By Bina Shah

The writer is an author, most recently of Slum Child (2010). She has written for numerous publications including Dawn, The Friday Times and Chowk

Saving Face is one of the most difficult movies I’ve ever had to watch, but I was unable to take my eyes off the screen for the entire duration of the film. I was lucky to see the Oscar-winning documentary at a private screening in Karachi, because it’s uncertain when the film will be released for general showing in Pakistan because of its sensitive subject matter. But Saving Face is a movie that every man and woman in Pakistan must watch, to understand the depth of the problem of domestic violence in our country, as well as the resilience and courage of Pakistani women who continue to strive for equality and justice in every strata of society.

First off, prepare yourself for the absolute horror of seeing acid attack victims on screen. We’ve all seen photographs of Fakhra Younus and other women who have suffered acid attacks, but it’s nothing like the impact of seeing them on film, talking about their ordeals, relating their stories, weeping tears of pain and frustration at their circumstances. The physical damage of their bodies is almost outdone by the emotional and spiritual damage of their minds and souls. The moment Zakia, one of the women featured in the movie, came on screen, facial skin burned away, lips askew, one eye completely fused shut, everyone in the audience gasped. There were many points in the film where I had to look away because what I was seeing was too much to bear. But their voices continued to ring in our ears, and I had to bring my eyes back to witness them again and again.

The movie is strung on a narrative that seems simple at first. Two women, Zakia and Rukhsana, have been burned with acid by their husbands. Dr Mohammad Jawad comes from the UK armed with advanced plastic surgery techniques in order to help repair their faces. In the meantime, Zakia fights a court case against her husband, who has been threatening her and her family, while Rukhsana is forced to go back and live with her husband’s family, even though they have taken away her access to her daughter. The Pakistani parliament considers and passes a law making acid attack a heinous crime in Pakistan.

Because the film ends with a positive outcome for Zakia and a somewhat hopeful outcome for Rukhsana, I had wondered before watching Saving Face whether or not it was a fairy tale that offered a feel-good story of redemption in order to please its viewers. But I’m glad to say this isn’t so. The narrative is straightforward and linear, which is absolutely necessary because the entire subject is so complex; the simplicity of the narrative’s trajectory serves to highlight, not whitewash, that complexity. It considers the issue of acid attacks from all angles: the medical, cultural, societal, and legal aspects. But the filmmakers stay out of the frame of the camera, allowing the women and the other characters in the movie to speak in their own words about the impact of the attacks on their lives.

I had also wondered whether the figure of Dr Mohammed Jawad represented a white knight sort of saviour, flying in with technology from the West in order to save the blighted women of the East. I’d heard rumblings that he was a chauvinistic figure who treated his patients with insensitivity and condescension. This, too, is untrue; I saw nothing but his warmth and compassion throughout the movie, and his offhand humourous — sometimes inappropriate — comments were characteristic of doctors who use dark humour in order to deal with the monstrous suffering of their patients. It’s the way they maintain a professional distance from the people they’re trying to help.

But most important of all, Saving Face does not portray Rukhsana or Zakia as complete victims. Yes, they have suffered one of the worst physical ordeals imaginable, but they have survived it, and they are fighting back. I was astonished by their faith, their courage, their unwillingness to succumb to the temptation of suicide. Both women travel far distances to reach Dr Jawad, they stay strong for their children, they maintain relationships of equality and partnership with the doctor, the lawyer who’s fighting Zakia’s case, the women of the Acid Survivors Foundation. They are resolute in blaming their husbands — false forgiveness is not for them — but are determined to fight in order to create a better future for themselves and their children. I salute their courage and the dedication of those who help them in their fight.

Their stories, and the images and sounds of Saving Face all work together to create a rich tapestry that provokes not just an emotional response, but an intellectual one. I came away from the movie understanding my country much better than I had when I went in. Pakistan is full of misogyny and patriarchy, but there’s a better Pakistan struggling against that one to emerge, one that wants a modern society with no place for the ancient cruelties, for criminals who escape without punishment, for women to take their place alongside men as equally valued members of society. The women of Saving Face, the issue of acid attacks and the greater issue of domestic violence, and the struggle to raise awareness and bring about change in the law and in societal attitudes towards women are the crucible in which a better Pakistan will be born one day. And the women of Pakistan are the ones who will lead the charge.

