BAKU: President Asif Ali Zardari with heads of state and government at the 12th ECO Summit in Azerbaijan on Tuesday.

Today’s issue of PakistanObserver carries a one-PageSpecial Report on ‘195th SirSyed Ahmed Khan Day’ onPage 14.

KARACHI—Interior MinisterRehman Malik has offered a$1 million bounty forEhsanullah Eshan, the centralspokesman for the PakistaniTaliban, which claimed re-sponsibility for the attack on14-year-old activist MalalaYousufzai’s life.

Speaking to CNN in an in-terview late Monday, Maliksaid that security agencies wereinvestigating the attack andhunting down those whose in-volvement had been ascer-tained. “All our law enforcers,

Malik sets $1m bountyon TTP spokesman Ehsanullah

intelligence agencies are hunt-ing all those who were involved.I have got some other nameswhich I would not like to men-tion on record because it maydamage the investigation. But letme (as)sure my Pakistani nation,and the entire world, that we willget them very soon,” the inte-rior minister told CNN’sChristiane Amanpour.

Malik said that according todetails unearthed in the probe,the assassination attempt onMalala was planned in Afghani-stan. “Four people came from

there. … One of the guys, wehave identified and (a) few ofhis associates have been ar-rested. One of – the fiancee ofone of the terrorists has beendetained, and all possible leadswhich we have developed … weare following it,” said Malik,vowing to hold all those respon-sible to account “very soon.”

Moreover, the interior min-ister affirmed that the govern-ment was providing security toMalala’s family and to two othergirls also wounded in the sameattack. Later on Tuesday, the in-

terior minister said that intel-ligence reports suggested thatpowerful militant commander“Radio Mullah” Fazlullah wasbeing made the central leaderof the militant umbrella groupthe Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan(TTP).

“We have reports thatMullah Fazlullah was beingmade the chief of the TTP,”Malik told reporters inMingora, Swat. He said thatthe reason Fazlullah was be-ing made leader was that cur-

Continued on Page 7

Govt has no planfor peace: Imran

ISLAMABAD—Chairman Paki-stan Tehreek Insaf said that otherthan Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf noother party or the governmenthas any plan to resolve the prob-lem of militancy in Pakistan.

Addressing a press confer-ence he said that PTI has beenemphasising for the last manyyears that peace is only possibleif negotiations and the use of forceare all part of a political process.

A military operation that isnot one element of a larger po-litical process would neverwork. He said that no one canpossibly condone terrorism. Re-ferring to the Malala case ImranKhan said that he had immedi-ately visited Peshawar to visitMalala in the hospital and hadcondemned the Tehreek TalibanPakistan (TTP) for committingthis terrible act.

Despite this some vestedinterests have been distorting thePTI message to convey the im-pression that the party and ImranKhan are pro Taliban.

Chairman Tehreek Insaf saidthat without a comprehensivepeace plan militancy would nevergo down. He said that sporadicpeace talks and military opera-tions without a proper plan haveresulted in the militancy going uprather than going down.

He said giving peace achance would wean away a largenumber of those who have takenup militancy because they werethe victims of the so called col-lateral damage as a result ofdrone attacks and military op-erations. We have to ensure, hesaid, that we reach out to thetribes to integrate them into a

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

Asian countries have tocooperate with each other: PM

KUWAIT CITY—Prime Minis-ter Raja Pervez Ashraf Tuesdaysaid that Asia is vast continenthaving a large number of oppor-tunities and Asian countries haveto cooperate with each other formutual interests.

Addressing the head of statessession of the Asian CooperationOrganisation, the Premier saidthat no country could progresslonely and issues and prosperityof all the countries are connectedwith each other.

He said that Asia Coopera-tion Organization is a unique fo-rum for discussing issues inuntraditional manners, whichprovides best opportunity to takebenefit from experiences of eachother. The Prime Minister

termed 21st century as centuryfor Asia and role of Asia has beenchanging rapidly in the interna-tional economy.

He said elimination of pov-erty is an important goal, they arefacing challenges to provide food

to the growing population, risein resources of energy and appro-priate use of water resources byconsidering the deficiency ofwater.

He said that Pakistan has aposition of bridge for itsneighbouring countries due to itsgeographic location.

“Our preference is to makePakistan a center for trade and

energy”, he stated.The Prime Minister said that

prosperity of masses is their goal.“We have to avoid conflicts

and have to struggle for ensur-ing peace and stability in the re-gion”, Raja Pervez Ashraf said.

Heads of Thailand and vari-ous other countries also ad-dressed the session.

Meanwhile, Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashrat met the PrimeMinister of Kuwait Sheik JaberMubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah onthe sidelines of Asian Coopera-tion Dialogue (ACD) Summitthis evening. The Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf thanked the PrimeMinister of Kuwait for inviting

Pak, India arbitration teaminspects Kishenganga site

GUREZ—The joint team of ex-perts from India and Pakistaninspected the dam site of 300MW Kishenganga Hydro-PowerProject Gurez to see if a stayorder granted by the Interna-tional Court of Arbitration (ICA)on the project was being fol-lowed in letter and spirit or not.

The 7-member team, mostlyhydraulic experts, arrived inGurez by Air Force helicoptersand visited the dam site, wherethe local officials from civil andpolice administration were al-ready present.

The team spent about anhour at the site during whichthey inspected the implementa-tion of the order of the Perma-nent Court of Arbitration at TheHague on the construction of thepower house. Earlier, the teamhad visited the site in May this

year as part of the court order.Pakistan claims that the projectviolates Indus Water Treaty be-tween the two countries. Thehydropower project is beingbuilt on Kishenganga (Neelum)River, which flows into Paki-stan.

Pakistan has expressed ap-prehensions that with the con-struction of the power project,around 100 kilometers ofNeelam river will dry up as wa-ter will be diverted to the Jhelumthrough Wullar Lake nearBandipora town.

Presently, Kishenganga(Neelam) and Jhelum join eachother at Domail, Muzaffarabadin Azad Kashmir.

As a consequence of this100 km diversion of the Neelum,the Neelum Valley on the other

Continued on Page 7

Detailed verdict:Dual nationals

can’t be lawmakersISLAMABAD—A person whoceases to be the citizen of Paki-stan or acquires citizenship ofanother country should be dis-qualified from the membership ofassemblies and senate, stated theSupreme Court’s detailed orderon the dual nationality case, re-leased on Tuesday.

Earlier, through a short order,the apex court had disqualifiedaround a dozen members of theNational Assembly, Senate andprovincial assemblies for holdingdual nationality.

Justice Khilji Arif Hussain,in his response, said that consti-tutional clauses can only be rein-terpreted when their meaningsare unclear, absurd or patentlyunjust. He was responding to asuggestion by Senator Wasim

Continued on Page 7

TTP labelsMalala as ‘an

American spy’KARACHI—The outlawedTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) Tuesday defended the at-tack on Malala Yousafzai, reject-ing that she was an innocent girland labeling her as a US spy.

The central spokesman ofTTP, Ahsanullah Ahsan, in a de-tailed statement issued to themedia said Malala’s date of birthis July 1997 which makes her15 years four months old today.“Even if no sign of puberty be-comes noticeable, this age of thegirl marks the end of pre-pu-berty phase.”

The statement said: “In Is-lam and Pakhtun traditions thereis absolutely no room for an at-tack on a woman of pure virtues.But in cases where a woman isseen as a clear sinner who standsin defiance of Shariah, such awoman is not only allowed tobe attacked but there is an

Continued on Page 7

4 more shotdead in QuettaQUETTA—At least fourpersons were killed whenunknown gunmen opened fireat them here on Tuesday.

According to police, inKabarri Market at Sarki Roadof Quetta unknown armedmotorcyclists opened firingkilling four persons on thespot. The assassins managed toescape from the scene aftercommitting murder.

The bodies were shifted tohospital for medico legalrequirements.

Two among the deceasedbelonged to Hazara commu-nity and were stated to be realbrothers. Heavy contingent ofpolice and other law enforce-ment agencies personnelcordoned off the area after theincident and started search forthe murderers.—INP

Continued on Page 7 Anti-poliodrive failure

Kausar holdsDr Shakeelresponsible

PESHAWAR—Governor KhyberPakhtunkhwa Barrister MasoodKausar has held Dr ShakeelAfridi responsible for the fail-ure of anti-polio vaccinationcampaign in Federally Admin-istered Tribal Areas (FATA).

He was talking to media per-sons in Governor House afterinaugurating the three-day na-tional polio campaign by admin-istering anti-polio vaccine to achild.

Barrister Masood Kausarsaid that Dr Shakeel Afridi issuewhich helped US to trace and killAl-Qaida chief Osama bin Ladenin Abbottabad created doubts in

Tax on telephone calls

MQM walksout from SenateISLAMABAD—MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM) onTuesday walked out fromsenate meeting in protestagainst imposition of tax ontelephone calls for overseasPakistanis.

During the Senate sessionproceedings, MQM parliamen-tary leader Col ® Tahir HussainMashhadi over a point of ordersaid that overseas Pakistanis arebeing deprived of their realrights.

He told the house thatadvertisement with big picturesof President Asif Ali Zardariand other concern officers waspublished in newspapers that asmany as Rs20 billon tax was

Continued on Page 7

SC summons MI’sex-Brig Hamid today

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Supreme Courthas summoned Military Intelli-gence (MI) former BrigadierHamid Saeed today, while hear-ing the petition filed by AirMarshall (retd) Asghar Khanpertaining to the Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI) distributingmoney among politicians.

Earlier, Chief JusticeIftikhar Mohammad Chaudhryin his remarks said that IJIwould not be formed anymorenow—the national interest liesin the democratic dispensation.

He remarked that the posi-tion of the president was ex-tremely significant and it wasunfortunate that a former presi-

High-level Chineseteam arrives today

Continued on Page 7

ISLAMABAD—A high level del-egation led by Li Changchun,Member of the Standing Com-mittee of the Political Bureau ofthe Communist Party of ChinaCentral Committee, (CPCCC),will visit Pakistan from today(Wednesday) and Thursday.

During his stay in Islamabad,Changchun will call on PresidentZardari and will discuss bilateralissues, as well as exchange viewson the regional situation.

Li Changchun will inaugu-rate China Radio International

(CRI) CRI FM-98 in Urdu lan-guage aiming to increasepeople-to-people contact andforge cultural bonds at a popu-lar level. This will add a newdimension to the existing cul-tural relations between Pakistanand China. He will plant a treeat Shakarparian and also visit thePakistan monument.

This high level visit fromChina would help furtherstrengthen the “all-weather andstrategic” friendship betweenthe two countries.— NNI

BAKU—President Asif AliZardari Tuesday stressed theneed for ECO member countriesfor working together in the threeimportant areas of trade, trans-port and energy and urged forexpeditious implementation ofpast agreements for trade liber-alization besides cutting downtariff and non-tariff barriers.

Addressing the ECO Sum-mit at Baku, the President saidthat “in order to enhance invest-ment in the ECO Member

Zardari prioritises energy,trade, transport for ECOStresses joint struggle to root out terror

States, we must resolve tooperationalize the ECO TradeAgreement from January 1,2013 and should also facilitateour private sectors.”

The President said that “we

must commit to becoming a partof this fundamental Agreementas this trade agreement was oneof the core objectives of ourOrganization.” Emphasizing on

regional connectivity , the Presi-dent said that the vision of re-gional connectivity and tradearticulated at the Third ECOSummit in Islamabad was givenby his wife , Daughter of theEast Shaheed MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto, who he said wasalso his political leader. He saidthat most of all, she was a fighteras she fought for the women andchildren of our country, a coun-try of 200 million people.

Continued on Page 7

Game plan on Malala episode

Hype created to suck-inArmy to open front in NWDiabolic forces tend to destabilise Pak

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—While injuredMalala Yousafzai is currentlyin the United Kingdom receiv-ing the best treatment in theworld, a big game plan hasbeen unearthed to suck-in armyto launch military operation inNorth Waziristan.

The foreign forces coupledwith some vested interests inPakistan brought the Malalaepisode to such a high pitchpurposefully to put Pakistan’sArmed Forces under pressure

to open a new front in NorthWaziristan. The plan was sosuccessful that a large sectionof media, political leaders andthe government joined thebandwagon of such forcesand launched an orchestratedcampaign with sinister objec-tive, well informed diplo-matic and political sources inthe capital said.

A high profile target todestabilise Pakistan could bethe next move, the sources

Malala torecover soon:

SurgeonB I R M I N G H A M — M a l a l aYousafzai, shot in the head lastweek by the Taliban, has everychance of making a good recov-ery, says the medical director atBirmingham’s Queen Elizabethhospital, Dave Rosser. He saidthe doctors are impressed by thestrong nerves of the young girl.The hospital has the world’slargest single-floor critical careunit for patients with gunshotwounds, burns, spinal damageand major head injuries

The new hospital, whichopened in 2010, is home to theRoyal Centre for Defence Medi-cine, where injured service per-sonnel are treated.Facilities were transferred therefrom the old Selly Oak Hospi-tal, which closed the same year.Medics at the centre are experts

Continued on Page 7

MQM’s Rehanreturns MNAunopposedKARACHI—Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) candidateRehan Hashmi has beenelected member NationalAssembly unopposed fromKarachi constituency NA 245,a private TV channel reportedon Tuesday.

According to returningofficer, two other candidates ofMQM withdrew theirnomination papers after thatRehan Hashmi was electedunopposed.

It may be noted here thatthe seat became vacant afterFarhat Hussain of MQM wasdeclared ineligible due toholding dual nationality.—APP

Continued on Page 7Liaquat’sassassination

was tragicincident: Altaf

LONDON—The Founder andLeader of Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) AltafHussain has said that the assas-sination of former Prime Min-ister Liaquat Ali Khan was atragic incident of the history ofPakistan.

Paying glowing tributes tothe first prime minister of Paki-stan on his 61st death anniver-

Continued on Page 7

Masjid Qasimannounces ‘Eid ulAzha’ on Oct 27

PESHAWAR—The Committeeof Masjid Qasim Ali Khan Tues-day announced to celebrate‘Eidul Azha’ on October 27.

The meeting was held inMasjid Qasim Ali Khan forsighting moon of Zul Hajja,while no evidence was receivedfrom any part.—Online

See also Back Page

See also Back Page

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—President AsifAli Zardari has urged thepeople to cast their votes as anational duty and asked po-litical parties, civil society, me-dia and other stakeholders toensure maximum their partici-pation in the electoral process.He said in a message on thefirst National Voters Day; initi-ated to raise awareness amongthe people about the impor-tance of casting vote and tomake the elections truly reflec-tive of the will of the people.The President called upon thepeople to come out and to casttheir votes—not merely as amatter of personal right but asa national duty.

“If fair and free electionslie at the root of genuine

transfer of power, error-freevoters lists and maximum par-ticipation of the people lie atthe root of free and fairpolls,” the President said. Hesaid while the ECP was en-suring error-free voters lists,it was also the responsibilityof the political parties, civilsociety, media and otherstakeholders to ensure maxi-mum participation. He said itwas important that they alsohelp raise awareness aboutthe importance of voting inthe democratic process.

The President said specialefforts were also needed forensuring maximum participa-tion of the women, minorities,and those suffering from dis-abilities to participate in thevoting process. The Presidentsaid better participation of

voters in the electoral processwas the most effective way toempower them, hold publicrepresentatives accountableand to pressurise them to de-liver. “I wish to commend theElection Commission of Paki-stan for this initiative high-lighting the important role ofa voter in the democratic pro-cess,” the President said.

He said the importance ofevery eligible citizen to beregistered as a voter cannotbe overemphasized andadded that not registering asa voter means abandoningthe right to vote. PresidentZardari said the ECP has pre-pared electoral rolls that linkvoters’ registration with theNational Identity Card (NIC)issued by NADRA. ThePresident termed it a highly

commendable move and saidit would not only ensure maxi-mum registration of votersbut also eliminate chances ofdouble or fake registration ofvoters that have marred pastelectoral processes.

President Zardari alsonoted the use of latest tech-nology by the ECP to facili-tate voters to check their reg-istration status and appreci-ated the instant voter confir-mation service through theSMS. He also noted that theECP has also kept its officesopen every day of the weekto facilitate voters who maywish to vote in a place otherthan the one where he is cur-rently registered as voter. Hesaid the citizens and politicalparties should make full useof these new facilities.

Over 33.2pcFATA childrenunderweight

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Around 33.2 percent children are underweightand 16.3 per cent are severelyunderweight in the age groups0-59 months in Federally Ad-ministrated Tribal Areas(FATA). According to report “The State of Children in Paki-stan” launched by ChildrenComplaint Office (CCO), nutri-tional indicators in FATA varysignificantly by gender.

Pevalence of underweightis much higher in males is36.8per centas compared to29.5 per centin females.In ruralareas, 33.7 per centchildren areunderweight and 6.8percentseverely wasted. This ex-ceeds similar indicators in ur-ban areas where 25.3 percentare underweight and 3.4per centseverely wasted. Thehighest rate of moderate un-derweight was recorded inSouth Waziristan and fol-lowed by Tank (42.5%,41.9percentrespectively). The lowestrate was found in BajaurAgency (26.8 %).The severeunderweight rate was re-corded to be the highest inMohmand Agency (21.3 %)and lowest in Bajaur Agency (11.5 %).

According to the findingsof the National Nutrition Sur-vey 2011, conducted by thehealth Department, 15.1 percentchildren suffered fromacute mal-nutrition comparedto 14.1 per centin 2001,while43.6 per centchildren had mildnutrition, showing an increaseof 40 per centreported duringthe last survey. This has madechildren vulnerable to diar-rhea, dysentery, anaemia,Pneumonia, and respiratorytract infections. The findingsmentioned that 62.5percentchildren and 52percentpregnant women sufferedfrom severe anaemia comparedto 49.7per centand 45percentrespectively.

According to report, thereare 41 hospitals,190 dispensa-ries,5 rural health clinics,6 TBclinics, 499 community healthcenters,5 leprosy centers and3 sub-health centers in FATA.In the absence of roads, peopleresort to traditional treatmentsor are at the mercy of quacks.Houeshold salt was tested foriodine which showed that only5 per centhouseholds in FATAconsume iodised salt ( 15+PPM) and 12.7 per centfamiliesconsume insufficiently iodisedsalt with less than 15 PPM.

Zardari to addressMalikwal public

meeting soonOUR CORRESPONDENT

SIALKOT—President Asif AliZardari will address a historicpublic meeting on October 25at Malikwal after which peoplewould witness a visiblechange in Punjab saidNadeem Kaira. Addressingthe workers of PakistanPeople’s Party, PSF and PYOhere he appealed to the work-ers that they should partici-pate in the public meeting andshow the strength of the party.

It is high time that partyworkers should demonstratecomplete unity and ensuretheir participation in the fastapproaching public meeting,he said. Nadeem Kaira saidthat President Asif Ali Zardariis a symbol of federation andPakistan Peoples Party is thebiggest political party of thecountry adding that PPP haddeep roots among the peopleof all provinces includingAzad Kashmir.

The motive behind murderof Benazir Bhutto was to van-ish Pakistan Peoples Partyfrom the political scene of thecountry, but the hidden handsfailed in their evil designs andPPP had become more popu-lar among the masses, he said.Nadeem Kaira alleged thatPunjab Government had failedin implementing good gover-nance and addressing theproblems of poor. He laudedthe efforts of business com-munity of Sialkot.

National Voters Day today

Zardari wants massiveparticipation in electoral process

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Me-teorological Department(PMD) on Tuesday forecastrain/thunderstorm for fewplaces of Malakand division,Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistanduring next 24 hours. Ac-cording to the synoptic situ-ation, continental air wouldprevail over most parts of thecountry, however, a shallowa westerly wave still persistover Kashmir and its adjoin-ing areas.

Mainly dry weather is ex-pected in most parts of thecountry including Punjab,Sindh, Balochistan andKhyber Pukhtunkhwa duringthe next 24 hours. The rain-fall recorded during the last24 hours was Jhang 36mm,Faisalabad 23, Lahore 21,Toba Tek Singh 19,Mallamjabba 18, Kalam,Chirat, Okara 09, Lower Dir08, Bahawalnagar 07,Saidusharif, Muzaffarabad06, Murree 05, Balakot,Parachina, Gujranwala,Peshawar, Rawalakot 04, Dir,Kakul, Chakwal 03,Garridupatta 02, Islamabad,Rawalpindi, M. B. Din, andJhelum 01 mm.

Meanwhile, heavy snow-fall and rain occurred here onTuesday which turnedweather cold. The Snowfallled to blockage of variousroads which caused prob-

lems for the motorists. Thefirst winter rain caused vari-ous diseases including soarthroat and cold. Meanwhilepolio vaccination campaignstarted here today and some124 teams will administer26800 children below fiveyears. The Peshawar MetOffice here Tuesday also pre-dicted rain at isolated places

of Malakand Division ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa duringnext 24 hours.

According to Met Office,the weather in Malakand di-vision will remain partlycloudy in Malakand divisionwith chances of rain during24 hours. The yesterday’swesterly wave over northernparts of the country, hasmoved eastwards and nowlies over Kashmir and its ad-joining areas. Mainly dryweather is expected in mostparts of the country, how-ever, rain/thunderstorm isexpected at isolated places ofMalakand Divisions, Kash-mir and Gilgit-Baltistan dur-ing the said period.—APP

Snowfall, rain lash Ghizer valley

More rain,thunderstorm likely

Cigarettesmoking

damages lungsOUR CORRESPONDENT

H Y D E R A B A D —Cigare t t esmoking damages the lungsin many ways as the irritatingeffect of cigarette smoke at-tracts cells to the lungs thatpromote inflammation.Prof.Rashid Ahmed Khan,Head of Pulmonology Depart-ment, Liaqat University ofMedicine and Health Sci-ences (LUMHS) talking to thisscribe here on Tuesday saidcigarette smoke also stimu-lates the inflammatory cells torelease elastics, an enzymethat breaks down the elasticfibers in lung tissue.

About the symptoms ofthe COPD, Dr. Rashid AhmedKhan said that typically, af-ter smoking 20 or more ciga-rettes a day for more thantwenty years, patients withCOPD develop a chroniccough, shortness of breathand frequent respiratory in-fections. He said that smok-ers with COPD have higherdeath rates than nonsmokerswith COPD and patients alsohave more frequent respira-tory symptoms (coughing,shortness of breath, etc.) andmore deterioration in lungfunction than non-smokers.

He said that effects ofpassive smoking or “second-hand smoke” on the lungs arenot well-known, however,evidence suggests that res-piratory infections, asthma,and symptoms are morecommon in children.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

QUETTA—About 411 policepersonnel laid down their livesduring last couple of years inBalochistan. Police were beingequipped with modern weap-ons besides, they were alsobeing imparted training tocope with the menace of ter-rorism. These remarks were ex-pressed by the InsepectorGeneral of Balochistan policeTariq Umer Khitab during a 74thpassing out parade of policecadets here at Police TrainingCollege on Tuesday. Comman-dant PTC, Mohammad Nazir

Kurd, other police officials anda large number of relatives ofthe cadets also attended theceremony.

Steps were afoot to trainthe police on modern lines anderadicate the crime from the so-ciety, IG said adding the re-forms within the police hasyielded positive results. Urg-ing the passed out cadets, hesuggested them to be the signof peace for law abiding citi-zens and sign of fear for theoutlaws. Earlier, he gave awayprizes among the cadets forshowing distinction during thetraining course.

Commandant PTCMohammad Nazir Kurd alsospoke. Man killed as containerattacked in DMJ: An assistantof container was killed anddriver sustained injuries whengunmen attacked a private con-tainer on National highwaynear Nasirabad district on Tues-day. According to police, Quetta-bound the private containerfrom Karachi was on its waywhen unidentified gunmen onmotorbike intercepted it andopened fire on it. As a result,helper Muhammad Umar diedon the spot while Driver KhadimHussain sustained injuries.

411 personnel sacrificed lives

Steps to train Policeon modern lines: IG

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Minister forNational Regulation and Ser-vices, Dr Firdous AshiqAwan Tuesday said the reg-istration of 19 medical wouldbe reviewed due to anoma-lies detected in the registra-tion process. Talking to me-dia outside ParliamentHouse, she said as the col-leges were registered duringthe era of Pervez Musharrafwithout completing set crite-ria. An inquiry committeewould scrutinize the registra-tion of medical colleges andthe registration of only those

which meet the set criteriawould be retained.

She said the third partyaudit of the drugs regis-tered after 2002 would alsobe conducted. The govern-ment was also finalizing auniform drug pricingpolicy. Pharmaceutical in-dustry would be regulatedas it has vast potential ofearning foreign exchange.She thanked all stake hold-ers for consensus passageof Drug Regulatory Au-thority (DRA) from the Na-tional Assembly. The en-actment of DRA would helpin exterminating spurious

medicines from the mar-kets, to help regulating thebusiness of medicines andnow onwards act ionagainst the makers of spu-rious medicine would beeasy.

The DRA would help incontrolling the mafia activein the pharmaceutical indus-try, besides checking thesale of herbal medicines.DRA will empower the gov-ernment to take actionagainst quacks, fake den-tists, etc. DRA would helpin plugging lacunas in drugact of 1976. Due to weak-nesses in the erstwhile act it

was difficult to take actionagainst many mafias. Sheurged media, civil society tohelp the government forimplementing the DrugRegulatory Authority. DRAwould help regulating busi-ness of Hakims, ( a practi-tioner of herbal medicine)dentists and help taking ac-tion against quacks.

Responding to a ques-tion, she said the DRA wouldbe an independent body hav-ing the mandate to generateown resources. A federal sec-retary will head the DRA andprovincial secretaries wouldbe among its members.

19 medical colleges enlistmentbeing reviewed: Dr Firdous

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The PML-Ncentral woman leader MarviMemon condemned the acidattack on girl students bymiscreants in restive areas ofParachinar coming to KohatUniversity and urged thegovernment to take actionagainst the miscreants fortheir heinous act. Speakingat a press conference here atPress Club on Tuesday, shesaid that the state was re-sponsible for maintaininglaw and order situation andshe emphasized on promptaction against the anti-edu-cation elements.

Marvi condemns acidattack on girl students

“We condemn the acidattack on girl students by amilitants’ group, who camesudden under attack nearDurrani Bangash area ofParachinar a three days back”,she informed and said that itwas a barbaric act, whichstrongly condemnable. Ac-companied by Alamzeb KhanAdvocate, President PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) group Lawyers Forum andRohullah Bangash, spokes-man Youth of Parachinar, shesaid that the regaining of mili-tants’ activities were greathallmark on performance ofpresent government and re-verted claims for successful

restored peace by eliminationof terrorism in most insur-gency hit areas of the coun-try.

She added that peacewas badly disturbed in ab-sence of appropriate stepsfor wiping out of terroristsand miscreant’s groups, say-ing that people were still feel-ing unsafe in absence of suf-ficient and protective mea-sures for their life and prop-erty. She condemned the ac-cepting of Tehreek TalibanPakistan (TTP) responsibilityof the incident, said that theyshould be eliminated whoshe claimed were against thefemale education.

QUETTA: Officials of Customs showing huge quantity of hashish recovered from a truck in the provincial capital.

HYDERABAD: Activists of Awami Tehreek stage a sit-in protest against Sindh People’s Local Government Ordi-nance 2012 near Qasimabad.

PESHAWAR: Members of All FATA Community Teachers’ Khyber Agency, chanting slogans during a protest rally.

B K TAHIR

BAHAWALPUR—The IslamiaUniversity, Bahawalpur willorganize an InternationalCamel Conference here at IUBnext year to boost the camelfarming in Cholistan for bet-ter economic conditions ofthis area’s inhabitants as wellas to improve the livestocksector for productive results.Bahawalpur is quite rich inagriculture and livestock sec-tor as the camel, CholistaniCow, goat and sheep are fa-mous animals of this areawhich can be introduced atlarger scale through this in-

IUB to hold Int’l Camel Conferenceternational camel conferencein which foreigners will tooparticipate and we can find bigforeign markets through thisconference for our livestockbut we have to properly reor-ganize whole set-up of farm-ing according to the interna-tional standards.

This was stated by theVice-Chancellor, Islamia Uni-versity, Bahawalpur, Prof. Dr.Muhammad Mukhtar in hisaddress at a Milk Giving Camelcompetition which was con-ducted by the Punjab Live-stock and Dairy Developmentdepartment, Bahawalpur atJageet Pir Livestock Farm,

Cholistan under the PunjabChief Minister’s Youth Festi-val Programme-2012 in whicha number of Cholistanis andthe representatives of theDairy and livestock industrybesides officials took part.

He announced the IUB isgoing to launch various re-search programmes with thecollaboration and consulta-tion of the Agriculture Uni-versity, Faisalabad and theUniversity of Veterinary andAnimal Sciences, Lahore toutilize the available resourcesof these universities for thedevelopment of Dairy andLivestock sectors.

College named after Malala YousufzaiStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—Chief Minister KhyberPakhtunkhwa Ameer Haider Khan Hotihas announced naming GovernmentGirls Degree College Saidu after MalalaYousufzai, the bravest daughter of thenation who undertaken efforts for edu-cation and peace. He was chairing a highlevel meeting regarding higher educa-tion at chief minister house. ProvincialMinister for Higher Education QaziMuhammad Asad, Additional Chief Sec-

retary Atta Ullah Khan, Secretary Higher Education FarahHamid, Secretaries Finance and C&W, Principal Secretaryto chief minister. Matters pertaining to progress on newlyapproved colleges in different districts of the provinceand problems confronting in this connection remainedunder detailed discussion on the occasion. Speaking onthe occasion, the chief minister lauded role of MalalaYousufzai in peace and education for girls. He approvednaming GGDC Saidu after Malala Yousufzai. He directedfor removal of problems in establishing of new colleges sothat people of concerned areas should benefit of the facili-ties. Priorities and goals regarding construction of col-leges were sorted out on the occasion. Meanwhile, an im-portant meeting of vice chancellors of public sector uni-versities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was held in chief minis-ter house on Monday. Financial crisis confronting theuniversities was reviewed and certain recommendationswere presented. The chief minister assured full support forsolution to problems confronting the universities and saidthat he will discuss the matters at higher level. He said thatthe provincial government has taken practical measuresfor promotion of higher education and that was why itsbudget has been boosted to Rs 5 billion.

