Sexual abuse of children 'rampant' in India

Strike called over Tunisia killing

After fatwas, security upped for Egypt opposition

Security was beefed up around Egypt's opposition leaders on Thursday after several hardline Muslim clerics issued religious edicts calling for them to be killed, raising fears of assassinations similar to that of a Tunisian opposition leader gunned down a day earlier in Tunisia. Egypt's prime minister and the Muslim Brotherhood, which forms the backbone of the country's leadership, condemned the edicts, or fatwas, and the top prosecutor launched an investigation against one of the clerics. The slaying in Tunisia of opposition leader Chokri Belaid and the fatwas in Egypt have sparked an uproar in both countries and raised concerns that religious hard-liners could turn to killings to silence critics of Islamists' rule. In Egypt, hard-liners have reacted with fury to a wave of protests against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi since late January, which have turned into deadly clashes as police cracked down on the demonstrators. Aides to Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood officials have depicted the protesters as thugs and criminals and have accused opposition politicians of condoning or even fueling violence in an attempt to undermine Morsi. Using similar rhetoric, several well-known hardline clerics the past week declared that punishments under Islamic law for those who cause chaos or try to overthrow the ruler apply to the protesters and opposition leaders — including death, crucifixion or amputations of limbs. Another cleric suggested that violent sexual assaults of women protesters in Tahrir Square the past week were justified, calling them "either Crusaders (Christians) ... or widows who have no one to rein them in." After criticism of government silence over the fatwas calling for killing opposition leaders, Prime Minister Hesham Kandil on Thursday warned that such edicts could lead to "sedition and disturbance." "These extremist edicts are not related to Islam," Kandil said, according to the state news agency. "The Egyptian people had a glorious January Revolution for the sake of establishing a democratic society where dialogue prevails, not killing." A day earlier, Egypt's most prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the National Salvation Front, had said on his Twitter account, "Regime silent as another fatwa gives license to kill opposition in the name of Islam." Interior Ministry spokesman Gen. Hani Abdel Latif said security authorities will increase patrols in residential areas where opposition leaders live in. He told the website of the state Al-Ahram newspaper that security officials have "put into consideration" the assassination of the Tunisia's Belaid. A security official said ElBaradei's home and several other leaders' homes will be put under observation for their protection. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The fatwas came after the wave of unrest that swept over Egypt since late January, when protests against Morsi turned to clashes in many places, and demonstrators have cut off roads and held strikes outside government buildings. Dozens were killed in police crackdowns on protesters. Last Friday, protests outside Morsi's presidential palace turned into riots as police rained tear gas and fired birdshots at demonstrators throwing stones and firebombs, and then set fire to protesters' tents. In a sign of the increasing mayhem, police stopped a man trying to drive a bulldozer at the palace's gates the next day. One well-known TV cleric, Mahmoud Shaaban, said the leaders of the National Salvation Front are "setting Egypt on fire to gain power." "The verdict against them under God's law is death," he said on a talk show on a TV station connected to the ultraconservative Salafi movement. He mentioned ElBaradei and another Front leader, Hamdeen Sabahi, saying "they have repeatedly spoken about toppling Morsi." Later in the program, he clarified that the government should carry out the verdict, not private citizens. Separately, another hardline cleric Wagdi Ghoneim issued a video statement pleading with Morsi to crack down heavily on those outside his palace. He said "the verdict under Shariah for those who seek corruption on earth is to be fought, or crucified, or have their arms or legs cut off or be exiled from earth." "Strike with an iron fist. Otherwise, the country will be lost at your hand and they'll say it is your fault. They'll say Islam doesn't know how to rule and that it's the Islamists who wrecked the country," he said. He said that if Morsi's government doesn't act, private citizens will. "We will kill the criminals, the thugs, the thieves and those who give them money and those who help them with words. No mercy with them," Ghoneim shouted. Top prosecutor Talaat Ibrahim ordered an investigation into Shaaban for his fatwa. Another television sheik seemed to justify sexual assaults on women in Tahrir. Activists have reported at least 19 such attacks on Jan. 25, the day Egyptians marked their second anniversary of 2011 revolution that ousted longtime president Hosni Mubarak. In many cases, mobs swarm a woman protester, stripping her and sexually assaulting her. On his TV show on Wednesday, cleric Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah derided opposition statements that attacking women was "a red line" that must not be crossed. "Does that apply to these naked women?" he said. "Most of them are Crusaders ... or widows with no one to rein them in" and ensure they remain modest. "They are going there to get raped," he screamed. He spoke of their curly hair, saying "these are devils named women ... they speak with no femininity, no morals, no fear ... Learn from Muslim women, be Muslims." Abdullah, known as Abu Islam, is current on trial on charges of religion contempt after he told a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo that he tore a copy of the Bible and next time he will urinate on it. The protest took place on Sept. 11 after an anti-Islam film made in the US caused uproar. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood also condemned the fatwas calling killing the opposition by saying, "the Muslim Brotherhood denounce calls that permit bloodshed and incites for killing." Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's premier Islamic institution, feared that such edicts "open the doors of sedition and chaos of killing and bloodshed." In a statement, it called upon Egyptians to "to adhere to the position of the Islamic law, which emphasizes the sanctity of blood." The National Salvation Front issued a statement condemning the assassination of the Tunisian politician. The assassination "sounds danger alarms from Tunisia to Cairo, and warns of the cancerous growth of terrorist groups cloaked by religion and carrying out a plot to liquidate the opposition morally and physically." Egyptians have witnessed series of assassinations of top statesmen and writers on hands of Islamic extremists after religious edicts were issued against them back in 1990s during a surge of Islamist extremist insurgency.

Anti-regime demos held in north Bahrain

Bahrainis have once again staged demonstrations against the ruling Al Khalifa regime in a number of villages. On Wednesday, demonstrators took to the streets of the northeastern island of Sitra, the northwestern village of Diraz and the northern village of Nuwaidrat, chanting slogans against the Manama regime. The protesters expressed determination to continue the uprising despite the crackdown by security forces. The recent demonstrations were held ahead of national talks that are scheduled to commence on February 10. Protest gatherings in Bahrain are planned to be held every day until February 14, which is the second anniversary of the uprising. On Wednesday, Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, which is the major opposition bloc in Bahrain, called for the establishment of a transitional government, which represents different national factions, as a first step to resolve the crisis in the country. The group also called on the regime to put an end to the “ongoing crackdowns and media campaigns against dissidents.” Despite expressing readiness to attend the talks, the opposition groups have cast doubt over the effectiveness of the talks. Six members from the opposition and eight from pro-regime groups will attend the talks. The popular uprising began in Bahrain in mid-February 2011. The Saudi regime and the United Arab Emirates sent security and military forces to the country upon a request from Manama to help the Bahraini government quash the peaceful protests. Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds including doctors and nurses.

Saudis demand release of Shia cleric

Saudis have staged fresh protests in the eastern city of Qatif, demanding the release of dissident Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. The protestors chanted slogans in support of the cleric, held in detention since July 2012, as they marched in the streets of the volatile city on Thursday. Sheikh al-Nimr was shot and arrested by regime forces for criticizing the country’s ruling family. His family members, after being allowed to visit him in prison, said he has been badly tortured in jail. Nimr’s sister has recently said through her Twitter account that prison authorities are denying her brother medical care. On Wednesday, two Shia Muslims were sentenced to prison on charges of attending demonstrations in Qatif. The sentences, which were issued by a court in Eastern Province, were among verdicts in the case of five men accused of holding anti-government protest rallies. On Saturday, the court began the trials of an unspecified number of Shias on similar charges. Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in the kingdom's east, mainly in Qatif and Awamiyah, calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination. However, the demonstrations turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011 when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in Eastern Province. Activists say there are over 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia. In October 2012, Amnesty International called on the Saudi authorities to stop using excessive force against pro-democracy protestors.