The Express Tribune

A memorial evening was held in his honour at High School Sujawal, said a press release on Tuesday.

Minister Palijo eulogised the services of the late Aziz Jafrani, saying that many personalities of Thatta and its surrounding districts were his students. She said that the people of Thatta had played a vital role in resisting conspiracies against Sindh and Aziz Jafrani was one of them.

Four of his new books – Manjar ji Adab Nawazi, Tareekh Baitul Mukadas, Islam aein Jadidiyat and Islam aein Qaumiyat – will also be published by the department.

The department is also publishing other literary works by writers, scholars and researchers of Sindh including Dr NA Baloch, Amar Jaleel and Jamal Abro. It is also doing meaningful research on the poetry of Shah Sachal and Sammon.

Palijo also launched Jafrani’s book ‘Sujawala ji Samaji, Siyasi, aein Sakafati Tareekh’. She presented his son Farooque Aziz a memorial shield for Aziz Jafrani.

Culture Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili went over the achievements and projects undertaken by the department over the last four years. This includes the publication of 88 books with 50 in the pipeline, the approval of 15 new libraries, the establishment of seven new culture centres, the re-printing of Gunj Sharif, recording of Shah jo Kalam, the publication of research by Dr NA Baloch and the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz along with its translation into Sindhi and the construction of a monument for Dolaha Darya Khan.

Culture Director-General Rafique Ahmed Buriro, Culture Director Mohammad Ali Manjhi, Sindhi Language Authority Secretary Taj Joyo, Apa Mariyam Majeedi, Shams Jafrani and other writers and intellectuals also spoke.

The Express Tribune

Giving details, he said PTV Administration contacted some Chinese companies for financial help after Planning and Development Division had declined to approve PC-1 of the project, which had estimated cost of Rs 2.5 billion.

He said few Chinese companies suggested if they would apply for Chinese grant or aid for up-gradation of telecasting system, they needed to apply to Government of China.

In this respect, the Corporation wrote a letter to Economic Affairs Division (EAD).

He further said another Chinese company also contacted them and wanted to provide free of cost equipment.

They have been working on both options.

Member Committee Noor Alam Khan alleged that corruption was involved in the deal and an inquiry must be held.

The PAC will decide today (Thursday) either an inquiry should be initiated against the Board of Directors of PTV for waving off bank guarantee of Rs 111 million.

The committee was informed that PTV (HQ) appointed Inter Construct (Pvt) Limited, Peshawar as an agent for TV license fee collection vide agreement on September 13, 2000.

The representatives of the contractor issued a number of fake licenses by amending the date before issuance to customers during the year 2001-02.

Against the malpractice, PTV (HQ) lodged claim of Rs 4.136 million against the agent but no amount was released.

On the other hand, PTV Board of Directors in its meeting held on July 15, 2011 resolved that bank guarantees of Inter Construct Limited may be released.

The Board pursued the award given by Arbitration in this case where neither party’s claim has been accepted by the Arbitrator with a decision that the guarantees to be returned should be followed.

The committee was further informed that Rs 260 million outstanding dues are against the management of Shalimar Recording and Broadcast Company.

The matter has been pending in the Supreme Court.

The committee’s meeting was chaired by Nadeem Afzal Gondal, in which the audit report of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the year 2004-07 was discussed.

Business Recorder

Talking to newsmen during his visit to Karachi Press Club (KPC), Khawaja Rizwan said the opposition parties should play their role in accordance with the country’s Constitution.

He said that Justice Shaukat Siddiqui of Islamabad High Court had dismissed a petition filed against the Prime Minister to stop him from working because the Supreme Court in its verdict had never sought his resignation.

He said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has become the victim of political isolation because of its dictatorial policies.

He said the PML-N lost its stronghold during the recent by-polls in Punjab because the people had rejected it.

He said the present government would present its fifth budget in the Assembly and complete its Constitutional term of five years.

Business Recorder

By Ahtesham Azhar

KARACHI: Renowned senior photographer and author Arif Mehmood has launched a unique book through an exhibition entitled ‘Shahid Sajjad’ that featured artistic work of the acclaimed artist Sajjad and his introduction besides Zehra Aapa also wrote poetries of various legendary poets, including Asad Ullah Ghalib, Meer Taqi Meer, on the images of book.

Sajjad is a legendary and most prominent sculptor in Pakistan in the late 20th century. Sajjad pioneered the art form and gave it credibility. His deep engagement with his materials and a commitment to sculpture has made him a living legend. He practiced drawing and carefully observed signboard painters at work.

At a young age, Sajjad became interested in calligraphy and soon mastered the skill. He became a successful commercial artist, dabbling in filmmaking and painting. A restless soul, he spent three years traveling in Europe and Asia on a motorcycle. Sajjad was particularly fascinated by the woodcarvings of Bali, the Philippines and Japan. Sajjad can be recounted as not only the best sculptor of the sub-continent but amongst the finest in the world.

Writer of the book Mehmood has written about Sajjad in his book that the book attempts to show a flavour of the artist work. Other than that is a tribute to a legendary sculptor of the country. Shahid had really does not need introduction in the art links.

Talking to Daily Times, Mehmood said that artwork of Sajjad really inspired him which encouraged him to compile some work of Sajjad. He further said that people were showing their keen interest as many books were sold out on the first day of exhibition. He thanked Sajjad and Zehra Aapa.

Sajjad’s son Ibne Sajjad, who was present on the occasion talking to Daily Times, said that his father was a great worker as he knew his skills but Mehmood, who was very known photographer, selected some pieces of his father work, which he have done in the period of 1932-12. It was a book which speaks it self about the Sajjad skill, he added.

A prominent media personality Tehmina Khalid said that people should buy this kind of book, which was very rare in our country.

Daily Times

When Afzal, the husband of 25-year-old Rizwana Khatoon, returned home in Sector C-5/F in the evening he found his wife dead.

He informed police, who carried the body to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem. The hospital has reserved a viscera sample for a chemical examination. According to police, the woman was alone at home when she was sexually assaulted and murdered.

The News

ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) President, Syed Sarmad Ali, and some of his colleagues in the organization had a pleasant chance meeting with Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani here on Wednesday evening at a local hotel when the prime minister came out on conclusion of an award distribution ceremony.

The prime minister was about to sit in his car when Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira, pointed out the presence of APNS office bearers at some distance in porch of the hotel. Prime Minister Gilani, who had almost entered his car, came out and went straight to the APNS leaders out of sheer courtesy disregarding security and protocols.

Prime Minister Gilani, who was in a good mood, hugged the APNS president and inquired about his movement in the federal capital. The PM briefly talked to the APNS president about the activities of his society and inquired about the account of their meetings in Lahore where the APNS delegation had separate meetings with Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif other day. Gilani asked about the weather of Lahore and mood of Mian Sahib when the delegation met him with a broad smile. He invited the APNS office bearers to meet him sometime soon.

A number of guests staying in the hotel gathered there. The APNS office bearers were impressed about the demonstration of humility and expression of courtesy by the prime minister.

Syed Sarmad Ali introduced the office bearers of the APNS to the prime minister, including Mehtab Ahmad Khan, Muneer Jailani, Javaid Mehar Shamsi and Waseem Ahmad. Gilani exchanged pleasantries with APNS office bearers before departing for the Prime Minister House.

The News

During the PAC meeting Noor Alam Khan enquired from secretary information and broadcasting Taimoor Azmat whether it was in his knowledge that Rs3-billion grant-in-aid was provided by China and a firm had paid $1.5 million in commission for selecting its equipment.

The information secretary denied the report saying nothing in this regard yet has been finalised. He said nothing has been purchased and no firm has been selected yet. He told the committee that one of the Chinese companies offered the equipment free of cost. “We are still in the process of writing down the agreement. So there is no question of taking commission. If the government allows us, then we will move forward otherwise not,” he added. He said under the rules the country that provides grant also selects the company.

The News

WHAT was a Czech violinist Jaroslav Sveceny doing in Lahore recently?

Was he just another Raymond Davis-type of subversive, camouflaging his weaponry like an Italian mafia hit man in a violin case? Or was he something more sinister, a musical reactionary intent on disturbing our cultural complacency?

The moment Sveceny tucked his prized violin under his chin that evening and began playing, he reminded his audience (all graying and on the wrong side of 40) that he did not simply come from another country. He came from a different world, a world in which its citizens express themselves in sound, in colour and in musical notes. We in Pakistan by contrast are reconciled to thinking in silence. We view life in monochrome. We speak in a monotone. The only notes we recognise are bank notes.

It was not always like this. For thousands of years, we have laughed and sang and danced. One needs to remind oneself that the female figurine discovered at Mohenjodaro was a dancing girl, not some lacquered doll pouting on talk shows.

Over the millennia, our artistic traditions have mutated. Miniature paintings have moved from the intimacy of hand-held muraqqas to flaunting canvases, chosen all too often because they match the colour of a drawing room wall. Dance is performed only when exuberance overtakes self-consciousness. Men and women dance if in private, behind drawn curtains, or if in public, then male with male, females with other females, rarely in an ensemble.

Music is the last bastion of the performing arts. The time-honoured concept of a gharana, ideally, should have served as a crucible for talent. Inevitably music, like our brand of politics, succumbed over time to congenital imperatives. A son followed his father even if he was not gifted, but because he was assumed to have inherited his parent’s vocal chords.

But even in such a familial atmosphere, innate talent was not enough. It had to wait its turn. Asad Amanat made his formal debut only after the death of his father Ustad Amanat Ali Khan. Similarly, Rahat Fateh Ali was confined to the periphery of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan’s troupe until the maestro’s death, after which Rahat took the place he deserved, centre-stage.

Had talent been genetic, Prince Charles would not have been playing the cello, or Thai King Bhumibol jazz on his clarinet. Our own royalty is said to be musical. It is rumoured that a twice-elected prime minister enjoys singing Indian film songs, a penchant he shares with a provincial governor, though they seem to find it impossible to sing in harmony.

No nation treats its inheritance of classical music with disdain such as ours. Even the puritanical Mughal emperor Aurangzeb cared enough about music to order it to be buried, buried so deep that its sounds would never be heard again. If music is alive today, it is not a miracle of resurrection but of nature. It is the desert flower that sprouts in the sand, a triumph of tenacity.

Music needs continuous rebirth. So when should a nation introduce its next generation to music? Some believe that one can never begin too soon. Familiarise a foetus through the walls of a womb to sounds and rhythm. Others start that process before the age of three. In the US, some schools make musical proficiency a pre-requisite to admission. Most schools anywhere in the world offer music as an elective, leaving a child to discover his or her own musical bent. The benefit of exposing every child to music is two-fold: the best become professionals, the worst become better audiences.

It is not accidental that in India, there is a reverence for music that is almost religious in its observance. Children learn any instrument for which they have an aptitude. The aim is to equip them with a tempering skill, to encourage them to play as a member of a team, not simply as a soloist.

Nothing typifies our separateness as much as our musical preferences. The Indians can handle the variety inherent in an orchestra, in which each musician is expected to play in harmony. We on our side prefer the qawwali, in which one singer leads, and the others repeat the line he has just sung. There, a leader functions as a conductor, a coordinator of different sounds. Here, the noise of our leaders is parroted by their followers.

Gradually, whether we accept it or not, we are losing our finer sensibilities. At one time, every house claiming gentility boasted a piano. Today, they are all silent. One cannot find a piano tuner anywhere outside Karachi, and he is ageing irreversibly. At one time, families looked within themselves to provide entertainment. Now, family entertainment is that rare television programme considered safe for viewing by all generations. And there was a time when one could lose oneself in a sublime piece of music. Now, in any pop performance, one is in danger of losing one’s hearing.

The silence perceptible during the performance by the Czech violinist that evening was not because the venue happened to be a five-star hotel. The quietude came from an awareness that, in the midst of terrorist attacks and suicide bombings, here was a living reminder of the enduring values of civilisation — the nobler, humanising values every society should live for, fight for, and if need be, die for.

The final piece played by Jaroslav Sveceny was Ave Maria, composed by Franz Schubert. In the front row of the audience sat the principal of one of Lahore’s leading missionary schools. There could not have been a more poignant reminder that in our country music lovers, like Christians, have become an endangered minority.

The writer is an author.

http://www.fsaijazuddin.pk/

Dawn

Niaz Ahmad Siddiqui, former IGP Punjab, said this on Wednesday while addressing a seminar ‘Women police as change agents and gender-based police reforms’ organised by Individualland Pakistan with the support of Royal Norwegian Embassy.

He said: “The police high-ups have always considered women police officers as supportive unit of the department that discourages them to compete with their male colleagues.”

The event was part of a year-long initiative of Individualland Pakistan. Three different publications and a documentary were also launched on the occasion.

The former police chief suggested that the women should have increased quota in the police and should not be regarded as supportive force as it was high time to give more representation to women in police departments for ensuring a peaceful society.

Tahira Yasub, DSP Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) said that in spite of challenges and problems of various natures, the women police personnel had excelled and were now serving at all levels. She said that the women police should be provided with proper training and facilities.

Farooq Azam, DIG (Operation) National Highways & Motorway Police (NHMP) on the occasion said that the implementation of harassment at workplace law and confidence-building measures for the female police officers should be ensured. He also stressed proper representation to women in police departments.

Fozia Waqar, a researcher said that there were flaws in the police system of Pakistan because it was still being run by command and control model. “There is a need to introduce citizen-centric policing in the country and the women should also be at the helm of affairs,” she said.Serving women police officers from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab had been invited for the discussion in order to know the problems being faced by women police officials.

Dawn

During last 10 years 42 journalists were killed in the country and 29 of them targeted due to the issues related to discharge of their professional responsibilities. Though FIRs of these murders were lodged but saving the case of US-based journalist Daniel Pearl no other case led to conviction. This shows that those involved in the crimes against journalists in Pakistan enjoy a sort of unannounced impunity.

This was the depressing situation in which Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) commemorated the of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2012 andannounced the annual PPF-Aslam Ali Press Freedom Award for 2011 for the slain journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, who was murdered on 30 May 2011.

The speakers on the occasion expressed grave concerns on growing security problems for journalists which has made Pakistan as one of the most dangerous country in the world for journalists.

Participants discussed growing pressure of secret agencies; militant organizations and some political pressure groups have forced the journalists and media organizations to resort to self-censorship. The working conditions in conflict areas of FATA and Balochistan were very hostile for reporters, forcing journalists of those areas to leave their hometowns and villages and migrate to safer areas.

Some expressed the view that the owners of media houses were not paying heeds to ensure proper safety and security of their reporters. Cameras and other equipment of media houses are properly insured but not the cameramen and reporters using them. The government and media organizations should have to take serious notice of this issue and ensure that all working journalists are properly insured. There is also need of in-house training programs for journalists to raise their professional capacities and make them aware about the risks of working in dangerous and conflict areas.

Chief Guest and advisor to Sindh Chief Minister, Ms. Sharmila Farooqui termed journalists as “field soldiers” and said that journalists had struggled a lot for democracy and freedom of the press. She said that there were no restrictions on the media in Pakistan, adding that responsibility comes along with freedom and journalists should perform their duties with utmost responsibility because nowadays, the media has a larger impact on the people than anything else.

Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Rabita Committee’s Member, Mr. Ashfaq Mangi said that all political parties and civil society organizations should sit together to work out a Code of Conduct for the media to ensure freedom of press with responsibility and security. All stake holders should stand with journalists at time of crisis.

Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister Ms. Sharmila Farooqi and Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Rabita Committee Member Ashfaq Ahmad Mangi gave the Aslam Ali Press Freedom Award along with a cheque of one hundred thousand rupees to Anita Saleem Shahzad, widow of the slain journalist. Children of Saleem Shahzad were also present.

Shahzad was abducted while driving from his house to a television station in Islamabad on May 29, 2011, two days after he alleged in an article that al Qaeda had infiltrated the Pakistan Navy. His body, bearing marks of torture, was found the next day in a canal near Mandi Bahauddin, a district of Punjab province.

The heroic services of Syed Saleem Shahzad and other slain Pakistani journalists were eulogized by participants. It was observed that Pakistani journalists have rendered invaluable services for democracy and uphold of law and constitution in the country. Participants said for a thriving media freedom in country the democratic values should be further strengthened and the culture of tolerance promoted

KARACHI: As the chairman of National Foods Limited, Abdul Majeed was interested in the idea of providing his unschooled staff with basic primary education. He thought that if the staff was educated, it would have a positive impact on the quality of the company’s products.

Nearly seven years ago over a cup of tea, the director of The Citizens Foundation (TCF) Ateeq Riaz and Literate Pakistan Foundation (LPF) Chairman Rayed Afzal approached Majeed with a similar idea, a national adult literacy programme.

