Baby born in rickshaw brings fame, fortune for parents

Woman sits with her new-born after giving birth to him in a rickshaw.

By Rasheed Channa
QUETTA, Feb 27: The baby boy born in an auto rickshaw on Friday last has brought fame and fortune for his poor parents and changed their life.

Mr Momin, a poor laborer was taking his pregnant wife in an auto rickshaw to Civil hospital for her delivery when the police intercepted them on the airport road for the reasons of VIP movement. The president was going to airport to fly back to Islamabad. The woman who was experiencing labor pains had to wait in the rickshaw for over three hour, as a result she gave birth to a baby (boy) in the rickshaw.

The poor laborer cursing his fate, carrying his wife and new born returned home. The media took up the issue on humanitarian grounds. The president took its serious note and ordered an inquiry into the incident and tendered apology from the family. The family named the new born Zafar Ali.

President Asif Zardari sent PPP women wing Balochistan President to Momin Khan’s home to tender apology and give them Rs500,000 cash as compensation for the hardship they faced on the road. The poor father’s miseries vanished away with receiving Rs500,000 cash and in jubilance renamed his son as Asif Ali after the name of President Asif Zardari.
He said he was happy to receive cash. “I would repay the loans I have taken from my friends and relatives and would start a small business to earn bread and butter for my family,” he told reporter present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani announced to bear all the educational expenditures of new born Asif right from nursery to graduation.
The birth of Asif is the beginning of implementation of President Zardari’s reconciliation policy towards the people of Balochistan.

Caffeine or news junkie? You might have to decide soon...

By Ruth Eglash, Hani Hazaimeh, Juno Mcenroe, Rasheed Channa
Israel, Jordan, Ireland, Pakistan

If you had to choose between your daily cup of coffee or reading a news story from a reputable newspaper on-line, could you forego that caffeine kick?

According to News Corp. Chief Rupert Murdoch, people reading news for free on the web has got to change. So, starting in 2011, readers to the New York Times on-line edition will be charged for the privilege of reading stories on a regular basis.

This development comes after several years of debates that have seen some newspaper reverse the on-line fees for reading their content but in the struggling media industry it is thought to be the only way to combat continual revenue losses.

Of course, if the New York Times is successful in this experiment then it could change the face of the entire on-line news industry with all other news papers having no choice but to follow suit.
While this is good news for a profession known for its low salaries, this move is not only about choosing between your caffeine fix and news in-take, it could also be detrimental to the flow of information reaching the developing world.

In countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, only 20 percent of the people have access to the Internet and roughly 70% are not literate. Their access to information is already limited but such a charge, for them, is not only about the cost of a cup of coffee but is equivalent to a Pakistani person's monthly salary.

If you were Pakistani, would you rather be reading about Britney Spear's antics with her ex-lovers or be able to put food on the table for your family?

With no hardcore proof that charging for news on-line will increase media revenues and with the belief that the internet is there to educate people or provide them with access to information, how can these fees be justified.

Of course, for us in the profession, we have to acknowledge the benefits of charging for the stories that we write. It protects our jobs, prevents plagiarism and libels and strengthens the loyalty of readers and abuses of freedom of speech.

I want my job and I want to get paid for what I do.
But I still want as many people as possible to access my stories, to know what I am writing. Rich or poor, developing or underdeveloped, as a journalist our goal is to disseminate information as much as possible.

The move has been viewed as declaration s an attempt by media tycoons to pump up profits, control information and even is seen as a violation of the UN declaration f human rights.
There are always to other options, including voluntary contributions that have worked for music groups and even in restaurants, where in some cases consumers end up offering more than the standard fee. Take Radioheads recent album made available online.

This debate, which is still not over yet, must include the option of wavering charges in the developing world.

While my newspaper (and my own pocket) might benefit from Murdoch's push, I would eternally guilty about depriving a child in a developing country to learn more about the civilized world.

Pakistani volunteers search a damaged bus

after a motorcycle bomb attack in Karachi on

February 5, 2010. – AFP

Karachi rocked by two explosion

KARACHI: A motorcycle rigged with explosives rammed into a bus carrying Shias near the Nursery bridge in Karachi Friday, killing 12 people and wounding close to 50, while a second explosion inside Jinnah Hospital left at least ten people dead and injured another 20.

“Twelve people were martyred and 50 injured in the first blast. There are children and women among the killed and wounded,” Dr. Seemin Jamali, Head of the Emergency Department at Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, said.

An hour after the first attack, a second explosion was heard outside the emergency ward of Jinnah Hospital where the injured were being shifted. The second blast was also caused by an explosives-laden motorcycle in the hospital's parking lot that left at least ten people dead, while 20 others were injured, a bomb disposal official Munir Sheikh said.

