Bridge International

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Published Monthly in Chicago, USA and distributed simultaneously to major cities of USA, Canada, UK and Pakistan Published by Bridge Publications USA, Inc Publisher Jawaid Riaz 7331 N Kolmar Ave Suite G, Lincolnwood, Illinois 60712 Ph # 773 828 5126 cell # 973 517 5586 E:Mail: [email protected]

Transcript of Bridge International

Page 1: Bridge International
Page 2: Bridge International

EDITORIAL

Published Monthly in Chicago, USA and distributed simultaneously to major cities of USA, Canada, UK and Pakistan Published by Bridge Publications USA, Inc

Publisher Jawaid Riaz7331 N Kolmar Ave Suite G, Lincolnwood, Illinois 60712

Ph # 773 828 5126 cell # 973 517 5586E:Mail: [email protected]

jawaid riaz

EDITORIAL BOARD

Jawaid Riaz, EditorArmughan Asar, Queens, NY

Mashood Ahsan, Saint Louis, MONajeeb Ali Kidwai, Canada

Rashid khan, Springfield, MAShahid Alam, Dallas, TX

Shahid Khan, London, UKSuhail Ahmed, Houston, TX

Zafar Khursheed, Denville, NJ Syed Arif, Washington, DC

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Madah JawaidDr. Naseem Shekhani

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Tariq Khawaja

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Abdul Aziz Memmon, Karachi, Pakistan Abdul Waheed Jamal, Karachi, Pakistan

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Syed Ashiq Raza, Karachi, PakistanSyed Mazhar Alam, Naperville, IL

Tariq Khawaja Dr. Tausif Ahmed Khan, Karachi, Pakistan

Special correspondent for pakistanSyed Tariq Abrar

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As a journalist, I appreciate the services of Ardeshir Cowasjee, a renowned columnist from Karachi. After battling a long ailment, he passed away at the age of 86. His remarkable columns have become a symbol of battling injustice and truly reflect how mighty the pen can be.

Ardeshir Cowasjee was born in 1926 in Karachi in a well-known Parsi business family. He got his primary education from the BVS Parsi High School and graduated from DJ Science College. A personal friend of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, he was appointed Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) in 1973. Initially he began writing letters to the editor of leading English newspaper, like Morning News and Dawn, which led him to become a permanent columnist for these papers.

In his columns, he exposed corruption, nepotism and incompetence in different local, provincial and national governments for the last twenty years. He was considered a hard hitting writer, because of his incomparable research and investigation. Throughout the decades of writing he did for Dawn, he managed to write what many of us thought or wanted to write, but didn’t have the guts or courage to write. People like Ardeshir Cowasjee are few and far between in our largely materialistic and corrupt societies. He suffered the wrath of politicians who he criticized, but persevered in his honesty. Besides journalism he had a keen interest in art, and he helped many artists financially.

I have no doubt in writing about his love of a secular Pakistan, and how he was fighting a battle to stop radical Islam/ Talibanism in the country. He wanted Pakistan to be a place to live without any fear. He was a brave and true man who had the bravery to fight for the rights of the underprivileged class of Pakistan. He respected the institutions and wants to see them independent functional. He also fought for the independent judiciary for the sack of justice for all.

A patriot through and through, his reverence for Pakistan reverberated in his writing, with an emphasis on Karachi, the city was born in. He loved Karachi and always fought for the fellow Karachiites through his conscientious writing of the exploitation and violence that holds the city hostage. As he loved Karachi and Karachi will always love him. He was a true national treasure.

A reflection on Ardeshir Cowasjee: born to be a journalist.

Page 3: Bridge International

4 November 2012 News 5 November 2012 News

The prevailing opinion in Paki-stan is that after Obama’s

re-election one would witness more of the same in Pakistan-US relations in the next few years. However, there is also the pos-sibility for the two countries to make a new beginning. The im-portant question is whether the two sides would have the wis-dom and the courage to realise this possibility for the improve-ment of Pakistan-US relations on a sustainable and mutually ben-eficial basis.

Five main factors will determine the substance and direction of Pakistan-US relations in the com-ing years. They are the issues of terrorism, Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation, US-China relations and US-India relations.

In principle, the positions of the two countries on terrorism are similar. Both are opposed to terrorism in any form or mani-festation. Both Pakistan and the US have been the victims of ter-rorism. In fact, Pakistan has suf-fered far more than the US at the hands of terrorism, in terms of material destruction and loss of precious human lives.

It is unfortunate, therefore, that there should be misunderstand-ings between the two countries on this critically important issue. These misunderstandings have arisen because of policy differ-ences between the two govern-ments in fighting terrorism. It also shows that the two sides have not been able to convey to each other convincingly their

A new beginning?

respective points of view on the subject. Obama’s re-election of-fers new opportunities to the two sides to understand each other’s point of view and better coordinate their respective anti-terrorism policies.

We in Pakistan must face the harsh reality that the country is in the grip of a tidal wave of religious extremism with links to terrorism. Pakistani Taliban and a number of other extrem-ist organisations bent upon im-posing their political or social views on others through the use of violence cannot be part of a civilised society. Besides, all these organisations espouse ret-rogressive ideologies, which are an anti-thesis to the progressive, reformist and tolerant spirit of Islam.

The society as a whole must com-bat these organisations ideolog-ically through a sustained cam-paign of education and publicity to highlight their obscurantism and the way they have maligned the real message of Islam. Any organisation, which uses vio-lence or terrorism to propagate its views, must be dealt with an iron hand, if the efforts to bring it within the bounds of law and the constitution fail.

Unfortunately, our past policies have left a great deal of ambi-guity about our real attitude towards terrorism, partly be-cause of the indecisive manner in which we dealt with violence and terrorism-prone organisa-tions within our society. This had

negative effects not only on the social and political health of our country, but also created com-plications in our relations with foreign countries, particularly the United States.

In the interest of our social har-mony, political stability, and eco-nomic progress and well being, we must take firm action to root out these homegrown terrorist organisations. There need not be any difference of policy between the US and Pakistan in dealing with them. The same should ap-ply to international terrorist or-ganisations like al-Qaeda and its affiliates. Our resolve in combat-ing them would have a positive impact also on the future pros-pects of Pakistan-US relations.

The evolution of the situation in Afghanistan in the next few years, perhaps, would have the most telling impact on the shape of Pakistan-US relations. Here again, both the countries are faced with challenges as well as opportunities.

The US goal is to complete its military withdrawal from Af-ghanistan by December 2014, leaving behind a peaceful and stable country from which al-Qaeda or its affiliates will not be able to pose a terrorist threat to it. The statements emanating from the highest levels in the US leave no doubt about it. This goal is also in the best interest of Pakistan.

The challenge facing the two governments is to coordinate with each other in designing a workable strategy for achieving this goal. This strategy must be based on ground realities and the lessons of the recent Afghan history.

Perhaps, the most important ground reality is that neither the Taliban, nor any other po-litical group or ethnic commu-nity alone can rule and restore durable peace in Afghanistan. A political settlement for shar-ing power among the various Afghan groups is a must for du-rable peace in Afghanistan. Con-trary to many prophets of doom, this is now recognised by the Taliban as the latest statement by Mullah Umar clearly indicates.

Hopefully, the Afghan govern-ment and the Northern Alliance have drawn the same conclusion from the recent Afghan history.

The task facing the governments of Afghanistan, the US and Paki-stan is to set in motion as soon as possible the process of negotia-tions among the Afghan groups free from all foreign interference. Iran’s cooperation would be an indispensable condition for the successful completion of this task. This, in turn, would neces-sitate a peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue between the US and Iran.

The fatal flaw of the past US strat-egy in Afghanistan was to place excessive reliance on the use of

military force to achieve its goals in Afghanistan. Obama’s re-elec-tion should enable the US ad-ministration to shift its emphasis from a force-based strategy to one which is oriented towards dialogue and political means.

Several studies in the US indicate that Washington may renew its attempts to initiate a dialogue with the Taliban in the next few months. Pakistan must facilitate this process in its own interest as well as in the interest of durable peace in Afghanistan and friend-ly relations with the US.

While it is for the US and the Tali-ban to conduct their negotia-tions, to be successful their end result will have to include total

US elections are just over with Barack Obama winning his

second term as President. It does not matter who wins & sits in the White House since the policies of that nation does not change with change in personal-ity like us. The US political power system is built on such strong checks and balance methodol-ogy and strong institutions that individuals matter but little.

The whole election was spread over one year with clear cut policies to follow for election campaigning. It is marked by smooth process of electioneer-ing with political parties as an or-ganization conducting smooth campaign as a strategy , with fund raising, big and small rallies speeches, corner meetings, me-dia/telecom communications and then fighting a flawless con-test. After election results are announced, losing candidate gracefully accept his defeat and congratulate the winning can-didate. The winner accept the results with humility and hum-bleness. The winning candidate vow to work together, forget the divide and and build the nation.

Out of 300 Million people in USA not one person is reported injured what to speak of death. Are we talking about aliens who have such smooth and flawless contest & elections. We con-demn US as bad guy but we have witness is their good deed of graceful change of government with such smooth & well oiled organizational machine, which we must follow and emulate.

