The Spokesman

SNEAK PEEKThe real powerbehind Malik Riaz

We might blame thepoliticians for bucklingunder the might of MalikRiaz but the real powerbehind the man is themilitary brass. No

question about that. He learnt the ropesof the contracting trade early on when heworked as a clerk at Maintenance andEngineering Services (MES), a civilianbranch of the Army that renovates andrepairs houses. That’s where he honed hisskills in the art of ‘wheeling-dealing,’writes Amir Mateen in his columnPolitically Incorrect.

Page 03

CDA-police ʻtug of warʼover illegal Afghan basti

When it comes to theaccountability session fornot conducting anoperation against theillegal Afghan basti inSector I/11, the Capital

Development Authority (CDA) and theIslamabad police have indulge into a tugof war by throwing responsibility offailure on each other’s shoulders.

Page 02

SC seeks legal opinion toinvolve Gilani in Haj scam

The Supreme Court onMonday directed the LawMinistry to send its legalopinion without anyfurther delay to theFederal Investigation

Agency (FIA) over involving former primeminister Yusuf Raza Gilani in theinvestigation of Haj corruption scam inlight of the constitutional immunityunder Article 248 of the Constitution.

Page 04

ASWJ to show power inAhmedpur East

Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat(ASWJ) is hell-bent toshow its power inAhmedpur East despitethe fact that the Punjabgovernment barred the

outfit from holding a rally on Sunday.Page 05

Life of Pi andArgo win big at Oscars

"Argo," the BenAffleck-directedthriller based on thetrue story of the daringrescue of six Americanshiding in Iran, took

home the Oscar for best picture. Italso won for best adapted screenplay."Life of Pi" had a big night as well,collecting four Oscars including bestdirector for Ang Lee.

Page 10

Last-wicket Australia standtakes Test into final day

India's spinners grabbednine wickets for 175 runsin 65.5 overs to set uphopes of a four-dayvictory, but were leftfrustrated by a stubborn

last-wicket stand of 40 between MoisesHenriques and Nathan Lyon.

Page 11

VOL V, NO. 313 I RABI-US-SANI 15, 1434 I www.thespokesman.pk I PRICE RS. 10/-

TUESDAYFEBRUARY 26, 2013

ZARDARI OUTSMARTSNAWAZ IN SOUTH PUNJAB

PG I 03TODAY’S WEATHER

A couple of showersHIGH: 22 LOW: 11

PG I 06

RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD DAILY PAGES 12

THE GOOD AND BADTHINGS ABOUT INDIA– ASMA SHIRAZI

PG I 06

THE BLACKBERRYSECURITY SCANDAL– ATHAR MIAN

MIRZA KHURRAM SHAHZAD

ISLAMABAD: Rising sectarianviolence seems to have put theBalochistan insurgency issue on theback burner, encouraging securityofficials to claim "the insurgency isgetting under control."

Discussions with various civilian andmilitary officials in and around Quettasuggest that the authorities believe theyare now in control against the Balochrebels in the province, although in factmost of them have fled to theirhideouts in 'farrari camps' establishedin the mountains from where they

launch occasional surprise attacks inremote areas.

A senior government official claimedthat some of the top leaders of Balochmilitant groups have contacted thegovernment to surrender their arms inreturn for benefits. The governmenthad recently announced a 10,000rupee monthly stipend to each Balochrebel as an incentive for rehabilitationin society."We have been contacted byaround 80 Baloch rebels who want tosurrender and become normal,peaceful citizens," said the seniorofficial in the province.

"They have set some conditions to

keep their surrender a secretbecause they fear a backlash fromfellow militants," said the official,adding that the returning Balochrebels have requested not to beshownin the media."We havesanctioned funds to the deputycommissioners of districts wherethey will surrender and haveauthorised them to deal with theissue," said the official.

According to an official estimate,there are around 3,000 Balochmilitants who have sought refuge in 88farari camps in the mountains andattack security forces from time to

time. However, government officialshoped that targeted operations willhelp reduce not only the number ofattacks but number of militants also,very soon. "The attacks on gaspipelines, against the Frontier Crops,police and Punjab settlers are not verycommon anymore," he said adding,"Iam not saying that the militants are notactive any more, they still operate buttheir efficiency has been reduced."

He said that many criminal groupsand property cartels were alsoinvolved in violence against settlersfrom other provinces but thesefactors didn't exist anymore."Welaunched a crackdown against thosewho were forcing Punjabis and

other settlers out. These criminalgroups have been eliminated now,"he said. "They do attack our forceswhenever we conduct an operationbut that is an exception. Theseattacks and counter attacks willcontinue for a few years," the officialmaintained. A senior official ofFrontier Crops (FC) said that Balochmilitants' actions have been reducedto attacks on particular days."Theytry to create some major news anddefame Pakistan on some specificdays like August 14, March 23,August 26 and November 21 whenthey commemorate the deathanniversary of their leaders NawabAkbar Bugti and BalaachMarri,"

said the official who just returnedfrom his posting in Kohlu.

The officer, who reportedly madethree main insurgent commanderssurrender, said the Baloch militantsare foreign trained and funded, butthey were weakening weakeningbecause many of them want toreturn to their homes. The officialssaid three main Baloch liberationgroups were active in six areas ofBalochistan only. BalochistanLiberation Army (BLA) has beenlimited to Dera Bugti, BalochRepublican Army to Kallat andKhuzdar and Baloch StudentsOrganisation Azad (BSO-Azad) toMaskhel, Turbat and Washak.

Insurgency takes a back seat in Balochistan� 80 Baloch militants to surrender as forces tighten control

RAWALPINDI: Rickshaw drivers park their rickshaws on Liaquat Road during a demonstration for their demands. –INP

OUR STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE: Two leading oppositionparties, the PML-N and the JUI-F,have agreed to work together forcommon objectives in the upcominggeneral elections.

The agreement took place onMonday when Maulana FazlurRehman called on Nawaz Sharif atJatti Umra to extend an invitationfor an All Parties Conference onpeace talks in FATA.

Speaking at a joint pressconference, the PML-N chiefannounced that both parties haveagreed to collaborate in theupcoming elections. He said theparties would constitute twocommittees to decide on the ways ofcooperation in the upcoming polls.

Sharif said his party had alsoaccepted the invitation by the JUI-Fto participate in the APC to be heldin Islamabad on Feb 28. “Bothparties also discussed the caretakersetup. All parties need to beconsulted before an interimgovernment is appointed.” Speakingto reporters, Maulana Fazl said thecrises faced by the country could notbe averted by the efforts of just onesingle party. He stressed upon all theparties to unite together to face the

challenges. He also confirmed thatthe committees would decide on theways of how both parties couldcooperate in the polls.

As per Fazl, country’s leadershipwas in need for consensus across theboard. He also emphasised on theneed for free, fair and transparentelections for the safety and securityof Pakistan. The JUI-F delegationalso included Maulana Amjad Khanand Riaz Durrani. Punjab ChiefMinister Mian Shahbaz Sharif,Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, and IqbalZafar Jhagra were also present atthe meeting.

TTPʼs ʻguarantorsʼ to gather at APC

Nawaz, Fazlagree on pollcollaboration

TAHIR NIAZ

ISLAMABAD: They started at bitterterms but came in agreement as theygot close to the passage of the DefenceHousing Authority Islamabad Bill,2013, to provide for establishing theDefence Housing Authority,Islamabad.

The National Assembly on Mondayunanimously passed the Bill whichwill extend to the specific area inIslamabad Capital Territory anddeemed to have taken effect on andfrom the August 15, 2010. The Bill hashad been a source of controversybetween the PPP and the PML-N forthe last couple of years but, according

to the former, it convinced the Armyleadership to accept amendments inthe proposed Bill so as to make it more‘legal’. Opposition leader Ch. Nisar AliKhan, speaking before the passage ofthe Bill, said the pre-amended bill wasaimed at setting up a state-within-state to which his party had decided toblock physically. He told the Housethat his party engaged formerSecretary Defence on the issue andconvinced him on the amendmentsproposed by the PML-N.

According to the Bill, the Authorityshall adhere to the master plan ofIslamabad while designing, planningand executing a scheme in thespecified area, and ensure that all

public roads and revenue paths leadingto and from the adjoining areas andaccess to graveyards shall, as far aspossible, be maintained and no changeor alteration shall be made in suchroads, paths or access except with priorapproval of the government. Subject tothe financial viability of a scheme, theAuthority shall reserve in a scheme inthe specified area, at least fifty percentquota for the bereaved family ofmartyrs, war-injured, disabled andjunior ranks from soldiers to juniorcommissioned officers of the defenceforces of Pakistan.

The House also adopted anamendment moved by the PML-Nmember and omitted ‘serving Lt.

General’ to be nominated by the Chiefof Army Staff” from the position of“Vice Chairman” of the GoverningBody to be headed by the SecretaryMinistry of Defence as Chairman.

Under the law, any personaggrieved by an order ofcancellation or imposition of fine oran order of the Executive Body mayfile an appeal before the GoverningBody within 15 days of thecommunication of the order and itsdecision shall be final.Furthermore, all actions done ortaken by the DHA Islamabadbefore the commencement of thisAct shall be deemed to be validlydone. The DHA Islamabad shall

conduct its activities in accordancewith the provisions of the Act andall existing laws applicable withinCapital Territory.

Earlier, PPP MNA from Sindh, SyedZafar Ali Shah who recentlyannounced joining the PML-Ncriticized both the PPP and MQM for‘playing with the sentiments of theirrespective electorates’ and befoolingpeople on their alliance amidstfeminine shouting of “lota, lota”.

MQM staged a token walk out formthe house against the statement ofSindh education minister PirMazharul Haq. The hosue also passedThe Anti-terrorism (secondamendment) Bill, 2013.

Controversial DHA Bill passed unanimously in NA

OUR STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI: The ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP) hasheld that the process of delimitationin Karachi was not possible in theabsence of fresh census.

Submitting a petition to theSupreme Court it also sought a stayorder in the apex court’s order for thenew delimitation in the metropoliscity. The ECP, in its petition filed withthe apex court in connection with thesuo moto case of Karachi law andorder situation, said under theconstitution the process ofdelimitation can only be carried outafter a recently conducted census. Thecounsel for the ECP, in the petition,stated that the national or provincialassemblies’ elections did notconstitute the subject matter of thesuo moto case nor was the matter ofdelimitation of constituencies directlylinked to it.

It was of the view that the courtverdict issued on October 6, 2011 didnot order carrying out demarcation ofconstituencies in Karachi. Itcontended, according to Clause 51

(Section 3, 5) of the Constitution, thedelimitation of constituencies can onlybe carried out on the basis of a freshlyconducted census.

The Chief ElectionCommissioner’s review petition wasadmitted in the Supreme CourtKarachi Registry on Mondaywhereas the MQM withdrew its twopetitions against the delimitationprocess. A larger bench of the apexcourt headed by Justice AnwerZaheer Jamali resumed the hearing

over Karachi law and order situationat the Karachi registry.

Barrister Dr Farogh A. Nasim,representing the MQM, withdrew theparty’s petitions submitted in thecourt against the delimitation ofKarachi’s constituencies before a freshcensus was conducted. He was of theview that the delimitation of Karachi’sconstituencies was not possible beforea fresh census was conducted. Thebench adjourned the hearing untiltoday (Feb 26).

Karachi delimitations notpossible before census: EC

� Committees to decide on ways of cooperation

JI sees no allianceat national level LAHORE: Amir of JamaateIslami (JI) Munawar HassanMonday said he does not see amajor alliance on national levelfor next general elections.Talking to reporters after acondolence reference, organizedby Islamabad High BarAssociation for Qazi HussainAhmed and Professor GhafoorAhmed, Munawar said althoughMaulana Fazlur Rehman hadrestored MMA, but there is noone in it except him. -INP

LAHORE: Nawaz Sharif and Fazlur Rehman addressing a press conference. –INP

No party office for dual nationalsISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) hasannounced that dual nationals cannot hold any post within apolitical party. According to the ECP, the same rules which applyfor parliamentarians under the Political Order 2002 are alsoapplicable on individuals seeking party posts. The ECP wasreviewing a petition filed against the agreement signed betweenthe government and Tahirul Qadri. Petitioner Engineer Jalil Malikin his stance contested that there was no legal bearing of theagreement and under the constitution a dual national could nothold a political party post. The ECP said Tahirul Qadri did nothold any position within the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT),following which the petition was withdrawn. Meanwhile, the ECPdismissed a petition pertaining to the ineligibility of Sardar YarMuhamamd Rind. –STAFF REPORTER

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Students stage play at PNCA

ISLAMABAD: Lahore GrammarSchools (LGS) Dramatics Societystaged a drama, The Sound of Music,at the Pakistan National Council ofthe Arts (PNCA) that enthralled theaudience as the children surprisedthem with their raw emotions.Shameen Tariq played Maria, thefemale lead in the Rodgers andHammerstein musical and thewoman on whose life the play wasbased, a nun whose love for singingand dancing troubles the sisters at theabbey, who in turn send her off to thehumour-less family to take on the roleof governess to the seven children of awidowed captain. The petite Maria,with an almost text book Britishaccent, exhibited strike similarity toher character – made famous by JulieAndrews in the Academy Awardwinning 1965 film version of the playas she delivered dialogues with acandour that touched the audienceand transported its imagination muchbeyond the parish. �INP

Domestic violence aserious issue: reportISLAMABAD: Domestic violence isa serious issue that has a long lastingimpact on women and children oftenrepeat the violence they see at home,according to the fresh report of theAurat Foundation, lauched here onMonday. The study, ResearchingAspects of Gender-based Violence inPakistan, shows that householdviolence, women and girls trafficking,and customary practices are causinggender based violence. Nearly 100percent of Pakistanis are consideringgender-based violence as a seriousissue confronting the society thatcould further deteriorate thewomen’s present conditions in thecountry, according to the survey. Thestudy depicted closing gender gap,strives to facilitate behaviouralchanges, their access to informationand resources. �PR

Polyclinic renovationplan on hold ISLAMABAD: The decision of theElection Commission regardingrestriction on re-distribution offunds has held back the renovationplan of Polyclinic Hospital. Thehospital administration has decidedto contact the Election Commissionthrough the Planning Commissionfor release of funds. Sources saidthat the government planned forbuilding a five-storey building inArgentine Park located adjacent tothe present building of thePolyclinic, but CDA refused to lendthe park to the hospital. Later on,the Election Commission alsoobjected to constructing thebuilding. �ONLINE

Pak-China Centre to havecinema hallISLAMABAD: The Pak-ChinaFriendship Centre which has beenconstructed in collaboration withChina at the cost of three billionrupees will have a state-of-the-artcinema hall which will screenforeign films including fromHollywood and India. �ONLINE

SALMAN ABBAS

ISLAMABAD: When it comes to theaccountability session for notconducting an operation against theillegal Afghan basti in Sector I/11, theCapital Development Authority(CDA) and the Islamabad police haveindulge into a tug of war by throwingresponsibility of failure on each other’sshoulders.

On Monday, the sub-committee ofthe National Assembly StandingCommittee on Cabinet Division takenup the matter and expressed

annoyance as to why the CDA has notimplemented its directions forevacuating the illegal Kachi Abaadi inSector I/11.

Instead of acknowledging theirfailure, CDA Estate Member ShaistaSohail stated that due to the lack ofcooperation by the localadministration and the IslamabadPolice, they could not carry out theoperation. She said that the policereached the site for conductingoperation more than five hours latefrom the fixed time.

Whereas, the police officials claimed

that they were reached on the spot intime, adding that they first want toclear the area of criminal elements.Upon which, the committee directedthe police to conduct search operationof the area. However, the committeechaired by Hameedullah Jan Afridisummoned the CDA chairman,inspector general of the IslamabadPolice and the chief commissioner onTuesday (today) to fix the time anddate for operation.

Sharing his personal grievances,Hameedullah Jan said that thenegligence of authorities concerned

was falling heavy on him as somecircles has started alleging that he(Hameedullah) has made consensuswith the CDA and Afghans due towhich the operation has been delayedagainst the Afghan colony. OnJanuary 28, the committee had set adeadline of February 11 for CDA toevacuate the land as the sector hadbeen allotted to the low-salariedemployees.

Consequently, the CDA has startedcorrespondence with all thestakeholders including the police toextend their cooperation to execute

the task. In the past too, the CDA hadplanned the operations which werehalted on intervention of UNHCR asthe colony also housed a number ofAfghan refugees. The Sector I-11 hadbeen launched some 23 years ago andthe allottees, majority of thosecomprises low-salaried employees,had been yearning to have possessionof their plots.

However, the committee directedthe heads of all three departmentsincluding police, CDA and the capitaladministration for sorting out thematter on priority basis.

CDA-police ‘tug of war’ over illegal Afghan basti

ISLAMABAD: A scene from the play “Sound of Music” staged by students of Lahore Grammar School at PNCA. �INP

OUR STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Mondayunanimously passed three different educationalbills for establishment of three universitiesincluding My University, South Asian StrategicStability Institute (SASSI) University and the Dar-ul-Madina International University in Islamabad.

As adopting the move of these private memberbills by chief-whip in Senate Islam-ud-DinSheikh, the upper house passed My UniversityIslamabad Bill 2013, South Asian StrategicStability Institute (SASSI) University IslamabadBill 2013 and the Dar-ul-Madina InternationalUniversity Islamabad bill 2013.

The main objective for the establishment ofthese three universities in the capital territory is

to contribute to higher education learning bypromoting innovation, research, training andlearning in the fields of both social and naturalsciences. It is worth mentioning that the idea ofestablishment of My University was drive by ladyparliamentarian Yasmeen Rehman from rulingPakistan People’s Party, SASSI University byMaria Sultan, a specialist in South Asian issues.

Maria Sultan has also worked as the researchassistant in the Department of Peace Studies withDr Shaun Gregory on the nuclear command andcontrol issues in South Asia. While the idea for theestablishment of Dar-ul-Madina University wasinitiated by Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qadri, theleader of the Tanzeem Ahle-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat.

On a motion moved by Syed Tahir HussainMashhadi regarding existing public transport

system in the capital, Babar Awan said due to lack ofeffective planning the traffic jam incidents wereincreasing day by day in the city. He proposed thatan independent Transport Authority should be setup to overcome the traffic problems. HumayunKhan Mandokhel proposed that a modern publictransport system should be initiated in the capitalcity to provide cheap transport facility to the masses.

Mushahid Hussain Syed said that provision of astandardised public transport system wasimperative for putting the country on the path ofdevelopment. Ilyas Bilour said that the publictransport was very important and it should be runin the federal capital as well as other cities of thecountry. The chair constituted a committeeconsisting of members from both sides of thedivide to look into the matter.

Senate passes bills for threeuniversities in capital

OUR STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD: Justice Ejaz Afzal Khanof the Supreme Court urged judges toplay their role pivotal to maintainbalance in the society, and said that therole of the judges in any society wassimilar that of a tight-rope artist.

He was speaking to the participants ofa weeklong orientation course on sessiontrial and appreciation of evidence foradditional district and sessions judgesfrom all over Pakistan including AzadKashmir and Gilgit Baltitsan on Mondayat the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA).

While sitting on the bench, JusticeEjaz said the judges should not forgetthat their role was pivotal to put thesociety on the path to peace andprogress. “Holy Quran is fountain ofjustice and it is all inclusive and allencompassing,” he said. He also said theholy book contains all areas of justiceand social justice and focuses on family,which forms the basis of social justice.

“Everything is in the Holy Quran whatwe have read and learnt from this holybook of Almighty Allah,” he said, addingthat “once we learn to treat peoplearound us fairly, justly and truthfully inaccordance with the holy book, our taskis accomplished.” About theadministration of justice, he said that theadministration of justice was notconfined to the courts only but it wasalso indispensable in all walks of life.

“We have to be just, fair andtransparent in all walks of life,” he said,adding that it was pitiable that neitheras Muslims nor as the citizens ofPakistan “we give our evidence fairly,justly and honestly.” FJA spokesmanHashim Abro said that 18 additionaldistrict and sessions judges wereundergoing this weeklong training at theacademy including two female judgesfrom Pakhtunkhwa district judiciary.

‘Judges canensure abalancedsociety’

Sophia portrays essence of nature, life in her artwork

� New institutions include My University, SASSI University and Dar-ul-Madina International

OUR STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD: Some minor flaws in themaster plan of federal capital have beenresulting in the major risk for city’senvironment as, although, two sectorsincluding I-9 and I-10 have been earmarkedfor manufacturing industrial activity underthe plan but it does not prescribe the type ofindustries to be developed in these areas.

It is learnt that there are seven kinds offactories operating in the industrial areawhich include steel melting units, re-rolling mills, flourmills, oil and gheeindustries, marble cutting and polishingunits, pharmaceutical firms andmetalworking and engineering units. Mostof these industries create hazardous smokeand also harmful for the environment.

The matter was also taken up in theSenate Standing Committee on ClimateChange couple of days ago in which the

Capital Development Authority (CDA) hadsubmitted that the civic body has takensome steps with the help of the PakistanEnvironmental Protection Agency (PEPA)and the Islamabad Chamber of Commerceand Industries (ICCI) to improve theenvironmental condition.

However, CDA and PEPA are nowstruggling hard to get implement itsstandards introduced for all the industriesregarding noise, vibration and smoke etc,putting the environment of the capital cityat risk. An official in PEPA, on the conditionof anonymity, told The Spokesman that outof the seven steel melting units, only a fewmanaged to acquire the anti-pollutionequipment which have now becomepartially non-operational for lack of propermaintenance and other problems.

“The remaining units are operatingcontinuously without observing any safetymeasures to minimize the risk of air and

water pollution,” he said. He said that theowners use anti-pollution equipment at thetime of the visits of the officials concerned,but, unfortunately such visits were very rare.These units produce metal dust, slag andgaseous emissions besides dischargeuntreated effluents into the main drains thateventually fall into the River Soan.

