Captain should have final say over team selection: Misbah

National team captain Misbahul Haq said on Tuesday the captain and coach of the team should have the final say over team selection.

“I think the coach and captain should have the authority to make selections,” Misbah said, while addressing the media after a meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials.

“Team selection is done by the selection committee. A captain can only recommend players, but does not have the final say on selection,” he added.

Lamenting over Pakistan crashing out of the World Cup following Australia’s emphatic victory in the quarter-finals, Misbah said he had no authority to influence selection matters.

Responding to a question as to why Sarfraz Ahmed was not included in the playing eleven during the initial matches, Misbah said, “Initially, Sarfraz Ahmed had difficulties but there were no differences within the team.”

Further, Misbah said Pakistan’s bowling is their strong point and the bowlers played spectacularly. “But our batting and fielding needs improvement,” he said.

‘Do not blame me for everything’

Lashing out at a ‘senior’ players critiquing him for the green shirts faltering World Cup campaign, Misbah disappointingly said, “If there are draw backs in cricket, they are not because of me.”

In an apparent reference to former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s statements against him, Misbah said, “If batting failed, it wasn’t my fault neither was it my fault that international cricket is not played in Pakistan anymore.”

“I am not responsible for the attack on Sri Lanka’s team,” he added.

Further, criticising media houses for giving air time to people who are not experts and criticise the team, Misbah said, “There should be a criteria for media appearances, if people come and criticise us wrongfully then no one will be motivated to play.”

One-day career ends

Further, Misbah said his one-day career has come to an end and the decision of his retirement is final.

“My ODI career ends now.”

Team performance

Misbah added that everyone in the team performed well and there was not one player who did not make an effort to win,

“We reached till the quarter-finals despite having lost the first two matches owing to our determination and efforts,” he said.

“And we lost to the best team, Australia, and not any ordinary team,” he added.

Further, Misbah claimed Pakistan team played cricket despite multiple set-backs and losing players to injuries.

Shifting his choice for his favourites for the World Cup, Misbah said, “I think New Zealand will win the tournament.”

PTI will soon hold rally in Karachi to defeat MQM chief: Imran

MIRPUR AZAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan announced to hold a rally in Karachi soon to defeat Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Altaf Hussain.

The PTI chief was addressing a rally in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, ahead of the March 29 by-polls.

In reaction, MQM chief Altaf Hussain termed the PTI chairman’s statements a ‘threat’, while the party’s Rabita Committee said his statements “are not acceptable at any cost”.

“Imran Khan is dreaming about taking over Karachi, using the support of the establishment,” the Rabita Committee’s statement added.

Further, the party in its immediate reaction said that Imran was contradicting himself, by saying on one hand that his rally reminds him of the MQM rally, while on the other hand that people are forced to attend MQM rallies.

“Imran Khan has no sympathy with Kashmiri people and instead of talking about their issues; Imran opted for cheap publicity by talking against a political leader and not about the Kashmir issue,” the statement added.

PML-N will be overthrown: Imran

Meanwhile, the PTI chief also predicted  the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government would be overthrown soon.

“Go Nawaz Go is about to happen,” Imran said.

The PTI chief was addressing a rally in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, in ahead of the by-polls scheduled to be held in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Addressing to the crowd, the PTI chief said Mirpur would have its own local government. “Mirpur will have its own local government that will make decisions on its own,” he said. “The local government of Mirpur will resemble that of Switzerland,” he added.

“The time has come for all of you to be free. Stand up for your rights, steal your rights if you have to,” Imran said.

The PTI chief also said that former president Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are in some sort of ‘partnership’, which he vowed to break.

“Corrupt politicians store their money abroad in countries like Dubai,” Imran said.

“Recently, a girl was arrested because she was carrying $500,000 to Dubai. This is the 40^th time someone from Pakistan has carried a huge sum of money like that abroad,” he said, referring to supermodel Ayyan’s recent arrest.

Imran told his supporters that in the next elections, they should vote for politicians whose money is invested in Pakistan, rather than in countries abroad.

”Politicians like Zardari and Nawaz Sharif use their power to acquire money. This is illegal,” he said.

823 female inmates in different prisons in Punjab: report

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Police on Wednesday told Supreme Court on Wednesday that there are as many as 823 and 175 female inmates in different prisons in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), respectively.

This was revealed during the hearing of the suo motu case regarding the miserable conditions of women in jails by the three member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nasir.

