One dollar bill

The rupee weakened on Monday because of increased import payments especially for oil, and dealers said the local unit is likely to come under further pressure in the medium term because of a bleak outlook for the country’s economy.

The rupee ended at 89.10/15 to the dollar, compared with Friday’s close of 89.00/10. It dropped to a record low of 89.45 on Wednesday.

“The rupee’s weakest traded level was 89.18 today and there were payments of about $80 million,” said a bank dealer.

But the protest descended into a night of violence which saw homes and businesses in flames, police cars set alight and a double decker bus left a burnt-out shell.

Petrol bombs and stones were thrown at police in riot gear as they tried to bring the situation under control.

Shops were looted in the chaos, with people taking electrical goods and armfuls of clotheS.

Buildings including a supermarket and a carpet shop were set alight during the riots.
The trouble saw 26 police officers injured in the unrest, and 42 people werearrested for offences including violent disorder, burglary and theft.

Stuart Radose had to flee his flat above a Carpetright shop last night as a fire ravaged the building.Describing the scenes last night, he told Sky News: “We live on the top floor. We could see the rioters coming closer. Aldi was on fire and barricades were being made by rioters. It was really scary.”

Responding to last night’s scenes of violence, a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said: “The rioting in Tottenham last night was utterly unacceptable.

“There is no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property.

“There is now a police investigation into the rioting and we should let that process happen.”

By the early hours of the morning, crowds of looters were smashing shop windows in a retail park near Tottenham Hale tube station and plundering goods from almost every store.

Teenagers and adults were said to have turned up in cars and filled their boots with stolen items, unimpeded by police.

Others arrived on foot and piled shopping trolleys high with looted televisions and other electronic goods, a woman who has lived locally for 10 years but did not want to be named said.
A member of staff at The Carphone Warehouse said every phone in the shop had been stolen.

The sense of anger at what the looters had done was clear.
Nadine Knight, 24, who works in administration at a planning and architecture firm said: “I’m completely and utterly disgusted by what the community has managed to do here.

“They need to come together a bit more and help the community, not damage it.
“I’m so upset, I can’t believe it.”

Another local resident, Norman McKenzie, 37, who works as a security guard at the Next clothes store in the retail park, was also appalled.

He said: “I can understand they’re angry and above all that there’s unemployment and cutting benefits so everything comes together and the cup is full.” . He had been told by his employer not to go to work today “because of the riot”.

Christian Macani, 22, who works in environmental sciences, asked a question that was on the lips of many in his neighbourhood this morning.

“What does this achieve?” he said. “They can’t get away with this, can they?
“People really don’t think. It’s stupid, this. They’ve achieved absolutely nothing. It’s a joke.”

Eight police officers were being treated in hospital today, with Scotland Yard saying at least one had suffered head injuries in the clashes.

Ramzan Inflation Bomb Blasts

Soon as soon ramzan is coming in other words we say the month of profiteering are coming , normally in ramaza in every nation and country reduce the price goods during the ramzan but in Pakistan people make ramazn for get profit and consider this month “ the month of profiteering “

People of Pakistan already face very difficulties with increasing price of petroleum good and spiraling inflation. How can mange the budget of poor and middle class families

Govt . is not able to control the price of good specially is ramzan ?Rising prices have always been a major problem for the people of Pakistan. Unfortunately, however, the problem only seems to aggravate further in Ramadan ever year.Ramzan is said to be the month of blessings but rising prices of each and every commodity make this a month full of troubles and worries.

It is painful for people of the poor and middle classes due to rising inflation in the country.

Lets play with public

Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) reported the prices of perishable food items rose by 20.76% that is right after the increase of 16.36% in the prices of electricity and fuel over the last year [period: July – June 2010]. Average inflation in food prices is 14.48% and inflation in non-perishable items counted 13.64%

The above mentioned figures are the reflection of yearly increase in prices but let us see how prices are indicating that the holy month of Ramadan is coming. A week before a national business newspaper conducted a survey.

