir, cold wave continued acrossthe territory as night temperaturesremained several notches belowthe freezing point in theValley.“The minimum tempera-ture was minus 4.2 degreesCelsisus in Srinagar, it was mi-nus 5.6 degrees Celsius inGulmarg and minus 7 degreesCelsius in Pahalgam. Night tem-perature dropped to minus 14.2in Leh town while Kargil recordedminus 13.6 degrees,” an officialof Met department told newsmenin Srinagar. The night tempera-ture in Jammu city dropped toseason’s lowest so far at 3.8 de-grees.—KMS

The 9-9-9 planwould resuscitate

this economybecause it re-

places the out-dated tax code that

allows politiciansto pick winners

and losers, and toprovide favors in

the form of taxbreaks, specialexemptions and

loopholes. It sim-plifies the codedramatically: 9%

business flat tax,9% personal flattax, 9% sales tax.

—Herman Cain

JEDDAH—The new budget demonstrates thestrength of the Saudi economy to withstand thechallenges posed by the global economic cri-sis, including the sharp drop in the crude prices,says Muhammad Al-Jaffri, deputy chairman ofthe Shoura Council. “The government of Cus-todian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullahhas spectacularly succeeded in making use ofthe financial surplus accumulated by the King-dom, thanks to the high oil prices during thepast years, in a strong fiscal reserve after em-ploying the revenues for development in vari-ous provinces,” Al-Jaffri said in a statement,commending the new budget.

The general budget for 2015, with an esti-mated expenditure outlay of SR 860 billion, re-flects the soundness of the economic policiesof the government, which adopted all neces-sary measures to fortify the country’s economyagainst the upheavals of recent times, includ-ing the tumbling price of oil, a major source ofrevenue for the Kingdom, he was quoted assaying in an SPA report. The budget signifiedthe continuation of the government‘s current

New budget demonstrates strengthof Saudi Arabia’s economy

policies to spend generously for the develop-ment of human resources, which is the founda-tion for sustainable growth.

The budget also stressed the improvementof the government sector’s performance, andintegration of the private and public sectorsbesides rectification of the anomalies in thejob market to generate plenty of job opportu-nities for the Saudis, he added. “Allocationof SR 217 billion for the education sector ac-counting for 25 percent of the total budgetreflects the central role assigned to the youthwith the aim of establishing an outstandingeducational structure to suit the needs of thejob market. The budget also stresses ad-vanced health care for the people with theallocation of SR 160 billion to the health sec-tor,” Al-Jaffri said.

“A close examination of the new budgetreveals Custodian of Two Holy Mosques KingAbdullah’s keenness to promote the careersand welfare of Saudi youths,” he said. Underroyal directives, the development schemesgive priority to youth empowerment with a

focus on education, employment, social wel-fare and sports. Commenting on the budget,Basil Al-Ghalayini, CEO of BMG FinancialGroup, told Arab News: “After much specu-lation, the Saudi leadership has ruled out itscounter cyclical budget by continuing its ex-pansionary spending irrespective of oil prices.With huge cushion of financial reserves, thegovernment can afford to finance its projected2015 deficits if not borrowing from the inter-national markets at competitive rates consid-ering its AA rating.”

He added: “Having said that, looking longterm, there should be serious concerted effortsto speed up preparing other sectors to be reli-able income generating beside oil revenues.”Al-Ghalayini said: “Considering its unique sta-tus as the host of the two holy mosques, a well-managed Islamic tourism could be a sizable andsustainable revenue driver for the economy.”According to SAMA, surging oil prices overthe past decade helped Saudi Arabia boost itsnet foreign assets to a record SR2.9 trillion inOctober.—Agencies

MULTAN: Farmers cropping the spinach in their field.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Microfinance institutes such asFoundation for International Community

Assistance (FINCA) has empowered low-income individuals to start businesses, cre-ate jobs, alleviate poverty and create newopportunities.

Senator Kamran Michael Federal Min-ister for Ports and Shipping at the opening

FINCA opens first priority branchof FINCA’s first priority branch in GardenTown Lahore said micro-credit facilities pro-vided by FINCA in conjunction with its fastexpansion plan would allow aspiring low-

income entrepreneurs to in-crease revenues and eradicatepoverty.

Small loans could enablepeople in developing countriesto lift themselves out of poverty.FINCA Microfinance Bank LtdPakistan’s leading microfinancebank has been growing aggres-sively in Pakistan and its newbranch in Lahore aims to pro-vide state-of-the-art servicescatering to the needs of everycitizen in the city.

FINCA’s chief MudassarAqil said, “FINCA is operating

in 80 cities with 100 operational braches andwe are the fastest growing microfinance bankin Pakistan”. The priority branch will offer com-plete suite of financial services and world-classcustomer services from free chequebooks, payorders and online banking.

ISLAMABAD—The SensitivePrice Indicator (SPI) for theweek ended on December 24for the lowest income groupup to Rs.8,000 registered aslight increase of 0.03 per-cent as compared to the pre-vious week. The SPI for theweek under review in theabove mentioned group wasrecorded at 203.51 pointsagainst 203.45 points regis-tered in the previous week,according to data of Paki-stan Bureau of Statistics(PBS). The weekly SPI hasbeen computed with base2007-2008=100, covering 17urban centers and 53 essen-tial items for all incomegroups and combined.

The SPI for the com-

Weekly inflation witnessesslight increase of 0.03pc

bined group increased by0.13 per cent and was in-creased from 211.71 points inthe previous week to 211.99points in the week under re-view. As compared to the cor-responding week of last year,the SPI for the combinedgroup in the week under re-view increased by 1.30 per-cent. As compared to the lastweek, the SPI for the incomegroups from Rs 8001-12,000,Rs 12,001-18,000, Rs 18001-35,000 and above Rs 35,000increased by 0.08 percent,0.11 percent, 0.14 percent and0.17 percent respectively.

During the week underreview average prices of 11items registered decrease,while that of 13 items increase

with the remaining 29 items’prices unchanged. The itemswhich registered decrease intheir prices during the weekunder review included pota-toes, onions, sugar, ricebasmati (broken), vegetableghee (loose), gur (averagequality), wheat, wheat flour(bag), rice IRRI-6, vegetableghee (tin) and cooking oil (tin).

The items which re-corded increase in their aver-age prices included tomatoes,LPG, eggs hen farm, pulsegram (washed), bananas,chicken farm (live), pulsemoong (washed), pulsemasoor (washed), firewoodwhole, tea, garlic, pulse mash(washed) and red chilly (pow-der).—APP

LPG DistributorsAssociation callsoff protestISLAMABAD—LiquifiedPetroleum Gas (LPG)Distributors Associationhas called off a protest callagainst increase in theprices of LPG on theassurances of Advisor toChief Minister PunjabSamiullah. Chairman AllPakistan LPG DistributorsAssociation Irfan Khokharsaid in a statement onSaturday that the govern-ment accepted all the legaldemands of the LPGDistributors Association.He said that the Associa-tion in a meeting dis-cussed the unjustifiedincrease in the LPG pricesand decided to call offprotest call on theassurance of governmentto take action against theLPG marketing companiesfor unjustified increase inthe LPG prices. He saidthat the meeting waspresided over by PresidentLPG Distributors Associa-tion Mian Liaqat.—APP

IBA Sukkur signsMoU with NBPSUKKUR—SukkurInstitute of BusinessAdministration (Suk-IBA) on Saturday hassigned a Memorandumof Understanding (MoU)with National Bank ofPakistan (NBP) forStrengthening Industry-Academia Relationship,where both institutionspledged to work togetherfor the development andbetterment of theeducation in the region.According to the MoUthe NBP will providefifteen scholarships forfour years that startedfrom fall 2014. NationalBank of Pakistan willalso provide Internshipopportunities to thestudents of SukkurIBA.—APP

Visa, MasterCardseize supportbankcards in CrimeaMOSCOW—The world’stwo largest credit anddebit card companies,Visa Inc (V.N) andMasterCard Inc (MA.N),said that they could nolonger supportbankcards being used inCrimea, following U.S.sanctions imposedearlier this month. TheUnited States last Fridayprohibited U.S.-regis-tered companies frominvesting in Crimea orproviding services tofirms operating there,among sanctionsimposed over Russia’sannexation of thepeninsula from Ukraine.Visa said in a statementthat the sanctions meantit could not offer Visa-branded products andservices to Crimea. “Wecan no longer supportcard issuing andmerchant/ATM acquir-ing services in Crimea,”it said. CompetitorMasterCard (MA.N) alsosaid that it had tosuspend operations withbankcards in Crimea dueto the sanctions.—Agencies

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif with delegation of Pak-Canada Business Forum led by Chairman Trade Development AuthorityPakistan S M Munir.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—A delegation of prominent businessmen and Canada-Pakistan Business Council led by Chairman Trade Development

Authority of Pakistan SM Munir called on Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif, here today. Promotion of business andeconomic activities was discussed during the meeting. Talking to

Biz-delegation meets Chief Minister Punjab

Initiatives afoot to solve energy crisis, economic revival: Shahbazthe delegation, Shahbaz Sharif said that Pakistan is passing througha very critical phase. He said that on the one side, government isdetermined to eliminate the menace of terrorism while on the otherhand it is taking effective steps for coping with energy crisis.

He said that Peshawar tragedy is the worst incident of thehistory in which the beasts committed barbarity against the inno-cent children of a school. The Chief Minister said that the sacri-

fices of martyrs will not go waste. He said that the entire nationhas united for ridding the menace of terrorism forever and politi-cal and military leadership under the leadership of Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif, has come on one page against terror-

ism. Shahbaz Sharif said that unity and consensus dis-played on this occasion is unprecedented in the historyof the country and expressed the hope that Pakistan willbe made a haven of peace by wiping out terrorists withthe power of unity. He said that this war is of survival ofthe coming generations which will be won at every costas terrorism is the biggest hurdle in the way of develop-ment and prosperity.

