e-paper pakistantoday 15th october, 2012

Monday, 15 October, 2012 Dhual-Qi’da 27, 1433Rs 15.00 Vol III No 110 19 Pages Islamabad — Peshawar Edition

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NA speaker calls forpolicies in support ofrural women

Nation must decide ifit’s with Taliban oragainst them: Altaf

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Mauritanian president‘accidentally’ shot by army

ISLAMABADSHAiq HuSSAin

PAKISTAN has decided toseek military action by theUS and NATO forces againstMaulvi Fazlullah, chief ofTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

(TTP) Swat chapter who is currently hid-ing in Afghanistan and is responsible forordering the failed assassination attempton Malala Yousafzai.

Pakistan has been long urging the USand other NATO member states as well asAfghan authorities to eliminate the hide-outs of Fazlullah, also known as ‘RadioMullah’ and hundreds of his followers,who crossed over the border intoAfghanistan after being defeated in 2009

by the army in a military offensive inSwat. The life attempt on Malala has,however, led the Pakistani authorities toconclude that there was no other optionbut to get rid of Fazlullah and his follow-ers and for that, US would be urgedafresh and asked strongly to launch mili-tary action against the fugitive Talibanleader, believed to be hiding in Kunar andNuristan provinces of Afghanistan.

Pakistani investigators were alreadysuspecting the involvement of Fazlullahin the failed attempt assassination at-tempt on Malala. But on Friday, Sirajud-din Ahmad, a spokesman for the SwatTaliban, told a foreign news wire servicethat two killers from Fazlullah’s specialhit squad had been sent to target theyoung schoolgirl, thus confirming the

suspicions of officials probing into theunfortunate incident.

“Pakistan has also contemplatedupon going for the ‘hot pursuit’ againstFazlullah and his fellow militants, whohave in the recent past carried out sev-eral deadly attacks on Pakistani borderposts from the Afghan provinces ofKunar and Nuristan and killed dozens ofthe Pakistani soldiers in Dir and Chitraldistricts in the process,” said a source,seeking anonymity. Nonetheless, Pak-istani authorities’ first priority was to de-mand the US and NATO go for actionagainst the Radio Mullah, take him outand eliminate all hideouts of the SwatTaliban on Afghan soil.

The source said the attack on Malalaby Fazlullah group could also be a part of

Taliban plan to restart their movement inSwat and Pakistani authorities were look-ing into the possibility. A Pakistani diplo-mat said on condition of anonymity thatPakistan would take up the Fazlullahissue with the United States soon.

However, he also confirmed the dis-appointment in the Pakistani policy-mak-ing circles over the lack of action by theUS and NATO forces so far against theterrorists wanted by Islamabad for seri-ous crimes in Swat, Dir, Chitral and Ba-jaur Agency.

“We hope our allies would not fail usnow on this count and take swift and ef-fective military action against Fazlullahand hundreds of other terrorists whohave been involved in the killing of Pak-istani citizens and soldiers,” he said.

Doctors satisfiedwith Malala’simprovement

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDIAGEnCiES

Doctors treating Malala Yousafzai onSunday expressed satisfaction over theimprovement in the condition of 14-yeargirl injured by the Taliban. Pakistan’sAmbassador to UAE Jamil Ahmed Khantold a private television network that theUAE was sending an aircraft to evacuatethe girl for further treatment abroad. Theplane was to fly from UAE at 3am. Earlierin the day, doctors at Armed ForcesInstitute of Cardiology (AFIC) reviewedMalala’s condition and expressedsatisfaction over the improvement.“Malala is making slow and steadyprogress which is in keeping withexpectations as recovery of this type ofinjury is always slow,” the ISPR said.Doctors were monitoring her conditionclosely and a detailed medical check upwas to be carried out on Sunday evening.The ISPR said Malala was still onventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU)and a board of doctors was continuouslymonitoring her condition. A specialmedical team comprising specialists fromabroad, senior specialists from civil setup and senior doctors from the PakistanArmy were keeping vigilance on Malala’shealth round the clock, it added.Theshooting of Malala Yousafzai has beendenounced worldwide and by thePakistani authorities, who have offered areward of more than $100,000 for thecapture of her attackers.On Saturday sheshowed signs of improvement by movingher hands and feet, though she was stillunconscious and on a ventilator.“Doctorshave reviewed Malala’s condition and aresatisfied,” military spokesman MajorGeneral Asim Saleem Bajwa said onSunday.He said no decision had yet beenmade on whether to send Malala abroadfor treatment. “We are waiting for thedoctors’ decision — we are ready to followthe doctors’ advice,” he said.The cold-blooded murder attempt has sickened thecountry, where Malala came toprominence with a blog for the BBChighlighting atrocities under the Taliban,who terrorised the Swat valley from 2007until a 2009 army offensive.Activists saythe shooting should be a wake-up call towhose who advocate appeasement withthe Taliban. But analysts suspect therewill be no significant change in a countrythat has sponsored radicalism fordecades.Thousands of people gathered inKarachi for a rally in support of Malala,organised by the Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM).MQM leader AltafHussain called the attack claimed by theTaliban a shameful and cowardlyact.Ahmad Shah, an SHO in Mingora,said nearly 200 people were detainedover the shooting, including the busdriver and a school watchman.But mosthad been released.The shooting hasheightened speculation that the army mayfinally launch a long-rumoured offensiveagainst the Taliban in their stronghold ofNorth Waziristan, on the Afghan border.

Shia killed, three others injured in Quettasectarian attack QUETTA: A man was killed and three othersinjured in an act of sectarian violence inQuetta on Sunday evening. Police said HajiMohammad Ishaq, owner of a jewellery shop,was leaving for home with his brother andtwo other family members when two armedmen on motorcycle opened indiscriminatefire on them just outside the shop. As a result,Ishaq was killed on the spot, while the otherthree got seriously injured and were rushed toCombined Military Hospital. Doctors said thecondition of one of the injured was serious.DIG Operations Hamid Shakeel confirmedthe killing of the jeweller and said all peopleattacked belonged to the Hazara Shiacommunity. He said investigation wasunderway and police was looking at allaspects of the incident. Abu Bakar Siddiq,spokesman for banned organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, called up newspapers’ offices andclaimed responsibility for the attack. He alsowarned journalists against not carrying hisstatement in the wake of Supreme Courtorder that bars the media from publishingsuch statements. Shahzada zulfIqar

Pakistan wants anti-Talibandrive on both sides of borderg Pakistan to seek US military action against Fazlullah’s Swat Taliban g Attack on Malala proved last nail forPakistani policy makers g Hot pursuits against Fazlullah’s men also being contemplated

g UAE dispatches plane to airlift injuredgirl for further medical treatment

g Doctors say Malala making ‘slow and steady’ progress as expected in such cases

g No decision yet on flying her abroad for treatment

Petrol, CNG down,everything else up!ISLAMABAD: The government hasdecided to cut petrol and CNG prices, whileraising the rates of other petroleumproducts. The new rates will be effectivefrom Sunday midnight. The petrol pricehas been decreased by Rs 2.9 per litre andCNG by Rs 1.91 per kilogram. On the otherhand, the price of High Speed Diesel hasbeen raised by Rs 3.16; Kerosene Oil by Rs1.92; Light Diesel Oil by Rs 1.23; and HighOctane Blending Component (HOBC), byRs.2.95 per litre. After revision in prices,the new prices are: Petrol, Rs 103.46; HighSpeed Diesel (HSD), Rs 113.62; KeroseneOil, Rs 103.87; and Light Diesel, Rs 97.93per litre. Moreover, the Finance Ministryalso approved a reduction in CNG price byRs 1.91 per kilogram in Region-1 (Potohar,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan) andRs 1.75 in Region-2 (Sindh, Punjab),effective from October 15. nnI

THE EDGE OF SPACE: Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner sits at the edge of a launch capsule before successfully

attempting jump from an altitude of 71,581 feet. Story on page 24

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President to launch anti-polio drive today Man cooking squirrel destroys eight apartments

Monday, 15 October, 2012

Bomb recovered near Gilani’spublic meeting venueMULTAN: The police foiled a bid to target public gathering of formerprime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani as it recovered and defused a bombnear the rally’s venue on Sunday. According to details, the police founda locally manufactured bomb weighing one kilogramme from NagshahChowk of Multan where Gilani was going to deliver an address. Policeclaimed the bomb would have caused massive human losses if it hadexploded during the public gathering. The same locality was targetedwith two bomb explosions on Saturday night, injuring five persons. Thesecurity in the area was beefed up following the recovery of the bomb.However, amidst threats, it was decided that Ali Musa Gilani, son of theformer PM, will address the gathering instead of his father. AGEnCiES

Security for Dr Shakil Afriditightened, guards changed

PESHAWAR: Administrationof the Peshawar Central Jailhas tightened security for DrShakil Afridi, who was allegedto have been keeping a satellitetelephone in his prison cell.Sources on Sunday said theofficials on Dr Afridi’s securityduty had been changed and hewas not allowed to meetvisitors. In addition, his cellwould be checked four times aday. They said no satellitephone or mobile phone hadbeen recovered from Dr Afridi.However, a few weeks ago, DrShakil had given an interviewto a foreign newspaper overmobile telephone. inP

Constable, 5 militants killednear Peshawar PESHAWAR: A police constable and five militants were killed andanother four were injured in armed clashes in Bara Sheikhan locatednear the outskirts of Peshawar on Sunday. Per details, the clashes startedwhen unidentified militants opened fire on a police team engaged in asearch operation in Bara Sheikhan village. The search operation wasconducted following defusal of a high intensity improvised explosivedevise (IED) in the area, during which a number of suspects werearrested. Heavy contingents of security forces were deployed on all roadsand routes linking Peshawar with Bara region of Khyber Agency. Earlier,authorities in Peshawar had declared a high security alert all over the cityafter intercepting a telephonic conversation between militants who weremaking plans for attacks on government installations, security forces,media offices and other targets. STAFF rEPOrT

Man accuses wife of killingtwo childrenMULTAN: A man on Sunday accused his wife and in-laws of killinghis children after a family dispute. According to the police, Imtiaz hadfiled an application at the Alpa Police Station, saying his wife hadgone to her parent’s house in Lohari Gate after a dispute. He allegedthat after a few days she had informed him that his two-year-old sonAhmed had drowned. On Saturday, she informed him that hisdaughter Mashqat had drowned as well. He alleged his wife and in-laws had killed his children over the dispute. The police are currentlyinvestigating the matter. APP

LAHOrE: Christians attend a mass prayer for the recovery of child activist Malala Yousafzai at a church on Sunday. afp

PESHAWARSHAMiM SHAHiD

In Pakistan, politics is tied intricately with fam-ily ties, rather it has become synonymous withfamily owned enterprise. This is evident in theBhuttos’ case. From Zulfikar Bhutto to BenazirBhutto to Bilawal Bhutto, three generationsfrom the same family have chaired one of thelargest political parties of Pakistan. Similarly,throughout Pakistan’s districts, generationsfrom the same lineage have been winning elec-tions in their respective constituencies.

However, it is not uncommon to see peoplefrom the same family having affiliations withdifferent, often rival, political parties. Whilethe business remains the same, the productsmight differ. Such an arrangement might bedesirable to further the causes of free choiceand pluralism but in reality it is a reflection onthe opportunistic and self-serving nature of thepolitical elite in the country. It has been notedon many instances that despite having oppos-ing party and ideological affiliations, membersfrom the same family safeguard each other’scommon interests. The case of KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP) is no different from the restof the provinces. The political families in KPare also scattered among various political par-ties with severe rifts but members from thesame family do not refrain from protectingtheir common interests.

In this regard, Saifullah’s from Bannu,Arbabs and Jaghra’s from Peshawar, Hoti’sfrom Mardan, Khattak’s from Karak, Miangul’s

and Khan’s from Swat, Tarins from Haripur,Jadoon’s from Abbottabad and Miankhel andKundi’s and Gandhapur from Dera IsmaelKhan and Tank are of prominence.

At the moment, Saifullahs from Bannu arescattered in at least four political forces. SalimSaifullah Khan is leading PML (LM), Humay-oon Khan is member National Assembly on aticket from PML (Q), Javed Saifullah Khan re-cently joined Pakistan Tehrik-e- Insaaf (PTI)and now Anwar Saifullah Khan has been as-signed the task to stimulate and reactivate PPPin KP. So far Salim Khan, Humayoon Khan andJaved Khan are active in their own politicalspheres but it seems likely that in the near fu-ture, they will extend support to Anwar Saiful-lah Khan who is set to become PPP’s nomineefor chief minister in the upcoming elections.

The Khattak’s from Karak are maternal un-cles of Saifullah brothers’ and once were veryinfluential and popular in national politics. TheKhattaks are now scattered in ANP, PTI andeven in Jamiat-e- Ulema Islam (F). Raza QuliKhan and General (r) Ali Quli Khan are sons ofGeneral (r) Habibullah Khan and associatedwith PTI. Nawabzada Mohsin Ali Khan, son inlaw of late Aslam Khattak is affiliated with ANPas its central vice president whereas AyubKhattak is affiliated with Fazlur Rehman’s JUI.

On similar lines, Arbabs from Tehkal aredivided into different political forces like PPP,ANP, PML (N), PTI and JUI (F) while thosefrom Kankola, Charsada road are also dividedin ANP and PML factions.

Jaghra family is also disintegrated and

scattered in various political parties. EngineerZafar Iqbal Jaghra is serving PML (N) as itscentral secretary-general whereas IftikharJaghra recently joined PTI and was expectinga high position with support of Imran Khanand his loyalists. Javed Jaghra is supportingEngineer Zafar Jaghra whereas high level sen-ior civil bureaucrat Salim Khan Jaghra, follow-ing his retirement is all set to back IftikharJaghra. The Tarin’s from Haripur are no differ-ent. Gohar Ayub Khan along with son OmarAyub Khan is associated with PML (LM) butthey have developed links with PML (N) andare likely to change loyalties before the upcom-ing elections. However, former speakerHabibullah Tarin is inactive whereas ex-provincial minister and ex-district NazimYousaf Ayub Khan is affiliated with PTI.

The Rajas from Khanpur also establishedthemselves in Haripur politics. Raja AamirZaman is considered active in PTI whereas hisbrother Raja Faisal Zaman occupies a seat inthe KP Assembly on a JUI (F) ticket.

The examples cited above are only a hand-ful out of the pool that exists in the provinceand several other cases can be quoted to fur-ther assert the existence of an intricate web offamily politics in the province. The existence ofsuch rifts amongst the ranks of influential fam-ilies can work in favour of individuals belong-ing to middle class families in the forthcomingelections. However, irrespective of what hap-pens in elections, one can be sure that thesefamilies’ prioritise protection of common inter-ests over public welfare.

families bring togetherpolitical rivalry in Kp

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Prizes, here and there.

Arif Ansar says;

After Malala: The art of zooming in and out.

Malik Muhammad Ashraf says;The dust finally settles: Judicial restraint and the government.

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God will decide my life partner: rani Mukerji 5.839 billion rupees! Jayasuriya has no fears in playing in Pakistan


NEWS DESk

If the Taliban thought they could silence theircritics and stop girls going to school with theattempted murder of a 14-year-old, then theyreckoned without the angry defiance of herteenage friends.

Malala Yousafzai still lies in a coma asmilitary surgeons watch over her.

The school she attended in the formerTaliban stronghold of the Swat Valley has re-mained shut since she was shot in the neckand head by assassins on Tuesday.

But that did not stop about 100 of herschoolmates assembling on Friday morningto pray for her safety. Some cried, while othersdescribed a role model, a girl who had bloggedabout Taliban brutality when even the gov-ernment was prepared to turn a blind eye.

It is not safe to reveal their names. Butone teenager, who is in the year above Malalaat school, said the Pakistani Taliban – whichis engaged in a campaign to burn, bulldoze orbomb girls’ schools - could not destroy theirdreams of becoming doctors, lawyers andprofessors.

“We will never be subdued by the mili-tants and their acts,” she said, clutching herheadscarf in the modern, airy classroomwhere they had gathered. “Islam gives us theright to education and we will fight for ourrights. We will never ever give up our mission.

“This land needs us and we can only helpPakistan if we can complete our education.”

The attempted assassination of a school-girl by fundamentalist thugs has horrifiedPakistan, a country hardened to senseless vi-

olence after years of suicide attacks, sectarianshootings and political murders.

Campaigners hope it will force the coun-try to reassess its long-standing tolerance ofextremists. And the military has hinted that itmay finally launch a long-promised offensiveagainst militant safe havens in North Waziris-tan, along the border with Afghanistan.

Malala’s campaign began when she wasonly 11, writing a secret diary for the BBC’sUrdu Service. It was an immediate hit, reveal-ing the terrors facing girls under Taliban rule.She described hiding books at home after theTehreek-e-Taliban banned girls educationand living in fear that their goons wouldthrow acid in her face. In one entry, written inFebruary 2009, she wrote about listening tothe radio as Fazlullah, the cleric who ruled thevalley, threatened a series of escalating bombattacks.

“He said that the next attack would re-semble a cauldron exploding and after that ablast the size of a tanker exploding would takeplace.” She was writing days after the govern-ment had signed a ceasefire with the TTP andher lone voice is credited with helping turnopinion in favour of a military operation. Theextremists were driven back later that year.

Since then she has followed up the blogby speaking up for girls education in a conser-vative corner of Pakistan, where women arerarely seen outside the home, winning na-tional and international recognition for herwork.

By rights she should be dead. In a seriesof media statements, the Pakistan Taliban hassaid the attack was months in the planning

and carried out by two experienced opera-tives, expert in killing with shots to the head.

Their justification was that Malala wasspreading Western, secular values at oddswith local values.

Malala was sitting next to her best friend,giggling and sharing jokes as their minibus –packed with 25 girls - lurched away fromKhushal Public School for Girls in Swat’smain town of Mingora on Tuesday lunchtime.Speaking on Friday, that friend tried to re-member the horrifying sequence of eventsthat followed. One man dressed in traditional,loose-fitting shalwaar kameez had flaggeddown the bus and asked the driver whetherhe had come from Khushal school.

As the driver tried to prevaricate, a sec-ond man, bearing the thick beard of the faith-ful, strode purposefully alongside the vehicle.He peered through the windows and calledfor Malala. When she spoke up, he raised hisgun and fired without hesitation.

“She fell down in my lap,” said the friend,in a quiet, halting voice. “Everyone wasscreaming. It was chaotic. Everything seemedto go dark.

“We thought we were going to die.” Twoother girls were wounded. Malala has been inhospital ever since and needed surgery to re-move a bullet from close to her spinal cord.

Her school was closed in the aftermath.Teachers expect half the girls to stay away infear even when it reopens, possibly as soon asthis week. But many of them are intent on de-fying the men who would deny them an edu-cation.

“We will stand by Malala’s dream,” said

her best friend.The Swat Valley was once the Switzerland

of Pakistan. Its rolling hills and snow coveredpeaks attracted trekkers in summer andskiers in winter.

The region has recovered slowly since theTaliban was ousted, sent packing to havens inAfghanistan. Hotels have gradually re-openedand last week Pakistan’s state-run airline flewto Mingora for the first time in five years.

The question now is whether hardeningpublic opinion will force a lacklustre govern-ment and an overstretched – or unwilling –military to take action to clean out the Pak-istan Taliban once and for all. Have the ex-tremists made a tactical mistake, forcing afresh offensive?

In a message to The Sunday Telegraph,Ihsanullah Ihsan, a spokesman, defended theattack. He said the decision to assassinateMalala was unanimous and had been reachedin accordance with Islamic law.

He also dismissed reports that the TTPhad been shocked by the level of public revul-sion. “Not at all,” he said by email. “We are notsupposed to care for the will of people, we arejust obliged to follow Sharia.”

Senior politicians from all parties haveshown rare agreement by condemning the at-tack and the military has made sure Malala isbeing treated in its best hospital, by its bestsurgeons. The army has released photographsof General Ashfaq Kayani, Pakistan’s power-ful military chief, beside her hospital bedoverseeing treatment.

“She has become a symbol for the valuesthat the Army, with the nation behind it, is

fighting to preserve for our future genera-tions,” he said in a statement.

Islamic scholars in Pakistan have also is-sued a fatwa condemning the attack.

The country’s foreign minister, HinaRabbani Khar, summed up the stark choicefacing Pakistan. “She has put it as a black andwhite question. She has put it as either you arewith the future that she represents, or the fu-ture they [Taliban] are trying to impose.”

Pakistan has shied away from suchchoices in the past. Its relations with Islamistextremists go back to the 1970s, channellingcash and support to Afghan groups and arm-ing jihadis in disputed Kashmir against India.