Over the years, this idea developed and took shape in the form of Aagahi.

On Tuesday, TCF and its partners organised an event to recognize the contribution of key individuals, the principals of TCF schools, who made Aagahi a success. Appreciation certificates were presented to around 100 school principals from Sindh and Balochistan.

When TCF approached Majeed with the idea, they were already running numerous schools in rural and unplanned areas to provide education to under privileged children. In 2005, they launched their pilot project which brought together TCF’s human resources, LPS’s teacher training and NFL’s sponsorship. They started off with five schools with 100 students.

“We were targeting the women from the families of the children who studied at the TCF schools,” said the foundation’s programme coordinator Amna Waheed Khalid. “The programme is organised every year for three months.” The LPF’s literacy project head Abdul Malik Khan told The Express Tribune that the programme was running successfully in 790 TCF schools in 35 districts across the country. .

So far, around 11,000 women have learnt to read newspapers, write letters, do basic calculations, fill in official forms and manage their routine jobs by keeping formal records. “The parents enrolled in Aagahi insist on learning about computers,” said Sofia Bano, a school principal. “They want to learn so they can teach their children about technology.”

Pop psychology

According to Khalid, as the students grew older and got more educated they often felt as if a gap was developing between them and their families or neighbours. She said that the Aagahi programme was helping bridge the gap.

Shield Corporation Limited, International Textiles Limited and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have also announced that they will be a part of the Aaghai programme.

Edward Birgells, USAID’s provincial regional director, told The Express Tribune that he was satisfied with the knowledge that the USAID was able to contribute in something worthwhile.

The Express Tribune

Killing was ordered by a jirga; family secretly buried body in local graveyard.

HARIPUR: A woman was killed and secretly buried by her family after she was declared kari by a jirga for allegedly having an extra-marital affair with her father-in-law, police said.

The incident occurred in the Panian Afghan Camp, after Juma Khan, a resident of Afghan Camp No 11, caught his wife with his father.

His wife Rakheema, 23, confessed to having an illicit relationship with her father-in-law Muhammad Yasin for the last several years.

Khan then approached his tribe’s jirga, which declared the incident immoral, and called for Rakheema and Yasin to be killed for destroying the ‘honour’ of the tribe.

The jirga also prescribed the method of the killing, ordering Rekheema’s brother to shoot her first and then Khan to kill his father.

According to family sources, Rakheema had begged for forgiveness but her husband handed her over to her brother, Mohibullah, who shot her dead with an AK-47 rifle in the early hours of Sunday. Rakheema was a mother of three.

Mohibullah secretly buried her body in the local graveyard and told the people of the area that his sister had died of natural causes after consuming some tablets for kidney pain.

Yasin, however, managed to escape and notified the police of the incident.

Arrests

According to Sub Inspector Panian police post Aslam Khan, criminal cases have been registered against Mohibullah, Khan, Yasin and four jirga members under sections 302, 109/34, 201, 202 of the PPC.

He said that five jirga members have been arrested and have confessed to their crime. The police have also obtained a two-day physical remand of the accused from the Judicial Magistrate Court.

Meanwhile, a sessions court on Tuesday ordered the ilaqa magistrate Masood Khan to supervise the victim’s body for postmortem, which will be carried out on Wednesday.

Local human rights organisations – the Sahara Development Organisation, Rural Development Project and Human Development Organisation – condemned the murder and have demanded stern legal action against the accused. The organisations also announced extending legal support to the victim’s family.

The Express Tribune

He said that the leaders of all political parties and stakeholders will have to sit together and evolve a new agenda to safeguard national interests.

He said that the new national agenda should be aimed at protecting Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity as well as the interests of the people of all regions of the country.

He expressed these views while addressing the members of executive committee of All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) who met him under the leadership of its President Sarmad Ali.

Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and Secretary Information Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani were also present on the occasion.

He said that Pakistan cannot make progress unless terrorism and extremism are completely rooted out.

He said that a unanimous national policy will have to be adopted for coping with the menace of terrorism, promotion of economic activities and overcoming power crisis.

He said that energy problem has caused an irreparable loss to national economy in general and Punjab’s economy in particular.

The APNS president informed the Chief Minister about the problems being faced by national and regional newspapers.