Well, saying is one thing but getting it done is another, dif-ficult with full of obstacles but never the less possible. We have the history of violent, turbu-lent and deadliest elections of 1971,1977 & 2008. In 2008 elec-tion, majority of candidates had

bogus degrees but got through from scrutiny due to corruption and nepotism in election staff. We also had a serious fault line of about 20 Millions Voters missing from Electoral Roll list in 2008 elections. Now, that the elec-tions are being planned in Paki-stan in March 2013, therefore, it is imperative that election must be held in peaceful, fair, smooth and organized manner with clear cut directions from the govern-ment. It clearly shows that gov-ernment in power cannot hold the elections fairly unless the election commission is indepen-dent and only answerable to the Parliament . The Government has to play a crucial role as neu-tral umpire and provide fair ad-ministrative support.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has to play a major role in this scheme of ensuring an organized, open and clean elec-tions process. It encompasses from vote casting to vote count-ing, announcing the results & personal security of every citizen on duty or involved in election-eering in any capacity. It must be mandated by the Election Commission to ensure all eligi-ble citizens are included in the final voting list on the basis of ID. Election Commission has to educate, train and build a team of motivated persons from Top HQ down to Balloting Staff level.

Election Commission has to be fully supported by Parliament, Judiciary, Government and the Army. If all these institutions has the intentions and the will for free and fair elections, it can be achieved. It will make Pakistan proud and change of Govern-ment can be smooth and con-tinuity of civil government will ensure progress and prosperity. Pakistan can then rightly feel that democratic systems is ma-turing and being planted firmly.

US military withdrawal from Af-ghanistan and a commitment by the Taliban not to allow al-Qaeda and its affiliates any sanctuary in the country.

The adoption of a political, rather than a force-based strategy by the US, should also put an end to the constant US demands on Pakistan to “do more”, which were a source of tension be-tween the two countries. After all, Pakistan cannot be expected to use force against the elements of the Afghan Taliban on its soil, if the US itself is preparing to en-ter into negotiations with them and Pakistan is expected to fa-cilitate the process.

It should be relatively easy for Pakistan and the US to reach a mutual understanding on the nuclear issue. Pakistan is now recognised by the international community as a de facto nucle-ar-weapon state. The apprehen-sions held by some quarters about US designs against Paki-stan’s nuclear arsenal are not well founded. However, it is impor-tant for Pakistan to reassure the US about its firm commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and to do all that is in its power to stop any illegal export of sensitive nuclear technology, equipment and materials. This should not pose any difficulty to us.

The US relations with China and India can be other sources of possible tension between Is-lamabad and Washington. We in Pakistan must get reconciled with the reality that the US has chosen India, as its strategic partner of choice to contain Chi-na. Pakistan, which has its own vital strategic link with China, neither has the will, nor the ca-pability to play this role. These factors will have a limiting effect on Pakistan-US relations and co-operation in various fields. For instance, the US cannot be of much help to Pakistan in the set-tlement of the Kashmir dispute. However, the adoption of prag-matic policies by both Islamabad and Washington should enable them to delineate areas of mu-tually beneficial cooperation in political, strategic, economic, technical and cultural fields.

US Presidential Election

and Lessons for Pakistan’s

Politicians

Page 4: Bridge International

6 November 2012 News 7 November 2012 News

ISLAMABAD: Terming himself and the heads of other D-8 states answerable to over one billion Muslims, President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed the resolve that the D-8 countries, with their collective wisdom, joint endeavour and united commitment, would never allow Islam to be hijacked by anyone.

Addressing the inaugural ses-sion of the D-8 summit at

the Presidency on Thursday, he said that the D-8 countries rep-resented eight very important nations. “Individually, they rep-resent countries with whom our relationship goes far beyond the ordinary. For us, the D-8 repre-sents a partnership that can help cement these bonds,” he main-tained.

President Asif Ali Zardari, who took over chairmanship of the D-8 Economic Cooperation Or-ganisation for two years, called upon the D-8 countries to es-tablish a trade and develop-ment bank so that economic

No one to be allowed

to hijack Islam: Zardari

activities within the member states could be boosted. He also expressedthe resolve that the eight democracies would de-vise a joint strategy to combat the scourge of terrorism. He said,

“We, the D-8 countries, jointly condemn the atrocities being committed in Palestine.”

The president said, “The chal-lenges we face today are daunt-ing. The people of Palestine continue to suffer the Israeli ag-gression. We condemn the re-cent attacks in Gaza which have led to the loss of innocent lives.” He regretted that the people of Kashmir continued to suffer un-just occupation and for decades

they had been waiting for the promised self-determination.

“We must address these issues. Rather than blaming others, we need to take charge of our des-tinies. We must grow our econo-mies, and provide our people with jobs and security,” he added. He said that D-8 had the poten-tial to advance this agenda. “The initiatives we will declare at this summit will make a difference,” he noted.

“The D-8 charter, that we signed today, will cement our joint un-dertakings. The D-8 global vision will be a giant step forward to-wards achieving our long-term objectives. And Islamabad Dec-laration will build upon the road-map,” he maintained.

“Today let us endorse once again the core values of D-8; values of - peace, dialogue and coop-eration, justice, equality and moderation, democracy, rule of law and harmony, and peaceful co-existence and inclusion,” he added. Mr Zardari said that he commended the council of min-isters and D-8 commissioners for their hard work in finalising the Islamabad Declaration. “I wish to commend you all for making it possible. Let me say a few words about D-8 agenda. Just like our people, the D-8 agenda is diverse and is growing. But it is also cru-cial for our collective economic success and a shared future,” he added. The president said that D-8 business forum; meetings of heads of central banks, trade promotion organisations and trade exhibitions were very im-portant initiatives. “These will help in economic growth. But, to carry this forward, we also need trade and development bank. We need to encourage the pri-vate sector. We need to facilitate contacts between our chambers of commerce and investment houses. We also need to encour-age interactions between our parliaments, scholars, students, judges, artists, media and civil society organisations,” he as-serted.

He said that all this required sim-plified visa and customs proce-dures. “Most of us have already ratified the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). We need to

work together to make it func-tional. It is also time to think of barter trade where ever possible. If I sum it up: We need to encour-age the free flow of goods, free flow of people and free flow of finances,” he said and added that the theme of this summit – ‘Dem-ocratic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity’ - was rooted in faith in democracy. “Democracy is at the very heart of our identity. Pakistan was founded through a democratic struggle that was led by eloquence and grace of our founder Quaid-i-Azam Mu-hammad Ali Jinnah. The same democratic means we seek to use today, to resolve our prob-lems. Democracy is in our veins,” he added.

Asif Ali Zardari said when his leader, and wife, Shaheed Bena-zir Bhutto was assassinated by terrorists in Dec 2007, this coun-try came together to mourn, and to rebuild and that commitment continued to this day. “The D-8 countries represent a huge un-tapped reservoir. This reservoir can serve as a catalyst for peace and prosperity around the world. The best way to harness our col-lective potential is to trust our people. Our people want peace within the country and peace with our neighbours,” he main-tained.

He said that this government was making unprecedented efforts to normalise relations with India and was supporting Afghanistan’s own roadmap for peace and reconciliation. “This is the vision of a democratic peo-ple that seek peace and prosper-ity. For us, for our region, and for our brothers and sisters in the D-8 countries,” he added. He said that one of the most serious threats being faced by Pakistan was international terrorism. “Ter-rorists, both from within Paki-stan, and from abroad, seek to impose their agenda. We cannot and will not allow Islam to be hi-jacked. We will fight for our val-ues. We will fight for the spirit of our great religion that our Holy Prophet (SAW) gave to us. We are fighting the terrorists’ dark and destructive vision every day and our soldiers, policemen and political workers serve on the frontlines of this fight,” he assert-

ed. “I want to make a special note of their sacrifices here today and I want to thank you for hearing our voice, and supporting us. Your support strengthens the resolve of our people, especially of the fighters on the frontlines against terrorism. Our soldiers are not alone in this fight. You all have heard of our daughter, the young and heroic Malala Yousuf-zai. She defied terrorists and she stood for every girl child’s right to education,” he added.

He said, “As we build the Pakistan of our Shaheed leader, Mohtar-ma Benazir Bhutto – a democrat-ic, prosperous, peaceful Pakistan we are proud to host this historic summit. “From food security to climate change to demographic pressures, we face many chal-lenges. The D-8 platform en-ables us to find development so-lutions to our one billion people. The presence of the heads of state and government of all D-8 countries today reflects our col-lective determination to use this platform for finding solutions,” he maintained. He said that the people of Pakistan stood with their brothers and sisters across the D-8 world in pursuit of de-mocracy, peace and prosperity.

“It is only together that we can achieve our common goals and together, we will,” president firm-ly asserted.

He thanked the outgoing chair-man of D-8, President of Nigeria for his leadership of the organ-isation during the last 2 years. He wished to commend the Secre-tary General of D-8 and his able team. He also thanked all the heads of the state of D-8 coun-tries and said that every Paki-stani respected these nations from their heart.

APP adds: Apart from President Asif Ali Zardari, who chaired the Summit, those who addressed the meeting included Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad, Indonesian Presi-dent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyo-no, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian Dep-uty President Mahmoud Makki, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minis-ter Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Bangladeshi Adviser to Prime Minister for International Affairs

Professor Gowher Rizvi.

President of Iran Mahmoud Ah-madinejad proposed setting up of a joint investment fund, barter transactions and operationalisa-tion of the PTA among the D-8 member states.

The Iranian president called for a more serious effort towards creation of a fair and equitable economic system, particularly amongst the member states so as to counter the external influ-ences.