Malala’s shooting may have united thecountry in shock but Pakistan is far too com-plicated for this to be a tipping point, accord-ing to commentators such as Nadir Hassan,with The Express Tribune.

He said Pakistan continued to hedge itsbets in Afghanistan with the Haqqani net-work – a branch of the Afghan Taliban - andwas unlikely to drop such a long-standing allyor give up its strategy of backing militantgroups. “It might mean in the short termsome action against the Pakistan Taliban, butin the long-term it will make little difference,”he said. Other “watershed” moments havecome and gone - the killing of Osama binLaden last year or the terrorist attack on theSri Lankan cricket team in 2009 – with littlechange in direction.

In recent years Pakistan’s politiciansand generals have not shown as muchcourage as Malala and her school friends instanding up to the Taliban.

Malala’s friends vow ‘never to be subdued by militants’

ISLAMABADAnwEr ABBAS

THE Pakistan Sunni Tehreek(PST) on Sunday expressedcomplete solidarity withMalala Yousafzai, demand-ing the armed forces of Pak-

istan not delay the military operationagainst terrorists in North Waziristan.

Dozens of female activists belong-ing to the PST’s women wing assembledoutside the National Press Club to stagea demonstration against the controver-sial anti-Islam film and the attack onMalala, holding banners and placardsinscribed with slogans against the Tal-iban and the makers of the blasphe-mous film.

Addressing the protestors, PSTCentral leader Mufti Liaqat Ali Sabristrongly criticised the policies adoptedby the United States and the West forpromoting hate material against holypersonalities. Freedom of speech, saidSabri, could not permit material thathurt sentiments of believers followingany religion. He demanded the US gov-

ernment hand over producers of thefilm to Islamic countries so that theymight be punished accordingly.

He also flayed drone strikes in theborder regions of the country termingthem counterproductive, demandingthe US halt them immediately.

Allama Ashfaq Ahmed from PST inhis address criticised the silence of themedia and political figures on the grow-ing intolerance and extremism in the

society.He said those who supported ter-

rorists and extremists were not servingthe interests of the state but were in factenemies of the state.

The PST leader demanded thearmed forces of the country to launch amilitary operation against the militantsin N Waziristan claiming that otherwisethe role of these forces would seem du-bious to the people of the country.

PST stands with Malala,demands NWA operation

6 militants killed in Orakzai clash ORAKZAI AGENCY: At least six militants were killed and a soldier of the Pakistan Army sustained injuriesin a clash in Upper Orakzai Agency, official sources said on Sunday. Security officials said militants attacked apatrol party of the security forces in Barlas area of Mamozai tehsil in the wee hours of Sunday. A soldiersustained injuries in the attack, the official said, and was taken to the Combined Military Hospital in Thal fortreatment. The officials added that six militants were killed and four others injured in retaliatory fire by thesecurity forces. The forces also launched a massive search operation in Ghundai, Mula Pattay and Koranchkivillages and recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition concealed in caves. There have been constantclashes between the security forces and the militants in the area, where the Pakistan Army has been engagedin combating Taliban militants while the security officials have claimed to have cleared 97 percent of the areaof militants. Orakzai Agency is the second smallest tribal agency after Bajaur, which shares borders with theKurram and Khyber agencies and is the only agency that does not share a border with Afghanistan. OnLinE

MoNItoRINg DESk

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chiefMaulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday regrettedthat some leaders were using the attack onMalala Yousafzai for enhancing their politicalimage.

“Some people are using the issue of attackon Malala for gaining political mileage,” he re-gretted, adding that “Malala Yousafzai is ourdaughter”.

Addressing a large gathering during hisparty’s conference titled ‘Islam Zindabad’ inSukkur, Fazl expressed deepest concern overthe existing law and order and economic situa-tion in the country, saying it seemed the coun-try was made for target killings, corruption and

extortion.He said the law and order situation of the

country was extremely poor and pointed to-wards the situation in FATA, Balochistan andKarachi.

The JUI-F chief said the economic condi-tion of the country could not be improvedthrough accountability bills.

He said though a number of sacrifices were“taken from us” for turning the country into awelfare state in the past 65 years, the poor werestill facing exploitation at the hands of feudallords.

Fazl asked the Ulema to condemn the at-tack on Malala, but “first they should come for-ward and denounce the attacks on ourmadrassahs”.

PESHAWARAPP

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Law andParliamentary Affairs Barrister Arshad Ab-dullah on Sunday said the terrorist attackon Malala Yousafzai had saddened the en-tire world, but politicians should refrainfrom taking advantage of the issue.

He said Malala was an ambassador ofpeace, education and hope, as she madeconstant efforts for spreading the messageof the importance of girls’ education duringtesting times in Swat.

However, he said some elements weregetting political advantage from the attackon Malala and were making unsuccessful ef-forts to divert the attention of the masses.

He said Malala had paid a heavy pricefor the country’s peace and education andshe was the identity of Pakistan.

Abdullah said getting political advan-tage from her sacrifices would serve no pur-

pose but would expose faces of such ele-ments that strengthen the hands of extrem-ists. The minister said, “We as nationshould openly condemn the attack onMalala.” He said no party could match thesacrifice rendered by the ANP in the waragainst terrorism.

Abdullah appealed to the people tostand united to uproot the menace of ter-rorism and militancy once and for all,adding that terrorism could only be de-feated by making constant struggle with onedirection and approach.

He said Malala had proved to the worldthat Pashtuns were a peaceful nation andwanted peace in the world.

Abdullah said the law and order in Khy-ber Pakhtunkhwa and Malakand divisionhad significantly improved owing to suc-cessful policies of the government.

The minister expressed optimism thatthe ANP would again form government inKP on basis of its performance.

Kp minister asks politicians

not to politick over Malala

Fazl regrets ‘political point scoring’ on Malala issue

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Newsafghan ‘fraud’ putsnato troops at risk,uS report warns

kABULnni

NATO forces in Afghanistan have beenexposed to greater risk of Talibanattacks because of fraud, a USgovernment agency has alleged. A reportsaid Afghan contractors paid to sealdrainage channels – often used to hideexplosives under roads – had failed todo so in more than 100 cases. A criminalinvestigation is under way, seniorgenerals have been told. A BBC report inKabul says if proven, the case is likely todeepen mistrust between NATO andAfghans. In a letter, special inspectorgeneral for Afghan reconstruction JohnSopko warned senior commanders thatan Afghan contractor paid to sealdrainage systems along strategic roadshad left the work undone or badly done.The Taliban have often used drainagechannels to hide improvised explosivedevices (IEDs). Hundreds of foreigntroops have been killed by such weaponssince the war began in 2001. To reducethe risk, the US military has paidcontractors to install metal grates overthe channels to prevent anyone gettinginside. But investigators said there wasevidence of fraud in the work and inmany cases no metal grate was installedat all. “Given the increased risk of IEDattacks against US forces resulting frommissing or defective... systems, we areproviding this information to you forimmediate action and dissemination toall relevant personnel,” Sopko said in hisletter to the top commander inAfghanistan Gen John Allen and GenJames N Mattis, head of the US CentralCommand. Philip J LaVelle, aspokesman for the inspector general’soffice, declined to comment on whetherany troops had been killed by theproblem with the drainage channels.

police capturebomb-laden vehicle in texila

MoNItoRINg DESk

Taxila police foiled a potential terroristattack bid last night on a tip-off. A mannamed Waheed was driving a vehicle whichthe police stopped. The vehicle was loadedwith explosive material weighing 25kilogrammes and around 400 detonators.The suspect was detained and furtherinterrogation is underway.

LoNDoNAFP

FIVE of Britain’s elite RoyalMarines have been chargedwith murder following anengagement with an insur-gent in 2011, the British

Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.British military police had arrested

seven Royal Marines last Thursday onsuspicion of murder in connection withthe incident. Two more marines werearrested, one on Friday and one on Sat-urday, taking the total number of ar-rests to nine, an MoD spokesman said.Four have since been released withoutcharge. “The Royal Military Police(RMP) has referred the case of the re-maining five RoyalMarines to the inde-

pendent Service Prosecuting Authority(SPA),” the spokesman added.

“Following direction from the SPAthese marines have now been chargedwith murder and they remain in cus-tody pending court proceedings. “Itwould be inappropriate to commentfurther on this ongoing investigation,”he added. British media have reportedthat the marines were arrested aftersuspicious footage was found on a ser-viceman’s laptop by British police.

The arrests are thought to be thefirst time that British servicemenhave been held on suspicion of suchcharges during the Afghanistan con-flict. Defence Minister Philip Ham-mond, speaking on BBC television,stressed that the rules of engagementmust be followed. “Everybody serv-

ing in theatre knows the rules of en-gagement, they carry cards in theiruniforms with the rules on them incase they need to remind them-selves,” he told the BBC.

“I can’t comment on the specifics ofthis case. They are not out there, this issomething that happened last year.These people were back in the UK andnot in Afghanistan at the moment. “Weare very determined that rules of en-gagement will be followed, that anyabuse will be dealt with through thenormal processes of service justice andthat is what is happening now.” TheRoyal Marines, or “green berets”, wereformed in 1755 as marine infantry forthe Royal Navy and have a reputationas some of the toughest military profes-sionals in the world.

WASHINgtoNSPECiAL COrrESPOnDEnT

New Delhi is increasingly showing signs ofambivalence on whether it would performa leading role in Washington’s new “rebal-ancing” act in Asia, where the US seesIndia as the linchpin of its recently definedpivot toward the largest continent.

The Washington Post reported Sun-day it had become apparent that NewDelhi was unsure about playing such aleading role, as desired by the UnitedStates. “So much so that some U.S. ana-lysts are questioning whether India willever be a dependable strategic partner forthe United States, and whether NewDelhi will ever match its global ambitionswith a leadership role on the world stage,”a New Delhi-datelined report said.

The newspaper report cited ColinGeraghty of the American Security Proj-ect in Washington, who noted in a reportthis month that while “the U.S.-Indiastrategic partnership came with greathype about India’s potential contributionto U.S. interests,” a “sense of disappoint-ment” had set in. In Washington, analystsand business leaders expressed disap-pointment in the past two years over thepace of reform in India, the lack ofprogress in civil nuclear cooperationand India’s continuing engagement with

Iran, the Post report said. “While thelonger-term logic of the relationship re-mains firmly intact, there is a growingsense that India will never be a trulytrusted ally.” The U.S. strategic rebalancereflected the Obama administration’s be-lief that the center of gravity of Americanforeign and economic policy had shiftedtoward Asia and that maintaining peacein the Asia-Pacific had become increas-ingly important as a result of China’srapid rise, the report said. In one of thefew concrete measures announced so far,the U.S. Navy will gradually move moreof its ships to the region, deploying 60percent of its fleet there by 2020.

“India clearly plays an important rolein our rebalance,” Deputy Secretary ofDefense Ashton Carter said in an e-mailinterview, looking towards India as an“anchor of regional stability and a partneron issues in the Indian Ocean and be-yond.” Privately, said the report, somesenior Indian officials said they wouldwelcome a stronger American presence inthe region. New Delhi, they believed,shared a strong strategic interest in hedg-ing against China’s rise and in maintain-ing open sea lanes and free commercethroughout the region.

Publicly, though, the reaction hadbeen distinctly lukewarm, with Adm. Nir-mal Kumar Verma, then Indian naval

chief, delivering what Indian media calleda “snub” in August, when he said deploy-ment in the Pacific and South China Seawas “not on the cards.” “We want strate-gic autonomy,” retired Indian diplomatT.P. Sreenivasan said in Washington lastmonth, according to a Foreign Policy blogpost. “We don’t want to be identified withU.S. policy in Asia, even if we secretly likeit.” India’s reluctance to tie itself to theU.S. mast is partly a legacy of its ColdWar antipathy toward Washington anddistrust stemming from the imposition ofAmerican sanctions after India’s nucleartests in 1974 and 1998, said the report.

In recent years, the report said, Indiahad also watched nervously as PresidentObama first courted China and thenseemed to move toward a policy of con-tainment. “The strategic rebalance has in-flamed nationalist sentiment in China, andthere is a sense in New Delhi that a littledistance from the occasionally clumsyAmericans is a generally sound foreignpolicy approach - especially when Indiashares a long, disputed border with theChinese.” “India is a little wary about boththe U.S. and China,” said retired Com-modore C. Uday Bhaskar, a senior fellowat the Society for Policy Studies in NewDelhi. “India would not want to be in a po-sition where it is forced to defer to China,or make China belligerent by joining a for-

mal military alliance with the U.S.”American officials and defense man-

ufacturers have expressed frustrationover India’s refusal to sign two key de-fense agreements usually demanded ofU.S. allies - enabling seamless communi-cations between the two militaries’weapons systems and guaranteeing mu-tual “logistical support.” Meanwhile, de-fense trade between the two nationsboomed and India conducted more jointmilitary exercises with the United Statesthan with any other country, but expertssay military ties still lack a strategic andpolitical underpinning.

According to the report, India’s ten-tative “Look East” policy, which is sup-posed to foster closer ties with East andSoutheast Asia, had also disappointedsome U.S. officials and strategic expertswho would like to see New Delhi forgingcloser trade and security links with Amer-ica’s Asian allies. Secretary of StateHillary Rodham Clinton gave New Delhia nudge last year, urging it “not just tolook east, but to engage east and act east,as well.” Indeed, Clinton herself calledIndia a “strategic bet,” rather than a sure-fire certainty, the Post report added. Atthe same time, the report referred tocomments and conclusions by officialsand experts on both sides that stressedvalue in the long-term bilateral relations.

Karzai condemnsattack on teenageeducation activist

kABULAGEnCiES

Afghan President Hamid Karzai wroteletters to top political and religious leadersin Pakistan, denouncing the Taliban attackon a Pakistani teenager who promotedgirls’ education, and called for additionalcollaboration to fight the extremists.According to a statement from Karzai’soffice, the president described the attackon Malala Yousafzai as an attack on allAfghan girls, one that contradicted thereligion and culture of both nations. Karzaiinvited the political and religious leaders tohelp both countries take “coordinated,collaborative and serious action withstrong determination against terrorismand extremism”, his office said in astatement. He said similar attacks hadbeen perpetuated for many years onAfghan schools and students, pointing thatAfghanis empathised with Malala’ssuffering. In his letters Karzai said thevoice and sorrow raised by the peoples ofthe two countries including political andnational leaders must not be silenced, saidthe statement. The letters were sent tomore than a dozen political and religiousleaders, including President Asif AliZardari, Prime Minister Raja PervaizAshraf, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif,Jamaat-e-Islami leader Qazi HussainAhmed, PML-Q President ChaudhryShujaat Hussain and PTI chief ImranKhan. On Saturday, schools acrossAfghanistan made prayers for Malala’srecovery following a decree from theAfghan Ministry of Education in a notableshow of solidarity with Pakistan to defendgirls’ education.

ALEPPO: A Syrian woman is evacuated after being wounded in shelling by Assad regime forces in the Shaar neighbourhood on Sunday. The Syrian army launched a counter-

strike against rebels in the north, in a bid to wrest back control of positions lost in recent days. afp | Story on page 09

5 British Marines chargedwith 2011 Afghanistan murder

India ambivalent on its role in US pivot toward Asia: report

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05


News

ISLAMABADinP

National Assembly SpeakerDr Fehmida Mira saidthat rural women wereone of the most vulnera-ble and marginalised seg-

ments of the society despite theirsignificant role in the rural economy.

She said that they were also sub-ject to violence, economic exploitationand lack of basic healthcare. She saidthis on the occasion of the Interna-tional Rural Women’s day being com-memorated throughout the globeunder the auspices of United Nationson Monday.

Fehmida said that rural womencomprised a major chunk of the popu-lation and played a significant role inthe agriculture sector as well as ruraldevelopment, however their contribu-tions were not recognized at any level.

She said that with the advent of thelatest technology in the agriculturalsector, the involvement of women inagricultural work had not decreased.In addition to working in the fieldsthey also had to care for children,older persons and do householdchores.

She underlined the need for an of-ficial recognition of women’s partici-pation in the national economy andasked the government to devise poli-cies for the betterment of women inthe country to ensure their rights.

Fehmida said that women in therural socio-cultural panorama wereconfined to household cores and labo-rious work in the fields and did nothave access to education. She said thateducation was an inalienable right ofevery individual and it was imperativeto educate rural women to make themunderstand and face their diverseproblems. She asked the government

to allocate funds to establish schoolsfor females in rural areas.

The speaker stressed the need for aprovision of shelter, livelihood and med-ical assistance to rural women in af-fected areas on a priority basis. Sheasked the government to extend the

SME network to rural areas where en-terprising rural women could have ac-cess to credit facilities to empower themeconomically. She also stressed the needto establish training and display centresat a Tehsil level for rural female artisans,so they could sell their craft.

NEW DELHIAGEnCiES

Women, including students,and the Muslim community inparticular, took to the streetsof Thane and Lucknow inIndia’s Maharashtra and UttarPradesh states over the week-end to protest against an at-tack by Taliban militants onMalala Yousafzai.

In Thane, school girls andwomen took part in a rallyagainst the attack on the 14-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl.They said Malala should bebrought to India for treat-ment.

One of the protesting stu-dents, Faiza, said prayers werebeing offered for Malala’sspeedy recovery, Zee News re-

ported. “She was one among us, I

will pray to God for her speedyrecovery. We want such peoplein our country who fight forthe rights of the women.Mumbai people will pay forher medication. I am standingin support of her because Ialso hate militants,” saidFaiza.

Malala is still fighting forher life after being shot byTaliban gunmen in Mingoraon October 9 for speaking outfor progressive educationbased on western mode of ac-ademics as for girls.

Talking to the reporters,protester Afshan said, “Thereason we have staged such abig rally is because, we wantto appeal to the prime minis-

ters of India and Pakistan toget Malala in Mumbai...Malala initiated and tookstand for the rights of school-girls, so we are with her andwe pray to God for her.”

The attack on Malala hasbeen condemned across theworld and has fuelled ireamong the people speciallyMuslim women, who have nowtaken to the streets for therights of women.

Meanwhile, young stu-dents in Lucknow also took tothe streets. Talking to re-porters, a protester said theentire country was unitedagainst crime and injustice.

Islamist group, Ahle Sun-nat, passed a fatwa condemn-ing the Taliban who tried tokill Malala.

Moon sighting body togather on Wednesday

ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Central Ruet-e-HilalCommittee, for sighting the Zil Haj moon, would beheld on Oct 17 (Wednesday). As per directions issuedby the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Committeewould meet on the 29th of Ziqaad at the PakistanMeteorological Department building, Main UniversityRoad, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi. The Zonal andDistrict Ruet-e-Hilal Committee would hold theirmeeting at their respective places on the same dateand time. The Zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committee,Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) will hold itsmeeting at the building of the Ministry of ReligiousAffairs, near GPO Islamabad. APP

quETTA: Frontier Corps (FC) personnel gather drug dealers and addicts near a nullah following a crackdown on Sunday. Forces confiscated a large quantity of drugs, in-

cluding heroin, hashish and liquor in an operation against drug usage. onlIne

3 kids die of gastroenteritis inBalochistan

QUEttAAPP

At least three children died of gastroenteritisin the Gandawa area of Jhal Magsi district onSunday. Sources in the Health Department said thatthree children had reportedly died ofgastroenteritis in the Qazi Ismail and Gahilaareas of Gandawa, while several others weresuffering from the same disease.The Health Department has dispatchedteams to provide medical treatment to thepatients.

Quetta cop shootscolleague over brawl

QUEttAAPP

A police constable reportedly injured his col-league at the University of Balochistan in theprovincial capital on Sunday.Police sources said that a constable openedfire at his colleague at the University ofBalochistan after an exchange of harshwords. The two were deployed on securityduty at the varsity.The police shifted the injured constable to ahospital and registered a case.

Earthquake joltsparts of KP

PESHAWARAGEnCiES

Various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa werejolted on Sunday evening by an earthquakemeasuring 5.4 on the Richter scale.According to the Meteorological Department,the tremors were felt in Mingora, variousareas of Swat, Mansehra, Mardan and otherparts of the province. The epicentre of the tremors was Hindukushmountains range in Afghanistan.Panicked people came out of their houses asthey felt the earthquake. So far there is noreport of any loss of life or property.