Hamid Raza, a resident of a nearby area,said, “I have suffered from breathingproblem due to the pollution from theseindustries.” He said that his breathingproblem had aggravated with the level ofthe dust particles in the air. He said he hadhis own house, so he could not change theplace. “I made several attempts to sale thehouse, but people offer very low price dueto these industrial units,” he said.

Hamid said he and many other residentsrequested the EPA and the CDA to takeadequate measures, but all their effortsproved fruitless.

SALMAN ABBAS

ISLAMABAD: Departmental politics in the CapitalDevelopment Authority (CDA) have now not been limitedto the low rank employees of the authority as a large numberof senior CDA officials also jumped into the same activitiesand the two groups of civic body officials have startedlobbying to participate in the elections for CDA OfficersWelfare Association (COWA).

Sources privy to the developments told The Spokesmanthat previously there was only union of the senior officialsbut now two groups with the names of ‘founder group’ and‘defender group’ have come forward to participate in theelections of COWA which are likely to be held in the nextmonth. An official of CDA said that two different memberswere also backing the each group.

He said that the whole scenario may create the rift amongsenior officials of the authority which would also affect theperformance of the civic body. Apparently, the allegations ofillegal practices on DDG Municipal Administration werealso the major reason behind the move of introducing newofficers union by some CDA officials.

The official said that a tug of war situation has been createdbetween the officials as Defenders group also moved anapplication with the concerned committee to delay theelections and date of submitting nomination papers. Theofficial said that February 27 was fixed as last date forsubmitting the nomination papers but Defenders groupconsidered the time not enough for them to complete theircampaign.

Some senior CDA officials in Founders group includedMansoor Khan, Malik Aulya Khan, Rafaqat Ali whereas theDefenders group comprised of Khyzer Hayat Satti, ZiaurRehman Toor, Rawal Khan Maitla etc.

Two groups tocontest OfficersAssociation polls

Capital master plan

Minor flaws result in major risks� Industrial activities in I-9 and I-10 proving environmental hazard

SHANEL KHALIQ

ISLAMABAD: A magnificent collection of 60 paintings by SophiaHamid was set up to adorn the walls of the art gallery of Rawalpindi ArtsCouncil on Monday.

The exhibition was inaugurated by prominent artist Jamal Shah alongwith Rawalpindi Arts Council Resident Director Waqar Ahmed.Speaking on the occasion, Jamal Shah said that Sofia’s paintingsportrayed the essence of nature and life, with a marvelous choice ofcolours used. He applauded the Rawalpindi Arts Council for holding theexhibition adding the value to the collection of artwork that the twincities produced. On the occasion, Waqar Ahmed said that theRawalpindi Arts Council holds a tradition of encouraging budding talentand provides them a platform to display their creativity and work. “Thisexhibition has provided the art lovers of the city with an opportunity towitness artistic brilliance,” he said.

Visitors also appreciated the paintings most of which capturelandscapes along with subjects of everyday life. They have an abstractfeel to them highlighting the thoughts of the painter and their uniquecolour scheme adds to their charm.

ISLAMABAD: Over 700 students fromacross Pakistan will get prizes for theiroutstanding performance demonstratedduring the National Inter-Schools MathOlympiad (ISMO) held recently.

The Pakistan Seeks Al-Khwarizmi washeld on January 27, 2013, at all the branchesof Pak-Turk Schools across the countrysimultaneously in which some 16500students from 500 different schoolsparticipated. A total of 722 students fromclass 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th from differentschools will get rewards for their incrediblepotential in the prize distribution ceremonyscheduled at New Campus of the Pak-Turkat Sector H-8 tomorrow (Wednesday).

Top government functionaries, officials,educationists and parents of the studentswill participate in the award distributionceremony. �INP

PAL grieved by Dr Nazir deathISLAMABAD: Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL)Chairman Abdul Hameed has expressed deep grief overthe death of Dr Nazir Qaiser, prominent intellectual, andHafeez Siddiqui, a famous poet, and mother of MehboobZafar. The PAL chairman and PAL Director GeneralZaheer-ud-Din Malik prayed for the salvation for the soulsof deceased persons and patience for their siblings. �PR

Students to get prizesat Math Olympiad

We might blamethe politiciansfor buckling

under the might of MalikRiaz but the real powerbehind the man is themilitary brass. Noquestion about that.

He learnt the ropes ofthe contracting trade earlyon when he worked as aclerk at Maintenance andEngineering Services(MES), a civilian branchof the Army that

renovates and repairs houses. That’s where hehoned his skills in the art of ‘wheeling-dealing.’In due time, he made enough money to becomea contractor with the same MES, this time‘greasing’ the palms of the junior officials thathe had trained himself in all shady things. Theygrew in career as he grew in wealth or may bethe other way around. His level of theinteraction has sky-rocketed since then.

The former MES clerk now has among hisemployees many retired generals. We are toldhe enjoys it when some of them carry his bagshamelessly. During the initial days of theinfamous Arsalan Iftikhar case, a photographshowed two retired generals exiting theSupreme Court after submitting statements onhis behalf. One was the former mighty in-chargeof military’s political muscle, Major General(retd) Ehtesham Zameer, who ran the politicalsection of the ISI during the Musharrafgovernment. And with a ruthless abandon Imust say. The other was the top man ofmilitary’s public relations, Major General (Retd)Shaukat Sultan. Perhaps the job descriptionremains the same but this time for a differentboss and a really different salary package. Nowonder, Malik brags so often that his files neverstop.

That one picture captures the state of affairs inthe Army, which continues to lose respectbecause of its partnership with one man.

The former MES clerk seems anuncrowned Field Marshal in terms ofthe power that he enjoys in allthings related to the Brass.

One two-star general, whilehe was Director General ofWelfare and Rehabilitation(under which comes DHAIslamabad), constructed apalatial house on a hilltopfor himself not in the DHAbut in Bahria Town nextdoor. The house is so grandthat people come to see itas a tourist attraction. Thisis not to cast any aspersionsbut it was under his tenurethat the DHA and Bahriagot into the mostcontroversial joint ventures.No proof but in such positionsone always enjoys somediscretion.

Malik was smart enough to realisein the 1990s, when the khakisengineered the fall of a government everytwo years, that the real power, among thethree most powerful proverbial As in Pakistan,lies with the Army. He knew that having theuniforms on your back is the safest bet in town.

Turns out, that's exactly what Malik did. Hesold the land to the DHA after grabbing itforcefully and illegally from not so powerful andinfluential individuals or housing societyowners. Once under the control of the military,he knew there was no way it could come back tobite him. After all who would take the militaryto court even if DHA Islamabad, or some partsof it, are built on Qabza land.

The case of 2880 kanals owned by RevenueEmployees Cooperative Housing Society(RECHS) should explain. The society land wasproposed to be converted to Phase-9 of BahriaTown, and members of the RECHS would havebeen accommodated accordingly. But once themerger was complete, thanks to Pervaiz Elahi,

Malik Riazsold it to the DHA.

It has taken years of litigation and effort by theaffectees to pressurise Bahria Town tocompensate through the courts. Many remainwithout compensation even after nine years.

Malik Riaz knew he had to keep generals inhis pocket, along with the politicians and othercivilians. That's why most of the generals counton his vast empire for future employment post-retirement.

Interestingly, one of the recently retiredgeneral - of the NLC scam fame - was theGarrison Commander in Lahore when Malikbuilt The Mall of Lahore, a high rise, poshluxury apartment building smack in the centerof Cantonment and right opposite the otherwisered-zoned Corps Commander’s House. To this

day, people are amazed that how thisconstruction was allowed at such a sensitive

sight. He developed a friendship with thetwo-star general way back then and as it

turns out (some say may be it wasorchestrated) that the same gentlemanwas promoted and posted as theQMG in Rawalpindi who heads allof the army's housing and landrelated projects.

He is definitely an expert inknowing which hands to grease.Stories of many generals literallyeating from Malik’s hands aboundand they are not confined to Armymesses. Also affected are lots mid-ranking officers, retired soldiers

and, painful for the rank and file, thefamilies of the martyred.It’s a Rs 62 billion scam. The story

goes that the DHA Valley scheme wasannounced with lots of fanfare. People

bought free forms in black because of thehype. The scheme offered plots measuring

150 and 240 square yards to retired officers,JCOs and the families of martyred soldiers.

But the issue is that ‘the land ain’t there.’ Theacquisition of around 80,000 kanal required forDHA Valley is far from completion. Those whogot cheated include 110,000 civilians, 41,000serving and retired military officers, jawans andthe families of martyrs. I have seen peoplecrying for the loss of their life-long savings.Enters Malik Riaz, the realtor tycoon wascontracted to develop the scheme. You may notbelieve this but the Don was paid Rs 62 billionin advance. The DHA Valley is yet to acquireland but the money for its development waspaid against all legal advice. Isn’t it mind-boggling?

Those who lost the money are foundappealing to the Chief of Army Staff throughpress releases in newspaper offices. The COASseems as helpless as anybody else before thisformer MES clerk. You have credit to theman.


Venom Inc. This should not beheld against me in a court oflaw as I solemnly declare that

these are absolute lies, dirtywhispers and wild speculation that Ihave heard while crawling in thedark power corridors of the creepyCapital. You will believe them atyour own risk Shh...If you havevenom to spill please don’t hesitateto share with us on our blog atwww.thespokesman.pk

POWER ALLEYS|

Mansoor Ali Khan�@MansoorGeoNews Ahmed Ludhyanvi says LeJhs provided electoral help toKhurshid Shah, Qamar

Zaman, Jamshed Dasti & Shah MehmoodQureshi also #PPP #PTI #LeJKamran Shafi �@KamranShafi46 There goes #ahsaniqbal again putting theblame for Shia killing on Khufia haat.#LUDICROUSNONSENSEMurtaza Solangi �@murtazasolangi Mujeeburehman Shaami says with Afghanendgame around the corner Gen Kayanishould be given a year's extension or assignedan important role.Murtaza Solangi �@murtazasolangi Mujibur Rehman Shaami says he & somejournos had almost a 5 hour meeting withGeneral Kayani yesterday & calls him anextraordinary person!

Despite federal cabinet’s approval togrant Most Favoured Nation (MFN)Status to India, Khakis seems to have

put their foot down on this move andunderstandably so especially when Indiansseems to have pressed on the firing pedalhard from across the Kashmiri LoC. After allwe have been captive to threat perceptionsfor almost six decades now so how canKhakis allow this to happen when nouniform has a favourable stake in peace withthe neighbour. If Mian brothers and theirsiblings are taking advantage of such anopening and many of the cohorts of AZ arepreparing to enter the venture, how canmajority of the Khakis, with the exception ofchief ’s brethren allow such a deal to passwithout any share. Involvement of manyserving and some close coup generals inOnions and Vegetable trade between Indiaand Pakistan through Wahga border duringMusharaff tenure remains an open secretand as the saying goes that it’s hard to resistthe temptation especially when the offer istoo lucrative.

On the other hand many influentialdiplomats confided that recent Indianaggression has nothing to do with Pakistaniposition on Kashmir rather it has to do morewith the US instigation to remind Pak armythat giving Gwadar to China or movingahead with Iranian gas pipeline can stretchthem beyond their imagination on northern,western and even eastern borders.Remember our Khakis have never been soexhausted as they have in the past ten yearswhile fighting a war blindfolded and most ofthe past two years with a sectarian strifewithin its ranks. Though Khakis are happynow that information sharing has beenrestored by NATO command in Afghanistanbut the fact remains that still they do notknow when a drone is going to hit tribalareas and where—meaning thereby thateven their ‘strategic assets’ are no more safe.More important is that they cannot evenshare this ignorance with the nation whichhas been kept in the dark for over a decadenow about the terms of a war which belongsto no one but military manufacturingcorporate entities.

Most Favourite? No way!

� Former MES clerk's rise to stardom

PoliticallyIncorrect

Amir Mateen

GHAZANFAR ABBASS

Avaried reaction has been observed in theSeraiki belt after the commission on newprovinces, formed through a presidential

order, submitted its recommendations beforethe National Assembly and Senate, while aSenate standing committee approved the same.And it seems that the political scenario is alsogoing to change in the coming days after thelatest developments.

According to serious political and mediacircles, the PPP’s tactics have not only madeanxious the Seraiki nationalists but also pushedthe PML-N, the country’s second largest party,towards irreparable loss. This strategy canrightly be described as a success for the PPP.

It is a matter of great satisfaction for the PPPthat the writers, intellectuals and poets attachedwith the cultural and linguistic movement work-ing for the rights of Seraiki people have laudedthe process. Intellectuals active in the culturaland linguistic movement say the PPP’s practicalsteps taken to establish a Seraiki province on ageographical basis given the fact that the de-mand for creation of Bahawalpur and Koh-i-Suleman provinces started surfacing when thePPP decided to take the issue. These demandswere raised by those elements who do not wantto see bifurcation of Punjab.

The parliamentary commission’s report hasshattered the dream of PML-N to divide theSeraikis by forming the Bahawalpur province.It does not end there, as the PML-N isseemingly encircled by multiple problems insouth Punjab. It hasn’t been able so far to findany winnable candidate for the six National

Assembly seats in Rahim Yar Khan. Perhaps,that is why the PML-N invited PML-F chief PirPagara to visit the district in an attempt toattract the voters.

On the other hand, Pir Pagara also heldmeetings with the local rivals of PunjabGovernor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood andadvised his followers to support the PML-N.According to the Seraiki political and socialcircles, the possibility that the instruction to hisdisciples will bear fruits is just like the affairs inSindh where people though serve the Pir butcast their votes in the favour of the 'arrow'.

Its support to Bahawalpur province hasdamaged the PML-N and the Seraikis havealready started protests against Punjab’s rulingparty. The Sharifs have sidelined the long-timeloyal Khosa family to ensure one or two seats in

DG Khan and are making all-out efforts tomake the Legharis join the PML-N.

Similarly, the top political families of southPunjab’s main city Multan and other districts ofthe division have quit the party. However, somepolitical families of Bahawalnagar, Bhakkar andMianwali are still in league with the PML-Nand it is expected that the party will grab someseats from these districts. And that too, becauseof the fact that the local influentials have alwayssided with the party forming government inPunjab after winning the polls as independents.They repeat the exercise of remaining an ally ofthe rulers as they need police and patwaris oftheir own choice. In this context, the PML-Nhas never given ministries to the MNAs fromMianwali and Bhakkar in the Centre.

Again, the PML-N is facing hard times, if we

look at Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Multan, Vehari,Lodharan and Rajanpur districts.

It is rumored that the influential Shahanigroup from the Nawani Dharra as well asAkhtar Lalika from the Lalika group inBahawalnagar are planning to leave the PML-Nfor the ruling PPP in the near future.

It will not be a wrong conclusion that byforming the commission on new provinces, thePPP has stabilised and consolidated its votebank in south Punjab and also dented theprospects of PML-N. Analysts say the PPP iskeeping the PML-N under pressure by using theSeraiki province card.

This card has not only enabled the PPP toattract more voters but also it is in position tobargain on the dissolution of Punjab Assemblyand the share in interim setup.

ZEESHAN JAVAID

ISLAMABAD: The negligence of electricitypower giants including Water and PowerDevelopment Authority, National Transmissionand Despatch Company (NTDC) and NationalPower Control Company (NPCC) led to amassive power outage on Sunday for which thefederal government faced a loss of Rs. 3 billiondue to stoppage of power sale.

Sources in ministry of water and powerinformed that the power distributioncompanies faced sales deficit of Rs. 3 billionbecause of the treacherous breakdown, whichplunged the entire country into darkness.

“Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco)sells power worth Rs 800 billion in a year andtherefore daily loss of power amounts to Rs 2.6billion due to shut down of power supply,” anofficial said adding that power sector is alreadyfacing financial crunch due to circular debt.

He was of the view that National PowerControl Company (NPCC) controls thetransmission of power under the power loadmanagement plan. “But at present country isnot following any load management plan andtherefore NPCC had no exact idea how to askpower distribution companies to reduce thepower stress on the system,” an official of Waterand Power Ministry said.

There are some other ways to manage theload to avoid breakdown. Power companiesusually shut down the power grid stations tomanage the heavy load and this time they werenot able to do so. The other solution is to havethe alternate transmission line to shift power ifone line is tripped. But Pakistan does not havesuch a system.

"At present, power plants of 4500 MW are

shut down due to lack of fuel supply,” sourcessaid adding that Pepco is to receive Rs 420billion from consumers. A more shockingsituation is that it is to receive Rs 200 billionfrom running defaulters who do not pay billsbut continue getting power supply.

Pepco is to receive Rs 7 billion from federalgovernment, Rs 9 billion Punjab, Rs 61 billionSindh, Rs 20 billion AJK, Rs 20 billion FATAand Rs 50 billion Karachi Electric Supply(KESC).

The other reason is that financial constraintsare not the only reasons that plague the energychain, there are ad hoc heads supervising theaffairs of power firms who contributed toinefficiency and worsening of the power crisisin the country and led to power breakdown inthe country.

During the last four and half years, six powersecretaries had been fired and now RajaSakahndar had taken charge as the seventhsecretary.

Now, power firms are under the command ofWater and Power Ministry. It may seem like asurprise to many that three officials of theMinistry of Water and Power are working forthe three key power firms including PakistanElectric Power Company (Pepco), CentralPower Purchasing Agency (CPPA) and theNational Transmission and Despatch Company(NTDC) to steer them into the right direction.

A senior official of ministry water and poweron condition of anonymity revealed that reason

behind such incidents was also because ofappointment of non-technical staff on technicalposts on nepotism basis.

Ministry of Water and Power DeputySecretary Musadiq Ahmad Khan is lookingafter the matters of the NTDC. He joined theministry on October 18, 2012. CPPA comesunder administrative control of NTDC which isbeing looked after by the Special SecretaryPower Ministry Himayatullah Khan.

Himayatullah had worked as secretary of theWater and Power Development Authority(Wapda) prior to his appointment for this job.He has no experience of monitoring the powersector but was appointed as the specialsecretary to look after the power sector issues.

He has been given the task to look after thePower Distribution Companies’ (Discos)recovery drive for billing, collecting receivablesand bad debts, recovery from disconnectedconsumers and premises. He has also beengiven the task of dealing with issues related tothe Ministry of Finance, especially financialmatters and differential subsidies, payments topower sector and issues relating to circular debt.

Pepco had not been fully dissolved yet andjoint secretary Zargham Ishaq Khan had beengiven the task to look after its affairs. Anotherinstitution, Private Power and InfrastructureBoard (PPIB) was without permanent headsince July and Technical Director NA Zuberi islooking after its dealings. The Discos ofGujranwala, Lahore, Multan, Sukkur, Quettaare also being run by ad hoc heads that arelooking after their affairs. In thesecircumstances one can only pray for thedreading summer season which is yet againbeing dubbed as the time for 'worst powershortfall' ever.

Zardari outsmarts Nawaz in south Punjab

Mismanaged power sector's blackout caused loss of billions

The real power behind Malik Riaz


NATO container case ̶FBR gives report to SCISLAMABAD: Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) has submitted itsreport regarding tax collection inNATO container case in the SupremeCourt. The three member benchresumed hearing of the case onMonday. Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhary headed thebench. After submission the report,the counsel of FBR requested thecourt to postpone the proceedings fora week on which bench adjourned thehearing till March 4. Online

PAT makes report on intra-party polls to ECISLAMABAD: Pakistan AwamiTehreek (PAT) has submitted thereport on intra-party elections and theassets of its members to the ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP). Inaddition, Pakistan Awami Tehreek hasalso given an application to theElection Commission requesting forallotment of electoral sign. As a resultof the intra-party elections, RaheeqAhmed Abbasi has been elected aspresident of the party while KhurramGandapur now holds the office of itssecretary general. The whole processhas been completed in a democraticmanner. �ONLINE

Australian navy chief callson Admiral SandilaISLAMABAD: Royal Australian Navychief Vice Admiral RJ Griggs called onChief of Naval Staff AdmiralMohammad Asif Sandila here onMonday and held detailed discussionon professional matters. Acomprehensive brief on the navy’s rolein regional maritime security situationand operational developments wasalso given to the visiting dignitary.Upon his arrival at the NavalHeadquarters, the chief of RoyalAustralian Navy was received byAdmiral Asif Sandila. A smartlyturned out contingent of the PakistanNavy, clad in ceremonial dress,presented him the guard of honour.The visiting dignitary was thenintroduced to principal staff officers atthe headquarters. �INP

Operation against two-stroke rickshaws RAWALPINDI: Taking notice of thehalf-hearted operation against two-stroke rickshaws being the primesource of air pollution, RawalpindiTransport Authority (RTA) secretaryOwais Tariq Tarar has directedconcerned officials to accelerate thecrackdown. Owais Tariq expressed hisresentment over impounding only 45rickshaws in the crackdown during thepast couple of days despite presence of4,276 registered two-stroke rickshawsin Rawalpindi city. He directed motorvehicles examiners including, assistingstaff to accelerate operation againstrickshaws for complying withdirectives of the government. �INP

City government to set up Gawala Colony RAWALPINDI: In an attempt toremove milch animal from residentialareas, the City District GovernmentRawalpindi (CDGR) has decided tosetup model Gawala Colony.Moreover, application forms at Rs500have been made available at GawalaColony counter setup at district courtsin Potohar Town to facilitate thepeople to apply for plots in theproposed colony. The move is in linewith the SC’s decision given someseven years ago to shift milch animalsfrom city areas, the city was forciblycleared of the buffaloes. �INP

RAWALPINDI: Students walk past the trunks of trees felled in a public park of Shamsabad. The federal and provincial governments are expected to launch tree plantationcampaigns next week, but this scene is contrary to the plan. �ONLINE

OUR STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of PakistanJustice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry onMonday administered the oath to JusticeIqbal Hameed-ur-Rahman as the judge ofthe Supreme Court.

The oath taking ceremony, held at theSupreme Court, was attended by the seniorjudges, attorney general, Federal JudicialAcademy director general, Law and JusticeCommission secretary, representatives ofthe bar, prominent lawyers and law officersof the apex court.

