LAHORE: Several senior Pakistan players, including captain Misbahul Haq and former captain Shahid Afridi, are reportedly unhappy with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after the board’s refusal to award them permission for an exhibition Twenty20 in Toronto on May 12.

The players had reportedly sought permission from Intikhab Alam, former coach and manager who is now a PCB Director, and had received verbal assurance.

“It has transpired that since none of the players has applied for NOCs in writing from the PCB and they did not submit details of the organisers and the match, the PCB has refused permission,” said an official before adding that the players were now blaming Intikhab for the confusion.

“Even if Intikhab gave them permission verbally, the board can’t act without having something in writing. None of the players bothered to seek permission or an NOC in writing from the relevant authorities in the board. How do they expect to get permission then.”

The official added that under existing regulation, no player can confirm his appearance in a match or enter into a deal with any foreign club without taking the PCB into confidence and getting an NOC.

“All players who now go to play in foreign leagues have to follow this practice. It was adopted for the Bangladesh Premier League and even when players signed contracts with English counties.”

Players thought verbal assurance was enough

Misbah and Afridi were in Thailand for a commercial shoot and did not have time to write to the PCB while they, and the others, thought the verbal clearance from Intikhab was enough and he would talk to the board himself. The organisers, meanwhile, are not happy with the situation as tickets for the match were sold on the basis of these Pakistan stars confirming their appearance.

“The organisers point out that tickets were sold because they advertised that Misbah, Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Akmal and Hammad Azam were the players who would take part in the match. They even arranged electronic Canadian visas for the players after confirmation from them and they fear if the players don’t show up, they could face heavy financial losses.”

While a PCB official said that if the players applied for the permission in writing even now, it can all be processed within a few days.

“It can still be done but we have to see what the team management thinks about sending players abroad when the national camp for the Sri Lanka tour is due to start from May 12.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2012.

ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party for its attitude towards the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Speaking to the media on Thursday, he questioned the PPP’s claim of facing courts. “Even Benazir Bhutto escaped from Pakistan for eight years after being punished,” he said. He added that the head of state in any other country would have resigned after just being accused. Earlier, Nisar presided over a meeting of the PML-N parliamentary party and decided to protest in and outside the parliament against the PPP.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2012.

SIALKOT: A man died and four were injured in a gas cylinder blast at a gas refilling shop on Monday. Rescue officials said that a cylinder at the shop inside a small hotel in Model Town, Ugoki, exploded while it was being refilled. Five people were injured and rushed to Allama Iqbal Memorial DHQ Civil Hospital, where Abdul Ghaffar, 23, succumbed to his injuries. One of the injured men, Nafees, was later shifted to Mayo Hospital in Lahore owing to critical condition. The three injured men remain out of danger at Allama Iqbal Memorial DHQ Civil Hospital. Witnesses said that the explosion was of high intensity, causing glass windows of 11 nearby shops to shatter. Seven shops were badly damaged.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2012.

He was chairing a meeting of the representatives of OGRA, CNG stations association, Hydrocarbon Development Authority of Pakistan and the Transporters Association. It was decided in the meeting that the checking stations, having checked the CNG cylinders in the vehicles, would issue a specific sticker to the vehicle owner to be affixed on the windscreen.

CNG stations would also be fixed with scanners which having read the sticker, would allow the vehicles to be filled with CNG. It was also decided in the meeting that CNG cylinders installed in all private vehicles, would have to be replaced after five years or they might get the fitness certificate from the concerned authority. The life of cylinders installed in public transport vehicles will be determined by OGRA. CNG stations association would extend the number of installation and certification stations to 100.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2011.

They submitted a memorandum of demands to World Bank officials, but refused the bank’s invitation for a meeting to resolve the long-standing issue on the grounds that their demands should be included on the agenda.

They warned that they will launch an “Occupy World Bank” campaign in the near future if their demands are not positively responded.

The protesters, who were affected by World Bank projects, chanted slogans in favour of their demands. They called the bank “criminal” and accused it of weakening the Pakistani economy, while holding it responsible for Muzaffargarh’s devastation.

They said that it was the failure of newly rehabilitated Taunsa Barrage, paid for with the help of a Rs10 billion foreign loan that led to the devastation of Muzaffargarh District in Punjab.

The protesters were of the view that the barrage failed because of lack of attention to upraising and strengthening protective embankments, dysfunctional computer control system of the hoist gates and absence of hill-torrent managements. They demanded that the World Bank and provincial government initiate the accountability process in light of the Punjab Judicial Flood Inquiry Tribunal report. They also demanded that the bank cancel the Taunsa Barrage Rehabilitation Project loan and allocate unused funds for the rehabilitation of affected communities.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2011.

The 62-year-old first attended the annual awards ceremony as a contender more than 30 years ago, when she was up for a supporting role honour in The Deer Hunter. The following year she won that honour for Kramer vs Kramer and scooped the best actress prize with the 1982 Holocaust film Sophie’s Choice. Since then Streep has been back as a nominee 12 times, each time leaving empty-handed.

Now the Devil Wears Prada star is a frontrunner again for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.       Asked in an interview by Reuters if she still cared about the Oscars, she replied: “Sadly it still matters. It’s so exciting, it really is. I’ve been going to that thing for many years but it’s still the one,” revealed Streep.