President to launchanti-polio drive today

ISLAMABADAGEnCiES

President Asif Ali Zardari will launch thenext round of the 3-day national polioimmunisation campaign on Monday(Today). The president will make a specialappeal to people from all walks of life tosupport the cause and contribute to the goalof a polio-free Pakistan. He will also beinforming the international community thatdespite challenges Pakistan is making an allout effort against the disease and that thereis a progressive improvement in campaignperformances with sharp declines in thenumber of polio cases. Cabinet ministers,governors, chief secretaries, secretaries ofhealth, parliamentarians andrepresentatives of international partnerorganisations will also participate in theevent to be held at President House today.The Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring andCoordination Cell will be overseeing thenation-wide campaign to ensure that the settargets are met. In the provinces, the chiefministers are leading the effort whereasKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor willpersonally supervise the campaign in FATA.Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring CellNational Coordinator Dr Altaf Bosan saidthat Pakistan had reported 44 cases of poliothis year compared to 136 last year, whereasthe number of infected districts had reducedfrom 41 to 26 in the same time period. Ofthe 44 cases reported this year, 33 were fromFATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone,highlighting that the virus was mostlyrestricted to these areas and the challenge ofinaccessibility and security needed to be metwith consistent efforts, Bosan added.

Indian women, students hold ralliesagainst Taliban attack on Malala

NA speaker calls for policies insupport of rural women

ISB 15-10-2012_Layout 1 10/15/2012 3:29 AM


ISLAMABADSTAFF rEPOrT

THE prices of the sacrificial ani-mals have registered an un-precedented increase this yearowing to increase in trans-

portation charges and other associatedexpenses. Traders have started to bringanimals in the twin cities of Islamabadand Rawalpindi and are herding in thestreets to attract the customers thoughEid-ul-Azha is still two weeks away.

The sellers are demanding high pricesfor the animals because they have a lot oftime to wait for the customers ready topay their desired prices.

Traders expressed the hope that saleswould gain momentum in coming.

"Maximum number of animals is ex-pected to be sold on day before Eid-ul-Azha as usual,” they said.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that theprice of A category goat/sheep has in-creased from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000, ofB category from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000and C category to Rs 10,000 and above.

But, despite the increased prices ofsacrificial animals, demand of the ani-mals is being expected to get momentumahead of Eid-ul Azha in few days.

Customers said that the prices werelikely to come down in case a large num-ber of animals arrived in the twin citiesbefore Eid.

The annual sacrificial animal marketwould be established in Sector I-11/4 ofthe federal capital for purchase of ani-mals for the festival of Eid-ul-Azha fromOctober 17.

The sacrifice only rich can makeTraders say prices have been raised due to general inflationary trends

Bidding forsacrificialanimal bazaarsin RCB today RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Canton-ment Board (RCB) has decided toarrange sacrificial animal bazaars atthree sites and bidding for the establish-ment of the same will be held today(Monday).Sources said that sacrificial animalbazaar would be arranged at three loca-tions including Dhoke Saidan, ChakaraRoad, and Peshawar Road.An official said that RCB is expected toget Rs2 million from bazaars as it willoperate for 10 days.Entry fee for sheep and goats would beRs200 while Rs300 for Ox and thiswould be charged from buyers. However, establishment of animalbazaar and open sale of sacrificial ani-mals in the premises of Rawal Town hasbeen banned. STAFF rEPOrT

RAWALPINDI: Tehsil Municipal Administration(TMA) on Sunday imposed complete ban on the entryof sacrificial animals in a bid to keep the city neatand clean on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.On the special instructions of District CoordinationOfficer (DCO) Saqib Zafar, Rawal Town Administra-

tor Saif Anwar Jappa prohibited entry of sacrificialanimals in the city for selling purpose.TMA constituted a squad to confiscate the animalsbesides imposing fine on the violators.Tehsil Municipal Administration squad will visit var-ious localities including Cricket Stadium, Syed pur

Road, Pirwadhai, Khana Road, Marreer Hassan andRailway workshop.The average price of a goat this year has gone upfrom Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000. Dealers are demand-ing Rs 70,000-80,000 for animals which producearound 80 kg meat. STAFF rEPOrT

TMA imposes ban on the entry of sacrificial animals

ISLAMABADAPP

Inordinate procrastination has landedPakistan Museum of Natural History(PMNH) into dire straits as the man-agement finds it increasingly difficultto preserve important objects for pos-terity. As per details, the managementof PMNH took up the ambitious proj-ect of stuffing and displaying of Saheli,a female elephant which died at Marg-hazar Zoo, and a whale shark founddead at Karachi shore, but soon had toabandon the project in the absence ofrequired funding.

The skeletons of both animals aswell as stuffed body of the female ele-phant were scheduled to be displayedat the museum in June this year.

"We are facing funds shortage toexecute both projects as the govern-ment has slashed museum's budget by20 percent," Director of the MuseumDr Rafiq said.

He said the administration was insearch of funding from any organiza-tion as the people of Islamabad andRawalpindi had been awaiting the dis-play of these carcasses as both wouldadd to the attractions of the federalcapital.

"We are in talks with UNESCO toprovide funds for the projects. Thedisplay of shark's skeleton would costaround Rs 0.7 million and Rs 0.4 mil-lion are required for that of the ele-phant," Dr Rafiq said.

Meanwhile, skeleton of "Balu-chitherium", the largest land mammalin the world, resurrected at the Pak-istan Museum of Natural History(PMNH) has become talk of the townas people from twin cities throng inlarge numbers to witness the relic ofbygone era.

Baluchitherium is an extinct Rhi-noceros and the largest land mammalthat ever lived on the earth about 30million years ago.

It is called Baluchitherium:"Baluchi" for Balochistan; "therium"for Beast. It literally means the "beastof Balochistan" and was named so be-cause it was first discovered in theBugti Hills Balochistan (ranging in agefrom 30 million years to 20 millionyears ago).

Giving details, DG PMNH AkhtarJaved said the average height of anadult Baluchitherium was estimated tohave been 18 ft high at the shoulder.

He said fossils of this giant landmammal, Baluchitherium, were firstdiscovered in the Bugti Hills in 1908,and included only a few foot bones.

However, the major discovery wasmade in 2000, when the joint team ofpalaeontologists from University ofMontpellier, France and the PakistanMuseum of Natural History, Islam-abad found almost complete skeletonof Baluchitherium from ChitarwataFormation, north of Sui in the BugtiHills after a search of almost 3 years.

"This discovery of the largest landmammal has greatly increased the ge-ological significance of our country forresearch in the field of palaeontologyand has made Pakistan known to geo-scientists and biologists all over theworld," he said.

DG PMNH said the museumsthroughout the world were playing animportant role in public educationthrough research, exhibitions, lec-tures, film shows, club activities, com-petitions and many such otherprograms.

Nowadays education through mu-seums is being regarded as of indis-pensable importance, he said, adding

in line with its functions, PMNH wasstriving hard for promotion of infor-mal education through different

means, mainly the visits of school andcollege students to the Museum Dis-play Galleries.

pMnh braces for more troubles aheadIll-planning, lack of funds lands PakistanMuseum of Natural History in a major trouble

CtP launches driveagainst pressure horns,tinted glass vehicles

RAWALPINDIAPP

City Police Officer (CTO) Syed Ishtiaq HussainShah said on Sunday that the City Traffic Police(CTP) Rawalpindi had launched a special driveagainst pressure horns, tinted glass and smokeemitting vehicles. He said that strict action inaccordance with the law was being taken againstthe violators of traffic rules. “Vehicles are beingimpounded while challan tickets are also beingissued for not obeying instructions against pres-sure horns, tinted glass and smoke emitting ve-hicles,” he added. The CTO said the CTP wouldtake strict action against the violators and spe-cial checking in this regard would continue.“The traffic rules are meant for the safety ofdrivers and the passengers,” he maintained. Hestressed that traffic rules must be observed onroads as these were for the safety of the driversand other road users as well.

tardy registration ofcriminal cases a routinewith islamabad police

ISLAMABADinP

Citizens of the federal capital have expressedgrave concern over the causal attitude of Islam-abad police in registration of criminal cases.They said that police officials looked reluctantand tried to pose hurdles whenever someone vis-ited police station to register a case. In addition,they also complained about delayed registrationof car lifting cases by Aabpara Police Station.Sources said that a citizen of the federal capital,Muhammad Irfan, was deprived of his Hi-Roof,bearing number plate KQ-7416, on 01 October inMelody Market. But police, practicing the usualapathy, deferred to register the case for 10 days.Finally, an FIR was registered the other day.

ISB 15-10-2012_Layout 1 10/15/2012 3:29 AM

07Islamabad


ISLAMABADAPP

HUNDREDS of rural womenfrom different parts of thecountry gathered at LokVirsa on Sunday for celebrat-

ing the International Rural Women Dayand urged all the political parties to pri-oritise their rights in party manifestos.

The two-day colourful function wasarranged by Potohar Organization forDevelopment and Advocacy (PODA), LokVirsa, Women Parliamentary Caucus(WPC) and other organizations.

Addressing the Int’l Rural Women

Day conference, the speakers highlightedthe plight of rural women who performed80 percent of agriculture work in therural areas.

The speakers lamented the fact thatno agriculture policy existed either at thefederal or the provincial level in thecountry. They demanded the governmentto formulate an agriculture policy withmaximum incentives for the farmers andworkers of agriculture sector.

They also called for providing techni-cal training to the women farmers tomeet the growing demands and initiatingsoft loan schemes.

The speakers strongly demanded to

ban those polling stations which had lessthan 15 percent of women voters duringthe upcoming elections.

The rural women who had assembledfrom all the provinces highlighted thatno political party had added a single linefor their development in its manifesto.

While formulating the budget, no oneconsiders any allocation for the uplift,training and welfare of rural women,they complained.

PODA Director Sameena Nazir ap-preciated the laws and legislations envis-aged during the last four years.

She said it was a responsibility of therepresentatives of political parties to

focus on implementation of these laws.WORD’s Aqsa Khan and Sisters

Trust Pakistan’s Rehana Hashmi alsoemphasized on promoting awarenessamong rural women about their ultimaterights.

Executive Director, Lok Virsa, KhalidJaved said women comprised more than50 percent of the total population andhence their active role in the country'sdevelopment was very crucial.

He announced free entry of ruralwomen in the Lok Virsa and PakistanMonument Museum for two days of aweek.

Along with the conference, an exhibi-

tion was also arranged with colourfulproducts made by the rural women com-ing from different parts of the country.

The exhibition displayed around 25stalls with different items including tra-ditional dresses, shoes, jewellery, handi-crafts, wallets, caps, vases and books onvarious subjects.

The stalls were set up by Strengthen-ing Participatory Organization (SPO),PODA, Seher, Shirkat Gah, Beedari,Rozan, Irada, Children Global Network,Benazir Welfare Society, Silk RouteHunza, Trust for Conservation of CoastalReserves, Catholic Women Organizationand Acid Survivors Foundation.

Remember us in your manifestos: Rural women

ISLAMABADnni

Former Director General of Inter-Ser-vices Intelligence (ISI) Lt General(Retd) Hamid Gul on Sunday termedUS led drone strikes as ‘murderousattacks’.

Hamid Gul said that US drone at-tacks were violation of all interna-tional laws and human rights. “Theseattacks on Pakistani soil must bestopped immediately,” Hamid Gultold IRNA in an interview.

The analyst added that accordingto American claims, 20 al-Qaeda lead-ers had been killed in the dronestrikes whereas the total number ofcasualties in the attacks was 3250. “Itmeans innocent people have been tar-geted in the strikes,” he noted.

“In my view, Obama is the mur-

derer of all those innocent people whohave lost their lives in drone strikes,”he said. He was of the view that thesestrikes were not even permitted inAmerican laws; they were extra judi-cial killings. “They are part of a con-spiracy to destabilize Muslim world,”Gul viewed.

Former intelligence chief whileexpressing his views said that thedrone attacks on Pakistani soil weretantamount to state terrorism againstthe people of Pakistan.

“Drone strikes are sheer violationof the sovereignty of Pakistan,” henoted, adding that US did not careabout the sovereignty of other coun-tries.

He was of the view that Americanswere making all out efforts to destabi-lize Pakistan. “Their basic objective isto target nuclear program of Pak-

istan,” he warned.Former general said that the

drone technology would ultimatelycreate problems for the USA becauseother countries would try to acquirethis technology to counter US hege-mony.

Majority of Pakistanis believe thatdrone strikes kill innocent people, vi-olate Pakistan’s sovereignty and areagainst all international laws.

Earlier Pakistan’s Foreign Minis-ter Hina Rabbani Khar had said thatUS drone strikes on Pakistani soilwere “unlawful, illegal and counter-productive.”

To bring attention of the interna-tional media on this vital issue, Pak-istan Tehrik-e-Insaf or JusticeMovement had carried out a marchagainst the US drone strikes in Pak-istan’s tribal regions.


A Joint Inspection Commission of Pak-istani and Indian officials are scheduledto inspect the site of the controversialKishanganga hydro-electricity project onMonday (today).

A three-member Pakistani team ledby Indus Treaty Commissioner Asif Baighad reached India on Sunday to visit the

site. The disputed power project is beingbuilt on the Neelum River at Gurez in In-dian held Kashmir.

In September 2011, the InternationalCourt of Arbitration (ICA) had stoppedIndia from any permanent work on theproject in response to Pakistan’s appealfor “interim measures” against the damwhich may cause diversion of the river’sflow. The ICA is expected to announce itsverdict in February 2013. Pakistan be-

lieves the construction of Kishangangadam on the Neelum-Jhelum River woulddeprive Pakistan of 13 percent of theriver’s water, which would be a big blowto the country’s agriculture sector.

During a hearing in August 2012 inthe international court at The Hague,Pakistan placed the matter for determi-nation before the court. The question waswhether India’s proposed diversion ofthe Neelum-Jhelum River into another

tributary, the Bonar Madmati Nallah,being one central element of the Kis-hanganga project, breaches India’s legalobligations owed to Pakistan under thetreaty.

Another dispute raised by Pakistanwas whether India may deplete or bringthe reservoir level of a run-of-river plantbelow Dead Storage Level (DSL) in anycircumstances except in the case of anunforeseen emergency.

Operation againstbuildings withoutfire-extinguishersstarts today

RAWALPINDISTAFF rEPOrT

Operation against factories withoutequipments to fight fire-hazards willstart from Monday (today) in four dis-tricts including Rawalpindi, Chakwal,Jhelum and Attock. The operation isbeing conducted on the special direc-tives of Commissioner Rawalpindi.Sources said action would be takenagainst all the factories, mills, plazas,and CNG stations, which were operat-ing without fire extinguishers, close-circuit cameras, and emergency-exitpoints. Special teams have been con-stituted to materialize the plan, ac-cording to which the factories lackingsuch facilities will be challaned, andcases will be registered. It merits men-tioning here that certain factorieswithout adequate anti-fire infrastruc-ture were issued notices inviting themto take relevant steps till October 13.

Predawn showersturn weatherpleasant in twin cities

ISLAMABADinP

Predawn shower in the federal capitaland adjoining areas brought coldwave of weather on Sunday. Accord-ing to details, Islamabad andRawalpindi received light rain in thewee hours of Sunday followed by duststorm which turned the weatherpleasant. Pakistan Meteorological De-partment (PMD) has predicted morerains in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Pe-shawar, Kohat and some parts ofKashmir during the next 12 hours.Lowest temperature was recorded inSkardu 4C, while temperaturerecorded in other cities were: Islam-abad and Peshawar 17C, Lahore andFaisalabad 20C, Karachi 24C, Quetta8C, Multan 21C and Murree 10C.

Hamid Gul condemns ‘murderous’ drone strikes

pak officials to inspect Kishanganga dam site today

DO nOT BACKSTAB: Sindhis hold demonstration against Local Government Ordinance 2012 outside national Press Club. onlIne

On the International Rural Women Day, women call for greater appreciation of their 80% share in agriculture-related labour


The federal capital police have arrested 12lawbreakers, including one woman, fortheir involvement in theanti-social activities likestealing cars and sellingarms and narcotics, andseized a stolen car, threepistols, one shotgun,530-gram charas, 36bottles of liquor and40-gram heroin, po-lice sources said onSunday. They also in-formed that anti carlifting cell of the

capital police had nabbed Khan Qaisarand recovered a stolen car, Honda Civic,bearing registration number LXE-4421,from his possession. The car was stolenfrom the jurisdiction of Ghalib Market

Police Station, Lahore.Meanwhile, Golra Sharifpolice arrested EjazKhan and Safeer Husainand recovered two pis-tols from their posses-

sion. According tothe police sources,cases had been regis-tered against the out-laws and they had

been sent behindthe bars.

12 miscreants includingone woman busted

ISB 15-10-2012_Layout 1 10/15/2012 3:29 AM

08Islamabad

low

high

tueSday wedNeSday thurSday30°C i 18°C 30°C i 18°C 31°C i 17°C

Prayer tiMiNGSfajr Sunrise zuhr asr Maghrib isha

4:39 6:01 11:58 3:20 5:53 7:16

City direCtOry

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30 YeARS OF ROHTAS gAlleRY

Sixty five artists will exhibit more than165 works in what will be a testimony toPakistan’s contemporary artists and anamazing journey through their growth andcontribution to art over three decades.

date aNd tiMe: 05:00 PM, weekly eVeNtVEnuE: the CeNtre fOr artS & Culture

Our drumming circle is a (free!) ongoingevent and is held every friday from 5pmto 6pm. we are having a great time, andwant to share the good time with you!Our drumming circle has children ...

SePt 24 - OCt 24, 5PMVeNue: NatiONal art Gallery

AnWAR MAQSOOD’S PAWnAY 14 Aug

‘Pawnay 14 august’ has broken all theatrical recordsin Pakistan with 28 performances and 15000viewers in karachi and lahore is now ready tosweep islamabad off its feet. for more details call 0333 3377909, 0300 9558701

SePt 1 - 25 PakiStaN NatiONal COuNCil Of artS

DRuMMing CiRCle


T HE Punjab University, an oldestseat of learning in the sub-conti-nent turned 130 years on Sundaywith 30,000 students studying in

13 faculties comprising 73 disciplines.Tracing the history, Punjab UniversityChief Librarian Muhammad Hanif saidthat PU was formally established with theconvening the first meeting of its Senateon Oct 14, 1882, at Simla with Sir JamesBroadwood Lyall as first VC. It came intoexistence as a result of a long drawnstruggle of the people of Punjab after theWar of Independence in 1857. Contraryto previously established three universi-ties Bombay, Madras and Calcutta whichwere only examining institutions, the PUwas both teaching as well as examiningbody right from the first day.

He said the contribution of Dr GWLeitner, a Hungarian and a naturalisedBritisher, was instrumental in the estab-lishment of PU and he became its firstregistrar. “Prof AC Woolner, who re-mained vice-chancellor of this universityduring 1928-1936, played a key role in itsdevelopment during the initial decadesof this century. His statue still stands infront of the Allama Iqbal Campus of theuniversity,” he said, adding that DrUmar Hayat Malik became first VC afterpartition and Prof Dr Mujahid Kamranwas its 51st VC. The strength of the fac-ulty was greatly reduced because of themigration of non-Muslim teachers andscholars at the time of independence.NOBLE LAUREATES: PU has pro-duced three noble laureates, Har Gob-

ind Khorana, Abdus Salam and Subrah-manyan Chandrasekhar.

Hanif said that during the last fiveyears PU had gone through a number ofinstitutional reforms aimed at qualityin teaching and research and a numberof newly emerging disciplines havebeen added to make the varsity educa-tion relevant to the needs of the society.

He said PU differed from the otheruniversities because of its adherence toideological and cultural values whilemaintaining a progressive professionalposture.

About library history, he said it wasestablished in 1873. He said that in thebeginning, only 2,000 books of Sir Don-ald Macleaod were purchased for Rs2,500 in 1873 but now there were over 7lakh books with 28 personal collectionsof eminent scholars. It has also emergedthe largest e-library in the country with63,000 Higher Education Commissiondigital books on line, he added.

About academic achievements,Hanif said that a record number of 525PhDs were produced during the last 5year while 130 PU teachers presented re-search papers in international confer-ence in the period.

On the other hand, PU had hosted 31international and national conferencesand 215 books authored by teachers ondifferent topics and over 1,000 researchpapers produced by teachers were alsopublished in leading journals.

He said it was the first time in PUhistory that all Baloch students and spe-cial students were being educated freewith Rs 3,000 per month scholarshipsand free hostel accommodation and food.

PU turned 130 yearswith 30,000 students

in 13 faculties

OF PUNJAB UNIVERSITY

Alfred Woolner 1878 – 1936

Statue of Alfred Woolner 1878 - 1936 outside Punjab University Old Campus Mall Road

Lahore Pakistan. Dr Alfred Cooper Woolner was a noted Sanskrit scholar and professor as

well as the vice chancellor of Punjab University, Lahore before the Par tition. Dr Woolner

served as honorary librarian of the university from 1902 to 1928. He was made principal

and registrar in 1903. From 1928 till 1936 he served as vice chancellor. Punjab University's

collection of over 8,500 Ancient Sanskrit and Hindi manuscripts is named in his honour.