Supreme Court Registrar Dr FaqirHussain conducted the proceedings of theoath taking ceremony. With the elevation ofJustice Iqbal Hameed to the apex court, thestrength of the Supreme Court judges hasrisen to 16 against the sanctioned 17including the chief justice of Pakistan.

President Asif Zardari had accordedapproval to the appointment of JusticeIqbal Hameed as the Supreme Court judgeon the advice of Prime Minister Raja PervezAshraf. Justice Iqbal was nominated as thejudge of the apex court by the JudicialCommission and Parliamentary Committeefollowing the retirement of Justice MianShakirullah Jan.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-InsaafChairman Imran Khan on Monday blastedthe defiance by some parliamentariansagainst the Election Commission’scommuniqué for verification of the assetsdetails and educational degrees, stating thatthe lawmakers claim to be the leaders of thenation, so they should lead the country bysetting example.

“Since the National Assembly is the toplegislature of the country, the lawmakersshould set examples for others. If fake-degree-holders, tax evaders, loan defaultersare members of the parliament, they wouldnot have the moral authority to taking bolddecisions and hold the officials of the stateinstitutions accountable,” said the PTI chiefwhile chairing a meeting of the party heldhere at the party’s central secretariat.

Calling upon the election commissioner totake notice of the defiance by politiciansagainst the ECP, Imran said that it wasabout time to unmask those who werehiding behind their offices and were afraidto come clean with their credentials. INP

Justice Iqbaltakes oath as SC judge

MASOOD REHMAN

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court onMonday directed the Law Ministry tosend its legal opinion without anyfurther delay to the FederalInvestigation Agency (FIA) overinvolving former prime minister YusufRaza Gilani in the investigation of Hajcorruption scam in light of theconstitutional immunity under Article248 of the Constitution.

A three-member bench comprisingChief Justice of Pakistan JusticeIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice ShAzmat Saeed, while hearing Hajcorruption scam, issued notices toformer Establishment Divisionsecretary Ismail Qureshi seeking hisreply over the appointment of formerHaj director general Rao ShakeelAhmed despite being his name on theExit Control List (ECL).

The court directed the FIA toapproach the proper forum for

cancellation of bail of formerReligious Affairs minister HamidSaeed Kazmi. The court directed theInterior secretary to cooperate withthe FIA in this regard. The courtdirected the Interior secretary toapproach the Saudi authorities for thearrest of Ahmad Faiz, an accused ofthe Haj corruption scam, and takesteps for his repatriation.

The court directed FIA to submit itsinvestigation report till March 15 onthe scam containing case to casedetails. During the hearing, FIADirector Hussain Asghar, aninvestigation officer in the Haj scam,submitted his report stating that thetestimony of 44 witnesses out of 50had been recorded. He said evidencewas not available against HamidSaeed Kazmi, who was on bail, besidesInterior Ministry had not permittedfor filing application for cancellationof his bail.

He said that Kazmi was granted thebail on August 27, last year, whereas

an application was moved for thecancellation of his bail on October 29.To a court query that why applicationwas moved after two months, HussainAsghar stated that he had retaken thecharge in October. He said he hadconsulted the legal experts and FIALegal Director Azam Khan, who hadtold him that the available evidencewas not enough for cancellation ofKazmi’s bail.

He said just after his (Kazmi)release, Kazmi started spoken toelectronic and print media andaffected the witnesses, thusapplication for the cancellation of hisbail was moved. The chief justiceasked him that why he had notdirectly moved the application for thecancellation of bail, adding that whyFIA had not moved the applicationunder the law available to it. AzamKhan then told the court that theapplication move by Hussain Asgharwas under adjudication.

Hussain Asghar however stated that

his application stood anfractuous,whereas FIA could not move theapplication directly. He said theInterior Ministry had not allowed theFIA to move the application directly.Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan noted that ifany accused was granted bail, howeverhe misuses it, then the prosecutor canapproach against him to the court,which granted the bail. The chiefjustice asked Hussain Asghar that hedid not need to approach the InteriorMinistry and he could file theapplication directly by giving anyother reason.

He regretted that criticising andabusing the Supreme Court ontelevision programmes had become aroutine. The court admonishedfederation’s counsel Azhar Chaudhryfor defending Hamid Saeed Kazmiinstead of opposing him, adding thathe could move the bail cancellation’sapplication on other grounds. To acourt query, Hussain Asghar statedthat FIA had announced prize for

arrest of Ahmad Faiz in Saudi Arabia.He said a team of FIA will soon leavefor Saudi Arabia to arrest andrepatriate the accused.

He said that letters had been writtento the Foreign Affairs Ministry, ISI, IBand other concerned departmentsabout the whereabouts of Ahmed Faiz,however they did not reply. However,he said the FIA had information thathe was in Saudi Arabia. He said hisred notices had already been issued.The chief justice noted that hispassport had been cancelled and hewas residing there illegally. He askedHussain Asghar to approach theInterpol. To a query, Asghar said thatSaudi government was of the view thatuntil his visa was valid, he could not bedeported.

To a court query, he said Saudigovernment had already beencontacted in this regard. He requestedthe court to direct the InteriorMinistry to cooperate with the FIA forrepatriation of the accused. He said

investigation to the extent of otheraccused Zain Sukhaira and NajeebMalik had completed. Due to thecourt’s stay, the concerned officials ofBahauddin Zakaria University Multanwere hesitant about the verification ofZain Sukharia’s degree. He said due topendency of their applications in theIslamabad High Court, challan couldnot be presented against them.

The chief justice noted thatalthough the Islamabad High Courthad postponed the matter ofSukhaira’s degree till the decision ofNational Assembly’s Committee overit, however after the Supreme Courtorders, there was no bar on FIA toproceed against Sukhaira. To a query,Asghar stated that the NationalAssembly’s committee had issued him(Asghar) a notice for inquiring againstthe former prime minister (Gilani)and his son Ali Musa Gilani, howeverthe notice had not reached him yet.Meanwhile, the court adjournedfurther hearing until March 15.

ZEESHAN JAVAID

ISLAMABAD: The Higher EducationCommission (HEC) seemed frustrate as thelawmakers reluctant to submit their educationalcredentials to the HEC for verification whilebrushing aside the directions of the ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP).

Sources privy the latest development in HECrevealed that the process of verification of thedegrees of parliamentarians could lie into delaybecause of non-submission of educationalcredentials by more than 223 parliamentarians.“We verified yet only 26 degrees ofparliamentarians as subsequent genuinefollowing the direction of EC,” he maintained. TheHEC constituted a special cell in the secretariatpremises to push up the process on fast trackbasis; however the parliamentarians seemed notinterested to submit their degrees to HEC for

verification. The Election Commission wrote aletter to the lawmakers on February 7 withtimeframe of 15 days to submit their educationalcredentials before the HEC for passing throughthe verification process. Later on, ECP extendedthe time period but the response of theparliamentarians observed sluggish against theECP directions.

Within the set timeframe, 26 lawmakers hadsubmitted their documents and weresubsequently verified by the Higher EducationCommission to have genuine degrees:Muhammad Tariq Khattak NA-5; Jamila GilaniNA-reserved seat; Muzafer Ul Mulk NA-29;Shaukatullah Khan NA-43; Arbab MuhammadZahir Khan NA-4; Usman Khan NA-12;Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain NA-104; Dr HaiderAli PF-86; Humayun Saifullah Khan NA-27;Farzana Mushtaq NA-Reserved seat; Malik JehanZeb PP-269; Parveen Masood Bhatti NA-

Reserved; Bushra Rahman NA-Reserved;Mehreen Razzaque Bhutto NA-Reserved; UsmanIbrahim NA-95; Begum Naseem Akhtar Ch. NA-Reserved; Shakeel Bashir KPK-19; Arifa KhalidPervaiz PP-Reserved; Malik Jalal-ud-Dhakku PP-222; Khalid Javed Asghar PP-108; ArshadAbdullah PF-18; Dr Imtiaz Sultan Bukhari NA-Reserved; Malik Shakir Bashir Awan NA-70;Mrs. Sumaira Naz NA-115; Mir Qamber AliGhichki PB-41; and Ch Abdullah Yousaf.

While the above 26 MPs responded positively,223 did not bother to respond to the ECP’sdirection. The irony remains that the PML-N andits top leader in the parliament Chaudhry Nisar AliKhan, who have been criticising the present regimefor violating the Supreme Court orders, havepublicly criticised and opposed the ECP’s moveto get the degrees of 249 MPs verified despite thefact that the ECP and HEC are implementingthe 2010 order of the Supreme Court.

SC seeks legal opinion to involve Gilani in Haj scam� Law Ministry ordered to give its opinion without further delay � CJ says criticising judiciary on TV has become routine � FIA directed to approach proper forum tocancel Kazmiʼs bail � FIA team to arrest and repatriate Ahmad Faiz from Saudi Arabia

Brushing aside ECP directions

HEC frustrated as MPsreluctant to submit degrees� Commission could verify only 26 degrees of lawmakers out of more than 223 till now

OUR STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committeeon Human Rights on Monday decided to put inplace an effective mechanism for the oversightof the implementation of various internationalhuman rights conventions.

The committee meeting was held here at theParliament House under chairmanship ofSenator Afrasiab Khattak and attended bySenator Mushahid Hussain, Raza Rabbain,Farhatullah Babar and Suraya Amiruddin. Thereservations entered at the time of signingvarious international covenants as will now beperiodically reviewed to see if somereservations can be dropped.

Similarly, the mandatory reporting in thewake of signing the covenants will also beoverseen to ensure that the obligations in thisrespect are fully met. The parliamentary panelasked the government to streamline theprocedure for sharing information of mobilephone subscribers with law enforcing agenciesto nab culprits and criminal engaged in variouscriminal activities.

Noting that the designated police officers ofthe rank of DIG in Karachi and Quetta wereauthorised to get on demand information fromthe mobile service providers, it asked thatpolice officers of equivalent rank in Islamabadand other provinces should also be similarlyauthorised to secure information about mobilephone users when needed.

The committee also asked the government torevisit the Rules of Business 1973 so as to makethe function of the Human Rights Divisioncommensurate with the ever growing demandsof meeting human rights concerns in differentparts of the country. The panel directed theHuman Rights Ministry to give specialattention to the issue of missing persons as wellas take up most glaring cases of human rightsviolations in the country for investigation andcompensation.

The meeting deferred consideration of reportof the sub-committee on way and means toaddress the issue of forced disappearances asthe representatives of defence and interiorministries sought some more time to give theirviews on the report. It will now be taken up on

March 15. It may be recalled that the HumanRights Committee had proposed a number ofmeasures to address the missing persons issueincluding a draft bill that empowers theintelligence agencies to arrest and detainpeople suspected of anti-state activities but atthe same time also makes the agenciesaccountable and subject them to a measure ofparliamentary oversight.

The report and the draft bill had beencirculated two months ago to the HumanRights Ministry and the ministries of defenceand interior for their views. While the HRMinistry submitted its report and theministries of defence and interior have stillnot submitted their comments. Thecommittee decided to defer the matter andtake it up in the next meeting with directionsto both the ministries to expedite theircomments on the report.

The meeting was briefed by the secretary ofthe Human Rights Ministry on the working ofthe ministry as well on the status of variousinternational human rights covenants thatPakistan has signed.

Senators want execution of HR conventions� Ministry asked to pay attention to missing personsʼ issue

QUETTA: Two armed suspects were killedand five others arrested by the FrontierCorps in a targeted operation in Gulistanarea of the Qila Abdullah district. Accordingto reports, FC personnel moved in the KilliAbdul Rehman Zai area on a tip-off aboutthe presence of some suspects there. Theunidentified suspects opened fire at the FCpersonnel when they cordoned off the areaand in the ensuing shootout that continuedfor half an hour two suspects were killed andan FC man was injured. �ONLINE

Terrorism foiled SARGODHA: Foiling a terror bid, thepolice has seized huge cache of explosivesalong with a detonator from a vehicle onMonday, media reports said. According tothe police, a terror bid was foiled whenCantt Police captured 10 kilograms ofexplosives and a detonator from a car. Twopersons who were present in the car havealso been arrested. �ONLINE

Imran blasts‘status quo’ partiesfor pressing EC

Two killed inFC operation


QUETTA: Girl students on their way home after attending a religious school – Restrictions on girls’ education and uncheckedmushrooming of seminaries are huge challenges for the state and the society. �INP

OUR STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD: A tourist family ofKarachi on their way to visit Murreewas hit by the vehicle of MNA TariqFazal Chaudhry, resulting in thedeath of one and injuries to sevenpassengers, on Sunday night.

According to details, the familywhile their stay in Lahore, booked anAPV (LEF-7750) for a trip to Murree,but when the vehicle arrived at theSerena Chowk of Islamabad, it washit by a SUV number NA-49 of MNATariq Fazal Chaudhry. As a result,seven out of the nine passengers inthe APV were injured, includingwomen and its driver, who receivedsome serious wounds, while theMNA and his driver remained safe.Soon after the accident, the backup

vehicle of MNA moved him toShaheed Benazir Bhutto for amedical checkup.

An eyewitness said, “It was12:30am when I saw a vehiclecoming from Kashmir Highwaywas hit by the SUV which wasmoving from the Serena Hotel’sside at Dhokri Chowk (or SerenaChowk). As a result, the SUVoverturned while the APVdamaged its right side.”

Abdul Wahab, a passenger of theAPV, told The Spokesman, “Ithappened within a moment and ittook a while for us to realise thesituation. Some of our familymembers got minor injuries, whileour driver was seriously injured andall were shifted to the PakistanInstitute of Medical Science (PIMS).”

Another survivor of the accidentsaid that, “when the vehicle hit us,my eight months old cousin wasdropped out of the window due tohigh intensity of the crash, wholater was found under our crashedvehicle but was absolutely okay,which is a miracle.”

“The main reason of the accidentwas the countrywide powerbreakdown and secondly, trafficsignal which was off at that time,confusing both of the drivers”, saidanother eyewitness.

While the traffic police official onthe occasion explained that the trafficsignal are switched off or are onwarning signs at nights to providehurdle less flow of traffic to VIP’s whonormally move in the high securityzone at night.

ASI Malik Aziz of secretariat policeon the occasion told the Spokesmanthat the application of the accidenthas been registered in the secretariatpolice station. He further said that itwas the APV driver who was comingat high speed and then was hit by theSUV due to their misunderstanding.He said both of the vehicles are undertheir custody.

The driver of APV who wasinjured seriously passed away inPIMS and was shifted to Lahoreafter legal proceedings while theinjured were discharged on Mondaymorning after getting treatment.

When contacted, Tariq FazalChaudhry told The Spokesman that,“After attending a marriageceremony at Holiday Inn (IslamabadHotel), we reached the Serena

Chowk where an APV rushing fromKashmir Highway hit andoverturned our heavy vehicle. I gotminor injuries on my elbow andshoulders while my driver remainedsafe. Unfortunately many of thepeople in other vehicle got injuries.It happened because there wasblackout in the area due to the powerfailure countrywide.”

Furthermore he confirmed thedeath of the other vehicle’s driver bysaying, “Today (Monday) I came toknow about death of the driver whowas seriously injured yesterday, forwhich I feel sorry. I tried everythingpossible to assist the family and alsocontacted the travel agency in whichthe driver was working, and willremain in contact with the family ofthe diseased.”

ATHAR LASHARI

BAHAWALPUR: Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat(ASWJ) - the organisation under whosedisguise the banned Sipah-e-SahabaPakistan is currently working – is hell-bentto show its power in Ahmedpur Eastdespite the fact that the Punjabgovernment barred the outfit from holdinga rally on Sunday.

ASWJ Deputy Secretary InformationRao Javed Iqbal says they will give a newdate for the rally within two days. It isworth mentioning that the ASWJ enjoysconsiderable support in Ahmedpur Eastand the surrounding areas.

The Sunday’s rally was postponed on theprovincial government’s directives, whilethe organisation’s local chapter hadfinalised the arrangement for the event.The ASWJ is holding countrywide protestsafter the government launched acrackdown and started arresting itsleaders, including Malik Ishaq, after thelatest bombing in Quetta, which claimedaround 90 innocent lives.

One may recall that the targeting ofHazara community resulted in sit-ins andprotests across the country, as the Shiapopulation and the liberal circles in societydemanded strict action against theelements behind the unending series oftargeted killings and bomb blasts inQuetta. On the other hand, sectarian-based killings are also a routine in Karachi.In this scenario, the protest forced thegovernment to act against the militants,which in turn made ASWJ launch its ownprotest.

According to Rao Javed, the Punjabgovernment forced them to postpone theevent only for a week. “The districtgovernment requested us to postpone therally and sit-in for a week; we are going toannounce the new date for rally within twodays,” he said.

Rao added that they had a huge votebank in Bahawalpur district; therefore,they were also ready to participate inpolitical process.

“We have no link with the Quettaincident, but Rehman Malik is accusing usfor the happenings there.”

The ASWJ’s rally was planned to startfrom Noshehra Jadeed – a town inAhmedpur East, while its route alsoincluded Pul Farooqabad, Hateji, Jhangraand Chowk Bhatta. These areas areconsidered very sensitive due to the mixpopulation of both Shia and Sunni

communities. The rally was scheduled toculminate at Chowk Abbasia in AhmedpurEast town.

According to the ASWJ circles, theMuttahida Deni Mahaz (MDM) issupporting also supporting them. TheMDM is a conglomeration of JamiatUlema-e-Islam-Sami, Jamiat Ahle Hadith,Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, ASWJ andTehreek Tahaffuz-e-Pakistan (TTP) ofnuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadir Khan.

It is important to note that MaulanaAurangzeb Farooqi, the provincial head ofASWJ Sindh, stayed in Bahawalpur fortwo days and remained busy in mediainteractions. He is known as the mostcontroversial person in Karachi in thebackdrop of Shia-Sunni conflict.

On the other hand, the Shia communityof these areas is feeling threatened bythese activities. “We living in a constantfear. These activities from bannedorganisations are a direct threat to us,”Tanveer-ul-Hassan, the spokesman of Shiacommunity in Ahmedpur East, said.

He added that there was no conflictbetween Shia and Sunni communities, butthese outfits had changed the situation. “Ithink the rally and sit-in is their basicright, but there are chances of conflict inthese areas, because the Shia communityhas become a symbol of hate in the eyes ofthem,” Tanveer added.

He said it seemed that the Sipah eSahaba had now become a pressure groupand govt out of control of the Punjabgovernment.

Another member of Shia communityremarked that the provincial governmentwas deliberately supporting them. “I thinkSipah-e-Sahaba is nothing without thesupport of Punjab government. Themembers of Punjab government onvarious occasions have showed solidaritywith the banned organisations in politicalgatherings,” Akhtar Shah alleged.

It must be noted that the Uch Sharif andHateji – two of oldest and historical citiesof the region, are the areas where Rangersand army are deployed every year duringMuharram. The current rise insectarianism-based targeted killings andterror hits pose a huge to the government,which has remained unable so far to tacklethe issue and provide security to everycitizen of the country.

It is said the growth of seminaries is oneof the main reasons behind the supportmilitant outfits are enjoying in parts ofsouth Punjab.

SHABIR AHMAD

GILGIT: Whether temperature falls several degrees belowfreezing point or rise, the passengers in most parts of theGilgit–Baltistan have very stark options to travel in publictransport. They have to travel in open vehicles, whichdoctors say is the main cause of cold-related ailmentsamong the commuters.

The travel becomes extremely perilous in winters,especially December and January, when temperature inGilgit drops to -10 degree Celsius, resulting in frozen waterpipes and lakes. It [temperature] falls -20 degrees in Astore,Hunza-Nagar, Skardu and Ghizer valleys, leaving lifeparalysed. In view of the freezing weather, the schools inthose months remain closed in connection with wintervacations.

“Tell me what we should do if we don’t use a Suzuki?” asksAfaq, a student who goes to school by a Suzuki pickup everymorning. “We cannot afford taxi every day nor does ourschool operate enough buses,” he added.

The students said that a number of them every daycomplained of flu, headache and other cold-related ailmentsas they travelled by these open ended vehicles to school.

The 18 years old students and many others know thattravelling in such vehicles is risky, but they can’t just avoidit for the lack of financial resources with their families.

While the Suzuki service is a threat to health, it is,

however, the cheapest means of travel within the city.According to a random survey, about 500 Suzukis areoperating in Gilgit alone, providing cheaper transportation

services for the people.In the absence of intercity facility like railcars, buses and

rickshaws, the half-open Suzuki is the first and last viable

option for hundreds of men and women wishing to reachtheir destination.

“It costs Rs 15 for a passenger from Main Bazaar Gilgit tothe nearby area of Jutial, a distance of nearly 15 kilometres,”said Ejaz Hussain, a regular commuter. “You cannot affordto hire a taxi as the minimum fare being charged from Jutialto Bazaar is Rs 150,” he said, adding that unless oneencountered an emergency, the option of hiring a taxi couldcome under consideration.

Medical practitioners say that cold weather is behindmany diseases in the high altitude areas. “The diseasesrelating to cold are common in Gilgit-Baltistan especiallyduring winter. People must keep themselves warm to avoidbeing sick,” said Dr Feroz Ahmed, a podiatrist working in agovernment hospital.

“People are more likely to catch cold if they don’t adoptpreventive measures before travelling,” he added.

While drivers union in the past resisted government’smove to run intercity buses in Gilgit, the general publicdemanded introduction of bus service.

“The drivers are bound not to put extra passengers in theirvehicles. But they are fined as per law if they do so,” saidChiraghuddin, an official in the district administration. Ifthe drivers follow the rules, they passengers will also getseats and avoid being exposed to freezing winds.

One can just hope the passengers will have a bus publicservice in the city, especially during winter.

