E-paper Pakistantoday LHR 15th January, 2012

ISLAMABADREUTERS

CHIEF of Army Staff (COAS) Gen-eral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is furi-ous with Prime Minister YousafRaza Gilani for statements criti-cising the army and has de-

manded that they be clarified or withdrawn,Reuters reported on Saturday quoting “a seniormilitary source”.

“The army chief complained to the presi-dent about the prime minister’s statements,and said they needed to be either clarified orwithdrawn,” the source told Reuters. “He saidsuch statements were divisive and made thecountry more vulnerable.” In an interviewwith Chinese media, Gilani had said the armychief and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)director general’s replies to the SupremeCourt were “unconstitutional”, infuriating themilitary’s high command, who issued a sternpress release. As angry as Kayani is, thesource said, the council of senior militarycommanders is even angrier, the source said.

“There is a lot of pressure by the main corpscommanders on the army chief regarding thestatements of the prime minister,” the sourcesaid. President Asif Ali Zardari met Kayani inan attempt to mend fences on Saturday. “The

current security situation was discussed,” apresidential spokesman said, without givingany details. The Presidency, however, did saythat there was no truth to the reports that

Gen Kayani expressed anger at the primeminister’s comments. “A section of the mediahas speculated on the contents of discussionbetween the president and army chief in themeeting, the reports, without quoting

sources, are hypothetical, based on conjec-ture and in the realm of speculation,” thepresident’s spokesman Farhatullah Babarsaid in a statement.

pakistantoday.com.pkRs22.00 Vol ii no 199 21 pages Lahore edition Sunday, 15 January, 2012 Safar 20, 1433

g CoAs demands PM clarify or withdraw statement g Presidency denies report

Gilani’s criticism divisive,Kayani tells Zardari

PESHAWAR SHAMIM SHAHID

At least four people were killed and nine oth-ers were injured as terrorists stormed the Dis-trict Police Office in Dera Ismail Khan onSaturday afternoon in a brazen gun-and-bombattack, which was foiled by timely action frompolice and security forces.

All four terrorists were killed and DistrictPolice Officer (DPO) Sohail Khalid Raana re-mained safe. The terrorists, three of whom re-portedly wore police uniform, stormed the DPOOffice located in the cantonment area of the cityand hurled hand-grenades at the policemen in-side, followed by bursts of gunfire. A gun-battleensued as the policemen retaliated and contin-gents of army and police rushed to the site toprovide backup.

The fighting continued for around an hourand ended only after the terrorists had beenkilled. Though Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Informa-tion Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said three

policemen were killed and there were no civil-ian casualties, eyewitnesses and doctors saidtwo of the victims were civilians and two werepolicemen.Hussain told Pakistan Today thatall four militants had been killed. Three ofthem blew themselves up with suicide vests,while the fourth was shot dead by securityforces during the encounter. Hussain said thesituation was now under control and freshcontingents of police and paramilitary soldiershad been deployed at the site of the attack.

“Army and police units have entered thepolice station and a search operation is over,”Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Akbar Hotitold AFP. “We have recovered bodies of fourmilitants, they were all wearing suicide vests,”he said. “We are checking the identity of thecivilian casualties to ascertain if they includedany militants,” he added. Police interceptedthe militants before they could enter the mainoffices, he said. So far, there have been noclaims of responsibility for the attack, but of-ficials believe Taliban militants were involved.

4 killed in terrorist attackon DI Khan police office

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani chairs a meeting of the

DCC on Saturday. online

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Police and paramilitary soldiers gather outside a police office which was attacked

by militants wearing police uniforms on Saturday. reuters

PM seeks toease tensionswith army

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

All need to work within their re-spective domain. This was themessage Prime Minister YousafRaza Gilani conveyed on Saturdayto the state institutions withoutnaming the armed forces and thejudiciary, amidst a continuingstandoff with the memo and theNational Reconciliation Ordinance(NRO) being the central issues.

Though a two-line statementissued by the Presidency after ameeting between Chief of ArmyStaff (COAS) General AshfaqParvez Kayani and President AsifAli Zardari said the “current secu-rity situation was discussed duringthe meeting”, the prime ministeralso took advantage of the meetingof the Defence Committee of theCabinet (DCC) and used this civil-military forum to defuse the ten-sion by suggesting that it wasimportant for all institutions towork in synergy.

While the prime minister ac-knowledged that the armed forcesof Pakistan were a pillar of the na-tion’s resilience and strength andthat the nation hailed their heroicservices in the defence of themotherland, he also mentioned therole of democratic institutions andsaid the civil institutions too hadtheir due role to play for socio-eco-nomic development and for ensur-ing progress and prosperity.

“Together in complete har-mony with each other and othervital institutions we can change thecountry’s destiny and accord itsrightful place in the comity of na-tions,” he said, understandably inan attempt to defuse the tension.As the tension between the civiland military establishments con-tinued to escalate, the meeting ofthe DCC had assumed a significantimportance. It was for the firsttime the two sides sat across thetable after the recent develop-

ments that clearly suggested thatthe relations between Islamabadand Rawalpindi had become dan-gerously strained.

“National unity is the need ofthe hour. Democracy provides av-enues to forge national consensus.Each organ and state institutionhas to play its due role, within itsrespective domain, to bring forththe best in promoting Pakistan’snational interest,” the prime min-ister said in his opening remarks atthe DCC meeting, adding that thenation’s strength was its institu-tions. “We will do everything tostrengthen our institutions with aview to enhancing their effective-ness and capacity. There should beno ambiguity on this account,” saidthe premier. He said it had beenhis government’s policy to allowand enable all state institutions toplay their role in their respectivedomains for the common good ofthe people of Pakistan. “It is thisdesire to set good and healthydemocratic traditions that has en-abled us to always seek strengthfrom the parliament, which is thehallmark of a democratic govern-ment,” the prime minister said,underlying the importance of par-liament as a sovereign body.

Though a lot was being spec-ulated about the meeting betweenthe COAS and the president,Presidential Spokesman Farhat-ullah Babar said: “A section of themedia has speculated on the con-tents of discussion between thepresident and army chief in themeeting, the reports, withoutquoting sources, are hypothetical,based on conjecture and in therealm of speculation.” The reporthad suggested that the COAS hadcomplained to the presidentabout the prime minister’s inter-view to a Chinese newspaper. Ithad also suggested that the COAShad asked the president to makethe prime minister withdraw hisstatement or clarify it.

DCC leaves NATOattack responseto parliament

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Defence Committee of the Cabinet(DCC) on Saturday took no decision onresumption of NATO supplies, deciding inprinciple that parliament would take anydecision on this vital issue along with thereview of terms of engagement with theUnites States. During the meeting, chairedby Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, theDCC was briefed on the US CENTCOMenquiry report on the attacks oncheckposts in Mohmand Agency onNovember 26, 2011, including acomprehensive analysis by the directorgeneral military operations (DGMO). Themeeting also elaborated on the country’sposition on the report and it was decidedthat a response would be shared with allconcerned shortly. Earlier, in his openingstatement, the prime minister said thecountry’s sovereignty and territorialintegrity was not negotiable and thenation’s strength was its institutions andall endeavours would be undertaken toenhance their effectiveness and capacity.Gilani said it had been a consistentendeavour of the government to safeguardPakistan’s supreme national interests in amost effective and inclusive manner.Terrorism and the continued strife andconflict in Afghanistan had directly andseverely impacted Pakistan, he added.

g Gilani says it is important for all institutions to work in synergy

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02Monday, 15 January, 2012

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President has complete immunity under constitution: Aitzaz Thousands protest against nuclear power in Japan


PAKISTAN Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI)Chairman Imran Khan warned thegovernment on Saturday to stop ma-ligning the superior judiciary, failingwhich the PTI would launch a

“tsunami march” against the government andin support of the judiciary.

Addressing a press conference followingthe Central Executive Committee (CEC) meet-ing of his party held here at a local hotel, Khansaid the independent judiciary and media wereobligatory in order to make democracy the bestruling system, but the government was tryingto destroy the judiciary to perpetuate its cor-ruption.

At the CEC meeting, Air Marshal AsgharKhan also announced the merger of his party,the Tehreek-e-Istaqlal, with the PTI, saying hisparty completely endorsed the principled pol-itics pursued by Imran Khan’s party. Asgharalso appealed to the Supreme Court to hear hispetition regarding the distribution of money tosome politicians, including Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) President NawazSharif, by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)before the 1990 elections.

Imran Khan also asked the apex court onhis party’s behalf to hear the case and to bringthe facts in front of the public. “If ISI has dis-tributed money among politicians, it should be

held accountable so that no such step can betaken again in future,” he said.

The CEC meeting noted with concern theongoing political crisis created by the govern-ment by not implementing the National Rec-onciliation Ordinance (NRO) decision of theSupreme Court. The committee observed thatthe prime minister and other members of theruling party were attacking all institutions, in-cluding the Supreme Court, to hide their lootand plunder, resolving that if the Pakistan Peo-ple’s Party (PPP) government tried to destroythe court and deny this nation the rule of law,it would be a direct assault on democracy thatwould be resisted by the PTI.

Imran Khan, however, said the PML-Nshould resign at once from the National As-sembly and Punjab Assembly if it really wantedto get rid of this government.

Commenting on the Balochistan unrest, hesaid his party would cooperate with Balochleaders before the PTI’s grand public meetingin Quetta, which would be held in March. Hesaid he was committed to working for the wel-fare of the Baloch people, saying after cominginto power his party would work in Balochistanaccording to the people’s wish. He also said hesupported the formation of new provinces.

Imran announced that he would move thecourts against electoral lists and said the lastgeneral elections were fraudulent since, ac-cording to the Election Commission, 45 per-cent of voters in that election were bogus.

ISLAMABADAMER SIAL

The government has decided toconstitute a new committee tofurther probe the findings ofthe enquiry report that holdsformer Indus Water Commis-sioner (IWC) Jamaat Ali Shahresponsible for not timely in-forming the Ministry of Waterand Power (MOWP) about theconstruction of 45 megawattsNimoo Bazgo hydropower proj-ect by India on Indus River inthe occupied Kashmir.

An official said the committee

would further probe the inquiryreport that holds former IWC re-sponsible for negligence, as delayin informing the government al-lowed India to complete the proj-ect and get carbon credits fromthe United Nations (UN) despitethe project’s location in a disputedterritory. He said the former IWChad assured to participate in thecommittee’s hearings.

In a recent meeting of theNational Assembly SpecialCommittee on Energy Crisis,MOWP Secretary Imtiaz Kazisaid the former IWC had left thecountry with ministry’s permis-

Imran warns govt of‘tsunami march’ if judiciary maligned

new committee to probe report’s

Bureacrat’s mother, sisterkilled in PiMsshootout


In a daring move, unidentified armedmen barged into the main VIP ward ofthe Pakistan Institute of Medical Sci-ences (PIMS) and shot dead two women,besides seriously injuring anotherwoman, in an assassination attempt on asuspected criminal on Saturday. Policesources said the assailants entered PIMSVIP Ward no 9 and opened indiscrimi-nate fire, killing Saleh Bibi and Bilqeesinstantly and seriously injuring QamarunNisa. The two deceased women were themother and sister of the Cabinet Divisionjoint secretary. Police said they sus-pected the target of the attack was inWard no 10, where Rana Sarwar, an ac-cused in a kidnapping for ransom case,was being treated. Police said, “As thekilled women had no enmity and themain accused of an abduction case wasadmitted in the room next to the attackedroom, we suspect the attack was on RanaSarwar and the assailants misunderstoodthe location of their target.” Police said asquad was also present on duty with thearrested suspect. No arrests were madeby the police till the filing of this report.

Cornered PM to brief

Na on economic

achievementsISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

Cornered and severely criticized for itspoor economic performance, Prime Minis-ter (PM) Yousuf Raza Gilani plans to give apolicy statement about the achievements ofthe government in the parliament. FinanceMinister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Sec-retary Finance Dr Waqar Masood briefedthe PM on the performance of economyduring the first half of the current fiscalyear. According to PM House statement,Gilani said he will give a policy statementin parliament soon about the salient fea-tures of the economy and the achievementsof the government. However, the statement did not containany information on the resolution of the Rs400 billion inter-corporate circular debtholding the economy hostage. No plan tocurb Rs 350 billion power sector subsidiesthat are expected to increase the fiscaldeficit by 2 percent in comparison with therevised official target of 4.7 percent was an-nounced. During the last three years, thegovernment has incurred Rs 1 trillion inpower subsidy, one of the main reasons forhigh fiscal deficit of 6 percent of GDP dur-ing the last three fiscal years.The statement did not mention any dis-cussion on bleeding state owned enter-prises (SOEs), like Pakistan Railways,Pakistan International Airlines and Pak-istan Steel Mill. To keep loss-makingSOEs afloat, the government is heavilyborrowing from the domestic banks thathas crowded out financing facilities for theprivate sector.

Scattered rain,snowfall over hillslikely

ISLAMABADAPP

A westerly wave affecting central andupper parts of the country is likely tocause scattered rain with snowfall overthe hills across the country during next24 hours, said a Pakistan MeteorologicalDepartment report on Saturday. Theweather system is likely to persist for twoto three days and cause scattered rainwith snowfall over the hills in Islamabad,Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore,Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, DG Khandivisions on Sunday. In KhyberPakhtunkhwa, scattered rain withsnowfall over the hills is expected inMalakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat,D.I.Khan divisions and Quetta, Zhob,Kallat, Sibbi divisions of Balochistanduring next 24 hours. Mainly cold anddry weather is expected in most parts ofSindh, however, isolated light rain mayoccur in Sukkur division during next 24hours. Scattered rain with snowfall overthe hills is also expected in Kashmir,Gilgit-Baltistan and adjoining areasduring next 24 hours. Under the influenceof the prevailing weather system,southern Punjab received first rain of thewinter season after prolonged dry weatherconditions. However, cold winds haveentered northern Balochistan, which arelikely to cause scattered rain and snowfallover hills during next 24 hours.

lahore

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A doctor with a paintbrush

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03Monday, 15 January, 2012

NewsCoMMeNtA grand alliance?

articles on Page 12-13

Moves to unite the opposition.

NAB in action:Suspect timing, though.

Humayun Gauhar says:Cat in the bag: Now out in the bizarre world of Pakistani politics.

Arif Ansar says:Civil-military tensions: We’re ignoring the global context at our own peril.

M J Akbar says:Bedside manners: Politics is a game of convenience.

artS & eNtertaiNMeNtVeena Malik’s Chhanno gives Chikni Chameli a run for her money

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SPortSIndia totter towards big defeat

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CHItRALNNI

An earthquake measuring5.5 on Richter scale joltedChitral and its surround-ing areas on Saturdaymorning.According to PakistanMeteorological Depart-ment, the epicentre of thequake was 115 kilometres

away from Chitral in theHindukush mountainrange. The tremor was felt at3:50am on Saturday. Nocasualty was reportedfrom any part of Chitraland its surroundings. Alow intensity quake meas-uring 4.3 on Richter scalehad hit the same area onJanuary 9.


Uncertainty continues to shroud whetherPakistani-American businessman andone of the main characters in the mem-ogate Mansoor Ijaz will arrive to appearbefore the three-member commission onJanuary 16 (tomorrow) as he has kept hisarrival plan secret for security reasons.

However, a source close to Ijaz toldPakistan Today he will visit Pakistan ‘verysoon’ but did not provide a date. Moreover,there was no confirmation from the for-eign office on whether Ijaz had applied forvisa to be able to travel to Pakistan. How-

ever, in a statement issued on Saturday,Ijaz announced he will visit Pakistan to de-pose before a Supreme Court-appointedjudicial commission to speak “the truth”about the memo, which, he claimed, waswritten on behalf of President Asif AliZardari. Ijaz. However, did not reveal thedate of his arrival in Pakistan.

But, at the same time, he attackedformer envoy to the US Husain Haqqani,alleging that the ex-diplomat had “or-chestrated a media campaign” againsthim. “Dream on, Mr Haqqani. I am com-ing to Pakistan. And I am going to tell atruth which you will no longer be able tohide from. I will tell it with such clarity

and vigour that you and your brilliantlegal team will find no space to run fromit,” Ijaz stated, adding that he would wel-come cross examination by Haqqani’scounsel. His statement to media cameafter Pakistani Interior Minister RehmanMalik said there was no threat to him inthe country and that he would be pro-vided security during his stay.

When contacted, Akram Shaikh, thecounsel for Ijaz, said his client was com-ing to Pakistan and a statement had beenissued in this regard to the media on Sat-urday. However, Shaikh avoided reveal-ing the exact date and time of arrival ofIjaz, saying it could not be shared due to

security reasons. “I am not his mediamanager. I am his counsel to plead hiscase in the court,” said Shaikh whenpressed on what threats Ijaz was facing.

Asked whether Ijaz had sent himpower of attorney enabling him to repre-sent him in the court, Shaikh responded inaffirmative. “He has sent me papers to rep-resent him and I would submit them withthe commission on Monday,” he added.

Akram Shaikh met the attorney gen-eral of Pakistan to submit a joint applica-tion with the commission seekingadjournment in the memo case whichhinted that Ijaz might not appear beforethe commission on Monday.

Mansoor Ijaz’s plans remain secret

MonItoRIng DESk

US defence leaders are increasinglyconcerned that Israel is preparingto take military action againstIran, over US objections, and havestepped up contingency planning

to safeguard US facilities in the region in caseof a conflict, the Wall Street Journal said in areport on Saturday.

President Barack Obama, Defence Secre-tary Leon Panetta and other top officials havedelivered a string of private messages to Israelileaders warning about the dire consequencesof a strike. The US wants Israel to give moretime for the effects of sanctions and othermeasures intended to force Iran to abandon itsperceived efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Stepping up the pressure, WSJ reportedthat Obama spoke by telephone on Thursdaywith Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-tanyahu, and US Gen Martin Dempsey, chair-man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet withIsraeli military officials in Tel Aviv next week.

The high-stakes planning and diplomacycomes as US officials warn Tehran, includingthrough what administration officials de-scribed as direct messages to Iran’s leaders,against provocative actions.

Tehran has warned that it could retaliate totightened sanctions by blocking oil tradethrough the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. deniedthe charge and condemned the attack. Israelhasn’t commented.

The WSP report said that the US military

is preparing for a number of possible responsesto an Israeli strike, including assaults by pro-Iranian Shia militias in Iraq against the USEmbassy in Baghdad, according to US officials.

Panetta and other top officials have pri-vately sought assurances from Israeli leaders

in recent weeks that they won’t take militaryaction against Iran. But the Israeli responsehas been noncommittal, US officials said.

“Our concern is heightened,” a senior USmilitary official said of the probability of an Is-raeli strike over US objections.

MUZZAFARABAD: Young men enjoy the

weather with a snowfight on Saturday. INP

QUEttASTAFF REPORT

The three Iranian border securityguards held for killing a Pakistaninational were released by a court inKharan district on Saturday, some320 kilometres southwest ofQuetta.

The Iranian guards had enteredthree kilometres into Pakistani ter-ritory on January 1 in Washuk dis-trict while chasing a vehicle, andkilled a Pakistani national SaeedAhmad, 14, and injured his 12-year-old brother Islam Gul. Later theywere carrying the Pakistani nation-als back into Iran when theBalochistan Frontier Corps (FC) in-tercepted and arrested them.

District and Sessions JudgeKharan Rasheed Umrani issued therelease orders after a written par-don by the victim’s parent was pro-

duced. In the written pardon therewas no mention of monetary com-pensation for the bereaved family,as the family stated that it had for-given the murderers in the name ofGod. All three accused, and the par-ents and relatives of the deceasedwere present in the court room

when the judge announced the re-lease orders.

A source told Pakistan Todaythat similar to the Raymond Daviscase, US national who killed twoPakistani nationals in Lahore, thePakistani authorities had helped theIranians in reaching a compromise

with the victim’s family. The sourcesaid that Iranian authorities hadpaid the compensation amount, notin millions, but close to a million,besides covering the expenses onthe treatment of the injured IslamGul in Zahidan. After the court or-ders, all three Iranian guards werehanded over to the FC Balochistanand were shifted to Naushki district.Reportedly, FC officials drove themto the border town of Taftan onSunday morning to hand them overto the Iranian authorities.

The Iranian government hadbeen pressurising Islamabad to se-cure the release of its three borderguards. After refusal from the Pak-istani side because the victim’s fatherregistered a murder case, the Iranianofficials made a settlement with thebereaved family through tribal eldersfrom both sides of the border andPakistani district officials.

US warns Israel on Iran strike

sion. He said his name was notplaced on the Exit Control Listand that he would return bymid February. Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gilani has alreadydirected the MOWP to ap-proach the Court of Arbitration(CoA) against India for con-structing the hydropower proj-ect and receiving carbon creditsfrom the UN. PM’s Advisor onAgriculture and Water KamalMajidullah was finalising themembers for the legal team tofile the case in the CoA.

The enquiry was orderedafter media reports criticised

the government’s failure toblock India’s construction of awater storage project in the dis-puted territory. India had con-structed the reservoir in Lehdistrict in the Indian-occupiedKashmir. An enquiry conductedby the secretary of the Waterand Power Development Au-thority (WAPDA) had held theformer IWC responsible. Sincehe had retired by the time theenquiry report was completed,the MOWP forwarded the re-port to the Establishment Di-vision recommending to stophis pension.

findings against former iWC

Quake measuring5.5 jolts Chitral

MonItoRIng DESk

Iran said on Saturday it has evidence that theUnited States was behind the assassination ofan Iranian nuclear scientist this week inTehran, Iranian state media reported.The IRNA state news agency said that Iran’sForeign Ministry has sent a diplomatic letterto the US saying that it has “evidence and re-liable information” that the CIA provided“guidance, support and planning” to assassins“directly involved” in Roshan’s killing.The US has denied any role in the assassina-tion. Iran delivered the letter to the SwissEmbassy in Tehran, which looks after US in-terests in the country. Iran and the US havehad no diplomatic relations since the 1979 Is-lamic Revolution.IRNA also reported that Iran delivered a let-ter to Britain accusing London of having an“obvious role” in the killing. It said that a se-ries of assassinations began after British in-telligence chief John Sawers hinted in 2010 at

intelligence operations against the IslamicRepublic. British media have quoted Sawersas saying that intelligence-led operationswere needed to make it more difficult forcountries like Iran to develop nuclearweapons. Britain’s Foreign Office has con-demned the killing of civilians. Israeli offi-cials, in contrast, have hinted at covertcampaigns against Iran without directly ad-mitting involvement. In the clearest sign yetthat Iran is preparing to strike back forRoshan’s killing, Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, thespokesman for Iran’s Joint Armed ForcesStaff, was quoted by the semiofficial ISNAnews agency Saturday as saying that Tehranwas “reviewing the punishment” of “behind-the-scene elements” involved in the assassi-nation. “Iran’s response will be a tormentingone for supporters of state terrorism,” hesaid, without elaborating. “The enemies of theIranian nation, especially the United States,Britain and the Zionist regime, or Israel, haveto be held responsible for their activities.”

Iran claims CIA killed scientist

3 iranian border guards walk free after pardon

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04Sunday, 15 January, 2012

News

LAHoREUMAIR AzIz

The panel led by Ziaur Rehmanwon a clear majority in the La-hore Gymkhana elections aftertough competition on Satur-day.

The club’s atmosphere re-mained tense throughout theday as votes were recounted,which caused a slight delay inannouncing the final results. Businessmen versusBureauCrats: ZiaurRehman’s panel won 8 out of12 committee of managementseats, which will now elect achairman from among them-selves. Traditionally, the ques-tion of who will become thechairman is clear before theelection when prominentmembers announce their re-spective panels. Tension was inthe air as traditional rivalgroups battled each other, witha prominent businessmancompeting with the last chair-man, Misbahur Rehman,elected to office several times,for the control of the committee

of management.Last year, a tense situation

was created when the decisionof who will become chairmanfell upon an independent mem-ber, who turned in Misbah’sfavour, making him chairmanagain. The two competing pan-els are traditionally led by bu-reaucrats and businessmen,respectively. Misbah was thefirst non-government officer tobecome the club chairman afternearly two decades.How tHe votingwent: Lahore Gymkhanahas a total of 4,800 voters,comprising the club’s perma-nent members, and averagevoter turnout is around 50 per-cent in the annual manage-ment committee elections.Both panels fielded strong can-didates, including principalsecretary to the CM NadeemHassan Asif and Customs Col-lector Sumaira Nazeer amongothers. Ziaur Rehman, a retiredbureaucrat, has strong supportamongst the bureaucracy. Alltraditional canvassing tech-niques came into play as the

competing panels hosted din-ners to woo voters. Each voteris able to vote for 12 differentcandidates. Each panel fielded12 candidates and two candi-dates stood as independentcandidates. When the electionresult came, Misbahur Rehmanreceived over 1,200 votes whileZiaur Rehman received over1,100 votes, with both rivalselected to committee of man-agement slots. The three othermembers elected from Mis-bah’s panel are Khwaja ImranZubair, Pervaiz Bhandara andSumaira Nazeer. Seven othermembers from Zia’s panel woncommittee of managementseats including Nadeem Has-san Asif, Khalid Rafique, Maj(r) Javaid Nasrullah, Javaid Za-hoor, Mian Samiudin, Dr AtifKazmi and Samiur Rehman.This year’s election turnout wasup with voter turnout consid-ered to be around 60 percent. Aclub member said, “We turnedup in large numbers to supportZia’s panel because we want tochange the regime running theclub affairs for last few years.”

“Thousands of our people,officers and jawans of thearmed forces and securitypersonnel fell victim to ter-rorism and militancy. Wehave achieved notable suc-cess in dealing with the men-ace of terrorism. We havedone so in our national inter-est,” he said. He said furtherthat the government andparliament and, above all,the people had stood fully be-hind “our brave armed forcesand security personnel” and

there was a complete na-tional consensus that terror-ism would not be allowedany space on the sacred soilof Pakistan. “Pakistan hasalso been cooperating withthe international commu-nity. Our cooperation isbased on a ‘partnership’ ap-proach, which entails mu-tual respect, trust andmutual interest. Pakistan’ssovereignty and territorialintegrity are not negotiable.We would reject any ap-proach that would tend

DCC leaves nAtoContinued fRom page 1

least one year [to complete theprocess]. We have also re-quested the government to re-turn our two wings of FinancialCrime and Anti-Corruptionback to us,” he said. Bokhari saidcurrently NAB was investigatingirregularities in Pakistan Rail-ways and had achieved consid-erable success in putting thisnational institution back ontrack by recovering money fromcontractors and negotiatingwith the management of RoyalPalm Golf Club to revisit theagreement. The other cases,which he said were under NAB’sscrutiny, related to NLC, Bank ofPunjab and ISAF containers.The chairman, however, re-frained from commenting on

the questions related to the Na-tional Reconciliation Ordinance(NRO), particularly about writ-ing a letter to the Swiss authori-ties to reopen graft cases againstthe president, saying that it wasnot the bureau’s domain and theattorney general was the rightman to answer this question. “Iwill also not comment on anymatter that is sub judice,” hesaid, when pressed to give hisopinion on the NRO. But he wasall for the implementation ofSupreme Court orders, saying:“It is the duty of every citizen toimplement and obey theSupreme Court orders.” NABProsecutor General KK Agha,who was also present on the oc-casion, remained tight-lippedand did not say a single word onthe Swiss cases. He said he wasunaware if the cases were time-bound.

nAB

‘N’ attaches strings

to cooperation

with PPP

democratic institutionsthe basic constitutionalprinciple of trichotomy ofpowers must be fullyrespected and adhered toand in this regard callsupon the government toimmediately implement,in letter and spirit, allprevious Resolutions ofParliament and alldecisions of the superiorjudiciary and to ensurethat all administrativeactions are strictly inaccordance with theConstitution and the law,for smooth functioning ofall state institutions.This House reaffirms thatas stated in the firstparagraph of thePreamble to theConstitution, sovereigntyover the entire universebelongs to Almighty Allahalone, and the authorityto be exercised by thepeople of Pakistan withinthe limits prescribed byHim is a sacred trust.Finally this Houseemphasises that the bestguarantee for thestrengthening ofdemocracy is thesuccessful resolution ofthe problems of thepeople of Pakistan bydemocratic institutionsthrough dedicated,selfless and corruption-free services for thewelfare of the commonman and in this regardcalls upon theGovernment to dischargeits constitutionalobligations and providerelief to the sufferingmasses by devoting allenergies and efforts toimprove governance,eliminate gas andelectricity load shedding,control inflation, createemploymentopportunities and put thecountry back on the pathof self-reliant economicgrowth.

Continued fRom page 24

allot alternatelocation to petrolpump, lhC ordersauthorities

RAWALPInDISTAFF REPORT

Disposing of a petition,Lahore High Court(Rawalpindi Bench) JusticeIjaz Ahmad orderedauthorities concerned to allotan alternate place for a petrolpump affected by theconstruction of a fly-over onMurree Road. Pakistan StateOil (PSO) had filed thepetition through QasimChohan against thedemolition of the petrolpump. The court had alreadyissued a stay order in thiscase. However, the courtdisposed of the petition withan order to allot an alternateplace for the petrol pump.

is gilani on his

way out?


A series of news reportsappearing in foreign media,particularly in the Britishpress, recently about PrimeMinister Yousaf Raza Gilanisuggest that all is not welland it is being speculatedhere as well that PresidentAsif Ali Zardari may makehim a scapegoat andsacrifice him to mendfences with the army andthe judiciary. Though PM’sHouse denies these reports,they keep appearing with anew angle. The Times ofLondon has made thedisclosure quoting “someobservers” who predictedthat Prime Minister Gilanimay be consideringresigning as part of a moveto deflect the pressure onthe president and regain themoral high ground forPresident Zardari’s PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP). Thenewspaper report saidPresident Zardari has alsoasked Aitzaz Ahsen toconduct secret negotiationswith the court. Ahsen is alsobeing tipped as a possiblereplacement for Gilani.However, Ahsen also deniednegotiating with thejudiciary on behalf of thegovernment. As the tensionbetween the army and thegovernment continues, thesacking of Lt General (r)Khalid Naeem Lodhi, thedefence secretary, by theprime minister is also beingseen as a desperate attemptby him to send a message tothe army leadership that heis the chief executive.However, it has not beentaken well. DefenceMinister Chaudhry AhmadMukhtar, a close aide of thepresident, is also said tohave not been consulted bythe prime minister beforesacking the defencesecretary. It has also beenreported that the LawMinistry had not consideredthe Defence Ministry’sopinion whilerecommending to the primeminister that the defencesecretary had violated therules of business. Anotherreport by the AssociatedPress (AP) had claimed thatthe prime minister, fearing acoup against his government,had approached the BritishHigh Commissioner inPakistan. However, this wasalso denied by the BritishHigh Commission and PM’sHouse.

Continued fRom page 24

french, Saudi

jets collide

during exerciseRIYADH

AFP

A French Mirage and a SaudiF-15 collided in thekingdom’s northern region ofTabuk without causingcasualties, state news agencySPA quoted a military officialas saying on Saturday.“During a joint exercise onair engagement, the FrenchMirage aircraft belonging tothe French armed forcescollided with the Saudiarmed forces’ F-15,” said thestatement.

BASRAAFP

A suicide bomber killed 53people in an apparent sectarianattack in southern Iraq Satur-day casting a pall over the cli-max of a Shia pilgrimage thatdraws hundreds of thousandsfrom around the world.

The attack on Shia devo-tees on the outskirts of the portcity of Basra, which left 137wounded, came with Iraqmired in a political row thathas pitted the Shia-led govern-ment against the main Sunni-backed bloc and stokedsectarian tensions less than amonth after US forces com-pleted their pullout.

The violence was the latestin a spate of attacks againstShia pilgrims in the two weeksleading to the conclusion of Ar-baeen, which marks 40 daysafter the Ashura anniversarycommemorating the slaying ofImam Hussein, one of ShiaIslam’s most revered figures,by the armies of the caliphYazid in 680 AD.

The bombing killed 53people and wounded 137, ac-cording to Riyadh Abdulamir,head of Basra province’s healthdepartment. He said womenand children were among thecasualties, but did not give fur-ther details.

The death toll was the

highest since attacks on Shiasin Baghdad and southern Iraqkilled 70 people on December5.

The attacker, who hadbeen distributing cake andother food to pilgrims walkingto the Khutwa Imam Ali, a siteon the outskirts of Basra vener-ated by believers for its associ-ations with one of the keyfigures of their faith, blew him-self up near a security check-point.

“I saw a soldier take hold ofthe attacker to take him to theofficer in charge,” said KadhimNasser, who was in charge of anearby rest stop for pilgrims.“As he was pushing him, some-thing happened and the soldierfell to the ground.”

“Immediately, he blewhimself up. When he did that,women and children werepassing by. I saw dozens ofwomen and children amongthe wounded,” the 42-year-oldadded. Pilgrims in southernIraq who cannot visit the cen-tral shrine city of Karbala tomark Arbaeen typically makethe shorter trip to KhutwaImam Ali, which lies around 12kilometres (seven miles) westof Basra.

Hundreds of thousandsdid make it to Karbala on Sat-urday amid massive security inface of the Sunni insurgentthreat.

suicide bomber kills 53shias at iraq pilgrimage

g Ziaur rehman panel wins 8 out of 12 managementcommittee seats to dislodge ex-chairman Misbahur rehman

Baboos trump businessmenin lahore Gymkhana polls

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:03 AM

Sunday, 15 January, 2012

Senior Advocate Supreme Court Khawaja Sultan Ahmad,82, passed away after protracted illness at a localhospital on Saturday morning. He was laid to rest atMiani Sahib Graveyard. He was the father of formeradvocate general Khawaja Haris. A large number ofjudiciary and legal fraternity members attended hisfuneral including LHC Chief Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed.Qul for the departed soul will be held on Sunday (today)after Asr prayers at 148-A, Block M, Gulberg III.

DeAR DepARteD

A doctor with a paintbrush

Page 08

LAHoREJAMALUDDIN JAMALI

PROFESSIONAL Group of Hamid Khan’ssuccess in the Lahore Bar Association(LBA) elections came as a breath of freshair for pro-judiciary forces at a time whenboth the judiciary and the government are

vying for the support of lawyers community andbars in battle of nerves on apex court’s judgments.

The victory of Chaudhry Zulfiqar on seat ofLahore Bar Association president is not beingseen defeat of his rival candidate Nouman Qureshibut as the defeat of his supporters, the PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP) government, former lawminister Senator Babar Awan, former SupremeCourt Bar Assocation (SCBA) president Asma Ja-hangir, ex-SCBA president Ali Ahmed Kurd, andPunjab Governor Sardar Latif Kosa who werebacking the losing candidate. The last two LBAelections were won by PPP-backed candidates butthis year the LBA leadership went to the candidatewho enjoyed the ‘good wishes’ of the PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and like-mindedforces amongst lawyers and judiciary.

The fall of pro-judiciary forces started in 2010when Asma Jahangir won the SCBA president seatwith the support of the PPP-led government andthe failure of Ahmed Awais of the Hamid KhanGroup. Being a lady with a powerful voice, shemanaged to suppress pro-judiciary Hamid Khanand a majority of lawyers’ gathered under her um-brella in the Friends’ Group. Jahangir enjoyed thesupport of many former SCBA presidents and wasbacked by some of the leading lights of thelawyers’ movement such as Ali Ahmed Kurd, Jus-tice (r) Tariq Mahmood and Munir A. Malik.

The air began to blow in favour of the PPP-government and its lawyers continued to win andthe Hamid Khan group continued to lose subse-quent elections due to the Asma factor. The seriesof defeats began with the Pakistan Bar Council to

the Punjab Bar council and from the SupremeCourt Bar to Lahore District Bar, Asia’s biggestbar, with 11670 registered voters, who had daredto battle former military dictator Pervez Musharrafon the roads. Young lawyers led by Asma changedthe winds and tilted the tilt in favour. Asma, BabarAwan and their candidates managed to secure de-fections from retired justices fielded by Hamidagainst Asma’s candidates. Pro-PPP Yasin Azad,SCBA sitting president, with the support ofFriends’ Group, defected the judiciary’s icon Jus-tice (r) Rasheed A Rizvi on October 29 2011.

After the current victory, Professional Grouplawyers now hope to regain their lostfame in bar politics after breaking AsmaJehangir’s two-year spell on the lawyers’community. Now, lawyers have vowedthat the ‘old slogans’ of the pro-judiciarylawyers’ movement will not die and con-tinue to attract the imagination of theblackcoats, which had faded silentlyunder PPP-led government’s influence,the influx of huge funds to bars and thegrace of Asma. The Professional Grouphad carved its niche back into bar poli-tics after Asghar Ali Gill’s success for theseat of Lahore High Court Bar presidenton January 26 2011 by defeating RaiBashir, a candidate of Friends Alliance.In the LBA polls this year, in addition toZulfiqar, Professional Group memberJawad Akbar Gill and Syed Asad Zaidiwon the two slots of bar’s secretaries,Rana Javed Bashir secured the seat ofvice president and Shahdab Masoodwas elected vice president model townbar, defeating rival Friends Group can-didates. Zulifqar received 2208 voteswhile Nouman received 1867 votes. An-other contender for presidential slotAmir Iqbal Bashart obtained 957 votes,came third, was supported by Justice (r)

Amir Alam Khan. In a talk on election day (Friday),former SCBA president Hamid Khan appeared con-fident as if he smelled change before votes werecounted. Talking to media, he said lawyers willstand behind the SC against the PPP government’severy unconstitutional move and advised that thePPP government must implement SC orders with-out delay. Talking to media after winning the elec-tions at midnight, new LBA president ChaudhryZulfiqar said the bar will the support judiciary andwork for the welfare of lawyers, after two years inwhich no steps were taken to address the problemsfaced by young lawyers.

Power outage fire burns girl aliveLaHore: A 23-years-old girl was burnt alive in a fireincident on Sham Nagar Road Sanda locality on Saturday.The deceased was identified as Sumera daughter of FazalDin. According to rescue sources, fire broke out in a houseon Sham Nagar Road at night due to a candle that was lit inthe load shedding hours, engulfed the double storeybuilding and caused the roof to collapse. Rescue 1122shifted badly injured Sumera to hospital for treatment butshe succumbed to her injuries. STAFF REPORT

Winds of change sweepthe Lahore barg Pro-judiciary Professional groups’ Chaudhry Zulfiqar elected lBa president g lawyers feel pro-government, asma-backed friends’ group loses after two year dominance

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:03 AM


Lahore

labour ministerurges leadershipqualities in students

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

Punjab Labour Minister HajiEhsan-ud-Din Qureshi onSaturday asked the teachersto inculcate leadershipabilities in the students todevelop confident andenergetic young leaders.Talking to a delegation oflabourers, teachers andstudents, he said that 28,000labourers’ children werebeing provided free of costeducation at 46 workerswelfare schools, while 8,000adults were receivingeducation at the adultschools. He said that thePunjab government wouldsetup women universities inBahawalpur, Multan, Sialkotand Faisalabad to createopportunities of highereducation for them.The labour minister saidfurther that the governmenthad distributed 60,000education vouchers amongthe deserving students toenable them to completetheir education.

Man shot dead

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

A 40-years-old man was shotdead at his doorstep by threeunidentified personsincluding a woman in BadamiBagh police area on Saturday.The deceased was identifiedas Bashir, a tailor byprofession and resident ofData Nagar. According todetails, the deceased wascalled out of his house bysomeone to collect Niaaz(charity meal). When he cameout with pots, fire was openedon him. Police removed thebody to the morgue for postmortem and registered a caseagainst unidentified personson complaint of deceased’sbrother Nazeer. Thecomplainant told the policethat he had come to Lahorefrom Faisalabad for Urs ofData Ganj Bakhsh and wasresiding at his brother’s placewhen some persons shotBasheer dead at his doorsteps.

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

Multi-sector strategy is needed for effectivecontrol on dengue and to prevent it fromtransforming into epidemic in coming sea-son, speakers at the briefing session ofDengue Epidemic, Prevention and ControlProgramme who were sent for train-ing to Thailand and Sri Lanka onthe instructions of Chief Minis-ter Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, said atManagement and ProfessionalDevelopment Department(MPDD) on Saturday.

MPA Khawja Salman Rafique, En-vironment Department SecretarySalim Hotiyana, Secretary Plan-ning & Development Ali Tahir,

Asian Institute of Technology ProgrammeDirector Dr Faiz Shah, Mrs Shaista PervaizMalik, MPDD Secretary Rashida Malik, sen-ior officers of different departments includ-ing health and finance, Professor JavedAkram, Prof Tariq Salahuddin, Prof Muham-

mad Ali, Prof Wasim Akram,nurses and other officials at-tended the session.

Speakers said Punjab hadfaced the world’slargest dengue

epidemic lastyear and was

only able to succeed due to the ef-forts of the CM, the nurses and

the doctors. Various groupsgave presentations on pre-

vention of dengue.

LAHoREALI TAHIR

THE city witnessed a chillybreeze and a few drops ofrain on Saturday, while themet office forecasted rainwith thunder for the early

morning hours of Sunday.Chilly breezes hit the capital

early Saturday morning and contin-ued throughout the day. The met of-fice representatives said continental

air prevailing over most parts of thecountry and the shallow westerlywave, that will affect the northernareas of the country, were likely topersist for the next two to three days.

According to the Lahore Meteor-ology Office, the city’s skies re-mained overcast all day with 6km/hour north-eastern windsrecorded after dusk. The wind chilltemperature was recorded at 9 Cel-sius. The weather experts claimedthat the wind temperature would

drop further in the coming days. “Cooler winds are speculated to

hit the city in the coming few days.Temperatures will drop at the startof the next week,” said a meteorolo-gist. According to the weatherman anew spell of cold winds were specu-lated to hit the city after Mondaywhile a comparatively better volumeof rain was expected with them.

The met office confirmed that itwould rain on Sunday. “A few dropsof rain are expected late on Saturday

evening but will gain momentum inthe wee hours of Sunday,” said a metofficial. The lowest temperaturerecorded in the city was 2.5 Celsiuswhile the maximum temperaturewas 17.1 Celsius, with maximum vis-ibility at 4 km.

The met office stated that dryand cold weather was expected inmost parts of the country. Foggy con-ditions are also likely to prevail overthe plain areas of Punjab, KhyberPakhtunkhwa and Sukkur division.

Cold wave

to persistg More rain forecasted for next week

‘Only multi-sector approach

can control dengue’

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:03 AM


Lahore

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

UNIVERSITY of Health Sciences(UHS) Vice Chancellor ProfessorMalik Hussain Mubbashar inaugu-rated the classes of 2-year transi-tional programme in Doctor of

Physical Therapy (t-DPT) on Saturday.The post-professional degree course has

been launched for the first time in Pakistan.Addressing the students and faculty, theUHS VC said that the programme was de-signed to provide contemporary knowledge

and skills to the practicing physical thera-pists for better patient care.

He emphasised the need of research andevidence-based clinical practice, adding thatthere would be no compromise on qualityand standards of education at the university.

Course Coordinator Dr Muhammad Asimsaid that the curriculum of t-DPT had beendesigned in line with the international stan-dards, with a focus on the evidence-basedformat. The teaching would be through a webportal to encourage constant and activelearning among students in terms of discus-sion board activities and projects, he added.

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traders for evolving

dispute resolution

mechanism

LAHoREAPP

Pakistan Industrial & TradersAssociation Front (PIAF) onSaturday urged Punjab ChiefMinister Shahbaz Sharif toevolve a mechanism wherebya respective trade body orassociation may be consultedif a dispute arises between abusiness group and any of thegovernment departments.PIAF Chairman SohailLashari said sealing of Al-Fateh was an unfortunateincident that had sent awrong signal to the businesscommunity but if theassociation was consulted,the situation could have beenavoided. He said, the LDAhad taken a condemnableaction and sealed thedepartmental store of theLCCI former Vice PresidentIrfan Iqbal Sheikh withoutany solid reason. He saidLDA’s move created unrest inthe traders and theycompelled to take to thestreet to register their protestagainst the unjustified step.

Sports Board

extends date of

Sports festival

LAHoRENNI

Keeping in view the immensepublic enthusiasm toparticipate in the first everPunjab Sports Festival 2012,the Sports Board hasextended the date of start ofevent by one week. To ensureregistration of all participants,the Punjab Sports Festival2012 shall now commencefrom January 23, 2012instead of earlier announceddate of January 16, 2012.

Security beefed up

LaHore: On theinstructions of InspectorGeneral of Police, securityhas been beefed up all overthe province on the occasionof the chehlum of HazratImam Hussain (RA). DIGOperations Lahore PoliceGhulam Mahmood Dogaralso visited the route ofChehlum procession in theprovincial metropolis andmonitored the securityarrangements. Theprocession will come out ofAlif Shah Haveli inside DelhiGate early in the day andtravelling through itstraditional route of MochiGate, Rang Mahal, Pani WalaTalab, Bhatti Gate it wouldend in Karbala Gamy Shahlate at night. STAFF REPORT

UHS launches t-DPT programme

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:03 AM

low

high

100CMoNday tUeSday wedNeSday15°C i 09°C 17°C i 08°C 16°C i 07°C

Prayer tiMiNgSfajr Sunrise Zuhr asr Maghrib isha

05:37 07:02 12:12 15:02 17:22 18:47

City direCtory

reSCUe 1122

edhi CoNtrol 115

Motorway PoliCe 130

PoliCe 15

goVerNor’S hoUSe 99200081-7

Chief MiNiSter’S hoUSe 99203226

fire Brigade 16

BoMB diSPoSal 99212111

MCl CoMPlaiNtS 99211022-29

lahore waSte diSPoSal 1139

eMergeNCy helP

hoSPitalS

Blood BaNK

fatMid 35210834-8

iSlaMiC alliaNCe 37588649/37535435

CoMPlaiNt

waPda 111-000-118

SUi gaS 1199

railwayS

City StatioN (eNQUiry) 117

reSerVatioN 99201772

railway PoliCe 1333

airPort

flight eNQUiry 114

Pia reSerVatioN 111-786-786

CollegeS / UNiVerSitieS

PUNJaB UNiVerSity 99231257KiNNaird College 99203781-4QUeeN Mary College 36362942goVt. College UNiVerSity 111-000-010UMt 35212801-10lUMS 35608000Uet 36288666lCwU 99203072SUPerior College 111-000-078

Mid City 37573382-3

SerViCeS 99203402-11

Mayo 99211100-9

geNeral 35810892-8

SheiKh Zaid 35865731

Sir gaNga raM 99200572

UCh 35763573-5

ittefaQ 35881981-85

CMh 366996168-72

ShoUKat KhaNUM 35945100

JiNNah 111-809-809

adil (defeNCe) 36667275

ChildreN’S 99230901-3

defeNCe NatioNal hoSPital 111-17-18-19

DOCUMENTAry MAKINg COUrSE

date: JaN 30,2012VeNUe: lawreNCe gardeN

Be a successful documentary maker and learn theart from the media professionals including oryaMaqbool Jan.

ThESIS DISPlAy, 2012

date: JaN 16 to 20VeNUe: NatioNal College of artS (NCa)

all bachelors’ classes of NCa including architecture,textile, miniature paintings, sculpture, interior designand others to show their final thesis in anexhibition

Partly CloUdy

weather UPdateS

14°C


Lahore

ArAbIC CAllIgrAPhy

CalligraPhy ClaSSeS are on-going, interestedstudents can enroll throughout the year. theduration of one module is three months. there arefour modules of learning calligraphyt: primary,secondary, advanced and higher. the course includestraditional pen and traditional paper making.

date aNd tiMe: JUNe 1, 2012, 4PM to 6PMVeNUe: haSt-o-NeeSt CeNter

A doctor with a paintbrushLAHoRE

IMRAN ADNAN

Here, we have an enigmatic figure, adoctor by profession and a buddingartist by instinct which has inciden-tally been lying dormant for twenty sixyears, in which time he did his doctor-

ate and now has a highly suc-cessful hospital. He hadjoined NCA for a couple ofmonth only to be unceremo-niously taken out by his par-ents and put into medical

profession….”Colin David, one of

the Pakistan’s mostprominent artists of the1970s, made these re-marks about Dr Afzal

Ali Syed, who is notonly a successful oph-thalmologist but also apassionate painter and

landscaper of the city. DrSyed shares his visionabout interior design,

landscaping and conceptdevelopment in an exclu-sive interview with Pak-istan Today.

Highlighting the signif-icance of landscaping andexterior design, he said,

“Whenever we build or reno-vate our house, we alwaysspend a major chunk of re-

sources on the interiordesign. Though, it seems

wise as we spend most of

our time inside the house, but by spending a fewbucks on the exterior we can add value to ourhouse. Good exterior always attracts house tenantsto spend some quality time outdoors.”

Responding to a question, he underscored, “Itis a wrong perception that acquiring a designer’sservices would always force you to break a bank.But you can beautify your house or completelychange its theme and ambiance by unconventionalmanipulation of existing elements, while puttinglittle burden on your pocket. All of it depends onaesthetics of the client and designer’s expertise.”

Speaking about the design cycle and standardworking practices, he said usually, his team of cre-ative design professionals at AASAF first inter-views clients and try to understand what excitesthem, and then they propose a couple of ideaswhile considering their budget limitations andavailability of existing materials that could be cre-atively used to revamp the look and feel. And ifsomeone has a good amount of money and time,AASAF suggests removing elements that are notworking, rethinks existing space, keeps greatthings, thin out and add additional structure andplants to make it all the more interesting.

Dr Syed said he always tried to bring ‘charac-ter’ to his projects. It did not matter, whether it wasa home or an office, a hospital or a banquet hall.He pointed out that he had successfully completedalmost all types of private and commercial proj-ects, including homes, farm houses, hospitals, ban-quet halls and offices. Apart from landscaping, hispassion for painting is remarkable. He symboliseshis paintings like his ‘daughters’ who are born tobring happiness for their parents, husband, in-lawsand their offspring. His recent work, ‘Hanstay Za-kham’ is a story without words, a tale untold, whereone can see endless secrets behind high walls, thefragrance of which will intoxicate the mind and de-light the soul. He underscored that in this particu-

lar series, he passed through great pain, misery,desolation, despair, agony and distress, which oth-erwise could not have been expressed in words.

AA Syed, an ophthalmologist, breaks stereotype, landscapes, design interiors and paints!

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa has ruled outany possibility of clash with judiciary or militaryand has said no martial law would be imposed,adding that the constitutional government wouldremain in power and no letter would be written toSwiss authorities.

He was talking to reporters after the 9th con-vocation of the Lahore School of Economics. Thegovernor also said writing a letter to the Swiss gov-ernment in NRO case was a non issue and theheads of states enjoyed universal immunity underUN convention. He said it was an issue of nationalintegrity if its president was trialled before a thirdclass magistrate abroad. He said prime ministerdid not need vote of confidence yet as majority ofthe parliamentarians were with the government.

A total of 809 students were conferred degreesincluding 600 students of BBA/BS Hons Pro-gramme, 180 students of Masters in Business Ad-ministration Regular and Executive, 18 students ofMS/MPhil Economics and 11 students ofMS/MPhil Business Administration. Nine studentsof different faculties including a Chinese studentwere awarded gold medals for standing first intheir classes while other top 10 percent studentfrom each class, 89 students in total, were awardedsilver medals. Governor, while delivering his pres-idential address in the convocation, praised the in-stitution’s academic excellence and theco-curricular activities being carried out in thecampus. Rector Dr Shahid Amjad Chaudhry, whiledelivering the convocation report, summarised theLSE’s academic activities and programmes. Hesaid the institute encouraged both its faculty andstudent body to undertake research, which is sup-ported by the specialised Centre for Research inEconomics and Business. The institute also placedgreat stress on extracurricular activities particu-larly on sports, debates, dramatics, music and art.

In the end, the faculty and the rector congrat-ulated all the graduating students and their parentsfor their remarkable achievements. He stressed onthe fact that LSE’s strength was its students.

‘Would you want yourpresident tried by a juniormagistrate abroad?’g governor Khosa rules out possibility of clash between

institutions, martial law, or the govt writing a letter to Swiss

authorities g Praises lSe’s all-round programme, confers

degrees on 809 graduates

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:03 AM


News

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

PAKISTAN People’s Party(PPP) senior leader andrenowned lawyer AitzazAhsen said on Saturday thatPresident Asif Ali Zardari

had complete immunity under Article248 of the constitution and the ViennaConventions.

He told reporters after inauguratingan exhibition of Bhutto familyphotographs, organised by Agha FerozAkhtar at Alhamra Hall here, thatdemocracy would be under threat if anyunconstitutional step was taken againstthe government. He refuted the notionthat he was acting as an intermediarybetween the PPP and the PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) or the

government and the judiciary, andtermed such media reports baseless.

Responding to a question regardingcourt orders in the NationalReconciliation Ordinance (NRO)implementation case, he said the five-member bench of the Supreme Court hadreferred the matter to a larger bench. Hesaid the government had not been givensix options, it had, in fact, been told thatthe court could use all or any one of thesix options listed in the order. He said hehad submitted an application to the partyfor a Senate seat and denied he wasoffered the position of prime minister orchairman of the Senate.

To another question about theremoval of the defence secretary, he saidit was the right of the prime minister toform his team. He said Lt General (r)Khalid Naeem Lodhi could approach the

courts to challenge his termination.Ahsen said if the president wereimpeached, it would not pose any threatto democracy in the country. He saidArticle 248 of the constitution did notallow any court to initiate proceedingsagainst the president. He said, however,that if the prime minister or thepresident were to be removedconstitutionally, no harm would befalldemocracy.

Earlier, he inaugurated theexhibition and said such exhibitionsshould be organised in other cities suchby the government. He urged the PPPworkers to visit the exhibition so thatthey could know the sacrifices of theBhutto family for the country anddemocracy. Around 2,000 photographshave been put on display in theexhibition.

WAZIRABADSTAFF REPORT

The Wazirabad Institute of Cardiology(WIC) is still awaiting completiondespite the scheduled deadline expiringthree years ago in December 2008.

The Punjab Health Departmentstarted construction on three majorcardiology centres in Faisalabad, Multanand Wazirabad in 2007 to provide heart-related health care facilities to thesurrounding areas. The WIC wasplanned for six districts: Sialkot, Gujrat,Gujranwala, Mandi Bahawal Din,Narowal and Hafizabad in theGujranwala division. The medicalfacility, featuring 220 beds, started witha cost of Rs 1,028.096 million and wassupposed to be completed by the end of2008. However, irresponsible attitude ofHealth Department officials, civilbureaucracy and the Punjab governmenthas kept the local heart patients waitingfor three additional years, with still 15percent of construction work remaining.The facility is still lacking sanitaryfittings, electrical and mechanical work,and an air conditioning system. The

delay has also considerably raised thecost of the facility.

Punjab Chief Minister ShahbazSharif formed a three-membercommittee in a parliamentary meeting inLahore to give recommendations on theproject. The committee submitted itssuggestions eight months ago, butunfortunately no action was taken onthem. Committee member MNAKhurram Dastghir said the WIC wassupposed to be functioning in January2012, but the Punjab government hadnot allocated any budget for the projectin the budget for 2011. He said that Rs260 million had already been spent onthe infrastructure, and Rs 1,003 millionwere still needed to run the hospital’s 17departments. High inflation in thecountry will further raise the cost if theauthorities continue to delay theproject’s completion, he added. Memberof the National Assembly (MNA) fromWazirabad Justice (r) Iftikhar AhmedCheema also urged the government tocomplete the hospital at the earliest. Hethreatened to resign from his parliamentseat if the project was not completed soon.

WAZIRABAD/FAISALABADAGENCIES

At least five people, including three women,were killed and two were injured in a colli-sion between a passenger van and car late onFriday night.

Police said a Sialkot bound car carryingfive persons on board ran into a passengervan coming from Gujranwala at HajipuraChowk in Wazirabad. All five passengers inthe car were killed on the spot while two vanpassengers were left critically injured. Po-lice and rescue teams reached the accidentscene and shifted the bodies and injured tohospital. Police and eyewitness said thecause of the accident was over speeding andreckless driving.student dies of Bus faLL in

faisaLaBad; Bus gutted: A smallriot broke out on Saturday over an accidentthat claimed the life of a student.

On Saturday morning, a boy mountedon top of the bus, fell from the bus after anaccident and lost his life. Police arrested thebus driver.

General public and students of nearbyeducational institutions blocked the road inanger and chanted angry slogans. The crowdset the bus on fire. When the fire brigade ar-rived, the bus was completely gutted.

Talking to a private television channel,angry students complained that accidentshad increased in the city, with no one to con-trol them. Students and their parents de-manded the administration to bind driversto comply with traffic rules and revoke li-censes of those who break the law.

Woman burnsdaughter-in-law to death

gUJRAnWALAINP

The woman, aided by her familymembers, burnt her daughter in-law todeath over domestic disputes. Policesaid Muhammad Azhar resident ofSuianwala in Shaheenabad marriedAmna exercising his own will two yearsago while his parents opposed the lovemarriage. On Saturday morning whenAzhar went out of house, his motherSurriya with the help of her daughtersplashed kerosene on Amna and set heralight. Amna received serious burninjuries on body and face and she wasmoved to Gujranwala’s Civil Hospitalbut the hospital lacked a facility fortreating burns. Later, she was rushedto Lahore in critical condition whereshe succumbed to her wounds.Neighbours said Azhar’s familymembers used to taunt and quarrel withAmna. A case has been registeredagainst the family but no arrest hadbeen made till the filing of this report.

President has complete immunityunder constitution: Aitzaz Ahseng Says democracy will not be harmed if president or PM are removed through constitutional means

Wazirabad cardiologyinstitute still incomplete3 years past deadlineg Mega project for 6 districts still needs sanitary, electrical andmechanical work g over rs 1b still needed to complete remaining15 percent of work and run the hospital’s 17 departments

Five killed in Wazirabadroad accident

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News

WASHIngtonINP

CLAIMING that the peopleof Pakistan need a viablealternative in this hour ofcrisis, former presidentGeneral (r) Pervez

Musharraf said on Saturday that hewas prepared to risk his life in order toreturn home from self-imposed exile.

“Well, there is a danger of that. Yes,indeed, there’s a possibility of that, ab-solutely. And when I’ve decided to goback, I have to take that risk,” he toldCable News Network (CNN) fromDubai during an interview when askedif he was aware of the risks that accom-panied him returning to Pakistan.

“I feel that the country needs me,and I feel that the country is goingdown so badly in all socio-economic el-ements and from all governance pointof view, that it is high time that webring about another political alterna-tive which can produce a governmentwith the majority of the people, with amandate of the people who can runPakistan, instead of doing politics only.And I think I have a role to play there,”Musharraf said when asked why he wasgoing back to Pakistan.

The former president said no datehad been fixed for his journey yet, butit would be between January 27 and 30.“Well, more than myself, my family andmy friends, my well-wishers, are wor-ried about that much more than myself.But I have faced such threats all alongsince I was the president, and thatthreat will remain now also. I need tomake proper security arrangements of

my own. And also, I expect the govern-ment to give me security as authorisedto an ex-president of the country,”Musharraf said. Musharraf said the cur-rent bilateral relationship between Is-lamabad and Washington was at itslowest ebb, lower than post-9/11.“We’re at a very poor level. I don’t thinkthey were at this level even after 9/11,when I took over,” Musharraf said whenasked about the relationship betweenPakistan and the US. He said it was ex-tremely disturbing to anyone who un-derstood geopolitics. “It is verydisturbing, and I only wish that Pak-istan and the United States mend fencesand we move forward on a course whichis in the interest of the region, in the in-terest of Pakistan and Afghanistan, andthe United States,” he added.

The former president said therewas no danger to the safety and secu-rity of the country’s nuclear weapons,unless it was ruled by religious ex-tremists, which was unlikely going tobe the case. “If the country goes downand it gets into the hands of religiousextremists as a country from the gov-ernment, then only it is possible thatall the arsenal then belongs to them...But I don’t see that as a possibility,”Musharraf said.

WASHIngtonINP

A leaked Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) report said on Saturday the situa-tion in Afghanistan was mired in a stale-mate, contradicting recent optimisticstatements from the Pentagon.

Robert Farley of the University of Ken-tucky believes intelligence and the militaryare looking at different things. “There issome division between the intelligencecommunity and the generals, but I also

think that they are arguing on differentmetrics and they are looking at differentthings,” he said. “They also have differentinstitutional interests,” he added. The gen-erals most definitely wanted to make an ar-gument that the military campaign wasworking, he said. The intelligence commu-nity was taking a much broader view re-garding the long-term political prospects ofthe success of the Western-allied govern-ment in Afghanistan, and those two were alittle bit different, he added. “That’s whythe CIA is saying something different than

the Pentagon,” he said. The report also claims that attempts

to improve security are being underminedby corruption, incompetent governance,and Taliban fighters operating safely fromneighboring Pakistan. Robert Farley saysthe latter will benefit even more from thecurrent political instability in Islamabad,as well as from its state of affairs with theUnited States. Khalil Nouri, who is the co-founder of the New World StrategiesCoalition, said the situation inAfghanistan was so grim that the US

might be having second thoughts aboutwithdrawing. “It has been 10 years thathas not unified the country, as it shouldhave been. It looks like there’s no chancefor the Americans to see the Afghan gov-ernment standing on its feet,” he said.“However, this could prolong Americansbeing in Afghanistan for quite a numberof years, I would say, and the years are un-known at this time, but it looks like it’sgoing to be a long time because a corruptgovernment cannot function in a way thatit is right now,” he added.

Blast injures one at landi Kotal paramilitary camp Bara: One security official was injuredwhen a bomb exploded near a paramilitarycamp in Landikotal on Saturday. A locallymanufactured bomb hidden near a paramil-itary camp in the Landikotal area of KhyberAgency at the Pak-Afghan border went offwith a loud sound. The blast left one soldierwounded and damaged a portion of thecamp. The camp is situated at the majorland route to Afghanistan which was used tosupply US-led coalition troops before Pak-istan suspended the supply line. inP

govt has made

parliament rubber

stamp: amir Muqamswat: The government has reduced theparliament to a rubber stamp and decreasedits significance and will face defeat after chal-lenging the army and judiciary, PakistanMuslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Khyber Pak-thunkhwa (KP) president and deputy parlia-mentary leader Amir Muqam said on Friday.Muqam was addressing people gatheredagainst power outages at Nishat Chowk Min-gora. He said Asfandyar Wali was not sup-porting the government but aidingcorruption. He said the government shouldannounce elections immediately. He said aMalakand province was a right for which aresolution has been submitted in the assem-bly. He said if the outages in Swat did notend, protests will ensue. PML-Q Swat Presi-dent Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha LaLa, gen-eral secretary Qaimos Khan, Sher KhanBaidara, Abdur Rahim, Azeem Khan advo-cate, Syed Akbar Shah and other leaderswere present. Amir Muqam said the dailyoutages of 20-22 hours in the freezing cold inSwat had caused severe hardship. He ques-tioned the ANP government for handingMalakand division to extremists and then va-cating the region by forcing the entire popu-lation to move to other parts of the country.He said the outages were the creation of arti-ficial shortages of gas but it was clear thatwhen the Chief Justice visited Wwat for thecondolence of ex- Senator Kamran Khan nooutages were seen. stAFF rePort

Imran Khansays he’s notanti-West

WASHIngtonAFP

Imran Khan on Friday rebutted charges he isanti-West and said his vision for an Islamicsociety looked like Scandinavia. Khanreiterated his staunch criticism of the UScampaign against Islamic extremists as headdressed a forum in Washington. But herejected perceptions that his views are anti-Western. Khan, an Oxford graduate who wasformerly married to writer Jemima Khan,said he was one of the few Pakistanipoliticians to have spent substantial time inthe West. “To be anti-Western makesabsolutely no sense at all. The West isgeography. How can you be anti-geography?” Khan told the Atlantic Council,a think-tank, via Internet video providerSkype. “And to be anti-American... how canyou be anti-a whole country, where there areso many different views?” he said. “I havealways been anti-the American war onterror. I have always thought that this wasan insane war,” Khan said. A decade afterPakistan reluctantly supported the US-ledcampaign against Al-Qaeda and the Talibanin Afghanistan, Khan said that his countrywas far more radicalized and that billions ofdollars had been wasted. “I have neverunderstood what they were trying to achieve.I still don’t know what is victory in the war onterror,” Khan said. “In my opinion, the onlysolution is to have dialogue, a politicalsolution, the same as is the case across theborder” in Afghanistan, Khan said. ButKhan,whom former military ruler PervezMusharraf once called “Taliban without abeard,” said that he had to “demystify” hisidea of an Islamic society to Westernaudiences. “If you ask me today what isclosest to that ideal, I would say theScandinavian countries,” Khan said, praisingthem for their “humane society, where thereis rule of law, a society that looks after itsweak, its handicapped.” Such a society is theopposite of Pakistan “where literally the poorpeople are subsidizing the rich, while all thejails are full of poor people.” Some allege thatKhan is being quietly nurtured by Pakistan’smilitary but he denied such charges. In theWashington appearance, he insisted that thePakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf enjoyed across-the-board support and would triumph in freeelections. Khan also harshly criticizedMusharraf, who has vowed to return thismonth to launch a political comeback. Khansaid Musharraf faced threats from forcesstretching from restive Baluchistan to thetribal belt. “No longer being the presidentand having the protection which he has, Iwould not be the insurance company to givehim life insurance,” Khan said.

Ready to risk life to returnhome, says Musharraf

CiA and Pentagon arguing on different metrics: report

BANNU: A policeman searches a car near Police Lines following a suicide attack on the District Police Office in Dera Ismail Khan on Saturday. inP

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Editor’s mail 11Sunday, 15 January, 2012

Musharraf's securityFormer strongman Gen Pervez

Musharraf has decided to return to thecounty by the end of this month. Beforehis sojourn back home, he intends meet-ing David Miliband in United Kingdomand King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia to se-cure guarantees for his safety when he ar-rives back after almost four years ofself-exile. Mush has chosen Chitral as hisnew constituency to contest the next elec-tions. Perhaps, he speaks Chitrali fluentlyand that's why he is sure of influencingpeople and winning votes.

I am, however, concerned about hissafety as Talal Bugti has already an-nounced to pay a billion as Mush's headmoney. Even if the government deputesdedicated security guards to protect him,who knows one of them might change hismind, as in the case of Salmaan Taseerand Indira Gandhi – both gunned downby their guards.

Instead of detailing local body-guards, why not hire marksmen of theBlackwater or Xe, whatever it is nowcalled. Hamid Karzai also employs burlyblack guards from the same company.Lastly, Mush must pay for his securityhimself instead of encumbering the poortaxpayers. He is loaded with so muchwealth that ordinary calculators fail tocount.

DR A P SANGDILOslo, Norway

People firstSo a tug-of-war, as it happens in the

evolutionary phase of the nascent democ-racies, continues in the country. Regret-tably, in this sordid state of affairs, it isnobody else but the people of Pakistanwho will bear the brunt. Indeed, our in-cumbent rulers have never honouredcommitments with their voters. Simi-larly, the losers, both in the parliamentand those who are out of the parliamentare just making promises.

Even though they have the necessaryresources, they are doing nothing, exceptfor false promises. Obviously, like pastsuccessive regimes, the people of Pak-istan are not their first priority. Had thepeople of Pakistan been their priority,much earlier they would have sunk theirdifferences and made collective efforts totake this country, with its feeble institu-tions and fragile economy, out of thisdeepening crisis.

Indeed, the future of this country liesin democracy and nothing else. Any ad-venture or misadventure would leave thiscountry nowhere. It is not too late yet ifall players in the state affairs stop makingpromises and make a commitment totake this country to new horizons ofpeace, progress and prosperity instead ofconflict, chaos and corruption.

HASHIM ABROIslamabad

interferenceIt is unfortunate that whenever steps

have been initiated towards police re-forms, political intervention has createdhurdles in the process. One of the mainreasons for the current deteriorated con-dition of the police department is thecontinuous political interference by cer-tain political elements, in its workings.

If the reason for such interferencewas to improve the performance of po-lice, then it would have been welcome,but the situation is quite the opposite.Pressure is created by these elements toserve their own vested interests and in-fluence the department into doing theirbidding.

It is important that such influencesshould be removed from the police, if thedepartment has to be converted into onethat truly serves the citizens.

HASSAN BASHIRIslamabad

land of the impure?There has been no tinge of doubt any

more that we as a nation have very dili-gently mastered the art of losing stuff.We are conveniently losing precious na-tional time, resources, energies, poten-tials, unity, identities, integrity,solidarity, sovereignty, geography andeven our lives without any regret and re-morse.

The latest addition in this list thatreally left my heart aching is the loss ofsome of our very precious countrymenjust because of the apathy of the govern-ment towards maintaining the standardsfor the purity of foods and edibles.

The recent surge of adulteration,substandard food, fake medicines, andmalnutrition is playing havoc withhealth of countrymen and especially thechildren by pushing them into the abyssof chronic diseases have ditched our allhopes.

The recent news about the bed rid-dance of the youngest Certified Mi-crosoft Engineer Rafaya KareemRandhawa made me think that maybeshe also fell victim to the recent surge inimpure food.

A bit of research and effort showsthat the average life expectancy of a Pak-istani is gradually decreasing because ofcontamination and adulteration areleading to diseases such as hepatitis, tu-berculosis, and other such diseases. Wemay live without electricity, gas but un-healthy, adulterous food will push ourfuture generations into the hands of un-timely death.

AAMIR SALEEMRawalpidni

Selling for peanutsIt was reported a couple of nights ago

on a private news channel that FinanceMinister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh expects800 million USD revenue, from the auc-tion of 3G fast internet license to telecomcompanies.

Here, I must forewarn all andsundry, that under no circumstances, theworth of this auction amount can be lessthan 4-5 billion dollars. India got 24 bil-lion USD from the same auction in April2010. Details are available at www.snay-yar.com.

All patriotic citizens and institutionsmust beware, lest we may not be cheatedagain, by the people who sell valuable na-tional assets for even less than thepeanuts (as they did in Musharraf’s era).

SYED NAYYAR UDDIN AHMADLahore

remembering PagaraI still remember clearly when I first

saw him and his younger brother livingin Zia Manzil in Aligarh. As young peo-ple, we did talk to each other across theshort boundary wall.

Later, I also met the younger PirSahib in Mr Junejo’s house in Lahore,when he was the railway minister in OneUnit. He recognised me and was happyto recall those old days. I also met sen-ior Pir sahib once with a relation ofmine. Still later, I submitted my book onWorld Peace through his attendants butcould not see him.

However I realized the greatness ofhis ancestors, when I met the head ofMujahid tribe in 1950 in Peshawar, whooffered first hand account of the jihad.His forefathers had come from Biharwith the first jihad led by Syed AhmadShaheed Barailvi, against the Sikhs, whohad occupied Afghanistan and were re-ported to be oppressing the Muslimsthere, apparently in league with theBritish.

The huge group of over hundredthousand Muslims from the entire In-dian subontinent from Bengal, Bihar UPetc had been greeted by the forefathersof the Pir Pagara and had activelyhelped them in their efforts of over-throwing the Sikhs from Afghanistanand Peshawar.

The praise for the forefathers of PirPagara, narrated by the head of this Mu-jahid tribe, indicated the greatness ofthis family and their followers, who al-ways stood like rock against the atroci-ties of the British. In view of these facts,I would request the Aligarh Old BoysAssociation to arrange a special com-memoration for the late Pir Pagara.

SYED MOHSIN H RIZVIKarachi

Cheap morning showsAlthough, the whole year round,

what most of these morning shows airedon prominent TV channels exhibit, ismainly nothing but a display of inde-cency and senselessness, but they reachthe zenith of vulgarity and improprietywhen they start celebrating a week longsegment called the “Wedding Week”which is annually celebrated on thesechannels.

All the famous TV channels are si-multaneously observing this festival and

in order to compete with each other andmake their show the most eye-catching,they have literally crossed all limits ofdecency, modesty and morality.

All these festivities which are shownin the name of wedding should not bereligiously or culturally acceptable to us.But the hosts and guests present onthese shows make us feel that our wed-dings cannot be deemed complete orthere would be no element of enjoymentand fun in it if it is not celebrated in the

way as is shown by these channels.Not only this, but also the way in

which all these festivities are celebrated,reflects immense extravagance. Every-one from celebrities to experts like wed-ding planners, caterers, decorators,photographers, make-up artists, beauti-cians, hair stylists etc are called to par-ticipate in these shows, advertise theirown organisations and products andgive expert opinion on how to plan awedding.

In doing all this, our TV channelsfail to realise that according to our reli-gion, everything, including marriage,should be done with simplicity andhumbleness and this is the lesson whichthey should also impart through theirplatform. However, unfortunately, whatwe see on these morning shows is a dis-play of profligacy, indecency and cheap-ness.

MADIHA VIQUARKarachi

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: [email protected]. Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

imran or Nawaz?The youth of Pakistan, being a signif-

icant part of the population, could proveto be a significant factor in the upcomingelections. This places a burden on themto educate themselves about politicalparties and to choose their affiliationcarefully.

Many youngsters join a politicalparty and head towards their rallywhether they understand its policies ornot. The PTI is one such party. It is gath-ering a lot o fpublic support but it is yetto announce how it is going to bringabout the change that it talks about?Many of the youngsters joining PTI werekids when Nawaz Sharif came into powerin 1997 and don’t understand the dy-namic of Nawaz Sharif’s politics, yet theycriticise him.

If Imran Khan has no concrete pol-icy, then why does the youth flock to-wards his rallies? Do they go there tohave a good time and enjoy the musicand festivities? Or do they go there be-cause they believe in change. It is truethat his rhetoric exercises a great pull onthe youth. But because of his vague pop-ulist rhetoric, people believe of him whatthey want to believe and project theirhopes onto him.

Technically speaking, there is nocomparison between Nawaz Sharif andImran Khan. Nawaz Sharif is an experi-enced and seasoned politician with betterknowledge of running a state whereasKhan is politically naïve and inexperi-enced. Will it be right to compare aleader who was exiled from his countryby a dictator with the other who was sit-ting along with that dictator and is nowthinking of forming an alliance with him?

Nawaz Sharif might not be a perfectleader but he has learnt his lessons. Heshowed his concern for the people ofPakistan when he came out for therestoration of the judiciary. Many inNawaz Sharif’s teams are those whofought against the dictator and were sub-jected to hardships. On the other hand,Imran Khan’s team comprises of manypeople from Musharraf’s teams. Is it soeasy to forget the Lal Masjid issue, the

Bugti murder and many other issues ofthe Musharraf regime and vote for thepeople who supported these actions justbecause they are now with Imran Khan?

The youth should seriously considerthe flaws of each leader before votingrather than being swept away by the tideof populism.

MAJID TAIMOORLahore

the civil-military chasmAs the political government’s term

nears an end, issues and scandals thatthreaten to destabilise it prematurely areviewed with great antagonism. Thememo controversy at this crucial timehas triggered uncalled for animosity be-tween the civil and the military appara-tus. The divide has further beendeepened by the conflicting and contra-dicting statements issued by the authori-ties. Surely no closet will be foundwithout a skeleton or two hanging in it,but will this achieve any amiable out-come?

The government ought to realise thatshouting wolf at the army for threateningthe poor lamb that is the democraticsetup is not plausible anymore becausethis time around, the wolf is caged, by itsown need to appear civilised. A stablecivil-military relation is the prime ingre-dient for strengthening democracy.Alienating the military that has over theyears acquired great depth in governanceis clearly not a great idea.

Stirring up a storm and letting themedia develop a frenzied response beforedeclaring that there is nothing to fear hasbecome the style of the governmentlately. The mysterious disappearance ofthe president followed by a completelyordinary comeback, and the enigmaticsacking of the secretary defence followedby an offhand explanation by the primeminister are but a few examples of poormedia management and seem like diver-sion tactics.

Instead of adding to the pool of mis-understandings, the relationship shouldbe pushed towards reconciliation. SurelyGeneral Kayani’s declaration that the

army supports the democratic processand is cognisant of its constitutional obli-gations and responsibilities should be apositive step in this direction. It is notjust the military’s duty to stay in its turfbut also of the civilians to assert them-selves.

It is now the duty of the civilian gov-ernment to stop dragging the security ap-paratus into a debate that does notrequire their involvement and aim to re-solve the controversy as soon as possible.The civil government needs to grow intoa more competent, organised and cohe-sive network in order to establish itsstrength.

PROFESSOR KABIL KHANPeshawar

obey the SCThe historic 5 member SC Order in

the NRO case is keeping the entire nationon tenterhooks till the pending decisionof the larger SC bench comes forth on the16th of January. For the last four years,the rulers have openly disobeyed the SCby willing non-compliance. Now theyhave been given six more agonising daysto forge new delaying tactics, now maybethrough the parliament.

Mr Roedad Khan while commentingon the six options yesterday seemed to bevery perturbed as to why the court hasshown such laxity. He believes that sim-ple order to issue show cause notices toall concerned named in the short ordermay have put an end to this delayinggame.

The common man is fed up of thesegimmicks by the rulers. So manylawyers/politicians, even Mr AitzazAhsan, have also advised the governmentto just obey the SC orders in letter andspirit. This will give them some goodwillin the coming elections. Now the voter iswell aware of these counter-moves/tricks. Maybe their confrontationwith the SC will become the cause oftheir loss in fair elections. I hope somesanity and long sightedness prevailsupon them as time is running short.

RASHID MAQSOODLahore

Women for progressThe culture of this land does not allow women to come for-

ward and live their lives according to their own will. But thenagain neither democracy nor economic growth has been thepart of the culture of this area. However, the changing dynam-ics of the world suggest that we incorporate these fundamentalsso that our society could develop and grow. Likewise, our lead-ers and authorities should also focus on women, provide them

with a platform to come forward and become stakeholder in thedevelopment of this country. It should be realised that there aremany aspects of our culture which still dictate us to remain inthe dark ages. It’s time we let go of these draconian laws andhelp bring prosperity in this country.

AROOSA SHAUQATLahore

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Comment12Sunday, 15 January, 2012

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302Karachi – Ph: 021-34330811-3 Fax: 021-34330900Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417

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

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

timing is everything

NaB in action

Accountability is as necessary for the functioning of ademocratic setup as freedom of expression. It formsan integral part of the famous ‘check and balance’system to keep everything transparent and clean.

NAB’s overnight operation seems justified when seen in thisbackdrop, but the fact that the motive behind this move is asvague as it can be, the whole exercise begs further carefulscrutiny. Laying low had been the agenda of the organisationof late. This sudden burst of action does have some hiddenmeaning to it, many would claim, but is there any truth tosuch claims or was it just a routine action on the orders of thecourt?

As the government is part of an ongoing political tripartitecrisis, involving the executive, the military and the judiciary,such an action is certain to raise eyebrows given theconspicuous inaction in the preceding months. Of the threewho were arrested, former secretary establishment IsmailQureshi, who has assured of his cooperation and clarified thathe appointed Adnan Khwaja after a verbal order from the PM,has been released by the court. Considering the fact that thenext deadline for the government to get its act together istomorrow, these arrests could be deemed as a step to tonedown the ire that the government has attracted from thesuperior judiciary. Effectiveness of this actionnotwithstanding, if the NAB has taken this initiative on itsown, one wonders what might have forced the change of heartof its chairman who vehemently opposed such an action onlylast week.

Due to the judiciary’s consistent grilling of the in-powerpoliticians and a pliant attitude towards the khakis, thegovernment feels cornered. It could use this flurry of activityas an excuse to delay imminent doom (in the form of thememo case and the NRO decision’s implementation case) andextract some leniency from the court. Agreeing to write to theSwiss authorities would also help in this regard as it may haveno serious repercussions for the government. The presidentcan claim immunity as provided by the constitution, a pointthat the judiciary would find very difficult to counter.

Though it is not going to be easy, riding the storm seemsto be the best option for the government at present. And if thegovernment’s vital monitoring institutes are allowed to runindependently, there won’t be any Memogates or a need towrite to the Swiss authorities.

a united opposition can pull its weight

a grand alliance?

The decisions taken at a meeting of the oppositionleaders on Friday would increase pressure on thegovernment while they would also put an end to anyreckless move that could jeopardise the system. The

meeting demanded early elections under a consensus CEC, aneutral caretaker government and timely preparation ofelectoral rolls. The leaders also called for an end to thegovernment’s confrontation with the SC. A united oppositioncan put formidable pressure on the government to get theirdemands accepted.

If the purpose behind convening the meeting was to seekendorsement for the PML(N)’s no-confidence motion againstGilani, the party has failed to achieve the objective. The ideawas vetoed along with the tactics of collective resignationsand long march peddled by Nawaz Sharif to affect an urgentgovernment change. Highly suspicious of any move that couldpossibly provide an excuse to the usual undertakers to upsetthe system, the meeting opted for more restrained measuresto get the demands accepted. These included persuadingZardari for resignation and Gilani for early elections. Whilethe meeting attempted to bring down Nawaz Sharif from hishigh horse, it nevertheless presented him an opportunity tolead the entire parliamentary opposition provided he agreesto replace political brinkmanship with sober statesmanship.

A united opposition representing all the provinces led byNawaz would carry much more weight than a Punjab-centredPML(N). Among other things, the decisions taken by thegrand alliance would command a greater moral authority.The message that politicians are determined to save thesystem would send a timely signal to powerful quarters. TheDCC meeting on Saturday, which was preceded by a one-on-one interaction between the President and the Army Chief,might help defuse the tension between the civilian andmilitary leadership. Simultaneously, a message would also beconveyed to the government that it has no option but toaccept the demands put up by a combined opposition.

It is now for Nawaz to persuade the PML(N) hawks thattheir calls for removing the government through streetagitation could isolate the party and overturn the apple cart.Furthermore, a grand alliance alone can present itself as aviable alternative to the ruling coalition and would havebetter prospects in the next elections.

Cat in the bag

Overdose of speculation lead to‘Great Expectations’ the lastmaddening week. With uncer-tainty and speculation rife, theo-ries became ever more bizarre.

Then suddenly we got a glimpse of a funnylooking cat that has been spoiling to come outof the bag – it’s wearing a judicial wig and anarmy uniform for God’s sake, not the usualarmy cap and judicial gown. That’s all thatwas left to make our mockery complete.

Newspapers tell us that a corps com-manders meeting last Thursday decided thatthe army “would not intervene politically…[but]…if the apex court sought the army’s helpfor getting its decisions implemented, the re-quest could be considered.” It means that wecould be facing a judicial coup backed by thearmy and not the usual army coup backed bythe judiciary. But it will be a coup neverthe-less.

A military-judiciary nexus has alwaysbeen there in Pakistan as it has in much ofMuslim history. The Supreme Court has duti-fully legitimised every military intervention.This ‘age of madness’ though calls for absurdmeasures. This time judicial interventioncould come first and army intervention later.Legitimisation will be pre-facto for a SupremeCourt order will be considered legitimisation,like “a revolution is its own justification”.

Why the desire to throw out the govern-ment so fast? It’s the ‘Ides of March’ syn-drome. The month sees the retirement of theISI chief, Senate elections, and, most impor-tantly, the Swiss case against Zardari getstime-barred if the letter that the SupremeCourt wants the executive to write to the Swissauthorities to reopen isn’t sent before March:thus the desire to send the executive packingfast and the executive’s desire for March topass fast.

It is not the business of the army or judi-ciary to intervene under any pretext or throwout governments, form interim governmentsor force elections. All must go by the constitu-tion. So before we start chattering we shouldfamiliarise ourselves with Article 190 of theconstitution under which the Supreme Courtcould ask the army for ‘aid’. It says, withoutelaboration or explanation, “All executive andjudicial authorities throughout Pakistan shallact in aid of the Supreme Court.” That’s it. Itdoesn’t say what kind of aid and for what. Thearmy is part of the executive yet it could be re-quired by the Supreme Court to act against theexecutive, which is like asking it to act againstitself – illogicality in the extreme. How can thearmy enforce an order of the Supreme Courtforcing the executive to do something withoutintervening if it doesn’t? Once, the SupremeCourt – fearing a physical attack on it byPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s goons – asked

for the army’s ‘aid’. The army didn’t comply.Sharif’s goons attacked and left a big smirchon our benighted history.

I would be all for early elections or evenintervention if I was convinced that thosewaiting in the wings – political, military, judi-cial or even brazen US stooges – had crediblesolutions to our problems and realistic imple-mentation strategies. None do. Military gov-ernments make good starts but give up topoliticians because they try to become democ-rats. Political governments don’t even makegood starts but their desire to become dicta-tors combined with non-delivery, non-gover-nance, nepotism and corruption enablescoups. Imagining that the judges have solu-tions has to be the biggest joke. The only so-lution is the obvious: let the process continue,let this parliament complete its term (unlessthe prime minister dissolves it), evolve, learnand hope that things will improve. Only thepeople can change a government, not an armyor a Supreme Court.

Fools are those that engender feverishspeculation with hysterical statements andthose that don’t look at the bigger picture andthe greater good. They forget that no matterwhat, nothing should be done that aborts theprocess and destabilises an already unstablecountry. They should also realise that timeshave changed and the world has no stomachfor departures from the constitution, no mat-ter what the excuse. Fools are those that don’trealise that much of what is happening in Pak-istan is part of a greater global game and theyshouldn’t become unwitting pawns in it. Theproblem is the enemy within: so many wittingpawns who don’t work for our good.

The prime minister tells the Senate that ifhe goes, they will all go too and we will not seeanother election in our lifetimes. Can youblame people for thinking that his govern-ment is on the brink? Then he tells the Na-tional Assembly that he will not tolerate a“state within a state”, an obvious reference tothe army. The army is under him and it’s hisfault if he can’t control it. He shouldn’t bleatpublicly like one of Mary’s lost lambs, raisingthe already high temperature. Next he says inan interview to a Chinese newspaper that thearmy and ISI chiefs have violated the consti-tution. That’s a serious charge indeed, for itborders on treason.

So fragile is the country that it goes into aspin over an article in a foreign newspaper byone Mansoor Ijaz, an odious publicity-seekingPakistani-American with dubious credibility.It then goes into reverse spin when a retiredUS general gives a somewhat contrary state-

ment. It betrays a country at war with itself.The reason for this hysteria is the allegationby Ijaz that he delivered a memo written at thebehest of our former ambassador to the USHussain Haqqani through a retired US gen-eral to the former US Chairman JCSC askingfor help against a possible coup in return forbringing the army and the nuclear pro-gramme to heel. If true, could it be the presi-dent that is the mastermind? If true, it alsoborders on treason and puts the president atthe mercy of Haqqani: will he say that thememo is only a figment of Ijaz’s imagination,or that it was his own brainchild, or that thepresident asked him to? One noose, twonecks. Will he save his own neck or will he putit around the boss’ neck? The whole thing willstand or fall on the testimony of Ijaz and hisBlackberry. Safest place to keep Haqqani is ei-ther the president’s or prime minister’s house.Any wonder that they are hysterical and aretrying everything to prevent the SupremeCourt from proceeding.

Is it political bipolarity or is there amethod to the prime minister’s seeming mad-ness? Conventional wisdom has it that he isconvinced that since he or his government arenearing an untimely demise, best to go as po-litical martyrs rather than failures to ensurelife after political death. Thus, he is goadingthe army into taking over. The clever generalsare hiding behind the cloaks of the judges.And Don Quixote is tilting full speed ahead.What a country.

What say you of the born-again democratNawaz Sharif who chose to move the SupremeCourt knowing that a higher body, a parlia-mentary committee, would conduct an inquiryinto the memo affair? How can you have twoinquiries on the same issue? Whose findingswould prevail? Obviously of the higher body,but not necessarily in Pakistan because Sharifwill call the parliamentary committee’s reportsuspect since the opposition is a minority.

What say you of a Supreme Court that ad-mits Sharif’s petition for hearing instead ofwaiting for the report of the higher body? Howcan there be parallel inquiries? And they goand form a commission to investigate it. Whatif their commission’s report is different fromthe parliamentary committee’s report? Wouldthe Supreme Court ride roughshod over it?Best solution: no parliament, no parliamen-tary committee, no report. All are naked inthese public baths.

The writer is a political analyst. He can be contacted [email protected]

By Humayun gauhar

It’s wearing a judicial wig and an army uniform

The former president, General Pervez Musharraf, is preparingto visit Pakistan in the upcoming days and has resorted to es-tablishing links with Saudi Arabia and contacting its rulers in

this regard. He has also contacted certain other countries to get anassurance for not facing any kind of ‘embarrassment’ on his returnto the country.

Pervez Musharraf has stated clearly that he will come to Pak-istan to contest the general elections and that he will do it from theChitral constituency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He made these an-nouncements while addressing the APML rally in Karachi. Mushar-raf on the occasion also asserted that it was during his rule that thecountry was disentangled from IMF loans and the incumbent gov-ernment once again had reverted to the old path of taking loansfrom the international monitory body. He reiterated that he would

come to Pakistan no matter what and was ready to face all the prob-lems that would come his way.

While Perevz Musharraf made claims of his comeback, the in-terior ministry on the other hand maintained that he was a pro-claimed offender and would be duly arrested on his return toPakistan because he has been named in the murder case of BenazirBhutto and Nawab Akbar Bugti. It is feared also that his returncould cost him his life.

Whether he does come back or not, it cannot be denied that hisreign was one of the worst times for Pakistan and we are still reap-ing the results of the mistakes committed during his tenure, not justin foreign policy but in internal issues as well such as governance.It is beyond doubt that the decade of his rule inflicted great losseson the country. It still remains to be seen what the fallout of his ‘re-turn’ will be.

– Translated from the original Pashto by Abdur Rauf Khattak

a comeback?Daily Pashtun Post

Regional Press

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:04 AM

Comment 13Sunday, 15 January, 2012

Marriages of convenience are the mainstay of politics

Bedside manners

In the last few days, a number ofscenarios are being discussed inthe media that could play out in

Pakistan, as a result of the presentcivil-military tensions. Generally, theanalyses of the local variables im-pacting the situation have beenmostly on the spot. However, the ex-ternal factors connected with the re-gional and global context that alsoimpacts the assessment, have beenglaringly missing. Consider this foran example; although the Memogatescandal has become the source ofinter-institutional tensions withinPakistan, its origin is tied to the di-rection and control of the nation’sforeign policy.

Significant developments are oc-curring in the neighbourhood ofPakistan that will have an impact onthe political, economic and securitysituation of the country. The Afghanreconciliation process and events re-lated to Iran are two such develop-ments. Iran has especially receivedthe least amount of coverage in thePakistani media. Furthermore, the5-day visit of General Kayani toChina also got scant attention, par-ticularly when it took place in the af-termath of the NATO attack and thenewly unveiled US defence strategythat emphasises a shift towards theAsia Pacific.

On the last night of 2011, the USsigned some of the toughest sanc-tions to date in a bid to coerce Iraninto abandoning its nuclear pro-gram. The sanctions have wide-reaching impact as they target Iran’scrucial oil sector. They also stipulatethat financial institutions that dobusiness with the Iranian CentralBank will be barred from operationsin the US. This has led to a scrambleby countries around the globe thatimport Iranian oil to either find analternative oil supplier or negotiatewith Washington for a waiver fromthe sanctions. In retaliation, Iran has

threatened to close the vital oil laneof the Strait of Hormuz.

For most countries that importoil from Iran, the threat of being ex-cluded from the US market is toogreat to ignore. Nonetheless, Chinahas been enraged by the unilateralUS decision which it says places USdomestic law above internationallaw, and is coercive and impinges onthe free functioning of foreign andtrade relations of other nations.India is said to be applying for awaiver from the US, although Indianefforts to reduce reliance on Iranianoil began last year after India hadtrouble finding a payment mecha-nism for trade with Iran. It should benoted that in addition to concernsover the security situation of Pak-istan, the American pressure alsoplayed a role in convincing India todrop out from the IPI gas pipelineproject.

Pakistan’s response to the brew-ing Iran crisis came from its foreignminister, Hina Rabbani Khar. Shestated that neither UN nor US sanc-tions on Iran will affect its deal ofimporting gas and added that, ‘Pak-istan is bound to accept UN sanc-tions but has not accepted anypressure in this connection’. Sheclarified that a variety of sanctionshave been imposed by UN, US andEuropean Union and that the importof gas does not fall under the UNsanctions. Moreover, Pakistan is suf-fering from acute gas shortage andwill utilise all option to meet itsneeds, she added.

The fact is that these sanctionswill complicate Pakistan-Iran andPakistan-US relations. The shortageof energy resources in Pakistan is al-ready stimulating domestic turmoiland impeding economic activity. Thereal question is will Pakistan also ul-timately need a waiver from the US.There is also talk that Pakistan mightleverage the blocked NATO Afghansupply line to get an Iranian waiver.Turkey is using a similar tactic; it hasclaimed an exemption from thesanctions based on being a negotia-tor between the West and Iran.

In recent weeks, insurgent activ-ity has also increased near the Pak-istan-Iran border. Since November,Pakistan’s security forces have suf-fered two serious attacks near theIranian border. These ambusheswere attributed to the Baloch insur-gency and in each incident up to 15FC personnel were killed. Pakistaniauthorities have blamed sectarian-ism as well as an Afghan role for dis-

turbances in Balochistan, and havelately not accused India. The situa-tion on the Iran-Afghanistan borderhas also been tense after the down-ing of US stealth drone RQ 170 inIran.

If war does breakout in the Per-sian Gulf, the Saudis and the US arelikely to be on the same side whilethe Chinese and the Russian inter-ests are intertwined with Iran. Thiscomplicates Pakistan’s position as ithas traditionally been close to thegulf monarchies and the US. In therecent sectarian tensions in Bahrainthat caused GCC forces to intervene,Pakistan’s military reportedly alsohelped out.

In the aftermath of US Iran oilsanctions, China’s premier Wen Ji-abao is heading to the Gulf countiesof Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emi-rates and Qatar from January 14 -19.Wen Jiabao’s visit will be the first bya Chinese premier to Saudi Arabia in20 years. During his visit, he is ex-pected to discuss the Arab Springwith the leaders of these countries. Itis clear that the main worry forChina, and for other emerging pow-ers, is that the instability in the Mid-dle East does not lead to anydisruption of their energy supplies.

All major world powers areclosely monitoring the situation inthe Middle East and interpretingwhat it means for them. On the otherhand, Pakistan appears to be myopi-cally focused on its internal politics,perhaps not realising that the localpolitics is ultimately impacted by theexternal dynamics. And, how thecountry adapts to these regional andglobal influences may, in fact, play amore decisive role in shaping the na-tions future. While Pakistan’s civil-ian government may need US andwestern support to survive politi-cally, the nation's security and de-fence policies are drifting away fromthe US. On the other hand, as the USand NATO relations have deterio-rated with Pakistan’s military, itneeds the help of the unpopularcivilian government.

As the transition in the globalbalance of power fully plays out,many skirmishes are likely to breakout locally. Resisting or ignoringthese external forces of change canbe very problematic.

The writer is the chief analystfor PoliTact (www.PoliTact.comand http:twitter.com/politact) andcan be reached [email protected].

Ignoring the external context for our internal turmoil

Civil-military tensions

The much-married divaElizabeth Taylor hadan unanswerable ri-

poste for a pesky reporterafter one of her husbands,Mike Todd, went up to theGreat Hollywood in the Sky.“Mike’s dead,” she said,“what do you want me to do,sleep alone?” Elizabeth Tay-lor should be formally recog-nised as the defining icon ofcontemporary Indian poli-tics. True love has its limits.Romance is nice, but not es-sential to fill a bed. What doyou expect political parties todo when a partner is dead ordeparted? In practical terms,the second is worse than thefirst, just as a divorcee hasmore problems than awidow.

Alliances do not comeapart for tactical reasons.They disintegrate over strate-gic interests. In Bengal, Ma-mata Banerjee and Congressare not squabbling. They arepreparing for the inevitablebattle for the same space.Both Mamata and Congressknow that the Left Front willneed a decade in Bengal be-fore it can revive, but thatthere is an election due in an-other four years. The Con-gress will be Mamata’sprincipal opposition in thenext Assembly elections. Forthe Congress, the TrinamoolCongress is an usurper and amaverick intervention inwhat should have been a nat-ural return to power for theCongress.

The Congress lost Bengalin stages, through a two-stepalliance between a breakawayCongress faction and theLeft. Its first manifestation,in the 1967 elections, was theUnited Front. It took ten tur-

bulent years, including abloody Naxalite insurrectionand the Emergency, for theLeft Front to emerge as thenatural ruling force of Bengalin 1977. While there is no cer-tainty in politics, it is possiblethat Congress will mount asimilar two-stage assault onMamata Banerjee, whichmeans an initial alliance withthe Left in the next Assemblypolls. Mamata Banerjee iscertainly worried about sucha possibility, not least be-cause it makes sense forthose determined to dislodgeher at any cost.

Congress and Left are notin a hurry because time is al-ways on the side of the oppo-sition. Mamata Banerjee is ina hurry for precisely the samereason. She has to maximiseher strength at the peak ofher popularity. There is afterall only one direction inwhich you can travel from apeak, downwards. MamataBanerjee has a vested interestin a mid-term poll, becauseshe is certain to make hugegains from a Parliament elec-tion. She could easily have 30or even more MPs if pollswere held this year, withcommanding Cabinet portfo-lios in the next central gov-ernment. Some of the bettersalesmen in her entouragemight even be encouragingdreams about the prime min-ister’s gaddi.

Ideally, Congress wouldhave wanted Mamata Baner-jee to merge her party intothe national organisation,but the Lady of Calcutta hastasted independence, alwaysdear to a Bengali’s tempera-ment. Conversely, the pat-terns emerging out of UttarPradesh suggest a slow tran-sition that fructify into a Con-gress-Samajwadi Partyalliance that could, in a fewyears, lead to merger. Con-gress is not as hopeless in UPas it is in Bihar, but nor is it anatural claimant for power. Itneeds some bulk infusion ofground presence, in additionto its high-flyer leaders. SPprovides that. There are noserious ideological differ-ences between the two par-ties, given that ideology has

shrivelled into a corpse any-way.

SP faces one seriousproblem, however. For nearlyhalf a century, UP has been arewarding playground forfractious parties. The reasonsare slowly becoming irrele-vant. UP’s political con-sciousness, shaped by thefreedom movement, as a bul-wark of nationalism and nat-ural home of primeministers, will reassert itself,and sooner rather than later.The next general electionscould well be the last inwhich regional parties getany mileage; after that thestate will gravitate betweenthe Congress and the BJP.Regional leaders will have tochoose in order to survive.The appetite for separateidentity will fade once thevote begins to wither.

Mulayam Singh Yadavwas weaned by Dr RamManohar Lohia’s socialist,anti-Congress thesis. His sonand heir Akhilesh wears theparty red cap but has no realinterest in such baggage. Mu-layam is a child of the Hindimovement of the 1960s.Akhilesh is a child of the Eng-lish movement that has beensuch a remarkable fact of thelast two decades in India. TheBritish Raj has been re-placed, after an uncertaingap of a few decades, by anEnglish Raj. Its powerful bu-reaucrats in media have al-ready discovered, to theirdelight, that Akhilesh is “oneof us”. The English-centricRahul Gandhi and AkhileshYadav make comfortablepartners, and might wonderwhy they are contesting onseparate symbols, and for thesame Muslim vote, by a gen-eral election in 2019.

Both in the contrivanceof Hollywood and the simu-lation of politics, marriage isa pact held together by con-venience.

The columnist is editor ofThe Sunday Guardian,published from Delhi, Indiaon Sunday, published fromLondon and EditorialDirector, India Today andHeadlines Today.

Third EyeBy M J AkbarPoliTact

By Arif Ansar

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:04 AM


tokYoAFP

About 2,000 demonstrators hit the streets of Yokohamaon Saturday calling for an end to nuclear energy in Japanafter the March 11 disaster that sparked the worst atomiccrisis since Chernobyl.

They marched in the port city southwest of Tokyochanting in chorus: “We don’t need nuclear power. Giveback our hometown. Protect our children.”

The protest, organised by several anti-nuclear and en-vironmental groups, also saw residents evacuated fromareas outside the Fukushima Daiichi plant take part.

Japan had previously aimed to use nuclear power togenerate around 50 percent of its energy needs by 2030 ina bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance theenergy independence of the resource-poor archipelago.

But sentiment has shifted since the quake and tsunamicrippled the plant’s cooling systems, sparking reactormeltdowns that spewed radiation into the environmentforcing tens of thousands to evacuate from a 20-kilometreradius.

Radiation fears have become part of daily life in Japanafter cases of contaminated water, beef, vegetables, teaand seafood. The government has been at pains to stressthe lack of an “immediate” health risk.

nAYPYIDAWAFP

MYANMAR said Satur-day it freed more than300 political prisonersin its most significantamnesty yet, a move

which prompted the United States topledge it would restore full diplomaticties.

Friday’s releases, which included anumber of prominent dissidents, werehailed by Western powers that have longdemanded the freeing of political de-tainees before they will consider liftingsanctions on the isolated nation.

US President Barack Obama said theamnesty was a “substantial step” towardsdemocracy in a country ruled for decadesby the military, while the party led bydemocracy champion Aung San Suu Kyicalled it a “positive sign”.

Myanmar said Friday about 650 in-

mates were included in the mass pardon,but it had not been clear how many werepolitical prisoners.

Home Affairs Minister LieutenantGeneral Ko Ko said Saturday that 302 ofthose released were on a list of politicaldetainees compiled by a political group,thought to be Suu Kyi’s opposition Na-tional League for Democracy (NLD)party.

But he insisted that none of those hadbeen jailed for political reasons.

“We didn’t take action against anyonebecause of politics or beliefs,” he told re-porters.

“This release was not according to thedemand of any person or any organisa-tion. We released them according to thetrue benevolence of the government.”

It is not clear how many more politi-cal prisoners are still behind bars, but KoKo said 128 people remained on the listsubmitted by the unnamed politicalgroup.

These prisoners could not be releasedfor security reasons because they hadcommitted serious crimes, he said.

Htay Kywe, one of the most promi-nent dissidents freed, told AFP as he ar-rived at Yangon airport after leaving aprison in western Rakhine state: “We willwork with momentum. We will continueworking for democracy.”

About 200 political detainees were letout in October, and estimates of the num-ber left in prison after that amnestyranged from 500 to more than 1,500.

The Thai-based Assistance Associa-tion for Political Prisoners (Burma) saidthat 272 political prisoners were releasedon Friday, while more than 1,000 re-mained locked up.

“We consider that leaving the re-maining political prisoners behind bars isa way of torture,” a statement from thegroup said.

Those freed included leading pro-democracy dissidents who were at the

forefront of a failed 1988 uprising inwhich thousands died and participants in2007’s “Saffron Revolution” protests.

Another 100 of those released wereformer members of the intelligence serv-ice, according to minister Ko Ko.

Among them was Khin Nyunt, a for-mer prime minister and intelligence chiefwho was ousted in 2004 in a power strug-gle and placed under house arrest.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clintonsaid Washington would begin the processof exchanging ambassadors with Myan-mar and pledged to take further steps toboost relations.

The US has been represented by alower-ranking diplomat, a charge d’af-faires, since it withdrew its ambassadorin 1990 in protest after military rulers re-fused to accept the results of electionswon by Suu Kyi’s party.

The nominally civilian governmentthat came to power last year in Myanmar,formerly known as Burma, has surprised

even sceptics with a series of reformistmoves.

It froze work on an unpopular damsupported by powerful neighbour Chinalast year and on Thursday signed a cease-fire with a major armed ethnic Karengroup involved in one of the world’slongest-running civil conflicts.

The country recently announcedplans to hold by-elections on April 1 andSuu Kyi — released from years of housearrest in November 2010 — plans tostand for a seat in parliament in a con-stituency near the main city Yangon.

The 66-year-old Nobel Peace Prizewinner said earlier this week that hercountry was “on the verge of a break-through to democracy”.

The state-controlled New Light ofMyanmar newspaper said the latestamnesty aimed to ensure stability, peaceand national reconciliation, calling for“all-out efforts into the emergence of ademocratic nation”.

Myanmar says 300 political prisoners freedForeign News14

TUNIS: People shout slogans and hold flags of Tunisia during a demonstration to demand jobs and dignity as the north African

country marks a year to the day since its despot zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled into exile on Saturday. AFP

thousands protest against nuclearpower in Japan

70 missing from italycruise ship accidentrome: Around 70 people are missingfrom the Italian cruise ship which ranaground overnight, but could be safe on theisland of Giglio near the scene of theaccident, an official said Saturday. On thebasis of information supplied by theoperators of the Costa Concordia, whichsaid 4,234 passengers and crew were onboard, “we have found 4,165, which is adifference of about 70 people,” GiuseppeLinardi said, adding that a door-to-doorsearch was under way on Giglio. He said 52children on board the ship, their ages up tosix years old. Linardi had earlier given adeath toll of three and said 14 people wereinjured. Other sources spoke of about 40injured, two of them seriously sufferingfrom concussion and spinal injuries. Portauthorities in the Tuscan city of Livornowhich coordinates rescue operationsadmitted that much more time was neededto compare the passenger list with that ofthe more than 4,000 survivors who weretaken to the small port of Santo Stefano notfar from the site of the accident. Portauthority official Enrico del Santos saidpeople were evacuated by “life boats andthe private boats of Giglio residents whothen hosted those rescued”. AFP

tibetan attemptsself-immolationin China

BEIJIngAFP

A Tibetan set themselves on fire near therestive Kirti monastery in southwest China onSaturday and police fired on a crowd of localswho attempted to rescue the burned body,rights groups said. The 16th self-immolationattempt to hit Tibetan areas in less than ayear, the incident occurred in Sichuanprovince’s Aba county, scene of sporadicunrest since a monk set fire to himself anddied last March, Free Tibet and theInternational Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said.It was not immediately known if the Tibetandied in the latest incident — nor was theperson’s gender immediately clear. “There isan emergency situation in Aba after alayperson self-immolated and was beatenbadly by police,” Kate Saunders, director ofWashington-based ICT told AFP over thetelephone. “Free Tibet can confirm that atleast one woman has been shot,” StephanieBrigden, director of the London-basedcampaign group said. It was not immediatelyknown if the woman survived the shooting.ICT said its sources inside China also saidpolice had fired on the crowd. Saunders saidICT’s sources told her “locals tried to drag thebody away and police fired, causing morepeople to gather in the street.” Free Tibet saidan eyewitness source described the situationas “terrifying,” that “a strong gas” was used onthe crowd and that “many had fallen to theground” and were then beaten and detained.Official government accounts directlycontracted the rights groups’ claims. A manreached by telephone Saturday evening at theAba municipal Communist Party committee’spropaganda department told AFP he knewnothing about a self-immolation and deniedthe clashes in the street. “This is not true. Wehave police on the street as normal. The townhas normal order,” he said, declining to givehis name. Before Saturday, at least 15Tibetans have set fire to themselves over thelast year — most young monks in their teensor early 20s — but the last self-immolation onSunday, was perpetrated by a high-rankingBuddhist cleric. Tibet’s spiritual leader, theDalai Lama, has expressed concern over thewave of self-immolations, which he blamedon the “cultural genocide” of Tibetans underChinese rule. At least nine of the 15 who haveset themselves alight have died, while thewhereabouts of the others remains unknownas they have disappeared into custody, rightsgroups say. China blames the Dalai Lama —who fled Tibet following a failed uprisingagainst Chinese rule in 1959 and is vilified asa “separatist” by Communist authorities — formuch of the unrest in Tibetan-inhabitedregions. The government denies it usesrepressive methods against Tibetans,insisting that they enjoy freedom of religiousbelief and that huge ongoing investment intoTibetan-inhabited areas has greatly raisedtheir standard of living. But after each self-immolation, authorities have increasedsecurity in the area where the incidentoccurred, which rights groups say hasexacerbated the problem. A woman from theAba traffic police reached by telephone toldAFP it was normal to have more police on thestreet at this time of the year.

top Syria army

defector to set

up high military

councilBEIRUt

AFP

A top Syrian army defector will announcelater on Saturday the creation of a specialcouncil that will oversee all militaryoperations against the embattled regime ofBashar al-Assad, his media advisor told AFP.General Mostafa Ahmad al-Sheikh, the mostsenior commander to defect from the Syrianarmy, will make the announcement inTurkey, where he sought refuge earlier thismonth, Fahad Almasri said in a telephoneinterview. “This high military council, headedby Sheikh, will oversee military operations inconjunction with the Free Syrian Army,”Almasri said. “The council will include high-ranking officers who will plan operations tobe executed by the FSA,” he added. “It willalso help organise defections within thearmy and will be in contact with officers inthe regular army to encourage large-scalerather than individual defections.” The FSA,which groups Syrian army deserters, claimsto have some 40,000 fighters under itscommand. The government crackdownagainst the 10-month popular revolt in Syriahas left more than 5,000 people deadaccording to the United Nations. Almasrisaid that Sheikh, 54, defected from the armyin early January along with his son and abrother, who were also in the military.Another brother who was a member ofSyria’s ruling Baath party also fled.

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:04 AM


ALLAHABAD: Hindu devotees perform rituals and take holy dip in Ganga at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti

festival during Magh Mela on Saturday. AFP

tAIPEIAFP

Taiwan’s Beijing-friendly leader Ma Ying-jeou secured a second four-year term aspresident Saturday, promising better tieswith China after an election watched in-tently by the United States.

“We’ve won,” a jubilant Ma, 61, toldcrowds of supporters gathered at his cam-paign headquarters in downtown Taipeiafter vote counting showed him securing51.6 of the vote with 90 percent of ballotstallied.

“In the next four years, ties with Chinawill be more harmonious and there will bemore mutual trust and the chance of con-flict is slimmer.

“I will ensure a sustainable environ-ment for peace for Taiwan,” added Ma,who in his first term oversaw the most dra-matic thaw in the island’s ties with Chinasince the two sides split over 60 years ago.

His main challenger Tsai Ing-wen, a55-year-old China-sceptic, conceded defeatafter her disappointing showing and an-nounced she would step down as chair-woman of the Democratic ProgressiveParty (DPP).

“We accept the Taiwan people’s deci-sion and congratulate President Ma,” she

told her party faithful. “We want to giveour deepest apology to our supporters forour defeat.”

Tsai, who had been vying to becomethe island’s first female leader, took 45.7percent of the vote, according to unofficialtallies.

George Tsai, a political scientist at theChinese Culture University in Taipei, saidthe result was a vote of confidence in Ma,who raised exchanges with China to un-precedented levels and introduced asweeping trade pact.

“The outcome shows that voters gen-erally approve of Ma’s policies promotingties and reducing tensions with China,” hesaid.

“He has a new mandate although it’san open question how fast and how far hecan go in his second term.”

By contrast, a win for Tsai could haveushered in a period of uncertainty in tieswith China, as her DPP has traditionallyfavoured distancing the island from themainland.

“The reason why the Chinese mainlandis so concerned about the Taiwan electionis because we are worried that the idea of‘Taiwan independence’ will be furtherspread by the process, as it was in thepast,” the state-controlled Chinese paper

Global Times said Friday.Although China and Taiwan have been

governed separately since 1949, Beijingstill claims sovereignty over the island, andhas vowed to get it back, even if that in-volves going to war.

Surveys published last week had

shown the race would likely be too close tocall, with Ma of the Kuomintang (KMT)party leading Tsai by as little as three per-centage points.

The United States, had also kept aclose eye on the election, hoping the out-come would not upset the stability that the

strategically vital Taiwan Straits area hasexperienced since Ma assumed power in2008.

A third candidate, former KMT heavy-weight James Soong, 69, never stood anyreal chance of winning but his supportbase overlapped with Ma’s and had threat-ened to steal precious support from the in-cumbent.

Officials had expected a heavy turnout,but official figures were not yet available.

Chang Poh-ya, chairwoman of theCentral Election Commission, said Fridayshe expected about 80 percent of the is-land’s 18.1 million eligible voters to takepart in the election, compared with justover 76 percent in the 2008 vote.

The Ma camp counted on the supportof an estimated 200,000 China-based Tai-wanese businesspeople and their relativeswho returned home to vote.

“I voted for Ma because I am doingbusiness with China and I often travelthere,” said businesswoman Ane Wei at apolling station in Taipei. “It’d be more con-venient for me and good for my business ifhe remains in office.”

Ruby Yang, an office worker, said shehad cast her ballot in favour of Tsai “be-cause I want to see the first female presi-dent in Taiwan”.

taiwan’s Ma wins second term as president

elBaradei sayswon’t run foregypt presidency

Cairo: The ex-head of the UN nuclearwatchdog and Nobel laureate MohamedElBaradei said on Saturday he would not runfor the Egyptian presidency, saying there isstill no real democracy in the country. “Myconscience does not allow me to run for thepresidency or any other official positionunless there is real democracy,” ElBaradeisaid in a statement received by AFP. Hepraised the revolutionary youths who ledmassive popular uprisings that oustedpresident Hosni Mubarak last year but said“the former regime did not fall.” ElBaradeicompared the revolution to a boat andcharged that “the captains of the vessel ... arestill treading old waters, as if the revolutiondid not take place.” He charged thatcorruption was still rife in post-MubarakEgypt, which is being ruled by a militarycouncil since the veteran president wasousted from power in February following an18-day popular uprising. “We all feel that theformer regime did not fall,” he said in thestatement. ElBaradei denounced the“repressive” policies of Egypt’s new rulers,who he said were putting “revolutionaries ontrial in military court instead of protectingthem and punishing those who killed theirfriends.” His comments reflect growingdisenchantment with the ruling SupremeCouncil of the Armed Forces. The SCAF hasrepeatedly pledged to cede full powers tocivilian rule when a president is elected bythe end of June but there is widespreadbelief that the military wants to maintain apolitical role in the country’s future. Themilitary has also come under fire over itshuman rights record in recent months in theface of accusations that it has been resortingto Mubarak-era tactics to stifle dissent. Egyptwitnessed deadly clashes betweendemocracy protesters and regime forces inNovember — before parliamentary pollsbegan — and again in December. Mubarak ison trial and the prosecution has called forhim to be hanged for the killing of hundredsof demonstrators in the January-February2011 revolt. AFP

Foreign News 15

AStAnAAFP

KAZAKHSTAN sus-pended campaigning onSaturday as it prepared togo to the polls to elect par-liament to breathe new

life into tightly-controlled politics in theenergy-rich Central Asian nation.

Sunday’s elections to the lowerhouse of parliament whose seats are alloccupied by loyalists of the ruling NurOtan party come one month after 16people were killed in the energy-rich re-gion of Mangistau in unprecedentedclashes between oil workers and secu-rity forces.

Strongman President NursultanNazarbayev said on the eve of the pollsthat the make-up of a new parliamentwould open a new era in the country’smonochrome political life.

“As a result of the election, parlia-ment will be represented by at least twoparties,” said 71-year-old Nazarbayev,who has ruled over the energy-rich na-tion of over 16 million since 1989 and is

the only president post-Soviet Kaza-khstan has ever known. “This is a newpolitical phase of the country’s develop-ment. We will work with all politicalparties in a constructive manner.”

Authorities banned all campaigningand publication of polls for a “day of si-lence” so as not to influence votersahead of Sunday’s election.

Seven parties are contesting thepolls but critics say the vote is expectedto provide just a veneer of democraticrepresentation to the parliament as thetwo parties expected to win the mostvotes are both loyal to the president.

According to the Institute for So-cial-Political Research, Nur Otan (Lightof the Fatherland) should win over 80percent of the vote — only just off the88 percent it received in the last polls in2007. Its nearest challenger on aroundseven percent should be the Ak Zhol(Bright Path) party which garners itssupport mainly from businesspeopleand the middle class but steers clear ofoutright criticism of Nazarbayev.

The opposition All-National SocialDemocratic Party (OSDP), which is ex-

pected to come in third, pledged tobring out people onto the streets if theauthorities rigged the election.

“If we are cheated this time around,then there won’t be any more electionsin our country, we don’t play thesegames,” party chairman ZharmakhanTuyakbai told supporters at a meeting.

“If they lie to us this time, steal peo-ple’s votes, we’ll take to the streets.”

The polls will also be stalked by thetrauma of the clashes between strikingoil workers and police in the CaspianSea region of Mangistau which exposedthe inability of the authorities to solve amonths-long labour dispute. The oppo-sition and international observers con-demned the conduct of the April 2011presidential election which sawNazarbayev win over 95 percent of thevote in a poll where even one of his ri-vals voted for the Kazakh strongman.

A total of 9.2 million registeredvoters will choose 98 deputies in the107-seat Mazhilis, with the other nineMPs representing Kazakhstan’s vari-ous ethnic groups chosen by its assem-bly of the peoples.

Shaken Kazakhstan preparesto vote after clashes

10 die in stampede

at indian shrinenEW DELHI

AFP

At least 10 people, including six womenwere crushed to death in the middle ofthe night when a stampede broke out ata religious shrine in central India,media reports said Saturday. Thevictims had gathered outside theMuslim shrine of Hussain Tekri inMadhya Pradesh state to take part in areligious ceremony after midnight onFriday. Police pushed the crowds back,causing people to fall down and gettrampled to death in the dark, thePress Trust of India (PTI) news agencysaid. “Six women and four men werekilled in the incident,” police officialRajesh Vyas told PTI. The shrineattracts tens of thousands of peopleeach year who believe that a visit cancure any illness. Stampedes are aregular risk in India where policing andcrowd control are often inadequate attemples and on pilgrimage routes,where throngs of fervent devoteescongregate on auspicious occasions.The last major stampede was inJanuary 2011 in the southern state ofKerala when more than 100 people diedas panic spread among worshipperscrossing mountainous terrain in thedark to visit a shrine.

tAIpeI: taiwan president and ruling Kuomintang (KMt) presidential candidate MaYing-jeou (L) and his wife Chou Mei-ching (R) greet supporters after winning thepresidential elections outside the party’s campaign headquarters on Saturday. AFP

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:06 AM

16 Sunday, 15 January, 2012

IN LIMELIGHT

co-hostRanbir-Shah Rukh Khan to MUMBAI: the new Vijay

dinanath Chauhan of‘agneepath’ is might impressedwith Sanjay dutt's portrayal ofKancha Cheena. hrithik roshanhas been successful in giving anew image to agneepath's Vijaydinanath Chauhan. But it seemslike the antagonist KanchaCheena played by Sanjay dutt ishaving a bigger impact. Sanjaydutt's bald and bulky look as thenew Kancha Cheena inagneepath remake undoubtedlyhas a menacing look. and thisvillain is ruling the trailers aswell as posters of the film.while any other Bollywood herowould have had a complex withthe villain's persona equaling upto him (if not overshadowing),hrithik roshan is gracefulenough to accept Sanjay dutt'simpact and importance. Sourcesclose to the actor insist thathrithik was might impressedwith Sanjay dutt's act and avatarduring the making of‘agneepath’. the duo hadworked earlier in MissionKashmir but the Sanjay duttthat hrithik saw in ‘agneepath’was divergently different. hrithikalso went on to compare thenew Kancha Cheena with thelikes of gabbar Singh. AGENCIES

Filmfare Awards

Brangelina

to present Golden Globes

roped in

MUMBAI: Tired of his ‘unprofessional’behaviour, Ekta Kapoor and Sanjay Guptahave decided to replace Vivek in Shootoutat Wadala. Vivek Oberoi in Sanjay Gupta'sShootout At Wadala was all set to matchAkshay Kumar in Milan Luthria's ‘OnceUpon A Time In Mumbaai Part 2’. The actorwho played Maya Dolas in Gupta's‘Shootout At Lokhandwala’ was reportedlygoing to play Dawood Ibrahim in thesecond part of the film. However, Guptadoesn't “want him” anymore. Tired waitingfor the actor to get back with a

confirmation, Gupta and producerEkta Kapoor have not only

decided to replace him but alsoask Vivek to return the scriptthat he had been keeping withhim. The fact that Vivek tooktoo much time to revert back

with a definitive answer irkedGupta. “We ran out of patience.

I don't put up with suchbehaviour. We don't want Vivek inthe film now. We have also asked

him to return the script,” saidGupta. Ekta, however,

decided to remaindiplomatic and simplyadded: “Gupta felt thathe needed someone witha different personalitythan Vivek. We abideby the director's

vision.” AGENCIES

fired!You are

ABC

HO L L Y -W O O Dsuper-cou-ple BradPitt and

Angelina Jolie will presentan award at this Sunday’s

Golden Globe Awards,ABCNews.com has con-firmed. Both are riding thewave of a stellar year andare nominated for awardsat the ceremony. Pitt hasearned raves for his per-formance as baseball coachBilly Beane in ‘Moneyball’

and is nominated for BestActor in A Motion PictureDrama. The film, whichPitt produced, is also nom-inated for Best Motion Pic-ture Drama. Jolie isnominated for her film ‘Inthe Land of Blood AndHoney’ in the Best ForeignFilm category. The Bosnianwar film marked Jolie’s di-rectorial debut. Other pre-senters at Sunday’sceremony will includeReese Witherspoon, Ash-ton Kutcher, Salma Hayekand Jake Gyllenhaal. Thepresenters’ list was an-nounced as nervousGolden Globe show bossesinsisted on a ‘seven seconddelay’ to rein in the show’shost, tricky Ricky Gervais.The delay lets Dick Clark,the award show’s leg-endary 83-year-old pro-ducer, cut comments aboutcelebs in attendance thatare deemed too close-to-the-bone to broadcast. Itcomes after Gervais, con-troversial star of ‘The Of-fice’, upped ratings on theceremony last year by mak-ing digs at A-list stars likeAngelina Jolie and JohnnyDepp. The 69th annualGolden Globes are votedon by the Hollywood For-eign Press Association andrecognise outstandingwork in television and film.

nEWS DESk

A new jewellery brand, Glitz Tresors Jew-ellery, was launched in Lahore by jew-ellery designers Sabeen Fawad andZarghuna Ahmad. Many top and emerg-ing fashion models such as Sadia Faisal,Alyzeh Gabol, Amna Babar, and HannaButt exhibited the glamourous jewellery at

the launch. The exquisite cuts and designsof the jewellery easily won over the guests.The jewellery line consisted of modernand contemporary gold pieces.

Imtisal Zafar of Verve Event Manage-ment organised the Glitz Tresors Jew-ellery launch whereas Sofia Mirza, AamirMazhar, and fashion designer HSY werethe celebrity guests at the exhibition.

Glitz tresors Jewellery

launched in lahore

loNdoN: an ice sculpture

works on a block of ice during the

london ice Sculpting festival. AFP

MUMBai: John abraham, rahul Bose, gul Panag, model Pooja Mishra and anupama Varma walk on the

ramp during the Kingfisher fashion show to support Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012. AFP

MUMBAI: SrK and ranbir havebeen paired together to hostthe 57th idea filmfare awards2011 this year. there areawards and then there isfilmfare. the premium filmmagazine's award show issomething else. if you arefeatured on filmfare, you havearrived they say. theprominent award show beganin 1954. the awards get widelynoticed for its sheer starpresence and long-standingassociation with hindi cinema.the hosts of filmfare are oftenquirky, cheeky and fun! theyamuse the audience with theirmad antics. they take healthydigs at their contemporariesand nominees thus keepingeveryone glued to their seats.it was Shah rukh and Saif whogot the ball rolling. Soon after,the younger generation tookover with ranbir and imranplaying the perfect hosts.filmfare will happen on 29th ofJanuary at the film City thisyear for which Shah rukh andranbir have been zeroed in ashosts. apparently imran Khanwas also approached for thesame but since he may be inNew york on 29th, he let theoffer pass. AGENCIES

hoNg KoNg: a woman poses in front a poster

advertising an art exhibition prior to the upcoming

Chinese New year that begins on January 23 and

marks the year of the dragon. AFP

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:08 AM

nEWS DESk

ALI Zafar recently got to meet one ofhis favourite actresses, Madhuri Dixit.Ali and Mads happened to be shoot-ing in the same studio and he got tosee her in person. Ali still hasn’t got-

ten over the chance meeting and has been gushing

to people about how beautiful and young shestill looks. But he rushes to explain that he’s notjust impressed with her looks but also her talentand attitude towards work. Apparently, after hebegan his career in Bollywood, he heard how shewas the most down-to-earth, pleasant and hardworking persons in the industry and she brought agreat vibe to the set. Ali looks up to these virtues.

Ali Zafar’s dream

comes true

17

Longoria tosteal souvenirsfrom ‘DesperateHousewives’ set

LoA AngELESAGENCIES

Eva Longoria says she is planning tosteal souvenirs from the set of her hitTV serial ‘Desperate Housewives’ asshe wants a memento from her timeon the show. The 36-year-old, who isfilming her final scenes as GabrielleSolis after eight years in the role, saidshe is determined to pick up a piece ofmemorabilia despite executives at USnetwork ABC advising against takingany items, reported Daily Express.“We got a call from ABC putting thekybosh on anybody taking anythingfrom set, so now I’m not namingthings in interviews that I’m going tosteal because it’s not allowed. Butwe’re stealing some stuff later... butI’m not going to name what I’mstealing!” Longoria said.

Actor Gene HackmanOK after bike crash

REUTERS

Actor Gene Hackman was taken to thehospital on Friday after he was in acollision while riding his bicycle in theFlorida Keys, but the Oscar winner wasreleased after routine tests, aspokeswoman said. Hackman wasriding his bike and got bumped frombehind by a car, said Susan Madore, aspokeswoman for the actor. Because hewas on an island, he had to be airliftedto the hospital, she said. But he onlysuffered “a couple minor bumps andbruises” and has been released from thefacility, she said. Hackman, 81, has wontwo Oscars, one for his leading role in1971 film ‘The French Connection’ andthe other for his supporting part in1992 picture ‘Unforgiven’.

MUMBAI: There’s turbulence in the Khan household, or so it seems. Gauri Khan, wifeto Shah Rukh Khan is upset about the recent rumours of an alleged link-up betweenhim and his ‘Don’ co-star Priyanka Chopra. Shah Rukh Khan, known to be the perfectfamily man, finds himself in such a situation for the first time. Priyanka Chopra, wehear, is miffed with the news as well, and ithas been reported that she has accusedactress and Gauri Khan’s good friendNeelam Kothari for spreading the slander.Neelam, on the other hand, is upset at beingaccused and took to clarify her stand on hermicro-blogging site. So whilst everyoneis upset about the SRK-PC allegedlink-up, PC proves to be displaying acasual, unperturbed persona as sheawaits her trip to Macau in thecoming weeks. A source close toShah Rukh said: “Shah Rukh Khan isa complete family man. He dotesover his children and will ensurethat no such rumour affects themin any way. Gauri and he havewithstood the test of time. TheKhan family will always remain abeautiful one.” AGENCIES

between Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri?

Hrithik RoshancomparesKancha Cheena to Gabbar Singh

LoS AngELESAGENCIES

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ won’t open until July20, but tickets for a midnight showing arenot only on sale - some of them have alreadybeen bought out completely. EntertainmentWeekly reports that anxious fans can pur-chase admission to ‘The Dark Knight Rises’midnight opening on July 19 in IMAX the-aters in San Francisco and Los Angeles usingmovie ticket e-retailer Fandango. Unfortu-nately for those living in the Big Apple, it is

already sold out of New York midnight IMAXshowings. A Fandango rep tells EW that it’snot unheard of for tickets to go on sale so farin advance, although this is earlier even than‘Avatar’s’ pre-sale, which began fourmonths before it was released in Decemberof 2009. The furore for this film surely hasstudio execs at Warner Bros. dreaming ofanother record-setting box office showing,as ‘Dark Knight Rises’ predecessor, “TheDark Knight’, holds the No. 2 spot for bestopening weekend thanks to the $158 mil-lion it brought in at the box office in 2008.

tickets to ‘Dark Knight rises’

already selling out

Veena Malik’s Chhanno gives Chikni Chameli a run for her moneyNewS DeSK: the first look of Veena Malik’s item song

‘Chhanno’ from the film ‘Gali Gali Chor Hai’ has just been

released and boy oh boy! Is she looking hot! Dressed in a

sizzling pink and orange ghaghra and a minuscule choli,

with loads of ethnic jewellery to boost her sexy image,

Veena’s sure going to grab eyeballs with this sexy

number! the pakistani actress has also changed

costumes in the song and the green number that she is

wearing later in the song, will get lots of item gals green

with envy. It’s not just the dress, her famous pout and

raunchy lyrics, but her oomphy gyrations that will give a

competition to Sheila, Munni, Jale Bai and Chikni Chameli!

sealsGeorge Clooney

an Oscar?

All's not well

rio de JaNeiro: Models present

designer creations during the rio

fashion week, 2012 winter

Collection. AFP

LOS ANGELES: in an awardceremony that is hailed as thetelling route for the oscars,actor george Clooney won theCritics Choice Best actor awardfor his portrayal of father MattKing in fox Star Studioscomedy-drama ‘thedescendants’. last year, themajor winners at the annualCritics Choice Movie awardswent on to take home theoscar as well, so all eyes arenow firmly on ‘the descendants’with the golden globesapproaching this weekend, (5nominations for the film). ‘thedescendants’ is directed byalexander Payne of the oscarwinning "Sideways" and starsgeorge Clooney as Matt King, aprivileged honolulu attorneyfrom a landowning family who iscompelled to reevaluate hismarriage and life, while his wifelies comatose in a hospital bedfollowing a boating accident.with 5 golden globenominations already as well asbeing chosen as the best film of2011 by los angeles film Criticsassociation, ‘the descendants’is expected to blitzkrieg allmajor film awards this year,starting with the approachingoscars in february. AGENCIES

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:09 AM

PERtHAFP

aNOTHER dismal perform-ance by India's creaking toporder had the tourists totter-ing towards a heavy defeatafter the second day of the

third Test against Australia in Perth on Sat-urday. At the close of play, India, needingto win to have any hope of retaining theBorder-Gavaskar Trophy, were 88 for fourin their second innings after yet anothercollapse, an overall deficit of 120 runs.

Veteran Rahul Dravid was unbeaten on32 and Virat Kohli on 21. Young pacemanMitchell Starc, who claimed the prizedwicket of Sachin Tendulkar cheaply in theIndian second innings, said the Australiansdidn't expect to have to bat again in thematch. "We feel we have got enough to pos-sibly bowl them out without having to batagain," he said. "We are going to have to bowlpretty well tomorrow, but I think we have gotenough to get there." Indian pacemanUmesh Yadav, who was a rare chink of lightfor the tourists as he took his first five-wickethaul in Test cricket, put on a brave face."There are still three days left in the game,"he said. Australia were dismissed earlier for369 in their first innings, bolstered by a pug-nacious 180 from opener David Warner, giv-ing the home side an overall lead of 208 afterthe Indians made just 161 in their first in-nings. Yadav's one-man heroics gave his In-dian side some hope, but their ageingtop-order batsmen again failed to deliver inthe second innings. As was the case in their122-run defeat in Melbourne and inningsloss in Sydney, the Indian rot set in early intheir second time with the bat. Left-armerStarc picked up the wicket of opener GautamGambhir (14), caught in the slips from a

steepling delivery in his first over.Out-of-form opener Virender Sehwag

never looked comfortable and fell to PeterSiddle one run later for 10, while Tendulkarwill have to wait at least one more Test forhis 100th international century, after beingtrapped leg-before wicket by Starc for a pal-try eight. V.V.S. Laxman's poor series con-tinued when he was caught in the slips offBen Hilfenhaus for a nine-ball duck as Indiaslumped to 51-4. Australia resumed the sec-ond day at 149 for no wicket and looked set

to bat the Indians out of the match whenopeners Warner and Ed Cowan put on 214for the first wicket. However, three wicketsfell to Yadav before lunch -- Cowan (74),Shaun Marsh (11) and Ricky Ponting(seven) -- sparking a brief Indian fightback.Warner, dropped on 126, looked set to be-come the second Australian batsman topass 200 in as many innings, but he holedout to a back-pedalling Yadav at long-on offpaceman Ishant Sharma. Yadav completedthe catch inside the boundary rope, ending

a remarkable 159-ball knock by Warner. Hisinnings featured 20 fours and five sixes, theopener raising his century off just 69 balls -- the equal fourth-fastest in Test cricket --late on the first day. Skipper Michael Clarke,who scored an unconquered 329 in the sec-ond Sydney Test, went for 18, caught be-hind off Zaheer Khan. Following their warof words, Khan got one over Brad Haddin,having the wicketkeeper caught behind fora three-ball duck, but it was Australia wholooked well set to have the last laugh.

Page 20


it’s crunch time...

Perth: australian opening batsmandavid warner plays on way to his centuryagainst india at the waCa ground. AFP

Perth: Sachin tendulkar leaves thecrease after being given out for eight runson day two of the third test. AFP

India totter towards big defeatAUSTRALIA 1st innings (overnight 149 for 0)

E. Cowan b Yadav 74

D. Warner c Yadav b Sharma 180

S. Marsh c Laxman b Yadav 11

R. Ponting b Yadav 7

M. Clarke c Dhoni b Khan 18

M. Hussey c Sehwag b Kumar 14

B. Haddin c Dhoni b Khan 0

P. Siddle b Yadav 30

R. Harris c Gambhir b Yadav 9

M. Starc not out 15

B. Hilfenhaus c Kohli b Sehwag 6

EXTRAS (lb3, w2) 5

TOTAL (all out; 76.2 overs) 369

Fall of wickets: 1-214 (Cowan), 2-230 (Marsh), 3-242 (Ponting),

4-290 (Warner), 5-301 (Clarke), 6-303 (Haddin), 7-339

(Hussey), 8-343 (Siddle), 9-357 (Harris) 10-369 (Hilfenhaus).

BOWLING: zaheer Khan 21-3-91-2 (1w), Umesh Yadav 17-2-93-

5 (1w), Vinay Kumar 13-0-73-1, Ishant Sharma 18-0-89-1,

Virender Sehwag 7.2-0-20-1.

INDIA 1st innings 161 (V. Kohli 44; B. Hilfenhaus 4-43)

INDIA 2nd innings (follow on)

G. Gambhir c Hussey b Starc 14

V. Sehwag c Haddin b Siddle 10

R. Dravid not out 32

S. Tendulkar lbw Starc 8

V.V.S. Laxman c Marsh b Hilfenhaus 0

V. Kohli not out 21

EXTRAS (b1, lb1, w1) 3

TOTAL (for four wickets, 32 overs) 88

Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Gambhir), 2-25 (Sehwag), 3-42

(Tendulkar), 4-51 (Laxman).

BOWLING: Ryan Harris 8-1-23-0, Ben Hilfenhaus 9-2-25-1, Mitchell

Starc 6-2-14-2, Peter Siddle 7-2-21-1 (1w), Mike Hussey 2-0-3-0.

Toss: Australia, Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Kumar

Dharmasena (SRI), Video umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS), Match

referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

SCOREBOARD

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

Dav Whatmore, the man tipped to be-come Pakistan's next cricket coach, ar-rived for an interview in LahoreSaturday, moving a step closer to takingthe sport's hot seat. Dav Whatmorereached her by a private airline to holdhis final round of talks with PakistanCricket Board (PCB) officials who ap-pear set to appoint the Australian as thenational team's coach. After landing atLahore’s Allama Iqbal Airport, What-more avoided to talk to media menpresent at the airport. He is expected to

meet PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf andother officials during his stay in Lahore.

The committee appointed to selectthe head coach for national team final-ized its recommendations last weekthat were conveyed to the PCB. Re-ports said that the PCB has 95 percentfinalised Whatmore as the next headcoach. However, the final appointmentwould take place after England series.The 57-year-old former Australianbatsman, who coached Sri Lanka toWorld Cup glory in 1996, is thefavourite to replace Waqar Younis whoquit the post in September last yearover health issues. PCB appointed for-

mer opener Mohsin Khan as an in-terim coach against Sri Lanka and BDbut had to extend his stint in charge forthe series against England as the selec-tion process was delayed. Pakistan willtake on England in the first of threeTests in Dubai from Tuesday. TheTests will be followed by four one-dayand three Twenty20s. A new coach willtake over during the Asia Cup inBangladesh in March.

PCB appointed a three-man com-mittee headed by former captain In-tikhab Alam, which shortlisted fivecandidates for the post. "Whatmorehas reached here and we will talk to

him on the issue," Alam was quoted bya foreign news agency, without givingfurther details. PCB has also kept silenton the issue so as not to derail theprocess. Whatmore, who played sevenTests and one one-day internationalfor Australia in 1979, was in talks withthe PCB through another former cap-tain Ramiz Raja, who assisted the com-mittee. Whatmore, who also coachedBangladesh between 2003 and 2007,resigned from his role as coach of theIndian Premier League side KK Ridersearlier this month. Pakistan has a his-tory of sacking its coaches and has hadsix in the last ten years.

5th Indigo golftitle for SalmanLaHore: In the 5thClub Indigo Golf Tourna-ment, contested over 18holes at the Royal PalmGolf and Country ClubGolf Course yesterday,Salman Chima turnedout to be the winner afterhis startling perform-ance. Over 120 compet-ing golf amateursenjoyed a great golf out-ing supplemented by su-perb Mobilink hospitalityand the company ofsome towering corporateleaders. The golf mayhave carried an elementof social touch but those in practice and in appreciable form re-mained focused on performance and winning positions. Andnaturally, while the passionate ones produced quality golf andscores of excellence, others had ragged scores and felt not toohappy about over par scores that reflected poor application ofgolfing skills. The star of the day in gross category was SalmanChima, a 12 handicapper who came up with a startling roundof gross 74, two over par, and in the process managed to gainan edge over his nearest rival Malik Shahid Abbas by onestroke. Abbas carded a gross 75 as against Amer's 74. Boththese contenders reflected control over their tee shots and fair-way shots and regular pars enabled them to emerge as the win-ners of first gross and second gross positions and picked uptheir trophies to the applause of a large number of fellow com-petitors. In this category Omer Salamat came third with ascore of 77, followed by Asad Amin 80 and Col(r) ZulfiqarRana 82. The race for net honors also produced sufficientlygreat performances that were unbelievably heartening. Around of net 14 under par is a rare happening and the credit forthis goes to Amir Chaudry, an 18 handicapper, who played aswell as any good single handicapper, the pars coming in regu-lar succession and stroke losses few and far. In the net sectionFaisal Naseem Kari picked up the second slot with a round ofnet 64, eight under par. Another performance that deservestremendous praise was of Nadeem Azam who had to be con-tent with the third prize, with net score of 68 certainly ademonstration of his accuracy and control. Other good per-formances were by Naseer Akhter, Iftikhar Taj Mian, Dr.AhsanShamim, Nadeem Azam and Bakhtiar Hameed. At the conclu-sion of this corporate golf event, Irfan Akram, Vice President,Mobilink distributed prizes to the winners. STAFF REPORT

SSgC, Punjab w,NBP register wins

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

SSGC, Punjab Whites and NBP registeredwins in the 31st U-21 National HockeyChampionship in progress here at NationalHockey Stadium. However, at the end of theround matches NBP, SSGC, Wapda and Rail-ways were leading their group’s points table.

RESULTSSSgC beat KPK 6-0 (full time), 1-0 (half time), SSgC:Qayyum dogar 19th minute (fg), waseem abbas 2 goals46th & 59th minute (PC), Zahid 47th minute (fg) &Safeer hussain 2 goals 52nd & 54th minute (fg). rail-way vs Punjab (C) 2-2 (full time) draw, 1-1 (half time),railway: daud Khalid 28th minute (fg) & M. fiaz 54thminute (fg). Punjab (C): M. Mushtaq (Capt) 2 goals 25th& 68th minute (PC). Punjab (w) beat heC 1-0 (full time),0-0 (half time), Punjab (w): arslan 49th minute (PC).NBP beat army 6-1 (full time), 4-1 (half time), NBP:Kashif Javed 13th minute (PC), Khurram Shahzad 2 goals16th & 62nd minute (fg) & ayub ali 3 goals 22nd, 33rd &53rd minutes (fg). arMy: M. yasir 28th minute (fg).

POINT TABLEPOOL A:PS TEAMS P W D L GF GA PTS GD1. NBP 3 3 0 0 43 1 9 +422. arMy 3 2 0 1 28 6 6 +223. iSlaMaBad 2 0 0 2 0 21 0 -214. fata 2 0 0 2 0 43 0 -43POOL B:1. SSgC 3 3 0 0 18 2 9 +162. Phf aCadeMy 3 2 0 1 9 7 6 +23. SiNdh 2 0 0 2 0 9 0 -94. KPK 2 0 0 2 0 9 0 -9POOL C:1. waPda 3 3 0 0 20 1 9 +192. heC 3 1 0 2 7 3 3 +43. PUNJaB (w) 2 1 0 1 2 6 3 -44. BaloChiStaN 2 0 0 2 0 19 0 -19Pool d:1. railway 2 1 1 0 4 2 4 +22. PUNJaB (C) 2 0 2 0 5 5 2 +03. PaK. Board 2 0 1 1 3 5 1 -2

lahore: irfan akram, VP CustomerCare, teeing-off the 5th Club indigoinvitational golf tournament.

Whatmore set for Pakistan coaching job

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

Lahore Djuice Rams won the Lahore-Dehli RugbySevens tournament beating DH Gold I the finalhere on Saturday. Dehli Lions Rugby club lost thematch against DHA Greens score of 35-7. La-hore’s player Tahir scored two tries. Delhi lost thesemi-final to DHA Gold. Delhi got the third posi-tion in the match with Muzaffargarh which wasthe 3rd/4th position playoff. Saraib Qazi fromDelhi played a very good game and the score atthe end of first half was 12-0 towards Delhi. Thesecond half was also an exciting half but Delhiwas totally dominating over the young travelersfrom the farthest city of Muzaffargarh. The finalscore was 20-0. The 7-a-side tournament tookplace at the DHA rugby Stadium.8 club teamstook part in this tournament. Delhi Lions wonthe opening match against Lums 22-0. UMT facedMuzaffargarh Rugby Club with the later winingwith a score of 27-7. The third match was clinchedby DHA Gold against Garrison Service Bulls witha score of 17-10. In the fourth match LRFC beatDHA Greens 20-0. The Bowl event was played be-tween all the losing sides. The first match LUMSbeat UMT Johar Town 5-0. In the second matchDHA Greens beat Garrison Service Bulls 44-0.

lahore rams winrugby Sevens title

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:10 AM

EAST LONDON: half-centuries from hashim amla and JP duminy helped South africa secure afive-wicket win in the second one-day international against Sri lanka on Saturday. openingbatsman amla weighed in with 55 off 58 balls while duminy was not out on 66 off 87 deliver-ies. South africa, chasing Sri lanka's 236 for six, reached 237 for five with eight balls remain-ing. amla and graeme Smith (28) provided the hosts with an impressive start thanks to anopening stand of 76 before duminy controlled the middle-order as the hosts took a 2-0 lead inthe five-match series. amla looked in complete control during his innings, which included fivefours and two sixes. duminy was content to simply work the ball around and struck just onesix. Sri lanka owed their final total to dinesh Chandimal, who ended not out on 92, and left-handed opening batsman Upul tharanga. he made 66 off 85 deliveries with six fours and a six.Chandimal, together with Nuwan Kulasekara (22) and angelo Mathews (28), provided the in-nings with some late impetus. the third match of the series is in Bloemfontein on tuesday.South africa won the first game by 258 runs. dinesh Chandimal and Upul tharanga hit half-centuries in a battling Sri lankan performance. Seeking to come back after a record defeat inthe first match in Paarl, Sri lanka made 236 for six after being sent in on a slow pitch on anovercast day. tharanga hit 66 and Chandimal 92 not out as Sri lanka made some amendsafter being bowled out for a record low 43 in Paarl. Sri lanka made another poor start, withcaptain tillekeratne dilshan run out for his second successive nought and Kumar Sangakkaracaught behind for three as they struggled to 21 for two after 10 overs. tharanga and Chandi-mal put on 84 for the third wicket to build a foundation for a late innings acceleration thatyielded 109 runs off the last 15 overs. But the tourists were seldom able to break a strangle-hold imposed by tight South african bowling and tigerish fielding. the wickets taken includedtwo spectacular diving catches, by dale Steyn at short fine leg to dismiss Mahela Jayawardeneand robin Peterson, running back from mid-on to end an aggressive innings of 22 off 13 ballsby Nuwan Kulasekera. the left-handed tharanga made his runs off 85 balls with six fours anda straight six off JP duminy. Chandimal hit only one four in reaching his fifty off 84 balls butadded five more boundaries off the remaining 31 balls of his innings to finish tantalisingly shortof a third one-day international century in 19 matches. lonwabo tsotsobe and Morne Morkeltook two wickets each after rain delayed the start by 26 minutes. AGENCIES

gIVEN the conditions, after a stupen-dously successful 2011, the Pakistancricket team will be looking at the year

2012 will lots of optimism and sanguinity,which commences with a tough series againstEngland in the UAE. This is going to be Pak-istan’s most exacting test for quite some time.

The team itself is a nice blend of youth andexperience and is on an upward curve. Howeverthey will be up against Andrew Strauss and Eng-land – the number one Test team in the world,brimful of talented and experienced cricketers.There is no doubt that England is a well-rounded unit, with all bases covered.

England’s main strength lies in their bat-ting. Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook asopeners are well settled right-left combina-tion, with Jonathan Trott at number three,Kevin Pietersen at four, with Ian Bell and EoinMorgan in the middle order and perhaps thebest wicketkeeper batsman in business today,Matt Prior coming in at number seven. ThisEngland squad arguably has the most profi-cient Test lineup today.

Strauss and Cook form a skillful openingpair at the top and both have been in fine formfor the last two years. Jonathan Trott at num-ber three is a complete batsman, having an in-satiable appetite to accumulate in theorthodox manner. At number four, Pietersenis indeed one of the finest attacking batsmenaround. At number five, transformed himselfinto a reliable article in the last couple of yearsand was England’s best in Tests last year with950 runs at 118.75. At No 6, there is that sen-sational southpaw Eoin Morgan, who actuallyis ambidextrous and can be devastating on hisday. To round it off, Prior is technically cor-rect and can score really well if the top orderhas failed, with a tail that can wag.

Pakistan bowlers will have their work cutout against this England batting on good UAEpitches. England’s bowling attack too is an at-tractive combination. James Anderson andStuart Broad will open the bowling. Andersonis an intelligent seamer while Broad will hitthe deck hard and trouble the batsmen withhis height. There is competition betweenChris Tremlett, Steve Finn and Graham

Onions for the third seamer’s spot with Trem-lett having an edge if England opt for threeseamers. And then you have Graeme Swann –a high class off-spinner who relies more on hisoff spinning variations than going for awaygoing Doosras.

Swann is the one who can really troublethe Pakistani batsmen given their susceptibil-ity against high quality spin. England mightopt to play two spinners keeping in view theconditions which will bring Monty Panesar inthe mix. Monty is back after some time, stak-ing his claims for Test spot with eight wicketsin the side game against PCB XI.

This Pakistan side may not have many starplayers in their ranks but they are a cohesiveand proficient unit which knows what is ex-pected of them and know how to play wellwithin their capabilities. While opener Mo-hammad Hafeez has been really good in thelast year or so Taufeeq Umar has also man-aged to get runs, though there seems to besome reluctance in his overall batting.Taufeeq still needs to prove it to himself be-fore everyone else that he can deliver at thislevel after 10 years of international cricketunder his belt. He will be well served if hetries to be more positive.

Azhar Ali is going to bat at three and thiscan be a big series for him. He has recentlyscored his first Test ton after a string of fiftiesand Pakistan will require solidity and runsfrom him in this series.

Much will depend on how Younis Khanand Misbah-ul-Haq fare in this rubber. Bothare experienced pros and will be required tolead Pakistan’s charges with not only goodbatting by themselves but also by taking theyoungsters alongside. At number six one feelsthat Umar Akmal should get the nod ahead ofAsad Shafiq as Pakistanwill need his fire-power in the middle order as Shafiq has

proved to be pretty cocooned in his batting.Akmal looked full of intent in domestic cricketas well on the Bangladesh tour and playinghim here will be a good bet.

In the bowling department it’s high timeUmar Gul takes the step up and prove his met-tle at the Test level and this could be that se-ries. He has got everything in him which a topnotch Test bowler should have but despitehaving good times in limited overs cricket hehasn’t been able to deliver that much in Tests.For Umar Gul’s partner there will be stiff com-petition between Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khanand Aizaz Cheema. Although Cheema hastaken wickets lately but one feels that WahabRiaz has pace and Junaid Khan has talent andvariation which will be much needed againsta formidable England batting line. SaeedAjmal will be the main weapon for Pakistan inthis series but he will be well advised to shunover-experimentation and bowl more off spin-ners. Off late Ajmal has started bowling waytoo many “Doosras” and it can be soonerrather than later that he gets picked up by thetop sides. If Pakistan go for two spinners thanthey have another reliable performer in AbdurRehman. The leftie can be really good with hisvariations and can prove to be a real test forKevin Pietersen given his susceptibilityagainst left arm spinners.

All said and done it will be an exciting se-ries given the fact that both teams have goodteams on hand and both have been playinggood cricket in recent times. Pakistan needsto be positive and give it their all and there isno reason why they can beat England whichwill be a massive lift for them. For Englandthey need to prove themselves in all condi-tions. They might have beaten Australia inAustralia last year but playing against Pak-istan in this neck of the woods can be a totallydifferent ball game for them.

Sports 19Sunday, 15 January, 2012

T HE Australian Open kicks of the2012 season on Monday. After aseries of tournaments leading upto the main event, the self-pro-

claimed Grand Slam of Asia Pacific willbe the first of the four major eventsaround whom the tennis circuit revolves.The seedings among the men are pre-dictable and it is difficult to look beyondthe top four players for the winner.

Novak Djokovic is the favourite, hav-ing started the season with some domi-nating tennis in the Abu Dhabi exhibition.Djoker has not played any of the warm upevents, hoping to play himself into topform in the tournament itself. This maynot be a bad idea because he was lookingquite ragged at the end of the 2011 seasonand may be pacing himself now.

On form, Djokovic would be the odds-on favourite. He is scheduled to face AndyRoddick in the quarters and Andy Murray inthe semis, although Roddick on currentform would find it hard to get by RobinHaase or Milos Raonic. Raonic is the wildcard favourite, having won in Chennai andpossessing the best serve in the game.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal arescheduled for a semi-final meeting shouldthey get there although Federer will have toget by Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the quar-ters. Nadal will be looking nervously at theprospect of facing the giant American JohnIsner in the quarters. Another outsidefavourite Del Potro would meet AmericanMardy Fish in the quarters, although Fish,on current form would have to be at hisvery best to get that far. Fish has a difficultmatch against Giles Muller in the firstround and would not relish the prospect of

facing Phillip Kohl Schreiber in the thirdround. Also in the bottom half of the drawis the talented under achiever from theCzech Republic, Thomas Berdych. Berdychhas a quarter final against the Spanish claycourt specialist, Nicholas Almagro andshould be too strong on the hard courts.

Andy Murray has a difficult first roundencounter with rising American Ryan Har-rison. Harrison has a very good high kickingserve and would be playing with nothing tolose. This promises to be one of the potentialupsets of the initial rounds. Murray wouldface Gael Monfils in the quarters with thewinner playing Djokovic in the semifinals.

The player with the best chance of

taking the title outside the top four wouldbe Joe Wilfred Tsonga, the French Mo-hammad Ali look alike. Tsonga won inDoha and has been having some consis-tent performances of late. Should he gethis powerful serve and ground strokesgoing, Tsonga has a very good chance ofupsetting Andy Murray in the quarters.

FORM OF HIS LIFEDjokovic is in the form of his life. He hadan unprecedented season last year al-though fatigue led to some tailing off at theend. He will look to continue his masteryover Nadal this year after beating him sixtimes last year. Nadal is no longer the same

player who won two Wimbledons and aclutch of French Opens. His muscularplaying style leaves him prone to injuriesand we may have seen the best of him.

Federer, on the other hand, playedsome of his best ever tennis at the end of2011. He is fit and his effortless style meansthat his age is not a handicap. He may bethe only player who can dismantleDjokovic’s impenetrable defence. Federerdefeated the Serb in Paris and had twomatch points at the US Open, so he knowshe has the game to make it happen. Rogerhas been pacing himself, playing fewer tour-naments and that has yielded dividends. Heis still as motivated and hungry as ever ashis coach Paul Annacone stated recently.

Local hope, Lleyton Hewitt meetsGerman Cedrik-Marcel Steeb but couldplay Andy Roddick or rising Canadianstar Milos Raonic in the second round.Hewitt has been bothered by injuries andis looking to wind down his career with agood performance here. But he simplydoes not have the firepower of the topplayers and is half a step slower.

HIGHLY WATCHABLE

Some of the early round matches towatch in the men’s draw would be:1) Andy Murray vs. Ryan Harrison:

Harrison would be fancying hischances, hoping to ride his big serveto a huge upset. Murray’s defencewill probably prevail.

2) Bernard Tomic vs. Fernando Verdasco:Tomic is a talent, the best Australianplayer to emerge after Lleyton Hewitt.Verdasco has slipped out of the top 20and looks to have lost his motivation.Look for Tomic to advance.

3) Janko Tipsarevic vs. Dmitry Tursunov:

Two veterans with solid baselinegames. Tursunov probably has theheavier weight of shot but Tipsarevicwas impressive in Chennai andshould squeeze through.

4) Mardy Fish vs. Gilles Muller: Mullerhas done well in the Majors, reachingthe fourth round in Melbourne ear-lier in his career. This match could bea tossup. Fish is a flashy player butdoes not have the day to day consis-tency that guarantees him a place inthe second weeks of majors – a pos-sible upset.

5) Michael Llodra vs. Ernest Gulbis: Gulbisis a talented under-achiever. He travelsin his private jet and could perhaps notbe as hungry as some of the others. Ona good day he can beat a lot of people.Look for the veteran Llodra to get by.

THE WOMEN’S SCENEUS open champion Samantha Stosur willbe the local hope but she has some seriouscompetition before she reaches the secondweek. Nadia Petrova lurks in the thirdround and Marion Bartoli in the fourth.Petra Kvitova will be the favourite, ahead ofthe under achieving Wozniacki. Kvitova hasthe game to be one of the greats of thegame. Her aggressive go for broke style, al-lied to a sound technique, means that shedoes not have to grind out too manymatches. Her biggest challenge will comefrom Serena Williams. When she is on hergame Williams is as good as any player thathas ever played. The two could meet in thesemis although Serena is seeded only 12this year. Other in form players are VictoriaAzarenka and Li Na of China who seems tohave recovered from her late season slump,following a win over Kvitova last week.

PREVIEW: AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012

DJOKER, THE ODDS-ON FAVOURITEALI AkBAR

SportS thiS Week

PakistanuP againstthe bestthe Yorker LengthnabeeL sabir

amla, duminy steerSouth africa to victory

SRI LANKAU. Tharanga c De Villiers b M. Morkel 66T. Dilshan run out (Du Plessis) 0K. Sangakkara c De Villiers b Tsotsobe 3D. Chandimal not out 92M. Jayawardene c Steyn b M. Morkel 19N. Kulasekara c Peterson b Tsotsobe 22A. Mathews c M. Morkel b Steyn 28EXTRAS (lb1, w5) 6TOTAL (6 wkts, 50 overs) 236Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-21, 3-105, 4-140, 5-164BOWLING: Steyn 9-1-54-1, Tsotsobe 10-2-43-2, M.Morkel 9-1-39-2 (3w), A. Morkel 6-0-29-0,Duminy 6-0-26-0 (1w), Peterson 10-0-44-0 (1w)SOUTH AFRICAG. Smith c Tharanga b Prasad 28H. Amla b Prasad 55J. Kallis c Chandimal b Prasad 37J. Duminy not out 66A. de Villiers run out (N. Kulasekera) 17F. du Plessis c and b Malinga 18A. Morkel not out 12EXTRAS (lb3, w1) 4TOTAL (5 wkts, 48.4 overs) 237Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-94, 3-152, 4-193, 5-224 BOWLING: Malinga 10-1-38-1, N. Kulasekera 8-0-47-0, Mathews 2-0-13-0 (1w), Prasad10-0-46-3, Dilshan 8.4-0-44-0, K. Kulasekera1-0-6-0, Herath 9-0-40-0Result: South Africa won by five wickets, Man ofthe match: JP Duminy (RSA), Series: South Africalead the five-match series 2-0, Toss: South Africa,Umpires: Billy Doctrove, Shaun George, TV umpire:Nigel Llong (ENG), Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NzL).

SCOREBOARD

LHR 15-01-2012_Layout 1 1/15/2012 2:10 AM

Sports20Sunday, 15 January, 2012

A massive sporting week lies in the wait asPakistan take on the top-ranked test side inthe world, and the first tennis major kicksoff. Then there are a couple of colossalgames in the NBA and the Serie A to lookforward to. Here’s a look ahead to someclutch time action across four different con-tinents, covering four different sporting do-mains.

ENGLISH CHALLENGE

The year 2011 was a lucrative one for bothPakistan and England in more ways thanone. England warded off the Australianchallenge in Australia to retain the Ashesand then blanked the Indians to sit at theapex of world rankings. Pakistan, on theother hand, took a timely breather from off-field antics and stabilised matters underMisbah, that has seen them sans a series de-feat since they last look on England in thesummer of 2010. Two opponents fancyingtheir chances and going full throttle at eachother is a scrumptious prospect for anysports fan – and the Pakistan-England se-ries promises to be exactly that.

The English batting is an ensemble ofsolidity, but some of their lot might find itdifficult to cope with UAE’s conditions. An-drew Strauss, for one, needs pace andbounce in the wickets to nourish his trade-mark square of the wicket shots; and sincethose two ingredients would be as rare asmeat balls in a Russian salad, expect him tocontinue his barren spell that has seen himwithout a test century since the Gabba testin Australia. Alastair Cook and JonathanTrott have been the cornerstones of the Eng-lish success as far as the batting is con-cerned, and these two are the ones that posethe most daunting threat to the Pakistaniside. Kevin Pieterson – quite often the deci-sive factor for England – versus Saeed Ajmalis one mouthwatering prospect; and the onewho comes out on top, might just script hisside’s triumph. Ian Bell and Eoin Morgancomplete a formidable batting lineup withconsistency and free scoring prowess re-spectively.

Despite the English batting being ex-ceedingly impressive on paper, it’s theirbowling wherein the match-winning where-withal lies. However, with conditions notbeing fast bowler friendly – definitely notJames Anderson friendly – their pacerswould struggle. When the ball doesn’tswing, Anderson is as effective as a Ferrariin a quagmire. Stuart Broad – the man ofthe series against India – might be travers-ing resurgence, but again he might not as ef-fective as he is in England. The same goesfor Onions, Finn and Tremlett – if the wick-ets are dead; then so are the English pacers.Therefore, it is the English spinner(s) who’dbe vying to write the ‘Swann’ song for thePakistani batsman – and of course it’sGraeme Swann who heads this two manqueue. England have relied on the ‘threepacers one spinner’ combo recently, andhence the chances of Monty Panesar gettinga game hinge on extreme pitch conditions orEngland going for five bowlers. The formeris more likely to happen.

IS IT TSONGA TIME?

The Australian Open draw has conjured upsomething that didn’t happen in any of thefour majors last year – Federer and Nadal inone half and Murray and Djokovic in theother. Tennis – much like any knockoutcompetition – rests on the head-to-head be-tween different competitors. Take for exam-ple the fact that on paper the World NumberOne player Djokovic’s closest rival is Nadal– the second ranked player – but you don’tneed this writer to unravel the fact that theSerb would rather take on Nadal than Fed-erer or Murray, as things stand, with himwhitewashing the Spaniard 6-0 last year.Similarly had Nadal faced Federer in eitherof the US Open or Wimbledon finals lastyear, he would have had been the undis-puted favourite. Of the trio behindDjokovic, Murray is the one that poses thebiggest threat to Djokovic. A Murray-Djokovic semi could be an ideal opportunityfor the former to beat the latter; consideringthat there is significantly less pressure in thesemifinal as compared to the final – whichMurray quite often fails to overcome.

If there ever is a time to bet on a darkhorse making it deep in a major it’s at theAussie Open. Considering the Frenchman’sform at the tail end of last year, and the startof this year – winning the Qatar Open – Jo-Wilfred Tsonga could in fact break hisGrand Slam duck in Melbourne this year.Djokovic might be the overwhelmingfavourite, but it’s hard to see him recoveringin such a short span of time after overexert-ing himself throughout last year – the samegoes for Nadal. Federer could have a decenttilt; but he must be praying to the tennisgods that Nadal is ousted before the semis –because we all know that if there is no roofon top of the stadium (i.e not an indoormatch), merely Nadal’s forehand crosscourtsuffices in overpowering the Swiss. How-ever, this column – outrageously – goes forthe winner of a potential Murray-Tsongaquarterfinal to win the whole thing. Alsowatch out Milos Raonic and Bernard Tomicto leave their imprint on the tournament.

MILAN DERBY

One of the biggest fixtures on the Europeancalendar takes center stage in Milan, as thetwo city rivals – AC and Inter – battle it outfor supremacy today. Both sides are on arich vein of form; Inter have won their lastfive matches to move to within eight pointsof the league leaders, while AC Milan areunbeaten in the last 12 games since October.The fact that the two teams are on their Agame, makes the timing of the fixture per-fect for a tasty match-up.

AC Milan have been in title-winningform throughout the season, scoring 32goals and conceding eight goals – layingthe foundation of their success on amiserly defence and on clinical finishing.Cladio Ranierri’s men are on a roll of theirown with their five-game winning streakculminating in a five star thrashing ofParma. A win for Inter would narrow thegap between the neigbours to five points;and that coupled with bragging rights andthe forms of the two sides should result ina feisty clash.

Yepes, Cassano and Flamini are long-term absentees, and have been joined byAquillani and Gattuso on the treatmenttable recently; and hence Seedorf should re-place the Liverpool man. The good news forInter is that Sneijder, Forlan and Stankovichave all returned to full fitness, and shouldbe ready to face AC Milan today. However,with Pazzini and Milito likely to form thestriking duo upfront, Forlan and Stankovicmight start on the bench. Ibrahimovic andSneijder would be the key players in thegame, and the one who makes more of animpact could guide his side towards victory.

DALLAS TAKE ON SACREMENTO

After a stuttering start, the Mavericksseem to have found their groove, andwould be looking to continue their recentresurgence. Dallas would be going for their15th straight home win over Sacramentotoday. After losing the first three games ofthe season, Dallas have now improvedtheir record to (7-5) – with four wins onthe bounce. Sacramento shouldn’t haveenough to counter the Mavericks’ threat.

Dallas’ recent upsurge owes a lot totheir recent defensive solidity; and withKings scoring a Western conference low of93.0 points per game and conceding 102.3– Sacramento should have trouble on bothends of the court. With Dirk Nowitzki,Vince Carter et al, there should be only onewinner in this one.

At the start of the season, last month,Dallas topped the forecast charts with theshortest odds of retaining their NBA titlethis season. However, the aforementionedindifferent start has meant that the doubt-ing Thomas has been busy scrutinisingMavericks’ chances this year. Dallas needto capitalise on their home form, and needto overcome challenges of the likes ofSacramento and beat them resoundingly toshush the sceptics. It goes without sayingthat the big German will play a huge partas the NBA season unfolds, and competi-tion heats up in the West.

kUnWAR kHULDUnE SHAHID

ALL BASeS CoVereDLooking ahead to the Pakistan England series, AustralianOpen, Milan derby and the Mavericks-Kings showdown

IT’S CRUNCH TIME...

BriSBaNe heat piled on the misery over a lackluster Melbourne renegades at the etihadStadium on thursday with a 12-run win, that saw the home side’s hope of qualifying forthe semis – mathematically and otherwise – being buried under the Pacific ocean for

another year. with global superstars like abdul razzaq and Shahid afridi, and the likes of hodgeand Nannes within their ranks, Melbourne were one of the favourites for this season’s Big Bash.however, patchy performances throughout the season, that has seen the renegades lose four oftheir six matches, have resulted in Melbourne finding themselves at the foot of the table. afridi – captain Mcdonald’s go-to bowler – has bowled with typical menace throughout thecampaign, and is the leading wicket-taker for his side with nine wickets. But his batting, likethat of most of the team – including his flamboyant compatriot – hasn’t been worthy of writ-ing back home (or any place else for that matter) about. razzaq hasn’t quite stepped up tothe plate in australia, and has been struggling for form with both bat and ball, following avery lucrative summer with leicestershire. Knowing razzaq, it’s only a matter of time before he gets his grip on the bat; however, hisbowling has become a patched up locomotive of satirical contradictions. it goes without say-ing that razzaq is not the same bowler he was 10 years ago, but that does not mean that hestill can’t contribute to the teams he plays for, with the ball. the first thing razzaq should dois that he should cut down on his run up. it is indeed ironic that afridi with a three and a halfstep run up has the potential of bowling faster than razzaq, who has a needlessly protractedrun up to the bowling crease. another thing that this long run up does is that 4-5 yards be-fore bowling the delivery razzaq actually slows down, instead of gaining more steam at thecrucial time. and let’s face it, those legs aren’t getting any younger; they need to be pro-tected and optimally utilised. a shorter run-up would not only conserve energy, it might re-sult in a rejuvenated abdul razzaq; who’ll still have enough nip and seam to trouble thebatsmen – even at 125 kph. Both afridi and razzaq will be pivotal in the limited-overs formatsagainst england and need to be on their a game. the latter especially, is someone whobreeds on confidence given by those at the helm, and Misbah must look to restore that inrazzaq – because even at the wrong side of 30 he still has a lot to offer to Pakistan cricket.Meanwhile in the etihad Stadium in Manchester, things do not look quite as rosy as they dida month back. Manchester City have lost three out of the last four games, including back toback home defeats – after going the entire 2011 unbeaten at home –, they are out of theChampions league and the f.a Cup and are on the brink of being eliminated in the CarlingCup as well. Couple this array of misery with the fact that despite going great guns through-out the season, they are only three points ahead of possibly the most mediocre ManchesterUnited side for a couple of decades and a side managed by harry redknapp! and to roundoff all the gloom, roberto Mancini’s godfather-esque Marlon Brando like interviews smack ofdesperation and of at least 2280 mmhg of pressure on his shoulders – City are feeling theheat of being the favourites for the ePl title.roberto Mancini has blamed every single entity outside of Manchester City – from biasedreferees, luis Suarez, his tailor and even the tea lady at old trafford – for the downfall of hisside. and experience showcases that once a manager pulls out a barrage of accusationswhen things are beginning to crumble at the club; it means that he’s losing his plot – unlesshe is alex ferguson or Jose Mourinho. the team that Mancini put out against liverpool, in theCarling Cup, was collectively worth 150 million pounds, with the bench costing around 70million pounds; hence, when you’re playing real life ‘football Manager 2012’ with a lot of oilmoney funding your shopping list, the expectation is bound to soar. Not winning the league,after everything that City have done – and more importantly everything that United have notdone – in the first half of this season, would be disastrous for Manchester City and robertoMancini. Speaking of disasters, who came up with the “thunder down Under” slogan again?

Melbourne & Manchester

A tAle of twoetihAd StAdiumSMelbourne Renegades with the Pakistani duo Afridi andRazzaq are out of the Big Bash race, while ManchesterCity’s season seems to be disintegrating on many fronts

J.k WALI

Comment

wBa orders Khan-Peterson rematchWASHINGTON: the world Boxing association on friday ordered a rematchwithin 180 days of the controversial light-welterweight world title fight betweenBritain's amir Khan and american lamont Peterson. the move comes in thewake of a much debated split-decision victory by Peterson over the englishman

last month in washington, Peterson's hometown, and after a formal appealby golden Boy Promotions to the wBa on behalf of Khan. "i'm pleased

that justice has been done and the wBa has ordered an immediate re-match," Khan said. "all we ask as sportsmen is for a fair and level play-

ing field when we compete. "lamont Peterson proved in our fightthat he is a great competitor. i hope a second bout will be just as

exciting. i want to prove without doubt that i'm the best in the140-pound division by taking care of business in the rematch."referee Joe Cooper deducted points from Khan in the seventh

and 12th rounds for pushing, a rare call, and did not creditKhan with what should have been a knockdown in the firstround, according to the wBa. the sanctioning body saidCooper's moves impacted the outcome of the fight. had

Khan not been docked the point in the final round, judgesscores would have made the fight a draw and Khan would have kept his ti-tles. instead, Peterson took the wBa and international Boxing federation

crowns, improving to 30-1-1 with 15 knockouts. Khan fell to 26-2 with 18knockouts. Peterson, mentioned as a possible next foe for Manny Pacquiao,could vacate the wBa crown rather than fight a rematch with Khan and evenkeep a share of the title, depending on what happens in next week's iBf hear-

ing on the fight. "Unfortunately, we are in this process of dealing with these un-founded protests," said Barry hunter, Peterson's manager and trainer. "Khan blameseveryone and everything but his performance and lack of ability to make adjust-ments in the ring for his loss. "it would be an understatement to characterize lam-ont as being disappointed in the unprofessional manner in which Khan is attemptingto discredit his performance in the ring and victory." Promoters, meanwhile, hopethey have the chance for a Khan-Peterson rematch. "i'm thrilled about the decisionand hope that we can start negotiations and get the rematch done," golden Boy

chief executive richard Schaefer said. "Both amir and lamont are terrific youngmen and athletes who fought their hearts out in washington last december. i

am sure that fight fans from around the world applaud the wBa's decision." AFP

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Published by Arif Nizami for Nawa Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.

Sunday, 15 January, 2012 21

ISLAMABADMIAN ABRAR

THE Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday at-tached strings to its cooperationto the government-sponsoredresolution about parliament’s

sovereignty and support to the democraticsystem by proposing three tough amend-ments: asking the ruling coalition to imple-ment all parliamentary resolutions andcourt decisions, ensure corruption-freegovernance and take all administrativesteps in accordance with the law.

National Assembly (NA) OppositionLeader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan submit-ted the draft of the amendments in theNA Secretariat on Saturday to apparentlyfoil the government’s plan to pit the par-liament against the judiciary and thearmy through its resolution. It, however,seems that the government’s plan to getits resolution passed unanimously wouldnot materialise as the PML-N has pro-posed tough preconditions through its

amendments to the resolution. Underthese amendments, the PML-N has askedthe government to fully implement allSupreme Court decisions ‘in letter andspirit’ and take immediate steps to re-solve the issues being faced by the peoplethrough ‘corruption-free services’.

The PML-N has proposed an amend-ment in Paragraph 3 of the government’sresolution and asked the government tosubstitute the words “and all state insti-tutions must strictly function within thelimits imposed on them by the Constitu-tion” with “and in this regard calls uponthe government to immediately imple-ment, in letter and spirit, all previousResolutions of Parliament and all deci-sions of the superior judiciary and to en-sure that all administrative actions arestrictly in accordance with the Constitu-tion and the law, for smooth functioningof all state institutions”.

The PML-N also called for the entireParagraph 4 to be replaced with a newone. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’sresolution had said: “The House reiter-

ates that sovereignty lies with the peopleof Pakistan and the parliament is therepository of the collective wisdom of thepeople.” The PML-N wants it replacedwith: “This House reaffirms that as statedin the first paragraph of the preamble tothe constitution, sovereignty over the en-tire Universe belongs to Almighty Allahalone, and the authority to be exercisedby the people of Pakistan within the lim-its prescribed by Him is a sacred trust.”The PML-N also proposed substitution ofParagraph 5. The PPP resolution hadsaid: “This House endorses and supportthe efforts made by the political leader-ship for strengthening democracy and re-poses full confidence and trust in them,”which the PML-N wants to replace with:“Finally, this house emphasises that thebest guarantee for the strengthening ofdemocracy is the successful resolution ofthe problems of the people of Pakistan bydemocratic institutions through dedi-cated, selfless and corruption-free serv-ices for the welfare of the common manand in this regard calls upon the Govern-

ment to discharge its constitutional obli-gations and provide relief to the sufferingmasses by devoting all energies and ef-forts to improve governance, eliminategas and electricity load shedding, controlinflation, create employment opportuni-ties and put the country back on the pathof self-reliant economic growth.”finaL draft of resoLutionafter PmL-n’s amendments:This House believes that the presentdemocratic dispensation, which is aboutto complete four years, came into beingas a result of great sacrifices rendered bythe people of Pakistan. This House reit-erates the belief of the democratic forcesthat the future of Pakistan and well beingof its people lies in the continuation andstrengthening of democratic institutionsand constitutionalism for the resolutionof national issues, strengthening of theFederation and empowering the people ofPakistan This House believes that for thefurtherance of democracy and

‘N’ attaches strings to cooperation with PPPg opp party sets three tough conditions for supporting govt’s parliamentary resolution


It’s not only the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) that is op-posed to the proposed accountabilitylaw pending with the ParliamentaryCommittee on Law and Justice for al-most two years, but the National Ac-countability Bureau (NAB) is alsoagainst the legislation.

“We have our reservations and wehave conveyed our concerns to the par-liamentary committee that the pro-posed law will dilute the role of NABand it will be a step backwards,” NABChairman Admiral (r) Fasih Bokharitold a group of reporters on Saturday.Bokhari, who recently assumed thepost of NAB chairman, however, ap-

peared to have brought a new vision torevamp the country’s top accountabil-ity watchdog with a particular focus onthe preventive aspect of eliminatingcorruption, instead of what he called“nabbing the corrupt straightaway”.

His strategy, which he plans to in-troduce, is more focused on putting inplace a mechanism of check and bal-ance with the involvement of all stateinstitutions to strengthen the role ofthe regulators to stop corruption at itssource by providing protection to thetop officials of the government for say-ing “no” to all political pressures. “Weneed to strengthen the regulators be-sides providing protection to the offi-cers who sign papers under pressure tosave their jobs,” Bokhari said, explain-ing how he would make NAB an effec-

tive institution to prevent corruption ashe believed it could not be eliminatedbut could be curbed.

Though he claimed he was moreconcerned about the rampant corrup-tion in the country than others, he ap-peared to be more of a realist whowould not ruthlessly pursue the casesof corruption against the high andmighty despite having the power totake cognizance of any reported case ofcorruption. He said the Supreme Courthad asked NAB to investigate irregular-ities in the state enterprises, which washampered by the shortage of human re-sources and financial constraints. “Weare in the process of recruiting 300people to NAB and it will take at

National prideArfa Karimpasses away

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

Arfa Karim Randhawa, the world’s youngestMicrosoft Certified Professional from 2004to 2008, passed away in the CombinedMilitary Hospital (CMH), Lahore, onSaturday night. She was in a state of commafor the last 26 days and was on ventilator.Yesterday only, doctors had reported thatArfa had shown some signs of life whileMicrosoft founder Bill Gates had advisedthat she be moved to a hospital in Dubai.According to her father, her funeral will beheld at Cavalry Grounds at 10am on Sunday(today) and she will be buried in her nativevillage. Earlier, Arfa had suffered fromcardiac arrest and epileptic seizure onDecember 22, 2011, that had led to a ‘globalbrain injury’, which refers to damage to theentire brain due to lack of oxygen. Arfa, now16, was living the life of a normal teenagerand was doing her A-Levels at a local schoolin Lahore, where she was the head girl.awards: Arfa was bestowed with severalawards, including Fatimah Jinnah GoldMedal in Science and Technology, SalaamPakistan Youth Award, President’s Awardfor Pride of Performance, and one forlearning how to fly a plane at 10.

Mossad agents posed

as Cia to recruit

Pakistani militants: fPWASHIngton

AFP

Agents with Israel’s Mossad agency posed asAmerican CIA agents in operations torecruit members of the Pakistani militantgroup Jundallah, a report in Foreign Policymagazine said on Friday. Using Americandollars and US passports, the agents passedthemselves off as members of the CentralIntelligence Agency in the operations,notably in London, according to memosfrom 2007 and 2008, said the report. “It’samazing what the Israelis thought theycould get away with,” a US intelligenceofficer told Foreign Policy. “Theirrecruitment activities were nearly in theopen. They apparently didn’t give a damnwhat we thought,” said the official. “Thereport sparked White House concerns thatIsrael’s program was putting Americans atrisk,” an officer told the magazine. “There’sno question that the US has cooperated withIsrael in intelligence-gathering operationsagainst the Iranians, but this was different.”The Mossad activities could furtherjeopardize the already tense relationship ofthe United States with Pakistan.

Judge releases Ismail Qureshi

RAWALPInDISTAFF REPORT

An accountability court on Saturdayreleased former establishment secretaryIsmail Qureshi on preconditions, directinghim to appear before the NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB) whenever hewas required to, as a private TV channelreported Qureshi as saying that he hadsimply been following the orders of PrimeMinister Yousaf Raza Gilani all along.Qureshi was brought to the accountabilitycourt with Administrative Judge TariqAbbasi hearing the case. He was held byNAB for his alleged involvement in theillegal appointment of Adnan Khwaja asthe managing director (MD) of the Oil andGas Development Company Limited(OGDCL). However, it was inadvertentlyincluded in a report in Pakistan Today onFriday that Qureshi was arrested for hisalleged involvement in financialembezzlement at the National School ofPublic Policy. During the course ofhearing on Saturday, the judge asked theinvestigating officer why Qureshi hadbeen arrested and whether he had beensummoned by NAB for enquiry before hisarrest, upon which the officer told thecourt that Qureshi was required forinvestigation into the record of the caseregarding the illegal appointment ofKhwaja, because of which he wasarrested. He also admitted that NAB didnot summon Qureshi before his arrest.The judge remarked that there was a hugedifference between an investigation andan enquiry, and expressed surprise thathe had been arrested when he was willingto cooperate with the enquiry. Qureshiassured the court that he would fullycooperate with the authorities during theenquiry and also submitted a surety bondfor his release and assured the court thathe would appear before NAB whenever hewas told to do so. After hearing thearguments, the court released Qureshiwith orders to appear before NABwhenever he was required to. Qureshitold reporters after his release that heissued all orders on instructions of theprime minister, but the responsibility hadbeen placed on him.

NAb also opposed tonew accountability law



KARACHI: Police personnel display the weapons seized from suspected Taliban militants on Saturday. online

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