Also the only remaining intact statute (from the British Era) in Lahore is that of Dr Woolner

which stands in front of the Pharmacy Depar tment of Punjab University. Dr Woolner died in

Lahore and is buried in the city's Gora Kabristan on Jail Road.

130 YEARS

ISB 15-10-2012_Layout 1 10/15/2012 3:29 AM

09Foreign News


The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) escort ship Kurama (L) reviews foreign ships Sydney of Australia (3rd r), Persistence of Singapore (2nd r) and uSS Shiloh of

the uS (r) during its fleet review off Sagami Bay, Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture on Sunday. Forty-five MSDF vessels and one ship each from the uS, Australian and Singaporean

navies participated in the fleet review. afp

DAMASCUSAFP

SYRIA banned Turkish passengerflights from its airspace from Sun-day in a retaliatory move, as itstroops launched a counter-attackon rebels in the country’s north in

a bid to regain lost ground.The reprisal over Turkey’s confiscation

of an cargo of what Russia said was radarequipment being flown from Moscow toDamascus came despite a flurry of diplo-macy intended to calm soaring tensions be-tween the neighbours.

Syria accuses Turkey of channellingarms from Gulf Arab states to rebels fight-ing its troops, who have been under mount-ing pressure across large swathes of thenorth, including in second city Aleppo.

The flight ban went into force frommidnight (2100 GMT Saturday) “in accor-dance with the principle of reciprocity”,SANA state news agency said.

Since last Wednesday, Turkey hadwarned its airlines to avoid Syrian airspace

for fear of retaliation for that day’s intercep-tion of the Syrian Air passenger plane byTurkish jets on the allegation it was carryingmilitary equipment. Ankara has taken anincreasingly strident line towards its south-ern neighbour since a shell fired from theSyrian side of the border killed five Turks onOctober 3. It has since repeatedly retaliatedfor cross-border fire, prompting growingUN concern and a flurry of diplomatic con-tacts.

After talks with his German counterpartGuido Westerwelle on Saturday, TurkishForeign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiter-ated that Ankara would not tolerate any fur-ther border incidents. “We will hit backwithout hesitation if we believe Turkey’s na-tional security is in danger,” he said. Withthe violence raging, UN and Arab Leaguepeace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on Sundayheaded to Iran, the Syria government’s clos-est ally, after talks in Saudi Arabia andTurkey, the leading backers of the rebels.

Brahimi is on his second tour of the re-gion after taking up his post at the start ofSeptember, replacing former UN chief Kofi

Annan who quit complaining that he hadnot received sufficient support from themajor powers.AIR STRIKES: On the battlefield, the mil-itary used fighter jets to bombard Maaret al-Numan, captured by the rebel Free SyrianArmy earlier in the week, said the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights. East ofMaaret al-Numan, troops tried to block anew rebel assault on Wadi Deif army base— the largest in Idlib province of northwestSyria, much of which is in rebel hands —where large quantities of fuel and tanks arestored. Battles broke out in Maarshurin andHish, near the base, while warplanes bom-barded the area, the Britain-based Observa-tory said. The counter-strike came as rebelscaptured three army officers in Idlib, saidthe Observatory which relies on a networkof activists, lawyers and medics on theground inside Syria for its information.

SANA, meanwhile, reported thattroops killed and captured “dozens of ter-rorists and destroyed anti-tank rockets”in the northern city of Aleppo, the coun-try’s commercial capital.

Elsewhere, two explosions hit the up-scale district of Mazzeh in Damascus earlyon Sunday, the Observatory said, addingthat one of them targeted the car of a pro-regime lawyer who was critically wounded.SANA said the other blast was a “suicide at-tack” that caused no casualties.

In Damascus province, regime forcestook back control of a military base in Ati-bah, a day after rebels had seized it.

At least 18 people were killed nation-wide on Sunday, the Observatory said, inaddition to more than 33,000 who havedied since the revolt against the regimeerupted in March last year.

Human Rights Watch, meanwhile,urged the Syrian military to stop using clus-ter bombs, weapons that can contain up to650 submunitions which are sprayed over alarge area before exploding.

“Syria’s disregard for its civilian popu-lation is all too evident in its air campaign,which now apparently includes droppingthese deadly cluster bombs into populatedareas,” said Steve Goose, arms director atthe New York-based group.

Syria slaps Turkish flight ban,hits back at rebels

German held with3.7 kgs of hashishin IndonesiaMATARAM: A German man has beendetained on the Indonesian resort island ofLombok for attempting to smuggle 3.7kilograms (8.1 pounds) of hashish with astreet value of $730,000, officials saidSunday. Rolf Oskar Josef Schweikert, 57,was arrested upon landing on Saturday atLombok’s airport, arriving from Singaporewith Silk Air, provincial customs office chiefListrijono told reporters. “We arrestedagain a foreign national trying to smuggleillegal drugs into the island of Lombok. The3.7 kilograms of hashish were found in thelining of his suitcase,” he said. “The suspectcould face a death penalty underIndonesian law,” provincial police detectivechief Ricky Simon Paays said. Indonesianpolice arrested a South African woman onThursday attempting to smuggle 2.6kilograms of methamphetamine with astreet value of $500,000 into the island.Indonesia enforces stiff penalties, includinglife imprisonment and death, for drugtrafficking. Two members of an Australiandrug smuggling gang known as the “BaliNine”, who were arrested in 2005, are ondeath row, while seven others face lengthyjail terms. Another Australian, SchapelleCorby, who was sentenced to 20 years inprison for smuggling 4.1 kilos of marijuanain 2005, recently had her term slashed byfive years after a clemency appeal toPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. AFP

Algeria TV bossconvicted forsexual harassmentALGIERS: An Algiers court on Sundayhanded down a six-month suspendedjail sentence and fined a 76-year-oldhead of a state television station accusedof sexually harassing three womenjournalists. Said Lamarni, who has beendismissed as director general of theBerber TV4 channel, was ordered to paya 200,000-dinar (2,000-euro) fine, saidan AFP reporter at the court. Theprosecution had urged the court to jailLamarni for one year in a case thatsparked outrage in Algeria, where criticssay verdicts in cases of sexualharassment are not implemented.Dozens of people, especially humanrights activists, were present in court insupport of the journalists who broke outin tears when the verdict was read.Lamarni, who was not present for theverdict, has denied any wrongdoing.Defence attorney Meslem Mounia hailedthe verdict as the “first of its kind inAlgeria.” “The verdict renders justice towomen who are victims of harassment,”Mounia said. “Now harassment is nolonger a taboo and victims can go tocourt and seek justice.” AFP

Russian circuscheetah attacks boy,7: investigatorsMOSCOW: A cheetah attacked andseriously injured a seven-year-old boy ata travelling circus in the Moscow region,Russian investigators said Sunday. Thecheetah attacked the son of circus staffafter a performance in the town ofDomodedovo on Saturday evening,goring his face and neck, theInvestigative Committee said in astatement. The boy was hospitalised withwounds and blood loss and underwentemergency surgery, investigators said,adding that they were checking safetyprocedures at the circus. The injured boyis the son of the animal’s trainers, andthe big cat attacked him as it was beingput back into its cage after aperformance, the Vechernyaya Moskvadaily reported, citing local police. Russiahas a number of poorly regulatedtravelling circuses that keep big cats incramped and unsafe conditions andanimal attacks on children are a regularoccurrence. AFP

NoUAkCHottAFP

Mauritanian President Mo-hamed Ould Abdel Aziz flew toParis for medical treatment onSunday after soldiers shot athis convoy and wounded him inwhat the government said wasan accident.

Abdel Aziz was wounded onSaturday after an army unitfired on his convoy as he re-turned to the capital Nouak-chott from a weekend retreat.

The government playeddown the incident, saying the55-year-old was only “slightlywounded” and that the shoot-ing was an accident as the sol-diers didn’t realise that theyconvoy was his.

“This was an accidentalshooting on the presidentialconvoy as it returned to Nouak-chott. The army unit did notrecognise the presidential con-voy,” Communications Minis-ter Hamdi Mahjoub said inremarks on national television.A security source had earliertold AFP that the president had

been directly targeted.On Sunday, the president

flew to Paris for medical treat-ment after undergoing an oper-ation at a military hospital toremove a “bullet from hisbody,” a security source toldAFP on condition ofanonymity.

The source did not specifywhere the bullet had lodged butsaid none of his vital organshad been hit and “his life is notin danger.”

Unconfirmed media re-

ports in Nouakchott said vari-ously that Abdel Aziz had beenhit in the arm and/or the ab-domen.

Communications MinisterMahjoub had sought to reas-sure about Abdel Aziz’s healthin his televised remarks.

“The Mauritanian peoplecan be reassured, the presidentis fine... He was slightlywounded, and he got out of thevehicle unassisted upon arrivalat the hospital, where hewalked in without difficulty,”he said.

But earlier, a securitysource told AFP that Abdel Azizwas hit in the arm by a bulletthat an unknown gunman firedat him as he was driving fromhis weekend retreat in nearbyTweila. The gunman in a car“directly targeted” the head ofstate, he added, without givingany indications as to the iden-tity of the attacker or the mo-tive. “The president’s life is notin danger, he got out andwalked to a military hospitalwhere he received first aid,” thesource said.

Mauritanian president‘accidentally’ shot by army

top gaza Salafist

among 3 killed by

Israel raids on gazagAZA CItY

AFP

A top Salafist leader whose Islamist faction has recently firedrockets at Israel was among three people killed in Israeli air strikeson Gaza, sources on both sides said on Sunday. The first strike,which took place in northern Gaza late on Saturday, killed SheikhHisham al-Saedini, 43, head of Salafist group Tawhid wal-Jihad,also known as the Mujahedeen Shura Council.Saedini, a Palestinianwith Jordanian citizenship who was also known as Abu al-Waleedal-Maqdisi, was riding a motorcycle through the northern town ofJabaliya when the strike hit, medical and security sourcessaid.Fellow activist Fayek Abu Jazar, 42, was also killed. A 12-year-old boy, who was nearby, was wounded. Israel mounted a secondair strike in the southern city of Khan Yunis early on Sunday, killingone militant from the armed wing of the leftist Popular Front for theLiberation of Palestine and critically injuring a second, medical andsecurity sources said. The dead man was named as YasserMohammad al-Atal, 23. The Israeli army confirmed both strikes,saying the early morning raid had targeted “a terrorist squad in thesouthern Gaza Strip in its final preparations to fire rockets at Israel.”The strike came shortly after a rocket hit an open field in the Eshkolregion of southern Israel, the military said. Saedini was one of thetop Salafist militants in Gaza who founded the Mujahedeen ShuraCouncil, a Salafist coalition put together in late 2008 which hasclaimed a spate of rocket attacks on Israel in recent days. There wasno immediate reaction from the group to Saedini’s death, with hisfuneral expected to take place in Bureij refugee camp in centralGaza at noon (1000 GMT). The Israeli army said it had targetedSaedini over his group’s involvement in “significant terroractivity against Israeli civilians and... soldiers.”

ISB 15-10-2012_Layout 1 10/15/2012 3:29 AM

Comment10


There is hardly a country underso much global scrutiny asPakistan. What its citizensthink, how they act, wherethey travel, are all under con-

stant surveillance. Sadly, usually any un-toward event anywhere ultimately finds aconnection with Pakistan and its troubledFATA region. A month rarely passeswithout an occurrence that brings alarmfor international players and is a sourceof shame for Pakistan.

Just as the global powers are increas-ingly concerned about the present situa-tion in Pakistan and where the country isheading, the nation itself appears to beleast concerned about its internationalimage and about dangerous perceptionsthat are taking hold in the West especially.

It would not be an underestimation tostate that the West’s concern for Pakistanis greater than even the country has for it-self. After all, it is renowned as the mostdangerous and unique place on earthwhere nuclear weapon, extremists and sec-ular elements coexist. The balance ofpower amongst these players is by nomeans stagnant. Consider for example thecase of Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour.

The month of October has proven tobe no different and has brought its ownsurprises; Malala Yousuzai was tragicallyshot. The event ignited another round ofinternational debate about Pakistan. Thefirst and obvious concern is how are itscitizens and politicians reacting to thisoutrageous event and how to interpretvarious official statements and opinionsthat have emanated ever since.

Based on these ongoing assessments,prominent figures are continuously beingevaluated and dubbed liberals, conserva-tives or extremists. However, it should be

noted that since the Swat operation, Malalaincident is probably the first time that una-nimity of views have reemerged againstTaliban, which represents a bad omen forthem. This is one of the reasons why thereis talk about the North Waziristan opera-tion. In the long run, shooting Malala mayprove to be the worse atrocity committedby Taliban and whoever advises them. Ir-respective of the motive, killing innocentwomen and children hardly ever win wars.

The incident has also put the popularpolitician of Pakistan, who had just ledthe widely reported political procession tothe tribal areas, on the back foot. While hecondemned the dastardly act, Imran Khanhas reiterated his support for a politicalsolution to the interconnected quagmirein FATA and Afghanistan.

On the other hand, President Obama,Hillary Clinton, and even former first ladyLaura Bush were quick to condemn the at-tack while conveying solidarity with thepeople of Pakistan. Obviously, the US rec-ognizes the rare opportunity as the bal-ance of power has shifted in favor of theliberal quarters. US Assistant Secretary ofState for Public Affairs Mike Hammercommented, “We feel that working to-gether, we can address concerning issuesof extremism and combating terrorism.And we are always looking for a path for-ward where our interests meet to see howwe can most effectively advance thesecommon interests.”

The West is worried not only about thepresent state of affairs but also the future.For example, this week an event was heldat the United States Institute of Peace(USIP) examining the phenomenon of‘Youth Bulge’ in the Islamic Republic ofPakistan. To understand the political lin-eation and thought process of the youth isof critical importance to the US as anti-Americanism spreads in this nuclear-armed state.

On the other hand, as the westernfocus and concern about Pakistan grows,the country appears to be shifting its con-centration inwards. The TV has minimalcoverage of international affairs, andmost importantly of Middle East, andmost of the media discussion revolvesaround domestic issues. One explanationcommonly presented for this is that it’ssimply the dynamics of the market forcesat work. Since Pakistani channels cannotcompete with the coverage offered bychannels like CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera,they stick to domestic affairs.

The performance of the print media is

not much different. In most leading news-papers, ‘International Affairs Section’ hasbeen reduced to just one page. This pointsto an alarming emergence of ‘tunnel vi-sion’ at work. If it does not like what itsees, is the nation unconsciously decidingto close its eyes?

Some intellectuals in Pakistan havealso exaggerated matters when they sug-gest that the whole world is turning againstPakistan, or that the country stands iso-lated in the international community. Thisis far from truth. In the present geopoliti-cal environment and economic pressures,two dominant scenarios are likely. Eitherworld powers will decisively move towardspolitical approach, and if that is too muchto digest, an even bigger conflict may be inthe offing.

The Malala tragedy has been followedup with a drone attack in Orakzai Agencykilling about 26, an attack on an army checkpost in South Waziristan, and a suicide at-tack in Darra Adam Khel that killed about18 people. All sign indicate the country isheading towards another bloody round.

While one cannot kill all religious ex-tremists on the planet earth, the chancesof success are perhaps better in engagingthem and then trying to mellow themdown. This is similar to what the originalpremise of the US strategy for Afghanistanentailed i.e., to wean off the reconcilableIslamists from those that are not. Any planthat is implemented from this point on-wards should take care in not allowing rad-icals to gang-up or to repeat past mistakes.

However, the fear remains if extremeIslamists will ultimately outmaneuver themoderate elements to control the helms ofpower. And, this is why the evolution ofEgypt since the removal of Mubarak, car-ries immense implications for the rest ofthe Islamic world.

What Pakistan needs at this point is tomove away from reactionary policies thatare impacted by the day-to-day events,and focus more on the long-term regionaland global trends and patterns. To learnfrom what others are doing to cope withthe dramatic change underway in interna-tional affairs and to focus on adapting andnot by being aloof. In practical terms,what the country needs to do is to zoomout to see the larger picture, as opposedto just zooming in.

The writer is the chief analyst forPoliTact (www.PoliTact.com andhttp:twitter.com/politact) and can bereached at [email protected]

after MalalaThe art of zooming in and out

PoliTactBy Arif Ansar

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: [email protected]

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Prizes, here and there

Nobel ambitions?

Did the Nobel peace prize die, really, the dayHenry Kissinger (‘73) got one? From thatfateful day, all the other dubious choicesseem top notch choices by comparison. The

UN (‘01), for instance. Or the then newly elected –and still undeserving – American president, BarackObama (‘09), who, it appears, was non-plussedhimself when he got the award.

Well, add one more to the better-than-Kissingerlist. The European Union. The EU is being creditedwith bringing stability and peace to a continent formore than half a century. This is a continent thatcontains not only once rivals France and Germany butalso many other turbulent undercurrents. Nobelprizes have to be given after a really long testing andvetting period. Keynes famously didn’t get one foreconomics because it takes economic theories of thatgrand a scale many, many decades to be accepted andthe work of that most influential economist of thetwentieth century is still the subject of vicious debate.By those standards, we should realize that the prizefor the EU is not to be judged by the events of todaybut by the much earlier dream for a union of sortswithin Europe. But many don’t take such a charitableview and have a set of very valid arguments in theirfavor.

Interesting is also the possibility of the prize foreconomics going to the United States. Now, whereasthe EU is going through a recession, at least itsundeserved prize was for peace. For the US, whoseown economy has seen better days, the economicsprize would serve to cheapen the sanctity of theaward. Even on a meta level, even if the recipient werehale and hearty, it begs to reason why practitioners ofa science should get an award reserved specifically fortheorists.

Or has the Swedish committee been made aware ofthe utility of such an award for jump-starting aneconomy; the way an Oscar nod spikes a film’s boxoffice receipts, would consumer confidence hike up inresponse to the Nobel?

In the judicial history, no case or de-cision of the SC has caused so muchcommotion and controversy as did

the NRO verdict. While the court per-sisted with its position that in light of thedecision, the government was bound towrite to the Swiss authorities for thewithdrawal of the letter written by theformer attorney general, the governmenttook firm position that the order couldnot be implemented as the president en-joyed immunity from prosecution in anycourt during his incumbency and thewriting of letter would itself constitute aviolation of the constitution.

Bothe sides remained adamant onthe position taken by them for nearlythree years and many heads rolled inthe process. The legal and constitu-tional experts were also divided on theissue and preferred arguments in favorof the positions taken by both sides.Those endorsing the stance taken by thecourt, argued that the decisions of theapex courts – whether wrong or right –become binding after attaining finalityand therefore the government ought toimplement it. The others argued thatthe court before giving the decision onthe case should have kept in mind arti-cle 248(2) that granted blanket immu-

nity to the president from prosecution.The dismissal of the former prime min-ister by the court also generated consid-erable controversy and manyconstitutional experts within and out-side the country criticized the SC deci-sion, saying that the court had failed toexercise judicial restraint and opted foran extreme measure.

The stalemate looked like aggravat-ing in view of the pro-active and belliger-ent disposition of the court and itsrepeated indications that the secondprime minister would also meet thesame fate if he failed to implement para178 of the NRO decision. The govern-ment was faced with a situation wherethe options available to it were equallycompelling from the legal and constitu-tional perspective. It is heartening tonote that with a view to break the dead-lock in the bigger national interest it de-cided to write the letter. The SC, aftersome jitters on the contents of the letter,has closed this controversial chapter byapproving it. The danger of much fearedclash of institutions has been avertedand the dust has finally started settling.

The settlement of this contentiousissue could not have been possible with-out flexibility on both sides and itseems that the court for the first timehas acted in conformity with the con-cept of judicial restraint and deserves tobe complimented. The government,

honestly speaking, has also showntremendous political sagacity and prag-matism by backing off from its earlierstance. In fact it has been showing sim-ilar kind of respect to the other courtdecisions where the court, seemingly,trespassed into the domain of the con-stitutional powers of the executive orthe parliament to dilute the ambience ofconfrontation.

