Sunday, 2 december, 2012 Muharram 17, 1434Rs 22.00 Vol iii no 155 19 pages islamabad — peshawar edition

KARACHIStAff RepORt

SIx members of the SindhAssembly resigned fromtheir offices on Saturdayto avoid being disquali-

fied by the Election Commissionfor not submitting their affidavits

regarding dual nationalities.Those who resigned include

Sindh Finance Minister Murad AliShah, Sindh IT Minister Raza Ha-roon, Sindh Sports Minister Mo-hammad Ali Shah, SindhTechnical Education and Minesand Minerals Minister SadiqMemon, and assembly members

Askari Taqvi and Abdul Moiz Sid-diqui. Their resignations havebeen accepted by Sindh AssemblySpeaker Nisar Khoro. Haroon andMohammad Ali Shah belong to theMuttahida Qaumi Movementwhile Murad Ali Shah and SadiqMemon are members of the rulingPakistan People’s Party.

The Election Commission ofPakistan’s deadline to file affidavitsexpired on Friday. As many as 16lawmakers from the national andprovincial assemblies have failed tofile their affidavits. The ministerswho resigned are likely to be madeadvisers and will be given chargesof their respective ministries.

ISLAMABADOnline

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority(OGRA) on Saturday approved anincrease in gas prices for domestic,industrial and CNG consumers. Theauthority approved an increase in theprice of the Sui Northern Gas (SNG)by Rs 31.12 per mmbtu and that of theSui Southern Gas (SSG) by Rs 28.28per mmbtu. The price of SNG hasgone up by 9.87 percent, while theprice of SSG has increased by 6.14percent. The new prices are expectedto be in effect from January 1, 2013,and are expected to remain as suchuntil the month of June. OGRA hasalso approved the measure enablingthe SNG and the SSG to respectivelyrecover 4.5 percent and 7 percent ofpilfered gas from consumers. It hassent a summary with the above-stated recommendations to the

Ministry of Petroleum and NaturalResources. STRIKE: Meanwhile,commuters and motorists continuedto suffer as most of the CNG stationsremained closed on the sixthconsecutive day across the country, asthe All Pakistan CNG Association andOGRA failed to reach consensus on apricing formula. In most cities of thefour provinces, CNG stationsremained closed and long queues ofvehicles were observed outside thefew CNG stations which wereproviding gas. The commuters had towait for hours at bus stops as publicand private transport remained verythin. It should be mentioned thatOGRA has prepared a new CNGpricing formula and submitted it tothe Ministry of Petroleum andNatural Resources in order to seekpolicy guidelines regarding thetaxation of the sector.

6 Sindh MPAs resignover dual nationality

OGRA approves increase in gas prices

Continued on page 04

Raza Haroon Murad Ali Shah Mohammad Ali Shah Sadiq Memon

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pMl-n to form new ‘administrative provinces’ if elected: nawaz

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

editoriAlplaying with powder keg:

CommentCourts and political controversies.

Humayun Gauhar says;Life in twilight zone.

Saad Rasool says;Justification lost: Why legalese would, or won’t, make WoT our war.

Malik Muhammad Ashraf says;Food security: Farmer and consumer friendly policies.

Articles on Page 10-11

ISLAMABADApp

PRIME Minister Raja Per-vez Ashraf on Saturdaysaid Pakistan was a federa-tion of four units and allimportant projects such as

Kalabagh Dam should be initiatedwith consensus.

Talking to a private TV channel,Ashraf said that the Kalabagh Damissue was being raised by ‘some peo-ple’ at a time when elections werejust round the corner. “But thosepeople had done nothing when theywere in power for long periods oftime,” he added.

The prime minister said that thethree provincial assemblies had passedresolutions with consensus against thedam’s construction and discussions onthe issue, which creates hatred, shouldbe avoided. The project cannot belaunched with an executive or judicialorder, he added.

Ashraf said that the first electedgovernment was going to complete itstenure, which was a good omen, andwill have far-reaching impact on thecountry’s politics and democracy.

The prime minister said that elec-tions will be held on stipulated timeand the date will be announced in con-sultation with the leader of the opposi-tion in the National Assembly.

He hoped that like appointing

the chief election commissioner withconsensus, both the government andthe opposition will keep working forfurther strengthening the demo-cratic system.

About the creation of South Punjabprovince, the prime minister said thatit was not a political slogan for electioncampaign but a genuine demand of thepeople of the region.

He said the government had takenall possible steps and formed a com-mission for the creation of newprovinces. Hurdles should not be cre-ated by any stakeholder on the issue,he added.

Replying to a question about gov-ernment’s borrowing, Ashraf said,“There is a big difference in perceptionand the reality.” The federal govern-ment has contained its expenditures,while the provinces have increasedtheirs, said the PM, adding that theprovinces are now getting more fundsunder the 7th NFC Award.

“Despite inflation, the govern-ment’s expenditures have increasedjust by seven per cent,” he said.

Lauding performance of his gov-ernment, the prime minister said thecountry was importing wheat whencame into power, but now he said, thecommodity was being exported, earn-ing foreign exchange.

The added the government hasprovided food security to the people ofthe country.

Consensus vital for startingKalabagh Dam, says PM

WAZIRABAD: Federal Minister for Informationand Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said theCouncil of Common Interests (CCI) will decide ondisputed issues like the Kalabagh dam. Talking tomedia personnel at an annual funfair of theMuslim Hands Educational Complex on Saturday,Kaira said the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP)respected the judiciary, for democracy wasincomplete without an independent judiciary. Hesaid the CCI was formed to decide on disputedmatters among the provinces and it had beenstrengthened under the 18th Amendment. If theCCI failed to take a decision on an issue, then itwill be discussed in the parliament, he added.Kaira said when the PPP came into power, thecountry was facing multiple problems many ofwhich had been resolved by now. Responding to a question, he said thegovernment had asked all journalist organisations, including the PakistanFederal Union of Journalists, to suggest ways for improving security ofjournalists. He stressed that security-related incidents with journalists shouldbe properly addressed. “Hamid Mir has himself refused the security offered tohim,” he added. Replying to another question, the minister said the PPP wouldcontest the upcoming elections in alliance with the PML-Q. He said that thePML-N chief had advised Shahbaz Sharif to not use foul language againstPresident Asif Ali Zardari. He also criticised the National Assembly OppositionLeader Chaudhry Nisar for using foul language against the President. Earlier,addressing the ceremony, Kaira appreciated the Muslim Hands Network forhelping deserving people in Muslim countries throughout the world. He furthersaid education was the only way to progress and nations focusing on knowledgeand education eventually rule the world. App

CCI to deCIde on IssueslIke kalabagh dam: kaIra

KARACHIOnline

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muham-mad Chaudhry said on Saturday that the judiciarywas ready to face any challenge in order to meetpeople’s expectations.

Addressing a meeting of judicial officers inKarachi, the CJP said that the judiciary had come intolimelight because of hard work and dedicated efforts.

He said that impartial dispensation of justice hadrestored the public’s confidence in judiciary, andmore and more litigants were approaching the courts

to get justice. Meanwhile, he welcomed a 16-member delega-

tion of the Hyderabad High Court Bar Association,Dadu district Bar and Larkana Bar at the SupremeCourt’s Karachi Registry.

Welcoming the delegation, he said the Bars ofSindh were committed to the rule of law, supremacyof the constitution and independence of the judiciary.He said the legal fraternity had struggled hard in themovement for the restoration of independent judici-ary. He said the legal profession was an importantone, respected in all societies.

The delegation members discussed the issues of

the legal fraternity, and thanked the CJP for takingout time for the meeting. They said the CJP was a rayof hope for the people, and was held in high esteemby the entire nation due to his professional commit-ment, legal acumen and dedication for the supremacyof the constitution and independence of the judiciary.They also discussed the problems faced by them intheir professional field.

The CJP assured them that their problems wouldbe taken up with the authorities concerned. Hepraised their determination, unity and commitmentto the profession. The delegation also invited the CJPto the Hyderabad Bar.

Judiciary ready to face all challenges: CJP

Two Pakistanibrothers arrestedfor conspiring attackin United States

MIAMIOnline

Two Pakistani brothers living in Florida were arrestedon charges of providing support to terrorists andconspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction withinthe United States (US), authorities said. The men werecharged in a grand jury indictment announced by theUS Attorney for the southern district of Florida.Federal prosecutors alleged the men, who are UScitizens, provided money, housing, communicationsequipment and transportation as part of a conspiracy.A statement from prosecutors said the brothers’ allegedgoal was “to use a weapon of mass destruction(explosives) against persons and property within theUnited States”. The plan did not materialise and USofficials declined to go into details but said the arrestswere not the result of a sting operation. “Theinvestigation is continuing and we just won’t be able togive those specific details at this time,” said AliciaValle, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney office inMiami. “Any potential threat posed by these twoindividuals has been disrupted,” US Attorney WifredoFerrer said in a statement. The accused were identifiedas Raees Alam Qazi, 20, and Sheheryar Alam Qazi, 30.They were arrested on Thursday in Fort Lauderdaleand made an initial appearance in the federal court onFriday. If convicted, each could face a potentialsentence of 15 years in prison on the charge ofconspiring to provide material support to terrorists.The charge of conspiracy to use a weapon of massdestruction can result in a maximum life sentence.

PESHAWARStAff RepORt

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governmentand Peshawar High Court Bar Association(PHCBA) rejected and heavily criticised the La-hore High Court (LHC) ruling on the construc-tion of the Kalabagh dam and demanded thatthe Supreme Court overrule the decisionthrough a suo moto action.

“We do respect an independent judiciary butjudges must distance themselves from giving ver-dicts on controversial issues,” remarked KP Infor-mation Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain in a newsconference on Saturday. Shortly before the con-ference, PHCBA called an emergency meetingpresided by Latif Afridi, rejecting the LHC rulingthrough a unanimous resolution. Representingthe KP government’s stance, Hussain pointed outthree provincial assemblies, those of KP, Balochis-

tan and Sindh, that had passed resolutions againstthe construction of the dam. He questioned as tohow a Judge of the LHC could justify a projectwhich had been declared controversial by electedprime ministers including former PM Nawazsharif and the incumbent Raja Pervez Ashraf.

“If powerful dictators like Zia-ul-Haq and Per-vez Musharraf could not make it happen, howcould anyone else be in a position to do that?” Hesaid the issue was not a technical or political onebut was a matter of life and death for Pashtuns.He urged the judiciary to detach itself from con-troversial matters and demanded Chief Justice ofPakistan (CJP) Chaudhry Iftikhar to exercise hissuo moto powers to the put the issue to rest. Pe-shawar High Court Bar Association, while reject-ing the LHC decision, stated that the court did nothave the jurisdiction to rule on the matter whichthreatened the federation by creating rift amongstthe federating units.

Obama warns Congressagainst Pakistan curbsWASHINGTON: The Obama administrationhas warned Congress that some of itsrestrictions on Pakistan could jeopardise theUS-led campaign against terrorism inAfghanistan. A policy statement issued by theExecutive Office of the US President on Fridaywarned the lawmakers that limitations onreimbursement to the government of Pakistanwere having a negative impact on bilateralrelations with the key ally. “The administrationstrongly objects to the certificationrequirements in Section 1216,” says thestatement. Some of “these certificationrequirements … require the Secretary ofDefence to certify Pakistani cooperation onissues outside of his purview”. Section 1216 ofthe recently passed National DefenceAuthorisation Act for US fiscal year 2013prohibits reimbursements to Pakistan duringthe period in which NATO supply lines toAfghanistan were closed. The requirements are“proposed at a particularly sensitive time andwould severely constrict DOD’s ability torespond to emergent war-time coalitionsupport requirements, putting at risk thesuccess of our campaign in Afghanistan,” thestatement adds. inp

Fatima Bhutto tocontest next elections

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party-ShaheedBhutto group chief Ghinwa Bhutto announcedthat her daughter Fatima Bhutto will compete fora seat in the National Assembly during the nextelections. Speaking at an event the widow ofMurtaza Bhutto said Fatima will contest theelections from Liaquatpur, NA-192. Fatima is awriter and the granddaughter of PPP founderZulfikar Ali Bhutto and niece of former primeminister Benazir Bhutto. While she supports hermother in the socio-political arena, Fatima herselfhas noted on previous occasions that she has nodesire to run for public office and has “rule[d] apolitical career out entirely because of the effect ofdynasties on Pakistan,” referring to the Bhuttofamily’s political dynasty that continues with hercousin Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairperson of theruling Pakistan People’s Party. StAff RepORt

KP government, PHCBA rejectLHC’s KBD ruling

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KARACHi: Hindu women stand at the

site of the demolished Dolly temple

in Garden Area on Saturday. OnLine

OGRA approves increase ingas prices

According to the formula, thenew price of CNG wasrecommended at Rs 72.20 andRs 63.46 per kilogramme forRegion-I (Islamabad,Balochistan and KhyberPakhtunkhwa) and Region-II(Punjab and Sindh)respectively. However, theAPCNGA rejected the formula,saying that the matter was subjudice therefore the pricesshould not be fixed.Meanwhile, CNG stationowners of Multan andMuzafargarh ended the strikeand reopened their stations.

Nawaz has stopped mefrom speaking againstZardari: Shahbaz

MONItORINg DESK

Punjab Chief Minister ShahbazSharif on Saturday said that hiselder brother and party chiefNawaz Sharif has forbidden himfrom speaking against PrsidentAsif Ali Zardari. The chief min-ister said this at Dunya News’fourth anniversary where hewas the chief guest. The chiefminister felicitated DunyaNews management and work-ers and cut a cake at the event.

Two ‘terrorists’ killedby own bomb

MONItORINg DESK

Two alleged terrorists werekilled on Saturday while plant-ing a bomb on a motorcycle inPeshawar’s Yakatoot area, a pri-vate TV channel reported. Ac-cording to details, the bombwent off when the suspected ter-rorists were trying to fix it to amotorcycle in the vicinity of DirColony in Yakatoot. Police andbomb squad immediately ar-rived at the scene and recovereda pistol from nearby.

Security guard shootswife, her mother and brother

LAHOREStAff RepORt

A man opened fire at hismother-in-law, brother-in-law and wife over a family dis-pute killing the mother-in-lawand critically injuring theother two over a family dis-pute in Manawa area. Mean-while, in a separate incident,two people died when theyopened fire at each other at amotorcycle rental shop in Fa-taygarh area of Harbanspura.

Per details, GhulamAbbas, a security guard, shothis wife Rafia, brother-in-lawand mother-in-law who wereshifted to Ganga Ram Hospitalwhere his mother-in-law suc-cumbed to her injuries whilehospital sources said that Rafiaand her brother were also indanger of losing their lives. Po-lice arrested Abbas, confis-cated his weapon and startedinvestigation. In Fataygarh, re-ports said that Qaisar visitedAsif’s shop to rent a motorcy-cle where the two entered intoa dispute when Asif refused torent a motorcycle to Qaisar. Inthe heat of the arguments,both men shot each other sus-taining severe injuries. Theywere shifted to Services Hospi-tal in critical conditions wherethey could not be revived.Sources said the incident hadarisen out of an old enmity be-tween the two.

MuhAMMAD JAMALFor & On Behalf of Family Members

of Late Sayed Iqbal Haider

Thank you for your support and helpSINCERELY

Email: ihaider45@yahoo.com Tel: 35681748, Dawn Ext. 3056

With humility and deep gratitude,we thank you for theoverwhelming expression of love,respect and admiration receivedpersonally, and through themedia, for our beloved IqbalHaider on his untimely demise.

Your immeasurable support bearstestimony to his remarkable life inwhich he touched so many hearts,and gave us the strength to bearthis irreparable loss.His memory will abide with us all,potent and present, forever.

With all our prayersMrs Iffat Iqbal Haider (Widow)Alizeh Haider (Daughter)Manahil Haider (Daughter)Hamaad Haider (Son)Along with our entire family.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

CAIROAGenCieS

TENS of thousands ofIslamists demon-strated in Cairo onSaturday in support

of President Mohamed Mursi,who is racing through a consti-tution to try to defuse opposi-tion fury over his newlyexpanded powers.

“The people want the im-plementation of God’s law,”chanted at least 50,000 flag-waving demonstrators, manyof them bussed in from thecountryside to pack streetsnear Cairo University.

Mursi was expected laterin the day to set a date for areferendum on the constitu-tion hastily approved by an Is-lamist-dominated draftingassembly on Friday after a 19-hour session. “We will cer-tainly present the constitutionto the president tonight,” Mo-hamed al-Beltagy, a MuslimBrotherhood leader and a

member of the constituent as-sembly, told Reuters.

The presidency said thehandover would take place at 7p.m. (1700 GMT) at a conven-tion centre in Cairo. Mursiplunged Egypt into a new crisislast week when he gave himselfextensive powers and put hisdecisions beyond judicial chal-lenge, saying this was a tempo-rary measure to speed Egypt’sdemocratic transition until thenew constitution is in place. Hisassertion of authority in a de-cree issued on Nov. 22, a dayafter he won world praise forbrokering a Gaza truce betweenIsrael and the Palestinian Is-lamist Hamas movement, dis-mayed his opponents andwidened divisions amongEgypt’s 83 million people. Twopeople have been killed andhundreds wounded in protestsby disparate opposition forcesdrawn together and re-ener-gised by a decree they see as adictatorial power grab. Tens ofthousands of Egyptians had

protested against Mursi on Fri-day. “The people want to bringdown the regime,” theychanted in Cairo’s TahrirSquare, echoing the trademarkslogan of the revolts againstHosni Mubarak and Arab lead-ers elsewhere. Rival demon-strators threw stones after darkin the northern city of Alexan-dria and a town in the NileDelta. Similar clashes eruptedagain briefly in Alexandria onSaturday, state TV said.‘COMPLETE DEFEAT’: Mo-hamed Noshi, 23, a pharmacistfrom Mansoura, north of Cairo,said he had joined the rally inCairo to support Mursi and hisdecree. “Those in Tahrir don’trepresent everyone. Most peo-ple support Mursi and aren’tagainst the decree,” he said.

Mohamed Ibrahim, ahardline Salafi Islamistscholar and a member of theconstituent assembly, saidsecular-minded Egyptianshad been in a losing battlefrom the start.

LONDONinp

A top Pentagon lawyer saidthe United States (US) mustprepare for a time when it wasno longer at war with al Qaedaand when sweeping legal pow-ers enacted following the 9/11attacks came to an end.

The address by PentagonGeneral Counsel Jeh Johnsonmarked the first time a seniorUS official publicly raised thepossibility of an end to the waron terror, launched by formerpresident George W Bush in theaftermath of the 9/11 attacks onNew York and Washington.

With the US militarycampaign against al Qaedanow entering its 12th year,“we must also ask ourselves:how this conflict will end?”Johnson said on Thursday inremarks delivered at the Ox-ford Union in Britain.

The terror network, whichis under steady pressure, willeventually become so weak thatit would no longer make senseto maintain a legal frameworkfor all-out war, Johnson said,according to a text released bythe Pentagon. “I do believe thaton the present course, there willcome a tipping point at which somany of the leaders and opera-tives of al Qaeda and its affili-ates have been killed orcaptured, and the group is nolonger able to attempt or launcha strategic attack against the US,

such that al Qaeda as we knowit, the organisation that ourCongress authorised the mili-tary to pursue in 2001, has beeneffectively destroyed,” he said. Itwould then fall to law enforce-ment and intelligence agenciesto go after al Qaeda’s remnants,said Johnson, a long time polit-ical ally of President BarackObama. “At that point, we mustbe able to say to ourselves thatour efforts should no longer beconsidered an armed conflictagainst al Qaeda and its associ-ated forces,” he said.

Instead, the governmentwould pursue “a counterterror-ism effort against individualswho are the scattered rem-nants of al Qaeda, or are partsof groups unaffiliated with alQaeda, for which the law en-forcement and intelligence re-sources of our government areprincipally responsible, in co-operation with the interna-tional community-with ourmilitary assets available in re-serve to address continuingand imminent terroristthreats”. The war against alQaeda has been cited to jus-tify covert intelligence opera-tions and unilateral militaryaction around the worldagainst suspected militants,including a major dronebombing campaign in Pak-istan and the indefinite de-tention of alleged al Qaedamembers at a US-run prisonin Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

DOHAAGenCieS

Hundreds of people joinedQatar’s first legal protest marchto demand action on climatechange issues on Saturday inDoha, where representativesfrom nearly 200 countries arenegotiating a global response toclimate change.

Calling on the Arab world tolead, civil society activists urgedArab governments to makeemission reduction pledges atthe Doha conference and to getserious about tackling climate

change. Despite being the hostof the current round of talks,Qatar has yet to pledge its emis-sion reduction action. The“march” may have paled com-pared to protests and marchesat past climate change confer-ences at Durban or Copen-hagen, but for the civil societyactivists it was a big step. Thiswas Qatar’s first legal protestmarch. Walking down the sea-front avenue al Corniche in theshadow of gleaming skyscrap-ers, the protestors gave calls to“stop climate change”, askedthat “Arabs reduce emissions”.

Seven months of preparationand persuasion with the Qatarigovernment resulted in the twohour march on Saturday morn-ing. In the end, the governmentchose to present itself as a be-nign partner. Addressing themarchers, Fahad Bin Mo-hammed Al-Attiya said, “This isa proud and historic day forQatar. Today marks a very im-portant moment in our history,today you are standing here to-gether, and this march demon-strates your commitment. Iwould love to see the delegatestake up their responsibilities

and find a responsible decisiontowards addressing the issues ofclimate change.” The organizersof the march, the civil societyparticipants, chose to look at theQatari government’s positionmore positively. “If governmentwants to support this marchthen good, the governmentshould take responsibility. TheQatari government shouldpledge ambitiously, show that itis ready to break the close circleof the GCC,” said Ali Fakhry ofIndyACT, the league of inde-pendent environmental, socialand cultural activist.