Afghanistan bribery cost 'increases sharply'

The cost of corruption has risen sharply in Afghanistan but fewer people are paying bribes, a UN report says. It said the amount rose in 2012 to $3.9bn, twice the country's domestic revenue and that 50% of Afghans were paying bribes compared to 58% in 2009. Increasing numbers of people say they find it acceptable for civil servants to take small bribes, the report adds. The government blames the international community's system of giving contracts to officials for spreading corruption. However, it accepts that the problem is rife within its own ranks. The BBC's Bilal Sarwary says that what is revealed in this report could just be the tip of the iceberg. It is also unclear to what extent respondents felt able to speak openly about the bribery and corruption they have to contend with, our correspondent says. 'Correct strategy needed' The report was compiled jointly by the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Afghanistan's anti-corruption unit, based on a survey of 6,700 people, It says that while there has been ''some tangible progress'' in the fight against corruption, the total cost of corruption rose to $3.9bn in 2012, a 40% jump over the 2009 figure. According to the report, the bribes Afghans paid last year amounted to double the country's domestic revenue or one-quarter of the $16bn promised by donors for Afghanistan at a conference in Japan last year. But corruption appears to be increasingly tolerated by ordinary people and "embedded in social practices", the report added. More than 68% surveyed considered it acceptable for a civil servant to top up a low salary by accepting small bribes - up from 42% in 2009, it said. "Afghans know that corruption is eating at the fabric of their society," said UNODC regional representative Jean-Luc Lemahieu. "The solution is not only to be found within the government but also within the wider community." The report noted that while the cost of corruption had risen, the total number of people paying bribes had dropped from 58% in 2009 to 50% last year - but they were paying more often. It said that the education sector had become especially vulnerable, with the number of Afghans bribing teachers jumping from 16% in 2009 to 51% in 2012. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly called for greater efforts to deal with the problem. He has appealed to the US and other countries not to give construction, reconstruction and business contracts to Afghan government officials or their relatives, which he says is making the problem worse. UN officials said it was not a question of recognising the problem but finding the right way to do something about it. "Nobody doubts the seriousness of the issue, the art is to design the correct strategy to remedy the situation. The findings of the survey will allow us to do so," Mr Lemahieu said.

The Truth About Balochistan

http://thebalochhal.com

By Sanaullah Baloch

Over the years, the ruling elite has been polluting the public mind with baseless assumptions and storylines regarding Balochistan. This leaves little room for logical debate on the province and on the appalling socio-economic and political realities that have resulted in the Baloch people’s hostility to the state system. Despite massive media outreach and the Internet revolution, the rigid perception about Balochistan and its people remains unchanged. Facts about Baloch society and its tribal structure, as well as the outdated government-sustained tribal system in which corrupt tribal chiefs are in collusion with the establishment are rarely analysed. These tribal chiefs have played a leading role in the wholesale destruction of the Baloch society. The establishment’s standard narrative on the crisis in Balochistan revolves around such standard assumptions as: the sardars and nawabs are the main cause of the province’s socio-economic backwardness; the Baloch uprising is foreign-funded; and Balochistan is fully empowered and governed by the locals. No serious efforts have been made to understand Balochistan beyond the fact that the province is a mineral-rich region that produces natural gas, and is a colony populated by tribal warlords and their impoverished subjects. There is no denying that the power-hungry tribal chiefs are widely responsible for Balochistan’s woes. But these sardars derive their legitimacy from Islamabad, and are sustained by the government and the civil-military-establishment. However, while the Baloch deeply respect their tribal traditions and culture, this doesn’t hinder their participation in socio-economic development. The first universities, schools and other centres of learning in Balochistan were established by moderate and nationalist Baloch tribal chiefs who were staunch opponents of colonial rule in the Subcontinent, particularly in Balochistan. In the early 1930s, Nawab Yousuf Aziz Magsi established the first educational institution – Jama-e-Yousufia – in Jhal Magsi. He brought revolutionary changes in Baloch society by encouraging education and opposing the sardari system, despite being a sardar himself. Being very concerned about the welfare of the Baloch youth, he widely campaigned for social and political reforms in the province. As far back as the late 19th century and the early 20th century, the Khan of Kalat provided scholarships to young people to help them gain access to education in some of the best colleges and universities of India. He also sought the help of the British to establish schools and colleges in Balochistan. Until 1972, Balochistan was completely ignored when it came to education and economic development. The first Baloch government, headed by Sardar Attaullah Mengal and his visionary education minister, Mir Gul Khan Nasir, gave to Balochistan a university and hundreds of schools and colleges, including a medical college. Special economic zones, including the Hub Industrial Area were a brainchild of Baloch nationlist sardars who wanted their people to be empowered. In 1972, a resolution was moved in the Balochistan Assembly demanding that the federal government abolish the sardari and jirga systems, since the assembly itself did not have the power to legislate such radical changes. The PPP government at the time took no action in this regard. On February 14 1972, eight months later after the passage of this resolution, the National Awami Party presented the resolution in the National Assembly. On June 8, 1972, a resolution was introduced demanding “the eradication of outdated institutions such as the sardari system, the jirga system and the tribal system so that the province of Balochistan may progress socially and economically.” In his speech Balochistan’s senior minister Mir Gul Khan Nasir told the speaker: “Four things have been pointed out as hurdles to the economic and social progress of Balochistan in this resolution. These are: the sardari, tribal and jirga systems, and all other measures by means of which the people of Balochistan have been, and are still being, exploited.” He explained in his speech: “Sardari in the beginning wasn’t a parasitic institution, but when the sardars became agents of an imperial power, the integrity of this institution began to deteriorate. With the passage of time…some knights rose from within the ranks of the sardars…and succeeded in diminishing its influence. But despite this, we do not wish to keep this rusty skeleton of the sardari system as a monument or memorial of the past because as long as this institution remains, even as a vestige, it will keep our nation divided into various tribes and sub-tribes, which will render it impossible for us to achieve economic progress. Therefore, the main objective of presenting this resolution is to completely eradicate from the face of this earth the disease-stricken sardari system…” In Quetta, Chief Minister Attaullah Mengal unequivocally spoke in favour of the resolution, saying, “Now that the tribal system has lost its advantages, keeping it is going to act as a hurdle in the development of the people of these tribes. And the large amounts of annual allowances being given to the royal families of the states that merged with Pakistan and the sardars are putting undue pressure on the country’s economy. Therefore, the sardari system should be abolished…and the annual allowances to former royal families should be discontinued. And all the responsibilities of the sardars need to be transferred to other institutions, just like in the other parts of the country.” Despite the opposition of pro-establishment nawabs and jams, the Balochistan Assembly adopted the resolution with overwhelming majority. But Islamabad paid no heed to the demand. Furthermore, any socio-economic development of the Baloch bothered the regional powers, resulting in the dismissal of the first truly elected Baloch government and also in a full-fledged military operation.

Hundreds of Balochistan Public Servants Receive Salaries While Living Overseas

The Baloch Hal

The Balochistan government says it plans to take stern action against hundreds of employees from various departments who are currently living outside the country but still receiving regular official salary. The Chief Secretary of Balochistan, Babar Yaqoob Fateh, on Tuesday took strict notice of reports that hundreds of government employees were currently living or working overseas but were being paid salary from the official exchequer. Most of these officials have left the country without even getting official leave from the departments where they worked. Every government employee is otherwise required to obtain a no-objection certificate (N.O.C.) from the government before traveling to another country. This precondition has been violated by those who now face strict official action. These public servants have attained private passports instead of applying for passports specific for government officials. Initial findings have revealed that most of the people who have been found involved in this illegal practice are those who were offered jobs under the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-Balochistan Package. The government had offered the Package to Balochistan in November 2009 in an effort to resolve the current political crisis in the province but massive irregularities were reported as people complained that jobs created from the Package were offered to the relatives and supporters of political leaders instead of being offered purely on merit. The new findings indicate that people who got jobs under the Balochistan Package already possessed jobs and they took these jobs only to receive salary without ever showing up for work. “This is absolutely unacceptable,” said the Chief Secretary, “it is not fair to the unemployed youth of the province.” The Chief Secretary has immediately ordered an official inquiry into the matter and directed concerned officials to provide him further details without any delays.

US drone kills 3 militants in Waziristan, jets pound Orakzai

The Express Tribune

American drone programme conducted its first attack of February 2013 in Pakistan, targeting militants in North Waziristan Agency. Three militants, including a foreign fighter, were killed when an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fired missiles on a militant compound in Ghulam Khan tehsil in North Waziristan on Wednesday. An official of the security forces said that around 12:30 pm, a drone fired two missiles on a Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) compound in the mountains of Martal in Bangidar near the Pakistan-Afghan border, around 15 kilometres from Miramshah, headquarters of the agency, killing the three TTP militants. The official added that residents from the surrounding areas immediately rushed to the site to begin a rescue operation and pulled out the bodies from the debris. The first US drone strike of February 2013 follows six attacks conducted in January, in which 42 militants were killed and seven were injured in both North and South Waziristan. Its most high-profile victim last month was Taliban warlord Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, a powerful elder of the Wazir tribe. Nazir was killed when a US drone fired two missiles at a double-cabin pick-up vehicle in Sara Kanda of Birmal tehsil in Wana subdivision, South Waziristan on January 2. Fighter jets kill 8 militants in Orakzai Agency Pakistani fighter jets launched a blitz on militant hideouts in Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas on Wednesday, killing eight militants, an official of the security forces said. The jets bombed TTP hideouts, destroying three in Arghanjo and Lando Qamar in the troubled Mamozai, which borders Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency. The bombardment killed eight militants. It was the fifth such attack on militants this year. According to security forces, the previous four air raids have killed around 38 militants, while 11 hideouts were destroyed. However, the exact figures are difficult to verify. Strategic importance of Orakzai Agency Orakzai Agency is strategically an important area. Covering an area of 700 square miles, the agency shares its borders with Kurram and Khyber agencies, Hangu district and Kohat, Darra Adamkhel. It is the only agency among seven that does not share a border with Afghanistan. Its estimated population is 450,000. Since 2010, most of the agency was believed to be a safe haven for local and foreign militants, but security forces launched an operation to eliminate them. The operation is still continuing. Around 97% of the agency has been reclaimed from militants.