The legal and constitutional expertsbelieved that the SC decision in the ap-pointment of chairman NAB and judi-cial appointments cases lacked legal andconstitutional basis. The judicial rea-soning in both cases was wanting to saythe least. The SC judges in both thesecases did not abide by the doctrine oflimited judicial authority. In the formercase, the SC declared the appointmentof Deedar Shah as ultra vires because ascontended by the petitioner, the presi-dent did not consult the oppositionleader before the appointment as pro-vided in the relevant rules. Giving theirjudicial reasoning, the judges pointedout that NAB law allowed chairman toserve only one term and prohibitedgrant of any extension. It further saidthat as Deedar Shah had already servedas chairman NAB, he was now barredfrom being re-appointed. That is a cir-cular reasoning. If Justice Shah wasnever appointed legally how can hiswork at NAB be counted as a term in of-

fice disabling him from ever being ap-pointed again? The decision also saidthat the CJ must be consulted before ap-pointing an individual as chairmanNAB. The agency is an executive entityunder the control of the prime minister.There is absolutely no legal and consti-tutional reason for the chief justice toget involved in such issues that fallwithin the jurisdiction of the executiveas enunciated in the relevant statue.

The Supreme Court also decided tohear challenges against the 18th Amend-ment in regards to appointment ofjudges, notwithstanding the fact thatarticle 239(5) unequivocally said: “Noamendment of the constitution shall becalled in question in any court on anyground whatsoever”. The court throughan interim order forced the parliamentto re-amend the constitution to the lik-ing of the court. The governmentobliged by bringing in the nineteenthamendment to accommodate the rec-ommendations of the court in the hopethat the gesture might prompt the courtto back off from its stance of exercisingpowers over issues where its jurisdic-tion has been explicitly ousted. In boththe above cases the judges of the SC as-sumed the role of legislators which theyare not. They can interpret the law andsay what the law is and not what the lawshould be. That is the prerogative of theexecutive and the parliament which are

responsible for initiating and passingany law respectively.

The judiciary as a custodian of theconstitution and protector of the funda-mental rights of the people is not onlyconsidered as the most sanctimoniousorgan of the state machinery but also afoundation on which the civilizationsare built. That is why the cause of judi-cial independence is ungrudgingly es-poused by all the nations in theirconstitutions. The concept of independ-ence of judiciary, however, does notimply absolute and unbridled freedomand trespassing into the domain ofother institutions of the state. The causeof independence of judiciary and justiceis best served when the judiciary abidesby the tri-chotomy of powers enshrinedin the constitution. Any deviation fromit would be a travesty of justice, boundto create harmful consequences for thesystem of governance in the country.

Now that a better sense has ulti-mately prevailed, one would expect thegovernment to continue showing similarrespect to the court decisions in the fu-ture and the judiciary to realize the factthat it does not have unlimited powers.It is bound to adhere to the internation-ally recognized principles of judicial re-straint and the provisions of constitutionthat reflects the will of the people. Thecountry will be better off if all the insti-tutions stick to their constitutional roles.

Judicial restraint and the government

the dust finally settles

By Malik Muhammad Ashraf

ISB 15-10-2012_Layout 1 10/15/2012 3:29 AM

Comment 11

The Kotkai-bound convoy was ledby a line of expensive Toyota LandCruisers – the parading cavalcade onposh Islamabad’s vast roads wassimply fascinating – carrying the eliteand top brass of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to South Waziristan. Criticsrightly called it “a made-for-TV dogand pony show that will be high ondrama and low on substance and willresonate with Khan’s base”.

Obviously it was a highlyimpressive as well as expensive show.Hundreds of vehicles had a number oftimes filled the fuel tanks; thousandsof meters cloth was used for banners;hundreds of sticks were required tohoist the PTI flags; tons of rims ofpapers were used for posters; the longjourney required night stay chargesfor participants at D I Khan; etcetera,etcetera. Yes, the message of drone

attack deaths, injuries and crippleswas positively sent across the globe.But, did the drones stop?

Just two days after the marchculminated the fiercer than beforedrone attacks killed more than 21people. The Taliban daringlyattempted to kill Swat’s icon of peaceand daughter of Pakistan, the 14-year-old Malala Yusufzai, and vowed to killher again. Thus the perpetratorsridiculed Imran Khan, theparticipants, the entire nation, andthe world. The march was peaceful,yet the outcome is painful.

If one compares the PTI’s‘peaceful march’ with the mostdreaded anti-blasphemy rallies, whichtook lives of many and damagedproperties worth Rs 76 billion, acrossPakistan, there seems no difference.What if this huge money could have

spent on the rehabilitation of thepeople of South Waziristan, on thedevelopment of FATA, on educatingthose who have been hijacked by theTaliban out of financial exploitation?What if the same money is given tothe army to well equip its armour,extend our fullest support at its backand join hands together in fighting outthe terrorist networks, once and forall?

Imran Khan, and those politicianssitting in the drawing rooms, musthave been worried about the jawansand officers who warned him of ‘real’danger ahead, as to how the sons ofsoil are risking their lives in such atreacherous mountainous area? Theyare not well equipped; even they arenot having night-vision goggles whilethe enemy men have. Impressed bythe propaganda, we have almost left

our men in khaki isolated. Nothingcan match their will to sacrifice theirlives for sake of us all. Has any of thepoliticians, from President to PrimeMinister, Ministers or officials, visitedthe hospitals where the injured andmaimed, crippled and limpingsoldiers of our army are meeting thetreatment to survive? Not a singleroom of CMH and MH, AFIRM andoperation theatres is short of them,really. No one can imagine of themiseries of their families andchildren. Do you?

Change the way of politics, please.Change the lifestyle now. Change thepolicies and strategies now. The hustlebustle, the spendthrift postures andextravaganzas do not speak of thisnation is at war. Think as a statesman.

ESCHMALL SARDARPeshawar

Editor’s mailSend your letters to: Letters to

Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-ShaareyFatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: [email protected].

Letters should be addressed to PakistanToday exclusively.

kbd: national necessityIt must be obvious to the party in power that

Kalabagh dam is the most viable solution to theproblem of water and power shortage. What hasparalyzed the government into inaction is the fear ofa strong reaction from the whole of Sindh and manyparts of Punjab. These people believe what theirleader had said that Sindh would become a desert ifKalabagh dam was built. They have been led to believethat KBD will deplete the flow in the Indus, thatbecause of its location KBD will benefit Punjab at thecost of Sindh, that Punjab is already stealing Sindh’swater through the CJ and TP link canals, that KBDwill have an adverse effect on the Indus Delta etc.

All these suppositions are incorrect but who is tobell the cat. Very few national papers realize thegravity of the situation but even they are content tojust print a few letters on the subject. What isneeded is a more proactive role by the print andelectronic media in educating public opinion on asubject proper understanding of which is vital to thesurvival of the country. Pakistan will never progresswithout robust growth in industry and agriculture torevive the economy, create jobs and alleviatepoverty. The cosmetic measures being taken by thegovernment by way of small dams and alternatemeans of energy will not suffice.

ENGR KHURSHID ANWERLahore

we shall prevail“We refuse to bow before terror. We will fight,

regardless of the cost. We shall prevail, Inshallah.”This was stated by Army Chief General Ashfaq

Parvez Kayani after visiting Malala Yousafzai inhospital at Peshawar. The whole nation is shockedand praying for her life. People are angry anddemand decisive action against Taliban whoseagenda is to take over Pakistan and impose amedievalist system on the people of Pakistan. Theyshare an ideology with Al-Qaeda and see fellowMuslims who are supporting democracy as being

followers of western concepts.The constitution, parliament, judiciary and all

state and national institutions based on democraticideals are antithesis of Islamic political system. Thewomen who do not put on veil and men who do nothave long beard are considered westernized,secular, liberal and non-pious. Men and women whomix with one another are regarded as essentiallywicked. Those who listen to music commit a gravesin. All such people have to be reformed by use offorce. The question is if such an ideology iscompatible with modern society.

Those who believe that Pakistani Taliban’s violenceis a reaction to American drones can hardly explainwhy they targeted 14-year-old Malala and warned thatthey would go after her again if she survived. Let thepromise of the COAS to free the country from themenace of extremism and terrorism be soonfulfilled. I believe what COAS has told the nation;we will prevail if we stand up and be counted now.

S T HUSSAINLahore

fbr amnesty schemeAfter many years of speculating that they have

three million tax dodgers, out of a population of 190million, within their cross hairs, the FBR has finallycome up with a new scheme to capture these taxdodgers. Pakistan is the sixth most populous countryin the world, with an estimated population of 190million, out of which the FBR collects taxes from only0.5 percent of the population. Now the FBR wants tooffer a tax amnesty scheme to all the tax dodgers ofthe past 65 years and is threatening them with theblockage of their CNIC and passport, effectivelycancelling their Pakistani citizenship, which seemslike a very bold move to increase the number of taxpayers. Unfortunately, it is the only move FBR hasbeen able to come up with in the past four years.Therefore, we all will be very supportive of it.

I would like to request one addition to balancethis act: that is to offer a special “Lifetime Tax Free”amnesty scheme to the 0.5 percent Pakistani tax

payers, who have been gracious enough to pay taxesfor the past 65 years, that covered the cost of everyPakistani for 65 years. If you are going to offeramnesties to the crooks, then you should also offeramnesties to the honest citizens.

SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEERPeshawar

which shariat?It has been stated by a spokesman of TTP that

since the young Malala was working against shariatshe was attacked. The simple question is whetherTTP has invented their own shariat or are theyfollowing the shariat of Holy Prophet Muhammad(PBUH). The Seeratul Nabi Vol-I by Allama ShibliNomani and Allama Syed Suleman Nadvi (Page-359) states that the Holy Prophet Muhammad hadordered (that the commanders of Islamic armiesmust not kill an aged person, a child, a teenager anda woman) (Abu Daud). Now if the above order of theProphet is to be obeyed, can the murderous attackon Malala be justified? This is a hard question thatought to be taken seriously.

Whenever the Prophet saw a woman’s dead bodyin war he strongly forbade slaying of women in warwith the infidels (Sahi Muslim). As such, are the TTPnot defacing the fair name of Islam by the methodsadopted by them in trying to kill a Muslim girl?

DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTILahore

too much too farThis Malala issue has gone too much too far.

Yes, we are all worried for her and we all are prayingfor her quick and complete recovery. But I saw herpicture today with BB in one of the footage. Our TVchannels are giving her whole day coverage. Are weserious, or is it a prelude to something? My 11-year-old granddaughter asked me the other day,‘Grandpa, is Malala the first one to be shot at?’

AMJAD H MIRZALahore

Pti’s march

Savior of national prideGovernment’s persistent refusal to

write and reopen those cases inSwitzerland has been misconstrued. Itwas generally believed that it was AsifZardari who wanted to save his skinbut the truth was something else. MrAsif Ali Zardari is the President ofPakistan and it is well known to all inthe world. President of Pakistan hasimmunity under article 248 of ourConstitution and this was well knownto Mr Zardari. In fact, Mr Zardarienjoys immunity like all heads of thestates in the world. No one can touchMr Zardari.

Mr Zardari, as the son-in-law ofBhutto and the loving husband of BB,was trying to prevent the posthumoustrial of BB and Bhutto family ingeneral. Z A Bhutto was the savior ofPakistan and his contribution toPakistan cannot be listed in one page ofyour columns. BB was his daughterwho had given Pakistan a new life. Shegave this country democracy and savedour country from the clutches ofusurpers who clamped Pakistan. Howcan Mr Zardari let a petty court inSwitzerland try Benazir Bhutto? Howcan Bhutto name be allowed to godown the drain?

When BB’s name was blocked fromthese petty trials the enemies ofPakistan started lambasting BilawalZardari Bhutto in an alleged love affairwith Hina Rabbani Khar. Imagine thestature of Bilawal and that of Hina.Imagine the age difference. ImagineHina as the mother of two kids.Imagine Oxon Bilawal and his looks. Iam sure it is not difficult to understandthat tens of thousands of unmarriedgirls would be dying marry him.

This is all preposterous. Well done,Mr Zardari. You have proved yourloyalty to BB and the Bhutto clan. I feelsorry for Gilani that he misunderstoodand got himself in a ditch with his sonsinvolved in drugs case and so manyothers. Zaradri sahib you are a truewarrior of Pakistan and the savior ofthis nation, which in any case islanguishing in tons of problems.

AMJAD H MIRZALahore


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12

Jessica Alba refused to strip for ‘Sin City 2’?

ACTReSS Jessica Alba reportedly refused tostrip for ‘Sin City 2’ because she isn`t happywith how she looks after giving birth to two

children. The actress, who has two daughters honorMarie and haven Garner, is said to have used bodydouble to shoot for provocative scenes. "She wascrushed when filming began and she didn`t have heroriginal body back so she told producers she wanted abody double," a source told Life and Style magazine,reports contactmusic.com. "her body is incredible, butfor her it`s not good enough. She`s cut out carbs anddoes the P90X Ab Ripper twice a day, but she still isn`thappy,`` the source added. nEwS DESK

God will decide my life partner: rani Mukerji

BoLLYwood actress Rani Mukerji, who hasrubbished rumours that she is wed tofilmmaker Aditya Chopra, says she has left

her marriage destiny to god. "My name has beenlinked with several people, but 'upar waala' (god)will decide who will become my life partner," Ranisaid in reply to queries in a TV channel's show.Mukerjee, whose latest film " Aiyyaa" releasedFriday, reacted strongly to media reports abouther secret marriage to Aditya, elder son ofacclaimed filmmaker Yash Chopra. "The mediacan't even decide which year the wedding tookplace. was it 2007, or 2009, or 2012. Let them(media) make up their mind first. "I am fortunatethat the people of this country consider me astheir daughter and they are worried about mymarriage. But birth, death and marriage are in thehands of 'upar waala' and what is ordained, shallhappen," said the actress, who sported arudraksha string on her left wrist. nEwS DESK

Justin debuts video for newsingle with Nicki Minaj

The teen idol launched the promo via his Twitterpage earlier today. Before tweeting the link tothe edgy and colourful video Justin wrote a

series of tweets about his recent troubles. he said:"Since I was 14 I have had a lot of things said aboutme, from dying, to taking hormones, to dying again,to stuff about my family, to saying I had a baby with awoman I never even met. nude pics, drugs, myfamily, my character... but today... today i get to be inon it..." he then added: "So to all of you... enjoy.Let's go for the 10 million mark! Me, @NickiMinaj -this is #BeAUTYandaBeAT." The video begins withpersonal footage which was recently stolen fromJustin and then uploaded to a blog by the thief. Theclip also features an whole array of scenes includingJustin, 18, flanked by synchronised swimmers, anddancing flirtatiously with rapper Nicki. nEwS DESK

SCIENCE fiction andtime travel have beenliterary and cinematic

bosom buddies forever.Difficult it is then tofind a new `loop` intothe marriage of thetwo. Yet at timessome intrepidfilmmakers do find anew tale to the old twist.‘Looper’ takes past ideas ontime travel but makes apackage interestingenough toreinvigoratescience fictioncinema. And timetravel. In 2074,time travel hasbeen inventedbut outlawed. It is used inthe black market by thosewho find it hard to kill peopleand dispose bodies due toadvanced tagging technology.They send victims back in 2044where assassins called Looperskill people. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one such hit-man in2044. One day Joe gets his ownfuture, older self (Bruce Wills) tokill. A moment`s hesitation leadsthe older Joe to escape thuscreating a change in the presentand thus the future. In trying toclose the loop, with his employerschasing both him and his olderself, he discovers somethingbigger than himself. ‘Looper’ is anextremely nuanced film that hasmultiple things working for it.First is the element of sciencefiction. The loops in the storytangle your mind only for the film

to very deftly and logically - thatis, if you are watching closely -untangle all the elements. It takeselements from many sciencefiction films, be it the classic‘Terminator’ series - essentiallythe story of an assassin from thefuture killing/protecting a child inthe past - or the 2007 French film"Time Crimes", which is againabout the loop of crime createdbecause of accidental time travel.You can watch the film multipletimes and unravel something neweach time. Secondly, it is anextremely well shot action thrillerriding on a brilliantly writtenscript by director Rian Johnsonhimself. At another level, ‘Looper’is a musing about lost childhood,about kids who grow up withoutparents or grow up extremelypoor and what and where it leadsthem to. It is a poignantmeditation on cause and effect, ofwhat the poet W.H. Auden said:"Those to whom evil is done doevil in return." The film also excelstechnically. Be it the minimalistscenes of a near-future world thatblend in with the story instead ofcrying out for attention like inbadly made sci-fi films, or thebackground score of NathanJohnson and cinematography ofSteve Yedlin. Bruce Wills doeswhat he does best. Yet, it is JosephGordon-Levitt who is a revelation.Levitt has grown as an actor overthe years, migrating from TV toindie films to playing secondfiddle in films like ‘Inception’ and‘The Dark Knight Rises’. Here heshines as a man on the run in fightwith his own older self. nEwS DESK

‘LoopEr’ rEvIEw

IT’S OPENING A NEWLOOP TO TIME TRAVEL

Kristen

stewart

fears

attacKKristen Stewart is worried herstardom might lead to someonekilling her one day. TheTwilight actress - who recentlyconfessed to cheating on co-star Robert Pattinson withher Snow White and theHuntsman director RupertSanders - fears someone willlog on to a socialnetworking site to find outher location, then travelto where she is andmurder her. In an extractfrom new e-book RobertPattinson, Kristen Stewart,Taylor Lautner - In Their OwnWords by Talia Soghomonian,she told interviewer SianEdwards said: ''Nowadays it'sharder because everyone is onFacebook and everyone knowswhere you are all the time, andeveryone's twittering. Like I'mgoing to die because somebodyis going to say where I am andsomebody is going to kill me.Someone's going to twittermy location and then it'sgoing to be like, boom.''While the 22-year-old starfears sites such as Facebookand twitter can be harmful interms of her safety, she admitsthe communicationpossibilities on the webpagesare ''really great''. She added: ''Iactually think too much of

BERLIN: US American actress and singerJennifer Lopez, also known as JLo, performs at the O2 World Arena. afp

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13

Don`t hurt rihanna again,Jay Z warns Chris Brown

SINGeR Jay Z has apparently warned singerChris Brown not to hurt Rihanna again or hewill be in a big trouble. Brown, Rihanna

dated each other in 2008 before parting ways in2009 after the former was accused of physicallyassaulting the "Umbrella" singer. Jay Z, known to beRihanna`s mentor and brotherly figure to her, calledthe couple for a concert but ambushed Brown for alittle man-to-man talk. "he invited them as a coupleto his concert in New York and backstage he calledChris to one side and told him if he hurts Rihanna,whether emotionally or physically, it`s over forhim," thesun.co.uk quoted a source as saying."he`ll ensure it will result in the end of his career,"the source added. Meanwhile, Jay Z, 42, has givenRihanna a green signal regarding Brown and toldher to follow her heart. "Jay Z told Rihanna that ifChris is truly making her happy, then to go for it,"the source said. nEwS DESK

Yash Chopra down with dengue

BoLLYwood veteran Yash Chopra, who hasbeen admitted to a hospital here, is sufferingfrom dengue, the filmmaker`s spokesperson

said Sunday. Chopra, 80, was admitted to Lilavatihospital Saturday after he complained of weakness."Mr. Yash Chopra was admitted to the hospitalyesterday (Saturday) after being diagnosed with anattack of dengue. he has been kept underobservation. he is feeling much better and should behome soon. Thank you all for your concern and bestwishes," the spokesperson of Yash Raj Films said in astatement. The veteran filmmaker has been busyshooting his last directorial venture ‘Jab Tak haiJaan’. The film is slated for a diwali release Nov 13and will see Shah Rukh Khan romancing AnushkaSharma and Katrina Kaif. nEwS DESK

penelope Cruz to play Gucci murderess

ACTReSS Penelope Cruz is reportedly in talksto play tragic Gucci heir Maurizio Gucci`smurderous ex-wife in a new film to be

directed by master moviemaker Ridley Scott`sdaughter. The 38-year-old Spanish beauty, who iscurrently shooting ‘The Counselor’ with Ridley, isslated to portray Patrizia Reggiani in Jordan Scott`s"Gucci", reported daily express. Reggiani was jailedin 1998 for hiring a hitman to kill her husband fouryears after the couple officially divorced. Shebecame known as the Black widow throughout hertrial. her daughters urged lawmakers in Milan, Italyto overturn their mother`s conviction on thegrounds a brain tumour had altered her personality.The conviction was upheld but Reggiani`s sentencewas reduced to 26 years. Last year she was offereda chance at parole, but refused stating. nEwS DESK

The latest James Bond filmSkyfall has been praised by crit-ics, with some hailing it "thebest Bond ever". StarringDaniel Craig in his third outing

as 007, the 23rd film in the fran-chise has been directed by Oscar

winner Sam Mendes. The Indepen-dent's Geoffrey McNab said: "If nota full blown triumph, this is cer-tainly one of the best Bonds in re-cent memory." The Times's Kate

Muir called it "a great British bulldogof a movie". "From the moment theorchestral sound of Adele belts out,sending a nostalgic shiver down theaudience's collective spine, weknow this will be a triumphant re-turn to classic Bond," she wrote.McNab added in his review:"Mendes has gone back to ba-

sics: chases, stunts, fights. "At the same time, he has sub-

tly re-invented the franchise, throw-ing in far greater depth of

characterization than we're accus-tomed to in a series of films that are

often proudly superficial." The DailyMail's Baz Bamigboye gave the film five

out of five, calling the film "a fantastic com-bination of 007 meets Bourne meets Spooks

meets Home Alone". Robbie Collin praiseddirector Mendes in The Telegraph: "[He] isunafraid to let the quieter dramatic moments

breathe...and ace cinematographerRoger Deakins makes the

wildly ambitious ac-tion sequences themost beautiful in

Bond's 50-year career." Skyfall sees Dame JudiDench reprise her role as MI6 director M, whileRalph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harrisjoin the franchise as Bond's co-workers. Criticsalso praised Javier Bardem's performance as vil-lain Silva, with McNab saying "he combinespathos, grotesquerie and a Hannibal Lecter-likeviciousness". Caroline Jowett added in The Ex-press: "He is not a villain in pursuit of world dom-ination like Ernst Blofeld, and he is slightlyupstaged by his own hair but he never fails to sur-

prise. "That he can make us laugh at the sametime only makes him more menacing." As one ofthe few US critics at the preview on Friday, TheHollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy called thefilm a "serious and spectacular show". "Dramati-cally gripping while still brandishing a droll un-dercurrent of humour, this beautifully made filmwill certainly be embraced as one of the bestBonds by loyal fans worldwide and leaves youwanting the next one to turn up sooner than fouryears from now." newS deSK

When Salmanspoke to Karanabout Shan Rukh

Salman Khan and ShahRukh Khan’s equation

with each other hasoften been underspeculation. Theiralleged enmityhas been scruti-nized enoughtime and again.

