SuNdAy may 05, 2013 Jamadi-us-Saani 24, 1434 I Rawalpindi/Islamabad I Vol, VI, No. 16 I www.thespokesman.pk Pages 12 I Price 10/-

TTOODDAAYY’’SS WWEEAATTHHEERR

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DRONES, MUSHARRAF ANDTHE LONG ARM OF LAW– ASIF MAHMOOD

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THE THIRD WORLDINTELLECTUAL TODAY– SAEED UR REHMAN

cmyk

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THE TOUGHBATTLES OF PUNJAB

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The trial of PervezMusharraf in a case relating todetaining judges will be held at hisfarmhouse sub-jail at Chak Shehzad,Capital’s Chief CommissionerSaturday announced. A notification cited life threats to

Musharraf as the reason for thedecision. His farmhouse in thecapital’s suburbs was declared a sub-jail by the authorities last month.

Meanwhile, the judicial remand ofMusharraf was extended for 14 daysby an Islamabad Anti TerrorismCourt (ATC) on Saturday in judges’detention case. ATC Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi

resumed the hearing of case filedagainst the former military oncomplaint of Chaudhry AslamGhumman for detaining the judgesof apex court including Chief Justicein year 2007. Lawyers for formerpresident Musharraf, Imran Feroz

and Zia-ur-Rehman, also filed bailapplication before the court whichwas fixed for May 6th by the court. However, former President did not

appear before the court in persondue to the security concerns. Thelawyers apprised the court thatIslamabad Chief Commissioner hadissued a directive in which it wasdirected that due to securityconcerns the hearings of this case beconducted in Musharraf ’s house,which has been declared as sub jail.

Following this directive, the courtafter getting formal approval fromIslamabad High Court has decidedto conduct next hearing atMusharraf ’s residence- Sub Jail. The court extended the judicial

custody of the accused andadjourned the hearing till May 18.The judicial remand was extendedon the request of police asinvestigators pleaded thatinvestigation was still underway inthis case.

OUR STAFF REPORTER

KKAARRAACCHHII//PPEESSHHAAWWAARR//QQUUEETTTTAA:: Bomberscontinued to rule the roost in KhyberPaktunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh onSaturday but this time they also targetedPakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islamibesides a twin blast at MQM oKce in Karachiwhich killed 3 and injured over 27 people.Reports suggest an election oKce of the

party was the apparent target of the twoseparate blasts. The oKce was situatednear the MQM headquarters Nine-Zero inAzizabad. Nearby buildings and vehiclewere damaged.The Pakistani Taliban claimed

responsibility of the attack. SpokesmanEhsanullah Ehsan said both bombings werecarried out through planted devices.At least 12 people were injured in another

attack on MQM election oKce near theMQM headquarters Nine-Zero in Azizabad.A bomb blast hit a PTI election office

near Peshawar’s Panchgai Road onSaturday morning. “A time device, whichwas planted outside the office of PTI

exploded but did not cause any loss of life,”a police official said. The blast, however,destroyed the PTI’s election office and afew adjacent shops. According to bombdisposal unit, it was a time device whichcarried 1.5 to two kilograms of explosivematerial. PTI chairman Imran Khan hadto cancel his address at a public gatheringin Peshawar due to the blast. However, hedid manage to address at four other placesin the province.Raj Mohammad, a NA candidate from

the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was on hiselection campaign in the lower OrakzaiAgency area of the restive northwesterntribal belt when his vehicle hit anImprovised Explosive Device (IED)."Mohammad and his driver were injuredin the attack and their vehicle was badlydamaged," Wali Mohammad, a localgovernment oKcial said. At least two persons were injured when

militants hurled a hand held bomb at theelectoral oKce of Jamaat-i-Islami in Gailaniroad area of Quetta. The attackers managedto escape from the spot, police said.

ANP to contestpoll resultsPPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: FormerANP provincial ministerMian Iftikhar Hussain onSaturday accused theinterim government andElection Commission ofincompetence, and saidelections results wouldnot be acceptable underthe current law and ordersituation. At a pressconference here, he saidthe administration andthe ECP had completelyfailed. He said his partycandidates were beingtargeted. “If there are noelection candidates left,then who will theyprovide security to onelection day?” –AGENCIES

SAHTAK BALOCH

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: In a bid to benefit blue eyed,the caretaker Prime Minister Mir HazarKhoso has appointed retired Justice AhmadKhan Lashari as chairman National ElectricPower Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)without following the due procedure.Energy experts when contacted said there

seems no respite from ‘nepotism’ asfavouritism still rules the roast no mattereven if the interim government is in place.The outgoing PPP-led coalition governmenthad already earned bad name by appointingblue eyed on top slots without following thedue procedure. The former coalition ledgovernment also faced the music when theSupreme Court raised objections on severalappointments. For example, appointment ofAdnan Khwaja as Managing Director Oiland Gas Development Company Limited,Tauqeer Saddiq chairman oil and gas

regulatory authority (OGRA) etc had raisedquestions due to which popularity graph offormer coalition has touched rock bottomlevel. Similarly, the appointment of ownbuddy as chairman NEPRA by caretakerPM has also raised questions and made theselection controversial.Sources in Water & Power Ministry

disclosed to this scribe that the interimpremier has assigned four years longchairmanship of the regulatory authority(NEPRA) to a buddy belonging to his ownhometown. Retired Justice Ahmad KhanLashari has been appointed without followingthe due procedure of the appointment. Theyalso said that there was no advertisement inthe newspapers, even no interview wasconducted for the lucrative slot. Sources saidsince interview practice is not followed inthe appointment of retired judges case sothis appointmen was made on the samebasis i.e without any ad or interview.

ATC shifted to Musharraf ’s farmhouse� Another 14-day ‘jail’ for former president as SC extends judicial remand

PM buddy now NEPRA chief

PTI, JI also come under attack

Bombers goon rampage� Twin blasts near MQM’s Nine-Zero kill 3 � Imran’s rallyput o, after blast hits PTI o+ce in Peshawar � JI pollo+ce attacked in Quetta, candidate injured in Orakzai

NNEEWW DDEELLHHII:: Thecondition of Sanaullah Haq,a Pakistani prisonercritically injured in an attackby an inmate at centralJammu jail remains “verycritical”, the Pakistani HighCommission said.“Sanaullah’s is in deep

coma and is on life supportsystem in ICU onventilator. His prognosisremained grim,” said astatement by the Pak HighCommission.The Pakistani High

Commission oKcials “cameto the hospital and we havegiven them his medicalupdate”, spokeswoman ofthe Hospital said. –AGENCIES

Pak prisonerin deep coma

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

SHANEL KHALIQ

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: More than two thirds ofthe educated youth is prepared to voteindependently of family allegiancesand preferences, reveals a surveyconducted by the Pattan DevelopmentOrganisation opinion poll conductedon a sample of young voters.Political programme and partyperformance are likely to influence thevoting behaviour of these young voters.A significant number of new voters alsoranked corruption and poorgovernance as the two most crucialissues facing Pakistan.

Almost 71% of the respondents saidthat the performance of the lastgovernment was poor, while only amere 12% were satisfied with thecurrent political system. Similarlyabout 57% said that the country wasnot moving in a positive direction anda large majority of these blamed boththe political and military leadership forthis situation.When asked about party preferences,51% said they would vote for PakistanTehreek-i-Insaf in the forthcomingelections, while 20% were in favour ofPakistan Muslim League-N and only6% supported Pakistan People’s Party.

The survey also ascertained the votingpreferences of the parents of theserespondents. Contrary to thewidespread perception that familiesvote in unison, the survey revealeddiLerential voting patterns acrosspolitical parties.Of the respondents who would likelyto vote for PTI, 45% said that theirmothers would also vote for PTI and42% said that their fathers would.Interestingly, one-fourth said theirparents would not vote for PTI andone-third said they were not aware oftheir voting preferences. Of the 20%respondents who favoured PMLN,

almost 54% said that their parentswould also vote for the same party.The highest share of young peopleplanning to vote for the same party astheir elders was among Peoples Partysupporters, which was around 65%.Overall, the opinion poll revealedtrends of younger people votingindependently of family allegianceswhich can be attributed to the increasein education levels, awareness andexposure.Only 14% of the respondents statedfamily, language and tribe and caste asinfluencing factors in determiningtheir voting preferences. In contrast,

75% said that they based their votingdecision on the programme, leadershipand performance of political parties.Similarly, 73% of the respondentsconsidered internal party elections tobe important for the democraticdevelopment in the country.A striking result was that asignificant minority of respondents,around 24% said that the femalemembers of their families did not casttheir vote in the last general elections.Out of the respondents who were notintending to vote in the forthcomingelections, 21% showed dissatisfactionwith the existing political system

whereas 16% said that their vote willnot make any diLerence.The Pattan DevelopmentOrganisation feels that the politicalparties should improve internal partydemocracy if they are interested indeveloping democracy in the country. The survey was conducted amongthe students of Quaid-i-AzamUniversity and the sample size of 929represents 14.56% of the total enrolledpopulation of 6380 students.Furthermore the sample chosenrepresented students from allprovinces, various income levels andboth the genders.

Two-third of educated youth to vote independently� Political programme and party performance to influence voting behaviour

CMYK

CMYK

PM for hassle-free Hajj arrangements

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Prime Minister MirHazar Khan Khoso on Saturdaydirected the Ministry of ReligiousALairs to make all necessaryarrangements for the upcoming Hajj sothat the intending pilgrims couldperform the religious obligation in ahassle-free manner with full devotion.He issued the directive to Minister forReligious ALairs Shahzada Jamal Nazirwho called on him here at the PMSecretariat. The minister apprised theprime minister about arrangementsmade by the ministry in connectionwith the upcoming Hajj. PrimeMinister Khoso expressed hissatisfaction over the arrangements. Hefurther directed the minister toimpress upon the religious leaders andUlema to play their role in creatingreligious harmony among varioussegments of the society. Later, talkingto Federal Minister for Housing andWorks Dr Younis Soomro, PrimeMinister Khoso said that thegovernment was committed to provideaLordable living to the middle and low-income groups dwelling in urban areas.The minister discussed various issuespertaining to the ministry. Dr Soomrobriefed the prime minister about theorganisation, functions andperformance of the ministry. �AGENCIES

3 CDA directors to beprobed in plot scandalIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The FederalInvestigation Agency included threeCapital Development Authority’sdirectors into the investigation in thebogus plot scandal. The FIA sourcessaid that former HR director alongwith others CDA oKcials were involvedin the allotment of bogus plot, addingthat Directors Muhammad Ali, AbidLatif and Mehboob have been includedin the investigation process. Sourcessaid that 22 bogus names wereinducted in balloting of plots, addingthat the imprisoned CDA director hadallotted plots to the property dealers.The price of one plot is said to be worthof Rs 4 billion. The FIA sources addedthat the jailed director of the CDA hasbeen on physical remand, where hedivulged other secrets as well duringthe interrogations. �ONLINE

Students cope withtransport problemsIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Students in Rawalpindiand Islamabad are facing severetransport problems, as hundreds ofeducational institutions have no propertransport facilities. A large number ofstudents come from the diLerentlocalities of twin cities to theirinstitutions and have to faceinconvenience in packed publictransport vehicles, besidesmaltreatment by drivers andconductors. “The school and collegebuses ply only on specific routes and Ialways use local transport to reach mycollege,” said Salman Khan, a student.He said this was one of the majorproblems for all those who came fromfar-oL areas. Students complained thatmajority of the local transporters didnot apply brakes, when they sawstudents waiting at the stops. SanamAli, a student, said due to financialproblems, she couldn’t pay full fare ofthe van, while the transporters did notallow student concession. �ONLINE

16 shops sealed in Melody IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The CapitalDevelopment Authority sealed 16 shopslocated in Melody Market due to thenon-payment of rent. On the directionof the CDA chairman, the CDA staLlaunched operation and sealed sixteenshops respectively on account of non-payment of rent. �ONLINE

Puppet show on MondayIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The Pakistan NationalCouncil of Arts scheduled free puppetshow on Monday, May 6 at the PNCAAuditorium. The National PuppetTheatre will present Folk Tales, Skits toprovide entertainment and educationabout social problems like health,education and environment etc. �ONLINE

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Chief Justice ofPakistan Justice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry has advised young lawyersto delete the word of impossible fromtheir vocabulary. He also said thatthere can be no two opinions on theproposition that Bar and Bench werecomplementary to each other.“A strong Bar means a strongjudiciary,” he said, while addressingcertificate awarding ceremony of oneweek training course on legaleducation for lawyers from the HighCourt Bar Association at the FederalJudicial Academy here Saturday.Justice Iftikhar observed that activerole of the lawyers in the society andadministration of justice was mostimportant and laudable. “It isdynamic catalyst for change in thesociety,” he said.“It is this (lawyer) communitywhich is upholder of rule of law,” hesaid, and stressed that lawyer forsocial change focuses to fight on thestatus-quo and provide redressal andrepresentation to the voiceless. “Louis

D Brandeis has even termed them aspeople’s lawyers. They are the moralactivists who create a cultural shift formaking a social change,” he said, andurged the young lawyers to learn theskills and techniques of interviewingand counseling.“You should attain the standards ofprofessional ethics and etiquettes andpractice them. Proper dress andpunctuality will add to your personalgrace and decorum of the court. Youmust have skills in the art ofpleadings, drafting, cross-examination and presentation ofarguments,” the chief justice said, andadded that the advocacy was an artand like all other arts, some havenatural aptitude while others havegreat diKculty in mastering it.The chief justice said that theadvocates have certain dutiestowards their clients, the courtsfellow lawyers and to self also. Hewho has no orientation ofinformation technology wasnowadays treated as illiterate. “You

should persuade judge througharguments without concealingmaterial facts on record. Build and

maintain your credibility as much aspossible,” he said. “An advocate is nota mere mouth piece of his client. He

has to make his best eLorts to winpoints favouable to his client,” thechief justice remarked. —ONLINE

CJ asks young lawyers to deleteword ‘impossible’ from vocabulary� Justice Iftikhar urges lawyers to work for social change, fight status-quo, give representation to the voiceless

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SALMAN ABBAS

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: In a bid to earn more profit,private housing schemes situated in Sector E-11of the federal capital have converted the landsreserved for public parks, schools and otherpublic amenities into plots by violating therules and regulations fixed in an agreementwith the Capital Development Authoritywhereas the oKcials concerned of the authorityhave thrown deaf ear on the issue.A senior CDA oKcial told The Spokesmanthat the wrong deeds by some oKcers of theauthority in the past has now put the currentmanagement into dilemma. “As it seems to be abig challenge for the CDA management to takeaction against the violations by private societies

in Sector E-11,” he added. It has been learnt thataccording to the no objection certificate (NoC)issued by the CDA to private societies, whateverare is developed by the societies themselves, theprovision of public parks, schools and otheramenities etc are bound to be provided underthe supervision of the CDA and such areas aresupposed to be the property of the CDA.However, the societies in the sector haveconverted most of the park land into plots andsold them out in utter violation of rules. Thejudicial commission formed by the IslamabadHigh Court to probe CDA irregularities hadalso taken up the matter and directed the CDAto take action against the oKcials who neverchecked the violations by private societies.“Even after directions by the IHC, the civic

body still seems inactive to take action againstthe violations in E-11 which are marring thebeauty of capital city in every manner,” said thesource.While making its recommendations in thisregard, the judicial commission suggested theCDA chairman to form a committee comprisedof honest oKcers to examine the lay out plansof the societies approved by the CDA and thendetermine physically as to how many plotsearmarked for public amenities have beenutilized otherwise.CDA Planning Member Syed MustafainKazmi when asked about the violations bysocieties in E-11, he said that the civic bodywould soon take up the matter related toviolations by private societies.

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: A young girl has been abductedfrom the premises of the Pakistan Institute ofMedical Sciences a week ago, while the policehave requested Inter-Services Intelligence toassist in tracing the abductors as well as thevictim girl.Rafaqat Maseeh, resident of G-11/4, haslodged an FIR (165) in Ramna Police Station bystating that on April 26 April, his daughter hasbeen abductor by some unidentified men whenshe was visiting the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. Sub Inspector Muhammad Yasin, theconcerned investigation oKcer, told TheSpokesman that, “The applicant works as asweeper in Hamza Camp Rawalpindi. Accordingto him, at the day of incident he was on duty inhis oKce while his wife and son were also not at home.”He further added that “Aasia Bibi told hergrandmother that she was not feeling well, so sheneed to visit the hospital. By saying that, she leftfor the hospital and hasn’t returned yet.” WhenYasin was asked about the progress ofinvestigation, he said police has got some cellnumbers which will be helpful to trace theabducted girl as well as the abductors. At the nextday of Aasia’s abduction, his uncle received a callfrom Aasia Bibi, he said.“In her short message, she just said that she iskept in Sadiqabad area and the abductors aretorturing her,” said Yasin. He said but it was notclear yet that either she was talking about theSadiqabad area of Rawalpindi, or Sadiqabad Citywhich is located near Bahawalpur. “We haverequested Inter-Services Intelligence in a writtenapplication to trace the cell number from whichAasia’s uncle was called, and soon the abductorswill be traced,” Yasin said.

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Minister for Information andBroadcasting Arif Nizami Saturday announcedthat a Journalists Endowment Fund had beeninstituted with the seed money of Rs 10 millionto compensate families of those journalistskilled during discharge of their professionalduties in combat zones.Speaking to media after the federal cabinetmeeting here he said that the fund had beenconstituted on the occasion of World PressFreedom Day observed all over the world onMay 3. He hoped that Pakistan BroadcastersAssociation (PBA) and All Pakistan NewspapersSociety (APNS) would contribute Rs 5 millioneach to the fund.The minister said that during his recent visitto Balochistan, he noticed that media did notventure for coverage in the far flung areas of theprovince and people there relied on RadioPakistan. He said in view of this approval hasbeen taken from the prime minister forinstallation of a new radio transmitter inBalochistan. �AGENCIES

SSttuuddeennttss pprreesseennttiinngg ttaabblleeaauu dduurriinngg tthhee aannnnuuaall pprriizzee ddiissttrriibbuuttiioonn cceerreemmoonnyy ooff aa llooccaall sscchhooooll,, aatt PPNNCCAA.. �ONLINE

E-11 housing schemes convertreserved lands into plots

SHANEL KHALIQ

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Gender Concerns International(GCI)’s Gender Election Monitoring Mission,in collaboration with the Aurat Foundation,will be monitoring the general elections 2013with reference to female participation.Both organisations have already signed amemorandum of understanding earlier thisyear, under which 15 international and 50national observers will monitor theforthcoming elections form a gender angle. Ateam of female gender expert internationalobservers will be deployed to their respectiveobservation stations to observe the electoralprocess on May 10.The international observers will be joined by

fifty female observers from Pakistan, who havebeen recruited and appointed as electionobservers by the Aurat Foundation. SabraBano, Director of Gender ConcernsInternational, is due to arrive in Pakistan onMay 5, and she will be accompanied by a teamof gender expert observers on May 8,including Deputy Head of Mission Magda deMeyer who was previously the deputy head ofthe GEM Mission Pakistan (2008), Tunisia(2011) and Libya (2012), and Ann Wilkens,political analyst and former ambassador ofSweden to Pakistan.“It is with great pride that I get to take partin this historical moment for Pakistan byheading the only international electionobservation mission to monitor the elections

from a gender perspective. The government’srecognition of the importance of women’spolitical participation foreshadows a promisingfuture for Pakistan,” said Sabra Bano.Expert trainers will hold training workshopsfor GEM domestic observers. The GEMMission observers will follow a comprehensiveobservation methodology developed throughGender Concerns International’s experience inelection observation and promoting genderinclusive governance throughout the MiddleEast and North Africa Region and parts ofAsia. In the two days following the generalelection, the GEM Mission will issue apreliminary report which will be followed by afinal report to include recommendations forpromoting gender inclusive elections.