Assistant Advocate General Punjab Mudhasir Khalid Abbasi while submitting a report before the bench revealed that out of the total female prisoners confined in Punjab 61 are condemned prisoners, 172 are convicted while 586 are under trial prisoners and 4 are female internee.

The court was also informed that 113 female prisoners are detained along with 130 children.

The report, copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, reads that only one prison in whole of Punjab is exclusively reserved for female inmates. However, there are total 31 prisons specified for under trail female prisoners. After trial and conviction awarded by the courts, the females prisoners are shifted to Women Prison Multan, which is totally managed by the female officers. At the Multan prison, the inmates are imparted training in different trades for their successful rehabilitation in the society upon their release.

The report also claims that at present no female prisoner confined in Punjab is suffering from any mental/ psychiatric disorder.

The court was informed that the children accompanying their inmate mothers having age up to 6 year are provided education inside the jail, while the children above 6 year of age are shifted to SOS Village for further education.

Commenting on the steps taken by the provincial government, the report says “the government of Punjab has taken unprecedented steps to reduce overcrowding in prisons including those reserved for women prisoners. The construction of 12 new jails including high security jail at Sahiwal, Mianwali and a sub jail at Shujabad is at different stages of completion. Through this mega project, additional accommodation for 11500 prisoners will be created to reduce over-crowding to great extent.” It further adds that 9.2billion has been approved for this project.

The report further reveals that during the last five years, a total number of 2,711 prisoners including female inmates were released after the payment of 118.149 million provided by the provincial government and philanthropists.

The Punjab government has claimed that at present, no women or juvenile prisoner is confined in the province in lieu of unpaid Diyat, Arsh, Daman or fine.

According to the report since the promulgation of National Judicial Policy 2009, a total number of 42,811 under trail prisoners including female inmates involved in petty cases have been released by the orders of District & session judges on their fortnightly visits.

Spelling out provincial government’s five years programme to improve the condition of the prisoners, the apex court was told that judicial lockups will be converted into sub jails at each Tehsil headquarters. Prisons Management Information System (PMIS) for computerization of all records and digitalization of business processes will be established, while hardware has already been installed in 20 jails and the process of computerization is under way.

The court was also informed that the government will construct new jails at Nankana Sahib, Chiniot & Khushab districts where currently no jail exists. Likewise, district jails at Lahore and Rawalpindi will also be established to overcome the problem overcrowding in prisons. The provincial government also plans to install CCTV cameras in jails and establish of Central Control room for prisons.

Meanwhile, Additional Advocate General K-P Waqar Ahmad Khan has submitted that total of 175 female inmates are confined in the different jails of the province.

During the course of hearing, the top court appointed senior lawyer Asma Jahangir as amicus curiae and directed all the provincial government to file comprehensive report in this matter.

The hearing of case is adjourned for two weeks.

Intense Khyber operation enters last phase

PESHAWAR: Fighting for the control of what appears to be the last stronghold of Pakistani militants in Tirah Valley has been intense as the military claims to have cleared two-thirds of what could be the last leg of the large-scale operation across the seven tribal regions.

The valley with dense forests and dominating mountain features, stretching over roughly 1500 square kilometres, has been serving as the last redoubt to many of the Pakistani militant groups and their foreign allies pushed out from their previous sanctuaries in Pakistani tribal regions along the Afghan border.

“This is the last of the major battles we have fought against militants,” a senior security official said. “And this has been the most intense as well,” he said, requesting he not be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

In one battle that continued for three days for the control of a strategic ridge that overlooks the plains of Peshawar and Afgha­nistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, Pakistani troops suffered one of their heaviest casualties.

Sixteen soldiers, including a major of the Pakistan Army, lost their lives while dozen others sustained injuries, including two officers. Reinforcements were sent in and the Kidney Ridge as the military calls it for its shape that had changed hands was recaptured.

Government officials say Operation Khyber-2, a sequel to Operation Khyber-One that saw the military sweep through the plains of Bara in Khyber tribal region, would have a far-reaching effect on security in Peshawar and beyond.

“Tirah is the last major redoubt of the various Pakistani militant groups,” a senior government official said. “You name them and they are there,” he said, also requesting he should not be named because he was not allowed to speak to the media on operational matters.

“From the newborn Daesh – the Pakistani branch of the so-called Islamic State, to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, to Lashkar-i-Islam to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar, all of them are there, together with some of their foreign friends,” the official said.

“About two thousand and five hundred of them are fighting their last battle to retain the control of the valley,” the official said. “The area is heavily mined and then they were controlling dominating features.”

