Islamabad: Eid Milad-un-Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him) is being celebrated in Pakistan with religious reverence and fervor renewing the pledge to follow true teachings of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).

The day began with special prayers for development, safety, peace, unity and brotherhood amongst the followers of Holy Prophet (PBUH).

It is a public holiday. Special security arrangements have been made to maintain law and order across the country on the occasion of 12th Rabi-ul-Awal.

Mahafil-e-Milad and public meetings are being held in different parts of the country, while faithful are actively participating in the programmes organised by different local, religious and social organizations.

Special security arrangements have been made in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and other cities and towns across the country to avoid any untoward incident.

Participants of Mahafil will be properly verified and checked by security personnel.

Milad processions would be taken out from different areas of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, reciting Na’ats and Darood o Salam for the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

Major event of the day would be the annual National Seerat Conference in which prominent Ulema and scholars from across the country would participate. Selected Ulema and scholars would highlight various aspects of the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), stressing the need to follow golden principles of Islam to achieve success in the world and hereafter.

Besides, such conferences would be held at provincial headquarters, divisional and district levels to pay respect and homage to Allah Almighty’s Last Messenger.

Congregations would be organized in all important cities of the country where the preachers and scholars would highlight the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) besides delivering lectures on his way of life.

Courtesy by The News Tribe

“Some of the photos were taken on an iPhone while some of them were taken in SLR cameras. Our on-set photographer Amin Ahuja was helping me out on all of this because I am not a professional photographer. So I can`t take all the credit. It was because of his help,” Imran said.

Kareena was completely flattered looking at her pictures and said this was the first time any co-star has clicked her photographs.

“I think it`s the first time ever one of my co-stars has clicked beautiful pictures of me. So, thank you Imran,” she said.

With her co-star`s passion for photography, has Kareena tried her hands on the same?

“I have never tried my hands on photography. May be Imran can give me some lessons,” said the ‘Ek Main Aur Ek Tu’ actress.

Courtesy by Zee News

He ordered that special surveillance and checking of all hotels, inns, bus and wagon stands to ward of any possibility of subversion and ensure law and order on the occasion. He directed that effective arrangements be made to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.

He informed that all entry and exit points of the city would be covered. He said that crises management centers have been established in the city on the occasion, which would function round the clock, while a special control room has also been set up in the office of CCPO for coordination between various agencies.

The CCPO said that divisional SPs have been directed to personally check the force deployment and patrolling of mobile squads in their respective areas. He said that he would himself make surprise inspections in order to review the security arrangements.

Courtesy y Pakistan Observer

The duo has been the toast of the B-Town grapevine ever since they became a couple four years ago. Saif, 41, and Kareena, 31, had announced their plans to get married soon after the release of Saif’s upcoming ambitious production Agent Vinod, co-starring his bride-to-be. The film releases on March 23.

Incidentally, Kareena’s new rom-com Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu will release on February 10.

“Saif and Kareena are serious about their marriage. They have been in love for quite some time and both of them think this is the right time to tie the knot. However, both of them have important films lined up. The engagement and wedding will have to be balanced with the work load,” a source close to the actress said.

Kareena, who is currently in London with her sister Karisma, will be promoting her new film even as she prepares for the engagement. Saif, too, has been working hard over the past year or so to get his megabudget spy thriller Agent Vinod ready for release.

Kareena is likely to wear a Vikram Phadnis creation at the engagement. The venue is yet to be decided and both the families have reportedly planned a private ring ceremony to be attended only by close friends and relatives.

Both the engagement and the subsequent wedding will be lowkey affairs as Saif’s father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi passed away only a few months ago.

Saifeena may throw a party for industry colleagues a few days after the engagement, either at a Mumbai hotspot or at Saif’s residence, a source added.

Reports of a February 10 engagement have come as a surprise for many, considering Saifeena have been shying away from specifically answering questions about settling down.