Continued fRoM page 01

PESHAWARStAff RepORt

Dr Shakil Afridi on Saturdaycalled off his hunger strikewhen some of his demandswere accepted by the jail ad-ministration at Peshawar Cen-tral Jail. Reliable sources toldPakistan Today that the jail ad-ministration informed DrShakil Afridi about the restora-tion of certain facilities includ-ing the provision of blankets,warm clothes and some news-papers and magazines, afterwhich Dr Afridi called off hishunger strike. However, the jailadministration has not yet ac-cepted the demand of JamilAfridi, Dr Shakil Aridi’sbrother, to provide medical

care to the prisoner. JamilAfridi had pleaded before Pe-shawar Commissioner to directthe jail administration to allowa medical check-up of Dr Afridi,as he seems to have developeda chest infection due to severetorture by the policemen. Sincehis telephone interview to a for-eign TV channel from insidethe prison, Dr Afridi had beenkept in solitary confinement.

Islamists rally behind Mursi asEgypt’s rifts widen

US official signals endto war against al Qaeda

Shakil Afridi callsoff hunger strike

Hundreds join Qatar’s first legal protestmarch to demand action on climate change

iSlAMABAD: Benazir income Support programme

Chairwoman farzana Raja briefs a delegation of

China investment Cooperation (CiC) on Saturday.

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Sunday, 2 december, 2012

ISLAMABADOnline

The Computed Tomography (CT)scan machine of the largest hospi-tal of the federal capital, PakistanInstitute of Medical Sciences(PIMS) is lying out of order sincelong and the patients of emergencywards are forced to use private lab-oratories for this purpose.

It is no less than an irony thatthe only ultra sound machine ofthis hospital had not been func-tioning to its full capacity and thepatients have been put on waitinglists spanning over several weeks toundergo tests.

According to sources, severaldoctors affiliated with the PIMSwere forcing the poor patients toundergo CT scan test in private lab-oratories of their choice as theywere pocketing heavy commissionin this lucrative business.

The PIMS administration hadbeen playing with the sentiments ofthe patients as they were giving aone-month period to patients forultra sound test and a free ultrasound test was no less than a night-mare for the poor patients.

Talking to agencies, a patientnamed Ali Muhammad Khan saidthe PIMS administration had mis-erably failed to sort out the prob-

lems being faced by the patients.The concept of providing facilitiesto patients was nonexistent in thehospital and only lip service wasbeing provided in connection withcleanliness work.

Furthermore, patients werebeing treated as second rate citi-zens in the emergency ward of thehospital, he complained.

He further said that a doctorof the PIMS had referred him to aprivate laboratory for a CT scanand he was surprised to see thatthe CT scan consultant was notavailable in the said laboratoryand instead a technician wasworking in place of a doctor.

Another patient JunaidShamshad said that a doctor fromthe PIMS referred him to the re-spective section of this hospitalfor an ultra sound test on Thurs-day. He was given the date of Jan-uary10, 2013 for this test by thesection concerned. This was con-crete evidence of the ineptness onthe part of the management of thelargest hospital of Islamabad, heregretted.

He demanded of the Ministerfor Capital Administration and De-velopment Division, NazarMuhammad Gondal to play his duerole in addressing the problems ofthe patients visiting the PIMS.

ISLAMABADStAff RepORt

HIGHER EducationC o m m i s s i o n ’ s(HEC) OfficersWelfare Associa-tion (OWA) and

Employees Welfare Association(EWA), representing over 600permanent employees, haveunanimously resolved to con-demn Dr Sohail Naqvi’s rebel-lious attitude in wilfully denyingthe legitimate orders of the PrimeMinister of Pakistan.

A joint statement issued byEWA and OWA on Saturdaystated, “Dr Sohail has enjoyed thestatus of HEC executive directorfor over 10 years against the rulesdeclared by the EstablishmentDivision. We urge the chairmanto carry the prime minister’s in-structions forward.”

They said that the notifica-tion to remove Dr Sohail hadnothing to do with HEC’s auton-omy, and it would continue itsfunctions envisaged in the HECOrdinance 2002.

The statement alleged thatthe ousted ED, during his 10-year tenure, had done nothingsignificant for the betterment ofHEC, now that his illegal ap-pointment had surfaced he hadstarted terming the Establish-ment Division’s move as an at-tack on HEC’s autonomy.

The associations vowed toresist any attempts by Dr Sohailto resume illegal work at HEC.They alleged that the chairper-son had double standards re-garding the additional charge ofexecutive director given to MrQamar Zaman, while the Estab-lishment Division’s decision totransfer Dr Sohail from theMinistry of Information Tech-nology to HEC in February2003 had been implemented inletter and spirit.

As per HEC Ordinance, theprime minister had a supervisoryrole and the right to interveneand stop illegal activity by theHEC management. He had totake this decision in the contextthat: (a) The Commission ad-vertised the position of the Exec-

utive Director HEC in nationalpress inviting applications fromthe potential candidates. August28, 2012 was the last date for re-ceipt of applications.

He had taken the decisionto appoint Zaman as acting EDbecause HEC had advertised avacancy of ED in the nationalpress inviting applications frompotential candidates, but Dr So-hail had extended his servicesfor the third tenure in a meetingheld on August 27, denying theright of open competitionagainst the said position.

Earlier the commission hadappointed Dr Sohail at an MP-1scale and the extension in MPscales was the prerogative of theprime minister.

The prime minister hadnever delegated the power to ap-point officers in an MP scale toHEC. A group of 200 contrac-tual HEC employees, who hadbeen given an assurance fromDr Sohail for the regularizationof their jobs, had staged protestto press the government to rein-state Dr Sohail.

ISLAMABADStAff RepORt

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decidedto recover illegally grabbed land from squatter settlersin Sector I-11/1-2 by the end of December and allottingthe same to genuine allotees, besides accelerating upliftwork in the said sector. The decision was made in ameeting of the civic body held at the CDA Headquartersthe other day. The meeting was presided over by theCDA Member Estate Shaista Sohail and attended by rep-resentatives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), United Na-tions High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ICT,Islamabad Police and officials of other departments con-cerned. The meeting was informed that Sector I-11 hadbeen opened for further projects, but due to squattersettlements in the sector, development work could notbe possible. Furthermore, the area was also marring thebeauty of the federal capital.The CDA member estate Shaista said that according tothe directives of the CDA Chairman Tahir Shahbaz, strictaction would be taken against “kachi abadis”, whileadding that slum settlements would be demolished bythe end of this year. She further said that illegal posses-sion of the civic body’s land would be ended soon inorder to carry out development work in Sector I-11 andgenuine allotees would be provided with plots. Followingthe CDA chairman’s directives, a comprehensive strategyhad been formulated to vacate the CDA lands from ille-gal settlers, she added. The CDA member estate askedthe participants of the meeting to cooperate with thecivic body in its efforts to recover the grabbed land andcarry out uplift work in the sector at the earliest. Theparticipants assured full cooperation to the CDA at theconclusion of the meeting.

People getting too manythreatening phone calls

ISLAMABADinp

Incidents of threatening phone callshave been on the rise as has been wit-nessed in cases registered under theTelegraph Act in various police sta-tions of the federal capital.The police said that over 20 cases ofthreatening calls had been lodged inthe last seven days, most of which hadhappened due to illegal and unregis-tered SIMs available in the market.According to details, three cases ofsimilar nature had been registered indifferent police stations the other day.In the first case, Zahid Ali from SectorG-5/1 had informed the Secretariat Po-lice Station about threatening callsfrom a caller Hassan Kalor. In another incident, ChaudhryTouqeer, a resident of Tarlai Kalan,lodged a case with Koral Police Stationagainst an unknown caller.Police officials said that a significantsurge had been witnessed in cases reg-istered under the Telegraph Act due tounregistered SIMs, as those callerscould not be traced in some cases andthe practice was time consuming.

Underpass project forRawalpindi JudicialComplex approved

RAWALPINDIOnline

The City District Management hasapproved the underpass projectleading from district courtsRawalpindi to new judicial complexto ensure secure crossing for thepeople during working hours. Earlier the MNA of the constituencyand the district administration hadapproved the plan to build an over-head bridge but this plan was re-jected by the District BarAssociation Rawalpindi on the pleathat all overhead bridges built in-side the city so far have failed toserve their purpose. Punjab Chief Minister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif had given the finalapproval to this project, whichwould be constructed at the cost ofRs 50 million. The contract for theproject had been awarded to the Na-tional Logistics Cell (NLC). Walkthrough gates would be installed onthe entry and exit points on boththe sides of the underpass whilespecial lighting arrangement wouldbe ensured inside the underpass forthe convenience of citizens.

Dysfunctional CT scan machinein PiMS bothers patients

HEC regular employeeshail PM for removing ED

CDA decides to recoverillegally grabbed landin Sector I-11/1-2

tiMe tO COlleCt WOOD: Youngsters on their way back after collecting dry tree branches for

domestic use. inP

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:50 AM Page 5

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

06 supplement

O N December 2, the United ArabEmirates, celebrates its 41st Na-tional Day with great zeal and fer-vor, while advancing steadfastly

and confidently on its path for more pros-perity, unprecedented development andachievements in all spheres of life.

The construction phase in the devel-opment story of the UAE, began with thewisdom, patience, loyalty and generosityof the founding father, the late ShaikhZayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The President, His Highness ShaikhKhalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, last year onthe occasion of country’s 40th NationalDay paid rich tributes to the founding fa-thers and stressed that the achievementsthe UAE has made had catapulted thecountry into the ranks of advanced na-tions, thanks to the sincere and tireless ef-forts spearheaded by the late Shaikh Zayedbin Sultan Al Nahyan and his fellowfounding fathers, who toiled in silence toinitiate a march whose aims fit with ourgenuine national values and principles.

Shaikh Khalifa said “This Union that iswith us today in terms of political achieve-ment and socio-economic reality was nei-ther a gift or a grant nor an easyachievement. Rather, it was the fruit of agood tree planted by our fathers whodreamed of the idea with hope, took care ofit with their dedication to raise the flag ofthe Union as high as they could andstrengthened its pillars. They are really thespirit of the Union; from their life and his-tory, generations will draw lessons and willcontinue to carry the responsibility underthe eyes of a glorious nation that takes pridein its past, its giving present and promisingfuture”. The federal march then continuedwith the leadership of His Highness ShaikhKhalifa, who launched, with his wise visionand inimitable leadership experience, theempowerment stage in all political, eco-nomic, social, scientific and cultural fields.

On another occasion Shaikh Khalifa, atthe opening of the Second Ordinary Sessionof the 15thLegislative Chapter of the FederalNational Council on November 6, this year,stressed: “The convening of the new sessionof the Council coincides with the dedicatedefforts of our citizens in the march of achiev-ing the UAE Vision 2021 fortified with de-termination and design, and inspired by thelegacy of our fathers and grandfathers, andrelying on a comprehensive program for na-tional action and integrated strategic plan ofthe Federal Government.”

Noting that the role of the FNC had al-ready developed since the launching of agradualist programme of political empow-erment in 2005, particularly since theholding of a second round of elections forthe Council’s members in 2011, the Presi-dent told the FNC: “Your membership inthis Council is a great trust and responsi-bility. Governance here belongs to thosewho have bestowed their trust on you”. “Sobe solicitous to maintain your eligibility tohave received this trust and be committedto the interests of the country and the cit-izens.” Members must work, he said, toprotect the bonds that link all segments ofUAE society, “In our quest to entrench theculture of consultation and participationin decision-making, as well as to empha-size the importance of individual opinionsin formulating the opinion of the society.”UNIQUE MODEL FOR NATIONALCOHESION: The 40th National Day cel-ebrations last year, embodied the slogan(Spirit of the Union) and established val-ues of loyalty and mutual love between theleadership and the people. Meanwhile, the41st National day adds deeper dimensionand proves that the outstanding Federalmarch is no longer a pioneering experi-ment only in unity, but has become aunique model in the national cohesion andpositive interaction binding UAE’s leader-ship and its citizens and unite them inorder to build a bright future. While at-tending the meeting of the FederalSupreme Council of the Rulers of Emirateson December 2nd, 2011, President HisHighness Shaikh Khalifa, and Their High-nesses, Members of Supreme Council,Rulers of Emirates, reiterated that theachievements scored by the UAE over thelast 40 years were fruits of the strenuousand sincere work by Emiratis. “The contri-bution of UAE people to building theircountry will always be highly appreciated”.EMBODYING THE SPIRIT OF THEUNION: On the occasion of the 40th na-tional day celebrations, Shaikh Khalifa, onNovember 30, 2011, issued a number ofdecrees within the framework of his keen-ness to achieve welfare of the citizens andhelp them get their ambitions in a stableand comfortable life.

He issued a decree to increase salariesof all federal government employees witheffect from January 2012. In the frameworkof his concern and interest to provide a bet-ter life to his citizens, Shaikh Khalifa or-dered the establishment of a fund with a

capital of AED 10 billion to examine and ad-dress the loans of citizens with limited in-come and settling their personal loans incoordination with the Central Bank andcreditor banks in the state. He also orderedan increase of 20 percent of the allocationof social benefits to some cases that receivesubsidies from the Ministry of Social Affairs.EXECUTIVE BUSINESSSTRATEGIES: The United Arab Emiratesadopted a new approach in the executiveperformance based on specific businessstrategies with clear goals and objectives inthe framework of its commitment to keep upwith the challenges and requirements of thenew millennium. In this context, PresidentHis Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed AlNahyan launched new strategies toenhance political empowerment plans andprograms, particularly the future strategywith setting its goals in the mobilization ofresources and energies, its approach ofcooperation and coordination between allthat is federal and local, as well as updatingthe decision-making mechanisms andraising the efficiency of government entitiesand their effectiveness.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed binRashid Al Maktoum, Vice President andPrime Minister of the UAE and Ruler ofDubai, launched on February 28, 2010,the second round of federal governmentstrategy (2011-2013).UAE TOPPED ARAB COUNTRIES INUN’S WORLD HAPPINESS ANDSATISFACTION SURVEY: The UnitedArab Emirates has topped the list of Arabcountries and ranked 17 worldwide in theUN’s first ever world happiness and satis-faction survey, announced in April 2012.

On this occasion, His Highness ShaikhMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoumstressed that UAE’s founding fathers hadtheir eyes set on providing means for pros-perity and happiness to all citizens. Headded that the founding fathers’ approachhad become a vision for the governmentand an action plan that impacted its policiesand decision. He elaborated :”The develop-ment plans we approved, the initiatives welaunched and the policies and laws en-forced, have all but one goal; to bring abouthappiness to the citizens, their families andtheir children. What we have achieved so faris just an initial milestone that will follow byharder work and more accomplishments sowe can become the world’s best”.DEEPENING THE CULTURE OFDEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION:

The Federal National Council (FNC),which represents the legislative authorityin the country, witnessed qualitative leapssince its inception in February 12, 1972,particularly with holding of a second elec-tion in September 24, 2011, where 20members representing half the membersof the Council including a woman, wereelected. His Highness Shaikh Khalifa atthe opening of the first Ordinary Sessionof the 15th Legislative Chapter of the Fed-eral National Council on November 15,2011, said: “Your convening today is a suc-cessful culmination for the second phasein our course to deepen the culture of par-ticipation and develop its practices whichwe have taken with full national will andwe are determined to move forward toachieve the aspirations of our people in ahomeland to share and be proud to live inand belonging to it because empowermentis the spirit of the Union.

Shaikh Khalifa, highlighted the inten-tion to move steadily towards achievingthe purposes of the political experience,sustainable development and to expandpolitical participation.FOREIGN POLICY: The underlyingprinciples of the UAE’s foreign policy wereestablished by the founding President ofthe Federation, the late Shaikh Zayed binSultan Al Nahyan, focussing on balanceand moderation.

The solid strategic foundations of thispolicy are represented by a commitmentto the Charter of the United Nations, re-spect for International Law and charters,and the establishment of relations with allcountries based on mutual respect, non-interference in the internal affairs of otherstates and the pursuit, wherever possible,of peaceful resolutions of disputes as wellas support for just causes and interna-tional security and stability.

The UAE’s diplomacy has met with agood response from other countries andhas produced strategic political, economic,commercial, cultural, scientific, educa-tional and healthy partnerships with manycountries in different continents of theworld. This has enhanced the nation’s out-standing international status.

In recent years, the UAE’s foreign policyhas displayed farsightedness, with activesteps being taken, both regionally and inter-nationally, to build an extensive network ofcommon interests with the rest of the worldand to serve national development, the ex-change of expertise and technology transfer

and other mechanisms which serve nationalinterests and the economy.UAE AS A SAFE HAVEN FOR EXPA-TRIATES: The UAE hosts millions of ex-patriates from around two hundrednationalities from six continents. They andtheir families enjoy good living standards,security and stability as well as full rightsgoverned by strict laws which regulatelabour relations.

They also enjoy freedom to worshipand to perform their religious rituals freelyand safely. The effective laws guaranteetheir right to transfer savings to their fam-ilies in their home countries. Foreignersworking in the UAE are estimated to haveremitted AED 41.2 billion to their homecountries in 2011, compared with AED38.8 in 2010. In comments made on 29October 2012, Minister of Labour SaqrGhobash said: “ In the UAE, human rightsin general, and workers’ rights in particu-lar, are closely monitored by the leader-ship to preserve human rights and dignityin conformity with the UAE values and na-tional legislation applied to citizens andresidents without discrimination. Hence,the UAE has become a magnet for differ-ent nationalities.”THE UAE’S THREE ISLANDS: Basedon its approach, which is founded on theprinciples of peaceful settlement of dis-putes, as well as on its interest in keepingtensions away from the region, strength-ening confidence-building measures, re-sorting to the international legitimacy, theUAE continues its efforts to regain sover-eignty over the three islands of Abu Musa,and Greater and Lesser Tunb, which wereoccupied by Iran on the eve of the estab-lishment of the UAE Federation on 2 De-cember 1971. On 22 September 2012, theUAE’s Foreign Minister H.H Shaikh Ab-dullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, in a state-ment before the 67th session of the UnitedNations General Assembly in New York,expressed his regret at the continued Iran-ian occupation of the islands.FOREIGN AID: The UAE is at the fore-front of international humanitarian workand development aid. This role is well-recognised by the United Nations whichhas chosen the country as a major hub forits humanitarian worldwide efforts andoperations. On 28 September 2012, H. H.Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan,UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, met withthe Secretary-General of the United Na-tions Ban Ki-moon in New York. g

A unique model in cohesion & unprecedented achievements

On the declaration of the

federation between the six

emirates, the rulers of Abu

Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman,

Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah expressed

their desire and their people’s desire to

establish a federation. The constitution

states: “We, the Rulers of the Emirates of

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm

Al Quwain and Fujairah, whereas it is our

desire and the desire of the people of our

Emirates to establish a Union between

these Emirates, to promote a better life,

more enduring stability and a higher

international status for the Emirates and

their people.” Ras Al Khaimah joined the

Union on February 10, 1972. The main

aim of the federation was to maintain the

UAE’s independence and to safeguard its

sovereignty. Shaikh Zayed, first president

of the United Arab Emirates, along with

his brothers, the rulers of the other

emirates, had succeeded in building a

strong modern state with one of the

highest GDPs per capita in the Arab world

and a state-of-the-art infrastructure.

As a ruler of the country, Shaikh Zayed

maintained the traditional role of a father

figure to his Emiratis and expatriates.

Being a modern statesman with values

and traits of a conventional tribal leader

who was a very approachable and down-

to-earth president, Shaikh Zayed was

discussing with his people their concerns

and complex state policies.

Shaikh Zayed encouraged positive and

effective involvement from youngsters in

the building process of the nation to help

it thrive. During that time, Abu Dhabi’s

capabilities were quite limited. From 1971

until he passed away on november 2,

2004, Shaikh Zayed was the president of

the UAE and he was given the titles

“nation builder, UAE founder and Father

Zayed”. Shaikh Zayed, in cooperation with

the other rulers, implemented major

reforms including modern education,

health care, public housing, and general

urban development to improve the living

conditions and standards. One of Shaikh

Zayed’s initiatives was to provide

education for all UAE citizens which led to

building schools and learning centres all

over the country and teachers recruited

from other Arab countries to educate the

young generation. Within a few years, the

country was able to meet all the

necessary educational requirements for a

modern nation-state.

In a message delivered to the Emirati

youth nearly 20 years ago, which is still

relevant today, Shaikh Zayed said: “What

we have achieved, my dear young people

of the Emirates, will not survive, unless

you yourselves engage in further work

and efforts, and sacrifices.

“You should work hard to protect our

national achievements, to foster and

support the continued march of our

Federation, and to make more

achievements that contribute to the

dignity and prestige of our country and to

the welfare of our people. This cannot be

achieved without positive and effective

participation from all of you.”

Celebrations on the 41st national Day

within the UAE and abroad will start

from november 25 up to December 3

2012, including a number of

impressive and exciting events in

various parts of the country. g

A nation and its builderg The building of the

UAE was to maintainindependence andsafeguard itssovereignty

United Arab Emirates

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:50 AM Page 6

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

07supplement

I N the past decade the world hasbecome a global village and in-stant sharing of information isgaining more and more impor-

tance. Keeping in mind the changingglobal trends PTCL has taken the man-tle of the catalyst for change in trans-forming the communication experienceof people of Pakistan The latest intro-duction by PTCL is 3G EVO Wingle“Pakistan’s first 3G USB modem withbuilt-in Wi-Fi hotspot” 3G EVO Wingleis all out & about! The most talked aboutfuturistic Wi-Fi tool that lets users ef-fortlessly connect multiple Wi-Fi gadg-ets simultaneously at Hyper Speeds ofup to 9.3 Mbps* in over 200 cities, andauto switch over to Evo 3.1 Mbps speedsin over 250 cities. It lets the users con-nect ’n’ share effortlessly through anyexternal USB power adapter be it a lap-top/ desktop, USB power socket, carcharger or a car cigarette lighter.