Travelling can make you freeze in Gilgit-Baltistan�Suzuki pickups only option for people in Gilgit, other areas for intercity travel �These vehicles provide cheap service but are a health hazard

ASWJ to showpower inAhmedpur East�Outfit to announce new date for rally after Punjab govt barred itfrom protest on Sunday �Local Shia population feels threatened

OUR STAFF REPORTER

MIRPUR (AJK): Two young girlswere found dead in a water tank,while their families did not agreeto conduct post-mortem andpolice handed over the bodies tothe heirs after declaring thedeaths an accident. According todetails, 24-year-old Fakhira,granddaughter of ex-president ofMuslim Conference (UK) who hadrecently arrived to Islamgarh fromUK, along with her 19-year-oldcousin Shabnam was at home,while the other family membershad gone to bazaar. On theirreturn, they started searchingthem as they could not findFakhira and Shabnam. Later, theirbodies were found in the watertank. Officials from IslamgarhPolice station reached the spotand transferred their bodies toDHQ Hospital Mirpur. However,their families refused to take anyaction and declared it just anaccident. SHO Chaudhry Imransaid their death was an accidentand the heirs had refused to takeany kind of investigation,although the bodies were movedto the local hospital. Afterwards,both the girls were buried withoutany autopsy.

Rs 80m allocated for AIOUAbbottabad officeABBOTTABAD: The Allama IqbalOpen University (AIOU) ViceChancellor Prof Dr Nazir Sangihas said that he is striving hard toprovide cheep and standard butapproachable education to thestudents. This, he said at a pressbriefing held here at AIOU’sRegional Office in Abbottabad.Referring to the underconstruction AIOU regional officein Abbottabad, he said the campuswould be built up with a cost of Rs.80 millions to facilitate thestudents belonging to Haripur,Dasu, and Battagram. Model StudyCenters Academies would also beset up there soon. Nazir said thatexclusively with the varsity’savailable fund 9 Regional Officeswere being built up all over thecountry. Double story buildingshave already been constructed atGujranwala and Muzaffarabad,while a building has also beenbuilt-up in Mianwali. Sangi saidthat the first phase ofAbbottabad Regional Officeof the AIOU would be completedin the month of July. �INP

Elahi slams Punjab govtfor Southʼs deprivationBAHAWALPUR: Deputy PrimeMinister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahion Monday lashed out at thePunjab government for theincreasing sense of deprivationamong the people of south Punjab.“South Punjab is being subjected todiscrimination by the ShahbazSharif government in terms ofdevelopment schemes,” he saidwhile addressing a publicgathering. He was of the view thatthe sense of deprivation wasincreasing in southern parts of theprovince due to lack ofdevelopment projects. Terming thePML-N government as anti-farmers,he said doctors are on strike in theprovince. There are neither doctorsnor medicines in the hospitals now,he added. The deputy PM saidschemes launched by the Punjabgovernment have flopped. “ShahbazSharif is giving laptops to only thosewho have votes,” he said. �INP

Suzuki pickups parked at a stand in Gilgit. Shortage of transport is one of the major problems in most parts of the country. �STAFF PHOTO

ZEESHAN JAVAID

ISLAMABAD: The MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM), a newly-orchestrated opposition politicalparty, staged a walkout on Mondayfrom Senate against the nationwidepower blackout observed on Sundaylate night.

Speaking on a point of orderSenator Col (r) Syed Tahir HussainMashhadi, parliamentary leader ofMQM in Senate said thegovernment had pushed the wholenation into darkness by inductingincompetent people.

“First the government pushed thecountry into darkness through load-shedding, and now it is alsohell-bent to deprive them ofeducation as well by opposingcreation of new universities in thecountry,” he lamented.

He continued that it was theincompetence of the government,which hired unqualified people, whohave failed to run the power sector,resulting in complete blackoutthroughout the country, exposing itsvery true face.

The senator said had thegovernment appointed competentpeople the breakdown of powercould have been averted, adding thatwhen one HUBCO Power Planttripped due to a technical failureother power plants were shut downin order to prevent any damage totheir respective systems, thusleaving more than half the countryin darkness.

He also criticized the statement

made by the PPP leader and SindhEducation Minister Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq resisting the foundation of newuniversity in Sindh province, adding“These rulers wants to keep theyouth into darkness as creatinghurdles in education sector,” hemaintained.

Chairman Senate Syed NayyarHussain Bukhari proposed to forma parliamentary committee headedby leader of the house in SenateSenator Jehangir Badr to work outon a state-of-the-art transportsystem in federal capital.

The chairman gave a ruling afterMQM Senator Col (r) Syed TahirHussain Mashhadi moved a motionto discuss the existing poortransport system in capital.

“I believe there is a dire need of aneffective transport system in the cityas we six parliamentarians hail fromthis city should take initiative. Irecommend for constituting a highpower committee comprisingparliamentarians who will work onthe Term of References (ToRs) for atransport system for light andunderground train”, ruled Bukhariwhile chairing the house.

Earlier, Mashhadi lamented thatdespite being a capital city, there isno public transport system.

“There is no public transport inIslamabad as elites travelled inluxurious cars and receive salutewhile poor walk on foot and beinginterrogated and humiliated bypolice on every check posts”, heremarked. The house was adjournedto meet again at 10:30am.

2.1m are bornwith mentaldisordereach yearISLAMABAD: Around 2.1million children are borneach year with mentaldisorders in the country dueto iodine deficiency inpregnant women.

According to healthexperts, iodine deficiency inchildren leads to mentalretardation, loss of cognitiveabilities, still born,miscarriage and birth ofchildren with congenitalabnormalities like deaf,dumb and stunted. Urinaryiodine test results revealed abigger figure of about 36percent of mothers and 23percent of pre-schoolchildren suffering fromsevere iodine deficiency inthe country, they added.

According to them, theutilization of iodized salt atthe household level was only17 percent despite 56.4percent respondents wereaware about iodized salt.They said goiter ratesamong school age childrenwere 4.3 percent in urbanand 8.2 percent in ruralareas of the country.According to nationalnutrition survey, thenational prevalence of goiteramong women was 21percent, they added. Theysaid still there are someproblems which need to beaddressed like low consumerdemand, lack of qualitycontrol, and low productionof iodized salt. �AGENCIES

MQM blasts‘incompetent’ govt

Driver dies as MNA’s SUV hits tourists’ carTwo girls found dead;buried without autopsy

�Stages walkout from Senate �Criticises treasuryover power crisis, anti-education policies


THE SPOKESMANChief Editor: Huma Ali

Executive Editor: Atif MateenResident Editor: Saeed Minhas

Consulting Editors: Jalees Hazir Samina Choonara

The Blackberry security scandal

So you think, as your expensiveBlackberry providers keep claiming,that your mobile data is safe as it isencrypted over the airwaves and alsoin back-up form?

This has been the Canadiancompany RIM’s over-hyped claim foryears as it became the preferredprovider for mobile data and its owntext service called BBM (BlackberryMessenger), and was able to chargehefty fees for its services, untilrecently. With its stock down to a fewdollars from a high of $150 severalyears ago, RIM has been struggling,with heavy loss of market share- mostof its US and western governmentcustomers have abandoned it now,preferring iPhone and other, cheaperdevices, as data security becomesmore and more accessible tocustomers over mobile networks.

Well, the real story is that, RIM, asall other major telecommunicationsand computer providers, has beensecretly cooperating with the US (andits western allies) since 2005 whenthe Patriot Act became US law,legalising its intelligence agencies(DIA, CIA, FBI, NSA) to collect vastinformation on its own citizens andforeign nationals all around theglobe. Many well publicisedincidents have happened, with manymajor civil lawsuits pending in allwestern countries against suchinvasion of privacy and clearconstitutional violations.

Specifically, BBM was implicated inthe 2011 riots, as the UK police,invoking the Data Protection Act,were able to peruse all the messagesand emails exchanged by rioterswithout breaking any encryption, viaaccess to the BBM Server controllingsuch data.

Even before 2011, in 2009, manycountries had been protesting againstthe fact of western agencies havingfull access to Blackberry’s global dataflows, while they were being totallydenied even access to their own localtraffic. Things changed when somestates threatened to bump offBlackberry operations. Such countries

then gained local Blackberry Serveraccess, including Dubai in 2010. Indianegotiated full access in Feb 2012, andhad partial access much before.Pakistan’s incompetent telecoms andIT bureaucrats never pressed the case,with the result that while Pakistancannot look into its own local traffic,all western intelligence agencies alongwith Israel’s Mossad, and now India’sRAW, in principle, have full access toall such data messages into and out ofPakistan, for free.

This is certainly alarming. Pakistan’selite may not care for westernagencies when it comes to nationalsecurity - clearly the state is known tohave blindly cooperated with the westand renditioned its own citizens. The

ex-military dictator, Gen. Musharraf,himself proudly declared in his bookthat his government routinelyinterrogated, tortured and kidnappedPakistanis, Arabs, and Central Asians(who mostly turned out to be innocentcitizens later) for a few hundreddollars per head, to comply withAmerica’s War on (more accurately,of) Terror. But to have RAW fullycapable of analysing and recording allsuch BBM traffic, regular emails anddata transfers, including all financialtransactions, especially when most ofsuch highly sensitive messagesemanate out of the elite - generals,chief ministers, top bureaucrats, andother VIPs - should be jolting.

Clearly our babus are fast asleep atthe switch, assuming the US will takecare of all their problems, and nobodyis watching. Sartaj Aziz, a prominentformer finance and foreign minister,wrote about a well publicised RAWintelligence coup in his 2009 book,Between dreams and realities: somemilestones in Pakistan's history. In ithe describes an embarrassing incidentfrom early 2000s when RAWpublished the full recording of a tapedphone call between Gen. Musharraffrom his Beijing hotel and Gen. Azizat Rawalpindi GHQ, regarding Kargiland Kashmir strategy.

RAW now has tremendouslyincreased its electronic eavesdroppingcapabilities - the opportunity comes to

them this time, on its own andvirtually free. How so? Well, all ofPakistan’s international Internettraffic passes through three mainconduits, TWA-1 (Pakistan-MidEast-Europe), SE-ME-WE 3&4 (SE Asia-MidEast-Western Europe), andI-ME-WE (India- MidEast-WesternEurope.) India’s Mumbai and Cochincities are major nodes on the lattertwo global circuits through whichthe majority of Pakistani trafficpasses, with Pakistan only a spur(secondary connection) on all theseundersea fiber links. There is arecent agreement to build a China-Pakistan fiber link but work will takeseveral years.

The fact that Pakistan has no majorInternet presence despite being thefourth or fifth most populous countryis shameful. Despite our friends-and-family run IT industry’s loud mouthedclaims, Pakistan only generatesseveral hundred million dollars of ITrevenue, against India’s $100 billion,which is the highest in the world.Since 2005, there have been severalfiber cuts on Pakistan’s side,disrupting all IT services for weeks. Asif that was not enough, Pakistan’sInternet domain (called .pk) is knownto be highly unstable, owing to poormanagement, unreliable backuppower and infrastructure, with hightraffic delays.

To add to all this, our so-called ITresearchers or professionals havereceived global acclaim for all thewrong reasons. In 1985, one of thefirst known computer viruses cameout of Engineering University inLahore (with the perpetrators,BRAIN Computers doing a roaringlocal business without payingtelecoms or other bills). Later, inDecember 2004, a renownedcomputer security researcher, BruceSchneier, disclosed that his researchwas plagiarized, word-for-word, byseveral academics at IslamicInternational University inIslamabad, in a SIGSCE publication(the same folks also copied fromother researchers, with full denialsfrom Pakistani authorities). Withsuch talent and the elite cheering on,who needs a crisis manufacturedelsewhere? Ironically, even SartajAziz’s political bosses are fullyvulnerable. Ignorance is bliss. Theemperors are naked, and happily so.

Additionally, since 2010,Blackberry, iPhone and other highly-secure AES or triple DESencryptions are now breakable byfreely available software. Manycommercial firms now sell such gearonline. The world has come a longway, but Pakistani authorities stillseem frozen in time.

THE AUTHOR IS A SILICON VALLEY

ENTREPRENEUR WITH AN MS AND

MBA FROM COLUMBIA

Block 11, G-6/1, Aabpara, IslamabadTelephone: 051 260 7153-4

Fax: 051 260 [email protected]

ATHAR MIAN

While Pakistan can’t look into its own local traffic, all western intelligence agenciesalong with Mossad, and RAW, have full access to all Blackberry data messagesinto and out of Pakistan, for free. Clearly our babus are fast asleep at the switch

A major power breakdown plunged almost the entire country intodarkness on Sunday night, as the electricity supply was suspendedfor 8 to 10 hours in many cities and towns all over the country. OnMonday, the electricity remained suspended for another sevenhours in Lahore and other places. It all started from the UchPower Station, which tripped at 11pm, and this led to the trippingof 500kv transmission lines it shared with Hubco. As the entireload got diverted to Mangla Dam and Tarbela Dam, both powerhouses tripped, and the whole power generation, transmissionand distribution system collapsed. On Sunday night, thegeneration had dropped to less than 8000MW against a demandof 13000MW. In March 2008, there had been a similar majorpower breakdown, preceded by yet another one in September2006, which had plunged 90 percent of the country into darknessfor eight hours. The breakdown had brought almost the entireindustrial sector to a standstill across the country causing lossesamounting to billions of rupees to the national economy, nationalexchequer and of course to WAPDA.

For the last 32 years, Pakistan has not been able to build any largewater reservoir due to the differences between the federation and theprovinces of Sindh and former NWFP, now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.The construction of large reservoirs like the Kalabagh Dam has oftenbeen hostage to polemics. Such projects draw support and resistanceinvariably throughout the world. But ultimately compromises arereached and the issues resolved because of the importance of suchprojects for the development and progress of national economies.Pakistan seems to be on the horns of a dilemma because if the damsare not constructed the country could face acute food shortages,possibly famine and much worse. And if the decision is imposed on thesmaller provinces, it may be used by political factions to fan greaterprovincial acrimony and alienation. Nations endowed with capableleadership with foresight are able to overcome such hurdles, and planfifty to hundred years ahead so that they do not have to depend onothers to meet their requirements for raw materials and energy.

During the early 1990s, the government had worked out thefeasibility for harnessing energy through coal but the plan wasplaced on the backburner to appease the Independent PowerProducers. Any headway on alternative energy technologies havesimilarly been stunted by well-entrenched interests. Pakistan shouldhave focused on producing electricity from coal or developed hydelpower because both these resources are available within the country.The country has vast coal reserves and a tremendous potential toproduce electricity through hydel projects. Pakistan needs largereservoirs to store water to meet the growing food requirements ofan ever-increasing population. With each passing day, theworsening energy crisis is not only increasing the hardship of theaverage citizen but also hampering business activities in the country.What we don’t see is the sense of urgency and commitment as wellas a vigorous pursuit of much-needed energy projects.

Another power breakdown

RIM, as all other major telecommunications and computerproviders, has been secretly cooperating with the US and its western allies since 2005 when thePatriot Act became US law, legalisingits intelligence agencies to collect vastinformation on its own citizens andforeign nationals all around the globe

Last month I happened to be in what iscalled the largest democracy in the world,India. One thing that I liked the most wasthat we kept roaming around Delhi Gate,the parliament house, and all across theirRed Zone, which was not red at all. Thesecurity in the area was camouflaged andthere were no security check posts. Noone sealed off the corridors of power tomake it a no-entry point. One of myIndian friends who was with us saidproudly, 'Look, we are the biggestdemocracy in the world and the will of thepeople rules here’. I was speechless as ourown fragile democracy completes its first-ever term in 65 years of history.

The next day, we travelled from Delhi toAjmer which is generally a seven-hourdrive. Along the way, I was surprised to seethe choked lanes on both sides of a three-lane, double highway. All six lanes wereblocked by heavy containers and trucks withno place for a car to overtake them. Unlike

the rules in Pakistan, heavy vehicles in Indianeed not wait till the night to use the roadsand they are not parked alongside roads orat petrol stations in the day. As a result, ittook us around 12 hours to reach Ajmer. Onthe way back in the night when the truckerswere sleeping, we made the journey backcomfortably within seven hours. Of course,in Pakistan we are not used to appreciatingthe planning and maintenance of mosthighways.

Another thing we like to scream about -load shedding or frequent power outages -that most people say is the reason to bringdown the government. Except for Delhi,there is an almost 8 -12 hour power outageall across India due to power shortage.Ghaziabad is a twin city of Delhi where wewitnessed 12 hours of load-sheddingwithout anyone thinking it was the end ofthe world or of democracy. I realised then,we are not the most unfortunate countryin the world and others suffer from thepower crisis too. The government inPakistan just needed to clear internationalpressure to work toward finding a regional

solution to it.Meanwhile, in India, politicians joke

about the power crisis and say that thebiggest democracy in the world is gettingbigger in the dark nights of load-shedding,referring to the phenomenal populationgrowth. The people have been suffering thislong before the crisis became acute inPakistan and yet there seem to be no planson the anvil to generate more power.

Another issue we complain about athome: rising fuel prices. The world over,fuel prices are calculated according to thedollar prices. In India, the petrol price is 75Indian Rupees per litre, which is 150Pakistani Rupees in conversion. Renting acar from Delhi to Ajmer cost us 10,000Indian Rupees, almost equal to 20,000PKR, while in Pakistan you can travel thesame distance in a rented car onapproximately 11,000 PKR.

The Indian economy is growing and stateinstitutions are functional, but like us, Indiasuffers majorly from the corruption ofpolitical leaders. Their Anna Hazaray – asstrident as our Tahirul Qadri – wishes to

expose it and lead popular movementsagainst it, his zeal sometimes standing inhis own way. It is corruption in high officethat keeps people sleeping on thepavements at night and yet, nobody in Indiaasks for military rule. We have a history ofsuch political experiments in the countryand how they have hurt us for decades, andyet people have so little faith and patiencein democracy, and so little pride, that we donot hesitate to ask for the worst possibleoption to be exercised.

A word on the Indian media. During mystay, Afzal Guru was hanged and politicianswere celebrating this to get their ballotboxes full of votes in the upcomingelections. The media went wild in pursuit ofthe story. I was a little surprised at howIndian society seems to be totally heldhostage to its belligerent media which has ahigh representation of war mongers.Interestingly, the Indian media is in thehabit of blaming the Pakistani intelligenceagency, ISI, for everything that goes wrongthere. In comparison - and I was forced todraw some - our media is quite positive and

the death sentence, for instance, is notcelebrated here for any reason.

After my travels, it seems to me that life isnot an idiot's tale unless we are hell bent tosee it that way. But it needs patience andsacrifice to build a nation. If we asindividuals aim to be a little more positiveabout our home and wish to see it grow andmature, there has to be calmer spirit, notone in need of instant gratification andsolutions. The problems of this place belongto us, we need to own them and help resolvethem. Let us not be in too much of a hurryto dismiss all politicians and politicalactivity as corrupt but become part of theprocess to make it more accountable. Letour poor, immature, weak democraticsystem run uninterruptedly and maybe withthe confidence of the people, it will matureand become more responsive to the people.The meaning of democracy is that thepopular will rules, so let us change rulers ifneed be, but not the rule of democracy.

THE WRITER IS A SENIOR ANCHORPERSON

AND ANALYST AT DAWN NEWS

The good and bad things about India

Malik Riaz-the real power broker

It’s so true and sad at the same time,but I don't know if this article wouldrub anybody's conscience i.e. anybodywho matter or the poor masses willboil and fume over it and theneverything to the will of the God. Thisdoes make me think that maybe as anation (if we are one!) we are probablyshunned away from the sight of the

Lord because they say "The kind ofgovernment you get is the kind youdeserve". Still bravo to those who tryto poke the dead in the hope a miraclewould turn around this country!

ROBINA FELIX

[email protected]

Why I am a vegetarian

Well given that most of our vegetablesgrow from sewage water and a sprayof pesticides I don't really knowanymore what being a true veggie-tarian is. Nonetheless, respect to youfor being a vegetarian in JurassicPark. I may not agree to a lot of pointsyou have stated, nonetheless, I havebeen a vegetarian off and on enoughto appreciate its good side. Cheers

NABEEL

[email protected]

Will the real Malik Riazplease stand up?

I admire him after seeing the BahriaTown in Islamabad. How many could

do it tell me? You have made thesystem corrupt and to get things donein Pakistan is no small task.

BURHAN

[email protected]

No confusion here, he is the real Rawanfrom Lanka. With generals on his sideand media in his pocket (Luqman andMehr just two among a battery ofanchors), he commands the systemwith the money he extorts from poorland owners and innocent allottees

[email protected]

Because the admin of this website isworking so hard, there is no doubtthat it will be famous. One can also saythat safely due to its quality contents.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEFINITION

[email protected]

Zardari's Royal JotshiDid this gentle soul also inform theRaja about his spouse's death? I thinksure he did but Raja knew that he canbe only Raja if he gives the ‘bali’ of hiswife. Good show Raja, but the

Almighty has his own plans no Jotishcan reach there. InshAllah we will seethe end of you and your.

QAMBAR

[email protected]

Ismail and Junaid releasingtheir third venture soon

Heard it in Junaid's car, before it wasout. I should say it's worth the wait of1.5 years. Man what a blend ofinstruments! I prefer all genres but Iswear I never came across such aphenomenal thing before.. Ismail andJunaid- magical voice and magicalfingers respectively!

IMRAN

Sports an unwantedʻitemʼ in universities

Nice post. I learn something totallynew and challenging on blogs Istumble upon every day. It will alwaysbe interesting to read through articlesfrom other authors and use a littlesomething from their websites.

FINLEY

[email protected]

I was wondering if you ever thoughtof changing the page layout of yourwebsite. It’s very well written; I love whatyou’ve got to say. But maybe youcould a little more in the way ofcontent so people could connectwith it better. You’ve got an awfullot of text for only having 1 or twopictures. Maybe you could space itout better?

GONZALO

[email protected]

US-Saudi funded terroristssowing chaos in Pakistan

It’s an eye opener for all of us welldone for coming up with such writing.

