Reconciliatory policy to continue, says Zardari

Karachi

President Asif Ali Zardari said that the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) policy of reconciliation was such a success that even the superpowers of the world were taking notice and discussing the trend.

Addressing the inauguration of the last phase of the Lyari Expressway project on Friday, he claimed that a third force had tried to take advantage of the tension between the PPP and the MQM. However, the reconciliatory strategy of the government foiled any conspiracies and now the people were reaping the benefits of the same policy.

The PPP co-chairman maintained that the workers of both parties were being targeted to create the impression that they were killing each other. However, the president said that the tension was successfully defused and now the PPP intended to continue with its policy of reconciliation in future. He added that the ‘third force’ had created a situation which forced industries to shift out of Karachi and now the same elements were stirring trouble once again.

The president advised political forces to help people, businessmen, and farmers in their efforts to serve the nation and he stressed that the need of the hour was to create harmony.

Zardari said that Friday was the foundation day of the PPP and former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto created the party to fulfill the dreams of the masses. He added that the party’s foundation day was also the perfect time to realise the late Benazir Bhutto’s dream of reconciliation.

The president boasted that the 38 kilometre Lyari Expressway project would link the Karachi port to Gwadar and other areas of the country.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Governor Sindh Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad as well as federal and provincial ministers of the ruling party and the MQM were present on the occasion. PPP and MQM MPAs were also in attendance.

PPP Karachi Chief MNA Qadir Patel said that President Zardari announced the provision of Rs5.1billion to complete the Lyari Expressway.

Surveillance system

Earlier, Zardari reiterated the commitment of the authorities to ensure the safety and security of citizens, which he believed was the prime responsibility of any government. He added that equipping law enforcement agencies with the latest technology to deal with emergency situations was a top priority.

The president issued the statement at the Chief Minister House while inaugurating the first phase of the project to install CCTV Cameras in Karachi to ensure better monitoring and surveillance

. Governor Sindh Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah were among the other senior officials present at the meeting.

Qaim told the President that the provincial government had undertaken a number of projects to improve the operational capacity of the police and other law-enforcing agencies.

He said the Karachi Video Surveillance System was conceived in 2009 and a team of police officers was assigned with the task of studying systems used in London, Istanbul and UAE. The chief minister said it was decided to complete the project in phases. Around Rs690 million was allocated by the Sindh government for the first phase.

Zardari was informed that 164 locations were identified where five cameras would be mounted on each pole. The system would be supported by a state-of-the-art data centre that would have the capacity to store 45 days of footage, In addition, a video forensic lab would also be established at the centre and would be armed with advanced searching techniques.

The president was informed that the system was successfully tested during important days such as Muharram.

Read more »

Sindh Assembly to take up Kalabagh Dam issue on Dec 6

Karachi

Sindh Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon on Friday said that the issue of the construction of the Kalabagh Dam would be tabled in the Sindh Assembly on December 6, as the controversy had been re-ignited following an order of the Lahore High Court, triggering resentment, especially in Sindh.

He said: “We will table a resolution against the Kalabagh Dam project on 6th December in the PA because this project is anti-Pakistani as well as anti-Sindh.”

In a statement issued here, Memon said that the PML-N and Shahbaz Sharif’s statements about the construction of the dam proved that the party did not believe in the integrity and stability of the federation.

Memon said that: “Sindh, Balochistan and KPK have already passed resolutions against the construction of the dam, but these resolutions are not being given due importance.”

The information minister said that it was wrong not to give importance to the consensus of the three provinces.

“The Pakistan People’s Party has

awarded autonomy to the provinces to strengthen the country, as when the provinces are strong the entire country is strong and the stability of the federation is more durable,” he noted.

Read more »

Tips for Finding a New Job While You Are Currently Employed

The current job market is not ideal and there is uncertainty; that said there are great career opportunities out there. If you are currently employed it is more difficult to conduct a job search, but it can be done smartly and respectfully. Here are some tips for a productive job search while currently employed, and moving on with grace:

Confidentiality
Job hunting while you are employed can be tricky. You don't want to burn bridges or be replaced before you have found your dream job. While in general the more people who know you are looking, the easier for people to find you, this is not an option when you need to keep your current employment. Conducting a job search confidentially means choosing the people you tell wisely. Typically you wouldn't include your co-workers, upper management, or company contacts in this secret. Working with a recruiter will protect your identity until mutual interest with a prospective employer is established. When you do have an interview, let the company know that your job search is confidential.