EVO Wingle is a great looking sleek de-vice, roughly the size of a normal USBwith exceptional built quality. The smalland light-weight device comes in an el-egant pearl-white colored exterior. Therounded edges at the top and bottomenhance the look further. The LED indi-cator panel lights up nicely with brightgreen and blue LED on connectivity.

ONE of the best features of EVO Wingleis the Hi-Link technology. The devicedoes not need any driver to work. Thedevice automatically establishes inter-net connectivity within 15 seconds sim-ply by plugging the device in the USBport of any power source. This is an ex-cellent feature as it eliminates the needto install drivers which is a somewhatcumbersome process.

EVO Wingle supports two-way wire-less connectivity, supporting both 3G

and Wi-Fi. The device automaticallyestablishes 3G internet connectivityvia EV-DO Rev.B, simply by pluggingthe device in a USB power source,such as a USB port or external USBpower adapter. If the device is in-serted in a computer, it allows 5+1users to connect - one user via theUSB connection and 4 users via Wi-Fi. The device supports the latest802.11n protocol which supportsmaximum net data rate of 600Mbits/s. The Wi-Fi working range isalso exceptional, giving connectivityto 5 users over a distance of 15 to 20meters. The range extends to beyond80 meters when plugged into ACpower.

EVO Wingle connects to the Internetusing PTCL’s 3G EVO Nitro network thatallows for download speeds up to 9.3Mbps. Even heavy web pages loadquickly, and I found the response time toload pages very fast. For websites such asYoutube, Metacafe, BBC News, CNN,Facebook etc which boast heavy videoand graphics content, the browsing expe-rience was without a doubt, wonderful!Further, upon using the 3G WI-Fi con-nectivity for torrents, the average down-load speeds experiencewere around 4.0 Mbps.

THE video streaming ex-perience as tested with 3devices connected via theWi-Fi was found to be ex-cellent. Although the ex-perience is totallydependent on the desireddisplay resolution usedfor streaming if usingYouTube or Metacafe,however video streamingusing a Wi-Fi networkwas excellent. All videosstreamed perfectly.

EVO Wingle comes with a very clean-looking dashboard, which automati-cally opens-up in the web-browseronce the device is connected to thecomputer via USB port. The dashboardshows the 3G signal strength, the con-nection status; data download, uploadstatistics and connected Wi-Fi clients.Further the dashboard offers quick set-tings for setting-up your Wingle de-vice. It allows to swiftly and easilysetup the device SSID and security keypassword. Wingle offers various types

of Wi-Fi security settings including,WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK,

WPA/WPA2-PSKwith AES, TKIP and AES/TKIP encryp-tion methods. The dashboard also al-lows advance user settings such asWLAN MAC filtering, DHCP, Firewallswitch, LAN IP Filter, Virtual Server,DMZ, SIP ALG Settings, UPnP andNAT settings.

THE download and throughput speed ofEVO Wingle is excellent. The device per-formance over Wi-Fi was also found tobe excellent and uncompromised. Therewere no data drops or any speed disrup-tions even with Wi-Fi. 5 devices con-nected simultaneously. The Wi-Fisecurity was found easy to set-up andfunctioning per specification.

EVO Wingle features some very innova-tive and slick features such as the Hi-Linktechnology and the built-in Wi-Fi, whichare state-of-the-art. I have found it to bea very practical and useful device. This isthe technology for the future, and defi-nitely a step in the right direction.

EVO Wingle is a sleek and innovativedevice, which performs its intended pur-pose in a perfect manner. The good: Built-in Wi-Fi and Hi-LinkTechnology is perhaps one of the bestfeatures, which eliminates the need toinstall drivers and provides seamlessWi-Fi internet connectivity to any Wi-Fienabled device. The bad: Since the device does notcome with an external power adapter orbattery, the device will need externalpower source to function. The bottom line: EVO Wingle is anexcellent device, which packs a built-inWi-Fi router in the most compact casingand sleek design. g

PTCL EVO WINGLE: ExPErIENCE ThE POWEr OF INSTANT ShArING

FIrST IMPrESSION

3G & WI-FI

BrOWSING & CONNECTIVITy

PErFOrMANCE united ArabEmirates: A profile

T HE United Arab Emirates (the UAE) is afederation of seven tiny independent states -Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, al-Fujaira, Ras al-Khaymah, al-Shariqah (Sharjah), and Umm

al-Quwayn. The United Arab Emirates (the UAE) isa federation of seven tiny independent states - AbuDhabi, Ajman, Dubai, al-Fujaira, Ras al-Khaymah,al-Shariqah (Sharjah), and Umm al-Quwayn. TheUAE is a Muslim country which lies at thesoutheastern corner of the Arabian Peninsulabordering the Arabian Gulf, between Oman andSaudi Arabia. It has a land size of 82,880 sq km.Once known as the Trucial States in the 19thcentury, the UAE is now considered a Middle Easthub for business, media and a major touristdestination. In particular, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, thetwo most prosperous states, are a model for rapideconomic development and hugely popular withforeign investors from around the world because oftheir expanding leisure facilities and relaxed laws.The city of Abu Dhabi, located in the emirate of thesame name, is the federal capital and the largest cityin the country. Historical background The UAE wasformed from a group of tribally organisedshaikhdoms along the southern coast of the Gulf.The area was dominated by shaikhdoms who wereembroiled in dynastic disputes for many centuries.The disputes were mainly over the domination ofthe harbours that used to generate huge profits.Throughout its history, the area now known as theUAE was abuzz with transit ports where shipscoming from the Indian subcontinent resuppliedbefore continuing their way to the crucial port ofBasra in Iraq. Commercial ships also used tounload their commodities in order to transportthem inland to areas in Arabia. As a centre ofcommercial sea traffic, attacks and counter-attacksby sea became commonplace and the area becameknown as the Pirate Coast as raiders based thereharassed foreign shipping.From the 17th to the 19th century, British andother European naval ships patrolled the coast toprotect merchant ships. With better and moresophisticated weaponry, the Trucial Statesconceded control over their defence and foreignaffairs to the British, who were already in controlof neighbouring Oman and Qatar.Before the discovery of oil in the 1950s, the UAE waslargely undeveloped. Oil brought rapid growth andmodernisation, and the country gainedindependence in 1971. However, independence didnot spare the UAE from regional disputes. Asidefrom internal rivalries, there were border disputeswith Saudi Arabia and Oman. Iran seized the islandsof Abu Musa, Tunb al-Kubra (Greater Tunb), andTunb al-Sughra (Lesser Tunb) in the Gulf, all ofwhich had been claimed by the UAE.RAPID MODERNISATION: Regional threats ofwar and revolution did not harm the country's questfor development under the leadership of ShaikhZayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who used oil revenuesto establish and strengthen the business andtourism sectors as well as promote the UAE'sregional security.Rapid modernisation, enormous strides ineducation, and the influx of a large foreignpopulation have changed the face of society but havenot altered its traditional political system.There are no political parties. There has been someslow movement toward democratisation, however,with limited elections for a new assembly, but therulers hold power on the basis of their dynasticposition and their legitimacy in a system of tribalconsensus. g

41st National Day

VIDEO STrEAMING

DAShBOArD & WI-FI SECurITy

VErDICT

uSEr COMMENTS

hArDWArE rEVIEW (SPECIFICATIONS)EVO Wingle EC-315/2Specification Sheet

Chipset platform MDM6600Form USB StickFrequency EVDO 800/1900MHZSpeed CDMA2000 1X EV-DO REV B:

DL 9.3Mbps/ UL 5.4MbpsWLAN: 802.11b/g/n

Interface USB 2.0 high speedDimensions 90.6mm×28.6mm×12.6mmWeight < 50greceive Diversity SupportedMicroSD card slot Supported up to 32GBExternal Antenna interface SupportedOS Windows XP/SP3、Windows

Vista SP1/SP2、Windows 7,Mac OS X 10.5、Mac OS X 10.6、Mac OS X 10.7 with latest upgrades

PrO & CONSPrOS:n hi-Link Technology n Wi-Fi, 3G n Compact Sizen rev.B9.3 Mpbsn Excellent Build QualityCONS:n No Built-in battery

uSEr ExPErIENCE

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:50 AM Page 7

08

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

News

Twitter enables internetlessposts in SyriaDAMASCUS: Google and Twitter have reactivated a voicefeature for Syrians to send out tweets during internetblackouts. Friday’s announcement of the reinstating of thevoice-tweet programme marks the first use of thetechnology since authorities in Egypt shut down theinternet for several days in 2011. “Those who might belucky enough to have a voice connection can still useSpeak2Tweet by simply leaving a voicemail,” David Torres,a New York-based Google developer said. Torresacknowledged that many Syrians may not be able to use theservice because telecom networks have also been affectedby recent communication blackouts. Correspondents forthe AFP news service noted that Internet and telephonecommunications, including mobile phones, were cut in thecapital since Thursday. The service allows people with atelephone connection to compose and send a 140-charactertweet by speaking on their phones. Those able to dial outcan leave messages on several phone numbers: +90 212339 1447 or +30 21 1 198 2716 or +39 06 62207294 or +1650 419 4196 , “and the service will tweet the message,”Torres said. “No Internet connection is required, andpeople can listen to the messages by dialing the samephone numbers or going to twitter.com/speak2tweet.”Activists accused the government of Bashar al-Assad,Syrian president, of preparing a “massacre” when thetelephone lines and Internet first went down on Thursday.Authorities explained the cut was due to “maintenance”work. Washington branded it as a desperate move on partof Damascus. AGenCieS

Boycott-hit voting underway in KuwaitKUWAIT: Voting is under way in Kuwait to pick a newparliament for the second time in 10 months amid sharpdivisions between the ruling family-led government and anopposition boycotting the polls over a change to theelectoral law. Polling opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) onSaturday and closes 12 hours later, with the first resultsexpected after midnight (2100 GMT) as ballot papers inKuwait are still counted manually. Opposition groups,ranging from hardline Islamists to Western-leaningliberals, have bitterly denounced a decree in October byKuwait’s emir to change the balloting system. They claim itwill make it easier for officials to influence the outcome.Opposition supporters, numbering in the tens ofthousands, took to the streets of Kuwait City on Friday in apeaceful demonstration calling on voters to stay homeduring the election day. Friday’s protests were amongseveral staged against the government for unilaterallyamending the electoral law. In previous elections, voterswere able to pick up to a maximum of four candidates; thatnumber was reduced by the amendment to just one. Eachof Kuwait’s five constituencies elects 10 legislators.Analysts see little hope the election, the fifth since mid-2006, will bring political stability to the Gulf state whichhas seen sharp divisions between the ruling family-ledgovernment and the opposition. AGenCieS

tEL AvIvAGenCieS

THE Israeli government hasapproved the constructionof 3,000 new homes in ille-gal settlements in the occu-pied West Bank, less than 24

hours after the UN voted for Palestine tobe upgraded to a non-member observerstate, according to Israeli media reports.

The homes will be built both in EastJerusalem and the West Bank, but thegovernment did not stipulate in whichsettlements. According to a reportin Haaretz, prime minister Binyamin Ne-tanyahu also plans to “promote planningand construction” in the so-called E-1area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adu-mim, a major settlement with nearly40,000 inhabitants.

Hagit Ofran, who runs the SettlementWatch project at Peace Now, said the an-

nouncement would not mean immediateconstruction in the E-1 area. “There is noplan ready for implementation,” she said.“In order to build, they must approveplans.” The Obama administration hastried to discourage construction in E-1,which would cut off East Jerusalem fromsurrounding Arab towns and further carveup the West Bank, already riven by Israelisettlements and military checkpoints.

The White House issued a brief state-ment on the announcement, which usedlargely the same language that the US hasused for years in condemning Israeli set-tlement expansion.

“We reiterate our longstanding oppo-sition to settlements and East Jerusalemconstruction and announcements,” saidTommy Vietor, a White Housespokesman. “We believe these actions arecounterproductive and make it harder toresume direct negotiations or achieve atwo-state solution.”

The decision was made by Israel’s“security cabinet,” a forum of nine seniorministers led by Netanyahu.

Israel’s government had threatenedto approve further construction in the

settlements as a possible response toPalestine’s bid for recognition. The primeminister’s office would not comment onwhether the announcement was punish-ment for the UN vote.

Palestinian officials have anyway de-scribed it as a meaningless threat: Evenbefore the bid, Netanyahu’s governmenthas been approved thousands of new set-tler homes each year.

MexiCO: A boy with a Mexican flag, stained with paint, lies down in a chalk outline representing the body of a crime victim during a protest. AgenCieS

tuNIS AGenCieS

Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki hasasked the nation’s Prime Minister HamadiJebali to appoint a new cabinet as protestsover economic hardship continues tosweep the streets of the north African state.

In a televised national address on Fri-day, President Moncef Marzouki said thatthe country’s coalition government hadnot “met the expectations of the people”and asked that a new one, smaller and

specialised to deal with the unrest, beformed. The current government hasabout 80 members.

The Tunisian president’s ability tobring change is minimal. The prime min-ister is the determining force in the powerstructure. Marzouki, from the centre-leftCongress for the Republic, has clashedwith Ennahdha’s Jebali, in the past.

He said new elections should be held “assoon as possible,” before next summer. Call-ing the violence “unacceptable,” Marzoukisaid there should be a commission of en-

quiry. “The government must be changed tohave a competent technocrat cabinet and notone based on political factions,” Marzoukisaid. “If the clashes continue and the govern-ment’s response is not adequate, there willbe chaos and a dead-end,” he added.

“Tunisia today has an opportunitythat it must not miss to be a model be-cause the world is watching us and wemustn’t disappoint,” Marzouki said.

There was no immediate commentfrom the prime minister’s office.

Friday also saw the fourth day of

protests, leaving more than 300 peopleinjured including at least 17 blinded bybirdshot, according to medical sources.

Angry protesters vented their frustra-tion at security forces, calling for their gov-ernment to fulfill the promises of thecountry’s revolution. Forces respondedby firing tear gas canisters to dispersecrowds. Several Tunisian radio stationssaid the army had moved into Siliana. Anofficial close to Ennahdha, the centre-rightIslamist party of the prime minister, saidthe army will replace police in Siliani. The

official was not authorised to speak publiclyand asked not to be named. No official an-nouncement was made, but eye witnessescorroborated the information, saying thatseveral army trucks and other vehiclesmoved in. The president expressed concernthat the unrest in Siliana could spread toother regions in Tunisia’s long margin-alised interior, where the lack of develop-ment and high unemployment helpedtrigger begin what became a nationwideuprising that toppled Zine El Abidine BenAl, the former autocrat, in January 2011.

Israel approves new homes in West Bank

gOMAAGenCieS

Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congohave begun to withdraw from the key city ofGoma under a regionally brokered agreement.

The M23 rebels were seen boarding trucksand heading out of the city, 11 days after seizingit from government troops backed by UN peace-keepers. The deal calls for the rebels to withdrawtowards the town of Kibumba.

The M23 rebels deserted from the army inApril, with some 500,000 people fleeing theirhomes in ensuing unrest. The UK has suspendedaid to Rwanda, amid concerns about the country’srole in the conflict. Both Rwanda and neighbour-ing Uganda strongly deny UN accusations thatthey are backing the M23. Reports on Saturdayspoke of a number of flat-bed trucks carrying sev-eral hundred rebels out of Goma. Some 1,500 M23fighters were reported to have occupied the city.

M23 deputy spokesman Amani Kabasha told

Reuters: “The M23 is leaving Goma.”According to the withdrawal accord, mediated

by Uganda, the rebels are to pull back to a 20km(13 mile) buffer zone around Goma. The accordhad stipulated that the M23 would leave behind100 soldiers to guard the airport in conjunctionwith a UN contingent and a government unit.However, Sy Koumbo, a spokesman for the UN inCongo, told Associated Press that the rebels hadtried but failed to force their way into the airportto seize weapons on Friday. The rebels said recov-ering the materiel was part of the withdrawalprocess. More than 270 Congolese policemen havearrived in Goma’s port as part of the transition.The UN has warned of a growing humanitariancrisis in the region because of the recent fighting.

Goma is the key city in an eastern border area thathas seen years of conflict sparked by ethnic and polit-ical differences, and grievances over mineral resources.Some five million people died during the 1997-2003DR Congo conflict, which drew in several regionalcountries, including both Rwanda and Uganda.

Congo plane crashkills at least threein brazzavilleBRAZZAVILLE: A cargo plane has crashedin the Republic of Congo’s capital, Brazzaville,killing at least three. However, there are someunconfirmed reports more than 30 may havedied. The Russian-made Ilyushin 76 plane,coming from Pointe-Noire, was trying to land.The crew are all thought to have died, but theplane may have hit houses, killing more on theground. Like many African countries, theRepublic of Congo has a poor aviation safetyrecord The crash is reported to have happenedduring bad weather, hampering rescue efforts.The plane was carrying cargo, but may alsohave been carrying people other than thecrew. AGenCieS

rebels In dr Congo begInwIthdrawal from goma

Tunisia’s president calls for new cabinet

TEL AVIV: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hascriticised Israel’s decision to build 3,000 settler homes in EastJerusalem and the West Bank. “In light of today’sannouncement, let me reiterate that this administration - likeprevious administrations - has been very clear with Israel thatthese activities set back the cause of a negotiated peace,”Clinton said on Friday. Clinton was speaking at a forum inWashington hosted by the Saban Center for Middle EastPolicy. Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister, andEhud Barak, defence minister, were in the audience when shemade her remarks. In a wide-ranging speech also tackling theconflict in Syria and Iran’s suspect nuclear programme,Clinton highlighted the troubled Middle East peace process,calling on Israelis and Palestinians to get back to negotiations.

“The most lasting solution to the stalemate in Gaza would be acomprehensive peace between Israel and all Palestinians, ledby their legitimate representative, the Palestinian Authority,”Clinton said. Israel revealed the settlement plans in responseto a historic vote in the UN General Assembly on Thursday torecognise Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-memberobserver state - one which the United States opposed. “Thisweek’s vote should give all of us pause. All sides need toconsider carefully the path ahead,” Clinton said. “We all needto work together to find a path forward in negotiations thatcan deliver on the goal of a two-state solution. That remainsour goal. “If and when the parties are ready to enter intodirect negotiations to solve the conflict, President [Barack]Obama will be a full partner to them.” AGenCieS

us denounces Israeli settlement plans

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Sunday, 2 december, 2012

NewsTurkish ambassadorwants Karkey PowerPlant issue settledISLAMABAD: Turkish AmbassadorMustafa Babur Hizlan said on Saturdaythat the issue of Karkey Power Plantshould be settled as soon as possible be-cause prolonging the matter would havea negative impact on the Turkish in-vestors in Pakistan. Expressing his con-cern for resolving the matter, theambassador said that the ship is thelargest investment of Turkey in Pakistanand carries state-of-the-art deviceswhich are likely to be damaged with thepassage of time. Addressing the Islam-abad Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try (ICCI) on Saturday, the TurkishAmbassador said that the love betweenPakistani and the Turkish people is ex-emplary and it is high time to transformthese brotherly relations into bilateraleconomic and commercial ties. He un-derscored the importance of strengthen-ing rail and air connectivity in order tofurther boost cooperation between thetwo countries. President ICCI ZafarBakhtawari said that during the floodsand the earthquakes, the Turkish gov-ernment and its people have stood handin hand with their Pakistani brothers.ICCI President said that the annual bilat-eral trade of $1.8 billion between Turkeyand Pakistan should be increased up to$3 billion for the economic prosperity ofthe two countries. “Turkey, being thegateway to Europe, and Pakistan, being agateway to Central and South Asia, arevery important countries for their re-spective regions,” he said. He said thatthe dream having of railway track be-tween Pakistan and Turkey via Iranshould also be materialized as it wouldcreate a strong bond between the peopleof both the countries. Online

PMA doctors continuestrike in BalochistanQUETTA: Doctors from the PakistanMedical Association (PMA) Balochistanchapter continued their strike for the45th consecutive day on Saturday at gov-ernment and private hospitals of despiterecovery of Dr Saeed. Some doctors how-ever, have resumed their duties. The pa-tients who came from far-flung areasfaced severe problems owing to the sus-tained strike; however, some doctorswho parted ways with PMA were per-forming their duties in the emergencywards of hospitals. The payment of ran-som money for the release of Dr Saeed,an ophthalmologist, is the justificationby Balochistan PMA for continuing theirstrike. The Balochistan PMA PresidentDr Sultan Tareen said the doctors wouldcontinue the strike until the governmentpays up the money given as ransom tothe abductors, insisting that the govern-ment played no role in getting the ab-ducted doctor released. inp

LAHOREStAff RepORt

PAKISTAN Muslim League-Nawazwill create new provinces on admin-istrative grounds if it comes intopower in the upcoming general elec-tions, the party’s manifesto commit-

tee decide Saturday.The meeting of the committee was presided

by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.The top leadership of the party was in at-

tendance, as well as economic, legal, social andcultural experts who presented their sugges-tions. Nawaz said that PML-N had ended the60-year-old system of extortion in the name ofrevenue collection in its previous tenure in gov-ernment. Moreover, he said that the resourcesto provide education and health to citizenscould only be obtained after the economy is puton a fast track to success.