Pakistan’s tobacco consumption: The most in South Asia!

Despite the fact that tobacco is banned in public places, Pakistan is the largest consumer of tobacco in South Asia. Reports have revealed that tobacco smoking is very common among youngsters, and is responsible for various health problems in the young generation. A cigarette consists of various chemicals, which when consumed either in high doses or at low doses, but on a regular basis, can be toxic. Examples of such chemicals include nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar along with heavy metals and several carcinogens like nitrosamines, aromatic amines and polycyclic hydrocarbons. Around 2,000 to 4,000 different noxious chemicals are released when a single cigarette is lit. The adverse effects of these chemicals include systemic cancers, peripheral vascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In developing countries like Pakistan, which have weak anti-tobacco legislation and lack of awareness among the people regarding smoking, tobacco related diseases have shown a significant increase. Tobacco use is not only capable of damaging nearly every organ of the human body but also aids at least 15 different cancers and is single-handedly responsible for 30 percent of all cancer related deaths. The number of cases of lung cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and myocardial infarction are increasing with the increasing sale of cigarettes. Moreover, lung cancer is causing malignancy among the Pakistani males where around 40 percent of males and 8 percent of females are regular smokers. Tobacco-smoking parents are believed to have played a key role in the spread of this habit among the youth. Studies have revealed that every teenager has at least one tobacco-smoking parent and such children were significantly more likely to start smoking tobacco as compared to children of non-smoking parents. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) tobacco use is currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults’ worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). Moreover, unless circumstances changes, within 25 years the annual death toll will double; millions more will prematurely develop tobacco related illnesses that may lead to chronic disability. Taking to Pakistan Today, Heath EDO Dr Inamul Haq said, “It is alarming that a huge number of youngsters are heading towards tobacco-smoking. There is law on cigarette smoking in public places but there is a lack of implementation. The government is trying to take steps for save our generation from this menace.”

Pakistan: Who is conspiring?

While PML-N President Mian Nawaz Sharif should realise that when he says that there is a conspiracy to delay the coming elections, he raises two questions. He made this pronouncement on Tuesday, while talking just prior to leaving Jeddah for home after performing Umra. The first question is: who he is referring to and why he does not say who exactly is conspiring. This question is particularly pertinent because Mian Nawaz is a former Prime Minister, not just chief of the largest opposition party, and thus should not fear any consequences, nor should he speak in riddles. Where the government, judiciary and armed forces officials have all continuously reiterated their commitment to doing their part to hold free and fair elections on time, there does not seem much room to see villains, where everyone is striving to achieve the same goal. He might be referring to Tahirul Qadri’s long march but that is over without the elections delayed. The forces suspected of wishing to put off elections and back Dr Qadri in the hope that he might provide the excuse to stage a putsch have not been identified and it seems that Mian Nawaz is not going to name anyone. However, when he said that delay in elections were not in the national interest, he showed that those forces would not find his party supporting them. It goes almost without saying that no putsch is possible without the support of at least some political forces. However, by saying what he did, and that too while abroad, he tacitly confirmed the warning by PPP Senator Raza Rabbani of the threat to the next election. Also, being abroad, he expressed support for the granting of the vote to overseas Pakistanis, blaming the government for avoiding this. He did not mention how the government had allowed this issue to become hopelessly confused with that of dual nationals being disqualified from assembly membership. It should not be forgotten that the overseas Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia are prevented from obtaining dual nationality by Saudi law and from voting in Pakistani elections by Pakistani law. However, it should not be forgotten that even residents of Pakistan will only vote if elections are held. For that, it is essential that Mian Nawaz and other politicians show the firmness of their commitment.

Peshawar: Planners in a fix over destruction of schools

The unabated destruction of public sector schools in terrorist attacks has added to the woes of official development planners as they complain of anxiety and lack of focus because of the security crisis. “You rebuild a school one day and the next week you find that the workload has not diminished because they (terrorists) would have destroyed or partially damaged another school building somewhere in a far-off area of the province,” said an official involved in the rebuilding process. It eats away precious financial resources out of whatever little money the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spends on the education sector under its Annual Development Programme, according to the official. Besides, the persistence with which the militants destroy school buildings adds to the development planners’ workload, divides their focus between new school projects and an always growing number of school buildings needing reconstruction and unsettles the government’s development agenda, according to sources in the planning and development department. According to the education department authorities, the provincial government reconstructed more than 550 buildings of schools that Taliban destroyed in different parts of the province since 2010 and work on some 190 schools was going on in various districts. “The problem is that there does not seem to be an end to this situation. While we are busy in reconstructing the schools they (terrorists) are carrying out their destruction agenda with impunity,” said a senior official of the planning department. According to Conflict Monitoring Centre’s data, militants destroyed 81 schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata in 2012. They destroyed 52 schools in the province, including 13 in Swabi district, 10 in Charsadda, five each in Nowshera and Mardan, four each in Kohat and Laki Marwat, two each in Hangu and Dera Ismail Khan and one each in Swat and Tank districts. The province has not begun the new calendar year with confidence. On January 19 this year, saboteurs blew up a primary school for girls in Peshawar’s suburbs at Badhber. The state’s inability to nab the culprits responsible for destroying the schools ever since the problem started has given them criminal courage. Private schools are also being targeted and in a recent incident a school was attacked in close proximity to Peshawar Cantonment. An improvised explosive device was detonated outside the main gate of a private school at Hassan Garhi on January 4, last. Situated in a densely populated semi-urban Hasan Garhi, the school caters to the educational needs of a small community. Similarly, on January 22, 2013, two buses were damaged in IED blasts outside Quaid-i-Azam International Public School, a private institution, at Chota Lahor in Swabi. Its owner, Mazhar Khan, told Dawn that the school’s different branches had been attacked four times during the past few months. The perpetrators of the crimes remain at large as according to an investigation officer at Chota Lahor police station no headway could be made without solid evidence and eyewitness account. “At the time of the January 22 last explosions there were 18 persons, including six drivers and 12 cleaners, who were present at the crime scene, but none of them came forward to record evidence,” said Hazrat Nabi Khan, an investigation inspector looking into the case. The police investigator said witnesses from among the general public did not come forward to record evidence in terrorism related cases because of personal security considerations. A senior police officer, when contacted, said that investigators usually found themselves stuck up between a rock and a hard place, leaving them with piles of unresolved cases. In a couple of cases of attacks on schools, the police, said the official, managed to get solid evidence, but further progress could not be made because witnesses did not want their identity to be disclosed and the local court ordered the witnesses to come in person to record their statements. “I created problems for myself as I collected witnesses’ accounts in a couple of cases, but got myself at a difficult spot after the court ordered the witnesses to record their statements in person while the witnesses backed off,” said an investigator.