List of uplift schemes soughtOur Correspondent

HYDERABAD—Federal Minister for Po-litical Affairs Senator Moula BuxChandio has directed to all executingauthorities to submit the complete listof development schemes pertaining tothe development of Qasimabad and itsadjacent areas within one week and en-sure that work on these schemes shouldbe started within one month. The min-ister issued such directives while pre-siding over a meeting here at Shahbaz

Hall on Tuesday regarding resolving the bottlenecks/ is-sues of the development schemes. The Provincial Secre-tary Works and Services Kazi Shahid Parvaiz, Commis-sioner Hyderabad Ahmed Bux Narejo, General SecretaryPPP District Hyderabad Syed Fayaz Shah, PPP Leader AliMuhammad Sehto and other officers from Works and Ser-vices Department, HDA, HDP and District Administrationattended the meeting. Senator Moula Bux Chandio saidthat there were many localities of Hyderabad that havebeen ignored in development schemes since long, whichincluded Tando Tayyab, Talab No. 3, Tando Agha, VillageAllahdad Chand, Tando Mir Mohammad, Khahi Road,Tando Wali Muhammad, etc. where according to him, con-dition of roads and drainage systems are in deterioratedcondition. He directed the officers to prepare feasibilityreports of the drainage and roads in such a way so thatdrainage lines are laid down prior to construction of roads.The Federal Minister said that President Asif Ali Zardari istaking keen interest in the Development of Qasim Abad tobring it at the par of other Developed/Modern areas.

Zardari, Bilawal felicitate QaimStaff Reporter

ISLAMABAD—President Asif Ali Zardariand Chairman Pakistan Peoples PartyBilawal Bhutto Zardari felicitated ChiefMinister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah,Agha Siraj Durrani, Sharjeel Memon,Maula Bukhsh Chandio and other min-isters and leaders of party over success-ful public meeting in Hyderabad. In amessage, they said public meeting inSindh is reflective of the popularity ofPakistan Peoples Party and proves that

people are completely supportive of PPP regarding its de-cisions about the new local government system. They saidpeople have rejected the propaganda of by nationalists.They said successful holding of public meeting shows thehard work done by leaders and workers of Pakistan PeoplesParty and also proves their close contacts with the people.The President and Chairman of PPP expressed the hopethat Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah and the provincialleaders of PPP will continue close contacts with the peopleand the party will win the next general elections with bigmajority. Pakistan Peoples Party Sindh on Monday suc-cessfully held here a very large public meeting in the sec-ond big city of Sindh province. Special Assistant to theSindh Chief Minister on Information, Syed Waqar Mehdiread out the resolutions which were endorsed by the mam-moth of the people. The resolutions are : 1) this huge gath-ering of people today endorses and supports the newlyintroduced Sindh Peoples Local Government Bill -2012,which was unanimously passed by Sindh Assembly. Thisassembly of people of Sindh declares this new LG systemin the interest of the people of Sindh. The people here payrich tribute to President Asif Ali Zardari for his politicalmaturity and tolerance and spirit of co-existence.

PPP to be re-organizedStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—President PakistanPeople’s Party Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,MPA Anwar Saifullah Khan has saidthat the party would be organized onmodern lines at the provincial level andthe mission of Shaheed Zulfiqar AliBhutto would be accomplished with thesupport of the masses. He said that PPPdraws its strength from the party work-ers and every possible effort would bemade to restore the confidence of the

workers and boost their morale. Anwar Saifullah expressedthese views while talking to party workers delegation ofdistrict Karak and People’s Student Federation Peshawarhere at the provincial secretariat of the party on Tuesday.He said, he accepted the Party president-ship as a chal-lenge and hoped that PPP will get majority in the up-com-ing elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Members of PPPProvincial and Divisional Cabinet were also accompany-ing him. Later, dialogue was held to discuss ways andmeans for party organization on sound footings in theprovince. Responding a question, he said that perfor-mances of the sitting MNAs, MPAs would be reviewedbefore allotting party tickets to them for the upcomingelections. Rejecting the impression that the former presi-dent and cabinet members have reservations over his nomi-nation as party’s president, Saifullah said that the outgo-ing president senator Sardar Ali Khan had congratulatedhim over telephone and could not come in person due toillness. The PPP leader said that all cabinet members werenot invited for the first meeting. However, all of the officebearers will be present in the next meeting, he added. Ear-lier, Khyber Pakhtun-khwa Assembly Speaker KiramatullahKhan termed the nomination of Anwar Saifullah Khan.

OUR CORRESPONDENTS

NAWABSHAH\TURBAT—Atleast Six passenger’s includ-ing a minor girl perished onthe spot and over 30 peoplereceived injuries. A coachcoming from Rajanpur over-turned on National Highwaynear Shahpur Jahania inearly hours on Tuesday. Thecoach was heading forKarachi when met with theaccident. The injured wereimmediately shifted toShahpur Jahania andNawabshah hospital whereemergency was declaredand staffs was called in.Later two serious passen-gers also succumbed to in-juries at hospitals.

Earlier, at least sevenpeople were killed and fourothers wounded after an

armed clash erupted betweentwo groups, in Kuchlak area,some 25 kilometers awayfrom the provincial capital onMonday night.

DIG Investigation HamidShakil told APP that an armedclash took place between twoclans of Kakar tribe within theprecincts of Kuchlak PS.Asa result, seven people werekilled and four otherswounded. “Police and otherlaw enforcement agencieshave rushed to the spot soonafter the incident and movedthe dead and injured to CivilHospital Quetta”, he saidadding that casualties hadoccurred from both sides.

Police official referringinitial reports said that theclash took place probablyowing to a dispute over apiece of land, however.

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The 61st mar-tyrdom anniversary of thefirst prime minister of thecountry, Khan Liaquat AliKhan was observed inKhyber Pakthunkhwa andFederally AdministeredTribal Areas on Tuesdaywith great respect and admi-ration. The day dawned withspecial prayers in mosquesfor eternal peace of theShaheed Quaid and for thepeace and prosperity of thecountry.

To pay homage to thecharismatic leader and closecompanion of the Father ofthe Nation, Quaid-e-AzamMuhammad Ali Jinnah, theprivate and public sector or-ganizations arranged differ-ent programs and declama-tion contest to eulogize his

services during and after thecreation of Pakistan. A dec-lamation contest was held atAhmed Public school where

speakers recounted the po-litical struggle, economic re-forms and achievements ofLiaquat Ali Khan during Pa-kistan Movement and afterthe creation of the country.

Upgraded schoolto work from Nov 1

MULTAN—NH&MP, SeniorSuperintendent of Police,Chaudhry Ghulam Jaffar saidon Tuesday that they weremaking an upgraded trainingschool operational from Nov1 with lots of new facilities.Talking to APP at his officehere, Chaudhry GhulamJaffar said that the schoolwould spread over 33 marlasof land having heli-pad andother facilities.

He said that they wereoperating three trainingschools at Multan, Khanewaland Bahawalpur, adding thatthe new school was locatedon Bahawalpur Road. On is-suing of licences, the SPP N-5 Central-II, said that theywere mulling to issue licencessoon as high-ups of the de-partment.—APP

Two killed in Turbat firing

Eight dead, 28 injuredas bus overturns

Liaquat Ali remembered

OUR CORRESPONDENT

FAISALABAD—A housingcolony, “Faisalabad TrustColony” wil l be estab-l ished in collaborationwith Faisalabad Develop-ment Trust (FDT) to pro-vide residential facilities tothe poor and widows.Chairing a meeting of theboard of trustee of FDT onTuesday, Divisional Com-missioner Syed TahirHusain directed to com-plete survey for the hous-ing colony in addition toidentifying a proper si tefor it within a week.

He said the colony wouldcomprise 500 houses with acovered area of two Marla

each. The meeting decidedthat 200 houses would be con-structed in the first phase. Inthe second phase, 300 houseswill be built and the projectwould cost Rs 80 million whichwould be provided by localphilanthropists and trusteesof the FDT.

The meeting also re-viewed steps taken for theestablishment of a 100-bedthalassaemia hospital inFaisalabad and Syed UmarNazar Shah, chairman, sug-gested that a ward of 100beds in Allied Hospital orDistr ict Headquarters(DHQ) Hospital be desig-nated for the hospitalwhere FDT would providemachinery and equipment.

Housing colony forpoor, widows soon

Seminar onThalassemiaOUR CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD—The manage-ment of Liaquat University ofMedical and Health SciencesJamshoro is organizing a semi-nar on Genotype of Thalas-semia patients as predictor forprognosis and managementwithout blood transfusion onFriday. The universityspokesman said that ViceChancellor Prof. MashoorAlam Shah, Prof. Tahir Shamsiand Prof. Saqib Ansari willshare their views on the sub-ject. Renowned hematologistDr Tahir Shamsi and Dr SaqibHussain Ansari from NationalInstitute of Blood Diseases(NIBD) delivered a lecture forcreating awareness on thenew research for the manage-ment of Thalassaemia, re-cently at Pakistan MedicalAssociation (PMA) House.

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Commissioner,Mardan Division,Mohammad Adil Khan hassaid that foolproof arrange-ments have been made forprovision of security to pris-ons in Mardan and Swabi.Addressing a meeting re-garding provision of secu-rity to prisons in Mardanand Swabi in his officeTuesday, he said that secu-rity staff has already beendeployed to face terror inci-

Foolproof KP prison’s securityarrangements finalized

dents. The meeting, besides,DIG Police, Abdullah JanKhan, DPO Mardan,Danishwar Khan was alsoattended by DCOs ofMardan, Swabi and otherofficials concerned.

DCO Mardan told themeeting that a fund of Rs.5million had already been al-located for constructionwork in the prisoner jail ofMardan, but, the departmentof C&W has yet to preparePC-I of the scheme. Takingserious note of the matter,

Commissioner Mardan is-sued directives to the re-sponsible officials of C&Win their absence to guaran-tee its immediate implemen-tation. The CommissionerMardan has directed theprison authority for not al-lowing any one particularlyfor meeting with prisonersand carry routine meetings.However, he said that policepersonnel should performtheir duties in better mannerand keep strict surveillanceon phone calls in prison.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

AS T O R E—The govern-ment is providing relief tothe masses throughBenazir Income Supportprogramme (PISP),Waseela-e-Haq and Watancard, said Minister Exciseand Taxation Gilgit-Baltistan MohammadNaseer Khan here on Tues-day. Talking to a delega-tion, he said some 10,000deserving families are ben-efiting from BISP. He as-sured the delegation thatthe government is commit-

ted to resolve the problemsbeing facing by the people.

Naseer said the govern-ment has completed variousdevelopment projects in GB.Nobody can deny the fact thatthe Poverty Survey/Census,being conducted in Pakistanunder Benazir Income Sup-port Programme, is not onlythe first ever such initiative inthe social sector of Pakistanbut in the South Asian regionas well. By virtue of the sur-vey, BISP has identified 7.1million most deserving fami-lies throughout Pakistan in-cluding Gilgit Baltistan, Fata

and Balochistan.Through independent

and third part evaluationsand assessments by interna-tional organisations, the sur-vey has been declared asmost reliable, objective, apo-litical and efficient practicefor beneficiaries’ identifica-tion. We should bear in mindthat in such a case of nega-tively criticising and wronglypoliticising a welfare project,no political government willcome forward to execute itsparty manifesto which is towork for the well being of thepeople.

Govt to resolve masses’problems thru BISP: Minister

JAFFARABAD: A view of mosque half submerged in floodwater.

CHITRAL: Wife of Commandant Chitral Scouts giving away prize to a position holderstudent during the concluding ceremony of Science and Technology competition 2012at Aga Khan Higher Secondary School Seemliest.

LOWER DIR: DPO Muhammad Ijaz Abid addressing the open court at Chikdara Police Station.

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The KhyberPakhtunkhwa Governor, Bar-rister Masood Kausar hassaid that construction of newbridge at Khushalgarh overRiver Indus will prove a milestone in further acceleratingeconomic activities in theentire region and there ex-ists every hope that it will becompleted within the stipu-lated period. Fifty percentwork, at a cost of almostRs.450 million has alreadybeen completed which oncompletion will prove an his-toric achievement of thepresent government, headded. Addressing the dis-trict Bar Kohat at its premisesafter inspecting the site of the

project on Tuesday, the Gov-ernor said, I have been per-sonally watching the imple-mentation process since thelaunching of the project andit is also my sincere hope thatthe project will be completedwithout any delay.

The Governor was also ac-companied by the provincialminister for Housing, Mr. AmjadKhan Afridi, Commissioner,Kohat, Sahibzada MuhammadAnis and other senior officialsof the divisional and district ad-ministration of Kohat during hisinspection visit to the projectwhile on his arrival at the Dis-trict Bar Kohat, he was re-ceived by its President, Mr.Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi. Barris-ter Masood Kausar said thatmaintenance of peace is the

foremost requirement andwhich indeed has become at acost of un-matchable sacrificesoffered by officers and person-nel of our security forces andthe people at large.

He also mentioned theimplementation of politicalparties order in FATA andsaid that there is a need tomake these achievementsworth while at every level.We salute the courage andspirit of our security forcesand the people andInshaullah the process ofdevelopment and progressfor socio-economic uplift ofour people would continue infuture too, he remarked.

Meanwhile the Governoralso addressed a tribal jirgafrom Dara Adam Khel at the

Commissioner’s House inKohat wherein special prayerswere offered for the martyrs ofthe suicide bomb attack. Promi-nent tribal elders from DarraAdamkhel, Malik AmanullahKhan, Ex-MNA, Malik HajiBazgul Afridi, Malik Jamalistanand Syed Fazal Abbas high-lighted the various problemsbeing faced by the people ofthe area and requested theGovernor to help them in reso-lution of their difficulties.

Responding to the pointsraised by the members of thejirga, the Governor said that theland acquired for the industrialestate has been earmarked forestablishment of FATA Uni-versity while additional landhas also been acquired for theindustrial estate.

Peace maintenance foremost masses’ requirement

‘Nation salutes armed forces courage’

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Due to neces-sary maintenance and repairwork power supply will re-main suspended from 132 KVPeshawar University Gridstation on October 17(Wednesday) from 8:00 A.Mto 12:00 P.M resultantly theconsumers of 11kvRahatabad, Circular Roadfeeders will face inconve-nience.

Power supply will remainsuspended from 132 KVPeshawar University Gridstation on October 18 (Thurs-day) from 8:00 A.M to 12:00P.M resultantly the consum-ers of 11 KV Academy townfeeders will face inconve-nience. Power supply will re-main suspended from 132 KVPeshawar Fort Grid Stationon October 18 (Thursday)from 8:00 A.M to 12:00 P.M

Power shutdownresultantly the consumers of11 KV chowkyadgar, QissaKhwani, Kohati Gate feederswill face inconvenience.

Power supply will remainsuspended from 132 KVRehman Baba Grid station onOctober 17 (Wednesday)from 8:00.A.M to 12:00resultantly the consumers of11 kv Yakatoot feeders willface inconvenience. Powersupply will remain sus-pended from 132 KV ShahiBagh Grid Station on Octo-ber 17 (Wednesday) 18(Thursday) from 8:00 A.M to12:00 P.M resultantly theconsumers of 11kv Daudzai-1,2 feeders will face inconve-nience. Power supply willalso remain suspended from132 KV Delazak Grid stationon October 17 (Wednesday)from 8:00 A.M to 2:00 P.Mresultantly the consumers of11kv Wadpaga1.

Elections shouldbe held as scheduled

A report appearing in this paper has revealed that conspiracy isbeing hatched to postpone forthcoming general elections onthe pretext of law and order situation. According to the details,

operation in North Waziristan is being contemplated on the pretext ofattack on Malala, which would obviously lead to deterioration of thesecurity environment in the country necessitating postponement of pollsfor at least one year.

Reports about plans to delay polls started appearing several monthsback with Railway Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour publicly hinting atthe possibility and even leader of the main opposition party PML-NMian Nawaz Sharif expressed similar apprehensions but these werestrongly denied by the relevant circles. But the way the issue of Malalaattack is being manipulated cast aspersions on the real intentions of thequarters concerned as Interior Minister Rehman Malik too has beentalking, albeit with ifs and buts, about launching of the operation. We,however, believe that launching of the operation in NWA andpostponement of the general elections would have disastrousconsequences for the country. Preparations for elections are already atadvance stage as electoral rolls are ready, Election Commission is gearingup efforts to hold them and political parties are doing homework includingpreparation of election manifestoes, formation of alliances and holdingof public meetings. People are pinning great hopes on the polls, whichwould provide an opportunity to them to exercise their power to bringabout a change after successful completion of the tenure of thedemocratically elected government. Elections are all the more importantto resolve the problem of Balochistan where some political quarters feelthey have been marginalized in the affairs of the province and thefederation. Delay in elections on any pretext would lead to uproarsand protests and could also run contrary to the democratic culture. Nodoubt, the Constitution envisages a provision to cope with an unforeseenor emergent situation but it doesn’t mean that such a situation shoulddeliberately be created which could plunge the country into darkness.Therefore, elections must be held on time and it is also responsibilityand duty of the opposition to send a clear message to the Governmenton this account without wasting further time.

PPP showsstrength in Sindh

PPP organised a big and well managed public meeting in Hyderabad onMonday, which reflected that the vast majority of people in interior Sindh

was still at its back and supports the leadership. Credit for such a massivegathering, which was certainly in response to protests and strikes by the na-tionalist parties, goes to the Provincial leadership and will give boost to themorale of the party activists to go for aggressive campaign for the comingelections.

Some other political parties in the past focussed on interior Sindh and animpression was gaining ground that the PPP popularity was on the decline.PPP through this show of strength has proved that it retains its popularity atleast for the present. What was more note worthy was that not only the pro-vincial leadership but former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani andInformation Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira were the key speakers and madetheir presence felt among the audience as they stressed that the philosophy ofShaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto cannot be elimi-nated from the hearts of the masses. It is an admitted fact that people in theinterior of Sindh openly say that their vote is for late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,despite their grievances against the government over its failure to resolvetheir problems. Though the nationalist parties had given a call for strike forthe day against the Sindh Local Government Ordinance but it evoked littleresponse and should be a food for thought for those parties who are bettingon the support of the nationalists. These parties would have to devise differ-ent strategies to make inroads in interior Sindh. Any how it is a beginning ofthe election preparations and while lines are being drawn, we would urgemajor parties to come up with plans to address critical issues particularly lawand order and economy and rally support on the basis of their manifestoes.

Punjab to solveits energy crisis

ENERGY crisis has become all-pervasive and it is now consideredto be mother of all problems confronting the country. There are no

prospects of the resolution of the crisis in near or foreseeable future asprogress towards fulfilment of energy requirements has been dismalduring the entire five years of the present Government as the situation isdeteriorating and not improving with the passage of time.

It is also unfortunate that a blame game is going on between thecentre and the Punjab over equitable distribution of the shortage withPunjab having a strong feeling of discrimination. This is because thereis far less load-shedding in Sindh and KPK as compared to Punjabstrengthening the belief that Punjab is being meted out step-motherlytreatment just because of political considerations. The concerns of thePunjab Government are understandable as it obviously cannot remainaloof to the vows of the masses and fatal blow to industries in Faisalabad,Kala Shah Kaku, Waziristan, Gujranwala and Sialkot that are at the vergeof collapse due to excessive power and gas load-shedding. Under theConstitution, a provincial government can take steps for generation ofelectricity to meet its own requirements and we are glad that ChiefMinister Mian Shahbaz Sharif is swiftly moving towards that direction.The CM visited Turkey recently and discussed the issue with his hosts asa result of which an energy road show is being held in Istanbul that islikely to go a long way in solving the crisis in Punjab. Hopefully, itwould lead to concrete agreements with Turkish companies for energyprojects in the province to the mutual advantage. It is also encouragingthat the Punjab Government is offering necessary incentives to foreigninvestors in the field that would help attract investment. We hope thatother provinces would also follow the footsteps of Mian Shahbaz Sharifso that the energy crisis is addressed through collective efforts.

The most heinous and themost cruel crimes of whichhistory has recorded have

been committed under the cover ofreligion or equally noble motives,so said Mahatma Gandhi in 1921in an address to the Congress partyat Ahmedabad. Yet the religion-based parties have played havocwith the sentiments and aspirationsof people in the country. In thename of improving man’s charac-ter and convictions the parties haveindulged in such acts, which havefanned fundamentalism and ulti-mately frustration.

India today is a sad spectacleof scotched hopes and exagger-ated entities. A pluralistic societyis being defeated in tolerance bythe assertion of communities,which do not pay even a lip sym-pathy to secularism, India’s ethos.I have never seen so many Hindutemples coming up and so manypeople, including the young, vis-iting them. Nor have I experiencedbefore the frequency to mosquesand large congregations. What ismost disturbing is the discussionby civil society in homes, clubs

Spirit of secularism

Debt threat to Pak economy

A lie can be half-wayround the worldbefore the truth hasgot its boots on.

Pakistan is faced with lowstandards of living, underdevelopment, and high poverty

level, weak and unstable currency,low capital level and low GDP. Allthe above problems faced by Pa-kistan are caused by debts whichaffect not only those who acquireloans but also generations that fol-low. The debt problem also has in-ternal impacts in addition to the ex-ternal problem of repayment. Ourgrowing national debt is a threatnot only to domestic programs butalso adversely affects our foreignpolicy. The heavily indebted Paki-stan have not established a goodtrack record of making improve-ments in either debt or poverty re-duction. In a debt crisis, the poor-est people living in precarious con-ditions are being hardest hit. 65years after Independence, insteadof putting the country on a trackof progress, good governance andgrowth that our founding fathersenvisioned over six and half de-cades ago, the people have beenreduced to trotting out a litany ofGovernment promises and pro-grams. Debt has crippled our coun-try. Based on loans taken out andusurped by our rulers, millions to-day face poorer and poorer livingstandards as precious resources arediverted to debt repayment eatenup by rulers.

The World Bank and the IMFare said to be the two largestsources of foreign currency loansclaiming working for poverty al-leviation in the poorest countriesof the world and today have astrong influence over economicpolicies in those countries. Boththe institutions are too big, too

Iraq’sRussian tilt

Baghdad seems to be on anarms-buying spree. Hardlyable to cope with the secu-

rity conundrum at home, Iraq hastaken out time to diversify its weap-ons procurement agenda andknocked on the doors of Russia. Thisis surprising and points to therealpolitik at work. Irrespective ofthe fact that Baghdad was tradition-ally close to Moscow, and even ex-hibited a socialist tilt in the heydaysof the Cold War, this new realign-ment with Russia has raised manyeyebrows. The reason: for more thana decade the war-weary country hasbeen literally under United Statestutelage and is still home to Ameri-can influence.

The $4.2 billion deal, as reportedby the Russian state-run RIANovosti news agency, to buy heli-copters and mobile air defence sys-tems is worth pondering. Washing-ton, reacting to the deal, was quickto clarify that it also has entered intocontracts worth billion of dollars toequip Iraq with modern armoury. Aspokesperson for the US embassy inBaghdad unduly commented that thegovernment of Iraq has ‘consistentlyindicated a strong preference as a USpartner of choice for arms purposes’.It wasn’t warranted in so manywords. The point is what made Iraqat this point of time to enter into suchhigh profile defence arrangementswith Russia, and especially whenPentagon has pledged to rebuild itsair and ground forces destroyed inthe war with the Saddam regime.

Political pundits either see thismove as flexing of muscles or acautiously calculated move byBaghdad to realign itself with Mos-cow as the war hysteria looms largeover Syria. However, the deal in-deed is a clear sign that Iraq is pre-pared to look beyond Washingtonfor weapons. Given to understandthat the political intelligentsia ofIraq is vehemently against havinga pro-US foreign policy, or even asymbolic presence of thesuperpower’s armed forces on itssoil, this change of heart could bemeaningful in the long run. It is nosecret that Iraq had upheld its neu-trality as well as the cordiality it hadwith Iran and its Arab neighbours,and this balancing act with Russiaand the US is farsightedness. None-theless, what Iraq needs at thismoment is not arms but rebuildingof institutions and investing in hu-man resource to further peace andprosperity. — Khaleej Times

*****

Malalaincident

The world must pause to assess true import of the feelings of General Shaikh

Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi whenhe urged society to stand by 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai who was shotby the Taliban in Pakistan for striv-ing to promote a better future for her-self and others of her ilk, withoutinjustice and prejudice.

As Malala fights for her life, shewas flown to the UK for furthertreatment on a UAE aircraft. Suchactions, inspired by the country’snoble leadership, are typical of theUAE as it continues to illustrate thatit is at the forefront of internationalhumanitarian assistanceprogrammes. The actions of the Pa-kistani Taliban have only served topromote loathing instead of fearamong the people.

In an effort to contain the insur-gency in Pakistan’s tribal areas —especially in the troubled Swat Val-ley — there have been recommenda-tions by certain Pakistani politiciansthat the authorities must try and en-ter into a dialogue with the PakistaniTaliban in order to ensure social, cul-tural and political stability. TheMalala incident, however, mustprompt all stakeholders, especiallythe Taliban, to take a step back andexamine the logic of such action. Dia-logue can only be conducted underthe banner of peace and mutualunderstanding. Senseless actionssuch as the attack on Malala willonly serve to sway the nation’semotions against hard line outfits.If anything, the incident, and theoutpouring of compassion for theyoung girl, could be a watershed asit is proving to be an adhesive thatbrings people together against thoseelements who pose a threat tocivilised society. — Gulf News

and restaurants. Thatreflects a way ofthinking, which wasabsent a few yearsago. The discussionis an usual mixtureof communities’chauvinism and reli-gious fanaticism.

Muslims havegenerally withdrawn

from the mainstream and feel moresecure among members of its owncommunity, visibly Islamic. Younggirls are taking to Hijab, which Isaw even rarely in Lahore. Youngmen wear a small beard and talkabout the Muslim identity in a coun-try, which was divided 70 years agoon the basis of religion. The influ-ence of Wahabis, a set of believerwithin Islam, is growing and eventhe ridiculous fatwa to justify talaqby a drunken husband evokes littleprotest. I am surprised how theMuslims have to come to preferAllah-hafiz to Khuda hafiz to un-derline the Arabic origin—a purelyreligious angle. The biggest loss isthat of Sufism which still providesa common platform to Hindus andMuslims, seeking something be-yond temple and mosque, prayersand rituals.

After the traumatic experienceof partition, people in India as wellas Pakistan have regretted the tollwhich the religion had taken and hadsettled down to the fact that therewould have to a majority and mi-nority in the two countries. Butstrangely they have not cultivated

the spirit of accommodation or senseof tolerance. When the Babri masjidwas demolished in India and theHindu temples wrecked in Pakistanand Bangladesh, it was evident thatthe feeling of amity is still to returnto the subcontinent. It has been toughfor the Indian Muslims and tough forthe minorities in Pakistan andBangladesh. As for Muslims in In-dia, they have come round to accept-ing even unfair demands of Hindus.

Economically, educationallyand socially backward, the commu-nity has had no option. True, it goeson regretting what it has lost andreluctantly adjust to the little lee-way to go ahead. Yet they are be-ing pushed out even the limitedspace they have. This should havemade them join the mainstream butit is having an opposite effect. Moreand more Muslims are withdraw-ing into a cell. In a country wheretheir population is roughly 17 crore,a large part of Indian body remainsunutilized. It is a tragedy.

The communal elements amongHindus have a different agenda, ofundoing the secular state and offounding the Hindu Rashtriya. It isa pity that the State has been too softtowards them. Even civil societydoes not react as strongly against theexcesses as it should because suchpeople are out to demolish the lib-eral polity, which we have built inthe last 70 years, brick by brick. Ifthey were to succeed, India wouldbe lost in the world of extremism andmay become prey to communal vio-lence on a large scale.

MEDIA WATCH

—James Callaghan British politician

powerful, andtoo over-ex-tended workingunder the influ-ence of richcountries, espe-cially the US,who use the IMFand World Bankas instruments offinancial diplo-

macy. Both the institutions pur-posely extended liberal loans to ourrulers which are now hard to repayback because most of these loanswere either so poorly designed thatthe political elites of borrowingcountries wasted on luxuries orwhite elephant projects and couldnot reap enough income to pay themback or in other cases, politicians,government officials and privatecontractors siphoned off the fundsinto Swiss and other private inter-national banks and very little wasinvested productively with a viewof achieving sustainable economicgrowth. Both the agencies are con-stantly incurring unjust debt to ourcorrupt leaders even today whenit is well known that the moneywould be wasted.

Structural adjustment programs(SAPs) were implemented in Paki-stan since the 1990s to ensure therepayment of debts. The SAPs weredesigned by the International Mon-etary Fund (IMF) and the WorldBank and imposed as a condition forfurther loans. The structural adjust-ment measures, global, unregulatedfree markets and lack of protectionfor emerging economies all contrib-uted to the economic and financialcrisis. As a result of adopting SAPsfor getting further loans Pakistan isconstrained to divert resources awayfrom social provisions to repay debt;those most affected are the poor, es-pecially women and children. Paki-stan now pays more money as debtservicing to the World Bank and theIMF each year than it invests in so-cial sectors like education, healthand physical infrastructure.Privatization program under SAPshas fostered the worst manifestation

of crony capitalism, when choicenational assets were sold to croniesof the ruling elite almost free of cost.

