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Calls from D-Chowk activateECP................................................CJP widens blasphemy law................................................Saudi Arabia’s major shifton Iran

See Page 04

PAKISTAN has suffered enormous damage during the last sixyears. The democracy that we

have managed to create in this coun-try is nothing but afarce —— a dirtybusiness where per-sons of shady char-acter “invest” mil-lions to get electedand then later lootand plunder billions.The rampant corrup-tion, particularly by those who gov-erned us during the period 2008-2013,had brought this country to the brinkof disaster with billions of dollars ofpublic money being stolen andstashed in foreign bank accounts.

The estimated quantum of corrup-tion, based on calculations by Am-nesty International, was about Rs.

For a Presidential DemocracyComments

Atta-ur-Rahman,FRS, NI, HI, SI, TI

Continued on Page 7

8,500 billion in the first 4 years of thelast regime during 2008-2011, (esti-mated at Rs. 11,000 billion over the 5year period) bringing the nation toits knees. The rupee collapsed fromRs. 62 to Rs.100. Massive corruptionin the rental powers project clearedthe way for the collapse of our in-dustry. Poverty has increased in analarming manner and the sufferingmasses are being forced into lives ofcrime to survive while some prefer tocommit suicides. The dream ofQuaid-e -Azam has turned into anightmare.

The Provincial and Federal Par-liaments in Pakistan are controlled byfeudal landlords who have turnedelections into a dirty business. Mostof these corrupt and incompetentparliamentarians are too busy liningtheir pockets to think of the nation.Pakistan is the only country in theworld where 249 of our Parliamentar-ians, including Members of the Na-tional and Provincial Assemblies and

Senators, shamelessly forged theirdegrees to get elected. Indeed it is ashameful reality that even the Fed-eral Minister of Education in the pre-vious government had forged schoolcertificates and degrees. He was inPML-Q but then switched camps andis now seen defending colleagues inPML-N on national television! Mr.Nawaz Sharif should have more sensethan to allow such shady charactersin his party, as it casts a dark shadowon the PML-N honesty standards.

The British Parliamentary systemof democracy has failed repeatedly.Indeed the bitter truth is that therewas far more development and GDPgrowth under martial laws and mili-tary dictatorships than in this socalled “feudocracy” that we have sostupidly nurtured in Pakistan. Look-ing at GDP growth figures over thelast 66 years it is clear that the worstdictatorship was far better than the

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Prime Minister Mian MuhammadNawaz Sharif said onWednesday that the moraleof Pakistan Army wouldnever be allowed to let downand the intelligence agenciesshould expand their intelli-gence sharing network sothat peace and tranquility inthe country in general and inKarachi in particular be main-tained.

Prime Minister MianMuhammad Nawaz Sharif,presiding over a high levelmeeting at Sindh GovernorHouse expressed his resolvewith firm determination thatpeace in Karachi was pre-cious than anything else andthe federal governmentwould not hesitate takingany action of any scale forcomplete restoration ofpeace and tranquility inKarachi. Karachi was theeconomic hub of the coun-try and hence this city wouldnot be left alone at the mercyof criminals.

On the occasion, theChief of Army Staff GeneralRaheel Sharif told the meet-ing that Pakistan Army was standing beside thecivilian government for the cause of restorationof peace in the metropolis.

It was the highest meeting ever held with the

Military, political leadership tosupervise Karachi operation: PMNawaz: Army morale not to be let down We stand beside civilian

govt for peace: Gen Raheel Zardari offers support to govtChief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Inter-Services Intelligence chief General Zaheer ul Is-lam, Karachi Corps Commander Lieutenant Gen-

eral Sajjad Ghani, Federal Interior MinisterChaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Intelligence BureauDirector General, Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, Di-rector General Maj. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar, former

President Asif Ali Zardari, Sindh Governor DrIshrat ul Ebad Khan, Sindh Chief Minister SyedQaim Ali Shah Jilani, Sindh Chief Secretary Sajjad

Saleem Hotyana, Acting Inspector General ofPolice, Sindh Ghulam Haider Jamali, MuttahidaQaumi Movement’s Coordination Committee

KARACHI: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif presiding over a meeting on law and order at Governor Houseon Wednesday. Former president Asif Ali Zardari, Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat ul Ebad, Sindh Chief Minister SyedQaim Ali Shah and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif are also present.—APP photo

BEIJING: Chairman Senate, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari shaking hands with XiJinping, President of China at Great Hall of the People, on Wednesday.

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STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The govern-ment on Wednesday passeda resolution in the NationalAssembly to extend the Pa-kistan Protection Ordinance(PPO) for further 120 dayswhereas opposition partymembers and members ofthe Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) protested thegovernment’s move andstaged a walk-out from theLower House of Parliament.

Opposition leaderKhurshid Shah, belonging tothe Pakistan People Party(PPP) also protested the reso-

NA extends PPOfor 120 days amid

JUI-F walk outlution. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTIs) ShahMehmood Qureshi termingthe bill as a ‘black law’ saidthat it had been rejected bythe nation.

MNA Abdul RashidGodil, belonging to theMuttahida Qaumi Move-ment (MQM) said that thegovernment could not besupported in killing thecountry’s citizens.

Moreover, MNAs be-longing to the JUI-F alsostaged a walk-out saying thatthe instead of extending thePPO the bill should havebeen jointly legislated.

STAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D — P a k i s t a nTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pa-kistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) have agreed

on reconstitution of ElectionCommission of Pakistan.

A delegation of PTIcomprising Vice PresidentShah Mahmood Qureshi,PTI President Javed Hashmiand its General SecretaryJehangir Tareen called on

PML-Q, PTI join handsfor electoral reforms

PML-Q chief ChudhryShujaat Hussain at his resi-dence in Islama-bad onWednesday.

During the meeting lead-ership of both the partiesagreed that 2013 electionswere not fair and transpar-ent, present Election Com-mission has failed to holdfree and transparent elec-tions as such both the par-ties’ demand that membersof the present Election Com-mission should themselvesresign forthwith.

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Afghan pollsresults delayedover fraud probeKABUL—Afghanistan´spresidential election resultwas delayed on Wednes-day as authorities saidthey had not completedfraud investigations afterthe first-round vote lastmonth to find a successorto Hamid Karzai.

“The final result hasbeen delayed for anunknown number of days,”Independent ElectionCommission spokesmanNoor Mohammad Noorsaid.—AP

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—At least tensuspected militants were re-portedly killed and 14 otherswere injured on Wednesdayduring a US drone strike atthe Pak-Afghan border, offi-cial sources claimed.

According to sources,some vehicles of the mili-

Drone kills ten militantson Pak-Afghan border

tants were also destroyed inthe attack.

Sources further said, USdrones fired three missileson a militant’s compoundand on some vehicles of themilitant group.

Media persons and jour-nalists, having been barred,have no access to the area

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Two Rangersmen killedin attack

KANDHKOT—Two Rangerspersonnel were killed in a fir-ing incident in Kandhkottown of Sindh, borderingBalochistan on Wednesday.

Police said some un-known miscreants ridingmotorbikes opened fire onRangers checkpost, killing

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Saudi kingappoints son asEmir of RiyadhRIYADH—Saudi Arabia´sKing Abdullah promotedone of his sons as

governorof theRiyadhregionWednes-day,accordingto theSaudi

Press Agency, an impor-tant post in which he willoversee the country´scapital and be in directcontact with the world´stop visiting officials anddignitaries.

The Saudi PressContinued on Page 7

Six powers,Iran start workon draftingnuclear dealVIENNA—Six worldpowers and Iran launcheda decisive phase ofdiplomacy on Wednesdayto draft a lasting accordthat would curb Tehran’scontested nuclear activityin exchange for a phasedend to sanctions that havehobbled the Iranianeconomy.

After three months ofdiscussing expectationsrather than negotiatingpossible compromises, thesides are to set aboutdevising a package meantto end years of antago-nism and curtail the risk ofa wider Middle East war

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—On Wednesday the interiorministry, in view of Supreme Court’s order inthe high treason case against former Presi-dent General (Rtd) Pervez Musharraf, sub-mitted the Federal Investigation agency’s(FIA) inquiry report which recommendedthat the competent authority may also takeinto account the role of various facilitatorsin the unconstitutional promulgation ofemergency on November 3, 2007.

The FIA team, headed by AdditionalDirector General FIA Muhammad KhalidQuraishi and comprising two Directors

Musharraf case: FIA reporthanded over to prosecutor

Recommends to take into account role of facilitatorsMaqsoodul Hassan and Hussain Asghar,had submitted 237- page report on Novem-ber 11, 2013 along with the list of 24 wit-nesses. The copy of the report is availableto The Express Tribune.

Musharraf ’s legal team strongly ob-jected over the government’s effort to filecompliant against only Musharraf underHigh Treason (Punishment) Act 1973, whileconcealing the recommendations made bythe FIA inquiry team.

Musharraf ’s lawyer Chaudhry FaisalHussain said that government’s malafideintention is evident from the fact that

NEW DELHI—While the Narendra Modiledgovernment, if it assumes power as indi-cated by exit polls, will ensure some amountof continuity in India’s foreign relations, itwill have no constructive engagement withIslamabad if the neighbouring countrydoesn’t address India’s concerns over ter-rorism.

Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad,who has helped formulate the party’s poli-cies on crucial foreign policy issues, toldTimes of India that India could look for-ward to a more robust foreign policy underModi with its “core as promotion of na-tional interest”.

BJP promises to be tough on Pakistan“We want healthier relations with Paki-

stan but any constructive engagement maybe difficult if India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism are not addressed,” Prasadsaid, adding that the January 2004 agree-ment between the two countries would bethe essence of India’s relations with Paki-stan under Modi. The January 2004 agree-ment had underlined a public commitmentby Islamabad that any territory under itscontrol would not be allowed to be usedfor committing “terrorism against India”.

Prasad said final nuances of India’s for-eign policy would be determined by Modihimself after he assumes power. He said the

Hamid Mirattack probe

runs into snagsAAMIR MAJEED

KARACHI—Further inves-tigation into the attack onsenior journalist and an-chorman Hamid Mir has re-vealed that law enforcershave been helpless in trac-ing the attackers as theClosed-Circuit Television(CCTV) cameras and thepolice helpline were dys-functional at the time of theattack, the Pakistan Ob-server has reliably learnt.

The security agenciesare just working on visualswhich were prepared withthe help of eye-witnesseson the next day of the at-tack. There are no traces ofthe attackers as CCTV cam-eras that were installed atMain Sharae Faisal weredysfunctional. The policehelpline which waslaunched to help residentsto inform law enforcers incase of any suspicious ac-tivity was also not workingat the time of attack due toa technical fault.

As per initial reports,the attackers chased thefour-wheeler of senior an-chorman even after firingmultiple bullets on his car

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Picture on Back Page

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Karachi will always have a spe-cial meaning for me as my daughter wasborn here and I spent a wonderful four yearsin this city.

This was said by Swiss Consul GeneralMr Didier Boschung who hosted a dinnerreception to bid farewell to Ambassador ofSwitzerland to Pakistan Mr Christoph Bubbwho completes his tenure and leaves insummer.

Mr Boschung who has also completedhis tenure, said Karachi was a vibrant citythat possessed vast potential waiting to betapped. He said he is leaving Karachi after

Swiss interest revived in Pakistanhaving made countless friends in this thriv-ing metropolis. On the occasion he intro-duced his successor, Mr Emil Wyss who iscurrently posted in Tehran.

Swiss Ambassador Christoph Bubb inhis short address, paid tributes to MrBoschung for his tenure in Karachi and saidthe Swiss Consul General had worked tire-lessly over the years to put Pakistan backon the business map of Switzerland. Hewished Mr Boschung well in his futureendeavours.

The reception was attended by SeniorSindh Minister Nisar Khuhro, politicians,high government officials, diplomats andelite of the city.

BASHIR AHMAD REHMANI

HAFIZABAD—The city police have smashedan inter-district gang of dacoit-cum-swin-dlers and have so far arrested four of itsmembers which had committed hundreds ofrobberies in Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Chakwal,Rawalpindi, Talagong, Jehlum, Mirpur (AK),Kharian, Lala Musa, Dina, Gujrat, Sialkot,Faisalabad, Daska and other districts in thePunjab during the past ten years.

According to Investigation OfficerSikandar Ali, Ghulam Mustafa andMuhammad Shabbir came outside the bankafter encashing Rs. 80,000/- from a localbank when the accused Riasat Ali andhis son Ansar Ali, Aurangzaib and MerajDin gave him lift in their vehicle andlater snatched away the cash and cell phones

Gang of dacoit-cum-swindlerssmashed, four arrested

from them.The victims immediately reported the in-

cident to the city police which chased theaccused and arrested one of them(Aurangzaib).

On his pointation, the police raidedGujranwala and arrested Meraj Din, RiasatAli and his son Ansar Ali and have lootedcash and cell phones.

During interrogation, the accused toldthe police that their gang consists of 25 to 30accused which have committed hundreds ofrobbery and dacoity cases during the pastten years. They further told the police thatthey had committed ten cases in Hafizabadduring the past two months.

The police have constituted specialteams to round up the remaining membersof the gang.

ISLAMABAD—The National Assemblywas informed Wednesday that the gov-ernment has accelerated the explorationof indigenous gas in the country tobridge the demand and supply gap.

Parliamentary Secretary for Petro-leum and Natural Resources ShahzadiUmarzadi Tiwana told the House duringQuestion Hour that licenses have beenissued for exploration of oil and gas at43 blocks during the last three months.

She said there is no ban on domesticgas connections. The ban has only beenimposed on the new industrial and com-mercial gas connections in view of thehuge gap between demand and supply ofnatural gas.

About the gas bills outstandingagainst the private and public sector enti-ties, the Parliamentary Secretary said thegas companies are taking steps to controlgas theft.

An amount of Rs 173 million hasbeen recovered from the defaulters. Par-liamentary Secretary for Petroleum saidthere is no impediment in the import ofLNG from Qatar.

She said the LNG is expected to beincluded in transmission line of thecountry in early next year. She clarified

Exploration activities accelerated to meet gas shortage

No ban on domestic gas connections: NA toldthat the price of the LNG has not yetbeen finalized.

Minister of State for ParliamentaryAffairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad told theHouse that it is utmost effort of the gov-ernment to provide timely funding to theNational Highway Authority for thecompletion of its ongoing road projects.Minister for Science and TechnologyZahid Hamid told the House that Paki-stan Council of Renewable Energy Tech-nologies has prepared Green PublicBuildings

Project Islamabad with a cost of overRs 613 million. Under this project 16buildings on the constitution avenue ofIslamabad will be partially converted onsolar energy.Zahid Hamid said Pakistan Halal Au-thority Act 2014 has been prepared inconsultation with stakeholders for thepromotion of import and export of Halalfood.

He said a Halal authentication labo-ratory has been established in Lahoreto support local industries and regula-tory authorities for export and importHalal items. Similar, Halal food labora-tories are also being established inKarachi Peshawar.

KARACHI: The out-going Consul General of Switzerland Mr. Didier Boschung, hosteda farewell dinner to the Ambassador Mr. Christoph Bubb and Mrs. Regula Bubb, and tointroduce new Consul General Mr. Emil Wyss at a local hotel. Picture shows host andchief guest with Senior Minister of Sindh Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, with their spouses.

ObituaryOBSERVER REPORT

GUJRANWALA—The funeralprayers of sister of senior jour-nalist Abdul Qayyum Malik,correspondent of PakistanObserver, Shahzad Malik, ofBBC Urdu, Islamabad, andEjaz Malik, correspondent ofPakistan Observer, whopassed away in London onTuesday will be held todayhere at 2.00 PM.

Abdul Qayyum Malikand Ejaz Malik may be con-tacted on phone numbers0300-8740717 and 0300-6422756.

The Editor-in-Chief, MrZahid Malik, Executive Edi-tor Gauhar Zahid Malik andall s taff members havesympathised with thegrieved family and con-doled the death of sister ofAbdul Qayyum Malik.

CERN teamvisiting Pakistan

to expandscientific coop

ISLAMABAD—A six-memberCompact Muon Solenoid(CMS) experiment delegation,led by Tiziano Camporesi,CMS Coordinator, from theEuropean Organization forNuclear Research (CERN)based in Geneva, Switzerlandis visiting Pakistan.

The purpose of the visitis to explore the ways andmeans to increase Pakistan’sscientific contribution to theCMS experiment, establishedat CERN. The delegation willvisit universities, R & D insti-tutes, scientific organizationsand industrial units in thecountry.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Min-ister Muhammad ShahbazSharif has said that PakistanNavy is playing an importantrole for the protection of mari-time interests of the countryas well as in education andhealth sectors within its lim-ited resources. He said thatPakistan Navy has always dis-played courage and valor insafeguarding national inter-ests which is a matter of pridefor the whole nation. He saidthat officers and Jawans ofarmed forces including Navy,Army and Air Force are ren-dering commendable servicestowards safeguarding thecountry and they are bravesons of Pakistan. He said thatmaritime security is of vital im-portance and there is a needfor promoting research anddevelopment in this sector.

He was addressing theinaugural session of the first2-day International MaritimeSymposium arranged by Pa-kistan Navy War College atNaval War Complex WaltonRoad, here today. Chief ofNavel Staff AdmiralMuhammad Asif Sandila, Advisor on Health Kh.Salman Rafique, Secretary Information as wellas retired and in-service officers of Pakistan Navywere present. The Chief Minister said that thesymposium was of vital importance with regardto maritime security and useful proposals and

KP police launchesDispute Resolution Council

Shahbaz lauds Navy valor insafeguarding national interests

recommendations have been put forward in thesession which will be helpful in promotion ofmaritime sector. He said that Pakistan is rich in

mineral and human resources, however, full ben-efit has not been taken from them during the last67 years. He said that economy of the countrycan be strengthened by utilizing mineral wealth.He said that solution of energy crisis is essen-

tial for achieving the goal of national develop-ment. Shahbaz Sharif said that government ismaking sincere efforts for overcoming shortage

of electricity and China,which is a trustworthy andreliable friend of Pakistan, isextending full support forcoping with energy crisis. Hesaid that Pak-China friend-ship is higher thanHimalayas, deeper thanoceans, stronger than steeland sweeter than honey. Hesaid that China has alwayssupported Pakistan in thehour of need and Pak-Chinafriendship will live forever.The Chief Minister said thatunfortunately full benefit hasnot been taken from thefriendship and technology ofChina in the past, however,present government hastaken expeditious measuresfor resolving energy problemwith the cooperation ofChina. He said that the vol-ume of trade between Chinaand India is 85 billion dollarswhile it is only six billion dol-lars between China and Paki-stan. He said that China hasset up coal-based powerprojects of 20 thousandmegawatts in India duringthe last few years. Shahbaz

Sharif said that China has announced a historicinvestment package of 32 billion dollars for Pa-kistan and has proved to be a true friend of Paki-stani and now there is need to work hard andfully benefit from this package.

LAHORE: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila is presentingSouvenir to Chief Minister of Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif during first Interna-tional Maritime Symposium at Pakistan Navy War College Lahore, on Wednesday.

PESHAWAR—The KP police city division for-mally launched the Dispute Resolution Coun-cil for cantt Division to bring about a posi-tive change in the Thana culture and ensur-ing prompt settlement of petty disputes.

The council for cantt Division, whichwill be functioning in P.S Gulberg waslaunched in a formal ceremony wherein themembers of the newly established councilwere administered oath by the formerHonourable Chief Justice of the PeshawarHigh Court, Mr Fasih Ul Mulk.

Speaking on the occasion, the IGPNasir Khan Durrani said that the preva-lent archaic and absurd criminal justicesystem has failed to establish the welfarestate based on cardinal principal of jus-tice and peace as envisioned by Islam andpromised by Quaid-e-Azam.

Today, when a poor laborer, upon non-payment of his wage from the employer,approaches the police station, he or she,

owing to the civil nature of offence andapplicable law, is typically advised to ap-proach the civil courts.

Once he makes it to the civil court, hefinds himself engulfed in another rigma-role of exorbitant legal fees and lengthymeaningless processes, which in turncauses frustration, desperation and a feel-ing of in-justice.

In fact, these petty issues (predomi-nantly of civil nature), if left unsolved, of-ten lead to more heinous offense like mur-der and attempted murder, IGP said.

The Dispute Resolution Councils willbe responsible for the following Amicableresolution of disputes, fact finding enqui-ries and acting as jury in the conduct ofcontested investigations.

Henceforth, all complaints and appli-cations submitted before police shall, uponconcurrence of the plaintiff, be forwardedto these councils.—APP

GUL HAMAAD FAROOQI

CHITRAL—No medicines available for poor ad-mit patient at district headquarters (DHQ) hos-pital Chitral despite the fact that the provincialGovernment of Khyber Pahtonkhwa havegranted more than 20 million rupees for this pur-pose. Besides a number of complaints receivedfrom patients that most of its staff not performtheir duty at night time in the hospital.

Akbar Hussain said that he admits his wifein cardiac case who fell down in front of fe-male ward at night time when she came out ofward to call me for inviting a Doctor becauseof server pain. Because no male person is al-low inside the female ward at night time butthere was not ward Ardali (attendant) duringnight duty. He said when condition of his wifewas most worsen he called a Doctor from emer-gency block but doctor was sleeping and camethere after a long time. Furthermore he addedthat the doctor returned immediately to hisroom to sleep terming the patient stable butunfortunately the patient was dying after afew hours but doctor and some other staff

No medicines for poor patients at DHQHospital despite grant of Rs20m by govt

were absent. And she expired just after go backof the doctor.

Akbar Hussain complained that after thedeath of his wife he call to driver of ambulanceto shift dead body of his wife to his house buthe was also not present and reached there aftertwo hours.

Tariq Ali shah of Danin said that he rushed alady patient along with his other colleagueswhose ladies patients were admit in hospital andwere shifted to Labor Room for delivery. Theycomplained that no medicine is being providingto patients and they purchase everything frommarket even a syringe. They said that there wasnot female doctor on duty at labor room andonly a midwife and a Nurse were busy in deliv-ery cases at Labor room.

They said that provincial government havereleased more than 20 million rupees for thispurpose but they strange that where this hugeamount goes?

Patients also complained that Ward Ardaliand other staff not perform their duty and someof them are busy in private shops. As well asmot of toilets especially toilet of duty room for

doctor at night duty also damaged and blocked.There is heap of garbage existing there for

the last 1 month in hospital premises causing forspreading infectious diseases and stink. In thisconnection when this scribe contacted Dr. NoorulIslam Medical Superintendent of DHQ Hospitalhe said that 16 post of Women Medical Officerare lying vacant and that is why WMO cannotperform duty at night time in labor room due toshortage of lady doctors.

He confirmed that provincial governmenthave released more than 20 million rupees forpurchasing medicines to be provided admit pa-tients but at present we face shortage of medi-cines in store. As well as these free medicinesshould to distribute to admit patients at Laborroom and emergency block but presently nomedicines is available.

He said that Tehsil Municipal Administra-tion is responsible for proper dispose off of gar-bage but they not sent their vehicle for the lastone month despite that sending them letters fre-quently. Hence he assured that if a complainantsubmits me his complaint in written shape hewill conduct inquiry.

Mother-Childweek launched

in FATAPESHAWAR—A mother-child week has beenlaunched in Fata focusingon provision of better healthservice delivery to a targetpopulation of 2,58,416 inseven tribal agencies andtwo frontier regions.

The launching of week(May 12-17) was decidedduring a meeting presidedover by Secretary SocialSector Abid Majeed, Direc-tor Health Services FATA DrPervez Kamal Khan, DeputyProgramme Coordinator DrMuhammad HayatSahibzada and other officialof the concerned depart-ment.

The NationalProgramme for Family Plan-ning and Primary HealthCare (LHW’s Programme)has launched Mother-ChildWeek (May 12 -17) as partof its nationwide awarenesscampaign with prime focuson better service delivery onmaternal, new born andchild health care in all theagencies of FATA and Fron-tier Regions of Peshawarand Kohat this year, says apress release here onWednesday.

As many as 1400 ladyhealth workers and 34 ladyhealth supervisors would beinvolved in the activity be-sides vaccinators and healthcare providers from 80health facilities to cover2,58,416 individuals.

The week long cam-paign provided a model forimproving health and nutri-tion and consequently childsurvival and development inthe country.

The series of activitiesduring the week includespublic awareness activitiesat village /Area and tehsillevel, supplemented by im-munization and dewormingfor children, tetanus toxoidvaccination for pregnantmothers, refresher trainingsfor health workers, andstrengthened public healthsystems to ensure that OralRehydration Salts (ORS)and other essential suppliesare available and correctlyused.—APP

12-day driveagainst measles

in KohatPESHAWAR—The KhyberPakhtunkhwa Govt HealthDepartment has decided tolaunch a 12-day specialcampaign against measlesdisease from May 19 inKohat district to protectchildren from this fatal ali-ment.

This was decided duringa high level meeting withDistrict Health OfficerKohat, Dr Habib KhanKhattak in chair in Kohat onWednesday.

Additional DeputyC o m m i s s i o n e r ,Fakhruddin, DSM DrAbdul Khaliq, ADO DrSamin Shah, CoordinatorPublic Health Dr Arif, Co-ordinator EPI Dr HaroonKhattak, Public HealthSpecialist Dr Abid Gul andother senior officials at-tended.—APP

PESHAWAR—United Arab Emirates RedCrescent Wednesday distributed wheelchairs, sewing machines and clothes dis-tributed among the disabled and needpeople in a function held at Habib Phys-iotherapy Complex Hayatabad here.

The Emirates Relief Coordinator Dr.Khalid Latif Qurashi was chief guest onthis occasion who distributed 12 WheelChairs, 5 Sewing Machines and 500 pairclothes among the physical disabled,children and women.

Chairman Mahboob School of Phys-iotherapy and Habib PhysiotherapyComplex, people from different walk oflife were also present on the occa-s ion.

The function was arranged by UAERed Crescent where the organizationaims to provide skill to the physical dis-abled and by provision of tools bringskilled workers to the society. Wheelchairs were distributed among the se-verely paralyzed patients and theclothes distribution was made to help thepoor community in Peshawar.

In present scenario, the province is a

UAE Red Crescentdistribute sewing machines,

clothes among disabled

MULTAN—Agriculture scientists have in-troduced some modern and cost effectivemethods of Saline agriculture to success-fully get agriculture production from salin-ity hit areas of the country.

Experts said according to a surveyaround 175,000 acre area in Pakistan wassalinity affected and saline agriculture en-ables farmers to effectively utilize salineland and saline water to grow crops.

A release issued by media liaison unitof the Punjab agriculture department saysthat very small portion of saline area in Pa-kistan had been made cultivable, a situa-tion that needs immediate attention of farm-ers to take initiative of converting salineareas into agriculture producing areas.

Expert said growers must have informa-tion about the kind of salinity, soil charac-teristics, weather conditions and availabil-ity of water and other implements.

Soil analysis was a prerequisite to knowabout the soil characteristics.

First step to utilize saline land is to level

Scientist unveils modern methodfor cultivation on saline land

the field after removal of two inch upperlayer of the land so that seed should germi-nate without any difficulty.

Seed should be sown when the field iswet. It should either be sown on the sur-face or while maintaining a lower depth asincreasing depth would affect seed germi-nation.

Application of green fertilizers wouldpay dividends as not only it balances thepresence of organic material but also im-proves Nitrogenous fertilizers in the soil.

Different crops and vegetables shouldbe sown on ridges or beds because it givesbetter production in case of cultivation ofpaddy, cotton, maize, sunflower, wheat andvegetables.Application of green fertilizers,press mud, poultry fertilizers and animalwaste fertilizers was essential for saline cropfields and application of fertilizers contain-ing Sulphur like single super phosphate,BSP and ammonium sulphate not only im-prove production but also keep the soilhealthy, the release concluded.—APP

ABBOTTABAD—Commissioner Hazara Di-vision Abid Ali Wednesday said that thereare so many attractions for local and inter-national tourists in Hazara division.

He said this while addressing a groundbreaking ceremony of Regional TourismOffice Abbottabad.

Abid Ali said that Hazara division hasa diversity of attraction and a suitableplace for the tourists and the office willfurnish the requirements of the touristsas they always need information aboutdifferent places, services and facilities in

Hazara has attraction fortourists: Commissioner

the area. He also advised the officials of Tour-

ism Department to go into the field and pro-vide assistance to the visitors rather thansitting in the offices.

General Manager, Regional TourismOffice (RTO) KPK Muhammad Ali said thatthe project will be completed within stipu-lated time.

A tourist information center is alreadyworking in Donga Gali and soon tourist in-formation offices will be setup in Balakotand Naran.—Agencies

hub of physical disability where the po-lio and victims of war in terror are in quitehigh number. This facilitation could notbe managed itself unless the national andinternational organizations help in reliefand rehabilitation.

The Chairman HPC Dr. Mahboob urRahman has been always ahead in suchrelief activities. He thanked the UAE RedCrescent for initiating such program inorder to help out the needy people ofthe society.

Helping the community and poor dis-abled through vocational rehabilitationand self employment would go a longway as far as bringing the physicallyhandicap to earn their livelihood in a dig-nified way.

He disclosed that Habib Physio-therapy Complex offers free physio-therapy services and believes in provi-sion of skill development for these ne-glected patients.

“We are here to establish a mecha-nism that how these patients could bebrought to normal stream,” Dr. Mehboobur Rehman concluded.—APP

Scrutiny ofblocked NICs

continuesQUETTA—The process ofscrutiny of the blocked Na-tional Identity Cards (NIC)was in progress under thesupervision of a committeeheaded by the Deputy Com-missioner Quetta.

Balochistan governmenthad constituted the commit-tee following the allegationsof issuance of NIC to theAfghan nationals by theNADRA.Deputy Commis-sioner Quetta Abdul LatifKakar is leading the commit-tee.

“Some 600 NIC havebeen so far cleared and sentto the NADRA office afterthe process of the checkingand scrutiny,” DC officesources said.

He added that due to in-sufficient proof and otherrelevant documents asmany as 400 NIC have beenblocked.

Some 20 thousands NICwould be scrutinized duringthe process initiated on theorder of the provincial gov-ernment.—APP

Power shutdownfor Peshawar,

adjoining areasPESHAWAR—PESCO au-thorities Wednesday issuedpower shutdown schedulefor various areas includingcity’s suburban areas due tonecessary maintenance andrepair works.

According to details,power supply would be re-main suspended from 132 KVSakhi Chasma Grid Station onMay 15 and 20 from 8 am to 2pm resultantly consumers of11 KV NSR feeders wouldface inconvenience.

Similarly, power supplywould be remain suspendedfrom 132 KV Peshawar CityGrid Station on May 15 and17 from 7 am to 1 pmresultantly consumers of 11KV Nishtarabad, Chamkaniand Jaghara feeders wouldface inconvenience.Powersupply would remain sus-pended from 132 KV ShahiBagh on May 15 and 19 from8 am to 1 pm resultantly con-sumers of 11 KV Latifabadand Edigah feeders wouldface inconvenience.—APP

Fakhar for activepolio eradication

MULTAN—Underlining the importance of anti- poliocampaign, former Speaker National Assembly, SyedFakhar Imam, said it was incumbent upon all citizensof the country to actively participate in campaignsgeared to eradicate polio.

Talking to APP on Wednesday Fakhar Imam sug-gested that immunization campaign against polioshould be actively carried out on sustained basis sothat we enter the status of a polio-free country.

He hailed the adoption of a unanimous resolutionby National Assembly the other day regarding partici-pation of political leaders for polio eradication cam-paign.

“Polio has almost been eradicated from all over theworld except a few countries including Afghanistan,Pakistan and Nigeria.”

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral dis-ease, which mainly affects young children. The virusis transmitted through contaminated food and water,and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can in-vade the nervous system.