Observing female voting patterns in election

Police seeks ISI helpin tracing victim girl, abductors

Endowment Fund setup for journalists

Deputy Chairman of Planning DrNadeemul Haq deserved a better send-oR than was oRered to him. He was

terminated despite the fact that he had filedhis resignation to Prime Minister Hazar KhanKhoso much earlier on March 25.Why, one may ask? Was it because the

bureaucracy did not like him as he was proneto speaking up his mind? Was it because thoseinvolved in budget-making wanted him out ofthe loop? Was it because he was seen as ahindrance to what is being cooked up in thecaretaker set-up?Perhaps a mixture of all this. The Establishment Division gave a lame

excuse that it was not aware that theresignation was in the pipeline. The answer is that the DeputyChairman, Planning is answerable to the Prime Minister and not to theSecretary.In any case, he was being sidelined by the Presidency, the PM House and

the Finance Ministry in matters related to him. How could the budgetmaking progress without the input of the planning division? They wouldsimply invite the Secretary Planning, their own brother in arms, bypassinghis boss, Nadeemul Haq.He was perhaps the best of the lot that the last government hired

among technocrats. This was the reason that he was always resented bythose with vested interests. The outspoken and visionary Dr. Nadeem UlHaque was the author of the "Framework for Economic Growth" (FEG),which may be a paradigm shift in terms of our development plans. TheFEG that was accepted by the NEC and the cabinet in 2011 focused onlong term growth and productivity rather than the traditional projectsand funding. Dr Haque was also critical of the approach to budget preparation

and fiscal management in general. He openly criticized the FinanceMinistry for its self-aggrandizement and expansion of turf. Throughcontrol of the budgets and IMF programs, the Ministry of Finance wasvirtually running the government and failed in every cut that heproposed. A great proponent of reform as a means to development, Dr. Haque

maintained that the architecture of policy through empowerment ofFinance emasculated other agencies, to the detriment of good policy. Inparticular, the trend to take over Planning by Finance in the last 30 yearshas made growth and development policy subservient to budgetmanagement. This was a serious detriment to growth and jobs. It led topoor quality adjustment and policy. He was constantly fighting for therevival of the Planning Commission, which was somehow resented bybureaucrats.The Planning Commission was once an apex body reporting to the Prime

Minister when Pakistan was a growing economy. Because of his outspokenness and his incisive analysis, many in the

bureaucracy were always trying to sideline him. He was frequently not calledto briefings in economic policy. Grist and development were never discussedas a result on the cabinet table. The PM obviously did not know that therewas a need for growth and development policy. Surprisingly, none in thecabinet questioned the absence of the DCPC from economic briefings whichgives us a glimpse into the minds of our ministers. Dr Haque spared no occasion to point out how the lack of a civil service

reform empowered a clique of secretaries to rule and how they hadbecome political actors. The lack of reform in government had alsodenuded all skills and commitment to work. Frequent transfers andother controls had made the civil service beholden to political reassuresas well as devoid of skills. The perk system was the genesis of the rentseeking regime. Needless to say, the bureaucracy did not like this attackon their preserve. Dr. Haque's resignation remained with the PM for over 6 weeks in which,

despite eRorts, he was not allowed by the bureaucracy to see the PM. Whenhe was finally let go he was not informed but only heard it on the TV. In mostadvanced countries the PM would host a farewell for a competent seniortechnocrat who has honestly served the country. Our farewell to Dr Haq for agood job done.

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

Venom Inc. This should not be held against me in a court of law as Isolemnly declare that these are absolute lies, dirty whispers and wildspeculation that I have heard while crawling in the dark power corridors

of the creepy Capital. You will believe them at your own risk Shh...If you havevenom to spill please don’t hesitate to share with us on our blog atwww.thespokesman.pk

POWER ALLEYS|CMYK

MOHAMMED RIZWAN

LAHORE: The issue will be clinched here –Punjab. With its 148 contested seats out of atotal of 272, around 50 million eligible votersout of total country count of 80.6 million and apopulation of over 90 million out ofapproximately 180 million, Punjab holds thekey to power in Pakistan – well, political power.The number of National Assembly seats in

Punjab are more than the combined number ofseats of all provinces; Sindh 61, KPK 35,Balochistan 14, FATA 14 and Islamabad 2. If aparty grabs even 100 out of 148 seats in Punjabalone, it can easily lead the next coalition as thesingle largest party in the parliament. PPP in2008 elections had originally won 94 seats outof 272 and after adding up reserved seats, it hadenough numbers to lead the coalition. Althoughit might not be politically sustainable, winningmajority in Punjab is a confirmed ticket topower. That is why the arch rivals PML-N andPPP are locked in a fierce battle for Punjab.There are 51 constituencies in Punjab

including Islamabad that are poised for a photofinish. Due to time and space constraints, TheSpokesman has picked a few of them to profilethe electoral battles.NA 48 (Islamabad) Javed Hashmi (PTI) vs

Anjum Aqeel (PML-N):The incumbent AnjumAqeel shot himself in the foot when, after beinginvolved in a land scam, he escaped from thepolice station. The Sharifs expressed theirdispleasure but surprised everyone by awardingthe ticket to him again. Aqeel is up against themight of Javed Hashmi and PTI this time andsince most of the constituency is urban, it wouldbe an uphill battle for the incumbent.Two more factors – PPP and JI – have to be

taken into account. PPP polled 22,000 in 2002elections and 26,000 in 2008. Though PPP’spolitical capital is down it can easily spoil thePTI chances here. Faisal Sakhi Butt is nowalkover and can manage something like20,000 votes this time too. The Mian Aslamfactor attains significance if it crosses 10,000votes and then both PPP and JI could be in aposition to decide the winner from Hashmi andAqeel. A complex situation but the bets are onHashmi.NA 53 (Taxila-Wah) Ch Nisar (PML-N) vs

Ghulam Sarwar (PTI): Chaudhry Nisar, the

opposition leader and second only to Sharifs inPML-N, looks in trouble here. Reason: His archrival Ghulam Sarwar Khan, who had defeatedhim in 2002 but lost in 2008, belongs to theKhattar clan and is now contesting on the PTIticket. Another factor: more than 150,000 voteswere added in the constituency since 2008 andall these new registered voters can benefit

Ghulam Sarwar. Moreover, Khattars are thedominating tribe in the region and havereservations against Ch Nisar Ali Khan, who isa Rajput and on top of all this an outsider. Nisarbelongs to Chakri. Now, just days away fromelections, both are neck to neck and look set fora photo finish. Also, there are rumours that realestate tycoon Malik Riaz is throwing loads ofcash to get his arch-enemy Nisar defeated.Nisar, a well-wired politician, will have to pulloR a magic trick in the last moments to pullthrough.NA 55 (Rawalpindi) Shaikh Rashid (AML) vs

Shakil Awan (PML-N): If Shaikh loses this time

we might see the political end of him here. Thishas developed into a straight fight between oldpro Shaikh Rashid and incumbent ShakilAwan. PML-N has been winning this seat forthe last four elections now. But this time roundPPP holds the key to the constituency. The partyhas a traditional 35,000-40,000 vote bank inthe area and its candidate Chaudhry Iftikhar isa solid one, although he might not go all the wayand win it. So it is basically the PPP vote thatwould decide the outcome. PTI is not runningto give Shaikh a clear shot at Awan. In return,Shaikh is supporting and in fact running ImranKhan’s campaign next door against HanifAbbasi. The swing vote is so big (PPP) that thisis a tough one to predict.NA 56 (Rawalpindi) Imran Khan (PTI) vs

Hanif Abbasi (PML-N): The story here issomewhat similar to NA 48. Incumbent Abbasihas been involved in a scam and has apparentlylost popularity. Kaptaan himself is running

from here, banking on Shaikh Rashid’s supportand Abbasi’s unpopularity. Interestingly, PML-N did not refuse the ticket to Abbasi, who isnow fighting for survival. Like in 55, here toothe PPP vote can play a major role in decidingthe fate of the candidates. In 2002, PPP got22,000 votes from here and in 2008 it grabbed19,000 votes. If this vote is diverted to any ofPTI or PML-N, the issue will be sealed. RajaIsrar, a local PPP activist, is contesting too andShaikh is incharge of PTI’s campaign. However,Khan is the clear favourite to win this one.NA 61 (Chakwal) Ch Pervez Elahi (PML) vs

Mansoor Hyat Tamman (PTI): This has

developed into a very interesting contest as localstalwart Mansoor Hyat is contesting against themight of Ch Pervez Elahi, who bagged 91,769votes against winner Faiz Tamman of PML-N,who secured 92,291 votes. The seat went intoby-elections as Faiz Tamman’s degree was inquestion. In the by-elections Mansoor Hyat

Tamman secured 80,000 votes as anindependent against the winner MumtazTamman, who bagged over 100,000 votes. NowElahi is again in the running and his stellar pastperformance means that the race is very tight,although Mansoor Tamman would have theedge of having a PTI ticket but MumtazTamman of PML-N is in the reckoning as well.Tough one to predict.NA 89 (Jhang) Shaikh Muhammad Akram

(PML-N) vs Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi(ASWJ): This constituency stands out due to

its peculiar voter sympathies. This is a Jhangcity seat and was won by Maulana AzamTariq, the chief of Sipah-i-Sihaba Pakistan, in2002 elections by defeating Maulana TahirulQadri, who secured 31,000 votes. After theassassination of Maulana Azam Tariq, hisbrother ran in the by-elections but lost toShaikh Waqas Akram of PML-Q. In 2008,SSP-LeJ chief Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvichallenged Waqas Akram of PML-Q but lostby a thin margin of just 6000 votes. Now, afterShaikh Waqas joined PML-N and his degreewas challenged, his father Shaikh MuhammadAkram is contesting against Maulana AhmedLudhianvi, who is running on Ahle SunnatWal Jamat (ASWJ) ticket, the party which hasbeen temporarily allowed to run under theMuttahida Deeni Mahaz (DMD) platform.Here parties like PPP, PTI or even religiousparties like JI and JUI-F don’t matter at all.It’s a seat that has a unique voting pattern andmight throw up once again a loner in thehouse.

The tough battles of Punjab & Federal Capital - Part I

ALI SAJJAD SHAH

ISLAMABAD:Shahbaz Sharif ’s claimsregarding the absolute cleanliness ofthe Punjab government according toforeign auditors seems to be false afterit was discovered in an internal auditthat there may be massive corruptionon the part of Hanif Abbasi, as Chair-man of the Sasti Roti scheme.Hanif Abbasi charged 35 million

from Punjab finance department onaccount of travel expenses as ChairmanSasti Roti Scheme, without submittingany detailed expenditure statement,says the Punjab finance department.Abbasi claimed 32 lacs just for inaugu-rating a Tandur in District Layyah asChairman Sasti Roti Scheme by sub-mitting that he had taken almost 70supporters and oQcials with him onprivate vehicles in the said tour.

Ex-Chief Minister Punjab MianShahbaz Sharif launched Sasti RotiScheme in 2011 and the then MNAPML-N Hanif Abbasi was appointed asChairman to hasten aRairs. Sources inPunjab Finance Department Lahore,

on condition of anonymity, told TheSpokesman that Hanif Abbasi claimedapproximately 35 million rupees fromfinance department on account of thescheme as Chairman. According toaudit report of financial year 2011-12, itis learnt that Hanif Abbasi visited Dis-trict Layyah to inaugurate mechanicaltandur with PML N supporters andcharged one day travelling expense as

high as Rs. 32 lacs. The cheque was is-sued to his name by finance departmentand Abbasi did not make available anydetailed expenditure statement to theconcerned oQce, which was compul-sory as per finance rules and laws.Sources added that Hanif Abbasi and

his staR were well briefed orally and inwriting to submit detailed expenditurestatements of Layyah and other toursmade by him as Chairman Sasti Rotischeme but to no avail.Claiming bogus travel expenses in

millions from Punjab Government asChairman Sasti Roti scheme, whenHanif Abbasi was contacted for hispoint of view, he totally denied the alle-gations and called such accusations un-substantiated and election stunts tosabotage his election campaign. Hesaid that if he had committed any fraudas Chairman Sasti Roti scheme, whydid media and concerned quarters notpoint out his corruption earlier andnow when he was just one week awayfrom the most important election of hislife and political career, such frivolousallegations are just to get him under

pressure and to turn his voters againsthim and nothing else. Mr. Zaheer ud Din Baber, the then

Deputy Director in finance departmentLahore and now Deputy Director AntiCorruption (Technical), told TheSpokesman that many discrepancieswere observed and pointed out by fi-nance department in Sasti Roti schemepertaining to its chairman Hanif Ab-basi’s travelling and other expenseclaims, which required further investi-gation and there are chances that cor-ruption of huge amounts could bemade public out of Hanif Abbasi per-sonal TA / DA claims as chairman. Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan, Deputy

Secretary Information PakistanTehreek-e-Insaaf, told The Spokesmanthat they already knew about corruptionand millions made by Hanfi Abbasi inSasti Roti scheme when he was chair-man and he said that if PTI got intopower in Punjab Assembly, they willsurely run an independent audit onSasti Roti scheme. If there is any lootedamount proved it will be recovered fromhim and other oQcials found guilty.

ZEESHAN JAVAID

ISLAMABAD: The most sensitivetrans-boundary water issues,particularly between Pakistan andIndia, are now being dealt with by theprivate limited companies, includingNational Engineering ServicesPakistan (NESPAK) and Turk PakInternational, just after the hijacking ofpublic businesses by the strong cartelof the bureaucratic regime.A strong group of bureaucracy

comprising managing directorNESPAK, Asad.I.A.Khan, who is alsoholding the same oQce in Turk PakInternational, the allied company ofNESPAK, self-claimed legal expert Ms.Shumaila Mehmood, PakistanCommissioner for Indus waters, MirzaAsif Baig, Deputy Secretary (Water)Dr. Samar Ali, OQce of FederalSecretaries of Ministry Water andPower Rai Sikandar, Imtiaz Qazi andsection oQcers in ministry water andpower, is the machine with zeroperformance making millions andbillions.Expressing serious reservations over

the competency of Ms Mehmood andher allies, a senior oQcial of PakistanCommissioner for Indus Water’s(PCIW) oQce, on condition ofanonymity, revealed that theincompetence of the team tasked withinternational water disputes, led byformer advisor to the premier on waterand agriculture resources and MsMehmood, caused the loss of Rs. 500million just in a single case of thecontroversial 330MW Kishangangahydropower project and proposed tocontact PCA over another projectWullar Barrage and Nimo Bazgo byIndian SideThe documents available with daily

“The Spokesman” revealed some very

suspicious facts about the oQcialcommunication between ministrywater and power, oQce of Indus watercommissioner and influential privatelimited companies NESPAK and TurkPark International regarding theappointment of controversialpersonality Ms. Shumaila Mehmood aslegal consultant over 330MWKishanganga and 450MW Bhagliarhydropower projects.It is well known that the former

government, whenever they decided tooblige their favorites, either jail matesof relatives, created a post of Advisor toPrime Minister, chairman or MD-shipwith lavish perks and privileges.However, the vibrant media disclosedthe number of such dubiousappointments and finally the apex

court took stern action against bothappointees and the authorities.Mr. Kamal Majeed Ullah and Ms

Shumaila Mehmood, very close topresidency, were the exceptional caseswho not only succeeded to survive tillthe eleventh hour of the natural demiseof former government on March 16,but one of them ,‘a lady’ using herbureaucratic influence, extended herjob contract for an indefinite period aslegal consultant.Kamal Majeed Ullah, former advisor

to prime minister, suddenlydisappeared from the scene after thenatural demise of the formergovernment, while ministry water andpower, without consultation with allstakeholders, appointed Ms Mehmoodagain on controversial water disputes

between India and Pakistan as legalconsultant on a hefty salary package,despite knowing the fact that suchnegligence and hiring of non-experienced team resulted in the loss ofBhagliar case in 2007 and partialaward of Kishanganga.The Pakistan Commissioner for

Indus Waters, Mirza Asif Baig, whowas the close associate of managingdirector NESPAK, Asad.I.A.Khan, andformer senior employee in water andpower administered private limitedcompany, played a pivotal role in theselection of the team, who will in futuredeal with one of the lost cases, Bhagliar,and another subjudice case inPermanent Court of Arbitration (PCA),Kishanganga, whose final award isexpected at end of this year.Ms Shumaila proclaimed herself in

the past as civil judge in lower judiciaryof Azad Jammu Kashmir and alsoclaimed services as a senior oQcer infederal ministry of law and justice,however, a senior oQcial of ministrylaw and justice, on condition ofanonymity, revealed that she was hiredin the ministry as consultant but hercontract was terminated because ofpoor performance.Another interesting fact is that after

the disappearance of former advisor toPremier Mr. Majeed Ullah, MsMehmood was obliged by alliesincluding MD NESPAK,Commissioner for Indus Waters andsome undercover bureaucrats inministry water and power to establish adubious oQce in the cabinet divisionbuilding with rge name “PakistanTrans-border Water Organization”,without bringing into the prior noticeof Prime Minister Secretariat andFinance Division, except a formalnotification of ministry water andpower.

‘Sasti Roti’ turns out to be very expensive

Indecent send-off for Nadeemul Haq

NESPAK: Story of incompetence

Taliban threateningSarabjit’s lawyer, says PHRCLAHORE: The Pakistan Human RightsCommission said that Sarabjit Singh'slawyer Awais Sheikh and his family havebeen receiving threatening letters andcalls from the Taliban. The commissionhas urged the Punjab chief minister toprovide security to Advocate Sheikh. Thepanel also said that a CID oMcial tried tokidnap Advocate Sheikh a day beforeSarabjit's death, when he hadaccompanied his family to Wagahborder to see them oN. Sarabjit Singh,49, was a death row convict at the KotLakhpat Jail in Lahore. On Friday last, agroup of other prisoners hit him on hishead with bricks. He was taken to theJinnah Hospital in Lahore in a comatosestate and was on ventilator support, tillhe died early on Thursday. �ONLINE

APML leader Dr Amjadbail plea dismissedRRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: The Anti-TerrorismCourt dismissed interim bail plea of AllPakistan Muslim League leader DrAmjad in lawyer violence case. ATCJudge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman tookup the case for hearing Saturday. Owingto no pursuance of interim bail plea byDr Amjad, the court dismissed it andordered for arresting Dr Amjad. Thecourt said neither Dr Amjad appearedbefore the court, nor did he send anycounsel. The Rawalpindi Civil LinesPolice said that Dr Amjad neitherattended the investigation process, nordid he appear before the court therefore,his bail application be dismissed. A casewas registered against him in the policestation under terrorism act for subjectingthe lawyers to violence. �ONLINE

‘JI will give surprise to bigparties on May 11’KKAARRAACCHHII:: Jamaat-e-Islami leaderMunawar Hasan has said that the bigparties will be surprised to see the resultsof the general elections, as the Jamaatwill win with majority. Talking tonewsmen at airport, the JI leader saidthere were several no go areas in the cityand holding of elections seems uncertain.He said that transparent elections wereonly possible in the presence of the army.He said if situation remains unchangedterrorists will be roaming freely onelections day also. Munawar said that thetransparent elections were only possiblein the presence of the army. �ONLINE

We will make Balochistanpeaceful: MengalBBEELLAA:: Balochistan National PartyChairman Sardar Akhtar Mengal has saidthat if voted to power his party wouldstrive to make the province peaceful andbring agricultural revolution. Addressinga public meeting at Bela Saturday, he saidthe decision to take part in the comingelections was to bring improvement inthe living standard of the people. “If wehad boycotted the polls then suNerings ofthe people would have been increased,” hesaid. He asked the people to take full partin the polling. �ONLINE

FIA prosecutor laid to restJJEEHHLLUUMM:: The funeral prayers of theFIA prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqarwere oNered in his native village KothaSawarian, here Saturday. People fromdiNerent walk of life participated infuneral prayers. Zulfiqar was gunneddown in Karachi Company on Friday,when he was on his way to attend theBenazir murder case in RawalpindiAnti Terrorism Court. �ONLINE

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

MMAARRDDAANN//BBUUNNEERR:: Pakistan Tehrik-e-InsafChairman Imran Khan has said that no one canstop victory of his party and young leaders willget big achievements despite the fact that thePTI has no big names.Addressing a public gathering in Mardan onSaturday, he urged people to vote his party forbetter future. He said that his party, if came intopower, would work selflessly for the welfare ofthe people and would address all their problems.He hoped the people would elect best andhonest representatives in the general elections.The PTI chairman said that time fortraditional politics has come to an end. He saidthat his party would make Pakistan self-reliantand sovereign if elected to power. He said thepeople especially youth were ready to bring achange in the country and no opportunist canbefool the people.Addressing a gathering in Buner, Imran Khansaid that eNorts were under way to win thegeneral election with the help of looted money.But he was confident that PTI’s passion andideology would defeat the status quo parties, hesaid. He called upon the people to shun outdatedfamily system and vote for ideology only.Explaining his party’s manifesto, Imran saidthat PTI would introduce a uniform educationsystem. Lashing out at rival parties, he said thatsome politicians plundered public money foryears and now eNorts were under way to win theelection with the help of looted money. He saidthat the Awami National Party couldn’t doanything for the betterment of the people whatelse they could do now.Criticizing Jamiat Ulem-i-Islam-F leaderFazlur Rahman, he said that maulana was anally of former president Pervez Musharraf, thenjoined President Asif Ali Zardari and sold outIslam for his own interest. Imran is scheduled to

address six rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. PTIwill culminate its daylong campaign inPeshawar. PTI leaders claim that preparationshave been finalised for the biggest gatherings tilldate. OnlineGGrraanndd rreecceeppttiioonn ffoorr IImmrraann:: All PakistanAnjuman-e-Tajiran General Secretary NaeemMir and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PunjabPresident Ejaz Chaudhary, addressing a jointpress conference in Lahore, have announcedthat traders would arrange a reception in thehonour of PTI Chairman Imran Khan onTuesday (May 7) which will be attended by alarge number of business community.PTI national campaign in-charge Asad Umerand Lahore president Aleem Khan will alsoattend the meeting. Ejaz said that as thefunction was being held in Shah Jamal, whichfalls in NA-122 where Imran Khan is contestingelection against PML-N candidate Ayyaz Sadiq,it is hoped that a large number of PTI workerswill attend the meeting.The PTI leader said that Imran Khan wouldspeak specially on economic revival of thecountry and PTI economic agenda. Naeem Mirsaid that it was demand of the traders that thePTI should announce its clear policy over theestablishment of small traders’ chambers. Hestated that under the Trade Organization Act2013 small chambers have been allowed but thecondition of Rs 2 million turnover formembership was also imposed which is not fair.He asked the PTI to annul this condition if itis victorious in elections. Besides, PTI shouldalso make promise of land, building and grantsprovision for small chambers, he urged. As nolocal bodies’ election was held during the lastfive years, the traders faced a number ofproblems, as they were given no representationin district governments at any level. �ONLINE