The building of the hospital and three ambulances were also damaged by the blast, which took place ten metres away from the main gate.

The attacks, in a city largely isolated from bombings concentrated in northwest Pakistan but with a history of sectarian tensions and political violence, underscored the security challenges facing the country.

The bus attacked in the first explosion was carrying Shia Muslim mourners to participate in a religious procession to mark the end of the holy month of Muharram in Karachi, a city of 16 million people.

“The bus was carrying Shia mourners. It was full of people and a motorcycle rammed into the bus. The motorcycle was completely destroyed and the bus was heavily damaged,” police official Shahid Hasan said.

City police chief Waseem Ahmad told reporters that the motorcycle was rigged with an improvised-explosive device (IED). It remained unclear whether the motorcycle was being driven by anyone when it struck the bus.

The attack happened near the Nursery bridge on the main Shahrah-i-Faisal highway in the centre of Karachi, shattering windows in nearby buildings.

Ambulances raced through the streets as volunteers helped to evacuate the wounded and armed security forces patrolled the area, television footage showed.

Chehlum procession stopped

Following the blasts, the main Chehlum procession was stopped at Empress Market by the bomb disposal unit due to security concerns.

Security has also been tightened across the city with rangers and police officials carrying out snap checks of vehicles.

On December 28, a massive bombing killed 43 people at a parade marking the holiest Shia day of Ashura earlier in the month of Muharram.

Pakistan's feared Taliban network claimed responsibility for that attack, sparking riots that caused huge financial losses.

Security forces were on high alert in Karachi with a wave of political violence killing at least 37 activists from rival parties in the last five days, following 48 similar killings last month.

The Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which have a history of bitter relations, both claim their workers have been shot dead.

The two parties belong to the local governing coalition in southern province Sindh, of which Karachi is the capital, and which is led by President Asif Ali Zardari's main ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

MQM represents Muslims who migrated from India after independence and is Karachi's dominant party. ANP represents an estimated two million Pashtuns who have migrated to Karachi from northwest Pakistan.

Pakistan has seen a recent decline in militant attacks, attributed both to the success of a US drone war and Pakistani offensives in the tribal belt shadowing the Afghan border where Taliban and Al-Qaeda networks are based. —Dawn News/ Agencies

JI’s women activists took out a rally outside Mansoora on Multan Road to register their protest. Participants carrying placards raised slogans against US and Pakistani governments. — Dawn

Anger, protest over conviction of Dr Aafia

Socio-political parties, women rights activists and civil society reacted angrily all over the country over the conviction in a US court of neuroscientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui branding the decision American’s bias against the Muslims. Dr Siddiqui was convicted for the attempted killing of US agents while in detention in Afghanistan in 2008. Jamaat-e-Islami’s women activists took out a rally outside Mansoora, party’s headquarters, on Multan Road to register their protest.

Protest rallies were taken out all over Pakistan to register protest against against US court of law and express solidarity with Dr Afia and her family members.

Participants carrying placards raised slogans against US and Pakistani governments. “This is a test case for the Ummah and (Muslim) rulers whether they show any reaction or not,” Jamaat chief Syed Munawar Hasan said in a statement. “No body expected a different decision from the US especially in the presence of ‘insensible’ (Pakistani) rulers and the verdict is an American slap on their face.” He asked Interior Minister Rehman Malik to prove his words that the nation would soon hear good news about Dr Siddiqui. PTI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan demanded that the governments of Pakistan and the US clarify how Dr Siddiqui with her three minor children landed up in Bagram in Afghanistan. In a statement, he said what had been the fate of her children, since two of them were still missing.

He said the Pakistan government did not take proper action to ensure her return to Pakistan. He said the verdict would impact the military operation in the tribal belt.

LHCBA: A general house meeting of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) passed a resolution condemning the decision and “indifferent attitude of the Pakistani government” towards the case. Lawyers demanded immediate release of Dr Siddiqui and her two children as, they said, allegations against her were baseless and she was a victim of American injustice against the Muslims.

LHCBA President Justice Nasira Iqbal (retired) said the partiality of the American judicial system was evident from the fact that during the trial no Muslim journalist was allowed to enter the court. She also condemned the murder of former NWFP advocate general Sardar Khan. Supreme Court Bar Association Secretary Raja Zulqarnain also condemned the verdict, saying America that claimed to be the champion of human rights had turned to be the violator of human rights in the world. Judicial Activism Panel Chairman Muhammad Azhar Siddique in a statement dubbed the decision “black and draconian”.

