Saturday, 27 April, 2013 Jamadul Sani 16, 1434Rs 17.00 Vol III No 300 19 Pages Islamabad — Peshawar Edition

Sarabjit Singh in comaafter inmates attackhim with bricks, bladesSarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner on deathrow, was attacked and seriously injured byhis fellow prisoners at Kot Lakhpat Jail onFriday. “Sarabjit was attacked by fellowdeath row convicts Muddasar and AmirAftab during their hour-long break. Thetwo inmates attacked the Indian prisonerwith bricks and blades, leaving him in aserious condition with critical headinjuries,” a jail official, seeking anonymity

told Pakistan Today. PAGE 04

Boston suspects'planned to bombNew York'Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of NewYork, has said that the Boston Marathonbombing suspects intended to blow uptheir remaining explosives in TimesSquare. Speaking at a joint pressconference on Thursday with PoliceCommissioner Raymon Kelly, Bloombergsaid that the Tsarnaev brothers had apressure cooker bomb and five pipe

bombs they intended to set off. PAGE 07

NADRA willing, ECPunwilling to give expats voting right The National Database and RegistrationAuthority has said that it was all set tofacilitate the overseas Pakistanis in thegeneral elections, but the ElectionCommission of Pakistan has said that itwas not possible for the commission toprovide the facility in a short time. Athree-member bench of the apex courtheaded by Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry resumed hearing

in the case on Friday. PAGE 03

STORIES ON PAGE 19

STORY ON PAGE 04

STORY ON PAGE 04

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KARACHI/QUETTASTAFF REPORT

AT least 11 people were killedand more than 40 others, in-cluding women and children,were injured in a bombing

near an election corner meeting of theAwami National Party (ANP) in Karachi,as attacks on candidates continued un-abated on Friday.

The latest bombing was carried outnear the election office of ANP’s candidateBashir Jan in the Mominabad area ofOrangi Town when he reached there toparticipate in the meeting. Jan remainedsafe as he was in his car when the remotelydetonated bomb exploded. The explosionwas heard in several areas of the city, in-cluding North Nazimabad, Gurumandirand Soldier Bazaar. The dead included ayoung child while the injured were rushedto various hospitals for treatment.

Earlier in the day, the vehicle of ANPcandidate Abdur Rehman Khan Gul, whois contesting elections from NA-255 con-

stituency in Karachi’s Landhi area, cameunder a cracker bomb attack in the Muzaf-farabad Colony.

At least one child was injured whereasthe ANP leader’s car was partially dam-aged in the attack. The candidate remainedunhurt in the incident. Tehreek-e-TalibanPakistan (TTP) spokesman EhsanullahEhsan claimed responsibility for both at-tacks in telephone calls to various mediahouses late on Friday.ANP AND MQM PROTEST

MURDERS: ANP Sindh President ShahiSyed gave a one-day mourning call for Sat-urday (today), but he said that all marketswould remain open and transporters wouldply their vehicles on roads as per routine.“We are not going to call for a shutter-down strike in Karachi. We just want peo-ple to offer Fateha for the departed soulsand pray for peace in the country,” he said.

However, he lashed out at the care-taker government and Election Commis-sion for not providing security to electioncandidates. “Everyone knows the level ofthreats we are getting every day still no

security is being given to our people. Butwe want to make it clear that no matterhow tight the circumstances are made forus, we will not withdraw from the elec-tions. We will not let the extremists havetheir way!” Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) chiefAltaf Hussain joined inthe condemnation,saying such inci-dents were partof terrorists’conspiracy tokeep the lib-eral PPP, ANPand MQMaway from theupcoming elec-tions. Karachihad already beenclosed down forthe day to mournThursday’s bombing ata MQM election officethat killed at least six people.ANP, one of the largest political forces in

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is being targetedwith increased frequency. The party hascome under attack in KP at least seventimes over the past few weeks.BOLAN FIRING: In a related incident,

four security guards were injuredwhen militants opened fire

on an election convoy ofJamiat Ulema-e-Islam-

Fazl candidateHashim Shehwaniin Mach area ofB a l o c h i s t a n ’sBolan district.Levies sourcessaid JUI-F candi-date for PB-30Hashim She-

hwani was on wayto Quetta from

Mach when his con-voy came under attack.

The assailants openedfire on the convoy from

nearby mountains, critically injur-ing four security guards.

Body count rises: 11 morekilled in attack on ANPcandidate in Karachi

11 KILLED, OVER 40INJURED IN BOMBING AT

ANP CANDIDATE’SCORNER MEETING IN

KARACHI, ANOTHER ANPLEADER TARGETED INLANDHI, JUI-F LEADER

COMES UNDER ATTACK INBOLAN DISTRICT

ISLAMABADTAyyAb HuSSAIN

Prime Minister Mir Hazar KhanKhoso is likely to make his first ad-dress to the nation on Tuesday to takethe nation into confidence about thecaretaker government's commitmentto holding the general elections onMay 11 and remove all doubts and ru-mours about a delay in polls, PakistanToday has learnt reliably.

"The prime minister has directed theofficials concerned to prepare a draft ofhis speech and the issues that are likelyto be covered in his speech are timelyand scheduled elections and the plansby the federal and provincial govern-ments to maintain law and order duringthe polls," a well-placed source said.

This would add a new chapter tothe country's history as normallyelected prime ministers enjoy the priv-ilege of addressing the people of Pak-istan directly. The source said that theextraordinary law and order situationin the country, rumours about delay inthe general elections and the prevalentuncertainty about the economic situa-tion had compelled the interim primeminister to take a bold stance and clearthe doubts once and for all.

The recent spate of terrorist at-tacks in three provincial headquarters- Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar – hasbeen alarming and these attacks trig-gered a new debate whether or notpolls would be held on time.

This debate further strengthenedafter the leadership of the Muttahida

Qaumi Movement (MQM) andAwami National Party (ANP) in theirseparate media interactions expressedtheir doubts about timely elections,fearing that polls were not going tobe held per schedule due to worseninglaw and order.

The federal and provincial leader-ships also held a special meeting lastweek chaired by the prime minister thatwas briefed by the ISI director generaland Interior Minister Malik Habib onsecurity threats. A strategy was chalkedout to counter terrorist threats and theElection Commission of Pakistan wasalso taken on board in this regard.

"In order to remove doubts amongpolitical stakeholders and the media, the

prime minister is likely to make a cate-gorical announcement about timelyholding of elections. He would also takethe nation into confidence on other is-sues, including economic and energyissues," the official source added.

The source said the provincial gov-ernments and the federal government,with input from intelligence agenciesand the military, had devised a well-thought-out security plan to counter anythreat from the miscreants during thepolls and the government was confidentto make a public announcement abouton-time polls. When contacted, PressSecretary to the Prime Minister ShafqatJalil confirmed that Khoso was likelyto address the nation.

PM ORDERS JOINT TASK FORCE TODEAL WITH RISING TERRORISM KARACHI: A high-level meeting chaired by Interim Prime

Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Friday decided to form a joint

task force to deal with the rising incidents of terrorism ahead of

the general election scheduled for May 11. Khoso convened a

meeting at the Sindh Governor’s House to take stock the

prevailing law and order in the province, especially in Karachi. In

the meeting, it was decided that a joint task force, comprising

federal and provincial law enforcement agencies, would be

formed to deal with the growing incidents of terrorism. The

caretaker prime minister expressed the resolve to break the

nexus of terrorists. He said such incidents were an attempt to

sabotage the election process. He directed the FC, the Rangers

and the police to jointly move against terrorists. ONlINE

Fear not for the polls, Khosowill tell nation on Tuesday

ECP condemnskilling, abductionof MQM leaders

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

The Election Commission of Pakistan(ECP) on Friday condemned the recentkillings and abductions of leaders of theMQM as well as the attack on the party’spolling office on Thursday. Consideringcomplaints received by it on behalf of theMQM, the ECP unanimously condemnedthe incident and termed it failure of the gov-ernment contrary to the assurances given re-garding maintenance of law and order intheir respective provinces. It called upon theSindh government to take all possible meas-ures to ensure the security of all contestingcandidates and leaders of all political partiesin the province and particularly in Karachiby making foolproof arrangements in thisregard. The ECP also expressed deepestcondolence with the MQM and the bereavedfamilies on the deaths of its leaders andworkers. The commission had, on severaloccasions, categorically directed the provin-cial governments to ensure the security of allcontesting candidates and political leaders.

Bombs, grenadesand foiled terror bids

PESHAWARINP

Spurts of violence continued across KhyberPakhtunkhwa on Friday as the electiondraws closer. According to details, two ex-plosions took place in Hangu and Kohatwhereas two bombs were defused in Bannuand Charsadda districts. According to policesources, bomb disposal squad (BDS) person-nel defused a three-kilogram explosive de-vice in Tana area of Bannu. Moreover, townmunicipal authority personnel discovered abomb in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda. TheBDS was immediately called after the dis-covery of the explosive device. In Hangu’sMuhammad Khawaja area, militants blew upa government high school, partially damag-ing the structure, local political administra-tion sources said. Whereas in Kohat’s Dhodaarea, unknown persons hurled a hand-grenade inside a house, causing minor dam-age to it but causing no casualties. No loss oflife was reported in these incidents. In an-other incident, militants killed a man inMohmand Agency’s Halimzai area for al-legedly supporting the pro-governmentpeace committee in the region. Furthermore,the police foiled a major terrorism bid as itseized and defused five bombs in Karak.According to Karak DPO Attiqullah Wazir,the police launched a search operation inBarbara area, bordering Kohat district wheretwo police officials had been killed in aclash with militants. Six militants had alsodied in the attack. During the search oper-ation, five bombs weighing 50 kilogramswere seized which were later defused bythe bomb disposal squad (BDS). DPOKarak said the bombs would have causedserious casualties and caused damage toproperties had they exploded.

Sindh remains shut tomourn MQM killings

HYDERABAD/KARACHISTAFF REPORT

Business activities, education institutions andtransport remained shut across various cities ofSindh for the second consecutive day on Fridayon a call given by the Muttahida Qaumi Move-ment (MQM) against continued targeting of itscandidates and election offices in Karachi. Anexplosive-laden motorcycle blew up near anMQM election office in North Nazimabad’sNusrat Bhutto Colony on Thursday night, killingat least six people and injuring 13 others. Subse-quently, the MQM again announced a day ofmourning across Sindh on Friday as the bannedTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed re-sponsibility for the attack. It was the secondsuch attack on MQM within a few hours. OnTuesday, four people were killed and over adozen injured when a blast ripped throughMQM’s election office at People’s Chowrangi inNorth Nazimabad area. In the wake of the strikecall made by the MQM Coordination Commit-tee, all educational institutions, petrol pumpsand business outlets remained closed, and roadswore a deserted look on Friday. No major inci-dent of violence was reported during the strike.Attendance in government offices also remainedthin as employees could not get to work becauseof non-availability of public transport. All exam-ination papers scheduled for the day were post-poned as the Private Schools Associationannounced closure of educational institutions inthe wake of uncertain law and order. A similarsituation was reported from elsewhere in Sindh,with all large and small markets remaining shutamid thin traffic on roads in Hyderabad, Sukkur,Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar, Nawabshah andother towns of Sindh following MQM’s call formourning. MQM chief Altaf Hussain advised themasses to exercise all possible caution to pre-vent any untoward incident of terrorism.

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RAWALPINDISTAFF REPORT

THE Federal InvestigationAgency (FIA) on Friday ob-tained four-day physical re-mand of former president

General (r) Pervez Musharraf in the Be-nazir Bhutto murder case. He will be pro-duced for the anti-terrorism court againon April 30.

Musharraf is already serving a two-week house arrest, set to expire on May4, for sacking judges when he imposedemergency rule in November 2007 andwill serve the fresh order concurrently.

The former dictator appeared in theRawalpindi ATC for his remand hearingunder tight security. He is accused of con-spiracy to murder former prime ministerBenazir Bhutto, who died in a gun-and-bomb attack in December 2007.

"We requested a three-day remand ofretired general Pervez Musharraf andJudge Chaudhry Habib-ur Rehman gavea three-day remand and adjourned thecase until Monday," prosecutor ChaudhryAzhar said.

The formal application seeking phys-ical remand of Musharraf was submittedbefore the ATC on Thursday.

Sources told Pakistan Today that theFIA has convened a meeting of the JointInvestigation Team (JIT), which hadprobed the Benazir murder case, today(Saturday. They said that JIT chief Addi-tional DG FIA Khalid Qureshi will pre-side over this meeting, which will beattended by Kohat DIG Azad Khan,Rahim Yar Khan DPO Sohail Tajik and

Intelligence Bureau Director Wajid Zia. The FIA had arrested Musharraf in

Benazir Bhutto murder case on Thurs-day. The formal proceedings for the ar-rest were completed by a FIA deputydirector at Musharraf’s farmhouse inChak Shahzad which has been declareda sub-jail.

The ATC had also allowed the FIAto include Musharraf in the investigationof Benazir Bhutto murder case. Prosecu-tor Chaudhry Zulfiqar represented FIAand presented his arguments while Af-shan Adil advocate represented Mushar-raf. After listening to the arguments, the

court had allowed FIA to formally arrestMusharraf and include him in the inves-tigation.

During the interrogation, the formerpresident was asked why Benazir Bhuttowas not provided security upon her returnto Pakistan, to which Musharraf repliedthat she was provided complete security.Musharraf also refused to accept the al-legations against him and said BenazirBhutto became the target of terrorists.MUShARRAF’S EScAPE cASE:

Separately, the Islamabad High Court(IHC) on Friday adjourned the hearing ofMusharraf’s escape case until April 29,

as the Interior Ministry had failed to pres-ent any report against the Islamabad in-spector general of police.

During the course of the proceedings,Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui remarkedthat non-compliance of court orderscould have a negative impact on the case.

Ministry officials informed the courtthat the Supreme Court’s written ordershad not been received and therefore, thereply could not be prepared. Further-more, officials said that the documentsfor legal advice had been sent to theMinistry of Law. The hearing was lateradjourned until April 29.

Gen Musharraf in FIA’sphysical remand until 30th

RAWALPINDI: Former president

Pervez Musharraf’s vehicle comes

out from the court premises after

his hearing in the Benazir Bhutto

assassination case on Friday. INP

Mark Segal tovisit Pakistan torecord statement

ISLAMABAD: The Federal InvestigationAgency (FIA) joint investigation team on Fri-day contacted a key witness, US journalistMark Segal, who agreed to personally record astatement before the trail court in the BenazirBhutto assassination case. According to a pri-vate TV channel, Segal assured the joint in-vestigation team that he would come to Pak-istan to get his statement recorded. The jointinvestigation team had already recorded astatement by the US journalist in this regard.However, according to law, it was necessary torecord his statement before the trial court. INP

Senate meetingon May 2 to discussMusharraf caseISLAMABAD: The Senate chairman on Fri-day summoned the 93rd session of the UpperHouse on May 2, to debate judicial hearing ofcases against former army chief and presi-dent Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf. The step wastaken in response to a requisition submittedby senators from all political parties, exceptPakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), inthe House on the concluding day of the lastsession. According to a circular issued by theSenate Secretariat, the chairman had sum-moned the House to meet on May 2 in exer-cise of powers conferred on him by clause (3)of Article 54 read with Article 61 of the con-stitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.Under these articles the Senate chairman, inresponse to a requisition submitted by sena-tors, does not require any directions from thegovernment on summoning the House. Thesearticles authorise him to call the House insession unilaterally. The requestors, whilesubmitting the requisition for the senate ses-sion, said serious proceedings regarding con-duct of elections and judicial hearing of casesagainst former army chief Pervez Musharrafwere underway and they feared that follow-ing his sub-jail custody at his farmhouse, hecould be airlifted to any other country. “Sowe need the House in session,” said the re-questors including Senator Zahid Khan, IshaqDar and Raza Rabbani while talking to mediapersonnel outside Parliament House aftersubmitting the requisition. ONlINE

‘Taliban plan tokidnap Musharraf’ISLAMABAD: Intelligence agencies havewarned that the Taliban have made plans tokidnap former military ruler PervezMusharraf, who is currently being held at hisprivate residence after being arrested inseveral criminal cases. The intelligenceagencies have issued an advisory that thebanned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan mightattempt to abduct Musharraf while he isbeing taken from his farmhouse to court, aprivate channel reported today. The channelquoted its sources as saying that the Talibanwere working with other jihadi groups tokidnap Musharraf. The intelligence agenciesdirected security agencies to ensure strictsurveillance and tight security to foil theplans of militants, the report said. Shortlyafter Musharraf returned to Pakistan fromself-exile last month, the Taliban announcedthat they had formed a special squad ofsuicide bombers and snipers to target him.A car rigged with a huge amount ofexplosives was recently found close toMusharraf's Islamabad farmhouse, whichwas declared a "sub-jail" after he wasarrested last week when a court revoked hisbail in a case over the detention of seniorjudges during the 2007 emergency. ONlINE

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The National Database and Regis-tration Authority (NADRA) hassaid that it was all set to facilitatethe overseas Pakistanis in the gen-eral elections, but the ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP)has said that it was not possible forthe commission to provide the fa-cility in a short time. A three-mem-ber bench of the apex court headedby Chief Justice Iftikhar Muham-mad Chaudhry resumed hearing inthe case on Friday.

Attorney General (AG) IrfanQadir said the government wasbound to follow and implementthe decisions of ECP and the com-mission had excused from facili-tating overseas Pakistanis.

NADRA apprised the apexcourt that seven countries hadgiven consent to facilitate theirPakistani citizens, including Aus-tralia, Bahrain, Canada, Kuwait,Oman, Saudi Arabia and England.

The NADRA chairman saidsoftware prepared for giving voteright to overseas Pakistanis wouldbe tested next month after which itwould be installed in six morecountries. The CJP said nothingwas impossible but it needed com-mitment and sincerity. He said theoutgoing government made legis-lation even on the last day of itstenure for its interest.

Justice Sheikh Azmat re-marked that the government wasplaying “minister’s game” with thejudiciary. The SC directed the AGto hold a joint meeting with thegovernment, Election Commission,NADRA and other stakeholders forenactment of legislation on tempo-

rary basis to make overseas Pakista-nis part of the electoral process.The CJP said “We have read repliesof the federation and ECP and theyhave not said anywhere that theyhave reservations. We had askedNADRA and Ministry of OverseasPakistanis and they had said that itwas practicable. It is becoming in-comprehensible if the governmentor ECP is facing any problem.”The Foreign Ministry also assuredthe court that it was ready to get im-plemented fully all the court’s or-ders in this respect.

nADRA willing, eCPunwilling to giveexpats voting right

Seven countriesgive concurrencefor expats’ votingISLAMABAD: Seven hostgovernments on Fridaygave their concurrence forconducting polls foroverseas Pakistanis. ForeignOffice spokesman AizazAhmad Chaudhry told theweekly press briefing thatthe Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP) hadshortlisted nine countrieswhere polling could be held.The spokesman saidconcurrence from SaudiArabia, Bahrain, Oman,Kuwait, Australia, Canadaand United Kingdom hadbeen received while aresponse from the UnitedStates and the UnitedArab Emirates was stillpending. STAFF REPORT

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ISLAMABADAPP

THE caretaker govern-ment has formed athree-member com-mittee to look into the

energy crisis and has also an-nounced a short-term strategyto reduce electricity shortageacross the country.

