LAHORE: The Met office warned on Sunday that heavy rain in Punjab, Kash­mir and Gilgit-Baltistan over next 24 hours might increase flow in rivers leading to flash flood, particularly in Chitral and GB.

According to the weather forecast, rain is expected at isolated places in Gilgit, Ghizar, Hunza-Nagar, Skardu, Diamer, Ghanche and Astore districts.

Similarly, heavy rain is likely in Islamabad and different parts of Kashmir and Punjab, including Lahore, Chakwal, Gujranwala, Hafiz­a­­bad, Sialkot, Narowal, Guj­rat, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhe­lum, Mandi Bahauddin, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nan­­­­­­­kana Sahib and some districts in the southern region of the province.

Rain is also likely at scattered places in upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Admi­nis­­tered Tribal Areas.

Sindh is expected to have hot and humid weather. But there are chances of light rain/drizzle in coastal areas. Balochistan is also likely to remain hot and dry. However, rain may fall in isolated areas of Sherani, Zhob, Musa­­­­khail, Loralai and Barkhan districts.

On Sunday, Risalpur re­­ceived 37mm of rain, Chak­wal 12mm, Okara 11mm, Bunji 10mm, Lahore 8mm, Astore 5mm, Kakul, Pattan, Garhi Dupptta and Zhob 4mm, Islamabad 3mm and Skardu 1mm.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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QUETTA: Police on Sunday evening recovered two kidnapped foreign nationals in a raid conducted in Quetta’s Jinnah Town area.

“A raid was conducted at a house in Jinnah Town and we recovered two foreign nationals, one from Nigeria and the other from Tanzania,” said the police source.

Read: 28 suspected militants surrender in Balochistan

“We have also apprehended Haji Shah during the raid, he had kidnapped the two foreigners.

The two foreigners were earlier abducted from Karachi a month and a half ago.

Sindh Police had approached the provincial police of Balochistan for their aid in recovering the kidnapped foreigners.

Nine suspected militants arrested: FC

In a separate raid, the Frontier Corps (FC) along with a security agency arrested nine suspected militants From Balochistan’s Turbat area on Sunday.

“The militants were involved in the murder of labourers arrested earlier and they belong to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),” said an FC official.

“We conducted a raid in the Zhob area and apprehended the militants with the aid of a security agency,” the FC official added.

Also read: Four militant commanders surrender in Balochistan

The identity of the suspected militants was not disclosed.

The arrested militants have been shifted to an undisclosed location for further interrogation according to the FC official.

Security forces have intensified their actions in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan after the announcement of National Action Plan to combat terrorism in the country.

ISLAMABAD: A cross border rocket attack at an army post near Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Agency killed four soldiers and injured others, the military’s media wing reported.

According to the details, the Inter-Services Public Relations said that the rocket was fired by terrorists from Afghanistan on Sunday which resulted in the death of four military men and injured four others.

“According to reports, rounds fired from (the) Afghanistan side by terrorists hit an 8,000-feet-high Pakistani post in Akhandwala Pass,” the military said in a statement.

“Four Pakistan army soldiers embraced martyrdom and four others were injured due to the rocket fire. Pakistani troops befittingly responded and eliminated the group of terrorists,” it added.

This is not the first time that a cross border attack has happened on Pak-Afghan border.

The attack comes at a time when relations between Islamabad and Afghanistan had started deteriorating in the wake of a surge in Taliban attacks inside Afghanistan and statements of the Afghan leadership against Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan lodged strong protest with Afghanistan over the rocket attack from Afghan side.

"A strong protest was lodged with Afghanistan's Ambassador Jannan Mosazai and he was told that Kabul must take urgent steps to stop such attacks from its territory," Foreign Office sources said.

Pakistan had also summoned the Afghan ambassador last week to protest over a border clash in which three Frontier Constabulary men were killed on August 16 and 17.

Afghanistan’s Ambassa­dor Janan Mosazai was summoned by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry a day after Pakistani envoy in Kabul Abrar Hussain was summoned by the Afghan foreign ministry over the same incident in which they claim that eight of their border guards had been killed.

“A strong protest was also lodged on cross-border violations from the Afghan side on 16 and 17 August 2015, which resulted in death of three FC personnel and injuries to two others,” a FO statement said.

“The Afghan ambassador was conveyed that, as a matter of policy, Pakistani authorities do not initiate fire and return fire only in self-defence,” it added.