As per survey the price of gram floor [Basin] has increased from PKR 60 to 70 / kg. The price of Sugar has increased from PKR 60 to 70. The price of Dalda Ghee rose to PKR 725 from 680 / 5kg. The price of tomato has risen to PKR 40 from 25 / kg. The price of onion has risen to PKR 40 from 25 / kg. The price of Mango has risen to PKR 70 from PKR 50 / kg. Even the increase is on popup over all items that shall be in demand in the month of Ramadan.

I can not count more because this is not something that you can not witness once you reach the markets. But this situation is nothing but a dilemma of our national planning over common commodity prices and their availability. I know people expect us to write solutions of national problems. But what solution I can write. If sugar is in the stocks of the mills so get it out and if it is not available so buy it from international market that is even cheaper once duties shall be exempted. The same is the strategy for all that matters.

Even it is not the part of today’s topic but I remember when our ministers said a month before that the electricity crisis is not because of the government’s mismanagement. They quoted it an outcome of natural shortage of water in our reservoirs.

Ramadan is the holy month. It is a pure blessing of Allah but what if the blessing is being ruined by the people on surface. What we can say to the government who manage mismanagement. Are we as qualified people behind anyone? The one who sells dresses [even master them on low cost] sells expensive on Eid ul Fitar. Everyone is chasing for earnings.

Ramzan Inflation

We have a lot of poor people in the country who can not make their both end meets. We have people in the country who keeps fast and after breaking it keeps hunger. I know it is hard to absorb but it is not solely the government that make them hurt but we are also not so responsible in many regards.

Regardless of this crying attitude of ours over inflation many of us shall spend thousands on preparation of Eid. In a city where a person buys a dress of five to twenty thousand for Eid, we have some families that need the same amount to manage their month on minimum standard. We can say that we equally give 2.5% Zakat so we have a right to do so. But people ask your heart. Can we?

Today I am not talking about the measures government can take to coupe inflation but let me talk about my responsibility. Let me talk about your responsibility. Believe me the happiness of wearing expensive dress, shoes, bangles etc. is not more than feeding people in their stressed economic life style. It is far better when it is the month of Ramadan. You can go to the market and buy expensive KURTA for Alwida Juma and Eid Prayer but God can even hear you in the simplest basic getup.

Everyone knows his buying power. Get together, cut your budgets of buying on Ramadan & Eid and make a pool of money within your lanes, localities etc. that can work for those who are even deprive of the basic. This is the solution in hand.

Our Govt is not worthy of any solution regarding any social problem. It is our duty and our social responsibility to help those who are deprive of basic needs.

Law & Order

Various untoward incidents of bomb explosions at the public places, perpetration of suicide bombings by extremist elements bathed in religion and dogmatism and firing of bullets on the innocent civilians by the miscreants bear out that volatile law and order situation is gravely affecting social, political, economic and religious fabric of Pakistan. This unwanted state of affairs has given birth to uncertainty and frustration which are acting as blight in our society. No public place is secure, no religious institution is sacrosanct and no spiritual or political congregation is safe.Talented people are leaving the Land of the Pure for good because their fate is in the doldrums due to uncertainty of jobs and insecurity to their life and property. Thus menace of “Brain Drain” is continuously depriving the country of the intellectuals that are the true assets of the country to resolve its intricate problems.

Our tourism industry is in the doldrums due to security concerns. Despite scenic beauty of hilly areas, glistening peaks, towering mountains, gushing rivers, archeological sites, and historical monuments ,the PTDC and the Tourism Ministry have badly failed to catch the attention of the foreign tourists because no one will take risk to visit a country where indigenous population is not secure and its rulers address public gatherings behind bullet proof screens. Pakistan has a lot of investment potential which could not be fully tapped because of violent incidents. Therefore, the economy of Pakistan is in the shambles. The investors fear of sinking their investment due to unending terrorist incidents.