Many infected people have no symptoms, but doexcrete the virus in their faeces, hence transmittinginfection to others, says World Health Organization(WHO) report.

Ini t ial symptoms of polio includefever,fatigue,headache, vomiting,stiffness in the neck,and pain in the limbs.

In a small proportion of cases, the disease causesparalysis, which is often permanent but polio can beprevented through immunization.—APP

Developmentwork reviewed

NAUSHAHRO FEROZE—Commissioner Sukkur Di-vision, Muhammad AbbasBaloch has directed theDeputy Commissionerand Assistant Commis-sioner to monitor work onon-going developmentschemes.

Addressing the meetingCommissioner Sukkur Divi-sion said that plans shouldbe made for the welfare ofmasses instead of longterms schemes and urgedthat filtration plants and so-lar system should be in-cluded in the schemes.

He informed the meetingthat besides ADP, Rs 300million have been sought fornew schemes and Rs 500million for construction ofroads in the district.—APP

HYDERABAD: Residents of Hussainabad burning tyres on the road during a demon-stration against shortage of water in their area.

CHAMAN: Hospital staff giving treatment to one Khalil Ahmad after unknown menshot him in front of District Courts on Wednesday.

PESHAWAR: A grand Jirga of MPAs of Malakand and Hazara regions forests areas, called on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister PervezKhattak on Wednesday.

Rain with gusty windsISLAMABAD—Dust-thunderstorm rain associated withgusty winds is expected at scattered places of Kalat,Makran, Sukkar and Larkana divisions while at isolatedplaces of Quetta, Zhob, Islamabad / Rawalpindi,Bahawalpur, Malakand, Hazara divisions, lower Sindh(Karachi, Hyderabad divi-sions), Kashmir and GB.

A well marked low lies overnorth Balochistan & adjoin-ing area, and its trough ex-tended southeastwards. Atrough of westerly wave isalso prevailing over Kashmirand adjoining areas.

Meanwhile, Director Met Dr. Muhammad Hanif hassaid that recent snow fall in Northern areas occurred after16 years in the month of May.

Talking to PTV news he said, upper areas of the coun-try including Hazara division were experiencing unex-pected weather conditions which happened in 1998.

To a question he said that there was no further chanceof snow fall in Northern areas or Kashmir during next weekbut they will receive rain fall on Wednesday evening andduring next week as well.—APP

Calls from D-Chowkactivate ECP

IMPACT of loud and clear call made from famous D-Chowk by Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan for electoral reforms toobviate any chances of rigging in future elections is now visible as within

twenty-four hours different political parties including the ruling one gavetheir reaction which is both positive and encouraging. It is hoped that thegrowing momentum would lead to some concrete outcome in weeks andmonths to come. The highlighting of the issue has also activated the ECP,which has directed Election Tribunals to dispose of the pending petitionsexpeditiously.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah,who had previously lambasted Imran Khan for indulging in politics of agita-tion, has now invited all opposition parties for a meeting to discuss electoralreforms and the move is understandably aimed at putting more pressure onthe Government to cooperate in bringing about much-needed reforms in thesystem. The Government has still four year mandate and it would definitelygain if it shows its willingness for comprehensive and effective electoral re-forms that could guarantee sanctity of next polls. However, one wonders as tohow Khurshid Shah has demanded resignation of members of the ElectionCommission just because leader of a political party has levelled allegationsagainst fairness of the electoral exercise. The Commission was nominatedthrough a proper process and no one can doubt integrity of its members. It isnot question of integrity of the individual members but empowerment of theCommission, which enjoys many powers in theory but practically is lame-duck because of various reasons and factors. There are, of course, some is-sues that require legislative, financial and administrative actions by the Gov-ernment but the Commission seems to be not willing to exercise even thosepowers that it already enjoyed. Election Tribunals are regrettably taking moretime than envisaged in the law and the Commission should have monitoredtheir progress and performance and taken up the issue at relevant levels andforum. The question arises as to why the ECP could not issue directions be-fore and waited for calls and protests by the Opposition.

CJP widensblasphemy law

CHIEF Justice of Pakistan Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani interpretedthe much-talked-about blasphemy law in a timely and appropriate man-

ner. Hearing a suo motu case relating to the September 22, 2013 bombattack on a church in Peshawar, he hinted at framing guidelines for lawenforcement agencies for protection of minorities’ rights, observing thatdesecration of places of worship of any faith attracted blasphemy laws un-der Section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Blasphemy law was never intended to protect sanctity and honour of onlyIslam but it was painted as such through the force of sustained propagandacampaign by some NGOs and a section of local and foreign media. Section295 referred to by the CJP prohibits “Injuring or defiling place of worship,with intent to insult the religion of any class”. All revealed religions are infact one and the same as there is no fundamental difference in their teachingsor approach. Muslims, in particular, cannot claim to be faithful if they do notprofess prophethood of other Messengers of Almighty Allah. Similarly, theHoly Quran says “Don’t use abusive language against their false gods lestthey should use same language against yours in retaliation.” It is, therefore,obvious that blasphemy law is equally applicable to Muslims and non-Mus-lims and there is no discrimination in this regard. No one can get a licence todesecrate holy places of any religion or indulge in blasphemy. It is, however,to be ensured that the blasphemy law is not used to settle personal score orvendetta. There should be thorough and impartial investigations into com-plaints of blasphemy so that no innocent is embroiled in litigation and getspunishment. The Chief Justice of Pakistan has done well by clarifying legalposition but mere declaration and explanation are not enough. We hope hewould issue necessary directions to law enforcement agencies in this regardbesides ensuring that the judiciary takes up all such issues in right earnest.

Saudi Arabia’smajor shift on Iran

SOON after the successful visit of Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif inwhich he had held productive meetings with Iranian leadership, another

important development surfaced in the region with Saudi Foreign MinisterPrince Saud Al Faisal extending an invitation to Iranian Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif to visit Saudi Arabia, expressing Kingdom’s readi-ness for negotiations with Tehran. Addressing a press conference after theArab Economic and Cooperation Forum with Central Asia and Azerbaijan,Prince Saud pointed out that ongoing political crises in the Middle Easthave given major superpowers the opportunity to meddle in the internalaffairs of other countries, which increases the phenomenon of terrorism.

In our opinion, the Saudi invitation is a major development and reflectsKingdom’s serious concerns about developments in the Muslim Ummah. SaudiArabia enjoys vast influence in the Islamic world and its voice is given dueconsideration. We expect that Iran would respond positively to the offer as itis of utmost importance for the stability of the region that the two countriesnegotiate on all issues and if there are any differences, they be settled totheir satisfaction. The Muslim Ummah must realize that the internationalsituation has changed a lot and the super powers are no longer concernedabout the sovereignty and independence of less powerful states and all theiracts and policies are self-serving. As rightly pointed out by Prince Saud, thenew approach in the international arena seeks to alter the status quo ofcountries from the inside. This is being witnessed in several Islamic coun-tries today, which are facing internal fighting while the international play-ers are weakening them for the attainment of their longer objectives. It goeswithout saying that issues of concern to the Muslim countries can only beresolved through negotiations, ensuring solidarity and respect to each other’ssovereignty. The Ummah has suffered a lot because of foreign inspired warsincluding the Iran-Iraq conflict and tensions between other States. We stronglybelieve that all the Islamic countries will give serious thinking to the ongoingdevelopments in the Middle East and hope that the major and positive initia-tive of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will take a logical course, lead to resolutionof irritants and bring much needed stability in the region.

Any hope for ordinary Pakistanis?

Quit playinggames withBenghazi

THE deaths of four Americans— including Ambassador J.Christopher Stevens — in

Benghazi, Libya, in September2012 was a tragic (though sadly notunprecedented) loss of life as wellas an indictment of security mea-sures at the US mission there. ButBenghazi isn’t a mystery that needsto be plumbed by yet another con-gressional investigation. Benghazihas already been investigated by theindependent Accountability ReviewBoard and several congressionalcommittees, including four Housepanels and the Senate IntelligenceCommittee. Reams of documentshave been produced. The evolutionof the “talking points” used by then-Ambassador to the United NationsSusan Rice in television appear-ances a few days after the attackshas been meticulously documentedand deconstructed.

Yet many Republicans can’t letgo of conspiracy theories aboutBenghazi, and on Friday the Houseauthorized the creation of a selectcommittee to investigate the issueyet again. House Republicans areespecially transfixed by the idea thatPresident Obama and his politicalaides, knowing that the attack wasan Al Qaeda operation, neverthelessconcocted a story that the siege wasinspired by outrage over an anti-Is-lamic video that had sparked vio-lent protests in Egypt. In this GOPtheory, the Obama administrationblamed the video to divert criticismthat the president’s foreign policygenerally, and his war on Al Qaedaspecifically, were failing. In fact, theidea that the Benghazi attack wasinspired by the protest in Egypt overthe video was mentioned in the ear-liest version of the talking points,which were prepared by the CIA,not by Obama’s political advisors.The new committee is unlikely toadd much to that record. Its originslie not, as Republicans maintain, in“lingering questions” about whathappened before, during and afterthe attack, but in partisan politics.Benghazi was to have been the is-sue that would ignite MittRomney’s challenge to Obama in2012. In a televised debate, the Re-publican nominee claimed that “ittook the president 14 days beforehe called the attack an act of ter-ror,” only to have Obama and themoderator direct his attention to astatement by Obama in the RoseGarden the day after the attack inwhich the president said, “No actsof terror will ever shake the resolveof this great nation.” (Republicansthen complained that the statementfell short of labelling the attack “anact of terrorism.”)

The 2012 election is history, butas Washington measures time, the2016 election is just around the cor-ner, and the presumptive Demo-cratic nominee is Hillary RodhamClinton, who was secretary of Stateon the day of the Benghazi attack.The select committee offers Repub-licans another opportunity to bloodyClinton. Election politics aside, thecreation of this committee reflectsRepublicans’ resentment over whatthey see as executive branch arro-gance — especially theadministration’s recent release of anemail from a White House aide thatRepublicans say proves their con-tention that the administration de-liberately misled the nation aboutthe origins of the attack. The admin-istration should have released theSept. 14, 2012, email from deputynational security advisor BenRhodes long ago. That said, it’sanything but a smoking gun. Refer-ring to protests over the videothroughout the Muslim world,Rhodes suggested that Rice stressthat “these protests were rooted inan Internet video and not a broaderfailure of policy.” At most theRhodes email is a footnote in thehistory of the administration’s pub-lic relations response to Benghazi.It proves nothing. The revelationthat Rhodes urged Rice to deny thatthere was a broader failure of ad-ministration policy does not lendcredence to, much less prove, thatthe video explanation was con-cocted. But the committee is goingforward anyway, even as thefundraising National RepublicanCongressional Committee is capi-talizing on its creation by askingvisitors to its website to sign up as“Benghazi Watchdogs.” It’s a signof the Republicans’ credibility prob-lem that House Speaker John A.Boehner (R-Ohio) felt obliged topromise that the committee wouldnot be a “sideshow” or a “circus.”Somehow we’re not reassured.— Los Angeles Times

MEDIA WATCH

THE cities and suburbs of Pakistan are bursting with millions of teeming citizens, old

and young, men and women andchildren alike. They earn their live-lihood by small selling of goods orservices which unimaginably in-volves hard labor with meager in-come. Or they are employed by pri-vate entrepreneurs who have to in-cessantly struggle against the va-garies of state’s regulators and taxofficials. They form the largerchunk of a population of 18 mil-lion plus. It is they who cast voteto send a political party in Parlia-ment, but cherish no hope this willameliorate their life conditions theyknow from their past experience.This is one side of the picture.

The other side reveals itself inthe headlines of the daily newspa-pers and news channels. Onenewspaper’s headline reads as:army chief pays morale boostingvisit to ISI HQ (Inter-Services In-telligence Headqarters). Anotherheadline says: defense ministryseeks cancellation of Geo’s license.It’s in the wake of a murderous at-tack on a prominent journalist andGeo News’ popular talk show host,Hamid Mir. He has survived despitesix bullets injured him seriouslyand is under treatment in a hospi-tal. His brother, Amir Mir, a knownjournalist, allegedly put the blameon the ISI and its head LieutenantGeneral Zaheer-ul-Islam sayingMir told him he feared they wouldkill him. One breaking headlinenews tells ‘Pakistan successfullytest fires Hatf-III, a short range bal-listic missile.’ Another newspaperhighlights Chief of Army Staff,

General Raheel Sharif’svisit to the ISI HQ and hisstatement that ISI is a“strategic institution” andits role is crucial in na-tional security.

This side of the picturepresents a state mired in its own in-ternal fights with various institutionsat each other’s throats. The same Pa-kistan Muslim League (Nawaz)which supported the cause of therestoration of the deposed judges istrying to rein in the Supreme Courtby trimming the powers of the ju-dicial commission which has anedge in the appointment of judgesof the apex and high courts. Thenthere is Pakistan Army and the ISIwhich claim to be the uncontestedsavior of Pakistan. Though, Indiais no more number one enemy, andhas been replaced by Taliban; how-ever, it seems the security institu-tions are more occupied with theanti-Pakistan elements which intheir perception abundantly popu-late media and civil society, twobastion of public opinion. It may bementioned that not lately an Urdufeature film, Waar (War) was shotand released with the collaborationof the ISPR, public relations wingof the Army. Also, there is talk ofan exclusive television channel forthe use of Army to counter the In-dian propaganda.

In this picture where do the poli-ticians stand, whom the citizensbring into power? Pertinently thispicture lacks the lines and shadesof governance, and is blank so faras public provision of justice andbasic social services is concerned.Hungry of energy, not only the en-trepreneurship is desperate, ordi-nary life is disturbed. Electricityavailability has somewhat im-proved under this government ascompared to the previous one; butthe core issues such as circular debt,a stifled market and state’s mo-

nopoly over the distribution of elec-tricity are not going to be addressedsoon. The scarce natural gas provesto be an apple of discord for whichtextile, fertilizer and other lobbiesvie fiercely.

The present forecasted growthrate is lurking in the range of 3 to 4%; but IMF puts it at 3.1 %. The av-erage rate of inflation is hovering be-tween 8.5 and 9.5 %. And the bud-get deficit for the current fiscal yearis in the range of 6 to 7 %. As for theinfrastructural priorities, the presentgovernment is hitting the wrongnotes, and its urban sensibility isquestionable; the cities are gettinghuge amounts of money being spenton un-needed projects, such asflyovers in Lahore. The roads in cit-ies and their peripheries and espe-cially in rural areas are in quite badshape, or there is none at all. Potablewater is a dream for most of thepeople. Healthcare is almost non-existent or do not match the numberof patients it targets.

Another area of the picture rep-resents the dismal state of the pub-lic transport, which has over theyears deteriorated steeply. Not onlycan be seen crowds of commuterswaiting at the bus-stops and busestightly packed, there are as manytraffic jams which consume suffi-cient number of hours of their lifedaily. To this must be added the sta-tistics of road accidents killingcountless citizens for which ultimateresponsibility rests with the govern-ment, since rules and laws regulat-ing driving license and traffic on theroads, though written in the books,are never implemented. Accordingto Rescue 1122 service, just withinone day 572 accidents were reportedfrom 36 districts of Punjab last year.In this regard, the death statistics istoo horrible to see: this April 20, inSukkur district a collision betweena bus carrying about 60 passengersand a trailer took 42 lives, and out

Plight of Kashmir’s forgotten refugees

IN January 1948, the then IndianPremier Jawahar Lal Nehrubrought the Kashmir question to

the United Nations Security Coun-cil. The resolution by the SecurityCounci l bound both India and Pa-kistan to grant the people of Jammuand Kashmir a plebiscite for deter-mining the future of their disputedterritory.

A month later, UN proclaimedthe Universal Declaration of Hu-man Rights stating that all citizensof the world uphold the inalienableright to freedom, justice and peace.More than sixty years later and inspite of UN resolutions, Kashmirisin the Indian occupied territoryhave not been granted the right tovote in a referendum.

Ironically, internationalcommunity’s commitment to thepeople of Kashmir has also wanedover the decades. The dispute be-tween India and Pakistan over Kash-mir has not only jeopardized re-gional peace and security, theKashmiris per se have become thecore victim of the conflict and theyhave mostly been forgotten.

Few people around the worldare aware of the suffering ofKashmiri refugees who fled fromIndian Occupied Kashmir aroundthe globe during late 1980s andearly 1990s. To date, Pakistan is hasbeen offering refuge to more than7,000 families roughly comprising35,000persons in and around

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Sunday Magazine

Sadia Zahid MalikEditor

Ph: 2852027-8, Ext: 116Email: magazinesocialdiary@hotmail.com

A nod is as goodas a wink to ablind horse.

Muzaffarabad. ThoseKashmiris mostly arrivedfrom Kupwara andBaramulla district and theyfled in fears of persecution byIndian security forces after al-legedly being accused of sid-

ing with the “militants.”Kashmiri families were often left

with no choice but to abandon theirfarmhouses, livestock and to leavebehind close relatives in search forsafety and survival. Many of the refu-gees including women and childrenbecame the subject of beatings, tor-ture and even sexual assault by In-dian occupying forces.

In the midst of the night, fami-lies fled bare feet through dense for-ests, over land mine fields crossingthe Line of Control towards Paki-stan. Some escapes only lasted afew hours but others took days toreaching Pakistan. There have beenaccounts of some young womenwho left their family homes at nightalone, to be reunited with their hus-band who had earlier escaped per-secution. Although some familieshave settled down and have fullyintegrated into mainstream society,the majority continues to live un-der harsh conditions in refugeecamps. Many of the refugees in-cluding a new generation of chil-dren have been dealing with seri-ous psychological disorders, trau-mas and also physical disability.

While the local government hasmade efforts to alleviate some of thesuffering of the Kashmiri refugees,financial restraints have caused someobstacles in achieving their objec-tives. Today, many of the refugeesare yearning to go home to the otherside of the Line of Control for re-unit-

ing with relatives whom they havenot seen for decades. Others are look-ing for improved living conditions.Unanimously all Kashmiri refugeesare still waiting for the UN sponsoredplebiscite.

The international community hasnot hesitated to condemn the plightof the Rohingya Muslims inMyanmar, or to point a finger at theoccupying forces that have forced thePalestinians out of their ancestralhomeland. Presently, the predicamentof the Syrian refugees has been theprime focus of international media at-tention. These are great human trag-edies but these pale in comparison tothe loss of humanity in Kashmir atthe hands of proclaimed largest de-mocracy on earth.

Having said this, be it politi-cians, international aid organiza-tions, or U.N. sponsored agencies,hardly anyone has taken serious in-terest into the plight of the Kashmiristo alleviate some of their sufferingand to improve the overall livingconditions of the Kashmiri refugeesin and around Muzaffarabad.

While the international commu-nity has not only turned a blind eyeto Indian human rights abuses in theoccupied territories of the disputedKashmir region, it has entirely dis-regarded the implementation of thebasic UN Resolutions for a referen-dum in Kashmir.

Moreover, if the Universal Dec-laration of Human Rights states“everyone has the right to leave anycountry, including his own, and toreturn to his country” why theKashmiri refugees cannot go home?Indian authorities even blocked thetelephone lines from Azad Jammuand Kashmir to the Indian side of

of 27 dead 14 were children and 13women, with 17 others injured.Additionally, there is terror of theTaliban and other violent groupswhich on their own contribute tothe disfiguration of the state of Pa-kistan. The government’s recenttalks with the Thereek-e-Talibanbrought a relief to the ordinary citi-zens; the frequency of the suicideblasts and indiscriminate killingssaw a substantial reduction. But theissue stands unresolved and thereis a long war ahead to fight thebrunt of which is for the ordinarycitizens to bear.

Constitutionally a civilian po-litical government is in driving seatwhich came to power last year af-ter the first elected civilian set-upcompleted its five-year stint. How-ever, it appears that the state ofPakistan is not being run by thecivil rulers; other encroachers oftheir constitutional powers, such assecurity institutions and agencies,are obstructing the way they maywant to govern and it is with themthat the citizens pin hopes. But thestate of Pakistan is entangled in itsown fights and this cancer is eat-ing up the resources which mayotherwise be utilized to provide theordinary citizens with protection oflife and property, justice and basicsocial services. That’s the story ofthe last 67 years.

The story is going to be retoldif the politicians do not take heartto challenge the actors be they state,i.e. security establishment, or non-state, i.e. Taliban and other violentgroups. And if the ruling politicianslet the security establishment dowhat it like, and do not subdue it toplay its constitutional duty, theywill once again betray the millionsof teeming citizens who are livinga hopeless life in Pakistan.—The writer is Lahore-basedpolitical analyst and author ofseveral books. —Proverb

the Line of Control. The people ofKashmir evidently need help, andthey need large scale assistance beit on the humanitarian front, to re-ceive political and diplomatic sup-port, or be it financial assistanceto building schools, health centers,housing and basic infrastructure.

There is a long road towardsAzadi (liberation) in Kashmir, andthat ultimately road of Kashmirifreedom cannot be accomplishedalone without support of the inter-national community.

As long as the West continuesto neglect the plight of theKashmiri refugees including allKashmiri citizens and those scat-tered elsewhere in this world, theirlong road to Azadi will continueto be faced with numerous ofhurdles that will prevent theirdreams from coming true.Kashmir’s plight could have beenavoided if the international com-munity had been committed in tak-ing serious interest in the disputedJammu and Kashmir region justlike they did in East Timor, Sudanand other conflict riddenregions.After all, it was the UNthat approved both the resolutionson Kashmir and also the Univer-sal Declaration on Human Rightsto make this world a more peace-ful place. Regretfully, those whohave been advocating freedom,justice and peace are also the oneswho have silently closed theireyes, who have looked the otherway, and who shamelessly havedistanced themselves from thebeautiful people of Kashmir.—The writer, a Jakarta-basedresearch analyst, writes exclusivelyfor Pakistan Observer.

Laura SchuurmansEmail:schuurmans.laura@gmail.com

Dr Khalil AhmadEmal:khalilkf@gmail.com

Voice of the People

PM’s productivevisit to IranMUKHTAR AHMED

Your editorial ‘Premier’s productivevisit to Iran’(May 13) has rightlyhighlighted the out come of the visitas a very positive step in wake ofthe tense atmosphere that had cre-ated tension between the twoneighbouring countries. Relationsbetween Pakistan and Iran took uglyturn when on 6th February 2014, fiveIranian guards were kidnapped byJaishul Adl militants.

This was very crucial momentwhen Iran threatened to send itstroops in Pakistani territory to freethe hostages. Four of the kidnappedwere recovered while the fifth waskilled. In this backdrop Iranian Inte-rior Minister visited Pakistan on 6th

May and drew fresh lines of proto-col between the two countries. An-other sour point was the Pak Iran gaspipeline project that also needed ac-commodating gestures from bothsides to remove the misperceptions.Another area of conflict was theSaudi position on Syria vis-a-vis ourgrowing relations with Saudi Arabiaand receiving $1.5 billion as gift forPakistan. Prime Minister’s visit hasbeen a great success as Iran haswaived off the penalty and both coun-tries have also agreed to enter intomore commercial and trade activities.

Iran is our next door neighbourand both countries enjoyed brotherlyrelations and their timely help in1965 and 1971 wars with India, cannot be forgotten. Since US and Iranrelations have improved thereforePakistan needs to bridge the gap be-tween Iran and Pakistan and ensurethe project of gas pipeline is under-taken without further delay. It isobviously in the interest of both thecountries. As suggested in the edi-torial Pakistan needs to raise the fre-quency of interaction with Iran andpursue the goals vigorously for thesake of the friendly relations be-tween the brotherly countries—Karachi

Middle class manAHWAZ SIDDIQUI

In this age of hard work, a man be-longing to middle class earns moneywhich can hardly meet requirementof basic needs, and struggles hard tosave something to deal with the un-toward circumstances. Although amiddle class man earns for himselfand his family, there are number ofagents like street criminals, corruptofficials, extortionists, pick pockets,mobile snatchers and high brandedstores to fleece him and snatch a bigportion of his meagre savings.

This is the reason why most ofthe middle class families are com-ing below the poverty line due tothese extortionists who illegallyshare their hard earned money. It isa request to my elected governmentto reduce the number of sharers andhelp middle class earners to save fortheir families and future untowardcircumstances.—Karachi

Effects of mercuryon environment

HARIS MALIK, G SHAHAB

Mercury (element), a metallic ele-ment with symbol Hg and atomicno: 80. Mercury is naturally presentin air, water and soil, in severalforms like elemental or metallicmercury, inorganic and organic mer-cury compounds. Basically Mercuryis present in earth’s crust found inmany rocks including coal. Whencoal is combusted, mercury is re-leased into the environment and coalburning power plants are the majorsources of mercury emissions. Mer-cury can affect water quality by set-

Cultural invasion on PakistanPONUM HUMZA

The cultural invasion is the invasion of the enemy on any nation with various means and methods, inorder to destroy its internal strength and its morals. The difference between cultural invasion and

military invasion is that military invasion takes place in order to conquer, capture territory and achievemilitary objectives against the will of people, whereas the purpose of cultural invasion is to brain washthe people so that they would become followers of the invader. In Pakistan the media is growing tremen-dously. Pakistan is one of the developing countries and the concept of cable is penetrating all over thecountry. Youngsters, who are the future of Pakistan are wasting their energy sitting in front of thetelevision. As they don’t have other outlets for entertainment or leisure facilities. It was claimed by one ofthe Indian rulers that they needed not to invade Pakistan any more, they would conquer Pakistan throughmedia. Indian drama and films have acquired won tremendous viewership in Pakistan, in the absence ofany seriousness on the pat of the government and the concerned regulatory authority. Similarly themedia invaders were facilitated by some of the private TV channels through the projection of Indianfilms, Turkish dramas and display of foreign advertisements. Foreign media is creating a sense ofsuspicion among our youth who are passing through a formative stage of development and are atinitial phase of understanding their religious beliefs, cultural norms and core values. Indian dramasare putting a great influence on language, dressing and marriage ceremonies. People like to use Hindiwords in their conversation and like to use Indian dresses as they observe in Indian dramas. Thefemales are the real affectees of Indian and Turkish dramas and this is rather more dangerous be-cause the women are the real trend setters and more relevant to the future of the younger generation.Due to Indian and Turkish dramas, Indian and Turkish culture is gaining ground in Pakistan andpeople are forgetting their norms, culture and values. People use Hindi and English in their conversa-tion rather than using Urdu language, which is our national language. In wedding ceremonies peoplefollow Indian culture like Mehndi, invest a lot of money on wedding ceremonies in contrast to ourIslamic culture and values, thus creating more difficulties for poor people.—Islamabad

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—Editor

The fifty-six inch chest ..!

IT was four months after the Indian general elections. The manwith the Fifty Six inch chest who

had been elected prime minister,huffed and puffed as he thrust andpushed and shoved to no avail. Helooked round with desperation in hiseyes, then with eyes bloodshot withrage and indignation he thrust andpushed and shoved again.

“What are you doing sir?”asked his PA. “Shut up and help mepush!” said the Fifty-six incher. The

PA and the Fifty-Six Incher thrust andpushed and shoved and it was to noavail. “What are you doing?” asked acabinet minister. “We are… “ said theMan with the Fifty-Six Chest. “We aretrying to push the country ahead,” saidthe PA wiping the perspiration fromhis forehead. “Yes,” gasped the Manwith the Fifty Six Inch chest, who thenation had elected as Prime Minister,“That is what I am trying to do, pushthe nation ahead!”

“And you better do it fast, be-cause the nation is waiting, your hon-eymoon period is slowly getting overand there’s nothing to show for it,especially since you don’t have manyfriends!” “There’s nothing to showfor it, because it’s nearly impossibleto push this nation forward even with

my huge fifty six inches of chest.”The PA , the cabinet minister and theFifty-Six Incher thrust and pushedand shoved and it was to no avail.The country just wouldn’t budge.

“What are you doing?” asked hispolice chief, who had strayed overfrom Gujarat and now had madeDelhi his permanent home, “What areyou all doing?” “Push with us police-man!” said the Fifty-Six Incher.“What are you doing?” asked thearmy chief, followed by the Navy andthe Air Force chiefs, “What are youall doing?” “We are adding to his fiftysix inches,” said the PA, “We are try-ing to push the nation ahead. “

The nation stood still, and didn’tbudge as the might of Fifty-Six Inchesand the might of the muscle of the

army, navy and air-force, also thebrute strength of the police chief whohad strayed away from Gujarat alltried to push the nation forward. Butthe nation did not move. Not a singleinch. “Maybe what you need is me!”said the frail voice from a frailwoman. “Who are you?” asked allof them together except the man withthe fifty-six inch chest. “His wife!”said the frail woman. “If he will al-low me to push alongside him, if lovewill replace brute strength, compas-sion, cruelty, then the nation willmove. May I push with you dearhusband?” But man with the fifty-six inch chest shook his head andcontinued to push, but the nation didnot budge, nary a single inch..!—Email: bobsbanter@gmail.com

Substitute for democracy!

FOR as long as there have beenelections in Pakistan they havebeen rigged more or less. This

type of democracy that we are tryingto run was a creation of Western Eu-rope and the French revolution andat that time it had its merits in Eu-rope. But to run democracy meaning-fully it needs democratically mindedpeople who accept the ethics of de-mocracy, and people who are edu-cated to have their say in the affairsof government and not treated likeslaves or herds of cattle.

All situations, where the pirs, thelocal zamindar or the tribal Jirga tellsthe people whom to vote for is againstthis spirit. In rural areas the votersalso vote under pressure fromTehsildar, Thanedar and Patwari, apractice which is undemocratic anddo not bring satisfactory results ac-cording to the spirit of democracy andno politician has ever voiced or stagedany dharna to reform our system,which Tahirul Qadri wants singlehandedly now. The Muslim LeagueKhairuddin group, Tehrik-e-Istaqlal

and Jamaat-e-Islami had also in-corporated in their manifesto fora change in system by adopting“Proportional representationsystem” in general elections.

The world is ruled by Cor-porate Mafia, and the major de-

cisions are made by international eco-nomic and financial institutions likeG-7 and IMF. That is the case not onlyfor Pakistan but everywhere. At theend even Western ‘democracies’ arebound by the decisions of those or-ganizations –weather they like it ornot. Western political parties have tostreamline their programs and ideolo-gies along the goals set by the G-7 orIMF which leads to a situation wherethere is hardly any distinction be-tween the programs of conservativesand social democrats.

Furthermore, western democra-cies have now openly taken up thepractice which they used to pursue insecret before – that is to topple electedgovernments if they don’t like them.There are plenty examples like theTaliban government in Afghanistan,the ongoing attempts to topple theSyrian government, the Egyptiangovernment of President Mursi, andother African & Middle East coun-tries. Opposition groups and govern-ments are supported and pushed intopower toppling elected governments

like in Ukrainian, Bahrain, Maynmarand Afghanistan. Instead they man-age to put governments into place thatare friendly towards the West andwestern interests like in Georgia,Ukraine, Egypt, Afghanistan.

In India the new Aam AadmiParty under a retired bureaucratturned politician Arvind Kejriwal,that had stormed the electoral scenein Delhi’s state elections last Decem-ber is now making headway for thenational political stage. The partyspoke out against vote-buying andhidden election expenditures, madetransparent political donations irre-spective of size, and vowed to adhereto the Election Commission’s strictexpenditure limits. But the ongoingcorporate cultures’ domination hasnot spared India, where situation isdrifting downward, people who arethe fountain of power have been madeslaves of rupee shining in darkeningIndia, where the demon of corruptionis ruling the roost. Congress & BJPhad joined hand in Delhi against theAAP government not to pass newlaws against corruption that led toenbloc resignation of Mr. Kejriwal’sparty who are now emerging as per-haps second to none.