Announcement to this ef-fect was made by the Adviserto the prime minister on fi-nance, Dr Shahid AmjadChaudhry, at a joint press con-ference at the Ministry of Fi-nance on Friday.

He was flanked by Minis-ter for Water and Power DrMusadik Malik, Minister forPetroleum and Natural Re-sources Sohail Wajahat H Sid-diqui, Finance Secretary Dr

Waqar Masood and senior of-ficials of the ministries.

Chaudhry categoricallysaid the caretaker governmentwould implement its short-term energy policy without in-creasing the power tariff andwould put no financial burdenon the people in the country.

He said the country wascurrently generating 9,200MWof electricity against the demandof 13,800MW to 14,000MW,adding that there was an elec-tricity shortage of 4,000MWacross the country and peoplewere facing load shedding of upto 12 hours a day which was amatter of concern for the care-taker government. He said thegovernment could increase thepower generation capacity to2900MW and bring it into thesystem through adopting short-

term measures. He said to facil-itate and support the power gen-eration companies, the Ministryof Finance had released Rs 10billion, adding that Rs 20 billionwould be released shortly whileRs 35 billion would be releasedthe next month.

He said under the short-termstrategy, the Ministry of Petro-leum and Natural Resourceswould provide 150-200MMCFD to the power gen-eration companies in order toensure gas supply to power gen-eration companies for generatingof more electricity in the country.

The adviser said represen-tatives of all provinces wouldbe stationed in the NationalPower Centers across thecountry to oversee how muchelectricity was generated byeach power station.

WASHINGTONINP

The government of India onThursday protested to theUnited States over the briefdetention of Uttar Pradesh(UP) Urban DevelopmentMinister Mohammad AzamKhan at Boston airport as hearrived to take part in an eventat Harvard University.

Khan, who was accompa-nying UP Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav for the presen-tation of a Harvard study on theKumbh Mela pilgrimage, wasdetained for about 10 minutes

for “further questioning” atBoston Logan International Air-port, according to Indian offi-cials. Once the visitors werecleared for entry by immigra-tion, a female officer of the USCustoms and Border Protectionwing of the Homeland Securitytook Khan to an adjacent room“for further questioning,”sources said. Khan was reportedto have kicked up a ruckus inthe immigration area saying hewas detained because he was aMuslim and sought an apologyfrom the officer who merelysaid she was doing her duty.

As arguments became

heated, officials from the In-dian consulate in New York in-tervened and Khan wasescorted out of the airport. InWashington, Indian embassyspokesman M Sridharan saidthe mission had taken up theissue with the State Depart-ment officially and we haveconveyed our serious concern.At the State Department, whenasked to comment on the inci-dent, spokesman Patrick Ven-trell said he was not aware ofthe specifics of this case as theDepartment of Homeland Se-curity had jurisdiction over air-port movements inside the US.

LAHORERANA HAIDER

Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner ondeath row, was attacked and seriously in-jured by his fellow prisoners at KotLakhpat Jail on Friday.

“Sarabjit was attacked by fellowdeath row convicts Muddasar and AmirAftab during their hour-long break. Thetwo inmates attacked the Indian prisonerwith bricks and blades, leaving him in aserious condition with critical head in-juries,” a jail official, seeking anonymitytold Pakistan Today.

He said that Sarabjit was immedi-ately rushed to the Jinnah Hospital wheredoctors put him on a ventilator. “He(Sarabjit) is in a coma at the moment,”Dr Zafar Iqbal, head of the Neuro Sur-gery Department at the hospital told Pak-istan Today on the phone. He said thedoctors are mulling carrying out an oper-ation on Sarabjit to save his life.

Jail sources said that the prime suspectin the attack, Amir Aftab, had quarreled

with Sarabjit a few days ago but the jailauthorities did not bother to take notice ofthe incident. The reason for the altercationcould not immediately be ascertained.

Taking notice of the incident, the PunjabInspector General of Prisons has suspendedthe assistant superintendent and warden ofKot Lakhpat Jail for negligence in dutywhile the Punjab Home Department has or-dered an enquiry into the incident. DeputySuperintendent Prisons Malik Mubashir hasbeen tasked with the investigation.

A source at the hospital told PakistanToday that tight security measures hadbeen enforced at the ward where Sarabjitis being treated. “Police commandos andintelligence personnel have been de-ployed in the ward and unauthorised per-sons have been barred from entering thefacility,” he said.PAKISTAN GIVES INDIA cON-

SULAR AccESS: The Foreign AffairsMinistry was quick to respond to a re-quest by the Indian External Affairs Min-istry for consular access to Sarabjit.

“We have a track record of respond-

ing to humanitarian situations. The In-dian government has been granted imme-diate access to the injured convict,” saida Foreign Office spokesman. Earlier, In-dian External Affairs Ministry spokesper-son Syed Akbaruddin told the Press Trustof India (PTI) that two officers had beensent to Lahore for consular access toSarabjit. Sarabjit’s lawyer Owais Sheikhsaid the incident would have “very veryserious consequences”.

Last year in September, Sarabjit wrotea letter to his sister and daughters allegingthat the authorities at Kot Lakhpat jail wereslow-poisoning and mentally torturing him.Sarabjit had accused the jail officials of“conspiring to drive him insane” and ridi-culing him when he asked them forpainkillers. According to the prosecution,Sarabjit had illegally crossed into Pakistanfrom Kasur on August 29, 1990. He was ar-rested on charges of conducting four bombblasts in Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore.He is named Manjeet Singh in the FIR. Hewas sentenced to death. His counselclaimed it was a case of mistaken identity.

ISLAMABADINP

The most popular politician in Pakistan’s largestparty won’t be staging any rallies or participatingin debates as May’s historic national electionnears. The reason: She’s dead. Yet BenazirBhutto, assassinated more than five years ago, isstill the standard bearer of the Pakistan People’sParty. In its TV commercials and banners, shehas been pushed to the forefront of the party’suphill campaign to return to power in parliamentafter a widely criticised five-year term.

Hers is the face of the party on its officialmanifesto. She looms over smaller photos of herwidower, President Asif Ali Zardari, and theirson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who lead the partybut are rarely seen in public. The PPP’s cam-paign in the run-up to May 11 vote, has beenproscribed by security concerns. The PakistaniTaliban, who asserted responsibility for BenazirBhutto’s murder, have warned the secular partythat its candidates and rallies will be attacked.In recent weeks the militants have killed severalleaders and workers in the parties that formedthe PPP government’s ruling coalition.

That may be part of the reason Benazir, whoserved twice as prime minister and was Pak-istan’s only woman premier, has become a con-stant presence in race. But her embattled partyreally has no other option but to stress its line-age, analysts say. The newly-ended governmentwas marred by an economic meltdown and per-sistent corruption cases against top officials.

Even though the party and its coalition part-ners made history as the first civilian govern-ment in Pakistan’s 65-year history to completea full term — and thereby shepherd in a demo-cratic transition of power — that hasn’t loweredthe price of wheat or gasoline, given people jobsor diminished poverty. Zardari polls miserably.The former prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani,

was drummed from office by the Supreme Courtlast year for refusing to submit to its orders toreopen a money laundering case against Zardari.And the public blames Gilani’s successor, RajaPervaiz Ashraf, a former energy minister, forcrippling electrical and natural gas shortages.

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, 24, is too young tocontest for a seat in the May 11 election — theminimum age in Pakistan is 25. In a video re-leased on Tuesday, the party heir reassured votersthat he “wanted to launch the election campaignin the streets of my country alongside my work-ers”, but said it was too dangerous.

“Once again the enemies of peace and pros-perity are standing in front of us,” Bilawal said. Sothe party is left with only ghosts to burnish itsimage. In campaign ads and on placards, Benaziris always clad in a fashionable headscarf — insome photos merely casting a serene gaze, in oth-ers raising an arm forcefully, as if at an eternal rally.The latter image has been paired with one of herson giving a victory sign. In placards hung aroundthe capital, Islamabad, touting one of the party’sNational Assembly candidates, Benazir takes thetop position — usually reserved for living primeminister candidates in other parties’ signs.

The PPP’s signage and literature alsorarely fail to invoke the memory of her father,Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who founded the party andlater served as Pakistan’s premier and presi-dent. Both of them are bestowed the title “sha-heed”, whenever mentioned in party speechesand materials. Zulfikar was deposed in a 1979military coup and later hanged. Today his stolidvisage is also an election-season staple, as theparty makes a direct photographic appeal to hislegacy as a socialist reformer. “You would hearpeople say, ‘I will vote for his grave, even, be-cause of what he did for me,’” Usman Khalid,a former Pakistan Army brigadier general whoresigned to protest Zulfikar’s execution, wasquoted as saying by The Washington Post.

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ChairmanBilawal Bhutto Zardari returned toKarachi from Dubai on Friday and isscheduled to address party rallies throughvideo conferencing due to security threats,top party sources said. “Bilawal travels fre-quently between Dubai and Karachi andwe do not share his travel plans,” chief ofstaff to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, HishamSheikh told reporters.

Hisham said that the Federal Investiga-tion Agency (FIA) had informed the partyin writing about serious security threatsposed to the life of Bilawal Bhutto Zardariand they had taken measures accordingly.Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babaralso admitted that there were serious secu-rity threats to the party’s top leadership andcandidates but made it clear that the PPP didnot want any delay in the polls. He saidparty candidates have been directed to im-mediately inform the government in case ofsecurity threats by terrorists.

Three British

Muslims jailed

for al Qaeda

bomb plot

LONDON ONlINE

Three British Muslims werejailed on Friday for planningwhat a court heard was an alQaeda-backed plot to carryout a string of bombings thatthey hoped would rival 9/11and the 2005 London attacks.

Ringleader Irfan Naseerreceived a life sentence, hisright-hand man Irfan Khalidwas jailed for 18 years and co-conspirator Ashik Ali wasjailed for 15 years by a judgeat Woolwich Crown Court insoutheast London.

Naseer, 31, and Khalidand Ali, both 28, were con-victed in February of engag-ing in conduct in preparationof terrorist acts, through anextremist plot to set off eightrucksack bombs in crowdedareas and possibly othertimed devices.

“Your plot had the bless-ing of al Qaeda and you in-tended to further the aims ofal Qaeda,” Judge RichardHenriques said as he sen-tenced the three men.

The group, all from Birm-ingham in central England,was heavily influenced by theteachings of American-born alQaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by adrone strike in Yemen in Sep-tember 2011, police said.

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

The third Heart of Asia Ministerial Conferenceof the Istanbul Process was held on Friday inAlmaty, Kazakhstan. The President of Kaza-khstan Nursultan Nazarbayev inaugurated theconference which was co-chaired by AfghanMinister of Foreign Affairs Zalmai Rassoul.

Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani led thePakistani delegation. Speaking on the occasion,Jilani conveyed his appreciation and thanked thegovernment of Kazakhstan for hosting the min-isterial conference. Moreover, he underlined that

several developments had taken place since thelast ministerial in Kabul in June 2012.

The foreign secretary said that six clusters ofCBMs that had been identified were now readyfor implementation. He said that Pakistan attachedgreat importance to the Heart of Asia initiative. Hereported to the conference about the draft imple-mentation plan of the Disaster ManagementCBM, prepared jointly with Kazakhstan. TheCBM was later adopted by the ministerial confer-ence along with other CBMs. The foreign secre-tary said Pakistan had continuously endeavored toraise the profile of its relations with Afghanistanat both bilateral and multilateral forums.

Government forms 3-member committeeon energy crisis

Sarabjit Singh in coma after inmatesattack him with bricks, blades

India protests detention ofUP minister at Boston airport

Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference 2013 held

Benazir still leading her party in election: WP

Bilawal returns to address PPP ralliesthrough video conferencing

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180C RAWALPINDIAgENcIES

ALL Pakistan MuslimLeague (APML) GeneralSecretary Dr AmjadMalik has said formerpresident General (r)

Pervez Musharraf is not responsible for

Akbar Bugti’s killing in the Balochistanoperation.

Talking to reporters on Friday, Maliksaid office bearers of the bar haddiscussed with the counsels forMusharraf to avoid any clash between hissupports and the lawyers. He said baroffice bearers had assured that therewould be no such clash on the nexthearing.

Earlier, the Anti-Terrorism Court inRawalpindi (ATC) accepted the APML’sbail petition while sent 13 other accusedto the Adiala Jail on a judicial remand inthe lawyers’ torture case.

A scuffle broke out between thelawyers and former president General (r)Pervez Musharraf’s supporters on thehearing of the Benazir Bhuttoassassination case.

Several supporters and lawyers gotinjured in this scuffle after which thelawyers lodged the first informationreport (FIR) against Malik and 13 othersupporters of APML.

On Friday, all the 14 accusedpresented themselves before the ATC.The ATC judge only granted bail toMalik while sent the other 13 to AdialaJail on a judicial remand.

Musharraf not responsiblefor Bugti’s killing: APML

Party generalsecretaryDr amjaD gets bail

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

Some media savvy lawyers, under ahidden agenda, are bringing a bad nameto the entire lawyers’ community byhumiliating General (r) Pervez Musharrafand scuffling with his supporters, saylawyer leaders.

“Quarrelling with anyone is not thejob of lawyers. We are educated peopleand we should follow the law, whichprovides equal rights to all politicalworkers,” Pakistan Bar Council (PBC)Vice Chairman Syed Qalbe Hassan said.

The senior lawyer said the SupremeCourt was hearing a high treason caseagainst the former military dictator solawyers should leave the court to decideon the fate of Musharraf.

“We should show decency during hisappearance in courts as he has aconstitutional right to a fair trial,” Hassansaid.

A senior lawyer of the IslamabadHigh Court (IHC), Chaudhry Khalidseconded Hassan’s opinion. “No doubt,some young lawyers had a quarrel withAll Pakistan Muslim League (APML)supporters the other day. The

representatives of IHC and district barstrongly condemn the incident. Beingeducated people, lawyers should respectthe law,” he said.

However, he went on to say thatAPML workers were trying to tarnish theimage of the lawyers and were wearingblack coats pretending to be members ofthe legal fraternity. “Believe me, at anabandoned area near F-8 on Saturday, Imyself witnessed APML workerswearing black coats. When such peopleturn violent it appears that lawyers arebreaking the law,” Khalid said.

Former IHC Bar Associationpresident Ashraf Gujjar, however, solelyheld the APML responsible for all violentepisodes that took place between lawyersand Musharraf’s supporters. He saideveryday police produced hundreds ofaccused in various courts, but no suchsituation arises. “APML brought hiredpeople on Musharraf’s hearing to chantpro-Musharraf and anti-judiciaryslogans… In retaliation some younglawyers responded,” he said.

Such tactics by APML, he said, wasan attempt to pressurise courts. “Let meassure you if Musharraf does not bringhis supporters in courts, lawyers will notchant slogans against him and will nottake the law into their hands. We believein the supremacy of law,” he added.

STrESSEd ouTACId ATTACKvICTIM CoMMITSSuICIdE

ISLAMABADONlINE

A woman committed suicide on Fridayunder heavy stress due to loss of sight abouttwo years ago in an acid attack.According to details, Shakeela Rafiq, aresident of Sector G/10-4, was attacked byher neighbour, Muhammad Ali, with acidabout two years ago. Shakeela lost her sightin the attack. Since then she was underimmense stress and committed suicide byhanging herself with the ceiling fan.The police reached the spot after receivingthe news and shifted the body to a hospitalfor an autopsy. Her husband’s request,however, for not conducting an autopsy hasbeen accepted.

ISLAMABADONlINE

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)President Nawaz Sharif has stressed forfurther strengthening the existing good tiesbetween Pakistan and the Arab world.

Nawaz said this on Friday while talkingwith ambassadors of the Arab countries in ameeting held at a Saudi Arabian envoy’sresidence.

He said constitutional transition of thegovernment was taking place for the first timein Pakistan. Nawaz shared the manifesto ofthe party and said the country was facingchallenges of rising inflation, unemployment,

depleting energy resources and an alarmingdeterioration in the law and order situation.

“These enormous problems call for astrong and stable government, which iscommitted to good governance and rule oflaw,” Nawaz apprised the Arab ambassadors.He said only an experienced and competentleadership could formulate and implement awell thought-out policy.

The ambassador of Bahrain for Pakistanthanked the PML-N president for taking timeout to meet them. He said the Arab countriesattached great importance to the relation withPakistan. Nawaz was accompanied bySenator Ishaq Dar and former ambassadorTariq Fatemi.

Pakistan, Arab nations mustcome closer, says Nawaz

A few lawyers maligningthe entire community

file photo

RAWALPINDI: Supporters of an election hopeful protest against the PML-Q for not giving him ticket. STAFF PHOTO

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ISLAMABADKASHIF AbbASI

MUHAMMAD Abidhas been witnessingelections in NA-48 since1985, but for the firsttime he is confused about

who might win in this constituency. Close competition is expected among the

three former members of the NationalAssembly, including Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)leader Mian Aslam, former MNA JavedHashmi and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) leader Anjum Aqeel.

74-year-old, Abid, who runs a vegetableshop at G-7 said, “In the past, almost onemonth before the elections, one can tell whowill emerge victorious. However, this time,no one is so sure.”

He said that he could not rule out thestrong position of PML-N, as the party’scandidate was defending his seat in theconstituency. At the same time, JI’s MianAslam, who could not contest in 2008elections because his party boycotted thepolls, won from this seat in 2002. At the sametime, PTI heavyweight Hashmi, who has thesupport of thousands of people, could also notbe ruled out either as a serious contendereither.

Contrary to Abid’s claim, a youngster,

Saqlain Hussain said that tough competitionwas expected between Mian Aslam and JavedHashmi.

NA-48 is one of the two constituenciesof the federal capital. For May 11 elections,almost every party has fielded its candidatesfor the constituency and a number ofindependent candidates are also in the race.However, there is no clear popularity of anyparticular party.

In 2002 general elections, JI’s MianAslam won this seat by defeating PakistanPeople’s Party’s (PPP) heavyweightcandidate Babar Awan. In 2008, Mian Aslamdidn’t take part in the polls due to JI’s electionboycott, which allowed PML-N’s AnjumAqeel to win.

This constituency consists of both urban

and rural areas. According to observers, inurban areas, Mian Aslam enjoys largersupport than other candidates. While, PTIheavyweight Javed Hashmi has the supportfrom many youngsters of both urban and ruralareas.