The PML-N chief said that all possible av-enues of energy generation would be used fullyand that it was imperative to provide a safe en-vironment for investment. He added that thenew PML-N manifesto would not be based onslogans but on practical realities.

He concluded the session by saying thatafter final consultations, the PML-N wouldpresent their final manifesto to public on Dec30 at their Foundational Day.

PML-N to form new ‘administrativeprovinces’ if elected: Nawaz

WASHINgtONSpeCiAl CORReSpOnDent

The US-Pakistan relationship, severelytested by the Afghan war and border se-curity issues over the last two years, ap-pears to be moving to a wide-rangingcooperative phase as officials this weekdiscussed economic ties with a thrust ontrade and investment.

Finance Minister Dr. Abdul HafeezShaikh and Deputy Secretary of StateThomas R. Nides co-chaired the US-Pak-istan Economic and Finance WorkingGroup, with Washington vowing to focuson Pakistan’s longstanding call for “tradenot aid” as the driving force behind ties.

Another indication of the Adminis-tration’s commitment to ties came as theWhite House voiced its opposition to aCongressional move to condition US as-sistance for Pakistan.

“These certification requirements –some of which require the Secretary of De-fense to certify Pakistani cooperation on is-sues outside of his purview – are proposedat a particularly sensitive time and wouldseverely constrict DOD’s (Department ofDefense’s ) ability to respond to emergentwar-time coalition support requirements,putting at risk the success of our campaign

in Afghanistan,” the White House said in apolicy statement in reaction to proposalsto attach certification requirements to Pak-istan assistance in the year.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hasalready waived certification requirementsfor aid to Pakistan. The Administration’sfirm stand on the need for continued US as-sistance for Pakistan comes as relations be-tween the two sides crawl back from a“strategic pause” of around 18 months, dur-ing which the Abbottabad raid on Osamabin Laden’s hideout and killing of 24 Pak-istani soldiers damaged the ties seriously.

Focused on meeting the 2014 militarydrawdown from Afghanistan in accor-dance with the NATO-set deadline, theObama Administration is banking onPakistan’s critical supply routes and itscooperation for success of the Afghan rec-onciliation process.

Islamabad, on the other hand, seeksgreater trade access to the US market and fi-nancial support for its mega projects like Di-amer Basha dam, as indicated by Dr. Shaikhin a think tank appearance on Friday.

At the outset of the Economic Dialogueat the State Department Dr. Shaikh andNides both sounded confident to take for-ward the economic cooperation forward.

Deputy Secretary Nides said the US-

Pakistan cooperation is not only abouthelping each other in national security,but also in economic growth.

“We are going to continue with the ideaof trade not aid that we have been workingon for the last two years —- our theme forthese talks is about the economic growth ofthe people of Pakistan,” Nides said, stand-ing along side the finance minister.

The Pakistani finance leader appreci-ated the longstanding bilateral trade andinvestment links, saying economic ties arevital to to the relationship. He said DeputySecretary of State Nides played a majorpart in re-energizing the partnership.

“We are looking forward to deepeningour economic relationship —- the areaswe want to focus are trade and invest-ment, better utilization of external assis-tance —- we are trying to bring ourbusinesses together to put this relation-ship on really strong foundations,” the fi-nance minister noted.

Islamabad and Washington began torepair the bilateral relations in July afterSecretary of State Hillary Clinton ex-pressed apology over killing of 24 Pak-istani soldiers on Salala border posts andIslamabad reopened its blocked supplyroutes that transport NATO supplies intolandlocked Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UnitedStates Sherry Rehman acknowledgedafter the meeting that Pakistan and USare moving to a broad spectrum of dis-cussions at multiple levels. She said en-hancing trade, investment opportunitiesis very important to the relationship.

In Islamabad this week, Foreign Min-ister Hina Rabbani Khar said this week inIslamabad that the US-Pakistan relation-ship had been fully restored.

In a post-meeting statement, theState Department said both sides com-mitted to broadening private sector tiesbetween their two countries.

Deputy Secretary Nides highlighted theUS government’s many initiatives in thisarea – including a Pakistan investmentconference in London hosted by the Officeof the US Trade Representative in October,the launch of the Pakistan Private Invest-ment Initiative, and a series of conferencesand virtual meetings devoted to trainingand mentoring Pakistan’s entrepreneurs.

In other meetings with Dr. Shaikhand his high-level delegation, senior StateDepartment officials and USAID Admin-istrator Rajiv Shah also highlighted thepositive results of ongoing civilian assis-tance programs in Pakistan, includingsignificant contributions in sectors criti-

cal to economic growth – such as the ad-dition of more than 400 MW of capacityto Pakistan’s power grid and the con-struction of over 650 km of roads to date.

“Both sides agreed that Pakistan’sprosperity is predicated on energy sectorreform; the United States welcomed Pak-istan’s commitment to undertake the re-forms needed to attract greaterinvestment,” a statement said.

The United States commended Pak-istan’s recent efforts to expand economiccooperation with its neighbors. Bothsides discussed ways to improve tradeand transit with Afghanistan and theCentral Asian republics, citing the impor-tance of enhanced trade for the region’sstability and prosperity. The UnitedStates welcomed the Government of Pak-istan’s plans to extend most-favored-na-tion status to India by the end of the year.

Finance Minister Shaikh led a delega-tion of top economic managers includingMinister of State Saleem Mandviwalla, Fi-nance Secretary Wajid Rana, GovernorState Bank Yasin Anwar and Chairman Fed-eral Board of Revenue Ali Arshad Hakim.

The US delegation included senior rep-resentatives from the Department of State,USAID, the Office of the US Trade Repre-sentative, and the National Security Staff.

uS appears to be receptive to Pakistan’s call for economic thrust in ties

QUettA: pakistan Medical Association Balochistan chapter protest against the provincial government on Saturday. inP

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Comment10

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

War is a serious business. So seri-ous that kings, empires and na-tion states have, for many a

century, grappled with the complexitiesand (more recently) legalities of declaringand conducting war. After a long trail oftrial and error – which, in the process hasclaimed million of lives over the centuries– laws concerning the declaration of waras well as rules of engagement haveemerged in the recent modern era. The de-cision to go to war, and therefore the dec-laration of it, is so grave in nature that

most civilised democracies do not leave itto the realm of arbitrariness or individualprerogative. Instead, the power (and pro-cedure) of declaring war in most moderndemocracies is envisaged in the constitu-tion itself (the supreme law of the land).

In Pakistan too, the authority to usemilitary force in countering internal or ex-ternal threats has been enshrined in theconstitution. Specifically, Chapter 2 ofPart xII of the Constitution deals withprovisions relating to the “Armed Forces”.Starting from Article 243, the Constitutionmandates that “the Federal Governmentshall have control and command of theArmed Forces” and that “the SupremeCommand of the Armed Forces shall vestin the President.” As the Supreme Com-mander, the president has the authority to“raise and maintain” military forces, and“in consultation with the Prime Minister”appoint the chiefs of ground, air and navalforces. This, according to our constitu-tional framework, is the full extent towhich an “army” can be raised and main-tained in Pakistan, and Article 256 of theConstitution forbids the formation of any“private organisation capable of function-ing as a military organisation”.

Under this arrangement, the constitu-tion lays down the broad strokes for how anexternal war, or internal conflict, can be en-tered into through the use of our armedforces. Article 245(1) of the constitution de-clares that the “Armed Forces shall, underthe directions of the Federal Governmentdefend Pakistan against external aggressionor threat of war, and, subject to law, act inaid of civil power when called upon to do so”[emphasis added]. And the “Federal Gov-ernment”, per Article 90 of the constitution,consists of “the Prime Minister and the Fed-eral Ministers” and acts through its “chiefexecutive”, the prime minister.

With the structure of the constitutionalframework out of the way, it is necessary toanalyse the spirit of these provisions. First,let us start by recognising that the consti-tution envisages two distinct areas con-cerning the use of armed forces: 1)“external aggression or threat of war”; and2) “act in aid of civil power”. In terms ofbroad generalisation, the first of these two(external aggression) relates primarily tothe possibility of military combat withsome other nation (as was the case in 1948,1965 and 1971), whereas the second part ofArticle 245(1) relates to a military action forinternal unrest (as has unfortunately hap-pened in Karachi and Balochistan, fromtime to time). But in either case, one thingis certain: the federal government (consist-ing of the prime minister and his cabinet)has to specifically pass “directions” to thearmed forces for any possible action.

Applying this paradigm to the fluidand undefined “war on terror” in our tribalareas is a tricky exercise. To begin with,the conflict (and the enemy) resides withinthe geographical boundaries of Pakistan.And this, prima facie, would make the mil-itary intervention in this conflict an exer-cise of the armed forces “acting in aid ofcivilian power”. And, per Article 245(1) ofthe constitution, the federal governmentmust provide specific “direction” in thisregard, and even after that, the actions ofthe military forces will have to be “subjectto the law”. This key phrase, “subject tothe law”, has wide connotations in termsof the applicability of constitutional rightsof the militants, the provisions of theArmy Act, and also international accordsand treaties signed (and ratified) by thestate of Pakistan that govern the empire ofhuman rights and conflict resolution.

On the other hand, if the war on ter-ror, specifically in the tribal belt, is an of-fensive against “external elements”jeopardising the stability of Pakistan (ashas been claimed by numerous membersof the Parliament, and the federal as wellas provincial governments), then it is per-haps more appropriate to see this conflict,in terms of the first part of Article 245(1),as military action “against external aggres-sion or threat of war”. In this case, the con-stitution seems to have purposefully leftout the requirement of “subject to law”,making the ambit of armed forces’ activi-ties significantly wider (once ‘directed’ as

such by the federal government). Also, ifthis is in fact a conflict against external ag-gression, then, as is customary in all wars,the area of conflict, the enemy forces, and(most importantly) the goal of the militaryoperation must be specifically defined –lest this becomes an unending conflict,giving the military establishment an unfet-tered passport to disregard domestic aswell as international laws.

For now, despite having been em-broiled in this conflict for over a decade, thegovernment, as well as the people of Pak-istan, has no real clarity about the nature ofthe conflict in our tribal areas, the enemywe are fighting, or the end-goal in terms ofobjectives. For all intents and purposes,this is a faceless enemy, in an unspecifiedregion, fighting for a largely undefined goal.And we are at “war” with this enemy.

The fault, in this regard, rests with thesuccessive federal governments that havebeen at the helm of affairs since 2001. It istime that uncertainty – about a conflictthat will decide the destiny of our children– ended, giving way to clarity as to the def-inition and object of this war. Not only isthis the mandate of the constitution, but itis also in the larger interest of winning thiselusive war against terror.

The writer is a lawyer based inLahore. He has a Masters inConstitutional Law from Harvard LawSchool. He can be reached at:saad@post.harvard.edu

Arif NizamiEditor

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

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Courts and political controversies

Playing with powder keg

Issues that can best be settled through political dialogueare landing up in SC, thanks rigid stands taken by thepolitical parties. Lack of flexibility on the part of theruling coalition on the one hand and the nationalist

parties on the other has already caused enough turmoil inSindh. The SC has been approached to adjudicate on the issueof the controversial Sindh People’s Local Government lawrecently passed by the Sindh Assembly. With the provincepolarised as never before, whatever verdict the court mightdeliver, it is going to be criticised by large sections ofpopulation. The issue of hundreds of thousands of voters whohave not been registered in Karachi despite their beingresidents of the city for over a decade should also have beenresolved through talks between the parties concerned.Rigidity on the part of the MQM standing in the way, apetition on behalf of the aggrieved and duly endorsed by theleaders of PPP, PML-N, PTI and several other parties hasbeen filed in the SC.

That reports of the Black Day flashed by all major Sindhipapers on their front pages failed to find a place in manyKarachi newspapers again underlines the gravity of theprevailing urban rural divide. While the Black Day wasinitially being observed against the new Local Bodies law,LHC verdict on KB dam was also included in the list ofgrievances by Sindh Bachayo Committee. The verdict hasbeen strongly condemned by the nationalist parties and bythe Sindhi media. Sindh information minister has,meanwhile, announced that the issue would be taken up inthe Sindh Assembly session on December 6.

The Supreme Court has directed the ECP to look into thepossibility of undertaking the delimitation of Karachi’sconstituencies. Any move in the direction amounts toentering a minefield. Many would agree with the idea of doingway with the gerrymandering of the city’s constituencies.Constituencies based on ethnic lines, it is argued, can onlyplay a divisive role. While reportedly 13 political parties toldthe Secretary ECP that they supported the idea ofdelimitation, the MQM however adamantly opposed it.

The courts move by apolitical standards. They are supposedto decide issues on the basis of merit determined by the factspresented before them. In the world of politics, however, factsoften take the back seat while perceptions acquire a morerelevant substantiality. Courts are of little help when largecommunities motivated by group interests take decisions theyperceive to be crucial. What is required in situations of the typeare not verdicts by courts but mediation by political partieswhich alone can arbitrate through persuasion and bargaining.

Life in twilight zone

If you are wondering why I’m writing ar-ticle after article about life after death,fret not. Neither am I so old or terminallyill to worry about such matters. It’s justthat I’ve been so intellectually engrossed

in the subject for decades that I cannot let gountil I have either learned more or run out ofsteam – or find out for myself when the timecomes, an inevitable event about which I amphilosophical. As the lady sang: “Whatever willbe will be.” So bear with me, for it might enrichyour worldview. I’m in wonderment and want toexplore. And I’m certainly not being apologeticabout my personal quest that I’m sharing withyou. I’ll tell you why I’m sharing it with you, forI’m sure all this will sound bizarre to some.

I started writing much before I startedpublishing, sometimes in the ’70s. One day mylate father Altaf Gauhar, God bless him, readone of my pieces and asked, “Why don’t youpublish this? It’s not bad.”

‘Not bad’ from him was high praise in-deed. Chuffed, I replied glibly: “I write just formyself, to analyse and clear my mind.” My oldman lost it. “Just who do you think you are,young man? Knowledge is not anyone’s pre-serve. It is our God-ordained duty to share it.You will learn and understand more from thefeedback you get.” And so it came to pass: Hu-mayun Gauhar started publishing.

I believe that the term ‘Near Death Experi-ence’ is somewhat misleading. It should be‘Clinical Death Experience’. Near death could bea near accident, like a near miss between twoaircraft of which passengers are usually un-aware or a near plane crash of which passengersare aware. Having said that, I have read of peo-ple who were in car accidents and their spiritsleft their bodies just before the crash becameobvious. They survived and say that they saweverything from the outside. That is why peoplewho think they have died say that we never hadany experience. For example, the heart stoppingwhile the brain is still functioning is not neces-sarily clinical death, especially if the patient ison a respirator or a ventilator or some kind oflife support system. It is precisely because theyhaven’t clinically died that they have no experi-ence. It is only when the brain stops functioningthat people have an out-of-body experience.

However, an out-of-body experience canhappen to a healthy person too. Consider mygood friend Mahfooz Mustafa, popularly

known as ‘Tuku’, whose spirit once left his bodywhile he was lying in bed. He was floating justabove it. He had not had pot or drink or drugof any kind – not that he has anyway, apartfrom the occasional tipple. He saw his body andwondered whose it was. When he realised thatit was he, he got alarmed. He was at a loss tounderstand why he was lying prostrate in bedin his undies. Scared, he says he struggled toget back in. He managed; thank God, else lifewould have been the poorer for many of us.

This can happen to anyone: Tuku is not thefirst to experience an out-of-body episode with-out something adverse happening to him orunder any kind of influence. Mystics of the gen-uine kind do it regularly. Some say that we allhave an astral body, which I believe is our spiritor something connected to it, that regularlyleaves our bodies when we are asleep, inter-course with higher guiding spirits that everyonehas, and then get back via an invisible umbilicalcord as it were, to which it is attached. Next daywe remember nothing except for perhaps adream, for remembering being guided by higherspirits would defeat the purpose. The higherspirits guide our subconscious that guides ourconscious minds while we are unaware about it.

What Tuku had was neither a near- nor aclinical death experience. He may have been inthat twilight zone, neither quite asleep norquite awake but somewhere in between, andhis spirit left his human body a bit too early. Ofcourse, in this state he wouldn’t have experi-enced anything of the cosmos or the multiverse,but it did put the fear of God in him – I hope.

At the end of my last article, ‘Life after life’I mentioned an American neurosurgeon whohad a fantastic after-death experience. Hisname is Dr Eben Alexander who was a ‘scienceskeptic’ before his clinical death. Such peopletake only a ‘materialistic’ view of the world. Nowhe has ‘turned’. I promised that I would writeabout his experience in this article that I wouldcall ‘Luminosity’, but that can wait till next weekbecause here I would like to tell you about a sci-entific explanation of the soul given by twoquantum physicists, Dr Stuart Hameroff andBritain’s Sir Roger Penrose. Dr Hameroff is Pro-fessor Emeritus at the Departments of Anesthe-siology and Psychology and Director of theCentre of Consciousness Studies at the Univer-sity of Arizona. Their theory has appeared in the‘Daily Mail’ written by Damien Gayle and hasalso been aired by a television science channel.

The two scientists argue that, “the essenceof our soul is contained inside structures calledmicrotubules within brain cells…our experi-ence of consciousness is the result of quantumgravity effects in these microtubules…A near-death experience happens when quantum sub-stances which form the soul leave the nervoussystem and enter the universe at large…Con-sciousness is a programme for a quantumcomputer in the brain which can persist in theuniverse even after death…” The theory “holdsthat the essence of our soul is contained instructures called microtubules within thebrain. The two scientists call their theory ‘Or-chestrated Objective Reduction or Orch-OR’.”

I am quoting at length from Gayle’s articlenot only because he has put it so well but alsobecause it reduces my workload. “Thus it isheld that our souls are more than the interac-tion of neurons in the brain. They are in factconstructed from the very fabric of the uni-verse – and may have existed since the begin-ning of time.” Hinduism and Buddhism alsohold that “consciousness is an integral part ofthe universe”. So do most otherreligions/faiths, though in different ways.

According to Dr Hameroff, “in a near-deathexperience the microtubules lose their quantumstate, but the information within them is not de-stroyed. Instead it merely leaves the body andreturns to the cosmos.” Dr Hameroff said in theScience Channel’s documentary, ‘Through theWormhole’ that: “Let’s say the heart stops beat-ing, the blood stops flowing, the microtubuleslose their quantum state. The quantum infor-mation within the microtubules is not de-stroyed, it can’t be destroyed; it just distributesand dissipates to the universe at large.”

Those of you who have read my two ‘Quest’articles will remember the Sufi conundrum:why the need for separation between man andGod since man’s spirit comes from God’s spiritand thus God is within man – “Then I blew MySpirit into him [Adam]” and “I am closer to youthan your jugular” – the You and me debate or‘mun-o-tu’ in Farsi’ between man and God.This is the basis of the mystical ‘Ana al Haq’view: “I am the Truth” of which Mansur Al Hal-laj was the most famous proponent and wasmartyred by the ruler of Iraq for it. The otherwas Sarmad. Remember too that I talked of theSufi concept of ‘fana’ – annihilation and con-summation at the same time, the drop fallinginto the river and dissipating and becoming onewith the river while retaining its essential indi-viduality. “Just as a drop of seawater carrieswithin it the ocean,” as Shams of Tabriz said, orIqbal, that “Each drop of the river has the depthof the river.” The river or ocean symbolisesGod, obviously, and the drop man. We will talkabout all this some other time.

“If the patient is resuscitated, revived,”continues Dr Hameroff, “this quantum infor-mation can go back into the microtubulesand the patient says ‘I had a near-death ex-perience’. If they’re not revived, and the pa-tient dies, it’s possible that this quantuminformation can exist outside the body, per-haps indefinitely, as the soul.”

Needless to say, scientists wedded to em-piricism, limited and literal minded as theyare in the larger scheme of things but which isimportant for their disciplines, have criticisedthis theory. They have to retain their credibil-ity and worldview, their faith in the material-istic view of the universe. But Dr Hameroffbelieves that “research into quantum physicsis beginning to validate Orch-OR, with quan-tum effects recently being shown to supportmany important biological processes, such assmell, bird navigation and photosynthesis.”

The writer is a political analyst. He can becontacted at humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com

By Humayun gauhar

Why legalese would, or won’t, make Wot our war

Justification lost

By Saad Rasool

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Comment 11

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

our way of governanceFor the past so many days, the whole

nation is going through a torturoussituation by not getting CNG when it iswilling to pay for it. The people arebeing used as a shuttle cock between SC,OGRA and the CNG Dealers’Association. Now that the SC hasordered the OGRA to come up withpricing formula that gives relief to thepublic and also ensures a reasonableprofit to the CNG dealers, I amsurprised to find our worthy PM totallymissing from this page. It seems that heis shunning to take up his responsibilityof being the Chief Executive of thecountry. Is democracy again taking thebest revenge from the public?

It is my hunch, I may be wrong, butI feel that our PM, who is also facing theonslaught of the SC on the appointmentof previous chairman OGRA and takingdisastrous decisions about rental powerplants, may be chickening out andintentionally be avoiding to take adecision so that he may not be heldaccountable in the future. There goesour good governance.