DR. ABDUL SADIQ

[email protected]

Vegetarianism =snobbery

This is with regards to the article,“Why I am a vegetarian” publishedyesterday. I think the writer is one

of those “cool” brigade who want tobe all pretentious about thesophisticated and sensitive side.The article smacks of snobbery,and if the writer wants to fight forthe rights of a species he mightrealise that there are human beingsdying in the country.

This is a classic case of a “holierthan thou” attitude that these so-called liberals and activists in ourneck of the woods manifest. Ohlook I don’t eat meat and so I’mautomatically superior to those“barbarians” who eat the pooranimals.

If you actually want to be “holier”than the rest, there are quite a fewother means that might be moreeffective in Pakistan.

Trust me no one is going tovenerate you as a superior being ifyou limit your food intake tovegetables. Think of somethingdifferent my friend.

MUHAMMAD BUTT

LAHORE

Please email your letters [email protected] or postthem to our address in Islamabad.

EDITOR’SMAIL BOX

Feedback from the web

ASMA SHIRAZI

Travelling through India reveals many problems that the two nations share - such as the power crisis, rising petrolprices, and corruption in high office. Yet the attitude of the people is so completely different


Another week, another tragedy.Another period of protest in aState increasingly becoming asimpotent as possibly Somalia orAfghanistan has been in recentweeks. Worse still is the confusingnarrative we have at the nationallevel due either to our under-developed national language orour hollow ideological posturing.Even the loud rightists and thenow mostly outdated lefties, goround and round words but fail toexplain anything or point to a wayforward, especially on the issue ofterrorism. The more worryingsign is the gradual erosion ofauthority and faith in the publicoffices of the interior minister, thegovernor and the inspectorgeneral of police. Despite theirseveral assurances no one iswilling to believe that Quetta willbe a secure place in future.

The other part of these tragediesis that no one is willing to tell thePakistani people the actual story.After all, the security agencies andthe police do have some pieces ofthe puzzle from earlierinvestigations. In many cases theyknow the actual culprits, caneasily connect the dots regardingthe identities of terrorist outfitsand their sponsors. Why they keepit to themselves and are unwillingto share it with the press and thepeople remains a mystery. Thisinformation void then leads toconspiracy theories and adds tothe confusion we are in. Theenemy has no face, leads to notrace of its supporters and nomoney trail. No one is heldaccountable, not the police mostcertainly, so there are nocorrective measures in sight toassure us things will get better. Nointerior minister or police chief inany respectable State could haveshown such disrespect andcallousness towards their ownpeople and the media.

Let’s get this right. There hasalways been bad blood betweenthe Deobandi and Shia people butto think that they were thirstingfor each other’s blood is absolutelywrong. A respectable Deobandischolar told me personally that inthe fifties and sixties they couldnot have even think of promotingviolence on a sectarian basis.Intentions aside, it is not evenpossible logistically. No one wasthat rich till the seventies, or thatwell-connected to be able to planand sustain such violence on sucha large scale.

Till the seventies, big money wasnot as respected as it is now butideology was important. Even so,no Deobandi speakers’ circuitwould publicly indulge in Shia-

bashing, although privately theremay have been disagreement anddisdain, or even hatred for thesect. It was in the eighties whenbig money started flowing intothis country to the Deobandi andSalafi from Arab states. Aroundthe same time, some sections ofthe Shia community startedreceiving funding from Iran whichbecame ambitious aboutexporting its revolution.

There is a theory that GeneralZia promoted anti- Shiasentiments to push back Iran’sinfluence and to carry on with theanti communist war inAfghanistan. However, with therise of Haq Nawaz Jhangvi andhis narrative and oratory easilyavailable on audio cassettes, theyounger madrassa students inDeobandi schools were radicalisedand a tacit street fight broke outbetween the Shia and Sunni.

After the assassination of theleader of Imamia StudentsOrganisation, Mohammed AliNaqvi, in Lahore and Haq Nawaz,Israr-ul-Haq Qasmi andsubsequently Zia RehmanFaruqi’s assassinations, alongwith many others supporters, theblood feud between the twogroups began in earnest. Thiswas the period of a quasi-martiallaw and weak democraticgovernments. In the nineties, thecivil and military elite wereengaged in a battle for power,losing sight of these groups whowere able to develop into welltrained outfits. There were someweak attempts in the earlynineties to contain them andother Islamic parties tried tointervene through the MilliYakjehti Council to defusetensions, but with the Statelargely silent, they could not buildpeace on such initiatives.

Fifteen years later, now whenthe State’s security infrastructureis overburdened and politicised,virtually no one is working oncontaining these extremistgroups. In fact, no deputycommissioner or district policechief tried to defuse sectarianstrife in Quetta or in any otherdistrict of Balochistan. The mostefficient of them, Noonul AminMengal included, were good onlyat maintaining peace duringMoharram.

Maintaining law and order andestablishing the writ of the Stateis a 365-days, 24/7 job. Politicalleaders have to show their goodintentions and resolve in fightingthis collapse of reason. Thepeople are in despair. This is notime for complacency.

ASHRAF TAHIR WRITES ON SOCIAL

POLICY ISSUES

No time forcomplacency

Canada’s role in the postmodern imperial worldis as a poster child for promoting formalelectoral democracy -- at home and abroad.Internationally, instead of offering peacekeepingtroops to the UN, as in days of yore, andpromoting grassroots development in the thirdworld, it takes orders directly from its US-Euromasters, helping them invade countries ifnecessary to set up the mechanisms forelections, and ignoring for the most part the realproblems that the poor of the world face.

It uses its foreign diplomatic service not topromote peace and social justice, but tosupport the needs of Canadian corporationsabroad and facilitate their quest for profits.This has been the strategy in Afghanistan,Libya and now Mali, the latter in cooperationwith France, with Canada providing airtransport of French military equipment. It isthe mirror image of its treatment of Canada’snative people, who are force-fed a similarformal role in Canada’s political system.

Canada actively participated in the overthrowof Gaddafi, who admittedly had treatedCanadian businesses cavalierly. In 2009, henationalized the Libyan operations of theCanadian oil company Verenex and cut Suncor’sproduction quota by 50%. In 2011, 12 Canadiancompanies had offices in Libya, and they werewell served by government policy.

The Royal Canadian Air Force bombed Libyaand the Canadian navy helped blockade thecountry to overthrow Gaddafi. Foreign AffairsMinister John Baird visited Benghazi in Juneand Tripoli in October 2011, accompanied by adelegation of Canadian businessmen, includingfrom Suncor, to meet with NationalTransitional Council members. In January2012, Minister of International Trade andMinister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway EdwardFast also traveled to Tripoli with a largebusiness delegation to further promote Canada-Libya trade and investment.

Officially the Canadian policy is democracypromotion, though that claim is undermined bythe governing conservatives’ actual policies.They have disbanded or drastically reduced thepower of government agencies that once had theresponsibility of promoting democracy at theglobal level, including the Office of DemocraticGovernance, the Democracy Unit and theForum of Federations. Then there is thewholesale government slashing of funding ofNGOs involved in democracy promotion andhuman rights, such as the International Centrefor Human Rights and DemocraticDevelopment, the Canadian Human RightsCommission, Kairos, Status of Women Canadaand the Court Challenges Program -- affectingtens of thousands of Canadians and victims ofviolence around the world.

If Canada is serious about helping to establishdemocracy in Libya, then encouraging acompany like Suncor to participate in theExtractive Industries Transparency Initiative(EITI) would be a good sign. But is the role ofthe Canadian government to make sureCanadian companies are responsible corporatecitizens at home and around the world? Or is itjust to promote those companies, come hell orhigh water? Apparently, the latter, and themodus operandi is to call up the minister ofdefence and have him ‘send in the troops.’

The recent French military intervention inMali also focuses on “restoring democracy,”without any consideration for the political andeconomic problems that caused the Maliangovernment’s collapse. Mali’s colonial eraborders were fashioned by the French, lumpingthe desert north (sparsely populated by light-skinned nomadic Arab-Berber and Tuareg), andthe more fecund south populated by dozens ofdarker, sub-Saharan tribes.

The French tried to impose le francais as thelingua franca, but most Malians were notinterested, and Bambara is spoken by 80% of

Malians. This is hardly surprising, as almost70% of Malians are illiterate and 50% live inpoverty. The idea of the invasion is to ‘defeat theterrorists’ in the north and push Mali back intoits pre-2011 shaky electoral democracy. There isno chance that any duly elected government willsurvive, given the pressing social problems andthe impossible ethnic stand-off which led to thecollapse of the previous government, led byretired general President Amadou Toure.

Mali is Africa’s third largest producer of gold,a sector dominated by foreign firms, includingthe Canadian Iamgold and Avion. It is also amajor uranium and cotton producer. Theseindustries are entirely devoted to export andbased in the south. Government revenue reliesmostly on their crumbs and of courseinternational aid. Despite its relatively smallpopulation of 15.8 million, Mali is the fourthlargest recipient in Africa of Canada’s foreignaid, mostly to promote food security andimprove health standards in the south. Aidpayments were suspended after the March 2012coup, and the Canadian military assisted theFrench in the invasion of the north in January.

The military intervention to prop up thebrittle neocolonial regime will - the imperialistshope - prop up similarly dysfunctional pseudo-democracies in Mali’s neighbors Mauritania,Burkina Faso and Niger - buttressed byAFRICOM, the US military command in Africa,which Niger has tentatively agreed to host.

With no sustained literacy or industrializationcampaigns in any of these countries sinceindependence, it is hard to imagine thisreversion to old-style imperialism to deal withMalian-type crises will be successful. Onlydisinterested regional efforts to address theregion’s instability and dire poverty can possiblyhelp. Bilateral aid address to neocolonial eliteshas little positive effect on the daily lives of thecommon people, who are divided into a complexarray of tribes, with no relationship to colonial

culture or borders. Mali merely is an extremecase, where the north must be addressed in thecontext of the Saharan Berbers, who inhabit thenorth Africa states as well as Mali and itsSahelian neighbors.

Scripting this rousing scenario is vital, as itdistracts one and all from the real problembehind the collapse of governments across theneocolonial world. Where countries - forexample, Tunisia -- have tried to shake off thisneocolonial paternalism, their governments arevilified by the West and often undermined. PoorTunisia, where the Muslim Brotherhood formeda government after decades of western-backedsuppression by a corrupt secular regime, nowfaces subversion, most recently the assassinationof secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid.Instead of trying to help the new popular butinexperienced leaders, French Interior MinisterManuel Valls declared that Tunisia was not amodel for the Arab Spring because of its“Islamic fascist dictatorship,” thereby lumpingall Islamists together as potential terroriststhreatening France. At least Canadian officialsare slightly more discrete in their comments.

The staunchly secular Tunisian Francophoneelite, who have done everything possible toundermine the popular government, issubservient to France politically and culturallyto such an extent that some of its members havedemanded direct French intervention to rescuethe country, looking over their shoulders atTunisia and Mali as the new model. Thisscenario is repeated in Egypt, where the militantsecularist opposition is also franticallycooperating with the old guard, directly inleague with the West’s postmodern agenda.

The fallout from this Machiavellian strategy --the destabilization of the entire Sahara region,possibly all of north Africa -- apparently isworth the price. In Mali, the return home ofdisgruntled jobless mercenaries from Libyaupset the fragile neocolonial equilibrium,

requiring mopping up by the previous colonialpower France. Regional Islamist movements,unimpressed by the NATO ‘shock and awe’ thattoppled Gaddafi, felt they could now achieve inthe Sahel what they had failed to in Algeriatwenty years ago: an Islamic state, but this timebased on a narrower and more intolerantinterpretation of sharia law.

The invasion of northern Mali waspurportedly another R2P venture, to avengethe lopping off of a few dozen sinners’ handsor heads, but this is a pretext only. Already,the French have killed hundreds of rebels(‘good’ or ‘bad’) and hundreds of innocentsas ‘collateral damage.’ A life is a life, and adeath -- a death. The imperialists are themasters at killing and terrorism. The UScynically ignores (if not actively promotes)genuine terrorism which does not ‘qualify’by its definition. Inter alia, it just blocked a Russian-proposed UN Security Councilresolution which condemned the terroristattack in Damascus 21 February whichkilled 53.

While it is the ‘big guns’ of the US, France, etal that initiate these invasions and/or arm theappropriate insurgents, Canada dutifully followsin their wake. There is no role for the UN in thispostmodern imperialism (where ‘imperialism’ isjust a word, signifying nothing, as theexploitation is completely hidden behind the‘market’ and US dollar/military hegemony).

It is not surprising that Canada under itsoxymoronic neoliberal neoconservatives hasdecided to dispense with its neutral do-goodimage there (however little it actuallycorresponded to reality) in favor of directsupport for the empire. After all, it is theempire that controls (or has pretenses tocontrol) the world, so why bother withpretenses to the contrary?

(PRESSTV.IR)

Sitting in a cafeteria in a relatively cosyurban centre that demarcates no racialor religious boundaries, a young andfiery Ramesh Jaipal seemed casual butdetermined to get his point across.

‘This would not have been possiblefor us - to sit side by side- if we hadbeen in Rahim Yar Khan, myhometown,’ he says matter-of-factly.Ramesh is from the Dalit caste andvery conscious of what that means. Hespeaks in a neutral tone, recounting thediscrimination he has to face every day.

‘We need laws againstdiscrimination, because it hurts allminorities here,’ he continues.Ramesh is an activist who rose toprotest against this doublediscrimination of being Hindu andfrom the Dalit caste. Caste meansclass here too, because people areforced into poverty when they cannotaccess education and employment.

Ramesh works for his community,raising awareness among people of thescheduled caste for politicalrepresentation in the parliament. This,he believes, is the only way to lookahead and find relief for his peoplewho have been denied constitutionalrepresentation. Most politicians areafraid of representing them for fear ofdisrupting the status quo inconstituencies that have remainedunchanged for years.

The Constitution of Pakistanbrackets the Dalits under “ScheduledCastes of Pakistan”, with a total of 41

castes in the list. Since correctdemographic figures are not availableand can only be premised on thedecade-old census, more accuratedata can be accessed from theregistered voter lists of the ElectionCommission of Pakistan, or theindependent surveys of HinduCouncil of Pakistan which places thefigures at roughly 7.5 million.

According to the Hindu Council ofPakistan, among the entire Hinducommunity, only 3 percent are uppercaste Hindus whereas the rest are fromthe scheduled castes. Ironically, incomparison to the Hindu upper-castepopulation, the scheduled castes forma majority, but they don’t getnominated for political representation.In most cases, the scheduled caste-based communities remaindisinterested in the political process ascompared to upper caste Hindus dueperhaps to years of neglect bymainstream political parties and theirdisbelief in the democratic system.

The demands of the scheduled castesare justified - for instance, the demandfor reservation of seats in governmentoffices; a right that was taken fromthem in 1998 through an amendmentto the law. They also demand the rightto own land, especially forcommunities living ostracised liveswithin the stranglehold of biglandlords. These castes now demandthe fundamental right to own propertyand reside in their own homes.

They also complain that despitemillions of Rupees being allotted to

their representatives who come intopower through their votes, there is nodevelopment in their areas. Recently,there has been an increase in thenumber of reserved seats in thenational and provincial assemblies, butthis does not benefit the biggestminority of the scheduled castes whoremain unrepresented.

For example, in Rahim Yar Khanalone, there are 63.500 registeredvoters, dispelling the misperceptionpropagated by politicians about thenominal presence of Hindu Dalitcommunities. In South Punjab, theyexist in even larger numbers witharound 191,000 registered voters, yetthere is not a single representativenominated from their community bymainstream political parties.

There are about 272 constituenciesin the national assembly, of which 98constituencies have 10,000 or morescheduled caste minorities asregistered voters. In provincialassemblies too, of a total of 577constituencies, there are 191constituencies that cater to 5000 ormore registered voters from thescheduled caste communities. Withtheir numerical value, it is surprisingthat not a single mainstreampolitical party is interested inapproaching this vote bank.

The grievances of the scheduledcastes are unique as compared to otherminorities. Being the largest minority,they resent not being represented inparliament. They demand an end tofeudal oppression, social

discrimination and persecution basedon their caste and religion by Muslimsand upper caste Hindus. It is sad tonote that this country was founded onsimilar reasons, the discrimination byupper caste Hindus of the Muslimmajority. A new country was formedfor better representation and amajority of Dalits decided to remain inPakistan to avoid discrimination byupper caste Hindus but they fell victimto neglect after partition too.

But now the struggle for thescheduled caste is beginning to gainmomentum. On 10 January, 2013there was a gathering of the All-Pakistan Scheduled Caste Hindusconference where approximately 4000members gathered under the banner ofthe Scheduled Caste Rights Movement,spearheaded by Ramesh Jaipal.

‘If our demands for politicalrepresentation are not met, we willannounce a boycott of the upcomingelections,’ asserts Jaipal. This meeting,the first of its kind for the Dalitcommunity, is of major significance butthe event hardly got any coverage inthe media. And even if it did, it wentunnoticed or was taken in its stride byviewers and readers.

As the international communitywatches the elections In Pakistan,without the minorities beingrepresented, the authenticity andtransparency of the election processwill remain dubious.

ZEEBA T. HASHMI IS AN

INDEPENDENT WRITER

Ignored by the mainstream parties

ZEEBA T. HASHMI

ERIC WALBERG

Raising awareness among people of the scheduled caste for politicalrepresentation in the parliament is the only way to look ahead and find relieffor people who face the double discrimination of being Hindu and Dalit

Despite several assurances by theauthorities no one is willing to believethat Quetta will be a secure place in future

Canada uses its foreign diplomatic service to support their corporations abroad and facilitate their quest for profits

Democracy Canadian-style

ASHRAF TAHIR


UN Security Councilhails DRC peace accordUNITED NATIONS: The UNSecurity Council on Sundaywelcomed the signing of a UN-mediated accord aimed at ending twodecades of conflict in the eastern partof the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC). The council members urgedgood faith of signatories and askedUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonto regularly report on theimplementation of the agreement andon any breaches of the commitments.The deal, providing for thedeployment of an internationalneutral force in the DRC, was inked inAddis Ababa at a ceremony attendedby Ban and representatives from 11African countries including theRepublic of Congo, Mozambique,Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudanand Tanzania. –AGENCIES

Protest votes increaseuncertainty in Italy pollsROME: Italy's parliamentaryelection drew to a close on Mondaywith a predicted surge in protestvotes raising uncertainty over thechances it will result in agovernment strong and stableenough to fend off the danger of anew euro zone crisis. Opinion pollsbefore the two-day vote gave thecentre-left coalition led by Pier LuigiBersani a narrow lead and Italianstocks and bonds rose as traders beton a pro-reform governmentpossibly backed by outgoing PrimeMinister Mario Monti. But the racehas been complicated by deep voteranger against biting austeritymeasures and a wave of political andcorporate scandals, boosting theanti-establishment 5-StarMovement. –AGENCIES

France, Germany urgerapid Cyprus bailout talksBERLIN: The governments of Franceand Germany have called on thenewly elected leaders of Cyprus tospeed up talks on the eurozonemember's sovereign bailout. But someobstacles will still have to be removed.In a joint statement on Monday, thefinance ministers of France andGermany called for greater effort byCyprus to accelerate an agreement ona rescue package for the debt-strickeneurozone member country."Discussions should resume shortlywith a view to reach a deal before theend of March," the statement said,with the ministers stressing the needfor a significant fiscal and structuraladjustment in Cyprus. –AGENCIES

UK cardinal quits afterʻinappropriate actsʼ claimsLONDON: Cardinal Keith O’Brien,Britain’s most senior Roman Catholiccleric, has resigned with immediateeffect in the wake of allegations ofinappropriate behaviour, he said in astatement on Monday. O’Brien, whoas Archbishop of St Andrews andEdinburgh was leader of the CatholicChurch in Scotland, denies allegationsthat he made sexual advances towardspriests in the 1980s. He had been dueto be the only cardinal from Britain tovote on a replacement for PopeBenedict XVI following the pontiff ’sshock resignation on February 11. Herecently said that same-sex marriageswould be “harmful to the physical,mental and spiritual well-being ofthose involved” and has long voicedopposition to gay adoption. –AGENCIES

JILL FILIPOVIC

IT'S hardly breaking news thatjunk food is bad for us. But justhow bad – and just how muchfood companies know aboutthe addictive components of

certain foods, and just how much theydeliberately target the most vulnerableconsumers knowing they are doingdamage – is still being discovered. TheNew York Times offers the latestinstallment in this weekend's magazinewith an article about the science ofjunk food addiction.

Nearly everything written about foodin the mainstream media relies on thesame narrative: Obesity is bad. Thatkind of reporting is part of what'skeeping us sick.

There's no denying the fact that theAmerican public has gotten larger inrecent decades. Along with gettingfatter, we've also seen a rise in illnesseslike diabetes, heart disease and certaincancers. Instead of focusing on how ourhealth is hurting, most of the mediacoverage uses the term "obesity,"making the story more about weightthan about health – to the point whereit's become an accepted truth that "fat"

equals "unhealthy". That's not actuallythe case, though. While "the obesityepidemic" may be a convenient catch-all for the illnesses and health problemsrelated to our food chain, it's a lazyterm and an inaccurate one. Are weactually worried about public health?Or are we offended by fat bodies thatdon't meet our thin ideals?

In all seriousness: What good does afocus on body size actually do?

If we're actually concerned abouthealth, then we should focus on health.The addictive qualities of our food, thelack of oversight, the high levels ofchemicals and the governmentsubsidies that make the worst foods themost accessible should concern us andspur us to action.

Nutrient-deficient chemically-processed "food" in increasingly largersizes is bad for all of our bodies,whether we're fat or thin or somewherein between. So is the culture in whichfast food is able to thrive. Americanswork more than ever before; we takefewer vacation days and put in longerhours, especially since the recession hit.The US remains the only industrializedcountry without national paid parentalleave and without mandatory annual

vacation time; we also have no federallaw requiring paid sick days. Eighty-five percent of American men and 66%of womenwork more than 40 hours perweek (in Norway, for comparison, 23%of men work more than 40-hourweeks, and only 7% of women).