Pakistan: Breaching fiscal discipline

Frontier Post

Gen Pervez Musharraf’s prime minister Shaukat Aziz, who also held the portfolio of finance, created a superfluous “economic boom” by heavy imports majority of which comprised luxury items. PPP government’s first finance minister Shaukat Tareen more or less followed the same policy and his successor Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh did not lag behind making a mess of the national economy either. The mismanagement of the three finance ministers has now resulted in Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities now nearing Rs16 trillion in about a decade’s time. Two policy statements issued by the ministry on Monday conceded that the government breached major limits imposed by parliament under the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act, 2005, that seeks bringing down debt levels and this seems even vulnerable of the sovereignty of state. Of this the domestic debt is around Rs9 trillion and the rest is the international liability. This is a highly alarming situation owing to higher subsidies, lower revenue collections, drying up of external program loans and currency devaluation. Not only the government showed no limits of its bizarre economic management, it also faltered in submitting annual reports on economy to parliament for three years. The Musharraf regime also behaved similarly. The key requirement of the act of reducing the revenue deficit to nil not later than June 2008 and thereafter maintaining a revenue surplus, remained total failure to begin with and throughout the last one decade. The revenue deficit stood between 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2008 to 2.5 per cent of GDP at the end of fiscal 2012. The second condition of confining total public debt below 60 per cent of GDP and then maintaining it at this limit every year, also could not be fulfilled owing to subsidies related to food and energy sectors due to which public debt to GDP stood at 61.3 per cent of GDP at end June 2012. The third key milestone required reducing total public debt by no less than 2.5 per cent of GDP every year for 10 years - 2003 to 2013 - provided poverty alleviation related expenditures did not fall below 4.5 per cent of GDP was met but failed in doubling health and education expenditures. The policy statements admit that reducing debt by 2.5 per cent every year remained a pipedream throughout the decade. Instead total debt to GDP ratio stood at 59 per cent in 2008 and finally increased again to 61.3 per cent in 2011-12. However, the government was able to maintain social sector and poverty related between 6 per cent in 2008 and 8.2 per cent in 2012. What seems to be the most conspicuous of this economic debacle is, once again, the inability of the corrupt Federal Board of Revenue in taxing all the affluent persons and the wealthy corporate sector. Unless, the FBR does not introduce a judicious taxation system, the economic ills of the country cannot heal.

Ajmal Khattak to be remembered on February 7

Radio Pakistan

Third death anniversary of renowned Pashtu poet Ajmal Khattak is being observed on February 7.Born in September 1925‚ Ajmal Khattak was a committed political worker and also a literary man‚ having published a number of books of prose and poetry‚ mostly in Pashto and some in Urdu languages. Khattak started his career as a school teacher in a government school. But he left the job to become a journalist. He worked with dailies Anjam and Shahbaz and did well in both Urdu and Pashto journalism. He later began writing columns on political and social issues. Ajmal Khattak lost the election for the MNA slot in 1970 from Nowshera. He finally won the assembly seat in the 1990 elections to become an MNA on the ANP ticket. He also remained a senator. His early political career began during the Quit India Movement. Ajmal Khattak had served the ANP as central president for two terms when Wali Khan stepped down from the post. He was ousted as ANPs president in 2000‚ after a protracted power struggle with some members of Wali Khan Family. Deciding to leave the party‚ he briefly led a splinter group called National Awami Party of Pakistan. His party did not win even a single seat in the 2002 general elections amidst the religo-political parties alliance in NWFP. He wrote 13 books in Pashto and Urdu‚ including A History of Pashto Literature‚ Pakistan Main Qaumi Jamhoori Tehrikin‚ Da Ghirat Chagha‚ Batoor‚ Gul Auo Perhar‚ Guloona Auo Takaloona‚ Jalawatan Ki Shairee‚ Pukhtana Shora and Da Wakht Chagha. His first poem was published in 1944 in a magazine named Pakhtun (founded by Bacha Khan) while his first poetry collection‚ Da Ghairat Chegha‚ came out in 1958. He died on February 7‚ 2010 after protracted illness.

Democracies must care for Pakistan’s minorities

One of the quintessential functions of a modern state is to foster the multi-faceted development of all its citizens. Ironically, however, few states fulfill this function in the world today. Volumes have already been written on the record of the state of Pakistan in this regard. Ever since M.A. Jinnah converted this once-great land of ancient, composite culture into a separate nation out of an undivided, secular India, selfstyled radical Islamists have been on the ascent in the state. Hell-bent on creating a feudal, irrational order based on the fanatic Wahhabi-Deobandi version of Islam, these obscurantist, reactionary forces have increasingly prevailed upon the state to resort to policies that would make the lives of people of all other faiths and values living in the country miserable. In the process, the plight of Pakistan’s minorities has gone from bad to worse over the years. Most of the minorities in Pakistan – Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Baha’i, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis), Ahmadis, Shi’ites and Mohajirs – non-Muslims and non-Sunni Muslims both – have either resorted to exodus or conversion. In the undivided British India non-Muslims formed more than a quarter of Pakistan’s population. On partition, they came to account for about 14 percent of its population, albeit concentrated mainly in East Bengal. Today, Sunni Muslims constitute 77% and Shias 20% its 175,646,000-strong population. Non-Muslims – Hindus, Christians and others – constitute 3%. Recent reports and studies of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, the US Commission on Freedom, the Jinnah Institute and other such bodies suggest the minorities’ situation has darkened further. The Pakistan Supreme Court has also confirmed this conclusion in some of its observations. It is unfortunate that the governments of the world’s leading democracies still continue to gloss over Pakistan’s minority rights violations. The agenda of Pakistan’s self-styled Islamists poses a great threat not only to its citizens but also to the entire civilized world. The world’s democracies have already suffered a lot on account of Pakistan- supported radical Islamism. If Washington and other democratic capitals of the world do not get tough with Islamabad and neutralize its radical Islamist forces in time, many more terror attacks might revisit them. Enlightened citizens of the democratic world must assert themselves and make their governments behave. They are subsidizing Pakistan with billions of pounds’ worth of aid. They could tell their governments this money cannot be allowed to go to tyrants. Pakistan is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It has already ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Pakistan must ratify the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) assuring its citizens all civil and political rights, including the right to life, freedom or religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trial. Pakistan, like most of the states in the Middle East, was born of Wilsonian ideas. It has claimed equality with sovereign nation-states in the world today. But it has cared little for its minorities. American citizens could impress upon their government the need to take appropriate measures aimed at making the state of Pakistan respect the rights of its citizens. They could insist that if the establishment in Islamabad does not cease oppressing Pakistan’s minorities, the country must be deprived of its current status in the comity of nations.

Malala Is Back: The Challenges Ahead for Girls' Education in Pakistan

http://www.theatlantic.com

People around the world watched in admiration and awe a clip from an interview with Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head by the Taliban for standing up for girls' education. "I want every girl, every child to be educated," she said bravely in comments given before she had surgery at a hospital in England-apparently, she is now recovering well-and discussed the new Malala Fund to do just that. The fund's inaugural grant will help girls from the Swat Valley, where Malala is from, receive an education instead of entering the workforce prematurely. Girls' education in Pakistan, however, needs more than Malala's determination and courage. While the Taliban have certainly terrorized parts of the country, they are not to blame for the sorry state of girls' education in Pakistan. Over the years, Pakistan's various governments have made halfhearted efforts to address the shameful gender gap, but the proof of their failure is in the numbers:

The statistics are appalling. In 1981, 45 percent of male youth (15 to 24) in Pakistan were literate, versus only 24 percent of female youth--a literacy gap of 21 points. Since that time, while overall literacy rates have improved, Pakistan's gender gap has barely budged. In 2009, 79 percent of male youth were literate, but only 61 percent of female youth--a literacy gap of 18 points. Another way to understand Pakistan's slow progress on female education is by comparing it with Bangladesh. Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh became independent in 1971. Ten years later, Pakistan and Bangladesh were performing comparably on literacy. But Bangladesh has since raced ahead in female education and now literacy rates there are higher for female than for male youth. Between 2000 and 2005, Bangladesh managed to double female primary school enrollment to 90 percent. In Pakistan, female primary school net enrollment in 2010 was only 60 percent. Pakistan's educational system (and attitudes toward women more generally) are holding the country back. In 2010, only 22 percent of Pakistani women participated in the workforce, as opposed to 57 percent in Bangladesh. While it is now commonly acknowledged that a literate and educated female population can powerfully contribute to economic development--not to mention improve life outcomes for their families--Pakistan is missing the boat. The world rightly applauds the courage and determination of young Malala Yousafzai, but getting girls in school needs to be a national obsession for Pakistan if it hopes to tackle poverty and extremism.