MAJOR (retd) TALAAT KHURSHIDRawalpindi

the waziristan solutionMalala Yusufzai, a young girl from

Swat, was attacked by the Taliban of Fa-zlullah group from across the border inNuristan, Afghanistan. This also led topressure on Pakistan to undertake oper-ations in North Waziristan. But this is aserious matter; operations are under-taken in order to bring relief. Any opera-tion has to be undertaken after gatheringreliable intelligence, with able assistanceof local population and keeping in mindthe tribal traditions. Secondly, there hasto be a mechanism that ensures timelyreplacement by a pro-active civil dispen-sation as and when the army vacates thearea. Army is ever since managing thecivilian affairs as the federal and provin-cial governments are unable to take thecharge. The political administrationscan’t move without army’s escort. Thisdid not happen even in worst operationsduring the British Raj.

Challenges for army redouble as alarge number of troops deployed on

eastern front have been move to westernborder, thus leaving the defence againstIndia unbalanced. This situation hasbeen exploited by neighbouring coun-tries and an invisible foreign hand seemsto be working behind fuelling insurgencyin the troubled areas of FATA as well asBalochistan. Vacation of posts by NATO-ISAF forces on the other side of the bor-der leaves the Durand Line vulnerablefor Pakistan. This indicates towards theplot to keep Pakistan Army engaged onits western borders, so that continuedengagement weakens the armed forcesfrom within. So Pakistan has more atstake than what seems at the face value.The human angle has never been givenany priority. People of FATA, who areloyal to Pakistan, are fed up of terrorism.

The situation demands a strategy tobe made afresh involving locals, all polit-ical parties and stakeholders, with anaim to win over the hearts and minds.Army must be relieved of the local ad-ministration burden. It can be rede-ployed in DI Khan. Development workmust start with the cooperation of localtribes. Politically elected representativesand civil society organisations must rallypeople and show their presence by shar-ing their grief and treating them withdignity. Political parties must establishoffices inside North and South Waziris-tan. Political government should hold ne-gotiations with the tribes to redefinesocial contracts. No joint NATO-Pak Op-erations should be conducted. We shouldnot overstretch army’s deployment inFATA and Swat. Political activities mustbe allowed in FATA, elections must beheld across the tribal area, committeesbe formed to write a new social contract,the FCR needs to be re-written, FATA bedeclared a separate province, and devel-opment work be started a massive paceto bring the tribal people to mainstream.

LT COL (retd) MUHAMMADSHAHBAZ THUTTAL

Lahore

Among the top 10It has been reported in the media

that the Washington-based WorldJustice Project (WJP) has released its2012 Rule of Law Index, which findsPakistan the seventh most corrupt andthe top-most insecure nation out of atotal of 97 countries assessed.

The country also presents a dismalpicture in the categories of human rights,civil and criminal justice, regulatoryenforcement, check on governmentpowers, regulatory enforcement andopenness of the government.

Some people may be dismayed overPakistan’s ranking. Don’t despair. If ourleaders keep working hard, Pakistan willclimb the ladder of corrupt countries tobe declared Numero Uno in the list.

ASGHAR MAHMOODIslamabad

Editor’s mailSend your letters to: Letters to

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

Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk.

Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

farmer and consumer friendly policies

Food security

Agriculture is the mainstay of theeconomies of majority of thecountries including Pakistan. It

provides employment opportunitiesfor their workforce, produces raw ma-terials for their industrial machinesand above all grows food crops to en-sure food security for their popula-tions. In Pakistan, it accounts forabout 21.2percent of GDP and employsabout 43 percent of the labour force.

Self-sufficiency in the productionof food crops is the major concern ofall the planners around the world notonly to protect the consumers from theill-effects of fluctuations in prices andsupply of food items at the interna-tional level but also to make sure thatthe producers of these crops, the farm-ers, maintain their interest in the pro-duction of their crops through stepsthat guarantee reasonable prices fortheir produce. It has been observedthat the third world and poor coun-tries are more vulnerable to the chang-ing international prices of food andtheir collateral fallout, particularlythose countries which are food-defi-cient and have to import sufficientquantities of food for themselves.

A study carried out by the FAOconcludes that the only and the bestway of protecting the consumers andfarmers of the poor countries is to en-courage and harness the productionpotential of staple crops in these coun-tries. That essentially means thatalong with the measures aimed at in-creasing yield per acre and bringingmore areas under cultivation of foodcrops, the prices of the staple cropsmust be maintained at such a level thatthe rise in the prices of the commercialcrops does not prompt the farmers ofthe staple crops to switch over to thosecrops resulting in food shortages in thecountry and consequently importingfood to meet the requirements, with allthe accompanying disadvantages.

In Pakistan, wheat is a staple dietand constitutes 60 percent of the dailydiet of the common man. It containscalories, proteins, certain vitaminsand minerals which have a great nutri-tional value and therefore is the mostimportant food crop in the world. Pak-istan being an agricultural country issupposed to be self-sufficient in theproduction of wheat and not only thatbut also be in a position to have sub-stantial surplus for export to otherfood-deficient countries. But a closelook at the pattern of wheat produc-tion in the country reveals that barringa few years, the production of wheathas been much below the consumptionlevel and Pakistan has been importingwheat to fulfill its needs. Apart fromcrop failures, droughts and weatherrelated debilitating factors, unimagi-native and faulty policies of the suc-cessive governments have also playeda major role in our drift towards afood-deficient country occasionally.

In 2008, when the present govern-ment assumed power, the country wasimporting 2.5 million tones of wheat.There was also a severe shortage ofsugar in the country. With the snow-balling of international food prices,the imported wheat was much expen-sive than the homegrown wheat andthe consumers had to pay more forbuying their food. That not only af-fected the consumers but also addedan extra burden on the national ex-chequer. The agriculture sector as awhole was in a pretty bad shape andneeded to be revived and supported inbringing about a turnaround in theproduction of food crops and im-provement in the economic situationof the farmers.

The government did exhibit com-mitment and concern over this precar-ious state of affairs. The former PrimeMinister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, inhis first address to the Parliamentafter being unanimously elected, an-nounced a raise in the wheat procure-ment price for the farmers. This policyhas been vigorously pursued sincethen and even last week the ECCraised this price from Rs 1050/- per 40Kg to Rs 1200/- per 40 Kg. This wasthe fourth time since the inception ofthe present government that supportprice for wheat has been increased.These price increases have been madewell before the sowing season.

The latest raise in the procure-ment price of wheat was necessitatedby a number of factors. The prices ofthe inputs for the crops had wit-

nessed tremendous increase duringthe last year eroding the net incomeaccruing to the farmers. So it was im-perative to offset this impact and alsoto provide incentives to the farmersto boost the production of wheat. Acollateral advantage of this move willbe that it would discourage the smug-gling of wheat to the neighbouringcountries where the prices of wheatare much higher than Pakistan. Thecontinuation of this illegal practiceby the unscrupulous elements couldhave created shortage of wheat in thecountry.

Some might argue that the raisingof the support price for the farmerswould also raise the prices of food forthe consumers who will have to bearthe brunt of the support provided tothe farmers. That impression is notcorrect and those entertaining thisthought are not looking at the othervariables and factors which are veryrelevant to the obtaining situation.The international prices of wheat arestill much higher than the price ofwheat after raising the support price.The consumers would have had to paymore for their food if it had to be im-ported. The policy of raising the sup-port price of wheat for the farmers,besides the economic considerations isalso relevant and indispensable fromthe political perspective.

There is no denying the fact thatthe country indeed has witnessed aturnaround in the production of wheatas well as sugar during the last fouryears. The wheat production has in-creased from 22 million tones in2008-2009 to 25 million tones in2011-12 and is likely to touch the fig-ure of 26 million tones in 2012-13. TheECC also approved export of 400,000metric tones of sugar to other coun-tries. So from a net importer it has be-come a net exporter of thesecommodities.

Food security is the most preferredpolicy option for any country as it alsohelps in nudging the economicprogress in a multiple ways. Foodshortages can have serious repercus-sions like famines and riots with all thenegative political ramifications. Poli-tics aside, the conclusion one can safelydraw is that the consumer and farmer-friendly policies of the present govern-ment over the last four years have notonly protected the interests of the con-sumers and raised the level of food se-curity but have also provided adequateincentives for the farmers to help thecountry to achieve those targets.

By Malik Muhammad Ashraf

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:50 AM Page 11

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

12

NEWS DESK

COLDPLAY have begunwork on their next album,dismissing reports thatthey would take a mini-

mum of three years away from themusic scene.

Frontman Chris Martin hadpreviously suggested the bandwould be going on a break, tellingan audience in Australia recentlythat the group would be away forthree years. However, in a new in-terview with the Daily Star, Martinclarified the situation and ex-plained that he meant there wouldbe no world tour for a number ofyears but that he is already hard atwork on writing songs for the nextColdplay album. Explaining that he

has been energised by the successof ‘Mylo xyloto’, Martin told thepaper: ‘’I’ve been writing songs andI’m so fired up about the band’s fu-ture.”

Martin goes on to add: ‘’I’mfortunate to do what I do and noway do I want to stop. This three-year break idea only came aboutbecause I said at a gig in Australiathat we might not be back there forthree years. ‘’That’s probably true,but that’s just how a world tourworks. No chance are we taking athree-year break.’’

Coldplay last spoke about theirnext album when they promisedfans that the title of the album willbe easier to pronounce than 2011album ‘Mylo xyloto’. Chris Martintold Australian radio station

2dayfm: “The next one we’re re-leasing is much easier to pro-nounce.”

When pushed by presentersKyle and Jackie O to reveal if theyhad come up with a name for theirsixth studio album, Martin said, “Ican’t tell you that,” before turningto guitarist Jonny Buckland andasking, “Can I give a hint?” Buck-land shook his head and said, “No”.Meanwhile, Coldplay released theirnew concert film Live 2012 earlierthis month. The DVD, Blu-Ray andCD also features an ‘interactive livee-book’, described in the marketingblurb as “an in-depth and interac-tive audio-visual companion pieceto Live 2012,” and set to featurephotographs, videos, Chris Mar-tin’s studio journal and more.

NEWS DESK

OVER the years, AamirKhan has built a repu-tation for himself as anactor who can provideentertaining and mes-

sage oriented films. After some initialfilms of his career, Aamir starteddoing films that helped him in evolv-ing as an actor. From ‘Qayamat SeQayamat Tak’ to ‘Dhobi Ghat’, Aamirhas done several films which werenot commercial in usual sense butwere full of possibilities. Later, theydid well at the box office also.

Now, the actor is returning to thesilver screen with ‘Talaash’ where heis playing the role of inspector SurjanSingh Shekhawat. He talked to CNN-IBN about ‘Talaash’, “It’s not only a

suspense drama. It’s also a film aboutcoming to terms with loss. Each ofthe three prime characters has lostsomeone or will lose in future.”

Kareena Kapoor also threw somelight on her character in the same in-terview, “I play the character of Rosiewho is more like an escort. It’s a verysensitive character, I don’t think Ihave done anything like this. Thesubject is very sensitive as well; it’sone of its kind in a very long time inthe genre of suspense and drama.”

The film has been directed byReema Kagti of ‘Honeymoon TravelsPvt. Ltd.’ (2007) fame. She is comingup with ‘Talaash’ after five years ofher first film, and she praises AamirKhan for his involvement with theproject. In an interview given toIANS, Reema Kagti says, “I would cut

off my arms to work with him again.Both of us are very obsessive aboutwhat we do. So we got along like ahouse on fire.”

Rani Mukerji is playing the roleof Roshni in the film. She also speaksabout Aamir’s dedication towards hisfilms in an interview given to PTI, “Ifpeople watch Aamir Khan film it isbecause he has created an image forhimself. That is because of his single-minded focus for his work and hisdedication. The kind of films hechooses to do have made an impact inpeoples’ lives.”

The promos of the film suggestthat ‘Talaash’ is going to be a darkfilm with multi-layered narrative,thus it seems the audiences are goingto ride an emotional roller-coaster inAamir Khan’s ‘Talaash’.

Talaash: Aamir Khan all set totake you on a roller coaster ride

T hOSE who felt that actor Shah

Rukh didn’t support Priyanka

Chopra when she was cornered by

sections of Bollywood following

their alleged affair, can take heart. At a

recent event SRK not only defended

Priyanka but admitted that she was

treated unfairly. The actor was speaking

to Cnn IBn recently when he said, “(I)

Feel extremely sorry, for she (Priyanka)

wasn’t shown the respect I show her, or

other women. Priyanka Chopra is one of

the closest friends that I have, she is very

close to my heart, and always will be.” A

fan of Priyanka who was present at the

meet cut a CD of the interview and sent it

to Priyanka, who is currently busy

shooting for Zanjeer in hyderabad. “She

was touched by the fan’s gesture,” said a

source close to her. While saying that

Priyanka was not shown respect, SRK

may have been referring to a tweet by his

friend, filmmaker Karan Johar, in which he

had taken on Priyanka

following an article, that

quoted an anonymous

friend of Priyanka’s saying

that if women are insecure

about their relationships with

their husbands, they should sort

it out with them. The article also

mentioned a powerful producer-

director who was being unkind to

PeeCee behind her back. “Using

their hired PR machinery and hiding

behind so called ‘friends’ to get news

into tabloids is nothing but spineless and

lame!!!” Karan had tweeted.

however, later the two

sorted their

differences

amicably.

neWS

DeSK

Priyanka will always beclose to my heart: SRK

Coldplay begin work on sixth album

NEWS DESK

According to media reports Bollywood actorManisha Koirala has reportedly been diagnosedwith cancer. Currently, she was undergoingcheck-ups in Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital.Reportedly the 42-year-old fell unconscious andwas hospitalized. “She was hospitalized yesterday(Wednesday). She is undergoing a few check-ups. She is doing fine,” a news website quotedhospital sources as saying. Manisha, who comesfrom an influential family in Nepal, has starred inseveral films. She debuted with “Saudagar” in1991, and recently made a comeback with RamGopal Varma’s “Bhoot Returns”. She is famouslyremembered for her roles in 1942: A Love Storyand Khamoshi, She has been diagnosed withovarian cancer. Reports also added that theactress, who was in Kathmandu redoing herhouse, had also suffered from food poisoningrecently. According to reports, the actor unwellfor the last few days and had mentioned it on a

social networking platform. After this she fellunconscious and was immediately flown toMumbai with her mother for further check-ups.About the diagnosis, a report quoting reliablesources said: “Manisha has been diagnosed withovarian cancer and is undergoing treatment atJaslok Hospital. Her family is by her side.”

Manisha Koirala diagnosed with cancer

Katie Holmes at theopening-night after-partyfor her new Broadwayplay Dead Accounts.

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:50 AM Page 12

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

13

NEWS DESK

THE ‘Mean Girls’actress spent anevening with TheWanted singer andhis bandmates Jay

McGuiness, 22, and TomParker, 24, at New York’sAvenue club after theirMadison Square Gardenconcert with Justin Bieber onWednesday night. Lindsay hadset her sights on hooking upwith Max, 24, and reportedlybecame “enraged” when shesaw 28-year-old fortune tellerTiffany Mitchell talking to him.An onlooker told the DailyMirror newspaper: “The four ofthem - along with a friend ofLilo’s (Lindsay Lohan) - were

drinking before heading off toAvenue club together. “Come4am, Lilo seemed quite drunkand you could see it wasturning Max off. He then begantalking to another woman,which is believed to haveenraged Lindsay.” Lindsay, 26,is also reported to have calledTiffany a “f***ing gypsy”because of her profession. Towhich Tiffany’s husbandresponded by saying: “We arenot gypsies. That has nothingto do with our religion ... it wasa racist comment. “Justbecause your career went downthe drain and your new moviesucks, you can’t go aroundbeating people up.” As she waslead out of the club by policefollowing the scuffle, Lindsay

was heard shouting: “Ohmy God, I didn’t touchanyone. Are you kiddingme?” The ‘Liz & Dick’actress was taken intocustody in the early hoursof Thursday morning andbooked formisdemeanour assaultand she was alsoformally charged withlying to the policeover her car accidentin June just hoursafter the night clubarrest. Accordingto TMZ.com,Max ended upleaving theclub with adifferentgirl.

Witness: Lindsay Lohanstarted fight over ‘TheWanted’s’ Max George

NEWS DESK

News has been doing the rounds that KaranJohar has been planning a period drama.And from what we’ve heard, RanbirKapoor, who’s a part of Dharma Produc-tions’s next, Yeh Jawaani Hain Deewani,

will play the lead role in the film. Surpris-ingly, Karan’s close friend Shah RukhKhan, who is also a perennial feature in hisfilms, isn’t likely to star in it.

A source reveals, “Shah Rukh and Karanare very close. But as far as this film goes,there are chances that SRK may not be a

part of it. They’ve been working around thedetails of the project all this while, but itlooks like SRK isn’t on board for this projectat least.” While SRK may not be a part of thefilm, there’s another Khan who is likely toplay the second lead. The source says, “SaifAli Khan, in all likelihood, will be seen play-ing the second lead in this period drama.Rather than calling it the second lead, let’sterm it as a well-fleshed-out cameo. Thehero of the film is Ranbir.”

As for Ranbir’s leading lady, the sourcesays, “The film is still in its early stages, sothere’s still plenty of time to think of whothey want to cast.”

The source further reveals that Saif’sco-star for the film will probably will be hiswife, Kareena Kapoor. “Yes, discussionsabout having Kareena in the movie are onas well. They’ve all worked together in thepast and are very close friends too. BothSaif and Kareena have packed schedules forthe next year, but since their roles will besort of extended cameos, they can manageto get some time out for the film.”

Brad Pitt says he grewup in Christian familywhere gays could notgo to heaven

NEWS DESK

ACTOR Brad Pitt, an outspokensupporter of gay marriage, says hegrew up in a Christian family

which believes gay men and lesbian couldnot reach heaven.The 48-year-old Pitt made his commentsin an interview with People magazine topromote Killing Them Softly, hisupcoming crime-thriller film.“I come from a Christian family, and [gaymarriage] goes against Christian beliefs,as far as what’s going to get you intoheaven or not,” he said. “My argument is,that you may be as you believe, and itmay be true in the end – I don’t think so– but let your god make that call, and inthe meantime we live in a country whereeveryone should be treated equally, solet’s treat everyone equally.”The actor’s positions are a sharp contrastto those of his mother, Jane Pitt.Jane Pitt criticized President BarackObama’s support for marriage equality inannouncing her support for his GOP rival,Mitt Romney.“I think any Christian should spend muchtime in prayer before refusing to vote fora family man with high morals, businessexperience, who is against abortion, andshares Christian conviction concerninghomosexuality just because he is aMormon,” she wrote, referring toRomney.“Any Christian who does not vote orwrites in a name is casting a vote forRomney’s opponent, Barack HusseinObama – a man who sat in JeremiahWright’s church for years, did not hold apublic ceremony to mark the NationalDay of Prayer, and is a liberal whosupports the killing of unborn babies andsame-sex marriage.”

Ranbir Kapoor to star in Karan Johar’s period drama?

NEWS DESK

Actor Ben Affleck says his wife actressJennifer Garner and kids hated thebeard he grew for his role in “Argo”.

“My wife is a very polite and kindwoman. She and the kids did not likethe beard. It had an exposed wire vibe.It was hated in my home,” show-bizspy.com quoted Affleck as saying.

“Being at a place in my life and mycareer where I know what I’m trying todo, it’s different than being 26.

“When you’re younger and havethe early success that I had - it soundslike the worst Hallmark cliche - but Ididn’t have anyone to share it with,” headded.

The 40-year-old, who has daugh-ters Violet, six, and Seraphina, threeand nine-month-old son Samuel, sayshe wants to make his kids proud by his f ilms.

“I don’t mean I wanted someone tosit by the fire with. But when you havea family and children, you kind of seeyourself reflected in them. “I want tomake the kinds of movies that my kidsare proud of. I have higher standards,in a way, for them,” he said.