These measures have forced thecountry on a path of deregulatedfree market economy. Under theSAPs the Government has adoptedthe principal of cost-recovery forsocial services and the gradualwithdrawal of the state from basichealth and educational services inthe name of so-called ‘Public Ex-penditure Review’. SAPs havefailed to achieve their goals. Theyhave not created wealth and eco-nomic development as unregulatedmarkets did not benefit the poor andfailed to protect the delivery of so-cial services; the people of Pakistanstill have to suffer under structuraladjustment programs.

Pakistan Government has cutback on social, health, environmen-tal conservation, employment andother important programs. Theworkers’ unions are fighting againstintensified exploitation and attackson their rights and working condi-tions. They are mounting a power-ful resistance to the drive towardsprivatisation and the single-mindedpursuit of maximum profits in thename of global competitiveness.Constant currency devaluation forthe last about five years have costspaying the people of Pakistan, in-cluding a plunge in output, a squeezeon living standards and the muchhigher inflation. For a country of an18 Million people, majority of whomare young and have most of theirlives and dreams ahead of them –they deserve a better Government.

Four and half years after theformation of Pakistan’s coalitiongovernment, the country’s economyis constantly and rapidly declining.This was not the case prior to theformation of this coalition govern-ment in 2008. Debts have beendoubled, Streets are empty, so areshops, Electricity and Gas has dis-appeared, Industry is being windedup or shifted to other countries,Capital is flying away sharply, andeverything is out of access of themasses. Everything is in short sup-

ply. Things have changed for theworst. Due to wrong policies ofruling elite Pakistan literally haswent bankrupt. Growth of publicdebt is for sure a sign of impend-ing collapse. The country has beenput in a position of some vulner-ability. We are vulnerable to theinflows of foreign exchange, weare vulnerable to heavy importsand low imports, we’re vulnerableon the energy front, and the chal-lenge for the country is to dothings that reduce our vulnerabil-ity and bring betterment. Nowpeople of Pakistan have to pay forthe mistakes of rulers.

Why is this situation so seri-ous? We are headed for a level ofdebt that will require us to spendthe maximum portion of everyyear’s budget servicing that debt.Much less money will be left forother things. That is a prescriptionfor a vicious cycle of under-financ-ing for our infrastructure, nationaleducation efforts, healthcare and allthe other public service develop-ment programs that are crucial tolong-term economic growth. Ro-bust defense spending will be un-sustainable too.

Our domestic policies havebecome the biggest threats to ournational security. We have beenput by our rulers in such a rut, get-ting out of it will be very hard.Economic renewal and fiscal re-form have now become the pre-eminent issues, not only for do-mestic and economic policy butfor foreign policy as well. Weshould immediately take steps toget rid of heavy debts. The mostimportant national security ques-tion for the coming years is actu-ally the domestic set of issues thatinvolves the economy. This issueneeds to be framed as crucial notjust for our future prosperity butalso for our stability in the comityof nations. We should reject theglobalization and the principle ofthe privatization of profit and thesocialization of debt instantly andframe the policies coinciding ourown requirements.

The Sikhs, genuinely hurt bythe attack on their Vatican, Darbarsahib at Amritsar, in 1984 and thekillings of their community mem-bers at Delhi in the same year, findthemselves more at home amongthe Sikhs. The exigencies of liv-ing do not bother them—they aregenerally well off— but the dilu-tion of their identity does. Theymix religion with politics moreoften than others. Yet the Hindusfind themselves closer to Sikhs,one, because they are nearer to oneand another religion-wise and two,because they have migrated to-gether from Pakistan.

Whether all the three commu-nities, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhsare satisfied with their obsessionto refurbish their identity or notthey are weakening the idea of In-dia and harming the ethos of thecountry. Secularism should havebeen on the top of political par-ties’ agenda, which was the warcry against the British during theindependence struggle and prom-ised to abolish boundaries on thebasis of religion and caste. In con-trast, it is sad to see identities re-turning with a vengeance. Nodoubt, the politicians are most toblame for fostering cleavages withan eye on the electoral advantage.They have betrayed the nation andchanged the ‘noble motives’,which Mahatma Gandhi had at-tributed to religion.—The writer is a veteran Indianjournalist, syndicated columnist,human right activist and author.

Kuldip NayarEmail:kuldipnayar09@gmail.com

Shaukat M ZafarEmail: smzafar101@gmail.com

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Voice of the People

Drones harm more than help

US drone strikes have killed between 2,000-3,000 people.The buzz of the US fleet of

Predator and Reaper drones that atany moment can let loose their deadlyarsenal of Hellfire missiles is a fa-miliar terror in the sky for the peopleof Waziristan. Its high-tech arsenalenables the US to project militarypower to the remotest corners of theworld, distancing combat forces fromthe victims of their firepower. The UShas more than 7,000 drones todaycompared to 50 just a decade ago. Bythe end of next year there will be moreUS Air Force personnel operatingdrones than flying planes.

Drones have greater endurance,cost less, reduce the risk to US sol-diers to zero, and kill fewer innocentcivilians. They can be flown for longhours over treacherous, inhospitableterrain and vast distances. Many al-Qaida and Taliban commanders, it isclaimed, have been killed, captured,dispersed and driven deep under-ground, their leadership decapitatedand global networks disrupted,thereby preventing numerous terror-ist and insurgent attacks.

But according to the New Ameri-can Foundation’s data, since 2004,only 49 high-value militant leadershave been killed in strikes (account-ing for just 2 percent of all drone kill-ings). The rest have been largely low-level combatants. Over 80 percent ofdeaths by drones have come under USPresident Barack Obama. He presidesover the regular Tuesday counter-ter-rorism meeting in the White Houseand signs off personally on additionsto the kill list. His self-belief betraysa supreme self-confidence borderingon moral-intellectual arrogance (atrait that tripped him up badly in thefirst presidential debate). He wieldsthe power of life and death over citi-zens and foreigners without judicialreview or independent accountabil-ity. A Daily Mail columnist dubs himthe “Lord High Executioner.”

There are numerous legal, moraland strategic problems with the useof drones to kill the enemy. An ex-haustive new study by the lawschools of Stanford and New Yorkuniversities concludes that they havetraumatized and terrorized an entirepopulation. They have underminedrespect for the rule of law and inter-national legal protection. They setdangerous precedents for facilitatingthe recourse to lethal force around

the world even as lethal drone tech-nologies are being developed by sev-eral countries and export controlbarriers are softening. More than 50countries (and counting) now havethe use of drones.

They violate the sovereignty ofPakistan, a country with which the USis not at war. They also violate the re-quirements of distinction, proportion-ality, humanity and military necessityunder international humanitarian law.Strikes on mosques, funerals, schoolsand meetings of elders; signaturestrikes based not on individually iden-tified targets but on behaviour patterns(is a group of young men, in a countrywhere every adult male has a beardand carries a gun, performing jump-ing jacks engaged in innocent fun ofyouth or engaged in terrorist training?);and strikes on rescuers and first re-sponders are particularly troubling.The classification of all military-agemales as combatants, based on thelogic of guilt-by-association, rein-forces concerns on proportionality.

UN special rapporteurs, too, haveargued that extra-judicial killings us-ing drones pose a challenge to inter-national law, may constitute warcrimes and risk developing a“PlayStation mentality” to killing.Acts of extrajudicial assassination

Equipping nation with education

It is said that past history was allabout Europe, the modern era belonged to the US and future re-

sides in Asia. The reflection of thisprophecy was amply visible fromSecretary Hillary Clinton’s feature inForeign Policy issue of November2011 once she laid the framework ofUS “look east” policy with the title“America’s Pacific Century”. Asia isemerging as to be the world biggestconsumer market which has so fargenerally remained immune from theeconomic recession faced by Euro-pean Union and the US, it also homesmost of the states which are poisedto assume the leading role on the stageof global politics. Pakistan would bemissed on the stage if it remains en-tangled in the internal economic vowsor if the intellectually dwarf politicalleadership fails to rise above the pettyparty politics.

Some of the most compellingstrategic challenges in the regionfor the US are; rising China, reas-serting Russia, Central Asian en-

Strategic realignments in Asia — Iergy resources, Iranian nuclearambitions, Pakistan’s nascentnuclear capability and resurgent Is-lam which could emerge as an ideo-logical challenge for the WesternCapitalism in future. The ideologi-cal foundations of Pakistan coupledwith its nuclear capability andstrong ties with China makes it al-most a redundant state for some ofthe major US policy objectives.

India on the other hand becomesmore meaningful as it shares all of theUS concerns with regards to this re-gion which are; Pakistani nuclear ca-pability, its ideological foundationsand its strategic alliance with China.Therefore, in a quest to control theAsian Rimland, especially India andAfghanistan becomes vital for the USstrategic objectives with regards tocontainment of China, confronting re-surgent Islam and securing Pakistan’snuclear capability. In this emergingstrategic equation of US and India onone hand while China and Pakistan onthe other, Russia happens to be thegame changer with Afghanistan pro-viding a pivot for this strategic equi-librium.This is not to suggest that theRussia and China are entirely com-fortable with the militant nature of Is-

No FederalOmbudsman

MUHAMMAD RIAZ

The institution of Federal Ombuds-man is playing major role in provid-ing speedy and inexpensive justiceto the people of Pakistan. For twoyears, this institution is without itshead. In the absence of the FederalOmbudsman, important cases arepending since two years for disposal.

I, therefore, request throughyour esteemed newspaper to theconcerned authorities to immedi-ately fulfill their constitutionalresponsibilitly and appoint the Fed-eral Ombudsman immediately.—Malakand Agency

Corporate bankingsuggestion

SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER

The coporate culture of CustomerService or customer specific ser-vices does not exist in Pakistan. Thisis mainly due to limited number ofcompetitors, but mostly it is due tothe low levels of innovation and cre-ativity skills among the leaders ofthe business community. Take forexample the services offered by thebanking sector of Pakistan. Al-though there are enough competitorsin the market, but they all lack in-novation and only promote theirproducts or services through the“copy-paste” method, where all thecompetitors offer the same servicesat almost the same rates.

The banking sector offers freeonline banking to all its individualconsumer accounts, but they do notoffer any free banking service totheir Coporate customers, who ac-tually need these services more.Most businesses in Pakistan paytheir suppliers and get paymentsfrom their customers via their bankaccount, to ensure all transactionsare captured for tax purposes. There-fore it is important for the businessowner to check the status of incom-ing payments and also to make pay-ments to his suppliers on time.

The banks claim that sincecoporate companies are owned by anumber of shareholders, thereforeoffering access to online transactionsto a coporate accounts can create li-ability issues on who is responsible.And therefore they will only providedetails to a cooperate customer abouthis account, on the phone or via aprinted statement that has to be col-lected from the bank. But if thesebanks had any innovation sense,they could have offered a specialcoporate online banking service, thatallows the account signers to view,print and download transaction his-tory only, avoiding any liability is-sues and also helping coporate cus-tomers to check the status of pay-ments of their account.

I hope this suggestion can spursome innovation among the bank-ing community, that can come upwith similar solutions for thecoporate sector of Pakistan.—Peshawar

Afghanistan’ssurvivalLUBNA UMAR

According to a report by the Inter-national Crisis Group, ‘Afghanistan:The long hard road to the 2014 tran-sition’, “Afghanistan is far fromready to assume responsibility forsecurity when U.S. and NATOforces withdraw in 2014.” This lackof preparedness by the Afghanmakes it difficult to go through ashift of power through the electoralprocess as “a repeat of previous elec-tions’ chaos and chicanery wouldtrigger a constitutional crisis, less-ening chances the present politicaldispensation can survive the transi-tion.” Considering the current stateof unrest in Afghanistan it is surelyevident that the political structure isnot strong enough to withhold theextra pressure that the transitionwould thrust upon it. “Plagued byfactionalism and corruption”, Af-ghanistan is sure to move towards acivil war as the incompetence of thecurrent political system amply ex-

Pillion riding in KarachiCOL RIAZ JAFRI (R)

Not a day passes when a dozen or so innocent people are not killed in Karachi, mostly on account ofpreplanned target killing. Though the law enforcing agencies are blamed for their incompetency to

control the crime yet, I think it is just beyond them. The main reason is that the terrorists have theinitiative to chose the time, place and the target which is not known to the law enforcement forces, andthey cannot be at every place. Each incident comes to them as a total surprise and they can only react toit after it has happened rather than preempt or prevent it before hand. Again 99 percent of the killing isdone by the motor cyclists, who after committing the crime disappear weaving their way through theside streets and the bylanes of the thickly populated Karachi city. Now, it is a common knowledge thatthere have to be at least two of them on a bike to perform the heinous act. A single person on themotorbike cannot do it. So, wouldn’t it help if the pillion riding is banned in Karachi for good or for aslong as required, as it is done on certain special religious occasions and political rallies etc.? I am fullyaware of the inconvenience it would cause to the general public, especially the middle class, but wouldthat be more than the loss and agony suffered by the families of the victims who lose their near and dearbread earners for the rest of their lives?!—Rawalpindi

Women are an essential partof any society, and are having the aptitude to uplift a

society. The developed world has laidgreat emphasis on their society, bybringing both the male and female inthe main stream. The industrial revo-lution in different parts of the worldmade their societies more vibrant andproductive. Many market forcesemerged after this economic boom,and resulted in making this world aglobal village.

The trade between countries in-creased tremendously and helped inuplifting the lives of the people. Thedeveloped world also played a piv-otal role in colonizing different partsof the world. The British, French,Portuguese, colonized diverse partsof the world, for their own vested in-terests. For a proper excelling of in-dustrial revolution new markets wereneeded, so the developed world colo-nized the third world countries forachieving their goals. The industrialrevolution in Europe, also paved theway in uplifting their society from allends. The basic requirements of life

were delivered to their people, whichresulted in a new beginning.

The colonizers in sub-continentwere dominating different spheres oflife, and were navigating accordingto their own agenda. Before the par-tition both the Hindus and Muslimwere working under the guidance ofthe British. Hindus were more tiltedtowards acquiring education, butMuslims were not so.

This gap was widening during thecolonizing rule, and helped in root-ing a situation where Muslims feltthat they are not being injected in themainstream position. Muslim seg-ment in the society was more associ-ated towards the religious education,and were not making their minds togo for modern education. The malesfrom the Muslim society were hav-ing a chance to acquire education, butthe females were confined to limitedchances. The religious scholars at thattime period were a great hurdle forwomen in acquiring education, de-spite the fact that Islam has laid astrong emphasis on women educa-tion. The Quran says “And forwomen are rights over men similarto those for men over women”.Equipping a nation with education,will cultivate a healthy change with

in a society. The founding fathers ofPakistan always supported thewomen cause with positive concerns.They knew that without bringing thewomen in to the mainstream we willnot be able to achieve a healthychange in our societies. Sir SyedAhmad Khan choked the Aligarhmovement with a strong motto forMuslims to acquire modern educa-tion. He emphasized that in order toearn a better position in the society;Muslims must plunge in to the fieldof education. Sir Syed Ahmad Khanwas navigating in a proper direction,as he knew that the coming times arefull of calamities. He emphasized thein order to move efficiently in criti-cal times Muslim must be equippedwith modern education. He said thatfor development of national cultureand civilization women education isnecessary.

The desire for a separate home-land vibrated the whole Muslim com-munity in the sub-continent, and themovement for struggle gained mo-mentum. Women from different seg-ments of life associated themselveswith the struggle movement. Thiscontinuous hard work of both menand women resulted in making Paki-stan a separate homeland. Soon after

Views From Abroad

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lam, but there remains a highly prob-ability that in future China and Rus-sia might come to terms with Taliban,which have again emerged as to bemost influential domestic player inpost 2014 Afghanistan. Taliban haveneither the financial muscle nor anagenda beyond Afghanistan and thusbecome strongest contenders in anybroad based or coalition governmentwith a high degree of acceptabilityfor the regional players.

On the other hand Islamic mili-tants may eventually exhaust andcould run out of their vengeance af-ter US leaves Afghanistan thus pos-sibly losing their appetite to confrontstates like Russia and China with nohegemonic agenda. The visit of topmost Chinese security official ZhouYongkang to Afghanistan is a clearindication that China is preparing tofill in the vacuum in the post 2014Afghanistan through its financialmuscle rather than military thus vir-tually denying US the strategic pivotin containment of China policy.China has sent a strong signal to Ja-pan by displaying its naval musclein East China Sea around SenkakuIsland that any attempt to renew theclaim over the disputed island amid

may also be illegal under US do-mestic law. Yet there is no clear evi-dence that they have made Americasafer overall. They expand the poolof angry and twisted young men forrecruitment into the ranks ofjihadists. Faisal Shahzad, the failedTimes Square bomber of May 2010,when asked about potential inno-cent victims of his plot, replied: “USdrone strikes don’t see children,they don’t see anybody. They killwomen, children; they kill every-body.” Drones have made the USmore hated than India in Pakistan.

The moral qualms over a presi-dent claiming the right to kill for-eign and US citizens based on a se-cret process with no contestability,checks and balances have grownand deepened. The inflection pointof diminishing utility and returnshas been reached. The US risks be-coming world leader in killingpeople with no connection to 9/11,to al-Qaida or to any other terroristgroup. On the balance of conse-quences test, drone strikes are do-ing more harm than good. Thewriter is a professor at the CrawfordSchool of Public Policy, AustralianNational University, and an adjunctprofessor at Griffith University.— Courtesy: The Japan Times

the independence Quaid-e-Azamdirected the women in MuslimLeague to organize the women, fortriggering a healthy change in soci-ety. Quaid-e-Azam compared stateto a “Carriage with two wheels, itsmen and its women, working to-gether for progress”.

Quaid was working for a betterPakistan, where every one musthave opportunities to excel. Afterthe death of Jinnah, no serious ef-forts were seen by different govern-ments for changing the lives of thepeople. The democratic anddictorial phases in our history haveaffected our society from all fronts.After coming in to power everygovernment starts its new strategy,and wind up the old one. This prac-tice resulted as a great hurdle inachieving long lasting results for thesociety. The education sector in Pa-kistan is severely neglected, andresulted in a great loss to the soci-ety. As education is one of the mostinfluential instruments that have thecapacity to reduce poverty, inequal-ity, and lays down a base for sus-tained economic growth. Educationsector in Pakistan is on the verge ofdecline, as it is not playing a vibrantrole in uplifting the society.

emplifies its inability to maintain lawand order needed for a smoothtransitionary phase where a new po-litical setup may emerge to takecharge of the Afghan affairs.

Inherent corruption and rivalriesbetween the state institutions, the es-tablished incompetency of the inde-pendent electoral commission and theelectoral complaints commission hasled to a further weakening of the sys-tem thus making it extremely frag-ile. The Karzai government seems tobe looking for means of protractingits own presence which is being statedas yet another factor that may lead tofurther instability. Karzai is foundcriticizing the US forces for not do-ing enough in curbing terrorism in theneighboring Pakistan while blamingPakistan for aiding terrorism in theregion. This hostility among the keystakeholders creates mistrust andleads to more instability in the alreadyterror infected region. Answeringback, Leonn Panetta says “it wouldbe helpful if the President, every oncein a while, expressed his thanks forthe sacrifices that have been made bythose who have fought and died forAfghanistan, rather than criticizingthem.” Pakistan too has been suffer-ing for sharing a long and porousborder with Afghanistan and keep ondoing in case of a civil war as the fall-outs are likely to be borne by itequally.Despite being aware that re-solving the electoral administrationand related constitutional disputes isthe only means to strengthen the sys-tem, Karzai seems too preoccupiedwith safeguarding his own office.—Islamabad

HonouringMajid Nizami

IFTIKHAR MIRZA

Punjab University’s Vice Chancellorhonored Majid Nizami with PhD de-gree. Indeed a recognition of Leg-endry journalist, who never changedhis stance with reference to PakistanMovement and the moral & socialvalues that should prevail in thiscountry. It was a token of love butsomehow it became extremely diffi-cult for various people to digest.

The decision of PU was criticizedby toadies as to how one can earn aPhD degree without practically con-tributing towards research. Is it notirony of fate that our Rehman Malikcan earn a PhD? Amir LiquatHussain’s credentials are still in dark;no evidence is available about hisdoctor- ship. Instead of pointing fin-gers towards others, one should en-deavor to perform better Felicitationsto veteran Nizami for bearing thetorch of pan-Islamism singlehandedly.—Islamabad

Malalas of SindhHASHIM ABRO

Indeed, access to education is a fun-damental human right but unfortu-nately there are millions of childrenwho are deprived of access to a basiceducation- more often girls- in theupper and lower Sindh regions. Ob-stacles to education for girls andwomen in the upper and lower Sindhregions are not the donors or INGOsbut our thick-skinned, indeed, a tinyminority called “ waderas”- many ofthem are now either the members ofthe provincial assembly or the Par-liament of Pakistan as senators andMNAs and they are seen speaking,without pausing or drawing breath,about the terror victim teenage girlfrom Swat, Malala Yousifzai and herright to education.

Of course, the issues are morebasic which barriers to girls for theirright to education become. These in-clude: lack of resources, failing in-frastructure, abysmal funding andother school needs. Poor parents arehesitant to allow their girls to walkthe long distances to school, for fearof lawlessness. Girls themselves arediscouraged by lacking privacy atschools; often, they don’t have sepa-rate bathroom stalls. There are sev-eral thousand villages and hamlets inSindh province which do not haveproper schools and if there are schoolbuildings, then, still teachers are notappointed and if the teachers are ap-pointed, then, they keep on dancingto the tunes of local MPAs and MNAs

and never go to teach students in theirrespective schools. Many suchschools in my home district Larkanomust serve an eye opener for the in-cumbent rulers.

Girls enrolled in secondaryschool miss school every month dueto their periods. Even if there are noschool fees for children to attend,some children must work during theschool day to supplement theirfamily’s income or take care of thehome or siblings. Since Millions ofgirls do not go to school, then, sev-eral socioeconomic complicationshave become a social fact in Sindhisociety. These include complicationssuch as child labor, early marriage,and health crises.

Is there is anyone in the corridorsof power and politics and that also inthe civil society and media to advo-cate access to basic and quality edu-cation of girls and women- Malalas,Marvis, Sassuis and Heers of myhome province Sindh?—Islamabad

Mediaaccountability

DR ALFRED CHARLES

Now a days both print and electronicmedia is covering a medical condi-tion cause by an amoeba. While re-porting media is showing this infec-tion as fatal disease. This is fact en-cephalitis (Inflammation of Brain)caused by Naegleria Fowleri isdeadly. But while reporting news withheadline that more deaths with ‘BrainEating Amoeba’ is not a good andprofessional approach. If media willcontinue this patron with reportsabout daily number of new cases anddeath toll it will create more panic.Because of this more and more peoplebecome terrified and they rush to seedoctors.Main cause of spread of thisdisease is fresh water reservoirs. At-tention should be paid to such placesto eliminate this organism scientifi-cally. No doubt un-chlorinated swim-ming pool water is great source ofspread of encephalitis caused by thisamoeba which affects the CentralNervous System. With destruction ofbrain tissue death occurs.

Because of this on going trendmany people will go for lab.tests.When treatment of this diseases willbe discussed and particular drug willbe named. There will be black mar-keting and artificial shortage of saiddrug. Regarding treatment mediashould not openly discuss it. This actmay give rise to self medication.

Keeping in mind all this mediashould play its positive role. It shouldnot be part of spread of anxiety, fear,misconception.In our country we donot conduct postmortems to ascertaincause of deaths. So we do not knowthat person died having this infectionor died of any other cause.Mediashould be very careful regarding cov-erage about this infection to show itssensible approach and responsibilities.Media should be use to create aware-ness among people not to create panicin masses. Through media peopleshould be informed about this greatfact that prevention is better then cure!In this case only solution is to chlori-nation of water. If they become vic-tim of this sickness they should con-sult qualified medical experts only.—Karachi

****KADAR KHAN

The biased media reporting by mix-ing facts with fiction and usingevents to exploit people emotion-ally and psychologically to meettheir financial objectives is ex-tremely danagerous and hurtingPakistan. The media reform andregulations are needed to ensureaccountability of talk show hostsand other personal associated withbroadcasting to the masses.—Via emailThe mass hysteria by the In

dian opposition parties overFDI in retail, reminds me of

the time, when the same words offear were bandied before foreign carcompanies came to the country.

Many, I am sure have forgottenthat for many decades India hadonly two brands of cars; the Fiat andthe Ambassador. In the south theytried a car called the Herald, it wasworse. I have driven both the Fiatand Ambassador; in fact my first car

in 1984 was a 1959 Fiat, which wasalready twenty-five years old when Ibought it. It had more patches on itthan the original car itself, and manya time we jumped out of the car whenwe smelt smoke, and jumped in againwhen we found the smell had comefrom some other source of fire thanmy antique car.

The new Fiats on the road werenot much better, nor were the Am-bassadors. When the car companybrought out a Mark Two or MarkThree it just meant that they modi-fied the taillights and what people didwith the old car did was to just modifythose same taillights and the worldthought they had a new car.

The cars could not take air-con-ditioning because the engines were

not made to take the load, and whenwe drove up the hills and ghats, thecar had to be cooled down before at-tempting the climb, which it didpainstakingly and laboriously. All thiswhile the rest of the world zoomedaround in flashy models with power-ful engines.

Today when I hear the opposi-tion parties creating this mass hys-teria against FDI in retail, the situa-tion is the same. They want us to buyvegetables from roadside vendors,not form refrigerated, hygienic mar-kets. They want you to carry backeatables that could already have fin-ished their shelf life. They want youto drive the Fiat and Ambassadorwhen the latest Hondas, Mercs andFords are available.

Driving the Fiat and Ambassador..!Today I drive a Honda City. It

is a joy to drive: The ease withwhich it goes through traffic, theeffortlessness in climbing hills andghats, the maneuverability thewheels posses and the joy of powersteering, quick acceleration andspeed, is unimaginable. FDI is re-tail will come to be.

We will benefit from profes-sional retailing, but we will forgetthe struggle that happened to bringit in. It would be good to remem-ber Mamata and the BJP and self-ish men and women of other par-ties, who still wants the country todrive the Fiat and Ambassador,while the whole world glides pastin their latest set of fancy wheels..!—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

the US containment policy couldhave military implications. The USresponded to this gesture by send-ing its own naval fleet in the areashowing its seriousness towardsthe region in addition to its earliercommitment of expanding militarypresence in Australia.

Although a little late but finally,Pakistan having experienced re-peated humiliations and disappoint-ments from it old “master perceivedas friend” has probably decided re-luctantly to explore other avenueswhich don’t ends up in Washing-ton. Russia being the strategic gamechanger in this whole strategic equa-tion has given a green light that itindeed is ready to establish a mean-ingful relationship with Pakistan.The Russian support to include Pa-kistan in Shanghai Cooperation Or-ganization besides its foreignminister’s arrival in Islamabadtimed with the Pakistan armychief’s visit to Moscow is an indi-cation of Pakistan’s strategic re-ori-entation in the region amid the newgreat game being played in Asia.—To be continued—The author is an MPhil scholarat NDU Islamabad.

Ramesh Thakur

Shams-uz-ZamanEmail:smszmn72@yahoo.com

M Uzair NiaziEmail:uk.niazi89@yahoo.com

closely watching the situationfurther said.

The ‘emotional blackmail’on Malala case was part of thebig game as top leaders of theUS, UK and other NATO coun-tries went ahead in support ofMalala, unprecedented and un-seen in the past. No doubt theattack on innocent Swat girlwas condemnable but it wasblown out of proportion, smell-ing something rot in it, thesources said.

Action in haste in NW couldhave resulted in a series ofbloody bomb blasts in big citiesof the country, pushing Pakistanto a state of chaos and confusion.The bloodshed and instabilitycould provide a pretext to someelements in the government topostpone the general elections.“Action in NW, instability andpostponement of the electionswere the objectives of this or-chestrated campaign launched inthe garb of giving and seekingsympathies for Malala. Why in-nocent girls killed in drone at-tacks in the tribal areas were notgiven such an attention, quippedthe sources.

Hype createdto suck-in

Army to openfront in NW

From Page 1

him to participate in ACD andexpressed the confidence that thesummit would auger well forbringing the governments andpeople of ACD member stateseven more closer. Dilating uponthe bilateral relations between thetwo countries, the Prime Minis-ter said that Pakistan and Kuwaitenjoy close relations which arerooted in bonds of religion andhistory. Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf invited his Ku-waiti counterpart to visit Pakistanwhich he accepted. The dates ofthe visit would be decided atmutually convenient time.

The Prime Minister ex-pressed concern over the issue ofvisas between the two countriesand discussed in detail with thePrime Minister of Kuwait whoexpressed understanding over theissue and assured to look into thematter in the backdrop of closeand brotherly relationship exist-ing between the two countrieswith a view for an early resolu-tion of the issue.

The Kuwaiti Prime Ministeralso directed the relevant authori-ties to transfer a piece of land tothe government of Pakistan forconstruction of its embassy.

Prime Minister Raja PervezAshraf also extended an invita-tion to the Amir of KuwaitSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah.—Agencies

Asiancountries have

From Page 1

He said that “politicallegacy of Shaheed BenazirBhutto was a treasure that we allcarry with great humility.”