On Friday evening Pir Jalal Uddin ofGolra Sharif also pledged support for PTI.There are hundreds of their followers livingin this constituency, who will have a strongvote in May 11 elections.

PML-N’s Anjum Aqeel, who defeated DrSyed Israr Shah of PPP in 2008 polls, has losthis popularity to some extent in urban areasdue to his alleged involvement in Rs 6 billionland fraud. However, belonging to theinfluential Khan family of Golra, he stillenjoys a large following in rural areas of the

constituency.Although, PPP’s Faisal Butt is actively

running his election campaign and enjoyssupport of the youth, yet given PPP’s historyin this constituency, the signs do not lookgood for Butt.

Like other constituencies, in NA-48, thecandidates have spent a huge amount ofmoney for banners and pamphlets. Everyvisible nook and cranny of the city is plasteredwith banners of various political leaders.PPP’s candidate Faisal Butt is definitelyahead in the race for banner-plastering,

On Friday evening, PTI youngstersstaged a car and motorcycle rally to motivatevoters. The rally started from sector G-11 andculminated at F-11. Dozens of Hashmi’ssupporters participated in the rally.

NA-48: May the best man winall-imPortant na-48constituencylooking to be arough fight betweenPti, ji anD Pml-n

Ministry gives

5-month

extension to

IESCo chiefISLAMABAD

ONlINE

The Ministry of Water and Power hasgiven extension of five months toIslamabad Electric Supply Company(IESCO) Chief Executive Officer JavedPervez in total disregard to theopposition of the IESCO board members.Well placed sourced in the ministry toldOnline of Friday that Javed was to retireon April 22 but had been awardedextension of five months by Water andPower Minister Dr Musaddiq Malik.Sources also said that Javed enjoyedcordial relations with the federalminister and his extension was result of adeal between the federal minister andJaved.Sources said the IESCO board ofdirectors strongly opposed Javed’sextension as the chief executive officer,adding that names of General ManagerDevelopment Malik Muhammad Yousafand General Manager TransmissionMuhammad Rafique had been forwardedfor the appointment.Sources also claimed that Javed hadgood relations with former primeminister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and hadspent huge funds in Gujar Khan which isRaja’s home constituency. They also saidthe appointment was also a completedisregard of the Supreme Court’sdirections.

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) seniorleader Chaudhry NisarAli Khan said onFriday that fairelections under thecurrent caretakersetup would be amiracle.

Talking toreporters, Nisar saidthe PML-N had noobjections over thetransfer of the chiefsecretary, the inspectorgeneral of police, and other topofficials in the Punjab. “But we areagainst the people who have been postedon recommendation of the Pakistan People’sParty and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid

(PML-Q),” he said.Nisar said the PML-N

would win the electionswith the public’s support.

“The PML-N’s agendawill remain the samewhatever the numberof seats we get,” headded.

“Imran Khancannot challengeNawaz Sharif whohas been the prime

minister for twoterms. He is only

challenging to raise hispolitical stature,” Nisar

said, adding that theelection contest was between

the PML-N and the PPP.Nisar also said the caretaker setup

was the “PPP’s B-team” and the governmentwas still influenced by the Presidency.

Fair elections in Punjab unlikelyunder this caretaker govt: nisar

Us museum to exhibit Pakistani artworkISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The US museum Phillips Collection inWashington DC will put on display artworkdone by emerging Pakistani artists.

The artwork is result of a series ofworkshops that were sponsored by the USEmbassy in Islamabad. Selected in theseworkshops, 50 artists from across thecountry gathered at the National College ofArts (NCA) in Rawalpindi on Friday todisplay their work. Several art objects willbe sent to the Phillips Collection for display.The US museum is already planning to hostan iftaaf event during the month ofRamadan.

Rachel Goldberg, who works with thePhillips Collection, organised workshopsand brought together artists across thecountry. She gave series of classes on theartwork done by Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), America’s one of the most importantartists of the 20th century. She used

Lawrence’s seminal “Migration Series” andchallenged students to create their ownnarratives to depict important cultural eventsin Pakistan’s history, as Lawrence had done.

“Art gives us the opportunity toexperience contemporary and historic socialissues in a unique way,” said Peter Brennan,the US embassy minister counselor forpublic affairs, at the exhibition’s openingceremony held at the NCA Rawalpindi.“The United States will continue to supportemerging Pakistani artists who use theirwork to foster a better understanding ofPakistan’s rich cultural history.”

During her two weeks visit in Pakistan,Goldberg held workshops for about 100emerging artists in Lahore and Islamabad,led training sessions for arts educators, andhosted discussions with art curators andgallery managers. She also taughtunderprivileged children and orphans at theMashal School and the SOS Village how touse art to convey important stories fromtheir past.

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newssaturday, 27 April, 2013

Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of

confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small

scale in Syria. –Caitlin Hayden, US National Security Council N

MOSCOWAgENcIES

Thirty-eight have been killed aftera fire raged through a psychiatrichospital outside Moscow, Russianemergency officials and media re-ports said.

There were believed to havebeen 41 people inside the one-storey hospital in the town of Ra-menye when the fire broke out inthe early hours of Friday, and onlythree managed to escape, the Emer-gency Situations Ministry said.

"According to preliminary re-ports, 38 people were killed, in-cluding two medical staff," saidspokesman Oleg Salagai, cited by

the RIA Novosti news agency.Yuri Deshevih from the Emer-

gency Ministry told RIA that at thebeginning of 2012, "primary in-spections discovered routine viola-tions: no lampshades on lamps, exitsigns were not everywhere, diffi-cult reach fire water supply.

"In August 2012, they had a re-inspection - all violations had beencorrected."

Moscow declared April 27 tobe a day of mourning.

“The nearest fire station isabout 51 km from the site. The fire-fighters could have arrived earlierif the fire occurred in summer, asthere is a ferry across the river,”Vadim Belovoshin, deputy emer-

gencies chief for the Moscow re-gion, told RIA Novosti.

The fire was said to have beencaused by a short circuit.

There were bars on the win-dows, and some patients apparently

died while trying to make it to themain entrance to escape, but manyothers died in their beds, an un-named source said.

The fire was the latest tragedyto hit a medical institution in Rus-sia which still suffers from out-dated Soviet-era infrastructure. InMay 2007 two people died and 12were injured in a village psychiatrichospital in Russia's southern Ros-tov region.

In December 2006, a fire in aMoscow drug rehabilitation clinickilled 45 women. Many of the vic-tims were trapped by metal bars onthe windows that staff could notopen and an emergency exit wasboarded up, officials said.

38 DEAD AS FIRE DESTROYS HOSPITAL IN RUSSIA

DAMASCUSAgENcIES

THE US has said that Syria has prob-ably used chemical weapons againstrebel forces on a "small scale," butemphasised that intelligence serv-ices were still not 100 percent sure.

US spy agencies have investigated reports fromSyrian opposition groups that President Bashar al-Assad's forces have used sarin gas on at least twooccasions during the two-year-old conflict.

"Our intelligence community does assess withvarying degrees of confidence that the Syrianregime has used chemical weapons on a smallscale in Syria," Caitlin Hayden, a US National Se-curity Council spokesperson, said on Thursday.

Two Syrian officials denied the US accusa-tions, backed by Britain, on Friday, with a seniorofficial saying Damascus did not and would notuse chemical weapons even if it had them.

Syrian official Sharif Shehadeh called the USclaims `"lies'' and likened them to false accusa-tions that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruc-tion ahead of the U.S. invasion of that country.

Hayden said that the US assessment wasbased in part on "physiological samples" andpointed to the possible use of sarin, a man-made

nerve agent used in two attacks in Japan in the1990s. It can cause convulsions, respiratory fail-ure and death.'GROwING EVIDENcE': However, she saidthe chain of custody of the weapons was "notclear, so we cannot confirm how the exposure oc-curred and under what conditions".

Britain's prime minister David Cameronbacked the US assessment on Friday when he saidthere was growing evidence of chemical weaponsuse. President Barack Obama has declared that thedeployment of chemical weapons would be agame-changer and has threatened unspecified con-sequences if it happened. Even so, the Obama ad-ministration would likely move carefully, mindfulof the lessons of the start of the Iraq war more thana decade ago.

At the time, the US administration used inac-curate US intelligence to justify the invasion ofIraq in pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biologicalweapons that were not there.

Cameron said on Friday that he agreed withObama that the use of chemical weapons wouldrepresent a "red line" for the international com-munity.

However, he said that the response wouldlikely be political, rather than military.

"What we need to do, and we're doing someof this already, is shape that opposition, work withthem, train them, mentor them, help them so weput the pressure on the regime and so we can bringthis to an end," Cameron said.

Positive test sampleReports this month said British military scien-

tists had studied a soil sample brought back froman area close to Damascus and found it tested pos-itive for chemical weapons, although the govern-ment has not confirmed that.

Meanwhile, UN leader Ban Ki-moon reneweda call for Syria to let inspectors into the country.

Syria asked for a UN investigation but hassince refused to let a UN team waiting in the re-gion into the country.

Assad's government only wants its claims thatopposition rebels used chemical arms to be inves-tigated. Ban has said the team should also lookinto opposition claims.

Ban has noted the US claims and "takes seri-ously the assessment presented," UN spokesmanMartin Nesirky said, commenting on the com-ments from the US.

"However, the United Nations is not in a po-sition to comment on assessments based on na-tional intelligence information."

SEOULAgENcIES

South Korea has decided to withdraw the roughly 175 ofits nationals stationed at Kaesong joint industrial zoneafter North Korea rejected Seoul’s offer to open formaltalks on restarting operations at the complex, accordingto a senior official.

Seoul said on Friday it was worried about its workersnot having access to food and medicine at the factory parkthat has been closed for nearly a month.

The statement by the country's Unification MinisterRyoo Kihl-jae raises a major question about the future ofthe last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation as ten-sions remain high in the region.

The jointly run industrial zone located inside North

Korea on the border with the South provides jobs to morethan 50,000 North Koreans, who withdrew after their gov-ernment decided to shut operations there.

Pyongyang's powerful National Defence Commission(NDC) earlier said Seoul's demand for working-level talkswas deceptive and that ongoing US-South Korean militarydrills and the spreading of anti-North Korea leaflets at theborder were proof of Seoul's insincerity.

Seoul on Thursday had given the North 24 hours toagree to formal negotiations on the Kaesong complex,warning of unspecified "significant measures" if Py-ongyang declined.

"If the South Korean puppet force continues to aggra-vate the situation, it would be up to us to take any finaland decisive grave measures," South's Yonhap newsagency cited the NDC statement as saying.

WASHINGTON: Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York,has said that the Boston Marathon bombing suspectsintended to blow up their remaining explosives in TimesSquare. Speaking at a joint press conference on Thursdaywith Police Commissioner Raymon Kelly, Bloomberg said thatthe Tsarnaev brothers had a pressure cooker bomb and fivepipe bombs they intended to set off. On Friday, authoritiestransferred surviving suspect Dzhokhar from the hospital to afederal detention centre outside of Boston. "The survivingattacker revealed that New York City was next on their list oftargets," Bloomberg said at New York City Hall. AgENcIES

MOSCOW: Jailed Pussy Riot punk-rocker NadezhdaTolokonnikova has pleaded to be released on parole from hertwo-year sentence, arguing that she had already spentenough time in prison for the group's protest againstPresident Vladimir Putin. "I have spent enough time in theprison camp. I've had enough of studying it. Six months istime enough," Tolokonnikova told the judge at her parolehearing on Friday, the RAPSI legal news agency reported.The parole hearing could theoretically see Tolokonnikova, a23-year-old opposition activist and philosophy student at theelite Moscow State University, released immediately. The2012 trial of Tolokonnikova and two other members of theprovocative feminist band grabbed worldwide attention, withstars such as Madonna, Sting and Yoko Ono voicing theirsupport. AgENcIES

Iraq gripped bydeadly sectarianviolence

BAGHDADAgENcIES

Sectarian tensions have esca-lated in Iraq, where the death tollfrom a four-day wave of vio-lence has passed 190, officialshave said.Thousands of protesters gatheredin cities across Iraq this week tovoice their anger at the Shia-ledgovernment and called for PrimeMinister Nouri al-Maliki to stepdown and an end to the discrimi-nation against Sunnis.A United Nations envoy, MartinKobler, warned on Friday Iraqwas at "crossroads" and calledfor restraint as violence contin-ues to raise fears of a wider sec-tarian war. The comments cameas bombings at four Sunnimosques in and around Baghdadkilled four people and wounded50 on Friday, according to an in-terior ministry official andmedics. The violence was thelatest in a wave of violence thaterupted on Tuesday when secu-rity forces moved in against anti-government protesters near theSunni northern town of Hawijah.The ensuing clashes left 53 peo-ple dead.

Suspicion grows over Syria chemical weapons

Russia's Pussy Riot activistpleads for parole

BoSToN SuSPECTS 'PLANNEdTo BoMB NEw YorK'

15 FEArEd TrAPPEd AS hoSPITALCoLLAPSES IN INdIANEW DELHI: A portion of a hospital building collapsed incentral India on Friday and up to 15 people were fearedtrapped in the debris, an official said. Mayor Krishna Gaur said15 other people had been rescued from the collapsed portionof the Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in Bhopal, the capital ofMadhya Pradesh state. Police officer Upendra Jain said 25 to 30people were believed to be on the first floor of the women'smedical ward when its ceiling crashed down. AgENcIES

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newsNsaturday 27 April, 2013

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PESHAWARSTAFF REPORT

THE Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader ArbabKamal has said, for long noelected representative has di-

verted public’s attention towards the mis-ery and suffering of the people of ruralareas adjoining Peshawar.

“None other than the Awami NationalParty is responsible for the backwardnessthat has plagued the area, for its leaderswere elected from these areas since the1990s,” said he in various public gatheringsduring his election from NA-4 Peshawar.So far, Kamal has addressed corner and

public meetings at Urmar, Masho Gagar,Mair Kachoori, Badhabher and other areas.During his campaign, a large number ofpeople from other political parties andgroups have announced support for Kamal.

Arbab Kamal belongs to the famousArbab family from Landi Arbab, Peshawar.The NA-4 constituency, from where he iscontesting, comprises of towns and ham-lets situated on both sides of the KohatRoad. A brief political profile since the1990s: Arbab Mohammad Zahir Khan waselected from this constituency in 1990-1993 and Arbab Saad Ullah filled the spotin 1997. It is pertinent to mention here thatthe former is a close relative of Kamal.Meanwhile, in 2002 general elections, the

MMA’s Sabir Hussain Awan gained an im-portant victory, whereas in 2008 ArbabZahir of the ANP succeeded in bringing theseat back into progressive fold.

Presently, Zahir would not be a partof the race, therefore prompting the ANPto field its veteran Arbab Ayub Jan fromthe important constituency. Compared toother candidates, Kamal looks like theman to beat.

While highlighting his post-victoryaims, Kamal said, he would give first pri-ority to getting Sui connection for his elec-torates. Similarly, he said that lackingaccess to standard education, hospitals andeducational institutions was another bigissue being faced in the area. He further

said that it was astonishing that leading in-dustrial estates were established in NA-4and still unemployment was on the rise. Inthis connection, he said that he would con-vince all industrialists and entrepreneurs toprovide employment to the locals.

While commenting on the deterioratinglaw and order situation, Kamal attributed itto what he called wrong policies of the pre-vious government. He further said, around30 military operations were conducted inthe region, thus exacting heavy human andmaterial toll from the helpless and innocentpeople of the KPK province in general andthe areas adjoining Federally AdministeredTribal Areas (FATA) in particular.

To ensure that peace returns to the re-

gion, he said, the JUI-F chief Fazlur Rah-man had constituted a jirga for the purpose,adding that the party was determined to ful-fill its long standing dream of ending vio-lence through negotiations.

The JUI-F leader said that in the pre-vious three decades, all elected represen-tatives from NA-4 did not fulfill theirprime responsibility of addressing the gen-uine needs of the locals. Under the dy-namic leadership of Fazl, Arbab Kamalsaid, the JUI-F candidates were deter-mined to bringing a revolution in the KPK.He called upon the people of Peshawar,the KPK and the adjoining FATA, if theywere supporters of reforms, they mustelect the JUI-F into power.

PESHAWARSHAmIm SHAHID

Amidst serious threats of violence and terroristattacks during the forthcoming general elec-tions, the candidates are sweating blood to re-locate polling stations from security-sensitiveconstituency of the Buner district, while the of-ficials concerned are turning a blind eye to-wards this powder keg of a place. As ironic asit may sound, one of the contesting candidateshad made frequent requests before the districtand returning officers of both NA-28 Bunerand PK-77 Buner, but both have yet to realisethe weight of their responsibility given the sen-sitivity of this particular region.

Almost all the ANP stalwarts and candi-

dates from this part of the province are underthreat of being attacked by the TTP and othermilitant organisations. Meanwhile, the custo-dians of law have not only advised the politicalparty against arranging rallies and processions,but they were not even in a position to holdcorner meetings. Frequent threats of terrorismhave adversely affected the campaigns, andmight even result in a low turnout on May 11.

Meanwhile, in a haphazard move made bythe returning officers at the same district, thepolling stations have been selected in ex-tremely inconvenient, sensitive locations andcould easily lead to disappointment amongstthe electorate. In this regard, the ANP candidatefrom PK-77 Sardar Hussain Babak through awritten application has requested the officials

concerned to reconsider their decisions.Babak has registered his objection over at

least 129 polling stations situated in PK-77 thathe termed as highly flammable. He said thatsome of these stations have been amalgamatedwith each other whereas some were placed toofar away. He informed that despite the presenceof high and middle schools in the area, twopolling stations in his native village have beenestablished in a two-room primary school. Byselecting such buildings that are located nearthe main road, the elections staff and electoratehave been turned into sitting ducks.

Further, Babak said that in Totalai Townalmost all polling stations were in remote areaswhich would confuse and annoy the voters.The situation is considered to be so bad in these

restive areas that a single primary school hadbeen selected as a combined polling station forboth male and female voters. Babak calledupon KPK CEC Justice (r) Shehzad AkbarKhan, District Returning Officer Buner andReturning Officer PK-77 for early review ofthese locations. He said, if the authorities con-cerned failed to remove the sense of insecurityamongst candidates and electorate, it would betermed as a pre-planned attempt to deprive vot-ers from exercising their democratic right.Moreover, he also called upon the media, civilsociety organisations, Human Rights Commis-sion, Aurat Foundation, the United Nations andother foreign missions of election observers totake early notice of the ill-planned placementof polling stations in PK-77.

QUETTAAPP

Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Ali Ahmed Kurd and HafizHamdullah had contested elections in NA-259 Quettacity in the past but this time the support of those com-ing from outside the province would play a decisiverole in success of any candidate.