However, the twoindustry heavy-

weights pretend as ifall is well between the

two of them. And Salmandid exactly the same last

evening on ‘Bigg Boss 6’ when Karan Joharalong with the cast of ‘Student of The Year’made an appearance on the reality show topromote the film. Salman was seen having agood time with Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt, Sid-dharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan. As thethree debutants were speaking about theirfilm, Salman was quick enough to ask Karan,“Who would he have cast if you hadn’t castthree fresh faces in SOTY?” KJo too waspromptly said that he would have signedAamir and Salman for the film as they stilllook very young. Salman immediatelyquipped, “Why not Shah Rukh Khan?” KJocouldn’t find a better answer to Sallu’s ques-tion and limited himself to saying, “He is theproducer of the film.” But Johar did say thathad he casted Aamir and Salman in the film,it would have created history for having all thethree big Khans on board. newS deSK

As friends and family of Kareena Kapoor gear upfor her big fat wedding to Saif Ali Khan, her‘Talaash’ co-star Aamir Khan has planned aspecial gift for her. Mr ‘Perfectionist’ of Hindicinema, Aamir, who is currently busy shooting forYash Raj’s ‘Dhoom 3’ in Chicago, will fly down toMumbai to launch the music of his suspensethriller ‘Talaash’ on 18 October. Talking to DNA, a

source close to the unit revealed, “Aamir Khan hasmanaged to keep one day aside for the event fromhis busy schedule of shooting for ‘Dhoom 3’ inChicago. He will be coming for a day to attend theevent. Unfortunately Kareena will be the only onewho won’t be there. So, Aamir along with theproducers Farhan Akhtar and Riteish Sidhwanihave come up with an interesting idea. They havedecided that since Kareena is an integral part ofthe film and won’t be there they should have herthere in some way. It’s an auspicious moment anda big celebratory time in Kareena’s life, so whatbetter than raising a toast to her.” Aamir, whousually keeps away from social dos organized byhis colleagues in the film industry, has decided hewould celebrate Kareena’s happiness with his‘Talaash’ team. “Aamir, Rani Mukerji,Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Reema Kagti...everybodywill say something about Kareena and theirassociation with her. nEwS DESK

anything can be scary, but at the sametime it's also an opportunity. I mean masscommunication is a good thing. It's

actually a really great thing, it's justscary.''going to kill me. Someone's goingto twitter my location and then it'sgoing to be like, boom.'' While the 22-

year-old star fears sites such asFacebook and twitter can be

harmful in terms of her safety,she admits the communicationpossibilities on the webpagesare ''really great''. In an extractfrom new e-book RobertPattinson, Kristen Stewart,Taylor Lautner - In Their OwnWords by Talia Soghomonian,she told interviewer SianEdwards said newS deSK

Hotel staff fired aftergossiping about AnistonJennifer Aniston has got a hotel staff fired because hediscussed her with other guests and thus violated thecelebrity confidentiality policy. The actress was stayingat Encantado Resort in Santa Fe, New Mexico, knownfor strictly following celebrity confidentiality policy,while filming her new movie "We're the Millers". TerrySiegler claims he was fired for briefly complimentingAniston when asked about her by other guests. Accordingto tmz.com, Siegler only told guests that the 43-year-oldactress was "very sweet and much more petite than hethought". He said he was only responding to other guests,who had asked him if he hadseen the actress at the hotel,and the guests were lateroverheard discussing thebrief conversation aboutAniston by one of herentourage. Siegler said:"They brought Jennifer upfirst. Was I supposed todeny it?" He says he wasfired for violating the hotel'scelebrity privacy policy afterAniston's team complainedto his supervisors that hewas sharing privateinformation about theactress to other guests. Thehotel's general manager said:"I cannot confirm anythingabout our employee, but I willsay that we have avery strictconfidentialitypolicy and wedo enforce thosepolicies." courteSy toI

Aamir heart touchingwedding gift for Kareena

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Man cooking squirreldestroys eightapartments

14Infotainment


UFO sighting in Sri Lanka?

H. R. Muthubanda of Mahiyanganaya(Kovilyaya) not only sighted the allegedUFO incident, but also recorded it via his

mobile phone which he released to the media laterthat day. He has observed a strange object, what hedescribes as an object which looked like a ‘cartwheel’ floating about two feet above the ground.According to him, the mysterious object has beenshining and though he wanted to have a closer lookat it, he was afraid to approach it. After about 30seconds the object had vanished. To clear theconfusions on the incident, we contactedastrophysicist Dr. Kavan Ranatuga via e-mail, whocommented that the incident was yet another stuntby the “publicity seekers”. He also questioned, “Ifsomeone says he saw some pigs fly, would youcarry a feature story on it? UFO stories are nodifferent.” However in the past, people havemistaken satellites and other celestial objects forUFOs. This may be one of the main reasons whyastrophysicists are hesitant to carry out furtherinvestigation on the incident. Other than UFOs andaliens, there are a number of pseudo-scientificphenomena that cannot be explained with facts;yet cannot be completely discarded as fictioneither. According to the interview in Rivira withColombo University, Physicist Prof ChandanaJayarathna, such stories of ‘mystery apparitions’have been reported from many parts of the countryover the last few years. He also said that hecouldn’t comment on the nature of the objectunless the photos have been thoroughly analyzedusing super computers. Once analyzed, if the videoclip and the stills were proven to be of a genuineUFO sighting, then these sources would be sent toNASA for further study. According to veteranscience journalist Nalaka Gunawardena, any objectseen floating above the ground level without beingproperly identified is a UFO. He also added thatpeople mainly from rural areas tend to misidentifythings soon due to lack of exposure and awareness.To support his statement, he related this storyabout how almost a decade ago some villagers ofPolonnaruwa mistook the headlights of a Jeep for aUFO. Further he pointed out that most of the UFOsightings in Sri Lanka and all over the world havetaken place during night time though this incidentis reported to have taken place at 6.30 am, inbroad day light. nEwS DESK

Best man saves life of groom twice

WHILE a best man has a lot ofresponsibilities before a wedding, butLance Corporal Scott “Ringer” Townson

has set a new benchmark for others by saving thelife of his friend and groom-to-be twice in a year.Lance Corporal Craig Turley was on patrol with the1 Rifles in the Nar-E-Saraj district of Afghanistannearly lost his left hand when an explodinggrenade severed an artery. Exactly a year later hewas bitten by a venomous snake while training inKenya. Luckily for the 28-year-old, L/Cpl Townson,a medic, was there to help on both occasions. Thefact both incidents happened exactly a year apart,on September 23, will have made choosing a datefor the wedding a little easier, with the coupleundoubtedly keen to prevent an unlucky thirdmishap. Clearly up to the task of being best man,L/Cpl Townson will now also be on hand whenL/Cpl Turley marries fiance Amy Rhodes nextApril. L/Cpl Turley, from Marlborough, Wiltshire,told The Citizen newspaper: “When the handgrenade went off it created a lot of dust andfragmentation went into my left hand and it cut myartery. L/Cpl Townson: “I was just doing my joblike anyone would” COurTESY TT

A “peeping Tom” who used a pen-shaped cam-era to take an upskirt shot of a cabin attendantduring a domestic flight in Japan has avoidedcharges after prosecutors failed to decide whichprefecture the plane was flying over at the time,reports said. The 34-year-old man extended hishand with the micro-camera while seated andtook the picture of the flight attendant, the Asahidaily said on its website on Sunday.

He was arrested by police and admittedwhat he had done, saying he was “aroused byuniforms,” the report added. The man was on aJapan Airlines flight from Takamatsu in the

southwest of the country to Tokyo last month,according to an earlier report by Kyodo News.The police tentatively determined the photo wastaken over the western prefecture of Hyogobased on witness accounts and their analysis offlight data, it said.

But prosecutors judged they were unable torule out the photo may have taken when theplane was over neighbouring prefectures, Kyodoadded. “Peeping Tom” offences typically fallunder prefecture-level law to prevent public nui-sances and their applications require prosecu-tors to state exact locations of the crime. AFP

AH, Instagram. The photosharing that can’t bestopped. Its gauzy filtershave moved far beyondbrunch photos and whim-

sical shoe-shots to become a hit in allsorts of other subjects, sports in-cluded. Teams, athletes and fansfrom the NBA, NFL, Major LeagueBaseball and pro soccer leagues haveall flocked to the service to docu-ment and promote.

Well, well. The Korean tech giantisn’t far behind when it comes tobringing up the rear. The SamsungGalaxy S3 Mini is finally official. Notgoing by the name ‘mini’, it could ac-

tually pack a punch! With the suc-cessful run of its older brother, theS3 Mini hopes to mirror the successthat defined the Galaxy S3.

Let’s take at a look at the fea-tures that Galaxy S3 Mini will sport.

DisplayThe younger sibling carries a

Super AMOLED 4-inch display witha screen resolution of 800 x 400 pix-els, fair bit of compromise whencompared to the Galaxy S3. The res-olution on the S3 Mini seems out-of-date when the competition, haulingthe same screen size, comes in better

HD resolution schemes. There isn’ttad much of a difference in screenresolution when viewed by the nakedeye, though it’s not going to slipunder the eyes of the experts.

processorSamsung Galaxy S3 runs on a

quad-core Exynos processor clockedat 1.4GHz. It’s an interesting piece ofdetail when compared to the new kidon the block. It looks like the Koreangiant halved the spec sheet with theGalaxy S3 Mini. Powered by a 1 GHzdual-core processor, the mini S3 isquite efficient for running applica-

tions and looks more than comfort-able to run Android 4.1 aka JellyBean. The chipset is a Mali-400based GPU, meaning that the bench-marking results will be optimised;not nearly as capable as the GalaxyS3 but enough juice to power majorapplications and processes.

operating systemIt all comes down to who is

garbed in Android clothing better;in this case, the S3 Mini. While the Galaxy S3 is still shippedwith the earlier version of the An-droid OS, Ice Cream Sandwich, theS3 Mini will come with Android4.1 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box.It will grace Samsung’s TouchWiz UIwhile bringing in a more intuitive in-terface which the Jelly Bean carries.Score one for the S3 Mini.

DesignThe design echoes its elder

brother, the Galaxy S3, with a fewchanges of its own. Stuffed into athicker casing, the Galaxy S3 Minimirrors the Galaxy S3 quite closely.Its removable battery rear, its plasticcasing, the colour scheme are all ashade less than the Galaxy S3. Thedimensions stand at 9.9mm x 63mmand weighing in at 119 gm.

ConnectivityIn the connectivity department,

the S3 Mini isn’t behind the GalaxyS3. Both devices carry NFC wirelesscomm., both have the industry stan-dard Bluetooth/GPS and Wi-Fi andboth have a microUSB. The thingmost about the microUSB is its MHLcompliance. You can watch HDvideos but with only the correctcable, a cable meant for Samsung’sown connectivity options. A downer,considering the USD 30 the cablecosts. Reportedly, Samsung GalaxyS3 Mini is expected to hit the marketduring Christmas and it is expectedto be priced between USD 350 toUSD 430. nEwS DESK

Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini:5 interesting features

A fire that destroyed eight units at anapartment complex in Holland Township,Mich., is believed to have been sparked bya man using a propane torch to cook asquirrel for lunch, the fire chief said. Theresident was on a deck on the third floorof the Clearview Apartments. He wasusing a the torch to burn off the squirrel’sfur when the deck caught fire, Fire ChiefJim Kohsel told MLive.com. The resident,whose name was not released, wasremoving the animal’s fur in preparationto eat it, Kohsel said, according tomlive.com. Flames spread to the roof andother parts of the building. Eightapartments were destroyed and two dozenother units were damaged by smoke andwater, the fire chief. The unusual cause ofthe blaze quickly became the talk at areafire stations. “That’s about as off-the-wallas it gets,” Plainfield Township Fire ChiefDavid Peterson told mlive.com

‘peeping tom’ on Japanflight avoids charges

ISB 15-10-2012_Layout 1 10/15/2012 3:29 AM


Page 17

azarenka wins sixthseason title in linz

MUMBAIBiPin DAni

SANATH Jayasuriya wasnot a member of the SriLankan team which lasttoured Pakistan in 2009when the second Test be-

tween Pakistan and Sri Lanka had beencalled off following the attack on the buscarrying the tourists' team to theGaddafi Stadium.

Five Pakistani policemen escortingthe team bus were killed in the gunfireand seven Sri Lanka players and the as-sistant coach Paul Farbace were injured.The bus carrying the match-officials wasin a convoy on its way to the stadiumahead of the third day of the secondTest. The fourth umpire Ehsan Raza wasin a critical condition in an intensivecare unit in Lahore.

Now the former Sri Lanka captainwill lead the World XI in Pakistan oncoming Saturday and Sunday. Thematch is scheduled to be played against

the Pakistan team and both teams willhave current as well as "not retired"players. The Pakistani team for the twoTwenty20 matches will be led by theirlocal hero, Shahid Afridi.

"Whatever had happened to our na-tional team (on March 3, 2009) was bad,but yes, I have no security fear now andboth teams will play the matches for thenoble cause", Sanath Jayasuriya, speak-

ing exclusively from Colombo, said. The players will be staying in Shere-

ton Hotel and the presidential-level se-curity has been assured to the players,

"Pakistan is our neighboring countryand when the match is being arrangedfor the charity cause (flood relief), wehad no hesitation to go there", he added.

Several players from South Africa,West Indies and Afghanistan haveagreed to participate in two matches.The organizers have also been trying toinvite Farveez Maharoof for this four-day trip. The 29-year-old Sri Lankan all-rounder was a member of the touringODI team in 2009, but was later with-drawn for the Test matches.

"Yes, I await government permissionto travel to Pakistan", the cricketer-turned politician, Jayasuriya added.

"Since the match is being organizedby the Sindh Province, I see no diffi-culty", he said. Organizers have PakistanCricket Board (PCB) blessings to hostboth matches at the international venue,National Stadium in Karachi.

Jayasuriya has no fears in playing in Pakistan

JoHANNESBURgCriCinFO

What prompted Gautam Gambhir andKolkata Knight Riders to bat second, underthe lights, in South Africa, is unclear. Andthe plan clearly did not come off; it wenthorribly wrong on a track that had unreli-able bounce, which the Delhi Daredevils'four-man pace attack used wisely after 60overs were played out on the pitch. TheKnight Riders were not only outplayed by52 runs, five of their batsmen got struck, in-cluding the team's batting mainstayJacques Kallis. Their top-order had an out-ing they'd do well to forget.

Out of 168 day-night limited-overs in-ternationals in the country, only 27 teamshave won the game after deciding to batsecond. At the SuperSport Park, only one

team has won in ODI cricket while nonehave done so in Twenty20 internationals.And against an attack that includes thetowering Morne Morkel, the Knight Riderswere swimming against the tide willfully.The uneven bounce confused them furtherand by the time the first ten balls of theirinnings were done, Daredevils had doneenough damage.

It started with the captain GautamGambhir, when Irfan Pathan removed himfor a duck off the third ball, having the left-hander chip one to mid-on. Off his sixthball, he brought one back into the otheropener, Manvinder Bisla, who was trappedleg-before. Irfan had one of those betterevenings, when he looked like bringing theball back whenever he pleased. It got worsefor the Knight Riders when Brendon Mc-Cullum cut one to Chand at point off Morne

Morkel's first ball, the seventh of the in-nings, for a duck.

Jacques Kallis was the next man towalk off when Morkel rapped him on thefingers of his right hand while trying tofend off an awkward delivery. He had to re-tire hurt and did not come back to bat, butX-rays revealed that there was no fracture.The very next ball struck the next batsman,Yusuf, on his arm, as he attempted to leavea rising delivery. At the end of the fifth over,he was put out of misery when Daredevil'sfirst-change bowler Umesh Yadav had himdeflect one back at the stumps. By this timethe ball started keeping low too. Manoj Ti-wary and Rajat Bhatia added 47 for the fifthwicket but it was only a face-saving exer-cise.

Irfan, Morkel and Yadav took twowickets each and Ajit Agarkar got one; ex-cept for the left-arm swing bowler, theother three struck the batsmen and keptthem pinned on the backfoot.

Daredevils too were in trouble whenthey batted, but the recovery was prompt.The 63-run fourth-wicket stand betweenUnmukt Chand and Ross Taylor put themin a strong position, especially after a 30-run 17th over from L Balaji.

Chand played some attractive shots tostart off his innings and survived a chanceon 14 at midwicket, where Tiwary droppeda skier. He cracked two sixes and two moreboundaries to finish on a 27-ball 40. Itended when he completely missed an off-break from Sunil Narine. The versatilespinner took three wickets while Brett Leeand Kallis bowled well too. But it would bethe costly overs from Balaji that they couldpinpoint for conceding more than the aver-age score at the venue.

daredevils too pacy for Knight riders

FIRDoSE MooNDA

When the Lions lined up against MumbaiIndians for the first match of the Champi-ons League T20 in 2010, there were veryfew people expecting anything from them.Most of the crowd cheered Mumbai, eventhough the match was played at the Wan-derers, and Indian flags waved from thestands. There was a moment of stunned si-lence when a young allrounder ShaneBurger dismissed every young boy's crick-eting hero Sachin Tendulkar. As the matchturned, so did the spectators and at the endthe Lions had a big victory and some oftheir home fans back.

As luck would have it, the Lions havebeen drawn to open their CLT20 campaignagainst the Mumbai Indians again andthey are expecting a grudge match. "They

will come at us this time around," Lionscaptain Alviro Petersen said. "In 2010, theywere the favourites to win and we just didthings well. One or two guys made bigplays for us. This time will want to prove apoint. They won't want to lose to the sameopposition twice."

The Lions of 2012 are an improvedversion of the team they were just twoyears ago. Then wide-eyed and largely in-experienced, they were just in it for the fun.This time they are in it to win it. "When weplayed the first one the guys didn't reallyunderstand what it was all about, espe-cially guys who have not played interna-tional cricket," Petersen said. "This time,we're more aware of what we need to do,how we need to go about things. Thepreparation has been important for us andit has gone very well."

Like the other South African franchises,the Lions have had two first-class matches tostart the season. They lost the first one badlybut stormed to victory in the second, defend-ing a small total on the fourth morning. ChrisMorris, who was their top wicket-taker inT20s in the domestic competition, took 12wickets in that match and is looking in topform ahead of the format he has gained themost recognition in. Petersen thinks Morris'development was spurred on by the inclu-sion of two overseas players in last seasondomestic tournament. Dirk Nannes and So-hail Tanvir will play for the Lions in theCLT20 as well and have turned their attackfrom middling to close to magnificent. "Thebowling unit has come on in leaps andbounds," Petersen said. "Having the interna-tionals helps bringing in other bowlersthrough as well. Chris Morris came through

really nicely last year and I think they had alot to do with that. It's not just about per-formance; it's what they bring us a package."The same statement can be said for the waythe Lions approach the game as a whole.There is a noticeable seriousness aboutthem. "Twenty-over cricket is not really aslog at all. We've seen that you've got tohave structure to it," Petersen said. "Power,skill all that sort of stuff are the key ingre-dients to being successful in T20 cricket.But most important is to have structure."