The worst victims of law and order as well as poor economy are always the poor. Their vulnerability to shocks is more than others. Therefore, it is imperative that any analysis of the impact of law and order on economic situation must start with the most vulnerable in the society. In other words, no study of economic situation is complete without taking account of at least three interrelated economic indicators of poverty, unemployment, inflation, particularly food inflation.

Our study has seen positive correlations between crime and major economic variables: when there are negative trends in the economy (increase in inflation, poverty, unemployment, and decline in investment) there are negative trends in law and order (increase in crime rate).

The role of police force is vital for maintaining law and order situation in the country.

Since 9/11 and the consequent US/NATO military action in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s troubled northwestern frontier has come under increasing pressure from militant and terrorist organizations operating in the area. Pakistan’s deficient and flawed law enforcement capacity in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the adjacent North West Frontier Province (NWFP) have helped Pakistani Taliban and other terrorist groups expand their influence and strongly challenge the state’s writ. Outgunned and outfinanced, on average 400 police officers have been killed every year in terrorist attacks since 2005. Controversial and haphazard Pakistani military action in the area has led to more instability, and limited resistance in FATA has now become a growing ethnic insurgency. As is clear from the turmoil in the NWFP’s Swat district, any army action can provide no more than a breathing space to the state; only police and law enforcement actions can help the state reestablish its writ and stabilize the area. A timely police action can be more effective in quelling emergent insurgencies. My research into the 2007 Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) crisis in Islamabad, where a strong military operation led to hundreds of deaths and dozens of retaliatory suicide attacks, also indicates that: (a) an effective police action in time (2004–05) could have avoided the later bloody clash and (b) the police lacked authority and the permission of the state and its important institutions to legally pursue the rebel clerics in the mosque (during the 2004–07 timeframe).

The police infrastructure is one of Pakistan’s most poorly managed organizations. It is aptly described as ill-equipped, poorly trained, deeply politicized, and chronically corrupt. It has performed well in certain operations; overall, however, that is a rare phenomenon. Arguably, the primary reason for this state of affairs is the government’s persistent failure to invest in law enforcement reform and modernization. It is ironic that despite frequent internal crises since its inception in 1947, ranging from ethnic confrontations and sectarian battles to a sharp rise in criminal activity and growing insurgencies, both political and military policymakers have never given this sector top priority. Hence, poor police performance in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency is not surprising. The fact that the police successfully challenged some militant religious groups in Punjab and tackled an insurgency-like situation in Karachi in the late 1990s shows that they do have the potential to deliver the desired results when political support is present and resources are provided.