TTP’s audacity

In essence, this peace offer of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is no different from its earlier response to the government’s reconciliation overture. It wants the Pakistani state to surrender to its diktats, which not even a banana republic would acquiesce into. And yet the TTP spokesman has the gumption to surmise that the government seems “non-serious in peace talks”. In any case, his refrain that the TTP is willing to talk to the government for the sake of Islam should carry the cake. What people is he talking of when in its terrorist attacks and suicide bombings it has slaughtered no less than 40,000 innocent civilians? And those include, horribly, thousands of women and children. And numerous toddlers too. And yet with a pious face he wants the release of five militant commanders whose hands are red with this horrific carnage of the civilians that has left very many women widowed, very many children orphaned and deprived very many families of their breadwinners. Perfidy, after all, cannot be unlimited. What Islam is he indeed speaking of, which even its worst enemies admit, even if grudgingly, is a noble religion of peace and amity that abhors the murder of even an innocent nonbeliever, what to talk of an innocent Muslim? And yet the TTP and its cohorts have been slaughtering and maiming only their Muslim compatriots, and, more despicably, claiming the responsibility of each heinous murderous strike pridefully as if they have done some heroic deed. Absolutely contrite they are not at this repellent barbarity on their co-religionists. And with what moral authority is he asking for guarantors for peace talks when it was the militants who palpably broke the peace accords in the past? When the ANP concluded a peace deal with Fazlullah, he took it that Swat had been parcelled out to him to be his kingdom and started behaving like en emperor. So vain indeed was he that he even refused condescending to give an audience to the ANP peace negotiating team in his royal court. And when the ANP did a deal with his father-in-law Sufi Mohammad, he too started acting like a sultan of Malakand. Not even Baitullah Mehsud stuck to his peace vows. Apart from attacking the security forces, he kept sending suicide bombers to butcher the innocent civilians in markets and shopping plazas, hotels and restaurants, and on roads and streets. Given all this, it is not the militants who need mediators to stand guarantors in peace talks with the government; it is the other way round. It is the government that needs guarantees that the TTP would stand by the peace accord, if concluded any. Enough of the spokesman’s skullduggery. But facts are facts. Had indeed the TTP really changed, it along with its cohorts would have stopped with terrorist attacks, at least on the civilians, as a manifest of its seriousness in peace talks. But that mayhem of the civilians at its hands continues unabated. Indeed, going by its own claims it is now also quite involved in the incessant bloodletting in the port city of Karachi that has virtually turned into a live killing field. Wouldn’t then this peace offer of the TTP fit into line of thought of various observers that this overture is indeed the militant outfit’s ploy to gain time to refurbish the loss of strength it may have suffered due to the ongoing military operations in the tribal areas? Whatever it is, if the TTP is really for peace it must give an earnest of it first by declaring ceasefire and acting on it visibly. The states, it must understand, do go through difficult times when faced with violence and bloodletting. But bend or yield they do not and triumph ultimately. The outlawed outfit would do well to lay down the arms and seek whatever it wants through civilised democratic ways. Hasn’t the spokesman himself proclaimed that the TTP has “become a popular movement”? Then, shouldn’t it, instead of keeping up with the massacre and maiming of the civilians, get into the political mainstream and acquire what it wishes peacefull

President Zardari stresses on Pak-Afghan border management

RADIO PAKISTAN

President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said that creation of enabling environment to facilitate trade and business activities between Pakistan and Afghanistan is of paramount importance for ensuring lasting peace in the region. The President made these remarks at the conclusion of 3rd Trilateral Summit between Pakistan‚ Afghanistan and United Kingdom held here in the outskirts of London. The President called for putting in place effective border control management system on both sides at formal border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan.The President said that any future Afghan plan must by definition include a roadmap for the early return of Afghan refugees to their homeland and adoption of effective measures for border management to address cross-border criminal activities. President Asif Ali Zardari while terming contribution of trilateral process as highly valuable said that it has made a good progress in a very short span of time and assured the participants of the summit that Pakistan would continue to play its due role in Afghan led and Afghan owned peace process. The President while reiterating Pakistan's commitment for a long term peace and stability in Afghanistan added that it is important to have realistic expectations from Pakistan and called for matching initiatives from Afghan Government and international partners to create the right mix for a real breakthrough. The President said that early conclusion of the proposed Strategic Partnership Agreement with Afghan Government would be a major step forward as it would send a clear signal that they are ready to work together for mutual interests. The President while highlighting the importance of Doha Process with Afghan Government underlined the need for bringing all Afghan stakeholders on board to obtain clarity and quality to talks. The President said that Pakistan is working on the Afghan roadmap for the peace process to the extent feasible and has started implementing specific requests made by the High Peace Council (HPC) which include release of Taliban detainees. The President thanked Prime Minister David Cameron for hosting the Summit and for extending warm hospitality to him and the members of his delegation.

U.S., France agree on need to hand over Mali operation to UN mission

Visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Monday said France and the United States agreed on the need to hand over Mali military operations to a United Nations mission when it is "prudent." "We agreed on the need to as quickly as reasonably possible establish the African-led international mission in Mali and as quickly as is prudent transition that mission to the United Nations," he said after talks with French President Francois Hollande on issues concerning Mali, Syria and Iran. Biden hailed Hollande's "decisiveness" in Mali and commended France's leading role in the fight against terrorism at a press conference. "We support the political process led by France in order to restore a democratic governance in Mali," Biden said. He stressed the importance of working with "our regional partners to counter terrorism cross North African and beyond." President Hollande expressed his gratitude for U.S. political and logistic support to Mali operation. "I appreciated the support of the decision that I took which is the intervention of France on behalf of the international community in Mali," Hollande said. Hollande and Biden also discussed Iran's controversial nuclear program. "We regret that Iran is still refusing to be transparent and to respond to its international obligations. So we will raise up the pressure so that negotiations can lead to a solution," Hollande said. On his part, Biden reiterated U.S. offer for bilateral talks with Iran on its disputed nuclear program. Iran and the West are locked in a bitter dispute over the former's nuclear ambitions. The West accuses Tehran of developing nuclear weapon under the cover of peaceful nuclear program, a charge Iran has consistently denied. The two also held talks on ways to press for resumption of talks to end the deadlocked Middle East peace process. The U.S. vice president arrived in Paris on Sunday after attending the Munich Security Conference in southern Germany and will head for London for talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Stifling free speech in India

http://gulfnews.com

By Amulya Ganguli, IANS

If intemperate politicians are having a free run in intimidating contrary views, it is because governments have tended to yield to extremists

Both Hindu and Muslim fanatics are up in arms against artistic and literary freedom in India. One of their targets is the old “sinner” Salman Rushdie. But there are two others. One of them is social scientist Ashis Nandy, who stirred a hornet’s nest by saying at the Jaipur Literature Festival that most of the corrupt people in the country happened to be from the lower castes (he said this in a certain context that was ignored). It is a slur which champions of these communities can hardly ignore — if only because their entire political career is based on promoting caste-consciousness that fuels antipathy towards the upper castes. Foremost among them is the Dalit (lower cast) czarina Mayawati, whose slogan at one time was: “Tilak, tarazu aur talwar, inko maro jootey char.” It meant: Beat with shoes the Brahmins (who wear tilak or a mark on their foreheads), Banias (who weigh the goods in their shops with tarazu or a pair of scales) and Kshatriyas (the warrior class who sport talwar or sword and hold second place after Brahmins in the caste hierarchy).Mayawati’s demand was that Nandy be arrested forthwith under an act which seeks to protect Dalits and adivasis (tribals) from atrocities. What she did not care to consider was whether the law, meant to safeguard these communities from a continuation of the centuries-old social denigration, could be applied to a scholarly thesis. It has to be noted that the person mentioned by Nandy in this context was former Jharkhand chief minister, Madhu Koda, a tribal, who is now in jail on charges of corruption. The point, however, is not about who is right and who is wrong. It is about whether a renowned sociologist has the right to express an opinion based on his study of the social and political scene — or whether he should be put in jail for saying what he believes to be correct. Nandy is not the first academic, of course, who has to confront the bigots. Not long ago, the Oriental Research Institute in Pune was vandalised because historian James W. Laine had worked there while preparing a biography of Shivaji, which was not liked by the present-day admirers of the Maharashtrian warrior hero. Arguably, if vandals and intemperate politicians are having a free run in the matter of intimidating those holding contrary views in their opinion, the reason is that the governments at both the centre and in the states have tended to yield ground to extremists. One notable instance of such a retreat was the banning of Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1988 under pressure from Muslim hardliners. The fact that the kowtowing did not satisfy them is, however, evident from Rushdie’s decision to stay away from the Jaipur Literature Festival last year because of the government’s reluctance to guarantee him protection. And this year too, he had to call off a visit to Kolkata for the same reason, along with filmmaker Deepa Mehta, in connection with the release of Midnight’s Children, a film based on his Booker prize-winning book of the same name. The government did not even allow the film to be shot in India for fear of offending fundamentalists. As a result, Mehta had to shoot the film in Sri Lanka. Another film, which is having to run the gauntlet of the Muslim militants is Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam, even though it shows an Indian Muslim intelligence officer battling Islamic fanatics in Afghanistan and should be a matter of pride therefore for “patriotic” Muslims, as Haasan said. The standard explanation given by the Muslim radicals for lambasting Rushdie or Haasan is that they have hurt the community’s religious sentiments. It is the same argument which compelled Galileo to deny in the 17th century that the earth moved round the sun since his claim was found hurtful to the beliefs by Christians at the time. It took the Catholic church three centuries to offer a formal apology for its denunciation of the astronomer. Yet, this argument is offered time and again in 21st century India to satisfy the prejudices of the diehards. In view of the difficulties which his film faces, Haasan has even said that he may have to seek refuge in a secular country, just as painter M.F. Hussain had to flee from India and die in exile because of the threat posed by Hindu storm-troopers. Regrettably, it is no secret that the silent majority of Hindus and Muslims do not subscribe to the irrationalism of the fanatics. Yet, the government is reluctant to act against the trouble-makers in case it is seen to be directed against the community as a whole. Interestingly, the Marxists are no better despite their claim to be progressive, for it was when they were in power in West Bengal that the controversial Bangladeshi author, Taslima Nasreen, had to leave Kolkata because of the disturbances caused by a minor Muslim outfit. There is little doubt that the decline of the Congress and the growth of backward-looking parties based on specific castes and communities are responsible for the prevailing cultural terrorism.