Despite all this work, Americanincome levels remain remarkablypolarized, with the richest fewcontrolling nearly all of the wealth. Inone of the wealthiest countries onearth, one in seven people rely onfederal food aid, with most of thefinancial benefits going to big foodcompanies who are also able toproduce cheap, nutritionallyquestionable food thanks toagricultural subsidies. The prices of theworst foods are artificially depressed,the big food lobbies have enormouspower, and the biggest loser is theAmerican public, especially low-income folks who spend largerproportions of their income on foodbut face systematic impediments tohealthy eating and exercise.

With demanding work days, little timeoff and disproportionate amounts of ourincomes going toward things like healthinsurance and childcare that other

countries provide at a lower cost, is it anysurprise that we eat fast-food breakfaston our laps in the car and prefer dinneroptions that are quick and cheap?

Reforming our food system requiresmajor structural changes, not finger-wagging to put down that bag of chips.We need to push back againstcorporate interests. Food companiesare incredibly adept at positingthemselves as crusaders for personalchoice and entities simply dedicated togiving the public what it wants.Somehow, big food companies haveconvinced us that drinking a 32oz sodais a matter of personal liberty, and thatthe government has no place inregulating how much liquid sugar canbe sold in a single container.

In fact, we know – and they certainlyknow – that human beings areremarkably bad at judging how muchwe're eating. Food companies use thatinformation to encourage over-consumption, and to target certainconsumers who tend to have lessdisposable income to invest in healthyfood – poor people, people of color,kids.

Food is a social justice issue that hasdisproportionately negative impacts on

groups already facing hardship. Thatshould be an issue for every sociallyconscious person. But when looking atthe myriad problems caused not onlyby our big food industry but by thepolicies that enable them and ourcultural norms that incentivize poorhealth choices, too many people simplyturn "obesity" into the boogeyman.

Doctors even blame fatness for all sortsof medical conditions and people don'tget proper treatment. Fat women go tothe doctor less oftenfor routine cancerscreenings, and patients anecdotallyreport doctors focusing on their weightand ignoring real medical problems likebroken bones and asthma.

On the policy side, promoters of lawsthat incentive health or push back oncorporate food interests such asMichelle Obama's Let's Move!initiative, bans on extra-large sodas,and extra SNAP benefits at farmer'smarkets inevitably target "obesity" intheir campaigns. That strategy has theeffect of maligning the aesthetic ofcertain bodies instead of encouragingeveryone to be healthier andcountering the enormous influence ofbig companies. As a result, manypeople who should be the natural allies

of health-promoting initiatives but areput off by the shaming fat language.

"Obesity epidemic" language has alsofed into the idea of body size and eatinghabits as social tribe. Thinner kale-eating elite liberals in the Northeast aretrying to force-feed broccoli to heavierreal Americans in the South andMidwest. No one wins with that kindof cultural polarization.

Yes, let's push back against big foodcompanies and question their outsizedinfluence in Washington and in ourdaily lives. Let's focus on makinghealthy food more widely accessible.Let's realize that the challenges extendbeyond just what we eat, andnecessitate a hard look at why we makethese choices. Let's fight for thehumane work policies that will makeus all healthier.

But let's do that because publichealth is all of our concern, not becauseit's culturally easy to point the finger atfat people. Giving every member of asociety the chance to be as healthy aspossible is a moral good. It saves moneyand it saves lives. So let's do it the rightway and the most effective way withoutlazily relying on the word "obesity."

(The Guardian)

Fight unhealthy food, not fat peopleIt’s a lot easier to point fingers at fat people than address the real factors making everyone’s lives unhealthy

GENEVA: The United NationsSecurity Council has “failed” to bringan end to the spiralling conflict inSyria, the UN’s human rights chiefsaid on Monday.

“The Security Council has so farfailed with regard to Syria,” NaviPillay told ministers as the 22ndsession of the UN Human RightsCouncil kicked off in Geneva.

Vuk Jeremic, the president of theUN General Assembly, joined Pillayin criticising the internationalcommunity’s inaction on Syria.

“For close to two years, theinternational community has failed toput a stop to the carnage,” he said.

“The immediate cessation ofhostilities should be our foremost

priority.” Pillay said her office hadpushed repeatedly for the SecurityCouncil to refer the conflict to theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) inthe Hague. “Two importantsituations, Darfur in 2008 and Libyain 2011, have been referred” by theSecurity Council,” Pillay said, but ithad not done the same for Syria,“despite the repeated reports ofwidespread or systematic crimes andviolations by my office,” and a widerange of other sources, she said. TheICC can only probe war crimes ifasked to by the Security Council.

In its latest report published earlierthis month, a UN commission ofinquiry found that war crimes by bothgovernment forces and rebels in Syria

were spiralling amid an increasinglyradicalised and sectarian conflict.

The UN estimates that more than70,000 people have died in the twoyears since President Bashar al-Assad’scrackdown began on anti-regimeprotesters. The Security Council is splitbetween Western members andRussia, a staunch Syrian ally, plusChina. China has backed Russia invetoing Security Council resolutionsthat would have put greater pressureon Assad’s regime. Beijing has alsorepeatedly urged dialogue to end theviolence. Swiss Foreign MinisterDidier Burkhalter also reiteratedSwitzerland’s call for the conflict to bereferred to the ICC.

The world, he told the Human

Rights Council, was witnessing a“human catastrophe, a humanitariancatastrophe” in Syria. Switzerland last

month filed a petition signed by 52countries calling for the ICC to open acase on war crimes in Syria. –AGENCIES

UN Security Council has ‘failed’ Syria: rights chief� Says her office pushed repeatedly for the Security Council to refer the conflict to ICC in the Hague

MUNSHIGANJ: Family members of victims cry after their relatives were killed by police during a countrywide strike in Munshiganj district.At least five people were killed and over 50 injured when clashed with police in Bangladesh. –WIRE SERVICE

TEHRAN: Iran's IslamicRevolution Guards Corps(IRGC) test-fired a short-range anti-ship missileon Sunday, Press TVreported.

The domesticallydesigned and developedZafar (Triumph) missile,which can destroy small-and mid-sized targets, wastest-fired in the southernIranian port city ofBandar Abbas, said thereport. During the test,the missile, mounted ontolight speed boat,accurately detected thedesignated targets anddestroyed them, accordingto Press TV.

On Saturday, the IRGCtested a shoulder-launched anti-aircraftgun, which can be used toshoot down helicopter.

The 20-mm caliberweapon can targethelicopters at a distance of1,400 meters (4,593 feet).

Concurrent with the testof military equipments,the IRGC continued its 3-day military drill whichstarted in the southeast ofIran on Saturday. –AGENCIES

S Koreaʼs first femalepresident takes office

SEOUL: Park Geun-hye was sworn inas South Korea's first female presidentMonday, pledging economic revival andeducational system overhaul and urgingthe Democratic People's Republic ofKorea (DPRK) to rid itself of nuclearprograms. "The new administrationwill usher in a new era of hopepremised on a revitalizing economy, thehappiness of our people, and theblossoming of our culture," Park said inan inauguration speech delivered to

some 70,000 people gathered in front of the parliament for theceremony. The 61-year-old vowed to root out "unfair practices"that stifled the growth of small and medium-sized businesses,reform the educational system to allow more room for creativityand bring about "flourishing culture." Park, whose inaugurationcame on the heels of a widely condemned nuclear test by theDPRK, also sent a warning message to the unpredictablenorthern neighbor. –AGENCIES

WEST BANK: Palestinian presidentMahmud Abbas said on Mondaythat Israel was deliberately seekingto stoke unrest in the occupied WestBank but that Palestinians wouldnot be provoked.

“The Israelis want chaos and weknow it but we won’t let them,”Abbas said in comments at his WestBank headquarters, seemingly inresponse to an Israeli demand onSunday that he calm a wave ofprotest in the territory. “We wantpeace and freedom for our prisonersand no matter how hard they try todrag us into their schemes, we willnot be dragged,” he said.

Protests in support of Palestinianprisoners on hunger strike in Israeliprisons have been building and gainednew momentum with the suddendeath in his cell on Saturday of 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat, a formermilitant of Abbas’s Fatah movement.Palestinian officials accuse Israel oftorturing him to death.

“We lost Arafat Jaradat who wasarrested and came back in a coffinand this cannot pass lightly,” Abbassaid. Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu’s office said on Sundaythat “Israel passed an unequivocal

demand to the Palestinian Authorityto calm down the [West Bank]territory.” Militants of the al-AqsaMartyrs Brigades, the armed wing ofPalestinian President Abbas’s Fatahmovement, vowed Monday toavenge a prisoner allegedly torturedto death in an Israeli jail.

“This horrific crime will not gounpunished, and we promise theZionist occupation that we willrespond to this crime,” said astatement distributed to crowds atthe funeral of Arafat Jaradat, whilemasked members of the militantgroup fired assault rifles into the air,Agence France Presse journalists atthe scene reported.

The militants were amongthousands of people, many wavingFatah banners or Palestinian flags,who flocked to Sair, Jaradat’s homevillage near the city of Hebron in thesouthern West Bank, for his burialthere. “The al-Aqsa Brigades, thearmed wing of the Fatah nationalliberation movement, mourns withall pride its hero, the martyr offreedom, the prisoner ArafatJaradat,” the statement said, inreference to his membership of thegroup. –AGENCIES

BRUSSELS: NATO said Monday that ithas found no evidence backing up anAfghan government claim that armedpeople who may be US special forcescarried out acts of torture and murder.

"We will not start with the assumptionthat the allegations are true," NATO'sInternational Security Assistance Forcesaid in a Twitter post. "We looked into theallegations" and "found no supportingevidence for them."

The NATO response comes a day afterAfghanistan's government demanded thatUS special forces leave Wardak province, akey area west of the Afghan capital wherethe alleged horrors took place. TheAfghanistan National Security Council alsosaid the ISAF must stop all special forceoperations in the province.

Force officials are planning talks withAfghan officials over the allegations ofwrongdoing, the ISAF said. The USmilitary has said it is investigating. "Untilwe have a chance to speak with Afghanofficials, we can't comment further onthe statements of yesterday," the ISAFsaid Monday.

At a meeting of the Afghan council, ledby President Hamid Karzai, "it becameclear that armed individuals named as USspecial force stationed in Wardakprovince engage in harassing, annoying,

torturing and even murdering innocentpeople," Karzai's office said in a statementSunday. The statement did not indicatewho "named" the group a US specialforce. It added that the United Statesrejects any suggestion that its specialforces carried out any such operation.

Nine people "disappeared in an operationby this suspicious force," the president'soffice said. And in another incident, astudent was taken from his home at night,and his "tortured body with throat cut wasfound two days later under a bridge." "Suchactions have caused local public resentmentand hatred," Karzai's office said.

Last April, the United States andAfghanistan signed a deal giving Afghanauthorities an effective veto overcontroversial special forces missions. Theagreement prevents the ISAF fromconducting such operations without theexplicit permission of Afghan officials, asenior NATO official said. And specialoperations forces will operate underAfghan law, said a statement fromKarzai's office.

The complex system fully "Afghanized"such operations, putting Afghancommandos in the lead and givingAmerican special forces a "training andsupport role," a senior Afghan officialsaid. –AGENCIES

Israel stokingchaos in WestBank: Abbas

Iran test-firesanti-shipmissile

Afghan claim of torture, murder

No evidence provingmisconduct: NATO

Gold 10 Gms Dollar Interbank Kibor 6 months T Bills6 months Urea/Bag Coal Spot 10-Y PIB Furnace oilRs.52028 Rs. 98.18 9.15%-9.40% 9.16% Rs. 1704 $92.85/Ton 11.42% 76,188/MT


Yen slides on BOJ report, shares gain on policy hopesLONDON: The yen hit a 33-monthlow against the dollar on Monday asthe prospect of unprecedentedmonetary easing in Japan rose, whileworld shares gained on hopes othermajor central banks will maintain orexpand stimulus measures. Japan'scurrency's resumed its recent slideafter reports that the governmentwould nominate Haruhiko Kuroda, avocal advocate of aggressivemonetary expansion, to be the nextgovernor at the Bank of Japan. Asource familiar with the process toldReuters that an academic critical ofcentral bank efforts to fight deflationwould also be named as one of twonew deputy governors. "Both thosecandidates are in favor of moreaggressive BOJ easing, and that isweighing upon the yen," said LeeHardman, currency economist atBank of Tokyo Mitsubishi. The yenhit a low of 94.77 against the dollar, alevel not seen since May 2010, beforeit recovered to around 94 yen. Theeuro jumped to a high of 125.36 yenand then settled at around 124.37,well below a 34-month peak of 127.71set early this month. –AGENCIES

6th Power GenerationConference todayKARACHI: The 6th InternationalPower Generation conference &exhibition (POWERGEN PAK 2013)will be held on February 26 (today)with a theme "Emerging Energy-Mixfor Sustainable Power Generation"at a local hotel at Karachi. NaeemQureshi, Chairman OrganizingCommittee of Power Gen Pak saidthat the conference will provideknowledge & awareness, networkingand Research & Developmentopportunities exclusively designedfor power generation through coal,hydro, renewable, thermal, and fossilfuels etc and allied industries.Energy Update is organizing theevent which will offer an interactiveconference; enabling local andinternational energy experts,regulators, power producers,academia to talk on latestadvancements being adopted andutilized worldwide especially in AsiaPacific Region, he added. –AGENCIES

Investors face two sets ofrules for bank loan lossesLONDON: Investors will have tograpple with two sets of rules forhow banks recognize losses on loansafter the world's two mainaccounting regulators failed toagree a common approach. At theheight of the financial crisis in2009, the Group of 20 industrialand industrializing nations askedthe International AccountingStandards Board (IASB) and theU.S. Financial AccountingStandards Board (FASB) to aligntheir rules to make cross-bordercomparisons between companieseasier. They specifically requestednew rules to force banks toacknowledge impaired loans muchsooner, which might allow them toaddress problems in good time andprevent a repeat of taxpayerbailouts. –AGENCIES

STAFF REPORT

KARACHI: At the start of the trading week, itlooked like business as usual i.e. another day ofHighs when the index climbed over 18,100registering an intraday hike of 100 points.National bank, Engro and Telecom sector wereagain at the forefront of the buying activity.Engro food also closed at the upper cap, butwhile PTCL was going thru a technical priceadjustment a bear trap was on display whichpulled the market in the red zone soon.National Bank’ announced helped the marketto recover a bit. The benchmark index closed at18020 losing 43 points for the day. Volumesremain on the healthier side with 346 millionshares changed hands in all.Stock to WatchPSO

Inline-with-expectations for the first half ofthe current fiscal year PSO reported Earnings

per share at Rs30.48, up 37 from last year. Theascend in profitability was driven by (1) higherinventory gains, (2) lower exchange losses and(3) higher spread earned on delayed payments.In its recently held analyst briefing, PSOflagged likely earnings impact of Rs1.8/share ofpotential hike in margins (+Rs0.25/litre onPetrol and +Rs0.10/litre onHSD). At the same time, JSresearch suggests potentialrelief on circular debt fromthe government andmaintains Earning per shareof Rs60.4 and is bullish onthe stock with a Possible Target price exceedingRs250. Indus Motors Co. (INDU)

Indus Motors reported 1HFY13 interimdividend of Rs 6/sh which was Rs 8/sh at thecorresponding year wherein the company hasalso reported decrease in profitability unlike

other peers such as Pak Suzuki and AtlasHonda Cars. The EPS slashed from Rs.22.48/sh to Rs. 12.44/sh i.e. by whopping 45%,at the pretext of huge decrease of 27% decreasein sales as compared to reported sales in thecorresponding year. Decline of sales was mainlyaffected due to the discontinuation of

production of Coure -one ofthe bestselling cars, middleincome segment car.Production of Coure wasdiscontinued because it wasnot matching with the EuroII standards. Company has

performed quite well in term of sales in firstmonth of third quarter. Currently company isassembling only one product in Pakistan that isToyota Corolla. And recently company haslaunched new limited edition models of CorollaGLI and GLI automatic which have capturedattention of buyers. According to PAMA's data

it shows that company has produced 3418 unitsin only first month of 3rd quarter which was4428 units in whole 2nd quarter. Whereas saleshave showed drastic increase in first month ofthird quarter by selling 3296 units as compareto 5397 units sold in 3months period of secondquarter. Standard Capital research is not veryoptimistic on the stock.Predictions

The results season is almost over, so is theperiod of the current government setup. Theunknown follows from here on in. Uncertaintysurrounds the caretaker government setup andelections which would force a caution stanceamongst the investors and institutions. On thesheets of most research houses it is nowcommon to see a ‘Hold” stance against majorityof blue chips. Perhaps the time to hold thehorses and observe caution, such volatilitywhich may continue after t 16th of march isnever good for equity.

Bears enter KSE as index takes 43-point plunge

SAHTAK BALOCH

ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committeeon Water & Power on Monday decided toretract 650MW electricity from KarachiElectric Supply Company (KESC) and alsoconstituted a subcommittee to probe issuespertaining agreement of KESC privatisationwith Al Abraj group, taxes and TV licence feeof Pakistan Television Corporation.

Presided over by Awami National Party(ANP) leader Senator Zahid Khan, thecommittee, Monday, also reviewed theagreement of KESC privatisation with AlAbraj group, amendments in the agreement,role of KESC in energy crisis, provision ofcheap electricity to the KESC by NationalTransmission and Dispatch Company(NTDC) on subsidized rates and, withdrawalof 350MW from the company, taxes and TVlicence fee of Pakistan Television Corporationbeing collected for PTV from Karachities.

Chairman committee Zahid Khan said theKESC privatisation agreement was illegal as

many big fishes were involved in theagreement. He said Senate has given amandate to expose all those whosoever isinvolved. The Senate body has constituted asub-committee under the chair of SenatorShahi Syed to examine financialmisappropriation in the privatisationagreement of Karachi Electric SupplyCompany with UAE based company Al Abrajthat are resulting into Rs 110 billion annualloss to the national kitty, outstanding dues ofPTV license fee, details of Power purchaseagreement executed between KESC andNational Transmission Dispatch Company(NTDC) and decision of CCI to put back 350megawatt of electricity in the NTDC system.

Senator Shahi Syed said that financedivision waved off billion of rupees liabilitiesof KESC and later it was privatized and no onewas informed that why it has been done. Hesaid that process of privatization of KESCshows that it’s a big scam and influentialpersonalities are behind it. He said KESC gotincluded 15paisa in tariff for the salaries of

KESC employees but the company fired asmany as 7500 employees.

During the course of meeting, the Senatebody also asked Convener of the Sub-committee Shahi Syed to summon Ministry ofFinance, Water and Power, NTDC and FBR togive details about misappropriations in theprivatization of KESC and informed that underwhich conditions this process has been done.The body advised the Convener of thesubcommittee to get the legal opinion from thelaw department that what is the jurisdiction ofa committee regarding any decision aboutwithdrawal of 650 megawatts from KESC.

Senator Zahid Khan, Chairman of theStanding Committee further advisedministry of finance to not to accept anypressure in this regard and give impartialdetails about the whole process elseCommittee would take stern action andresponsible persons would be deal strictly.

Senator Humayun Mandokhel severelycriticised the KESC agreement with Al Abrajand said national kitty is facing Rs110billion

loss annually. Mandokhel expressed hisdispleasure over the absence of minister andthe secretary water and power from session ofSenate's Standing Committee and said ifVeena Malik were in the senate, the secretaryand minister for water and power would havebeen present.” Only Veena can lure theminister for water & power to the Senatecommittee, said Humayun Mandokhel.

Standing Committee also resented the hourslong power brake down of last night in thecountry and said that it is due to ineligibilityand negligence of the administration. TheCommittee also recommended the officials ofthe ministry to give complete details that howtariff are determined?

Standing Committee also raised the issue ofpromotions in the power distributioncompanies and recommended the officials ofthe Ministry of Water and Power to givepromotions to all deserving candidates in thepower distribution companies (DISCOs) andNTDC who are waiting for their promotionfrom years. Legislative body asked officials notto give promotions from outside because itcreates sense of deprivation among employees.

Senate retracts 650MW power from KESC

CURRENCY BUYING SELLINGUS Dollar 99.10 99.35Euro 131.25 131.48British Pound 149.04 149.25UAE Dirham 26.90 27.15Saudi Riyal 26.32 26.56Kuwaiti Dinar 348.10 351.85Canadian Dollar 95.89 97.59

NEW ORLEANS: Daniel Ek, CEO & Co-Founder of Spotify, addresses attendees during the International CTIA WIRELESS Conference & Exposition as Spotifyhooks up with Ford in first vehicle foray. –AGENCIES

� Committee to probe electric supply commissionʼs privitisation agreement with Al-Abraj as well

KSE 18020.50-53.77 -0.30%ISE 3374.87 -2.35 -0.07%LSE 4351.55 -15.34 -0.35%

Hamza Wasi Hashmion human resourcemanagement SHANEL KHALIQ

Innovative and novelideas have generatedimmense success in the

field of business. Such is thecase of Hamza Wasi Hashmi.He was a regular employer ofTCS when the idea regardingbusiness conferences andtrainings for employeessprung up in his head. Fromthen onwards he embarkedupon the most significantjourney of his career andstarted his own Terrabiz Group. The idea behind thisbrainchild of Hashmi was to facilitate the transfer ofbusiness knowledge and skills through conferences,training programs and industry led events. During hisexperience of working at companies such as TCS andNissan he realized the immense importance of humanresource and training. Many individuals withextraordinary academic background do not possessthe necessary expertise required to work in theindustry. It all started when he was working at TCSand organized the first meet up to clear certainmisunderstandings that were causing inefficiency. Themeet up proved successful and Hashmi realized thatnot only was interaction between the workforceimperative but also was training. So since 2007Terrabiz Group has been successfully involved inorganizing seminars workshops and trainings of thehuman resource of companies. For this purpose he hasintroduced some well-known speakers of internationalcaliber and exposure to come to Pakistan and conductcorporate meet ups. His future endeavors includeorganizing such conferences abroad especially inDubai as well to enable greater exchange and transferof knowledge. To date Terrabiz Group has 200international and national events to its credit.Networking is extremely important in business andtrade and these conferences and seminars provide aperfect platform for the human resource of differentcompanies to interact and learn from each other. Thebusiness community realizes this fact and perhaps thisis why the clientele of Terrabiz has growntremendously within the past few years. It is currentlyconducting 20 events in partnership and in variouscountries. Some of the famous Terrabiz events includeMIT Entrepreneurship Forum, Corporate Innovationand Entrepreneurship, Women in BusinessLeadership Conference, CFO Conference 'Rising CFO'and Terrabiz Human Capital Management Conference.Hamza Wasi Hashmi feels that the challenges faced byhis company are almost the same as what all businessescurrently face in the country. These include law andorder problems and the resulting economic backlash.However he feels that contrary to public opinion, manyforeign personnel are keen on coming to Pakistan andconducting workshops and trainings and the successfulorganization of such events by Terrabiz has proved this.