Kate Middleton returnsto old school matchingthe uniform in a tartanAlexander McQueen coatK

ATE Middleton is refusing to take a break this week as sheadded another engagement to her already-full calendar andspent today visiting her former prep school in Berkshire.And she paid homage to the school’s tartan uniform with

her own take on the look, with a green Alexander McQueen coat.Young pupils at St Andrew’s School in Pangbourne stood in line togreet the Duchess of Cambridge and she appeared delighted to bechatting with them. Kate blended in perfectly with her blue and greentartan that matched the school uniform of a green blazer and tightsand a kilt for female pupils. And the uniform wasn’t the onlynostalgic part of Kate’s visit, her former Deputy Head teacher,Richard Hudson who still works at the school remembers the royal

saying: ‘She [Kate Middleton] held ourrecord for the high jump... for about 20years she’s had that. She was very hardworking, very polite and friendly, [and]

very kind to the younger children.’ Katespent nine years at the school andrevealed today she was nicknamedSqueak after one of the guinea pigsresident there. She confessed to the

moniker during a short speech andstressed how she’d ‘adored’ her timethere. On opening a new Astroturf hockey

pitch Kate gave her speech saying: ‘It issuch a treat l to be back here at St

Andrew’s. I absolutely loved mytime here; they were some of my

happiest years, whichmakes it so incredibly

special to be heretoday. ‘In fact, Ienjoyed it so muchthat when I had toleave, I told my

mother that I wasgoing to comeback to be ateacher. Whilethat didn’t quitehappen, I wasthrilled to havebeen askedback today onSt. Andrew’sDay.’ Andwe’re prettysure theschool werethrilled to

have her there!neWS DeSK

Wife, kids hated beard,says Affleck

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:51 AM Page 13

Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatorydrugs or NSAIDS may help prevent serious liverdisease including cancer, new study found. As-pirin users were 41 percent less likely to developliver cancer and 45 percent less likely to die fromchronic liver disease than non-users, according tostudy author Vikrant Sahasrabuddhe of the Na-tional Cancer Institute in Rockville, Md., and col-leagues. Other NSAIDs were also linked to a lowerrisk of death from chronic liver disease, but notwith less liver cancer, according to the study ofmore than 300,000 middle-age and older adults.“These associations are prominent with the use ofaspirin, and if confirmed, might open new vistasfor chemoprevention of hepatocellular carcinomaand chronic liver disease,”the study authors wrotein the Dec. 5 issue of theJournal of the NationalCancer Institute. Thefindings were not unex-pected based on priorresults in colorectal andother cancer types, Dr.Boris Pasche, an oncolo-gist at the University ofAlabama at Birming-ham, said in an inter-view with MedPageToday. “We are seeing agrowing body of evi-dence suggesting thattaking aspirin long-term prevents the de-velopment of severaltypes of cancer” in popu-lations taking the NSAID forcardiovascular event prevention,

he said. However, aside from being a possible ad-ditional benefit when indicated for cardioprotec-tion, aspirin might not be either necessary or thatuseful for protecting the liver, according to otherexperts. For one thing, there are already goodstrategies that don’t raise bleeding risk the wayNSAIDs do, Isra Levy and Dr. Carolyn Pim, bothof the University of Ottawa and Ottawa PublicHealth in Ontario, noted in an accompanying ed-itorial. “In practice,” they wrote, “we know andunderstand the causes of most cases of chronicliver disease and primary liver cancer: viral infec-tions, especially hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hep-atitis C virus (HCV), and alcohol. And we alreadyhave cheap, readily available interventions to pre-

vent a substantial majority of such diseases.” Fur-thermore, the risk of developing hepatocellularcarcinoma is low enough in the general populationthat chemoprevention wouldn’t make sense whenweighed against the bleeding risk, said Dr. MaryAnn Huang, a hepatologist at Henry Ford Hospitalin Detroit. The higher-risk population for whompreventive strategies are needed — those with cir-rhosis — likely wouldn’t be good candidates ei-ther because they are also at higher risk ofbleeding, Huang told MedPage Today in an inter-view. Still the NIH-AARP study results may begood enough to warrant a prospective trial to seewhether the benefit would outweigh the risk inthat population, Pasche suggested. The joint Dietand Health study included 300,504 adults ages

50 to 71 years at enroll-ment who reported theirNSAID use on a baselinequestionnaire. The re-searchers suggested thatthe apparent advantageof NSAID use in the co-hort may have been dueto anti-inflammatory orother mechanisms. Theyacknowledged, though,that the lack of dose re-sponse and finding ofonly monthly links tonon-aspirin NSAID use“suggests that the find-ings should be inter-preted with somecaution, because theymay also reflect an un-measured con-

founder.” neWS DeSK

14Infotainment

North Korea finds ‘secret unicorn lair’

IN an announcement Friday that seems bettersuited for a fairy tale, a North Korean state newsagency reported that archaeologists

recently reconfirmed the lair of a unicorn once riddenby an ancient Korean king. According to the KoreanCentral News Agency, the lair the mythical creature islocated 200 meters (about 219 yards) from theYongmyong Temple in Pyongyang. A rock that sits infront of the lair contains carvings that some believedate back to the period of the Koryo Kingdom (918-1392), the outlet notes. The director of the HistoryInstitute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences,which discovered the lair, cited Korean history booksas proof. Jo Hui Sung explained the history to thepaper: The Sogyong (Pyongyang) chapter of the oldbook ‘Koryo History’ (geographical book), said: UlmilPavilion is on the top of Mt. Kumsu, with YongmyongTemple, one of Pyongyang’s eight scenic spots,beneath it. The temple served as a relief palace forKing Tongmyong, in which there is the lair of hisunicorn. The old book ‘Sinjungdonggukyojisungnam’(Revised Handbook of Korean Geography) compliedin the 16th century wrote that there is a lair west ofPubyok Pavilion in Mt. Kumsu. neWS DeSK

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

TIFFANIE DiDonato saideverything she has everwished for has come true: ahandsome husband, lovingfriends and a new baby. But

most of her childhood dreams playout in simple, everyday victories, liketaking out the trash or driving.

DiDonato, 32, was born with di-astrophic dysplasia, a rare form ofdwarfism. The condition left herwith a “typical size” torso, but abnor-mally short arms and legs. By thetime she was in middle school, shewas around 3-foot-6. Growing up inMarlborough, Mass., DiDonato fan-tasized about being tall enough tograb something off the grocery storeshelf, cook on the stove, take out thetrash and drive a car, but almosteverything was out of reach.

But that all changed when DiDo-nato endured an excruciating andcontroversial series of limb-length-ening surgeries, which breaks bonesand forces them to re-grow longer. Itwas a decision she made when shewas very young, knowing that itwould have risks and rewards with alifetime of consequences. At age 8,DiDonato had her first surgery tolengthen her arms and gain fourinches of height. “When I woke up,when it hurt so much, you freeze it,almost like if you scream it is goingto hurt worse,” she said. “All you cando is kind of let the tears fall and dealwith it and suck it up and let it ride.”

When she was 15, DiDonato de-cided to have the surgery again. Ig-noring the recommended maximumof four inches, she and her doctordecided not to put a cap on hergrowth. Her mother, who raised herto be a fierce fighter, said she sup-ported her daughter’s decision.

“It was all about independence,”Robin DiDonato said. “It was doingthings on her own, brushing her ownhair. My biggest fear was her beingdependent on others for her care be-cause, let’s face it, Gerry and I won’tbe around forever.” Her father,Gerry DiDonato, said he told her shedidn’t need to have the surgery, andit was torture to him to watch hisdaughter suffer. “It was very nerve-racking,” he said. “She would cry itout. It was tough … it’s horrible.”

But Robin never wavered. Shesaid she didn’t let herself cry in frontof her daughter, even during themost gut-wrenching days. “I was notgoing to because if I broke, maybeshe would have too, maybe shewould have stopped,” Robin said.“Who knows what she would havedone. I think she needed me to bestrong for her.” After her second sur-

gery, Tiffanie DiDonato gained anunprecedented 10 inches of addi-tional height, putting her at 4-foot-10 — right on the cusp oflittle-person status. She kept a jour-nal, which she said helped her getthrough the painful process.

“I was honest with myself, if Iwanted to die, if I felt like that’s whatI wanted to do, then I wrote itdown,” she said. Her journal wasturned into a memoir she defiantlytitled “Dwarf.” In it, DiDonatochronicles her “no pain, no gain”

view of life and how surprisinglygrateful she is for the experience.

“If you go through a struggle, ifyou know what sacrifice is, and youhave felt a little pain, it makes youthat much braver,” she said. “Itmakes you a little bit more aware.”

DiDonato is now married to EricGabrielse, a nearly-six-foot-tall Ma-rine, and they recently welcomed ababy boy. “She’s so powerful andstrong,” Gabrielse said of his wife.“Being in the military, you needsomebody that one, can be independ-ent, but two, can be extremely sup-portive and because everything she’sgone through, she’s been through herown battles, so she knows exactlyhow to support me through mine.”

We first met DiDonato fouryears ago when she and Gabrielsewere about to tie the knot. After herstory aired, she caught flack for herlengthening surgeries from criticswho said The Little People of Amer-ica organization doesn’t support therisky procedures. Reza Garakani wasalso born with dwarfism and said heregrets that his father pushed him tohave the lengthening surgery back inthe ‘80s. He was 12. “I did not wantto undergo the painful procedurewhich, in my mind, I was worriedthat, what if this fails,” he said. “Fora few inches, I didn’t want to damagemy life. I was happy with who I am.”

Unlike DiDonato, Garakani saidthe surgery left him paralyzed.

“Because of this procedure, I losta major part of me,” he said. “BeforeI was just an average dwarf. I couldrun around, I could play sports, Icould swim and do things. Now, Ican’t do what I was able to do. Iwould have rather been three feettall than be a few inches tall with allthe complications.” Even DiDonato’sfather, who still has mixed feelingsabout the surgery, said it may havetaken a physical toll on his daughter.

“Personally, I feel she lost a littlemobility with the extreme lengthen-ing,” he said. “I’ll always rememberher with her little jeans on chasing aball, but she feels good about herselfand that’s the most importantthing.” But DiDonato said she waswell aware of the risks from the startand has no regrets. It seems to havepaid off. Being a new mom and thewife of a Marine, she seems to per-sonify the Marine’s fighting philoso-phy: Adapt and overcome.

“Having a baby, every day I’madapting and overcoming, but Ikind of feel like that’s for every par-ent,” she said. “Every mom, everydad, you have to take the punchesas they come.” neWS DeSK

Aspirin linked to lower risk of liver cancer

Facebook Powerball hoax goes viral

AFacebook user named Nolan Daniels posted aphoto of himself holding what appears to be awinning Powerball ticket from Wednesday’s

record $588 million lottery drawing to his feed,according to the Savannah Morning News. The postis reportedly a hoax. The public photo, which wasshared at about 10 p.m. Thursday evening andhadreceived more than 450,000 shares by Fridayafternoon, included the statement: Looks like Iwon’t be going to work EVER!!!! Share this photoand I will give a random person 1 million dollars!Citing the Powerball website, Gawker points outthat the numbers on the ticket were “not innumerical order... [as] a real ticket would be” andcalled the image “poorly photoshopped.” neWS DeSK

Nintendo Power’s finalissue pays homage to itshumble beginnings

THIS is the end, Big N fans. Nintendo Power’sfinal issue is upon us and in a surprise tip ofthe hat, the magazine’s staff has decided to

pay tribute to the famed cover that started it all.Framed in a similar manner to the inaugural issuefrom 1988, this last dance with all things officiallyNintendo apes the Super Mario Bros. 2 clay-styledsetup for a cover story on New Super Mario Bros.U. Look for it to hit newsstands one last time onDecember 11th, bringing the beloved decades-oldpublication full circle. neWS DeSK

‘DWArF’ NO MOrE: One woman’s story of undergoing controversial lengthening surgeries

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:51 AM Page 14

Sunday, 2 December, 2012

Page 18

Globe trotting mcdowellready for a 10-week break

LAHOREStAff RepORt

WORLD known wrestler fromJapan Antonio Inoki nowMouhammad Hussain incollaboration with the Pun-

jab Government will be establishing firstinternational freestyle wrestling academyat Lahore. This announcement was madeby Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan, chief or-ganiser sports and Deputy Speaker Punjaband Inoki at a press conference here onSaturday. Usman Anwar, Director GeneralSports and Youth Affairs Punjab was alsopresent on the occasion along with 10other Japanese wrestlers who would betaking part in the Sports and Peace Festi-val Wrestling tomorrow, Sunday at Na-tional stadium under lights..

Inoki said that he would deliver peacemessage from Pakistan through the suc-cessful holding of wrestling event. “By hav-ing world’s best grapllers in action in

Lahore I will be promoting the freestylegame in Pakistan,” said Inoki. “The Pak-istan wrestlers of full of talent and all theyneed is proper training. I will dig out thetalent and provide them freestyle trainingto the selected wrestlers so that they wouldcompete at international level,” he added.

“I have been to Pakistan on four occa-sions during the period from 1976 to 1984.Now I was being asked not to visit Pak-istan because of security threats but I havedeep attachment with Pakistan so I saidthat I would like to see for myself that howmuch dangerous this country is,” he main-tained. “But everything is good here andwe are enjoying our stay “.

He further stated that he has re-ceived great love and hostility from Pak-istan people and also welcomed thePunjab government’s announcement ofestablishing a freestyle academy whichhe would fully patronize. Rana MashoodAhmed Khan highlighted the vision ofChief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif

which is a step forward in the revival ofinternational sports in Pakistan. As partof the 60 years relations of Pakistan andJapan, Inoki is here with a team of 10wrestlers to showcase the bright and pos-itive image of the country.

He is also accompanied by Japanesemedia and some of their family members.Rana Mashood also said that the academywould be established once its proper planand layout is made.

The visiting wrestlers would lockhorns in a freestyle wrestling at the Na-tional Hockey Stadium on December 2 at5 pm. Nasir Bholu, one of the greatwrestler of his time and member of Bholufamily would also be among the guestsduring the entire activity. Rana Mashoodinformed that Pakistan wrestler would betrained by under Inoki’s expertise andthey would compete with Japanesewrestlers during their next visit. Earlier,Inoki and the team of 10 wrestlers visitedthe graves of Akram Pahlwan and Jhara

Pahlwan at Mohni Road. He offered fatehaand prayed for the departed souls for eter-nal peace. Inoki also adopted 13 years oldnephew of Jhara for freestyle wrestlingtraining. He said that he will make Jhara’s

naphew one of the best freestyle wrestlerof the world. In the morning Inoki and histeam was accorded a warm reception atthe Lahore airport and a large corps ofjournalist also covered his arrival.

Stage set for wrestling at National Hockey Stadium

BCCi unhappy

with Green

Park’s readinessNEWSDESK

Kanpur's Green Park stadium could lose itsright to host the third Test between Indiaand Australia, starting March 14 next yearas the BCCI is unhappy with the slowprogress of the renovation work. The boardhas set a January 2013 deadline for theUPCA to complete the work. BCCI ChiefAdministrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty andCricket Operations Manager Suru Nayakon Saturday inspected the Green Park sta-dium and expressed their displeasure overthe tardy nature of work being done by theUttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA).The UPCA officials, however, have man-aged to convince the two senior BCCI offi-cials and assured them that the ongoingwork would be completed before the firstweek of January. The BCCI delegation wasreceived by UPCA General Manager RohitTalwar and Anil Banodha, the deputy direc-tor of UP Sports Department. In his meet-ing with the two UPCA officials, Shettycited a previous instance where the UPCAhad informed the BCCI about their reluc-tance to host a game involving India as thespectators' stand was not constructed ontime. Shetty said that UPCA has to take afinal stand on the issue of construction ofits own stadium and give a written submis-sion to the cricket board in the month ofJanuary that they have completed the reno-vation work at the ground and are ready tohost the third Test between India and Aus-tralia. Shetty, during his inspection of thestadium, was clearly unhappy with theplayers' dressing room and dining hall,which are in a dilapidated state and alsodiscussed issues related to accommodationof match officials. There were also concernsrelated to the renovation of the pavilionblock and spectators stands while a heap ofdebris could be seen lying unattended out-side the stadium. Shetty said that anotherdelegation of the BCCI will visit the city onJanuary 9 and 10 to inspect the ongoingrenovation work and a decision to allot thematch to Kanpur or any other state wouldbe taken after the two-day tour. He also in-formed that a delegation from the CricketAustralia will also visit the stadium tocheck its readiness for the third Test. Ban-odha assured the BCCI officials that theconstruction work would be completed byJanuary 15 and the match will remain withthe UPCA. Talwar, while interacting withthe reporters, said that the report of thesetwo officials will be of prime importance indeciding the fate of Green Park stadium forfuture international cricket matches. UPCAlast played host to a Test match in Novem-ber 2009 between India and Sri Lanka.

PERtHAGenCieS

South Africa's much celebrated paceattack finally fired on the second dayof the third test against Australia onSaturday to wrest the momentumaway from the hosts for the first timesince the opening days of the series.

The Proteas were forced to batout the final day to save draws inboth the Brisbane and Adelaide tests,setting up a Perth showdown withboth the series and the top test rank-ing on the line. The bowling of DaleSteyn, Vernon Philander and MorneMorkel had played a key role in theseries triumph in England thatearned them the number one spot inthe rankings but on bat-friendlytracks, they had disappointed.

On Saturday, they faced an Aus-tralia side charged with confidenceafter dismissing the tourists for 225and resuming on 33 for two withhigh hopes of building a big first-in-nings lead. Instead, Steyn (4-40) ter-rorised the Australians in a brutalspell of fast bowling and took thewickets of opener David Warner,nightwatchman Nathan Lyon andskipper Michael Clarke at the cost ofjust four runs in the first 40 minutes.

"He's the number one bowler inthe world for a reason," said Philan-der, who chipped in with the dis-

missal of Ricky Ponting and endedup with figures of two for 55.

"When you bowl on the otherside from him it is special and just tobowl the new ball with him is special.The way he can deliver on big mo-ments is unbelievable." Philander, alate bloomer in test cricket who now

ranks third in the ICC bowling rank-ings, said the conditions and the bat-ting disappointment on Friday hadhelped transform the fortunes of thebowling unit. "The wicket has a bitmore bounce and the guys have toplay a bit more off the back foot,which is good for us because it's sim-ilar to the wickets we have backhome," he added.

"We knew we had to get 20 wick-ets to win this game, we didn't bat sowell in the first innings which left usa few runs short.

"The bowlers knew they had tostep up and bowl them out cheaply.And obviously with Steyn this morn-ing, it was a pleasure to be bowlingfrom the other side." With a lead of292 going into the third day, SouthAfrica's number one ranking andtheir record of not having lost anaway test series since 2006 look safe.

Perhaps mindful that the Proteaschased down 414 to win the Perthtest four years ago, Philander saidthey would aim to leave nothing tochance and he was not expecting tobe bowling again any time soon.

"There's plenty of time left in thetest and we'd obviously like to get asmany runs as possible," he con-cluded. "Tomorrow's a new day andwill pose a lot of new challenges, buthopefully we can get another 200-250 runs."

South African quicks finally fire in Perth

SOUtH AfRiCA fiRSt inninGS 225

AUStRAliA fiRSt inninGS (OveRniGHt 33-2)

D. Warner c de villiers b Steyn 13

e. Cowan c Kallis b Steyn 0

S. Watson lbw philander 10

n. lyon c du plessis b Steyn 7

R. ponting lbw philander 4

M. Clarke c de villiers b Steyn 5

M. Hussey c Smith b Morkel 12

M. Wade b peterson 68

J. Hastings c petersen b peterson 32

M. Johnson b peterson 7

M. Starc not out 0

extRAS (lb-5) 5

tOtAl (all out, 53.1 overs) 163

fOW: 1-3, 2-18, 3-34, 4-35, 5-43, 6-45, 7-100, 8-140, 9-162

BOWlinG: Steyn 16-4-40-4, philander 16-0-55-2, Morkel

13-6-19-1, peterson 8.1-0-44-3.

SOUtH AfRiCA SeCOnD inninGS

A. petersen c & b Johnson 23

G. Smith c lyon b Starc 84

H. Amla not out 99

J. Kallis not out 17

extRAS (b4, lb-2, w-1) 7

tOtAl (for two wickets, 38 overs) 230

fOW: 1-28 2-206

tO BAt: AB de villiers, f. du plessis, D. elgar, R.peterson,

v. philander, D. Steyn, M. Morkel.

BOWlinG: Starc 10-0-76-1, Watson 5-2-17-0, Johnson

7-0-35-1,

Hastings 8-0-47-0, lyon 7-1-38-0, Hussey 1-0-11-0 (w-1).

SCOReBOARD

NEWSDESK

England have arrived in Kolkata "ona massive high" after their famousseries-leveling victory against Indiain Mumbai last week. AlastairCook's tourists defied the expecta-tions of many by responding to anopening defeat in Ahmedabad towin by 10 wickets at the WankhedeStadium - and as the third Test offour looms at Eden Gardens, doubtsare beginning to surround the home

team instead. Young opener JoeRoot was beaten to a Test debut atthe start of the series by Nick Comp-ton, but is determined to keep him-self ready to do his country proudshould the chance arise after all.

Either way, though, he is de-lighted to be part of a tour on whichEngland may be about to make his-tory by winning a series here for thefirst time since long before he waseven born. "Obviously, we're on amassive high at the minute," said the

21-year-old Yorkshireman. "Every-one's in a really good place, and re-ally looking forward to what's tocome here in Kolkata." England'smorale has never dipped - but aftermaking good use of his few daysaway from the camp, by scoring a bighundred for the shadow Perform-ance Programme tea, Root senses agrowing confidence. "When I left theside, I think we were in day three (atMumbai), so everyone's morale waspretty high when I left. "But to comeback with a win under our belts isfantastic." As for his own prepara-tion, in case he is needed in one ofthe last two Tests, Root has good rea-son to be happy so far. Having con-tributed so significantly to the EPP'svictory at the DY Patil Stadium, hesaid: "Everyone needs time in themiddle, especially when you've notbeen playing. "It's just to have theconfidence that, if something doesgo wrong, if someone does go down,I've got a weight of runs behind meto stand me in good stead.