The Chief Minister said that a very conducive atmo-sphere has been provided for investment in Punjab. Hesaid that Canada-Pakistan Business Council should ben-efit from vast opportunities in energy and agriculture sec-tors in Punjab. He said that steps will be taken for pro-moting cooperation between Punjab and Ontario in tradeand various other sectors. Shahbaz Sharif said that a largenumber of Pakistanis is residing in Canada. He said thatPakistanis living in Canada should play their more activerole for improving image of their country. He said thatPakistan’s first unique solar project is being set up atQuaid-e-Azam Solar Park Bahawalpur. He said that Punjabgovernment is establishing 100 megawatt project from itsown resources which is in the final stages of completion.

He said that Canadian businessmen can promote coop-eration for setting up solar projects in solar park. Chair-man Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, SM Munir,officials of Canada-Pakistan Business Council and busi-nessmen said that Chief Minister Muhammad ShahbazSharif has taken unprecedented steps for development of

Lahore and Punjab. They said that real development is witnessedin Punjab. Canada-Pakistan Business Council extended invitationto Chief Minister Punjab to visit Canadian province Ontario.

Pakistan buys50,000T

soybeans fromUnited States

HAMBURG—Pakistani import-ers have bought about 50,000tonnes of soybeans from theUnited States, an unusualtransaction that could signala move away from canola andsoymeal buying to more soy-bean imports, European trad-ers told media. The purchasewas made for February 2015shipment from the U.S. Gulf,traders said. “Pakistani oilseedcrushers are starting to calcu-late that the profit margins ofimporting soybeans are moreattractive than importingcanola (rapeseed),” a Euro-pean trader said. “Soybeanshave a larger meal yield thancanola and this would enablesome of Pakistan’s strong de-mand for soymeal for animalfeed to be met with local pro-duction.” Pakistan currentlymakes large imports ofsoymeal, especially fromneighboring India, and alsobuys from Argentina. It im-ports canola from Canada andAustralia as well, and rape-seed from the Black Sea re-gion. ‘The higher meal yieldof soybeans make the beanimports more attractive and Iexpect that Pakistan will import300,000 tonnes of soybeans in2015 with Indian soymeal re-placed especially in the localanimal feed market,’ anothertrader said. ‘Pakistan’s soyoilimports will also be reduced ifmore beans are imported.’ Pa-kistan made no reported soy-bean imports in the calendaryear 2013, in the first fivemonths of 2014, according tothe US Department of Agricul-ture website. —Agencies

KARACHI—Lint trading in Sindh andPunjab stations remained dull on grade is-sue as major buyers stayed on sidelines,traders at Karachi Cotton Association(KCA) told media. Increasing demand forall grades in Punjab and Sindh stations keptthe physical prices of lint in the comfortzone while KCA kept spot rate unchangedat Rs 4,750 per maund in order to providesupport to raw grade sellers for getting bet-ter prices, floor brokers said. In Sindh physi-cal buying remained range-bound whilesome forward deals for a month periodchanged hands between buyers and sell-ers at Rs 4,775 per maund, floor brokerssaid. The buyers purchased all grades onback of grade issue and imbalance of priceto different grades while ginning units pro-duced second grade stuff not more than200 bales, said floor brokers.

Limited availability of fine grade cotton-

Grade issue keeps lint trading dullseed in some stations of Punjab and Sindhwas still putting positive impact on gradeprices. Leading and general buyers kept theireyes on better grades and physical tradingvolumes in second grade remained on thehigher side, floor brokers said. Firm spot ratewould provide relief to growers withholdinglow grades cottonseed and this would alsohelp to boost overall prices especially oflower grades, said Shakeel Ahmad an ana-lyst. During the trading session, mills inPunjab and Sindh stations made deals for allgrades besides spinners purchased finegrades at around Rs 4,975 per maund to Rs5,000 per maund, floor brokers said. Generalbuyers made deals for all grades on com-petitive prices at around Rs 4,750 per maundto Rs 4,725 per maund while buyers with lessliquidity made deals in all grades in Punjaband Sindh stations at around Rs 4,650 permaund, traders said.—Agencies

L A H O R E — C h a i r m a nAPTMA S M Tanveer hasexpressed concerns oversuspension of 100MMCFDgas supply to the Punjab-based textile industry by theSNGPL since last sevendays. He said suspension ofgas supply to the Punjab-based textile industry overthe long period is causingmillions of dollars loss to thecountry, as the textile valuechain is unable to meet com-mitments on orders relatingto back to school season inEurope and US after Christ-mas.

S M Tanveer said theSNGPL had especially allo-cated 100MMCFD gas sup-ply to the Punjab-based tex-tile industry on the directionof Prime Minister NawazSharif. The Punjab-basedtextile millers had taken adeep sigh of relief, which

APTMA concerned overdelay in gas supply

has proven short-lived asthe SNGPL has withdrawnthe supply seven daysback, he added. Accordingto him, a direct outcome ofthe crisis like situation hasresulted into closure of oneshift at the mills and thou-sands of textile workers arejobless across the Punjab.Especially, he said, the situ-ation has become worst forthe Punjab-based textile in-dustry due to simultaneouselectricity load shedding inthe province.

He said the textile exportsare already dwindling downdue to high uncertainty overthe energy supply, being in-terrupted time and again overthe last one year.

Resultantly, the Punjab-based textile has failed toaccrue the benefits of GSPplus from the EU in real termsso far, he added.—Agencies

Samsung Electronicsstarts mass production

of 8-GB mobileDRAM

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—SamsungElectronics Co., Ltd., theworld leader in advancedmemory technology, an-nounced today that it hasstarted mass producingthe industry’s first 8 giga-bit (Gb) low power doubledata rate 4(LPDDR4) mo-bile DRAM based on thecompany’s leading-edge20-nanometer (nm) processtechnology. LPDDR memo-ries are the most widelyused “working memory”for mobile devices world-wide. “By initiating pro-duction of the 20nm 8GbLPDDR4, which is evenfaster than the DRAM forPCs and servers and con-sumes much less energy,we are contributing to thetimely launch of UHD,large-screen flagship mo-bile devices,” said Joo SunChoi, Executive Vice Presi-dent of Memory Sales andMarketing at SamsungElectronics. “As this ma-jor advancement in mobilememory demonstrates, wewill continue to closelycollaborate with globalmobile device manufactur-ers to optimize DRAM so-lutions, making them suit-able for next-generationmobile OS environments.”

The new 20nm 8GbLPDDR4 offers twice theperformance and densitycompared to 4Gb LPDDR3which was based on 20nm-class* process technol-ogy. The new 8GbLPDDR4 chip allows a 4-gigabyte (GB) LPDDR4package to be created.Samsung’s 4GB LPDDR4package was chosen as anHonoree of the 2015 CESInnovation Awards in theEmbedded Technologiescategory. In winning thisaward, Samsung becamethe only company that haswon the CES InnovationAwards for three consecu-tive years with its mobileDRAM solutions, as thecompany’s 2GB LPDDR3and 3GB LPDDR3 werehonoured in 2013 and2014, respectively.

Due to an I/O data rateof up to 3,200 megabits persecond (Mbps), which istwo times faster than a typi-cal DDR3 DRAM used inPCs, the new 8Gb LPDDR4can support UHD video re-cording and playback andcontinuous shooting ofhigh-resolution imageswith over 20 mega pixels.The LPDDR4 mobilememory chip’s operatingvoltage was reduced to1.1V from that of LPDDR3memory chips, whichmakes the new Samsungchip the lowest powermemory solution availablefor large-screensmartphones and tablets,and high-performance net-work systems. For example,in case of a 2GB package,an 8Gb LPDDR4-based2GB package can save upto 40 percent of power com-pared to a 4Gb LPDDR3-based 2GB package, due tolow operating voltages andfaster processing.

By adopting new pro-prietary low-voltageswing-terminated logic(LVSTL) for its I/O signal-ling, Samsung has alsofurther reduced the newLPDDR4 chip’s powerconsumption while en-abling high-frequencyoperations at low voltagesfor optimal power effi-ciency.

Currency Selling Buying

USA 100.40 100.20

UK 156.20 155.89

Euro 122.67 122.42

Canada 86.42 86.25

Switzerland 102.03 101.82

Australia 81.53 81.37

Sweden 12.88 12.85

Japan 0.8349 0.8333

Norway 13.50 13.47

Singapore 75.97 75.82

Denmark 16.49 16.46

Saudi Arabia 26.75 26.70

Hong Kong 12.94 12.91

Kuwait 342.97 342.28

Malaysia 28.79 28.74

Newzealand 77.71 77.55

Qatar 27.57 27.52

UAE 27.33 27.28

Kr Won 0.0914 0.0912

Thailand 3.054 3.048

TOKYO—The cabinet of Japanese PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe approved a fresh stimu-lus package worth $29 billion on Saturdayin a bid to boost the economy, hit hard by atax hike. The 3.5-trillion-yen package is de-signed to help the provincial economy, smallbusinesses and the household sector, as wellas to increase public spending to rebuild ar-eas hit by natural disasters. “With speedyimplementation of these measures, I thinkwe can bolster consumption and lift the pro-vincial economy and expand the positivegrowth cycle to all corners of the country,”Abe told a meeting with ruling lawmakersshortly before the cabinet officially approvedthe package. The world’s third largesteconomy is seeing a barrage of weak eco-nomic indicators after an April consumptiontax rise slammed the brakes on growth.

Since coming to power two years ago,

SINGAPORE—Gold gained 1 percent in thinpost-Christmas trading as the dollar slippedagainst a basket of major currencies, butthe metal was headed for a second straightweekly drop, underscoring the bearishnessin the market. Spot gold gained 1 percent to$1,186.05 an ounce by 0711 GMT, movingaway from a three-week low of $1,170.17 hitearlier in the week. Liquidity was thin askey markets in the region such as Austra-lia, Hong Kong and Singapore were closed.

