Continued on Page 7

Fast rising politicaltemperature................................................Obama’s frank admission................................................Muslims killing Muslims.What a shame!

See Page 04

GAZA/JERUSALEM—Israeli bom-bardment killed at least 30 people inGaza on Sunday, including at least 10in a UN-run school in the southernGaza Strip that was hit by an air strike.About 30 others were wounded in theair strike. The Israeli military declinedimmediate comment on the attack, thesecond to hit a school in less than aweek.

A missile launched by an aircraftstruck the entrance to the school in thetown of Rafah, the witnesses and med-ics said. Hundreds of Palestinians in the

30 Palestinians killed as Israel resumes shellingTen dead in air attack on Gaza UN school

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—The Canada-returned fiery speakingscholar, Dr. Tahirul Qadri, again lowering theexpectations of his enthusiastic adherents in re-gard of announcing much-awaited date of revo-lution in Pakistan, on Sunday simply declaredthat his party will observe a ‘Day of Martyrs’on August 10, to commemorate the lives lost inviolent clashes that broke in Lahore’s ModelTown on June 17. Martyrs week starts today.

Addressing a general workers meeting inLahore held at PAT Secretariat, Dr. Tahirul Qadriguaranteed that Youm-e-Shuhda will be peace-ful but added, that if workers were stopped fromobserving Youm-e-Shuhda then the observerswill move towards Jati Umra in Raiwind.

Lashing out the incumbent rulers, Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said the days of the rulers have been

counted and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government will not remainin power beyond August. “A revolution is com-ing and no one can stop the imminent revolu-tion in the country. Taunting Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif, the PAT chief asked the PM topick whether the federal government or the pro-vincial government of Punjab would fall first.“I am inviting each and every citizen of Paki-stan in Youm-e-Shuhada gathering. It will beentirely a peaceful event,” adding he said therewere nothing like law, constitution and democ-racy existed in Pakistan.

The PAT chief said millions of poor in Pa-kistani do not have fundamental rights that weregiven to even pets in the West. Scores of peoplewere killed in the Model Town incident, heasked, if this is the democracy.

Sitting leaders to be oustedbefore end of August: Qadri

Martyrs week from today

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister for Informationand Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid said on Sun-day that Imran Khan will be responsible in theevent of an incident of terrorism on August 14— the day of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’sscheduled ‘Azadi march’. Speaking to media inRawalpindi, Rashid said Imran Khan will haveto give assurance that the rally will be a peace-ful one. He said that Imran’s reported call forthe resignations of PTI MNAs will lead to amutiny within his party. He also said that lead-ers of Muslim League did not resort to a ‘long

Imran will be responsible if‘Azadi march’ targeted: PRPTI, PAT chiefs must maintain peace during

protests; Qadri ‘head of tax evaders’march’ to create Pakistan but instead pursued ademocratic struggle.

“Why didn’t Imran Khan stage a march dur-ing Musharraf’s regime?” he asked, claimingthat those standing up against the governmentare supporters of General (retd) PervezMusharraf.

The information minister’s statementcomes at a time when the ruling PakistanMuslim League-N is reportedly approachingthe PTI for a negotiation prior to ImranKhan’s scheduled ‘million-man’ march to thecapital on August 14.

Continued on Page 7

175 killed as6.1 quake

strikes ChinaBEIJING—At least 175 peoplehave died after an earthquakestruck a remote part of south-western China on Sunday, statenews agency Xinhua reported

The US Geological Surveysaid the quake registered at ashallow depth of less than onemile. The US Geological Sur-vey said the magnitude-6.1quake hit Yunnan province at4:30 pm at a depth of 10 kilo-meters.

State television said on itsmicroblog that the epicentrewas in Yunnan’s Ludian county,where the initial deaths werereported. Communicationshave been seriously affectedand rescuers are rushing to thescene, the report said.

Pictures posted online bystate media showed troopsstretchering people away, andbricks which had fallen offbuildings damaging cars.

China is frequently struckby quakes in this part of thecountry. A quake in Sichuan in2008 killed almost 70,000people. The quake was also feltin the neighbouring provincesof Guizhou and Sichuan, statemedia added.—Agencies

Clear Indian standagainst Israeli

aggression soughtNEW DELHI —PalestinianAmbassador to India AdliShaban Hassan Sadeq Sundayurged the Indian government totake a clear stand againstIsrael’s aggression in Gaza andsupport the cause of Palestin-ians. He also appealed to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi to takeup the issue with US PresidentBarrack Obama during his up-coming visit to America.

Addressing a news confer-ence here, the Palestinian ambas-sador and Mazin Al-Masoudi, In-charge, League of Arab StatesMission, wanted India to pressur-ize the US to strongly condemnIsrael’s atrocious stance on Pal-estine and prevent it from furtheraggressions. The envoys praisedthe Indian politicians for express-ing solidarity with the Palestiniansby raising the issue in parliament.Recalling that India had tradition-ally supported the just cause ofPalestinians, they hoped that NewDelhi will continue this policy.

The ambassador saidnearly 1,800 Palestinians in-cluding children and womenwere killed and 10,000 injuredin the “barbaric attacks” by Is-rael in Gaza. Sadeq said hehimself lost his grandson in onesuch attack two days ago. “Is-rael must end its criminal war-fare. Palestine is ready to es-tablish a progressive relation-ship with Israel if it agrees topeaceful coexistence withJerusalem as the capital of Pal-estine,” he said.

Continued on Page 7

Woman officer quitsIndian Navyalleging harassmentNEW DELHI—An Indianwoman officer has quit theNavy after alleging that hersuperior “physically, verballyand mentally” harassed her atthe Shipwright School at theEastern Naval Command atVisakhapatnam. To top it all,the woman officer had to re-pay the costs the governmenthad incurred on her duringher training. But the courtmartial found the accused, acommander (equivalent to Lt-Colonel in the Army), guiltyof only one of the fivecharges leveled against him.He has been punished with 18months loss of seniority.

The Navy had ordered aone-man inquiry after thewoman Sub Lieutenant, whowas undergoing a navalarchitecture course at theShipwright School, firstlevelled the charges againsther officer-in-charge.Incidentally, another womanofficer and a civilian dataentry operator had supportedthe victim in levelling chargesagainst the commander.

The Indian Navy has beenhit by sexual misconduct andharassment cases over the lastcouple of years. Two officersare facing allegations leveledby their wives. The force hasalso sacked a Commodore , aCaptain and two commandersfor having extra-maritalaffairs.—INP

Ukraine’s armyon outskirts ofDonetskDONETSK, Ukraine —Fighting raged Sunday on thewestern outskirts of Donetskas the advancing Ukrainianarmy tried to seize control ofthe rebel stronghold. Indanger of being encircled, theseparatists renewed their callsfor Russia to send troops totheir aid. To support theiroperations, the pro-Russianfighters have been confiscat-ing vehicles and food fromresidents and businesses inDonetsk. The center of themajor industrial city is all butdeserted, with few people orcars on the streets and moststores and restaurants closed.

A spokesman for theUkrainian military operation,Alexei Dmitrashkovsky, toldThe Associated Press thatgovernment soldiers werefighting Sunday to holdpositions they had taken onthe edge of Donetsk, but weremeeting resistance.

ECP to holdby-polls if anyMP resignsSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—ElectionCommission of Pakistan hasstated that if a member of theparliament resigns then newby-elections will be con-ducted within 60 days butresignation of a few ?mem-bers cannot necessarilyprompt general elections.

An ECP spokespersonsaid that it is this institution’sutmost responsibility to carryout neutral by-electionswithin 60 days if any memberof the parliament resignsbecause this institution has touphold its reputation fortransparency and impartiality.

The ECP spokespersonfurther stated that during thispast year, this institution hasalready conducted by-electionsin 28 constituencies, addingthat resignation of a fewmembers cannot promptgeneral elections in the country.

area, where the Israeli military has beenbattling militants, had been shelteringin the facility.

The renewed attacks followed Is-raeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu’s announcement on Satur-day to keep up pressure on Hamas evenafter the army completes its core mis-sion of destroying a tunnel network thatextends into Israel.

A delegation from Palestinian mili-tant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihadarrived in the Egyptian capital, but aquick breakthrough seemed unlikely in

the absence of Israeli representatives.After accusing Hamas of breaching aUS- and UN-brokered cease-fire onFriday, Israel said it would not sendenvoys as scheduled.

In Gaza, Israel intensified attacksin the area of Rafah along the borderwith Egypt, where 23-year-old officerHadar Goldin was feared captured thereon Friday shortly after what was tohave been a 72-hour truce began, re-ports Arab News. The military latersaid Goldin, who was dragged by mili-tants into a tunnel after two of his com-

rades were killed by a suicide bomber,had also died in action.

“The findings on the ground, theitems that we found led us to the con-clusion that he was killed in the initialattack,” said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, amilitary spokesman. Lerner saidground forces were being redeployedin the Gaza Strip, though he gave nodetails of their new positions, andadded that residents from a number ofevacuated Palestinian neighborhoodshad been told by the military they couldContinued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Reiterating hisstance of resolving issuesthrough talks, Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif on Sunday nightruled out that his governmentis under threat by the PakistanTehreek-i-Insaf ’s ‘millionmarch’ on the federal capitalscheduled for August 14.

In a statement he said po-litical issues are not resolvedthrough protests and longmarches but by negotiations.

Nawaz Sharif vowed to re-move all reservations shown bythe PTI and its chief ImranKhan. “Grievances will be ad-dressed through talks whetherprior to or after the longmarch,” he said.

He said the nation was go-ing through a tough phase withmilitary operation Zarb-e-Azbin progress in North WaziristanAgency to eliminate terrorismfrom the country.

“Opposition should backPakistani armed forces,” saidthe premier, adding that theNWA military operation hasentered into the decisive stage.

The PM said he was readyto listen to the opposition andremove its grievances whetherthey sit with him before or af-ter the long march. The primeminister regretted that certain

elements are out to create law-lessness and violence by fol-lowing the path of agitation.However, he said the people are

fully aware of their designs andwill not let them succeed.

The prime minister said thejudiciary and other institutionsare working independently toaddress complaints of the op-position and they must betrusted. He said those in the op-position must play a positiveand constructive role in thelarger interest of the country.

To another question, theprime minister said the govern-ment is taking steps to enhancepower generation. He said thegovernment will not sit idleunless it resolves the powercrisis.

‘March’ no threatto govt: PM

Will shut whole countryif arrested: Imran

‘Azadi’ march will go on till Nawaz monarchyends, ‘new Pakistan’ is made

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khanon Sunday warned of shuttingdown the entire country if at-tempts were made to put himunder house arrest. Address-ing his party workers here,Imran Khan said PTI marcherswere ‘coming to Islamabad todislodge monarchy of Sharifs’.

“Punjab police and its ad-ministration should decidewhether they are servants ofSharifs or Pakistan,” ImranKhan snapped, asking, ‘doesNawaz Sharif pay your salariesout of his own pocket?’

He warned that if anyworker of his party was tor-tured, the rulers of Punjab

would not get any place to hide.“The present rulers’ time is up,we will now get fair elections

conducted,” he maintained.Imran Khan said resignations

Continued on Page 7

ALI SYED

ISLAMABAD—Finance Min-ister Ishaq Dar here on Sun-day gave guidelines to theministry of water and powerto include in the priority listof the power projects whichare very important to get com-pleted in next 3-4 years keep-ing in view the power deficitto be increased in the next 4years. While chairing the pre-paratory meeting on PakistanPower Sector Investment

Prospects, Mr Dar said that theprojects should be prioritized insuch a way that thefuture projected de-mand of electricitycould be met leavingzero load shedding.

An official saidthat Prime Ministerkeeping in view thediscussion takenplace in the prepara-tory meeting held with FinanceMinister in the Chair on Sun-day, will today (Monday) pri-

oritize most vital projects inpower sector to be pitched be-

fore Chinese gov-ernment for fund-ing.

P r i m eMinister MianM o h a m m a dNawaz Sharif tothis effect, today(Monday) con-vened a meeting

on power sector investment, asenior government official toldPakistan Observer. The meet-

ing was convened by MrIshaq Dar here on Sunday todiscuss both immediate andlong term demand and thegeneration capacity of thecountry. It was observed thatcurrently there is a short fallof 4000 MW in generationand demand of the power sec-tor and with the future pros-pects of increased growth ratethe demand will further in-crease in the next five years.It was ascertained that with

Dar finalizes power projects for Chinese funding

Iran imposes import dutyon Indian rice

Export of Pakistan basmati gains an opportunityAMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI —The import duty imposed byIran on Indian rice has created an opportu-nity for Ministry of commerce to facilitateexporters of Pakistani Basmati to a huge mar-ket available in .Iran

The Union of Small and Medium Enter-prises (UNISAME) invited the immediate at-tention of the federal commerce ministerKhurram Dastagir to the increase in importduty on Indian rice by Iran and the urgent

need now to facilitate Pakistani rice export-ers to Iran to receive payment of export billsin rupees.

President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaversaid India benefited a lot by facilitating itsexporters to export to Iran and receive pay-ment in Indian rupees and increased itsbasmati rice exports to Iran substantially asthere was no competition from Pakistan.He said Iran has raised its import duty onIndian basmati rice from 22% to 40% and

Protest basic rightbut system mustnot derail: ShahOUR CORRESPONDENT

GUJRAT—Opposition leaderin National Assembly SyedKhursheed Shah on Sundaysaid there was no need to in-voke Article 245 and that allthe parties should have beentaken into confidence by thefederal government beforetaking any step.

Talking to media personshere, Khursheed Shah saidholding a protest constituteda basis right for all but addedit must be ensured that thesystem does not derail.

Continued on Page 7

LAHORE: Imran Khan addressing party workers.

LALAMUSA: Opposition leader Syed Khurshid Shah addressing a press conferencein Lalamusa on Sunday.

QUETTA: Activists of football club burn US flag during the protest against the Israel aggression in Gaza.

HAFIZABAD—The TMA Hafizabad hasmiserably failed to provide civic ameni-ties to the citizens creating multipleproblems mainly due to ill-planning,official bottleneck and indifferent atti-tude of some of the officers ap-pointedin the TMA on political grounds. Sincethe dissolution of local bodies and ap-pointment of administrators, the civicproblems have been further in-creasedbecause they remained busy in officialwork sitting in the air-conditioned of-fices and never bothered to visit thethoroughfares particularly narrow lanesto apprise themselves of the problemsof the dwellers. Quite often whenever acomplaint submitted to the TMA it wasnever redressed.

The water supply in western partof the city has virtually lost its utilitybecause the water reservoir has neverbeen cleaned or chloronised and thecitizens were being supplied contami-nated water emitting foul smell caus-ing health problems to the citizens.The filtration plants established at dif-ferent places were also not function-ing properly. About ten years ago awater supply project for Garhi Awanarea (eastern part of the city) costingover Rs. 100 million had been com-pleted, pipe lines were laid but due to

Civic problems increase manifold in Hafizabad

TMA fails to provide basic amenities to citizensofficial differences between the TMAand Public Health Engineering Depart-ment (executing department) TMA hasnot yet taken over the charge of thewater supply for Garhi Awan as a re-sult of which electric motors and othermachinery was rusting and about halfof the population of the city have beendeprived of potable water.

It is pertinent to point out that MPAMalik Fiaz Ahmad is also resident ofthis locality but he has also failed toget the functioning of water supply inthe area. Streetlights have been dis-connected several years ago and nostep has so far been taken by the au-thorities which reflect their bureau-cratic attitude. Encroachments notonly on main roads but also in narrowbazaars have been multiplied due tothe connivance of the TMA staff andmafia. Few years back all the mainroads had been widened and foot-paths were erected on both sides ofthe roads to facilitate the pedestriansbut the vendors have occupied all thefootpaths. According to insiders thesefootpaths have been illegally “allot-ted” to the vendors by the irrespon-sible officials on the “recommenda-tion” of the mafia to mint money. Simi-larly, all the main roads have been oc-

cupied by pushcarts (rehri) vendorswith the support of the Mafia, whichis virtually controlling the TMA affairs,consequently traffic mess is being cre-ated on the roads beyond the controlof traffic police. So much so the nar-row and congested main bazaar (justlike inside Mochi Gate Lahore) hasbeen further narrowed due to presenceof pushcarts and shopkeepers, whohave expanded their shops two or sixfeet in front of their shops and no offi-cial has ever dared to prevent themfrom such uncivilised behaviour.

The presence of large number of‘rehris’ and vendors in the busiestFawara Chowk, old Kacheri road and infront of the TMA Secretariat have notonly created traffic hazards but alsoeclipsed the beauty of the chowk andTMA Secretariat. Similarly, in severallocalities the selfish and irresponsiblecitizens with the connivance of some ofthe TMA officials have raised the ped-estal (level) in front of their houses byconstructing ‘pucca’ encroachment onthe open drains as a result of which, rainwater accumulated on the road whichhad not only damaged the roads but alsobecome impassable for the inhabitantsand they have to wade through the dirtywater to reach their residences. GILGIT: A vehicle being shipped in Attabad lake.

Terrorists tobe flushed

out: Abid SherFAISALABAD—Minister ofState for Water and PowerAbid Sher Ali has said thecountry’s armed forces willflush out the terrorists fromits soil for-ever. Talking tomedia in Faisalabad on Sun-day, he said the entire nationpays tribute to the martyredwho laid their lives for thecause of the country. He saidthat the operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched to restorepeace in the country and es-tablish writ of the state intribal areas. Abid Sher Alisaid projected started byPrime Minister Nawaz Sharifwill change the fate of thepeople of Pakistan. Numberof projects initiated to over-come energy crisis, heheld.—NNI

PIA to start Hajjoperation in lastweek of August

ISLAMABAD—The PakistanInternational Airlines (PIA)will start Hajj operation in thelast week of August. ThePIA will carry over 65,000 in-tending Hajj pilgrims fromacross to Saudi Arabiathrough 130 flights, RadioPakistan reported. The post-Hajj operation will start onOctober 10.—APP

Qadri’s addressreflects his moral

bankruptcyLAHORE—Punjab LawMinister Rana MashhoodAhmed Khan said on Sun-day that Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri’sad-dress reflected his moralbankruptcy and he shouldget himself examined psy-chologically from a hospitalin Canada. Commenting onQadri’s address to the gen-eral council and his pressconference here, he said theallegations levelled by a‘certified liar’ had no valueand it did not suite a person‘having no respect for Con-stitution and institutions, totalk of a revolution’.

A ‘juggler’ wanted tocreate chaos in the countryon the behest of foreignforces, but the revolution ofprosperity and developmentwould smash his so-calledrevolution, he added. RanaMashhood said Qadri hadno political importance ashe could not win election ofeven a councillor. No wiseperson could bring the HolyQuran during a protest, hesaid and asked that whowould be responsible for thesanctity of the holy book.

He said that Dr Qadrihad become senseless anda psychiatrist should do hismental examination. RanaMashhood appealed toUlema to take notice ofTahir-ul-Qadri’s decision tobring Holy Quran duringprotest, who, he added,would leave for his countryCanada soon after spendingholidays here.—APP

CHAKWAL—Armed ac-cused gunned down acouple over love marriagedispute here on Sunday andescaped the scene. SHOSkindar Hayat said that thegirl and boy hailing fromAshraf Town of Chakwalwere in love and wanted toget married. The marriageproposal was sent to thegirl’s home but her parentsrefused to give theirdaughter’s hand in marriageto him.

Later on July 09, thecouple entered in court mar-riage and after fleeing fromhome started living in anearby village. The broth-ers of the girl traced thecouple and brought themback to native village. Theaccused gunned down bothof them and threw their bod-ies near the village and fledaway. The bodies wereshifted to hospital formedico-legal formalities.

Father, son gunned down

Couple killed overlove marriage row

Police have registered a caseagainst the murderers andstarted raids for their arrest.

Peshawar: Unknownmiscreants gunned downtwo persons including fatherand son here on Sunday andes-caped from the scene.Police said that unidentifiedmotorcyclists sprayed bul-lets on two persons at Uni-versity Road in Tehkal areaof Peshawar. As a result offiring two persons stated tobe father and son died on thespot.

The assailants managedto flee from the scene aftercommitting dual murder. Thebodies were shifted to hos-pital and later handed overto heirs after medico-legalformalities. Police feared thatthe shooting incident couldbe outcome of personal en-mity. Police have registereda case against unknownmurderers and started the in-vestigation.—INP

PESHAWAR—InformationMinister KhyberPakhtunkhwa MushtaqGhani said on Sunday thatneither the KP Assemblywas being dissolved norresignations were soughtfrom the provincial minis-ters.

Talking to media, the KPminister said lawmakers,however, were ready to re-sign on directions of theparty leadership. Mean-while, the Jamaat-e-Islamiand other political factionsin KP have already op-posed any move for dis-solving the assembly in theprovince.

The PTI has an-nounced a long march onAugust 14 in Islamabadand threatenedto prolong it for indefiniteperiod if their demandswere not met.

The party has beenpressing the government

KP PA notto be dissolved

for holding mid-term polls,as it alleges the incumbentgovernment of PML-N ofhaving rigged the generalelections of 2013 thatcrowned them to power.

Earlier, Law Minister ofPunjab Rana Mashhoodhad said that KP Assemblywill be dissolved if democ-racy is derailed in Paki-stan.—INP

FAISALABAD—Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Rana Shoaib Idrees , accused ofusing violence against policemen , was incontinuous contact with a sub-inspectorwhen police were conducting raids for hisarrest, mo-bile data revealed on Sunday.Idrees had allegedly ransacked Khuarianwalapolice station, tortured Sub-Inspector RiyasatAli, slashed uniforms of two policemen andhelped three people to escape from custody.

Police had raided his residence amongother places to take him into custody buthe continued to evade arrest. Senior offic-ers then decided to check the mobile dataof all officers at Khuarianwala police sta-tion to establish if anyone was collaborat-

Rana Shoaib evades arrestin collusion with police!

ing with him. The data retrieved from thesup-inspector’s phone showed that Idreesand the officer were in contact while policeofficers were conducting raids and alsowhen the MPA and his accomplices hadattacked the police station on July 19.

This is not the first instance where po-lice have been involved in suspicious ac-tivities with regard to the PML-N MPA. JustSaturday, Khuarianwala police had saidthat Idrees’s case file had disappeared frompolice records. A case was registered againstAssistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Umar Daraz,the custodian of the file, and Head Con-stable Ansar Mehmood and the men weretaken into custody.—INP

Sincerity onlyguarantee to getrid of poverty

JHANG—Former press secre-tary to Prime Minister NawazSharif and senior leader of Pa-kistan Muslim League (PML-N) Rai Riaz has said that hardwork, sincerity and commit-ment in education and latesttechnology is the only guar-antee to get rid of the povertyand other problems confront-ing the national stability andtroubling the masses. Ad-dressing annual graduate con-ference at Dhadiwal area ofJhang on Sunday, Rai Riazsaid that young generationshould not depend on bribeand references to attain anyposition in the society butshould continue hard work asit never goes in vain and bearsfruit at last.

He said that young gen-eration by continuous effortscould not only make their fu-ture bright but can also playleading role in developmentand property of the countryand region as well. Rai Riazurged the young generationto compete in Public ServiceCommission examination toget to higher ranks to servefor the country and masses.Others who addressed theceremony included DCTorghar, Sanaullah, socialworker and head of teachers’union, Sufi MuhammadRamazan Inqilabi, Rai Akram,Engineer Junaid and oth-ers.—INP

Senate StandingCommittee on

Communicationsmeets today

ISLAMABAD—A meeting ofthe Senate Standing Commit-tee on Communications will beheld on August 4 at ParliamentHouse here. The agenda of thecommittee will be budgetaryallocation for the differentprojects of NHA in the nextPSDP for the year 2014-15 inthe provinces of Punjab,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, GilgitBaltistan and Azad Jammu andKashmir. The committee willalso discuss promotion casesof members of the NHA as rec-ommended by the StandingCommittee.—APP

PESHAWAR—Central Ameer Jamat-e-Islami, Sirajul Haq Sunday said that aprotest rally would be staged acrossthe country to highlight the brutali-ties of the Israeli forces against inno-cent Palestinian women and childrenin Ghaza. This he said while address-ing a big public meeting at Govt. HighSchool No. 1 Nowshera Cantt. DeputySecretary General Hafiz Sajid Anwar,Ameer JI Nowshera Mirajuddin KhanAdvocate, Haji Inayatur Rehman,Iftikhar Ahmed Khan and other party

ANP not to back bid to topplegovt thru unconstitutional means

KARACHI—President of Awami Na-tional Party (ANP) Sindh Senator ShahiSyed has said that his party will notsupport any attempt to topple a demo-cratically elected government throughany unconstitutional means or byshow of street power. Talking to APP,he said all the political parties had streetpower, and if anyone conspired to dis-solve the federal government, he mightface the similar situation after cominginto power. He said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan should adoptlegal and constitutional means, as un-

JI rejects tenderingresignations from PA

leaders and workers were present dur-ing the public meeting.

He urged upon the Muslim worldto come and condemn the brutal at-tack and air strike of the Israeli gun-ship helicopters against innocent Pal-estinian women and children in Ghaza.He said that on the brutality of Israeliforce the organization of human rightsand the so called peace pundits of theworld kept quite, while on the otherhand the latest arms attack against un-armed Palestinian people continue. He

said that against the brutality of theIsraeli forces they would stage a his-torical protest march on August 10condemning the brutality of Israeliforces.

Sirajul Haq said that Jamat-e-Islamiwould not be a part of anyone work-ing against democracy in the country.He said that JI did not want to dis-solve the elected government with anundemocratic approach. He said thatwe are not in favour of tendering res-ignations from the assembly.—APP

democratic moves would not be in theinterest of the country.

Shahi Syed said August 14 was aday of celebrations for every Pakistaniwhen functions were held with the spiritof patriotism. It would be inappropri-ate to create disorder by showing streetpower in the Federal Capital on the day,he added. He said that the whole na-tion should demonstrate harmony onthe Independence Day and celebratethe auspicious occasion in a befittingmanner. The ANP leader suggested toImran Khan to take up his “grievances”

in the parliament. If anyone had anyreservations with politicians, judiciaryor the media, a procedure for account-ability had been laid down in the lawand Constitution, which should be fol-lowed, he added. Shahi Syed said theruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) was a big political force of thecountry and had come into power witha heavy mandate in the general elec-tions, so it had the right to complete itsfive-year tenure. Imran Khan shouldwait for the next general elections andavoid agitation, he added. —APP

Tourismpromotion in GBSKARDU—Baltistan Tourismsector is being given priorityand different developmentschemes are being imple-mented to promote the impor-tant sector, said a spokesmanof Planning and DevelopmentDepartment told APP on Sun-day. He said a mountaineer-ing school was being con-structed near Jarbaso Lakenear Shiger at the cost of Rs100 million, where local youthwould be trained by mastertrainers from abroad and lo-cal climbers.

As regard touring sitesof Gilgit-Baltistan, a reportpublished in a foreign jour-nal reveals ttjat Gilgit-Baltistan is a mountainousterritory in the Himalayas inthe far northeast corner ofcountry. It is home to 12 ofthe world’s 30 tallest moun-tain peaks, including K2 andNanga Parbat. Pakistan con-siders it to be of extreme stra-tegic importance because itborders ally China and ishome to the only land routebetween the two countries.

This route is the breath-takingly beautiful KarakorumHighway, the highest pavedinternational road in theworld. The region is also quitedistinct from the rest of Paki-stan, and indeed the world, interms of its people.

Additionally, theBurusho people of theHunza Valley speak a lan-guage unrelated to anyother in the world. Most ofthe people of Gilgit-Baltistanare Shia Muslims, unlike therest of Pakistan.—APP

PESHAWAR—Like elsewhere in the country, preparations to celebrate the68th Independence Day of Pakistan are in full swing in KhyberPakthunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). As only11-days days left in Jashin-e-Azadi, the people belonging to every walkof life are busy in decorating their houses, shopping malls, bungalows,bazaars, car, busses, motorcycles, trucks and bicycles with national flagsand stickers to celebrate the Independence Day with national zeal andenthusiasm.

In Peshawar too, great hustle and bustle is being witnessed amongPeshawarites especially among children as they are busing in buyingvarieties of things related to beautifully decorate their houses, buildings,markets, shops and vehicles with national flags, stickers and fancy lightsto express their love for the homeland created by father of the NationQuaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on 14th August, 1947 after numer-ous sacrifices rendered by our forefathers during Pakistan Movement.Special stalls in different bazaars including Qisa Khwani Bazar, which isconsidered as a hub, in city and Laiquat bazaars in cantonment have beensetup where customers especially children and students thronged forbuying national flags, stickers and badges to celebrate independenceday with great pump and show.

Paras Khan, a first year FSc student along with a dozen of cousinsseemed to buying things in Qissa Khawani Bazar. “It would a special yearas from the last many years the people of Peshawar were traumatize andwere confined to their homes. We were also not allowed by our parents tovisit Baazars because of law and order situations but this time, we arehopefully heading toward a complete and durable peace,” Paras Khanremarked. A shop owner in Qissa Khawani Bazaar when asked about thepeople buying things, he said he had been running this business sincelong and people are showing great enthusiasm in buying things to cel-ebrate Independence Day this year.

“I am hopeful that I will sell thousands of flags, badges, stricterand other material this year as great enthusiasm is being founds

ID preparations gaining momentum

among children on Independence Day,” he remarked. The improve-ment of law and order in Peshawar has helped people to come outfrom their homes this year and buy stickers, national flags and badgescarrying photos of national heroes on eve of Jashin-e-Azadi, headded.

The transporters are being seen decorating their vehicles with na-tional flags, colourful stickers and banners inscribed with IndependenceDay greetings. Amin Ullah, a rickshaw driver, parked his rickshaw andasked the shop keeper to give him a big national flag. “I am getting twobig national flags, one for my riskshaw and the other for my house in thevillage ‘Kabapain’, Amin Ullah added. “We are lucky to have Eid cel-ebration after Holy month of Ramazan, followed by Independence Daycelebrations that certainly doubled our happiness this year,” he re-marked.

People especially school children were seen buying the IndependenceDay material in Liaqat Baazar, Karim Pura Baazar, Hashnagri Baazar, KohatiGate. “I came from Charsadda to Qisa Khawani Bazaar Peshawar for buy-ing a national flag, stickers, badges, and other things related to Indepen-dence Day celebration to put on display in my shop in Charsadda as mostof the children daily visiting asking for these things,” Rohul Ullah, a shopowner in Charsadda bazaar said.

Ibrahim, who has passed his SSC examination with Grade-A (+) fromBISE Peshawar said that I have more than Rs 5000, the money we allcousins gathered to be spent on the Independence Day celebrations thisyear. He said the month of August has always brought happiness for usbecause of Pakistan Independence Day, Ibrahim said.

Decorative items are in high demand these days, including na-tional flags, multi-coloured garlands, badges, Minar-e-Pakistan mod-els and portraits of Quaid-e-Azam and other national heroes. The busi-ness of these items at all big stores as well as roadside vendors re-mains on peak between August 1 and 14, which shows the zeal ofpeople belonging to all ages.—APP

PESHAWAR—A womandrowned while search for sixpersons, who were feareddrowned, continued as a boatwith 10 picnickers on board,capsized in the Kabul rivernear Kund, Nowshera district,on Sunday. According to eye-witnesses, the boat turnedupside down while taking acurve. Nowshera district po-lice control confirmed thatthree persons were rescued,while the woman’s body wasrecovered near Khairabadbridge and the search for re-maining six missing personscontinued.

QUETTA: Unidentifiedgunmen shot dead a man inBakhtiarabad area of Sibidistrict on Sunday. Accord-ing to Levies force, the vic-tim Allah Rakhia was tar-geted by armed assailantswhen he was on way homeat Goth Chukra area. As aresult, he died on the spot.His body was handed over

NOSHKI—Federal Minister for States andFrontier Regions Lt. General (R) AbdulQadir Baloch on Sunday said law and ordersituation in Balochistan is gradually improv-ing owing to the federal government posi-tive policy in this regard. Talking to report-ers during his visit to the area, he said thegovernment is determined to eliminate pre-vailing backwardness and lawlessness inthe province and has adoptedmultipronged strategy to achieve the goal.

“Maximum number of educated youth fromBalochistan will be recruited in the federal gov-ernment departments”, he said and added thefederal government will also sponsor publicwelfare projects in the districts of the prov-ince. He said work on Dlabandin-Kharan roadwill soon be launched that would reduce upto350 kilometres travelling between borderingtown Taftan and Karachi giving unprecedentedimpetus to Iran-Pakistan mutual trade.

Besides, he said the governmentwould also ensure solar energy, gas, tech-nical schools, hospitals and water facili-ties at village level in the province. Onthe other side it has also been reportedthat unidentified armed men in Windararea of Lasbella district injured a man overan old enmity on Sunday.

According to Levies force, the vic-tim identified as Samiullah was on wayhome when armed assailants opened fireon him, leaving him injured and managedto escape from the scene. The injured

SU’s allcampuses reopenHYDERABAD—The Univer-sity of Sindh Jamshoro andall its campuses reopenMonday (today) aftercompletion of summer vaca-tions. Registrar GhulamMuhammad Bhutto has ad-vised the students to en-sure their attendance in theclasses regularly so thatacademic and research ac-tivities could be restartedwith full pace. Meanwhile,the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr.Abida Taherani along withother officers visited bothboys and girls’ hostels toreview the arrangementmade therein upon her direc-tives so as to facilitate thehosteler students on returnfrom their homes at the endof summer vacations.

She visited all the blocksof boys and girls’ hostelsand expressed satisfactionover the arrangements. Sheadvised the students toreach the campus in time sothat they may attend theirclasses. The campuseswhich will also restart theresearch and academic ac-tivities from Monday aftersummer vacations includedLaar campus Badin,Mohtarma Benazir BhuttoShaheed Campus Dadu, In-ternational University ofPeace, Sufism and ModernSciences Bhitshah,Mirpurkhas, Larkana,Thatta and NaushehroFeroze Campuses.

The Registrar Univer-sity of Sindh informed thatDr. N.A Baloch ModelSchool, Elsa Kazi CampusHyderabad and Syed PanahAli Shah Model SchoolSindh University Colonywill also reopen on Mondayafter completion of summervacations.—APP

ISLAMABAD—The WorldFood Programme in collabo-ration with the governmentof Pakistan is implementinga plan for starting of schoolnutrition in FATA.

A spokesman of WFPtold Radio PakistanPeshawar correspondentthat under the plan, two hun-dred thousand school stu-dents are being providedseventy five gram biscuit on

Nutritive foodin Fata schools start

daily basis in six tribal agen-cies. These are Bajour,Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram,Orakzai and SouthWaziristan.

The students are alsobeing provided four litresedible oil after every twomonths. Teachers of theschools are given four litresoil after two months as in-centive to ensure their atten-dance in schools.—APP

Youth killed over monetary dispute

Woman drowns, six missingin River Kabul boat capsize

to the heirs after legal for-malities. The reason of kill-ing is stated to be an oldfeud. Levies force registereda case and started investi-gation. Unknown armedmen shot dead a man in Ba-zaar of Khuzdar town areaof Balochistan on Sunday.

FAISALABAD: A youthwas shot dead over dispute inthe area of Kotwali police sta-tion. According to police,Ateequr Rehman resident ofKhokhar Town had a mon-etary dispute with a bankwatchman Munawwar. Afteran exchange of harsh words,Munawwar along with his ac-complices shot dead AteequrRehman. A case has been reg-istered and investigation is inprogress. Khanewal: A minorwas killed while five other fam-ily members sustained seriousinjuries when their car turnedturtle near Bairoon Pull atKhanewal-Kacha Khue roadon Sunday.—APP

Govt’s prudent policy bringspeace in Balochistan: Baloch

has been rushed to nearby hospital formedical aid.

Levies force has registered a case. Mean-while, unknown armed men abducted a manfrom Pishin town area of Balochsitan on Sun-day. According to Levies force, a personnamely Abdul Ghani was on the way to some-where when unidentified men took him awayto an unknown location on gunpoint.

The abducted man was stated to be anAfghan refugee. Levies force registered a caseand started efforts for his recovery. Levies forcerecovered a body of man from Mand area ofTurbat district on Sunday. According to Lev-ies force, on a tip off, a Levies force team reachedthe site and took the body into custody thatwas dumped an open area after killing by un-known men. The body was shifted to nearbyhospital’s morgue for identification levies forcehas registered a case.

Earlier, unidentified armed motorcyclistsattacked Levies force personnel identifiedas Muhammad Ejaz in Tump area of Turbatas he was returning home after routine duty.He sustained bullet wounds and breathedhis last on the spot. Levies personnelreached site and shifted the body to theDistrict Headquarter Hospital. No group hasyet claimed responsibility of the attack.

The body was handed over to the heirsafter medico-legal formalities. Separately,unidentified armed men opened fire andkilled Muhammad Ramzan in DashtMughalzai of District Kalat and fled.—APP

ISLAMABAD—After the untiring and appre-ciable efforts of Federal Minister for Rail-ways Khawaja Saad Rafique and his team,the Pakistan Railways (PR) had succeededto a great extent in winning the passengers’confidence which was evident from the pri-ority passengers gave to railways overother public transport on Eid. The tradi-tional non-compromising attitude of thetransporters and passenger-friendly poli-cies of Pakistan Railways attracted a largenumber of passengers as after several yearsa heavy crowd of passengers with familieswere witnessed at different railway stationsincluding Rawalpindi.

Passengers now prefer to travel by trainbecause of appreciably low fares as comparedwith private transport. “I am thankful to theRailways administration which had run spe-cial trains on Eid,” said Asif Mehmood, a pas-senger returning to Rawalpindi from his home-

Pakistan Railways winningback passengers’ confidence

town after celebrating Eid. Talking to APP hesaid Eid trains have especially mitigated thesuffering of people, adding, high quality ser-vices being provided in the trains had wontheir hearts. After many years, he had seenwell-cleaned trains and efficient staff at therailway station. A Karachi-bound passengerMohammed Javed told this scribe that he washighly impressed by the punctuality of thetrains which was a major issue for the pas-sengers.

After more than 10 years, he said, theywere travelling by train as timings have beenimproved and the fare was also consider-ably less than private transport. It was per-tinent to mention that the Pakistan Railwayshad run 13 special trains on Eid fromKarachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Lahore andMultan to facilitate passengers besides re-ducing fares by 50 per cent for two days onEid ul Fitr for all classes of all trains.—APPMULTAN: People participating in a rally in connection with Independence Day celebrations.

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq flanked by Shahram Khan Tarakaiaddressing a press conference.

LALAMUSA: A view of the haphazard electricity wires on the electric tower which may cause any accident due toshort circuit.

Minister layswreaths ongraves of

Army’s martyrsFAISALABAD—In connec-tion with Independence Daycelebrations, State Ministerfor Water and Power ChAbid Sher Ali here on Sun-day laid wreaths on gravesof martyrs of Pak Army andpolice in GhulamMuhammadabad graveyard.MNA Haji Akram Ansari,MPA Mian Tahir Jamil, DCONoorul Amin Mengal andCPO Suhail Habib Tajik ac-companied with him and of-fered Fateha. An active po-lice contingent presentedsalute on the monument ofmartyrs.

Talking to the media,Abid saluted the Pak Armyand said the Army was ren-dering valuable services fora durable peace in the coun-try. He said sacrifices of ourforefathers during the Paki-stan Movement and the Pakarmy for safeguarding thecountry would not be for-gotten and “We are payingrich tributes to them whilecelebrating the Indepen-dence Day.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Meteorological De-partment (PMD) on Sunday forecast mainlyhot and humid weather for most parts ofthe country during the next 24hours with chances of rain atfew places. Rain-thunder-shower associated with gustywinds is expected at isolatedplaces in Kashmir, Hazara,Rawalpindi, Gujranwala,Lahore divisions.

According to the synoptic situation,seasonal low was lying over Balochistanand adjoining areas with its trough extend-ing southeastwards. Weak Monsoon cur-rents are penetrating into southeast Sindhand upper parts of the country. The rainfallrecorded during the last 24 hours was

Rain likely at few placesNoorpur Thal 40 mm, Bhakkar 36, Barkhan16, Jhang 10, Bannu 09, Malamjaba 07,Lahore PBO 06, D.G.Khan 05, Multan 04,

Kalam, Lahore (Airport), SaiduSharif 02, Bunji 01 mm.

The hottest places duringlast 24 hours were Dalbandin 42C, Turbat 41 C, Dadu, Sukkur,Nokkundi 40 C. The Pollen countrecorded today was 3,768 permeter cubic of air. The Multan

Met office has forecast partly cloudy weatherwith chances of isolated thunder storm andlight rain in the city and its suburbs duringthe next 24 hours. On Sunday, the maximumand minimum temperatures were recorded as39.3 degrees Centigrade and 27.5 degrees Cen-tigrade, respectively. .—APP

Eight held withdrugs, weaponsMULTAN—Police claimed onSunday to have arrested 7criminals and recovereddrugs and illegal weaponsfrom their possession duringseparate raids across the dis-trict. According to police, po-lice conducted separate raidsat various places and arrestedfour drug peddlers and threeillegal weapon holders.

Meanwhile, ShahidHussain and KhalidHussain were arrested fordecanting in Gulgashtcolony area. Police havealso arrested five motorcy-clists for doing wheelie inCantonment area.

FAISALABAD: CityJaranwala police claimed tohave arrested a drug peddlerwith liquor from its jurisdic-tion. According to police,SHO City Jaranwala BabarNawaz Hundal along with histeam conducted a raid atMohallah Rasheed Park andnabbed drug pusher KhizarHayat. The police recovered200 bottle liquor from his pos-session. Further, investiga-tion is in progress.—APP

Contingencyplans to cope

with rains soughtHY D E R A B A D —Commis-sioner Hyderabad JamalMustafa Syed has directed allDeputy Commissioners ofHyderabad Division to pre-pare a contingency plan withall precautionary arrange-ments to meet the challengesof expected heavy monsoonrains as forecast by the Pro-vincial Disaster ManagementAuthority (PDMA) Sindh inits report of August 2, 2014.

According to directives,issued here on Saturdaynight, the Commissioner di-rected the Deputy Commis-sioners of Hyderabad,Matiari, Jamshoro, Dadu,Tando Allahyar and TandoMuhammad Khan districtsto activate Rains/FloodsEmergency Centres andDistrict Emergency Opera-tion Centres with availabil-ity of all required machineryincluding pumping ma-chines so that the adminis-tration concerned couldmeet the challenges of anyeventuality during heavyrainfalls.—APP

Fast rising politicaltemperature

EVER since Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf Chairman announced to launchthe Azadi March on 14th August, political temperature is rising dayby day as the date approaches. All sorts of statements are being

made by political leaders to build the hype yet no one is bothered to givea serious thought that ultimate sufferers are the country and its poor people.

In the latest chain of events, Imran Khan has told his party leaders tobe prepared for arrests before Azadi March to Islamabad and he closedthe doors for negotiations demanding fresh elections. Allama Tahirul Qadriis hell bent to push forward his “revolution” and is meeting political lead-ers to muster their support. The government on its part is trying to defusethe situation and several of its functionaries have offered talks to the PTI.Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid in a statementsaid the real agenda of Imran Khan is to send the democratic governmentpacking. Other political leaders are also joining the bandwagon fearingthat if they were out of the media limelight they would lose popularityamong the masses. Opposition leader in the National Assembly SyedKhursheed Shah told media in Sukkur that his party would no more playthe role of friendly opposition and Chaudhry brothers of the PML-Qhave also ruled out any dialogue with the government. Maulana FazlurRehman of the JUI-F has asked the government not to get jittery overthe March. The sane voice was that of Altaf Hussain who appealed po-litical leaders to use channel of talks for resolving disputes and avoidconfrontation. It appears that none has learnt from the consequences ofpolitics of confrontation in the past because of which the country suf-fered the most and is left behind in economic development to even smallcountries of the region. We, therefore, would appeal all political leaderswho are never tired of talking about well being of the country to havepity on Pakistan and its people and spare them from protests and con-frontation for their personal gains. At the same time we would urge thegovernment that it should explore all avenues for initiating dialogue atan accelerated pace to address reservations of the opposition so thathard earned democracy was not damaged in any way. We may also warnthat the country can ill afford any internal chaos at this point of timewhen our valiant armed forces are engaged in operation against terror-ists in North Waziristan and need backing of the entire nation.

Obama’s frankadmission

IN some of his most expansive comments to date, President Obama hasadmitted that the United States tortured Al-Qaeda detainees, captured

after the 9/11 attack, contrary to American values. It was in fact a frankadmission by the US President and is reflective of the personal thinkingand humane aspect of the person of Obama.

Before his election to the top office, Obama was known as a soft-spoken person and enjoyed image of a gentleman who feels for others.But soon after his entry in the White House he understandably had tofollow dictates of the very powerful US establishment. Then he tookseveral decisions which could not be considered as a true reflection ofsentiments of the President but his frank admission at the televised newsconference shows that he was opposed to the mistreatment that securityofficials done to the detainees. But what is more surprising is that tothis day many of the Bush era officials who carried out the CIAprogramme insist that what they did was not torture. It is well knownthat the CIA carries out acts at home and abroad even without inform-ing the President and even the congressmen and senators are not spared.A latest report revealed that the Agency officers snooped on computersused by a Senate committee investigating the CIA’s interrogationprogramme. It is a known fact that intelligence agencies world overcarry out their programmes even if governments are changed in theirrespective countries. In some cases they become so strong that evenheads of government are forced to follow their lines. We see the ex-cesses being committed by the CIA in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya andSyria and in other parts of the world through its overt and covert opera-tions. We wish that President Obama during his remaining tenure wouldtake some steps to check activities of the all powerful CIA, make itfollow the American values and prevail upon the establishment that theworld should not be turned into a hell through conspiracies of all sorts.

Muslims killingMuslims. What a shame!SYRIAN troops killed more than 50 jihdists from the Islamic State and

Al Nusra front groups near the border with Lebanon on Saturday whileheavy fighting rages on in Libya and Iraq as rival groups are pitted againsteach other for the control of maximum territory. Nearer to home in Af-ghanistan, Muslims are killing other Muslims under the pretext of forcingforeign forces to leave their country.

It has become a dilemma that most of the Muslim countries are in thegrip of internal conflicts and no body realises that they were sheddingblood of their fellow brothers. In Syria and Iraq the fighting is on basis ofsectarian divisions while in Libya and Afghanistan it is for the control ofterritories. The so-called torchbearers of Caliphate in Iraq have their ownagenda and their map includes almost all Muslim countries to bring un-der control. This is a worrisome situation and needs to be given seriousthinking by scholars and leaders that how Muslims have been dividedhorizontally and vertically. The trouble in the Middle East started inthe name of Arab Spring with the US, other western countries backingunder the pretext to dislodge dictators and bring democracy. But whathappened afterwards is that a peaceful region has become the most dan-gerous place in the world and even these western countries have beenleft with no alternatives but to withdraw most of their diplomatic staff.We would suggest that leadership of the Muslim countries should seri-ously ponder over it and perhaps hold a moot and find a way out forgreater good of the Muslims and peace world over because it is a matterof shame for every one that Muslims are killing Muslims.

Emerging security situation in Mideast

New NATOagenda

DAVID Cameron is in a highgear as he prepares to hostNato leaders in Wales. Irre-

spective of the fact that his partyhas proposed a referendum over thecountry’s future geo-economicequation with the European Union,the British prime minister wants arobust relationship with the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organisation. In hisSOS to Brussels, Cameron said thatequipment and supplies should bepre-positioned in key locations inorder to ensure an enhanced NatoResponse Force.

The crux of his message was incornering Russia and limiting its in-fluence over the continent. Londonbelieves that the transatlantic alli-ance should rethink its relationshipwith Moscow. This should be sountil and unless Kremlin starts act-ing in conformity with Europe.What makes Cameron cry foul overRussia’s muscle flexing is theNato’s inability to act in real time,as far as dealing with the crisis inUkraine is concerned. The annex-ation of Crimea and the silence thatthe West maintained is tantamountto appeasement and Cameron, oflate, is just hinting at the miserablestate of affair for the world’s larg-est multinational militaryorganisation. The fact that Russiahad its way right under the nose ofthe Nato and is now asserting itsclout over eastern Ukraine simplynegates the existence of a rival po-litico-military umbrella, and its util-ity is obviously questioned. One ofthe reasons for Cameron gettingproactive is domestic pressurewhere a large constituency in Brit-ain wants 10 Downing Street to beheard in continental and world af-fairs. The sudden cabinet reshuffleand calls from the opposition to leadfrom the front at Wales also havehad an impact on this change ofheart in dealing with Europe. Theletter from Cameron to alliance sec-retary-general Anders FoghRasmussen has come in the wakeof warnings from the CommonsDefence Committee, which be-lieves that the Nato is poorly pre-pared to counter an attack fromRussia on any member state. Hereis another political connotation be-hind Cameron’s speaking up for areformist and assertive strategy: ie,as London couldn’t stop Jean-Claude Juncker from assuming theEU’s presidency, Cameron is appar-ently setting out an agenda for thenew leadership. With new foreignpolicy chief due to be nominatedshortly, the European Union and theNato will be under renewed pres-sure to deal with the Russian threatand rewrite its military strategy,accordingly.— Khaleej Times

*****

Airlines’safety

THE shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 by Russian-backed separatists in

Ukraine has triggered a sharp de-bate on how to make the skies saferfor everyone who flies. But a con-ference last week, that gathered allthe relevant bodies, agreed to keepthe existing system that has left theultimate decision about where to flyto the airlines and not with civilaviation authorities.

The International Civil AviationOrganisation (ICAO), the obscureUnited Nations body that coordi-nates air traffic, met last week inMontreal with International AirTransport Association (IATA) andthe heads of organisations represent-ing airports and the world’s air traf-fic control networks. While theyagreed to form a task force on air-line safety, making the obvious pointthat although this issue might becomplex and politically sensitive,“urgent action” had to be taken afterthe destruction of MH17, they obvi-ously did not think it was that urgentsince they planned a “high-levelsafety conference” only in February2015. The ICAO has 191 memberstates, but has no responsibility toopen or close airspace, which is leftto individual countries. In the eventthat there is no advice, airlines canchoose where to fly, taking into ac-count the safety issues, as well asspeed and costs of flying around orover potential trouble spots. Thisramshackle machinery may haveworked in some way until now, butif another airliner goes down in astrife-torn area, institutions that keepour skies safe will require a majoroverhaul. —Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

THE famous French philosopher, aristocrat and novelist,Joseph Arthur Comte de

Gobineau, once wrote; “TheMiddle East is a delicious meat, butit poisons those who eat it”. As acrossroads of ideas and men,Middle Eastern recorded history isolder and longer than any other partof the world. Middle East is thecentre from where the most highlydeveloped of all religious systemsin the world; the Islam, the Chris-tianity, and Judaism have arisen.Post World War-I history of the re-gion dictates that, Middle East hasnot been a geographic expression.Indeed, its geo-political and moresignificantly, the geo-economic rec-ognition has been more prominent.

In 20th century, the politicalmap of the region has mostly beencoined in West and United Statesas per their perceived uses andabuses. In the 20th century, the usesremained strategic whereas abuseswere in the form of foreign inter-ventions. In 21st century, the rel-evant criteria can be termed as ‘oiland turmoil’ besides being part ofhegemonic designs of the sole su-per power; which uses all possiblemeans to keep away all other ma-jor powers from the region. Today,the Middle East is the most vola-tile region in the world, havingwider implications at regional andglobal level. Post 9/11, its securityand stability situation has deterio-rated largely and consequently, re-gional states are losing control overtheir masses. Furthermore, the non-state actors are taking wider con-

Let them eat cake!

ONE was afraid that someday it would come to this.The way things move in the

Land of the Pure, what else doesthe common man have to look for-ward to? In the mad dash for roti,kapra and makan have been addedthe ever elusive quest for electric-ity, water and fuel. This comeswhen the wretched man in the streethad not quite digested the headydiet of statistics that he had beenforce-fed over the past so manyyears. (Remember the tidings thatthe Land of the Pure could beamong the top five countries in Asiain terms of economic growth?) Ifstatistics were horses, we’d all bemerrily riding away!

Alternatively, if statistics wasthe elusive “roti” we would all befeasting to our heats’ content. Andnow with the advent of a brand newbudget, an entirely fresh set of sta-tistics is upon us. God save thecommon man! Over and above that,welcome to the world of selectiveload-shedding and power break-downs (selective; because you can-not possibly play the load- shed-ding game with the Elite). Not thatone is interested in playing a blamegame but isn’t it about time that wedecided to set our own house in or-der? Propaganda machinery not-withstanding, the fact remains thatour economic priorities are awfullyawry and have been for quite sometime. Not all that long ago, the eco-nomic czars of the country were

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Weekly Magazine

Sadia Zahid MalikEditor

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

Footprints on thesands of time arenot made by sittingdown.

working in a frenzy to dis-pose of the family silver (bythe way, into what kitty dothe proceeds go?). And yetour planners – such as theyare - projected a clear andfocused picture of a coun-try well on its way. But inwhich direction and to whatend? Why is it that the com-

mon man continues to have thisqueasy feeling that his lot is sinkingrather than rising? Why is it that pov-erty keeps on increasing, just as therich keep on getting richer? All inall, in layman’s terms, why is themicro-economy of the country notmoving hand in hand with its macrosibling? Of course, the statisticians,the economists (and, let us not for-get, the bankers) will all have plau-sible justifications for the whole phe-nomenon; but the moot question re-mains: where does it all take com-mon man?

How about a reality check? Theprice of property has boomed to highheavens; corruption in the recentyears has touched hithertounachieved highs; the shopkeepershave merrily kept on raising theprices of necessities at their sweetwill (Every Ramadan brings a wind-fall). In urban areas, the municipalauthorities squeeze water supply attheir will so that they can then sellthe water by the tanker-load tothirsty consumers in the black mar-ket at exorbitant rates. Naturalsources of water are being contami-nated with impunity, while the priceof bottled water continues to spiralupwards. Common people agitatingfor an end to massive ‘load-shed-ding’ are offered a surfeit of statis-tics they simply cannot assimilate.

The cost of living is skyrocket-ing by the day, while the purchasingpower of the common man is con-stantly going down. What is the

common man to have faith in then:the word of crafty statisticians/economists or the facts of life? Acertain empress in European historyonce used the phrase “Let them eatcake!”, or words to that effect, andpaid a very high price for it. EmpressMarie Antoinette, brought up in avery restricted and restrictive regime,could hardly be faulted for comingup with a simplistic solution to a

seemingly simple issue. Can we saysame about our financial wizards?

An outstanding instance of the“let- them- eat-cake” syndrome isnow developing in privileged sec-tions of our society. Babies in suchsterilized environments are now be-ing weaned on “designer water”.One wouldn’t be surprised if chil-dren in these protected pockets even-tually grow up to believe that natureprovides water in airtight, sterilizedcontainers - with or without designerlabels! All this is happening in aworld where more than a billionpeople have no access to clean drink-

trol of state(s) through internal up-rising and militancy. In fact, MiddleEast is a hotpot from conflict andsecurity point of view as it has wit-nessed major wars and conflicts dur-ing the last over a century. Multi-faced internal problems have takenbirth from cultural, economic andpolitical contexts are now creatingdisharmony among masses of thesestates. The role of major powers es-pecially United States, has also beena source of tension and instability inthe region.

The US and Western patronageof Israel to occupy Arab lands hascaused curiosity and deep instabil-ity in the region. Currently, Pales-tine is most insecure because of un-checked Israeli aggression. Afterkilling over 1400 Gaza dwellers in2008 massacres, Israel has killedover 1800 Palestinian (Gaza area) inlast one month, starting from July2014. Whereas, Israel backed by UShas unleashed worst kind of stateterror and an act of clear genocideagainst Palestinians, the role of re-gional Arab countries and globalpowers has been extraordinarily re-morseful during the current Pales-tinian massacres by Israel.

With over 82% occupation ofPalestinian land, Israel is planningto take control of Gaza and Westbank for more settlements, as partof its expansionist designs. The war-torn Iraq is facing another dilemma,where a new rebellion group, ISIS;the Islamic State of Iraq and Syriaor the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham has taken control over someareas of Iraq and expanding its in-fluence with each passing day. Al-ready Iraq is facing a situation wherethis Arab nationalist state standspractically divided into three distinctparts. Besides, there is a clear ideo-

logical divide between Iran andGCC states, especially Saudi Arabiaover Iraq, relations with Israel andbroader regional security issues.This divide is being exploited byexternal powers for their best na-tional interests and to disadvantageof Middle Eastern states and Iran.

At the global front, the relation-ship between Middle Eastern statesand extra-regional powers is largelyinfluenced by the presence of theUnited States and its dominant rolein defining the regional security andmay be through a selective and con-trolled democratization agenda, ec-centric to regional politics. Tensionsbetween regional states and US in-creased where they directly conflictwith the US policy views. In thisway, US policy may be anaggravator as well as ameliorator ofinterstate conflict. Under the prevail-ing circumstances, neither risingglobal power (Asian giant), likeChina, nor the former global bal-ancer, Russian Federation or eventhe European Union as a whole canact as the new “security guarantors”for the region essentially replacingUS Central Command, the US FifthFleet, or other US military presencein the region. Instead, rising exter-nal powers seemed to want a better-defined, balanced, and equitable USrole (as opposed to US hegemony).Such a role would create a stableregional environment for Europeanand Asian foreign direct invest-ments, new energy projects (such aspipelines including through CentralAsia), trade, cooperation ontransnational security concerns, andthe provision of aid for domesticpolitical development in the MiddleEast. Post world War-II, Americanhegemony has kept Russia awayfrom the Middle East. Now the

Middle Eastern States are keen toexpand their relations with Russiaand other major states. From 2007onwards, Russia has once againstarted reviewing her relationshipwith most of Middle Eastern coun-tries. President Putin’s historic visitto Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordonsaw Russia forage energy and de-fense deal in the Middle East.Kremlin has planned to balance theregion through its enhanced rela-tions with Middle Eastern states.China. China has been exploringevery possible means to boost upher economy by establishing rela-tionship with Middle EasternStates. Formally, USA has keptChina away from Gulf States andthere is no security cooperation be-tween China and Gulf States. How-ever, Chinese goods are cheaperand Gulf States are a good marketfor China. Secretly some GulfStates like Saudi Arabia want tohave cooperation with China inmany fields and under the tablenegotiations have been going on.India has already made inroads intoMiddle East and Iran.

At this critical juncture ofMiddle Eastern history, the foreignpolicy of Pakistan has to be formu-lated in such a way, whereby, rela-tionship with all Middle Easternstates and Iran are kept balance.Pakistan should not form part of anyideological grouping or someone,who support Palestinians killings.It should take a clear positionagainst Israeli aggression and allthose supporting that. Rather, thereis a dire need that, Pakistan shouldplay a part in the reconciliation be-tween GCC and Iran without sid-ing with anyone.— The writer is Islamabad-basedanalyst of International Relations.

ing water. One can go into somedetail on the problem of lack ofclean water since this happens tobe one of the banes of our society.Time and again, one hears thealarming news, from various partsof the country, of people getting illand even dying due to drinking con-taminated water. Shouldn’t provi-sion of clean and safe drinking wa-ter be one of our top priorities?

One does not happen to be ei-ther an economist or a planner. Butone thing one is quite certain of: thatpeople can neither survive nor pros-per on a diet of statistics alone.Mere percentages thrust down thethroats of common folks just willnot do. If figures have to be quotedthen let it be done in tangible, easyto understand and assimilate, form.When addressing the common man,let us eschew the habit of talkingof micro or macro- economics, oreven of growth rates. If we have to,then why not measure our annualprogress in terms of a) Number ofadditional persons provided cleanand safe drinking water. b) Num-ber of additional clinics and hospi-tal facilities provided to deprivedsections of society. c) Number ofnew and well-equipped schoolsopened in the public sector; addi-tional children provided admissionin such educational institutions. d)Number of additional midwives andparamedical staff provided in ruraland far-flung areas. e) Number ofadditional trees not just planted butalso nurtured. Once these little is-sues are sorted out, the nation maywell be astonished to discover thatsuch weighty matters as the growthrates and GDP – not to talk of macroand micro economics - will takecare of themselves. Or is one talk-ing out of turn?— The writer is a formerAmbassador of Pakistan.

—Proverb

Khalid SaleemEmail: binwakeel@yahoo.com

Friendly FireFriendly FireFriendly FireFriendly FireFriendly Fire

Dr Muhammad Khan Email: drmk_edu@yahoo.com

One does nothappen to be

either aneconomist or a

planner. But onething one is quite

certain of: thatpeople can neither

survive norprosper on a diet

of statistics alone.Mere percentages

thrust downthe throats of

common folks justwill not do.

Voice of the People

Power crisisENGR ARSALAN THAHIM

Pakistan is facing huge power out-ages. There is at least fifteen hoursload shedding in most parts of thecountry. Especially, rural areas havebeen shattered. However, both gov-ernment and public are responsiblefor it, former is responsible in termsof exorbitant power unit charges andlatter for stealing electricity alongwith misuse due to paying of mea-gre electricity bills. Besides, politi-cal linchpins have special lines forgetting power in a whole day.Whereas public has peanuts of loadshedding which is difficult to sur-vive in this summer season. If coun-try wants to overcome energy crisisthen both public and governmentshould work together.

Government must generate en-ergy through present energy re-sources of the country like hydel,coal, wind, and solar energy, whichare the best available resources inthe country. Meanwhile, state oughtto provide energy on the feasiblerates so that low-income consumerwould afford it along with transpar-ency in WAPDA department. Moreover, Public should avoid kunda sys-tem to save the energy which willbe helpful for utilising in both in-dustrial and business purpose. Con-sequently, it will create employmentopportunities. In such a manner pov-erty can decrease and country maysee prosperity.—Shikarpur

Battle of eliteISRAR SINDHI

Who are the elite in Pakistan? SharifFamily, Bhutto Family, Zardari fam-ily, Mansha family, Altaf Hussain,PML-Q/PTI leadership, Religiousleadership, military generals, retiredgenerals, bureaucrats, few journal-ists, and NGO sector is also part ofthe new elite of this country. Com-monly, the word ‘elite’ appealed tothe image of the landed-feudalgroup, which was originally part ofthe ruling elite since 1947. Since1947, the state’s civil and militarybureaucracy also using state re-sources to create their own businessand became other elite of this state.Collections of funds by religiousgroups/parties, corruption by politi-cal ruling parties / groups and theaccess to foreign capital and abun-dance of black money backed bystate power, has added new namesto the elite list. Elite of this state isinterconnected and has taken theshape of a large fraternity of com-mon interests.

Those have not state power andstruggling for getting power are thenew elite in Pakistan. Now, war forgetting power will start from 2ndweek of August. Imran wants onlychange of government or change ofsystem? It is not cleared till today.However, Qadri is fully aggressivefor change of system and he dubbedthat he will fight for totally change.It is presumed that Qadri wants tobecome Imam-Inqlab same like asKhoemeini. And PML-N wants tocontinue status quo in country. How-ever, no one wants to solve the is-sues of this country but desirespower at any cost.—Islamabad

Azadi MarchABDULLAH SAQIB

At a time when ZarbeAzb had leftPTI powerless and forced to let goof their long-time stance againstdrone attacks, and the war on ter-ror: they decide to destabilize de-mocracy by the so-called AzadiMarch. Those who truly believe indemocracy and are present in theparliament should have the guts andpatience to abide by what they be-lieve in. Legislate your way out,Impeach the government, pass those‘powerful’ bills, invent new laws,that’s what democracy dictates,right? It is quite ironic when a pro-vincial government looses focus on

How to retrieve billions from Swiss banks?MUKHTAR AHMED

This is with reference to your editorial” Staggering billions in Swiss banks”(August 2). The editorialhas welcomed the statement of Finance Minister that talks would be held with Swiss authorities for

bringing back $200 billion looted in Pakistan by various leaders, out of which Asif Ali Zardari’s casetops the list. The nation is fed up listening stories about Swiss accounts maintained by our leaders, allefforts by FIA and NAB made no headway. In the process millions of dollars have been spent in retriev-ing the looted money but end result has been zero. The finance minister has also disclosed that it maytake three to four years. If that is the time frame it is better not to waste time and invoke (RIAA) Swisslaw passed for the Return of Illicit Assets Act. The onus of proving legality of money would lie on theallegedly corrupt official, rather than Swiss authorities. If the official is unable to prove the legitimacyof his/her Swiss assets, they would be confiscated by the Swiss state. The FBR should seek informationof the account holders to retrieve this money stashed in Swiss banks. As reported in the press over thelast 20 years the Swiss government has returned more than $1.5 billion looted by rulers that includefamous names Sani Abacha of Nigeria, Marcos of Philippines and Carlos of Mexico. Pakistan hasexternal debt of around $60 billion and it can be easily paid in one go and get out of shackles of IMF. Theeasiest solution is to make law with simple majority that all those people who have deposited theiramount in Swiss banks or for that matter in any other bank must declare with in 30 days in writingfailing which the money stands confiscated. After having passed the act Swiss authorities shall have noobjection in giving details of account holders. There is no need to give incentive as they don’t deserveany mercy, there is no other way out. Let government take this step without losing time and stop behav-ing as friendly to corrupt people—Islamabad

DISCLAIMER

Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

THE articles, columns andletters are published on thesepages in good faith. However,the contents of these writingsmay not necessarily match theviews of the newspaper.

—Editor

Lessons about good neighbourly ties

THERE is a saying that eventhe most pious person can’tlive peacefully if his

neighbour is not allowing him to livein peace. This seems to be a prettygood description of the situationbetween Pakistan and Afghanistan.Even during the Eidul Fitr holidayswhen all the good people were cel-ebrating the end of Ramazan thatpreaches peace for humanity, across-border attack took place fromthe Afghan side of the border on aPakistani military outpost. Report-edly 70-80 terrorists were involvedin the cross-border attack on Paki-stani military post in Upper Dir. Oneshould think that when such anamount of people are moving to-wards the border the Afghan army –trained and equipped by the Ameri-cans and according to the propa-ganda top fit to do whatsoever hasto be done to protect and defend theirterritory and people- would haverealized this move and acted fast tostop their nefarious plan and pre-vented it. Nothing doing. Cross bor-der attacks from Afghan side on Pa-kistani territory are a constant fea-ture and the newly acquired train-ing and equipment of the Afghansoldiers from US army didn’t helpto prevent it.

But this is only one incident outof many more. Even more danger-ous is that fact that when the mili-tary operation in North WaziristanAgency was started and even be-fore that scores of militants relo-cated across the border into Af-ghanistan without any resistance orcheck from the Afghan borderforces or even the foreign forces

occupying Afghanistan. Oneshould think that this opera-tion would have been in theirinterest more than ours afterthey have been demanding itfor several years now. But loand behold, when the opera-

tion was finally started by the Pa-kistan Army to force action inNWA, nothing was done by Af-ghans government or ISAF to stopthe militants from relocating intoAfghanistan.

The most hypocritical thingthough was that the US governmenttelling Pakistan to prevent displacedHaqqani militants from returning totheir traditional sanctuary after themilitary operation, when more thanthousands of people and militantshad already crossed into Afghanistanafter receiving a green signal fromacross the border, before Zarb-e-Azbwas launched, in the NorthWaziristan Agency. What kind ofhypocrisy is this? These Americansare sitting in Afghanistan, why don’tthey prevent Haqqanis from comingback to NWA? These two incidentsamong so many others are just anillustration of the basic fact that Pa-kistan is made the scapegoat for theincapability or missing determina-tion on the Afghan side to fight ter-rorism. It shows the hypocrisy of theAmericans also who state that Paki-stan was their ‘strategic partner’ butwho are unwilling (or unable?) to dothe job on the other side of the bor-der and to coordinate with Pakistan.About the Afghan army the less issaid the better. We know that afterthe withdrawal of the foreign troopsthe Afghan army slowly but consis-tently will dissolve into several pri-vate armies of Afghan warlords.

History records that the Afghansare not going to accept a stooge gov-ernment installed by the US andNATO in Kabul. Already the fight-ing between the stooges is going on

about the vote counting but this isonly the beginning. After the with-drawal they will fight it out withcatastrophic consequences not onlyfor the Afghan people but for Paki-stan as well. Zarb-e Azb wasPakistan’s attempt to prevent theforthcoming Afghan civil war toimmediately reach Pakistan. Butgiven the fact that Afghanistan’s sup-port in this mission is completelymissing the outcome is predictablynegative. And that will not be thefault of Pakistan’s army that is do-ing its best to clear Pakistani terri-tory from foreign and indigenousmilitants. But it will be due to a situ-ation where there is a border that isun-defendable with the guys sittingon the other side not cooperating.

This is only one danger that isthreatening the success of Zarb-eAzb. The other is that when the mili-tary clean up is complete the civil-ian government that has to take overand to introduce good governance.Shahbaz Sharif just announced thateach family that lost its house wouldget a new one. But we all know thatgovernance is bad even in the settledareas and administrators are corruptand don’t qualify to be given such aresponsibility to further plunder. Sotherefore, the battle that might bewon by the army will afterwards belost by the civilians as it happenedin Swat. But without good gover-nance, development of the backwardareas in NWA and SWA and creationof jobs there will be no peace andmilitancy will resurface by claimingnew supporters from among the dis-content and poor. And with Afghani-stan right in the neighbourhood justseparated through a porous borderthat is in defendable we are lookingforward to bleak times.

With this background when welook back at our chequered historyit has always been a struggle forpower among the different parts of

the country and their ruling elitesdominated by feudals, whose onlyaim was to achieve power by hookor crook so a compromised leader-ship emerged on the screen to ruinthe silver lining appearing onPakistan’s horizon. Economy hasbeen neglected most of the time.Honestly speaking whether you likeit or not, it was under military rulewhen our economy did a bit betteras it was the case under PresidentAyub Khan, when he had 5 yeareconomic development plans.

Alongside there was a perspec-tive economic development plan for20 years, and a country like Koreawas one country that had borrowedour five year plans as an example ofsuccessful economic development.Where are they today and where arewe? The following successive civiland military governments seem tohave regarded it as their first andforemost aim or order from their for-eign master to undo whatever hadbeen achieved.Now an atmosphereof political standoff has been createdon the Independence Day and armyhas been called in aid of civil ad-ministration in the capital city.Therefore it is high time and the needfor National reconciliation andstrengthening the solidarity in Paki-stan without foreign intervention,article 62 and 63 have now becomelaughing stock for all and sundrybecause of there own involvementin violation of these articles. Thechange, the nation was aspiring toget is nowhere in sight. Neither withregard to any meaningful povertyalleviation, nor with regard to anyIndependent foreign policy to pro-mote and protect our sovereignty, soas to substitute our slavery to the USwith strengthening good-neighbourly relations with China,Iran and Russia. God bless Pakistan.—The writer is Karachi-basedsenior columnist.

Views From Abroad

Why Americans see Israel way they do

TO cross the Atlantic toAmerica, as I did recentlyfrom London, is to move from

one moral universe to its opposite inrelation to Israel’s war with Hamasin Gaza. Fury over Palestinian civil-ian casualties has risen to a fever pitchin Europe, moving beyond anti-Zi-onism into anti-Semitism (often aflimsy distinction). Attacks on Jewsand synagogues are the work of a ra-bid fringe, but anger toward an Israelportrayed as indiscriminate in its bru-tality is widespread. For a growingnumber of Europeans, not having anegative opinion of Israel is tanta-mount to not having a conscience.The deaths of hundreds of childrenin any war, as one editorial in TheGuardian put it, is “a special kind ofobscenity.”

In the United States, by contrast,support for Israel remains strong (al-though less so among the young,who are most exposed to the war-ring hashtags of social media). Thatsupport is overwhelming in politi-cal circles. Palestinian suffering re-mains near taboo in Congress. It isnot only among American Jews, bet-ter organized and more outspokenthan their whispering Europeancounterparts, that the story of a na-tion of immigrants escaping perse-cution and rising from nowhere inthe Holy Land resonates. The Israelisaga — of courage and will — ech-oes in American mythology, far be-yond religious identification, be itJewish or evangelical Christian.

America tends toward a prefer-ence for unambiguous right andwrong — no European leader wouldpronounce the phrase “axis of evil”— and this third Gaza eruption insix years fits neatly enough into a

Manichaean framework: A demo-cratic Jewish state, hit by rockets,responds to Islamic terrorists. Theobscenity, for most Americans, hasa name. That name is Hamas. JamesLasdun, a Jewish author and poetwho moved to the United Statesfrom England, has written that,“There is something uncannily adap-tive about anti-Semitism: the way itcan hide, unsuspected, in the mostprogressive minds.” Certainly, Eu-ropean anti-Semitism has adapted.It used to be mainly of the national-ist right. It now finds expressionamong large Muslim communities.But the war has also suggested howthe virulent anti-Israel sentimentnow evident among the bien-pensantEuropean left can create a climatethat makes violent hatred of Jewspermissible once again.

In Germany, of all places, therehave been a series of demonstrationssince the Gaza conflict broke out withrefrains like “Israel: Nazi murderer”and “Jew, Jew, you cowardly pig,come out and fight alone” (it rhymesin German). Three men hurled aMolotov cocktail at a synagogue inWuppertal. Hitler’s name has beenchanted, gassing of Jews invoked.Violent demonstrations have eruptedin France. The foreign ministers ofFrance, Italy and Germany weremoved to issue a statement saying“anti-Semitic rhetoric and hostilityagainst Jews” have “no place in oursocieties.” Frank-Walter Steinmeier,the German foreign minister, wentfurther. What Germany had wit-nessed, he wrote, makes the “bloodfreeze in anybody’s veins.”

Yes, it does. Germany, Israel’sclosest ally apart from the UnitedStates, had been constrained since1945. The moral shackles have loos-ened. Europe’s malevolent ghostshave not been entirely dispelled. Thecontinent on which Jews went meekly

to the slaughter reproaches the de-scendants of those who survived forabsorbing the lesson that militarymight is inextricable from survivaland that no attack must go unan-swered, especially one from an orga-nization bent on the annihilation ofIsrael. A strange transference some-times seems to be at work, as if cast-ing Israelis as murderers, shorn of anyhistorical context, somehow expiatesthe crime. In any case it is certain thatfor a quasi-pacifist Europe, the Pal-estinian victim plays well; the re-gional superpower, Israel, amilitarised society through necessity,much less so.

Anger at Israel’s bombardmentof Gaza is also “a unifying elementamong disparate Islamic communi-ties in Europe,” said Jonathan Eyal,a foreign policy analyst in London.Moroccans in the Netherlands, Pa-kistanis in Britain and Algerians inFrance find common cause in de-nouncing Israel. “Their anger is alsoa low-cost expression of frustrationand alienation,” Eyal said. Views ofthe war in the United States can feelsimilarly skewed, resistant to thewhole picture, slanted through cul-tural inclination and political diktat.It is still hard to say that the killingof hundreds of Palestinian childrenrepresents a Jewish failure, whateverelse it may be. It is not easy to con-vey the point that the open-air prisonof Gaza in which Hamas has thrivedexists in part because Israel hasshown a strong preference for thestatus quo, failing to reach out toPalestinian moderates and extendingsettlements in the West Bank, fatallytempted by the idea of keeping allthe land between the MediterraneanSea and the Jordan River.

Oppressed people will respond.Millions of Palestinians are op-pressed. They are routinely humili-ated and live under Israeli dominion.

Roger CohenWhen Jon Stewart is lionized (andslammed in some circles) for “re-vealing” Palestinian suffering toAmericans, it suggests how hiddenthat suffering is. The way membersof Congress have been falling overone another to demonstrate morevociferous support for Israel is ameasure of a political climate notconducive to nuance. This hardlyserves America’s interests, whichlie in a now infinitely distant peacebetween Israelis and Palestinians,and will require balanced Ameri-can mediation.

Something may be shifting.Powerful images of Palestinian suf-fering on Facebook and Twitterhave hit younger Americans. A re-cent survey by the Pew ResearchCentre found that among Americansage 65 or older, 53 percent blameHamas for the violence and 15 per-cent Israel. For those ages 18 to 29,Israel is blamed by 29 percent ofthose questioned, Hamas by just 21percent. My son-in-law, a doctor inAtlanta, said that for his socialgroup, mainly professionals in their30s with young children, it was “im-possible to see infants being killedby what sometimes seems like anextension of the US Army withoutbeing affected.” I find myselfdreaming of some island in themiddle of the Atlantic where theblinding excesses on either side ofthe water are overcome and a fun-damental truth is absorbed: that nei-ther side is going away, that bothhave made grievous mistakes, andthat the fate of Jewish and Palestin-ian children — united in their inno-cence — depends on placing thefuture above the past. That islandwill no doubt remain as illusory aspeace. Meanwhile, on balance, I ampleased to have become a natural-ized American.— Courtesy: The New York Times

You cannot escape competition..!

MANY believe that competition is bad, that lifeis meant to be peaceful

and calm, sitting on a mountain,or playing golf! Gary Player foryears was a great competitor innational and international golftournaments. People constantlysaid to him, “I’d give anything if Icould hit a golf ball like you.”

Upon hearing that commentone day, Player responded impa-tiently: “No, you wouldn’t. You’ddo anything to hit a golf ball likeme, if it were easy! Do your knowwhat you have to do to hit a golfball like me? You’ve got to get up

at 5:00 every morning, go out to thegolf course, and hit a thousand golfballs! Your hands start bleeding, andyou walk to the clubhouse and washthe blood off your hands, slap a ban-dage on it, and go out and hit anotherthousand golf balls! That is what ittakes to hit a golf ball like me!” Hisgoal was to be at the top of his sport.That lofty dream required hard work,hard work and more hard work..!

Often we think we can achieve nir-vana and peace of mind by giving upeverything, for those who dream ofsuch lazy a life, Rabbi Harold Kushnertells a wonderful story about a brightyoung man who was a sophomoreStanford pre-med student. To rewardhim for having done so well in school,his parents gave him a trip to the Asiafor the summer. While there he met aguru who said to him, “Don’t you see

how you are poisoning your soul withthis success-oriented way of life? Youridea of happiness is to stay up all nightstudying for an exam so you can geta better grade than your best friend.Your idea of a good marriage is notto find the woman who will make youwhole, but to win the girl that every-one else wants.

“That’s not how people are sup-posed to live,” the sage admonished.“Give it up; come join us in an atmo-sphere where we all share and loveeach other.” The young man had com-pleted four years at a competitive highschool to get into Stanford, plus twoyears of pre-med courses at the uni-versity. He was ripe for this sort ofapproach. He called his parents fromTokyo and told them he would notbe coming home. He was droppingout of school to live in an ashram (a

spiritual retreat). Six months later,his parents got this letter from him:“Dear Mom and Dad,

I know you weren’t happy withthe decision I made last summer, butI want to tell you how happy it hasmade me. For the first time in mylife, I am at peace. Here there is nocompeting, no hustling, no trying toget ahead of anyone else. Here weare all equal, and we all share. Thisway of life is so much in harmonywith the inner essence of my soulthat in only six months I’ve becomethe number two disciple in the en-tire ashram, and I think I can be num-ber one by June..!” Aha! There hewas in the ashram, still competing!So lets face it; you want to do well,in office, golf course or ashram; com-pete and win, there’s no other way..!—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

the present and instead chooses to livein the past and wage a ‘long march’.

Rigging is nothing new, ImranKhan promised us that there won’tbe any rigging based on his ‘compre-hensive’ tabdeeli razakar program,the ‘free and fair’ judiciary and the‘ever so bold’ media even whenpeople asked him to boycott the elec-tions if things weren’t being doneright. The plan failed terribly, andfailed to stop rigging and now is thetime to contradict and cry over thatfailure! PTI played the match know-ing and accepting the umpire, now isthe time to accept the consequences.The only responsible plan is to bringchange in KPK and use the Parlia-ment if the idea is to maintain democ-racy, otherwise follow a new path andcall for real change.—Via email

Eid celebrationsgone sour

ALI ASHRAF KHAN

EID after Ramazan of 2014 inKarachi has been overshadowed bythe drowning of dozens of peoplewho thronged to the beach at SeaView and Hawksbay to have ‘fun’despite the warnings that during themonsoon time it is forbidden to gointo the sea but there appears to beno arrangements made to save thepeople from drowning by deployinglifeguards or fixing of ropes. Now forthe third consecutive day Navy heli-copters have been pulling out bodiesof drowned people from the sea withthe relatives waiting in agony for theirloved ones or at least for their bod-ies. The sea view police was quick totake advantage even of such gory in-cident: it is reported that they de-manded Rs.1500 from the relativesfor handing over the rescued bodies.

When in the observed case therelatives started bargaining trying togive 200 rupees less the puliswala isreported to have complained that ‘hewas losing money’! The reportednumber of victims has risen by nowto 36 but the dark number could bemuch higher. Going to the beach ona holiday is one of the few recre-ational possibilities for poor peopleand given the heat and humidity andthe long hours of power cuts peoplelong for refreshment of the body thusthronging into the sea for that in theabsence of any other community lei-sure and pleasure spots. The prohi-bition doesn’t count very much themore so that it was announced at thebeginning of monsoon time and notrepeated afterwards. Other than inyears before no billboards contain-ing warnings not to go into the wa-ter are seen anywhere along theSeaview beach.

This is not the first case of drown-ing victims during monsoon but withEid falling into the monsoon seasonhad to be expected that such incidentswould happen as has been happen-ing in the past also but on small scale.It is a clear failure of governance inDHA which maintains a sizeableforce called the DHA vigilance de-partment perhaps busy in other ac-tivities then providing security byrestricting people from getting deepinside the sea. It was equally the re-sponsibility of the city administrationto properly announce and propagatethe prohibition by billboards, media,leaflets and other suitable means andthen to ensure compliance with theprohibition by coordinating with thepolice or rangers or whosoever is re-sponsible for implementation. Wehope that Pakistan is regarding itselfas one of them- to provide means forrescue of bathing victims like rescueswimmers on watchtowers and speedboats to rescue anybody who mightbe in danger of drowning. It is, there-fore, utter negligence of the adminis-tration of DHA over years that theyhave never paid attention to this fact.

It is ridiculous that in our timepeople and children in the first placeare not taught these things at schoolbecause of commercial interest in-volved in education now. For theadults there should be educationalprograms in TV instead of stupid dra-mas or useless discussions on politi-

cal non-issues, a gimmick evolved byCorporate culture to establish oneworld government through mediacontrol and psychological warfare,capturing advertisement on the basisof viewers rating and hefty paymentsto anchors for creating thissensationilzation. If you keep yourpeople uneducated at the end of theday they become like cattle withouteven a natural instinct for preservingtheir own lives is not realized. In theWest nobody would go swimminginto the sea if he or she didn’t knowhow to swim and even people whoknow how to swim would not do itin the open sea because they knowabout the hazards. Education does notonly give you facts that you can for-get about when you are out of school,it should enable you to fend for your-self when you are gown up.—Karachi

Palestinianconflict

BASIT ZIA

International media today is ex-tremely busy trying to depict assaulton Gaza, as a justified & rightfulwar. With over 500 unarmed civil-ian casualties incurred in just a fewdays, and that too, of mostly womenand children; this is not a war, it’snot a conflict; its systematic geno-cide of Palestinians by racist Zion-ist land grabbers. Learning from thefiasco of 2006 invasion of Lebanon,where it faced military, political anddiplomatic disaster; a new “NationalInformation Directorate”, was estab-lished, charged with synchronizationof content and tone of Israel’s mes-sage across the many organizationsthat carry it to the world, whetherofficial or unofficial.

Thus resulting in a deluge of dip-lomats, lobby groups, bloggers andother supporters being unleashed;propagating a handful of carefullycrafted core messages to portray Is-rael as the victim. The success of thisdirectorate is clearly evident fromthe stance major Western news con-glomerates; CNN, Fox, BBC,CNBC etc, haven taken. Diplomati-cally; it’s an open secret that Israeland America are bedfellows, whoseunion has not only given birth to, butmeticulously parented and posi-tioned the UN into their interest pro-tecting one eyed organization.Washington’s unconditional supportto Israel, its battleship/air craft car-rier in the Mediterranean, armybases and covert assets in the MiddleEast are sufficient to render all theRegions Muslim states harmless andcapable of only good lip service.

Hue and cry from Palestiniansympathizers and supporters aroundthe world to build international pres-sure may stop the current assaulttemporarily; but as is evident fromthe past, every ceasefire betweenIsrael and Palestinians is short lived;the assault will start again with adifferent strategy, and under a dif-ferent pretext, but with brute force.It is high time that Muslim Ummahunites; and moves towards a unitedfront against present and imminentthreats, a major one being the exist-ence of Israel. The PalestinianPeople are calling out to us, theyneed our help, and if we continue tobicker among ourselves, our turnwill soon come. Martin Luther putit best, ’In the end, we will remem-ber not the words of our enemies,but the silence of our friends’. Theage of continuous conflict is uponus; and Muslims are on the menu.—Islamabad

Ali Ashraf KhanEmail:balti1551@gmail.com

DAY OF OUTRAGE: Malaysians of all races rallying at the Independence Square to support the Palestinians and con-demn Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.

GREGORY CLARK

THE “Odd Couple” was the title of a long-running TV comedy in the 1970s abouttwo divorced men, Felix and Oscar, who

come to share a Manhattan apartment. Felix isneat and tidy. Oscar is sloppy and casual. Theclash of lifestyles entertained the audiences foryears.

The Japan and Australia relationship seemssimilar. Both are fairly loveless in Asia; Japanis currently arguing with every one of its im-mediate neighbors and Australia does littlebetter. Both cling to the United States for emo-tional support. The ups and downs of their re-lations over the years have been impressive.Australia got the ball rolling when its notori-ous anti-Asia White Australia policy led it todeny Japan’s claim for racial equality at the1919 Versailles Peace Conference. Japanesemilitarists used this racist denial to justify theanti-Western policies that led to the 1941-45Pacific War, in which Australia was a majorvictim.

That in turn led to a belligerent Australiatrying at the 1951 San Francisco Peace Con-ference to have Japan stripped of all territoriesclaimed by others, the southern Kurils (nowcalled the Northern Territories) claimed byMoscow in particular. Canberra argued withsome percipience that any disputed territoryclaims left undecided would be used to encour-age a revival of Japanese revanchism. It alsodemanded and got a special treaty with theU.S., the ANZUS Treaty, to defend itself if andwhen Japan turned militarist again.

But the ANZUS ink was hardly dry whenCanberra decided that the real enemy in Asiawas China, not Japan. Canberra went on to

Sudden switchbacks mark Canberra’s ties with Tokyocondemn Beijing as being responsible for theVietnam War — for using Hanoi as its “pup-pet” in its drive south toward Australia betweenthe Pacific and Indian oceans. It set out to en-courage a sometimes cautious U.S. to get evenmore involved in Vietnam. There was also thebizarrely secret 1964 attempt to get Moscowinvolved, with an Australian foreign ministertraveling all the way to the Kremlin to con-vince the Soviet leadership that since Chinahad already shown its expansionism againstSoviet Sinkiang (sic), Moscow should join theWest in preventing further Chinese expansion-ism in Vietnam. (Soviet Premier AlexeiKosygin had to educate him on how Sinkianghad long been part of China, that there was noway Moscow would withdraw its support fromthe “brave Vietnamese people fighting U.S.imperialism” and that it wished only that Chinawould do more to help.)

The next move was to help create APEC(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) designedoriginally as an anti-China trade bloc in Asia(for details see gregoryclark.net/lifestory/page4/page4.html) That was followed byCanberra’s weird attempt to ban Australia’sparticipation in the all-important 1971 ping-pong diplomacy designed to open China to theoutside world.

Fortunately some of us were able to per-suade the Australian team to ignore the banand go to China. The publicity for the trip com-bined with Beijing’s warnings of trade retalia-tions during the visit helped the progressiveLabor Party under Gough Whitlam finally gainpower in 1972 and offer long-denied recogni-tion for Beijing.

But this meant that Japan could again bethe target for suspicion. Working in Canberra

in 1975, I saw close up how our hawks wereable to convince the Whitlam government thatan innocuous Japanese proposal for a treaty offriendship and closer business relationshipswas in fact a devious Japanese plot to take overAustralian resources.

That, combined with Australia’s growingresources nationalism, put relations on the backburner until a conservative government cameto power in 1976. But even then there wereproblems. A Japanese proposal for its elderlyto be allowed to retire to Australia was con-demned as yet another Japanese attempt to in-filtrate the nation.

Relations have continued up and down eversince, with a Japanese ambassador to Austra-lia claiming publicly that white Australian at-titudes still permeated Australia’s attitudes toJapan, and with Tokyo axing proposals for auranium enrichment plant and Multi-FunctionPolis, which would have done much to revivethe stagnant South Australian economy Now,following Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visitto Australia in July, we have been told that bothnations have entered something called a “spe-cial strategic relationship.” Tokyo wants alliesfor its China-containment policies.

Specifically it wants support for itsSenkaku Islands confrontation with China —a confrontation that it seems deliberately tohave provoked by reneging on its 1972 agree-ment with Beijing to shelve dispute over own-ership. Canberra, under its previous govern-ment headed by the Chinese-speaking KevinRudd, had tried to steer a mid-course betweenBeijing and Washington. Now it vigorouslysupports the stronger Japanese military pos-ture in Asia, which it so purposefully set out todeny at San Francisco in 1951 with its formerly

strong support for having Japan’s war and mili-tary renouncing Article 9 inserted in Japan’spostwar Constitution. Canberra today says Ja-pan is not the militaristic Japan of the past. Itapproves the moves to allow Japan to engagein “collective self-defense,” forbidden by Ar-ticle 9.

There was a reason for Article 9 to be im-posed on Japan and not postwar Germany.There was something special in the Japanesemakeup that encouraged the especially brutaland insane militarism from which Australia,more than most at San Francisco, had suffered.

What Canberra should have said is thatJapan has a nation-tribe emotionalism andmalleability that allows people easily to bepersuaded in directions decided by the nationalmood. The wartime mood had allowed brutal-ity and irrationality. Postwar, it had encour-aged a strong pacifism and gentleness. Todaywe see yet another shift in the ease with whichTokyo can use territorial and abductee disputesfor a military-oriented mood.

As in prewar years, those who appeal toreason to counter those moods are easily ig-nored, ostracized or worse. Japan has notchanged. But at least we usually know howand where Tokyo is headed. It is the Felix inthe odd couple. With Canberra it is often im-possible to find either rhyme or reason. Whyshould it be going so far out of its way to jeop-ardize its crucial trade relationship with China,now much greater than that with Japan?

—Courtesy: Japan Times.[Gregory Clark formerly served in Canberra’sforeign ministry and department of primeminister and Cabinet. He has since residedmainly in Japan where he has worked inmedia and university education.]

Putin’s Media Lives inan Alternate Reality

ANDREI MALGIN

I earned my degree in journalism back in the 1970s from universities in both Moscow and Warsaw. Instructors at both institutions used the same archetypal example to explain the

nature of propaganda, saying that we can describe a glass ashalf-empty or half-full.

Both statements are true, but they serve opposing propagandapurposes. The first assertion carries a negative connotation,whereas the second is full of optimism. The idea was that wecould effectively influence readers, viewers or listeners in thisway without resorting to the use of lies. That was essentiallyhow all Soviet propaganda worked: The authorities interpretedobjective facts to suit their own purposes.

Now everything has changed. The glass is empty, the worldsees that it is empty, but the Russian media proclaims: “The glassis completely full.” And no sooner does the glass become fullagain than we hear: “It is empty. There is nothing there.” I workedfor Soviet newspapers during the terms of four Soviet leaders,from Leonid Brezhnev to Mikhail Gorbachev, and this is thefirst time the authorities have lied so brazenly and shamelessly.They have truly reached a new low.

Here is an indisputable fact: A passenger plane was shot downover territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Everyoneunderstands that it was a mistake and not an intentional act, andthe separatists could have admitted as much.

In a similar situation, when Soviet forces mistakenly shotdown a South Korean airliner in 1983, Soviet media did not denythe incident but focused all its propaganda efforts on explainingthe context of how it happened, claiming, for example, that theSouth Korean crew had “provocatively changed course.” Thistime the Kremlin-controlled media has repeatedly claimed that:the airplane was not shot down at all, but fell out of the sky byitself; a bomb exploded aboard the airplane; the airplane was hitby a Ukrainian missile fired from the ground; a Ukrainian airforce fighter pursued and then attacked the plane; the U.S. shotdown the plane in order to damage Russia’s reputation; no livingpeople were aboard the plane as it flew on autopilot fromAmsterdam, where it had been pre-loaded with “rotting corpses.”

Difficult as it is to believe, that last, completely ridiculousversion of events, which was put forward by Igor Girkin, thecommander of the pro-Russian terrorists responsible for the trag-edy, not only aired on all state-controlled media outlets, but wasthe subject of serious discussion. All of those versions of eventswere deliberate lies, and all of the reporters and commentatorswho authored and discussed them knew they were telling lies.And yet they still did it. At the same time, their behavior did notsuggest that they were unaware of the existence of the Internet,where citizens could find ample evidence refuting their claims:videos, photos, recordings of intercepted telephone conversa-tions and eyewitness testimony. For Russia’s state media jour-nalists, it was not enough to simply twist the facts to their ownpurposes: They felt compelled to tell bold-faced lies.

An experienced, older journalist and I recently debatedwhether this practice is deliberate or the result of simple incom-petence. After all, the authorities could just spin the facts to suittheir propaganda goals. Why bother building a parallel universe?“In our time,” my companion said with a sigh, “we maintainedhigher standards,” attributing the problem to unprofessionalism.

But I think it is done deliberately. When propaganda is basedon nuances of interpretation, the chance always remains thatsomeone with a fresh perspective or a critical mindset can castdoubt on those claims. However, when the authorities base theirpropaganda entirely on lies, they achieve their desired result fasterand leave no room for doubt. Thus, lies provide a quicker andmore effective means to the end.

—Courtesy: Moscow Times.[Andrei Malgin is a journalist and literary critic].

Terrorist armies fightsmarter and deadlier

than everROBERT H. SCALES, DOUGLAS A. OLLIVANT

MILITARY transformations can be hard to detect. Theygenerally occur over decades, sometimes over generations. Soldiers are usually the first to recognize them,

but for the perceptive, the signs of a sea change developing ontoday’s battlefields are there. Look carefully at media images ofground fighting across the Middle East, and you will notice thatthe bad guys are fighting differently than they have in the past.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, theWest confronted terrorists who acted like, well, terrorists. In Iraqand Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and other militant groups relied on am-bushes, roadside bombings, sniper fire and the occasional “fire andrun” mortar or rocket attack to inflict casualties on U.S. forces.

When terrorists were stupid enough to come out of theshadows, they fought as a mob of individuals. One rip of aKalashnikov or a single launch of a rocket-propelled grenadewas enough. If they stood to reload, they risked annihilationat the hands of their disciplined, well-trained and heavilyarmed American opponents.

Today, it’s different. We see Islamist fighters becoming skilledsoldiers. The thrust of the Islamic State down the Euphrates Riverillustrates a style of warfare that melds old and new. U.S. sol-diers fighting in Iraq used to say: “Thank God they can’t shoot.”Well, now they can. They maneuver in reasonably disciplinedformations, often aboard pickup trucks and captured IraqiHumvees. They employ mortars and rockets in deadly barrages.To be sure, parts of the old terrorist playbook remain: Theybutcher and execute prisoners to make unambiguously clear theterrible consequences of resistance. They continue to display aneager willingness for death and the media savvy of the “propa-ganda of the deed.” We see these newly formed pseudo-armiesemerging across the Levant as well. The Darwinian process ofwartime immersion has forced them to either get better or die.

Some observers of the transformation admit that Hezbollahnow is among the most skilled light infantry on the planet. Andnow there is Hamas. Gone are the loose and fleeting groups offighters seen during Operation Cast Lead in 2008. In Gaza theyhave been fighting in well-organized, tightly bound teams underthe authority of connected, well-informed commanders.

Units stand and fight from building hideouts and tunnel en-trances. They wait for the Israelis to pass by before ambushingthem from the rear. Like Hezbollah and the Islamic State, theyare getting good with second-generation weapons such as theRussian RPG-29 and, according to as-yet-unconfirmed reportsfrom the fighting in Gaza, wire-guided anti-tank missiles. Thesefighters are now well-armed, well-trained and well-led and areoften flush with cash to buy or bribe their way out of difficulties.While the story of the disintegration of the Iraqi army is multi-causal, the fact that it was never trained to face such an opponentas competent as the Islamic State was certainly a factor.

This frightening new age is emerging due to several factors thatneither the United States nor Israeli forces anticipated. First is theinfluence of foreign fighters. Iranian advisers throughout the MiddleEast are getting better at their craft. Radicalized fighters from theChechen and Bosnian conflicts serve Islamic State forces as men-tors. The terrorists of the last decade generated one-shot suicidebombers of little strategic consequence. Now they have learned tobuild fighting units and teach weapons and tactics very well.

—Courtesy: Washington Post.[Robert H. Scales, a retired Army major general, is a formercommandant of the U.S. Army War College. Douglas A. Ollivantis a fellow at the New America Foundation’s Future of Warproject].

JAKARTA—As Indonesia celebrates reformistJakarta governor Joko Widodo winning thepresidential election, it also marks the rise ofhis deputy governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama,who takes over from him. Purnama, 48, is thefirst ethnic Chinese to become the governor ofIndonesia’s capital Jakarta, a teeming metropoli-tan in the world’s largest Muslim nation of 245million people.

The ascent of geologist and businessmanPurnama, nicknamed Ahok (pronounced as AhHock), underscores how far Indonesia has comein the country’s struggle to break from its au-thoritarian and racially charged past where, just16 years ago, ethnic Chinese were targets of mobviolence in an orgy of burning, looting, rape andmurder when riots erupted across the country.

“With the advance of democracy, we havebecome less conscious of differences so that thepresence of Ahok and others like him in politi-cal positions has become natural,” says well-respected former environment minister SarwonoKusumaatmadja. “People are increasingly awarethat people should be judged on merit.”

A Hakka and Protestant, Ahok was born inManggar, East Belitung in Sumatra island, onJune 29, 1966. He is the first of four children.His late father, Kim Nam, was a tin and sandminer who was known for his philanthropy. Inan interview with the Jakarta Post last year,Ahok revealed that he inherited three islandsfrom his late father. The islands are registeredunder his mother’s name. Ahok came to Jakartato attend high school and earned a bachelor’s

Jakarta welcomes first ethnic Chinese governordegree in Geology from the Trisakti University,which is patronised by the country’s upper-middle class.

In his personal website, he says he enteredpolitics to fight corruption as bureaucrats had madeit difficult for him to set up a quartz sand com-pany. In his earlier days, frustrated with obstaclesto his business venture by a corrupt bureaucracy,he wanted to give up and move abroad but his fa-ther asked him to stay, according to Ahok’s per-sonal website. His father told Ahok that one day,the people would vote for him to fight for them,which he found difficult to believe at that time.Ahok’s personal experience with corruption hasmade fighting corruption, transparency and ac-countability a cornerstone of his administration.

He gave out his personal mobile phone num-ber to the public for them to contact him if theyhad any issues that needed to be addressed.

In the first few months, his phone receivedat least 5,000 text messages every week.

Ahok would pick up the calls himself atnight after he had finished dealing with officialmatters, according to his office staff.

He also disclosed his personal wealth onlinealong with details on how Jakarta’s budget isspent for greater transparency and accountabil-ity to taxpayers. “Since Ahok came to the pub-lic eye, I feel there is a more positive percep-tion of ethnic Chinese,” says Syafik Alielha, asocial activist and book publisher. The deepen-ing economic crisis of 1998, which threw mil-lions out of work, fuelled anger against the Chi-nese who make up about 2 per cent of the popu-

lation but who were often perceived as control-ling a disproportionate amount of the country’swealth. The mayhem that started on May 13,1998, occurred against a background of mas-sive anti-government demonstrations, adding tothe pressure that forced the late PresidentSuharto to resign a week later on May 21 afterhaving ruled with an iron fist for 32 years. But,as Indonesians learnt the hard way, the oustingof a long-running autocratic leader is only thefirst step in the long march to reforms. A post-Suharto Indonesia became a democracy in themaking as multi-party and direct presidentialelections were held.

Despite the high voter turnout in everydemocratic election that has been held since1999, it failed to uproot the country’s corruptbureaucracy and institutions. When Ahok agreedto be the running mate of Joko in the Jakartagubernatorial elections in 2012, racial slurs werethrown at him in a race which many did not ex-pect them to win as it had traditionally gone topoliticians with massive wealth and connections.

Ahok and Joko had neither a huge war chestnor connections to big business, the military orelite families. For Jakarta residents fed up with-decades-long cronyism and corrupt administra-tions, the pair represented a clean break fromthe past, a clean slate on which to write a newand better future. And Jakarta voted them in.

Ahok took over from JOko earlier this yearwhen he campaigned for the July 9 presidentialelections. Straightforward and hard-working, hehas shaken up Jakarta, earning both praise and

brickbats for his no-nonsense style.He threatened to fire the city’s transporta-

tion administration for corruption during a sur-prise visit to their office a few weeks ago. Videoclips of him losing his temper on inefficient civilservants have gone viral with viewers express-ing support for his action. “I love Ahok,” en-thuses Okki Soebagio, a Jakarta businessman.

“Now the civil service don’t dare to be lazyor corrupt because Ahok will fire them. “Himbeing Chinese is not an issue at all. We havelong passed that. And as a Jakarta resident, Ibelieve I represent many of the people here.”

Under Ahok, Okki believes Jakarta can betransformed into a modern city with well-de-veloped infrastructure like Malaysia and HongKong. In a country dominated by the gentle andpolite Javanese culture, Ahok’s bluntness is seenas abrasive by some. Human rights lawyer FransWinarta, who is also an ethnic Chinese, cringesat some of Ahok’s straight-talking and jokes.

“During a TV interview, when askedwhether or not he is ready to be Jakarta gover-nor, Ahok joked he was ready to be the vice-president,” Winarta recalls. “Such bluntnesscould be perceived as arrogance. He needs totone down. But the young generation do lovehim.” Winarta has long called for ethnic Chi-nese to be sensitive towards the feelings of themajority, to be humble and polite at all times, ashe is mindful of the long-held perception of thecommunity being arrogant. The reform era inIndonesia has seen discriminatory laws beingrevoked—ANN.

TRIPOLI—More than 13,000Filipino workers are still in thestrife-torn country despite be-ing urged by the government toleave. Thousands of Filipinooverseas workers refuse toleave strife-torn Libya despitean urgent call from their gov-ernment to get out while theystill can, warning that the re-maining exit routes are closingfast.

The Department of ForeignAffairs (DFA) issued a state-ment on Saturday saying itaimed to get all of the morethan 13,000 Filipino workersout of Libya after foreign sec-retary Albert del Rosario, inneighbouring Tunisia to coor-dinate evacuations, reportedthat the Tunisia-Libya mainborder crossing was closed onFriday following the shootingof a Tunisian police officerthere during violence thaterupted as thousands ofstranded Egyptian and foreignnationals tried to break throughthe passage.

A border crossing to Egypthas also been closed formonths, Del Rosario said.“This narrowed our options. Allthe major airports in Libya areclosed. Our only avenue wouldbe to take the ocean, which ne-cessitates ships,” Del Rosariosaid by phone on Saturday. Inthe statement issued by theDFA on Saturday, Del Rosariourged Filipinos to leave Libya,convince their friends and fel-low workers to accept thegovernment’s repatriation offerand get out now, as the remain-ing exit routes were closing fastwith the escalation of violenceand lawlessness.

Del Rosario said that inaddition to the 800 Filipinoswho had been repatriated, 800others had been listed as will-ing to be flown back to Manila.As for the rest, Del Rosariosaid: “We are having the sameproblem that we had in 2011.It’s difficult to convince people

BANGKOK—The country’s two largestpolitical parties, as well as the People’sDemocratic Reform Committee (PDRC),will likely not nominate anyone from theirorganisations as candidates for the junta-selected National Reform Council (NRC).

Politicians from the Democrat and PheuThai parties, as well as the smaller RakPrathet Thai Party said yesterday the possi-bility was very slim for their parties to join.The process for nomination starts on August9. Ekanat Promphan, spokesperson of thePDRC, said while there has been no discus-sion amongst PDRC leaders about the mat-ter, his personal view is that the PDRC neednot send anyone to join the reform councilas it wasn’t the PDRC’s objective. Ekanatsaid the PDRC had been demanding reformsand would support the council by giving

Big political parties steer clear ofThailand’s reform council

advice and believed that junta leader Gen-eral Prayuth Chan-ocha was sincere in push-ing for reform. He said the PDRC would alsokeep a close eye on the process. Ekanat addedthat it was the right of some academics whohad taken part in PDRC activities to join theNRC if nominated.

He also warned that it may be prema-ture for some politicians to become mem-bers of the reform council as allowed bythe junta’s order No 119, as it may lead topoliticians pushing for reforms that ben-efit them. Even if they are chosen, thenumber of politicians within the NRCshould be limited so they can be controlled.Democrat Party deputy leader NipitIntrasombat, meanwhile, said the party hadnot discussed the matter, as political partymeetings and activities have been banned

by the National Council for Peace andOrder (NCPO). Nipit added that the can-celling of state funding to political partieswas taxing to the party, which has 200branches and regular expenditure.

He said Democrat Party leader AbhisitVejjajiva had stated earlier that it wouldnot nominate anyone to join the reformcouncil but would provide advice to theNCPO on a regular basis instead. He notedthat it was unclear if Abhisit’s stance hadsince changed and acknowledged differ-ing views within the party on the matterand the need to meet and discuss about it.Udomdej Rattanasatien, formerNonthaburi MP for the Pheu Thai Party,said the party would not nominate anyone,as the party wants to play a role on thedemocratic path.—ANN.

Thousands Filipino workersspurn order to flee Libya

to leave.”He said most of theFilipino migrant workers werereluctant to leave because theyfeared they would be joblessback home. But he stressed theurgency of the need to leaveLibya now, “as the avenues ofrepatriation are quickly dimin-ishing.”

He said around 50 Filipinoworkers from Tripoli who wereabout to cross the border toTunisia on Friday night werestranded there along with otherforeign nationals after the Tu-nisian government shut downthe passage due to the violence.Del Rosario said the Tunisiangovernment blamed the vio-lence on the Egyptians, whotried to force their way in. Butthe Filipinos managed to crossthe border and they reached thePhilippine Embassy in Tunis onSaturday morning (Tunisiantime) after the Philippine gov-ernment secured a “special dis-pensation” from the Tunisiangovernment, Del Rosario said.

“What we (did) was get intouch with the senior officials (at)the foreign ministry of Tunisia. Iasked for a special dispensationfor our people,” he said.“Ourpeople were cleared and they arenow safe,” he added. The Filipi-nos had traveled 18 hours fromTripoli to the border and they haddecided to stay there after theborder was shut down because itwas too dangerous to return tothe capital.

Del Rosario said the Phil-ippine Embassy in Tripoli hadchartered a ship for the evacua-tion of the Filipino migrantworkers. The ship, which couldcarry up to 1,500 people, is setto sail from Malta in two daysto pick up Filipinos from theports of Benghazi, Misrata andpossibly Tripoli, Del Rosariosaid. He said the owner of a shipengaged by the embassy earlierhad backed out. “Fortunately wewere able to finalise a contractverbally with (another ship-owner in) Malta—ANN.

NEW DELHI—India’s chargesheet in the26/11 Mumbai attack case that ran intoover 11,000 pages had just one paragraphon Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant organi-zation New Delhi blames to behind theattacks, and scant reference to ISI.

According to a book set to be pub-lished shortly, the chargesheet also leftseveral other lacunae that thoroughlydisappointed many, including ChikakoTaya, a former Japanese judge who wason the International Criminal Tribunalfor former Yugoslavia (ICTY). JusticeTaya studied the Mumbai attack caseas part of an effort to see if it can becovered under ‘joint criminal enterprise’(JCE), to prosecute those in Pakistanwho orchestrated the terror strike un-der an international tribunal. “(With itsflimsy chargesheet) The prosecutionrelieved the real criminals behind theactual crime. The name of ISI does not

figure in the chargesheet and conse-quentially the name did not figure in thejudgment. As it is said, the LeT is alsoscantily defined in the chargesheet. Theterror organization did not draw muchindictment from the court,” the booksays.

According to ‘Fragile Frontiers:The Secret History of Mumbai TerrorAttacks’, by Saroj Kumar Rath, whenJustice Taya visited the 26/11 attackspecial public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikamin Mumbai, she was surprised to see thatthe lawyer in India’s most importantterrorism case had no clue of JCE, aconcept that had been innovatively ap-plied by ICTY recently. “Why was theLeT not adequately dealt in thechargesheet, asked Justice Taya? Nikamanswered that ‘it has adequately beendealt in the chargesheet’. Justice Tayaprotested and said only one paragraph

in the entire chargesheet was devotedto LeT.

Nikam explained that as a criminallawyer he was well versed in criminalproceeding of the case. As he was outof the investigation team, he did nothave much information and the unionhome ministry might have more infor-mation, which would satisfy the questof his visitor,” the book says. The bookgoes on to raise several questions overthe way the investigations into the 26/11 attacks was handled, and the veryshallow chargesheet filed in the case.“The entire 11,280-page chargesheetbasically dealt with the loss of lives andproperty in the aftermath of Mumbaiattacks. The entire chargesheet is a com-pilation of the post mortem report of166 persons, oral testimony of 2,202persons, detail of loss of property, bal-listic evidence of blasts and firing, and

details about the materials carried bythe terrorist to the attacks sites,” thebook says.

When Justice Taya met Nikam, thebook says: “Justice Taya started askingquestion after question on the role ofthe ISI, the Pakistan army and the LeTin Mumbai attack. All questions wereeither deflected or answered in the nega-tive by Nikam. On the question of theLeT and the ISI, Nikam admitted hislimitation and asked how he could in-vestigate a matter which came under thejurisdiction of Pakistan.” The book isalso highly critical of the voluminousjudgment delivered in the case, point-ing out that it was a compilation of“lofty words and hyperbole, which lackssubstance and true wisdom.” But to agreat extent the blame, the book says,is with the poor evidence presented andweak prosecution.—KD

India’s 11,000-page chargesheet onMumbai attack has one para on LeT

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Minister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif has said that there is no roomfor protest politics in the country and only sucha long march is needed as is aimed at progressand prosperity of the masses. He said that Paki-stan is on the road to progress and developmentunder the leadership of Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif and the enlightenedpeople of the country will totally reject thoseelements who want to create hurdles in this pro-cess.

He said that Punjab government has evolvedan unprecedented welfare and revolutionaryprogramme in the form of the biggest develop-ment budget in the history of the province. Hesaid that record funds of 345 billion rupees havebeen allocated for development schemes out ofwhich 119 billion rupees will be spent for thedevelopment and uplift of south Punjab whichwill usher in a new era of progress in this re-gion.

He expressed these views while talking toassembly members of various districts and del-egations of Pakistan Muslim League-N inMurree. The Chief Minister said that politics ofPakistan Muslim League-N is aimed at serviceto the people and raising the living standard ofthe deprived segments of the society and for this

purpose, mega development projects are beingcompleted expeditiously throughout the prov-ince.

He said the government is determined tomake Punjab a model province and every pennyof public money is being spent on the progressand development of the province in a transpar-ent manner.

He said that a target of eight percent annualgrowth rate has been fixed for the next four yearsand all departments, public representatives andgovernment functionaries will have to work withcommitment and efficiency for its achievement.Shahbaz Sharif said that problems like povertyand unemployment can be overcome throughpromotion of investment, construction activitiesand rapid industrialization and the governmenthas adopted an effective strategy for this pur-pose.

He said maximum facilities are being givento investors while all out measures are beingtaken for the promotion of construction activi-ties and development of industrial sector. He saidthat a target of creation of 40 lakh job opportu-nities has been fixed for the next four years andit will be achieved at any cost. He said thatPakistan’s future is linked with vocational edu-cation and a skilled workforce can be preparedthrough promotion of technical education tomeet the market needs.

No room for protestpolitics: Shahbaz

He told that Abdul Rauf of the Punjab EliteForce confessed before the Joint InvestigationTeam that 469 rounds of short machine gun werefired and 59 fires of G-3 during the Model.“There were some 80,000 to 1,00,000 (1 lac)PAT workers who could seize Islamabad airporton my directions, but we did not resort to thatviolent move,” said the PAT chief.

Qadri exhorted that, “If we wanted we couldhave show you (I am referring the Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif and Punjab CM ShahbazSharif) our power at Jati Umra and Raiwand.But we refrained from any such act mainly forthe sake of peace.

Our army is fighting against terrorists;therefore we did not want to disturb peace inthe country and particularly saved Punjab fromanarchy.The PAT Chief also held Punjab Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif responsible for the carnage inLahore at the Minhaj-ul-Quran secretariat. Qadriclaimed that Sharif’s involvement was evidentin the phone call-recordings which he will makepublic when the time comes.

Dr. Tahirul Qadri added that the rulers havelet the accused police officers run away fromthe country. He said we followed the path ofconstitution and the law and submitted a peti-tion for the registration of an FIR against thenominated persons.

The PAT Chief said that the constitution

and rule of law was nonexistent in Pakistan.He inquired from western countries that if anincident similar to the Lahore tragedy occurredwouldn’t the government of their country re-sign.

He warned Punjab police not to become aparty and added that any operation conductedon Youm-e-Shuhda would be an invitation for‘Damadam Must Qalandar’.

He further said the government has refusedthe bail plea for elderly who have been arrestedby law enforcers.

“Families of those killed in Model Townincident have been visiting courts and police sta-tions, but there are not being listened. They areeven denied their FIRs,” he added. Further, hesaid, August 4 to August 9 will be observed as aweek of martyrs. Qadri said that they plan tohold the ceremony of Youm-e-Shuhada at theMinhajul Quran Secretariat but if the police tryto stop activists from doing so, they would holdit at Jati Umra, the residence of the Sharif fam-ily, instead.

It is pertinent to mention here that on June17, at least 14 PAT workers were killed and doz-ens of others injured in violent clashes betweenparty activists and policemen in Lahore. Theconfrontation had started when a 15-member po-lice team tried to remove barriers in front of PATchief Dr Tahirul Qadri’s house and the MinhajInternational Secretariat.

Sitting leaders to be oustedFrom Page 1

In the part of the city clos-est to the fighting, an artilleryshell hit a school overnight, butno one was reported hurt.

“The shell went through theroof and exploded inside thebuilding, setting off a fire, butwe still don’t know who firedit,” said Dmitry Levonchik, a45-year-old coal miner. “Whoneeds this war? What are theyfighting for?” The sound of gun-fire and explosions was heardjust to the west.—AFP

Ukraine’s armyFrom Page 1

Director of Operations in the Gaza Strip forthe UN Relief and Works Agency for Pales-tine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), andDr.Ambrogio Manenti, acting Head of Office ofthe UN World Health Organization (WHO) op-erations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Government forces retreated in the face ofthe onslaught, with peshmerga troops fillingthe vacuum and seizing long-coveted areasdisputed by the Kurds and Baghdad, includ-ing the oilfields.The peshmerga are widely perceived asIraq’s best organised and most efficient mili-tary force but the autonomous Kurdish re-gion in the north has been cash-strapped andits troops stretched.

According to a senior official, a Kurdishdelegation is currently in the United Statesto demand military support. “There is USpressure on the Kurdish administration en-couraging them to fight the terrorists,”Kurdish commentator Aref Qarbani said.“In return, the US administration would givethem guarantees to equip peshmerga forcesand acknowledge the new Kurdish reality onthe ground,” he said.

Iraq’s Kurdistan region has expanded byaround 40 percent on the back of the chaoscaused by the IS offensive.In equally intense overnight fighting on themain front south of Baghdad, at least 23 pro-government forces were killed by relentlessmortar shelling of their positions in Jurf al-Sakhr.

IS militants began attacking the town lateFriday, killing 11 soldiers and 12 membersof the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, an officerand army medic said.Another seven soldiers were wounded dur-

ing a subsequent government operationagainst jihadist fighters in Jurf al-Sakhr, Al-Hamya and Latifiya, the sources said, report-ing 37 IS fighters killed.

Using the western city of Fallujah as arear base, jihadists have repeatedly attackedJurf al-Sakhr, where pro-government forceswant to prevent a foray that would exposethe nearby holy Shiite city of Karbala andfurther encircle Baghdad.In other attacks on Saturday, five would-bevolunteer fighters were kil led and 16wounded in a suicide car bomb attack on aShiite militia recruitment centre in Balad,north of Baghdad, police said.

Further north in Samarra, a Sunni-domi-nated city with a heavy militia presence pro-tecting one of the holiest sites in Shiite Is-lam, two policemen were killed in a road-side bomb blast, police and medical sourcessaid.And further up the same main northboundroad, in the town of Daquq, an air raid de-signed to head off an IS attack resulted inthe deaths of six civilians, a top health offi-cial said.

The UN envoy in Iraq, NickolayMladenov, expressed concern on Friday overthe high number of civilians being killed inIraq’s conflict.According to the United Nations, 1,186 ci-vilians were among 1,737 people who diedin violence across the country in July.—AFP

Islamic State seizes northernFrom Back Page

According to the United Nations, at leastfive medical staff have been killed in the lineof duty and tens of others have been injured.At least 40 per cent of medical staff are un-able to get to their places of work such as clin-ics and hospitals due to widespread violenceand at least half of all public health primarycare clinics are closed.

Health catastrophe quicklyFrom Back Page

Miliband demandsFrom Back Page

said he was “gravely con-cerned” by the number of ci-vilian casualties from Israel´smilitary operation in Gaza.

“The British public has astrong sense that the situationof the civilian population inGaza is intolerable and must beaddressed — and we agree withthem,” he told the newspaper. “It’s a broad swathe of Britishpublic opinion that feels deeplydisturbed by what it is seeingon its television screens,” headded.

The former defence minis-ter acknowledged the concernsof both Hamas and Israel, butinsisted that they could not beallowed to stand in the way ofa humanitarian ceasefire. “Wehave to get the killing to stop,”he told the paper.

An Israeli army spokesmanon Sunday told AFP that it hadbegun withdrawing someground troops from the GazaStrip and redeploying others,but operations against Hamaswould continue.—Agencies

return. More than 30 tunnelsand dozens of access shaftshave been unearthed and werebeing blown up. “We have pro-ceeded with the mission in or-der to eliminate those (tunnels)that we have found and we ex-pect to complete that within ashort period of time, probablywithin the next 24 hours or so,”he said.

Israel began its air and na-val offensive against Gaza onJuly 8 following a surge ofcross-border rocket salvoes byHamas and other guerrillas,later escalating the operationinto ground incursions. Thefighting on Sunday pushed theGaza death toll given by Pal-estinian officials to 1,726, mostof them civilians. Israel hasconfirmed that 64 soldiers havedied in combat, while Palestin-ian rockets have also killedthree civilians in Israel.

At least 30 Palestinians inRafah were killed by Israelifire on Sunday, including ninefrom the same family, hospi-tal officials said.

30 PalestiniansFrom Page 1

were no big deal, PTI workers were readyto lay down their lives for the cause theyhad been struggling for.

He said he would hold a press confer-ence in a couple of days and put the lid offon how the general elections of 2013 wererigged. The PTI chief said 71 cases werepending in courts against Sharif family andthat he is not a businessman who wouldwant to cut a deal with anyone.

Highlighting the differences betweena monarchy and a democracy, Khan saidthat in a democracy the system is basedon merit, the ruler is accountable under thelaw and does not spend tax money on one-self instead of the nation, contrary to theworkings of the Sharif government. Ad-dressing his party workers, Khan clarifiedthat he will not end his long march andreturn from the federal capital till the for-mation of a ‘naya‘ Pakistan.

Khan went on to warn the governmentthat if it attempted to stop his march orput him under house arrest, he would shut

down the whole country. “It is our consti-tutional right to protest,” said Imran. Urg-ing party workers to step out in large num-bers, Imran assured them that all securityarrangements had been made for their pro-tection. Claiming that this is a decisive mo-ment for Pakistan, Khan said that he willnot strike a deal with the government norwill he call off his march. The PTI chiefsaid that upon reaching Islamabad, hewould provide the government with a fewoptions. Further, he said, re-electionswould be conducted under a transparentelectoral process.

Further, Khan said that he will hold aseries of press conferences, the first oneon August 5 to reveal the constituencieswhich were rigged during the general elec-tions, a second near August 10 to revealhow the Pakistan Muslim League–N car-ried out the rigging and a third to namethe people involved. The PTI leadershiphas already slammed the door on negotia-tions with the government. Instead, the

party has begun mobilising its supportersfor the ‘Azadi’ march at Islamabad’s D-Chowk on August 14.

Imran Khan vowed to end what hetermed is the ‘Sharif family monarchy’ inthe country through his party’s ‘Azadimarch’ scheduled for August 14. He saidthe sit-in will not end until a ‘new Paki-stan’ is made. Khan said there was no realdemocracy in Pakistan but a monarchy ofPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif. “The timefor this fake government is over, we willnot rest until re-elections take place,” saidKhan to a charged audience. The PTI chiefalleged that the Sharif family was involvedin corruption and blamed them for steal-ing taxpayers’ money. “Hyde Park flat ofNawaz Sharif’s son is worth Rs7 billionwhile Mayfair apartment is of Rs5 billion… where did you get this money from,Mian sahib?” he questioned.

“I am a taxpayer, I am asking you 20years ago you had nothing. Where did allthis money and property come from?”

Will shut whole country if arrested: ImranFrom Page 1

He said said Imran Khan, TahirulQadri and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussainwould be responsible for maintainingpeace during their planned protest rallies.Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and PakistanAwami Tehreek have announced demon-strations against the current government,garnering support from various politicalparties. PTI is scheduled to march towardsIslamabad on August 14.

Talking to the media at a flag hoistingceremony held in connection with Inde-pendence Day celebrations, Rashid saidPakistan Muslim League-N believes inachieving political motives through demo-cratic ways and not protests. In responseto Qadri’s latest press conference wherehe claimed the PML-N governments inPunjab and the Centre will be ousted inAugust, Rashid said these threateningstatements are devoid of substance.

The information minister said the PAT

leader was conspiring with the Chaudhryswho had supported a dictator in the past.“Qadri is head of tax evaders and he willsoon run away to his home in Canada,”Rashid added.

“The politics of revolution was takingits last breathes,” the Information Minis-ter said.

Remembering the struggle of 1947and paying tribute to those who laiddown their lives for the creation of Pa-kistan, Rashid said Muslim Leaguemembers fought for Pakistan under theleadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah andthey will make Pakistan a better placeunder the guidance of Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif. “Our forefathers hadtaken part in the freedom struggle andwe will not let those sacrifices gowaste,” said the information ministerwhile praising PML-N party membersfor their struggle for democracy and

overwhelming support during last year’sgeneral elections.

Rashid called on supporters of otherpolitical parties to learn from PML-N andnot take part in destructive politics. “Thisis no more the old Pakistan where the di-vide between the rich and the poor wasvery deep; today, common people enjoysimilar luxuries as those from the privi-leged class,” he said, pointing out the metrobus projects introduced by PML-N gov-ernment.

Meanwhile, at a media briefing onSunday, Federal State Minister for Waterand Power Abid Sher Ali accused ImranKhan of collaborating with the Taliban andsaid he is dividing the nation. “It is theTaliban who is organising the long Marchand Imran Khan is speaking their lan-guage,” Sher Ali told reporters. Abid fur-ther said that the PML-N stands by thePakistan military.

Imran will be responsible if ‘AzadiFrom Page 1

Indian exporters are now in turmoil.Thaver urged the federal commerce min-

ister Engineer Khurram Dastagir to actpromptly and make arrangements with Iranfor receiving payment in Pakistani rupees forall exports to Iran to enable the Pakistanibasmati rice exporters regain their lost mar-ket as this is an opportunity and every effortmust be made to re-enter the Iranian mar-ket.

The Iranian consumers like Pakistani su-per basmati rice which is aromatic, tasty,elongates on cooking and long in length andgood looking.

For several years the Pakistani rice hasbeen in great demand in Iran but due to

hurdles created by the dollar regime, the Ira-nian buyers were unable to remit the value.

The UNISAME chief said although thereare no sanctions on food and medicine yetthe international agency for money transac-tions blocked all remittances from Iran andcaused tremendous setback to Iran and Pa-kistani basmati rice exporters to Iran

He said Pakistan tried for currency swapagreement with Iran but it is believed thatPakistan was restrained to enter any suchagreement.

However UNISAME expects the minis-try of commerce will take up the matter withthe ministry of finance and make necessaryarrangements forthwith.

Iran imposes import dutyFrom Page 1

the projects in pipeline, the country will need toset up cheaper fuel based energy projects to over-come the shortage of energy.

The Finance Minister said “we must be realis-tic and pragmatic at this stage of planning for thefuture demand and frame our policies for futureinvestment in the light of that demand”. He laidemphasis on improving energy mix to bring downgeneration price which will facilitate the peopleand industry. He stressed that instead of furnaceoil based power projects focus should be on hydeland coal powered projects. He added that interna-tional investors including Chinese companies areinterested in financing energy projects and weshould make integrated plan for the long term toovercome our immediate and future needs.

The Finance Minister observed that the Min-

istry of Water and Power must take the recov-ery side seriously and ensure payment by prov-inces and reconcile outstanding amount within60 days, as per decisions made by CCI in itslast meeting. He hoped that the Ministry will beable to frame policies with the aim to improvesituation on both short and long term basis.

The Minister for Water and Power KhawajaAsif informed the meeting that the Ministryduring the last one year improved on all aspectsof power including generation, transmission,distribution and recovery. He added that withthe focus of political leadership on cheaper fuelbased power the power mix will improve sig-nificantly. The assured the participants that thepriority list for future projects will be determinedkeeping in view the right energy mix.

Dar finalizes power projectsFrom Page 1

this relationship to the economic sphere, whereit can be almost a partnership,” Kenyan For-eign Minister Amina Mohamed told AFP.Shikwati, director of Kenya-based economicthink tank the Inter Region Economic Network,argues Washington is trying to “reframe” en-gagement with Africa given the “new competi-tor China” which has been “very visible” withlarge-scale infrastructure projects.

“China’s massive infrastructure projectskind of dwarf the American effort,” said Chris-topher Wood, from the South African Instituteof International Affairs.

“I think we are seeing increasingly an ef-fort by the US to try and get back into that game,for example, attempts to develop energy capac-ity on the continent.”

While past US engagement has focused on“talking about democracy and human rights,”Shikwati said he expected Washington wouldnow “temper that with some solid projects thata camera can capture... like some big dam thatsupplies power.”

Others argue it is wrong to exaggerate eco-nomic competition between Washington andBeijing.

“This oft-repeated and inaccurate platitudemisrepresents both current geopolitical realitiesand commercial opportunities,” said DaneErickson, from the University of Colorado, writ-

US woos Africa as rivals eyeFrom Back Page

ing in The American Interest magazine.The two nations often focus on different

economic sectors, and it is in fact EU nationsthat offer the larger challenge.

“A more sober analysis of two areas of fo-cus for the US-Africa Leaders Summit — tradeand investment, and security — shows just howmuch how US, Chinese, and African interestsalign in key policy areas,” Erickson added.

Indeed, he argues China’s role may actu-ally boost trade for the US.

“Chinese infrastructure investments — ona continent in dire need of more roads, bridges,and ports to support growing economies andpopulations — can benefit Africans, Americans,and other foreign investors,” Erickson added.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult for aninternational executive to do business in Africatoday without driving on a Chinese-constructedroad, meeting in a Chinese-built conference cen-tre, or shipping materials on a Chinese-maderailway.”

For Africa, competition on the continent inthe “quest to grab the African pie” offers oppor-tunities as well as risks, argues Shikwati.

“Competition gives African countries theleverage to negotiate and get what they want,”Shikwati said, while also recalling the warningsfrom history that foreigners can end up “cuttingthe pie for themselves.” —AFP

Mazin dismissed the alle-gations that Saudi Arabia andUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)are funding Israel to eliminateHamas. He pointed out thatSaudi Arabia has always beena benevolent supporter of Pal-estinians and King Abdullahdonated generously for op-pressed people of Palestine.Syed Vicaruddin, chairman,Indo-Arab LeagueHyderabad, presented acheque of Rs.25 lakh to theambassador of towards finan-cial aid for the Palestinians inGaza. The money will be usedto purchase clothes, medi-cines and other essential com-modities for the Palestiniansin relief camps.

Vicaruddin said the issue ofPalestinian suffering was abovethe divides of religion, creed andnationality. —KD

Clear Indian standFrom Page 1

India-France missiledevelopment plan in

troubled watersNEW DELHI—An India-France proposed joint ventureexpected to be worth aroundRs 30,000 crore to developshort range air defence mis-siles seems to have run intorough weather as Indian AirForce feels that its require-ments could be met by indig-enous Akash surface-to-airmissile weapon system. Theproposed joint venture isplanned between DRDO andthe French missile manufac-turer MBDA under which theywere planning to produceshort-range surface-to-air mis-sile (SR-SAM) systems for theIndian Air Force for the Maitriprogramme.

The Akash air defencemissile system has alreadybeen developed by the DRDOindigenously and its develop-ment trials were completedsuccessfully by the agency inOdisha recently.

The SR-SAM is alsoplanned to be a project in thesame class, highly placedsources said here. The IAFfeels that when the indigenoussystem meets the requirementsof the force, then there is norequirement for importing orco-developing a similar sys-tem, they said.

The IAF has alreadyplaced orders for eight squad-rons of the Akash surface-to-air missile and it would requireto place orders for another 25squadrons of the weapon sys-tems to meet its complete re-quirement of air defence mis-siles of this range, the sourcessaid.

The induction would alsosave a lot of foreign exchangeand help in expanding the indig-enous missile production indus-try in view of the large ordersto be placed, they said.—PTI

Published by: Zahid Malik from Ali Akbar House Markaz G-8, Islamabad and printed by Gauhar Zahid Malik at Al Umar Printers

NAIROBI —African leaders head to Washing-ton for a landmark US summit this week, withPresident Barack Obama hoping to boost trade,development and security ties amid growingcompetition from China on the continent.

China overtook the United States as Africa’slargest trading partner five years ago, withBeijing’s trade now worth more than $200 billion(150 billion euros) a year, double that of Wash-ington.

But while the US is playing catch-up, ex-perts say it is wrong to view the situation as adirect competition between the two powers,since China’s investments potentially boost UStrade and their companies are focused on differ-ent sectors. “The Obama administration hascome under increasing pressure from the com-mercial sector to prioritise Africa policy. ThisUS-Africa summit is more a response to this thana direct beauty contest with China,” said AlexVines, from Britain’s Chatham House think tank.

US woos Africa as rivals eye economic growth

Israel ‘spiedon Kerryduringpeace talks’BERLIN —Israel eavesdropped on USSecretary of State JohnKerry during doomed peacetalks with the Palestinianslast year, German newsweekly Der Spiegel reportedSunday. The article said theIsraelis and at least one othersecret service listened in onKerry’s conversations as hetried to mediate, in a develop-ment that Der Spiegel saidwas likely to further strainties between Israel and theUnited States.—AFP

Mandela’s‘starving’cowsJOHANNESBURG—The provincialgovernment has stepped into save dozens of starvingcattle at the rural SouthAfrican home of NelsonMandela, the late anti-apartheid hero, a Sundaynewspaper reported. TheEastern Cape provincialgovernment last Fridaydelivered livestock feed fornearly 100 oxen that belongto the family of Mandela,South Africa’s first blackpresident, the Sunday Timesreported. This was after oneof the 97 cows had died ofstarvation, it said.—AFP

Mittal’s bidto buymountainin UKLONDON—Indian steel tycoonLakshmi Mittal has made abid to buy a mountain inBritain sparking protestsfrom the locals, mediareported. The London-based NRI businessmanhas bid over 1.75 millionpounds ($2.94 million) topurchase “Blencathra”mountain, also known asSaddleback, lying in NorthernFells mountain range inBritain’s Lake district, theDailymail reported onSaturday.—IANS

The International Monetary Fund says Af-rica is now growing faster than Asia.

“Africa now is a land of competition of Eu-rope, America, China, and even some Arabiancountries,” Rene Kouassi, director of economicaffairs at the African Union, told AFP.

The US has been keen to avoid any sugges-tion that the three-day summit opening Monday— dubbed the “largest single engagement” byany American president with Africa — is de-signed to challenge the role of other nations inthe continent.

“We welcome the attention Africa is receiv-ing from other countries like China, Brazil, Indiaand Turkey,” said Will Stevens, spokesman forthe US State Department’s Bureau of African Af-fairs. Although 50 heads of state were due totake part in the summit, several, including SierraLeone President Ernest Bai Koroma and LiberiaPresident Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, have already saidthey are not planning to go because of the ongo-

ing Ebola epidemic in their countries.The US, the world’s largest economy, is only

Africa’s third-largest trade partner after the Eu-ropean Union — some of whose members havepost-colonial ties with African nations — andChina, which is hungry for the continent’s natu-ral resources.

“We believe the more the merrier. But we alsothink that African countries should make surethat their relationships benefit their people –-and that they add value, not extract it,” Stevensadded. Redefining relationships with the conti-nent will be key, analysts say.

Africa is home to seven of the world’s fast-est-growing economies. Many hope to alter animage of a war-ravaged continent where foreignrelationships are based on aid alone.

“The focus is no longer on aid, on humani-tarian assistance... it’s long overdue, that we move

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—A police probe into therecent deaths of 38 at Karachi beachespinned the responsibility of the inci-dent on the city administration,sources said on Sunday.

A report presented by AdditionalInspector General, Karachi police,Ghulam Qadir Thebo to Inspector Gen-eral Ghulam Hyder Jamali said the cityadministration had not imposed Sec-tion 144 when bathers had flocked tothe sea, but had done so after reportsof the deaths surfaced. For this rea-son, the police was not authorised toprevent people from going to thebeach.

Sources quoting the report saidthat Section 144 — which bans a gath-ering of more than four people at oneplace — had expired, whereas the cityadministration issues the notificationfor Section 144 when the tide is high.

The report also states that onlythree out of the 34 swimmers drowned

Karachi city admin heldresponsible for beach deaths

Commission summons DHA, CCB, KMC heads

ARBIL (Iraq)—Islamic Statejihadist fighters seized twosmall oilfields in northernIraq on Saturday after afierce battle with Kurdishpeshmerga forces, Kurdishofficials said.

The jihadist attacklaunched late Friday on theZumar area, northwest ofMosul, Iraq’s second city,drew Kurdish forces deeperinto a conflict which hasraged for close to twomonths.

The jihadists “attackeda peshmerga post in Zumarand a fierce battle erupted,”said an official in the Patri-otic Union of Kurdistan(PUK), one of Iraq’s twomain Kurdish parties.

He told AFP that 14peshmerga fighters werekilled, a toll confirmed by asenior officer in the Kurdishforce.

Another two peshmergadied in fighting around anearby border crossing withSyria. The PUK official saidthe peshmerga killed“around 100” IS fighters andcaptured 38.

The officials said thepeshmerga fought off thejihadists, only to withdraw

Islamic State seizes northernoilfields in Iraq, Kurdish towns

later on Saturday, allowingIS fighters to take control ofthe area, which includes theAin Zalah and Batma fields.

“The two oilfields arenow under IS control,” anofficial with the North OilCo told AFP, adding thefields have a combined ca-pacity of 20,000 barrels perday. He said the site alsoincludes a small powerplant.

“Zumar and the sur-rounding region fell to

Daash, after they pulled outtoday,” Gayath Surchi, an-other PUK official, told re-porters, using the formerArabic acronym for thejihadists.

IS fighters, who run largeswathes of neighbouringSyria, launched a blisteringoffensive on June 9 that sawthem capture Mosul andmove into much of Iraq’sSunni heartland.

KABUL—An audit of votescast in Afghanistan’s presi-dential election resumedSunday without the backingof Abdullah Abdullah, oneof the two candidates, offi-cials said, as the fraud-tainted poll descended intofurther uncertainty.

The country’s firstdemocratic transfer of powerhas been engulfed in a dis-pute over alleged fraud,wrecking hopes that theelection would be seen as akey achievement of the US-led military and civilian aideffort since 2001.

Instead, the contest be-tween Abdullah, a formeranti-Taliban resistancefighter, and Ashraf Ghani,an ex-World Bank econo-mist, threatens to spark aspiral of instability as NATOtroops pull out and violenceincreases nationwide.

After Abdullah rejectedpreliminary results thatnamed Ghani as the winnerof the June 14 election, USSecretary of State JohnKerry flew to Kabul and per-suaded the two candidatesto agree to the audit to siftout fraudulent votes.

But the UN-supervisedprocess only triggered an-other outbreak of disagree-ments, and Abdullah’s cam-paign on Sunday refused torejoin after repeated stop-pages.

“The commission waited

Abdullah spurnsUS-brokered poll audit

yesterday and today, but weare half through the day andDr. Abdullah’s observers arenot here,” Noor MohammadNoor, the Independent Elec-tion Commission (IEC)spokesman, told reporters.

“We have decided tocontinue the audit withoutany further interruptions.”

More than eight millionvotes were cast on pollingday, but Abdullah quicklylodged claims that “indus-trial-scale” fraud had deniedhim victory.

“Our negotiations withthe UN over the audit areongoing,” his spokesmanMujib Rahman Rahimi toldAFP after the audit re-started, without giving anyfurther details.

The new president wasto have been inaugurated onAugust 2, but no new datehas been set — to the grow-ing frustration of many Af-ghans, the UN, NATO andforeign diplomats in Kabul.

A US State Departmentofficial said Saturday thatKerry had spoken to bothAbdullah and Ghani to reit-erate his support for the dealagreeing on a full audit aswell as formation of a unitygovernment after the result.

“He stressed the ur-gency ... of accelerating thepost-election audit andimplementing the politicalframework agreement,” theofficial said.— AP

BEIRUT—Eight Lebanese soldiers werekilled in clashes with gunmen in easternLebanon, near the border with Syria, whicherupted after a suspected jihadist was de-tained, the army said Sunday.

In a statement, the army said its opera-tions against the gunmen in the Arsal re-gion continued into Sunday morning, add-ing that “during the battles the army losteight martyrs and a number of others havebeen wounded.

“The clashes began on Saturday after-noon after soldiers arrested a Syrian manwho the army said admitted belonging toAl-Qaeda´s Syrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front.

Gunmen angered by the arrest sur-rounded army checkpoints in the region,

Gunmen attack Lebanon armycheck post, 8 soldiers killed

before opening fire on troops and storm-ing a police post in the town of Arsal, secu-rity sources said.

Two civilians were reported killed in thestorming of the police post, and local me-dia said the gunmen had also taken hos-tage a number of policemen, though therewas no immediate confirmation.

Earlier, the army said two soldiers hadbeen briefly held by the gunmen, beforetroops were able to free them. The armywarned of the seriousness of the situationand pledged to respond in a “decisive andfirm” manner.

“The army will not allow any party totransfer the battle from Syria to its territory(Lebanon),” it said.— AP

Health catastrophequickly unfolding

in Gaza: UNHAMEED SHAHEEN

ISLAMABAD —Weeks ofbloodiest fighting in Gazahas left medical services andfacilities there “on the vergeof collapse,” according tosenior United Nations offi-cials who warned that ahealth disaster of wide-spread proportions is rapidlyunfolding as the conflictgrinds on, a UN media notesaid Sunday.

“We are now looking ata health and humanitariandisaster”, warned James W.Rawley, the UN Humanitar-ian Coordinator in the occu-pied Palestinian territory,adding: “The fighting muststop immediately.”

This latest warningcomes in the wake of the col-lapse yesterday of a humani-tarian ceasefire brokered bythe United Nations and theUnited States, which led a“profoundly shocked anddisappointed” Secretary-General Ban Ki moon to statethat: “Instead of giving bothsides, especially Gazan civil-ians, a much needed reprieveto let them attend to their in-jured, bury their dead andrepair vital infrastructure,this breach of the ceasefireis now leading to a renewedescalation.”

Joining Mr. Rawley insounding the alarm about thelooming health catastropheas a result of the ongoingviolence are Robert Turner,

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

RawalpindiPAT office-

bearers resignfrom posts

,STAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Addressinga press conference inRawalpindi district office-bearers of the PakistanAwami Tehreek (PAT) ten-dered their resignations al-leging that party chief DrTahirul Qadri had incitedpeople to violence.

They added that call forslaughtering and physicalengagement with police-men was within the do-mains of decency.

The district post-bear-ers also claimed that theywere not consulted over DrTahirul Qadri’s press con-ference in Lahore addingthat the party chief tookdecisions without takingany one else into confi-dence.

The resigning officerssaid that calling for a headfor a head never broughtrevolutions adding thatthey were not in favour oftaking the law into theirown hands.

Five officials of PATRawalpindi who have re-signed include Senior VicePresident Habib-ur-Rehman Saifi, Vice Presi-dent Akhlaq Ahmad Jalali,Secretary InformationAllama Haider Alvi,Kamran Akhtar and RajaPervez Hashmat.

Miliband forunconditionalceasefire ofGaza war

LONDON—British ForeignSecretary Philip Hammondon Sunday demanded anunconditional ceasefire toresolve the “intolerable”situation in Gaza, addingthat the British public was“deeply disturbed” bywhat it was seeing.

Hammond, who tookover from William Haguelast month, told the Sun-day Telegraph that the kill-ing had to stop, having al-ready

Continued on Page 7Continued on Page 7

A Palestinian reacts as wounded and dead people lie on the ground following what witnesses said was an Israeli airstrike at a United Nations-run school, where displaced Palestinians take refuge in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip,on Sunday.

at Hawkesbay beach, while the resthad drowned from a portion of Cliftonbeach situated behind Dolmen Mall,Clifton. The police report suggeststhat experts should investigate the na-ture of underwater trenches at Cliftonbeach to determine whether they werenatural or man-made.

IG Jamali had constituted an inves-tigative committee which includedKarachi’s police chief, to probe the in-cident.

Meanwhile, the preliminary reportof the Seaview tragedy was submittedwith the Investigation Commission thatwas formed to look into the details,causes of the Seaview Tragedy. How-ever, none of the officials from any de-partment concerned appeared beforethe commission on which the commis-sion had directed officials of DHA,Clifton Cantonment Board and otherdepartments concerned to appear be-fore the commission today ( Monday).

The preliminary meeting of the In-vestigation Commission was held Sun-

day under the chair of Malik Asrar,Senior member Sindh Board of Rev-enue while Commission members,Sindh Home Secretary Dr Niaz AliAbbasi and Secretary Services andGeneral Administration DepartmentInamullah Dharejo attended and re-viewed the preliminary report on theSeaview Tragedy.

The Commission had in its ordersasked DHA and CCB authorities,Deputy Commissioner South MustafaJamal Qazi, Karachi Metropolitan Cor-poration Administrator Rauf AkhtarFarooqui and other officials concernedto appear before the Commission onMonday (today) to give their state-ments.

Meanwhile, member of the Inves-tigation Commission, Sindh HomeSecretary Dr Niaz Ali Abbasi saidthat the Commission would withinthe given deadline establish the realcauses of the Seaview Tragedy andascertain those, who were respon-sible for the loss of lives.

No threat todemocracy:GilaniLAHORE—Former PrimeMinister and senior leaderof Pakistan PeoplesParty Syed Yusuf RazaGilani has said thatgradual changes aretaking place in the politicsof the country but there isno threat to democracy.In an interview withprivate Tv channel onSunday, Gilani said thatlong march (AzadiMarch) was aimed atbringing reforms in theexisting system havingdiscrepancies.—INP

WEST African leaders agreed on Friday to take stronger measures to tryto bring the worst outbreak of Ebola

under control and prevent it spreading outsidethe region, including steps to isolate rural com-munities ravaged by the dis-ease.

The World Health Orga-nization and medical charityMedicins Sans Frontieressaid on Friday the outbreak,which has killed 729 peoplein four West African coun-tries, was out of control andmore resources were ur-gently needed to deal withit. WHO chief MargaretChan told a meeting of thepresidents of Guinea,Liberia and Sierra Leone -the countries worst affected- that the epidemic was out-pacing efforts to contain itand warned of catastrophicconsequences in lost livesand economic disruption ifthe situation were allowed todeteriorate.

“The presidents recognize the serious na-ture of the Ebola outbreak in their countries,”Chan said after the meeting. “They are deter-mined to take extraordinary measures to stopEbola in their countries.” In a communiqueafter their talks, the leaders agreed to deploysecurity forces to isolate the frontier regionswhere 70 percent of the 1,323 cases have beendetected.

They banned the transportation of any-one showings signs of disease across bor-ders, and pledged to introduce strict con-trols at international airports to prevent thevirus spreading outside the region. There

was international alarm last week whena U.S. citizen died of Ebola in Nigeria -Africa’s most populous country - afterflying there from Liberia. Two peoplequarantined in Lagos after coming into

contact with him were re-leased on Friday after theytested negative for the dis-ease.

The three leaders alsoagreed to step up efforts to pro-tect local healthcare workersand encourage them to returnto work. With healthcare sys-tems struggling to cope withthe highly infectious disease,which requires rigorous pre-cautions to stop it spreading,more than 60 medical workershave lost their lives, hamper-ing efforts to tackle the out-break.

Liberia has already putin place tough measures in-cluding closing all schools andsome government depart-ments. Sierra Leone on

Wednesday declared a state of emergencyand called in troops to isolate Ebola vic-tims. However, Friday’s agreement markeda reversal by Guinea, which had previouslyresisted taking tough steps, saying the dis-ease was under control there.

“Somewhat drastic measures will betaken,” Guinea’s Cooperation MinisterMoustapha Koutoub Sano said. “These (bor-der) prefectures and communities will beisolated.” The outbreak has prompted someinternational organizations to withdraw. TheU.S. Peace Corps has said it was withdraw-ing 340 volunteers from Liberia, SierraLeone and Guinea.

African leaders agree steps tofight runaway Ebola outbreak

Children enjoying on damaged slid in Children Park which may cause any injury andneeds attention of concern authorities.

Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervaiz Rashid hoisting national flag in connectionwith the Independence Day Celebrations.

PML-N govt to make countryprosperous: Pervaiz Rashid

CITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Federal Min-ister for Information andBroadcasting Pervaiz Rashidon Sunday said the PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) government wastaking concrete steps to makethe country prosperious underthe leadership of Prime Min-ister Muhammad NawazSharif.

Talking to newsmen at theflag hoisting ceremony heldhere in connection with theIndependence Day celebra-tions, Pervaiz Rashid said“Our forefathers had got aseparate homeland through ademocratic and constitutionalprocess instead of protestsand long marches.”

He said the PML-N didnot believe in vandalism asthe forefathers of its workershad made an undaunted po-litical and democratic strugglefor the homeland instead ofblaming others and holdingprotests.

The PML-N had alwaysfollowed the path of achiev-ing political gains throughdemocratic ways not throughprotests, he added.

The minister said ImranKhan, Tahir-ul- Qadri andChaudhry Shujaat Hussainwould have to take the re-sponsibility to maintainpeace during their protest ormarch. There should not be

any terror activity in the guiseof rallies and protests, hewarned.

He said renowned interna-tional economists, media andorganizations had acknowl-

edged that Pakistan was mov-ing fast towards economic sta-bility and prosperity.

Quoting Nelson Survey,Perviaz Rashid said the peopleof the country had spent Rs 800

billion on Eid shopping, whichreflected that they were earn-ing handsome amount.

About the energy crisis, hesaid several projects, includinghydro-electric and coal projects

were underway to overcomethe electricty shortage.

He urged the people tohoist flags on their rooftops onIndependence Day and revivepatriotism.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Nazriya Pakistan Council (NPC) haschalked out a two week program to commemorate Pakistan’sIndependence Day in a befitting manner from August 1-14, 2014.As usual, this program has been designed with the objective ofkeeping the spirit of Pakistan movement alive among the peopleof Pakistan in general and the youth in particular. The programhas been initiated with signing of patriotic message on a megabanner by a senior member of the executive committee of NPCand chairman Sultana foundation Dr. Naeem Ghani. The ban-ner is displayed at Aiwan-i-Quaid, Islamabad and the generalpublic has also been invited to share their views and messagesregarding Independence day and Pakistan movement.

NPC Independence Day Programmes underway at Aiwan-i-QuaidThe schedule of the program includes exhibition of patri-

otic documentaries to be screened from 4th August, daily 10am to 5 pm at Aiwan-i-Quaid. In collaboration with the JharokaArt Gallery, an exhibition of paintings representing culture ofall the provinces of Pakistan will take place on 5th August,2014 at 5.30 pm to be inaugurated by the Federal Secretary forInformation & Broadcasting and Heritage Mr. MuhammadAzam.

A teblow by students of various schools of the twin citieswill be staged on 6th August 2014 at 10 am in collaborationwith the private schools network, Islamabad. A competition ofpaintings of heroes of Pakistan movement by local artists willbe held on 7th August 2014 at 10 am. This event has been spon-sored by COMSATS University. A discussion among Literati

on the topic of ‘Freedom of Expression in the ContemporarySituation’ will be held under program Nuqta-i-Nazar on 8thAugust 2014 at 5 pm that will be followed by another discus-sion to be participated by the teachers’ community on the topicof ‘Role of Teachers in Strengthening of Pakistan’ on 12th Au-gust 2014.

The program itinerary also includes a special event of inau-guration of one paintings and one photo gallery namely‘Founders of Pakistan Gallery’ and ‘Indian Atrocities on Un-armed Kashmiris in IHK’. Federal Minister for Information &Broadcasting and Heritage, Senator Pervez Rashid will inau-gurate these galleries on 11th August at 5 pm.

The main event of the Independence Day programs, a na-tional seminar on ‘Consolidation of Pakistan and our Respon-

sibilities’, will take place on 13th August 2014 at 5 pm. Theseminar will be presided over by Chairman NPC Mr. ZahidMalik. Distribution of prizes among the winners of paintingcompetitions will also be held as a part of the seminar. Thefinal event will be the flag hoisting ceremony that will takeplace on 14th August 2014 at 10 am to be followed by a displayof patriotic song tunes by the Islamabad Police Band at Aiwan-i-Quaid.

Apart from many events scheduled for Aiwan-i-Quaid, theNPC has also displayed a number of banners containing say-ings of Quaid-i-Azam at main roads of the capital city. Inde-pendence day stickers have also been printed to be pasted onvehicles. The NPC chapters in other cities have also arrangedsimilar programs to commemorate the Independence Day.

RAWALPINDI—The model emergencyservice Rescue 1122 is fully equipped tocope with the flood in the Leh Nullah dur-ing the monsoon season.

The rescue staff would be on standbyto provide timely emergency response,medical treatment and transportation fa-cilities to possible flood victims in low-lying areas, said a press release issued hereSunday.

The Rescue 1122 has requested peoplenot to stand on the banks of low-lying ar-eas along Leh Nullah during flood andfollow instructions given by the flood con-trol room.

City District Government Rawalpindihas completed all the arrangements to copewith the flood situation. The low lying ar-eas of the city and cantonment includeArya Mohallah, Shamsabad, Dhoke Kala

Khan, Sadiqabad, Muslim Town,Rahimabad, Nadeem Colony, DhokeJuma, Adiala Road, Pirwadhai,Gharibabad, and Scheme No-III.

Earlier, the Director General, PunjabEmergency Service Rescue 1122 Dr.Rizwan Naseer reviewed monsoon pre-paredness and contingency plan forRawalpindi division in a meeting held atCentral Station here.—APP

Rescue 1122 fully equipped to copewith possible flood

ISLAMABAD—The usual husle and bustle returnedto the Federal Capital as most of its residents, whohad gone to their native areas to enjoy long Eid holi-days, came back.

Bulk of the Islamabad’s residents belong to dif-ferent parts of the country, who have settled here forjobs, education and business purposes.

This year the people enjoyed four official holi-days for Eidul Fitr and two weekly offs, which gavethem an opportunity to visit their native towns to en-joy Eid with their relatives and friends.

Most of the private organizations had announcedMonday, the last working day before Eid an off dayfor their employees, giving them a nine-day longbreak.

The bus-stands on Suday were overcrowded withthe passengers disembarking from coaches and vanarriving from different cities.

Arshad Nazir, a resident of F-10 Markaz said,“Most of the natives prefer to celebrate Eidul Fitr intheir home towns. Now, the hustle and bustle of thecity has returned with coming back of people.”

“I enjoyed Eid with more holidays this time andthe most amazing thing during my stay at native townwas to share the happiness of Eid with my family,relatives and old friends there,” he added.

Ali, a government employee, said he usually vis-ited his home town on Eid due to tough office sched-ule and this time he enjoyed more holidays with hisparents.

“I left for my home town on Friday before Eidtaking leave for Monday and come back today,” headded.—APP

Usual hustle and bustlereturns to Capital

Literaryreference

ISLAMABAD—A literary refer-ence will be held on August 5(Tuesday) to pay tribute to theservices of prominent intellec-tual and journalist late MajidNizami under the auspices ofliterary organisation Daira.

Chairman Daira DrGhazanfar Mehdi told APP thata meeting of the organisationwas held to finalize arrange-ments for the reference.—APP

ISLAMABAD—The 30-day celebrations of68th Independence Day entered its third daywith a number of colourful activities being ar-ranged across the country to mark this I-Dayshowing great zeal and enthusiasm.

The celebrations were started from Au-gust 1 (Friday) across the country with prayersin mosques for the progress and prosperity ofthe country.

The assortment of ceremonies, which be-gan on Friday, will continue during the entiremonth of August and all Pakistanis will raisenational flag on their homes and vehicles.

During the night of August 13, there willbe a march-past and fly-past in infront of theParliament House. August 14 will dawn witha 21-gun salute and special prayers for thecountry.

A national flag-hoisting ceremony will beheld either at the Aiwan-i-Sadr or ConventionCentre. Azadi walks have also been plannedin different cities on the Independence Day.

Besides, musical bands will be playingnational tunes in different parks across thecountry.

Similar, ceremonies and events will alsobe held abroad in Pakistan diplomatic mis-sions.

According to the government, all parlia-mentarians will be asked to visit graves of mar-tyrs in their respective areas and lay wreaths,offer prayers and meet their families to ex-

press solidarity. Special programmes will be also held for

the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to ex-press solidarity with them.

The Federal Government has informedchief ministers, chief secretaries, Prime Min-ister Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minis-ter Gilgit-Baltistan and Chairman Capital De-velopment Authority (CDA) to issue specialinstructions to impressively celebrate Indepen-dence Day events and express solidarity withthe armed forces IDPs.

Pakistan Railways will run a special AzadiTrain (Independence Train), which will beginits journey from Peshawar on August 11 andafter covering a distance of 4000 kilometersreach Karachi on September 11.

Two compartments of the train will beallocated to Inter-Services Public Relations(ISPR) for highlighting Freedom Movementand sacrifices of the armed forces. One com-partment will be allocated to Pakistan Rail-ways to highlight Pakistan’s history, whileanother one will be allocated to the Ministryof Information.

Six floats at the train will represent theculture of all the four provinces, Azad Kash-mir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Governors of all thefour provinces and foreign diplomats will alsovisit the train. Sports competitions, includingwrestling, cricket and kabbadi, will be held atthe district and tehsil levels.—APP

Colourful activities being arrangedto celebrate Independence Day

ISLAMABAD—Universal Service Fund(USF), under its Rural TelecomProgramme, has so far provided basic te-lephony and data services in almost 4,000mauzas which also included areas wherepeople had to walk kilometers to makeeven a single phone call.

Under the programme, launched to fa-cilitate the far-flung areas, the Fund hadsigned contracts with 6,410 mauzas, ofwhich 3,967 contracts have been com-pleted and 3,940 of them audited.

Basic telephony, data services underRural Telecom Programme

Sources at USF on Sunday said intelecenters domain, work on 51 contractshas been completed out of total 64 while49 such centres have also been audited. Aproject to establish more telecentres is alsobeing worked out to further expand theopportunities for people.

The sources said under provision ofbroadband services, the Fund has so farensured these in 288 2nd and 3rd tier cit-ies and towns along with providing morethan 520,000 broadband connections.

The broadband programme also in-cludes establishment of 1,100 Educa-tional Broadband Centres (EBCs) inhigher secondary schools and collegesand more than 300 Community Broad-band Centres (CBCs) for people whocannot afford to have their own comput-ers.

Similarly, they said in Optic FiberProgramme, more than 5,000 kms of op-tic fiber cable has been laid to connect un-served tehsils and towns.—APP

03:50 01:3005:30

09:15

Zohr

Asr

Isha

Fajar

Meghrab at Sunset

Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity

PTI Central Information Secretary Shireen Mazari addressing a press conference.

TMA workers hoisting national flag on electricity pole in connection with Independence Day celebrations.

Workers are busy in demolishing a building on the route of Metro Bus at Benazir Road.

RAWALPINDI—Traffic rules must be observed by the tourists to avoid traf-fic jam in Murree.

Traffic Police were implementing a special traffic plan devised forMurree said Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Rawalpindi, Senior Superinten-dent Police (SSP) Shoaib Khurram Janbaz.

He said, action in accordance with the law is being taken againstthe vehicles parked in no parking zone and double parking. He in-formed that all the arrangements made to facilitate the tourists arebeing checked and supervisized by senior traffic police offi-cers.

Special directives were issued to the traffic wardens to avoid traffic jamon the roads of Murree, he said adding, CTP devised a comprehensive planfor Murree for the summer season according to which entry of heavy ve-hicles in the city was banned.

He said a helpline 1915 was introduced for facilitating the tourists andthe citizens, having complaints, can contact the Traffic Police round theclock. He informed that all possible facilities are being provided to the tour-ists.

He said that 390 traffic wardens under the supervision of inspectorswere deployed at all important points of Murree.

CTO said that strict disciplinary action would be taken against negli-gent traffic wardens.

He said, the accommodation facility for traffic wardens has been ar-ranged in Murree.

The CTO said that several points were reserved for car parking. Differ-ent main roads were closed for two way traffic, he said adding the touristsshould cooperate with traffic police so that traffic mess particularly duringsummer season could be avoided.

He said, unprecedented rush was seen this year during Eid ul Fitr holi-days as a large number of vehicles entered Murree.—APP

Tourists urged to observe traffic rules toavoid jam in Murree: CTO

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Naat Council (PNC)would arrange a contest of ‘husn-e-naat’ Au-gust 10 (Sunday) at Jamia Masjid Ghosia, NearGovt. High School, Sambli dam road, BaraKahu.

This was announced by Head, Pakistan NaatCouncil, Mian Abdul Qayyum Tarazi (Advocatehigh court and Federal Shariat Court).

He said the students of Deeni Madaris, Govt.and Private Schools and other Naat Khawans ofthe adjacent areas of Bahara Kahu will partici-pate in the contest.

The contest would be arranged as part ofthe National Competition of Husn-e-Naat-2014'to be continued till September 14 in 28-citiesacross the country aimed at selecting Sanakhawan-e-Mustafa.

The places where these contests held sofar includes: Hajeera Azad Kashmir, RawlaKot, Kotli , Mianwali, Peshawar,Muzaffarabad, Abbottabad, Faisalabad,

Jehlum, Lahore, Pindi gap and Haripur whilethe places wherein these Naat competitionswould be held includes Wah-cantt, Kahota,Kalar Saidan, Taxila, Lila (Pind dad Khan),Chaklala, Adyala Village, Mohinpura, AzizAbad and Misreyal Road.

Boys upto 22-years age while girls upto 12-years age from all over the country would takepart in Husn-e-Naat Competitions.

Eminent Sana Khawans from different partsof the country have been assigned the task ofjudges.

The first position holders in Regional com-petitions would be invited to participate in finalcompetition that will take place on September14 at Quaid-e- Azam Hall, District CourtRawalpindi.

Winners of first, second and third positionsrespectively will be awarded motorcycles, goldmedals, silver medals and other preciousprizes.—APP

PNC to arrange contestof ‘Husn-e-Naat’

RAWALPINDI—Punjab Minister forLabour, Manpower and Head of Provin-cial Independence of Pakistan Celebra-tions Committee, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar hassaid that in order to pay homage to themotherland, Independence of Pakistancelebrations commenced with great en-thusiasm.

PML (N) leaders, workers, citizensand government officials have made com-prehensive progrmmes to mark the eventof national importance.

He stated this while addressing on theoccasion of flag hoisting ceremony heldat Jinnah Hall, Murree.

Assistant Commissioner Murree TahirFarooqi, ASP Tariq Ellahi, PML (N) TehsilPresident Raja Daftar Abbasi, other officebearers, officials and people belonging toall sections of society participated in the

ceremony.Prior to this the Provincial Minis-

ter presided a meeting in which he un-veiled the programme of Independencecelebrations and appealed to all citizensto place national flag at their houses anddemonstrate their sentiments of patrio-tism.

He said that under the dynamic lead-ership of Prime Minister MuhammadNawaz Sharif the government is com-mitted to attain the goal of economicprosperity but some elements for theirvested interest wants to disrupt the on-going developmental process throughtheir negative motives. He said countryis facing internal and external challengesand external forces wants to destabilizePakistan by crating unrest and uncer-tainty.

Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said thatpeople of Pakistan are politically awak-ened and well aware about the negativetactics and nefarious designs of thoseelements who believed on politics ofhatred and variance. He said that it isneed of hour that all political forcesshould be on one page to tackle thechallenges confronted by the countrydue to international scenario.

Provincial Labour Minister said thathe would undertake visits of DivisionalHeadquarters to review the programmesof Independence Celebrations and in thisconnection the meetings of DCO’s ofRawalpindi Division would be held inRawalpindi on Monday. He said educa-tional institutions have made specialprogrammes to mark Independence cel-ebrations.—APP

Government committed to attain goalof economic prosperity

RAWALPINDI—The District Health Officer DrImtaiz said on Sunday that no positive case ofdengue has been detected in the Rawalpindi dis-trict and the surveillance is continuing to checkits occurrence.

Talking to APP,the DHO said health teamsare regularly visiting the dengue affected areaswhere fumigation is being carried out to destroylarva breeding.

The health officer said the drive, which isin full swing, would continue till October.

He said that it was the responsibility of ev-ery citizen to play his role for controlling Den-gue and protecting citizens from this danger-ous disease by adopting all precautionary mea-sures and taking steps for ensuring cleanlinessand not to allow stagnant water in our surround-ings.

He warned that the stern action would betaken against the staff deputed in the campaign,if they show any negligence in performance oftheir duties.—APP

No dengue case detectedin district

ISLAMABAD—Allama Iqbal Open Uni-versity (AIOU) has opened its SSC toPh.D level admissions for the SemesterAutumn, 2014. The admissions formsand prospectuses can be obtained fromthe sale points at main campus, RegionalCampuses and Coordinating Officesacross the country”.

This was announced by the DirectorAdmissions, Syed Zia-ul-Hasnain. Hesaid that the admission forms along-withprescribed fee can be submitted in coun-trywide branches of Bank Al-Falah,Habib Bank Ltd, First Women Bank andAllied Bank and at the nominatedbranches of National Bank of Pakistanand Muslim Commercial Bank. The de-tail of designated branches is availablein the prospectuses as well as in the Re-gional Offices.

Last date for submission of the admis-sion form is 5th September, 2014 Accord-ing to Director Admissions, the admissionforms and prospectus of Matric, FA andBA level programmes for Pakistanis in theMiddle-East can be obtained / downloadfrom website del.aiou.edu.pk of the Uni-

versity. Continuing admission forms havealready been dispatched to all the continu-ing students, however, if somehow any ofstudent has not received the said admis-sion form, he/she can download the samefrom the AIOU website www.aiou.edu.pkand deposit in any designated bank branchwith fee till due date to avoid late feecharges.

The admissions of Phh.D is being of-fered in Islamic Studies (Gen), IslamicStudies (Quran & Tafseer), Chemistry,Iqbal Studies, Pakistani Languages &Literature, Shari’ah, Urdu and MassCommission while the admissions ofMS/M.Phil is being offered in IslamicStudies, Quran & Tafseer, Arabic, LLMShari’ah/MS Shari/ah, Chemistry, Com-munity Health & Nutrition, Iqbal Stud-ies and Mass Communication. M.Sc isoffering in Economics, Pakistan Stud-ies, Statistics, Gender & Women Stud-ies, M.Com (Accounting & Finance, 2years programme). The admissions ofMBA is being offered in Specializationsof HRM, Marketing, IT and Banking &Finance. MBA in Rural Management

and Col MBA/MPA has also be offered.MA in Arabic, Islamic Studies and Urdu,Post Graduate Diploma in Gender &Women Studies and HRM have beenoffered.

In Bachelor’s programs, BS (Com-puter Science), Mass Communication,B.Com, BLIS, Dars-e-Nizami while As-sociate Degree are being offered in Tour-ism Management, Hotel Management,Hospital Management, Accounting & Fi-nance, Banking & Finance, Human Re-source Management, IT Managementand Marketing Management. FA (Gen),FA (Dars-e-Nizami) and I.Com, SSC andthe admissions of PTC, B.Ed (Gen) andB.Ed (Arabic) are also been included.Dars-e-Nizami in BA (Shahadat-ul-Alia), Higher Secondary (Sanvia Khass),Secondary (Sanvia Aama), The admis-sions in Certificate Courses (Duration 6Months), Technical and Vocational Cer-tificate Courses (in different disci-plines), Agricultural Certificate Courses,Open Tech Courses and Short Term Edu-cational Programmes are being of-fered.—INP

AIOU opens SSC to PhDadmissions

ISLAMABAD—The National Assembly ses-sion will start on Monday during which thelower house of the parliament is expected towitness a heated debate on the issues plannedPTI Azadi March, drowing of people alongKarachi coast and invoking of article 245 fordeployment of army in the capital. The ses-sion which will start on Monday evening willcontinue for the next two weeks. The ses-sion has special importance in view of Paki-stan

Tehreek-e-Insaf long march on August 14and the revolution march of Dr Tahirul Qadri.Opposition sources said that the issue of de-ployment of the army under article 245 wouldbe raised in the session. The sources said thatthe

opposition will urge the government to re-voke the decision. The government is expectedto take the opposition into confidence over itsdecision to deploy army at sensitive points inview of operation Zarb-e-Azb.—INP

NA session to begin today

Mazari rules outany negotiated

settlementISLAMABAD—Ruling outany possibility of negotiatedsettlement with the govern-ment over long march, Paki-stan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)leader Shireen Mazari saidthat the government has notdisplayed sincere interest inlast one year to resolve theissues.

“Time for talks is over. Weraised many issues in the Par-liament, but government re-mained unmoved,” she saidwhile addressing a press con-ference here on Sunday.

She doubted the intentionof government regarding re-forms. “This governmenthaving a fake mandate doesnot want to bring about anychange in the country in ademocratic manner,” she in-sisted.

“We have a long list of ef-forts which were aimed at re-forms but those efforts werethwarted by the government,”Dr. Mazari added.

To a question, she said thatPTI’s workers were undeterredby the threats of PervaizRasheed and Chaudhry Nisar,adding that such threats boostthe morale of our workers.—NNI

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Upon the directions of In-spector General Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema, of-ficers of NH&MP took stern action againstthe complaints of overcharging by the trans-porters during Eid days and returned 4.8million rupees to passengers during Eid da-ys.

As per details NH&MP officers tookprompt action in Islamabad, Rawalpindi,

Attock, Jehulm, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Lahore,Sargodha, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura,Chakwal, Maltan, Okara, Khanewal,Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur,Moro, Hyderabad, Karachi and in many otherdistricts against the complaints of overcharg-ing by the transporters and returned thou-sands of rupees to passengers during Eiddays.

Timely and quick action of Motorway Po-lice was highly appreciated.

Motorway Police returnedRs4.8m to passengers

during Eid days

No rift amongPTI ranks

ISLAMABAD—Vice ChairmanPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)Shah Mehmood Qureshi hasruled out any possible rebellionwithin his party over the mat-ter of resignation from assem-blies.

Earlier in the day, FederalInformation Minister, ParvaizRashid, claimed that the issueof PTI lawmakers’ resignationswould create chaos and rebel-lion within its ranks. “Mr.Parvaiz Rashid should repre-sent his party, and not the PTI.There will be no rebellionwithin our party,” said Qureshiin response to Pervaiz Rashid’sremarks.—INP

Preparationsfor ID continueRAWALPINDI—The prepara-tions to celebrate the Indepen-dence Day in a befitting man-ner on August 14 are gainingmomentum in the city.

The Independence Daywill be celebrated on August14 with a pledge to work withzeal for a prosperous Paki-stan.

The buisness of decora-tive items are in high demandthese days including nationalflags, multi-colored garlands,badges, Minar-e-Pakistanmodels and portraits of theQuaid-e-Azam and nationalheroes.—APP

MUZAFFARABAD: An Attractive view of a Japan-built bridge installed here in AJK capital.

TODAY, on 3 August 2014, the 16th anniversary of a mass killing which took place inSailan village, [occupied] Poonch District,

the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society inassociation with the Survivors of the Sailan Mas-sacre, released a report: The Anatomy of a Massa-cre: The Mass Killings at Sailan, August 3-4, 1998.By tracing the oral and documented history of theSailan massacre, the report shows how the crimewas deeply embedded in the militarized social fab-ric of Sailan.

It argues that mass crimes, including massrapes, collective torture, arson and mass killingsare a deliberate enactment of the impunity and law-lessness of the Indian state, which kill, maim andterrorise not only the direct victims, witnesses andsurvivors but the entire population. This report ispart of the struggle of all victims of human rightsviolations in Jammu and Kashmir, to articulatetheir demands for truth and justice in their ownwords, when the very language to speak of thetruth has been rendered anti-national, and there-fore unspeakable. It commemorates the lives lostin the massacre at Sailan, and is dedicated to them,on the anniversary of their untimely deaths.

16th anniversary of Sailon (Poonch) mass massacre

On thenight of 3–4 August1998, 19people, in-cluding 11c h i l d r e nranging inage fromabout 4years to 15years, and5 women(includingone womanin an ad-vanced stage of pregnancy) were shot to death atpoint blank range in their homes in Sailan, in theSurankote Tehsil, of Poonch District, which is di-vided by the Line of Control, between Pakistanand Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir. Atotal of 13 females and 6 male members of threeclosely related families were killed by 4 SpecialPolice Officers (SPOs) and personnel from 9 Para-troopers, an elite commando unit of the Indian

Army. Their bodies werethereafter horribly dis-membered and in onecase almost decapitatedwith axes and sharp in-struments. In official ac-counts, such as the FirstInformation Report,(FIR) and Right to Infor-mation (RTI) responsesthe crimes of that nightare attributed to collateraldamage in an ‘encounter’with/ or an attack by ‘for-eign militants’ despiteover whelming evidence

to the contrary.The surviving family members, some of

whom are eye witnesses to the massacre, havewaged a courageous and tireless battle for truthand justice, over the last 16 years, despite intimi-dation, falsification of FIR, non investigation,criminal cover ups, and destruction of evidenceby high ranking police officials, the armed forces,and the accused SPOs. The alleged SPO perpe-

trators, namely Head Constable MohammadYounis, Selection Grade Constable MohammadRafiq Gujjar (presently posted with the 16Rashtriya Rifles, Draba Camp), Selection GradeConstable Mohammad Akbar and Assistant Sub-Inspector Maqsood Ahmad Khan, continue tofreely roam in the area, threatening and intimi-dating the locals, having been promoted frombeing SPOs to regularized members of the con-stabulary, and even officers. Another implicatedpolice officer, Sevak Singh (then Superintendentof Police, Special Operations Group, Poonch)was convicted of murdering a fellow police of-ficer Sub-Inspector Ajay Gupta in an unrelatedincident. He remained in jail for over ten years,and has been recently released on bail by the In-dian Supreme Court. The then Superintendent ofPolice (Poonch), J.P Singh, who is also impli-cated in the cover up, is a highly decorated of-ficer, awarded several police medals both beforeand after the mass killings, and is presently postedas the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), NorthKashmir.The report provides an account of thesilenced history of the Sailan Massacre, and thecontinuing legal battle of the survivors. It relies

on field visits, human rights documentation, firstperson accounts and interviews with survivors,residents of Sailan, a retired district medical of-ficial, lawyers and localhuman rights activists,as well as official documents relating to the caseincluding the State Human Rights Commissionorder dated 21 October 1998, investigative andcourt documents and RTI responses. It analysesthe massacre in the context of the intensive mili-tarization of the Poonch district, and the activestate policy of incorporation of local ethnic, lin-guistic and religious minorities in the JammuRegion, into communalized and ethnically divi-sive state backed ‘counter insurgency’ intelli-gence and military operatives, such as ‘inform-ers’, SPOs and VDC (Village Defense Commit-tee) members.

The Report chronicles the legal journey of thesurvivors before the State Human Rights Commis-sion, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, and inrelation to the High Court ordered fresh investiga-tions by the Central Bureau of Investigations, whichhave shown little progress in the last year and a halfsince they were ordered in November 2012.

—Courtesy: Kashmir Watch/Brussels.

SRINAGAR—Amid a shutdown acrossKashmir against starting of Kousar NagYatra, authorities imposed restrictions tocurb civilian movement in Old City areas.The call for shutdown was given byHurriyat Conference G chairman Syed AliShah Geelani and was endorsed by manyseparatist leaders. Witnesses said authori-ties deployed hundreds of police and para-military men in the five volatile areas, ofthe old city this morning forcing people tostay indoors.

The force personnel donning riot gearshad erected mobile bunkers and concertinawires on bridges, squares and by lanes inNowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, MR Gunjand Safa Kadal areas of the old city tothwart protests.

Reports said that all shops, businessestablishments, government offices re-

Kashmir shuts against Kousar Nag Yatramained closed and public transport re-mained off the roads. However, some pri-vate vehicles were seen plying on the roadsat Srinagar outskirts. Reports of clashesbetween protesters and police were re-ceived from various areas in the Valley. Alocal news agency said that scores of youthassembled near Narbal on the Srinagar-Gulmarg highway and pelted stones onforces which led to the suspension of ve-hicular movement.

Senior separatist leaders were eitherdetained or placed under house arrest toprevent them from leading any protestdemonstrations. The Jammu and KashmirLiberation Front Chairman MuhammadYasin Malik was taken into preventivecustody on Thursday while other leaders,including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed AliGeelani and Shabir Shah were already

placed under house arrest.Reports said that south Kashmir’s

Kulgam district, where Kousar Nag gla-cial lake is situated, also observed a com-plete shutdown for the fourth running dayon Saturday. However, there were no pro-tests or shutdown in the area. The threeother districts in south Kashmir Anantnag,Pulwama and Shopian also observed ashutdown. Life in central Kashmir’sGanderbal and Budgam districts and innorth Kashmir’s Baramulla, Kupwara andBandipora districts also remained para-lyzed in wake of the shutdown call.Meanwhile, a police spokesman said thatsituation across Kashmir remained peace-ful on Saturday. “Except some untowardincidents, there was in general no disrup-tion in law and order situation,” headded—KO.

BADERWAH—A student was killed and 23 oth-ers were wounded in a clash between two groupsinside a Masjid in Jammu’s Doda district, offi-cials said.

They said, Sharafat Ali, a student of MA,died and 23 others were wounded last night af-ter a clash erupted between members of twogroups of the same community, armed with rodsand sticks, over management of the Masjid anda madrassa in Sartangal belt here. Three criti-cally injured persons were moved to SK Insti-tute of Medical Sciences Soura, while two oth-ers were rushed to GMC hospital Jammu.Sharfat Ali’s brother Rahat Ali and his uncle

Scholar killed, 23 hurt inBhaderwah mosque clash

Farooq Ahmed are among the critical patients,officials added.

As the word about the incident spread inthe area Police and Army personnel rushed tothe spot, following which the situation wasbrought under control, reports said, adding theMasjid has been closed in view of the incident.

“The situation has been brought under con-trol. Police force is deployed in the area. Theyare investigating the case,” District Develop-ment Commissioner, Doda Sham Vinod Meenatold a wire agency. He said that some peoplehave also been rounded up for questioning inthis regard—KO.

SRINAGAR—A film on legendry Urdu poetMirza Ghalib has enthralled audience in Kash-mir.

Mirza Ghalib is one of the most prominentUrdu poets who primarily wrote about romance,love and sadness and is revered by poetry lov-ers around the world. So, to highlight Ghalib’scontribution in Urdu poetry and make the pub-lic aware about his life, Radio Kashmir, in col-

‘India, Israeltermed twosides of thesame coin’

SRINAGAR—In occupiedKashmir, the veteranHurriyet leader, Syed AliGilani denouncing Israel’sunrelenting aggression inGaza has said that Israel andIndia are two strategic alliesand are collaborating witheach other to wipe out Mus-l ims from Palest ine andKashmir.

Syed Ali Gilani in astatement issued in Srinagar,today, said that India waspursuing the policies of Is-rael and was planning tomake a new Gaza out ofKashmir. The veteran leaderalso condemned the contin-ued house arrest of Hurriyetleaders includingMohammad Ashraf Sehrai,Peer Saifullah, Ayaz Akbar,Altaf Ahmad Shah,Mohammad Yousuf Mujahid,Raja Meraj-ud-din and DrGhulam Muhammad Ganai.

The All Parties HurriyetConference in a statement de-nounced the Indian army forsubjecting half a dozen inno-cent Kashmiri shepherds to se-vere torture in Lolab. TheAPHC called upon the authori-ties to immediately release allillegally detained Hurriyetleaders and activists. Hurriyetleader, Syed Bashir Andrabi ina statement also condemned theact. Te Jammu and KashmirLiberation Front Chairman,Muhammad Yasin Malik in astatement paid tributes to SyedIrfan-ul-Hassan Shah andMuhammad Maqbool Malik ontheir martyrdom anniversaries.He pledged to take their mis-sion to its goal conclusion,against all odds.

APHC leader, MirShahid Saleem, in a state-ment issued in Jammu saidthat Bhartiya Janta Party andother Hindu extremist orga-nizations backed by Indianintelligence agencies wererunning a communal agendaon the pretext of KouserNaag yatra.

Hundreds of people ledby APHC leader, MukhtarAhmad Waza took out apeaceful rally in Kulgam tokickoff Martyr’s Week in re-membrance of martyredAPHC leader, Sheikh AbdulAziz.

In Srinagar, the Jammuand Kashmir Coalition ofCivil Society released a reporton the massacre in Sailan areaof Surankot on its 16th anni-versary, today.

The report said that massrapes, collective torture, ar-son and mass killings wereconducted by Indian troopswith impunity in Sailan onthis day in 1998.—KMS

KOTHIBAGH, IHK—Local police has arrestedthree cops including a head constable in a caseof extortion wherein a businessman was robbedoff Rs six lakhs at Tourist Reception Centre here.

Reports said a businessman TassaduqHussain Dar son of Safdar Ali Dar a resident ofMahore Budgam was carrying a bag of money(Rs six lakhs) in an autorickshaw from a Banknear TRC when three cops, head constable Jalal-u-Din, constable Showkat Ahmad and constableImtiyaz Ahmad posted in police station Nigeendisembarked from a police Gypsy and asked Darto handover the bag to them. Dar was whiskedaway in the Gypsy by these cops, who demandedthat the bag carrying money be handed over tothem. Initially Dar had resisted the police pres-sure but later succumbed to it after facing strongintimidation.

Reports said that he handed over the bag tothree cops who dropped him at some far off

Police detain 3 cops inextortion case

place. Reports said Dar immediately rushed toRambagh police station to get his complaint reg-istered but the police at Rambagh refused to reg-ister his complaint citing jurisdictional problem.The victim businessman later approached KothiBagh police station with an application men-tioning some cell-phone numbers.Reports said that a swift action on the applica-tion, Kothi Bagh police traced the mobile num-bers which pointed to the three cops of Nigeenpolice station. Kothi Bagh police constituted ateam of police personnel that raided the Nigeenpolice station arresting the three cops, who arepresently lodged in Kothi Bagh police station.Kothi Bagh police has prepared a report and hassought further directions from the SSP Srinagar.A top police officer confirmed the news sayingthat police is trying its best to recover the moneyfirst and an FIR against these three cops will beregistered soon after—KT.

LOLAB VALLEY—The physical torture of fivelocals of Lolab Valley including two brothersallegedly by army sparked protest at HardenLolab area of frontier district Kupwara. The vic-tims alleged that the Army officer offered themcash to maintain silence over the issue, reportsa local news agency, CNS. Locals of HardenLolab told CNS that Army personnel from 18RR stationed at Kuligam and Warnav camp havelet loose a reign of terror in the Lolab Valley.They said that army personnel harass, detainsand even tortures the people on one or the otherpretext.

Locals added that on the pretext of harbouringmilitants, an Army team called five youth includ-ing two brothers all residents of Harden Lolab totheir Kuligam camp and interrogated them mer-cilessly. “The atrocious means adopted by Armyto torture us left most of us unconscious. I can’twalk and I am still feeling dizziness,” one of thevictims wishing anonymity told CNS. They said

2 brothers among 5 youth torturedthat Army accused us of harbouring militants.“We have no connection with militancy and nei-ther we known when militants arrived in ourarea,” they said adding that Army released themall after their condition deteriorated. The victimsalleged that Commanding Officer 35 RR forc-ibly handed over Rs 1000 (one thousand) noteeach in their pockets with the direction that theywill not reveal anything what happened to themin the Army camp. Locals identified the victimsas Muhammad Ashiq Mala, Mushtaq AhmedMala sons of Abdul Rashid Mala, Shah WaliMughal son of Mir Wali Mughal, Javid AhmedSheikh son of Sheeren Sheikh and Nazir AhmedMala son of Habibullah Mala all residents ofHarden Lolab.DySP Sogam Aftab Ahmed said these peoplework as potters for the Army and they did notcomplain to police about the incident. Whencontacted Srinagar based Defense spokespersonsaid that he would look into the matter—KT.

Film on Ghalib enthralls Kashmir audienceslaboration with Actors Creative Theatre (ACT)group, took the step to screen the Urdu film onMirza Ghalib. The film was beautiful and theshoot locations, costumes, music and poetry ofthe film attracted the audience who demandedthat such type of events should continue in fu-ture. With the help of such type of programmes,the younger generation also expected to developan appreciation for the Urdu language—KD.

SRINAGAR—A fresh funds scam has surfacedin Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association(JKCA) with the court directing for registrationof FIR and freezing of bank accounts of theAssociation.In the latest case of misappropriation of funds, theChief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar has diarized acomplaint initiated by Parveen Kapahi against MotiLal Nehru, general secretary JKCA, directing theSHO Ram Munshibagh to register a case and inves-tigate the matter in terms of section 156 (3) CrPC.

In his application Kapahi had sought crimi-nal investigation by the Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) in FIR No.27 of 2012 Police Sta-tion Ram Munshibagh, Srinagar with respect toacts of omission and commission on the part ofthe Nehru amounting to criminal breach of trustand misappropriation of the funds of JKCA byclandestine transfer to personal/private accountviolation of court order dated June 10, 2014.

The court order reads: “Gone through theallegations set out in the complaint. Allegationsconstitute a cognizable case, so in the light ofallegations copy of complaint is forwarded toSHO Police Station Ram Munshibagh to regis-ter a case and investigate the matter in terms ofSection 156(3) CrPC.” The court has asked thepolice to file action taken report by or beforeAugust 12. Meanwhile, in a contempt petitionfiled by Kapahi the same court has ordered po-lice to freeze the bank accounts of JKCA. In hiscontempt petition, Kapahi had sought initiationof criminal contempt of proceedings againstNehru for criminal breach of trust and misap-

Another scam surfaces in JKCApropriation of the funds of J&K Cricket Asso-ciation by clandestine transfer to personal/pri-vate account of Rakesh Kumar, the Vice Chair-man JKCA Jammu Wing in blatant and willfulviolation of Order dated June 10.

The applicant had further sought directionsto the incharge SIT in FIR No. 27 of 2012 RamMunshibagh Srinagar to seize the JKCA BankAccount of Air Cargo Branch Account SOD 17with immediate effect. The court has now issuedshow case notice to Nehru as to why action/cog-nizance be not taken for violation of court orderdated June 11, 2014 and for breach of undertak-ing furnished in compliance thereof. “Noticealong with a copy of contempt petition be servedupon non-applicant (Nehru) by SHO Police Sta-tion Ram Munshibagh who would file compli-ance report accordingly,” the court has directed.

The court order reads: “…The record revealsthat there is prima facie evidence that misap-propriation of funds of JKCA by non-applicanthas been committed which necessitates freez-ing of JKCA Bank account of Air Cargo BranchAccount SOD 17 with immediate effect, and alsoaccounts of Jammu and Srinagar Wings to avertfurther misappropriation of funds.” The courtorder adds,” In this back drop JKCA Bank, Ac-count of AIR Cargo, Branch Account SOD 17and also accounts of JKCA of Jammu andSrinagar Wings are freezed till further ordershowever this order is subject to objections. Copyof this order be sent to IO in case FIR No: 27/2012 of Police Station Ham Munshibagh forfreezing accounts accordingly—KT.

Policemaninjured in axe

assault in PattanSRINAGAR—In occupiedKashmir, unidentified assail-ants hit policeman with axeleaving him grievously injuredand decamped with his serviceweapon from the spot in Pattanarea of Baramulla district.Theincident triggered panic in thetown as injured policeman fellon ground bleeding. He wasrushed to hospital where hiscondition is stated to be seri-ous. After the incident, policecordoned the area and launchedhunt for the assailants and themissing weapon—KMS.

Yasin Malikpays tributes toIrfan, Maqbool

SRINAGAR—In occupiedKashmir, the Jammu andKashmir Liberation Front(JKLF) Chairman,Muhammad Yasin Malik haspaid tributes to Syed Irfan-ul-Hassan Shah and MuhammadMaqbool Malik on their mar-t y r d o manniversaries.MuhammadYasin Malik in a statement is-sued in Srinagar, rememberingthe two martyrs, said that Irfanstrived for freedom of Kash-mir from his early childhoodwhile Muhammad Maqboolsacrificed his youth for the sa-cred cause. “No Kashmiri canever forget the sacrifices ren-dered by the great sons of soil,”Yasin Malik said and pledgingto take their mission to its de-sired goal—KMS.

SRINAGAR—In occupied Kashmir, the All Par-ties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) leader and theChairman of Jammu and Kashmir SalvationMovement (JKSM), Zafar Akbar Butt has urgedthe Kashmiri people to boycott Israeli productsfor expressing solidarity with Palestinians andresist the anti-Kashmir policies of the commu-nal groups. Zafar Akbar Butt in a statement is-sued after the release of 11 days house deten-tion, thanked people for taking part in anti-Is-raeli peaceful demonstrations and urged them

Zafar Butt urges people to boycottIsraeli products

to boycott the Israeli productsHe condemned the criminal silence of inter-

national community which it has maintained inGaza. He said that raising voice against the op-pression was democratic right of every citizen ofthe world whether it happened in Kashmir, Gazaor anywhere in world. Urging people to boycottthe Israeli products, the APHC leader said that theamount earned out of the products was being usedin oppressing and killings the innocent Palestin-ians so the products must be boycotted—KMS.

Andrabicondemns use offorce on civilians

SRINAGAR—In occupiedKashmir, the All PartiesHurriyet Conference (APHC)leader and the Chairman ofKashmir Freedom Front(KFF), syed Bashir Andrabihas strongly condemned theuse of brute force on civiliansby Indian forces in Lolab Val-ley.

Bashir Andrabi address-ing the party leaders and ac-tivists in Pulwama.said thatthe Indian forces had terror-ized the whole belt by beat-ing civilians as well as theircattle.

He said that India couldnot suppress the will ofKashmiri people by suchcheap tactics and the ongoingfreedom struggle would con-tinue till taking it to its logi-cal conclusion—KMS.ISLAMABAD: AJK Chief Secrtary Mr. Khizar Hayat Gondal meeting AJK Premier Ch.

Abdul Majeed here on Sunday.

Indian State responsible for mass carnage: Inquiry report

Briefs

Some people workhard in this busi-ness and become

really popular,really big stars butthey never receive

an award fromwithin the busi-ness. Somehow,when your col-

leagues andfriends believe inyou to the point of

handing you anaward it means so

much more.

—Sharon Stone

Traders protesttraffic blockadeHYDERABAD—Commutersexperienced greatinconvenience for severalhours as a result ofblockade on Hyderabad-Tando Muhammad KhanRoad where traders of ZealPak Market held demon-stration against demolitionof their business place byHighways Department.The demonstratorsincluding MuhammadQasim Rajput, Sher Khanand Asghar Ali allegedthat the market was beingdemolished by theHighways Department onthe instigation of influen-tial land mafia, as thetraders had refused theirdemand of extortion. Theyasked the Sindh Govern-ment to take action againstland mafia and provideprotection from extortion-ists. The traffic resumedafter the demonstratorsended their protest.—APP

Saudia to operatein ManilaMANILA—Saudi ArabianAirlines has asked thePhilippine commercial airservice regulator forpermission to operateinternational scheduledpassenger and cargoservices, according to afiling with the CivilAeronautics Board (CAB).Saudi Arabian Airlinesapplied for a foreign aircarrier permit, the first stepin a process that willultimately require Presiden-tial approval. The CAB,meanwhile, said it isscheduled a hearing forSaudi Arabian Airlines’application on Aug. 27.Under Section 16 ofRepublic Act 776, thecarrier is required topublish a notice of hearingat least once for threeconsecutive weeks in anewspaper of generalcirculation. Saudi ArabianAirlines operates fourBoeing 747 aircraft, 22Boeing 777s, 12 Boeing777-300 Extended Rangemodels, 50 aircraft ofvarious types from theAirbus A320 family, 12Airbus A330-300s and 15Embraer 170 regionalaircraft. The carrier flies tothe United Arab Emirates,Yemen, India, Nigeria,Turkey, Bahrain, Sri Lanka,Spain, Lebanon, Ethiopia,Egypt, Tunisia, Singapore,France, Sudan, Syria, Qatar,United States—Agencies

wide-body Airbus, Boeing jet battle triggers oversupply warningsPARIS—Airbus’s summer sales campaign with the newA330neo airliner has triggered warnings of potential over-supply in the wide-body market and of a bruising pricebattle as the older-generation model undercuts rivalBoeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Two weeks after Airbus an-nounced a revamp of its A330 at the FarnboroughAirshow, the battle for wide-body sales is heating up asDelta Air Lines seeks to renew part of its fleet. The headof the US carrier is so confident of getting a bargain hebegan negotiating in public, saying he would take theA330neo for barely a third of its $275 million official price.

His “high 70s, low 80s” bid was below the marketvalue of such jets — but not by a massive margin,analysts said. The aerospace industry is focusing onsqueezing the maximum life out of existing productsfollowing some expensive upsets, including delays andtechnical problems on the 787 and Airbus’s A380superjumbo. Airbus has upgraded the A330, and Boeinghas updated its larger 777, even as both companiespour billions into developing next-generation modelssuch as the 787 and the forthcoming A350. But big jets

bring proportionally bigger risks.Now a debate is growing over whether the airline mar-

ket can absorb the industry’solder models at the same timeas state-of-the-art new ones.That, analysts say, could havea bearing on pricing and mar-gins right across the indus-try. “I think particularly in thewide bodies, the market islooking overheated. The herdis running, and the A330neois the latest example: the mar-ket wants the airplane,” saidJerrold Lundquist, managingdirector of the LundquistGroup, who advises privateequity investors in aerospace.“There appears to be demand for it now, but it just addsto the ordering.” Such warnings come on top of investorconcerns that a recent boom in aircraft demand is peak-

ing, causing the sector to lag global stocks by 4 percent-age points since Farnborough.

“If everyone per-sists in going full throttle,there could be serious prob-lems at the end of decade,”said Richard Aboulafia, vice-president at Virginia-basedconsultancy Teal Group.Airbus and Boeing, theworld’s only manufacturersof large jets, both dismisstalk of an aircraft ‘bubble’.Over the next 20 years, theyboth see room for over 4,500jets worth $1 trillion in the250-300 seat category, wheremost A330s and 787s are

sold. That makes it the largest part of the wide-body jetmarket by volume and vital to their business.

Buyers of the A330neo and 787 say there is room for

both. “I think there is a nice match. Is it a perfect match?That depends on the how the world economy goes, butwhen we look at the supply-demand curve, it looks fineto us,” said Jeff Knittel, president of US lessor CIT Trans-portation. The aircraft may indeed find homes, analystssay, but the question is at what price and whether bothplanemakers can meanwhile preserve pricing power fortheir newer jets.

Airbus says it can sell its A330 for 25 percent lessthan a 787 — the main 787 model is worth $257 millionat list prices — and that it can do this without erodingsales of its own A350. Boeing’s business case for the787 assumed a large premium for carbon-fiber technol-ogy over previous metallic jets. It says it can competewith the A330 on value rather than lower prices. “Wethink what customers are really interested in is effi-ciency and lower operating costs in the long term.Operating costs that you pay day in and out are whatdrive profitability year in and out,” said John Wojick,senior vice president, global sales & marketing, atBoeing Commercial Airplanes.—Agencies

MADRID—British Airways owner Interna-tional Airlines Group reported a 55 percentrise in second-quarter profit driven by arecovery at Spanish airline Iberia and sig-nalled its confidence in the carrier with plansto renew its long-haul fleet. Iberia, whichhas undergone a deep restructuring to cutstaff and costs, will start receiving eightAirbus A350-900s and another eight A330-

200 aircraft next year, IAG said.The Spanish airline swung to a second-

quarter operating profit from a year-ago lossand is on track to return to profit for the fullyear for the first time since 2008. “This per-formance shows that we are making furthersolid progress,” IAG Chief Executive WillieWalsh told reporters. IAG, Europe’s sec-

British Airways ownerIAG earnings up 55%

ond-largest airline by market value, stuckto its annual profit target, unlike Lufthansaand Air France-KLM which have both is-sued profit warnings in recent weeks.

The group aims to increase 2014 operat-ing profit by at least 500 million euros ($670million) from the 770 million euros it made lastyear. Its outlook shows IAG is weathering anincreasingly competitive European airline

market better than peers, helpedby low-cost Spanish airlineVueling which it acquired lastyear. Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have said they are focus-ing on ramping up their pres-ence in Europe’s low-costshort-haul market, dominatedby easyJet and Ryanair.

“We think this updateprovides relief. IAG is not im-mune from the pricing pres-sures of industry capacity ex-pansion, but structurally it isbetter protected,” Jefferies saidin a note to clients. IAG shares,

which have fallen 19 percent over the lastthree months, were down 0.3 percent at 0948GMT, outperforming a 1.3 percent fall in theFTSE 100 index of blue-chip stocks. Second-quarter operating profit before exceptionalitems rose to 380 million euros ($509 million),ahead of a company-supplied consensusforecast of 354 million euros.—Agencies

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI— Businessmen and traders in Karachiclaimed that business activity in the month ofRamazan surged significantly, linking the phenom-enon to the relative improvement in the securitysituation of the city. Representatives of leadingretail markets believed that sales this Eid were, byfar, the highest in the last five years. “The mainreason of the better Ramazan and Eid sales thisyear was the relative improvement in security inthe economic hub of the country,” said Atiq Mir,chairman of All Karachi Tajir Ittehad, anorganisation of wholesale and retail market asso-ciations. Almost every big or small retail marketfor clothes, electronic items, shoes and other ac-cessories have reported significant increase in thisyear’s sales, he said. This year people thronged toretail markets right after the first 10 days of Ramazan,which was not the case in the last four years dur-ing which people were fearful to spend time in busy

Businesses surges significantly in Ramazan

NEW YORK—US stocks fell for a secondday riday, adding to the massive sell-offthe day before and giving the market itsworst week in two years. Investors foundlittle reason to move money into stocks,faced with the growing geopolitical con-cerns in Israel and Ukraine, as well as bank-ing problems in Europe. For the last twoyears investors have generally wanted tostep in to buy any major fall in the stockmarket, traders said, causing any sell-off tobe met the following day with modest buy-ing. Traders said that the selling on top ofwhat happened the day before, is not agood sign.

“The follow-through from yesterday’s(market drop) is very telling,” said JonathanCorpina, a trader on the New York StockExchange with Meridian Equity Partners.“The end of this week could not come at abetter time as the weekend might providesome stability.” On Friday the Standard &Poor’s 500 index lost 5.52 points, or 0.3 per-cent, to 1,925.15. The index fell 2.7 percentthis week, its worst weekly performancesince June 2012. The Dow Jones industrialaverage fell 69.93 points, or 0.4 percent, to16,493.37. That’s on top of the 317-pointdrop the index had on Thursday. TheNasdaq composite fell 17.13 points, or 0.4percent, to 4,352.64.

Energy and financial stocks were amongthe biggest decliners. Chevron, the nation’ssecond-largest oil and gas company behindExxon Mobil, fell $1.34, or 1 percent, to

S&P 500 has itsworst week in 2 years

$127.90. While Chevron’s earnings werebetter than analysts had predicted, thecompany’s oil and gas production fell inthe quarter. Exxon also reported lower pro-duction when it released its own resultsThursday. Banking stocks also fell.JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Mor-gan Stanley and Goldman Sachs all slidroughly 2 percent. The International Swapsand Derivatives Association ruled that Ar-gentina had officially defaulted on its bondsfor the second time in 13 years, in what theISDA calls a “credit event.” In a “creditevent,” investors who own credit-defaultswaps, a type of insurance that protectsagainst a bond issuer defaulting, are acti-vated and the companies which wrote thepolicies must pay the investors who ownthem.

In Portugal, the struggling bank BancoEspirito Santo plunged 40 percent. EspiritoSanto reported Wednesday a 3.5 billion euronet loss for the second quarter, and therewere concerns the bank is insolvent. Theconcerns over the Argentinian default andas well as with European banks were the big-gest driver of Friday’s market decline, saidJonathan Golub, chief US market strategistat RBC Capital Markets. “The market doesn’tlike anything that could potentially disruptthe credit markets,” Golub said, noting thatindicators of market volatility jumped on Fri-day. Adding to the uncertainty, investorshad the violence in Israel and Gaza as well asUkraine to worry about.—AP

markets. Street crime and terrorist attacks had over-come them, he added. Traders appreciated the co-ordination among law-enforcing agencies and civiladministration of the city during Ramazan. Accord-ing to businessmen, Karachi witnesses visiblesurge in street crime and kidnapping for ransom inRamazan every year and the situation has onlygotten worse in the last few years.

To understand the dynamics of extortion inKarachi, one can divide the markets of Karachi intwo different zones. The first zone could be the bigwholesale markets that are mostly located in theold city areas — the southern part of the city. Thesecond would be the retail markets that are mostlylocated in the newer areas in central and northernparts of the city. The law enforcing agencies havepartly controlled extortion cases in retail markets,traders say, but extortionists are still powerful inwholesale markets that supply imported goods likegrains and consumer products to all the parts ofthe country.

Apart from the improvement in security situa-tion, analysts point out that due to a relative de-velopment in the state of the economy, this year’sconsumer spending has been highest in the lastthree years. “The business community of the coun-try is happy to see improvement in the economy.The growth is slow but steady, which means that itis sustainable compared to the sharp ups anddowns in the previous decades,” Former KarachiChamber of Commerce and Industry’s (KCCI) Bank-ing and Insurance Committee chairman AtiqurRehman told newsmen.

Despite recognising the performance of lawenforcement agencies in Karachi, he said the num-ber of extortion cases has reduced but the situa-tion is far from satisfactory. This appreciation fromKarachi’s business community is interesting asthe leading businessmen have been criticisingboth provincial and the federal governments onthe gradual decline in the usefulness of the on-going Karachi operation. In the first week of Sep-

tember 2013, the federal government empoweredRangers to lead a targeted operation in Karachiwith the support of Sindh Police. The operationwas against those involved in targeted killings,kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorismin the city.

This Ramazan, traders say, that there was adecline in street crime but they pointed out thatcases of kidnapping for ransom are still a nui-sance. Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC)Chief Ahmed Chinoy commented that the num-ber of complaints for such cases have reduced50% in the last few months. “Our success in con-trolling kidnapping for ransom should be gaugedby the number of complaints we receive and suc-cessful cases we resolve,” he said. However,Chinoy added, if such cases are not reported tothe CPLC, not much can be done. “It’s two-waytraffic. If businessmen are paying ransom with-out informing us, then they’re helping the crimi-nals, not the police,” he stressed.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Pakistan International Airlines(PIA) is hoping to receive the validation thatwill allow it to resume cargo service to Europe,which was suspended on July 28, officials toldmedia. The national carrier says it is confidentabout getting the mandatory clearance as ithas spent months putting in place relevantsystems and procedures to comply with toughEuropean Union conditions, said an official ofthe airlines. “It was not our fault at all,” he saidfollowing his return from England where heheld a detailed meeting on the matter. “Thistemporary restriction wouldn’t have been im-posed in the first place if the validation hadbeen done on time. We’re hoping that the vali-dation officials will visit at least one of the sta-tions within a week.”

PIA is the only Pakistani airline operat-ing cargo service to Europe. It runs cargooperations from Karachi, Lahore andIslamabad on its Boeing 777 and Airbus 310jets. The airline found itself caught up in atough regulation called Air Cargo or MailCarrier operating into the Union from a ThirdCountry (ACC3), which required carriers totake certain security screening measures byJuly 31, 2014. ACC3, which came in wake ofthe October 2010 attempt to fly explosiveshidden in a printer cartridge from a Middle

PIA optimistic about resumptionof cargo service to EU

Eastern state, has also placed countries inthree separate categories.

“There is a Green category, which includescountries that do not need validation. Thenthere is the White category, which includesmost. Unfortunately, Pakistan is placed in thehigh-risk Red category. So we are under a veryclose watch,” he said In compliance with theregulation, PIA has installed dual view scan-ners, explosive trace detectors (ETDs) anddeployed dogs trained in identifying explo-sives. The two-step validation is done by IATAapproved Independent Validators. A pre-vali-dation inspection has already cleared PIA torun cargo service to the EU.

“The validation is good for ten years.We are now just trying to minimise the lossby getting the process done as quickly aspossible,” he further said “Interestingly, weare in compliance with the US and Canadianregulations.” Temporary suspension ofPIA’s cargo service came on the heels of adeadly attack on Karachi airport that raisedconcerns over aviation security. But authori-ties have increased security measures in re-cent weeks by deploying trained and well-equipped guards around all international air-ports and enhancing the screening of ve-hicles, passengers and their attendants. PIAgenerates around Rs2 billion from its cargooperations to the EU.

DUBAI—Economic recovery in Dubai ispushing both creditors and debtors toweigh new strategies in the $25 billion re-structuring of Dubai World, one of theMiddle East’s largest ever debt deals. Theconglomerate has begun talks to adjust arestructuring plan originally signed in 2011:it would make its first big repayment early,in exchange for more time before a secondand much larger obligation needs to be re-paid, two sources with knowledge of thematter said. At the same time, some foreignbanks are seeking to divest parts of theirexposure to Dubai World as improved con-fidence in the emirate raises debt values tolevels which make offloading favorable.

Lloyds, one of the banks on the com-mittee which negotiated the original debtdeal, attempted to sell off more than $450million of its exposure at the end of June,three sources said. Other lenders are alsoreviewing whether to change their expo-sures to Dubai World — most notably twobanks which might potentially offload over$500 million of debt between them, accord-ing to investment house Exotix. DubaiWorld and Lloyds declined to comment.Under Dubai World’s original restructuringplan, it was scheduled to repay a $4.4 bil-lion chunk of debt in May 2015 and an ad-ditional $10.3 billion in 2018.

The deal was supposed to allow timefor the diverse conglomerate’s assets to re-

Dubai World seeks to revise $25bdebt deal; some banks eye exit

cover in value, after they were hit by theglobal credit crisis and a property crash inDubai. This would permit them to be soldto fund repayments to creditors. Initially,many assets recovered only slowly andsome, such as US-based luxury retailerBarneys, saw their values drop. This inhib-ited the sale process. However, someprogress has been made in recent monthsand small repayments have been made tocreditors, under a mechanism which distrib-utes cash from asset sales once a certainthreshold has been reached.

Dubai’s economic recovery has alsohelped, with other state-owned entities gain-ing the financial strength to take on assetsfrom Dubai World companies, such as In-vestment Corp. of Dubai’s acquisition ofthe landmark Atlantis hotel. This led one ofDubai’s top executives, Mohammed Al-Shaibani, to tell Reuters in March this yearthat Dubai World had the cash to make theMay 2015 repayment. However, he alsosaid various options involving the 2018payment would be discussed with lenders.Blackstone Group was named as an adviserto Dubai World in April. Under plans beingdiscussed between Dubai World, its advis-ers and senior lenders including HSBC andEmirates NBD, the 2018 maturity would beextended to 2022, in exchange for early re-payment of the full amount due next May,the two sources said.—Agencies

Gold recoversfrom 6-week lowLONDON—Gold rose 1 per-cent a day after touching asix-week low as US payrollsdata missed expectations,dampening talk of an earlyinterest rate rise by the USFederal Reserve and pres-suring the dollar. A string ofupbeat reports on the USeconomy, including signs ofan improving job market,helped gold to its biggestmonthly loss this year in

July, with prices falling 1percent.

They clawed back lostground, however, after datashowed US job growthslowed more than expectedlast month and the unem-ployment rate rose, pointingto some slack in the labormarket that could give theFed room to keep interestrates low. That would keepthe opportunity cost ofholding gold versus higher-yielding assets low. Spotgold was up 1 percent at$1,294.10 an ounce at 1347GMT, off Thursday’s six-week low of $1,280.76. USgold futures for Decemberdelivery were up $12.30 anounce at $1,295.10.

Gold prices remain up 6.6percent this year, but the bulkof those gains were made inthe first quarter. The metal fell3.4 percent in July, its biggestmonthly drop of 2014. Datareleased on Friday showednonfarm payrolls increased209,000 last month after surg-ing by 298,000 in June, whilethe unemployment rateedged up to 6.2 percent from6.1 percent.

Demand for physicalgold in Asia failed to pick upin a robust way despite theprice drop on Thursday, adealer in Hong Kong said.Metals consultancy GFMS,a division of ThomsonReuters, warned earlier thatbuying in the main physicalgold markets of China andIndia may not be strongenough to provide a floor forprices this year. (Full Story)“Strong physical demandfrom Asia, especially China,arguably supported goldprices from falling further lastyear,” GFMS analyst SaraZhao told the Reuters Glo-bal Gold Forum.—Agencies

VW reportsprofits jump onChina growth,luxury brands

FRANKFURT—Volkswagen,Europe’s biggest autogroup, posted a robust quar-terly net profit thanks togrowth in China and higherprofits at its luxury car divi-sions Audi and Porsche. Inthe quarter from April toJune, the German group’snet profit surged 12.5 per-cent to 3.2 billion euros ($4.3billion).

But the strong euroweighed on group sales,which declined two per-cent to around 51 billioneuros, while operatingprofit dropped three per-cent to 3.3 billion euros.The VW brand itself sawoperating profit fall to 1.01billion euros during thefirst six months of theyear from 1.49 billion eu-ros a year ago.

“We have delivered agood financial performancein the first half of the yeardespite headwinds,” chiefexecutive MartinWinterkorn said in a state-ment, citing weakeningemerging markets and thecost of investing in newtechnologies. Howeverstrong demand in Chinaoffset negative results inother key regions, as didprofit growth at its Audiand Porsche divisions.

The strong sales fig-ures put it within strikingdistance of its Japaneserival Toyota, the globalmarket leader. VW sold5.07 million units in thefirst half of the year, up 5.6percent compared to lastyear. Toyota moved 5.09million units in the sameperiod.—Agencies

Apple closesacquisition ofBeats music

SAN FRANCISCO—Applesaid it closed its $3 billiondeal for Beats, the high-end audio equipment andstreaming music service, atie-up that could allow theiPhone maker to reach newaudiences. “Today we areexcited to officially wel-come Beats Music andBeats Electronics to theApple family,” Apple saidon its website.

“Music has alwaysheld a special place in ourhearts, and we’re thrilled tojoin forces with a group ofpeople who love it as muchas we do. Beats cofound-ers Jimmy Iovine and Dr.Dre have created beautifulproducts that have helpedmillions of people deepentheir connection to music.”Apple offered no indica-tion of any new productsor services it may offer withBeats, but speculation hasswirled around the possi-bility of new wearable techthat may be on the horizon.

Apple’s biggest-everacquisition also bringonboard the talent ofBeats brains Dr. Dre, a rapmusician, and Iovine.Iovine, a producer for U2,Dire Straits, Stevie Nicks,Tom Petty and The Heart-breakers, and Patti Smith,is seen by some as a vi-sionary for recognizingthe trend toward onlinestreaming and subscrip-tions, and away fromApple’s model of pur-chasing individual songson the Internet.—AFP

Currency Selling Buying

USA 98.60 98.40

UK 167.38 167.04

Euro 132.43 132.16

Canada 91.19 91.00

Switzerland 108.96 108.74

Australia 92.63 92.45

Sweden 14.46 14.43

Japan 0.9686 0.9666

Norway 15.85 15.82

Singapore 79.42 79.26

Denmark 17.96 17.92

Saudi Arabia 26.29 26.24

Hong Kong 12.72 12.70

Kuwait 348.45 347.75

Malaysia 31.06 31.00

Newzealand 84.25 84.08

Qatar 27.08 27.02

UAE 26.84 26.79

Kr. Won 0.0962 0.0960

Thailand 3.099 3.093

YANGON—Qatari telecoms firm Ooredoohas started selling low-cost SIM cards inMyanmar, opening up access to mobile ser-vices in one of the world’s last virtually un-tapped phone markets. Less than 10 percentof the population are thought to have ac-cess to a telephone in Myanmar where theexorbitant cost of a SIM under former juntarule made mobile phones a luxury. But lastyear the reformist government led by Presi-dent Thein Sein awarded telecom licencesto Ooredoo as well as Norway’s Telenor, partof a wider move to open up markets previ-ously monopolized by state firms.

“This is history that we made here to-day,” said Ooredoo Myanmar CEO RossCormack at a press conference in Yangon,adding the firm was bringing the very lat-est technologies to the long-isolated na-tion. The SIM card was officially launchedfor sale in the major cities of Yangon,Mandalay and Naypyidaw at a price of1,500 kyat ($1.5), a fraction of the cost ofordinary cards in Myanmar which retail atabout $200. Under junta rule, a SIM couldgo for more than $1,500. Ooredoo billboardsadvertising traditionally-garbed womenholding a parasol in one hand and a mobilein the other have plastered downtown

Qatar firm sells inMyanmar cheap SIM cards

Yangon streets for weeks, helping to builda buzz around the launch.

Several million SIM cards will be on salefrom 6,500 dealers, according to Cormack,ahead of a wider rollout to cover 68 townsand cities, around and including the threehubs launched on Saturday, by mid-Au-gust. But some shops were reported to havestarted selling advance stock as early aslast week with cases of vendors demand-ing above the retail price and even sellingout. “I bought two SIM cards yesterdayfor 5,000 kyat each. The price is still verycheap if you compare it with what was pre-viously available,” Khaing Moe, a univer-sity student, said.

Rival Telenor, which also plans to sellits SIM cards for 1,500 kyat, said it wouldlaunch in Myanmar in September. “Healthymobile competition in the mobile industrywill benefit consumers in Myanmar and weare confident that Telenor will become themost affordable offering in the market,” firmspokeswoman Hanne Knudsen said.Myanmar has generated huge internationalinvestor interest since wide-ranging re-forms introduced under the current quasi-civilian government saw most Westernsanctions lifted.—Agencies

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan has offered to open up its borderfor trade with the least developed countries (LDCs) ofSouth Asia, the commerce minister said. “I made the offerat a recent meeting of Saarc [South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation] countries held in Bhutan,” KhurramDastgir told Dawn. Pakistan has already reduced its sensi-tive list of 1,169 items to 936 for all Saarc countries. Theitems placed on the sensitive list with every country werenot offered for reduction in customs duties.

A source in the ministry said the country may reduceits sensitive list for the LDCs — Bhutan, Maldives, Nepaland Afghanistan — to near zero items. However, someitems would remain on the list to protect local industries.India has also reduced the list for the LDCs to 25 items.

Ahead of the Bhutan meeting, experts had also sug-gested the establishment of Saarc Development Bank; earlyfinalisation of Draft Saarc Agreement on Promotion and Pro-tection of Investments; Motor Vehicles and Railways Agree-ments; and introduction of currency swap arrangementsand trading in local currencies of the member states.

Meanwhile Mr Dastgir said that member countries haveagreed on establishing development bank and currencyswapping. However, it was not clear whether the existingSaarc Development Fund would be transformed into the

Pakistan may slash sensitive listfor LDCs under Safta

LAHORE—A 25-member delegation fromPakistan will leave for India on August 6 toattend the 4th meeting of India-PakistanJoint Forum (IPJF) scheduled to be held inNew Delhi on August 7-8. Syed Yawar AliShah co-chairman IPJF (Pakistan side) willlead the delegation, Noor Muhmmad Kasuria member of the forum told APP here onSunday.

The delegation will be comprising ofmembers of the forum and head of con-cerned task forces, including Noman DarPresident HBL-member banking and Fi-nance, Noor Muhmmad Kasuri member pe-troleum and gas sector, Bashir AliMuhammad Chairman Gul Ahmed textile-member textile, Abdur Razzaq DawoodChairman Descon-member EngineeringSector, Sikandar Mustafa Chairman MillatGroup of Companies. India Pak Joint busi-

OBSERVER REPORT

PAKISTAN’s monetary aggregates haveshown a much better picture in FY14 compared to previous few years. But it’s impera-

tive that it continues moving in the right directionfor any meaningful impact on economic growthand inflation reduction. The M2 growth is not onlyat its three-year low (FY14:12.5% versusFY13:15.9%) but also its asset composition ishealthier-–the NFA-to-NDA ratio has improvedsignificantly. Empirically, the correlation betweenthe ratio of NFA-to-NDA and inflation is close to1-–the higher the ratio, the lower the inflation. Theattainability of FY15’s CPI target of 7.5-8.5 percentis probable. Broad money expanded by Rs1,110billion (12.5%) in FY14 as compared to Rs1,216billion (15.9%) in the previous year. Within it, netforeign assets, which declined by Rs263 billion inFY13, have grown by Rs332 billion in FY14. Theabsolute growth of over Rs600 billion in the NFAis a game changer. Although, there was immensepressure of external debt servicing in the first half

Economic turnaround: Pakistan monetaryaggregates show much better picture

of the fiscal year, inflows poured in the latter half,and changed the dynamics.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is pouncingupon every opportunity to claim that it’s thegovernment’s pro-business and pro-invest-ment policies that are attracting foreign fundsinto the country. However, this would not havebeen possible without the flurry of global capi-tal t i l t ing towards emerging and developingeconomies. India, Brazil and other economies,including Pakistan, all are beneficiaries of thistrend. The overwhelming response on Euro-bond and the swift secondary offerings of UBLand PPL would not have been possible, had itnot been the case of spil lover of WesternWorld’s fiscal and monetary stimuli to the restof the world. That is why currencies, acrossthe developing economies, have appreciatedin the second half of last fiscal year. Pakistanis no exception.

Nonetheless, these foreign flows have createda much needed fiscal space as government bor-rowing from domestic banking system has shrunk

to almost a fifth of what it was in the previous yearto stand at Rs327 billion in FY14. Within that, Dar,on the IMF’s condition, has gradually worked onimproving the maturity profile of domestic debt,by replacing over Rs2 trillion T-Bills to PIBs, mostlyin the second half. It’s a windfall for commercialbanks, as there is nothing like locking in long-termfixed assets when interest rates are expected tomove south. The government has partially subsi-dized the rollover risk in the process. Moreover,government borrowing from central bank is downto Rs197 billion in FY14 (FY13: Rs507bn). Thoughit is not complying to the IMF’s condition of netzero quarterly borrowing targets, the direction isright.

Lesser fiscal reliance on banking system hascurtailed the growth of net domestic assets asNDA growth is slashed to almost half to Rs778billion. This has also crowded in the private in-vestment and its sustainability is imperative forgrowth momentum to pick up. Credit extendedto private sector has increased to Rs384 billionin FY14; whereas there was a drain of Rs99 bil-

lion in the previous year. Although most of thecredit off take was due to working capital needs,higher private sector credit has some contribu-tion to 5.6 percent manufacturing sector growthand 4.5 percent growth in the LSM. The worri-some fact is that investment-to-GDP at 14 per-cent was at multiyear low. It usually takes oneyear to translate private credit building into in-vestment, so this may partially explain theanomaly that the investment-to-GDP is abys-mally low despite a better credit position andhigher GDP growth.

Plus, the foreign money that poured in is eitherin the form of debt or portfolio investment as FDIsflows remained stagnant. In FY15, the need is toutilize the fiscal room generating from non-tax rev-enues (primarily foreign flows) into higher devel-opment spending both at federal and provinciallevels. Concurrently, foreign direct investmentpromised by China and other countries’ playersshould gather pace. Consequently, these two maybuild enough confidence and pave way for do-mestic investment to take lead.

India-Pakistan Joint Forummeets in Delhi on August 7-8

25-member Pak delegation to leave on 6th

ness forum co-chairman (Indian Side) SunilKant Munjal, members of the forum andofficials from ministry of commerce and ex-ternal affairs will represent India in the meet-ing.

The forum will discuss ways and meansto further improve and enhance trade be-tween both the countries. Implementationon recommendations of task forces, removalof non tariff barriers and visa related issueswill also come under discussion. The Fo-rum was constituted by the governmentsof both the countries in 2013 by includingmembers from private and public sectors ofboth the countries with a view to take prac-tical steps for advancing their trade rela-tions. First meeting of the forum was heldin Islamabad in June 2013 and second inOctober 2013 in New Delhi and 3rd in Feb-ruary 2014 in Lahore.—APP

P&G plans toeliminate 100

brands to focus ontop performers

WASHINGTON—Procter &Gamble Co., the world’s larg-est consumer-products com-pany, plans to sell, discon-tinue or otherwise eliminateas many as 100 brands in thenext two years to cut costsand focus on its most impor-tant product lines. The 70 to80 brands that will remainhave accounted for 90 percentof the company’s sales andmore than 95 percent of itsprofit in the past three years,Chief Executive Officer A.G.Lafley said on a conferencecall to discuss fourth-quarterearnings, which beat ana-lysts’ estimates.

Lafley has said he wasreevaluating the company’sportfolio of brands and al-ready started to narrowP&G’s focus since returningas CEO last year. So far hismost notable move was agree-ing to sell most of P&G’s pet-food operations, includingIams and Eukanuba, for $2.9billion earlier this year. Thecompany’s top brands in-clude Tide detergents, Pam-pers diapers, Crest toothpasteand Gillette razors. “This willbe a much smaller and lesscomplicated company ofbrands that will be easier tooperate,” Lafley said. Thestrategy will lead to a “sig-nificant rationalization” ofproduct items and a more “sig-nificant pruning” of unpro-ductive selling units, he said.

The company’s remain-ing brands will be organizedinto a dozen business unitsin four sectors, Lafley said.Most of the brands P&G iskeeping are leaders in theirindustries or categories: 23have sales of $1 billion to$10 billion, and most of theremainder have sales of$100 million to $500 million,he said. Marketing, researchand development, manufac-turing and the company’ssupply chain all will benefitfrom having fewer brands onwhich to focus, Lafley said.

Fourth-quarter profit ex-cluding items such as re-structuring expenses was 95cents a share, the companysaid in a statement. Thattopped the 91-cent averageestimate of projections com-piled by Bloomberg. Salesdeclined 1 percent to $20.2billion in the period endedJune 30. Analysts projected$20.5 billion, the average of20 estimates compiled byBloomberg.—Agencies

SYDNEY—Woodside Petroleum shareholdershave rejected a $2.7 billion stock buyback fromRoyal Dutch Shell following objections bylarge institutions wary of preferential treat-ment of the oil giant. The Australian companywas unable to reach the 75 percent thresholdneeded for the resolution topass, which would have allowedit to buy 9.5 percent of its sharecapital from Shell, the firm saidin a statement. Following a voteat an extraordinary general meet-ing, Woodside said 72 percentwere in favor of the plan with 28percent opposed.

Shell announced recentlythat it wanted to reduce its staketo focus its Australian growthin directly owned assets.Woodside Chairman MichaelChaney said ahead of the meet-ing that his board “fully re-spects the likely outcome of the vote.” Buthe added the Shell buyback was the “onlyoption” that could have helped the Anglo-Dutch firm to reduce its holdings efficiently.“An equal access off-market buyback wouldinvolve less certainty regarding the price andquantum of the buyback depending onshareholder participation and would not pro-vide an orderly reduction of Shell’sshareholding in Woodside,” Chaney said.

Expectations that the buyback would failrose after the Australian energy companyannounced Thursday that only 71.3 percentof eligible proxy and direct votes were sup-portive of the proposal. Institutional share-

Woodside shareholders rejectShell share buyback plan

holders such as superannuation funds, whichinvest Australians’ retirement contributions,said their decision to block the plan was basedon a desire for equal treatment for all parties.“We don’t see the point in there being prefer-ential treatment for other shareholders on spe-

cific deals,” Local Government Super’s BillHartnett told the Australian Financial Review.

“We want the board to consider long-term shareholders in the decision, who aregoing to be there afterwards as well.” Shelllaunched a full takeover of Woodside in2001 as part of a move to get ahead of itsrivals in its efforts to meet the demand forclean-burning fuels, but it was blocked bythe government on the grounds of nationalinterest. Since then, Shell has flagged adesire to sell, which analysts said had re-duced the incentive for other institutionalinvestors to buy into Woodside due to theuncertainty.—Agencies

NEW YORK—A majority of Wall Street’stop bond firms see no move by the FederalReserve to raise interest rates before thesecond half of next year, and most see theUS central bank sticking with a range ratherthan a specific target for the key fed fundsrate, a Reuters survey showed. The resultsare otherwise broadly unchanged from asurvey taken in early June.

Twelve of 18 primary dealers, or thebanks that deal directly with the Fed, saidthe US central bank’s first rate increasewould occur between July 2015 and June2016, the survey found. All but three of the22 primary dealers participated in the sur-vey. The view that ultra-loose policy wouldcontinue for some time persisted afterFriday’s monthly employment report, whichshowed the US economy added more than200,000 jobs for a sixth straight month inJuly — a string of gains not seen since 1997— and after data earlier in the week showedthe economy grew at a faster-than-expected4 percent annual rate in the second quarter.Nonfarm payrolls increased 209,000 lastmonth, missing economists’ median expec-tation of a gain of 233,000, after surging by298,000 in June.

“It fits into (the Fed’s) view of the world.There’s progress in job growth, but slack isstill ample. There was no growth in averagehourly earnings,” said Jay Feldman, econo-mist at Credit Suisse in New York. Concern

Most Wall Street firms see noUS rate hike before H2 2015

about wage inflation intensified on Thurs-day as data showed US labor costs re-corded their biggest gain in more than 5-1/2 years in the second quarter. However,Friday’s data showed average hourly earn-ings rose only one cent last month.

In the survey, 15 of 17 Wall Street firmsexpected the Fed would stop reinvestingthe proceeds from maturing bonds it holdson its $4.4 trillion balance sheet after oraround the same time as the first rate in-crease. That compares with 12 out of 17who responded that way a month ago.

Meanwhile the most marked differencefrom June’s survey was that most dealers nowexpect the Fed to target the funds rate at arange, rather than keeping a specific rate levelas it customarily did before the latest finan-cial crisis. A month ago just two of 16 dealerssaw the Fed opting for a range. Since Decem-ber 2008, the Fed has targeted a range of zeroto 0.25 percent for its key funds rate. InFriday’s survey, nine dealers forecast the Fedwould target a range of 0.25-0.50 percent onceit begins to raise interest rates. Two more seea range with 0.50 percent as the upper band,with the lower ends at 0.30 percent and 0.35percent. A sole dealer forecast the range to bebetween 0.175 percent and 0.375 percent.Among the five dealers that see a specifictarget for the fed funds rate, three have itpegged at 0.50 percent and two at 0.25 per-cent once it begins to rise.—Agencies

development bank. The branches of the proposed bankwill be established in all member countries. Currently, thereis no Pakistani bank in India and vice versa.

Under the currency swapping arrangement, anycountry can import goods and services in their currency,and an arrangement can be made under which the ex-porting country gets paid an equivalent amount in itscurrency, something Mr Dastgir said would facilitatethe regional trade. The final decision about the estab-lishment of the bank and others will be taken at SouthAsia level in the 18th Saarc Summit scheduled for No-vember this year in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.The bank is expected to improve economic cooperationin the region.

Pakistan has also offered to trade in energy, given itswider market, the commerce minister said, adding that thiswould increase regional connectivity. The meeting alsodiscussed and recommended the establishment of inte-grated check posts in six land customs stations in theregion. Pakistan is already working to establish check postsat the border points, especially at Wagha, Torkham andChaman. The next Safta (South Asian Free Trade Area)ministerial council meeting would be held in Afghanistanin August 2015.—Agencies

MADRID—Spanish construction giantFCC, which is fighting its way out of heavylosses, said it expects a boost in revenuesfrom the launch of contracts to build newsubway lines in Saudi Arabia and in Peru.FCC, which reported that it had slashed

losses by 91 percent year-on-year to 52.7million euros ($71 million) in the first halfof 2014, said the foreign contracts wouldhelp sales in the short term. The buildingand public works group said revenues haddeclined by 3.7 percent to 2.97 billion eu-ros in the first half of the year as incomefrom construction activity plunged by 14.5percent.

Construction giant reportsboost from Saudi subways

FCC suffered a 5.3-percent slump ingroup sales in Spain, where the construc-tion industry is still in the doldrums longafter the collapse of a decade-long prop-erty bubble in 2008 and where the govern-ment is slashing infrastructure investmentto rein in the public deficit. FCC said Span-

ish public administrations hadrun up overdue bills amount-ing to 400 million euros as ofJune 30 despite a central gov-ernment program to help re-gions pay their debts to sup-pliers. The slide in group salesin Spain will be gradually off-set, however, it said, as inter-national activity increases “inthe short term” with the com-mencement of contracts suchas those for new subway linesin Lima and Riyadh in the sec-ond half of 2014.

FCC highlighted that itwas part of a consortium that won a con-tract in March to build two lines of LimaMetro for 3.3 billion euros and that it ledanother consortium that won a 250-million-euro deal to build a subway line in Qatar’scapital Doha. Last year, FCC led a consor-tium that won a 6.3-billion-euro contract tobuild three metro lines in the Riyadh sub-way system.—Agencies

KARACHI: Skipper Misbah-ul Haq and Head Coach Waqar Younis address to media persons during press conferenceregarding Test Squad of Pakistan Cricket Team departed to Colombo to play test and ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Milon, Faisalclubs winmatches

MULTAN—Milon andFaisal Shaheed FootballClubs won their matcheson second day of Coca-Cola Flood Light FootballLeague 2014.

The first match wasplayed between MilonFootball Club and EagleFootball Club. Milon Clubscored five goals, in thesecond half and won thematch.

Director British Univer-sity Mian MuhammadJahangir was the chiefguest.

Meanwhile, the secondmatch was played betweenFaisal Shaheed ClubKhanewal and MujahidClub Muzaffargarh.

The match was decidedon panality kicks in whichFaisal Shaheed Club won bysix goals.—APP

Schedule forsports events

MULTAN—The district gov-ernment Sunday an-nounced a schedule forAzadi sports events here.

According to a sched-ule, a football tournamentwould be continued till Au-gust 14 here at SportsGround while youth cricketmatches would be played atSports Ground from Aug 6to Aug 10.

Similarly, Table tennismatches will be played onAug 11 to 12, a cricketmatch and gymnasticevents would be held onAug 14 while a basket balltournament would be heldon Aug 15 to Aug 17 be-sides base ball from Aug 16to Aug 20.

A disable cricket tourna-ment would be played atSports Ground on Aug-16to 17 and disable athleticson Aug 17 to 18 while rugbymatch would be held onAug-17, a hand ball matchwould be on Aug-19 andchess match would startfrom Aug 20.

Hockey matches wouldbe played from Aug 21 to 25and a marathon race will beheld on Aug-24 at ChungiNo-9 chungi No-6 whilewrestling would be held onAug 29 and kabadi matcheswould be played on Aug 31at Sports Ground.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan promising teenagefemale tennis player has called on PalestinianAmbassador to Pakistan Walid A.M. Abu Alito express sympathy with the people of Pal-estine. Kainat Khan, who has recently beenselected as Youth Ambassador by Childrenof Peace (COP), a highly global NGO with anaim to give boost to its humanitarian activi-ties in Pakistan visited Palestinian Embassyand had a meeting with the ambassador, saida press release issued here on Sunday.

Expressing his gratitude to Kainat Khanfor her sympathy for the people of Palestine,Abu Ali said that the government of Pakistanas well as its people had always given theirfull moral support during the plight of the

ISLAMABAD—Former pacer Muhammad Amirwho doesn’t see himself playing in the 2015World Cup is thankful to the Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) for taking up hiscase saying he will be readyfor cricket whenever he isgiven a chance to resume play-ing.

A three-member subcom-mittee of the ICC is due to meetin October to submit its finalreport on new anti-corruptionlaws which could allow Amirthe chance to resume trainingand play first class cricket be-fore his ban ends officially inSeptember, 2015.

Amir said all things haveto go through a process and Iam just grateful to the boardfor taking up my case. “WhatI did was wrong and I got lostin all the fame and wealth.

“I went down the wrong path. They arepeople who try to lure cricketers down thewrong path and into corruption and they needto be stopped,” he told a private news chan-

I will be ready whenevergiven a chance: Amir

nel.Amir also suggested the PCB to appoint

a committee of senior players who can betasked with keeping a watchon young players in domes-tic cricket and also in the na-tional team and who cangroom and educate theseplayers on how to avoid thepitfalls of world cricket.

Amir said the seniors canplay a big role in educatingthe new players. “But at theend it is also a fact that as anindividual one has to be hon-est with oneself. If you arehonest than no one can touchyou,” he said.

Amir supported the newlaw being enacted by the NewZealand government whichentails a seven year prison

sentence for players found guilty of fixing.Amir also agreed insisting that he would

also support such stringent measures includ-ing prison terms for those found guilty of fix-ing.—APP

Young tennis player calls on Palestinianambassador to express sympathy

Palestinian people and for their lawful rights.“We are grateful to all of you,” he said.

Kainat expressed her deep grief at the deathof Palestinians, including women and children,in the Israeli attacks in Gaza. She urged theinternational community to play its role inachieving lasting peace in Palestinian.

The world must feel its responsibilityto immediately stop the ongoing violationsof international law and human rights inPalestine,” she added. The young tennisplayer is also running an NGO KainatWelfare Organization (KWO) with themajor objective to help poor people andyoungsters who cannot participate insport due to shortage of resources.—APP

STANFORD (United States)—Serena Will-iams stormed into the final of the WTAhardcourt tournament at Stanford on Sat-urday, winning the last eight games of a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Andrea Petkovic.

The world number one and top seed,playing her first tournament since a disap-pointing Wimbledon campaign in which shewas slowed by a virus, will face third-seededGerman Angelique Kerber in Sunday’s final.

Kerber, ranked eighth in the world,saved a match point on the way to a 4-6, 7-

KARACHI—Skipper Misbah-ul-Haqon Saturday said he was aiming forPakistan to claim the top Test spot asthe national squad left for a Test andODI series against Sri Lanka.

Pakistan, currently third in theTest rankings, briefly attained worldnumber two in 2006 but have neverbeen number one. Presently, SouthAfrica lead the 10-team Test rankingswith Australia at the second position.

Misbah, 40, said Pakistan couldtake the top spot if they won in SriLanka and beat Australia in the two-Test series in the UAE in October.

“We have a very good chance andit’s a big motivation for us to becometop Test team,” Misbah told report-ers as the team departed for Colombofrom the Quaid-e-Azam InternationalAirport here.

Pakistan open the tour with thefirst of two Tests in Galle starting fromAug 6. They also play three ODImatches on the tour.

“We will do our best to grab thisas we have a very good opportunityto reach the top,” said Misbah.

Misbah said playing Tests after agap of more than six months sincetheir last series in January had mixedeffects.

“I think everything has its advan-tages and disadvantages and play-ing a Test after a gap too has its goodand bad effects,” the skipper said.

“We got a gap so we worked on

Misbah targets top spotin Tests for Pakistan

our fitness and worked on some tac-tical issues but the disadvantage isthat we need time to return to the Testformat but we have the first Test atGalle in our focus and will have to beup to the mark,” added Misbah.

Meanwhile, the captain vowedPakistan would do whatever it takesto win the Test series in Sri Lankaeven if it meant spoiling senior bats-man Mahela Jayawardene’s farewellparty.

Former Sri Lanka captainJayawardene, who has scored 11,671runs in 147 Tests averaging over 50,announced last month he would re-tire from Test cricket after the homeseries against Pakistan.

“If we are to win the series in SriLanka, we have to ensure that theirtop batsmen, particularlyJayawardene, is not allowed to getmany runs,” Misbah said.

“I have a lot of respect for whathe has achieved but we are going toSri Lanka to win the two-test seriesand we know how important it is forus to not allow their senior players toscore.”

Jayawardene, 37, has also scored11,681 runs in 420 one-dayers andwith stalwart Kumar Sangakkara is themainstay of the Sri Lankan batting.

Misbah predicted a tough seriesagainst the Sri Lankans who have astrong home record.

“It is going to be a tough series

because Sri Lanka have been playinglot of test and other cricket. But wehave prepared hard and I have confi-dence in our bowlers,” said Misbah.“Our spinners have traditionally donewell in Sri Lanka but we are bankingon our pace bowlers as well.”

Waqar, meanwhile, stressedPakis-tan’s next two series are as im-portant as next year’s 50-over WorldCup.

“The main target is the 2015World Cup but we have very impor-tant series in Sri Lanka and then twomore against Australia and NewZealand so we have to focus on allthese events and try our best to winthem,” said Waqar, appointed for twoyears in May.

Waqar said Pakistan could takeinspiration from their last Test winover Sri Lanka in Sharjah when theychased 302 on the last day.

“That win in Sharjah will be agreat motivation because we werereally positive in that chase,” saidWaqar. “We should continue that andlike South Africa, who are world’s bestteam, do our best.”

Waqar said the induction offormer Zimbabwe opener GrantFlower as batting coach would helpthe team.

“He [Flower] has a very goodreputation as a very positive andgritty man so his induction will surelyhelp the team,” stated Waqar.—APP

STANFORD: Andrea Petkovic of Germany plays a backhand during her semi finalmatch of WTA hardcourt tournament against Serena Williams.

Serena storms past Petkovicinto Stanford final

6 (7/4), 6-2 victory over 59th-ranked Ameri-can Varvara Lepchenko.

Petkovic, 26, who ousted 34 year-oldVenus Williams in the quarter-finals on Fri-day, pushed 32 year-old Serena hard in theopening set as they battled through the first11 games without a break of serve.

After holding for a 6-5 lead, Williamsturned the tide in the 12th game, althoughshe needed a fifth set point againstPetkovic’s serve to gain the break and theset.—AFP

GL A S G O W—Michelle Li became thefirst Canadian to win women’s singlesgold at the Commonwealth Games bad-minton on Sunday as she saw off thechallenge of Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmourand her passionate home following atthe Emirates Arena.

Meanwhile India’s Kashyap Parupalliwas a popular winner in the men’ssingles final as he beat Derek Wong ofSingapore in a three-game classic to wingold.

Li, who had caused a surprise on Sat-urday by beating top seed PV Sindhu ofIndia, was always in control of the finalwinning the first game 21-14 before cruis-ing to the second 21-7.

“I think I’ve added a better mentalaspect to my game and that’s real lyhelped me in this tournament,” she said.

“This will mean a lot for Canada andit definitely means a lot to me. I’m reallyhappy to have the opportunity to repre-sent my country.

“I’m self-funded but we have a bit ofgovernment funding. We still have to put

in a bit of our own money though as wellas sponsors.

“That was one of the hardestmatches in the tournament and I had tofocus really hard.

“This will give me confidence to pushin the World Championships but I willbe going for gold.”

Gilmour admitted her semi-final exer-t ions tobeat TeeJing Yi lefther feel ingexhausted.

“ Igave so

Li wins gold, makes historymuch yesterday mentally, and so muchconcentration that I don’t think I hadmuch left today, but I gave it my all,”she said.

“I wasn’t 100 per cent right mentallyout there.

“Michelle played just outstandinglytoday, she was on fire. She was pinpointaccurate and I just couldn’t do anythingwith it. Maybe on another day I’ll haveher but today wasn’t that day.

“I’m very happy with what I haveachieved.

Obviously it didn’t go quite the wayI wanted but we were almost there. Thisis definitely not the last for me.”

Parupalli’s clash with Wong was atense affair from the start but the Indian,who was bronze medallist in Delhi, washelped by a noisy support to win thefirst game 21-14.

Wong came back in the second towin it 21-11 but it was neck and neck inthe final game.

Parupalli eventually took it from 19-

19 in 61 minutes before ripping off hisshirt in one of the most excited celebra-tions of the Games.

The husband and wife pair ing ofChris and Gabrielle Adcock comfortablywon the mixed doubles gold medal witha straightforward 21-9, 21-12 victoryover English team-mates ChrisLangridge and Heather Olver.

“It was pretty much a perfect gametoday,” said Chris Adcock, who is look-ing forward to a rest after a gruellingfortnight.

“We will certainly take this medalhome with us. Badminton is a huge partof our l ives and i t is hard to switchoff.”—AFP

GLASGOW: Michelle Li became the first Canadian to win women´s singles gold at theCommonwealth Games badminton on Sunday.

LONDON—Pakistan’s Britain-based martial arts cham-pion Haider Mannan clinched the gold medal in the+85kg in light contact category in the British & OpenKarate & Kickboxing Championship held in Manches-ter on July 20.

According to the information received, the 52-year-old Mannan, who has previously won three medalsfor Pakistan in kickboxing competitions around theworld, won the European title at the George Hall Car-nal Spots Centre in Manchester.

Mannan has now reiterated his desire to become aworld champion.

“I’m training very hard and now I’m a Europeanchampion, my ambition is still very high,” he said. “Tobecome a world champion is my dream and I’m desper-ately looking for sponsorship to help make that hap-pen.”—Agencies

Pakistan’s Mannan winsEuro kickboxing gold

MANCHESTER: Haider Mannan with world refereeHugh Crawford after winning the gold medal at the Brit-ish & Open Karate and Kickboxing Championship.

England call upFinn to replace

PlunkettLONDON—England on Sun-day called Steven Finn intothe squad for the fourth Test

against India to replace in-jured paceman Liam Plunkett.

After suffering particu-larly badly on England’s di-sastrous Ashes tour of Aus-tralia, Finn has been in goodform for Middlesex this sea-son.

Yorkshire’s Plunkettdropped out to rest an in-jured ankle that will not berecovered in time for thefourth Test starting at OldTrafford on Thursday, withthe five-match series level at1-1.

“Liam Plunkett experi-enced some left ankle discom-fort at the end of the secondInvestec Test and will missthe fourth Test as this con-tinues to settle,” the Englandand Wales Cricket Board saidin a short statement.

England hope that restwill get Plunkett ready for thefifth Test starting on August15.

Finn’s form in Australiawas so bad that he was theonly member of England’ssquad not to get a match inany of the five Tests, all wonby the host nation.

He has taken 44 wicketsso far in the county champi-onship this summer at an av-erage of 29.72.—AFP

Cycling bodyto withdrawcase againstArif Hasan

LAHORE—The PakistanCycling Federation (PCF)has decided to withdraw itscase from the Lahore HighCourt (LHC) against the Pa-kistan Sports Board (PSB)for recognising Gen ArifHasan as president of thePakistan Olympic Associa-tion (POA).

PCF secretary Azhar AliShah confirmed that theywill withdraw the case afterEid holidays.

Azhar expressed hopethat the decision wouldbring country’s sports backon the right track after a two-year-long fight betweentwo groups of the POA —Arif Hasan and AkramSahi’s.—APP

Bipin DaniOBSERVER CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Scoring hundred is always ahappy occasion (for the batsman and notto the bowlers though) and subsequentthereafter is bonus. However this is notthe case with former South African fastbowler Norman Gordon, who, onWednesday will be completing 102 yearson his life-pitch and turns to 103.

