7 Jan 2018

4
Sunday, January 7, 2018
National
Three of a family die after
house crashes in Lahore
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Chief Editor: Muhammad Taqi Alvi
Associate Editor: Ali Razavi - Editor Special Reports: Muhammad Rafique Rajpar
Hyderabad Bureau Chief: Abbas Kassar - Islamabad Bureau Chief: Hameedullah Khan
ISLAMABAD –– LAHORE –– RAWALPINDI –– KARACHI
But theatrics have overall died down. Theaters
and plays can be made alive again, if public
and private sectors cooperate. Sick of everyday
economic hardships and political defeats daily,
people want entertainment and are prepared to
watch plays despite risks of losing their lives, lest
any bomb blow them all! Just like any demand and
supply situation, since there is a demand for entertainment,
there will be a supply. However, theatrics
were partly reduced wrongly into a prostitution
business, and became an excuse for much of theaters
closure. The moral brigade’s claims of vulgarity
and calls for closure of commercial theater had
become common in Gujranwala, Faislabad, Multan
and Sahiwal. Most of the complaints originate from
a small community alleged to be religious extremists
and zealots while it's said that the majority of
people enjoy the performances. In Lahore, most of
the audience come from other cities. The theaters
are packed on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. A
stage play usually runs for 16 days and earns around
two million rupees in that time. Tickets cost from
Rs. 200 to Rs. 1,000. It's not very appealing to people
who can see a movie at lesser cost. But people
pay to enjoy seeing the actors alive on stage, rather
than in a film put on screen by a projector. The
props and settings of some plays were of a high
standard and this explains the cost of the tickets
which range from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 or more and
the kind of audience that is expected.
Foreign actors from many countries had also performed
in Pakistani theaters. National Academy of
Performing Arts was the only performing arts academy
in Pakistan. With stages dwindling without
audience, NAPA's mission was to restore the sanctity
of professions relating to the performing arts.
Both public and private sectors, however, have to
finance and "do more" than that, like grooming
institutes for training and grooming actors to pump
some more life into theaters in Pakistan.
Media analysts believed that an artist may be a
product of the society but art itself requires more
than just inspiration. Perhaps this is the reason why
By Jonathan Freedland
EDITORIAL
Socio-political dramas of our leaders
downed imaginary plays in theaters!
OPINION
the question of sustenance is brought up by
Pakistani parents whenever their offspring asks
them, “How about I take up acting as a career?”
May be if actors become as good actors as social
personalities and fooling politicians, even the movie
industry in cinema houses and on TV screens may
gradually die its death too. As it is, it's considered
by some to be only half alive! Both public and private
sectors must do everything possible, with hundreds
of proposals already present in governmental
and entertainment industry files and records, for
stronger survival of theaters, actors and associated
stake holders, with increase in quantity and quality
of artists, playwrights, architects, equipping and
number of theaters and its presentation themselves
in Pakistan. While some may argue that in a country
like ours, things for performing arts in general
and theater in particular will never improve, one
should question the government’s indifference
towards the plight of Pakistani theater artists. On
account of World Theatre Day on March 27, directors
underscored a variety of reasons why theater
continues to fight for survival in the country. It's a
tragedy that theater is not taken seriously. This is
not the case in developed countries. This is why all
we have on offer are mostly vulgar stage plays.
Money is a major problem. There is also a brain
drain of sorts in theater circles. There are hardly any
good writers or actors. One reason behind this is
that TV is all the rage these days and everyone
wants to make money quickly. Without the help of
the corporate sector and the government, theater can
never play its due role in Pakistan. Both commercial
and parallel theater are in a crisis. While the likes of
Nadeem and Peerzada may not approve of the sort
of commercial content that is put out, one cannot
deny that it helps make people like Khan a living, as
he says that one cannot deny the entertainment factor
and that with government help theater people
will be able to improve the quality of their plays.
That's however doubtful. Private sector needed to
do more than government can with finances in this
respect.
‘Fire and Fury’ confirms our worst
fears — about the Republicans
Trump’s utter unfitness for the presidency has been
laid bare in Michael Wolff’s new book. The big question is:
What will it take for his party to remove him from office?
What did you think would be the Republican
reaction to the latest revelations about
United States President Donald Trump? Did
you expect the party’s luminaries to drop their collective
head into their hands, or to crumple into a heap in
despair at the state of the man they anointed as president
of the US?
They’d certainly have had good reason. In the book
Fire and Fury, which on Thursday received the greatest
possible endorsement — namely a “cease and
desist” order from Trump’s personal lawyers — journalist
Michael Wolff paints a picture of a man whose
own closest aides, friends and even family believe is
congenitally unfit to be president.