The UK market will remain closed, al-though New York will be open. “The weakerdollar probably attracted some bids but vol-umes are really low and this rally might notlast once everyone is back from the holi-days,” said a precious metals trader inSingapore. The dollar index was 0.1 percentlower after climbing to a near nine-year peakearlier this week. “Physical demand is lightbecause people have closed their books forthe year, so I don’t see that supportingprices either,” the trader said. Premiums inSingapore have dropped to between 80cents and $1 an ounce over the global

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Warid Telecom,the most reliable cellular ser-vices operator in Pakistan, isnow ready to launch its LTE(Long Term Evolution) pre-mium data service. Aftermonths of eager anticipation,consumers can now make theswitch to the most advancedwireless communication net-work in Pakistan and take ad-vantage of a number of fea-tures such as unparalleled dataspeeds, seamless VoIP con-nectivity and synchronizedvideo streaming. As part of itsvalue-added services, WaridTelecom has initiated a part-nership with Daraz.pk to facili-tate customers who wish toupgrade to LTE network.

According to the termsof the partnership, Warid

Japan approves $29 bstimulus package

Abe has offered a series of pro-business,big-spending policies in a bid to bring Ja-pan out of deflation. His programmes weresupported by the Bank of Japan’s aggres-sive monetary easing. The efforts havedriven down the yen and boosted earningsof major firms, particularly exporters. Butcritics have argued that the benefits werenot felt by small businesses and consum-ers while real wages shrank. Of the 3.5 tril-lion yen in the fresh stimulus, 600 billionyen will go to programmes to boost the lo-cal economy, 1.2 trillion yen for steps tohelp consumers and small businesses, and1.7 trillion yen to rebuild areas hit by natu-ral disasters, such as the 2011 tsunami andmassive landslides this year. The stimulusincludes subsidies for small businesses thatare facing soaring fuel costs as a result ofthe falling yen.—AFP

Gold price rises 1% from3-week lows

benchmark, from about $1.50 two weeks ago,traders said.

“Trading volumes between Christmasand the New Year can be notoriously thin.In a low-volume climate, bullion prices canmove sharply in either direction on evenlight investor purchases or sales,” HSBCanalysts had said in a note this week. De-spite Friday’s gain, the metal has lost about1 percent for the week. Bullion lost groundafter data showed the US economy grew inthe third quarter at its quickest pace in 11years.

Other data showed initial claims for stateunemployment benefits dropped for thefourth straight week. Strong data decreasesgold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset and in-creases expectations of an interest rate hikein the United States. A higher dollar makesgold more expensive for holders of othercurrencies. An increase in rates is also seento dull demand for non-interest-bearing bul-lion. Among other precious metals, silver wason track for a second straight weekly de-cline, while palladium.—Agencies

LG introduces MosquitoAway air conditioner

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—All-Pakistan CNG Asso-ciation (APCNGA), Karachi Trans-port Ittehad (KTI) and All-KarachiTajir Ittehad (AKTI) threatened thatCNG stations, public transport andmarkets would observe a completestr ike across Sindh, i f their de-mands were not accepted by De-cember 29. Addressing a joint pressconference here at a local hotel ,APCNGA’s Sindh chapter ’s chair-man Shabbir Sulaimanjee, said thatSui Southern Gas Company (SSGC)has recently announced four daysgas clo-sure in a week, creating dif-ficulties for general public and com-muters.

He claimed that although theSSGC’s managing director in mid-No-vember had assured all stakeholdersthrough a written agreement that theCNG sector would be subjected toload shedding for only two days in aweek and for three days only in ex-treme crisis during the winter period,the written agreement has been vio-

lated by announcing a four-day clo-sure in a week.

He said that the CNG sector inSindh was consuming only 1.5 per centof the country’s total gas re-servesand the remaining 98pc was being con-sumed by other sectors, although70pc of the national gas was beingproduced in Sindh.

Accusing the SSGC of taking dis-criminating measures against CNGstations, he alleged that captive powerindustry despite having electricityhave been consuming 25pc of gas.

He also claimed that captive powerindustry under the Supreme Court’sjudgement of December 10, 2013 hadbeen barred from producing electric-ity through gas supply. Giving detailsof a joint protest plan of APCNGA,KTI and AKTI, he said that they willhold a press conference on December29 at Hydera-bad Press Club at 2pmto announce dates for staging protestsit-ins.

“If our demands are not met byDecember 29, then we will be forcedto observe complete strike across

Sindh,” he added. Chairman interiorSindh CNG Association, ZulfiqarAhmad Yousufani, accused the SSGCof violating Article 158 of the Consti-tution whereby gas to CNG stationscannot be curtailed.

Chairman AKTI, Atique Mir, onthis occasion, said that followinggovernment’s order, more than 40,000private vehicles and almost 100pcpublic transport had switched over toCNG, but the owners of these vehicleswere now being compelled to wastetheir time and energy while waiting inlong queues at CNG stations. “Con-tinuous stoppage of CNG directly af-fects the trade activities in Karachi,”he added.

President KTI, Irshad HussainBukhari, said that his association willcontinue to extend its full support tothe APCNGA till the acceptance of thedemands. Later, the members of theassociations took out a rally on ShareaFaisal to protest against the four-dayclosure of gas. They were holdingplacards inscribed with slogans insupport of their demands.

4-day gas suspension

APCNGA, KTI & AKTIthreaten to go on strike

Warid, Daraz.pk partnerto provide LTE handsets

Telecom will certify LTEhandsets that are designedto work on its specific LTEband; these devices will bemade available exclusivelyfor Warid customers onDaraz.pk. The full range ofWarid Telecom-certifiedLTE devices can be viewedand ordered online. Stan-dard manufacturer warrantyand free shipping will ap-ply on every purchase. Byvirtue of announcing an in-creasing number of brandpartnerships and exclusiveonline stores, Daraz.pk hasrapidly established itself asPakistan’s premium e-com-merce portal. The collabo-ration with Warid Telecomfurther embellishesDaraz.pk’s image, as a one-stop-shop for all lifestyleand fashion needs.

China cottonoutput drops

2.2 pcXINJIANG—Cotton produc-tion in China, the world’s topconsumer of the fibre,dropped 2.2 percent in 2014from the year before, thegovernment told media. TheNational Bureau of Statisticssaid output fell to 6.16 mil-lion tonnes as the amountof land used to grow cottonshrank by nearly 3 percent.China’s output numbers aretypically closely watchedby global exporters as de-clines often boost appetitefor overseas cotton, sup-porting global prices.

But imports are set todrop sharply next year afterBeijing said it would slashthe number of import quo-tas it issues. The bureau’stotal output numbers werelower than the latest US De-partment of Agriculture’sestimates of about 6.5 mil-lion tonnes, as well as esti-mates by the China CottonAssociation. They wereclose to trader predictions,however.

The bureau also said thatoutput in Xinjiang, China’s topcotton growing region, was3.68 million tonnes, lower thanmost market estimates ofaround 4-4.1 million tonnes.Official estimates of Xinjiang’scrop are significant this yearas they will be used to calcu-late the amount of subsidy re-ceived by farmers under a newpolicy being rolled out in thecurrent crop year. The calcu-lations will be based on totalvolumes produced in the re-gion as well as an averagemarket price for cotton soldbetween September and No-vember. “If this is the base, thetotal subsidy farmers will getmay be smaller than expected.That could mean they will plantless next year,” said a tradesource who declined to beidentified.—Agencies

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—LG Electronics (LG) announcedthat its latest Residential Air Conditioning(RAC) solution, the Mosquito Away, willbe released in Pakistan. Designed and builtspecifically for the Pakistan market, the newproduct incorporates an impressive func-tion that uses ultrasonic waves to combatmosquitoes. The Mosquito Away also of-fers the many advantages of LG’s advancedair conditioning technologies, includingextreme dependability in harsh weather con-ditions and powerful cooling.

“We believe that the Mosquito Awayair conditioner can provide true comfort toconsumers across Pakistan,” said Mr. D. Y.Kim, President LG Electronics, Gulf FZE.[AB1] “Equipped with LG’s ultrasonic wavetechnology, the new model is an effective,non-toxic means of repelling mosquitoes.It also boasts unparalleled operational sta-bility and impressive cooling capabilities,guaranteeing strong, reliable performancewhen it’s needed most. LG is confident thatits advanced Mosquito Away air condi-tioner will meet the needs of the Pakistanmarket.”

Immediately apparent from its name,the Mosquito Away is designed to aid inthe fight against mosquitoes. In strictlygoverned tests, the Mosquito Awayproved its effectiveness by repelling 60percent of female Anopheles mosquitoesand deterring 70 percent from biting. Theair conditioner emits ultrasonic waves thatdisrupt the mosquito’s sensory cells, caus-ing paralysis, confusion, and often, death.

This clever technology is completely harm-less to humans and represents a clean, safealternative to dangerous chemical-basedinsecticides and repellants. The efficacyof LG’s product has been certificated byinternational product testing and inspec-tion company, Intertek. In addition, theMosquito Away has also received the Eu-ropean Commission’s CE product confor-mity mark for its electrically safe design.Meanwhile, TÜV NORD has also declaredLG’s innovative ultrasonic wave technol-ogy safe for use. Conveniently, the Mos-quito Away function can be turned on in-dependently of cooling; helping to pre-vent unnecessary energy usage.

For stable operation, LG has implementedits new Volt Care technology; a combinationof the Low Voltage Starter and High VoltageSafe systems. The Low Voltage Starter en-ables the air conditioner to operate continu-ously at lower voltage while the High Volt-age Safe helps the air conditioner to copewith power surges via an upgraded powercircuit board (PCB). Designed with the un-stable nature of Pakistan’s national powergrid in mind, the High Voltage Safe ensuresfull functionality even when electrical cur-rent jumps to 350V. This system provides anoperational range that is 20 to 25 percentwider than that of most competing models.Moreover, the upgraded PCB can withstandspikes in voltage as high as 400 to 470V –around 13 percent more than the averageRAC can handle. When strong, fast coolingis required, Jet Cool function help the airconditioner to reach the desired temperaturein an incredibly short amount of time.

Oil rises above$60 as Libyanoutput slumps

LONDON—Oil rose furtherabove $60 a barrel on Fridayas unrest in Libya cut sup-plies, offsetting a growingsupply glut in top consumerthe US and weak imports byJapan. Fighting in Libya hascut output there to 352,000barrels a day, a state oilcompany spokesmanbriefed media or about halfNovember’s average. Thiscountered the US Depart-ment of Energy’s (DOE) re-port showing a bigstockbuild.