Political sources said that voters who speak lan-guages including Punjabi, Hindko, Kashmiri, Urdu andSeraiki whose number between 400,000 to 500,000 andlive in main city areas would play a decisive role inwinning of any candidate from NA-259 and someprovincial assembly seats of Quetta.

Those who are contesting from this constituency

include: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP)chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl candidate Hafiz Hamdullah, lawyer AliAhmed Kurd, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidateMir Maqbool Lehri, JUI-N candidate Mehmoodul Has-san Qasmi, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid candidateDr Ruqayya Saeed Hashmi, Hazara Democratic Party(HDP) leader Abdul Khaliq Hazara, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Muhammad Qasim Khan Suri,Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) candidate Abdul Kabir Shaker,Balochistan National Party-Awami (BNP-A) candidateAbdul Qayyum Baloch, BNP-M candidate AkhtarMuhammad Langov and Jamhoori Watan Party-Talal(JWP-T) chief Nawabzada Talal Bugti.

Several independent candidates, including NawabImran Khan Khilji, Muhammad Ayaz, Dr AttaurRehman, Malik Janat Gul Kakar and Ghulam Hussainare also participating in elections 2013 from this Na-tional Assembly constituency.

Former interior minister Rehman Malik hadrecorded his statement that over 100,000 voters ofthose coming from outside the province had fled

Balochistan after they were targeted by armed groups.However, a remarkable number of those coming fromoutside the province still has been residing in Quettaand other parts of Balochistan particularly Pashtun belt.These voters who left Quetta and started their businessin Lahore, Rawalpindi and other cities of Punjab couldnot adjust there and now they have also been returningback to Quetta. Total registered voters of Quetta con-stituency are 559,939 in number including 329,502men and 230,437 women.

In polls 2008, PPP candidate Syed Nasir Ali Shahclinched first position by getting 24,936 votes andPML-Q candidate Anwarul Haq 11387 while Pashtunand Baloch nationalist and some mainstream politicalparties had boycotted the elections.

Political observers have said the main contestwould be between Mehmood Khan Achakzai and HafizHamdullah. The JUI-F candidate Hafiz Hamdullah hadmoved the superior court after he was stopped by theelections tribunal from contesting elections.

"If the superior court allows Hamdullah to contestelections from NA-259 Quetta City, then Mehmood

Khan Achakzai will have to face a strong candidate asJUI-F has also been enjoying support of religious votebank in this national assembly seat," political sourcessaid.

Kurd who is contesting elections from this con-stituency as independent candidate too as pockets ofsupport and he may get adequate number of votes.

Hazara community that is living in Marriabad, AliTown and Hazara Town areas of the city may cast theirvote in favour of HDP chief Abdul Khaliq Hazara.

However, as per past routine, thousands of Hazaravoters may vote for the PPP candidate as the party hasits roots in this community.

The PML-N is not contesting elections from thisconstituency after announcing its unconditional supportto Achakzai. It is interesting to note that PkMAP hasfelt the importance of those coming from outside theprovince vote bank and resultantly, it awarded ticket inPB-1 Quetta-1 to a settler Haji Zaheeruddin Rajput.

The political parties are not arranging large publicgatherings and candidates are usually addressing cor-ner meetings.

Magsi, rind,

Kurd, Bangulzai

in NA-267 race QUETTA

APP

The candidates from Magsi, Rind,Kurd and Bangulzai tribes havebeen using their influence to winelections from NA-267 Kachhi-Jhal Magsi.Political sources said that after thecourt disqualified former federalministers Yar Muhammad Rindand Humayun Aziz Kurd for con-testing general elections 2013, theremaining candidates in the con-stituency include independent can-didate Khalid Magsi, AbdulRahim Rind, PML-N candidateMajor (r) Amir Aziz Kurd, PTIcandidate Azam Samalani and Na-tional Party candidate Abdul Sat-tar Bangulzai. Yar MuhammadRind and Humayun Kurd are cam-paigning for their favourite candi-dates and using their influence inthis regard.Some political observers said thatfinal contest would be betweenAmir Kurd and Abdul Sattar Ban-gulzai as they are enjoying sup-port of influential tribal elders.However, Khalid Magsi and AbdulRahim Rind would also give toughtime to their electoral rivals. Sources said Yar Muhammad Rindhad approached Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl leadership for gettingsupport for his favourite candi-date. The JUI-F may put itsweight in favour of Abdul RahimRind, they said.The candidates are not holdingpublic meetings after some bannedorganisations hurled threats of tar-geting them. However, they weregoing door-to-door to lure voters.

ANP protests JI’suse of mosque

MONITORING DESK

The Awami National Party (ANP) has de-cided to approach the Election Commissionof Pakistan to protest over the Jamaat-e-Is-lami’s (JI) use of a mosque to campaign forthe general elections. The move follows JIchief Syed Munawar Hasan’s address at a po-litical gathering in a mosque on UniversityRoad in Peshawar three days ago. ANP’sprovincial General Secretary Arbab Mo-hamamd Tahir said that the party’s KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP) President SenatorAfrasiab Khattak will write a letter to theECP to protest against the gathering in themosque. Tahir explained that JI had arrangeda function at Spin Jumaat (White Mosque),which was addressed by Hasan. He addedthat if one political party started usingmosques for electioneering, then other partieswould also follow suit. He said the letter willalso be forwarded to Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry.

CONSTITUENCY PROFILE – NA-4 PESHAWAR(

(

JuI-F’s Arbab tears into ANP to garner support

buner on a powder keg

NA-259 to witness tough contest among heavyweightsPolitical observers say maincontest woulD be betweenmehmooD khan achakzai anDhafiz hamDullah

QUETTA: Hazara Democratic Party

Chairman Abdul Khaliq Hazara

addresses a public gathering at

Alamdar Road on Friday. ONlINE

ISB 27-04-2013_Layout 1 4/27/2013 1:26 AM Page 8

QUETTAAPP

Caretaker Federal Minister for Infor-mation and Broadcasting ArifNizami on Friday said participationof nationalist leaders and other polit-ical parties in the 2013 electionswould bring peace and prosperity inBalochistan.

Talking to Balochistan caretakerChief Minister Nawab Ghous BakshBarozai during his visit to the CMSecretariat, Nizami said, "The role ofthe caretaker government in holdingelections in Balochistan with all par-ties, including nationalists, on boardwould bring a positive change in theprovince. The electioneering processwould pave the way for reconcilia-tion and amicable solution of theBalochistan issue.”

Caretaker Federal Minister forRailways Dr Abdul Malik Kasi, Fed-

eral Information Secretary AghaNadeem and Balochistan Chief Sec-retary Babar Yaqoob Fateh were alsopresent on the occasion.

The information minister said inorder to facilitate people in ruralparts of Balochistan, new radiotransmitters would be installed andtransmission of PTV Bolan wouldbe expanded to far-flung areas ofthe province. Stressing on the needfor maintaining an environment ofpositive completion, Nizami saidnew licenses would be issued to FMchannels to strengthen the informa-tion system.

Earlier, the Balochistan CMshared measures taken by theprovincial government for holdingpeaceful elections in the provincewith the federal minister. "Fool-proof security arrangements were inplace to conduct polls in a peacefulmanner," said Barozai.

LAYYAHONlINE

PAKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif has said thatcorruption had badly damaged the coun-try during the last five years. Addressing

a public rally on Friday‚ he said during the tenureof the previous government, poverty and unemploy-ment had increased and the economy was in dol-drums. He said nothing was done for the welfareand betterment of peasants and labourers in thegovernments of dictators. Nawaz said the PML-N‚

if voted into power‚ would change the des-tiny of the country. He said Pakistanwas a nuclear power but people didnot have enough resources to earntheir bread, adding that Pakistanconducted six nuclear tests in re-sponse to India's five tests. Nawazmaintained that the “player” andPresident Asif Zardari were handin glove with each other.

The PML-N chief said povertyand load shedding increased during thelast five years and the country lagged be-

hind other regional countries in pace of de-velopment. Nawaz disclosed that he re-

jected the offer of five billion dollarsfor not conducting nuclear tests. Hevowed that his party would adminis-ter loans to skilled youth to run theirown business. Talking about his pre-vious tenure, Nawaz said during hispremiership, there was peace in the

country including Balochistan,Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He

expressed his concern over deterioratinglaw and order in the country.

news N

09

saturday 27 April, 2013

5 years of corruptionruined country: nawaz

The ‘player’and President

Zardariare hand

in glove witheach other

JALALPUR PIRWALAAgENcIES

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khanon Friday said his party’s mission was to make sure noone looted the national exchequer and to stop the strongfrom terrorizing the weak.

Addressing a public meeting, Khan said, "For this,we are bringing a system which will make the strongand the weaker equal in the eyes of law."

Khan said in a corrupt political system, looters be-came presidents and prime ministers but “we are en-deavouring for a new Pakistan which will be free of

such a tyrannising system”.He said the PTI would eradicate the cultures of

thana and patwari from the country and pledged greaterreforms.

“I have come here to rid the people of politics ofpatwaris. Villagers will themselves decide who shouldbe appointed as an SHO in their area,” Khan said.

The PTI chief said he had traveled all over theworld and knew how to bring about changes in thecountry, adding that he would introduce local body elec-tions and empower people at the village level.

The PTI chief said “those robbers, who had beenelected to the assemblies, will be sent to jail”.

PTI to end system of tyranny: Imran Khan

Shahbaz lashesout at PPPad campaign

LAHORE: Advertisements being aired bythe Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) are apack of lies and must be condemned,former Punjab chief minister ShahbazSharif said on Friday. Criticising the‘advertisement campaign’ against hisclaims to eliminate electricity crisis in theprovince, the former CM said Asif Zardariand his associates were responsible forthe issue. “Transparency is the hallmarkof the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawazgovernment and all advertisements ofthe PPP in this regard are devoid offacts,” he said. “The PML-N govt neverquashed any project regardingelectricity, but only expensive projectswere reviewed,” Shahbaz told reporters,holding the former PPP governmentresponsible for the prevailing electricitycrisis in the country. He pointed outthat theft of electricity worth Rs 300billion was taking place in Pakistanannually. “The loot and plunder went onfor five years during the PPP’s tenure,”he said. STAFF REPORT

don’t makeit personal, ECPtells partiesISLAMABAD: The Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP) on Friday barred allpoliticians from indulging in personalattacks against one another. Accordingto details, making personal remarksagainst any political personality wasdeclared a violation of the electoralcode and conduct and action would betaken against the violators. Presidentialspokesperson Farhatullah Babar hadearlier written to the ECP requesting itto stop political parties, particularly thePakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), from launching “political attacks”against the person of President Asif AliZardari. The Election Commission’smove follows back-to-back mudslingingstatements issued by politicians fromdifferent parties against each otherrecently. STAFF REPORT

Govt plans todefer increasein power tariffMONITORING DESK: The Ministry ofWater and Power has decided that itwill not increase the power tariff, asdecided by the National Electric PowerRegulatory Authority (NEPRA).However, it will ask the Ministry ofFinance to bear an extra subsidy ofRs200 billion. According to local mediareports, the Water and Power Ministryhad prepared a summary for theincrease in power price, which will besent to the Ministry of Law for vettingand notification. However, it will not beapplied to the consumers. The movemay annoy the International MonetaryFund (IMF) and other multilaterallenders, who have asked Pakistan timeand again to push up power tariffs andrestrict subsidies. The government hadraised the tariff by 16 percent in 2011-12 and 22 percent in 2010-11.

An inclusive election positive forbalochistan’s prosperity: nizami

LAYYAH: Pakistan

Muslim league-Nawaz

President Nawaz

Sharif addresses a

public gathering on

Friday. ONlINE

ISB 27-04-2013_Layout 1 4/27/2013 1:26 AM Page 9

CommenT

Csaturday, 27 April, 2013

10A bird doesn't sing because it

has an answer, it sings because

it has a song. –Maya Angelou

whitelIESApOLLO

Aziz-ud-Din AhmadEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2850505Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

THE chequered history ofthe country is repletewith grandiose ritualsthat either never quitelived up to the expecta-

tions, or these are obtrusively and bla-tantly laced with pre-meditated andpre-ordained drop scenes.

In the olden times, the most con-venient weapon in the hands of the gov-ernments to deal with challenges was toaccuse individuals whom it wantedsidelined with treasonous intentionsand kept them incarcerated as long as itsuited their whims. When timeschanged and treason lost its relevanceand potency, the governments, led bydictators and democrats alike, took tomanipulating the constitution to suittheir objectives. This was done by var-ious individuals with the sole purposeof strengthening their stranglehold andsubjugating their opponents. Bhutto didit to consolidate his dictatorial hold onpower and also sowed the seeds of thedivision of society along religious andethnic lines. Zia added his demonicsting with unabated criminalvengeance. Musharraf did it to legit-imise his coup while Zardari did it tospread far and wide the evil tentacles ofhis so-called ‘collaborate-with-the-devil’ strategy. None of these individu-

als – or for thatmatter anyonewho ever ruledthe country –could let the na-tional interestdictate the needfor policy-mak-ing in prefer-ence toconsolidatingi n d i v i d u a lstakes. Thedominant objec-tive was alwaysto hide personalfailings and cor-ruption behindthe facade of‘democracy’.

We mayhave an inde-pendent judici-ary and avibrant medianow, but noth-ing really haschanged so faras the approachof the incum-bent govern-ments andindividuals as-sociated withthem is con-cerned. It re-m a i n s

embedded in devious and corruptmachinations to manipulate the author-ity and the administrative immunitiesthat are vested in the persons of variousindividuals perched on seats of power.Much against the quintessential demo-cratic spirit, the over-riding priority isto further expand and strengthen therepertoire of these immunities ratherthan take steps to curb them. This takesthe shape of clandestine to open con-frontation with all those institutionsthat are either exposing the deviousnessand duality of these commands, or areengaged in adjudicating measures tocurb them. The collective weight of thepolitical and the administrative machin-ery, inducted and installed at powerfulpositions by employing brazenly cor-rupt practices, is fully geared to sup-porting this undemocratic approach.

With the mass exodus of talentand expertise from the country, theaverage ability to comprehend andaddress issues that have now assumedexistential proportions has decreasedexponentially. When interacting withpeople who, in more than one way,are entrusted with the varied tasks ofdetermining the priorities, formulat-ing and legislating policies and ad-ministering the moth-eaten system,one is struck with a sub-normal levelof intelligence, knowledge and ex-pertise. It is as if positions and powerhave been vested in these myopic in-dividuals for services rendered in thetask of glorifying and strengtheningthe indispensability of individuals incommand. There is no thought givento the state and its needs in terms ofrequiring the best to serve its inter-ests. This entire megalomaniac driveis either individual- or party-driven.

Even the best have taken a sipfrom this poisoned nectar. Those who,at some point in time, appeared to havea clear vision have been overwhelmedby mafias representing the continua-tion of the status-quo and all its asso-ciated ills. Acknowledge they will notbecause it may spell a steep plunge intheir fortune, but deep inside they un-derstand the follies of their minds andhearts and the fickleness which hasdriven their decision-making. Thesedemonic mafias, predominantly repre-sented by the intellectually-corrupt andthe self-interest-driven groups, haveremained active through even the mostdivergent periods because they arequick to change their spots. Serving thedictators, they wear a uniform of ab-solute subservience, and working withthe so-called ‘democrats’, they areseen wrapped in the apparel brandish-ing the promise-laden whip of theirmasters. The subjugation of mind andbody is abhorrently complete and ex-clusively self-driven. There are no

principles involved. Every credible in-stinct is dislodged and flushed away.What remains is the naked lust forpower and position no matter whatcompromises are made, what promisesadvanced and what apologies tendered.

The decline even in the perform-ance of institutions that retain a level ofcredibility, including the judiciary andthe media, is reflective of the overall in-tellectual and moral bankruptcy that thestate is afflicted with. Receipt of pettydole-outs in the name of serving the‘national security interests’ from thestate exchequer, or hounding people inthe name of administering justice sac-rificing the precept of transparency areall symptoms of this malaise. Whenmedia and its operatives are sold outto serve specific interest-groups andwhen principles of jurisprudence takeon the apparel of ‘vengeance’ and‘vindictiveness’, the society is on a de-finitive declining trail which, appar-ently, may be unstoppable.

Every day is a witness to the en-actment of harrowing trials being en-acted to benefit the aggrandisement ofindividual stakes in a country that isalready on an artificial respiratorysystem desperately needing a whiff offresh policies and practices. That, un-fortunately, is nowhere to be seen. Onthe horizon are a number of old actorsbeating the old drums which havebeen their tried and tested weapons.The new kids on the block are using afaulty catalogue of objectives andstrategies and have also taken to usingthe old tools that are not suited to theprospect of change. Consequently,whoever the people may choose comeMay 11, the cumulative results maynot be any different. This is reflectedin an environment which is domi-nated by a dire paucity of vision, am-bivalence of priorities, jaundicedintellect, formulation of claustropho-bic policies and an administrationsmitten by the lingering and welldug-out tradition of corruption.

The May 11 ritual is meaninglessgiven the severity of the ailmentwhich is rendered even worse on ac-count of the rampant loot that is likelyto escalate with the induction of a newdispensation. On trial are the peopleof Pakistan. Before them are two op-tions: go for the old rats wearing thedeceptive garb of more promises, orsettle for a one-man charge heading arelatively new team dominated bypowerful interest groups representingthe decrepit old order. Tragically, thecolumn regarding ‘none of the above’will not be on the ballot paper!

The writer is a political analyst.He can be reached atraoofhasan@hotmail.com

will the ttP win the elections?Election at gunpoint

on trial are the people of Pakistan

The May 11 ritual

IRRESPECTIVE of what the most gullible might say about earthquakes being theresult of our bad deeds, one should be a little wary of the scale this natural disastercan cause. As it is almost impossible to pinpoint where it might strike next, unlike

storms and rains that are fairly predictable, it could cause a huge loss to life andproperty. The recent weeks have seen more than one jolting experience and that shouldraise some alarm bells, as Pakistan has many cities, some major ones, right in theseismic zone.

With our general lack of responsibility, even a quake in the vicinity of 4-plus on theRichter scale can cause huge damage. Take for example the city of Karachi, wheremillions of people live in shanty houses, slums, housing projects unworthy even foranimals, one such incident could cause a multitude of casualties. Moreover, what’sreally troubling is the fact that nothing substantial has been done to avoid such asituation, not even after the earthquake of 2005 ruined major part of the country upnorth and left more than 70,000 dead. Building laws in Karachi and other urban areasare ignored to save a few bucks. No fire safety equipment is installed at high-risebuildings, offices, and housing projects as it would “hurt their visual appeal” while alsoincreasing the cost of such projects.