Turkis Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that joint projects among the member states were the only way to make a dynamic move towards prosperity. He said it was time for D-8 countries to pursue the global vision of prosperity and long term sustainable develop-ment. Erdogan said economic development ensured security, peace and prosperity and urged the D-8 countries to make ef-forts towards achieving this goal.

President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that D-8 countries had potential to play a bigger role in provid-ing new impetus for economic growth and keeping the world stable and peaceful.

Vice President of Egypt Mah-moud Makki said the D-8 coun-tries with a total population of around one billion people, an accumulated economy of $2.4 trillion were rich in natural re-sources and had the potential to achieve high economic growth and sustainable development.

Deputy Prime Minister of Ma-laysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the D-8, being an impor-tant regional grouping, needed to effectively respond to global and regional challenges through enhanced cooperation and eco-nomic resolve.

Outgoing Secretary General of D-8, Widi Agoes Pratikto in his remarks highlighted the ef-forts made and the steps taken by the organisation during the last two years for the promo-tion of trade and economic co-operation among the member states through various ways and means.

The D8 groups Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malay-

sia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, with an estimated total popula-tion of one billion.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has condemned what he calls Israel’s ”aggression” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Khar spoke Wednesday ahead of a summit for eight developing countries in Pakistan’s capital, Is-lamabad.

Pakistan’s state-run news agency carried a government statement saying the conflict in Gaza will likely be a hot topic in discus-sions between Pakistani leaders and those visiting for the D-8 summit, which will be held on Thursday.

Earlier on Tuesday Pakistan had assumed the chairmanship of Developing-8 countries as the outgoing Nigeria completed its two-year term.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Af-fairs Olugbenga Ashiru handed over the chairmanship to For-eign Minister Khar who repre-sented the country at the 15th session of Council of Ministers, held on the margins of eighth D-8 Summit here.

Foreign Minister Khar on Tues-day had welcomed the dele-gates to Islamabad and said the event was significant in realizing the collective issues and finding

their solutions for a sustainable future of the one billion ‘family members’. She announced that two landmark documents D-8 Charter and The Global Vision, would be signed during the summit.

She said Pakistan had invited corporate and business lead-ers from D-8 states and stressed public-private partnership among them for strong trade linkages.

She called for joint efforts for strengthening the capacity of D-8 Secretariat by regularly holding business sessions to ex-plore untapped resources of the member states.

Khar said democracy was im-portant to attain sustainable development and mentioned that Pakistan through democ-racy had been able to secure the rights of its people.

On Afghanistan, she said Paki-stan desires an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned solution to prob-lem in its neighboring country.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Egyptian leader Mohamed Morsi and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Er-dogan, key players in the Middle East, are scheduled to be among those attending the D8 summit.

The D8 groups Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malay-sia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey,

ISLAMABAD: Muslim leaders will meet Thursday as Pakistan hosts a summit designed to increase trade and investment but likely to be overshadowed by the Gaza conflict as diplomats scramble to arrange a ceasefire.

Global leaders gather for Developing-8 summit

in Pakistan

Page 5: Bridge International

9 November 2012 News8 November 2012 News

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday with-

drew a contempt notice issued to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf earlier this year after he failed to approach Swiss authori-ties to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. A five-judge bench headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali retracted the contempt notice after Law Minister Farooq Naek presented a receipt that showed the Swiss authorities had received the government’s recent letter for the revival of the graft cases on November 9.

During the hearing, Naek re-quested the court to dismiss the case as the government’s letter, written by the Attorney General, had been sent to the Swiss Attor-ney General in Geneva. Justice Jamali acknowledged that the government had complied with the court’s directives of writing to Swiss authorities for reopen-ing the graft cases.

Talking to journalists after the hearing, Naek said the court’s decision was a victory for justice and democracy. The govern-ment, he said, had implemented every directive of the apex court. The government’s letter to the Swiss authorities makes it clear that the graft cases can be re-

vived with the condition that the President enjoys immunity under the Constitution and Pakistani and international laws.

The Supreme Court and the gov-ernment recently came to an agreement on the contents of the letter to be sent to the Swiss authorities after months of spar-ring. The government had initial-ly refused to make any move to revive the cases.

Zardari and his slain wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, were ac-cused of laundering millions of dollars through Swiss banks. The ruling Pakistan People’s Party has said that the charges against them were never proved.

The Supreme Court has been pressuring the government to revive the cases against the President since December 2009, when it struck down a graft am-nesty issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf that ben-efited Zardari and over 8,000 oth-ers. The government refused to act for months before Prime Min-ister Raja Pervez Ashraf agreed to implement the apex court’s orders after he was charged with contempt. Ashraf’s predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani, was convict-ed of contempt and disqualified in June for refusing to reopen the cases against Zardari.

Pakistan Supreme Court withdraws contempt notice against PM Raja Pervez Ashraf

ISLAMABAD: Registrar Supreme Court Dr Faqir Hussain on

Thursday read out the detailed verdict of 1990 election rigging case to the media representa-tives,

The apex court had issued a landmark short verdict on Octo-ber 19 ordering legal proceed-ings against former head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General (Retd) Asad Durrani and former army chief General (Retd) Aslam Baig.

They had allegedly bankrolled politicians to stop the current ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from winning the 1990 election.

The case was filed 16 years ago by Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan .

The detailed verdict of 141 pag-es is drafted by Chief Justice If-tikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The verdict declares that both the accused former generals of the armed forces defamed their institution, adding that doling out money to a group of politi-cians was an individual act rath-er than of the institution itself.

The verdict also said that the duty of secret agencies was to protect the borders instead of forming election cells.

The diary of Brigadier (Retd) Ha-mid Saeed is also included in the detailed verdict which carries names of the politicians who re-ceived money and the amount they accepted.

Political cell, if any, of the Presi-dent House should be abolished, stated the verdict, adding the

then president, army and ISI chiefs unfairly used authorities bestowed upon them and also violated the constitution.

The court, in its short verdict, had directed the Federal Inves-tigation Agency (FIA) to conduct a transparent criminal investiga-tion against all the politicians in-volved and if sufficient evidence was collected, they should be sent for a trial according to the law.

The verdict also recommends holding the upcoming general elections on time and without any fear and doubts.

SC issues detailed verdict of Asghar Khan case

A Pakistani court has dismissed charges against a Christian

girl accused of blasphemy in a case that drew international out-rage.

The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday threw out the case against Rimsha Masih, whom neighbors accused of burning pages from the Quran in August.

She was arrested and spent three weeks in jail before being released on bail in September.

The girl’s defense attorney, Ab-dul Hameed, said the judge de-cided to drop the case Tuesday due to a lack of evidence. Ha-meed said the judge concluded that the charges “were based on heresy and incriminated mate-rial that was planted in the girl’s possession.”

Police have arrested a Muslim cleric on suspicion that he alleg-edly placed pages of the Quran in the girl’s shopping bag.

The prosecution can appeal Tuesday’s ruling to the Supreme Court.

Muslim-majority Pakistan has some of the world’s toughest penalties against blasphemy. Anyone found guilty of insulting Islam and the Prophet Moham-mad faces the death penalty.

Islamabad High Court Dismisses Blasphemy Charges Against Christian Girl

Powerful pak ex-gens under lens

Islamabad : Pakistan’s main anti-corruption agency is pre-

paring a case against three re-tired army generals, including an ex-ISI chief, for their alleged involvement in a fraudulent deal whereby land of the state-run railways was leased to a golf club at a throwaway price. In-vestigators and the legal team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) are preparing the case against the former generals, NAB spokesman Zafar Iqbal was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

However, he could not confirm when the case would be filed in court. NAB will be in a position in a few days to officially make an announcement about the case, which is being prepared on the basis of a comprehensive investigation into the scam un-dertaken on the directives of the Supreme Court. The case, if filed, will be the first by NAB against any general since the Pakistan People’s Party-led government came to power in 2008.

The case of the generals is not being sent to the army and will be pursued by NAB, Iqbal said. Former Railways Minister Lt Gen (retired) Javed Ashraf Qazi, who also served as head of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, Lt Gen (retired) Saeed-uz-Zafar and Maj Gen (retired) Hamid Has-san Butt are accused of illegally

leasing out 141 acres of railways land to Royal Palm Golf Club in Lahore in 2001.

The move reportedly caused losses of billions of rupees to the national exchequer. The case has been investigated by different organisations since 2007. The three generals appeared before NAB sleuths on November 1 to record their statements.

NAB said it had forced the golf club to renew the lease agree-ment with the railways and to pay an additional amount of Rs 16 billion.

The Supreme Court had taken notice of the land deal and com-pleted its hearing of the matter in March last year. It is yet to is-sue a judgment. The investiga-tion against the three generals and another recent Supreme Court judgement that held for-mer army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg and former ISI chief Asad Durrani responsible for rigging the 1990 polls have reportedly angered the powerful military.

In a recent strongly worded statement, Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said, without naming the apex court, that no single institution could define national interests or ex-ceed its role under the Constitu-tion.

Pak’s anti-corruption agency preparing case against

retd Gens for their involvement in a fraudulent land deal

with an estimated total popula-tion of one billion people.

Nigerian leader Goodluck Jona-than arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is also due to attend.

Bangladesh and Malaysia will be represented at adviser- and min-isterial-level respectively.

The summit will mark the first visit by an Egyptian president to Pakistan in four decades and by the first by a Nigerian leader in 28 years.

Its ambitious goal is to increase trade between member coun-tries from $130 billion to $507 billion by 2018.

