Website: Coolmath.com

Children often fear a number of things — the dark, cockroaches, exams and many other things. But as they grow older, they get over most of these fears. However, sometimes, some childhood fears remain and keep troubling even in adulthood. Today, we are going to help you get rid of a fear related to academics – mathematics to be precise. Many students take math as a difficult and boring subject. Making this subject interesting for children needs a lot of hard work and fun activities. What we are going to explore today is a website that is all math, in fact, 'Cool Math'. With all its interesting activities and lessons, the website is sure to make you, if not love, then at least 'like' this subject. The website claims to be designed for the frustrated, confused and bored students of the world who hate math and just need to get through the subject so that they can reach their other academic goals. The homepage of the website has striking combination of dark colours which may look odd to you; however, the cuddly bears graphics will motivate you to 'surf up' the site. The sections are listed in the right and left panels which make it easy to go straight to the sections you are weak or needs assistance in. There is 'Math4kids', in which loads of fun activities and lessons are provided, such as, math games, jigsaw, basics like addition, multiplication, subtraction, decimals, fractions, finance freaks, etc. And those students who face problems with algebra will find very easy to follow lessons and examples under 'Pre-algebra' and 'Algebra' sections. Then there is Geometry art, Books, Monster mind reader, Carrier in math, Graphing calculator, Math dictionary, etc. All these are full of interesting tips and lessons to make a frustrated student easily polish his/her poor math skills. For parents and teachers, there are separate sections that give ideas, tips and also tell various ways to make their little ones love math. So kids, don't hate the subject as math really can be fun and easy to learn. Just visit http://www.coolmath.com — Aamir Raz Soomro

Cage birds: Live tweet

Joe is singing his little heart out as delicate sunrays sneak between a gap in the flowered living room curtains. Mrs Joe choruses along with him and while strutting her stuff up and down the cage length perch, which she insists on claiming as her very own, often forcing Joe to spend hours on one of the two available swings. The second they hear me moving around, they pump up the volume to shriek level, raucously demanding breakfast, literally jumping up and down in excitement with Joe throwing in an ear-piercing whistle every now and then for good measure. Someone once claimed that keeping caged birds was 'pointlessly boring and cruel' — this though, is not always the case. Cage birds, as long as the cage is large enough for the particular species, provide endless hours of pleasure to their 'keepers': they sing, whistle, complain, screech, jig up and down on their perches if excited, and generally put on a soothingly magnetic show from dawn until dusk. They also fall into routines — yours! If you happen to be in the habit of getting up at 7am they soon come to expect you to do this each and every single day and, if you don't, they object, vociferously. If you are in the habit of listening to music, watching the television, vacuuming, using a blender or anything else which makes a noise — rhythmic or not — then they act puzzled if it doesn't happen and don't bother explaining that the silence is due to load-shedding as they won't believe you. They want noise, they want action and they want it now! Budgerigars, 'love birds' as they are more commonly called, are adorable pets for children of all ages and, the older the 'child' the more interaction there seems to be. Native to the Australian outback, these small members of the parrot family are easy to keep and, unlike other pets, don't require regular exercise. But if you can encourage them to leave their cage and fly around the room, windows and doors closed and fans switched off, they will actually fly and enjoy the experience once they get used to the idea. Some people complain that their budgerigars die in no time at all, meaning that they have to keep going out and buying more. But, if correctly looked after, these attractive, very colourful birds can live for 10 years and even longer. Budgerigars are generally very active, only being quiet and morose if they are sick in which case, the odds are that they may very well die. However, if you are careful to select only healthy young birds when purchasing them, you should, with care, be in for a reasonably long relationship. Sick birds are easy to spot — they seek corners in which to hide, don't sing, often have ruffled up feathers and hang their heads in misery. They often develop diarrhoea and this kind of virus is quickly passed on to other birds sharing their cage. It is best not to purchase even healthy looking birds from a cage in which one of their companions shows any signs of being unwell. The most common mistakes people tend to make with keeping budgerigars are housing them in cages which are too small and having too many birds in them. Such birds are subject to draughts or receive inadequate amounts of sunshine. People, even the kindest hearted of souls, often do not realise that the bird seed dish is empty of everything except spent husks which the birds pick through in search of sustenance without finding any. To avoid starvation problems, it is advisable to remove old seed, replacing with new on a daily basis and the seed should not be just bajera (millet) but of mixed types including flax seed and sunflower seed. Imported packets of good quality, specialised bird seed are available and these are a better buy than locally packed bird seed which is of such poor quality that the birds rarely eat it. Drinking water should also be changed twice a day and special mineral blocks or clean cuttlefish shell provided at all times to ensure that the birds get an adequate amount of essential of minerals. Changing the paper in the litter-tray on a daily basis is also recommended. Talking to your birds appears to provide them with a healthy measure of security and well-being and, with luck and lots of patience, you can even teach them to talk a little bit — not as much or as clearly as larger parrots — but enough to be mutually enjoyable. Other kinds of cage birds to brighten up your life include large parrots — although these are definitely not for beginners, a variety of finches, cockatiels and tuneful canaries.

Gaming fun: Run if you can…

They say that before one can walk, one must learn to take the first step. It follows with reason that before one can enter the Olympic 100 metre sprint, one must learn to walk. Sadly, this rather important clause will sometimes be overlooked by the odd participant. In QWOP, the latest Flash game sensation, this clause has been very thoroughly overlooked by our very odd participant, whom we must assist in his Herculean efforts to… well, move forward. By some extraordinary stroke of luck, the tall, dark, well-built fellow from an underdeveloped country has somehow passed for an athlete and ended up on the finals track, without being able to walk a step. The guy simply cannot run. When word of this happy-go-lucky runner reached me, I sought out the famous character without delay, thinking, how hard can this be? A note to the readers here: do not, like me, be fooled by the expert, limber posture of your contestant as he prepares to spring forth across the white line. I guarantee you he's more likely to stumble back and topple head over heels than make it over the starting mark. From the ingenious moves of the runner, I got the impression that he had not stirred a limb before in his entire life. Was he cryogenically frozen, like Austin Powers, from birth? Or was he a puppet who wished on a star to become a little boy? The game is simple: get the guy to run a hundred metres by controlling his arms and legs through the keys Q, W, O and P, hence the name QWOP. QWOP might have been the product of a collection of programming errors, but publishing it can only have one purpose: to keep the players entertained. Hit the keys rapidly and randomly, and watch the poor athlete perform bizarre and ridiculous stunts before coming crashing to the ground. Or try coordinating his arm and leg movement so that he moonwalks in excruciating pain and keels over dead. The hopeless runner is all the more impossible to train because he defies all laws of physics as he slips, trips, and lands (literally) in a confused and intangible heap. What QWOP lacks in graphics and common sense, it makes up for in its originality. With the four letters, you are given an overwhelming sense of freedom and endless possibilities of physical wonders (how endlessly you may endeavour to achieve them is another matter). You can perform any feat because your character is agile, lightweight and has a remarkable tendency of bouncing. The farthest I ever got with QWOP was 5.2 metres, which he completed with one leg dragging behind like a broken prosthetic. However, a girl I know has clearly devised a sequence of key taps that work for her, because she can make him go hop and jump like Alice down the rabbit hole. She made 10 metres before the exhausted fellow tripped over his own ankles, rolled off the track and fell clean out of the screen. QWOP has also been known, among other things, to stand on his head, propel himself forward on his belly, and do a split that a cheerleader would envy. With these impossible moves mastered, our hero QWOP would fare better in the gymnastic event than on the race track. However, till he's there, you must tap away and he must stumble around on bended knees till he's relieved himself of the humiliating ordeal. So go ahead and give QWOP a try; remember, in this flash game world of flailing arms and legs, "Everyone is a winner". — V. R. F.

