PPP, N strike deal on 20th amendment: Abrar Ali Saeed

ISLAMABAD – Breaking the impasse with the main opposition party, government has conceded to the demands of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to incorporate issues relating to the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan in the draft bill of the constitutional amendment before it would be tabled before the House for passage.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, while talking to the leaders of the coalition parties at a dinner he hosted in their honour at Prime Minister House, has expressed his optimism that 20th Constitutional Amendment will be passed by the Parliament with consensus vote.The coalition partners were taken on board by the prime minister on the strategy adopted in this connection. The prime minister said that he had personally talked to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and sought his cooperation for the purpose while the negotiations with other parties in the opposition including main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) were in progress for the purpose.Sources aware of the back channel contacts between the ruling PPP and PML-N, said talks were in progress for quite sometime but the breakthrough was made on Wednesday when Syed Naveed Qamar and Senator Mian Raza Rabbani held detailed negotiations with PML-N leader Ishaq Dar and Zahid Hamid who brokered the deal on behalf of their party.It was agreed between the two sides that the resolvable issues relating to the eight members of the Election Commission of Pakistan, two from each province, would be made part of the 20th Amendment Bill and then the PML-N would extend support to the 20th Constitutional Amendment.Similarly, the PPP leaders had also given assurance to the PML-N counterparts that they would not give extension to the incumbent chief election commissioner who would be retiring in the coming March and would appoint the next Chief Election Commissioner strictly in accordance with the procedure laid down for it in the 18th Constitutional Amendment.The ruling PPP had also assured the opposition that they would also incorporate the amendments proposed by PML-N in the National Accountability Commission Bill languishing with the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice for past over three years.Sources in the government informed that the government rushed into meaningful negotiations with the main opposition party PML-N when they saw some of their own coalition partners pushing them to a tight corner and the chances of 20th Amendment passage without the support of PML-N seemed bleak.Sources further informed that the signatures of all the three coalition partners on the joint resolution prepared by the opposition against the recent hike in the petroleum prices had panicked the ruling PPP and they were left with little choice to accept the demand of PML-N to bring amendment in the draft Bill of 20th Constitutional Amendment to accommodate its demands regarding the Election Commission of Pakistan.According to the press release issued by the Prime Minister’s House, besides the MNAs, the dinner was attended by various leaders of the coalition parties including Ch Shujaat Hussain, Haji Munir Khan Orakzai, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Babar Ghauri, Ghulam Muhammad Bilour, Haji Khuda Bakhsh Rajar and Saima Akhtar Bharwana.The coalition partners assured the prime minister of their full support for the adoption of the 20th Constitutional Amendment. They said the amendment would benefit all the parties by giving legal cover to the bye-elections.The prime minister thanked the coalition partners for strengthening democracy and political system in the country.

Solid India cruise to first win of tour against Australia

Melbourne: Fine batting by Gautam Gambhir (56*) and Virat Kohli (31) guided India to a comfortable 8-wicket victory over Australia in the second T20 international at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

