English Edition Feb 2013

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MadariMarch

ISRAEL - AMERICA

by: JAAN Khan

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POLICE are bringing in millions of pounds by passing on crash details to lawyers and insurance companies, figures show.Forces are accepting ‘administra-tion fees’ for handing over copies of reports on road traffic accidents.The Metropolitan Police has re-ceived more than £5 million in this way since 2009, while the Hamp-shire force pulled in more than £480,000 since 2010. Fife Con-stabulary made almost £2000,000.The country’s 48 other police forc-es did not reveal how much they made following a request under the Freedom of Information Act by car insurance company LV=.The Met said the money it made is simply an ‘administration cost’for providing copies of its reports.‘Any suggestions that the MPS has sold these details are untrue’ a spokesman said. The Met’s own figures show it made an average of £371 for each of the 13000 requests it received over the last three years.‘That is a lot of money for admin-istration’ said a spokesman for LV=.

The news came as separate re-search by the company claimed two thirds of accident victims are contacted by claims companies or lawyers – sometimes within hours of accidents.Some opportunistic claims man-agement companies go to the scene of the accident, while others go to the hospital where victims are being treated.Managing director John O’Roarke criticised the ‘aggressive’ hound-ing of crash victims.‘The heavy-handed tactics of the “claims farming” industry has resulted in record levels of com-pensation claims for whiplash and

other personal injuries – despite falling accident rates,’ he added.Last year David Cameron prom-ised to clamp down on a compen-sation culture which had made Britain the ‘whiplash capital of Europe’.From April it will be illegal to receive payment for referral fees in personal injury cases and there will also be a cap on lawyers’ fees on successful claims.But the pending legislation has prompted a whiplash ‘gold rush’ with claims companies hounding people regardless of whether they have been injured or not, says LV=.

POLICE CASHING ON CRASHES ! Poorest families

face new council tax blow

Poor families may have to pay hundreds of pounds more in council tax from April but many have no idea about what is about to hit them. Up to 3million low-income households will be worse off as council tax benefit is scrapped, according to the Resolution Foundation think-tank. Some will have to pay nearly £600 a year more, with single parents on minimum wage likely to be the hardest hit. The foundation’s Gavin Kelly said: ‘Millions of England’s poorest households – both in and out of work – are already very close to the edge given falling wages, tax credits and benefits. ‘Very few of those currently exempt from paying the full rate of council tax are expecting a large new bill to drop on to their doormat this spring. When it does, they are going to find it hard to cope.’ As well as scrapping council tax benefit, the government has handed responsibility for the discounts available to the less well-off to local councils. But it has also told them to find savings of ten per cent and banned them from penalising the elderly. Three out of four councils have been forced to cut the discounts, says the Resolution Foundation. It means families with no one in work and hitherto exempt from the tax will have to pay some of the bill for the first time – typically between £96 and £255 a year. A single parent, working part-time on minimum wage and currently paying £173 a year for a modest home, will become liable for up to an extra £577 a year. If they live in a bigger home, their bill will rise by more than £600.Councils which choose not to trim back the discounts have been ordered to find the ten per cent savings from other services.Critics point out the changes come in at the same time that millionaires get a ‘huge tax cut’. Local government minister Brandon Lewis said the reforms would cut fraud and get people into work. He added: ‘We are ending the something-for-nothing culture.’

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Sheffield City Council has submitted objections to the government's proposed changes to planning which would effect planning de-cisions made in Sheffield. Government plans would allow a planning free-for-all in the city, allowing home owners and businesses to significantly extend their properties without per-mission, regardless of the impact on neighbouring residents, and the transfer to the government of some major planning decisions for big schemes like office and retail parks, without in-put from local authorities, thereby denying local peo-ple a say.

The government says the changes are needed to boost

construction and the econo-my, despite evidence to the contrary. Currently in Shef-field, 90% of planning ap-plications are granted after negotiation with planners, with the majority passed within 8 weeks.

The typical cost of making an application for an exten-sion is just a fraction of the build cost at just £150, and there are hundreds of plan-

ning applications approved but waiting to be actioned, with hold ups more often due to issues with obtaining bank loans or mortgages, not the planning process.

The government's plans to take away local accounta-bility by centralising power in the hands of the Secretary of State, flies in the face of localism and will make it easier for unscrupulous de-velopers to build without taking local opinions into account.Labour believe removing planning permission will do nothing to boost the economy but would create resentment and conflict be-tween neighbours. And the council will have no powers to intervene.

Sheffield City Council Against Planning Free-For-All

Commenting on the proposed closure of Don Valley stadium, Cllr Shaffaq Mo-hammed, Leader of the Lib Dem Group on Sheffield City Council, said: “I’m disappointed by this announce-ment. When the Lib Dems controlled the Council closing the Stadium was proposed, but we refused and found the savings from elsewhere.

Labour councillors opened Don Valley with a great fanfare and local taxpay-ers will continue pay over £20 million a year for its construction for at least another decade. Yet now the Labour-run Council want to shut the venue before

we have even finished paying for it. What a damning example of Labour’s complete mismanagement of the city’s finances.

“Whilst we’ve heard a lot from the Council of the cuts they’re planning to make, they continue to waste money in the Town Hall.

The £2.2 million Labour are planning to spend on Town Hall meeting rooms dwarfs the refurbishment costs of the Don Valley stadium. There are difficult decisions to be made, but by prioritising Town Hall offices over front line services Labour are making the wrong choices for Sheffield.”

PROPOSED CLOSURE OF DON VALLEY STADIUM

More than two-thirds of British voters want a referendum on whether they should stay as members of the European Union (EU) though a majority would vote to stay in if given the opportunity to vote, according to an opinion poll.

The Comres opinion poll, which

questioned over 2,000 people on the referendum options and voting intentions in the 2014 European Parliament election, showed major gains for Labor and the anti-EU UK Independence Party which pushed the Conservatives into third place.

While two-thirds of Ukip voters (67 per cent) say they would vote

for full EU withdrawal, just 27 per cent of Conservative voters said they would do so. A quarter of Labor voters polled said they would vote for withdrawal, with just 17 per cent of Lib Dem voters saying likewise.

Four in five Ukip voters believe EU membership has been a mistake.

But so too do half of all Conservative voters polled and four in 10 of all those who indicate their support for Labor, figures which leave the possibility that anti-EU sentiment could grow significantly.

Over 66 % of British Electorate want Poll on EU Membership

Cheaper mortgage deals have helped keep payments for new borrowers at their most af-fordable levels for a decade, research by a major lender has found.

Typical mortgage payments for both first-time buyers and home movers have plummeted to 28% of average incomes, from a peak of 48% in 2007, said the study by Halifax. The average monthly mortgage payment for someone with a 30% deposit is £580, while the typical take-home wage is £2,062.

Camden in north London was named as the UK's least af-fordable area, with mortgage payments taking up 56.5% of take-home pay for new bor-rowers. Copeland in the North West was found to be the most

affordable, with mortgage pay-ments typically standing at 14.9% of disposable earnings.Across the UK, the share of wages taken up by mortgage payments has held steady at 28% since mid-2011.

Lenders have been slashing their mortgage rates in recent months following the launch of a Government Funding for Lending scheme giving banks access to cheap finance. How-ever, Halifax said this has re-sulted in the share of income spent on mortgage payments

also remaining steady rather than falling further because the cheaper deals have been bal-anced out by house prices edg-ing up.

It is still early days for the Funding for Lending scheme, but there is evidence that mort-gage affordability is increas-ing, as rates are down by 0.5% in recent months. However, the impact on affordability isn't as positive as it could have been, as house prices slightly in-creased at the end of 2012.

Halifax said that mortgage pay-ments have fallen by at least a quarter as a proportion of av-erage earnings in 95% of lo-cal authority areas since 2007. Some 25 areas have recorded improvements of 50% or more.

Mortgages Most Affordable in Decade

New national figures released show Sheffield’s 2012 GCSE results bucked the national trend by showing a marked improvement. In the city results, improved by 5.8 per cent and over 55 per cent of students achieved five good passes at GCSE in-cluding both English and mathematics. Nationally there was a slight fall in the percentage of students who achieved this benchmark.

Particularly pleasing was the rate of progress which many students made in both English and mathematics and this places Sheffield at its highest position for many years in the league tables of Local Authorities.

In a large number of schools in Shef-field, students achieved record results. Many schools made double figure im-provements including: Hinde House, Firth Park, Birley, Westfield, Parkwood Academy, Park Academy, Ecclesfield, Chaucer, Newfield and All Saints. At 'A' Level similar positive outcomes for students were also achieved. Shef-field's schools have leapt up the league tables of students achieving the high-est grades at 'A' level of grades A, A, B which means that students taking 'A' levels in Sheffield have achieved some great results.

Councillor Jackie Drayton, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and

Families at Sheffield City Council, said: “These are excellent results and show that Sheffield is moving in the right di-rection. It’s a tribute to all the hard work by pupils, their parents and carers, and staff in our schools.

“I am passionate that every child and young person in Sheffield should have the opportunity to reach their full poten-tial, and we have to remember that the process for achieving good GCSE and A Level results begins much earlier on. These results follow record improve-ments in our primary school SATS re-sults last summer, so it is encouraging that we are seeing this level of improve-ment at every stage of school life.”

SHEFFIELD BUCKS THE NATIONAL TREND FOR RESULTS


Labour leaders on Sheffield City Coun-cil have been left red-faced after being forced to back-down on a plan to provide i-pads for councillors, for a second time. Last month, Labour councillors proposed a pilot which would have seen council-lors provided with i-pads or i-phones for free. However, following the intervention of Lib Dem councillors, Labour leaders have now dropped the scheme. With the latest i-pad costing up to £659, an i-pad for all 84 councillors would have seen a total of £55,356 taxpayers’ money blown on the scheme.

BACK DOWN ON “BARMY” I-PADS PLAN

Making a significant change in existing Royal rules, Queen Elizabeth II has en-sured that a daughter for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be given the title of Princess.Hitherto, rules provided that a girl born to Prince William and Kate would be known as Lady, not Her Royal Highness, and only a first-born boy could get the Royal title. The Queen - by issuing new Letters Pat-ent - changed the rules so that her great-grandchild, due this summer, has a title suitable for a future monarch.The alteration was anticipated, and the amendment "seemed logical" to bring to an end the discrimination against women succeeding to the throne.

Queen Ensures William And

Kate’s Girl The Princess Title

A quarter of the country’s 20 worst postcode hotspots for home burglary insurance claims are in the Bradford district.

And the BD12 area, which cov-ers Wyke, Low Moor and Oak-enshaw, has the second high-est claims rate in the country, according to analysis of 3.49 million applications for home insurance quotes made between December 2011 and the end of

November 2012.

The other Bradford postcodes which appear in the list are BD10 (Eccleshill, Idle, Thack-ley and Greengates), BD17 (Baildon), BD18 (Shipley) and BD6 (Buttershaw and Wibsey).

The Leeds postcode LS28 (Pud-sey, Calverley and Farsley) is also named among the burglary hotspot areas.

The only area that fares worse than Bradford is London, which has seven of the top 20 hotspots. The Home Office figures show overall crime has dropped by nine per cent in West Yorkshire from September 2011 to 2012.

There were 17,929 fewer vic-tims of crime, burglary of dwell-ings was down by 27 per cent and vehicle crime dropped by 12 per cent.

Top 20 burglary hotspots

A majority of the British want to leave the EU (fast moving towards the United States of Europe). The United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland is in a civil divorce proceeding. Scotland is leaving the UK. Once Scotland is out, how ling till Wales will leave too. Under these circumstances, the UK is leaving the EU.

Prime Minister David Cameron doesn’t want anything to do with the future of Europe, United States of Europe. The Englishmen howev-er feel that they are better than Con-tinental Europeans. Cameron has shaken Europe’s political landscape by offering Britons the prospect of leaving the 27-country European

Union. Mr. Cameron however clari-fied that he wants Britain to remain in a looser union, and does not sup-port a tighter. “To try and shoehorn countries into a centralized political union would be a great mistake and Britain would not be a part of it”. Cameron angered the Europeans at World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.