Earlier in July, two soldiers were wounded when Afghan National Army fired at Pakistan Army’s position in Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan Agency.

A rocket-propelled grenade-7 and a few rounds of small arms were fired on the Angoor Adda gate from the Afghan side causing injuries to the soldiers, ISPR had said.

Pakistan's seven tribal districts near the Afghan border are rife with homegrown insurgents and are strongholds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives.

Local militants have fled ongoing military offensives since 2008, taking refuge across the border and attacking Pakistani military checkpoints and civilians from there.

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced on Sunday a major overhaul for the Exit Control List (ECL) while speaking to media representatives.

“The authority for the ECL will now be solely with the Interior ministry, and no other department would have the authority to add individuals on the list,” said Nisar.

The interior minister also said that 5,000 names on the interior ministry’s ECL would be struck off.

Read: Thousands of names to be struck off ECL

“There are thousands of names on the ECL which have no justification, and hundreds are from as far back as 1985,” added Nisar.

“A large number of names are on the list from the 1990s, and names were added on a whim by previous ministers and governments. Once on the list, people were restricted from travelling,” stated the interior minister.

The interior minister also said that there are more than 8,000 names on the ECL, which is unacceptable for a democratic society.

“I am happy to announce the cancellation of the black list connected to the passport control list, which had the names of 52,000 individuals, there would be no black list anymore,” remarked the interior minister.

Nisar stated that along with his team, he has spent the past many months working towards the overhaul of the ECL.

“The decision to overhaul the ECL is not a knee-jerk reaction, we have consulted all ministries and stakeholders in the last two months, before we overhauled of the list,” said the interior minister.

Nisar also said that in the last two years, not a single individual has been added to the ECL on political grounds.

Read also: Agencies asked to decide on ECL names in 30 days

He stated that the policy to control the ECL has now been institutionalised, and would remain so in the future.

Earlier in July, Nisar had said that thousands of names will be removed from the exit control list (ECL) if the departments concerned fail to provide within a month justifications for keeping them on it.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan , while addressing a press conference on Sunday evening said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) provincial officials have no legal or moral standing left and they should immediately resign.

Imran also said that the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) chairman should also tender his resignation as he was part of covering-up the rigging that took place in the general elections of 2013.

“We want answers to our queries so that these issues are resolved before the upcoming by-polls and local body polls,” said Imran. If the ECP has to carry on conducting elections in this way, then there is no point having them, he asserted.

Read: Judicial commission verdict is against ECP, says Imran Khan

"Malpractices and illegalities while conducting elections are a criminal offence, and we demand that ECP take action against those who stole the people’s mandate,” stated Imran.

Commenting on the rumours circulating regarding the role of intelligence agencies in the PTI’s dharna, Imran termed the allegations as baseless and said “it is a general practice of PML-N to malign the armed forces”.

Imran was flanked by party leaders Shah Mehmod Qureshi and Jahangir Tareen.

Responding to another question regarding the issue of Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) return to the Parliament, Qureshi said that it is their party decision and the government should decide about their resignations.

Earlier in July, Imran Khan had accepted the findings of the judicial commission report which was formed to probe alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections.

He had also said that it is not him but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who should apologise over the judicial commission's report, as all political parties are in agreement that there was rigging during elections.

Imran had said that the PTI was the only political party which brought proof of rigging, while the other 21 parties — which also admitted the elections were rigged — agreed with the party's point of view.

The judicial commission was formed on PTI's request to probe rigging allegations during the 2013 polls.

The three-judge commission, headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, had held 39 sittings and completed the hearing on July 3.

The commission — constituted under a presidential ordinance on April 3 after months of a tug of war between the PTI and the PML-N — had commenced proceedings on April 9. It recorded testimonies of 69 witnesses, including politicians, government and judicial officers and journalists.

The ordinance expected the commission to submit its findings to the government as soon as possible, preferably within 45 days of its first meeting.

Also read: Imran Khan accepts findings of judicial commission report

Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan were the two other judges in the commission, which was constituted as a result of a memorandum of understanding signed between the PML-N and the PTI.

The PTI had staged a 126-day sit-in in Islamabad last year to press for its demand for a judicial inquiry into the rigging allegations.

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has called for a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to resolve their differences.

JUI-F’s spokesman Jan Achakzai told Dawn that the Maulana had called Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday, urging him to arrange such a meeting in Islamabad.

He said Mr Dar had assured the Maulana that he would discuss the matter with the prime minister and arrange the meeting on Monday.

Also read: MQM agrees to meet PML-N over resignations, sources say

Jan Achakzai said the JUI-F chief had called MQM chief Altaf Hussain on Saturday night and requested him to direct the party’s Rabita Committee to hold talks with the government. Mr Hussain told the JUI-F chief that he would reply after consultations with leaders of his party.

According to the JUI-F spokesman, after the telephonic conversation the MQM started consultations and later informed the Maulana that it would send a delegation to Islamabad on Monday.

The MQM parliamentarians and members of the Sindh Assembly had on Aug 12 submitted their resignations against what they called their party being discriminated against in the Rangers-led operation in Karachi.

On Friday, the party alleged that Prime Minister Sharif had “sabotaged” JUI-F chief’s efforts to address its grievances and asked the government to accept the resignation of its lawmakers.

Mr Sharif had adopted an “intimidating” tone during a meeting in Karachi and “did not utter a single sentence about the MQM’s complaints,” the party said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz said on Sunday that the current Indian government under Narendra Modi acts as if it is a regional superpower.

“Modi’s India acts as if they are a regional superpower, we are a nuclear-armed country and we know how to defend ourselves,” said Aziz.

“We also have evidence of Indian agency RAW's involvement in fuelling terrorism in Pakistan,” added Aziz.

Read: NSAs’ talks cancelled over Indian conditions

He also said that while Pakistan has evidence of Indian involvement in terrorism, India on the other hand only has propaganda against Pakistan.

“Propaganda against Pakistan is more important for the Indians, rather than giving us evidence,” stated the adviser to the premier.

Sartaj Aziz also said that India wants normalisation on their own terms, they would like to talk about trade and connectivity but not much else.

He remarked, “If Kashmir is not an issue for India, why have stationed 700,000 troops in Indian-occupied Kashmir?”

The adviser to the premier also stated that India should hold a referendum in occupied Kashmir, and the people would decide their own fate.

"India should realise after the current episode that their tactics are not working, and they need to be sincere about dialogue with Pakistan," added Aziz.

Yesterday, the government decided to cancel the planned meeting of national security advisers with India, citing New Delhi’s refusal to allow an expanded agenda and a meeting with Kashmiri leaders.

The Indian external affairs ministry immediately termed the decision “unfortunate” and tried to wash its hands of the controversy that led to the cancellation of the meeting by saying that it “did not set any preconditions”.

The decision was announced after Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj virtually set a deadline for Pakistan to decide by midnight if it was ready to go ahead with the talks by agreeing not to meet the Kashmiri leaders and restricting the discussion to terrorism.

Also read: Indo-Pak security adviser level talks in jeopardy

Besides a discussion on terrorism, Pakistan had sought inclusion of two additional points in the agenda -- a review of the progress on decisions taken in Ufa regarding release of fishermen, facilitating religious tourism and restoring peace along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary; and exploration of the modalities for discussions on other outstanding issues, including Kashmir, Sir Creek and Siachen.

The meeting between the two countries' security advisers was supposed to signal the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan.

Since the meeting between the two premiers in July, militant attacks and border skirmishes have poisoned the atmosphere between Islamabad and New Delhi.

ISLAMABAD: Burka Avenger, the internationally-acclaimed animated children’s show that scooped up an Emmy nomination and won its creator – musician Aaron Haroon Rashid – a Peabody award, is back for another two seasons.

The team from Unicorn Black, the production house behind the award-winning animated series has managed to produce 26 half-hour episodes in just nine months.

Launched in 2013, the show is set in the fictional town of Halwapur and follows the life of about Jiya; a teacher by day, and a superhero whenever the situation calls for it. The show’s success is evident from the fact that it was included in Time magazine’s list of ‘Influential Fictional Characters of 2013’.

Two more seasons of internationally-acclaimed cartoon series unveiled

At the launch ceremony for the new seasons, creator Haroon promised the audience that the new episodes would feature a “whole other level” of animation and production.

The new animation is sharper and looks more advanced than the previous seasons.

The script is witty and amusing, both children and adults, while simultaneously tackling issues such as sectarian violence, gender equality and corruption, among others.

“[The] animation is a collaborative effort,” Haroon said, as he thanked his team of editors, directors, actors, writers and musicians. In an effort to highlight their efforts, a short behind-the-scenes video was shown before the screening.

At the event, Haroon announced that the show had been dubbed into 7 languages for India, and in 12 languages altogether. It is also currently being aired in Afghanistan, where it has been dubbed in both Pashto and Dari. Episodes dubbed in Pashto and Punjabi will also be broadcast within Pakistan soon, he said.

The episodes screened included stories about violence and corruption. The shows were educational, featuring references to Newton’s laws of motion and the importance of traffic laws.

Importantly, the show continues to subvert traditional gender roles and embraces the idea of gender equality.

However, the show sometimes relies on borrowed tropes from existing cartoons, and the allegorical storytelling style is quite obviously didactic.

Burka Avenger Season 3 has been airing on Nickelodeon Pakistan since June this year.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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WASHINGTON: An international media advocacy group has urged Pakistan to reconsider the sweeping guidelines it issued recently for regulating on-air news coverage.

In a statement issued in Washington, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said the “sweeping nature” of the new guidelines for on-air news coverage and commentary on the nation’s television and radio channels was a cause for concern.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) issued the Electronic Media (Progra-mmes and Advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015, which became effective immediately.

The 24-point guidelines set strict limits for live coverage of ongoing security operations such as hostage standoffs and terrorist attacks.

The code mandates broadcasters to “air only such information as may be warranted by the security agency in charge of the operation”. The rules also set controls for discourse during political discussion shows, which is often heated in Pakistan; broadcasters are restricted from airing what Pemra calls those engaging in “hate speech” or denunciations of religious beliefs.

“Codes of conduct should be voluntarily developed and enforced by a country’s media industry, rather than being handed down by any government,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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KARACHI: Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan has said that India is the biggest hurdle in the way of peace and progress in the subcontinent.

Addressing a press conference at PPP Sindh’s media cell here on Sunday, he urged the international community to keep an eye on Indian policies in the region.

Sardar Yaqoob expressed gratitude to the government of Pakistan for taking a firm stand before India over the issue of Kashmir.

He said Pakistan had always extended its full support to the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, adding that people of Kashmir appreciated Pakistan’s policy.

He called upon the world powers to take notice on humanitarian grounds of the repression by the Indian forces in held Kashmir.

The AJK president said that Kashmir issue was an important part of the PPP manifesto and the then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had declared that Pakistan was prepared to fight against India for the Kashmir cause for a thousand years. When Benazir Bhutto became prime minister, he recalled, she had arranged for the leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Maulvi Umar Farooq, to meet world leaders.

Referring to the cancellation of NSA-level talks in Delhi, which were to start on Sunday, he said India had backed out of negotiations because Pakistan had concrete proof of RAW’s involvement in acts of terrorism in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.

He said India was against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and was trying to sabotage the project because it did not want to see economic progress in the region.

The AJK president condemned firing by Indian troops on the Working Boundary and Line of Control.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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LANDI KOTAL/ISLAMA­BAD: The Foreign Office summoned Afghan Ambassador Janan Mosazai on Sunday and a protest was lodged over the death of four soldiers in a mortar attack from across the border on a security post in Tirah valley of the Khyber tribal region.

At least four soldiers were killed and four others injured in the attack on their post by militants from across the Afghan border.

According to a statement issued by the military, rockets were fired at the Akhund Walah Pass checkpost, located at a height of about 8,000 feet in the mountainous valley, and all the attackers were killed when troops returned fire.

According to an announcement by the foreign ministry, the government lodged a “strong protest against the mortar shelling from Afghanistan in Khyber Agency this morning at around 0900 hrs, as a result of which four Pakistani soldiers embraced Shahadat and four others were critically injured”.

The Afghan envoy was asked to urge his government to investigate the incident and share the results of the inquiry with Pakistan.

“Such incidents do not augur well for the positive trajectory of relations the two sides have been able to achieve after sustained efforts,” the statement said.

“Pakistan fully condemns terrorism in all forms and manifestations and is willing to collaborate with Afghanistan to fight the common enemy. However, the attacks against our military personnel are unacceptable,” it said.

The Afghan ambassador said he would convey the message to the authorities concerned and look into the matter. He expressed condolences on the killing of Pakistani soldiers.

The ambassador was also requested to urge his government to ensure the safety and security of Pakistanis in Afghanistan, including personnel at the country’s embassy and consulates.

The ambassador said Afghanistan attached great importance to the security of Pakistani personnel and instructions in this regard had already been issued by the government to enhance their security.

Meanwhile, Khasadar personnel found the bullet-riddled body of a man in a dry stream near Prang Sam post early in the morning. The victim had been shot from a close range, officials said.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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KHAR: A pro-government tribal elder and local leader of Pakistan People’s Party was killed and four security personnel were injured in two bomb blasts in Bajaur tribal region on Sunday.

According to political administration officials, an explosive device went off near the house of Malik Mohammad Khan, president of the PPP’s Mamond tehsil chapter, in Gilele area. He was seriously injured and died while being taken to hospital.

According to local people and relatives, the 42-year-old Khan was active in action taken against militants and had cooperated with security forces and the administration in establishing the writ of the government in the region.

PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari condemned the killing of Mr Khan and termed it a cowardly act. He said in a statement that PPP leaders and workers were sacrificing their lives for restoration of peace in the country.

The second incident took place in a hilly area of Sapary where four security personnel were injured in a roadside explosion.

The political administration officials said that paramilitary troops were patrolling the area when a remote-controlled device planted by suspected militants went off.

Security forces cordoned off the area and mounted search for the perpetrators of the attack.

Local people and volunteers of peace committees rushed to the place of the blast and took the injured to the agency headquarters hospital in Khar. Later, they were airlifted to Peshawar.

No one claimed responsibility for the two attacks.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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PESHAWAR: The mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan would provide space to terrorists, said Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao here on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference at his party’s secretariat in University Town, he urged both the states to improve bilateral relations to restore sustainable peace in the region.

On the occasion several prominent activists of Awami National Party belonging to Malakand division including Amir Alam Khan, Amir Zaman Khan, Misal Khan and Dir Nawab Khan along with their family members and supporters joined QWP.

“The bitterness and mistrust between the two states is not a good omen for ending terrorism and extremism in the region,” Mr Sherpao said.

He added that relations between the two neighbouring countries were friendly when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani assumed the charge of his office but the internal political situation and anti-Pakistan propaganda forced the Afghan leadership to blame Pakistan for unfavourable situation in Afghanistan.

“Islamabad should take solid measures in order to end the reservations being raised by the Afghan government,” the QWP chief said. About talks between Pakistan and India, Mr Sherpao said it was an opportunity for both the countries to continue the talks and extend mutual cooperation for restoration of durable peace. He said that the long awaited issues could only be resolved through talks.

The hostile attitude of Indian government, he said, would escalate tension in the region. He said that the widening gap between the two states would ultimately put negative impact on the ongoing military operations against terrorists in the region.

Appreciating the decision taken by election tribunal regarding NA-122 re-election, Mr Sherpao said that government should introduce reforms in the electoral process to minimise chances of rigging and mismanagement in future.

About Karachi operation, the QWP chief said that the operation should continue till elimination of the last criminal as terrorists, target killers and extortionists had made lives of the innocent citizens miserable.

The Karachi operation, he said, was launched on the request of political parties including Pakistan People’s Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement to get rid of the anti-state elements.

“Now, MQM has no right to create political turmoil in the country owing to the successful operations against the anti-social elements in the city,” he added.

About agreement between QWP and PTI, Mr Sherpao said that leaders of both the parties had agreed on a 12-point agenda in the best interests of the province. He said that his party had no confrontation with any of the coalition partners in the provincial government.

He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should get maximum attention in terms of economic activities in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. He said the route should be built as per original plan to give the smaller provinces their due share.

“This would end the prevailing sense of deprivation and help to create more jobs in the province that would ultimately lead to elimination of terrorism,” said the QWP chief.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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Talat Qamar

MINGORA: Living in a pure Pakhtun society far away from Urdu literary circles, Talat Qamar has not only earned Parveen Shakir Award for her sublime poetry but she is also popular among people of Swat for educating girls.

She was born in 1960 in the house of a renowned educationist Prof Akhlaque Ahmed Khan in Saidu Sharif of the former princely Swat state.

She received her earlier education from government girls high school No.1 Saidu Sharif and passed FA from the same college where she is now working as a principal. She did her BA from Frontier College in Peshawar and Masters in Urdu literature from Peshawar University.

After doing Masters in Urdu literature she was posted lecturer in Girls College Maneri Sawabi in 1988. After teaching in Girls College Thana for some time, she was transferred to Postgraduate Girls College Saidu Sharif. She became principal of the college in December 2014.

Talat Qamar, a teacher by profession, has authored four Urdu books

Books authored by Ms Talat.

According to her, her parents used to talk to their children in Urdu and English and from that time she developed affection with Urdu literature. “My father would bring children magazines and other books regularly which inclined towards Urdu literature,” she said.

Though she started writing verses earlier, yet mainly her poetry remained limited to her. She said that she only shared her poems with her mother from whom she received high appreciation and courage. “My mother was a graduate from Mianwali and had a good taste for poetry and literature. She was my mentor and listener of poetry,” she said.

However Ms Qamar showed her first poem to her teacher Nazir Tabbasum in Peshawar University when she was doing her Masters. “Being a benign teacher and a high caliber poet, Tabbasum Sahib appreciated my poem and encouraged me to continue with composing verses,” she said.

She entered the literary world by sending her poems to Dosheeza digest, published from Karachi. “There was a special section for the new poets “Nayi Awazain” in Dosheeza where I started sending my poems and that was a turning point for me when Mohsin Bhopali encouraged me to publish my work,” she said.

Her first book “Gumshuda Sur” was published in 2004 and received appreciation from literary circles.

“The book earned the prestigious Parveen Shakir Award for the year 2007. My book was selected out of over 700 poetry books,” she said.

Ms Qamar said that receiving Parveen Shakir Award was unbelievable and a moment of pride for her. She said she could not forget the moments when she received the award in a function in Islamabad.

She has authored four books including two of poetry -- “Gumshuda Sur” and “Jo Ham Udas Na Rehtey” -- and two of short stories titled “Boy-i-Yasmeen” and “Hawa Pe Dastak”.

Ms Qamar likes all classical Urdu poets but seems to be inspired by Mir Taqi Mir. “Actually, Mir’s poetry has strong pathos and melancholy which, really, I feel my own situation in life,” she said.

The three years of militancy in Swat has also left deep marks on Ms Qamar’s poetry.

A poem by Talat Qamar.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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RAHIM YAR KHAN: A teenager`s inspiration from a TV programme and quest for adventure landed him in trouble as an Airport Security Force patrol arrested him at the runway of Sheikh Zayed International Airport on Sunday morning.

The ASF arrested 17-year-old Muhammad Awais of Iqbalabad, a small town at national highway some 18 kilometers from Rahim Yar Khan, at runway at 7.35am. After initial interrogation ASF handed him overto airport police station.

According to police, Awais had been absent from his house for the last night and his father filed a complaint with Iqbalabad police station.

During investigation, Awais told the police that he was inspired by a programme `Man versus wild` on National Geographic channel and decided to enter the runway of the airport.

Police recovered a torch, six maps, nine candles, six knives, seven lighters, three cutters, three compasses, two pairs of gloves, a calculator, a steel rod, saw and a jacket from the bag of Awais. Police said Awaiswanted to `board` a flight scheduled for Lahore and Islamabad at 12.30pm.

Police have registered an FIR 146/15 under section 449 of PPC (13 Anti-National Activity Act 1974) and are investigating the case from different angles.

ASF Officer Commanding (OC) Sheikh Zayed International Airport Sher Ali did not attend the call.

In the afternoon, PRO to acting District Police Officer Tariq Illahi Mastoi released an SMS that City DSP Ishfaq Gujjar would brief the journalists about the airport incident but he did not contact newsmen despite repeated calls.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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LAHORE: The Board of Directors of National Transmission and Despatch Company has declared public money as the company’s own resources and decided to purchase a Rs840 million software, ignoring the process set by the government and advice of its own director legal and director information technology – who termed the purchase illegal and one of them quit the job in protest.

Detailed questionnaires were sent to the Board of Directors, the NTDC management and the Ministry of Water and Power separately citing anomalies in the process and “illegality of issue”, but all of them chose not to respond despite a lapse of over two weeks and repeated reminders.

NTDC officials privately conceded illegality of the procurement and claimed that they did not want to “compound the original sin by justifying it”, but none of them is ready to come on record.

According to details, the NTDC board recently floated the idea of purchasing software called Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems, which was originally offered under a grant from the USAID. With USAID opting out at a later stage, the board decided to purchase it from the company’s money and referred the case to the legal adviser to get clarification whether the approval has to be routed through the government or its own approval is sufficient.

The legal adviser clarified that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council had approved the procedure for autonomous organisations like the NTDC, which made it mandatory to constitute a Development Working Party – comprising representatives from the Planning and Development Division, Finance Division, and the ministry concerned – and each representative should not be less than the rank of joint secretary. Only such a party, the adviser said, could decide the fate of such initiatives.

The quorum of the party cannot be considered complete without Finance and P&D division. If they both don’t agree, the case would then be referred to the Central Development Working Party of the federal government.

The NTDC, it was said, was required to prepare PC-I because it was the basic document for any project in the public sector. The NTDC, owned and controlled by the government, cannot deviate from the procedure because such projects utilise public money and are designed for the welfare of the public, said Legal Adviser Abdul Majid Khan.

Building on the legal position, Director IT, Farooq Shaukat, said purchase of the ERP systems, without approval of the government, will create “serious consequences and audit objections”.

Accusing the company secretary of “pressing him hard for immediate purchase”, the Director IT, who was also appointed as Project Director for ERP systems, quit the job. Before resigning, he insisted that the NTDC had the capability to develop and implement such systems indigenously and save the money for other development projects.

But the board overruled the views and in its 99th meeting on July 11 decided to procure the systems without the government approval and directed the management of the company (through C.S/NTDC/5360-64, dated August 5, 2015) to “proceed with procurement of the ERP systems immediately, without any further delay”.

The NTDC immediately advertised the post of consultant and is said to be in the process of calling bids.

“No-one really knows how the board can declare NTDC’s money as its own resources and order the purchase,” asks a former head of the company. The idea of ERP is not new, but the process certainly is. The board is not ready to take PC-I to the federal Planning Commission on the pretext that it would delay the process.

Another question is about the reason for purchasing it from outside because the company selling it will be playing a part in running it and the NTDC will be turned into a cow that would be milked continuously.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement lawmaker Rashid Godil on Sunday briefly spoke to officials investigating the Aug 18 armed attack on his life in which his driver was killed. However, the police decided that his formal statement would be recorded later.

DIG-East Munir Ahmed Shaikh told Dawn that he called on Mr Godil at the Liaquat National Hospital, where he is under treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU).

“I talked to him briefly and the lawmaker communicated through signs and gestures,” said the DIG, who is leading the probe team.

The DIG said that Mr Godil told him that he left his residence in Defence with his wife and driver and was on his way to Bahadurabad when he was attacked. He was sitting next to the driver, he added.

He said he had heard gunshots clearly and the driver had got off the car to help him but fell down.

The police did not ask more questions since he was in pain and decided that his formal statement would be recorded later.

A police source told Dawn that Mr Godil was also asked about his statement in Islamabad that his life was in danger. However, he replied that he gave such a statement in a lighter mood, the source added.

Meanwhile, doctors at the LNH said they would decide on Monday when to move Mr Godil from the ICU to a medical ward as he made good progress on the fourth day since he was taken off the ventilator.

A spokesman for the hospital said Mr Godil drank water and slowly sipped tea and made steady progress without the breathing apparatus for the fourth day running.

“He briefly sat on a wheelchair today under strict observation and was in his senses, an encouraging sign” said LNH spokesman Anjum Rizvi.

He said Mr Godil was mentally alert and was responding positively. He could not speak though because of swelling in the neck. He whispers but mostly communicates through signs and gestures. However, Mr Rizvi said that a board of senior doctors would shift him to the ward if his condition improved further.

Until then, he added, the MNA’s condition would be considered as critical.

Doctors said Mr Godil had sustained five bullet wounds — two in the neck and three in the chest and abdomen. One bullet which affected his right lung was still in the body and would stay there as he was not stable enough to be operated upon.

Mr Godil, a former parliamentary party leader of the MQM in the National Assembly, was attacked the day Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman visited the MQM’s Nine Zero headquarters to persuade the legislators to review their decision of resigning from parliament and the Sindh Assembly.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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RAWALPINDI: A live hand grenade has been recovered from the dera of slain Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada, which collapsed in a bombing on August 16.

The bomb disposal squad (BDS) was called in to defuse the hand-grenade.

The grenade was discovered during the clearing of the compound on Saturday.

A senior security official said that the suicide bomber might have been carrying the hand grenade, which remained undetonated.

“The hand grenade could have been thrown towards the target in case the suicide vest failed to detonate,” the official said, adding that since the Counterterrorism Department (CTD) did not have any bomb disposal experts, the hand grenade was handed over to the Civil Defense department.