Wildlife: Endangered dolphins

The news that three Indus Blind Dolphins were found dead in the River Indus earlier this year is very sad indeed as this highly endangered cetacean species 'Platanista minor' or 'bhulan' in Urdu, is found nowhere else in the whole wide world other than right here in Pakistan. These fresh water dolphins used to inhabit the River Indus right from its estuary all the way up to Attock on the border with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, plus in the rivers tributaries such as the River Ravi. These species were reasonably numerous but the construction of the Indus irrigation system — this began over a hundred years ago when barrages, including the famous Sukkur Barrage, were constructed — limited their movements tremendously. As a direct result of this, along with chemical pollution of the river by industrial and agricultural concerns, their numbers rapidly declined. After last year's devastating floods, it is not known for certain exactly how many of these very special dolphins are left. But at last count it was estimated that there were less than 900 of them trapped in the relatively short stretch of the River Indus between Guddu and Kotri Barrages where fishermen are thought to use poisonous chemicals to kill edible fish quickly instead of spending time catching them in the usual manner. It is possible that the three found dead had been poisoned and this is being investigated by wildlife officials. The Indus Blind Dolphin is basically typical of its kind but differs in that it has broad, shovel-shaped flippers and a long, slender beak. Pinkish-grey in colour, this kind of dolphin is usually between 1.23m to 1.37m long and weighs up to 21kg. It likes to swim on its side coming up for air every one and a half to two minutes unless it is feeding when it may remain submerged for up to eight long minutes. It is thought, although not confirmed, that these dolphins can live up to 20 years and efforts are being made for its conservation. The reason for it being called the Indus Blind Dolphin is because its eyes do not have the necessary lenses to function so do not work properly even though there is an optic nerve. In order to get around safely and also to communicate with other dolphins in the vicinity, the dolphin depend totally on sonar or echo-location abilities by which it maintains a running commentary with its surroundings and other dolphins, emitting continuous pulses of sound. Other species of River Dolphins exist in the Yangtze River in China, the Ganges in India, the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh, the Meghna in Nepal and the Amazon and Orinoco in South America but all of these are different from our very own, very special Indus Blind Dolphin.

Time check: Medieval India: Court etiquette

The Mughal court was an institution for the rich and noble. It was a medium of maintaining good relationship between the king and his courtiers. It was a tradition that the court was held every day whether the king was present in the capital or not, the court was held wherever he went. All officials and nobles had to attend the court as their prime duty. In the court, all important political decisions were discussed and taken, and other matters were also settled here. For instance, the ruler looked into matters related to civil administration, new appointments were made, officers were promoted to higher ranks or awarded titles and robes in appreciation of their good services, etc. In addition, ambassadors from other countries were received in presence of courtiers and gifts were exchanged in the court. Cities like Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Delhi and Lahore had buildings that contained public audience halls (diwan-i-amm) and private audience halls (diwan-i-khass). The nobles and government officials holding high positions were accorded places in the hall according to their status. On the arrival and departure of the king, special musical tunes were played from the music chamber (naubat khana) adjacent to the hall. The court was especially decorated on the special occasions such as, the festival of Nauoiz, the birthday of the emperor, other religious and cultural festivals, and on the arrival of important ambassadors, etc. Court etiquettes were strictly observed by all those present in the court. For instance, the body movements of all present there had to be very formal, they had to be genteel — laughter, coughing or speaking loudly were regarded violation of etiquettes. Silence had to be observed. Court manners can be said to have civilised the courtiers and these courtly manners also asserted the superiority of the emperor and loyalty, and faithfulness of his courtiers. In the court, there were two important modes of paying homage to the emperor, koenish and tasleem, in which the courtiers had to bow before the king to express their devotion. Besides these, qadam bosi (kissing the foot) and sajda (prostration) were also practiced. Furthermore, nobles who attended the court had to present some nazerana or gift to the king, and this was particularly observed by those who came from different provinces. They brought souvenirs of their city or province. The king, on the other hand, sometimes awarded gifts to the officials in the court or gave them cash in appreciation of their service. Thus, the Mughal court was not only an administrative centre but also a hub of cultural activities. It kept the nobility and king closer to each other.

Story time: An angel in disguise

Umar was a 10-year-old boy who loved to play video games, surf the internet and watch television. He was always busy wasting his time in these activities and by the time he sat down to studying, he'd be too tired or just plain distracted. This meant he would get awful marks in his tests. He used to think, "Why should I study? I can do it when I'm older. Plus, studying is so hard; I don't think I'd get good marks even if I tried." So Umar went through the years, barely passing his exams and not gaining any recognition as he got older. Finally, when he was 14, his parents put their foot down and arranged a tutor for him. Umar did not think it would help him, since all his teachers in his school didn't bother with him anymore. It had made him think that he couldn't do anything even he if wanted to. When Umar met his tutor, Ms Saira, on the first day, he was pleasantly surprised at her optimistic attitude and leniency. Here was a teacher who was all smiles and did not scold him if he did not know something. His tuition classes became more of a delight than something he detested because he could ask any question without feeling silly and she would help him through it. Umar soon learnt that he could do a lot if he put his mind to it and focused. He began to get excellent grades and his parents were very proud of him. Finally, it was the result day and when Umar found out that he had gotten the highest grades in his class, he was proud of himself and grateful to Ms Saira. He did not hesitate to give her the credit for his improved performance and remained her loyal student and follower for many years even after leaving school.

Cracking up!

Two friends, Jenny and Jinny were thinking what to play during the afternoon. For a long time, they could not decide upon any game. Suddenly, Jenny had an idea. She turned to Jinny and said excitedly. "Let's play school." "OK!" said Jinny. "But I'm going to be absent." ***** Teacher: Give me a sentence with the word 'analyse' in it. Pupil: My sister Anna lies in bed until nine o'clock. ***** Which soldiers smell of salt and pepper? Seasoned troopers. ***** What has webbed feet and fangs? Count Quackula. ***** Why did the orange stop rolling down the hill? It ran out of juice. ***** Q: What did they award the man that invented the door knocker? A: The No-bell Prize. ***** What did the robbers who fell in the sea do? They started a crime wave. ***** What do you call a Roman emperor with flu? Julius Sneezer. ***** My sister got me into trouble the other day. She said, "Mum, he's broken my dolly." My mum said, "How did that happen?" My sister said, "Well I was hitting him on the head with it and it broke." ***** Who was the first underwater spy? James Pond. ***** What do you call a sleeping bull? A bulldozer. ***** What is the most popular sentence at school? I don't know. ***** What's the hardest key to turn? A donkey. ***** My brother got thrown out of the zoo last week. I said, "Why was that?" He said, "I fed the monkeys." I said, "You got thrown out of the zoo for feeding the monkeys?" He said, "Yes, I fed them to the lions." ***** My brother was banging his head on a brick wall. I asked, "What're you doing that for?" He replied, "Because it's a lovely feeling when I stop." ***** Laura woke up late for school, she was 10 minutes late. She rushed into school. Her teacher asked her, "Why are you so late?" Laura replied, "Oh! Did I miss something?" ***** My sister went to first aid lessons and the instructor asked, "What's the first thing you'd do if a man was blown up by dynamite?" My sister answered, "Wait for him to come down." — Compiled by The Surfer

Story time: A walk in the park

“I came here first…" "No, I came here long before you did." Alfred Bates, the famous detective couldn't stop overhearing the shouts from a nearby bench in the local park. He moved towards the source of the debate and saw a crowd gathered there. "Aaah, here you are Mr Bates," Mr Bollinger of the local post office said. "I can't make head or tail of Mr John's and Mr Abbot's fight. Please help me since they are disturbing us." "Mr Bollinger, perhaps you could assist me by summoning the guard at the gate. I would need his assistance," Bates replies. "Why?" asks the audience, as Mr Bollinger runs away. "Because Mr Abbot and Mr John are not alone in this fight, they have another ally," Bates says. "A junior one if I must say!" At this moment Bates puts his hand behind his back and grabs the arm of a kid who was unsuccessfully trying to pick his pocket. "Never try to rob a policeman of his belongings my friend. We have an extra pair of eyes in the back of our heads."At this moment, the shouting died down and Mr John and Mr Abbot tried to run. The guard caught them and brought them to Mr Bates. "How did you know they were troublemakers and not genuine walkers in the park?" Mr Bollinger asks. "Their shoes told me." "How?" "Take a look at their shoes," Bates explains. "They are brand new jogging shoes. No one around us has brand new shoes because a walk in the park is a dirty business. We all have dirt on our shoes which makes these two more visible to my eyes!""But how did you know they were shouting for no reason?" Mr Bollinger puts another puzzling question. "Because I came here long before they did," Bates continues. "There was an old lady sitting on the bench and since they couldn't move me away — as I seemed a threat — they scared the poor lady away to set the scene for their pick-nic!" "And the kid?" "Oh, he is Mr Abbot's son," Bates concludes. "In fact it was his pick pocket genius that made them go for this plan. If you check their pockets, you would find bank notes from their last robbery which happened this morning. That will give the police enough to charge them." "We would have gotten away had you not been here mister!" Mr Abbot says as he is taken away. "You might have but surely you wouldn't have succeeded. Because… for every robber there is an anti-robber nearby!" Bates says as he goes back to his bench.

The nest

One beautiful winter morning, while sitting in my lawn under the soothing sun, I saw something heart-warming. There was a pair of birds sitting outside my bedroom's window. I kept observing them and got to know that the birds were making a nest on my window. They were collecting twigs and bits of dried leaves from the lawn. The birds were working in a very well-coordinated manner — one bird flew to collect the leaves and branches while the other stayed at the nest to build it. And at last — with their joint efforts — the pair of birds became successful in building the nest. Now it was time for them to live in their newly-built house, lay eggs and wait for the eggs to hatch. I became so attached to them that I used to observe them regularly. I also fed them and took care of their nest so that no other bird or animal destroyed or stole their eggs. Soon two cute little babies came out of the eggs — they were fragile, they had no feathers on their bodies. But with the passage of time, they grew up and became beautiful birds like their parents. The presence of this beautiful family made me feel close to nature; I felt happy in their company. Their chirping and tweeting soothed my ears — I felt refreshed seeing the beautiful sight of birds singing and playing together. My exams were near and I had to study a lot. Now I didn't have time to take care of the birds as most of my time at home was spent preparing for the exams. My exams continued for more than a week and I totally forgot about the birds. After the exams, when I realised that I hadn't paid much attention lately to those lovely creatures, I rushed outside and was shocked to see that there was no nest there! I could not stop myself from crying as due to my negligence a big bird or cat had destroyed the nest and the family either died or flew to some other place. I felt guilty and prayed to God to forgive me. This painful experience made me realise that when we are busy, we tend to forget about our duty towards nature. If I could have found a little time to take care of the nest, the birds' family wouldn't have to suffer! Likewise, if we had all taken time out to take care of all natural things around us and other creatures, the world would not be facing many of the problems that it is troubled with today.

Poet’s corner

World Cup Let's show that we are the best And we will see what happens next. I know that we won't stay behind, Victory we will find. Stand in front of the world and show, That we can also glow. All we need is a little confidence, And God will lead us to success. Ramsha Zafar, 13 years, Karachi Cricket Cricket is a game of bat and ball, Which cannot be played in a mall. In cricket, sometimes players fight, Because all of them are not so polite. In the cricket world, There is a man called Ricky Ponting, Whose shots are very fascinating. World Cup 2011 is here, And may it flourish everywhere. Sikander Azam, 11 years, Karachi (II) Sometimes one sided and boring, Sometimes defensive, And sometimes attacking, This game is very exciting. It gets tough frequently, If we want to win it successfully, We have to play it strategically, When organisers raise up stakes, Players play very enthusiastically. Wherever a cricket match is going on, Winning and losing is part of the game, That's why players don't seem to be disappointed, Whether they win or lose the game. Muhammad Shakeel, 12 years, Daharki Exams I see through the window, As trees turn old, Day by day, from rust to gold. The rustling of the leaves, As they come near me, The window acts as a sieve. I want to go out in the brisk air, But stop when my mum starts to stare. That's not fair! I want to go somewhere, Away from the bundle of pages, But now I feel that, My room has turned into a cage. Whenever I peek, wherever I peek, I think of exams and give out a squeak. Marking dates on the calendar, Holidays and fun have gone, I wonder! Dawn and dusk as the days go by, I wonder when these exams will go by! I came into my senses When my mother came, And looked at my test result, She said, "Shame, shame! "English, math, Urdu, geography, Islamiat, science, arts and history, A lot of work left to do, Are you nerd or a fool?" This is what she said and went away, I ponder when we'll have a right to say? Dear fellows, don't fall prey to exam stress, Just understand and faithfully Pass away this mess! Anooshey Tasadduq, 12 years, Faisalabad Drake in the lake I saw a drake in the lake, It was good to see him eating a cake. I felt hungry and left the lake, To bake a cake and make banana shake. Nameer Ali Syed, 6 years, Karachi Friendship Friendship is true, It makes you feel cool, Friendship is real, Without any fear. Don’t run away from it, It makes you feel better, Without any ABC letter, It’s always a setter. You should be sad, If you don’t have it you’re mad, Everyone loves it,silly, It’s not like red chilly. Yumna Alavi, 11 years, Karachi Girls vs. boys Girls are smart, Boys are losers. Girls are active, Boys are lazy bones. Girls are intelligent, Boys are fools. I think girls are the best! Syeda Hamayal Abbas, 9 years, Karachi Fireworks They shoot up in the night, And then sizzle down full of light. Lighted wheels zoom round and round, And then make a frizzling sound. Fireworks are full of fire, Which people just love to admire. Firworks glow and frizzle, I guess they love to sizzle. Khadija Awais Sumra, 8 years, Athens (Greece) Motorcycle My motorcycle is of red colour, Its name is Night Rider. Its break is very tight, And it is very light. It has stylish rims, And look like rings. It has four gears, It makes my friends shiver. It moves faster than tiger, Because it's a night rider. Ahsan Jamal, 10 years, Daharki My sweet mother I have a sweet mother, Who loves me more than my father. She scolds me if I am bad, She hugs me if I do good. She is my lovely mother, She is sweet like a berry, She makes for me tasty curry. She always prays for my long life, Sometimes I lie in her lap. She cannot sleep if I get sick, She leaves other chores And takes care of me. Maheen Rashid, 9 years, Turbat My family This is my family, It is just like a lily. All my close relatives Live in my heart, Without my family, I can't live happily. Kamal Huda, 9 years, Karachi Rattlesnake There is a rattlesnake, It likes to eat cake. It rattles with its tail, It is the best buddy of a snail. It has brown stripes on its eyes, And it likes French fries. I do not like its voice, Because it makes a lot of noise. Ghufran Ghous Buksh, 8 years, Karachi A quiet ant This is a very quiet ant, It walks day and night, It works hard in different ways, It walks in garden trails. Even after an arduous journey, It remains quiet, It leads a difficult life, But never complains. It's small, yet a brave creature, It teaches us life's lessons In a quiet manner. Chakar Jumma, 13 years, Turbat

Interesting facts

• A giant squid's eye is as big as a basketball. • Barbie's real name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. • The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses. • The average person says 5,000 words in one day. • The dog who played ToTo in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz got paid $125 per week. • Jellyfish are 95 per cent water. • An albatross can sleep while it flies. • One billion seconds is about 31.7 years. • One toad can eat 10,000 insects in one summer. • The only food that never ever spoils is honey. • Lemons have more sugar than strawberries. • French author Michel Thaler wrote a 233 page book with no verbs. • Apocolocynopsis is the fear of being turned into a pumpkin. • Clinophobia is fear of going to bed. • Logizomechanophobia is the fear of computers. • Pteronophobia is the fear of being tickled by feathers. • Phobophobia is the fear of fear. • The can opener was invented about 50 years after the can. • Leonardo daVinci wrote backwards because he was left-handed and did not want to get ink all over his hand. • The liquid inside a young coconut can be used as a replacement for blood plasma. • The average life span of a major league baseball is 5-7 pitches. • Instead of a birthday cake, many children in Russia are given a birthday pie. • The Wild Turkey is the only bird with a beard. • A hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute on average. • Ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone. • A company in Taiwan makes dinnerware out of wheat, so you can eat your plate. • Clocks made before 1660 had only one hand – an hour hand. • No one knows who designed the first American Flag. • Bats always turn left when exiting a cave. • When you eat too much, your hearing becomes less sharp. • Apples are more efficient than caffeine in keeping people awake in the morning. • You are about 1 centimetre taller in the morning than in the evening! • Bananas aren't fruit! They are a type of herb. • Albert Einstien never wore any socks • A polar bear's skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear. • The average car produces a pound of pollution every 25 miles! • February 1865 is the only month in recorded history to not have a full moon. • In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated. • Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as medicine. — Compiled by The Surfer

Zardari signs plea to reopen Bhutto case

The former prime minister was sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court upheld the sentence in March 1979. — File Photo ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari signed on Friday a reference which seeks to reopen the case of former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was hanged on April 4, 1979, in Rawalpindi. The execution has been widely termed a 'judicial murder'. Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the reference signed in the presence of Law Minister Babar Awan and Sindh Home Minister Zulfikar Mirza would now be sent to the Supreme Court by the ministry of law. The president had been authorised by the federal cabinet last week to send such a reference to the apex court. Article 186 of the Constitution under which the reference has been signed states: (1) "If, at any time, the president considers that it is desirable to obtain the opinion of the Supreme Court on any question of law which he considers of public importance, he may refer the question to the Supreme Court for consideration." The former prime minister was sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court upheld the sentence in March 1979. Clause 2 of the Article 186 states: "The Supreme Court shall consider a question so referred and report its opinion on the question to the president". The spokesman said: "The PPP had never intended to seek revenge but it wanted to put right a historic wrong and thereby vindicate the position of the founding chairman of the party." He recalled that a judge of the Supreme Court bench which had upheld the death sentence later publicly acknowledged that the split verdict was given under pressure of the dictator who ruled the country at that time. In a TV talk show on Friday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also said that former chief justice Naseem Hassan Shah admitted that the death sentence verdict had been given under immense pressure. The PPP decided to file the reference after an attempt was made to establish a criminal cases review commission to review what the government called "possible miscarriages" of justice in criminal courts, including the execution of the former prime minister. Mr Gilani is reported to have approved the proposal after a presentation given by the then adviser Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gul. Mr Gul who is said to be the brain behind the idea has worked on the subject after studying Britain's Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). But the matter had been kept on hold because of concerns that it could spark another tussle between judiciary and the government. The presidential spokesman said Mr Bhutto was executed by the military dictatorship despite appeals made by world leaders and serious reservations expressed by international jurists over the legal propriety of the sentence. He said the body of the assassinated prime minister was flown secretly in the dead of night to Larkana and buried secretly. Even family members were not allowed to attend the funeral and the last rites. "The then regime published in newspapers pictures of the funeral prayer to show that local people had attended the burial. On investigation, however, it was found that the few people shown in the picture taken on the occasion were not locals and had apparently been brought from outside," he said.

