Criticism doesn’t weaken institutions: Nawaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD: PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif has said that criticism doesn’t weaken institutions but latter can be strengthen through reforms.
He expressed these views in a meeting with Pakistan Ex-Serviceman Association (PESA) delegation here at Punjab House.
Mian Nawaz Sharif and PESA agreed that Pakistan is under attack from within and outside and we need to find solutions quickly.
PESA delegation was led by Admiral (R) Fasih Bukhari which met with Mian Nawaz Sharif along with selected PML-N parliamentarians to discuss the critical situation faced by Pakistan arising in the back drop of the Abbottabad and PNS Mehran raids scenario and crises which has resulted there off.
Participants emphasized and dilated on various subjects in the discussion. It was mutually agreed that if we all continue to identify ourselves with different ideals, our adversaries and enemies shall continue to manipulate us on all issues.
Air Marshal (r) Masood Akhtar presented a Suggested National Security Policy for Pakistan. PML-N panel showed keen interest in the proposed definition of Common Identity, National Purpose and Vital National Interests for the nation.
It was agreed that no war can be won and no peace can be made without a clear national consensus on these values. The presentation also derived a Suggested Counter-Insurgency and a Counter-Terrorism Policy for the current complex crises that Pakistan faces.
Mian Nawaz Sharif took keen interest in the consequent debate and it was decided that a group of two to three members from both sides would be formed to brainstorm and crystallise these crucial ideas for securing the nation. It was hoped that other like-minded parties and stake holders from the government, opposition, media, bench and civil society will join PML-N and PESA to strengthen this initiative.

Serena makes comeback with victory in Eastbourne

EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom: Serena Williams came back from a slow start Tuesday to reach the second round at the Eastbourne grasscourt event after not playing for nearly year, posting a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Tsvetana Pironkova.
The 13-time grand slam champion American, who last played in a winning Wimbledon final in July, returned to the court at the grass warm-up tournament after battling a foot injury and blood clots in her lungs.
Former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, the Italian fourth seed, took an opening win on a sunny day on the south coast over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 7-6 (9/7), 6-1 while Serb Ana Ivanovic, another former holder at Roland Garros, beat German Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-3.
Despite her 0-5 start against her Bulgarian opponent, Williams won in just over two hours of battle with seven aces as she tries to whip a rusty game into shape. After one particularly long exchange, the former number one was warned for time-wasting as she tried to catch her breath.
Williams will get another test in the second round when she faces the winner from top seed Vera Zvonareva and British wild card Heather Watson.
The Williams win was the second success for the family this week after sister Venus advanced on Monday after not playing for almost five months due to an abdominal injury. Unseeded Ivanovic took a small step in the rehabilitation of her inconsistent recent game, with her victory over Goerges.
Ivanovic has been through several coaches and consultants in recent seasons as the number 18 fights to settle and finally start improving her ranking.
Currently without a coach, she is sharing the time of adidas' Darren Cahill along with the rest of the marque's top players including coach-less Andy Murray.
Brit Elena Baltacha did the home crowd proud as she beat slumping Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai 6-2, 6-1 to next face third seed Victoria Azarenka Number 61 Baltacha's victory was her first on grass this season after a loss last week to start in Birmingham.
Holder Ekaterina Makarova took the first step in her title defence, beating Croatian qualifier Mirjana Lucic 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
On the men's side of the dual event, South African sixth seed Kevin Anderson started with a victory over a Brit qualifier as he defeated Alexander Slabinsky 7-5, 6-3.
German veteran Rainer Schuettler, a Wimbledon semi-finalist three years ago, upset fifth seed Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-2 after qualifying into the field at Devonshire park.
American Donald Young beat Britain's Daniel Cox 6-1, 7-5 while Illya Marchenko of the Ukraine, stopped Portugal's Frederico Gil 6-1, 6-3.