More evidence – including rubble containing explosives, and the remains of an animal, were collected from the scene and were being analysed by the experts to ascertain the intensity and exact quantity of the explosive used.

In addition, a security guard of the DSP identified as Sajjad Khan was released from Benazir Bhutto Hospital on Sunday.

The DSP, Shaukat Ali Shah, was killed in the attack.

The guard was among five victims of the Attock bombing who were brought to Rawalpindi hospitals.

Two of the victims, identified as Abdul Qayoom and Mohammad Zaman, succumbed to their injuries upon reaching the hospital.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that the use of a widely-used farm chemical causes cancer in humans.

The herbicide, known as 2,4-D, is a key ingredient in ‘Agent Orange’, a chemical agent used by the United States (US) in the Vietnam War. 2,4-D is also a key ingredient in herbicides used by farmers in Pakistan against weeds.

The classification of the herbicide, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, was made by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in a statement issued in June 2015.

A senior official in the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) confirmed the news, stating that the IARC had reviewed recent scientific literature and decided to classify 2,4-D as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’.

“The IARC’s findings have been long-awaited by environmental and consumer groups who have been lobbying to restrict the use of 2,4-D,” the official said, adding multinationals had been defending the use of 2,4-D as an important agent in food production and claiming that its use did not need stricter regulation.

In March this year, the IARC also found another popular herbicide, glyphosate, to be ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’. Despite being declared carcinogenic by the WHO, glyphosate remains a key ingredient in herbicide and other products used by farmers in Pakistan.

However, following the classification, some corporations and governments have moved to limit its use globally.

According to the PARC, weeds are a problem for fruit, wheat and maize farmers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of northern Punjab. 2,4-D kills weeds, thereby reducing the cost of water and fertilizer while increasing yields.

Both the ingredients have been used in Pakistan since before 1999. Existing documents show that the Cotton Research Institute (CRI) in Multan has been against the use of 2,4-D since 2000. The CRI maintains that the chemical is injurious to the cotton crop.

In 2002, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock allowed 2,4-D to be imported ‘for use in KP’.

The ministry directed that 2,4-D should only be imported after the cotton season, and that it should be transported in closed containers to be opened in KP only.

“The government feared that its fumes could damage cotton and other crops while it was being transported through cotton belts in Sindh and Punjab,” the PARC official said.

According to the official, the Environmental Protection Agency in the US approved a new version of a popular weed killer which is a cocktail of glyphosate and 2,4-D to be used on genetically modified corn and soybeans in October 2014. The measure was taken after almost 34 different types of weeds grew resistant to the chemicals previously used on genetically modified crops.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Infor­ma­tion Minister Pervez Rashid said on Sunday the judgment of an election tribunal about elections in the National Assembly’s NA-122 constituency would be challenged in the Supreme Court.

“We respect the decision but do not agree with it,” he said while talking to reporters. The law of the land allowed the ruling PML-N to move the apex court against the verdict, he said.

The seat was won by PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq in the last general elections. But his election was challenged by his rival candidate, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, in the tribunal which instructed on Satur­day the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold by-election in the constituency.

The tribunal’s decision was based on “bias” (against the PML-N), instead of justice, Mr Rashid alleged and expressed the hope that the Supreme Court’s verdict on the matter would prove this.

The minister said the tribunal had held that there were some lapses in the election on the part of the ECP, not the PML-N. “The party has been punished for the crime of the commission.”

The NA-122 (Lahore) constituency was one of the four constituencies for which the PTI had sought vote audit and re-election through election petitions. The other constituencies were NA-125 (Lahore), NA-110 (Sialkot) and NA-154 (Lodhran). The election tribunal has already ordered re-polling in the NA-125 constituency.

On May 9, the National Database and Registration Authority submitted a report on polling in NA-122 to the tribunal, saying its system could not verify about 40 per cent of the votes cast in the constituency.

The minister alleged that while issuing the verdict the head of the tribunal had kept in mind his own projection instead of justice.

However, he said, the history of Haripur would be re­­peated if re-polling was conducted in the constituencies of Mr Sadiq and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq.

The Haripur seat was won by a PTI candidate in 2013 but his election was challenged and a PML-N candidate was declared successful in the recent by-election there.

He said the judicial commission formed by the Supreme Court to investigate alleged rigging in the general elections had rejected the charges levelled by PTI.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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