Do It On Your Own Time & Dime
This is your job search, make sure you do this on your personal time and use your own resources. Make sure that you provide only personal the contact information on your resume or cover letter. For job search correspondence, use a personal email, or set up a new email, and use your own phone and personal computer. This is respectful of the work contract in which you are currently engaged, and will keep you out of any conflicts that could arise if your job search becomes known.

Interviewing
Just as the job searching should be done on your own time, ideally interviews should too. This is not always possible of course, so when you can't schedule a phone or onsite interview outside of work hours, use your paid time off. Rather than invent any reasons, simply use your personal time. And be careful if you going to work on the same days as your interview that you don't give yourself away by arriving dressed in a suit and tie that you never wear to work!

Internet Job Hunting
Privacy settings may include your name and contact information for example, and some offer the ability to block specific viewers such as your current company from viewing your resume. While the internet offers vast resources, be careful about what you broadcast on social media from Twitter to LinkedIn, your comments can be widely distributed and very difficult to retract. Review your photos and personal information as employers use social media too!

Networking
It is difficult to utilize networks when your job search is confidential, however you can strengthen relationships and communications in general which may open up some doors and offer insight into new opportunities.

Moving On With Grace
Stay invested in your current position and honor the work contract and trust that you have with your current employer while job searching. Until you have accepted an offer in writing, don't tell anyone about your job search or new job. Once the new position is confirmed, tell your boss first and follow the usual protocols of providing adequate notice (typically at least two weeks). Be graceful in your departure. The relationships you have built here are important, whether for continuing business relations in the same industry, obtaining recommendations in the future, or even future employment down the road with colleagues.

Read more »

Five more fall victim to sectarian killings

Karachi

Just a day after top leaders of the MQM-H were wiped out in an attack on a taxi, more killings were witnessed in the city on Friday and this time the attacks were of a sectarian nature as four people belonging to the Shia community were shot dead in separate incidents.

Forty-six-year-old Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Musilmeen (MWM) activist Syed Nazar Abbas Zaidi was shot dead, while his 13-year-old daughter, Nighat Fatima, was injured when two armed motorcyclists ambushed their vehicle on the Shaheed-e-Millat Road in the Ferozeabad police remits.

Both victims were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where Zaidi died of the eight bullet wounds he had suffered, while his young daughter, Nighat, was in a critical condition. The 13-year-old had been shot three times.

Station House Officer (SHO) Humayumn Khan of the Ferozeabad police station said that Nazar Abbas Zaidi was a resident of the Martin Quarters in PIB Colony and was an employee of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). The victim was dropping his daughter to school when the attack took place.

The police recovered more than 10 empty shells of 9mm bullets from the scene of the crime. Investigators said the murder of Zaidi was a sectarian attack and he confirmed that the victim was an activist of the MWM.

The murder resulted in a protest at the hospital and the mourners accused a rival group of orchestrating the deadly attack. The funeral prayers of the deceased took place at the Martin Quarters Imambargah and he was later buried at the Wadiya-e-Hussain.

Man killed in Shah Faisal

Yet another member of the Shia community met an untimely demise when he was targeted at his shop in the Green Town of Shah Faisal Colony.

SHO Naseem Farooqi of the Shah Faisal Colony police station said that Syed Riaz Shah, 58, was sitting with his friend Mehdi Shah, 35, at the shop when two armed men on a motorcycle pulled up and opened fire at them.

Locals rushed to the aid of the injured men and took them to the JPMC, where Riaz Hussain succumbed to his injuries. The victim had been shot four times in the upper torso.

Farooqi said it was premature to determine a motive, but suspected that the murder was a sectarian killing. He added that a few years ago. Hussain had a jewellery business in the Model Colony and a robbery took had taken place at his shop. He then registered an FIR against some suspects, who were subsequently arrested. The SHO said that it was also possible that the remaining accomplices of the bandits could have killed him.

Hussain left behind two widows and three children. His funeral prayers were held at the Imambargah in Green Town and the victim was buried at the Wadiya-e-Hussain.

Father and son slain

Sixty-year-old Ghulam Qadir and his son Fazal-e-Abbas, 35, were gunned down near Bakra Piri in the Yousuf Goth area.

Station House Officer (SHO) Gulshan Jonejo of the Saeedabad Police station said that Qadir and Abbas had left their residence in Walayat Shah Colony and were on their way to offer prayers when a blue car cut across their path and shot both victims multiple times.

Both injured men died at the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). Investigators said this was yet another sectarian attack. The murders of the two men sparked protests and the demonstrators demanded the immediate arrest of the killers. Their funeral prayers were held at the Shah Khorasan and their bodies would be taken for burial to Faisalabad.