Business Recorder

ISLAMABAD: It came to the notice of the Public Accounts Committee in its meeting on Tuesday that executives and even heads of autonomous bodies find ways of minting money as bonus in the name of ëEidií ñ a provision only for lower grade employees of an organisation.

Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Dr Muhammad Yasin admitted that he and two other board members had availed the Eidi bonus from the PTA. He said that he had himself approved the bonus for all the employees of PTA, including himself and two members of the board. He told the committee that the Eidi bonus was paid in the shape of one-month basic salary and was given to all employees of the PTA, including himself and two other board members.

Chairman PAC Nadeem Afzal Gondal asked PTA Chairman Dr Muhammad Yasin about his basic salary, and he informed him that he got Rs350,000 per month. Member PAC Noor Alam Khan (PPP) observed that a parliamentarianís salary was Rs40,000 and it was strange that being in the MP-1 pay scale, the PTA chairman and two members had accepted a hefty amount as Eidi.

The Chairman PTA contended that their salaries are not high compared to the corporate sector. ìThere is a need of raise in our salaries,î the Chairman PTA said. At this, Chairman Gondal declared that Dr Yasin should have resigned, to which the Chairman PTA had no answer and remained silent.Auditor General of Pakistan Buland Akhtar Rana said the office of the Auditor General of Pakistan is a constitutional post and he was getting a salary of Rs150,000.

The News

Police said that in Soomar Panhyar village in Khanpur Town of Shikarpur, accused Ghulam Akbar strangled to death his wife over alleged illicit relations. Police shifted the body to a local hospital.

The News

They chanted slogans against the Jamshoro administration as two journalists of a private TV channel, Aziz Palari and Ismail Barejo, were beaten up. They were residents of Nooriabad and Kotri.They demanded of the government to provide protection to journalists and arrest those people involved in the offence and register the case. The journalists said that the government failed to protect journalists as they often receive death threats from influential people.

The News

Born in Quetta in 1949, Lubna Latif, as she was known before she got married to art writer Yusuf Agha in 1974, completed her schooling in Karachi. She graduated from the Karachi School of Art in 1967.

Lubna Agha, who skilfully combined the Modern-Abstract style of the West with the motifs of Islamic art and architecture, as also calligraphy, created a niche for herself.

Lubna has left behind her husband, a daughter based in Boston and a son in San Francisco, as also three grandchildren.

Dawn

RIZWAN YASSIN
Karachi

Dawn

PESHAWAR: The Provincial Commission on the Status of Women is a lame duck and should be empowered to manage its financial and administrative affairs for better functioning.

This was stated by PCSW chairwoman Zubaida Khatoon during a function organised here to mark the commission’s second anniversary. PCSW members and women rights activists showed up.

Currently, the social welfare and women development department oversees the PCSW financial and administrative affairs.
Ms Zubaida said during the first year of the commission’s formation, she had taken great pains to make team and plan things in absence of a proper office.

She said members of the commission often had to sit down on a piece of carpet in absence of furniture and held a meeting and that on many occasions, some members brought in personal computers for the commission’s work.

The PCSW chairwoman said during those difficult times, women rights activists and media put a barrage of questions to her about the commission’s achievements since establishment.

She said the commission, which was formed on May 12, 2010, held first meeting in July 2010 followed by monthly meetings to plan activities.

Ms Zubaida said there were no funds, no staff and no properly-equipped office for the commission between July 2010 and June 30, 2011 and that the commission’s office was equipped in February this year. She said she had regularly been organising the commission’s meetings on various issues since July 2011.

The PCSW chairwoman regretted that even today, the commission was without a fully-equipped office and proper staff as the social welfare department delayed the processing of the CVs of the candidates.

She demanded that like National Commission on the Status of Women, the commission be given the powers to manage its financial and administrative matters on its own. Ms Zubaida said over the last two years, she and the commission’s members had learnt a lot, including the government procedures and loopholes in them.

“Since the commission’s establishment, we learnt a lot, especially from our bitter experiences. In a case, I nearly missed jail,” she said.

The PCSW chairwoman faced the Peshawar High Court’s annoyance after she along with other civil society activists took away the newborn baby of an alleged gang rape victim.

However, she was cleared after the baby was returned to mother and the court accepted her point that she and others took her away for security reasons without knowing it could land them in trouble.

Dawn