Many in the EU, specially the 17 countries that use the Euro as their common currency, are striving for a closer union. Britain, a nation of shopkeepers view the EU as an economic trade block, while the EU sees itself as a political rival to the USA. “If you mean that Europe has to be a political union, a country

called Europe, then I disagree,” Mr. Cameron

Mr. Cameron revealed he intends to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU if he wins the next general election, expected in 2015. This after a tough struggle by the UK to join the EU, after op-posing it for decades.

The UK had formed an “Outer Eight” to oppose the French and German led European Common Market. France opposed the British inclusion for decades, finally ac-cepting it in the European fold.

Disunited Kingdom

OPENING TIMES11.45am Till 11pm


News in Brief

One of the UK ’s most prestig-ious education conferences took place in Sheffield last month. Over 350 world renowned ex-perts, policy makers, education leaders, headteachers, Academy Principals and leading academ-ics descended on Sheffield for the North of England Education Con-ference. The conference – which was or-ganised by Sheffield City Coun-cil, the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University – explored the cutting edge think-

ing, new ideas and innovative practice that will shape the future education landscape, both in and out of the classroom.The conference, now in its 109th year, took place at Sheffield Hal-lam University. The aim of the conference was to deliver a legacy of collaboration between academ-ics, policy makers, practitioners and service users that will last well beyond the conference itself. The conference entitled ‘Mind, Brain, Community: Inspiring Learners, Strengthening Resil-

ience’, was focussing on the mind and brain in relation to learning, schools, parents and healthy com-

munities, specifically investigat-ing the link between neuroscience and education.

Top Education Conference in Sheffield

Despite the steady stream of plas-ma, flat screen and high-definition TVs on offer, over 13,000 British householders still have black and white sets. Almost half a century after colour programmes were first beamed into British homes, people are still paying 49 pounds a year for a licence to watch in

monochrome.The number of people with black and white licences - which are nearly 100 pounds cheaper than the colour equivalent - has de-clined from 212,000 at the turn of the century to fewer than 50,000 in 2006.Last week that number had fallen

to 13,202. Though 13,202 mono-chrome licences may sound a lot, it's now a tiny percentage of the 25 million licensed viewers in the UK. The numbers of black and white TV sets in regular use has fallen dramatically over the last few years, hastened by the fact that it's now almost impossible to

replace them. There will always be a small number of users who prefer monochrome images, don't want to throw away a working piece of technology or collect old TV sets.

Over 13,000 British Households Have Black And White Tvs

The average council house rent in Rotherham will be £73.81 (paid over 49 weeks) in 2013/14 - making them still some of the lowest rents in the country.Members of Rotherham Borough Council's Cabinet agreed to an average rent in-crease of 6.19% or £4.30 per week over a 49 week period. Coun. Rose McNeely, Cabi-net Member for Safe and At-tractive Neighbourhoods for Rotherham Borough Coun-cil, said that once again the authority had little choice but to increase it rents as required by the Government's plan to bring in line all social hous-ing rents. She said: "I know only too well that many people living

in council properties across the Borough are facing a very challenging time at the mo-ment and that they will be looking to us to constrain any rent increase. We have done what we can, but our histori-cally-low rents have resulted in us having to increase them year-on-year to meet the Government's rent conver-gence target in 2015/16."In the council's recently-built 132 energy-efficient homes, the authority is set-ting rent levels at an average of £98.39. This is a lower rate of increase as the council has more discretion over homes that have already met the Government's rent conver-gence policy.

Council House Rents in Rotherham

The Fashion House hosted a visit by the British Boxer Amir Khan recently. Khan Brothers turned their vision into reality by opening JANAN in August 2011, an excep-tional fashion empire, in Bradford at 14 Shearbridge Road, BD7 1NP.JANAN caters for the fashionable man as well, and Amir happily tried the garments with interest particu-larly the Sherwanis. He was ap-preciative of the quality and variety available under one roof.

The fashion outlet takes pride in of-fering a wide range some of the most luxurious designs available in today’s eastern culture and sharing them with western clientele.

Janan’s stock ranges from party wear to burqas to casual wear. Their perse-verance for new and exclusive brands gives Janan the lead in the industry, including pieces from popular fashion designers such as Junaid Jamshed, Needlez and Sana Safinaz. Also available is a whole variety of designer unstitched suits.

Shopping at JANAN is an enjoyable experience as the knowledgeable staff who is committed to help you make that all important decision by guiding you as required during your visit to the Fashion House. So whether its clothing, accessories or shoes you are looking for they will ensure your needs are looked after.

JANAN stocks a breath taking bridal collection and has the expertise in accessories to assist you choose and prepare for the most important days in your life. The Bridal Suite is just the perfect thing for both brides and grooms to explore the exceptional attires.

JANAN is persevering to put its stamp on fashion with a service designed to adorn everyone,and its recognition as a value-for-money fashion house gives it the leading edge in the stiff competition. They hope to continue to build on their reputation as one of the most stylish and high quality Asian couture fashion houses in this country.

King Khan Visits JananNo Punches Thrown

Council tax benefit changes are set to come into force next AprilContinue reading the main storyRelated Stories

Watchdog warns over council cutsCouncils 'dodging democ-racy' on taxJobless to pay full council tax?Millions of the poorest households face council tax rises because most councils in England will pass on a 10% cut in funding from April, research suggests.A typical bill will rise

between £100 and £250 a year, but some could rise as much as £600, accord-ing to think tank the Reso-lution Foundation.Its report coincides with the deadline for local authorities to submit their plans for changing council tax benefit.

Responsibility for the benefit is being moved from the government to councils.

At the same time, the total spent on the ben-efit, which is to become known as council tax sup-port, is being cut by 10%.

'Millions of Low-Income Households' Face Council Tax Rise

Have you ever wondered which the world’s most ex-pensive cheese is? Guess! Is it Cow’s, Buffaloe’s, Sheep’s, Goat’s or Soya ..........? Which one? The answer is none of these! Surprised? So am I!!! So which is the one? To my astonishment, it is made from the milk of an animal considered unjustly as lazy, perhaps as I am thought of, whereas it is not only a very useful animal in most corners of the world but the one I consider very hard-working. This is a big clue! Any idea? Be patient - can you wait till the next ILM (THE KNOWLEDGE) is-sue? I guess you can but may be the editor’s patience under the pressure of meeting copy

deadline may be running out? You never know; I hope not InshaAllah! So, what animal is it? I have been wondering about it as they say in Yorkshire for “donkeys ears” ! Yes, you have got it; it is cheese made of donkey’s milk. And none other than Novak Djokovic has bought next year’s entire supply of this cheese. The tennis star intends to sell this delicacy, costing about £ 800 a wedge in his chain of restaurants he is opening in Serbia. He has earned a fortune from the tennis circuit but this is about milk-ing the donkey/s. Watch out, horsemeat, donkey’s milk cheese..........what next? I am cheesed off! Are you?

CHEESED OFF? By: Saeed Ahmed Sayed

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Sheffield City Council has is-sued a call for action to com-munities, businesses and en-trepreneurs to find alternative ways of delivering library services in response to the Government’s devastating cuts to Sheffield. The call has gone out as the Council is facing a mas-sive budget gap of £50m for 2013/14 which comes after it has already cut £140m in the last two years due to Govern-ment’s drastic cutback in coun-cil funding.

To date, Sheffield Council has managed the cuts in library funding through reductions in opening hours, reducing staff through voluntary redundancy and cutting vacant posts where they fall. However, the extent

of the cuts means that all areas of the council are facing drastic reductions and the saving re-quired from the library service is £1.6 million, from a budget currently standing at £6.4m a year. The scale of the budget gap means that major changes are now unavoidable.

The Council has conducted a review of library services look-ing at how the city’s library service can be delivered in the long-term. The Government’s Autumn Statement confirmed that they will impose even fur-ther cuts in future years due to their failure to secure econom-ic growth.

As a result the council looking for support from Sheffielders and beyond to develop a vi-

able and economically sustain-able library service for the fu-ture and will at the end of this month launch an eight-week period where interested groups can come forward with ideas to help run their local library services.

Once the expressions period ends in March, the Council’s Cabinet will consider the re-sponses. If no ideas come for-ward that provide a sustainable solution then the council will have no choice but to look at major service changes, which could mean up to 14 libraries, given the amount of money to be saved, could be at risk of closure. No decisions on which librar-ies could be at risk have been made.

Come and Help Save Sheffield’s Libraries A senior US congressman, angry at

President Barack Obama's policies af-ter the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, compared him to the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. President Obama introduced a com-prehensive plan to tackle gun violence, surrounded by children who wrote to him after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), who has already threatened to impeach Obama over his efforts, attacked Obama for inviting concerned chil-dren to his press conference. Speaking with Fox News a host, Stockman explained his intent to pur-sue impeachment if Obama tried to

use executive orders to combat gun violence. Stockman ended the inter-view by comparing Obama's "use" of children to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hus-sein.

Since Sandy Hook, Republicans have compared Obama to various dictators, including Hitler and Stalin.

US Congressman Compares Obama to Saddam

A third of Britons would rather watch programmes on a tablet, smartphone or laptop than a traditional television set, ac-cording to a survey. Just over a quarter of people (26%) watch less TV through a standard set than they did 10 years ago, while 33% would "happily" swap it for a gadget capable of streaming pro-

grammes. Internet TV watched on gadgets such as tablets and smartphones is becoming the default choice for many people as faster fibre optic broadband is rolled out across the country, offering the advantage of view-ing on the move.

And despite the decrease in traditional TV viewing, the

survey found that Britons are watching an average of 1.5 hours more video, film and tel-evision content a day than they were 10 years ago.It is predicted that the televi-sion set will be replaced as the primary viewing device by gadgets working off broadband connections in most British homes by 2017.

Britons Make Switch From TV Sets

Opposition councillors on Sheffield City Council have accused the Labour-run Council of failing to stand up for Sheffield as millions of pounds of debts from neigh-bouring councils remain uncollected.

The accusations relate the £14m of debt accumulated following the collapse of the South Yorkshire Trading Standards Unit.The unit, which was a joint operation between Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster, was closed when evidence of serious fraud surfaced in 2006.

However, £7.9m of debt remains out-standing and council finance officers

maintain there is a risk that outstanding contributions will not be recovered. Lib-eral Democrat councillors are calling on Sheffield Council leaders to stand up to other Labour politicians across South Yorkshire and ensure the funds are recovered.

Sheffields Uncollected Debt

www.ilmnews.com

By: Shahid AliAt the start of this month I was invited by Nasir Mir (Apna Restaurant) to attend a celebration event on behalf of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, celebrating 3 years of ILM. As I sat there a number of times it was mentioned that people criticised ILM and the people who bought it to-gether, when it first started and continue to do so.

For a monthly community newspaper to be still going after 3 years is an achieve-ment in itself and the com-mitment and dedication by the contributors and the team who bring it together is worthy of praise and rec-ognition. But the constant theme of criticism is one that I would like to explore.

I was watching a movie with my child called ‘Ratatouille’ recently and in it the Char-acter ‘Anton Ego’, offers up the following at the climax of the movie. I enjoyed it and think you may find it relevant to this article.

“In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a posi-

tion over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we crit-ics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the *new*. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends..…”

Too many times we take crit-icism as a personal attack, as an insult to who we are. But it’s not. Well, perhaps some-times it is, but we don’t have to take it that way. Take it as a criticism of your actions or product, not your person. If you do that, you can detach yourself from the criticism emotionally and see what should be done. But the way that man

y of us handle the criticisms that we see as personal at-tacks is by attacking back. “I’m not going to let some-

one talk to me that way.” Especially if this criticism is made in public, such as on radio.

You have to defend yourself, and attack the attacker … right? Wrong. By attacking the attacker, you are stoop-ing to their level. Even if the person was mean or rude, you don’t have to be the same way. You don’t have to commit the same sins. Be the better person.

Below are some of the at-tributes a person should have when receiving criticism:

Listen carefully. In any situation listening carefully is a key skill. If you ignore critical comments, you're doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

The first step is the most dif-ficult, as it can mean that one must "suck up" one's pride and admit one's responsi-bility in one's work-related errors. It can be seen as an opportunity to improve — and without that constant improvement, we are just sitting still. Improvement is

a good thing. For example, this criticism:

“The same old people are writing the same old things", can be read: “We need to increase the variety of con-tributors and write about a variety of topics.” That’s just one example of course — you can do that with just about any criticism. Some-times it’s just someone hav-ing a bad day, but many times there’s at least a grain of truth in the criticism.

Thank the critic. Even if someone is harsh and rude, thank them. They might have been having a bad day, or maybe they’re just a negative person in general. But even so, your attitude of gratitude will probably catch them off-guard. Thanking a critic can actually win a few of them over. All because of a simple act of saying thank you for the criticism. It’s un-expected, and often appreci-ated.

Even if the critic doesn’t take your “thank you” in a good way, it’s still good to do — for yourself. It’s a

way of reminding yourself that the criticism was a good thing for you, a way of keep-ing yourself humble - not cocky.Learn from the criticism. After seeing criticism in a positive light, and thanking the critic, don’t just move on and go back to business as usual. Actually try to improve. That’s a difficult concept for some people, because they often think that they’re right no matter what.

But no one is always right. You, in fact, may be wrong, and the critic may be right. So see if there’s something you can change to make yourself better. And then make that change. Actually strive to do better as a com-municator. You'll end up be-ing glad you made the extra effort.Many of the criticisms made are in regards to ILM itself, but year on year the newspa-per has been developing of-fering new insights, new ar-ticles and giving a platform for people to express them-selves and their views. Con-trary to some peoples belief the contributors actually do

not pay ILM to publish their piece or for ILM to cover an event.

I have been a party to many critiquing conversations with ILM, where they have listened patiently at times and explained their point of view. I have found them willing to listen and it is where they asked me to write monthly in the news-paper. ILM is the sum of parts from a large number of contributors and behind the scenes staff, who we should appreciate and encourage.

Finally one of the ripples that ILM has caused in our community along with the radio fraternity is a ‘media revolution’ in the Pakistani community in Sheffield.

I have seen increasing en-thusiasm and commitment from participants that has been developed over the last 3 years and I hope that ILM does go from strength to strength and establishes greater routes into commu-nity and encourages younger participants to contribute over the next year.

ILM NEWS - 3 Years on

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The world's richest 100 people earned enough last year to end extreme poverty for the world's poorest people four times over, Oxfam has said. The charity said an "explosion in extreme wealth" was hindering efforts to tackle poverty.

Releasing The Cost Of Inequal-ity: How Wealth And Income Extremes Hurt Us All, Oxfam said the net income last year of

the 100 richest people was 240 billion US dollars (£150 billion). In contrast, people in "extreme poverty" live on less than 1.25 US dollars (78p) per day, and the charity called on world leaders to commit to reducing inequality to levels last seen in 1990.

Barbara Stocking, Oxfam's chief executive, said a "global new deal" was needed to reverse dec-ades of increasing inequality. She said: "We can no longer pre-tend the creation of wealth for a few will inevitably benefit the many - too often the reverse is true. Concentration of resources in the hands of the top 1% de-presses economic activity and makes life harder for everyone else - particularly those at the

bottom of the economic ladder."Oxfam said world leaders should learn from countries like Brazil, which has "grown rapidly while reducing inequality”.

We need a global new deal to reverse decades of increasing inequality. As a first step world leaders should formally com-mit themselves to reducing in-equality to the levels seen in 1990. From tax havens to weak employment laws, the richest benefit from a global economic system which is rigged in their favour. It is time our leaders reformed the system so that it works in the interests of the whole of humanity rather than a global elite.

Oxfam hits out at ‘extreme wealth’

Samsung wowed an audience in Las Vegas with a working mo-bile phone screen which can be rolled and unrolled like a sheet of paper.The screen kept working as it

was rolled and unrolled - show-ing off that it is far more flexible than previous 'bendable' screens. The screen uses the same OLED - organic LED - technology as many current smartphones, but

encased in plastic instead of glass. The prototype device is built to be "virtually unbreak-able", Samsung claims.The new form factor will re-ally begin to change how peo-ple interact with their devices, opening up new lifestyle pos-sibilities. The new display is called “Youm." Samsung also showed off a smartphone pro-totype equipped with a curved edge, which works almost like a 'second screen' around the edge of the device. The Korean technology com-pany remained quiet on when flexible phones might go on sale.

Samsung Shows off ‘Unbreakable’ Phone which Rolls up Like Paper

As many as 3,980 criminals of for-eign origin, who should have been sent back to their own countries, are freely roaming the streets of Britain. The criminals include murderers and rapists.

Though the government wants to deport them, many cannot be sent back because of their human rights. A Tory MP, who asked a question that led to the publication of the figures, called for the abolition of

the Human Rights Act. “Lax immigration and border con-trols inherited from the previous La-bour government have left this lega-cy and the current government must take all steps necessary, including abolishing the Human Rights Act, to get these people removed from Brit-ain," the MP was quoted as saying.

The public deserve to have a robust immigration system in place to keep them safe instead of laws and rules

designed to help foreigners remain in Britain when they should have no

right to be here.""Hard-pressed taxpayers will be disgusted to learn that they are foot-ing the legal fees and living costs associated with this number of for-eigners overstaying their welcome," Patel said.

Officials say thousands of criminals use the Human Rights Act, which guarantees the "right to family life", or fears about violence in the coun-tries they left as a way to dodge

deportation.

Ministers said that last year a string of murders and sex attacks were committed by foreign nationals who should already have been sent back. Foreign criminals on immigration bail have committed three murders, three kidnappings and 14 sexual of-fences, including rape. Official figures show that there have also been arrests in relation to 27 other "violent crimes" and 64 thefts.

4,000 Foreign Criminals ‘Cannot be Deported’

Police in the East of Sheffield are undertaking an operation to address an increase in house burglary. The operation will involve a significant number of police officers both uni-form and plain clothes officers to-gether with partner agency activity. The areas where these burglaries have been committed are around Frecheville, Handsworh, Wood-thorpe, and Darnall, and occurred mainly late evening into the early mornings.There will be an increased police presence in these communities in an effort to reassure residents and tar-get offenders. Officers and PCSOs

from the local safer neighbourhood teams will endeavour to visit every homeowner or resident, who have been unfortunate to become a victim of burglary, and will offer reassur-ance and crime prevention advice, to avoid them becoming a repeat victim. In addition, officers will be visiting local second-hand shops in the area to make them aware, and liasing with partner agencies to help police identify and arrest those re-sponsible.South Yorkshire Police want to en-courage the public to pass on information about burglars and the handling of stolen goods by calling

101, the non-emergency number, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Phone 999 if a life is at risk or a crime is in progress.South Yorkshire Police offer the fol-lowing advice about home security. Remember to lock all your doors

and windows, even if you are at home • Review your locks, up-grade your locks to one that is spe-cifically designed to prevent lock snapping • Consider installing a bur-glar alarm and use it, even when you’re in bed • Leave a light on when you go out • Keep your valuables - in-cluding car keys in a safe place awayfrom doors and windows • Fit outside security light-ing and review your boundary secu-rity

• Be nosey - report any sus-picious people or vehicles in your neighbourhood • Protect your valuables with a property marking solution like SmartWater or an ultraviolet marker pen and register your things free on www.immobilise.com,this may help recovered stolen property to be returned to its rightful owner. For further crime prevention ad-vice, please visit http://www.southyorks.police.uk/home-safety/burglaryhttp://www.southyorks.police.uk/content/protecting-your-property

Police Activity Increased After a Rise in Burglaries Across East Sheffield

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Muslim community leaders have urged NHS managers to drop plans to charge for male circum-cisions carried out for ‘non thera-peutic’ reasons.Sheffield NHS clinical commis-sioning group is proposing the change from April, because of government cuts putting pres-sure on budgets. However, representatives from Sheffield’s Muslim community fear the move could see some families use ‘back-street’ providers – potentially risking the health of boys and leading to greater cost for the NHS in the long-term.Tim Furness, chief of business planning and partnerships for the group, said “we are proposing to

cease to commission circumci-sions for non-medical reasons as this diverts funding away from mainstream health activity.

“ It is acknowledged this deci-sion would have a particular im-pact on the Muslim community and certain ethnic groups.” He said discussions were taking place with Sheffield Children’s Hospital to develop a private

service.But Muhammad Ali, chairman of the Pakistani Muslim Centre, Attercliffe, said “it is important the procedure is carried out in a safe environment, but there is concern poorer families might go down the route of using back-street providers. This could be counter-produc-tive, because it could put chil-dren at risk and lead to more costs for the NHS. Circumcision for males has been a fundamen-tal part of the faith since the start of Islam and representations have been made to the NHS urg-ing against this proposal.”

Community’s Fears Over Charging Plans

Though health-conscious fit-ness enthusiasts are never seen without bottled water, and it is subject to less strin-gent safety tests than tap water, the bottled variety is much more likely to be con-taminated, says a new study.

Bottled water costs more than tap water but is more likely to become a source of infection. On average, Britons drink 33 litres of bottled water annual-ly, whether ordinary mineral, fizzy, or "purified" tap water. Almost a quarter of people who drink bottled water at home say they do so because they believe it is better than tap water.But what consumers do not

realise is that tap water is checked daily under a rigor-ous inspection regime. It also contains trace amounts of chlorine that prevent the spread of anything harmful such as bacterial infections.

In contrast, makers of bot-tled water are only required to undertake monthly testing at source. Once filled and sealed, a bottle of water might remain in storage for months before it is sold. Bottled wa-ter contains no disinfecting additives such as chlorine.

After a bottle of water is opened, it has no way of re-maining sterile, and so must be drunk within days.

Batches of bottled water have had to be removed from Brit-ish supermarkets because of questions over contamina-tion. In 1990, a firm had to withdraw millions of bottles worldwide after traces of benzene were found in the water.

BOTTLED WATER NOT SO HEALTHY

ISRAEL - AMERICAThere may be trouble ahead

By:Jaan. M. Khan E: Mail [email protected]

As President Barak Hussein Obama gets sworn in for a historic second term the Middle East was rapping its welcome back President gifts. Egypt was offering death sentences on football fans and rioting. Libya Evacuation of foreigners and killings. Iraq with its mass suicide bombing and death squads (same as the president got 4 years ago), and Israel with its Benjamin... (I’ll build all the settlements I F...... like on occupied Palestinian land and what you gona do about it BO) Netanyahu.

Now it’s no state secret that The President of the United States has no love lost for the newly re-elected Prime Minster of Israel Benyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu. Having been fed a diet of baloney followed by more baloney by the Israeli Prime Minster since he came to power in 2009, Obama is quite aware that far from having a partner in the historic America Israel double act for peace. He does actually have a rival act with opposing goals vying for the confidence of Americas power base,

be it the Senate( whom every President needs to enact legislation), the powerful Pro-Israeli Lobby along with Christian Zionists or and possibly most crucially in the long run American sensibilities for the Jewish state.

After inheriting a legacy of might is right along with American imperialism as propagated by the regime of George

Bush the second and his cohorts. Obama was tasked with confidence building in the vision of America as a land of hope and opportunity a stabiliz-ing factor in a world of uncertantity and crucially not anti-Islamic. The principles of the founding fathers of the United States and the reality of its young history of immigration and multiple communities making America one of the most diverse countries in the world had well and truly been over-

run by that of a conquest seeking, self interested cruel empire.

An empire which had now set its sights firmly on Islam and Muslim lands full of the world’s most important natural resource, oil. Whilst Obamas land mark Cairo speech in his first term, together with pro-nounced withdrawals from both Iraq and Afghanistan showed his intentions, his attempts to tackle the essence of instability in the middle east namely the Israeli Palestinian conflict and Israelis continued expansion into the occupied territories, was rather less successful for one reason and that reason has now again been elected as Israelis prime minster Benyamin Netanyahu.

However Obama will show some relief as Netanyahu’s’ center right coalition and Likud Party is somewhat weak-ened, by the emergence of other Israeli centrist parties, who have done far better than expected and it would seem at the cost of Israelis right wing parties, who have lost votes and diminished their power within any future coalition government.

Frances former President Nikolas Sar-coxie’s off the cuff remark to Obama, which was captured by the microphones that he couldn’t stand Netanyahu as he was a liar who to paraphrase didn’t want peace, indicates the wider assump-tion by the international community that Netanyahu is essentially an impediment to any peace process in the middle east. And hereby lies the dilemma for the

humble citizen who follows these affairs and an incumbent American President. What can you actually do, if the Prime Minster of Israel doesn’t want to play ball? Well the answers my dear friends are not much at best and absolutely nothing at worst. Although the tide of opinion for Israel is changing around the world and most importantly within the United States, it will take a lot longer than the next ten, fifteen or twenty years for that shift to reflect and

manifest its self into policy.

The driving force for the propagation of Israel and its blatant disregard for international laws is the lack of a nu-anced American Israeli foreign policy. No other prime minster can lecture the President of America about what he should and shouldn’t do as Netanyahu palpably has done. And a lecture from no other prime minster in the world would be tolerated by the US President as he does with Israel.It seems that any actual change towards Israeli policy has to come from within.

That is to say an organic process from within the Jewish American intellectual community as espoused by professor Noam Chomsky and Professor Nor-man Finkelstein. Or a size mick shift in international realities as the newly emerging nations from the Arab spring develop democratic models and Institu-tions and emerge as free voting nations thereby dispelling the myth propagated for so long that Israel is the only democratic state within the middle east and by extension a western surro-gate nation within a sea of dictatorships.


Saying "a decade of war is now ending," President Barack Obama began his second term in office by exhorting Ameri-cans to seize the moment and "answer the call of history" as he laid out a progressive agenda to tackle challenging issues such as gun control and immigration reform."Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time - but it does require us to act in our time," Obama said in his second inaugural address making a forceful plea to "an-swer the call of history". "My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it - so long as we seize it together," said Obama outlining the vision for his second term. Extolling the importance of

democracy across the world, Obama said: "America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe." "For no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation," he added, suggesting "a decade of war is now ending" without making a direct reference to the impending drawdown of Ameri-can troops from Afghanistan next year.The media reaction to the Presi-dent's speech was on expected lines."With this speech, he has made a forceful argument for a progres-sive agenda that meets the na-tion's needs," said the influential New York Times in an editorial hoping "he has the political will and tactical instincts to carry it out".

In the Washington Post's view Obama had offered "concrete goals at home, wishful thinking abroad". "America's adversaries are not in retreat; they will be watching Mr. Obama in his sec-ond term to see if the same can be said of the United States," it suggested.But in the conservative Wash-ington Times, columnist Robert Knight suggested in an opin-ion piece Obama was "shoot-ing holes in the Constitution". "Leave it to Barack Obama to come into his inaugural week-end with a bang, and not just on guns. He's made it clear that he intends more spending, more regulation, more radical appointees and less national defence in his second term," he wrote.

A Decade of War is Ending: Obama

Sheffield MPs, Faith Leaders, representatives of the Voluntary and Community Sector, and trade unions are coming together to call for A Fair Deal for Sheffield. The ‘Fair Deal for Sheffield’ cam-paign is being supported by a wide range of Sheffield’s faith leaders, the voluntary and community sec-tor, unions and local politicians. On Friday 25th January at 1pm they will be launching a People’s Petition for fair funding for Shef-field, which challenges the Gov-ernment’s unfair distribution of public spending cuts to city serv-

ices. There will be a campaign launch and photocall outside the Town Hall. The Fair Deal cam-paign highlights the unfairness of the Government’s cuts on Shef-field, compared to wealthier areas which are receiving much lower reductions in funding. The people’s petition calls on the Government to give Sheffield and South Yorkshire the fair funding that we deserve. The Fair Deal briefing document sets out the background to the unfairness of the Government’s cuts on Shef-field. Paul Blomfield MP, Mem-

ber of Parliament for Sheffield Central, said: “The campaign highlights the disproportionate Government cuts affecting Shef-field and makes the case for fair funding. The cuts forced on the Council show the devastating lo-cal impact of the Government’s unfairness, but it’s about more than the Council. The unfair cuts to public and voluntary services, combined with the impact of changes to benefits will hit our city harder than wealthier areas. We can’t go on like this. Sheffield deserves a fair deal.”

‘A Fair Deal for Sheffield’

UK hospitals are likely to be threatened with closure if they covered up doctors' mis-takes and poor treatment of patients, following a public inquiry into one of the coun-try's worst health scandals.

The £11million review into serious failings at Stafford Hospital will demand hospi-tals also face fines while in-competent managers will be weeded out. There will also be better training for nurses and healthcare assistants.

The Francis report about what went wrong at the hos-

pital between 2005 and 2009, where up to 1,200 people needlessly died in horrific

conditions, will recommend a major overhaul of health service regulation.The report paints a devas-tating picture of the state of the National Health Service (NHS) and condemns the "culture of fear" from White-hall to the wards which al-lowed bullying and secrecy to continue while patients were neglected.

Thousands of patients at Mid Staffordshire NHS Founda-tion Trust were affected by the scandalous lack of care which left many unwashed and crying in pain.

Hospitals to Face Closure if They Cover up Blunders

It is unfortunate that India and Pakistan could not resist the temptation to err on either side of the cease fire line (LOC) at the start of 2013. The loss of life and the manner in which the bodies of the soldiers have been treated does not conform to laws of chiv-alry and rules of engagement. A violation of cease fire line could have been corrected in due course but the act to mutilate a fallen soldier is unmanly and in-human. Armies around the world have started giving up the killing instinct and are engaged in peace keeping. The Indian and Paki-stani soldier is equally engaged around the globe in promoting and supervising peace. Why does he fail at home, needs a thorough examination? It is an irony that business has re-mained as usual between the two countries and the party which has fallen prey to this hostile situ-ation are the people and the in-terests of the people of Kashmir. Trade and travel across the Line

of Control have been suspended. India would be preparing itself to meet any future challenges from Pakistan across the LOC and in-side the Valley of Kashmir and vice versa. It means putting the military, police and security ap-paratus on a high alert at the cost of general convenience of a com-mon Kashmiri. Those of us who primarily don’t write for a financial benefit and the members of the civil society have a lead role to play to ensure that the two countries “Don’t Hurt Kashmir”. We need to make sure that our politics of either manner (Separatist and Main-stream) conducts itself in the best interests of all the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We have an on-going dispute with the Gov-ernment of India in regard to the final say on the bilateral agree-ment (provisional) made on 26 October 1947, J & K Constitu-tion and the Indian case present-ed at the UN Security Council in January 1948. It is all a question

of law and does not entail any vi-olence against the union of India or the people of Kashmir. Kashmiri people in fact have been identified as victims of oppression by Lord Hardinge, Secretary to the Government of India in his letter dated 7 Janu-ary 1848 addressed to Maharaja Gulab Singh. The history of our oppression is 165 year old. Peo-ple of Kashmir endured all this until the Government of Kashmir entered into a Stand Still Agree-ment with the Government of Pakistan in August 1947. Paki-stan was the first sovereign State to have a diplomatic foothold and share in the running the affairs of Kashmir. It is unfortunate to point out that post 1947 Pakistan has remained one of the main factors in ag-gravating the sufferings of the people of Kashmir and their ill placed trust in Pakistan has re-mained a cause of the death of a generation and the death of self-determination. Most Kashmiris are sick of con-flict and desperate for a peaceful settlement. But for both India and Pakistan the symbolic im-portance of the Kashmir dispute means that they will inevitably follow their own perceived na-tional interests rather than those of the people of Kashmir. If the Kashmiris had been conducting a straightforward fight for inde-pendence in the same way as the Chechens or East Timorese, they would have had a greater chance

of success. The tragedy of Kash-mir is that the voices of its own people have been drowned out by the Islamists, nationalists and ideologues in both Islamabad and Delhi.Has Pakistans leadership has failed in its duty and respon-sibility to keep examining the political developments in Paki-stan in particular and Pakistan’s Kashmir policy in general? Our leaders should have taken a due cognizance of the fact when in October 1958 Martial Law Gov-ernment changed the designation “Islamic Republic” and declared that the “Republic [was] hence-forth known as Pakistan”. It was the first sign of being uncertain about the title of the State. The designation to “Islamic Repub-lic” was reverted back in 1973. In January 1959 Military Gov-ernment established the Bureau of National Reconstruction. It was tasked “to coalesce all the divergent linguistic, sectarian and social groups into a single cohesive nation”. Unfortunately the experiment to “encourage the development of local culture as part of the nation building proc-ess” failed in 1971. The values and approaches between the two people from East Pakistan and West Pakistan remained at vari-ance. All other princely States that had acceded to Pakistan started feeling uncomfortable and oppressed.The history of treatment of Kash-miri leaders, in particular the

Mohajir leaders and the Kash-miri refugees (2.5 million) does not make a good read. They could not attract any rebuke on physical appearance, like Ben-galis, but continued to face dis-trust and gaze of secret agencies all their lives. Pakistan disabled their input in the right of self-determination in all manner. It took over the control of Gilgit and Baltistan and instructed the President of AJK in respect of Act 1974 for its passage in the Assembly and secure a direct and an indirect control of these ter-ritories. Kashmir was not raised at the UN from 5 November 1965 to 15 September 1996. It resulted in the deletion of Kashmir as a regular item on UN Security Council agenda in September 1996. Kashmir had continued as a regular item for 48 years from January 1948 to September 1996.

It is now a subject of an annual reminder rule.Both countries continue to use Kashmir as a theatre for proxy and this proxy took a physical shape of Kashmir militancy in 1990. It was very late in 2006 that President Musharraf proposed, “to curb all militant aspects of the struggle for freedom”. By then the people of Kashmir had lost a generation, lost the right of self-determination and had suffered unprecedented loss of ‘life’, ‘honour’ and ‘property’. It is high time that we revisit the various aspects of our politics, the singular role of Pakistan in Kashmir case and seek its owner-ship. It would mean actively and ably engaging the Government of India and the people of India. Civil society has to address India and Pakistan in equity according to their respective jurisprudence/interest in the dispute.

Don’t Hurt Kashmir By: Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani

UK:- Households throw away £10 billion worth of food every yearUS:- Supermarket penalties encourage producers to grow too much food as a form of insurance against poor weather India:- 21 million tonnes of wheat is wastedSub-Saharan Africa + South-East Asia:- Bruising, mould, water damage, birds, insects and rodents all destroy large quantities of foodChina:- 45% of rice is lost between the field and the tableVietnam:- Up to 80% of rice is lost between the field and the tableAustralia:- 0.75% of grain harvests is wastedUkraine:- 25-30% of grain harvests is wastedGhana:-50% of maize was wasted in 2008

2 BILLION TONNES OF FOOD : HALF OF ALL PRODUCED IS WASTED - By:- Syed Iftikhar Shah

www.ilmnews.com

Researchers found that the risk of kidney failure is greater for people with chronic kidney disease who also have atrial fibrillation, one of the most common forms of irregular heart rhythm in adults. Many people who suffer from chronic kidney disease pro-gressively lose their kidney function over time and eventu-ally develop a condition called end-stage renal disease - the complete failure of the kid-neys - placing them in need of lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant. Now researchers have found that the risk of kidney failure is greater for people with chronic kidney disease who also have atrial fibrillation, one of the most common forms of irregu-lar heart rhythm in adults. The finding opens the way for further studies into the re-lationship between the two factors, which could lead to new treatment approaches that would improve outcomes for people with chronic kidney

disease. Doctors have known that pa-tients with chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease commonly have atrial fibrillation and as a result are more likely to have a stroke or to die. However, the long-term impact of atrial fibrilla-tion on kidney function among

patients with known chronic kidney disease has been un-known. People who have chronic kid-ney disease fall into a spectrum in terms of how severe their disease is. At one end are those who have very minor loss of kidney function. They may not have any symptoms at all, and only by applying a simple blood test can doctors properly diagnose their disease. At the other end of the spec-

trum are the people who have progressed to end-stage re-nal disease, which is basi-cally complete kidney failure. They require lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant. Some people progress rapidly to end-stage renal disease while others may live for decades without ever progressing. Doctors are interested in un-derstanding the factors that place patients at greater risk for end-stage renal disease, because it may be possible to address those factors through medications or lifestyle chang-es like diet or exercise. However, that while the two conditions are intertwined, scientists do not know ex-actly which specific genes, pathways and biological mechanisms connect irregular heartbeat to declines in kid-ney function. Neither do they yet know the extent to which treating atrial fibrillation will improve outcomes for people with chronic kidney disease.

Irregular Heart Beat Elevates Risk of Kidney Failure

Over the last few weeks I have noticed the demand for com-mercial property to rent. In par-ticular, retail property has seen a rise in enquiries. Therefore, some good news for a change in the property market. On one property I have had over twenty enquiries, from a range of people either wanting to set up a new business, expand their existing business, or relocate. This is not an isolated case. Other cases have similarly seen a rise in enquiries.

Could this be down to the long holiday period over Christmas, where people have had time to think about the future with one thought being to start your own business. Or is this a clear sign that people are taking things into their own hands and be-coming responsible for their own futures. Whatever the cir-cumstances, one issue is for certain – that you will need a property to operate from. There are certain principles you need to consider in picking the right property. I will try to highlight some.

LocationIt is one of the most important decisions you will ever make – picking the right location could make or break your busi-ness decision. You will need to consider if the property you are considering is suitable for your proposed business. Consider the make up of the area, what other businesses are operating there, are they multinationals or independent traders?Multinationals do attract people to a shopping centre and have a positive knock-on effect on sur-rounding businesses.It is always advisable to visit the area at different times of the day to gauge footfall. It will give you a good feel as to whether or not it is the right location for you. Also talk to other people already trading in the area.

It is the old adage of LOCA-TION, LOCATION, LOCA-TION which still holds true.

PlanningIt is important to find our early if the use you are considering is acceptable in planning terms. Therefore, a quick call to the Planning Department of your local authority is an absolute must.If you do need planning permis-sion, then discuss this with your potential landlord as it could take up to three months to gain planning permission. It is there-fore important to make your of-fer subject to planning.At this stage it is advisable that you take good professional ad-vice from your chartered sur-veyor and lawyer.

LeasesLease terms you may be of-fered can range from 3 years to 25 years, with regular rent reviews. Once you get to this stage it is important to consult your solicitor as the lease will need to be drawn up between yourself and the landlord.Another issue to consider is on what basis you are taking the lease – whether it is on FRI terms or IR terms. FRI terms means the tenant is responsible for the full repair and insurance of the property. IR terms mean that the tenant is responsible for all internal repairs. Don't worry about these terms as your pro-fessional advisers will help you through these.

Business RatesMost leases do not include business rates. Therefore, do bear this in mind in yourbudgeting process as this will be another cost in addition to your rent.The landlord should be aware of the rateable value of the property. If they are not then you can contact your local au-thority and ascertain the value.

DilapidationsAlways keep a record of the condition of the property on signing the lease. The record should be agreed between the landlord and the tenant.Your chartered surveyor should be able to advise on this both at the beginning of the lease and at the end. Dilapidations is a specialised area, therefore you would be well advised to leave this to your professional advi-sors. It is quite common at the end of the term that issues can arise which you need to leave to your advisors.

Market ConditionsIt is not very often in the last few years that you could say that the market is showing signs of improvement, but if the last few months are a sign of the fu-ture it is clear demand for retail shop units is beginning to im-prove.The key ingredient in this mar-ket is that landlords need to be realistic in the rent they ask and tenants need to be aware of the commitment they are entering into. Flexibility is a key com-ponent of ensuring this market continues to improve. The re-covering is very fragile never-theless it is moving in the right direction.The right property in the right location will find tenants, there-fore investors need to bear this in mind when buying retail property for investment.In conclusion this article is for discussion, it is important that if you embark on leasing a prop-erty that you take the advice of a lawyer and chartered survey-or, equally landlords should do the same.

If you want to contact me I am a consultant at Mark Jenkinson and Son, telephone 0114 276 0151 or mobile: 07879 015095 and I will be delighted to advise on any property issues you may wish to discuss.

PROPERTY CORNER Starting Your Own Business

& PropertyMohammed Mahroof BSc

(Hons) MRICS ConsultantMark Jenkinson & Son

Rotherham’s historic Boston Castle is set to bring history to life with a very special talk this month.

The recently-restored landmark will be hosting a “Medical Detectives: Fight-ing Cholera and Typhoid” talk with historian and author Tony Dodsworth on Friday February 15 from 1pm - 2.30pm.

Talks are charged at £2 per person.Bookings must be made in advance. Book or pre-pay in person at Clifton

Park Museum or over the phone on 01709 336633.

Please note that card pay-ments under £5 will incur an additional 50p charge per session.

Also for history buffs, due to overwhelming demand, there will be an additional “Archives Skills Workshop on School Records” to be held in the Rotherham Archives and Local Studies searchroom. The additional session will take place on February 8

between 1pm-3pm.

Resources available in Rotherham Archives, which is now based in Clifton Park Museum, will include school admissions registers, school log books, school magazines and old photo-graphs.

There is a charge of £3 per person. Advance Booking is essential as places are limited.Vsit Rotherham Archives and Local Studies in Clifton Park Museum.

History comes to life at Boston Castle

Muslim women celebrated the birth of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) with a Milad. The host Misbah Akhtar is seen here on the extreme right with (left to right) Shahida Javed, Iffat Hamid, Fayyaz Zahoor, Yasmin Shah and others

Sheffield Ladies Celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi

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After almost five years of democracy, is Pakistan better off today than it was under your presidency? There’s always a visible upsurge in so-cioeconomic development during mil-itary-led regimes, but having said that, we have to make democracy functional in Pakistan. The last few years have seen very little development—in any field. There is despondency, loss of faith in Pakistan, and negative sentiment about the direction the country has taken. Several of the people who worked with you have been given very prominent roles in this government. Have these former comrades delivered? The proof of the pudding is in the eat-ing. Have they improved the lives of Pa-kistanis? No. So, therefore, I really can’t say these people have succeeded. They bear collective responsibility for the government’s inability to have improved the lot of the people. How do you see the political landscape after the upcoming elections? There’s a likelihood of a weak coalition government emerging with the same forces currently in power and with mi-nor adjustments. The environment that exists today will continue for another five years unless a new party or political

alliance captures the imagination of the electorate and shatters the status quo.

Are newly-formed groups like the De-fense of Pakistan Council the Army’s at-tempt, as some analysts allege, to break the status quo? I don’t think they’re sup-ported by the Army. Paki-stan needs to end damaging itself. People have to decide whether they are for an ex-tremist, religious model of governance as propagated by the Taliban or are we to have a country according to the wishes and vision of Quaid-e-Azam. We are an Islamic country—we cannot uproot that reality—but we need to promote tolerance and moderation and support political forces who believe in the same.

Your party, APML, has been adversely affected by your not being in Pakistan, where you face threats from militants and other opponents. Will APML par-ticipate in the elections? The party is not as visible as others. But we are organizing at the grassroots and growing reasonably well. The real mo-

mentum will come whenever I go back to Pakistan.

Will last year’s Mehrangate court ver-dict affect Army morale? This was an ancient case. There was a certain environment in the past, and the

behavior of the Army chief and the ISI chief was in accordance with that envi-ronment. We shouldn’t start dwelling on the past because then there really is no end to it. There is so much that needs to be done for the people. That should be the focus. What do you consider your honest mis-takes while in office?

The National Reconciliation Ordinance and my moving against the chief justice both negatively impacted the country.

Is the judicial demand for redrawing constituencies in Karachi a fair one? Delimitation is required across Paki-

stan. Focusing on just one area is not feasible.

With Balochistan, like with much else in Pakistan, there is major gap between facts on the ground and perceptions. In your opin-ion, how grave is the situa-tion in Balochistan? As you know, the Su-preme Court has spoken out against the Balochistan government and ques-tioned its right to stay in office. This surely doesn’t help matters.

There is interference from outside, anti-Pakistan elements in Balochistan which needs to be blocked. This meddling is something that’s been happening since the 1950s. Elements who dare speak against the geographic and constitu-tional integrity of Pakistan have to be dealt with. There are several countries which face similar threats—for exam-

ple, Spain from the ETA, and India from the Naxalites—and their positions are clear and decisive. If the government of Balochistan can’t hoist the country’s flag on Pakistan Day, then there are no two ways about it: it has failed.

How do you see Afghanistan shaping up in 2013? Afghanistan could revert to civil war like it did after the Soviets left. Or it could revert to a 1996-like situation with the Taliban and Northern Alliance carv-ing up the country. But most likely, since there is a strong security force in place and since the U.S. will continue to lend military muscle to Kabul, we are likely to see things staying as they are. Paki-stan should and will take measures to guard its own security interests. Another civil war in Afghanistan will be in no one’s interest.

Do you see America’s interest and in-volvement in Pakistan running out? With China rising and deeper U.S.-India engagement, Pakistan’s significance will remain. The West will continue to see Pakistan as the hub of terrorism, despite our being the principal victims of this scourge. We have to ensure that interest in Pakistan does not result in offensive actions detrimental to Pakistan.

THE LAST WORD - Pervez MusharrafThe former president of Pakistan on how he sees 2013 shaping up

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan tops the first Forbes India Celebrity 100 with annual estimated earnings last year of $37.7 million. According to the magazine, in the list — a ranking of the country’s biggest entertainers based on income and popular-ity — fellow actor Salman Khan came in second with estimated earnings of $30 million.

In third place was India’s cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni with $25 mil-lion.“Both Salman Khan and

Dhoni are ahead of SRK (Shah Rukh Khan) in terms of popularity and fame,” the magazine said.

“But ‘King Khan’ came out tops courtesy of his earn-ing power, mainly riding on massive income from brand endorsements,” the magazine said, referring to Shah Rukh Khan. Ac-tor Akshay Kumar came in fourth place while veteran Bollywood legend Am-itabh Bachchan came fifth. The highest-ranked woman on the list was actor Kareena Kapoor in seventh place.

Shah Rukh Khan Tops Celebrity List

Retailers suffered a worse Christmas than previ-ously feared after official figures showed a surprise drop in volumes in December. The Office for Na-tional Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes fell 0.1% between November and December, after economists predicted a return to growth of 0.2%. It will fuel fears that the economy contracted at the end of last year.

Household goods, including electrical appliances, furniture, hardware and music and video record-ings, showed the sharpest month-on-month drop with a decline of 3% - the biggest fall since January

2010. But it was a better festive period for depart-ment stores, which saw volumes grow 0.4% month on month.

Clothes and shoe shops were the only other sector to fare better in December, posting a rise of 0.7%.

The ONS said that retailers' internet sales helped to boost overall sales and provided a much greater proportion of business in December than they were expecting. This has increased the pressure on the high street, where HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster UK have all gone into administration this month.

Blow As Retail Sales Volumes Fall


Questions and Answers

1. At what stage should I insure the property which I am purchasing?

You should put buildings and contents insurance in place just before the exchange of Contracts as the legal title property passes to you at this point. Your solicitors will ad-vise you once they are ready to exchange.

2. Please confirm what the NHBC is?

This is a guarantee for the building works that were car-ried out when the property was first erected. There are also similar policies avail-able. If you are purchasing a property which has been built in the last 10 years then your solicitor should obtain the rel-evant certificates.

3. I am purchasing a prop-erty from my brother and he is giving me the deposit. How do we go about this?

This is called a gifted deposit, meaning that the seller is gift-

ing you an incentive in that a percentage of the purchase price will be considered as your deposit. For example if the property is priced at £100,000.00 and you pur-chase for £95,000.00 with the remaining £5,000.00 being the gifted deposit.

Always ensure that your fi-nancial advisor notifies the lender of the gifted deposit.

4. I want to purchase a property at auction, what do I need to do?

If you would like to purchase a property at auction, we would advise you to make sure that you have a full structural survey done on the property and that a solicitor checks the legal pack before you make a bid for the prop-erty.

5. What is a buy to let prop-erty?

This is when you purchase a property for investment pur-poses and put tenants in their for a rental income. You must take independent advice from

your financial advisor on these transactions and ensure that the property is insured according to the terms of your mortgage conditions.

6. What is the Conveyanc-ing Quality Scheme?

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme is a scheme run by the Law Society for Solici-tors offering Conveyancing services. It is a quality mark showing that high standards of Conveyancing work are being carried out within the practice.

7. What is Japenese Knot Weed?

Japanese Knotweed is an invasive plant originating in Asia. The plant is known for getting into the cracks of houses and the foundations and causing major structural problems. The presence of Japanese Knotweed can be determined by having a sur-vey of the property carried out. Lenders do not normally lend on properties where Jap-anese Knotweed is present.

Mohammed NazirPartner at Wosskow Brown Solicitors LLP

Legal CornerQ&A PROPERTY

By Pervez Hoodbhoy The writer retired as professor of physics from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad

Pakistan has two angry mes-siahs, the Maulana and the Cricketer. Both are men of fine oratory — the former be-ing more gifted. They promise to kick wicked leaders out of government, reward the right-eous, and deliver a new Paki-stan. Before a coup-plagued nation that has spent many decades under military rule, they preach to adulating un-der-30 crowds about the cor-ruption of the present rulers. But neither dares to touch Pa-kistan’s real issues. Both are careful to castigate only the corruption of civilians; there is nary a word about the others.Inspired by his fiery rhetoric, for four days the Maulana’s youthful Lashkar-e-Qadri had occupied D-Chowk, Islama-bad’s version of Tahrir Square. The cheering, chanting, flag-waving crowd was joyous at the verdict ordering the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. The precise timing owed to another one of Paki-stan’s putative saviours — the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan. In this age of discontent, as-sorted demagogues have mas-tered the art of mobilising the credulous masses. Corrup-tion, say the Maulana and the Cricketer, is Pakistan’s central problem. Utopia will come if honest and pious men — perhaps themselves — are in power. But is crookedness and dishonesty the real issue? Countries which are perfectly viable and livable may still have corrupt governments.Prime Minister Silvio Ber-lusconi has been convicted of everything from tax fraud to soliciting minors for sex, and yet Italy keeps getting richer and better. No one dares call it a failed state. Mitt Romney — who Barack Obama only barely defeated — parked his assets in the Cayman Islands and paid only a little more tax than Pakistan’s unscrupulous parliamentarians. Corruption in the US is institutionalised to the point that Washington spent 10 trillion dollars of tax-payer money bailing out banks and corporations but no politi-cian or CEO (with one excep-tion) ended up behind the bars. Interestingly, according to the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), 70 per cent of the world’s people see their countries as more corrupt than good.So then, what are Pakistan’s real problems today? If the lives of Pakistanis are to be improved, what is it that really needs to be done?First, address the population problem. Demographers esti-mate the expected number of Pakistanis in 2030 at a stag-gering 258 million, which must be compared with 28 million in 1947 as well as the

current population of 180 mil-lion. This growth is the second highest among major Muslim countries in the world.Even if we miraculously ac-quire the most perfect of politi-cal systems, it may be impossi-ble to provide most Pakistanis with employment, education, food, housing, electricity, wa-ter, and a clean environment. Short of renting another plan-et, there is no way that the con-straints of fixed land and water can be overcome.This emergency situation de-mands that population plan-ning must be reinstated and contraceptives be made freely available. Once upon a time, Pakistan had a population planning organisation. But it has essentially folded up in the face of religious opposition.

The Jamaat-e-Islami’s party manifesto, and those of other religious parties, specifically forbids family planning. As for the Taliban: they suspect that polio vaccines are designed to reduce Muslim fertility and so have issued dire threats. Last month, the TTP brought the immunisation programme to a halt by murdering five women and a man who were adminis-tering the shots in Karachi. So, instead of getting claps and cheers, our messiahs might have to face bullets and bombs should they dare to rally peo-ple around this real issue.Second, the terrorism of re-ligious militias must be con-fronted head-on. Their daily slaughter of Pakistani soldiers and citizens, and recently the Hazara Shias, elicits only the barest whimper of protest in the media or the public. In shameful surrender, there is talk of negotiating with terror-ist groups. The lesson of Swat — where kowtowing to Sufi Mohammed’s ever-escalating demands led to increased fe-rocity from the other side — is forgotten. The army and the state stand in muddled confu-sion. They know they should actually negotiate only from a position of strength and not in their present condition of weakness. Unfortunately they cannot summon the courage to do this. The Maulana is si-lent on this critical matter, but the Cricketer prefers to attack those who might target Pa-kistan’s enemies. He would rather shoot at the drones than the terrorists.Third, the promise of the mes-siahs that they shall bring pros-perity to everyone by some-

how equalising the distribution of wealth is fake and dishon-est, and un-implementable. One would certainly wel-come extending the tax net, and doing so would be a huge achievement. But to actually bring prosperity, wealth must be created rather than simply expropriated from somewhere. The only party that seems to give this any consideration is the PML-N. But industrial progress and a post-agricul-tural economy require cultural change, and so Pakistani soci-ety will need to transition from being a progress-unfriendly culture to one that welcomes and promotes progress. From the time of the 19th century German sociologist Max We-ber, social scientists have observed that culture and progress go hand-in-hand. Progress-friendly cultures de-mand planning, punctuality, deferred gratification, belief in rationality, and the rule of law. Without acquiring these features, wealth generation is slow and uncertain.Fortunately, as it turned out, the ‘million-man march’ turned out to be a damp squib. Its victory would have resulted in indefinite postponement of the forthcoming national elec-tions and Pakistan would have returned to a dreary tradition where no government has suc-cessfully completed its term in office. During the occupation, messiah-junior was caught in a dilemma. Eclipsed by his senior and unable to join in the demand for postponement, he now seeks to clamber his way back into the public eye.Pakistan’s restless young are out on the streets demand-ing change, but they must not become pawns of fake messi-ahs. The fist-shaking, rostrum-pounding orations of Maulana Qadri and Cricketer Khan are empty thunder; they offer nothing real. Of course, the D-Chowk youth rightly protested Pakistan’s pseudo-democracy and its venal and incompe-tent civilian leaders. But the military’s attempt to landscape national politics — which is probably what rocketed the Maulana into his present prominence — could be dis-astrous and would go the way of the army’s past failed inter-ventions. At a time when Pa-kistan is seriously threatened by internal terror, the military would do well to perform its real duty which is that of pro-tecting Pakistan’s people.

Why Maulana Qadri and Cricketer Khan, Can’t Save Pakistan


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As we head towards a final show-down during election year in Pakistan, the phrase ‘All is fair in love and war’ comes to mind after watching the shenanigans that have taken place in the first month of 2013. Dr Tahir Ul-Qadri’s successful long march established one fact and that is the people of Pakistan want CHANGE. Whatever else is said about TUQ, the status quo setup or the feeble face saving agreement, it was clear that peo-ple want to bring about a change in the country by voting out the corrupt coterie in the next elec-tions. There has been a hot debate amongst PTI supporters within Pakistan and outside during the long march. The call to join from supporters was strong and emo-tional. There were PTI support-ers in the long march encourag-ing others and lamenting that the leadership of PTI was letting the people of Pakistan down and the hawkish element of PTI wasn’t letting Imran Khan join the march and the same can be said for the opposite. It is safe to say that opinion was split within the ranks of PTI supporters and much emo-tional rhetoric was spoken and written. Since the agreement and talking to members of the CEC, it has emerged that whilst those around Imran Khan wanted to join the long march, it was Imran Khan’s steadfastness in not join-ing the march, that has possibly saved him falling from grace. Imran Khan said that the PTI had unanimously taken the decision

not to participate in the Qadri’s long march after a thorough brainstorming and it had decided to stay away from the long march. “We thought that any untoward incident in the long march might lead to the postponement of the elections and derailment of the democratic process,” he added.Imran Khan reiterated the PTI’s demand from President Zardari to step down, stating that a par-tisan president who was a co-chairman of the ruling PPP was a major hurdle in holding of free, fair and transparent election. “PTI believes that a true politi-cal change could only take place through free, fair and transpar-ent elections in the country. Dr. Tahirul Qadri’s demands are the same as of the PTI, however, there was a difference over the modus operandi,” he added.Imran Khan said that Qadri’s long march had set a new history and it had been proved that the people wanted a change in the country. The PTI chief said that the par-ties of status-quo were violating the constitution and the laws of the land.“The Federal and Punjab govern-ments are running their respec-tive electoral campaigns through taxpayers’ money. Programmes like BISP, laptop scheme, yellow cab and tractors’ scheme and the jobs-for-vote policy are a part of the pre-polls rigging but the elec-tion commission has failed to stop such schemes,” he added.Recently so called ‘electables’ were leaving PTI and there was

a ‘much ado about nothing’ by fellow colleagues from PML-N. We had made the statement that these are people who are wanting a definite election ticket and for-tunately PTI could not offer that to anyone. Therefore they were jumping ship to PML-N’s open arm policy of promising tickets to everyone who came. Now that the same ‘nazriyati’ policy has come to bite them, with estab-lished politicians jumping ship to other parties. Nelson Mandela once said, ‘A Politician Thinks of the Next Election; A Leader Thinks of the Next Generation.’ This is the difference you clearly see when you look at the actions of Imran Khan and then the people around him and this is the reason no one other than him is acceptable to us as a leader. Just look at how parties are looking for candidates and working on alliances, whilst PTI is working for the next gen-eration, through intra party elec-tions. There will be much mud slinging of individuals in the coming months from many cor-ners and one thing I have learnt is, don’t take anything on face value. Research, Explore and Learn. Finally as we end this month I can say that those who thought PTI was losing its sup-port base, could not be further from reality, the support base is increasing and becoming more resolute and stronger.

Shahid AliPTI Sheffield

T h e F o r b i d d e n F r u i t : T h e T s u n a m i T h a t N e v e r W a s

New citizenship test will quiz people on all aspects of British life including com-edy, music, history and scienceForeigners who want to settle perma-nently in the UK will be quizzed on their knowledge of everything from life in the stone age to the engineering achieve-ments of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the writing of Robert Burns under a new test to be launched by the Home Office as part of government attempts to cut net migration.

The new examination was announced by the minister for migration, Mark Harper, who said it replaced one drawn up un-der the Labour government and removed "mundane information about water me-ters, how to find train timetables, and us-ing the internet". "Instead of telling peo-ple how to claim benefits it encourages participation in British life," he said.

Knowledge of British composers, writ-ers and even Monty Python and the Two Ronnies, who reportedly appear on the new syllabus, will be tested when the new exam comes into effect in March. A score of 75% from 24 questions will be a pass and the test will only be open to people who speak English to a required standard (level 3 of the English for Speakers of Other Languages system).

Applicants will be expected to study a new book called Life in the UK which goes on sale at the beginning to Febru-ary. "In the past, historical information

was included in the book but was not tested, meaning that migrants did not have to show they had an understanding of how modern Britain has evolved," the Home Office said in a statement.

"The new book and test will focus on events and people who have contributed to making Britain great. This includes writers like William Shakespeare and Robert Burns, the great scientists Isaac Newton and Alexander Fleming, engi-neers and industrialists like Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Richard Ark-wright and politicians including Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee."

The history chapter moves from the stone age, through the Romans, Norman conquest, Magna Carta, the Reforma-tion and break with Rome and beyond. It looks at the development of parliamen-tary democracy, achievements of the industrial revolution and the Victorians, right up to the present day.

"The book also covers many aspects of British cultural and artistic heritage including the music of Purcell and the worldwide influence of modern British composers, from Benjamin Britten to the Beatles and Andrew Lloyd Webber," the Home Office said. "It features artis-tic achievements from medieval stained glass to David Hockney, our national love of gardening and garden design and work produced by influential architects including Christopher Wren and Nor-man Foster."

Want to Become a British Citizen?

Sweeping benefit changes have prompted much debate. Child benefit is the latest fi-nancial support to come under scrutiny. For families who are comfortably off, child ben-efit could be seen as ‘pin money’, but to those less well-off that little extra can go a long way. While higher-wage earn-ers may argue that they pay more tax, so are justified in claiming some benefit, ordinary taxpayers could argue that in these finan-cially-challenging times they shouldn’t be expected to contribute to benefits for those families who don’t need it. The review of the benefits system is aimed at address-ing injustices, but critics claim that people on low incomes, or who are genuinely prevented from working due to ill health, are among those who are caught up in the cuts. Surely in the 21st century we should not have pensioners being forced to make the decision whether to heat their homes or eat, and fami-lies shouldn’t be worrying about whether or not they can afford to feed their children? As it stands, families with one parent with a taxable income of more than £50,000 will lose some of the benefit, and it will be withdrawn

entirely if one parent earns above £60,000. However, where two parents work and both earn just under £50,000, they can keep their benefit, while a family with a single earner – or single parent – on £51,000 will lose part of theirs. Changes in housing benefit, child-

care and other financial as-sistance have also left many ordinary working families struggling to make ends meet. However, the system com-ing into force is fraught with potential problems. Many people feel it is very unfair that a family where two earners each take home £49.5k making a combined income of £99,000 will keep the benefit while a sole

earner family on £51,000 will begin to lose it. This is viewed as an attack on families where one parents stays home to care for the child, and also on single parents working very hard to provide for their family. There is also huge concern from families whose income varies, such as the self-employed or those with com-mission-based jobs, as to whether they will lose or keep their cash. Furthermore there are worries about the cost of administering the tax returns needed to claw back the money from those families on over £50,000.

Is Child Benefits Shake-Up Unfair?


Considered the usual month for po-litical madness in Pakistan, March came early this year, the turmoil complicated by election-year fac-tors. The obstacles of the federal and Punjab governments notwith-standing, the Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran’s (TMQ) ‘long march’ came nowhere near the “million” mark claimed by Dr Tahirul Qadri. People in small numbers continued to join those assembled in the kilometre-plus D Square space in front of parliament in Islamabad. By late af-ternoon the calculation was close to about 100,000. A former professor of international constitutional law at the University of Punjab, Dr Muhammad Tahirul Qadri is a prominent authority on Is-lam, with more than 400 published works on Islamic scholarship, law and Sufism. Born on February 19, 1951, in Jhang, he was educated at the Christian Sacred Heart School, going on to study Hadith at the Mu-haddith al-Hijaz. Briefly becoming member of National Assembly dur-ing Gen Musharraf’s democracy before leaving for Canada, Dr Qadri

considerably expanded Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) using that base. Representing a moderate vision of Islam, its long term stra-tegic vision is promotion of peace, love, harmony and modern Islamic sciences. The MQI explicitly rejects terrorism and all other unjust vio-lence as being entirely un-Islamic. Elections in the present circum-stances would mean a mere change of faces, and Dr Qadri wants them delayed indefinitely until Pakistan’s endemic politics-based corruption is rooted out. These calls for sweeping reforms have riled both the ruling PPP and the loyal PML-N opposi-tion (the late Gen Ziaul Haq’s “club of politicians”). The means Dr Qadri is advocating to pursue demands for ‘good governance’ may be wrong. Political parties decried such means quite rightly, but why did they re-main silent about people’s cries for good governance? Most politicians view him not as a champion of re-form but as a tool of those with their own agenda. The question bedevil-ling most analysts, a majority of whom trashed Dr Qadri’s “invis-

ible” agenda without taking issue with the stated one, is: who put Dr Qadri forward? In her piece in Foreign Policy ‘Who is Tahir ul-Qadri, Shamila N Chaudhary, writes “Could Qadri be another Imran Khan prototype, informally sponsored by the mili-tary? At least Khan can deliver the people. We should not overlook the meaning behind Qadri’s interesting-ly timed, well-organised and well-funded return. He says he wants to put “true democracy on track,” but Qadri comes at a time when the PPP-led government and the main opposition party the PML-N are near agreement on the timing of elections and the caretaker govern-ment setup.” She goes on, “Specu-lating on the military’s connections to Qadri is unavoidable, but it is not the only issue Qadri brings to the fore. Something else much more tangible and visible is at work, the desperate desire of ordinary Pakista-nis for change.” That aspiration for change is very visible, not only on primetime TV but in streets throughout the coun-

try. Whose agenda Dr Qadri is push-ing is certainly important, but far more important are his objectives: ushering in electoral reforms for a genuine democracy in Pakistan to replace the fraud in practice today. How can those who break the law at will become framers of the laws of the land, and be expected to uphold the rule of law? While the vast majority of Muslim clerics are targeted and labelled “ter-rorists,” with so much anti-Islamic propaganda in the media, why has Qadri remained unscathed and un-mentioned, heralded as an advocate of world peace? As with all politi-cians, corrupt leaders and other such exploiters of the human race, one finds multiple flows of financing as a result of self-started organisations, political ties, and memberships. From where does Dr Qadri get his primary funding? If the present regime has made bad governance into an art, what did others do before it? This democracy only functions to fulfil the needs and greed of the rulers and their function-aries. This stood out in stark relief during the recent Balochistan crisis when no one of any consequence visited the Shia protestors, a ma-jority of them women and children braving the cold for several days and nights, beside the dead bodies of their loved ones. The provincial government was dismissed by presi-dential diktat only when it became apparent that the crisis could pos-sibly derail the federal government itself. Asif Zardari was helped along in his decision when a large group of Shia protesters, somehow evading the strict security cordon in Clifton, gathered to stage a dharna near Bila-wal House in Karachi. Democracy cannot work where its practitioners have no sincerity of intention or purpose. Most analysts agree that there is nothing wrong about the present constitution, even though some do not agree with how the Supreme Court interprets it from time to time. Rulers, present and

past, flouted the constitution at will, and at the same time remained holi-er-than-thou about everyone else but their kith and kin. Many TV analysts who bad-mouthed Tahirul Qadri (and his objectives) never once mentioned the crass criminal activ-ity blatantly indulged in by the rul-ers, their friends and relatives under the camouflage of the constitution. Dr Qadri’s contention that elections will simply replace faces is correct, for the most part. All this dissolved into a constitu-tional crisis on Tuesday when the Supreme Court ordered the prime minister be arrested along with more than a dozen others in the ‘Rental Power Projects’ (RPP) case. This is no coincidence, claim the con-spiracy theorists, only the fulfilment of an invisible agenda to derail de-mocracy. Qadri helped this percep-tion along by immediately claiming partial “victory” in the middle of his speech, promising to continue the ‘sit-in’ till the fulfilment of the rest of the demands for change. If the Shia protesters could sit out the freezing cold of Quetta till the Balochistan government was shunt-ed out, Qadri’s supporters can brave Islamabad’s freezing rain. Certainly there is need for elections to sustain democracy but what if this democ-racy continues to sustain corrup-tion? Do not confuse SC’s orders for Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s arrest as an attack on democracy. A coinci-dence perhaps, but orders for his ar-rest for corruption as an individual coincided with him being PM. Let another PPP stalwart become prime minister or simply announce gen-eral elections! The country cannot afford a constitutional crisis because of the likely confrontation between the government and the Supreme Court. Previous experience shows that Asif Zardari will back down if push comes to shove, so why let it come to shove?The writer is a defence and political analyst. Email: [email protected]

March Madness in January By: Ikram Sehgal

CONFERENCE

CONFERENCE

GLORY OF MUHAMMAD MUSTAFA (Peace be upon him)

and the PROPHETS (Peace be upon them)

GLORY OF MUHAMMAD MUSTAFA (Peace be upon him)

and the PROPHETS (Peace be upon them)

SUNDAY 10th February 2013

After Maghrib Prayers at 5.30 PM

SUNDAY 10th February 2013

After Maghrib Prayers at 5.30 PM

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Raja Muhammad Azad

Chairman Jamia Masjid and Usmania Education Centre

Phone: 0114 2582070 - Mobile: 07534368831

* Prizes will be presented to children who have achieved top positions in their exams.

* Separate arrangements in place to facilitate girls and ladies.

* All Muslims are Welcome to show the love for ALLAH (swt) and his Messenger (pbuh) by attending.

* Food will be served.

URDU / PUNJABI:

ENGLISH SPEECHES:

Eminent Scholars will

address the conference

Hazrat Molana Qari Muhammad IsmailHazrat Molana Qari Muhammad Ismail

Secretary General, Jamiat-e-Ulema Britain

Hazrat Molana Muhammad Shoaib Desai

Khateeb, Masjid-e-Umar, Sheffield

Rt Rev Dr Steven Croft , Bishop of Sheffield

Rt Hon Paul Blomfield MP

Cllr Julie Dore Leader Sheffield City Council

Secretary General, Jamiat-e-Ulema Britain

Hazrat Molana Muhammad Shoaib Desai

Khateeb, Masjid-e-Umar, Sheffield

Rt Rev Dr Steven Croft , Bishop of Sheffield

Rt Hon Paul Blomfield MP

Cllr Julie Dore Leader Sheffield City Council

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Hazrat Molana Abdul Rasheed Rabbani

Hazrat Molana Abdul Rasheed Rabbani

Patron, Jamiat-e-Ulema Britain

Molana Muhammad Aslam Zahid

Khateeb, Jamia Masjid &

Usmania Education Centre

Patron, Jamiat-e-Ulema Britain

Molana Muhammad Aslam Zahid

Khateeb, Jamia Masjid &

Usmania Education Centre

Yet again, Attock CC lifted the Premier Division, season 2012trophy. Attock Cricket Club is a Sheffield based club turned out the deserving winners of the Irwin Mitchell Sheffield Alliance Midweek Cricket League.

They seem to have made a habbit of this. Captain Liaquat Ali said “ he was over the moon for setting high standards, all the lads worked very hard during the season he added” Mr Ali also collected Jacko Castle’s award who has been the star of the

season for both league and for Attock by winning the best batsmans averaging 45.50, the highest in the league.Irwin Mitched league is a popular midweek cricket league, it was founded in 1928, it has a member-ship of 30 clubs across 4 divisions. We should all be proud in general and cricket lovers in particular of the fact that Attock has topped the Premier Division for the last 10 years except in the year 2008 in which Sheffield Collegiate CC broke the winning streak of Attock. We wish them best of luck for the cricket seasons in the future.

On the other hand Al-Mahdi CC won the surprise Ellsie Ratcliffe Trophy for its highest average throughtout the league. Sharrow CC winning Division B and were promoted to Divison A.

TAKE GUARD - ATTOCK CC ON ATTACK


Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan said he is more confident than ever that his party will win upcom-ing national elections and that he will become Pakistan's next leader. The reason is very simple, he said on the sidelines of the World Eco-nomic Forum in Davos, Switzer-land: "People want a change." The elections later this year would mark the first time a civilian govern-ment has completed a full five-year term and transferred power through the ballot box in Pakistan. Past gov-ernments have been toppled in mili-tary coups or dismissed by presi-dents allied with top generals. Although few expect a coup this time, there is widespread unhappi-ness with the ruling Pakistan Peo-ple's Party's performance at a time when the country is plagued by high unemployment, rampant energy shortages and frequent attacks by Islamist militants. Mr Khan said the party he founded 15 years ago after retiring from pro-fessional cricket - Tehreek-e-Insaf or the Movement for Justice - now has 10 million members, most of them young people and women. He estimated that 40 million young Pakistanis will be voting for the first time in the elections, out of a registered electorate of 90 million, and said they are "the engine for change".

But he predicted an "epic battle" by the "political class" and parties that have a vested interest in preserving the current "crumbling system" and status quo to stop change. He said he does not think the coun-try's powerful army will be part of this campaign, which would be a first. He has in the past denied alle-gations that his movement is backed by Pakistan's powerful military. The former cricketer - who few analysts expect to outright win the polls - accused the entrenched Pa-kistani political parties of closing ranks and giving huge amounts of money to the media to criticise his party. He said his party is currently holding internal elections - a rarity in Pakistan.

The audience burst into laughter when he referred to the People's Par-ty, which is led by the husband and son of murdered ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N, whose leader, former prime minister Na-

waz Sharif, has relatives waiting in the wings to succeed him, as "family limited companies". "I often ask, at least hold elections within the fam-ily," Mr Khan said. "That would make them more democratic." Mr Khan led a convoy of thousands which was blocked from entering a lawless tribal region along the Paki-stan-Afghanistan border in October to protest at American drone strikes, but he denied being pro-Taliban. He alleged there is "a state propa-ganda campaign... done deliberately by parties that want to tell the US that they are moderate and they are pro-US voices against extremism and this man is pro-Taliban". Mr Khan was asked whether, af-ter painting such a bleak picture, he was confident of surviving in a country with a history of political assassinations. "No-one knows how long they're going to live," he said. "But I be-lieve that in Pakistan the movement for change is so powerful now that anyone who's going to try and stop it - even by trying to go for someone like me - I do not think that they will be able to cope with the repercus-sions." With his party able to reach millions of followers in minutes with text messages, he claimed: "We have the sort of street power that no-one has ever had in Pakistan."

Imran Khan Confident of Winning Elections

Authorities are building a mosque so big it will hold 1.6m people – but are demolishing irreplaceable monuments to do it.Three of the world’s oldest mosques are about to be destroyed as Saudi Arabia embarks on a multi-billion-pound expansion of Islam’s second holiest site. Work on the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is buried, has started after 2012 Hajj pilgrimage. When complete, the development will turn the mosque into the world’s largest building, with the capacity for 1.6 million worshippers.

But concerns have been raised that the development will see key histor-ic sites bulldozed. Anger is already growing at the kingdom’s apparent disdain for preserving the historical and archaeological heritage of the country’s holiest city, Mecca. Most of the expansion of Masjid an-Naba-wi will take place to the west of the existing mosque, which holds the tombs of Islam’s founder and two of his closest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar.

Just outside the western walls of the current compound are mosques dedicated to Abu Bakr and Umar, as well as the Masjid Ghamama, built to mark the spot where the Prophet is thought to have given his first prayers for the Eid festival. The Saudis have announced no plans to preserve or move the three mosques, which have existed since the seventh century and are covered by Otto-man-era structures, or to commis-sion archaeological digs before they are pulled down, something that has caused considerable concern among

the few academics who are willing to speak out in the deeply authoritarian kingdom.“No one denies that Medina is in need of expansion, but it’s the way the authorities are going about it which is so worrying,” says Dr Irfan al-Alawi of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation. “There are ways they could expand which would either avoid or pre-serve the ancient Islamic sites but instead they want to knock it all down.” Dr Alawi has spent much of the past 10 years trying to highlight the destruction of early Islamic sites.

With cheap air travel and booming middle classes in populous Mus-lim countries within the developing world, both Mecca and Medina are struggling to cope with the 12 mil-lion pilgrims who visit each year – a number expected to grow to 17 mil-lion by 2025. The Saudi monarchy views itself as the sole authority to decide what should happen to the cradle of Islam. Although it has ear-marked billions for an enormous ex-pansion of both Mecca and Medina, it also sees the holy cities as lucra-tive for a country almost entirely re-liant on its finite oil wealth.

Heritage campaigners and many locals have looked on aghast as the historic sections of Mecca and Me-dina have been bulldozed to make way for gleaming shopping malls, luxury hotels and enormous sky-scrapers. The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of the 1,000-year-old buildings in the two cities have been destroyed in the past 20 years.

In Mecca, the Masjid al-Haram,

the holiest site in Islam and a place where all Muslims are supposed to be equal, is now overshadowed by the Jabal Omar complex, a devel-opment of skyscraper apartments, hotels and an enormous clock tower. To build it, the Saudi authorities de-stroyed the Ottoman era Ajyad For-tress and the hill it stood on. Other historic sites lost include the Proph-

et’s birthplace – now a library – and the house of his first wife, Khadijah, which was replaced with a public toilet block.

The government has previously de-fended its expansion plans for the two holy cities as necessary. It insists it has also built large num-bers of budget hotels for poorer pil-grims, though critics point out these are routinely placed many miles away from the holy sites.

Until recently, redevelopment in Medina has pressed ahead at a slightly less frenetic pace than in Mecca, although a number of early

Islamic sites have still been lost. Of the seven ancient mosques built to commemorate the Battle of the Trench – a key moment in the devel-opment of Islam – only two remain. Ten years ago, a mosque which belonged to the Prophet’s grand-son was dynamited. Pictures of the demolition that were secretly taken and smuggled out of the kingdom

showed the religious police celebrat-ing as the building collapsed.

In most of the Muslim world, shrines have been built. Visits to graves are also commonplace. Dr Alawi fears that the redevelop-ment of the Masjid an-Nabawi is part of a wider drive to shift focus away from the place where Mohamed (pbuh) is buried. The spot that marks the Prophet’s tomb is covered by a famous green dome and forms the centrepiece of the current mosque.

But under the new plans, it will be-come the east wing of a building

eight times its current size with a new pulpit. There are also plans to demolish the prayer niche at the cen-tre of mosque. The area forms part of the Riyadh al-Jannah (Garden of Paradise), a section of the mosque that the Prophet decreed especially holy..“Their excuse is they want to make more room and create 20 spaces in a mosque that will eventually hold 1.6 million,” says Dr Alawi. “It makes no sense. What they really want is to move the focus away from where the Prophet is buried.”

A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs – and en-dorsed by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz al Sheikh – called for the dome to be demolished and the graves of Mohamed, Abu Bakr and Umar to be flattened.

“Muslim silence over the destruc-tion of Mecca and Medina is both disastrous and hypocritical,” says Dr Alawi. “The recent movie about the Prophet Mohamed caused world-wide protests… and yet the destruc-tion of the Prophet’s birthplace, where he prayed and founded Islam has been allowed to continue without any criticism.”

Mecca and Medina in numbers 12m.The number of people who visit Mecca and Medina every year 3.4m The number of Muslims expected to perform Hajj (pil-grimage) this year 60,000 The current capacity of the Mas-jid an-Nabawi mosque1.6m The projected capacity of the mosque after expansion

Saudi’s Take a Bulldozer to Islam’s History in the HOLY CITIES

Renowned Singer Mehnaz Begum Passes Away

Well-known playback singer Mehnaz Begum passed away after a protracted illness last month, at the age of 55. Mehnaz had been suffering from multiple diseases, in-cluding high blood pressure, diabetes and lungs infection. The legendary singer died in Bahrain when she was on her way to the US for treatment. Born in 1958, Mehnaz was liv-ing in the US for a few months. She had sung a variety of gen-res but specialised in ghazal, Thumri, Dadra, Khayal, Dru-pad and reciting Salam, Noha and Marsiya. Mehnaz Begum sung over 2,500 songs for ra-dio, TV and film. She was known for her distinct style of singing and had a huge fan following. She is the daughter of celebrated sub-continental

singer Kajjan Begum. One of her most memorable works is Master Piece. Master Piece is a painting that she created when she was taking a draw-ing class in college. She never married.President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Per-vez Ashraf have condoled the death of Mehnaz Begum.President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of renowned singer Mehnaz Be-gum. In his condolence mes-sage, the president lauded the invaluable contributions of Mehnaz Begum in the field of music and said that with her demise, the music industry has lost a great asset. He said that her melodious voice would

be remembered for long. Ex-pressing sympathies with the bereaved family and her mil-lions of fans, the president prayed to Almighty Allah to grant eternal peace to the de-parted soul and to give cour-age to the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude.Prime Minister Raja conveyed his heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the bereaved family and also prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul. He said that Mehnaz Be-gum was a popular singer of radio, television and the film industry who entertained mu-sic lovers with her melodious voice for decades. The songs sung by her would remain in the hearts of the people for a long time.

By: Dr Irfan al-Alawi

[email protected] Page: 19

Munawar Khan, a community activist is optimistic about being selected by the PML(N) Party Ticket to be a can-didate in the forthcoming elections in Pakistan.

He expressed his pleasure about his party recognising and consider-ing the potential in him to competently represent his constituency.

Mr Khan has long been active in politics in Azad Kashmir.

Whilst speaking to ILM NEWS, in a statement he emphasised that “in the current political situation it is vital that Pakistan is led by Mr Nawaz Sharif

whose commitment and courage has been proven in many situations”.

Nowadays, before travel-ling to Pakistan Mr Khan is engaged in discussions with his party colleagues to formulate a strategy to pursue his desire to formally represent his constituents in Ward Number 4, Charhoi, Azad Kashmir.

www.ilmnews.com

Political JugglersNews in Brief By: Dr A Q [email protected]

Asadullah Khan Ghalib was an indomitable and versatile figure. He could, in simple verse, ex-press human characteristics in all aspects. The following verse is a masterpiece in describing the con-tradictions within a human being – i.e., the difference between the persona and the inner self. Hen kawakib kuch nazar aatey hen kuch Dete hen dhoka yeh bazigar khula (The stars are not what they seem; so are cheaters) Ghalib was a large-hearted, hum-ble person. He graciously accepted

the greatness of Mir and Bedil in the following verses: Rekhte key tumhi ustad nahin ho Ghalib Kehte hen agle zamane men koi Mir bhi tha (You are not the only expert in composing versus, Ghalib; there used to be Mir in yesteryears.) Tarze Bedil men rekhta kehna Asadullah Khan qayamat hey (To compose verses in the style of Bedil is an almost impossible task.)

But I digress (I can’t help do-ing that when I am talking about Ghalib). What I was going to dis-cuss was the political jugglers and cheats who are now croaking like frogs after the first rains. Since the matter is very serious, I am ventur-ing to approach it through an indi-rect, philosophical route so that the readers are able to understand the full implications of the problem. Who has not heard of the famous saint, Maulana Rumi? His spiritual status in known, both in the eEast and the west.

He was an intellectual par excel-lence. He could explain the most intricate problems in very simple words. He frequently chose alle-gories of simple stories.

Difficult matters relating to re-ligion, politics, individuals or groups, even purely philosophical and physical phenomena, were explained in such an attractive, simple manner that the reader was able to understand and grasp their meaning without even realis-ing that these were the questions discussed by such great men as Socrates, Aristotle and Plato, who had not found satisfactory answers to them. No wonder his Masnavi, presented in his versatile Persian style, was referred to as a holy book.

Let us ponder on how this book originated and on its sudden ap-pearance. For a long time Maulana Rumi had had some kind of divine guidance in putting important mat-ters in poetic form. During that pe-

riod, his bright disciple, Maulana Hisamuddin, was the first to hear these divine inspirations and he would memorise them and write them down. Rumi narrated thou-sands of verses to his disciples, who memorised them and wrote them down. Then one day, quite suddenly, the divine inspiration stopped. So suddenly, in fact, that one verse broke off in the middle. It was many centuries later that one Mufti Elahi Kandehlvi from India was blessed by the Almighty with the ability to complete that verse.

The Masnavi is not only con-sidered to be a classic, but also a spiritual treasure. Even Michael Jackson, the famous pop singer, used English translations of select-ed verses from it for some of his songs and music, which made it extremely popular with the young generation.

Read More in March 2013 Edition...

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