D8 leaders are set “to discuss ways to cushion the effects of the global economic recession and climate change and tackle ways to boost trade among themselves”, the Pakistani gov-ernment said in a statement.

Security situationIslamabad rarely hosts major in-ternational gatherings given the Taliban and al Qaeda-linked vio-lence that has plagued the coun-try since the 9/11 attacks.

Security will be stepped up sig-nificantly, not least as the summit coincides with the month of Mu-harram, a magnet for sectarian at-tacks in Pakistan.

Thousands of extra police and paramilitaries will deploy and construction work has been sus-pended around the diplomatic enclave to provide “foolproof security”, Islamabad police chief Bani Amin told AFP.

Pakistan wants the summit to boost trade and investment, strengthen its international standing and help “remove mis-conceptions (about Pakistan) cre-ated in a section of international media”, the statement said.

Expectations from the summit

The D8 is also due to adopt a charter at what will be its eighth summit.

But commentators believe pro-ceedings could be overshad-owed by events in the Middle

East, where 136 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed in eightdays.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clin-ton has flown to Israel to help secure a truce. Egypt, Iran and Turkey have been angry critics of Israel as it bombards the Gaza Strip to try to end Hamas rocket launches from the enclave.

Egypt, which crucially maintains relations with both Hamas and Israel, has been a key player in trying to negotiate a ceasefire. Morsi is scheduled to address a joint session of the Pakistani par-liament on Friday.

Erdogan told reporters he would discuss Gaza, the war in Syria and tensions in Iraq during meetings on the summit sidelines.

Iran’s Ahmadinejad will likely use the meeting to ease his country’s isolation due to sanc-tions over its contested nuclear programme.

Many in the West suspect the programme masks a covert at-tempt to develop nuclear weap-ons, something vehemently de-nied by Iran.

Pakistan will also likely press Iran over a multi-billion dollar deal to import Iranian gas despite US pressure to abandon the project because of the sanctions.

Analysts say the summit is an op-portunity for Pakistan to make diplomatic headway and over-come its reputation as a hub of global terrorism.

Retired general turned political analyst Talat Masood said it was a chance for it to emerge as “one of the leading players in the Islamic world,” but warned that events in the Middle East could dominate.

“The present crisis between Hamas and Israel and Iran’s rela-tions with the US and important developments on this front will be a matter of serious discussion,” Masood told AFP.

The group was formed in 1997 to advance development coop-eration among the member na-tions. They are mainly Muslim states with the exception of Nige-ria, which population is roughly divided between Muslims and Christians.

Page 6: Bridge International

11 November 2012 News10 November 2012 News

A fund raising event for sec-ond term Senator McCaskill

of Missouri was held at Dr. Ju-naid Syed on October 28.2012. The program was organized by Dr. Junaid Syed, and it was suc-cessful and prestigious event, where more than 15,000 dollars

A fund rAising event for second term senAtor

mccAskill of missouri wAs held At dr. JunAid syed

on october 28.2012were raised and some pledges were also promised. This fund raising event was attended by 150 guests from all walks of life of Pakistani origin. Dr. Nadeem Ahmed, emcee the event and he introduced the chief of staff, as Senator Claire McCaskill was unable to attend the Fund Raiser due to her mother’s illness. Dr. Saad Khan also spoke on the oc-casion and urged the Pakistani Community of Saint Louis, MO for the support Senator Claire McCaskill. A question & answer was also held and the Q&A ses-sion was successful.

MQM Chicago organized a seminar on the Rights of Overseas Pakistanis’ Votin-

Rights –Dual Nationality.

Gahwarah e Adab Chicago celebrated an evening with Famous Poet of Pakistan

Zakia Ghazal.

MQM Chicago arranged a Prayer meeting and lit candles, for the health of Malala

Yousuf Zai,

Jawaid Riaz Editor of Bridge Mag International presented an issue of the Bridge Mag to the Member of Provincial Assembly

(MPA) Sind, Muzzamil Qureshi.

Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Sind, Muzzamil Qureshi, visited MQM

Central Office Chicago.

Pictured: Sitting, Jamil Khan, Adnan Siddiqui, Junaid Fahmi, MPA Muz-zamil Qureshi, Sohail Shamas and Shamim Siddiqui

Standing, Arshad Malik, Wakeel Jamali, Abdul Rauf, Nafees Qadiri, Rashid Mushtaq, Mohammad Tahir, Nehal Akhter, Mohammad Aqil

Jawaid Riaz, Kamran Arshad, Prof. Masroor Qureshi and Khalid khan,

The program was attended by Chicagoans’, community leaders, members of Print Media as well as MQM Chicago workers and Office Bearers. Pictured: Member COC, Wakeel Jamali, Chapter In charge Adnan Siddiqui, CO USA

A large number of people from all walks of life attended this beautiful evening. In the picture sitting Senior Community Lead-er Hameed Ullah Khan, Writer Rehana Roomy, Zakia Ghazal and local poet Qaiser AnsariStanding Zafar Iqbal, Asif Khan,

The brave girl, who represents the empowerment of women against the Talibanization. Pic-tured Jawaid Riaz, Adnan Sid-diqui, Junaid Fahmi, Sohail Shamas, Khalid Khan and Nehal

Junaid Fahmi, Member HC So-hail Shamas, Urdu Time Column Writer Eitsham Arshad, Poet and Writer Anwar Ali Roomy, Mem-ber HC Shamim Siddiqui, Paki-stan Abroad & Bridge Mag Col-umn Writer Jawaid Riaz

Matiullah, Mohammad Mushtaq , In Charge Gahwarah e Adab Chi-cago Athar Siddiqui, Poet Anwar Ali Roomy, Asif Saleem, Adnan Siddiqui, Rizwan Qureshi, Ne-hal Akhter and Column Writer Jawaid Riaz

Akhter. Standing Wakeel Jamali, Arshad Malik, Jamil Khan, Rashid Mushtaq, Asif Khan, Rizwan Qureshi, Mohammad Khalid, Mohammad Tahir and Shahzad Aman.

Page 7: Bridge International

12 November 2012 News 13 November 2012 News

Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: The Shia Muslims of North America observed

Muhharam on Thursday Novem-ber 22, 2012, at Ramada Inn, 780 North Avenue, Glendale Heights, IL, 60139. This month is a time of mourning for the Holy prophet’s grandson, Imam Hussein. He is a man that stood for righteous-ness and piety. His sacrifice, be-lieved by the Shia Muslims, is a sacrifice for all of humanity. This is a very auspicious time and is dedicated to Imam Hussein and his brother, Hazrat Abbas.

Shi’i Muslims around the world annually dedicate the first ten days, called ‘Ashura, of their new year(and continues through forty days, called Arbayeen) to commemorating a battle that took place nearly 1400 years ago, in 680 A.D., on the tenth of Mu-harram, the first month in the Is-lamic calendar. The battle took place between Prophet Muham-mad’s grandson, whose name is Husayn, son of Imam ‘Ali and Fatima Zahra, the only daughter of Prophet Muhammad, and the Islamic empire at the time. Many of those living at the time of Hu-sayn looked to him as someone who clearly resembled Prophet Muhammad in his teachings and in the way that he lived his life-more than anyone else alive at that time.

In fact, Shi’i Muslims in particu-lar regard Husayn as their third Imam, or the third divinely cho-sen successor to follow Proph-et Muhammad. Yazid, son of Mu’awiyah, the tyrannical leader of the Muslim world at the time, led an oppressive regime that clearly belittled his people and

denied basic human dignity to those that he ruled over. Yazid demanded that Husayn pay al-legiance to him knowing that if Husayn did so, then that would solidify his legitimacy as the sole authoritative leader of the Muslim world. However, Imam Husayn, preaching a version of Islam that vastly contradicted the governing party of the time (and one that resonated with Prophet Muhammad’s teach-ings) refused Yazid’s demand. By refusing to submit his allegiance, however, Imam Husayn along with his closest friends and fam-ily, were brutally massacred on the tenth day of Muharram at Karbala, Iraq. Imam Husayn, which historical accounts at-test that the Prophet Muham-mad loved dearly, watched one by one as his family members fought and died, from his closest friend, to his brother, to his two sons, one only eighteen, and the other only six months.

According to several reports, Imam Husayn’s army consisted of only seventy-two people, where-as Yazid’s army consisted of sixty thousand. For three days prior to the battle, the entire caravan of supporters, including women and children, were denied food and water. What is additionally considered tragic is that Imam Husayn was urged, particularly by those living in a nearby city called Kufa, encompassing por-tions of modern day Iraq, to lead a revolution against Yazid. Yet, despite how they viewed Hu-sayn, abandoned him and his family to be brutally massacred.

Shi’i Muslims have been congre-gating since the incident itself took place nearly 1400 years

ago. According to Shi’i Muslims, recounting this story annually preserves the message of Imam Husayn and keeps not only the story, but the teachings from the story, alive in the hearts and consciousness of Muslims every-where. Though most Muslims, whether they are Shi’i or not, re-spect Imam Husayn, Shi’i Mus-lims in particular hold visible demonstrations and programs around the world in which they recount the narratives of what happened prior to the battle, the battle itself, and the inci-dences of what happened to the women and children follow-ing the battle. These programs generally begin with recitation of poetry that is meant to evoke emotions of sadness, and the despair that Imam Husayn and those that supported him felt.