The President referred to aspeech of Mohtrama BenazirBhutto made at the Third ECOSummit Islamabad in March1995, in which she said, “In thetapestry of history, our strongcultural and trading ties, our re-ligious bonds, our mutual goalsand objectives have woven ustogether into a rich communalcloth. Our poetry, our literature,our songs, our dances, our leg-ends reflect the community ofour nations, the brotherhood ofour people.

This common heritage hasgiven us the collective politicalwill and the modus operandi forfurther regional cooperation andintegration amongst our tencountries”.

The President highlightedcollective potential and the vari-ous challenges and threats to thepotential of the ECO and Saidthat the potential was clearlywritten in the Treaty of Izmirand in our past pledges.

The President said that itwas obvious that ECO still hasa long way to go to achieve itsgoals, adding that while otherregional blocs have progressedbut ECO has not progressed. Hesaid that regional blocks like theEuropean Union and ASEANcontinue to deepen their regionallinkages but the ECO continueto speak only of potential, ratherthan results. The President said

Zardari prioritises energy,trade, transport for ECO

From Page 1

that “we must ask ourselves thatwhy the ECO has not progressedand that we must challenge our-selves to do better constantly,adding that this was the onlyway forward for us all.”

“We must challenge our-selves both within our countries,and as a collective group ofbrotherly nations”, the PresidentSaid and urged for putting intoaction a vision of real coopera-tion between our countries.

Emphasizing regional link-ages, the President said that needto strengthen regional connec-tivity, adding that energy mustflow from energy rich to energydeficient countries in the regionand that oil and gas pipelines andpower grids must be built.

“The ECO Train, which Ilike to call the Gul Train, mustbe implemented”, he said andexpressed hope that it will en-hance trade not only betweenTurkey, Iran and Pakistani busi-nesses but in all countries of theregion. He said that this visionof an interconnected identitywas not new but it was rootedin our spiritual and literary tra-dition and calls for unity andinterconnectedness have echoedfrom Rumi to Iqbal.

“Our rich historical bondsare unique. Perhaps No otherregion shares as much as we do.And yet, no other region is asmuch under threat as we are”,the President said and urged forfacing the challenges with cour-age and collective action. Iden-tifying some of the challenges,

the president said there are somepressing challenges: terrorismpoverty illiteracy and to the fun-damental rights of our people,most of all, our daughters.

“I opened this speech witha mention of the Daughter of theEast but I must speak to you to-day about the Daughter of Paki-stan-My daughter,

Malala Yusufzai”, ThePresident said “is fifteen yearsold child but she has been anadvocate of education for girlswhen she was eleven year old.”

Last week, terrorists shotMalala in the head, adding thather attackers aren’t just tryingto kill the Daughter of Paki-stan but they are trying to killPakistan.

The President said that ter-rorists didn’t stop at Afghanistanand they would not stop at Pa-kistan. The President howeversaid that action against terroristsalso involves eliminating theheroin a source of financing ter-rorism. He stressed the need forECO member countries to work to-gether in the important areas oftrade, transport and energy callingfor expeditious implementation ofpast agreements for trade liberal-ization besides cutting down tar-iff and non-tariff barriers.Zardari said “the ECO Train,which I like to call the GulTrain, must be implemented”,he said and expressed hopethat it will enhance trade notonly between Turkey, Iran andPakistani businesses but in allcountries of the region.

rent chief Hakimullah Mehsudhad been ‘underground’ and in-active, and had not been com-manding most of the operationsof the TTP.

A spokesman for the SwatTaliban had claimed that twokillers from Fazlullah’s specialhit squad had been sent to targetyoung schoolgirl MalalaYousufzai. The spokesman hadfurther threatened to kill thegirl’s father following the failedassassination attempt on thegirl’s life.

Malik visited the house ofKainat, one of the girls injuredduring the attack on Malala inSwat. —Agencies

Malik sets$1m bounty

From Page 1

dent was involved in such ac-tivities.

SC three-member benchheaded by Chief Justice is hear-ing the 1996 petition filed byKhan who had accused the ISIof financing politicians in the1990 elections by dishing outRs140 million to create theIslami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) andprevent Benazir Bhutto’s PPPfrom winning the polls. The pe-tition was based on an affidavitof Durrani. Roedad Khan re-cording his statement in thecourt said that General Shujaatwas overseeing the political cellaccording to Rafi Raza report,which might be available in ei-ther the President House of thePM secretariat.

During the hearing, the CJfurther said that the bench wasawaiting a response from the of-fice of the president as towhether or not there were anyrecords pertaining to the matterand if the response would be anegative, then the court mayconsider summoning IjlalHaider Zaidi, a member of theelection cell that Durrani hadalleged had been constituted inthe presidency at the time on theinstructions of then presidentGhulam Ishaq Khan.

SC summonsMI’s ex-BrigHamid today

From Page 1

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Lt Gen (Retd)Muhammad Arif Bangash,HI(M), inaugurated the newlyconstructed Head Office build-ing of Fauji Fertilizer Company(FFC),designated as SonaTower, on 15 October2012.Chairman Fauji Founda-tion Lt Gen (Retd)MuhammadMustafa Khan, HI(M), Secre-tary Defence Lt Gen (Retd) AsifYasin Malik, HI(M) and othersenior ranking officers alsograced the occasion.

While welcoming the ChiefGuest, CE & MD, Lt Gen (Retd)

Building of FFC HeadOffice inaugurated

Naeem Khalid Lodhi, HI(M)emphasized that this momentmarks the beginning of a newchapter in FFC that is knownforits excellence and productionof the world’s best quality urea.He emphasized that Sona Toweris not only a structure made ofbricks and mortar; it is a sym-bol of hard work, dedication,and a vision for a better future.CE & MD thanked all those whoconceived and supported theproject, facilitated in the con-struction of the building and pro-vided all necessary assistanceand cooperation. He reiteratedthat Fauji Fertilizer will keep

contributing to the progress andprosperity of the country.

Chief Guest commended thequality of work in making theSona Tower a state of the art fa-cility. He appreciated the effortsof all concerned who remainedinvolved in its construction rightfrom inception of idea till itscompletion and prayed that FFCcontinue to prosper in times tocome and maintain its reputationas leading manufacturer of ureain the country. He congratulatedFFCL for shifting its headquar-ter to this new state of the artbuilding, and prayed for theircontinuous success.

side of the LoC is likely to facesevere water shortage, accord-ing to Pakistani officials.

Pakistan argued that such adiversion violates the IndusWater Treaty of 1960, whichwould compromise Pakistan’srights over the river and reducethe flow of water into Pakistansignificantly. Pakistan had ap-

Pak, India arbitration teaminspects Kishenganga site

From Page 1proached Court of Arbitration inHague to stop India from con-structing any dam on or abovethe Kishenganga (Neelum) bedat the Gurez site that may inhibitthe restoration of the flow of theriver to its natural channel.

The court had ordered thatPakistan and India arrange forperiodic joint inspections of the

dam site at Gurez in order tomonitor the implementation ofits order. The team comprisedof hydraulic experts, who ar-rived here in special helicoptersof the Indian Air Force and vis-ited the dam site at Kanzalwan.They flew back after spendingat least two hours at the damsite.— NNI

larger peace plan. If a genuinepeace process in initiated a largenumber of those who are nowmilitants would join it. Afterwards those who are irreconcil-able can be dealt through a mili-tary operation.

Chairman PTI Imran Khansaid that his party has taken themessage of peace to Karachi, toQuetta and lately to Waziristan.It is only through reaching outto the people of these areas thatit is possible to reduce violenceand move towards a comprehen-sive peace.—INP

Govt has noplan for peace

From Page 1

TTP labelsMalala as ‘an

American spy’From Page 1

the minds of tribal people andnow they avoid administeringanti-polio drops to their childrenwhich was a major reason insurge of polio cases in FATA.

Governor KP said that he wasnot satisfied about polio immuni-zation campaign and efforts werebeing made to clarify the mindsof the tribal people and createawareness among them. Kausarsaid that wheel-chairs and aidcheques were distributed amongthe disabled persons hailing fromdifferent tribal agencies.—INP

Kauser holdsDr Shakeel

From Page 1

Sajjad – counsel representingFarahnaz Ispahani.

“Since there are no suchcompelling circumstances in thepresent case, the plain meaningmust prevail.

That being so, acquiring for-eign citizenship is itself sufficient

Detailed verdict: Dualnationals can’t be lawmakers

From Page 1

to earn the disqualification,” heremarked.

In his concurring note, Jus-tice Jawwad S Khwaja stated thatthe apex court is grateful to itsexpatriates and clarified that allsuch citizens are entitled to theirconstitutional rights which the

court would strive to protect.“The present case does not

affect their right to hold dual citi-zenship. All that has been de-clared in the present judgment isthat dual citizens cannot hold thehighest elected offices,” headded.—Agencies

obligatory instruction for suchan action.” The TTP spokesmansaid, Malala Yousafzai was ‘a spywho divulged secrets ofMujahidden and Taliban throughBBC and in return receivedawards and rewards from the Zi-onists’. “She not only spiedagainst Mujahideen but also cre-ated propaganda against them.The Gul Makai diary is an em-bodiment of anti-Taliban views,”he continued. “She has receivedthe punishment for her sin.”

The spokesman further saidthat Malala was brought beforethe media under a pre-plannedstrategy so that she could pollutethe minds of the youth against theTaliban.—Agencies

in treating patients with gunshotand blast wounds.

Fourteen-year-old Malala,well known for writing a blogabout how the Taliban stoppedgirls going to school when theycontrolled Pakistan’s Swat Val-ley in 2009, was shot in the headlast Tuesday by two gunmen asshe travelled by bus.

Dr Dave Rosser, medicaldirector at Queen Elizabeth Hos-pital, said some of his colleagueswere out in Pakistan whenMalala was shot and was one ofthe reasons the hospital got in-volved.

Saying that it was likelyMalala would be treated formonths rather than weeks, DrRosser added: “We do unfortu-nately have very extensive ex-perience of dealing with thissort of traumatic bullet relatedinjury, our experience withbattle casualties, and you candeal with her as a battle casu-alty from a physiological pointof view, is that patients needlots of different specialties.“We have had patients here whohave been seen by 17 differentspecialties in the first 24 hours

and that’s part of our uniqueselling point and why we’re ina good position to deal with thissort of thing.”

Malala Yousafzai will un-dergo reconstructive surgeryDave Rosser said. “Malala willneed reconstructive surgery andwe have international experts inthat field,” Rosser said.

Malala was in a stable con-dition on her first full day inQueen Elizabeth Hospital inBirmingham after being flownto the city in central England onboard an air ambulance.

Rosser said she had had a“comfortable night”. “We arevery pleased with the progressshe’s made so far,” he told re-porters. “She is showing everysign of being every bit as strongas we’ve been led to believe.”

He said doctors at thehighly specialised hospital —where British service person-nel wounded in Afghanistanare treated — were beginningto plan for the complex proce-dures but they would not becarried out in the coming days.Malala has been assessed byclinicians from the neurosur-

gery, imaging, trauma andtherapy departments, though“very specialist teams” whomay become involved furtherdown the line are yet to per-form detailed assessments onher injuries, Rosser added.

Dave Rosser said that somesuspected persons were detainedafter turning up at the hospital,falsely claiming to be related tothe 14-year-old MalalaYousufzai. Rosser said the arrestswere “irritating”, adding thatMalala was never at risk as thehospital was “very comfortable”with security arrangements. “Wethink it’s probably people beingoverly curious,” he said.

Meanwhile Pakistan’s HighCommissioner to Britain said onTuesday that teenage MalalaYousufzai is being providedgood medical treatment in UKby a team of doctors, hoping forher early recovery. “Malala hada comfortable journey and isstable,” said Wajid ShamsulHasan while speaking to report-ers here. He said he could notmeet Malala but doctors toldhim that she was respondingwell.—INP

Malala to recover soon: SurgeonFrom Page 1

sary, Hussain said services ren-dered by Khan Liaquat Ali Khanfor the nation could never beforgotten. Liaquat Ali Khan wasmercilessly killed in a publicmeeting in Rawalpindi on 16October in 1951.

Liaquat’sassassination

From Page 1

collected within a week, add-ing that such amount waslooted from overseas Pakistanisin case of tax imposed by thegovernment.

He said that according to fi-nance minister, the FinanceMinistry did not allow to imposetax on telephoned call for over-seas Pakistanis, adding that af-ter imposition of tax now abroadPakistanis could not call on tele-phone to their family living inPakistan.

He said that those ministerswho wanted to gather hugemoney, they run scheme forlooting the people, adding thatif overseas Pakistanis stopped

to send foreign exchange to Pa-kistan, the ministers could nei-ther visit to foreign countriesnor expensive suits could bepurchased.—INP

MQM walks outfrom Senate

From Page 1

WASHINGTON—The US con-sidered slaying terror master-mind Osama bin Laden with ajust developed minute missile“magic bullet” among the op-tions to breach his hideout inAbbottabad, a new book hasrevealed. The magic missilewith a length and breadth of astrong man’s forearm was re-cently developed by RaytheonGPS and was fitted to be firedfrom a tiny drone.The option ofusing the magic missile on theelusive al-Qaeda chief wasmooted by President BarackObama’s favourite GeneralJames Cartwright, the then ViceChairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaff. The use of the new tech-nology was considered days be-fore Obama ordered the raid on

bin Laden’s Abbottabad hideout,as his National Security Teamconsidered a commando-style op-eration, a high-risk option.

Gen Cartwright told the teamthat the missile could strike an in-dividual or a single vehicle with-out damaging anything nearby,wrote Mark Bowden in his book‘The Finish: The Killing of Osamabin Laden’ which hit the storesTuesday. “Called simply an STM(small tactical munition), itweighed just thirteen pounds, car-ried a five-pound warhead, and wasfired from under the wing of adrone that itself was no larger thana model air plane, small enough toescape the notice of any country’sair defences.

“It was a ‘fire-and-forget’ mis-sile, which meant you could not

guide it once it was released. Itwould find and explode on the pre-cise coordinates it had been given,”the book said. Since bin Laden,according to intelligence, “tendedto walk in the same place every day,Cartwright believed the missilewould kill him, and likely himalone. It placed no American forcesat risk, the book said. “The top se-curity team also pondered that ifthe missile missed, or if the Pacerturned out not to be bin Laden,well, then it would just be an un-explained explosion in Abbottabad.No one need be the wiser,”Bowden said. “And if the missiledid kill bin Laden, any Pakistanianger over an unauthorised USdrone strike would likely be offsetby the embarrassment of revealingthat the world’s most wanted ter-

US considered killing Osama with ‘magic bullet’: Book

rorist had been living safely notjust in Pakistan, but only a shortdrive from Islamabad and lessthan a mile away from its nationalmilitary academy,” he wrote.

Bowden said no one in-volved with planning the missionwould discuss the new weapon’sparticulars.“The weapon has hadyet to be used in combat, althoughthe technologies involved dronesand missiles were hardly new.The only difference with this onewas its size. Still did you want tohinge such a critical opportunityon one shot, with a missile thathad never been fired in anger?The drone option also robbed thestrike of certainty,” he observedgiving a glimpse of the thinkingprocess of the top security advi-sors to the US President.—AP

TTP’s key chiefarrestedNOWSHERA—Police onTuesday arrested Qari Saeed,chief of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s Orakzaichapter in Nowshera. QariSaeed was arrested with anaccomplice during a raidconducted by the police in theBanda Nabi village inNowshera’s Pabbi Tehsil.Police sources said theysuspected Qari Saeed was intown to collaborate a sabotageattempt on a gathering beingorganised to observe the seconddeath anniversary of MianRashid Hussain, son of KhyberPakhtunkhwa InformationMinister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.Rashid Hussain was gunneddown in July 2010 in hisancestral town of Pabbi,Nowshera district. —NNI

SC moved againstPML-Q, PML-NMPsISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt (SC) has been movedagainst dual nationality ofPakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and PML-Q, members of theNational Assembly. Thepetitioner Mehmood AkhtarNaqvi in his application said thatPML-Q MNA Donia Aziz andPML-N MNA Sabeen Rizvi,both hold British nationality butstill were part of the parliament.The petitioner also argued thatPML-N has awarded party ticketto disqualified parliamentarianZahid Iqbal, therefore court barhim from contesting by-elections. —INP

LHC bars privateTV channelsLAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt (LHC) has stopped theprivate TV channels aboutissuing statements and airingcomments of the politiciansregarding judges of courts. Theorder was issued when LHCJustice Nasir Saeed Sheikhheard the petition filed by alawyer Shumail Ahmed here onTuesday. The petitioner was ofthe view that various anchorpersons of private TV channelswith disputed personalities andpoliticians issue statements andtarget judges of the courts fortheir decisions in different caseswhich leaves negative impactson the minds of public againstjudiciary and judicial policy ofthe country. He said thatelectronic media was using theirprograms against judiciary toincrease rating of their channelswhich was against article 68 ofthe constitution. —INP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The 2012 edition ofthe annual Pakistan MaritimeExercise Seaspark concludedwith the debrief session held atPNS Jauhar Tuesday. Chief of theNaval Staff, AdmiralMohammad Asif Sandila,alongwith the higher commands,attended the debrief session.

The Seaspark exercise, beinga permanent feature of PakistanNavy’s operational calendar, wasconducted with the main objec-tive to assess the operationalreadiness and provide an oppor-tunity to the officers men to op-erate under multi-threat environ-ment and exercise responses ac-cordingly.

The exercise planning was

based on manifestation of Chiefof the Naval Staff’s declared stra-tegic priorities of “Ops Readinessand Training”. All operationalships, submarines, aircraft, ma-rines, special forces and Estab-lishments, which also includedelements/supporting units fromPakistan Army and PAF, partici-pated to cover the entire gamutof naval operations.

Later, Officer ConductingExercise (OCE); the DeputyChief of the Naval Staff Opera-tions, Rear Admiral Hasham BinSiddique, presented the analysisof the tactical actions followedby each force and concurrentlygave recommendations to furtherimprove the responses accord-ingly. In his closing remarks,the Chief of the Naval Staff Ad-

miral Muhammad Asif Sandilasaid that complex geostrategicsituation in our region warrantsa high state of preparedness.Chief of the Naval Staff ex-pressed his satisfaction on suc-cessful conduct of ExerciseSeaspark 2012.

He said that the exercise waswell utilized to validate PN Con-cept of Security, PN Counter Pi-racy Plan, utilization of ships,submarines, aircraft and othercomponents, employment ofPAF AEW aircraft in support ofmaritime ops and integration ofZ9-EC helicopters to PN fleet.He added that the effectiveground based air defence andsuccessful firing of surface to airmissiles and radar controlledguns are a source of satisfaction.

Exercise Seaspark 2012concludes successfully

BAKU—President Asif AliZardari Tuesday emphasized theneed for expeditious implemen-tation of various joint megaprojects, including the multi-bil-lion dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipe-line, electricity transmission linesand rail and road projects.

During meeting of PresidentAsif Ali Zardari and his Iraniancounterpart President MahmoudAhmedinejad here in Baku Tues-day, on the sidelines of the 12thECO Summit, the two sides dis-cussed bilateral, regional and in-ternational issues.

From Pakistan side, the meet-ing was attended among others byMs. Hina Rabbani Khar, foreignminister, Senator HajiMuhammad Adeel, Mr. InayatUllah Kakar, Pakistan’s ambassa-dor to Azerbaijan, Mr. AlamgirBabar, special secretary and othersenior officials.

Discussing bilateral relations,the President noted with satisfac-tion the upward trajectory of themutual relations and urged for cre-ating viable linkages between thetwo countries in areas of trade andinvestment, energy and connectiv-ity to bring the people of twocountries further closer. He saidthat greater interactions between

the leadership and the people ofthe two countries would not onlystrengthen our historical, culturaland religious bonds but would alsohelp to benefit from each others’resources and expertise.

The President said that thereexist huge potential of trade be-tween the two countries and urgedfor effective steps which includespreferential tariff and free tradearrangements to reach the bilat-eral trade target of US $ 10billion.The agreement on exportof wheat and rice to Iran was atest case for our barter trade andif successful it can be replicatedin other areas, President Zardarisaid and stressed the need for re-moving tariff and non-tariff bar-riers and identifying alternative ar-rangements to further enhance thebilateral trade.The two leadersalso reviewed progress on themega projects, including the Iran-Pakistan Gas pipeline, the 1000MW Taftan-Quetta power trans-mission line; the 100 MW Gwadarpower supply project; construc-tion of Noshki-Dalbandin sectionof Quetta-Taftan Highway and up-gradation of the Quetta-TaftanRailway Track and urged for earlyimplementation of these projects.

Issues related to visa facilita-

tion and opening of the new bor-der posts at Mand-Pishin andGabd-Rimdan to connect Karachiand Gawadar with Chah Baharand Bandar Abbas through theCoastal Highway.

On situation in Syria, Presi-dent Zardari said Pakistan wasdeeply concerned over the fastdeteriorating situation in Syria aswe believed that stability in thisregion was important for peace inthe region and beyond.

The President said that Paki-stan strongly supports indepen-dence, sovereignty and territorialintegrity of Syria and that it wouldcontinue supporting any initiativewhich could provide politicalspace to all the Syrian parties forbringing peace and stability in thecountry. On situation in Afghani-stan, the President reiteratedPakistan’s principled stance ofsupporting an Afghan-led andAfghan-owned reconciliationprocess.President said that Con-trol of trans-border movement ofnarcotic drugs and human traf-ficking among Pakistan, Af-ghanistan and Iran is a priorityfor our Government and stressedthe need to further intensify co-operation at the bilateral and tri-lateral levels.—INP

Pakistan, Iran to pursuejoint mega projects

Seven drown inSwat river as cableof chairlift breaks

SWAT—At least seven peopleincluding three women and achild were drowned into riverSwat when wires of the chairliftsnapped on Tuesday.

The mishap occurredwhen wire of a wooden cable carinstalled over the river Swat fa-cilitating people to cross thegushing river in Bahrain areabroke and all the passengerswere swept away by the strongriver currents.

According to sources, res-cue operation is underway. Bodyof a woman has been fished outby the rescuers where as searchif rest of the six bodies was un-der way till filing of the report.—INP

NA passes 2 billsISLAMABAD—The NationalAssembly (NA) on Tuesdaypassed two bills. These are:“The Drug Regulatory Author-ity of Pakistan Bill‚ 2012” and“The Abolition of DiscretionaryQuotas in House Schemes Bill‚2011” Federal Minister Dr.Firdous Ashiq Awan moved thebill for the establishment ofDrug Regulatory Authority.

Speaking on the occasion‚she assured the House that onlya professional and competentperson would be eligible for thepost of head of the authority. Shesaid there is no intention to ap-point any dual nationality holderas its head. —NNI

69th FormationCommandersmeeting today

ISLAMABAD—The 69th Forma-tion Commanders conferencewill start at the General Head-quarters, Rawalpindi today(Wednesday). Chief of ArmyStaff General Ashfaq ParvezKayani will chair the meeting.

According to sources, thetwo-day conference is a routineprocedure in which professionalmatters will come under discus-sion. —INP

ISLAMABAD—US Secretary ofState, Hillary Clinton has urgedPakistan to take steps against ex-tremism.

In her remarks to an Ameri-can news channel during an in-terview Tuesday, SecretaryClinton - who is on an officialtrip to Peru - said that the re-sponse of Pakistani public, con-demning the terrorist attack on 14year old Malala Yousafzai at ev-ery level, was very appropriate.“The people of Pakistan are say-ing what needs to be said so elo-quently now - that children, boysand girls, deserve to go to school;they deserve to have the chanceto make the best of their God-given potential, to make a con-tribution to their society”, shepointed out.

“Any country that doesn’tstand up against extremism in or-

der to protect its children has toreally take a hard look, and I thinkthat’s what’s happening in Paki-stan. And I certainly hope so be-cause there are so many thou-sands of young girls who deserveto go to school, who deserve tohave an education, and those whoare committing these terrible actsof violence need to be brought tojustice”, she stressed.

Secretary Clinton said thatal-Qaida was being defeated inAfghanistan. “I think it’s abso-lutely fair to say that the majorleadership of al-Qaida, includingbin Ladin, has been decimated.There has been an effort to haveother al-Qaida affiliate-like orga-nizations - al-Qaida in the Ara-bian Peninsula, al-Qaida in theIslamic Maghreb - to try to takeup the mantle of al-Qaida, but thecore of al-Qaida has been se-

verely damaged”, she main-tained.

She, however, cautioned thatthe threat from terrorists was notover yet. “We know that therewill be terrorists, if they callthemselves that or they call them-selves something else, who willcontinue to terrorize people in thecountries where they are basedand continue to threaten theUnited States and our friends andallies”, she remarked.She said that the US was focusedon the job of uprooting the causeof terrorism. “We have nevertaken at all our eye off the ball ofhow we have to keep going afterthose extremists who pose athreat”, she said in a firm tonewhile adding that the plan todrawdown the US forces fromAfghanistan by the end of 2014was very much on.—Online

Pakistan must take actionagainst extremists: Hillary

IS L A M A B A D—ReiteratingPakistan’s commitment to supportfull membership of the UN forPalestine, as well as the Palestin-ian Authority’s initiative toachieve the status of “Non-Mem-ber Observer State” as an interimmeasure, Ambassador MasoodKhan expressed his country’scomplete solidarity with the Pal-estine cause.

Ambassador Masood Khan,who has recently assumed the of-fice of Permanent Representativeof Pakistan to the UN, was speak-ing in the Security Council quar-terly open debate on “The situa-tion in the Middle East, includingthe Palestinian Question”, onMonday.Applauding the Palestin-ian Authority’s State-building ef-

Pakistan reiterates full UNmembership for Palestine

forts, he called on the SecurityCouncil to re-engage and refocuson the Palestinian issue.

He also called for resumptionof direct and meaningful negotia-tions, ending of the cycle of vio-lence and addressing the gravehumanitarian situation in the Oc-cupied Palestinian Territory. “Ifthere is no movement towards re-sumption of the suspended peaceprocess, the human rights and hu-manitarian situations of Palestin-ians living under occupationwould continue to deteriorate”, hesaid. Referring to Secretary Gen-eral report, which stated that therehas been little progress in the pastyear. Ambassador Masood saidthat this trend was disappointingas the current impasse in the peace

process is undermining the viabil-ity of a two-State solution.

He said that the illegal Israelisettlement policy has remained thebiggest roadblock to the resump-tion of the Middle East peace pro-cess. “The illegal blockade of theterritory and the collective punish-ment being meted out to the popu-lation of Gaza must cease”, theambassador said.

Drawing the attention of theSecurity Council on the growingthreat due to recent intensificationof military bombardment on theGaza Strip, he said the lack ofpolitical perspective for the Pal-estinian youth and the continuingsettler attacks on Muslim andChristian Holy sites would fuelviolence in the area. INP

KARACHI: A view of last debrief session of Seaspark exercise. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Asif Sandila is also present.

KUWAIT CITY: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf meeting with Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the King-dom of Thailand at Bayan Palace on the sidelines of Asian Cooperation Dialogue Summit on Tuesday.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Ministry of For-eign Affairs on Tuesday informedthe Lahore High Court that sixPakistani prisoners currently heldin Afghanistan’s Bagram jail willbe released into Pakistan custody.

A written reply was filed inJustice Khalid Mehmood Khan’scourt by the ministry through alaw officer in response to a peti-tion seeking directions for thegovernment to get several Paki-stani citizens released fromBagram jail where they havebeen detained without any faultand without having the right oftrial.

The ministry, however, didnot reveal the names of the pris-oners who are being released andalso did not give a date for theirrelease. After going through thereply, Justice Khan said that thisis a testament to the hard workdone by the Justice Project Paki-stan, an organisation strugglingfor the release and repatriation ofPakistani prisoners held in for-eign prisons without any charge.The judge adjourned the hearing

till November 15.Counsel for the detainees,

Sarah Belal, said that this replyof the government showed thatthe Pakistani government has fi-nally committed itself to repatri-ate six of its citizens fromBagram. “I sincerely hope thatthe Ministry of Foreign Affairslives up to their promise made inthe court,” she said adding thatthe fate of a further 37 Pakistanisdetained in Bagram remaineduncertain.The court was hearinga petition filed by Sultana Noon,representative of the non-profitlaw firm Justice Project Pakistan(JPP), a fellow of Reprieve (a UKbased organisation) in Pakistan.Initially, the petition was filed forthe release of seven Pakistanisprisoners, but later it was re-vealed that more Pakistanis werealso detained at the jail.

The petitioner submitted thatthe citizens had been detained atthe Bagram jail without anycharges and trial since 2003. Shealleged that they were abductedfrom Pakistan and shifted to thenotorious US prison in Afghani-stan.

Six Pakistanis to bereleased from Bagram Jail

2 kidnapped Wapdaofficials released byabductors in SWA

WANA—The two Wapda offi-cials kidnapped from Dargaiarea of South Waziristan Agencywere released on Tuesday aftersuccessful negotiations betweenthe elders of the AhmedzaiWazir tribe and the kidnappers.

According to details, a su-perintendent and his driver werekidnapped by unknown maskedmen from Dargai area twoweeks ago after which the po-litical administration of SouthWaziristan Agency arrested doz-ens of members of AhmedzaiWazir tribe and suspended theirprivileges under the collectiveresponsibility clause of theFrontier Crimes Regulation(FCR).

The political administrationhad also disconnected powersupply of the Ahmedzai Wazirtribe due to which the tribesmenwere facing many difficulties.

The talks between the eldersof the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe andkidnappers succeeded Tuesdayafter which the kidnapees werereleased safe and sound andhanded over to the political ad-ministration. —INP

AT FIRST you might feel a slight stingas the fangs enter. Then, a tinglingwill spread throughout your limbs.