During the recent unveiling of the first look of Agent Vinod, Saif skirted the topic saying: “I would like to talk about my film at this event and not about my engagement or marriage.”

While sources close to the actors said they picked February 10 for the engagement because of the date’s proximity to Valentine’s Day, others have indicated that the news could be aimed at promoting Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu.

“Everyone is waiting eagerly for the Saif-Kareena wedding. However, there was no hint so far of an engagement at such a short notice. The Valentine’s Day angle cannot be glossed over but what is worth noting is that Kareena also has a romantic comedy releasing in the same week,” a trade insider, not wishing to be named, said.

Kareena has Talaash and Heroine lined up and Saif’s other big films are Race 2 and Cocktail.

Bharat (Akshaye Khanna) works as a bank cashier who plays Hanuman in the local Ram Leela and aspires to upgrade to the lead role of Ram someday. When he refuses to offer his house for the political campaign of a local candidate (Murli Sharma), the politico’s younger brother (Amit Mistry) gets him embroiled in a bureaucratic mess.

He is forced to reclaim from court, a table fan supposedly stolen from his house, for which he has to bribe everyone from the constable, witness, lawyer to even the thief. He ends up paying a fortune for the fan, which, in first place, was never his. Problems persist when he wishes to get rid of the ill-fated fan.

The basic theme and treatment of this political satire is right away reminiscent of Pankaj Kapur’s popular TV series ‘ Office Office‘ which highlighted the common man’s vulnerability against a corrupt system. The struggle for retrieving an object, which was neither yours nor desired by you, gives way for an interesting black comedy. Moreover in a society bogged down by bureaucracy to extremities and where anything and everything is possible, writers Mumukshu Mudgal and Rumy Jafry don’t need to go that extra mile to make the black comedy believable enough. Things fall into place in the script almost through the inherent spirit of bribery. The narrative also smartly establishes the irony that when another household object is actually stolen, the cynical Bharat never reports its loss.

But once the ‘systematic’ exploitation is firmly established in the first half, the audience expects the tables to turn in the second half with hopes that the hero would give his detractors a taste of their own medicine. Sadly what follows is more turmoil for him in his attempts to get rid of the fan that boomerangs back. Since you identify with Bharat’s common man character who is repeatedly at the receiving end, it becomes distressing after a while because you see your defeat in his. Some sequences are genuinely funny but by large the screenplay seems ‘fan’atically stretched over a single conflict.

The actual scope for some (courtroom) drama in the climax is hastily edited in a transition song. While the social satire mocks at corruption through its runtime, in the climax, the hero has to resort to corruption to set himself free. Thereby this anti-graft drama sets a sad example for itself and endorses bribery, when everything else fails. And when you expect the politician’s payback time to have actually started when the hero slaps him, you are surprised to see the end credits roll. Director Rumy Jafry never makes his common-man protagonist larger-than-life, perhaps implying that there is no practical solution to the widespread disease of corruption. Unfortunately his film hangs between neo-realism and escapism. The hero waving the national flag in end credits can induce artificial patriotism but not curb corruption.

The narrative is needlessly corrupted with love song and item number – both of which are absolutely avoidable. What’s more redundant is a tangential track where Bharat’s wife (Shriya Saran) doubts him of having an affair with the paying guest (Mughda Godse). The family drama remains unconnected with the core corruption saga and the film could have easily done without a romance track. The Ram Leela episodes that play in parallel makes for an interesting setting but the director could have used its analogy with the central plot more effectively.

Akshaye Khanna, for a pleasant change, doesn’t go theatrical despite his staged Ram Leela acts. He maintains restrain in his performance and convincingly brings out the susceptibility of a common man without overdoing it either. Annu Kapoor, as the corrupt constable, dominates the bureaucratic escapades and is the scene-stealer. Vijay Raaz is funny in his two-bit role. Satish Kaushik, as the plump papa, plays his part well. Amit Mistry makes for a good villain. Shriya Saran looks beautiful. Mughda Godse was absolutely avoidable. Veena Malik’s item number is downright vulgar.