Petersen said the importance of hav-ing a plan is evident in the fact that thebatsmen who succeed in the format are allstrong across longer versions of the gameas well. "It has been shown over the yearsthat the guys with good techniques havecome out on top in T20 cricket over a longperiod of time." As recently as in the first

match of the tournament, JacquesRudolph, a batsman thought to be suitedto only Test cricket scored a blazing 83 notout for the Titans against Perth.

The same strategic thinking is whatPetersen believed will make a good cap-tain in this format. He dismissed the ideaof leading by instinct and spur of the mo-ment decisions that people often think aremade in twenty-over cricket. "You some-times get a gut feel but it's really about ex-ecution of plans. If you leave it up to gut,you leave it to chance. I don't captain bychance." The Lions have made sure theyleave nothing to fortune ahead of theirfirst match. They spent four days at theirsmaller home base in Potchefstroom,where they had an intense camp and saythey are "absolutely ready," to topple anIPL side once again. COurTESY CriCinFO

LIONS OUT FOR ANOTHER IPL SCALP

windies call-upspinner Permaul forbangladesh tour

St JoHN'SAFP

Guyana left-arm spinner Veerasammy Per-maul was called into the West Indies squadfor the first time on Saturday, for the tour ofBangladesh.Permaul, 23, has played 45 first-classmatches since his debut five years ago, tak-ing 152 wickets at 24.59 apiece. He has justreturned from a tour of Bangladesh with theWest Indies High Performance Centre,where he collected 21 wickets across thethree formats of the game.Permaul also skippered the West Indies Ateam earlier this year when they prevailedover India A in a home series.Meanwhile, Barbados batsman Kirk Ed-wards has been recalled, after losing hisplace for the third Test on the tour of Eng-land earlier this year. West Indies, who wonthe World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka last week,are scheduled to play two Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20match on their tour of Bangladesh betweenNovember 3 and December 12.West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (capt),Denesh Ramdin (vice-capt), Tino Best, Dar-ren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Nars-ingh Deonarine, Kirk Edwards, AssadFudadin, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine,Veerasammy Permaul, Kieran Powell, RaviRampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels.

iPl invite bids for new team

NEW DELHIAFP

The Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sun-day took out newspaper advertisementsinviting bids to set up a new team to play inthe glitzy Twenty20 tournament that hastransformed cricket in recent years. TheBoard of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI), which owns the event, is looking toreplace the cash-strapped Deccan Chargers,who were thrown out for financial viola-tions including failing to pay players. Theadvertisement, placed in the Times of India,said that the new team had to be based inone of 12 named cities, including Ahmed-abed, Dharamshala, Hyderabad and Kochi."The winning bidder will be granted theright to own and operate a new team whichwill compete in the IPL each year from andincluding 2013," it said. The BCCI addedthat the franchise would have to meet its el-igibility criteria, and would have the right toqualify for the international ChampionsLeague Twenty20. Hyderabad-based Dec-can Chargers were expelled from the IPL onSaturday after its owners failed to meet adeadline to submit $19 million as guaranteemoney to the Bombay High Court. DeccanChronicle Holdings, a media company thatbought the team for $107 million before theinaugural IPL in 2008, announced lastweek it had agreed to sell the franchise to aMumbai-based real estate firm.

DELHi DArEDEViLS

DPMD Jayawardene* b narine 21

V Sehwagc †Bisla b Sangwan 22

KP Pietersenc narine b Lee 14

u Chand b narine 40

LrPL Taylorc Bhatia b Balaji 36

iK Pathannot out 7

nV Ojha†c Pathan b narine 0

P negic McCullum b Kallis 1

AB Agarkarc narine b Balaji 8

EXTrAS 11

TOTAL 160

Did not bat M Morkel, uT Yadav

Fall of wickets 1-36 (Jayawardene, 5.1 ov), 2-58 (Sehwag, 8.3

ov), 3-64 (Pietersen, 9.5 ov), 4-127 (Taylor, 16.3 ov), 5-145

(Chand, 17.4 ov), 6-145 (Ojha, 17.6 ov), 7-147 (negi, 18.6 ov), 8-

160 (Agarkar, 19.6 ov)

BOwLinG

B Lee 4-0-19-1, L Balaji 4-0-61-2, JH Kallis 4-0-25-1, SP narine

4-0-21-3, PJ Sangwan 3-0-22-1, r Bhatia 1-0-6-0

KOLKATA KniGHT riDErS

MS Bisla† lbw b Pathan 1

G Gambhir* c Pietersen b Pathan 0

BB McCullum c Chand b Morkel 0

JH Kallis retired hurt 0

MK Tiwary c & b Agarkar 33

YK Pathan b Yadav 11

r Bhatia c †Ojha b Morkel 22

B Lee b Yadav 13

PJ Sangwan not out 11

SP narine not out 1

EXTrAS 16

TOTAL 108

Did not bat L Balaji

FALL OF wiCKETS 1-1 (Gambhir, 0.3 ov), 2-3 (Bisla, 0.6 ov), 3-

3 (McCullum, 1.1 ov), 3-4* (Kallis, retired not out), 4-24

(Pathan, 4.6 ov), 5-71 (Tiwary, 14.2 ov), 6-82 (Bhatia, 16.2 ov),

7-105 (Lee, 18.6 ov)

BOwLiG

iK Pathan 4-0-19-2, M Morkel 4-1-25-2, uT Yadav 4-0-13-2, AB

Agarkar 4-0-21-1, P negi 4-0-18-0

MATCH DETAiLS

Toss Kolkata Knight riders, who chose to field

Points Delhi Daredevils 4, Kolkata Knight riders 0

Player of the match iK Pathan (Delhi Daredevils)

umpires Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and rJ Tucker (Australia)

TV umpire M Erasmus

Match referee rS Madugalle (Sri Lanka)

reserve umpire S George

SCOrEBOArD

ISB 15-10-2012_Layout 1 10/15/2012 3:29 AM Page 16

PunjAB YOuTH FeSTivAl 2012

Sports 16


LAHoRESTAFF rEPOrT

One of the most challenging phase ofthe Punjab Youth Festival 2012, the Di-visional Level at its conclusion sawRana Faisal of Sheikhupura claim thehealthy baby competition title on Sun-day at the Punjabi Complex nearGaddafi Stadium.

The winner of the event Faisal in astimulating mood before the media atthe end of the competition raised a slo-gan ‘Rana No. One, Rana No. One’ andhis parents thanked Allah Almighty forthe win. With this event the DivisionalLevel will now mark the start of theProvincial Level in around two day’stimeframe with the winners of all thelevels gathering in Lahore to compete intheir events of mastery.

Yesterday, 224-event and 23-sector,Divisional Level concluded with peoplegetting involved in every kind of eventthat is possible for the entertainment ofthe province and also revive sports cul-ture.

On Sunday in the healthy baby com-petition, there were four competitors in-cluding Mohammad Ali of Lahore,Muhammad Ahmed of Kasur, RanaFaisal from Sheikhupura and Ali Ayanof Nankana Sahib while Population De-partment, Secretary, Altaf Izad, and

Population Department, CMO, Dr ZariFatima were the guests and gave theprizes to the winners.

After the weigh in and height meas-urement of the four participants, thecompetition began and Rana Faisal wasdeclared the winner and was awarded Rs,10,000 while Lahore’s Mohammad Ali

was second and was given Rs 8,000 andKasur’s Mohammad Ahmed was third toget Rs 5,000 while Ayan was fourth. Be-sides the prize money, the participantswere given certificates.

In the divisional level competitions,Lahore District was visibly the tri-umphant and similarly in other divi-

sions of the province the main districtscities took the major competitions. Nowall the activity will be held at Lahorefrom October 17 to 25 and will be fol-lowed by Guinness World Record eventsand the Punjab International SportsFestival in November.

The events and competitions thus far

were participated by students of schools,colleges, universities, families and indi-viduals from general public and the Fes-tival is near completion there is going tobe competitions now between the win-ners of nine divisions side by side havingthe involvement of people of all walks oflife in the festival.

FESTIVAL HEADS TOWARDS PROVINCIAL LEVEL

JoHANNESBURgCriCinFO

Ablistering stand of 75 be-tween Moises Henriquesand Steve Smith towardsthe end of the inningswas the difference as

Sydney Sixers' 185 was enough to keepout Chennai Super Kings in a high-scorer at the Wanderers. Henriquesmade telling blows on the field as well,as his three middle-order wickets de-railed Super Kings' chase just as theasking rate started reducing. SureshRaina threatened with an attackinghalf-century, but the lack of support atthe other end hurt Super Kings'chances. Shane Watson gave the Sixersa rousing start after they would put into bat, and the Chennai Super Kingsspinners struck back with wickets butnone of the bowlers were spared oncethe Smith-Henriques pair came to-gether.

When the Australian seamers weretaken out off after four overs, theopeners - Watson and Michael Lumb -targeted the weak link in the seam at-tack. Yo Mahesh was carted for 18 offhis only over, which included a clippedsix over midwicket by Lumb.

Watson was harsh on anythingdragged short, and he made R Ashwinand Jadeja pay by cracking two sixesover the on side. Only a run-out couldhave ended Watson's stay and he fell in

that manner four short of a fifty. He at-tempted a risky second run but wasn'tquick enough for Ben Hilfenhaus' flatand fiery throw from deep cover whichhit the stumps on the half volley.

The spinners pulled things backfor Super Kings after Watson's depar-ture. R Ashwin struck twice in an over,removing Brad Haddin and NicMaddinson as they tried to push thescoring. It wasn't the worst thing to

happen to the Sixers, though, as itbrought Smith and Henriques to-gether. The pair began by bashing twoboundaries down the ground off thepart-time leg spin of Faf du Plessisand from that point on, an above-parscore looked possible. The bowlershemorrhaged 61 off the last four overs,which included eight fours and threesixes. Bollinger and Hilfenhaus, whowere held back for the final overs,

came in for some stick as the pair ofSmith and Hilfenhaus muscled bound-aries and played some cheeky rampshots to exploit the infield.

Super Kings got off to a circum-spect start, limping to 7 for 1 afterthree overs. Du Plessis gave the chasea push with a flurry of boundariesthrough the off side, charging the fastbowlers to unsettle their rhythm, inparticular Pat Cummins. Cumminshad the last laugh though, when duPlessis advanced down the track tolaunch a straight six but couldn't clearlong-on.

Sixers captain Brad Haddinrisked introducing his spinnerswhen Suresh Raina walked in. Rainatargeted his favourite cow corner re-gion against the left-arm spin ofSteve O'Keefe and was also alert toput away the length offerings fromthe seamers. The bowlers didn't ex-ploit Raina's weakness against theshort ball and with every Rainaboundary, the game was Sixers' tolose. Like they had done with thebat, the Henriques-Smith pairingproved decisive, this time in thefield. Raina aimed for the long-onboundary off Henriques' mediumpace, but Smith took a well-judgedcatch at the edge of the rope. Hen-riques struck two balls later with MSDhoni's wicket and that had all butsealed the game for Sixers, with 44needed off the last three overs.

All-round Henriques sinks ChennaiSYDnEY SiXErSMJ Lumb lbw b Jadeja 18Sr watson run out (Hilfenhaus) 46nJ Maddinson b Ashwin 12BJ Haddin*†c Hilfenhaus b Ashwin 20SPD Smithc Vijay b Hilfenhaus 26MC Henriquesnot out 49EXTrAS 14TOTAL 185DiD nOT BAT BJ rohrer, SnJ O'Keefe, PJ Cummins, MA Starc,Jr HazlewoodFALL OF wiCKETS 1-50 (Lumb, 6.1 ov), 2-78 (watson, 8.5 ov),3-109 (Haddin, 13.1 ov), 4-110 (Maddinson, 13.3 ov), 5-185(Smith, 19.6 ov)BOwLinG:Bw Hilfenhaus 3-0-26-1, DE Bollinger 4-0-39-0, VYMahesh 1-0-18-0, rA Jadeja 4-0-29-1, r Ashwin 4-0-32-2, Fdu Plessis 4-0-35-0CHEnnAi SuPEr KinGSMEK Hussey c Lumb b O'Keefe 16M Vijay b Starc 1F du Plessis c Starc b Cummins 43SK raina c Smith b Henriques 57S Badrinath c †Haddin b Henriques 6MS Dhoni*† c Hazlewood b Henriques 8rA Jadeja c rohrer b watson 2r Ashwin c Smith b Starc 18Bw Hilfenhaus not out 7VY Mahesh c Lumb b Starc 2EXTrAS 11TOTAL 171 DiD nOT BAT DE Bollinger: FALL OF wiCKETS 1-3 (Vijay, 1.3 ov), 2-64 (du Plessis, 7.6 ov),3-67 (Hussey, 8.6 ov), 4-122 (Badrinath, 14.2 ov), 5-141 (raina,16.3 ov), 6-141 (Dhoni, 16.5 ov), 7-155 (Jadeja, 18.1 ov), 8-166(Ashwin, 19.2 ov), 9-171 (Mahesh, 19.6 ov)BOwLinG: Jr Hazlewood 4-0-25-0, MA Starc 4-0-31-3, PJCummins 4-0-42-1, Sr watson 3-0-31-1, SnJ O'Keefe 2-0-16-1, MC Henriques 3-0-23-3Match detailsToss Chennai Super Kings, who chose to fieldPoints Sydney Sixers 4, Chennai Super Kings 0Player of the match MC Henriques (Sydney Sixers)umpires Asad rauf (Pakistan) and M ErasmusTV umpire SJA Taufel (Australia)Match referee rS Madugalle (Sri Lanka)reserve umpire JD Cloete

SCOrEBOArD

CHAMPiOnS leAgue

amar Cables t-20Veteran Cricket beginsLAHORE: The third Amar Cables T-20Veteran Cricket Tournament started withwin for SPM Stags against Khayaban-e-Ameen by 5 wickets and SPM Bucks winover DHL by 80 runs.First match, Khayaban-e-Ameen battingfirst 138/8 after 20 overs. FaisalPeerzada 29, Ashfaq Heera 23, SajidAnwar 19, Ameer Ali 18 runs and FayyazButt 13 not out. Imtiaz Tarar 4/20,Rehan Rouf 2/34 & Khawaja Naseer-ud-din 1/11 wickets.SPM Stags 139/5 after 18.1 overs. Sha-keel Malik 44 runs not out, ImtiazTarar 38 & Zahoor Ilahi 14 runs. BilalRana 2/27, Faisal Mehmood 1/18,Ameer Ali 1/19 & Hafiz Bilal 1/24 wick-ets. Rana Sohail Manzoor, SagheerAhmad umpire & Syed Najam-ul-syedwas the scorer. STAFF rEPOrT

Model town

whites beat

Pioneer ClubLAHoRE

STAFF rEPOrT

Model Town Whites beat Pioneer clubby 47 runs at E block model townground in friendly fixture.Model Town White made 247 for 9wickets in 40 overs. Rehman Khan 82,Zobir Ahmed 42. Zahoorullah Chohantook 2-35, Amin Khan 3-50, HasanAzam 3-40. Pioneer club was all out in39.2 overs for 200 runs. Hasan Azam 42,Wahab Usmanee 25,Mobeen Malik 20..Salman Ahmed took4-30, Ehsan Ahmed 4-32. Man ofmatch. Rehman khan.

LAHoRESTAFF rEPOrT

A scheduled press conference byflamboyant all-rounder ShahidAfridi, which had set the rumormills working overtime, was calledoff after the Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) advised him not toaddress the media.

Afridi was to brief the mediapersons at his residence thisevening but the interaction wascancelled at the behest of the PCB.

"The board has refused per-mission to Afridi to hold the con-ference as they say he is acentrally contracted player andcan't speak to the media withoutobtaining a prior permission," asource close to the player said.

Afridi, who struggled with hisform in the recently concludedICC World Twenty20 champi-onship, apparently wanted to talkto the media about his perform-ance in Sri Lanka, where Pakistanlost to the hosts in the semifinal.

The speculations were alsorife that the 32-year-old might an-nounce his retirement from theinternational cricket during theconference.

"He is a contracted player andhas to abide by all the rules andregulations for players in the cen-tral contracts," a PCB official said.

Afridi, one of Pakistan's mostexperienced players, had stoppedplaying Test cricket since 2010and features only in limited overscricket.

PCB asks Afridi not to hold press conference?


Sports17


azarenka winssixth season title in linz

LINZAFP

World number one Victoria Azarenka onSunday claimed her sixth title this sea-son when she beat German Julia Go-erges in straight sets at the Linz WTAtournament.The Belarusian, in her ninth final ap-pearance of 2012, overcame the fifthseed 6-3, 6-4 for a 14th career title.Azarenka's 2012 trophy haul began withher first Grand Slam in Australia, withfollow up victories in Sydney, Doha andIndian Wells.But the 23-year-old then proceeded tolose the three following finals, includingat last month's US Open, where SerenaWilliams' late recovery left her in tears,before her 6-3, 6-1 Beijing defeat ofworld number two Maria Sharapova.

indian-Czech pairwin ShanghaiMasters

SHANgHAIAFP

Australian Open champions LeanderPaes of India and Radek Stepanek of theCzech Republic on Sunday came frombehind to win the Shanghai Mastersdoubles title 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 10/5.The fourth seeds, who have alreadybooked a place at next month's eliteeight-team ATP World Tour Finals inLondon, lost the first set against Indianpair Mahesh Bhupathi and RohanBopanna on a tie-break.But the Indian-Czech duo, who were los-ing finalists at the US Open, levelled thecontest after a single break in the secondset and took the match tie-break 10/5.Seventh seeds Bhupathi and Bopannawere in eighth and last spot in the chasefor a place at the season-ending finale inthe most recent rankings.Indian veteran Paes, 39, said he was atthe stage of his career when he was"playing for milestones, playing for his-tory". "We've had a great year. It startedoff with a big bang. To do well early in apartnership is something that can hap-pen," said Paes, whose victory at theAustralian Open meant he had com-pleted the full set of Grand Slam titlesduring his career."But to continue playing well rightthrough the whole year shows the qual-ity of tennis that we play. For me per-sonally what I really like about playingwith Radek is we're looking to improveall the time. For me that's the potency ofwhat the other guys feel."

ShaNGhai: Novak djokovic of Serbia holds the

winners trophy after defeating andy Murray of

britain during their finals match at the Shanghai

Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai. afp

oSAkAAFP

Heather Watson edged pastTaiwan's Chang Kai-chen in amarathon final at the JapanWomen's Open tennis tourna-ment on Sunday, to becomethe first Briton in 24 years towin a WTA title.

The 20-year-old, in herfirst WTA final, squanderedone match point while leadingone set and hit a double faulton 5-4.

She had to save four matchpoints in the final set beforewinning 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4)after a match lasting threehours and 11 minutes.

Watson, however, failed toachieve a twin triumph when

she and Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm lost the doubles finalto top seed Raquel Kops-Jonesand Abigail Spears of theUnited States 1-6, 4-6.

"I was in the changingroom afterwards, changing myclothes, and I thought to my-self, 'Did I really win?' So it'sjust starting to settle in," Wat-son said.

"I've worked so hard forthis moment my whole career-- that's why I practised sohard, ran all those miles andlifted all those weights, formoments like this.

"Britain has been breakingquite a few records recently, soI'm happy I could break an-other one today. I'm proud todo this for my country."

Watson said Chang was"an amazing returner, so Iwanted to go for it. What I'velearned from my coaches is togo for it and not hope theymiss. "As you get better andplay the top girls, you've got togo for it because they won'tgive it to you. So I went for itand I don't regret it (doublefault on her first match point).

"Though if I had lost thematch I probably would haveregretted it. But I ended upwinning the match, so I'll getover it!" she added.

Watson is the first Britonto win a WTA title since SaraGomer at Aptos back in 1988.

For 22 years no Briton hadeven reached a WTA final untilLaura Robson broke the

drought with her run to thefinal in Guangzhou, China lastmonth.

"Laura and I have comethrough the rankings together-- juniors and seniors -- andwe're both very competitive,so when we see the otherdoing well, it pushes us," saidWatson.

"Knowing Laura did sowell in China a few weeks agodefinitely motivated me thisweek. But I think it's greatwe're really good friends offthe court as well," she added.