Murder in Peerabad

Meanwhile, Usman Ghani, 35, was shot dead near the Ismail Medical Store in the Awan Colony of Peerabad on Friday morning.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Zahid Siddiqi of the Peerabad Division said that Ghani resided in the same area and was a marble trader.

The victim left his house on Friday morning and was shopping at the general store when two armed motorcyclists arrived at the scene and shot him seven times before fleeing.

Shani was pronounced dead at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH). He had also been shot in the face and neck.

Investigators termed the murder of Usman Ghani as a targeted killing and added that there were reports that he supported the Ahle-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat. The deceased originated from Mohmand Agency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Meanwhile, in a late night development, armed men gunned down 60-year-old Yameen Shah, a member of the MQM’s Buzurg Committee, outside his house in the Qaimkhani Colony of the Mochko police limits,

SDPO Ahmed Baig of Baldia Division said the gunmen arrived on foot and shot the victim multiple times in the upper torso before fleeing.

He was immediately moved to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), where he was pronounced dead. The police recovered spent 9mm bullet shells from the scene of the crime. Investigators said the murder of Yameen was a targeted killing.

Trouble was witnessed in the area after the murder as armed men resorted to aerial firing and forced shopkeepers to pull their shutters down. Activists and leaders of the MQM reached the hospital and launched a protest to demand the arrest of the killers.

Constable shot dead

In yet another case, Police Constable (PC) Sajid Ali, 42, was shot dead near Hazara Chowk of the Mominabad police station.

SHO Naveed Nasir of the Mominabad police station said that Ali was posted at the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Civil Lines Investigation Wing and resided on the Metroville area of SITE. He added that the constable had come to the area for some work and later, was having dinner at a restaurant when two armed motorcyclists pulled up and shot him three times in the head before fleeing. The policeman died of his injuries at the ASH.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Mazhar Mashwani of the CID Investigation Wing said Ali was an active officer of his team. He added that it was difficult to pinpoint the forces behind the murder as personnel of CID Sindh were on the hit list of a number of banned outfits.

Read more »

Pushing the Envelope for Consumer Attention: Advertising Goes Rogue

Remember the first time you saw those odd Geico caveman commercials produced by The Martin Agency? I remember thinking that advertising was getting stranger and stranger because it had to in order to keep our attention. With the evolution of technology — cable, Internet, mobile devices and now, tablets — there's clearly increased competition for consumer mindshare. As a result, it's more challenging for agencies to create advertisements that resonate with customers. The name of the game is punching through the clutter of messaging and channels. Effectiveness of advertising is measured more easily now and agency performance is monitored far more closely.
Lately, I've been noticing a proliferation of lunchtime food trucks in New York. Food trucks have been around for a long time, but they served the standard fare of coffee and bagels, gyros, kabobs, and the design of the trucks essentially stated whatever was available. A few weeks ago, I saw what appeared to be a very long line of young people waiting to buy from a truck called "Feed Your Hole." The design of the logo and truck itself was fresh and contemporary. The design even looked like a professional, studio solution. There are more and more of these trucks, all with irreverent names and quirky, unique brand designs.
What's happening to advertising? It's going rogue. Mad men of the 60's had nothing on this new generation of "out-of-the-box-thinking" creative teams. And according to reports, it's not just corporate maverick brands that are pioneering rogue creative methods; nonprofit organizations are jumping into the fray.
The Wall Street Journal weekend "Visualizer" section showcases the new book by Gavin Lucas, Guerrilla Advertising 2.

The book focuses on more than 60 campaigns that were deployed internationally, from an inflatable pig wedged between two skinny NYC buildings to advertise dental floss, to toe-tagged sun bathers basking in a park, with ads dangling from their toes that read, "Sun Kills."
A few examples cited:
• (Below) Promotions in Atlanta to advertise a play about African-American barbershop culture featured giant combs placed into large shrubs around the city. In some instances, the combs were stolen, prompting local news coverage. As a result, the agency claims a 60% increase in sales of tickets.

• In London, an oversized sculpture of a woman lying on the sidewalk with her head stuck in a photo booth to promote a show about a tattoo parlor (the ad message was tattooed on her back). Also, the campaign featured a giant sculpture of a swimmer on a grassy lawn near Tower Bridge, his arms, head, and legs emerging from the soil as if he was swimming.
• A museum on the street? In London, the National Gallery hung 44 full scale, high resolution prints around the city using exact replica frames and information plaques, turning the entire city into a virtual "outdoor museum."
• (Below) A campaign for a German employment website, Jobsintown, featured posters designed for the sides of vending machines. On each poster was an image of a worker in cramped space delivering the actual product being purchased — a woman with a washboard inside a washing machine, a banker crouched inside an ATM, a frozen worker dispensing the ice cream, and a musician inside a jukebox. The headline? "Life's too short for the wrong job."