Thousands of Pakistani troops, including units from the elite Special Services Group, backed up by jets had mounted their last major offensive.

Security and government officials say they have cleared two-thirds of the valley, taking control in the process of some of the strategic mountains and passes, including Madatal Kandao that connects with Afghanistan and had been used by militants and narcotics smugglers to cross the border.

Hundreds of thousands of people had to leave the plains of Bara following Operation-One against the banned Lashkar-i-Islam, a militant group led by a local `commander’, Mangal Bagh. The area has since been cleared and in the first phase, repatriation of thousands of families has already begun.

Tirah straddles Tora Bora, the valley that served as the last sanctuary of Al Qaeda before its leadership escaped into Pakistan’s tribal region following the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The Pakistan Army, that had stationed a small unit in the valley to help plug escape routes, pulled out immediately afterwards. “It was difficult to sustain our presence their due to logistic problems,” the security official said.

Security officials say that after initial resistance, militants were abandoning their positions and fleeing. The military says it has killed more than three hundred in the battle for Tirah so far. Security officials, however, say the figure could be much higher due to intense bombing by jets.

“There is a sense of demoralisation within the ranks and files,” said a security official, citing militant intercepts. “They are on the run.”

The TTP Jamaatul Ahrar commented on Wednesday that its two top leaders had tendered resignations, describing the development a routine matter.

Its spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan assured its fighters the resignations by the group’s intelligence chief Abdul Wali aka Omar Khalid Khurasani and emir, Maulana Qasim Khurasani, were not the result of any differences or sign of any weakness. “Under the rules of the Jamaatul Ahrar, its central leaders are changed after every six months,” he said in an email to media outlets.

Jamaatul Ahrar was formed in August last following differences between what was the TTP Mohmand led by Omar Khalid and the Fazlullah-led TTP.

The email from Ehsan said that Asad Afridi had been appointed as the interim emir of the group and that the central shura would announce a new leader in the next few days.

Pakistani officials say most of the top militant leadership is hiding in the neighbouring districts of Afghanistan. “We have been hearing that the Afghans would be launching complimentary operations on the other side,” the government official said. “We’ll see what the Afghans do once we push the militants out,” the official said.

350 policemen to get anti-terror training from army

HYDERABAD: Sindh police has chalked out a plan under which army personnel will impart antiterrorism training to 350 policemen of the province.

This was stated by Sindh DIG police (training) Dr Jamil Ahmed while addressing the first passing-out parade of 1,085 policemen, including 37 policewomen, at the recruitment training centre (RTC) here on Wednesday.

He said that the police training department had proposed to the Sindh government to allocate Rs150 per recruit for food in the mess of the centre and after the approval, free food would be provided to recruits.

He said the government was trying to impart quality training to policemen and added that they would be given counterterrorism training so that they could protect the life and property of people.

He said that following verification of policemen, salaries to those who were recently recruited would be given. He admitted that this process was delayed, but said there was always room for improvement.

Answering a question, he said the Sindh government did not provide funds regarding mess expenses at the training centre, although the Punjab government allocated Rs150 for each recruit towards food during the training. A similar proposal was sent to the Sindh government to seek such allocations, he said.

Earlier, addressing the parade, he urged recruits to perform their duty diligently and with devotion to serve people. RTC Principal Nisar Ahmed Brohi said the centre had been working in Badin and was shifted to Hyderabad in March 2014.

He said the appointment of a doctor was needed in the centre while two buses for transportation were required.

Hyderabad SSP Irfan Baloch, Deputy Commissioner Fayyaz Jatoi and other police officers were also present.

More electricity, less loadshedding promised

ISLAMABAD: There will be more power and less loadsheding in the country this summer, thanks to Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) that will start flowing into the generation system for the first time by March 31, two federal ministers told the National Assembly on Wednesday.

But Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi refused to disclose what he said would be the “best price in Asia” the government would pay for LNG, saying the rate was still being negotiated and could be shared with parliamentary forums only after its approval by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet.

Rejecting fears of “lack of transparency” in the LNG import raised in a call-attention notice tabled by five opposition members, the minister said the first shipment of the imported LNG would arrive at the Port Qasim in Sindh on Thursday and would flow into the system by the deadline of March 31.

That will result in 10 per cent increase in power generation than last year’s and a $300 million worth of annual savings to the generating companies.

Khawaja Asif told the house that loadshedding would decrease this summer because of the availability of more efficient LNG to four Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Kot Addu Power Company (Kapco) that will use it for now.