They are then usually followed by a scholar lecturing on Islamic teachings that then tie it into the teachings from the tragedy itself. The programs end with various expressions of sadness. Most Shi’i Muslims beat their chest as a symbol of mourning for what happened to Imam Husayn, while again melodically reciting poetry that retells the emotional story of Imam Husayn. The re-telling of this story and remem-bering Imam Husayn is very prominent in the Shi’i tradition, however the way in which Shi’i Muslims commemorate vary from culture to culture.

Shia Muslims Commemorate Muhharam in Chicago

By Dr. Mujahid Ghazi

Chicago; October 17th, 2012: There was no Bhangra, no

Waltz, no Jugni but the music of words and dance of colors was at its peak at the Lahore-Chica-go Sister Cities celebration last week in the Chicago Cultural Center. The colors and sketches silently talked about the rich heritage of the two cities. Speak-ing at this occasion Dr. Tariq Butt, Chair, Lahore Committee of Chi-cago Sister Cities Program, Butt commended Sadia Uqaili, Chair Arts and Culture, Lahore Com-mittee of Chicago Sister Cities In-ternational for working selflessly

stanis. Starting to visit Pakistan as a human rights’ activist, doing investigative journalism, end up writing a novel with story origi-nating from Lahore. She said that she love Lahore and the family values she had observed while living with a large joint family. She stressed on the im-portance of women education. Dr. Nabeela Rashid emceed this session with her typical British accent adding pleasant flavor to the event.

Artists who were exhibited dur-ing this unique event included Allie Spicer, Asif Raza, Chandri-ka Marla, Durre Sameen Malik, Elizabeth Nuti, Jonathan Stein, Laura Kina, Marvi Mazhar, Mi-chael Klaus Schmidt, Sadia Uqaili, Sheheryar Hasnain, Shota Kawa-hara, Sumbul Nazir, Zafar Malik, Taimur Ali and Marvi Mazhar. There were also personal collec-tions of people who generously lent the works of legendry art-ists and gave the attendees a chance to enjoy art in real sense. From Hundul Foundation Col-lection, courtesy of Drs. Shireen and Afzal Ahmad, works of Ali Kazim, Bashir Ahmed, Bashir Mir-za, Iqbal Hussain, Ismail Gulgee, Meher Afroz, Nahid Raza, Nazir Ali, Rashid Rana, R.M. Naeem, Sadequain , Waseem Ahmad, Zahoor ul Akhlaq. Gulgee and Sadeqain’s work was also lent by Karen Noorani, Zaheer Sardar, Sonia Shah and Danish Ismail.

Poets who presented their works

Chicagoans Celebrated Chicago-Lahore Sister City Bondage

were applauded for the mas-terpieces they created. Bulleh Shah’s poetry was read by Zafar Malik, other poets were Daniela Olszewska, Faisal Mohyuddin, Maureen Flannery, Razia Fasih Ahmad, Paul Sznewajs, Hamza Hyauddin and Eric Elshtain.

Nine short documentaries were also projected and applauded by the audience. These were by Mikey Peterson, Ben Her Uribe, Sandeep Sharma, Mian Adnan Ahmad, John Lyons, Suree Tow-fignia, Imran Babur, Shalalay Jamil and Umar Riaz.

Sadia Uqaili and other members of the working group which included Allie Spicer, Ali Raza, Marvi Mazhar, Nabeela Rashid, Samar Kaukab Ahmed, Dr. Shireen Ahmed, Dr. Afzal Ahmed, Taimur Ali and Zafar Malik, must be commended for bringing a positive picture of Pakistan, when the media and other pho-bic forces are busy in maligning Pakistan and Pakistanis for their own selfish interests.

to curate the mega event with the help of her committee. Amer Ahmad, Comptroller, City of Chi-cago read the message from The Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanu-el. Zaheer Pervaiz Khan, Honor-able Council General of Pakistan commended the work of Sister City Committee and said that Government of Pakistan is proud of Pakistani Americans for pro-moting Pakistani culture and art in the US. Sadia Uqaili thanked the attendees, artists, poets and the documentary producers for making the event a memorable one. She thanked Dr. Tariq Butt for giving her this opportunity to bring Pakistani and Americans artists, poets and film producers and present their work in front of the audience. Lorraine Adams, the keynote speaker, a novelist, critic, and Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, talked about her rela-tionship with Pakistan and Paki-

Page 8: Bridge International

15 November 2012 Articals14 November 2012 Articals

After an uneasy calm of about a month, the doctors in La-

hore are stirring once again. More than a year has gone by but the government has chosen to ignore the issue of framing a Career Structure for Doctors. This is important not only for the health professionals but also for the integrity of the health delivery system as a whole. The doctors had gone on a strike to achieve the framing of a career structure, hardly a month ago, but the attitude of the govern-ment reminded everyone of the former colonial oppressors. Instead of a rational and matter of fact approach of resolving is-sues on their merits, the govern-ment turned the whole matter into a political contest with all the attendant mess and damage to the public interest. The pub-lic was grossly misled through disinformation which was dis-seminated by the more unscru-pulous elements in the media. A blatant attempt to bring about a confrontation between the pub-lic and the health professionals. The struggle however, ended in-conclusively after the interven-tion of the court.

It is instructive to recall that health professionals in England had gone on strike after negotia-tions with their Government had failed, in the same time frame as the strike in Lahore. Without resort to repression or violence the Government accepted the demands and the whole matter were settled in a week’s time. But perhaps this is the way elected governments behave with those

who have elected them when there is no Colonial mind set at work.

Pakistan is not the only country in the world to have a health de-livery system or the concomitant problems. But no country in the world treats its skilled and hard working man power the way it is treated in Pakistan. It is obvi-ously a hangover from the co-lonial past that governments in this country have always treat-ed those who demand change and reform as rebels, to be put down and crushed, rather than as compatriots who are voicing their problems before their own elected government; who de-serve to be given a sympathetic hearing and provided relief at the earliest. This is because in Pakistan, the political element in the governments is often inept and ignorant, so the bureaucra-cy with its colonial mind set but better training in dealing with public issues leads them by the nose. For the common man, it is difficult to understand why a government that could afford to distribute Rs. 13 billion worth of lap top computers free among potential voters as a quid pro quo, found it impossible to give a career structure to the health professionals which by its own statement would have entailed an expenditure of Rs.3-4 billion only. Instead it chose the path of confrontation, which resulted in a strike, the arrest and incarcera-tion of doctors, misery and suf-fering for the public and general loss of goodwill and image at home and abroad.

This brings us to the most im-portant question, Why is it nec-essary to have a career structure for doctors? The answer is sim-ple, because they do not have one. With no written criteria for recruitment, terms of service, emolument and promotion, the whole health delivery system becomes the private feudal fief of the ruling political elite and the bureaucracy. To be run not on the basis of some accepted legal guide lines but accord-ing to the whims and fancies of those in power, with the at-tendant corruption in appoint-ments and promotions and relegation of many deserving

individuals to the shelf, this style of governance has destroyed so many of our national institutions within the last decade or so.

The reader is bound to think that with such weighty arguments in its favor, why would the govern-ment of Punjab avoid the fram-ing of a career structure for doc-tors? The answer, to paraphrase former President Clinton is “be-cause it could”. Governments which are not responsive to pub-lic needs and institutional imper-atives seldom if ever see reason unless they are confronted with the might of the public opinion. To confuse the issue with moral and ethical red herrings does no service to the masses. True nobility of a profession lies in its service to humanity by creating institutions free from corruption, maladministration and wastage of public resources and not the observation of some philistine and notional ethical principles.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Rasheed Hassan Khan is a graduate of Dow Medical Col-lege, Pakistan and a political writer, presently Editor – in-Chief of APNAKAL BLOG.

Making the Unproblematic Problematic:Government machinations and the Doctor’s Struggle

Constitutional Decision Is a Tremendous Victory for Women

By: Dr. Rasheed Hassan Khan

This year, the Chicago City Council passed Mayor Rahm

Emanuel’s budget on a 46-3 vote. The “no” votes were cast by Alder-men Robert Fioretti (2nd), Scott Waguespack (32nd) and John Arena (45th). Alderman Arena in a Press Release said, “My vote no on the 2013 budget was one of the more difficult votes I have taken during my 18 months on the City Council. Although there are things to like about this bud-get (no tax increase, more tree trimmers), I ultimately decided that I could not support it. This

By: Ahmed Khan

By: Jessica Arons

Mayor Emanuel’s Budget Passes 46-3; Issues still exist

Top 5 Ways the Supreme Court’s Ruling onObamacare Helps Women

Today’s historic Supreme Court ruling upholding

the Affordable Care Act, oth-erwise known as Obamacare, is a tremendous victory for millions of Americans—es-pecially women. By uphold-ing the health reform law, the Supreme Court will allow significant reforms to our health insurance system to

be fully implemented, keep-ing health care costs down and protecting Americans from the health insurance in-dustry’s worst abuses.

Here are the top five ways Obamacare helps women in particular:

1. Women will no longer be denied insurance coverage for gender-related re a-sons. In today’s insurance market it is common for insurers to re-fuse to cover women because of gender-based “pre-existing conditions,” such as having had a Caesarean section or being the victim of domestic violence or sexual assault. Thankfully, this practice will be outlawed un-der Obamacare in 2014. In the meantime, adults with pre-ex-isting conditions who have been uninsured for at least six months can purchase affordable cover-age through temporary Pre-ex-isting Condition Insurance Plans.