“Libya is a supportivefactor,” said Olivier Jakob,analyst at Petromatrix inZug, Switzerland. “Thefighting in Libya is startingto be more and more abouta battle for the oil resourcesand this will not endwell.”—Agencies

KARACHI—The FederalBoard of Revenue (FBR)should provide new tax in-centives to the computer in-dustry in the next budget(2015-16) as per taxation planof the Ministry of Informa-tion Technology by extend-ing corporate income tax ex-emption till 2025 and chargeof general tax on computerhardware and spare parts atdiscounted rates. This wasstated by Munawar Iqbal,President Pakistan Com-puter Association (PCA)here while speaking duringceremony honouring NaeemSiddiqui, the newly electedchairman of IT committee ofFederation of Pakistan Cham-ber of Commerce and Indus-try (FPCCI). A significantnumber of representativesfrom computer and IT indus-try were present on the oc-casion.

President PCA said thatthe Pakistan IT industry hasplayed a major role in plac-ing Pakistan on the interna-

New tax incentives urgedfor computer, IT industry

tional map and has success-fully built very valuablebrand equity for itself in theglobal markets. The size ofPakistan IT industry has in-creased manifold over thelast decade. The new incen-tives in the light of recom-mendations made by theMinistry of InformationTechnology would signifi-cantly enhance exports ofthe computer industry. Hesaid that the computer andIT industry in Pakistan de-mands shared efforts to reapits real dividends in terms ofgiving a boost to nationaleconomy. The experts andstakeholders should be join-ing hands not only to createand highlight the potentialof industry but also providethe government timely in-sight and suggestions forthe steps towards right di-rection, especially to en-hance our exports of thiscrucial sector.

The president of PCAwhile highlighting the po-

tential of Pakistan Computerand IT industry said that itis time for private sector andgovernment to review theexisting policies with an ob-jective that could be doneto enhance the role of thesector in the nationaleconomy. Naeem Siddiquithanked PCA for giving himhonour and said that rais-ing the issues related tocomputer and IT industryand all relevant forums washis prime objective. He saidthat FPCCI and PCA canwork together to initiatesome meaningful steps forthe growth of the industry.In recognition of services forthe computer and IT sector,a shield was presented toNaeem Siddiqui by PakistanComputer Association. Themembers of PCA expressedtheir hope that the newlyelected chairman of IT com-mittee of FPCCI would keepplaying his effective role forthe promotion of the sec-tor.—Agencies

WASHINGTON—If Hillary Rodham Clinton seeks the WhiteHouse again, her message on the economy could be animportant barometer as she courts fellow Democrats. Mem-bers of her party are watching closely how the former sec-retary of state outlines steps to address income inequalityand economic anxieties for middle-class families. Somemembers of the party’s liberal wing remain wary of Clinton’sties to Wall Street, six-figure speaking fees and protectivebubble.

Clinton is widely expected to announce a presidentialcampaign next year and remains the prohibitive favorite tosucceed President Barack Obama as the party’s nomineein 2016. But how she navigates a party animated by eco-nomic populism, an approach personified by Massachu-setts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, could represent one of herbiggest hurdles. Democrats bruised from GOP gains in the2014 elections are pushing for big policy changes raisingthe minimum wage and pay equity, for example that favorthe declining middle class. “We don’t win when we playsmall-ball and calibrate. Why not try to be bold?” saidAnna Galland of MoveOn.org, which launched a draft cam-paign to lure Warren into the race.

Warren says she’s not running for president, but herconfrontational approach on Wall Street and reducing thegap between the rich and poor has generated a loyal fol-lowing. She showcased this posture during December’s“lame duck” session of Congress, when she led the chargeagainst a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill ultimatelysigned by Obama that repealed part of the Dodd-Frankfinancial law and loosened contribution caps for somepolitical donors. Clinton has yet to comment on the spend-ing plan. During the fall elections, Clinton often pointed tothe broad prosperity during her husband’s administrationand advocated for policies to raise the minimum wage,address pay equity for women and provide paid leave fornew mothers.

In a nod to liberals, Clinton has voiced concerns aboutthe concentration of wealth, pointing to the rise in incomeand wealth to the top 0.01 percent of the population. “Someare calling it a throwback to the ‘Gilded Age’ of the robberbarons,” Clinton said in May. Clinton also has stumbledon the economy. At a fall event, she drew criticism from

Clinton economic approach under scrutiny

TOKYO—Japan’s factory output and inflationrate slowed in November, official data showed,dealing a fresh challenge for Tokyo’s bid re-boot the economy, just days after pro-busi-ness prime minister Shinzo Abe was re-electedfollowing a snap election. The weak figuresraised the prospect of further easing by theBank of Japan as its ambitious 2.0 percent in-flation target, aimed at ending years of tepidgrowth, appears increasingly out of reach.

The bank’s move in late October to ex-pand its massive asset-buying plan, whichnow stands at about 80 trillion yen ($670billion) annually, sharply weakened the yenand stoked a stock market rally. Japanslipped into recession during the third quar-ter as an April sales tax rise slammed thebrakes on growth in the world’s numberthree economy, and the impact of the addi-tional easing has now “completely gone,”according to SMBC Nikko Securities.

Worse, Japan’s core inflation rate could

Japan factory output down,inflation slows in November

Republicans when she said “don’t let anybody tell youthat it’s corporations and businesses that create jobs.”She quickly cleaned up those comments, arguing thattrickle-down economics had failed. Her supporters pointto her 2008 primary campaign, when she scored wins inOhio and Pennsylvania, as an indicator of how she couldconnect with working-class families. They also downplaythe differences between her and Warren on the economy.

One moment could come on the nomination of Lazardinvestment banker Antonio Weiss to lead a Treasury De-partment office overseeing domestic finance. Weiss, War-ren contends, would represent a long line of Wall Streetexecutives who are part of the revolving door betweenWashington and the financial markets. Clinton has not yetspoken publicly about Weiss’ nomination. She remains afavorite of Wall Street from her time representing New Yorkin the Senate. At a recent conference sponsored by theNew York Times’ DealBook, Goldman Sachs chairman andCEO Lloyd Blankfein said he had “always been a fan ofHillary Clinton” and argued it was important for politicalleaders to have relationships with key institutions. “I cer-tainly don’t think it’s a virtue to declare a big segment ofthe economy off limits,” he said.

Promoting economic growth and wages will also be onthe calendar. The AFL-CIO has invited Warren to deliverthe keynote address at its national summit on wages inearly January, giving her a plum appearance before laborleaders. About a week later, the Center for AmericanProgress, which was founded by ex-Clinton administra-tion officials, will release a report offering ways to spurmiddle-class growth, ideas that might guide Clinton’sagenda. The panel is co-chaired by Lawrence Summers, aformer Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton. Tad Devine,an adviser to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is consid-ering a 2016 presidential campaign, noted that Bill Clintoncampaigned in 1992 as a different kind of Democrat willingto reform welfare and appeal to centrists. This time, hesaid, Hillary Clinton will need to make a decision of howshe will position herself on the economy. “There is a hugeaudience right now for people who want to have a com-pletely different economic theory of what’s wrong withthe country and how to fix it,” Devine said.—AP

dip into negative territory soon as a drop incrude oil prices weighs on efforts to boostprices and slay deflation. “It depends on USemployment data and crude oil prices, butthe BoJ could go ahead with a stunning ad-ditional easing as early as January,” SMBCsaid in a note. Official data showed that in-dustrial production contracted 0.6 percentin November from the previous month, re-versing two months of rises and missing amarket forecast for a 0.8 percent increase.

“Industrial production fluctuates inde-cisively,” the industry ministry said in amonthly report, leaving unchanged its over-all assessment despite the downturn. Sepa-rate data from the internal affairs ministryshowed core inflation, excluding volatileprices of fresh food, slowed to 2.7 percentfrom 2.9 percent in October. Prices had beenon the rise largely because due to the salestax rise from 5.0 percent to 8.0 percent onApril 1, which drove up retail prices.—AFP

SIALKOT: The players of the National Bank and Port Qasim teams struggling to control on the ball during theopening match of National Hockey Championship.

Amir Khan of Itochu Corporation receiving the Winner’s trophy from Ateeq Ur Rehmanat the conclusion of 1st Sampo Yoshi Corporate Bowling Tournament organized byItochu Corporation.

LOS ANGELES: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) steals the ball from Los Angeles Clippers forwardBlake Griffin (32) in the first half at Staples Centre.

LAHORE—Pakistan on Saturday ap-pointed retired top military officerNaveed Cheema as manager for nextyear’s cricket World Cup, replacingformer captain Moin Khan.

Sixty-year-old Cheema, a retiredbrigadier who also held the manager’spost from 2011 to 2013, is currently serv-ing as chief secretary of Punjab prov-ince.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)said Moin had to step aside as he alsoheld the post of chief selector and sucha dual role was not allowed.

Moin would “stay on as chief se-lector as part of the squad for the ICCWorld Cup 2015”, the PCB said in apress release.

Cheema would also serve as teammanager for two one-day internationalsin New Zealand on January 31 and Feb-ruary 3, held ahead of the World Cuprunning from February 14 to March 29in Australia and New Zealand. PCBchairman Shaharyar Khan praisedMoin’s services and greeted his deci-sion to continue as chief selector.Moin said he accepted that he couldnot stay on in two positions. “My pri-ority is to select a team that has thecapability to win the ICC World Cup2015,” he said.

Meanwhile,The PCB said Ajmal will

Akram Cheema named manager for WCcontinue to work with former Pakistanoffspinner Saqlain Mushtaq in Lahore,while Mohammad Hafeez will have hisaction unofficially tested in Chennai

next week. The final 15-man squads forthe World Cup have to be announcedby January 7.

“The PCB committee discussed thefuture course of action to be adoptedwith regard to Ajmal and Hafeez andagreed that in the case of Ajmal, fur-ther remedial work should continue incollaboration with Saqlain and a bio-mechanist in Lahore,” the PCB said.

“The group was informed that signifi-cant progress had been made by Ajmalwho is now working on completing hismileage with the remodelled actionwhich shall soon be accomplished.