After Mumbai high, england in Kolkata PCB security team off toindia to assess conditionsLAHORE: Five members of the Pakistan CricketBoard security delegation has left for India to assessthe conditions before Pakistan team land in India fora revival series. They are expected to inspect EdenGardens, Kolkata which is hosting the second ODI be-tween India and Pakistan, to be played on Jan 3,2013. Pakistan is touring India for the first time since2009 terror attacks at Mumbai, as cricket ties werestalled for the last few years as India and other coun-tries haven't toured the nation citing security reasons.Cricket Association of Bengal Joint Secretary, SubirGanguly also said that the 5-member team will visitDelhi first and arrive at Kolkata to inspect the venueon Sunday. "They will do the inspection and hold ameeting with us before flying to Bangalore (that willhost the first T20I of the India-Pakistan series)," Gan-guly said. Pakistan is scheduled to play 3 ODIs and 2T20Is in India from Dec 2012 to Jan 2013. Chennai,Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi are other venuesthat are hosting the ODIs and T20Is against Pakistan.Eden Gardens is hosting the third ODI between Indiaand Pakistan after a gap of 8 years as Pakistan playedtheir last ODI at Eden in Nov 2004. Interestingly, thefirst ODI played at Eden Gardensalso featured Indiaand Pakistan in Feb 1987. StAff RepORt

Inoki, Punjab govt to establish freestyle wrestling academy at Lahore

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:52 AM Page 16

LAHOREStAff RepORt

MULTAN, Lahore, Eagles, Silkot, KarachiDolphins, Bahawalpur and Lahore Lionsregistered win on the opening day of theNational T20 Cup that rolled into action at

three venues of the city. On the day six matches wereplayed with two matches each at the Gaddafi Stadium,LCCA ground and Bagh-i-Jinnah and Multan got 10 wick-ets win over Quetta. Lahore Eagles defeated Hyderabadby 58 runs, Sialkot beat Islamabad by eight wickets,Karachi Dolphins moved past Peshawar by 40 runs, Ba-hawalpur edged ahead of Rawalpindi by 19 runs and La-hore Lions beat Karachi Zebras by seven wickets. MULTAN STEAMROL QUETTA: In the firstmatch, Multan steamrolled Quetta by 10 wickets intheir first Group A Faysal Bank T-20 Cup match at theGaddafi Stadium in Lahore. After putting Quetta in,Multan's fast bowlers, Abdur Rauf and MohammadIrfan, struck thrice in the first three overs to reduceQuetta to 16 for 3. The situation got worse for Quettawith the introduction of spin in the sixth over as left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar struck with this secondball. Babar continued his stranglehold as he picked uptwo more wickets off consecutive balls in his secondover and finished with incredible figures of 4-2-3-2.Irfan, who came back to bowl the seventeenth over,cleaned up the tail as Quetta were bowled out for 72.In response, it took Multan's openers Zain Abbas andSohaib Maqsood just 11 overs to overhaul the target.SCORES: Multan 72 for 0 (Abbas 40*, Maqsood 32*)beat Quetta 72 (Irfan 3-8, Babar 2-3) by 10 wicketsLAHORE EAGLES SCORE COMFORTABLE58-RUN WIN: Buoyed by opener Imran Farhat'ssecond T20 century, Lahore Eagles scored a comfort-able 58-run win over Hyderabad. Farhat, who re-mained unbeaten on 100 off 58 balls, launched anattack with his opening partner Taufeeq Umar, whoscored 65, to bring up the team's 100 in the sixth over.

The two batsmen put up 168 runs for the openingstand which set-up the base for the team's 224-runtotal. Hyderabad remained on track till the halfwaystage as opener Sharjeel Khan single-handedly foughton. Sharjeel remained unbeaten on 103, an inningslaced with eight sixes and five boundaries, but didn'treceive support from the rest of the cast. For Lahore,Asif Raza and Junaid Zia were both economical andpicked up two wickets apiece.SCORES: Lahore Eagles 224 for 2 (Farhat 100*,Taufeeq 65) beat Hyderabad 166 for 5 (Sharjeel 103*, AsifRaza 2-18) by 58 runsSIALKOT GET COMMANDING EIGHT-WICKETWIN: Defending champions Sialkot completed a com-manding eight-wicket win over Islamabad in their firstmatch. Islamabad, who chose to bat, struggled to force thepace and lost regular wickets from the start. Fast bowlerUmaid Asif was the pick of the bowlers, picking up threewickets for 21 runs while Navel-ul-Hasan picked up two asIslamabad were restricted to 122. In response, Imran Nazirscored a quick half-century and was out after taking theteam only 19 short of the target in the thirteenth over.Shoaib Malik and Haris Sohail, both stayed unbeaten on21, and completed the chase without any further hiccup.SCORES: Sialkot 128 for 2 (Nazir 65) beat Islamabad122 for 9 (Asif 3-21, Naved 2-14) by eight wicketsAFRIDI LEADS DOLPHINS TO 40-RUN WIN:Shahid Afridi led Karachi Dolphins to a 40-run win againstPeshawar with a half-century that lifted the team from aslump in the middle to a strong total of 164. Karachi Dol-phins lost their first wicket off the first ball, but ShahzaibHasan attacked with a flurry of boundary hits to score aquick 33 off 14 balls. But three wickets went down for sixruns slowing the Dolphins down. But Afridi held one endtogether and stayed on the crease till the nineteenth overto ensure the team got to a decent total. Peshawar stum-bled early in the chase when they were reduced to 20 for 4in the fifth over, but a 68-run stand between IftikharAhmed and Akbar Badshah resurrected hopes of a fightback. However, once Afridi removed the half-centurion

Iftikhar, Peshawar collapsed and were all out for 124.SCORES: Karachi Dolphins 164 for 7 (Afridi 50,Waqar 2-28) beat Peshawar 124 (Iftikhar 57, Anwar2-24) by 40 runsQUICK-FIRE ASLAM HELPS BAHAWALPURTO WIN: Opener Imranullah Aslam's quick-fire 89 off53 balls helped Bahawalpur beat Rawalpindi by 19 runs.Aslam attacked from the start by dispatching YasirArafat for five fours in the third over of the match. Hewent on to hit 12 boundaries and two sixes in total be-fore falling in the nineteenth over and helped them post173. Rawalpindi faltered at the start as they lost openerAwais Zia off the fourth ball for a duck. Naved Malikand Babar Naeem kept them in the hunt, with Malikscoring 51 from 22 balls, with nine fours and a six. Buthis dismissal triggered a middle-order collapse andRawalpindi managed 154. Siddiq was the pick of the Ba-hawalpur bowlers finishing with figures of 3 for 22.SCORES: Bahawalpur 173 for 5 (Imranullah 89)beat Rawalpindi 154 for 9 (Naved Malik 51, Siddiq 3-22) by 19 runsHAFEEZ SCORES HALF-CENTURY TO HELPLAHORE LIONS WIN: Soon after being appointedthe captain, Mohammad Hafeez scored a half-century tohelp Lahore Lions beat Karachi Zebras by seven wickets.Chasing 142, the strong Lions team was not put underany pressure at any stage and even though they lost theiropeners with the score on 60, Hafeez and Umar Akmalused their experience and remained in control. The twobatsmen shared a 67-run stand which came off 47 balls.Hafeez was out after scoring 53, but Umar continued toattack and helped complete the chase with 11 balls tospare. Zebras, after chosing to bat, made a solid start andwere placed at 98 for 2 after Fahad Iqbal's half-century.But three wickets went down for eight runs, slowing thethe team down in the process. Aizaz Cheema was themost successful bowler with 2 for 21. SCORES: Lahore Lions 144 for 3 (Hafeez 53, UmarAkmal 43*) beat Karachi Zebras 141 for 6 (Fahad 59,Cheema 2-21) by seven wickets.

Sports 16

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

National T20 Cup beginswith win for six teams

Yousaf steps

down in favour

of Hafeez

LAHOREStAff RepORt

Veteran cricketer, Mohamamd Yousaf hassteppd down as captain of Lahore Lions infavour of Pakistan T-20 captain MohammadHafeez for the National T-20 tournament.“Yousaf has showed a big gesture andstepped down as captain on the pretext thatHafeez is the Pakistan captain and is the rightchoice to lead Lahore Lions in the national T-20 tournament”,said Lahore City Cricket As-sociation President Khawaja Nadim Ahmedhere on Saturday. He said Yousaf had a meet-ing with Hafeez and he conveyed his feelingsand decision to him (Hafeez) who praised thegesture of Yousaf. “Hafeez was not initiallyagreed on it but Yousaf made him realizedthat it is better if he leads the side as he hasthe honour of being the national captain ofPakistan in one day and T-20 formats”, hesaid. He rejected a questioner that Yousafwithdrew from the captaincy due to the pres-sure of Pakistan Cricket Board. “It has noth-ing to with PCB and this is the personaldecision of Yousaf”, he added. LCCA presi-dent welcomed Pakistan Cricket Board’s deci-sion for shifting T-20 tournament to Lahoreowing to security situation in Karachi. “It isvery wise decision of PCB chairman to havethe tournament in Lahore where adequate fa-cilities are available at the three centres,Gadaffi stadium ,LCCA and Bagh-e-Jinnahgrounds, for holding the matches in a smoothmanner “,he added. “Lahore was to hold theevent last year but it was shifted to Karachi atthe last moment, owing to the outbreak of thedengue epidemic in the province. That was aprecautionary step, and Lahore didn’t makeany protest”, he said. Now when the eventhas come back to Lahore, there has been a bitof an outcry from Karachi. Reacting to that,Khawaja Nadim said: “No one city shouldhave monopoly over hosting national or in-ternational cricket. Rather it should be evenlyspread all over the country, with all majorcricketing centres getting their due share.And it can be said without any fear of contra-diction that Lahore is and has been a majorcricketing centre for well over a century. Peo-ple in this city, like everywhere else in thecountry, too are quite keen on cricket and de-serve the opportunity to watch it from thestands”. More than anything else, saidKhawaja Nadim, this also provides all con-cerned in these parts to refresh and improveon cricket organization skills and be wellversed in tackling with the security issues.

LAHOREStAff RepORt

Holland Flying dutch veteran hockeyteam arrived in Lahore last morning oninvitation of Dar Hockey Academy. Onteam arrival Dar Hockey Academy andPunjab government officials warmly wel-comed the team. Flying dutch veteranteam was the oldest hockey club of Hol-land. Holland ex international hockeyplayers were also in that team. Teammanager Rob Lathouwers told mediathat they were very happy to come here.”This is different than our perception. La-hore is a beautiful city and in our team lotof international players which alreadyvisited Lahore”. he said that his teammade preparations for this tour onemonth ago. Pakistani ambassador inHague arranged a dinner in honor of ourteam which was a very positive and ener-getic sign. In Dutch team some famousnames Boualander, Waterning. Grameburger and others. team came to playagainst Punjab veteran and two other

matches in their 9 day visit. Dar HockeyAcademy President Olympic championtuaqeer dar told the media that this is abig moment for Pakistan, team arrival isbroke the ice. it is good positive sing forworld hockey. Director Marketing Ab-

bass Ali babar told media that after ar-rival of this team a good positive singshown to world hockey. On teams arrivaldar hockey team players, officials, SecGen Arufan Zia, Director Finace SalmanAfzal and all others was also present.

Holland dutch veteranteam in Lahore

LAHOREStAff RepORt

Ace national golfer Tari Mehmood put up awesomeperformance to shatter the dreams of front runnerGhazanfar to win the title Chief of Naval Staff Am-ateur Golf Championship at thet the majestic RoyalPalm Golf Course here on Saturday. The courage ofa very experienced Tariq of Pakistan Navy,did won-ders for him as he forcefully and gallantly stoppedGhazanfar's march to victory and through solid playwiped out the overnight deficit of eight strokes andthen in a playoff with Ghazanfar he went on tobirdie the first playoff hole and stamp his name onthe Chief of Naval Staff Trophy.

The chief guest at the prize distribution cere-mony at Royal Palm was Admiral Muhammed AsifSandila,Chief of Naval Staff,Pakistan Navy. WhileTariq was composed and in control over the finaleighteen holes and in particular the closing threeholes,,the overnight leader and dominant one over

the past two rounds found his putting touch and feelrebel against him and he was made to look like anovice and a competitor in total disarray. Earlier inthe morning Ghazanfar looked radiant and his marchon the first hole reflected the walk of a proud winnerbut then Nature has its own ways of passing the finaljudgement and as the holes were played apparentwas Tariq's superiority and by the end of the firstnine holes the stroke deficit was down from eight tofour strokes and on the back nine the slide for Ghaz-anfar picked up pace and on the last three holesGhazanfar facilitated his rivals victory march bythree putting the last three holes.The die had beencast and on the first playoff holeTariq looked brilliantand in a mood to kill and that is what he did bringingloud cheers from his fans and supporters and in theprocess capturing the trophy. The first to congratu-late him were Col(r)Jameel Khalid and CommodoreAkbar Naqi,the Chief Organisers of this event.the final positions were as follows; tariq mehmood (navy)

74+75+72=221; Ghazanfar mehmood (rawalpindi) 69+72+80=221; mo-

hammed rehman (royal Palm) 77+79+70=226; Salman Jehangir

(Gymkhana) 81+75+77=233; imran Ahmed (Gymkhana) 74+80+80=234;

waleed Zubair (Gymkhana) 86+76+75=237; Sajid Khan (Arabian Sea)

85+76+76=237; Col rustam Chatta (Guj) 82+76+79=237.

In the contest for net honors the top one was Hus-sain Hamid with a three days net score of 214,WaleedZubair who ended at 216 was runners up net.Raza AliKhan came third with a score of 217.The ladies grosswinner was Ghazala Yasmin of Gujranwala Golf Cluband the Seniors gross winner was Javed Khan ofWAPDA. In the invitational category the top performerin gross section was Rear Admiral Khan Hasham BinSadiq while Commodore Usman Tariq was the runnerup.Net winner was Air Commodore Sohail Ahmed andnet runners up was Air Vice Marshal Asad Lodhi.AsadI.A.Khan won the nearest to the pin prize. CommodoreAkber Naqi the Station Commander of Pak Navy La-hore confirmed that this will be a regular event and wasthankful to sponsors like Millat Tractors,MCB,Ori-ent,Zong and Bata. Later the chief guest gave away theprizes and trophies to the notable winners.

Tariq wins chief of Naval staff golf title

women players

for iCC world CupLAHORE: The women wing of PakistanCricket Board on Saturday announced thenames of thirty women players for ICCWomen’s World Cup being played fromJanuary 26 in India.Following will attend, Sana mir, Bismah maroof, Syeda

nain Fatima Abidi, mariam Hassan Shah, nida

rashid,rabiya Shah, Qanita Jalil,Asmavia iqbal Khokhar,

masooma Junaid Farooqi,Javeria wadood, Syeda Batool

Fatima naqvi,Almas Akram,Sania iqbal Khan,marina

iqbal, Ayesha Qazi,Sidra Amin, Zeba manzoor Hussain,

Sumaiya Siddiqui, Aliya riaz, Sidra nawaz, Sadia

Yousaf, nahida Bibi, Sana Gulzar, Jaweria raufm ,

Kainat imtiaz, Aimen Anwer, namra imran, Komel

Feroz, diana Baig and elizebath Barkat. StAff RepORt

Final of dimal AsiaPacific Polo CupLAHORE: The final of Dimal Asia PacificPolo Cup will be played between H.W Cou-ture and Master Paints here tomorrow, Sun-day at Lahore Polo Club. Following are theteams of the final, H.W Couture , EmranAkhtar, Bilal Hayat Hoon, Saqib Khan Khak-wani and Omer Asjad Malhi. Master Paints,Sufi M Haroon, Shiraz Qureshi, AhmadZuabir and Shah Qubilai Alam. StAff RepORt

lAHore: Prize winners of the Chief of naval Staff Golf

Championship held at the royal Palm Golf Course,with Admiral

m,Asif Sandila,Chief of naval Staff.

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:52 AM Page 17

Sports17

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

retired Judge otton

to lead investigation

into UCi doping scamNEWSDESK

Former Court of Appeal judge PhilipOtton will chair the three-member com-mission set up to investigate allegationsmade against the International CyclingUnion (UCI) over the Lance Armstrongdoping scandal, the UCI said on Friday.The retired judge, who has dealt with For-mula One disputes at the InternationalCourt of Appeal, will work with Britain's11-times Paralympic champion TanniGrey-Thompson and Australian lawyerMalcolm Holmes. The UCI said lastmonth it would set up an independentcommission to address issues and allega-tions which arose during the United StatesAnti-Doping Agency (USADA) investiga-tion into Armstrong and the U.S. PostalTeam. The commission, assembled by theInternational Court of Arbitration forSport president John Coates, will be inde-pendent from any other sports body, theUCI said. "The appointment of these threeeminent figures demonstrates clearly thatthe UCI wants to get to the bottom of theLance Armstrong affair and put cyclingback on the right track," UCI presidentPat McQuaid said in a statement. "As Ihave said previously, the Commission'sreport and recommendations are criticalto restoring confidence in the sport of cy-cling and in the UCI as its governingbody," he added. "We will co-operate fullywith the Commission and provide themwith whatever they need to conduct theirenquiry and we urge all other interestedstakeholders to do the same. We will lis-ten to and act on the Commission's rec-ommendations." The commission is tohold a hearing in London in April and willsubmit its report to the UCI by June 1,2013 or shortly afterwards. In the comingtwo weeks, the UCI will also announce de-tails of a stakeholder consultation to lookat the future of cycling and discuss how tobring in lasting improvements, as well asto tackle other issues of concern, the gov-erning body said.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

There will come a time in the not so distant fu-ture when Chelsea owner Roman Abramovichwill run out of managers to fire or at least mostof the good ones. To give you an idea, the trig-ger happy Russian has terminated six in thelast five years. Among them and not restrictedto is the most successful manager in the club’shistory (Mourinho), a World Cup winner (Sco-lari), Premiership and two time FA Cup win-ner (Ancelotti). Seeing the pattern, it is thenno surprise that the latest to join this deco-rated list is the man who last year after takingover mid-season (another sacking) guided theclub to not only an FA Cup triumph but alsothe elusive Champions League trophy.

The Italian was never supposed to lastthis long though. The plan was for him tocome in, steady the ship and be on his way inthe summer. Abramovich’s best laid planswent out of the window as Roberto Di Matteodelivered where even the Special One hadfailed. Chelsea had won the right trophy but

seemingly with the wrong manager. There was a feeling that Di Matteo would

eventually be a victim of his own success anda summer shopping spree in excess of eightymillion pounds only served to increase thatnotion. That the Italian was under pressure

was an understatement. He began well enoughthough with Chelsea sitting top of the PremierLeague in October but you always felt that hewas a couple of results away from getting thesack. Those results came in November andironically it was a failure in a Champions

League tie that proved to be the final straw.Chelsea had dropped to 3rd and not 13th

in the league when RDM was shown the doorand while he arguably may not have been theright manager in the long term, sacking himmid-season does not make much sense. Whatis even more puzzling is the man who has re-placed him: Rafael Benitez.

There are few managers who are as divi-sive as Benitez and for good measure. For allthe positive qualities he brings to the table,there are some question marks around theSpaniard’s head. Benitez fell out with theboards at all three of his previous clubs forvarious reasons and even though thisarrangement is temporary replacing theseemingly passive Italian with the rathervocal Spaniard is a recipe for fireworks andpossible disaster. Rafa’s strong personality isnot just restricted for the men in suits. He islikely to care little for reputations. There isthe possibility that this may not go down wellwith the senior players at the club who enjoya fair bit of clout and who have, if rumoursare to be believed, influenced the sacking ofmore than one manager.

Thirdly and perhaps most crucially in theshort term is how Benitez sets his teams out toplay. It is believed that Roman Abramovichwants his team to play an attractive and fluidstyle of football. Why then would you replacethe manager who was delivering on that frontand replace him with someone who has a rep-utation for being a cautious manager? It wasno surprise then that Chelsea recorded theirfirst clean sheet in eleven games last weekendbut failed to score at home for the first timethis season. This was followed by another 0-0score line midweek against Fulham. A decadelater and worryingly for football fans in gen-eral and Chelsea fans specifically, Abramovichstill lacks a coherent plan or vision for his toy.

This is not to suggest that Benitez is a poormanager or that he is guaranteed to fail atStamford Bridge. Far from it and you couldquite easily argue that Rafael Benitez is a bet-ter manager than Di Matteo but that does notnecessarily mean that he is the right managerfor Chelsea. The fans have certainly not takena fancy to the former Liverpool manager andit remains to be seen if favourable results doeventually placate the Chelsea faithful.

mAnCHeSter: Andrew

Flintoff celebrating his debut

win in boxing against

unbeaten American richard

dawson. agenCIesNEWSDESK

ANDREW Flintoff, the former Eng-land allrounder, picked himself upoff the canvas to score a points vic-

tory on his boxing debut against the un-beaten American Richard Dawson inManchester. Flintoff has swapped thecricket square for the four-cornered ring,with his unlikely career move being filmedfor a Sky TV documentary. He beat thecount after being knocked to the canvas inthe second round but his superior speedand work rate saw him awarded a narrowwin by the judges. Cheered on by his oldinternational team-mate Darren Gough,Flintoff looked assured behind his jab but

was extremely raw when going on the at-tack. However, after losing three-and-a-half stone during training, he has yet todecide whether he will fight again.

"I said at the start I knew I was startingat a novice level," Flintoff said. "You couldsee that, I am under no illusions and now Ijust want to take some time off. I want arest, have a nice Christmas and not get upevery day and go through what I have forthe past five months. After Christmas I willdecide what I will do next."

Flintoff's decision to step into the box-ing ring has been criticised as a publicitystunt in some quarters, however. FrankMaloney, one of the most well-known pro-moters in British boxing, was dismissive of

the bout and said Flintoff should not havebeen granted a licence by the British BoxingBoard of Control. "Last night was a joke,"Maloney told The Telegraph. "The Ameri-can looked like he was under orders. Oncehe'd knocked Flintoff down he backed off.All this does is deflect the attention fromreal boxers who have spent years in the gymand in the amateur ranks before developingcareers in professional boxing. "It was likewatching two powder-puff punchers, andclearly Flintoff has no chin. If the BoxingBoard allow Flintoff to continue boxing,they should be questioned over it. It was anovelty, and just a circus." In front of a spir-ited home crowd, Flintoff entered the MENArena wearing a Lancashire Lightning shirt

to the sound of Oasis' "Roll With It". The34-year-old made a bright start, using hisjab to good effect before sending the crowdwild with a big right against a cautious Daw-son. However, Flintoff was sent to his kneesafter catching a right hand early in the sec-ond round, but he recovered well to keephimself in the fight. Flintoff took the fight toDawson, who seemed content to play de-fence, and after Flintoff landed some decentshots in the final round, the former Englandcaptain was awarded a 39-38 victory. "As apersonal achievement, I think this is thebest. I've had to work so hard," Flintoff said."The crowd made a massive differencetonight. I'll appreciate I was sloppy at times,but it was a humbling moment."