But within minutes your central nervoussystem will start shutting down, culminat-ing in convulsions, paralysis, and a suffo-cating death. The venom of the blackmamba snake, one of theworld’s deadliest poisonsadministered by one of theworld’s deadliest reptiles,can kill you within half anhour. Untreated bites havea mortality rate of 100%.

Hidden in the grimcocktail the snake carries,though, are a couple ofproteins with a remarkablydifferent effect. Researchpublished this week in Na-ture has revealed two mol-ecules in mamba venomthat can eliminate pain withas much potency as mor-phine, suggesting an un-usual new source for pain-killers.

Sylvie Diochot, an en-gineer at France’s Institute ofPharmocologie Moleculaire and Cellulaireand first author of the paper, has alwayshad a yen for the venomous. Fascinatedby the destructive power of black widowbites, she studied venomous arthropodsand was on familiar terms with her speci-mens. “Sometimes, I had several spidersand scorpions at home, in breeding, but Ihave children at home, so I prefer to ob-serve them in nature (photos), or some-times in our laboratory,” she wrote in an e-mail. Her research involved purifying thetoxin molecules that make venom so deadlyand then applying them to neurons and

other cells to study how they send thebody into catastrophic failure.

The conclusion that venom investi-gators like Diochot have reached is thatthe things that make animal venoms sodeadly are often proteins that work byjamming open or closed the channels that

let ions flow across themembranes of neurons.Chemical cross-chatter intoand out of the cells is whatallows neurons to send mes-sages to the brain and else-where. Disrupt that commu-nications feed and thewhole system can comecrashing down.

But not all the informa-tion neurons transmit isgood. Pain, after all, is a neu-ronal signal too. Sometimesit’s a very helpful one, aswhen it alerts you that youmight want to remove yourhand from the hot stove youjust touched. Sometimes it’sdecidedly unhelpful; whatgood, exactly, is a migraine

headache, chronic back pain, postsurgi-cal pain? In cases like those, shuttingdown selected neuronal signals wouldbe a very good thing.

In the 1990s, researchers found a pro-tein in the venom of the sea-dwelling conesnail that could do just that, disturbingthe function of calcium ion channelssuch that pain signals never made it tothe brain.

A synthetic version of the moleculethey extracted, ziconotide, is now beingused to treat patients with severe chronicpain, a success story that inspires venomresearchers today.

How a deadly snake’s venomcould mean pain relief

ISLAMABAD: A visitor interestingly looking at the paintings of Mashkoor Raza dur-ing an exhibition at Louvre Art Gallery.—PO Photo by Sultan Bashir

ISLAMABAD: Children are filling their canes with water from a street tap outside their houses at H-8 Kachi Basti of the Capital.

ISLAMABAD: Executive Secretary Nazariya-e-Pakistan Council Islamabad KanwarMuhammad Dilshad speaks during a ceremony organized by NPC on occasion of deathanniversary of Shaheed-e-Millat Liaqat Ali Khan at Aiwan-e-Quaid. Anjum Khaliq, SyedZulqarnain Zaidi, M Arshad and Niaz A Irfan are also seen sitting on the stage.—POphoto by Sultan Bashir

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Our historycannot deny that murderof Quaid-i-Millat KhanLiaquat Ali Khan has infactproved killing of democ-racy in Pakistan. We alsocannot forget that withoutKhan Liaquat Ali Khan’sfinancial and personalsupport, All-India MuslimLeague could not haveflourished as a politicalparty, neither the PakistanMovement could not suc-ceed so remarkably be-cause it was his pursuancethat Quaid-i-Azam decidedto return India from En-gland to lead the PakistanMovement. IncorporatingObjectives Resolution as apart of the constitution ofPakistan is also one of hisgreatest national services.

Kanwar MuhammadDilshad, executive secre-tary of Nazariya-i-PakistanCouncil (NPC) expressedthese views while payinghomage to Shaheed-i-Millat Khan Liaquat AliKhan at the eve of hisdeath anniversary at

Tributes paid to Shaheed-i-MillatAiwan-i-Quaid.

Prof. Syed ZulqarnainZaidi, a renowned education-ist said in his remarks that theactual background reasonsand identification of the mur-derer of Shaheed-i-Millat stillneed fresh investigations

because the work carried outtill now is giving birth to ques-tions badly confusing thenew generation at one sideand, on the other hand, di-minishing the great servicesrendered by Liaquat AliKhan to strengthen Pakistan

in its very early years. Emi-nent journalist and a sea-soned professor of journal-ism M. Arshad said that afterthe departure of Shaheed-i-Millat, unfortunately onlypoliticians have emerged atnational horizon and not a

real national leader of hiscaliber due to which we arenow rapidly forgetting theadmirable characteristicsand principals of the lead-ers of Pakistan Movementas well as the basic and fun-damental features of the ide-ology of Pakistan.

Senior bureaucrat,scholar and author of sev-eral research books Niaz A.Irfan maintained that weshould make Liaquat AliKhan a role model of self-lessness as he being one ofthe richest landlords of un-divided India practicallygave up all of his wealth andproperty for the welfare ofPakistan without gainingany penny in return. He saidthat he was a man of com-posed and cool sentimentswho had never indulged inany sort of agitation or pro-test.

Conducting the proceed-ings, poet Anjum Khaleeqpaid rich tributes to the ser-vices of Shaheed-i-Millatwith particular reference tothe uphill task of rehabilita-tion of immigrants coming toPakistan after partition.

Measles affectsdozens of children

ISLAMABAD—Measles hasaffected the children of thetwin cities of Islamabad andRawalpindi.

Sources said ChildrenHospital of Pakistan Insti-tute of Medical Sciences(PIMS) has received dozensof under-aged patients suf-fering from measles.—Online

ISLAMABAD—Islamabad Ad-ministration in their opera-tion against Sheesha centershas sealed 18 Sheeshacenters.Under the supervi-sion of Deputy commissionerIslamabad high officiallaunched operation againstillegally established Sheesha

18 Sheesha centres sealedcenters in different areas ofIslamabad.

In view of this, they alsoissued warning letters to 6Sheesha centers situated inthe area of F-6 and they alsostarted operation in eight dif-ferent places of F-7 area andissued challan to three

Sheesha centers.Meanwhile, they also

raided F-8, F-10, F-11 andsealed at least 75 Sheeshacentres. However, they alsoclaimed that the stern actionwould be taken againstthose who would violate thelaw.—Online

ISLAMABAD—A meeting washeld under the Secretary Cabi-net/Water and Power, NargisSethi to formulate EnergyConservation measures forimplementation in Islamabadwith immediate effect.

The measures have beenformulated as per the direc-tions of the President of Pa-kistan, Prime Minister andMinister for Water andPower, to declare Islamabadas a Model City for energyconservation and to make itan environment friendly“Green City”.

The following measureshave been approved for imple-mentation: - Energy conserva-tion úThere shall be an imme-diate ban on the use of illumi-

Energy conservationmeasures for Capital

nation/decorative lights for allpurposes in the city. úStreetlights shall be regulated for aminimum usage (not morethan 50%). úThe use of BillBoards/Neon signs shall beregulated to ensure that elec-tricity consumption is mini-mized. úThe lights in the mar-kets shall be rationalized bothinside and outside of theshops. úHolding social/offi-cial functions during day timerather than night time, to beencouraged. The use of elec-tric heaters in offices/resi-dences shall be discouraged.úReview of building codes forenergy conservation for fur-ther construction. GasúMinimum use of Gas heat-ers/Geysers shall be encour-

aged. úGas Geysers shall beused for specific timings. úGasleakage should be reportedand fixed on priority.úComplete ban on use of gasgenerators to be enforced.Water úWater wastage to beeffectively checked in resi-dential/commercial areas in-cluding washing of vehiclesetc. úEfficient use of water inhouseholds through a mediacampaign. úLeakage of waterthrough pipes etc. to bechecked/repaired on priority.The measures are beingadopted in consultation withall the relevant stakeholdersincluding the concernedMinistries, Islamabad admin-istration, CDA authoritiesetc.—APP

IG visits Adiala JailRAWA L P I N D I —InspectorGeneral (IG) Prisons PunjabFarooq Nazir on Tuesdayconducted a surprise visit toAdiala Jail and inspected thefacilities available to the pris-oners.—APP

EgyptianArmed Forces

Day onOctober 23STAFF REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D—The Em-bassy of the Arab Repub-lic of Egypt shall be cel-ebrating its 39 th Anniver-sary of the Great Octo-ber 73 Ramadan War Vic-tory (Egyptian ArmedForces Day 2012) on Tues-day 23rd October, at the Em-bassy of the Arab Repub-lic of Egypt, Diplomatic En-clave.

The occasion featuresthe great crossing whichthe Egyptian made on 6 Oc-tober 1973 and totally tookthe Israel is by surprise,both militarily and politi-cally.

On that day, the Egyp-tian Armed Forces engagedat batt le of honour,crossed the Suez Canal anddestroyed the Israelis BarLev Line; l iberated theEgyptian land and shat-tered the myth of Israel in-vincibility.

On the occasion of thisAnniversary of the glori-ous October Victory, Egyptlooks to the past only to re-member its martyrs and thesacrifices of its valiant he-roes .

ISLAMABAD: Activists of Action Aid hold a demonstration on the eve of World Food Dayin front of National Press Club.

ISLAMABAD: Acting Chairman Senate, Senator Sabir Ali Baloch and Senator Sehar Kamran handing over ‘Abaya’to the mother of Shaheed Col Tanveer-ul-Hassan at Parliament House.

ISLAMABAD: Workers preparing quilts as the advent of winter season is on the hori-zon.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

Agricultural Research Council Conference

Experts link globalpeace with zero-hunger

ISLAMABAD: Children playing with the sacrificial goats as the preparations for Eid-ul-Azha have started.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Senior CitizensFoundation of Pakistan ingeneral body meeting passedresolution stressing for earlypassage of the senior CitizensBill by the federal and provin-cial legislators to establishinga social welfare system forsenior citizens. The reso-lution also stress the need forsustained good governanceso that the problems beingfaced by the citizens particu-larly in the cost of living, everincreasing prices of medicines,etc could be addressed.

Senior Citizens Day andthe annual general meeting ofthe Senior Citizens Founda-tion of Pakistan were heldhere Monday to assess andevaluate the work of the pre-vious year and to plan for thefuture. The meeting was pre-sided over by Dr. AbdulQadeer Khan, President ofthe Foundation.

The Secretary General ofthe foundation Chohan in-formed the meeting that Se-nior Citizens Bill which waslying with the government forthe last about ten years hasbeen decentralized under the18th Amendment Bill of the

Passage of SeniorCitizens’ Bill demanded

Constitution. He urged that it should

be piloted and passed by thefederal government and allthe provincial governmentsat the earliest so as to pro-vide a comprehensive socialwelfare system to coverabout 10 million senior citi-zens of the country .

It was also demandedthat the welfare system andthe policy frame work in theproposed Bill should pro-vides adequate representa-tion to Senior Citizens bod-ies presently working for thewelfare of senior citizens.

The Secretary Generalinformed that the foundationat Islamabad and Chapters atRawalpindi, Lahore, WahCantt, Gujranwala andKarachi are working satisfac-torily. Health facilities in theform of dispensaries, librar-ies and reading rooms, pro-vided by Islamabad andthese Chapters were utilizedby a large number of people.

Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khanin his presidential addressurged the federal and provin-cial governments to pass theSenior Citizens Bill so thatwelfare institutions could beraised and such welfare

programmes as are essentialfor senior citizens could beorganized. He said that pen-sions of retired civil servantsshould be adequately raisedso as to enable them to com-bat inflation and the risingcost of medicines.

Dr. Qadeer suggestedthat the Government shouldutilize the expertise, experi-ence and skills of senior citi-zens and associate them inthe development and imple-mentation of welfare andother nation buildingprogrammes. He alsomade an appeal to senior citi-zens to use their talent andresources individually andcollectively for the welfareand advancement of thecommunity in general and forthe country as a whole.

Three awards were alsoconferred on the occasion.Dr. Misbahuddin Shami(Sitara-i-Imtiaz), a distin-guished scientist and adviserto a number of universitieson science and technologyand Raja Fateh Khan, promi-nent social worker and Gen-eral Secretary, Anjuman-e-Faizul Islam, Rawalpindi wereconferred the Senior Citizenof the Year Award 2012.

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Agricultureexperts and scientists Tues-day linked the global peacewith the zero-hunger, sug-gesting that promotion ofcooperatives in agriculturesector is the way to ensurefood secure and sustainableworld.

“Most of the global is-sues are related to hungerand resolution of these is-sues will definitely bringpeace in the world,” they re-marked while addressing aconference marking theWorld Food Day 2012 here.

The conference was or-ganized by Pakistan Agricul-tural Research Council(PARC) Ministry of NationalFood Security and Research(NFS&R), in collaborationwith Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO) of theUnited Nations.

This year the theme ofthe World Food Day was“Agricultural Cooperatives:key to feeding the world” inrecognition of cooperatives’role for improving food se-curity and contributing to theeradication of hunger.

The National Agriculture

Research Council (NARC)had also arranged exhibitionof agriculture products at itsheadquarters to create aware-ness about latest research andtechnology for enhancedfood production to combathunger across the world.

Speaking at the confer-ence, Federal Secretary forNFS&R Ahmad Bakash Lehrisaid that the government hasadopted the mechanism ofagriculture cooperatives withspecial emphasis at provin-cial level in the wake of 18thamendment.

He said that the govern-ment has introduced farmerfriendly polices that have ledto a major turnaround in thefood production, particularlywheat and other food grains.

The Secretary said thatagriculture was the drivingforce of the country’seconomy as 67% of the popu-lation was depending on itwhile it contributes 20% toGDP and engages 44%labour forces.

He said that about 50percent of industrial produc-tion is generated by the agro-based industries while it con-tributes about 60 percent offoreign exchange through

exports of raw, semi-pro-cessed and processed prod-ucts.

Speaking on the occa-sion, PARC Chairman, Dr.Iftikhar Ahmad said that hun-ger has direct relations withthe peace of the world, argu-ing that if the issues relatedto food are resolved, theworld would definitely be-come peaceful.

He was of the view thatagriculture sector in Pakistanwas already engaged in col-lectives (cooperatives) how-ever, these needed to be up-grade on modern lines to takefull benefit of them.

He said that cooperativehave the potential to over-come the challenging foodscarcity problems and ensure‘bread for all.’

He said that the world-wide cooperatives haveprovided over 100 millionjobs in all sectors of life andmore than one billionpeople are members of co-operatives.

In 2008, the top 300 co-operatives were responsiblefor an aggregate turnover ofUS$1.10 trillion, the size ofworld’s tenth largesteconomy.—APP

China Radio internationallaunching Dosti channel

ISLAMABAD—China RadioInternational is launching anew Dosti Channel FM-98 inPakistan in collaborationwith Pakistan BroadcastingCorporation. The inauguralceremony of the channel isbeing held today (Wednes-day).

The objective of theChannel is to apprise thepeople of Pakistan about de-velopments in China and cul-ture of the country and toenhance people to peoplecontact.

The move will go a longway in further strengtheningthe unprecedented friend-ship between the two coun-

tries.Under an agreement with

Radio Pakistan, CRI willbroadcast Urdu and Englishprogrammes from this chan-nel in Islamabad and Karachifor 36 hours daily. Englishprogrammes will be broadcastfor 12 hours each fromKarachi and Islamabad andUrdu programmes for sixhours each from both the sta-tions.

Urdu programmes will beaired from 12 noon to 3 p.m.and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. whileEnglish programmes from 6a.m. to 12 noon, from 3 p.m.to 5 p.m. and from 8 p.m. hrsto 12 midnight.—INP

RAWALPINDI—Work for thetest piles for the MareerChowk extra lane projectwould start in the currentweek.

Commissioner Rawal-pindi Division, Imdad UllahBosal was informed in thisregard by DG RawalpindiDevelopment Authority(RDA), Chaudhry Naseer

Work underway on Mareer extra lane projectAhmed the other day. Thecommissioner was on a visitto Mareer Chowk where theMD RDA briefed him aboutthe project.

Naseer said that meetingwould be held in this week toaward the project and theRailways, WAPDA, PTCLetc. had been paid to trans-fer the utility services.

After the completion ofthe project, problem of thegridlocks on the chowkwould be resolved to a greatextent, he said, adding thatMareer Chowk railway bridgewould be redesigned in theproject.Two railway bridgeswould be erected under theproject in stages, the MDRDA said.—INP

Operationagainst illegal

occupantsISLAMABAD—The Ministryof Housing has made an an-nouncement to conduct agrand operation against ille-gal occupants very soon.

Under the directions ofMinister of State for Hous-ing Malik Nouman AhmadLangrial, the Estate Officewill start a major operationagainst unlawful occupants.

While talking to the me-dia person here, the Ministerof State stated “Our team willvigorously perform this taskand no more time will begranted to those illegal oc-cupants”.

Moreover, he has alsodirected his team to follow theGeneral Waiting List for fur-ther allotments under Hard-ship Committee and orderednot to entertain any suchmatter which is against thelaw.

The Minister is very con-cerned and has asked for thebriefing about those whohave received notices to va-cate the illegally occupiedgovernment accommoda-tions and still are not readyto give those places to de-serving employees. He saidthat the ministry had beendealing this matter with relax-ation but now the time hascome to take firm action.

The Minister has alsotalked about the normalcy ofother disputed matters likethe continuation of develop-ment work in G-14 and KurriRoad.

He said that establish-ment of Hardship Committeeis also an important stepwhich will perform its func-tions in the light of SupremeCourt orders.—NNI

50 criminalsarrested

RAWALPINDI—At least 50suspected criminals were ar-rested by Rawalpindi policeon Tuesday during a searchoperation carried out to curbrampant crime in the garri-son city.

Police conducted opera-tion in city’s Sir SyedChowk, Chamanzar Colony,Dhoke Ilahi Bux, JavaidColony, Dhoke Pira Faqeeraand Dhoke Farman Ali ar-eas, rounding up some 50suspects, SHO Waris Khanpolice station said.

He said most of the sus-pects are wanted to policein theft and robberycases.—NNIDelay in completion

of expansionproject resented

RAWA L P I N D I—Inordinatedelay in completion ofChohar Chowk expansionproject has turned it intoscourge rather than blessingfor traders and residents ofthe area.

Chief Minister PunjabMian Shahbaz Sharif inaugu-rated the project on March 3and this was to be completedwithin 3 months but it is stillinching towards completiondespite lapse of 8 months.

The slow paced work onthe project is our economicmurder as no citizen visitsthis market because the en-tire market remains under thegrip of dust storm which iscaused by construction workof road. “Due to highly thinarrival of buyers we are forcedto shift to other markets.—Online

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Presi-dent of Pakistan has ap-pointed Vice AdmiralMuhammmad Shafiq asVice Chief of the Naval Staffwith immediate effect.

Vice AdmiralMuhammmad Shafiq wascommissioned in the Opera-tions Branch of PakistanNavy on 01 June 1977. Dur-ing his career he has servedat various Command andStaff appointments includ-ing, 2nd in Command of aDestroyer, Command of Na-

Muhammad Shafiq appointedVice Chief of Naval Staff

val Air Wing, Command of

Naval Air Arm and Com-mander Naval Strategic

Forces.His Staff appointments

include Fleet Aviat ionand Navigation officer toCommander Pakistan Fleet,Deputy Director NavalAviat ion at Naval Head-quarters, Deputy DirectorJoint Logistics at JSHQ,Director Maritime Affairsat Naval Headquarters ,Deputy Director GeneralMaritime Security Agency,Drafting Authority, Direct-ing Staff at NDU, ChiefInspector Navy, DG(M) inISI and Deputy Chief ofNaval Staff (Administra-

tion).He has undergone a

number of professionalcourses including Spe-cialization in Navigationand Operations, NavalCommand & Staff Coursefrom Indonesia andArmed Forces WarCourse from National De-fense University (NDU),Islamabad

Presently he is servingat Naval Headquarters asChief of Staff. In recogni-tion of his services he hasbeen awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military).

RAWALPINDI—Authoritiesof the Excise and Taxation(E&T) Rawalpindi branchlocked its all office roomsfrom outside during the of-fice hours to hinder the agentmafia’s interference in thesystem.

According to sources,keys of the locks werehanded over to an Inspector,

E&T offices locked to end agentmafia’s interference

Malik Younas.The rooms are locked

from outside from 8:00am to3:00pm and no one was al-lowed to enter the room, thesources informed, addingthat all citizens were dealtthrough the windows.

If some employee of thebranch needed to come outof his room for some reason,

he ringed Inspector MalikYounas who opened the lock,the sources revealed.

Talking about the newpractice, a group of employ-ees of E&T said that it hadsaved them from the messcreated by the touts andagents and they could worknow in calm and peacefulenvironment.—INP

Lack of trafficsignals multiplies

road accidentsRAWALPINDI—The numberof road accidents is on therise at the Morgah Morr areadue to the lack of traffic sig-nals on the U-turn.

Traffic load multipliesduring office hours, and theroad becomes impassable forpedestrians.

“We teach at a school inRawat Model Town, which ison the other side of the road.We cannot cross this roaddue to speedy traffic duringthe opening and closinghours of our institutions. Wehave to wait for a long timeto cross this road,” said alady teacher.

“Oil tankers also ply onthis road. Sometimes, ourschool buses get sand-wiched between them due tolack of traffic signals and ab-sence of traffic wardens. Weoften reach our school latedue to this difficulty,” said astudent—Online

Bid to smuggleheroin foiled

RAWALPINDI—The Anti Nar-cotics Force (ANF) foiled abid to smuggle heroin toMusqat and arrested one ac-cused from Benazir BhuttoInternational Airport onTuesday.

On a tip-off, the ANFlaunched a special drive andarrested Amjab Abbas resi-dent of District Khushab pro-ceeding to Musqat by FlightNo. PK-217 and traced 50heroin-capsules placed in hisabdomen, official sources inthe ANF told APP on Tues-day.

During interrogation, hetold the ANF that his desti-nation was Musqat via AbuDhabi.

The ANF registered acase and started investiga-tion.—APP

05:4001:3004:45

07:30

Zohr

October 17

THE Punjab EmergencyService, Rescue 1122,Rawalpindi is inaugurat-ing a new Rescue Stationat main Kalma Chowk,Rawalpindi. The ScottishParliamentarian, Mr.Hanzaala Malik will bechief guest of occasion.

October 18

OPENING of Exhibitiontitled ‘Eid and AutumnDesigner Collection2012’, organised by thefashion designer ‘ZehraV’, chief guest:Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce and IndustryPresident ZafarBakhtawari, at the ‘ZehraV’ Fashion Studio, HouseNo. 528, Margallah Road,F-10/2, Islamabad, 10:30a.m.-7 p.m.

October 19

KAMDANI is back withits most awaited Eid exhi-bition Day 1 Friday 19thOct 2012 timing 11 am-7pm venue house 235, st76 F-11/1 Islamabad day2: Saturday 20th October2012 timings: 11 am-7pmvenue: house # 268/8,Kamal road sadderRawalpindi so save thedates, mark your calen-dars we have dresses foryour teens also pleasespread the word.

November 8

ALUMNI Association -National Institute ofPsychology (AA-NIP)will hold Annual AlumniDinner, 2012 on 8th No-vember, 4:30 P.M to10:00 P.M at Geo Phys-ics Auditorium, QAU.For Registration pleasecontact Irum Naqvi. 051-9 0 6 4 4 0 4 7 ,Irumnaqvi2006@gmail.com.

MOHAMMAD SHEHZAD

Violence in the valley may have subsidedand the support infrastructure in Pakistan may have been dismantled, but theconflict is far from over On Septem-

ber 30, President Asif Zardari met Kashmirileader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on the sidelines ofthe United Nations General Assembly session inNew York and told him Pakistan would continueits political, moral and diplomatic support for theKashmiri struggle for self-determination. But theMirwaiz, who heads the moderate faction of theHurriyat Conference, may still be disappointedwith Pakistan.

No one is talking about the Kashmir jihad inPakistan these days, not even those who oncethrived on it. Gone are the days of the funerals-in-absentia for those killed fighting the IndianArmy in the valley. Donation boxes, walk chalk-ing, and recruitment banners featuringKalashnikovs have disappeared. Jihadis of thepast are now building new identities as philan-thropists. They talk about charity and relief worknow. February 5, which was once a day of ex-pressing solidarity with the Kashmiri fighters, isnow a lackluster affair. Jamaat-e-Islami, once thebiggest proponent of the Kashmir jihad, now cel-ebrates the day using Jamaatud Dawa’s platform.

Relations between India and Pakistan are im-proving, and there is talk of trade and visa liberal-ization. Even the Pakistani military establishmentseems to be changing its policy. Is the Kashmirjihad over? Ershad Mehmood, an Islamabad-basedresearcher of Kashmiri origin, says Pakistan Armyused to help jihadi infiltration into Kashmir by suchmeasures as shelling on the Line of Control. This‘cooperation’ does not exist any more. “India hasfenced the border and crossing the LoC is impos-sible, recruitment centers and training camps havebeen banned in Pakistan, and the entire infrastruc-ture has been dismantled.” Gone are the days ofthe funerals-in-absentia for those killed fightingthe Indian Army in the valley. Donation boxes,walk chalking, and recruitment banners featuringKalashnikovs have disappeared Delhi-based ana-lyst Dr Ajai Sahni disagrees. “The Indian govern-ment continues to feel that Pakistan has not doneenough to dismantle the infrastructure of terror-ism,” he said. “There has been a tremendous weak-ening and loss of support on the ground, althoughit is substantially the result of external factors, par-ticularly Pakistan’s preoccupation with internal

difficulties and pressures and the Afghan cam-paign,” said Sahni, who is the executive directorof the Institute for Conflict Management. “Conse-quently, while there is satisfaction at the dramaticdrop in violence in Kashmir, there is little causefor complacency. The general consensus is that thePakistani intent has not substantially changed.”

He said there was hope in India that there hadbeen “a significant constituency in Pakistan that isincreasingly opposed to the export of terrorism.This constituency needs to be cultivated and ex-panded to secure an enduring peace in the region.”Fazlur Rehman Khalil, chief of the defunctHarkatul Mujahideen that now operates as AnsarulUmmah, said the Musharraf regime was a ‘blackera’ for Kashmir jihad. “Musharraf betrayed theKashmiris,” he said, adding that President AsifZardari’s policies had been even worse for jihadin Kashmir. “He played Holi with the blood of theKashmiris by granting India the Most FavoredNation status and forging trade ties with our eter-nal enemy,” Khalil said in religiously chargedidiom. Pakistan reportedly sheltered 37,000Kashmiris who had taken up arms against the In-

dian rule in Kashmir. As support from the Paki-stani government dwindled, more than 500 of themwent back to their homes via Nepal, many takingadvantage of an amnesty announced by India inFebruary this year. But Hizbul Mujahideen, thelargest Kashmiri jihadi outfit, wants the struggleto continue. “Our thinking has not changed,” saidSaleem Hashmi, a spokesman for the group. “Itwas the armed struggle that made Kashmir theflashpoint.” India’s recent confidence buildingmeasures were a conspiracy to freeze the issue, hesaid. Hashmi said the people who had surrendered“were migrants, not Mujahideen” and numberedin thousands. “But our fighters are still present inthe valley. The proof of that is the presence of700,000 Indian soldiers in Kashmir.” SyedSalahuddin, the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen, wasa politician before taking up arms. But he does notqualify for an amnesty.

“A separatist constituency remains in existencein Kashmir, but it has enormously weakened. It isbelieved that it would take extraordinary circum-stances to revive violence to earlier levels,” saidDr Sahni. “While anti-India sentiments are still in

No let up in Kashmir struggle evidence in pockets, pro-Pakistan sentimentshave virtually vanished. There is a broad disil-lusionment with the politics and patterns of ter-rorism emanating from Pakistan.” HizbulMujahideen makes a different argument. “Thisis not just an issue between India and Pakistan.Kashmiris are also a party to it,” Saleem Hashmisaid. He said his group wanted a plebiscite inKashmir in line with the UN resolution, andwould honor the result. “The Hizb will not op-pose an independent Kashmir if that is what theKashmiris want.”

Hashmi admitted Pakistan was no longer sup-porting the militants. “We agree that Pakistan hasits own problems, but it can never give up Kash-mir,” he said. “Giving up Kashmir is like givingup Pakistan.” Some analysts believe an end to theconflict may hurt stakeholders on both sides. Andthat is why they say there are so many Indian troopsin Kashmir although militancy has weakened. “TheKashmir conflict has corrupted the Indian Armyand police to bones,” Ershad Mehmood said. “Theyare paid more in conflict zones.

They can sell weapons, ammunition and petrolto militants. They are paid protection money byKashmiri traders and citizens. They can arrest any-one on charges of terrorism and release them for abribe. And that is why they would never want peacewith Pakistan.”—Kashmir Watch

SRINAGAR—Hurriyat Confer-ence (G) Chairman, Syed AliShah Geelani has asked peopleof Kashmir not to “sell the sac-rifices of the martyrs in lieu ofroads, electricity, water, con-tracts and other temporalthings.”

“People should not forgetthe sacred sacrifices of the mar-tyrs who laid their lives for Is-lam and azadi,” a statement is-sued by Tehreek-i-Hurriyat(TeH) quoted Geelani as saying.“Instead people should uniteagainst the forced occupation ofKashmir by India and not com-promise the sacrifices of mar-

Don’t sell sacrifices for roadsand contracts: Geelani

tyrs in lieu of roads, water, elec-tricity, contracts and employ-ments,” the statement added.