Profile

ISLAMABAD: The auto parts manufacturingindustry, terming the CCP report onautomobile sector as arbitrary and inaccurate,has observed that Competition Commissionof Pakistan's report is geared towardspromoting Used Car Traders Mafia and totalclosure of the mother of all industries (i.e. theauto industry).

Pakistan Association of Automotive PartsAccessories Manufacturers Chairman, MunirBana, stated on Monday that CCP'srecommendations, if implemented, wouldalso result in closure of already traumatizeddownstream auto parts manufacturingindustries, rendering jobless over 2 milliondirect & indirect workers of this sector.

Chairman Munir Bana and Vicechairman, Usman Malik, expressing dismayover the report’s one-sided findings andbiased recommendations, pointed out thatit is flawed as it is not based on thecompetition issues arising out of intra-localautomobile players. Instead, the reportcompares locally assembled cars with usedcars, which are illegally imported by tradersagainst concessions allowed only foroverseas Pakistanis.

Bana stated that such illegal activity ofused cars trade is by no mean comparable tothe production of new cars in Pakistan, butunfortunately, this has been taken as a basisfor determining the competition issues bythe commission. He further said that reportcriticises high Tariff protection (on newCBU vehicles and CKD Tariff ) given to localmanufacture of vehicles, but CCP isunaware that our protection is far lower

than other developed countries like China,Thailand & India.

Secondly, while supporting used carimport through Tariff protection, CCP isagain ignorant about SRO 577, whichprovides unjust concessions to used carimports. By this SRO the taxes collected arefar less than the normal Tax regime or therevenues collected from local auto industry.He said that economists regard industry asthe engine of growth, which serve aseconomic stimulus for all other sectors,including service industry.

Therefore, he said it is shocking that theCompetition Commission is oblivious of thefact that from 2001 ~ 2007, when theeconomy was stable and inflation & rupeedepreciation were under reasonable control,the local car prices remained stable and therewere no major increases in prices of localvehicles. During this period, due to stablepolicies of the government during 2004-07,the auto industry also went through a periodof tremendous expansion, with investment ofover Rs.40 billion and with volumes going upby over 500 per cent.

These developments made the auto industryone of the top five industrial sectors of thecountry in terms of contribution to taxrevenue, acquisition of hi-tech manufacturingtechnologies and generation of employment.

PAAPAM vice chairman Usman Malik pointedout that the CCP should know that businessenvironment in Pakistan at the moment areconfronted with hours of power loadshedding,weeks without natural gas and extremely bad lawand order situation. –AGENCIES

CCP report promotesused car traders’ mafia: PAAPAM

ICCI welcomesMandviwalla’sappointment asfinance ministerISLAMABAD: A delegation ofIslamabad Chamber of Commerce &Industry congratulated SaleemMandviwalla on his new portfolio.Mr.Zafar Bakhtawari, PresidentICCI said that business communityof Federal Capital welcomed theappointment of Saleem Mandviwallaas the Federal Minister for Financeby the President of Pakistan, Asif AliZardari.

He said that Mandviwalla broughta rich background of experiencewith him, including having servedas both Chairman of the Board ofInvestment and Minister of State forFinance, and also being a successfulbusinessman himself. Therefore, thebusiness community of the countryexpected that Mandviwalla wouldbe able to understand theirconcerns, given that he was himselfa member of the businesscommunity as well as served asPresident of the Lasbela Chamber ofCommerce and Industry before hewas inducted as chairman of theBoard of Investment.

Bakhtawari said that Mandviwallahad very recently visited theIslamabad Chambers of Commerceand Industry where he lent a patientear to the issues raised by thecountry’s leading businessmen andpromised to tackle them proactively.ICCI President expressed hope thatMandviwalla in his new capacitywould take steps to attract foreigninvestment as well as promote localinvestment. –AGENCIES

Shahid elected ApnaBank chairmanSTAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The Board of Directors (BoD) of Apna MicroFinance Bank has elected Mian M. A. Shahid as Chairmanof the bank. Mian M. A. Shahid is a noted investor who isalready serving as Chairman of the United InternationalGroup (UIG) that include Saudi Pak Insurance Company,United Insurance Company, Tawasal Insurance Services,Abu Dhabi, UIG Global, UK, and United Track Systems etc.

The board of directors appreciated his services and skillsas he swung to profit Saudi Pak Insurance Company whichwas in loss at the time of acquisition and transformedUnited Insurance Company in one the of the reputedorganisations in country’s insurance sector.

The BoD hoped that the new chairman will work hardfor making organisations profitable while stressingcorporate social responsibility, loans for homeless andsupporting the cottage industry. Speaking at the occasion,Mian Shahid expressed full confidence in the economywhich he said is doing well despite hurdles.

He lauded the policies of the government terming themhighly enabling and supportive for investors. “I will try bestto attract foreign investment in Pakistan to boost economyand reduce unemployment,” he said. Shahid said that 56 percent of the adult population has no access to formal financialservices while only 10 per cent of SMEs are served by banksresulting in socio-economic disparities. Low-income groupsremain deprived of proper financial services which isimpeding their development, he said Stressing theimportance of ethics, he said that insurance is a good socialwelfare tool that can have a positive impact on businessesand lives of millions in which principles should not becompromised under any circumstances.


OSCAR WINNERS

BEST FOREIGNLANGUAGE FILM• AMOUR• A ROYAL AFFAIR• KON-TIKI • NO • WAR WITCH

BEST ANIMATED FILM• BRAVE• FRANKENWEENIE• PARANORMAN • PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS • WRECK-IT RALPH

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE• LIFE OF PI - Mychael Danna• ANNA KARENINA - DarioMarianelli• ARGO - Alexandre Desplat• LINCOLN - John Williams• SKYFALL - Thomas Newman

BEST COSTUMES• ANNA KARENINA -Jacqueline Durran• LES MISERABLES -Paco Delgado• LINCOLN - Joanna Johnston• MIRROR MIRROR - Eiko Ishioka• SNOW WHITE & THEHUNTSMAN -Colleen Atwood

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM• SEARCHING FORSUGARMAN•5 BROKEN CAMERAS•THE GATEKEEPERS•HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE•THE INVISIBLE WAR

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT• INOCENTE• KINGS POINT• MONDAYS AT RACINE• OPEN HEART• REDEMPTION

BEST SOUND MIXING• LES MISERABLES - AndyNelson, Mark Paterson andSimon Hayes• ARGO - John Reitz, GreggRudloff and Jose Antonio • LIFE OF PI - Ron Bartlett, DMHemphill and Drew Kunin• LINCOLN - Andy Nelson,Gary Rydstrom and Ronald • SKYFALL - Scott Millan, GregP Russell and Stuart Wilson

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY• LIFE OF PI - Claudio Miranda• ANNA KARENINA -Seamus McGarvey• DJANGO UNCHAINED -Robert Richardson• LINCOLN - Janusz Kaminski• SKYFALL -Roger Deakins

BEST FILM EDITING• ARGO - William Goldenberg• LIFE OF PI - TIM SQUYRES• LINCOLN - MICHAEL KAHN• SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK- Jay Cassidy and CrispinStruthers• ZERO DARK THIRTY -Dylan Tichenor and WilliamGoldenberg

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

• PAPERMAN• ADAM AND THE DOG• FRESH GUACAMOLE• HEAD OVER HEELS• MAGGIE SIMPSON IN THELONGEST DAYCARE

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

• CURFEW• ASAD• BUZKASHI BOYS• DEATH OF A SHADOW• HENRY

BEST MAKE-UP

• LES MISERABLES - LisaWestcott and Julie Dartnell• HITCHCOCK - HowardBerger, Peter Montagna andMartin Samuel• THE HOBBIT - PeterSwords King, Rick Findlaterand Tami Lane

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS• LIFE OF PI - Bill Westenhofer,Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-JanDe Boer and Donald R Elliott• THE HOBBIT - Joe Letteri,Eric Saindon, David Claytonand R Christopher White• MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS -Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, GuyWilliams and Dan Sudick• PROMETHEUS - RichardStammers, Trevor Wood,Charley Henley and Martin Hill• SNOW WHITE AND THEHUNTSMAN - Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, NeilCorbould and MichaelDawson

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO AND THE OSCAR GOES TO




AMOUR

BRADLEY COOPER

ALAN ARKIN

MICHAEL HANEKE DAVID O RUSSELL

PHILIP SEYMOUR

DANIELDAY-LEWIS

CHRISTOPHWALTZ

ANG LEE

HUGH JACKMAN

BEASTS OF THESOUTHERN WILD

DJANGOUNCHAINED

LES MISERABLES ZERO DARKTHIRTY

ARGO

SILVER LININGSPLAYBOOK

JOAQUIN PHOENIX DENZELWASHINGTON

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO

LINCOLN LIFE OF PI

ROBERT DENIRO TOMMY LEE JONES SALLY FIELD

QUVENZHANEWALLIS

NAOMI WATTS JESSICA CHASTAIN

JENNIFERLAWRENCE

ANNEHATHAWAY

SKYFALL

EMMANUELLERIVA

JACKI WEAVER HELEN HUNT AMY ADAMS

STEVENSPIELBERG

BENH ZEITLIN LES MISERABLES

ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal

LIFE OF PI David Magee

LINCOLNTony Kushner

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK David O Russell John Gatins Michael Haneke

Adele and Paul

ARGO Chris Terrio

J. RalphWalter MurphyMychael DannaHerbert and Alain

Quentin Tarantino

FLIGHT AMOUR

DJANGOUNCHAINED

LIFE OF PI TED CHASING ICE

OSCARS 2013 - STARS DAZZLE ON THE RED CARPET

Ben Affleck with his wife Jennifer.

Amanda Seyfried in embellishedAlexander McQueen Gown.

Hugh Jackman and DeborraLee Furness.

Jessica in ArmaniPrive Gown.

Kristen Stewart in ReemAcra dress.

George Clooney and StacyKeibler

Naomi in ArmaniPrive Gown.

Halle in metallicVersace creation.

Kidman in sequinedL'Wren Scott Gown.

Adele in a tulle JennyPackham Gown.

Anne Hathaway inPink Prada Gown.

Quvenzhane Wallis in Armani Junior. Amy Adams wearing an Oscar de la Renta dress. Jennifer Aniston in strapless Valentino dress. Jennifer Lawrence wearing a Dior Haute Couture.Charlize in Dior Couture gown.


Tsonga defeats Berdychto win Marseille Open

MARSEILLE: Jo-Wilfried Tsongacame back from aset down and saveda match point todefeat Czech topseed TomasBerdych in front ofa partisan crown and win theMarseille Open 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 onSunday. The French number one picksup his 10th ATP victory and second inMarseille, as he defeated the worldnumber six and a player he had beatenonly once in five meetings. Tsongapaid tribute to the rousing support hereceived on the Mediterranean coast."This victory, I owe it to you," he toldthe fans. �AGENCIES

Nishikori breezes pastLopez, wins Memphis crown

MEMPHIS:Japan's KeiNishikori wrappedup a straight setswin over FelicianoLopez to win theMemphisInternational on

Sunday. Nishikori breezed to a 6-26-3 victory over Lopez in a matchthat lasted just 67 minutes, notmuch longer than his outing onSaturday when he advanced to thefinal after Marinko Matosevic wasforced to retire with a foot injuryfollowing the first set. A well-restedNishikori broke Lopez's service twicein the opening set to move ahead 4-1then took control in the second byopening with another break. "I'mvery happy with the way I played,"Nishikori told reporters. "To win thistitle is an amazing feeling. HopefullyI can win a couple more titles. It'sbeen a good start to the year." It wasthe third career title for Nishikori,who also won the Japan Open inTokyo last October. �AGENCIES

Ferrer defends BuenosAires crownBUENOS AIRES:World number-fourDavid Ferrer ofSpain defended hiscrown Sunday atthe $490,000 ATPclaycourttournament inBuenos Aires with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 winover Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. Ferrer,the top seed, saw off his third-seededrival before a 4,000 crowd at the LawnTennis Club despite dropping serve atthe start of the deciding set as he thenproceeded to polish off six games on aroll. The 30-year-old pocketed his20th career title and second of the yearafter Auckland. �AGENCIES

Diego Maradona endsItalian exile

MILAN: DiegoMaradona onMonday ended hismore than two-decade exile fromItaly, where hefamously ledNapoli to their sole

titles in the Serie A footballchampionship. The Argentine WorldCup winner had not stepped foot inItaly since the 1990s when he leftunder a cloud amid claims of collusionwith mafia dons and a positive drugstest for cocaine. It was later claimed bythe Italian authorities that Maradonaowed the state millions of euros(dollars, pounds) in unpaid taxes. Theformer footballer arrived shortly after1:00 pm local time at Rome'sFiumicino airport wearing a blackjacket, black suit and dark glasses.Dozens of fans had turned up to seethe Argentinean, many of whomshouted, "Welcome back!" as he wasdriven away. �AGENCIES

This series against South Africa isnow done and dusted withPakistan being thrashed in two

tests and grabbing defeat from the jawsof victory in the second. Could the resulthave been any different given that SouthAfrican conditions have always beentough for sub continental teams? Itcertainly does not help that South Africais now the top team in the world. It hasa pace attack with two of the highestranked bowlers in ICC ratings, DaleSteyn, and Vernon Philander. The story

is similar in the batting department withHashim Amla and A.B Devilliars on topof the list. South Africa also has inJacques Kallis one of the greatest allround cricketers to have played thegame. So given its strengths South Africawould be the better side on any playingsurface. On their own wickets, with highpace and bounce, they are formidable.The one track where we did better andshould have won was Newlands, whichwas somewhat similar to surfaces in thesubcontinent. So, all in all we were aweaker side completely outplayed inalien conditions.

Having said that the question stillremains, could we have done better? Yeswe should have won the Cape Town Testif we had better follow up bowlers afterSaeed Ajmal and shown more resolutionin our batting. But, does that mean thatthe spirit was lacking or was theresomething wrong and unbalanced about

our side. There is no question that wehad severe shortcomings in the battingdepartment. We had six regular batsmenand after that there was nothing. Thelast five including the wicket keeperSarfraz were generally hopeless. Theopposition always knew that once theyget through the top batsmen there islittle to follow. This shows lack ofplanning by the selectors. They picked aside that would lack balance in anyconditions. Look at how the late ordercame to the rescue of South Africa in twotests with Robin Peterson and Philanderscoring big. The only person from ourside who contributed a little was Tanvir,but his bowling was abysmal.

What we badly needed was a wicketkeeper good enough to come into theteam as a batsman. Sarfraz playedreasonably well in the second inning ofthe last test but by that time the matchhad been lost and it was pressure-less

batting. He was awful in all otherinnings that he played. The only visiblecandidate to replace him is KamranAkmal but he is poor keeper and therewould always be other question marksabout him. Maybe his brother Adnanwould have been better but he still is nota good enough batsman. What the PCBand the selectors need to do pronto isfind a batsman who is a good enoughkeeper and stick with him. I am surewith so many playing domestic cricket itshould not be an impossible task.Picking someone young would be evenbetter, so that he can serve the countryfor long.

The second shortcoming was an allrounder. We need someone like AbdulRazzak in his prime who can be a thirdseamer and bat competently lower downthe order. It is for this reason that I havealways advocated the case of HammadAzam. He is young, bowls well enough

and is very good batsman. Moreimportantly he showed goodtemperament in the under 19competitions. But, at the moment he isnowhere on the horizon. He has noteven been selected for the one dayers. Isthere anyone else? I don’t know. This issomething for PCB to answer.

Other selections were not that greateither. Tanvir is clearly not up to teststandards. Why was Wahab Riaz orAizaz Cheema not selected? Ehsan Adillooks talented but is too raw. Withenough good bowlers waiting in thewings these selections made no sense.Talking of selections why was Irfan notplayed in the first test and why did wenot persist with Rahat in the second. Hewas awful in the first test but that wasnerves. He should have been persistedwith and his six wickets in the last testshow that he has potential. He can beamong the five or six fast bowlers that

PCB works on for the future.Unfortunately Umar Gul looked offcolour. He is too young to be over the hillunless he is lying about his age. We needto find out what’s wrong with him.

In the batting department we need tohave another look at Hafeez’s techniqueat top of the order. He is good but lookedquite out of his depth on South Africanwickets. Misbah clearly is coming to theend of his playing days. He played somegood innings but his reflexes are slowingdown and we need to look forreplacement. Umar Akmal for all his sinsshould be in the team. He is impetuousand has not done justice to his talent buthe has class and we should persist withhim. The final result is demoralisingbecause we love our cricket and don’t feeltoo good when we lose but everyadversity should be a wake up call. Wemust seriously analyse our shortcomingsand address them.

Requiem for a disaster in South Africa

SHAFQAT MAHMOOD

CHENNAI: India's spinners grabbed ninewickets for 175 runs in 65.5 overs to set uphopes of a four-day victory, but were leftfrustrated by a stubborn last-wicket stand of40 between Moises Henriques and NathanLyon. Australia found themselves battling forsurvival in the face of a 192-run deficitfollowing India's surge to 572, and India werelifted by R Ashwin's five wickets, butHenriques and Lyon ensured the matchwould go into the final day.

The manner in which the Australianbatsmen struggled was in stark contrast tothe way MS Dhoni biffed his way to 224, thehighest score by an Indian captain in Tests.Dhoni opened the second innings withoffspin from both ends and Ashwin andHarbhajan Singh purchased appreciablebounce and turn from a wearing day-foursurface. Ed Cowan had a few testingmoments as Australia looked to bat out thesession, and the promoted Watson lookedsolid – he pulled Harbhajan for a six – untilhe gloved a catch to slip on the stroke oflunch.

Australia resumed the second session on34 for 1 and added 30 to their total beforeAshwin struck a second time. Cowan facedplenty of struggles – appeals for caughtbehind and lbw, inside edges just short ofcatchers and top-edges – before he wasadjudged lbw when playing with an angledbat. Cowan shook his head as he trudged off,but replays showed that Kumar Dharmasenahad made a good call. Moments later,Ravindra Jadeja extracted Phillip Hughes for0 when the left-hander fended a nastybouncing delivery to slip (65 for 3).

Already batting with a broken thumb,David Warner – who did not open due to astomach upset – was clearly uncomfortable.His first runs came 16 deliveries into hisinnings via a thick edge, and Warnerremained all at sea as he groped and graspedat turning deliveries from Ashwin andJadeja. Just when it appeared that Warnerwas growing in confidence having hit Ashwinout of the attack, he fell in the first over ofHarbhajan's return. It was a straightforwarddecision, as the ball drifted in and hit Warnerin front. Six overs later, Harbhajan beatMatthew Wade's ambitious sweep to claimanother (121 for 5).

The wicket that had eluded India in theafternoon came in the first over after tea, allbut signaling the end of Australia'sresistance. Looking to cut against the spin,Michael Clarke was beaten for sharp turnand given lbw for 31. Virat Kohli haddropped the Australian captain on 0 at leggully off Ashwin, but the bowler had the last

word; it was his tenth wicket of the Test.From here it was a steady procession ofwickets until Lyon joined Henriques. PeterSiddle slogged at Jadeja and was bowled for2; James Pattinson edged Ashwin to first slipfor 11; and Mitchell Starc chipped to mid-onto give Ashwin his fifth. Henriques, following68 in the first innings, helped erase the deficitwith an unbeaten 75, while Lyon remainednot out on 8 off 47 balls.

In the morning session, Dhoni added 18 tohis overnight total before he gloved a shortball from James Pattinson down the leg sidefor 224 – eight short of the highest score by aTest wicketkeeper. That was Pattinson's fifthwicket – and third overall – but Australiawere kept in the field eight overs longer asBhuvneshwar Kumar (38) and IshantSharma put on 26 for the final wicket. Itwould be 75 overs before one of India's pacebowlers was called on, but even that three-over spell from Ishant failed to snap anobdurate last-ditch partnership. �AGENCIES

Last-wicket Australia standtakes Test into final day

SCOREBOARDAUSTRALIA FIRST INNINGS 380 (M Clarke 130, MHenriques 68, D Warner 59, R Ashwin 7-103)INDIA FIRST INNINGS 572 (Dhoni 224, V Kohli 107, JPattinson 5-96, N Lyon 3-215)AUSTRALIA SECOND INNINGSE Cowan lbw b Ashwin 32S Watson c Sehwag b Ashwin 17D Warner lbw b Harbhajan Singh 23P Hughes c Sehwag b Jadeja 0M Clarke lbw b Ashwin 31M Wade b Harbhajan Singh 8M Henriques not out 75P Siddle b Jadeja 2J Pattinson c Sehwag b Ashwin 11M Starc c Tendulkar b Ashwin 8

N Lyon not out 8EXTRAS: (B 15, LB 2) 17TOTAL: (9 wickets; 84 overs) 232FALL OF WICKETS: 1-34, 2-64, 3-65, 4-101, 5-121,6-131, 7-137, 8-161, 9-175BOWLINGAshwin 28-4-90-5Harbhajan 27-6-55-2Jadeja 26-5-68-2Sharma 3-1-2-0Toss: Australia and chose to batUmpires: K Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and M Erasmus(South Africa)Third umpire: V Kulkarni

STAFF REPORT

LAHORE: Legendary fastbowler Wasim AkramMonday stepped down fromthe post of mentor andbowling coach of IndianPremier League (IPL)champions Kolkata KnightRiders citing personalreasons. Akram has been anintegral part of the team forthe past three seasons andalso been a part of the coreteam along with chief coachTrevor Bayliss and captainGautam Gambhir that helpedin devising the strategy for thechampion side. According toteam management, Akramhas expressed his desire tospend more time with hisfamily as his two sons Taimurand Akbar are barely in theirteens.