2. Women will no longer be charged more for their insur-ance coverage just for being women. Under a practice known as “gender rating,” insurers cur-rently charge women higher premiums than men—up to 150percent more—for identi-cal health benefits. As a result, women now pay $1 billion morethan men each year for the same health plans in the individual market. As of 2014, however, un-der the Affordable Care Act, gen-der rating will become illegal in all new individual and small group plans.

3. Maternity care will be re-quired in new insurance plans. Coverage for maternity care—health care that only women need—is routinely excluded in the individual insurance market. Only 12 percent of plans sold in the individual market even of-fer maternity coverage, which is frequently inadequate because of waiting periods or deductible that can be as high as the cost of the birth itself. But once Obam-acare is fully implemented in 2014, about 8.7 million women will have guaranteed access to maternity care in all new individ-ual and small group plans.

budget relies on unrealistic rev-enue assumptions while cutting our district-level police, spend-ing too much on overtime, and further outsourcing city jobs to out-of-state vendors.”

According to the AFSCME Coun-cil 31, Mayor Emanuel’s budget plan for the City of Chicago is far less damaging to city servic-es. There are no plans to reduce hours at Chicago Public Library Branchesand the Administration is not moving forward with clos-ing the remaining community mental health clinics. Currently, AFSCME is battling the Emanuel Administration over its plans to privatize the Water and Sewer Customer Call Center in the De-partment of Revenue.Over the past year, the Union lost battles to prevent the privatization of the CDPH primary health care clinics, as well as the DFSS home-less outreach program.

Alderman Roderick Sawyer of the 6th Ward later introduced an ordinance that will provide greater oversight and account-ability whenever a city depart-ment plans to privatize any ser-vice or function. Ahmed Khan commenting on the ordinance said, “I strongly agree on in-creased transparency in future privatization ventures with re-forms in the initiation, process-ing, and follow through of such deals. There needs to be a focus on a transparent open-bidding process, avoiding long term leas-es, and thorough review. Privati-zation should not completely be thrown out since, depending on the venture and effective pro-cessing, could be profitable to the city. The process needs re-form however.”

Just this past summer, the West Rogers Park Community Orga-nization (WRPCO) held a Com-munity Forum on Public Servic-es Cuts at Devon Bank. Forum Co-Chairs Myron Perlman and Ahmed Khan, also a WRPCO Board Member, introduced three informative speakers, Michael Caref, Vice President Branch 11 of the National Association of Let-ter Carriers, Marci Merola, Direc-tor of the Office for Library Ad-vocacy, at the American Library Association and founder of the

Chicago Library Coalition, and Jeanne Lawrence, Mental Health Movement Activist, who talked about important decisions be-ing made in WashingtonD.C., Springfield, and Chicago.

Welcoming the audience Evelyn Asch, WRPCO Chair, stated that WRPCO is dedicated to inform-ing and empowering the citi-zens of our community and that the forum was part of an effort to let the community know what is happening.She noted with pleasure the other community groups also sponsoring the fo-rum: The West Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Muslim Women’s Resource Center, Indo-American Center, and Pakistan Club USA. In addition to Ahmed Khan, community members Syed Wa-hajuddin Ahmed, Founder and first President of the Rogers Park Lions Club, and Hameedullah Khan, Pakistan United Parade Committee Chair, are also WRP-CO Board Members.

4. Women will be guaranteed coverage of preventive services with no cost sharing. More than 50 percent of women have de-layed seeking medical care due to cost, and one-third of women report forgoing basic necessitiesto pay for health care. But un-der the health reform law, insur-ers are now required to cover recommended preventive ser-vices such as mammograms, Pap smears, and well-baby care without cost sharing. More than 45 million women have already taken advantage of these ser-vices. And starting this August more services—including con-traception, gestational diabetes screening, and breast-feeding supports—will be added to the list of preventive care that must be covered at no additional cost.

5. Women will gain better ac-cess to affordable health insur-ance. Starting in 2014 women and their families, as well as small businesses, will receive tax credits on an income-based sliding scale to help purchase insurance coverage. This will help individuals who earn up to $43,000 per year and up to $92,200 for families of four. Also in 2014 up to 10.3 million women will gain insurance cov-erage when Medicaid expands its income eligibility to include people with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level—less than $15,000 for in-dividuals and about $31,809 for a family of four in 2011. The health law also eliminates Med-icaid’s categorical requirements, so that low-income women who meet the income requirements can enroll even if they have no children and are not pregnant. To learn more about the benefits of Obamacare for women, see the Center for American Prog-ress report “Women and Obam-acare.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jessica Ar-ons is the Director of the Wom-en’s Health and Rights Program at the Center for American Prog-ress.

This article reprinted with the permission of Center of Ameri-can Progress.

Under the supervision of DA public school O&A levels-

Sea View karachi, an athletic championship was held from November 19th, 2012 till No-vember 20th, 2012 which includ-ed a 100 meter sprint race, long jump, javelin throws, hurdle race, tug of war, etc.

All of the DA schools took part in this event; the chief guest of this event was Ms Nasim Hameed, the Gold Medalist of SAF Games. Many students participated in different games, in which the name of Ruseb Syed was also prominent, who whilst studying, also takes part in many activities, including sports and has always succeed in achieving his goals. The 100 meter baton race was also an event in which Ruseb Syed participated, and received the 3rd position for which he was appreciated and congratu-lated by his teachers, as well as his Principal Rukshanda Jabeen.

Ruseb Syed, on his achievement for his school, shared his happi-ness and thanked his principal and teachers for giving him the opportunity to participate. He also thanked his parents, also other students for taking part in such creative activities, and he expressed gratitude and ap-preciation towards DA for orga-nizing these events, and wants them to keep organizing such events.

Inter DA Athletic Championship

Page 9: Bridge International

17 November 2012 Sports16 November 2012 Sports

Adelaide, Nov 22: Australia captain Michael Clarke

broke Sir Don Bradman and Ricky Ponting’s records as he registered his fourth 200 plus scores in a calendar year here on Thursday against South Africa at the Adelaide Oval in the second Test. At close of play on first day, Australia were 482/5. Michael Hussey and David Warner too hit centuries.

Clarke, who has been in great form in 2012, brought up his second successive double hun-dred today after he had made a double ton against South Africa in the first Test in Brisbane.

Today was Clarke’s 21st Test cen-tury. Hussey hit his 18th and War-ner had his third. Australia were in completed command against the visitors on the opening day.

Clarke is the first man in Test his-tory to score 200 or more runs four times in the same calendar year. Bradman (in 1930) and Pon-ting (2003) had done it thrice in one year but the current Aus-tralian skipper has bettered the greats.

The right-hander started the year with a triple hundred against India. He scored 329 not out in Sydney in January and followed that up with a 210 in Adelaide against the same opposition.

At the start of the series against South Africa, in previous Test in Brisbane, he made 259 not out. Now, here he is batting on 224.

Michael Clarke breaks Don Bradman’s record

KARACHI: Pakistan defeated India 5-2 in the play-off for the third-fourth place in the nine-a-side hockey International Super Series to win the bronze medal at the Perth Hockey Stadium in Australia on Sunday.

Rashid Mehmood scored twice to help Pakistan register their first win of the series after losing all three of their first round matches.

The Greenshirts lost the opening match to Australia 4-2, were crushed by England in the second match by the same scoreline and were beaten by arch-rivals India 5-2 in the third match on Saturday.

The International Super Series will be followed by the Champions Trophy which will be played from December 1-9.

Pakistan thrash India to clinch bronze in Super Series

Andrew Flintoff is not the first star from another sport

to consider trying his hands at boxing.

Wayne Rooney, to name but one, is said to be flirting with the no-tion for some time in the future.

But even as one of cricket’s great all-rounders, our Freddie will not find it easy to withstand the rigours of the prize ring as he gets ready to make his heavy-weight debut in November.

Flintoff could have no finer men-tor than Barry McGuigan but

nothing can prepare him for the physical and psychological shock of being hit by a big man inside those ropes.

Hopefully he understands that the drinker’s lifestyle for which he was renowned during his prime summers at the crease would put his health seriously at risk in the hardest game of all.

Assuming that McGuigan can bring Flintoff up to technical scratch for his first professional fight despite the absence of any amateur experience, the British

Boxing Board of Control doctors will still have to be convinced that he is medically fit for the task.

Curtis Woodhouse, the former Birmingham and Sheffield Unit-ed footballer, can tell him how tough it will be,

After racking up ten straight wins when switching to boxing, Woodhouse has had to battle to hold together the 16-4 record which puts him just in line for an English light-welterweight title eliminator.

With no disrespect to cricket – I would not want to face a fired up Freddie coming in to bowl – men from harder physical games have found the going tough.

Tom Zbikolski, a 27-year-old American footballer with the In-dianapolis Colts, built up a four-win heavyweight record under the tutelage of Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward….before deciding that was quite enough, thank you, and return-ing to the gridiron.

Down Under, a certain Sonny Bill Williams switched from rugby league to become a rugby union world cup winner with the All Blacks before lacing up the gloves. Now the heavyweight champion of New Zealand, he will shortly try to raise his inter-national profile by taking on gi-ant South African veteran Fran-cois Botha.

Perhaps the most inspiring ex-ample for Flintoff is Anthony Mundine. The former Australian rugby league star has twice won a world super-middleweight title while compiling a profes-sional record of 44 wins and four losses.

All those who have paved the way for Flintoff will tell him how hard it will be.