He said as no evidence supported the decision it violated the provisions of the United Nations Charter, 1945, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna Declaration and Program of Action (1993).

He said the US jury had failed to notice the abduction of Dr Siddiqui from Karachi and her detention in Afghanistan and America, hence the decision was prejudice, biased, illegal and an attempt to save the American agencies involved in the abduction of the doctor. Tehrik-e-Istiqlal President Rehmat Khan Wardag and Jamaatud Dawa amir Prof Muhammad Saeed also condemned the US jury. (Dawn)

Rs256bn loans written off since 1971, SC told

By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The State Bank informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that commercial banks had written off loans of up to Rs256 billion of more than 669,000 people over a period of about 40 years. After taking suo motu notice of press reports that the central bank had quietly allowed commercial banks to write off loans of Rs54.6 billion under a scheme introduced by former president Pervez Musharraf, the court had ordered SBP Governor Syed Saleem Raza last month to collect details of all loans written off since 1971.

Advocate Syed Iqbal Haider, representing the SBP, submitted a report before a bench comprising Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui.

He said the figures were provided by commercial banks after they had been informed about the order of the Supreme Court at a meeting held on Jan 2. Of the amount written off from 1971 to 2009, Rs213.794 billion was of loans of Rs500,000 or more borrowed by 23,445 people. In the category, Rs11.2 billion borrowed by 1,424 people was written off from 1971 to 1996 and Rs202.5 billion due from 22,021 borrowers from 1997 to 2009. Loans of less than Rs500,000 amounting to Rs42.8 billion borrowed by 646,374 people were also waived. Advocate Salman Akram Raja informed the court that he was moving an application on behalf of the presidents of Habib Bank, United Bank, National Bank, Standard Chartered and NIB Bank to become a party to the proceedings.

The report submitted by Iqbal Haider requested the court to ignore an earlier list compiled by 33 banks and four development finance institutions (DFIs) suggesting that Rs193.4 billion owed by 93 borrowers had been written off. Justice Ijaz said the SBP should explain under which lawful authority the loans had been written off and what legal procedure had been adopted.

The judge observed that Circular 29 of the SBP under which a huge amount had been siphoned off during the former president’s tenure appeared to be in conflict with Article 25 of the Constitution (equality of citizens). The four-page report submitted by the SBP said the list of loans written off did not include those waived by the defunct Bankers Equity and Indus Bank because both were in liquidation.

It said every effort had been made to locate the Baig Committee’s findings sought by the court but they were not available with the SBP or any other bank. The Baig Committee was appointed in 1980 to facilitate borrowers to get their mark-up written off after paying the principal amount and some other charges. The Supreme Court had hinted that it would examine Circular 29 on the touchstone of Article 25 to determine whether discrimination had been made while extending benefit to politicians and other influential people by waiving off their loans, but denying the facility to other people who had respect for the law and were willing to pay what they owed.

The proceedings commenced on a news report based on secret information given to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly that 50,427 people, including politicians, civil and military business concerns and business tycoons of Karachi, Lahore and other cities had been favoured through the scheme to waive off outstanding loans in 2002. Soon after the October 2002 elections, the then finance minister Shaukat Aziz and his financial team at the SBP approved the loan write-off scheme after succumbing to pressures exerted by certain top leaders of the then ruling party to ease financial burden on their businesses.

Instead of launching an effective campaign for recovering non-performing loans (NPL), the SBP issued an incentive scheme to the banks and DFIs in October 2002 for waiving the NPLs of organisations showing “loss” for three or more years. The cases were divided into three categories -- category A of NPLs of up to Rs500,000, category B of ranging from Rs500,000 to Rs2.5 million and category C of more than Rs2.5 million.

Politicians and large business concerns made use of the third category to get billions of rupees outstanding against them written off.According to the report, the banks and DFIs were asked to recover the maximum possible amount to settle loans falling under categories B and C through forced sale of available assets. The purpose of the scheme was to clean the balance sheets of the banks and DFIs. (Dawn)

Petrol prices increased by Rs6.10

Feb 31: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Sunday notified an increase in petroleum prices. A notification issued to increase petroleum prices comes into effect from February 1 (midnight on Sunday).

Petrol price has been increased by Rs6.10 liter to Rs71.21. High Octane Blending Component (HOBC) prices went up to Rs86.84 from Rs79.43 per liter.

The ex-depot sale price of kerosene was jacked up to Rs64.07 from Rs60.75 per liter. Prices of light diesel oil was increased to Rs61.07 from Rs58.10 by Rs2.97 per liter or 5.11 per cent.