Lahore win gold in karate, basketball

By: Our Staff Reporter | March 02, 2012 | The Nation

LAHORE - Lahore clinched gold medals in karate, weightlifting and basketball matches on the fourth day of Inter Divisional Punjab Sports Festival 2012 which is in full swing here at the various venues of the city.
In weightlifting university male competitions, Lahore bagged first position, Gujranwala secured second while Sargodha got third. In general public, basketball matches, Lahore scored first position while Faisalabad was second in the final competitions. In basketball boys’ college competitions, PCC Lahore scored 65 points with first position, PCC Faisalabad earned second with 41 points. In university basketball boys’ competitions, UCP Lahore secured first position with 61 points while BZU Multan remained second. In the general public final volleyball matches, Faisalabad defeated Sahiwal 3-1. Faisalabd also got victorious in the college boys’ semi-finals beating Sahiwal 2-0 while Gujranwala beat Lahore 2-1.
In the girls’ matches of volleyball college female semi-finals, Rawalpindi beat Bahawalpur 3-0, Faisalabad thrashed Multan 3-0. In the hockey college male matches, Faisalabad beat Sahiwal 6-0, Gujranwala defeated Rawalpindi 2-1, DG Khan beat Rawalpindi 1-0, Bahawalpur beat Multan 5-1. In the general public hockey matches, Faisalabad beat Sahiwal 5-1, Gujranwala beat Multan 2-0. In karate university girls events, Madeeha Hussain of Lahore clinched gold in 45kg while Masooma Ijaz of Faisalabad earned silver. Marium Lodhi of Lahore secured gold in 50kg, Pamela of Faisalabad got silver whereas in +50kg, Anza Tahir of Lahore won gold and Rubab of Gujranwala silver.
In the boys’ university karate competitions, Waqas of Lahore won gold in 48kg while Sajjad Hussain of Bahawalpur won silver. Ayaz of Lahore grabbed gold in 55kg while Zulqurnain of Bahawalpur got silver. Shahid of Lahore claimed gold in +55kg while M Abbas of Sahiwal secured silver.
Bahawalpur dominated with 13 points to win first position in university wrestling male competitions. Islamia College University Bahawalpur shone with two golds and one silver to win the finals. Lahore won second position with 11 points earning one gold and two silvers. In college athletics competitions, Tanveer Abbas of Sargodha won 100m race, Tariq Mehmood of Lahore won 200m, M Shahid of Gujranwala 400m, Zahid of Bahawalpur 1500m and Ehsan Ijaz of Faisalabad won 800m while in the long jump, Adnan of Lahore, in shotput M Sajjad of Bahawalpur whereas in javelin throw, M Qasim of Lahore secured first positions.

Intelligence agencies not above law, observes SC

By: Terence J Sigamony | March 02, 2012

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over the replies submitted by the intelligence agencies in Adiala Jail missing prisoners’ case.
The court issued the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) a stern warning that they must not consider themselves superior to the civilians and work under the law of the land. The court also said that there is a common perception that agencies are involved in abduction and extra-judicial killings in Balochistan.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heading a three-member bench  hearing a petition filed by Rohaifa, the mother of three of the prisoners  said they were surprised to read the report of the intelligence agencies.
The chief justice said the replies does not justify under which law the civilians were picked up by agencies and kept in detention for more than a year. “Who gave you the right to hound people?” the CJP questioned. He told the MI and ISI counsel Raja Muhammad Irshad, “Take this out of your mind that you (ISI and MI) are superior and others (civilians) are inferior.”
Eleven missing persons were allegedly picked up by the agencies after their release from Adiala Jail. Out of them four prisoners Muhammad Amir, Tahseenullah, Said Arab and Abdul Saboor died in the custody.
The CJP said that they were frightened to the see the condition of prisoners. The court should be informed which agencies kept them in their custody. If these people had attacked GHQ, even then it is necessary for you to produce evidence against them for fair trial. You must go by the book,” Justice Chaudhry said.
The chief justice said whatever the agencies do should be done within the limits of law as the agencies are not ‘above the law’. “If a judge is bound not to break a traffic signal, then why will he allow you to subvert the constitution of the country,” Justice Khilji remarked.
The chief justice said that the agencies have become ‘insensitive’ to the issues. He said that the things have become so bad that mother of three sons, killed in the custody, also died after seeing the condition of the prisoners. He said they would be held accountable to God even if one prisoner is proven innocent. “We are grateful to God that rest of the prisoners have been saved,” he said.
The chief justice said there is a hue and cry throughout the country that agencies abduct people and later their bodies are found in hospitals. He said the agencies are also blamed for the missing persons. Balochistan is burning and people are blaming the intelligence agencies of the country.
Raja Irshad, counsel for ISI and MI, held that the prisoners were getting funds from abroad and were involved in anti-state activities. He said that foreign elements involved in instilling terrorism in Balochistan are active and the agencies cannot work with their ‘eyes closed’ to the issue.
The chief justice said that if this attitude is not changed then the warlords would become powerful. “Who have set Balochistan on fire? We ask you time and again and you always tell us stories. Are we here to listen to your stories?”
The chief justice addressing Raja Irshad said if your child becomes sick you become worried about him. Raja Irshad said that officials of the agencies also understand this thing that missing persons issue is becoming very important.
“After reading your poorly-drafted reply, I thought whether we are thinking against the country here? As much as you consider yourself loyal to this country, perhaps we are more loyal than you,” the chief justice observed. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said that the 1965 war is evidence that the people of the country were on the forefront rather than the army to fight against the enemy.
The chief justice said that the government officials were apathetic as the relatives of the missing persons who were protesting in the open sky in cold weather, while they were sitting in their rooms in front of heaters. For the last 15 days the relatives of missing persons are sitting in front of the parliament, but no one cared for them.
The court also expressed displeasure over the statement of Raja Irshad about parliament that the current parliament ‘does not represent the will of the people’. The CJP said: “Had the parliament not been working then there would have been martial law in the country.”
The court observed that the parliament should do some legislation in this regard. It noted that the parliament has passed so many bills and on the order of the Supreme Court has passed 20th amendment.
Raja Irshad briefed the court about the sacrifices of his clients, saying: “The persons whom I am representing are also lying on the snow-capped mountains.” Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said that they recognise their commendable services but violation of the law cannot be allowed. The honourable judge said everyone is equal before law.
The chief justice praising the governor and chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said now the Adiala prisoners were in safe hands. The KPK governor has a good knowledge about of law. The court appreciated KPK chief secretary for presenting comprehensive report regarding health of the prisoners, saying he had done wonderful job. The KPK chief secretary was directed to keep on submitting medical reports of seven prisoners after every four days. The hearing was adjourned till March 16.