India, who levelled the two-match series 1-1, attained the target in 19.4 overs
Gambhir slammed a quickfire 54-ball fifty that included 3 boundaries. Gambhir and Kohli, who added 54 runs for the second wicket, steadied Indian run chase after losing Virender Sehwag.
Mitchell Marsh dismissed Virat Kohli to give Australia second breakthrough against India
Chasing 132, India lost their second wicket at the score of 97. India, who reached the score of 100 runs in 85 balls, were 71 after the end of 10 overs.
Left-arm spinner Brad Hogg gave Australia first breakthrough as he got rid of dangerous Virender Sehwag in the second T20 international. Sehwag gave an easy catch to Shaun Marsh straight at extra cover that too on a full toss.
Sehwag and Gambhir, who gave India steady start against Australia, added 43 runs for the first wicket in the second Twenty20 international.
Earlier, an agile India gave a good account of themselves in the field as they effected four run-outs to dismiss Australia for a modest 131 in the second Twenty20 international.
Aaron Finch was the top scorer for Australia with 36 while Matthew Wade made 32. Pacer Praveen Kumar and leg-spinner Rahul Sharma picked up two wickets each.
Australia, who kept losing their wickets at regular intervals, lost half of their side inside 95 runs in the second T20I.
All five frontline bowlers, Praveen Kumar (2 for 21), Vinay Kumar (2 for 25), Ravinder Jadeja (1 for 16), Rahul Sharma (2 for 29) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1 for 23) bowled well.
Matthew Wade, hero of the first Twenty20 game, came to bat at number six, made 32 before being the third batsman to be run out for 32.
Aaron Finch (36 off 23 balls), opening in place of Wade this time, made a strokeful knock before being run out at a critical time.
India bowled and fielded with enthusiasm and it all started after Praveen picked up two wickets in his second over.
Indian skipper MS Dhoni also rose to the occasion as he was quite electrifying behind the stumps and instrumental in few stumpings and catches behind the wickets.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who exhibited his fine fielding skills, struck with the ball as he caught and bowled Australia’s David Hussey to give India crucial breakthrough in the second T20 international.
Rahul Sharma got rid of Mitchell Marsh with the help of brilliant work done behind the stumps by Indian skipper MS Dhoni.
Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliant work on the field sent Australia’s Aaron Finch and George Bailey back to the pavillion in the second Twenty20 international at the MCG.
Australia got off to a poor start as they lost David Warner and Shaun Marsh cheaply after skipper George Bailey won the toss and showed no hesitation in deciding to bat first against the beleaguered visitors.
Paceman Praveen Kumar dismissed David Warner and Shaun Marsh in the span of four deliveries to give Aussies early blows.
Australia made three changes in their playing eleven as Travis Birt, Dan Christian and James Faulkner made the way for Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and Clint McKay.
India, on the other hand, retained the same team that lost the first Twenty20 match in Sydney on Wednesday.

Ex-Captains pay tribute to Sallu on his book launching ceremony

Legendary cricketers and former Pakistan cricket captains paid glowing tributes to former Test cricketer and Chief Selector Salahauddin Ahmed at the launch of his book titled “Sallu – An Autobiography held at a local hotel here on Tuesday evening.Four former Captains including Little Master Hanif Muhammad, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif and Moin Khan complimented Salahuddin for his dedication for the fair and merited selection in the national team.Hanif Muhammad described Sallu as the hard-working cricketer and that was why he recommended his name for the selection in PIA team in 1964. He lauded his contribution in promotion of national cricket.

Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif and all other speakers were agreed  on the point that Salahuddin never compromised in the selection of Pakistan team during his  tenures as selector.
Rashid Latif recalled one incident when he had some altercation with Sallu and he thought he might be dropped for that reason. However my name was there in the team when it was announced two days’ later,’ he stated.
Salahuddin Ahmed said that he had dedicated his book to his parents.Former Chief Executive PCB and PHF President Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, Pakistan all-rounder and ex-Captain Shahid Afridi,former World Squash Champion Jahangir Khan, ex-Chairman PCB Khalid Mahmood,Business Magnate Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, famous TV anchor Kamran Khan wereprominent persons to speak on the occasion,The function was largely attended by former Test cricketers Iqbal Qasim, Sadiq Muhammad, Jalaluddin, Tauseef Ahmed, Salim Jaffar, Internationals Iqbal Sikander, Abdul Raqueeb, Former Pakistan Hockey Captains Abdul Waheed Khan, Islahuddin Siddiqui, Hanif Khan and a large number of sports organizers, friends and relatives .
The book spreading over 408 pages contains the memoirs of Salahuddin encompassing several off and on the field incidents involving some of the great legends.
Famous humorist and anchor Anwar Maqsood conducted the ceremony who punctuated the proceeding with his funny remarks.