Despite a decent premise, this one falls short of being a fan-tastic film. Alas Gali Gali Bore Hai!

Courtesy by The Times Of India

He admitted during a recording of Inside the Actor’s Studio: “Listen, I admit there’s times like, ‘We gotta get up. Get up! Here’s your shoes. Here’s your shoes. Drink this coke. Drink this Coca Cola. Drink it all. Right now! Drink it! Drink it! Drink it!’ Just so we can get ‘em up and going.”

Meanwhile, Brad has revealed he played a prank on his Moneyball co-star Jonah Hill by turning the golf cart he used to travel around on the set into a shrine to gay singer George Michael.

He said on the Today show: “I had Jonah’s cart rigged. Whenever he turned it on it would blast ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’. It was pretty good, I gotta say.”

Jonah added: “If it was just that, that would be crazy. That would be annoying for me. But he had it shrink-wrapped bright pink, like neon pink, and superimposed a photo of George Michael on front . So I’d have a meeting and I’d drive up in this, like, insane, absurd, Liberace-style golf cart.”

Faithfuls have decorated mosques, streets and houses with colourful buntings and lights, besides finalising arrangements to hold public meetings and congregations on 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal, the birh anniversary of Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), falling on February 5.

Like other parts of the country, Milad processions will be taken out from different areas of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, reciting Naats and Darood-o-Salam for the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The main event of the day will be the annual National Seerat Conference in the federal capital, where prominent ulema and scholars from across the country will highlight the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his way of life.

Such conferences will also be held at provincial headquarters, divisional and district levels to pay respect and homage to Last Messenger.

Foolproof and strict security measures are being made on the routes of Milad processions. Walk-through gates will be installed at different locations and entry points of the processions and rallies.

The traffic police is also chalking out a plan for smooth flow of traffic on the day. The entry of tractor trolleys, trucks and other heavy vehicles will be prohibited on the routes of Milad processions.

A control room will also be set up for the surveillance of processions and for reviewing security arrangements. The control room will work round the clock for 24 hours.

Courtesy by Daily Times

Correct us if we are wrong but isn’t that supposed to be diametrically different? . A popular film is one with wide appeal and has to be a huge commercial success.

A Critic’s Choice is a film, that may not have rocked at the BO but is known for its performances, different storyline, it’s offbeat track, and is meant for the discerning crowd. So how did one actor win this award for the same performance for the same film? Would love to know what the jury members were having while mulling over the nominations?

Courtesy by Times Of India

It occurred when opposing an adjournment motion jointly moved by Senator Ishaq Dar of PML-N and Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmed of JI on hike in petroleum products, Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim linked the recent hike with the upward trend in POL prices in the international market.

Dr Asim said the government did not control the prices of POL, as it did not fall within its preview.  He said prices were increased following hike of petroleum products in the international market and parity between dollars and rupees.

The Minister said the country was only producing 70,000 barrel oil per day against the total demand of 3,80,000 barrel per day.

He said on government level the price hike matters when government increase GST and Petroleum Development Levy and if Parliamentarians want they could do legislation to decrease GST and Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on petroleum products to decrease its prices.

On that Senator Tahir Mashhadi of MQM termed the statement of Dr Asim as misleading saying he (Minister) provided wrong information on floor of the House. Senator Ishaq Dar of PML-N said by increasing POL prices government had tried to enhance its revenue, that was a criminal act.

He said that Dr Asim had not provided any break-up of increase in POL prices in International market or rupees and dollar parity.

He said that the government could take administrative decision to decrease GST and PDL on petroleum products to facilitate masses.On that Senators belonging to PML-N, JI, JUI-F, PML-Likeminded staged walk out forcing the Chairman Senate to adjourn the House till Thursday (today).

Earlier, Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim tendered his apology before the House for not reaching the House in time.