Video: Malala Yousafzai: first interview since getting shot by Taliban

Malala: Schoolgirl Shot By Taliban Speaks Out

The Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban makes her first public statement since she was nearly killed. In a video interview, 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai, who is having reconstructive surgery to replace part of her skull at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, said that she was "getting better, day by day". Speaking clearly but with a slight stiffness in her upper lip, she said: "Today you can see that I am alive. I can speak, I can see you, I can see everyone. "It's just because of the prayers of people. Because all people - men, women, children - all of them have prayed for me. And because of all these prayers God has given me this new life . A second life. And I want to serve. I want to serve the people. I want every girl, every child, to be educated. "For that reason, we have organised the Malala Fund." The teenager drew the world's attention when she was shot by Taliban militants on October 9 on a school bus in northwestern Pakistan. The Islamist group said they targeted her because she promoted girls' education and "Western thinking". Malala was airlifted to Britain from Pakistan in October to receive specialist medical care and protection against further Taliban threats. She is expected to remain in the UK for some time as her father, Ziauddin, has received a diplomatic post based in Birmingham. The video statement was published shortly after Queen Elizabeth Hospital said they had successfully operated to reconstruct her skull and restore her hearing. The video was filmed on January 22. The Malala Fund is a girls' education charity set up in late 2012. It launched with a $10m (£6.4m) donation from Pakistan.

Ravens win emotional Super Bowl against 49ers

The Baltimore Ravens reclaimed the greatest prize in North American sports after a dramatic, nail-biting 34-31 Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Inspired by their power-packed quarterback Joe Flacco, the Ravens survived a ferocious comeback from the 49ers and a bizarre power outage that stopped the game for more than half an hour to win their second Super Bowl. John Harbaugh, the head coach of the Ravens, won the most anticipated sibling rivalry in American team sports against his younger brother Jim, who holds the equivalent job with the 49ers. And Ray Lewis, the combative 37-year-old Ravens linebacker destined for the Hall of Fame, ended his 17 season career with a second Super Bowl title, 12 years after he won his first. "What better way to go out?" said Lewis. "We did it! We did it!" The game, at the Superdome in New Orleans, was preceded by one of the most poignant moments ever witnessed in the 47 editions of the Super Bowl when a choir from Sandy Hook Elementary School joined Jennifer Hudson in a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful". The 70,000 spectators rose to their feet, many with tears in their eyes, as the children sang, nearly two months after the deadly shooting rampage at their Connecticut school. "Our wish is to demonstrate to America and the world that, "We are Sandy Hook and we choose love," the school said in a statement. The action on the field was as wild as the parties that have taken place in Bourbon St in the days leading up to the game as the Ravens opened up a commanding lead. With Flacco, who was named Most Valuable Player, calling the shots and wide receiver Jacoby Jones scoring two of the most spectacular touchdowns seen in a Super Bowl, the Ravens looked to be cruising to victory when they led 28-6 early in the third quarter. Flacco made a great start, orchestrating a six-play, 51-yard drive on his team's first possession that culminated with a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Anquan Boldin. In the second quarter, he threw a one-yard scoring pass to tight end Dennis Pitta, then a spectacular 56-yard scoring strike to Jones. The Ravens led 21-6 when Beyonce came out to perform a stunning halftime show then opened the second half with a Super Bowl-record 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Jones that will be shown on highlight reels for generations to come. BLACK OUT But just when it seemed the result was a foregone conclusion, a section of the lights at the Superdome, hosting the Super Bowl for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, blacked out. Play was stopped for 35 minutes while red-faced officials and technicians restored power. When it came back on, the game instantly took on a completely different complexion. With Colin Kaepernick finally finding his targets and making inroads with the football in hand, San Francisco piled on 17 unanswered points. When Kaepernick rushed for a touchdown himself with just 10 minutes to go in the final quarter, the margin was down to just two points and momentum was on their side. But Justin Tucker kicked a 38-yard field goal to give his five-team lead and the 49ers failed to score the touchdown they needed to win, getting only a two-point safety, as the Ravens defended their line for dear life. "Five yards short, all the work we did in the offseason, the whole entire season, everything came down to five yards and we weren't able to get it done," said dejected 49ers tackle Joe Staley. Both team played down the impact of the power outage, saying it was the same for both teams, while the Harbaugh brothers embraced each other as confetti rained down from the roof after one of the most emotional nights in American sport. "I just love him obviously. I think anybody out there who has a brother can understand what that is all about," John said. "The meeting with Jim in the middle was probably the most difficult thing I have ever been associated with in my life. I am proud of him."

Saudi protesters in Riyadh demand release of political prisoners

Saudi protesters have taken to the streets in the capital, Riyadh, to express solidarity with political prisoners and those arrested in demonstrations against the ruling Al Saud regime, Press TV reports.

On Sunday, the demonstrators called on Saudi authorities to release all jailed opposition activists and prisoners of conscience. Saudis staged a similar protest rally in Riyadh on January 29, calling for the release of prisoners detained during the anti-regime demonstrations. The demonstrators chanted slogans against the excessive use of force by Saudi forces in quelling the anti-regime protests and condemned the Al Saud regime’s suppressive actions against dissidents. Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in the Qatif region and the town of Awamiyah in Eastern Province. The demonstrations turned into protests against the Al Saud regime after November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the province. Saudi forces have also arrested prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. In October 2012, Saudi officials warned that they would deal ‘firmly’ with anti-regime demonstrations. Amnesty International slammed the warning and urged the authorities to “withdraw their threat.”