India, Lanka fight today for cricket crown

THE ICC Cricket World Cup reaches its culmination at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday when former champions India and Sri Lanka clash for the trophy in the first-ever all-Asian final of the mega event with the spotlight falling on a pair of all-time greats — Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan. Sadly, though, only one of them will be left celebrating as the teams fight out for the biggest-ever purse on offer for the new world champions in 12 years, with the winning side set to pocket $3,250,000 out of the $8,010,000 prize money for the latest quadrennial showpiece. Tendulkar, the little Indian batting genius, had never been a World Cup winner and would be desperate to win the most coveted cricket trophies of all for his country which it won in 1983. The most successful batsman, by far, in both forms of the game is set to make his last appearance at the World Cup in front of his adoring Mumbai fans on a dry, brown surface laid out for Saturday's title-decider. And realistically speaking, for Tendulkar who turns 38 on the 24th of this month, this is one final opportunity to be a part of the World Cup winning side at his sixth attempt since 1992. For a man who has broken every possible batting record in international cricket, this will be a deserved accolade after the bitter disappointment of the 2003 final in Johannesburg where India were blown away by Australia. Off-spinning maestro Muralitharan, of course, knows well how it feels to win the biggest prize in limited-overs cricket since he was a member of the Arjuna Ranatunga-led Sri Lankan team that won the last World Cup staged in the Subcontinent. That was in 1996 and since that finest moment in his country's cricketing history, Muralitharan carved a niche for himself by setting new benchmarks on the bowling front and rewriting the record books. While Tendulkar is still to make a call on his future, Muralitharan has no intention of playing for his beloved country beyond Saturday's grand finale, having already declared eight months ago that he would be signing off from the international arena after the World Cup. But right now Muralitharan is anxious to ensure his last hurrah does not end up on the sidelines. Grave doubts over his fitness have persisted right through the campaign but, given his resilience and fighting qualities, the man called 'Murali' will definitely play in the final. A four-wicket haul on Saturday will make him the most successful wicket-taker in the World Cup — Glenn McGrath currently holds the record with 71 scalps — and add yet another chapter to his glittering career. Sri Lanka relatively had a smooth ride to the final, winning seven games while their only defeat was against Pakistan in Colombo on Feb 26. They were simply just too good for England in the quarter-final where Tillekeratne Dilshan — the tournament's leading batsman with 467 runs — and Upul Tharanga starred with centuries in the 10-wicket triumph before defeating New Zealand in the semi-final by five wickets. India won six games, but survived a few close shaves before getting to this stage of the competition after getting past Pakistan by 29 runs in that 'mother of all battles' at Mohali on Wednesday and halting Australia's World Cup title-winning sequence in the Ahmedabad quarter-final. INJURY WORRIES: Both teams have concerns over injuries. Indian left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra is almost certain to miss out the final after fracturing the middle finger of his right hand during the semi-final. His likely replacement could be either the in-form off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin or the temperamental Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, the fast bowler who hasn't played since being clobbered for 53 runs in five overs in the tournament's opening game against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Feb 19. Sri Lanka, who are already sweating on Muralitharan, have been forced to rush in off-spinner Suraj Randiv as a replacement for all-rounder Angelo Mathews, who had to leave the field during Tuesday's semi-final with a quadriceps muscle injury and had to bat with a runner. His absence is a body blow for Kumar Sangakkara's side since he was a vital cog in the middle order while also being a trusted back-up seamer. Although both teams appear to be well balanced on paper, Sri Lanka have the psychological edge over India since they had the advantage of playing their preliminary round fixture at the refurbished stadium here on March 18 and comfortably beat New Zealand by 112 runs. Sangakkara (111) and Muralitharan (4-25) made significant contributions. Sri Lanka also have enjoyed more success over India in World Cups, winning four to their rivals' two. More significantly, Sri Lanka won both matches against them in 1996, including the riot-hit semi-final at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. And when these two talented outfits last competed in a World Cup game, Sri Lanka won their battle in Trinidad on their way to the 2007 final against Australia while India went home without going beyond the first round. Teams: INDIA: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Ashish Nehra, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. SRI LANKA: Upul Tharanga, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Dilhara Fernando, Thisara Perera, Suraj Randiv. PITCH CONDITIONS: The well-rolled pitch with even bounce should provide entertaining cricket with both bat and ball. The match will begin in hot weather but the evening sea breeze will cool temperatures. Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Simon Taufel (Australia). TV umpire: Ian Gould (England) Reserve umpire: Steve Davis (Australia). Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).

India, Lanka fight today for cricket crown

THE ICC Cricket World Cup reaches its culmination at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday when former champions India and Sri Lanka clash for the trophy in the first-ever all-Asian final of the mega event with the spotlight falling on a pair of all-time greats — Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan. Sadly, though, only one of them will be left celebrating as the teams fight out for the biggest-ever purse on offer for the new world champions in 12 years, with the winning side set to pocket $3,250,000 out of the $8,010,000 prize money for the latest quadrennial showpiece. Tendulkar, the little Indian batting genius, had never been a World Cup winner and would be desperate to win the most coveted cricket trophies of all for his country which it won in 1983. The most successful batsman, by far, in both forms of the game is set to make his last appearance at the World Cup in front of his adoring Mumbai fans on a dry, brown surface laid out for Saturday's title-decider. And realistically speaking, for Tendulkar who turns 38 on the 24th of this month, this is one final opportunity to be a part of the World Cup winning side at his sixth attempt since 1992. For a man who has broken every possible batting record in international cricket, this will be a deserved accolade after the bitter disappointment of the 2003 final in Johannesburg where India were blown away by Australia. Off-spinning maestro Muralitharan, of course, knows well how it feels to win the biggest prize in limited-overs cricket since he was a member of the Arjuna Ranatunga-led Sri Lankan team that won the last World Cup staged in the Subcontinent. That was in 1996 and since that finest moment in his country's cricketing history, Muralitharan carved a niche for himself by setting new benchmarks on the bowling front and rewriting the record books. While Tendulkar is still to make a call on his future, Muralitharan has no intention of playing for his beloved country beyond Saturday's grand finale, having already declared eight months ago that he would be signing off from the international arena after the World Cup. But right now Muralitharan is anxious to ensure his last hurrah does not end up on the sidelines. Grave doubts over his fitness have persisted right through the campaign but, given his resilience and fighting qualities, the man called 'Murali' will definitely play in the final. A four-wicket haul on Saturday will make him the most successful wicket-taker in the World Cup — Glenn McGrath currently holds the record with 71 scalps — and add yet another chapter to his glittering career. Sri Lanka relatively had a smooth ride to the final, winning seven games while their only defeat was against Pakistan in Colombo on Feb 26. They were simply just too good for England in the quarter-final where Tillekeratne Dilshan — the tournament's leading batsman with 467 runs — and Upul Tharanga starred with centuries in the 10-wicket triumph before defeating New Zealand in the semi-final by five wickets. India won six games, but survived a few close shaves before getting to this stage of the competition after getting past Pakistan by 29 runs in that 'mother of all battles' at Mohali on Wednesday and halting Australia's World Cup title-winning sequence in the Ahmedabad quarter-final. INJURY WORRIES: Both teams have concerns over injuries. Indian left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra is almost certain to miss out the final after fracturing the middle finger of his right hand during the semi-final. His likely replacement could be either the in-form off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin or the temperamental Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, the fast bowler who hasn't played since being clobbered for 53 runs in five overs in the tournament's opening game against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Feb 19. Sri Lanka, who are already sweating on Muralitharan, have been forced to rush in off-spinner Suraj Randiv as a replacement for all-rounder Angelo Mathews, who had to leave the field during Tuesday's semi-final with a quadriceps muscle injury and had to bat with a runner. His absence is a body blow for Kumar Sangakkara's side since he was a vital cog in the middle order while also being a trusted back-up seamer. Although both teams appear to be well balanced on paper, Sri Lanka have the psychological edge over India since they had the advantage of playing their preliminary round fixture at the refurbished stadium here on March 18 and comfortably beat New Zealand by 112 runs. Sangakkara (111) and Muralitharan (4-25) made significant contributions. Sri Lanka also have enjoyed more success over India in World Cups, winning four to their rivals' two. More significantly, Sri Lanka won both matches against them in 1996, including the riot-hit semi-final at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. And when these two talented outfits last competed in a World Cup game, Sri Lanka won their battle in Trinidad on their way to the 2007 final against Australia while India went home without going beyond the first round. Teams: INDIA: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Ashish Nehra, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. SRI LANKA: Upul Tharanga, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Dilhara Fernando, Thisara Perera, Suraj Randiv. PITCH CONDITIONS: The well-rolled pitch with even bounce should provide entertaining cricket with both bat and ball. The match will begin in hot weather but the evening sea breeze will cool temperatures. Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Simon Taufel (Australia). TV umpire: Ian Gould (England) Reserve umpire: Steve Davis (Australia). Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).