That means, internationally also,democracy is on the decline and onthe way out. The so-called democ-

racy today is serving western inter-est rather than the interest of theirown country as can be seen from theexamples in Pakistan and elsewhere.We in Pakistan have been experi-menting with this type of politicalsystem for the last 67 years and ithas been breaking down again andagain and when it was running it re-turned the same fraudsters again andagain into the seats of power.

The last pawn in the chess boardwas fixed when PPP & PML (N)joined hands under so-called char-ter of democracy to pass 18, 19 &20th amendments in our constitutionto create two supermos the PrimeMinister & the Leader of Opposi-tion to control the future of democ-racy in Pakistan. With the economicand security situation in and aroundour country so dangerous that thevery survival of Pakistan is underthreat there is no time left for fur-ther trials and errors. Instead of try-ing to correct what is incorrigible weshould finally think about alterna-tives. But may be Imran Khan andMr. Qadri are lacking the substancefor that. That is why their dharna orrallies will not change anything andthey will keep fooling the people.God bless Pakistan.—The writer is Karachi-basedsenior columnist.

Views From Abroad

US-Turkey ties in danger

REMEMBER the US-Turkishalliance? Not long ago, President Obama was proclaiming

that Turkish Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan was his favouriteMiddle Eastern statesman, and oneof very few foreign leaders withwhom he had forged a “bond oftrust.” Yet today, ties between Wash-ington and Ankara are unmistakablyon the downswing.

First, there is America’s recedingstrategic footprint in the Middle East.Last Fall, in an interview with theNew York Times, National SecurityAdvisor Susan Rice laid out a new,“more modest” vision of US policytoward the region, consisting of justthree strategic priorities: brokeringpeace between Israel and the Pales-tinians; dismantling Syria’s chemicalweapons arsenal, and; attaining a dip-lomatic solution to the long-standingcrisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.Other regional issues — from thecontinued turmoil of the “ArabSpring” to security problems in NorthAfrica and the Middle East — wereno longer primary American con-

cerns, Rice made clear. At first blush,you might expect this dynamic to bebeneficial for Turkey. After all, theTurkish government has articulatedan ambitious foreign policy vision inrecent years, and actively attemptedto style itself as a “model” for theArab Spring nations to follow.America, meanwhile, has made clearthat it needs reliable deputies to pro-mote its interests in the region — arole that, not long ago, Turkey wouldhave been a natural candidate to fill.

No longer. The increasingly au-thoritarian bent of Erdogan’s govern-ment has given Americanpolicymakers — once enthusiasticabout the prospects for strategic part-nership with the ruling Justice andDevelopment Party (AKP) — seri-ous pause. So has the domestic “civilwar” now taking place between theAKP and the cemaat, a shadowy yetinfluential socio-religious movementled by controversial cleric FethullahGulen. America has studiously triedto stay out of the fray, describing itas a purely domestic affair. ButErdogan’s recent insistence that hewill seek an extradition request forGulen (who resides in Pennsylvania)has put official Washington in an un-tenable position. Acquiescence to

Erdogan’s demands is well-nigh un-thinkable, on both legal and politi-cal grounds. But a refusal will vir-tually guarantee that bilateral tiestake a further hit, with the AKP con-cluding that Washington chose thecemaat over them. (Indeed, there aresome in Turkey who believe thatErdogan is banking on just such anoutcome, which he will then use toburnish his nationalist and anti-American credentials.)

Washington and Ankara likewiseremain fundamentally at odds overSyria. Turkey has long urged the USto follow its lead and take a moreactive role in support of the Syrianopposition. It has done so for goodreason; with the number of Syrianrefugees in Turkey now approachingone million, the conflict taking placenext door is rapidly becoming anoverriding strategic issue for Ankara.But policymakers in Washington,worried over the increasingly Islam-ist bent of Syria’s fractured opposi-tion forces, have hung back — gar-nering lasting Turkish ire in the pro-cess. Finally, there is Turkey’s uncer-tain role in NATO. Western nationshave long harboured hopes that Tur-key — a Cold War stalwart of theAlliance — could become NATO’s

Ilan Bermanemissary to the contemporaryMiddle East. But the collapse ofTurkey’s strategic partnership withIsrael, its support of opposition (in-cluding jihadist) forces in Syria, andits persistent anti-Westernconspiratorialism have made An-kara an increasingly weak link inthe Atlantic Alliance. Most recently,Turkey’s flirtation with the acqui-sition of Chinese-made missile de-fences has raised concerns in theWest that it could end up compro-mising the integrity of NATO com-munications.

The state of the US-Turkishunion, in other words, is deeplytroubled. The current divergence be-tween Washington and Ankara can’tbe smoothed over by cosmeticchanges (such as the impending re-tirement of current US AmbassadorFrancis Ricciardone). Rather, it is theproduct of a more fundamental part-ing of the ways now taking place be-tween the two countries. Turkey andAmerica, once staunch comrades inarms, are now simply acquaintances.In the future, if current trends con-tinue, they might become even less.The writer is vice president of theAmerican Foreign Policy Council.— Courtesy: USA Today

People’s Agency

IF permitted by Gen Zaheerul Islam; Pakistan’s top spy master,all his boys deserve fantastic

Cuban cigars over a cup of coffee.People showing support to theirmilitaries home and abroad is a com-mon sight; however, masses ex-pressing solidarity for an intelligenceagency is something unheard.

Keeping in view the currenttrends in Pakistan, had ISI been a po-litical party it would have swept elec-tions, had it been a media organiza-tion it would have got record ratings,had it been a book it would have be-come a best seller and if there hadbeen an annual Nobel prize for anorganization’s popularity, ISI wouldhave been victorious by all tests andstandards. By default, intelligenceagencies are bound to be notoriouslyfamous or famously notorious de-pending upon which side of the lineyou stand. Thus hatred for ISI in In-dia, RAW’s bashing in Pakistan,

German’s apprehensions about NSA,American grudges against KGB,France’s interest in MI-6, Mossad’ssuspicions about CIA and CIA’s dra-conian image due to drone strikes issomething neither surprising nor se-cret. Internationally, in the backdropof NSA fame Edwared Sonwden,Julian Assenage, wiki leaks and in-creasing public concerns over privacy,current environment is neither veryconducive, nor supportive for the in-telligence community. ISI has changedthe scenario dramatically. There is anintelligence community dilemma,throughout the world.

In an era, dominated by show-manship where everyone strives dayin and day out for acknowledgmentand recognition, spy communitiesand outfits choose to remain anony-mous. Understandably, to act undercover is a professional requirement;however, just the way they live inshadows, intelligence people are ex-pected to die silently. This is why atCIA’s headquarters in Virginia, an in-scription wall is there dedicated tohonour some of agency’s best people,without mentioning their names.

Same recognition applies to theachievements and accomplishmentsof intelligence people.

Thus when US President in 2003boasted “Mission Accomplished”aboard a US naval ship, he was sur-rounded by combat soldiers and intel-ligence people, but they hardly got anymention. It is an irony, that theworldover, the soldiers who serve theircountries, proudly put their names onchest while the first recognition thatthe intelligence people receive is thatthey are ripped off their originalnames. Coming back to the recentstandoff, which is now no more anaffair between a particular state insti-tution and a media organization, it ispractically between the people of Pa-kistan and a media outfit and there aremany lessons to infer.

Despite of enormous popularity ofmedia and its penetration amongmasses with an unprecedented accept-ability, the people of Pakistan are verysensitive about some of their state in-stitutions. The negative perceptionabout media has been further strength-ened by the dubious fundings, foreigninfluence and various scandals. If ac-

cepted as a case of editorial or jour-nalistic misjudgment, it’s even moreintriguing that how a media groupwith an experience of about a quartercentury could do that. Hawkishly re-porting about corrupt factory ownersand covering incidents is one thingbut campaigning against a state insti-tution is something different and evena common viewer or a reader feelsthe heat of it.

The freedom of speech is a valuethat needs to be respected but no statecould allow this freedom to be mis-used against itself. It’s a task left tothe enemies. For the world at large,this episode is a clear message thatISI is a popular agency within its owncountry. This is a feat hardly any otherintelligence agency could claim. Soif it is claimed or ‘blamed’ that ISIis one of the best Agency in theworld, a major reason is that it ishighly popular among its ownpeople for its uncompromisingcommitment for the motherland -Pakistan. (The writer is an ordinaryPakistani and is not on the pay roleof any media organization or intel-ligence agency)

tling into water bodies. Airbornemercury falls to the ground in rain-drops or due to gravity, soon afterfalling it enters the streams, lakes orestuaries where it is transformed intoMethyl mercury through microbialactivity. Mercury deposition in agiven area depends upon the mercuryemitted from local, regional, nationaland international sources. Theamount of methyl mercury found infish is an indicator to its concentra-tion in air, soil, and water. Birds andmammals that eat fish are more sus-ceptible to methyl mercury expo-sures. It is mostly found in eagles,otters and endangered Florida pan-thers. Exposure of methyl mercury towildlife can cause mortality, infertil-ity, slower growth and developmentand abnormal behaviour dependingon level of exposure. With regard tohumans, high-level mercury exposurecan harm nervous system, brain,heart, kidneys, lungs and immunesystem of people of all ages—Via email

Talks with TTPTARIQ FARUQI

Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hasbeen in armed struggle against thestate of Pakistan for almost a decade.It has influenced the government byattacking military forces, law en-forcement agencies and even inno-cent people. Government has en-gaged in the negotiation process withthe TTP to end the decade long con-flict. Here I would like to give somerecommendations to the government.

Government should immediatelytake steps to stop drone attacks. Spe-cial commando force should be pre-pared in order to deal with the terror-ists. Intelligence services of the coun-try should be enhanced in order to keeptrack of militant activities. Adminis-ter speedy and affordable justice.Judges, lawyers and eyewitnessesshould be provided proper security.Last but not least, educate the peopleof FATA and tribal areas and improvetheir financially grave condition.—Karachi

Block foreignfunding for terrorists

MAHA SHAKEEL

Acts of sectarian terrorism taking placeall over Pakistan reached a new peaklast year, as revealed by the ‘PakistanSecurity Report 2013’ launched byPakistan Institute for Peace Studies(PIPS). According to the report, therehad been 208 incidents of sectarian-related terrorist attacks in the coun-try in which 658 people were killedand 1,195 injured. The year 2014started ominously with a ghastly ter-rorist attack on the New Year day.An explosives-laden vehicle targeteda passenger bus carrying Shia pil-grims in Balochistan. The attack wasowned by Jaish al Islam. On Sun-day a suicide bomber blew himselfup outside a school in a Shia domi-nated town in Hangu district, kill-ing a schoolboy and another man.The attack was owned by LeJ.

Even if it is the LeJ and Jaish alIslam, they are the affiliates of theTTP which has killed thousands ofcivilian and security personnel overthe last few years. Many prominentulema belonging to the Sunni de-nomination have condemned terror-ism. Some, like Dr Sarfaraz Naeemi,were killed by terrorists for holdingmoderate and anti-terrorist views. OnSunday, a multi-sect peace conventionin Islamabad condemned thegovernment’s policy of appeasementtowards the TTP and its affiliates.Speakers belonging to moderate Sunniand Shia organizations stressed that theissue of terrorism could not be re-solved through talks and demandedthat the terrorists be dealt with an ironhand as they were the enemies of Pa-kistan and Islam. The participants inthe convention agreed to celebrate theEid Milad un Nabi together. It is

widely recognized that the sectarianterrorism in Pakistan is an extensionof the rivalries and the sectarian net-works are funded from abroad. A re-port in a national daily on Mondayquoting sources in FIA tells that theterrorist groups in FATA andBalochistan have been receiving bil-lions of rupees each month throughbanking channels and money ex-change companies. While it is for theFIA to conduct the probe thoroughlyand take measures to block the funds,this strengthens the popular percep-tion that the some foreign countriesare fighting a proxy war in Pakistanto destabilize it. The declaration is-sued at the end of the moot expressedresolve to oppose foreign interferencein Pakistan’s internal affairs. The per-ception of the foreign money fuellingterrorist activities, particularly thoseof LeJ and its sister organizations, haschanged the traditional perceptions.Presumably the funding for the ter-rorist networks comes from individu-als and charities rather than the gov-ernments. The least that is expectedfrom these governments is to takeeffective measures to block thesefunds and Pakistan should take up thematter seriously to tackle the pour-ing in of such funding from abroad.—Karachi

Discriminationin educationQURATULAIN AIJAZ

Pakistani society is poisoned by thediscrimination and divisions not onlyon the basis of religions, sects, lan-guages but also by the so calledclasses and education systems. Thiscreates great gape in communicationespecially when you are in an educa-tional institution like Karachi Univer-sity, where students related to almostevery class and walk of life are study-ing. I am totally in favour of only onesystem of education in Pakistan in-stead of Sindh, Federal, Cambridge,Agha Khan boards and Governmentschooling systems. All of these arelimited only to 12th grade in generalbut after that all have to join the in-stitutes of single system where it cre-ates discrimination even among theclass of 50 to 60 students.

You must have confidence to bea part of them just because theirbehaviour towards other. These sys-tems have made students so confusedeven about themselves and their val-ues. Some of students consider them-selves as if they are the icons of highquality in education market becauseof being product of some “BurgerBoard” and behave arrogantly andrudely in front of others for makingtheir so called hype which actuallymakes them look unethical and de-void of manners.

My question is then why do theycome in a Govt sector University fordegree programmes? No educationteaches to degrade others but now thiseducation system does. To me thesethings do not matter but what mat-ters is your attitude, your talent andyour nature towards other people.Where we are fighting against dis-crimination on bases of languages,religions, sects etc, I congratulate theconcerned education system authori-ties of Pakistan for creating anotherdiscrimination among us. Don’tworry we are and we will try to fightagainst it as well; sit back and enjoy.—Karachi

Ali Ashraf KhanEmail:balti1551@gmail.com

Ibn-e-AzharEmail: uroojsayyami@gmail.com

WELLINGTON: People protest against the abduction of Nigerian schoolgirls as they march to Parliament grounds on May 14,2014 in Wellington, New Zealand. Islamist militant group Boko Haram abducted around 200 schoolgirls last month as they satfor an exam near Cameroon in Nigeria. The Nigerian girls are currently being held hostage with reports suggesting the groupwill sell the girls.

MAHMOOD HASAN

INDIAN Lok Sabha elections came to an end on 12 May, 2014.From the different opinions and hype in the Indian media itappears that the BJP-led NDA will dethrone the Congress-

led UPA and form the next government in Delhi. Interestingly,the election campaign has sharply divided the Indian polity intotwo camps – the secularists and the followers of “Hindutva”.Hindutva has several connotations, but is generally understoodas Hinduism mixed with ultra nationalism.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is led by the controversialNarendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Modi was ac-cused for his complicity in the Gujarat riots in 2002, in whichmore than 2000 people were killed, mostly Muslims. Rise ofModi as BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate has alarmed manywithin and outside of India. Modi has relentlessly played thecommunal card to polarize the Hindu vote and isolate the Mus-lim communities. His diatribe against the so-called “Bangladeshiimmigrants” was a rude jolt for Bangladesh.

On 27 April 2014, Modi in his election speech at Srirampur(West Bengal) threatened to deport “Bangladeshi immigrants” ifNDA came to power. He accused West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee for pursuing vote bank politics. He howevermade a distinction when he said that Hindu migrants fromBangladesh must be accommodated in India. Clearly, Modi toowas playing vote bank politics.

Earlier on 30 March in Karimgonj (Assam), BJP presidentRajnath Singh warned “illegal Bangladeshi migrants” will notbe tolerated and action will be taken against them. People whocame from Bangladesh after 1971 should be treated as “illegalmigrants”, he said.

On 18 April BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy said inGuhawati that Bangladesh should compensate India with land ifit did not agree to take back the so-called immigrants. “Accord-ing to my estimate, one-third of Bangladesh’s population lives inIndia”, he added. Thus according to his theory one-third ofBangladesh territory should go to India.

Evidently such statements coming from Modi and top BJPleaders have caused concerns in Bangladesh. Bangladesh civilsocieties have been discussing this over the past weeks. Somehave expressed dismay, some have rejected the threat and somedescribed it as ominous. Let us see what the BJP manifestos sayabout the so-called “Bangladeshi immigrants”.

In its 1998 manifesto BJP claimed “The total number of ille-gal infiltrators from Bangladesh is officially ascertained at over1.7 crore” and “unabated illegal infiltration from Bangladesh”was the reason for destabilization of North East India. The 2004document vowed, “Putting an end to infiltration from Bangladeshand vigorously pursuing the 3-D formula – Detect, Delete andDeport”.

In its 2009 manifesto BJP said, “We will systematically de-tect, detain and deport illegal immigrants who have emerged as amajor source of homegrown terror”. The 2014 document doesnot mention Bangladesh but talks about, “illegal immigrationacross the eastern border” and threatens “punitive measures willbe introduced to check illegal immigration”.

The terminologies used by BJP are indeed very confusing.Modi used the term “Bangladeshi immigrants”. He did not say“illegal”. People naturalized as citizens in a foreign country areknown as immigrants. Rajnath Singh used the term “illegal mi-grant”. BJP manifestos have used the terms “infiltrators” and“illegal immigration”. Each of these terms has different legalmeanings.

Several questions can be raised here. How did BJP arrive atthe figure of 1.7 crore in 1998? Sixteen years later what is thefigure now in 2014? Is it on the basis of any census? Has theenumeration been done by checking any identification document?When did India introduce citizen identification cards? Does thisfigure include only Muslims or Hindus too? Why are Hindus,who left Bangladesh, not considered as “illegal immigrants”?Where are these people living in India?

Even if we accept this figure for the sake of argument –the question is why did these people migrate to insecure India– where communal riots are a frequent phenomenon? Is Indiabetter than Middle East – a natural destination for Bangladeshiworkers? Are all these 1.7 crore beggars and rickshaw pull-ers? Could not a single immigrant rise to be recognized in theIndian society as an educated professional during the past fourdecades – taking 1971 as the cut off date? Haven’t theBangladeshi Diasporas in Europe, America and elsewhere pro-duced highly qualified professionals?

— Courtesy: Daily Star

Modi’s Bangladeshbashing

JOHN CORNYN

WITH each passing day, President Obama’s foreign policylooks more like a case study in the perils of weakness,naivete and indecision. From the Middle East to the

Far East, from South America to the South China Sea, the cur-rent administration has alarmed our friends, emboldened our ad-versaries and seriously weakened U.S. credibility. Faced withthe crisis in Ukraine, it is imperative that the administration notmake any more unforced errors. Unfortunately, its record doesn’tinspire confidence.

Take Syria, for example. President Obama has rightfully calledfor regime change in that country since August 2011. His muscularrhetoric, though, has repeatedly been contradicted by his inaction.

In the summer of 2012, he rejected a plan to arm the moremoderate Syrian rebels that had been endorsed by the Pentagon,State Department and CIA. A year later, Bashar Assad launcheda chemical attack on a Damascus suburb, which, according tothe White House’s own estimate, claimed more than 1,400 lives— most of them civilians.

In response, the president announced a retaliatory plan thatwas so poorly conceived, so foolishly telegraphed and so sure tofail that it was met with bipartisan rejection. Such misguidedpassivity has helped the jihadists and their Iranian backers, therebymaking the Syrian war even more dangerous to U.S. interests.

Speaking of Iran, the Obama administration’s attempts atrapprochement with that country, along with its mishandling ofthe Syrian war, have only served to raise doubts about Americandependability among the leaders and people of Israel, our onlytrue ally in the region. It’s hard to blame them when we see ourpresident rushing to cut deals with a country whose leaders wouldlike to see Israel wiped off the map.

All of this has weakened the stature and credibility of Americaon the world stage, and our adversaries have taken note. It’s afair question to ask: Would Vladimir Putin’s calculus on Ukrainehave been different just a few years ago?

Similarly, it’s important to keep in mind America’s standingcommitments to Ukraine. Under the 1994 Budapest Memoran-dum, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for pledgesfrom the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom to re-spect its territorial sovereignty. With Russia now in open defi-ance of the memorandum, the question becomes: What will theUnited States do about it?

We’re not off to a good start. The sanctions enacted by thepresident have been hesitant and anemic. Moreover, they ig-nore a convenient fact: The United States actually has moreleverage over Moscow today than it did a decade ago, owinglargely to Russia’s stagnating economy and America’s ongoingoil and gas boom.

Before the shale-gas revolution in this country, there wasvery little America could do to crack the Russian energy mo-nopoly in Eastern Europe. Today, that’s no longer the case.

—Courtesy: Washington Times

The perils of foreignpolicy weakness

ENDY M. BAYUNI

AS THE official count of the April 9 legislative election winds up, Indonesianswill soon learn who will represent them

at the House of Representatives. Some bignames will return, new ones will enter, but somebig incumbents will lose their seats.

That is what democratic elections are allabout, at least partially. The result of the legis-lative election also determines which partieshave the right to nominate candidates for theJuly 9 presidential election.

More than seats and power, the legislativeelection should surely be about the representa-tion of the people. As has been the case withthe three previous polls since Indonesia intro-duced democratic elections in 1999, the repre-sentation aspect of our democracy seems to havebeen completely forgotten or ignored.

Most elected politicians will forget abouttheir constituents soon after they hear the goodnews. The few sore losers will remember, butonly because they want their money back fromthose voters who failed to deliver on their prom-ises of support.

When the new House members take their

Disconnection with votersundermines participatory democracy

oath in October, they will formally become therepresentatives of the political party that nomi-nated them and not so much the representativesof the people that sentthem there. This is because under the currentlaws, political parties, and the oligarchies thatcontrol them, have so much power over Housemembers. The party bosses have the right toreplace these democratically elected represen-tatives at their whim.

And when it comes to voting in the House,no one dares to rebel against party instructions,lest they risk losing their seat. House membersowe their nominations to the generosity of partybosses, and inevitably their loyalty to the partycannot be anything but absolute.

The party mechanism is mandated by theConstitution. Only political parties have thepower to nominate candidates for the Houseelection and for the presidential race.

This is representative democracy at itsworst. Despite being “representatives of thepeople”, these elected politicians are anythingbut. Voters and their representatives are nevermore disconnected than they are during the five-year mandate of the latter.

The South Jakarta electoral district, where

I live and vote, sends seven representatives toSenayan. Like most voters, I had no clue onthe performance of the outgoing seven Housemembers. I did not even know their names orwhat they had done for me.

I recognized only one name — OkkyAsokawati — but more as the young beautycatwalk model of the 1980s, not as the olderbut still beautiful politician she is today. Sheand three other South Jakarta incumbents con-tested the race in April. I heard she was re-elected. Good luck to Okky.

My case is likely to be typical of most vot-ers. We feel no connection with the politicianswho are supposed to represent us. We cast ourvotes in April as confused voters.

Politicians probably do not feel obliged tobuild bridges with their constituents. Most donot even reside in the district they represent.They just need our votes every five years.

Even when they make TV appearances, in themajority of cases, we do not know if they representour district or not. This is because the media iden-tify them by political party and the House commis-sion they are assigned to. Never are they identifiedby the district or province they represent.

The floating mass concept that underpinned

the six quasi-elections under Soeharto remainsafter the four democratic elections since 1999.Voter participation in democracy is virtually lim-ited only to the election period every five years.

The political decision-making process isfully controlled by the political parties and theirrepresentatives in the House. The people haveno or little control over them.

In the absence of any change in the rulesand system, the next five years is not likely tobe any better. If anything, with oligarchies fur-ther consolidating their grip on political par-ties, it is probably going to get worse.

How can we fix this? One way is to introducesingle-seat electoral districts in 2019, in place ofthe current system where a district contains be-tween three and 10 seats. This means that if thereare 560 House seats, Indonesia should be carvedinto 560 electoral districts, instead of 77.

This system could make voters more con-nected with the sole representative of theirdistrict. Instead of trying to remember all therepresentatives from their district, they onlyhave one name to contend with. This makesit easier to monitor, communicate with andeven to demand better accountability.

—Courtesy: JP

TEHRAN—Since the present governmenttook office, Iran has witnessed a seachange in its domestic and foreign poli-cies. President Hassan Rouhani has an-nounced on many occasions the priorityaccorded to close ties with neighbors, saidthe editorial in the English-language news-paper “Iran Daily” published Wednesday.The president’s gestures have been alsowelcomed by many regional countries,including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, thepaper noted. Pakistan is a brotherly neigh-bor of Iran and despite all ups and downsin

Bilateral relations, specifically duringthe rule of Taliban in Afghanistan, bothcountries have maintained close ties. Thereare many reasons for the eagerness ofTehran and Islamabad to preserve theseclose ties, the editorial believed, addingthat some reasons were mentioned by theLeader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah

Tehran-Islamabad-Riyadh:Axis of peace

Report highlightschild labour on

US tobaccofarms

NORTH CAROLINA—Youmay have to be at least 18 tobuy cigarettes in the U.S., butchildren as young as 7 areworking long hours in fieldsharvesting nicotine- and pesti-cide-laced tobacco leaves un-der sometimes hazardous andsweltering conditions, accord-ing to a report releasedWednesday by an internationalrights group.

The Human Rights Watchreport details findings from in-terviews with more than 140children working on farms inNorth Carolina, Kentucky, Ten-nessee and Virginia, where amajority of the country’s to-bacco is grown.

The group acknowledgesthat most of what it docu-mented is legal under U.S.law but aims to highlight thepractice and urge both gov-ernments and tobacco compa-nies to take further steps toprotect children from the haz-ardous harvesting of the cashcrop that has built businesses,funded cities and influencedcultures.

“The U.S. has failedAmerica’s families by notmeaningfully protecting childfarmworkers from dangers totheir health and safety, includ-ing on tobacco farms,” saidMargaret Wurth, children’srights researcher and co-authorof the report.

“Farming is hard work any-way, but children working ontobacco farms get so sick thatthey throw up, get covered bypesticides and have no real pro-tective gear.”

Children interviewed bythe group in 2012 and 2013 re-ported vomiting, nausea andheadaches while working ontobacco farms.—AP

Ukraine set to launchOSCE dialogue plan

GENEVA—A record 33.3 mil-lion people worldwide weredisplaced by conflict and vio-lence inside their own nationsin 2013, U.N. and Norwegianofficials said Wednesday.

The increase of 4.5 millionabove the 2012 total was drivenlargely by Syria’s civil war,now in its fourth year, whichactivists estimate has killed150,000 people.

The heads of the U.N. refu-gee agency and NorwegianRefugee Council reported that8.2 million fled their homes inthe last year, including about 3.5million in Syria alone. The othertwo-thirds of the 33.3 milliondisplaced by war worldwide hadfled in previous years.

Every 60 seconds anotherfamily within Syria flees thecivil war, according to the fig-ures. “Syria is the epicenter ofviolent, forced displacement,”Jan Egeland, secretary generalof the Norwegian agency, toldreporters in Geneva.

He said the figures are theworst since the genocides inRwanda and Bosnia in the1990s, when the figures spiked

at 28 million, but that many ofthe displaced people are strug-gling to survive crises that aredecades old but still in need of“durable solutions.”

The figures compiled byGeneva-based Internal Displace-ment Monitoring Centre, part ofthe Norwegian agency, onlycover 58 countries. But theyshow that 63 percent of thoseinternally displaced worldwideare struggling to live in five coun-tries: Syria, 6.5 million; Colom-bia, 5.7 million; Nigeria, 3.3 mil-lion; Democratic Republic of theCongo, 2.9 million, and Sudan,2.4 million

“These are people in abso-lute crisis,” said Egeland, whowas the U.N.’s top humanitar-ian official from 2003 to 2006.“They are the most vulnerableof humankind.”

U.N. High Commissionerfor Refugees Antonio Guterressaid the disturbing upwardtrend in the figures shows that“what we are witnessing intoday’s world is a multiplica-tion of conflicts, and at thesame time it looks like old con-flicts never die.”—AP

Wars displace 33.3 millionpeople worldwide: UN

KIEV (Ukraine)—A reluctantUkrainian government agreed tolaunch discussions Wednesdayon giving more powers to theregions under a peace planbrokered by the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Eu-rope, but it remains wary of en-gaging with pro-Russian insur-gents who have declared inde-pendence in two eastern regions.

Ukraine’s prime minister,Arseniy Yatsenyuk, was to chairthe first in a series of round tablesset to include national lawmak-ers, government figures and re-gional officials in line with pro-posals drafted by the OSCE, atop trans-Atlantic security andrights group that includes Rus-sia and the United States.

Russia has strongly backedthe Swiss-drafted road map, butUkraine has remained cool tothe plan and U.S. officials viewits prospects for success skep-tically.

Ukraine and the West haveaccused Moscow of fomentingthe unrest in eastern Ukraine,where pro-Russian insurgentsseized administrative build-

ings, fought government forcesand declared independence forthe Donetsk and Luhansk re-gions after a controversialweekend referendum. TheUkrainian government andWestern powers have rejectedthe referendum as a sham.

Speaking in BrusselsTuesday, Yatsenyuk thankedthe OSCE for its plan but saidUkraine has its own plan forending the crisis and said thepeople of his country shouldsettle the issue themselves. Hedisclosed no details of thatplan.

Ukrainian forces havemounted an offensive againstthe armed insurgents, and doz-ens have died in the fightingacross the east. On Tuesday, theDefense Ministry said six sol-diers were killed by insurgentswho ambushed a convoy nearthe city of Kramatorsk in theDonetsk region.

On Wednesday morning,AP journalists saw charred car-casses of a Ukrainian armoredpersonnel carrier and a truck atthe site of the clash.—AP

Crocodileeats boy

SYDNEY—The limbs of an 11-year-old boy have been foundinside a huge crocodile and hishead discovered nearby after hewas attacked in Papua NewGuinea (PNG), a report saidWednesday.

The four-metre (13-foot)croc grabbed the boy, MelasMero, as he was fishing withhis parents on Thursday atthe Siloura River in GulfProvince in the south of thePacific nation, police com-mander Lincoln Gerari toldPNG’s National newspaper.

“The crocodile swept theboy with its tail and then at-tacked the defencelesschild,” Gerari said.

The provincial com-mander said police foundtwo hands, two legs and ahipbone inside the crocodileafter they tracked it downand killed it.

The head was found laterand taken to a morgue.

The attack is the secondto take place in PNG thisyear, according to a globaldatabase managed by re-searchers at Austral ia’sCharles Darwin University.

The CrocBITE databasesaid a man, whose age wasnot given, was killed onJanuary 1 by a saltwatercrocodile at Rawa Bay inNorth Bougainville.

A total of 75 crocodile at-tacks, of which 65 were fa-tal, have been recorded inPNG by the database since1958.—AFP

Seyyed Ali Khamenei when PakistaniPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited himrecently. Pakistan considers Iran as its stra-tegic ally and this alliance is a time-testedone.

Change of governments in both coun-tries have not undermined the urgency ofreinforcing their traditionally strong ties.The victory of the Muslim League, headedby Nawaz Sahrif, has had positive impactsnot only on bilateral ties, but also on co-operation among Iran, Pakistan and SaudiArabia. Sharif’s ties with Saudi Arabia andIran are very close. Hence, so long as heis at the helm of power in Islamabad, theprospects of trilateral cooperation are ex-pected to brighten, the daily said. In a breakfrom the past, a wave of change hasemerged in Riyadh’s policy towardsTehran. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal extended an invitation to his Iraniancounterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to

visit his country.The three countries have many com-

mon problems to resolve and several plat-forms to pursue for the sake of regionalpeace, security and development, thenewspaper said. At a time when our re-gion is bleeding and the extremists are kill-ing innocent people in Afghanistan, Paki-stan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, a meaningfulcooperation among Tehran, Islamabad andRiyadh can play a key role in reining inextremism. In the next step, endeavorsmust be made to boost regional collabora-tion to form a regional Axis of Peace.Nawaz Sharif has announced his readinessto boost economic ties with Tehran. Healso spoke of reviving the peace pipelineproject.The economic impetus can later betransformed to trilateral and multilateralcooperation to serve the peoples of the re-gion who are sick of extremism and vio-lence.—INP

IndonesianUlema group

condemnsBoko Haram

JAKARTA—The IndonesianUlema Council (MUI) has con-demned the kidnapping of morethan 200 schoolgirls in Nigeriaby Boko Haram and demandedthe group release them.