“It was noted that Saqlain andMushtaq Ahmed (Pakistan spin bowl-ing coach) have both worked withHafeez and his action should now beunofficially tested in Chennai nextweek.”

Ajmal was banned from bowling ininternational cricket in September dueto an illegal action. An unofficial test atthe Loughborough University foundAjmal’s action for his stock delivery,the offspinner, as well his faster ballsto be legal. His action for the doosra,though, was still not below the permis-sible 15-degree limit.

Ajmal had initially been set for anofficial test before the ICC on Decem-ber 8, but it was postponed by the PCB.The board’s illegal bowling committeewas keen that Ajmal play some com-petitive cricket first to get used to hisremodelled action. Ajmal played acouple of one-dayers this month forPakistan A against Kenya in Lahore.

Hafeez’s action was found to be ille-gal earlier this month. He played as aspecialist batsman in the ODI seriesagainst New Zealand in the UAE.—AFP

MELBOURNE—Australia captain MichaelClarke doubts he will be fit for the start ofthe World Cup in February but hopes to beback at some stage during the tournament.

Clarke had surgery on his injured ham-string after straining it for a fourth time in asmany months during the first test againstIndia in Adelaide. Clarke came out of thesurgery feeling positive but conceded onSaturday he would struggle to be fit forAustralia’s opening match against Englandon Feb. 14.

“I’m really confident that the way thingsare progressing at the moment, that if I con-tinue ticking the boxes, I’ll be a really goodchance for the World Cup,” Clarke told hostbroadcaster Channel Nine. “I think I’ll cer-tainly be fit and available for the majority ofthe World Cup. “I’m hoping the selectorswill give me the opportunity (to come back).”Steven Smith has been leading the test side

Clarke unlikely to makestart of World Cup

in Clarke’s absence while George Bailey ledthe one-day international team during therecent series victory at home against SouthAfrica. After hurting his hamstring inAdelaide, a distraught Clarke told reportershe had to face the possibility that he mightnever play again.

He has since rowed back on those com-ments and remains determined to take backthe reins. Clarke said he put his reaction inAdelaide down to being “extremely emo-tional” and he had since been given confi-dence from surgeons that the hamstring ten-don he had repaired was otherwise in soundcondition. With Clarke likely to miss thefirst part of the World Cup, Bailey is wellplaced to lead, though Smith has mounted acompelling case, bashing three centuries inconsecutive matches against India and alsodominating South Africa’s world class at-tack in the ODI series.—APP

LONDON—Alexis Sanchez helped main-tain 10-man Arsenal’s Champions Leaguepush as his man-of-the-match displaycondemned Queens Park Rangers to a 2-1 Premier League defeat on Friday. TheChilean forward went from zero to heroafter squandering an early penalty andthen putting Arsenal ahead with a 37th-minute header. Arsenal striker OliverGiroud was sent off for violent conductbefore Sanchez’s mazy run carved out asecond goal for Tomas Rosicky.

Charlie Austin’s late penalty hadnerves jangling at the Emirates Stadium,but it was too little, too late for QPR, whofell to a record-equalling ninth straightaway defeat. In a bid to end his side’swoes away from Loftus Road, QPR man-ager Harry Redknapp recalled RioFerdinand for the first time since Octo-ber and he formed part of a new three-man defensive set-up.

But those carefully-laid plans shouldhave been thrown out of the window in-side the opening eight minutes. FormerArsenal left-back Armand Traore, amongthose called in by Redknapp, tripped theall-action Sanchez for a clear penalty.Sanchez stepped up instead of regulartaker Santi Cazorla, but saw his tame spot-kick pushed out by QPR goalkeeper RobGreen, who also scrambled away the re-bound.

Arsenal pressed and probed for anopener, but a combination of last-ditchdefending and inaccurate final balls letthem down. Giroud went close from dis-tance before forcing an acrobatic savefrom Green with a 28th-minute free-kick.

It was one-way traffic and the pres-sure finally told when Sanchez madeamends by heading Arsenal into the lead.Kieran Gibbs drilled a cross into the box

from the left and Sanchez exploited inat-tentive defending from Traore to headhome his 15th goal of the season.

It was the least the hosts deserved.QPR had failed to register a meaningfulattempt at goal, but they did sound a noteof caution as Steven Caulker headedEduardo Vargas’s cross just wide beforethe break. The visitors were given an un-expected helping hand when Giroud wassent off for a moment of madness in the53rd minute. The France striker took ex-ception after Nedum Onuoha pushed himfrom behind as he chased a through-balland rose from the floor to headbutt theQPR defender right in front of refereeMartin Atkinson, who had no option butto send him off.

The angry look on Arsenal managerArsene Wenger’s face as Giroud trudgedpast him spoke volumes. The incidentthreatened to turn the game on its head,but instead Arsenal extended their leadvia veteran Czech midfielder Rosicky inthe 65th minute. Sanchez turned creatorwith a wonderful run and pass that cul-minated in a delicately-weighted pass forRosicky, who placed a deflected shotbeneath Green to end his nine-month waitfor a goal.

The game looked up for QPR, but theywere thrown a 79th-minute lifeline whenMathieu Debuchy was harshly adjudgedto have tripped substitute Junior Hoilettinside the penalty area. In-form strikerAustin did the rest, slamming the spot-kick down the centre of the goal to regis-ter his 12th goal of the campaign. But be-sides a Vargas header that was scrambledclear and despite a nervous atmosphereinside the ground, there was to be nograndstand finish as Wenger’s team sawout the game with relative ease.—AFP

Sanchez saves Arsenal as Giroud sees red

Toure closeto fourth

straight Africanaward

JO H A N N E S B U R G —IvoryCoast midfielder YayaToure moved closer to arecord fourth consecutiveAfrican Footballer of theYear title on Friday whenhe was included in a three-man shortlist.

Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang andNigeria goalkeeper VincentEnyeama are the othercontenders for the mostprestigious African foot-ball individual award.

Toure plays for reign-ing English PremierLeague championsManchester City,Aubameyang for Germanclub Borussia Dortmundand Enyeama for Frenchoutfit Lille.

The votes of the 56 na-tional coaches in Africa de-cide the winner, who willbe announced on January8 in Lagos.

Cameroon strikerSamuel Eto’o has won theaward four times, but onlythree of his successescame in consecutive years.

The Africa-basedFootballer of the Yearaward rests between En-tente Setif of Algeria team-mates El-Hedi Belameiriand Akram Djahnit andFirmin Mubele from Demo-cratic Republic of Congoside V Club.—APP

Mitchell Marshto have

hamstring scan,in doubt forSydney Test

ME L B O U R N E—Australiaall-rounder Mitchell Marshwill have a further scan onhis injured hamstring, put-ting him in doubt for nextweek’s final Test againstIndia, coach DarrenLehmann said Saturday.

Marsh, 23, sufferedright hamstring trouble onday one of the secondBrisbane Test and was un-able to bowl in the rest ofthe match.

He was ruled out of thethird Test, but travelledwith the squad toMelbourne. M a r s hwas confident he would bepassed fit for the fourthSydney Test, but felt aniggle after running onBoxing Day, Lehmann said.

“He’s just not 100 per-cent with his hamstring.

He can still feel it whenhe’s running,” the coachsaid. “We certainly don’twant to take any risks onplayers.

“It’s a case of makingsure he’s right. We’ve gota very big summer ahead.”Marsh’s strain was his fifthhamstring injury in justover two years.

Batsman Joe Burns madehis debut in the MelbourneTest as a replacement forMarsh.— APP

KARACHI—Farhan Mehboob and RiffatAlam clinched the men and womensingles titles of 8th DG Rangers SindhNational Squash Championship whichconcluded here on Saturday.

Fourth seed Farhan Mahboob ofWAPDA spent hardly over half an hourto down Tayyab Aslam of Zarai TaraqiatiBank Limited in three straight games hereat the Sindh Rangers Jahangir KhanSquash Complex.

Pakistan’s top international Farhangot off to sterling start by grabbing thefirst two games by dropping just fivepoints.

He played brilliant nicks, drops andcross-court strokes to rout Tayyab.

However, fifth seed Tayyab battledhard in the third game before going down

Farhan, Riffat win DGSindh Rangers Squash titles

13-11. Riffat Alam of ZTBL dropped thesecond game before inflicting 3-1 defeatto her tem-mate Zoya Khalid.

Former Squash legend and ex-worldchampion Jahangir Khan, who was thechief guest, distributed the prizes.

Farhan got the glittering trophy andcash purse of Rs 175,000 and TayyabAslam got Rs 115,000.

Riffat Khan got Rs 52,500 and Zoyareceived Rs 34,500. Deputy DirectorGeneral Sindh Rangers Brig.

Imran Munawar also attended thepresentation ceremony. Following are re-sults: Men: Farhan Mehboob (Wapda)bt 5- Tayyab Aslam (ZTBL) 11-2, 11-3,13-11 Women Riffat Khan (ZTBL) bt 8-Zoya Khalid (ZTBL) 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 11-4 —APP

Championsleague T-20tournament

startsM U Z A F F A R G A R H —Muzaffargarh championsleague T-20 cricket tourna-ment, organized by an NGOSycope here at Fasial sta-dium started.

About 20 cricket teamsfrom across the district in-cluding 15 male clubs, fourfemales clubs and one deafcricket team were partici-pating in the event.

DCO Shaukat Ali andMPA Hammad Nawaz Tipuinaugurated the T-20cricket tournament.

Addressing the inau-guration ceremony, theDCO said that studentsshould also exhibit theircapabilities in sports.

He announced Rs onemillion funds for the jog-ging track, gym, renovationand construction work ofFaisal stadium.

The MPA said thatproblems faced by playersof the district would be re-solved, adding that morefacilities would also beprovided to players.

The first match wasplayed between Jatoi StarCricket Club andMuzaffargarh Deaf CricketClub.

Playing first, Jatoicricket club made 177 runsby the loss of six wicketsand it won the match by 55runs as Deaf cricket clubteam only scored 120runs.—APP

MELBOURNE—On Christ-mas Eve, it was pointed outin a local newspaper that forall Steven Smith’s recentachievements he had yet toconquer the MCG. Not oncehad he passed 50 in a Testmatch at Australian cricket’scolosseum.