Williams says: ‘Not only are the fights physically tougher than rugby but the regime is so de-manding. There is never a day off. Boxing is so demanding.’

So good luck, to Freddie. And if this project truly is something more serious than a Sky Sports television reality programme, he is going to need it.

Nothing can prepare Flintoff for the shock of taking thunderous blows in the ring

KARACHI: Pakistan’s former captain Javed Miandad has

threatened to sue ex-teammate Sarfaraz Nawaz for stating that he pushed for the inclusion of tainted players in the PCB.

Miandad’s warning to Nawaz came just a day after Pakistan’s former Test pacer Ataur Rehman said he had consulted his lawyers to send a notice to Nawaz for his comments. Nawaz accusations came after the PCB recently appointed ex-Test spinner Akram Raza to the umpires panel and also appointed Rehman as coach for the FATA area. Miandad said he would warn Nawaz to be careful about what he says in future. “I can deal with him in two ways but I will only advise him the judiciary is free and independent now and if he says anything more I will take action.”

He also made it clear he wouldn’t like to go into the past of the former Test pacer who should avoid mudslinging. Miandad was also asked about the hefty salary he takes from the board and he defended it by saying he

had turned down other lucrative offers to work in the PCB.

“I am committing no crime. I had got more lucrative offers to coach but I didn’t accept them because I want to work in Pakistan cricket and contribute towards it. The figures quoted about the financial benefits I get in the board are not correct.”

Miandad praised the efforts of PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf insisting he had come with a clear vision to improve things in Pakistan cricket. He also made it clear that he had no personal grudges against anyone in the board including former chairman Ijaz Butt with whom he didn’t get along. “I respect Ijaz as an elder. I may have cricket related differences with him but that does not have any enmity. As far as Zaka is concerned he has clear vision and wants to do something for Pakistan cricket.” During Butt’s tenure, Miandad resigned after differences over policy matters but Ashraf recently gave more authority to the former captain.

Miandad threatens legal action against

Sarfaraz Wasim hopeful of trouble free Pakistan-India series

KARACHI: Fast bowling legend Wasim Akram said Tuesday

he was confident Pakistan’s hotly-anticipated tour of India next month would pass off safely and urged the two sides to use threats by Hindu radicals as motivation.

Pakistan will meet their archri-vals in five one-day internation-als and two Twenty20s in De-cember and January, their first full series since 2007, but Indian Hindu groups have urged Delhi to cancel and threatened pro-tests. The right-wing Shiv Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad de-manded India refuse to resume cricket ties until Pakistan brings to justice the masterminds be-hind the 2008 Mumbai terror at-tacks that left 166 people dead.

India halted all bilateral cricket with Pakistan after Mumbai, but earlier this month approved the short tour announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in July. Wasim, one of the sport’s greatest ever bowl-ers and now popular in India as a commentator, said he was hopeful of a trouble-free tour. “I can’t wait for this tour to hap-pen,” Wasim was quoted as say-ing. “I am confident that the In-dian government will make this tour a happy and safe one for our team because the whole world is waiting for this and want it to be series reviving one.” Wasim said all threats should act as motiva-tion for both the countries. “We toured India despite threats,” said Wasim, who led Pakistan on the India tour in 1999 despite

Shiv Sena activists dug up the pitch at the Delhi Stadium, forc-ing officials to move the first Test to Chennai. “We had full confi-dence in Indian security and that tour came off very well and I am sure this time too India will make sure it go untroubled.”

Wasim said that after a break of five years, the cricket-mad Indian public was desperate to see their side take on their old rivals. “The whole of India is keenly waiting for this tour to happen and I am sure come December 25 they will thong the stadium,” said Wasim of the first Twenty20 in Bangalore. “I am sure Indian fans will give a good response to our team.” Ahmedabad will host the second Twenty20 on November 27 followed by one-day in Chen-nai (December 30), Kolkata (Jan 3) and Delhi (Jan 6). Few rivalries in sport are as intense as India and Pakistan on the cricket field, and Wasim said he hoped the men in green would be buoyed by the occasion. “I use to thrive in an India match,” said Wasim, who helped his side maintain a dominant record over their arch-rivals during the span of his 104 Test and 356 one-day interna-tionals career. “I would not sleep the night before and would plan and most of the time handled the pressure well and came out winner. So it would be important for this Pakistan team to handle the pressure well. If they are scared of losing then they can’t win. I think if Pakistan’s batting clicks then we can beat India in India.”

Page 10: Bridge International

19 November 2012 Fashion18 November 2012 Entertainment

Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: Shariq Sidz ‘s “Dil Toota” Video Pre-

miere Party & an exclusive per-formance was held on ‘Sunday’ November 18th 2012 at Eclipse Entertainment Lounge, Chi-cago Illinois. Shariq Sidz is an upcoming singer from Chicago who is making a big name for himself already in the music industry.

He has performed with names such as RDB, Rahim Shah, Jawad Ahmed and many more. However, it was time for Shariq to shine on his own and let the world know what his music is all about. He released his de-but single “Dil Toota” and cele-brated with his hometown fans at the video premiere party at Eclipse Lounge. The ambiance of the event was very classy and everyone was dressed to impress for the red carpet pic-tures.

As the event started, fans were welcomed by two lovely MC’s for the night, Omehabiba Khan and Sabih Nawab. The fans were treated to videos about Shariq’s past, his childhood and even some messages from important & influential people in his life such as other sing-ers, RJ’s, models and actresses. It takes countless hours to cre-ate a music video and everyone had the opportunity to watch behind the scenes footage of the making of “Dil Toota”.

Then it was time to show the official video to the crowd who were very excited to see the final outcome. The reac-tion was overwhelming as the fans applauded Shariq and his team on a fabulous job. The au-dience met the cast of the vid-eo “Dil Toota” and were able to learn a little about the key roles that they had including the choreographer, supporting actors, lyricst, producer/direc-tor and the star himself, Shariq Sidz. Finally, the event ended with an exclusive performance by Shariq Sidz. He started out with a great Punjabi song called “Pani da rang”, then the Bollywood hit ‘Tere mere” a medley of songs from Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Moham-mad Rafi & of course his debut single “Dil Toota” and many other famous names that influ-enced Shariq’s music. The final song was the hit “Aadat” which made the crowd stand on their feet. Shariq came off stage and sang in the audience to his adoring fans.

The event was a huge success and Shariq Sidz definitely made a mark with his de-but single and video for “Dil Toota”, this is only the begin-ning for this young singer as he embarks on a journey of music worldwide. You can check out his video on YouTube, Geo, Aag, Ary, Chann Pardesi Radio, Desi junction, Sohni Darti ra-dio & many other places.

Debut Single” Dil Toota” by Shariq Sidz was a roaring success

Ishq-e-Mamnoo

soundtrack becomes KJ’s

big break

crystals were used. The collection was complimented by

handbags from Ayesha Mustafa’s Fashion

Compassion and the jewellery was by Kiran Aman’s Sceptre’s

of Beauty.

Next up w a s

E m r a a n R a j p u t ’ s c o l l e c t i o n , which was a maze of moods and r e f l e c t i o n

of lifestyles to suit the

modern man. The collection paid

homage to gypsy roots through shirts with an e a r t h y ,

h a n d -c r a f t e d look. The

‘70s were

acknowledged through retro,

candy touches, inspired by vintage kaftans from the era.

Nida Tapal and Nargis Kiani’s collection ‘Pythia’, named after the priestess of Apollo at Delphi, was the climax of the label Delphi’s journey to date. As Pythia brought to light Apollo’s will to those on earth, the collection brought to light some of the most intricate workmanship this country has to offer, in a modern package. Working its way into chic coats, tunics and cocktail dresses, Pythia showcased crochet’s global appeal. It also contained smart eastern wear, where traditional methods of crochet were amped up, integrating it with luxe embellishments such as pearls, metals and regal silks.ý The splendid diamond and polki jewellery for Delphi was

The third and last day of the Fashion

Pakistan Week (FPW) finished with a graceful ceremony, held in Karachi on Tuesday.

A large number of prominent personalities of the fashion industry and a big number of fashion lovers and critics attended the event. Pakistan’s most credible, progressive and cutting-edge fashion week presented the latest men’s wear and women’s wear collections of Pakistani top designers on the final day of FPW, including Maheen Karim, Emraan Rajput, Nida Tapal of Delphi, Huma Adnan of FnkAsia, Misha Lakhani, Rizwanullah and Nine West.

The Fashion Pakistan Council believes in promoting both established fashion designers and burgeoning design talent in the global market, while supporting and strengthening Pakistan’s vibrant fashion industry.

The first act was presented with Maheen Karim’s collection ‘Luxe’, which fused military chic together with luxury oriental accents in the form of exquisite hand embroideries and ritzy silks. Plush velvets appliquéd on to glossy georgettes and shaded chiffons made for an extremely stylish winter wardrobe. Clean-cut tailored suits, form-fitting chic cropped trousers, as well as silk-draped harem pants were paired with military jackets and lace-draped boleros. The colour palette brought together wintry plums, gilded black, bronze, gold, deep maroons, vibrant olives, mustard and magenta. Each motif was hand embroidered and Swarovski

provided by Naaj.

Rizwanullah showcased ‘Evoking the Serpent.’ His collection was on cottons, silk, leather jackets and other fabrics. Models wore a gothic look.