Courtesy by The Nation

Amir is expected to spend the next few weeks in London before returning to his native Pakistan. He will meet his lawyers to draw up an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the five-year ban imposed on him by the International Cricket Council.

Amir was sentenced along with two Pakistan team-mates, Salman Butt and Mohamnmad Asif, after a plot to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in 2010. He lost an appeal against the sentence in November in the Court of Appeal in London. Via ESPN CricInfo.

Juhi Chawla, who off and on appears on the small and big screen, says she plans to take singing seriously in the near future.

“I have been thinking of getting into singing for more than seven years now. Singing is something that I am getting hang of. I may take up singing in future for sure,” said the actress who is focusing on off beat films these days.

In last few years she has been seen in films like “My Brother Nikhil”, “Jhankaar Beats” and “3 Deewarein”. Her last release was the critically acclaimed film “I AM”.

Though the film has been appreciated a lot, Juhi didn’t get any awards for her performance. However, the 44-year-old is not concerned as she believes in associating herself with strong content.

“It’s heart-warming…wherever ‘I AM’ has been showcased, I get a wonderful response from audiences. It’s a low budget film, we couldn’t do marketing on a large scale. I believe the content matters more than anything else.

“Awards or no awards, it doesn’t matter if your audience likes your film. The world will realise it someday. I am anyways not bothered about it,” she said.

The former Miss India, who hails from Ludhiana, will now be seen playing a Punjabi woman in the romantic comedy ” Son Of Sardar”.

“‘Son Of Sardars’ as the title itself suggests is about the Punjabi family and I am playing a Punjabi woman in it. It’s a typical Punjabi life where they have a house in the middle of the farm. It’s a mad family. It’s a feel good humor,” Juhi told to IANS.

The film is being directed by Ashwani Dhir and is produced by Akshay Kumar’s production house Hari Om Entertainment. It also features Ajay Devgn and Sonakshi Sinha.

Juhi, who will be share screen space with Sanjay Dutt in the film, says: “He is a really sweet guy. It’s great working with him. I have just worked with him for two days for this film.”

Courtesy by Times Of India

Farah Khan speaks out on the Shah Rukh Khan-Shirish Kunder fiasco that took place last night at the success bash of Agneepath, and the successful peace making event that took place at Mannat this evening. This is what she had to say…

“What’s been happening since yesterday was really ugly, and it was also getting blown out of proportion. It was a pretty monumental thing that happened. There were different kinds of stories and rumours. There was just too much negativity to handle so I’m very happy that Sajid Nadiadwala and Sajid Khan took the initiative and we all met up.

“Shah Rukh was unhappy about the whole thing, so was Gauri, so was Shirish, so was I. Anyone who wishes us well was not happy with what had happened. Fights happen in every family, you have to sort it out.

“Whenever Shah Rukh and I meet, everything is back to normal. It’s like nothing ever happened. There’s no problem, there’s no misunderstanding. We just need to hug and cry and everything’s fine. What we spoke is a very personal thing, but everything is sorted now and for the people who were getting entertained by all this, sorry, you won’t be getting entertained anymore.

“Shirish was not happy about what transpired last evening. It was not a pleasant episode to happen. Things were really going out of hand. Everyone wants to take sides and they want to ciculate stories. Shah Rukh, Shirish, me and Gauri – we are the four people who are affected directly by what has happened and we have to know that we are fine with each other.

“There is great love between all of us. Shah Rukh and Gauri have done my kanyadaan for God’s sake. He’s a witness on my marriage certificate. So, this can’t be happening. I’m very grateful to my brother, and to Sajid Nadiadwala who intervened and got us all together. It was important that we met. We were there for about two-and-a-half to three hours – we cried, we laughed, we joked…”

Courtesy by Times Of India

Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said: “Our position on drone strikes is clear and based on principle. We cannot condone the violation of our sovereignty.”

Obama acknowledged the extrajudicial execution campaign in an interview that streamed live on YouTube. “I want to make sure people understand actually drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties,” he said. “For the most part, they’ve been very precise, precision strikes against against al-Qaeda and their affiliates.”