No one can stop our victory: Imran� PTI chairman says young leaders will get big achievements � Asks people to elect honest representatives in general election

SAEED MINHAS

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Following thecategorical statement from the Chiefof Army StaN a few days back, thefederal cabinet Saturday resolved notto seek extension in its tenure andhold elections on the scheduled datedespite shock and awe situationcreated by various terrorist acts.Caretaker Prime Minister MirHazar Khan Khoso set the tone of thefederal cabinet meeting on Saturdaywith a resounding words that“election will be held on May 11, whatmay come.” Army will be deployedand placed under districtadministration by May 6 while allother necessary arrangements havebeen made, the cabinet was informed. However, an ongoing controversybetween Election Commission ofPakistan and caretaker governmentover the responsibility of worseninglaw and order situation in the country,the federal cabinet passed the buck onintelligence agencies. The federalcabinet in unison has now asked overa dozen intelligence agencies of thecountry to deliver at the time of needwith utmost professionalism. Mr Khoso directed the IntelligenceAgencies to sharpen theirinformation-gathering techniques sothat the acts of terrorism could befoiled and precious lives can be saved.He reiterated government’s stance ofzero tolerance for acts of terrorism bytelling the cabinet colleagues thatgovernment would not compromise

on the issue of law and orderthroughout the country for holdingfree and fair elections in a secureenvironment. He said that each and everypatriotic citizen, irrespective of theirpolitical aMliation, realized that thecountry was passing through a criticalphase but the government assures thenation that with the help of AllahAlmighty, it would succeed, inovercoming all problems being facedby the people.The meeting chaired by caretakerPrime Minister Justice (retd) MirHazar Khan Khoso, took stock of theoverall law and order situation in thecountry. Briefing newsmen, Ministerfor Information and BroadcastingArif Nizami said the prime ministerreiterated that the caretakergovernment would not stay in power

even a day beyond its mandate.The Cabinet was given apresentation on law and ordersituation in a run-up to Election 2013.It was apprised that with the help ofprovincial governments and securityagencies, an elaborate securityapparatus had been moved and put inplace to ensure conduciveenvironment for holding electionsthroughout the country.The Cabinet was informed that thefederal and provincial governmentswere fully cognizant of the threatsemanating from detractors, who wereconstantly scheming to underminethe forthcoming elections, and weretaking stringent measures for theprotection of candidates and votersenabling the latter to exercise theirright of franchise.Nizami said the Cabinet wasinformed that basically police werethe main force along with “QaumiRazakars” and Special Police, whowould provide the securedenvironment during the electoralprocess. For the assistance of civiladministration, 70,000 troops werebeing deployed all over the country. He said the Army would completeits deployment plan by May 6 as localadministration and CropsHeadquarters were in constant touchand a detailed plan in this regard wasat an advance stage. The cabinet wasalso informed that the provinces hadprepared detailed contingency plansfor the elections, Nizami told mediapersons.

LLAAHHOORREE:: President PML-N Nawaz Sharifhas said steering country out of the darkness istop priority of his party. “Pulling the countryout of the darkness features atop the manifestoof PML-N and this is not merely an electionspledge”. He expressed these views whileaddressing the party workers here on Saturday. Nawaz said, “We have experts in all walks oflife and also have the brains capable of leadingthe country out of darkness and putting it onthe road to development within three years.”Talking about the outgoing Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) government, Nawaz claimed, ”Weare not empty handed like PPP whoseministers did nothing except plundering thenational exchequer.” He said that if voted topower, all and sundry would be provided withgas and electricity on reasonable tariNswithout observing loadshedding.PML-N understands well that overcoming6000 megawatt power shortage is not adiMcult job and this problem can be resolvedby introducing reforms in NEPRA, chief ofPML-N claimed. “After coming into power,PML-N would introduce hydropower, solarpower and biomass power projects and netmetering system for the small consumers.Supply of gas to power generation houses willbe ensured on regular basis in order to reducethe cost of production of electricity.”Nawaz further said that special concessionwould be given to poor consumers of Liquefied

Petroleum Gas (LPG) and CompressedNatural Gas (CNG). Mutual co-operation willbe forged between the federation andprovinces so that no province could facediscrimination as faced by Punjaba at thehands the former PPP government. Meanwhile addressing a public meeting inMandi Bahauddin, the PML-N chief said thatyouth was the force of PML-N. He urged theyouth to play their role in development of thecountry and vote his party. He promised thathis party would change the destiny of Pakistanif came into power. Nawaz said his party wouldreconstruct the country with youth’s support.He said the people of Mandi Bahauddin hadalways supported PML-N. Nawaz promisedthat his party would eliminate loadshedding,joblessness and other issues. Nawaz said it wasa pity that Pakistan had no respect in theworld despite being an atomic power.Nawaz said that in 1991 Pakistan wasprogressing fast under his government but amilitary dictator overthrew the electedgovernment and reversed the wheel ofprogress. “We will rebuild Pakistan with thehelp of youth and Pakistan will against be ontrack of progress,” he added.“If our government had been allowed tocontinue Pakistan would have been a diNerentcountry by now,” he said. Nawaz said he wasappealing for votes because he wanted to bringPakistan out of the crises it is facing. �ONLINE

FFoorrmmeerr pprriimmee mmiinniisstteerr NNaawwaazz SShhaarriiff aaddddrreessssiinngg aa ppuubblliicc mmeeeettiinngg iinn MMaannddii BBaahhaauuddddiinn.. ——OONNLLIINNEE

PML-N to pull Pakistanout of darkness: Nawaz

LLAAHHOORREE:: Former Supreme CourtBar Association (SCBA) presidentBarrister Aitzaz Ahsan has said thatthe PML-N has fully retreated fromthe courts.Talking to media outside LahoreHigh Court Saturday, he said “Weappeared before the court inadvertisement case related toconversation between ShahbazSharif and Justice (Retd) AbdulQayyum and gave detailed andcogent arguments. We inquired asto why the case was heard all of asudden. What magic lies withShahbaz Sharif that decision istaken immediately to hear his caseand stay order is issued onadvertisement. We had broughttapes of the conversation in thecourt. But counsel for Sharifbrothers said before presentation ofthese tapes by us that they arewithdrawing the case”, he added.These tapes had come into public12 years before and as to why anyobjection was not raised then overthem nor they had denied thesetapes, he stated. He went on to sayelection commission had no powersto stop screening of thisadvertisement. Nawaz League hasfully retreated from the courts.Shahbaz Sharif ’s eligibility can bechallenged in Asghar Khan case.“In NRO cases our prime ministeris sacked immediately and second issummoned forthwith but nothing isdone with those found involved inAsghar Khan case despite the factthat it is order of the Supreme Court

that the money involved berecovered. We want all decisionsshould be based on facts”, heunderscored. Courts are giving reliefto PML-N, he added.PPP leader Latif Khosa said thepetition filed in Lahore High Courtshould not have been admitted aslegal formalities had not been mettherein. Compliance was securedfrom election commission in thedarkness of night. There areseparate laws for Sharif brothersand PPP, he alleged. Eaerlier the LHC disposed of apetition filed by Shahbaz Sharifagainst screening of anadvertisement after it waswithdrawn by the counsel of formerPunjab chief minister.The court also withdraw theinterim order for preventing displayof this advertisement. A 3-memberbench of LHC took up the petitionfor hearing. PPPP secretary generalLatif Khosa and Barrister AitzazAhsan appeared in the court. Bothof them opposed the interim ordergranted by the court for preventingthe screening of the advertisement.They argued Supreme Court (SC)had already accepted this telephonicconversation as evidence and therewas no harm in making it public norany legal bar had been imposed on it.They argued that the issue ofreceiving of money by Sharif brothersfrom ISI had also been mentioned inSC decision in Asghar Khan case andin this perspective proceedings couldbe initiated against them. �ONLINE

Shahbaz withdraws petition against TV ad

Aitzaz objects to courtrelief for PML-N � Separate laws for Sharif brothers and PPP: Khosa

MONITORING DESK

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Pakistan Tehrik-e-InsafChairman Imran Khan has finally comedown to the level of mortals by wearing abullet proof jacket. He admitted this in aninterview with The Telegraph, saying it wasthe first time he was doing that."I have today, on the insistence of myteam," he is quoted as saying. "They thinkthat because our graph is rising so rapidlythe danger grows per day." The threat hasbeen enough for other parties to scale backappearances of key leaders. Imran said hehad been told his name was on a list of thetop five targets and as we head for the nextrally our convoy is flanked by police cars.His former wife Jemima and two sons,who live in the UK, have told him of theiranxiety but he remains one of the fewleaders to address crowds without a bullet-proof screen. "Benazir Bhutto was not hit bythe Taliban. Benazir was clearly killed bypeople worried she was going to come intopower,” he said.The newspaper says that Imran’s rhetoric,at least in private, has softened; his face –always craggy – shows the lines of apunishing campaign; and for the first timehis loose, white shalwaar kameez shows upthe ridges of a bullet-proof vest.

Imran wearsbullet-proofarmour – 1st time

Altaf feels no freedomfor progressive partiesSSUUKKKKUURR:: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chiefAltaf Hussain has said that his party wantsPakistan to progress and develop according tothe vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad AliJinnah and Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal.Addressing a election meeting in RailwayGround via telephone, he said that the liberal,democratic and progressive political parties inBalochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwadid not have freedom to run their electioncampaign while conservative parties supportingTaliban have complete freedom to hold electionmeetings and rallies. He asked if such electionscould be called free, fair and transparent. Altafsaid that a conspiracy was being hatched tobring the conservative parties and avowedsupporters of Taliban in power. �ONLINE

PPP to watch violationsof ECP code of conductIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Pakistan People’s PartyParliamentarians has set up Central ElectionMonitoring Cell to watch violations of code ofcode issued by the Election Commission ofPakistan during electioneering.First meeting of the Monitoring Cell was heldunder PPP General Secretary Latif Khosa, whoheads the cell. The participants expressed graveconcern over the negative statements comingfrom leadership and leaders of diNerent politicalparties including PML-N, PTI against thePeople’s Party leadership and demanded of ECPto take notice of these statements. The meetingdemanded of ECP to ensure that electoral codeof conduct is adhered to by all these leaders asthese statements may disrupt law and ordersituation. �ONLINE

No one is above law, saysMarium NawazLLAAHHOORREE:: Pakistan Muslim League-N leaderMarium Nawaz Saturday said that nobody isabove the law that’s why she appeared before alocal court to explain her position as well as arecent PMLN rally in Lahore. Talking to media,she said that she did not take out the rallywithout permission, adding the PMLN had amajor role in formulating election code ofconduct. “When there are mobs around you, youjust cannot ask them to disperse and a rally formsby itself.” She told media outside the EC oMcethat NA 120 was a stronghold of her party andwherever she goes, she was surrounded by hersupporters. She said that she did not take outthe rally without permission, adding the PML-N had a major role in formulating electioncode of conduct.�ONLINE

PML-N tacitly supportingPTI in TharparkerTTHHAARRPPAARRKKAARR:: Apparently, archrivalsPakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and the PakistanMuslim League-N have joined hands ‘quietly’with other key parties against the PakistanPeople’s Party candidate in district Tharparkarof Sindh. As per private TV channel,Tharparkar is portraying a very strangepolitical picture in comparison to other areas,where all key political parties are supportingor not contesting against PTI’s senior leaderShah Mehmood Qureshi. The PML-N, thebiggest rival being painted by the PTI, has alsonot fielded its candidate against ShahMehmood Qureshi in constituency NA-230.Arbab Rahim, a key leader of the area, hasalso withdrawn its candidate Dr GhulamHiader Samejo, in favour of Qureshi. �ONLINE

PPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: SSiisstteerrss ooff IImmrraann KKhhaann rruunnnniinngg tthhee ccaammppaaiiggnn ooff PPaakkiissttaann TTaahhrriikk--ee--IInnssaaff.. ——OONNLLIINNEE

Caretakers asks agenciesto act in ‘need of hour’� Khoso says election on time, come what may

MMiirr HHaazzaarr KKhhaann KKhhoossoo

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: To overcome theinfrastructure limitation, SkiFederation of Pakistan (SFP) with thefull support of Pakistan Air Force haslaunched the Naltar DevelopmentProject which also includesinstallation of a chairlift.Stone laying ceremony for the

installation of chairlift was held atNaltar, Gilgit Baltistan. Vice Chief ofthe Air StaS Air Marshal FarhatHussain Khan, also president of SkiFederation of Pakistan, was the chiefguest on the occasion.After the ground breaking

ceremony, the president of SkiFederation of Pakistan declared theproject as of strategic importance fordevelopment and promotion of skiingin the country. Talking on the occasionhe said that the completion of projectbesides providing internationalstandard ski facility would become asource of socio-economic uplift of thearea by attracting national andinternational tourism.He said that Pakistan Air Force

would continue to support theFederation to promote ski sport in thecountry. On the occasion heappreciated the members of the teamworking on the project and

highlighted the support of the ChiefMinister Gilgit Baltistan which is ofvital importance for successfulcompletion of the project. He alsoappreciated the help of Pak ArmyUnits located in the area.

Air Commodore Mussarat Ali, thesecretary general of SFP, briefed theaudience present on the occasionabout the salient features of theChairlift Project. He said that theproject includes extension of existingski slope from 600 to 1500 metres andinstallation of chairlift which has beenprovided on gratis basis by TéléVillars-Gryon, a ski resort inSwitzerland. Installation of chairliftwould increase the capacity of theslope from existing 60 to 500 skiersper hour thus providing world class skifacility to hundreds of keen athletes. He further said that after the

completion of the Project training

camps would be arranged at Naltarunder the supervision of InternationalSki Federation (FIS) qualified foreigncoaches and internationalcompetitions would be organized incollaboration with the FIS.Pakistan Air Force is making extra

eSorts for uplift of the area in terms ofenhancing education of local children.PAF School at Naltar oSers freeeducation, computer lab andequipment for conducting Skitraining. It is worth mentioning thatalmost all Ski athletes working inGovt/Semi Govt/ privateorganizations have been trained byPAF Base Naltar.

Gilgit-Baltistan – Naltar to get chairlift

TAHIR ALI

CCHHAAKKDDAARRAA:: Winning the upcominggeneral elections is an absolute mustfor the survival of Jamaat Islami (JI)in NA-34 Lower Dir. If JI fails in DirLower, its stronghold, it will meanthat the party is no longer the mostpopular party in the area.In previous elections, tough contests

were witnessed between JI and PPPbut this time the scenario has changedcompletely. Due to the poor PPPperformance, the party is almost out ofthe contest. The JUI-F has gainedsome momentum while Tehrik-e-Insaf(PTI) has emerged a new political forcein Lower Dir. The real competition isexpected between JI and JUI-F.The scenic Lower Dir is located in

the heart of Malakand division; ittouches Dir upper, Swat, MalakandAgency and the Agency of Bajaur.

According to a survey the totalpopulation of Dir Lower is 717649and the numbers of registered votersare 4, 90968. There are 2, 90,968male voters while the women votersare 1, 99,074.At the moment dozens of

candidates are going to contest theupcoming elections but theprominent leaders are; Malak AzmatKhan (PPP), Qazi Fazlullah (JUI-F),Fazlullah – JUI (F), SahibzadaMuhammad Yaqoob (JI),Muhammad Bashir Khan (PTI) andHaji Muhammad Umar ofSherpao party.Throughout the history JI remained

the most popular party in Lower Dir.In past former JI Amir Qazi HussainAhmad and other JI-backedcandidates had won from NA-34.Whenever JI boycotted the elections itgave opportunities to PPP and ANP to

send their candidate to assemblies.This time the positions of PPP andANP are weak in NA-34 but JUI-F isgoing to give tough time to JI. In 2008 general elections PPP easily

won the seat, as the arch rival JI hasboycotted the polls. Malak AzmatKhan won the elections without anystruggle; later he was made stateminister for Inter-provincialCoordination. Malak Azmat Khanignored his area; hardly was he seenin his constituency during thegovernment of PPP. Neither he cameto his people during the militaryoperation in 2009 nor was he seenwhen a flood hit the area in 2010. Asthe assemblies were dissolved MalakAzmat Khan returned to hishometown Ouch Chakdara but therewas no one to welcome him. Despitethe protest of local supporters, theparty once again awarded ticket to

Malak Azmat. Under thesecircumstances the annoyed PPPworkers are secretly going to vote JUI-F’s candidate. The position of ANP’s candidate

Muhammad Azam Khan is also weak.His election campaigners are veryslow; hardly his posters and bannersare seen in tehsil Chakdara which isone of the populated areas in NA-34.There is also a refit amongst the localleadership of ANP. Abdur RehmanKhan who is one of the senior leadersof the party in Lower Dir has fieldedhis son as independent candidateagainst Muhammad Azam Khan.Another former ANP ideological ex-MPA Bahadur Khan has parted waysfrom the party; he is contesting thegeneral election as an independentcandidate from one of the fourprovincial seats in Lower Dir.According to sources, Bahadar Khan

has told his supporter to cast thenational assembly vote to anycandidate apart from ANP—their firstchoice would be Qazi Fazlullah. In Dirthe ANP workers consider the JI astheir arch rival; both have antagonisticviews about each others. For years theJUI-F and ANP had remained in goodrelations. The disgruntled ANPworkers would probably vote JUI-F.PTI is an emerging party in Lower

Dir; the party has got a goodpopularity among the youth in theregion but PTI doesn’t have anyheavyweight in its side so far.Muhammad Bashir Khan isrepresenting PTI in Lower Dir who isa new face. It was shocking news forPTI supporters when JI and PTIstarted talks forming a front duringthe elections but ‘luckily’ the talksfailed. In seat to seat adjustment thePTI would have to support JI in

Lower Dir due to the latter’s strongposition in the area. PTI aRliatedyouth don’t like the rigid JI and theywere favoring to go for the electionswith their own candidate. Now thePTI workers are enthusiasticallyrunning their campaign—withoutlooking into the result. Nusrat Begum, wife of Karim Khan,

is the first woman in Lower Dir tocontest the elections. She claims to bethe vice president of PTI but is goingto contest the elections as anindependent after the party did notallot a ticket to her. She is one of thefemales contesting elections who areinterested in ‘cheap popularity’. Shehas zero percent chances to win.The elections are getting closer and

all the parties have steam up theirelectioneering. Although situationseem favorable for JI in NA-34 butJUI-F can make an upset.

Grabbing NA-34 Lower Dir a must for JI’s political survival

BBAAJJAAUURRAAGGEENNCCYY:: FFiirrsstt eevveerr wwoommeenn ccaannddiiddaattee ffrroomm ttrriibbaall aarreeaass NNAA--4444 BBaajjaauurr AAggeennccyy BBaaddaamm ZZaarrii iiss ccaammppaaiiggnniinngg vviiggoorroouussllyy.. –ONLINE

OUR STAFF REPORTER

MMIIRRPPUURR ((AAJJKK)):: Diverse segmentsof local civil society has emphasisedthe need of filling in the vacant postof the vice-chancellor of the onlyprofessional state-run MirpurUniversity of Science andTechnology (MUST) purely onmerit free of any political influence.The civil society members

expressed of the necessity afterthe authorities recently invitedapplications, through media, onopen merit for filling in thevacant position of the vice-chancellor of the MUST.When contacted, retired chief

justice of AJK High Court Justice(r) Abdul Majeed Mallick said thecredibility of the public-sectorhigher professional educationalinstitution – the MUST, couldfurther boost after the appointmentof any absolutely seasonedacademician to the top-slot of vice-chancellor purely on merit, withoutany fear or favour and withouthaving any political influence fromthe ruling elite.Talking to this scribe, the

seasoned jurist said it has becomeimperative for the authorities toonly focus for improving the qualityof education harmonious to theneed of the modern age throughinduction of the seasonedacademicians in the public-sectorinstitutions purely on merit insteadof focusing to accommodate thefavourites in the jobs. President ofhis faction of Mirpur TradersOrganization (Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran) and leader of theunder-design Mirpur Citizens FrontSohail Shuja Mujahid said that it

was appreciable that the oRce ofthe AJK president, who also holdsthe oRce of chancellor of MUST,has invited applications throughmedia from the suitable candidatesfor filling in the post of Vice-chancellor which is lying vacantsince past many months.“The induction of an absolutely

eligible educationist to the post onmerit would, indeed, end the waveof controversy which the peoplehere have established in their mindsabout the MUST university runningby the AJK government”, Mujahidsaid in an interview to this scribehere on Thursday. The top academic slot of Vice-

chancellor of the MUST is lyingvacant since past many monthsafter the AJK High Court on a writpetition had removed former VCProf Naib Hussain Chaudhry fromthe oRce following his ineligibilitydue to less educational qualificationfor the oRce. Since after theremoval of Prof. Naib Hussain from the oRce on

the orders of the AJK High Court,seasoned academician of MUSTand dean of Electrical EngineeringDepartment Dr MuhammadSarwar is presently performing asacting vice-chancellor of the MUST.It may be recalled that the

Mirpur University of Science andTechnology was established bythe AJK government in 2009 byits founding vice-chancellor andseasoned educationist Prof DrHabib-ur-Rehman (Sitara-e-Imtiaz) – who also held the officeof the vice-chancellor of thestate-run AJK University. DrRehman held the office for fouryears and six months.