The Sialkot incident was yet another example of a society calling its protectors for help in the face of a sorry state of human rights and rule of law. This episode of barbaric killings was not the first of its kind. There have been quite a few attempts of similar nature in the past 12 months, especially in Karachi where the people had literally assumed the role of law enforcers as well as the judiciary. There was a need for serious action back then which, unfortunately, was never taken and which ultimately culminated in the demise of two brothers in Sialkot.
However, what was most depressing at Sialkot was the silent presence of law enforcers alongside a violent crowd. It depicts not only the weakness of the Police Department, but also their indifferent attitude towards the law. In fact, their silent presence encouraged the crowd to commit the barbaric act of public killing and hanging. The police simply did not try to enforce the law and for that they ought to be punished. The Police Order 2002 which governs their duties highlights penalties that can be imposed for gross negligence that cost the lives of two young men.
According to Police Order 2002, it is the duty of the police to provide protection and maintain public peace. Section 3(d) of the said order, in this respect is attention-grabbing. It enjoins upon the police to “…aid individuals who are in danger of physical harm.” With such clearly laid down rules, it was nothing but wilful defiance on the part of the police which caused the deaths. Also, their silence in the midst of criminal activity implicates them in the crime. Section 107 of Pakistan Penal Code is directly applicable in this regard on “a person who intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing.” Both the laws taken together clearly signify breach of law by the police officers.
According to Section 80 of the Police Order, function of the Provincial Public Safety and the Police Complaints Commission is to take action against the omissions committed. It is under a statutory duty to do so, on its own accord, if the case is of severe nature, and order a competent authority to probe the matter. But to the dismay of fair-minded people of the country, no action was taken, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court had to take up the matter.
A still gloomier picture appears when the incident is seen in the light of the punishment that has been prescribed for the police neglect. According to Section 155 of Police Order, if an officer is found to have breached his duty, he can be, at maximum, imprisoned with fine for no more than three years. Considering the gravity of the criminal acts, this punishment would hardly fulfil the demands of justice and in no way constitutes deterrence.
More importantly, investigation is the main course to decide the fate of the guilty officer. But the slow pace of investigation, inability and ill will of the investigating officer or the team usually overshadows the proceedings that could provide an easy escape to the culprit. While the judicial inquiry into the Sialkot murders has been completed, the Police Department does not appear to show any seriousness in conducting its own inquiry.
This incident highlights a signal failure of our police not only in the light of local law, but also the international code to which Pakistan subscribes. The United Nations has provided a Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (adopted by General Assembly resolution 34/169 of December 17, 1979) which sets out the basic standards for policing agencies across the world and relates to all law enforcement officers who exercise powers of arrest and detention. It requires them to recognise the rights set out in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other international conventions. Under its Article 5, a law enforcer is restrained from “tolerating any act of torture”, while discharging his duties.
This grave violation brings out the need for reform in the system and revitalisation of the existing bodies established to check the police conduct such as Provincial Public Safety and Police Complaints Commission. It is necessary to establish a system which is easily accessible and neutral. In the UK, the Police Reform Act established the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which investigates the most serious complaints and allegations of misconduct against the police in England and Wales, as well as handles appeals from people who are not satisfied with the way the police have dealt with their complaint. More importantly, IPCC is self-governing, making its decisions entirely independently of the police, government and complainants. These measures provide for a powerful legal regulatory framework making the police accountable for their actions. There is a stark need to introduce some changes on the same lines in Pakistan.
Hence, the need of the hour is to introduce and implement a more coherent code for police accountability to eliminate the recurrence of such despicable acts in the future. The Sialkot act requires serious attention of the authorities and a strong reprimand of the officials whose criminal omission allowed the people to take law into their own hands. Indeed, now is the time to set an example and take appropriate steps to put an end to such wrongdoings!

Despite my opposition and discomfort in ‘finding a girlfriend’ in an alien land, my cousin introduced me to a friend’s friend – Maheen*.

My first interaction with this girl was through the cell phone, or text messages to be more precise. After this introduction, we didn’t talk till one fine day in the middle of the night my phone rang. It was two in the morning and I could barely open my eyes, but out of courtesy I attended Maheen’s phone call.

“Hi, what’s up? I hope I haven’t disturbed you?”she said.
“No, it’s okay…” I murmured.
“I have set up a plan to meet you tomorrow, but don’t call or text me unless I do so, because if my bhai catches me he will kill you.” she advised me.

Totally perplexed, I listened to her plan quietly. I was astonished and scared that I was prone to be killed by someone’s brother without having ever met her.

“I can’t come alone. My friend, Zahra will come with me. Do you have a male friend who is single and ready to give her company?” she asked.
“Er… okay, I will manage.” I said, feeling simultaneously amused and confused.
“Fair enough. I will see you tomorrow then, and yes, do get me a Ufone card because I am running out of balance. I love you. Bye!”

I kept sitting silent for a long time, and then asked my cousin who I should take with me to give company to the girl’s chaperon/friend? He ‘arranged’ for another friend of his, Sherdil who was ‘very popular’ among the females in his college. The idea of being surrounded by so many strangers gave me butterflies in my stomach. I pleaded with my cousins to pull me out of this weird situation, but they told me to put up with it.

The next day, accompanied by this Sherdil guy, we went to pick Maheen and her friend up from college. As I approached the college gate, Maheen sent me a missed call. I was confused and called her back immediately.

“You didn’t get me my balance loaded!” she blurted over the phone. Feeling embarrassed, I told her I would do so once we were off to lunch.

We waited for around 25 minutes outside her college, when two girls appeared from nowhere wearing burqas. I was once again bewildered to see them. They sat in our car and took their burqas off, and I was introduced to Maheen, and another lady.

We then drove off looking for food. As we stepped out at a restaurant, Maheen’s phone rang and I saw her going pale as she talked on the phone.
“Are you alright?” I asked her.
“It was my mother, she told me that my bhai is off to pick me up from college!” she cried.

Sherdil had a bright idea:
“You can go and drop Maheen back to college, while Zahra and I can go for lunch if you guys don’t mind?”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I agreed at once.

Feeling angry yet sympathetic to the poor girl’s plight, I drove back to drop her to college.  On the way, Maheen kept crying and pushed me to drive faster and faster. I got so worried to see her crying so bitterly, I ended up breaking a signal.

What next?
A traffic cop in appeared from nowhere and asked for my driving license. By this point I was infuriated. I gave some money to Maheen and she headed back to college in a rickshaw, and then I called my cousins to help me with the cops. That day I took an oath never to even think of going on a date in Pakistan again.
*names of individuals have been changed to protect their identities.

Served up for the main course were a hapless black Ferrari F430 ($186,000), which was hit nose-first by the 2.7-ton Bentley. Then, like two tankers mashing in the fog, a four-door Aston Martin Rapide ($228,000) crunched into the Azure’s passenger door. The cherry on this metal, plastic and carbon-fiber shattering souffle: a stray Porsche 911 ($77,000).

In all, a Titanic mess in mere moments, involving nearly a million dollars of primo automotive machinery. How did this happen? A quick photo-based forensics of the scene based on knowledge of the Place du Casino offers many clues.
What’s evident is that these five vehicles did not all converge on each other in one massive supercar big bang. The Bentley clearly was at fault. Its nose is pointing straight at the casino’s entrance, an entrance where fine cars are routinely valet-parked diagonally. It seems that the Bentley’s driver thought she could sneak past the white Mercedes, then swerved right when she realized they were going to collide, which in turn clipped the Rapide coming up on her right. The Ferrari and the Porsche were collateral damage – parked directly in the Bentley’s now diverted path.

Any chance that the trio responsible for this mess — whose damage tally will easily hit six-figures — would get to scamper off anonymously after a quick chat with Monaco’s famously efficient and ever-present white-gloved police were dashed given both the coordinates of the crash and the time of year. If there ever was a season when this moneyed retreat is more crowded than Times Square on New Year’s Eve, it’s summer. Photos of the crowd, gleefully gawking and photographing the impromptu car show run amok, only go to show that when rich people do dumb things in a big way, the masses are more than happy to snicker.

Today’s hottest news revolving around the music industry is, the very famous JAL the band with Gohar Mumtaz, Farhan Saeed and their third bassist Shazi got separated. This is not new with this band since the beginning. From the starting days with a wonder hit Aadat and band members Atif Aslam and Gohar Mumtaz, the band got into all sort of controversies and both Atif Aslam and Gohar Mumtaz played the blame game and got parted ways just after 1 song and video. Both Atif Aslam and the remaining Jal The Band released their albums and become an instant hit in Pakistan and abroad.
After their first album release yet again JAL the band came into the news for all the wrong reasons. This time they had a fight with their manager and chairman of the Jilawatan Productions Khurram Khan and Gohar Mumtaz again. Gohar insisted the band to visit India without their manager since he cannot afford to miss this golden opportunity.

And now its between Farhan Saeed and Gohar Mumtaz. We have been told by the sources that Farhan Saeed is quite upset with the fact that Gohar Mumtaz is acting as a big hurdle in his success and keeping him down. Farhan Saeed having a charming voice with amazing numbers coming out from his side since his inclusion in the band however Gohar Mumtaz always jumped in with his rather out of tone voice and shivering guitar cords. Both Farhan and Goher recently participated in Coke Studio’s season 4 with 2 songs under their name. However both songs unable to make any impression within the program itself and gone with the wind. According to sources the rift between the band members got to another level after the Coke Studio episode and in Farhan’s opinion Gohar never listen to his ideas about doing music instead he was more interested into to get with Miss Baloch and therefore he insisted the producer to add her up for a song. However Farhan told us with a grin that QB was a smart girl and she knows well the type of Gohar Mumtaz. Farhan said he think that we can do allot better in Coke Studio if he gets more air time with the mic. Another major reason for Farhan’s depart is that Gohar has recently appeared in a drama on a-plus and he want to persue a career in acting as well.

Farhan said he want to continue making music and would like to work on his solo album in some time. He added that he has cherishable memories with the band and JAL the band was his identity and he will be always close to his heart. But it is very hard to work with a self centered punk as Gohar Mumtaz and that leads me to this decision.

-Jago News-

Khan hit Judah with a hard right hand in the midsection, sending the American veteran to the canvas 2min 47sec into the fifth round of the 64kg IBF unification bout.

“I am beating everyone. Bring on the next challenge,” Khan said.

The 24-year-old Khan already owned the WBA light-welterweight belt, and now adds Judah’s IBF title to his résumé.
Judah, who was a 5-1 underdog, stayed down on his knees as referee Vic Drakulich counted him out.
The 33-year-old Judah appeared surprised when Drakulich stopped the fight as his record dropped to 41-7 with 28 KOs.

Khan dominated the American, who was bleeding from his nose and cuts to his face at the start of the final round.
Olympic silver medallist Khan raised his record to 26-1 with 18 KOs as he landed 61 punches to Judah’s 20. Khan, who is trained by world-renowned boxing guru Freddie Roach, said the camp had a perfect game plan. “We trained hard. Freddie gave me a game plan that worked. Every punch I threw was hitting him on the chin.

“We knew Zab would be tricky. We wanted to be one step ahead of him. We slowly took the backhand away from him and, as soon I did that, all my shots were hitting him.”

Judah was out-punched consistently in the middle of the ring and was behind on the judges’ scorecards when he got knocked out with a body shot. But he claimed the fight should not have been stopped because the knockout punch was a low blow. Khan did not agree.

“He was open for a right hook,” said Khan, who threw 284 punches compared with Judah’s 115. “It was above the belt; nowhere near below the belt.”

-Jago News-

KARACHI -  Former captain of Pakistan Cricket team Shahid Afridi’s father passed away on Wednesday.
The family members of the cricketer told the reporters that Sahabzada Fazul Rehman Afridi succumbed to illness.
Afridi’s father was not keeping good health for the past many days, that is why, the all-rounder returned home after canceling his foreign tours.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, MQM chief Iltaf Hussain, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and several others condoled Afridi over his father’s death.

Chapman, who teaches middle school science, said he never thought, “‘What am I going to do?’ It was ‘What are we going to do.’ … It was one step at a time.” The 28-year-old groom will be by his bride’s side when her father wheels her down the aisle.The bride has refused to name the woman who caused the accident, who will also be attending the wedding. “She was tragically hurt, mentally and emotionally,” Friedman said. “And I was tragically hurt, physically.”

In the past year, Friedman has become active, learning wheelchair rugby and texting with friends using her knuckles instead of her fingers.For his part, Chapman can’t wait to be married. “I’ll be happy and relieved to see her coming down the aisle,” he says. “It’s something we’ve been working on for quite a while.”The two will tie the knot on Friday..