The Trump depicted in the book is ignorant: The
adviser who tried to teach him about the American
Constitution could get no further than the fourth
amendment before Trump’s eyes glazed over. He
doesn’t read, or even skim, barely having the patience
to take in a headline. Some allies try to persuade Wolff
that attention deficit disorder is part of Trump’s populist
genius: He is “post-literate — total television”.
He is also loathsome: We read that a favourite sport
of Trump’s was tricking friends’ wives to sleep with
him. He is weird, especially in the bedroom: Having
clashed with his secret service bodyguard over his insistence
that he be able to lock himself into his quarters
(Melania has separate accommodation), he demanded
the installation of two extra TV sets, so he could watch
three cable news channels at once. He heads back under
the covers as early as 6.30pm, munching a cheeseburger
as he soaks up hours of Fox and CNN. If there are
crumbs, the chambermaid can’t change the sheets: He
insists that he strip the bed himself.
We learn that Trump believes Saturday Night Live
is damaging to the nation and that it is “fake comedy”;
that daughter Ivanka wants to be president herself and
that privately she mocks her father’s nature-defying
combover. And, perhaps most amusingly, we get an
answer to the question that has long enraged Trump:
The identity of the mystery leaker behind the stream of
stories of White House chaos and fratricidal dysfunction
that have appeared since he took office. It turns
out that the president rants endlessly on the phone to
his billionaire friends, who feel no duty of confidentiality.
In other words, the leaker Trump seeks is ...
himself.
Given all this material, you’d forgive congressional
Republicans for being glum. Alternatively, you’d
understand if they tried to denounce the book, perhaps
joining those who question Wolff’s methods, believing
he too often strays from corroborated facts and cuts
journalistic corners. But that has not been the reaction.
Instead, the official campaign account for Mitch
McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate,
tweeted a gif of McConnell grinning mightily. And
that smirk captured the mood of many of his colleagues.
What do they have to smile about? They’re
pleased because they believe Fire and Fury marks the
downfall of Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist
to Trump and source of some of the book’s most
scathing lines. It was Bannon who told Wolff that
Trump had “lost it”, and Bannon who described the
meeting Donald Trump Jr had with a Russian lawyer
— convened for the express purpose of receiving dirt
on Hillary Clinton — as “treasonous”.
Trump’s response came in the form of a long and
furious statement that loosely translates into New
Yorkese as “You’re dead to me” — which delighted
establishment Republicans who have long seen
Bannon as the enemy within.
It would be nice if this loathing were rooted in ideological
principle, with Republicans despising Bannon
as the apostle of an ultra-nationalist isolationism and
xenophobia that could tip the US and the world
towards a 1930s-style catastrophe. (Recall that
Bannon once promised Wolff the Trump administration
would be “as exciting as the 1930s”.)
But the truth is that Bannon posed a threat to
McConnell and his ilk, vowing to run insurgent,
Trump-like candidates against establishment
Republicans in primary contests (just as he did, in
vain, in Alabama last year). If Bannon is broken, they
can sleep more easily.
Some go further, believing that, as Bannon dies,
so does Bannonism. They speculate that, with the
ties to his onetime evil genius severed, Trump might
now moderate, becoming a more conventional,
focused occupant of the Oval Office. This is delusional,
twice over.
First, it’s true that things look bad for Bannon now:
He has apparently lost the financial backing of the billionaire
Mercer family, and it’s possible he stands to
lose control of his far-right Breitbart media empire.
But he understands Trump and knows that, if you’re
ready to grovel and flatter, a rapprochement is always
possible. Hence Bannon’s declaration on Thursday
that Trump is a “great man”.
LAHORE: At least
three people including two
children were killed when
their three-storey building
crashed onto them on
Saturday.
The building was in
bedraggled condition
before it finally crumbled.
The building fell on its
four inhabitants; of them, a
child was rescued alive.
The deceased include
minors, Ali Gohar and
Zahid Haider, the Rescue
1122 workers said.
The efforts are underway
to retrieve wife of
Ghulam Abbas from under
the rubble. Body of
Ghulam Abbass has also
been recovered.
ISLAMABAD: Airport
Security Force (ASF) has
recovered arms from a
female passenger at Benazir
International Airport (BIA)
and arrested her.
LAHORE: Rescue workers removing debris after a three-storey house in Lahore's Delhi
Gate area collapsed on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of three family members.
Arms recovered from
lady passenger at BIA
RAWALPINDI: A third
Anti Terrorism Court
(ATC) has been established
in Rawalpindi for
early hearing and disposal
of the pending cases .