Mirpurvarsity to getnew VC soon�Civil society for induction tothe top academic slot purely on merit

RRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: The eldersof Mohmand tribe residingin Rawalpindi havepledged to support ZarKhan Safi, PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) candidate forNA-36 Mohmand Agency,in the upcoming elections.Zar Khan Safi on

Saturday visited Rawalpindiand hold meetings withdiSerent elders at Chakri,Fauji Colony, Habib Colony,Dhook Elahi Bakhsh,Sadiqabad and Pendora.Malak Nabi Sheikh, HajiMandal Khan, Haji RasoolShah, Mustafa Khan, HajiZila Khan, Haji LayaqKhan, Haji Latif Khan andMalik Mehrban Safi alongwith their fellow tribesmenannounced to support ZarKhan Safi duringthe elections. During his meetings with

the elders, Zar Khan Safisaid that he would solve allthe problems of Mohmandtribesmen if PML-N cameto power. He asked thetribesmen to vote for PML-N during the upcomingelections, as the party isserving the country in truesense.In Mohmand Agency,there are total 1, 79,304registered voters, in which60,045 of females and 1,19,304 are males. Fortycandidates are going tocontest elections for NA-36Mohmand. –STAFF REPORT

MONITORING DESK

KKAARRAACCHHII:: Wearing life jackets andbobbing on the gentle waves of theArabian Sea, supporters of a candidatein Pakistan's upcoming nationwideelection held a waterborne rally tohighlight the challenges faced by theirembattled fishing community.Backers of independent political

candidate Haji Usman Ghani took tothe water on Friday on a flotilla offishing boats. He is contesting May 11elections for the Sindh provincialassembly from a constituency near thesouthern port of Karachi, Pakistan'slargest city, and many of hisprospective voters work in the fishingindustry on the nearby coast.Dozens of boats filled with his

supporters left the harbor and went intothe Arabian Sea with flags flying.Supporters did not let their cumbersome

life jackets get in the way of the festiveatmosphere, and danced and chantedslogans to show their support for Ghani.But the candidate had a serious message.

Ghani, who's been a social activist in thearea for years, promised to improve theeducation system and provide cleandrinking water to his constituency if hegets elected."Our children don't get an education. We

were forced to use contaminatedwater...There are no teachers in schoolsand colleges of the area. That is why I had

to come forward and contest elections toget our problems solved. We supportedand followed others for long, but no more.We will solve our problems ourselves,"Ghani said.Many people who took one of the

roughly 50 boats taking part in the flotillacomplained that the government hasdone little to help thefishing community.Fishermen are often caught up in a tit-

for-tat war on the water with Indianauthorities who arrest them after theyallegedly cross into Indian territory. Thefishermen in both countries often languishin jail for months. According to membersof the fishing community around 170Pakistani fishermen are currently beingheld in India."The government has done nothing for

the industry and the fishermen," AliMohammad, a supporter of Ghani.It's unclear whether Ghani has much of a

chance of winning the seat, which iscurrently held by a member of the PakistanPeople's Party. The PPP is one of Pakistan'sstrongest political parties. It was the largest party in the ruling

coalition of the previous nationalgovernment and controls the provincialassembly as well.The May 11 vote will mark the first time

that a democratically elected civiliangovernment has finished a full term andhanded over power to another suchgovernment in Pakistan.

Polls in Karachi

Fishermenhold rally at sea

AATTTTOOCCKK:: AAtt wwoorrkk iinnssttaadd sscchhooooll.. —ONLINE

PML-N getstribal elders’support

Tribal leader shotdead in Khyber AgencyKKHHYYBBEERR AAGGEENNCCYY:: Unidentifiedgunmen stormed the house of triballeader Haider Khan and opened firethat killed him on the spot, mediareports said on Saturday. Accordingto oRcial sources, unidentifiedattackers ambushed the house ofHaider Khan and shot him dead inTehsil Bara Sanober area of KhyberAgency. After killing the triballeader, culprits fled from the scene,sources added. —ONLINE

Political parties avoidingcampaign in tribal areasPPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: Due to inherentdangers of terrorism, volatile natureof region, majority of politicalparties have regretted, canvassing,holding rallies in tribal areas. Hencedespite one week being left for fastapproaching general elections, nomajor political party has visited orheld, addressed any public rally inthese tribal areas; leaving an openfield for independent candidates tomake all hay while sun shines.Implementation of political act intribal belt is another reason, thatpolitical parties are avoiding theregion for their activities, whileeven PPP is lying low with a rathersurprisingly quiet and discreetprofile. Even the former renownedPPP candidate and formerProvincial minister Sher Azam isalso contesting the elections in anindependent capacity. ANP, JI, PTI,JUI-F and PML-N are all avoidingtribal belt, over the scare. —ONLINE

Prof of Shah Abdul LatifUniversity gunned downKKHHAAIIRRPPUURR:: Unidentified armedassailants shot dead the professor ofShah Abdul Latif University onSaturday. Some unidentified armedcriminals stormed into the house ofthe Professor Lutaf Ullah Philhato inuniversity staS colony and openedunprovoked firing on him resultantlyhe died on the spot. The criminalsfled away from the scene successfully.Upon receiving information, Policereached on the site and shifted thedead body to hospital for autopsy.After completing medico legalformalities it was handed over to hisheirs. Police registered the case andstarted thorough investigation andafter this sad incident, Shah AbdulLatif University was closed down. Itmerits mentioning here that ProfLutaf Ullah was the Dean of Arts andCommerce in Shah Abdul LatifUniversity. —ONLINE

Road accident claimstwo lives in DG KhanDDEERRAA GGHHAAZZII KKHHAANN:: Two peoplewere killed and 21 others woundedon Saturday when a passenger coachsuSered a head-on collision with atrailer in Dera Ghazi Khan, policesaid on Saturday. The accident tookplace near Pir Adil area on IndusHighway in DG Khan. Rescue teamsreached the scene and shifted theinjured to District HeadquarterHospital. Medics say that two ofthose injured in the crash were incritical condition. —ONLINE

Agri sector grew by 3.35percent in 2012-13IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Agriculture sector inthe country grew at the rate of 3.35percent during 2012-13 whileindustrial sector showed a positivegrowth of 3.49 percent during thesame period. It was stated by Pakistanbureau of statistics after 93rd meetingof National accounts committee washeld to review and approve the finalestimates of National Accounts for theyear 2010-11 the accounts for 2011-12and provisional accounts for 2012-13.According to the data of Pakistanbureau of statistics, service sector ofthe country registered a growth of 3.71percent. –ONLINE

� Event held in support of an independent candidate

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

THE SPOKESMANChief Editor: Huma Ali

Executive Editor: Atif MateenResident Editor: Saeed Minhas

Consulting Editors: Jalees Hazir Samina Choonara

The third world intellectual today

If you look at the list of subjects onoVer at the ancient university thatexisted in Taxila, you’d find a coursetitled Holy Tradition and SecularLaw taught in 700 BC. The syllabushad been in development evenearlier. Other interesting courses arealso listed in the same century. Logicis one of them. So is the AtomicTheory of Creation. Astronomy andMilitary Sciences are also there.Afterwards till the 5th century AD,invaders and conquerors keptchanging the syllabus and theinstruction. The university met itsruin in the 5th century AD after thearrival of the Huns.The Western Enlightenment began

in the 17th century AD. Before theEnlightenment, everyone couldcontribute to the global reservoir ofhuman knowledge and there was nosuch thing as civilisational or racialhubris justified by the use of scientificvocabulary. Racism was nurturedduring the Enlightenment by thebelief that scientific rationality wassomehow a European idea. Later on,this belief spread to the colonies,including the ones in the Americancontinent. To this day, the legacy ofusing science and rationality tojustify racism continues in one formor the other. The idea that someonewho is not scientific or secular can beoppressed, harmed, or killed is a giftof the Western Enlightenment.It was to eliminate this legacy of

racism that the United Nationsadopted the “InternationalConvention on the Elimination of AllForms of Racial Discrimination” in1969. The Convention takes one ofthe following positions: ‘Any doctrineof superiority based on racialdiVerentiation is scientifically false,morally condemnable, socially unjustand dangerous, and that there is nojustification for racial discrimination,in theory or in practice, anywhere’.The fact that this had to be said in

the later half of the 20th century by aglobal institution and many stateshad to ratify it, speaks volumes aboutthe state of the world after threecenturies of the so-calledEnlightenment. Wasn’t this supposedto be common sense after centuriesof scientific development? The brain

has nothing to do with the presenceof melanin in the epidermis. How didit come to this? How can violence belegitimated through the uses ofrational inquiry?To answer this question we have to

look at the institutions developed inthe West. After centuries ofinternecine war, the State emerged asan alternative to informal violence.Taxation, as a means of wealthredistribution, replaced raiding therich and the powerful. In otherwords, the State became the onlylegitimate source of violence. TheWest became a statist civilisation. Formany Western philosophers, such asHegel, the State was the most matureform through which the world spiritcould realise itself. It representedfreedom from informal oppression.The State was imagined as the mostlegitimate institution for all societies:within the West as well as the

colonies. The pre-State societiesrepresented whimsical, natural,oppression: war of all against all. Butthe State was not, has never been,and still is not the logical end ofmany forms of social collectives. It isonly imagined to be.The family, tribal collectives and

nomadic groups are pre-industrialnon-State formations. Themultinational corporations and theInternet are two post-Industrialsupra-State iterations. Many of thesepre-industrial and post-industrialcollectives compete with the State forthe allegiance of the individual or thecitizen. In Pakistan, the family as aninstitution continues to be morepowerful than the State. Almost allmajor political parties are familialformations that seek to take over theState. These are ways of coping withthe State’s capacity to inflict violence

through formal means. Informalpower (the family) still seeks tocontrol the sources of formal power.These are ways to not let power gobeyond the control of society, acollection of ordinary individuals.Pure institutional violence is still

terrifying for this society. This pointis verifiable by casual observations.Ordinary people, when stopped by apoliceman, who is a representative ofthe State, ask him questions abouthis place of origin, his family, and ifhe knows this or that friend of theirs.The threat of formal violence is thusbrought to the realm of the familiar,the family, the clan, the village, theneighborhood, and the immediatesocial network. This negotiation isvisible in all those societies where theState, a wielder of formal violenceand an extractor of resources, wascreated by remote powers, especiallyfrom another civilisation.

The figure of the third worldintellectual exists at the juncture ofall these competing historical forces.The Internet transports theintellectual beyond what the familyand the postcolonial State have tooVer. The multinational publisher,like other multinationals, is alreadychallenging the borders of the Stateby acquiring and capitalising on theintellectual capital of many societies.He or she speaks to those who areinterested in mostly profitableknowledge products from anycivilisation and attempts to orclaims to represent those who areterrified by the idea of remotelyadministered violence and sociallyalien forms of power.Some Native American tribes had

developed elaborate rituals to makethe user of words, who was alsousually the chief, feel empty and

powerless daily so that heremembered that he was nothingwithout his society; a practicedeveloped in stateless societies, likemany other practices andinstitutions, to not let political powerbecome remote from society. Thechief had to deliver a daily speechthat nobody heeded to. It was theinstitution that emptied the words ofthe chief of their power.‘There is no gathering around the

chief when he speaks, no hush falls,everybody goes about their businessas if nothing was happening. Theword of the chief is not spoken inorder to be listened to’, records PierreClastres in his book “Society Againstthe State”. The so-called primitivesocieties are aware of the power ofwords and ideas and they don’tinternalise and promote those ideasthat can take political power awayfrom their immediate vicinity.The third world intellectual only

gets the attention of his or her peoplewhen he or she brings power back tothem. This is the source of GabrielGarcia Marquez’s appeal because hischaracters are stubbornly idealisticand exist in the enchanted world,which is free of bureaucracy andscientific rationality. It is toemphasise this point that JoséArcadio Buendía tells the magistratewho has come to Macondo: ‘in thistown we do not give orders withpieces of paper’.It is the same people-friendly

knowledge which makes MadhoLalHusain and Bulleh Shah popular.Even Marxist third worldintellectuals have not been able togarner the same kind of love that theSufi poets command. It is becausethe people still have not figured outthe distinction between thecapitalist State and the CommunistState. All forms of bureaucracy andformal violence still terrorise thecolonised societies and, from theperspective of the colonised people,they are expressions of remote,alienated and alienating, power. Thethird world intellectual in the 21stcentury needs to acknowledge thisdistrust of the State before he or shecan become relevant.

SAEED UR REHMAN HAS A PHD IN

POSTCOLONIAL CRITICAL THEORY

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

Fax: 051 260 7498www.thespokesman.pkce@thespokesman.pk

To this day, the legacy of using scienceand rationality to justify racism continuesin one form or the other. The idea thatsomeone who is not scientific or secularcan be oppressed, harmed, or killed is agift of the Western Enlightenment

Fair and lovely literature

It was a pleasure to readMr Saeed urRehman’s take on the mela of literaryfestivals culminating in the IslamabadLiterary Festival. I’m so glad thatsomeone exposed these elitistgatherings for what they essentially are

- devoid of any real understanding andappreciation of our land and itsliterature and pandering to theirmaster’s voice.Aren’t they ashamed of themselves,

these slaves of the empire; thesegroveling, sniveling so-called writersand intellectuals playing to thewestern gallery, painting ourbeautiful land and loving people inugly hues that their masters order.These intellectuals without integritywho are willing to sway where thewind blows and mould their opinionsto suit the agendas of their colonialmasters; it is them who will givethem the awards and writingcontracts that they hanker after.Yet the entire media machinery

seems to be hypnotised by this brigadeof sold-out writers and intellectualswho have no love for the land they liveon and the people they live amidst.Each and every write-up in thenewspapers and coverage on varioustelevision channels glorified the event,

failing in their responsibility to take acritical view of such events from theperspective of the people. It seemedthat the mediamen were oVeringqaseedas. I congratulate TheSpokesman for tearing apart thecobwebs of deception and getting tothe heart of the matter.Mr Saeed ur Rehman’s well-written

article was a pleasure to read indeed.

JAMSHED ARSHAD

ISLAMABAD

‘Civil society” and‘civilised society’For nearly a century after 1850, thelanguage of civil society virtuallydisappeared from intellectual andpolitical life, and two decades ago theterm itself remained strange soundingand unfashionable or was greeted insome circles by cynicism. Since then,the term Civil Society has become inthe human sciences, a key phrase often

used by politicians, journalists,charitable foundations, human rightsorganisations, and citizens.The renaissance of interest in civil

society draws straight from itsEuropean roots, which are traceable tothe late eighteenth and earlynineteenth century development of thedistinction between civil society andthe State. This is the sense in which itis still understood today. It is a termthat both describes and anticipates acomplex and dynamic ensemble oflegally protected non-governmentalinstitutions, self organising, self-reflexive and permanently in tension,both with each other and the Stateinstitutions, that constrict, frame andenable their activities.During the revolutionary period

1750 to 1850, the traditional languageof civil society, which was until thenreferred to as a peaceful political ordergoverned by laws, underwent aprofound transformation. Contractedwith the government, civil society

meant a realm of social life, marketexchanges, charitable groups, clubs,and voluntary organisations,independent churches and publishinghouses and institutions operated fromterritorial State institutions.In the contemporary period, the

term is used in many fields of researchto totalitarian regimes. It has featuredin most political eVorts to push back oroverthrow dictatorships. It is alsoapplied to restructuring of welfarestate, economic growth and socialdevelopmental movements.On the other hand, the concept of a

civilised society reflects a highlydeveloped culture and society;showing evidence of moral andintellectual advancement, humane andethical. One that is marked byrefinement in taste, andmanners,cultured and polished. It also meanspolite, well-bred and refined, educatedand sophisticated. Taxes are what wepay to be in a civilised society.In conclusion the Civil Society and

the Civilized Society, are diVerentthings, poles apart from each other.

JAVAID BASHIR

LAHORE

NA-36 Momand Agency, alook into FATA electioncampaigns

Awell-analysed report, of course. Keepit up, Fakhar sahb.

UMAR SHAH

Nice Fakhar Kakakhel sahb, I alwaysfollow your writings and love yourthoughts. Great analytic report.

SHEHRYAR

Please email your letters toletters@thespokesman.pk or postthem to our address in Islamabad.

SAEED UR REHMAN

The Balochistan National Party (Mengal) unveiled its electionmanifesto on Friday. Speaking at a press conference, BNP-Msenior vice-president Dr Jahanzaib Jamaldini said his partywanted to end the province’s political and economic confrontationwith the centre in order to solve problems faced by its people. Hesaid if voted to power the BNP-M would give the control ofnatural resources of Balochistan to the people of the province. Ofcourse, people of Balochistan have the first right over the mineralsand natural resources of Balochistan, and a major part of theincome from these assets should be spent on the welfare of thepeople of Balochistan. The BNP-M has shown a progressiveattitude by deciding to participate in the elections and the party isfinding ways to work within the federation for the resolution ofBaloch grievances. Lately, the party leadership has receivedthreats from the separatist militants and it is the responsibility ofthe caretaker government to protect him.After the brother, son and nephew of PML-N provincial

President Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri were killed in an attack,the situation in Balochistan has become more complex. SardarSanaullah Zehri has nominated Mir Amanullah Khan Zargzai,his six sons, veteran nationalist leaders Nawab Khair BukhshMarri, Sardar Ataullah Mengal and his sons Sardar AkhtarMengal and Javed Mengal in the FIR. PML-N leaders have beentrying to woo Sardar Akhtar Mengal on the one hand andShahzain and Talal Bugti on the other with a view to building asupport base in Balochistan. The situation has become morecomplicated after the attack on Zehris as tribal feuds thatcontinue for decades and even centuries threaten alliancebuilding with a national party. To make things worse, PML-N’sBalochistan Chief Sanaullah Zehri’s electoral alliance with ISI-backed Shafiq Mengal group has brought Mian Nawaz Sharifdirectly in partnership with the intelligence agencies. PML-Nwas formed during the Zia era and had the support of the GHQand the ISI all along. It was only when his government wasoverthrown by General Pervez Musharraf that he became a bittercritic of the establishment. Mian Nawaz Sharif does not mind apolitical role of the agencies as long as they are on his side.ShafiqMengal is accused of running the BalochMussalah Difah

Tanzim (BMDF) supported by the ISI to counter separatist militantorganisations. Akhtar Mengal is concerned about the threat fromthe new alliance between political parties and the establishment-backed group, and has hinted that if his party does not get alevel-playing field, he may decide to boycott the elections. People ofBalochistan have suVered when dissidents took to the mountains,and also when they were ruled by pro-federation sardars, as bothwanted to keep the commoners in servility, exacting obediencefrom them with the help of their gunmen and dreadful private jails.Sardar Attaullah Mengal and Sardar Akhtar Mengal are pro-peopleand have expressed their faith in the federation. Therefore all outeVorts should be made to support them and provide a level playingfield to them. PrimeMinister Mir Hazar Khan Khosa should usehis influence to end the feud between Akhtar Mengal andSanaullah Zehri to avert bloodshed in Balochistan.

Don’t let BNP-M down

In its latest economic forecast, the InternationalMonetary Fund has predicted that the euro zonearea as awhole will contract by 0.3 percent thisyear, with France joining Italy and Spain as thethreemajor economies in recession. Thecontraction itself is significant, but the fact that ittakes place some five years after the onset of thefinancial crisis points to the underlying processesthat produced it. The European economy iscaught in a deepening downward spiral.Spain nowhas aDepression-level

unemployment rate of 27 percent, with youthunemployment at 57 percent.More than sixmillion Spanishworkers are unemployed. InFrance the total number of job seekers who hadnot worked at all in the previousmonth rose to arecord 3.2million. Across the EuropeanUnion26million people, representing 12 percent of theworkforce, are unemployed.In Britain, economic growth in the last quarter

was just 0.3 percent.While this prompted a sighof relief in oUcial circles because Britain hadescaped a "triple dip" recession, the fact remainsthat the British economy is still 2.6 percentsmaller thanwhen the crisis began.Britain has experienced its deepest andmost

prolonged fall in gross domestic product in acentury. In comparison, at the same stage - some51months into the crisis - economic growth hadbegun to recover during theGreatDepression,the downturn in the 1970s and the recession ofthe early 1990s.