Huma Adnan brought Africa home with a collection inspired by tribal weaves and knits. FnkAsia Autumn/Winter 2012 put out the warmth of yarn on organic fabric, creating tangible textures in bark brown, plum and rustic tones that remind you of the Savannah.The silhouettes for the season were diverse, ranging from long bohemian maxis to two-piece ensembles and a wide variety of tops and jackets constructed from assorted weaves. There was also a lot of fringing. Combined with FnkAsia’s

trademark interplay with colour, the collection is for the woman who can work the wild.

Next in line was Misha Lakhani’s namesake

young fashion label which should

be the go-to for impeccably

c r a f t e d c l o t h i n g

t h a t mixed a

t i m e l e s s aesthetic with a

modern perspective. The idea behind the

collection was refining the extravagance

of old India, by fusing it with an international chic.

Nine West offered not just displayed footwear, but also handbags, dresses, eyewear, sunglasses,

Fashion Pakistan Week2012

jewellery, belts, hats, and more. They offered a quick edit of the

must-have looks of the season,

available to w o m e n

all over.

Karachi 6 closed

the show, p r e s e n t i n g the legends, a l o n g with the d e s i g n e r s w h o s e

success stories have just begun unfolding. In a

celebration of the style of the

city, presenting capsule collections

were the incredible Shamaeel Ansari,

Amir Adnan, Shehla Chatoor, Sadaf Malaterre,

Maheen Khan and Deepak Perwani.

Little did we know that the Urdu dubbing of popular

Turkish soaps will gain so much popularity in Pakistan. After the national obsession with “Humsa-far”, Pakistan’s latest addiction is the widely popular Turkish soap

“Ishq-e-Mamnoo” (Forbidden Love).

While its lead characters Bihter and Behlul have become house-hold names, the singer of the namesake original soundtrack has become something of an overnight celebrity.

Khurram Jamshed, also known as KJ, shares success similar to that of Quratulain Baloch, who is now enchanting people around the world with “Woh Humsafar Tha”. KJ is being advertised for ghazal nights as the singer of the hit title song “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”.

Little do people know that KJ has been behind the scenes in the music industry for almost 20 years, providing services for dif-ferent record labels and music companies. It was only recently when KJ was supervising the dubbing of Turkish soaps “Isabel” and “Ishq-e-Mamnoo” with his partner and project head Emu, that he was chosen to sing.

“I was a little hesitant to sing af-ter so long, but Emu [also the composer of the song] pushed me into it,” KJ told The Express Tribune. “Now I realise that it was a risk worth taking.”

In the mid ‘90s, KJ entered the music industry to become a singer but the rejection from PTV and other record labels forced him to go behind the scenes and focus more on artist selection and promotion for record labels.

“It is more like a dream come true for me,” explains KJ. “For years I have been promoting other people and for the first time I am getting to do something solo and live.”

Keeping the popularity of the song in mind and the increasing demand by the promoters for a legally downloadable version of the song, KJ decided to make a solo video which will be released soon.

“We thought that the ban on You-Tube might affect our gauge of the song’s success,” says KJ. “But the back-to-back demand on different radio stations is very encouraging. It’s also very inter-esting that people have come out with their own remix ver-sions of the song.”

Music for “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”

The whole project was experi-mental, but Emu, who is also a Fuzon band member, followed his gut feeling about the com-position. He asked one of his col-leagues, singer and lyricist Sher-ry, who was also supervising the dubbing project, to come up with the words.

“It had to be a romantic song with a very mellow feel to it,” says Emu. “But it was about forbidden love so I added a bit of a qawwali to it which really worked out in our favour.”

Being a rockstar and the face of a prominent band, Emu wasn’t comfortable with the whole concept of composing an OST.

“Changing shoes wasn’t that much of a treat,” says Emu with a laugh. “However, I wanted to tell people that Emu is more than Fuzon. If someone wants me to compose an OST for them, I will. But I won’t go beg people for an OST, because that’s not what I am known for.”

Ironically, the channel had more hopes for the play “Isabel”, which was the reason they aggres-sively advertised the soundtrack for that serial, but surprisingly,

“Ishq-e-Mamnoo” has captivated a larger audience.

Page 11: Bridge International

21 November 201220 November 2012 Health

There have been a lot of nasty bugs around already, but with

all this snow, there may be more to come! Congestion and irrita-tion of the respiratory tract are usually due to aggravated Ka-pha dosha (for example due to excess cold, damp, heavy foods). If food is not digested properly it will turn into ‘ama’ (undigest-ed matter, toxins) which also increases Kapha, especially if it is deposited in the Kapha sites in the body (chest, lungs, head, neck and stomach). Aggravated Vata and Pitta doshas can also play a role but treatment of re-spiratory congestion is usually focused on pacifying aggravat-ed Kapha and clearing the body of ama through:

1. Diet: Eat light, warm simple foods, such as soup, whilst rest-ing (the office will cope without your for a day or two). Avoid con-gestive foods (dairy, sugar, fried foods, meat, wheat, bananas and yeast). Also avoid all cold food and drinks, and keep drink-ing hot water to stay hydrated. Fresh ginger tea is excellent as it increases circulation, promotes sweating and digests mucus, relieving congestion (Please do not combine ginger with aspirin as both act to thin the blood). With chronic mucous, fasting on ginger tea for 2-3 days gives speedy recovery. Fasting for one day with warm water and lemon juice can expel toxins.

2. Lifestyle: Use a neti pot to help pre-vent colds, as well as hay fever in the Spring (See my web-site for more on this). Get plenty of rest and practice Bhastrika to help clear sinuses. Try a steam inhalation (lean head over a bowl of hot water with a towel over you). Add a couple of drops of Eucalyptus (which has antiviral proper-ties), crushed ginger root, Clove or Olbas oil. Keep warm espe-cially the head, chest

and feet. Avoid day sleep if you can which only increases Kapha more.

3. Ayurvedic herbs: The de-licious Ayurvedic jam, Chywa-naprash, can be taken daily to strengthen the lungs and boost the immune system (you can try it on toast for breakfast). It acts to rejuvenate all the body tissues, increasing strength and virility, as well as alleviating respiratory conditions. For recurrent/persis-tent colds, you may also want to try Trikatu made of ginger, black pepper and long pepper which dry up mucous and clear chan-nels. It is traditionally taken with raw honey which aids this effect. It should not be taken if you are pregnant or suffering from the effects of aggravated Pitta do-sha (eg: heartburn, hyperacidity, ulcers). Finally, Turmeric is a po-tent natural antibiotic and can be used all respiratory tract in-fections. Boil half a cup of water with 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, add a little milk then use as a gargle.

4. Home remedies: Going by the wisdom of the Ayurvedic sage, Vagbhata, who wrote:

“There is nothing (in the world) which is not a medicine”, you can make effective remedies using common kitchen ingredi-ents. Try some of the following instead of the Lemsip and see how they work for you:

• Mix 1 tsp each of ginger powder, turmeric and black pep-per and take ½ tsp of this mix-ture with warm water or honey twice a day.

• Mix ½ tbsp ginger, black pepper, cardamom, clove, cin-namon and turmeric. Ad 3tsps of raw sugar. Mix ½ or 1 tsp of this mixture with honey or warm wa-ter and take twice a day.

• Mix ½ tsp fresh ginger juice with ½ tsp honey and take three times a day.

• Soak 2 parts fresh ginger root, 3 parts cinnamon and a pinch of cardamom in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes. Add ½ tsp of honey once its cool down a little. Drink a glass of this tea several times a day.

• Crush ¼ tsp fresh ginger root with 8 fresh basil leaves, 2 peppercorns, 2 cardamom seeds, 1 cup of water, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 2 cloves, & 5 mint leaves. Boil, filter, add 1 tsp honey. Drink 3 times a day.

Ayurvedic remedies for cold and flu

Butter and margarine both set your cholesterol levels soaring. But which one is a nutritionally better option?

Butter

Butter is a byproduct of milk which is made by churning milk or cream. It’s mostly made from cow’s milk. Salt, colouring, fla-

vouring and preservatives may be added before the butter is packed. The earliest butter was made from sheep or goat milk, but today cow’s milk is the most

popular core ingredient.

Health factor

It is a misconception that but-ter is unhealthy due to its fatty nature. At a basic level, butter contains selenium, a mineral rich in antioxidant properties. It also contains iodine required by the body. Butter is a rich source of vitamins. It’s especially a great source of vitamin A, which helps improve vision and other func-tions of the body. Butter also has other fat soluble vitamins like vitamin D, E and K. The bu-tyric acid present in butter acts as a carcinogen, while lauric acid has antifungal and antibacterial The Better Butter?properties. All these are components of the fatty acids in butter. Cultured butter (made from fermented cream) is the best type to buy, or buy organic butter as it contains the least chemicals.

Margarine

Margarine is made by bubbling hydrogen through various veg-etable oils at high temperature. It is often used as a substitute for butter. Margarine was created in 19th century in France as a cheaper substitute for butter, for use by the armed forces and the middle class. Due to all the pre-servatives used in margarine, it has a longer shelf life. Margarine made without dairy is a good option for vegan.

Health factor

Though it is low on cholesterol, margarine is considered a chem-ically extracted product so it’s

not complete-ly healthy. The high temper-ature destroys the vitamins and other nu-trients pres-ent in the oil, which also contain trans fatty acids with residues of nickel and c a d m i u m .

These acids are carcinogenic and mutagenic.Margarine has a high amount of trans fatty acids, but butter is higher in saturated fats.

The Better Butter?

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22 November 2012

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