“[Boko Haram] is not on theright path and contradicts Is-lamic values,” the chairman ofMUI Din Syamsuddin said inJakarta as quoted byKompas.com. He said that thekidnapping could not be justi-fied as Islam is against any formof violence toward women andthose who are innocent.

The MUI statement was ex-pressed in collaboration with otherIslamic organizations includingMuhammadiyah, Syarikat Islam,Al-Washliyah and the Islam De-fenders Front (FPI), a group no-torious for hate crimes and vio-lent raids in the name of Islam.

The Human Rights Work-ing Group (HRWG) has alsocondemned the brutality.“They have clearly violated hu-man rights and internationalhumanitarian law where chil-dren and women should be pro-tected,” HRWG’s executivedirector Rafendi Djamin said.

According to internationalhumanitarian law, women andchildren are granted preferentialtreatment, respect and protec-tion. Women must be protectedfrom rape and from any form ofindecent assault. Children underthe age of eighteen must not becaught up in hostility.

HRWG’s program man-ager for the United Nations andOrganization of Islamic Coop-eration, Muhammad Hafiz,added that education for malesas well as females was guaran-teed in Islam.

“Any effort to halt their edu-cation violates Islamic values,”he said. AFP reported that Ni-geria on Monday rejected con-ditions set out by Boko Haramleader Abubakar Shekau for therelease of schoolgirls held hos-tage by the group.

Asked if the governmentwould reject the suggestion byShekau in a new video that thegirls may be released once Ni-geria frees all militant prison-ers, Interior Minister AbbaMoro told AFP: “Of course.”The issue in question is notabout Boko Haram [...] givingconditions,” he said.

Shekau made the statementin a video obtained by AFP onMonday claiming to show about130 of the 276 girls abductedfrom their school in the remotenortheastern town of Chibok, inBorno state, on April 14. “Wewill never release them [thegirls] until after you release ourbrethren,” he said.

The militant leader, whohas made prisoner exchangedemands before, said that someof the teenagers had convertedfrom Christianity to Islam.

The International CrisisGroup said in a report pub-lished last month that BokoHaram had written an open let-ter in 2011 to the governor ofnorthern Kano state, demand-ing the release of detainees.

Shekau repeated the de-mand in a video released lastweek claiming responsibilityfor the mass kidnapping thathas sparked global condemna-tion and calls for action.

Nigeria’s military has beenaccused of rounding up thou-sands of Boko Haram suspects,including women and children,and holding them in atrociousconditions that have been criti-cized by rights groups.—AP

two officials on the spot.The assailants fired on

the Rangers’ checkpost de-ployed for the protection ofgas pipeline. The victims,identified as Abbas andFarooq, died on the spot.

The assailants managedto get away after shootingthe personnel dead. Policebesieging the area startedhunting for the accused per-sons.—INP

Two RangersFrom Page 1

and the death-toll could notbe independently verified.

Government sourcescould not ascertain the ex-act location of the attack.

The last drone attackoccurred in the last weekof December, 2013, killingthree suspected insur-gents.

Reports in the US mediahave suggested the dronestrikes had been temporarilyhalted since then to providethe Pakistani government achance to have talks withTaliban aimed at ending theirseven-year insurgency.

Drone killsFrom Page 1

It was decided that elec-toral reforms were essentialand inevitable forsustainability of democracyin the country and brighterfuture of Pakistan and in thisregard, a committee compris-ing political leaders wouldexamine and review riggingand irregularities committedduring elections 2013 and inthe light of these, formulateproposals and suggestionsfor the electoral reforms.

Both the parties agreedon reformation of ElectionCommission of Pakistan.They also agreed on workingjointly regarding legislation.

Talking to media afterthe meeting, ShahMahmood Qureshi said thePTI has briefed the PML-Qon its stance over the issueof rigging during May 11,2013 general elections. Hesaid that new records of rig-ging were made during thegeneral elections while thepresent body of the ECPfailed to fulfill its responsi-bility.—NNI

PML-Q, PTIFrom Page 1

best democracy that we had. Those whowould like to perpetuate the present sys-tem would argue that this was because de-mocracy was never given a chance to flour-ish. This is pure nonsense.

If those who had plundered nationalwealth in the last government were givenexemplary punishments by the present gov-ernment, then there may have been a glim-mer of hope. Alas over a year has passedand none of the corrupt past leaders havebeen convicted or sent to jail for their crimesagainst the nation. The “friendly opposi-tion” serves only the interests of the crooks,and is contributing to the destruction ofthis country.

So what is the way forward? I advocatebasic changes in the system of democracy.(1) What must be done is to introduce aPresidential system of democracy so thatthe President is elected directly by a gen-eral vote and he/she is the Chief Executive.(2) Additional provinces are created to en-sure improved governance and it shouldbe ensured that the President is elected fromdifferent provinces to ensure national inte-gration. (3) The President should appointhis own team of Ministers, strictly on theircompetence and integrity. The Ministersmust all be technocrats of internationaleminence, and each Ministry should bebacked by a powerful think tank composedof the best experts in the respective fields.(4) The role of Parliament should be con-fined to law making and oversight of na-tional affairs, and Parliamentarians shouldnot be eligible to be appointed as Minis-ters of Federal or provincial governments.

This will, in one shot, remove such cor-rupt power hungry persons who enter poli-tics to steal public money rather than toserve the nation. (5) The credentials of Presi-dential candidates, Ministers, Governorsand other important government officialsmust be first approved by a judicial screen-ing committee and experts in the respectivefields to ensure integrity and competence.(6) The members of Parliament must haveat least a first class Masters in their respec-tive fields, as in our neighbouring country,the Islamic Republic of Iran, so they canproperly discharge their primary function:law making. How can uneducated personsmake laws, as is the case presently? It ispreposterous! (7) There must be deepseated electoral reforms.

The members of the Election Commis-sion should not be nominated by the majorpolitical parties as is the case presently. Itis astonishing that out of the four membersof the Election Commission, two are nomi-nated by one party and another two byanother party. How can you have fair andneutral elections under this situation? Themembers of the Election Commissionshould be appointed by the Chief Justicesof the Supreme and High Courts from per-sons of unquestionable integrity and thosethat do not have any political affiliations.(8) The Election Commission should ap-point the Returning Officers who shouldwork directly under it. (9)

The elections must be done by elec-tronic voting as done by India. (10) Armypersonnel should be posted INSIDE eachelection camp to oversee that the processis fair and that there is no stuffing of ballotboxes with fake votes, as was the case inthe last elections. (11) The finances andpowers to use them should be transferredto the grass roots as so eloquently sug-

For a PresidentialDemocracy

From Page 1

gested by Allama Dr. Tahirul Qadri in hisspeech of 11th May. (12) A major factor re-sponsible for the failure of democracy inPakistan is illiteracy among the masses andlow level of education.

About half the people of Pakistan areilliterate. Of the remaining half, a major por-tion can barely sign their names. In this situ-ation, elections are not fought on the basisof party manifestoes but on the basis offeudal strangle holds. It is not in the inter-ests of those in power to invest in educa-tion as they would like their serfs to remainas slaves. It is a shameful reality that Paki-stan spends only 1.8% of its GDP on edu-cation, ranking us among the bottom 7 coun-tries of the world. A national educationemergency should be declared and educa-tion given at least 5% of GDP rising to 8%over 5 years. Primary and secondary edu-cation should be declared compulsory andparents who don’t send their children toschool should be sent to jail.

The mosques can be used to provideadditional space for schools while retiredarmy personnel can be mobilised to pro-vide school teachers. A National EducationService requiring 2 years mandatory ser-vice for all graduating students needs tobe introduced. Degrees should only beawarded after completion f this service pe-riod. (13) A major hurdle to democracy isquick and efficient dispensation of justice.This suits the corrupt ruling classes us asthey can get away scot free without pun-ishment. Terrorists belonging to variouspolitical parties roam at will in Karachi anda dozen or so political murders occur eachday without any action against the personsresponsible.

The justice system needs to undergodeep surgery to ensure that all cases aredecided in 3-6 months and all back logcleared in 12 months. Military courts needto be set up in cases of terrorism as civiljudges cannot cope with the threats to theirsafety. A large number of new judges willneed to be appointed on contract, and thosethat fail to decide cases quickly should beremoved. (14) Genuine land reforms shouldbe carried out and agriculture tax introducedto increase tax collection. (15) FBR shouldbe completely reformed as according to ourformer Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen,some Rs. 500 billion are lost because ofcorruption by FBR officials annually (16) Acomprehensive road map for transitioningto a knowledge economy was preparedunder my supervision after consultationwith thousands of experts in public andprivate sector as well as with Ministry offi-cials.

This 320 page document was approvedby the Cabinet on 30th August 2007. Itneeds to be urgently implemented so thatscience, technology, innovation and entre-preneurship can help us to emerge from thepile of debt, and stand with dignity in thecomity of nations.

How can all this be done? The presentParliamentarians would certainly not wantthis. The army will need to use its muscle tomake it happen. Indeed the army shouldhave a formal role in the new democraticsystem, as in Turkey, to prevent any futureMartial Laws.

The author is the former Federal Minis-ter for Science & Technology, former found-ing Chairman of Higher Education Commis-sion and presently President Pakistan Acad-emy of Sciences.

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information Technology & Telecommunication, Anusha Rahman addressing ata e-office Forum on Wednesday. (Story on Page 14)

member Haider Abbas Rizvi, AwamiNational Party Sindh chapter Presi-dent and Senator Shahi Sayed,Jamaat-e Islami Karachi Ameer HafizNaeem ur Rehman and others.

Nawaz Sharif asked Sindh ChiefMinister that being the captain of on-going targeted operation in Karachi;he should not make the operation a testcricket match but treat it like it was a T-20 cricket match. He questioned as whythe process of blocking all illegal andunregistered mobile SIMs was notcompleted as yet and ordered that itshould be completed now without failto ensure elimination of network ofcriminals and terrorists operating withinthe country and from abroad.

He enquired about reasons fordelay in issuance of red warrant forarresting the criminals and terrorists,who had escaped from Pakistan toneighbouring countries.

The Premier told the meeting thattop civil and military leadership wouldnow monitor the ongoing targeted op-eration against terrorists and criminalsin Karachi. He lauded Pakistan Rang-ers Sindh for their effective operationand major achievements in Lyari re-

Military, political leadership to superviseFrom Page 1

garding busting gangs of militants.In this regard, the meeting decided

to make the blockage of all such illegaland unregistered mobile SIMs as man-datory within the specified durationand the law enforcement agenciesshould be given complete free hand.

The meeting updated the PrimeMinister about measures being initi-ated for arresting of criminals and ter-rorists, who had fled to foreign coun-tries through the Interpol.

Pakistan Rangers Director Generalinformed the meeting that the landmafia, drug mafia and banned religiousorganisations were behind wreakinghavoc in the city and they were sabo-taging the efforts of the governmentfor restoring peace and tranquility inthe metropolis.

The meeting made lengthy delib-erations over reservations of MQMon kidnappings of its workers and ex-tra-judicial murders. The meeting re-viewed the pace and strategy of thetargeted operation in Karachi, detailsof arrested suspects, recovery of ille-gal weapons and issuance of red war-rants for arresting the hardened crimi-

nals and terrorists.The meeting briefed the Premier

about shifting of the anti-terroristcourts to district Malir, installation ofscanners on all routes of entry and exitin Karachi, progress on constructionof a high security prison, operationagainst illegal occupation of land andencroachments and establishment ofnew Police stations in sensitive areasof the city. The meeting also briefedthe Prime Minister about effectiveimplementation of Protection of Paki-stan Ordinance and transparent ap-pointments in Police Department.

INP adds: Former President and PPPCo-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari Wednes-day pledged that Sindh governmentwas ready to extend its support to Inte-rior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali regard-ing maintenance of law and order inKarachi. “We are ready to help the inte-rior minister in every possible way,”Zardari said. The former presidentstressed the need to demonstrate pa-tience and said that there was need tohelp everyone. More than 2,000 armyjawans have been recruited in policeforce, he said, adding that police neededto be equipped with facilities.

the prosecution team didnot at tach the evidencealong with complaintagainst their client. He al-leged that the federal gov-ernment was giving cleanchit to co-accused in con-tradiction to the FIA in-quiry.

The FIA had attachedthe documents includingthe Supreme Court’s July31, 2009 judgment, speechof Musharraf regardingpromulgation of emer-gency broadcast by PTVon November 3, 2007 andsecretary cabinetdivision’s notificationabout November 3, 2007emergency.

The report also statedthat the FIA team hadtreated the SC, July 31,2009 judgment as a guid-ing beacon.

“The inquiry team madea number of attempts toobtain summary, notes &proposals etc concerningpromulgation of emer-gency issued by GeneralPervez Musharraf on 3rdNovember 2007 as Chief ofArmy Staff. However de-spite the appointment ofFocal Officer Anzar Rizviby ministry of defence, nosuch document or relevantrecord was provided orshown to the inquiryteam”, the report says.

The FIA report furtherread, “The team has con-cluded a vigorous inquiryand investigation in orderto record the statement ofconcerned witnesses andofficials and has obtained/seized number of impor-tant documents and recordrelevant to promulgation

Musharraf case: FIA reportFrom Page 1

party was confident thatNDA was going to win over300 seats.

Prasad, who headed aparty committee to look intorelations with neighbouringcountries, said while eco-nomic engagement withChina will remain an impor-tant facet of relations withBeijing, the BJP governmentwould insist on China “suit-ably ad-dressing” India’sconcerns over the border dis-pute and Arunachal Pradesh.

While many believe thatModi may be inclined totake India closer to countrieslike Japan, China and SouthKorea, which never threw afit about his alleged sectar-ian past, ignoring in theprocess ties with the US,Prasad said it was actuallytime to set right the relation-ship with the US.

He welcomed the state-ment by President BarackObama on Monday, even asthe exit poll results rolledout, that he was looking for-ward to working with thenew Indian government.Talking about the recent set-backs in ties, including theKhobragade crisis, he saidthe way things were allowedto come to such a pass was“avoidable”.—INP

BJP promisesFrom Page 1

of 3rd November 2007. Inthis regard, the team hasalso recorded statementsof more than 25 importantofficials/ persons includ-ing then Attorney Generalfor Pakistan MalikQayyum, then Principalsecretary law & justice di-vision Justice (retired)Mian Muhammad Ajmal,then Cabinet SecretarySyed Masud Alam Rizvi,then secretary to presidentMohsin Hafeez, then prin-cipal secretary to PrimeMinister Khalid Saeed,former secretary interiorKamal Shah and others .”

It also noted that then

Governor Punjab General(retired) Khalid Maqboolin his written statementhas stated that the claim ofMusharraf that promulga-tion of emergency was is-sued after deliberationwith prime minister andgovernors’ etc is incorrect.

Commenting on theconduct of former presi-dent, the report states thatwhen team summonedMusharraf to joint inves-tigation on November 12,2013 to record his state-ment, his staff replied thathe had suddenly fallen illwith a “low grade fever “and would not be able tojoin the investigation.

but they could not be cap-tured as CCTV cameras atSharae Faisal were out-of-order. The visuals whichwere prepared by the law

Hamid Mir attack probeFrom Page 1

enforcers with the help ofeye-witnesses have re-vealed that the attackerschased the four-wheeler.

The eye-witnesses alsotold police that they sawthe attackers engaged onhis cell-phone but he couldalso not be identified as theCCTV camera which was in-stalled at the turning of

Sharae Faisal from JinnahInternational AirportKarachi was also dysfunc-tional since construction ofnewly-built AirportFlyover.

It was said that the at-tackers chased the vehicleof Hamid Mir near KarsazFlyover and a large numberof CCTV cameras were in-stalled in between AirportFlyover and Karsaz Flyoverbut they could not begrabbed during the chase.

Moreover, 38 lines areavailable with 15Madadgar but all of themwere closed for repair work.Few days before the attackon Hamid Mir, InspectorGeneral Sindh paid a sur-prise visit to Madadgar 15office and directed officialsconcerned to take immedi-ate steps for improvementin the system.

Agency carried the royaldecree that said PrinceTurki is the new Emir of theRiyadh region.

The position was onceheld for more than 50 yearsby the current next-in-line tothe throne, Crown PrinceSalman bin Abdulaziz.

King Abdullah recentlyappointed another son,Prince Mishaal, as Emir ofMakkah. The moves reflecthow the aging king has care-fully promoted his sons totop positions since his as-cension to the throne in 2005.

Wednesday´s royal de-cree also said that RiyadhGov. Khalid bin Bandar wasappointed as deputy de-fense minister, taking thepost that had been held byPrince Salman bin Sultan,whose father is the latecrown prince.—Agencies

Saudi kingFrom Page 1

with global repercussions.A Western official close

to the talks said on Wednes-day that “progress is beingmade but all pieces have to fittogether”. “Nothing is agreedyet,” the official told Reuterson condition of anonymity.

Washington’s decades-long estrangement from Irancould ease, improving inter-national stability, if a deal weredone but U.S. and other West-ern officials warned againstunwarranted optimism givenpersisting, critical differencesbetween the sides.

“We’ve spent the lastcouple of rounds putting all ofthe issues on the table, seeingwhere there may be points ofagreement, where there maybe gaps. There are some verysignificant gaps,” a seniorU.S. official said on Tuesday.“It’s not that there aren’t so-lutions to those gaps; thereare. But getting to them is an-other matter.”—Reuters

Six powersFrom Page 1

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi talking to media persons after a meetingwith PML-Q leaders in Islamabad.

Three NHAworkers kidnappedDERA ISMAIL KHAN—Three workers of NationalHighway Authority (NHA)were kidnapped from tollplaza in Dera Ismail Khanlate on Tuesday night. Ac-cording to police, the inci-dent took place around 1 amin Daraban area where un-known culprits abductedthree workers of NHA fromthe toll plaza of DarazandaNational Highway Authority.Police have initiated effortsto recover the victims.—INP

PEMRA body to hearpublic complaintsKARACHI—The monthlymeeting of the Council ofComplaints PEMRA SindhRegion will be held here onMay 20 to take up variouscomplaints, lodged by gen-eral public and organisationsagainst violations of PEMRArules. Sheema Krmani willchair the meeting, said a pressrelease issued here onWednesday. The Council ofComplaints is a forum forpeople of Sindh to get ad-dressed their complaintswith regards to electronicmedia for qualitative servicewith regards Satellite TV, FMRadio and Cable TV Opera-tion to ensure free flow in-formation education andentertainment.—APP

Mr. Zahid Malik, Editor-in-Chief, Pakistan Observer, called on Dr. Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, Governor Sindh at GovernorHouse, Karachi on Monday. Mr. Faisal Zahid Malik, Editor of Pakistan Observer, was also present on the occasion.

SOMA—Hopes faded offinding more survivors in acoal mine in western Turkeyon Wednesday, where 245workers were confirmedkilled and around 120 stillfeared to be trapped in whatis likely to prove thenation’s worst ever indus-trial disaster.

Anger over the deadlyfire at the mine about 480 km(300 miles) southwest ofIstanbul echoed across acountry that has seen a de-cade of rapid economicgrowth.

“We as a nation of 77million are experiencing avery great pain,” Erdogantold a news conference af-ter visiting the site. But heappeared to turn defensivewhen asked whether suffi-cient precautions had beenin place at the mine.

“Explosions like this inthese mines happen all thetime. It’s not like these don’thappen elsewhere in theworld,” he said, reeling off alist of global mining acci-dents since 1862.

Fire knocked out powerand shut down ventilationshafts and elevators shortlyafter 3 pm (1200 GMT) onTuesday. Emergency work-

ers pumped oxygen into themine to try to keep thosetrapped alive during a res-cue effort that lastedthrough the night. Thou-sands of family membersand co-workers gatheredoutside the town’s hospitalsearching for informationon their loved ones.

“We haven’t heard any-thing from any of them, notamong the injured, notamong the list of dead,” saidone elderly woman, Sengul,whose two nephews worked

in the mine along with thesons of two of her neigh-bors.

“It’s what people dohere, risking their lives fortwo cents ... They say onegallery in the mine has notbeen reached, but it’s almostbeen a day,” she said.

A mechanical diggeropened a row of fresh gravesat Soma’s main cemetery. Animam presided over the fu-neral of six miners as a fewhundred mourners wept insilence.—Reuters

245 dead, 200 missingin Turkish mine fire

Pakistan calls forban on use ofkiller robots

GENEVA—Pakistan onWednesday called for an im-mediate ban on the use andproduction of Lethal Autono-mous Weapons Systems orKiller Robots.

The call has been madeby Pakistan’s permanent rep-resentative, AmbassadorZamir Akram while speakingat a meeting of experts on thesubject in Geneva.

He said the ban shouldcome through a dedicatedprotocol under the frameworkof UN Convention on CertainConventional Weapons.

The Pakistan envoysaid several developing andnon-aligned countries arepleading for an immediatemoratorium on productionand use of such lethal weap-ons till the time such a banis imposed.—NNI

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Pakistani troops on Wednes-day foiled an attack on a Nato supply ter-minal in the northwest, killing one attackerand forcing others to flee, officials said.

The attack was mounted in the Jamrudarea of the Khyber tribal region that bor-ders Afghanistan, said government officialAli Sher.

“The militants started firing on the ter-minal and tried to enter it,” Sher said, add-ing that the attack involved up to 12 peoplearmed with automatic weapons and mor-tars. “The Frontier Corps retaliated andforced the militants to flee, leaving onedead body behind.”An intelligence officialin Jamrud confirmed the attack.

Pakistan is a key supply route for theUS-led mission in landlocked Afghanistan,particularly as Nato forces prepare to with-draw troops and equipment by the end ofthis year.

Nato supply trucks, which carry ev-erything from fuel to munitions and food,often come under attack on their journeybetween the Pakistani port city of Karachiand border crossing points.

Pakistani supply lines have been dis-rupted in the past because of tensions be-tween the US and Pakistan.

They were closed for nine months be-tween November 2011 and July 2012 fol-lowing a “friendly fire” incident in whichcoalition forces killed 24 Pakistani soldiersin an air strike.

Army foil militant attack on NATO supply terminal

Northern areas receiveunusual snowfall

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Director Met Dr. Muhammad Hanif has saidthat recent snow fall in northern areas occurred after 16years in the month of May.

Talking to media he said, upper areas of the countryincluding Hazara division were ex-periencing unexpectedweather conditions which happened in 1998.

To a question he said that there was no further chanceof snow fall in Northern areas or Kashmir during next weekbut they will receive rain fall on Wednesday evening andduring next week as well. He said that upper and middleareas of Sindh like Sukkur, Sehwan Shareef, Dadu andHyderabad were expected to receive rain and duststormduring next 2 days.

To a question he said that due to these weather condi-tions average temperature has de-creased 3-5 degrees inSindh and Baluchistan while in KP and upper areas averagetem-perature decrease was around 5-7 degrees. He said thatthis unexpected situation is going to continue around 1-2week across the country. He said that light rainfall wasexpected in big cities of KPK during next 2-3 days.

Mansehra assault:3 accused handed

over to policeOUR CORRESPONDENT

MANSEHRA—People threwstones on the three accusedwhen they were presentedbefore the judicial magistratecourt in the case of assault-ing a female student here onWednesday. The accusedwere handed over to policeon physical remand.

The suspects, QariNaseer, Hussain and FaizanKhan, were arrested Thurs-day, who subjected the girl tosexual assault in a runningvehicle and then threw herbody by a road-side after shefell unconscious.

The accused were helpedby none other than the girl’sclass fellow, Anam.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—National Assembly onWednesday adopted a unanimous resolu-tion recommending the federal and provin-cial governments to conduct a national sur-vey for children living and working onstreets. The resolution, moved by Ministerfor Inter-Provincial Coordination RiazHussain Pirzada, commended the Pakistanistreet children football team on winning aBronze medal in Street Child Football WorldCup 2014 in Brazil against all odds.

It said that “the House recognizes andexpresses its appreciation for the 9 youngchampions who brought a ray of hope forus all and won our hearts when they raisedour National Flag in the famous footballgrounds of Brazil”.

The House admired their efforts and pas-sion for their country and expressed concernon their demand that street children in Paki-stan should be taken care and be providedwith opportunities. It was established that chil-dren living and working on streets are a hid-den treasure of this nation which needs pro-tection and grooming. ‘They have come to

us bearing the gift for revived national pridein football and asking this House to giverights and protect children living and work-ing on streets in return,’ the resolution said.

The House is deeply convinced of theirdemands as these children have re-mindedus once again of their existence through posi-tive means and urges the federal and provin-cial governments to fulfill their demands.

The House reaffirmed commitments touphold the rights of children living and work-ing on streets in accordance with the UnitedNation’s Convention on Right of the Child.

It is also showed concern about the situ-ation of children living and working on streetsand call upon the federal and provincial gov-ernments to do all that is necessary for im-proving the situation.

The House recommended to the federaland provincial governments to develop andimplement a social protection policy for streetchildren of Pakistan in consultation with thecivil society as a frame work document andalso recommends developing and implement-ing a plan of action with clear defined goalsto take concrete actions to create a protectiveenvironment for street children.

NA recommends nationalsurvey for street children

ISLAMABAD—Executive Director AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) Mr. Sami Saeedaccompanied by Mr. Werner Leipach, Coun-try Director called on Finance Minister,Senator Ishaq Dar here on Wednesday.

The ADB Executive Director informedthe Finance Minister that there was totalsupport for Pakistan in the band and hisparticipation in the ADB board of Gover-nors’ meeting held at Astana was of greatvalue to the board.

He said that ADB would like to con-tinue working with Pakistan on energy andinfrastructure development programmes.He hoped that with the help of internationalinstitutions and the reforms introduced bythe government, the country would be ableto overcome the chronic energy crisis.

Senator Ishaq Dar appreciated theADB’s support to Pakistan and said thatthe forthcoming visit of the President ofthe bank will provide an opportunity forenhancing cooperation with the ADB fordevelopment projects.

He said that as the interest in Pakistanof the international financial market is fairlygood, therefore, we are hoping to completeUBL and OGDCL capital market transac-tions by mid July this year. The Finance

Dar lauds ADB’s support to PakistanMinister also informed the officials of ADBthat Islamic paper will be offered soon. Headded that the economic policies are forthe betterment of Pakistan and its peoples.

The meeting was also attended by Ms.Nargis Sethi Secretary Economic AffairsDivision, Mr. Shahid Mahmood SpecialAssistant to Finance Minister and seniorofficials of the Finance Ministry.Meanwhile, Finance Minister briefed theEconomic Advisory Council on recentlycompleted 3rd successful review by theIMF and on the latest economic indicators.He said that the economy of Pakistan istaking off and we are now in a comfort zoneas far as our foreign exchange reserves areconcerned. The meeting was held at thefiancé ministry Wednesday.

He said that with the over subscriptionof Euro Bond, successful auction of 3G/4GSpectrum and improved economic indica-tors, the international confidence in Paki-stan has increased to a level where we canbuild stronger economic base.

The Finance Minister added that eachand every proposal of the EAC will be con-sidered seriously and where possible theirvaluable contributions will be imple-mented.—NNI

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan has told both Indianjournalists stationed in Islamabad that theymust leave within a week, the journalists toldReuters on Wednesday, saying they hadbeen informed that their visas would not berenewed.The move came amid simmeringtensions between Pakistan’s powerful mili-tary and a civilian government that appearsdovish towards archrival India, where Hindunationalist opposition leader Narendra Modiappears set to win a general election.

Late on Tuesday night, Snehesh AlexPhilip of The Press Trust of India and MeenaMenon of The Hindu received letters tellingthem that their visas would not be renewed.No reason was given. Both had been in Pa-kistan for less than a year.

Pakistan has become an increasinglydangerous place for journalists to operate,but restrictions put on Indian reporters’movements are stricter than for other for-eign journalists.—Reuters

2 Indian journalists asked to leave within week

Thanvi replacesMustafa in SenateIS L A M A B A D—MuttahidaQaumi Movement’s (MQM)Maulana Tanveer-ul-HaqThanvi has been electedSenator on Mustafa Kamal’sUpper House seat onWednesday. Earlier, MustafaKamal of MQM had re-signed from the Senate dueto personal reasons. Thanvihas been elected unop-posed in the Senate.—INP

Educationemergency in PunjabLAHORE—The Punjab gov-ernment on Wednesday im-posed the Education Emer-gency Ordinance in the prov-ince with an immediate effect.Under the Ordinance, it ismandatory for parents toensure that children betweenthe ages of 5-16 receive aneducation. If the name of astudent is removed from theschool re-cord, the head ofthat school can be impris-oned for six months or finedRs50,000. Modern schoolsin the province will also haveto admit 10 per cent poor andneedy children. —NNI

No compromise onrepair of canalsObserver ReportLAHORE—Provincial Minis-ter for Irrigation & ChairmanPIDA Mian Yawar Zamanhas said that no compromisewill be made in the repair andrehabilitation work of canalsand stern departmental ac-tion will be taken against theofficials showing negligencein this regard.

Three die insouth India after

religious riotsHYDERABAD—Police killedthree people after opening fireto break up religious clashesin southern India Wednesday,officers and reports said.

The violence broke out inthe old quarters ofHyderabad, the capital city ofAndhra Pradesh, which hasa sizeable Muslim population.

Trouble erupted aftersome people attacked housesand shops of a religious mi-nority following rumours thata religious flag had beenburnt. Security forcesclamped a curfew on the areaand the situation was undercontrol, said police commis-sioner C.V. Anand.

Police initially tried tobreak up the mob usingsticks but then had to“open fire to disperse theclashing groups”, Anandsaid.—Agencies

WOMEN are at increased risk of beingseriously injured during a motor vehicle accident during the second tri-

mester of pregnancy, according to a new studyfrom Canada. Pregnant women were 42 per-cent more likely to be in-volved in a motor vehicleaccident that sent them to anemergency room, comparedto when they weren’t carry-ing a child, researchersfound.

“A normal pregnancy isusually accompanied by alot of fatigue, nausea, moodfluctuations, anxieties anddistractions which may allcontribute to distracted driv-ing,” Dr. DonaldRedelmeier, the study’s leadauthor from the Universityof Toronto, told ReutersHealth. Redelmeier, who isalso an internist atSunnybrook Health Sci-ences Centre in Toronto,said he got curious about the risk of vehiclecrashes during pregnancy, because pregnantwomen would ask about the danger in otheractivities, such as riding a rollercoaster.

“Never once was I asked about road safetydespite it being a larger risk to mother andchild,” he said. For the new study, he and hiscolleagues analyzed data on all adult womenwho gave birth in the Canadian province ofOntario between April 2006 and March 2011.They compared the women’s crash rates be-fore and after pregnancy to see if there was adifference.

Over half a million women gave birth andaccounted for about 8,000 crashes as drivers

during that time. The researchers found thatthe rate of accidents was about 4.6 crashesper 1,000 women before pregnancy, com-pared to 7.7 crashes per 1,000 women dur-ing their second trimester. The increased risk

was present regardless of awoman’s background and de-mographics. It also didn’t seemto matter whether the womanalready had children.

The crash rate fell be-fore delivery and continued tofall after birth, the researchersreport in the Canadian medicaljournal CMAJ. While the studycan’t say why the women’s riskof car crashes increased duringthe middle of their pregnancies,Redelmeier said it may havesomething to do with the symp-toms that result from wide fluc-tuations in hormones.