Two female PPP lawmakers – Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho and Dr Nafisa Shah – were furious after the petroleum minister called their fears of a lack of transparency in the LNG deal “hilarious” and the water and power minister said education had done little to improve the attitude of some members.

At one point, Dr Shah’s mike was switched off on the chair’s order when she tried to respond to Khawaja Asif’s remark, saying she had the right to defend herself.

The tension prompted an intervention by opposition leader Khursheed Ahmed Shah, who also accused the treasury benches of deviating from a convention of consulting the opposition before seeking suspension of the requirement of a rule of the house rules of procedure for an immediate consideration of a bill.

Expression of regrets by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed removed Mr Shah’s objection and paved the way for a smooth passage of the government’s Credit Bureaus Bill, 2015, which provides a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for the incorporation and functioning of credit bureaus in Pakistan.

The house also passed, with a debate, another government bill that amends two sections of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973, — as recommended by the Pakistan Bar Council — to what a statement of objects and reasons says further regulate the disciplinary proceedings in the cases of grave professional misconduct by a lawyer and to prescribe for a maximum three months for the suspension of the lawyer and as many months for a tribunal’s decision after receiving a reference from a disciplinary committee.

Earlier in the sitting, a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Iqbal Mohammad Ali Khan, complained of harassment of his party lawmakers by unspecified security agencies at Karachi airport while they were on their way to Islamabad.

Security officials, he said, would ask party lawmakers to park their cars aside for their names to be checked against a list while no such checks were made about members of other parties.

Khawaja Asif, who is also the defence minister, promised to make a statement in the house on Thursday after making checks, though he said such a discrimination should not happen “in any circumstance” to a parliamentarian or an ordinary citizen.

Imran signals intent to take on MQM in Karachi

MIRPUR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan assailed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday and asked people not to vote for those who had their wealth stashed abroad. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain also came in for flak as Mr Khan likened him to a despot.

Addressing an election campaign rally for Barrister Sultan Mahmood, PTI’s regional chief and former prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Khan said: “Every despot has his time (to leave). Altaf Hussain, your time has also come.”

“I should talk about Azad Kashmir, but the enthusiasm of the audience here reminds me of Karachi and public meetings of Altaf Hussain where people are forcibly driven,” he said. “Altaf Hussain addresses them by telephone from London and the frightened audience looks like ‘living corpses’. They are scared that if they do not laugh when Altaf Hussain asks them to do so, they will be shot dead by a ‘sector in charge’,” Mr Khan said.

The PTI chief announced that he would hold his next public meeting in Karachi “to defeat Altaf Hussain”.

Imran Khan said the message he wanted to convey to the people of AJK and Pakistan was to break the idols of fear.

---

People urged to reject leaders having assets abroad

---

“Time has come to emancipate yourselves and stand for your rights. You should snatch, not beg for your rights,” he said.

The PTI leader alleged that Mr Sharif and Mr Zardari were leading up the garden paths. “I have broken their partnership.”

Referring to the recent arrest of a fashion model for allegedly trying to smuggle $500,000 out of the country, Mr Khan said people from Pakistan had purchased property worth $4.3 billion in other countries by transferring their money in dollars, which had led to devaluation of rupee and surge in poverty.

Chiding ‘corrupt politicians’ for allegedly transferring their wealth abroad, he praised the Kashmiri diaspora for remitting their hard-earned money to Pakistan.

“The country is becoming heavily indebted but corrupt politicians are becoming filthy rich,” he said, alleging that both Mr Sharif and Mr Zardari had become billionaires after coming to power.

The PTI chief asked the audience to pledge that they would not vote for leaders who had their assets outside Pakistan.

“If you do so, you will continue to suffer,” he said.

He listed measures that he said the PTI-led government had taken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to improve governance, and vowed to replicate them across the country and AJK after coming to power.

He predicted that Mr Sharif would soon be sent packing, because “rigging in the 2013 general elections is about to be unearthed by a judicial commission”.

“This is the year of elections. Pakistanis should gear themselves up for it,” he said.

Mr Khan said that the PTI would empower the AJK government.

“Decisions about AJK will be taken in AJK, but accountability will remain in my hands,” he said, asking people not to disappoint him in the March 29 by-elections for a Legislative Assembly seat.

Party leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Jehangir Tareen, Chaudhary Sarwar, Azam Khan Swati and Barrister Mahmood also spoke.