Flintoff wins on boxing debut

LOS ANgELESAGenCieS

David Beckham has been helping L.A. Galaxy in their bid tosign Brazilian playmaker Kaka from Real Madrid as his re-placement, the Major League Soccer club's owner said onFriday. Kaka recently expressed interest in a future move toMLS and on Friday Tim Leiweke, president of Galaxy's own-ers AEG, told SI.com they wanted to sign the 2007 WorldPlayer of the Year.

"We're well aware of Kaka's interest in MLS, and we inturn have made it very clear to him that he's aware of ourinterest in him," said Leiweke.

"We have a great relationship with Real Madrid, and justas we worked through a player with them six years ago(Beckham), I'm absolutely convinced we could find the rightdeal this time, too," he added on the Sports Illustrated web-site. In an earlier interview with the Galaxy's official podcastLeiweke said they wanted a player to boost the club's profile

in the Hispanic community and said Beckham, who playedwith Kaka at AC Milan, had taken a leading role in the bid.

"The guy who introduced us to this player is David Beck-ham. David has done the yeoman's work on our behalf at in-troducing us, getting him comfortable, getting his familycomfortable, talking about L.A. and the organization," Lei-weke said. Beckham will play his final competitive gamewith the Galaxy in Saturday's MLS Cup final against Hous-ton Dynamo. The 30-year-old Kaka has long been linkedwith an eventual move to MLS and his comments after thefriendly in New Jersey earlier this month between Brazil andColombia, indicating his desire for a move in the future, in-tensified speculation.BIG SHOES: Galaxy's Ireland striker Robbie Keane saidhe would be delighted to see the Brazilian take Beckham'sspot. "We want as a team and an organisation to push onand be the best that we can. To attract players like Kaka, hewill have big shoes to fill with David going," said Keane.

"We welcome any top players, Kaka was voted one of thebest players in the world only a few years ago. We'd welcomeanyone with his stature and ability to the Galaxy but ulti-mately it is down to Tim Leiweke and (coach) Bruce Arena,"he said. Beckham's involvement in the attempted deal forhis replacement is another fascinating aspect of the formerEngland midfielder's future plans.

The 37-year-old has said he intends to have one moreplaying challenge after leaving Galaxy but will then returnto the U.S. to take an ownership role although he has not in-dicated where that involvement would be or what form itwould take. Beckham has an option to take an ownershipshare in a future expansion team in MLS but Leiweke sug-gested his involvement will be with the Galaxy.

"David is going to continue to be a part of this organiza-tion going forward because there is no-one better to go outand get some of the best players in the world to come herethan David," he said. Major League Soccer commissionerDon Garber also noted that the Galaxy were keen to keepBeckham involved at their club.

"I have heard that Tim Leiweke said that he would be in-terested to talk to David about how he might be involved inthe Galaxy, this is all very real-time," he said. At his newsconference on Thursday, Beckham mentioned a future role,in some form, as a recruiter of talent for MLS.

"Just because I'm not playing here anymore after theweekend, my commitment stays the same. And I will do any-thing to keep these players coming over like Robbie Keane,like Thierry Henry, and anything I can do on that side ofthings I want to do," he said.

MuHAMMAD Butt

Comment

wembley goalscorer

Cole dies at age 27LONDONAGenCieS

Mitchell Cole, who scored in the firstcompetitive club game at the new Wem-bley Stadium, has died at the age of 27.Cole, who found the net for Stevenageagainst Kidderminster in the 2007 FATrophy final at Wembley, retired as aprofessional player last year because ofa heart condition."We are sad to hear former Southend,Stevenage and Oxford player MitchellCole has passed away. Our thoughts arewith his family and friends," the Eng-lish Football League said on Twitter.

Beckham helpinggalaxy in Kaka bid

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:52 AM Page 18

Sports 18

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

watch it LiveESPNSports Center07:30PM

Former F1 driver

JJ lehto freed

over boat crashHELSINKIAGenCieS

Former Finnish Formula One driver andLe Mans winner Jyrki Jarvilehto, whoraced as JJ Lehto, has been releasedfrom all charges relating to a drunkenboat accident in 2010 which killed hisfriend.The court of appeal in Turku on Fridaysaid it was not clear whether Jarvilehtoor his friend had been driving the boatwhen it hit a bridge support pillar insouthern Finland.He was last year sentenced to two yearsand four months in jail by a districtcourt, which said the victim's injuriesindicated he was a passenger andJarvilehto was the driver.Jarvilehto appealed the sentence, sayinghe was sitting in the back of the boatwhen the crash happened.The 46-year-old Finn drove in FormulaOne between 1989 and 1994. His bestresult was a third place in a DallaraJudd in the 1991 San Marion GrandPrix. Jarvilehto won the Le Man 24Hours race in 1995 and 2005.

mardan mamat takesKing's Cup lead

NEWSDESK

Singapore's Mardan Mamat has taken theoutright third round lead with a six-under-par 66 at the US$500,000 King'sCup on Saturday. Thailand's ThawornThaworn, a 15-time Asian Tour winner,signaled his intent of capturing his sec-ond Order of Merit crown by storminghome with four birdies in his closing fiveholes to stay one back of Mardan with histhree-day total of 16-under-par 200 at theSingha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club.Thailand's Pariya Junhasavadikul re-mained on course for his second AsianTour win when he returned with a 66 totake third place while Spanish rookie JaviColomo signed for a 65 to share fourthplace with Thailand's Arnond Vongvanij,Piya Swangarunporn and defendingchampion Udorn Duangdecha on 202.It was the battle of the 45-year-olds asMardan and Thaworn hogged the lime-light at the King's Cup which is the thirdlast event of the 2012 Asian Tour Sched-ule. Mardan knew that he had to remaincalm after he could only manage to makethe turn in one-under. Two birdies on the10th and 11th holes soon restored thatmuch-needed confidence for Singapore'snumber one golfer who then went on tobirdie three of his last four holes.

CALIFORNIAAGenCieS

GRAEME McDowell will take a 10-week breakafter the World Challenge ends on Sunday torecharge his batteries for a hectic 2013 cam-paign on both sides of the Atlantic. The globe-

trotting Northern Irishman competes regularly on the PGAand European tours and has decided to finish his 2013U.S. schedule in August, earlier than usual, before switch-ing his focus to the late-season flurry of events in Europe.

"I'm probably going to have to play 14 (PGA Tour)events between February and August, as opposed to 15 be-tween January and October," McDowell told reportersafter firing a six-under-par 66 at Sherwood Country Clubon Friday.

"Our version of the playoffs (on the European Tour)makes the end of the year pretty full on. When the guys onthis side of the pond are sort of hanging their clubs up fora couple of months, we're kind of putting the pedal downin Europe.

"We have a lot of quality events around the world withgolf as healthy as it is, but it makes it pretty difficult for atwo-tour guy like me," added the Northern Irishman, aseven-time winner on the European Tour. "It's a lot ofgolf." The final six events on the 2013 European Tour willbe staged in Portugal, Australia, China, Turkey and theUnited Arab Emirates for the season-ending DP WorldTour Championship.

McDowell, who will take a three-shot lead into Satur-day's third round of the World Challenge as he seeks a firsttournament victory in two years, relishes the prospect ofa 10-week break before taking on his busy 2013 schedule.

"I'm looking to the next 10 weeks off being a spring-board to 2013," he smiled. "I would love to compete andplay well this weekend, to put a little icing on what's beena mediocre year. "Despite the fact that I feel like I'veplayed some decent golf this year, I really don't have a lotto show for myself, and this would be a nice way to finish."Then these next 10 weeks are going to be very importantto me to recharge and refocus and reset because I know

I'm in a good place, both on and offthe course, and I feel very positive

about next season, regardless ofwhat happens this week-

end." McDowell, whohas not triumphed

anywhere since agolden 2010

c a m p a i g nhighl ightedby his first

major victoryat the U.S.

Open and cappedby a playoff win

over Tiger Woods atthe World Challenge,

has a lot going on inhis private life at themoment. He announcedhis engagement toKristin Stape in Dubaiearlier this month and,with their weddingplanned for late nextyear, will shortly be tak-ing up a new residence inFlorida. "December willbe very much recharging

and relaxing and movinginto my new house in Or-lando and spending some

time with friends and family," McDowell said. "And Janu-ary will be detoxing and practising and getting ready to doit all again, I suppose. It's been a long three years, fouryears (of competitive golf) for me and I'm look forward tosome time off."

Globe trotting McDowellready for a 10-week break

NEWSDESK

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has defended ManchesterUnited's form this season. The Red Devils head to Readingon Saturday evening knowing victory will ensure they aretop of the Barclays Premier League when they take on Cityin the first Manchester derby of the season at the EtihadStadium on December 8. Some critics cannot quite believeit, nor that United have a seven-point advantage over third-placed Chelsea, given that their performances at times havebeen quite poor. They have gone behind on an incredible 13occasions and Michael Carrick described Wednesday's winover West Ham as "far from a classic". However, Fergusonis not joining the criticism. "I don't think the form has beenthat bad to be honest," he said. "But when you are managerof this club, you have to go through that analysis aboutManchester United not being as good as they used to be.

"We are still top of the league so we must be doingsomething right." And they could soon be boosted by thereturn of defender Nemanja Vidic. The United skipper hasmade just 13 appearances since straining a calf muscle atWest Brom in August 2011, which started a chronic run offitness problems. In Basle last December, Vidic rupturedcruciate knee ligaments, which ended his entire campaign.Then, just five matches into the new season, the 31-year-old experienced a tightness around the knee that required

him to undergo more surgery, and evenraised fears about whether he would ever re-turn to his best. However, Vidic has beenmore upbeat about his comeback, indi-cating at the weekend that he was readyto rejoin first-team training. And whilstthe final decision has been left to the 31-year-old, Ferguson is not ruling out theprospect of Vidic returning for Wednesday'sChampions League encounter with CFR Clujat Old Trafford. "It would be nice to play himon Wednesday," said Ferguson. "Iwouldn't be afraid of that. "He hasreturned to training and doneall his work but he needsmatches." Vidic will not beinvolved at the MadejskiStadium on Saturdayevening, when Ferguson ishoping Wayne Rooney canincrease his goals outputfrom his current paltrytally of three. "Wayne isgoing through a periodlike all strikers do, heis not scoring," said

Ferguson. "He has missed bits of games and been offwith tonsillitis, and Wayne is the type of player who

can't miss games because of the frame he has got."If he can contribute to the team's success, fine. Butwe would rather he scored more obviously."MANCINI UNCONCERNED BY TEVEZFORM: Manchester City boss Roberto Mancinihas no concerns about the form of influential

striker Carlos Tevez. After the problems of lastseason, the Argentinian has been restored to

prominence at the forefront of City's at-tack this term. He began the

campaign with four goals inas many games but then

hit a barren spell and hasscored just three since.Two of them cameagainst Aston Villa afortnight ago but Tevezhas had to settle for aplace among the substi-tutes for the past three

games. Mancini said:"No, I'm not disap-pointed about thisform recently.”

Ferguson satisfied with United’s form

scot’s, lawrienoses ahead insun City logjam

SUN CITY: Former British Open champion Paul Lawrieput on a masterclass in ball-striking to claim a one-strokelead after the second round of the $5 million NedbankGolf Challenge on Friday. The Briton snatched threebirdies on the back nine at the Gary Player Country Clubto post a three-under-par 69 and a four-under tally of 140,one ahead of European Ryder Cup team mate MartinKaymer of Germany (69). "I struggled a bit with the driverso I hit a lot of three woods off the tee," 1999 British Openwinner Lawrie told reporters."I also hit a lot of good shots with my irons. The greensthough are a little slow and I felt I left a few putts outthere." American Bill Haas (73), the joint overnight leaderalongside Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, was in a tie for thirdplace on 143 with Italian Francesco Molinari (71) andSouth Africans Louis Oosthuizen (72) and CharlSchwartzel (71)."The leaderboard is pretty packed," said Lawrie. "It's acase of so far so good for me but there is still a long way togo." Kaymer came out of the blocks fast as he fired threebirdies in the opening seven holes. Back-to-back bogeys atthe eighth and ninth halted his progress but he thenpicked up two more birdies coming home."It was a very good round. I hit a lot of good tee shots andonce you hit the fairways here you can score well," saidKaymer. "Unfortunately I hit it in the water at the ninthand made bogey there but three-under is a very good scoreon this golf course." Oosthuizen woke up feeling under theweather and a double-bogey six at the 17th did nothing forhis mood. But a closing birdie at the last hole representedsomething of a pick-me-up. Defending champion LeeWestwood, the world number six, had a topsy-turvy roundas he compiled a 73 containing two double bogeys to takeseventh place on 144.Colsaerts made a nightmare start by carding sevens at thesecond and third holes and eventually ballooned to a 78for 148. World number four Justin Rose, the highest-ranked player in the field, slumped to a 79 and was in 12thand last spot on 152. AGenCieS

west Ham ownerstell fans to reportracist abuse

LONDONAGenCieS

West Ham United's owners have written aletter to supporters telling them to reportcases of racist abuse among Hammers fansfollowing the anti-Semitic chants duringtheir 3-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur onSunday. A small number of West Ham fansallegedly chanted "Viva Lazio" and "Can westab you every week?" in relation to an at-tack on Tottenham fans in Rome ahead of aEuropa League match with Lazio last week.There were also reports of fans chanting"Adolf Hitler, he's coming for you", andhissing, mimicking the gassing of Jewsduring the Holocaust. Tottenham havestrong Jewish ties. West Ham's joint-chair-men David Sullivan and David Gold pub-lished the letter on the club's website(www.whufc.com) ahead of their clash withChelsea on Saturday. "Saturday's matchwith Chelsea promises to be thrilling affairand we know we can count on all of you toprovide the customary passionate backingfor the team that we have witnessed inevery game since we arrived at the club," itsaid. "That is why we were disappointed toread about the actions of the small sectionof fans that let the club down during lastSunday's game at Tottenham Hotspur. "Wewere not only disappointed because theyreflected badly on our club, but they mis-represented the tens of thousands of out-standing supporters who follow the teamhome and away throughout the season."In the rare case that you do see or hearanything inappropriate, there are a num-ber of ways you can report the matter."The club have already banned a seasonticket holder in relation to the incidentsat Spurs. Five fans were arrested duringthe game and two cautioned by police for"racially aggravated gesturing", the clubsaid on Monday. Media reports said thegestures were Nazi salutes.

ISB 02-12-2012_Layout 1 12/2/2012 1:52 AM Page 19

Sunday, 2 december, 2012

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

CAiRO: tens of thousands of protesters gather in tahrir Square

against a decree by president Mohamed Mursi granting himself

broad powers that shield his decisions from judicial review.

PESHAWARStAff RepORt

MULLAH Nazir, the mainpro-government Talibancommander in SouthWaziristan, has ordered the

Mehsud tribesmen and Mehsud Talibanfighters to evacuate the Ahmedzai Wazirarea of the tribal agency, two days after afailed suicide attack targeting the power-ful militant warlord.

The announcement was made follow-ing a grand jirga of the Mullah Nazir group,a 120-member 2007 peace committee ofthe Ahmedzai Wazir clan, the elders of allnine Ahmedzai tribes and their sub-tribesat main Rustam Bazaar market of Wana,the main town of South Waziristan.

Nazir was wounded Thursday when asuicide bomber exploded near his car atRustam Bazaar, killing at least eight andinjuring 17 others.

It was unclear who was behind the at-tempt on the militant commander’s life,but Nazir has a long list of enemies.

Announcements were made Saturday

on loudspeakers in Azam Warsak,Karikort, Wana and Toikhula bazaar byNazir loyalists, warning Mehsud Talibanfighters to leave their area by Dec 5 or faceaction. The group also asked all Mehsudtribesmen, who had taken refuge in thearea being displaced as a result of an ear-lier Pakistan Army operation to cleanse thearea of anti-government militants.

Nazir, an elder in the Wazir tribe, op-poses Uzbek fighters and has had awkwardrelations with the umbrella Tehreek-e-Tal-iban Pakistan (TTP) faction, which is dom-inated by members of the rival Mehsudtribe and led by Hakeemullah Mehsud.

Tribal affairs and militancy expertRahimullah Yousufzai warned earlierthat Thursday’s suicide attack couldspark a new wave of bloodshed in therestive tribal belt.

“It is difficult to say who could be be-hind the latest attack because MullahNazir has problems with Uzbeks, IMUand the TTP,” Yousufzai told news agencyAFP. “The enmity with the TTP will risefurther if Nazir’s group finds TTP’s in-volvement in the attack.”

Saturday’s announcements issued onmosque loudspeakers also warned localAhmedzai Wazir tribesmen of dire conse-quences if they dared to provide shelter toMehsuds — either fighters or the IDPs. Anylocal found guilty of giving shelter to

Mehsuds would be fined about Rs 1 to Rs1.5 million and their houses will also be de-molished, said the warning.

Mehsud Taliban fighters hailing fromthe outlawed TTP have also previouslybeen warned by the Mulllah Nazir group

not to use their soil for attacks, with ten-sions mounting over time between thetwo rival groups.

Although no one has claimed respon-sibility for the attack on Nazir so far, manybelieve the TTP might be behind it.

QuEttASHAHzADA zUlfiQAR

Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mo-hammad Aslam Bhootani on Satur-day announced he would not presideover the forthcoming session to beheld on Monday on grounds that aprovince whose constitutional statuswas in question could not call a ses-sion of the House.

In a continuation of the politicalturmoil in Balochistan, Bhootanimaintained his earlier stance when hehad refused to convene the assembly’ssession on the chief minister’s request

last month, following a Supreme Court(SC) order that termed the Balochistangovernment as unconstitutional forfailing to fulfil its duties with regardsto the law and order condition and es-tablishment of the government’s writ.

Bhootani claimed that after the SCinterim order, the provincial govern-ment had lost its legal status andtherefore he could not call to sessionan assembly that was unconstitutionalin nature. Balochistan Governor Zul-fiqar Magsi took a medical leave fol-lowing Bhootani’s initial refusal toconvene a session which left no routefor Balochistan Chief Minister (CM)

Nawab Aslam Raisani to call a sessionof the House in order.

Raisani, as a result, had to take avote of confidence from the legislatureto assert his legitimacy as chief minis-ter of the province.

Talking to media in a function,Bhootani said he had taken a princi-pled stance after the SC’s October 12interim order on Balochistan that hadasked the federal government to takeappropriate constitutional measuresfor improvement of the law and ordersituation in the province. He said hisrefusal was a continuation of his ear-lier stance and it was the governor who

had convened the session this timearound, which the deputy speakercould moderate if he wanted to.

He further said he had no personalgrudges against the chief minister andhis cabinet members and if the govern-ment had any objections against hisstance, it could seek the opinion of theapex court which declared that thegovernment had failed in maintaininglaw and order in the province.

He said he would not budge aninch from his position under anycircumstance, even if it led to hiseventual removal as the speaker ofthe assembly.

12 soldiers among 18buried in avalanches

MuZAFFARABAD/RAWALPINDIOnline

With the recovery of 16 dead bodies on Saturday,the death toll in the back-to-back avalanches atSharda sector has crossed 18. Twelve soldiers areamong the victims. At least 18 people went missing,including eight soldiers, after they were hit by anavalanche in the Kel sector of Neelum Valley onFriday. A rescue team of soldiers went on a missionto find their three colleagues buried underneath thesnow. They had found two bodies, when anotheravalanche struck. The Inter-Services PublicRelations (ISPR) has confirmed that the bodies offive soldiers, including an officer and four civilianshad been recovered on Saturday. The search for theremaining missing persons is underway.

Consensus on Justice Nasir’sname for caretaker PM?

ISLAMABADOnline

All the political parties on Saturday agreed on thename of Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid for the postof caretaker prime minister. Justice Nisar’s namewas proposed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Other names underconsideration included Justice (r) Nasir AslamZahid, former Supreme Court Bar Associationpresident Asma Jahangir, and Pakistan’spermanent representative to the United NationsAbdullah Hussain Haroon. The government’spolitical allies and the opposition parties criticisedthe names of Asma Jahangir and AbdullahHaroon, arguing that the caretaker prime ministershould be impartial as the elections depends onhim. Some political parties opposed the Jahangirand Haroon because of their close ties withPresident Asif Ali Zardari. Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf and National Assembly OppositionLeader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan have agreedupon the name of Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid.Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid was one of thejudges who had refused to take oath under thePCO in the regime of former military ruler PervezMusharraf. He is currently engaged with a privateorganisation working to free Pakistani prisonersfrom Indian jails. On the other hand, ChaudhryNisar told a private TV channel that there was noagreement yet between the government and PML-N on the name for caretaker prime minister.

PESHAWAR: A US drone firedmissiles at a vehicle in SouthWaziristan region on Saturday, killingat least one man suspected to be an alQaeda-linked foreign militant, officialssaid. Officials said missiles from theunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hit thecar of a Yemeni al Qaeda-linked fighterknown as Abdul Rehman al-ZamanYemeni in Shin Warsak area, about10km west of Wana, the main town inrestive South Waziristan agency. Thevehicle was destroyed, killing theforeign militant, he confirmed. The

area of the attack was very close towhere a drone had fired missile onanother vehicle on Thursday. Threepeople were killed and one injured inthe attack, including an Arab national,sources had initially reported.However, another official todayclaimed an Arab national killed in thedrone strike on Thursday was knownas Sheikh Abdul Bari, an al Qaeda-linked operative. The officials spoke oncondition of anonymity because theywere not authorised to speak to themedia. StAff RepORt

Yemeni al Qaeda operative killedin south waziristan drone attack

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