According to media
reports , Chief Justice
Lahore High Court had
decided to set up a third
ASF conducted a raid
and recovered 9 mm pistol
and 3 rounds from the bag
of a female passenger during
a raid at BIA Islamabad
Saturday. She was destined
Anti Terrorism Court in
Rawalpindi in view of
pending cases and functioning
of only two Anti
Terrorism Courts for all
the four districts of
Rawalpindi region.
. Sessions Judge Multan
has been transferred and
appointed the Judge of
to travel to Quetta
from Islamabad through
PIA flight PK-235.
She was later handed
over to Airport police for
further investigation.
3rd ATC established in Rawalpindi
for speedy disposal of cases
newly established ATC.
Justice Abdul Rahim will
take charge as Judge on
Monday and some 50
cases from other courts
will be shifted to the as
court No.3 .
The third ATC
Rawalpindi will start functioning
from Monday.
PESHAWAR: Participants show their pets during Pets Show held at local hotel.
One dead, 10 injured
in twin blasts due
to gas leakage
RAWALPINDI:
blasts due to gas leakage
claimed one life in
Rawalpindi with 10 others
injured including children.
Blasts took place in Muslim
Town and Al-Noor Colony.
Initial investigation has
revealed that both explosions
occurred due to gas leakage.
Amiddle-aged man named
Javed Qureshi succumbed to
injuries and died on the spot.
Women and children were
among the ten injured people
who received bruises due to
burns on body parts. Those
injured were immediately
admitted to nearby hospitals
for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, gas outage in
parts of the city has also
sparked anger in the residents.
People came out on roads and
protested against the outage at
Glass Factory Chowk.
Youth Parliament to host mega
even in Nawabshah varsity
Twin NAWABSHAH: Youth
Parliament Quaid-e-
Awam University of
Engineering, Sciences
and Technology
Nawabshah unit, one of
the biggest platforms of
youth in Pakistan, is
organizing a three-day
mega event in the history provincial
of the university entitled
QUEST Parliament from
12 to 14 Jan 2018 at
Multipurpose & Senate
Hall, Quest in
Nawabshah.
The main objective of
this event is to bring
youth to the fore-front
and provide them an
opportunity to learn
diplomacy, debating, critical
thinking and leadership.
This is the first mega
debating event in the university
in which debaters
from all over Pakistan
would participate and find
solutions to youth problems
in a constructive
manner. The event will be
the simulation of the parliament
and will consist
of a national and four
assemblies.
The debaters will simulate
the members of the
parliament and will follow
the parliamentary
procedure.
The event will also
consist a Sufi night
named as Nara-e-Mastana
which will let the participants
to know each other
better and explore the
Sufism and another social
night is dining tales which
consist of closing ceremony
of event with delicious
dinner.
Person killed by firing
on car, identified as
ex-security guard
of former IG
ISLAMABAD: A person
killed as result of firing
by unknown accused
on a car here in the jurisdiction
of Sabzi Mandi
Police station, was identified
as ex-security guard
of former Inspector
General (IG), Islamabad
Binyamin.
Sources told that firing
was opened on a car bearing
Sindh Registration
number 804, which resulted
killing of a person, who
was identified as Siddique,
who was ex-cop of
Islamabad police.
Siddique’s services
were terminated from
police department for
patronizing the anti-social
elements. He was resident
of Mansehra and was serving
as security guard at the
petrol pump station of ex-
IG Islamabad Binyamin.
The dead-body of
deceased was shifted to
CIA homicide unit in
PIMS. According to police
sources, the deceased
receives four bullets on
one part. On the other
hand, police are investigating
the matter from different
aspects.
Amir Fida
Paracha appointed
member CEC
I S L A M A B A D :
President Pakistan Peoples
Party Parliamentarian Asif
Ali Zardari has appointed
Mr. Amir Fida Paracha as
Member Central Executive
Committee of party with
immediate effect.
Mr. Amir Fida Paracha is
a former Member Punjab
Assembly and Incharge
Central Secretariat
Islamabad. A notification of
his appointment has been
issued by the Political
Secretary of President PPPP,
Ms. Rukhsana Bangish.
RHC Naudero
without lady
doctors
NAUDERO: Senior
Civil Judge Ratodero on
Saturday sought a report
from the Medical
Superintendent of Rural
Health Centre Naudero on
the media reports that there
was not a single lady doctor
in Naudero centre.
LAHORE: Federal Minister for Defence, Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan offering Fateha for the departed soul of Shaheed
2nd LT. Abdul Moeed at his residence.