Pakistan ready to host Bangladesh

KARACHI: Pakistani football said Tuesday it was confident next month's home World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh will go ahead, promising tight security for the match.
After the first leg of their Asian zone qualifier for the 2014 World Cup in Dhaka on June 29, the two sides were scheduled to meet in Lahore on July 3.
But arrangements ran into trouble after Bangladesh asked FIFA, the game's ruling body, to relocate the match due to security fears.
FIFA has apparently rejected the request in a move welcomed by Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) secretary Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi.
"We hosted Palestine and Malaysia earlier this year and both the teams returned happy, so we have proper security arrangements in place and we are confident that the match will go ahead," Lodhi told AFP.
Pakistan has not hosted any major sporting event since militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009, killing eight people and wounding seven visiting players and their assistant coach.
"FIFA knows of our security arrangements made for the Palestine and Malaysian teams so they have no problems and we assure Bangladesh that they will be well looked after," said Lodhi.
Bangladesh Football Federation chief Kazi Salahuddin told AFP Tuesday that FIFA turned down its request to host both games against Pakistan.
"FIFA rejected our request. So our national team will go to Pakistan play the match on July 3," he said, adding that he had not been told where the game will be played.
Team coach Robert Rubcic did not want to travel to the troubled country, Salahuddin said, but the team's appeal to FIFA fell on deaf ears.
The 2009 attack on Sri Lanka's cricketers forced Pakistan to play their home cricket ties on neutral grounds in England, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. Only the Afghanistan cricket team has since toured Pakistan.
Efforts by the Pakistan Cricket Board to host Sri Lanka later this year were also dashed after militants attacked a naval base last month and carried out other high-profile strikes following the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Sri Lanka Cricket refused to send its team, instead offering their grounds to play the three Tests, five one-day and a Twenty20 match series.
Pakistan have never qualified for the football World Cup and are placed 168th in the FIFA world rankings.
Five-time champions Brazil will host the next World Cup in 2014.

Pakistan Hockey team to play two tournaments in Australia

LAHORE: Pakistan hockey team would play two three-nation tournaments in Australia in October. Third team of the competition is India, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Asif Bajwa told Geo News.
Bajwa said that the national hockey team would be provided enough opportunities to prepare before Champions Trophy and Olympics and tour of Australia and Europe are part of that effort.

Afridi, Butt resolve differences

ISLAMABAD: Former cricket captain Shahid Afridi met Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ijaz Butt in Islamabad and reached an out of court settlement, Geo News reported.
According to the sources, important government officials were also present in the meeting. Former skipper agreed to withdraw the case against the PCB and also to appear before the disciplinary committee of the board.
The PCB will issue the NOC for Afridi after he appears before the committee. After getting the required permission Afridi will be able to play for Hampshire County in a T20 tournament in England and Sri Lanka Premier League.

Canada recognizes Libyan rebels

OTTAWA: Canada recognizes Libyan rebels as the "legitimate representative" of the people of Libya, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Tuesday.
The diplomatic shift came as parliamentarians debated an extension of Canada's participation in NATO's efforts to protect Libyan civilians from forces loyal to strongman Moamer Kadhafi.
Ottawa previously referred to Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) only as a "valid interlocutor."
"Canada will ... recognize the NTC as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people going forward," as part of a new "enhanced engagement strategy," Baird said in the House of Commons.
"Our government will engage with the institutions and representatives of the NTC," he said, adding he would meet with the rebel group's vice-chair and UN envoy and "identify members of the NTC responsible for domestic issues and propose meetings with their Canadian counterparts."
Baird's predecessor Lawrence Cannon had met with a senior representative of the rebel group in Paris and Canadian officials have been in regular contact with NTC representatives over the past few months.
The NTC also appointed a representative to Canada.
Baird also announced an additional CAN$2 million in humanitarian aid for Libya.
A popular uprising against Kadhafi that began in mid-February has left the oil-rich north African state split between the largely Kadhafi-controlled west and the rebel east.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said the NATO mission, led by a three-star Canadian general, had "gone well so far" and called its continuation "essential."
Ottawa said it would extend its own participation in the operation to September.

Berlusconi trounced in Italy referendums

ROME: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suffered a trouncing in referendums Monday that wiped out his plans to return Italy to nuclear power and dismissed a law designed to keep him out of court.
The results, following hard on disastrous local election results, have already provoked a growing unease from his supporters.
Final results showed crushing votes of more than 90 percent against the government in the four referendum questions: on nuclear power; on a law to give Berlusconi legal immunity; and two on water privatisation.
Official figures released early Tuesday by the interior ministry do not yet include votes cast by Italians living abroad.
But more than 94 percent of voters slammed the government's plans for brand new atomic power stations, which had been one of Berlusconi's flagship policies.
And nearly 95 percent voted to strip Berlusconi of special privileges accorded him as prime minister that exempted him from court appearances.
Berlusconi himself did not vote and the government had encouraged its supporters to stay away. But official data showed that nearly 56 percent of voters had turned out to have their say.
Acknowledging this late Monday, Berlusconi said: "The high turnout in the referendums shows a will on the part of citizens to participate in decisions about our future that cannot be ignored."
The level of turnout was crucial because without the participation of more than 50 percent of voters the referendums would have had no legal force.
The vote against Berlusconi's plans to resume a nuclear programme reflects popular unease about atomic energy in Europe after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
And the rejection of the partial immunity law suggested voter's growing disenchantment with the 74-year-old prime minister's legal woes.
Berlusconi is a defendant in ongoing three trials involving allegations of bribery, fraud, abuse of power and paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl.