mONDAy April 01, 2013 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1434 I Rawalpindi/Islamabad I Vol, V, No. 347 I www.thespokesman.pk Pages 12 I Price 10/-

TTOODDAAYY’’SS WWEEAATTHHEERR

A strong thunderstormHIGH: 30 LOW: 13

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WHO PROFITS MOST FROMEXPANSION OF ROADS?– IMDAD HUSSAIN

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THE REALFACE OF DRONES–SYED FAKHAR KAKAKHEL

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JUI-F OUT TO MATCHPTI IN PUNJAB

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SNEAK PEEKyouth peace delegationleaves for India on Tuesday

A 50-member youthpeace delegation willleave for India onTuesday on a two-weekvisit to advance thepeace process through

people-to-people contacts. Page 02

NcP preparing data ofNigerians in Pakistan

The newly-electedexecutive members ofNigerian Community inPakistan were sworn inat the residence ofNigerian High

Commissioner Dauda Danladi Mni lateFriday night.

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Insurgency, power outagesdestroyed carpet industry

The ongoing insurgencyand unscheduled poweroutage in the KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP)province destroyed theAfghan carpet industry -

the primary source of income for themajority of Afghan refugees in thecountry – as the traders are planning foropting to alternate business.

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chashme Buddoor hasn’tfaded away: Deepti Naval

Veteran actor DeeptiNaval, who is all set torelease the digitallyrestored version of theoriginal ChashmeBuddoor, has never felt

that the film faded away from the viewers’mind. “I feel that the old ChashmeBuddoor never died down. People havegone on watching it, as it’s repeatedlyshown on TV. It never died out,” she said atthe launch of the promo of the restoredfilm. Excited to see the fresh print, she said,“It is rare that a film gets restored.

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Election fever picks up despite attack� TTP bomber hits ANP rally in Bannu � Major political parties hold ralliesOUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Political parties organizedhuge rallies on Sunday but campaigningfor general elections in May was marredby a bomb attack which killed two peoplein Bannu.The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP)have issued threats against the three mainparties that made up the outgoinggovernment and who backed armyoperations against militants. But that didnot deter politicians from holdingprocessions on Sunday to attract voters forMay 11 election.Taliban militants attacked the electionmotorcade of Adnan Wazir, a formerlegislator from the Awami National Party(ANP) with a roadside bomb here Sunday,wounding him and killing two of hissupporters. The blast struck Wazir'sconvoy as he was campaigning in the WaliNoor area for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwaprovincial legislature, said senior policeoScer Iqbal Khattak. Two vehicles in the

convoy were destroyed, wounding eightpeople including the candidate, said policeoScer Hidayatulah Khan. Two of the eightdied at the hospital while Wazir himself is

in stable condition.Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsanclaimed responsibility for the attack onMalik Adnan Wazir. "We have targetedAdnan Wazir's convoy for his support for thesecular system and the secular party," he saidin a phone call from an undisclosed location.Imran Khan, who heads the Tehreek-e-Insaaf, drew an impressive crowd inMingora, home to teenage rights activistMalala Yousafzai who was shot in the headby the TTP last October.Authorities in Lahore meanwhile shutdown mobile phone networks as a securityprecaution ahead of a huge rally organisedby Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F)headed by Fazlur Rehman. In Karachi, theMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) alsoorganised a public rally, as did the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) . Hundreds of candidates andtheir supporters were seen gatheringoutside election commission oSces acrossthe country after authorities extended adeadline for the submission of nominationpapers to midnight.

First FATA womanto run for electionsPPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: In an unprecedenteddevelopment, a female candidate fromPakistan’s Federally Administered TribalAreas (FATA) has submitted hernomination form to participate in theupcoming general elections. Thirty-eightyear old Badam Zari from BajaurAgency has become the first womanfrom tribal areas to submit a nominationform in a bid to contest for a NationalAssembly seat NA-44. Badam Zari saidshe was contesting as an independentcandidate in an eTort to serve womenfrom her area. “I want women toprosper in all fields and stand side byside with men.” –AGENCIES

SAHTAK BALOCH

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The caretaker governmentwhile changing prices of petroleumproducts (POL) under monthly pricereview mechanism has jacked up grandsales tax (GST) and petroleum levy (PL)already imposed on the products up toRs2.90/litre.Though Ministry of Finance hasapproved changes in prices of petroleumproducts (POL) yet consumers have notbeen given full relief as was recommendedby Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority(OGRA) in its summary pertaining POLprices of next month April, which would beeTective by late Sunday night at 12:01pm. Interestingly, this time relief in the formof cut in the prices of POL products hasbeen given to the consumers but it is lessthan what the regulator recommended tothe government. Earlier, the regulatorsrecommended Rs1.80/litrer decrease in perlitre price of petrol for the month of Aprilbut only Rs0.77/litre cut in the price has

been made and the new price afterapproved cut would be Rs102.30/litre.While OGRA recommended Rs1.45/litrebut the new price after a decrease ofRs0.62/litre would now be available duringApril at Rs108.59/litre in the open market. As per notification, new price of lightdiesel oil (LDO) would be Rs93.28/litreafter a cut of Rs1.50/litre, while theregulator recommended Rs4.93/litre cut inper litre price of LDO. Similarly, theregulatory authority had recommended Rs4.69/litre decrease in per litre price ofKerosene oil but the government hasapproved only Rs 1.64/litre and the newprice of kerosene would be Rs98.26/litre.The government has also decreased theprice of high octane blended component(HOBC) from Rs4.08 to 8.30/litre. JP-1after a decrease of Rs4.87/litre has set theprice at Rs88.65/litre, while JP-4 after a cutof Rs4.60/litre would be Rs81.55/litre andJP-8 after a decrease of Rs4.89/litre wouldnow bw available at Rs88.32/litre duringthe month of April.

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: On the orders of theSupreme Court of Pakistan, NationalDatabase and Registration Authority(Nadra) has devised electronic votingsoftware for facilitating the overseasPakistanis to cast their votes in theupcoming elections-2013,“The Supreme Court will be briefedover the issue on Monday,” NadraChairman, Tariq Malik told reportersSunday. “The political parties andElection Commission of Pakistan (ECP)would also be taken into confidencerelating to the use of this softwareenabling overseas Pakistanis casting theirvotes, he said.The country’s apex court had orderedthe Nadra to prepare software tofacilitate the overseas nationals to casttheir votes. Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry, hearing case

pertaining to giving voting right tooverseas nationals, had asked Nadrachairman to quit if he fails to providevoting facility to Pakistani living abroad.Tariq Malik said that his organizationalso helped ECP in devising a system forthe scrutiny of the electoral candidatesthat would filter out the tax defaultersand dual nationals.Meanwhile, Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP) Sunday said that it wouldshow no mercy while conducting thescrutiny of candidates desirous to contestelection-2013.ECP Additional Secretary, Afzal Khan

said that no one can win election on gunpoint and added only those candidatessecuring highest number of votes will winthis time. He warned that thosedemonstrating weapons during electionswould be sent to jail. –AGENCIES

LLAAHHOORREE:: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur Rehman(JUI-F) Chief MaulanaFazlur Rehman Sundaystressed on Pakistan’sacknowledgement as theregion’s one of the mostsignificant states.“No one has the right to

strip us of ourindependence,” Fazlsnapped while delivering aspeech to a mammoth rallyheld under a title ‘IslamZindabad Conference’ atMinar-e-Pakistan,marking the launch ofJUI-F’s election campaignfor the May 11 polls.Spelling out his party’smanifesto for the generalelections, he called forjudicious utilization of thecountry’s resources. “Wewant to pull people out ofthe mire of humiliationand coercion,” he stressed,adding at the same timethat he accepts thelegitimate rights of alandlord.He promised totransform the country intoa welfare state wherelabourers would be giventheir rightful status in thesociety.Fazl went on to say that,if elected to power, hewould be able to salvagepeople of the Punjab froma feudal oppression. “Nosmall holder ofagricultural land will beforced to abandon itsownership,” he said,calling upon the people tostand for theirindependence. –AGENCIES

MMIINNGGOORRAA:: The Chairman ofPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, ImranKhan on Sunday vowed toestablish peace in KhyberPakhtunkhwa and the tribalregion, besides introducingreforms in the education, healthand police system.Addressing an impressive rally

here, Imran Khan said thatpeople of Swat rendered sacrificesbut peace could not beestablished. “There will be peacein KP and FATA after PTI comesto power, I asked rulers not tofight the US led war, when I saidthis they used to call me TalibanKhan,” he said.“They did call me terrorist and

Taliban Khan because I used tosay there is no military solution, Icalled for a political solution.Now those who called meterrorist are calling for peacetalks,” Khan said amid slogans.“But they can’t do that.

InshaAllaah I will show youhow peace could be restoredthrough involving tribesman.Tribesmen fought for Pakistanin 1948, and 1965 and renderedsacrifices. I will tell them tohold talks with militants intheir areas. We have a completeprogramme for this purpose”.Imran said he would introducepre-1974 justice system in Swat.He said that he fulfilled all thedreams he saw and now he hadalso dreamed that the PTI had

swept the election.Imran Khan said that peoplewere worried that tickets were notbeing awarded on merit. “Onething that could lead the defeat ofthe PTI would be awarding partytickets to wrong people. We willgive tickets on merit, ” he assuredthe crowd.He said the PTI was the firstdemocratic party in the country.“There are no other democraticpolitical parties in Pakistan,other parties belong to familydynasties. Members will electPTI leaders. Youth will beencouraged and new leadershipwill be introduced. 25 percenttickets will be awarded tocandidates under the age of 35years,” Imran Khan said. “Wewon’t be defeated if tickets areawarded on merit.”Commenting on the educationsystem, Khan said a uniformcurriculum would be set up forrich and poor in the country andRs 2,500 billion would be spenton the education sector. “I set upNamal university. It was the firstinstitution set up in a villagewhere 90 percent students aregiven a free education andawarded a Bradford Universitydegree.” He went on: “I knowhow to improve the healthsystem as I set up the besthospital in the country. Now acancer hospital is also being builtin Peshawar." –AGENCIES

Imran promisespeace, dreams ofclean sweep

EELLEECCTTIIOONN HHEEAATTSS UUPP:: Shabab-e-Milli and Jamaat-e-Islami activists at the Youth Convention held on MA Jinnah Road inKarachi. (Below) PTI Chairman Imran Khan addressing to a public meeting at Grassy Ground in Swat. –ONLINE

Relief or April Fool

Marginaldecrease inPoL prices

NADRAdevises E-voting softwareGilani’s reviewpetition in Sc todayIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The Supreme Court willtake up former Prime Minister SyedYousaf Raza Gilani's review petition onMonday against his conviction forcontempt of court after he failed to writea letter to Swiss authorities to reopengraft cases against President AsifZardari. An eight-member special benchof the apex court headed by Chief JusticeIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry andcomprising Justices Jawwad S Khawaja,Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Khilji ArifHussain, Mian Saqib Nisar, Amir HaniMuslim, Sheikh Azmat Saeed, IqbalHameedur Rahman will hear theproceedings of the case. –AGENCIES

Faryal to ‘inherit’ Benazir’s seatNNAAUUDDEERROO:: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Leader Faryal Talpur said that all the party’scandidates for Sindh Assembly seats have been finalized and announcement in thisregard would be made within next two days. Talking to media here on Saturday, FaryalTalpur said that all the upset PPP leaders would also file their nomination papers,terming the tiT among the party leaders as part of democracy. The party leader furthersaid that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was not angry with any one and he went abroad on anormal visit. Talpur said that she would file nomination papers on Sunday to contestelection from NA-207, a constituency of slain Benazir Bhutto. PPP would form thegovernment in Punjab as well, she added. On the occasion, PML-N’s KhanMuhammad Dhari and Dr Bahadur Dahri announced to join PPP. –AGENCIES

Fazl wantsPakistan’ssignificanceacknowledged

� Puts up impressive show in Swat � WantsPakistan to get out of US-led war, talk withmilitants � Says youth to get 25pc party tickets

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013

HOMER BALOCH

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: A youth was killed in the area of Koral policeon Saturday while visiting his stepmother. His father,Muhammad Irfan, a security guard in a private securityagency, told police that the dead body of Zamin Ali, aged 17,was found from an under-construction house in Ghori Town.The unidentified killer(s) killed Ali with repeated blows ofaxe, he further told the police. The Koral police told “TheSpokesman” that a passerby found the dead body andinformed the police. The police reached the place of thecrime where they found a mobile phone beside the body,through which they contacted Muhammad Irfan. SI Rashid Ali while talking to The Spokesman said, “The

deceased was strangled as the bone of his neck had beenbroken. There were also some wounds on his head ans otherparts of the body of the diseased. This indicates that thekiller(s) may have tortured the victim before strangling him.” The policeman added, “The victim was a resident of the

Waggar village in Kotli Sattiyan and was studying in grade 7.His father has two wives. He has two elder stepbrothers.However the story behind his death will emerge after whenthe police will visit his village to know the status of therelationship between the families.”

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Seeing scatteredshopping bags, garbage and worst wall-chalking, no one could believe that theyare living in the federal capital.Islamabad is recognised as most

beautiful city but unfortunately, somelocals of the area are ruining the beautyof the city by spreading garbage. Theresidents throw wrappers and bags onroads from their vehicles.The scattered bags on the roads are

badly affecting the beauty of the city.The Capital Development Authoritystarted Anti-Litter Campaign fewmonths earlier and imposed fine toseveral citizens but the practice hasbeen stopped.The residents urged the government

that it should carry on with the respectivecampaign in order to keep the city cleanand aware people about importance ofcleanliness in the city. �ONLINE

Student killed whilevisiting his stepmother

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Ulema and Mashaikh CouncilPakistan Chairman Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi onceagain asked the Afghan government to apologizefor accusing him of endorsing suicide bombing inAfghanistan.Speaking during an exclusive joint debate

hosted by the Radio Free Europe and RadioMashaal, Ashrafi denied endorsing suicidebombing in Afghanistan. “I have not mentionedabout suicide attack. It is just propaganda againstme and against Pakistan,” he said.“I will not sit-in for peace conference unless the

Afghan government does not apologize from me,”he said. Earlier in March, news services quotedTahir Ashrafi as saying that suicide bombing was

allowed in Afghanistan as long as foreign troopswere present in this country.However, Ashrafi denied the reports but the

allegations sparked widespread objections by theAfghan people especially President HamidKarzai. “Apparently those who are encouragingand supporting terrorism and kill ordinaryAfghan people should be added to the blacklist.This is a violation of the human dignity to killwomen and children,” Karzai said during a jointpress conference with the NATO secretarygeneral.Pakistan has repeatedly denied the allegations

for supporting militants in Afghanistan. Theconference of religious scholars from Pakistan and

Afghanistan was agreed during a joint tri-lateralsummit between Afghan, Pakistani and Britishleaders back in February.However, scholars from Pakistan boycotted the

conference calling it a one side attack against theTaliban without having any specific agenda. In themeantime, Qazi Mohammad Waqad, a memberof the Afghan high peace council who participatedin the debate, denied the allegations and said thatthe conference had a clear agenda but wasboycotted by Tahir Ashrafi.He also insisted that the government of

Afghanistan does not need to apology fromanyone and only the misunderstandings shouldbe cleared. �ONLINE

Ashrafi denies endorsing suicide bombings� Asks Afghan govt to apologise � Senior Afghan official says only misunderstanding should be cleared

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Nisar, Shafquat filenomination papersIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Candidates from almostall major political parties submittedtheir nomination papers as theElection Commission of Pakistancompleted this process on late Sunday.In Rawalpindi, PML-N leaderChaudhry Nisar Ali Khan filed hispapers to contest election from NA-52.On Saturday, the Higher EducationCommission rejected the A-levelcertificate of Nisar Ali Khan, terming itinaccurate. The PML-N leadersubmitted Cambridge University’scertificate on a plain paper, accordingto sources. In Lahore, PML-N’s HamzaShahbaz, the son of former chiefminister, filed his papers, whereasanother leader of the party, SenatorMushahidullah filed his daughter RidaKhan’s papers on reserved seats forwomen. PTI’s Shafquat Mahmood,Yasmin Rashid and other prominentpersonalities also filed theirnomination papers. The ElectionCommission said that 5723 nominationpapers have so for been filed with theoJces of the election body. �ONLINE

Bardasht organises freemedical camp at TarnolIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: With multiple facilities,a free medical camp was organised onSunday in a newly-established SeyadaHafeeza Health & Skill Centre atTarnol for the welfare of people insurrounding areas. The camp wasorganised in collaboration with otherhumanitarian organisations, namelyMuslim Aid, Al-Shifa Eye Trust, LionsInternational and Hasan WelfareOrganisation. The camp providedmedical facilities of eye testing byspecialist doctors and provision ofspectacles, general medical care andmedicines, sugar tests, infectioushepatitis B and C and dental care.Hundreds of people, including womenand children, availed free medicalfacilities and praised the eKorts andcommitment of former federal ministerNilofar Bakhtiar for the establishmentof this much-needed facility for theunderserved area of Tarnol. The formerminister reiterated her commitment tofurther expand the medical facilitiesand also provide other facilities as perneeds of the people, determinedthrough baseline survey. �ONLINE

Lift collapse kills manIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: A man died as the lifthe was travelling in collapsed here onSunday. He was delivering furnitureto an apartment in F-10 Markaz.Imarn, aged 35, and a colleague wereshifting the furniture to an apartmentin al-Mustafa Towers and the cargolift collapsed due to power failure. Hiscolleague, however, remained safe.The Shalimar police when contactedtold The Spokesman that Imran’sdead body has been shifted to PIMShospital. �STAFF REPORT

Free puppet show at PNCAIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Pakistan NationalCouncil of the Arts, Ministry ofNational Heritage and Integration, hasscheduled a free puppet show onMonday (today) at 4pm at the PNCAAuditorium. The National PuppetTheatre will present folk tales, skits toprovide entertainment and educationabout social problems like health,education and environment etc.Children along with parents are invitedto see the show, which will bepresented every Monday at the samevenue and time. �ONLINE

SALMAN ABBAS

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The CapitalDevelopment Authority has latelybeen mulling to clean the authorityof officials on deputation and askedthe cabinet division to repatriatethese officials serving in the civicbody, The Spokesman has learnt.A senior CDA official, wishing not

to be named, said that the CDA

remains the attractive departmentfor many government servants as itsofficials were eligible to get plotsafter a specific period and due to thesame reason many CDA ‘baboss’always tried to adjust their favouriteservants in the civic body so that theycan enjoy the attractive perks andprivilege.During the tenure of former CDA

chairman Farkhand Iqbal, a large

number of officials of different rankswere hired on deputation and someofficials found involved in unlawfulacts just to get benefits, the officialssaid. “Keeping in view all these facts,CDA high-ups had decided totransfer the officials found involvedin any illegality and also to repatriatethose officials working ondeputation,” said the official, addingthat all of sudden transfer of CDA

chairman Syed Tahir Shahbaz onMarch 16 stop the plan but now afterhis restoration once again themanagement has decided to pullstrings on deputationists, who aremore than 60 in number.Now, the authority has formally

asked the Cabinet Division torepatriate the officials working ondeputation because of the fact thatmany deputationists have been

found involved in unjustified actswhich has allowed the CDAemployees to raise fingers towardstheir performance, he said.“In recent past, former prime

minister Raja Pervez Asharf alsobanned the allotment of plot todeputationists after the CDAemployees raised their concerns thatthe officials working on deputationwere enjoying those facilities which

were actually the right of permanentCDA employees,” the source said.The officials who have misused theirauthority may also come under thehammer of such decision, he said.“CDA high-ups had also decided to

transfer some CDA officials, foundguilty in some illegal deals, duringthe caretaker setup so that theauthority may not have to facepolitical pressures,” the official said.

CDA mulling over repatriating o�cials on deputation� Civic body asks Cabinet Division to send back more than 60 ‘outsiders’

Police personnel standing alert to avert any untoward incident in front of Parliament House. �ONLINE

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: A 50-member youth peacedelegation will leave for India on Tuesday ona two-week visit to advance the peaceprocess through people-to-people contacts.The visit is being organised by IslamabadCrescent Lions Club in collaboration withDevelopment Communications Network(DEVCOM-Pakistan), Jaago Naujawan, ayouth organisation, and local Lions clubs.Munir Ahmed, the secretary of Islamabad

Crescent Lions Club and director of theDEVCOM-Pakistan, while briefing the mediaabout visit the upcoming visit, said, “Hostedby the local chapters of the Lions clubs, theyouth peace delegation will visit the Indiancities of New Delhi, Lucknow, Agra, Jaipur,Ajmer, and Sikar. The Pakistani youth willhave meetings with the Indian youth toexplore opportunities for joint cultural andyouth exchange visits. Besides the

sightseeing, the delegation would alsoparticipate in different public gatheringswhich the local Lions clubs have scheduledfor the delegation to interact with the localIndian citizens to enhance understandingson a variety of issues.”Munir said, “The only solution to peace and

harmony between the two nations lies onfrequent visits of the youth and communitiesfrom both sides. These visits and people-to-people interaction on internationallyacceptable social forums would help to createmutually beneficial joint ventures on thesocio-economic uplift and pave a path forcultural understandings.”The engagement of unbiased non-

conventional elements into the diplomacyefforts on the geographic and strategicconflicts can bring better and speedy resultsfor a peaceful region. Youth of the bothnations could play a dynamic role inreshaping the future of their people, he added.

The Secretary ICLC urged the politicians ofthe both countries to avoid creating bays ofdifferences between the two countries fortheir own vested interests. The older generation is responsible for the

conflicts between the two nations andstretching them to decades, and now theyouth of Pakistan and India would play theirrole to reduce the differences to live in peaceand harmony resulting economicdevelopment and prosperity on both sides ofthe border.In a message to the Islamabad Crescent

Lions Club, Lion Kirpal Singh said that theirLion is waiting anxiously for the youth peacedelegation along with the Lions from Pakistanand the delegation would be extended a warmwelcome and would be given great hospitality.“We are sure the exchange experience andcultural thoughts would create a long-lastingbrotherhood between the two countries,”Singh said.

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Christians celebrateEaster – the resurrection of JesusChrist – with special prayer ceremoniesheld in all churches across the countryon Sunday.The day started with special religious

rituals, prayers and exchange ofgreetings with messages of goodwill andprosperity while the government madespecial security arrangements aroundchurches as well as the religiousgathering of Christians.Easter Sunday is typically the well-

attended Sunday service of the year forChristian churches as the Christiancommunity hold prayers and specialceremonies to mark the Easter week.The Friday before Easter Sunday isobserved as a mourning day whileEaster Sunday is celebrated as Jesusresurrected on the day.“Jesus rose from the dead on the third

day after his crucifixion. Hisresurrection is celebrated on Easter Dayor Easter Sunday (also ResurrectionDay or Resurrection Sunday),”according to followers of Christianity.Easter marks the end of Lent, a 40-dayperiod of fasting, and the last week ofthe Lent is called Holy Week whichcontains Good Friday, commemoratingthe crucifixion and death of Jesus.Easter customs vary across the

Christian world, but decorating Eastereggs is a common motif. In the Westernworld, customs such as egg hunting andEaster Bunny extend from the domainof church, and often have a secularcharacter. �ONLINE

ChristianscelebrateEaster

50-man youth team to goto India on peace mission

PML-N activists dancing at D-Chowk after submission of nomination papers of their leaders. �ONLINE

A motorist taking a wrong turn as federal capital becomes a headche for drivers. �ONLINE

Heaps of garbageaKecting beautyof federal capital

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Inspector General ofIslamabad Police Bin Yameen has saidthat the police department will helptraders of twin-cities in their problems.Addressing a meeting at the IslamabadChamber of Commerce and Industries, heannounced that two ambulances had alsobeen arranged by the police for medicalassistance of fellow citizens. Addressing the event, ICCI President

Zafar Bakhtawari stressed on resolvingthe issues of law and order with greatprofessional vigilance and care,considering the serious problem ofterrorism. �ONLINE

Islamabad police to help traders

CMYK

CMYK

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013

Venom Inc. This should not be heldagainst me in a court of law aˇ Isolemnly declare that these a˘e

absolute lies, dirty whispers and wildspeculation that I have heard whilecrawling in the dark power corridors ofthe creepy Capital. You will believe themat your own risk Shh...If you have venomto spill please don’̂ hesitate to share withus on our blog at www.thespokesman.pk

POWER ALLEYS|

Mush Rajpar �@MushRajpar41mIt seems #ANP is campaigning in veryhard conditions, they are the ones whoreceive actual threats and facingattacked Bravo folksImran Khan �@ImranKhanPTI39m

Unfortunate the sound system failed us & ppl at the backcould not hear properly. Despite that the overall message ofchange was understood!Asad Munir �@asadmunir3820mThose opposed to TTP agenda can not hold election ralliesin KPK.ANP's Adnan attacked today #FreenfairelectionYousuf Nazar �@YousufNazar1hIf PML-N, PTI, JI, JUI really believe in democracy & freeelections, they must forcefully protest against the violentattacks on ANP by TTPMaham Ali �@Mahamali057mMore power to Badam Zari, first woman to contestelections from FATA. Previously, women were not evenallowed to cast their votes.

MIRZA KHURRAM SHAHZAD

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan TelevisionCorporation is heading towardsfinancial troubles as it coRers haveapparently gone empty which isresulting in delayed salaries and non-payment of medical bills to its currentemployees.Investigations conducted by The

Spokesman reveals that after payinghefty packages to politicallyappointed top oQcials, state-run TV’smanagement is struggling to paysalaries of its regular employees. It isfor the first time in the history of PTVthat employees are not getting theirsalaries on due date for last fewmonths, revealed the disgruntledemployees.Sources in the state run TV told

The Spokesman that PTV, oncefamous for its excellent facilities andtimely payment of salaries, is no morean employees’ friendly organisationas it has failed to even pay themedical bills of employees besidesdelaying the salaries every month.The employees of TV were formerly

very proud of their organisationbecause it used to pay them thesalaries in the last week of everymonth. The employees who used toget their salaries maximum on 27thof every month are yet to get any signof payment for March and are payingregular visits to the administrationand finance oQces of the corporationto get at latest news about thesalaries.Likewise, the corporation has to

pay medical bills to various medicalstores and hospital worth millions ofrupees and resultantly they arerefusing medical treatment to PTVemployees. Regular employees arefacing many diQculties to gettreatment and then medical storesare also refusing them prescribedmedicines, revealed employees.Sources said that the employees at allthe centres are suRering from theseproblems because of unnecessaryexpenditures of the corporation.A source in the finance department

of PTV said that the governmentowned TV was facing financialcrunch because of some wrongdecisions at the government levelincluding the start of an English

channel and also because some of theemployees hired on contracts in UrduChannel are being paid much heftyand heavy packages.The TV is also in trouble because

heavy amounts are being spent onsome programs which are unable toearn sponsors but are still beingproduced because the top managersincluding the Managing Directorwant to oblige some of the favouriteactors and singers.Sources said that the MD PTV Yousaf

Baig Mirza, who himself is getting avery charming package, ordered toproduced dozens of programs duringlast year on the request of some topministers and key members of theformer government just to oblige their

favourite female singers.One female singer from Lahore, is

very much in good books of MDYousaf Baig Mirza and comes to PTValmost every month to record a newprogram. She travels in club class ofthe airline and gets booked morethan one room in the luxury hotelsduring her stay. Her minimumpayment for one program is at least0.2 million rupees.MD PTV himself enjoys a salary of

Rs 1,000,000 per month, HouseRent Allowance Rs 200,000 permonth, Utilities Allowance Rs.75,000 per month and Total GrossSalary Rs 1,275,000 per month. Cashstarved PTV’s MD rides a chauReur-driven 1600 CC car with unlimited

fuel for private and oQcial usemaintained by the Corporation plus anumber of other facilities at thegovernment expense, revealed thefinancial oQcers concerned about thefinancial health of their organisation.Over and above his handsome salaryand perks, YBM receives 3 per cent ofthe monthly revenue earned by PTV.Interestingly, YBM receives his

three per cent share on the businessventures even before the PTV receivesthese revenues from the clients.Whereas, the contract reveals thatMD would be eligible for his share ofthree per cent at the conclusion ofevery financial year. But being apolitical appointee, MD has nevermissed a month when he takes hisshare home without even caring thatit takes PTV to recover the monies forall the aired advertisements notbefore three to four months.It is estimated that annual revenue

generated on average by PTV from allits channels and public taxation isaround three billion rupees out whichMD pockets straight away around Rs.10 million every month. Regardless ofthe fact that 20 per cent of theserevenues remain uncollected everyyear, but MD still gets his share onthe gross projections, revealedfinancial oQcers.On the other hand, oQcials claim

that PTV’s income is decreasing dayby day and it relies only on therevenue being collected from thegeneral public which is a televisionfee of Rs. 35 on the electricity billsevery month.

PTV struggling financially tobear its political burden

PTV deniesshortage of funds

SohailBukhari, aspokesman

for PTV, howeverdenied that thecorporation wasfacing any crunch and said that allthe payments were being made ontime.“Neither there is any delay in the

salaries nor any financial crunch.We pay dues to all the parties ontime and all our clients are veryhappy with us,” he said beforequickly disconnecting his phonesaying he is busy in some oQcialwork.

MOHAMMED RIZWAN

LAHORE: The party that rode the wingsof lady luck and shoulders of the king thatcreated it bagged an impressive tally of 78national assembly seats in 2002, is todayhoping to contest only one nationalassembly constituency of Lahore in 2013elections. This free-fall in fortunes islargely attributed to absence of ‘oQcialpatronage’ that dried up soon after thementor Pervez Musharraf said farewell tothe shores.Even in 2008, the party which was largely

intact, managed to put up an impressiveshow as its ‘patron-in-chief ’ GeneralMusharraf was still in the saddle, thoughreduced to irrelevance. The chaudhries,mainstay of the party, are still heading theparty but there is no party under them at themoment. The bulk of PML-Q drifted apartsoon after the king retired to cooler climesof London, forming like-minded groupheaded by Khurshid Kasuri and HumayunAkhtar Khan. Most of the heavyweights thatparty held at that time made a bee-line outof Chaudhries fort and aligned themselvesonce again with the emerging powercentres. In 2008 elections Q got 51 nationalassembly seats and 86 provincial assemblyseats. But those were times when there wasstill a glimmer of hope that Musharrafmight hold on to power.However, when it became clear that

Musharraf has no future in Pakistan, halfof the party virtually merged itself withruling PML-N in Punjab though due to

political parties act they could not becomePML-N. Rest of the party in PunjabAssembly made itself absent from thehouse for full five years sitting on the fenceand waiting for an opportunity to switch toN. The representation in Punjab Assemblywas reduced to what once Rana Sanaullahsaid ‘Dhai aurtain and a mard.’ Cameelection season and the entire party,leaving chaudhries and 3-4 MPAsstruggled hard to join PML-N. But by thenSharifs’ had already placed a ‘house full’board at Raiwind because of a largenumber of PPP MPAs were making aqueue of their own. Sharifs’ picked few

electables from both the parties and thenshut the door placing the rest of thehopefuls on promises and pledges.As far as 2013 election scenario is

concerned, Q-league is hoping to get theticket for Mian Munir for NA 121 and restof the Lahore constituencies are beingcontested by PPP, though half-heartedlyand in name only. There were noarguments and discussions between PPPand Q league over the Lahore seats as thereare not many seats to adjust. The city’s electoral scene is developing as

a straight fight between PTI and N league.Apart from one NA seat Q asked for four

provincial seats of the city’s 25, to whichPPP happily obliged.However, a look at the national scene for

Q is not that depressing. Q-league isrunning for 87 national seats with anumber of electables like Ch Shujaat,Pervaiz Elahi, Ch Wajahat, Anwar Cheema, Faisal Saleh Hyat, Raza Hyat Hiraj,Hamid Raza Hiraj, Mehdi Bhatti,Ghiasuddin Mela, Zafrullah Cheema, RiazFatiana and Anwer Bhinder. Half of thislist, however, has been in talks with Nleague just recently and after failing to geta guarantee of ticket, decided to stay withQ. In Punjab the league is contesting 137provincial assembly seats.As far as a fair prognosis is concerned,

the party might get 4-5 national assemblyseats along with winning some 20provincial assembly constituencies. Their‘seat adjustments’ with the PPP is completeand even after that it looks pretty much azero-sum game. But on some seats theadjustment is not easy. Despite the besteRorts by both the parties, no agreementcould be reached in NA 105 where PPP’sAhmed Mukhtar is adamant to run againstPervaiz Elahi. In a bid to slash Elahi’s chances, the

PML-N got out of the way turning it astraight fight. In Shah Jewna, Jhang, IfAbida Hussain does not get the last-minute nod from N, she will find herselfcontesting against Q’s Faisal Saleh Hyat.Hyat showed keen interest for N but theguarantee for ticket was not forthcoming.So like Hirajs of Khanewal he, too, findhimself tied to the lot of Chaudhries.

Bitter reality bites Chaudhrys

The number of peo-ple who have re-fused Ministries in

the federal Caretakergovernment continues tomultiply.The latest among the

‘no-sayers’ is MaleehaLodhi, who has “respect-fully” declined the oRermade by the oQcialquarters to become Pak-

istan’s Foreign Minister.The story published in The News quotes

anonymous sources who said that she mayhave declined “because of the short-term na-ture of the job and its limitations whichwould not have allowed her to contribute ina meaningful way.”Now, what does this mean? Is she saying

that if it were a caretaker government of, let’ssay, two years she would have gladly ac-cepted. Or she wanted the caretaker govern-ment to be extended just because neededmore time to “contribute in a meaningfulway.”Of course, the report mentions, she refused

to comment on the oRer “but said she wouldcontinue to serve the country in whatever ca-pacity as she can.” Also, “she declined saying that she was

humbled and honoured to have been askedbut remains unable to say yes to the assign-ment.”All of this leaves more questions than an-

swers. But let’s leave it for another day till wefind the people who are making oRers ofMinistries. Such sham!

Power mess in WAPDA

Acomplete mess exists in the depart-ment that deals with the country’sbiggest issue—electricity load-shed-

ding.The government devised a new system by

taking away distribution and generation ofelectricity—in the shape of Discos and Gen-cos-- from WAPDA. The old system was re-stored days before former Prime MinisterRaja Pervaiz Ashraf was to leave.Now, a tussle for power rages on between

the old and the new order. WAPDA Chair-man Syed Raghab Abbas Shah is happy tobecome so powerful. He became the chair-man earlier without any government sum-mary. The Ministry of Water and Power isbeing run by an Acting Secretary, Rai Sikan-dar, who remained in jail for corruptioncharges. He worked as Asif Zardari’s per-sonal Secretary in the 1997 government andis known to be close to him.Rai was inducted in Cooperatives Depart-

ment and is not even a PCS oQcer. Yet he gotGrade 21 and was trying to be inducted inthe Grade 22 in the last days of the govern-ment. He controls the most important min-istry without any expertise or credentials inthis field.The tug of war going on is not about im-

proving the system. It’s about money. Peoplewill pay anything to get appointed as in-charge of discos.Factory owners pay millions of rupees just

to be exempted from load-shedding. This issuch ‘clean’ that it cannot be proved in anycourt.The crisis will deepen as summer draw

nearer. Domestic customers are made to suf-fer because factory owners get exemptionsfrom load-shedding after paying heftyamounts. The tussle is about the administra-tive change in the senior management. Manyowners have paid huge amounts for the ex-emptions whereas the new managementwants its own share in the bounty. While thisgoes on, consumers will continue to suRer.

GHAZANFAR ABBASS

Big rallies do not necessarily meanbig votes. JUI (F)’s rally atLahore’s Minar-i-Pakistan may

have just proved that. It was reasonablybig but we all know that JUI (F) will notwin a singly constituency in Lahore aswell as Punjab. The same may be true ofJamaat-i-Islami, which always wins inPunjab on the crutches of other parties,mostly the Nawaz League.Well, some may disagree. Big rallies

matter depending on its constituents.JUI rallies, as other public meetings ofreligious parties, comprise just partycadres. It was not a coincidence that not

a single participant in the JUI reallywas wearing trousers.All of them woreshalwar qameez,

sporting beards, and were from JUImadrassas from all over the country. Itis always easy for the JUI to gather theircommitted cadres anywhere and holdbig rallies.Maulana Fazlur Rehman may have

scored a political point against ImranKhan by holding a big rally at the venuewhere PTI held a big one on March 23.This is largely because the Maulanafaces a big challenge from the PTI inKhyber Pashtunkhwa. He could alwaysfight the liberal and nationalist voters ofthe PPP and ANP but the PTI is

chipping away his rightist voters.Maulana feels the PTI heat in almostevery Khyber Pashtunkhwaconstituency, even in the two DeraIsmael Khan constituencies also. ThePTI may not be in a winning position inDera, so far, but it certainly divides therightist votes.Also, the Maulana has been

particularly targeted by Imran Khan.While Jamaat has been generally sparedby Imran, Maulana has been constantlyscorned in PTI rallies. Perhaps, Imrannever forgave Maulana for breaking theAPDM accord by contesting in the2008 elections, leaving the PTI andJamaat high and dry out of theAssemblies.While Imran Khan’s rallies in

Pashtunkhwa impact JUI (F) votes, JUIrally in Lahore may not have muchbearing on PTI’s votes in Lahore.But this may have reinvigorated

Maulana’s national politics. At least he,as Tahirul Qadri, could show hiscapability to stage such a big rallyoutside his domain.The PPP, realizing its diminishing

popularity, has not dared to take upchallenge and announce a rally atMinar-i-Pakistan in years. PML (N) hasalso staged reasonably big rallies at thesame venue. But Imran Khan can takethe credit that he organized the biggestrallies at the venue in recent months.How the rallies will translate into

electoral victory is yet to be seen.

JUI out to match PTI in Punjab

JUI covered MInar-i-Pakistan with its black and white striped flag. Many

took o+ense to the covering of the national monument by a party flag—also

because JUI opposed Pakistan. But then it was a vindication for some that

the party that opposed its creation was making an appeal for votes at the

national monument.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman may havescored a political point against ImranKhan by holding a big rally at the venue

where PTI held a big one on March 23. This islargely because the Maulana faces a big challengefrom the PTI in Khyber Pashtunkhwa. He couldalways fight the liberal and nationalist voters ofthe PPP and ANP but the PTI is chipping awayhis rightist voters. Maulana feels the PTI heat inalmost every Khyber Pashtunkhwa constituency,even in the two Dera Ismael Khan constituenciesalso. The PTI may not be in a winningposition in Dera, so far, but it certainlydivides the rightist votes.

“

”

RAWALPINDI: Ali Ahmad Kurd, Independent candidate for NA-55,

submitting his election nomination papers on the last day for the

submission of papers.

Maleeha says no for“short-term” FM

PMLN can’t wash outblemish of attackingjudiciary, says APMLKKAARRAACCHHII:: All Pakistan MuslimLeague Central Information SecretaryAasia Ishaque said that the PakistanMuslim League should rather lookaround than criticizing the APML ChiefPervez Musharraf. It was no secret thatthe PMLN had attacked the apexJudiciary so they should not adviseMusharraf to respect the Judiciary asthe APML Chief had fuill respect forthe Judiciary in all aspects. There was acandid diQerence between the attitudeof the APML Chief and the PMLNleadership because the later hadattacked the Judiciary while the earlierappeared in the court on his own. ThePMLN had a very bad track record ofattacking the apex Judiciary, which wasa dark blemish on it and could not bewashed out. The APML leader said thatthe PMLN leadership had betrayed itsvoters and supporters as they had leftthem behind under a deal but theAPML chief had been abroad on hisown and returned to the country on hisown, too. She said that by appearing inthe court, the APML chief had sent amessage across the board that theJudiciary should be respected in allcircumstances, which unfortunately, thePMLN leaders had lacked. �ONLINE

Tax proposal perturbscigarette manufacturersIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The tax stamp proposalrecently floated by Federal Board ofRevenue has created havoc among localand multinational cigarettemanufacturers. Small CigaretteManufacturers Association andPakistan Procurement RegulatoryAuthority that are continuously blamingthe policy makers for their recentdecision of pressurizing local industryby putting tax stamps on cigarettepacks. According to industry sources,some leading international companieslike fracture code, 3M, Sicpa, Atos andsiemens have written detailed letters toFBR expressing their concernsregarding the request for proposal fortax stamps supervision system,highlighting a number of serious issueswith proposal. These issues includerestrictive e nature of the RFP favoringa particular outdated technology,insuPcient time for bidders to respond,absence of requisite technicalinformation by FBR and a number ofprocurement lacunas. �ONLINE

Pulses production needs tobe enhanced: expertsFFAAIISSAALLAABBAADD:: Pakistan facesshortfall in as the production isstanding at 0.5 million tons , whereasthe consumption is 1.5 million tons.The production needs to be boostedup to cater the demand of populationby giving awareness to the farmingcommunity about latest practices.This was stated by speakers atFarmers Convention at University ofAgriculture Faisalabad IqbalAuditorium on Sunday. On theoccasion Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khanurged the farming community toadopt the latest practices which willnot only increase their production butalso help the country to face thechallenges of food security. He was ofthe view that water scarcity issue isthe area of concern for the world as itis diminishing because of climatechanges. �ONLINE

Office-bearers greetedPPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: Khyber PakhtunkhwaGovernor Engineer Shaukatullah hascongratulated the newly elected officebearers of the Peshawar High CourtBar Association. In a message offelicitation, the Governor said thatelection to these respectable offices ofthe bar speaks about leadershipqualities of elected bodies and thestate of confidence, which they enjoyamongst their electorates. He alsowished them complete success infulfillment of their responsibilitiesaccording to the expectations of thelawyers’ community. �ONLINE

RRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: AA rrooaadd has been barricaded to stop tra+c from entering the under-construction Marrir Tunnel. �ONLINE

RRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: The NationalAccountability Bureau has so for recoveredRs 2.37 million out of Rs 26.09 millionfrom the electricity bill defaulters underthe campaign launched on the direction ofNAB Chairman Fasih Bokhari. NAB hadinitiated proceedings on the oQence ofdefault in payment of government dues(electricity bills) under the NationalAccountability Ordinance 1999. In thiscontext, a public notice throughnewspaper advertisement was floated onMarch 21, 2013.The defaulters were asked to pay their

dues by April 4, 2013 and obtainclearance from NAB after production ofchallan along with latest paid bills. Thenames of those defaulters who fail tocomply by April 4th, will be forwarded tomedia. In case of individuals who fail toclear their dues by April 19, criminalproceedings will be initiated; leading toarrest and prosecution. No furtherextension will be granted for voluntaryreturn of the defaulted amount. �ONLINE

MMUULLTTAANN:: Former prime minister SyedYousuf Raza Gilani has said thatPakistan People’s Party will enhance theamount of the Benazir Income SupportProgramme from Rs 1,000 to 2,000 ifvoted to power.Addressing the party workers, he said

the BISP was benefiting millions of poorfamilies so the BISP amount would beincreased if PPP come into power again.He claimed that the PPP would win theupcoming polls as it provided maximumrelief to poor families.He maintained that PPP was guardians

of the labourers and farmers rights. NA-151 was stronghold of the PPP, he saidand added that the PPP would launch itscampaign on April 8 from Rahim YarKhan. On the occasion, Syed Abdul QadirGilani said the PPP always did politics ofservices of masses instead of politics ofpolice station culture. He also claimedthat PPP would defeat opponents withheavy margin. �ONLINE

NAB recoversRs2.37m fromdefaulters

LLAAHHOORREE:: Pakistan Muslim League PresidentSenator Ch Shujaat Hussain has said that fairand transparent elections are impossiblewithout changing the existing administration inPunjab.He was talking to the media after oQering

"fateha" for the departed soul of Ahad Malik,father of PML Lahore President Yousuf AhadMalik here Sunday.Senior central leader and former Deputy

Prime Minister Ch Parvez Elahi, SecretaryGeneral Mushahid Hussain Sayed and MoonisElahi also accompanied him. Ch ShujaatHussain said that N-League is not able to givetickets to its candidates because it fears thosenot getting ticket will leave the party, it isessential to change administration of the

Punjab for free and fair elections, thosedreaming to become the prime ministershould first seek interpretation of their dreamfrom a "peer".He said that process of seat adjustment with

the People’s Party has not yet been completed.“NA-105 Gujrat is our ancestral seat. I have wonfive times from this seat. Ch Zahoor ElahiShaheed also contested elections from this seatand now Ch Pervaiz Elahi is the candidate fromthis constituency.”Replying to a question about N-League 's not

being faithful with the Like-Minded(Hamkhayal group), Ch Shujaat Hussain saidthat first they should get over their grief andthen there would be talk with them. "What yousow, so shall you reap," he said. �ONLINE

SSAABBAAHH//IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Defence Secretary AsifYasin Malik attended the Langkawi InternationalMaritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition, heldin Malaysia. During the visit, undertaken on theinvitation of Malaysia Secretary General Dr IsmailAhmed, the secretary met with top leadership ofvarious countries and delegates linked withcommerce and defence sector from around theworld. On the sidelines of the meetings, thesecretary called on Minister of Defence Dato SeriDr Ahmad Zahid Bin Hamidi, Defence SecretaryGeneral Dato Seri Dr Haji Ismail Bin Haji Ahmad.He congratulated the Malaysia defence ministerfor holding the mega event in a most organisedmanner; while both dignitaries discussed brieflysecurity situation in both the countries.The meeting ended with commitment for

continued defence cooperation between the twocountries, whence the secretary emphasized thatPakistan enjoyed historical brotherly relationswith Malaysia. The oPcial oQered oPcers trainingin the military training institutions to which theMalaysia secretary general replied that most of thesenior oPcers of Malaysia had been trained inPakistan whose number would increase in futuredue to high-level of training imparted in Pakistan.The defence secretary oQered to exchange notes

on the subject of terrorism because of the latestsituation developed in Sabah region of Malaysia;besides oQering talks with the Malaysian airlinesfor enhanced frequencies. He also called on Chiefof Defence Forces of Maldives Maj Gen AhmedShiyam on the sidelines of LIMA-13 and discussedmatters of mutual interest with him. �ONLINE

Shujaat links fair polls tochange of Punjab admin

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The newly-electedexecutive members of NigerianCommunity in Pakistan were sworn inat the residence of Nigerian HighCommissioner Dauda Danladi Mnilate Friday night. The oath ceremonywas largely attended by Nigeriandiplomats, Nigerian businessmen,Nigerian community members andNigerian students both from Lahoreand Islamabad.The oath taking ceremony began

with the national anthem of FederalRepublic of Nigeria. Head ofChancery Grema welcomed theNigerian Community members inPakistan and also thanked the

Nigerian High Commissioner forgracing the occasion.High Commissioner Mni

appreciated the democratic spiritshown by the Nigerian Community inPakistan and thanked the NCP’sformer president Isaac O AOmomolesho as well as oPcials of theNigeria High Commission forconducting free, fair, and trans-parent elections.High Commissioner Mni urged

Nigerian Community in Pakistan tostrictly follow the Directives ofNigerian President GoodluckJonathan to be good ambassadors ofNigeria in Pakistan and assuredcomplete guarantee that NigerianGovernment would always protect

their rights. He said PresidentJonathan took seriously the matterto facilitate the release of Nigeriansjailed in Pakistan. Soon a greatnumber of Nigerians would bereleased from Pakistani jails andthey would honourably go back toNigeria to meet their children,relatives and to start a new life in Nigeria.He also said that under the

directives of Nigerian president,Nigeria High Commission has focusedon “Economic Diplomacy” betweenPakistan and Nigeria, which is clearfrom the fact that over 50 Pakistaniindustrialists and entrepreneurswould be visiting Nigeria to set uptheir industries in the African country.

“Soon a Pakistan-Nigeria businessforum will be constituted through theNCP to liaison with Nigerianbusinessmen in Nigeria,” he added.The High Commissioner disclosed

on the occasion that Nigerian HighCommission had taken the matterwith Pakistani Foreign Ministry toestablish a “Nigerian Village” inPakistan for which eQorts areunderway to acquire land. He furthersaid that the village would be a truemanifestation of the Nigerian cultureto the people of Pakistan.Thanking High Commissioner

Dauda Danladi Mni, Francis I. Onyisi,the incumbent president of theNigerian Community in Pakistanassured that executive members of the

Nigerian Community in Pakistan thathe would strive for the promotion ofthe “Democratic TransformationAgenda of Nigerian President DrGoodluck Jonathan”. He also thankedMni and the Government of Nigeriafor taking steps that resulted inissuance of Alien Registration Cardsand Work Permits to Nigerians inPakistan.

Francis I. Onyisi also highlightedthat the NCP is preparing data of allNigerians in Pakistan. He said theNCP would also organise awarenessseminars and workshops in allprovinces of Pakistan to project thedemocratic agenda of NigerianPresident Dr. Goodluck Jonathan tobring the people of Pakistan andNigeria closer to each other.

NCP preparing data of Nigerians living in Pakistan� Newly-elected executive members of Nigerian Community in Pakistan sworn in

MONITORING DESK

LLAAHHOORREE:: If ever a squabble over astreet name could sum up a nation’sidentity crisis, it is happening inLahore. Late last year, a group ofLahorites made progress in gettinglocal oPcials to rename a busy traPccircle for Bhagat Singh, a Sikhrevolutionary who was hanged at thesite by the British in 1931 after a briefbut eventful insurrection againstcolonial rule. They see it as a chance to honor a

local hero who they feel transcends theethnic and sectarian tensions grippingthe country today — and also as an

important test of the boundaries ofinclusiveness here. But in Pakistan, questions of

religious identity also become issues ofpatriotism, and the eQort has raisedalarm bells among conservatives andIslamists. The circle was named in2010 for Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, aMuslim student who coined the namePakistan in the 1930s, and there wasan outcry at the news that it might berenamed for a non-Muslim.“If a few people decide one day that

the name has to be changed, whyshould the voice of the majority beignored?” asked Zahid Butt, the headof a neighborhood business association

here and a leader ofthe eQort to blockthe renaming. Thefight over the traPccircle — which,when they arepressed, localsusually just callShadman Chowk, after thesurrounding neighborhood — hasbecome a showcase battle in a widerideological war over nomenclature andidentity here and in other Pakistanicities. Although many of Lahore’sprominent buildings are named fornon-Muslims and a push to honourSingh has been going on here for years.

Tra�c circle’s name is the new ideological battle

Defence secretary attendsLIMA-13 in Malaysia

DDEERRAAAALLLLAAHHYYAARR:: Candidate for NA-266, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali submitting his nomination papersat District Returning o+ce on the last day for the submission of papers. �ONLINE

PPP to increaseBISP package,says Gilani

MONDAY, APRIL 01, 2013

Hoti hopeful of ANP’s success in elections

ABDUR RAZZAQ

PPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: The ongoing insurgencyand unscheduled power outage in theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincedestroyed the Afghan carpet industry -the primary source of income for themajority of Afghan refugees in thecountry – as the traders are planningfor opting to alternate business.Haji Abdul Hadi, a carpet trader, toldto this scribe that about three millionAfghan refugees were living in KP and

almost 95 percent people had beenattached to carpet business. “They aremaking two types of carpet one forEurope and other for the United Statesbut now they are making only for US asthe European countries demand forAfghani has reduced,” he said.To a quarry, he replied thatnowadays, Europe was importingcarpets from other counties as theysupplied it on low price while Afghanicarpet was expensive because of highprices of raw materials, adding that

few years ago, they bought one kg ofwool at Rs 250 while the current pricestood at Rs 650.He said they made carpet in roomsand they couldn’t manage colourmatching because of regular poweroutages. He added that Khyber Bazaarwas the main trade centre of carpetand they supplied about eightcontainers every week to other parts ofthe country but now they could hardlydeliver two or three in a month.According to Bakhtiyar Khan, a

salesman in a carpet shop in PeshawarSaddar, he is doing the same businessfor the last 25 years but now planningto start alternate business. They usedto buy carpet from local traders butdue to prolonged load-shading, highprice hike, heavy taxes and militancymany carpet industries had beenclosed, he lamented.He added that they had been toimport carpet from Saudi Arabia, Iranand Turkey but the prevailinginsurgency and price hike of petroleum

price had worst ePect on import fromthose countries.He said ironically, that his earningwas very low and could hardly managepaying shop’s rent, electricity bills andother utilities.Nadeem Elahi said that he wasdoing the trade for the last 16 yearsin Peshawar Saddar and he had bothlocal and imported carpet. Headded that his business dependedon foreigners, who visited Pakistanbut the flow of visitors had reduced

as a result of current insurgency inthe province.The carpet trade in KhyberPakhtunkhwa was strong before 9/11,as the situation of the province wascalm and peaceful, he recalled the past.To tackle the situation, he suggestedthat the government should reduceheavy taxes, power outage and had towork for peace in the province thendiPerent traders would be able toboost their business which would befruitful for the country.

Insurgency, power outages destroyed carpet industry

Owners intwo mindsabout scheme

Estimates say more than 8,000 unregistered vehicles are unregistered inGilgit-Baltistan, while others their number stands around 16,000. –STAFF PHOTO

AATTTTOOCCKK:: A 16th century gate in Kawa Pind village, located around eight kilometres from the city. Northern Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa are rich is historical heritage as the region was a gateway for the people coming from the Central Asia. –STAFF PHOTO

MMUULLTTAANN:: Former primeminister Syed Yousuf RazaGilani has said that thePakistan People’s Party(PPP) will enhance BenazirIncome SupportProgramme (BISP) amountfrom Rs. 1,000 to 2,000 ifvoted to power again.Addressing the partyworkers on Saturday latenight, he said the BenazirIncome SupportProgramme was benefitingmillions of poor families. Heclaimed the PPP would winthe upcoming polls as itprovided maximum relief topoor families and it was aguardian of the labourersand farmers rights. He saidthat the NA-151 wasstronghold of PPP whichwould would launch itscampaign on April 8 fromRahim Yar Khan.Qadir Gilani speaking onthe occasion said the PPPalways did politics ofservices of masses instead ofpolitics of police stationculture and would defeatopponents with heavymargin. –ONLINE

52 aspirants for oneMohmand seat

Jamaat, JUI-S form polls alliance

GGHHOOTTKKII:: Police have arrested four peoplefor allegedly burning a boy to death afterPresident Asif Ali Zardari took notice of thehorrific incident.According to reports, two accusedidentified as Sunil aka Bakar and Kirshankidnapped a woman and raped her few daysago. The accused kept threatening the familyof the woman to withdraw a case registeredagainst them in Khanpur Mehr Police Stationin Ghotki. The family refused to budge andinsisted action against the accused.On Saturday, the accused along with fourother accomplices abducted Gayan, 16, anephew of the women and took him to theGabol area of the district where they dousedthe boy in petrol and set fire to him. The boyreceived serious burn injuries and died at alocal hospital. –ONLINE

Four arrested forburning a boy todeath in Ghotki

MMAARRDDAANN:: Police have traced out onesuicide bomber, who blew himself in Katlangbazaar on Friday, and raided his house andrecovered weapon from there.District Police Officer (DPO) MardanTahir Ayub Khan said this while talking toOnline on Sunday. In the suicide attack inKatlang bazaar in which a police officerlost his life and two civilian got injured.The two suicide bombers were also killedin the attack.He said that during the incident onesuicide bomber jumped in the house ofAhmed Ali and where he also blew uphimself. He added that when police wascollecting evidence from the mentionedhouse they found a national identity cardfrom the spot.The DPO said that ID card the identity ofthe suicide bomber was confirmed and hisname was Fazl-e-Subhan resident ofSakandari Koroona Hoti, Mardan. Later onpolice raided the house and recovered onehand grenade, Kalashnikov rifle, 30 borepistol, prima card 2 feet, safety fuse 10centimetres, 15 bullets of 30 bore pistol andnine bullets of 7.62 bore and a motorbike.The police chief said that the motorbikeused in the suicide bombing incident inKatlang on Saturday was also traced. Hesaid that according to the initialinvestigation the weapon and motorbikerecovered from the house of the suicidebomber were used in the incident occurredon last Wednesday late night in which twopolice cops were killed in the Jabbar PoliceStation’s precincts. –ONLINE

Weaponsrecovered frombomber’s house

PPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: Khyber PakhtunkhwaGovernor Engineer Shaukatullah has saidthat a number of steps are being takentowards restoration of peace andnormalization in FATA which is essential forholding free, fair and transparent elections.He was addressing to the delegations oftribal elders who have come from diPerenttribal agencies at Governor’s House here onSunday. The governor sought cooperation oftribal elders to bring peace in the area. Themembers of delegations also highlightedvarious problems especially with regard toensuring rehabilitation of the aPected peoplewith an accelerated pace. –ONLINE

Peace in FATAa must for freepolls: governor

PPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: Khyber PakhtunkhwaCaretaker Cultural Minister MussaratQadeem has said that provincialcaretaker setup is trying the best toformulate a research based solid culturalpolicy for the KP.She said this in a meeting with membersof Culture Journalists Forum (CJF) here onSunday. She added that interim setup couldpass an ordinance for the promulgation ofpolicy if needed. She said that Pakhtun culture wasdisfigured unfortunately so that people ofthe province could not progress and someobscurantist have restricted ‘culture’ only tosinging and dancing, she added. “Pakhtunsare peace-loving people and also loved theirtraditions and culture more than anythingelse”, she mentioned. –ONLINE

Minister for newcultural policy

�A trader says higher input prices made them uncompetitive in international market �European countries now importing from other countries at lower prices

�Promises to continue campaign despite threats �Questions why certain parties are being stopped from electioneering

Non-custom paid vehicles

�PTI still undecided about its nominee

�Some circles argue people ofGilgit-Baltistan should not be forced to register

‘PPP toincreaseBISPpackage’

OUR STAFF REPORTER

GGHHAALLAANNAAII:: The election activities havetaken momentum in the troubledMohmand tribal region as so for some 54candidates have submitted theirnomination papers for the NA-36 TribalArea-1 constituency.The election process in Mohmand Agencyis in full swing and the candidates are busyin the procedure of getting and submittingnomination papers for the coming generalelection on May 11. According to theElection Commission sources, around 60candidates so far have obtained thenomination forms for the only one NationalAssembly constituency of the agency.Sources said that at least 52 candidatesmajority of them were belonging to thevarious political parties and also someindependent candidates had submitted theirnomination papers for NA-36.Deputy chief of Jamaat-e-IslamiMohmand Agency Muhammad SaeedKhan, former MNA and chief of JUI-FMohmand Agency Maulana GhulamMohammad Sadiq, ex-MNA Malik BilalRehman, ex-Senator Abdul Wahid, PPPMohmand Agency President Dr FarooqAfzal, PML-N’s local chapter president ZarKhan Safi, PML-Q’s Malik Azmat Khanand Malik Nisar Mohmand, an

independent, are among the candidates.On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is still undecided about theirnominee in Mohmand Agency. MohmandMalik Dawood Khan, a candidate from oneof the two rival PTI groups, has submittednomination papers - one as a PTIrepresentative while one as anindependent. As far as the other group isconcerned, Fakhr-e-Alam Khan, SajidKhan, Naveed Ahmad and Rahim ShahMohmand are the aspirants. The ANP has issued ticket to NairMohmand but he submitted hisnomination paper as an independentcandidate. Similarly, Malik Sadbar KhanMusa Khel also submitted paper asindependent. PTI local leader Sajid Khansaid, “We have submitted nominationpapers from the party side. The party willdecide about the ticket and we are sure thatwe will succeed in getting it.”Many candidates were unhappy when theElection Commission oOcials asked them toclear their WAPDA dues, because theTESCO authority were receiving 25,000 to30,000 rupees from each candidate of themwithout issuing any proper receipt.Meanwhile, several candidates, majority ofwhom less educated, have complaints aboutthe complication in nomination papers andhired the services of lawyers and others.

SABIR AHMAD

GGIILLGGIITT:: As the deadline forregistration of non-customs paid[NCP] vehicles expired on Sunday,the owners of these vehicles inGilgit–Baltistan were found to be intwo minds. If they want to pay dutyto their cars, they can’t do sobecause they are short of money.But if they don’t pay, their vehiclesmay be confiscated anytime oncethe deadline expires.“It’s really a matter of concern,”says Farooq Ahmad, a resident ofGilgit who owns an NCP car. “Ihave no money to pay the duty to,what they call, legalise the car. Butthe bad news is that the deadline isexpiring soon and risk of cars beingconfiscated runs high.”According to the informationreceived, customs duty of a car[model 1992] becomes morethan Rs 200,000. However theduty varies according to themodel and engines capacity. “Iwish I could pay the duty butright now I cannot manage thatmuch money for that purpose,”said Ahmad who does a job in aprivate organisation.The government of Gilgit–Baltistan has warned this week ofaction against those car ownerswho failed to get their non customspaid [NCP] vehicles legalised bypaying duty during the amnestyscheme oPered by the FederalBoard of Revenue FBR.Under the amnesty scheme, theowners are required to pay dutiesagainst their NCP cars by the endof March in a ‘customs counter’opened also in Gilgit for thatpurpose. “Once the deadline ends,action against such cars andowners would be taken,” astatement issued from the chiefminister oOce reads. Long queues

of vehicles were seen outside thecustoms oOce in Gilgit as peopletried to avail the opportunity. Butthere were many others who stayedaway from the process.Mirza Hussain, a PML-Qlegislator, says that residents ofGilgit–Baltistan must not be forcedto have their non customs paidvehicles registered as the region isexempted of tax for the reasons ofits ambiguous constitutional status.“We are de facto Pakistanis… thisis something mentioned in theGovernance Order 2009.Therefore, we shouldn’t be forced topay duty to get our cars. We aren’tas such a constitutional province ofPakistan,” said Mirza Hussain. NCP vehicles have floodedGilgit–Baltistan since late 1990sas residents taking benefit fromthe ambiguous constitutionalstatus of the region brought invehicles from Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa. As the number of such vehiclesincreased manifolds, the policeintroduced temporary registrationwhile allotting blue number platesfor such vehicles for their identity.Currently it is estimated thataround 8,000 to 16,000 vehiclesare plying on roads in Gilgit-Baltistan, with many having thetemporary registrations allottedby the police.“We expect more than fourbillion rupees would be collectedas a result of the registration ofcars,” says Mohammad Naseer,minister for excise and taxation inGilgit–Baltistan. He said that itwas yet to be decided whether theamount would go to federalgovernment or the Gilgitgovernment would retain it. “But ifGilgit-Baltistan government retainsthe money, it will bring economicprosperity in the region.”

AMJID ALI

SSWWAABBII:: Leaders of Jamaat-i-Islami(JI), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami(JUI-S) and Jamiat IshaatTauheed Wa Sunnah (JITS)said here on Sunday that they hadentered in an electoral alliance tosupport each other’s candidates in thegeneral elections.The JI provincial chief, ProfMuhammad Ibrahim, JUI-S KhyberPakhtunkhwa head Maulana YousafShah and JITS central chief Maulana

Muhammad Tayyab were addressing apressing conference at Panjpir.Both Prof Ibrahim and MaulanaTayyab said that they had agreed towork jointly for sending religiousfigures to the parliament who couldplay their critical le in the prevailingdiOcult situation. Similar views wereexpressed by Shah.Prof Ibrahim said: “Today, we havelaid the foundation in Maddrassa Dar-ul-Quran Panjpir. The other religiousparties could also join them and theirdoors have been remained opened for

the entrance of more parties.”In reply to a question he alleged thatJUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehmanhad always supported the ruling partyand his party failed to recognise thestatus of the religious figures. MaulanaTayyab said that Fazlur Rehman hadalways the party tickets to millionairesinstead of Ulema. Shah said that they had been alreadysupporting each other in Difa-i-Pakistan Council (DPC) and thealliance for the general elections wouldfurther strengthen their bond.

ASADULLAH MAYAR

MMAARRDDAANN:: Amir Haider Khan Hoti,the former chief minister of KhyberPakhtunkhwa, has said that theAwami National party (ANP) is on theextremists’ hit list and facing threatsbecause it is the only political party inPakistan which wants to contain andfoil the terrorists’ agenda. That isreason why they want to kill the ANPleaders and create hurdles in their wayin the upcoming polls, but the partywill continue its election campaigndespite serious threats.In an exclusive interview to TheSpokesman, the former chief ministersaid that he was hopeful to get

maximum number of seats in Mardanas the locals knew and understood theproblems faced by the ANP, even if theparty leaders could did not reach tothe voters before May 11.He said it was a huge question thatwhy some political forces were beingrefrained from electioneering butothers would continue their electionactivities. “How can a person expectfree and fair elections without fullparticipation in the campaign, but westill hopeful of better results,” Hotiremarked. He admitted that the ANPwas on the hit list but they hadcompleted preparations and would gofor election campaign across Pakistan.Hoti, while discussing his

government’s performance during thefive-year tenure as chief minister, saidthe ANP had done developmentalwork in the province that could not becompleted in sixty years of thePakistan’s history. He said eightspublic sector universities had beenestablished in Khyber Pakhtunkhwawhile their number stood ten before2008, adding that they set up 74colleges, 81 girls schools and 50 highersecondary schools in the province.“We established Bacha KhanEducation Campus which housesAbdul Wali Khan, agriculture andengineering universities as well asBacha Khan Medical College for thepeople of Mardan. We increased the

spending on education to 4 per cent ofthe GDP while other provinces areexpending less 2 per cent on theeducation sector,” Hoti listed hisachievements. He was of the view that the powergeneration projects launched inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa would producemore than 2,100 MW of electricity.“In the 2008 elections, we promisedto the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwato maintain law and order situation.We made all possible ePorts and alsosacrificed the lives of about eighthundred ANP workers, includinglawmakers like Bashir Bilour.”Provincial autonomy, NFC Award,renaming of the province and

payment of net profit of the hydelpower were the promises they hadfulfilled with the people of theprovince, the ANP leader added.Hoti added that for the first time inthe province’s history, the provincialgovernment launched the laptopscheme for the students under whichthey would get 2,300 laptops costingone billion rupees.“I am hopeful that the people of theprovince will support the ANP andgive it success in the coming elections,”he opined. Hoti said that the future ofPakistan and Pashtuns was bright. “Ifwe face problems and hardships today,the tomorrow will give us a brightfuture to our nation,” he hoped.

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013

THE SPOKESMANChief Editor: Huma Ali

Executive Editor: Atif MateenResident Editor: Saeed Minhas

Consulting Editors: Jalees Hazir Samina Choonara

The real face of drones

I had spent New Year’s night in MirAli, North Waziristan. It was a coldmorning in January 2006. A fewweeks ago, on November 2005, adrone had hit a house at Patisi Addain Mir Ali, killing an Egyptian AlQaeda commander, Abu HamzaRabi. I was standing right in themiddle of rubble left after the attackwith a 12-year-old child, SadiqShah, the only local resident andeyewitness who survived the attack.He told me then how Abu Hamza

Rabi was killed in his house. Sadiqhad survived because the pillarabove his head stopped the rooffrom crushing him. To him, AlQaeda was fighting against infidels.What is Al Qaeda? Who was AbuHamza Rabi? Why did the droneskill his cousins? Sadiq had no idea.He was still in the post traumaticstress of the attack. The bottom linewas, he confirmed the death of AbuHamza Rabi, along with some of hiscousins ages 3 to 7 years. But I feltthe element of anger, hatred and thePashtun tribal feeling of “badal” orrevenge deep inside Sadiq.This was the first ever, and the

biggest confirmed attack on any AlQaeda leader in North Waziristanthat led to the death of a localjournalist, Hayatullah, in NorthWaziristan in 2006. He was pickedup soon after the attack and a fewmonths later his bullet-ridden bodywas found in Mir Ali. Did all droneattacks have the same results?Today, even some westernjournalists believe that drones arecounterproductive in most cases.The UN teams confirmed the deathsof several civilians in drone attacks.These causalities proved to be fatalfor US troops stationed on the otherside of border.There are three basic elements of

Pashtun cultural codes that aredirectly related to these droneattacks. The first one is “peghoor”which rebukes a youth and isrelated to the second code of“ghairat” or honour which pushes ayouth to the third code of “badal” orrevenge. One cannot rule out theelement of “badal” from Pashtunsociety. Whether it is Pakistanitroops, Afghan or the Coalition

forces, all of them have faced thiscode as a result of their actions inthis region. Those who lost kin inthis so called war on terror faced“peghoor”, a kind of insult thatreminds someone of his loss.To my mind, “peghoor” is the most

dangerous term in a tradition-bound Pashtun society that leads tobadal or revenge. It can takehundreds of lives even in normaltimes. Some people ask if it isreligion that gives birth to militancy,resistance and suicide bombing, oris it this code of “ghairat” or honourin tribal society. I would say thetribal mindset has been hijacked ormisused by certain people for theirown interests. If you study thebackground or the mindset of asuicide bomber you will realise that

they are not likely to have muchknowledge of Islam.The Spokesman reported on the

success of the Taliban’s propagandawar in its first issue. Most trainingcamps use such propagandamaterial which contains imageschallenging their honour on eachside of the border. Images of dronestrike show the deaths of womenand children and US marinesinsulting them in Afghanistan. Letme recount the barbarism of onereal drone attack.The New American Foundation is

a platform which offers research ondrone strikes. It is considered areputable institution on counterinsurgency. It says that a drone hitthe militant commander, KhwazWali, which was aimed at BaitullahMehsud on 23 June 2009 in SouthWaziristan. It estimates that two tosix militants were killed in this

attack. The same foundation reportsanother attack on the same day inSouth Waziristan which hit thefuneral of Khwaz Wali Mehsud andkilled 40 to 80 people. It reportedon 35 to 45 civilian deaths too,among the 33 deaths of the“unknown”. The research alsoreported that among the dead was“Mullah Sangeen, the Afghancommander of Tehrik-i-Taliban(although he had been killed twicealready according to earlier reports)and the assumed target wasBaitullah Mehsud. These details areavailable on the link:http://counterterrorism.newamerica.net/dronesFortunately, I was with a group of

journalists in Dera Ismail Khan atthe time, which has become a hub of

Mehsud tribesmen who left SouthWaziristan due to the military

operation in their hometown. Allthe major networks, both nationaland international, were runningbreaking news and headlines ofmilitants killed in these strikes. Butthe ground situation was just likedoomsday for local Mehsudtribesmen. The injured of thatdrone attack still live in Tank andcan tell you what happened on 23November 2009 at around fiveo’clock in Malegai Tangi area ofSouth Waziristan.Eyewitnesses confirm the deaths

of 123 people in all, most of themchildren, the elderly and localyouth. They confirm the death ofKhwaj Wali Mehsud, the real nameof Khwaz Wali Mehsud mentionedby New American Foundation. Whowas Khwaj Wali? He was not even acommander but due to the extreme

social pressure of the Taliban in hisarea, he helped them. What he wasdoing for them precisely? He wasestablishing a fighting post for theTaliban in the area close to hishome, so he was correctly targeted.What happened in the next attack?The Taliban, knowing the modusoperandi of the drone strikes, askedlocal people to offer his funeralprayers in a separate area wheremostly Shobi Khel, a sub-tribe ofMehsud lived.The fact is that Baitullah was also

a Shobi Khel. Everybody who hassome knowledge of tribal societyknows that mostly fathers andelders take children to funerals tomake them accustomed to attendinga social obligation. Anyone canconfirm this information by visitingTank or contacting local officials.Many of the people killed were justnine-year- old children. Some ofthem were students of ShaheenModel Public School, Maligai, SouthWaziristan. Their record is stillavailable at the school. It includesNoor Zaman aged 8, son of GulZaman, Yasba aged 9, son of PashinKhan, Ghani aged 9, son ofMadazar, Mohammad aged 9, son ofKandahor, Khalid aged 11, son ofBismali, Daro Khan aged 11, son ofFareed Khan, Haider Ali aged11, sonof Gul Nawab, Najatullah aged12,son of Noor Wali, Abdul QadarKhan aged13, son of GulMohammad Khan, Naeem Gulaged13, son of Amal Jan,Saidmanullah aged14, son of ShahSaleem, Fazle Najar aged14, son ofTaleem Khan, Zafran aged14, son ofMohammad Anwar, Mayn Khanaged14, son of Nawal Khan and alot more. At least 18 members ofone family were killed in thatdrone strike.Can anybody imagine the feelings

and the wrath of parents? Add tothis the element of “badal” inPashtun culture? Remeber SadiqShah of Mir Ali, the 12-year-oldchild who lost his cousins in thedrone attack back in 2005. Now hemust be around 21 years of age.

(To Be Continued)

THE WRITER IS AN INDEPENDENT

JOURNALIST BASED IN PESHAWAR

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

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

All the major television networks, bothnational and international, wererunning breaking news and headlinesof militants killed in these strikes. Butthe ground situation was just likedoomsday for local Mehsud tribesmen

Ban for Sri Lankancricketers

An uncanny mix of politics and sportis rearing its ugly head once again,with Sri Lanka’s cricketers getting adirective to jettison the sixth editionof the lucrative IPL tournament, asa result of banning its players in the

state of Tamil Nadu!With the ethnic conflict between

Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lankabeing the focus of such a ban,Chennai’s request that no SriLankan player be allowed to playthere, is tarnishing the image of theIPL, which has hitherto beenstaged without much politicalinterference.With pro-Tamil lobbyists in India

responsible for such a ban, it onceagain illustrates how politics (aswas the case with South Africa inthe seventies), has bedevilled asport that is supposed to be aconduit for better relationsbetween nations!Politicking should be left to the

men from the ministries. Thevolatility of the sub-continent isonce again affecting the game ofcricket!

USMAN TAHIRISLAMABAD

Questioning theIntelligence BureauThis is correct that the IntelligenceBureau of Pakistan is not a notifieddivision of government of Pakistanlike other divisions. However, its chiefhas always enjoyed a unique positionin the administrative hierarchy of thegovernment, especially thosehandpicked by political bosses. In therecent past, Brigadier Ejaz Shah wasvery close to President PervezMusharraf, Major Masood Sharif wasclose to Shaheed Benazir Bhutto andBrigadier Imtiaz was Mian NawazSharif ’s man. Wing CommanderLodhi was a stop-gap arrangementmade byMr Gilani. The present DG, aPSP oYcer, is however a low profile IBChief. There is a widespreadmisunderstanding that IB enjoysautonomy in financial matters. This isnot correct; the fact is that foroversight and financial accountability,Secretary Cabinet Division has been

notified as the Principal AccentingOYcer for the IB by the governmentand all expenditures of the Bureauhave to be scrutinised by the FinancialAdvisor, Cabinet Division. The Bureaucannot spend a penny withoutsanction of the competent authority inthe finance division. Rules do not giveany control to the prime minister overfunds of the Bureau, though.

ASGHARMEHMUD

ISLAMABAD

Anti-Muslim sentiments

Anti-Muslim violence that has spreadfromMyanmar to Sri Lanka has takenon an ethnic cleansing tone; in thesecountries, police and securitypersonnel’s response to quell theunrest has been slow.In Sri Lanka’s case, a country that

has just recovered from its own versionof communal/ethnic unrest, its

government’s tolerance of a new waveof ethnic strife shows a country at warwith itself.This new attack onminority

Muslims makes mockery of Sri Lanka’sdemand for a war crimes tribunal in asfar as the Tamil/Sinhalese conflict isconcerned.

SARAH SHAHIDLAHORE

Elections in Karachi

Karachi is the backbone of Pakistanin many aspects — economically,geographically, progressively andindustrially. Unfortunately,nowadays, the situation in Karachi isenough to make everybody weary.The uncertain law and ordersituation and the coming electionshave puzzled the mindset of everycitizen in Karachi as he/she thinksabout what will happen on election

day and before that during theelection campaigns. In Karachi, therecent law and order situation doesnot suit any voter or common citizen;he/she wants a peaceful andconducive environment in Karachi.Otherwise, he/she will notparticipate in the elections and willnot use his/her main power, which isthe vote, for any representative.There is a horrible law and ordersituation that has been created withKarachi’s citizens facing manysecurity risks. It is a big challenge forthe state to facilitate the people inthese elections by providing themwith a peaceful environment so thatthey can select their best politicalleader; this opportunity comes oncein five years.

FAIZA AZAMKARACHI

Please email your letters toletters@thespokesman.pk or post themto our address in Islamabad.

The MQM has filed a memorandum with the United Nationsagainst the new delimitations of constituencies in Karachi.Detailing the concerns of MQM regarding the redrawing ofconstituencies, the memorandum addressed the UN and theinternational community and demanded that influence be usedin ensuring free and fair elections in Pakistan, especially inKarachi. MQM declared that the redrawing of constituencieswas an attempt to negate the mandate of MQM as well as aconspiracy to push the third largest political party of Pakistanagainst the wall. The MQM has filed a petition in the SindhHigh Court against delimitations of three national and eightprovincial constituencies in Karachi by the ElectionCommission of Pakistan in the light of a Supreme Court order.The case is sub judice and by taking this step, the party is liableto contempt of court. In fact, by invoking the UN, the MQM isclearly attempting to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan.There is much about the MQM that raises questions about itspolitics. Not so long ago, its chief Altaf Hussain invited “honestarmy generals” to remove corrupt politicians and feudal lords,at a time when the MQM was a part of the government. Formore than 20 years, the self-exiled leader has micro-managedthe affairs of his party from London. In 1991, a warrant wasissued for his arrest in connection with an alleged murder andin January 1992 he fled to Saudi Arabia. After one month, hemoved to London. He addresses his supporters in Karachi viatelephone from there, often making inflammatory statements.Reportedly, the Scotland Yard is investigating the murder ofImran Farooq, who had developed differences with AltafHussain and wished to create a new political party. Recently,Altaf Hussain used highly objectionable language to attack theSupreme Court, and tendered an unqualified apology when thecourt took notice of his remarks. In January 2013, a couple ofmonths before parting ways with the PPP, Altaf Hussain said inhis address that if the government did not hold local bodies’elections, there might be a demand for the division of Sindh.The MQM thrived during Zia’s martial law and GeneralMusharraf ’s military dispensation. In times of democracy, ithas been a part of the governments in the centre and Sindh incoalition with the PML-N and PPP. This time round, afterbeing in power for five years with the PPP, it decided to sit inthe opposition to get the slot of the opposition leader in theSindh Assembly to control the process of appointing thecaretaker chief minister in the province. The party’s record onseveral other counts is controversial, to put it mildly. InMusharraf ’s era, it got a large number of bogus votesregistered and indulged in gerrymandering, carving outconstituencies in Karachi to suit itself. With the verification ofvoters’ lists and delimitation of constituencies by the ECP, theMQM has apparently been unnerved and has approached theUN as a last ditch effort to maintain the worrisome status quoin Karachi. It is a move that should not be taken lightly by thepeople of Pakistan.

MQM’s shenanigans

Many giant profitable U.S. corporations areincreasingly abandoning America whiledraining it at the same time.General Electric, for example, has paid no

federal income taxes for a decade whilebecoming a net job exporter and fighting itshard-pressed workers who want collectivebargaining through unions like the UnitedElectricalWorkers Union (UE). GE’s boss,JeZrey Immelt, makes about $12,400 an houron an 8-hour day, plus benefits and perks,presiding over this global corporate empire.Telling by their behavior, these big companies

think patriotism toward the country where theywere created and prospered is for chumps.Their antennae point to places where taxes arevery low, labour is wage slavery, independentunions are non-existent, governments havetheir hands out, and equal justice under therule of law does not exist. China, for example,has fit that description for over 25 years.Other than profiteering from selling

Washington very expensive weapons of massdestruction, manymultinational firms havelittle sense of true national security.Did you know that about 80 percent of the

ingredients inmedicines Americans take nowcome fromChina and India where visits byFDA inspectors are infrequent and inadequate?The lucrative U.S. drug industry – coddled

with tax credits, free transfer of almost-ready-

to-market drugs developed with U.S. taxpayerdollars via the National Institutes of Health –charges Americans the highest prices for drugsin the world and still wants more profits. Drugcompanies no longer producemany necessarymedicines like penicillin in the U.S., preferringto pay slave wages abroad to import drugs backinto the U.S.Absence of patriotism has exposed our

country to dependency on foreign suppliers forcrucial medicines, and these foreign suppliersmay not be so friendly in the future.Giant U.S. companies are strip-mining

America in numerous ways, starting with thecorporate tax base. By shiftingmore of theirprofits abroad to “tax-haven” countries (like theCayman Islands) through transfer pricing andother gimmicks, and by lobbyingmany othertax escapes through Congress, they can reportrecord profits in the U.S. with diminishing taxpayments. Yet they are benefitting from thepublic services, special privileges, andprotection by our armed forces because they areU.S. corporations.OnMarch 27, 2013, theWashington Post

reported that compared to forty years ago, bigcompanies that “routinely cited U.S. federal taxexpenses that were 25 to 50 percent of theirworldwide profits,” are now reporting less than

half that share. For instance, Proctor andGamble was paying 40 percent of its totalprofits in taxes in 1969; today it pays 15 percentin federal taxes. Other corporations pay less orno federal income taxes.Welcome to globalization. It induces

dependency on instabilities in tiny Greece andCyprus that shock stock investments by largedomestic pension andmutual funds here in theU.S. Plus huge annual U.S. trade deficits, whichsignals the exporting of millions of jobs.The corporate law firms for these big

corporations were the architects of global tradeagreements that make it easy and profitable toship jobs and industries to fascist andcommunist regimes abroad while hollowing outU.S. communities and throwing their loyalAmerican workers overboard. It’s not enoughthat large corporations are payingmillions ofAmerican workers less than workers were paidin 1968, adjusted for inflation.Corporate bosses can’t say they’re just keeping

up with the competition; theymuscled throughthe trade system that pulls down on ourcountry’s relatively higher labour, consumerand environmental standards.Corporate executives, when confronted with

charges that show little respect for the country,its workers and its taxpayers whomade possible

their profits and subsidised theirmismanagement, claim theymust maximisetheir profits for their shareholders and theirworker pension obligations.Their shareholders? Is that why they’re

stashing $1.7 trillion overseas in tax havensinstead of paying dividends to their rightfulshareholder-owners, which would stimulateour economy? Shareholders? Are those thepeople who have been stripped of their rights asowners and prohibited from even keeping a lidon staggeringly sky-high executive salariesranging from $5,000 to $20,000 an hour ormore, plus perks?Why these corporate bosses can’t even abide

one democratically-run shareholders’ meeting ayear without gaveling down their owners andcutting time short. To get away from asmany oftheir shareholder-owners as possible, AT&T isholding its annual meeting on April 26 inremote Cheyenne,Wyoming!Pension obligations for their workers? The

award-winning reporter for theWall StreetJournal Ellen E. Shultz demonstratesotherwise. In her gripping book RetirementHeist: How Companies Plunder and Profitfrom the Nest Eggs of AmericanWorkers, sheshows how by “exploiting loopholes, ambiguousregulations and new accounting rules,”

companies deceptively tricked employees andturned their pension plans into piggy banks, taxshelters and profit centers.Recently, I wrote to the CEOs of the 20

largest U.S. corporations, asking if they wouldstand up at their annual shareholders’meetings on behalf of their U.S. charteredcorporation (not on behalf of their boards ofdirectors), and pledge allegiance to the flagending with those glorious words: “with libertyand justice for all”. Nineteen of the CEOs havenot yet replied. One, Chevron, declined thepledge request but said their patriotism wasdemonstrated in creating jobs and sparkingeconomic activity in the U.S.But when corporate lobbyists try to destroy

our right of trial by jury for wrongful injuries –misnamed tort reform –when they destroy ourfreedom of contract – through all that brazenlyone-sided fine print – when they corrupt ourconstitutional elections withmoney andunaccountable power, when theycommercialise our education and patent ourgenes, and outsource jobs to other countries,the question of arrogantly rejected patriotismbetter be front-and-center for discussion by theAmerican people.

(COUNTERPUNCH)

How big corporations are unpatrioticRALPH NADER Proctor and Gamble was paying 40 percent of its total profits in taxes in 1969; today it pays 15 percent in

federal taxes. Other corporations pay less or no federal income taxes. Welcome to globalization

SYED FAKHAR KAKAKHEL

Coverage of drone strikes is all about number of people killed and claims aboutsuccessful targetingof terrorists.OnTV, computergeneratedgraphicsmake it look likea video game. It’s time to give a face to those actually killed in these barbaric attacks

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013

It’s her era now. It is she who willmake or break this society. I’m notputting any pressure that shemust do it but as I observe mymuscles abandoning my bonesand as the weariness in my bonesis partly from the weight of a fifty-seven year-old professional, Iwant to pass the baton.She’s very submissive. She never

shows up, or at least she didn’t,during her busiest months oftoiling, at the local cafeteriawhere the dance of Salome wenton. She was disinterested inbeauty. In her eyes, one saw thepassion of the past for dreams of afuture that the present momentcould only translate to a quietlyfocused noble desire. One sawthat same desert in the pictures ofeyes of a great woman from thepast. The eyes an old ailing ladywould look at to discover herremedy there. Are those eyes thevessels of the change storedwithin her that I thought she iscapable of bringing about? Yes. Itlasts in the pictures.My eyes have grown old and

confused in their clarity ofpurpose, my grandmother toldme. She appreciates the colours ofmy newly bought sarong - thenavy blue and terra cotta mixedtogether in a harmonious checkpattern. In her expression oflaughter and ‘oh I love thecolours!’ she has no regard, as hereyeglasses are often missing, forany depth in the navy blue and theterra cotta ensemble.I love her and I shan’t look

beyond them either. Instead ofwearing it, I place it within myeye shot to admire the colours, themoment.I want her to challenge me, this

pupil of mine, untie the thread ofmy dreams, focus-realisation andstep ahead. I do believe I canforesee this in my ward, thatrevolution of satellites that breakout from their orbit to circleround another planet soremarkably that the people seatedin the cafeteria - the generals ofour moral world - look in awe,wonder and scandal; thesestationary stars of our society ofincestuous fame and fortune.Circle Jupiter, my child! Merge

with its waves of onyx as you wishto do. You will stand out in yourunswerving radiance subduedonly by a noble desire forrevolution.Her third year at the College has

turned out as if she were anoutstanding example, who’s justcome out of the cocoon of self-mastery. A grace is evident that isbeyond the sensuous navy bluesand terra cottas. That arid deserteyes affirming a mind behindthem that is doused in thesublime wine of wisdom.Submissiveness has gone into thebackground and that grace is

giving my ward a certain outgoingpersona so that as she steps intothe monocled eye of the CafeteriaCrítica, she hold her own asSalome continues her head hunt. Idon’t want her to forget thatpromise of continuing a legacy ofrebellion that she must bringforth from the arid desert,through this College, into thecreation I am looking forward to.Like any guardian I don’t want

her to tell her dream to the others,the dream of orbiting Jupiterrather than staying faithful to theearth. Not the moon providingmoonlight to lovers in parks, tocarry on the tradition of what themoon has forever done, circleround and round this bitter earthto provide the addicts ofcomplacency its cool macabreromance played to Frank Sinatra’sfriendly nursing tunes.I don’t want her to disclose it

until she’s ready... I do want her tobe ready soon because that voiceof compassion is inside thewoman waiting to come forth.How is she going to grab the

enraged bull’s horns? Maybe thetime is now. I want my daughter,my ward to be the hero - theconqueror of hearts who creates aworld of love and I somehow feelshe can do it better than me. Thisjewel from the arid Egyptian landof palms and yellow sands anddark complexions. The gold nosejewel rubs like Alladin’s lamp tohail that Buddha like written-to-stone heroism for a new erathat’s hers.Or is it that I'm imagining all

this? Is it that she’s really anadmirer of heaven and hell?I find myself buried out-of-sight

to get an eye-shut before theafternoon session of the veileddance seduces me back tocatacombs of envy and cold warthat life has turned out for mebefore I bury myself out-of-sightfor good. In my short dream, myward appears. ‘I am the grass. Igrow wild and I realise youwanted to tame me.’ Yourrebellion I can’t carry the torchfor. Wilder than you thought we’reall nature’s subordinates. I cannotbe eloquent therefore I’m usingthis dream so that I can organisewords from the milieu of yourown entangled mind. I just wantyou to realise you’re wrong andhave been all along. What you seein my eyes sprouted from God’secstatic moments of creation. Thisblossom you see in my soul iswild. It is the grass that has grownlong and has got entangled in thestill dry season.It is only up to the wind to

disentangle it and I believe it soonwill. I will remember you becauseI think you saw your reflection inme. That iridescence you saw, mymany colours, were a mirage inthe desert.

THE AUTHOR IS A FICTION WRITER

Haaretz has recently published anexceptionally revealing article, confirming thatthe Brooking Institution's "Which Path toPersia?" report - a plan for the underminingand destruction of Iran - had indeed been setin motion, and that the current Syrian conflictis a direct result of Syria and Iran defying theWest and disrupting what was to be a coup degrâce delivered to Tehran.The article is titled, "Assad’s Israeli friend,"

appears at first to be a ham-handed attempt toportray Syrian President Bashar Al Assad assomehow allied with Israel's PrimeMinisterBenjamin Netanyahu. Instead, it actuallyreveals that Israel had attempted to executeverbatim, the strategies prescribed in theBrookings Institution's "Which Path toPersia?" report, where Israel was to lure Syriaaway from Iran ahead of a US-Israeli strikeand subsequent war with Tehran.Syria obviously did not fall into the trap,

and as a result, has been plunged into adestructive, spiteful war of proxy aggressionby the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and theirregional allies.The Haaretz piece states specifically: In

moving closer to Assad, Netanyahu had anumber of motives. First, he wanted to putsome space between Syria and Iran, in thehope that Damascus would stand aside in theevent of an Israeli strike against Iraniannuclear facilities in Natanz and Fordow.Second, Israel’s loss of its alliances with

Turkey and later with Egypt, compounded byapprehension about a deteriorating security

situation in the south, pushed Jerusalem intobuying quiet on its northern borders.The third motive was to weaken Hezbollah,

while the fourth was to address concerns thatthe Syrian rebels were in fact al-Qaedaoperatives and that the fall of Assad’s regimewould turn Syria into a hostile Islamic state.Of course, while Haaretz admits that the so-

called "Syrian rebels" are in fact viciousal-Qaeda terrorists with no intention ofinstituting anything resembling "freedom" or"democracy" in Syria, contrary to theWest'sown long-peddled narrative, Israel is in factone of three primary co-conspirators in raisingthe terrorist army in the first place.In Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

Seymour Hersh's 2007 New Yorker article,"The Redirection: Is the Administration’s newpolicy benefiting our enemies in the war onterrorism?" Israel was implicated directly in aninsidious conspiracy to funnel aid and arms tosectarian extremists in a bid to topple Iran andits regional allies.The Israeli belief that pressuring Syria would

make it more "conciliatory and open tonegotiations," as well as the "motivations" citedby the recent Haaretz piece, are torn straightfromBrooking Institution's 2009 "Which Pathto Persia?" report. The report statedspecifically:"...the Israelis may want to hold oZ [on

striking Iran] until they have a peace deal withSyria in hand (assuming that Tel Aviv believes

that one is within reach), which would helpthemmitigate blowback fromHizballah andpotentially Hamas. Consequently, theymightwantWashington to push hard inmediatingbetween [Tel Aviv] and Damascus." (page 109)Clearly Syria refused the disingenuous "peace

deal" with Israel, unlike its regional neighborsTurkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar whoare now all working in lockstep with US-Israeliinterests. These neighbors were spared thesedition and carnage visited upon Syria, whichhas been hit hard and long. The resilience ofSyria may have delayed or even shelvedWestern designs aimed at reassertinghegemony across theMiddle East, includingdelaying indefinitely war with Iran.Israel's disingenuous attempts to approach

Syria are only one of several prescribedstrategies Brookings called for in their 2009report that have already come to pass. Anotherwas Brookings' suggestion to delist and arm thebizarre terrorist cult, Mujahedeen e-Khalq(MEK).MEK had been listed as a foreign terrorist

organization by the US State Department fordecades, yet it was still heavily armed, funded,and its operatives even trained onUS soil - thisdespite the group being listed for kidnappingand slaughtering US oYcers and civiliancontractors.In 2012, the US State Department would

finally oYcially delist MEK, and announce thatthey would begin funding and arming them in

earnest against Iran. The LA Times wouldreport in their September 2012 article, "U.S. toRemove Iranian GroupMujahedin Khalq fromTerrorist List," that:The small but influential Iranian exile group

Mujahedin Khalq will be removed from the USlist of foreign terrorist organisations, a U.S.oYcial said Friday, following a high-pricedlobbying campaign claiming the controversialgroup had renounced violence.The New Yorker and the UK's DailyMail

would each in turn report thatMEKwas beingarmed, trained, and directed by theWest interrorist activities against Iran, including theassassination of Iranian scientists.The US' delisting and arming of MEK

proves that theWest possesses the politicalduplicity to hypocritically arm their own"declared" enemies. This double game ofcondemning terrorist organizations whilesimultaneously arming and directing themagainst theWest's enemies goes far inexplaining how thousands of tons of weaponsNATO and its regional allies have sent to so-called "moderates" in Syria have ended upalmost exclusively in the hands of al-Qaeda'sSyrian franchise, al-Nusra, which has emergedas the most heavily armed, well funded, mostorganized militant front in the conflict.The Brookings report is not just a piece of

paper - it is a documented conspiracy,executed in plain sight by corporate-financier interests that have transcended at

least two US presidencies in their latestcampaign against Iran, Syria, and the widerMiddle East. Haaretz may hope that peoplequickly read the article and conclude thatIsrael is somehow backing the Syrian state,never realising what is being reported isinstead a disingenuous "peace deal" meant tolure in, then fatally betray Syria just as wasdone to Libya.Haaretz also hope readers do not realise the

obvious - that Syria refused these insidiousadvances by the West which leadchronologically to the 2011 "uprising," thatHaaretz itself now admits is the work ofterrorists, not "freedom fighters," and thatthe New Yorker in 2007 revealed as beingengineered by the US, Saudi Arabia, andIsrael itself.It is clear that Syria is being punished,

divided, and destroyed for obstructingWesterndesigns against Iran. It is also clear that thoseforces fighting inside Syria against the Syrianpeople and their government are aiding andabetting foreign aggression and what isessentially an attempt byWestern interests tore-colonise the ArabWorld. Asmortars fired byNATO's proxy forces, aimed at DamascusUniversity, claim another 10-15 innocent lives,the public must be aware of the premeditated,punitive nature of the unhinged atrocities nowbeing committed by these "rebels".

(PRESSTV.IR)

The federal and provincialgovernments in the country arepassionately involved in creating roadsand other transport infrastructure.Certainly, road developers, car dealers,and fuel businesses love these steps.However, they are not ones enamouredof roads, because real estate investorsand speculators - the so-called plotaddicted people - also love roadsbecause they provide the quickestmeans to increase land prices.Transport infrastructure-centered

land speculation is not new. Americansare among the first to have pioneeredthisway of thinking a longwhile ago.MarkTwain andCharlesDudleyWarner’s famous novel TheGildedAge,(published in 1873) ridiculed thewidespreadAmerican practice ofbuying landwhere railroadswereplanned and selling themwhen theirpriceswent up. This land speculationcame alongwith theAmericanmodel ofurban developmentwe enthusiasticallyadopted in the late 1950s.Closely linkedwith propertymarkets,

roads not only influence land pricesbut shape cities. In his 2005 bestsellerbook, Collapse: How Societies Chooseto Fail and Succeed, JaredDiamondhas cited a banker Emil Erhardtsaying: ‘In essence, we are zoning bymoney, not by land use!’ Though thissimple sentence laments land usedecisions inMontana, theUnitedStates, it is equally true about landzoning in Pakistan. The decisions tobuild roads in Pakistan aremade overmoney, and not according to land use.As a result, it is not the roads andautomobiles which are required toadapt to the existing ways in whichpeople use land, but cities are re-ordered by the requirements of roadsand automobiles. As a result, roads,

automobiles, land developers, and plotaddicted speculators are coproducingin Pakistan.Thanks to the confluence of interests

around roads, Americanmodernity,which is an expression of westernmodernity, still remains the dominantparadigm of road construction inPakistan like it is elsewhere in theworld. A quick overview of the reportGlobal Land Transport InfrastructureRequirements: Estimating Road andRailway Infrastructure Capacity andCosts to 2050 reveals scary statisticsabout the advancement of transportinfrastructure in the world. Accordingto the report, if the current level oftransport investment continues, US$43 trillion or 0.7 per cent of the globalGDPwill be spent on buildingtransport infrastructure in the world by2050. The operating and repairingexpenditures would bemuchmorethan this: US$ 120 trillion, whichwould roughly be equal to 2 per cent ofthe projected global GDP. At thecurrent pace of road building, the 25million paved road lane kilometersmay be built by 2050.What isworrying is that the larger part oftransport infrastructure building willhappen in developing countries.No doubt, roads are useful because

they serve the purposes of connections,mobility and trade. However, somuchinvestment in building themwillcontribute to the loss of financialresources and is harmful for the planet.A number of highways, freeways,expressways, andmotorways workagainst nature and human, animal andnatural beings, which include land, air,water, mountains and forests. Thanksto capitalism, which has establishedthe term “resources” in the economiclexicon, all living beings have beenturned into resources. The economicmeanings of resources comprise things,

commodities, and tradable goods.When living beings are reduced tothings, they are treated likewise:produced, sold and traded.Overemphasis on resources alsoeliminates the diZerence betweenbeings and non-beings. As resources,non-beings such as stones andmachines and living beings such ashumans and trees are treated underthe logic of profit, which is the driver ofroad expansion in the world.As a being, land becomes the first

victim of roads and infrastructuresrelated to them. As powerful artifacts,roads determine how land aroundthemwill be used. This is true at leastsince the postWW II period. Roadshave contributed significantly to thespread of the urban sprawl across theworld. From 1960s onwards, roadshave primarily been built to create newpatterns of car dependant humansettlements. Roads also cause land usechanges, whichmay be deleterious inthe long run.In ancient times, people lived in

harmonywith the forests. But eventhen human beings converted landfrom forests to pastoral activities,agriculture, human settlements, topathways, roads, and then cities. Inmodern times, however, forests andtrees are the biggest victims of roads.As elsewhere, roads have contributedto large-scale deforestation in Pakistan.The example of Basho Valley illustratesthis point well. In 2005, Jawad Ali et alreport that Basho Valley inNorthernAreas lost half of its forest since thebuilding of link roads there during1968. The clearing of forests does notendwith the construction of roads. Itcontinues with the expansion ofhuman settlements around theseroads. A number of birds and animalspecies also become the victims ofroads; some of them have become

extinct due to roads.The estimates of transport expansion

in the world described above try toelucidate how roads continue tovictimise human and natural beings.As elsewhere in the world, people willcontinue to get hurt in Pakistan too.Although it is diYcult to end theexpansion of roads, resistance to theirexpansion is possible. One way ofresisting them is to link themwith thelands where they are built. If we look atland use and transport in Pakistan,they are not interlinked.The case of Punjab illustrates this

point: A number of governmentagencies in the province deal with landuse. The organisation of transport androads is no diZerent. A number ofagencies are involved in transport androad building. Both land use andtransport are separated bymultipleagencies with overlapping andambiguous jurisdictions that scholarswriting about them end up longing tostudy them separately. As a result,useful work on connections betweenland use and transport is hard to findin the province. Land use andtransport are so separated by laws,institutions and practices that eventhinking about them together isdiYcult. Pressing public policy to dealwith them in a unifying way is a distantdream. The entrenched interests inboth areasmake it impossible to unifyland use and roads. Until thisseparation is wide, roads will continueharming all forms of life. One way tolessen the harmful impact of roads is tothink about land use. Roads are anissue of land use, and the challenge isto establish land use and transport as aunified public policy undertaking byaccommodating the ways of the people.

THEWRITER IS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ATFORMAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, LAHORE

Who profits most from expansion of roads?

Syria paying the price of defying the West

I don’t want her to tell her dream to theothers, the dream of orbiting Jupiter ratherthan staying faithful to the earth. Not themoon providingmoonlight to lovers inparks, to carry on the tradition of what themoon has forever done, circle round andround this bitter earthKEEKAR KANAIR

IMDAD HUSSAIN

Thisdouble gameof condemning terrorist organisationswhile simultaneouslyarming themagainst theWest's enemiesexplainins how tons of weapons have ended up exclusively in the hands of al-Qaeda's Syrian franchise, al-Nusra

TONY CARTALUCCI

Thanks to capitalism, all living beings have been turned into resources, or goods. Asresources, non-beings such as stones andmachines and living beings such as humansand trees are treatedunder the logic of profit,which is the driver of road expansion

Her time has come

Our dangerous love of roads II

MONDAY, APRIL 01, 2013

Two die of H7N9bird flu in ChinaBBEEIIJJIINNGG:: Two Shanghai men havedied from a little-known type ofbird flu in the first known humandeaths from the strain. Chineseauthorities said Sunday that itwasn’t clear how the men wereinfected, but that there was noevidence of human-to-humantransmission. A third person, awoman in the nearby province ofAnhui, also contracted the H7N9strain of bird flu and was incritical condition, China’s NationalHealth and Family PlanningCommission said in a report on itswebsite. There was no sign thatany of the three had contracted thedisease from each other, and nosign of infection in the 88 peoplewho had closest contact with them,the medical agency said. H7N9bird flu is considered a lowpathogenic strain that cannoteasily be contracted by humans.The overwhelming majority ofhuman deaths from bird flu havebeen caused by the H5N1 strain.One of the two men fromShanghai, who was 87, became illon Feb. 19 and died on Feb 27. Theother man, 27, became ill on Feb.27 and died on March 4, theagency said. A 35-year-old womanin the Anhui city of Chuzhoubecame ill on March 9 and is beingtreated. The Chinese Center forDisease Control and Preventionconducted tests and confirmedSaturday that all three cases wereH7N9, the health agency said,adding that the World HealthOrganisation had been notified ofthe findings. –AGENCIES

At least 12 killed inMexican bus crashMMEEXXIICCOO CCIITTYY:: At least 12 peopledied when a bus and a car collidedin a mountainous part of thewestern Mexican state of Veracruzon Saturday evening, localemergency services said. Theaccident near the town ofNaolinco sent the bus tumblingdown a slope some 200-300meters (650-1000 feet), and left atleast 15 passengers injured, alocal official said. Emergencyservices believe there were 27people traveling on board the bus,the official added. The crashoccurred at a bend in the road infoggy conditions, and preliminaryevidence suggested the driver ofthe car that hit the bus fled thescene, he said. Lethal trafficaccidents are common on Mexicanroads, claiming hundreds of lives ayear. Last April at least 43 peoplewere killed when a cargo truck hita bus in Veracruz state. –XINHUA

MP caught playing gamesin Jordan’s parliamentBBEEIIRRUUTT:: A politician was seenplaying a “football” game on hissmart-phone while Jordan’s PrimeMinister Abdullah Ensouraddressed an open session at thecountry’s parliament. TheJordanian lawmaker used hisfinger to push around the digital“football” and scored virtual goals,but didn’t realize he had anonlooker who decided to record theincident and post it on the onlinevideo sharing website YouTube.Photojournalist, Amjad al-Taweel,shot the amateur video whichreceived more than 100,000 hits inits third day of broadcasting onYouTube. The MP, who appears tobe enjoying his football game a lotmore than listening to the primeminister has only been filmed fromabove. Taweel works for theJordanian newspaper, al-Ghad,and has recorded a far more“upbeat” video in Parliament afteran event earlier in March saw aJordanian MP, angered by a fellowdeputy, try and pull out a pistol.That specific lawmaker, however,was encircled by his colleagueswho managed to talk him downand calm the situation before it gotout of hand. –AGENCIES

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NNEEWW DDEELLHHII:: With firebrand SadhviUma Bharati appointed BJP vice-president, Varun Gandhi inducted asgeneral secretary and Vinay Katiyarmade a member of the party's CentralElection Committee, BJP presidentRajnath Singh appears to be playingthe Hindutva card in his home state.Uttar Pradesh has 80 parliamentaryseats and Singh knows that his partyhas to do well in the state. There is alsospeculation that Amit Shah - closeconfidant of Gujarat CM NarendraModi - will be made in-charge of the

Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP. Singh appears to have also clippedthe wings of Kalraj Mishra, his betenoire in state politics, who was earliernational vice-president and is nowonly a member of the 80-membernational executive committee of theparty. A senior BJP leader said oncondition of anonymity that the newteam of Singh was a clear indicationthat Modi's presence in UP would beinevitable."Shah is a close confidant of Modi.His Hindutva image is very strong inGujarat. The whole idea behindbringing him to UP would be to

polarise Hindu votes and also put alleQorts to cash on the anti-Congresssentiment which is at its peak becauseof rising inflation," said the BJPmember, adding, "We have come toknow that Modi wants Shah in animportant role in UP and the factremains that ignoring his wish wouldbe diPcult at the moment."Reacting over Varun's elevationfrom Secretary to General Secretary,Katiyar said, "The Gandhi surnamecertainly helps in politics, be it inCongress or the BJP."However, he skipped the questionwhen asked whether he was he

showing disagreement with thedecision. Laxmi Kant Bajpai, statepresident of the BJP said, "We areexcited about the present team.There are 29 members from UP inthe 80-member National ExecutiveCommittee which itself is theevidence that the state is grabbingspecial attention of the partyleadership. We are here to ensuresending a large number of MPs fromUP in Lok Sabha election.""As far as Mishra's exclusion from thecore team of our president isconcerned, I am sure he will get animportant assignment soon", he added.

Back to Hindutva in UP?

Firebrand leader get key posts in new BJP team

A Qantas Airways (L) and an Emirates Airlines Airbus A380 fly in formation during a flyover at an altitude of around 450 m (1500 ft)above Sydney. The flyover was part of a promotion to mark the commencement of the five-year alliance between struggling national flagcarrier Qantas Airways Ltd and Emirates Airline, and was being promoted as the first time that two commercial airline A380 planes haveflown in formation. –REUTERS

BBAAMMAAKKOO:: A suicide bomber blewhimself up on Saturday in thenorthern Malian city of Timbuktu,raising fears of a new wave ofviolence by Islamist insurgents aftera separate land mine blast killed twosoldiers.An army oPcer said a Maliansoldier had been wounded in thesuicide attack at an army barricadein Timbuktu, the fabled Saharacaravan city’s second in nine days.“A jihadist suicide bomberdetonated his explosive belt aftertrying unsuccessfully to force hisway through the barricade at thewest entrance to Timbuktu, whichwas guarded by Malian soldiers,” theoPcer told AFP by phone.“A Malian soldier was wounded”and the bomber died instantly, headded, saying he could not givefurther details. “It was a jihadist, that’sall I can tell you for now. He failed,” hesaid. Several Timbuktu residentsreported hearing a loud explosionSaturday night followed by sustainedgunfire. “Everyone hid inside thehouse,” one resident said. “No civilianswere outside. We were afraid.” EarlierSaturday, a land mine explosion killedtwo Malian soldiers in the country’sGao region, to the east of Timbuktu,the defence ministry said.“A Malian armed forcesdetachment’s vehicle was blown upby a mine 110 kilometres (70 miles)from Ansongo. The toll is two deadand the vehicle destroyed,” aministry spokesman said in astatement.He said no other soldiers had beenwounded in the blast, whichoccurred as the detachmenttravelled with a unit of troops from

Niger toward Ansongo. A MalianoPcer speaking on condition ofanonymity said the mine had been“placed by the Islamists”.No group has yet claimedresponsibility for the attacks.Mali has been the target of a seriesof attacks claimed by Islamistinsurgents since France launched amilitary intervention against Al-Qaeda-linked groups that had seizedthe north of the country.The French-led operation,launched on January 11, has forcedthe extremists from the cities theyhad seized for 10 months in thechaotic aftermath of a March 2012military coup. But French andAfrican forces have faced continuingsuicide blasts and guerrilla attacks inreclaimed territory.On March 21, a suicide bomberblew up a car near the Timbuktuairport, launching an overnightassault on the city. The blast killedone Malian soldier. Around 10Islamist fighters were killed in theensuing fighting with French andMalian forces, a French armyspokesman said.The attack was claimed by theMovement for Oneness and Jihad inWest Africa (Mujao), one of threeIslamist groups that had seized thenorth. Mujao said it had “opened anew front in Timbuktu”, which hadnot come under attack since French-led forces entered the city on January28 unlike Gao, the largest city in thenorth, which has been hit by a stringof suicide bombings and guerrillaattacks claimed by MUJAO. Thestretch of road where Saturday’s landmine blast occurred is locatedsoutheast of Gao. –AGENCIES

Suicide blast raises fears in Timbuktu

Two Malitroops killedin mine blast

NNEEWW DDEELLHHII:: The trial ofsix men accused in theshocking gang-rape androbbery of a 39-year-oldSwiss cyclist holidaying inIndia began on Saturday,police said.The six were detainedsoon after the attack twoweeks ago in a remote,forested area in Datiadistrict in central MadhyaPradesh state where thewoman was camping withher husband.The trial opened with twoprosecution witnessesrecording statements andidentifying possessionsstolen from the Swisscouple that were recoveredby police, the Press Trust ofIndia reported.The Swiss couple werenot present during theproceedings and the courtis likely to ask them toappear before it, the newsagency said.Judge Jitendra KumarSharma said the nexthearing will be held inApril when anotherprosecution witness, whohelped the victim, willtestify.The Swiss woman wasallegedly gang-raped onMarch 15. Her 30-year-oldhusband was tied up as thewoman was assaulted andthe pair were also robbed,according to police.Only four of the six werecharged with gang-rapebecause testimony from thevictim said two of themwere “only present at thecrime scene”, according toM.L. Dhody, a Datia policeoPcer.The other two accusedare charged with assaultand robbery. –AGENCIES

JJOOHHAANNNNEESSBBUURRGG:: Nelson Mandela wascomfortable and breathing withoutdiPculty as the anti-apartheid herospends a fourth night in hospital afterbeing treated for pneumonia, SouthAfrica’s presidency said.The frail 94-year-old, one of the toweringfigures of modern history, was admitted lateWednesday for what was confirmed onSaturday as “a recurrence of pneumonia” inhis third hospitalisation in four months.Doctors drained a build-up of fluid, knownas a pleural eQusion or “water on the lungs”,that had developed from the lung infection.“This has resulted in him now being able tobreathe without diPculty,” President JacobZuma’s oPce said in a statement. “Hecontinues to respond to treatment and iscomfortable.” The update comes afterMandela was said to be in good spirits andmaking steady progress on Friday.“Yes, indeed it is a good sign, it’sheartening. But as I keep reminding…he is94 years of age,” Zuma’s spokesman MacMaharaj told eNCA television newschannel. There were no details on Saturdayon how long he would remain at anundisclosed hospital.Mandela’s recent health troubles havetriggered an outpouring of prayers but havealso seen South Africans come to termswith the mortality of the revered NobelPeace Prize winner. The former president isidolised at home, where he is seen as thearchitect of South Africa’s peacefultransition from white minority-ruled policestate to hope-filled democracy.Nearly 20 years after he came to power in1994, the first black president remains aunifying symbol in a country still driven byracial tensions and deep inequality.It is the second time this month thatMandela has been admitted to hospital,after spending a night for check-ups onMarch 9. That followed a nearly three-weekhospital stay in December for another lunginfection and gallstone surgery.He was diagnosed with early-stagetuberculosis in 1988 during his 27 year jailterm and has long had problems with his

lungs. He has also had treatment forprostate cancer and has suQered stomachailments. Keertan Dheda, professor ofrespiratory medicine at the University ofCape Town, said a pleural eQusion was theaccumulation of water between the liningcovering the lung and that of the chest wall.Having the fluid tapped was a minorprocedure, he said.“One can drain the fluid with a needleand a catheter and in some cases that’s allthat’s needed,” he said. Other casesrequired the fluid to be chemicallybroken down if it had formed pockets ora small operation if infected. “The olderyou are, the longer pneumonia takes toget better,” said Dheda, adding thatmortality was also higher.“It takes a bit longer, everything is a bitslower and a bit more complicated the olderyou get.” French pulmonologist Jean-Christophe Renaud said Mandela had agood constitution and could recover well.“But at 94, everything is serious,especially taking into account hisprevious medical history.” WhileMandela’s legacy continues to loomlarge, he has long since exited thepolitical stage and for the large youngpopulation he is a figure from anotherera, serving as president for just oneterm. He has not appeared in publicsince July 2010. Labour unrest, high-profile crimes, grinding poverty andcorruption scandals have effectivelyended the honeymoon enjoyed afterMandela ushered in the “RainbowNation”, but his decades-long struggleagainst apartheid still resonates.“The whole country is not happy aboutthe old man’s health,” Soweto handicraftseller Nhlanhla Ngobese told AFP, wishinghim a “speedy recovery”.“We want him back, even though he’s anold man, he’s an icon to us, a hero to us, westill want his diplomacy.” Away from thepublic eye, Mandela has grown increasinglyfrail. His December hospital stay was hislongest since he walked free from jail in1990. –AGENCIES

Mandela treated forpneumonia, breathing‘without di culty’

Trial beginsin India ofgang-rape ofSwiss cyclist

RRIIYYAADDHH:: Saudi Arabia warned onSunday of “suitable measures” ifproviders of internet messengerapplications such as WhatsApp fail tocomply with its rules, days after theindustry said authorities wanted tocontrol such traPc.“Some telecom applications overthe internet protocol currently do notmeet the regulatory conditions” in thekingdom, said the Communicationsand Information TechnologyCommission in a statement carried bythe oPcial SPA state news agency.These applications includeWhatsApp, Skype and Viber, andallow text and audio communication

over the internet. The commissionhas told service providers in SaudiArabia to work with the developers ofsuch applications to “quickly meet theregulatory conditions”, but it did notspecify how they violate the rules inthe ultra-conservative country.The announcement from thekingdom's Communications andInformation Technology Commission(CITC) follows local newspaperreports last week that claimed thegovernment had asked telecomcompanies to look at ways to monitoror block these services."It has become evident that somecommunication applications through

(the) Internet don't meet regulatoryrequirements," CITC said in astatement on its website."The authority has informedlicensed (telecom) providers of theneed to work with the developers ofthese applications to quickly meetthese requirements."The statement listed Voice over IP(VoIP) providers Skype and Viber aswell as Internet-based instantmessaging service Whatsapp. But itdid not state what laws theseapplications had flouted, how longthey would be given to comply withthe regulations or what action wouldbe taken if they failed to heed the

instruction. The CITC said it wasacting to "protect society from anynegative aspects that could harm thepublic interest".Saudi's three mobile operators -Saudi Telecom Co, Etihad Etisalat(Mobily) and Zain Saudi - were notimmediately available for comment.The kingdom appears to making agreater push for greater control overcyberspace as Internet and smartphone usage soars, in part due tostrict laws that limit opportunities forpeople to mix.Mobile penetration was 188 percentby the end of 2012, CITC data shows.Saudi now has 15.8 million Internet

subscribers and the average userwatches three times as many onlinevideos per day as counterparts in theUnited States, according to YouTube.On Saturday, the English-languageArab News daily said Saudi Arabiamay try to end anonymity for Twitterusers in the country by limiting accessto the site to people who register theiridentification documents, although itwas unclear how such restrictionscould be enforced.Telecom operators can blockcontent and access to particular sites,but this becomes more diPcult if auser already has the applicationinstalled on a device. –AGENCIES

Saudi Arabia threatens to ban apps

Phil Ramone, Grammy-winningproducer, dead at 79

NNEEWW YYOORRKK:: Phil Ramone, the masterfulGrammy Award-winning engineer, arranger andproducer whose platinum touch includedrecordings with Ray Charles, Billy Joel and PaulSimon, died on Saturday of complicationsstemming from heart surgery, his family said. Hewas 79. Ramone, who lived in Wilton,Connecticut, had elective surgery on Feb. 27 toprevent an aortic aneurysm, son Matt Ramone

said. He later developed pneumonia and died Saturday morning atNewYork Presbyterian Hospital, the son said. Few in the recordingindustry enjoyed a more spectacular and diverse career. Phil Ramone won14 competitive Grammy Awards and one for lifetime achievement.Worldwide sales for his projects topped 100 million. He was at ease withrock, jazz, swing and pop, working with Frank Sinatra and ArethaFranklin, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, Elton John and TonyBennett, Madonna and Lou Reed. One of the biggest names not to beinducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ramone was on hand forsuch classic albums as The Band’s ”The Band” and Bob Dylan’s ”Blood Onthe Tracks.” He produced three records that went on to win Grammys foralbum of the year — Simon’s ”Still Crazy After All These Years,” Joel’s ”52ndStreet” and Charles’ ”Genius Loves Company.” –AGENCIES

� Orders telcos to ensure Skype, Whatsapp, viber meet local laws

Uma Bharati Varun Gandhi

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013

Escape from theEuro Zone: A tragedyin three actsWWhhaatt iiff CCyypprruuss ssaaiidd nnoo??

What if the small island-nation decided to repudiatethe terms of the 10 billion-euro ($12.8 billion) bailouthanded down by European leaders on Monday, bid “aufWiedersehen” to the euro and the 16 other countriesthat share it, and become a free agent? What if, as U.K.member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannanwrote in the U.K.’s Telegraph this week, “Cyprus were todefault, decouple, devalue -- and then prosper? WhateWect would a successful return to the Cyprus Poundhave on the rest of the euro zone?”

Little, if any, in the short run. Cyprus accounts for lessthan 0.2 percent of euro-zone gross domestic product.It could be cut loose without any macroeconomicimpact. European savers were unfazed by the initialrescue package’s proposed tax on insured bankdeposits: Bank runs in other countries nevermaterialized. Even the financial-market reaction to theCypriot parliament’s March 19 rejection of that planturned out to be a non-event. Perhaps oVcials inBrussels saw the response as a sign that Cyprus couldbe treated diWerently without any adverseconsequences. Over the longer term, an escape byCyprus would signal the beginning of the end of adream that was decades in the making: a United Statesof Europe. Other uncompetitive countries would seeexiting as a viable option, a way of unshackling theireconomies from the chains of a single currency andpolicies more suited to, and determined by, thenorthern countries. (Although the Maastricht Treatyprovides no mechanism for leaving the euro, acountry’s refusal to comply with bailout terms wouldprobably be a de facto deal-breaker.)

BBaaiilloouutt rreeppaacckkaaggeeddThe eWect on Cyprus would be just the opposite: a

disaster in the short run, as Cypriot banks collapsed,taking the economy down with them. In the long run,Cyprus would become more competitive through adevalued currency rather than by a decline in wages. Sowho could blame Cypriots for wanting their freedom?

The rescue package agreed to early this week inBrussels is certainly better than the first go-round. Infact, it’s in line with normal resolution procedures forinsolvent institutions. Cyprus Popular Bank Pcl, thecountry’s second-largest bank, will be liquidated, withshareholders and bondholders taking the hit.Uninsured depositors could suWer a loss of up to 40percent. Bank of Cyprus Pcl, the largest financialinstitution, will be recapitalized by convertinguninsured deposits to equity shares to achieve a capitalratio of 9 percent, according to a Eurogroup statement.Insured depositors at both banks will be fullyprotected. So a better plan, yes, despite the haphazardexecution and perilous message it sends to Europeanbank creditors and depositors, including small saverssupposedly covered by deposit insurance. It’s alsounique in the context of earlier euro-zone bailouts, thecost of which was largely borne by taxpayers.

EEnndd ggaammeeSo which is it? Euro-zone depositors must be

wondering. Investors didn’t wait for the answer. TheEuro Stoxx Banks Index (Sx7E) lost almost 4 percenton March 25 and 6.8 percent so far this week.

Hannan, of the European Parliament, wonders whyCyprus doesn’t “copy Iceland, let its banks collapse, andleave their shareholders and bondholders to sustain theloss.” That’s exactly what Cyprus is doing -- without apossible oWset from currency devaluation.

Like Cyprus, Iceland’s banking system had grown tobe many times the size of the nation’s economy. Whenshort-term funding dried up during the 2008 financialcrisis, Iceland nationalized the domestic units of itsbanks, imposing losses on foreign creditors. The kronalost 80 percent of its value versus the euro.

Today, Iceland’s economy is recovering, thanks to aweaker currency, fiscal consolidation andaccommodative monetary policy. Capital controls haveyet to be lifted. It’s not clear how Cyprus will managewithout the flexibility Iceland had. Cypriots may tire ofwaiting to see how things play out -- and opt to write adiWerent ending for their country.

Act I of this drama dealt with the negotiations andmanipulations leading up to the creation of theEuropean monetary union. Act II was the realization.Act III, which is still being written, is certain to testthe viability of “No Exit.”

The move initiated by the governmentto work on a draft agreement on theregulation of passenger and cargo

vehicular traVc between Bangladesh andIndia in the absence of a transit agreement issurprising. Ideally, arrangement for suchvehicular traVc should have featured as aprotocol to a transit agreement signedbetween the two countries. What nowappears to the dismay of many is putting thecart before the horses -- a proverb that goesto exemplify the utter lack of direction inachieving a targeted objective. However, inthis case it is not just a misdirected approachbut a deliberate one to achieve a shortcut inflouting the practised norms and standards.

The question that should baUe experts aswell as those aware of the issues involved iswhy has the issue of a vehicular traVcagreement surfaced in the absence of a transitagreement? Isn't it a transit issue that needsto be addressed under the internationallyrecognised practices of transit operations?

India has for long been asking forfacilitation of its movement of goodsthrough Bangladesh territory on all modesof transport in addition to the existinginland water transit facility, an operationthat has been in practice since the partitionof India but for a spell of around six years

following the India-Pakistan war in 1965.The water transit protocol which forms partof the Indo-Bangla bilateral tradeagreement has been revised a number oftimes. Lately, a major revision to make itmore eWective for transportation of Indiantransit and transshipment cargo has beenmade to include Ashuganj as a port of calland the facility for movement of transitcargo from Ashuganj to Agartola in theIndian state of Tripura through trucks andtrailors. It is important to note thateverything that got negotiated on riverineconnectivity has been under the ambit oftransit. This being the case with watertransit, there is no reason why overlandtransportation of goods in a much widerperspective should be looked at diWerently.

What transpires from the draft vehicularagreement proposed by India is that theissue is being treated not as transit but as atransport-cum-connectivity issue involvingidentification of land routes, types ofvehicles that are to ply on those and so on.Understandably, the purpose is to drag theveritable transit issue to a self-definedconnectivity issue. Concerned authorities inBangladesh are yet to question the rationalebehind treating the matter in the manner itis being done --misplacing it under adiWerent garb. It has been learnt fromnewspaper reports that the draft has beensent to various ministries and relevantagencies for their opinions. Now, are theministries or government agencies, giventhe present perspective, in a position toquestion the legitimacy of the exercise?They have been asked to give opinions onthe routes and related matters. Theirresponses can at the most stretch up to theissue of viability of the routes and not to pindown the basis for asking.

Newspaper reports have quoted expertsand the ministry of commerce oVcials whoreportedly sounded straight in stating thataccommodation of the Indian proposal would

yield no benefit to this country. There werealso remarks from government sources thatif no extra levy, local taxes, service charges,maintenance charges etc., are imposed on thecargo vehicles, Bangladesh, far from gaininganything, would have to count heavily ondamages to its road infrastructure. Needlessto say, these are but a naïve way of looking atthe matter and are far from raising the vitalquestion -- legitimacy.

Looking not far back, one gets a sense ofhow things began to take shape. The JointCommuniqué (JC) released during the visitof Bangladesh Prime Minister to New Delhiin January 2010 did not spell out the termtransit, ostensibly because of the allegedsensitivity attributed to it. However, it didincorporate, by way of a set of cooperationinitiatives, all issues that would facilitateIndia's transit operations throughBangladesh by all modes of transport (road,rail and waterways) including access ofIndian cargo to Chittagong and Monglaseaports. The Framework Agreement onCooperation for Development between Indiaand Bangladesh, signed on September 6, 2011reiterates the issue (Article 1) in its fullestspirit and content. Although the expression'transit' did not figure in the JC or theframework agreement for 'tactical' reasons, itis not understood how could one think ofmaterialising the key content of the JC or theframework agreement without going for acomprehensive (unlike the makeshift watertransit) transit agreement and a multitude ofprotocols addressing all the functionalmatters involving various stages and aspectsof transit operations.

Recognising that the JC and the subsequentframework agreement were agreeddocuments to work on, it was highly likelythat the government of Bangladesh wouldevolve a suitable modus operandi to ensure aviable and self-sustaining transit operationfor mutual benefit of both countries.However, amidst a good deal of initial

confusion, prompted mostly by ill-informedand conflicting statements from apparentlyresponsible quarters, the government formeda Core Committee on Transit comprisingrepresentatives who, among others, includedeminent transport specialists and economists.

Now that the government is set to work onthe vehicular agreement as a tool forfacilitating transit, one wonders if theauthorities have finally decided not to shakethe boat called transit and deal with the issueunder the apparently safe and benign garbof connectivity.

Again it appears a trifle surprising to seethat the government is presently at the finalstage of its negotiations with Bhutan towardsstriking a full-fledged transit agreement.Bangladesh had a transit agreement withBhutan, but because of its imperfections inmeeting the requirements, both governmentshave agreed to redesign a transit deal thatobservers believe would more or less conformto the internationally recognised transitprinciples and practices, which among othersinclude various charges on account of servicesthat Bangladesh would provide to Bhutan.

Transit operation, one need notemphasise, is a gigantic activity involving notmerely massive investment on the part of thecountry oWering transit. But it is, at the sametime, integrally related to a host of economic,political, security and management issues.Standard international practices confirmthat a sustainable transit operation isessentially about taking into account all suchissues with as much accuracy and precisionas possible in order that it is rendered win-win for the contracting parties.

Hence ever since the issue has emerged,experts have clearly stated their opinion infavour of a framework agreement on transitto start with.

Is there a scope for the authorities to revisitthe issue?

– COURTESy THE FINANCIAL ExPRESS

Europe can choose its ownmusical accompaniment toits latest crisis. In Berlin, 50

Cent’s “All Things Fall Apart” hasjust had its premiere, so thatsoundtrack might be appropriate.Or the continent can reach back toGiuseppe Verdi, born two hundredyears ago, whose penultimate, andprobably greatest, operaticachievement starts on the coast ofCyprus with a storm of fantasticviolence and the opening words ofits hero, Otello: Esultate, rejoice!The war has been won; but Otello’sachievement is later destroyed byhis jealousy.

Cyprus appears to have beenrescued. But the rescue has fueleda growing rift that jeopardizes thefuture of European integration,partly owing to the way that the

upheaval of the early twentiethcentury – especially the GreatDepression – has been reenacted inthe debates about the post-2008financial meltdown and thesubsequent euro crisis.

The interwar economic slumpbecame intractable because it wasalso a crisis of social stability,democracy, and the internationalpolitical order. Widespreadbankruptcy and unemploymentincreased social tension, ultimatelymaking normal democratic politicsimpossible. In Germany, theepicenter of democracy’s collapse,radicals on both the right and theleft raged against the postwar peacesettlement and the VersaillesTreaty.

In the last years of theincreasingly unstable WeimarRepublic, as democracy wasfraying, German governmentsstarted to use their opponents’radicalism in an eWort to extractsecurity concessions from theWestern powers. Domestic politicalpressure became a source ofheightened international tension.

That is true in today’s Europe aswell. Democracy has become acentral target of complaints by theEuropean elite. Luxembourg’sprime minister, Jean-ClaudeJuncker, a former chairman of theEuro group, has lamented thatEuropean leaders know what theright policies are, but do not know

how to be reelected afterimplementing them. Similarly,after his recent crushing electiondefeat, Italian Prime MinisterMario Monti wistfully explainedthat Italy’s voters were tooimpatient to bear reforms whosebenefits would only becomeevident beyond the electoral cycle.

Events in Cyprus have exposedtwo other dimensions to the clashesover Europe’s dual sovereign-debtand banking crisis. First, thediscussion of a levy on bankdeposits, and whether smallcustomers should be exempted, putclass conflict front and center.Second, the question of foreign,and especially Russian, depositors– along with proximity to Syria –has turned the rescue of the Cypriotbanking sector into aninternational relations problem.

The initial proposal to impose aone-time tax on accounts holdingless than €100,000 came not fromthe European Union or fromGermany, but from the Cypriotgovernment, which must haveknown that it was likely to generateoutrage, and that the Cypriotparliament would never vote for it.Perhaps the government believedthat mass protests – with placardsdenouncing the EU as a fig leaf forrevived German domination ofEurope – would strengthen itshand. After all, even moderateCypriots were outraged by the

bullying of their small island byGermany and by Europe.

The other side in the negotiationsalso played class politics. At one ofthe tensest moments, as Cypruswas seeking an alternative rescuepackage from Russia, the GermanBundesbank announced the resultsof a new European Central Bankstudy indicating that averageGerman wealth was lower than inthe southern European states,largely because fewer Germansown their own houses. Themessage seemed clearly intendedto influence the negotiations: Whyshould poorer Germans beexpected to sacrifice to supportMediterranean millionaires?

In the aftermath of the financialcrisis, income and wealthdistribution have moved to thecenter of political debate. Even theCatholic Church seems to reflectthe new mood: The election ofJorge Mario Bergoglio as PopeFrancis is a clear reference to St.Francis of Assisi and the Church’smission to stand up for the poor.

On the international-relationsfront, after 2010, as deposits fromEurope left Cypriot banks, depositsfrom Russian businesses andindividuals increased – and Russiahas many reasons to use money asa way of buying political control.Cyprus is a crucial staging post forAmerican security operations inthe eastern Mediterranean, and the

gas fields oW the Cypriot coastmight be developed as an energysource that would – at least after2017 – reduce Europeandependence on Russian supplies.

In an earlier phase of the crisis,Russia gave Cyprus a $3 billioncredit. Now, however, a new creditwould serve only to make theburden of government debtunsustainable; what is needed is apurchase of all or some of theproblematic Cypriot banks. In theaftermath of a crisis that has beenintensified by the rhetoric of classconflict, Russia might be able toextend its control moresignificantly, and at a lower price.

Deepening social polarization, itsuse in financial negotiations, andthe intrusion of a new securityelement provide further evidenceof what most economists andcommentators on Europe havelong argued: a monetary union isimpossible to sustain in theabsence of a political union. A state,especially in the modern form ofthe European welfare state,depends on eWective mechanismsfor arbitrating and resolving socialdisputes – mechanisms that, as theturmoil surrounding Cyprus hasshown, the EU lacks. As long asthat remains true, Europeanintegration may be doomed by thetime the music stops.

–COURESy PROJECT SyNDICATE

The pipeline will bring morethan simply an economicboost to both countries; it isa crucial guidepost on the

path to peace. After generations ofconflict, Iran and Pakistan are takingtheir economic destinies into theirown hands - together.

The pipeline, which would bringIranian gas to Pakistan through itswestern Balochistan province, willstretch almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km)from Iran’s gas-rich Asalouyeh regioninto the Pakistani heartland, supplyingmajor cities like Karachi and Islamabadwith much needed, reliable energywhile carrying a pricetag of roughly $1.5billion. Similarly, the project is criticalfor Iran as it struggles to survive andgrow amid the hostility of US-European sanctions.

TThhee bbeenneefifittss ffoorr bbootthh ccoouunnttrriieessIt is against the backdrop of brutal,

draconian sanctions initiated by the USand its European partners, that Tehran

has taken the countermeasure todevelop itself and the region,constructing an economicallyindependent framework of relationsnot beholden to Western financiers.Undoubtedly, the centerpiece of thisstrategy of economic independence as ameans of anti-imperialist resistance isthe Iran-Pakistan pipeline. The project,already nearing completion on theIranian side of the border, would bringdesperately needed Iranian gas toenergy-starved Pakistan – a countrybattling a perpetual energy shortage.Needless to say, the project is critical forthe economic survival of both nations.

For Iran, the pipeline meanseconomic stability at a time oftremendous turmoil. While the IslamicRepublic often downplays the impact ofthe sanctions, the reality is inescapable:an inflation rate hovering around 30%, the loss of key regional markets suchas India, and the continued shortage ofmedicines and staple foods amongother things . These problems plaguingthe Iranian economy require bothshort-term and long-term solutions.The pipeline conveniently addressesboth as it provides Tehran with muchneeded energy revenue today, whileoWering the potential for increasedrevenue and infrastructure expansionin the future. Essentially then, thepipeline is really more of a lifeline,anchoring the Iranian economy fordecades to come.

Like their Iranian neighbors, Pakistanalso has had to address glaringeconomic deficiencies, particularly withregard to the energy sector. A recent

poll unsurprisingly showed that energyshortages, along with unemployment,remain the greatest economic issuesfacing the country. Public anger overthe inability of the government to meetthe country’s electricity demands hasboiled over in the form of riotsnumerous times, most recently in thesummer of 2012 . This type of publicunrest over the energy issue serves todelegitimize the government, especiallythe ruling Pakistan People’s Party(PPP), and weaken their hold onpolitical power.

For Islamabad then, the pipelinemeans energy security which, in turn,means political stability. Moreover, theproject as a whole is, at least in smallpart, a way of resisting Washington andthe Obama administration’s continuedviolations of Pakistani sovereignty. Bypushing forward with the project, in theface of countless threats fromWashington, Pakistani presidentZardari is walking a fine line betweenmaintaining a working relationshipwith his US partners and forging newrelations from which Pakistan willbenefit while the US loses.

AA sseeccttaarriiaann bbrriiddggee??One critical aspect of the Iran-

Pakistan pipeline is the simple fact thatit brings together two countries that, ifwestern imperialists were to have theirway, would always remain enemies.Pakistan (a majority Sunni Muslimcountry) and Iran (a majority ShiiteMuslim country), have historically beenat odds with one another, choosingrather to align themselves with otherSunni and Shiite countries respectively.

This fundamental conflict has, for morethan a century, been at the heart of theimperialist/colonialist strategy.

Whether British, French, orAmerican, western powers have longdominated the vast energy resources ofthe Middle East and Central Asia bydividing the Muslim populations alongthese sectarian lines, exploiting thediWerences between them in order toprevent independent economicdevelopment. However, the Iran-Pakistan pipeline flies in the face of this“divide and conquer” strategy. Bringingtogether these two countries throughmutually beneficial economicdevelopment, the project seems tosignal a major change in the Muslimworld in the 21st Century. No longerwill the imperialists be able to controlthe destinies of nations in the region byexploiting their diWerences. Rather, itis the imperial powers themselves whowill have to reevaluate their strategyand come to terms with a changingworld in which their unchallengedhegemony becomes a relic of the past.

TThhee ggeeooppoolliittiiccss ooff tthhee ppiippeelliinneeAlthough the Iran-Pakistan pipeline

is economically and politicallysignificant to both nations, it takes onperhaps its greatest importance in thecontext of world geopolitics. Theproject fundamentally alters thebalance of power in Asia and the worldfor a number of reasons.

First and foremost, the pipeline linkstwo countries that, each in its own way,seek to undermine US hegemony in theMiddle East and South Asia. WhileIran has been the implacable foe of

Washington since the IslamicRevolution of 1979, Pakistan hasmaintained relations that at one timemade them close allies, but in recentyears have deteriorated to the pointwhere the United States is seen asPublic Enemy No. 1 in the streets. Thepipeline brings the two countries closertogether and, in so doing, helps tosolidify a relationship united by acommon mistrust of the US.

Secondly, the Iran-Pakistan pipelinecould quite easily become the Iran-Pakistan-China pipeline if Beijingdecides to finally get involved. In thisvery plausible scenario, China wouldfinally get the “holy grail” it has soughtfor years: land-based access to energyimports from the Middle East. ForChina, an energy-starved economy thatcontinues to grow, this would greatlyenhance their regional position. Itwould also transform the balance ofpower in Asia, as the era of USdomination of energy resources in theMiddle East would be over. So, werethe project to be extended to China, thepipeline would become the focus of anew power paradigm, making it one ofthe most important economicdevelopment projects in the world.

Additionally, the pipeline shows thegrowing power and influence ofinternational alliances andorganizations that represent acounterweight to the imperialistestablishment of the West. Iran hastaken on the role of leading the Non-Aligned Movement, thrusting itself intothe forefront of the anti-imperialistbloc. At the same time, both Iran and

Pakistan seek membership in theShanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO), led by Russia and China, whichis showing signs of developing into afull-fledged strategic alliance thatprovides a check to US-NATOdominance. In this way, the pipelinebecomes the tangible link betweenvarious organizations and allianceswhich seek to beat a path independentof US hegemony.

It is for this reason, more thananything else, that the United Stateshas vigorously attempted to subvertthe development of the pipeline,going so far as to heavily promote themuch-touted TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI)pipeline, seen as the main competitorto the Iran-Pakistan project.

However, despite the fierce oppositionfrom Washington, the project will goahead while the TAPI still remains onthe drawing board, subject to securityconcerns in Afghanistan and elsewherealong the route.

When seen from the broadestperspective, the Iran-Pakistanpipeline fundamentally transformspower relations in the Middle East,South Asia, and throughout the world.Not only does it benefit the twonations involved, but all other nationsand peoples who have been oppressed,controlled, or otherwise coerced bythe Western powers. In this way, theIran-Pakistan Pipeline representspeace and progress. In short, it is thepromise of a better future.

– COURTESy RT

Pak-Iran ‘lifeline’: Pipeline aims for global power balance

Eric Draitser

Harold James

Wasi Ahmed

The Dirge of Cyprus

Transit under vehicular arrangements?

MONDAY, APRIL 01, 2013

Ranbir sports 90s style chevron moustacheNEWDELHI: The suave and stylish Ranbir Kapoor, dons a simpleworking class man sporting dull clothes, large spectacles, dentalbraces, and a 90s style chevronmoustache for a new advertisement.The Besharam actor managed to stun onlookers when he steppedout of his vanity van for the shoot at Film City. Ranbir, who iscurrently busy with his forthcoming film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,has been seen in various avatars for commercials will be seen as acricket fan, carrying a large brief-case style bag and a yellow tiKnbox. Ranbir was in the Capital on Saturday for a celebrity footballmatch between the Indian crickets and actors in Jawaharlal NehruStadium organised by Cricketer Virat Kohli Charity foundation Allheart football club. -SHOWBIZ DESK

Playboy's Christa Speck diesLOS ANGELES: A German-born former Playboy Playmate who latermarried television producerMarty KroLt has died in of natural causes at age70. Family spokesman Christoph Buerger says Christa Speck diedMarch 22at home. Speck, a model and actress, was named Playboy's "Playmate of theMonth" in September 1961 and “Playmate of the Year in 1962. Speck wasdiscovered by Playboy while working as a secretary at Bank of America. Shewas a Playboy Bunny at HughHefner's Chicago nightclub and lived at thePlayboyMansion. She appeared in many pictorials. She is survived by herhusband, the producer of "H.R. Pufnstuf," and their three daughters. Thefamily said in a statement that she was the rare sort of person who didn'tjudge others and saw good in everyone. -SHOWBIZ DESK

CMYK

MUMBAI: Actress Kajol, who played lead roles in some ofthe biggest Bollywood blockbusters in 1990s and early2000s, may not be seen in too many films now a days but sheis happy that her personal life has taken precedence overprofessional matters. The versatile screen performer, who hastwo kids, says she is a strict mother and her husband,Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, does not like when she scolds herchildren. "I am the stricter one between two of us. Ajaydoesn't like when I scold our children in his presence. I haveto be strict because I'mmore of an 'at home' parent. WhenAjay is around it is playtime. Our children are used to me inhis absence," Kajol said. Post-marriage, the 38-year-oldactress cut down on her work though she continued tofeature with big stars and collect accolades for herperformance. Her major releases after marriage were Fanaa,UMe Aur Hum (2008), My Name is Khan (2010), We AreFamily (2010). But Kajol has done special appearances inseveral films like Kal Ho NaHo, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna,Om Shanti Om, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Student of theYear. "Once I got married and had babies, I had to take timeout for my children. Hence I took a break. My personal lifetook over my professional life and I was very happy about it,"she said. Apart from her film commitments, Kajol has beenin demand for brand endorsements as well. She has beenappointed brand ambassador of Kimberly-Clark Lever andwill be seen in a new TV commercial of the US-basedconsumer goods firm's product for babies. Kimberly-ClarkLever is set to announce the launch of HuggiesWonder-Pants, an ultra-soft diaper-pant developed for babies. Its adwill be aired some time next week. Asked what are the thingsshe looks for before associating herself with a brand, she says,"I only endorse products and brands that I trust and canrelate to personally. As for Huggies, it is a trusted brand fromKimberly Clark and they are the diaper experts as far as I'mconcerned." -SHOWBIZ DESK

‘My personallife took priorityover film career’ SHOWBIZ DESK

MUMBAI: Veteran actor DeeptiNaval, who is all set to release thedigitally restored version of theoriginal Chashme Buddoor, has neverfelt that the film faded away from theviewers’ mind. “I feel that the oldChashme Buddoor never died down.People have gone on watching it, asit’s repeatedly shown on TV. It neverdied out,” she said at the launch of thepromo of the restored film. Excited tosee the fresh print, she said, “It is rarethat a film gets restored. It hasbrought all of us together once again.”Directed by Sai Paranjpye, the 1981

buddy film also had actors FarooqueShaikh, Rakesh Bedi and RaviBaswani. Talking about her memoriesof shooting the film, Deepti said shenever felt they were “shooting” or“acting”. “I just remembered that weused to have fun... we were in such acomfort zone with each other. I didn’teven know the ABC of acting at thattime. But no one mademe feel that Iwas just one-film-old,” she added. Theold version will hit screens April 5along with its remake, which has beendirected by David Dhawan and starsactors Ali Zafar, Siddharth, Taapsee

Pannu, and Divyendu Sharma.Talking about Paranjpye’s disapprovalof Dhawan’s remake, Deepti said, “Iwant to respect her feelings... she is

concerned how her film will beremade. But I feel that the fact thatDavid saab wants to make the filmagain is a compliment,” she said.

Chashme Buddoor hasn’tfaded away: Deepti Naval

SHOWBIZ DESK

MUMBAI: Be it action, comedy ordrama, Bobby Deol has tried hishand at various genres over the 18years that he has been in Bollywood,he is still exploring and says there isnothing like a perfect role for anactor. The 46-year-old debuted in1995 with Barsaat and gave hits likeAjnabee, Soldier and Gupt. "I'm stillexploring the industry. I have grownup as an actor but I am in thelearning phase. I'll never besatisfied," Bobby told. "I feel there'snothing like a dream role for anactor. It should be a dream role for aviewer - something he wants to

watch over and again. I lovewatching old masala films. Now wetalk about new cinema. It's not new.It has been always there. So I amlooking forward to domore ofmasala films, a perfect pack ofaction, comedy, romance," he said.In the film, Bobby is playing thesame character of Gajodhar Singhas he did in the original and said"the other characters are also thesame, only the situations keepchanging"."For an actor, the journey always

continues. It never stops. Before therelease of each film, there's stress,anxiety and nervousness but justone mistake and you are gone.

There's nothing like adream role: Bobby Deol

MUMBAI: Amrita Rao who is baskingin the success of her latest film JollyL.L.B says that Amitabh Bachchanbehaves like a newcomer on the sets ofSatyagraha. "Shooting for Satyagrahahas been the most challengingexperience of my life, the actress says,"Especially When you have such iconsstanding next to you, Prakashji on oneside and Amitabh Bachchanji on theother." Most of my role is with AmitabhBachchanji. One has to be so alert andkeep thinking of how better can you be,becauseMr Bachchan at this stage of hiscareer behaves exactly like a newcomeron the sets - so alert and wanting toimprove himself. Amrita has previouslyworked with Big B inMilan Luthria's2004 filmDeewaar -Wall of war.Amrita will be sharing screen space withBig B in Prakash Jha's Satyagraha whichalso stars Kareena Kapoor, Ajay Devgnand Arjun Rampal. -SHOWBIZ DESK

Amitabh Bachchan behaveslike newcomer: Amrita Rao

NEWDELHI: Actor Saif Ali Khan, whowas criticized for smoking a cigar in hisupcoming film, Go Goa Gone, has shot adisclaimer video to show smokinghazards. The video will be played beforethe film begins. “Saif plays a Russianmafia lord and the role demanded himto smoke a cigar. OL screen, Saif doesn’tsmoke and condemns the use oftobacco. On his insistence we shot apersonalised anti-tobacco video,” saysproducer Dinesh Vijan. -SHOWBIZ DESK

Saif shoots ananti-tobacco videofor Go Goa Gone

SHOWBIZ DESK

MUMBAI: Aamir khan, who played acop struggling to cope with the deathof his young son in Talaash, says thefilm was "emotionally exhaustive"."The role of Talaash was tough. Theloss of the son in the film wasemotionally exhausting. I had to startshooting thinking something reallytraumatic as that would set mymood," Aamir told reporters today atan event organised byMicrosoft Indiato felicitate winners of Talaashcontest. Aamir said he had to go deepinto the "space of loss" to step into theshoes of his character on the screen.Talaash: The Answer LiesWithin wasa mystery film directed by ReemaKagti and produced by ExcelEntertainment and Aamir KhanProductions, starring Aamir, RaniMukerji, and Kareena Kapoor in thelead. On often being dubbed as a"perfectionist" actor, Aamir said hedisagreed with the tag. "I don't think Iam perfectionist. I don't think there isany such thing in the creativebusiness. I don't consider myselfperfectionist," the actor said, addingthat he gives his best when it comes tohis characters. "I leave no stoneunturned for any of my films," headded. Aamir said he did not thinkmuch about being successful butenjoys doing his work. "I don't knowwhy I am successful so far. I don'tthink about it. I just enjoy my workand give my best. I want to surprise

and challenge myself. I want to giveaudience something new every time,"he said. Aamir, known for

experimenting with his looks, said heliked his get-up in films 'MangalPandey' and 'Ghajini'.

Beatles album auctionedfor $290,500

LONDON: Actor Tom Cruise is said tobe upset with his ex-wife Katie Holmesafter she posed for some steamy, eye-popping photos for an ad campaign.Holmes bared her body in a sizzling newad campaign for jewellery brandHStern, where she appears naked andbarely covers her chest with her hands.The 34-year-old also got wet and wildon the cover of the April issue of Alluremagazine, appearing to be topless in thepictures, reported Showbizspy. "I thinkTom is fit to be tied over Katie's red-hotnew image. It is sure to burn him upbecause he probably thinks Katie isdeliberately trying to rub his nose in hersassy single-girl persona. "The bottomline is that I'm sure it galls Tom to noend that he doesn't have the power tocall the shots with Katie anymore," asource said. Holmes filed for divorcefrom Cruise on June 29 last year afterfive years of marriage. -SHOWBIZ DESK

SHOWBIZ DESK

LONDON: A rare, signed copy ofThe Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper'sLonely Hearts Club Band has beensold for a record $290,500 atauction, The Hollywood Reportersaid. The entertainment magazinereported on its website that thealbum, signed by all four membersof the famous band, was purchasedthrough Dallas-based Heritage

Auctions by an unnamed buyerfrom theMidwest. Earlier estimatessuggested the albumwould sell forabout $30,000, the publication said.The Beatles are believed to havesigned the cover around June 1967when the albumwas released.According to The HollywoodReporter, the previous record for asigned Beatles album cover was$150,000, which was paid for a copyof Meet the Beatles.

Tom Cruise furiouswith Katie Holmes

The Beatles' 8th albumSergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band featured the FabFour asmembers of a fictitious band and proved to be the biggest selling album till date.

I don't think I am a perfectionist,says Aamir Khan

MONDAY, APRIL 01, 2013

CMYK

CMYK

PPAALLLLEEKKEELLEE:: Kusal Perera smashed a brisk 64to set up Sri Lanka's 17-run victory overBangladesh in a one-oO Twenty20 internationalin Pallekele on Sunday. The opener hit four sixesand five fours in his 44-ball knock as Sri Lankaposted a challenging 198-5 before restrictingBangladesh to 181-7. Mohammad Ashraful top-scored for Bangladesh with a 27-ball 43 whileseamers Angelo Mathews and Thisara Pereraeach bagged two wickets for Sri Lanka.Bangladesh suOered a setback after

reaching 68-2 in the eighth over as Ashrafulwas given out leg-before. He hit seamerThisara Perera for two successive sixes andthen a four in the same over. SkipperMushfiqur Rahim (39) and MohammadMahmudullah (31) kept Bangladesh's hopesalive with a 50-run stand for the fifth wicketbefore both fell in the 15th over to leave theirteam struggling at 137-6. Bangladesh were letdown by their bowling in the later stages ofthe innings as they gave away 75 in the last fiveovers. They also conceded 19 runs in wides. SriLanka's Jeevan Mendis and Angelo Mathewsput on 66 for the fifth wicket oO just 5.5 oversto help their side set a stiO target.Mendis hit three sixes, including two in an

over from left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, and

two fours in his 17-ball 37 while Mathewscontributed an unbeaten 30 oO 27 deliveries.Sri Lanka plundered 32 oO the last 13 balls,with Thisara Perera making a seven-ball 22 notout with two sixes and as many fours. The hostsmade a brisk start after being put in to bat asthey raced to 52 in the opening five overs, withKusal Perera playing attacking shots against

both pace and spin. Perera hit seamer ShahadatHossain for two fours and a six in the first overof the match before smashing two more sixes,one each oO spinners Sohag Gazi and Razzak.He completed his maiden T20 half-century in

the eighth over with two runs to mid-wicket oOMahmudullah. Shahadat conceded 54 runs infour overs, including 24 in his last. –AGENCIES

Sri Lanka outplay Bangladesh by 17 runs in Twenty20SSRRII LLAANNKKAA IINNNNIINNGGSS::K Perera c Rahim b Mahmudullah 64D Munaweera b Gazi 5D Chandimal c Jahurul b Razzak 9L Thirimanne run out 5A Mathews not out 30J Mendis b Rubel 37T Perera not out 22EEXXTTRRAASS (LB 7, W 19) 26TTOOTTAALL (for five wickets; 20 overs) 198FFAALLLL OOFF WWIICCKKEETTSS:: 1-32, 2-77, 3-86, 4-100, 5-166BBOOWWLLIINNGG:: Shahadat 4-0-54-0 Rubel 4-0-40-1 Gazi 4-0-30-1 Razzak 4-0-39-1 Mahmudullah 4-0-28-1 BBAANNGGLLAADDEESSHH IINNNNIINNGGSS::Mohammad Ashraful lbw b T Perera 43Shamsur Rahman lbw b Mathews 0Jahurul Islam b Mathews 11Mushfiqur Rahim c Eranga b Senanayake 39

Nasir Hossain c A Perera b T Perera 8Mohammad Mahmudullah run out 31Mominul Haque not out 26Sohag Gazi c Mathews b Malinga 9Abdur Razzak not out 6EEXXTTRRAASS (LB 3, W 5) 8TTOOTTAALL (for seven wickets; 20 overs) 181FFAALLLL OOFF WWIICCKKEETTSS:: 1-9, 2-27, 3-68, 4-85, 5-135, 6-137, 7-156BBOOWWLLIINNGG:: Mathews 4-0-37-2Eranga 4-0-37-0 Malinga 4-0-27-1Senanayake 4-0-29-1T Perera 2-0-25-2 Mendis 1-0-6-0A Perera 1-0-17-0Result: Sri Lanka win by 17 runsToss: BangladeshUmpires: Ranmore Martinesz (SRI) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge(SRI)TV umpire: Tyron Wijewardene (SRI)Match referee: David Boon (AUS)

SCOREBOARD

OUR STAFF REPORTER

LLAAHHOORREE:: Fifth seeds Aisamul Haq Qureshiof Pakistan and his partner Jean-Julien Rojerof the Netherlands won their first ATP WorldTour Masters trophy in Miami, defeatingeighth-seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg andMarcin Matkowski 6-4, 6-1. Aisam and Rojerbroke their Polish rivals three times andwiped away all three break points they facedto clinch the title in 56 minutes. The duofinished in the winners’ circle after rallyingfrom a set down in their first two matches,which included prevailing 14-12 in a matchtie-break over Treat Huey and DominicInglot in the second round.“I feel ecstatic. We both knew we had to go

all out to win a title, especially such a big one.I have never had such a big result the firstquarter of the year, so it feels great,” saidAisam after the match. “Every day is a new day. We were six match

points down in our second match.Everything turned around. Sometimes youneed some luck to win these bigtournaments. The tennis gods were on our

side this tournament, but we also workedhard,” Aisam added.“It's always nice to be back here. I have a lot

of friends and family here. If I could win anybig tournament, this is right up there. This ispretty much my Grand Slam, so I'm veryhappy to win it,” Roger said. The Pakistan-Dutch duo captured their third title together,having triumphed in Estoril and Halle lastyear en-route to qualifying for the BarclaysATP World Tour Finals.When asked if they had any special

celebration plans, Aisam said: “I've heard somuch the past two weeks about Miami but Ihaven't been out. Roger went to Ultra Festwhen Swedish House Mafia were playing andhe didn't take me. I really hope he hassomething figured out tonight or I'll bedisappointed.” Rojer added, “I am going tomake a phone call to the Dutch Davis Cupcaptain to see if I can arrive a day later,because I would like to properly celebrate ourwin.” Fyrstenberg and Matkowski wereaiming to win their third Masters 1000 titletogether. They dropped to a 13-22 record intour-level finals.

Aisam and Rojer clinch ATPMasters doubles crown in Miami

Sri Lanka's captain Dinesh Chandimal (3rd L) walks back to the pavilion after their victory in the Twenty20International against Bangladesh at the Pallekele International Stadium on Sunday. –AGENCIES

Aisamul Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands pose with the trophy after winningthe doubles final of the ATP Miami Masters against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland atCrandon Park Tennis Center on Saturday in Key Biscayne. –AGENCIES

LLAAHHOORREE:: Pakistanon Sunday omittedout-of-form YounusKhan from a 30-maninitial squad for theeight-nation ICCChampions Trophyafter the middleorder batsmanflopped in recent one-day matches. The 35-year-old Younus managed just 116 runs inthe series against South Africa earlier thismonth which Pakistan lost 3-2 and has notmanaged to score a century since November2008. Pakistan is in group B of the event tobe held in England from June 3-23. Theother teams in their group are arch-rivalsIndia, the West Indies and South Africa.Defending champions Australia, NewZealand, Sri Lanka and England formgroup A. All teams had April 6 as the cut oOdate to announce their initial squad to betrimmed to 15 in May.Probables: Nasir Jamshed, MohammadHafeez, Imran Farhat, Ahmed Shehzad,Misbah-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq,Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Umer Amin,Sohail Tanvir, Hammad Azam, Azhar Ali,Shahid Afridi, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, JunaidKhan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz,Umar Gul, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, ImranKhan, Aizaz Cheema, Yasir Arafat, SaeedAjmal, Abdul Rehman, Zulfiqar Babar,Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan.

MMIIAAMMII:: World No. 1 Serena Williams ralliedto defeat world No. 2 Maria Sharapova 4-6,6-3, 6-0 on Saturday in the WTA Miamifinal, winning the event for a record sixthtime to claim her 48th career tour title.Williams, who had shared the all-timeMiami women's title mark with SteN Graf,won the last 10 games in adding to a trophyhaul that included crowns in 2002, 2003,2004, 2007 and 2008 and runner-up eOortsin 1999 and 2009. "It's so good to winnumber six," Williams said. "Start of thetournament, I definitely didn't feel like Iwould be here, not with the way I wasplaying. But it definitely feels good to gothrough everything."It was the 11th match victory in a row for

Williams over Sharapova, coming in theirfirst meeting as the top two players in theworld rankings, and gave the 31-year-oldAmerican a 12-2 edge in their all-time rivalry."She definitely pushed me," Williams said. "Idefinitely look forward to our next matches."Sharapova took a set oO Williams for the firsttime since 2008 and was up a break in thesecond set before the reigning Olympic,Wimbledon and US Open champion roaredback to break the Russian in her last fiveservice games. "I certainly put myself in amuch better position today," Sharapova said."I had my chances. There's no reason why Icouldn't win the match. I was playing, notwell enough to win the match, obviously, butit was a step in the right direction and there'sno doubt that we'll be playing many moretimes. "There's no doubt I'll be able to beather." Williams became only the fourthwoman in the modern era to win the sameevent six times, joining Graf, Chris Evert andMartina Navratilova."I'm happy to be here holding the

championship," Williams said. "It's definitelynot my best tournament but the momentsthat count is when you can go and do the bestyou can and still come out on top and alwaystry to improve." Williams, a 15-time Grand

Slam singles champion, also became theoldest women's champion in Miami history,four months older than Evert when thelegend won here in 1986 at 31 years and twomonths of age. "It's really cool," Williamssaid. "I'm really happy to have somethinggoing right now, so it's exciting." Sharapova,25, suOered her fifth championship-matchloss at Miami and still looks for her firstMiami title after having been denied a 29thcareer WTA triumph. The $8.5 millionhardcourt event, which also includes an ATPMasters tournament, concludes Sunday withBritain's Andy Murray facing SpaniardDavid Ferrer in the men's final. Four-timeGrand Slam title winner Sharapova had won11 matches in a row without dropping a setsince losing to Williams in a Doha semi-final,including a title earlier this month at IndianWells. Sharapova missed a chance to matchGraf and Kim Clijsters as the only women towin at Indian Wells and Miami in the sameyear. "It has been a really nice month,"

Sharapova said. "I'm disappointed to end itlike this but Serena played a really greatmatch. I'm sure we will be playing a fewmore times this year."Sharapova's only two victories over

Williams came in 2004 in the Wimbledonfinal and the WTA Los Angeles final.Sharapova broke in the ninth game of thematch, a double fault and netted forehand byWilliams giving the Russian a 5-4 edge.Sharapova then held at love and claimed thefirst set when Williams sent a forehand long.Williams, who made 20 unforced errors to15 winners in the opening set, smacked herbench with her racquet during a changeoverafter her 13-set win streak over Sharapova forthe past five years was snapped. Williamsheld at love to open the second set and brokeSharapova for a 2-0 edge. Sharapova brokeback at love in the third and fifth games toseize a 3-2 lead, only to have Williams breakback at love in the sixth to pull even. ButWilliams never lost another game. –AGENCIES

Serena wins WTA MiamiMasters title for sixth time

Maria Sharapova of Russia and Serena Williams pose for photographers after the final. –AGENCIES

AAUUDDEENNAARRDDEE:: Swiss ace Fabian Cancellara won the oneday classic Tour of Flanders for the second time here onSunday. The 32-year-old 2008 Olympic time-trial champion- nicknamed 'Spartacus' - came home clear at the end of the256km ride from Bruges ahead of Slovakian Peter Saganwhile Jurgen Roelandts of Belgium was third. Cancellara,also a four-time world time-trial champion, won his previousTour of Flanders in 2010 but returned for this edition withsour memories of last year's race where he crashed andfractured his collarbone in four places.Cancellara and Sagan, the other favourite for the race, had

fought out a thrilling duel once they joined Roelandts at thefront with 16km to go. Both of them fought for supremacyover the last two climbs of the race, Vieux Quaremont andthen the Paterberg. Whilst Sagan was able to stay onCancellara's wheel on the Quaremont he was unable to staywith the merciless pace of the Swiss rider on the Paterberg,13km from the finish.Cancellara left alone like in a time-trial never faltered as

he rode to the line to win his fifth major classic of his career.The early part of the race had seen defending champion andhome favourite Tom Boonen crash out after 19 kilometres.The three-time winner of the race was treated in hospital forbruising to the elbow, left hip and right knee but x-raysrevealed no broken bones. –AGENCIES

Pakistan dropsYounus from initial30-man squad

ICC Champions Trophy

‘Spartacus’ Cancellaraputs rivals to the sword

Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara of team RadioShack-Leopardcelebrates on the podium after he won the 97th edition of the Tour ofFlanders' one-day cycling race, 255 km from Brugge to Oudenaarde,on Sunday. Cancellara won this race for the second time. –AGENCIES

JJAAKKAARRTTAA:: South Korea's ChoiHo-sung survived a nervous three-hour storm delay on his last holebefore winning the Indonesia PGAChampionship by two strokes onSunday. The 40-year-old, who wasone shot behind the overnightleader, returned to the EmeraldaGolf Club course after the long

wait and birdied the last for around of five-under-par 67 and a72-hole total of 19-under 269.Juvic Pagunsan (66) ofPhilippines, Kaname Yokoo (70) ofJapan and South Korean SongYoung-han (68) finished on 17-under 271, tied for the secondplace. "I can't believe it," the long-haired Choi said after clinching the$1 million tournament in Jakarta,

co-sanctioned by OneAsia and theJapan Golf Tour. "I thought wemight not be able to finish. I reallydidn't want to have to do it all overagain tomorrow." Excessive heat and humidity had

forced Choi to pull out of thismonth's Thailand Open after thefirst round but he adapted muchbetter to the similar taxingconditions in Jakarta. "I was better

prepared," he said. "This time I hadenough towels and ice, and I usedan umbrella around the course."Trailing overnight leader Yokoo by ashot, Choi grabbed the lead with aneagle on the opening hole but cameunder pressure after dropping ashot on the 15th. But two successivebirdies on the last two holesensured he picked up the winner'scheque of $180,000. –AGENCIES

South Korea's Choi survives nervous wait to win in Jakarta

CCAAPPEE TTOOWWNN:: South African swimmers,including Olympic gold medallist Chad le Clos,will have to pay their own way to compete inthe FINA World Championships in Barcelonalater this year as their cash-strapped federationcannot fund their trip. Swimming South AfricaCEO Shaun Adriaanse confirmed that thefederation would be sending the swimmers toSpain but they would have to pay for their ownflights and accommodation for thechampionship starting on July 19. Theswimming federation lost their major sponsorlast year as South African telecommunicationscompany Telkom pulled the plug on their US$1.25 million per year deal. Adriaanse said the organisation has

canvassed extensively for a new backer, butthat there have been no takers. Bert le Clos,who manages his son Chad, called thesituation "pathetic". "It's pathetic that youhave to (buy) your own flight tickets," he toldSouth Africa's Sunday Times newspaper. "It'sa disgrace when you consider the amount ofmedals and glory swimmers bring to thiscountry. There are other teams, which I don'twant to point out, that get millions but bringback nothing." South Africa's sports ministerFikile Mbalula said he was unaware of theplight of the federation, though it has emergedhe tried to intervene on their behalf whenTelkom withdrew their sponsorship. SouthAfrica won three medals in the pool at the2012 London Olympic Games - Le Closcollecting gold (200m) and silver (100m) inthe butterfly and Cameron van der Berg goldin the 100-metre breaststroke. –AGENCIES

South Africaswimmers mustpay their own wayto Barcelona

Cycling

Golf

OUR STAFF REPORTER

Pylon attacks plungeBalochistan’s into darknessQQUUEETTTTAA:: At least 17 of Balochistan’sdistrict’s were without electricity afterfour pylons were blown up near Sibi,shutting oT electricity supply to 47grid stations in the province onSunday. A spokesperson of the QuettaElectric Supply Company (Qesco)said that some unknown personsblew up four 220 kv pylons situatedbetween Sibi and Dera Murad Jamaliareas, shutting down 47 grid stationsand leaving 17 districts of Balochistanwithout power. –AGENCIES

Next Sindh cm will beof mQm, claims Sattar KKAARRAACCHHII:: Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) leader Dr FarooqSattar Sunday claimed that nextSindh chief minister would be fromMQM. Addressing a public meetingin Nau Shehro Feroze on Sunday, hesaid MQM was not a party ofKarachi, but it has become a nationalparty. He recalled that it was SindhAssembly who adopted firstresolution in favour of Pakistan. TheMQM leader said that his partywould provide all basic needsincluding health and education tomasses. He alleged that religiousconstructors captured their seats. Hetermed plotting against Sindh asconspiracy against Pakistan. –AGENCIES

Lawyers decide to blockmusharraf hearing todayKKAARRAACCHHII:: Lawyers of Sindh BarCouncil decided not to allow formermilitary dictator Pervez Musharaf inthe premises of city court today(Monday). All Pakistan MuslimLeague (APML) chief Musharraf is tofile his application in the city court onMonday for scrutiny. The SBCannounced today that lawyers haveunanimously planned to boycott all theactivity of court on Monday (April 1).Earlier on Friday, an angry protesterhurled a shoe towards Musharraf inthe court premises. –ONLINE

militants blow upgirl’s school in BannuBBAANNNNUU:: Militants blew up agovernment run girls school withexplosives here on Sunday but nocausality was reported, oScials said.According to local police, unknownmilitants had planted explosives materialin Government School of the Bannu citywhich exploded with a loud bang. As aresult of blast the school building wasbadly damaged but no injury or causalitywas reported as the building was emptydue to Sunday holiday. Locals said that itwas high intensity blast heard in onekilometre area creating panic and frightamong the dwellers. –ONLINE

mobile phone servicessnapped in parts of LahoreLLAAHHOORREE:: The mobile and wirelessphone services were shut in parts ofLahore in the wake of Jamiat Ulema-I-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) rally in theprovincial capital. OScials said themobile and Vphone services have beensuspended as part of securityarrangements. Ravi road, Karim Park,Minar-e-Pakistan, Lari Adda andBadami Bagh area was aTected by thesuspension of cellular services.Pakistan Telecommunication Authorityconfirmed that the services remainedsuspended till 10:00 pm. –ONLINE

Police kill three inkarachi shootoutKKAARRAACCHHII:: Police on Sunday claimedto have killed three suspects during ashootout near Northern Bypass.According to SSP Investigation Unit,the one of he suspects identified DrDaud Kishkori was the mastermindof kidnapping for ransom activitieswhile his accomplices were identifiedas Ali Mallah and Akhtar Sial. TheoScer said that heavy cache of armswas also recovered from thepossession of the accused. –ONLINE

Blast in Quetta injures twoQQUUEETTTTAA:: At least two personsincluding an FC soldier were injuredin a remotely detonated explosion onQuetta’s Qambrani Road on Sunday.A vehicle of the Frontier Corps wasalso damaged in the attack. Theinjured driver of the vehicle and theFC soldier were shifted to CivilHospital Quetta for treatment wheretheir condition was reportedly out ofdanger. Security forces cordoned oTthe area as investigations into theincident went underway. –AGENCIES

MONDAYAPRIL 01, 2013THE SPOKESMAN - RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD

cmyk

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP)Sunday extended the deadline forcandidates to file nomination formstill midnight. According to initial reports around7,000 candidates have filednomination papers with the ECP,8,000 less than the last election.Earlier candidates had until 4:00 PMto file their nomination forms. TheECP will start scrutiny of thenomination papers from today(Monday) and has asked diTerentorganisations to provide a list of thosedefaulting on their dues. The ECP hadrevised the schedule for the generalelections, setting a new deadline of

March 31 for submitting nominationpapers. In the second phase, the ECPwould carry out the scrutiny ofnomination papers from April 1 to 7.The ECP has set April 10 as thedeadline for the filing of appealsagainst decisions of the returning

oScers rejecting or accepting thenomination papers.The Election Tribunals will decidethe fate of these appeals by April 17.The candidates will be allowed towithdraw their nominations by April18. After a thorough scrutiny, the ECP

will publish the final revised list ofcandidates on April 19. Meanwhile,the ECP relaxed the condition ofopening new bank accounts forprospective election candidates tojustify the election expenditureswithin the announced limits. The ECP

decided that all the candidates whowould file nominations on March 31may either provide the number oftheir existing account in any bank, ifany, or open a new bank account andprovide that number to the returningoScers on the day of scrutiny.

ECP receives nomination forms till midnight

SAHTAK BALOCH

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Suhail Wajahat beingtipped as caretaker minister forpetroleum and natural resources isallegedly involved in getting million ofrupees illegal perks and privileges fromstate run Pakistan State Oil (PSO).Sources told that Suhail Wajahatcurrently working as chairman boardof management of Pakistan State Oil(PSO) was being tipped as caretakerpetroleum minister.Commercial auditors in audit reportfor year 2011-12 submitted to the

government had unearthed irregularaward of perks and privileges to theChairman of Board of Directorsamounting to Rs 2.492 million.Auditors recommended that recoveryof expenditure incurred on provisionof excess perks and privileges shouldbe made and responsibility should befixed on the persons at fault.According to the Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Resourcesletter No. 5(7)/2008-Gas, datedJuly 30, 2011, the Chairman,BoD/BoM are eligible for the perksand privileges as approved by the

Cabinet which include Rs. 25,000per month as cooperation, 1300 cccar with a driver as transportfacility (POL as per company’srules) and OSce accommodationwithin the premises of the companywith one Secretary.In Pakistan State Oil CompanyLimited (PSO), Board ofManagement (BoM) in its 199thmeeting held on February 09, 2012approved the perks and privileges forthe Chairman PSO w.e.f September01, 2011 which included one Car witha full time driver along with petrol

card, one ESCORT Car with driverand petrol card, two guardsmornings and two 2 guard’s night atresidence, two gunmen 24 hours,chairman’s travel (both domestic andinternational) will be business classand limitless cell phone facility (onenumber). Auditors observed thatduring 2011-12, an amount of Rs2,491,925 had been incurred onAudit is of the view that themanagement allowed mentionedperks and privileges to the ChairmanBoM in violation of M/o P&NRinstructions which is treated as

irregular and unjustified. The matter was brought to thenotice of the management throughpreliminary observation on October23, 2012 but no reply was received.Auditors suggested discontinuationof the perks & privileges in excess ofthe entitlement and fixing ofresponsibility on the person(s) atfault. Sources in board ofmanagement denied getting anyillegal perks and privileges by SuhailWajaht by saying that theseallegations were baseless and are verygeneralized in fashion.

Controversial PSO big shot set to get PoL Ministry

DDOOHHAA:: Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai held talks onSunday with the emir ofQatar on a visit to the Gulfstate for talks on a plan toopen a Taliban oSce thereas a prelude to possibletalks on ending the war.Karzai discussed "issues ofmutual interest" with SheikhHamad bin Khalifa al-Thani,state news agency QNA said,without elaborating on whatwas discussed at a meetingalso attended by QatariPrime Minister SheikhHamad bin Jassem al-Thani.The Afghan president hadpreviously opposed a Qatarvenue for peace talks, fearingthat the Kabul governmentwould be frozen out of anynegotiations involving theIslamic extremists and theUnited States.The militants refuse tohave direct contact withKarzai, calling him a puppetof the United States whichsupported his rise to powerafter the military operationto oust the Taliban fromKabul in 2001. The UnitedNations this weekwelcomed news of Karzai'svisit to Qatar, and issuedanother call for the Talibanto come to the negotiatingtable. –AGENCIES

Karzai meetsQatari emir onTaliban talks

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: NAB ChairmanAdmiral (r) Fasih Bukhari Sundaysaid the bureau has intervened intothe projects and procurementsworth Rs1.5 trillion and saved Rs200 billion of public money fromcorruption during 2012.Talking to reporters Sunday, hesaid the NAB has taken theresponsibility of revoking thecorruption before its happening thathad been manifested by Bureau’sintervention in high profile casesinvolving huge money because thesmall-scale cases needs to be tackledby the FIA and Anti-corruptionEstablishment, Police and thedepartments which have their owncourts like Customs and Taxation.On the scrutiny of electioncandidates, the NAB chief said therelevant wings of NAB have beendirected to facilitate the ElectionCommission of Pakistan in holdingfair and free election 2013, addingthat an election cells has also beenset up at NAB headquarters andprovincial regional oSces.“The NAB would provide to theECP the details of the convicts,including details of Plea Bargain(PB), bank loan default casesreferred under section 31-C will bereported whether inquiry,investigation, trial or completedthrough PB/ Voluntary Return(VR). About the suo motu taken by

the NAB on tax evasion of telecomcompanies, Fasih Bukhari said thecase was under investigation and itsfindings would be shared with themedia as it reaches to its logicalconclusion. “Let me tell you NABwill not spare any corrupt individualor institution. Cellular companiesare more important for mediaorganizations for being the biggestclients of electronic and printmedia,” he commented urgingmedia to highlight their corruptionabout tax evasion.He said today’s NAB was diTerentfrom the one headed by General(retd) Amjad who had full backingof the Army. “At that time, NABrecovered Rs. 180 billion from taxand loan defaulters with the backingof armed forces. But later, the NABrecovery dropped to single digit. Butdespite having no such backing NABhas recovered Rs. 25 billion duringlast year,” he said. He ruled out the impression thatNAB was still being used as a tool forpolitical victimization, adding theBureau always workedindependently.As to why the NAB investigationwas slow, the chairman said thefinancial crimes investigation washighly complex and complicated.White collar criminals are highlyintelligent and savvy in financialdealings and regulations. –AGENCIES

VVAATTIICCAANN CCIITTYY:: Pope Francis hasdelivered a passionate plea for peace inhis first Easter Sunday message sincebeing elected.Francis used his "Urbi et Orbi" addressto call for peace in Africa, Asia, theMiddle East and across the globe. Hesingled out "dear Syria", saying: "Howmuch blood has been shed! And howmuch suTering must there still be beforea political solution is found?"Easter is the most important festival inthe Christian calendar and pilgrims haveattended church across the world. In pastyears there have been two parts to thePope's Easter message - a heartfelt appealfor peace in the world's trouble spots, andmultilingual greetings to the crowdsthronging St Peter's Square. Though the pope mentioned majority ofthe place where peace remains a far cry,he didn’t mention Pakistan, wherebombings and US-led war on terror hasunleashed horrors for the poor nation.There were 250,000 people from morethan 100 countries present this morning.But Pope Francis decided to cut thevernacular greetings. He is, of course,most comfortable speaking his nativeSpanish, and he is also completely fluentin Italian as his family is from Piedmontin northern Italy. Pope Francis was, however, almostincomprehensible when he tried out a fewwords in English to the crowds in StPeter's Square last week. So he decidednot to read out the "Happy Easter"greetings that had been prepared for himin 65 diTerent languages includingdiScult-to-pronounce oriental tongues. In his Urbi et Orbi (To the city and theworld) speech, Pope Francis began with a

simple "Happy Easter!"The 76-year-old Pope, who has begunhis tenure by emphasising humility, wenton: "Christ has risen! What a joy it is forme to announce this message... I wouldlike it to go out to every house and everyfamily, especially where the suTering isgreatest, in hospitals, in prisons."Later in his speech, Pope Francissaid: "We ask the risen Jesus, whoturns death into life, to change hatredinto love, vengeance into forgiveness,war into peace."The Pope then mentioned troubledregions of the world in turn. "Peace forthe Middle East, and particularlybetween Israelis and Palestinians, whostruggle to find the road of agreement,that they may willingly and courageouslyresume negotiations to end a conflict thathas lasted all too long."Peace in Iraq, that every act ofviolence may end, and above all for dearSyria, for its people torn by conflict andfor the many refugees who await helpand comfort."For Africa, the Pope referred to Mali,Nigeria - "where attacks sadly continue"- the Democratic Republic of Congo andthe Central African Republic. He added:"Peace in Asia, above all on the Koreanpeninsula: may disagreements beovercome and a renewed spirit ofreconciliation grow."Pope Francis concluded by saying:"Peace in the whole world, still divided bygreed looking for easy gain, wounded bythe selfishness which threatens humanlife and the family, selfishness thatcontinues in human traScking, the mostextensive form of slavery in this 21stCentury." –AGENCIES

Pope pleads forpeace across globe

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

Fasih claimssaving Rs 200bin 2012� NAB sets up cell to help EC � Urgesmedia to expose tax frauds in telecoms

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NNEEWW DDEELLHHII:: Controversial Indianpolitician Narendra Modi, tipped asthe opposition’s prime ministerialcandidate in the 2014 generalelection, was elevated to a key postin his party on Sunday.Leaders of the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) appointed Modi as amember of the parliamentary board,a key decision-making body in theHindu nationalist party which hasbeen plagued by internal squabbles.“Narendra Modi is a versatile leaderand we are happy that he has beenchosen to play a key role in theupcoming elections,” said MukhtarAbbas Naqvi, BJP vice president.“Modi is very popular; peopleacross the country admire hisleadership skills.” Last year Modisecured a fourth successive term aschief minister of the western state of

Gujarat. Since then he has beenwidely seen as pushing to lead theparty into the national polls.But the 62-year-old remains ahighly divisive figure nationally afterbeing at the helm in Gujarat duringbloody religious riots in 2002. Some2,000 people mainly Muslims werekilled during the month-long unrest,according to rights groups. One ofModi’s former ministers was jailedfor life for instigating the killings butseveral investigations have clearedModi of personal responsibility.Political analysts said Modi’selevation Sunday was a sign that hehas won the support of his party andvarious Hindu organisations to leadthe charge against the Congress-ledruling coalition in the generalelection. The embattled Congressand the BJP are poised to go head-to-head in the polls but have yet toname their candidates for premier.

VATICAN CITY: Thousands of people listen to the Pope as he delivers traditional Easter speech.

Narendra Modi edgescloser to PMship run

� Singles out ‘dear Syria’ � Says how muchmore blood will be shed � No mention of Pakistan