What ismore, the European economic outlookis worsening. In a speech delivered last week,InternationalMonetary Fund deputymanagingdirectorDavid Liptonwarned that Europe facedthe risk of a ‘stagnation scenario’. ‘Investment isdeclining and unemployment continues to rise[and] financialmarkets remain fragmented.’The European situation, however, is only the

starkest expression of the state of globalcapitalism as awhole. Growth in theUSeconomy is an anaemic 2.5 percent, whileunemployment remains at near-Depressionlevels, amid rising poverty andwidening socialinequality.While the Federal Reserve poursmoney into the financialmarkets, boostingcorporate profits, real incomes for themass ofthe population continue to fall.For the bourgeoismedia and its talking heads

and pundits, the ever-worsening social positionof the broadmass of the population is justanother expression of the "newnormal". None ofthem ever feels the need to explainwhy, amid thegreatest scientific and technological advances inhistory, growing portions of the population arebeing impoverished.But the significance of such a development

was elaborated by Karl Marx more than 160years ago. Such a phenomenon, he explained,

shows that ‘the bourgeoisie is unfit any longerto be the ruling class in society and to imposeits conditions of existence upon society as anover-riding law’.At a recent forum in London, organised by the

Bank of England, IMFChief Economist OlivierBlanchard outlinedwhat he called the lessonsfrom the crisis. It was a confession of intellectualand political bankruptcy.Blanchard admitted to being completely

blindsided by the eruption of the financial crisisin 2008, believing such things would no longertake place. He had failed to understand the"plumbing" of the financial system and did nottake into account the interconnectedness of theworld economy, which led to a collapse of globaltrade in 2009. Furthermore, after admittingthat ‘the traditional monetary and fiscal toolsare just not good enough to deal with the veryspecific problems in the financial system’, hesaid he was unsure about whether so-calledmacro prudential tools to regulate the financialsystem could actually work.Blanchard is certainly not alone. Last

September, in thewake of theUSFederalReserve's decision to expand its policy ofquantitative easing, Richard Fisher, amember ofthe Federal OpenMarket Committee, admitted

that ‘nobody really knowswhat will work to getthe economy back on course’ and that no centralbank ‘has the experience of successfullynavigating a return home from the placewherewe nowfind ourselves’.The same bewilderment was on display at a

meeting of top-level economists convened bythe IMF after its springmeeting inWashingtonlastmonth. Nobel Prize winner George Akerloflikened the economic crisis to a cat that hadclimbed a tree, did not know how to comedown, andwas now about to fall. Anothereconomist chimed in that after five years itperhaps was time to get the cat out of the tree,while Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitzexplained: ‘There is no good economic theorythat explains why the cat is still up in the tree’.The bankruptcy ofmedieval scholasticism and

of the feudal social order that underlay it wasexpressed in the discussions over howmanyangels could dance on the head of a pin.If themodern day theologians of capitalism

and their discussions of cats up trees appear justas ridiculous, it is not a result of their personalfailings. In the final analysis, they are unable tooVer any explanation for the deepest crisis inthree quarters of a century because the socio-economic order they defend has become

antagonistic to any further historical progress.While the ideologists of the ruling class seized

upon the collapse of theUSSR to proclaim theend of socialism, the economists andmediapundits say nothing about the failure ofcapitalism.However, just under the surface oftheir bewilderment lies the growing fear that thiseconomic breakdownwill produce a tremendousupsurge in social and class struggles. Recently amajor article in Timemagazine noted thatMarx had theorised that ‘the capitalist systemwould inevitably impoverish the world's massesas the world's wealth became concentrated inthe hands of a greedy few causing economiccrises. A growing dossier of evidence suggeststhat hemay have been right’.Themass of statistics emanating fromEurope

and elsewhere show that capitalismhas entereda terminal crisis, with revolutionaryimplications. The intellectual disintegration ofthe defenders of the bourgeois order points tothe fact that a conscious political struggle bythe working class, on the basis of a program ofsocialist internationalism, will open up pathsfor it to lead society out of the downwardspiral of social decay that marks the breakdownof the profit system.

(OPEDNEWS.COM)

The failure of capitalism and the working class

Feedback from the web

Even Marxist third world intellectuals have not been able to garner the samekind of love that the Sufi poets command. The third world intellectual only getsthe attention of his or her people when he or she brings power back to them

NICK BEAMS Figures on the state of the European economy published over the past week are not only the expression of adeepening economic and social crisis, they have a profound historical meaning, pointing to the bankruptcyof the capitalist economic order

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

In the wild valleys of zigzag politics,an outright gentleman like ChaudhryAitezaz Ahsan forgets themoralscript which he often practices in thetemples of justice. These days he isoften heard blasting his opponentsduring the election campaign of hiswife Bushra Aitezaz. People like himfor his poemRiyasat ho gi maan kayjaisi (the State that will treat all itssubjects like amother) more than forhis marriage of convenience with thePPP. He frequently advocates thatonemust not change two things:one’s spouse and one’s party.The rules of the game in love and

politics are not based on justice orequity but framed on the wild desireto quench the insatiable inner thirstor lust, so to speak. A case in point isthe elevation of Raja Pervez Ashraffrom a cabinet minister to primeminister even when there was astrong case against him in the rentalpower scandal. Corruption analystsare of the view that the volume ofLPG quota andHarris Steel scandalspushed Aitezaz Ahsan to qualify forthe Senate ticket for the PPP.Earlier, he had been suspended

from the executive body of the PPPfor violating the party policy on thejudiciary.When all his eVorts to winback his position in the party wereexhausted, LPG andHarris Steelscame to his rescue and he finallyrealised his dream ofmaking it to theSenate.What Allama Iqbal saidabout the pubs of Europe is also trueof the culture and traditions of thePPP. Something is common betweenthem: they both have ratherenigmatic rules of entry.Aitezaz alsomade legal history by

having defended three primeministers in the court of law. Havingpreviously fought cases in defense ofBenazir Bhutto in 2001 he took up acase in favour of former premierNawaz Sharif. More recently, in 2011he fought the case of Yousaf RazaGillani. This is not all. It wasspeculated that he would be the oneto defend Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, if itcame to pass. Sometimes, it isdiUcult to defend the indefensible.His critics were afraid that if he didnot shift from this defense strategy inthe case of Gilani, Raja would bepushed behind the bars.He once said that in the Gilani case

he took only one Rupee in terms offees. Commenting on the case,Sheikh Rasheed joked, Difa’a bhi toek rupaya wala he kia hai (thedefense case was a worth one Rupeetoo). Since Aitezaz Ahsan has areputation of taking only winnablecases, legal experts weremorevigilant against him this time.Being an admirer, it is greatly

disturbing for me that his name hasbeen resonating in theHarris Steel

Mills and LPG quota scandals. Theamount of money involved inHarrisSteel is 13 billion Rupees whichpushed the Bank of Punjab to thebrink of collapse. Similarly, the illegalnet taking of LPG giants amounts to220 billion Rupees which is a hugefigure. I have not seen any categoricalrebuttal from themanwhose hightalk about the rule of law, supremacyof the Constitution, justice for all andaccountability have earned him thestatus ofMr. Right. The problemwith the general public is that theyhave weakmemories and scams areforgotten all too soon.The other day, Aitezaz Ahsan

snubbedNawaz Sharif and ShahbazSharif as paper tigers. He narrated indetail the story of their plight inprison under terrorism, hijacking andtreachery charges and how he cameto their rescue by taking up their case.Hemade fun of the Sharifs for notshowing a degree of valour duringpolice custody. He served the taste ofthe PPP audience by saying howdistressed BegumKulsoomNawazwas when she approached him,begging to defend them in court.These bi-professionals have similar

problems as evident in the case ofAitezaz who is a lawyer andpolitician. For example, a poet andpolice oUcer can order the arrest ofthe audience at a poetry session whoare not ready to listen to hiscreativity. While standing on anelection plank canvassing for hisbetter half, he remains blinkered tothe violation of the lawyers’ code ofethics and reveals information givento him in confidence in his capacityas their defense counsel.It is morally imperative for a lawyer

of high calibre like Aitezaz to treat hisclients with respect. Theresponsibility of a lawyer istremendous. Not only do they have toensure that they are looking out fortheir clients' best interests but theyalso have to ensure that they arefollowing the lawyers code ofprofessional ethics.It is evident from the long personal

history of Aitezaz that he follows thecall of his conscience to pursue hispolitical course. Back in 1977, afterthe police opened fire on a rally oflawyers during the PNAdemonstrations against the allegedrigging of elections by the PPPgovernment, he resigned as a cabinetminister in protest. The decision costhim expulsion from the PPP. Butperhaps that high ground of moralityhas vanished like the old norms ofhis party. Disclosure of informationsupplied to the attorney regarding hisassignment, without the consent ofthe person who provided it, willsurely undermine public confidenceand discredit his position as a lawyer.It can only be hoped that Aitezaz willkeep a fair balance between hisprofession and passion. It is becausethe slogan of justice for all is directlyproportional to the professionalismof bar members.

THE WRITER IS A FREELANCE

JOURNALIST

During his talk sponsored by the NewAmerican Foundation inMarch 2008, authorParag Khanna addressed the rising challengesfacing the US’s global hegemony. According toKhanna, China and the European Union arethe new contenders with the battlefield being aglobal “geopolitical marketplace”.Aside fromKhanna’s insight, one statement

particularly puzzled me greatly. ‘Why am Italking about Europe, China, and the UnitedStates?What about Russia, what about India,what about Islam.. what about all those otherpowers?’ Initially, I thought it must have beenan error. The speaker must surely realise thatIslam is a religion, not a political entity with adefinable “geopolitical marketplace”. But it wasnot an error, or more accurately, it was adeliberate error. Khanna went on to explainthat Islam doesn’t have ‘that kind of coherence’that allows it to spread its power and influence,unlike the dominant other powers which hehighlighted. According to that odd logic, Islamand Brazil were discussed in a similar context.This sort of twisted reasoning has flourished

as an academic discipline-turned-industrysince the terrorist attacks of September 11,2001. Sure, it existed prior to this date, but its“experts” and their then few think-tanks werelargely placed within a decidedly pro-Israel,Zionist and right-wing political orthodoxy. Inthe last decade or so, the relatively specialisedbusiness multiplied and becamemainstreamwisdom. Its numerous “experts” - who aremore like intellectual purveyors - became well-known faces in American news networks.Their once “politically incorrect” depiction ofArabs, Muslims and the non-western world atlarge, became acceptable views which werethen translated into actual policies used for

invading countries, torturing prisoners andflushing Holy Korans down toilets.It is impracticable to rationally argue with

those who are essentially irrational. Many of ushave tirelessly tried to wrangle with those whowant to “kill all Muslims” whenever someoneclaiming to be aMuslim is accused of carryingout or planning to carry out an attacksomewhere in the world. The “debate” rageson, not because of the power of its logic, butbecause of the heavy price of blood and gorethat continues to be paid due to the deliberatemisinformation, utter lies and subtle (andsometimes not so subtle) intellectual racismthat defines much of the Americanmedia andacademic discourses.Numbers are of no relevance in such

discussions because absurd media pundits arenot swayed by facts. In the United States, therehave been nearly 900,000 gun fatalities in thelast 30 years or so (1980 to present) comparedto around 3,400 terrorism-related fatalities inthe last 40 years or so (1970 to present). Thesefigures include victims of the terror attacks of11 September 2001. This unsurprising fact wasrecently referenced byMSNBC’s “All InWithChris Hayes” and raises some critical points.If the US wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and

Yemen (plus numerous other lesser acts ofviolence committed in the name of “fightingterror”) were indeed compelled by thepreciousness of American lives, then the leastUS Congress should do is tighten gun controllaws in their own country. But respectedmembers of Congress are fighting the goodfight to keep things as they are, in the name ofprotecting the Second Amendment to the

United States Constitution – ‘..the right of thepeople to keep and bear Arms, shall not beinfringed’.But rights are infringed at will whenever it

suits US foreign policy makers and theirintellectual peddlers. Despite the fact that thewar on Iraq was illegal and that torture ofprisoners is a loud violation of the US’s ownConstitution and the Bill of Rights, America’swar rages on and the Guantanamo gulag isthriving. One cannot help but think that theUS’s legal, political and evenmoral blind spotsmust always somehow involveMuslims.But of course it’s more complicated than this.

Muslims are not targeted because they areMuslim. Yes, of course, religion and skin colorare important layers in the massive “crusade” -a GeorgeW. Bush term, not mine - inAmerica’s so-called war on terror. But “hatingIslam” is also a convenient pretense to achieveforeign policy objectives that are centeredaround imperial domination, thus naturalresources. Neither American foreign policymakers, nor their media cheerleaders whohardly take a day oV from smearing everythingMuslim, are interested in Islamic theology,history, spirituality or values that are meant toespouse uprightness in the individual andrighteousness in the collective. But there is anarmy of dishonest people who would rathercomb through every shred of Islamic text tohighlight passages out of context just to provethat Islam is fundamentally flawed, teacheshate or “anti-Semitism” and that it celebrates asupposed “culture of death”.These very men and women would have

done the same, as their predecessors have, to

demonise any other culture, religion orcommunity that sat on large deposits of oil ordare exist in an area of strategic importance tothe United States or within an alarmingproximity to Israel.The anti-Islam tirade received another

boost following the Boston MarathonBombings of 15 April 2013, which wereblamed on two American-Chechen brothers,Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The anti-Muslim circus was back in town, as politicaljugglers, along with media acrobats seemedto reach the ever predicable conclusion: hateall Muslims and do whatever possible toexploit any tragedy to further US hegemonicinterest in the Middle East. Eric Rush, a FoxNews pundit, summed up that sentimentwhen he called for the killing of all Muslimsfollowing the bombings and then laterclaimed that his tweets were meant to besarcastic. Ann Coulter, on the other hand,called for women to be put in jail for‘wearing a Hijab’.This type of hate-mongering is of course not

random, nomatter how palpably “crazy” thepeople behind it are. It is an essentialcomponent of ensuring that a largelyuninformed public is always on boardwhenever the US is ready for yet anothermilitary adventure involvingMuslim countries.All of this rhetoric must also be juxtaposed

with what is happening in theMiddle East.There, yet a new war is brewing, one that islargely aimed at ensuring that the currentchaos underway in the so-called “Arab Spring”countries will yield favourable results from theview points of Israel, America and the west.

The new push for military intervention startedwith Israeli allegations that the Syrian regimeis using chemical weapons against oppositionforces, followed by British-French allegations,and finally, despite brief hesitation, concurredby US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.Over 70,000 people have reportedly been

killed in the Syrian civil war. In the last twoyears it has become a hub for unprecedentedregional and international rivalry, a GreatGame of sorts. The US, Israel and their allieshave watched as Syria, once considered a“threat” to Israeli security, descended intoinconceivable brutality involving the Syrianarmy, various factions and bands of fightersfrom near and far. It was a matter of timebefore the US and its allies made their move toseal Syria’s fate and to ensure quiet at theIsraeli northeastern frontier.For that to happen, Muslims must be hated

and dehumanised in ways that would makewar a tad less ugly and future violence, in someodd way, “justifiable”.The oUcial purpose of Hagel’s recent visit to

Israel was to finalise US arms sales to Israeland other countries which total about $10billion. Knowing how such weapons have beenused in the past, one can hardly appreciate the“sarcasm” in Eric Rush’s tweet of wanting to“kill them all”. Per the history of US foreignpolicy, violent words often translate intoviolent action and here lies the real danger ofthe supposedly crazy bunch who equate Islamto Brazil and wish to incarcerate women forwearing scarves.

(COUNTERPUNCH)

After a spate of audacious denials,Musharraf - finding himself at a deadend and keeping upwith his flair forU-turns - has finally relented; confessingthat it was hewho first allowed dronestrikes by the ISAF (readUnited States)inside Pakistan’s territory.This latest twist in the tale leads us

to questions that are both profoundand paramount. First and foremost,what is the legal status of such aclandestine compact? Does theconstitution allow the President tostrike an agreement repugnant to thefundamental rights of its people?Could this secret agreement, in anyway, justify the killing of civilians bytheHellfire missiles fired by drones?Whether he was competent to strikesuch a secret deal or guilty of defyinghis oath of oUce (yet again) andwaging war against Pakistan, shouldhe be tried under Section 121 ofPakistan Penal Code?It is an established fact that State

parties cannot enter or execute anyagreement detrimental to humanrights established under internationallaw. The fact cannot be denied thatdrone attacks have culled manymoreinnocent civilians thanmilitants.David Killcullin, a senior counterinsurgency advisor to the US army,has reportedly stated, ‘We have killed14 senior At-Qaeda leaders usingdrone attacks; in the same time periodwe have killed 700 Pakistani civiliansin the same area’.MarxKantar, a human rights activist

from theUS, said some years back that‘among hundred Pakistanis killed so faronly 20were aUliatedwith terroristorganisations’ andBrookings Institutereports that ‘90 percent of those killed

by theUS in Pakistan are innocentcivilians and not the terrorists alliedforces are looking for’. Daniel Barmen, asenior fellow at Brookings Institute inher study ‘Do Target KillingsWork”holds that ‘for everymilitant killed 10 orso civilians also died’.Peter Bergen andKatherine

Tiedemann are leadingcounterterrorism experts in theUS.Their study “AnAnalysis of DroneStrikes Inside Pakistan” reveals that ‘for2008, nearly 60 percent of thecasualties were found to have likelybeen civilians’. Butchering civilians inthis fashion is a gross violation ofinternational law. Putting it very briefly,drone attacks are violating Articles 2, 4,20, 33, 48 and 57 of GenevaConventionVI; Article 16 and 18 ofGeneva Convention I; Article 10, 16, 17,18, 51 and 52 of Additional Protocol I ofGeneva ConventionUNCharter;Article 28, 47 and 50 of theHagueResolution (concerning the Laws andCustoms ofWar on Land), StPetersburgDeclaration of 1868;Articles 3, 5, 7, 12, 17 and 20 ofUDHR(Universal Declaration of HumanRights); Articles 6, 16 and 21 ofICCPR (International Covenant onCivil and Political Rights); Articles 2,3, 5, 8, 11 and 15 of ECHR (EuropeanConvention onHuman Rights) andArticles 22 and 24 of TheHague Rulesof AirWarfare (Feb 1923).US congressmanDennis Kucinich

andUNhuman rights investigatorPhilip Altson aptly hold drone attacksas a gross violation of international law.TheUNChartermakes itmandatorythat all States obey the internationallawwithout prejudice and henceMusharraf and hisUS counterpart hadno right at all to deprive Pakistanicitizens of their fundamental human

rights protected under internationallaw on the pretext of any secretagreement. This agreement has no legalvalue. It is illegal and hence void ab-initio. In fact, it is a war crime and acriminal act can’t be justified even ifwrapped in the cover of internationaldiplomacy, interstate conventions,understandings or treaties.Now let’s analyse what is the position

of this secret deal under our nationallaw. The constitution of Pakistanprovides certain fundamentalguarantees to its citizens. Article 4 ofthe Constitution states:1. To enjoy the protection of law and

to be treated in accordance with lawis the inalienable right of everycitizen, wherever he may be and ofevery other person for the time beingwithin Pakistan.2. In Particular - no action

detrimental to the life, liberty, body,reputation or property of any personshall be taken except in accordancewith law.AAnndd AArrttiiccllee 99 ssttaatteess::No person shall be deprived of life or

liberty, save in accordance with law.As per these two articles, the

president was not empowered to allowany state to come and kill Pakistanicitizens. Being the President of Pakistanhe has taken the following oath:‘I... solemnly swear... that as

President of Pakistan, I will dischargemy duties, and perform my functionshonestly, to the best of my ability,faithfully in accordance with theconstitution of Pakistan and the law,and always in the interest of thesovereignty, dignity, solidarity, wellbeing and prosperity of Pakistan.’We return to the primary question:

by allowing US to butcher his owncivilians did he act in the interest of the

sovereignty, dignity, solidarity, wellbeing and prosperity of Pakistan? Hewas not empowered to issue a license tokill his countrymen. He was notempowered to deprive his countrymenof their fundamental human rightsprotected by the international law andthe constitution of Pakistan.Not only did he let the US wage war

against Pakistan, he also supported andfacilitated it by providing air bases forCIA’s drone program. The questionis: doesn’t it amount to Treason, ifnot High Treason? What is thecourse forward from here? PrimaFacie, Section 121 of PPC oVers aplausible line of action:‘Whoever wages war against

Pakistan, or attempts to wage suchwar, or abets the waging of suchwar, shall be punished with death orimprisonment for life and shall alsobe liable to fine’.If the law is willing to forge ahead and

is not hampered by the dictatesemanating from the holy land,Musharraf should be expecting apainfully hard time ahead. While thefederal government’s consent is aprerequisite in order to try someoneunder Article 6, Section 121 isaltogether independent in itsapplication and even a suo motu noticecould be taken by the court. Theincumbent PM can bail out Musharraffrom Article 6 but the octogenarian hasnothing to do with Section 121 of PPC.Will the independent judiciary bringhim to the book?