Sailboat history timeline

4000 BCE: Phoenicians and Egyptians sail under cloth sails on single log and simple long narrow sailboats. 3000 BCE: 900: Square sails are common 2000 BCE: Extensive sailing trading networks starts at the Mediterranean Sea. Ice boats in Scandinavia. 1200 BCE: Greek and Phoenician big cargo ships along the Mediterranean 500 BCE: Phoenicians built ships with two big masts 100 BCE: The Roman Empire has largest cargo and passenger ships of 180 by 45 feet. 400s: First catamarans along the Southeast Asian coasts. 900: Lanteen and triangle sails are used. 1000-1200: The Vikings built 80 feet long and 17 feet wide sailboats for war, trading and colonising. 1000: Norse explorer Leif Eiriksson probably the first European to land in North America. The first of the great explorations in this sailboat history timeline. 1200: First Viking longboats and British merchant sailboats are made with small wholes from which bowmen could fire their guns. 15th century: The Barque or later Bark with sails running breadthways 1500-1650: Sailmakers start using flax fibre to create sails. 1660: King Charles II introduces sport sailing in England. Dutch shipyards give British King Charles a small sailboat, named the Royal Yacht Mary 1680: The Barca-longa two or three-masted lugger in Spain, Portugal and in the Mediterranean Sea. 17th century: The Bermuda rig or Marconi rig with mast and rigging is created in Bermuda. 1720: World's first yachting club founded in Ireland, the Water Club of Cork. 1790: First iceboat at the Hudson River in New York. 1797: Edmund Hartt Shipyard launches the USS Constitution, a three-masted heavy wooden frigate of the US Navy. 1800: Barquentine vessels with three or more masts are built. 1863: The Star of India is built as a fully square-rigged ship. 1900: Sailing becomes an Olympic sport in Paris. 1920: First aerodynamics designs for increasing speed. 1949: The Optimist Dinghy is introduced by Clark Mills. 1960: German engineer Wilhelm Pröls invents the Dynaship or Dyna Rigg concept. The 12-foot Aqua Cats is created by Art Javes. 1976: The J-24 is presented by Rodney Johnstone and the Toulon dockyard in France constructs the Phocea, world's largest sailing yacht till 2004. 1977: The Freedom 40 is launched by Gary Hoyt. 2000: The steel-hulled five-masted full-rigged tall cruise ship Royal Clipper is constructed by Zygmunt Choren. According to the Guinness World Records book the Preussen is the largest square rigged ship. The three mast full-rigged clipper Stad Amsterdam is built by Gerard Dijkstra in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 2004: Royal Huisman Shipyard the clipper-bowed three-masted gaff-rigged luxury sailing yacht Athena. The largest yacht in sailboat history. — Compiled by The Surfer

Gilani says ISI chief given one-year extension

His was the first official word about the period of extension given to the ISI chief following intense speculation about the new tenure. — File Photo ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday cleared the mystery surrounding service extension to Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, saying Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha would remain on the job for another year after the expiry of a previous one-year extension on March 18. In response to a question by one of the interviewers during an appearance on DawnNews and the state-run Pakistan Television, the prime minister said his government had decided to keep Gen Pasha on the same position for another year owing to the prevailing security situation in the country. His was the first official word about the period of extension given to the ISI chief following intense speculation about the new tenure, with some media reports saying the military establishment wanted it to be for two years to last until a three-year extension given to Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ends in 2013. When pressed by the interviewer about why the government couldn't pick a successor from within the army, Mr Gilani said: "Why there is confusion over the extension of ISI Chief? It is very much the right of the government, and we have given him one year's extension in the same position." About his March 30 trip to India to watch the India-Pakistan cricket World Cup semi-final at Mohali, the prime minister said he and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh had agreed in principle to start dialogue on all outstanding issues between their countries, including the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir. He said interior secretaries of the two countries had a fruitful meeting the day before he went to Mohali, adding that frequency of such meetings would significantly increase in the near future such as a foreign ministers' meeting in July and meetings of officials from trade and defence departments. Mr Gilani sidestepped a question whether Islamabad had given up its earlier stance for a third-party involvement to help resolve India-Pakistan issues — a proposition opposed by New Delhi — and said there was an increased realisation by the two governments of the need for a speedy resolution of their common problems, adding: "We have to have ownership of our issues." Replying to a question about investigation into the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Mr Gilani said he had received an inquiry report that would be presented before the next meeting of PPP's central executive committee in the presence of party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto. The prime minister also disagreed with an interviewer's suggestion that it was merely for political reconciliation that the government was not sternly dealing with criminal elements involved in target killings in Karachi.

Quotes

Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made. — Robert N. Rose The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. — William A. Ward At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much. — Robin Lee Graham A sailor is an artist whose medium is the wind. — Webb Chiles For one thing, I was no longer alone; a man is never alone with the wind — and the boat made three. — Hilaire Belloc The sea hates a coward. — Eugene O'Neill It's out there at sea that you are really yourself. — Vito Dumas The art of the sailor is to leave nothing to chance. — Annie Van De Wiele The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use. — Dom Degnon There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea. — Joseph Conrad Cruising has two pleasures. One is to go out in wider waters from a sheltered place. The other is to go into a sheltered place from wider waters. — Howard Bloomfield

Mailbox

Try it first This is with reference to the story Try it first by Samreen Razi (YW, February 26, 2011). The story conveyed the message that we shouldn't reject anything without trying it out first. I could relate to it because I didn't like reading stories or newspapers but my teachers inspired me a lot as they discussed their own reading habits. I gave reading a try  once and found that I enjoyed it. Now I have become fond of reading books and I wait anxiously for every Saturday to have a copy of Young World in my hands so that I can read stories and other interesting articlesin it. Mohammad Khalil, Daharki Stop polluting your environment I would like to bring to attention a very serious problem — pollution. Everyday, either walking down the street or staring out from the window of the car, we see garbage dumped on all sides. Sometimes people can be seen throwing litter in the middle of the road! If we look at our beaches, they are never clean — empty cans and bottles, wrappers and leftover edibles are usually found thrown on the beach. This gives birth to many disease, such as those related to skin, lungs, etc. Besides this, our marine life is also suffering due to the dangerous effects of the toxic materials that are dumped in the sea from factories and mills. People these days are into the habit of eating gutka and chhalia, and spitting it out anywhere and everywhere, etc. The stains not only give a bad look to the area, but gutka and chhalia are also responsible for diseases such as cancer. My request to the readers is that if you can't do a lot, at least you can protect your surrounding by throwing waste in dustbins when you are outside your home. Plant trees wherever you can and if you know someone eats gutka or chhalia, try to stop him before it is too late. Ahsant Shahid, Karachi Wildlife needs rescue Our wildlife is in great danger. People hunt animals such as tiger, wolf, bear and other furry animals to get their fur or skin, which is not only unique and expensive, but is also used in making coats, hats and other warm garments. This is an illegal activity which is banned but people involved in this business use various means to hunt animals in different parts of our country. Many animals are on the verge of extinction. I request the wildlife authority and the government to prevent these people from hunting animals and also create awareness among the local people about the importance of the unique animals that are found in our country. Hani Nazir, Delta, Turbat Game talk This is in apropos to the letter Game talk by Muhammad Sabih Ashraf (YW, March 19, 2011). Mr Sabih had suggested that I should add system requirements for PC games in my reviews; however, with such limited space it isn't possible to list all the system requirements so I'll include the link to a website where a user's PC is analysed in seconds. It's very simple to use and perfectly safe, no viruses, no adware or malware, compatible with all browsers, etc., plus it's very accurate. I use it often to see how outdated my PC is becoming with each releasing game; the website is designed ONLY to check your system against games' requirements and nothing else and the best part about the website is, it not only analyses your PC but if an upgrade is required, it also tells you what you need to upgrade in order to run a particular game. So with each review of the game that is also available on the PC, the website address from where you can check the system requirements will be given at the bottom. — Sohail Saleem Karachi Science-related topics I have been reading YW for the last seven years. Through this passage of time, I have learnt a lot of useful things. When I was of ten years my father encouraged me to start reading the YW. At that time, I had not realised its value but now I realise that a lot of knowledge I have gained from it. My favourite section in YW is quotes and riddles. Also, I would like to request the YW team to include a section related to science every week. Subash Thari, Via email