South Africa finish off Pakistan in first Test

Dale Steyn bagged a career best 11 for 60 as South Africa routed Pakistan by 211 runs to win the first Test on day four at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Monday. Pakistan were all out for 268 during an extended morning session as South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with more than a day and a half to spare. Junaid Khan was the last man out adjudged leg before after a decision review off Steyn who finished 5 for 52 in the second innings. It followed his devastating spell of 6 for 8 in the first innings to destroy Pakistan for their lowest ever Test total of 49. "I bowled quite nicely," said man of the match Steyn modestly. "I've not been able to pick up wickets at the top in recent times but glad I did it here. We wanted to try and get these wickets as quickly as possible today." Having been set an improbable target of 480, Pakistan progressed to 203-4 continuing from their overnight 183-4 before the second new ball was taken. Steyn removed the overnight fifth wicket partnership of 127 between Asad Shafiq (56) and Misbah ul Haq (64) to break Pakistan's resistance. He also claimed tailenders Umar Gul and Junaid Khan to seal victory with four wickets during an unchanged 11-over spell in the morning. Wicketkeeper AB de Villiers also hogged the limelight equalling the world record for the most number of dismissals held by England's Jack Russell when Umar Gul became his 11th victim of the match. "You always get a bit nervous in milestone game, people could say that you are not totally focused. We knew we wanted to bat first, we were looking at 250-odd, but we left ourselves down a little bit," said South African skipper Graeme Smith who was victorious in his 100th Test as captain. "Blessed to have Steyn in the attack, No. 1 bowler in the world, he has been helped Morkel and Philander. Hopefully AB has silenced the critics with his keeping, our intensity on the third morning was very good," he added. "I think that was a great spell of innings, that hurt us really," said Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq of Steyn's sensational spell of 6 for 8 which bowled them out for 49 in the first innings. He was positive about the remaining matches in the series to be played at Cape Town and Centurion. "I think everybody knows that once we can see off the new ball, we can score runs, I think in the next match you will see that," said Misbah who top scored with a valiant knock of 64 in the second essay. MORNING SESSION South Africa have opted to take the extended half hour of the morning session needing just one wicket to win the first Test against Pakistan in Graeme Smith's 100th as captain. Pakistan are 266-9 continuing from their overnight total of 183-4 on day four of the first Test against Pakistan at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Monday having been set an improbable target of 480. Dale Steyn gets his fifth 10-wicket haul as Umar Gul is adjudged caught behind after decision review after getting a faint edge to AB de Villiers who equals the world record for the most number of victims in a match held by England's Jack Russell. Gul goes for 23 off 43 balls with three boundaries having added 21 for the ninth wicket with Junaid Khan. Junaid Khan survives after being bowled off a no-ball by Morne Morkel whom he hammered for a boundary a few balls earlier. Umar Gul lofts Dale Steyn to long on fence as the Pakistan tail continues to wag. Ajmal becomes AB de Villiers' 10th victim of the match as he eyes the world record of 11 dismissals held by England's Jack Russell set at the same venue in 1995/96. Morne Morkel removes Saeed Ajmal with a beautiful delivery which moves in the air to be caught behind by AB de Villiers in his first over the morning as Pakistan lose their eighth wicket. Ajmal goes for 11 off 16 balls with two boundaries after a brief stand of 22 with Umar Gul. Umar Gul has top edged Philander over the keeper for his second boundary. Saeed Ajmal manages to get a boundary to fine leg off Steyn with an edge which nearly hit his stumps but his next boundary to square leg is a more orthodox shot. Umar Gul has swung Philander to midwicket as the Pakistan tail wag. South Africa are racing to victory after taking the second new ball with Sarfraz Ahmed playing a Vernon Philander delivery onto his stumps as Pakistan lose their seventh wicket. Ahmed was undecided whether to play or leave it only succeeding in getting an inside edge onto his stumps after facing 11 balls for 6 runs. Umar Gul survives a confident leg before appeal off Dale Steyn who is bowling at full throttle. Dale Steyn's double strike with the second new ball to remove the overnight pair of Misbah and Shafiq has virtually ended any hopes of a miracle for Pakistan. Misbah's patient vigil which lasted more than four hours ends and with that Pakistan's hopes of delaying the inevitable. The Pakistan skipper made 64 off 167 balls and looked the most positive hitting four of his 11 boundaries in the morning. Dale Steyn strikes again removing Pakistan's captain Misbah ul Haq caught behind by AB de Villiers in his third over of the morning. Sarfraz Ahmed was lucky to survive after getting a leading edge off Philander which fell just short of the fielder at point. Dale Steyn strikes in his second over of the morning finding an edge off Asad Shafiq's bat to Kallis at second slip. Shafiq's resistance ends after facing 168 balls for 56 which contained nine hits having added just three runs to his overnight score. His fifth wicket partnership of 127 with Misbah last nearly 53 overs. Misbah edges a delivery from Vernon Philander's first over with the second new ball through the slip cordon for his fourth boundary of the morning. South Africa have taken the second new ball with Pakistan on 203-4 with Dale Steyn opening with a maiden over as Asad Shafiq offers a dead bat. Misbah ul Haq hits the third boundary of the morning this time against Kallis to bring up the 200 of the Pakistan innings in the 80th over. Misbah ul Haq reaches his 18th Test half century with his second boundary of the morning, a lovely cover drive of Morkel. Misbah's dogged half century came off 146 balls and contained nine boundaries. The fifth wicket partnership between Misbah and Shafiq surpassed the previous highest for Pakistan against South Africa of 109 made in 2010 in UAE. Kallis has sent down a maiden to Asad Shafiq. Misbah ul Haq gets the first runs of the fourth morning edging to third man boundary off Morne Morkel with the ball dropping short of a diving Jacque Kallis at second slip. Jacques Kallis opens the attack for South Africa on day four of the first Test against Pakistan in Johannesburg at Wanderers Stadium on Monday. Pakistan resumed from their overnight total of 184-4 needing to survive two days or get 297 runs to win after being set a record target of 480. Misbah-ul-Haq (44 not out) and Asad Shafiq (53 not out) have given them hope and dented South Africa's bid for an early finish.

Another terror attack

EDITORIAL : DAILY TIMES

Yet another black day has marked Pakistan’s long and bloody journey in the war on terror. A militant suicide attack on a military check post in Lakki Marwat in the tribal belt on Saturday has proved to be devastating as 13 of our soldiers were killed along with 11 innocent civilians. What is particularly disturbing about this attack is that one of the suicide bombers, in a bid to escape being caught by the security forces, ran into a private residential home and detonated himself, killing everybody inside. This is probably the first time a crime of this most worrisome nature has occurred. A private residence in the irrigation colony, located close to the check post, and its occupants were all used as a human shield by the suicide attacker. One wonders if this is some kind of new, ugly pattern that is emerging for the terrorists who have proved time and again that they do not discriminate between their intended targets — the security agencies and people belonging to different sects — and innocent bystanders. On Friday, a gruesome attack in Hangu saw a Shia mosque attacked but the damage left its bloody mark on a nearby Sunni mosque as well, with many worshippers from there being killed too. Are militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) going all out to prove that, when it comes to their war, there is no one who is safe from attack? It seems as if they are trying, in their own bloody way, to separate the general populace from their intended targets by attacking anyone unlucky enough to be even remotely associated with them — the ostracise and kill method. This kind of attack is becoming more and more prevalent in the tribal areas and one is compelled to think that it can happen again anywhere, even in someone’s own house. This strike comes at around the same time as the US Secretary of State Leon Panetta’s statement on how the US will continue its open-ended drone war inside Pakistani territory. This is based on the fact that top al Qaeda leaders have been killed in these targeted strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. Due to these successes, the US will not consider halting the drone attacks. One asks here: should it? Stopping the drones seems like a very unwise move at this point in time. The militants are going from strength to strength, upping the ante on the nature of their attacks, killing men, women and children, and leaving no place safe. While the US is conducting drone strikes because it fears another attack on US soil, Pakistan ought to make use of the determination of the US while it can to rid itself of a common enemy. It has become obvious that our security forces and intelligence agencies are unable so far to take out the terror threat. It is then little wonder that our politicians, while publicly denouncing the drone strikes, due to fear of a public backlash, condone them in private. It is vital that Pakistan too up its game where our counter-terrorism strategies are concerned. We must increase our intelligence efforts and fully equip the police to deal with this militant menace. More concerted cooperation between these two wings will see terror attacks pre-empted and prevented, which is the only way to stop them from happening. A suicide mission is one that can only be averted before the bomber has been dispatched. The only way to provide some security to this country’s citizens is to bring together effective intelligence and police work to beat back the terrorists who have taken the entire country hostage.

Pakistan Government negligence: Past royal abode assaulted by today’s vandals

The rani of Gandhara couldn’t get any queenlier: fond of fresh water from the Indus, she would order her palace courtiers to form a human queue all the way from the Peshawar Valley to the rivers of Punjab. The man closest to the river would scoop water to pass it on, and the process would continue till a handful of the Indus had crossed several miles to reach the queen. Dwelling between the 5th and 2nd century BCE, this Buddhist regal figure has been a celebrated part of a rich folklore – songs and stories of which still echo from the coffee-hued ruins of ‘Rani Gat’ in Nogram village of Buner district. ‘Rani’ translates from Pashto as ‘queen’ while ‘Gat’ as ‘rock’ or ‘stone’. The famous mound of Rani Gat is regarded as the site where the queen would sit during her evenings for leisure. Sadly, this fascinating relic is a victim of vandalism and poor preservation techniques. “People visit here and climb up the walls most carelessly. The government must take serious notice of it and guards must do their duty and stop people and animals from destroying it further. There must be proper system for the visitors, complete with guides, historical material and drinking water facilities etc. Furthermore, the government must stop the illegal and frequent excavation in this area,” says Haider Ali Akhundkhel, a researcher and author who visits the site frequently. “This is the largest site in the Gandhara region. Sadly, the government does not realise its importance.” Not only are these ruins famous as the abode of a historic queen, but also as home to invaluable remains of shrines and monasteries, bearing evidence to a glorious Buddhist learning centre which the Gandhara civilisation begot. The legacy of the area includes remains from the Mauryan and Kushan empire, along with Greek influences emerging from Alexander the Great’s arrival to Taxila in 326 BCE. The Buner site includes a room carved out in a rock, of a unique design with holes and niches in it, where sculptor would sit along with carved Buddha statues. The architecture follows a style which is characteristic to the civilisation – making it an invaluable study resource. Hazir Gul, a member of the Suvastu Arts and Cultural Association told The Express Tribune that the site is being destroyed by locals who pilfer stones from it and use it in their buildings. He appealed the provincial government to take immediate steps for its conservation. Director Archaeology and Museum, Dr Shah Nazar Khan said, “We have some projects regarding its conservation in pipeline, work on which will soon be initiated” A series of excavations were carried out at the site in 1984, 1986, and 1989 with the help of Kyoto University in Japan, as a result of which several bronze coins belonging to the Kushan empire were discovered. These coins bore the Kharosti script – a script used to write the Sanskrit language in Gandhara.