Pakistan was lucky that it didn’t have to face much destruction in the recentearthquakes that hit the country, along with Iran and India, in the past few days. Anearthquake of 7.8 in magnitude is often more lethal but Pakistan was lucky that itsdamage was not widespread as it happened in an area that wasn’t densely populated andthat the epicentre of the quake wasn’t too deep. However, it appears the lesson hasn’tbeen learnt yet. No strict building laws are applied, nor are buildings checked forearthquakes, fire and other natural hazards. Bangladesh is still trying to dig out all thebodies from underneath a building that collapsed a few days ago. Karachi and Lahorehave many such buildings that are a clear threat to the safety of their occupants buttheir owners appear to be paying no heed to what should be done at once. It was thesame dilly-dallying and an effort to work around building laws that caused the fire andenormous loss of life in factories in Karachi and Lahore.

Providing safe environment for the workers and tenants of a building is the duty ofthose who own them, but making sure that they follow the laws is the duty of thegovernment. Though by extension, the workers and tenants are also responsible for it. Ifone of them is casual in performing its duty, the consequences can be really disastrous.

WILL the candidates of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP) need to arrange fortheir own militias to protect themselves against the Tehreek-e-Taliban

Pakistan (TTP) threat? With a second bomb attack on an MQM election office inKarachi that claimed the life of six people, it appears that the TTP has assumed theright to debar any party it dislikes from the elections at will. The trouble is that whilethe PPP, MQM and ANP continue to be on the attack, other mainstream parties such thePakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) haveshied away from coming to their defence – with the PTI even forcefully denying anysense that the Ahmaddiya community would vote for it – purportedly in fear that itwould be the next to be targeted.

Observers however suggest a more sinister reason behind it: the PML-N and PTIsee no better opportunity to come into the corridors of power, with the three othermainstream parties on retreat. The PPP, whose campaign office in Noshki, Balochistanwas recently targeted, is particularly reeling, with its chairperson Bilawal Bhutto, beingscared into going to Dubai and left to releasing video messages. It is not a normalelection at any stretch, with at least three mainstream parties unable to conduct regularelection activities. While the PPP’s senior leadership, including Makhdoom AminFahim and former prime ministers’ Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf willnow lead the campaign, and President Zardari had to chair a party meeting onThursday, it appears like the PPP is going to run this election like a headless chicken –perhaps for maintaining pressure on the TTP at a time when the PML-N, the PTI andthe Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) towed the negotiated line. The other side of the picture is thatthe Sharif brothers and Imran Khan are all addressing public gatherings with freedom.

The third side of the picture is that the violence has meant that the ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP) and Supreme Court (SC) now appear hostage tomainstream religious parties. “How can the CEC stop political parties and candidatesfrom seeking votes in the name of religion in a country which has been created in thename of Islam?,” the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl secretary general has questioned asthe ECP withdrew its earlier orders to ban the use of religion in campaigning. It is aworrying sign, as under siege by militants, the ECP has given in to religious parties. Atthe other end, the JI chief Munawar Hasan has clearly stated that ‘secular’ partiesshould be disbarred from contesting the elections. Increasingly it appears like Pakistanis entering elections at gunpoint, but this is to the benefit of some actors in the politicalarena, who wish for temporary power. Little do they know that if there is no unityagainst the TTP now, they will be the next targets.

candid cornerRAOOF HASAN

THE Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf wouldmake for a good TV high-schoolseries. It is already filled with

cliques of mean girls and douches.Take the saga of Fauzia Kasuri and Dr

Shireen “It’s aliiiive!” Mazari. The former,archetypal entry from the “auntie” brigade,was a darn good fundraiser. The latterdoesn’t, as is rumoured, eatchildren, and carries some cloutwith the powers that be.

But the name-calling got toomuch and out went Dr Mazari,after having written an open letterto Imran Khan. Cut to the dual-nationality saga and Ms Kasurihad to face the music for her USnationality and was disqualified atthe party-level.

Dr Mazari is now back in theparty and is women’s reserved seatnumber one. Ms Kasuri, havingrenounced her nationality, is at

number four and seems to have been giventhe raw end of the deal. Matters were madeworse when Baby Mazari tweeted thatKasuri was a liar and was taking credit forwriting the party constitution which hadactually been written by her mother.

Coming soon, on your favourite TVchannel!

and disaster managementBuilding laws

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

THE MQM chief hasspoken. After thiselection, no candidate

partial to paan and ghutkawould be getting the party’selection ticket. The move issaid to be motivated by adesire to improve the party’image. Which is strange,really, because as far as thewhole image thing isconcerned, paan and ghutkacome way, way lower on thelist when it comes to theMQM!

ISB 27-04-2013_Layout 1 4/27/2013 1:27 AM Page 10

CommenT Csaturday, 27 April, 2013

11If there's a book that you want to

read, but it hasn't been written yet,

then you must write it. –Toni Morrison

Breaking stereotypes

“THE enemy of America is not our many Muslimfriends,” President George W Bush declared soonafter the 9/11 attacks. Mr Bush’s statement set thetone for the tumultuous decade to come: the invasion

of two Muslim countries, the Arab Spring and a global ‘war on ter-ror’. Unsurprisingly then, the debate about who speaks for today’sIslam in the West festers in the minds of government advisers andpoliticians. There are hundreds of Muslim organisations in the UK,each one desperate to pull in market share. But is it all about owner-ship? It shouldn’t be. Is it all about portraying a better image of Mus-lims? I doubt it. Or about monopolising the Muslim voice to pushtheir own agendas? That seems much likelier.

By refusing to steadfastly denounce honour killings, the Taliban’sattack on 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai, Al-Qaeda’s war on minorities’rights across the Muslim world and jihad against those very Western so-cieties in which they live, many of these organisations do great disserviceto Muslims and Islam. They promote negative stereotypes whilst conve-niently sidestepping the real issues within their own communities. Evenmany ex-Muslims still carry the faith card to avoid demonisation, os-tracisation (and sometimes retaliation) from within their communities.

So where are the voices of your average nominal, cultural andlargely irreligious Muslims? They are more numerate than you mightthink, but too afraid to speak out. The fact that over 90 percent ofMuslims are unaffiliated to any of the many Islamic organisationswhich claim to speak for them should speak volumes. This aloneshould make us sceptical of some claims made by groups like MCB,MAB and their US counterparts CAIR and ISNA.

A report by Professor Bagby revealed that of the six million Mus-lims in the United States, only 350,000 attend the communal Fridaymidday prayers, let alone practise the five daily compulsory ones.

In my experience, most Muslims are generally secular, religiouslyunobservant or irreligious but strongly identify with Muslim culture dueto family background, and the social and cultural environment in whichthey grew up. Yet at the same time they also push for the most potentand progressive causes of our times; rationalism, humanism, democracy,equality, secularism, modernism and science. What the West fails to un-derstand is that a Muslim born to a Muslim father usually takes on theirpaternal confessional identity without necessarily consciously subscrib-ing to the beliefs and practices associated with the faith. Similar to theJews, who describe themselves Jewish without observing the Halacha,or the 59 percent of British who ticked the Christian box in the recentreferendum despite a nervous affliction with the Church.

What I propose is that this silent majority of Muslims should uniteand push these separatist Islamic organisations for a new resolution in2013. They must preach to fellow Muslims on how to lead a more ful-filling life with a spirit of togetherness where we all learn from eachother, instead of a divisive one which pulls us apart. Hooked like an ad-dict on regression and victimhood, they must ditch the preaching of neg-ative narratives. A life for a Muslim should be a life without complex,stigmatisation and vindictive legalism; liberated from negativity, segre-gation, alienation and contempt for joy. None of which are endorsed bymodern liberal interpretations of Islam, but are used by Sharia-boundIslamists to push their own regressive narrative. It is well known thatQuran (2:256) asserts ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion’.

During Muhammad’s hijra, or ‘migration’ from Mecca to Medina, theProphet sent a message of cohabitation. He drew up the famous Charter ofMedina, encouraging assimilation, and opening its mosque doors to home-less wayfarers from any creed. As Irshad Manji says, “Translations of anyscripture are human, as are interpretations including literal ones.”

Muslim organisations in Britain should stop bleating time elapsedrhetoric and engaging in fear mongering. Rather than to respond toevery criticism with the shrill of ‘Islamaphobia’, it’s high time theybegan to celebrate our positive differences and similarities. After all, ifIslam is dominated by its most violent and illiberal elements, and ques-tioning these forces is deemed by intellectual elites to be a form of Is-lamophobia or racism, then reform-minded Muslims really stand nochance. But the Western media also has a duty. Whilst many of the tra-ditional Islamic organisations in the West may have been hijacked byIslamists, news editors are always hungry to broadcast their rabidsoundbites and ratchet up these degrees of separation. Egged on by asmall cabal of xenophobes, they like to portray the notorious one-eyedhook handed Abu Hamza or as some other scimitar brandishing Philis-tine as representative of Muslims. But how close is this to the truth?

Unfortunately, the majority is neither visible in the media norrecognised by Western politicians and policymakers. They owe a cer-tain responsibility to regular Muslims, rather than vilifying them forcrimes done by others. Like it or not, they are now an essential fabricof our societies. We don’t blame Germans for the crimes of Hitler, sowhy point fingers at regular Muslims for the crimes of bin Laden? Itonly serves to magnify their dissonance, alienate them further andleave them as cannon fodder for Islamists.

It’s now 2013 and little has changed. Even in educated circlesMuslims still largely disregard established science like evolution.Dawkins did a televised documentary at a school in Leicester and thescience teacher told him (and worse still her pupils) that she didn’tbelieve in evolution and the earth was only 6,000 years old. Last year,we had medical students storm out of their evolution classes at UCL.And this year an Islamic conference intending merely to discuss thetopic was rescheduled after firm opposition from its host university’sstudent society. Enough is enough. The time has come to stop blamingWestern leaders and Eastern extremists for our problems. It is timeto bleach out the rot from within. The time has come for secular lib-eral Muslims in the West finally to come forward as a collective andform new voices against the ongoing Islamism gnawing away at theroots of ordinary and innocent Muslim lives.

Remember, fewer than five percent of Muslims fit the stereotypeof bearded angry men with tailed thobes clutched by obedient burka-blanketed wives in tow. The rest are just like you. They worry aboutbills, plan their holidays and, especially in the UK, love to complainabout the weather.

Saif Rahman is a strategic consultant, founder of Cultural Muslimand Humanist Association and author of The Islamist Delusion.

SAIF REHmAN

ATTENTION political parties, estab-lishment personnel, banned athletes,controversial celebrities, terrorist or-ganisations, government officials

and real-estate tycoons; we’d like to put a jour-nalist up for auction, with the highest bidder get-ting the sole ownership of the writer of this piece.This purchase would hopefully fulfill his lifelongambition of being a part of a list of corrupt jour-nalists who actually make money out of the pro-fession. He has printed out many such mock listsin his moments of dillydallying in the past, butto have his name being enlisted by the SupremeCourt one day, would be a dream come true.

This 1988 model, quasi-writer cum pseudojournalist has all the characteristics you need tofor an easy-to-use journalist that you can carryaround in your pocket. These include the abilityto conjure foolproof plagiarism, blatant fabrica-tion and law violation; concealing information,portraying shameless bias, altering documentsand photographs, and making intentional report-ing errors. Being able to make a mockery ofjournalistic ethics and credibility, and makingunqualified defamatory statements at the drop ofa hat, also are invaluable assets.

Another precious quality that might makethis a worthwhile purchase is his ability to be in-volved in every single unethical activity on thesurface of this planet and yet have the skill tolecture about honesty, integrity, ethics and othersuch gibberish with a straight face. He can alsoshow proper transition in his writings from toe-ing the line of one political party to one thatsplashes more dough, unlike many renownedcolumnists in our neck of the woods, whose shiftin payrolls is exceedingly obvious. His careergoal is to drag Pakistani media from the medi-ocrity that yellow journalism is and to take it tosomewhere around the orange or mustard mark

where scandal mongering, sensationalism andfalse reporting reach new heights.

He considers Fareed Zakariya, Dr A.Q Khanand Jayson Blair as his plagiarism gurus and hasthe potential to reach their high standards ofbootlegging. He believes he can conduct plantedinterviews much more flawlessly than MubashirLucman and Meher Bokhari and is willing to doanything to please Malik Riaz or any other prop-erty magnates, by portraying them as philanthro-pists crawling straight out of a book of ethics.He also believes he can do a better job at photo-shopping sensationalist images than Adnan Hajjand has a better repertoire of swear words thanNazir Naji and Amir Liaquat to fall back onif/when he is asked about the recent transactionsin his bank account or is caught displayinghis colourful side off air.

He also has the ability touse religious pretense toshroud his intentions and puton a holier than thou façade.Being a part of the Pakistanimedia he knows how to per-sonify subservience andsteer clear of the wrath of themilitary establishment. Healso knows how to ease him-self into the very conspicu-ous bonding of the rightwingwith the pseudo liberals whocontinue to turn a blind eyeto the ‘general’ knowledge.And most importantly heknows that when theBalochs are massacred,Shias are ethnically cleansedand Pashtuns are tormentedyou are supposed to remainshushed, hide the ethnicidentities of the victims andfocus instead on SunnyLeone’s next item number.

He also knows aboutthe significance of the so-cial media to promoteridiculous opinions, bypersonifying broken records. As soon as some-one helps him eradicate the apprehensions re-garding earning the proverbial bread andbetter, he’d be ready to open the predisposedfloodgates and tweet like there is no tomor-row. He is also familiar with privacy impeach-ment techniques a la News of the World andhas the complete arsenal to tout your goodselves as the best thing since sliced bread.

According to him, it is absolutely appalling

to see the recent list of journalists, who werepaid secretly during the PPP regime, being re-leased by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Be-cause, of the disbursements that totaled up toRs177.98 million, not a single penny wasearned by the up and coming journalists who aretoiling hard, day and night, for someone to givethem an opportunity to showcase their innercorrupt selves. Someone needs to take a leap offaith and realise the fact that not only are theseyoungsters adept enough to match their seniors’towering achievements in dishonesty, but brain-washing them should be considerably easier aswell. Some of them might publish whatevernonsense you’d want just for a byline, othersmight be willing to do that for food.

This particular journalist being auctioned isbrimming with blinkered-ness, fraud, dishonesty, de-ceit and greed, and islooking for someone to givehim the opportunity to chan-nelise these traits into some-thing that would result in theuplift, development and bet-terment of his wallet. He hasvolumes of prejudice, big-otry and bias lying in thewait, for anyone who canmatch the not-so-high pricetag. Just like ArmstrongWilliams received $241,000to write favourably aboutthe Bush administration, thisjournalist is willing to dothat for the next ruling partyin Pakistan for 241,000times less that amount. He’sready to wear his pair ofrose-tinted glasses, as soonas someone gets him a newpair of expensive lenses.

With only 15 more daysto the general elections, youreally need to come forwardand up the ante on the bid-ding process. There’s a 90-

day, no questions asked, money back guaranteethat comes with this journalist, and the first per-son to hit the 50-rupee mark before the start ofMay would get him on a 35 percent discount. Allthose interested please feel free to contact us onour helpline: 111-WTF-WTF.

The writer is a financial journalist and acultural critic. Email:khulduneshahid@gmail.com, Twitter: @khuldune

the first person to hit the 50-rupee mark would get him on a 35 percent discount

KuNwAR KHulDuNE SHAHID

Journalist for sale

This 1988 model, quasi-writer cum pseudo

journalist has all thecharacteristics you need tofor an easy-to-use journalistthat you can carry around inyour pocket. These include

the ability to conjurefoolproof plagiarism, blatantfabrication and law violation;

concealing information,portraying shameless bias,

altering documents andphotographs, and making

intentional reporting errors.

who truly represents muslims?

ISB 27-04-2013_Layout 1 4/27/2013 1:27 AM Page 11

ARTS

Asaturday, 27 April, 2013

12The camera makes everyone a tourist

in other people's reality, and eventually

in one's own. –Susan Sontag

IMTIAz ALI'ShIGhwAY TorELEASE IN dEC

NEWS DESK: Imtiaz Ali's next film'Highway', starring Randeep Hoodaand Alia Bhatt, will release onDecember 13. The film, currently inits second schedule, will see Imtiazand A R Rahman reunite again aftertheir successful collaboration on'Rockstar'. Highway is very close toImtiaz's heart as he wanted to makeit before any other film. "There's astory in you for years, a world youcan't wait to get into - that's'Highway'," says Imtiaz. Ironically,Imtiaz didn't want to bother Rahmanfor this one thinking he must be verybusy. But once Rahman heard theconcept of 'Highway' he volunteered."I'm on, if you want me!," saidRahman. The two are now trying tomatch it musically to the varied vistasof the film - from Delhi to Rajasthan,Haryana to Himachal, Punjab toKashmir. "Come to think of it, it wasonly last December that we agreed togo ahead with the film. And to startthe shoot in March and then stickto the schedules despite beingsuch a tough shoot is quiteincredible...come December13th, 2013, you have totake the Highway!," saidSajid Nadiadwala,who's presenting andreleasing the filmworldwide.

P RIOR to his trip to Kolkata on Friday topromote the MARD campaign, Farhan Akhtarshared what the driving force behind his

initiative is and what's next on his itinerary. EXCERPTS:

How is MARD shaping up?

The response has been really positive. I'm hopingthat we can sustain this movement and bring abouta positive change. I am grateful to everyone forhaving shown a tremendous amount of support forMARD. It belongs to everyone.Many from the film industry have come forward tosupport the initiative. Is this one of the reasons forits popularity?With people from the film industry supporting it, itdid get a huge boost. But at end of the day, it is apeople's movement and doesn't belong to any oneperson.Was there a social activist somewhere inside

you earlier too?

It is not something I had planned and happenedover a period of time. We have been seeingincidents around us. The unfortunate incident inDelhi (the Nirbhaya gangrape) saw one of the mostmassive social movements in recent times. Thefallout too was equally strong. But there we sawthe problems with our mindset, something that hadseeped into our political culture, our society and

our films. Some of the things being said highlightedthe skewed view certain people have about whatmakes a man — the qualities of a mard.From director, actor, singer to social activist

now, your resume is getting longer...

(Laughs) It is not surprising though. I've beensurrounded by very strong women. My mother, mysister — they're all very strong and outspoken. Ourfather too, who treated both my sister and meequally and ingrained these qualities in us. Even mywife is a very strong woman. Our daughters havevery good role models to follow.How many hours a day do you pack in then?

I don't keep track really. I just do whatever I am

doing as long as I am enjoying it. You know likekids go on playing as long as they can before theyare pulled up. In fact, I'm doing this for mychildren. I want them to grow up in an environmentof freedom and equality. I want them to feel safeand confident.You mentioned somewhere that you are quite

like the characters in the film Fukrey that you

are producing...

(Laughs) Oh yes, I was quite like that — good fornothing — in my 20s, till one fine day my mom puther foot down and told me to get my act straight.What were your childhood ambitions like?

Like all little kids, I went through the gamut ofthem. Once I wanted to be a pilot, then next,influenced by the pop and rock music of mygrowing up years, I wanted to be a singer...There's a buzz that you're starting your own

NGO...