“He is “very ill” and I doubt whetherhe would be alive on his birthday on Au-gust 6", the 70-year-old son Brian, saidover telephone from his residence inJohannesburg.

Norman Gordon is the first and onlyTest cricketer to have lived over 100 years.He is the only surviving member of thefinal timeless Test between South Africaand England at Durban in 1939.

World’s oldest Test cricketer‘very ill’: Dr Ali Bacher

hopes to see him“He was known to be the fittest player

in his team, but at this age now, his healthis deteriorating every single day. He hadbeen to hospital number of times but itseems the bowler is not needed up”, theson added.

Dr. Ali Bacher, the former captain andex-chairman of the South African cricketboard has been very close to the family.

“Just spoke to his son Brian. Normanwill be 103 on August 6. I had hoped totake Norman out for lunch on his birth-day. But it is not possible”, he said overtelephone.

“Old age has finally caught up withhim. He remains indoors and spends mostof the time in his bed”.

“Will he notch up 103 ? Knowing hisdetermination I will put money on it thathe will remain undefeated on August 6”,Dr. Bacher concluded.

GLASGOW—The CommonwealthGames end Sunday with England as-sured of top spot for the first timesince 1986 but with deposed rivalsAustralia confident of a last hurrahbefore they host the 2018 edition.

England lead the medals table on165 with 56 gold while Australia have132 in total of which 45 are gold andwith just 11 titles to be decided onthe final day, the English can cel-ebrate their best Commonwealth per-formance since the Edinburgh show-piece 28 years ago.

In road cycling, veterans EmmaPooley of England and David Millarof Scotland will be looking to signoff their careers with gold.

But both will have to overcomestrong competitors and potentiallywild, wet Glasgow weather if they areto go out on a high note.

Pooley’s teammate LizzieArmitstead will be favourite havingfinished second in the event at Delhiin 2010 and at the 2012 Olympics.

In the men’s race, Peter Kennaughof the Isle of Man, who won silver inthe men’s 40km points race on thetrack, showed his road race creden-tials when he won the British cham-pionship in June.

Welsh rider Geraint Thomas, whotook bronze in the individual time

CGames: England on top as 2018hosts Australia plan last hurrah

trial, will be a contender.Millar, who won road race bronze

at Delhi, finished eighth in the indi-vidual time trial on Thursday.

Australia has been the dominantnation in the road race, having takenthe last four Games gold medals inthe men’s event and four of the sixgolds awarded for the women’s sinceits Games debut at Auckland in 1990.

In the men’s hockey final, Indiawill face Australia in a repeat of thefinal from four years ago when theAussies romped home 8-0.

World champions Australia arethe four-time Commonwealth Gamesgold medallists and have lost onlyone game in the history of the tour-nament — 3-2 to South Africa in thepool stages at Kuala Lumpur 1998.

India will be boosted by the re-turn of captain Sardar Singh who wassuspended for the semi-final winagainst New Zealand.

New Zealand and Australia willcontest a fifth consecutive netball fi-nal. Australia won the first two andNew Zealand the last two.

New Zealand won their semi-finalagainst England, 35-34 for the narrow-est ever winning margin in a last-fourclash.

In squash, Australia’s DavidPalmer and Cameron Pilley take on

defending champions Nick Matthewand Adrian Grant of England in thefinal of the men’s doubles.

Palmer is also in the mixeddoubles final alongside RachaelGrinham where the Australian pairface England’s Peter Barker andAlison Waters.

Badminton concludes with five fi-nals which will see Michelle Li ofCanada face Kirsty Gilmour of Scot-land in the women’s final and DerekWong of Singapore tackle second-seeded Kashyap Parupalli of India forthe men’s title.

In mixed doubles, it’s an all-En-glish final between husband and wifepairing, Chris and Gabby Adcockagainst Chris Langridge and HeatherOlver.

The men’s doubles final will seeTan Wee Kiong and Goh Wei Shemof Malaysia facing Danny Chrisnantaand Chayut Triyachart of Singaporewhile Malaysia’s Hoo Vivian KahMun and Woon Khe Wei tussle withJwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappaof India in the women’s doubles.

The closing ceremony takes placeat Hampden Park from 2000GMT withthe Commonwealth Games Federa-tion flag to be entrusted to officialsfrom Australia’s Gold Coast, the hostsof the 2018 Games.—AFP

GLASGOW—England claimed a one-two inthe women’s road race in Glasgow on Sun-day as Lizzie Armitstead went one better thanin New Dehli four years ago to claim Com-monwealth gold.

It was an historic moment for Armitsteadas she won England’s 2000th CommonwealthGames medal. Only Australia have won more.

The 25-year-old finished the 98.14kmcourse around the streets of Glasgow in atime of two hours 38 minutes and 43 sec-

England win one-two inCommonwealth women’s road race

GLASGOW: Jamaica’s Usain Bolt celebrates after anchoring the Jamaican team to the gold medal in the Men’s4x100m relay at Hampden Park Stadium during the Commonwealth Games.

GLASGOW (Scotland)—On a wet track fol-lowing torrential rain, Usain Bolt gave theCommonwealth Games a display of show-manship and speed as he anchoredJamaica’s 4x100-meter relay team to goldand glory.

Jamaica raced ahead of England in agames-record 37.58 seconds as the six-timeOlympic gold medalist became a Common-wealth champion for the first time, enhanc-ing the status of an event that can appearan anachronism in the modern world.

‘’Even though it was cold, the energywas warm,’’ Bolt said.

Many doubted whether Bolt would turnup in Glasgow, having skipped the last twoeditions and being sidelined with a left footinjury earlier in 2014. The individual sprintswere avoided, but the world’s fastest manmade it clear that he craved a Common-wealth gold in his already illustrious medalhaul.

Now Bolt has that gold from a HampdenPark experience he undoubtedly savoredfollowing a week when he was forced todeny making disparaging comments aboutGlasgow.

‘’The only bad thing about this place is

Bolt adds 1st Commonwealthgold to 6 Olympic wins

the weather,’’ Bolt said. ‘’But I expectedit.’’

There was, however, a pause in theshowers when the biggest star of thesegames appeared on a track scattered withpuddles and produced theatrics even moreexuberant than usual. Before running 100meters, Bolt danced along to the lyrics ofScottish pop anthem ‘’500 Miles.’’

‘’It kind of helped me keep hyped upfor the race,’’ Bolt said.

After legs by Jason Livermore, KemarBailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade, Bolt con-tinued running beyond his 100 meters, drap-ing himself in a Jamaican flag, a ScottishSaltire and tartan hat as he entertained thecrowd and posed for pictures.

‘’This new thing about selfies is reallymaking these laps of honors really long,’’Bolt said. ‘’It used to be autographs, noweveryone wants a selfie.’’

But it is likely to be the last one at aCommonwealth Games for Bolt, who plansto retire after the 2017 world championships- before Australia’s Gold Coast hosts thegames in 2018.‘’I want to be there but maybe not as anathlete,’’ he said.—AFP

onds.Teammate Emma Pooley finished 25 sec-

onds behind to add another silver to the oneshe won in the time trial.

A photo finish saw South Africa’sAshleigh Pasio claim her country’s first road

race medal as she just edged Australia’s Tif-fany Cromwell for bronze following a dra-matic sprint to the line. For Armitstead, thewin allows her to banish the memories offinishing second in New Dehli and at theLondon 2012 Olympics.—AFP

GOLDEN SMILE: Armitstead celebrates winning her gold medal on the podium inGlasgow.

Australiahammer India4-0 to clinchhockey gold

GLASGOW—Chris Ciriellostruck a hat-trick as Austra-lia humiliated India 4-0 toclinch the gold medal of theGlasgow 2014 Common-wealth Games at GlasgowNational Hockey Centre onSunday.

Eddie Ockenden cel-ebrates Australia’s winninggoal against India at theCommonwealth Games onSundayCiriello convertedfrom the penalty corner toput Australia 1-0 in the 13thminute. He doubled the leadin the 28th minute througha field goal. He scored histhird through a penalty cor-ner in the 2nd half.

Eddie Ockenden thenadded the final nail inIndia’s coffin, sounding theboard in the 53rd minute.India wasted penalty cornerchances and had to pay forslopping defending as thematch progressed. Mean-while, England claimed thebronze medal from the men’shockey at the Common-wealth Games on Sundaycourtesy of a 4-2 win in apenalty shootout over NewZealand after a thrilling 3-3draw.

Ashley Jackson wasonce again England’s starman as he scored twice innormal time before sealingvictory in the shootout fromthe penalty spot.

It is the first time sincethe inaugural hockey eventat the Commonwealths 12years in Kuala Lumpur thatEngland have won a medalin the men’s hockey.—AFP

P .... Country ........................... G ......... S ....... B ...... T1 ..... ENG .................................. 58 ........ 58 ....... 56 . 1722 ..... AUS .................................. 48 ........ 42 ....... 46 . 1363 ..... CAN ................................. 32 ........ 16 ....... 34 ... 824 ..... SCO .................................. 19 ........ 15 ....... 19 ... 535 ..... IND ................................... 15 ........ 30 ....... 19 ... 646 ..... NZL .................................. 14 ........ 13 ....... 17 ... 447 ..... RSA .................................. 13 ........ 10 ....... 17 ... 408 ..... NGR .................................. 11 ........ 11 ....... 14 ... 369 ..... KEN .................................. 10 ........ 10 ........ 5 .... 2510 ... J A M ................................. 10 ......... 4 ......... 8 .... 2211 ... SIN ..................................... 8 .......... 4 ......... 4 .... 1612 ... MAS .................................. 5 .......... 7 ......... 6 .... 1813 ... WA L.................................. 4 ......... 11 ....... 20 ... 3514 ... CYP.................................... 2 .......... 4 ......... 2 ...... 815 ... NIR .................................... 2 .......... 3 ......... 7 .... 1216 ... PNG ................................... 2 .......... 0 ......... 0 ...... 217 ... CMR .................................. 1 .......... 3 ......... 3 ...... 718 ... UGA .................................. 1 .......... 0 ......... 4 ...... 519 ... GRN ................................... 1 .......... 0 ......... 1 ...... 220 ... KIR .................................... 1 .......... 0 ......... 0 ...... 1

GLASGOW: Australia celebrate winning the men’s field hockey gold after beatingIndia at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre.

GLASGOW: Jodi Brown of New Zealand tries to keep the ball from Australia’s NatalieMedhurst during the 2014 Commonwealth Games netball gold medal match at TheHydro venue.

G L A S G O W — A u s t r a l i agained revenge on NewZealand by beating the de-fending champions 58-40 in acomfortable netball final vic-tory at the CommonwealthGames on Sunday.

The Silver Ferns, who hadearned a last-gasp 35-34 vic-tory against England in thesemi-finals, had an off day infront of goal and that provedcostly as their Antipodean ri-vals took full advantage.

Australia gain netball revenge on New ZealandGoal shooter Caitlin

Bassett, who had scored 41points in the semi-final 57-42win over Jamaica, was easilythe standout player for Aus-tralia as she scored 49 pointswith a 92 per cent success rate.

“We’re unbelievably ec-static,” said Diamonds cap-tain Laura Geitz. “We knew theKiwis would pose a chal-lenge. I know it sounds like acliche, but we stuck to ourgameplan.

“Obviously you need tomake the most of your oppor-tunities against NewZealand. They don’t make toomany errors. “I’m very proudof the way the girls con-ducted themselves today.

“We’ve paid a lot of at-tention to starting after half-

time. It’s nice to have a strongstart. We knew never to un-derestimate the Kiwis.”

The match had the mak-ings of a similar classic to2010, which went to extra-time, with there being little tochoose from between thetwo sides after the first quar-

ter at 14-14. But Australiatook a narrow lead of 28-24into half-time and neverlooked back.

New Zealand scored only40 of their 54 attempts withexperienced attacker JodiBrown and Maria Tutaia bothdisappointing.—AFP

Waseem slamsjudges after losing

flyweight finalGLASGOW—Pakistan boxerMohammad Waseem hitback at the judges after los-ing the final of the flyweightcategory to Australian An-drew Moloney at the Com-monwealth Games inGlasgow on Saturday.

Waseem lost by anunanimous decision withthe judges scoring forMoloney in all three rounds.

“This is crazy,” a visiblyupset Waseem said after thefive judges awardedMoloney the fight. “He[Moloney] cheating, thereferee, the judges they’reall cheating. Not happy withsilver.”

Moloney held his nerveearly on to frustrateWaseem, who was keen toencourage his rival to adoptan attacking approach earlyon as he looked for areas toexploit.

However, the Australianproved to be too smart forPakistan’s boxing captain ashe fought a controlled fight,relying on his fast hands,calmly picked his spots toland a number of cleanblows.

Moloney won the firstround and althoughWaseem, a bronze medallistin Delhi four years ago,caught him with a nice shotto the body in the secondround, Moloney got himselfout of trouble to win thatround.—AFP

WEST African leaders agreed onFriday to take stronger measures to try to bring the worst

outbreak of Ebola under control and pre-vent it spreading outside the region, in-cluding steps to isolate rural communi-ties ravaged by the dis-ease.

The World HealthOrganization and medi-cal charity MedicinsSans Frontieres said onFriday the outbreak,which has killed 729people in four West Af-rican countries, was outof control and more re-sources were urgentlyneeded to deal with it.WHO chief MargaretChan told a meeting ofthe presidents ofGuinea, Liberia and Si-erra Leone - the coun-tries worst affected - thatthe epidemic was out-pacing efforts to containit and warned of catastrophic conse-quences in lost lives and economic dis-ruption if the situation were allowed todeteriorate.

“The presidents recognize the seri-ous nature of the Ebola outbreak in theircountries,” Chan said after the meeting.“They are determined to take extraordi-nary measures to stop Ebola in their coun-tries.” In a communique after their talks,the leaders agreed to deploy securityforces to isolate the frontier regions where70 percent of the 1,323 cases have beendetected.

They banned the transportation of

anyone showings signs of diseaseacross borders, and pledged to intro-duce strict controls at international air-ports to prevent the virus spreadingoutside the region. There was interna-tional alarm last week when a U.S. citi-

zen died of Ebola in Nigeria- Africa’s most populouscountry - after flying therefrom Liberia. Two peoplequarantined in Lagos aftercoming into contact with himwere released on Friday af-ter they tested negative forthe disease.

The three leadersalso agreed to step up ef-forts to protect localhealthcare workers and en-courage them to return towork. With healthcare sys-tems struggling to cope withthe highly infectious dis-ease, which requires rigor-ous precautions to stop itspreading, more than 60medical workers have lost

their lives, hampering efforts to tacklethe outbreak.

Liberia has already put in placetough measures including closing allschools and some government depart-ments. Sierra Leone on Wednesday de-clared a state of emergency and calledin troops to isolate Ebola victims. How-ever, Friday’s agreement marked a re-versal by Guinea, which had previouslyresisted taking tough steps, saying thedisease was under control there.

“Somewhat drastic measures will betaken,” Guinea’s Cooperation MinisterMoustapha Koutoub Sano said.

African leaders agree steps tofight runaway Ebola outbreak

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Ansar Burney Trust In-ternational Chairman, United Na-tions former Expert Adviser on Hu-man Rights and former Federal Min-ister for human rights, AnsarBurney has strongly condemnedPakistani Politicians, who are busyin pulling each other’s legs and do-ing dirty politics but paying no at-tention to 18000 Pakistanis whowere living and working in Libyaincluding 175 (illegal immigrant Pa-kistani detainees in Libyan deten-tion center since 2 to 3 years) andnow stuck there after Civil War andclosure of Airports.

Burney said some of our corruptand hypocrite politicians are busy indirty politics in Pakistan while the life

Ansar Burney condemnspoliticians act towards Pakistanis

of 18000 innocent Pakistanis and Pa-kistani prisoners in Libya are at stake.

He said that these Pakistaniswith their families are in Libya since1974 or 1980 and were doing busi-nesses or jobs, but now it is gettingworst day by day and there lives arenow in continuous danger.

In the greater interest of Pakistaninationals and humanity, he onceagain urges Pakistan Governmentspecially President MamnoonHussain, Prime Minister NawazSharif and Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs to assist and help Ansar BurneyTrust International to save the livesof almost 18000 Pakistanis (includ-ing 175 illegal immigrant Pakistanidetainees in Tripoli detention centerfor the last 2 to 3 years) stuck in Libyaafter civil war and closures of Air-

ports before it could be too late.He also contacted and taken-up

the matter with Tunisia, Egypt, Al-geria, Niger, Chad and Sudan theneighboring countries of Libya onhumanitarian grounds to allow themto use their territorial ways i.e. seaand air routes to travel to their re-spective hometowns by issuing nec-essary visa-at-border to Pakistanisand all other immigrants/foreignersof different countries stuck in Libyadue to civil war and unstable condi-tion of law and order so also closureof airports and seaports.

Ansar Burney is also in contactwith the above neighboring coun-tries of Libya on humanitariangrounds to help Pakistanis and allother Foreign Nationals stuck inLibya due to Civil War.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The power breakdown atKarachi Water and Sewerage Board’s(KW&SB) pumping stations contin-ued to wreaking havoc on the inhab-itants of Karachi. The Karachi Elec-tric and the KW&SB managementhad failed to resolve their inter-de-partmental disputes while the provin-cial government also showed no se-riousness over the worst water crisis

in the city.The recent major power break-

down at the Gharo Pumping Stationhad resulted of a downed high ten-sion electric line carrying pole.

The pole had been pulled due toheavy gusty wind, which the KE re-erected on Saturday evening after 17hours had lapsed. However, the du-ration caused reduction of water atthe rate of 1.5 million gallons perhours, which totaled to 30 million

gallons.Soon after the electricity was re-

stored, another spell of power failureaffected water supply and this timethe electric jumper over the GharoPumping Station had dropped at 8:35p.m, which was repaired after 2 hours,which furthered shortage of water forthe Karachiites for 30 million gallons.

Third power breakdown was at theNorth East Karachi Filter Plant at 1:30a.m.

Power breakdowns continueat KW&SB pumping stations

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Jamaat-e Islami (JI) KarachiChapter would organize “Gaza MillionMarch” on Aug17 at Shahra-e Faisal fromBaloch Colony to FTC. In this regard, ameeting of the office bearers of JI KarachiChapter was held at Idara-e Noor-e Haqunder the chairmanship of JI Karachi ChiefHafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman.

During the meeting, the JI office bear-ers had strongly condemned the death ofaround 1670 Palestinians including innocentchildren, women and elderly men by thebrutal bombing of Israel.

Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said that the

hearts of Karachiites were with the peopleof Gaza and the people will prove it on Aug17 by participating in “Gaza Million March”in large numbers.

On the occasion, different committeeswere formed in order to review the arrange-ments of “Gaza Million March”. Accordingto the details, Engineer Sabir Ahmed willlook after the charge of Administrative Com-mittee, Osama Razi will look after the chargeof Publicity Committee, Muslim Pervez willhave a responsibility to contact with theleadership of different political and religiousparties, Abdul Wahab will have a responsi-bility to contact with the notables of pro-fessional forums and its sub-organizations.

JI to organize ‘Gaza MillionMarch’ on Aug 17

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Dr Aafia Movement hadsecured 108490 signatures on a peti-tion for release of Dr Aafia, who wasundergoing 86 year long imprison-ment in a jail in the United States ofAmerica. The petition would be for-warded to President Barak Obama atWhite House.

In this regard, jailed Dr Aafia’s sis-ter, Dr Fowzia Siddiqui addressed apress conference at Dr Aafia’s resi-dence.

She said in past 11 years, there hademerged another opportunity thatcould lead to release of Dr Aafia fromUS jail.

The petition filed with the WhiteHouse carried above 100, 000 signa-

tures of people from all walks of life,which had created fervent hopes thatthe US President would pay respectto those that pleaded for Dr Aafia’srelease through their signatures.

She said the petition was theonly one that crossed the limit ofabove 100,000 signatures while other349144 petitions so far filed couldnot achieve that target.

Petition for Dr Aafia’s releasesecures 108490 signatures

People purchasing national flag and other related items from vendors as the nation starts preparations to celebrate Independence Day in a befittingmanners.

Activists of JUP protesting against ISIS outside the press club.

Youngsters continue to take bath on the beach despite many deaths which needs attention of the concernedauthorities.

KARACHI—At least two people wereovernight shot down in firing incidentsin different areas of the mega city. A manwas killed in a firing incident near SakhiHassan Chowrangi and the other manwas killed in Majeed Colony; while, twoothers were wounded in the Sundaynight violence, according to the Rescue

sources. According to police sources,the man, who was shot to death nearSakhi Hassan Chowrangi, was later iden-tified as Amir Azhar. Azhar’s bereavedfamily said he was killed while resistinga robbery. The police sources said thedeceased was a senior officer of a sensi-tive agency. He was about to return home

after attending a ceremony at a marriagelawn, when two unidentified maskedmiscreants tried to snatch his mobile andother valuables. On resistance, the mug-gers opened fire, killing him on the spot,and sped away. His body has beenshifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital’smorgue.—INP

Spy agency officer among 2 killed

Nation urgedto stand byPak Army

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Pakistan Armywas at war with the terroristswith the determination to freethe country from oppressionand extremism. This was thesecond war for the indepen-dence and hence the entirenation had to show solidar-ity with the armed forces ofPakistan on this Indepen-dence Day.

Pakistan Muslim LeagueFunctional (PMLF) SindhVice President and PMLFKarachi Tanzeemi CommitteeChairman Pirzada Yasir Sainexpressed these views whileaddressing the PMLF work-ers and leaders gatheringSunday. He was flanked byZameer Usmani, MakhdoomHasnain, Imtiaz Ali and otherparty officials. Pakistan wasbeing sandwiched with insur-gency and terrorism in north-ern parts while a huge waveof agitation was fast loomingtoward the capital city of Pa-kistan, Islamabad.

WEST African leaders agreed onFriday to take stronger measures to try to bring the worst

outbreak of Ebola under control and pre-vent it spreading outside the region, in-cluding steps to isolate rural communi-ties ravaged by the dis-ease.

The World HealthOrganization and medi-cal charity MedicinsSans Frontieres said onFriday the outbreak,which has killed 729people in four West Af-rican countries, was outof control and more re-sources were urgentlyneeded to deal with it.WHO chief MargaretChan told a meeting ofthe presidents ofGuinea, Liberia and Si-erra Leone - the coun-tries worst affected - thatthe epidemic was out-pacing efforts to containit and warned of catastrophic conse-quences in lost lives and economic dis-ruption if the situation were allowed todeteriorate.

“The presidents recognize the seri-ous nature of the Ebola outbreak in theircountries,” Chan said after the meeting.“They are determined to take extraordi-nary measures to stop Ebola in their coun-tries.” In a communique after their talks,the leaders agreed to deploy securityforces to isolate the frontier regions where70 percent of the 1,323 cases have beendetected.

They banned the transportation of

anyone showings signs of diseaseacross borders, and pledged to intro-duce strict controls at international air-ports to prevent the virus spreadingoutside the region. There was interna-tional alarm last week when a U.S. citi-

zen died of Ebola in Nigeria- Africa’s most populouscountry - after flying therefrom Liberia. Two peoplequarantined in Lagos aftercoming into contact with himwere released on Friday af-ter they tested negative forthe disease.

The three leadersalso agreed to step up ef-forts to protect localhealthcare workers and en-courage them to return towork. With healthcare sys-tems struggling to cope withthe highly infectious dis-ease, which requires rigor-ous precautions to stop itspreading, more than 60medical workers have lost

their lives, hampering efforts to tacklethe outbreak.

Liberia has already put in placetough measures including closing allschools and some government depart-ments. Sierra Leone on Wednesday de-clared a state of emergency and calledin troops to isolate Ebola victims. How-ever, Friday’s agreement marked a re-versal by Guinea, which had previouslyresisted taking tough steps, saying thedisease was under control there.

“Somewhat drastic measures will betaken,” Guinea’s Cooperation MinisterMoustapha Koutoub Sano said.

African leaders agree steps tofight runaway Ebola outbreak

Shopkeepers displaying and arranging different stuff to attract customers as nation starts preparations to celebrate Independence Day in abefitting manner.

LAHORE—Punjab GovernorMuhammad Sarwar ChaudahrySunday said that in line with thepolicy of Chief Minister PunjabMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif, admis-sions in all educational institutionsacross the province will be abso-lutely on merit.

The governor in an exclusiveinterview with APP here said thatPrime Minister Muhammad NawazSharif and Chief Minister PunjabMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif at-tached great importance to provi-sion of modern quality educationto people at their door-steps. Hesaid special teams will monitor theoverall admission process in all edu-

cational institutions to fully ensuretransparent admissions. He saidthat government would focus onpromotion of quality education inthe province especially public andprivate sector universities.

He said that during last vicechancellors’ conference here atGovernor House, 4 high level com-mittees of VCs each headed by se-nior VC were constituted for viableproposals.

He said these proposals werenow being studied and examinedthoroughly for implementing in theentire education department, in-cluding private and public sectorvarsities.

He said a scientific mechanismwithin the ambit of law was alsobeing evolved to monitor the over-all academic performance of univer-sities.

The governor said 24 publicsector and 22 in private sector uni-versities were imparting educationin various teaching disciplinesacross the province and the PunjabUniversity having over 80 facultieshas the highest number of 33252students with lowest free structurein the world.

Muhammad Sarwar Chaudharysaid that in the light of the recom-mendations of the VC committees,a complete summary would be sent

to the Chief Minister. Respondingto a question regarding deteriorat-ing educational standard in most ofthe private sector universities andenrolment of maximum number ofstudents beyond the capacity oftheir campuses in different cities,he said complaints were being ex-amined seriously and all effortswould be made to put the things inproper track.

He said the Chairman HigherEducation Commission would alsobe involved to check these malprac-tice in private universities and noone would be allowed to play withthe destiny of the nation for themonetary gains.—APP

Admissions in educational institutionswill be on merit: Governor

LAHORE—Constitutional experts have en-dorsed the government’s decision to invokeArticle 245 of the Constitution for the pro-tection of people’s lives and property fromterrorist activities.

Talking to APP on Sunday, senior law-yer A K Dogar said the government hadcalled the forces for the support of civilarmed forces (in the Federal Capital) underArticle 245, which was part of the Constitu-tion.

It was the duty of the government toprotect the people’s lives and property andfor the purpose, it could invoke the relevantarticles of Constitution, he opined. Dogarsaid that it was a wrong impression that byinvoking Aricle 245, the army had taken overthe charge of the government. “The Article245 provides constitutional cover to thearmed forces to work with the civil securityforces,” he added.

“Invoking Artical 245 is a constitutional

Constitutional experts endorseinvoking Article 245

step aimed at protecting lives and propertyof the people,” he added.

It was not a political issue as the opera-tion Zarb-e-Azb was going on and theforces were already present in the Capitalfor the protection of the people so invok-ing Article 245 was a good decision at theright time, he added.

Another senior lawyer Asjad Saeed ad-vocate said invoking Article 245 was not awrong decision as the government hadcalled the army to strengthen the securityof the people. “The army has been calledfor aiding the government and it is clear inthe Constitution,” he added.

PML-N Lawyers Forum Punjab Presi-dent Sharif Zafar Joiya alleged some par-ties were politicising the matter as the thedecision of invoking Article was taken whilelaunching the operation Zarb-e Azb. Heurged the nation to remain united for a pros-perous future of the country.—APP

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Lahore College for Women Uni-versity (LCWU) will open admissions in F.A/F.Sc 1st Year from Monday (today). Sale andsubmission of admission forms will be con-tinued till 9th August.

LCWU is offering admissions in differentdisciplines i.e. F.Sc. (Pre-Medical), F.Sc (Pre-Engineering), I.C.S (Physics, statistics &Economics group) I.Com and General Sci-ence.

Vice Chancellor, in a meeting, directed thestaff on admission duty to facilitate studentsand parents.

She said that LCWU has setup Interme-diate College to enhance the quality of edu-cation of Intermediate. Admissions are be-ing offered on open merit however test for

Admissions at LCWU from today, no admission of less than 60pc in GCU

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Lahore Waste Manage-ment Company (LWMC) will hold sev-eral ceremonies to mark IndependenceDay in which a large number of Chris-tian workers will participate to express

solidarity on this national occasion.Ceremonies will include waving of

national flags on its all 35 offices, in-stallation of stalls on city’s major visit-ing places, distribution of gifts likecaps, T-shirts among citizens espe-cially children, flag and float marches

with branded vehicles within city andat Wahga Boarder and, most impor-tantly, the making of human flag bycompany’s Christian workers.

National flags have been wavedon all LWMC offices after a ceremonyheld at Wahdat Road Zonal Office.

Manager Operations Suhail AnwarMalik, Manager CommunicationJamil Khawar, Assistant Managersm. Umair Khan, Rehman Rashid,Zonal officers and a large number ofsanitary staff participated in flag wav-ing ceremony.

LWMC to celebrate Independence Day with fervor

LAHORE—Punjab Highway Patrolclaimed to have arrested 28 criminalsand recovered 4.25kg hashish, 31 lit-ters liquor, two guns, one rifle, two pis-tols and cattle. PHP officials also ar-rested seven gamblers and recovereda car, two motorcycles, Rs 11,000 in

PHP arrest 28 criminalscash and six mobiles.

The accused have been identifiedas Faisal Ali, Fayyaz, Asghar,Shamshad Ahmad, Asad Ullah, Tahir,Ghulam Shabir, Ghulam Farid, Naeem,Mazhar, Ashfaq, Muhammad Ali, AsadAli, Shahid, Allah Ditta, Sohail Aslam,

Pannu Khan, Najaf, Razaq, Mushtaq,riaz, Afsar, Nasir Mehmood,KhalidMehmood and Mohammad Khan.

The officials handed over the ac-cused and stolen items to police. ThePHP helped 3,252 travellers on high-ways.—APP

LAHORE—A high level delegation ofSAARC Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try, (SCCI) Pakistan chapter left for NewDelhi on Sunday to participate in the forth-coming 2-day meeting with Confederationof Indian Industry (CII) on August 4.

Leader of the delegation, VP SCCI,Iftikhar Ali Malik told APP here Sundayprior to his departure that Senior Vice Presi-dent, all Vice Presidents from Sri Lanka,Bhuttan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistan will attend themoot to discuss at length the avenues ofthe promotion of mutual trade among theSAARC member countries.

He said that SAARC President Asefffrom Maldives along with Secretary Gen-eral Muhammad Iqbal Tabish will also ex-change their views based on their 27 yearsexperience and share their concrete and vi-able proposals for the promotion of tradeamong all member countries.

Iftikhar Ali Malik said that “We may ex-amine the possibilities of having bankingnetwork among the member countries toboost the trade in the region which possessplenty of indigenous natural resources”.

He hoped that this is one of the goodopportunity to help resolve their issuesamicably through peaceful and result ori-ented parleys for strengthening theeconomy in the region, ultimately for thewelfare of the poor segments of the soci-ety.

He expressed hope that positive attitudeof the member countries will help to increasetrade in south Asia in near future.

The delegation will also hold a series ofimportant meetings with their counterpartsand pressing them hard to help solve thecritical issues including the Kashmir disputeand water conflict being confronted by ei-ther countries through peaceful parleys andin the larger interest of the region.—APP

High level SAARC CCIdelegation leves for New Delhi

English Literature and fine Arts will be givenon 11th and 12th August respectively. Inter-view for disabled and Hafiza Quraan will beconducted on 12th August.

The candidates seeking admissions onSports base will participate trials on 13thAugust and on same day first merit list willbe displayed in the Campus.

Vice Chancellor said that LCWU will of-fer admission to every student standing onmerit.

“LCWU has allocated millions of rupeesfor scholarships and financial assistance.”She added.

Dr. Mansoor declared that LCWU pro-vides Pakistan’s most gifted students theopportunity to gain free membership to UK’sWarwick University’s world renowned Inter-national Gateway for Gifted Youth (IGGY)

programme. Meanwhile Miss Mahrukh Bokhari, prin-

cipal Intermediate College LCWU, has saidthat seats have been reserved for foreign stu-dents, FATA, other provinces, Hafiza, dis-abled and sports. University will offer schol-arship to B.I.S.E. Position holders. Sheadded.

Meanwhile, A student with less than 60 percent marks in matriculation and more than 18years of age can not apply for intermediate ad-mission to Government College University.

In view of exceptionally high merit,suchstudents absolutely never born on merit listsfor the last several decades as new admissionpolicy of 2014 promises merit-based transpar-ent admissions to all faculties, especially withno increase in tuition fee besides eliminatingnepotism and favouritism.

Vice Chancellor Dr Khaliq Ur Rehman in aninterview with APP on Sunday said that nearly1,000 students would be admitted to first yearpre-medical, pre-engineering,humanities,I.Com, strictly in accordance withmerit criteria laid down in the policy. He said ahigh powered admission committee had beenconstituted to monitor overall process of ad-missions.

The GC University, the 150 years oldest seatof learning, has emerged as one of the bestpublic university with excellent academic trackrecord in the Sub-continent with the affordablefee for inter, postgraduate, undergraduate, MPhil and PhD courses. He said: “We restruc-tured several faculties of various teaching de-partments, inducted teachers on merit and thenumber of students increased manifolds withthe highest ever strength.”

Khaliq Ur Rehman said the science studentsof the university always excelled with foreignstudents in certain areas of specialization. Hesaid decades old syllabi and courses were be-ing revised periodically and updated to meetfuture challenges. He said not a single studentwas admitted out of merit during his tenure. TheVC said that currently over 300 high profile fac-ulty mostly PhD were imparting education to10,000 students. He said,”We focused on thepromotion of modern research in all facultieswhich is one of the criteria worldover to judgeand evaluate the ranking of university. “

“The GC University has a unique privilegeto be the only educational institution in thecountry that is imparting knowledge to studentsin all disciplines ranging from social science,humanities, science, computer,law and foreignlanguages, including Arabic and French.”

LAHORE—Kisan Board Pakistan(KBP) has urged the government totake steps to end strikes of cotton millsand to fix cotton price at Rs 5,000 permaund.

According to a press release is-sued here on Sunday, the KBP fur-ther demanded that steps should betaken to buy cotton through the Cot-ton Corporation. The KBP urged the

government to resolve issues of theagriculture sectors on priority basis sothat the sector could play its due rolein improving economy of the coun-try.—APP

Cotton price at Rs 5,000 per maund demanded