THE WRITER IS A BILINGUAL

COLUMNIST AND A TALK SHOW HOST

BASED IN ISLAMABAD. HE IS THE

AUTHOR OF DRONE ATTACKS:INTERNATIONAL LAW BURNS

IN HELLFIRE

Drones, Musharraf and the long arm of law

Boston, Brazil and Islam

FARAKHSHAHZAD

ASIF MAHMOOD

RAMZY BAROUD

Musharraf was not empowered to issue a license to the US to kill his countrymen with drones. He was not empowered to deprive Pakistani citizens of their fundamental human rights protected by the international law and the constitution of Pakistan

“Hating Islam” is a convenient pretense to achieve foreign policy objectives that are centered around imperialdomination and control of natural resources

Dirtied by politicsThe other day, campaigning for his wife,Aitezaz Ahsan targeted Nawaz Sharif andShahbaz Sharif and narrated in detail thestory of their plight in prison. It is morallyimperative for a lawyer of high calibre likeAitezaz to treat his clients with respect

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

Bangladesh buildingcollapse toll rises to 547DDHHAAKKAA:: Ten days after the horrifyingcollapse of a garment-factory building,life has become still more gruesome forcrews working to recover bodies at thesite. The death toll rose to 547 onSaturday and the stench of decayingflesh was sickening evidence that thework is not yet done. Rescue workerssaid some bodies have deteriorated sobadly that they have found boneswithout flesh. Since the April 24collapse in the Dhaka suburb of Savar,high temperatures have generally been32 degrees C (90 degrees F) or above,and lows have rarely dipped below 27C (80 F). –AGENCIES

People protest againstChinese chemical plantBBEEIIJJIINNGG:: Hundreds of people tookto the streets of the Chinese city ofKunming on Saturday to protestagainst the planned production of achemical at a refinery, in the latestshow of concern over the effects ofrapid growth on the environment.China's increasingly affluent urbanpopulation has begun to object tothe model of growth at all coststhat has fuelled the economy forthree decades, with theenvironment emerging as a focus ofprotests. –AGENCIES

‘Support for MalaysianPM falls ahead of election’KKUUAALLAA LLUUMMPPUURR:: Support forMalaysian Prime Minister NajibRazak fell among all the country'smain racial groups in an opinionpoll, signaling the tough fight hefaces in an election in theSoutheastAsian country on Sunday. The survey,conducted between April 28 and May2 among 1,600 voters, showed 42percent of respondents believed theopposition Peoples' Pact of formerDeputy Prime Minister AnwarIbrahimshould be given a chance togovern. That was narrowly ahead ofthe 41 percent of respondents whosaid that only Najib's ruling BarisanNasional (BN) coalition could governthe country. –AGENCIES

Search ends for 100 Sudanminers believed deadKKHHAARRTTOOUUMM:: The search for about100 workers believed to have diedinside a collapsed gold mine inSudan’s Darfur region has endedafter nine rescuers also becametrapped, a colleague of the minerssaid on Saturday. No one has beenfound alive. “Today the searching hasstopped because it was toodangerous,” the man said from thescene of the tragedy in Jebel Amirdistrict, more than 200 kilometresnorthwest of the North Darfur statecapital El Fasher. –AGENCIES

‘Iran’s security bordersextend to Mediterranean’TTEEHHRRAANN:: Deputy Commander ofIran's Revolutionary Guards HusseinSelami said that Iran’s security bordersextend to the eastern Mediterranean.According to the Iran's Fars NewsAgency, during a ceremony for thevictims of the Iran-Iraq War, Selamiexpressed that Iran will not bedefeated in its enemies’ game, and said“Iran's security borders extend to theEastern Mediterranean and Iran willnot let its movements be stopped by itsenemies.” –AGENCIES

VIJAY PRASHAD

“We are mere coolies working atthe machinesin these terrible times.We are mere dupes and foolsto discover the diamond and tomake a gift of itto the king, to adorn his crown.”– Nazrul Islam.

SOHEL Rana is a well-known figure in South Asia.He is the guy who, in myyouth, would stand at thestreet-corner, holding court

with a bunch of toughs, and oQering histhreatening ways as protection orintimidation for payment. As SouthAsian countries entered the pact ofglobalisation, the Sohel Ranas of thestreet-corner opened an oPce. Theyput up a signboard that said somethinglike Property Dealer or Import-Export,they lost their cheap clothes fordesigner brands and handed outbusiness cards to sharpen their image.Their clout came in handy for the mainpolitical parties, who hired them on tolead their youth wings and to delivervotes from the slumlands of thegradually overflowing cities.

As neo-liberal policies becamecommonplace, these local thugsentered the real estate business, beinggiven tracts of public land atthrowaway prices by their gratefulpolitical benefactors. This land waseither developed into housing or pettyindustry. Money was to be made fromeach. And this money strengthened thepower of the local thug in his para(neighbourhood). He was a fish out ofwater as his Pajero went further andfurther from those few blocks. Localitywas everything to him. There he wasKing. He was Rana.Sohel Rana dropped out of school in

Class 7. That was nothing to him. Nowin his thirties, he had establishedhimself in Savar, an industrial suburbof Dhaka. Rana’s father was a localbusinessman who cultivated favoursfrom local politicians. But neithertalent nor timing favoured him. Hisson knew how to play all sides to hisadvantage, and the onset ofglobalisation allowed him to dancearound the narrowed political horizonsof the political parties. When the Bangladesh National

Party was in power, Rana was withthem; when the Awami League came

back, he headed its local youth wing.Ashrafuddin Khan Imu, one of Rana’srivals in the Awami party told theAssociated Press’ Farid Hossain andTim Sullivan, ‘He doesn’t belong toany particular political party.Whatever party is in power, he isthere’. Rana is an equal opportunityscoundrel, whose own ideology ispower, and its cognate, money.A local political enforcer handles

the transit of political bribery fromlocal businesses to the nationalpolitical class. As the money slidesthrough his arms, some falls into hispocket. That is probably how Ranafinanced the apartment building andcommercial building that took himinto the lucrative propertydevelopment business. It is also likely that such primary

accumulation through bribery allowedhim to claim the land upon which hebuilt Rana Plaza in 2010. That landwas a swamp, and once more it is likelythat Rana was able to circumventwhatever restrictions existed aboutbuilding on wetlands through his localmuscle. It is already known that heonly had a permit to build a five-storybuilding. He confidently built eightstories.

The day before the collapse of thebuilding which has so far killed 371people (with an additional 900 missing)Rana was informed about cracks in thewalls. Three thousand two hundredpeople worked in five factories in thisbuilding. ‘The building has minordamages’, he told the press. ‘Nothingserious.’ Local inspectors, an anaemicbunch in the face of suchinstitutionalised thuggery, had warnedthat something terrible might happen.Such people are not taken seriously inneo-liberal times. They are the ones whowarn of calamities and are said tomisjudge the dynamic of history. Whenthe “accident” occurs, as it did the nextday, it is these soothsayers who areignored in the flurry of reportage thatwants to suggest that this could not havebeen foretold, or of establishment voicesthat would like to point to this Rana asthe main culprit and not the system ofwhich he is essentially a minor pillar.Rana has been booked for a number of

infractions, including Section 304 ofBangladesh’s Penal Code – this would bea life sentence if he were found guilty. No-body will stand by the petty thug. ThePrime Minister Sheikh Hasina called forhis arrest, and his political mentor,Murad Jang, Member of Parliament

from Dhaka-19, which includes Savar,tried to say that he did not know him.The Bangladesh GarmentManufacturers and ExportersAssociation (BGMEA) disassociateditself from him, and of course theinternational firms along the globalcommodity chain hastened to say thatthey have never met him. The journey ofsomeone like Rana from the street cornerto the corner oPce to the corner prisonis a familiar one. These are men who areas replaceable as the workers whosebodies are devoured by the garmentmachines. Loyalty to neither is necessary.Payment for the deaths will rest with

Rana. Arrears will not be collectedhigher up the commodity chain. At apress conference on Saturday, seniorleaders of the BGMEA said that theimpact of the tragedy had been“exaggerated”. It had created an “imagecrisis” for them. They want the buildingowner, Rana, to be prosecuted. Theyare not keen to have the factory ownersin the dock. The November 2012 fire atTazreen has only three managers incustody, while the owners are free anduncharged. The BGMEA wants toprotect the owners, whoseprosecutions would reflect badly onBrand Bangladesh. They are also the

first line of defence of the commoditychain, with a frisson already passingfrom the rubble of Savar to themansions of Gulshan and Bentonville.The Ready Made Garment (RMG)

workers of Bangladesh recognise thatthis arrest is significant but insuPcient.On Saturday, they marched throughSavar, Dhaka, Gazipur andChittagong, unleashing their wrath atfactories and cars. The police fired atthem, but did not kill anyone. Theenergy among the RMG workers isclear. How it will run is unclear. Rana has been removed from his

street corner. Others are ready to takehis place. These old capillaries ofthuggish power have thus far held incheck the radicalisation of the workers,making them line-up behind the localbrokers who ease their immediateconsumption needs (water andelectricity connections, a job for a child,a berth in a hospital) but who arebarriers to any challenge to the statusquo. Capitalist democracy on theground requires this alliance ofbrutality and reform, of fascism andpaternalism. It celebrates the Ranas ofthe world till it doesn’t; and then itsimply replaces them.

(Counterpunch)

Among the thugs in Bangladesh

MMIIRRAANNDDAA:: VVeenneezzuueellaa''ss PPrreessiiddeenntt NNiiccoollaass MMaadduurroo ggrreeeettss ssuuppppoorrtteerrss dduurriinngg hhiiss vviissiitt ttoo PPeettaarree mmuunniicciippaalliittyy,, MMiirraannddaa SSttaattee.. –WIRE SERVICE

JJAALLIINNGGOO:: Violent clashesbetween two local groups incentral Nigeria's Taraba State hasclaimed 30 lives, local residentsand witnesses said on Saturday.The witnesses told Xinhua that

the current violence was ignitedon Friday by an attempt by theMuslim community at Karofi areain the ancient city of Wukari townto prevent some traditionalistswho were on procession as part ofburial rites for a deceasedtraditional Chief.The state government said in a

statement issued in Jalingo, thestate capital on Friday night that10 people were killed and severalothers injured during the crisis.Local residents and witnesses

said on Saturday that up to 30people had died due to theviolent clashes.The procession was purely a

traditional affair and has nothingto do with Islam or Christianity asit has been the tradition of thetown for ages, the witness said.State police spokesperson

Joseph Kwali confirmed theincident to Xinhua, saying thatthe State Police Command has

deployed enough men to thetroubled town in a bid to restorenormalcy.Kwali said the number of

casualties is yet to be ascertainedas well as the level of destruction.The fighting came up barely

three months after scores ofpeople were killed and propertiesworth billions of naira destroyedin the city.Meanwhile, the state government

has inaugurated a JudicialCommission of Inquiry to probe theviolence that occurred in the town inFebruary. The violence began whena funeral procession of a Christianchief marched through a Muslimneighborhood chanting slogans,which residents believed wasprovocative."There was fighting between

some Christian and Muslimmobs yesterday in Wukari duringthe funeral procession of atraditional ruler but the situationhas been brought under controlby security personnel and we areawaiting a comprehensive reporton the situation," said JosephKwaji, Taraba state policespokesman. –AGENCIES

30 killedin Nigeriaclashes

KKAABBUULL:: Five soldiers withthe NATO-led InternationalSecurity Assistance Force(ISAF) lost their lives in ablast of ImprovisedExplosive Device (IED) insouth Afghanistan onSaturday, the alliance said ina statement released here."Five International

Security Assistance Forceservice members diedfollowing an ImprovisedExplosive Device attack insouthern Afghanistantoday," the statement added.However, it did not identify

the nationalities of thevictims and the exact place ofthe deadly incident, saying itis ISAF policy to defercasualty identificationprocedures to the relevantnational authorities. Troopsmostly from the UnitedStates, Britain and Australiahave been serving in therestive southern provinces ofHelmand, Kandahar, Zabuland Uruzgan provinceswhere Taliban militants areactive. This is the biggestcasualties inflicted on theNATO-led troops so far thisyear in a single day. –AGENCIES

SSEEOOUULL:: South Korean police on Saturdaystopped a planned launch of anti-NorthKorean leaflets across the tense border,sparking an angry protest from activists,witnesses said.A group of defectors from the North had

said they would float 200,000 leafletsover the heavily militarised frontier byballoon on Saturday to protestPyongyang's dire human rights record.Police set up road blocks on access

routes to the planned launch site atImjingak, and stopped a pickup truckloaded with the leaflets, towing it to anearby police station. But the policeallowed through roughly 50 people,including the defectors and other anti-North Korean activists from the UnitedStates, who gathered at Imjingak toprotest. "Let North Koreans know thetruth," an activist said during a speech asothers unfurled banners calling for an endto what they described as North Korea's"hereditary dictatorial regime". Police hadsaid Friday they would block the launch inorder to prevent possible clashes betweenthe activists and local residents. Policestopped a similar launch by the samegroup on April 13.Local residents oppose such action

because the North has threatened to shellsites used to launch leaflets, which carrymessages such as calls for an uprising

against the communist regime.Pyongyang on Wednesday warned itwould not stand idle if the launch wentahead, condemning the plan as an"intolerable provocative act" aimed attarnishing its image and insulting itsdignity. The police action coincided witha fresh warning from Pyongyang onSaturday that the fate of a joint industrialzone in the North hinged on Seoul."It is totally up to the puppet regime's

attitude whether Kaesong industrial zoneis closed for good or not", the North'soPcial Committee for PeacefulReunification of Korea said on its Internetwebsite, Uriminzokkiri.Pyongyang has repeatedly blamed the

South for the deadlock over the Kaesongfactory park, once a rare symbol of cross-border cooperation.South Korea on Friday withdrew its last

remaining workers from the complex,which is at risk of permanent closure dueto soaring military tensions.It is the first time that Seoul has

pulled out all its workers from theflagship project since it was opened in2004. Tension has been high since theNorth conducted its third nuclear testin February, and issued a series ofapocalyptic threats of war againstSeoul and Washington in recentweeks. –AGENCIES

South Korea stopsanti-North leaflet

Blast kills 5ISAF soldiersin Afghanistan

DDAAMMAASSCCUUSS:: A large number ofarmed rebels unleashed a wide-scaleattack against Menagh Air Base inSyria's northern province of Aleppoon Saturday, reports said.Several factions and battalions of

the rebels partook in the attack onSaturday, reports said, adding thatthe Syrian air forces have failed torepulse the attack.Some reports said the rebels, due to

their huge numbers, have succeededto storm the airbase from diQerentdirections and taken control overseveral parts of it, while the pro-government Sham FM radio citedsources at the base as saying that thetroops managed to repel the attack.The radio report, however, said that

the leader of the airbase, BrigadeMahmoud Ali, and two of his escortswere killed in the battle.

The airbase, besieged by rebelssince January, has recently emergedas a major target of the Syrianopposition in the ongoing Syrianconflict. The rebels' massive attackcomes as the Syrian army hasadvanced in a strategic central regionnear the borders with Lebanon.Over the past 24 hours, the Syrian

army succeeded in cutting the supplylines of the rebels near the centralstrategic city of al-Qussair. The troopshave reached the entrances of the cityand poised to unleash a wide-scaleoperation to wrest control back on it.The Observatory said a rebel

commander, who headed the TwoShrines Brigade, was killed in thefighting around the base. It addedthat six government troops were alsokilled in the clashes.In the southern province of Daraa,

also known as the Houran plains, theObservatory and the LCC said rebelshad launched a new oQensive called"the Houran Volcano" in which theyare targeting army checkpoints andpositions. The Observatory said therewere an unknown number ofcasualties on both sides.An amateur video posted online

showed rebel artillery fire hitting al-Khudr military base, located on a hillnear the town of Dael, also in theprovince. The crackle of gunfire couldbe heard in the distance.The video appeared genuine and

corresponded to other AP reportingon the events depicted.The Observatory reported

shelling and clashes in other areas,including Damascus and itssuburbs as well as the centralprovince of Homs and Deir el-Zour

to the east that borders Iraq. Syria'sconflict started with largelypeaceful anti-government protestsin March 2011 but eventuallyturned into a civil war. More than70,000 people have been killed,according to the United Nations.The New York-based Human

Rights Watch said Saturday thatrecent Syrian government air andmissile strikes have caused civiliancasualties in opposition-held areas inAleppo province "in violation of thelaws of war." It said the attacks left atleast 84 people dead.The rights group said its team in the

province, which investigated recentattacks, said dozens of civilian homesalso had been destroyed "withoutdamaging any apparent oppositionmilitary targets."During a recent seven-day mission

to Aleppo, Human Rights Watchresearchers documented five attacksbetween March 18 and April 7. It saidthat of the 84 killed in these attacks,36 were children."In all the new cases, witnesses told

Human Rights Watch that the onlypeople killed or injured by the strikeshad been civilians, and that onlycivilian buildings had been hit," thegroup said."In attack after attack in Aleppo, it

is only civilians and civilian homesthat are hit by governmentairstrikes," said Anna Neistat,associate program and emergenciesdirector at Human Rights Watch."The Syrian Air Force knows verywell that using cluster bombs andraining down missiles and bombsindiscriminately on urban areasviolates the laws of war." –AGENCIES

Syrian rebels attack military airbase in Aleppo

Germany's ‘deep’ Neo-Nazitrial begins on MondayBBEERRLLIINN:: During the NSU trials which have startled the country,the German public will seek answers to allegations of the “deepstate” which have arisen due to the suspicious attitudes of theinternal intelligence service. The serial killings conducted by theNSU have led to the doubts regarding the work methods of theGerman state intelligence and police forces. The case is expected tolast for two years and 85 hearings. A German neo-Nazi cell thatwaged a racist killing spree over a period of seven years withoutbeing detected by the authorities may have had a far bigger networkof supporters than initially thought. According to a report in theBild newspaper on Sunday, security oPcials have compiled a list of129 people who are suspected of helping the group, a In addition,many more are believed to have helped provide the cell with money,false papers and weapons, according to Bild. The inquiry into theNSU has exposed botched investigations, a lack of communicationbetween German intelligence services and a failure to properlymonitor members of far-right groups. –AGENCIES

The old capillaries of thuggish power have thus far held in check the radicalisation of the workers, making them line-up behind thelocal brokers who ease their immediate consumption needs but who are barriers to any challenge to the status quo. An insight in the Savar tragedy

Ministry assurescontinuous supply of oil,gas during electionsIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Resourceshas established Oil and Gas ControlCell to ensure continuous supply ofOil & Gas during elections 2013.The cell would be functional from7th May, 2013 which would ensureco-ordination between Petroleum &Natural Resources Ministry,Finance, Water & Power, SNGPL,SSGCL, OGDCL and PSO to ensurecontinuous supply of oil & gas. Thiscell will operate 24 hours a day.Members of the cell includeAdditional Secretary Petroleum(Focal Point), Director General Oil,Director General Gas, GeneralManager PSO, General ManagerSNGPL and Chief Manager SSGCL.And, oil & gas cell will be based incontrol room at M/o Petroleum &NR, Pakistan Secretariat.