* * *
It's not your father's advertising environment anymore, pretty clearly. Those billboards with simple brand messaging are a fading, nostalgic memory. The new age of ad creative is exciting. As much as we hear about the technology, it's interesting and fun to watch the creative concepting revolution that is also underway. Anything is possible, no idea too bizarre. I invite any shared, additional photos or descriptions of unusual ways to engage the customer. I'll be happy to post them here.
All of this daring creative work is intended to break through, to be unique and distinct and memorable, and it got me thinking. I've decided that IridiumGroup should be the first to organize a "Branded Message" flash mob. Any client who is interested in pursuing this idea will get the initiative delivered "at costs to produce." We'll put together a plan, cast for it and script a flash mob performance that delivers the right corporate message in the right venues, at just the right times. The opportunities for earned media in desirable PR channels and viral brand-building are just one benefit in this new age of inventive marketing.
It's never been done before to my knowledge. Imagine the possibilities, and then call me to discuss.

Read more »

Political parties seek census before delimitation

Karachi

Most political parties have stressed the need for carrying out the population and housing census and the registration of votes in the city in order to delimit its constituencies.

In their separate meeting with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) officials on Friday, political parties maintained that the delimitation must be carried out according to the rules and on the basis of a unified policy.

Kicking off the process of consulting political parties, the election commission held meetings with the Pakistan People’s Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, the Awami National Party and others.

The election commission officials sought the parties’ suggestions on altering the city’s boundaries. Some parties submitted their proposals in writing, while the election commission advised the rest to submit their suggestions within a week.

During the meetings, an objection was raised over the shifting of voters in bulk from Karachi to other cities. Some parties demanded that all voters registered in Karachi should be allowed to cast their votes in the city.

It was also pointed out that the majority of these voters had cast their votes in more than five elections and shifting them to other cities now was an injustice.

An objection was also raised over the delimitation on the basis of communities and ethnicity. It was suggested that the delimitation must be carried out on the basis of revenue boundaries.

The PML-N raised an objection over the role of the provincial election commission, claiming that it was being manipulated by a ruling coalition party.

A day earlier, the deputy commissioners of the five districts of the city had demanded magisterial powers to ensure transparent elections and peace in the metropolis when directed by the ECP to delimit the constituencies on an urgent basis.

Fasahat Mohiuddin adds: The Jamaat-e Islami’s (JI) Karachi chief, Muhammad Hussain Mahenti, said that delimitation of constituencies in Karachi and lack of rectification of flawed voters lists were two crucial issues currently affecting the election scenario.

“The election process has become hostage at the hands of the Muttahida over the last 25 years”, he said during a meeting with Secretary Election Commission Ishtiaq Ahmed at the provincial election commission’s office. He stressed that rectification of the voters list was the need of the hour in order to hold fair and free elections.

He said that elections would become meaningless if the rectification of the flawed list in Karachi was not carried out.

He said that the JI had staged a demonstration for the rectification of the list and delimitation of constituencies.

Sarfaraz said the list’s rectification was an important and crucial issue and before the general election this exercise should be completed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. He said flaws in the list had been carried out by the ruling party.

He said that a transparent list of voters was a guarantee for holding transparent and free and fair elections in the country.

He appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Election Commissioner to take immediate notice of bogus and the flawed voters list.

Read more »

Global warming: How poverty supports the most dangerous kind of emissions

The role of poverty in many aspects of life is a well-documented chronicle which stares the world in the face. Poverty has immense contribution to gender imbalance, abuse of rights, inability to access good food, water, healthcare amongst others.

This time, poverty has revealed that its tentacles are also in control of the transport and power systems in some of the third world countries especially experimenting ones of Africa. Nigeria is one or perhaps the only country in Africa housing over 15 million of various versions of 2-stroke engines. The Green Society of Nigeria has said that these messy and easily worn out engines are on every second of the day emitting partially combusted but very dangerous fuel gases to the ecosystem. The global fight against depletion of the ozone layer aimed at protecting the biodiversity would not be complete if this menace described as ‘Asian Dilemma' by Anumita Roychowdhury, associate director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India is not addressed with immediate alacrity in all third world nations of Africa including Nigeria where these two and three wheeled engines predominate currently.

Illustrating this challenge in Nigeria, there are three types of 2-stroke engines that dominate the system. The two-wheeled bikes are called ‘Okada' while the three-wheeled ones are named ‘keke or Napep'. Yet there is another that has claimed so many lives in Nigeria called ‘I pass my neighbour' meaning that I am better than my neighbour. This last one actually is a power generator. Nigeria has a totally collapsed power sector and cost of running bigger generators is not friendly to over 100 million pockets in Nigeria due to the fact that many are still living below the poverty line. The introduction of ‘I pass my neighbour' was more or less like saying that a messiah has come. Most of them that mainly come from China cost as little as $55-$60 per unit. This pocket-friendliness made the acquisition of ‘I pass my neighbour' a-must-have for every home in Nigeria irrespective of how poor the family is since the national power system is more or less moribund. This also goes to the nation's transportation system. This system can better be said to be in shambles as almost all transportation activities in the country are done on the roads rendering severe pressures on the roads. But ‘Okada' is a wonderful choice for fast and flexible movements within the city of Lagos and others that are traffic-jam ridden. The three-wheeler has adequately replaced car taxis and so families, friends and associates these days fancy it to cruise in ‘keke or napep' with dangerous gases emitted behind them as they cruise. People choose these engines to get around and power their houses because they are cheap, powerful and easy to fix. But in the reverse, the environment and human health are compromised. And as cities balloon and populations grow, the number of journeys and two-stroke engines are bound to grow with it if uncontrolled.

Setting up the Euro 111 by the European Union is good but reasonably not enough to halt the trend if the 3rd world governments of these nations are not made to understand the enormity of problems the use of these engines could impact on the entire earth. There is need for cross-fertilization of ideas and a strong push for the right practices to be observed in these nations.

Just as was the case in the entire Asia and India-a co-inventor of these engines before 2004, about 75-80% of the traffic constitutes these machines, so is the case in Nigeria today. Due to poverty and inability for most people into the transportation sector to acquire 4 stroke engines for their businesses they go for these pocket friendly 2-strokes which must run by mixing petrol with engine oil. Experts have said that because 2-stroke engines burn petrol-oil mixture, they emit more smoke, more carbon monoxide, more hydrocarbons and more particulate matter than the engines that run on petrol alone. In effect, 2-stroke engines are highly wasteful in the use of fuel. Experts confirmed that up to 40% of the petrol and oil go out of the exhaust pipe not combusted leading to release of more dangerous carbons, nitrogen gas, sulphur, hydrocarbons as well as fine dust- all being much more toxic than the ones emitted by any 4-stroke engine. All these toxic compounds contribute immensely to urban air pollution.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stressed that these classes of pollution are responsible for air pollution leading to the deaths of more than half a million people a year. About two-thirds of the residents of Delhi and Calcutta suffered from respiratory symptoms such as common cold and dry and wet cough before the government put pressure to end usage of such vehicles. WHO has also classified that urban pollution ranks 13th greatest contributor to disease burden and death worldwide. On the other hand, Mrs Tokunbo Jakande, executive director, Green Society of Nigeria said that research shows that these classes of emissions contribute immensely to the depletion of the ozone layer faster than would emissions from a 4-stroke engine.

Before the tricycles known as keke or napep in Nigeria are banned in Thailand, it was estimated that one keke is equivalent to 50 cars in terms of gaseous emissions and contributed 47% of pollution particulates in the air. Today the nation has curtailed on the use of these vehicle. Philippines did same and India has also gone ahead to almost reduce to zero the use of these vehicular mess even though it is still a manufacturer of 2-stroke engine. The proliferation of these engines in Africa's third world countries should be worrisome. Yes, many local respiratory related deaths are either not investigated or believed to be effects of tobacco smoking; it is becoming evident that most cases linked to tobacco smoking in these countries are actually caused by 2-stroke engine emissions in the air.

There is urgent need to cut down on the usage of these engines but again, for this to be effective, the government must provide an alternative. The snag would be if the affected governments would have enough political-will to tackle this menace which has direct local and global implications on the environment and human. When Bangkok toughened up vehicle inspections and emissions standards in 2000, 2-wheelers were over 96% of the city's traffic. However, March 2004, released the result that only 40% was in use with 50% out of the streets, according to Supat Wangwongwatana, deputy director general of Thailand's Pollution Control Department. Africa nations would need to also adopt what Philippines did by offering interest free loan for operators of 2-stroke engines to upgrade to 4-stroke. This approach would appear most workable option as it is not easy to fix overnight their power and transportation systems. When 2-stroke baby taxis were phased out of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2002, particulate concentrations dropped up to 40%, with carbon monoxide as well as hydrocarbons fell significantly, S.M.A. Bari, director of engineering at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority said.
Let the whole world rise against the 2-stroke engines!

Read more »