Pakistan’s interest first, says Gilani

Pakistan’s interest first, says Gilani By: Waqt News | March 02, 2012 Pakistan’s interest first, says Gilani ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said Pakistan as a sovereign nation would make decisions which served its interests, as he asked the United States not to interfere in the country’s internal matters. He said Pakistan would benefit through trade with Iran, adding that an agreement was expected with Tehran for 1000MW of electricity supply to cater the energy needs in the country. Gilani was answering questions on the US pressure regarding Pak-Iran ties in a live programme on Waqt News and Prime Minister Online programme of the state-run PTV. The prime minister said the resolution tabled in the US Congress was inconsequential, as it did not represented Washington’s policy. He asked the US to restrain from meddling in Pakistan, saying such attitude generated anti-Americanism in the country. The Pak-US relations had witnessed many ups and downs, but Pakistan wanted to ensure ties based on mutual respect, as both the countries had shared objectives in the war against terror, Gilani noted. The prime minister rejected the impression that the democracy was threatened and said matters pertaining to security situation were discussed during the Wednesday’s meeting with the army chief, adding the undemocratic elements would only be disappointed. However, he refused to answer a question about the possible extension in the tenure of ISI chief Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, saying, “No comments.” He recalled his early statement in which he had said that everything would be cleared in the spring. Talking about the 20th Amendment, Gilani said it had made the free and transparent elections a reality. Now, the prime minster would not be imprisoned, sent abroad or killed because of the transfer of power under the constitution, remarked Gilani and said he would announce the next polls after taking the allies into confidence. Replying to a query about Pak-India relations, Gilani made it clear that Pakistan’s principled stance on Kashmir would never be changed and talks were underway to resolve the multiple issues between the two neighbours. “We want good relations with India, China, Iran Afghanistan and other neighbouring countries, as improved ties will ensure progress in the region. A country, which does not enjoy normal relations with neighbours, can never develop,” he remarked. On the Balochistan issue, the prime minister said it was Nawaz Sharif who had first suggested an All Parties Conference (APC), but when he talked about it, the PML-N leader termed it a futile exercise and presented some conditions. “APC is not my problem. It is a national issue. I will decide whether to call it or not after the consulting all the stakeholders,” he said, adding that the Baloch people were patriotic and the government would accept all their demands in the space provided by the constitution. Gilani also talked about the energy crisis and rising petroleum prices. He said Pakistan could not remain immune to the trend in the international market, adding that the federal government was giving a subsidy worth Rs 8 billion and the provinces should also to contribute in subsidising the prices. “I want to organise an energy conference in Lahore so as to include the provincial government in the process, because the provinces have also be authorised to produce electricity,” he added. But he declined giving a deadline about ending the power outages, saying he would not do so, as all the promises had always been joked. Gilani reiterated that the next budget would be tax free and said the finance advisor had been directed to create job opportunities for 0.15 million people, while the health insurance project would soon be launched from Faisalabad. The government aimed at improving the infrastructure without which distribution of laptops was useless, he remarked with obvious reference to the Punjab government. On the memogate, he said Mansoor Ijaz did not enjoy good reputation; therefore, his claims had no importance. The prime minister said he respected judiciary and would appear in person before the court, whenever asked to do so. Gilani rejected the possibility of curbing media freedom and said he in his first speech after assuming the office had announced repealing the black laws concerning media.

Humko Deewana Kar Gaye Full Movie

Samsung Galaxy S Advance unsheathed (from MWC 2012)

 
What do you mean Samsung is saturating the market with an endless stream of painfully similar Galaxy products? Choo crazy, mang. The Samsung Galaxy S Advance was rumoured a few weeks ago, and quickly followed by an official press release, and now Sammo has brought a handful along to Mobile World Congress. The Samsung Galaxy S Plus took the original Galaxy S and upped the processing juice from 1GHz to 1.4GHz single-core. This new chap is more in line with the Samsung Galaxy S II. Sort of. If you think you’re confused, my phone-loving friend, imagine what Joe Average must think. Samsung Galaxy S Advance specs include a 4in Super AMOLED display (480 x 800), a 1GHz dual-core processor, 16GB internal storage and 768MB of RAM. In terms of camera action, the Samsung Galaxy S Advance has a 5MP rear shooter, with 1.3MP on the front so you can show people the insides of your nostrils during video calls. Somewhat surprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy S Advance will ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), though we expect an upgrade to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) – or at least a ‘Value Pack’ (can’t see Sammo living that one down any time soon) – will follow in due course. Whispers from Sammo’s Mobile World Congress stand suggest there might also be NFC support and an 8GB variant by the time the Samsung Galaxy S Advance hits the UK. When will that be? Probably Q2. Read more about: Samsung Galaxy S, Android