But investigative reports tell a very different story, namely that a large portion of the thousands of people killed in drone strikes since 2004 have been civilians. Furthermore, those militants that have been killed are mostly low-level insurgent operatives that are only known as such because the government said so.

Pakistani officials have been known to assist the CIA in carrying out drone strikes in the past, so Islamabad’s condemnation cannot be considered totally genuine. But the Pakistani people have been outraged by such constant attacks and have protested in the hundreds of thousands.

Courtesy by Anti war.com

The bash thrown at a popular suburban night club was well attended, including the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgan.

But the celebratory mood soon turned ugly following an apparent altercation between SRK and filmmaker Shirish Kunder, say onlookers.Khan was later also joined by Dutt.

A source present at the venue says, “Shah Rukh walked in late at the party. Shirish, who was standing near the bar, saw SRK and started making nasty comments. He also followed the star wherever he went, including the washroom. And this is when SRK got irritated and pinned him on a sofa, first trying to talk to him. But when Shirish continued to retort back, SRK slapped him.”

Amidst all this, there was also a touch of comic, said a source, when biz honcho Baba Dewan stepped in to stop the fight, thinking that a girl was being targetted. “Baba Dewan felt that SRK was fighting with a girl as Shirish was sporting long hair. He stepped in to tell SRK to stop fighting with a girl. He realised his mistake when SRK turned to look at him. In the meanwhile, Sanju arrived on the scene and separated the warring duo,” said the source. Another set of onlookers say that Sanju, after separating the duo, apparently slapped Shirish four times as he had apparently been sending inappropriate messages to his wife Maanyata.

Shirish refused to take calls from DNA, but his wife, filmmaker Farah Khan texted a pointed message, “Shah Rukh has always told me that physical abuse is the worst way to sort out a problem, that it means the person who’s hitting has either a personal or professional crisis going on. It saddens me to see him doing the same…”

Ever since Farah broke off ties with Shah Rukh, who earlier produced her films, Shirish has never let an opportunity for snide comments on the actor pass, including hisRa.One, say insiders.

Courtesy by DNA

Haqqani had angered the military generals after the emergence of a murky memo in May last year in which he allegedly asked for US help to avert a feared military coup.

Haqqani was barred from leaving the country in December by the court, which is investigating the memo that sought US help in reining in Pakistan’s generals after the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May last year.

The apex court yesterday gave two more months to a judicial commission to complete its probe into the alleged memo.

Courtesy by GulfNews

VICTORIA Azarenka dropped to her knees and touched her head to the ground, then rose as the world’s new No.1 with a shrug and a look of disbelief.

Azarenka’s stunning 6-3 6-0 victory over Maria Sharapova to claim the Australian Open crown – her maiden grand slam title – propelled the Belarussian to the top of the rankings.

It did not take long for her look of confusion to turn to a broad grin.

“Wow,” she beamed before her voice began to crack.

“I would like to thank my team – you guys have been supporting me for so long and believing in me, and it made me realise that I can believe in myself and I can finally raise this trophy.

“I want to thank my parents, who are watching for sure now, my friends, my boyfriend and my grandmother, the person who inspires me the most in my life.
“I had an amazing month in Australia and it’s a dream come true.”

It was the first time since Serena Williams defeated Dinara Safina to win the 2009 Australian Open that the No.1 ranking was decided by the outcome of a grand slam final.

Azarenka hit the top for the first time in her career from No.3, while Petra Kvitova stayed at No.2, Sharapova moved up one place to No.3 and Caroline Wozniacki – who lost the No.1 spot with her quarter-final defeat to Kim Clijsters – slid to fourth.

Had Sharapova won, she would have returned to the top spot she took for the first time in 2005 and last held in 2008 before a shoulder problem kept her out of the game for nearly 10 months.

Projections for the new rankings released tomorrow have Australia’s Sam Stosur remaining at No.5.