“If people build their char-acter as per the teachings of theholy Quran and the traditions ofProphet Mohammad (PBUH),the help from Allah will salvageus from Indian occupation,”Geelani said. Geelani alsocharged New Delhi with “plun-dering the resources of the stateand trying to alter the Muslimidentity of the state.”

“By promoting co-educa-tion, liquor, drugs, obscenity,and nudity India wants to takeaway our younger generations

from Islam and eradicate ourIslamic identity,” Geelani said.The statement said that Geelaniwas speaking after leading thefuneral prayers of Sheikh AbdulRasheed, who passed away, atHyderpora here.

“Geelani sahib, while pay-ing for peace to the departedsoul, described Rasheed as greatMujahid who devoted his entirelife to the cause of freedom andIslam,” the statement added.Geelani also condoled the de-mise of Prof Altaf Hussain Takof Kashmir University’s En-glish department who passedaway last week.—NNI

JAMMU—In a scathing attackon the coalition government inJammu and Kashmir on differ-ent issues including “corruptionand undermining of democraticinstitutions”, former Chief Min-ister and patron of the People’sDemocratic Party MuftiMuhammad Sayeed has said thecoalition partners have ‘miser-ably failed’ to end ambiguityover the empowerment ofPanchayats in the state.

Addressing a large gather-ing of people at Ramgarh inVijaipur, Mufti, in an obviousreference to both Congress andNational Conference, said:“Someone talks of implement-ing 73rd amendment whilesomeone else talks of amendingour (State’s) own constitutionby incorporating certain provi-

Mufti takes on Govt overPanchayat ‘disempowerment’

sions of the 73rd amendment.But on ground nothing is hap-pening. Without Panchayat em-powerment, the elections to theBlock Development Councils(BDC) would be a futile exer-cise.” He said the state govern-ment kept mum over the em-powerment of Panchayats forone and a half year “as a resultof which the Panchayat mem-bers were attacked and many ofthem have resigned.”

Slamming the governmentfor “undermining democraticinstitutions” including theGovernor’s office, he reiterated:“This government has under-mined the democratic institu-tions in the state. It does notspare even the Governor’s of-fice,” he alleged “The electionsto the Municipal Corporations

have not been held for the lastthree years. In Governor’s ad-dress it was stated that the elec-tions to Urban Local Bodies(ULB) will be held in April thisyear but they made ‘April fool’of the people.”

Questioning thegovernment’s intentions, hesaid: “I fail to understand whythe government is shying awayfrom its duty to conduct theseelections.” Mufti also ques-tioned the central government’sdecision of allowing FDI in re-tail and putting a cap on subsi-dized LPG cylinders. “LPG isa big issue. If the cap on LPGcylinders in other Congress-ruled states can be raised from6 to 9 on the directions of SoniaGandhi, why the same is notdone in J&K where Congress is

also a coalition partner?”He said: “The entire state is

badly hit by the LPG crises andit is need of the hour to givesome relief to the people.”

Attacking the state govern-ment over what he called omni-present corruption, Mufti said:“This government has dilutedthe RTI Act and moreover, theState Accountability Commis-sion has also been made de-funct. We established SAC withsuo-motto powers. But now,these powers have also beentaken away. Several ministersagainst whom there are corrup-tion cases have obtained stayorders from the court. Nobodyasks why?”He said that “thereis no accountability in theimplementation of centrallysponsored schemes.—NNI

SRINAGAR—Kashmir’s femalelawyers are braving all odds toearn a living in a field largelydominated by their male counter-parts. From fighting tough casesto facing senior lawyers andjudges in the courtroom, they doit all.

Female lawyers working inthe courts here said they had toface discrimination at every leveland it was not possible for themto work independently. “We haveto face discrimination from thevery first day we enter the courtpremises,” female lawyers saiddiscussing issues they are face toface in courts. “We face discrimi-

Lady lawyersbrave odds to earn living

nation at the hands of our clientsand sometimes by judges aswell.” In city court, only 20 per-cent cases are handled by femalelawyers. Female lawyers blametheir counterparts for lagging be-hind and say they don’t get achance to prove themselves as allthe space is occupied by the malelawyers. “We don’t get a goodnumber of cases here. It is disap-pointing. We are dedicated andwork passionately but we facebias,” said Rehana Wani, a law-yer. “The subjugation of womenis deep rooted in our society. It isnot only about female lawyers butwomen in general – employed or

unemployed - have to face dis-crimination at different levels.”Female lawyers also blame thatnew comers into the professionhave to face a lot of exploitation.

“Usually women workingunder senior advocates do not getpaid well,” one of the female law-yers said. “We work hard yet wedon’t get appreciated.” They alsoalleged that male lawyers feel thattheir female counterparts are in-capable of working indepen-dently and need support. “It isimpossible for a female lawyerto work independently and suc-ceed in a state like J&K be-cause of illiteracy. —NNI

National politicalparties approachtowards Kashmirinsincere: ANC

SRINAGAR—Awami NationalConference (ANC) has rejectedthe offer made by leaders of theproposed third front at the Na-tional level to join them sayingtheir approach has never beensincere towards Kashmir.

“Instead their approach hasproved disastrous and createdconfusion”, said ANC seniorVice President Muzafar Shah ina statement issued from Delhi.

He claimed that the nationalleaders will be tour Jammu andKashmir to woo the variouspolitical party leaders and work-ers. According to the ANCspokesperson, the third frontleaders at national level havelaunched a search for regionalallies in the State.

“In this exercise, the seniornational political party leaderhas also approached MuzaffarShah with the offer in NewDelhi recently. The offer was forhis party to join them besidesan important position for hisparty president Begum KhalidaShah to play vital role at na-tional level. Such offers andexercises have never worked inJammu and Kashmir in the pasttoo”, the spokesperson claimed.

Shah cautioned his partyleaders and workers to desistfrom being part of such “non-starter fronts” for the bettermentof the State. He further addedthat ANC central working com-mittee is being convened byparty chief Begum KhalidaShah in Srinagar to discuss fastchanging political scenario inthe country and the state in par-ticular.—NNI

Valley witnessed30 massacres in 13

years: JKCCSSRINAGAR—The Jammu andKashmir Coalition of Civil So-ciety in its report on ‘State ofHuman Rights in Kashmir saidthat at least 30 incidents of mas-sacres were reported in the ter-ritory since January 1990 toMarch 2003.

The Coordinator of Coali-tion of Civil Society, KhurramParvaiz told media men inSrinagar that the actual numberof massacres in the Valley wasmuch higher. He expressed dis-pleasure over the denial of jus-tice in most of the incidents.Theveteran Kashmiri Hurriyetleader, Syed Ali Gilani in astatement issued in Srinagarexpressed serious concern overthe custodial disappearance ofa Kashmiri youth, IshtiaqAhmad Wani from the Indiancity of Chandigarh..—KMS

Delhi willing onspecial permitsfor cross-LoC

traders: MinisterSRINAGAR—Union HomeMinister Sushil Kumar Shindehas said that the Government ofIndia is waiting for a green sig-nal from the Pakistan Govern-ment for allowing banking ser-vices to the cross LoC traders.

He reiterated that business-men involved in the cross LoCtrade would be provided specialtravel permits to travel to theother side. The Home Minis-ter, according to the sources,while interacting with theSalamabad-Chakoti cross LoCtraders at the Nehru GuestHouse here, assured them thatGoI would provide special com-munication facilities to themand the matter is on top priorityand steps in the direction wouldbe taken within a short span oftime. “The Home Minister as-sured the traders that the GOIis serious and sincere towardssolving the problems beingfaced by them and necessarysteps in this regard would betaken in the near future”,sources said. They said theHome Minister revealed thatGoI was ready to provide travelpermits and banking services totraders, however, these facilitiescould only be provided after fi-nalizing modalities with theGovernment of Pakistan.“Traders said the meeting be-tween them and the Union Min-ister had been arranged by Gov-ernor N N Vohra. They thankedGovernor for arranging themeeting.—NNI

Undue extension toHurriyet leaders’

detentiondenounced

SRINAGAR—The Jammu andKashmir Muslim League hascondemned the undue extensionto illegal detention of the party,President Dr MuhammadQasim Fakhtoo and Vice Presi-dent, Masarrat Aalam Butt.

The JKML Spokesman in astatement in Srinagar deploredthat Dr Muhammad QasimFakhtoo had not been releaseddespite completing 20 years injail. On the other hand, MasarratAalam Butt is also in jail sinceSeptember 2010, he added. Theparty complained that the de-tained leaders were not being pre-sented before courts. The JKMLmade it clear that India and itsoccupation authorities could notforce the Hurriyet leaders andactivists into submission throughsuch coercive tactics. The partyalso denounced inhuman treat-ment meted out to another de-tained Hurriyet leader, Mushtaq-ul-Islam.—KMS

SR I N A G A R—Stating thatparamilitary forces would bewithdrawn from Jammu andKashmir soon, the UnionHome Minister Sushil KumarShinde has said Armed ForcesSpecial Powers Act (AFSPA)would be revoked slowly andgradually from the state.

Talking to media personson the sidelines of a functionat Congress headquarters here,Shinde said AFSPA would go“slowly and gradually”.

He, however, did notspecify any deadline. “Wedon’t want to take any risk byjudging the present peace inKashmir as a base for theAFSPA revocation. But thesituation would soon reach astage, where we can withdrawparamilitary forces from theState,” Shinde said in reply toa query how he sees thepresent peace in Kashmir af-ter shopping at Poloview mar-

ket along with the Chief Min-ister Omar Abdullah.

Wishing people of Kash-mir best in the future, theUnion Home Minister said In-dia would never forget thecontribution of people of JKin defeating militancy.

“Peace is the result ofpeoples’ courage and braverythey showed against militancy.Development and other thingswent on side by side,” he said.

On the recruitment of JKyouth in police and paramili-tary forces, Shinde said he haddirected the security agenciesto launch recruitment processin the villages and districts.

“The recruitment wouldtake place on the basis ofneed,” he said. He, however,evaded a reply to the queryabout Union Finance MinisterP Chidambaram saying that“there is nothing wrong inKashmir.” —NNI

Indian Minister rules outAFSPA revocation

SRINAGAR—With just abouttwo weeks to go to Eid-ul-Zuha,the preparations for the festivalseem to have already begun inKashmir Valley.

Despite continuous drop inthe temperatures, the herdsmenhave been flocking to the sum-mer capital for sale of the sacri-ficial animals. Already, themakeshift markets have been setup in Eidgah and at other sitesknown for the purpose. And agood number could be seen vis-iting the markets for purchasingthe sacrificial sheep or goats.

“It is better to make the pur-chases early because the rate in-creases as the day (Eid-ul-Zuha)comes closer,” MuhammadJabbar of Khanyar said. He wassearching through the animals atEidgah for a suitable one.

The herdsmen from far offareas are frequently spotted onthe roads here, driving their cattle

Eid fever catching up in Kashmirtowards markets. It often leadsto traffic jams on the majorroads, and most times peoplestop them to make on-spot pur-chases.

Eid-ul-Zuha is celebrated atthe completion of Haj—the pil-grimage to Mecca. And, apartfrom other festivities that arecommon to Eid-ul-Fitr, Muslimsacross the world sacrifice ani-mals in memory of the prophetHazrat Ibrahim (AS) who wasasked to sacrifice his son in theway of Allah. The people pur-chase new clothes, sweets, andprepare several dishes on theoccasion. The house visiting andexchange of gifts is also a com-mon practice in most Muslimregions.

In the Summer Capital here,the rush in the markets hasstarted to pick up with peopleshopping for clothes and otherhousehold articles. The rush at

the famous Sunday-Market toowas more than normal.

“Well there are still twoweeks to Eid, but since it is righttime for some family shoppingahead of the festival…,” sharedBilquees Gul, a housewife whohad come to the Sunday-Marketwith her husband and two chil-dren. The shopkeepers too aregearing up to host the huge rushexcepted in the coming daysahead of Eid-ul-Zuha. Whilefood stores seem busy preparingthe stock sufficient to meet theexpected demand, the garmentsand toy shops have increasedtheir manpower. “In the comingdays, we will require more man-power to handle the rush, whichcan be ten times more than it isnow…So we have alreadystarted to get help from friendsand relatives,” Abdul Majeed,owner of a kids’ garments storeat Lal Chowk said.—NNI

MUZAFFARABAD: AJK Food Minister speaking to media on the occasion of WorldFood Day

NEW YORK: AJK President Sardar Yaqoob Khan, Secretary to President Sardar Farooq Tabbassum photo-grouped infront of UN headquarters building.

MUZAFFARABAD: A group photo of AJK Information Minister Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi,Javed Iqbal Bhadanvi, Ch. M Ashraf and Hina Javed on World Food Day.

Kashmirimartyrs paid

glowing tributesSRINAGAR—The leader of AllParties Hurriyet Conference andChairman of Jammu and Kash-mir Salvation Movement, ZafarAkbar Butt has paid rich trib-utes to the martyrs of Kashmirand expressed sympathies withtheir families.

Zafar Akbar Butt address-ing public meetings in variousareas of Chadora expressed se-rious concern over plight of de-tainees languishing in variousjails of India and occupiedKashmir. He stressed the au-thorities to stop treating de-tainees inhumanely.

The APHC leader was allpraise for the people and theircommitment with ongoingmovement. He said that Indianpolicy on Kashmir was outdatedand rigid. “Kashmir is the coreissue and Indian rulers are bentupon distorting the historicalfacts,” he added.—KMS

Rates for conversionsKARACHI—The followingrates will be applicable forconversion into rupees ofForeign Currency Depos-its, Dollar Bearer Certifi-cates, Foreign CurrencyBearer Certificates, SpecialU.S. Dollar Bonds andprofits thereon by allbanks and for providingForward Cover on ForeignCurrency Deposits(excluding F.E.25 deposits)by the State Bank onOctober 17, 2012. The ratesare U.S. Dollar Rs 95.3238,Japanese Yen Rs 1.2085,Pound Sterling Rs 153.3092and Euro Rs 123.8446.—APP

PQ remains activeKARACHI—One shipcarrying containers wasallotted berth at PortQasim InternationalContainers Terminalduring last 24 hours.Meanwhile, three moreships scheduled to load/offload containers andedible oil also arrived atouter anchorage of PortQasim during last 24hours, said a PQA pressrelease on Tuesday. Berthoccupancy was 35% at thePort Qasim where totalnumber of four shipsnamely Sealand Washing-ton, MSC Lana, AS Oliviaand M.V Ana Dorothea arecurrently occupyingberths to load/offloadcontainers, chemical andurea respectively duringlast 24 hours. A cargovolume of 56576 tonnescomprising 28772 tonnesimports and 27804 tonnesexports inclusive ofcontainerized cargocarried in 2179 containers(Boxes) were handle at thePort Qasim during last 24hours.—APP

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

BAHAWALPUR—The Bank ofKhyber (BoK)’s assetsreached by Rs. 77 Billion inSeptember 2012 this opera-tional growth showes theconfidence of clients andpublic over BoK as we arecommitted to provide promptand quality services acrossthe country through its en-hanced network in order tocater to the financial needs ofthe business community andgeneral public as a part of itsmission to serve the nation.

This was stated by BilalMustafa Managing DirectorBoK while speaking on theformal inauguration of BoKBahawalpur Branch at LibraryChowk this afternoon. The

BoK assets increase to Rs77bformal inauguration cer-emony was attended bymembers of the businesscommunity apart from BoKGroup Head Credit ImranSamad, Group Head HRDMuhammad Tariq Nasim,Head Business DevelopmentLal Nawaz Khattak, HeadMarketing Syed Ali NawazGilani while Chief Manager ofthe Branch Tahir Mahmoodcoordinate the inaugurationceremony.

Bilal Mustafa mentionedthat country’s economy willonly be flourished when tradeand business activities will fur-ther develop and our societycan prosper, so we at BoK tryour best to encourage businessand trade activities. The BoKis striving hard to enhance out-

reach to the less developed andfar flung areas of the countryso that the same could bebrought par with the economi-cally developed areas.

The Managing Directorinformed the guests that BoKis offering both Conven-tional & Islamic modes of fi-nancing across the countryand focusing more on qual-ity of its services and timelydelivery of financial productsand solutions and playingdue role in the developmentof the country by boostingeconomic and trade activitiesin respective areas. He fur-ther added that BoK being atrade friendly bank is verykeen to lift up the conditionsof the areas wherever theBoK has its presence

Oil mixed in AsiaSINGAPORE—Crude wasmixed in Asia on Tuesdaywith global economicconcerns putting a lid onprices which were sup-ported by tighter EuropeanUnion sanctions againstIran, analysts said. NewYork’s main contract, lightsweet crude for Novemberdelivery shed 22 cents to$91.63 a barrel while BrentNorth Sea crude forNovember delivery addedsix cents to $115.86. Crudewas “holding relativelysteady” as fresh Iraniansanctions tussled withglobal economic worries fortraders’ attention, said VictorShum, senior principal ofPurvin and Gertz energyconsultants in Singapore.“We have concerns aboutthe economy, in particularEurope exerting downwardpressure, but supporting oilare the tighter sanctions onIran from the EU,” he toldAFP. European Unionforeign ministers onMonday agreed toughsanctions against Iran,aimed at forcing a break-through in talks on Tehran’snuclear programme.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Minister ofState for Commerce AbbasKhan Afridi on Tuesday saidthat the new trade policy wasin final stages and it wouldbe announced before Eid-ul-Azha.

Responding to a ques-tion during the QuestionHour, the minister informedthe upper house of the par-liament that the governmentwas holding talks with theEuropean Union (EU) au-thorities for lifting tariff bar-rier over 75 commodities.

He said that the govern-ment had also held meetings

Trade policy before Eidwith the USA officials for es-tablishment of reconstruc-tion opportunity zones(RoZs) in the Federally Ad-ministered Tribal Areas(FATA) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that presently thePakistani textile and clothingproducts were facing hightariffs in the US markets ascompared to other countriesof the region. He said thattalks were also underwaywith the US authorities forgetting concessions for Pa-

kistani textiles products.He also informed that the

textile products in the coun-try were being provided sub-sidy on textile products. Hesaid there was no need for anybusinessman to seek permitfor importing or exporting anycommodity and rather oneonly needs chambers of com-merce permission and a li-cense. He said the commerceministry had no role in thecattle imports and exports asthis authority had been givento another ministry.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The newtrading software of theIslamabad Stock Exchange(ISE) will be operationalsoon. The new system isnamed as Islamabad Elec-tronic Exchange System(IEES) which has been de-veloped by M/s. CatalystIT Solutions which is a re-nowned technology solu-tions provider to financialindustries globally. It willbe a mile stone in the his-tory of ISE providing mul-tiple options to the TRECHolders of ISE. This effi-cient and more transparent

New trading software of ISE to be operational soonsystem of trade execution willenhance the confidence ofthe investors in ISE.

A mock inaugural ses-sion of the System was heldtoday at ISE. The sessionwas attended by ISE Direc-tors, a large number of TRECHolders and their employees.Mian Ayyaz Afzal, ManagingDirector stated that the ideaof having an independenttrading engine was con-ceived by Imtiaz Haider,Commissioner SMD, Securi-ties and Exchange Commis-sion of Pakistan. At this oc-casion, the MD ISE in hiswelcome address explainedthe salient feature of the new

system.He said that the system

will provide online, mobileand SMS trading facilities forthe clients of the TREC Hold-ers. The MD said that thenew trading system withmultiple and advances fea-tures will enable the ISE tobe reap up the benefits of theinformation technology andto be an Exchange having lat-est trading software. Thenew system is meant for selfreliance and business initia-tives for which the entireteam of the project includingQaiser Mushtaq and Dr.Iftikhar Ahmad, MembersTRT and IT Department in

particular, deserved appre-ciation, he added.

The representative of M/s. Catalyst, the developer ofthe new trading system, alsonarrated the features of thenew system. Syed Ali Mehdi,Chief Business Analyst ofCatalyst in his presentationsaid that the new system in-cludes portfolio managementsystem, back office facility,risk management features,order routing, data services,direct market access for lo-cal, foreigner and institu-tional clients and securedconnectivity features and thenew system can be ranked atpar with any trading system

around the globe. Imtiaz Haider, Commis-

sioner, Securities Market Di-vision, SECP being the chiefguest of the event, congratu-lated the Board of Directorsand TREC Holders on suc-cessful accomplishment ofthe new trading systemproject. He said that thedemutualization of our stockexchanges has been com-pleted and we are now mov-ing towards the phase wherethe stock exchanges have toattract strategic investors.Post-demutualization, thingswill change. Two key areaswhere change is inevitableare a) our governance struc-

ture and b) efficiency ofsystems, processes andprice discovery mecha-nisms, he said. With thestock exchanges becomingfor-profit corporationshave rendered the manage-ments accountable for theiractions and there will be agreater need for improvedstandards of governanceand disclosure.

The introduction ofstrategic investors pos-sessing specialized exper-tise, automation solutionsand precious capital willfurther result in the stockmarkets jumpstarting to-wards new heights.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Nearly 30 millionBranchless Banking (BB) ac-counts worth Rs. 115 billionwere processed during asingle quarter (April-June,2012) by only two players(TMFB and UBL – Omni).

Kazi Abdul Muktadir,Deputy Governor, State Bankof Pakistan disclosed thatMobile Phone and Smart Cardbanking accounts havesurged to nearly 1.45 million inthe country, which indicatesthat Pakistan’s financial sectoris now going through a dy-namic transition led by the lat-est technology solutions.

Speaking at the launchingceremony of a new product,“Easy Paisa Khushaal” of

Mobile, Smart Cardbanking accounts at 1.45m

Tameer Microfinance Bank(TMFB) and Telenor at a localhotel in Karachi this afternoon,he said: ‘The existing activeplayers – the TameerMicrofinance Bank (Easypaisa)and UBL (Omni) – have so farregistered more than 1,447,381mobile wallet accounts(mWallet accounts) of un-banked and under-bankedpopulation of the country.

(mWallet accounts areopened under BranchlessBanking (BB) and includeboth Mobile Phone and SmartCard accounts.

Abdul Muktadir said thatsuch type of innovations inproduct designing will notonly attract small savings togenerate internal funding forMicrofinance Banks (MFBs)

but also provide savers afeeling of safety and securityof insurance embodied withthe product. ‘Now the time isonly of demand-driven inno-vative products, throughwhich MFBs can easilyhandle the challenges likescarcity of funding and fi-nancial exclusion,’ he added.

‘With the entry of newplayers and scaling-up of theexisting institutions, thepresent growth momentum ofBB accounts will rise further.Our Tele density also high-lights the inherent potential formobile banking in Pakistan,’ hesaid and added that achieve-ments in the BB services haveput Pakistan at the global cen-tre stage of Financial Inclu-sion and innovation.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Security andExchange Commission of Pa-kistan (SECP) lunched thecountry diagnostic reportthat covers the demand andsupply-side analysis ofmicroinsurance in Pakistan.The report was launchedduring the Roundtable onMicroinsurance held hereTuesday.

A diagnostic study, com-pleted with the assistancefrom FIRST Initiative/ WorldBank, forms the basis ofstocktaking where the sub-ject stands today and whereit needs to be taken.

The SECP is in processof formulating a regulatoryframework for themicroinsurance sector. Thepolicy regulations will be is-

SECP to issue regulationpolicy for microinsurance

sued following the comple-tion of methodical delibera-tion and consultative pro-cess with the stakeholderson proposed framework.

The participants at thePolicy Roundtable have a fo-cused discussion on policyissues and deliberated on vi-able microinsurance businessmodels. It was recognized inthe roundtable that withoutmeeting the insurance needsof low-income people, the risksto economic developmentwouldn’t be safeguarded.

Addressing the meetingSECP Commissioner Insur-ance Muhammad Asif Arifsaid that a conducive andenabling regulatory environ-ment is required for the de-velopment ofmicroinsurance. The Com-missioner said that the SECP

is extensively working in thearea of developing themicroinsurance segment, in-cluding the regulatory frame-work for this important lineof business. He said that themicroinsurance products willalso provide an opportunityto small farmers to get theircrops and livestock insuredagainst the natural calamitiessuch as floods.

Nadeem Hussain, ViceChairman, PakistanMicrofinance Network saidthat i t has also beenproved by the recentfloods in Pakistan where,in the absence of properinsurance coverage, theeconomic losses sufferedby the masses had an ad-verse effect on the overallf inancial and economicstability.

ISLAMABAD—The Senatewas informed that no per-mission or licence is re-quired for the export ofgoods to all the countries.

Minister of State forCommerce Abbas KhanAfridi told the House dur-ing question hour that theexport of the banned itemsis‚ however‚ not allowed forany country.

He said that in past thetrade policy was made onyearly basis while since2009 a three year tradepolicy is being imple-

No permission needed forexport of goods to all states

mented.To a question‚ Minister

of State for Commerce AbbasKhan Afridi said that a num-ber of steps are being takenby the government to getpreferential access to US andEuropean Union markets fortextile and clothing export.

The Minister of Statesaid that European Union hasannounced trade concessionon 75 products for Pakistansubject to WTO waiver in theaftermath of devastatingfloods of 2010.

To a question‚ Minister for

Industries Chaudhary PervaizElahi in a written reply saidthe government has taken anumber of steps for revival ofthe sick industrial units.

He said the energy sup-ply is being enhanced tomeet the increasing energydemand of the industrialunits. The House starteddiscussion on the situationarising out of the currentfloods in Balochistan andSindh provinces. The mo-tion was moved by IshaqDar and Syed Tahir HussainMashhadi.—NNI

Bilal Mustafa, Managing Director BoK inaugurating BoK Bahawalpur branch, BoKgroup heads and senior management officials were also present on the occasion.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The EuropeanUnion (EU) remains indiffer-ent to Free Trade Agreement(FTA) with Pakistan but maygrant Generalised System ofPreferences (GSP) schemefrom January 1, 2014 onwardsas Pakistan has ratified 27Conventions, with reserva-tions.

The EU will not grantduty free access to Pakistanuntil the death penalty isscrapped, governance im-proved and human rightsviolations tackled.

According to the Com-merce Ministry, presently Pa-kistan is benefiting from the

GSP scheme from Jan 2014general arrangement like manyother developing countries.However, EU has now intro-duced changes in its criterionfor GSP plus which providesduty free access to a broadrange of products to develop-ing countries which fulfill thefollowing criteria: (i) the ben-eficiary country must has rati-fied and implemented 27 UNConventions relating to hu-man rights, good governanceand environment and (ii) itmust be eligible on followingaccounts (a) the county is notclassified as a high incomecountry and five largest sec-tions of its GSP covered ex-ports account for more than 75percent of total GSP covered

exports to EU; (b) GSP coveredexports to EU account for lessthan two percent of total EUGSP covered imports; and (c)the beneficiary country is notlisted as middle income or highmiddle income country as perthe criterion of World Bank.The Commerce Ministry hasbeen requesting the EU forFTA, however, response of EUhas been not yet committed inthis regard.

According to officialdocuments, European FreeTrade Association (EFTA)comprising Iceland, Norway,Principality of Liechtensteinand Switzerland, haveagreed to sign declaration ofcooperation with Pakistan.

President of KCCI presenting a memento to US CG.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Tele-communication CompanyLimited (PTCL) brings spe-cial Eid gift for its customersoffering 3G EVO Tab for justRs 12,000 with 3 MonthsUnlimited Internet.

With this special Eid of-fer, customers can now saveup to 18,000 on purchase ofnew PTCL EVO Tab alongwith 3 Months UnlimitedInternet. At the end of 3months, customers will auto-matically shift over to thenormal monthly package.Customers can also avail vari-ous volume based postbundle recharge options.

PTCL 3G EVO Tab isPakistan’s First 3G enabledSmartphone Android tablet

PTCL 3G EVO tab special Eid offerwith in-built EVO Wirelessbroadband service that givesdual support for both EVDOand GSM/CDMA networks.

“PTCL’s growth as an in-novative telecom company isdue to its enhanced servicequality and product diver-

sity,” said Senior ExecutiveVice President Commercial,Naveed Saeed. “We are con-stantly striving to bring prod-ucts and services that meetour customers’ expectationsand empower them to experi-ence the future today.”

OGDCL tobuild 175

water storagetanks in KohatSTAFF CORRESPONDENT

IS L A M A B A D—The Oil &Gas Development Com-pany (OGDCL) will con-struct 175 water storagetanks under corporate so-cial responsibility to pro-vide clean drinking water topeople in TehsilShakardara, Kohat.

The State-run companyhas floated tenders in na-tional dailies to build the wa-ter tanks at a cost of Rs.6.6million and the tenderswould be opened at regionalcoordinator office on No-vember-6.

The Company has beenoperating in the area forthe last several years andproducing 7,500 barrels ofcrude oil per day and 28 mil-lion cubic feet gas. Simi-larly, the Company has al-ready taken effective stepsfor provision of basic fa-ci l i t ies to people of thearea.

As part of such effortsthe Company has releasedfunds of Rs.1 million for re-construction of govern-ment high school atShakardara.

Moreover, the Oil &Gas Development Com-pany (OGDCL) is providingclean drinking water to resi-dents of the areas with trac-tor-trolleys costing Rs.1.2million a month, In addition,funds are released for pro-vision of medicines to Dis-trict Headquarters Hospitalof the Tehsil Shakardara ata cost of Rs.40.000 premonth. The company hasconstructed a road likingIndus Highway at a cost ofRs.90 million and the localpeople had been given jobsas part of strategy to eradi-cate poverty from the area.