City faces petrol shortage: Transporters flex muscles for hefty fare hike

PESHAWAR, April 1: Following overnight hike in the prices of petroleum products, various filling stations in the city reported severe shortage of petrol on Friday while people are in for a shock as transporters are flexing muscles to prevail upon the Regional Transport Authority for immediate and `fair` increase in transport fares. Long queues were observed outside filling stations, especially at the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) outlets in the cantonment areas. The operators at these stations near the Peshawar Central Prison and Press Club said that the POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) products had not been supplied since appearance of reports about the hike in oil prices. When contacted, Petroleum Distributors Association`s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mansoor Sharif said that due to upward revision of its price the supply of petrol ran short, which caused problems for the motorists. However, he showed optimism that the problem would be resolved by Saturday (today). Mr Sharif said that the super petrol was supplied from Attock Oil Refinery, but the stocks vanished due to rush in the urban areas. He said that the oil demand in urban areas of the province would be met soon. However, he suggested that the government should establish more refineries at proper locations to meet the demand for POL products in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa otherwise the problem would keep emerging from time to time. Also on Friday, a leader of the Urban Transport Union, Peshawar, Haji Amanullah submitted an application to the RTA, demanding increase in the fares. He said that whenever petroleum prices were increased the decision was implemented with immediate effect, but the fares were not revised despite transporters` applications for the purpose. RTA secretary Naseem Bacha told Dawn that the transporters` application would be forwarded to the Commissioner Peshawar division on Saturday (today) for approval."We will not allow raise in fares for CNG-run vehicles," Mr Bacha categorically said and added that the fare list might be revised upward allowing Re1 increase per stop for buses and other vehicles using diesel. For the inter-district and inter-provincial transport, the RTA secretary said that the government had already prepared a slab-based fares list and the transporters themselves would revise it. He said that keeping in view that CNG cost less a difference of 25 per cent would be maintained in the fares of CNG- and diesel-run vehicles. He asked the passengers to complain to the RTA officials in case of overcharging by transporters. "If the fare is increased for the local transport the commuters will have to pay Rs11 instead of Rs10 from one bus stop to the next," said the secretary. When contacted, Sarhad Transport Owners Federation leader Haji Ihsanullah Khan said that he would not increase the fares unless the government decided fares for the CNG vehicles. He said that CNG was used by most of the vehicles in the province, but the transporters were charging fares for diesel. He asked the government to check this practice and take stern action against transporters, who were fleecing the poor passengers. Our Mansehra correspondent adds: Transporters here have announced 20 per cent increase in the fares on inter-city routes. "If the government withdraws the recent increase in prices of petroleum products we will also withdraw the fare raise," said Jan-i-Alam, president of Hazara transport union, here on Friday after a meeting of the union leaders. Talking to reporters, he said that the union had decided to increase the fares by 20 per cent on all routes from Saturday (today). Mr Alam said that if the people started protests against the POL price increase they would also join them. "We have no other option but to raise fares after surge in oil prices," he said.

City faces petrol shortage: Transporters flex muscles for hefty fare hike

PESHAWAR, April 1: Following overnight hike in the prices of petroleum products, various filling stations in the city reported severe shortage of petrol on Friday while people are in for a shock as transporters are flexing muscles to prevail upon the Regional Transport Authority for immediate and `fair` increase in transport fares. Long queues were observed outside filling stations, especially at the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) outlets in the cantonment areas. The operators at these stations near the Peshawar Central Prison and Press Club said that the POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) products had not been supplied since appearance of reports about the hike in oil prices. When contacted, Petroleum Distributors Association`s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mansoor Sharif said that due to upward revision of its price the supply of petrol ran short, which caused problems for the motorists. However, he showed optimism that the problem would be resolved by Saturday (today). Mr Sharif said that the super petrol was supplied from Attock Oil Refinery, but the stocks vanished due to rush in the urban areas. He said that the oil demand in urban areas of the province would be met soon. However, he suggested that the government should establish more refineries at proper locations to meet the demand for POL products in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa otherwise the problem would keep emerging from time to time. Also on Friday, a leader of the Urban Transport Union, Peshawar, Haji Amanullah submitted an application to the RTA, demanding increase in the fares. He said that whenever petroleum prices were increased the decision was implemented with immediate effect, but the fares were not revised despite transporters` applications for the purpose. RTA secretary Naseem Bacha told Dawn that the transporters` application would be forwarded to the Commissioner Peshawar division on Saturday (today) for approval."We will not allow raise in fares for CNG-run vehicles," Mr Bacha categorically said and added that the fare list might be revised upward allowing Re1 increase per stop for buses and other vehicles using diesel. For the inter-district and inter-provincial transport, the RTA secretary said that the government had already prepared a slab-based fares list and the transporters themselves would revise it. He said that keeping in view that CNG cost less a difference of 25 per cent would be maintained in the fares of CNG- and diesel-run vehicles. He asked the passengers to complain to the RTA officials in case of overcharging by transporters. "If the fare is increased for the local transport the commuters will have to pay Rs11 instead of Rs10 from one bus stop to the next," said the secretary. When contacted, Sarhad Transport Owners Federation leader Haji Ihsanullah Khan said that he would not increase the fares unless the government decided fares for the CNG vehicles. He said that CNG was used by most of the vehicles in the province, but the transporters were charging fares for diesel. He asked the government to check this practice and take stern action against transporters, who were fleecing the poor passengers. Our Mansehra correspondent adds: Transporters here have announced 20 per cent increase in the fares on inter-city routes. "If the government withdraws the recent increase in prices of petroleum products we will also withdraw the fare raise," said Jan-i-Alam, president of Hazara transport union, here on Friday after a meeting of the union leaders. Talking to reporters, he said that the union had decided to increase the fares by 20 per cent on all routes from Saturday (today). Mr Alam said that if the people started protests against the POL price increase they would also join them. "We have no other option but to raise fares after surge in oil prices," he said.

Schoolchildren promised local games, tours

PESHAWAR, APRIL 1: To break years of inaction on account of militancy, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Sports on Friday announced to hold traditional regional games in all districts of the province from April 3 to lift up the spirits of people. The announcement came close to another significant decision by the provincial Tourism Department to launch a Youth Tourism Development Project to promote and build baseline for domestic tourism as well as provide an opportunity of extra-curricular activities to the students of government schools. Minister for Sports and Tourism Syed Aqil Shah told a press conference that traditional games to be played in this gala would include Kabaddi, Gulli Danda, Larroo or Pat Patoney, Kowat Kannarry, Kissa Kali Kali, Angay, Gangar, Cheendro or Peeto, Eishtapa, Teeki, Karkhai, Maya or Joora and Katchna Gotey. The games will kick off on April 3 in Haripur district, followed by Lachi (Karak), Kohat, Dera I smail Khan, Mansehra, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Swabi, Nowshera, Charsadda and Mardan. The closing ceremony of the sports gala will be held in Peshawar on April 13 in a colourful environment, said Mr Shah. The minister observed that the youth, who were traumatised by militancy, needed to be involved in healthy activities.In another significant development, the Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in collaboration with a private tour operator will organise tours, excursion trips and summer camps during winter, spring and summer holidays under the Youth Tourism Development project. Sehrai Travel and Tours, run by Zahoor Durrani, will run the project.Giving details, Mr Durrani said that under the project, students of government schools would be encouraged to participate in tours and camping trips, to be facilitated by the corporation. He said that the step was taken in view of lack of such opportunities to the government school students while private school st udents often got such opportunities. The project aims at promoting awareness of tourism among youth and building a baseline for domestic tourism by encouraging tours to the scenic valleys and places situated in this part of the country. He said that Youth Tourism Development project would also help build interpersonal skills and confidence of the school students. Mr Durrani said that in the first phase a youth mela (festival) would be held in Swat valley, which was recovering fast as a tourist destination following militancy and conflict. He said that students would take part in camping exercises and they would be provided tented accommodation at the historic Attock Khurd Railway Heritage and Tourist Resort, Kund National Park, Indus View Point near Hund, Baragali Campus and Kaghan Valley. During these tours and camping activities students would be provided tents, kitchen, bedding, medical helpline and other facilities. Under this project, a lis t of schools lacking excursion opportunities would be prepared and tours would be planned according to their needs encompassing adventure, history, archaeology, fauna and flora, culture, heritage, eco-tourism, trekking/hiking, fishing, and nature study. The management of each school would form touring societies comprising 15-20 students representing class 8th, 9th and 10th. Tours would include destinations within city, other districts and provinces. When contacted, officials of the Tourism Corporation hoped that such programmes would stabilise the domestic tourism and create ownership among the youth regarding their heritage.