No, I am not interested in starting an NGO. Iwould like to influence thought and behaviourrather than go fund-hunting and ask fordonations. We want genuine interest and peopleshould join on their own, not because I haveinvited someone.Coming back to your film career, which has

been the toughest role for you so far?

Undoubtedly, that of Milkha Singh in terms of the

physicality. It required tremendous discipline andsacrifice to be able to look and portray such acharacter who is a living legend and a nationalpride. It was a huge responsibility.How did you manage to look exactly like

Milkha Singh?

I worked really hard to make it possible. A lot ofpeople have told me that they are struck by theresemblance. It makes me feel good and satisfied.It was a team effort. Hair, makeup, fitness,wardrobe... every department played a role inmaking it so realistic.Are you going to be in your sister Zoya's next

film, the family drama that she had been

planning?

Yes, I am definitely producing it. It is at the castingstage right now.What are your plans on this trip to Kolkata?

I need to say a big thank you to the BCCI andboth the teams (Kolkata and Punjab) for thesupport and for giving us the opportunity to comeand share the charter of MARD with the people ofKolkata and letting us be part of the IPL. We wantto re-introduce the values we Indians are knownfor, the values that somehow we seem to beforgetting. We want to raise awareness andspread the message of strong social values andrespect for women. – cOuRTESy TImES OF INDIA

I’ve been surrounded by very strong women: Farhan Akhtar

NEWS DESK: Yash Raj is going all out to

protect the look of 'Dhoom 3', starring

Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Abhishek

Bachchan, from leaking into the media.

Last week, Yash Raj officials issued a

directive to Prime Focus, the company

entrusted with the job of colour

correction and editing of the visual

effects for the film. According to the

directive, the colour correction and

editing of the VFX footage will not be

done at the Prime Focus studio but

inside the YRF premises where a

makeshift studio will be erected. The

required machines have to be shifted

there along with the team involved in

the project. A source said, "YRF feels

that there is a risk if the colour

correction and editing is not done under

their supervision. They seem to be

apprehensive that too much information

on Dhoom 3 would leak out.The security

deployed is to be seen to be believed,"

added the source. Confirming the step,

business head of Prime Focus Neeraj

Sanghai explained, "YRF doesn't want

any footage of Dhoom 3 to get leaked."

‘Dhoom 3’ not to step outside YRF premises

NEWS DESK

Kristen Stewart, who is said tobe taking joyrides with Rupert

Sanders, has apparently con-firmed that she "will get

married" to Robert Pattin-son. The 23-year-old ac-tress and her on and offboyfriend were recentlysnapped looking loved-up at the Coachella

music festival in Califor-nia and Stewart was al-legedly overheard tellingher pals during the eventthat their relationshipcould be about to take avery serious turn,News reported. Stew-art reportedly alsotold the group thatthe "commitmentring" she was sport-ing at the festival

was a birthday giftfrom her 'Twilight' co-star. A

source told Grazia magazinethat she was overheard saying,"Rob and I will get married."The source said that Stewartwants Pattinson to understandhow committed she is and alsowants him to know that this isfor life as far as she's con-cerned. The source revealed thatthe 26-year-old actor is yet topropose, but the commitmentring is a sign of how far the cou-ple has come.

The insider said that the duo,who has had a turbulent timesince Stewart's affair with mar-ried director Rupert Sanders wasrevealed last year, has reallyturned a corner and she is doingeverything she can do to showhim how serious she is. Thesource added that in the past,Pattinson, whose dream is to getmarried in England, wanted tosettle down, but now Stewart isready to show that she wants thesame things as he does.

kristen stewartconfirmsshe will marryrobert Pattinson

Penelope Cruzgoes toplessfor Italian film

NEWS DESK: Hollywood ac-tress Penelope Cruz shotfor a steamy intimatescene with Emile Hirschfor Italian film ‘Venuto alMondo’. The title of the

movie means born twice. Inthe movie, Cruz plays a

single mother whotakes herteenage son toSarajevo,where his fa-ther died inthe Bosnianwar 16 yearsago. The racyflashbacksshow herpassionaterelationshipwith loverDiego (EmileHirsch), whostayed be-hind whileshe fled thecity with the

baby.

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13ARTssaturday, 27 April, 2013

A

Guys don't adapt as well as women

do to getting their heart broken for the

first time. It's tragic. –Jamie Foxx

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

P AKISTAN Fashion Design Council(PFDC) Sunsilk Fashion Week2013 kicked off on Friday with abang. The second day (Satur-

day), of the four-day event, will featurethe following designers.

SHEHLA CHATOOR

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:Focusing on the revival and use of ageold art forms and embroidery techniquesto create ensembles that can be passedon from generation to generation. The brand is equally known for its edgy,trendy and glamorous western wear andaccessories.INSPIRATION:

The Renaissance Era: cameo paintings,architectural elements, jewelry and ce-ramics stemming from Greek antiquity. TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n Signature Printsn Grecian silhouettesn Embellished forms of Metallic em-

blemsn Amalgamation of silks with metallic

mesh, exotic leather, entwined withmetal chains, logos and Greciancoins

n Gladiator sandals

SOMAL HALEPOTO

BRAND PHILOSOPHYTo create fresh, chic and sophisticatedensembles for the everyday woman.INSPIRATION:

Somal Halepoto has created a delicateand unique collection inspired by thefresh and crisp feeling of spring. Theline consists of soft pastel hues in blue,pink and a mix of bold accented candypink, with a touch of the classic blackand white. Keeping the dainty and femi-nine aesthetic of women in mind, SomalHalepoto brings to you the “Bahaar”collection. TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n Long, medium and short length

shirtsn Boyfriend blazersn Poncho style outfits

AYESHA HASHWANI

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:AFH is a label that balances comfortwith luxe. I see the entire picture fromhead to toe, from function to aesthetic.Femininity, elegance and timelessnessare the basics of my design philosophy.INSPIRATION:

Inspiration is the upcoming season!Total holiday mood and hence have de-signed this Pret Resort Collection.TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n separates

n dressesn bright colorsn embroidered & printed trousers

NICKIE NINA

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:To consistently design a collection eachseason that is contemporary and chic,yet timeless in its appeal.INSPIRATION:

Byzantine and Medieval heraldry withthe Mod movement of the 60sTRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n Bold printsn Metallic accentsn Short a-line hemsn Tapered pantsn Laser cutting

FEEHA JAMSHED

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:The label lives and breathes three sim-ple rules:n To bring Pakistani fashion to the rest

of the world by taking inspirationfrom all the corners of Pakistan andcreate a Luxury Retail brand whichanyone can afford.

n To continuously reinvent itself bycreating trends instead of followingthem and challenging what peopleconsider as feminine norms.

n To give back to the community andits people by donating a portion ofall its proceeds and actively partici-pating in charitable work.

INSPIRATION:

The freedom of women of the late 50sand 60s and their influence on the 90s.The silhouettes are influenced by thethree decades of women discoveringthemselves. This collection is about cel-ebrating women by using various tex-tures of fabric and making menswearmore feminine.TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n black and white stripes with accents

of colorn safari suitsn skinny harem, cigarette and skinny

cropped pantsn boxy shirts with cinched waistsn shorter hemlines and layering

YAHSIR WAHEED

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:Yahsir Waheed is a design forwardbrand with prints as its main focus andstrength. The brand believes in innova-tion and using technologies to createmodern contemporary clothing. INSPIRATION:

Ai No Corrida (realm of senses) A tribute to the vibrant folk art of Pak-istan.It’s a journey that revolves around therealm of the senses, with splashes ofcolor combined together with moderncuts, to give a contemporary feel andlook to the collection.TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n over-sized trousers

n exaggerated, full rounded sleevesn wise shouldersn boxy waistcoatsn a hint of androgyny

ASIFA NABEEL

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:Asifa and Nabeel’s brand philosophy isthe celebration of womanhood. We be-lieve that every woman should be ableto enjoy, enhance and express her innerand feminine charm.INSPIRATION:

This collection has been inspired by theamazing special boy- Omar, who inspiteof his life altering disabilities and thechallenges he faces every day hascome forward and proved himself as anartist.With the motifs and colors used in thecollection having been developed fromhis paintings, Asifa and Nabeel presentto you the “Partonoor” collection. TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

SHORT SHIRTS WITH BLOOMERSSHALWARS AND PANTALOONSSTRAIGHT AND TAPERED SILHOUETTES

FAHAD HUSSAYN PRODIGY

BRAND PHILOSPHY:Pure grandeur with an added edge &

regeneration of local craft and art formsINSPIRATION:

Mythologically driven imaginary setup ofthe world of PRAXUS- A futuristic depic-tion of royal luxury.

TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n edgy prints n metallic surfaces n metalic embroideries n innovative embellishmentsn constructed silhouettes n variating volumes and lengths lay-

ered together.

ITTEHAD TEXTILES

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:Ittehad’s business model is character-ized by a high degree of vertical inte-gration. It covers all phases of thefashion process: design, manufacture,logistics and distribution to its ownmanaged stores. It has a flexible struc-ture and a strong customer focus in allits business areas. INSPIRATION:

This year, Ittehad Textiles’ collection hasbeen inspired by the Victorian and theMughal arts. The inspiration is based onfactors like femininity and modernism. TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n Bright tones n Black and whotesn Loose casualsn Long fitted fancy wear

LALA TEXTILES

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:Providing accessible summer; midsum-mer and winter fabric ranges to ladiesacross Pakistan.INSPIRATION:

Classical ensembles with traditionalMughal, Kashmiri and Islamic embroi-deriesTRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n Aesthetically diverse.n A luxurious fusion of traditional de-

sign elements with modern cuts.

RAJAH’S

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:If you are a man with an urge to rule, apassion to lead and an instinct to riseabove the rest, then Rajah’s is the placefor you.INSPIRATION:

Regal, stately statureTRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n Immaculate craftsmanshipn Incredible texture and hand feel

MOON TEXTILES

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:We bring art to life. INSPIRATION:

We infuse modern day trends with ourhistory and culture to create a neverbefore seen collage. TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR:n Look for something that has never

been seen before, we believe in set-ting trends rather then followingthem.

PFDC SUNSILK FASHION WEEK

humaima Malicksplashing colourswith FnKAsia

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Hot on the heels of success, HumaimaMalick is all set to splash colours thissummer with FnkAsia’s latestSpring/Summer 2013 collection. Oursources have sniffled the inside storyand is ready to surprise Humaima’sfans with news that she will not onlybe spotted as a show stopper forHuma Adnan’s latest ‘East of Bengal’collection on PFDC Fashion Week inLahore but will also be doing a shootfor her label. Huma’s collection is in-spired from the lush forests of Bengaland has used amazing colour palettesfrom shades of sap green and rainwater blue towards murjaan and sund-hairi laal. According to the label de-signer Huma Adnan, the reason shehas chosen Humaima Malick is be-cause she is a dreamer, believer andan achiever and that is what the brandis all about.

NEWS DESK: Deadline has announced that Hollywood

star Will Smith will play the lead in the movie The

American Can, a part previously offered to Denzel

Washington. Smith will play a New Orleans hero who

saved several lives when Hurricane Katrina struck in

2005. The American Can is based on actual events

surrounding Gulf War veteran John Keller, who looked

after and kept his neighbours safe in the building when

the hurricane struck. He then actively took part in

directing the rescue operation that was launched from

the roof of the five-story building. Will Smith wanted to

play the lead role in this movie from the very beginning.

However, he had to give up on the idea as he was

already participating in M. Night Shyamalan's next film,

the sci-fi opus ‘After Earth’, set for release on June 5.

Ed Zwick (Blood Diamond) will direct, while screenplay

was written by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side).

Filming can begin once Will Smith has finished filming

‘Focus’ by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

Will Smith on boardfor ‘The American Can’

ISB 27-04-2013_Layout 1 4/27/2013 1:27 AM Page 13

INFOTAINMENT

ISaturday, 27 April, 2013

14

NEw horMoNE CouLdENd dAILY INJECTIoNSFor dIABETES

why coffee with Apple chief will cost you £32,000The head of the technology gianthas promised the winner of a charityauction the chance to sit down withhim for an hour at Apple’s head-quarters in Cupertino, California.Bidding for the prize, listed on theNew York-based Charitybuzz web-site, has risen to $36,999 (£24,000)and all proceeds go to The RFK Cen-ter for Justice and Human Rights. The auction, whichhas an estimated value of $50,000, has 20 days leftto run. The lucky winning bidder is allowed to take oneguest to meet Mr Cook, and the terms of the auctionstate that both people must “conduct themselves ap-propriately when attending an experience won atCharitybuzz. Polite manners and respect for the gen-erous donor and adherence to any rules or parametersare a must.” Whoever wins will also be “subject to se-curity screening”. Other auctions for the charity featurestars such as actor Robert De Niro, director FrancisFord Coppola and comedian Robin Williams. “The RFKCenter’s annual auctions empower our human rightsadvocacy around the world, from courtrooms toclassrooms, from Cambodia to California,” said KerryKennedy, president of the RFK Center. NEwS DESK

Einstein’s theory of relatively seen in action by astronomers

A newly discovered hormone that helpsthe body to produce its own insulincould provide a new treatment fordiabetes and end the need for dailyinjections by sufferers. Researchers atHarvard University discovered that thehormone, called betatrophin, promotesthe growth of cells that secrete insulininto the blood stream. The scientistsfound the hormone caused mice toproduce these cells at 30 times thenormal rate. They now believe it couldbe used to provide a more effectivetreatment for type 2 diabetes, whichaffects nearly 2.5 million people in theUK. Rather than having to take dailyinjections of insulin to control theamount of sugar in their blood,patients would need to take this newhormone just weekly or even monthly,according to the researchers. Dr DougMelton, from the Harvard Stem CellInstitute who conducted the research,said: “If this could be used in people itcould eventually mean that instead oftaking insulin injections three times aday, you might take an injection of thishormone once a week or once amonth, or in the best case maybe evenonce a year. NEwS DESK

hEArd ThE oNE ABouT ThEChICKEN ANd A&E?

NEWS DESK

Apair of stars orbiting eachother nearly 7,000 light yearsfrom Earth have providedmore evidence that AlbertEinstein’s theory of general

relatively is correct. Astronomers meas-ured bursts of energy from a neutron starwhich is being orbited by a smaller whitedwarf star. The gravity created by theneutron star, which is a super dense spin-ning pulsar, created a wrinkle in the fab-ric of space time in a way predicted byEinstein in his famous theory in 1915.

The neutron star, which is just 12miles across but weights twice as muchas our own sun, has gravity that is 300billion times stronger than that felt on

the surface of Earth. At the centre of thisstar, a billion tonnes of matter would besqueezed into an areas the size of asugar cube. This enormous gravitationalforce should create a distortion inspace-time according to Einstein’s the-ory. As the white dwarf – a glowingremnant of another dead star – orbits theneutron star they should create wrinklesthat move out in space time known asgravitational waves.

Over time this causes the two starsto move closer together as these wrin-kles send energy out into space.

Astronomers on Earth were able touse a global network of telescopes tomeasure this by timing radio burstsemitted from the neutron star, alsoknown as a pulsar, over time. “We

thought this system might be extremeenough to show a breakdown in Gen-eral Relativity, but instead, Einstein’spredictions held up quite well,” said DrPaulo Freire, from the Max Planck In-stitute for Radioastronomy in Germany.

Einstein’s general theory of relativ-ity, which explains gravity as a conse-quence of the curvature of space-timecreated by the presence of mass and en-ergy, has withstood all tests since it wasfirst published almost a century ago.

Physicists, however, believe it can-not explain all of the effects seen in theuniverse as it is not compatible withquantum theory, which is used to ex-plain the forces that hold atoms andsubatomic particles together.

Instead they have come up with

other theories of gravity that they be-lieve can be spotted in extremely stronggravitational fields that are too large tobe found in our own solar system –much like the one they were observing.

Although the findings, which arepublished in the journal Science, failedto reveal any breakdown in Einstein’stheory, they have raised hopes that re-searchers might be able to directly de-tect gravitational waves.

“Our radio observations were soprecise that we have already been ableto measure a change in the orbital pe-riod of 8 millionths of a second peryear, exactly what Einstein’s theory pre-dicts,” states Paulo Freire, anothermember of the international team thatcarried out the study.

The poetry of the

earth is never

dead. –John Keats

A food critic I know was eating a ‘poshrestaurant Sunday lunch’ when herhusband was served a piece ofundercooked chicken. Soon after, hewas ‘violently sick’. This normallystrapping man became so weakenedhe was off work for a fortnight andeven now is much more prone tostomach problems than before. Allfrom some chicken. Campylobacter –which is what caused this unluckyman’s collapse – is the great unspokenfood scandal of our times. It is themost common cause of food poisoningin Britain. In 2009 it was responsiblefor an estimated 371,000 cases,resulting in 17,500 hospitalisationsand 88 deaths. Yet, compared withE.coli or salmonella, few have heard ofit. This bacteria may be found in redmeat and unpasteurised milk, but themain cause of infection is throughchicken. Bob Martin, the head of thestrategy at the Food Standards Agencyto reduce foodborne disease, explainsthat chicken-liver pâté is a particularrisk. Big outbreaks happen aftercatered events where pinklyunderdone liver parfait is served.‘There is a tendency among chefs tocook liver very lightly to turn aninexpensiveingredient intosomethingupmarket,’ saysMartin,butsearingdoesn’tkill thecampylobacter ‘inthe deep tissue ofthe liver’. NEwS DESK

An artist's impression of the

exotic double-star system

used to test Einstein's

General Theory of Relativity.

Pedro Oliva, from Brazil, paddles to within feet of the red-hot lava flowing down from Kilauea

volcano on the Hawaiian island of Hawai’i. He was part of an expedition to explore some of Hawaii’s

lesser known kayaking routes with fellow kayakers Chris Korbulic and Ben Stookesberry.

NEWS DESK

Limited funds are no barrier to having adream kitchen. What counts most is havinga good eye and a good fit, the interior de-signer Naomi Cleaver says.

1 The critical point is that for a fittedkitchen to look fabulous you need a fabu-lous fitter. Do your research and take ref-

erences; you will be rewarded.2 Keep things simple. The most vi-

sually pleasing arrangements of cabinetsconsist of runs of either wide, deep draw-ers, or runs of floor-mounted cupboards

only. But don’t mix the two in one run – itcan look a mess. Likewise, beware of a jum-ble of full-height and wall- and floor-mounted units. Symmetry is your friend.

3 Never site an extractor fan betweenwall cabinets: it looks clumsy. Instead re-place adjacent cabinets with open shelves.If the thought of all that dust brings out yourOCD, conceal a canopy hood inside anadapted wall cabinet that has no bottom, ren-dering the appliance virtually invisible. Bythe way, the cheaper extractor fans are oftenmade in the same factories as those that aremore expensive, so it may not be worthspending a great deal of money on one.