Agnieszka Radwanska, who lost to Azarenka in the quarter-finals, moves to a career-high No.6. Last year’s Australian Open runner-up Li Na drops from sixth to ninth and Andrea Petkovic, who missed this year’s tournament with a back injury, stays in 10th.

Sharapova was gracious in defeat.

“The first congratulations go to Victoria – it is an honour to play against you, you’ve earned this title, you’ve worked so hard for it over the years,” she said.

“It’s a real honour to have your name on that trophy, congratulations and cherish it for as long as you can.”

Azarenka and Sharapova went into the match having played each other six times, splitting the wins 3-3, although the Belarussian had won each of the two finals they had played, both on hardcourt, in 2010 and 2011.

After conceding a 0-2 lead, Azarenka pulled back to 2-2.

She became highly aggressive on Sharapova’s serve in the eighth game, coming into the net to apply more pressure and making the crucial break with a great backhand drop shot followed up with a sharp backhand volley.

Serving out the next game, Azarenka converted her first of two set points.

The 22-year-old continued to play the better tennis in the second set, even in the face of some nervy moments early on.

Sharapova persisted with her tactic of pounding the ball back over the net hard and flat, while Azarenka kept changing her game up to completely dominate and confound her opponent.

She claimed victory on her first championship point when the Russian netted a backhand.

Courtesy by Herald Sun

Laver was watching at Melbourne Park as Djokovic claimed his fourth Grand Slam title in 12 months. And if his blistering run of form continues and he wins the French Open in June he will hold all four major titles at once.

The true Grand Slam — winning all four trophies in a single calendar year — will also need him to retain his Wimbledon and US Open titles.

Many would bet on Djokovic succeeding where both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have failed, after the once delicate world number one survived a record 5hr 53min slugfest with the snarling Spaniard.

“You’re in pain, you’re suffering, you know that you’re trying to activate your legs, you’re trying to push yourself another point, just one more point, one more game,” he said afterwards.

“You’re going through so much suffering your toes are bleeding. Everything is just outrageous, you know, but you’re still enjoying that pain.”

Important victories seem to spur Djokovic to greater heights. After winning the 2010 Davis Cup with Serbia, he compiled a 43-match winning streak which was only halted by Federer after six months in the French Open semifinals.

Last year he collected the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open trophies among 10 titles, and went 70-6 despite struggling with injury from September onwards.

Now Djokovic is targeting the French Open, the only major to elude him, which would make him a strong bet to complete the elusive Grand Slam.

“I’m prioritizing Grand Slams this year, as every year, and Olympic Games. I think that’s one of my highest goals,” he said.

“So I want to do well and I want to get to my first final at least in Paris. I have never been in the final there, and I have a feeling that I’m ready this year to achieve that.”

Sunday’s final, which stretched into the early hours of Monday, proved Djokovic has the capacity to tough it out, something which had seemed in doubt earlier in his career when he was known for pulling out of big matches.

And from regular beatings at the hands of Federer and Nadal, the Serb is now the man handing out the punishment.

“I was in that position a couple years ago, you know, losing most of the semifinals and finals against him (Nadal) and Roger in Grand Slams so I know how it feels,” he said.

“I really thought what I said sincerely on the court, is that unfortunately there had to only be one winner because we both gave it all. We both put 100 percent of our abilities on the court and played to the last moment.

“Unfortunately there couldn’t be two winners, but he definitely deserved to be a winner as well tonight. You know, I would be saying same thing if I’m sitting here as a loser.”

And for Djokovic, winning his third Australian Open title in front of Laver, who was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first of his two Grand Slams, gave the occasion added significance.

“I’m very proud just to be part of this history, part of the elite of the players that have won this tournament for several times,” he said.

“I was very flattered to be playing in front of Rod Laver, in front of the all-time greats, and in front of 15,000 people that stayed until 1:30 am.

“It’s incredible, really.”