“That’s what the factoris for the neurological changes,which are usually minor, butthese minor changes can catch

up to you when you’re operating a motorvehicle,” he said. Despite the increased risk,Redelmeier added that women shouldn’t stopdriving, because the crashes could beavoided by following standard safety advice.That includes obeying speed limits, stop andyield signs.

He added that doctors should remindpregnant women during routine visits to beespecially cautious when driving. “If thereis nothing more pressing that’s the time totake a moment and mention the importanceof road safety advice,” Redelmeier said.“You don’t want any pregnant women end-ing up in my emergency department.”

Pregnancy linked to carcrash risk: study

STAFF REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D—Mother ’sDay is a perfect time to cel-ebrate your mother and allher wonderful qualities. Itis a celebration honoringmothers and motherhood,the unconditional love ofmothers and their influencein society. Mothers are ourguiding force and are re-sponsible for making uswho we are.

To generate this specialfeeling in Millennials, RootMillennium Schools cel-ebrated Mother ’s Dayacross al l branches in

Islamabad and nationwidelast day. Through differentactivities, the students re-minded their mother’s con-tribution to their lives andthough they may not show itevery day, they were happyto get an opportunity to ex-press their love and admira-tion to their mother on thespecial day. The celebrationsstarted in the morning assem-bly in which special skitswere organized by the stu-dents.

Through different facesof motherhood in every reli-gion and sweet dialogues,they stressed the greatness of

mothers of the world. Poemswere also recited by the stu-dents, showing the senti-ments of a child for hismother. After the assembly,the students were engaged inmaking handmade gifts fortheir mothers which includedhandmade cards, flowers,etc. Overall the day was fullof fun and excitement for thestudents and would defi-nitely be a memorable day intheir life. This was not theend even lower secondarystudents engaged themselvesin various activities. More-over students wrote essaysfor their mothers. This day

celebrates motherhood and itis a time to appreciate moth-ers and mother figures.

The school invited moth-ers of Montessori studentsfor celebrations. Variouscompetitions like singing,dancing and ramp walk wereorganized for the mothers. Inkeeping with the theme, themothers came to the schooldressed in different colorfulattires. It was a day of joy atMillennium Schools as chil-dren showcased their talentsto entertain their mothers andexpress gratitude towardsthem.

The pre-primary wing of

the school presented culturalperformances. Students ex-pressed their love for themothers as they welcomedthem to celebrate Mother’sDay. Some made the dayspecial for their moms bygiving them beautiful sur-prise gifts. Mother of five-year-old son, Ms. Imransaid, “My son gave mehandmade card. This was hisfirst gift to me. I will keep itwith me all my life.” Millen-nium students across thesystem left no stoneunturned to express theirlove for their moms on theoccasion of Mother’s Day.

Mother’s day celebrated at Roots Millennium Schools

STAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D —Pres iden tMamnoon Hussain Wednesdayurged the youth to selflesslyserve the country with honestyand sincerity and help it fightcorruption that was robbing thecountry of its rich potential. Hewas addressing a convocation ofthe Foundation UniversityIslamabad (FUI) here at theJinnah Convention Centre at-tended by a large number of stu-dents their parents and facultymembers.

The President said Pakistanwas passing through a difficultphase and it was the obligationof the youth to positively utilisetheir education in helping it re-solve the numerous problems itfaces.

He termed corruption as oneof the major ills that was eatingaway country’s resources andneeded concerted efforts by theyoung educated lot to help eradi-cate the corrupt practices thathave taken roots in all sectionsof the society.

The President said Pakistanwas confronting three major problems - economic is-sues, law and order and education - and stressed con-certed efforts by all sections of society to surmountthese challenges.

He said working in unison while respecting eachother will help the country overcome many of the prob-lems it was facing.

The President recalled that the country’s debt hadswollen from Rs 6,700 billion in 2008 to Rs 14,800 in2013 at a time when the new government came intopower. He however was optimist that the efforts made

by the PML-N government had started yielding posi-tive results. In this regard he mentioned the successfulfloating of the Euro Bond that fetched the country UStwo billion dollars. He said only an economically strongnation could help the country succeed in a modern worldand that required quality education. He also mentionedthe ongoing talks process with the Taliban and hopedthe talks succeed as peace was vital for the progressand development of the country.

The President said only those nations succeedwhose youth work with zeal and commitment, particu-

larly in the area of modern science and technology. Atthe same time he stressed importance of character build-ing and said it was the key to success in building astrong nation. The President said history was testamentto the fact that only those nations succeeded that maderapid progress in areas of science and technology. Hesaid apart from the natural resources that a country mayhave, its rich human resource was a vital factor thatcan take a nation forward. He said the country had 54per cent youth and were all poised to play their posi-tive role in building a strong nation.

President urges students to servecountry; help eradicate corruption

President Mamnoon Hussain addressing the Foundation University Convocation 2014 at Jinnah Convention Centre.

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—To cherish Pak-Japan bilateral relations, Mem-bers of National Assembly belonging to Pak-Japan Parliamen-tary Friendship Group led by Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq waswith Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Ino-mata on Tuesdayevening to have open, frank, informal exchange of views at adinner hosted by the envoy at his residence. Syed Tariq Fatemi,Special Assistant to the Prime Minister also graced the occa-sion.

Welcoming the Speaker and members of the FriendshipGroup, Hiroshi Inomata said that Japan considered Pakistanas one of its close friends and desired to further strengthenbilateral relations.

He said that Embassy of Japan in Pakistan would con-tinue to play its role to improving the ties and cooperationbetween the two countries. He assured that Japanese Missionwould extend full support in promoting interaction betweenparliamentarians of Japan and Pakistan.

Addressing the gathering, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that Pa-kistan attached immense importance to its decades’ old friend-ship with Japan and wished to reinforce it through enhanced people-to-peopleand parliamentary contacts.

He informed that Pakistan-Japan Parliamentary Friend-ship Group hadbeen reconstituted after the institution of present National Assembly in June,2013 by appointing Ms. Ayesha Raza Farooq, MNA as its convener.

He said that since then the Group had carried out intensive activities. Heexpressed the hope that this occasion would help further to strengthen thebilateral relationship between Pakistan and Japan as well as encouraging leg-islators’ contacts between the two countries for ex-change of views and ex-

Cherishing Pak-Japan bilateral relations

Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Hiroshi Inomata, Ambassador of Japanand members of Pak-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group in National Assembly onthe occasion of a reception hosted by Japan Embassy.

periences.Syed Tariq Fatemi said Japan was one of the countries which stepped in

to become a partner in development of Pakistan in its early days. The Gov-ernment is keen to forge further bilateral relations with Tokyo. Japan andPakistan established the diplomatic relation in April 28, 1952. Since then,Japan and Pakistan have been enjoying cordial and friendly bilateral rela-tions in a wide range of areas. Japan also started its economic cooperationfor Pakistan in 1954 and has built good bilateral relations stretching overdecades.

Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan retires today

A distinguished judicial career comes to an endZUBAIR QURESHI

ISLAMABAD—Most senior judge of Islamabad High Court, JusticeRiaz Ahmed Khan, is retiring today (Thursday) after performing hisduties as the judge of IHC for four years. Justice Riaz will reachsuperannuation (62 years) today. General perception about JusticeRiaz Ahmed Khan is that of a kind, accommodating and respectedmember of judiciary, a man of few words but a judge of great com-petence. Justice Riaz was born on May 15, 1952 in Nowshera. Afterdoing Matric, he got admission to the Edwards College, Peshawar.In 1975, he did Masters in Political Science from Peshawar Univer-sity. After doing MSc in Political Science he studied law from PunjabUniversity. Justice Riaz not only passed PCS judicial (provincial

civil service) exam but earlier he had also passed CSS exam. How-ever he preferred to be judicial officer and performed services inKohat, Haripur and Peshawar as civil judge.

He was also appointed Senior Civil Judge in Dera Ismael Khan(DI Khan). However, later he started practicing law. In 1997, he wasappointed Assistant Advocate General in NWFP (today’s KhyberPakhtunkhwa). He also worked as Additional Deputy ProsecutorGeneral NAB (National Accountability Bureau). Justice Riaz waselected member of the provincial bar council and in December 2010,he was recommended and made judge of the Islamabad High Court.Justice Anwar Khan Kasi, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and JusticeNoor-ul-Haq N Qureshi have also spoken high of him during a din-ner hosted in his honour a few days ago.

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—Declaring to launch joint venturesto promote tourism between Pakistan and Malay-

sia, Dato’ Dr.Hasrul SaniMujtabar, HighCommissionerof Malaysiasaid onWednesdaygreat potentialis waiting inthis importantsector to be ex-plored for thebenefit of boththe countries.

Speak-ing at a func-tion to intro-

duce Malaysia to Travel agencies and media per-sons in connection with ‘Visit Malaysia Year, 2014’the HC said Malaysia has become very attractivedestination for Pakistanis as 81ooo per-sons visitMalaysia last year. He said his country is earning $20 billion from flourishing tourism sector every year

as 25 million tourists visit his country which has 28million population. The envoy said he is workingon some projects to make Pakistani artists, perform-ers and singers as partner to promote tourism.

In this connection he has visited Lahore andother cities. Food festivals and single country exhi-bition in Malaysia in cultural field are some of theideas he has conceived. Pakistani sportsmen includ-ing golfers have great opportunities in his country.Joint performance by artists of both the countries ineach other’s country and exchange of TV dramascan prove to be great boosters. He is also trying tointroduce Pakistan in his country as Pakistan hasmore beautiful places and delicious food stuff in-cluding tasteful fruit. Malaysian universities are alsokeen to open their campuses in Pakistan.

Listing the positive points of his country whichmade it an attractive tourist destination, he said Ma-laysia is cheaper, beautiful, full of events, sandy andclean water beaches, easy access and connectivity,shopping paradise, especially for ladies and top ofall it is a safe and secure country.

On political and diplomatic fronts, he said boththe countries enjoy excel-lent relations and there isno irritant. The envoy said dates for exchange ofvisits of high profile leaders are being worked outas several agreements have already been signed.

Visit Malaysia Year

Joint ventures to be launched topromote Pak-Malaysia tourismMalaysia has proved to be attractive destination for Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD—Bahria University Wednesday ar-ranged an Open House 2014, giving opportu-nity to final year students from Departments ofEngineering, Computer Sciences and Manage-ment Sciences to display their final year projects.

The Open House showcased some of thebrilliant projects from Bahria University andcaptured the attention of the visitors. The eventwas organized at the premises of Bahria Uni-versity Islamabad. Rector of Bahria UniversityVice Admiral (r) Shahid Iqbal HI (M) was the

Chief Guest.Director General/Pro-Rector, Registrar,

and other management of the university werealso present. There were in total 114 projectsfrom diverse engineering branches includingsoftware engineering, control systems, commu-nication systems, embedded systems, robotics,radio communications and wireless communi-cation. The ceremony concluded with theAwards presentation for the top three projectsin each department. —APP

Bahria University arrangesOpen House 2014

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Meghrab at Sunset

Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity

Director General NARC Dr M Azeem Khan and Director General PSB Dr M Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera signing MoU. Fed-eral Minister for National Food Security Sikandar Hayat Bosan, Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination RiazHussain Pirzada and Chairman PARC Dr Iftikhar Ahmad are also present on the occasion.

May 28

A seminar on “The ChangingNature of the Nuclear NonProliferation Debate”, is to beheld at Pakistan Institute forParliamentary Services(PIPS) Attaturk Avenue (Ser-vice Road), F-5/2, onWednesday, May 28, 2014from 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Rector NUML Maj General (Retd) Masood Hasan and Dr Asghar Nadeem Syed with the participants during the inaugu-ral session of National Urdu Conference on Globalisation and Future of Urdu Language at NUML.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister for Ministryof National Food Securi ty & Research(MNFSR) Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan saidthat efforts were afoot to convert wild landsof Islamabad into fruit plantations of variouskinds which would not only improve the qual-ity of environment but also add to the beautyof the city.

The minister also said that environment ofIslamabad was conducive for plantation of dif-ferent fruit and flower plants and the goal wasto turn Islamabad into a horticulture city.

The Federal Minister said this while at-tending an MoU (Memorandum of Under-standing) signing ceremony between PakistanAgricultural Research Council (PARC) andPakistan Sports Board (PSB) for turning awide stretch of PSB land from wild plants tofruit plantation. Federal Minister Inter-Provin-cial Coordination (IPC) Riaz Hussain Pirzadaalso graced the occasion.

Federal Minister for MNFSR SikandarHayat Khan Bosan also said that PARC, be-sides providing technical support and guidanceto PSB in planting different species of fruitplants, was also collaborating with PSB toclean the polluted water of Nullah passingthrough latter’s land.

The detoxification of polluted water ofNullah will be done through bio-remediation

process. Under this process, specialaquatic plants will be planted for extract-ing toxic materials from waste water. Thetreated water will then be utilized for ir-rigating the plants in the Complex. Mr.Bosan further said that in addition to pro-viding fresh fruits and clean environment,fruit plantation drive will also help in less-ening pollen allergy in Islamabad.

Speaking on the occasion, RiazHussain Pirzada Federal Minister for IPCexpressed desire to turn Pakistan SportsBoard Complex into a Green Complexwith the assistance of PARC. The FederalMinister also expressed hope that thisjoint venture between PARC and PSBwould result not only in portraying a sce-nic and beautiful image of Pakistan butalso provide healthy atmosphere to visit-ing national and international sports ath-letes on the occasions of sports eventsrespectively.

Later, the two Federal Ministers wit-nessed the signing of MoU between Dr.Muhammad Azeem Khan Director Gen-eral of National Agricultural ResearchCenter (NARC) and Dr. Akhtar GanjeraDirector General of Pakistan Sports Board(PSB).

Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed, Chairman PARCand high officials of ministries of IPC andNFS&R were also present on the occasion.

Planting of fruit and flowersin wild lands of capital

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A one-day National UrduConference on the topic of “Globalisationand Future of Urdu Language” held atNational University of Modern Language(NUML) on Wednesday. The conferencewas arranged by the Department of UrduLanguage and Literature in which re-nowned scholars and veteran academiciansfrom the different universities presentedtheir scholastic views on the topic.

Renowned playwright, Dr AsgharNadeem Syed was the chief guest whileDr Anwaar Ahmed was the guest of honourin the opening ceremony of the conference.

The conference was also attended byRector NUML Maj Gen (R) MasoodHasan, Director General (DG) Brig AzamJamal, Dr Roubina Shahnaz, Head of UrduDepartment, Urdu scholars, academicians,Heads, Deans and students of the differ-ent department of the University.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr AshgarNadeem Syed said there were number ofmyths and misconceptions regarding glo-balization and its impact on the languages,cultures and societies of the world. Ourintelligentsia and scholars had painted adoomsday scenario with regards to its ef-

fects on Urdu language. He saidglobalisation was a centuries old processof labour migration, academic exchanges,technology transfer, trade and sharing ofsystems and philosophies.

The same threats and impact werethere for Chinese, Japanese, German andMalaysians but they were still growing anddeveloping since they had learnt how toemploy and mould benefits ofGlobalisation in the interest of their lan-guages, he added. Quoting the findings ofa study, Dr Syed said we were the nationwhich was least exposed to globalizationdue to certain reasons. He said that therewas no threat to Urdu language fromGlobalisation rather we ourselves wereresponsible for decline of Urdu in thecountry.

He said today parents wanted to sendtheir children in a school where mediumof instruction was English. Our writersdidn’t want to write in Urdu and prefer towrite in English as it earned them hand-some amount of money. Lastly, our sensi-bility was not being developed in Urduwhich was another reason that taking usaway from our national language, headded. Director General University ofGujrat (Sialkot Campus), Dr Anwaar

Ahmed, said there was nothing to be afraidof technology and modern changes ratheradopt themselves to these changes to keepone abreast with the world.

He said the Urdu speakers should notbe apologetic rather had an attitude andability to learn and share the pleasure oflearning and it would guard the languageyou cherish to speak and write. DirectorGeneral, Brig (Retd) Azam Jamal in hiswelcome address said that holding andcontinuing an academic dialogue was aproof of a vigilant and alert mind. Thenumber of scholars, academicians andguests attending today’s Conference wasa proof of concerns and endeavors for thepromotion of national language and iden-tity.

Dean Faculty of Distance LearningIslamia University Bahawalpur, Dr NajeebJamal, in his keynote paper, said that Urduwould continue to exist till the time it waslanguage of a lay man, literature and cul-ture. What was required was to translatebooks and knowledge of other languagesinto Urdu so that we could understandother societies, languages and culture forour own learning. Other thing require forthe promotion of Urdu language was theself accountability, he added.

Globalisation and futureof Urdu language

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan,Hiroshi Inomata on Wednesday handed over equip-ment to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences(PIMS) of worth Rs. 103 million.

The set of equipment included two units ofendoscopes, 10 units of diagnostic ultrasound sys-tems, one unit of computed radiography, two unitsof autoclaves and one unit of forklift.Total cost for the provision of equipment is around106 million Japanese Yen, an equivalent of Rs. 103million. Addressing the handing-over ceremony heldhere at PIMS, Inomata mentioned growinghealthcare needs in Pakistan and said that the latestand more efficient equipment which was made inJapan was carefully chosen in order to improve ca-pacity and quality of medical services provided byPIMS.

The Government of Japan has been a long-standing partner of the PIMS since 1982 throughconstruction of its buildings, the provision of equip-ment and technical assistance. The Japanese Am-bassador called it “a successful example of Japan’sassistance to Pakistan in the medical field.”

Today’s provision of equipment under the Non-Project Grant Aid (NPGA) scheme was a part of

Japan hands over equipmentto PIMS worth Rs 103m

Hiroshi Inomata, Ambassador of Japan handing over the medical equipment procuredunder its Non-Project Grant Aid to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences to officials ofPIMS at Children Hospital.

continued commitment to partnership with PIMS.Inomata also announced that another set of medicalequipment procurement to PIMS is now being pre-pared under another batch of NPGA.

All these equipment were produced in the ar-eas affected by the devastating earthquake and tsu-nami that hit east Japan on March 11, 2011. At thehanding-over ceremony, Inomata said, “One of themost significant aspects of today’s assistance toPIMS is to show that the people in the disaster af-fected areas in east Japan are ready to help Paki-stan, by overcoming damages, which represents theresilience of the Japanese economy.”

Inomata thanked the Government and peopleof Pakistan who generously and quickly had sentemergency supplies to Japan and offered genuinesympathy during its difficult time.

After the disaster, the Government of Japan de-signed this NPGA scheme in order to show Japan’sappreciation to Pakistan by utilizing products manu-factured by companies based in east Japan. Ambas-sador Inomata quoted as saying “A friend in need isa friend indeed” and said, “Today’s contribution toPIMS by Japanese people symbolizes the strongpartnership between our countries in times of diffi-culties. I strongly believe that this grant aid will ce-ment our bond of friendship further.”

PIEAS ranks topamong Pakistani

Universities in AsiaSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Insti-tute of Engineering and Ap-plied Sciences (PIEAS), a uni-versity run under the auspicesof Pakistan Atomic EnergyCommission (PAEC), has beenranked 106 among Asian Uni-versities in the QuacquarelliSymonds (QS) ranking of2014.

QS ranking is an estab-lished authority on global pro-vider of specialist higher edu-cation and careers informationand solutions since 1990.

It is the first time that anyPakistani University hasreached this position.

PIEAS, competing for thefirst time in the QS AsianRankings, scored highestpoints amongst all the Pakistaniparticipating universities.

The PIEAS has alreadybeen ranked No. 1 in Engineer-ing and Technology universi-ties by the Higher EducationCommission (HEC) Pakistan,in all the three rankings (2006,2010, 2013) conducted so far.PIEAS has around 136 highlyqualified full-time facultymembers in the diverse fieldsof physical sciences, engineer-ing and medicine.

Eighty (80) faculty mem-bers have PhD degrees fromthe world’s reputed institutions.PIEAS faculty members havepublished more than 800 pa-pers in international journalsand have been decorated withmany laurels like Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Tamgha-i-Imtiaz,President’s Pride of Perfor-mance, President’s Medal forTechnology, Aizaaz-e-Kamaland Aizaaz-e-Fazeelat.

Workshop on‘Issues of

Publication’STAFFS REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Gender StudiesDepartment of Fatima JinnahWomen University (FJWU) ar-ranged one day workshop on “Is-sues of Publication” to enhancethe understanding of research andits techniques among the aca-demic community, which is cru-cial for the socio economic devel-opment of country.

Resource Persons of theworkshop were Dr. LindaPritchard, Professor of Historyand Member of Women and Gen-der Studies, Eastern MichiganUniversity, USA and Dr. AdeleMarie Barker, Prof. Russian andSlavic, University of Arizona.

In her welcome address, Ms.Tehmina Yaqoob, Incharge Gen-der Studies Department, regardedthe conduct of workshop a stepforward towards promoting re-search culture. Dr. Linda high-lighted the fundamentals of re-search in details and answers thequestion related to publication ofresearch papers in national and In-ternational journals.

She said that before send-ing any research paper, re-searcher needs to read it lot andwrite an impressive introduc-tion, so it catch the audiencesattention. She also highlightedthe fundamentals and tips of re-search with the participants andadvised them to think as a wholeand then break into small pieces.Resource persons also appreci-ated the research input of theuniversity in recent years withspecial mention of research pub-lications in the research journalsof International journals.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Youth are the buildingblocks of a nation. It is a fact that themore stronger the youth, the more de-veloped the nation is. The role of theyouth in the nation-building occupies thecentral place. These views were ex-pressed by Inspector General, NationalHighways & Motorway Police, ZulfiqarAhmad Cheema while addressing largenumber of students and faculty membersat National University of Science &Technology (NUST), Islamabad.

The I.G. told the students “that manycountries of the world have been facingissues of fragile economy and terrorismbut they successfully dealt these chal-lenges with maturity and courage. Wewould also overcome these challenges”.He mentioned many countries whichwere destroyed in world wars but withtheir resolve and determination theyagain became leading nations of theworld. The I.G. told the students that “we

have many things to be proud of. Wehave a huge reservoir of human resource– of which most of the countries de-prived of”. He further told that “Paki-stan is blessed with beautiful planes,fertile land, rivers, forests, mountains,beautiful four weather, beautiful places,huge mineral resources, best quality ofrice, cotton, mangos and oranges.

Our doctors and engineers have es-tablished their brilliance in Europe andAmerica and our teenagers are makingworld record. In the field of charity weare amongst the top three nations of theworld and our army is the sixth most pow-erful in the world. Democracy is flour-ishing in Pakistan. Our media is indepen-dent and judiciary is very powerful.

All these indicators reflect that weare moving in the right direction and wewould soon achieve the destination ofpeace, stability and prosperity”. On thisoccasion the Inspector General said thatNH&MP would start issuing driving li-cense in the very near future which

would have a strict passing criterion ofinternational standard.

He said “NH&MP is launching Traf-fic Management System and under thissystem driving license will be suspendedfor six months if driver commits 03 ma-jor traffic violations In the first half ofhis speech he educated the students ondifferent aspects of road safety andsought a commitment from them that‘they would never cross speed limit andwould never use mobile phone whiledriving a vehicle’.

He by narrating some incidents in-culcated feeling of patriotism amongstthe students. PRO-Rector of the Univer-sity Major General(R) MuhammadShahid appreciated and thanked theChief Guest. Officers of National High-ways & Motorway Police, DIG/Com-mandant Ihsan Sadiq, and AIG HasanAlvi were also present there. At the endof session different questions related toroad safety were asked and the studentswho replied correctly were given prizes.

Youth are building blocksof a nation: IG NH&MP

ISLAMABAD—Opposition Leader in National As-sembly, Syed Khursheed Shah Wednesday sug-gested that a special committee be constituted tomonitor and evaluate Metro Bus Project ofIslamabad and Rawalpindi.

The mandate of the Committee should be toprepare a detailed report on the project and presentit to the House.

On a point of order in the House, the Opposi-tion Leader said that government ensure provision

of basic necessities to the people and added that itwas desire of every Pakistani to see the country de-veloped and prosperous.

Responding to a point of order, Minister of Statefor Parliamentary Affairs, Sheikh Aftab said thou-sand of people were getting benefit from Motorwayon daily basis. He said Motorway from Karachi toLahore would be started during the next fiscal yearand added the government had launched many en-ergy projects to meet the growing demand.—APP

Khursheed for specialcommittee on Metro Bus project

RAWALPINDI—Police in its drive against anti-social elements on Wednesday arrested 46 ac-cused including 16 Proclaimed Offenders (POs)from different localities and recovered illegalarms and drugs from their possession. Policearrested the POs in a search operation launchedin various areas of Banni, Kahuta, Gujjar Khan,Sadiqabad, Saddar Wah, Jatli, RA Bazar, Air-port, Murree, Wah Cantt and Rawat.

The operation was conducted to arrestabsconders involved in heinous crimes.

Police seized 6120 gram charas, 650 gramheroin, 1007 bottles of liquor, five 30-bore pis-tols with 84 rounds and illegal gas decantingequipment from the accused.

According to details, Naseerabad, Jatli,Kallar Syedan Police apprehended Bakht MunirKhan, Shakir, Changez Khan and Faisal

Mehboob for carrying charas respectively.While, Saddar Bairooni Police recovered 650grams heroin from Gulshan Bibi.

Saddar Wah, Rawat and Kallar Syedan Po-lice held three accused Asim, Anees Imran andAzhar with 5, 2 and 1000 bottles of liquor re-spectively. While, five accused were arrestedfrom different localities of Pirwadhai, GujjarKhan, Mandra and Chauntra for carrying ille-gal arms and ammunition.

In a crackdown on illegal business of gasdecanting, Sadiqbad police held accused BarozeKhan, Sarfaraz and Niaz for their involvement inillegal sale of gas and diesel. Airport Police heldeight male and female accused from ShaheenTown for their alleged involvement in immoralactivities. Police have registered cases under rel-evant sections against the arrested.—APP

Police arrest 46 outlaws

Protesters shout slogans in Pampore, on the outskirts of Srinagar, on Wednesday. Kashmir’s latest unrest needs tobe seen in context, wherein the politics of New Delhi and Srinagar has lost favour with the Kashmiris.

MUZAFFARABAD: Alleged police violence on a citizen, Altaf Malik.

KARGIL—Muslims in the Buddhist dominatedLadakh region have flagged an SoS and soughtgovernment intervention to end ‘social boy-cott’ being reportedly enforced on the Muslimcommunity. Demanding an end to the socialboycott, which is being sponsored againstthem by the majority Buddhist community inmountainous Zanskar region of Jammu andKashmir, the Muslims in the region alleged thatthey are being ruled by ‘hooligans’.

The Muslims of Padam in Zanskar said overphone that the tensions have been brewingsince last September when some Buddhist fami-lies converted to Islam. “We appeal governmentthat they should ask the majority communitywhy we are being punished. What is our fault?”The Padam area of Zanskar has witnessed com-munal clashes since August 2012 when fourlow-caste Buddhist families comprising 22 mem-bers converted to Islam. “Though we told themto reconsider decision of embracing Islam andsent them back but they came again and thenaccepted Islam,” said some Muslim residentsfrom Padam.

“In September 2012 they finally professed

Zanskar Muslims face ‘revenge attacks’from Buddhist monks

Islam and became Muslims,” Muhammad ShafiWani, a teacher, said adding that the conversionangered majority community and clashes betweenthe two groups ensued in which dozens includ-ing a senior officer were injured. The Muslim mi-nority alleges harassment at the hands of Bud-dhists. “Ever since the episode of conversion,our lives have become hell. They (four families)became Muslims at their own. We didn’t forcethem and they are happy as Muslims,” Shafi said.

The latest spate of attacks against Minoritystarted on May 9 when some people were at-tacked by a Buddhist mob. “They were washingclothes on river and a mob led by Lamas attackedthem,” another local said over phone. Amanullah,25, from Ufty village where seven Muslim house-holds live, was injured and he was airlifted toLeh for treatment. Muslims have urged the gov-ernment that it should take steps to end the ‘so-cial boycott’ that the Buddhists have enforcedon Muslims.

Muhammad Shafi further said, “We havebeen barred from catching fish from the river orwash clothes there. When sometimes our chil-dren go to wash clothes on the river, they are

harassed by the goons.” The Muslim havealleged that the government was deliberatelyignoring their plight. He alleged that even po-licemen are afraid of taking action against hoo-ligans led by Lamas. “The Armed Police savedus from further attacks but the life has be-come difficult for us and the government willhave to move beyond deployments,” he said.

“Few Buddhist families live with Muslimsand if we wish we could attack them easily likewe are being attacked, but we are not hooli-gans and don’t preach violence,” he added.The Deputy Commissioner of Kargil, SadiqShiekh said that minority community is ‘notfacing any social boycott’ from majority com-munity. “No such thing has been brought intomy notice so far. There was some clash butthe things are okay now as both the commu-nities have compromised,” he said.

He also dismissed the allegations leveledby minority community that they are insecurein the area. “We have beefed up the securityin the area. There is adequate number of po-lice personnel deployed to thwart any vio-lence,” Sheikh added.—KO

BUDGAM (IHK)—A Kashmiri family blamedIndia’s National Investigation Agency forillegally detaining their son, who was al-ready under arrest. The family members ofKashmir youth Muzaffar Ahmad Dar, whowas shifted from Central Jail here to thecustody of NIA, Tuesday expressed con-cern over his ‘illegal detention’.

The family members of Dar fromChechloor in Budgam said police arrestedhim in 2009 when he was the Chief Opera-tional Commander of Hizb-ul-Mujhadeen.“Since 2009, Dar was languishing inSrinagar Central Jail. He is still an undertrail,” the family members said, adding: theywere shocked when state authorities in-formed them that Dar would be shifted toNew Delhi as NIA wants to produce him intheir special court in connection with a casethat also involves Hizb Supreme Com-mander Syed Salah-u-Din and others.

Raising finger over the intentions of theNIA, the family members said that theagency wants to implicate Dar in a false

NIA accused of incriminatingKashmiri youths

case. “Dar is in lock up from past five yearsand now it has shocked us that after fiveyears NIA has sought his custody. Thereis something fishy and we are sure that theywill implicate him in a false case and willlodge him in Tihar,” the family memberssaid.

They said the state police had informedDar in June that there are only three casesagainst him in different courts. However, de-spite having been informed he has been nowshifted to Delhi on the directions of NIA. “Theletter shot by NIA to Srinagar Central Jail au-thorities clearly mentions that Dar needs toappear before the District and Sessions JudgeSpecial Court NIA, New Delhi on May 9, 2014and after that he would be sent back toSrinagar Central Jail safely,” the family mem-bers said, adding that Dar is still in NIA cus-tody even after the expiry of the hearing thatwas due on May 9. They appealed to thestate authorities to look into the matter andimpress upon NIA to shift Dar back to theSrinagar Central Jail.—KDNN

SRINAGAR—The father-son duo of ChiefMinister Omar Abdullah and Dr FarooqAbdullah today expressed the hope thatthe new government in New Delhi wouldnot allow the dialogue process to die downand would initiate a meaningful dialoguewith Pakistan government to resolve theunresolved Kashmir issue.

Participating in a discussion organisedby Kashmir University, on the topic, “Dis-cussion between India and Pakistan onJammu and Kashmir, a historical perspec-tive, which was attended by Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah, New and Renewable En-ergy minister Dr Farooq Abdullah,

Ambassador Satinder K Lamba, who isworking under back channel dialogue withPakistan and vice chancellor Kashmir Uni-versity Prof Talat Ahmad. Chief Minister,while addressing the discussion, said thatKashmir issue has a political problem and itcan only be resolved through political ini-tiatives from New Delhi and Islamabad.