Pakistan jet strike kills 20 Taliban: officials

PESHAWAR: Pakistani warplanes pounded militant hideouts in the northwestern tribal area before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least 20 Taliban insurgents, security officials said.

The jets targeted hideouts in the tribal Orakzai district and at least four compounds were hit, they said, in the latest surge of fighting between government security forces and Islamist militants in the Afghan border areas.

“At least 20 Taliban militants were killed in the bombing,” a military official in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar said.

Local intelligence officials confirmed the air strikes.

The hideouts belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders Mulla Tufan and Commander Moheyuddin, a security official said.

There are reports that Moheyuddin may have been killed in the bombing, he said.

A military official in Peshawar said “four hideouts have been destroyed and the death toll may go up”.

France-Pakistan cooperation in higher education

France-Pakistan cooperation in higher education. Studying in France 2012: 15 Pakistani laureates selected for “Split-PhD” and Post-Doctorate programs

H.E. Mr. Philippe Thiebaud, Ambassador of France to Pakistan, hosted a reception at the French Embassy in Islamabad on January 31, 2012 to award HEC and French Scholarships to 15 Pakistani laureates for the fellowship programme, both for “Split-PhD” and Post-Doctorate in different fields. They will leave for France early next month to conduct their scientific studies which will last up to 9 months.

 This batch of 2012 is really representative of Pakistan as these young scientists come from different parts of the country : Lahore, Islamabad, Nilore, Faisalabad, Karachi, Kohat, Quetta, Mardan and Multan and they work in quite different fields : Pharmacy, Business Administration, Virology and Immunology, Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Microbiology, Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Plant Pathology, Information and Communication Technology, Food Science and Technology, History and International Relations, Telecommunications, Social Sciences and Statistics. They will join the best French research institutions and laboratories.

 While congratulating the laureates, Ambassador Thiebaud expressed the pleasure of the French Embassy in Pakistan to co-finance this programme with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. 8 and 20 scientists were able to join the best French research laboratories in 2010 and 2011 and it was quite a great success to have several joint-publications and partnerships as a result.

 The Higher Education Commission and the French Embassy in Pakistan aim to help the development of cooperation between French and Pakistani scientific organizations, engaged in R&D programs of all the scientific and technology fields as well in social sciences and humanities. In this framework, the Higher Education Commission and the French Embassy in Pakistan have launched a joint program for research mobility. This fellowship program is intended for highly qualified Pakistani doctoral and postdoctoral scientists and offers them an excellent opportunity to do research in France for six to nine months.

Dhoni would pave way for “better” captain

Mahendra Singh Dhoni would readily step aside as India captain if there was a suitable replacement available, the under-fire skipper said on Tuesday.

“It’s not something I want to hold on to or stick on to. If there’s a better replacement, it’s a very open thing, he can come in,” Dhoni told reporters on the eve of India’s first Twenty20 international against Australia.

“At the end of the day, you want India to perform. If there is someone who can do a better job, then it’s a place that should be given to him. It’s not something you have to cling on to,” he said.

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“It’s not a position that belongs to anyone. The responsibility was given to me three-and-half years back and I have been trying to fit into the shoes, trying to get along with the team and perform well wherever we play.”

The Deal: Syed Talat Hussain

People want to know whether there is a deal behind the anti-climax to the memogate scandal. Let me say that there looks to be a ‘clear understanding’ if not a deal. The crucial question is who all are involved in this ‘clear understanding’? The straightforward answer is:the judiciary and the PML-N leadership. I must admit that I have no classified information in this regard. But what I do have is a sequence of events. The memogate became a controversy when Imran Khan raised it in his Lahore Jalsa. However, it became a news event when Mian Nawaz Sharif and his party members went to the Court with petitions. The tone of the petition gave the matter an additional urgency and subsequent statements from Nawaz Sharif added fuel to this fire of expectation. Matching the urgency of Mian Sharif the Supreme Court issued an immediate short order and even appointed a special probe officer, who later on declined to be part of it all. Later on the Court established a special commission to probe that matter. Now the urgency has disappeared, and the Court has allowed the former ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, at the heart of the controversy, to travel abroad. It has extended the probe commission’s time of inquiry as well. Mian Nawaz Sharif has conveniently abscented himself from the scene and is travelling abroad. His party members are no longer concerned about ‘grave threat to national security.’ They are no longer shouting from the rooftop that the memogate was an attempt to bring down the state of Pakistan from within. The judges and the PML-N, it looks, have both gone quiet and cold on this score. If there is a deal, this is where it has been made.