4 When selecting your appliances,choose carefully. Forget about expensivebrands, just buy basic white goods with anA+++ energy efficiency rating. These canbe concealed behind cabinet fronts tomatch the rest of your kitchen.

5 When it comes to slick modern

kitchens, the key word is concealment.Undermounting a cheaper stainless-steelsink into your worktop will make it lookmore stylish and more expensive.

6 One design trick is to fit the plinth(the ‘skirting board’ that floor units sit on)as far back as is possible. This will makeyour joinery appear cantilevered and‘high-design’.

7 Spend your money where it countsmost. Buy inexpensive carcasses from bigDIY stores, Ikea or kitchen specialists suchas Howdens and then have them fitted withbespoke doors and drawer fronts.

8 A worktop is one of the most visiblefeatures so it is well worth spending moneyhere. Honed granite (which has a flat lowsheen without reflection) is both chic and

durable, making it cost-effective too. Tokeep your top relatively lightweight ordera slab that is about 20mm thick but ask fora mitred downstand (edging) of 70mm.This will make it look luxuriously thick.Consider using the same material for asplashback or choose painted glass.

9 Kitchen taps need to be good quality,but don’t go mad. Hansgrohe is ideal.

10 Sleek, modern kitchens are oftenironmongery-free zones which makesthem budget-friendly (beautiful handlesand knobs are frequently a ‘hidden’ cost).The company Hafele (hafele.com) makesgood-quality fitted closers and pushcatches. You can also have cupboard doorsand drawer fronts constructed with inte-grated handles.

How to design a perfect kitchen on a budget

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15The groin injury was taking time to heal, but after he received newsabout his mom having her knee plate fractured, he became restlessand asked if he could head back home — Abhijit Sarkar

HARAREAgENcIES

ON a day of nerves fromboth sets of players,Zimbabwe walked outhappier after they pickedup enough wickets to

justify their decision to bowl. At stumps,Bangladesh were 300 for 6, and it washard to say whether they, too, would bepleased with the outcome.

The error-ridden day was not pretty towatch at times. The home side almostgave away a good start by their bowlersin the afternoon but fought back throughtwo wickets in the final session. Theyhave the advantage of sitting on a 1-0lead, which would help them to assess theTest later on.

Keegan Meth continued to bowl withthe same discipline as he had in the firstTest, keeping the batsmen on a tight leashwith his line, length and sudden bursts ofbig movement. Kyle Jarvis had quite adisappointing day as the team’s best quickbowler in the first Test. He bowled toofull, and at times too wide. He, however,picked up a wicket late in the day.

Elton Chigumbura took two wickets,both gifted through absurd shots byMominul Haque and Shakib Al Hasan.Shingi Masakadza also took one wicket,that of Mohammad Ashraful and that, too,off a poor shot.

The visitors had three almost similarsessions, losing two wickets in each.Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim helped theside to respectability through their 123-run fifth wicket stand after Bangladeshhad slipped to 125 for 4 after lunch.

Shakib started off smoothly with threeboundaries in his first 15 balls, but sooncalmed down and supported Mushfiqur’srecovery act. He reached his fifty off 84balls, before launching into a bit of a four-hitting spree. But he fell in that trap,running out to Chigumbura late in the dayto fall for 81 off 118 balls. He has nowgiven away three opportunities to scoreTest hundreds in his last four Tests.

Mushfiqur, too, batted well, but justwhen he needed to see off the day, he fellleg-before to Jarvis around 20 minutesbefore stumps were drawn. He made 60

off 165 balls, an innings which wasexactly what many before him could havedone.

Tamim Iqbal’s return to the line-upwas important to the top-order but he wasamong the six batsmen to succumb toimpatience rather than the bowling. Hestarted off nervously before settling downand looking confident as he struck sixboundaries. After spending some minuteson 49, the imminence of the landmark gotthe better of him. He rushed towards thenon-striker’s end, only to seeMasakadza’s direct hit catching him short.

Mominul, too, looked committed to aproper innings. But he, too, joined thesoft-dismissal parade. In an attempt tokeep a rising ball down, he chipped theball down the throat of extra cover. It wasyet another promising innings that wasnipped in the bud. It all started withJahurul Islam at the stroke of the firstdrinks break.

Jahurul and Tamim added 44 for thefirst wicket before the former holed out inthe covers where Malcolm Waller ranback to complete the catch. Jahurul’srestlessness was noticeable throughout hisstay in the first hour, but here was abatsman who was again setting himself upfor a big innings after blunting out thebowler’s attempts.

But as has been his problem afterbattling out the initial foray, Jahurul triedto blast Meth down the ground and fell.He had earlier survived three chances,being dropped off Meth in the second overof the match as well as two run-outopportunities. Ashraful followed him backto the dressing room soon after to make it58 for 2. He toed a pull off Masakadzaand was easily caught at gully. His inningscould have been even shorter than the 4he made if Meth could have gathered theball cleanly in the 18th over.

Tamim, too, could have been run outin the first overs of the first two sessions,and was also dropped catch in the slips.There were chances galore in the finalhour of play too. Mushfiqur was droppedat square-leg by Graeme Cremer after heskied a pull before Brendan Taylordropped Nasir Hossain at slip off Cremer.Ziaur Rahman survived a run-out chancein the 83rd over.

Zimbabwe’s fielding was frustrating,but they will remain positive because ofthe conditions in Harare. Late in thesecond session and throughout the finalsession, legspinner Cremer found turn and

bounce to his liking which would add tothe general sense of advantage which thefast bowlers have felt on this wicket. Theycould still bank on Bangladesh’simpatience in their bid to gain control.

zimbabwe strike,Bangladesh fight

bangladesh 1st innings

Tamim Iqbal run out (Sw masakadza) 49

Jahurul Islam c waller b meth 24

mohammad Ashraful c cremer b Sw masakadza 4

mominul Haque c Sw masakadza b chigumbura 23

Shakib Al Hasan c †mutumbami b chigumbura 81

mushfiqur Rahim*† lbw b Jarvis 60

Nasir Hossain b cremer 77

Ziaur Rahman lbw b meth 14

Sohag gazi c chigumbura b cremer 21

Sajidul Islam c †mutumbami b chigumbura 0

Robiul Islam not out 24

Extras (b 2, lb 7, w 1, nb 4) 14

Total 391

Fall of wickets 1-44 (Jahurul Islam, 13.2 ov), 2-58 (mohammad

Ashraful, 18.5 ov), 3-102 (Tamim Iqbal, 28.6 ov), 4-125 (mominul

Haque, 33.3 ov), 5-248 (Shakib Al Hasan, 73.5 ov), 6-280

(mushfiqur Rahim, 82.1 ov), 7-313 (Ziaur Rahman, 91.5 ov), 8-

364 (Sohag gazi, 106.6 ov), 9-367 (Nasir Hossain, 108.1 ov),

10-391 (Sajidul Islam, 113.2 ov)

bowlingKm Jarvis 25-4-105-1, KO meth 22-7-41-2, Sw masakadza 17-2-52-1, E chigumbura 24.2-7-75-3, Ag cremer 25-3-109-2Zimbabwe 1st inningsV Sibanda c †mushfiqur Rahim b Robiul Islam 10Rw chakabva c †mushfiqur Rahim b Robiul Islam 12H masakadza b Shakib Al Hasan 14bRm Taylor* not out 16mN waller not out 3Extras (b 4, lb 6) 10Total 65To bat R mutumbami†, E chigumbura, Ag cremer, KO meth,Km Jarvis, Sw masakadzaFall of wickets 1-23 (chakabva, 10.5 ov), 2-26 (Sibanda, 12.1ov), 3-45 (H masakadza, 22.4 ov)bowlingRobiul Islam 15-8-22-2, Sajidul Islam 11.4-4-26-0, ZiaurRahman 5-3-5-0, Shakib Al Hasan 4-2-2-1match detailsToss Zimbabwe, who chose to fieldTest debut Ziaur Rahman (bangladesh)Player of the match tbaumpires IJ gould (England) and Al Hill (New Zealand)TV umpire O chirombematch referee bc broad (England)Reserve umpire TJ matibiri

ScOREbOARD

SUNIL GAvASKAR

The Kings XI Punjab are on aroll with three impressive winsover Kolkata Knight Riders,

Pune Warriors and DelhiDaredevils under their belt. It is

just the kind of rhythm a team looksfor as it tackles the way ahead. The bestpart of these wins is the manner in whichtheir young players are contributing. Ifthe other youngsters can follow that, thenthe Punjab team can go all the way. Theskipper Adam Gilchrist is struggling abit, but his kind of batting is such thatwhen it comes off, it will be spectacular.It is like a dormant volcano and when iterupts, it will burn all those in thevicinity. So even as other skippers haveexcused themselves and left themselvesout of their teams, it will be hard toenvisage Gilchrist doing so.

Mandeep Singh is beginning to dojustice to his potential and, if MananVohra can see how Mandeep is hittingstraight and not across the line, then evenhe may get more runs than he is doing at

the moment. David Hussey keeps a coolhead like his brother Mike and is aninvaluable player for the team. Theirnew-ball attack also is top class, withPraveen Kumar showing his worth bybowling more maiden overs in the IPL.Every dot ball is a big plus, but if abowler can bowl a maiden then it is evenbetter.

The Kolkata Knight Riders just havenot got going and are lacking inspiration.Maybe the presence of their iconic ownerShahrukh Khan will galvanise them andlift their spirits, for they are lookinglistless and clueless on the field. SRKhas been missing from most of thegames, so his presence should make adifference. What has been mostdisappointing is their fielding where notonly have they dropped catches but alsoconceded extra runs with sloppy pick-ups and wild throwing and this despitethe hiring of the India team fieldingcoach Trevor Penney.

Gautam Gambhir is looking frustratedand agitated and that puts the players,especially the Indian players, under morepressure. They have tried various opening

combinations, but nothing is working forthem and they may have to go to BrendonMcCullum to get them off to anelectrifying start. Kolkata are running out

of matches and need a turnaround quicklyif they are to get into the knockouts. Thegoing looks tough for them, but that iswhen the tough get going.

COUNTER SLEDGING THROUGH PERFORMANCE: RICHARDSViv Richards, the former West Indies captainwho is also the Delhi Daredevils ambassador,has said it’s important to beconfrontational in cricket against sledgingand “bullying” tactics, but throughperformance. When faced with asituation where a player is “standing atthe crease with guys swearing at you,telling you all sorts of things aboutyour parenthood…if you’ve got goodsubstance, your presence at the creasewill be enough,” Richards was quoted assaying in Times of India. “You have gotto think you are the man, having yourchest and chin up and never taking abackward step. One has to try and exhibit whatbatsmanship is all about. When you score ahundred, it’s going to hurt a bowler more than anything else. “There are timesyou have to be confrontational. There are some bullies in cricket and nobodyshould be allowed to bully anyone. For me, if you confront me, I’ll finish theconfrontation myself.” Richards praised Chris Gayle for his destructive batting,the most recent example being his unbeaten 175 against Pune Warriors, butsaid even Gayle “plays the bluff” sometimes when he builds an inningsgradually. “Gayle realises that being destructive as he is, there is a need todash all the time. Sometimes he takes his time to play his way in and makesup for it later. I am sure Gayle plays the bluff a few times. “While he’s there inthe middle the fielders are sweating all the time, wondering when he is goingto just go. I believe it’s like stopping at a traffic light - when it gets to greenyou have the chance to put the foot on the pedal.” Richards said he wouldalways have a player like Virender Sehwag in his side. SPORTS DESK

Gilchrist volcanocan erupt any time

hArrISlikely to be fitfor Ashes

SPORTS DESK

Cricket Australia said on Friday an Achillesinjury that forced paceman Ryan Harris homefrom India was not serious and he wasexpected to be fit for the Ashes series inEngland. The injury-prone Harris returnedhome for tests on his left Achilles raisingfears about his fitness 11 weeks ahead of thefirst Ashes test in Nottingham. But CA’sChief Medical Officer Justin Paoloni playeddown the concerns over the Ashes chances ofthe 33-year-old paceman. “Scans showed theinjury was not serious and he will undergointensive rehabilitation with the aim of himbeing available to take part in the Australia ASeries and we expect he will be fit to play inthe Ashes,” Paoloni said in a statement.Despite the Queenslander’s chequered injuryhistory, selectors this week named Harris in a16-man touring party for the five Ashes testsagainst England. Harris surged into Ashescontention on the back of a successfulcomeback at the end of the last Australiandomestic season after being sidelined foralmost a year. His three-game return includedthe Sheffield Shield final, where he provedhis form and fitness by taking match figuresof 7-139 from 54 overs.

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16I’m a little disappointed, because I couldn’t

wait to look in his eyes and snatch his soul

right out of his body — Danny Garcia

AFrIdIset to be dropped forChampions Trophy?

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Troubled and out of form all-rounder Shahid Afridi is set to beshown the doors when the PCB selection committee announces the15-member national squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, to beheld in England in June. Although the national selection committeeis yet to announce the final 15, reports suggested that Afridi has notbeen shortlisted for the final squad. “Basically Afridi has beendropped and senior players such as Kamran Akmal and ShoaibMalik have also been told candidly this is their final chance toprove their worth to the team in the Champions Trophy,” reportssaid. “Afridi has been sidelined mainly becausehe has gone wicket-less inhis last few one-dayinternationals andthough he playedtwo good innings inthe one-day series inSouth Africa the selectors feelhe is not doing justice to hisprimary role as a bowler.”Afridi, a veteran of 354 one-day internationals alsostruggled with his bowling inthe recent national one-daychampionship. The selectorsheld lengthy three-daydeliberations in Lahore thisweek to discuss the ChampionsTrophy squad and central contractsto be given to players. “After thelengthy deliberations theselectors have also omittedWahab Riaz who wentwith the team to SouthAfrica.” He said theselectors had formedconsensus on havingMohammad Irfan,Junaid Khan andAsad Ali in thefinal squad butwere stilldeliberating onadding one ortwo more pacersand a anallrounder to thesquad. “SohailTanvir andEhsan Adil arefront runners toget theremainingtwo spots,”the sourceadded.

Pakistan to

take special

measures

during uK tourLAHORE

STAFF REPORT

PAKISTAN Cricket Board willbe taking special measures duringits forthcoming tour to England toavoid a repeat of the spot-fixingscandal that hit the nation’s

cricket in 2010.PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf said the

special measures included sending a vigilanceofficer with the team, having the players adhereto a special code of conduct and a one-to-onebriefing before the team left for the UK nextmonth.

“We will be sending a vigilance officerwith the team so that they are no unwelcomeelements around the team and the players alsodon’t get trapped into any scandal. We don’twant the mistakes of the last tour to England

repeated again,” Ashraf said on the sideline ofthe fast bowlers camp at the National StadiumKarachi.

He said the vigilance officer was beingsent to monitor movements of players whilethe security manager, who usuallyaccompanies the team, will do his jobseparately.

Pakistan cricket was rocked in 2010during a tour to England when the News of the

World tabloid broke the story about spot-fixingwhich led to the suspension and then bans onformer captain Salman Butt and his teammatesMohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir.

The three are presently serving minimumfive year bans from the anti-corruption tribunalof the ICC and last year also served differentjail sentences in the UK for their role in thespot-fixing scandal.

Ashraf said the scandal had badly affected

the image of Pakistan cricket and it had takena lot of hard work to restore a positive imageof the team.

“So we don’t want the same thing ormistakes happening again. This time we aregoing to be very careful and cautious.

We are going to have a special code ofconduct for the players and I will be briefingthem myself about what we expect them to doon the tour,” he said.

CHENNAI AgENcIES

Chennai Super Kings captain MSDhoni smashed an undefeated 67 from37 deliveries to give his team anunlikely five-wicket victory with twoballs to spare in their IPL clash againstthe Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MAChidambaram Stadium in Chennai onThursday.

A remarkable undefeated inningsof 63 from 45 deliveries by ShikharDhawan had earlier steered theSunrisers to a score of 159 for six, anda maiden from Karan Sharma (4-1-8-0) in the 16th over left Chennai needing46 from 24 deliveries.

However, Dhoni was imperious,and a shell-shocked Hyderabad teamwere forced to watch flying leather asthey suffered an unexpected reverse toleave them stuck in third place on 10points.

Victory for the Super Kings seesthem join the Royal ChallengersBangalore at the summit of the table on12 points, albeit with an inferior netrun-rate.

Having earlier won the toss andelected to bat, the Hyderabad sideendured early strife as opener Quintonde Kock (4), Hanuma Vihari (2) andcaptain Cameron White (2) all fell

within the first five overs to leave them37 for three.

Amit Mishra’s (15) dismissal in the10th over was a setback after a usefulpartnership with Dhawan, but thingswere to get worse as the opener, on 44,was struck down in the mid-section bya vicious Dwayne Bravo (4-0-37-2)delivery midway through the 14th over.Unable to continue, Dhawan’s decisionto retire hurt appeared to effectivelyreduce the visitors to 83 for five.

Darren Sammy (19), on his IPLdebut, the West Indian captain openedhis shoulders by blasting two fours anda six to take the score well beyond thecentury mark. But his dismissal in the18th over to fellow West Indian Bravoprompted the return of Dhawan, andthe left hander immediately struck twoboundaries to bring up a remarkablehalf century.

He wasn’t done yet though, and heand partner Ashish Reddy (36 not out)added a further four fours and two sixesbetween them to take their side to acompetitive-looking total.

The home crowd were then treatedto an exhibition in strokeplay asMichael Hussey (45) led the charge inreply. He and fellow opener MuraliVijay (18) took the score to 58 withoutloss by the end of the powerplay, beforethe latter was stumped in the eighth

over off Mishra (4-0-26-3).The introduction of spin began to

slow the over rate, and Hussey becameMishra’s second victim in bizarrefashion two overs later as he wascaught by keeper De Kock off the backof his bat to leave his side at 76 for two.

New-man Dhoni was then given alife as Mishra dropped a sitter off DaleSteyn (4-0-45-1) on the fine-legboundary in the 11th over, and it beganto look costly as the captain started tofind the middle of the bat.

Mishra redeemed himself in the14th over, as Dhoni’s partner SureshRaina (16) skied one to long on with thescore on 99, and when Bravo (7), whostruggled through 16 deliveries, lost hiswicket, the hosts were left needing 30from 16 deliveries.

All hopes were pinned on Dhoni,and he carted Steyn for a four and a bigsix in the penultimate over to bring uphis fifty, and the crowd to the edge oftheir seats. But Steyn removedRavindra Jadeja (1) at the end of it, andwith 15 needed off the final over, theodds appeared to be stacked againsthim.

However, the skipper took fulladvantage of a poor final over fromReddy (0.4-0-15-0), and a six and twofours were enough to see his side homefor a fourth successive victory.

SPORTS DESK

Pakistani asylum-seeker Fawad Ahmed has signedto play with Australian state side Victoria for thenext three seasons, Cricket Victoria said on Friday.