She described The Iron Lady, in which she portrays Thatcher both at the height of her power and as an old, forgetful woman looking back on her life, as a “Lear for girls”, a reference to Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear. “I said it secretly, I said, ‘You know what this is? This is Lear for girls’. It’s concerned with the endgame and how power diminishes, how we let go of things, and that’s the part that really interested me.”

Meanwhile actor Ben Stiller is disappointed about the fact that comedians still don’t get recognition at the Oscars, reports E! Online. “In terms of the Oscars, it’s just too bad that comedies don’t get recognised,” Stiller told the Hollywood Reporter before the 19^th annual Brittania Awards, held a few days ago. The comic actor attended the gala dinner where he was feted with the Charlie Chaplin Award for Excellence in Comedy, an honour doled out by the Los Angeles branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta).

“It just seems like there’s this huge hole where there’s no recognition for people who, over the years, have been doing such great work,” he said. While he hesitated to suggest that adding a new category was the answer (the way the Golden Globes have had a Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy category since 1952), he hoped Oscar organisers would at least give a little more consideration to singling out an art form which for too long has gone underappreciated. “It’s great for comedies that the Globes exist in that way — that there’s more of an opening to see them get recognised,” he added. REUTERS

WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION E! ONLINE

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2011.

KARACHI: The federal tax ombudsman, Dr Shoaib Suddle, has disclosed that 360,000 containers were dispatched to Pakistan, but they never reported their arrival at Pakistan’s borders.

He was addressing the federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) on Wednesday. He said that 25,000 containers, booked under the ATT (Afghan Transit Trade) never made it to Karachi, but fake documentation indicated that they had been delivered to their destination.

He explained that starting from Karachi, four and a half days are required to deliver goods at the Chaman border, while it took six days for the goods to make it to the Afghan border of Torkham. But these very containers make it back within six days instead of the regular of 10 days.

Some impounded containers, found to have contained liquor, and others booked under the ATT never returned despite a lapse of two years. “This falls under the purview of smuggling,” he declared.

The tax ombudsman said legislation was quite necessary for the “taxpayers’ bill of rights”, which would be fully supported by his office.

The FTO (federal tax ombudsman) helped disburse Rs220 million worth of refunds, during past nine years, out of which an average of Rs7 billion worth of refunds were disbursed during his tenure.

Suddle said that the advisory committee of the FTO was being made more effective in the next two weeks, and the FPCCI would also have to appoint its representative. This would help with coordination between the FPCCI, business community and the FTO. An accessible website would be put up.

The FTO received an annual 1,500 complaints out of which two-thirds pertained to income tax, 16 per cent to sales tax, 14 per cent to customs, and 14 per cent to central excise tax.

The tax ombudsman stressed businesses must encourage the growth of a tax culture.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2011.

PESHAWAR: The federal government has approved the recommendation of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to regularise 4,000 of its employees nationwide by March 31. Out of the 4,000 contract employees in question, more than 1,000 belong to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

A federal committee constituted to decide on the resolution of the issue released directives to provide permanent jobs to all employees who qualify for them on merit basis. The committee visited Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan and Fata to review the performance of contract employees and submitted its report to the Interior Ministry.

The Committee recommended the Ministry provide permanent job to all employees who have been working on contract for the last
four years.

These employees will be promoted between one and three grades.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2011.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Saturday released a video allegedly showing the killing of former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer Colonel Imam.

Sultan Amir Tarar, better known as Col Imam, was reportedly killed last month by the Taliban.

The video footage released today shows Colonel Imam on the ground with three Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members, including the group’s chief Hakimullah Mehsud, standing behind him.

Earlier, TTP spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan was quoted as saying that a video showing Col Imam would be released later in the day.

“The video will show Taliban fighters firing at Colonel Imam… Colonel Imam is no more in this world,” Ahsan said.

A little-known militant faction called the Asian Tigers in North Waziristan had earlier claimed they had killed the former ISI official but conflicting reports this week said that he may still be alive and in captivity.

The abductors had reportedly demanded Rs50 million and the release of some jailed militants for Colonel Imam’s freedom.

Col Imam was widely respected by the Afghan Taliban for his role in the Afghan Jihad against Soviet forces during the 1979-89 war.

He described himself as the “teacher” of Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar in several interviews.

He also served as Pakistan’s consul general in the western Afghan city of Herat after the installation of a Taliban government in Kabul.

LAHORE: A large number of UK businessmen are keen to invest in Pakistan through joint ventures, but have been unable to do so because Pakistanis have not established their brands in the world market, according to UK business tycoon James Caan.

“Pakistani businessmen and the government should concentrate on establishing branding culture by focusing more on quality instead of quantity. The branding culture is the key to an economic turnaround,” he said.

Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Caan said that foreign investment could get a boost in real terms if dissemination of all business-related information was ensured to potential foreign investors. Stressing the need for a greater volume of two-way trade, he urged LCCI office-bearers to arrange a delegation to UK.

He said that UK, being the fastest growing economy in the European Union, has huge potential for Pakistani businessmen to have joint ventures with their counterparts there.

LCCI Senior Vice President Sheikh Mohammad Arshad said that Pakistan was particularly interested in transfer of technology, but to materialise the idea, the business community in the United Kingdom would have to play a significant role.

He explained that there are several areas for which UK and Pakistani entrepreneurs must chalk out a comprehensive business strategy for mutual benefit. Keeping in view the current low level of trade between UK and Pakistan, he emphasised the need for more efforts.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2011.