Courtesy by The Times Of India

The former wrestling star has revealed he was something of a tearaway growing up on the island paradise but feels he can put that all behind him now. “I was a punk kid running around there when I was 14, getting arrested, doing a lot of things I shouldn’t have been doing,” says Dwayne. “To go from that kid to this man, to be able to have this movie pump millions of dollars into the economy, that was very special to me.”

Courtesy by The Nation

The event began over an hour and a half late, thanks to Piggy Chops who turned up fashionably late. The cast and crew patiently waited for her.

During the media interactions when Rishi Kapoor was asked by a female journalist why he did not reply to her congratulatory message.

He retorted “Maybe Neetu must be sitting next to me. That’s why I must have not replied.” Everyone present was in splits.

Courtesy by Mid Day

Talking to media persons at Prime Minister’s House Sunday evening after his return from Davos, Premier Gilani said they were not averse to dialogue with the opposition and wanted to take all the political stakeholders on board while taking major decisions.

To a question he said that government would talk with opposition for building consensus on the 20th Constitutional Amendment Bill as well as other matters of contentious nature.

To a question, he said that the annual budget 2012-13 would be presented in May while the general elections could be held anytime after the general elections and added that PPP would contest in alliance with their coalition partners. “We want free, fair and transparent elections,” he said, adding that the smooth transition of government would set a good tradition. “In politics, no walls are built but bridges are made,” he said while stressing the need for dialogue between the government and the opposition on all issues. He further said that the timing of the next general elections would be worked out with the opposition parties and allies.

To a question, he said Punjab was hurdle in the formation of new Drug Regulatory Authority as rest of the three provinces had given their consent to the federal government in black and white but Punjab was not agreeing to the point.

He said he was deeply saddened over loss of lives in Punjab and did not want to criticise the provincial government, as he was the chief executive and face of the Pakistan government abroad. About redefining country’s foreign policy with specific reference to the United States and restoration of the Nato supplies, Gilani said he has not seen yet the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and made it loud and clear that government would follow whatever decision the parliament would take and added that gone were the days when a dictator would submit to others demands on a single telephone call. He disclosed that he had not spent five but 10 years in incarceration during the dictatorial rule in the country.

Prime Minister denied the government had taken the decision of suspension of the Nato supplies on the pressure from some religious party and said that the decision was purely taken by him and now the parliament, which reflects the will of the people, would decide whether to restore the supplies or not.

He said the government had written a new history by adopting an independent course in foreign policy. “We protected national interests in letter and spirit,” he said, adding that now people and the parliament would decide about the relations with the United States. Other political leaders are way behind the government, as they wanted to stop Nato supply lines through musical concerts, he noted. But his government took concrete actions and stopped the Nato supplies; it got vacated the Shamsi Airbase and refused to participate in the Bonn conference, he added.

The PM said that President Asif Ali Zardari would address the parliament according to schedule. “He will become the first president to address the joint sitting of parliament for a fifth time,” he added.

Terming the statement of petroleum minister regarding the increase in the petroleum products prices as out of place, Gilani said that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority was the right forum to talk about such things. “The petroleum minister should not have given a statement on increase in prices of oil as it is the domain of Ogra,” he said.

He directed the Cabinet Division secretary for ensuring transparent appointment of Ogra chairman.

To a question about Mian Khurram Rasool he said that Intelligence Bureau had brought the matter of Khurram Rasool’s alleged corruption before him and he had immediately directed interior ministry to hold inquiry on the matter and subsequently he was removed from service and a case was lodged against him by his Principal Secretary.

To another question he said that by-elections would be held as per schedule and the election commission had presented their point of view before the Supreme Court of Pakistan in this connection.

Agencies add: Prime Minister Gilani said that there was no talk about giving another extension to ISI Director General Ahmad Shuja Pasha in order to normalise relations with the Army.

Ruling out any further change in by-polls schedule, Prime Minister Gilani maintained that the by-elections will be held on time.

Courtesy by The Nation