courtesy: Sach media

Media is not the culprit here by Nasim Zahra

Let’s stick with the facts, Mr Prime Minister

Troubled relations have given way to calmer times between Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gaillani and the army leadership. Good for them and for us all. But before we say why this is potentially good let us remind you, Mr Prime Minister, of a key fact that you have surprisingly forgotten. Or maybe decided to! In the heat of your oration in Lahore you told the press something to the effect that “Aap press keh israar par main nai Husain Haqqani sai resignation lai lee.” You further added that he was innocent. With Mansoor Ijaz’s predictable moves, you may be right about Husain Haqqani.

However, what you are not right about is what forced you to ask for Haqqani sahib’s resignation. It was the DG ISI’s 22 October meeting with Mansoor Ijaz, after which the army chief believed the DG ISI had returned with strong evidence implicating the then ambassador Husain Haqqani as the co-author and instigator of the infamous Memo. You then took General Kayani’s advice and asked the ambassador to return to Pakistan. He did that and then after a very brief Q & A session in the presence of the President, the army chief, the DG ISI and yourself, Haqqani sb handed in his resignation.

This is the honest truth. The media merely reported what various players in the Memo saga said. Media, no monolith in its views and accesses, reported this with varying thrusts and emphasis. But at no time did the media force your or the military’s hand. To claim that would be a sheer concoction of facts. Media writes the first draft of history, and we must be honest.

If you are too, then you will be a co-author of the first draft Mr Prime Minister! Anyhow, now to other urgent matters. Maybe now we can expect saner and sustained engagement with the problems that the people of Pakistan are handed down, not only because of international issues like increase in oil prices, the shortage of energy, fear of food insecurity, rising inflation etc, but more importantly because of the fact that the government’s top functionaries have made light of their responsibilities. The list is unending. The Prime Minister’s choice of appointees to important positions is really questionable; the corrupt that get cover under a Chief Executive who on the home and the cabinet front has rarely shown to be tough on corruption issues. By default or by design, RPPs scandal, the Haj scandal and now his former press secretary’s corruption have become public knowledge.

Admittedly, in the last few weeks the media focused on the Memo saga and the civil-military tensions. In fact in the fear that the elected civilian government maybe in danger of direct or indirect khaki onslaught, many in the media stood by constitutional democracy. But none of this was intended to convey that the government, and indeed the Prime Minister as the Chief Executive, is any less answerable for the mounting problems that the public faces. Take the energy crisis, gas and electricity loadshedding and their downstream impact on the industry, and no less than thousands and thousands, who are expected to lose their jobs if there is an industrial slowdown.

Where is, Mr Prime Minister, the report that your former minister Shaukat Tareen presented to your cabinet in 2010 and the cabinet actually adopted it? And yet the slowly sinking public sector organisations, ranging from PIA to Railways to Steel Mill, all testify that implementing the Tareen report must not have been a priority. And for the daily killings of Pakistan’s citizens in Balochistan, your government has shown no willingness to go beyond political grandstanding and symbolic trips.

Please, get on with the real task, Mr Prime Minster. Democracy is no longer in danger, all of you stakeholders in power know how to stay and survive. The President knows how to keep the coalition members together while your parliamentary presence also helps. What about delivering the fruits of democracy to the people? You in the Centre and the Chief Ministers in their provinces.

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