Schoolchildren promised local games, tours

PESHAWAR, APRIL 1: To break years of inaction on account of militancy, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Sports on Friday announced to hold traditional regional games in all districts of the province from April 3 to lift up the spirits of people. The announcement came close to another significant decision by the provincial Tourism Department to launch a Youth Tourism Development Project to promote and build baseline for domestic tourism as well as provide an opportunity of extra-curricular activities to the students of government schools. Minister for Sports and Tourism Syed Aqil Shah told a press conference that traditional games to be played in this gala would include Kabaddi, Gulli Danda, Larroo or Pat Patoney, Kowat Kannarry, Kissa Kali Kali, Angay, Gangar, Cheendro or Peeto, Eishtapa, Teeki, Karkhai, Maya or Joora and Katchna Gotey. The games will kick off on April 3 in Haripur district, followed by Lachi (Karak), Kohat, Dera I smail Khan, Mansehra, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Swabi, Nowshera, Charsadda and Mardan. The closing ceremony of the sports gala will be held in Peshawar on April 13 in a colourful environment, said Mr Shah. The minister observed that the youth, who were traumatised by militancy, needed to be involved in healthy activities.In another significant development, the Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in collaboration with a private tour operator will organise tours, excursion trips and summer camps during winter, spring and summer holidays under the Youth Tourism Development project. Sehrai Travel and Tours, run by Zahoor Durrani, will run the project.Giving details, Mr Durrani said that under the project, students of government schools would be encouraged to participate in tours and camping trips, to be facilitated by the corporation. He said that the step was taken in view of lack of such opportunities to the government school students while private school st udents often got such opportunities. The project aims at promoting awareness of tourism among youth and building a baseline for domestic tourism by encouraging tours to the scenic valleys and places situated in this part of the country. He said that Youth Tourism Development project would also help build interpersonal skills and confidence of the school students. Mr Durrani said that in the first phase a youth mela (festival) would be held in Swat valley, which was recovering fast as a tourist destination following militancy and conflict. He said that students would take part in camping exercises and they would be provided tented accommodation at the historic Attock Khurd Railway Heritage and Tourist Resort, Kund National Park, Indus View Point near Hund, Baragali Campus and Kaghan Valley. During these tours and camping activities students would be provided tents, kitchen, bedding, medical helpline and other facilities. Under this project, a lis t of schools lacking excursion opportunities would be prepared and tours would be planned according to their needs encompassing adventure, history, archaeology, fauna and flora, culture, heritage, eco-tourism, trekking/hiking, fishing, and nature study. The management of each school would form touring societies comprising 15-20 students representing class 8th, 9th and 10th. Tours would include destinations within city, other districts and provinces. When contacted, officials of the Tourism Corporation hoped that such programmes would stabilise the domestic tourism and create ownership among the youth regarding their heritage.

Govt to bail TMAs out of financial crunch

PESHAWAR, April 1: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is working on a comprehensive plan to financially support the tehsil municipal administrations (TMAs) affected by militancy and recent floods. Under the plan, the government will give Rs10 million grant each to the newly established TMAs, and also set up Endowment Fund for the TMA bearing additional development expenses. This was stated by the Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti while chairing a high-level meeting held at the Frontier House on Friday to discuss TMAs related issues. He said the TMA showing efficiency would be encouraged, according to a handout. The meeting was also attended by Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour and officials of the local government and rural development department. Officials of the local government and rural development said that they urged the government to financially support the TMAs which were facing liquidity crunch and have had their infrastr ucture shattered due to militancy and floods. The officials said that they impressed the government to provide the TMAs with one-time grant to help them establish revenue pools to meet their expenditures. Mr Hoti said local government institutions played key role in providing improved civic facilities like streetlights, clean drinking water, and abolition of encroachment, adding, the TMAs should also concentrate on efforts to improve their revenue sources. The meeting agreed to spend the development budget of the TMAs on the schemes which were prioritised from the next fiscal year by the concerned department. The chief minister directed the concerned officials to suggest workable solutions to the problems related to TMAs properties, utility bills in one month time. The meeting conditionally agreed to shift the resources to the weak TMA from the Provincial Finance Commission, however, the same would not be utilised on the salaries of the TMA employees. Mr Hoti said the proposed amendment in Local Government Ordinance 2001 would be finalised by the end of the current fiscal year.

Power pylons destroyed in blasts

KOHAT, April 1: Unidentified militants blew up two electricity pylons in Bazid Khel area adjacent to the frontier region of the district here on Thursday night. Officials said that due to the destruction of 132KV power pylons, electricity was suspended to Mianwali and Dera Ismail Khan. According to the bomb disposal squad, the militants had planted 2kg explosives to each of the supporting pillar, which was detonated simultaneously with a huge noise bringing down both the pylons. The bomb disposal squad cleared the area for public movement. It also collected pieces of evidence for further investigations. The technical team from Peshawar was also dispatched to the area, which restored the power supply from alternative source to the affected areas and started repair work of the damaged pylons. None of the militant groups claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks. Riaz Khan police station has registered a case and started investigation. Meanwhile, the under construction portion of a school was blown up in Dandy Derpakhel area of North Waziristan Agency on Thursday night. A school has been targeted for the first time in the volatile agency. Residents said that explosives were planted at the Samendar Kot high school which exploded late at night. In another incident, a tube-well was blown up in Doog village in the South Waziristan Agency on Thursday night.

Islam upholds humanity even in war

PESHAWAR, April 1: Participants of a workshop held here on Friday said that Islam had devised the best law for wars based on principles of justice and human rights. A three-day workshop on analysis of basic principles and compatibility of Islamic law in wars and international humanitarian law with its implications in the contemporary world started at the University of Peshawar (UoP). More than 30 faculty members from the department of Islamic and Seerat studies of different universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated. The workshop was jointly organised by the UoP Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies and International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). Speaking on the occasion, ICRC representative Dr Mushtaq said that Islam had set clear guidelines for war 1,400 years ago and prohibited killing women, children and senior citizens. He said that international humanitarian law had a very limited history and there was absolutely no doubt that many guidelines in it had been taken from the Islamic law. About the interference of foreign powers in a country, he said that international law clearly said that whenever military operation was started in a country against the rebels or terrorists, the host country could definitely ask for assistance from the outside world to control anarchy. This, he said, was mostly done through the approval of the United Nations. He added that even if the host country was operating against innocent people, the international community could consider a military operation against it after a debate and approval by the world body. Dr Syed Fazl-i-Hadi said that wars were being fought around the globe but unfortunately most of the time Muslims were the target of violation. Dr Hadi said that violation of international humanitarian law was often witnessed in wars and it had become a routine phenomenon to which nobody was paying attention. He said Islam had provi ded the first and comprehensive model of fighting norms and provided guidelines to the whole world but unfortunately Islam was being propagated as a religion of intolerance. Dr Hadi said that through such workshops we could build our capacity and spread the message that Islam was a religion of peace where humanity and its respect was the first priority even at times of war. Earlier, Director Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies Prof Dr Qibla Ayaz delivered the welcome address. He said that the purpose of arranging the conference was to develop know-how about the body of international and Islamic law at times of war among the faculty members so that they could further explain it to their students.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Hike in POL prices flayed PESHAWAR, April 1: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has expressed concern over hike in the petroleum prices and demanded of the government to withdraw the decision. In a statement issued here on Friday, SCCI president Usman Bashir Bilour said the 13 per cent raise in the petroleum prices would have trickle down impact on the economy, as cost of goods and services would increase manifold. Economy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said, was already at verge of collapse because of militancy, while the hike in petroleum prices would further aggravate the situation. He said this will increase the prices of daily use items and affect all segments of the society. He asked the government to immediately withdraw this decision of increasing petroleum prices, otherwise the masses would come out on the streets.—Bureau Report Cattle heads burnt TIMERGARA, April 1: A room was gutted when fire broke out in a house owned by Khan Mohammad, a schoolteacher, at Dherai Talash village the other night, killing five cattle heads and chickens, residents told Dawn. They said reason of the fire was not known, however, the cattle heads died because of suffocation. Residents said the inmates came to know of the fire late at night and prevented other rooms of the house from being burnt. Meanwhile, masked robbers broke into a house at Narai Shah Talash village and took away a dish TV receiver, 2 mobile sets, Rs2,500 cash, a pistol and other household items. — Correspondent PPP's fading popularity CHITRAL, April 1: PPP leader Wing Commander (retired) Fardad Ali Shah has asked the central leadership to check the fading popularity of the party in Chitral by taking drastic measures. Addressing workers here on Friday, he said Chitral had been the stronghold of the party since its very inception but its popularity was on decline due to inaptness of the policies applied here. Mr Shah said sentiments of the local workers were never taken into account while selecting office-bearers and candidates for national elections. He said the persons imposed on local workers by the central leadership always impaired the base of the party and such mistakes should not be repeated in future. Mr Shah said the party always showed reluctance to nominate the candidates for the national elections leading to party's electoral defeat in the past. — Correspondent Police role lauded PESHAWAR, April 1: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Fiaz Ahmad Khan Toru has said the first priority of police was to protect the public even if they have to embrace the suicide bombers. He said policemen had hugged the bombers to save lives of civilians and that was why the public had started loving the personnel in the province. He said the sacrifices offered in the line of duty had no parallel in the history. This, he said, while briefing a visiting 33-member delegation of the 94th National Management Course of Staff College, Lahore, on law and order situation in the province at Central Police Office on Friday. The delegation was led by Sajjad Ashraf. "We have been passing through a critical phase of our history, however, it was a matter of great pride that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police had accepted this challenge with our officers leading this war from the front," the IGP claimed. — Bureau Report Governor urges unity PESHAWAR, April 1: Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has asked the people to forge unity in their ranks to fight out the scourge of terrorism with courage and bravery. He said the elements involved in social disturbances and desecration of mosques and other sacred places were defaming the religion of Islam and impeding development.This he said while talking to a delegation of elders, hailing from various towns and villages situated along the Kohat-Hangu Road on Friday. Former chief justice of Peshawar High Court Justice Ibn-i-Ali and Maulana Shah Hussain were among the delegates. The governor said peace and congenial atmosphere was must for maintaining pace of development. —Bureau Report Membership drive PESHAWAR, April 1: Awami National Party women wing will launch membership drive from April 15 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to strengthen the party at the grassroots level. The campaign will continue for three months. Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Friday the ANP women wing provincial vice-president MPA Shagufta Malik said about 100,000 women would be given membership. The campaign, she said would be carried out door to door and the women would be contacted in every nook and corner. She said the drive would also be a sort of awareness effort to convey the party's message to maximum women. —Bureau Report