IP gas pipeline: Why now?

The Cabinet formally approved the agreement to construct the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline and set up a ministerial committee to explore avenues for arranging $1.5 billion required for the project's implementation. Two major objections to the approval are apparent. First and foremost the government ministers continue to minimise US opposition to the IP gas pipeline and maintain that US sanctions against Iran are not binding on Pakistan. The United Nations sanctions, they further maintain, are binding but as they have not been imposed on Iran due to opposition in the Security Council by Russia and China, Pakistan can safely proceed with the project. This is factually correct; however, the Unites States extends considerable civilian and military assistance to Pakistan and it has made it clear to the government that any attempt to construct the IP pipeline would automatically lead to sanctions. The then US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, explicitly warned Pakistan in March of 2012 when she appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations that implementation of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project would automatically trigger US sanctions under the Iran Sanctions Act. She also noted that these reservations have been conveyed to Pakistan. In short there is no ambiguity that the sanctions would be levied in case Pakistan begins to lay the pipeline. At risk would not only be the US assistance which is considerable, including an additional 250 million dollars for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam as a form of compensation for not building the IP gas pipeline but also assistance from the Friends of Development Pakistan consisting of countries on whom the US has considerable influence. Secondly; the government is less than six weeks away from completing its full five year tenure and the question is why did it wait for the last few weeks before signing a binding agreement with Iran? This sets an unfortunate precedence which one hopes would deter the ministerial committee from signing any binding agreement. Additionally, in the context of this particular project, it is unlikely that the ministerial committee would be able to generate the resources necessary to construct the pipeline. A much better option to deal with the massive energy crisis in Pakistan would have been to develop Thar coal for which donor assistance would have been relatively much simpler to procure. It is difficult to comprehend why the government with an overwhelming majority in Sindh province failed to develop Thar coal in spite of repeated promises that this was a priority project.

Pakistan: Terrorist offensive

THE FRONTIER POST

On Friday, terrorist struck Hangu outside a Shia mosque and put to death at least 26 innocent civilians. The vile attack was obviously the handiwork of sectarian monsters. On Saturday, terrorists audaciously attacked a military camp in Serai Naurang and killed 13 soldiers and 11 civilians. The outlawed TTP claimed the responsibility. And the two thuggish assaults in two consecutive days tell chillily how fatally is the country in the throes of a vicious multifaceted terrorism. And yet the partisans out there are quarreling obsessively over the creation of new provinces. Of what avail would indeed be new provinces when the country is so visibly enmeshed in a threat from a wild monstrosity that has put its very existence in great peril? Yet none seems much pushed about it. Not even the state. It is now for more than half a decade that the nation is in the grip of this blood-thirsty terrorism. And even as the state functionaries not infrequently assert that with their counter-terrorism actions they have broken its back, it is not even a bit on the slowdown. Rather, it is in ascendancy and on the offensive, while the state appears in retreat. None seems safe from its vileness. Not even the security establishments that indeed have lately been its most favoured targets. That speaks alarmingly of the unpreparedness of the state to face up to this monstrosity mightily. The weakest link in the state's counter action appears to be the provincial administrations and their security and intelligence apparatuses. The country for the most part is in the clutches of urban terrorism. And fighting out this terrorism is primarily the job of the provincial governments, the maintenance of law and order on their domains is whose sole responsibility. Yet, they all have perceptibly taken a backseat, conveniently assuming that combating terrorism is the federal government's, especially the military's, task. This intrinsically is wrong. The military can fight the rebels on the mountains and deserts, caves and forests, but not on the city streets. There the recalcitrant have to be taken on by the provincial law-enforcement agencies and intelligence apparatuses. And yet they all are sitting pretty. Outlawed terrorist outfits are blithely plying their trade of murder and hate under their very noses with impunity. Some have assumed new names, though deceptively but not so deceptively. All know who they actually are. Some have bothered not even to do that and they go by their own old names. One such rabid sectarian outfit has indeed been claiming the responsibility of murderous attacks on the Shia community almost in every part of the country. Obviously, it has its sleeper cells, lairs and hideouts in the urban centres. And yet where are the CIDs of the provincial administrations that this outfit goes on with its bloodshed business unrelentingly without its cells and lairs being tracked down and busted and its network being dismantled in any part of the country? Indeed, this sluggishness of the provincial intelligence networks has come quite handy to the inveterate detractors of this country to vilify and demonise the Pakistani state. They assert, to a great conviction of the world community and to Pakistan's great grief, that these extremist outfits are not being touched by the state security apparatuses as they use them for their own ends inside and outside the country. Even this tirade has failed to impel the provincial administrations to pull out their intelligence and security networks from the stupor and go cracking on them to make them combat the urban terrorism manly. All feel content with their law-enforcers giving the weight of explosives used in a terrorist attack once it has happened. None seems asking them why had they not stopped that explosive from being used. No questions are apparently asked and no answers sought. No heads roll. It is always business as usual. Apparently, there is no watertight collaboration and cooperation either between the federal and the provincial intelligence networks, which is yet another weak link in the state's counter-terrorism action. They rather appear in competition, and worrisomely, in rivalry. This is very dangerous, and irresponsible too. All seem ploughing a lone furrow, whereas an effective counter-terrorism action is admittedly a joint effort and a combined action of various state arms. But, gallingly, no state strategy is even in evidence to combine up disparate security actions into a coherent, concerted and orchestrated effort to attain the national objective of defeating terrorism and throwing it out of the land. And this is very disturbing. The way it is being presently fought, we are visibly losing this war against terrorism. But we have to win it, in any event and at our cost, for our own survival and for the survival of our posterity. The state must come into action, in whole, not in parts. Let there be a national coordinated action to take on the monstrosity of terrorism, to defang it, prostrate it and behead it. This is a must.

PM David Cameron hosts Afghan-Pakistan talks in UK

UK PM David Cameron is hosting key talks on the Afghan peace process, involving the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, at his country retreat.

The talks at Chequers will focus on cross-border security and how to engage the Taliban in effective peace talks. It will be the third round of discussions since Mr Cameron instigated the trilateral process last year. Foreign ministers, military leaders and intelligence chiefs will attend the talks for the first time. Nato troops are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Mr Cameron hosted a dinner with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at Chequers, north of London, on Sunday evening. Monday sees in-depth talks with both presidents and their key officials. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the goal was to help the two nations "build closer co-operation around their common interest in a secure future". As part of the process, Mr Karzai and Mr Zardari have agreed to work together on a framework of co-operation following the international troops' departure next year. With the Nato withdrawal looming, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has told the BBC he does not want a repeat of the mistakes made when Russia withdrew from Afghanistan a quarter of a century ago, plunging the country into civil war. Overcoming mistrust Downing Street said in a statement on Sunday: "This trilateral process sends a very clear message to the Taliban: now is the time for everyone to participate in a peaceful political process in Afghanistan. "As the prime minister has set out previously, a stable Afghanistan is not just in the interests of Afghans, but also in the interests of their neighbours and the UK." Overcoming mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains a central issue, BBC World Affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge reports. The Afghan government has made it clear that it views the recent freeing by Pakistan of a number of Taliban prisoners as positive, he says. But it still wants the release of the former second-in-command of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Baradar, in the hope that a senior figure like him could influence the Taliban to engage in talks with Kabul. For the first time, the trilateral talks will also include military and intelligence chiefs from both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Officials believe this could help in tackling some of the most sensitive issues to do with reconciliation efforts, our correspondent says. Mr Karzai told the BBC's Pashto Service that Afghan people should take the initiative for peace into their own hands. "As neither the communist government, nor the mujahedeen brought peace and security to the country, if we do not carefully manage our peace process the way we did not in the past, we will not achieve stability or security," Mr Karzai said. The first two rounds of the trilateral talks were held in Kabul and New York last year.