Islamabad, October 29
India’s new High Commissioner to Pakistan Satyabrata Pal is expected to hold wide ranging consultations with the Pakistani leadership in order to prepare ground for the Foreign Secretary-level talks next month.

Mr Pal is expected to arrive here on November 1, about two weeks ahead of the talks, to review the third round of the Composite Dialogue process, officials here said.

He is expected to hold consultations with the Pakistani leadership, perhaps even meet President Pervez Musharraf before leaving for home to attend the talks scheduled for November 14-15.

He is also expected to meet Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan.

Mr Pal’s consultations with Pakistani officials would focus on giving proper shape and substance to the joint mechanism on terrorism agreed to by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf during the Havana Summit.

The mechanism, yet to be finalised, however, would face its first test when India forwards what it perceives to be “pretty good” evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the Mumbai bomb blasts, which Pakistan firmly denies.

New Delhi may also forward evidence of the “capture” of two Pakistan militants in Bangalore, if the investigations into it are completed by that time, officials said.

At the talks, Indian and Pakistan officials are expected to hold informal consultations on all major issues covered in the Composite Dialogue process, including Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek.

Officials added that Musharraf’s close aide and Secretary of the National Security Council Tariq Aziz is holding back-channel talks with Indian officials, especially former Indian Foreign Secretary S.K. Lamba, ahead of the meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries.

The talks in all likelihood will be followed by a meeting between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Pakistan Foreign Minister if Mr Kasuri’s reported plans to visit New Delhi in the third week of November ostensibly to attend the wedding of Panchayat Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar’s daughter materialises.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s new High Commissioner-designate to India Shahid Mallik is expected to take over his new posting after the talks.

Till he takes over charge, the outgoing Pakistani High Commissioner to New Delhi Aziz Ahmed Khan was expected to continue, the officials said. — PTI

Islamabad, October 29
Lack of political will and awareness among public, absence of effective mechanism, loopholes in law have stalled the efforts to enforce the anti-smoking ordinance in letter and spirit.

The much talked-about plan to strictly implement the ban on smoking in government offices, transport vehicles and other public places is likely to be delayed as only two provinces have so far come up with strategies to enforce the most crucial health-related policy.

An inter-provincial meeting held on October 21 had set a deadline for October 28, requiring all the provincial governments to devise a comprehensive strategy and a plan of action to implement the anti-smoking ordinance.

An official source told Dawn on Saturday that Punjab and Baluchistan had submitted their plans of action to the federal government to strictly implement the Prohibition of Smoking Ordinance 2002, but Sindh and the NWFP were yet to come up with their respective strategies.

The sources said Punjab and Baluchistan had assured the federal government that they intended to interact with all district and town nazims in addition to arranging awareness programmes in public schools and other institutions against smoking.

Development of health education material to inform the people about the hazards of smoking is also included in the action plan.

The health officials in the provinces and Centre tend to maintain a nonchalant attitude towards such an important matter of public interest. Therefore, the Supreme Court, on a suo motu notice of an application filed by Prof (Dr) Javed Khan, a consultant of Aga Khan University, Karachi, has taken up the matter concerning tobacco ‘epidemic’ and violation of the anti- smoking law in offices, hospitals, parks, educational institutions and public transport. The next hearing in this regard would be held on Monday.

In his March 15 letter, Dr Khan had invited the attention of the chief justice of Pakistan towards non-implementation of the anti-smoking ordinance. He stated that hundreds of people had died due to different smoking-related diseases.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry, the source said, had already submitted a compliance report to the Supreme Court, stating that in line with the court’s directions, the government had delegated punitive powers to provincial governments for strict implementation of the Prohibition of Smoking Ordinance 2002.

It further stated that as per directions, a meeting of all the four chief secretaries had been called, in which the provincial governments had made a commitment to expediting efforts to strictly implement the ordinance.

Despite promulgation of anti-smoking ordinance in 2002, the law has had a very little effect in society which is evident from the fact that cigarettes are still being sold at a close proximity of education institutions when Section 9 of the ordinance clamps complete prohibition on the sale of tobacco and tobacco products, especially to minors, within 50 metres of an education institution. At the last hearing, the apex court had stressed special attention to this particular section.