On a day of blue skies, araucous crowd of 51,566,and some dreadful Indianfielding and bowling, Smithput that particular matter torest. His 192 was a master-piece of light and shade,determination and domi-nance, pace and patience.Smith was happy to play aminor role in no fewer thanthree significant partner-

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW

ZEALAND—Having beenbattered and bruised on Box-ing Day, the ball finally hadits way in Christchurch. TrentBoult summoned swing, TimSouthee got it to seam, andSri Lanka col-lapsed to 138in reply to New Zealand’smassive 441 and were forcedto follow-on. Sri Lankashowed better mettle in thesecond innings, as DimuthKarunaratne and KaushalSilva shared an unbroken,opening stand of 84.

The first ball of the morn-ing, at Angelo Mathews’gentle pace, had swung pastthe outside edge. The trendcontin-ued, only the touristsbegan their innings with 13straight overs of Boult andSouthee manipulating theirlength and line to suit theswing on offer. They at-tacked middle and off stump,moving wide of the creaseevery so often to create dif-ficult angles. Sri Lanka werereduced to 15 for 3. Recov-ery appeared, and eventuallyturned out to be, impossible.

Karunaratne had thecourtesy one sighter beforehe was put under scrutiny.Boult’s fourth ball of the in-nings threatened to shapeaway, had a change of heartonce it hit the pitch andjagged back to pin him infront of the stumps. A deliv-ery that befit the occasion ofBoult’s 100th wicket, in onlyhis 29th Test.

Boult’s inswing was thereason for Silva’s second

single-figure score of 2014.The opener had got acrosstoo early and was extremelylate in preventing the ballstriking pad. He did chal-lenge the umpire’s leg-beforedecision, hop-ing the exag-gerated swing would savehim but had to accept hisdismissal.

Kumar Sangakkara’smistake was in direct con-trast to Silva’s.

His feet did not move toa teasing outswinger fromBoult, especially consideringthe choice of shot - hisfavourite cover drive.Southee, at third slip, heldthe outside edge andSangakkara, who had begunhis innings 12 short of 12000Test runs, was out for 6.

Southee had nothing toshow for his work in the firstsession. He remained patientthough and was rewardedwhen Lahiru Thirimannedrove a touch carelessly out-side off in the eighth over af-ter lunch. Four balls later,Niroshan Dickwella closedthe face too early and spoona catch to short cover. WithNew Zealand’s skill to movethe ball in the air, it almostseemed cruel that Southeegot a cross-seamed deliveryto misbehave.

Mathews was the onlyman who resisted, biding histime until the movement di-minished. He pushed himselfto make twos, backed him-self to slam Boult into thesight-screen and willed him-self to a half-century. New

Zealand would have beenwary of his average of 89.46in the last 12 months and apenchant to lead the tail, butthis time his team-matesbarely lasted long enough toeven think about offeringsupport. Brendon McCullumwas already prep-ping forthe follow-on, having pulledSouthee and Boult out of the

attack with half the opposi-tion dismissed and more than10 overs left for tea.

In Sri Lanka’s second in-nings, Boult and Southee wereunable to reprise the samethreat. Not as many deliveriesdemanded the two Sri Lankaopeners to play, even thoughthe ball was moving late intothe final session.—APP

New Zealand 1st inningsLatham b Eranga .......... 27Rutherford b Lakmal ... 18Williamson b Prasad ... 54Taylor run out ................ 7McCullum b Kaushal .. 195Neesham b Mathews .... 85Watling b Mathews .... 26Craig not out ................ 12Southee b Mathews ..... 0Wagner b Lakmal ......... 4Boult b Lakma ............... l0Extras: (lb 4, w 2, nb 7) 13Total: (all out) 441Fall of wickets 1-37, 2-60,3-88, 4-214, 5-367, 6-420, 7-429, 8-431, 9-440, 10-441Bowling .......... O-M-R-WRAS Lakmal .. 19.5-3-90-3RMS Eranga ..... 18-1-82-1AD Mathews ... 12-2-39-3KTGD Prasad ... 12-2-62-1PHT Kaushal . 22-0-159-1HDRL Thirimanne 2-0-5-0Sri Lanka 1st inningsFDM lbw b Boult ........ 02Silva lbw b Boult ........... 4Sangakkara b Boult ....... 6Thirimanne b Southee .. 24Mathews b Wagner .... 50Dickwella b Southee ..... 2

Jayawardene b Wagner 10Prasad b Neesham ...... 18Kaushal b Wagner ........ 6RMS Eranga not out ... 10RAS b Neesham ............ 2Extras: (lb 3, w 2, nb 1) 6Total: (all out; 42.4 overs)138 .....................................Fall of wickets 1-0, 2-8, 3-15,4-58, 5-60, 6-88, 7-105, 8-118,9-128, 10-138Bowling .......... O-M-R-WTA Boult ........... 11-4-25-3TG Southee ...... 12-4-17-2JDS Neesham .. 6.4-1-28-2N Wagner ......... 11-0-60-3MD Craig .............. 2-0-5-0

Sri Lanka 2nd innings(following on)

FDM not out ................ 49JK not out .................... 33Extras: lb 1, nb 1) 2Total: (0 wickets) 84

Bowling .......... O-M-R-WTA Boult ............. 7-2-16-0TG Southee ........ 7-2-11-0N Wagner ......... 11-1-37-0MD Craig ............ 7-2-12-0JDS Neesham ....... 2-1-4-0BB McCullum ...... 1-0-3-0

1st Test: Boult, Southee forceSL to follow on

KARACHI—Suspended off-spinnerSaeed Ajmal was withdrawn fromPakistan’s World Cup squad on Satur-day after the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) decided he needed more time toremodel his bowling action.

According to the PCB chairmanShahryar Khan, Ajmal took the decisionto pull out from World Cup contentionhimself.

The 37-year-old was suspendedfrom all international cricket after hisbowling action was found illegal in abio-mechanical test in September.

Ajmal withdrawn from WC squad: PCBThe PCB earlier this month re-

quested the International Cricket Coun-cil (ICC) to have Ajmal’s action reas-sessed but had to delay that after hisunofficial tests revealed he still neededremodelling. Ajmal has been remodel-ling his action with the help of formerPakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

Under the ICC rules all bowlers areallowed to flex their elbow by 15 degreesbut Ajmal’s tests revealed his elbowflexed by 43 degree.

Pakistan also faces race against timeto get all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez

cleared after his action was reported assuspect last month. He was subse-quently suspended earlier this month.

A PCB meeting on Saturday decidedHafeez will proceed to Chennai, India tohave an unofficial test while Ajmal willdo more remodelling work in Lahore.“The PCB committee discussed the fu-ture course of action to be adopted withregard to Ajmal and Hafeez and agreedthat in the case of Ajmal, further reme-dial work should continue in collabora-tion with Saqlain and a bio mechanist inLahore,” a PCB release said.— AFP

Christchurch: Trent Boult and Tim Southee lead the team off the field after New Zealand forced Sri Lanka to follow-on in 1st Test’s 2nd day on Saturday.

MELBOURNE: Steven Smith pulls on his way to a hundred during Australia vs India,3rd Test’s 2nd day on Saturday.

Smith fireworks leave Indiareeling in 3rd Test

ships on the second day, butin showing when to stickand when to twist he guidedhis side to 530.

Having hoped to bechasing somewhere in theregion of 300 whenAustralia’s fifth wicket fellat 216 on Boxing Day After-noon, India were bereft ofideas against Smith, andwere fortunate to reachstumps as tidily placed as 1for 108. Shikhar Dhawanwas winkled out by RyanHarris, and CheteshwarPujara survived onlythrough an untidy miss byBrad Haddin from the accu-racy of Josh Hazlewood.

M Vijay at least main-

tained his command ofIndia’s top order, passing 50for the fourth time in fiveinnings and weatheringsome searing overs late inthe day from MitchellJohnson, who charged inwith the crowd baying ex-pectantly behind him. Theyhad been roused to life earlyby Haddin’s free-spiritedstart alongside Smith.

Stands of 110 withHaddin and 50 with Johnsonset the scene for a rollickingunion of 106 between Smithand Ryan Harris, whoposted his highest Testscore. In the end only thelure of a double-century be-fore tea tripped up Smith,

bowled when attempting toramp Umesh Yadav to fineleg with last man JoshHazlewood looking on.

All India’s bowlers con-ceded centuries of theirown, and none could find away past Smith, who is find-ing exceptionally rare terri-tory with his current glut ofruns.

Chris Rogers hadranked him alongside AB deVilliers on the first evening,and said it was “scary” howgood Smith may yet become.In front of an appreciativeMCG crowd, Smith scaredthe living daylights out ofMS Dhoni.

This was his third hun-dred in as many matches,making him the first Austra-lian to pass three figures ineach of his first two Testsas captain. Smith andHaddin looked assured asstumps neared on the firstevening, and they resumedas though the interval hadbeen only a few minutesrather than a night’ssleep.—APP

Australia 1st inningsRogers b Shami ............ 57Warner b Yadav ............. 0Watsonlbw b Ashwin . 52Smithb Yadav ............. 192Marsh b Shami ............ 32Burns b Yadav ............. 13Haddin b Shami ........... 55Johnson b Ashwin ...... 28Harris lbw b Ashwin ... 74Lyon b Shami ............... 11Hazlewood not out ....... 0Extras: (b 1, lb 9, w 1, nb 5) .... 16Total: (all out) ............ 530Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-115,3-115, 4-184, 5-216, 6-326,7-376, 8-482, 9-530, 10-530Bowling .......... O-M-R-WSharma ............ 32-7-104-0Yadav ........... 32.3-3-130-3Shami .............. 29-4-138-4R Ashwin ....... 44-9-134-3M Vijay ............... 5-0-14-0India 1st innings:M Vijay not out ........... 55Dhawan c Smith b Harris .......... 28Pujara not out .............. 25Extras .............................. 0Total: (1 wicket) ......... 108Fall of wickets:1-55Bowling .......... O-M-R-WMG Johnson ...... 9-3-24-0RJ Harris ............. 7-3-19-1JR Hazlewood .... 9-4-19-0SR Watson ......... 4-0-14-0NM Lyon ............ 8-0-32-0

IN WEALTHIER nations it is common practice to clamp the baby’s umbilical cord lessthan a minute after birth. But a recent re-

view of published studies suggests delayingcord clamping results in healthier blood andiron levels in babies, and thisbenefit outweighs the slightlyhigher risk of developing jaun-dice. The reviewers arrived atthis conclusion after analyzingdata on nearly 4,000 womenand their babies. They reporttheir findings online in a July11th issue of the CochraneDatabase of Systematic Re-views.