Legspinner Ahmed, who could be in contentionto play for Australia in the Ashes series in Englandin July if he is granted citizenship on time, wasnamed in Victoria’s squad for the next Australianseason.

“Fawad Ahmed was the success story from lastyear and we’re extremely happy to have signed himfor the next three seasons,” Victoria coach GregShipperd said in a statement.

The 31-year-old legspinner was handed apermanent visa to remain in Australia in Novemberafter leaving his home in the border region nearAfghanistan, where he said he was targeted byMuslim extremists.

But to play for Australia in the Ashes from Julyhe needs fast-tracked citizenship and an Australianpassport.

Otherwise, under International Cricket Councilrules, he will not become available until August 18,

before the fifth test at the Oval.Ahmed played three Sheffield Shield games for

Victoria late last season and took 16 wickets at28.37, bringing him to the notice of Australianselectors given a dearth of spin bowlers of testquality.

“Fawad Ahmed is a mature and very goodlegspinner,” chairman of selectors John Inveraritysaid last month.

“I’ve seen quite a bit of him and all those whohave played against him, and the coaching staff, ratehim as a good bowler.

“He would certainly come under consideration.It will all be considered on merit. He will be treatedno differently from anybody else.”

Of his chances of playing for Australia, Ahmedtold reporters last month: “Playing test cricket is thedream for any single cricketer – very, very exciting.

“Like a dream, especially playing for Australiain an Ashes against England. That would be a dreamfor me and would be amazing. I just only canimagine.”

Cricket Victoria also announced Friday thatformer Australian allrounder Dan Christian wouldbe playing for Victoria from next season.

Dhoni pulls off unlikely win for Chennai

Pakistan asylum-seekersigns with Victoria

honours ‘even’ afterfirst day: TamimhARARE: When cricket no longer paysTamim Iqbal’s bills, he should look forwork as a raconteur because that wasexactly how he dealt with the media afterthe first day’s play. He could afford tobecause Bangladesh are in what he calls an“even,” position and most of their blusheswere saved by a big partnership of 123between Shakib Al Hasan and MushfiqurRahim. Better still, Tamim’s commentsabout the Zimbabwean attack and KyleJarvis, in particular, being “ordinary,” in2011, did not come back to bite him. Intruth, Jarvis looked decidedly so andTamim could not hold back a smile whenhe was asked if he still thought of him asnothing more than mediocre. “I knew thiswas coming,” Tamim said. “Even if I makea thousand comments now, it is never goingto change. Look, Jarvis is a good bowler.He is a very good bowler. But I don’t wantto tell him he is a good bowler because I amthe opposition.” As long as no-one tellsTamim this is a public site, he won’t have torealise that his showering of complimentson Zimbabwe’s spearhead is known to allwho read it and will wash away some of thestring from two years ago. AgENcIES

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17I’m looking forward to getting back on track

there after our busy testing build-up to the

last round in Spain — Jonathan Rea

STUTTGARTAgENcIES

French Open champion Maria Sharapova admittedshe had dug deep to reach the quarter-finals ofStuttgart’s WTA tournament after her three-hourmarathon victory over claycourt specialist LucieSafarova on Thursday.

Sharapova, who won last year’s Stuttgart title enroute to her Roland Garros victory, needed threehours, nine minutes to squeeze past her Czechopponent for a 6-4, 6-7(3/7), 6-3 second-roundvictory. With a 5-2 lead in the third set and servingfor the match, Sharapova squandered three matchpoints as Safarova broke her, before the Russianreturned the compliment to claim the match.

“I’ve had a few three-hour games in my career,so I knew I just had to keep fighting until the end,”said the statuesque Russian who faces former worldnumber one Ana Ivanovic in Friday’s quarter-finals.

“That’s when it’s the time to get the game-plangoing and calm down a little bit. “Clay is one of herfavourite surfaces and I knew this was going to be atough game, so I am glad to get through.

“The first match of the claycourt season isalways tough, it’s nothing like practising.”Sharapova’s last eight opponent Ivanovic beatRussia’s Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-3 in her second roundgame, having dropped to 17th in the world rankings.

Earlier second-seed China’s Li Na has admitted shehas one eye on a brand new sports car, the winner’sprize here, as she prepares to face Petra Kvitova inthe quarter-finals.

Li, who reached January’s Australian Open final,breezed through Thursday’s second-round match in74 minutes to see off Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni6-1, 6-2 in straight sets in her first match of theclaycourt season.

Kvitova made the last eight after beatingGermany’s Julia Goerges 2-6, 7-6(7/4), 6-2 in hersecond round match.

“I have a lot of room in my garage for a new carand it’s a pretty nice car,” joked Li, with a brand-newPorsche parked at the side of the court, ready for thewinner of Sunday’s final to drive away.

“It’s always tough when you change surface, soI’m excited to win my first match on clay for theseason.

“Mirjana plays flat, so I had to prepare for that.“I thought it would be a tough match because

she has a lot of experience.“I was happy I could play more aggressive and

had the right game plan to win.”Third-seed Angelique Kerber, ranked sixth in

the world, also had no problems as she blasted pastRussia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0, 6-4 to setup a quarter-final clash with Kazakhstan’sYaroslava Shvedova.

ShArAPovAmade to battle in stuttgart

Two defeats in his last three fights have not dissuaded Amir Khan from thinking big.Victory against Julio Diaz on Saturday night would give him the opportunity tobecome undisputed light-welterweight champion later this year, Khan said in Londonon Thursday. The 26-year-old Briton must first win the catchweight non-title boutagainst Diaz at the Motorpoint Arena in his home city of Sheffield in his first fightback in Britain for two years. Victory over Diaz, a former lightweight champion, willkeep Khan on course for a possible rematch with either Lamont Peterson or DannyGarcia. Defeat to the 33-year-old Diaz will finish Khan’s career at the elite level.Khan, who is due to get married in New York next month, is desperate to avengeboth defeats. He lost on points to Peterson in December 2011. The American latertested positive for a banned substance. Garcia stopped Khan in four rounds last July.IBF champion Peterson and Garcia, who holds the WBC and WBA titles, havedefences to make before Khan can start plottingrevenge. Garcia takes on fellow American ZabJudah later on Saturday night and Argentina’sLucas Matthysse is set to challenge Peterson onMay 18. Khan says he has been told by hispromoter, Golden Boy, that the winners ofthose fights will then face each other and thewinner of the title unification fight will boxhim later in 2013. “I must keep winning andwork my way back to the world titles,” Khansaid. “I’m determined to win them again.“I’m staying at light-welterweight because Iwant to fight Lamont Peterson and DannyGarcia again. I have unfinished business withthem and want to avenge my losses. “Thisfight will take me to a world titleshot, hopefully in my next bout.Julio has a good KO ratio. Ihave a lot of respect for himfor accepting this challenge.He is an experienced fighterand they are the difficultones to beat. While Khansees his future at the63.5kg light-welterweight division,he was surprisinglyelevated to No 2on the WBCwelterweightrankings listrecently.HisdefeatsdashedKhan’shopes offacingFloydMayweather,the American whoholds the WBC welterweight title.But Khan has not given up on afuture fight with Mayweather.SPORTS DESK

Defeats do notdistract Amir

Wade Ormsby of Australia birdied two of his closing three holes toshare the clubhouse lead with Arnond Vongvanij of Thailand in thesecond round of the rain-affected Ballantine’s Championship on Friday.

Arnond also birdied the 18th, as the pair strive for their first EuropeanTour title at Blackstone Resort. Ormsby carded a 5-under-par 67 tobe tied on 7-under with Arnond, who signed for a 69. Three players

- England’s James Morrison (66), Sweden’s Alexander Noren (67)and South African Jbe Kruger (67) - shared third place at 6 under.After the first day was delayed by fog and rain, play stopped onFriday for more than an hour because of an electrical storm,leaving 77 players to complete the second round early

Saturday. Ormsby joined half of the field in returning to thecourse early Friday to complete his first round with a scoreof 70. Then he birdied four of his outward nine holes andwhile he bogeyed his 11th, the No 2, the Australian finishedoff his second round in fine manner by holing a 20-foot putt

at his 16th and sinking a 50-footer at his last. TheBallantine’s is Ormsby’s 168th Race to Dubai tournament.

His best European Tour result was joint second in the2007 New Zealand Open. However, after 13 years in theprofessional ranks, he finally broke through in the lastfortnight to capture his maiden title in winning the AsianTour’s Panasonic Open in New Delhi, India. “The gameis in pretty good shape and I came here after a good fewweeks back home practicing,” Ormsby said. “It’s justnice to come back out and keep the good form going.”Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open winner, wascredited with a bizarre near 500-yard long drive at thestart of his second round. Teeing off at the 10th hole, hisball landed on a cart path, and kept rolling downhill forjust under two minutes before coming to rest.Oosthuizen was afforded a free drop and managed tosave par before eventually signing for a 71 and a 4-under total. SPORTSDESK

oRmsby, ARnonDleAD bAllAnTIne’s

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

On the fourth day of the National WomenBaseball Championship single leaguematch was played between Punjab andHEC and was by the later team 10-4 hereat the Punjab Stadium on Friday.

In the first innings Punjab Miss Saimamade one score and HEC’s MariamShafique also one score. In the secondinnings, Punjab Sabahat 1 score and

H.E.C Mehwish & Rabia 1-1 score each.The third Innings saw Punjab score

zero and HEC 3 score. Mariam Shafique,Mariam Butt and Irum Butt 1 score eachand in the forth Innings Punjab zero andH.E.C one score by Madiha while theFifth Innings saw Punjab getting twoscore by Sabahat and Tahmina one byeach and H.E.C 4 score by Mariam Butt,Irum Butt, Rabia Basri and Zainab one byeach. Miss Zainab Shaukat, ChairpersonOrganizing Committee was the chief

guest.On Saturday pitch of the ball will be

at 3:30 pm and match will be playedbetween K.P.K and H.E.C. Mrs. JugnuMohsin, Wife of Chief Minister Punjabwill be the chief guest and distribute themedals among the winners.Final Score: H.E.C 10; Punjab 04H.E.C: Sira Zulfiqar 2, Erum Butt 2, RabiaBasri 2, Mariam 1, Mehwish 1, Zainab 1,Madiha 1. Punjab: Sabahat 2, Saima 1, Tahmina 1.

HeC move past Punjabin women’s baseball

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GEO SUPERRoyals v Sunrisers at Jaipur

03:30 PMMum Indians v RCB at Mumbai

07:30 PM

sPoRTs Ssaturday, 27 April, 2013

18It would be negligent of us not to try to

keep probably the best striker in Europe —

general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke

wAtCh It LIve

INTEr-CLuB T-20woMEN CrICKET LAHORE: The All PakistanInterclub T-20 Women CricketTournament will be held from April29 here. The said tournament isgoing to be held at the KinnairdCollege cricket ground. All the localand international cricketers areparticipating in the tournament.The opening ceremony will beperformed by Dr. Ruksana David,Principal Kinnaird College on April29 at 9:30am.PAKISTAN U-14 FOOTBALLERS

GET SECOND WIN IN AFC

QUALIFIERS: The Pakistan U-14footballers got their second winwhen they thrashed Kyrgyzstan inAFC U-14 Championship-2014(Qualifiers) match at Samen AlAemeh Stadium, Mashad, Iran by8:0. Strikers Muhammad Shahid(3’, 12’ & 30’ minutes) and MajeedKhan (22’, 30’ & 31 minutes) bothscored 3 goals each. StrikerSulman scored in the 59th minuteand Defender Saif scored the lastgoal by scoring in the 60th Minutethrough penalty kick. The victoryof Pakistan further cement’s theirchance to qualify for the finalround of AFC U-14 Championship.The Pakistan youngsters enjoyedmost of the possession and took notime to to settle into the game.Pakistan team showed its expertisein the game by displaying aformidable offensive and defensivegame. This match was equallyimportant for Kyrgyzstan whoseteam has already played a drawagainst Turkmenistan and a dismalloss against India. Though forKyrgyzstan team this match wascrucial to remain in thecompetition but their hopes werebulldozed by a better planning andoffensive strategy of the Pakistaniteam. With two victories under thebelt confident Pakistan team nowplay their next games against archrival India on April 28 and hostIran on April 29.SAMIR INTO UNM TENNIS

SEMIS:

Pakistan’srising tennisplayersSamirIftikharclinched aplace intheMountainWestConferenceChampionships semi-final. Samirgot win against 4th seed Sai KartikNakireddi (FS) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) ofFresno State University. With thewin UNM no have unassailable 4/1lead over 5th Seed Fresno State inthe event which are being playedat Air force Academy Colorado,from April 25 to 28. New Mexicowill play No. 1 San Diego State inSaturday’s semifinals. The Nationalranked 66 Lobos seized the doublespoint quickly at the numbers oneand two spot with a score of 8-3.Samir having won the first set 6/2with exhibition of powerful tennisfaced tough resistance from Katrickand had to bring every thing fromhis armoury to clinch victory forhis University. UNM will meetNumber 1 Seeds Santiago State inthe semifinals.

loCAl news

STAR SPORTSBarclays Premier LeagueManchester City vs. West5:10 PM

SPORTS DESK

RAFA Nadalovercame anotherhurdle on his way toa possible eighthBarcelona Open title

in nine years when he recoveredfrom a poor start to beat Benoit Paire7-6 6-2 in their delayed third-roundmatch on Friday.

Nadal had been set to meet the13th-seeded Frenchman onThursday before rain washed out theday’s play and he is due to play hisquarterfinal against Japanese sixthseed Kei Nishikori or unseededSpanish compatriot Albert Ramoslater on Friday. However, more rainis forecast in the Catalan capital.

Paire, who turns 24 next monthand had never played Nadal before,began aggressively on the clay at theReal Club de Tenis and broke theworld No 5 in the openinggame.

Nadal had theusual strappingon histroublesomeleft kneebut

showed no sign of the injury thatsidelined him for seven monthsbefore his return in February,breaking back before taking thetiebreak 7-2.

Further breaks in the fifth andseventh games of the second setsecured victory for the 26-year-oldMajorcan and extended his winningstreak at the tournament to 36matches. “It wasn’t brilliant butgetting the victory was the mostimportant thing,” Nadal said in aninterview with Spanish televisionbroadcaster TVE. “Today is going tobe a long day and it was good to win

in two sets after a badstart,” he

added.“We

are takingthingsstep bystep and

thisafternoon’s

opponent isgoing to be at

a very high levelso let’s see if Ican play betterthan this

morning.” Nadalis on course to

meet TomasBerdych in the

semifinals.TheCzechthird

seedplays his

third-roundmatch against unseeded

Spaniard Tommy Robredolater on Friday. Top seedand world No 4 DavidFerrer, another Spaniard

whom Nadal beat in the finalin 2008, 2009, 2011 and2012, lost to Russianqualifier Dmitry Tursunovin the second round onWednesday.

Nadal oustsPaire afterrain delay

SPORTS DESK

Sir Alex Ferguson has told Robin van Persieto ignore the Arsenal boo-boys when hereturns to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Van Persie left Arsenal for ManchesterUnited in the summer and has proved themajor difference in this season’s title race,taking his tally to 24 Premier League goalswith Monday’s hat-trick against Aston Villa.

But his appearance in north London thisweekend is unlikely to go down well with

the Arsenal fans who felt he had let themdown by leaving in the summer.

“I don’t bother about it, and I don’tthink Robin should bother about it either,”said Ferguson.

“There was a bit of booing when heplayed at Old Trafford and I expect a portionof fans will do that.

“That is the modern generation I amafraid.”

Arsene Wenger has confirmed thismorning that United will be given a guard

of honour in recognition of theirchampionship triumph, a move Fergusonhas backed.

“I am glad Arsene has done that, whenthey came to Old Trafford in 2002 andSylvain Wiltord scored the only goal, we didexactly the same,” he said.

“That is what great clubs should do.”However, the Van Persie element does

add an extra twist, even if the Dutchman’scontroversial move north has now beenjustified.

“For Arsenal to have one of theirplayers go to their biggest rivals of the last20 years doesn’t sit well with their fans, norArsene for that matter,” said Ferguson.

“But it does happen. You just have tomove on. Arsenal have moved on now. Theyare challenging for a Champions Leagueplace and have every chance of getting one.

“What it meant to Robin showed in hiscelebrations, not just after he had scored thegoals but at the end of the match.”We had afew players who were winning it for the firsttime but he was celebrating better than theothers.”

There has been a suggestion Van Persiecould be joined by Robert Lewandowski atOld Trafford in the summer.

The Pole has also been heavily linked

with Bayern Munich, having indicated anintention to leave Borussia Dortmund in thesummer.

His pricetag will probably have gone upnow though following his four-goal blastagainst Real Madrid on Wednesday.

“I was not surprised. I tipped Dortmundto win it the minute we were knocked out. Ithink they will win it now,” said Ferguson.

“They all did well on Tuesday. They area very good team.

“But Lewandowski. Four goals? Whatcan you say? For anyone to score four goalsin a game of that nature, against such a greatteam as Real Madrid, it is a wonderfulachievement.”

United’s European ambitions ended incontroversial fashion against Real Madrid atthe beginning of March.

Now, with the league wrapped up,Ferguson must juggle his resources over theremaining four games to ensure his sideremain competitive.

Having reported Jonny Evans andMichael Carrick battled through the painbarrier on Monday, both might be rested thisweekend, although skipper Nemanja Vidicis expected to return after sustaining a nastybang on the cheek against West Ham ninedays ago.

Fergie urges RVP to ignore Arsenal boo-boys

SPORTS DESK

Cycling’s world governing body hitback at the US Anti-DopingAgency on Friday after beingaccused by USADA presidentTravis Tygart of failing to dealwith the consequences of theLance Armstrong dopingscandal.

Armstrong was banned forlife and stripped of his seven Tourde France titles by the InternationalCycling Union (UCI) in October afterUSADA found that he had takenperformance enhancing drugs throughout hiscareer. The USADA report into Armstrong’sdoping also alleged that the UCI had not doneeverything in their power to catch the former rider,who later admitted to cheating.

The UCI pledged to look into the past and setup an independent commission to investigate the

allegations, only to disband it weeks laterin favour of a broader “truth and

reconciliation process” that has yetto start.

Speaking before a FrenchSenate committee investigatingdoping on Thursday, Tygart,the man behind Armstrong’sfall, repeated the accusationsand said that the UCI was

trying to “play a stall game”.In reply to Tygart, the UCI

said on Friday that USADA andWorld Anti-Doping Agency (Wada)

were also to blame for the dismantlingof the independent commission.“It’s all very well Mr Tygart talking about

cooperation, but let’s not forget that theIndependent Commission was only disbandedbecause of USADA’s and Wada’s point-blankrefusal to cooperate with it,” the UCI said in astatement.

UCI on the attack afterlatest accusations

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

saturday, 27 April, 2013

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