Even public transport drivers in the capital city can be seen smoking with impunity, causing inconvenience to woman passengers sitting beside them. The law authorises the wagon drivers as well as the conductors to eject any passenger from the vehicle for smoking.

On the other hand, the government reportedly earns approximately Rs 38.5 billion each year from the tobacco industry alone. The huge amount does not include the taxes that the provinces are charging on tobacco production.

The law imposed a penalty up to Rs1,000, extendible to Rs 100,000 in case of second offence, for smoking in public places. Punishment, in certain cases, also suggested three months’ imprisonment.

The total cigarette production in Pakistan is about 71 billion sticks a year, of which the legal production is approximately 77 per cent. The remaining 23 per cent is illegal production due to which the government suffers a loss of Rs 9.2 billion annually.

Another study suggests that 16 per cent children under the age of 17 years in Pakistan are habitual smokers. Fifty two per cent of juvenile smokers are studying in colleges, while 48 per cent go to school.

London, October 29
A Non Resident Indian woman who took on the responsibility of caring for her two severely disabled nieces in India has won a national carer's award.

Pratibha Singh, who lives in Town Moor, Doncaster, has been given the Carer of the Year Award at the Daily Mail Carer of the Year Awards, set up with the Carers' Charity Organisation, Crossroads.

In 1993, her India-based father-in-law died and weeks later her sister-in-law Satwant, 44, was murdered by a burglar at her home. Together, they were looking after Singh's adult nieces Ashwant and Tejinder, both mentally and physically disabled due to cerebral palsy.

After the two deaths in the family, she took on the responsibility of the two nieces and dedicated her time to caring for the wheelchair-bound girls, who were unable to sit unaided or speak. Pratibha Singh's family includes husband Parminder, an engineer, and daughter Jaswinder, 17, and son Parmajit, 8.

Pratibha Singh, a part-time project worker at the Doncaster's Women's Centre, moved to Doncaster from New Delhi in 1988. Every year she spent two months in India helping her sister-in-law, Satwant, in careing for Ashwant and Tejinder, whose father had long vanished due to their condition.

She told the Daily Mail: "My first thought was for the girls and their well-being. Both my husband and I had hoped we could arrange something for them in India but that proved impossible.

"Those first four months, were very, very hard. And my daughter became jealous. She'd had all my attention until that point and found it difficult to adjust. I believe we should all try to love someone who no-one else loves, especially when we've been blessed with a body and a brain that works, a marriage and a family of our own." Tejinder died last year, aged 35, as a result of a blood clot but Pratibha Singh still looks after Ashwant, now 36, who will require round-the-clock care the rest of her life. — IANS

London, October 29
In an effort to ease problems facing passengers, British airports will relax its ban on carrying liquids this week, a media report said today.

Passengers will be allowed to carry small bottles of toiletries as long as they are contained in a clear, re-sealable plastic bag, The Sunday Times reported. The rules are expected to apply from November 6.

Tight restrictions on items that can be carried on planes were introduced in August after an alleged plot to blow up US-bound transatlantic jets using liquid explosives in toiletries and drinks bottles was foiled. Since then the curbs have gradually been eased.

Passengers have, however, been able to carry on board liquids or gels bought in airport shops after security screening.

The new rules on liquids are the result of extensive negotiations between the European Union Transport officials, who are trying to ensure a co-ordinated approach to security between member states. They will bring Europe into line with the USA, which relaxed its restrictions last month.

Passengers will be able to carry liquids, gels, pastes and aerosols. Bottles, jars and tubes should not exceed 100ml in size and will have to be carried in a re-sealable clear plastic bag not larger than 20cm by 20cm.

Baby milk and food "necessary for the journey" will be allowed but passengers may be asked to taste it. Small amounts of prescription medicines will be permitted, but proof of prescription may be required.

Other curbs, such as the ban on sharp instruments in cabin bags, the requirement for passengers to remove coats for screening, and the removal of laptop computers from cabinet bags for separate screening, will remain in place. — PTI