NEWS IN BRIEF

Hike in POL prices flayed PESHAWAR, April 1: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has expressed concern over hike in the petroleum prices and demanded of the government to withdraw the decision. In a statement issued here on Friday, SCCI president Usman Bashir Bilour said the 13 per cent raise in the petroleum prices would have trickle down impact on the economy, as cost of goods and services would increase manifold. Economy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said, was already at verge of collapse because of militancy, while the hike in petroleum prices would further aggravate the situation. He said this will increase the prices of daily use items and affect all segments of the society. He asked the government to immediately withdraw this decision of increasing petroleum prices, otherwise the masses would come out on the streets.—Bureau Report Cattle heads burnt TIMERGARA, April 1: A room was gutted when fire broke out in a house owned by Khan Mohammad, a schoolteacher, at Dherai Talash village the other night, killing five cattle heads and chickens, residents told Dawn. They said reason of the fire was not known, however, the cattle heads died because of suffocation. Residents said the inmates came to know of the fire late at night and prevented other rooms of the house from being burnt. Meanwhile, masked robbers broke into a house at Narai Shah Talash village and took away a dish TV receiver, 2 mobile sets, Rs2,500 cash, a pistol and other household items. — Correspondent PPP's fading popularity CHITRAL, April 1: PPP leader Wing Commander (retired) Fardad Ali Shah has asked the central leadership to check the fading popularity of the party in Chitral by taking drastic measures. Addressing workers here on Friday, he said Chitral had been the stronghold of the party since its very inception but its popularity was on decline due to inaptness of the policies applied here. Mr Shah said sentiments of the local workers were never taken into account while selecting office-bearers and candidates for national elections. He said the persons imposed on local workers by the central leadership always impaired the base of the party and such mistakes should not be repeated in future. Mr Shah said the party always showed reluctance to nominate the candidates for the national elections leading to party's electoral defeat in the past. — Correspondent Police role lauded PESHAWAR, April 1: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Fiaz Ahmad Khan Toru has said the first priority of police was to protect the public even if they have to embrace the suicide bombers. He said policemen had hugged the bombers to save lives of civilians and that was why the public had started loving the personnel in the province. He said the sacrifices offered in the line of duty had no parallel in the history. This, he said, while briefing a visiting 33-member delegation of the 94th National Management Course of Staff College, Lahore, on law and order situation in the province at Central Police Office on Friday. The delegation was led by Sajjad Ashraf. "We have been passing through a critical phase of our history, however, it was a matter of great pride that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police had accepted this challenge with our officers leading this war from the front," the IGP claimed. — Bureau Report Governor urges unity PESHAWAR, April 1: Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has asked the people to forge unity in their ranks to fight out the scourge of terrorism with courage and bravery. He said the elements involved in social disturbances and desecration of mosques and other sacred places were defaming the religion of Islam and impeding development.This he said while talking to a delegation of elders, hailing from various towns and villages situated along the Kohat-Hangu Road on Friday. Former chief justice of Peshawar High Court Justice Ibn-i-Ali and Maulana Shah Hussain were among the delegates. The governor said peace and congenial atmosphere was must for maintaining pace of development. —Bureau Report Membership drive PESHAWAR, April 1: Awami National Party women wing will launch membership drive from April 15 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to strengthen the party at the grassroots level. The campaign will continue for three months. Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Friday the ANP women wing provincial vice-president MPA Shagufta Malik said about 100,000 women would be given membership. The campaign, she said would be carried out door to door and the women would be contacted in every nook and corner. She said the drive would also be a sort of awareness effort to convey the party's message to maximum women. —Bureau Report

`Lawyers forced dictator to quit`

PESHAWAR, April 1: The high court chief justice, Ejaz Afzal Khan, stated here on Friday that the lawyers` movement had injected life into a demoralised society and forced a dictator to quit. "What the lawyers have done since March 2007 is not magic and their journey for the development of the country and independence of judiciary is still in progress," said Justice Ejaz Afzal at the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected cabinets of PHC Bar Association and some other district and tehsil bar associations. The chief justice said that the lawyers were the only segment of the society which was not a saleable commodity, like the officials serving in other institutions. He called upon lawyers to help the judiciary in appointment of competent and pious judges in superior judiciary. Justice Ejaz Afzal said that before the lawyers` movement, it was a common perception that nobody could raise voice against a dictator and authoritarian rule, but the lawyers proved all those perceptions false. He was of the opinion that both bench and bar were inseparable from each other and judges could do nothing without the support and guidance of the bar. "I have no personal agenda but we have to take tough decisions for rule of law and supremacy of the constitution," the chief justice stated. He added that he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life and career for the purpose. The PHC chief justice said that senior lawyers should come forward and guide their junior colleagues. He added with the support of the bar most of the problems faced by the lawyers could be resolved. Other judges of the high court including Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Yahya Afridi also attended the ceremony. Earlier, the newly-elected president of PHCBA, Khwaja Muhammad Gara, secretary general Ameenur Rehman and Abdul Qadir Khattak addressed the ceremony. They highlighted some problems faced by the lawyers and also called upon the chief justice to elevate competent and honest judges to the bench so as to resolve the issue of scarcity of judges at the earliest.

`Lawyers forced dictator to quit`

PESHAWAR, April 1: The high court chief justice, Ejaz Afzal Khan, stated here on Friday that the lawyers` movement had injected life into a demoralised society and forced a dictator to quit. "What the lawyers have done since March 2007 is not magic and their journey for the development of the country and independence of judiciary is still in progress," said Justice Ejaz Afzal at the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected cabinets of PHC Bar Association and some other district and tehsil bar associations. The chief justice said that the lawyers were the only segment of the society which was not a saleable commodity, like the officials serving in other institutions. He called upon lawyers to help the judiciary in appointment of competent and pious judges in superior judiciary. Justice Ejaz Afzal said that before the lawyers` movement, it was a common perception that nobody could raise voice against a dictator and authoritarian rule, but the lawyers proved all those perceptions false. He was of the opinion that both bench and bar were inseparable from each other and judges could do nothing without the support and guidance of the bar. "I have no personal agenda but we have to take tough decisions for rule of law and supremacy of the constitution," the chief justice stated. He added that he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life and career for the purpose. The PHC chief justice said that senior lawyers should come forward and guide their junior colleagues. He added with the support of the bar most of the problems faced by the lawyers could be resolved. Other judges of the high court including Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Yahya Afridi also attended the ceremony. Earlier, the newly-elected president of PHCBA, Khwaja Muhammad Gara, secretary general Ameenur Rehman and Abdul Qadir Khattak addressed the ceremony. They highlighted some problems faced by the lawyers and also called upon the chief justice to elevate competent and honest judges to the bench so as to resolve the issue of scarcity of judges at the earliest.