Akram has been leaving outof suitcase for a number ofyears now due to his increasedmedia commitments as well

as the hectic travelling andcamps related to IndianPremier League. KKR CEOVenky Mysore in a mediarelease issued by the franchisestated: “Wasim Akram will bebadly missed. He is a legendand a great motivator to havearound the team. However,we fully appreciate the reasonwhy he will be unavailable.We hope to work with him infuture.”

Meanwhile, Indian team'sfielding coach Trevor Penney,who has earlier worked withthe now defunct DeccanChargers will be joining KKRas their fielding coach. Inanother minor development,Joy Bhattacharjya, the teamdirector for the previous fiveseasons will now be seen inthe role of an advisor (contentdevelopment andmanagement). Adrian LeRoux, Andrew Leipus andVijay Dahiya will howeverremain in the support staff.

Wasim Akramquits as KKRbowling coach

STAFF REPORT

LAHORE: Pakistan cricketneeds to revamp its failingsystem and focus more on Tests,former captains said Mondayafter the side's humiliating 3-0whitewash in South Africa.Pakistan went down by aninnings and 18 runs in the finalmatch at Centurion on Sundayas the world number one Testteam completed a clean sweep inhome Tests in their summer,after beating New Zealand 2-0.

Former captain Aamir Sohailsaid Pakistan went into the seriesunprepared for the demands ofthe longest form of the game. "Itwas predicted," Sohail said."South Africa were well equipped

while we are not doing thingsneeded (for Test cricket) and arepaying the price." Pakistan'sbatsmen struggled on the bouncypitches against a hostile paceattack led by Dale Steyn andVernon Philander, who shared 35wickets between them in theseries. The tourists were shot outfor their lowest Test score, 49, inthe first Test at Johannesburg,going on to lose by 211 runs. Theystaged something of a fight-backat Cape Town, posting 328 before

a second-innings collapsecondemned them to anotherdefeat. No Pakistani batsman hadan answer to the pace, movementand hostility of the South Africanattack, with only Asad Shafiq andveteran Younis managingcenturies. Opener MohammadHafeez flopped, with just 43 runsin six innings.

Sohail, also a former chiefselector, said Pakistan needed totake measures at the grassrootslevel. "When a youngsteremerges he has technical faultswhich we are not removing whileSouth Africa have followedAustralia in conquering theworld with their work," he said.Another former captain, RashidLatif, urged Pakistan to focus

more on Tests. "Pakistan musthave separate players for Testsand one-dayers," said Latif."Some players feel they aresuitable for all three forms buttheir poor show in Tests isaffecting the team'sperformance." Some fans in thestreet said Pakistan should onlyplay one-day matches andTwenty20s. "The style of Testcricket doesn't suit Pakistan,"said Asim Ahmed, a shop ownerin the Saddar area of Karachi."Test needs patience andresilience which we have tolearn." Pakistan now have thechance to regain some pride asthey take on South Africa in twoTwenty20s and five one-dayinternationals.

Former players want changes after humiliation

ST. GEORGE'S: RamnareshSarwan's unbeaten 120 firedWest Indies to a seven-wicketvictory in their second one-day international againstZimbabwe on Sunday,ensuring the Caribbeanssealed the three-match series2-0. Sarwan's 143-ballknock, his highest score inone-day internationals,drove the hosts pastZimbabwe's 273 with anover to spare in St. George's,Grenada. Having enjoyed aneasy win in the first match onFriday, West Indies werepushed harder by thetourists, who set achallenging total courtesy ofbatsman Craig Ervine's 80runs and HamiltonMasakadza's 60.

West Indies skipperDwayne Bravo took 6-43

with a lively 10 overs ofmedium-fast bowling, beforeSarwan and Kieran Powellput the home side off to aflying start with 111 for thefirst wicket. Powell was outedging Masakadza towicketkeeper Brendan Taylorin the 26th over and DarrenBravo lasted just two balls,but Narsingh Deonarinesteadied the ship with 42before he was run out. With55 runs needed off the final40 balls, big-hitting KieronPollard blasted four foursand two sixes in a breathlessknock of 41 from 20 balls toreel in the total and make adead rubber of Tuesday'sfinal match. The two teamswill play a pair of Twenty20fixtures in Antigua beforeTests in Barbados andDominica. �AGENCIES

Sarwan centurysecures ODI serieswin for West Indies

SCOREBOARDZIMBABWE INNINGSV Sibanda b Bravo 51C Chibhabha b Narine 11Masakadza c Narine b Bravo 60B Taylor lbw b Bravo 0C Ervine b Bravo 80M Waller b Roach 26R Chakabva c Pollard b Bravo 15P Utseya not out 12K Jarvis c Darren b Bravo 1N M'Shangwe not out 0Did not bat: T ChataraEXTRAS: (LB 4, W 12, NB 1) 17TOTAL: (8 wkts, 50 overs) 273FALL OF WICKETS: 1-39, 2-76, 3-76, 4-186, 5-232, 6-241, 7-268,8-271BOWLINGRoach 10-1-63-1Best 10-0-53-0Narine 10-0-55-1Russell 6-0-29-0Dwayne Bravo 10-1-43-6Pollard 2-0-15-0Deonarine 2-0-11-0

WEST INDIES INNINGSK Powell c Taylor b Masakadza 57R Sarwan not out 120Darren cTaylor b Masakadza 0N Deonarine run out (Utseya) 42K Pollard not out 41Did not bat: Dwayne Bravo, A Russell,D Ramdin, K Roach, T Best, S NarineEXTRAS: (LB 2, W 11, NB 1) 14TOTAL: (3 wickets; 49 overs) 274FALL OF WICKETS: 1-111, 2-111, 3-219BOWLINGJarvis 9-1-55-0Chatara 8-0-64-0Chibhabha 5-0-25-0Utseya 10-0-54-0Masakadza 7-0-27-2Mushangwe 10-0-47-0Toss: ZimbabweUmpires: Johan Cloete (RSA) andPeter Nero (WIS)Third umpire: Ian Gould (ENG)Match referee: JavagalSrinath (IND)

BOGOTA: Serbia's Jelena Jankovic poses with her trophy after beating Paula Ormachea of Argentina in the final match of the WTA Bogota Open in theColombian capital on Sunday. �AGENCIES

Zardari didnʼt meetIbad in Dubai: PPPISLAMABAD: PresidentialSpokesperson Farhatullah BabarMonday said no meeting occurredbetween President Asif Ali Zardariand Governor Sindh Ishratul Ibad inDubai. Talking to reporters after themeeting of Senate’s FunctionalCommittee in the Parliament House,Babar said all the news about themeeting have been concocted and arebaseless. He said the day of holdingthe next general elections would beannounced on March 16. He said thatthe Caretaker Prime Minister wouldbe appointed through the consensusof all political parties. He hoped thatthe democratic government wouldcomplete its fine-year tenure. –INP

India arrests man forʻspying for PakistanʼJAIPUR: An Indian man has beenarrested on charges of spying forIslamabad on military war-gamesstaged on India’s border withPakistan, Indian police said onMonday. The 35-year-old man isaccused of passing on details of theexercises held by the Indian AirForce on Friday in the westerndesert state of Rajasthan, seniorstate police officer DS Dinkar said.Dinkar identified the man as anIndian national called Sumaar Khanand said he was allegedly spying forPakistan’s Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI), “passinginformation related to Indiandefence installations and militaryactivities”. Police alleged the manused mobile phones and Internet totransmit information but did notsay when he was arrested. –AGENCIES

Shikarpur shrine blastleaves 3 dead, 12 injured SHIKARPUR: A bomb blast atanother shrine in interior Sindh leftthree dead and at least 12 peopleinjured here on Monday. The blastripped through Dargah Hajan ShahMauri, located near Shikarpur, whena large number of devotees werevisiting the shrine. The injured andthe dead were being shifted to CivilHospital Shikarpur. Sources said SyedHajan Shah, the Gaddi Nasheed wasalso among the injured. Rescuesources fear more fatalities. –INP

Sindh PA hastily adjournedto avoid MQMʼs protestKARACHI: The MQM Mondaystrongly protested outside SindhAssembly, which was suddenlyadjourned until February 27 withwhat the MQM alleged an ulteriormotive to deprive it from raisingburning issue relating to the settingup of Hyderabad University. Treasurysources said the assembly session wasadjourned for lack of quorum. MQM’sFaisal Sabzwari on this occasionstrongly protesting said the sessionwas hastily adjourned making amockery of the Sindh Assembly. Hesaid the Bill for setting up of sixuniversities was approved by SindhAssembly with the full support ofMQM, while the HyderabadUniversity issue was being evaded forone reason or the other. –INP

Blast at FCʼs Fort Slopekills one in BaraPESHAWAR: At least one securityofficial was killed and five others wereinjured Monday afternoon in amysterious blast inside a paramilitarycamp at Fort Slope in KhyberAgency’s Bara tehsil, officials said. FCmedia cell confirmed that the blastoccurred because of an improvisedexplosive device inside a vehicleseized by the security forces the otherday. “The blast destroyed five roomsinside Fort Slope. One personnel waskilled and five others injured due tothe explosion,” FC officials said. –INP

TUESDAYFEBRUARY 26, 2013THE SPOKESMAN - RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD

GHAZANFAR ABBASS

MULTAN: The police has begun investigatingthe Blasphemy FIR lodged in a Multan policestation against Pakistan's Ambassador in theUnited States Sherry Rehman.

The inquiry board consisting of SPInvestigation Ghulam Shabbir Jaffri, SPCanttNazar Abbas and DSP Cantt SaleemNiazi began the inquiry into the allegedBlasphemy case by recording statementsunder Act-161 from witnesses Abdul Qayumand Shakeel Khan.

Witness Shakeel told The Spokesman thatthe police called him a few days earlier torecord his testimony but it couldn't becauseit was busy with vi4siting VIPs. Shakeel, a

local car dealer, also stated that he recordedthe same testimony today as he did onFebruary 11, 2011 in Police Station Chehlukto then SHO Zaheer Babar.

"The board asked me around 20 questionsand I gave a written reply to them," headded. According to the applicant of the

FIR, Faheem Gill, both the witnesses gavethe same testimony in court. Faheem andthe two witnesses claimed to be old friends,when asked by The Spokesman individually.

Faheem also provided the police with CDrecordings of the TV program on which thealleged blasphemy occurred as well as signedFatwas by four religious scholars belongingto different schools of thought. He was alsounsatisfied with the pace of the investigation."They are supposed to provide the challan tothe court within fourteen days and it's beenmore than a month now and they are also yetto provide me with a copy of the FIR," said adisgruntled Faheem. A local court has setMarch 1 as the date to hear his request for acopy of the FIR.

Police begin inquiry against Sherry

OUR STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD: After massiveelectricity breakdown on Sundaylate night, the Ministry of Water andPower on direction of PrimeMinister Raja Pervaiz AshrafMonday constituted a high levelfour-member inquiry committee ledby member power of WAPDA toprobe the matter, which plunged thewhole country into darkness.

Although the Ministry of Waterand Power claimed that electricity

has been restored completely, butthe reports collected from differentparts of the country revealed thatWapda and its subordinatedepartments are yet to be succeed inrestoring the electricity in most ofthe part of the country includingRawalpindi, Lahore, Jhelum,Chakwal, Mianwali, Muzafargarh,Naseerabad , Sadiqabad, Rahim YarKhan, Kundhkot, Hyderabad andother districts of Balochistan, Sindh,Punjab and Khyber pakhtunkhawa.

The sources reveal that incident

took place because of oldertransmission and powerdistribution system, which collapsedinitially Uch power station aftertripping took down a few 500KVold transmission lines shared withone of the largest power generationsource Hubco and lost initially1750MW electricity as 25-percentof total power generation7500MW at that time.

He informed that that totalvolume of power generation onSunday was recorded 7500 to

8000MW against the totaldemand of the country 13000MWduring the gigantic winter season,while following the cripple downeffect of Hubco and Uch powerplant , the all generators of Manglaand Tarbela except one of themwent on shut-off.

While taking the notice of thismassive outage incident, the primeminister directed the minister ofWater and Power Ch. AhmedMukhtar to take the measures torestore the electricity in entire

country and submit the report ofcommittee with recommendationwithin seven days.

A senior official of NTDC said thecountry has the potential for the useof local coal to produce up to100,000 MW from the Tharparkarcoal fields. “Such a resource wouldreduce dependence upon importedfuels, local coal is of low quality,however federal government despiteto utilize the resources, trillions ofrupees wasted in the name of powersubsidy” he said.

Still no electricity in many areas� Committee to probe massive power shutdown

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry administering the oath of office to Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rahmanas judge of Supreme Court. –INP (STORY ON PAGE 4)

SAHTAK BALOCH

ISLAMABAD- Amid sky high pricesof fuel oil, the federal cabinet’sEconomic Coordination Committee(ECC) scheduled to meet today(Tuesday), is likely to approve theincrease in commission margin onpetroleum products of petroleumdealers and oil marketingcompanies.

Following the demands of oildealers and marketing companiesinvolved in the business of fuel oil,the ministry has already given itsnod to further increase the margin.Earlier the ministry approved toraise the dealers margin byRs0.41/litre on petrol while marginof OMCs on petrol by Rs0.25/litreand Rs0.10/litre on diesel. Atpresent, petroleum dealers aregetting Rs2.37/litre margin over thesale of petrol and Rs2.20/litre inhigh-speed diesel (HSD) while themargin of oil marketing companieson petrol stands at Rs1.98/litre andon diesel it is Rs1.76/litre.

Sources informed this scribe that anew hike in POL prices is on thecards to further burden the massesas the ECC in its today’s meeting islikely to take up the summary ofPetroleum Ministry seeking increasein the margin of oil dealers and oilmarketing companies. Thecommittee meeting will be presidedover by Finance Minister Senator

Saleem H Mandviwalla is likely togive its approval to jack up the pricesof petrol and diesel by up to Rs0.65/litre, sources added.

“If ECC gives its approval to theproposed raise then the overburdened consumers of petroleumproducts would bear the brunt ofincrease in the margin of dealers andmarketing companies because theprices of petrol and diesel wouldwitness a raise by Rs 0.65/litre in thecountry, a senior official ofPetroleum Ministry said, addingthat Adviser Dr Asim Hussain hasalso given his consent to increase themargin as the dealers and thecompanies pleaded to the ministrythat their cost of doing business hadincreased manifold and it wasimpossible for them to run theirbusinesses on the existing volume ofmargins and commissions.

Earlier the petroleum ministry ina summary dispatched to the ECCsaid that the OMCs (Shell, Chevron,Total, PARCO) were not comfortablewith the existing margin onpetroleum products and areplanning to disinvest in Pakistan.

Sources in independent Oil and GasRegulatory Authority (OGRA) toldthat the OGRA is expected to opposethe move of the ministry, seeking raisein OMCs margin and dealers’commission, as it is of the view thatthey are already getting reasonablemargins and commissions.

ECC setto increasepetrol price

KARACHI: Federal Interior MinisterRehman Malik has appealed to the ChiefJustice to summon Punjab Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif and ask him why he tookno action against Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

Addressing a ceremony organised bySecurities and Exchange Commission ofPakistan and talking to reporters later,Malik claimed that Mian Shahbaz Sharifunder a dead had asked the Taliban not tocarry out terrorist activities in Punjab asShahbaz and the Taliban share a commonagenda. He denied that the federalgovernment had issued any arm’s licensesto Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s chief Malik Ishaq.He dared that if anyone has doubts aboutthis, he should go to the court. “If theprovincial governments of Sindh andBalochistan have issued arms’ license toMalik Ishaq, its responsibility does not liewith the federal government.”

Malik asked why a case was notregistered against Malik Ishaq when hetermed Shiite Muslims of Faisalabad as‘infidels’. “Had the Punjab Governmenttaken timely action against Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the terrorism incidents in Karachiand Quetta could have been avoided.”

The minister expressed the view thatTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan supportsLashkar-e-Jhangvi, and they have joinedhands against the innocent people.

On MQM, Malik said resignation fromSindh Governor Dr. Ishratul Ibad Khanhas so far not been received by PresidentAsif Ali Zardari. “Dr. Ishrat is still ourGovernor.” However, he said, it is MQM todecide about their Governor.

He praised that Dr. Ishrat has beenplaying a very positive role for politicalharmony in the province including keepingPPP-MQM partnership intact during thelast five years. “MQM has a democraticright and freedom to contest the nextgeneral elections separately with their ownmanifesto,” he argued.

He thanked MQM Chief Altaf Hussainfor his cooperation with PPP during thelast five years. Altaf Hussain did a greattask for democracy, for the country and forgood of the people, Malik said.

He hoped that MQM leadership wouldextend cooperation to the governmentand support all its positive policies.“AltafBhai and President Zardari are stillfriends,” he remarked. –AGENCIES

Malik sees nexusbetween LeJ, PML-N � Says Ibad is still Sindh governor

MONITORING DESK

NEW DELHI: Indian homeminister SushilkumarShinde Monday said the twinblasts in Hyderabad could bea "reaction" to the hanging ofParliament attack convictAfzal Guru and Mumbaiattack convict Ajmal Kasab.

Shinde said thegovernment wasapprehending some sort ofreaction from terror groupsfollowing execution of thelone surviving Pakistanigunman in the 2008Mumbai attack and Afzaland it had been issuing alertsin this regard.

"We were expecting thatafter the two executions,some reaction had to come,"Shinde said, referring to theexecutions of Kasab andAfzal. "We had been givingalerts throughout thecountry," he told reporters.Kasab was hanged in a Punejail in November last yearwhile Afzal was hanged inTihar jail early this month.

Shinde said the culpritsinvolved in the Hyderabadblast last Thursday whichkilled 16 persons and leftover 100 injured would bebooked soon. "We have gotsome materials there (at theblast site) and tests are beingdone in the forensiclaboratory. Soon we will getthe results and the culpritswill be booked," he added.

Asked whether the Centrewould push for setting up ofNational CounterTerrorism Centre (NCTC)following the Hyderabadblast, he said, "I have toldthe Rajya Sabha that wewill pursue the NCTC.Many states are stillopposing. We have to do it."

TOKYO: A 5.7-magnitudeearthquake hit Japan on Monday,setting buildings in the capitalswaying but causing no risk of atsunami, seismologists said.

National broadcaster NHK saidno abnormalities were detected atnuclear power plants near theepicentre, which was north of Tokyo,where buildings rocked for upwardsof half a minute.

The US Geological Survey said thequake had hit at 16:23 (0723 GMT),with its epicentre 57 kilometres (36miles) north-northeast of Maebashiand around 143 kilometres north-northwest of Tokyo.

The agency said it had struck at adepth of nine kilometres. TheJapan Meteorological Agency,which had earlier put themagnitude at 6.2, said minoraftershocks were continuing.

Takayuki Fukuda, an official at theNikko city fire department inTochigi prefecture, near theepicentre, said by telephone that the

quake had rocked the city, a popularspot on the tourist trail.

"It shook vertically for about 10seconds. Nothing fell from shelvesand window glass was notshattered. There was no report offire and we are preparing to patrolthe city," he said.

Preliminary reports that a wall inthe city had tumbled proved false, hesaid later, adding: "We have noinformation about any injuryresulting" from the quake.

NHK said several bullet trains hadbeen temporarily stopped, butservice had resumed moments later.

Japan is regularly hit by powerfulearthquakes and has largely adaptedits infrastructure to tremors that cancause widespread damage in other,less developed countries.

However, a huge undersea quakewith a magnitude of 9.0 in March2011 sent a towering tsunami into thenortheast of the country, devastatingcoastal communities and killingnearly 19,000 people. –AGENCIES

Earthquake shakes Tokyobuildings for 10 seconds

Bombingsa reaction tohangings: India

Pakistan 2nd on list of terror-hit statesISLAMABAD: In a world dotted with conflicts of all kinds, raging civil wars ,bloody sectarian violence and terrorism, South Asia emerges as the worst affected.According to the Global Terrorism Index, that profiles data on terrorism fromacross the world, Pakistan is the second most affected in the world by terrorism,after Iraq. Iraq is the worst hit by terror. It's said to be the bloodiest battle ground inthe world where nearly 1800 people were killed in terror attacks in in 2011, most ofwhich took place in Baghdad. In the same year, 1468 people died in Pakistan, 1293people died in Afghanistan and 402 in India because of terror attacks. In America,there has been no death due to terror since the 2001 September 11 attacks whentwo planes crashed into the twin towers of World Trade Centre. But it remains theworst single attack ever by terror groups, in this case Al Qaida. 2823 people werekilled. The last big terror attack in the UK were the coordinated attacks on theLondon Underground and a bus. 52 people lost their lives that day. One of theworst terror strikes that targeted children was the attack on a school in Beslan inSouth Russia where militants laid siege for three days in 2004. It was the first dayof school after summer break on September 1, when mostly Chechen militants tookover the school. –AGENCIES

TOKYO: People stand outside the buildings after earthquake rocked the city. –INP

Published by Ahmad Waleed from Yasmin Majeed Printing Press, 69-Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

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