He also said that new government at

Farooq, Omar pitch for resumingtalks on Kashmir solution

SOPORE—The residents in Pazliporaarea of North Kashmir’s Sopore townhave alleged that an army Major of 22RR summoning youth to the campwhere they are subjected to third de-gree torture. People in Nazwari Shivaarea of Sopore staged a protest againstMajor Abhishek after he allegedlysummoned to his camp a college stu-dent Mudasir Hassan Reshi and latertortured him physically. The youth ac-cording to reports was later on admit-ted in Sub-District Hospital Soporeunder D number 34413.

“Army personnel from 22 RR cameto our house and directed us to sendMudasir Hassan Reshi to the camplocated at Pazlipora. I along with myother family members accompaniedMudasir and reported at the campwhere Mudasir was detained and weall were directed to return to the home

Indian army brutalises Kashmiri youth

Garlic water forced down student’s throatwith an assurance that after brief ques-tioning he will be released,” thebrother of Mudasir, Imatiyaz AhmedReshi who works in Jammu and Kash-mir police department said.

He said that after an hour, “we re-ceived a phone call from MajorAbhishiekh who asked us to takeMudasir back to his home. We were re-lieved after receiving the call but we foundMudasir in a pool of blood. He was lyingon the ground of the camp, unable towalk and talk, blood was oozing out fromhis nose and ears and there were torturemarks on his body,” Imtiyaz said.

“We shifted Mudasir to sub-dis-trict hospital Sopore where he narratedto the doctors that Army personnelseverely thrashed him, hit him with gunbutts and he was forced to take garlicwater,” his brother said adding thatArmy interrogated his brother on the

charges of stone pelting.The uncle of Mudasir Reshi said

that it is the job of police to detain anystone pelter. “We fail to understand whyArmy is meddling into the administra-tive and police affairs and which lawpermits them to direct youth to report attheir camps and interrogate them physi-cally and mentally,” he questioned.

The locals alleged that it has be-come a routine for Major Abhishiekhto force youth to report at his Pazliporacamp where he interrogates them atwill. “We request top Army brass toget this officer shifted from the campor put a curb on his ‘unlawful’ activi-ties,” they said. When contacted, De-fence spokesperson N.N.Joshi saidthat it is baseless and all the story isconcocted. “No Army officer of ourscalled any youth to the camp and thereis no truth in the story,” he said.—KO

New Delhi should not waste any time andshould restart the dialogue initiated byPrime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh andPakistani government in resolving theKashmir issue. “It is most important thatthe new government taking office in NewDelhi carries forward the process of dia-logue with Pakistan and takes ahead theprogress made by Ambassador Lamba inthis regard,” he said.

Omar Abdullah said that transitions inthe administration in Pakistan have impactedthe forward movement in the back channeldialogue more than those in India. He saidthe forward movement which we had seenduring the time of President Musharraf wasnot at the same pace in President Zardari’speriod. Chief Minister said that India lookedforward towards the dialogue process withPakistan both during the period of AttalBihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh.He expressed the hope that the new govern-ment in New Delhi would not allow the dia-logue process to die.—KT

A mancrushed by

speedy trainWANGUND (IHK)—An un-known man, while crossingthe railway track atWangund in SouthKashmir’s Anantnag dis-trict, was hit by a speedytrain killing him on the spot.The victim could not beidentified as the police didnot find any identity proofwith him. According to thepolice, the incident tookplace last evening.

The deceased is about 40year old with a beard and iswearing a black jacket andblack and white sweater, anofficial said. “Any body hav-ing any information about thedeceased person may contacton 9419029604, 9906701042,01942315230 or Police ControlRoom, Srinagar on Dial 100,”he said.—KD

Women protestyouth arrests in

VarmulVARMAL (IHK)—Severalwomen, whose kin are underdetention for allegedly hurl-ing stones at governmentforces in Varmul district ofJammu and Kashmir,Wednesday came on roadsand protested outside thepolice station in the town.Witnesses told KashmirDispatch a number of womengathered outside the Varmulpolice station were demand-ing the release of their sons.A picture from a citizen jour-nalist showed one of the pro-testing women in an uncon-scious condition.

The protesters didn’t al-low the vehicles to passthrough the highway in thetown. There was also a par-tial shutdown in the town.Several youths were takeninto custody during the elec-tions for the Indian parlia-ment and are still under de-tention. Police said theyhave released the youthwho managed to secure bailfrom the court.

A woman protester isunconscious on the groundas others raise slogansagainst police in Varmul. AllParties Hurriyat Conferencechief Syed Ali Geelani hascalled for a shutdown inKashmir on Thursday toprotest against the arrestspree. Geelani had earliersaid that if the governmentin Jammu and Kashmirdoesn’t release youth andresistance leaders, he wouldlaunch a protest programmeafter May 13.—KDNN

4-year old kidmissing:Nowporaprotests

SRINAGAR—The residentsof Nowpora here held a pro-test demonstration in sup-port of their demand for earlytracing of a missing four-year-old boy. The protest-ors mostly women alsoblocked the road. The boy,Faheem Asgar, is missingsince May 6 evening.

Police continued to usemotorboats today also inneighbouring nallah to traceFaheem fearing that boy themay have slipped into it.The nallah is adjacent to thehouse of the missing kid.Hamida, mother of the miss-ing boy said, said duringevening hours on May 6,when she was busy at home,she found Faheem missing.“We moved in all directionsto locate him but could nottrace him,” she said.

The family lodged amissing report with the po-lice. Police said they are try-ing their level best to helpthe affected family.—KT

On Geelanicall IHKobserves

hartal todaySINAGAR—Beginning hisstated agitation against thecrackdown on youth, SyedAli Geelani, Chairman of a fac-tion of Hurriyat Conference,Tuesday called for shutdownon May 15. The call for shut-down came three days afterthe octogenarian leader hadthreatened the governmentby saying “if raids, arrestsand atrocities doesn’t stop tillMay 13, we will issue a disci-plined program”.

The Hurriyat chairmansaid in the statement, “Wehad already issued a dead-line to government till May13 to free the youth whobeen jailed but the govern-ment has not accepted ourdemand of freeing youthfrom detentions and onlyfew have been released.That is why Hurriyat Con-ference is calling for valley-wide shutdown on Thurs-day, May 15, against arrests,raids, violence andsearches.” The octogenar-ian leader has appealedpeople including transport-ers and traders to adhere tohis call.—KO

JAMMU (IHK)—Jammu Patron of PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP), Mufti MuhammadSayeed, has said the incompetence of politi-cal leadership and mis-governance are respon-sible for prevailing financial crunch in HeldJammu and Kashmir.

He said that inefficiency of the presentleadership has thrown the state into unprec-edented financial crisis and gravity of the pre-vailing mess can be gauged from the fact thatthe state government has failed to even ar-range matching grants for various centralsponsored welfare schemes.

Addressing a meeting of the SC-OBCwing of the party here today, Mufti pointedout that central sponsored welfare schemesare defunct in the state because the stategovernment has failed to provide matchinggrants for these schemes. “Instead of ar-ranging matching grants to make such wel-fare schemes functional, the state govern-ment is more concerned about disbursingfunds to its blue-eyed boys in irrationalmanner”, he said.

He said that prevailing financial bank-ruptcy in the state is depriving weaker sec-tions of the society of the benefits of variousschemes especially formulated for their up-lift. “Others states are taking benefits of therevolutionary central sponsored schemesmeant for the socio-economic growth of theweaker and marginalized sections of the soci-ety but in J&K these schemes are defunctbecause state government has failed to ar-range even matching grants”, he said and re-gretted that ruling elites of the state are moreconcerned about their own luxuries insteadof addressing problems of the deserving lotof the society.

Mufti said that unemployed educatedyouth are the worst victim of the prevailingfinancial bankruptcy in the state becausegovernment does not have funds to createjob avenues for the unemployed youth.“Whopping amount spent to provide luxu-

Inefficiency drives IHKto utter fiscal crisis: Mufti

ries to ruling elites and mis-used on unpro-ductive sectors could have been utilized prop-erly to provide jobs to the unemployedyouth”, he argued.

“It is result of the prevailing financial an-archy in J&K that state government has evenfailed to secure normal plan funds from theCentre”, he said and pointed out that duringthe previous financial year also the centre hadforfeited Rs 1300 crores out of plan alloca-tions for state government’s inability to spendfunds in time and properly.

PDP patron pointed out that this govern-ment has failed to even get routine fundingfrom the Planning Commission of India andother organizations due to financial mis-man-agement and lack of accountability and trans-parency. “The previous PDP-Congress gov-ernment had got huge financial support fromthe successive governments at the Centredue to its performance and proper utilizationof funds”, he said and mentioned that duringthe tenure of previous government two PrimeMinisters had announced special economicpackages for the State.

Pointing towards financial position in theState, he regretted that government does nothave funds to release pensions for widows,aged old and handicapped. “Where themoney approved in the Assembly during lastbudget session for these pension schemeshas gone?”, he asked and maintained theamount for these welfare schemes has beendiverted to provide luxuries to the ruling elites.

He further said that bills worth hundredsof crores had remained unpaid for monthstogether due to financial crunch. “On the onehand government has huge resources for theluxuries of its leaders but when it comes tomaking genuine expenditure it cites lack ofresources as a reason”, he mentioned andadded that thousands of people engaged indifferent departments as casual, daily wagersor seasonal employees do not receive remu-neration for months together.—GK

SRINAGAR—Freaky weather conditionshave caused shadows on farm produceacross Kashmir. The incessant rains arenow being followed by strong winds andhail the size of golf balls, ruining crops andshattering the farmers’ hopes. Kashmiris, itseems, are caught up in wrong weather atthe wrong time. Even as the Chief Ministerremains busy dispelling fears caused byexit polls, weather-hit populations acrossKashmir hardly find a trace of administra-tion when they seek help during weatheremergencies.

While the weatherman has hoped apause after Wednesday, the authorities fearthe rivers may swell if the rains don’t holdin few days. “We may have to sound floodalert if the weather conditions don’t improveby the weekend,” said a senior official inthe Flood Control department.

Reports said heavy rains and hailstormhave wrought havoc in parts of South Kash-mir causing widespread damages to cropswhile at scores of places electric polls wereuprooted that resulted in power breakdown.Reports said that heavy rains and hailstormdamaged paddy seed crop, vegetable fields,and fruit orchards in different parts of SouthKashmir’s Kulgam district leaving thefarmer community high and dry.

Meanwhile rains continue to lash Kashmir

Rains, hail-stone batter Held KashmirValley for the second consecutive day bring-ing down temperatures. The continuous down-pour resulted in flooding of lanes, bye-lanesand roads in cities and towns while in Kulgamdistrict, hundreds of fruit-borne trees were dam-aged upsetting farmers and fruit growers. Re-ports said that the hailstorm also caused dam-ages to various structures in Kulgam.

MeT has predicted more rains at isolatedplaces in Kashmir Valley and said that theweather may improve from Wednesday af-ternoon. “The frequency of Western Dis-turbance was more this year that resulted incold and intermittent rainfall across Kashmirvalley. Rainfall may significantly start de-creasing from Wednesday afternoon, how-ever, it may continue to lash some isolatedplaces,” Director MeT Sonum Lotus said.

The change in weather may force authori-ties to sound alert in Kashmir as major riversmay start to swell in case rains continue tolash Valley. Eyewitnesses said the hailstormin different parts of Kulgam district hascaused heavy damage to crops, apple trees,electric poles and some muddy structures inhamlets like Damhal Hanjipora, Noorabad,Devsar, Kulgam, Soput Tengapora,Brarigam, Gundipora, Akhal, Shahu Sachin,Bugam, Kelam, Banghal, Dardgund, Srindu,Gundipora, Zradipora, Mankanpora,Dhanaiv, Haloora, Aagru.—KO

OSLO—Norwegian Parliamentary group onKashmir is to be reconstituted soon that wouldcontinue to raise the issue of long- standingdispute in parliament. Chairman of Kashmirgroup in Norwegian Parliament Knut ArildHareide stated this while talking to ExecutiveDirector of Kashmiri Scandinavian CouncilNorway, Sardar Ali Shahnawaz Khan. KnutArild Hareide who heads the Kashmir Groupsince 2011 is also the Member of NorwegianParliament and Chairman of Christian Demo-cratic Party (KrF). According to the reports,the meeting was held at Norwegian Parlia-ment. Traditionally, after every national elec-tion, the Parliament of Nowray reconstitutesall groups and committees on several issuesand also re-elect their heads.

The Norwegian Parliament’s KashmirGroup has been actively engaged in moni-

Norwegian Parliamentary Groupon Kashmir to be reconstituted soon

toring the situation in disputed Kashmir formore than a decade with the efforts andlobbying of Executive Director of Kashmiri-Scandinavian Council, Sardar AliShahnawaz Khan who is settled in Norway,originally from Rawlakote, Azad Kashmir.

Ali Shahnawaz Khan briefed the Kash-mir Group Chairman about the latest situa-tion in Kashmir on the backdrop of success-ful boycott of the elections held by India indisputed state recently. Ali S Khan appreci-ated Mr Knut for holding a longest recorddebate on Kashmir issue in Norwegian Par-liament in 2012 and urged Norwegian gov-ernment to play its role in resolving the Kash-mir issue. Mr Knut said that Kashmir is thematter of 13 million people. He said that non-resolution of Kashmir conflict has kept thewhole region as hostage.—NNI

Happiness doesnot come from

doing easy workbut from the after-

glow of satisfactionthat comes after

the achievement ofa difficult task that

demanded ourbest.

—Theodore Isaac Rubin

Bank AL Habib offers‘apni’ car auto financeKARACHI—Bank ALHabib Apni Car AutoFinance offers financingfor new and used/imported vehiclesthrough convenientpayment plans. Thefacility features an easyprocedure, fast process-ing, low down payment,low markup and insurancerates, partial paymentoptions, and fixed andfloating rate options forthe convenience ofcustomers.—PR

SBP to celebrateInt’l Museum DayStaff ReporterKARACHI—The StateBank of Pakistan isorganising a two-dayprogramme on May 17 and18 to celebrate theInternational MuseumDay. The day is celebratedglobally on May 18 since1977 to raise awareness onhow important museumsare in the development ofsociety. The programmewill feature many activitiesincluding Prize Bond Draw,Portrait Sketching, DisplayYour Old Item, Modelling,Shine Your Money andInterview Recording.

Tripartite efforts toboost fisheries exportsKARACHI—Threeassertive organizationshave resolved to joinhands in boosting theexport of fish, prawns andlobsters which, in turn, willbring about significantforeign exchange revenues.As a first step in thisdirection, the TradeDevelopment Authority ofPakistan (TDAP) hasgranted subsidy toSeafood exporters toparticipate in Seafex, asignificant exhibition inseafood and fisheriesindustry being held inDubai.—PR

ICCI rejects new SROISLAMABAD—IslamabadChamber of Commerceand Industry (ICCI)Wednesday demandedwithdraw of SRO.351 (I)/2014, arguing that it willaffect business activities.According to ICCI pressstatement issued here,ICCI President, ShabanKhalid said that FederalBoard of Revenue (FBR)through SRO.351 hasassigned powers to theofficers of DirectorGeneral (Intelligence &Investigation) parallel tothe functions of ChiefCommissioners.—APP

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—The reduction in tax rates and drastic reformsin the tax policy is the focal point of all the major tradebodies including Chambers of commerce and industry intheir budget proposals sent to the government. All Cham-bers of Commerce and Industry and trade associationsacross the country have unanimously urged the govern-ment to reduce direct and indirect tax rates in the forth-coming budget, besides implementing drastic changes intax policy of the country in order to bring new taxpayersinto the net and narrow the budget deficit.

All Chambers of Commerce and trade associations ofPakistan in their Joint Budget Proposals for Federal Bud-get 2014-15 asked Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to bringin new taxpayers, which will consequently broaden thetax to GDP ratio and narrow the budget deficit so that thecountry no longer needs and depends on foreign anddomestic borrowing. All Chambers of Commerce and tradeassociations in all five provinces of Pakistan united underone roof at 1st All Pakistan Chambers’ Pre-Budget Con-ference organized by Karachi Chamber in the month of

WASHINGTON—Commerce Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khanmade a strong case for greater trade access for Pakistani products tothe large U.S. market, as he emphasized Islamabad’s policy to bolster

the national economy through expansion in trade instead of relianceon aid. Speaking to a gathering of American experts at a Washingtonthink tank, he said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government ispursuing a policy of economic diplomacy and instead of aid, grantsor handouts wants to foster normal trade relations with countries.

“Trade more, if I were to say in two words”, the way Islamabad

Dastgir builds strong case for US market access

Federal Minister for Commerce Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan meeting with US DeputyNational Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Coroline Atkinson inWashington DC.

wants to further enhance Pakistan-U.S. relations, he said at the At-lantic Council discussion attended by experts, academia and busi-nessmen, and moderated by South Asia Director Shuja Nawaz. Min-

ister Khurram Dastgir Khan, who accompanied bySecretary Commerce Shahzad Arbab andPakistan’s ambassador to the United States JalilAbbas Jilani, held extensive discussions with U.S.Trade Representative Michael Froman on Tues-day, noted that the U.S. Administration is sup-portive of better access for Pakistani products tothe American market.

He said the Joint Action Plan on tradeand investment cooperation unveiled Tuesday atthe meeting of Pakistan-U.S. Trade and Invest-ment Framework Agreement Council would turn anew leaf in the bilateral relationship. While em-phasizing the importance of preferential trade ac-cess, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan cited theexample of European Union’s recent award of GSPPlus scheme for Pakistan for ten years.

The GSP Plus scheme is significant in ahistoric way, it is not a quid pro quo for—Pakistanwent through a process, fulfilled the requirements,conducted economic diplomacy and the EU Par-liament took the necessary action to approve thedeal, he said. These trade concessions or prefer-ences are an incentive, not a reward — thesewould help Pakistan improve its economic perfor-mance and as democracy live up to expectation toprovide better quality of life to its people throughcreation of new jobs and economic activity, heexplained.

“We are now looking very much to the U.S. if it can emulate theEU example”, he said. In an interaction with Washington-based Pa-kistani journalists later, the Commerce Minister said he also dis-cussed the matter with U.S. Trade Representative. Since the U.S.preferential program needs Congressional approval, Pakistani diplo-mats, led by Ambassador Jilani, will work with U.S. lawmakers and

members of key committees to advocate Pakistan’s case.Meanwhile, Pakistan is also expecting a re-authorization of the

American GSP, which ended last year. The two sides will also dis-cuss bilateral investment treaty to encourage greater cooperation,the minister said. In his public engagements, Engineer KhurramDastgir Khan pressed Pakistan’s case for a U.S. preferential tradeprogram by noting that Pakistan’s exports to America are over 3billion dollars annually but they make up a tiny 0.0016 percent frac-tion of the three trillion U.S. imports.

“So there is a need to increase the trade”, he said, while alsopromising to improve competitiveness of Pakistani products. TheCommerce Minister highlighted that materializing greater trade ac-cess for Pakistani products would be in line with the U.S. commit-ment to assist economic empowerment of Pakistani women as anoverwhelming majority of workers in textile factories is women.

Spelling out Islamabad’s trade policy in the regional context,Khurram Dastgir Khan said Pakistan wants to have normal tradingrelations with neighboring countries and said the country wouldhold trade talks with the next Indian government. He indicated thatthe government would go for a new legislation to create a new landsport authority that would oversee trade through Pakistani land cross-ings.

Engr. Khurram Dastgir also referred to an array of projects underway to overcome energy shortage, facilitate investment and createregional connectivity as part of the overall strategy to expand tradeand business activity in the country. In the evening, AmbassadorJilani hosted a dinner for the Commerce Minister and his delegationat the Pakistani embassy and spoke about the government’s priori-ties in strengthening Pakistan-U.S. relations, particularly througheconomic and trade initiatives.

Commerce Minister, addressing the gathering that includedAmerican officials and Pakistani-Americans, said the historic ActionPlan unveiled Tuesday would help the two countries tremendouslyin advancing bilateral relations. He expressed the hope that the UnitedStates would help democratic Pakistan with a robust economic rela-tionship, arguing that economic hope is the most potent weaponagainst extremism and jobs generation through greater trade andinvestment would assist the country in a big way.—APP

Trade bodies unanimously urge govt to reduce tax rate, reform policies in budgetFebruary 2014 in which all Chambers’ Presidents agreedto formulate a comprehensive document carrying jointbudget proposals of various chambers.

KCCI, under the supervision of its President AbdullahZaki, Senior Vice President Muffasar A. Malik, Vice Presi-dent, Muhammad Idrees, Chairman Budget Committee,Qamar Usman and Chairman Taxation Sub Committee KCC,Hassan Sheikh Vohra, compiled budget proposals of allChambers of Commerce on independent and equitablebasis, which were thoroughly examined and finalized byPresidents of all chambers at 2nd All Pakistan Chambers’Presidents Pre-Budget seminar organized by FaisalabadChamber in the month of April 2014. All Chambers’ Bud-get proposals have been sent to the policymakers so thata pro-business budget is unveiled this year as per aspira-tions of the entire business community of Pakistan.

According to Joint Budget Proposals, taxpayers ex-pect from FBR, a level of service that they receive from thevery best of the private sector and multinational serviceindustry. The taxpayer service delivery function nowa-days plays a crucial role in the administration of the taxlegislation in all countries. Prevailing services that are user-

friendly, in the sense of being accessible and understand-able for all, helps to maintain and strengthen the taxpay-ers’ willingness to comply voluntarily and thereby con-tribute to improvement in overall levels of compliance withthe laws. No amount of effort will generate or improve thetax revenue collection, until and unless all incomes abovethe minimum threshold of Rs400, 000 are taxed, irrespec-tive of the source. Currently huge incomes from agricul-ture, professional services sector and influential remainuntaxed. Firm steps are needed to recover the tax from allthese areas.

Agriculture income is a convenient means to concealincome generated from all other sources, for the docu-mentation and taxation, income from every segment in-cluding agriculture should be taxed, NTN must be manda-tory for all sectors and they must be asked to file incometax returns. In the last few years, Industry and Trade inthe private sector has suffered setbacks because of thehigh cost of doing business mainly due to industrial in-puts including raw materials, Gas, Electricity, Manpowerand high cost of working capital, which has made life dif-ficult for many industries to survive and run profitably.

Joint Budget Proposals document recommends revis-ing Tariff mix for industrial undertakings. It should be re-viewed and brought down and fixed at least for 1 year. Atimport stage the accumulative sum of all taxes (includingsales tax and income tax), customs and regulatory dutiesand levies should not anyhow exceed 30% of the value ofgoods. While, the Raw materials and machinery shouldbe in a slab of 5 percent with zero rating on raw materialused in exports.

Since 65% of the sales tax collection and revenue iscollected at import stage, it has become a fixed tax andlevy instead of value addition tax, increasing the incidenceof under invoicing and smuggling by some unscrupulouselements. As total incidence of customs duty, sales tax,income tax, FED and regulatory duty could sometime goas high as 70-80% of the value of import in certain cases.

Customs duty slabs should be simplified with 4 slabsof zero percent, 5 percent, 10 percent and maximum 15percent. Rates of GST and Income Tax be brought downto a maximum of 12.5% (inclusive of Value Addition Tax)and 30% for corporate and 20% for small companies hav-ing turnover of Rs.1.0 billion respectively.

ISLAMABAD—The five-year Textile Policy(2014-19), featuring a special focus on valueaddition to enhance textile exports upto US$26 billion over next five years would be fi-nalized by June 30. This was stated by Min-ister for Textile Industry, Abbas Khan Afridiwhile briefing the media here on Wednes-day. He said the proposed national textilepolicy also envisages offering tax incen-tives to import of modern and innovativetechnologies to promote textile industry inthe country.

Abbas Afridi said the government wasdetermined to enhance textile exports upto US$ 26 billion during next five yearsby paying special attention to the valueaddition products and removing otherbottlenecks in exports. He said that Paki-stan was among five countries having alltextile value chain from cotton produc-tion, ginning and textile manufacturingadding that despite that vast scope, tex-tile sector could manage to export 13 itemsas compared to 950 value added productsexports by any other country of the world.The textile sector, which is the largestcontributing in local exports, was ignoredduring the previous regimes due to whichcountry had to suffer huge loss in termsof exports and industrial growth, headded.

The Minister said that textile sector hassufficient potential to extricate the coun-try out of the debt net and turn around thecountry’s economy. He said that TextileMinistry was already deliberating revival

New textile policy to soarexports upto $26 b: Afridi

of sick production units in the textile sec-tor of the country, as it give boost to ex-ports and harvesting benefits from theGeneralized System of Preferences Plus(GSP+) status given by the EuropeanUnion (EU).

Abbas Afridi further said that despitethe energy crisis in the country, textile ex-ports from the country posted 7 percentincrease during the last 10 months of cur-rent financial year. To overcome the en-ergy issues, a committee comprising theofficials of ministries of Water and Power,Petroleum, Finance and Textile Industrywas formed to resolve the problem amica-bly, he added.

Abbas Afridi said that textile exportsgrew by 8.03 percent during first two months(March-April) after getting the GSP+ sta-tus from EU adding that all efforts wouldbe made to take maximum benefits of thescheme. The minister said that Textile Min-istry has proposed the government to pro-vide subsidy on technology and machin-ery import in federal budget 2014-15, be-sides it has also proposed five percent re-duction in interest rate.

Abbas Khan informed that PlantsBreeder Right and other Bill regarding seedcertification which had been pending forlast many years would soon be passed fromthe Parliament to provide certified seed togrowers. He said that currently seed trad-ing volume stood at Rs. 60 billion per an-num adding that only 700 seed companieswere registered in the country. —APP

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar meetingwith CEOs of Telecom Companies.

Analyst hailsnon-interest

govt loan schemeIS L A M A B A D—EconomistAhmad Mukhtar has saidthat government haslaunched a very good non-interest loan scheme,which will enable the com-mon man to establish hisbusiness as per Islamicideology.

Talking to Radio Paki-stan, he said, governmenthas taken a rational andwise step to save smallbusinessman from interestand usury of banks. Hesaid, government may in-crease volume of this loanbecause it will enablepeople to earn their liveli-hood honourably. AhmadMukhtar said, small busi-ness and micro credit con-cept was introduced by aPakistani, Akhtar Hameed inBangladesh, which wasadopted by Bangladeshislater.— APP

Food dept achieves75pc wheat

procurement targetMULTAN—The food de-partment Multan (division)has so far achieved 75 per-cent target after purchasing425,364 metric tonne wheatfrom the growers. Accord-ing to Food Departmentsources, the departmenthad set a target of over600,000-ton wheat procure-ment from the division. TheFood department Multanpurchased 187,789 metrictonne wheat during the on-going campaign. Lodharanpurchased 73,485 metrictonne, Vehari 121,249 metrictonne and Khanewal142,841 metric tonne fromgrowers. So a total of4,25,364 metric tonne wheathave been procured fromacross the division.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Foreign investment worth $100million is in the pipeline especially in prop-erty development in Karachi, a strong signof economic rebounce in Pakistan. Accord-ingly some 100 housing projects would belaunched in Karachi within next fourmonths as a couple of foreign companieshave expressed their interest to investaround $100 million in the housing and con-struction sector in the city.

Chairman of the Association of Build-ers and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD)Mohsin Sheikhani in a media briefing saidthat ABAD is going to organize an interna-tional expo at Karachi Expo Centre fromAugust 12-14this year. ‘A number of mega

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The 7th Pakistan TeleCON 2014concluded with regulators and experts deter-mining that a data revolution, connected com-munities and a digitized ecosystem will de-fine the telecom sector in Pakistan. The themeof the conference was “The Changing Dy-namics of Telecom and ICT Sectors in Paki-stan”. Organized annually by SHAMROCKConferences International, to highlight anddebate on critical issues and opportunitiesconcerning the telecommunication sector,including ICT trends and its impact oneconomy, the conference was a well-attendedaffair with participation from a cross-sectionof companies and organizations.

In her message to the organizers, MinisterAnusha Rehman said, “The priority of ourgovernment is to use next generation ICT ser-vices particularly mobile broadband for an ac-celerated digitization ecosystem to enablesocio economic development expandingknowledge based economy and spur eco-

TeleCON 2014 concludes

Data revolution & digitized ecosystemto define telecom sector in Pak

nomic growth.” Chairman PTA Syed IsmailShah in his keynote address reiterated thegovernment’s resolve to support and developthe telecom sector with investor and consumerfriendly policies. He said, “We expect a strongdemand for 3G as operators will start rollingout services and consumers getting excitedabout the new enabling technologies; it willconnect communities and people, the wholeexperience will be like a data revolution.”

Mr. Mudassar Hussain, MemberTelecom, Ministry of MoIT highlighted thaton the policy front, the government had in-vited industry and public consultants to bepartners in its decision making; and in thiscontext a review of the telecom policy wasalso in the offing. In his opening remarks,Menin Rodrigues, Convener of TeleCON2014 said, “The telecom sector has performedexceedingly well and while the Ministry of IT& Telecom and PTA are doing all that is rightfor the country and its citizens, some issuesof level playing fields for stakeholders andproliferation of grey telephony persist.”

Foreign investment in property development

100-housing projects of$100m worth are in stream

projects will be rolled out during this expoas around 50 foreign companies are ex-pected to participate. A couple of foreigncompanies have already expressed their in-tention to invest around $100 million in thehousing and construction sector in Karachiwhich will culminate in the launching ofsome 100 housing projects within next fourmonths in the city,’ added Sheikhani.

”Responding to a question of mediaThe ABAD Chairman said “the blueprint ofthe low-cost housing scheme is waitingPrime Minister’s approval and likely to belaunched in a couple of months, and ABADis fully support this initiative of the PrimeMinister Mr. Nawaz Sharif and offer its plat-form to roll out this project in the interest ofthe common people of the country.”

MicrosoftPak launches

Nokia 225KARACHI—Microsoft De-vices Pakistan bolstered itsline-up of high-quality mo-bile phones today with thelaunch of the Nokia 225, adevice which underlines thecompany’s commitment toconnect the next billion tothe Internet. Slim, sleek andstylish, the Nokia 225 offersaffordable Internet accessthrough the cloud-poweredNokia Xpress Browser, allon a beautifully designed2.8” display. Nokia’s slim-mest data phone to date, andfeaturing Nokia’s inherentbold colouring, the Nokia225 offers style and sub-stance to first time mobileowners, upgraders andpeople who like to have asecondary phone.

The Nokia 225 fea-tures the cloud-poweredNokia Xpress Browser,which uses less data anddelivers fast performance,even over slower net-works. The preloadedFacebook and Twitterapps offer instant accessto social networks directon the homescreen, whilepeople can explore theworld from their device viaMicrosoft’s Bing search.

“The Nokia 225 is anaffordable mobile phonedesigned to impress,” saidArif Shafique, CountryGeneral Manager,Microsoft Devices Paki-stan & Afghanistan. “Weremain committed to con-necting the next billion tothe Internet, and thishandset builds on thispromise. Offering a richmedia experience andsimple functionality com-bined with Nokia trust andquality, the Nokia 225 en-ables us to bring theInternet to more people ata lower price point.”—PR

Project Qatarexhibition

starts in DohaDOHA—An exhibition ofconstruction and buildingmaterials began in Doha,Qatar. The exhibition‘Project Qatar’ is the larg-est one in the Middle Eastand North African region.This year’s edition ofProject Qatar is being par-ticipated by a large contin-gent of Pakistani exportersin marble, granite, steel/PVCpipes, heat insulation ma-terial, and safety gloves &protective’s for construc-tion industry. Ten leadingcompanies, mostly inmarble and granite have putup stalls in the Pakistanipavilion organized byTrade Development Au-thority of Pakistan (TDAP).