Dubai aims to tripletourism income by 2020DDUUBBAAII:: Dubai aims to triple itsannual income from tourism to 300billion dirhams ($82 billion) by2020, which would involvedoubling the number of its hotelrooms, a senior official said.Tourism is crucial to Dubai'seconomy, which had a grossdomestic product of around $90billion last year; it supports theemirate's large retail industry aswell as its hospitality sector.Occupancy at Dubai's 599 hotels,which have 80,500 roomscombined, was 78 percent in 2012as the number of visitors rose 9.3percent from a year ago to 10.16million, according to data from theDepartment of Tourism andCommerce Marketing (DTCM).Helal Almarri, director-general ofthe DTCM, told Reuters that theemirate was likely to have morethan 160,000 hotel rooms by theend of the decade and aimed toattract 20 million tourists annuallyby then. Most decisions to buildhotels would not be made by theDubai government but by privatecompanies. However, the Dubaigovernment is active in supportinggrowth of the industry by providinginfrastructure, marketing theemirate overseas, adjusting visapolicies for visitors and expandingthe network of the state-ownedEmirates airline. — STAFF REPORT

Dollar, stocks surge onstrong u.s. jobs dataNNEEWW YYOORRKK:: The U.S. dollarsurged against the yen and globalequity markets rallied on Fridayafter the U.S. government reportedsurprisingly strong jobs growth forApril that drove optimism on theeconomy, driving Wall Street stocksto record highs. U.S. nonfarmpayrolls rose by 165,000 last monthand the jobless rate fell to a four-year low of 7.5 percent, the LaborDepartment said. Hiring was alsomuch stronger than previouslythought in the prior two months,all signs of a resilient jobs market.Economists expected payrolls torise by 145,000 and theunemployment rate to hold steadyat 7.6 percent. Leading U.S. andEuropean equity indexes advancedabout 1 percent in a rally that hasboosted the S&P 500 index morethan 5 percentage points fromApril lows in just 11 sessions. TheU.S. benchmark is up more than 13percent so far this year. — AGENCIES

JPMorgan shareholdersurged to reject 3 directorsNNEEWW YYOORRKK:: JPMorgan Chase &Co (JPM.N) shareholders shouldvote against re-election of threeboard members because theyfailed to properly oversee risk-taking that led to $6.2 billion oflosses on the so-called "LondonWhale" trades, an influentialproxy advisory firm said. ISSProxy Advisory Services said in areport released late Friday thatdirectors David Cote, JamesCrown and Ellen Flutter shouldnot be re-elected at the company'supcoming annual meeting becauseof "material failures ofstewardship and risk oversight."The firm also renewed itsrecommendation from a year agothat CEO and Chairman of theBoard Jamie Dimon lose one ofthose two titles. The companyissued a statement saying itdisagrees with ISS. — AGENCIES

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

currency buying seLLingUS Dollar 99.70 99.95Euro 128.86 129.10British Pound 152.94 153.21UAE Dirham 26.95 27.20Saudi Riyal 26.45 26.70Kuwaiti Dinar 345.92 352.48Canadian Dollar 96.61 98.31

SAHTAK BALOCHIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: There seems no respitefrom spiraling power outages, as thegovernment does not have funds torelease the KESC’s outstanding dues ofRs. 71 billion. The power utility haswarned of massive powerloadshedding in the port city ofKarachi, parts of interior Sindh andBalichistan in case of further delay inpayments.Interestingly, Prime Minister JusticeRetired Mir Hazar Khan Khoso onFriday in its televised address to thenation said that ministry of water andpower has been instructed to ensure

uninterrupted power supply for 36hours on election day as it would helpcomplete polling and counting of votessmoothly. The Prime Minister also saidthat he has instructed the ministry ofFinance to provide Rs45 billion forsupply of furnace oil to the powergenerating plants, hoping this wouldprovide relief to the massesHowever, Owing to liquidity crisis,Karachi Electric Supply Company(KESC), on April through an urgentSOS call, had requested the governmentto release the utility’s claims and duesbefore May 8. And, to seek aMrmativeaction from the government in the larger

interest of 20 million population ofKarachi, the KESC also stated thatdespite repeated requests made by thecompany for the release of claims anddues but the inaction by the governmenthas pushed it to point where it hasbecome diMcult for the company to runpower generation plants. “We are indesperate need of these funds, especiallyfor paying to PSO (Pakistan State Oil)and IPPs (Independent PowerProducers) for furnace oil supply tomaintain the current load sheddingregime in the city (Karachi). We will nothave any funds to procure any furnaceoil from PSO and power from IPPs after

8th May,” said KESC in its SOS call.KESC had requested the governmentto pay at least Rs. 25 billion to PSOagainst company’s dues. The powercompany had also requested to theSindh government to directly make apayment of Rs. 3 billion to SSGC out ofRs. 22 billion that it had to recover fromKWSB. These payments would ensuresmooth and adequate supply of furnaceoil and gas to KESC. All such requestshad not resulted in any positive actionby the government. However, if thegovernment chooses not to play itsdue role and does not make thesepayments even now, a serious power

crisis is inevitable.“The load shedding duration willbe as high as 14 hours a day fo allcategories of consumers acrossKarachi and parts of Sindh andBaluchistan if immediate steps arenot taken by the government, “ readsKESC letter. Sources in water andpower ministry said that thoughcaretaker government is strivinghard to ensure uninterrupted powersupply during general election yet thepower utility is left with no optionbut to increase load shedding in thecity and adjoining areas of interior ofSindh and Baluchistan.

Power outages to increase in Karachi

anaLysis

SAHTAK BALOCH

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: National Transmission Dispatch Company(NTDC) has pleaded the National Electric Power RegulatoryAuthority (NEPRA) to set Rs6.41/unit as advance tariN of 640MW Azad Pattan Hydropower Project.Since the hydropower project is located in AJ&K, which is

outside NEPRA’s jurisdiction and is being constructed by theprivate sector, so the proposed tariff submitted by the powerpurchaser/NTSC as a case of import of power under NEPRA’sInterim Power Procurement Regulations 2005 and previousdirectives issued by NEPRA for project located in AJ&K. And,640 MW Azad Pattan Hydropower Project would be handed

over to the government after completion of 30 years operationperiod under Power Policy 2002.According to NEPRA, total project cost cost of Azad Pattan

Hydropower Project would stand at $1billion, 35crore and 40lac.The NTDC has requested feasibility tariN of 30 years agreementperiod. However, NTDC after getting the approval offeasibility/advance tariN would again submit an application whenthe hydropower project would be functional. And, adjustment inthe tariN would then be made.The NTDC in its plea has said that the Reference Tariff has

a typical two-part structure envisioned in the 2002 PowerPolicy having a Capacity Purchase Price (Rs/kW/month) andan Energy Purchase Price (Rs/kWh).

LCCI welcomes SC suomotu on power outages

NEPRA asks NTDC to setadvance tariN for Pattan

ZEESHAN JAVAID

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: President Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce & Industry (ICCI) on Saturday saidthat tax collection has significantly increased fromRs.400billion in year 2002 to aroundRs.1900billion in year 2012 but unfortunatelybusinessmen were always blamed that they werenot paying their due taxes.Association of Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA) Pakistan in collaboration with IslamabadChamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)organized a pre-budget seminar with an aim tocontribute its eNorts towards healthy fiscalmeasures in the country.Addressing the seminar, He said that revenuecollection has also increased due toencouragement of self assessment schemesintroduced by FBR. He said that our budgetaryexpenditures were around Rs.3000billion andhuge amount of Rs.1100billion was drain away

for debt servicing which needs to be controlled inupcoming budget for better fiscal management.Aftab Ahmed, Chief Commissioner, IR-RTOFederal Board of Revenue said that there is amisconception that the reduction in the taxrates would correspondingly improve revenuecollection. Practically, this never happens whichis event from past experiences that whenevertax rates were brought down, it never resultedin major increase of revenue collection. He said that there is need to improvecompliance and expand the tax base forincreasing tax collection.While boldly admitting deficiencies of thetax department and its limitations, he saidthat the tax policy must be driven by thedirect taxes but indirect taxes get moreshare in overall revenue collection andevery citizen is contributing in the indirecttaxes in one way or another.He categorically said that the frequent

issuance of the SROs is not only damaging thetax machinery but also affecting tax system.There is an issue with the tax laws which canonly be amended at the time of budgetthrough Finance Act.He said that the use of IT and electronicfiling of returns can change the concepts of thetaxpayers by reducing their direct interactionbetween taxpayers and tax department. Sometax incentive should be provided to theelectronic filers of tax returns in budget.Bakhtawari suggested that the next fiscalbudget should take emergency measures todeal with the curial issue of load shedding inthe country.The budget should focus on providingalternate energy sources on emergency basisas Pakistan has huge Thar-coal reserves whichcould be exploited to overcome energy crisis.He cited the example of India and China, whoare producing more than 30percent of

electricity from coal while Pakistan is not evenproducing 1percent from this source.ICCI President further said that the publicsector entities including Pakistan Railways,Wapda, PIA, Steel Mill and many otherPSEs are incurring a loss of over Rs.600billion annually.He said that enterprises should beimmediately privatized or at least their 20percent shares should be offered to theprivate sector to check massive losses.He said that contribution ofmanufacturing, agriculture and servicessector in the GDP were 26%, 20% and 54%respectively while their contribution in thetax collection is 66%, 1% and 33%respectively. Therefore, he emphasized toincrease the contribution of agriculturesector in the tax collection as well as stressedto increase the tax base for significantlyincreasing the tax revenues.

Tax collection up by Rs 1,500b over past decade: ICCI

OOMMAAHHAA:: AA BBeerrkksshhiirree HHaatthhaawwaayy ssoouuvveenniirr UUSSBB mmeemmoorryy ssttiicckk ccaarrttoooonn fifigguurree ooff BBeerrkksshhiirree HHaatthhaawwaayy CCEEOO WWaarrrreenn BBuu00eetttt iiss ffoorr ssaallee aatt aa ccoocckkttaaiill rreecceeppttiioonn hhoosstteedd bbyyBBeerrkksshhiirree--oowwnneedd BBoorrsshheeiimm''ss jjeewweellrryy ssttoorree oonn tthhee wweeeekkeenndd ooff tthhee ccoommppaannyy''ss aannnnuuaall mmeeeettiinngg.. —ONLINE

OURSTAFF REPORTER

LLAAHHOORREE:: The Lahore Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (LCCI) onSaturday welcomed SC suo moto on poweroutages and hoped that electricity situationwould improve resultantly.In a statement issued here, the LCCIPresident Farooq Iftikhar said thatunavailability of electricity was not onlyrendering thousands of industrial workersjobless but also causing closures anddeceleration in economic activities.“The power shortage has also adverselyaNected competitiveness at national level aswhen the industry in other provinces isproducing goods by using electricity, themanufacturer in Punjab doing the samethrough thermal means.”The LCCI President said that investments,local and foreign, have nose-dived toalarmingly low levels. The FDI from July toMarch 2012-13 was only 0.622 billion dollars.

“Foreign Direct Investment is a barometerof favorable business atmosphere, ifforeigners keep on investing, the country isgood, its people are good, its policies aregood and it is other way round, if they arereluctant to put their money in any new orexisting business venture.”The LCCI President said that there are notwo opinions about it that the Caretakergovernment in no way is responsible for thepower sector mess but they can do a littlefavor to the country through good governancepractices. The Lahore Chamber of Commerceand Industry, being a representative of thetrade and industry, understands that at thecore of growing power troubles lie a confusedenergy policy and disjointed decision-making, the weak finances of thegovernment, ineMcient and corruptgeneration and distribution systems, andbureaucratic hurdles stalling a change in theenergy mix to boost output and decreaseelectricity cost. The growth in the demand for

electricity has far outpaced the insignificantincrease in the supply, Farooq Iftikhar said.The LCCI President said that it wasbeyond doubt that there are no quickfixes to energy problems. This requiresa long-term integrated policy, afterwhich could come the privatisation ofpower and gas utilities to attract privateinvestment and change the energy mixto reduce dependence on expensive oil.But, before taking these measures, thegovernment would have to arrangefinances to liquidate fast piling upcircular debt that has reached Rs 872.41billion during the current fiscal yearand power cuts shaved three to fourpercent off GDP.Farooq Iftikhar expressed the optimismthat the Supreme Court proceedingswould help bring to the limelight thecorruption and mismanagement causingirreparable loss to the economy of thisresourceful country.

Long-termunemployment isturning jobless intopariahs

LONG-term unemployment is one of the mostvexing problems the U.S. faces, and today’s jobsreport shows all-too-meager progress in fixing it.

The U.S. created 165,000 new jobs in April, pushingdown the unemployment rate to 7.5 percent fromMarch’s 7.6 percent. But as of the end of April, 4.4million Americans, or 37 percent of the unemployed,had been without a job for 27 weeks or longer, barelybetter than March’s 39 percent. The U.S. can’t aNordto write oN more than 4 million people who would liketo work but haven’t for more than six months.Long-term joblessness peaked in April 2010 at 6.7million, so the picture might seem to be improving.Hidden within that number is this troubling fact: Theaverage unemployed person has been out of work for36.5 weeks. That’s not much better than theDecember 2011 duration of 40.7 weeks, which was thelongest since World War II. Long-termunemployment at the start of the recession inDecember 2007 was 1.3 million people, and theaverage duration was 16.6 weeks.Terrible things happen to people when they are outof work for long periods, numerous studies show.Beyond a sharp drop in income, long-termunemployment is associated with higher rates ofsuicide, cancer (especially among men) and divorce. There is less agreement on why so many people havebeen out of work for so long. Democrats generallypoint to the anemic recovery, in which weak demandfor goods and services results in less hiring. Thecyclical nature of unemployment, they say, can beaddressed with more government stimulus.Republicans tend to focus more on structuralproblems, in which the education and experiencelevels of the unemployed don’t match what employerssay they want in job candidates.Recently, though,economists in both camps have come to agree thatsomething bigger -- and more insidious -- is at work:Unemployment causes social scarring. In other words,the stigma of long-term joblessness is, by itself,causing persistent joblessness. This is true whetheryou have a college degree or a high-school diploma,whether you are middle-aged or 20- something. It’salso true whether your collar is blue or white. Whenresearchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Bostonsent fake resumes to employers with job openings, thelength of time candidates had been out of workmattered more than their job experience indetermining who got called in for an interview.Applicants who had only recently lost a job but had norelevant experience were far more likely to be calledthan those with many years of experience who hadbeen out of work a long time. So much for the skillsgap. One way to thwart such bias is to make sure theunemployed understand that their chances of gettingwork improve if they are in a job-training program orworking at least part-time. Not sitting idle isparamount. This is where government can help.Unfortunately, the U.S.’s job training eNort is amishmash of 47 programs spread across nineagencies. At $18 billion a year, it’s also costly. TheeNectiveness of those programs is hard to quantifybecause of poor data collection and managementoversight, the Government Accountability OMceconcluded in 2011.Finding out what works is crucial. Other solutionsshould be tried, including giving preference to thelong-term unemployed when filling federalovernment jobs. In addition, President Barack Obamashould ask Congress to approve tax breaks forcompanies that hire the long-term unemployed.Work-share programs, in which employeesaccept reduced hours when demand is slack inexchange for unemployment insurance tocompensate for lost wages, has worked in othercountries. The U.S. should also experiment withstate-based clearinghouses that connect employerswith job-seekers in other states and subsidize themoving expenses.The U.S. is in dire danger of having a permanentclass of long-term unemployed. It has to do better.

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

paris hilton wants to get marriedLOS ANGELES: Socialite Paris Hilton wants to get married and havechildren with her 21-year-old Spanish boyfriend River Viiperi. The 32-year-old, jailed in 2007 after being caught driving with a suspendedlicense while on probation for driving under the influence of liquor, saysshe is no longer a party girl, reports contactmusiccom. "I'm staying outof trouble. I've grown up,” Hilton told TheWendyWilliams Show. Askedif she was ready to start a family, she said: "I think that's every woman'sdream. I think that's the meaning of life to have children and have afamily one day. I am so in love. "I feel so lucky to have met him. He's oneof the kindest, most loyal men I've ever met in my entire life, and hetreats me like a princess. He's the most beautiful man I've ever seen inmy life,” she added. -SHOWBIZ DESK

Karisma Kapoor loves to do a comedy filmMumbai: She made her Bollywood comeback with the filmDangerous Ishhq, last year.And, actor Karisma Kapoor wants to work in a comedy flick next. “I’d love to do a comedyfilm in the future,” says the actor, who has earlier worked in comedy blockbusters such asHaseenaMaan Jaayegi (1999) and Judwaa. While expressing her views about thechanging paradigm of Bollywood, wherein, married actors are leaving a prominent markin the film industry, Karisma says, “This helps us to experiment with cinema at any age. Ialso see so many young directors coming into the industry. It is great.” Her kids and familyare on the actor’s mind as of now. Karisma, who was in the city recently to launch Rasna’snew drink ‘Ju-C’ says, “I have been reading a lot of scripts, but as of nowmy kids are mypriority.” When asked about her marriage with businessman Sanjay Kapur, the actor chosenot to comment. But mention sis Kareena Kapoor, and Karisma has a lot to say. “I’m veryproud of her. She is very hardworking. -SHOWBIZ DESK

CMYK

SHOWBIZ DESK

LOS ANGELES: The Rolling Stonesrocked a packed house in Los Angeleson Friday on the opening night oftheir North American "50 andCounting" tour, but only afterwebsites slashed ticket prices and theband released additional cheap seatsat the last minute.The 17-date tour is the veteran

British rockers' biggest in six yearsand follows a handful of dates inLondon, Paris and New York at theend of 2012marking 50 years sincethey burst on to the music scene atLondon's Marquee Club in 1962."We first played LA in 1965. Thank

you for coming to see us. We reallyappreciate it," frontmanMick Jaggersaid late on Friday during the show atStaples Center. The 69-year-oldstrutted and gyrated in his trademarkstyle through a string of classic Stones

hits including "Gimme Shelter,""Paint it Black" and "Jumpin' JackFlash." Celebrities like Jack NicholsonandMelanie GriRth attended theshow, which also featured guestperformances by singer Gwen Stefanion "Wild Horses" and Keith Urban on"Respectable."Days before the show, hundreds of

seats were still available andsecondary sellers scrambled to unloadtickets by slashing prices from theoriginal $250 to $600 price rangewhich had irkedmany of even themost die-hard Stones fans. The bandalso released additional seats at amodest $85 on its oRcial website thisweek, the only price point that quicklysold out for theMay 3 concert. Buyerswho opted to buy the $85 seats onlinewere instructed to line up at the arenajust before the show, and were toldthey would be notified of theirlocations which could range anywhere

for prime seating to further back inthe venue."It's very thrilling. It's like gambling

and the Stones all rolled into one,"said Los Angeles realtor KelleyMiller,who had bought a pair of $85 seatsalong with some friends, and stood inline to find out where they would besitting.Miller and her friends said they

were happy to be seated anywhere atthat price. Among the highlights ofthe evening were the show's openingnumber "Satisfaction", performed bythe UCLAMarching Band and theStones' rendition of "You Can't AlwaysGetWhat YouWant," accompaniedby the Cal State Long Beach ColeConservatory choir.The Rolling Stones last went on

tour from 2005 to 2007, playing 144shows globally and grossing morethan $550million, one of the world'smost lucrative tours. Guitarist Mick

Taylor, who played with the Stonesfrom 1969 to 1974, sat in on Friday tojoin Jagger, guitarists Keith Richardsand RonnieWood and drummerCharlieWatts during "MidnightRambler." Later this summer, TheRolling Stones will play London'sHyde Park, and for the first time intheir career, the Glastonbury musicfestival in England, both of which soldout.The band played a more reasonably

priced $20 "surprise" gig in LosAngeles the previous weekend at the320 person capacity Echoplex club.But even fans who coughed up the$600 asking price for the Friday nightshow seemed to find satisfaction. "Iwasn't one of the lucky ones whowaited. I paid face value, about$620," said Los Angeles-basedfinancial adviser Jim Cain. "But Idon't have buyer's remorse," headded, grinning.

Rolling Stones rock packed house after price cuts

SHOWBIZ DESK

CANADA:With a famous movie starfor a sister, it’s only inevitable to getsome share of the media attention,especially when that sister is KatrinaKaif. As a result, there has been a lotof speculation surrounding IsabelleKaif ’s impending movie career.Significant newsprint and TV footagehas already been spent in wonderingwhen the pretty young sister will beseen on-screen. One of the firstrumours was that Isabelle would do acrossover film opposite Anil Kapoor'sson, Harshvardhan. Then, it seems,Katrina was in talks with directorAyanMukerji to launch Isabelle. Thiswas followed by reports that Katrinawould start her own productionhouse and cast her little sister in herfirst film. However, nothing came ofany of this.Now, Isabelle is finally set to debut,

but in a Canadian film where,coincidentally, Katrina’s formeralleged-boyfriend Salman Khan isinvolved. Called Dr Cabbie, it is co-produced by Salman Khan BeingHuman [SKBH] Productions, inassociation with two Canadian

companies — FirstTakeEntertainment and Caramel Film.The lead actors of Dr Cabbie areVinay Virmani (he was last seen inSpeedy Singhs in 2011) and AdriannePalicki (she was in GI Joe: Retaliationearlier this year). The film also starsKunal Nayyar (from the hugelypopular hit American TV series, TheBig Bang Theory), who will also makehis film debut with this project.Isabelle is the second-lead actress,cast opposite Kunal.Touted to be a $25 million project,

the film will be distributed in India byEros International. Commenting onIsabelle’s casting, the spokesperson ofEros says, “Isabelle went through theaudition process like all the otheractors. She was cast based on herperformance and only because shewas a perfect fit for the role.”Dr Cabbie portrays a young Indian

doctor (played by Vinay) who hasnewly arrived in Canada and has towork as a taxi driver after beingrejected by local medical schools. Thefilm is being helmed by a renowned,award-winning Canadian directorJean-François Pouliot, and ispresently being shot in Canada.