Askari Bank getsfirst position in Best

Corporate ReportAwards for 2011OBSERVER REPORT

I S L A M A B A D — A s k a r iBank’s Annual Report for2011 was awarded the firstposition in the banking sec-tor by the Joint Committeeof The Institute of Char-tered Accountants of Paki-stan (ICAP) and The Insti-tute of Cost and Manage-ment Accountants of Paki-stan (ICMAP) at a ceremonyheld on October 8, 2012 inKarachi. Askari Bank hasbeen a regular participantand winner of corporate re-port awards at the local andregional level.

The objective of theawards is to give recogni-tion to excellence in corpo-rate reporting in order topromote accountability andtransparency throughtimely, informative, factualand reader-friendly AnnualReports for all stake hold-ers of an organization.

The Best Corporate Re-port Awards are conferredto the best annual reportsin selected categories eachyear by a Joint Committeeof ICAP and The Instituteof Cost and ManagementAccountants of Pakistan.

I take responsibility for Benghazi: ClintonLIMA—U.S. Secretary of State HillaryRodham Clinton assumed responsibilityon Monday for last month’s deadly at-tack on the U.S. diplomatic mission inBenghazi, Libya, which has become anissue in the hard-fought U.S. presiden-tial campaign. U.S. Secretary of StateHillary Clinton gives a speech to the me-dia at the government palace in Lima, Oc-tober 15, 2012. Clinton is on a two-dayofficial visit to Peru. “I take responsibil-

ity” for what happened on September 11, Clinton said in aninterview with CNN during a visit to Peru, adding that Presi-dent Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden would notbe responsible for specific security instructions for U.S. dip-lomatic facilities. “I’m in charge of the State Department’s60,000-plus people all over the world,” Clinton said. “Thepresident and the vice president wouldn’t be knowledgeableabout specific decisions that are made by security profes-sionals. They’re the ones who weigh all of the threats and therisks and the needs and make a considered decision.”Clinton’s comments followed stepped-up criticism of theObama administration over the Benghazi attack, which Re-publican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has sought touse to dent Obama’s foreign policy credibility before the No-vember 6 election. Republicans in particular have focused onthe Obama administration’s shifting explanations for the at-tack, which Clinton said in two separate television interviewson Monday were the result of “the fog of war.”—Reuters

$1 billion blocked ‘Arab spring’ assetsGENEVA—Switzerland has blockednearly one billion Swiss francs (664.63million pounds) in stolen assets linkedto dictators in four countries at the cen-tre of the Arab spring - Egypt, Libya,Syria and Tunisia - the Swiss foreignministry said on Tuesday. Ambassadorand Legal Adviser at the Swiss ForeignMinistry Valentin Zellweger gesturesduring a conference on illicit assets heldin Swiss bank accounts by the govern-

ment at the Geneva Press Club in Geneva. Swiss authoritiesare cooperating with judicial authorities in Tunisia and Egyptto speed restoration of the funds, but it is expected to takeyears, said Valentin Zellweger, head of the international lawdepartment at the Swiss foreign ministry. “Today a total ofone billion francs is blocked in the framework of Arabspring,” he told a news briefing in Geneva, giving the latestfigures for funds frozen since early 2011. The bulk of theassets, nearly 700 million francs, are tied to former PresidentHosni Mubarak and his entourage, he said. Swiss foreignminister Didier Burkhalter held talks in Cairo on Sundaywith his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Kamal Amr on ju-dicial cooperation to restore the embezzled funds, he said.Some 60 million francs linked to ousted Tunisian presidentBen Ali has also been seized, Zellweger said. In line withU.N. Security Council sanctions, 100 million francs linked tothe late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and 100 millionfrancs linked to Syrian President Bashir al-Assad and asso-ciates are blocked.—Reuters

Karadzic denies Bosnia war crimesTHE HAGUE—Former Bosnian Serbleader Radovan Karadzic, on trial accusedof some of the worst atrocities in Europesince World War Two, said he should bepraised for promoting peace rather thancharged with war crimes, an assertionhotly denied by some victims. Karadzicis one of three Serb leaders brought totrial in The Hague for war crimes duringthe violent break-up of multi-ethnic Yu-goslavia between 1991 and 1999, in which

more than 100,000 people were killed and millions were dis-placed. Now 67 and still recognisable by his shock of whitehair, he began his own defence on Tuesday against chargesof genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, andcross-examined witnesses himself. Looking resigned but re-laxed and reading from a pre-written speech, he said Muslimshad faked the circumstances of two shellings of a market-place in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo during a siege by Serbforces. More than 100 people were killed. “Sarajevo is mycity, and any story that we would shell Sarajevo without anyreason is untrue,” he said, reiterating long-standing allega-tions by the Serb side which have already been refuted bythe Hague tribunal in an earlier case. Prosecutors at the Inter-national Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia say Karadzicwas jointly responsible for the shelling of Sarajevo whenBosnian Serb forces besieged it from 1992-6. He is also chargedwith being behind the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims inSrebrenica in 1995.—Reuters

Hungary tweaks voting systemBUDAPEST—Hungary’s parliament ap-proved a law late on Monday that willforce its citizens to register in advanceto vote in national elections, fuellingconcerns over democratic safeguardsin the former Communist state.Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban,accompanied by Georgia’s PresidentMikheil Saakashvili, takes part in anofficial welcoming ceremony in Tbilisi.The bill was drafted by the constitu-

tional affairs committee and endorsed by the ruling Fideszparty of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who opponents sayhas pushed through policies that threaten the indepen-dence of the country’s media, judiciary and central bank.Hungary’s around 8 million eligible voters will have tosign up in person or online 15 days before the next parlia-mentary vote, expected in the first half of 2014. Hungar-ians abroad, including hundreds of thousands of new vot-ers granted dual citizenship after Orban took power in 2010,will be able to sign up by mail, an option not available todomestic voters. Orban’s Fidesz says registration is nec-essary given the large swathes of potential new voters in2014, arguing the reform will strengthen democracy byencouraging people to take a more active role in the pro-cess. But opposition parties say the new system, whichwill be carved into the constitution in a final parliamentaryvote due on October 29, erodes voters’ rights.—Reuters

Netanyahu seen easy victorJERUSALEM—Israel’s Parliament onTuesday set a January 22 date for a na-tional election and opinion polls predictan easy win for Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu in balloting expected to fo-cus on his tough policies on Iran’s nuclearprogramme and economics. Israel’s PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu smiles dur-ing a Likud party meeting at the Knesset,the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem. Law-makers approved the measure by a vote

of 100 to nil after a more than eight-hour debate, dissolvingparliament, or ending its term of office, effective immediatelyand months ahead of schedule. Israeli elections had beenexpected in October 2013, but it is common for governmentsto break up before their terms expire over disagreements aboutbudgets, policy on religion or the nation’s conflicts with Araband other neighbours. Opinion polls have indicated an easyelection victory for the right-wing Likud party’s leaderNetanyahu, who is likely to head a coalition that includesnationalist and religious parties.—Reuters

BAGHDAD—Scores of IraqiShi’ite militants are fighting inSyria, often alongside Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad’stroops, and pledging loyaltyto Iran’s supreme Shi’ite reli-gious leader, according tomilitia fighters and politiciansin Iraq. Iraqi Shi’ite militia in-volvement in Syria’s conflictexposes how rapidly the cri-sis has spiralled into a proxywar between Assad’s mainally Shi’ite Iran and the SunniArab Gulf states supportingmostly Sunni rebels fightingthe president. The conflicthas already drawn in a streamof Sunni Islamist fighters fromacross the region attracted tothe rebel cause, while on theother side Syrian rebels accuseLebanon’s Shi’ite Hezbollahof supporting Assad’s troopson the ground.

For Iraqi Shi’ites who fol-low Iran’s Ayatollah AliKhamenei, the uprising in

Iraqi Shi’ite militants are fighting for AssadSyria threatens Shi’ite influ-ence and Iraqis fighting theresay they see a duty to helpAssad because of their loy-alty to the Islamic Republic’shighest authority. Amongthem are defectors and formerfighters from anti-U.S. Iraqicleric Moqtada al-Sadr’sMehdi Army, the Iran-backedBadr group and Asaib al-Haqand Kata’ib Hezbollah, militiaswho once waged a bloodywar on American troops,Shi’ite militants and Iraqi poli-ticians say.

Shi’ite politicians say mili-tants fighting in Syria have noofficial sanction from their mi-litia leadership or from Iraq’sShi’ite-led government whichis caught in a delicate balanc-ing act between its ally Tehran,and Western and Arab pow-ers calling for Assad to go.Some of the Iraqi militants areformer Mehdi Army fighterswho took refugee in Syria af-

ter 2007 when their group wascrushed by Iraqi forces. Oth-ers, loyal to Khamenei as a re-ligious authority, crossed overrecently, fighters and Iraqipoliticians say.

“We formed the Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas brigadewhich includes 500 Iraqi, Syr-ian and some other nationali-ties,” an Iraqi defector fromthe Mehdi Army who goes bythe name of Abu Hajar toldReuters by satellite telephonefrom Syria. “When the fight-ing erupted in our areas, wecarried out some joint militaryoperations side by side withthe Syrian army to clean upareas seized by rebels,” saidAbu Hajar, who like otherswas a refugee in Syria beforethe conflict.

The brigade is named af-ter Abu al-Fadhl al-Abbas, abrother of Imam Hussain BinAli, a grandson of the ProphetMohammed. Al-Abbas was

killed with his brother morethan 1,300 years ago, and sincethen has become a symbol ofsacrifice for Shi’ite Islam. An-other Mehdi Army defector,Abu Mujahid, who recentlyreturned from Syria to visit hisfamily in the Iraqi city of Najafsaid his group’s mission inSyria was restricted to secur-ing the famed Sayyida ZeinabShi’ite shrine and its nearbyShi’ite neighbourhoods.

But sometimes, he said,they carry out pre-emptiveraids on Free Syrian Armyrebel fighters, whenever theyget information rebels will at-tack the shrine, offices ofShi’ite religious leaders,known as Marjaiya, and Shi’iteneighbourhoods. Our missionis securing the shrine, theShi’ite areas and the Marjaiyaoffices,” Abu Mujahid said.“We have no clear battlefield,but, from time to time, we carryout raids with the army on the

Free Syrian Army fighters are seen on the front line in Aleppo’s Bustan Al-Basha district.

sites of the Free Syrian Army.”Syrian rebels consider the

Shi’ite militants a pro-Assadmilitia. Some have been cap-tured and killed in combat,militants and local families inIraq said. In Baghdad’s AmeenShi’ite neighbourhood, a largerecently erected billboardshows the photograph of abearded Mehdi Army militantwho the poster proclaims be-came a “martyr” in February.Neighbourhood families sayhe was killed in fighting inSyria. A video posted onYouTube last month by Syr-ian rebels showed a youngman named as Ahmed al-Maksosi whose face appearedto be swollen with signs ofbeating and torture as he con-fessed that he was a MehdiArmy fighter.

Iraqi Shi’ite militants saidMaksosi was one of their com-rades fighting with them in oneof the Sayyida Zeinab

neighbourhoods. They saidhe was kidnapped and tor-tured by the FSA before hewas killed. Abu Mujahid, AbuHajar and Iraqi Shi’ite politi-cians with knowledge of themilitias said those who wentto Syria were individual vol-unteers travelling with theirown passports through regu-lar routes.

They said there were con-tacts responsible for receivingand organizing volunteers,arming them and directingthem to tasks, but all were fac-ing the problem of funding,much of which they said camefrom some Iraqi merchants inSyria. The Badr organization,Asaib al-Haq and MehdiArmy leaders told Reuters theyhad not sent fighters to Syriabecause they believe the up-heaval was an internal affair.Sending fighters would be anintervention in the Syrian af-fairs.—Reuters

TEHRAN—Iran on Tuesdaydenounced the new Euro-pean Union sanctions as “in-human,” vowing they will notforce any retreat on thecountry’s suspect nuclearprogram. The remarks by For-eign Ministry spokesmanRamin Mehmanparast am-plify Iran’s insistence that itcan ride out Western eco-nomic pressures aimed at rein-ing in Tehran’s uranium en-richment.

The West and its alliesfear the process could leadto nuclear weapons develop-ment, a charge Iran denies,saying its nuclear ambitionsare only for peaceful pur-poses. The 27-nation on blocMonday banned imports ofIranian natural gas and im-posed other restrictions ontrade and financial dealings.Previous Western sanctionshave targeted Iran’s critical oilexports and access to inter-national banking networks.

Mehmanparast told re-porters Tuesday the new EUmeasures will not force Iranto back down from enrichinguranium to make nuclear fuel.

New EU sanctions‘inhuman’: Iran

He called the sanctions “ille-gal, unwise and inhuman.”“They cannot force the Ira-nian nation to surrender andwithdraw,” saidMehmanparast. “This sort ofacts will encourage the Ira-nian nation to continue on itsway, strongly.”

He said the nuclear issueis merely a pretext since theWest had imposed varioussanctions for decades onIran. “It is pretty clear thatIran’s persistence on its in-dependence is the main prob-lem” for the West, he said. At a meeting with EU ambas-sadors in Jerusalem, IsraeliPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu thanked the Eu-ropean Union for imposingwhat he called “tough sanc-tions” against the “greatestthreat to peace in our time.”

Netanyahu observedTuesday that while the sanc-tions were “hitting the Iranianeconomy hard,” they haven’tyet halted the Iranian pro-gram. “We will know that theyare achieving their goal whenthe centrifuges stop spin-ning.”—AP

LONDON—A British computerhacker accused by the UnitedStates of breaking into militarysystems will be spared fromextradition because he is atrisk of committing suicide, in-terior minister Theresa Maysaid on Tuesday. GaryMcKinnon, who has beenfighting extradition for sevenyears, faced up to 60 years inan American jail if found guiltyof what one U.S. prosecutorcalled the “biggest militarycomputer hack of all time”.

“I have concluded that Mr.McKinnon’s extraditionwould give rise to such a highrisk of him ending his life thata decision to extradite wouldbe incompatible with Mr.McKinnon’s human rights,”May told parliament “I havetherefore withdrawn the extra-dition order against Mr.McKinnon.”

McKinnon, 46, admitshacking into Pentagon andNASA computers under the

UK not to extraditehacker to US

pseudonym “Solo” but saidhe was just looking for sup-pressed evidence of UFOs.

U.S. officials say theformer computer systems ad-ministrator accessed 97 mili-tary and NASA computers be-tween 2001 and 2002, dis-abling key naval systems andcausing more than $700,000 ofdamage.

He suffers from Asperger’sSyndrome, a form of autism,and has been fighting extradi-tion since British police ar-rested him in 2005. May saidshe had taken her decision notto extradite him after studyingmedical reports and taking“extensive” legal advice.

“Mr. McKinnon is ac-cused of serious crimes, butthere is also no doubt that heis seriously ill,” she said. Itwould now be up to Britishprosecutors to decide whetherMcKinnon had any case toanswer in a court in Britain,May added.—Reuters

B R U S S E L S — E u r o p e a nUnion governments imposedsanctions on Tuesdayagainst major Iranian statecompanies in the oil and gasindustry, and strengthenedrestrictions on the centralbank, cranking up financialpressure over Tehran’snuclear program. Among themore than 30 firms and insti-tutions listed in the EU’s Of-ficial Journal as targets forasset freezes in Europe wasthe National Iranian Oil Com-pany, one of the world’s larg-est crude exporters, and theNational Iranian Tanker Com-pany.

Both are vital elements ofthe Iranian oil industry, themain source of revenue for thegovernment which is beingtargeted by Western sanc-tions. Their importance hasrisen in recent months as gov-ernments in Europe andUnited States seek to curbTehran’s access to cash, forc-ing Western companies tohalt trade with Iran and, inturn, driving Tehran to relymore on domestic firms.

Justifying the decision,

Anti-Iran sanctionstarget oil, gas, tankers

EU governments said bothNIOC and NITC provide finan-cial support to the govern-ment. Iran said the sanctionswould not work. “We recom-mend that, instead of takingthe wrong approach and be-ing stubborn and using pres-sure, ... with a logical approachthey can return to discus-sions,” foreign ministryspokesman RaminMehmanparast told a newsconference.

The United States has al-ready imposed restrictions onNIOC last month and hasblacklisted the tanker com-pany. Washington has ar-gued the NIOC is linked withthe Islamic RevolutionaryGuard Corps, Iran’s elite forcewhich according to the U.S.Treasury Department has re-cently been coordinating acampaign to sell Iranian oil inan effort to evade Westernsanctions.

The new listings flesh outa decision by the EU’s 27 gov-ernments on Monday to intro-duce sweeping new sanctionsagainst the Iranian industry,banking and energy sectors in

the hope of drawing Tehraninto serious negotiationsabout its atom project. Irandenies its work has any mili-tary intentions and says it willnot abandon it unless majorinternational sanctions arelifted.

But Europe and the UnitedStates are refusing to do so,amid growing concerns overIran’s nuclear project and fearsof an Israeli attack on Tehran’snuclear installations whichcould flare up into a new warin the Middle East. InTuesday’s list, the EuropeanUnion also targeted NIOC sub-sidiaries, as well as the Na-tional Iranian Gas Companyand National Iranian Oil Refin-ing and Distribution. Severalbanks were also listed.Neitherthe United States nor Europeimport Iranian oil and both aretrying to curb Iran’s sales else-where.

In Monday’s decision, theEuropean Union also bannedimports of natural gas to Eu-rope and imposed broad mea-sures against EU companiescooperating with Iran’s ship-building industry.—Reuters

MOSCOW—Russia launcheda crackdown on smoking onTuesday with a bill to ban to-bacco advertising and raisetaxes on cigarettes to helptackle a public health crisis inthe world’s second largest to-bacco market after China.Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in a video blog that44 million Russians, nearly onein three, were hooked on smok-ing, and almost 400,000 dieevery year of smoking-relatedcauses.

Under Health Ministryproposals, tobacco advertis-ing - now only allowed insome print media - would beoutlawed, taxes increased oncigarette sales and smoking incafes and other public spaceseventually banned. The bill isexpected to be submitted toparliament for approval in thecoming days.

“Every year (the equiva-lent of) a large city disap-pears,” Medvedev said. “Thegovernment has adopted ananti-tobacco strategy and to-day we are beginning to put itin place.” The habit of light-ing up in Russia, where the airin bars, coffee shops and stair-

Anti-smokingcrackdown in Russia

wells is thick with smoke, isencouraged by the cheapprice of cigarettes. A pack typi-cally costs around 50-60roubles (less than $2).

While President VladimirPutin is a non-smoker and hasreprimanded ministers forsmoking, some other top offi-cials, such as Foreign Minis-ter Sergei Lavrov, are heavysmokers. Some people onMoscow streets doubted themeasures would have any ef-fect. “People will smoke nomatter what, its Russia,” saidViktor, a salesman who did notgive his surname.

The government hopesthe legislation will help im-prove life expectancy, whichat 62 for men and 74 for womenin 2009, remains low by thestandards of other middle-in-come countries. The HealthMinistry supports a greaterincrease in duty. The pro-posed legislation follows inthe footsteps of other coun-tries, mostly in the West,who have imposed strictcontrols on the advertisingand sales of cigarettes andbanned smoking in publicplaces.—Reuters

Maskedgunmen killIraqi military

adviser in SanaaSANAA—Two masked men ona motorcycle shot dead anIraqi military adviser toYemen’s army on Tuesday,security and medical sourcessaid, extending a series of kill-ings bearing the hallmarks ofal Qaeda. The United Statesis worried that al Qaeda, en-trenched in parts of Yemenwill use a power vacuum tolaunch attacks abroad, andhas stepped up drone strikeson suspected militants withthe backing of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Iraqi Brigadier GeneralKhaled al-Hashemi, whoworks as a consultant at theMinistry of Defence, wasgunned down near the for-eign intelligence servicebuilding in the Yemeni capi-tal Sanaa, a security sourcesaid. “This operation is al-most identical to the assassi-nation of the security officerat the U.S. Embassy and hasthe fingerprints of al Qaeda(on it),” said the source, whoasked not to be named.

Last week, Qassem Aqlan,a Yemeni man who worked inthe security office of the U.S.Embassy in Sanaa, was killedby gunmen in a drive-byshooting. Hashemi was partof a team tasked with restruc-turing the Yemeni army afterthe popular uprising thatousted long-time strongmanpresident Ali Abdullah Salehin February.

He was one of severalIraqi military experts hired bythe Sanaa government afterthe toppling of SaddamHussein in 2003, a govern-ment source said. Tuesday’sattack was the latest in a se-ries targeting security offi-cials and politicians in theimpoverished and often cha-otic Arabian Peninsula state,which is battling Islamist mili-tants with U.S. assistance.

Yemen-based Al Qaeda inthe Arabian Peninsula(AQAP) and other militantgroups seized parts of thecountry during the anti-Salehrevolt. The Yemeni-U.S. of-fensive drove Islamist fight-ers out of several southerntowns earlier this year, butmilitants have struck backwith a series of bombingsand killings.On Mondaynight, unknown attackershurled a hand grenade at thehome of Magli Ahmed, themilitary police chief inSanaa, according to the De-fence Ministry.—Reuters

Egypt’s top courtcriticizes

constitution draftCAIRO—Egypt’s most pres-tigious court has lashed outat an Islamist-led panel taskedwith writing the country’snew constitution, saying pro-posed provisions undercutits mandate and keep it underthe president’s power.

Supreme ConstitutionalCourt member Tahani el-Gibaly says the provisions are“disastrous.” She says thepanel ignored proposals toallow courts, rather than thecountry’s president, tochoose the members andhead.

She spoke after judgesheld a rare news conferenceTuesday denouncing theproposals. SCC head Maherel-Behiri told reporters thecourt is in permanent sessionin protest. Another court isset to rule on challenges tothe panel drafting the consti-tution, which is dominated byIslamists.

Tensions between Islam-ists and top courts have risenin the past year over rulingsdissolving Islamist-domi-nated bodies and otherwisecurbing their power.—Reutes

KUWAIT—Kuwaiti securityforces detained at least fivepeople, including the son of aprominent opposition figure,at an anti-government protestagainst possible changes toan election law, witnesses saidon Tuesday. Several peoplewere hurt in skirmishes at therally, attended by at least 5,000people who defied a requestby authorities to cancel theMonday night demonstra-tion.

Although Kuwait hasavoided the mass Arab Springprotests seen elsewhere in theregion, tensions have esca-lated between the major oilproducer’s elected parliament,where the majority oppositionbloc is made up of Islamist andtribal lawmakers, and the cabi-net which is dominated by theruling al-Sabah family. One ofKuwait’s main oppositiongroups called for a sit-in out-side parliament on Tuesday toprotest the arrests.In some ofthe strongest remarks by anopposition figure, former law-maker Musallam al-Barrak ap-pealed directly to Kuwait’sEmir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad

Five arrested at bigKuwait protest rally

al-Sabah to avoid “autocraticrule”. His speech to the crowdcontained extremely rare criti-cism of the 83-year-old emir,which analysts said couldspark a strong reaction fromthe authorities.

The son of Ahmed al-Saadoun, another prominentopposition leader and formerparliament speaker, wasamong those detained duringthe protest near parliament,where several anti-govern-ment demonstrations havetaken place in the past year.“In the name of the nation, inthe name of the people, we willnot let you, your highness, ...practice autocratic rule,”Barrak told the rally in a speechaddressed to the emir.

“I think the opposition isbuilding up fear for politicalreasons. They are in electioncampaigning mode,” a Ku-wait-based diplomat said. “Iwould find it very surprisingif the government tried topush through changes bydecree,” the diplomat said,adding that the tense atmo-sphere was likely to remainuntil the vote.—Reuters

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Unlike inYuvraj Singh’s case, wherelung-cancer was not diag-nosed in its early stage,apparently Martin Crowe’scancer is liked to havebeen found in a very ini-tial stage.

“Martin Crowe had twomeetings with his doctorlast week and his third meet-ing is scheduled to be heldtonight”, his family-friendand manager, Ms. LouiseHenderson, speaking exclu-sively over telephone fromAuckland said on Tuesdaymorning.

“He is feeling positive.Many people recover fromthis form of Lymphoma”,she added.

“Crowe is young and fitand a champion - he is usedto placing his body on the

Martin Crowe lives a healthylifestyle consciously: Consults

nutritionist to learn about food dietline and giving his best, hewill be doing this again”, shefurther added.

“He has consulted witha Nutritionist to learn moreabout the kinds of food heshould be eating and this isnot too different from how helives anyway - Martin lives ahealthy lifestyle con-sciously”, Louise Hendersonadded.

Lymphoma, which af-fects the blood, is the sixthmost common cancer in theworld. Nearly 300 people inNew Zealand die in a yearfrom this type of cancer,which is slightly more com-mon in men than women.However, Crowe is a fighter.Last year, at the age of 49, hehad decided to come out of16-years of retirement andmade serious return to thegame.

Crowe, if needed, mayconsult Yuvraj’s cancer-specialist Dr. Lawrence

Einhorn, who is a Distin-guished Professor ofMedicine at Indiana Uni-versity School of Medi-cine and an oncologist.“Please send the special-ist details and I will passon to Martin (Crowe)”, themanager signed off.

“Very sad news aboutMartin Crowe. Martin isone of our best players ofall time and is held in highregard here in New Zealand.However he is a tough in-dividual and I am sure histough inner strength anddetermination will see himfight off this illness”, HeathMills, the Chief Executive,New Zealand Cricket Play-ers Association (NZCPA)said.

“We have all watchedYuvraj Singh overcomecancer recently and wehope that Martin can followhis lead and do the same”,he added.

KARACHI—A world XI willplay two Twenty20 cricketmatches in Pakistan this weekin a development organisershope will help to convinceforeign teams to tour thecountry. “We hope that whenthe world XI that includesseveral former test and inter-national players plays in Pa-kistan it will send out a posi-tive signal to the outsideworld,” chief organiserMohammad Ali Shah told anews conference on Tues-day.

International cricket hasbeen suspended in Pakistansince March 2009 when mili-tants attacked the SriLankan team in Lahore, kill-ing six Pakistani policemenand a van driver andwounding five of the visit-ing players. No test teamhas toured Pakistan sincethen while the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) moved2011 World Cup matchesaway from Pakistan due tosecurity concerns.

“The world XI will playagainst a Pakistan stars XI onSaturday and Sunday,” Shahsaid. Former Sri Lankan cap-tain Sanath Jayasuriya, WestIndians Ricardo Powell,Steven Taylor, JermaineCharles Lawson and AdamSanford and South AfricansJustin Kemp, Loots Bosman,Mthandeki Tschabalala,Andre Nel, Andre JohannSeymore and Nantie Hay-ward had agreed to play forthe visiting side.

The Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) welcomed themove but said in a media re-lease that security would bethe responsibility of theorganisers.

Chief Organizer andSindh Sports Minister Dr.Muhammad Ali Shah said,

World XI to play twomatches in Pakistan

5000 security personnel to be deployed

“Around 5000 security per-sonnel will be deployed dur-ing All Star Pakistan XI andWorld XI two Twenty20matches being played here atNational Stadium on October20-21”.

“Rangers, Police, CityWardens and other securityagencies will be guardingthe stadium and placed inand around the hotel and onthe route to stadium duringthe matches,” he told re-

porters at news conference.“Federal Interior Ministry

and Sindh Home departmentare on board for foolproofsecurity arrangements beingmade for the matches,” headded.

“Security is our top pri-ority and we are makingelaborate arrangements inthis regard,” Dr.Shah com-

mented.“Holding of these

matches was a challengingtask for me but I always ac-cepted the challenges andnow we close are to reality,”he asserted.

Dr. Shah said Sindh ChiefMinister Syed Qaim Ali Shahwill be the chief guest onOctober 20 while Sindh Gov-ernor Dr.Ishrat-ul- Ebad Khanwill be the chief guest at thepresentation ceremony on

October 21.He said Sindh Governor

was taking keen interest instaging of these matches andpersonally getting updatesfrom him regularly.

He dispelled the impres-sions that Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) was not fullyinvolved in holding of thesematches.

“I was in Lahore yester-day and held meetings withdifferent PCB officials in-cluding Chairman ZakaAshraf. They are fully coop-erating in staging of thematches and there was nodouble standard of theboard,” he added.

However no PCB officialswas present during the pressconference. Former Testwicket-keeper Salim Yousuf,who had been appointed as

the coach of All Pakistan XIwith KCCA President SyedSirajul Islam Bukhari, Mem-ber Organizing CommitteeMehtab Ahmed and NusratFaheem, Liaison OfficerShahid Muhammad, JamilAhmed were also present onthe occasion.

“Holding of thesematches are of great signifi-

cance as it will open the doorfor return of internationalcricket back to Pakistan,”Sindh Sports Minister said.

“These matches will at-tract big crowd in otherwisedeserted stadium,” he main-tained.

“Successful staging ofthese match will send a posi-tive signal across the worldthat Pakistan is safe for sport-ing activities.

Dr. Shah also negated theimpressions that some of Pa-kistan players includingUmar Gul, Shoaib Malik andSohail Tanvir are not avail-able for these matches.

He said Sohail Tanvirwas not in his Pakistan XIlist but rest of the playerswill be featuring in the eventincluding captain ShahidKhan Afridi.

He however said PCB hasnot granted permission tooff- spinner Saeed Ajmal tofeature in these matches.

Dr. Muhammad Ali Shahsaid an estimated budget ofRs.30 million is being spenton staging these matcheswith A.O.Clinic being the of-ficial sponsor.

Tickets in denominationof Rs.500, 300 and Rs. 30(General Enclosure) will beput on sale from Wednes-day.

He said 30 percent of themoney raised will be donatedfor the flood relief fund.

Chief Organizer said offi-cial media launch will be heldin Sheraton Hotel on Octo-ber 19 alongwith the playersof two teams.