Watson, who received thewinner's cheque of 37,000dollars, has also won three ITFtitles, at Wrexham andToronto in 2010 and at Frin-ton in 2009.

watson beats chang to win first wta title

SHANgHAIAFP

Australian Open champions Leander Paesof India and Radek Stepanek of the CzechRepublic on Sunday came from behind towin the Shanghai Masters doubles title 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 10/5. The fourth seeds, whohave already booked a place at nextmonth's elite eight-team ATP World TourFinals in London, lost the first set againstIndian pair Mahesh Bhupathi and RohanBopanna on a tie-break. But the Indian-Czech duo, who were losing finalists at theUS Open, levelled the contest after a sin-gle break in the second set and took thematch tie-break 10/5. Seventh seeds Bhu-pathi and Bopanna were in eighth and lastspot in the chase for a place at the season-ending finale in the most recent rankings.

Indian veteran Paes, 39, said he wasat the stage of his career when he was"playing for milestones, playing for his-tory". "We've had a great year. It started

off with a big bang. To do well early in apartnership is something that can hap-pen," said Paes, whose victory at the Aus-tralian Open meant he had completed the

full set of Grand Slam titles during his ca-reer. "But to continue playing well rightthrough the whole year shows the qualityof tennis that we play. For me personally

what I really like about playing withRadek is we're looking to improve all thetime. For me that's the potency of whatthe other guys feel."

Indian-czech pair win Shanghai Masters


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Park edges out Choifor Malaysia win

kUALA LUMPURAFP

South Korea's Park Inbee edged out de-fending champion and tournamentleader Choi Na-Yeon in a thrilling finalday Sunday at the Sime Darby LPGAMalaysia to win with a 15-under 269.The world number sixth ranked playerkept her cool to become the third SouthKorean to win the tournament in asmany years when she closed out with afour-under 67, defeating compatriot andfriend Choi by two strokes overall.World number four Choi, who led fromthe opening day, could only finish with alevel par 71 Sunday, conceding the titleof the $1.9 million competition at theKuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club toPark.Park, who had slowly but surely beenclosing the gap on Choi, finally took thelead on the par-4 13th when she had atap in for a birdie while Choi could onlypar. Less than 15 minutes later that leadbecame two, when Park's irons cameperfectly into play to set up another tap-in for a birdie. "I wasn't nervous tillabout the 15th. It was an embarrassingbogey-bogey finish," Park said. "I preferleading because I knew whatever it was,I had to play well."Down by two, Choi knew her chances ofdefending a title for the first time in hercareer was over on the par-5 16th hole.Park made a harsh of her approach shotand needed two attempts to get out ofthe bunker, but she then brilliantlymade par from off the green.Choi, who had a chance for a birdie,fluffed her lines and failed to put pres-sure on her compatriot, leaving her twobehind going into the final two holes.On the 17th hole, Park increased herlead to three after Choi crumbled anddouble-bogeyed the 17th, despite Parkalso bogeying the treacherous par-3.On the final hole, Park had a horrendoustee shot but salvaged a bogey to claimthe top prize.

LoNDoNAFP

Roy Hodgson has revealed that he seesManchester United striker WayneRooney as England's future captain.

With regular skipper Steven Gerrardsuspended and vice-captain Frank Lam-pard injured for Friday's World Cupqualifier against San Marino, Englandmanager Hodgson gave Rooney the arm-band and he responded with two goals ina 5-0 victory.

Gerrard will return to lead the teamin Tuesday's qualifier against Poland inWarsaw.

But Rooney's mature display in hisfirst competitive international as Eng-land captain convinced Hodgson that hecould do the job on a permanent basis inthe future.

"Yes," said Hodgson, when asked ifRooney was a future England captain."He was my vice-captain at the Eurosfrom the moment he could start playingagain.

"He does take playing for Englandunbelievably seriously. I know being cap-tain is something he's very proud of and

something he wants to do."Frank Lampard has captained the

team when both Steven (Gerrard) andWayne were absent.

"But I always had in my mind thatWayne would be the vice captain andwhen Frank comes back I suppose I'vegot a decision to make."

Although Rooney first captainedEngland for a friendly against Brazil inDoha in 2009, then manager FabioCapello didn't think the forward was ma-ture enough to be considered for the per-manent role.

But the 26-year-old responded to thehonour on Friday with a double-strikethat took him to fifth on his country's all-time scoring list, ahead of Alan Shearer,Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse, with 31goals.

Hodgson also believes Rooney hasbanished the outbursts of anger thatsometimes marred his play and thatmakes him a more valuable asset forEngland after some underwhelming dis-lays on international duty in the past.

"I don't like to talk about him beforeI took the job," Hodgson said. "All thetime I've been with him, including in the

Euros, I don't think he was as sharp andplaying as well as he is now. "But interms of his commitment and his desireand wanting to do the job he's every bitthe same man today as he was then.

"At the moment I am seeing the bestof Wayne Rooney. Maybe in the earlier

games he could play for me he wasn't atthat level.

"Now I have to hope he stays at hisbest and that he stays fit and healthy andcontinues to do what he is doing forManchester United at the moment,which means he'll do it for us as well."

rodgers keen on Januaryspending spree

LoNDoNAFP

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgershas revealed he plans to improve hisstruggling side with several signingsduring the January transfer window.Rodgers' team are languishing in 14thplace in the Premier League after win-ning only one of their first sevenmatches and the Reds boss believestheir poor form is down to a lack ofstrength in depth.Liverpool are short of options in attackafter failing to bring in a replacementfor Andy Carroll following the Englandstriker's loan move to West Ham.The need for reinforcements has in-creased after Italian forward FabioBorini suffered a recent foot injury thatleft Uruguay's Luis Suarez as the onlyrecognised fit senior striker at the club.Rodgers had been told to reduce thesquad size and wage bill when he ar-rived from Swansea in pre-season, buthe has spoken to the club's Americanowners about the need to bolster hissquad in January and he is hoping to getthe green light to bring in some newfaces. "There are still areas we want toreinforce - and we have to reinforce assoon as we can," Rodgers told the Mailon Sunday.

i'm no mole saysreal keeper Casillas

MADRIDAFP

Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillashas described as unwarranted sugges-tions that he acted as a dressing roommole in an attempt to destablise coachJose Mourinho. "Over the past fewmonths, without wanting it, I've beenlinked to a number of affairs," the vet-eran Real skipper wrote on his Facebookpage on Sunday. "One day they weresaying I didn't encourage my teammateCristiano Ronaldo (it's harder to findsomeone who admires him more thanme)..., another time I'm a mole and Ileak information."After 13 years spent in the greatest clubin the world it's quite simply unwar-ranted."

SHANgHAIAFP

NOVAK Djokovic gainedsweet revenge for his USOpen defeat to AndyMurray on Sunday, sav-ing five match points to

seal a stunning 5-7, 7-6 (13/11), 6-3 vic-tory in the Shanghai Masters final.

The iron-willed Serbian was second-best for long stretches but refused tobuckle, sealing his 13th Masters title in acontest lasting three hours and 21 min-utes as he hunts down Roger Federer atthe top of the rankings. The thrilling duel,played out in front of a packed crowd atthe Qi Zhong Stadium, hinged on a mon-ster second set tie-break that lasted morethan 20 minutes, which the second seedwon to stay alive in the match.

The defeat, in a contest packed withhigh-quality, spellbinding tennis, was de-fending champion Murray's first ever lossat the Shanghai Masters after he won thetournament in 2010 and 2011.

"Could have easily gone the otherway. He was five match points up," saidDjokovic, who won the China Open before

coming to Shanghai."When I faced those match points, I

tried to focus on each individually. He wasso close to the victory that I cannot say Iwas the better player." The Serbian, hotfavourite to be year-end number one forthe second consecutive season, said thetitle would give him a major boost as hecloses in on the top spot, which he saidwas his "biggest objective".

"It's something I'm aiming for. Obvi-ously this is going to be a huge confidenceboost and also is going to help me in therace for number one," he said, though hecautioned "it's still not done".

A gruelling first set contained sevenbreaks of serve as the players went toe-to-toe in a breathtaking display of power hit-ting, with neither able to grab theinitiative. But the British third seed madewhat proved to be the crucial break-through in the 11th game, recovering from40-love down to break for a 6-5 lead as aninfuriated Djokovic destroyed his racquet,tossing it away in disgust.

Murray, 25, broke in the seventhgame of the second set for a 4-3 lead andlooked poised for victory as he led 5-4, 30-0. But Djokovic produced a through-the-

legs shot, wowing the crowd as he beganhis fightback and then thwarted the Scoton his first match point before cancellingout Murray's advantage.

The Serbian, 25, denied the Scot fourmore times in a pulsating shoot-out, seal-ing the set with a drive volley that was fol-lowed by a trademark fist-pumpingcelebration as Murray destroyed his ownracquet. The third set went with serveuntil Djokovic made the vital break-through to lead 4-3. Murray could notfind a way back, broken again as the Ser-bian sealed victory.

"I'm obviously disappointed I lost thematch," said Murray. "But it was a top-quality match. Both of us played some un-believable tennis at times.

"It was literally the difference of one,two centimetres in winning the matchand losing it. You have to put things intoperspective. It was obviously a bit frus-trating but it was so close and could havebeen a different outcome." Murray beathis rival in five sets in last month's USOpen final to secure Britain's first men'sGrand Slam singles title since the 1930s,just weeks after his Olympic triumph infront of home fans in London.

Djokovic denies Murrayin Shanghai thriller

HoNg koNgAFP

India's Gaganjeet Bhullar sealed acommanding victory at the VenetianMacau Open Sunday, ending with athree-under-par 68 to secure his sec-ond Asian Tour title in five starts.

Bhullar withstood challenges fromAmerican Jonathan Moore, who fin-ished two shots back in second placeafter a 65, and Thailand's ThitiphunChuayprakong, who closed with a 70 toshare third place with Bangladeshi Sid-dikur Rahman (66).

The Indian was in control with anoutward 31 to lead by three shots butbogeys on 10 and 13 opened the doorfor his rivals.

Moore raced home with five closingbirdies to put on the pressure butBhullar responded by draining a six-foot par putt on 17 to hold on to a slen-der one-shot lead into the last hole.

He then delivered a bravura finishwith a 12-foot birdie.

"This is going to take a long time tosink in. I hit the ball so good. I was just

in the perfect zone. More than that, itwas self-belief. This is my first wire-to-wire Asian Tour title," Bhullar said.

"I think it was more that I had toprove to myself that I'm a good front-runner. I had to believe in myself. I didit and it was really special," saidBhullar, who earned US$118,875 forhis fourth Asian Tour victory.

LEADinG SCOrES:

268 - Gaganjeet bhullar (iNd) 63-68-69-68

270 - Jonathan Moore (uSa) 67-68-70-65

272 - Siddikur rahman (baN) 66-68-72-66, thitiphun

Chuayprakong (tha) 67-66-69-70

274 - Shiv kapur (iNd) 70-67-70-67

275 - angelo Que (Phi) 68-66-70-71, Scott hend

(auS) 65-70-69-71

Bhullar completescommanding victory in Macau

Rooney is England's future captain, says Hodgson



Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Editor: Arif Nizami

19

LoS ANgELESAFP

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartnermade a record-breaking leap from theedge of space on Sunday, landing safely inthe New Mexico desert after freefallingfrom more than 24 miles above the Earth.The 43-year-old floated down to Earth ona red and white parachute canopy, whichhe had opened after reaching speeds ofmore than 700 miles per hour in freefall.Mission control erupted in cheers asBaumgartner made a near-perfect jumpfrom a capsule hoisted aloft by a gianthelium-filled balloon to an altitude ofaround 128,000 feet.“Sometimes you have to (go) up reallyhigh to (realise) how small you are,”

Baumgartner said shortly before hejumped, watched in live footage beamedaround the world.He had taken more than two hours to getup to the jump altitude. Baumgartner hadalready broken one record, before he evenleapt: the previous highest altitude for amanned balloon flight was 113,740 feet,set in 1961. The Austrian had been due tojump from 120,000 feet, but the balloonwent higher than expected, to more than24 miles (39 kilometres).The Red Bull Stratos mission was thesecond attempt for the skydiver after aninitial bid last week was aborted at thelast minute due to winds.The biggest risk Baumgartner faced wasspinning out of control, which could exertG forces and make him lose

consciousness. A controlled dive from thecapsule was essential, putting him in ahead-down position to increase speed.More gruesomely, the skydiver’s bloodcould have boiled if there were theslightest tear or crack in his pressurizedspacesuit-like outfit, due to instantdepressurization at the extreme altitude.Temperatures of 90 degrees below zeroFahrenheit (minus 68 Celsius) could alsohave had unpredictable consequences ifhis suit somehow failed.The leap went off flawlessly though therewas a minor problem as the capsuleascended: a heater failed onBaumgartner’s helmet faceplate, meaningit was becoming fogged up when heexhaled.After considering the options they

decided to go ahead with the jump.Baumgartner’s 100-strong backup teamincludes retired US Air Force colonel JoeKittinger, who had held one of therecords he was trying to break: thehighest freefall jump, which he madefrom 102,800 feet in 1960.“Let the guardian angel take care of you,”Kittinger told Baumgartner shortly beforehe leapt into the void.The giant balloon – which holds 30million cubic feet of helium – is needed tocarry the Red Bull Stratos capsule, whichweighs nearly 1.3 tonnes, to thestratosphere.It is made of near transparentpolyethylene strips even thinner than adry cleaner bag, which are heat-sealedtogether. Very thin material is necessary

to save weight.The Austrian has been training for fiveyears for the jump. He holds severalprevious records, notably withspectacular base jumps from the PetronasTowers in Kuala Lumpur and the Christthe Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil.Speaking before the launch, Baumgartnersaid he would be proud to be the firstperson to break the speed of sound infreefall.“But really, I know that part of this entireexperience will help make the nextpressure suit safer for space tourists andaviators,” the jumper pointed out.Sunday’s launch coincided with the 65thanniversary of American pilot ChuckYeager breaking the speed of sound.

Amnesty int’l condemns iHK over draconian law

ISLAMABADAPP

The world human rights watchdog,Amnesty International (AI), hascondemned the puppet administrationof Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) forcontinuing to use the draconian PublicSafety Act (PSA) to detain peoplewithout charge or trial. In a statementissued in New Delhi, the AI termed thePublic Safety Act, under which policecan arrest any suspect and keep him/herin jail for two years without trial, a“lawless law” and demanded all PublicSafety Act detainees be fairly tried incourts of law or else released. “In 2011,Amnesty International released a reportdocumenting how the Public Safety Actviolates human rights. Not muchappears to have changed in 2012. ThePublic Safety Act provides for arbitrarydetention, in violation of the right toliberty, which India is bound to respectunder international human rightstreaties,” it added. Ananth Guruswamy,Amnesty International India director,said in a statement that the authoritiesin the occupied territory continued touse the Public Safety Act to circumventthe rule of law and the criminal justicesystem. “They resort to Public Safety Actdetentions instead of charging andtrying persons suspected of offences incourt,” he said, demanding that thePublic Safety Act was against theinternational human rights law andmust be repealed. The statement saidfurther violations facilitated by thePublic Safety Act included “revolvingdoor detentions”, ill treatment indetention, the denial of medical care todetainees and lack of reparations forvictims. “The Amnesty Internationalalso found that Public Safety Actdetention orders were still being usedagainst children despite it now beingprohibited,” it added. The AI deploredthat the authorities often kept personsin detention even after the detentionshad been quashed by the high court ofthe territory. The London-basedwatchdog maintained that even the chiefof police in Indian-held Kashmir hadacknowledged that around 15,600 peoplewere detained under the PSA withoutcharge or trial in the last two decades.“Detainees include political leaders andactivists, suspected members orsupporters of armed opposition groups,lawyers, journalists and protesters -including children,” it added. TheAmnesty said that the UN officials whovisited the occupied territory hadrecommended that the Public Safety Actbe repealed. The Indian-held Kashmirhas long been a bone of contentionbetween nuclear-armed rivals andneighbours, India and Pakistan. Indiaclaims Kashmir is its integral part, whilePakistan claims the Indian governmenthas illegally occupied parts of Kashmirand it must allow the right to selfdetermination to the people of Kashmirin accordance with UN resolutions.

Austrian daredevil jumps from edge of space

Parliament likely to designate Malala ambassadorof peace and educationISLAMABAD: The National Assemblyand the Senate will resume their sessionstoday (Monday) after the gap of two days,during which resolutions declaring MalalaYousufzai an ambassador for peace andeducation are likely to be tabled, PakistanToday has learnt. According to details, thesessions of the Senate and the NationalAssembly will resume in the evening,during which the government is likely topresent the reports regarding presenthealth status and the initial investigationsrelated to the assassination attempt onMalala. Sources said the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Quaid was likely to table tworesolutions in both Houses of parliament inwhich it would be demanded that MalalaYousufzai be declared an ambassador ofpeace and education, while resolutionwould recommended the House declareMalala a daughter of Pakistan. Theseresolutions are being presented in bothHouses of parliament following PML-Qchief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’ssuggestion to declare Malala anambassador and to officially recognise hera “daughter of Pakistan” for her promotionof education and peace. In general,Monday is considered a private membersday in the upper House of parliamentduring which members of the Senateintroduce their private bills, motions,resolutions and the agendas for discussionon the floor of the House. anwer aBBaS

kARACHISTAFF rEPOrT

MUTTAHIDA QaumiMovement chief AltafHussain on Sunday saidit was time for the nationto decide if it wanted the

Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam MuhammadAli Jinnah or that of the Taliban, and ithad to decide whether it was with theTaliban or against them.

“There is no third option,” Altafsaid in a telephonic address to thou-sands of supporters in Karachi. Thou-sands of people rallied under the MQMbanner in the port city in support of 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, the school-girl shot and critically wounded by theTaliban for promoting girls’ educationand criticising the militant group.

Altaf said Malala was the symbol ofknowledge which the Taliban wantedto suppress.

“The cowardly attack on Malalaand her classmates was an attack onIslam, the teachings of the HolyProphet (PBUH), and the humanity. Itwas an attack on the enlightened andbright face of Pakistan.”

Addressing the heads of the armedforces and the ISI, Altaf said the nationwas firmly united in 1965.

“They were solidly standing behindtheir armed forces then, but the coldhearted attack on Malala Yousafzai hadjolted the nation into even stronger

unity. Nations do not get such oppor-tunities again and again.”

The MQM chief called on the armyto “move ahead and crush the Taliban”and 180 million people would be stand-ing behind them.

Addressing the people, he said itwas time to decide if they wanted Pak-istan to survive and progress or if theywould allow it to be wiped out from themap of the world.

He said mere lip service was notenough, as nothing would happen un-less words are matched with action.

“The enlightened segment of thesociety will have to come to the front.The civil society will have to comeforward and assert itself for savingthe country.”

Altaf also called on students to“continue to go to your schools in orderto dispel the dark clouds of ignorance.Education is the only way for openingthe closed doors of the mind”.

He praised those religious schol-ars who minced no words in con-demning the barbaric attack onMalala as un-Islamic. He said the re-ligious scholars who shied away fromcondemning the Taliban for their das-tardly act were, in fact, filling theirbellies by selling the names of Allahand His Prophet Hazrat Muhammad(PBUH) for petty worldly gains.

Commenting on drone strikes,Altaf regretted that some elementswere trying to find some sort of justi-

fication for the brutal attack onMalala Yousafzai and her classmatesby saying that it was a fall-out of thedrone attacks. He said that the MQMhad always condemned the dronestrikes and the killing of innocentpeople in these attacks.

The MQM chief appealed to theSupreme Court chief justice to take suomotu notice of the merciless attack onMalala and her class fellows. Speakingabout the Lal Masjid episode, Altaf saidcertain anchor persons were saying onTV channels that women were burntalive during the Lal Masjid operation.

He said the names of the womenallegedly burnt to death in Lal Masjid,their fathers’ names and complete ad-dresses should be published in order tolay real facts before the public. TheMQM chief asked Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry and otherjudges of the Supreme Court to take ac-tion against killers and those whowanted to enforce Sharia by force.

He said the Supreme Court shouldmove against those who had looted na-tional wealth but no party should besingled out, adding that the nationwanted justice and nothing else.

Altaf paid glowing tribute to the of-ficers and personnel of the army andother security forces who were mar-tyred while working for the security ofthe nation. He called upon the coun-try’s political leadership to get unitedon a single point of saving Pakistan.

g MQM chief says Malala symbol of knowledge g Calls on army to ‘move ahead and

crush the taliban’ g Party has always opposed uS drone strikes in tribal areas

KArACHi: Supporters of the Muttahida quami Movement (MqM) gather during a protest procession against the attack on child activist Malala Yousafzai on Sunday. afp

Nation must decide if it’s withTaliban or against them: Altaf


e-paper pakistantoday 15th october, 2012

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