Katrina's sister set to debut, courtesy Salman

LAHORE: Sara Loren who waslast seen inMurder 3 in a bold andsexy avatar now wants to go a stepfurther. She has hired an Americanpersonal trainer from a chain offitness clubs to get a bikini body forher next film. The instructor hasapparently put the Pakistaniactress on the same regime asHollywood. Says a source, “Sarahas been spotted working out at asuburban club. She has alwaysbeen confident of her body and hasno qualms doing bold scenes in afilm. She has signed a three-filmdeal withMahesh Bhatt’sproduction house so this is possiblyfor her next B-Town outing.”Though Sara has been traininghard to achieve the desired bodyshape, her spokespersonmaintains. -SHOWBIZ DESK

SArALoren ISGettInGShApefor nextfILM

SHOWBIZ DESK

CHANDIGARH:Mathira, a Pakistanibeauty whose topless picture on the cover ofa fashionmagazine caused a furore in hercountry, is doing an item number in aPunjabi film YoungMalang. She was inChandigarh on Thursday for the shootingof the song. YoungMalang that promises tobe a perfect concoction of Bollywood andPunjabi cinema artistes is being producedby Rahulinder Singh Sidhu, CEO of RSGStudios. “Working for the item number wasenjoyable and it would help strengthen‘cultural bond’ between India and Pakistan,”Mathira said. Responding to a question on

her controversial past, Mathira said she hadnot worked to get recognition in a shortperiod of time. “I always challenge thesocial norms that confine a woman to fourwalls in the name of social bonds. I walkahead of the people and keep pace withchanging social norms,” she said. Mathira,born to an African father and Pakistanimother, lived in Zimbabwe for about 18years before settling in Pakistan. She is alsoa VJ, model and singer. She said she wasnot a stranger to the camera and claimedthat there was a thin line between “beingvulgar and being sexy”. Her televisioncareer started with a programme where sheappeared as a yoga instructor.

Mathira to do item songin Indian film

SHOWBIZ DESK

LONDON: PepsiCo Inc severed ties withrapper Lil Wayne on Friday over a graphicreference to slain U.S. civil rights figureEmmett Till in a song. Lil Wayne, 30, hadbeen the face of the PepsiCo drinkMountain Dew's Deweezy campaign, a playon the rapper's Weezy nickname. "We donot plan any additional work with LilWayne moving forward," aMountain Dewrepresentative said in a statement. "HisoSensive reference to a revered civil rightsicon does not reflect the values of ourbrand." The Deweezy campaign websitewas taken down. In a remix of the songKarate Chop by rapper Future, Lil Waynelikens the beating of Till to sex.The song was leaked onto the Internet in

February and prompted an apology fromFuture's record company, Epic Records,

after Till's family had complained. But thecontroversy did not stop there. In a letter toTill's family this week, Lil Wayne called thereference inappropriate but stopped shortof an apology.Till, an African-American from Chicago,

was beaten andmurdered in 1955 at theage of 14 for allegedly whistling at a whitewoman in the village of Money, Mississippi,where he was visiting family.An all-white jury acquitted two white

men of Till's murder, sparking nationaloutrage. The trial is credited withmobilizing the civil rights movement anddrawing attention to racial injustice andviolence in the American South. OnWednesday, PepsiCo pulled a series ofonline ads for Mountain Dew by rapperTyler, The Creator which was criticized forembracing racial stereotypes andtrivializing violence toward women.

Lil Wayne dropped overcontroversial lyric

Jia Ali ready to workin ‘Dirty Girl’

KARACHI: Pakistani Actress andModel Jia Ali hasdecided to work in upcoming LollywoodMovie “DirtyGirl”. Jia was out from lollywood industry fromcouple of years and she was only focusing onmodeling. Lollywood is now avoiding over age actressand that’s why she is not getting much chance. Onother hand, Jia couldn’t get leading role in this movie.According to media reports, Nida Chaudhary gotmain actress role in this movie. Arshad Khan isDirector and Qaiser Sanaullah Khan is Producer of“Dirty Girl Movie”. The leading casts of this movie areNida Chaudhary, Shahid Khan, Irfan Khoosat, JiaAli, Ahmed Butt and Babrak. -SHOWBIZ DESK

My chemistry withKareenagoes a bit flat on screen: SaifSHOWBIZ DESK

NEWDELHI: When two Bollywoodstars tie the knot,there's increasingspeculation aboutthem being seentogether on screen. ButSaif Ali Khan, who'spaired up with IleanD'Cruz for his next film,isn't too keen to appearwith his wife of sixmonths in movies."It's something that

happens to me when I'mworking with her, I'mnot as interesting onscreen," admits Saif, "Ibecome like how I amwhen I amwith her,which is not interesting.Normally, an actor iscompetitive, and thatmakes for good chemistryon screen. The chemistrygoes a bit flat when you'retoo comfortable." The lasttime Kareena and Saifcame together for a film was in

2009, for Kurbaan. Before that, they wereseen in Tashan, but their first film together

was JP Dutta's LOC:Kargil. Now, however,Saif and Kareena aremaintaining a studiedapproach towardsworking together. Orlet's say not workingtogether. It's not likethey aren't oSers forendorsements,especially after theywed, but they are notinterested. "It's reallydiRcult to maintainyour identity as anindividual whenyou're in arelationship like ours.People are constantlyasking you about yourrelationship. You'repromoting your filmand someone asksyou about therelationship and thatanswer is made into

the headline. The wayaround it is the way Americans do it.

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013

CMYK

CMYK

BBUULLAAWWAAYYOO: Zimbabwe's batsmengo into Sunday's second one-dayinternational against Bangladeshknowing that they must cast asidetheir suicidal tendencies if they areto keep the series alive. The hosts were bowled out for

just 148 inside 33 overs as they lostthe first one-dayer by 121 runs onFriday, with the majority of theirbatsmen either trapped lbw or bowled whilst playing across the line.

Many of the same batsmen wereguilty of similarly soft dismissalsduring Zimbabwe's defeat in thesecond Test, yet most will receiveanother opportunity on Sunday -largely because of a lack ofalternatives in the squad. "TheBangladesh bowlers bowled well -they bowled stump-to-stump," saidcaptain Brendan Taylor. "That is what we expected, but

they did not bowl anything thatwould get the majority of our

batsmen out, the batsmen somehowfound ways to get out. "We havebeen saying the same thing for thelast two months now. After the tourof West Indies, we said that thebatsmen must play straight, butthey got out playing across the line.There were too many batsmenbowled on a good pitch."Although they restricted

Bangladesh to a par score of 269for eight, there was also an elementof self-destruction in Zimbabwe's

bowling as 18 wides were conceded.Fast bowler Kyle Jarvis may returnafter being left out of the firstmatch, while left-armer BrianVitori, who took 11 wickets in threeODIs against Bangladesh two yearsago, is also an option. Having now won seven out of

nine completed ODIs againstZimbabwe at Queens Sports Club,Bangladesh will be confident thatthey can seal the three-matchseries at the first opportunity, and

thus extend their unbeaten recordin one-day series to three.

Probable XI:ZZiimmbbaabbwwee:: Regis Chakabva, HamiltonMasakadza, Sikandar Raza, BrendanTaylor (Capt & wk), Malcolm Waller, SeanWilliams, Elton Chigumbura, ProsperUtseya, Shingi Masakadza, TinashePanyangara, Tendai Chatara-Kyle Jarvis.BBaannggllaaddeesshh:: Tamim Iqbal, MohammadAshraful, Mominul Haque, MushfiqurRahim (Capt & wk), Shakib Al Hasan,Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, ZiaurRahman, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam,Robiul Islam. –AGENCIES

Zimbabwe seek turnaround in 2nd Bangladesh ODI today

PPEERRTTHH:: MMaaxxii--yyaacchhtt SSuuppeerr SSlleedd ((22nndd rriigghhtt)) rraacceess aatt tthhee ssttaarrtt ooff tthhee FFrreemmaannttllee ttoo BBaallii yyaacchhtt rraaccee aanndd rraallllyy oonn SSaattuurrddaayy.. TThhee 11114400 nnaauuttiiccaall mmiillee eevveenntt ssttaarrtteedd aatt FFrreemmaannttlleeHHaarrbboouurr,, WWeesstteerrnn AAuussttrraalliiaa aanndd wwiillll fifinniisshh ooDD aatt BBeennooaa HHaarrbboouurr iinn BBaallii.. ——AAGGEENNCCIIEESS

OOEEIIRRAASS: Russia's AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova beat Spain's CarlaSuarez Navarro 7-5, 6-2 on Saturdayto win the Portugal Open and claimher first trophy on clay. The third-seeded champion, coached byformer Swiss great Martina Hingis,earned the fifth title of her careerwhile leaving her opponent winlessfrom five finals. One of those was here a year ago,

when Suarez Navarro was unable toclose it out after winning the first setagainst Kaia Kanepi, an opponentshe beat in the semi-finals this week.The winner now owns five careertitles, including two this season afterwinning the Monterrey event for athird time. She improved her recordover Suarez Navarro to 4-0 in WTAplay and 5-0 including a Challengerwin on clay in 2008.Pavlyuchenkova has been working

with Hingis oOcially for just a fewweeks and the analytic game styleand fighting determination ofSwitzerland's five-time grand slam

champion may be rubbing oP on the21-year-old right-hander. SuarezNavarro has now lost two finals in2013 after going down in Acapulco

to 2012 Roland Garros finalist SaraErrani. After the 23rd-rankedSuarez Navarro got oP to an earlybreak and looked like frustrating

her opponent, Pavlyuchenkovasuddenly settled in after what hadbeen a nervy start for both playerson the clay of the Estadio Nacional.The first Russian to win the

trophy here since Maria Kirilenko in2008 slid into her comfort zone asher opponent's game began tosuPer. Pavlyuchenkova, 19th on theWTA list, kept Suarez Navarrofrustrated as she saved three setpoints over two games late in theopening set. The Russian broke for 5-all to turn

the momentum on its head, earningthe set after 56 minutes as sheconverted on her first of three setpoints. The match continued in asimilar vein into the second set, withPavlyuchenkova running out sevenstraight winning games to 3-0before Suarez Navarro steadied witha love game for 1-3. Suarez Navarro saved a break

point to hold for 2-4 before goingdown to defeat in just over 90minutes on a final break in the lastgame, ending with 43 unforcederrors. –AGENCIES

WTA–ATP Portugal Open Tennis Championships

Pavlyuchenkova clinches first clay court title

Tennis

AAnnaassttaassiiaa PPaavvllyyuucchheennkkoovvaa rraaiisseess hheerr ttrroopphhyy aafftteerr wwiinnnniinngg tthhee fifinnaall aaggaaiinnsstt CCaarrllaaSSuuaarreezz NNaavvaarrrroo oonn SSaattuurrddaayy.. ——AAGGEENNCCIIEESS

AS world cricket's newestlaboratory, the IPL, keepsthrowing up observations, it is

up to those who play and whoadminister, and occasionally to thosewho watch, to come up with rationalexplanations. Bowlers, for example,are making a determined comebacklargely because this year's IPL hasseen, by some distance, the bestpitches so far. Indian fielders in theirearly twenties are looking significantlybetter than those in their late twenties,which is an indicator of the necessaryimportance being allotted to it in theformative years. But there is one trendthat has me searching for the rightreason and it might be worth a debate.As I write this, 44 games have beenplayed and 32 of those, have been wonby the home side (as opposed to 32home wins in all of IPL 2012). I find

that staggering for many reasons.Traditionally cricket and tennis,

because they are surface-centricgames, have allowed for homeadvantage. In five-day cricket, andoccasionally in ODIs, it is a hugefactor. But in tournaments like theIPL, it shouldn't be that way becausethe conditions don't change muchover 40 overs (in any case, in the IPLthe diPerences across cities aren't aspronounced as those, say, betweenKanpur and Perth). More so becauseeach team has to have seven domesticplayers. And these seven aren'tsegregated based on where theylearnt their cricket. So SunrisersHyderabad, who have done brilliantlyat home, have four players – ShikharDhawan, Karan Sharma, AmitMishra, and Ishant Sharma – fromaround Delhi. Mumbai Indians, whoSunrisers beat easily in Hyderabad,have as key players Pragyan Ojha andAmbati Rayudu, who learnt theircricket in Hyderabad.Travel could be a factor. When

teams play away they often have arigorous play-pack-and-move kind ofschedule. Occasionally, like one fearswith Kolkata Knight Riders, they mayhave constructed a team for one set ofconditions (low, slow in Kolkata) andfind they don't have the right peoplefor a hard, bouncy surface. But it stillisn't enough to show a 73% home-

win situation. In fact the SunrisersHyderabad v Mumbai Indians gamewas an interesting one to look at. Ifthat surface was indeed made for slowbowlers, Ojha and Harbhajan Singhshould have outbowled theopposition, and Dinesh Karthik,Rohit Sharma and Rayudu shouldhave outbatted them. It didn'thappen.I wonder if there are parallels to be

drawn from football, where too homesides like to create a fortress. Thesurface isn't a factor there. The

weather might be but that could onlybe really significant if you are playingin the Russian winter, for example, orplaying at high altitude – in Bolivia orMexico, say. And in any case ifChelsea are a few tube stations awayfrom playing at Arsenal, theconditions shouldn't be a factor at all.The fans make the diPerence in

football, don't they, creating a climateof hostility. Scientists are talking ofenhanced testosterone levels whenplaying at home (apparently thepostures of winning, which comefrom confidence, boost theproduction of testosterone!). Also, itseems winning at home boosts theandrogen receptors in the parts of thebrain responsible for motivationmore than winning away does.Maybe, just maybe, the IPL in itssixth year is evolving as a league,creating strong city loyalties (certainly

Virat Kohli will have a point of viewthere!), and playing on the minds ofaway teams. It is also likely thereforethat we may have to look at footballand basketball rather than attraditional cricket to explain certainphenomena in T20 leagues.Football, for example, is telling us

that the quality of owner

management (brought to the fore bythe Blackburn Rovers episode andmaybe, in another context, by whathappened with Leeds United) couldbe as big a factor as the innate abilityof the players themselves. Andtherefore, going ahead, this issomething that IPL franchises, andspecifically their owners, will have tobe careful about. Certainly if playerskill was the only determining factor,it cannot explain why Pune Warriorshave floundered while SunrisersHyderabad or Rajasthan Royals have,in a relative sense, flourished.Maybe a clearer picture will emerge

by the end of May, and in the next fewyears the hypothesis that franchise-driven T20 cricket will be closer in itsDNA to football and basketball thanto traditional cricket will be testedfurther. These are exciting times andthat is why I often refer to the IPL asa laboratory. But like with those whowork in labs, we too must look atthese observations with an openmind. Just as a closed mind wouldhave denied us much of theknowledge that has come our wayfrom science, so too will an obsessionwith the past prevent us fromenjoying the future.

(Harsha Bhogle is a commentator,television presenter and writer. He iscurrently contracted to the BCCI)

The curious case of home advantage

BBYY HHAARRSSHHAA BBHHOOGGLLEE

In the next few years the hypothesisthat franchise-driven T20 cricket willbe closer in its DNA to football andbasketball than to traditional cricketwill be tested further

Pakistan focus on battingimprovementOUR STAFF REPORTER

LLAAHHOORREE:: The Pakistan squad for ICCChampions Trophy spent the second day oftheir conditioning camp in Abbottabad onSaturday focusing on their batting. Theplayers had a full-fledged session under theguidance of former players Javed Miandadand Wasim Akram, while the regularcoaches, Dav Whatmore and MohammadAkram, took a backseat. Misbahul Haq, Nasir Jamshed and Umar

Amin were batched together for a battingsession with Miandad, while the bowlers -Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal and JunaidKhan - also spent time working on theirbatting with help from assistant coachShahid Aslam. Ajmal, who is expected toplay a significant role with the ball, showedhe has worked on his batting with a coupleof eye-catching shots - a back-foot cut anda slog over midwicket.Asad Shafiq, who scored four consecutive

half-centuries recently in the President's cupone day tournament, had an extendedbatting session for two hours. In the absenceof Younis Khan, Shafiq will shoulder extraresponsibility in the Pakistan middle order.“I have batted on a track that helped bothbowlers and batsmen, a pitch similar to whatwe are (expecting) to get in England,” Shafiqsaid after the session. “My confidence is already up after playing

in South Africa. I am trying to avoid beingcomplacent and maintain my rhythm fromthese training sessions. My plan is to bat forbig runs as I know the responsibility inYounis absence has gone up. As a team, we understand how important

it is to score runs to support our bowlers, asour group is a tough one. It's in our mindsthat we have to be ready and have to giveour hundred per cent to winning theopening game."Akram, who arrived today for a two-day

visit, cited batting as the key if Pakistan areto succeed. He said that the team's chancesin Champions Trophy are 'bright' butbatsmen need to contribute regularly. "Ifour batting clicks, our bowlers will follow itup on a good note," Akram said. "Ourstrength has been the bowling. Even in myera, we never felt comfortable chasing thetarget. So our batsmen need to score runs."They are indeed preparing well, but weneed to see how they execute the plans therein the matches," he said. "I always deemPakistan as a favourite for suchtournaments and with a proper planningwe can beat any team any where."

Gambhir, Yuvraj outof India's ChampionsTrophy squadMMUUMMBBAAII: Experienced batsmen GautamGambhir and Yuvraj Singh were left outof India's 15-man squad for theChampions Trophy, the country's cricketboard said on Saturday. Left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan,

who last played a 50-over match for Indiain June 2011, got the nod ahead ofGambhir while wicket-keeper batsmanDinesh Karthik, who can also open the batting, was recalled after almost three years.The other opener in the squad, Murali

Vijay, was a surprise inclusion as theright-hander last played an ODI againstSouth Africa in Jan. 2011 and has failedto score a fifty in his 11 matches in theformat. Yuvraj, who made a fairytalecomeback last year after battling a rareform of lung cancer, could not find aplace in the Indian middle-order withselectors preferring right-handedbatsman Rohit Sharma ahead of him.Fast bowler Umesh Yadav returned from

his back injury while all-rounder IrfanPathan also got a recall. OP-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin and leg-spinnerAmit Mishra were the two specialist slowbowlers in the squad. India, the reigning50-over world champions, are in Group Band will play the opening match of theJune 6-23 tournament against SouthAfrica in CardiP. Pakistan and West Indiesare the other teams in the group.

SSQQUUAADD::Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Murali Vijay,Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli,Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja,Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, IrfanPathan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Ishant Sharma, R. Vinay Kumar.

TTeeeenn--rruunnnniinngg sseennssaattiioonn YYoosshhiihhiiddee KKiirryyuu ppoosseess ffoorrpphhoottooggrraapphheerrss oonn SSaattuurrddaayy.. ——AAGGEENNCCIIEESS

Japan’s Kiryu to challenge 10-second barrierTTOOKKYYOO: Teen-running sensationYoshihide Kiryu will make a bid tobecome the first Japanese athlete torun 100 metres in under 10 secondson Sunday, with a packed stadiumexpected in Tokyo. The 17-year-old high-school student

equalled the world record for juniorson Monday after clocking 10.01seconds at a meet in Hiroshima,making him one of only three menunder-20 to have run that fast.Kiryu's next chance to break the 10-second barrier will come on Sundayat the Golden Grand Prix, the thirdleg of the 15-round IAAF WorldChallenge series.Speaking to reporters on Saturday

he said he was focusing on improvinghis performance in the latter part ofthe race. "In that race in Hiroshima,I aimed at the line and slowed downin the last 10 metres. I'm determinedto aim further, thinking of the line asa passing point," he said. "I watchedthe video after the race at home andanalysed what was good and whatwas wrong. I must improve the lastpart of my running," Kiryu added.Ticket sales for the meet havereportedly jumped three-fold sincehis record equalling run.Kiryu will take on seven others at

Tokyo's National Stadium on Sunday,all of them senior athletes and threeof whom have run under 10 seconds -- Americans Mike Rodgers (9.85) andMookie Salaam (9.97), and DerrickAtkins (9.91) of Bahamas. "Even if hecan't run under 10 seconds, it'salmost certain that he will make itthis season," said retired Asian recordholder Koji Ito, speaking to sportsdaily Nikkan Sports. Ito marked10.00 seconds flat at the 1998 AsianGames in Bangkok.Kiryu's junior world record

performance on Monday put himalongside former juniors Trinidadand Tobago's Darrel Brown, whologged 10.01 in 2003, and AmericanJeffery Demps, who clocked the sametime at the 2008 US Olympic trials.Both were 18 at the time. But dipping under 10 seconds is a

tough ask. It has been achieved byonly about 80 male runners, nearlyall of them of West African descent,since American Jim Hines clocked9.95 at the 1968 Mexico CityOlympics. In 2003, Patrick Johnson, whose

mother is an indigenous Australianand whose father is Irish, ran 9.93 tobecome the first runner without anAfrican background to join the sprintelite. In 2010, Frenchman ChristopheLemaitre became the first whiteEuropean to duck under 10 seconds,clocking 9.98. –AGENCIES

cmyk

Published by AhmadWaleed from Yasmeen Majeed Printing Press 69 Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi.

SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2013