He particularly appreci-ated KCCA President SirajulIslam Bukhari, Manager Na-tional Stadium MuhammadArshad Khan for the coop-eration and coordination forthe matches.—Agencies

KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Sports Dr Muhammad Ali Shah addressing a Pressconference regarding the T-20 matches to be played between World XI and Pakistan AllStars XI at National Stadium.

CAPE TOWN: Joe Root top-scored for Yorkshire with 25 during Sydney Sixers vs Yorkshire, Group B, ChampionsLeague Twenty20.

BERLIN—Lance Armstrongshould come clean with a fulldoping confession, while theInternational Olympic Commit-tee (IOC) will look into waysof taking away the former Tourde France champion’s 2000Games medal, IOC vice presi-dent Thomas Bach said onTuesday.

American Armstrong, whowon the Tour a record seventimes from 1999 to 2005, is setto lose his titles after the UnitedStates Anti-Doping Agency(USADA) accused him of be-ing the central figure in anelaborate doping conspiracy.

The 41-year-old rider, whoaccording to the 1,000-pagereport published last week,had been involved in dopingwell before the 2000 SydneyOlympics where he won a time-trial bronze medal, has repeat-edly denied any wrongdoing.

“This case is now with theUCI (International CyclingUnion) which has to determinewhether Armstrong shouldhave taken part in the SydneyOlympics or not,” Bach toldReuters in an interview.

“If the case is that heshould not have taken part,that he should have beenbanned for that period, thenthe IOC will take its decisionon this basis and will need todecide on the stripping of themedal,” said Bach who is alsoGermany’s Olympic SportsConfederation (DOSB) chief.

Armstrong, one of theworld’s most famous athleteswho is also well known for his

IOC ponders Armstrong2000 Games medal options

cancer-fighting charity work,has refused to challenge theUSADA charges.

With testimony from 26witnesses, many of themformer team mates of the Ameri-can, the report concluded thatArmstrong was one of the ring-leaders in a sophisticated dop-

ing scheme at the U.S. Postalteam.

The UCI has 21 days torule on the USADA report whilethe IOC has an eight-year stat-ute of limitation for changingOlympic results and strippingmedals from doping offend-ers.—Agencies

SAN MARTIN: Jonas Blixt of Sweden pose with the winner’s trophy after winning theFrys.com Open at the CordeValle Golf Club.

QATAR—Uzbekistan jumpedinto contention for a firstWorld Cup finals appearanceby overcoming scorchingtemperatures to beat Qatar 1-0 away on Tuesday in a quali-fier featuring few chances.

The Uzbeks had startedthe match in Doha bottom ofthe five-team Group A buttheir first victory puts themback in the picture to claim oneof the pool’s two automaticWorld Cup places for Brazil2014. The Uzbeks moved tofive points, one point aheadof Qatar and Lebanon. Iran,also on four, host leadersSouth Korea (seven points)

Uzbekistan beat Qatar toreignite World Cup hopes

later on Tuesday.Forward Sanjar

Tursunov was the match-winner with a 13th minutegoal. The diminutive Russia-based 25-year-old fired in asharp volley from close to thepenalty spot after turningwell to meet AkmalShorakhmedov’s cross.

It was a first competitivevictory for coach MirjalolKasimov, who took charge fora second spell in June afterthe Uzbeks sacked VadimAbramov following an open-ing home loss to Iran.

The few chances createdcan be blamed on the 34 Cel-

sius temperatures in Dohawith the match kicking-off at1525 local time.

Chinese referee Tan Haisensibly stopped the game inthe 26th minute to allow theplayers to get some water, amove he repeated in the 73rdand will surely be requiredwhen Qatar host the WorldCup in 10 years’ time.

Qatar were without for-ward Yusef Ahmed, who wasruled out through injury, buttheir team - featuring onlythree players born in the tinyGulf nation - began brightly,pinning the visitors back intheir own half.—AFP

Munir on top inRas Al Khaimah

Golf ClassicK A R A C H I — P a k i s t a n ’ sMuhammad Munir maintainedhis leader position on the sec-ond day of Ras Al KhaimahGolf Classic at Links Club onTuesday with second roundof three-under-par 69, said amessage received here.

Munir, who stole the lime-light in the first round after aspectacular six-under-par 66 toset up a new course record.Munir picked up five shotsafter an early double bogey tosteady his second round. GaryKnight found his groove tomove within striking range ofleader Munir after firing a siz-zling 67 going into the finalround.—APP

Haddin in linefor promotion

CAPE TOWN—Brad Haddindeputised for Shane Watsonas Test vice-captain last sum-mer and may fill the all-rounder’s shoes in the Cham-pions League.

The veteranwicketkeeper is one of sev-eral in contention to takeWatson’s place at the top ofthe Sydney Sixers’ line-upafter the star heads homeunder Cricket Australia’s or-ders after Thursday’s matchin Cape Town.

Sixers coach CoreyRichards said Haddin, back-up gloveman Peter Nevill andyoungster Nic Maddinsonwere all under considerationto fill the void left by Watson.

‘’We’ll assess that closerto the time but losing Shane’sa bit of a blow for us but atthe same time it’s going togive an opportunity to oneof those guys,’’ Richardssaid.—AFP

3 Malaysiansin PQF of

Int’l SquashKARACHI—Three visitingMalaysian boys Andrew LeeJai Hao, Darren Chan TiLunn and Al Nick Ally BinAbd Rahim advanced in thepre quarter-finals rounds of6th DG Rangers Sindh Inter-national Junior SquashChampionship at SindhRangers Jahangir KhanSquash Complex here onTuesday.

Due to a large number ofentries only Boys Under-17matches were played with topMalaysian seeds AndrewLee and Al Nick Ally record-ing victories.

Andrew dropped theopening game before beatingMehran Javed of PAF in fourgames.

Second seed Al Nick Al-ley dropped the secondgame before cruising in thesecond round by beatingWaqas Khan of KhyberPakhtunkhwa.—APP

KARACHI: Funeral prayers of a worker of Pakistan Sunni Tehreek who was killed infiring by unknown persons in New Karachi, were offered on Tuesday.

AT FIRST you might feel a slight stingas the fangs enter. Then, a tinglingwill spread throughout your limbs. But

within minutes your central nervous system willstart shutting down, culminating in convulsions,paralysis, and a suffocatingdeath.

The venom of the blackmamba snake, one of theworld’s deadliest poisons ad-ministered by one of theworld’s deadliest reptiles, cankill you within half an hour.Untreated bites have a mortal-ity rate of 100%.

Hidden in the grim cock-tail the snake carries, though,are a couple of proteins with aremarkably different effect.Research published this weekin Nature has revealed twomolecules in mamba venomthat can eliminate pain with asmuch potency as morphine,suggesting an unusual newsource for painkillers.

Sylvie Diochot, an engi-neer at France’s Institute of PharmocologieMoleculaire and Cellulaire and first author ofthe paper, has always had a yen for the venom-ous. Fascinated by the destructive power ofblack widow bites, she studied venomousarthropods and was on familiar terms with herspecimens.

“Sometimes, I had several spiders and scor-pions at home, in breeding, but I have childrenat home, so I prefer to observe them in nature(photos), or sometimes in our laboratory,” shewrote in an e-mail.

Her research involved purifying the toxinmolecules that make venom so deadly and then

applying them to neurons and other cells tostudy how they send the body into cata-strophic failure.

The conclusion that venom investigatorslike Diochot have reached is that the things

that make animal venoms sodeadly are often proteins thatwork by jamming open orclosed the channels that letions flow across the mem-branes of neurons. Chemicalcross-chatter into and out ofthe cells is what allows neu-rons to send messages to thebrain and elsewhere. Disruptthat communications feed andthe whole system can comecrashing down.

But not all the informationneurons transmit is good. Pain,after all, is a neuronal signaltoo. Sometimes it’s a veryhelpful one, as when it alertsyou that you might want toremove your hand from the hotstove you just touched.

Sometimes it’s decidedlyunhelpful; what good, exactly, is a migraineheadache, chronic back pain, postsurgicalpain? In cases like those, shutting down se-lected neuronal signals would be a very goodthing.

In the 1990s, researchers found a proteinin the venom of the sea-dwelling cone snailthat could do just that, disturbing the func-tion of calcium ion channels such that painsignals never made it to the brain.

A synthetic version of the molecule theyextracted, ziconotide, is now being used to treatpatients with severe chronic pain, a successstory that inspires venom researchers today.

How a deadly snake’s venomcould mean pain relief

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah holding a meeting with UNICEF mission regarding Emergency Cell for floods at CM House.

KARACHI: Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Justice Musheer Alam administering oathto Judges Justice Ghulam Sarwar Koral and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.

KARACHI—Chief SecretarySindh, Raja Muhammad Abbas,has asked the Police officers toperform their duties more devot-edly in order to ensure peace andstability in the society.

He was addressing the un-der-training Assistance Superin-tendent of Police (ASPs)- theparticipants of 39th commontraining programme on a studytour to Sindh. The ASPs metwith the Chief Secretary Sindhunder the leadership of SSP/Course commandant TayyebHafeez.The Chief Secretary ap-preciated the role of the police

Under-training ASPsmeet Chief Secretary

in the difficult events and hopedthat the police officials wouldkeep it up. Raja MuhammadAbbas noted the Sindh govern-ment is endeavoring to ensurethe energy issues’ solution byadopting the alternate means andthat the work for wind powerenergy is being carried out andby March 2013 it is expectedthat two wind energy would startfunctioning having the capacityof 100 MW.

He also maintained that coalpower plants are also being es-tablished. The experts form Re-public of Czech, China and UK

are being consulted while waterhubs in rural areas, in addition toeradicating the water borne dis-eases.

Chief Secretary told that inwater shortage areas of Karachinamely Lyari, Malir Kemari andIbrahim Hyderi the Reverse Os-mosis (RO) plants are being in-stalled. He elaborated that actionagainst the illegal hydrants is inprocess with a view to eradicatethe water theft activities.

Secretary General Adminis-tration, Mumtaz Ali Shah, andSecretary Services, Iqbal Durrani,were also present.—APP

KARACHI—Sindh Chief Min-ister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah,Tuesday held a meeting withUNICEF Mission regardingEmergency Cell for Flood heldat CM House. The meeting wasattended by Director Emer-gency Operations, Ted Chaiban,Director GMA, Mrs.

Gunila Oisson, CFO,UNICEF Sindh Mr. AndroShilakadze, Deputy Represen-tative, Karran Allen, PrincipalSecretary to CM, MuhammadSiddique Memon, Senior Mem-ber, Board of Revenue Sindh,Shahzoor Shamoon, SecretaryRehabilitation/CommissionerKarachi, Hashim Raza Zaidiand others.

The Chief Minister in-formed UNICEF Mission thatit is for the last three years thatpeople of Sindh province arefacing hardships due to floodsand heavy rains.

He said that a huge amounthas been spent on relief and re-

habilitation of badly affectedpeople.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah addedthat displaced and affectedpeople have been provided shel-ter, tents, ration, nets, blankets,medicines and other essentialitems, while the provincial gov-ernment has diverted the bud-getary allocations reserved fordevelopment schemes, towardsrelief and rehabilitation so as tosave the affected people.

He welcomed the coopera-tion and assistance fromUNICEF Mission and said thatit is also moral responsibility ofUNICEF to further extend itshelp to affected people.

The Chief Minister said thatthis year due to heavy rains, al-most major area of upper Sindhhad suffered extensively, andyet many areas are under water.He said that besides people,houses, crops etc. were affectedwhile it is essential that a per-manent cluster be established at

Sukkur while another clustermay be established atHyderabad. The Director Emer-gency operations assured thatUNICEF will support and ex-tend assistance to rain affectedpeople. He also assured that aplan will be evolved spreadingover to next four to six yearswith proper management for re-lief and rehabilitation of floodand rain affected people.

He lauded the efforts of theChief Minister Sindh for extend-ing facilities to flood/rain af-fected people. He also appreci-ated the concerted efforts ofgovernment and said that Sindhis making history that here is noany case of polio reported inKarachi and hoped that similarmeasures will be evolved in restof Sindh province.

The Chief Minister assuredthat strict directives have beenissued to Police for protectionof foreign workers and doctorsengaged in task of eradication of

People facing hardships dueto floods, heavy rains: Qaim

Polio in Sindh province. He stressed that advance

tour programme must be com-municated to the administration,so that security is provided tothem.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah also as-sured that law and order will bemaintained while prompt liaisonwill be made with UNICEF andother foreign agencies. Hehoped that Polio will be eradi-cated from Sindh province soonand there will be no Polio casein Sindh.

He hoped that it is expectedthat Sindh will declare Poliofree province within next sevenmonths. Earlier Senior MemberBoard of Revenue Sindh andRelief Commissioner and Sec-retary Rehabilitation HashimRaza Zaidi, presented their re-ports and briefed the Missionabout background and pre-sented situation reports regard-ing losses, damages and otherlosses.—APP

Rich tribute paidto Khan Liaquat

Ali KhanKARACHI—Death anniver-sary of Pakistan’s first primeminister Khan Liaquat AliKhan was marked here onTuesday. The members and of-fice bearers of the Quaid-i-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan Me-morial Committee visited themausoleum, participated inQuran Khawani, laid floralwreaths and offered Fateha.

Seminars and referenceswere held across the countrywhere speakers paid rich tributesto Khan Liaquat Ali Khan on his61st death anniversary whostruggled with Quaid-e-AzamMuhammad Ali Jinnah to get aseparate homeland for Muslimsof sub-continent and later servedas first prime minister at criticaljuncture. It should be men-tioned that Khan Liaquat AliKhan was assassinated on 16October 1951, during a publicmeeting of the Muslim CityLeague at Company Bagh (laternamed Liaquat Bagh after him)in Rawalpindi.—INP

Violence claimsfour lives

KARACHI—Four people werekilled in different incidents asviolence continued unabated inKarachi. Two bodies were foundnear Crown cinema on MauripurRoad in Karachi’s Lyari area. Atrussed up body of a man, bear-ing torture marks, was found inLyari’s Bihar Colony area.

In another incident, gunmenopened fire on a car in Karachi’sNew Town area injuring one per-son. The injured person wasshifted to a nearby private hospi-tal where he succumbed to hiswounds during treatment.—NNI

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Karachi ElectricSupply Company has discon-nected power supply to FourSquare Shopping Mall, TariqRd, where most consumers werecaught illegally using electric-ity; bypassing their electricitymeters. Power theft in KESCsystem is rampant and certainlycannot be carried out withoutconnivance of the field staff ofthe utility. The Illegal connec-tions are every where in Karachimarkets and road vendors. Lookat university road met officeevery road side vendor has anillegal connection while the billfor the stolen electricity is sentto the genuine consumers. It isthe high time that KESC vigi-lance teams should look atKundas being used by the roadside vendors and foot path ven-dors in all major markets inKarachi.

Meanwhile the shoppingplaza at the City’s busiest busi-ness centre, Tariq Road, hadbeen visited by the KESC in-

KESC disconnectsillegal connections

spection teams, where it wasdetected that a good number ofshops were stealing electricity. Inaddition to power theft, when thetask force teams reviewed thebilling statements of the shopowners in the ‘mall’, it was re-vealed that the building had anapproximate outstanding of Rs.11 million in unpaid power bills.

However, miscreants indulg-ing in power theft, offered resis-tance to the KESC staff fromchecking the metering equip-ment and connections. Previ-ously several notices were sentbut with no positive response.Finally the transformer supply-ing electricity to the building wasdisconnected as a final resort.

KESC also expressed itsfirm resolve, in continuing itsindiscriminate crackdownagainst such unscrupulous ele-ments and condemned the factthat such miscreants are usuallyon the forefront of creating lawand order situation and protestsrelated to the power situation;while they themselves are thereason of it to begin with.

CHERRIES may no longer be just fortopping off ice-cream sundaes - aU.S. study of people with gout linked

eating the fruit with a 35 percent to 75 per-cent lower risk of having an attack.

Doctors have reportedthat some patients recom-mend cherries to preventgout attacks, but the con-nection has only beenstudied a few times before,said lead researcherYuqing Zhang, a professorat the Boston UniversitySchool of Medicine.

“These findings sug-gest that cherry intake isassociated with a lower riskof gout attacks,” Zhangand colleagues wrote inthe journal Arthritis &Rheumatism. But Zhangwarned that the study doesnot prove that cherriesalone prevent gout attacks,and that patients shouldstick with their present gout medications.

“They can go out and eat the cherries,but they shouldn’t abandon their medicaltreatment at all,” Zhang added. Gout ariseswith uric acid crystals build up in the joints.The body produces uric acid when itbreaks down purines - substances foundnaturally in the body but also in certainfoods, like organ meats, anchovies, mush-rooms and some seafoods. For the study,Zhang and his colleagues recruited pa-tients over the Internet to take online sur-veys about their attacks.

All the 633 participants had had a goutattack in the last 12 months, had been di-

Can a few cherries a daykeep gout away?

agnosed with gout by a doctor, lived inthe United States and were at least 18years old. They also had to release theirmedical records to the researchers. Forthe next year, the patients filled out sur-

veys every time they had anattack. The survey askedabout symptoms, the drugsused in treatment and aboutcertain risk factors, includ-ing what they had eaten.

The patients also tooksimilar surveys at the begin-ning of the study, and ev-ery three months when itwas underway.

Of the 633 patients, 224said they had eaten freshcherries during the year, 15said they had consumedcherry extract and 33 hadboth. During the year, theresearchers collected infor-mation on 1,247 gout at-tacks, which works out toabout two per patient.

Overall, the researchers found thateating cherries over a given two-day pe-riod was linked to a 35 percent decreasein the risk of having a gout attack duringthat period, compared to not eating cher-ries.

Consuming cherry extract was tied toa 45 percent risk reduction, and eatingboth fresh cherries and extract was tiedto a 37 percent lower risk. The biggestreduction, though, came with eating freshcherries while taking the anti-gout medi-cation allpurinol (Lopurin, Zyloprim.)That combination was linked to a 75 per-cent reduction in risk.

LAHORE: Models walking on the ramp during 3rd day of Pantene Bridal CoutureWeek at a local hotel.

LAHORE: Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif along with German journalist Mrs Angrid Mullar and mem-bers of Youth Revolution Club.

ATHER ALI KHAN

UNDER the dynamicand farsighted leadership of Chief Minister

Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif,the Government of thePunjab has initiated the firstever Metro Bus SystemProject of Pakistan in Lahorefor providing safe, conve-nient, efficient, affordable,environment friendly andsustainable public transportsystem to the people of pro-vincial metropolis.

As we know that Lahoreis the second largest city ofPakistan housing an esti-mated 10 million population,with annual growth rate of 3per cent. The number of ve-hicles registered in Lahorehas increased sharply from95 vehicles in 2001 to 238vehicles in 2008 per 1000population. However, motor-cycles make up for more thanhalf (57%) of all the registeredvehicles, where as cars rep-resent one third of registeredvehicles in Lahore.

In view of the rapidly in-creasing population andeconomic activity in the city,JICA has recommendedseven BRT corridors in

Metro buses operation energises mass transportationLahore. The top priority hasbeen given to FerozepurRoad to Shahdara due tohigh passenger demand.Government of Punjab com-missioned Ulasim—a Turk-ish based company for thedesign of Metro Bus Systemon Ferozepur Road corridor(Green Line), Multan Road(Orange line), and CanalRoad.

In addition, the BRT cor-ridors are also planned in in-tegration with Multi-Modelterminal on either side of BRTcorridors, and Park and Rideareas. The overall transpor-tation map includes integra-tion of BRT and public trans-port routes, sub urban rail-way and taxi system inLahore.

As we discuss designedcharacteristics of Metro BusSystem we see that this ex-emplary project of worth Rs24 Billion will serve around18 thousand people everyhour providing them masstransit facility of interna-tional standard. The 27 Kmgrand project of Metro BusSystem is being constructedover Ferozpur Road fromGajju Mattan to Shahdra viaLytton Road, MAO College,

Lower Mall, Data Darbar,Niazi Chowk and Shahdrah.

This project has the maincharacteristics of having twodedicated bus lanes are allo-cated for operation of thebuses in the centre of the

road. For better safety anduninterrupted flow of traffic,fences have been installedon both sides of the track;Twenty seven (27) Bus sta-tions are being built on thecurb side of the MBS lane;In order to avert the issue of

congested traffic, world’slongest metro bus flyover isbeing constructed for MBS,which is 8.6 KM long;

The system will be oper-ated with articulated buses;the design speed of the corri-

dor is 35Km/h, Access of thepassengers to MBS station isprovided with Pedestrianbridges, Pedestrian under-pass and pedestrian signalsfor at-grade crossings, Sta-tion length will be accommo-dating up to three articulated

buses and the buses will op-erate at 3 minutes headway.

Moreover we can call itan intelligent transportationsystem as it looks Auto-mated Fare Collection (AFC)is a revenue collection sys-

tem which allows collection& management of PublicTransport fare in a promptand accurate manner,through the deployment ofautomated information sys-tems for payment. This sys-tem allows collection of pay-

ment, and settlement of Pub-lic fare. AFC reduces theneed for ticket checking staffand helps prevent fraud, andis introduced in Lahore MBSProject. The AFC system willhave OFF-Board ticketingsystem for MBS corridorsand ON-BOARD ticketingfor feeder/trunk routes.

It was interesting to knowthat Bus Management & In-formation system (BM& Isystem) allows tracking thebus, conveying real time in-formation to the bus station,and for telemetry. The BM &I system will help to manageand control route schedulingand bus routes operation inLahore via state of the artOperation Control Centre; tobe established in the IT plaza.

After completion of thisproject, a fleet of articulatedair-conditioned busses willbe introduced for the firsttime in Pakistan. Bus will beavailable every three minutesat every bus terminal andtravelling time from GajjuMattan to Shahdra will bereduced to just 40 minutes.This will improve the flow oftraffic in the city while en-abling the people of Lahoreto experience an international

standard transportationsystem.

In order to make surethe completion of MBS ontime, Chief Minister himselfis monitoring the progresson a daily basis. 65% workof 15.5 KM Track from Gajjumatta to Qaddafi Stadiumhas been completed while8.6 KM flyover fromQaddafi Stadium to Bhhatihas been progressed to55%. Completion of 4KMtrack from Bhati to Shahdrais 50%. And more than halfwork of additional LahoreBridge at Qainchi is done.

Working day-in andday-out we are sure that theinfrastructure of MBS willbe completed in by the 30thof October and it will be-come functional in Decem-ber of this year.

Last but not least thesignificance of Metro BusSystem is beyond that ofjust a Mass Transit System.We anticipate that thisproject will bring new pros-pects of modernity, givingPakistan an identity of aprogressive nation as wellas add more strength to thebond of brotherhood be-tween Pakistan and Turkey.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab ChiefMinister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif has said thatPunjab government haslaunched various revolution-ary programmes for the wel-fare and uplift of the youth,besides providing them mod-ern educational facilitieswhich is unprecedented. Hesaid that other provinces arealso following theprogrammes launched byPunjab government for thedevelopment of young gen-eration. He said that theyouth is the precious assetof the country and a ray ofhope, therefore providing re-sources to them is not expen-diture but a useful invest-ment. Muhammad ShahbazSharif said that he has fullfaith that Pakistan’s youngergeneration is second to nonein terms of talent and intelli-gence.

The Chief Minister ex-pressed these views whiletalking to a renowned jour-nalist of Germany Mrs.Angrid Mullar who met himat Model Town. During themeeting Vice Chairman YouthRevolution Club RizwanAhmad, Country LeadMuhammad Ali and volun-teer girl students of the clubwere also present.Muhammad Shahbaz Sharifsaid that Punjab governmentof Pakistan Muslim League-N has diverted its resourcesfor the development of less-developed areas of the prov-ince and uplift and wellbeingof the younger generation.

He said, previous year,more than one lakh laptops,worth Rs.4 billion were dis-tributed among brilliant boyand girl students in the prov-ince, while, during the cur-rent fiscal year, one lakh

Punjab govt launches revolutionaryyouth uplift programmes: Shahbaz

laptops would also be dis-tributed only among deserv-ing students, at a cost ofRs.4 billion, on purely meritbasis. He said that in less-developed areas of SouthPunjab, including Attock andMianwali, Daanish schoolsfor children of poor familieshave been opened wherebetter educational facilitiesas compared to AitchesonCollege and Grammarschools are being provided.He said that Attock DaanishSchool has been named afterMalalah Yousafzai in recog-nition of her services for pro-motion of education. He saidthat Daanish schools are

proving to be highly usefulin elimination of extremisttendencies due to which hecalls Daanish schools as“Bullet of Education”.

Muhammad ShahbazSharif said that Punjab Edu-cational Endowment Fund(PEEF), of Rs.10 billion, is arevolutionary step in the his-tory of Pakistan, under which35 thousand girl and boy stu-dents are being provided sti-pend enabling them to con-tinue their studies in the besteducation institutions of thecountry. He said that an in-ternship project is beinglaunched soon to provideinternships to 50 thousand

youth, under which theywould get a monthly stipendof Rs.10 thousand along withgetting professional experi-ence through internship ingovernment and private sec-tor institutions which willhelp them in practical life.

He said that under Ujalaprogramme, home solutionsolar panel programme hasbeen chalked out to enable thestudents of matric to get rid ofenergy crisis. He said under theprogramme more than threelakh solar panels would be dis-tributed among students, sothat their educational activitiesare not affected due toloadshedding. He said that

Metro Bus in Lahore is a his-toric project, which will con-siderably change public trans-port system, enabling peopleto benefit from affordable,speedy and modern transportfacilities. With regard to hisvisit to Germany, MuhammadShahbaz Sharif said that hismeeting with German inves-tors has proved to be highlybeneficial and they expressedtheir interest in investmentin Punjab in solar technol-ogy sector. MuhammadShahbaz Sharif said that weneed trade not aid, and hehas held purposeful nego-tiations in this regard withthe German investors.

LAHORE—Owing to highprices of sacrificial animals inthe provincial capital’s mainmarket Bakr Mandi peopleopt for collective sacrifice onEid-ul-Azha.

According to a survey byAPP on Tuesday, a majorityof people may not be able tosacrifice animals individually

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Breastfeeding isthe universal remedy for pre-venting Rotavirus that ac-counts for 125 million casesof diarrhea globally per yearamong children of ages un-der five.

Out of the this figure, 106million cases are reportedfrom the developing coun-tries, including Pakistan, ac-cording to Professor AshrafSultan Senior faculty mem-ber King Edward MedicalUniversity member fromKing Edward Medical Uni-versity.

1 in 40 infants experienceRotavirus gastroenteritis

“The most special mea-sure to avoid rotavirus diar-rhoea is to opt forbreastfeeding exclusively,”he told journalists at an in-teractive session for healthjournalists arranged by GlaxoSmith Kline on “RotavirusDiarrhea” commemoratingthe Global Hand WashingDay. “In Pakistan 100,000 to150,000 children die of diar-rhoea every year,” he in-formed. “Breastfeeding,hand washing is the solution.Breastfeeding, if continuedfor one year, can prevent di-arrhoea.”

The professor was speak-

ing on the topic of RotavirusDiarrhea: Sign, Symptomsand Prevention. Prof Ashrafsaid the main victims of thisdisease were children be-tween ages of three monthsand two years.

“Pakistan is amongst thetop six countries where in-fants and children sufferfrom the menace,” he la-mented.

He regretted that bottlefeeding practice was veryhigh in Pakistan, adding thatthe diarrhea damaged cellscalled enterocytes in the in-testinal wall, causing malab-sorption.

CNG stationsclosure

LAHORE—CNG filling sta-tions in Lahore, Gujranwalaand Sahiwal regions re-mained closed on Tuesday,the second day to observe athree-day weekly closure.

Due to CNG closure, thepeople are facing problemsand they have to wait fortransport for hours becauseof thin public transport toreach their destinations.

However, in the absence ofnormal public transport, LPG-fuelled tri-wheelers were seenbusy on city roads. Owing topoor arrangements by the pro-vincial government, a largenumber of vans and busesstayed off the road which cre-ated problems for thousands ofcommuters.—APP

PTI condemnspolice checkpost attack

L A H O R E — P a k i s t a nTehreek-e-Insaf’s ChairmanImran Khan, Vice ChairmanPTI Shah MehmoodQureshi, Secretary GeneralDr. Arif Alvi, President JavedHashmi and Information sec-retary Shafqat Mahmoodhave strongly condemn themilitant attack on policecheckpost in the GhaziabadMatani area in the outskirtsof Peshawar, in which at leastseven police personnel, in-cluding superintendent ofpolice Khurshid Khan, werekilled and 12 others injured.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafcondemns all acts of violencetargeting innocent peopleand especially those target-ing security forces it is veryunfortunate, a statement hereTuesday said.

Frequent acts of terror-ism confirm that militants areactive and have become athreat to the life of innocentpeople. PTI condemns thesegroups using violence as aweapon to achieve their ne-farious ends. The party ex-pects a thorough investiga-tion in response to this hei-nous crime, which would un-mask and prosecute the per-petrators. It said both, theprovincial and federal gov-ernments have failed miser-ably to protect and safeguarda common man’s life.—INP

High prices motivate collective sacrifice on Eidon Eid-ul-Azha as rates haveincreased by 50 to 80 per centin two years.

“After floods in Sindh inthe last few years, which is ahub of production of animals,there is a shortage of hun-dreds of thousands of ani-mals in the country, due towhich their rates have sky-

rocketed,” livestock traderssaid.

They said high prices ofsheep, goats, cows hadforced people to go for col-lective sacrifice. On average,the price of a goat hasreached Rs 25,000, cow Rs50,000 to Rs 60,000, accord-ing to the survey.—APP