At the same time theUSAID in Pakistan hasarranged a pavilion sepa-rately for promoting thestone, marble and granitesector of Pakistan, wherechief executives ofPakistan’s top ten marbleand granite companieswill be present for net-working and exploringbusiness prospects withhundreds of buyers com-ing from all over the worldto attend Project Qatar.These promotional pavil-ions of USAID and TDAPare likely to bring big ex-port business in the formof export of constructionmaterials from Pakistan ingeneral and the marble &granite in particular.—PR

Currency Selling Buying

USA 98.50 98.30

UK 166.01 165.67

Euro 135.13 134.86

Canada 90.30 90.12

Switzerland 110.85 110.63

Australia 92.54 92.35

Sweden 15.05 15.02

Japan 0.9639 0.9619

Norway 16.65 16.62

Singapore 78.77 78.61

Denmark 18.10 18.07

Saudi Arabia 26.26 26.21

Hong Kong 12.71 12.68

Kuwait 349.74 349.03

Malaysia 30.55 30.49

Newzealand 85.29 85.11

Qatar 27.06 27.00

UAE 26.82 26.76

Kr. Won 0.0960 0.0958

Thailand 3.033 3.026

Daily opening& closing ratesPMEX Index 3,018Total Volume (Lots): 10,996Traded Value (Rs): 2,267,440,777

Commodity .......................... Price Quotation ................ Open CloseCRUDE OIL ......................... $ Per Barrel ......................... 101.22 101.96SILVER ................................. $ Per Ounce ........................ 19.498 19.838GOLD ................................... $ Per Ounce ........................ 1,293.6 1,304.4GOLD ................................... Rs Per 10 gms ..................... 41,372 41,720MTOLAGOLD .................... Rs Per Tola ......................... 49,518 49,974GOLD ................................... Rs Per Tola ......................... 49,518 49,974RICEIRRI6 ........................... Rs Per 100 kg ...................... 3,502 3,501PALMOLEIN ...................... Rs Per Maund .................... 4,493 4,491SUGAR ................................ Rs Per kg ............................. 44.64 44.63ICOTTON ............................ US Cents per pound ......... 90.84 91.99WHEAT ............................... Rs Per 100 kg ...................... 3,358 3,357

The total value traded was reported at PKR 2,267m. Number of lots traded wereregistered at 10,996 and PMEX Commodity Index closed at 3,018. Major businesswas contributed by gold amounting to PKR 1,166m followed by crude oil (PKR 981m)and silver (PKR 119m).

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—‘Supply chain is the at the core of corporatesuccess and profit maximization for concerned companiesis best possible by implementing an affective supply chainmanagement process’ – said Qayser Alam, President Sup-ply Chain Association of Pakistan (SCAP) at a 2-days megasupply chain conference [SCC2014], exhibition and train-ing session held in Karachi. Mr. Qayser expressed hisviews on the core competence of local industries in Paki-stan who are achieving their goals by a continuous im-provement in the supply chain process.

This conference also attempted to bridge the gap be-tween Supply Chain professionals and academia by con-ducting a panel discussion on this subject and at the endpresenting two best case studies selected from the numer-ous submissions by university students from all acrossthe country at the this prestigious forum. The panel dis-cussion and the university project was both spearheadedby Noman Lutfi, Director Manufacturing, Unilever Paki-stan.

The theme of the Conference was “Supply Chain – ATrue Business Partner A Real Game Changer” and the eventprovided players of the industry the opportunity to shareknowledge, gather insights and set a vision for the industry’sfuture, and included keynote addresses from industry stal-warts like Sarfaraz A. Rehman, CEO, Engro Foods;, JehanzebKhan, CEO, AkzoNobel Pakistan and Torsten Katzor, Glo-bal Director, Hellman Fashion Logistics.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—The Union of Small and Me-dium Enterprises (UNISAME) invited theattention of the planning commission (PC)to the urgent requirement of big impact ac-tions for growth of the small to mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) and complainedthat the government is taking baby stepswhich is not stimulating the economy. Bigimpact actions are the need of the hour toaccelerate growth of the sector.

President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver in-formed the Planning Commission that the SMEpolicy was devised in 2007 and needs revi-sion. He expressed the need to revisit the SMEpolicy as several dimensions have been leftunexplored. There is urgent need to beginwork from the primary sector which is thesource for raw material and exactly what theSME policy envisaged. The SME policy 2007also outlined plans for the promotion of themanufacturing, trading and services sectorsand targeted them for growth.

He enumerated the big impact actions and

KARACHI: President KATI, Syed Farukh Mazhar is presenting shield to Ex.Vice Presi-dent FPCCI, Focal Person of GSP Plus and Former Chairman KATI, Gulzar Firoz.Senior Vice President Hasham A.Razzak, Mohammad Zubair Chhaya, Masood Naqiand Director General Usman are also seen in picture.

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—Pakistan could increase its ex-port up to 1 billion dollar from the facilitygiven under GSP Plus. This was stated byFormer Vice President and Focal Person ofGSP Plus FPCCI and Former ChairmanKATI, Gulzar Firoz in awareness seminaron GSP Plus held at KATI. At this occa-sion, President KATI, Syed Farukh Mazhar,Senior Vice President Hasham A.Razzak,Masood Naqi, Immediate Past Chairman,Mohammad Zubair Chhaya, EhteshamUddin, Director General TDAP, Usman,Khalid Hidayat Khan, Director AbdulKareem Memon and Shahid Jawed Qureshiwere also present.

Gulzar Firoz said that efforts of PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif and Federal Minis-ter for Commerce, Khurram Dastgir Khanare appreciable in getting status of GSPPlus. It is a promising and golden opportu-nity and we should avail the benefits fromit. He said that there are 27 conventions inGSP Plus in which 7 are related to environ-ment, 8 to labour rights and 8 to humanrights. Government should give special at-tention on it and a monitoring cell shouldalso be formed.

A group photo of Javed Malik, Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, Wajahat Hussain Presi-dent-designate of UBL and Roos Miller Canadian CG in Dubai.

Pfizer announcespositive top-line

results of CAPiTAKARACHI—Pfizer Inc. madea global announcement thatthe Community-AcquiredPneumonia ImmunizationTrial in Adults (CAPiTA), thelandmark study of approxi-mately 85,000 subjects evalu-ating the efficacy of (pneu-mococcal polysaccharideconjugate vaccine [13-valent,adsorbed]) in adults 65 yearsof age and older, achievedboth its primary and second-ary clinical objectives.

CAPiTA is the largestdouble-blind, randomized Pla-cebo-controlled vaccine effi-cacy trial ever conducted inadults. The primary objectiveof the study was to demon-strate efficacy of PCV 13 vac-cine against a first episode ofvaccine-type community ac-quired pneumonia (CAP). TheCAPiTA study also met bothsecondary objectives, whichwere efficacy against (i) a firstepisode of non-bacteremic/non-invasive vaccine-typeCAP and (ii) a first episode ofvaccine-type invasive pneu-mococcal disease (IPD).—PR

ISLAMABAD—Minister of State for Information Technol-ogy and Telecommunications, Mrs. Anusha Rahman onWednesday said e-office suite is being implemented inFederal Ministries and Divisions in phases and its majormilestone is expected to be completed by December thisyear. The e-office suite, consisting of six modules, is ini-tially being implemented in Ministry of IT, Prime MinisterOffice, National Assembly Secretariat, Ministry of Scienceand Technology, Finance Division and Planning Division,she said while addressing an e-office Forum-2014 here.Pakistan Computer Bureau (PCB) organized the Forum undera theme - E-governance for good governance - to enhancemutual cooperation and develop inter-working mechanism.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs,Tariq Fatmi, Secretary IT and Telecom, Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar,and focal persons from different ministries and departmentand other dignitaries participated in the Forum. AnushaRehman said implementation of the e-office will be a phe-nomenal achievement of her Ministry as this would ensureefficiency, accuracy, effectiveness and good governance. Itwill create a less paper environment and concept of digitalgovernance will be promoted through it, she added.

She said the focal persons from 27 ministries have com-pleted their specialized trainings for orientation and man-agement of e-office suite, adding that the project was con-ceived in seven years back but due to non-interest of pre-vious regimes remained in limbo. The current governmenton assuming office, appreciating the need of an effective,efficient and transparent government for good gover-nance, pursued e-office implementation and have set strin-

Major milestones of E-office to becompleted by December: Anusha

gent targets for its deployment.Anusha Rehman said it is a fact that ineffective gover-

nance not only slows down the pace of economic growth,but also has a highly negative impact on the living standardsof the citizens and added to make the governance more effec-tive and achieve the goals of government efficiency; e-Gov-ernance is being adopted as a tool. She said that recent spec-trum auctioning of 3G/4G technologies reflects that the gov-ernment resolves to capitalize on benefits of 3G/4G as “Weare in process of developing mobile based software applica-tions particularly e-Government applications.”

The Minister emphasized that political leadership iskey initiator and supporter of an e-Government vision,adding, “we must realize that e-Government is more aboutmodernization and reform than about technology.” Shesaid the leaders recognize the importance of using tech-nology as a strategic tool to modernize the structures,processes, and overall culture of public administrations.

The Minister said that she has undertaken the hugeresponsibility of bringing efficiency, transparency, ef-fectiveness, and accountability in government pro-cesses through e-Governance, and has great confidencein her fellow Federal and State Ministers leadership ca-pabilities and visionary approach, and dedication toserve the public. This e-Office System empowers themto have up-to-date information required for decisionmaking in the best interests of the general public, shesaid and added their ownership of this system wouldhelp implement the vision of present government ofPML-N to create a less paper environment.—APP

GSP Plus status: an opportunityto increase exports

He further said that we should get ben-efit of decrease in rate of duty by 3-10 % ondifferent items as compared to good ex-ported from China, India, Thailand and In-donesia. Pakistan is a major supplier ofleather goods and textile to European coun-tries but keeping standard is a big chal-lenge. If we should avail benefit from GSPPlus then we have to improve productionactivities and standard of quality. We arefacing high cost of production, decrease inefficiency, fluctuation of prices and secu-rity issues. He said that role of TDAP isimportant and TDAP should form a moni-toring cell for resolving the issues of ex-porters for GSP Plus.

President KATI, Syed Farukh Mazhardemanded the government to provide allfacilities to exporters so that they couldproduce their products according to inter-national standard and could get benefitsfrom GSP Plus. Former Chairman KATI,Masood Naqi, said that economic policiesof the government are appreciable. If lawand order situation of the country is im-proved and ensured supply of gas and elec-tricity to industries then production andeconomic situation would also be improvedand export targets would be easily met.

SMEs growth requires bigimpact actions

urged the PC to install a credit guaranteescheme to make the banks comfortable in fi-nancing the SMEs. The commercial banksneed to be indemnified against defaults.

Secondly the sector needs an exporthouse for marketing support for goodsmanufactured by the sector. The SME ex-port house would introduce the SMEs toglobal buyers through SME tools such asgalleries, online presence and e-commerce.It is very important to educate the SMEs tohave their websites and exploring globalmarkets.

Thirdly the sector needs incentives andthe PC needs to recommend the introduc-tion of “ Pay as you earn schemes” for en-abling the entrepreneurs to buy shops, of-fices, workshops , machinery and equip-ment also raw material on easy installments.UNISAME reiterated its demands for SMEspecific bank, technical institute, chamberof commerce of SMEs and SME ombuds-man and considered these demands as bigimpact steps necessary for rapid growth ofthe sector.

Corporate excellencedepends on active supply

chain management

PSO seeksRs30 bln moreas furnace oilstock depletesKARACHI—Pakistan StateOil, the country’s largest oilmarketing company, onWednesday sought Rs30 bil-lion from the government onurgent basis in view of fast-depleting furnace oil stock.According to companysources, the firm has only five-to-seven-day stock of the fur-nace oil, which is primarilyused to generate electricity.

To import furnace oil, thecompany has requested thegovernment to release addi-tional Rs30 billion for the pur-pose of maintaining sufficientinventory and smooth sup-ply. But petroleum ministrysources said that the govern-ment released Rs20 billion forPSO just last week. PSO re-ceivables have touchedwhopping Rs172 billion, com-pany sources said.—INP

Port Qasimshipping activity

KARACHI—Four ships C.VSakaka, C.V Sealand NewYork, M.T Karachi and M.TNorgas Invention carryingcontainers, furnace oil andchemicals were allotted berthsat Qasim International Con-tainers Terminal FOTCO OilTerminal and Engro Vopak Ter-minal respectively of PortQasim on Tuesday. Berth oc-cupancy was managed at thePort at 43% on Tuesday wheresix ships namely C.VSafmarine Ngami, C.V Sakaka,C.V Sealand New york, M.VSunvil-II, M.T. Karachi andM.T Norgas Invention wereoccupied PQA berths to load/offload containers, cement,furnace oil and chemicals re-spectively during last 24 hours.

Cargo throughput duringlast 24 hours stood at 136,721tonnes comprises 81,457tonnes imports and 55,264tonnes exports inclusive con-tainerized cargo carried in4,257 containers (TEUs)(2,292 imports and 1,965 ex-ports TEUs) were handled atthe Port. Departures.—APP

K-Electric,PSM owe Rs72b to SSGC

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Sui Southern GasCompany (SSGC) managingdirector (MD) Zohair Siddiquihad stated before the sub-committee of the Public Ac-counts Committee that the K-Electric and Pakistan SteelMills had accumulated a sumof more than Rs 72 billion aspending outstanding dues tobe recovered by the SSGC.

The SSGC MD told thesub-committee that totalmoney recoverable from theK-Electric had reached Rs 50billion since 2009 while the K-Electric had in 2012 signed anagreement with the SSGC forthe settlement of outstandingdues under which the K-Elec-tric had assured of Rs 1 bil-lion from the outstandingdues along with gas bill forthe current month and haddemanded SSGC to increasegas supply up to 226 mmcfdper day.

PESHAWAR: President Markazi Tanzeem Tajaran Rabita Committee MujeeburRehman administering oath to traders at cantonment plaza cantt.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The trade and industry on theoccasion of Monetary Policy Review onMay 17 by the State Bank of Pakistan hascalled upon the government and the policymakers to bring the Policy Rate of the SBPto give a kick start to the national economy.President, Lasbela Chamber of Commerceand Industry (LCCI), Ismail Suttar has urgedthe Governor, State Bank of Pakistan tobring the discount rate to around 6 to 7 percent in order to support the industrial in-vestment in the current economic scenarioand severe shortage of energy and highPOL prices.

He hoped that the Federal Finance Min-ister, Ishaq Dar and Governor SBP, AshrafM. Wathra would further consider this mat-ter to take appropriate measures to facili-

Economic growth needspolicy rate at 7pc

tate the industrial investment, which hasslowed down due to damaging of competi-tiveness as compared to other countries inthe region where the discount rate is muchlower than that in Pakistan.

Ismail has further said that the expan-sion of economy is imperative in order tomeet the sustained economic growth andto create employment opportunities for thepeople. It is possible only with the avail-ability of cheaper liquidity to the investorswho are looking towards the competitive-ness in the wake of appreciation of PakRupee against US Dollar, GSP Plus statusand the high rate of inflation, besides thelaw and order situation. For this purposethe central bank should take lead to framethe investment friendly monetary policieskeeping in view the current economic indi-cators.

ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq with street children football team at Parliament House.

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Speaker National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi with theplayhers of Pakistan Blind Cricket team at Parliament House.

PESHAWAR—Three goals including a hat-trick in the second session by center strikerMujahid, piloted Pakistan Air Force to stunNangarhar Province team of Afghanistanby 3-0 in the ongoing First FATA Interna-tional Peace Football Cup being played hereat Sumbal Khan Football ground, QayyumSports Complex on Wednesday.

It was Mujahid’s first hat-trick of theCup and overall he scored four goals asearlier he had a goal against FATA in thefirst match that won PAF by 2-0. Mujahid,the pick of the pack, moved quickly in thesecond session by shattering the rival de-fence and scored two quick successiongoals in the 55th and 60th minute to makethe tally 2-0 in a match remained a goal-lessdraw in the first-half.

The clash between PAF and NangarharProvince of Afghanistan attracted goodnumber of football spectators, speciallymany Afghan refugees reside in provincialcapital Peshawar turned up and witnessedthe thrilling battle.

Afghan team have better combinationas far as their three four attacks in the firstsession were concerned but all such attackswent abortive because of the excellent goal-keeping by Ghazanfar of PAF.

Having sharp reflection Ghazanfar suc-ceeded in thwarting more than three attackswith his agile goal-keeping. First he inter-cepted the left foot attempt of Afghan teamright winger Najeeb Ullah while diving to

International Peace Cup Soccer

Mujahid’s hat-trickpilots PAF to stunNangarhar team

his left while he was tested twice by an-other promising Afghan forward Sulaimanin the 23rd and 30th minute. Ghazanfar stoodlike a rock and did not allow the Afghaniforwards to score any goal.

PAF, a team that won the National Chal-lenge Cup recently, managed their positionaccordingly and their forwards Mujahid,Sher, Alam, Aamir and Arif showed greatunison in their rank. The PAF front linemade one or two attacks in the first sessionbut none of them could be productive. Thetwo teams were locked 0-0 at the end of thefirst session play.

It was the second session in which PAFforwards looked more combine as a resultin the 55th minute Mujahid netted a finegoal on the pass of right winger Sher whiledid the same after a five minute break insimilar fashion, thus making the tally 2-0.

The two goals lead really createdpanic like situation in the rank of Afghanteam who tried their best to reduce themargin but they were failed. It was thedying moments when Mujahid againraided on rival territory with his stunninggoal from the distance and thus makingthe tally 3-0. He also recorded the firsthat-trick of the Cup. With the second vic-tory PAF have cementing their positionfor the semi-final from group-A. AminKhan, Alluddin and M. Zahid supervisedthe match while Qazi Asif acted as matchcommissioner.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Muslim Hands, a charityworking organization will be sending afew players of the tr iumphant third-ranked Pakistan street children team toEngland for their expert training in orderto groom the young boys.

This was stated by Former FederalMinister Noor ul Haq Qadri , MuslimHands Country Director Zia ul Noor andAzad Foundation Director Amjad Rasoolwhile addressing a press conferencehere at National Press Club on Wednes-day. They were accompanied by theStreet Children Team.

Pakistan’s Street footballers finishedthird in the Street Child World Cup heldin Brazil.

They said the coaches in England willtrain these players and if there will beneed to bring the foreign coaches to Pa-kistan for the training of the Street Chil-dren Team we will also do that.

They said the Pakistan Football Fed-eration (PFF) has kept a reception in theirhonour on May 20 where they will alsobe presented a cheque of Rs 0.5 Million.“On May 19 the Inter Provincial Coordi-

Street Footballers totrain in England

nation (IPC) Minister Mian Riaz HussainPirzada will also honour the team withPakistan name and with track suits ,”they said.

The street children team’s visit toNPC, which returned from Rio de Janeirolast month after participating in the StreetChild Football World Cup, was a part oftheir countrywide campaign to inspireother children. At the occasion, AzadFoundation Director Amjad Rasoolshared the team’s experiences.

“Our children are very talented, andthey need proper training and encour-agement. Muslim Hands sponsoredthese street children to go to Brazil andtake part in the international event andwe are happy they made us proud,” hesaid.

The children began their tour fromthe Karachi, going onto city after citySukkur, Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore, nowIslamabad and after that to Abbotabad,Azad Kashmir and other cities. The aimof the proposed tour is to create encour-age other children to part icipate inhealthier and positive activities.—APP

Ayaz Sadiqappreciates

spirit of StreetChildren

football teamISLAMABAD—Speaker Na-tional Assembly SardarAyaz Sadiq Wednesday ap-preciated the spirit and ef-forts of Street Children foot-ball team which won thirdplace in the recently heldworld Cup.

The street children foot-ball team, met Speaker Na-tional Assembly at his cham-ber, said a press release.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq appre-ciated the team’s spirit andefforts to bring recognitionto Pakistan at the interna-tional level and encouragedthem to practice hard so thatthey could join the PakistanEleven.

The Speaker alsobriefed the team on theworking of National Assem-bly.—APP

PESHAWAR—Dera Ismail Khan clinched thetrophy after defeating Khyber Agency inthe final of the PCB FATA Region Under-19Inter-District Cricket Championship playedat Dera Ismail Khan Cricket Stadium onWednesday.

President Regional Cricket AssociationFATA Noor Ul Haq Baloch was the chiefguest on this occasion. President SouthWaziristan Agency Cricket Association HajiRoshan Khan, Secretary RCA FATA ShakilKhan Dawar, officials, players and specta-tors were also present.

Khyber Agency won the toss andelected to bat first by setting up 235 runs intheir first innings in which Nisar Afridistruck an elegant knock of 80 runs,Memood Khan 51 runs, Usman (33) and Arif(26) runs were the prominent runs contribu-tors. For Dera Ismail Khan right-arm me-

DI Khan wins PCB Inter-DistrictCricket Championship

dium fast bowler Amjad Khan claimed fivewickets, Aziz and Mustafa took two wick-ets each.

Dera Ismail in reply of the first inningstarget of 235 runs, bowled out for 221 runs,14 runs short. For Dera Ismail Khan AzizKhan smashed an elegant knock of 50 runs,Mustafa made another cracking 33 runs andAmjad Khan scored 44 runs. For KhyberAgency Najeeb took seven wickets.

Khyber Agency in their second inningsscored 101 runs only while Usman and Arifclaimed four wickets each.

Dera Ismail Khan in their second have115 runs target of Khyber Agency chasedit for the loss of two wickets and won thematch by eight wickets. Usman smashedan unbeaten knock of 66 runs, thus DeraIsmail won the final match by eight wick-ets.—APP

PESHAWAR—Top seed Israr Ahmadof Sui Southern Gas Pipe Line(SNGPL) setup final showdown withSalman Hashmi of Punjab in theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa National Jun-ior Squash Championship beingplayed here at PAF Hashim KhanSquash Complex on Wednesday.

The final will be played on Thurs-day. In the first semi-final top seededIsrar Ahmad of SNGPL faced no hard-ship against his rival Ismail Rauf ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa and marchedinto the victory in the straight set.The score was 11-7, 11-6 and 11-6.

Israr had faced no difficulties byreaching to the grand final becauseof his excellent game. Israr has betterforce short against Ismail Rauf as thelater did not settle down and thus lostthe match.

It was in the second semi-finalwhere both Salman and Ahsan Ayazstretched to five sets battle. Thematch was also witnessed by a goodand supporting crowd.

Salam took the first set after mak-ing great struggle which was clearlyevident from the score. The scorewas of the first set was 16-14. BothSalam and Ayaz struggle hard forsingle point. The set was tied at 4-4,

Israr, Salman to clash in KP NationalJr Squash C’ship final

5-5, 6-6, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13and 14-14 before Salman took the set.

After winning the first set Salmantook the second set as well quit eas-ily at 11-4 but he failed to click in thethird and fourth sets won by Ahsanat 7-11 and 3-11. Ahsan got the ad-vantage at 9-9, 10-10 and even 11-allbut he made errors by hitting the tintwice.

On the other hands Salman,looked tired, managed his positionwhen the score was leveled at 11-11,he claimed two points on his excel-lent nick shorts and marched into vic-tory in the last and decisive set.

In the Under-11 category top seedNoor Zaman recorded easy sailing bydefeating his strong rival Falak Sherin a four sets battle, the score was12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6. Noor Zamanafter winning the first set againstFalak Sher he failed to click in thesecond won by his rival but despiteconceding a set, Noor did not lookbehind and marched into victory at3-1 and moved to semi-finals.

In the second quarter-finals AfaqKhan beat Khushal Riaz by 3-1. BothAfaq Khan and Khushal Riaz playedexcellently and gave each other a verytough fight. The score was 10-12, 12-

10, 11-9, 11-9. In the third quarter-fi-nal Asad Ullah beat Ali Sher by 3-1 inanother thrilling match. The two play-ers were stretched to four sets battle,the score was 4-11, 11-8, 11-9 and 12-10 while it was the last quarter-finalin which Ammad Khan defeatedHamza Sharif by 3-0 in a one-sidedaffair. The score was 11-7, 11-4 and11-7.

In the Under-13 category RashidDaulat, Zeeshan Malik, Hamza Sharifand Uzair Shoukat took berth into thesemi-finals after registering victoriesagainst their respective rivals in thequarter-finals.

In the first quarter-final RashidDaulat shocked Ahmad Hassain instraight sets, the score was 11-5, 11-9 and 12-10, Zeeshan Malik beatMavia Hussain by 3-0, the score was11-9, 11-8 and 11=5, Hamza Shariffaced tough resistance at the handsof Hammad Adil as the two werestretched to four sets battle. Thescore was 10-12, 13-11, 8-11, 11-9 and12-10. Both Hamza Sharif and HammadAdil played well and exhibited somefine nick, drops shorts and smasheswhile in the last quarter-final UzairShoukat beat Bilal Ahmad by 3-0, thescore was 11-8, 11-9 and 11-6.—APP

Khan clubadvance in

Al-Fatah T20Cricket Cup

PESHAWAR—Khan clubPeshawar defeated Shakotclub Mohmand Agency bysix wickets in the ongoingAl-Fatah Twnety20 CricketTournament being played atCharssadda Cricket Stadiumon Wednesday.

Shakot club MohmandAgency won the toss andelected to bat first by set-ting up 151 runs all out withJalil Khan smashed 36 runs,Kamal Shah (30), Shahzeb(18) were the leading con-tributors. For Khan club IjazKhan claimed three wickets,Shafique and Hanif got twowickets each.—APP

SPORTS REPORTER

LAHORE—The 53rd edition of nationalAmateur Golf Championship will tee off fromhere Thursday, with four foreign teams in-cluding Afghanistan, Bangladesh ,Iran andSri Lanka taking part.

The event will be contested over fourdays (18 holes each day and a total of 72holes) at the par 72, Royal Palm Golf andCountry Club Golf Course.

This was stated by Brig (r) Nayyar Afzal,Secretary, Pakistan Golf Federation at apress conference here on Wednesday alsoaddressed by Omer Mir, General Manager,Royal Palm, Haroon Arshed ,ViceCaptain,Col (r) Jameel Khalid,Director Golfand Khawaja Pervaiz Saeed,Director Me-dia of the Championship.

Omer Mir stated that Royal Palm GolfCourse enjoys international recognitionand is a highly rated championship golfcourse. It will be swarmed with championsfrom all over Pakistan and to challenge themare the top ones of Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Iran and Sri Lanka.

Participants vying for honors and glorywill tee off in ‘three ball flites’ in accordancewith standard procedure and draws pre-pared by the Tournament Director.

Brig (r) Nayyar highlighted that in ac-cordance with the eligibility criteria for thischampionship only players with a handi-cap of seven and below can participate and

Amateur golf championshipone can foresee quality golf on all four daysof the grand event.

Of course the more established con-tenders are competitors who are in nationalreckoning and the Pakistanis who fall in thiscategory are Wasim Rana,GhazanfarMehmood,Salman Jehangir,MohsenZafar,and M.Rehman. Mohammad Rehmanand Ghazanfar Mehmood will representPakistan ‘A’ team,Taimur Khan and SalmanJehangir are members of Pakistan ‘B’ teamand Naeem Khan and Zohaib Asif are mem-bers of the Pakistan ‘C’team..The teamManager is M.Waqar Saigol.

Afghanistan team members are NoorAhmed Fazel and Ali Ahmed Fazel.The teammanager is Mahboob Shah Qazizada.

BanglaDesh team comprisesMohammed Sagor and MohammedNazim.The team manager is MohiuddinSiddique.

Iran team members are Raza PourHosseini and Ebrahim Nouri.The team man-ager is Mostafa Shahraki.

Sri Lanka is represented by SisiraKumara and P.Hemantha.The team manageris Ana Punchihawa. Brig(r)Nayyar also saidthat during this four days of this champi-onship the events at stake are Men’s Na-tional Champions title, ladies national cham-pion title, international team Match and J.R. Jeyawardene Trophy. Another event thatneeds to be highlighted separately is theInter Associations Team Match.

SGA name holdersSindh team for

PakistanAmateur golf

KARACHI—Sindh cham-pion Mansoor Teli willspearhead the star-studdedprovincial team in the Paki-stan Amateur Golf Champi-onship which tee-off atRoyal Palm Country andGolf Club Lahore fromThursday.

Besides provincial out-fits, teams from Afghani-stan, Bangladesh, Iran andSri Lanka taking part in the4-day event played over 72holes.

President of Sindh GolfAssociation (SGA) AsadI.A.Khan while announcingthe team here on Wednes-day said that he will also bemanaging the team.

Besides Mansoor Teli,team got in their fold formernational championMuhammad Ali Hai both ofKarachi Golf Club and expe-rienced Waseem Rana andfast rising golfer from De-fence Authority Countryand Golf club.—APP

Union Club beatFalcon in FrontierFoundation Loin

Cricket CupPESHAWAR—Union clubdefeated Falcon club byeight wickets in the FrontierFoundation Loin CricketCup being played here atGymkhana ground onWednesday.

Falcon club won thetoss and elected to bat firstby setting up 78 runs onlyin which Imran made 24 runsand Naeem scored 23 runs,none of the other batsmencould cross the double fig-ures.

In reply, Union clubchased the target for the lossof two wickets after playing15.3 overs.—APP

Victories forPunjab, KPK ininter-provincial

basketballLAHORE—Punjab andKhyber Pakhtoonkhawanotched up victories on theopening day of the inter pro-vincial basketball champi-onship here on Wednesdayat Government college uni-versity ground.

Punjab outstrokedBalochistan 69-36 beforeleading the first half 40-28.From Punjab Umar HayatButt Scored 12, Kibria 10 andUsama 6 while fromBaluchistan Raja Sheerazcollected 10, Ahmad Nawaz15.

In the second match,KPK made short work ofIslamabad 59-41and thewinners folded the first half32-26.

Matches for tomorrow,Friday, Punjab Green VSBalochistan and Sindh vsKPK.—APP

KARACHI—The fourth day of IBSF WorldUnder-21 Snooker Championship proveda disappointing day as Faheem Ahmedand Muhammad Haris Nadeem suffereddefeats against their respective oppo-nents in Fujairah, United Arab Emirate,according to message received here onWednesday.

After winning three league matches,debutant Haris lost his first match to SanThomas of Wales 4-2 after an interestingtussle.

Having out-potted in the first frame,Haris pulled the second. But his oppo-nent won the next two to gain 3-1 advan-tage. Haris won the fifth frame to reducethe margin to 3-2.

But Welsh cueist Thomas clinched

Faheem, Hamza sufferdefeat in U21 Snooker

the sixth frame to wrap the match. Thusrelegating Haris to play in the last-64round match.

Mateusz Baranowski of Polandchalked out the break of 104, and 71 whilebeating Muhammad Faheem 4-2 afterhaving lost the first frame.

Faheem started well but faded awayas Baranowski started his break-building.Faheem now must win his last leaguematch to remain in hunt for a place in theknock-out rounds. Following are results:

San Thomas (Wales) bt MuhammadHaris Nadeem (Pak) 4-2 (69-06, 44-66, 61-13, 65-31, 29-71, 77-41), MateuszBaranowski (Poland) bt MuhammadFaheem (Pak) 4-2 (53-56, 68-47, 79-45, 72-08, 27-64, 104-27).—APP

ROME: Andy Murray of Great Britain serves against Marcel Granollers of Spain in their second round matchduring the Rome Masters.

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Though as a newcomer DonBradman scored only 18 and 1 runs onhis début Test, the bat which will be auc-tioned soon, has more historical signifi-cance than the commercial value, accord-ing to Rina Hore, the Rina Hore, the Ex-ecutive Director at Bradman Foundation| Bradman Museum.

Speaking exclusively over telephonefrom Sydney on a question whether thebat used by Bradman in the last Test canfetch more values (though he scored zeroin the last Test innings but secured thehighest batting average and by the timeBradman had already announced his re-tirement and scored heavily in Tests), shesays, “it is difficult to separate the valueof these two bats as they both have his-torical significance”.