One of the authors,Philippa Middleton of theAustralian Research Centrefor Health of Women and Ba-bies at the University ofAdelaide, says in a statement:“In light of growing evidencethat delayed cord clampingincreases early haemoglobinconcentrations and iron storesin infants, a more liberal approach to delayingclamping of the umbilical cord in healthy ba-bies appears to be warranted.”

In higher income countries, the standard prac-tice is to clamp the umbilical cord within a minuteof the baby being born. If cord clamping is de-layed, the risk that the baby will develop jaun-dice rises. Newborns with jaundice are treatedwith light therapy. However, stopping the bloodfrom the placenta reaching the baby before thefinal few pulses stop, means there is a chance thebaby will not receive enough blood from themother and will have lower iron levels.

“The benefits of delayed cord clampingneed to be weighed against the small additional

Delayed cord clamping afterbirth better for baby’s health

People taking keen interest in Bhutto family’s painting exhibition by Haya Ameer Farooqui at National Museum. Prof Sehar Ansari and others are alsoseen in the picture.—PO photo by Sultan Chaki

risk of jaundice in newborns. Later cord clamp-ing to increase iron stores might be particu-larly beneficial in settings where severeanaemia is common” The researchers reviewed15 trials comparing early and late cord clamp-

ing covering a total of 3,911women and their infants. Theyexamined results for mothersand babies separately, usinghaemoglobin measures as in-dicators of healthy blood andiron levels.

Although another reasonsometimes given for early cordclamping is that it reduces themother’s risk of bleeding afterbirth, the reviewers found noevidence of this. Delayed cordclamping did not change themother’s risk ofhaemorrhaging, losing bloodor having reduced haemoglo-bin levels, they note. But de-laying cord clamping did makea difference to the health of thebabies. Between one and two

days after birth, their haemoglobin levels werehigher; between three and six months after birth,they were less likely to be deficient in iron.

The reviewers also found that delayed cordclamping was linked to higher birth weight andmade no difference to deaths in newborns.They also found delayed cord clamping ap-pears to have no effect on longer-term braindevelopment, although only one of the trialsexamined this. The reviewers conclude theirfindings suggest we need to adopt a “more lib-eral approach” to delaying cord clampingwhich is likely to benefit babies, “as long asaccess to treatment for jaundice requiring pho-totherapy is available”.

People facing hardships due to containers on High Court Road.

A large number of journalists seen during the annual election 2015 of Karachi Press Club.—PO photo

KARACHI—Inspector General of Police Sindh,Ghulam Haider Jamali has directed the policeofficials to ensure strict security for the proces-sions and majalis of Chup Tazia. He instructedthe officials to take effective security measureson district and police stations level with coordi-nation of religious scholars and organizers. Be-side this, he ordered for extra ordinary securitymeasures around 460 Imam Bargahs, 4317

KARACHI—First meeting of PrimeMinister’s Psycho-Social National Ad-visory Council was held here at the Gov-ernor House.Sindh Governor Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan chaired the meeting whichwas co-chaired by the Council’s Coor-dinator Marvi Memon. The leading psy-

IGP orders strict security forChup Tazia procession

mosques and 251 shrines in city.The police chief directed to devise a contin-

gency plan for Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkurranges. Jamali ordered to enhance snap check-ing at all exit and entry points in the province,particularly in big cities. The random snapchecking and enhanced patrolling in sensitiveareas of the cities were also ordered by the Sindhpolice chief.—APP

Meeting mulls developing nationalstrategy for psycho-social support

chiatrists of the country attended this im-portant session.

The meeting deliberated upon devel-oping national level strategy for psycho-social support with psycho-trauma centersin each province, to evaluate human re-source availability to be deployed at times

of crises for treatment, to establish typesof advice to be given to different agen-cies/stakeholders on psycho-trauma, toestablish master trainers list which willbe shared with all and to develop guide-lines for the media (print/broadcast) onhow to respond to an atrocity.—APP

KARACHI—Commissioner Karachi ShoaibAhmed Siddiqui has ordered cancellation ofNew Year functions in view of Peshawer Schooltragedy. The Commissioner has ordered the or-ganizers to cancel all functions to be held inconnection with New Year at different hotels and

Cancellation of New Year functions orderedother places in the metropolis in view of theSchool tragedy.

The Administrators of Karachi Metropoli-tan Corporation (KMC) and DHA have also beenasked to ensure the implementation of the orderin their respective areas.—APP

KARACHI—The city administration has fined 62 retailers fleec-ing citizens and violating the officially approved price lists foredible items. Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui ina statement on Saturday said that the action was taken againstprofiteers, hoarders and adulterators by the duty Magistratesduring last 24 hours in different areas of the city.

Fined 62 profiteersHe said 38 milk sellers, 11 green grocers, 48 grocers, six

fruit sellers and six chicken sellers were challaned and imposedfine of Rs 176,000 on them during the exercise. The commis-sioner said that the campaign will be continued on daily basis,till the menace is eradicated and consumers’ rights are pro-tected.—APP

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Pakistan Bar Council andJudicial commission member and formerPresident Supreme Court Bar Associa-tion Barrister Yaseen Azad said the ideaof establishment of proposed militarycourts was a direct negation to the judi-cial system of Pakistan and a manifestof distrust on the judiciary.

While talking to Pakistan Observer,Barrister Azad said that there was nodoubt about the horrendous carnage atthe army public school in Peshawar andthe terrorist deserved immediate elimi-nation from all sides but it should notundermine the status of the country’sjudicial system. The meeting held on Dec24 under the chair of the Supreme Courtof Pakistan Chief Justice was a clearmessage to the government and all thestakeholders that since the SC was forexpediting the process of rapid disposal

Lawyers community opposes

Formulation of military courtsis violation of constitution

of the cases of terrorism, there shouldbe no military court in the country.

Earlier, Barrister Azad while ad-dressing a press conference at the Su-preme Court of Pakistan Karachi Regis-try Saturday said the lawyers fraternitycondemned the Army Public School car-nage and wanted the terrorist must beeliminated and taken to task for their uglyand inhuman deeds. However, the judi-cial system should be allowed to executeits obligations and should not be under-mined as there was no provision in theconstitution of Pakistan for any militarycourt.

The SC had through a verdictgiven in 1999 established the militarycourts were unconstitutional and againon Dec 24, 2014, Justice Nair Ul Mulkwhile chairing a high level meeting ofthe provincial Chief Justices had askedthem to ensure quick disposal of 3200cases pending with courts before June

2015 along with assurances that thecourts would dispose off high profilecases of terrorism would also be dealtwith a rapid pace. Thus it was a clearmessage to the government that theproposed establishment of the speedycourts in form of military courts wasin contrast to the provisions of the con-stitution of Pakistan as there was noroom for any military court.

He urged upon the political partiespatrons to take only those steps that couldmatch with the limits given by the con-stitution of Pakistan because the lawyersfraternity would not accept. Any deci-sions against or above the constitutionof Pakistan and in case such decisionswould be imposed, then the lawyers fra-ternity would oppose all such decisionswith full force. The lawyers fraternitywould be free to adopt any future strat-egy in case any supra-constitutional de-cision would be imposed.

He said the lawyers fraternity fullysupported the military operation Zarb-eAzb in North Waziristan Agency andwanted to see every single terrorist waseliminated. Every citizen of the countrywas bound to abide by the law while thelawyers fraternity had always strugglefor the supremacy of the constitution andwanted to see the democracy shouldgrow stronger in the country.

On the other hand, Sindh Bar Coun-cil member advocate Haider Imam Rizviwhile talking to Pakistan Observer saidthe idea of military courts was in con-trast to the Article 4 of the constitutionand there was no room for the militarycourts.

He said the decision taken on theoccasion of all party conference followedby the Peshawar carnage for the estab-lishment of military courts was a plainmanifest of .No Confidence’ on the ju-diciary.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) former federal lawMinister Senator Maula BuxChandio, Senator Saeed Ghaniand Senator Aziz Dhamra saidthe ongoing cold war betweenthe Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PMLN)-led federal

Delay in Judicial Commission may tarnishresolve against terrorism: PPP Senators

government and PakistanTehreek-e Insaf (PTI) over theJudicial Commission was a badomen for the country. Both thefederal government and the PTIshould avoid pushing the na-tion into a fresh episode of new

adventure, which the nationwould not endure.

They said the county and thenations had in recent past suf-fered colossal loss on the social,political and economic canvassfrom the prolonged sit-in by the

PTI at Islamabad and agitationalrallies in different cities. The na-tion while composing the nerveswrithed through the sit-in poli-tics was dragged into a horriblescene of the massacre of studentsof Army Public school. Hence-

forth, the nation would not ac-cept any further sequel of anyadventure.

They said the Prime Minis-ter and Imran Khan should settheir ego aside and take steps forthe goodness of the country.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Citizens Police Liaison Commit-tee (CPLC) Chief Ahmed Chinoy has congratu-lated Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan forcompleting the successful 12 years of his Gover-norship. The CPLC Chief has given warm wishes

Chinoy felicitates Governorto the Governor on the completion of his success-ful 12 years governorship on behalf of CPLC ad-visory board and members. Ahmed Chinoy hasfurther said that Sindh is blessed to have a Gover-nor, who is enriched with the qualities of kind heartand intelligence. He prayed for the health andlonger governorship of Dr Ebad.