Bradman’s bats have historicalsignificance, it can’t be

compared with dollar value“The Bradman Museum values his-

torical significance above commercialvalue, so therefore it is not appropriatethat we comment on the dollar valuethat the bat may reach at auction”, sheadded.

“Keen collectors would consider thepersonal attachment that Sir DonaldBradman had with the bat. It would beone of his most proudest moments andhe held onto the bat for another 2 yearsbefore donating it to raise funds for aspecial cause”.

“There is a well published photo ofSir Donald leaning on the bat with hisfirst Australian blazer and baggy greencap”, she further added.

“It is a very special item to come ontothe market and we would be veryhonoured to display the bat at theBradman Museum for the successful pur-chaser”, she signed off.

BERLIN—Borussia Moenchengladbachmidfielder Christoph Kramer slipped into arevised German 27-player World Cup squadon Wednesday for a training camp in Italynext week, keeping his hopesalive of making final 23-mansquad for the tournament.Coach Joachim Loewdropped Hamburg SV de-fender Marcell Jansen aswell as Schalke 04 teenag-ers Leon Goretzka and MaxMeyer, who were called inthe provisional 30-membersquad, and replacedAugsburg’s Andre Hahnwith the tall 23-year-old ver-satile Kramer.

“This has nothing to dowith Hahn’s performances,”Loew said. “It has to do withthe position in the centralmidfield where we had sev-eral players with injuries orwere absent for some time.”“So we want to have a fur-ther option with us at thetraining camp so as to beprepared for any scenario.”

He also stuck with hischoice for a second strikerin Kevin Volland, who madehis debut on Tuesday in agoalless draw against Po-land, to partner veteran 35-year-old Miroslav Klose atthe tournament starting nextmonth. Loew will further trimhis squad to a final 23 byJune 2, following a 10-daystay in Italy from May 21.

Revised squad: Goal-keepers: Manuel Neuer(Bayern Munich), RomanWeidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hanover 96) Defenders:Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), KevinGrosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), ErikDurm (Borussia Dortmund), BenediktHoewedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels(Borussia Dortmund), Per Mertesacker (Ar-senal), Shkodran Mustafi (Sampdoria),Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund),Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich) Midfielders:

Kramer slips in revisedGermany World Cup squad

Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), JulianDraxler (Schalke 04), Matthias Ginter(Freiburg), Mario Goetze (Bayern Munich),Christoph Kramer (Borussia

Moenchengladbach), Sami Khedira (RealMadrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich),Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), MesutOzil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal),Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), AndreSchuerrle (Chelsea), BastianSchweinsteiger (Bayern Munich) Forwards:Miroslav Klose (Lazio), Kevin Volland(Hoffenheim).—APP

BARCELONA—Barcelona are ready to grasptheir second chance with both hands andsnatch the Spanish title from AtleticoMadrid in a winner-takes-all clash this week-end, midfielder Xavi said on Wednesday.

B a r c alooked out ofthe runningfor top spota few weeksago but withthe leadingthree sides inSpain alls t u t t e r i n gthe title hasboiled downt oS a t u r d a y ’smatch in theNou Camp. Atletico have 89 points, threemore than Barca who have drawn their lasttwo matches, but a win for the hosts wouldsee them retain the trophy courtesy of abetter head-to-head record.

“We saw the situation as black and thatwe had lost the league but football hasgiven us another chance,” Xavi told a newsconference. “We play at home in front of

Barca ready to seize secondchance: Xavi

our fans and we have all in our favour towin.

The crowd need to get behind us dueto what we are playing for. “This is an his-toric chance and it will be a spectacular fi-

nal. Anyonewho thoughtthat we stillhad chanceswould havebeen consid-ered crazy.”With a firsttitle since1996 withint o u c h i n gd i s t a n c eA t l e t i c ohave pickedup only one

point from their last two games since reach-ing the Champions League final.

Xavi, however, believes Atletico are stillthe team in the driving seat. “It will be verydifficult as they are the best team defen-sively in Europe,” he said. “They pressurea lot, work hard together and have differentattacking options. “It will be a rocky rideas they are the team playing best. From five

ROME—Andy Murray made light ofa swirling wind to ease past Spain’sMarcel Granollers 6-2 7-5 in the sec-ond round of the Rome Masters onWednesday.

With dust whipping up off thesurface and the ball playing tricks,seventh seed Murray proved far toosolid for his unseeded rival as he setup a third-round clash with Austrianveteran Juergen Melzer. Murrayreeled off four games in a row from 2-2 in the opening set and, apart fromlosing his opening service game inthe second set, he always looked in

Murray breezes pastGranollers in Rome

control. While not being forced toplay his best tennis, it was an impres-sive opening for Murray, who a yearago at the same tournament retiredwith a back injury against the sameopponent.

“All the dust and stuff was get-ting in your eyes. It was extremelyblustery, strong conditions,”Murray, who is looking to get in somematch-time for the French Open, toldSky Sports.

“From one of the ends it was re-ally tough to get any real depth onthe ball. I just tried to play a smart

match.”Melzer beat Croatia’s Marin Cilic

in the three sets. Following Murray,Roger Federer was back in action forthe first time since the birth of hissecond set of twins forced him to with-draw from the Madrid Masters.

Federer was up against French-man Jeremy Chardy before women’stop seed Serena Williams was set totake on Germany’s Andrea Petkovic.Men’s top seed Rafa Nadal was top-ping the evening bill at the ForoItalico with a second round clash withFrance’s Gilles Simon.—APP

PCB gives raise inplayers contract

LAHORE—Pakistan CricketBoard on Wednesday an-nounced revision in the na-tional team Players CentralContracts which will nowsee players getting a raiseof 25% in their Monthly re-tainers of the previousyear,

In all categories, thisincrease will be in additionto a further 25% increasein Test Match Fee and 10%increase in One Day Inter-national Match Fee for theplayers, said a spokesmanof PCB here on Wednes-day.

“The system of bonuseshas also been revised toincentivize outstanding in-dividual performance andseries wins”, he asserted.

The new Central Con-tracts and revision in pay-ments will become effectivefrom January first, 2014. Therevisions have been final-ized in consultations withsenior players of the Paki-stan team. —APP

HYDERABAD: David Warner smacks one across the line during Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2014.

HYDERABAD—Chasing 206 for vic-tory, the Punjab top-order pulled offanother run feast — their second 200-pus run chase in this IPL — to canterto their target in 18.4 overs at the RajivGandhi International Stadium.

Punjab batsmen struck from theword go, even after losing VirenderSehwag (4) on the second ball of theinnings.

Wriddhiman Saha (54 off 26 balls)and Manan Vohra (47) managed a 91-run second-wicket partnership to pro-vide a solid platform for the big chase.

Saha led the assault with the duogetting 20 runs from the sixth over andtaking their side to 86 after thepowerplays.

Saha though ran out of steam whenKarn Sharma got him stumped but theleg-spinner’s joy was short-lived asGlenn Maxwell came to the crease. Thecurrent orange-cap holder belted Karn

Emphatic Punjab batting chase down 200 plus againfor three sixes to continue with themomentum.

Vohra was unlucky to to be run outwhile backing off at the non-striker’send but Maxwell got a lucky repreivewhen he survived a catch with AmitMishra bowling a no ball.

In blistering form, Maxwell contin-ued to hit fours and sixes as Punjabreached 150 in double quick time —156/3 in 12 overs.

Mishra finally got his revengewhen Maxwell (43 off 22 balls) tried tocome down the crease and hit theleggie over long-off only to find DaleSteyn’s safe pair of hands.

George Bailey also got a lucky es-cape when David Warner’s stunningcatch was not called legitimate by thethird umpire.

Punjab skipper probably wantedthat bit of luck as the Aussie hit twosixes and two fours in the final Dale

Steyn over to make the mountain climblook easy.

Punjab finally won the game witheight balls to spare with Bailey fittinglyhitting the winning six offBhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bailey (35 not out) and Miller 24(not out) managed an unbeaten 52-runstand to disappoint the home crowd.Earlier wicketkeeper-batsman NamanOjha bludgeoned his way to an un-beaten 36-ball 79 as Hyderabad posted205 for five in 20 overs.

Put into bat on a sunny afternoon,openers Shikhar Dhawan and AaronFinch started on a cautious note butsoon gained momentum at the end ofthe powerplays.

After a slow but steady start,Dhawan let it rip against SandeepSharma in the fifth over, hitting themedium-pacer for 26 runs with fourfours and a six.—APP

Nasri left outof France

World Cupsquad

PARIS—France coachDidier Deschamps on Tues-day left Manchester Citymidfielder Samir Nasri out ofa young 23-man squad forthis year’s World Cup in Bra-zil.

Neither 26-year-oldNasri, who has won 41 caps,nor Monaco captain EricAbidal, capped 67 times, fea-

ture in the squad or on theseven-man standby list.

“He is a player of greatquality, but Samir’s perfor-mances for France have notbeen of the standard ofthose with his clubManchester City,”Deschamps said after re-vealing his squad live onFrench television channelTF1’s evening newsprogramme.—AFP

PSF giving plentifulopportunities towomen players:

MariaIS L A M A B A D—Pakistan’sace women player MariaToor on Wednesday said thePakistan Squash Federation(PSF) is providing plentifulopportunities to the womenplayers to come forward inthe game as are granted tomen with an aim to promotegender equality.

She said this at alaunching ceremony of aMonthly Magazine andWebsite where she was thechief guest. The Magazineand Website named‘Sportsline’ was launchedhere at Pakistan SportsComplex by a well-knownsenior journalist Abdul Jab-ber Faisal.

She said PSF has done agreat job by holding train-ing camp for female play-ers.

“PSF is giving providingwomen an equal opportu-nity to come forward in thegame of squash. “I am surethe women players will notdisappoint the federation,team and the country,” shesaid.—APP

WOMEN are at increased risk of beingseriously injured during a motor vehicle accident during the second tri-

mester of pregnancy, according to a new studyfrom Canada. Pregnant women were 42 per-cent more likely to be in-volved in a motor vehicleaccident that sent them toan emergency room, com-pared to when they weren’tcarrying a child, research-ers found.

“A normal pregnancy isusually accompanied by alot of fatigue, nausea, moodfluctuations, anxieties anddistractions which may allcontribute to distracted driv-ing,” Dr. DonaldRedelmeier, the study’s leadauthor from the Universityof Toronto, told ReutersHealth. Redelmeier, who isalso an internist atSunnybrook Health Sci-ences Centre in Toronto,said he got curious about therisk of vehicle crashes during pregnancy, be-cause pregnant women would ask about thedanger in other activities, such as riding arollercoaster.

“Never once was I asked about road safetydespite it being a larger risk to mother andchild,” he said. For the new study, he and hiscolleagues analyzed data on all adult womenwho gave birth in the Canadian province ofOntario between April 2006 and March 2011.They compared the women’s crash rates be-fore and after pregnancy to see if there was adifference. Over half a million women gavebirth and accounted for about 8,000 crashes as

drivers during that time. The researchersfound that the rate of accidents was about4.6 crashes per 1,000 women before preg-nancy, compared to 7.7 crashes per 1,000women during their second trimester. The

increased risk was present re-gardless of a woman’s back-ground and demographics. Italso didn’t seem to matterwhether the woman already hadchildren. The crash rate fell be-fore delivery and continued tofall after birth, the researchersreport in the Canadian medicaljournal CMAJ. While the studycan’t say why the women’s riskof car crashes increased duringthe middle of their pregnancies,Redelmeier said it may havesomething to do with the symp-toms that result from wide fluc-tuations in hormones.

“That’s what the factoris for the neurological changes,which are usually minor, butthese minor changes can catchup to you when you’re operat-

ing a motor vehicle,” he said. Despite theincreased risk, Redelmeier added thatwomen shouldn’t stop driving, because thecrashes could be avoided by following stan-dard safety advice. That includes obeyingspeed limits, stop and yield signs.

He added that doctors should remindpregnant women during routine visits to beespecially cautious when driving. “If thereis nothing more pressing that’s the time totake a moment and mention the importanceof road safety advice,” Redelmeier said.“You don’t want any pregnant women end-ing up in my emergency department.”

Pregnancy linked tocar crash risk: Study

Film Star Veena Malik presenting bouquet to Abdul Sattar Edhi at Edhi Home CentreKharadar on Wednesday.—PO photo

Memon Health and Education Foundation, Founder Chairman Peer M Diwan presents Memento to visiting Presidentand CEO Toshiba Medical systems during the reception at Memon Medical Institute Hospital.

Kamal Mohiuddin CEO ICON Air, Azeem Qureshi General Manager Pearl Continental, Faisal Zahid Malik Editor, Pakistan Observer inauguratingPakistani Steaks & Watermelon Festival at Jason’s Steak House.—PO photo Sultan Chaki

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Ansar Burney Trust hadwith tedious efforts helped 34 Pakistanisreturn home after drastic efforts for theirrelease from prisons in Libya.

In this regard, eminent human rightsactivist and former Federal Minister forHuman Rights and Chairman of AnsarBurney Trust International, Ansar Burneytold Pakistan Observer that human traf-fickers had booked Pakistani citizens forItaly for hefty sums of money. The vic-tims of such human trafficking had notonly lost their money, which they hadgathered after they had sold domesticappliances and jewellery but many haddrowned in open Sea while many werecaught and jailed. Some 300 passengersin large boats had drowned after 3 boats

had caught fire. They were rescued andlater jailed by Libyan authorities. The re-lease of 34 Pakistanis was the result ofgigantic efforts of Pakistan’s Ministry ofForeign Affairs, Pakistan’s Ambassador inLibya Lt Gen (R) Javed Zia and Pakistan’sformer Federal Minister for Human Rights& Chairman of Ansar Burney Trust Inter-national, Ansar Burney. As yet, 14 of 246Pakistani prisoners arrived back in Paki-stan on Apr 29 while further 34 reachedback home on Wednesday.

Renowned human rights activist andVice Chairman of Ansar Burney TrustInternational, Syed Fahad Burneythanked Pakistan’s Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Pakistan Embassy at Tripolifor their kind assistance and support inthis regard. He also thanked Libyan Gov-ernments specially Attorney General of

Libya regarding release of jailed Paki-stanis from Libyan prisons and their safereturn to their homes.

Ansar Burney Trust was now focus-ing on release of remaining 198 Pakistaniprisoners, who would also reach homesoon. Cruel agents trafficked 246 Paki-stanis, who survived in Mediterranean-Sea last year, later arrested and sent toLibyan Prisons, while almost 1000 otherunfortunate trafficked persons drownedin the Mediterranean-Sea in betweenLibya-Malta-Italy, said Fahad Burney.

In this connection, he said, for re-maining Pakistanis, Ansar Burney TrustInternational could be contacted at AnsarBurney Trust International, 6 - HassanManzil, Arambagh Road, Karachi, Phone(021) 32623382 - 83 and email:humanrightsuk@aol.com

Ansar Burney Trust helps 34Pakistanis release from Libyan jails

KARACHI—Glowing tribute was paid to free-dom fighter Maulana Hasrat Mohani at a semi-nar organised by Sir Syed University of Engi-neering and Technology (SSUET) on Wednes-day. The speakers on the occasion, includingrenowned poet and scholar Sehar Ansari, notedscholar Dr Waqar Ahmed Rizvi and researchscholar Khawaja Razi Hyder, shed light on thelife and achievements of the great poet and free-dom fighter.

Chancellor SSUET, Engr Mohammed AdilUsman, who chaired the seminar, said thatMaulana Hasrat Mohani always led a simplelife-free of wants- which re-strengthened hischaracter and infused in him a spirit to live upto his convictions and support the cause of truth-fulness.

He brought awakening among Muslims ofthe sub-continent through sheer dint of his dy-namism and steered them to achieve their cher-ished goal. He played a significant role alongwith Quaid-i-Azam and participated in themovement started by the Quaid for political

emancipation of Indian Muslims and to achievea dignified and peaceful place for them in thesocio-economic structure of India. Adil Usmanobserved that Maulana Hasrat is acknowledgedas the founder of modern poetry who concen-trated mainly on the sincerity of thought andsimplicity of sentiments and diction.

Highlighting the qualities of Hasrat, re-nowned poet and writer Professor Sehar Ansarisaid that Hasrat Mohani introduced the mod-ern form of ghazal which portrayed true pic-ture of the society and experiences of real hu-man life.

Noted scholar Prof Dr Waqar Ahmed Rizvisaid Hasrat transformed ghazal on modernlines.His poetic works touched upon variety ofsubjects with vision and can be described mean-ingful and unique for reflecting the politicalatmosphere of that time.

On the occasion, research scholar KhwajaRazi Haider shed light on the life and achieve-ments of Hasrat Mohani with special referenceto his poetic contribution.—APP

Tribute paid to Hasrat Mohani

Board formed to addressissues faced by industry

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Commissioner Karachi,Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui has said “Wehave formed a coordination board hav-ing representation from the federation,Sindh government, city administrationand law enforcing agencies to effectivelyresolve problems being faced by businesscommunity. This board meets regularlyon monthly-basis and results are veryencouraging so far”.

During his visit to Karachi Chamberof Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Com-missioner Karachi asked the businesscommunity to keep close liaison withCity Administration in order to timelyresolve a number of civic issues beingfaced by businessmen.

Shoaib Siddiqui said that challengesto authority and disobedience of lawshave risen sharply amongst general pub-lic from 2001 to 2012, which has createdpublic mess in the city. “Efforts are be-

ing to put things on the right track but itwill take time”, he added. He informedthat a placement bureau has been estab-lished at Commissioner’s office to receiveapplications from unemployed youthwhile a committee has also been consti-tuted to encourage the talented sportspersons. Commissioner Karachi assuredthat ongoing campaign launched againstprofiteers would continue till commodi-ties are sold at rates fixed by the admin-istration. Speaking on the occasion,Chairman Businessmen Group andFormer President KCCI, Siraj KassamTeli underscored the need for devising aneffective system to deal with the grow-ing traffic problems, which, if effectivelyresolved, would certainly help in dealingwith other ills of the city.

Meanwhile, Karachi Tajir IttehadPresident has said Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif should eitherenforce serious measures for a real tar-geted operation in Karachi or the ongo-

ing targeted operation that was launchedfor protecting the citizens and the tradersbut was not less than a joke, should im-mediately be stopped.

It was a worrisome situation to wit-ness a delay in establishment of speedytrial anti-terrorist courts and legislationwhile despite public announcements, animpartial monitoring committee formonitoring the ongoing targeted opera-tion was seen nowhere. Continued useof illegal and unregistered mobile SIMswere still not blocked due to which livesof citizens and traders were at the mercyof extortionists, kidnappers for ransom,extortionists and target killers.

He said that government should im-pose curfew in sensitive areas and makeserious efforts for recovery of illegalweapons used in crimes while specialoperation should be launched in AfghanBasti on Super Highway where more than350, 000 Afghan nationals were residingillegally on illegally occupied land.

KARACHI—Sindh Minister for Information and Local Gov-ernment Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that the provincial gov-ernment and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB)are taking steps to overcome water shortage in the metropolis.

Sharjeel Memon presided over a meeting of the KWSBofficials on Wednesday, which was attended by MD KWSBQutbuddin Shaikh, DMD Najam Alam and other senior offi-cials.

He directed the KWSB officials to expedite action againstillegal hydrants, private pumping stations, mineral water plantsand other unauthorised water connections to check water theft.

The minister said that thousands of gallons of water hasbeen saved in a crackdown against water theft during the pastone week in Manghopir, Landhi, Korangi Industrial area,Qayumabad, Lasbela, Lyari, Hub River Road and other lo-calities. He said that the crackdown against illegal mineralwater plants and other unauthorised connections should beaccelerated.

The minister was informed that five illegal hydrants whichwere stealing 2.5 million gallons water daily from the mainwater supply line had been demolished, which included twohydrants at Al-Asif Square.—APP

Sharjeel orders crackdownon illegal mineral water plants

KMC budgetto have over

100 upliftschemes

KARACHI—AdministratorKarachi Metropolitan Corpora-tion (KMC), Rauf AkhtarFarooqui has said that more than100 development schemes,worth Rs 13 billion, including7 flyovers and 3 main arterieswould be part of the next annualbudget of the metropolis.

He was speaking at a meet-ing, held here on Wednesday toreview status of ongoing devel-opment projects and to envisageplans for coming financial year.

The administrator urged theofficials to play proactive rolefor completion of projects whiledeploring the fact that amountreleased for developmentschemes of financial year 2013-14 were not fully utilized.

He said KMC will startwork on sixth signal free corri-dor in next financial year underwhich four flyovers at Boardoffice, KDA, Water Pump andSakhi Hassan crossings(Chourangis) and Sher ShahSuri road would be con-structed.—APP

WOMEN are at increased risk of beingseriously injured during a motor vehicle accident during the second tri-

mester of pregnancy, according to a new studyfrom Canada. Pregnant women were 42 per-cent more likely to be in-volved in a motor vehicleaccident that sent them toan emergency room, com-pared to when they weren’tcarrying a child, research-ers found.

“A normal pregnancy isusually accompanied by alot of fatigue, nausea, moodfluctuations, anxieties anddistractions which may allcontribute to distracted driv-ing,” Dr. DonaldRedelmeier, the study’s leadauthor from the Universityof Toronto, told ReutersHealth. Redelmeier, who isalso an internist atSunnybrook Health Sci-ences Centre in Toronto,said he got curious about therisk of vehicle crashes during pregnancy, be-cause pregnant women would ask about thedanger in other activities, such as riding arollercoaster.

“Never once was I asked about road safetydespite it being a larger risk to mother andchild,” he said. For the new study, he and hiscolleagues analyzed data on all adult womenwho gave birth in the Canadian province ofOntario between April 2006 and March 2011.They compared the women’s crash rates be-fore and after pregnancy to see if there was adifference. Over half a million women gavebirth and accounted for about 8,000 crashes as

drivers during that time. The researchersfound that the rate of accidents was about4.6 crashes per 1,000 women before preg-nancy, compared to 7.7 crashes per 1,000women during their second trimester. The

increased risk was present re-gardless of a woman’s back-ground and demographics. Italso didn’t seem to matterwhether the woman already hadchildren. The crash rate fell be-fore delivery and continued tofall after birth, the researchersreport in the Canadian medicaljournal CMAJ. While the studycan’t say why the women’s riskof car crashes increased duringthe middle of their pregnancies,Redelmeier said it may havesomething to do with the symp-toms that result from wide fluc-tuations in hormones.

“That’s what the factoris for the neurological changes,which are usually minor, butthese minor changes can catchup to you when you’re operat-

ing a motor vehicle,” he said. Despite theincreased risk, Redelmeier added thatwomen shouldn’t stop driving, because thecrashes could be avoided by following stan-dard safety advice. That includes obeyingspeed limits, stop and yield signs.

He added that doctors should remindpregnant women during routine visits to beespecially cautious when driving. “If thereis nothing more pressing that’s the time totake a moment and mention the importanceof road safety advice,” Redelmeier said.“You don’t want any pregnant women end-ing up in my emergency department.”

Pregnancy linked tocar crash risk: Study

Paramedical workers hold a demonstration in support of their demands on Wednesday.

A view of Lahore Fort model placed at Railway Station Park.

Additional Chief Engineer LESCO Atiq Ahmad Khan called on Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar at Governor House.

OBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said thatprovision of clean drinking water to thecitizens is the responsibility of the gov-ernment.

He was presiding over a high levelmeeting regarding Saaf Pani Project, hereWednesday.

He said that government has fixed thetarget of provision of potable water toevery citizen of the province in the nextfour years.

He said that a sum of Rs. 12 billionhas been allocated in the first phase ofSaaf Pani Project under which more than1400 water filtration plants will be set upin various areas of Punjab.

The Chief Minister said that Saaf PaniProject is of vital importance as it is di-rectly linked with the health of the masses.He said that members of national and pro-vincial assembly, Muslim League-N of-fice-bearers, concerned government of-ficers and authorities of Punjab Saaf Pani

Company should move forward withmutual consultation and spare no effortfor the success of the project.

He said that in the first phase suchareas be given priority where undergroundwater is substandard. He said that arrange-ments should be made for operating wa-ter filtration plants with solar energy andthe project should be implemented expe-ditiously and in a transparent manner. Hesaid that Punjab Saaf Pani Companyshould be run on the model of Solar PowerCompany. He said that community par-ticipation is of vital importance for thesuccess of the project.

The Chief Minister further directedthat an effective monitoring system bee4voved for the implementation of SaafPani Project. He also issued instructionsfor finalizing the regulatory model till thenext meeting and said that mutual coor-dination between rural water supplyschemes and Saaf Pani Project is of vitalimportance.

The Chief Minister also issued in-structions for setting up of a committee

headed by Provincial Minister for Hous-ing and directed that it should submit rec-ommendations regarding mutual coordi-nation between rural water supplyschemes and Saaf Pani Project. He di-rected Punjab Information TechnologyBoard to prepare a digital dashboard re-garding water supply schemes so thatauthentic data could be available.

The Chief Minister also set up a com-mit-tee headed by Provincial Minister forHousing for fixing priorities with regardto installation of water filtration plants.Chairman Punjab Saaf Pani CompanyMujtaba Jamal and Chief Executive Of-ficer Farasat Iqbal gave a detailed brief-ing regarding the project.

Provincial Minister for HousingTanvir Aslam Malik, Members Nationaland Provincial Assembly, Chaudhry JafarIqbal, Muhammad Wahid Gull,Muhammad Kashif, Mehmood QadirKhan Laghari, Rana Babar Hussain, QaziAdnan Farid, Qamar-ul-Islam, secretar-ies of concerned departments and offic-ers attended the meeting.

Potable water will beavailable to every citizen

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Governor Punjab ChaudhryMuhammad Sarwar has said that late AghaShorish Kashmiri was a journalist with ideol-ogy who raised voice against cruel rulers andtraitors and his practice of journalism is like abeacon for today’s journalists.

He was addressing the book launching cer-emony of “Shorish Kashmiri Bahasiat Sahafi”by Regional Director Associated Press of Pa-kistan Dr Waqar Chaudhry at Al Raazi Hallhere on Wednesday.

PU VC Dr Mujahid Kamran, Chief Re-porter The Daily Jang Maqsood Butt, Execu-tive Editor The Daily Dunya Salman Ghani,Dr Waqar Chaudhry, Incharge Director Insti-tute of Communication Studies Dr NoshinaSalim, Chief Librarian Chaudhry MuhammadHanif, Dr Haroon Usmani, Hafeez ulllah Niazi,Mian Muhammad Saeed, Son of ShorishKashmiri Agha Masood Shorish, faculty mem-bers and a large number of students were

present on the occasion. Addressing the cer-emony, the Governor said Mr Shorish’s weekly“Chittan” was a practical example of fearlessand independent journalism. He said that MrShorish was jailed but such punishments couldnot defeat his will power and he continued withhis missionary journalism.

He said that Maulana Zafar Ali Khan wasreflected in the writings of Mr Shorish whileMr Atta ullah Shah Bukhari was reflected inhis speech.

He said that the history remembered onlythose people who served the mankind and didnot remember the people who made proper-ties. He lauded Dr Waqar Chaudhry for writ-ing excellent book on the life and services ofAgha Shorish Kashmiri.

PU VC Dr Mujahid Kamran said that AghaShorish Kashmiri was daring, patriotic andideological journalist and poet and the bestspeaker of the age. He said that the journalistsfacing specific problems today must keep inview the character of Mr Shorish.

Shorish a beaconfor today’s journalists

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Spokesman for CompactMuon Slenoid (CMS) Dr TizianoCamporesi from CERN, the renownedEuropean Organization for Nuclear Re-search probing fundamental structures ofuniverse, has said that Pakistani engi-neers, physists, software engineers andtechnicians have been “major contribu-tor” to construction of CMS and theyhave substantially worked to build, test,install and commission the project.

He said this while he was giving apresentation during a 6-member delega-tion meeting of CMS, CERN with PUVice Chancellor Prof Dr MujahidKamran and senior PU faculty members

at Committee Room of VC’s office hereon Wednesday. CMS delegation con-sisted of Mr Andrzej Charkiewicz, DrFrank Hartmann, Dr Duccio Abbaneo,Dr Paraskevas Spicas, Mr Suhail AhmedJanjua, Dr Badar Suleman and PU Reg-istrar Prof Dr Amin Ather, Prof DrKhawaja Harris Rasheed, Dr Shoukat Aliand others were also present on occasion.

The Compact Muon Solenoid(CMS) experiment is one of two largegeneral-purpose particle physics detec-tors built on the Large Hadron Collider(LHC) at CERN. The goal of CMS ex-periment is to investigate a wide rangeof physics, including the search for theHiggs boson, extra dimensions and par-ticles that could make up dark matter. Dr

Tizano said that Pakistani scientists haddeveloped detector control system andtesting of Data Quality and Monitoringis responsibility of Pakistani team. Hesaid that Pakistani team also built front-end electronics for CMS RE4 project andplaying leading role in installing andcommissioning RP4 project.

He said that his organization’s futuregoal was to investigate into dark matter,the true nature of galaxies. He said thatCERN was a global laboratory and anorganization to provide tools to acade-micians to do research on physics and toexplore nature. On this occasion, PU VCDr Mujahid Kamran gave a briefing onPunjab University and detailed researchactivities.

Pakistani scientists playingleading role in CERN

No compromiseon repair of canals

OBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Provincial Ministerfor Irrigation & Chairman PIDAMian Yawar Zaman has said thatno compromise will be made inthe repair and rehabilitationwork of canals and stern depart-mental action will be takenagainst the officials showingnegligence in this regard.

He stated this during in-spection of brick lining ofShahdara distributory hereWednesday. Member ProvincialAssembly & Parliamentary Sec-retary Ali Asghar Manda, Ad-ditional Secretary IrrigationSaleem Malik, Chief EngineerLahore Zone Mohabbat KhanBaloch besides concerned offic-ers of Irrigation Department andNESPAK also accompanied theMinister.

Expressing dissatisfactionover the ongoing constructionwork on Shahdara distributory,the Minister ordered AdditionalSecretary (Operations) to con-duct inquiry and submit reportwithin seven days. He directedofficers of Irrigation Depart-ment to supervise the repair andconstruction work of canals formaintaining standard. He saidthat payments should not bemade against unsatisfactorywork. He further directed thatstrict legal action would betaken against the concerned of-ficers and contractors for unsat-isfactory construction activities.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Advisor to Chief MinisterPunjab on Health Kh Salman Rafiquehas said that strict accountability systemis being introduced in the Health Depart-ment and third party evaluation of allprocurements of medicines, biomedicalequipments and machines would be con-ducted. He said that a transparent ac-countability system would be set up forthis purpose.

He said this while addressing a semi-nar in connection with the InternationalNursing Day at Shalimar Trust Hospitalhere Wednesday.

On this occasion, trustee of the hos-pital Ch. Shahid Hussain, Chief Execu-tive Brig. (R) Anees Ahmed, CEO Prof.Ahmed Waseem Yousaf were alsopresent.

Principal of Nursing CollegeShalimar Trust Hospital Irshad Javedgave a presentation on the issues of gen-der discrimination, difficulties faced bythe nurses during duty hours and othernursing related problems. She said thatequal rights should be given to the nursesin health sector.

She demanded that equal opportu-nities for promotion, higher educationand conducive working environment

also be provided to the nurses. She saidthat due to overload and extra burden ofthe patients, some time quality of workis compromised and unpleasant incidentsoccurred with the attendants of the pa-tients. She stressed that the number ofnurses should be increased according tothe bed strength in the hospitals.

Addressing the seminar, Kh. SalmanRafique said that nursing is a very re-spectable profession all over the worldand it is a very sacred service to the hu-manity. He said that provision of duerespect to the nurses in the society is thejoin responsibility of the government aswell as society.

Strict accountabilitysystem in Health Dept