IN WEALTHIER nations it is common practice to clamp the baby’s umbilical cord lessthan a minute after birth. But a recent re-

view of published studies suggests delayingcord clamping results in healthier blood andiron levels in babies, and thisbenefit outweighs the slightlyhigher risk of developing jaun-dice. The reviewers arrived atthis conclusion after analyzingdata on nearly 4,000 womenand their babies. They reporttheir findings online in a July11th issue of the CochraneDatabase of Systematic Re-views.

One of the authors,Philippa Middleton of theAustralian Research Centrefor Health of Women and Ba-bies at the University ofAdelaide, says in a statement:“In light of growing evidencethat delayed cord clampingincreases early haemoglobinconcentrations and iron storesin infants, a more liberal approach to delayingclamping of the umbilical cord in healthy ba-bies appears to be warranted.”

In higher income countries, the standard prac-tice is to clamp the umbilical cord within a minuteof the baby being born. If cord clamping is de-layed, the risk that the baby will develop jaun-dice rises. Newborns with jaundice are treatedwith light therapy. However, stopping the bloodfrom the placenta reaching the baby before thefinal few pulses stop, means there is a chance thebaby will not receive enough blood from themother and will have lower iron levels.

“The benefits of delayed cord clampingneed to be weighed against the small additional

Delayed cord clamping afterbirth better for baby’s health

Chief Secretary Naveed Akram Cheema paid a farewell call on Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Saturday.

risk of jaundice in newborns. Later cord clamp-ing to increase iron stores might be particu-larly beneficial in settings where severeanaemia is common” The researchers reviewed15 trials comparing early and late cord clamp-

ing covering a total of 3,911women and their infants. Theyexamined results for mothersand babies separately, usinghaemoglobin measures as in-dicators of healthy blood andiron levels.

Although another reasonsometimes given for early cordclamping is that it reduces themother’s risk of bleeding afterbirth, the reviewers found noevidence of this. Delayed cordclamping did not change themother’s risk ofhaemorrhaging, losing bloodor having reduced haemoglo-bin levels, they note. But de-laying cord clamping did makea difference to the health of thebabies. Between one and two

days after birth, their haemoglobin levels werehigher; between three and six months after birth,they were less likely to be deficient in iron.

The reviewers also found that delayed cordclamping was linked to higher birth weight andmade no difference to deaths in newborns.They also found delayed cord clamping ap-pears to have no effect on longer-term braindevelopment, although only one of the trialsexamined this. The reviewers conclude theirfindings suggest we need to adopt a “more lib-eral approach” to delaying cord clampingwhich is likely to benefit babies, “as long asaccess to treatment for jaundice requiring pho-totherapy is available”.

People buying different items in connection with Eid Milad-un-Nabi.

PPP workers lighting candles on the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto at PPP Punjab Office.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—With a view to discuss theinitiatives to promote bilateral trade be-tween Canada and Punjab, a high levelstrategic meeting was held among rep-resentatives of Canada Pakistan Busi-ness Council (CPBC) and Punjab Boardof Investment and Trade (PBIT). No-table participants of the meeting were

PBIT & CPBC to strengthen tradebetween Canada and Punjab

President, Canada Pakistan BusinessCouncil, Samir Dossal, Director GeneralProjects and Policy Research, PBIT MsLubna Pathan and Director Agriculture &Dairy, Suhail Saleem.

It was decided that a Memorandum ofUnderstanding will be signed betweenCPBC and PBIT to strengthen and formal-ize the collaboration between the two sides.President CPBC proposed the idea to orga-

nize a high-level trade mission to Canadato explore the mutually beneficial oppor-tunities. Organization of a single-coun-try Pakistan exhibition in Toronto, short-listing of the common priority sectors,provision of matchmaking servicesthrough creating a comprehensive data-base and event calendar sharing weresome of the significant matters that cameunder discussion.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Secretary Health Punjab JawadRaffique Malik has directed the concerned au-thorities to accelerate the process of registra-tion of blood banks to ensure provision ofhealthy and screened blood to the patients. Hefurther directed that campaign should belaunched against the sub-standard and suchblood banks who did not apply for registrationto the Punjab Blood Transfusion Authority(BTA) and it would be started from Lahore.

He said this while presiding over a meetingto review the arrangements/measures to launchcampaign against sub-standard blood banks atthe office of BTA at Bird Wood Road. Besides,DCO Lahore Capt. (R) Muhammad Usman,Additional Secretary Health (Tech) Dr. SalmanShahid, German Consultant (GIZ) for BloodTransfusion Paul Kohorrt, Secretary BTA Dr.Jaffar Saleem, Dr. Javeria, Legal Officer ofHealth Department and police officials attendedthe meeting.

German Consultant Paul Kohorrt said thatthere is a need to remove the misunderstand-ings and wrong myths regarding the blood do-nation for which an awareness campaign shouldbe launched among the masses. He said that the

Registration and drive againstunauthorized blood banks

most reliable blood donor is a volunteer blooddonor. Mr. Paul further said that every healthyperson can easily donate blood four times in ayear. He stressed the need of an effective Man-agement Information System (MIS) for moni-toring the blood banks and training of the staff.

Secretary Health directed that services ofhematologists from the medical colleges to behired immediately for the checking of bloodbanks. He directed that at least one hematolo-gist should be nominated as blood inspector ineach town of Lahore and drug inspectors shouldassist them in their duties. He directed that dur-ing the checking of blood banks, police officialsshould also accompany the checking party forsecurity purpose.

He asked DCO Lahore to issue directions tothe officers of district government for extendingfull cooperation to the health department inlaunching campaign against sub-standard bloodbanks. It was decided that one day training work-shop for the blood inspectors and drug inspectorswould be arranged by Blood Transfusion Author-ity on 30th December 2014 for which GermanConsultant would provide training module. Acheck list would be provided to the inspectionteam for the inspection of standard/quality andfacilities available in the blood banks.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—A delegation of journalistsled by President Lahore Press Club,Arshad Ansari met Punjab Chief Min-ister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, hereSaturday. Development matters of Jour-nalists’ Colony Lahore and problemsbeing faced by journalists’ communitywere discussed during the meeting.Talking to the delegation, Chief Minis-ter Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said thatgovernment takes keen interest in theresolution of residential problems ofjournalists.

He said that due to the governmen-tal steps, roof has been provided to 300more journalists in Journalists’ Colony

Govt determined to solveproblems of journalists: Shahbaz

Lahore. He said that addition of F-Blockin Journalists’ Colony is a clear proofof determination of the government forproviding residential facilities to thejournalists. The Chief Minister said thathe will inaugurate F-Block and visitLahore Press Club very soon. He saidthat a center of excellence will be setup in journalists’ colony for providingquality educational facilities to the chil-dren of journalists.

He said that a dispensary will alsobe set up for providing treatment facili-ties to the journalists’ community.Shahbaz Sharif directed concerned au-thorities to consider the matters regard-ing development of commercial area inJournalists’ Colony. He further directed

that a practicable plan should beevolved by holding a meeting with con-cerned officials for resolving trafficproblem outside Lahore Press Club.

President Lahore Press Club andmembers of the delegation thankedChief Minister Punjab for carrying outspeedy development works in journal-ists’ colony and progress on other mat-ters. Arshad Ansari said that ShahbazSharif believes in practical steps. Hesaid that Metro Bus Project, signal-freeAzadi Chowk and other welfare projectsare a clear proof of Chief Minister ofbeing people-friendly. He said thatLahore has been made a more beautifulcity with regard to landscaping and itseems that we are living in a city of Eu-

rope. He said that Shahbaz Sharif haswon our hearts by providing shelter to300 more journalists.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister forTextile & Industry, Senator Abbas KhanAfridi called on Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif, here Sat-urday. Speaking on the occasion, ChiefMinister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharifsaid that peace is essential for the pro-motion of industrial and trade activities.He said that the whole nation is deter-mined to eliminate terrorism from thecountry. He said that Pak-Army is fight-ing the war against terrorists bravely.He said that the entire nation is stand-ing like a rock wall with Pak-Army inthe war against terrorism.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Chief Secretary PunjabNaveed Akram Cheema has said thatgovernment is spending hugeamounts for increasing modern treat-ment facilities in government hospi-tals so that all requirements of thepeople could be met in the nearesthospitals. He expressed these viewswhile laying the foundation stone of15-beded Gyne ward and 40-bededTrauma center at Tehsil HospitalWazirabad Saturday. A sum of more

Modern treatment facilitiesbeing provided at hospitals

than Rs. 10 crore will be spent on thisproject and it will be completed in ayear. Commissioner Gujranwala Divi-sion Shumail Ahmed Khawaja, Secre-tary Health Jawad Ahmed, DCO AzmatMehmood and Director General HealthPunjab Dr. Zahid Pervaiz also partici-pated in the meeting.

The Chief Secretary directed offic-ers of Works Department to ensurecompletion of these projects within stipu-lated period by adopting a developmentstrategy and best planning so that a num-ber of villages of the Tehsil could ben-

efit from it. SE Building informed theChief Secretary about the details of theproject. Naveed Akram Cheema said thatthe basic health facilities are being en-sured at every government hospital andrural center where besides posting ofqualified doctors and staff, modern medi-cal equipments are also being providedon priority basis. He said that provincialgovernment has paid full attention to thepublic welfare projects and steps are alsobeing taken for ensuring fruits of theseprojects to the people.

Later, Chief Secretary Punjab

Naveed Akram Cheema laid founda-tion stone of Gymkhana Gujrat whichwill cost Rs. 3.5 crore. He directed dis-trict administration to pay attention tothe promotion of indoor and outdoorsports. He said that like Sialkot, busi-ness community of Gujrat should alsostart mega projects for the developmentof the city as development is not pos-sible without participation of commu-nity. The Chief Secretary said that gov-ernment alone cannot carry out everyproject, therefore, every citizen shouldplay his role in this regard.

LAHORE—Masti Gate police claimed to have busted Zameer-Dacoit gang and arrested its four members, including ringleader,besides recovering weapons and other valuables from them. Apolice team, led by SHO Masti Gate, arrested four gangsters,

Dacoits gang bustedincluding ringleader Zameer alias Zameeri, Amir Iqbal, AbuBaqar and Naeem. Police have also recovered motorcycles, mi-crowave oven, mobile phones, LCDs, pistol and rounds fromtheir possession.—APP